by Darrell Pitt
I begin to wonder if a more conventional form of entry might be the best method. The guard tower was constructed to watch the coast; it’s out of sight from the complex. No-one is watching the tops of the vehicles. When the next truck heads past us towards the compound, I propel us softly onto the roof. The vehicle pauses for what seems an eternity at the gate. The men talk about a new shipment of arms. Then it continues on into the facility.
I can see it’s heading towards a warehouse, so we jump free and roll under the nearest building. There are guards everywhere. I’m not too sure how successful we’ll be at staying hidden. It only seems a matter of time before we’re discovered.
Pulling out the map, we work out our current location. The computer room is still some distance away; at least a few hundred feet. It’s a shame it’s daylight. This might have been easier at night.
“Take us up to the roof,” Ebony whispers. “Then we can hop from building to building.”
That seems like a good idea. I wait until some guards wander past then fly us up and onto the roof. We flatten ourselves against the flat metal and slide quietly along the top until we reach the end. I fly us across to the next building and repeat the process two more times.
I start to feel hopeful.
With a lot of luck this might work. A large building lies before us. Checking our map again I work out that this is the computer complex. I glance over the edge of the roof and spy two guards at the front door. Obviously we’re not entering through there.
I look at my watch. We still have a few minutes before Chad and Dan are due to create their diversion. At any rate we need to check in to confirm the time. I watch a truck weave its way through the jungle down the muddy road to the front gate. A guard jumps out and speaks to the gatekeeper. They both look in the back. One of them waves the truck through into the compound.
I don’t know why, but my heart is beating faster. This doesn’t look good. The truck draws to a halt and they open up the back. More men race up to the vehicle and climb into the rear.
When they exit, they’re carrying two bodies.
It’s Chad and Dan.
Chapter Thirty
Ebony stifles a cry. Brodie looks shocked. Even I can’t quite assimilate this latest piece of information. Chad and Dan have been captured. This was not mentioned in any scenario we planned.
We need to get them back, but it’s more important we take out the computer first.
“I’ve got an idea,” I tell the girls.
A few minutes later Ebony reduces a sheet of the metal roofing to oxygen, exposing the recess in the roof. Climbing in, we find ourselves among air conditioning ducts and cross beams. The ceiling beneath our feet seems to be made of timber. As long as we move quietly we should remain undetected.
We make our way across the roof. I get Ebony to create a coin sized hole and I peer down through it to the room below. It takes me a moment to get my bearings. I can see men moving around a large chamber. A computer terminal sits in the centre. A man seems to be adjusting dials.
This must be the missile computer. I’m just about to get Ebony to create an even bigger hole when she grips my shoulder.
“We can’t go down there yet,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“We have to save Chad and Dan.”
I shake my head. “Stopping the missile is more important.”
“After they know we’re here it will be impossible to save the boys.” She lets this information settle. “Let me go back and get them.”
“We’ve got to take out the computer!”
“Give me fifteen minutes. That’s all I ask.”
I look at Brodie. She says, “Ebony’s right. Once Typhoid knows we’re here it will be impossible to save Dan and Chad.”
I slowly nod. Once they know the building’s under attack they’ll try to hold Dan and Chad as hostages. Or worse, they’ll simply kill them.
“You’ve got fifteen minutes.” We check our watches. “I can’t give you any longer. There’s too much riding on this.”
She makes her way across the roof and disappears from sight. I turn my gaze to Brodie. It’s uncomfortably close in here. My mind floats back to the previous night. I want to speak to her about it, but now is not the time.
The minutes tick by slowly. Eventually I’m ticking off the seconds. Sixty seconds. Forty-five seconds. Finally we’re out of time.
“We’ve got to do this,” I say.
Brodie nods glumly.
The ground shakes as if there’s an earthquake. A resounding explosion rocks the camp.
What the -?
Grabbing my arm, Brodie hisses, “That’s our cue!”
I had intended using Ebony to dissolve the roof under us. Instead I drive a force field straight into it. It collapses under us and we rapidly drop to the floor below. We have the element of surprise – but only for a few seconds. Scientists are staring at us in astonishment. Even the guards look amazed.
Then one of them yells, “Shoot them!”
The bullets start to fly. I throw up a shield and the bullet’s rebound off it in all directions. One of them hit a scientist in the head, killing him instantly. At the same time Brodie grabs one of the guards, breaks his arm and uses him as a shield as another guard opens fire.
The man is dead, but then Brodie grabs his weapon and strafes the chamber with gunfire.
“The computer!” she yells.
Keeping my shield in position, I build up my concentration.
Now, I tell myself. Now. Now.
Now!
I throw a blast of air as powerful as a small tornado at the computer and it explodes into a thousand pieces of jagged metal. The debris flies in all directions. Some of it even tears straight through the walls, creating serrated holes through which we can see daylight.
Yes!
Now for the others. Not that Brodie really needs my help. In a matter of seconds we’ve created a scene of utter mayhem. Men are dying all over the place. I remember a few days ago I had reservations about taking a human life. It saddens me to think about how casual it all now seems.
But it has to be done. It’s them or us. It’s war.
I sweep a group of men towards a wall and they’re knocked out or killed immediately. We head towards a door. We’ve got to find the others and get out of here. I demolish the door – indeed, the whole side of the building – with one blast of air. In the clearing beyond there are guards racing towards us firing madly.
Thank God for the shield.
We would be mincemeat without it. Now we have to find the others. I suddenly remember seeing a building on the map that Hodges marked as a storage block. Why didn’t I think of this before?
I angle Brodie and myself between two buildings while I pick up debris and hurl it at the approaching troops.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she yells.
“I think so.” We approach a brick building and I try building up enough focus to punch a hole in the side of it. My efforts don’t work. I can’t concentrate. I’m already deflecting bullets and hurling as much debris at these guys as I can.
“I can’t open the door!” I cry. “I can’t -.”
Brodie darts forward and grabs the door handle. It swings opens easily.
“You ever heard of one of these?” she asks.
I follow her inside. The interior of the building is far quieter than I expected. The walls must be reinforced. No wonder I couldn’t break in. We follow a narrow corridor to the end. I make the mistake of momentarily dropping my shield. As we turn the corner we are confronted by an artillery gun.
It’s aimed right at us.
I throw up my shield as it fires its mortar. It hits my shield, but the blast is so powerful it still permeates the barrier. We both hit the floor – hard. Lifting my head, I check on Brodie. I’m relieved to see her staggering to her feet.
“What hit us?” she asks.
“Something big,” I tell her.
Th
e artillery gun is set to fire automatically. Beyond it lies another metal door. This building is proving to be something of a Chinese puzzle box. No sooner do you infiltrate one level than you are confronted by another. A small slit allows access to the room beyond.
Brodie peers through it. “I can see them! They’re on the floor! They’ve got Ebony too!”
“Stand back.”
I build up a blast of air. I’d like to say it tears the door off its hinges, but my focus is completely haywire now. The door sort of flies off and slides to the floor. We enter the room beyond and check their pulses.
“They’re unconscious,” Brodie says. “I think they’ve been drugged.”
Something about this doesn’t make sense. I can’t initially work out what it is. Then realization hits me. My stomach churns over uncomfortably.
If Chad, Dan and Ebony were all captured and knocked out, then who was causing all the explosions?
It’s almost as if we’ve been drawn here on purpose -.
The answer comes to me in a flash.
“It’s a trap!” I yell to Brodie’s confused face. “We’ve got to -.”
But the gas is already pouring from the ceiling. I’m supposed to be a master of air, but now I can’t get enough of it to even sustain myself.
Within seconds the floor rushes up to meet me.
Chapter Thirty-One
My eyes slowly open.
The first thing I hear is Chad.
Why does it have to be Chad?
“Looks like sleeping beauty is awake,” he comments.
It takes a moment to focus, but it makes me wish I had stayed asleep. Nothing I see bodes well for the future. We are in an enclosed cell. It appears to be the same type of cell that held Ebony and Chad back in Ravana’s building. A mesh of wire covers the front. Each of us is chained to the rear wall with metal cuffs over our heads. The strain in my arms is terrible. My feet reach the floor – but just barely.
I know it’s pointless trying my powers, but I do anyway.
Nothing.
“Don’t bother trying your powers,” Brodie says. “They’re using those zeno ray emitters.”
“I would have already burnt their faces off,” Chad advises me. “If I could.”
I glare at him. “What happened to you guys, anyway? You were supposed to create a diversion.”
Chad looks away. “We were…uh, overtaken by superior numbers.”
“They shot us with that stun ray,” Dan says. “We were busy skipping stones.”
At first I think I’ve misheard him. “Skipping stones? You must be joking.”
If looks could kill, Chad’s glare at Dan would strike him cold dead. “Did you have to tell Mr Goody Two-Shoes?”
I’m about to explode at Chad, but at that moment the door to the room swings open and a man in a Typhoid uniform enters. He is tall, European looking with stark white hair. He does not look very old, so his hair must have aged prematurely. He is wearing gloves. Two guards flank him.
“So the children have awoken,” he says. “Good. We must keep moving. Time is money as they say.”
“Who are you?” Chad asks. “Let us out of here or -.”
The man makes a tut-tutting sound as he shakes his head. “You are not the one giving orders here, boy. I am. I will be the one who decides who lives and who dies and when that will happen.”
Well, if there’s such a thing as a conversation killer, that’s it.
“I am General Solomon Wolff,” he says. “I was not born with that name, but it is the name by which I am now known. You know a little about me and my organization and I, in turn, know a little about you.”
He pauses, but none of us say anything.
“Now you are silent. Later you will speak. You will beg to make yourselves heard. Some of you have already been introduced to one of our ‘motivational’ devices. We have many others. If you thought you previously experienced pain, I assure you it is only a taste of what we can dispense.
“As I say, I know a little about you. I know about The Agency and its alien representatives. I know about their eternal watching and the scientists that work with them. Perhaps you do not know that there are other aliens here on Earth. They also have their affiliations and their aspirations for our planet.”
None of us say anything to this.
“By creating you – a super powered mercenary – The Agency has created an imbalance in the power structure of the world,” Wolff says. “There are governments that will pay handsomely to have that balance redressed.”
“What do you want from us?” I ask.
“First there will be blood.” He pretends to look shocked. “Oh no. We are not so inhuman that we intend to beat you bloody. No, we want your blood to examine. If it is possible to replicate the processes that created you, then we can make you in our own form.
“What could be better than to create an army of super beings? Nothing could stop such an army. It would be invincible.”
“Funny,” Brodie says. “I think Hitler had similar ideas and see what a loser he was.”
“You compare me to Hitler,” Wolff shakes his head. “I have no such grandiose ideals. Money is power. It is a simple ingredient to life that oils the wheels of the world and makes all things possible.”
The door to the room opens again and a figure enters. My blood runs cold. The man looks like a mummy. His entire body is covered in bandages.
Wolff chuckles. “I believe you know the good Doctor Ravana? His appearance has changed somewhat since your last encounter.”
Ravana yells a command and two guards enter the chamber and unlock the cell. They go straight to Ebony.
“No!” Chad screams. “Leave her alone.”
Ravana enters the cell and punches Chad hard in the stomach. Once. Twice. Three times.
As Chad hangs helplessly from the wall, struggling to regain his breath, Ravana grasps his head with a bandaged hand.
“You are the fire boy who set me alight,” Doctor Ravana says. “I will save something special for your interrogation.”
The doctor turns his attention to Ebony and injects her with a needle. Within seconds her eyes roll up into her head and she sags from the wall. The guards unchain her and drag her from the room.
“You bastard!” Chad gasps. “Leave my sister alone!”
“She is not alone,” the general says as he relocks the cell. “Doctor Ravana will be keeping her company.” He makes his way to the door. “One final thing. The Agency seemed to believe that Pegasus operated under a separate guidance system. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. We rectified that weakness when we modified the missile. Pegasus is fully capable of finding its way to New York on its own.
“We are making history within the hour. It is a shame you will not be present for the launch.” He pauses. “What is it you American’s say? Adios?”
The general exits the room.
Brodie mutters under her breath, “I’m not American.”
The only other sound is Chad trying to regain his breath.
“Can anyone use their powers?” I ask. “At all?”
“Not me,” Dan says.
“Me neither,” Brodie answers.
“Chad?” I ask.
He simply shakes his head. I can’t believe that things have turned out so badly. Not only have we been captured, but destroying the computer system did nothing to delay the launch of the rocket. And it appears New York is the target. The same streets we were walking on a few days ago are about to turn to rubble and molten metal.
And the people -.
“But I do have a plan,” Brodie says.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You seem to have forgotten I’m a whiz with locks,” Brodie says. She slips off her boots with her toes and pulls out a long piece of metal. Within seconds she’s gripping it between her toes and has swung up so the metal is inserted into my cuffs.
“You’ve got to be joking,” I say.
“Do y
ou want to be free?”
About a minute later I hear a satisfying click and the cuff comes loose. I try unlocking Brodie’s cuffs, but even with her detailed instructions it still takes about ten minutes. Once she’s free, the others are loose in moments.
“How did you learn to do all that?” Chad asks.
“Beats me,” Brodie says. “It’s all part of my previous life. Whatever that was.”
“There’s just one problem,” I tell them.
We turn to look at the wall of the cell. It is only composed of vertical bars covered by a metal mesh, but without our powers it may as well be solid concrete.
Chapter Thirty – Two
“You’re right,” Chad says. “That is a problem.”
The zeno emitters are suspended from the opposite walls like spot lights. Obviously they’re responsible for stripping us of our powers. Possibly we would only need to be a short distance from the cell and our powers would return to normal. I glare at the devices. It’s only a couple of feet, but it might as well be miles.
Chad glances down at Dan. “You’re pretty skinny.”
“Thanks,” he says. “I think.”
“No, I mean you might be able to fit your arm through the wire.”
He looks askance at the diamond gaps between the metal mesh. They’re very small. “And then what?”
I see what Chad is suggesting. “If you can reach far enough through the wire you might be able to get your powers to activate in your arm.”
“In my arm?” Dan is looking at us like we’ve grown extra heads. “So I’ll have a super-arm. Are you kidding?”
“It’s worth a try,” Brodie urges. “Come on. Stick your arm through.”
To Dan’s credit, he wrestles his fist through the gap and pushes his arm through as far as it will go.
“It won’t go any further,” he says.
“Try breaking the wire,” I suggest to him.
