by Aman Gupta
“We will bring you back,” said Eric.
“Yeah. So that I can kill you myself,” said Emma.
“Get in line,” said Vik.
Everyone smiled.
“So where are we going?” asked Joey.
“Just up the road. Take a left towards Atlantis,” said Vik.
“Already stopped by to pick up some weapons,” said Eric.
“Weapons won’t win this,” said Vik.
“Cool. Can I ride with you? Sheriff’s car is too small for four people,” said Joey.
“I actually wanted to ride with Kate, but sure,” said Vik.
“Not funny, man. Not funny at all,” said Joey. They laughed.
They drove to Atlantis. By the time they reached, the sun had already set, so they decided to make a small camp couple of miles before, deep in the forest.
Vik went to the top of the plateau he had been before. Emma followed him there.
He looked at the city, whose lights lit the entire sky. It didn’t look like anyone was sleeping there, Vik thought. Emma’s eyes went wherever’s Vik’s did. Maybe I went too low talking about his family, she thought.
Vik sat down and Emma sat down beside him. She laid her head on his right shoulder, but didn’t say a word.
“Please talk to me,” she said.
“You were right,” said Vik.
“About what?” she said, without moving.
“I couldn’t protect my family,” said Vik.
“I’m sorry I said that,” said Emma.
“It needed to be said,” said Vik.
“Doesn’t mean it needed to be heard,” said Emma.
She continued, “Next time you want to go on a solo trip, don’t burn the bridge.”
“Only if you promise not to follow when I don’t want you to,” said Vik.
“I’ll always want to,” said Emma.
“Doesn’t mean you always should,” said Vik.
“What do we do now?” asked Emma.
“Let’s hope the plan works,” said Vik.
“What’s the plan?” asked Emma.
“When the time comes, you’ll know,” said Vik. “You should return to the camp and get some sleep.”
“You should too,” said Emma.
“I think I’ll stay here for a little more time. This looks like a good spot,” said Vik.
“Okay,” said Emma.
She got up. Vik looked at her from the corner of his eyes, and saw her looking at him.
He turned around and faked a smile. She smiled back, and left.
After a few minutes, he took out the thumb drive he had gotten in West Gate and buried it while descending down the plateau.
Olivia returned to Atlantis and placed a call to Anton. She told him about Jay having managed to get out of prison. Anton told her to relax and keep him updated. He asked about the progress for which Olivia asked for more time.
“What if he tries to interfere?” asked Olivia.
“Don’t worry about him. Heard from Anthony yet?” asked Anton.
“No. He was supposed to make contact after Morrow. But he still hasn’t. That has put us behind schedule,” said Olivia.
“Well, get back on it, then,” said Anton.
“I’ll make it happen,” said Olivia.
She disconnected the phone call.
Her assistant was with her in the room.
“I thought the work was already done,” said the assistant.
“Let’s see how she adapts. I’ll update Anton then,” said Olivia.
“Wouldn’t he be angry that we misled him?” asked the assistant.
“Anton is just a voice, Tiffany. I don’t trust him anymore than Anthony Arnold does,” said Olivia.
“What’s your plan?” asked Tiffany.
“Eliminate the middleman. I’m ready for the big league now,” smirked Olivia.
“What about Sam? Should we keep holding her?” asked Tiffany.
“She’s a bait. I’m hoping to catch a shark with it,” said Olivia.
Olivia got up and looked out the glass windows behind her.
She murmured, “I know you’re out there, Jay. I’ve got your pet, come get her.”
“Should I step up the security?” asked Tiffany.
“No. Step it down, rather. I don’t want our new guests to face any inconvenience,” said Olivia.
“This guy, Jay. You think he’ll get you to the big league?” asked Tiffany.
“One day, a guy got lost and ended up at our gates. I asked Anton to get rid of him, and ten minutes later, his head was delivered to my office. Jay knows a lot more, yet Anton keeps saying that I don’t have to worry about it,” said Olivia.
“You think he’s protecting him?” asked Tiffany.
“I think this is all for him. A show staged to lure him out. I didn’t see it before, since I thought he was dead, but now I see it very clearly now. Whoever’s behind Anton is the puppet master controlling everything. If I get Jay, I control the puppet master,” smirked Olivia.
“When you met him, did you feel he knew?” asked Tiffany.
“He couldn’t see past the love in my eyes. I told him about Atlantis, so that he is compelled to come here, looking for me. Another meeting and he’ll be wrapped around my finger,” smiled Olivia.
“I’ll make the arrangements. Good night,” said Tiffany, and left.
Olivia took outside the window and smiled.
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The next morning, Emma went to the plateau and saw Vik sleeping under the cover of trees. He was holding on to his phone on his chest. She carefully removed the phone and unlocked it. She had seen his password on their date. The screen showed a picture of Sarah, Jay and Katie having fun on a beach.
She wanted to intrude more but saw him moving. She locked the phone and put it next to him on the ground, before he opened his eyes.
“How long have you been standing there?” asked Vik.
“Came just now,” said Emma.
He searched for his phone and saw it beside him. He took out the binoculars from his bag and looked at Atlantis.
“That’s strange,” said Vik.
“What?” asked Emma.
“Look at the streets,” said Vik, handling over the binoculars to her.
She looked around through the binoculars for a minute.
“Looks like they’re preparing for some event or something,” said Emma. “Like a festival or a party.”
“That’s our in,” said Vik.
“How?” asked Emma.
“They’ll be forced to reduce the security at the gates to manage the crowd inside,” said Vik.
“Shh..Listen to that,” said Emma.
The sounds became louder. It sounded like engine and screeching tires.
“Trucks?” said Emma.
“Maybe for the party,” said Vik.
“Let’s go,” said Emma.
They returned to Eric, Kate and Joey. Vik explained their plan of hiding in the trucks instead of hijacking them. Eric deemed it risky but they went along with it.
To maximize their chances, Vik proposed they split into two groups. Vik and Joey teamed together, while Emma, Kate and Eric went first. Vik asked them to ditch their phones at the camp.
“They don’t work here, but might in there. However, the network will pick up a foreign device. Pretty sure they’ll be monitoring the communication traffic. Same thing for these trackers,” said Vik.
“How will we contact each other?” asked Emma.
“I don’t know where your truck will drop you. So chances are we won’t see each other till we make it out. Use the trucks to get out, okay?” said Vik.
“What if we can’t get out?” asked Emma.
“If you can’t, hide in a building. Any place without cameras nearby. I saw a small circular park next to the skyscraper. If anyone of you haven’t been able to get out, write your name in the park before 10PM tomorrow,” said Vik.
He continued, “Use clock hands to
mark your position. So if, Emma, you are 1 mile north east from the park, write Em/1/2. I’ll visit the park whenever I can, after 10 PM tomorrow. If I don’t see a message, that means you made it out. We’ll meet here at the camp.” They all nodded.
“What if we are caught?” asked Kate.
“Use names like Jericho and Anton to dodge security guards. If that doesn’t work, use Olivia. Do anything that doesn’t get you killed. We’ll get you back,” said Vik.
“Olivia?” asked Emma.
“Long story,” said Vik.
“Where do we search?” asked Joey.
“60% of the city looks built, while the rest is under construction. Neither the kids mentioned construction noises nor would they construct a lab around 2-3 block radius near the construction zones. Look for buildings that are 100 feet high. A girl we met in New Bay was kept there. The building was near Aspen trees. Unfortunately, most of the forest cover around Atlantis has Aspen trees, so that doesn’t help narrow it down. So, they are only so many spots where they can be. But remember, don’t get caught. If anything looks wrong, get out of there,” said Vik.
“What if we find the location of the girl?” asked Kate.
“We have to somehow mark it,” said Eric.
“But how?” asked Emma. “They’ll see if we put a big X mark on it.”
“Once you have identified the building, don’t be a hero. Take note of the surroundings and get out of there. This is a reconnaissance mission, not a rescue one,” said Vik.
“What good would that do? Maybe we won’t get another chance,” said Eric.
“We cannot escape with the girl without knowing the blind spots. I’m going into that skyscraper. Hopefully, I can get access to their surveillance system and know where the cameras are. Then we can plan an escape route,” said Vik.
“What about Sam?” asked Eric.
“Let’s hope she’s in the same building as the girl,” said Vik.
Vik and Joey acted as spotters for Eric’s group, a mile before Eric’s location.
“Is it just me or Vik is more concerned about discovering Atlantis rather than rescuing the girl?” asked Emma.
“He’s right, though. We cannot escape with a girl without help. And we cannot do it alone,” said Eric.
“But why leave?” asked Emma. “We could stay inside the city.”
“I don’t think you understand,” said Kate.
“Understand what?” asked Emma.
“He’s planning to bring down Atlantis. Otherwise, the cycle won’t stop. They’ll keep kidnapping the girls and return them after their little experiments. Whatever Anthony Arnold was planning or however Anton is involved, it all leads to Atlantis. He said it himself. He’ll burn the whole house down,” explained Kate.
“I know that. But I don’t want innocents to die while Vik goes head to head with whoever’s in charge,” said Emma.
“That’s why we are here,” said Kate.
“Also that’s why he wants to find the girl and Sam. Once they are safely outside those walls, we can focus on the war that we’ll face taking down Atlantis,” said Eric.
“What about the people in there?” asked Emma.
“We’ll cross that bridge once we get to it,” said Eric.
Joey found an isolated box truck with no oncoming traffic for another mile. Joey waved his hands to Vik. Vik was in line of sight of Eric, to whom Vik signaled when the truck was near. A heavy tree log was placed on the road for distraction. The truck driver’s partner got down to push it out of the way, but being extremely heavy, he called upon the driver for his assistance. Eric and the rest used this thirty second window, created out of necessity, to its full potential and hid in the truck which was carrying food boxes and materials.
Vik and Joey did the same for themselves, except aiming for a lighter log and a single person occupied truck. It was challenging to match the timing as it only took the truck few seconds from where Joey was able to get a good look at it, to where Vik ambushed the truck driver. Their truck was carrying clothes.
At the gate, a guard asked the food truck driver to open the cargo area. Eric, Emma and Kate hid behind the stack of boxes. They rearranged the boxes so the guard wasn’t able to get into the truck. The guard jumped onto the truck and flashed his torch. The stack of boxes wasn’t much high, but it covered the entire truck leaving small cornices, where they hid separately.
The guard grabbed a box and took it with him. He joked about being hungry. To keep the queue moving, they quickly locked the cargo area and allowed the truck to enter Atlantis. Eric and Kate looked at Atlantis through the small slit openings in the truck while they were being taken to its South side. The truck stopped near an open storage lot where 12 trucks were already parked. The driver and his partner started unloading the food boxes. After four turns, their movements synchronized and both of them took boxes simultaneously. Eric, Kate and Emma exited the truck when they went away. Initially they hurtled towards the exit, but when they saw people looking at them with suspicion, they started walking normally and exited the lot. They overheard someone talking about the ‘Annual Atlantis Festival’ that was being held for two days.
Vik and Joey stood like mannequins when their turn came. They stood facing away from the cargo area door, deep into the truck, looking at the side walls. The guards couldn’t get a decent look because Vik and Joey had removed the lights. The humanized mannequins already in the truck helped with the deception. Their attempt was successful. The truck stopped near the West Side, inside a shopping complex, where they managed to escape in the crowd, by taking the stairs to the ground level.
CHAPTER 13: HOMECOMING
To celebrate their 6 months anniversary, Jay, Sarah and Katie went for a weekend getaway. Sarah wanted to be away from DC for a while. Jay wanted to be away from office. Katie wanted to have fun. Already been to New Frontier last month at their farmhouse in West Gate, they chose to tour California. Jay had never been there. Sarah took it upon herself to show Jay around as they drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles, before returning on seeing panic on the streets due to their fire, water and climate crisis.
They made lots of memories on that trip. No pictures, no phones. Just the three of them enjoying life. Jay tried new cuisines created in the past decade, while Sarah and Katie laughed seeing him struggle.
“Why do we have to go back?” asked Sarah, as they stared at the stars, lying on a mat, during their trek to Lassen National Forest. “We could just live here, like this.”
“Wish it were that easy,” said Jay, holding her hand.
Katie was asleep in the blue tent.
“Last week, I was racking my brain, thinking about what changed in our lives. Your job which brought us together, is slowly driving us apart,” said Sarah.
Jay turned to his left, and said, “Nothing can drive us apart. We have stood by each other through thick and thin, and we’ll continue to do so.”
“You believe that?” asked Sarah.
“I believe you,” said Jay.
“If you have to choose right now, me or your life at Verati, what would you choose?” asked Sarah.
“You,” said Jay. “How about you?”
“How about me what?” asked Sarah.
“If you have to choose between me and your work at your foundation, what would you choose?” asked Jay.
“The foundation, of course,” smiled Sarah.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t choose me either,” said Jay, as he laid back on the mat.
They both laughed.
“Funny how stars look the same even though the world is almost unrecognizable,” said Sarah.
“Yeah, humans do that wherever they go,” said Jay. “It’s almost like the stars are waiting for something.”
“Yeah. I think they are waiting for things to go the way they used to be,” said Sarah.
“I think they’re waiting for the right time to send a meteor and start over. Or maybe Aliens to join us,” said Jay.
Sarah l
aughed. “Which one do you think will happen first?”
“Smart money on Aliens,” said Jay. “I think they were here all this time and recently went back, saying no thanks.”
“Haha, who said that?” said Sarah.
“Your dad did, few days ago,” said Jay.
“You see him every day. Do you think he’s changed?” asked Sarah.
“Don’t think the world can afford him to. The world needs Victor Daulton, to maintain the balance,” said Jay.
“Someone’s a fan,” joked Sarah.
“Don’t get me wrong. The guy still freaks me out,” said Jay.
“It’s the stare, isn’t it?” said Sarah.
“Haha, totally,” said Jay. They laughed for a minute endlessly.
“Wish he were a better dad, though,” said Sarah.
“He loves you. That’s the important thing,” said Jay.
“He said that?” asked Sarah.
“Didn’t have to. There are like 3 pictures in his office. One is yours. Second is Katie’s,” said Jay.
“Who’s the third?” asked Sarah. “Hope, it’s not yours.”
“I think he knows about our marriage. He never told me, but I think he does,” said Jay.
“How can you tell?” asked Sarah.
“Love is his weakness. Whenever he’s feeling it, his face betrays him. Don’t know but I feel he’s somehow protecting you by protecting us,” said Jay.
“Does that mean he loves you?” asked Sarah.
“Yes. Don’t know who though. Jay, the employee or Jay, the son-in-law,” said Jay.
“Well, you know who I love,” said Sarah.
“Who? Jay the husband or Jay the boyfriend?” said Jay.
“I think both of them took different paths but someday they’ll meet. I hope to be there when they do,” said Sarah.
“Me too,” said Jay.
They kissed each other passionately.
They spent the next day camping in the forest. Sarah taught Katie how to climb trees, while Jay learnt to skip stones on water and how to nearly drown yourself in a lake. They ate by the lake, all alone in the entire forest. They returned to DC early morning the next day, unaware that it was their last trip together, for one or the other would always be missing in the trips that followed.
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