The Phoenix Fallacy_Book II_Norm

by Jon Sourbeer,

  They crept down the hall, and paused when they heard crashing from inside one of the rooms.

  “Idiot!”

  “What do you want me to do?” another voice asked.

  Janus poked his head around the corner carefully. Two Inferni stood in the center of a small library, which now appeared to have been ransacked.

  “Overlord Alastor gave us orders not to destroy anything!” the first said in a loud whisper.

  “Yeah, but he also told us to find out what is going on here,” the second Infernus responded. “Have you found anything?”

  “Well…”

  “So shut up! I’m more concerned about Overlord Alastor will do to us if we don’t find anything than what Middleton will do after we trash her stuff.”

  “Well, we still don’t want to be discovered while we search!” The pair went back to searching the library and Janus motioned for the team to move silently by.

  “Do you think they’ll find anything?” Lyn asked.

  Janus shook his head, “No. Middleton is too smart for that.” He glanced back at the library from which the sounds of the two Inferni could still be heard, “But we better keep an eye down here to make sure they don’t stumble upon us. Start checking rooms.”

  “Do we have any idea at this point what to look for?” Marcus asked as he opened a door to a bath with a massive tub and a fireplace in the corner.

  “No. But I think we can ignore most of these rooms. If she was in such a rush, these rooms would have been added later. She needed this base functional in a hurry. Whatever is valuable here has likely been here since the beginning, and I doubt it would have been moved,” Janus said.

  Most of the rooms in the wing were considerably newer, they spent little time examining them, usually a quick cursory glance would tell whether the room was a natural extension of the cave system, or a newly hollowed addition.

  “Janus, look at this!” Celes breathed. She was standing at the end of the long hall, where it suddenly forked into two. But she wasn’t looking into a room, or down the hall – she was staring at the wall. She pointed to a large painting.

  It was a painting of a battle with a pair of men – young men – featured prominently in the front. They were celebrating a great victory, with many S.T.s celebrating all around them. Both wore a gold and red etched suit of Overlord armor, with high necks and a glittering gold Phoenix on either side. But they could have been wearing rags for all Janus’ cared, for it was their faces that caught his attention – he recognized both of them.

  The serious-looking blond-haired youth on the right was a very young Norm. The years had not been kind to the old man in the slums, but it was unmistakably him. And the smiling youth on the left…

  “Janus,” Celes whispered, “It’s you.”

  Chapter 14: Where Secrets Hide

  Janus gaped at the picture from behind his visor. He looked down at the title – “Victory at Lightemann’s”.

  “Or at least, a very good likeness,” Lyn interjected. “Look at the eyes, they’re slightly darker, the hair color is a dark brown, and the face is a little thinner.”

  Janus noted more of the differences, but they were slight. The resemblance was unmistakable.

  Suddenly, a tall man with a pointed nose and wearing an apron popped out of the door to the left. It was Albert, Overlord Middleton’s personal butler and servant, and Clara’s supervisor at the estate.

  “What are you doing here?” Albert demanded. Ramirez stepped forward, pointing at the boxes, grunting “Food.”

  “Get out of here, fool! Now is not the time for your normal duties! Miss Middleton is entertaining Overlord Alastor. She is not to be disturbed!”

  “Albert!” A voice called loudly from inside the room. Albert looked alarmed, “Yes, Mistress? I am coming…” The butler swept away, muttering under his breath, “Thickheaded, moronic…”

  “Go on. Leave,” he waved them away as he ducked back into room and disappeared.

  He wanted to study the painting in more detail, but now was not the time. Glancing to his left, Janus could now see that the room Albert had emerged from was a large kitchen.

  A light suddenly went on in Janus’ head, “The kitchen!”

  “What about it, Janus?” Lyn asked.

  “I know where Middleton has hidden whatever it is we are looking for.”

  Marcus laughed, “That’s just cruel, Janus.”

  Janus shook his head, “No. Whatever is hidden here would be hidden deep in the base, to protect it, and to be close to Middleton. This base is all about deception, and Middleton always struck me as someone who liked to have contingencies.”

  Marcus started nodding his head, understanding what Janus was getting at, “And maybe, we have some of our assumptions all wrong: What if Middleton is fat in part because whatever we are looking for is hidden in the kitchen? What better excuse?”

  “Worth checking,” Ramirez grunted.

  Albert appeared to be the only one in the kitchen preparing the food. Janus guessed that neither Middleton nor Albert trusted anyone else to do it. This also meant he would frequently need to leave to serve the next course or to attend to Middleton. When Albert left with a full platter of roast beef, Janus quickly urged the team into the kitchen. “Come on, Albert will be coming back shortly. We need to move.” Janus said. “Lyn, guard duty, and see if you can’t drop an ear on Middleton and Alastor’s conversation.

  They dropped their crates in the kitchen, in a corner of the large space. Lyn rushed over to the door, peering through the server’s window that had been installed in it. “Clear, temporarily. Albert’s serving the main course, and it looks like he’s just standing and carving it for them.”

  Janus nodded, “Good. Spread out. Marcus and I will take the outside edge. Celes and Ramirez, through the middle.”

  The kitchen was large, clearly designed to hold every amenity offered to an Overlord and necessary for serving an elite party. An island stove simmered a large steel pot of soup, while adjacent to it, a sugary confection sizzled and boiled, concentrating it and filling the air with a delicious aroma.

  “Don’t forget to check the vents over the stove and over here leading to the next room,” Lyn noted from her vantage point. Marcus and Ramirez nodded. Marcus paused for a moment, and with some flexibility fished a small, flat wedge from inside his Adept suit, and used it to quickly and carefully unscrew the vent cover. Marcus took a quick look and shook his head at Lyn.

  Janus passed by a huge oven which was baking a set of small, round cakes. Celes’ glanced over at them as she searched a long island of cabinets with a huge cutting board and grill, “Mmmmmm, Cornucopia Cakes.”

  Janus looked at her curiously. She smiled, “They’re a semi-sweet cake filled with fruit or cream cheese, and then drizzled with the brown sugar and butter concoction boiling on the stove.” Everyone paused briefly to glance at her. Lyn grabbed her stomach. Celes smirked, “They’re delicious. My father used to sneak a few back to my room for me when I was little.”

  “Not to change the subject,” Marcus said as his stomach growled, “but we still have no idea what we’re looking for.” He opened a huge walk-in pantry and glanced around, quickly moving a few sacks of potatoes before moving on.

  “Albert’s wrapping it up out there. We need to move,” Lyn said urgently.

  Celes glanced at the oven. A timer overhead had 10 minutes left. “He must be checking on dessert!”

  “Come on, everyone out!” Janus whispered urgently.

  Celes rushed over to the exit from the kitchen, “Inferni!”

  “They must be Alastor’s!” Marcus said.

  “Any day, guys!” Lyn said, ducking down.

  “Here,” Ramirez grunted, pointing to a huge refrigerator, wide and long enough for several S.T.s.

  Janus was the last in, shutting the door to just a crack as the kitchen door opened and Albert strode in. As soon as the kitchen door closed, Albert muttered to himself, ‘the poorest manners I h
ave ever seen. Dinner is dinner; it should not be disturbed by unpleasant conversation.” He opened the oven, examining his creation closely. After nodding appreciatively, he turned to leave, but halted unexpectedly. He walked over to the crates the team had dropped in the corner, shaking his head in anger as he stood over them, “S.T.s.” But he did not examine the crates any further and instead walked straight out into the dining room.

  The team breathed an audible sigh of relief.

  “It’d be nice to know what Alastor and Middleton are saying,” Marcus said.

  Janus glanced back along the now crowded fridge, “Lyn, do you think you can get close enough to listen in? Our radios might work over such a short range, even in this cave, and allow us all to listen in while we search.”

  Ramirez stepped forward; Janus smiled, “You can watch her back, Ramirez.”

  Marcus jumped in, “You know, if you got out of that armor, Lyn, you might be able to slide into that vent. It wouldn’t take more than a moment to get the grate back off. I’m pretty sure it led straight into the next room.”

  Lyn took a quick glance around the door, sizing up the vent. “I think you’re right,” she nodded appreciatively to Marcus. “Ramirez, get me out of this thing!” She lifted up her arms, and Ramirez helped her quickly pull off the huge suit.

  “Meanwhile, we still need to figure out where—” Marcus said.

  “Yes,” Janus cut him off, glancing out to see where they had not yet searched.

  “Janus,” Celes said.

  “One second, Celes,” he knew whatever Middleton was hiding had to be here. But where…?

  “Janus…”

  “Give me a moment. I’m trying to—”

  “Janus!” Celes, Marcus, Lyn, and Ramirez whispered.

  “What?” Janus said irritably, turning around.

  Celes was pointing at a hastily constructed shelf full of fruits and veggies. Behind it, just peeking over the top, was the outline of a heavy door.

  Janus gaped, “Oh.” He recovered quickly, “Marcus, help me move this shelf.” Marcus and Celes smiled at each other.

  Moving the shelf was a breeze in the strength-enhanced S.T. suits, and revealed a large, rounded hatch recessed deep in the back of the fridge. No other security existed for the door. Janus could only presume that it was never supposed to be found.

  They pulled. With the sound of a pressurized seal releasing, the door opened slowly, cool air pouring out into the space behind it. Janus stepped into the darkness beyond, his breath catching. Celes cautiously stepped out with Janus, “Janus, I think we’ve seen this before.”

  “Yes, we have,” Janus breathed, as soft blue lights on the floor illuminated the room. Before them lay a long hall, ending in a door with a very familiar sigil: A fiery phoenix.

  Janus quickly stepped back inside the refrigerator. Lyn was out of her armor. “Ramirez, help Lyn get a quick boost into that vent, and then move her armor into that hall. The three of us,” he pointed to Celes, Marcus, and himself, “Are going to move forward.” Make sure we’re all on the low frequency 323.84, we want to be able to penetrate the walls as much as possible.

  Ramirez poked his head out of the refrigerator. Clear. He crossed to the door in a moment, and checked for Albert. Clear. Silently pulling the vent cover from the wall, he turned and gave Lyn a quick boost all in one smooth motion. Lyn slid silently into the vent, arms extended forward, barely clearing the edges. Ramirez silently replaced the vent and immediately returned to the fridge followed by Marcus, Celes, and Janus, carrying the two crates full of weapons.

  Lyn’s radio came across clear as they stepped into the fridge, the steady sound of her breathing as she worked her way silently along the vent. “Seems like it’s sturdy enough for me, I’m moving forward,” she said. The sound of Middleton’s and Alastor’s voice grew until finally, Lyn moved into position.

  “—Alastor, Alastor. Did I not promise to show you everything? You certainly don’t need to be in a rush.”

  “A rush? Never, my dear Middleton. I simply don’t enjoy my meals as much as you do.” There was a pause. “You think I won’t be able to keep track of everything if you rush it around and mix it up?”

  “Will you?” Middleton asked.

  “Of course I can manage such a simple little test, but even if I couldn’t, nothing is escaping this facility without my seeing it. My Dryads are patrolling the area and watching your landing pad. Try as you might, you won’t sneak anything out from under me. Any transports within a hundred kilometers will either be boarded or shot down. I will find what has been going on here and what you are up to.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Janus signaled for Marcus, Celes and Ramirez to get moving while they listened. The four moved into the dimly lit hall, closing the heavy door behind them. Immediately static sprung into the feed.

  Heavy door. Marcus signaled with a smile. The heavy S.T. armor made signaling imprecise and difficult, but manageable. Middleton (must have) needed (all that) food (for) strength.

  Celes covered her mouth and shook a finger reprovingly at him. Janus flashed a signal to Ramirez, Wait here. Boost signal.

  Ramirez nodded, and signaled, 629.55.

  Janus, Celes, and Marcus quickly shifted their radios, listening to the feed now sent via Ramirez from Lyn via relay.

  Leave crates, (grab) weapons. Janus signaled to Celes and Marcus. The pair nodded.

  “A hundred kilometers is a big area, Alastor. Are you sure that you can track everything?”

  “I found this place, didn’t I?”

  The three marched smartly down the hall, leaving Ramirez to wait and help Lyn. Despite an intimidating looking display, the giant door with the Phoenix emblem was not locked. “STAND-BY MODE” flashed across the screen to its right.

  As the three crossed the threshold, the static became worse, but still manageable with Ramirez’ boost. The hall now had many doors leading off of them, as frequently as they could be crammed in. The sound of Albert faintly excusing himself from the room could be heard over the radio.

  “I must admit Middleton,” Alastor said slyly, “I am slightly disturbed by the volume of Phoenix Corporate lore that occupies this base.”

  Middleton sighed audibly, “Simply a remnant and a prize from the razing, nothing more, Alastor.”

  Janus was bewildered as he stepped inside. It was another armory – a complete one. Full suits of Security Trooper armor waited along the walls.

  Strange, Celes flashed. On the left – Cerberus suits stood along the wall, but the right wall was empty.

  Marcus carefully opened the door at the far end of the armory station. Janus followed him inside.

  At first Janus thought he had stepped into a supply room – and then he realized he had stepped into a supply room. Mops, brooms, basic pantry items like potatoes and flour and more were all were visible on shelves stacked like a maze in the room. He gave Celes and Marcus a confused look, they were equally puzzled.

  “Seems like a lot of work to hide a storage room,” Marcus commented wryly, looking around.

  The door closed behind him and Janus paused, cocking his head at the strange sight – their entry had disappeared. From this side the door had been cleverly concealed as part of the rocky back wall of the room. It took them a moment to realize how to open it again.

  “Come on, there must be more here,” Janus said, moving through the littered boxes and supplies. Working his way around several heavily laden shelves, he found another closed door, with a window to the hall outside. Peering through it, Janus could see a short hall, with a sharp 90 degree turn.

  Crossing the threshold and rounding the corner didn’t provide any great enlightenment either. The first few rooms were nothing more than barracks, each labeled with a number and an armoring station. “Look, they must have added rooms over time, and added space, as well,” Janus said, pointing to the numeric labels, “The numbers are all out of order, and you can see where the barracks were eventually expande
d in some of the older rooms.”

  “The Phoenix seal is everywhere,” Celes murmured, placing her armored hand over an engraving in the wall. The symbol dotted every room – the rising bird, wreathed in flames.

  They moved past a cleared-out armory and onto another barracks. “The population must have exploded here,” Marcus commented, gazing at the number of beds. “Middleton must have constantly had men working to extend this area,” he pointed to the rock. It changed colors, becoming lighter as newer rock was exposed to expand each room. Three times this particular room had been expanded, each time far larger than the last – it was like counting rings in a tree.

  Alastor’s voice crackled over the radio again, “Still, there seems to be a certain reverence that you hold for this – art.”

  Janus paused, hoping to hear more about the strange painting of Norm and himself.

  “You know full well of my collections. I simply could not let such fine displays of corporate prominence be destroyed, even if they were of an inferior corporation to the great Cerberus. Yes, I’m afraid the Executors simply wouldn’t understand.”

  Janus sighed in disappointment.

  “Are you trying to tell me that this whole base is simply a hiding place for your contraband art?” Alastor sounded incredulous. “Do you take me for a fool?”

  “What do you think, Alastor?” Middleton’s crackling voice responded.

  “Do all Overlords hate each other this much?” Marcus interjected as they listened, “Or is it just them?” Janus shrugged his shoulders and Marcus stepped back into the hall, keeping an eye out for any signs of movement.

  “Janus, look!” Celes exclaimed in revelation.

  “What?” Janus asked, “I don’t see anything.”

  “Look again,” she moved closer and stood beside one of the beds.

  Suddenly, Janus realized what was wrong – he couldn’t fit. “They’re for children.” He felt a pit form in his stomach.