It didn’t seem obvious at first as I searched the darkness. Eventually I picked up a dark landmass with a small yellow glow at the left edge.
“I take it you don’t believe in coincidences, Chip?”
He shook his head. “No. I’ll brief Morgan when we return and we’ll attack this time tomorrow. We’ve got a busy day of preparation ahead. Better get back and grab a couple of hours sleep.”
He stuffed the binoculars back in his webbing and headed off. People like Chip were perfect for taking down Genesis Alliance.
After returning to the stadium, just before five, I tried to sleep but found it impossible while thoughts of our upcoming fight raced through my mind. I decided to grab a cup of coffee and brief the other two when they woke.
The hissing camping stove, heating a pot of bubbling water, must have woken Jack. He threw his duvet to one side. “I’ll have one too. Time is it?”
“Just past six.”
Rick groaned and rubbed his face. “I’ll have one if you’re making.”
“Where did you go?” Jack asked.
“Had a little trip out with Chip. We’ve confirmed GA’s location. How’d it go last night?”
“A few tears, but I think they’ve been dealt with. Lisa says there’s a big meeting planned today. Morgan sent out a note last night saying he needs to address the company.”
“We’re attacking tonight,” I said. “He probably wants to brief everyone.”
Jack’s eyes lit up. “I knew they had to go for it. Are we leading the assault?”
I guessed he wanted to reach Jerry first, if he wasn’t still stalking us in another part of the country. Treating the kids last night would have stiffened his resolve too. If Jack thinks there’s something worth fighting for, there’s no turning him back.
“I’m meeting Chip again in a couple of hours. I’ll let him know we want to be in the vanguard.”
After sipping his coffee, Rick hopped into jeans and made us porridge and hotdogs. Not an ideal breakfast, but we were still assimilating into stadium life.
We sat on the balcony in the murky dawn light. Soft light glowed from a few of the luxury suites opposite. Somebody slid open a door and lit a cigarette. We discussed potential ways of raiding Hart Island. Rick likened it to the D-Day landings. I liked the idea of attacking from two different angles, with a cutoff group at the opposite end to mow down any fleeing goons. Jack favored a simple right flanking maneuver.
The late spring sun quickly rose above the stadium, bathing our side in glorious warmth and light. At seven o clock, Chip entered the room without knocking. He’d scrubbed himself clean and dressed in combats. I wouldn’t fancy facing such a mean-looking bugger.
“Harry, twenty minutes in my office, if you don’t mind?”
“No worries.” I turned to Rick and Jack. “I’ll brief you when I get back.”
I followed him a short distance to a large room, more like a lounge than an office, with modern art on the walls and red leather bucket chairs spread around small white tables. We sat opposite each other. Chip tossed me a bottle of water.
“I need as much information about Genesis Alliance as possible,” he said. “Take it from the top.”
“You’ve seen the report,” I said. “What else do you need to know?”
Chip shifted forward in his seat. “I want more details, potential weak spots, types of weapons. We can’t afford too many casualties, especially with more enemy coming our way.”
I told the story again, from landing in New York to arriving at Flushing Meadows, concentrating on the parts with the goons around Monroe and Ohio. Chip didn’t interrupt and scribbled notes.
“Sounds like we’re matched in terms of weapons,” Chip said. “Tell me again about the device you found.”
“No markings, about six feet, very heavy. The convoy had a couple.”
“Alien?”
The thought seemed ridiculous. If aliens had planned this attack, I doubted that they would have employed the fools from Monroe to act as an operational arm. I pushed the thoughts to one side. Second-guessing imaginary aliens wouldn’t help any of us.
“No, I’m sure of that. Brett told me he was recruited to work on the system.”
“What did he say about neutralizing?”
“It can be done with an EMP device—”
“Nanobots?”
“Pardon?” I said, not recognizing the word.
“Are they using nanobots? Do you know?”
“No idea. The cattle prod is a rough workaround solution. You have to do it several times, but the guy in Ohio—”
“Forget about him, what else did Brett say? Specifically.”
“The activations make us act in a certain way. The one that has already occurred was the first ‘event,’ as you call it. He said another’s coming. The notebook confirmed the date as Tuesday. He estimated the main force might be here tomorrow. Everything seems to line up.”
“Not everyone acts the same way. You’ve seen it yourself. Did Brett expand on that?”
“We didn’t get into technical detail. That’s not really Jack’s or my area of expertise.”
Chip nodded. “Do you know their reasons? Ultimate aim?”
“We won’t know the full story unless someone at the top of Genesis Alliance tells us. That isn’t likely. I don’t even think Monroe GA knows the full story. There’s a guy who runs the thing called Henry Fairfax. Ever heard of him?”
“Nope. The GA big dogs are based in the UK?”
“That’s the way it looks. They’ve somehow invented or acquired the technology to create the event. According to one of their local leaders in Monroe, the next stage is a cleanup operation. I didn’t trust him an inch.”
“We need to know more, the full extent of what we’re facing. I’ll make taking a hostage one of our priorities tonight.”
“Have you thought about a plan yet? We want to lead the assault. There are some scores that need settling.”
Chip stopped scribbling and looked up. “We’ve all got scores to settle, Harry, but I’ll think about your request.”
“We’ve just been discussing options for the attack—”
He held up his hand, stopping me in mid-flow. “Bring Jack along to our planning meeting. After Morgan’s made his speech, we’re going to prepare a few boats and go over our options.”
“Are we taking your full team?” I asked.
“We don’t want to compromise stadium security, but this is our main priority. Forty will have to do.” He snapped his notebook shut and stuffed it in his breast pocket. “See you in a couple of hours at Morgan’s meeting.”
“I’ll sit this one out.”
“Show your face. Don’t antagonize him.”
I left Chip’s office without answering.
Just before eleven, after managing to snooze for two hours, I sat with Jack and Rick, watching the empty court while taking them through my mission and conversation with Chip. People filed into the lower part of the stadium, taking up seats close to the umpire’s chair.
Rick waved us over to an opposite suite. A man in a green T-shirt replied in kind. “I spoke to the guys in the kitchen this morning. There are a lot of happy people here.”
“What do you mean, ‘happy’?” I asked, thinking it was an odd choice for a word to describe our current situation.
“Imagine your problems disappearing overnight: debt, boring job, no sense of purpose or importance. There’re a lot of reasons why some are feeling they’ve gotten a new start in life.”
Jack grunted. “A new start in life for the cost of billions of others. I don’t get it.”
“You know what I’m talking about,” Rick said. “They can’t change the past, but they can make their own future.”