by B.V. Bayly
Chapter Seventeen
Adin tugged at his tie as he shut the door to the apartment behind him. His sigh told Gabriel that it had been a long day. Adin kicked off his shoes and commanded, “Image up.” The RPTV instantly generated a 3D image of the last channel it had shown. “News.”
Gabriel didn’t move from his perch at the kitchen island. Adin still hadn’t taken notice of him.
A man in a suit continued the news. “… the attack on a TERA facility in the Republic of China. That and other top stories from around globe in just a few minutes.”
“Hi!” Gabriel shouted as Adin ambled into the kitchen.
“Son of a–!” Adin nearly toppled over.
“Seriously?” Gabriel laughed. “I’ve been sitting here the whole time.”
Adin had his hand on his chest. “It’s been a long time since anyone else has been here.”
Gabriel frowned. “You telling me you haven’t had any evening visitors? Come on, you’re not that much of a geek.”
Adin rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
“Wow, it really has been a long time for you.” Gabriel was slightly shocked. “Whatever happened to the girl you were crazy for in college?”
“Annabelle?” Adin had a look of fondness as he talked about her. “Don’t know.” He paused. “I never really got an explanation.”
“So, you just let her go?”
“I … ah … I didn’t. She left me.” Adin shrugged. “We we’re going to have a baby.” Adin looked sad.
“What?” Gabriel’s mouth hung open. He’d never heard about this. “Did you ever tell Mom?”
“God, no. She would have gone silly.” Adin laughed. “The baby was just a plan, something we hoped for when we were both done school. You know – get married and start a life.” He shook his head. “But one day, she just told me she didn’t love me anymore – she barely even looked at me and then poof she was gone forever. She just vanished.”
“That’s sad.” Gabriel didn’t know about any of this.
Adin opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. “That’s life. We know better than anyone it isn’t always fair.”
Gabriel nodded. Growing up without a father had given him a keen sense of how unfair life could be.
“Anyhow,” Adin pointed at the RPTV, “I want to see this.” The news program resumed.
A slender brunette woman appeared on the RPTV against the backdrop of a large map of China.
“Late last night a small group of advanced soldiers attacked two of TERA's research facilities, as well as a government resource storage facility in the Ming district of China.” A tri-image appeared on the screen showing flames erupting from each of the facilities.
“TERA spokesperson Andy Clarkson assured the public that nothing of value was taken, nor were any personnel hurt during the attack. The Republic of China did not release a statement about the sudden attack. The attacks are rumored to be connected to ‘The Horsemen’s – an elite organized crime syndicate with activities all around the globe …”
“Sheep! They believe anything we say.” Adin slid on the bracelet controls and twisted an imaginary dial in front of him to the left until her voice trailed away.
“I saw that earlier today. What’s the deal?” Gabriel pointed at the 3D image.
“The deal is that TERA isn’t telling the whole story.” Adin laughed. “I think they’re embarrassed. You know the two research facilities in China that they showed pictures of?”
Gabriel eyed Adin’s water and decided he needed one. He strolled over to the fridge as Adin continued.
“We only have one research facility in China. The second one they are calling a mobile research convoy, but it isn’t.”
“What was it then?”
“It was a security task force TERA hired to transport ore to the facility. It was brought in secretly two days earlier, through the New Hong Kong ports. They were doing some testing with it up in the mountains.” Adin smiled at his brother as Gabriel’s eyes widened.
Gabriel climbed back onto his stool at the island, not taking his eyes off of Adin. “How do you know all this? Sounds top secret.”
“Top secret or not – the executives at work tend to babble. I swear TERA is one big rumor mill. Anyhow, losing the task force wasn’t the big deal. It was what they were carrying that has the company going crazy.” He paused and took a swallow of water.
“Ore?”
Adin nodded. “Not just any ore – black ore, and a pretty substantial amount.”
Gabriel frowned. “What were they testing with it?”
“The rumor is TERA’s been trying to weaponize the stuff for years, but it's super unstable. The black ore stores vast amounts of energy, tightly packed inside tight molecular bonds, but they're weak – any little bump and they release all their energy. As far as I know none of the R&D has been able to create any kind of device that can release the energy in a controlled environment. The last document I saw on it was for bullet-tipped rounds – not sure if they got anywhere with it. Still, if they could build such a device, it would have enough bang to put any nuclear weapon to shame.”
“Why would you even want to make something like that?” Gabriel rose from his seat.
“Why did they make the A-bomb way back when? It’s just science exploring all the possibilities. I wouldn’t worry about it. From what I’ve heard, the bullet-tipped rounds were exploding in the weapons. I doubt it’s feasible.” Adin searched for a snack, each cupboard rolling down the wall for him to inspect. When he didn’t find anything he waved his hand, as if to shoo them away. The cupboards silently rose back up into place. “No one steals from TERA, anyways. No doubt a TERA security force has been sent out to get it all back.”
Gabriel hadn't heard about TERA’s elite security force. “They're that good?”
Adin scoffed. “The best money can buy.”
“I guess money isn’t much of a problem for TERA.”
“It’s all about the ore – it’s the new standard of the super wealthy. TERA has killed for ore before, that’s no secret. The ore has been fought over, stolen, and traded on black markets for a long time. When Dad was working for TERA, they weren’t prepared for his discovery. No one even knew exactly what the ore was, just that it was something brand new we’d never found before. Mistakenly, TERA sold some to fund the excavation. It wasn’t until Dr. Cymru took control of the company that TERA became so strong.” Adin spotted some cookies on an upper shelf and snatched up the bag.
“Does TERA have all the ore now?” He eyed the cookies.
“Hardly.” Adin took two cookies out before Gabriel seized the package. “TERA held almost ninety percent of the world’s ore at one point. But some of it was traded for resources and power, some just disappeared. TERA has spent the last couple of years reclaiming ore stocks around the world through technology trading or simply by force.”
“So, who else has ore?” Gabriel stuffed his face with two cookies at once.
“Next to us, the Church of Humanity probably holds the most – around twenty five percent. They claim it’s their God-given right to govern the ore. Dr. Cymru finds the idea ridiculous and I agree. And about fifteen percent is just lost. Black market, private investors, who really knows? It’s no different from diamonds or any other valuable resource. And people with power will always want more.”
“Yeah, but diamonds don’t kill you. Well, not generally.” Gabriel tapped his chest.
“Speaking of that, I tried to find some information on the white ore today at work. It’s pretty much a dead end. Most reports say it’s inert.”
“Well, I can tell you that’s not true.” Gabriel headed towards his designated tall leather chair in the den.
“You figure out a place for us to hide out in?” Adin came into the sunken den and joined him in the other chair.
“I found a couple of places for you to look at”
“A couple?” Adin eyed him. “What have you been doing a
ll day?”
“Trying to figure out the Sphere thing.” Gabriel shrugged.
“Any luck?”
“Sure, if you want to meet some wackos and fakes – I doubt any of them are real.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “If you were an ore user – would you make a website about it?”
Adin laughed. “No, that would be suicide.”
“The only hint I have is the club, Persephone. It’s only open on the weekends and tomorrow’s Friday. You’re going to have to go.” Gabriel hoped Adin would agree.
Adin’s face dropped. “You want me to go to a club?”
“Well, I can’t go – I’m not 21 yet and I’m not putting this off till next year.” Gabriel shrugged. “So, you’re going to have to go.”
“Gabriel, I’m not the club type of person.” Adin crossed his arms.
“Adin,” Gabriel twisted in his chair to face him,. “You’re not going there to dance. Just talk to the bartender and then leave. That’s it.”
Adin sighed. “That’s all she said? Just talk to whoever is at the bar?”
“Pretty much. And tell him Celes sent you.”
“I’m not the ore user – you are. There’s got to be more to it than just asking.”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t see the problem.
“These people like to stay hidden. Hell, from what you said, they don’t have a problem killing people who look for them. I’m not about to just walk in and ask.” Adin shook his head.
“Well, then how are we going to find them?” He couldn’t believe Adin was refusing.
“You’re going to have to come with me.” Adin stared at him.
“Really?” Gabriel frowned at him. “You’re not much of a rule breaker.”
“This is research. It’s a club – a fat wallet will get us through the front door.” Adin crossed his arms. “And I’ve been breaking the rules all week. I’m a badass!”
Gabriel laughed.
“Seriously, if TERA knew I was smuggling out Cubes and looking up ore users, I’m pretty sure they would detain me.” Adin actually looked nervous.
“Alright! We’re going to a club.” Gabriel couldn’t help but smile. There weren't any clubs near the ranch.
Adin laughed at him. “This isn’t play time – it’s … like a field trip. We’ll check it out and then leave.”
“What?” Gabriel didn’t want to just leave. “If I get in, we’ll check it out a bit. Hang out.”
Adin rolled his eyes and sighed. “We’ll see.”
“Going to the club!” Gabriel shouted and jumped out of his chair. “Show me your moves?” He did his own dance move in front of Adin.
A grin flashed across Adin’s face. “You’re such a child.” He rolled his eyes and got up from his chair.
“What?” Gabriel followed after Adin, still dancing. “Come on!”
“Stop before you embarrass yourself.” Adin laughed.
Gabriel poked at him. “You're such an old man.” It was good to be there with Adin.
A chime rang out in the apartment. Adin immediately stopped laughing, and his expression was nervous. “Someone’s at the door.”
Gabriel froze. “I’ll hide in my room.”
Adin nodded. “Go quick.”
Gabriel twisted and jogged down the hall.
“Hey!” Adin snapped his fingers. “Keep your ear to the door.” He motioned.
Gabriel nodded and slipped behind the door in the small room.