I took a long sip from my glass and as I lowered it, I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation. I was starting to get a headache.
“Look, we’ve been over this. I know that you showed me three options but there is only one viable choice. Why are we still arguing about this?”
“Because I don’t think that you fully appreciate the nuances…” Reardon began, before he was interrupted.
“Why are you even bothering? She’s clearly drunk,” Anderson snorted dismissively.
“Yup. And yet somehow still not drunk enough to think your idea is a good one. Maybe that should tell you something,” I drained my glass and reached to refill it. “Also, I would like to note that I wasn’t drunk when we started this argument,” I checked my watch. “3 hours ago. Jesus. Who could possibly put up with this sober?”
I leaned back in the creaky kitchen chair, briefly wondering if it was about to collapse under me. Fortunately, it held. For now. The furniture in the small rental apartment was in notably poor repair. Wallace had clearly cheaped out on this rental; I’d lived in better accommodations as a poor student. But that wasn’t why I was disappointed with my new living arrangements. Truthfully, I had hoped that my three companions were being housed in the same place as the scientists who had received the profentanyl, the ones constructing the dispersal device. If that had been the case, I could have simply snuck out and put an end to all of this. But Wallace was actually keeping things nicely compartmentalized, making it challenging to topple all the dominoes that needed to fall. I would be impressed, if it wasn’t such a pain in my ass. As it stood, I still couldn’t pinpoint the location of the weapon, so I had to press on with the farce until I could. Which also meant I got to look forward to many more days with my new colleagues. At least they had whiskey.
“Look,” Reardon continued, trying to get the conversation back on track. “What I think you are failing to appreciate is that we are not just testing a weapon, we are trying to make a statement to the world. We are announcing our cause to the public. I just don’t think your chosen venue is the best one for that. There should be an element of…showmanship.”
“I don’t know, I think Clay is making some excellent points,” Sutherland jumped in.
“Of course you do,” Anderson scoffed. “She picked your location.”
“Maybe because his is the only one that isn’t stupid,” I observed.
“I don’t see why…” Anderson began.
“Obviously,” I interrupted.
“Look,” Reardon frowned. “If you can’t manage to convince us, maybe you aren’t that clever, either.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “You want to go over this again? Maybe that’s for the best. I’ve heard that in ancient Persia they used to debate an idea twice, once sober and once drunk, to see if it sounded good both ways, so maybe it will work for us, too. I think they usually did it the other way around, but I am flexible. Alright, I think we should start by demolishing both of your arguments, shall we?”
“I don’t think we need to…” Reardon began.
“Don’t worry,” I interrupted. “This won’t take long. Because you both made the same mistake. Honestly, I appreciate you making it easy for me.”
“Fine then, enlighten us, what exactly is the problem?”
“You selected the open-air ice rink?” I looked to Reardon, and he nodded.
“It is an excellent target,” he sniffed. “Low security, high public profile, large crowds. The fact that it is a popular winter venue means this will get us all the headlines we want. I don’t see a problem.”
“And yours was the winter fair?” I turned to Anderson, ignoring Reardon’s response, for now.
“I did. For many of the same reasons. It is even more popular, though, and should have larger crowds…”
“Spread over a wider area, though,” Reardon interrupted. “So, it isn’t as…”
“Yes, yes, that is a concern. The decentralized nature of a fair makes it a poor target for something like this,” I continued, cutting off yet another debate on the matter, between the two men. I’d heard it all several times already. “But more pressing than that is what they both share. They are both outdoor venues.”
“That is not a problem, it is an advantage,” Reardon insisted. “It means less security, and more exposure for the aftermath. We will have news helicopter footage splashed over every station. We want people to see this. To see how far we are willing to go. How far we will need to go.”
“Uh huh,” I pinched the bridge of my nose again, “If you think that news helicopters are necessary to get the word out, I really need you to try watching the news at least once this decade. Wherever this happens, there will be hundreds of cell phone videos on social media and in the news within 10 minutes of everything going down. Spreading the word is not going to be a problem. What will be is a problem is everything else. This is supposed to be a test. It is supposed to establish the viability of this system. Which requires a controlled environment, at least to the extent that is possible. Outdoors, we have no control. There are far too many variables. We are entirely at the mercy of wind currents, weather, crowd movement… There will be no way to assess the effectiveness of varied dosages, or how distance from the device changes the response. Depending on the weather, we could have entire neighborhoods around the venue exposed as collateral. Alternately, if the wind kicks up and disperses things too much, hardly anyone will even be exposed at all. If that happens, we have wasted our best opportunity. And speaking of that, how are you planning to begin the dispersal in the first place?”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Well, uh, explosives, of course,” Anderson offered, though he did seem a bit hesitant.
“Yeah, see, that also seems like a terrible idea. It’s a significant point of failure, and even in a low security environment, there is a decent chance that they will be scanning for explosives. Sniffer dogs, maybe chemical sensors. There are a lot of options these days. If anyone gets caught moving things into position, then it is game over.”
“So, how would you do it, then?” Reardon asked, a bit too defensively.
“I would do it indoors, in a large building with a ventilation system that we can co-opt for our purposes. Kind of like a large sports arena,” I nodded to Sutherland.
“Exactly! See, this is what I have been trying to tell you the whole time!” he crowed.
“The arena is the best choice of the three, by far,” and I had been told that I did need to pick one of the three, otherwise I would have tried to steer this somewhere else entirely. “It draws fairly large crowds during AAA hockey season, it is fully indoors, people have specific seats, so they won’t be moving around as much. This will help with the assessment of the effective range and potency of the chemical, for future development. The indoor location means we can have a better handle on the number of people exposed, monitor comings and goings, and weather won’t be a concern. Most importantly, no explosives needed, which greatly reduces the odds of it being detected,” and the odds of anyone being blown up, but I kept that thought to myself. “It really is the only viable option.”
There was a long moment of tense silence.
“Well, I still think that the arena isn’t high profile enough,” Reardon concluded at last.
I threw up my arms,
“Alright, I’m done. Stubborn is too kind a word for any of you, so I won’t bother using it. I am going to go pass out for a few hours. You three feel free to keep arguing, and when you realize that I am right and you are idiots, let me know and we can start planning for real, alright?”
I rose from the table, drained my glass and stumbled off in search of my temporary quarters.
“Well, where the fuck is she, then?” the voice coming from the kitchen indicated that Tom had arrived. “You were told that a decision was needed by today. She was supposed to be resolving this, not…”
“Do you mind keeping it down a bit,” I entered the room and crossed to the counter. “I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”
I jabbed a button on the oddly modern machine and heard it gurgle to life.
“What the hell have you been doing all this time?” Tom barked.
He glanced as the bottle and glasses on the kitchen table and rolled his eyes.
“Never mind, I think I can guess. You know, I am the one in charge of this operation, it is my ass on the line if this doesn’t come together…”
“Yeah, I remember. Well, you can relax. The location is all set, we are just working out the details of the plan now, right?”
I glanced over at the three men, still sitting at the table, precisely where they have been last night. They clearly hadn’t slept, and it didn’t look like they had managed to settle anything, either. Which meant that now was the perfect time to force their hands. They knew it, too. I watched them exchange glances, Sutherland nodded forcefully, and after a long moment, so did Anderson and Reardon, though with considerably more hesitance, and expressions that looked like they had been sucking lemons.
“Yes, the location is locked down. All that remains is to finalize things,” Sutherland grinned triumphantly.
“Well, why didn’t you just say so when I got here?” Tom demanded.
“They probably just wanted to wait for me to arrive,” I breezed past the issue. “Now, there are a few things I am going to need from you, to make this all work.”
“Hold on a minute,” Tom raised a hand. “Let’s get one thing straight, you don’t make demands of me. I am the one in charge. You are merely assisting with logistics. Do you understand?”
“Of course. Not a problem. I am only here to help,” I smiled placidly.
“Are you?” Tom asked.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Forget it,” he shook his head. “Let’s just get this done, alright? Tell me the location and what you need.”
“Well, it’s the arena, obviously,” I watched as he nodded.
“That does seem like the most reasonable choice.”
“We’ll need blueprints, including the HVAC system. Then, we are going to need access to the control room and, ideally, the computer program they use to control the airflow in the building. The guys that monitor that sort of thing usually have a laptop that connects to the monitoring system, so they can remotely adjust airflow. I need you to get me one of those, without raising any suspicions. Think you can manage it?”
“Of course,” Tom scoffed. “Anything else?”
“I am going to need to talk with Wallace’s research department. I understand that they are going to be building the dispersal devices, and I have several requests for them,” I paused as if the thought was only just occurring to me and kept my tone casual. “Actually, why are we living here, instead of in the facility where they are housed?”
“Wallace doesn’t want people coming and going from that facility during the planning stages,” Tom explained. “If anyone were to get suspicious of you, for any reason, and track you back to that facility, too much would be compromised. It is safer this way. You won’t be taken to that facility until all the planning is complete and we are making the final preparations to strike. If you have specific requests for the science team in the meantime, make a list for me and I will ensure that they are passed along.”
I had to admit, Wallace actually had a good idea, time to time.
“Alright, I will jot a few things down. But remember, if we are going to have this ready by the next big game, we are really going to need to hurry.”
Of course, that wasn't the real reason I was in a rush. Normally I would be happy to drag this out as long as possible, but Tom was clearly growing suspicious of me, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up. I needed to get what I needed and get out, before that was no longer an option.