TCR 51) Ten minus...
As the white light faded away I found myself standing in a large, humid warehouselike space, from the high multi-paneled windows it must have been some old industrial building.
Large overhead fans keep the air from being too still and new lighting fixtures keep the room brightly lit despite the grime discoloring the old windows.
A set of large matrix printers was finishing up what looked to be the last helmet for the dozen or so advanced design space suits set out on various tables and stacks of pallets.
Falco waved his hand at them. "I do hope we have everyone's sizes. Checklists are on the clipboards on the table, buddy up and go over them with each other once you're ready to get dressed up. We leave in an hour."
Everyone, including me, was looking around at the racks of guns, the stacks of body armor, and the tracked cannon like device labeled “Sonic Destabilizer. Stay clear of working end.”
Me, I was looking for something else. “Bathroom?”
My new employer gave me a grin and shot finger pistols at me again. “The suits all have catheters, but I don’t blame you for going before we leave. Don’t bother to try to make a call though, I got this place wired to block all signals.”
I shook my head. “Not an issue, I left my phone in the car.”
One of them, the other one was shut down with the battery pulled.
The lie detector, Polygraph, volunteered to show me to the woman’s room. “Or at least the one the boys aren't allowed in. It's the only way to keep at least one of them clean.”
Luckily, the door locked. Sitting down, pants up, I let myself crack my eyes open back in my own body. “Paper and pen?”
The teens, who jumped to their feet as I spoke up looked confused. Right, who their age bothers with handwriting? "Top left drawer on the console."
Leaning to my right to keep the back of the pad to the camera over the entrance door, I quickly jotted down the information that was for the Royals only.
Ares base on the moon
Shrike backing Falco
Heron teleporting us up
There is a Power Booster
The Gov is using it
We are stealing it
Tell me what to do
Who can we trust?
I folded over the top sheet as I ripped it off and handed it to Shimmer, with a head nod to the camera behind her. “For our eyes only.”
Then I closed my eyes. “And it’s all your call.”
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Back in Falco's lair, I took a peek out the window in the bathroom, only to see what could be any industrial site in Florida or any place in the world in the tropics by the palm trees past the row of parking garages outside the window.
There was a knock at the door. For a moment I wanted to panic, but then I heard it was Shrike, and why she was knocking. “Hurry up, I don’t want to deal with a catheter either.”
Oh, “Just a second. I got to wash my hands.”
Nice. Amaretto and brown sugar scented hand wash. And I can even smell it in Samantha’s body with her enhanced senses despite the whole being a corpse thing.
I got as far as beginning to dry my hands on some white quilted paper towels when Green Top started banging her fist on the door again.
Stepping aside as I opened the door the grumbling supervillain gave me a sharp look as she stepped in and I slipped out once she was clear of the door, pulling it shut behind me.
Polygraph was standing outside, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “Well... I was next.”
I gave her a nod. "I can find my own back unless I'm supposed to be under your watch?"
She waved me away, “Just stay on this floor if you feel the need to stretch your legs before we go. Lords knows I'm looking forward to going EVO in Falco's freeware print suits."
I stopped and turned to look back at her. She gave me a grim nod. “Buzz took his out and tested it underwater, so at least they’re airtight."
After staring at her for a moment, I muttered, “Wonderful.” and headed back to start getting suited up.
In addition to the suit, there was an under suit which meant I had to dump Pyrope’s clothes in a duffel bag, along with a pump action shotgun and a 45. automatic I picked out for carrying once we got in the base.
The machete in a sheath on a belt I keep out to go over the suit.
Looking around I saw Falco strapping a high tech looking handgun mounted on a belt over his suit as well. Leaving me to wonder if it, or even a normal gun, would work in a vacuum, or near vacuum on the surface of the moon.
And if he was planning on doing away with the hired muscle after I did my job of tearing open the wall on the inner base.
If he did, well that actually worked for me. Let him and his people take the risks of grabbing the Booster, and wait for them at the exit. Those suits look easy enough for Samantha and me to grab, twist and tear.
It might even have to go that way if no one betrays anyone. It all depends on what Shimmer’s decides.
If the Booster gets stolen. The missiles might go flying just on the chance the Circle had gotten a hold of it.
The best thing I can think of to do is wreck the thing. Take it out of the hands of the government before they boost one of their high ranking pet supers and use them against the rest of us while leaving the wreckage behind to make it clear no one else has it either.
I just have to hope this isn't something they can rebuild, and that Shimmer either agrees with me or comes up with a better plan.
She's smarter than me. And young enough to care about… everyone.
I’m older. Age has turned me from someone who wants to be a good man, to one that is willing to settle for being good enough.
It's enough for me to take care of my own, and those who need and will let me help them. I can't help the rest of the world that seems determined to see everything burn rather than work together.
Polygraph returned with her hands smelling like a cookie, but I didn’t get the chance to see if Shrike showed character while no one was watching.
The lie detector began to strip down to bike shorts and a halter top to start putting the undersuit up, "Checklist buddies?"
I nodded and began looking at one of the clipboards to figure out how to put on the oversuit.
Each suit had five hours worth of air, plenty to get into the base and walk back out of the Teleport blockers. Not that I needed to worry about running out of air, but I checked to see if I could hook my air tank up to someone else.
Shrike and her brother Phoenix were stone cold killers, I wouldn’t mind seeing them turn blue as their air ran out. But Heron was an unknown while Falco and his band of thieves were rumored to avoid killing.
Kneecaps on the other hand…
Polygraph checked my seals and turned on my air as I sealed up the helmet. The air had a dry stale taste to it.
After checking the lie detectors, I strapped on the machete and half drew it to test if I had it in a good spot to pull it out if needed.
From the inside of the helmet a transmitter cracked in. “Time to get a move on. Bags on the table, and everyone in the ring painted on the ground.”
As I turned around I saw Teamster holding his hands up to Sonic Destabilizer which began to shrink down and fold away in a twist of the light until it vanished. Then he turned to do the same to our bags, and what looked like a portable hatchway surrounded by a ring of folded up airbags connected to air tanks.
I was guessing that was how we were going to seal up the tunnel we made into the base behind us. Thoughtful of them.
As Teamster finished up packing away the last of the equipment, including the half cleared away gun rack, I wondered if the teleport blockers could interfere with his power. It's space manipulation either way, right? I was going to hope Falco had planned and checked on that beforehand.
Heron lifted his hand and again I was engulfed in white light as Falco shouted over the coms. “Pow Alice, straight to the moon!”