by Aman Gupta
“Hope we find Ginny soon, too,” said Rick.
“Yeah. But be careful,” said Vik.
“Don’t worry, kiddo,” said Rick.
Rick left and Vik closed the door.
“Oh my god!” shouted Kate. “What just happened?”
“I have no idea,” said Vik. “Why would they leave her there?”
“All the girls were returned to the spot where they were taken from. Yet Ally was found near West Gate. What if they hadn’t searched near that region? She wouldn’t have been found,” said Kate.
“Or maybe they knew about the search. And that’s why they left her there. But why? They could’ve left her at New Bay,” said Vik.
“Maybe I should go meet Ally and her grandparents,” said Kate.
“Yeah, you go. See if you can get her to remember anything,” said Vik.
“What will you do?” asked Kate.
Vik started going upstairs. “Sleep!”
Kate smiled, and went out.
Kate visited the West Gate Hotel, and met with Ally’s grandparents. Their tone was completely different from their earlier meeting. Full of life and happiness. Vincent Drew thanked Kate for her help in the entire ordeal. Vincent warned Kate about Ally’s ignorance about her kidnapping. Kate also met with Ally, who looked completely fine. As far as Ally knew, she went inside the forest, and few hours later, she was found. Ally looked distant, unlike what Kate had heard about her from everyone else. Vincent and Maria prevented further probing into the matter, asking Kate to leave as they wanted to talk to her granddaughter. Kate respected their wishes and left them. Vincent thanked Kate again before he slammed the door in her face.
Kate returned and saw that Vik was asleep in his bedroom. She went to her room and fell asleep herself.
Six hours later in the late evening, Kate woke up and saw Vik cooking in the kitchen. She told Vik about her meeting with the Drew’s. He didn’t tell her about the one he had with them while she was sleeping. They left for Morrow Town at night together in Kate’s car.
CHAPTER 12: INDEMNITY
After his conversation with Sarah about them moving to DC in the next few weeks, Jay knew Sarah was upset about the entire thing. Katie wasn’t thrilled either, but she loved Jay too much to tell him that. She always did hide her emotions and feelings better than her mother. Jay’s hand was forced by Verati. He was head of the department, and couldn’t just resign without consequences. He knew too much about Verati’s operations, information that was valuable to Verati as well as its competitors. He reported directly to Victor Daulton and no one else. Victor had structured the department that way, after he had found Gary Odine’s successor in Jay. Not even Anthony Arnold had access to Jay’s department without authorization from both Jay and Victor Daulton. Olivia wasn’t Sarah’s only concern. She didn’t like the time her dad and her husband spent together. She believed that Jay would himself change in his attempts to change Victor Daulton. Jay met Olivia after he returned to office from DC.
“Why did you call on my home phone? You knew my personal number,” said Jay.
“Why are you so angry? I was just having some fun,” said Olivia.
“Yeah, well, Sarah freaked out. She thought I was having an affair,” said Jay.
“With who? Me?” said Olivia.
“Yes. She was thrilled that I had never mentioned about you,” said Jay.
“Well, whose fault is that?” said Olivia.
“It’s too late for introductions, so I guess it’s good that you two talked,” said Jay.
“See. I knew that,” said Olivia.
Jay shook his head. Olivia smiled.
“Where are the envelopes?” asked Jay.
“Right here with me,” said Olivia.
She handed both digital envelopes to Jay.
“Did you open them?” asked Jay.
“Yes. They carry the love letters you wrote to me, and our explicit pictures,” said Olivia.
“Very funny,” said Jay. Olivia laughed.
“It says ‘For Jay’s Eyes Only’, so no, I didn’t open them,” said Olivia. “What’s in there?”
“Sorry, that’s classified,” said Jay.
“Ooh, classified,” said Olivia.
“You know, like your work? I tell you everything about what I do, but you never told me about yours,” said Jay.
“Anthony Arnold would burn me alive if I told anyone, so, I’ll pass,” said Olivia.
“I’ll see your Anthony Arnold and raise my Victor Daulton,” said Jay.
“Tempting. Very tempting. In fact you know what, come by later today after hours. I’ll show you something,” said Olivia.
“Should I bring a camera for pictures or pen for love letters?” teased Jay.
Olivia got off the desk and closed in on Jay’s chair and whispered, “You won’t be able to use it. Your fingers would be busy.”
She smiled when Jay shook his head again.
“I’ll miss this,” said Jay.
“What do you mean? You going somewhere?” asked Olivia.
“Yeah, DC,” said Jay.
“When were you going to tell me?” asked Olivia.
“Today. When I got to know myself,” said Jay.
“For how long?” asked Olivia.
“No idea. Hopefully less than 2 months,” said Jay.
“Very funny!” said Olivia. “What about Josh? Going with you?”
“Yeah, still a lot to teach,” said Jay.
“Don’t worry, I’ll visit every day,” said Olivia.
“Visit DC just for me?” said Jay.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” said Olivia. “Two weeks ago, I was asked to head the department at DC. But I refused.”
“Why did you refuse?” asked Jay.
“I didn’t want to leave behind my life here. Not again,” said Olivia.
“I’m sorry,” said Jay.
“Don’t worry, now since you’ll be there, I can move there without a second thought,” said Olivia.
“What about your boyfriend? That idiot from the lab, Hal or something,” said Jay.
“I’ll break up. You’re right, he’s a proper idiot,” said Olivia.
Jay laughed.
“What?” asked Olivia.
“Love your accent when you say it like that,” said Jay.
Olivia smiled. “See you later. Don’t forget to bring your fingers.” She winked. Jay smiled.
He inspected the neo-crystal envelopes when Olivia left, to check for tampering. They had her smell all over them. He flicked the first envelope, with the number 1998115205 scrolling across its spine, to open the biometric scanner on its face. He scanned his eye which unlocked the envelope. He took out a digital card and tapped its button on the top right corner. The card’s surface displayed ‘Usages Left: 1 ’. He did the same with the other envelope, numbered 1998115210, and took out its digital card. It also read ‘Usages Left: 1’.
He opened the display of both the cards by double tapping on the center face, and set their colors. The first one was assigned Lavender while the second one was assigned Red. The digital cards’ surface changed its texture to the chosen color. He put the cards in his pocket and destroyed the digital envelopes by smashing both of them with his feet.
Later, in the evening, he went to the 75th floor to meet Olivia. She was working alone in her lab, examining some liquid solution under a microscope. Jay stood outside the lab, waiting for Olivia to look up so that she could allow him to enter. Only 4 people in the company had access to the inside of this 10,000 sq. ft. laboratory, surrounded by reinforced glass. The access to this floor, however, was restricted to the head of the departments.
After few minutes, she looked up and saw Jay moving around in the corridor. She removed her precaution goggles and rushed to the door. She invited him in.
“How long were you standing outside?” asked Olivia.
“Few minutes. No big deal,” said Jay.
“Sorry, I was busy. I didn’t notice,”
said Olivia.
“Would that have mattered?” said Jay.
Olivia smiled and said, “Not really.”
“Come here. I got something to show you,” said Olivia.
She took him to her spot, and asked him to look through the microscope. Jay looked at it for a minute at the petri dish through the microscope. The particles fused together in perfect patterns, with a drop of a solution applied by Olivia while Jay looked.
“What is that?” asked Jay.
“Just touch it,” said Olivia.
“It was so gooey a minute ago. Now, it’s hard as a rock. Is it just me or this stuff expanding as we speak?” said Jay.
“It’s my research. Finally made the journey from paper to petri,” said Olivia.
“What kind of research?” asked Jay.
“Why use a prosthetic arm when you could have a real one!” said Olivia.
“You’re kidding,” said Jay.
“Nope. Bones, Tissues, everything. To the naked eye, you can’t tell the difference,” said Olivia.
“How does that work? No chips or circuits?” said Jay.
“It’s ten steps ahead of our competitor’s nano-tech endeavors. It’s a bit technical. There are like 10 layers of stuff keeping it all together including chips and circuits that flow into the crystallized veins,” said Olivia.
“What can you make out of this?” asked Jay.
“Any part of human body. Maybe entire body in the future. It grows, transforms and morphs into a body part and after a time, stops changing. Any shape we want. Fully programmable. It needs a live brain, a live body to work. The Neuro Technology team that worked on remote virtual brains hit a dead end, so I had to improvise for now. But think of the applications even then,” said Olivia.
“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Jay.
“Yeah. The tolerance and the strength is unimaginable. It’s not fire-resistant yet, but that’s way into the future,” said Olivia.
“Now I feel bad for looking down on you all these months,” laughed Jay. Olivia smiled.
“Can Sarah do this?” said Olivia.
“Don’t do that,” said Jay.
“Do what?” asked Olivia.
“Compare yourself with her. I love you both for different reasons,” said Jay.
“Sorry, yeah, I know. Can’t blame a girl for being competitive, though, right?” said Olivia.
“Of course. Just don’t pick a fight, though. She’s 4 inches taller and a black belt in martial arts,” joked Jay.
“Don’t worry, physical combat doesn’t interest me,” said Olivia.
Olivia walked out with Jay and locked the lab. They went to the 5th floor parking lot. They had parked their cars near each other.
“New car?” asked Olivia.
“No, it’s Sarah’s. We exchanged, just for today,” said Jay.
“How cute!” murmured Olivia as she sat in her convertible. She looked at him in the rear view mirror. Few seconds later, she backed her car into Jay’s, damaging the tail lights.
“Oops, sorry,” she said, before putting on her sunglasses and driving off.
“You just had to come to New York and work at Verati, didn’t you, Jay,” uttered Jay looking up at the ceiling. “Good luck explaining the massive damage, to Sarah.”
◆◆◆
Eric, Joey and Emma drove to Morrow Town after saying their goodbyes to Kate and Vik at West Gate. Eric drove alone while Joey accompanied Emma in her car on Eric’s insistence. They arrived there, in a space of a minute from each other, only to find a town fighting a battle. Streets were deserted, roads were empty while the square was desolate for the first time since the beginning of time. Eric drove to the police station to find out the cause.
He ran into Elina who was getting out of the precinct. She had resigned to the fact that her husband died as a collateral damage in a fight way beyond his control. Eric consoled her and apologized for not being able to provide her the closure she deserved. She left and Eric went up the staircase.
Officers Adam, Trent and Mortan were sitting, sipping sodas and smoking cigarettes. When Eric came in, they looked at him and threw away the stuff. Emma and Joey walked behind him.
“What’s going on?” asked Eric.
“Welcome back, Sheriff. It’s good to see you,” said Mortan.
“What the hell happened here?” asked Eric.
“We were ambushed, sir,” said Adam.
“It was more of an invasion,” said Trent.
“Invasion?” asked Eric.
“Four days ago, these people showed up with their heavy artillery, their choppers and what not, and basically terrorized the entire town,” said Mortan.
“What people?” asked Emma.
“No idea. They ransacked the entire station, Anthony’s apartment, our apartments, even shops. Spent most of the time at Nucleus. Killed 10 civilians too who retaliated,” said Trent.
“And what did you do?” asked Joey.
“We tried to stop them. Trent took a bullet in the leg, Adam took couple of them in his shoulder. Three other uniforms got injured as well. I barely made it out alive when they dropped a grenade in the building we were hiding in. They even raided our weapons stash,” said Mortan.
“Why didn’t you contact us?” asked Eric.
“They jammed the freaking signal. Nothing worked,” said Mortan.
“Did they find what they were looking for?” asked Eric.
“Don’t think so. They said they’ll be back soon. They came around this hour last time,” said Mortan.
“Signal’s still jammed. There’s no network,” said Emma, looking at her phone.
“How many men?” asked Joey.
“20-30,” said Adam.
“How could you let it stand?” yelled Eric.
“Like he said, Sheriff. There were 30 of them, only six of us. Without any weapons. It was a suicide mission,” said Mortan.
“You listen to me! All three of you will now be on the frontlines when they come. Or I’ll shoot you cowards myself,” said Eric.
“Yes, sir,” said Mortan and Trent. Adam nodded.
Eric asked Joey to grab the weapons from the car, whatever they had. Joey returned with couple of ARs, few pistols and limited ammunition.
“That’s it?” asked Emma.
“Yeah. We didn’t stock up for a battle. Who knew about this!” said Joey.
“How do we save nearly 25,000 people from armed mercenaries with ammo that wouldn’t last an hour?” said Emma.
“Beats me,” said Joey.
They went to Eric with the ammunition, and he divided it up among everyone.
“Get your jackets,” said Eric.
They put on the armor and set up a post near the entrance to Morrow Town. The officers with their ARs manned the road, while Eric, Joey and Emma took their positions nearby. They waited for 4 hours but there wasn’t any sign of them. Five ex-officers were also asked to join, all of whom agreed.
Joey walked over to Eric and Emma joined him.
“Don’t think they’re coming here. Maybe they found what they were looking for,” said Joey.
“But why here? Who could they be?” asked Emma.
“Could they be the people who’ve been behind the kidnappings?” asked Joey.
“But no kids were kidnapped. Instead, the officers say they were searching for something,” said Eric.
“Searching for what?” asked Emma.
“They spent most of the time at Nucleus. Maybe something that Anthony Arnold had,” said Joey.
“That’s possible. But we still don’t know what that is,” said Eric.
“Could Vik know about it?” asked Emma.
“Yes, but we don’t have any way to contact him or Kate,” said Joey.
“But we know they’re at New Bay. We could be there in half a day,” said Emma.
“That’s too risky. What if they show up again? And Vik might not even know what it is,” said Eric.
“
Didn’t he transfer all the relevant stuff to his lab when that body was stolen?” asked Joey.
“Yeah, so maybe, what they’re looking for, is in the lab,” said Emma.
“They searched the station, though,” said Eric.
“For weapons. Not for that,” said Emma.
“Yeah, if we find what they are looking for, we are holding all the cards,” said Eric.
“I can’t wait to bend those suckers to my will,” said Joey.
Eric and Emma looked at Joey.
“You know what I mean,” said Joey.
“Let’s go,” said Eric and walked away.
Emma teased Joey and started walking. Joey put his leg out causing Emma to fall. He ran as he laughed, while Emma followed with fury.
They went to the station, and entered Vik’s lab. The place was trashed, and destroyed to a large extent. They started searching the drawers, the stuff on the floor and under the table for anything outlandish. Joey found some technology magazines printed nearly four years ago, some old mobile devices and some blank diaries. Eric and Emma didn’t find anything that wasn’t supposed to be there, just chemicals, broken laptops and shattered utensils. After an hour of searching, Emma found a wooden closet door barely couple of feet high and wide, below the table next to a wall, in the tech room. She remembered her conversation with Vik about his closet. Smiling, she opened the door but found two empty shelves a feet deep. She removed the table, got down on her knees and patted the shelves to see if anything was stuck underneath them. One of the shelves was out of place at one of the ends, so she jammed it to its location. The back panel of the closet came loose. Eric and Joey came up to her.
“Find anything?” asked Joey, when he got down.
“Don’t know,” said Emma.
She used her hand to hold the panel but it dropped backwards. Seeing a possible crawl space, she removed the two shelves. Joey volunteered to enter the crawl space but Emma went first, followed by Joey and Eric. The crawl space had a downward inclination going more than 10 feet into the ground. After reaching the bottom vent, Emma asked Joey and Eric to back up and she kicked it repeatedly, till it broke. They got out of the space and entered a dark room. Eric searched for the lights with his torch but couldn’t find one. The room had nothing but a small glass panel on the opposite wall, which looked like a palm scanner. Eric and Joey placed their left and right hands one after the other. They felt a pin prick on the fingers.