Let the Games Begin
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Chapter 53 - DEFINITELY DIFFERENT
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As Jess sprinted through Olympic Park with the rest of the team, she tried to take it all in. Despite all the images and videos she'd seen, the park definitely looked different in person, and she felt a thrill to actually be seeing it for herself.
Of course, she was also feeling loads of adrenaline from simply being out with the team. It felt so different to be out in the field, to be the one rushing towards the unknown instead of simply viewing it all on a map. And she was extremely thankful that Emily had chosen her outfit today, since trousers and trainers were probably far easier to run in than what Jess would've chosen to wear herself.
Not that she was going to be in the thick of things. As soon as they reached the Stadium, Jess was planning to head straight for the security viewing room - wherever it happened to be - so she'd be able to direct the team via the cameras and help with any incursion.
IF they ever reached the Stadium. They'd made it through Greenway Gate without a hitch, but once inside, the park seemed to stretch on and on forever! And it was starting to occur to Jess that it was much more deserted than she'd envisioned.
Connor must've noticed the same thing for he suddenly asked, "Oi! Where is everyone?"
"Perhaps there aren't that many events tonight?" Jess suggested, trying to remember. "Lester, what's on the schedule?" she asked into the comms.
"Events?" Lester asked blankly. "Um...am I to find that somewhere on this map?"
"No," Becker's voice came through, "try the London 2012 site."
"And where is-? Hey! None of that! I'm the one in charge of the hub."
"Then hurry it up."
After a loud minute, during which Jess could easily envision the ridiculous altercation for control of the keyboards, Lester finally announced, "Okay, Jess, we've got the site open. Now where are we to find the schedule?"
"There?" Becker suggested drily, and Jess was certain the soldier was pointing to the large button declaring "Schedule & Results", the one she herself had pushed many a time over the last fortnight.
Lester's frustrated sigh could be heard over the comms. "Let's see. Hmmm. Saturday the 11th. It seems that tonight there's athletics, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling-"
"Expand the Athletics tab," Jess said, quickly clarifying, "Just click on the rectangle on the timeline. All we care about is what's going on at the Stadium."
"Oh, right," Lester replied. "According to this, they just finished the women's 20K race walk final and are now working on the women's high jump and men's javelin finals."
Jess remembered the race walk was to have been at The Mall, not the Stadium, but she didn't bother to correct him.
"And the men's 5000 metres is coming up at 1930," Becker added.
"That's it!" Jess exclaimed. "Mo Farah's second race! Everyone's probably already inside waiting to watch him run!"
"That'll make things easier," Connor said.
"No it won't," Matt countered. "That means there'll be loads more spectators inside, loads more trapped and in danger in case of an incursion."
"And loads more to get hurt by the crossfire," Abby pointed out.
"Exactly," Matt concurred. "So we need to avoid using the EMDs if at all possible, yeah?"
Jess shivered at the thought. She wasn't even carrying a weapon, as her job was to be strictly technical, but she was suddenly reminded of the last time she'd held an EMD, when she'd been trapped with Lester, under attack by the predators...
"And be careful of the Stadium's metal girders," Becker weighed in, "because the charge can ricochet." Jess could hear the annoyance in his voice; no doubt the soldier was thinking that once again conventional weapons would've been a better choice. But with all the spectators about, the EMDs were probably safer, all things considered, though they still made Jess nervous.
But she was distracted from these thoughts by the fact that she and the others were finally nearing the Stadium, and the sheer magnitude of it was overwhelming. The Orbit loomed above them, its red metal structure much taller than she could've imagined.
But that's not what was impressing the others.
"There is no queue!" Emily exclaimed as they reached the bridge and headed for the ticket stands. The switchbacks were completely empty, and the one purple-clad Gamesmaker manning the booths did not seem pleased to be there.
"Hey," Matt said as he stepped in front of the teen. "There's been an incident, and you should've received a call. We need to get into the Stadium now."
The boy stared blankly at Matt. "Incident?"
"And I'll need to know where the security viewing room is," Jess blurted out. She had thought of asking Lester to try to look it up for her but realised it probably wasn't worth the headache.
"Security viewing room?" the boy asked blankly.
"You know," Abby prompted, "the broadcast compound? Where all the cameras are being watched?"
"Cameras?"
"Is there someone else available who could assist us please?" Emily asked politely, but Jess could hear the impatience in her friend's voice.
"Not a one." It was the first thing he'd uttered that wasn't a mere repetition. "'Fraid I'm it. Everyone else is inside to watch Mo."
"I knew it," Jess mumbled under her breath.
"Low man on the totem pole, eh?" Connor said. "I feel your pain, mate. So's if you could just let us through, we won't be bugging you no more, yeah?"
But the teen shook his head. "I'm gonna have to...er...make a call first. Hold on." And he disappeared before they could stop him.
"This don't bode well, does it?" Connor quipped, saying aloud Jess's very thoughts.
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Lester gave a frustrated sigh. "What's taking so long? I made all the necessary calls. They should be letting them straight through."
Becker shook his head. He wished he was there so he could smack the surly Gamesmaker upside the head - really, it sounded like the teen needed to be removed from the gene pool posthaste.
"Here he comes," Abby said over the comms.
Becker sighed. God, how did Jess DO this every day?! It was so frustrating to be unable to see, unable to DO anything.
"Oi! Whatcha-?" Temple blurted out before another voice carried through the comms.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to take this man into custody."
Suddenly the comms exploded with protestations, and it took a moment to realise that it wasn't Temple nor the imbecilic ticket taker who was being seized.
"No, you can't!" "You've got it all wrong!" "He is not the one we want detailed!" "There's been a huge misunderstanding!"
"Great!" Lester grumbled under his breath, hopping out of Jess's chair and frantically rushing back to his office to make additional phone calls. Becker took his place in Jess's seat, the better to see the monitors with. Not that they helped him or the team much...
Finally Matt's voice was heard above the ruckus. "We don't have time for this. Never mind about me. You all need to get inside and take care of that anomaly."
"No, Matt, I am not leaving you!" Emily sounded nearly hysterical over the comms.
"Emily, it's okay," Matt was saying. "I'm not going anywhere. Just go on."
"But we-"
"I know. But you need to go with the team. I'll be fine. In fact, I'll probably be safer out here than all of you."
"But-"
"Emily, you need to go, and you need to go now," he said firmly, leaving little room for argument. "That anomaly needs to be locked and any incursion dealt with before the spectators are put in any further danger. Now here," he said, obviously handing something over. "Abby, you're in charge. Now go."
Becker watched on the screen as one blinking dot - the one with Matt's name attached to it - slowly moved away from the others, which stayed in a small clump where they were, no doubt in some kind of daze over what had just happened. Becker felt incredibly guilty - after all, he'd been the one to suggest that they warn the Games staff to detain Matt's double. Perhaps he should've stuck with his hat suggestion after all.
Yet still the others remained. What were they thinking? Matt had given them an order - it didn't make it any less valid simply because he'd been led away.
"You heard Matt," Becker said forcefully into the comms. "Go!"
This seemed to break the spell.
"Becker's right," Abby said. "C'mon."
But as the dots started to move towards the stadium again, Jess pointed out, "But I still don't know where the cameras are."
"We don't have time for cameras at present," Abby said. "Just...stick with us. And make sure your EMD is set on low - as Matt said, we don't want to accidentally shoot anyone...or ourselves."
EMD? Why on earth did Jess have an EMD? And then it occurred to Becker - Matt must've handed his over to Jess before he was led away, knowing they'd never allow him a weapon in custody.
"Lester, where to?" Abby asked into the comms.
"Er...," Becker stammered awkwardly, trying to decipher the map on the screen. It was one thing to simply track the blackboxes as they travelled along two-dimensional street maps; it was quite another to attempt to interpret the 3-D locations in a stadium which, as displayed by the hub monitors, was nothing more than a giant open oval. No wonder Jess was always searching for blueprints and floorplans to help lead them to the anomalies - the ADD map was next to useless!
Jess, however, must've recognised his confused mumble for she asked, "Becker? Where's Lester?"
"Making calls," he snapped, feeling powerless to help the team.
"Ah, that makes sense," Temple said. "Hopefully he can clear all this up and we can simply pick up Matt on our way out, yeah?"
"We can't worry about Matt right now," Abby said, sounding a bit snippy herself. "Now Becker, can you at least give us a general direction in which to head? Left? Right? Forward?"
"Up!" Emily exclaimed.
And suddenly the dots took off towards what Becker could only assume were the stairs.
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to be continued
(And happy belated Valentine's Day!)
