by Thomas Fay
‘Thank God you’re alright!’ she exclaimed.
‘I’m fine,’ John said. He held her close for a minute, relieved that she was safe.
‘Is Agostino Romano here?’ John asked.
‘No,’ Lauren replied. ‘He stayed to clean up that mess you left at his house.’
Lauren pulled back. Looking over his shoulder, she said, ‘Michael, James, good to see you again. Hello, Socrates.’
‘Hello, Lauren.’
‘Who’s this?’ Lauren asked as her gaze found Simone. The two women stared at each other for a moment. John realised he was about to find out how the two of them would get along.
‘Lauren, this is Simone. She’s been helping us evade the Ruling Council. Simone, this is Lauren.’
The two women shook hands. They continued to stare at each other.
‘So you’re the ex-wife,’ Simone said.
‘That’s me. Who exactly are you?’ Lauren asked.
‘That’s a little hard to explain. Let’s just say I’m in this with the rest of you.’
‘Complicated, huh?’
‘That’s an understatement.’
Both women smiled. The tension in the room melted away. John wasn’t exactly sure if he was thrilled that they seemed to be getting along. Somehow he knew he would end up suffering for it.
‘Alright, we’re on a bit of a tight schedule here so we don’t have time to waste. Councillor Jonathan Gage has taken over the Ruling Council and branded the four of us the most wanted fugitives in Iona,’ John said. ‘Our only chance of stopping him from consolidating his power is to help Qallan Frost retake his position. In order to do that we need to get Walter Menzies’s research to him.’
Everyone turned to look at Lauren.
‘Why are you all looking at me?’ she asked.
‘Because you have the research,’ John said.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Then you know where it is.’
‘How would I know that?’
‘Because you saw Walter Menzies the night he died. In fact, other than the killer, you may have been the last person to see him alive.’
Lauren shifted uncomfortably but said nothing.
‘Lauren? Come on, I knew you weren’t telling me the whole truth all along. I was also pretty sure you had met with him. You saw the final test, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Lauren said, her voice subdued. ‘I was there.’
‘You’d better tell us exactly what happened that night.’
Lauren took a deep breath. Then she began to speak.
‘After I hung up the phone with Qallan Frost, I decided to call Walter back. He picked up almost straight away. I asked him for more details—what was wrong, how he thought I could help, that sort of thing. He told me he couldn’t discuss it over the phone because they were listening. I guess in hindsight they were the Iona Corporation. Anyway, he told me to come and see him at his private lab and he would show me what it was all about. So I caught a cab and was there fifteen minutes later.’
Lauren paused to catch her breath.
‘When I got to his lab he was extremely excited but also worried. He told me what he was about to show me would change the world. I was sceptical, of course, but he seemed convinced so I went along with it. He showed me the equipment he’d set up for the final test of his theory. Explained to me how he was going to use the theoretical concepts of M-theory to access a higher dimension in order to draw energy from it. I listened while he went through the complex details behind it, not really understanding any of it. Finally, he switched the device on. What happened next was difficult to describe.’
‘A floating ball of light suspended in mid-air?’ John asked.
‘Yes, actually. How did you know that?’ Lauren said.
‘I’ve seen something very similar. It’s what’s inside of a Flux Cell.’
Lauren nodded.
‘In hindsight that makes sense too. He was trying to create an alternative to the Flux Cell. Anyway, it worked. He managed to draw an infinitesimally small amount of energy from this higher dimension. The equipment barely registered it but it was there. The theory had been proven. His technology worked.’
‘Did anyone else see the test?’ John asked.
‘No,’ Lauren replied. ‘It was just the two of us. Afterwards he took me to his office and showed me the research files. This is where he started to act really paranoid. He copied all of the research onto a flash drive and wiped it from his laptop and server. When I say wiped, I mean he actually used a magnetic field to ensure no one could recover the data. That’s how paranoid he was.’
‘Lauren,’ John said.
‘Yes, John?’
‘May I have the flash drive?’
‘I don’t have it.’
‘Where is it?’
‘In your apartment. I hid it in the bathroom, inside the vanity.’
Sixty-Nine
There was a palpable sense of weariness in the room. Despite uncovering the location of the research they had been anxious to find, they knew the hardest part was still ahead of them. Streeter paced back and forth across the room. Socrates stood motionless in the corner. Lauren, John and Fernali sat on the couch, looking out at the view. Simone had disappeared into the kitchen. She returned moments later holding a bottle of water and eating an apple. The crunch as she bit through the skin caused everyone to flinch.
‘We can’t stay here forever,’ John said. He stood up and walked over towards the window. Looking out across the beach and the bay, he absently tapped his fingers on the glass.
‘Can we use the submersible vessel to get back to Iona?’ Streeter asked.
‘Yes, but then what? It doesn’t travel on land. Does it?’ John asked.
Simone shook her head. Her red hair bounced from side to side as she did.
‘So that means we’ve got to get to a car or some form of air transport. I’d say it would have to be a car, as the skies are so closely monitored above Iona that we’d be shot down within seconds of taking off,’ John said.
‘I agree with John,’ Fernali said. ‘I don’t think we should drive from here. Can we use the submersible to go back to the safe house in Mosman and use one of those cars?’
‘Yes, we should be able to do that. There are still a couple of cars left,’ Simone said.
‘Alright, let’s do it then,’ John said. ‘Simone, Socrates and I will go back to the safe house using the submersible vessel. We’ll retrieve a car and deliver Walter Menzies’s research to Qallan Frost.’
‘You want us to sit this one out?’ Fernali asked.
‘I need you to stay here with Lauren. Keep her safe. Don’t forget, we’re still the most wanted fugitives in Iona. The fewer of us moving around the better. Besides, Karl Hobbs is still out there and he’s tried to kill Lauren once already.’
‘I understand. We’ll keep you safe, Lauren.’
‘Thanks, I’m sure you will,’ Lauren said. ‘Be careful, John.’
John grinned at her.
‘Aren’t I always?’
‘No,’ Lauren and Simone answered in unison. The two women turned to look at each other. Both smiled.
‘I guess I’m not surprised,’ Lauren said. ‘I see you haven’t lost your charm.’
‘We really need to get going,’ John said, hastily heading for the door.
‘How do you get yourself into these situations?’ Fernali whispered as John walked past him.
‘Just lucky, I guess. Be safe.’
‘You too.’
John found the owner of the house, Franco, waiting for them by the side door.
‘Thank you, Franco. Let me know if there is anything I can ever do to repay you,’ John said.
‘Don’t worry, John. It’s my pleasure,’ Franco said, shaking his hand. ‘When this is all over, you, Agostino and I should sit down and talk.’
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
They stepped out of the house and made their way through the trees. The
young sentry waved to them as they passed. Reaching the cliff-side path they quickly found themselves on the rocks. Simone reached into her pocket and recalled the submersible vessel. Sixty seconds later it broke the surface. It rocked back and forth on the waves. Then it stabilized and the hull peeled back. They climbed inside. The hull sealed shut and it dove beneath the waves, heading back towards Iona.
‘Your ex-wife seems nice,’ Simone said. She deliberately avoided looking at John as she said it.
‘Yes, she is.’
‘How long were you married?’
‘Five years.’
‘Happily?’
‘For the most part until the end.’
‘Sorry to hear that. You still care about her, don’t you?’
John took a deep breath.
‘I guess I do. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish we were back together or anything like that. It’s just…’
‘I know.’
Simone’s hands activated several virtual icons in the holoprojection before her. A noticeable surge of power passed through the cabin as the vehicle accelerated to cruising speed. Just before she turned away, John saw a faint smile play across her lips.
Seventy
They reached the safe house at Mosman without incident. The submersible vessel’s elusive nature and speed made it easy for them avoid any boats in the harbour. Piloting the submersible vessel expertly through a narrow subaqueous opening in the cliff face, Simone brought them to the surface inside an underwater cave. Located directly underneath the safe house, it had been carved out of the bedrock and had direct lift access to the basement of the house. Exiting the vehicle, they entered the turbo-lift. Ten seconds later they were inside the house heading for the garage. Simone opened the door to the lower-level garage.
John let out a low whistle.
‘Tell me again why we had to take the Celine sedan when these were here all along?’ he asked.
‘I never said you had to take the Celine. You asked me for something that wouldn’t attract attention.’
‘Right.’
The inside of the lower-level garage held two cars. Two supercars, to be precise. The car closest to them was a Validator sports coupé. Powered by twin Flux Cells it was an all-wheel drive two-seater capable of reaching a top speed of over 300 kilometres per hour. What stood behind it was even more impressive: a four-door E5 touring car powered by four Flux Cells, one driving each wheel. Its top speed was rumoured to be closer to 400 kilometres per hour but no one had ever managed to test it successfully.
‘I guess we take the E5 since we won’t fit inside the Validator,’ John surmised.
‘Your reasoning, as always, is sound, John,’ Socrates said.
‘Thanks. You’re driving, by the way.’
‘As you wish.’
Socrates got behind the wheel as John sat in the front seat. Simone slid into the back seat. The last door closed with a reassuring thud. Socrates turned the car on. The four Flux Cells delivered a powerful burst of energy to the four independent drive-trains. The E5 shuddered with pent-up power.
‘Remind me to ask the Chief to get some of these for us to use.’
‘Another joke?’
‘No. I’m serious. These things are amazing.’
Simone opened the garage door remotely. Socrates pulled out onto the street. Accelerating smoothly, they reached the end of the street. Socrates turned to John.
‘What is our destination?’ he asked.
‘We need to swing past my apartment and pick up the flash drive. Then we need to deliver it to Qallan Frost.’
John looked at Simone.
‘Don’t look at me. I don’t know where he is.’
‘I guess we do this the hard way.’
John pulled out his phone. Staring at it for a moment, he held his hand out. Simone gave him her phone. He flicked it open and copied the number from his. Then he pressed the call button.
‘Hello?’ a voice on the other end said.
‘James? It’s Tesh. Are you alright?’
‘John, thank God. Yes, I’m fine.’
‘Good. Were you able to trace those calls?’
‘The ones from Qallan Frost?’
‘Yes.’
‘I was. It took a while to convert the authorisation code I extracted from your phone. Once I got that running I had to follow the carrier signal all the way back through several exchanges to the point of origin. That wasn’t easy. It actually—’
‘James!’
‘Yes?’
‘Do you know where the call originated?’
‘I do.’
‘Where?’
‘Believe it or not, the call originated from a warehouse in Mascot. I’ll send you the exact address.’
‘Don’t bother. I know where it is.’
Seventy-One
The E5 supercar attracted a considerable amount of attention from casual onlookers and other motorists as they made their way through the evening traffic. People stopped to take photos of the car. Children waved. One keen motorist actually lowered his window and took a video of their car as they passed it heading down Military Road through the suburb of Cremorne on the Lower North Shore. John kept glancing around, expecting to see a police car or, worse, a Ruling Council transport ship behind them. Despite the highly conspicuous nature of their transportation they passed over the Harbour Bridge and into the Inner West without incident. Crossing a red-light force-field barrier they drove down the street to John’s apartment in Glebe. Socrates pulled over in a side street.
‘This is close enough,’ John said. He turned to Simone. ‘You’d better wait here.’
‘Okay.’
‘No argument?’
Simone smiled.
‘No, I’ll wait here like an obedient little girl.’
‘You’re terrible.’
‘I try. Seriously, get going. I’ll be fine.’
John and Socrates stepped out. Walking across the street, they entered the apartment building through a side door.
‘Let’s take the stairs,’ John said.
‘As you wish.’
John was regretting that decision by the time they got to the tenth floor. He was breathing hard and his ribs were hurting again.
‘Are you alright, John?’
‘I’m fine.’
They stepped out into the hallway. Reaching his front door, John activated it via voice command. The door swung open. Before it had fully opened John had drawn his handgun and Socrates was already inside.
‘Hello, John,’ a voice greeted them.
Seated on his couch was an attractive brunette with blue eyes. John instantly recognised her as the receptionist from Karl Hobbs’s office.
‘Veronica Mason. Care to explain what you’re doing in my apartment?’
‘Would you believe that Karl Hobbs is an evil man who has been forcing me to do his bidding for years and I came here hoping you could save me from him?’
‘No.’
Veronica laughed.
‘Didn’t think so. You’re not bad-looking for a Sentinel, you know that? Maybe when this is all over you and I could get together.’
‘That’s not going to happen.’
‘You’re no fun.’
‘Why are you here, Veronica? Last chance before I arrest you.’
‘From what I’ve seen on the news, I should be arresting you. It seems you and your Sentinel friends have become the number-one enemies of our new benevolent leader, Councillor Jonathan Gage. Perhaps I should do my duty as a loyal citizen of Iona and report you.’
‘You’ll never make that call,’ John said. To emphasise his point he aimed his handgun squarely at Veronica. Socrates stood to the side, his eyes scanning the rest of the apartment. Nothing moved for a full sixty seconds.
Veronica laughed again.
‘I guess the stories about you Sentinels are true. You’re so serious. Life must get very boring.’
‘This is getting old. Socrates, restrain her.’
&n
bsp; The android stepped forward and grasped Veronica’s wrists in his vice-like grip.
‘Hey!’ she protested.
John barely heard her as he slipped into the bathroom. Putting his handgun away, he quickly checked the vanity. Pushing aside the bottles of deodorant and aftershave, he felt around in the back of the drawer where Lauren had told him she had hidden the flash drive. Empty.
‘Let her go,’ John said, walking back into the main room. He drew his handgun and aimed it straight at her.
‘I’m going to give you one chance to save yourself. Where’s the flash drive?’ he demanded.
‘Too late, Sentinel,’ Veronica said.
Seventy-Two
The door to John’s apartment was flung wide open. Four armed gunmen burst through, each wielding an automatic rifle. They managed to release the safety on their weapons and lower them to a firing position before Socrates was amongst them. The android grabbed the lead gunman, swinging him backwards into the others. They all went tumbling out into the hallway. Socrates followed, delivering crushing blows to each of them before they could stand up. One managed to get off a stray shot. The bullet lodged in the concrete ceiling. Socrates straightened up and walked back inside the apartment.
‘We must hurry, John,’ he said.
John nodded. Veronica Mason smiled.
‘That gunshot is going to bring the police here within minutes, if not the Ruling Council. Your time has run out, Sentinel.’
‘So has my patience. Do you have the flash drive or not?’
Veronica looked at him, a slow smile spreading across her face. Finally, she shook her head.
‘No. I don’t.’
‘Where is it?’
Veronica said nothing.
‘Where is it?!’
Veronica said nothing.
‘Allow me,’ a female voice said from the doorway. John spun around. Simone stood in the doorway.
‘I thought you were going to wait in the car?’ he asked.
‘I got bored,’ Simone said. She walked over to Veronica Mason.
‘Hello, Veronica,’ she said, leaning closer.
‘Simone,’ Veronica said. Her voice betrayed a hint of concern. ‘What are you doing here?’
