VirtuaScape

by Kelvin Kelley

The elevator doors opened in the underground garage, and Connor cautiously exited the vehicle and took in the environment. He scanned the dimly lit area, before allowing Grace to follow him out. Quickly they made their way to the last of the three identical black vehicles that were parked in a row, drivers standing beside each. Grace slid into the back seat, and Connor followed. As one, the drivers took positions behind the wheels of their respective cars. Connor activated the GPS tracking program on his Smart contact, and sent the signal for the transport to begin. In a line, the three vehicles accelerated, took the ramp to street level, and exited the garage into the bright sunlight. They turned left at the corner, and quickly accelerated towards the expressway ramp. Once on the expressway, traveling at high speeds, they weaved in and out of traffic, constantly changing positions with one another.

  “Bravo. We’ve got a bogey at three o’clock.” Connor said calmly, as he watched the blip on the radar indicating the location of the drone that just appeared.

  “Roger. Weaponized, sir?”

  “Unknown, Bravo. Treat it as such.”

  “Roger.”

  “Alpha, execute route C five, on my mark.”

  “Roger. On your mark.” Connor watched as the blip accelerated towards the Bravo vehicle. He looked up and made visual contact with the rapidly approaching quadcopter.

  “Alpha, mark.”

  “Roger.” Suddenly the Alpha car accelerated past the Bravo car, and shot across the five lanes of traffic, and exited the highway at high speed. The drone slowed its progress towards the Bravo car, then spun and went after the Alpha car.

  “Alpha, you’re being painted.” Connor said, indicating that the drone had targeted the vehicle with a laser that a remotely fired missile could home in on. “Activate the LBS, Alpha.”

  “Roger.” As the Alpha car slid through the intersection at the bottom of the exit ramp, the series of panels that made up the Laser Bounce System lifted from the roof of the vehicle, and quickly spun around to triangulate the location of the incoming laser beam that emanated from the drone.

  “Incoming.” Connor said.

  “Roger.” Alpha replied. The beam located, the panels melted into a shimmering mirror substance, reflecting the laser beam back at the drone. From the south a missile appeared on the horizon streaking through the sky at super sonic speed. In the blink of the eye, the drone exploded overhead. Grace squealed.

  “Good job, Alpha. Execute B eight. Bravo, hold for Alpha.” The bravo car slowed, as did the car that Grace and Connor were in, while the Alpha car, accelerated up the on ramp back onto the highway. In a few moments, the three cars were back together as they approached the tunnel ahead. “Bogie at eight O’clock.” Connor said as he watched the drone swoop down to the far side of the tunnel entrance. Bravo sped into the tunnel, Grace and Connor’s car second, with Alpha close behind. Though the tunnel was lit from overhead, it was still dim in comparison to the bright daylight outside. Connor watched his radar as the drone left the position at the entrance to the tunnel, went up and over the highways above, as it headed towards the tunnel exit to wait for them. “It’s show time, gents. Let’s pull a rabbit out of our hats. Execute A three.” Each driver reached to the dashboard and pushed identical buttons. Grace watched with amazement as the exterior panels of their cars extended themselves outwards, and began to change shape. In less than a few seconds, their sedan had morphed into a larger utility vehicle, and with a shimmer, changed colors from black to silver. She looked at Connor, her mouth open.

  “How...” She began.

  “Abracadabra.” He said, and smiled, as they exited the tunnel. He watched the drone overhead as it remained stationary, waiting for the black sedans to exit the tunnel. “We’re clear, gents. Execute D seven. See you in a few hours.” He sat back and relaxed.

  “They knew where we were.”

  “Of course they did. We’ve been there almost a week. It just took a little shell game to get us out of there safely.”

  “Decoy. That’s what you said.” He nodded.

  “And some special vehicles.” They rode in silence for a while, and soon were well outside the city speeding down the highway. Grace had answered most of her most recent communications, and confirmed with Mason that he was safely on the way. Her thoughts drifted back to the night in the hotel, and the conversation she had overheard.

  “Connor?”

  “Mam?”

  “Have you noticed...anything unusual?”

  “Besides everyone trying to kill us?”

  “Yes, besides that. I’m talking about Mason.”

  “Mr. Alexander?” He asked. She nodded grimly. He laughed under his breath, and then sat back again, thinking. “I really haven’t been around him much, mam. I’m assigned to you.”

  “I know, but...”

  “I did hear something the other day that struck me as odd, though.” Grace sat up and turned towards him.

  “What was it?”

  “I’m not really sure, mam. He was talking to someone on the phone, which I thought was odd all by itself. I mean who uses a phone any more? Messaging is so much faster.”

  “What was it?” He turned towards her, hesitating.

  “He was repeating an itinerary, mam.” She looked at him, not understanding.

  “Itinerary? Like his schedule?” He nodded.

  “Like that, mam. But it wasn’t his schedule.”

  “Not his?”

  “No, mam. But it definitely was a schedule. But it couldn’t have been his, because the locations were all wrong.”

  “Wrong how?”

  “Wrong city, mam.” She just looked at him for a moment, dumbfounded. “Except for the last location that is.”

  “The last? Where was it.”

  “Why, the debate, mam. The next one.”

  Chapter 11