I honsestly didn't know what to do. I tried to get out of the room, but the grated door wouldn't budge. It was locked, which meant that I was trapped.
Not to mention that I was all alone. Dawn has been forced to work with the Perseids again, so I doubt I'll be able to cooperate with her freely. As for the others, they've been captured by the Agency, which probably won't let them go, given how we're portrayed in media. I could only hope that someone in the Agency would believe the version we present, but at this point, nothing was certain.
I tried to find another way out, but to no avail. Several lonely minutes passed by, but I felt like they stretched on forever. I looked through the window for no reason in particular and I realized that we were high in the air. The only thing I could do is eavesdrop on the Perseids.
- We're fine, boss. Our spaceship is on the right course - Alia reassured Leonid.
- Good, we can't be on this pale icy dot for long or those space spies will spill the beans - Leonid muttered.
- But everyone wanted to capture those space spies, so nobody will believe them! - Rill chuckled.
The conversation was pretty uneventful and I didn't figure out anything important. I looked around again, but this was pretty pointless, as I've already established that there is no way out.
All of a sudden, I heard some a static in my spacesuit's radio. Initially, only garbled noises reached me, but they eventually turned into audible speech. It was the voice of Anthony.
- Son, can you here me? Are you okay? - at least that's what I've heard, so I responded with a:
- Yes, I'm fine... - that was only partially true, because I was stuck within a tiny room with no way to leave it, but hey, that's better than being dead.
- Oh, that's wonderful! We were very worried that the Perseids harmed you! - Anthony responded. In the background, I heard Justine breathe a sigh of relief.
- How are you talking to me? Didn't the agents imprison you? - I was pretty confused.
- We explained the situation to them. They still blame us for what happened on Mars, but allowed us to reach out to you. By the way, is Dawn okay? Did she betray us again? - Sebastian asked.
- No, the Perseids forced her to come back. It's a pity that they still consider you guilty when the culprit is right in front of them - I meant Roby, who was incarcerated in the Science and Containment Centre.
- Yeah, that's not cool - Anthony nodded.
- It's nice talking to you, but we need to act. The Agency still doesn't trust us fully and we're still in jail. It's a miracle that they allowed us to contact you. The thing is that we cannot act and it will take a while for the agents to catch up to the Perseids. What I mean is that you're our only hope - Agent Nebula interrupted.
I sighed deeply before replying:
- I'm aware of that. I'll do what I can.
- You're really brave, Chris. We're very proud of you - Justine came back - We believe in you. You can do this!118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZavnReZCJ
- Shut up! - Amber exclaimed, but she wasn't talking to us. She was getting more and more agitated by Roby's insults. He was delighted to make fun of our team, just like I expected.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGoz2T07Qr
- Fine, if you so wish, losers - Roby responded.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6WlTaFZw4
- We'll try to convince the agents to let us go, but I can't promise anything. Go defeat the Perseids! - Agent Nebula ordered me.
- Yes - I said. I tried to fake confidence, because I wasn't sure if I could take on the Perseids all alone. Anthony noticed this.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxnePWwAd3
- If it makes you feel any better, we may know what the Perseids are up to - he started.
- What is their plot? - I asked, hoping to use this information to bring them down.
- After breaking out of prison, the Perseids are pretty much broke, since all their schemes were thwarted. When they get back to Earth, they can sell Icebreaker-5 on the black market. It's value is litearlly cosmic, given how it's mysterious dissapearence gave it a legendary status. With the added bonus of alien life aboard, they can increase their earnings by orders of magnitude, selling samples to laboratories around the world - Anthony explained.
- This will give them enough cash to fund future schemes - Claudius finished.
- When did you deduce this? - I was impressed.
- On the way to prison. We had some time to think - Arika revealed.
- Okay, enough talking. We all have work to do, so let's do it! - Agent Nebula pressured us.
- Said Big Donny - Sebastian added sarcastically.
With that, they hung up, leaving me alone again. However, I had new determination, because while the situation was dire, it wasn't hopeless. We know what the Perseids are up to and there are people supporting me on this challenging solo mission, which made me feel better and much more confident.
Suddenly, an idea appeared in my head. The visor was attatched to my helmet with screws. If I found a way to get it off and free the screws, I could bend one into a lockpick and pick the lock, freeing myself.
I took off my spacesuit and got to work. I had to be extremely careful, so that I wouldn't crack the visor in the process. Eventually, I disconnected the air tube from my helmet and used a thin metal piece that kept in place to support the visor. I managed to force it off and grab a screw. Luckily, the visor was still intact.
There was no way for me to bend the screw with bare hands, so I had to get creative. I ended up placing part of the screw underneath my heavy spacesuit whilst pulling the other part. This ended up working and I ended up with a tool somewhat resembling a lockpick.
I quietly made my way to the grated door and squeezed my makeshift lockpick through the grate. I started picking the lock and froze every few seconds so that the Perseids wouldn't hear me. Upon resuming the process for the fifth time, the lock finally gave in. I was free.
I looked around, making sure that no one will see me. Because there was no way to stuff my shoes into the spacesuit, I only had socks on my feet. This was actually advantageous, because I made a lot less noise, allowing me to sneak around the vessel.
It was time to begin my solo mission and stop the Perseids...
...again.
ns216.73.217.176da2
and then Add to home screen.