Chapter Fifteen
‘Revelation’
We all held our breath; no one dared move.
Each Valiron in the room illuminated a subtle glow; the non-Valirons were lost to the darkness. Thankfully, after a few moments the emergency lighting kicked in. The bright and glittering control centre was submerged in a deep yellow glow that made the room feel murky, creating pockets of shadows where the weak lighting failed to penetrate.
Flon held the Jolt like a pro. He may have played the role of a mad scientist, but he clearly knew how to handle the lethal weapon; Tork was going nowhere.
Sweat dripped off the commander’s brow. He was a strong and powerful soldier, and not used to be being on the receiving end of a Jolt. Even through his military training and years of discipline, he couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes.
I could see the cogs turning in his brain, searching for an opportunity, weighing up his odds of success if he attempted to break free. He was significantly larger than Flon, and his chances of escape were in his favour, but there was still a risk of failure. We needed to buy some time, wait for an opening.
“So Mr Parthy was right,” snarled Gorn.
“Why don’t you read that note for the whole class, Hagget?”
Gorn opened up the note and read it aloud. “‘Doctor Flon.’”
“He’s a bright boy. What gave me away, Creyson?”
I needed to stay steadfast, bury my fear and buy us some time. The longer I kept Flon talking the more chance Tork had to plan his escape. If I faltered or said the wrong thing it could cost the commander his life.
“There were a lot of little things.”
“Please, enlighten us.”
“At first I thought it was Gorn. He did go to my unit, probably searching for the code.”
Gorn averted his eyes in embarrassment.
“He certainly has a lot of aggression towards Earth… but there was something about you that didn’t sit right with me. While everyone else had an air of desperation, you seemed more… excited by the events. I accredited it to your eccentricity.”
Flon kept his gaze on me. He seemed to be enjoying my narrative.
“There were just too many things that didn’t make sense. You told me that you’ve lived in The Hub your whole life, yet you managed to get lost from the Guest Suite to your lab. I think you were trying to stall me, waste time. Then there was miscalculating how long it would be before the Trojans reached full power. I can’t believe a scientist of your calibre would make a mistake like that. Even Minister Drake said you were one of the greatest minds on Valiros.”
“Yes, I suppose that was a little inconceivable considering my intellect.”
“Something else that was inconceivable was locking yourself in your lab for days; I doubt the head of research and development would be stumped by a door. You said it gave you time to catch up on some work; I imagine it gave you plenty of time to reprogram the Trojans without interference.”
“It was almost an insult that they believed me. So is that everything?”
“My grandfather, he said you’d try to be my friend, that you would mislead me. He was right, except you weren’t trying to mislead just me; you were trying to mislead everyone.”
“Creyson, I hate to undermine your stellar detective work, but it was unlikely your grandfather’s warning was about me. Talsen had no idea there was a traitor in his midst.”
“Oh I think he knew, I just don’t think he knew who it was.”
“Possibly. But this is all circumstantial, just oddities, nothing more. Oh come on Creyson, what actually gave me away?”
“The picture in your office brought everything together. It was of you, and someone I met earlier today. You said you had a son who works outside the city. The person in the picture was Kron, your son. He attempted to stop me from getting here, which was why you were so surprised to see me when I arrived.”
“Kron. He’s completely useless. He was a last resort. He was just meant to observe and ensure you were on the tram. I had operatives waiting at Trans Central station, but after the city was evacuated Kron had to... improvise. Not his strongest talent. I dispatched a second team to apprehend you, but Commander Tork is quite a skilled driver.”
“So what happens now?” asked Tork.
“You won’t have to wait long, the finale is almost here.”
A few minutes earlier the doctor had been skipping around the room with a cheery disposition; I now found that memory hard to recall. It was clear everything before this point had been an act, a pretence to lull us into a false sense of security; this was the true Doctor Flon.
“You can’t let them launch, Flon. It’s genocide.” Unlike the rest of us, Gorn showed no apprehension.
Flon ignored Gorn’s imploration. “Report,” he ordered. The young scientist at the control desk wasn’t sure whether to follow the order or not. “I said report!”
“The Trojans are at ninety-seven percent,” she fearfully answered.
Drake remained still, sitting on the chair. I looked at him. He wasn’t able to understand what was being said, but he understood what was going on. I felt sorry for him. Flon had been a friend, a colleague, and the Minister had admired him. Drake didn’t look concerned or angry; simply hurt by the betrayal.
Gorn persisted. “You’re crazy.”
“Oh keep up, Hagget; ‘crazy’ was an act,” Flon said with a smug smile. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out.” He snapped his head to me. “Luckily for me, you’re just as stupid as his grandfather.”
My stomach churned, anger building. I wanted to leap to my grandfather’s defence, but Gorn got there first.
“Talsen Trent was a great Valiron.”
“Really? You’d think a great Valiron would know when he’s being murdered.”
This revelation was like a blow to the gut. I was blinded by a deep hatred for Flon, stronger than anything I had experienced in all my life. I thought my grandfather had been taken from me because it was his time; ill health that comes with old age, but now I’d discovered he was stolen by a twisted genius with a perverse agenda.
“You killed him?” I wanted to sound firm and assertive; I wanted to do justice to my Grandfather’s memory, but my voice betrayed my intentions. It cracked like the pathetic child I was.
“Talsen had the code, and I couldn’t allow him to use it.”
“How? How did you kill him?”
“I met Talsen shortly after it was reported his daughter had gone missing. Up until that point his identity had been kept secret. Although I knew who he was, I needed to meet him. Your mother’s disappearance forced him to expose his position. In order to find her, he would require the resources of The Hub, and more specifically, my knowledge and experience. I began poisoning him from then onwards; a little bit here, a little bit there, but the resilient old fool simply refused to die. It took longer than expected.”
Flon relaxed his grip slightly, and Tork didn’t miss the opportunity for escape.
Pulling his body away, he freed himself from Flon’s grasp. Spinning around, he reached for the butt of the Jolt with one hand while the other formed a fist and travelled towards Flon’s face, but he wasn’t quick enough. Flon ducked the approaching blow, swivelled the Jolt out of reach and plunged it into the commander’s ribs, hammering him with an electrical charge that forced him to collapse to the floor in a heap. A scientist wouldn’t have been able to react so quickly to Tork’s escape attempt; he clearly had some military training of his own. I wanted to help, but fright kept me glued to the spot. The soldier held his side in pain as Flon reached down and grabbed Tork around the collar, lifting him to his feet and jamming the Jolt viciously against his neck.
“Don’t try that again, Commander,” he advised. Tork was enraged but weak from the electrical blast.
Flon looked back at me with a happy smile. “You’d be amazed how easy it is to kill someone. With the right knowledge, you can
even make it look like natural causes. No questions. Once Talsen was out of the way all I had to do was reprogram the Trojans, and transmit the order to attack. Simple.”
“So what about Creyson, didn’t you factor him into your ‘simple’ plan?” asked Tork through gritted teeth.
I answered. “You couldn’t, could you? There was no record of me. As far as you were concerned I didn’t exist. My grandfather… erased me.”
“It was a slight sticking point. Talsen never mentioned a grandson, and as you so rightly point out, I could find no record of any descending family on file, except his daughter, but she’d already played her part. Everything was going swimmingly, until a few days ago when Drake informed me of your existence. If Talsen knew he was dying, then he would have told you the code. I knew I had to…. adapt my plan.”
“So why not just kill him?” Tork was recovering from the brutal Jolt. I was glad he was all right, but I wished he’d shut up. I didn’t want Flon to get any ideas.
“Come commander, grandfather and grandson both dead within a phase of each other? The risk of the murders being traced back to me was too great. No. My best option was to have him disappear; of course my son managed to mess that one up.”
Gorn stepped forward taking a defensive stance between Flon and me. It was a protective gesture. Whether he was protecting me or the code I possessed, I’ll never know.
“Why? Why do any of this?”
Flon bristled under this new line of questioning. A smile crept across his face; he was proud of himself. His voice became almost cheery “Because it’s time to return the veil of darkness to Valiros.”
“You’re a Veil.” If Gorn were surprised, he didn’t show it.
“Veils understand what it means to be Valiron. Before the humans arrived we were a strong race, powerful; but look at us now. We live in our cosy homes, with our beautiful architecture, and pretty clothes. We want for nothing; we’ve become weak. There are those among us who prefer the way we used to live. It’s time we returned to our roots. We were born into the darkness. This new world of light was offered to us, and we embraced it, but the cost was everything that makes us who we are.”
“So you want to throw us back into the dark ages?”
“I want us to be Valiron.”
I recited my grandfather’s final words. “His only alliance is to the darkness.”
“Within minutes the Trojans will reach full power; they will launch an attack on Earth, and we will live in the darkness again. The weak may perish, but the strong will survive. I doubt Kron will make it.”
Flon was enjoying the sound of his own voice, babbling about the wonders of living in the darkness. He was focused on Gorn and failed to see the new addition that had entered the control centre. Zeal.
She wandered in through one of the doorways to Flon’s right. She looked lost as she searched for a way out of The Hub. I had never been so happy to see her.
Zeal spotted me and opened her mouth to speak. My wide eyes and raised eyebrows conveyed my intended message. She closed her mouth and edged back slightly into the doorway.
It didn’t take her long to figure out what was happening. She switched to hunter mode.
Creeping slowly, she moved further into the room, slinking like a predator behind Flon. She quickly assessed the situation and formulated a strategy of attack. Our eyes met over Flon’s shoulder, and she smiled. Zeal was ready to flex her muscles; this was what she was born for, the thrill of the fight.
She began pointing at Flon, then back to me. I didn’t understand what she wanted me to do, and this frustrated her. She rolled her eyes then mouthed one word to me. “Distraction.”
I was flustered. What could I do? Flon had a Jolt pressed against Tork’s neck. With one flick of the switch, he could finish the commander off. We would only get one shot at this. If it didn’t work, Tork could lose his life. I racked my brain, and did the first thing that came to mind. I nodded at Zeal, and she dropped into a low stance.
I took a deep breath and then, screaming at the top of my lungs, I let out a shriek that sliced through the air. Arms waving, I ran like a mad person; circling myself like a Lag chasing his tail. I may have looked ridiculous, but it worked. Flon stopped talking and stared at me with surprise.
Zeal wasted no time. She pushed off the ground and dived on the doctor’s back with a howl, locking her arms around his neck. Tork was quick to react. He slipped out of his grasp and pushed himself away. In a split second, he was back reaching for the Jolt. Flon threw Zeal off his back with a roar of anger, and she went hurtling to the floor, hitting the reflective surface with a heavy thud.
The Doctor failed to see the commander back at his side. With one swing of his fist, Tork smashed the Doctor across the side of the face, grabbing the Jolt with his free hand. Flon turned his attention to the commander, reaffirming his grip on the Jolt with more force, but Zeal swung her legs in a fluid arch taking Flon’s feet from under him. Legs flapping in the air, his back slapped onto the floor, the weapon slipping out of his grasp. Tork spun the Jolt down and jammed it into Flon’s stomach pushing the button. He gave him one quick blast to incapacitate him.
The duo had worked together with remarkably fluid synchronisation. The doctor remained on the floor gripping his stomach, moaning in pain.
Zeal got to her feet and strolled over to me while brushing herself off. “Screaming like a fool, and running like a lunatic? That’s the best you could come up with?” chuckled Zeal.
“You’re welcome.” I sarcastically responded.
“You’re welcome? I’m the one who saved the day. Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”
“How did you get out the Guest Suite?”
“I caught the door before it closed. If you thought I was going to spend another minute in that hideous room you had another think coming.”
“Save it you two,” barked Tork. “Report?” he shouted to the young scientist who had been frozen in shock.
“Erm... The Trojans are at ninety-eight percent.”
Tork turned to Gorn “How do you input the code?”
“We can do it from here.”
Flon laughed through spurts of pain. “No you can’t. I’ve disabled the remote access. You won’t be able to stop them.”
“Is there another way?”
Gorn thought for a moment. “Yes. I believe you can input the code directly. Each Trojan has an access panel in the bottom left corner. If you open it up you can punch in the code manually; the deactivation order should be instantly transmitted to the entire network.”
Tork didn’t appreciate technical explanations. “They’ll shut down?”
“Yes.”
With a nod, the commander marched his way over to me. “Creyson, what’s the code?”
Tork was planning to input the code himself. In an instant, any fear I once harboured washed away. This was my grandfather’s duty, and now it was mine, my legacy. This had become my responsibility. “No. I’m going to do it.”
He knew there wasn’t time to argue. “Fine.” He looked back at Gorn throwing him the Jolt. “Gorn, keep an eye on Flon.”
“How are you going to get out? The corridor is inaccessible”
“The military access point.”
Flon began to snigger. “I’m afraid not, commander. After you reminded me, I changed the encryption code. I suppose you could blast it open, but I doubt you’ll have the time.”
Tork hesitated for a moment, he had no answer.
An idea sprang to mind. “The ventilation system. Flon told me all about it. It runs throughout the entire complex, and there are several vents that lead to the surface.” Apparently I’d been paying more attention than I’d thought.
Tork’s head lifted. I followed his gaze, which settled on a small air vent. “Creyson, how are you with small spaces?”
In response to his question, I grabbed one of the silver chairs and rolled it under the air duct. “Ready when you are.”
Benton began to move, and his eyes flickered open.
“That really hurt,” he griped.
I dropped by his side.
“Benton, you’re okay.”
“You’ve got a weird perception of ‘okay’.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like three hundred volts of electricity were poured through my body. Is it over?”
“Not yet.”
He let out a small whine. “This has been a really bad first day.”
“Tell me about it. Zeal,” She looked at me. “Benton’s been hurt, stay with him.”
She stared down at our friend lying on the floor. “Typical; trust Benton to be the one who ended up unconscious.”
“Zeal…”
“Okay, not a problem. I’ll stay with him.”
“Mr Parthy, get moving,” order Tork from within the vent.
I began to climb the chair, when Zeal grabbed my wrist. “I have no idea what’s going on, but it sounds dangerous. Be careful Creyson Parthy.”
This could have been the last time I saw Zeal; in the light at least. I’m not sure what came over me, but I jumped back down, grabbed her, and gave her the biggest kiss I could muster. Zeal was stunned. So was I.
“Well, took you long enough,” she jibbed.
“You know, you annoy me. You frustrate me. Sometimes you make so angry I feel like my head could explode.”
“You’re ruining the moment.”
“But you are sort of amazing.”
“Yes I am.”
“Mr Parthy!” shouted Tork.
Without a word, I jumped on to the chair and pulled myself up and through the vent.
Behind me, I could hear Flon shouting a haunting prediction. “You’ll never stop them! The darkness is coming!”
Creyson Parthy & The Trojan Attack Page 15
