Countdown

The Krak-Karov Volcano, Russia; Saturday, June 11, 10:22 P.M.…

Vlotho watched as Grant bowed slightly, then turned and headed back into the elevator without another sound. The doors closed, and the elevator slowly began its descent. Once it was gone, he angrily slammed a fist onto the desk. Had it not been for Vlotho's personal favoring of Grant, he would have likely killed him on the spot right then and there out of sheer anger.

Their man had failed. For the first time since he had been hired, he had failed. Cooper, the turtle, the hippo, and the mouse had managed to escape him in Los Angeles. And he had not been subtle. A massive automobile pile-up on a busy Los Angeles freeway, backing up all traffic for miles and resulting in two civilian deaths. Up until now, the man had managed to stay perfectly subtle. Perfectly under the radar. The deaths of three of his previous four targets were still yet to be discovered by authorities, while the first of those four had left them baffled and with no trail to follow. But this…this was an unprecedented failure.

He took a deep breath, inhaling slowly through his nose, then exhaled just as slowly through his mouth. Whatever the man did next, he could not stop. He was already out there, and determined to succeed. He was still a force to be reckoned with. He could probably make up for this monumental failure soon.

Even if he did, he could expect a couple million dollars trimmed from his pay for this.

Just then, there was a buzz from the speaker across the room. The badger lifted his head, looking at the control panel next to the closed elevator doors. He sighed, then slowly edged out of his chair and trotted across the room to the opposite wall. Pressing down on the little white button, he spoke into it.

"What is it?

"Sir, I am here to report some wonderful news. It concerns significant progress with our Project." The familiar voice of Colonel Grant replied.

"And what kind of 'significant progress' might that be?"

After a noticeable pause, the voice replied. "It's finished, sir."

…

Within a few minutes, Vlotho and Hans had come down the elevator, greeted Grant, and then marched swiftly through the factory, through the various other clustered buildings of the facility, until he finally stepped out into the fresh evening air, the sun just nearing the horizon. The three of them strode across the grass to the massive hangar; the one building in the entire facility that stood by itself. A large rectangular structure that rose nearly 400 feet into the air, was 800 feet wide, and 500 feet long. There was a long line of square windows lining the top of each wall, while the rest of the four sides of the building was a secure steel, spotless save for a few rust spots. The massive door stood before them, two sentries posted at each side of it in booths, assault rifles slung over their shoulders.

They approached the nearest sentry, who snapped to attention and saluted. The two officers returned the salute.

"Open the hangar door." Vlotho commanded.

"Yes, sir." The sentry replied.

By this time, the sentry on the other side noticed their arrival, and quickly exited his booth as well. The first sentry looked past the officers at the other sentry, and nodded. The second sentry returned the nod.

Both guards then moved to two separate small, red levers on each side of the door, just beside their guardhouses. They each took hold of their respective levers. The first sentry raised his other hand high into the air, holding up three fingers. He then quickly curled them down one at a time, pulling the red lever once his final finger went down. The second sentry pulled at the same time. The perfect synchronization of their pulls collected a brief, metallic click, followed by a much louder metal banging. Then a long, slow creaking could be heard.

The three men stood silent as the massive door slowly lifted open, inching higher and higher into its frame. The darkness of the interior made it practically impossible to see inside, but only because it was so much brighter outside. As the door rose higher, more light was let in, and the two pairs of eyes adjusted, the interior becoming much clearer.

Inside the massive building, the chamber was a beehive of activity. Scientists – with their white lab coats, clipboards, and glasses – and workers – with their overalls and tools – were quickly striding back and forth. Several large pieces of machinery – giant welders, cranes, and drills, all on treads – were slowly being moved against the walls, away from the massive object in the center of the room.

It was suspended in mid-air by two different apparatuses: Beneath it were multiple tall, cylindrical, steel pillars lifting up from the ground, planting into its underside. Above it were dozens of steel cables, strung from various places on top of it to secure hinges and rings in the walls, and even in the ceiling high above it. Its central body was about 50 feet across, thus leaving each wing approximately 125 feet long. The head was 10 feet long and 60 feet across, and the tail feathers being 45 feet long and 50 feet across at the very end. Overall, it had a length of 300 feet from wingtip to wingtip and 100 feet from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail feathers: larger than any typical jumbo jet or airliner. Its sleek, silver body gleamed under the unbelievably bright lights shining down on it from several angles, reflecting all over the room something majestic. And, above all, its two massive yellow eyes stared blankly ahead, unblinking, unmoving, as if dead. The eyebrows were slanted down on top of them, giving it an angry, solemn stare that would've turned Medusa into stone.

Vlotho allowed a grin to slowly spread on his face. Even with the final, finishing touches still yet to be applied, it was beautiful, strong, and deadly.

A single scientist quickly strode up to the two officers.

"Commander, sir! I am pleased to report that-."

"I'm well aware." Vlotho interrupted.

The scientist, briefly stunned, paused to press his glasses back against his face with a single finger, accompanies with a sniff. "Yes. Well, anyway…do you want us to start it up?"

"No. You should all be aware that, even if it is finished, it is not to be launched for 72 hours. It is now…"

Vlotho glanced at his watch. It was exactly 10:30 P.M. now.

"10:30. We must wait until the clock strikes the first second, of the 30th minute, of the 10th hour, on Wednesday, the 14th of June of the Year of Our Lord 2005. That shall be the moment when this magnificent creation shall rise."

"…Y-Yes sir." The scientist replied awkwardly.

"And we must also wait until we have confirmation of our number one enemy's death. He is the one person who knows of the design and basic structure of this project, and could defeat us if he got the chance."

"…Yes, sir."

"Whatever finishing touches need to be made, make them. And I want two complete scans of the entire superstructure from wingtip to wingtip, tail feather to beak, inside and out, up and down, left and right. I want 100% solid confirmation that it is done, with no flaws, and will be ready to go upon my command."

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed."

The scientist bowed quickly, then turned and scurried off towards a nearby group of similar scientists.

Vlotho turned to Grant. "I want security in and around this hangar to be quadrupled. No one gets in or out without my permission and mine alone. If anyone is caught touching or tampering it in any way without my permission, they are to be executed immediately and a complete inspection will be made once more."

"Yes, sir."

"It has taken us 15 years to build this. We cannot allow anything to happen to it now that it is finally finished."

"Yes, sir." Grant repeated.

"You are dismissed."

Grant bowed firmly, executed an about face, and headed off to relate Vlotho's commands to the sentries.

Vlotho, standing next to his deaf manservant in the middle of the hangar, slowly turned back towards the massive marvel of technology before him.

"Soon, Hans." He spoke softly. "Soon, this beautiful machine will rise to its full glory."

Vlotho took several steps closer to the massive machine. Hans followed, but remained several paces behind his master.

Speaking directly to the machine itself, Vlotho continued. "Soon, you shall fly again. Soon, the Second Clockwerk will reign supreme, more so than the first, and shall strike fear into the hearts of all who see it, all who hear its cry, and all who even hear its name."

Vlotho grinned once more, chuckling to himself.

"The end is near at last."

To be continued…