by Paul Ormond
“Well, I want all hands on deck for this one. Any interference should be handled with full force. Have you had any luck locating our little love birds? The fact that they are on the loose right now is pushing my blood pressure to dangerous levels,” Robert said as he watched two engineers measuring the level of toxicity inside the cavern.
“We’ve searched the data banks of the satellites and we’ve combed over the CCTV footage throughout the area, but we haven’t been able to uncover any clues of their whereabouts. It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. They simply disappeared,” Gerald said.
“Regardless of what happened, they are on the loose as we speak and that is unacceptable. If those little punks think they’re gonna compromise all that we’ve worked for, they’ve got another thing coming,” Robert said with gritted teeth. “How about the procedure? Is everybody ready?”
“The security team has been briefed on the procedure and we have drilled the scenario several times. We’ve also ran several simulations and the data assures us that we have a high probability of success,” Gerald said.
“Are you kidding me? ‘A high probability?’ I don’t want to hear that phrase ever again. You tell me that this going to go off without a hitch and then you tell me that we have ‘a high probability’ of success. So you are telling me that there is a chance that this could go blow up in our faces? What kind of percentages are we talking about? You know what, cancel that. Don’t tell me any numbers. You just make sure that this thing works. If those two show their faces around here, I’ve got a surprise for them,” Robert said as he turned around and made his way to the staircase that led back to the complex. “How long until we’re ready? I’ve got to go and prepare the package.”
“The main dome has been sealed, but we want to make sure that activity is at its lowest for our attendants. The convention is still in full swing and we don’t want our attendants getting suspicious. Midnight seems like an appropriate time to begin the procedure,” Gerald said as he watched Robert walk away.
“Well, it’s 5 pm now. We’ve got a few hours more to get ready for this. Once again, I want all hands on deck for this one. I’ll need alpha team with me up top and I want beta team down here guarding the pipe,” Robert said as he made his way up the stairs.
“Understood sir,” Gerald said as Robert disappeared into the blackness above.
Upon reaching the surface and exiting the hatch marked with “Authorized personnel only,” Robert was greeted by Allan who had jumped to his feet as the door opened.
“Working hard or playing DeathWorld?” Allan,” Robert said with a grin.
“Working hard as usual, sir,” Allan said. “Your social media accounts are on fire at the moment. Me and the rest of the team are trying to stay ahead of all the reports that are coming out. There is wild speculation everywhere about what happened during the blackout.”
“You just stick to the script, Allan,” Robert shot back at his assistant as he strode past him. “I’ve got enough on my plate as it is. I don't want to have to go out and sort out any more PR messes.”
“Understood, sir. But even with everybody onboard we’re having a tough time keeping up,” Allan said as he tailed Robert keeping just a little to his right.
“At this point, the press is the least of my worries. If everything goes according to plan tonight we’ll be able to sing a different song tomorrow. Have you made certain that everybody within the complex is aware that the main dome will be completely off limits for the next 24 hours?” Robert asked as he approached a door flanked by two security guards.
“We’ve issued warnings using every media imaginable. Everyone understands that the dome is being repaired after the power surge,” Allan said as Robert stopped in front of the security guards.
“Good work, Allan. Keep your eyes and ears open. We cannot afford to have anybody drop the ball now. If we get out of this clean, there’ll be a big promotion in the works for you, but if you blow it, you’ll be out the door so fast it’ll make your head spin,” Robert said as the sliding door opened in front of him.
“Aren’t you going to scan my pass?” Robert asked the guards standing before the doors.
“But you’re …” one of the guards began to reply.
“I don’t care who it is at the door. Everybody gets their badges scanned. Now I understand why we experienced such a massive security breach yesterday. I’ve spent billions of dollars on security, but you just can’t escape that fact that people are morons. Get your head in the game,” Robert shouted at the guards as they scrambled to scan his pass. He walked past them in a huff towards the last door at the end of hallway. He scanned his pass and walked into the observation room that looked in on Drak’s cell.
“Get on your feet,” Robert snapped at the guard who was slumped over in his chair looking at his phone.
“Uh, yes sir. Right away, sir,” the guard said jumping up.
“I swear I’ve been too easy on you guys. I’m not sure about the bonus situation the way things have gone over the last while,” Robert said as he walked over to window and looked in on his prisoner.
“Apologies, sir. Things haven’t changed in the last while. He’s just been sitting at the desk with his head down,” the guard said looking flustered.
“Well, that’s over now. I’ll need you to prep him for transfer. Full shackles. Before you do that, I’ll need the room for a moment. He and I need to have a little chat before we wash our hands of him,” Robert said as he stepped to the door of the cell.
“Understood, sir. We’ll prep the gear while you go inside. Are you sure you don’t want anybody to stand watch? Mr. Tobero said that this guy is super dangerous,” the guard asked.
“He won’t give me any trouble,” Robert said as he scanned his pass and walked in to the cell. Drak didn’t look up as Robert walked in. The room smelled like stale sweat and old urine. Robert scrunched his nose as he stood before Drak. For a moment, Drak didn’t move, but then he slowly raised his head. His eyes were glassed over and he didn’t look well.
“Oh, you look pretty rough, but that’s to be expected I guess. It is jail and all. I’d offer you a final meal, but they say you haven’t been eating,” Robert said as he sat down at the table. Drak’s eyes followed Robert as he eased into the chair. His face was blank and expressionless.
“You know what’s coming next right?” Robert asked as Drak sat up and leaned back into the chair in which he sat.
“I understand that you are selling your people for limited gain,” Drak said.
“Ah, a freedom fighter to the end, how admirable,” Robert said with a grin. “I told you that I could help you if you were to cooperate and I’m still holding out that olive branch, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t a fibre in your body that is willing to work with me.”
“You are correct,” Drak said.
“Did you enjoy the game? Your friend Mitch is quite the talent. I look forward to making good use out of him. You may’ve had your paws on him, but I’m pretty persuasive myself. I’m sure he’ll come around to my way of thinking once he understands the scope of the situation. You, on the other hand, have proven to be a tough nut to crack. I’ll commend you for that, but look where it’s gotten you: a one way ticket to the absolute worst place in the Universe. Our big metal friends have got it bad for you. I’ll bet they’ve got all kinds of wonderful surprises waiting on the other side,” Robert said with a laugh.
“I am not afraid of Masters,” Drak said.
“Well, you should be. The way they talk, I’d be pissing in my pants, but by the smell of it I’m guessing that you already did,” Robert said while holding his nose. “We’re gonna have to shower you up before we hand you over. I can’t have my prize prisoner smelling like a urinal.” Robert rose out of his chair and looked down at Drak before he left. “Don’t think about trying anything when we wheel you out, or I’ll make your last breathing moments the most painful experience of your short miserable life,” Robert said as he glare
d at Drak.
“You will be defeated,” Drak said as he looked back at Robert with hateful eyes.
“You think your buddy Mitch is gonna come and save you? He hightailed it outta here with his lady friend as soon as things got heavy. He’s hiding out somewhere like the spineless little twerp that he is. If he even thinks about showing his face around here, I will squash him like a bug,” Robert said with relish as he walked out the door.
CHAPTER FORTY
The cave was filled with nervous excitement as the kids continued to prepare for their showdown with the MindHive security force. Mitch sat with SoHee on a rock and watched his friends shooting around in front of him. The last 24 hours had been such a blur. They had practiced through the night with their inReal devices and everybody had made an incredible amount fo progress in such a short time. When everyone seemed exhausted, SoHee had shown them how they could sleep using their devices and they had all dozed off, hovering in the darkness of the cave as the orb sent out vibrations and pulses intended to lull them to sleep. Mitch had never slept so well, but he had strange and lucid dreams that he could barely recall when he opened his eyes. They had all awoken refreshed and energized, but Mitch couldn’t believe it when Double-Cheese told him that it was already late in the afternoon.
A few of the guys had gone back to the gravel pit and brought back all of their camping supplies during the night and after everyone had woken up they had lit a fire and roasted hotdogs in the darkness of the cave. Mitch had munched back a few hotdogs and felt a strange sense of joy as he looked out at his friends in the cave. After they ate they had all returned to practicing with their inReal. Mitch was awed by the sense of purpose that his friends and teammates had mustered in such a short time. But he was more amazed by how quickly they had taken to their new found abilities. After Mitch had shown them the basics, they had all gone about experimenting with the devices on their own and everyone, it seemed, had discovered some new found ability.
All the while SoHee had been busily channeling with her orb, trying to come up with a plan. From what Mitch had suggested earlier SoHee had used her “thing” to simulate several scenarios and she had been able to put together a plan that had the highest probability of success according to the available data. Mitch had been somewhat correct in suggesting that they could overload the generator and cause it to collapse if they could get a surge of energy into its core, but almost every simulation had disastrous results. SoHee then asked for alternative solutions and the orb had fluttered and pulsed for a long time without responding. After several tense minutes, it began to communicate with SoHee. She had sat motionless for a long time and then she finally looked at over at Mitch.
“It’s time. Gather everyone together,” she said.
Mitch looked around and then stood up. “Everybody come here. We need to go over the plan,” he shouted.
All of the kids looked over to the rock where SoHee and Mitch sat. They all moved over and came together as a group in front of the glowing orb. They hovered in the air and a hush came over everyone in anticipation of SoHee’s plan.
“My ‘thing’ has suggested a two pronged approach,” SoHee finally said as she began to explain the plan to everybody. “The generator draws its power from an energy source beneath the MindHIve complex,” she said as a 3d image of the complex was projected from the orb above the kids. A massive cavern could be seen below the complex and the pillar of energy could be seen connecting to the complex through the cavern. “One team will need to infiltrate this cavern and deliver the energy payload generated by the orb to this precise location,” SoHee said as a light flashed where the column of energy was connected to the ceiling of the cavern. “Once the payload has been delivered, the second team and myself will be transferred using the orb’s wormhole capabilities to the main dome where we will establish a perimeter around the generator while the orb creates a standing wormhole that will catch the blast,” SoHee paused for a second to gather her thoughts then continued. “It’s a risky plan that will depend on speed and execution rather than force. The first team must quickly enter the cavern and deliver the payload before the MindHIve forces can shut down the generator and the second team must time their arrival precisely in order to have enough time for the orb to establish a standing wormhole while not being overwhelmed by the MindHIve security force. The time to strike will be when the generator begins to power itself up to create the portal. The column of energy will swell substantially as the generator draws more power. This will be observable within the cavern,” she said as the 3D model showed the column swelling. “The first team must infiltrate the cavern at this point and wait for the generator to begin the process,” she said as a flashing indicator became visible on the cavern wall. “Once the process has begun, the team must deliver the payload before the generator is able to establish the portal. If the payload is delivered after the portal has been generated, the consequences will be disastrous.” Everybody stared back at SoHee in awe as she laid out the plan devised by the orb.
“Does anybody have any questions?” she asked her audience.
“Why don’t you just send in the orb and have it warp whistle that generator out by itself?” Greg Curtis asked.
“That may be possible, but the orb will need time to create the standing wormhole and the generator is likely to be heavily guarded so a team will be needed to keep the attention of the guards while the wormhole is established,” SoHee said.
“Why do we need to blow it up? It seems really risky,” Sage asked.
“The generator is connected to the Masters’ network. By triggering an explosion within their system, we will cut them off from our world and prevent them from coming back,” SoHee replied.
“What about this payload?” Double-cheese asked. “Is it like a huge bomb or something?”
“The orb will generate a concentrated ball of energy that can be handled and maneuvered using inReal. It must be manually inserted into the energy source as close to the generator as possible. The location indicated on the map has been determined to be ideal according to my calculations,” SoHee said.
“So somebody has got to go over there and shove this thing in the hole?” Darren Francis said and everybody laughed.
“That’s correct,” SoHee replied. “Mitch will lead the first team into the cavern and I will lead the second team into the dome. There is no doubt that this is a high risk plan, but it is our best chance given the conditions.”
“How is the first team supposed to get into that cavern? It must be on lockdown,” Candace Mcallister asked.
“The orb has traced a path from this location to the cavern that will allow the first team to approach undetected,” SoHee said as a twisting 3D map appeared in the orb. “I’m sending this map to everybody on the first team. You can use your device to follow the map so you won’t get lost.”
The kids pulled up their inReal panels and found the maps sitting on their hubs. A flashing light caught everyone’s attention and they all looked back at the orb. Several tentacles of light extended out of the bulb holding a small black cube. SoHee took the cube and held it in her hand. “This is the payload,” she said. “Inside is a condensed ball of positive energy. You can open the box using your inReal, like this,” she said as she ran her hand over the box. It quickly unpacked itself to reveal an illuminated ball. Everybody had to cover their eyes as she held it up in front of them. She packed it down and again and handed the cube over to Mitch.
“Only open it when you are absolutely certain,” she said. “You’ll only get one shot at this.” Mitch took the cube and held it in his hand. He ran his hand over the top as SoHee had shown him and held the ball of light in his hand. He was amazed at how weightless it felt. He couldn’t look directly at the ball and he felt intense vibrations moving up his arm as he handled it. He then quickly closed it back down and placed the cube in the pocket of his blue uniform.
“There’s no looking back now,” he said to everybody. “We need to move now. If
you received the map, you are on the first team, and if not you are with SoHee. Remember we’re not trying to beat these guys at their own game. Just keep them distracted and stay safe.”
He engaged his inReal device and jumped into the air. He hovered for a moment before SoHee and looked her in the eyes. “First team follow me,” he shouted and shot to the opposite end of the cavern.
He kept his panel open in front of him and followed the blip on the map that the orb had generated. It was a twisting and curving trail and they had to pause several times to make sure that they hadn’t lost anybody. They passed through several more enormous caverns and a lot of tight caves. Mitch was still astonished that all of this existed underneath his town and he had never known about it. It took some time, but Mitch could see on the map that they were rapidly approaching their goal. They moved through another large cavern and came to another narrow cave. Mitch could see a light in the distance and he knew that they were close.
“We’re here,” He whispered as he looked around at his friends. Sage, Darren, and Gareth all looked back at him along with a couple dozen more kids. Mitch could see the terror and excitement in their illuminated faces. “Keep quiet. We don’t want to blow our chance. Disengage your device now or we’ll be detected,” he said as he slowly lowered himself to the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.
He crouched low and he began to slowly make his way towards the light. It was only a short distance to end of the tunnel and he had to cover his eyes as he approached the light. He finally reached the end and he could see a rocky ledge before him. The rocks crunched beneath Mitch’s feet as he slowly shuffled closer to the ledge. Behind him, his friends crouched in the darkness. He had to shade his eyes as he peered over the rock. The pulsing column of energy illuminated the massive cavern and Mitch could see that the place was crawling with MindHIve security and support personnel. He dropped back down below the rock and looked back at his friends. Anxious eyes looked out at him from the shadows. He indicated with his hands that they should stay put and wait for the signal. They were woefully unprepared for what was about to happen, but time had run out. The plan was simple enough, but as Mitch sat there with his back to the rock looking at his friends, he began to feel the enormous weight of the task that lay ahead of them. Anxiety twisted in his guts, but he caught a hold of himself and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and went over the plan in his head again.