Sorin and Brimswald dash down a hallway as alarms blare throughout the headquarters. Sorin holds a flash drive in his hand, he slides it into his pants pocket. They arrive at an open room with windows covering the back wall. Sorin and Brimswald hear more security guards approaching. Sorin takes off his jacket and tosses it to the side. The lines on his arms glow purple.
“Let’s split up, we’ll meet back up at the coffee shop.” Sorin states, he looks back over at Brimswald who nods at him. Sorin runs forward, toward the windows. He prepares balls of energy in his hands. Right before hitting the windows, Sorin jumps and fires the energy at the ground. Sorin propels through the window and flies toward a road. Sorin crashes on to the road and rolls to slow himself down.
Meanwhile, guards start to swarm Brimswald. Brimswald summons blue and yellow fireballs and throws them at the guards. Realizing that there are just too many guards, Brimswald makes his hands glow purple. Before Brimswald can do anything, a guard sneaks up behind him and shoots a taser at his back. Sorin watches from afar as Brimswald involuntarily flails around, eventually falling to the floor. Brimswald gets swarmed with guards and handcuffed.
Sorin sighs, seeing Brimswald getting caught. He raises his arm to Brimswald and the black lines on his arm glow purple. Sorin charges an energy ball, holding it in his hand to let it charge. Eventually, Sorin throws the energy ball at Brimswald. The guards see the ball approaching and begin to clear the room. Brimswald looks out the window and sees the ball himself. Before he can escape, the ball hits the building. There’s an explosion.
The black lines on Sorin’s arm flash red and a spark flies from his hand. Sorin holds his arm with his other one as steam hisses from it, trying to cool down. He begins to walk down the street as police and fire truck sirens ring in the distance.
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The next day, Agent Susan Monroe storms into her office at the CIA with a newspaper in her hands. In the office are two desks, one of them has another agent sitting at it. Susan throws the newspaper on the desk.
“Do you believe this, Anna?” Susan asks, sounding frustrated. Anna skims the headline, Terrorists Attack N.A.T.O. Headquarters, Ends in Explosion. Anna seems shocked to read it
“How did they get a bomb there?” Anna responds in a question.
“They didn’t. The infiltrators both had the Narsia. One of them was Captain Brimswald, of all people.” Susan explains.
“Wait, so this was The Promise Keeper’s doing? Didn’t you arrest him?”
“I don’t believe so, Brimswald died in the explosion, caused by friendly fire.” Susan reveals to Anna, “And, of course, N.A.T.O. hasn’t said anything.” Susan walks over to a window.
“Why don’t we do something about it?” Anna asks, Susan ponders the idea for a moment.
“Like we could do anything?” Susan rejects the idea.
“I mean, I’m sure the person who arrested the guy that weasled their way into the U.N. could unite the public about this.” Anna elaborates.
“I don’t know, maybe.” Susan decides. She walks to the other desk and sits down at it.
Elsewhere, Lieutenant Pedro sits at his desk, his knee bouncing. On his computer is an article on what happened at N.A.T.O. headquarters. Suddenly, there’s a knock at his door. Pedro turns his monitor off and sits up from his seat.
“Come in!” He calls out and the door opens. A woman in a camo uniform walks in. Her name tag reads ‘R. Herst.’ “General?” Pedro has a surprised tone in his voice, he salutes at the general, “What brings you here?”
“At ease, Lieutenant.” General Herst states, Pedro lowers his arm. Pedro sits back down in his chair. The general pulls a chair out from the other side of Pedro’s desk and sits down in it. Herst places her elbows on the desk. “I assume you’ve seen the news.” The general starts, ignoring Pedro’s previous question.
“Yes, of course, what did they steal?” Pedro asks, he starts to bounce his knee again.
“That’s classified information, not to mention off topic.” General Herst answers, Pedro is frustrated by the response, “Listen, the unidentified target was using the Bailys like it was breathing. As a result, the I.S.P.F. was assigned with tracking them down. I’m way too busy dealing with the Narsian’s after The Promise Keeper was arrested, so I’m going to have to ask you and your squad to go find this guy.”
“I see,” Pedro ponders this information, “but, with all do respect, one of my agents is still recovering from being poisoned by the Bailys. How would we fight the target without the full group?”
“That’s for you to figure out.” Herst bluntly responds. She stands up and starts walking toward the door. Before opening the door, she pauses and turns back toward Pedro, “I’m sorry I have to do this, I really am. But, if it helps, the C.I.A. is investigating already and I told them to get back to you when they find something.” The general leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Pedro sighs in his chair.
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Meanwhile, in a gym room, Isaac meditates while sitting down. On the other side of the room is a woman doing the same thing.
“Very good, just keep breathing.” The woman instructs, “Do you feel anything in your hands?” Isaac focuses on his hands for a moment.
“Yes, but it’s fainter than usual.” Isaac responds.
“That’s good, it’s still there.” The instructor states, “Try and manipulate the energy, just as you always have.” Isaac squints his closed eyes in concentration. His hands slowly begin to glow blue and yellow, flickering. He opens his eyes and his face lights up at the sight of his glowing hands. The glow disappears and Isaac clenches his fists together.
“Where’d it go?” Isaac asks, frustrated.
“You let yourself get distracted, try to refocus.” The instructor advises. At a coat hanger at a corner of the room hangs Isaac’s jacket. The walkie-talkie inside of one of the jacket’s pockets starts making noise. Isaac stands up and walks toward his jacket. He grabs the walkie-talkie out of the jacket and presses it against his ear.
“...repeat, I need my squad towards headquarters, as soon as possible.” Pedro orders on the other side of the walkie-talkie.
“I copy.” Isaac responds, pressing down the talk button on the walkie-talkie. He turns back to the instructor, who is also standing.
“Is everything alright?” She asks.
“Sorry, but we’re going to need to cut this a little short, Ms. Fable.” Isaac states, putting on his jacket, “Something came up at work.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll see you Monday?” Fable responds.
“Yeah, sure, that works.” Isaac approaches the door and opens it, “See you then.” He leaves the room.
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At the N.A.T.O. headquarters, multiple agents look around for any clues as to who caused such damage. Firefighters and paramedics are also at the building, making sure that a fire won’t reemerge from the building while the paramedics search for any more people trapped in the building.
C.I.A. Agents Susan Monroe and Anna Grambelle look around the scene with gloves on. Susan grunts with frustration over not being able to find anything.
“It’s hopeless,” Susan complains, “we’ve been here for hours and there’s nothing as to who this mysterious Bailys user is.”
“Calm down, Susan,” Anna responds, looking over at her, “we should be getting the camera footage from last night any minute now. And, if that fails, then we can always wait until the security guards that survived get out of the hospital.”
“I guess so, but how much of the camera footage is going to be destroyed?” Susan asks, rhetorically.
“Only one way to find out.” Anna answers, optimistically, “But first, is the glass half full or half empty?” She jokes. Susan looks back at Anna.
Not long after, someone approaches Anna.
“Are you the one who requested the security camera footage from last night?” The person asks.
“Yes I am, is it ready?” Anna responds.
“Affirmative, right this way.” The person gestures behind her. The person starts walking away, Anna follows and winks at Susan who smirks and follows Susan. Eventually, they all arrive at a security room that doesn’t seem to be damaged much from the attack. In the security room is a guard sitting in an office chair in front of many monitors.
“Sorry this took so long,” he states as he sees Anna and Susan enter the room, “the WiFi here is obviously not doing great so it took some time to get onto our storage.”
“It’s fine, at least we have it now.” Anna responds, walking up to the monitors with Susan.
“The most intact footage was this short clip captured fifteen minutes before the explosion.” The guard explains, bringing up a low resolution video that’s paused. The guard unpauses the video. In the video, a figure rounds a corner and runs down a hallway, the guard pauses the video.
“That’s Captain Brimswald, just so you know.” The guard explains before unpausing the video. Another figure turns the corner, facing the camera, before going down the hall after Brimswald. The guard rewinds the video before pausing on a frame with the figure looking at the camera. “That’s our guy.” The guard says, pointing to the monitor. The figure’s face is robotic, with his right eye glowing purple.
“Good work,” Susan praises, “did you run his face?”
“I sent it over to the C.I.A.” The guard explains, “figured y’all could have a better time identifying him than us.” Susan and Anna look at each other, both having the same idea.
“Is there any way we can get this footage?” Anna asks.
“Yeah, sure, I can put it on a thumb drive.” The guard answers, pulling a thumb drive out of a drawer. He plugs the drive into a USB port on the computer. He puts a copy of the video file onto the drive and pulls it out of the computer. “There you go.” The guard hands the drive to Anna, who grabs it out of his hand.
“Thanks,” Anna puts the drive in her pocket before turning to Susan, “I’m gonna go back to the office to grab somestuff then tell the I.S.P.F. about this.”
“Sounds good, I’ll stay here for a little bit longer to see if there’s any more evidence to find.” Susan and Anna fist bump each other before Anna leaves the room.
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At the I.S.P.F. building, Pedro stands in a conference room. Littered around the room are tables and chairs filled with his squad members.
“I’m sure you’re all aware of the news,” Pedro starts, “a couple of nutjobs stole some classified N.A.T.O. information. While one of them, Captain Brimswald, died before he could escape, the other one left without a trace.” He explains, “We have been tasked with tracking this mystery guy down. The general already has some people searching for evidence at the crime scene. So, right now, we just have to sit and wait until we can see what they have.” Faye raises her hand. “Yes, Agent Ramos?” She puts her hand down.
“Have they found any evidence, yet?” Faye asks.
“They’re reviewing the security camera footage as we speak,” Pedro answers.
“So then why tell us about this already if we can’t do anything?” Faye interrupts, a stern look appears on Pedro’s face. Isaac, sitting in the seat next to Faye, gently kicks her foot as a way to say shut up.
“Because I need you to be alert for when we do find something, and we can skip the briefing when that happens.” Pedro responds, “This is something I would’ve said had you not interrupted me.”
“Sorry, Sir.” Faye apologizes. Suddenly, Pedro’s walkie-talkie rings. He picks it up and holds down the talk button.
“Hello? I’m a bit busy.” Pedro greets, rudely.
“Hello, I’m right outside your office, I have something to show you regarding the events that took place last night.” The voice on the other side states. Pedro’s expression becomes intrigued. He pauses for a moment.
“I’m on my way.” Pedro states, beginning to exit the conference room. He turns back toward Faye, “I told you, at any moment.” He leaves the room. Everyone else sits in silence for a moment. Faye starts to stand up.
“I’m gonna go get some coffee, do you want any?” She offers Isaac.
“Please.” Isaac starts to stand up, as well.
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Meanwhile, Pedro approaches his office that has the door open. Pedro enters the office and sees somebody sitting in a chair. She stands up when she sees Pedro. She sticks her arm out at Pedro, going for a handshake.
“You must be Lieutenant Alfaro.” She greets. Pedro shakes her hand.
“Yes, and you are?” He asks.
“Special Agent Anna Grambelle, C.I.A.” Anna answers. Pedro walks behind his takes and sits in his chair, Anna sits back down.
“You said you have something for me?” Pedro asks, placing his elbows on the desk and putting his hands together.
“Yes,” Anna shows Pedro a tablet showing a low resolution image from a security camera, “we found an image of the unidentified invader with his face clear as day.” She explains.
“Good, did you ID them based on their face?” Pedro looks up from the tablet.
“Yeah, but that’s where things get weird.” Anna hands Pedro a folder she was holding in her other hand. Pedro grabs the folder and Anna sets the tablet down on the desk. Pedro opens the folder and skims through the file inside.
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Name: Sorin Alburo267Please respect copyright.PENANAVPbc6nekbv
Occupation: Factory Worker267Please respect copyright.PENANANrWntHvS0N
Sex: Male267Please respect copyright.PENANAeSyhZutsgL
Race: Caucasian267Please respect copyright.PENANArm9wMQomcc
D.O.B: 02/07/2000267Please respect copyright.PENANAiwRzhxOcpU
Status: Deceased (05/15/2023)267Please respect copyright.PENANAcIoy5zwajA
267Please respect copyright.PENANAo4Vtnw4wfG
“He’s dead?” Pedro asks.
“Apparently.” Anna responds, “I asked around and his body was never found.”
“Wait, he died the same day as the robot factory exploded.” Pedro says, looking up from the folder.
“That would be why they assumed he died.” Anna states.
“He could’ve faked his death.” Pedro ponders, setting the folder on the desk.
“Maybe, but some of the guards that encountered him said that he had cybernetic enhancements.” Anna explains. Pedro pauses for a moment as he thinks.
“Thank you for your help.” Pedro hands the tablet back to Anna, “I’m going to hold on to this file, if that’s acceptable.” Anna stands up from her seat.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Anna sticks her arm at Pedro for a final handshake. Pedro stands up and shakes her hand. Anna walks out of the room and Pedro follows. Pedro hurries back toward the conference room.
Pedro opens the conference room door and sees everyone still in the conference room. Faye leans on the table she was sitting at and drinks her coffee. Isaac sits in his chair. Everybody looks toward the lieutenant. Faye sits back down in her chair. Pedro walks back toward the stand.
“Glad to see that everyone is still here.” Pedro announces, he lays the folder on the stand, “We have a lead about who attacked N.A.T.O. headquarters.” Pedro opens the folder and holds it up, showing it to everyone. “This is Sorin Alburo,” Pedro explains, “he faked his death after the robot factory exploded two years ago. It seems he gave himself cybernetic enhancements, which allows him to have a new found connection to the Narsia.” Pedro puts the folder back on the stand, “He should be pretty easy to track down, not that many cyborgs around, after all. Prepare to be on the highest alert, but for now, y’all are dismissed.” A collection of nods follow Pedro’s announcement. Everybody stands up from their seats and starts to talk amongst themselves.
“Isaac, a word?” Pedro asks.
“Yeah, of course.” Isaac answers, and starts walking toward Pedro.
“See you at the car?” Faye says, Isaac nods. Faye leaves the room. Isaac approaches Pedro.
“What’s up, sir?” Isaac asks, confusion in his voice.
“Are you up for this?” Pedro skips the small talk, “From what I’ve seen, this ‘Sorin’ guy is tough, and I don’t think that you should fight him in your current state. But the choice is ultimately up to you.”
“I joined this job to put the people of the world first and to protect them. If this guy is threatening the peace, then I have to fight, no matter my state.” Isaac responds. Pedro sighs and looks down for a moment.
“If that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you. But, please, be careful.” Pedro pleads.
“I will.” Isaac affirms. Isaac exits the room.
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Elsewhere, Sorin, rid of his cybernetic parts, stands on a cliff by a body of water. Surrounding him are many pieces of metal, in different shapes and sizes. In front of Sorin are Sielos and Adam Martindale, The Promise Keeper. Adam has an angry expression on his face as he looks at Sielos.
“He’s just a kid, I can’t do this to him!” Adam argues with Sielos, gesturing toward Sorin.
“We made a deal, and you need to hold up your part of it.” Sielos stares at Adam, blankly.
“I would hardly call this a deal.” Adam states.
“Nethertheless, you said that you will do anything that I order, and I am ordering you to give Sorin these enhancements.” Sielos demands, “Besides, Sorin actively wants to do this, don’t you?” Sorin and Adam look at Sorin. Sorin looks away for a moment before responding.
“Yes. This is what I need to do.” Sorin answers with determination in his voice.
“Fine,” Adam walks toward Sorin, stopping at the metal in front of him, “if you insist.” Sorin prepares for what’s to come. Adam sticks out his arms, and it starts to glow a dark purple. Suddenly, a purple beam comes out of Adam’s hand and attaches itself to Sorin. Sorin starts screaming as he starts to glow purple himself. Sorin falls to his knees. Sorin’s right arm starts to attract the nearby metal, and his left arm does the same thing. Metal attaches itself to Sorin’s face and neck as Adam watches in horror.
The purple beam stops and Adam’s hand stops glowing. Adam steps back with a shocked expression.
“Keep going.” Sielos answers, staring at Sorin, who’s looking at his robotic arms. Adam doesn’t do anything. Sielos looks at Adam, “I said keep going, or things will get much worse for you and him.” Adam gulps and raises his arm again.
“I’m sorry.” Adam tells Sorin before his hand starts to glow purple again. The beam shoots back out and makes Sorin glow again. The metal starts to fuse itself to Sorin. Eventually, Sorin passes out and falls to the ground. Adam immediately stops and rushes over to Sorin. Adam presses his fingers on a part of Sorin’s neck that isn’t covered in metal. He looks over at Sielos.
“There’s no pulse.” He states, in panic.
“Relax, he’ll be fine.” Sielos assures. Adam stands up and approaches Sielos.
“How can I relax!?” Adam asks, rhetorically, “What if he doesn’t wake up? What if this gets out? Do you know how many people rely on me?” Adam puts his hand on his chest, “if I go down, then thousands of people’s faith is lost.” The Promise Keeper explains, “They’ve already lost three Promise Keepers, they can’t lose a fourth.” Sielos stares at Adam, not giving a response.
Suddenly, Sorin wakes up, his metallic right eye glowing purple, and sits up. Adam turns around as he hears Sorin rise. “You’re alright!” Adam exclaims. Sorin stands up and looks at it his hands.
“Yes,” Sorin responds, his voice now more monotone and lifeless, “it appears the transformation is complete.” He looks up from his hands and at Sielos and Adam.
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In the present, Sorin travels through the forest covered in snow. Sorin removes a patch of snow to reveal Sielos in their box form. He presses down on Sielos’ eye, and it sprouts from the box.
“Did you succeed?” Sielos asks, getting straight to the point.
“Yes, I did.” Sorin pulls out the flash drive, “Though, you should know that I had to dispose of Captain Brimswald.”
“That is unfortunate,” Sielos responds, “the I.S.P.F. is surely on our tail now.”
“What do we do now?” Sorin asks, putting the flash drive back in his pants pocket.
“We need to move quickly.” Sielos starts, “There’s another factory that was supposed to be for the robots on that flash drive in the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Washington that were meant to be airborne.” It explains, “If the two of us go there, then it will make a perfect base of operations, especially if we go in the air.” Sorin nods in agreement, “Wake me back up when you arrive at the coast and I can give you a more specific location.” Sielos finishes as it starts to go back into their box form. Sorin picks up Sielos and begins to walk through the forest.
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The next day, Susan approaches her desk, with Anna already sitting and her own desk. Susan sets her stuff down before sitting in her chair. Anna stands up from her desk and walks toward Susan.
“Good morning.” Anna greets. Susan looks up at Anna.
“Mornin’,” She responds, in a tired voice, “did you talk to that I.S.P.F. guy about what you found?”
“Yeah, I did.” Anna answers, “He said that the information will be really valuable.” Anna pauses for a moment, “I told you that we could make a difference.” Susan smirks and chuckles a bit.
“Yeah,” Susan confirms, “I guess you did.” Susan and Anna smile at each other before Anna returns to her desk. Susan and Anna focus on their computers for a few minutes, the room staying in silence.
“But,” Susan breaks the silence, “now we don’t have anything to do. Not anything interesting, at least.” Anna laughs in response.
“Oh well, can’t complain about an easy day.” Anna states, Susan nods in agreement.
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Isaac and Faye enter their apartment. Faye tensely walks over to the couch and grabs it with both hands. Isaac approaches Faye with a concerned look on his face.
“Is everything okay?” Isaac asks, Faye sighs in response before turning toward Isaac.
“Why would you do it?” Faye asks in a confrontational tone, “Why would you join the mission, in your state?”
“I joined because it’s my duty to put others before myself.” Isaac answers, “ You don’t have to worry about me, either, I can take care of myself.” Faye sighs again, before stepping away from the couch and toward Isaac.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. You should be the one to worry about yourself, not me.” Faye admits, shrugging. Isaac smiles and spreads his arms out, offering a hug. Faye hugs Isaac, her face changes to a more nervous expression while Isaac can’t see her. Faye and Isaac stop embracing, backing away from each other.
“But, I swear to God, Isaac, you better be really careful!” Faye demands, Isaac laughs.
“Yes, of course I will.” Isaac responds.
“Good.” Faye states, before turning her attention to the kitchen. “Now,” Faye starts walking toward the fridge and freezer, “what should we do for dinner?” Faye looks in the freezer, considering their options.
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Days later, Sorin walks along an airport runway. He carries Sielos in their box form like a suitcase. Sorin approaches a private jet with a man in a fancy uniform waiting by the steps. Sorin wears a trench coat and a fedora to cover himself up. He also wears black gloves to conceal his robotic hands. Sorin walks his head slightly looking down.
“Welcome, are you Brandon Pikes?” The man asks.
“Indeed.” Sorin responds, bluntly.
“Okay, I’m going to need to see some ID. Just precaution.” The man orders. Sorins looks up to make eye contact with the man to reveal his robotic eye. The man steps back a bit.
“We’re going to get on this plane and you are going to act like nothing's wrong, okay?” Sorin orders. The man hesitates for a moment.
“Fine, get on.” The man eventually says. Sorin walks up the stairs and into the plane. Simon sets Sielos down on a table in the jet and sits down in a chair next to the table. The man gets aboard the plane shortly after Sorin and approaches the cyborg. “Can I take that luggage off your hands?” He asks, in a nervous tone.
“No, thank you, I’d like it to stay with me.” Sorin rejects, the man nods at Sorin before walking to the cockpit. Inside, the pilot waits in his chair reading a magazine. The pilot looks up after hearin the door and sets the magazine to the side.
“Are we all ready to go, Gerald?” The pilot asks.
“No,” Gerald answers, “I think the passenger might be up to something. He refused to show me ID, has a weird robotic eye, and is very protective of his suitcase.” He explains.
“Ok, I’ll get security down here and they should take care of this.” The pilot puts his headset on, “Thanks for telling me.”
Meanwhile, Sorin looks at the cockpit and sees Gerald talking to the pilot about something. Sorin stands up from his seat and begins walking toward the cockpit. As he gets closer, Sorin starts hearing Gerald and the pilot’s conversation.
“Thanks for telling me.” The pilot tells Gerald. Immediately knowing what their conversation is about, Sorin bursts the door to the cockpit open. He grabs Gerald by the neck, who begins gasping for air. Sorin takes the headset from the pilot before he can call for help.
“What do you want!?” The pilot asks, in a frightened voice.
“I want you to fly the plane to Washington,” Sorin answers, “that’s all.”
“Alright, alright, just let him go and we’ll fly the plane.” The pilot compromises. Sorin lets Gerald go and begins to walk out of the cockpit.
“Now, is that so hard?” Sorin asks, rhetorically. Sorin pauses, “And by the way, if you tell a soul about this… I think you can piece together the rest.” Sorin closes the door and returns to his seat.
Elsewhere, Susan sits at her desk, looking at something on her computer. Anna is at her respective desk. A man in a striped button down shirt enters the office, knocking on the open door. Susan and Anna both dart their heads at the man.
“Oh, lieutenant, what brings you here?” Susan asks, her and Anna’s posture gets a lot straighter.
“Sorry for the unexpected visit.” The lieutenant apologizes, closing the door, “But this is very important.”
“Okay?” Anna responds, her interest piqued.
“We’ve been contacted and told that there’s this private jet that took off toward Washington a few hours ago. The surveillance team at the airport thought that the figure on the cameras looked suspicious.” The lieutenant hands Susan and Anna an image of the figure, blurry and grayscale.
“This looks kinda like…” Anna starts.
“The cyborg from N.A.T.O. headquarters?” The lieutenant finishes before Anna can. “I think that’s them. That plane was heading to an airport near the coast in Washington.”
“Okay, what should we do about it?” Susan asks.
“Well, I figured that you two are already pretty attached to this case and have spoken with the I.S.P.F. before, then you could tell them about this too.” The lieutenant explains, “I would do it, but I’ve been up to my ears in stuff to do lately.” He looks at his wrist watch, and his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, he starts to leave the office, “Matter of fact, I actually needed to be somewhere two minutes ago, good luck.” He leaves the office. Susan and Anna look at each other.
“Rock, paper, scissors for who has to tell the I.S.P.F.?” Susan offers, holding up a fist.
“No, let’s go tell them together this time, just so that they know who they’re working with.” Anna states.
“Alright, sounds good.” Susan responds, and stands up from her chair. “I’ll see you there.” She leaves the room.
A short amount of time later, Susan and Anna enter the I.S.P.F. building. They approach a receptionist that’s at the desk.
“Hello, excuse me, but do you know where I can find Lieutenant Pedro Alfero?” Anna asks the receptionist.
“Sure, but what are you two here for?” The receptionist responds.
“We’re C.I.A. agents,” Anna and Susan set their badges on the desk to prove their identity, “we want to talk to Lieutenant Alfero about an urgent matter.”
“Okay, he should be at his office,” the receptionist states, “do you know where that is?”
“Yeah, I know the way.” Anna replies, Susan and her pick up their badges. They start to walk to an elevator.
In Pedro’s office, the lieutenant is filling out some paperwork when there’s a knock at his door.
“Come in!” Pedro calls out, Anna and Susan open the door and enter the office. “Oh, Agent Grambelle, was it? Who’s your friend?” He asks.
“This is my fellow agent, Susan Monroe.” Anna answers, “We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”
“No, nothing important. Have a seat.” Pedro gestures to the chairs on the other side of his desk. Anna and Susan sit down in those chairs, “What’s this about?”
“Lieutenant, have you heard about the apparent plane hijacking that took place recently?” Susan asks.
“I’m vaguely aware of it, yes.” Pedro responds, Anna hands him the picture of the suspicious figure at the airport.
“The figure in the picture is supposedly Sorin Alburo, the same man who attacked N.A.T.O. headquarters.” Anna explains, “The plane he got aboard is heading toward the coast of Washington.” Pedro’s eyes open wide.
“Is everything okay, Lieutenant?” Susan asks, with a concerned look on her face. Pedro’s expression goes back to normal. Pedro ignores Susan’s question.
“What is it, do you know something?” Anna interrogates, sporting a confused look.
“That is classified information, me and my team will deal with it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.” Pedro's voice is deeper and he looks distracted. He stands up from his seat, “I think it would be best if you left, I have things to do.” Pedro states, Anna and Susan slowly rise from their seats.
“Okay, have a good one.” Anna sticks her hand out for a handshake. Pedro ignores her and opens the door. Anna and Susan, both having offended faces, exit Pedro’s office and start walking down the hall. Pedro walks the other way.
“What was that all about?” Susan asks Anna.
“It means that something really bad might be around the corner.” Anna responds, “Clearly, he knows what Sorin’s planning to do. But what is that, exactly?”
“I don’t think that’s really our place, he was assigned the case, not us.” Susan debates.
“And yet, we keep on getting dragged into it. So, let’s not run from the storm.” Anna smirks.
“What are you saying?”
“How about we take a trip to Washington.” Anna states.
“Are you serious?” Susan sounds shocked. Suddenly, someone bumps into Susan’s shoulder.
“Sorry.” Susan apologizes, she looks back at the person she hit, it’s Faye.
“You’re good.” Faye continues walking down the hall. Susan and Anna continue walking down the hall as Faye walks the other way. Faye peaks into Pedro’s office, but sees it’s empty. She looks around toward someone else going down the hall.
“Excuse me, did you see a lieutenant going passing by?” Faye asks the person.
“Yes, I think he was heading toward the elevator.” She responds. Faye starts walking toward the elevators.
“Thanks.” Faye approaches the end of the hallway and rounds the corner. She sees Pedro enter an elevator and the doors starts to close. Faye dashes to the elevator and puts her hand in front of the door before it shuts. The door opens back up and Susie enters the elevator. Pedro is surprised to see her.
“Oh, Agent Ramos, what’s with the hurry?” Pedro asks as the elevator doors begin to shut again.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” The elevator begins moving up.
“Go ahead.”
“So, I think you should reconsider letting Isaac on this mission,” Faye states, the elevator slows to a stop and the doors open. More people enter the elevator. Faye and Pedro stick to the bottom left corner of the elevator. “I mean, I just don’t think he’s ready for something on this scale.”
“You do have a good reason to be concerned,” Pedro responds, “but, Isaac is his own person and at the end of the day it’s his decision if he feels ready to help or not.” The elevator doors close and it starts moving again. “But, I will be keeping a close eye on him so that he doesn’t hurt himself.” Pedro reassures.
“That would mean a lot, thank you.” Faye says before the elevator comes to a halt and the doors open.
“This is my floor,” Pedro starts to exit the elevator, “see you later.” Pedro walks away. He heads down a hallway until he reaches a door with a nameplate reading ‘General Ruth Herst.’ Pedro knocks on the door.
“Come in!” The general calls out from inside the office. Pedro opens the door and enters the office. General Herst sits in her chair with her arms resting on her desk, hands together. Pedro closes the door. Herst notices that Pedro sports a concerned expression. “Is everything okay, lieutenant?” The general asks, she stands up in preparation for bad news.
“Ateitis.” Pedro whispers.
“What?”
“Project Ateitis, the flying factory for the robots. Do you remember it?” Pedro asks.
“Yes, of course I do.” Herst answers, “What about it?”
“The guy that attacked N.A.T.O., Sorin, he knows.” Pedro reveals, Herst’s eyes widen.
“How? It was top secret.”
“I don’t know, probably something to do with the fact that he worked at one of the factories for the robots.” Pedro explains.
“You need to send you and your team to the factory, as soon as possible. I’ll arrange a private jet for you and your crew. I’d send you the coordinates, but the only person who has access to those is Adam Martindale.” Herst explains, she sits back in her chair.
“You’re kidding.” Pedro says in disbelief.
“Unfortunately not.” Herst responds.
“Great, I’ll see what I can get out of him.” Pedro opens the door to the office and leaves, closing it behind him.
267Please respect copyright.PENANAQcMTtSq8iD
In Washington, Sorin travels through a forest, carrying Sielos. Sorin finds a farely flat rock and places Sielos on it. He pushes the button on the center of Sielos’ box form and Sielos wakes up.
“I’m here, near the coast.” Sorin states.
“Very good, we’re pretty close to the factory.” Sielos responds, “It’s approximately a half of a mile north.
“Okay, how will I know when I see it?” Sorin asks.
“There’s a shack that looks abandoned,” Sielos explains, “however, inside there is an elevator that will take us straight down into the factory.”
“Alright, I should get there soon.” Sorin states, Sielos goes back into their box form. Sorin picks Sielos up and keeps walking.
Later, Sorin spots the shack that Sielos was talking about. Sorin approaches the front door to the shack. It’s locked with a chain. Sorin sets Sielos down, grabs the lock on the chain, and yanks it. After a couple of pulls, the lock breaks. Sorin takes the chain off of the door and tosses it to the side. He picks Sielos back up and opens the door. Inside is nothing special, just an old home that looks ripped out of the Nineteenth Century with a fireplace to his left and a kitchen to his right. Sorin searches through closets and tall cabinets to find the elevator.
Sorin spots a bookshelf by the fireplace. Sorin presses on the book shelf and it starts opening like a door to reveal the elevator. The elevator’s doors open up. Sorin enters the elevator, still carrying Sielos. The elevator doors close after a few moments and it descends.
Eventually, the elevator stops and the doors open to reveal an incredibly dark hallway. Sorin’s right eye switches from purple to green, activating night vision in it. Sorin starts walking down the hallway. Sorin reaches a futuristic door resembling elevator doors. Sorin sets Sielos to the side and the black lines on his right arm starts glowing purple. Sorin punches the door, hard. The impact creates the dent large enough to where he can pull the door open.
Sorin pulls the door until there’s a wide enough hole for him to fit. Sorin grabs Sielos and goes through the door. Sorin sets Sielos down presses the button on them, waking them up.
“I’ve made it to the factory.” Sorin states.
“Excellent, it seems like you’re in the entrance.” Sielos replies, “In the center, there is a slot that I can be inserted into to take control of the factory. I have a map of this place so I can give you instructions on how to get there.”
“Alright,” Sorin picks Sielos up, “where should I go?”
“Go right, it’s faster.” Sielos instructs, Sorin follows and goes right.
A short time later, Sorin and Sielos enter the center of the factory. Just like Sielos said, there is a slot in the room. There’s also control terminals throughout the room as well for manual control of the factory.
“There’s the slot, just slide me in.” Sielos goes back into their box form. Sorin slides Sielos into the slot and prepares for the factory's power to turn on, but nothing happens.
“This is only a part of the process, the factory was supposed to get it’s power by batteries filled with Narsian energy. There should be a lot of them in a room around here that I can get, but I don’t have access to the arm cables.” Sielos states, “I need you to jumpstart the factory, at least enough to where I can use the cables. There’s a spot for a Narsian battery right behind you.” Sorin turns around.
“I see.” Sorin responds, he walks over to the spot for the battery and grabs the prongs sticking out. The black lines on Sorin’s arms glow purple and he starts to unleash a lot of Bailys energy into the battery spot.267Please respect copyright.PENANA0WMmAq7Sui


