Flying was a nerve-wracking experience now more than ever. It wasn’t that Dyna was nervous on a flight. She had been on a number of them in the past, including the one she had taken to get to Tartarus in the first place, all without incident. It wasn’t an incident that she was worried about anyway. Beatrice had chartered this flight just a few hours ago, working her technological magic to smooth the bureaucracy of a sudden flight to the fifty-first state. In the time between receiving its destination and Dyna actually arriving at the plane, there would have been an extraordinarily small window of opportunity to plant any bombs or otherwise sabotage the aircraft.
Combined with Dyna’s power reinforcing her beliefs that Alpha couldn’t have tampered with it, Dyna had little to fear from the flight itself.
She was worried about her lack of agency.
If something happened while aboard the aircraft, there would be next to nothing she could do beyond sitting around and hoping that her power changed things for the better. If Alpha took revenge on the Carroll Institute for ousting her as an administrator by sending more advanced tulpa their way, if Alpha decided to plant explosives around Tartarus, if Alpha slipped Beatrice’s security net and found a way off the island of Puerto Rico, Dyna couldn’t do a thing. Until they landed, she was trapped.
“Tower, TLD-niner-four.”
Dyna looked away from the green island and to her pilot. She didn’t know what kind of aircraft this was, only that it was much smaller than the jet to Texas. There were really only six seats. One for the pilot and co-pilot, then four passengers directly behind. Dyna sat behind the vacant co-pilot seat.
“TLD-niner-four. What do you mean not cleared for international flights?”
“Is there a problem?” Dyna asked, raising her voice. This aircraft wasn’t as quiet as Id’s jet.
“They want to divert us,” the bearded man said, twisting slightly without fully looking to her. “My computer says we should be able to land, but—TLD-niner-four. Copy. Maintaining three-five-hundred.”
Dyna frowned. With a small grimace, she pinched Walter’s glasses over her nose once again, having removed them for the duration of the flight simply because of the ache it was causing to the bridge of her nose. “Beatrice?”
“This is Beatrice.”
“They aren’t letting us land.”
“One moment.”
“TLD-niner-four. Roger. Coming in on two-six.”
Dyna raised her eyebrows. That certainly sounded like they had been given landing permission. Beatrice worked quickly. Didn’t the people behind the control panels wonder about their computers suddenly changing their tunes?
“Landing facilitated.”
“I noticed. How?”
“Digital communications are easily altered. I would advise departing the area before security realizes what has happened. Naturally, I will delay them as long as possible.”
Dyna pressed her lips together, glancing at the pilot. “We’re not getting this guy arrested, are we?” she said, voice a whisper that shouldn’t be heard over the engines or the chat with the local air traffic controller—or Beatrice, as the case was.
“I should be able to clear him of any wrongdoing. Leave him to me. Focus on nullifying Alpha’s tulpa strike capabilities.”
Letting out a soft sigh, Dyna shot the pilot a pitying glance as the aircraft’s landing gear touched down against the runway. “Has anything happened since we last spoke?”
Dyna had touched in partway over. Partially to check in on DT, but mostly just to see if Walter or Id had woken up.
“The Carroll Institute Administrative Council has been trying to contact you. I have been running interference.”
“What did they want?”
“The Carroll Institute has been elevated to a lockdown state. With Alpha’s actions coming to light and further review of the evidence provided, they have grown concerned that she will send tulpa after the campus. Their focus is on protecting the staff and initiates.”
“They wanted me on guard duty?”
“More or less.”
“Lovely. Glad I’m here. What about the others? Any change to Id or Walter’s conditions?”
“Not at this time.”
Dyna let out a long breath. She had tried not to get her hopes up. It hadn’t worked. She ended up sitting the rest of the ride in silence, waiting for the jet to taxi its way off to one side of the single-runway airport. The private jet didn’t allow for a gangway. Someone pushed up a portable staircase next to the jet and, in a few moments, Dyna stepped out into the Puerto Rican air.
It smelled a bit too much of the ocean for her tastes. Maybe she had just gotten used to the drier air of Idaho Falls.
“The locals aren’t sure what is happening just yet with regards to your flight, but some members of the air control authority are attempting to notify security. Evacuate the area immediately.”
Dyna started out by flipping open her mirror. People were certainly watching her, if only from the tower, but it usually only changed if people were observing her with hostile intent. At the moment, both lenses were normal mirrors.
Stepping down the staircase, Dyna looked around. The building was even smaller than that of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. A fence surrounded the entire property, separating the air field from the rest of the city. Deciding to follow Beatrice’s suggestion, Dyna left the jet and the pilot, who was performing some post-landing procedures, and headed straight for the airport building.
The sooner she got away, the sooner she could disappear into the city. “Best way to Alpha’s last known position?”
“A gondola built to ferry tourists to the former site of the Arecibo Radio Telescope is the primary method of ascending the mountain. Any local will likely be able to take you to it.”
“Does the gondola move automatically or manually?”
“Manual activation from either base station. I am capable of operating it.”
“I ask because a gondola moving up a mountain seems like a noticeable thing. If it moves unexpectedly, Alpha will notice. Is there another way up?”
“A road provides ground access. It will likely be monitored as well.”
“So she’ll know someone is coming no matter what? Can I walk it? Maybe not move along the road but hike up? How steep is the mountain?”
“There is a walking trail alongside the road. Thick vegetation and steep slopes makes it difficult for anyone to ascend off the trail. In addition, it is quite a lengthy walk of several miles from any point where access is unlikely to be monitored.”
“Great. So Alpha is going to know I’m coming?”
“It is likely.”
“Any response from DT’s phone? I’d like to know if she knows anything about the…”
Dyna trailed off, eyes widening as she stepped into the small airport building.
“Door to your left,” Beatrice said as a faint line highlighted the suggested route.
Dyna didn’t argue.
She hurried into a small single-occupant restroom and locked the door. “Security footage?”
“Acquiring.”
Dyna blinked twice as the camera footage changed to the entry corridor Dyna had just stepped through. Two men stood at the far end of the corridor, talking to a frantically waving man in a white button-up shirt with an official-looking identification badge hanging from his pocket. The two looked like security, having the right uniforms, but something about them caught Dyna’s eye.
“They’re wearing the same radios that the tulpa at Tartarus used. Tulpa as well? Does Alpha already know I’m here?”
“Unknown.”
“Damn it,” Dyna hissed, looking around the small bathroom. She jumped up onto the counter. Reaching overhead, she slammed her palms into the drop tile and dislodged it.
“It could be a coincidence.”
“Fat chance with me here. Even if it was a coincidence, it probably isn’t anymore. Either Alpha has tulpa infiltrating the local security teams, the local security is reporting to her, or Alpha is monitoring their communications or otherwise receives their reports. My power basically ensures one of those is true.”
Griding her teeth together, Dyna pulled herself up and into the small space overhead. “Which way gets me out of here?”
“There is a side entrance on the other side of the air duct to your left. I have falsified flight data. Your flight will appear to have come from a small Cuban airport. An interview with the pilot will reveal this falsehood but this should buy a little more time.”
“Great. Thanks,” Dyna grunted as she tried to shimmy over the duct. Her hair got caught on something over her head and she felt something scrape against her arm as she tried to free herself. “This is much easier in movies.”
“Do take care to keep your weight on supports and not the tiles.”
Dyna didn’t respond, just keeping her teeth clenched together as she scurried along in the direction Beatrice indicated.
“It would be most advantageous to avoid damaging the tile on your way out. Humans rarely look up, so a little damage or misplacement is likely acceptable.”
“I can drop here?” Dyna asked, avoiding a thick water pipe.
One of the tiles highlighted a faint red in her glasses. “I am modifying security camera footage. You are clear to drop for the next… thirty seconds.”
Dyna didn’t wait, digging her fingers between one tile and the next. She pried it up and slid it aside. “Don’t know how I’m going to get it back to normal.”
“Humans rarely look up.”
“That will have to work,” she said, kicking her feet off the metal beam and falling through the hole. She landed boot-first, catching herself on a small bench. Standing upright, she dusted herself off as best as she could.
“Exit to your back.”
Dyna turned on her heel and sprinted through the doors, whipping out her mirror on the way. “The lenses are still mirrored? No hostiles nearby?”
“Coincidence,” Beatrice said.
“I don’t believe it.” Not with her power. She rushed out to the street outside the airport. “No transport?”
“I have secured a vehicle for rent rather than subject others to the possible danger Alpha poses.” Beatrice lit up a path for her. “The rental isn’t far.”
“Probably for the best,” Dyna said. Between the guy she had left her gun with and now the pilot, involving others would just end up with someone hurt. “No one is following me, right?”
“The airport security officers are not in pursuit. No communication to outside authorities has yet succeeded.”
“Your doing, I assume?”
“Correct.”
“I don’t speak Spanish.”
“I am fluent in over six million forms of communication.”
Dyna rolled her eyes.
The car rental place was actually right across the street from the airport. It advertised a number of electric vehicles, larger moving trucks, and even a few old gas guzzlers. As she looked over the signs outside the store, Dyna paused and cocked her head to one side.
“It isn’t all in English, is it?”
“Visual translations are easy to facilitate using the lenses.”
“Convenient.”
“Your vehicle is reserved under the name ‘Jasmine Jones.’”
Dyna cocked an eyebrow but didn’t ask about the random name. It was probably just that. Random.
With Beatrice’s assistance providing both real-time translation and instructing her on what to say in return, Dyna managed to get a sporty EV in under twenty minutes. It was small and unassuming but Dyna was fine with that. It worked. She didn’t need anything fancy.
Pulling up to the exit of the parking lot, Dyna hesitated. “This… is going to be embarrassing but they do drive on the right, right?”
“Correct.”
“I figured because of the steering wheel. Wanted to double-check before causing any accidents.”
“Highlighting the fastest available route.”
Behind the wheel of the car, Dyna felt far more comfortable than she had since leaving Tartarus. As long as Alpha really was here and couldn’t get away easily, Dyna felt in control. Of course, it would be better if they had actual eyes on Alpha but she supposed it was normal that the administrator had taken precautions against having Beatrice used against her.
The streets of Arecibo were fairly average. It might have been a nice place to vacation at but with her current task, Dyna couldn’t stop and smell the roses. As the route led her away from the city into the larger mountains to the south, Dyna had to note that Beatrice was right. A thick jungle of trees practically hugged the road. Thick meant thick. Dyna doubted she would have been able to squeeze between the tight thicket of trees in anything resembling a timely fashion. Given the possibility that Alpha already knew she was here, all the time in the world mattered.
“Is the gondola faster than the road?”
“The gondola provides a direct route over the trees and forest while the road is long and indirect, conforming to the contours of the landscape. It is both less distance to travel and faster than the road.”
“But easier to station some guards at the exit. Assuming they don’t just cut the cables.”
“It is a possibility.”
“Could we use it as a distraction? Start it up as I get closer and see if Alpha falls for the bait?”
“It is a possibility.”
“Let’s hold off until I’m closer, we—”
“I apologize for the interruption. The device you wished for me to monitor has pinged the cell network near the Carroll Institute.”
“DT? Start a call.”
“Understood.”
A faint ringing noise reached Dyna’s ears from the glasses. After two rings, Dyna heard a masculine voice answer the phone.
“Who is this?”
“DT? Is that you?”
“Prime?”
“Who else would have this number?”
“Beatrice, I would assume.”
“This is Beatrice.” Beatrice cut in. “You assume correctly.”
“Is this a good idea?” DT asked.
“I managed to find an override for her. She’s following her own rules now, not whatever the administrators say. Speaking of, you’re near the Carroll Institute?”
“You know that too?”
“Beatrice,” Dyna said as an explanation. “Your phone pinged a cell tower.”
“Well, I guess you should be aware that something happened. The tulpa in charge of me received orders to assemble in Idaho Falls. I think we’re about to get an order to attack the institute.”
“You’ll stop it, I assume?”
“If it looks like it is going poorly, yes. Otherwise, I might try to keep my cover? There are others working with Alpha. Other humans. I’m not sure who, yet, but she had an engineering team and a few human soldiers.”
“Had?”
Dyna could hear a smile in the voice. “There was an accident.”
“I see.”
“But it isn’t just underlings. She has other people on her level. Maybe above her? I overheard her talking to someone and it sounded like she was taking orders. Though maybe that was an adviser providing suggestions. It was how I knew Tartarus was about to be attacked.”
Dyna frowned, wondering who else was in on this conspiracy. Omega was the first name that came to mind simply because of their conspicuous absence from the meeting earlier. She had no real proof one way or the other however. “Do you know anything about her Arecibo base?”
“Arecibo?”
“Puerto Rico.”
“Are you in Puerto Rico?”
“Alpha seems to have a base in the region. Beatrice saw her here a few hours ago and she hasn’t been seen leaving.”
“I’ve never seen Alpha in person, but we have a method of rapidly traveling through the noosphere. She has built a device—maybe powered or utilizing an artifact?—that shifts things around and allows us to move quickly over long real-world distances within the noosphere. She might not be there anymore.”
“She better be here. I don’t want to have wasted my time.”
“At the moment, the device is here. It looks kind of like the portal device we found in the meat packing plant except horizontally arranged and about the size of a helicopter landing pad. It transports itself and everyone standing on top of it.”
“Okay. New objective: Keep that transport device from leaving. Sabotage it or destroy it or just kill whoever is operating it.
“Right, I—” DT went silent for a few seconds. “I’ve got to go. They’re calling for me. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
The phone line cut off before Dyna could start a response. Dyna tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited at a red light. “She better be here.”
This was Alpha’s main base of operations. Presumably.
No. Not presumably.
It was her main base of operations. As her main base, Alpha would obviously be there.
Focusing on that thought, Dyna followed the road up and into the mountains of Arecibo.