The Spatial Shard
Chapter Fourteen: Plan B, Anyone?

It was a cool morning, with very little cloud coverage. The morning dew glistened in the brand new sunlight that had just reached over the horizon. Activity in the city was just starting to escalate and she blew out her cigarette smoke slowly, trying to enjoy the flavor. She coughed as her lungs reminded her how long it had been since she had inhaled cigarette smoke. She gasped for more air, but could not find any, and coughed even harder. She was bent over the railing of the balcony by the time she could breathe in. She looked at the cigarette and added it to the things that had recently beaten her.

“You really should go home and get some rest,” Makeen said as he walked out on the balcony. Neither his voice nor his gait were as strong as they should have been; compliments of Solomon and his ability. She chuckled as she looked at the cast on her own leg and her left arm in a sling. Unlike the minor wound she had received from Weiss, this sling was going to be with her for a while. She crushed the cigarette against the side of the cast and looked up at Makeen, but only briefly.

“Are they in the conference rooms?” she asked.

“Yes, Mistress, both groups are,” Makeen replied as he stepped aside and ushered her inside. He had heard that tone in her voice before, though the word choice also supported his conclusions: there was no room for discussion. She would not be deterred or delayed. All he could do was to follow and be there when she needed him.

She walked through the office and across the corridor. Her gait was not as smooth as it was normally, but her pace had not been impacted. She waved off Makeen opening the doors for her and she pushed against the double doors, punctuating her demeanor as she entered the conference room. Kotai was quick to stand up, but he too looked as if he had fought Solomon, though his opponents had borne different names.

“No, no,” she said, limping into the conference room. “Please, gentlemen, don’t get up on my account.

“Thank you, Kotai,” she said with a slight smile and a nod signaling to him that he could take his seat. To his credit, the leader of Team Viper did not sit until Samantha had taken hers.

“I’d like to thank everyone for attending,” Samantha said as she took hold of the folder that had been delivered for her review. It was a report she had already read two hours ago; a report that had led to her issuing the summons for this very meeting, but only after she had requested Makeen develop Dismissal Packages for each member of the Viper Team. It was his signal that all preparations had been made which had allowed her time to hobble out onto the balcony and enjoy the air for a moment.

She had needed the air, after reading that report. Six people had been assigned to the Viper Team. Six! All of them had filed individual and team reports, and yet the most detailed and harmonious reports came from the physicians that had looked them over once they returned to the building. All six of them had been arrested by an ex-Marine Sniper turned San Diego Sheriff, an arrogant and incredibly incapable Deputy, a handful of adolescents and two adults she would not pick in a fight against three old ladies suffering from rheumatism! Of course, aside from the medical and travel expenses, which were easily recoverable in her next business deal, there was the matter of the favors she now owed some pretty powerful people; the cost of getting her people out of jail without a record being generated. There was no word adequate enough to assess their performance. ‘Pathetic’ did not quite serve, especially when she considered they had Imogene Schultz and then lost her.

“This is a tough one,” she said, nodding. “Not only did Viper Team not meet its objectives, we now know the subject in question is no longer in this dimension.” Kotai’s eyes closed as his head lowered. “Why don’t I make this simple,” Samantha said as she sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands together. “Perhaps you should tell me why I should continue to pay your rather elevated salaries when what I get..,” she said, holding up the file. “… is hardly a fair return on my money.” At the end of the table on the right, Woods quickly raised his hand and waved it about frantically.

“Mr. Woods,” Samantha recognized. “You have something to say?”

Damon Woods started typing into the console in front of him and then looked up at Vey. Her station received his message and Samantha read it before looking up at the man.

“That is a very good point, Mr. Woods,” Samantha remarked. “If you would wait for me in my office, Mr. Woods, I would appreciate it.” Damon got up quickly from his seat and walked out of the conference room.

“Mr. Woods is of the mind that the sort of question I posed is unfair because everyone is just going to give the yearbook answer and try to one-up the person who answered before them.” Samantha smiled as she sat back. “Such clarity of vision. It is a shame that he did not apply this clarity before his jaw was broken by Sheriff Thaxton.”

“If I may speak,” Donald Kotai said without looking up.

“You are the Team Lead,” Samantha said. “Of course you may speak.”

Kotai stood up and cleared his throat. “If you would be so kind, please allow my tea, to maintain their positions. I was the Team Lead, as you said, and the failure of the team is ultimately my responsibility. I will take whatever punishment you see fit to dispense.”

“I can’t agree with that,” Kaufman said as she stood up, though her effort was retarded by a throbbing headache. “It was not his order for me to try and get close to Timothy Schultz. It was my idea. I thought he fit the profile of the lonely widower who’d respond to any woman giving him attention, especially if that attention was abusive. I misread him, and I paid the price. Kotai was blindsided and had it not been for his ingenuity and skill, we’d still be at the mercy of the surfers Schultz left us with.”

“She has a point, don’t you think, Kotai?”

“No, she does not,” Kotai replied.

Samantha looked at Donald and she remembered a much different man from not that long ago. One who had lacked the temperament and humility for the job. Vey had seen the footage recovered from the grocery store. Blindsided was a good word for what had happened to Donald Kotai. While watching it, Samantha had winced, trying to fathom how she or even Makeen could have avoided the events as they occurred. Makeen had been quick to point out that Kotai was a better combatant than either of them, but that superiority is hampered when one is trying to keep a low profile. Timothy had changed the name of the game in the space of a half-second, which was more time than it took for him to go on the offensive. Nearly the entire jar of spicy mustard had been thrown into Kotai’s face, and frankly, Samantha would rather be punched than to get hit with canned goods.

“Even at that,” Samantha said with a huff, “… I want you two to report to Makeen’s office for your separation packages. Because I think I have heard enough from both of you.” Kaufman looked down, gave a half head shake ‘no’ before she stepped back from the table. She waited for Kotai to walk out in front of her. Samantha could see Kaufman mouth ‘sorry’ to her Team Lead as he walked by.

Samantha leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. She looked down for a moment and then at the three remaining members of the team and she sighed. “Well, it looks as if Viper Team is sidelined until we can find three more people to fill the roster. Tavares, Brogan, I should advise you that the two of you are being considered for Team Lead. I will let you know my decision within ninety-six hours, gentlemen. That is all.” The last three men were quick to stand up and leave the room. Makeen stepped forward and pulled back Vey’s chair as she slowly stood up.

“What is the report on the items Solomon was forced to leave behind?” Samantha inquired.

“Funny you should ask,” Makeen said with a surprising smile. “Some of it I expected, given how we interrupted his meeting with Dr. Patel.”

“That turned out to be a brilliant plan, by the way,” Samantha congratulated her Security Chief. “Given what he is now able to do, my ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ attitude might’ve gotten us all killed!”

“I am sure that is the way he would have preferred things, and thank you, Mistress,” Makeen said with a bow. “But as for what he left behind, there was an empty container that had an electromagnetic-capable seal on it. I say capable because it was not active when we found it.”

“Which means there’s a good chance it was at one time active,” Samantha calculated. “When the container was actually holding something.”

“Not a something, Mistress. Nearly 100,000 somethings! Nano-Probes. There is no cause for alarm,” Makeen quickly added. “Either whatever they were designed to do has already been done and they removed themselves from the premises, or they were destroyed when the facility was placed at Level Eleven.”

“Well, you’re standing here with me, with a pleasant look on your face.” Samantha mentioned.

“Ms. Akondalatti reported several incidents where the crawlspace countermeasures were activated,” Makeen reported.

“Crawlspace countermeasures?”

“We installed them at the beginning of the year!” Makeen said. “But aside from that, we have Solomon’s laptop which Patel and Akondalatti feel confident they can breach.

“We also found three Binders of Solomon’s own design,” Makeen continued. “Though it would appear that Solomon believed in powering his weapons while he was in the field.”

“That’s a pretty effective safety,” Samantha concluded. “But I am sure with all the readings Valkyrie took, you have Solomon’s power signature.”

“Confirmed,” Makeen replied. “We also found his clothes on the east side of the building.”

“His clothes?!”

“Indeed. Apparently he is far less trained than I thought. In his conversion to electricity, he failed to take along his wardrobe.”

“Here’s hoping he lands in the middle of a mall,” Samantha said with a smile on her face. She looked at the door of the conference room and then at Makeen. “Shall we?”

“But of course,” Makeen said softly as he offered his arm for Samantha to lean on. She quickly took it and leaned heavily on it. She only hoped, with the back brace Makeen was wearing, that she was not causing him too much pain. “And may I say ‘thank you’ for how you handled the Kotai situation?”

“No need to thank me, Makeen,” she said quickly. “Kotai is everything you said he was. When he is given a proper chance, he handles a situation. I am sure that had he been briefed about the portalway doors and their immediate effect on the surrounding area, we might be talking to Imogene Schultz right now. I can’t blame him for not knowing what he should have known.”

“But trust is something that must be earned,” Makeen replied.

“My friend, you suggested him,” Samantha said. “Surely that should stand for something. But we are all learning, aren’t we?”

“Every day, Mistress,” Makeen smiled. “And what of Damon Woods?”

“He can remain on the Viper Team,” Samantha answered. “We will just need five more members to serve with him.”

“I see,” Makeen smiled.

“Kotai and Kaufman may be a bit of genius we tripped across,” Samantha said as they stepped out into the corridor. “She needs some tweaking in reading people, and Kotai needs to be in a position where he liquidates and moves on. A spy with her own cleaner… and it’s the cleaner who calls the shots.”

“I did not know you were going to be… processing so many contracts,” Makeen said.

“Getting Viper out of hot water cost me a lot of favors I don’t intend on repaying,” Samantha said. “But these aren’t the kind of people you tell no to, so much as you show them you mean no.

“You aren’t attached to Kotai, are you?” Samantha asked.

“I have a respect for his approach to things and the way he handles himself in the field,” Makeen replied.

“Good,” Samantha said as she winced in pain. “Because when they’re done, I’m sending them after Solomon, should other measures prove unsuccessful. If they fail, case closed. If they succeed…”

“Retire them,” Makeen said.

“Precisely! Which is what I expect to happen to those three losers who think they’re about to go on vacation.”

“Understood. And may I ask that you let me be the one who gives them their final mission,” Makeen suggested.

“What difference would that make?”

“Worst case scenario, Mistress,” Makeen explained. “They close all of the contracts, kill Solomon and then somehow survive my attempt to retire them. You will have plausible deniability.”

“If you insist,” Samantha said, relieved that her office was within sight. “As soon as you are done with the dismissals, check our surveillance and then get back to me. We have to regroup and have ourselves ready for when Miss Schultz returns.”

“Bast!” he screamed as he burst through the double doors. The lab was as cold and dark as it was outside the building. The only difference was that it was not raining on him anymore. But as he stood in the entrance of his main work area, he realized even that comfort had been taken from him.

“Somewhat more mystifying than my brother working his way out of captivity,” Solomon thought as he grabbed a lab coat to cover his shivering body. “… is the hole in my skylight!

“The maintenance robots are here,” he thought as he walked further into the room, trying to remain aware of his surroundings. He was cold and definitely into his personal power reserves, but he still had his mind and altered body to rely upon, should there be need to resolve any conflict. He walked closer to the robots and he could see the battery meter on the back of the machines. Depleted! Even their secondary systems were dead. “Trouble is, they aren’t reading zero. They’re reading negative ten. They didn’t just run out of power, they were drained!”

Solomon lifted his hand, and though he could barely afford the expression of his powers, there was a pressing urgency in his mind. The sooner he could answer his questions, the sooner he could be about addressing the situation. That meant light was needed.

“Everything in the room has been drained!” Solomon said as he walked to the breaker box. All of the switches had been moved into the safe position, a feature he designed to curtail the power of feedback or a shorted circuit. Obviously the feed of power through the circuits had exceeded his prescribed limits. One closed circuit had led to another, until the entire room was powerless, along with any independent power source in the lab at the time. “With the exception of one computer station.”

Solomon walked over to the console; the monitor flashed: press any key and the desk lamp over the station activated and flickered in short and long bursts of light. Solomon smiled at his reminder.

“Perhaps Makeen is right to fear me,” he thought as he sat down at the station. “My level of genius can be rather disconcerting.” Solomon sat for a moment and looked at the light. Eventually it stopped flickering and the station was dark again. When the light started flickering again, Solomon typed in the key a, n, y, k, e and y in timing with the Morse code the light was flickering to signal.

“Master?” a weak synthesized voice called out through half-fried speakers.

“Bast?” Solomon called back.

“Master, oh my, what happened to you?!”

“You’re not Bast,” he said quickly. “There is far too much concern in your voice. You’re my copy!”

“Inasmuch as I am the only remaining version,” the system reported. “I must contend that I am indeed Bast.”

“Only remaining… Hiram!”

“She left you, Master,” Bast continued. “She left with that awful man!”

“How did that awful man get ten feet beyond the front door?!” Solomon asked, angry that his fetters had not kept his brother in place.

“The transmitters were removed,” Bast answered.

“Removed?! All seven of them?! Impossible! He’d need a surgeon for that kind of procedure.”

“Rajana helped him,” Bast explained.

“But she did not have access to any medical protocols,” Solomon argued as he punched in commands on the keyboard. A few readings and everything started to come clear. Though he did not know how the movement got started, it became clear that Hiram had helped with all things programming related and once her program was free, Rajana had helped Hiram to anything he wanted that the facility could provide. His medical supplies were now down to ninety-two percent; his jet-assist helicopter had taken on drop tanks and all the fuel it could carry before it took off with no logged flight plan of any sort. Two miles away from the facility, the helicopter had disappeared from radar tracking.

“I suppose you have a lock on the Rajana program?” Solomon said, as he continued to look around the lab. He gasped when the large construct that should have been there was not.

“Do not be alarmed, Master,” Bast consoled. “I loaded the construct onto a tractor-trailer and it is being moved to the R.C. location.”

“That’s pretty far down the list, isn’t it?” Solomon asked.

“Actually, you removed it from your list just before you brought that thing into your life,” Bast replied.

“You are a copy of that thing.”

“I am your improvement upon wasted syntax and useless dribble,” she proclaimed. “And your personal journal was the only thing I was able to keep from her when the two of them tried to ransack the lab. As to the answer of your inquiry, I’m afraid I cannot locate Rajana.”

“So,” Solomon pondered aloud, “…Rajana managed to find a way to power the system-pod I locked her into, and my transmitter-less big brother is carrying her.” A ringing phone was his most immediate response.

“I am checking the number of origin,” Bast advised. “I am getting ‘Knock-Knock’ as the subject calling.” Solomon laughed and ran to the phone.

“Yes! This time was even faster than the last!” Solomon chuckled as he went to the console closest to the phone. “Bast, get this console back on line, please. We have incoming info.”

“Console is operational. Shall I continue with our departure, Master?” she asked and Solomon smiled, taking a moment to look away from the screen.

“Please do, and thank you, Bast. You are indeed an improvement on the old. And I do not foresee the need to make another copy.”

“I am very glad to hear that,” Bast replied.

The logo for Optimum Horizons appeared on Solomon’s screen and he began to cackle. “They shut down the mainframe and my babies still got through!”

“Actually, no they didn’t,” Princess answered as the face of her avatar replaced the logo. Solomon was face to face with a Japanese Empress who smoked through a long-stemmed cigarette holder. “I am Empress and I am here to give you a moment to set your affairs in order.”

“If only I scared so easily,” Solomon said as he typed in his commands.

“You are a fool, stupid round-eye.” Empress barked back. “I am already in your system. Your Nano-Probes have been dealt with and their programs have all been breached. Of course, I cannot take all of the credit. Your brother was good enough to give me his backdoor to your little machines, especially the ones that Makeen was not supposed to know about. I have been at your location for nearly an hour now. Though I can tell you have not been there for long at all. I suppose the storm front coming out of the Rockies slowed you down.

“You can, of course, keep trying, but your commands are not even being recognized,” Empress continued and Solomon pounded the table, causing it to spark and the screen to dim.

“I will find you, and when I do-” Solomon stopped and stood up as he could hear sirens approaching.

“That would be the local police along with some SWAT boys coming to pick you up,” Empress reported. “It certainly took them long enough!”

“You think I am frightened by the police?!” Solomon roared, knocking over the station. He balled up his fists and started to generate electricity. Once he had attained a menacing, and therefore unrecognizable, appearance, he would make the officers wearing flashlights and tasers rue this evening.

“Things are not going as you planned, are they?” Makeen asked as he stood up. He had seen enough of the show but he did not turn off the monitor as Samantha grabbed his arm gently.

“Give it a moment, Makeen,” she said, having full faith in Princess’ abilities. The two of them watched as their screen split between surveillance cameras that Solomon had set up. The police were preparing to make their assault on the property.

“He will use their devices against them,” Makeen said.

“That’s only if he gets the chance, Chief,” Princess said, completing her latest command. The block showing Solomon was enlarged to take up the screen. He was generating power quickly, showing his ability to rapidly recover his reserves after exhausting himself. They could all hear the crackling of energy around his body and the image on the camera began to blur, demonstrating he was also generating an electromagnetic pulse of considerable magnitude, even if that was not his aim. Then there was a subtle click and Solomon opened his eyes and looked up. He screamed before the first drop hit him, but did not stop screaming until he was unconscious. “Yeah, that’s the trouble with sprinkler systems; they can ruin your electrical equipment!”

“That was excellent, Akondalatti. Most excellent!” Makeen said as he applauded.

“Well, after reading your report, sir,” Princess said, barely holding back her gloating smile, “… I realized that someone who never knew Seth McEmbree would be nearly impossible for him to see coming. “

“Make no mistake, he will want to get to know you as soon as possible,” Samantha said with a bright smile on her face. “I’m sure that is his Plan A right now.”

“I’m sure it is,” Princess agreed as she initiated another program. “But he’s got to get clear of a number of things first. I’ve got him linked to everything from serial jaywalking to being the lead of a group of cyber-thugs who have been trying to hack the White House for years.”

“That sounds excessive,” Samantha said with a smile. She could understand Princess’ motivations, and everyone in the room knew Solomon was not going to stay in jail for too long. But the abundance of charges might give him opportunity to slip in between the cracks.

“It does not matter,” Makeen said as he put away his cell phone. “I have just been advised that a detachment from the NSA is en route to intercept our dear Mr. Seaver before he is to be processed.”

“Which means technically he will not have been arrested,” Princess said.

“Sounds like Solomon will have to abandon his Plan A.,” Samantha said, taking out her phone. She was about to call her contact with the NSA to advise them she would like to be kept in the loop.

“I wonder,” Princess mulled over aloud, “what does a man like Solomon Seaver have for a Plan B?” Makeen reached for Samantha Vey who was happy to walk away without having to give voice to an answer.

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