|
Episode
143 |
|
|
“Cowards die many times before their
deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” William
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Along the lonely back road, the
rental car slowly pulled onto the grass.
Cautiously navigating it’s way towards the tree line, the car
disappeared behind the underbrush.
When it’s lights died, it all but disappeared. Inside, Alan turned off the car
and sat back. He stared into the
darkness beyond the windshield as if he was staring at a dream. “Okay,” he finally said, turning around in
his seat to Dante, Eliot, and Matt.
“We’re here. We’re at the edge
of “What’s the plan?” Dante
asked. “How’re we doing this again?” “We’re going to head for the
base’s western perimeter,” Alan explained.
“From there, we’re going to need to get inside and get into their
broadcast system.” “And then?” “And then we’ll fall back here,”
Ryoko answered, looking out at the nighttime forest like it was an enemy. “Are you certain?” Eliot
asked. “If we sneak in, why not…” “Because we’re not assassins,”
Alan said, a wisp of anger in his voice.
“We don’t murder. We
fight. And all we’re doing is taking
away their advantage. But we’re not
going to cut their throats in their sleep.
We’re just going to even the playing field, that’s all. This isn’t about giving us an unfair
advantage; it’s bout taking away their unfair advantage.” Through the darkness, the five in
black and red moved silently amongst the trees. Amongst the call of the night birds and the
chirp of insects, they navigated their way westward. Matt, at the rear, came up to Dante. “Are we really going to do this?” he
whispered, the two falling back a few extra paces. “Take on a Marine base, with just five
knights?” “Looks that way,” Dante said. “Yeah, but none of us are anywhere
close to a hundred percent,” Matt said.
“And we’re going to be seriously…” “Up to the task,” Dante insisted
as confidently as he could. Matt
stopped, uncertain how to respond as Dante continued ahead with the others. The forest ended abruptly before a
brick fence. Along the top of the
fence, two coils of barbed wire waited threateningly. Alan, staying behind a tree, looked down
the fence in either direction at the distant guard towers, the only real
source of light against the dark sky.
He turned back to the others.
“I’d ask for volunteers,” he said, “but I don’t think it’d be fair.” “Wait, you’re going in?” Dante
protested. “Whoa whoa whoa, I thought
we’d decided it was going to be…” “I’m going in,” Alan said with a
sense of finality as he buttoned his trench coat up to his neck, creating a
black silhouette. He turned to the
wall, gauging the distance. He took a
false step towards the wall, then broke into a run. Kicking against the brick, he stepped up
and again, grabbing the edge of the brick wall with his fingertips. Holding himself by one hand, he paused for
a second, then carefully swung to his left, getting a hold with his other
hand. Hanging delicately, his hands
inches from the sharp barbed wire, he checked the watchtowers again before
kicking of the brick. He swung his
right foot up, getting it onto the edge, then carefully shifting his weight
to stand on the wall, his feet precariously between the wire. He quickly surveyed the base before
dropping down from the wall. Still in
the trees, Ryoko and the others watched.
Dante looked to Matt, worried, but neither spoke. Alan landed on the grass and
immediately flattened himself against the brick. A long grassy field extended before him,
the distant buildings almost invisible against the dark horizon. He looked this way and that, seeing no
movement on the grass or the roads that crisscrossed through it. He glanced towards the guard
towers and took a breath. Like a
gunshot, he ripped into the night.
Sprinting at full speed, he raced along the flat ground, rushing for
the buildings. Leaving only the
subtlest footfalls in his wake, he ran at top speed. As the distance shortened, he
could see the approaching center of the base looming. He set his sights and began to increase his
speed, only to notice two bright headlamps coming towards him. He skidded to a halt, the ground nearly
giving out beneath him. He dropped to
his stomach, flattening himself against the grass. The jeep drove towards him, two
MPs riding in the open air. The jeep
stopped at the edge of the road, just a few meters from him. “Alright,” said the driver, getting out. “Get up slowly.” Alan cursed himself, keeping his head
down. “I said,” barked the MP. “Coviasu naymoretiomias coliat
benekiletisus,” he yelled. The MP was quiet as he tilted his
head. He looked to his partner, but he
looked just as befuddled. “I thought I
saw someone there,” the driver said. “I did too,” said the other
MP. “Maybe it was just an optical
illusion, like heat vapors on the road or something.” He started to get back into the jeep. “Must’ve been,” said the driver,
staring at Alan. He set the jeep into
gear and started away. Face down in
the grass, Alan breathed out with relief. Along the side of the base’s main
building, two MPs walked attentively.
The shined their flashlight at some bushes, then kept walking. As their footsteps disappeared into the distance,
Alan looked up from the bushes, making sure they were gone, then looked the
other way. Confirming he was alone, he
turned to the window behind him and took out a small pouch. He selected two lock-picking tools and
began to work. With only a little diligence, Alan
finally got the window open. He pushed
it halfway up and slid inside. He
closed the window quietly and looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the
more intense darkness inside the building.
The office he was in had a large desk in the very center, with two
seats to either side near the door.
Several filing cabinets were stashed off to one side, while a bathroom
door was to the desk’s immediate right.
Several patriotic paintings hung from the wall, as well as a mounted
bass and a picture of the president. Alan turned his attention to the
desk, to several antiquated pieces of electronics amongst a host of nostalgic
pictures. He moved around, finally
settling on an intercom system. He
scrutinized the buttons, taking out a tiny pen light from his pocket. Shining a red light, it illuminated three
different buttons. He pushed one down,
hearing a reverberation from behind the door out. “Secretary,” he deduced. He considered the middle button, then the
last one. He pushed the last button,
hearing a reverb from the speakers built into the ceiling. He smiled and pulled at the box, revealing
the cords that ran from it into the desk. With an accomplished smile, Alan
dropped down from the fence. He landed
awkwardly and stumbled forward, but Ryoko caught him and they disappeared
into the trees. Retreating several
dozen paces from the wall, the five knights gathered together. “The transmitter’s in place,” Alan
said to Dante. “Let’s go to work.” “Select the file ‘broadcast 01’,”
Alan said, unbuttoning his trench coat, pulling his cutlass back to his
side. “That’s got to be the first thing
we play.” “What’s it going to do?” Matt
asked. “Make the Marines ignore all
future broadcasts,” Ryoko answered. The speakers, humming with life,
began to crackle. A steady stream of
static came flowing out from the speakers throughout the marine base. The white noise filled every crevice and
echoed in every corner. Every
serviceman and woman, even those asleep, turned subtly toward the noise,
processing it, aware of it. And then, one by one, they turned
away. A deep sense of relief at the
lack of sound filled them as their lives went on, unaware of the continuing
bombardment of static signal. In the trees, Dante watched as the
glowing screen showed the progress of the static burst. It finished and the knights could hear the
result in the distance. “Now, is this
stuff going to work on knights, or no?” Matt asked. “That part will effect us,” Alan
said, thumbing towards the base.
“We’re not going to be able to hear any more of the sound cues. A lot of the ones we’re going to play will
affect us as well. They’re dependent
on traits that knights have as well.
But the truly epic effects won’t work on us.” “Which one next?” Dante asked. “Just go down the list,” Alan
said. “Let them play once all the way
through, each one, then set them to repeat in order.” “And once we’ve gone down the
list?” Eliot asked. Alan grinned. “Once we’ve gone down the list and let all
the files run their course?” he asked.
“Then, then it’ll it be time to begin.” |
|