by Sonador Snow
They were dragged back from their dark thoughts rudely when one of the watch-guards left back near the tunnel leading to the temple shouted to alert them. Everyone jumped and gathered closer together.
* * *
At the same time, Shimi Levy was flying back towards New Delhi where he had already assembled all available agents and directors. His thoughts were dark; he was still furious after what had happened with his archangels and, with that, the plans for the future for which he was going to be held personally responsible as he knew very well. However, a more pressing and larger problem had emerged once half of the survivors from the attack were tracked and attacked successfully. Now Shimi Levy knew what his enemies were plotting, and he was even more furious after learning the details of the plan Apocalypse.
The time for decisive action had come; he knew there was no room for any more errors. All of the Agency's resources would be needed to prevent the disaster and Shimi Levy knew that. He was already informed that checking of the old NASA software would take weeks, and he knew that he had less than twenty-four hours to stop the activation of the virus. If that was to take place, it would have been the end of it all.
The tired director of the ATU leaned back in his chair. His eyes drifted away, looking at the fast-passing, fluffy clouds below the plane. His mind took him back in time, to be precise forty-seven years back. This was when he lost the one person he truly loved – his wife. Even to this day he sometimes had dreams of her fiery-red hair with which he liked to play in their bed while she was sleeping. He remembered the great excitement when he found out they would have a child, and the even greater pride when it was confirmed that it would be a boy. But then, somehow, everything went wrong. His ears still filled sometimes with her angry and harsh words when she found out that he had tried to put a chip in their son without her knowledge. He tried to reason with her. She wasn't listening and left him for good without a note or anything. He spent decades searching for her. By the time he got close, he found out she was already dead and only his son lived. He still couldn't forgive the fact that this little bundle of a boy was the reason for him losing his beloved Gill Swansea!
Shimi Levy returned to the present. The clouds kept racing each other below the plane. Yes, he was going to stop the apocalypse and to destroy everyone involved in it. But even if he was to fail, he was going to make sure that the reason why his life was ruined all those years ago, his own flesh and blood, would die in agony and alone. Taylor Swansea's time had come!
* * *
Everyone gathered near two of the entrances of the temple when the watchman shouted. The few that had weapons in their hands stepped forward, determined to protect the others with their own lives.
The man that had alerted everyone ran to the group and, with a shaky voice, said, “I saw torchlights and I swear two figures from out of this world are approaching us.”
“What do you mean?” Grossmayer asked.
“I don't know what they are. In the light they look like demons, all black, and the smell–I could smell it fifty feet away.”
At this moment from the tunnel walked two figures, all black and smelling. Their teeth shone in the light of their torches and the much stronger torchlights which the survivors shone on them. Guns were readied.
“So there's no room for two more friends in the temple then?” the shorter of the two spoke.
“Jinhun?” Fukuzawa, Fabiana and Grossmayer said in unison.
Jinhun burst out laughing, followed by his companion.
“In the flesh, plus a decent amount of healthy mud cover,” he said and greeted his friends.
Unfortunately, the reunion was hardly happy as the next hour saw everyone telling bad news. The mood quickly lightened again. In the end, all that was left for their group was to hear the amazing way Taylor and Jinhun had managed to get from Hong Kong to here. After that the tired fugitives withdrew for an uneasy, cold rest in the darkness of the stone temple; the woods had run out.
Despite his exhaustion, Taylor was unable to sleep for long and he ventured into the temple to examine it. He walked to the base of the left tower and, using his hands, pulled himself up onto the first step. To his surprise, there he found company.
“I'm sorry, do you want to be alone?” he said, his face and clothes visible now as they were given small wet cloths with which they rubbed as much mud off as they could.
“It's okay.” Carolina switched on the torch she held in her hand so he could see and sit safely next to her. “I just needed some alone time.”
“I know the feeling.” They were in the dark again and she couldn't see his smile. “I've spent years mastering the skill of being alone. I'm sorry about your fiancé and father.”
“What's your story?”
“I lost my way in life after I lost my family, and to be honest with you, I'm still lost. I really wish to find new meaning, because at the end of the day, that's what we're here for, to be of use and help to the ones around us.”
“So, you're saying you like to be alone but that you want to be amongst others at the same time.”
“I think you know what I'm trying to say. You feel the same way right now. As I said, I've been there and I figured it out the hard way, so to save you years of torment take this advice: hold on to somebody you care for and that cares for you and together you'll suffer through the hard times in life easier, and also the few joys will taste sweeter if they are shared.”
They stood in silence for several minutes before a cry from below came. “Cari-i-i!” Fabiana's voice sounded distressed.
“They're looking for us. We best go back,” Carolina said. The two of them switched on the torches and made their way back down to the others.
Their small group went through the emergency plan once more. When things got to the point where Carolina volunteered to take the risky climb up the mountain so the signal that was supposed to save many lives could be broadcasted, Taylor broke his silence and, with conviction, announced that he would join her. Nobody complained as the initial role of the red-haired man to ease the chaos in the big northern cities of India was impossible now. They simply had to act and hope that over five hundred other members of their organization spread around the planet would be ready to do their duties.
Once everything was arranged, the course of action for the main group heading to Itanagar was changed significantly. After useful advice from MacGeady, they started preparing for one final rest before the tense and hard hours ahead of them. Everybody knew that in less than a day, they would either succeed or fail.
“I really want to come with you,” Fabiana said to her best friend as they were jumping in their sleeping bags.
“It's pointless for a big group to go up the mountain. A smaller group will be harder to detect, plus MacGeady's invaluable knowledge of the Agency's protocols and tactics will be much more important in Itanagar, and he functions much better when you're around. At the end of the day, if you fail down in the city, whatever we do up there will be pointless.”
Six hours later, the ones for which the execution of their daring plan depended made their way out of the caves. A new day had just started, and after short goodbyes, Fukuzawa, Jinhun and their group of a dozen skillful companions turned left towards Itanagar. After waving them goodbye until they disappeared into the woods, Carolina and Taylor put rucksacks on their backs and, with a spring in their steps, headed towards the nearby peak, hidden somewhere above the clouds.
Nineteen
The conference room in the Agency for Tracking the Untraceables' office in Itanagar was bursting with people, but everyone was quiet while Shimi Levy was talking.
The man who ruled this Agency for decades with an iron fist was furious. When he was furious, everyone was trying to keep a low profile around him. After lashing the agents under his personal command and local operatives for not being able to find the Yuyuan's secret base all these years of searching, he went on to the directors of the other continents for their inability to cat
ch main members of the organization while they were travelling all over the world. Only after everyone got a piece of his mind did he start talking about the big problem they had.
With the help of several computer simulations quickly prepared by the local nerds working for them, he showed everyone the consequences of what was going to happen if they were to fail in preventing Fukuzawa's virus from becoming active. The big problem obviously was where the survivors of the initial attack were and how they were going to proceed with their plan once their high-tech computer center under the lake was destroyed.
“I want every agent looking at possibilities and coming up with ideas. We must come up with a plan now or there won't be tomorrow for us or for humankind,” Shimi Levy's voice echoed. After these last words, most of the men and women left the room.
In the end, it was him and the four other directors of the Agency that were left alone.
“So what are we doing now?” Neyton Jackson, who was in charge of the Agency's affairs in Africa, asked.
“I gave it some thought. We should start eliminating the unlikely options. They need proper power to be able to work their computers, and after their hiding place was destroyed, they're probably out of transportation too,” Shimi Levy said.
“How do we know they still have the opportunity and resources to execute their plan after we hit right in their heart?” William Grant, who used to be the direct boss of Agent MacGeady in South America, asked.
“We're talking here about some of the brightest minds in our history. Do you think they didn't consider the eventuality of being found? I'm sure they have a backup plan, and it's our job to figure out what it is. As I said, we start by eliminating the impossible options.”
The men spent the next three hours arguing and scratching from the digital map places and locations that for one reason or another looked unlikely to be used. This limited the flashing dots to only four. At this point, Shimi Levy got off his chair, his finger circled the dot under which twinkled the name Itanagar.
“They must have some support here, and this is where they'll head to. All those years, it would have been impossible for so many people to exist unnoticed without outside help, the only big city in the region is this, and everything else around us is small towns and villages. Their backup option is somewhere here. The other options are too unlikely.” Nobody argued with him, and Shimi Levy continued. “I want every agent out on the streets, every informer to be squeezed and pressed until they tell us everything they know. Contact the bloody Indians too, tell them to send every soldier and law-enforcer in the area here. We need to stop them at all cost.”
Shimi Levy was left alone in the conference room as his colleagues rushed to shout orders and organize the mass search of every inch of Itanagar. The director looked through the glass window at the panic and hectic urgency of everyone outside, and a new awful headache hit him. He was late for his next cocktail of drugs, but this had to wait a while longer.
Shimi Levy pressed a hidden button on the underside of his collar and a side door slid open. Two agents in dark suits walked in, an old man in between them. Ademar Gamejro's tired and puffy eyes looked up and met the steel gaze of the director of the ATU. Shimi Levy grinned.
* * *
Taylor Swansea gave a hand to his blond companion; she used it to climb next to him on the pointy rock hanging in midair over the swamps and forests of Arunachal Pradesh.
“We best make a short break,” Carolina said, and they sat on the edge of the rock, taking in the stunning view.
They had climbed at a very good pace for the past two hours, and as the day went on, the clouds cleared and the first traces of snow were already around them.
“How far do we have to go?” Taylor asked.
“Roughly another three – four miles of climb, but it's getting harder the further up we go.”
“I'm not worried. We'll make it before midnight.” The two of them knew that they would get a half hour window just past the last hour of the day in which they had to broadcast their signal.
“We'll face problems though. I know that in such a remote place there won't be many guards, but according to our surveillance there are constantly four soldiers and two computer specialists living in the communication mast,” Carolina said.
“It's up to us to find a way to eliminate them. We'll think about that once we're up there. At least the darkness will provide us cover.”
They went quiet after that and just stared at the beauty all around them.
As they set off back up the steep and very dangerous terrain, there was no more time for talking, but somewhat strangely, Carolina felt comfortable in the company of her companion. She had given him to carry the all-important laptop with the computer commands and programs they needed to broadcast their signal. As Fukuzawa had explained to them, everything was pretty straight forward once they had access to the computer system in the mast.
The two were slightly surprised that all through their near seven-hour climb they didn't have to hide from soldiers searching the area, or the scanning drones that flew regularly over the mountain.
During their next break, Taylor pointed that out and Carolina answered, “I'm not sure how good this news is. I mean it's good for us, but my fear is that this is because all forces are redirected towards Itanagar. Our friends are heading into a nightmare.”
“Unfortunately, I think you're right. However, our task is clear and we must focus on it and stop thinking about anything else.”
They kept advancing easily enough once the day was over because night-vision goggles were part of their equipment. Exactly forty minutes before midnight, they reached the communication mast. The two of them took cover behind a pointy rock and, for five minutes, observed the quiet and empty yard behind the small iron fence.
Up here the wind was very strong and the snow cover was at least a foot deep, two things that were in their favor. The sound from the wind covered every accidental sound they were making, while the fresh snow from two nights ago helped them to see exactly where the soldiers were patrolling.
There were no human tracks outside the small courtyard, which wasn't so surprising with the area hardly being suitable for walking, but it was a bit strange to Taylor that none of the four soldiers supposed to be there was to be seen around.
The tall mast was at the back end of the yard, and under it was the metal construction that was pretty much everything – sleeping quarters, living area, kitchen, and of course, the communication room they needed to gain access to. The three small windows radiated soft artificial light, which was a certain sign that somebody was there. Once, they saw a shadow crossing in front of one of the windows, but the door remained closed for five more minutes, and with time pressing them, they had to decide what to do.
Taylor initially thought that at least two men would be outside on guard. He thought to deal with them quietly before entering. Now he was worried that four soldiers altogether in an enclosed space might be too much for the two of them. They didn't think much about the two computer specialists as their professions suggested a lack of combat skills, although Carolina herself was very good with computers and she already had told her companion about her two brown belts from different areas of martial arts.
“We can't wait more or we'll be too late,” Carolina said.
“I was thinking, what if we make our way inside the yard and then make some noise, just to draw some of the men inside out in the dark so we don't encounter all of them together.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Carolina didn't wait for him and slipped down from the rock before quickly making her way to the fence.
By the time Taylor rejoined her, she had already cut a hole big enough for them to squeeze through, and at quarter to midnight, they were sheltered under the window nearest to the door. Taylor had a quick look, but despite the lit room and the switched on TV, he couldn't see anyone. Carolina took a position on the other side of the door, while her partner got ready to attract attention.
>
As they were getting enough light from inside, the night-vision was of no use, and they put their goggles away before Taylor made a hard snowball and smashed it at the window. The ringing sound it created was easily heard even outside, but nobody emerged or even came to the window to look what had caused it.
Taylor repeated his action with the same outcome. It was five minutes before midnight. Carolina waved to him to follow her behind the outside emergency generator just to the side of the small building. Hidden behind it from anyone who could possibly walk out, she said, “We don't have time. I need at least ten minutes on the computer to be able to broadcast the signal before half past midnight.”
“I don't like it at all. There is definitely someone inside, we saw the moving shadow, and yet nobody guards outside and nobody came to check what made that sound.”
“I don't like it either, but we don't have a choice. I'm going in, with or without you.”
Taylor stared for a minute at her soft blue eyes that looked back at him with determination. He naturally liked her, maybe that was the reason why he nodded and told her to follow him.
Back under the window, this time they were together, Taylor stood up and slowly scanned the room, but again everything looked as if there was someone there–blanket thrown on the sofa, TV working, half-drunk glasses on the table–but apart from that, there was no sign of life. He stood in plain sight for a good half a minute but nothing changed, nobody rushed or fired at him. With no other choice, they simply walked to the door and, with a powerful kick, stormed into the room, pointing their guns left and right.
They couldn't see anyone and, after checking the empty kitchen and bedroom, made their way towards the communication area, placed right under the base of the mast. Before they entered it, Carolina looked nervously at the clock on the wall – eight minutes past midnight. Taylor tried the door, it creaked open, but they froze in their tracks once they were able to see.
Four soldiers had their machine guns pointing at them while on one of the chairs right in front of them sat Ademar Gamejro. Behind him, Shimi Levy was smiling at them with a gun pressed to the Brazilian's head.