Perilous Choice (2 page)

             
Olivia sat in a small room.  Jamal was presenting the layout of a private residence.  She hadn’t been prepared for that.  She thought that she would be infiltrating a government facility. 

              “Why am I going into a private residence?”

              “Because that is where the abomination is.”

              “I don’t understand.”

              Jamal struggled to keep his emotions under control.  Even after all this time, he still couldn’t believe that a government he had once supported had been carrying out such an evil plan right under his nose.  How could he have been so blind to what was going on?  Had he been responsible for it?  If in any way he had been then he would do everything in his power to stop it.

              “This has been going on far longer than any of us could have believed.  These things have been placed in homes for at least three years and maybe longer.”

              “Do the parents know?”

              “We do not believe so.”

              “How?”

              “If you were allowed to keep a child with you rather than turn it over to be raised by the government, you wouldn’t ask too many questions either.”

              “Why not just keep them in a government facility?”

              “We thought about that.  We believe these things are being placed in influential homes for a purpose.  The chancellor wants to complete this revolution in his lifetime and so this is the only way.  These things must pass for human.”

              “Whose home is this?”

              “This is the residence of a low-level maintenance worker.”

              “I don’t understand.”

              “Neither do we.”

              “How do you know that one of those things is there?”

              “You are still on a need to know basis, Olivia.  Where we get our information is not your concern.”

              “I’m the one putting myself on the line.”  Olivia reacted angrily.  “I would expect a little more appreciation.”

              Jamal stood up and stared at Olivia.  “Let’s be very clear.  You are Carlos’ idea.  He is the one who championed your involvement.  For some reason that I cannot fathom, Cassandra is on board.  I believe that there are many more capable people on our side to do this job.”

              “I see.”  Olivia crossed her arms over her chest.  It was a defensive maneuver that she had been doing since before she could remember.  Some of her excitement was ebbing.  She had assumed that everyone was on her side, but now she was with someone who was actively working against her. 

              “Can we proceed?”  Jamal asked.

              “It’s your show.”  Olivia replied bitterly.

              Jamal ignored the remark and went forward with the briefing.  He was sure now that she would fail and he didn’t think that was a bad thing.  Unless, of course, she exposed what they were doing.  That was a real possibility and had to be avoided at all costs.  Their one true advantage was surprise.  Once that was lost, they were in very serious danger of being exposed and eliminated.

              “It must appear to be an accident.”

              “What do you mean?”

              “It can’t look like a murder.”

              “What about the one I saw?”

              “That was done for a purpose.”

              “And you can’t tell me why.”

              “Exactly.”

              “Go ahead.”

              “You must not be caught under any circumstances.”

              “If I am?”

              “Then every person in this facility is dead.”

              “I understand.” 

              Jamal directed Olivia’s attention back to the plan of the residence.  Despite the fact that its resident was a low-level worker and his family, the security and other amenities were more appropriate for someone of much higher standing. 

              “The security at this place is state of the art.  I’m not going to lie to you.  I don’t believe you are up to the task.”

              “You’ve made that perfectly clear.”

              “Still, Carlos is a very smart guy and Cassandra is no dummy herself.  They see something in you, so I have to believe there is a chance here.  Any questions?”

              “I will be in continuous contact with you?”

              “Yes.  I will be your eyes and ears the whole way.  I will be able to lead you wherever you go and I will be able to warn you of impending danger.  You must not set off the alarm system.”

              “What gear will I have?”

              “Don’t worry about that.  Everything will be two generations beyond anything you can think about.  This mission will not fail because the gear fails.”

              “Only if I fail.”

              “Yes.”

              “Well, I’m ready, let’s do this.”  Olivia felt even less confident than Jamal was.  These were probably the last few hours of her life and she wasn’t completely sure how she felt about that.

             
Olivia stood a short distance from the main entrance of the home where one of the abominations breathed.  She was decked out in every item of gear that she needed.  What she didn’t know was whether or not she could go through with it.  The brilliance of the plan was that these awful things looked exactly like human children.  Killing a child required something seriously wrong in a person’s psyche.  Killing something that looked like a child wasn’t much short of that. 

              “Are you ready?”  Jamal’s voice sounded inside Olivia’s ears.

              “Ready.”  Olivia replied.

              “You sound a little nervous.”

              “I’m scared out of my mind.”

              “You sure you can do this?”

              “No.”

              “Good.  Now look around the main entrance.”

              Olivia positioned herself so she could get a full view of the entrance.  She had been implanted with a device that allowed Jamal to see on his monitors everything that Olivia was seeing and much more.  The device enhanced her human senses beyond anything that she could comprehend and Jamal was able to see all of it back at the headquarters unit. 

              “Okay.”  Jamal said hesitantly.  “The security protocols are all engaged.”

              “Meaning?”

              “Meaning that you are going to have to disable these protocols if you are going to get inside that residence.”

              “How do I do that?”

              “These systems all come with an emergency override.”

              “Who knows about this?”

              “The security companies and the government agencies.  It allows the government to get into any facility that it needs to.”

              “I can’t believe it.”

              “It gets much worse, Olivia.  The chancellor and his cronies have been systematically creating a totalitarian state for many years.”

              Olivia rubbed her head in frustration before saying, “Okay, how do I engage this emergency override?”

              “It’s not easy.”

              “I didn’t think it would be.”

              “It’s on a panel on the roof.”

              “The roof?”

              “Quiet.”

              “Sorry.”

              “Are you afraid of heights?”

              “No.”  Olivia lied.  She was fine in a flying transport, but being on top of a building scared her out of her mind.

              “Are you telling me the truth?”

              “Yes.”  She replied with as much conviction as she could muster.

              “Then get going.”

              Olivia looked around for a place to anchor her rope tie.  She spotted a decorative ring, programmed the unit, and released it.  The rope moved in a perfect straight line and caught perfectly on the ring.  Her exultation was brief.  She had to keep moving.  She attached herself securely to the ground and then engaged the unit.  It effortlessly carried her up.  As she moved, her head began to spin and all her fears came upon her at once.  She was terrified.  The world around her was spinning completely out of control.  She reached the top of the roof, disengaged the unit from the decorative ring, leaned over, and retched.  She dropped to her knees in agony.

              “What was that?”  Jamal asked.

              Olivia got herself back together and looked around.  “I’m fine.”  She said.

              “Did you just vomit?”

              “Let’s keep moving.”

              “Okay.  Keep moving your head around.  There it is.  You see that panel that is just a little different color from the others?”

              “What are you talking about?”

              “Are you color blind in addition to being afraid of heights?”

              “Are you trying to ruin this mission?”

              “Maybe just a little.”

              Olivia appreciated the levity.  She moved toward the panels and to her surprise she saw what Jamal was talking about.  She was careful to step as lightly as possible.  She was wearing state of the art footwear that made almost no sound at all.  She bent down and looked directly at the panel that she believed Jamal was referring to.

              “That’s the one.”  Jamal exulted.  “Maybe you aren’t completely useless.”

              “Thanks.  Now what?”

              “Take out that tool that looks like an old-fashioned screw driver.”

              “Are you serious?”

              “This thing is kind of old school.”

              “Got it.”

              “Place it over the panel.”

              “Okay.”

              “Engage the unit.”

              As Olivia did so, the panel turned slowly over until it matched the color of the other panels around it.  She couldn’t be sure, but she sensed that a very slight hum had stopped.  It was something hidden deep inside her subconscious, but now she realized that it was gone. 

              “I think it worked.”

              “You can’t hear the hum any more?”

              “How did you know?”

              “I think you know how I have to answer that.”

              “So the security is off?”

              “Exactly.  The whole place is yours.”

              Olivia slowly worked herself back down to the ground.  She couldn’t remember any time when she was as excited about being on the ground at just that moment.  She retracted the rope and moved toward the front of the residence.  Slowly she moved to the front.  There was no sign of movement. 

              “What code do I use to enter?”  Olivia asked.

              “777.” Was the immediate reply.

              “Okay.”  Olivia entered the code and the front door unit moved aside to allow her to enter. 

              Olivia stepped inside and the front door unit closed behind her.  She found a safe spot in a corner and began to scan the residence.

              “Any signs of life?”  She asked quietly.

              “Not yet.”  Jamal’s voice had an edge to it.

              “Is something wrong, Jamal?”

              “Everything is fine.  Wait, there is body heat emanating from a back unit.  Go straight ahead then make your first left.  Keep going until you can make a right.  The unit will be on your right side.”

              “Got it.”

              Olivia began to move quietly toward her target.  The moment was almost upon her.  Would she have the courage to do what needed to be done?  She concentrated on breathing as regularly as possible.  She made the last turn and saw the unit that Jamal was talking about.  She approached it cautiously.  Inside that unit might be one of those abominations that needed to be eliminated from the planet.  The human race could not exist with such things within it.  They were capable of doing anything.  The unit was open.  She peered slowly into the unit and looked around before retreating.

              “Is the thing in there?”  Olivia asked.

              “I don’t understand.”

              “What’s wrong, Jamal?”

              “I know you’re out there.”  A man’s voice came from within the unit.

              Olivia’s heart jumped within her throat.  Something was very, very wrong.  Had their mission been compromised?  It seemed the only explanation.  She waited to see what the man would do or say next.

              “You will never get out of here alive.”  The man said with no emotion in his voice.  “We knew you were coming.  We saw you up on the roof.  We know that you disabled the security system.”

              Olivia wanted to respond, but she couldn’t. 

              “The child has been moved.  You have no purpose here.  Give yourself up and we will spare your life.”

              Olivia’s mind reeled.  She had no options.  She had to get in that unit.  She had to know who this man was.  She slowly moved and peered into the unit.  She saw nothing.  The unit was empty.  She took one step inside and looked around. 

              “What’s going on, Jamal?” 

              Olivia received merely silence in response to her question.  She and Jamal were no longer in communication with each other.  She was alone, she was scared, and she was confused.  Where had the voice come from?  She looked and looked until she spotted a small line on the wall.  She walked over to it and put her eyes directly over it. 

              “Enter your voice recording.”

              Someone had made a voice recording and it had been programmed to play when she had scanned the room.  Or had it?  Could Jamal have done this?  Was someone in the residence playing with her mind?  None of this made any sense.  Slowly Olivia stepped out of the unit and into the main hall.  Suddenly she realized that Jamal had lied to her.  There was no human presence in that room.  She began to walk back toward the main entrance.  Her only thought now was to get away.  The mission had been one huge set up.  But where could she go?  If Jamal had set up her up then what could she do? 

              “Loretta, what’s wrong with the security system?”  A man’s voice called from the front of the residence.

              Olivia shook with fear.  Who was this?  Was it the man of the house?  Whose home was this?  She took one deep breath and moved forward.  She drew her weapon.  She was ready to use it.  If this guy got in her way then he was dead.  Something almost primal arose from deep within her soul.  She retraced her steps until she was able to see the man.  He looked sincerely confused.

              “Loretta, are you there?”  He pleaded.

              Olivia broke from her cover and accosted the man.  She raised her weapon and his eyes grew very large. 

              “Who are you?”  He asked as he put his arms up in the air.

              “Who are you?”  Olivia demanded.

              “My name is Kevin O’Neal.  I live here.  Where’s my wife, Loretta?  What’s happened to my security system?  Did you have anything to do with this?”

              Olivia wasn’t buying the act.  He knew more than he was letting on.  “Did someone pay you to make that recording, Kevin?”

              “What recording?”

              Olivia raised her weapon and prepared to shoot the man.  She was desperate and didn’t care.  “If you don’t answer my questions then you are a dead man.”

              Kevin reeled back and stumbled to the floor.  “Please, don’t kill me.  He gave me money.  I did what he asked.  He said he would kill me if I didn’t do it.”

              “Who?”