by Phoenix Hays
“Come on. This way,” Victor directed the family to a black SUV parked off to their right. “Throw the bags behind the bench seat in the back. That’s where you can sit.”
Joe climbed in and slid between the two captain’s chairs in the middle row. Ayrin followed right behind and sat down next to him on the third-row bench seat.
“This one’s yours,” Victor said to Mary and pointed to the far captain’s chair.
Mary climbed in and seated herself in the middle row. Victor threw their bags into the near chair.
Joe watched the side door slide shut and saw the front passenger door open. Victor got in and Joe leaned forward.
“Uhm, dad? Who’s driving?” The boy asked.
“Oh, that,” he said with a smile. “Once I hit this activation button, the driving is taken care of for us.”
The family looked back at him with puzzled expressions. He reached forward and pushed a round button in the center of the dash. The engine turned over and idled, ready to go. The steering wheel began to turn and the vehicle started backing out of the parking space.
“Wow, it drives itself!?” Joe exclaimed.
“Just wait,” Victor said. “It gets better. Buckle up.”
The SUV got in line with other cars in a slow and coordinated procession headed for the exit. A facade wall that acted as the garage door opened, and the first vehicles began rolling out of the building. Each one made a hard left away from the front of the Space Vision building. They began to pick up speed as they reached the road. The Bayhams saw the highway coming up in front of them. At the front of the line the cars headed up the on ramp and accelerated. Once on the highway, the Bayhams’ SUV gunned the engine to catch up to the pack.
“Look at that!” Ayrin said.
“Whoa!” Joe said. “They’re flying?!”
One by one, the cars lifted up and away from the pavement. They slowly created a wedge formation with some cars filling the middle. After the cars all reached their assigned positions, the formation picked up speed and began racing away from downtown Memphis. After flying over the 240 interchange, they turned southward, and the journey to Space Vision’s Site B was underway.
CHAPTER 40
Tense silence filled the first 15 minutes of travel inside the SUV carrying Duke and Patrick. Duke scanned his data pad taking in all the information from the attack and the evacuation that followed. His eyes were locked onto the data pad with an unrelenting stare.
Patrick decided to end the silence.
“Duke, take a break,” he said. “You’ve been staring at that screen since we took off.”
Duke didn’t look up, but his eyebrows lowered.
“It looks like everyone who made it to the garage is with us headed to Site B,” Duke said. “We lost two men in the lobby, but thankfully every other person made it out. Adam did a great job organizing the evacuation.”
Duke leaned back from the pad, took a deep breath, and rubbed his eyes.
“Speaking of,” Patrick said. “Where is Adam?”
“Oh, he’s covering our retreat.” He tapped the data pad and turned it so that Patrick could see it. “It looks like the intent was to attack the building, confuse us, and then enter with weapons to kill as many of us as possible.”
Patrick’s jaw dropped as he watched the replay of the Fatalists entering the gaping hole in the front of the building.
“They must be getting desperate,” Duke said. “I’m sure Adam is enjoying himself causing them all kinds of problems. He’s trapped some in elevators, locked others into hallways, or unimportant sections of the building, and turning the fire suppression and other security systems on and off to be a nuisance.”
“I could see him enjoying that,” Patrick said with a slight smile. “I’m assuming he’ll be joining us, but does he have enough power to fly all the way to Texas?”
“He probably wouldn’t have a problem supplementing his battery with his solar power systems, but we have a special rig that he actually designed himself that gives him additional functionality and range.”
“Now that’s something I’d be interested to see,” Patrick said.
“It is impressive,” Duke said. “And you’ll probably see it when he joins us. I’m willing to bet that within the next 30 minutes or so, he’ll tire of being the cat playing with his mice, and he’ll head our way.”
“So what’s next for us?”
Duke set the data pad down, turned toward his friend and looked over at Patrick with the laser intensity he tended to get.
“My friend,” Duke answered. “We were already positioned to relocate to Site B. This attack has just pushed our time table up. It’s time to begin final preparations for the ATS project.”
Duke picked the pad back up and scrolled through the info he saw on it. Patrick sat back in his chair, crossed his arms and brought a hand up to his mouth as he watched the trees below zoom by. The remainder of the trip passed in silence.
***
“What is that?” Joe asked pointing out the passenger side window.
Ayrin, along with the rest of the family, turned to look. A shiny metal object was flying toward the formation of vehicles. Before anyone could answer, a familiar voice came in over the speakers inside the vehicle.
“That,” Adam said, “is yours truly in my flight rig.”
The drone was attached to a silver contraption that resembled a jet fighter.
“Cool!” Ayrin cheered.
“Neat!” Joe said.
“Very,” Adam agreed.
“What’s all that other stuff?” Joe asked.
“The other stuff is one of my accessory units,” Adam said. “This unit helps me for long distance travel and some other functionalities.”
“Functionalities?” Mary asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Adam said. “Because of the threat the Fatalists pose, I have been outfitted with some additional security measures to ensure your safety.”
A few different panels slid open on Adam’s sides to reveal some hidden compartments holding a bank of small rockets and a large caliber machine gun.
“That’s some serious weaponry, Adam,” Victor said.
“Yes, sir,” Adam said. “I tend to think it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.”
Victor chuckled. “I can understand the sentiment.”
“Excuse me, folks,” Adam said. “I’m needed elsewhere.”
Without any further explanation, Adam flew to the front of the formation and took a position just to the right of the lead vehicle.
“Do you think that is Duke’s car?” Mary asked.
“I don’t know,” Victor said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he would prefer to lead the evacuation.”
CHAPTER 41
Joe lifted his head off of the reclined SUV seat after being jostled. He looked out of the window to see the vehicles break their wedge formation and begin to stretch out into a line over a rural two-lane road. He watched Adam zoom ahead and fly over the fence running along the road and head toward a small building in the distance. Another jostle in the car came from the tires touching the road. Cars at the front of the line turned right and headed toward a guard house in front of a large gate. The gate swung open, and one by one, they drove inside the perimeter fence.
Joe looked at the guard house as the Bayhams’ SUV rolled past it.
“Why is there no guard here?”
“It’s probably for show. I imagine there is a lot of automation here.”
Joe turned back toward the front of the car, saw a small building ahead and looked at Mary with eyebrows furrowed. She shrugged and leaned forward.
“Victor,” she said. “That can’t be Site B. That building is barely bigger than our shed back home.”
“Whether it is or isn’t, that’s where we are headed,” Victor pointed to the leading cars. “Look.”
At the front of the line, the vehicles began to park along the path of the roundabout in front o
f the shack. There were more cars than the curved drive could hold, so the tail end of the line extended down the access road. Doors opened, and people poured out of the cars. Many ran to each other and hugged, thankful they made it to Site B safely.
The Bayhams, each carrying their bags, saw Patrick and walked up to him.
“How are we all supposed to fit in there?” Joe asked nodding to the shack.
“My dear boy,” Patrick said. “This place holds a great many secrets. Follow me.”
Patrick escorted them toward the small building.
“This is a shed in the middle of nowhere,” Ayrin said with a pessimistic frown.
As he reached the door of the shack, Patrick turned to the family.
“Welcome to Space Vision’s Site B,” Patrick said, opening the door.
Victor led the family in. The same pristine and apparently unused office that had once confused Patrick now had the same effect on the Bayhams. Patrick battled the smile that fought to spring forth as they blinked owlishly at him.
“Now I can truly appreciate the humor Duke saw in showing me this room for the first time,” Patrick said. “I won’t drag this out. This room is a red herring to anyone that would be sneaky enough to get this far onto the property.”
“I can see how people would see this and leave thinking it was an unimportant office,” Victor said.
“Exactly,” Patrick said and crossed the room. He opened the hidden door to the elevator and gasps came from the family behind him.
“Whoa,” Joe said.
“Nice trick,” Victor said.
“After you,” Patrick offered and stepped aside to let everyone board the elevator.
A short ride later, the other door opened and revealed a swarm of activity. The group stood in the elevator in stunned silence.
CHAPTER 42
Although the hallway was the same one that Patrick saw during his first trip to Site B, not even he was prepared for the commotion in front of them. Groups of people with data pads were crossing paths headed in both directions. Drones flew overhead, carrying items ranging from mechanical equipment to unmarked boxes.
“Come on in, folks! Come on in!” Duke’s familiar voice came from across the hallway. The CEO broke through the crowd and ushered them forward. “Come with me, and we’ll get you squared away.”
Dodging several staff members who never looked up from their data pads, they headed off to the right and moved through the doors at the end of the hall. The numerous conference rooms and work stations with unfinished walls were exactly as Patrick remembered. What was new was that almost every room and station was manned.
“This is amazing,” Victor said.
“These are the mission planning teams,” Duke said. “There’s lots of calculating that goes into a successful launch into space. The ATS project has so much more involved in it than a simple single rocket normally has and in order for our efforts to be a success, every detail has to be ironed out. Every contingency needs to be planned for.”
As the group walked on, they approached the doors at the end of the massive hall.
“Mr. Evensen!” A voice shouted from behind them.
Duke stopped and turned to see a young man jogging to catch up with them.
“I’m sorry for the delay, sir,” the man said, breathing heavily. He bent over placing one hand on his knee and raised the other hand that held a large manila envelope. “This is the packet you requested.”
“No need for apologies. This is perfect timing, thank you!” Duke took the envelope and turned back to the group. He pulled out two small ID cards and handed them to Victor and Mary.
“These ID cards will give you access to your living quarters and other amenities you will find beyond these doors,” Duke said to them. “If you’d like, let’s have you use them here to make sure they work correctly.”
Victor turned and looked at Mary.
“Go ahead,” he said.
She held her ID card up to the pad on the wall to the right of the doorway. A green light flashed and the audible click came from the door as it unlocked.
“Looks like it works,” she said as she reached for the door and opened it.
The group walked into the massive expanse of the gymnasium. They took in the numerous basketball hoops and exercise equipment on the other side of a glass wall to the right. Huge smiles grew on Joe and Ayrin’s faces.
“This is pretty cool,” Ayrin said.
“Dad, there is a basketball over there. Can I go play?” Joe asked.
Victor looked at Duke, who nodded approvingly with a smile.
“Just a couple of shots. I have a feeling there’s more for us to see,” Victor said.
Both kids ran over to the basketball sitting against the wall. Joe picked it up and dribbled it toward the free throw line. He turned and threw the ball up to the basket. It bounced on the rim once and then fell through, bouncing on the floor. Running up to the ball, Joe grabbed it and started dribbling again.
“Nice job!” Ayrin clapped, cheering him on.
“This way, please,” Duke said. “I’ll show you the entrance to the living quarters.”
Duke led Patrick, Victor, and Mary across the floor of the gym and up to the door on the opposite wall.
“Use your card on the door handle,” Patrick said. He shot a smirk at Duke.
The CEO nodded, understanding the comment.
Victor unlocked the door and opened it.
“Come on over!” Duke said in the direction of the kids. “We are going to see your new room!”
Joe and Ayrin jogged over and they all headed through the door.
“Wow,” Joe said, eyes wide.
“Holy,” Victor said.
Rectangles with rounded corners created a honeycomb pattern on the walls to either side of them. The expanse between the honeycomb walls in the cavernous room extended up, down, and away from the platform they were all standing on. Light glowed from many of the rectangles.
“Folks,” Duke said, “this is where I leave you. Your ID cards will work on the smart-vator off to your left and will take you to your new home. I hope you find it comfortable and accommodating. If you will excuse us, Patrick and I have work elsewhere.”
Running lights on the glass wall led the Bayhams to the smart-vator.
“What’s a smart-vator?” Joe asked.
Victor shrugged and waved his card in front of the sensor causing the door to open. The family stepped into the waiting car and the door closed behind them.
Ayrin felt the elevator start to descend but then it slowed and halted.
A green arrow pointing to the left blinked on the wall in front of them. The car began to move in that direction.
“Cool,” Joe said.
A series of arrows followed, warning them about each upcoming movement of the compartment.
The smart-vator came to a stop and the door opened revealing a large apartment in front of them.
“Greetings,” a drone with a robotic female voice said as it floated over to them from the far wall. “I am your home assistant. I can provide help with daily tasks, provide news from our communication network and even support Mr. Bayham’s security work here at Space Vision.”
“Victor, this is amazing,” Mary said.
“Please,” the drone said. “Make yourself at home and let me know if I may help you with anything.”
The family stepped forward into the large living room in front of them. A comfortable looking sectional sat facing a large TV mounted on the wall. Joe and Ayrin ran to the couch and flopped onto it. Mary walked to the kitchen beyond and began looking in the cabinets.
“Oh, Victor,” she said going from one section of the kitchen to another. “They’ve given us everything we need: plates, glasses, appliances, and food!”
“Yes, ma’am,” the drone said. “Please let me know if you require anything, and I will have it traced.”
“Traced?” Joe asked.
“Of course,” the drone sa
id. “Each apartment is outfitted with its own tracer. For example, do you like baseball?”
A panel in the wall near the kitchen started to glow. Flashes of red and green rippled through the white light. Almost as soon as it started, the light faded and the panel slid open. The drone flew over, reached out with a metal arm and removed a baseball. Steam rolled off of the ball as the home assistant tossed it to Joe.
“Wait!” Victor said, knocking the ball out of the air. “It’s still hot.”
“Nonsense,” the droid said. “Our traces immediately cool upon completion. Go ahead, pick it up.”
“She’s right,” Joe said, picking up the ball. “It’s fine. And it feels like a real baseball!”
“Tracers are capable of mimicking almost any material. They can even make objects with moving parts.”
Victor walked to the doorway to the left of the kitchen.
“Hey, check this out,” he said over his shoulder. “There’s a set of bunk beds in this room.”
Joe and Ayrin jumped up and ran past the man.
“I’m sleeping on the top bunk!” Joe yelled.
“This is too much,” Mary said as she joined Victor at the door.
“Where’s your room?” Joe asked.
Victor and Mary turned and headed to the doorway on the other side of the kitchen. Joe and Ayrin followed them but stopped at the entrance as the two adults walked inside. An over-sized bed was centered on the far wall and comfortable-looking pillows and blanket rested neatly on it. Small nightstands with a lamp were on both sides of the bed, and a couple of dressers had been placed on the left side of the room. The wall on the right side of the room held a large dark panel. Victor walked over to it. He noticed a glowing circle in the bottom right corner and touched it. To everyone’s surprise, the panel changed to allow diffused light through and created a faint glow.