RETURN OF THE SHADOW - Chapter 220

Balthazar shook the man’s hand though he hadn’t had slightest clue. The man also was shaking his hand enthusiastically without introducing himself and Elias was also smiling happily beside him. As none of them remembered to introduce the man, Balthazar had to ask himself.

“Glad to meet you, Mr?” he asked the portly man.

“Oh! Pardon me,” said the man taking of his hat as made a small bow. “I am Dr. Nick Tataopolus. I have wanted to meet you for quite some time. Your victory against those apes and the valuable intelligence, it provided us as well as your capabilities. Dr. Hector Constantine told me that you are one of the best.”

“Oh! Glad to make your acquaintance Dr. Tataopolus. I am sure that it was an exaggeration on his part,” said Balthazar winking his eye surprised by the loose mouth on this fellow. It was important that no one knew of the experiment being done by the Scions of Minerva using the somnium headgear.

“Yes, it is very nice to meet you,” said Nick as he realized about the thing had just told. “Your contribution had helped us a lot in determining the nature of our enemies. Your grandfather even more so. Hopefully, it would garner a positive response and humanity will take further steps in that direction,” he said changing the topic immediately.

“Yes. Nick here was at the party and we bumped into one another. Nick strongly agrees with the patriarch’s words and was very persuasive in making quite a number of guests see his point of view. As an ex-member of the Scions of Minerva and an advisory executive of the Metis Technologies, he had his beliefs aligned with Winston’s statement and would benefit from more support to that cause.

“Yes, of course. It was a bold move but necessary. There are signs of resurgence of the knights and we don’t need them, the sc.u.m of humanity. They were even bold enough to co-operate with the apes to harm fellow humans. Just because, we managed to thwart their plans, most are not taking the threat seriously. The next attempts are only going to be much bolder. We should put a lot more focus on the issue. Glad that someone like Winston decided to do it for the greater good,” praised Nick.

“Hah, my grandfather would surely appreciate your words and be happy that there are other who share his concerns,” said Balthazar.

“Yes, but let us get inside. I don’t want to stay too long in the parking, makes me a bit uncomfortable,” said D.i.c.k putting an arm over Elias’s shoulder. “You got that equipment ready for me, brother?”

“Yes, let us continue inside. These days it is best to be as prudent as possible,” said Balthazar. He also wanted to get done with examining the watch mailed to him by Ryan Rowley and was glad that D.i.c.k made the first move before he had to.

“Sure,” said Elias realizing the pair of them were in a hurry. He had no previous acquaintance with Nick but was informed of him by a mutual friend. Learning of his identity and his stance on various things related to the apes and somnium technologies uses and development, he decided to inform him about the new project that they are working on, the integration of somnium technology with security cameras in real world which was proposed by Balthazar.

Hearing the proposal, Nick was amazed by the fact that Balthazar had suggested something that useful to do with latest technology which was mostly being used as a virtual entertainment industry. Nick felt that the thought was very similar to the integration of somnium headgear with the warframes optical sensor and inquired about their progress and also requested to see Balthazar.

“Yes, let us do. I hear that Colonel Blyth enrolled initially as a member of the engineering corps. Do you have an interest in collecting such old electronic devices?” asked Nick who was already informed by Elias about the watch shown to him.

“Ah! Not that much of an enthusiast in antique electronics, but I do have a use with this specific device. Most of the time, I spent using present day devices and repairing them, but I have recently learned to appreciate them,” said Balthazar.

“Learning how the present-day things came into existence and the need and process of development from the previous ones, does provide us a unique perspective,” he continued. He felt that to be true, especially if he is going to participate in clandestine activities. He also realized that learning such things and the experience would be helpful if he managed to find any new technology of his enemies and the experience would be useful in getting them to work.

“Our ancestor’s words guide our path to knowledge and glory,” said Nick. “It is an ancient proverb roughly translated. Doesn’t mean that they have already known more than us, but they have experience hardsh.i.p.s and solved problems similar to what we might face and that their experiences might sometimes provide is with insights or stimulate our thoughts to realize better ways and find glory.”

“Good proverb,” said D.i.c.k appreciating the meaning of it. “Never heard of it though.”

“Some of the best ones fail to become popular as many don’t understand them, my boy,” said Nick. “Might I know of your good name,” he said taking initiative to shake D.i.c.k’s hand.

“D.i.c.k Kane,” said D.i.c.k shaking his hand. “I work in security services mostly as tech support.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. D.i.c.k,” said Nick.

“So, how come you ended up with that old watch?” asked Elias as they got into an elevator.

“It is supposed to have a message. Young colonel here has an acquaintance who is requesting a meet. He is afraid for his safety and sent us the information using some puzzles. Two done. I hope that we will find the location once we connect it to a computer and examine it,” explained D.i.c.k.

“Your informant actually used this device to send you information?” asked Elias. “How rich is he?” he exclaimed. “Should I ask you for a higher salary for creating the training platform?”

“Calm down,” said Balthazar before Elias’s thoughts went any further. “He is an acquaintance who insists that he has vital information and he is in danger because of it. He managed to contact me through the somnium technology before he disappeared. He is on run for his life.”

“He is running for his life?” asked Elias.

“Yes, there are already a couple of bounties for his head,” said Balthazar.

“Oh! An adventure and race against other hunters,” said Nick. “All of this is so exciting. Makes me feel regretful about not enlisting when I was young.”

“You can join us if you want,” said D.i.c.k. “No age limit here.”

“Haha, thanks for the offer, but I respectfully refuse. I am not one for adventures. Maybe in a virtual world, but not in the real,” said Nick. Soon, Elias and the rest reached the third floor where Elias led them into a computer lab.

“I have already created the cables and installed the corresponding drivers,” said Elias pointing to a computer system primed and ready for them to use.

“That speeds things up,” said D.i.c.k as he quickly took the watch and plugged it in. He quickly started up a program and started with a scan of the device and a test to check the various components. The program soon gave him the details about the specifications of the device, its components, protocols it follows, data stored and the various process it is running. D.i.c.k quickly surfed through them and started to report what he found so that the other three could say if he missed anything.

“No stored data. No additional applications running. It seems to be scrubbed to factory settings. Only the operating system is present,” said D.i.c.k. “Let me check the processes.”

He used the tools to check the various processes and threads that the operating systems was running. “None out of ordinary except for one thing. The time and a few other essential processes have been suspended. The geo-positioning services. Damn, your friend must be a technical genius. He had his location marked and suspended the process, the things like date, time and location field registers of the memory could be used to get his position.”

Excitedly, D.i.c.k pushed off the others aside and opened a couple of doc.u.ments about the device. A few seconds later, he had the location on the screen. “It is on EG-6. Bill Gabe’s bar and accommodation, a local hotel,” said D.i.c.k giving them a satellite view of the place. “I wonder if it is the right answer. It is not close to the Rowley’s place and it is opposite to the direction in which the Nirbaadh Pirates have supposedly escaped.”

“It probably is, but we didn’t find anything apart from that. We finally have a direction to move forward. Either way it would only be a slight deviation from the way to KA sector where the pirates have supposedly disappeared at. It is better we first check it out. We should leave now to the mansion. it has become quite late at night,” said Balthazar.

“Sure, it is best that we make a move as fast as possible. Elias, I will be taking this cable for now. I would like to see if there is anything else on the way. This could also be used to further communicate on the planet,” said D.i.c.k pointing to the watch and the port and cable connecting it to the computer.

“Didn’t you say that I could have it after you guys are done,” said Elais looking at D.i.c.k and Balthazar like he was being cheated.

“Yes, of course, I am willing to sell it to you after that. It is my property. Don’t worry about it,” said Balthazar as they collected the device and made out of the building. They quickly ride to the Blyth mansion and found that Glen had already managed to prepare for departure and was waiting for them. He even got the somnium headgear from Balthazar’s room plugged in to a terminal in the shuttle and ready.

“All ready, then,” asked Balthazar as he entered the shuttle pleasantly surprised. “You even brought this. I thought that I might have to make a trip to get it. People don’t usually consider toys when making such trips.”

“That is not toy in my eyes. It is as useful as the watch device that we got in the puzzle box. Ryan might try to use it to contact us again. Moreover, you are using it to learn combat techniques and earn money. Apart from that, I bought my own. All the ones in the organization are already suggested to get acquainted with it as a learning device,” said Glen.

“Cool, let us get moving,” said D.i.c.k who had checked various things in the shuttle. “We will be making a stop by an acquaintance of mine. The shuttle will be loaded into cargo dock which is leaving the planet today. He had agreed to make a stop at DH-8. Is your man, ready?”

“I have already messaged him, and he replied. He wants us to meet him at 10 a.m. at interplanetary hangar of the Baltmase city. So, it gives us about 11 hour it is currently about 10 p.m. there,” said Balthazar as he projected a mail that had booking details of a ship on the wall of the shuttle.

“Isn’t that a military cruiser?” asked D.i.c.k checking the detail. The sh.i.p.s model was clearly written as PC-xs4 in the doc.u.ment.

“Yes, he is an ex-border forces engineer, mechanic and pilot,” said Balthazar as he put up details of Herschel for the pair of them to see. “Haven’t met him for a long time and though it appears he has a good impression of me, I haven’t been much close to him. He was suggested by my lieutenant to me.”

“Fine,” said D.i.c.k. “He knows about our identities?”

“Nope. The both of you are military personnel working under me and already sent him the fake identity and told him that he will be given reward for any captures, but we should be allowed to get any and all possible information from the captives. Ryan Rowley would also be considered as a captive by him and he will get the reward mentioned in the Shadow Card apart from fees that we provide for the trip. In return, he will not call any of us by names. I am to be called agent A, you two B and C,” explained Balthazar about the contract he had made with Herschel.

“He knows you though?” asked D.i.c.k.

“He trained me when I first joined the force. Yes, he knows me,” agreed Balthazar. “But none of the others do. We will put on some camouflage or suits when with them and the rest of the time, he has arranged a cabin for us.”