John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

With a vicious snarl, Stone answered, “We don’t have that kind of time. And I doubt that you would understand, anyway. Leah sure didn’t.”

The final threshold had been reached. Stone had made one too many references to Elias’ wife for him to be able to keep a lid on his emotions. Despite the fact that Stone was holding him at gunpoint, Elias threw the useless AK-47 at him, charging directly behind it, not caring at that moment whether he lived or died. His mind registered the slight elevating of the pistol…the slow tightening of the finger on the trigger. Stone was too well trained to panic and snap off a hasty shot. More than half the distance between them was closed, when Elias heard the thunderous crack and roar of the discharge. Pure adrenaline kept his legs moving forward as he waited for the effects of the bullet ripping through his chest to register.

Inexplicably, he saw Stone’s head explode into a cloud of pink mist, the already dead body toppling, the 9mm tumbling to the floor, unfired. Unable to counter his emotion-charged momentum, he slammed into the halfway-fallen body of Stone, with both himself and the body crashing down.

Pushing the inert form away, Elias scrambled to his feet and swung around, trying to figure out who had intervened.

From the darkness of the raceway from which he had arrived, he heard a familiar voice. “This saving your life thing is getting a little old.”

Tillie stepped into the dim light, a bolt-action rifle resting casually on her shoulder.

She walked to where Elias was standing and looked down at the body. “Elias, I’m sorry.”

With his ragged breathing, the hammering of his heartbeat in his head, and the ringing in his ears from the rifle shot in the confined area, Elias was barely able to hear her soft apology. “You’re sorry? For what? You saved my life…again.”

She looked up at him. “I know you wanted to be the one to do it.”

He could not help but chuckle at her perceptiveness. “This’ll do just fine.”

“I tried. I was standing back there listening, waiting for you to get your shot. I only pulled the trigger once it was obvious that you didn’t have a chance.”

“I appreciate it. But you probably didn’t have to cut it quite so close.”

“Hey! I saved your butt again and you’re complaining?”

“No, no, I take it back,” Elias backpedaled, holding up his hands defensively. “How did you know?”

She glanced down at the dead Eric Stone one more time. “I’d really be happy to tell you, but I’m not as inured to this kind of stuff as you are. Could we head back?”

“Sure. Let me grab a couple of things.”

He began to walk to the shoulder pack that held the firebombs, when Tillie volunteered, “I’ll get that.”

“Still don’t trust me, huh?”

“Let’s say, you’ve got enough to carry.”

With a shake of his head, Elias returned to the laptop and disconnected all of the feed wires for the surveillance equipment, packed it in its carrying case, and hooked it over his shoulder. He pocketed the smartphone and snatched up the canvas pouch filled with rations and a bladder full of water. He returned to Tillie as she finished wrestling the heavy pack onto her back. Elias bent over and picked up the 9mm and the AK-47, remembering to grab the firing pin.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Let’s go.”

As they walked away, she began to explain, “I never trusted him.”

“I could tell.”

“I don’t know why. Maybe I’m psychic or whatever. But I never felt right about him. And then you asked me how he tested the bomb gel, and I could tell in your eyes that something wasn’t right. Besides, he was way too dumb.”

Laughing, Elias replied, “What do you mean?”

“You know, his questions. Always asking all of us questions. He didn’t seem to have anything figured out, and that didn’t make sense for someone who is supposedly a hotshot secret agent and who had more than two months to sit and think.”

“Good point. When did he have the time to break down that AK-47 and remove the pin?”

“That’s easy. Remember, as soon as we got back from our tour of the storm system, he….”

“That’s right,” he interrupted. “Eric excused himself and was gone quite a while.”

“Too long, considering that he didn’t shake off any sand. Later, I got into the bed after he’d been on it, and it was full of the stuff.”

They were almost back to Tillie’s den, before Elias remarked, “There was one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“After you were lying down and, I guess, pretending to fall asleep, Eric and I talked for a minute or two. I asked him a question, and his answer has been bothering me ever since.”

“What was his answer?”

“Well, that’s just it. It wasn’t the answer itself; it was the phrase he used. He said, ‘Insufficient data at this time.’”

“I don’t get it.”

“That’s not a typical phrase. And I’ve it heard twice since I’ve come to Aegis.”

“Twice?”

“Yes. The last time from Eric. The time before from Wilson.”

“I still don’t see the big deal. Eric probably heard Wilson say it, and liked it. That is the way the old man talks, you know.”

“I know. And I think you’re right. I think Eric did hear Wilson say it, and either he liked it or it simply stuck unconsciously.”

“So…?”

“Wilson used the phrase when he and I were talking alone. It was while you were out looking for Eric.”

Tillie stopped walking and turned to face Elias. “You think they’ve been listening in on us?”

Elias shrugged. “I don’t know. It may be nothing. And now Wilson’s shack is only cinders. But I think we should check out your place.”

Tillie turned and took the remaining few steps into her makeshift home, looking around at all of the ductwork, piping, and junction boxes which filled the walls and ceiling. “Between all of this stuff and all of my pretties that I’ve hung everywhere, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Elias stood next to her, surveying the space. “You’re right. We’d never find it unless we were unbelievably lucky.”

Hearing them talk, Wilson shook his head to clear it from the slumber and asked, “Look for what? Where’s Eric?”

Tillie held up one finger in front of her lips to silence Wilson as they both took him by the arms and walked him several yards out into one of the passageways, where they, in whispered tones, filled him in on the last several minutes. After they finished, Wilson softly said, “That makes much more sense than the puzzle pieces I was struggling to assemble before.”

“We’ve got a lot to talk about before we make our next move. But my base is out of the question. Eric and Faulk both knew about it. And now that Eric’s been at Tillie’s, we can’t stay here. Your shack is gone, Wilson. We need a new place.”

“I agree,” Wilson concurred. “Tillie, you know Aegis better than anyone. Can you think of a logical base camp?”

“It needs to be easy to defend,” Elias added, “and close to the electrical raceways, mechanical passageways, and plenums, as well as the main corridors. We may need a variety of options.”

The two men watched as her mind reviewed the layout. With a quiet huff of exasperation, she uttered, “Hell, we’re going to need them, anyway.”

“Need what?”

Rather than answering Elias’ question, she abruptly turned and trotted back into her living area. He hurried behind her, followed by Wilson. Her first stop was a drawer in the kitchen area, from which she removed a screwdriver. Closing the drawer, she hurried to the far corner of the space where a green steel box was bolted to the concrete floor. In red letters, a warning was stenciled — DANGER ~ HIGH VOLTAGE — immediately adjacent to a yellow sticker of a lightning bolt inside a circle with a diagonal line through it.