by Aman Gupta
“What? Who are you?” asked the guard.
“We’re from Atlantis,” said Vik.
“We have been told to tie the loose ends. You and your entire team is one,” said Kate.
“You’re lying. If you’re from Atlantis, how come you didn’t know who Anton was?” asked the guard.
“Anton is just a code name. I wanted to know which Anton but clearly that knowledge is below your paygrade,” remarked Vik.
“So you’re actually from Atlantis? Why are you killing the girl? You told us last week that you wanted more of them,” said the guard.
Vik and Kate looked at each other.
“Unfortunately, your information is outdated. Orders have changed,” said Vik.
“No, Anton said we need to get more girls. But West Gate is extremely volatile. So we’re waiting for things to cool down,” said the guard.
“What about Morrow? We had asked for Morrow too,” asked Vik.
“That’s off limits for now. Anton told Jericho,” said the guard. “You don’t have to kill us. You can talk to Jericho. He’ll vouch for us. We’re good at what we do.”
“Fine! Take us to Jericho. Caution your friends though. You try to hurt us, Atlantis will make it rain. Do you understand?” said Vik.
The guard looked up and said, “No. No drones, please.”
“We’ll get our stuff. Feel free to remove the knife in your thigh with your mouth,” said Vik.
Vik and Kate walked for a few meters to discuss.
“Can’t believe that worked,” said Vik.
“How did you know for sure about Atlantis?” asked Kate.
“Rifles. In this day and age, what mercenary or private security carries a rifle? These rifles look similar to the ones we saw at the checkpoint near Atlantis. Plus the tall buildings for holding the girl? Atlantis looked like a good guess,” said Vik.
“I know! So this means Atlantis is actually connected to the kidnappings,” said Kate.
“Question is how and why? But first, we need to get to the girl they are holding,” said Vik.
“What’s the plan?” asked Kate.
“We act like we came to kill them all. Then, turn the tables and make them give the girl to us. Let’s hope Jericho doesn’t know anyone in Atlantis,” said Vik.
“What if he does?” said Kate.
“Then we’ll have to improvise or I’ll be meeting my family soon,” said Vik.
“I doubt they’re in hell,” joked Kate.
Vik smiled.
“What’s with the knives?” asked Kate.
“Why? You like him or something?” said Vik. “It was necessary. And moreover, it established our profile as ruthless killers which might get us out of here alive.”
Kate nodded.
They returned to the guard. Vik removed the knife and wrapped the guard’s shirt over the wound to stop the blood flow. He lent support to the guard who limped while Kate followed them with the guard’s rifle. As they got near the camp, other guards had already gathered at the camp looking for the missing guard.
As soon as they saw the guard limping and Kate holding a rifle, they took their positions and surrounded Vik and Kate.
“Maybe you should raise your hand,” the guard whispered to Vik.
“That’s one of the signals. If I do that, they’ll blow the place to hell,” said Vik.
“Stop, stop,” the guard shouted to his troop. “They have come from Atlantis. They wish to meet Jericho.”
The other guards looked at each other and finally lowered their weapons.
“Take us to Jericho,” said Vik to the guards.
One of the guards came forward and asked Kate to drop the rifle. Kate looked at Vik who nodded. Kate dropped the rifle and stood next to Vik.
“Why?” said another guard.
“Just take them,” said the limping guard.
Two guards grabbed the limping guard, while another asked Vik and Kate to follow him. He took them inside the main camp. Vik and Kate saw that there were around 10-12 guards posted around a nearby camp. They figured it must be where the girl was being kept. Inside the main camp, there were large boxes which looked like weapon cases to Kate. The guard took them behind the curtain to a man sitting in front of a desk, smoking a cigar.
“Who are they?” the man asked.
“They have come from Atlantis,” the guard said.
The man waved his hand, asking the guard to leave and asked Vik and Kate to take a seat.
Vik and Kate pulled out the chairs and sat on them. The man doused the cigar.
“Who sent you?” asked the man.
“You wouldn’t know their name, but your boss might,” said Vik.
“I know plenty of names,” said the man.
“I doubt that,” said Vik.
“Give me a reason why I should believe that you are who you say you are,” said the man.
“We aren’t here to tell you who we are. We’re here to tell you it’s over. Your services are no longer required,” said Kate.
The man looked at Kate.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Where’s Anton? We were told that he was the man to speak about this,” said Kate.
“Anton is away. I’m in charge. These are my men,” said the man.
“What’s your name?” asked Vik.
“You can call me Jericho,” said the man.
“Okay, Jericho. There’s been a change in plans. Your job is done. No more girls are needed,” said Vik.
“I was told you need around 50 more,” said Jericho.
“We do. Just not from you,” said Vik.
“You’re replacing us?” asked Jericho.
“Give us a reason not to,” said Vik.
“We have delivered every girl that you’ve asked,” said Jericho.
“Not without the problems. I’m sure Anton would be more than happy to find you and your men some other job. For now, you’re fired,” said Vik.
“I’ll have to speak to Anton about this,” said Jericho.
“Go ahead. Make a call,” said Kate.
“When he returns. So I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait for days, weeks, who knows. Hope you like the lake,” said Jericho.
“I don’t think you understand,” said Vik.
“We aren’t asking. We are telling,” said Kate.
“Let’s say we refuse,” said Jericho.
“You can. Every person is free to make their choices. So are our colleagues who love playing with our super cute drones,” said Vik.
“Anton gave me a number to Atlantis if anything goes wrong. I think I’ll use that number now,” said Jericho.
Vik and Kate looked at each other.
“Okay. You dial your number, I’ll dial mine,” said Vik.
“I doubt you can reach anyone higher than Ms. Anderson,” said Jericho, while dialing the number.
Vik paused for a second.
“Considering that we report directly to Olivia’s boss, I think I’ll manage,” said Vik.
Jericho looked at Vik and put down the phone.
“Give my men another chance,” said Jericho. “They are highly trained, and good at what they do. Not only have we been helping securing the girls, we have also guarded every checkpoint to Atlantis. Faithfully. Without any issues.”
“Yet we have been getting unexpected visitors. Either your men are idiots or aren’t checking the people and their credentials,” said Vik.
“Bullshit. Every single vehicle enters the 12 digit code. When your own machine confirms the code, only then do we let them past the point. We have killed countless whose code didn’t work,” said Jericho.
“Are you saying that Atlantis is letting you down?” said Vik.
“I think he is saying that,” said Kate, while she took out her phone.
“Put down the phone. What do you want?” asked Jericho.
“That you keep your eyes open. At this stage, we can’t have any more problems,” said Vik
.
“Okay. So what’s our status now? Are we still fired?” asked Jericho.
“We’ll discuss with our handler. I got to say, I really like you. Your style. Wonder why you haven’t got a seat at the table yet,” said Vik.
“Which seat? What table?” asked Jericho.
“Our operations aren’t just limited to New Frontier. We are a global organization, which uses the services of skilled men like you for our requirements. The best among them get more benefits than others,” said Vik.
“How do I get there?” asked Jericho.
“You have to know the right people,” said Vik.
“Like you?” asked Jericho.
Vik and Kate laughed.
“No, Jericho. Much below the hierarchy. Even leaders at the table don’t have access to me or her,” said Vik.
Jericho called his men and asked them to get Vik and Kate something to drink, and some snacks. After pouring them a drink and serving snacks, Jericho asked his men to leave them alone.
“I want a seat at the table. See, I think we got off to a bad start. I admire strong people, like you two. I’m ambitious too and capable of so much more. By the way, are you a couple? Because you two look cute together if I dare say so. Please help me get my name in the hat,” said Jericho.
Vik and Kate looked at each other for few seconds, both trying to hide their smile.
“If we vouch for you, your shortcomings reflect badly on us. Surely, you don’t want that, do you?” said Kate.
“No, from now on, I work for you. Just like I work for Anton,” said Jericho.
“That’s the thing. Anton was asked about it. He didn’t mention you at all. Almost as if he doesn’t think you deserve a seat. Now, he knows more about you than us. So from our position, I think we should trust Anton’s judgement,” said Vik.
“What? He didn’t mention me? I and my partner have been doing everything for him. And he doesn’t even mention me or my partner, Arcane,” said Jericho.
“No, not a word. Never heard of Jericho or Arcane in any conversation,” said Vik.
“That bastard!” said Jericho. “I personally dropped off hush money to that fat ass mayor, even though I could’ve sent anyone. That’s it. I’ll no longer work for him.”
“That’d be a wrong choice,” said Vik.
“Why?” asked Jericho.
“We don’t visit camps like this. It’s Anton’s job to coordinate with such operations. So if you’re on bad terms with Anton, he might hire your rival group to take you out or cut you off completely,” said Vik.
“So, I should keep working for him, but now, I work for you too. So that soon, you can get me at the top,” said Jericho.
“He’s smart,” said Kate, looking at Vik.
“Yes, he is,” said Vik.
“Don’t tell this to Anton, though,” said Kate.
“Of course not. I won’t even tell Arcane,” said Jericho.
“Good. Now, I’m afraid, we must leave. Our handler would be waiting for us,” said Vik.
Vik and Kate got up, Jericho stood up with them.
“Before we go, your guard told us that you have a girl here. We’ll take her with us,” said Vik.
“Yes, we do. We sent the other one days ago. We got both of them together,” said Jericho.
“Bring her,” said Kate.
Jericho called his men and ordered them to get the girl.
Few minutes later, they came with a girl who was asleep.
Kate felt her pulse.
“When was the last dose administered?” asked Kate.
“Few hours ago. She’ll sleep like a baby for the day,” said Jericho.
“Wonderful. Hate the noise these kids make,” said Vik.
“Me too,” said Jericho, laughing. “I wish I could cut out their voice box.”
Vik glanced at Jericho, who then stopped laughing. Vik had learnt the stare from the best.
“Anything else I can do?” asked Jericho.
“No, not really. Just keep everything we discussed to yourself. And don’t worry about the girl. If anyone asks, say all girls were sent to Atlantis,” said Kate.
“When we leave, tell your men to forget they ever saw us,” said Vik.
“Yes, yes,” said Jericho, who put down the drink in his hand and attempted to shake Vik’s hand.
“I don’t shake hands. You’ll know more about me soon,” said Vik.
“Hoping to. What are your names? How do I contact you?” asked Jericho.
“You don’t. We’ll contact you,” said Kate.
Jericho handed Vik a card with his number on it.
Vik picked up the girl in his arms and walked out with Kate. Jericho came out with them, and saw them walking into the jungle towards the lake while disappearing in the woods.
Vik and Kate travelled to the south end of the lake, and put down the girl on a small pavement carved out of rocks by nature.
“Who’s she?” asked Kate.
“That’s Brittany,” said Vik. “And so Ginny’s at Atlantis.”
Kate looked around to see if they were being followed.
“See anyone?” asked Vik.
“No,” said Kate.
“Great. Now let’s get out of here,” said Vik.
“Who’s Olivia?” asked Kate.
“Olivia Anderson. We used to work together. Now apparently, she runs Atlantis,” said Vik.
“Is she dangerous?” asked Kate.
“She’s resourceful but not dangerous. But time’s changed, I guess,” said Vik.
Vik asked Kate to inspect Brittany’s body and clothes for any tracking devices or bugs. After making sure they weren’t being tracked, Vik put Brittany over his shoulder and they walked uphill through the forest, towards the top.
On reaching the top at sunset, Vik and Kate sat down for a breather, looking at the lake.
“What are we doing to do now?” asked Kate.
“We need to stop Olivia and whatever she’s doing. I don’t think she’s alone in this,” said Vik.
“Who else?” asked Kate.
“If I had to guess, then I’d say Anthony Arnold was involved too. Olivia was his prodigy at Verati,” said Vik.
“What are you going to do?” said Kate.
“I’ll burn down their house. Permanently,” said Vik. “Always knew that. But never imagined it would have to go down this way.”
“I’ll help you,” said Kate.
“I can’t guarantee your safety,” said Vik. “I can’t even guarantee mine.”
“I don’t care. We have to end this,” said Kate.
“I don’t know one thing, though,” said Vik. “Knowing everything, how do I ask them to help? We can’t take Atlantis down on our own.”
“I know. But I can’t knowingly put their lives in danger,” said Kate.
“What if they decide to come look for us in case we fail?” said Vik.
“If we get them in, we have to get them out,” said Kate.
“Yes,” said Vik. “Looks like we’re heading to Morrow after a stop at West Gate.”
They went downhill on the opposite side towards their car. As they reached their spot, Brittany woke up, scared and furious. Kate grabbed her hand while she was trying to run away. Agitated, she broke down. Kate told her about their intentions of taking her back to West Gate. After few kicks, she calmed down. They got her to sit in the car. Kate sat beside her while Vik drove them to New Bay Police Station. After grabbing their bags and necessary files, they took off to West Gate. Vik led the way in his car while Kate followed behind in hers. Vik got something from the fuel station for Brittany to eat. Initially, she refused but after a while, she started eating. It took them many hours due to onset of heavy rain. The flowing mud made it harder to spot potholes, but Vik’s eidetic memory helped a little.
They made it to West Gate early in the morning, and were stopped at the entrance. Brittany had fallen asleep by then. Vik made a call to Rick and was let in by the guards on Rick’s orders
. He took them to the hospital where Martha had reached after being informed by Rick. Another 200 people had also gathered in the wee hours. Brittany was taken on a wheelchair inside the hospital by the nurses. As Kate and Vik got down the steps to go back to their cars, they were met with huge cheers and whistles. Brittany’s parents hugged Vik and Kate, crying with happiness.
“Thank you, Jay! Thank you, Jay!” chanted the crowd gathered in the parking lot in front of the hospital, as Vik and Kate stood below the stairs.
Vik and Kate waved their hands to appease the crowd and thanked them. Later, they returned to Vik’s home.
“Don’t want to say this, but would it be wrong on my part if we got some sleep before going to Morrow?” said Vik.
“Oh, thank god. I thought you’d never ask. I haven’t slept properly for 3 days,” said Kate.
Vik’s house phone rang. Rick asked to see them, and Vik invited him to his home.
“Let’s hope he brings something to eat,” said Vik.
“I’m starving. I haven’t had a proper meal since yesterday,” said Kate.
“Me too,” laughed Vik as they sat on the couch with their legs and arms stretched.
Half an hour later, Rick showed up with food. Vik snatched it from his hand and began eating out of the containers. Kate did something similar.
“Thanks to you, we got the girls,” said Rick.
“We’ll find Ginny too, and Ally too,” said Kate.
“We already found her, Ally Drew,” said Rick.
“What!” said Vik.
“Where?” said Kate.
“In this abandoned warehouse in the forest. Yesterday!” said Rick.
“Abandoned? You mean she was just left there?” said Kate.
“Yes. No sign of anyone else,” said Rick. “Good news, right?”
“Yeah, amazing,” said Vik. “Where’s she?”
“With her grandparents. She was completely fine when we found her, no visible injury or bruises. She asked to be with her grandparents and who would not! After what she’s been through,” said Rick.
“Great,” said Kate. “So are her grandparents here?”
“Yes, we called them from New Bay. They showed up yesterday night, and have been staying at the hotel. The girl’s grandfather even asked to buy the hotel, rich fella!” said Rick. “Where did you find Brittany?”
“In the forest. Though we had to fight off some attackers,” said Vik.
