Chapter 46: The Operation

Date: November 26, 3007
Time: 00:10
Location: Orbis- Dominion HQ

The rifle was a frozen piece of steel in her hands, reflecting what little light the dismal place had to give. It was as cold as a walk-in fridge, cold as El Nath, cold as a gun. Caleio stepped out onto the 100th floor. Darkness consumed the hallway like the very bowels of hell.

As she and Felix walked down the hallway to the control room to the suite upstairs, Caleio could hear their twin footsteps reverberate off of the black marble walls all around her, creating a cacophony of hellish screams. A security camera loomed up ahead, a sentinel alone in the dark corridor. With a steady hand, she raised her rifle and fired a single silenced shot. The bullet tore through the black box with ease, ending its life with a splinter and a crackle.

Turning the corner, she saw two guards dressed in the black uniforms of the Dominion Army patrolling the hall in front. Immediately, Felix put his hand out and caught Caleio on the chest, stopping her abruptly. Caleio watched as Felix proceeded forwards alone, his gun strapped to his back. In the dim light of the hall up ahead, she could see him unsheathe a long combat blade.

Felix crept through the shadows, silent as a fox on the prowl. The two guards turned around to go back down the hall, and that was all he needed. Felix rushed up silently and sliced through both of the guards’ throats in a fraction of a second. Before their bodies fell, Caleio dashed forwards to join Felix. The doors were right in front of them.

”Finger Print Identification Required.” the computerized voice of a woman sounded when Felix tried to approach the lone steel sliding door. He retreated back a couple of steps with a frown on his face, but then turned back to the guards. Dragging one of their bodies across the ground, he smacked the dead guard’s hand on the green pad, and instantly, the mechanical hydraulics of the door started to churn, sliding the door open with a grunt. Felix and Caleio strode in, leaving a smear of blood on the cold marble floor.

The spacious room was filled with various machines, all beeping and flashing their green and red lights. Felix dispatched of the guard inside as he stood, sending him stumbling backwards over the counter. Caleio walked forwards and took the guard’s controls. The flat-panel monitor showed the lock combinations of the pent-house suite on the floor above. The screen flashed a mockery, “Please enter you password:”

Swearing under her breath, she started to fumble around the desk, overturning stacks of paper onto the floor to try to find the accursed password.

Suddenly, the communicator beeped, “Captain, Elon and Harding here, we’re in. At least no one else knows we’re here. Security cameras show no movement in any of the floors except for the guards.” Caleio heard Felix breathe a sigh of relief. “Anyways, we’ll keep you posted. Elon out.”

“That’s good news,” Caleio muttered under her breath as she continued to swipe papers off of the table. In the back of her mind, she felt as if something was watching her.

After a while, she felt the underside of the desk, and miraculously, found a piece of paper taped underneath. She ripped it off and unfolded it onto the desk. “665,” Caleio red aloud. Neighbor of the beast.

Quickly typing in the three digits, the floor labeled “Pent-House Suite” dinged from red to green, signaling all of its locks being undone. Caleio chuckled at what she imagined what the faces of the guards upstairs would be like once they figure out they would be getting a couple of unexpected visitors.

“Got it, captain, let’s go.” Caleio turned around, but met Felix’s icy cold stare. Immediately, she felt rooted to the spot, as if her legs had just become encased in concrete. He strode forwards, his heavy combat boots echoing off of the walls. When Felix was about a half a foot in front of her, he stopped; Caleio could almost feel Felix stab her in the heart with an icicle. She was shivering.

“Captain?” she whispered, but Felix put his index finger on her lips. She felt his hands wrap around her back. He ran is fingers through her straight silver hair. Slowly, he leaned forwards and kissed her.

Date: November 26, 3007
Time: 00:13
Location: Orbis- Dominion HQ

Niel stepped off of the elevator onto the 99th landing. Directly in front of him was a row of dark offices, each void of its occupants. The place had a creepy, ghastly feel to it, as if lurking spirits were just waiting to ambush them. But Niel defiantly strode forwards, carrying the black bag in his left hand.

Rey passed Niel up in the hall as he scouted ahead, making sure no straying guard met their path. He watched as Rey turned the corner, and heard a silenced gunshot and a thud. The abrupt killing triggered an old memory in Niel’s brain, but he decided to repress it. That was the past, this was now.

As he turned the corner, Niel stepped over the body of a fallen guard, a pool of blood slowly forming around the man’s head. Shuddering, he moved on, not daring to look back. The memories taunted him.

Up ahead were the windows revealing the nightlife of Orbis. Below them were millions of sparkling lights, illuminating the city in a somewhat hopeful aura. Yet the stars above were veiled; the storm was coming.

Niel caught up with Rey at the end and he dropped the back on the floor. Unzipping it, he pulled out a circular knife. With haste, he clamped it onto the large window pane and drew a large circle with the bladed end. Pulling away, Niel felt a sudden rush of icy cold wind blast his face.

“Idiot, bro,” Rey chuckled, “You think I can fit through that?”

Niel was just about to say that anyone could fit through it when Rey took the butt end of his rifle and smashed away the rest of the glass, letting it fall ninety-nine stories down onto the cloudy streets. Cringing at the sharp crack of shattering glass, Niel held his breath, hoping no alarms would be set off.

But it wouldn’t have mattered anyways, because Caleio and Felix evidently disabled them. Sighing in relief, he turned to Rey, “Look, if you’re going to be part of the platoon, you’re going to have to be a team player. You can’t just hack away at everything you see!”

“Yea, whatever bro,” Rey replied nonchalantly. He reached into the bag and pulled out six small backpacks. “Ready?”

“Yea, I am,” Niel replied quietly, “But are they?”

Date: November 26, 3007
Time: 00:15
Location: Orbis- Dominion HQ

Annikabelle turned back to Zanna. The security office was secured, and they could see every building on the floor clearly through the green-tinted night-vision cameras. The Dominion sure didn’t want any unwanted guests; even the bathrooms were recorded.

“Niel, you guys good to go?” Annikabelle asked through the communicator.

“Yea,” Niel replied in a hushed tone, “Ready when you are.”

“Alright, we’ll see you guys soon.” Annikabelle switched the communicator off and turned back to the wall of screens. The top floor was littered with guards. It would take a miracle for Felix and Caleio to punch through and access the Dominion mainframe. But that was who they were. Those two would always pull these insane stunts and make it out alive. Annikabelle smiled to herself at the thought. Speaking of which, where the hell are they?

As if Zanna heard her thought, Annikabelle heard her voice gasp, “Anni!”

Annikabelle rushed over to her. Zanna was pointing at something no the monitor directly in front of her. Annikabelle followed her queue and her eyes widened in shock. There, right in front of the mirror, were Caleio and Felix, so tightly wrapped around each other she couldn’t tell whose arms were whose.

Zanna looked at Annikabelle for a moment, then the both of them busted out laughing.

Date: November 26, 3007
Time: 00:20
Location: Orbis- Dominion HQ

Caleio couldn’t believe what had just happened. What she was more amazed at was that she allowed it to happen. And now, Felix was ahead of her stalking up the stairs towards the mainframe, acting as if nothing had happened. Her mind swimming in thoughts, she followed her captain.

The door creaked open and Felix peered inside. With his hands, he signaled to her that there were more than ten guards in the room, which was the lobby leading to the mainframe. If this was what the lobby was like, she hated to see what their actual objective looked like. Felix unbuckled a smoke grenade from his utility belt, pulled the pin, and lobbed it inside.

Caleio could smell the putrid smoke being jetted out. The guards cried out in surprise; the sounds of their weapons locking and loading pierced her ears. Felix reached out and slid her night-vision goggles onto her head, and then snapped on his own. Without further adieu, he wrenched the door open and charged in.