Chapter 18 The Plan

Chloe

April 22nd, 2014

12:01 PM

10 Miles From Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

I drive my truck all the way back to Rachel's lodge for an emergency meeting Max had called for me to join with her and Rachel. Max had also called for Frank, David, and even Warren to join also. As if I hadn't experienced enough action all last week risking my life to unveil the truth behind the Prescott lineage that revealed the truth beyond what occurred between Max and I that week, I just couldn't wait for me. I couldn't blame Max for whatever emergency she needed me for. She never told me what the emergency was when she text me to come, but I my obvious guess was some relation with her imaginary end of time situation. Imaginary or not, I wouldn't leave Max in the dark for nothing. Not at all.

I park my truck by the lodge and see that no else has arrived. I'm always the first person to be if not. I walk into the house to see Max and Rachel had been busy with something. I find themselves getting organized with something in the dining room with a map on the table and a tack board displayed in the corner. What have we gotten into ourselves this time?

"Chloe, I've finally done it," said Max. "After six months of searching, my obsession has come to it's end."

I sigh.

"Let me guess," I say. "The end of time?"

"Much bigger than that Chloe," she says. "I know what's coming when everyone else arrives."

"I assume you find this all out with, Rachel?"

"Not necessarily," said Rachel. "Max found this all out on her own this morning. I've helped her out with a little heist plan we've been conducting for ourselves."

"Heist plan? Really?"

Then Frank had just arrived at Rachel's and walked into the room with the three of us in the nick of time.

"Well what do ya know," said Frank upon his entrance. "The Powerpuff Girls. Or is it the Three Stooges? Who knows, who cares, I better have a good reason for coming to this emergency meeting as you call it."

Not a second later, David walks through the front door after Frank and into the dining with his cop uniform.

"You three better have a good reason for making me leave my post," said David. "I don't want to have to loose my badge and go back to babysitting Blackwell again."

Yet not another second later, Warren storms his way inside and rushes his way over the room we're all gathered at. He pauses himself catching his breath from being in such a hurry to get here.

"I came here as fast as I could," said Warren breathing heavily. "Had to finish a science project with Brooke. Sorry I'm late. Oh, hey Officer Madsen. Hey, Frankie. How've ya been?"

"Okay, everyone," said Max. "Let's all gather around and listen. This is going to more serious than you think it'll be."

Without argument, we all gather around the table to listen to what Max and Rachel have been planning.

"Tonight is the Quantic Solutions Expo at Chrysalis Headquarters where they'll be unveiling Project Elysium. This morning I've managed to discover a troubling truth about the project. For the past sixth months, I've been getting these visions of an incoming incident upon the horizon. After all these months of figuring out why, I finally have the answer."

"We come all this way for an emergency meeting just to listen to your imaginary incident upon the horizon?" questioned Frank. "Why do I feel like I've wasted my time already?"

"Hear me out everyone," continued Max. "This project has been worked on for fifteen years and after years of research and completion, there were some setbacks that almost prevented the completion of the project. Those setbacks involved a time fracture. According to the project's records, the time fracture could still be in large and I worry greatly that it may cause the end of time. Meaning the world could come to an end as we know it."

"As we know it?" asked Frank. "I invoke a denial."

"Max, as much as I deserved the truth about this storm thing and rewind power situation between you and Chloe," began David. "You're gonna need a better explanation than this."

"I swear on Joyce and Chloe's lives, David," said Max. "This is the best explanation your gonna get. My point being is that I'd like to be a hero for once and prevent another disaster worse than the tornado storm from happening. If you can believe my story between Chloe and I about the whole storm and rewind power thing, you have no reason to disbelieve this story."

"Chloe, did you know about this?" David asked his step-daughter. "Did you know about this secret with Max? What other secrets have you been keeping from me all these months?"

"There is no other secrets other than this, David," I tell him. "Yes, I did know about this and we kept it between ourselves. I want to believe everything Max says. And I do. If I can believe, you have every right to believe her, too. Max, why don't you tell everyone about those vision the time god named Chronos or whatever. Maybe that ought to convince them."

"Very well," she said. "You don't have to believe on this one, but it's true. The major part of visions were one of a mythical time god named Chronos. Every time I see him, he tells me the end of time is coming. That cannot deny. If Rachel, Chloe, and I can believe it, you all owe it to us to believe it as well."

"We don't owe you squat, Max," said Frank. "Rachel and Chloe here just got done getting themselves killed over this tornado storm case of yours. Why can't that be enough?"

"Say I do believe you, Max," said David. "What exactly is going to happen if none of us don't?"

"Then the world is going to come to an end is what's going to happen," said Max. "The time fracture will break reality and mankind will face the brink of genocide. Something so much worse than the tornado storm. I know it sounds crazy, but Rachel and I have a plan to stop it before it starts."

"What is it that you want from us, Max?" asked Warren. "I've got better shit to do than stick my nose into your nonsense. Especially after almost getting myself killed in some bunker built for WWIII."

"Well, that is where the plan comes in," said Max. "Rachel and I have arranged some jobs for everyone to do here. We call it, the Chrysalis Job or Heist or whatever. It's a heist we've planned for us to do to prevent the time fracture from happening."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop," said David. "Hold that thought. A heist? Seriously? What your requesting us to do is something to serious for the three of you to be getting into. Chloe tells me she had been getting herself killed with Rachel here by breaking into Prescott property and that foundry those terrorist were posted at. Which even though I don't appreciate, I'm just relieved risking her life into No Man's Land like that paid off for that time powers and tornado case of yours. What are you trying to push Chloe into doing this time?"

"This doesn't just involve Chloe, David," she said. "This involves everyone in this room. The expo is tonight. It would be a perfect opportunity as any to pull this off. To clarify and summarize my idea, we go to that party taking place in the building as invited guest. No one will ever notice us being up to no good. If we could go in there when the expo is on, find that project, and stop the time fracture, we can prevent the incident for good. It'll be quick and discreet."

"Okay, now I see what you want us to do," said Frank. "You want us to go in there James Bond style and expect us stop this time fracture thing or whatever the hell you call it. Even if we knew how to get that far, which we don't, who's going to know how to get across every corner of that building that looks to be high security."

"Your looking at her, smartass," muttered Max. "I've been inside that building. Crosby gave me a tour of place when I was still in custody. I know where the project is and how to get there. Rachel, explain everyone's part in this if you must."

"Okay, everyone," says Rachel. "All eyes on this map."

Everyone laid their eyes on the map of the Chrysalis tower and listened to Rachel.

"Max has identified the location of the project to be in Special Projects on the top floor of this building," she began. "Max and I have decided that her, Chloe, David, and Warren can go in there as invited guest at the expo to linger with the other guest invited there while we do our thing. Frank and I can go up on the roof of the building across from the tower and provide sniper support during the next phase. While David and Warren can stay down in the lobby where the expo is taking place to mingle with the crowd, Max and Chloe can infiltrate their way up to the top of tower to get to the project and stop it from creating the fracture. Then not only will we save the project from being sabotaged, we save the world. Does that sound like a plan to everyone."

"How do you come up with these things, Rachel?" asked David. "Somehow your not the person I used to know back when you and Chloe were still together. Looks to me even you've made some changes in your life since you left town. I'm still not convinced to do whatever it is you expect us all to do."

"Then what will it take to convince you, David?" asked Rachel. "You were always a stubborn and paranoid man to convince just like Chloe used to say."

"Well, Rachel," he began. "Say I am convinced of Max's story about this time fracture thing, I would need to know every phase of this heist you have planned and how it will all go down."

"The phases are simple," she responded. "Phase 1, get entry into the party invited. Phase 2, get into position before we initiate the heist. Phase 3, infiltrate the upper floors to get to the project. As I've explained before, you and Warren can go blending in with the crowd pretending we're not up to something. While Max and Chloe are infiltrating the upper floors, Frank I can provide sniper support from the building across incase things go south. Before we know it, we can all pull this Chrysalis job quick and painless. Does that sound like a plan to everyone now?"

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking," said Warren. "Brooke and I build a little spider drone of ours in Robotics that has a camera attachment to it. If this is a heist we're trying to pull, maybe we could use it as a spy drone to come in handy. If Brooke let's me and I convince her that I really need it for something."

"How are you going to convince Brooke to use a drone you two made in class as a spy drone?" I ask him. "If it's for Robotics class, it wouldn't be a good idea anyhow."

"Sure it will. I'll just lie my way to convince her and we'll have it in our hands. Besides, Brooke and I built some spare ones for extras."

"You do what you think is necessary, Warren," said Rachel. "So, assuming our plan stands, have we convinced everybody?"

"You know what, I'd do anything for my Tinkerbell," admitted Frank. "I'm in."

"You're not doing this just for Rachel, Frank," said Max. "You're doing it for me."

"How bout you, David?" asked Rachel. "I know a heist isn't something an officer of the law should be getting into since it would be breaking, but you'll still do anything for us, right?"

"For the record, even though I promised Joyce I wouldn't do anything illegal," he began. "The three of you have already proven yourselves worthy to me already. No what the stake. I'm in."

"For the record, David," said Max. "Maybe it's best to keep this quiet from Joyce just to keep your promise?"

"Joyce isn't one for secrets, Max," he said. "You know that. But I'll still keep it quiet if I must."

"How bout you, Warren?" asked Rachel. "You in or out?"

"I love this plan," admitted Warren. "I'm excited to be a part of it. I'm in."

"Chloe, I know you're not the biggest fan of endangering yourself over Max's endeavors," Rachel told me. "But I know you'd still do anything for Max. You in?"

"I laugh in the face danger," I tell her. "Of course I'm in. No question."

"Max, do I even need to ask if you're in?" she asked.

"Not at all," replied Max.

With all that said, everyone including me turned over to each other. Everyone seems to put on a smile on their faces for their sake of confidence of this plan to stop the fracture in time. I turn to Warren with a smile on his face. I turn to my step-father with a glad grin on his face. I turn to Frank with a happy frown on his face. I turn to my ex with her arms folded and her face satisfactory. And finally, I turn to the love of my life with her cute face delighted and pleased.

Everyone around the room centered at the table was now board with another job to accomplish for the means of time coming to it's end. Not before we end with it. Not before it ends whatsoever. It was time for us to fulfill the ideal for the prevention of the debacle Max had been warned about for months since Seattle. It was time to return the favor we owed to Max after the long awaited victory of her case. It was time for the end of time...to end.

Note: And our heroes begin the third act of this episode everyone. For those of you who are Star Wars fans reading, I sorta wanted to post this chapter yesterday for you know what, I never attempt to rush chapters out. I'm also finishing up the last batch of my finals for art school since I now have only one week of school left. I should be more motivated to get these future chapters updated to this story now. I really should.

Speaking of Star Wars, I'm sure by now you've all watched that trailer already. In this story, it's indeed time for the end of time to end. The question still remains, why do the Jedi need to end? You know what I'm talking about.

Until next time, stay golden!

P.S. About you know what, I wish you all a late Happy May the 4th everyone. And may the fourth be with you all. Chao!