by George Nagle
“Well, we aren’t exactly sure, mind.”
“Right, but we do think we can.”
“Guys, how?” James asked firmly.
“Um, right, well, we need to run a test to make sure we’re right.”
James took a short breath before saying, “Then run it and get back to me.”
“Has to be a field test,” they both said, extremely fast.
“No,” James said. “Just tell me what the test is and how to read the results.”
“Can’t, mate. You had trouble understanding some of the math with me walking you through it. You won’t get it in time,” Calvin said.
“This is not a joke or a vacation. This is a serious operation that may cost some people their lives. You have no idea what’s out there, nor do you have the skills needed for this. I can’t risk your lives,” James said, frustrated. The truth was, he needed that information and had no recourse if they pushed the issue.
“What do you think, Raymond?” Calvin asked.
“I think he needs us. We have the answers he needs. Besides, we don’t have to actually enter into whatever all this is about. In fact, we can be of use. We can be eyes and ears if you guys wear cameras, unless you have that worked out. What exactly are you doing?” Raymond said.
This idea intrigued James. “What about accessing a closed system monitoring on the compound?” he asked.
“Easy, just need to splice in and we can see everything,” replied Raymond.
James processed this quickly, but thoroughly before consenting. He gave them a breakdown on the basics and what to bring. He arranged for their flights and told them how to get their equipment to a safe point.
James would fly commercially, as he’d given Noi his itinerary for the whole trip, but the twins would finish the journey with the major’s team, joining them in Istanbul. This would give them six hours with James and the rest of the team before James left.
The major was not happy when he learned of the addition of the twins. The discussion went on for over an hour and resulted in James playing a card the major usually dealt.
“What’s the alternative? If you know how to take down that EMP force field and get the kids out, let me know and I’ll cancel their tickets.”
The major scowled and walked away, saying, “Son of a bitch.”
Introducing the twins in Istanbul did not go smoothly. In many ways, it was like introducing two hyper dogs to an old folks’ home made up of veterans who jump at loud noises. James hadn’t seen the twins act this excitedly or talk so much before, and he assumed they were nervous. He actually wished their girlfriends were there to occupy them.
After about the third hour, Ben was starting to lose his patience with them. This was brought to James’s attention by Keegan and Haiden.
Keegan tapped James on the shoulder and said, “I think Ben is going to go all rice crispy on your boys.”
“Mhmm,” said Haiden with a vigorous nodding that reminded James of Byron.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, Ben is about to snap and we are going to hear some bones crack as he pops ‘em,” said Haiden, followed up by Keegan’s “Mhmm.”
James got it. He walked over to where Calvin and Raymond were jabbering at some of the guys.
“Dude, seriously, can you stop talking for five minutes?” Ben was asking Calvin, who had just been explaining to an uninterested Rocker how the magnetic poles have changed over time.
“But it’s important, and it’s relative to the situation. We believe that the …” Calvin had shifted his attention to Ben.
Ben looked at Calvin and clearly stated, “Raymond, I don’t care.”
“I’m Raymond,” Raymond said.
“Right, I’m Calvin,” said Calvin.
“What if we tattoo your names on your foreheads?” Jason asked.
The twins gave him a nervous look before Raymond picked up where Calvin had stopped. “You see, it’s the iridium that …”
“I do not care. Please shut up … whichever one you are,” Ben said, gritting his teeth.
“But …” Calvin said.
Most of the guys looked like they wanted to silence the twins with a good fist to the mouth, but James figured that would dampen the operation.
“Calvin and Raymond, please come here,” James said. “Do it quickly, but more importantly, quietly.
With the twins in hand, he reviewed the processes they needed to be aware of. They were to stay with Matt on the cusp of the hill overlooking the fortress once they figured out how to dismantle the EMP force field. They would have a vehicle with monitors so they could relay information to the team as well. Kevin would still have master communication responsibility for the field. They were to take no additional actions and to stay with the vehicle and Matt at all times.
After making the twins repeat back what was expected of them, James took them over to see the major and asked them what he’d been wondering for some time. “What’s the leading theory on taking down the EMP?”
“Ah, right, that. Well, we think it needs to be done from the inside,” Raymond said cautiously.
“Okay, so what do I need to do? How did you break it in the lab from the inner part of the circle?” James asked.
The major listened intently.
“No mate, from inside the thingy, you know, the fortress. Um, you need to cut the power,” Calvin said timidly.
The major flashed a look at the twins and then James. James was looking down at the table with the general floor plan map. When he looked up, he selected his words carefully.
“Are you telling me that all I have to do is cut the electrical power?”
“Well it isn’t that simple.” Calvin made a motion as he spoke. “It will be a rather high voltage you have to stop. Imagine a few breakers, actually.”
“It is that simple.” James rifled through drawings until he found the one of the office with the monitors. “You see this?” He held up the drawing and tapped aggressively on the eight master circuit breakers in the room. “This is all I need to take care of. This is how they bring in all this equipment; they just shut off the power, bring it in, and power it back up. How long have you known that was the solution?”
The twins looked down and didn’t answer.
The major pressed clenched fists on the table. He spoke to James as if the twins weren’t there. “We could just leave them here and let them wait until their flight back.”
James seriously considered this before taking a different path. “You will go with us,” he conceded. “You will follow every instruction you are given. You will conduct whatever test you think you can, but your time frame will be restricted to whenever the major decides to engage. You have no say in it. You will monitor what happens and speak in the fewest words possible to inform the team of movements. For the rest of the journey, you are to talk only when spoken to. After this is over, you will never speak of it again, even to each other. Make up whatever story you need to in order to gain validity for your research. As that research brings forth results, I reserve the right to call in favors that could be monetary.”
“Anything you don’t understand or don’t agree to?” asked the major.
The twins were still looking down like two little kids who’d gotten in trouble and couldn’t face their parents, but they shook their heads.
James dropped his voice and said, “Look at me and speak!” He did this for effect, knowing it would help seal their silence.
They looked up, almost in tears. “We understand and agree.”
“Fair enough,” said James in a normal tone. He walked away, and the major moved on as well.
Paul came over a short while later. “They’re really upset.” He gestured at the twins. “They’re really not so bad. Kinda funny. We should get Keegan and Haiden started on fishing and see if the twins can keep up with that nonsense.”
“They’ll be fine. It’s not like we hit them,” said Ben.
“Yet,” added Ja
son.
Matt and the major laughed while James smiled.
“Why do they keep looking like that at me, like they’re about to run?” asked Jason. From his waist, he pulled what was essentially a hand cannon of a gun and set it on the table.
“Maybe because of that,” said Matt, pointing at the gun.
“What?” Jason clearly didn’t think that could be the problem.
Haiden called from the seat about five feet away, “They’re British. They ain’t all that big on guns. Probably ain’t never fired one.”
Right on cue, Keegan nodded, “Mhmm, everyone knows that.”
“They’re probably against the second amendment, too,” said Jason.
Ben stared at him, blinking, while James shook his head.
“Dude, they’re British. They don’t believe in our entire Constitution,” said Paul.
That was too much for James. He picked up his bag and said, “I have a plane to catch. See you all soon enough. Have fun with them, Major.” He gave Ian a rather sarcastic pat on the back.
In response, the major flipped him off.
Chapter Twenty
The morning dawned brisk and bright. A light, fog-like cloud could be seen in the distance as the sun rose. As it continued to peak over the horizon, it created different colors within the fog, almost like a low Aurora Borealis. It was unnatural, James thought, watching it during the journey to the fortress, attempting to distract himself from what was about to happen.
Most people would be continuously going over the plan in their heads, but not James. He’d never been a last-minute study on exams, and this was no different. He knew if he focused on relaxing, he’d perform better, have more energy when he needed it, and have a more pronounced reaction to the adrenaline, if it came to that. Wasting energy on the emotion of the moment didn’t help when studying, or now. Understanding that was how he suppressed his emotions.
He got why people had this emotional response, but he’d never really experienced it himself. Maybe that was why today felt unnatural. He was worried. He felt slightly justified because of what was at stake, but at the same time, he was frustrated with himself because it was illogical. He needed to rely on logic to do what needed to be done, and emotional responses—or the hesitation they bred—could cost lives.
They made the dip over the embankment. Two hours to go before reaching Joe. James glanced at the driver and Noi in the front seat and took off his hat, pretending to scratch his head, then placed it on his lap. He carefully extracted the two tiny tracking devices and battery he’d brought. He triggered the second tracking device and set it under his seat, shut off the first tracker, and replaced the battery. The semi-spent battery and tracker went back into the inner brim of his hat. Also in the hat was a splicer Raymond had given him that would allow them to see the video feeds in the fortress once the EMP was disabled, plus a hard drive with a cable.
The twins had assured James the hard drive would be fine because it wouldn’t be turned on. Because it was new, there was no data to scramble. James wasn’t so convinced, but he didn’t have a simple backup plan.
He was betting Joe wouldn’t check his hat. He hadn’t checked Tim’s last time. This was a risk, but a calculated one. Humans have behaviors, and Joe had a basic friendliness about him. James had treated Joe well last time and figured that if he made the transition from the vehicles smoothly, it wouldn’t be an issue. If he was wrong, he had a plan for that, too.
James was starting to unwrap a Kit-Kat bar when Noi looked back at him.
“Doing well, sir?” asked Noi.
James looked at him, slowly closed his eyes, and nodded twice. Earlier, he’d told Noi he had a headache and didn’t wish to talk. In response, the driver and Noi had been rather quiet.
As they swung around to meet Joe, James deliberately looked for, but saw, no signs of other tracks. The wind probably blew away the dusty tracks each day, which only made it more difficult to find the fortress. He didn’t recall seeing them last time either but had not made a point of looking with intent last time.
Joe pulled up in his old Suburban. Noi jumped out and the driver locked the doors while Noi spoke to Joe. James watched as they exchanged the carrier and Noi pointed to his head. This made James slightly nervous. Joe and Noi started to walk back, and the driver unlocked the doors.
James climbed out, removed his coat, and held out his arms, ready for Joe to search him. He’d deliberately worn tight-fitting clothes so it would be apparent he wasn’t carrying anything. He gave Joe a slight smile that Joe returned. After a quick pat down and search of the coat, they were off, Noi assuring him that he’d be waiting for him upon his return.
As they started, James removed his hat, intending to trigger the tracking device. At that moment, Joe looked back.
James froze inside. Had Joe been waiting for this? Had Noi suspected something?
Joe merely grabbed his water container and offered it to James, saying in his broken English, “Help with head aching?”
James smiled slowly as a wave of relief crashed over him. “Thank you, Joe, but no. I will be okay.”
Joe smiled and went back to driving.
James calmed down and told himself he needed to stop over-thinking. It was obvious Noi had pointed at his own head to tell Joe about the headache.
Working carefully, James triggered the tracking device.
About forty minutes later, he cracked his window. He didn’t want it to look like he was doing it just as they hit the stone marker. Joe glanced up but otherwise did not react.
Almost fifteen minutes later, Joe said “Ready?” and looked at James in the rearview mirror with a big grin.
James chuckled and said, “Yes.”
Joe slammed on the gas petal and James readied his hand to drop the tracker out the window. As Joe shifted to neutral, James dropped it.
Come get me, boys, he thought as he and Joe coasted along.
They parked a few minutes later. James noticed the courtyard area looked a bit different. The old trucks were gone and the place seemed more open. He also noticed some newer looking cameras had been installed along the ramparts and on the little shack-like structures in front of the doors to the main building.
As they reached the door, Lien and Bik greeted them, both smiling largely. Bik held a tall glass of ice water while a girl behind her held a pitcher on a tray.
“Oh, wercome wercome. Very happy to see you again, Mr. Mathers, wercome,” crooned Lien.
Bik nodded as her brother spoke and offered the glass of water to James.
“Thank you for the kind welcome. No thanks, I’m not thirsty right now,” James said, walking up to them and stopping just shy of the threshold.
Lien stayed behind to talk to Joe. Bik, still smiling, walked with James down the hall with the girl holding the water pitcher behind them. James hoped Joe would tell Lien he had a headache, as this would cut down on the chatter. Sure enough, Joe did just that.
“So sorry to hear your head hurting. Can we offer you anything?” asked Lien, catching up a moment later.
In a bit of acting, James slowly said, “No, I will be fine. I could use a restroom for a moment though, please.”
“Yes, yes, right this way!” Lien and Bik each gestured to the hallway on the right.
James approached the door to the first suite, but Bik stopped him.
“Sorry, sir, that is not empty,” said Lien. “Prease, this way.” He took James to the second suite instead.
“I will just need a few minutes,” James said, shutting the door on their smiling faces. He paused a moment and glanced around before recalling that the ceiling mirror probably had a camera behind it. He made his way to the bathroom.
The bathroom didn’t have any visible cameras, and James didn’t see where one could possibly be hidden with the exception of the light fixture. He hoped to find a rather visible camera to be able to connect into for the video feed.
He carefully removed his hat and splashed some wa
ter on his face before making use of the toilet. After washing and drying his hands, he grabbed his hat and returned to the bedroom. The straw haired boy was standing there.
James stared at him a moment, and the boy stared back.
“Umm, do you speak English?” James asked.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Mathers,” said the boy.
“Right, so what are you doing here?” James asked.
“I was told my new owner is here and that he has a headache,” the boy answered. “I was sent to do what I could for you. I hope I have not displeased you, Mr. Mathers, sir.”
“Are you X?” James asked.
The boy averted his head slightly, as if unsure why James had asked him this, but said, “If you want to call me that, yes, sir. I am called that here by many.”
“Right.” James took a deep breath to give himself a moment to think. What if he could get this kid to help get the others ready? He had helped gather them before in the baths. But no, too risky. Too hard to say how he would react.
“No, you have not displeased me.” James responded to the boy’s earlier statement. “I’m just surprised to see you. May I ask why they call you that? You do not seem to like it,” he said.
The boy continued to stare at him but answered with some shame in his voice. “They say my name is Xavier, but that is not why they call me X. How do you know I do not like it?”
“You frowned when I said it and you had a dismissive voice when you answered.”
“I am sorry if my voice was offensive, sir,” Xavier said.
James adopted a gentle voice before saying, “Tell me why they call you that, and if you do not like it, I will be sure to call you Xavier.”
Xavier said nothing, just stared at him for a minute.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.” James placed a reassuring hand on Xavier’s left shoulder. “I was just curious. But if you would like to tell me, I will listen.”
The boy lowered his head until his chin touched his chest before taking two audible breaths.
James slowly lifted the boy’s chin. The boy was silently crying.