“We need to hurry.”
“Don’t we always?” Andy hefted his weapon as they stalked down the stairs leading to the mechanical spaces.
Chapter Forty-Seven
“Haus and Graybeard are the same people?”
“They’re entirely different people both in the sim and in the real world. But Graybeard has convinced his helper, Les Bowen that he is Haus since the two have never met in real life. Graybeard is also representing to Andy that he is Haus as well, even mimicking his New Zealand accent with the aid of an app.”
Calum tried to wrap his head around the information Wu just gave him. His phone beeping in his ear suspended those thoughts as Wu parked the car in the school parking lot near the football field where the VTAL was parked. A few dozen students and teachers milling around it.
“Calum.”
“Sorry to bother you again, Agent Calum, it’s Joe Williamson. My RV is missing from the storage lot. I’m headed out there now to meet the local police. I imagine they will send you a report. But the other thing I wanted to tell you is I know where my RV is.”
“You do? How?”
“I was curious, so I checked the phone app that I use to program it for driving. Well, it seems the auto-drive is active, but it doesn’t make sense, it’s set to drive into Lake Tahoe.”
“Where?”
“A place called Dead Man’s Point.”
“This is all in real time?”
“Yup, you better hurry though it’s set to leave in less than seven minutes. Thought I should let you know.”
“Can you turn it off?”
“Tried. I’m locked out; they put in a passcode.”
“Ok, does your app show a longitude and latitude?”
“A what?”
“Can you see a satellite image or just a map?”
“Um, hold on.”
Calum broke into a sprint, running from the parking lot, then across the track headed for the area of grass where the VTAL sat. Wu kept easy pace. Calum started waving his right hand towards the pilots busy conducting a tour and circled his index finger over his head.
“Fire her up. We need to get moving!”
The pilot slid into the cockpit, while the copilot and crew chief shoved the tour group back.
“Agent Calum, I can see the satellite picture of the lake and the spot where the RV is. Where would be the long thing that you asked for?”
“Look at the bottom of the screen for a series of numbers followed by a letter,” Calum slowed to a walk as he neared the VTAL.
“Ok, here it is, do you want me to read it to you?”
“Yes, please.” Sitting down on the edge of the passenger area, Calum got out an old-fashioned paper pad and scribbled.
“It looks like 39 degrees, then 0.6, then a 05.75, then the letter N, followed by 119 degrees, 57 then 14.39 and the letter W.”
“Thank you, Mr. Williamson. You’ve been a great help. You might have just saved someone’s life. We’ll be in touch.” Calum ended the call then showed the numbers that the RV’s owner gave him to the pilot who glanced at them before he plugged them into the Flight Management System. The low whine of one of the engines coming to life punctuated the silence.
The pilot whistled at Calum. “About eleven miles from here.”
“How fast can you fly there, absolutely flat out?”
“Flat out?” He cocked an eyebrow as he did a quick calculation in his head.
“Three minutes once we’re airborne and at speed.”
“We need to get airborne, fast as you can.”
“I’m on it, had the bird cocked. This ain’t my first rodeo,” the pilot said, meaning the VTAL was preconfigured for a rapid departure. “You and the other Agent need to get buckled in. It’s going to be an E-ticket ride,” he added using pilot slang for the fastest, most expensive and fun ride you can have, derived from the old payment system at Disneyland.
Calum and Wu found their seats as the second engine roared to life. It took about one more half minute for the ducted fans of the VTAL to come up to their flight RPMs. As soon as they did the pilot pulled up on the collective lifting the machine into the air about ten feet above the turf as he pushed the right foot pedal rotating the VTAL 180 degrees until the goal posts 80 yards away on the other end of the football field centered in the windscreen.
Even before the machine quit its rotation to the right it nosed down, pointed towards the grass that filled the view out of the cockpit. Calum’s eyes went wide. Sitting in the jump seat in-between the two pilots and just behind the center console he had never been on a VTAL that had tipped so far over on takeoff. Each of his hands formed a death grip on the tops of the two pilot’s seats slightly ahead and just off to his left and right.
As they raced along the green grass the white yard marker lines became a blur. After a few seconds, they dropped away. The VTAL lifted to about seventy feet above the ground and banked hard to the right as it continued its shallow climb, the airspeed increasing dramatically. The gymnasium shot by underneath along with the rest of the school in a flash, the bright blue of Lake Tahoe in the distance now quickly approaching.
“Two hundred knots and two hundred feet. Haven’t done those numbers in a while.” The copilot whistled.
“Yup.”
“Gonna be overhead before we hit three hundred it looks like.”
“Wanna bet?” The pilot said, taking umbrage that his colleague didn’t think he could hit that speed before they arrived.
“Sure, how ‘bout lunch?”
“You’re on!”
Calum heard the engine whine increase as the blue of the lake filled the windscreen.
“Hey, no diving for speed.”
“You didn’t say anything in the bet about AGL.”
The VTAL leveled out of its dive just above the surface. It raced along the shoreline traveling south along Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore leaving a rooster tail of water in its wake from the massive props that had gone from their horizontal position as a ducted fan, lifting it into the air to the vertical now pushing it forward at an ever-increasing speed. At barely three meters above the lake, the pressure of the airframe and wings pushed down on the water formed a broad “V” that began ahead of where the VTAL was over the water.
“298 knots and a mile to go. Think I’ll have a nice big T-bone.”
“There it is, 300 on the—”
“What the hell is that?” The copilot interrupted.
Calum knew what it was even if the two speed-demons in front of him didn’t. It was the Williamson’s RV splashing into the water. Calum’s heart sank as he saw it descend nose first, the white of the top rear portion bobbing but steadily slipping lower into the water.
“Our victim’s in that thing!” Calum shouted into the comm, which wasn’t necessary as both pilots heard him loud and clear.
“Roger that.”
The VTAL tipped to the left and continued to roll as the nose came up sharply. Calum was smashed into his seat so hard that it pushed his head back against the headrest where it was held by the G-forces. The aircraft banked in such a tight climbing turn that the top of the RV sinking below the waves was above Calum, now positioned in the upper part of the left window behind the pilot. The VTAL was just a few degrees short of inverted now as it progressed through the tight loop.
With the VTAL racing skyward, the surface of the lake and the RV slipping below it was much farther below now, hundreds of feet for sure. That soon changed as the horizon of first the land then the lake filled the windshield as the VTAL coming around completed a 360-degree turn. The nose now aimed at the water far below and a blurry white spot just below the waves and sinking fast. This was as high as they had been the whole flight. The aircraft’s nose came up as the forward speed dropped, throwing Calum against the shoulder straps. He lost sight of the sinking vehicle, although it was still visible to the pilots through the chin bubble. Calum’s mind reached for a solution. What could they do from a hovering VTAL?
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“Hey, what are you doing!”
The crew chief unbuckled himself to reach Wu, who had slid the port cargo door open. In a blur of motion, he disappeared through the opening.
“What kind of stunt was that? We’re still over hundred feet above the water!” The crew chief whopped over the comms as the copilot issued a “Mayday” asking for any watercraft available to be sent to their position.
“Chief, rig the hoist for a water rescue,” the pilot barked. “What the fuck, Agent. Your buddy probably just killed himself!”
Calum just laughed.
Chapter Forty-Eight
As soon as Bowen departed the RV, Mia screamed as loud as she could. She could hear the power tools of a nearby construction sight and hoped her yells would prevail over them. At the same time, she pulled the cable keeping her from fleeing as hard as she could. As hard as humanly possible.
She didn’t think she could break it, hoping instead to slip out of the steel ankle cuff locked tightly around her right ankle. One padlock kept the restraint closed while a second one attached it to the cable.
The RV lurching forward made Mia scream louder; she pulled harder against the cable. The large vehicle bounced and swayed as it raced down the hill. The fast approaching partially constructed boat launch ramp disappearing into the water just in front of the empty driver’s seat.
Her eyes turned from the view of the rapidly approaching water to her right ankle. Mia used every muscle in her body to pull against the restraint. The exhausting effort caused the steel to bite into the top of her foot but moved it no farther.
Mia flew forward, sliding through the bedroom door on the floor down the center of the RV as the vehicle hit the water. Her forward slide came to a sudden stop as the cable let out all its slack.
She screamed for help and clawed at the cable as water flowed inside. The front of the RV submerged immediately and nosed down. Mia scrambled back through the bedroom doorway as the vehicle continued to angle down.
It started as a trickle, but in a matter of seconds, the water rushing into the front of the RV became a torrent. Mia moaned as the water creeped up towards her in the back room. The downward angle was so acute now that she was stood against the wall inside of the doorway.
The roar of an aircraft overhead gave her hope that help was on the way. Tugging at the restraint and watching the water flooding the interior diminished that optimism; by the time anyone got to her, she would be underwater. How would they even get the restraint off unless they had cutting tools? She pulled harder at the cable hoping where it attached underneath the floor would give away.
The icy water of the lake touched her bare feet. Nearly all the interior of the vehicle in front of the bedroom was submerged. The water level was already above the front edge of the bed and rising rapidly. The interior darkened and panic set in as Mia realized the RV was slipping below the water’s surface.
She had hoped the RV might hit bottom and not completely submerge. Now that would not be the case. The whole of it was underwater and still sinking.
It was agonizing to realize she was just yards from the beach and despite being a strong swimmer could not do a thing about it. Her fear subsided, giving way to utter rage at the two dysfunctional individuals so warped in their thought processes that they did this to her. Over what was nothing more than a fucking video game they lived rather than played.
Mia quit pulling against the cable. Not because she was giving up but because she was trying to just stay above the water. Maybe an air pocket would remain, and rescue could still be possible. At least asphyxiation would be preferable to drowning.
Watching the water rising so rapidly as she floated up to within a half-foot of the ceiling, Mia realized an air pocket remaining would now be unlikely. While her anger persisted, the fear returned. Mia had never felt such an intense mixture of emotions. She also never in her life felt so helpless.
The sound of metal tearing at the window to her right startled her. Not that she could be any more afraid. Rather, she wondered what it was. Her head snapped toward the top edge, now below the water.
Then something appeared that did surprise her; the jet-black hair of a man breaking the surface just in front of her face. Dressed in business attire, she assumed he was probably a good Samaritan.
Mia yelled without hesitation. “There’s a cable on my leg. I can’t get out!”
“Remain here.”
It was comical really, his calm statement.
“Where the hell would I go?”
Mia would never know or see the preternatural actions Wu took at her ankle. Grasping the lock between his hands that attached the cable to the steel cuff, he twisted in opposite directions; the lock bent then snapped under the force.
Mia felt a slight tug then nothing more. She had no idea that she was now free as she pushed her face up against the ceiling to suck in the air, a few inches at the most remaining.
A sharp tug that she was unprepared for pulled her under the water. Instinctively Mia held her breath. She wanted to go up and realized she needed to go out the window first. Once through it she became determined to race for the surface and life. Mia, whose eyes initially closed now opened so she could orient herself. The light blue of the water’s surface above, maybe six feet away appeared. For the first time, she noticed the steel like grip her rescuer had around her waist.
Mia wanted to be free and struggled against the arms that held her like a vice. All she could think of was getting to the surface. Her lungs burned, but she persisted; no way would she open her mouth and let what little oxygen still left in them escape. She wanted to go up, needed to desperately, but he was pulling her down, or so it seemed.
Wu held Mia tightly as he hooked one foot to the top edge of the window frame he had pulled open. He pulled himself down before unhooking his foot from the window and placing it and his other foot on the roof of the RV positioning himself in a crouch like position all while holding the woman tightly. Mia didn’t know how long she could hold her breath, the frigid water making it even harder. Why is he not taking us up?
The surface of the water suddenly darkened overhead as a large shadow appeared. Wu extended his legs so forcefully the roof of the RV compressed down. The water rushed by Mia’s face as she sped upward at an incredible speed.
Wu with Mia in his grips shot upward out of the water like a missile leaving a submerged submarine. Holding Mia with his left arm Wu’s right hand reached out for the rescue sling attached to the hoist of the VTAL.
The crew chief who had not even begun to lower it jumped back as Wu abruptly appeared, dangling from the sling with one hand while holding a coughing and shivering woman under his other arm.
“Wu, you do know how to make an entrance.” A smiling Calum said, as he helped Mia to a seat after the crew chief pulled her inside.
“Entrance? I thought it most beneficial to get her out of the water as soon as possible. The timing of the pilot made it possible, not me.”
“Never mind, Robert.”
“Who the hell are you guys?” The bewildered Crew chief asked as the VTAL headed back to the football field.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Looking around to see if there were any other surprises, Haus eventually settled his eyes on the man who a moment before materialized in front of him. Deep down he knew he was in a simulation, and that such things could occur.
But the hard reality of the environment, particularly after any time spent in it blurred what was genuine and what wasn’t. Human-normed, the Dead Zone simulation had the same limitations of the physical world; every aspect of the sim became indistinguishable from real life to anyone experiencing the adventure.
IRL or in real life, people could not just teleport at will and materialize out of thin air. Haus took in the man. He was very much out of place in his clothing and his demeanor.
“You from Digital Adventures mate?”
“No, I’m Agent Robert Wu from the FBI’s Metaverse Crimes Team.�
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“Are you here to arrest me?”
“No, Haus. You have committed no crime.”
“You know my name?”
“I’ve been following you.”
Haus didn’t know how to process that last statement. Why was he being targeted, the agent just told him that he had committed no crime. He thought it had something to do with “Keith” but didn’t want to volunteer anything about that. The agent seemed to read his mind.
“We know that you worked with Christopher Harvey, AKA Keith, to get the gold. What you call trophies in the simulation. While the late Mr. Harvey attempted to defraud Digital Adventures by removing intellectual property that gave him inside knowledge of that gold, you had nothing to do with the illicit removal of that data. Mr. Harvey brought that information to you in the sim. For you, it became legitimately part of the storyline.”
Finally, the agent said something with which Haus could relate.
“You mean that I would be legally entitled to the gold if I were to get ahold of it?”
“No crime has been committed by you. You have not done anything outside the rules nor outside the sim that would give you an advantage. Digital Adventures would be hard pressed to try and deny it to you. In any event, if you were to get it or even a portion, you could convert it to M-currency before they could step in and stop you.”
“Aren’t they assisting you in this?”
“They are unaware of my presence or Harvey’s actions in obtaining the insider information. The operations of this sim are so realistic that even the most minuscule actions, or the lack of them, has an impact on the storyline. There is no one from Digital Adventures inputting data, the algorithms control the environment and do so by factors introduced into the simulation by the adventurers or artificial intelligence that plays the roles of individual characters that exist within this environment. Are you familiar with chaos theory?”
Haus nodded. Chaos theory was where a small change in one state of a nonlinear system could result in large differences in a later state. Like how a butterfly flapping its wings in South America might cause a tornado in Oklahoma.
METAVERSE GAMES: OMNIBUS Page 32
