John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

“I’m sure because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I am going to live long enough to hunt down the bastards who killed my wife.”

Wilson fell into silence. He picked up his fork and took a bite of the now cold omelet. Then he set the fork back down and listened to the howling of the wind.

“When I first saw your atrium, Wilson, I thought you were just a kook who liked jungles.”

“You may be right about the nominative ‘kook,’ Elias.”

Elias ignored the comment and continued, “When we spoke and you told me you wanted to surround yourself with complexity, I didn’t quite buy it.”

Wilson made no comment as he waited for Elias to finish his point.

“You filled this place with dense foliage to create an environment where the Zippers can’t function effectively.”

It was not a question, but a statement.

“Very perceptive, Elias. The Zippers, like any other high-speed mechanism, require a relatively clear playing field to function as they were designed. The obstructions force them to either move in short-distance spurts or thunder through the leaves and branches, making as much noise as an elephant charging through the brush. At least that is the theory. It hasn’t been tested as a defense against them…yet.”

“The shotgun should prove to be a fairly effective weapon against them, as opposed to a pistol or rifle.”

“That probably is the case.”

“Does Kreitzmann have any other super-soldiers in his bag of tricks?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Unless of course he’s going to send one of his motor-mouths to talk us to death.”

“Motor-mouths?” Elias repeated, cracking a smile. “That sounds like yet another Tillie-ism.”

“She is quite gifted in that regard.”

“That isn’t the only area. Taking on the Zippers and rescuing me was no mean feat.”

Wilson nodded. “Mathilda is quite a unique and resourceful individual. I can truthfully say I’ve never known anyone quite like her.”

“I’m surprised that she is in Aegis.”

“She’s been here since it opened, day one.”

“So I’ve heard. But she didn’t mention her reasons for coming in.”

“I would be surprised if she had.”

“She doesn’t talk about it?”

Wilson shook his head. “She has never broached the subject with me, and I’ve never asked.”

They both heard the loud cowbell, followed a moment later by Tillie shouting, “Wilson, it’s me.”

He turned to look at Elias. “It appears that our able friend has returned.”

They could hear Tillie as she quickly pushed through the branches which hung over the pathway, breaking into the clearing, flushed and nearly breathless.

“I found him!”

Elias and Tillie were crouched next to a large-sized return air grille. On their way, they had stopped at Tillie’s apartment, as she referred to it, to gather up some items they might need. Elias had made a perfunctory attempt to talk her into staying with Wilson, but she would not hear of it. She insisted that he would never find Stone through the maze of passageways without her.

Now that they were above the room where Stone was being held, Elias tried again. Huddled close to her ear, he whispered, “I’ll take it from here.”

Instead of saying anything, she shook her head violently, without ever taking her eyes off the room below. Elias looked down and saw that Stone was sitting on the edge of a bunk, cradling his head in his hands. From their vantage point, and the fact that Stone was not interacting with anyone else, they surmised that he was alone. At least they hoped he was.

Elias knew that their next move could not be accomplished without making some noise, and he hoped not only that the room was empty, but that there was no audio or video monitoring equipment installed in what seemed to be Stone’s holding cell.

“Well, here goes,” Elias muttered to Tillie, gripping the edge of the grille. It lifted out of the track with less of a clatter than he expected. Stone did not even hear it in the quiet room. Lying down on his stomach, Elias lowered his head through the opening, and in a soft voice called, “Eric!”

The man on the bunk jerked up his head in surprise. Elias saw that it was definitely Stone. At first confused, Stone swiveled his head back and forth, searching around the room for the source of the voice without looking upward.

Elias repeated, “Eric!”

This time Stone looked up, stunned to see his friend’s head dangling upside down from the ceiling grille, eighteen feet above him.

“Elias?” Stone’s face was a mixture of confusion, fatigue, and despair.

“We’re gonna get you out of here,” Elias promised, keeping his voice subdued.

Stone stood and moved closer to the grille, tilting his head back to look up. “I can’t.”

“Of course you can, Eric. We brought a rope and we’ll pull you up if we have to.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Stone said, lifting his right trouser leg and showing an ankle bracelet with a blinking green light. “This thing sounds an alarm if I leave this room.”

Tillie, who was watching the exchange from over Elias’ shoulder, assured him, “No worries. I brought something.”

Elias pulled his head back from the opening and looked at her as she opened the duffel bag that she had lugged with them through the mechanical chases. Within moments, she extracted a pair of bolt cutters, held them up for Elias to see, grinned, and said, “Lower me down to him. I’ll get that sucker off.”

Shaking his head in amazement, he told her, “Tie the rope around your waist.”

She did and, clutching the long-handled cutters under her left arm, grabbed the rope with her right hand and eased herself through the opening as Elias slowly payed out the rope. Within moments she was on the floor.

“Who are you?” Stone asked.

“My friends call me Wonder Woman.” She immediately bent over and applied the cutting teeth to the curved steel rod which surrounded his ankle, careful to not pinch any skin in its grip. With a smooth motion, Tillie closed the hinged handles, and the teeth cut through with a soft snick. There was enough play in the attachment points to allow the bracelet to fall away. Both watched the blinking green light, hoping they did not see it change to red.

When it was obvious that it was not going to change, and they heard no alarm sounding, Tillie tucked the bolt cutters back under her armpit, telling Elias, “Hoist me up so I can help you pull.”

Elias obeyed, and in less than a minute she was, again, beside him. Wasting no time, she untied the rope from her waist and dropped it down to Stone, who was waiting quietly.

Before tying himself, Stone glanced up and mouthed a quick “One sec.” He grabbed the ankle bracelet and tucked it under the mattress before returning to the rope. With both of them pulling, it took less than a minute before he was in the mechanical chase with Elias and Tillie and the grille was back in place.

To Elias, Stone softly said, “What took you so long?”

“I had to wait for a UPS delivery from Amazon, a boxed set of Jethro Tull.”

Stone nodded. “That makes sense.” He tilted his head toward Tillie. “New partner?”

Elias grinned. “I’ll explain later. Let’s go.”

They began silently moving away from the room that had been Stone’s cell. No more conversation occurred between them as they stealthily made their escape.

The four were seated around the porch table. Wilson had made a pot of tea and some sandwiches. Introductions completed, they ate as Elias filled Stone in on his call from Faulk, their meeting, his trip to Aegis, and what he had encountered upon his arrival, including the fate of the ZooCity populace.