EVAC: IGNITION

by A J Britnell

Reed gave his boss a sideways glance and continued, “Let’s start from the beginning: your name is…” he looked down at the papers in front of him, “Miss Katarina Nemes, born in Hungary- residing in Hannover, Germany. Is that right?”

  “Yes, at the moment – I travel a lot.”

  “Indeed, fourteen countries in ten years, that is a lot!” Reed turned his attention to the man who was sitting quietly on the floor but still alert to the conversation. “And you are?”

  He looked up briefly. “Tomas Neumann, born in Czech Republic - I’ve travelled around too.” He rattled off the information as if bored, though his constant toe tapping revealed something else.

  “Is that so?” Reed replied casually, staring back at the young perpetrator with probing eyes.

  “Look we’re just tourists – we got split up when the alarms went off and Kat got lost in the tunnels like we told you from the beginning.”

  The pair spoke impeccable English with only slight accents.

  Reed whispered in Yakovitch’s ear.

  “I can’t help you Reed, I’m from Canada!”

  It wasn’t unusual for people to have multiple residences; a condensed Europe of multicultural people who mainly spoke English, taught in international schools- many didn’t even know their mother tongue.

  They weren’t going to trip them up with language. It would be difficult to disprove their identities, they could be easily forged and if they had outside help the paper trail could be convincing. They needed to find some evidence.

  “I’ve heard enough,” Yakovitch announced, “get a team in to do forensic tests on these two, a confession will be unnecessary.” They got up and left.

  Katarina shouted after them, “I’m going to sue you!”

  Outside the door, the sleuths put their heads together. “What do you think Miss?”

  “I don’t believe them.”

  “No, their relationship seems contrived and that performance about being mistreated was a bit half- hearted – I’d go ballistic.”

  Yakovitch smoothed down her straight blonde hair, deep in thought. “You know they must have had help getting in here, maybe if we find the help, we’ll find the evidence.”

  Chapter Twelve

  At 13:12 the EVAC team reunited in the hotel’s reception area; Haruka with John (Marcus remained in the Command Centre), Stefan with Claus, Herman and EMO, and finally Healey appeared from the access door wearing his own matching uniform.

  The ventilation system had been successfully re-routed and the air supply now flowed freely. Haruka bent down and drew in a lung-full of air, trying to restore her strength. Stefan put an arm around her shoulders and she stood slowly, allowing him to comfort her. “Are you okay?” he asked, checking her over. Her pale complexion could barely be seen beneath the layers of soot and she scraped her hair back and tied it with a band from her pocket. She ignored his concerns. “What took you so long?” she enquired, eyes pleading.

  “I’m sorry, we had to finish the job and your messages made no sense.”

  “Well you’re here now; welcome to our nightmare.”

  “It sure is!” Stefan turned from Haruka to greet his other friends. He shook John’s hand, “How are you doing, sounds like you’ve been through hell?”

  “Yeah, we certainly have great timing.”

  “Sounds like they were lucky you were here.”

  Healey appeared last and set about motivating the ranks. He circled the group, patting backs and shaking hands as he passed, “Well done all of you, I hear you’ve all had a rather testing day but it’s not over yet.”

  The boss’s casual attitude irritated Haruka, “Where have you been during all this? You didn’t reply to any of my messages!”

  Interrupting, Healey brushed her concerns away saying, “I’ve been monitoring everything. I knew you’d do a fine job on your own – I’ve only come now to bring Eileen and your ship ....”

  “Yes, and to take the glory,” Haruka muttered under her breath.

  Thankfully only Stefan heard and he subtly pulled her away from the group, “Hey what’s got into you?” puzzled with her annoyance.

  “I’m sorry, we just needed his support and I feel he abandoned us.”

  They all felt fatigued from their recent exploits and Stefan put Haruka’s outburst down to stress but they couldn’t waste any more time feeling sorry for themselves; it was time to take stock and plan the final rescue. Number one on the list was the couple in the tunnel - if they were still alive.

  Healey called over to the pair “...anyway, Stefan what’s the plan?”

  Before he could reply, a door opened to the side and out stepped Ms. Yakovitch with the Operations Manager Gregory Peterson and two security guards. “Mr. James Healey?” she extended a hand, “I am Ms. Yakovitch, Mr. Crouch’s Personal Assistant and I was wondering if you would have a little chat with my security officers. Healey took her hand, smiling enigmatically until he noticed the two officers standing either side of him. They grasped him tightly by the elbow. “What on earth are you doing?” he snapped angrily. Undeterred they marched him on, rather roughly, to the door from which they emerged, his colourful objections continuing into the darkness.

  Yakovitch remained with Peterson to assess the astounded EVAC team. She had the terrifying stare of a school mistress, appraising her disobedient students before issuing detentions. “Right – well while Mr. Healey is helping us with our enquiries you all have a choice. If you have been a party to your employer’s act of terrorism you have an opportunity to come forward and save us all time- or I will just lock you up and we’ll wait for the UN Police to arrive.”

  Stefan couldn’t believe what he was hearing and made an audible clucking noise in his throat before laughing, “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No Mr. Andersen - this is not a joke,” she spat the words across his face and turned to address the others, “Mr. Healey may appear to you as a sincere benefactor, who has launched you all to fame as some manufactured superheroes, but his methods are illegal.” She lowered her voice, adding a touch of venom to her words, “Allowing saboteurs within the complex is a serious crime. If any of you had prior knowledge of Mr. Healey’s intensions, you will be dealt with accordingly.”

  “Is this true?” Haruka asked Stefan quietly.

  Yakovitch answered for him, “Right now, he is our only main line of enquiry and after his unscrupulous tactics at the space station he appears to be the obvious suspect!”

  Stefan began pacing the floor, shaking his head, “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong, Healey would never endanger lives just to get a deal.” He sought affirmation from his colleagues but they just stood there stymied.

  The silence was not lost on Ms. Yakovitch and so she proceeded with her proposition. “We still have a situation – there may still be more terrorists, the meteor shower is imminent and we need to rescue the people trapped in the Apollo Tunnel. So, you have a chance to redeem yourselves. Can I have your cooperation?”

  Haruka was furious and said, “Well we’ve already put our lives at risk for you without a mention of money- what kind of people do you think we are?”

  “Puppets!” she said, walking off without a backwards glance.

  An enraged Stefan tried to follow Ms. Yakovitch through the door, but it locked shut in his face. Turning to his colleagues in confusion he questioned no-one in particular, “Why are they saying these things – we have nothing to do with this stuff!”

  Haruka pulled him back and made him look at her as she whispered, “Come on Stefan – the signs were there; Healey’s a megalomaniac!”

  “No, you’re wrong, you’re just down on him. I won’t believe anything they’re saying. He may be many things: arrogant manipulative.... but he’s not a killer.”

  The others murmured around him; they wanted to stand by their captain but there was doubt in the room. Yakovitch’s accusation sounded convincing.

  John spoke first, “Look if Healey’s been playing us for fools – I’m
not going down for him. I’m going to do the job I came here to do and they can judge me on that!”

  Haruka nodded, “Of course you are – we all are...” She paused a moment waiting for agreement, “Let’s get on with it then.”

  It was decided that it was best to break into groups if they were to have any chance of getting the situation under control. Stefan and Claus had the task of rescuing the trapped tourists in the Apollo Tunnel and hopefully find them alive. John and Herman were going to attempt to fix the defense cannons and maybe find the last terrorist, possibly still out on the perimeter. Haruka decided to stay behind and do a little investigating of her own but first she would stop off at the infirmary to catch up with Eileen.

  Seven black body bags were laid out on gurneys at the far end of the medical facility. Four survivors suffering from burns and blast injuries filled the rest of the available beds. Nurses tended to their wounds in somber silence. Haruka raised her hand to her mouth, the smell of burning flesh had become a lasting memory of the explosion. The two women embraced, Eileen patted her friend on the back and then held her at arm’s length to take a good look at her. “Are you hurt Haruka?”

  “No, I’m fine, it’s just dirt,” she glanced down at herself, noting the ripped knees of her trousers and the soot ingrained in her trembling fingers.

  “What about John?”

  “He’s fine too, don’t worry. He’s been amazing really - they both have.

  Eileen indicated to the fallen with outstretched arms “This is just unthinkable. Who would do such a thing?”

  Haruka shook her head in disbelief, “They think Healey’s somehow responsible.”

  “Your joking,” Eileen laughed but Haruka’s expression scared her. “Why do they think that?”

  “They didn’t say, only that the saboteurs needed help getting in or something ridiculous. I must admit, I have some doubts about him; I said some awful things about him to Stefan.” Haruka suddenly felt ashamed and looked down at the floor.

  “What does Stefan think?”

  “You know Stef; loyal to the end.” She sat on the end of a freshly made bed and sighed as a wave of pain ran through her muscles. “Stef feels sure they’ve made a mistake; he seems genuine – I think.”

  “Well I’m sure they’ll find the truth, Haruka.”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t trust them to find it. If Stefan’s right they might just want to find a scapegoat.” Eileen watched her friend struggle.

  “They’re not looking in the right place, Eileen,” she said wistfully. Resolved, Haruka dragged her weary body off the soft bed, “I think I’m going to have to do it myself, Eileen.”

  The chance of fixing the pylons was remote, but they had to try; a meteor shower couldn’t be ignored. At that time, there were still two pylons in operation and John figured if the saboteur was still out there that would be where he was heading.

  The vehicle bay was deserted, even their hushed voices echoed back like sinister whispers. “It’s freezing in here!” Herman stammered, “Where is everyone?”

  John radioed the Command Centre; the comms were now working at least, “Hey, don’t mean to be a pain but we could do with a hand down here.”

  An emotionless voice responded, “All our personnel are busy rerouting life support systems.... ah... but I think I can spare one technician,” and the line went dead.

  “Well he’s full of charm.”

  Herman chuckled. They had brought their lightweight spacesuits and had started pulling them on when a door to the rear creaked opened. A ruddy, round face peered around the metal frame, checking out the area before committing. “Are you EVAC?” the man asked.

  “Well hi there,” Herman said cheerfully.

  “Hi, I was told you needed some help.” The technician was short and a little stocky and obviously very wary.

  “Well that’s great,” continued Herman, “We don’t know where you keep anything down here, could you help us find some equipment – this place looks empty.”

  “Yes, sure.” The technician stepped into the room and began opening panels on the walls to reveal mechanical equipment, tools and supplies. “What do you need?”

  “To start with.... Umm- a toolbox?” Herman followed the technician and stood at his shoulder while he rummaged around in the cabinets.

  “Here, have mine.”

  “Thanks...uh...Walters,” said Herman, reading the man’s name badge. He reached forward and took it from Walters’ hand and smiled. “Hey, don’t look so worried; you’re making me nervous.”

  Walters tried to smile back but it was closer to a wince. “I didn’t expect combat when I took this job; I’m just good with a spanner.”

  “Thankfully that’s just what we need.”

  They continued gathering supplies as quickly as possible. Walters pointed John to a metal storage rack with a sliding front and spoke confidently, “That’s where the laser spares are. Last time I looked there was a complete one, boxed up at the back. We can’t keep many- they’re about a million dollars each or something ridiculous.”

  John found the right compartment and lifted the shutter. It moved a few inches and then the mechanism fouled. John swore under his breath and heaved upwards. The shutter freed and a piece of cloth dangled from the metal runner. He held the material and turned it about, “What the hell….,” he mumbled.

  Herman walked over to take a look, “A Schaefer Uniform? Where did you find that?”

  John pointed to its apparent hiding place.

  “This just gets weirder and weirder,” Herman considered and he radioed Haruka.

  Finally, everything was collected and shared out between two buggies. Herman and the technician hauled the two-metre long weapon onto the back of the vehicle - its two-hundred-kilogram weight thankfully negated by the Moon’s kind gravity. John took the bare essentials and was the first to leave. When the airlock door raised, John tentatively drove out a few metres and waited to watch his friend drive off.

  It didn’t matter how many times you made a moon walk; every time felt like the first – it was that alien. John stepped out of the buggy and made a couple of jumps to acclimatize himself to the conditions. His suit felt great, less restrictive and he kicked the dust about with his boot, making a pattern of footprints that could stay there forever in the windless atmosphere.

  Getting back into the buggy, John strapped himself in and checked his radio link to his colleagues before heading off in a westerly direction. He wished his friend luck, watching him dip into a crater in the opposite direction.

  A navigation system on the dashboard indicated the locations of all four pylons, two flashed orange, meaning they were offline. He scrolled through the operations menu and discovered a tracking option. The display changed revealing a topographical map. Three flashing green lights appeared; moon-buggies. As he thought, the saboteur was heading for the third pylon and the graphics showed John the perfect route to intercept.

  Rocky terrain hampered progress. John had to pick his way through peaks and troughs that bobbed the buggy like a tiny boat in rough seas. Noticing a ridge ahead, John redirected the buggy and used the ridge as a shield. He considered the other buggy and wondered whether he also knew about the tracking beacons, but the buggy hadn’t changed direction, so maybe he could take him by surprise.

  They were beginning to converge as they neared the pylon. It dipped up and down out of view as he rode the waves of the crater. He was tempted to ride up the ridge to check ahead, not trusting his instruments, but he couldn’t risk exposing himself too early. Be patient he thought.

  Eventually the moment came. He was seconds away from making contact. The ridge became shallower now, and he would soon be insight.

  There he was, slightly ahead and to the right. Exploiting his apparent invisibility, he aimed the vehicle, accelerated and rammed the back of his buggy. The impact was slight and only served to alert the driver, who then made a tight corner and swerved away at top speed. Frustrated, John set off i
n pursuit at a heady 20mph. Each buggy lurched erratically from ridge to ridge, taking flight occasionally before crashing down in a cloud of dust.

  John noticed a bank coming up on the right and recalculated his attack. With his foot to the floor, he mounted the ridge in a sweeping arc, using the height to gain maximum velocity. He turned tightly like a BMX rider and flew down the bank towards the other buggy, aiming for the side door. This time, the impact had more energy and the collision sent the other rolling down a bank where it came to an abrupt stop on its side. Unlike John, the man hadn’t fastened his seatbelt and the impact ejected him from his seat, landing with a skid a few metres away.

  John’s vehicle ricocheted backwards and buried its rear axle in a mound of dust. He scrambled out of his buggy, dizziness impairing every step as he zigzagged to the figure ahead of him. He noticed him getting to his feet and turning briefly to take stock of his attacker before making off unsteadily in the direction of the laser tower.

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake!” exclaimed John. Pushing hard against the soft ground for purchase, he bent his knees and started bouncing. He felt ridiculous as he bobbed randomly in the general direction. Sweat built up in his suit causing condensation to form in his helmet and obscure his vision. He stopped momentarily to adjust the mixture on his wrist panel before continuing in pursuit, already exhausted.

  Eventually he moved near enough to reach out and grab the man’s arm. He lunged a couple of times without making contact but then caught him by the wrist and yanked it backwards, causing him to twist and fall to the ground. John threw himself on top of him, but then it dawned on him – he had no way of apprehending him. In that split second, the man beneath him arched his back violently, tossing John into the air. When he came down, his helmet was met with a fist. His head wrenched back with a crack, followed by a sharp pain. His eyes glazed as another blow hit him in the chest. That one didn’t hurt through the padded suit but the force sent him back two metres. Furious, John wriggled to his feet and continued kangarooing after the mysterious figure, adrenalin pumping.