Grabbing the edge of her black shirt, Raptor forcefully tugged on it, straightening out the nonexistent wrinkles. She glanced between the two, speaking in a calm tone. “He doesn’t know about Arachnid’s Stone, or he would have gloated about it.”
“Or she lost it,” Tech said. He snuck a glance at Godlin but the look went ignored.
Andrew remained frozen in place, his gaze fixed on the three of them. They had moved on as if nothing had happened.
“Yes, but let’s hope he hasn’t found it,” Raptor said.
Not wanting to start another fight, Andrew decided to stay silent. He moved in to read the letter again. Venom was using Christine to blackmail the Keepers, trying to force them to show up at his place on his terms. Nothing good would come from it, but Andrew could see no alternative. Christine was his best friend. He would not leave her in the hands of a man who had done nothing but hurt and betray the Keepers.
“I think he wants something, for Christine and the Stone,” Andrew said, knowing Venom would not have gone through all this effort for nothing.
“How do you know?” Tech asked.
“It’s a trap,” Andrew said.
“Clearly,” Tech smirked. “That doesn’t explain how you know.”
Andrew thought about it for a few moments. “Well, he’s not going to hand them over. He must want something.”
That got an exasperated groan from Godlin.
“It sounded better in my head,” Andrew protested.
Walker said in a soft voice, “It always does.”
With a sharp laugh, Tech said, “What you’re trying to say is, he has us at a disadvantage and is going to use that to get what he wants in return.”
Andrew motioned to Tech. “Yeah, that.”
Raptor wrinkled her nose. “He’s expecting me to show up.”
“Then you’re not going,” Tech said in a sharp tone. “He had you once and let you go for who knows what reason. Now he wants you back? No. We don’t have time for whatever twisted game he’s playing.”
“Relax, Tech, I agree. We need a plan of attack.”
Tech squinted at the computer, tapping his glasses on the side of his leg.
“Raptor-Rappy-Rap!” Mouse called out, interrupting the conversation. “Youhavetoseethisit’sBiotechand—”
Raptor grabbed hold of Mouse by the shoulders. “Breathe!”
Mouse sucked down a big gulp of air and held it. With his cheeks puffed and his eyes bugging out of his face, he looked ridiculous. Andrew covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.
“Now again, slowly. What is Biotech?”
Mouse let out the breath and spoke. “Biotech Medical and Robotics. The coordinates are sending you to one of their labs in Minnesota. They are the leading research lab in, well, just about anything that combines genetics, robots, and medicine: prosthetics, vaccines, genetic engineering, you name it.”
Andrew had heard of the company before, but he had no idea it was involved in so much.
“I hear a ‘but’ in there.” Raptor crossed her arms.
Tapping his fingers together, Mouse said in a soft tone, “I think Venom runs it.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Tech said, cocking his head to the side.
“The company’s original name was Horizon Farming.”
Raptor massaged her temples with her fingers.
“Was that—?” Tech started.
But Raptor interrupted. “Yes.”
“I don’t understand.” Andrew had not heard of the original company.
“I sent Venom to Horizon Farming to see if the company had anything we could use. They were working on genetically engineered food that you could eat less of and get more energy from—the same technology that produced those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you ate.”
Resting his hands on the back of Mouse’s chair, Tech said, “That’s not a strong enough connection.”
“Look, it’s him. I’m sure of it.” Mouse typed for a moment. A webpage popped up on the screen, and Mouse navigated through it to the company’s history. He skimmed over the information and then started talking. “The company was started by this man.” He pointed to a picture of a gray haired man in a lab coat. Several people in lab coats grouped around him, all of them smiling for the camera. “Dr. Hampton. They mostly worked on genetically engineered plants. Higher crop yield, better nutritional value, stuff like that.
“He died of a heart attack. The company was taken over by …” Mouse scrolled down the page to a picture of another man. He was slightly overweight and alone in the picture. “Mr. J. Thomas. The company went along fine for a few months, until Thomas almost destroyed it. He decided that homeopathy was the new wonder cure to everything. That switch happened about three years ago, right when Venom betrayed us and we locked him up.”
“Or so we thought,” Tech grumbled, the corner of his lips pulling up in disgust.
“Right. I haven’t had a chance to see what’s going on at the hospital, but as of the last time I looked, they are certain Venom is there, and I don’t think they would lie to us.”
Turning his chair around to face the others, Mouse continued. “I think who, or whatever, is there is a fake, and Biotech is advanced enough to pull off something like that. They supply medicine to that hospital, even technology. I know it’s a stretch, but,” he started to count off each point on his fingers, “the coordinates lead to a Biotech lab; Venom’s obsessed with uniting humanity; he worked for the company at the time … everything!” He threw his hands up. Then, he pointed to the computer as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “And look at the rest of the company’s history.”
Mouse summarized the story. “Thomas was murdered about a month later. The person who killed him committed suicide. The company’s new head is this man.” Pictured on the screen was a young man in a lab coat. He posed, looming over a desk with his hands resting on the surface. “Dr. Nicolance. The company went global with him. New labs opened in a few large cities around the world last year and more labs are being planned.”
“I see where Mouse is going,” Tech said, putting his sunglasses on. “This Thomas is the key. Venom was already in the company because of a mission. So he arranges things to put an idiot he could control in charge. His plans to take over the Keepers failed, and we locked him up. Then the idiot, with no one to tell him what to do, acts like an idiot. Venom escapes about a month later and arranges to have Thomas killed. He then puts a younger, but brighter, man in charge. He fills his head with ideals of solving world hunger and disease, but it’s Venom pulling the strings. His end goal is taking over the world through technology.”
Raptor raised a skeptical brow. “That’s a pretty lofty goal. He can’t just promise to fix everything and get the world behind him. There will be resistance, denial even.”
Tech tapped a finger on the edge of the desk. “Not if he takes out the stronger Questers that would lead that resistance. If he gets the weaker ones to support him and can get enough control, then Earth is forced to take him back as a Keeper. The plan will take years, but he’s had enough time to get started.”
“But why does that force Earth to do anything?” Andrew wondered why the planet could not prevent him from taking over.
Glancing to Andrew, Raptor said, “Earth’s influence is very weak, since it goes through emotions. It’s much easier to listen to someone who’s talking to you than to a faint feeling in the back of your head.”
“Who are the strong Questers?”
“Anyone who has influence in the world over other people. They tend to have large followings, can inspire change, and are generally famous, so you’ll know their names.”
“Like movie stars and basketball players?” Andrew asked, trying to reason through the possibility that he already knew these Questers.
“Close, think more like leaders.”
Andrew rubbed his eyebrow. “Presidents … like Washington?”
“There you go.” Raptor smiled at h
im. “You see these Questers all through history, inspiring people. Of course, if two strong Questers with different visions decide to duke it out and drag their followers into it, then you get a war.”
The destruction and hatred of World War II flashed into his mind, turning him somber.
Raptor went on. “Venom is taking out the strongest Questers, who could stop him. Without them, weaker Questers will follow Venom, and they will lose their bond to Earth. Venom knows how to work the system, and he’s using it to his advantage.”
Walker offered in a soft voice, “If Venom is remade into a Keeper, he will attempt to take over yet again. His greatest flaw is he must always be in control.”
Rubbing his eyes, Andrew could almost understand why Venom had betrayed the Keepers, but it did not excuse it. “Why did he lead the original Keepers then?”
Godlin replied in a gruff tone, “He can be a good leader, in the right situation, but he never trusted people to figure out problems for themselves. When the new Keepers joined, he became too involved in making sure everyone was doing things his way. It hurt us, as a team.”
“Meanwhile,” Tech said, cutting his eyes over the top of his sunglasses at Raptor, “Raptor over here prefers sending people on missions and leaving out key details so they have to figure it out on their own.”
Raptor shoved her hands into her pockets and turned her attention to Andrew. Her cheeks had turned a distinctive shade of red. “Point is, Venom is smart. He’s good at coming up with logical, step-by-step plans that take into account many details, but when things deviate from that plan, he gets angry.”
Even though the Keepers had every reason in the world to hate Venom, they still respected him. “In other words, don’t underestimate him. He’s probably got a plan for everything, but if you can catch him off guard, take advantage of it.”
“That sums it up pretty well,” Tech said. “Mouse, where is the lab? We need to get going.”
“Minnesota, and it’s snowing,” Mouse replied.
“Joy,” Tech said, forcing the word out through gritted teeth.
Raptor smiled at Tech. “The universe is out to get you.”
“Hush,” he muttered.
Leaning over to Andrew, Raptor whispered, “Tech hates snow.”
“It’s cold. It’s annoying, and it can die,” Tech said with a sniff.
Andrew grinned at him, then said to Raptor, “I want to go. Christine’s my friend.”
“You, alone? Not a chance.”
“I meant also,” Andrew clarified.
Raptor grinned at him in response. His face flushed as he realized she had been teasing. Her grin widened more.
Tapping his foot on the floor as he bit his lower lip, Tech said, “We need a plan. I say we form a small party—two or three people. We can be in and out and no one will have to know.”
“It could be heavily guarded,” Godlin interjected. “It would be better to take a larger force and confront them directly.”
“Oh, you always want to charge in.” Tech glowered at him.
Raptor shot him a dark look, her eyes narrowing as her lips pulled up in a snarl.
Mouse broke through their conflict. “I can break into their system—shut down the power or whatever. You know, make a distraction.”
Tech rubbed his chin. “Might work.”
Letting out a quick breath of air, Godlin said, “Mouse, we know nothing of Venom’s base. It may take you hours to break in.”
“I know enough. The blueprints for the building are public information. It may only take me minutes to break in,” he said, bouncing once in his chair to adjust how he sat.
“Try to break in anyway. It’ll at least keep some of Venom’s resources occupied. You have one hour. After that, I want you back to helping Walker find the Stone of Friendship. Godlin and Tech, I want you two to go after Venom,” Raptor said.
Tran started to protest, but Raptor spoke first. “No buts, Tran. This mission isn’t good for your skill set.”
With a scoff, Tech said, “I think Tran and I would be fine.”
“A small team is a good idea, and you and Godlin are the best ones for it.”
“And exactly how are we supposed to get in?” Tech frowned at her.
“Storm it.”
“You are going to use both our ideas?” Godlin asked.
“Venom’s expecting us,” Raptor said. “So, take the bait and walk in. Then, find the Stone and Christine and get out.”
The plan sounded dangerous. Andrew wondered if there was an easier way to get inside. “Can’t we just open a portal right inside?” he asked.
Walker shot him a quick glance, before she ducked her head again. “It doesn’t work like that. To transport somewhere inside needs special equipment and outside areas have to be such that a satellite can see the ground.”
“But you’re able to send us to another dimension without seeing it?”
“It’s what I do.”
“Ask her about it later, Andrew,” Raptor said.
Lifting a hand to interrupt the conversation, Tech said, “Okay, I like this plan, but we need more people. If Venom wants you, then Tran can arrange that.”
Andrew wondered what Tech meant. How could Tran arrange for Raptor to be there?
“Now that, I’ll agree with.” Raptor said to Andrew and Tran, “You two really want to go?”
“Yes!” both of them answered.
With a smile, Raptor said, “Well, it certainly would be unexpected. Fine. Just get him some body armor.” She pointed to Andrew.
“Oh! Me too!” Tran chimed in.
A puzzled expression crossed over her features as Raptor’s head tilted to one side. “You don’t need any.”
“Wait, you expect me to get killed?” Andrew asked, alarmed.
“Only if you get shot in the head,” Tech said, tapping the side of his head. Andrew grimaced at the thought. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Godlin cleared his throat, huffing, “He has no experience.”
“Time for him to get it,” Raptor replied. “And there’s no better way than being thrown in front of the dragon.”
“And how many times have you tossed him to the dragon today?” Lifting his eyebrows high on his head, Tech grinned.
“What day is it?” Raptor asked Mouse.
“Where you guys are going? November third, little before dawn.”
“Hmm, none yet.” She beamed a smile at him. “Think you guys can figure out the rest?”
“No sweat.”
Andrew cleared his head of the negative thoughts. If Raptor thought his going was a bad idea, she would have said so.
“What about you?” Walker said to Raptor.
“I’m going to try to help you find the sixth Stone. We’re too close to give up. If we have to go down to the surface again, we will. Your and Godlin’s trip was cut short.”
Under his breath, Godlin grumbled something unintelligible.
Walker turned to the computer in front of her. “I’ve got another lead we can try. I’ve been combing through news reports over the last few years from the town. There’s a few unusual ones.”
“Tell me about them,” Raptor said, standing beside Walker so they could speak together in a low tone.
“This way,” Tech said to Andrew as he guided him out of the computer room. Godlin and Tran were not far behind.
“Where are we going?” Andrew asked.
“To get some weapons.” They went a short distance down the hallway to a door, which Tech opened.
The room was long and narrow, extending fifty feet out. Near the front of the room, a tall counter had three partitions. In between each panel on the far wall was a target. It was a firing range.
“Is this a good idea?” Godlin asked.
Tech shrugged, his lips pulling up in a half grin. “When she’s right, she’s right. Even I’m starting to believe he’s a Keeper. Besides, this isn’t nearly as dangerous as the Labyrinth.”
Rolling his eyes, Godl
in said in a low tone, “Just as long as he shoots the right people.”
Andrew ignored Tech and Godlin as they talked about him. He could not help but smile. He belonged with the Keepers and their conversation did not bother him. The twinge of sadness tingling his heart had to do with leaving his family behind, but he reminded himself that they would move on without him. They were resilient.
When he was younger, his grandmother on his dad’s side had died. His dad had always remembered her fondly. Generally by quoting her when he wanted to give Andrew some bit of quirky advice. “Your grandmother always said, ‘Doing the dishes is like gardening; if you don’t take care of it, you’ll grow nothing but trouble.’ ”
“Hey, you okay?” Tran asked, leaning in awkwardly as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
Caught out, Andrew did not want to admit missing his dad. “Oh, yeah, just trying to think of a Keeper name.” It was the first thing that came to his mind as an excuse for his demeanor.
Tran brightened, pulling his hands out of his pockets. “Want some advice?”
“Sure,” Andrew said. “Raptor told me it has to mean something to me.”
Tech opened a door on the other side of the firing range and went inside. Godlin followed as they both continued to argue.
Making a humming sound, Tran said, “She’s right, in principle, but it’s more than that. This name should embody who you are as a person. My hero is Henny Koch. Do you know her?”
“I don’t think so.”
Tran’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “She translated The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn into German—my favorite book. Huck ends up leaving home and risking everything because he wants to do the right thing. Without Henny and Mark Twain, I wouldn’t have had the bravery to be a Keeper or leave my family and friends. When I discovered I was the Keeper of languages, I knew my name should mean translator, just like Henny.”
Suddenly the answer to his own doubts and misgivings about leaving his family had been handed to him. The other Keepers had struggled with the same sense of loss he endured now, and he felt he could count on them to support him when he became lonely.
“Thanks,” Andrew said with a smile. “I’ve been thinking about willow trees because they’re my favorite plant.”
Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1) Page 27