Chapter 10 – Plans Made and Ruined
"Keep him under for an hour longer, a physiological key must be somewhere." The lead doctor says across the bed of an MRI machine to the anaesthesiologist, who turns a dial on a small machine inside the control room that leads to a breathing tube that has been forced down Duck's throat as a mask does not fit. He sits, completely unconscious, under the observation of several doctors glued to the computer screens that show the results of tests and diagnostics run on their test subject. Their goal is simple and separated into three parts; figure how he teleports, reproduce whatever controls it and implant it onto someone else. This could lead to a whole new generation of biotechnology, allowing everyone to simply teleport wherever they want and a humungous profit for whoever can commercialise it or a technological advantage for those who want to use it. Protecting the doctors and specialists are a combination of special forces soldiers and automated tranquillisers set up on tripods around the building that can react fast enough if he manages to somehow escape.
Right now, they are very well afraid of that happening. Once he regains consciousness, what's to stop him from simply teleporting out of the room? Many different theories and devices have been suggested by physicists and security experts alike, but they can only contain his escape, nothing they can think of can prevent him from escaping apart from keeping him sedated. They can't keep him sedated forever, otherwise he will be dead. However, if they can prove and reproduce this ability before that time comes, then maybe keeping him sedated forever would be the ideal situation.
"We have to stop focusing on the brain, look at how underdeveloped it is!" A neurologist remarks.
"It's the only way based on what we know." Another replies. "Maybe he can use more capacity and somehow… that sounds stupid."
"It has to be in his brain somewhere!" A physicist reiterates. "How else can he consciously interact with quantum tunnels?"
"You take a look at these results then, because they show a normal, if not slightly retarded, brain. There's nothing here that provides evidence to what you are saying." The neurologist replies.
"Keep testing, do everything you can before he flies out of here and we lose the biggest scientific discovery in decades."
The Base
"You said how many?" Ace asks again, confused about the number he just heard. "There's small, medium, large and extra large if you're feeling ambitious; but that's way too much."
Slam disagrees.
"Okay. 20, extra larges for the big guy." Ace says, more to himself to confirm the size of the order he has asked for. "I hope there's something else in there other than just a stomach."
Slam takes this literally and begins to answer back with all the internal organs he can list.
"It was a joke. We're going to work out just fine." Ace reiterates gladly. "I'll go downstairs and wait for the order." Slam would like to sit down but he would take up an entire couch, meaning everyone else would have to squeeze in on the other one. No one else is really making an effort to talk with Slam, but neither is he making the same effort in the other direction. In the mean time, Lexi sets up her gaming console she brought back with her from a brief trip to the outside.
"You've got so many controllers." Tech notes as she releases the drawstring on a grey bag that spills out with several small black objects. Tech realises the mistake he made of going too early. "Oh."
Instantly, Rev swoops in before Lexi has a chance to pick up the spilled ones or even to open her mouth to correct Tech. He takes the bag and begins placing more holographic projectors around the area, on the ground, attached to walls and windows as well as on the roof.
"All done. Now what games do you have? Although if you wanted a chance of winning I think you might have brought something that doesn't rely on reaction speed or just speed in general which means you've probably brought some puzzle games but I'm good at those as well so that leave basically games that come down to chance which aren't really fun because they don't involve skill and…" Rev explains quickly.
"What works in theory…" Lexi begins to say.
"…doesn't always work in practice. I've heard it before." Rev says as they both stand across from each other like two fighters coming in for a weigh in. "But enough talk, unless the console's voice activated of course, let's see who will win."
"No room for three?" Tech asks as the tension rises even further.
Slam wants to join in as well, even if he doesn't know that he is out of his depth in terms of intensity and skill. His fighting skills are best left in the real world, they don't extend fully into the virtual one.
Downstairs
"10 minutes?" He says to himself as he enters into the large corporate style lobby in the bottom, with designer chairs and other furnishings that are never seen outside of a furniture store because of the price tag. The ceiling is double storey to let the light in but it's night time now, even if the light has already been like this for the past few hours. "That's a bit long, even for an order of this size."
"Evening." The male receptionist from behind a large desk says to Ace as he comes to a stop near one of the two large stone faced square columns in the foyer. Ace puts a hand up to acknowledge his presence before turning around to lean against the column to face back towards the elevators.
"I didn't see you come in here." The receptionist replies to Ace. He turns around and sees the man walk around his desk towards him with a thin silver holographic projection bar, used in tablets, towards him.
"I came in from the basement, underground." Ace replies, lying ever so easily thanks to his acting skills.
"This building doesn't have a basement." The receptionist replies, no amount of acting can get around that fact. So Ace decides to face whatever he has coming for him head on. He imagines it as being one of those minor make or break situations that can expose your operation or who you really are.
"What do you want? I've just come from the top floor." Ace replies, prepared for anything from a gun being pulled on him to unarmed combat to…
"So you're the new tenants. But, however you came in here, Just make sure you sign into the building next time. Important new procedure to account for the building's occupants in the what happened today." He replies. Ace is slightly disappointed with the bureaucratic answer.
"Okay." Ace says, but there's still a hint of disappointment in his voice that forgot to remove.
"If you have an I.D. card then it will automatically scan and fill in the details." He adds. Ace doesn't have I.D. on him, that was destroyed in the meteor blast on the set where he was working, so he has to fill in the sign in sheet manually. He wonders whether or not to use a fake name, but chooses to give his real one considering he doesn't think there will be dire consequences further on for doing so.
"Thanks… Ace." He replies, turning around to go back to his station, wondering how simultaneously dorky and cool that name is whilst comparing it to his own. The rabbit with that name feels the vibration in his thigh where his mobile phone is. He takes it out and receives the call.
"Hello."
"Ace, there's an urgent situation that you have to take care of as soon as you can." Zadavia warns, sounding really stressed in her voice, which conveys across how important this must be. "I've located another person which the government claims to posses some sort of teleportation ability. I'm uploading some surveillance footage to your phone."
It shows the inside of a prison, where a black-feathered duck is teleporting in and out of his cell and into another one.
"Okay." Ace replies, acknowledging what he has seen to be genuine. "What's the details?"
"That was taken from a holding cell underneath the 16th District courthouse about 2 hours ago. I believe he is now being held in an underground facility in the army's top-secret research and development centre, where they will try to extract his abilities from him in order to develop super soldiers. You have to get him out of there before they can find out how it works." Zadavia instructs.
"One question." Ace says as he consciously reminds himself that whatever he says might be overheard by the seeming innocuous receptionist, so he best not divulge anything secret. "Do you know how to remove it?"
"Yes, but it is painful and draining to do so." Zadavia says. "It is not something one can do easily without the right equipment, which they, thankfully, do not have. You best get there right now, directions have been uploaded to your device."
At this point, Lexi comes out of the ground floor elevator to meet with Ace.
"We'll get right on it." Ace says confidently, but inside he is a bit nervous about how to do such a thing.
"You need to come back upstairs." Lexi urges him, holding the elevator door open.
"Yes, we need to hurry." Ace slips, walking into the elevator as if nothing strange has just happened. As they both stand side by side, facing the elevator doors, Ace comes to realise what has just happened, there's a little happy smile on Lexi's face as she watched him turn from being normal into the sudden realisation of what happened.
"You heard that?" Ace asks. She shrugs her shoulders in response.
"Maybe I just know." Lexi jokes.
"Or maybe you have super hearing." Ace replies as they reach the top.
"That's the joke." Lexi says flatly in response as they both walk out together. "This is the wrong floor."
"Yeah." Ace replies, holding one arm out to keep the doors open and the cabin still at this floor. "What's with the change? One minute, you want to stay inside and now you want to help on this dangerous mission. I…I just want to know where you stand."
Lexi needs a second to think about it.
"I'm nervous, before I heard about that job, I guess I was trying to run as far away as possible from all the consequences, trying to ignore it. But when I heard all the details." Lexi explains before taking a deep breath. "I have to turn around and face it head on, like young Siward in Macbeth."
"Who?" Ace asks, dropping his arm from holding the elevator and needing to raise it again to stop the door from closing.
"Basically, and I'm paraphrasing, but it's better to face things head on even if you fail rather than to let it overcome you whilst you run away." Lexi says. "So, I need to turn around and stop being…"
The words are not within Lexi's grasp that can describe who she is and who she wants to be. She knows that those two people must be different. Ace drops his hand and presses the button for the top floor. The stainless steel doors shut on the unoccupied floor.
"Whatever, I'm ready." Lexi says, shaking off the uncertainty of before.
5 Minutes later
"These should be able to get you inside through the automated checkpoints with these fake passes and identification." Tech says to Ace as he passes across an Identification card on a yellow lanyard. "There are two booths that are manned so you have to use your acting skills to get by."
"Where did you get all of this intel?" Ace asks.
"I've been in there a lot of times." Tech says as he digs into his pocket to show an exact ID card that Ace has just received except with his own credentials placed on it. "Mostly research."
"You're saying you have all the identification and knowledge of the building layout," Lexi says. "But you won't go inside yourself?"
"I'm not that type of guy. I'm better off behind the scenes." Tech explains. "Now, there might be scientific questions that they will ask you. So to get around this, you'll wear this earpiece with me talking to you on the other end. Simply repeat what I say and make it sound like you know what you're talking about."
Tech hands over a tiny device the size of a small pill with one side made of rubber with a speaker in the middle to listen into and the other side is a radio transmitter.
"Don't worry about losing transmission. I'll route the communications through their systems." Tech says. "Also, you can't take that sword in with you, they perform a body search at the first perimeter gate. Just one more thing."
Tech turns around and gently taps one finger against the desk before lifting it towards Ace.
"Hold still."
Tech moves in closer towards Ace's forehead and presses the tiny clear sticker on that's invisible to the naked eye.
"I just put a camera on your forehead. It won't show up on the scans as it has the same radar signature as a speck of dust. This should be all you need so I can monitor you on the inside." Tech explains.
"And once I find this duck, how do I get him out without being suspicious?" Ace asks. Tech doesn't want to answer.
"About that…" Tech replies, scratching his head.
"You're going for the movie style, easy way in hard/no way out?" Ace replies. "Come on Tech, I thought these plans would be better thought out and a bit more comprehensive. Focusing mostly on getting me out alive and not just for your entertainment."
"We'll, I only had 5 minutes to plan this out, so, let's just work with it, improvise." Tech replies. "Actors can improvise."
"Whatever, let's get this done." Ace says.
"I'll come with you." Lexi says. "If something happens, I'll get you out."
Utilitarianism and emotions have their own little conflict inside Ace, whether or not to deny Lexi from doing what she has offered. He decides not to stand in the way.
"Okay, but only if I'm really in trouble, no pre-emptive rush or anything." Ace insists with her safety at the forefront of his mind.
"I don't know if you've forgotten about me but is there anything more me to do or should I stay here and help Tech or show Slam the place. I don't really want to be in the front line." Rev says.
"Okay Rev." Ace replies. "But your speed would help."
"That's okay Ace and thanks for saying that. Maybe I'll change your mind and come to swoop in and save you at the end." Rev nervously replies.
"Whatever works for ya." Ace says. "Okay, Let's go."
He picks up a jetpack along with Lexi and they both head up the stairs, ready to leave. Just as Ace is about to take off, he is held back by Lexi; not just with a hand, but with her whole body as she briefly hugs him tightly before stepping back as if she'd just done the wrong thing. In order to get away from it, she jet's off first, followed shortly by a very confused Ace.