The productive hush of the penthouse boardroom was interrupted by the sudden sound of keening wind. The energy within the room whipped about, only to condense into a mass of silver cobwebs directly above a boardroom table, littered with half-completed forms and errant coffee cups.
Ethel's pupils rapidly grew and then shrunk as she put together the goings-on in the room. She had just enough time to grab the stack of documents she’d been working on before five battered forms took shape above her workstation.
For Mark, as the world flashed silver, the scenery changed in an instant. One moment they were out on the road, surrounded by hordes of Corrupted, the next, appearing a foot off the ground, or table as it were.
Mark caught himself a little less gracefully than the rest, but he did stick the landing. Catching himself on the edge of the now overloaded table.
A glance around found Ethel near one of the corners, with a stack of paper under one arm and her bow in the other.
She did not look happy.
“We are finding you a new place to bind that amulet Mark, I am not getting any younger, and my heart can’t take another entrance like that.”
Relieved, Mark rolled off the wooden surface and collected the scatters pages. Sam put her stack on the table and asked.
“Is everything okay on this side? Did Cara tell you what was going on?”
Ethel tilted her head and looked between them all.
“Everything is fine, but to my knowledge, Cara has not yet arrived back.”
There was the briefest of pauses before all eyes turned to Chloe. Cara had left over half an hour before them, even with breaks she should have already made it here. Sam couldn’t help the unsteadyness in her voice.
“Is she alright? Did something happen to her? Can you find out?”
The conflicted expression on Chloe’s face lasted for about a second before she straightened her shoulders.
“Cara is fine, she just left to look for her parents. This was her best chance at finding them.”
Sam stared at her as though she expected more of an explanation, but when none was forthcoming a strangled tone entered her voice.
“You what!? You didn’t think that was something we would want to know!”
The fact that she did not respond right away made Sam back away as though burned.
“You… did it on purpose…”
Chloe nodded.
“The chances you would have let her go out there alone were in the single digits.”
Sam's shocked face morphed into anger, her brows knitting together.
“You’re damn right they would have been. What the hell were you thinking?! She could get killed out there in an instant.”
“You’re forgetting the magic Cara holds.” Chloe countered
“I am not forgetting, I know she’s incredible. But to send her out there alone is-”
“Sam.”
The steadying tone in Jonathan's voice aimed to calm her.
“No! I- She-”
Jonathan stared Sam down and this seemed to ground her for a moment. Setting her jaw she simply glared at Chloe.
“Chloe, Sam is well within her right to feel this way, we all are. Can you explain to us why you did this?”
The words Chloe wanted to say seemed to catch in her throat.
“I…can’t. But you have to know I wouldn’t have done this unless it was necessary. Cara needs to do this, she’s the only one who can.”
Mark stared at Chloe who still looked tortured over her decision. Yet she remained steadfast.
She always did some of the strangest things, but in each action, Mark could derive a reason from it, this one was not something Mark could figure out.
Jonathan crossed his arms.
“Chloe, You have earned much of our trust, but even this is testing us. Is there nothing you can say to help us through this?”
“I can say this. Cara has a 73.88% chance of pulling this off safely. If she does, she will be able to reunite with her parents. Those odds are good, none of you can tell me you wouldn’t take them in that situation.”
The room was quiet as everyone digested her words. Sam was still visibly shaking while Jonathan remained firm but cold. Daphne had shown little shock when Chloe revealed where Cara was, as though she expected it.
Mark had not seen this coming and felt blindsided, but things were adding up. With that said, there was a question he now felt he had to ask.
“Chloe, at the time, the Corrupted said another crest was leaving the area. We should have had both. So, unless there was a third – and there may well be – I have to ask: Do you still have yours?”
Chloe had many talents, but a poker face was not one of them. At first, he thought she would just refuse to answer but eventually, she did, just above a whisper.
“I had to give it to her for safekeeping. Future events will make it impossible for me to protect it.”
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“What events,” Jonathan asked.
“I can’t say yet, or it will introduce too many unpredictable outcomes. ”
Sam had kept her peace until she couldn’t any longer. She dove for Chloe attempting to grab hold of the woman's shoulders. Chloe saw it coming but didn’t attempt to dodge. Jonathan shot an arm out, baring her advance.
Unable to physically overpower Jonathan, Sam shouted.
“Do you have any idea what you've done?! Now, not only is she out there alone, but she’s going to be hunted by those animals, who knows what abilities they have!”
Chloe’s gaze never wavered
“She’s strong enough to escape them.”
“What will happen if she does find her parents out there, what then!? She’ll be leading an army right to them!”
“It will work out!”
The tension in the room just kept building. Mark knew how deep a place Cara held in Sam’s heart, so her desperation was warranted, but he also wanted to trust Chloe, she had earned that much.
Mark stepped in between the two women with hands raised.
“I think we need a break, Ethel where is Mr. Dureal.”
Ethel had kept quiet during the conversation, only pausing to pale when the news of sentient Corrupted came up.
“Karter is probably preparing to report to the Research division.”
Mark gave her a questioning glance.
“He said it was an old favor, and that it would help give us more information, beyond that I trusted his decision.”
Mark nodded to her.
“Perfect, you think he will mind some company?”
Ethel glanced at the people around the room and smiled.
“I shouldn’t think so.”
“Excellent, Sam Jonathan you two are with me. Daphne, Chloe, if you wouldn’t mind remaining here to help Ethel, I’d appreciate it.”
Right now, Mark wanted to split these two, and Daphne had remained the most level-headed throughout the whole conversation. So he knew he could trust her to treat Chloe fairly.
No one knew what to do but as Mark began ushering the two of them toward the door, that seemed to signal the end of the discussion.
Stepping out into the hallway, Mark shut the set of doors behind himself. A bottled sigh escaped his lips as the weight of the last couple of days arrived all at once.
Sam had grown quiet, but Mark saw a dozen thoughts and worries swimming behind those eyes.
Jonathan caught Mark's gaze and he could see the guy was grateful, so Mark just nodded.
Heading to the study Karter had fashioned into a response center they found the man closing the latches on a large-style briefcase. The kind you stored more than just documents in. Knocking as he entered Mark greeted the man.
“It's good to see you too Mark, I’m assuming the mission was a success?”
“That it was sir, we just got back and were hoping we could tag along to the research department”
Karter was glad to see they were back but the mood surrounding Sam was immediately evident.
“Is… everyone alright?”
Mark glanced at Sam and then at Karter.
“Everyone is alive, but we’ve had a harsh few days and could really use the distraction.”
Kart seemed to assess all three of them in turn and surprisingly he asked no further questions.
“Alright, I understand. Samantha go sit down. I’ll be two minutes and we can leave.”
While he gathered the remaining things he needed Sam spent her time staring off into space.
Jonathan and Karter chatted and he revealed that they were taking one of their workshop products with them.
Jonathan wanted to know which project it was, Karter indicated for them to check the briefcase.
Opening it, they found a sleek drone nestled within the fabric. It had a classic black finish and looked to be made of metal rather than any of the lightweight materials they had seen before the fall.
The system did not recognize it as an item directly, but when Mark examined it closer he could tell the entire thing was made from Saturated steel. It was similar to the Firestarter’s bikes. Instead of the item enhancing the user, the materials were used to make the product more resilient or effective. In the beginning, the drones used by the government were mostly wiped out by the Ghasts. But even still, the use of drones was irreplaceable. They were capable of scouting an area quickly. The problem came with their relatively weak design. To fly, they needed to be lightweight, and while durable, they were incapable of taking even a single attack.
The difference was, with this little thing, everything from its engine to its exoskeleton was more robust. While it could probably only last a couple of extra hits, it was theoretically enough to escape. A useful tool, and if developed further it could be adapted to all sorts of tasks.
Jude was key to its creation, along with George, but if there was interest, these things could become a flagship product.
At least that's what Jonathan and Karter were discussing on their way down to the lobby. When two sleek black sedans pulled up outside, Mark made sure Sam was the first in.
They kept the casual conversation going the whole time. Sam never chipped in but she was starting to become more aware as time moved on.
The trip through their territory was brief, but Mark could see the simple changes that had occurred over the last three days or so. A majority of the lampposts along the main roads were fixed now. Nearby buildings were filling up with residents and refugees. This also meant shattered windows and crumbing brickwork had to be repaired to make room. The streets were filled with bystanders going about their business. Mark even noticed a couple of temporary stalls erected around the place, selling things like coffee or snacks.
It was inane things really, but when the world had changed so much even the smallest of creature comforts meant a lot.
Watching the scenery that he had helped build go by, Mark felt a sense of achievement rising in his chest. They had helped make this possible, Mark was lost in thought when something Karter said pulled his attention back into the vehicle.
“The research department is a combined effort by Guild and the Loyalists. Each has its own goals, but we can trust they are both self-serving enough to be useful. We’re going to meet up with some old friends to see what we can learn.”
Mark could see why those two factions would back the research department. The loyalists were obvious, and being that they were originally the army, it probably meant they had more than half the department under their thumb. The guild was a little more out there, but Mark figured that if they were looking for new things to sell, what better way than to be the ones to discover it? The research department was a catch-all term. They simultaneously broke down the new and ever-changing world and the lifeforms in it. As well as developed techniques and projects that used what was learned. The department was just a more extensive version of the one they had at Prospect Park.
When they pulled up outside an expansive concrete compound with glass rooves and spartan fixtures, Mark got the sense of a heavily defended bunker. Practical architecture and a good many semi-permanent hovels had been set up behind an iron-linked fence. The area behind it was filled with people in civilian clothing along with a smattering of white lab coats moving amongst buildings. Even though there was a ton of foot traffic, the area was not all that noisy, in that conversion was made in hushed tones and darting glances, discretion was the key here.
The soldier at the gate looked over Karter's papers for a minute longer than was probably necessary, but finally, he called for the fence to be opened and pointed them toward the second-largest structure in the area.
When they got there, they went through another checkpoint. Disembarking from the vehicles, they were guided into an anthill-like maze structure. It dug deep into the cool earth as they descended with the help of a guide. The soldier led them through long twisting corridors that lacked any markings, or if they had them only he could tell.
Even down here, people moved from task to task quickly, ferrying printouts of computer readings and statistics to their end destination.
When they reach a particular door. This one was different in that it was made of heavy metals and required the guard to verify who they were in front of a camera mounted to the wall.
After a click and a hiss, the door opened, and Dr. Haley with dark bags under her eyes stood there.