Pop.
With a shudder, the Nighthawk entered the bubble around Aherlow, the island that housed Tartarus according to the ship's data. Alex pulled back from the orbs that commanded the ship, taking in a deep breath as he waited for something else to go wrong. He hadn't expected to be pulled out of his work with the ship and into the strange vision with the dark creature.
Even going along with it didn't sit well with him. It felt like they were walking into a trap. However, the alternative, running, didn't seem like a viable option. If the thing could track them down, if it knew about their exact location, it would make it impossible to get into the Core at all. Grim Aegis was the final stepping stone out of the Fringes and into the Core.
"We're in," Li Wen said to his right, tapping her screen as she brought up a map of the island. "We could land in Aherlow's port. I doubt they knew to look for this ship in particular."
"But they'll know to look for most of us," Erin said. "All but three of us have bounties."
Li Wen was a bounty hunter, and Artur was a noble's son. Besides the fact that broadcasting Artur's location was a bad idea, considering the organization that was gunning for him, Alex didn't think they could use Li Wen to get inside. As far as he knew, they dealt with bounty offices and not the bases directly.
However, it couldn't hurt to ask.
"We need a way in if we're going to do this," Alex said. "You ever been here before?"
Li Wen frowned as she looked over the diagrams that flashed on her screen. "I dropped off a bounty there once. I've never been on the base."
That answered the question he hadn't put in. Alex normally felt like he was at least on top of his plans, but this entire situation left him unsure of where to go next. He had to get at least himself into Tartarus to see this mysterious person, and the path ahead wasn't as obvious as it usually felt.
"Maybe we could land in there and see what we can find," he whispered, tapping his chin as he leaned back in the chair. "There has to be some way to get an edge that can get us into the base."
"There's no such thing as secure," Erin offered, and Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "I've done infiltration before. There are always holes in defenses. The question is how many people we can get inside. It won't end well if we send too many or the wrong person."
"There's the path in as well." Jean entered the bridge from the side, his blue robes flowing behind him as he walked. "I doubt it will be as simple as walking into the base.
"Not to mention we're not all suited for sneaking in," Li Wen said, earning a nod from Erin.
The person they were thinking about wasn't on the bridge. Unless they were talking about him, too, which he wouldn't put past them. He wasn't always the most responsible person when it came to stealth, but he also wouldn't go about cavorting through the base just because it would make things feel more dangerous. That was what Sayed would do.
"We need to leave some of us on the ship either way in case something goes wrong," Alex said. "That way, we have the option for a fast getaway. When we dock, we'll be right next to the base. I don't like the idea of leaving the ships in dock."
"We'll need someone responsible back on the ship as well." Jean nodded. "Though I hate the idea that I can see my own fate in that. At least this time, we have plenty of provisions."
"Sayed and Jean with Mari." Alex nodded. "And I'd rather Artur stay back, too. Sword and shield plus rhyming would be too obvious."
"About as obvious as a person with a million doler bounty's face," Erin whispered.
"If I wasn't being specifically requested, I'd stay behind and leave it to you," Alex said. "That is, assuming you wouldn't get kidnapped."
It was a low bow, and Alex immediately regretted it. Erin's face went white. Back on Dry Turtle, she had been kidnapped by a slaver, and they had to perform a rescue operation to get her out before they left while also keeping under the notice of the Port Authority there.
"Sorry," Alex said, and Erin relaxed slightly. "But it did ask for me down there, so I'm going. That's a fixed point."
She nodded but then looked away. Alex needed her with him for the infiltration. She knew as much as he did about breaking into a place. If they worked together, he was sure they could break into the base much more easily.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"So, we have an idea of who we'll bring in, split in half, three on the ship and three into the base. The real problem is what do we do if things go wrong, and how do we actually get in and out?" Alex sighed. "We could take some time to observe the base, but the longer we're in port, the higher the chance of someone noticing that we're outlaws."
The others were wrapped in the same silence of the enormity of the task that lay in front of them. No one wanted to offer any ideas because there didn't seem like an actual path forward. Alex clacked his teeth together a few times as he thought over the problem, and as he did so, his vision changed.
Bzzt.
In one blink, he sat on the ship, resting in his chair. In the next, he was back in the dark room with the massive creature resting in the shadows. Alex blinked a few times to make sure that he wasn't seeing things before the creature opened a glowing maw full of sharp teeth.
"You're fulfilling your part of the bargain," it said, a massive limb rising in the darkness. "I thought you would run instead."
"That's closer to my track record," Alex said. "But I don't think I can escape if you are going to give out my location. You have me up over a barrel at this point."
"So, I will deign to assist you." The creature smiled in the shadows, and an image flashed before Alex's eyes.
It took him a minute to recognize the two of them. He hadn't seen them in over a month, and the last time they met, neither of them had been in a particularly good state. Erik and Klaus, two people he had encountered in Cragg Hollow, were in the image. Erik was holding the boy's hand as he led the kid into a building.
"So, they ended up here," Alex said. "The question is how you would even know they were related to us?"
"My curse allows me to see many things." The figure flashed a toothy smile in the darkness. "It even allows me to see into the minds of the weaker-willed. You form a particularly bright image in that boy's mind. It only took a little probing to make the connection to you when you entered my domain."
Alex filed that knowledge away in the back of his head. At least he knew there was a limit to the creature's reach. While he didn't think he could outrun the military police if it gave up information on his ship, at least he knew that it hadn't been tracking him all across the Fringes.
Just the thought of that kind of surveillance capability made him shudder.
He had grown up in the modern world and had seen technology change firsthand: high-level plane reconnaissance, spy satellites, mass video surveillance, and finally, a device that people willingly carried on their person that tracked their location as long as there were cellular towers nearby.
However, in all that, at least a person's mind was free from being tracked.
"Neither of them struck me as 'weak-willed' when we met back at Cragg Hollow."
"A child is a child, no matter how brave." The creature didn't falter. "When one's light snuffed out, darkness is what remains."
"Hmph." Alex shook his head. "So you want me to get in contact with them and have them help me get into the base?"
"It would be beneficial for you."
"We're going to talk when we're face-to-face," Alex said, holding his fist in his palms and cracking his knuckles. "Regardless of whether I help you escape, there are some things you just don't do."
"I look forward to it when I am free from my bonds." The creature smiled. "But for now, you are where you are, and I am where I am. See to it that you reach me and reach me soon, or I may send the Military Police to knock on your door."
Snap. Bzzt.
With the snap of a long finger in the darkness, the light of the bridge surged around Alex. He blinked a few times to adjust to the light and found he hadn't moved a muscle since the vision started. Wen, Jean, and Erin all stared at him, and he took a moment to get used to his own body.
"I hate everything about this," he whispered as he raised up a finger and took a few deep breaths. "Just had a visit from it again."
"And what did it tell you?" Jean asked, clicking together his bony fingers in front of him as he eyed Alex.
"It gave us a way in," Alex said.
----------------------------------------
Mister Tyson let go of his earring, taking a step back from the door as his heels clicked across the hard stone floor. He made it back to his desk just as Commander Milton exited his office, the two captains following him out. Commander Milton paused halfway through the room, looking back to Mister Tyson and nodding.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," he said. "Hopefully, the comms room has found something interesting since we last spotted that ship."
"Understood, sir." Mister Tyson pushed up his glasses with one finger before brushing a single blonde bang behind his ear. "I will retrieve you again if it is an emergency."
"You keep me on my toes, Secretary Eaton." Commander Milton smiled before exiting the room. "Gentlemen, let me show you what I have to offer."
The two captains followed him, though the older one's eyes lingered on Mister Tyson briefly before he left. Mister Tyson couldn't blame him. His current form was easy on the eyes. In fact, if it was his choice, he would take on one like it more often outside of his missions.
Click.
The door closed behind the departing men, and Mister Tyson regained his feet immediately, entering Milton's room and crossing over to the desk. In front of his chess board was the yellow folder the captains had given him. Mister Tyson immediately opened it, skimming through the contents with an efficient eye. The report had some of what he knew already, most of it information communicated by Mister Foley when he returned to the Underground.
The information in the message was new, though. Foley hadn't known it was linked to 'Tin Man' Ortega. Mister Tyson would send word to Miss Malone whenever he contacted her next. He also would need to note that Ortega was heading to Grim Aegis; however, that little tidbit was only worth a little. The fact that Ortega traveled with the prince was already known, thanks to Miss Glory. Grim Aegis was the obvious destination for both of them.
None of this was worth his time beyond that. However, that could change if Ortega came to Aherlow. Mister Tyson tapped one finger to his chin as his eyes fell onto the black and white picture of a long tubular ship on the paper. If he could deliver Ortega or the prince to Miss Malone, that could change his position.
He could get out of the nowhere prison and finally get some decent jobs like the other Fingers.
"Oh, I like it when a plan comes together," Mister Tyson whispered, biting the tips of his thumb as a smile twisted his face.