Regina couldn't help but think about the past while the chopper flew en route to South America. She thought about Dylan and their adventures together. She thought about the extremely mysterious helmet people they encountered while trying to find survivors. She thought about the blond girl she handcuffed to a control shack a day ago. Regina couldn't get the disturbing picture of this girl having her legs crushed by a supercomputer out of her mind.
Poor thing, Regina thought.
The chopper flew over Brazil and neared the jungle. Regina couldn't help but mull over the fact that that girl was Dylan's daughter.
How did he find that out? And, why was the girl there in the first place?
"We're here!" the pilot declared.
The chopper hovered over the jungle as the male pilot emerged from his chair, picked up a ladder, and threw it over the side of the vehicle.
"Thanks for your help," said Regina.
"You're welcome," responded the pilot.
Regina checked her equipment once more before going over to the ladder. She climbed over the edge and positioned herself on the ladder.
The pilot returned to his chair and lowered the helicopter slowly. Regina looked down as she neared the tops of trees. Soon, the helicopter got close enough to the ground, and Regina dismounted the ladder onto the grass. The pilot pulled up the ladder and waved good-bye to Regina as the vehicle flew off into the distance.
Regina waved good-bye and turned her attention to the vegetation surrounding her. "Time to get to work," she said. She traveled through the jungle in a southerly direction. She moved quickly but quietly, being careful not to make too much noise.
Eventually, Regina reached the facility. She hid behind some trees to avoid being seen. Through the last rows of trees, she could make out a tan-colored building with tall walls on all four of its sides. It was in the center of a green, circular field. Guards were on the circumference of this field, equidistant from each other. They faced the jungle with loaded guns in their arms. Regina was a few feet away from the edge of the circle, staying out of sight.
I have just the thing to get past these guys, Regina thought. She took out a black box, moved a few feet to her left, placed the box on the ground with no trees in front of it, and returned to her previous position.
After fifteen seconds, the box whirred softly and started opening itself up. More and more compartments revealed themselves as the box repeatedly unfolded itself. The box then stopped expanding its insides. Several square open spots were arranged in rows on top of the box, and in them were orange objects. The objects shook and spontaneously shot up into the air and over the field. They exploded on the ground near the center of the field, making very loud noises.
The guards heard the noise from the flares and turned their heads. Several small fires started in the center of the field.
"Oh, no!" a guard called out, heading towards the flames to extinguish them. The rest of the guards followed suit.
Now's my chance! Regina thought. She raced down the field towards the nearest wall, keeping an eye out for any guards. All of the guards were far away from her on her right, trying to put out the flames. She eventually reached the wall and hid behind a nearby crate. When Regina peered from the side of the crate, she saw that the coast was still clear. To the right of her on the wall was a numbered key lock adjacent to a brown metal door.
Regina aimed her watch at the lock. The watch's screen scanned the lock. Within seconds, it gave her the code to the door. She quickly entered the code. There was a beep, and the door made an unlocking sound. Rick's gear sure comes in handy, Regina thought.
The flames diminished. The guards let out sighs of relief and turned to go back to their posts. However, Regina was already inside with the door closed by the time any of the guards entered the area.
She checked her surroundings and found herself in some dimly lit corridor. She used her visor to check the area. It showed her that she was in an L-shaped hallway. On the other end was a door leading to the entrance of the facility. No one else was in the area.
Regina turned her light source on and the hallway became brighter and easier to see. She walked down the first part of the corridor and turned left. Straight ahead at the end of the second section of the hallway was the door to the facility. The door had an electronic lock next to it.
I can short this with my stun gun, Regina thought. She pulled out her trusty stun gun from her pocket. This weapon had been with her since her last adventure. She remembered shocking dinosaurs and opening electronically locked doors with it. It was basically her trademark weapon and tool.
This thingbrings back memories, Regina thought to herself as she activated the stun gun. A short pillar of electrical energy came out of the object. She went up to the electronic lock and shorted it with the stun gun. The color of the lock instantly changed from red to green. She opened the door and went inside. There was an opening in the floor ahead. Regina looked down into the opening and saw a ladder against the wall below her, leading to another corridor. She walked up to the edge of the opening, positioned herself on the ladder, and climbed down into the next area.
The corridor led to another door just ahead. Regina moved quietly. Through the window of this door, she could see another corridor just ahead. In front of the same door was another hallway perpendicular to the one she was facing. A guard walked back and forth on this path.
Regina used her visor to check the area for alternate routes. She found an air vent on the ceiling. That gives me an idea.
Regina stood under the vent, got out a retractable pole, and pointed it upwards. The pole started extending itself. When it reached the vent, it pushed the grille up and out of the way. The grille made a slightly loud noise when it hit the wall of the air duct, but luckily, no one heard the sound.
Phew. I've got to be more careful!
Regina took out her grappling gun and pointed it upwards. The hook quickly moved upwards and latched itself onto the opening, leaving a long cord behind. She pressed a button on the gun, and the cord started retracting, lifting her off the ground and into the vent. She climbed into the air duct and put the grille back over the opening.
Regina used her visor to create a map of the ventilation system. She then compared it with the map of the facility that Rick programmed into the visor in order to find out what route would be optimal. After a few minutes, she marked her route to the room with the blueprints to the Timegate. There's my destination, she thought. Regina turned right and headed down the air vent. She soon came in front of another grille and used a screwdriver to unscrew the screws anchoring the grille to the opening. After she took care of all the screws, she lifted the grille and gently put it to the side.
There was a hallway parallel to Regina from below. At both ends of the hallway were perpendicular hallways. One was ahead, and the other one was behind. All three hallways formed an I-shape, with Regina above the midpoint of the long shaft.
Two guards patrolled the length of both perpendicular hallways back and forth, one guard for each hallway. Regina watched their movements. I have to get the timing just right, she thought. When the guards passed, she dropped from the opening onto the ground, making almost no noise. She saw an alcove on her left, quickly rolled to the side, and entered the alcove before the guards came back.
Regina saw another alcove ahead along this hallway. When the coast was clear, she quickly ran to the other alcove, being careful not to trip or make too much noise. She safely entered the next alcove and saw a vent. She unscrewed the vent's grille, entered, and closed the vent. Just made it, she thought, grinning.
Regina crawled forward in the narrow vent. When its height was big enough, she stood up and walked the rest of the way. Once Regina reached the dead end, she turned around and glanced upwards. The opening to the next section of the passageway was high up. She took out her grappling gun and fired it at the edge of the opening. With a successful latch of the hook, she ascended into the opening.
Regina saw that the passage was L-shaped. She followed it until she reached the drop. She dropped down and found that this path led to a dead end. She turned around and saw another grille in front of her. Past this grille was the room with the blueprints inside.
Regina walked up to the vent opening and looked through the grille into the room. She saw that the area was square and tiny, with light-brown walls, a tan ceiling, and a white-tiled floor. To the left was a gray door. To the right was a dark brown desk with a man sitting behind it, doing some paperwork. In the wall on the other side of the room, there was a black safe.
That safe must contain the blueprints! Regina assumed. Now to deal with the guard. She took out a peashooter and loaded it with a small tranquilizer dart. She put the peashooter in her mouth, moved the end of it through the grille, aimed it at the man's neck, and blew into the tube. The dart instantly flew towards the target.
The man slapped his neck when the dart connected with it. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Darn mosquitoes!" He examined the affected area of his neck and found a small object. He pulled it out and looked closely at it. "Hey, wait a minute. This isn't a mosquito." He paused. "Oh, no."
The man immediately knew what the object was. However, the chemicals from the dart have already entered his body. It didn't take long for him to feel the effects of the tranquilizer. "Curses," he said, as he started to fall into a deep sleep, falling off his chair onto the floor. He was knocked out cold.
Regina moved the grille out of the way, got out of the vent, and put the grille back in. She then checked her surroundings again just to be safe. The safe was a few feet away. She walked up to it, took out an eye scope, put it in front of her left eye, and aimed it at the the lock. The eye scope scanned the lock in order to find a successful combination. It took only a few seconds for the correct one to show up on the its screen. The combination was '24-16-30.'
Regina twisted the lock to match the combination. After a few seconds, the safe unlocked, and she opened the door. The blueprints to the Timegate were sitting inside.
I've found them! Regina thought, grabbing the blueprints, checking them, and safely putting them away. The first item is mine! Now, all I have to do is leave. She then heard distant footsteps that were getting louder. Oh, no! I have to get out of here! She looked around the room and saw another vent on her bottom left. She closed and locked the safe door, rushed over to the vent, and unscrewed the grille from the opening. She quickly entered the vent and closed the opening behind her, screwing in the grille. Some guards came in fifteen seconds later, but luckily, Regina was safe and out of sight.
Unfortunately, they saw the unconscious man. Highly alarmed, they opened the safe to check on the blueprints. As they predicted, the blueprints were missing. They immediately sounded the facility alarms.
Wonderful, Regina thought. Just wonderful. She used her visor to find an exit route through the air ducts. She took the route and eventually came to a vent opening leading outside of the facility, facing the circular field. Her visor showed her that no one was in the area at the moment, but there were people heading to the field from inside the facility.
Regina exited the vent and looked both ways before crossing the circular field. In a burst of speed, she darted across the field towards the jungle. She made it just before the guards came out of the facility onto the field. Safe!
Regina hid behind some trees and took a moment to catch her breath. Then, she headed for her next destination, staying low. After a while, she finally reached the helicopter, which sat in a small, treeless area.
The male pilot saw her emerge from the trees. "Regina!" he exclaimed. "You're back! Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," Regina answered. "Let's get out of here!"
The pilot helped Regina into the helicopter and strapped her in. He then returned to his seat, started the vehicle, and grabbed the wheel. The chopper rose into the air, turned in the opposite direction, and flew away from the facility and the jungle, heading for North America.
Regina took out the blueprints to the Timegate and examined them. Huh, she thought. This looks quite sophisticated. Sheput away the blueprints and looked towards the afternoon sun. I'm making progress, Dylan and Paula. I'm making progress. She took a well-deserved nap as the chopper flew over Brazil.