Flying High

 

Dyna shuddered as she looked at the tarmac through the windows of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. It was a bit of an overcast day. No dark, roiling storm clouds. Just a light gray canopy over the sky. There was a single jet, the small and private type with a long red stripe on its side, out in the boarding area at the moment, pulled up to the jetway. No one was actually boarding, however. This entire section of the airport had been cleared out.

Dyna wasn’t sure how the Carroll Institute did it. The Idaho Falls Regional Airport wasn’t a large airport by any stretch of the word, but it was still an airport. Shutting down the airports for a few hours for the safety of a single VIP really only happened when presidents arrived or departed on Air Force One.

The institute’s security teams patrolled the grounds and several blocks around. Emerald was on the roof of the air control tower with a precision rifle. Noosphere anomaly detectors had been setup around the airport, listening for any sign of spatial anomalies forming and other potential incursions by tulpa. Even knowing there had been assassination attempts in the past, it felt extreme.

All the while, the person all this trouble was for just sat on one of the benches, casually sipping at a latte using a straw under her mask.

Dyna stared at her for a long moment. Having worn one of those masks before, she knew they were comfortable. Not comfortable enough to wear constantly, however. Dyna wondered if Id had removed it even in the shower or for sleep. Did she wear the mask around the Tartarus facility as well? Or was it just the Carroll Institute? Then again, knowing what Dyna did about the administrators, Dyna couldn’t blame her for wanting to keep her identity hidden.

Shaking her head, Dyna turned her attention back to the airplane. She closed her eyes, trying to focus. No bombs. No malfunctions. No traps. No weapons. No bombs. No malfunctions. No traps. No weapons. No bombs. No malfunctions. No traps—

“You’re going to give yourself an aneurysm.”

Dyna jolted, glancing to Id with a frown. “I hate you for putting that possibility into my mind,” she whispered.

Walter was a short distance away, speaking on his phone. Several silver-suited guards were positioned around every entrance to the area. Ruby was the only one close enough to hear, having been appointed as Id’s most immediate guard for this operation, and she adopted a harsh glare.

Id just chuckled a light, tittering laugh. “Your power wouldn’t kill you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, well, right now I’m trying to keep it from killing you.” Dyna shook her head with a sigh. “They shouldn’t have even told me about this. Now I can’t stop thinking about all the things that might go wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Id said with complete confidence. “It is a brand new, fancy jet. Lots of leg room and comfortable seats. Nothing bad is going to happen to it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Look at all these people running around specifically to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“They aren’t accounting for me,” Dyna said. “I don’t know if anyone can account for me. I don’t know that I can account for me.”

“You’re over thinking things. Take a nice deep breath and relax, Dyna.”

“I think I’m under thinking this. Even if I walked around the jet myself and inspected every bolt, eliminating all doubt that the jet had been sabotaged in some way, I could probably still think up ways it might wind up sabotaged. Maybe someone slipped in while I wasn’t looking or someone placed something in an engine just after I looked over it…”

“You’re not going to do anything. We’re friends, Dyna.”

Dyna shot the masked woman a glare.

“Alright. We got off on the wrong foot,” Id said with an irreverent shrug. “But surely you now realize why I went about things the way I did.”

“You could have just told me. Asked me for help rather than manipulated me.”

“And subjected you to this?” Id said, waving her hand between Dyna and the jet out the window. “You would not have thanked me any more for that then you are now.”

Dyna pressed her lips together. That was probably true. That didn’t mean she liked it. “I don’t know if I want to know now.”

“I’m sure the Carroll Institute would be happy to remove your memories—”

“No,” Dyna said instantly. At least one of the administrators wanted her dead. If she forgot that, she would probably just die, unable to defend herself.

Although she couldn’t see Id’s face, she could tell that Id put on a smile. The woman brushed a hand through her drifty hair and glanced out the window. “If you’re so worried, why not join me?”

“Dyna wouldn’t join you,” Ruby snapped, unable to keep silent any longer. “You manipulated her.”

“You think the Carroll Institute was doing any different? Is doing any different?” Id asked. She was probably raising an eyebrow behind her brushed nickel mask. “At least I’m being honest about it.”

“Now that you’ve been caught,” Ruby said with a sneer.

Id shrugged. “At least I’m not…” she trailed off and shot a pointed look upward.

Following her gaze, Dyna frowned at the camera overhead. She caught onto Id’s meaning immediately. At least Id wasn’t host to an omnipresent AI that couldn’t disobey the administrators that had it out for Dyna. As much as Dyna liked Beatrice, that was a fairly significant downside.

No matter how hard Dyna thought about it, it didn’t seem as if she could break Beatrice’s constraints through her power. Given the results of her various experiments, that could be because Dyna had it too ingrained in her mind and subconscious that Beatrice was subservient to the administrators. Alternatively, she figured that Beatrice’s name might contain a clue as to why she couldn’t affect the AI. Dyna couldn’t change people’s minds, according to both Id and Walter. The Biologically Enhanced Autonomous Task Resolution and Information Computing Environment was biologically enhanced. While Dyna wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, Dyna definitely felt like Beatrice had a mind of her own.

Still, she had to shake her head at the thought of joining up with Tartarus. Unintuitively, putting herself further away from Alpha was the last thing she wanted. Dyna hadn’t seen the administrator for weeks, but she was still around. Dyna had a much greater chance of figuring out exactly what her course of action should be from within the Carroll Institute than from without.

Dyna-tulpa was the one doing the more external studies, not that Dyna-prime had heard from her counterpart since their split.

A heavy shake of Id’s head broke Dyna out of her thoughts.

“You misunderstand,” Id said. “I don’t mean join Tartarus. Join me on the flight. It won’t blow up with you aboard. Escort me there, keep me safe, and I’ll even toss in a free tour of our facilities?” Dyna could hear the grin spread into Id’s words. “I’m sure half those administrators just started salivating at that thought. What do you say, Walter? Fancy a tour of Tartarus?”

Dyna looked up, finding the mirrored lenses of Walter’s glasses. His phone call had finished and he simply stood by, neutral expression on his face. Lost in thought, Dyna hadn’t noticed his approach and didn’t know how much he had heard.

“We’re ready,” he said, not acknowledging Id’s offer. “It’s time to board.”

Standing, arching her back in a long stretch, Id tossed her coffee cup into the recycling bin. “It is a genuine offer, you know. But I understand if the Carroll Institute is too terrified of Dyna escaping her gilded cage.”

“You’re being manipulative again,” Dyna said with a frown.

“Not trying to hide that,” Id said, holding up a finger. She held up a second finger and added, “Doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Id,” Walter said, motioning toward the jetway. “I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”

“Alright, alright. I’m on my way.”

Two silver-suited guards stepped aside, admitting her passage. The moved back in place as soon as she passed, but Dyna just stared after her, watching her wafting hair drift back and forth with each step.

“Should I go?” Dyna asked, not taking her eyes off Id.

“She’s manipulating you,” Ruby said with a growl. “She even admitted it. Bitch.”

“Ruby.” Walter sighed. “You aren’t in a gilded cage, Dyna. We’re not keeping you captive. That said, I doubt the institute would be pleased with you cavorting with a rival organization.”

“I thought we were allies now.”

“In this business, those who are allies today might be enemies tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to try to foster positive relations?” Dyna frowned. “Or, if they are going to be enemies one day, getting information on their facilities. They were ahead of us on disruptor technology, what else might they have that we don’t? Do we even know where Tartarus is located?”

“Dyna—”

Walter didn’t get any further before three phones vibrated all at once. Dyna felt her phone in her pocket and heard the other two coming from Walter and Ruby. Glancing down at her screen, Dyna just raised one eyebrow. She wasn’t surprised, but a part of her wondered if she caused this in some way or another.

 

ATTENTION: New Priority Objectives. Please review and acknowledge.

PRIORITY 1: Identify geographical coordinates of Location: Tartarus.

PRIORITY 2: Ascertain status and numbers of personnel within Location: Tartarus.

PRIORITY 3: Ascertain nature of unknown device Codename: Continuity Engine.

PRIORITY 4: Ensure continued safety and cooperation of Principal Subject: Id.

PRIORITY 5: Safeguard interests of CI.

END OF LINE

 

“Keeping Id safe is pretty low on that list, isn’t it?” Dyna said, looking up. “Assuming you both got the same message?”

Ruby, wide grin on her face, nodded her head. “I’m to ensure your safety.”

Walter drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “These orders were approved by Administrator Gamma,” he said with a frown.

“Makes sense. She’s the one in charge of keeping tulpa out of our business and Tartarus is supposedly a containment organization for tulpa.”

“It seems like our objective is to confirm that suspicion,” Walter said, head still looking down at his phone.

“You’re coming too?”

Sighing again, Walter nodded. “I don’t have anything packed,” he mumbled.

Dyna almost laughed at the surprisingly mundane cause for distress until she realized that she was in the same boat. “Me neither. Are they going to delay the flight?”

“Not according to this. The airport needs to reopen to the public by five. We’ll have to get things when we arrive.”

“Guess we better hurry aboard before they leave without us?”

“I call a window seat!”

The aircraft was a small private jet, but still had several round windows along its hull. With Id as its only passenger at the moment, Dyna imagined everyone could have two or three window seats and there would still be a few to spare. Thinking about Id made Dyna frown. “She’s going to be smug when she sees us,” she mumbled, heading toward the jetway.

The two guards did not get the notification as quickly as Dyna had, but a few words from Walter had them standing aside.

As Dyna expected, she could feel the air of superiority around Id as they boarded the craft. Even with her face hidden, she still had that look to her.

“Three escorts?” Id said, not sounding as surprised as she should have been. “All for little old me?”

“You offered a tour,” Walter said. “We’re here to take you up on it. Nothing more.”

“I didn’t think you got out of the Carroll Institute much these days, Walter. I admit, I wasn’t expecting you to join.”

“I don’t. The orders I received are… unusual with that respect. But this is an unusual circumstance.”

“I’m sure getting out in the sun will do you some good,” Id said with a smile. “Going to stand around all flight or will you take a seat?”

There were only eight seats in the plane, surprisingly enough. They were in groups of four with only one seat on either side of the aisle in each ‘row’. Two seats faced backwards in each group, letting occupants face each other. Quite a fancy space with high quality seats that almost looked like lounge recliners. There were tables that could fold out from the wall between the opposing chairs, but otherwise, nothing obstructed the legroom.

Walter looked around the interior with his eyebrows popping up. Even with his eyes hidden behind his mirrored glasses, Dyna could tell when he narrowed his eyes. He stalked past Id. For a moment, it looked like he was heading to the second pod of four chairs, away from the woman, but he paused and eventually took the seat diagonal to her. Dyna sat down opposite from Id while Ruby plopped down in the seat across the aisle. The young girl pressed her nose right up to the glass.

“Do they serve alcohol here?”

“Ruby,” Walter said, warning in his tone.

“What? It isn’t like I can get drunk. My body fixes the issue on its own.”

“And why do you know that?”

“Emerald,” Ruby said, utterly unashamed at selling out her friend.

“Emerald is in a lot of trouble.”

Id just started laughing at Walter’s glare. “There is a fully stocked refreshment area in the back,” she said, standing and heading toward the back. She stepped through a small door, but continued talking as she rummaged through cabinets and pantries. “Extremely fancy stuff. Top shelf alcohol of every variety, plus snacks, a plethora of hors d’oeuvre-type foods, and anything else Dyna can think of.”

Dyna’s eyes widened and she spun around in her seat, looking back. “Excuse me?”

Id was already walking back, carrying a bottle with a long and narrow neck but bulbous bottom. The liquid inside was clear, but it looked like a snow globe. If a snow globe had a bunch of flecks of gold rather than snow inside it. In her other hand, she had four narrow flutes dangling between each of her fingers.

“Always wanted to try this stuff,” she said with a laugh. “Would never actually pay for it.”

Dyna glared at her. “You just made that appear in the back?”

“Ridiculous. Impossible. Absolutely not,” Id said. She paused a moment, then her smile came through in her voice. “You made it appear.”

Dyna did not let up her glare.

“I thought you said top shelf,” Walter said, nose wrinkling at the bottle Id had in hand. “This is cheap garbage made to look fancy.”

“Yes, well, Dyna’s idea of top-shelf isn’t very refined,” Id said as the jet started moving. Apparently unconcerned with their impending takeoff, she twisted off the cap and started pouring the gold-flaked drink into the flutes. An odd cinnamon-alcohol scent filled the air. “Not an alcohol woman, Dyna?”

“You know I’m not,” Dyna said, glaring at the glass Id held out for her. “And I don’t think I should drink this. I’m nineteen—”

“Meh.”

“And… I’m not sure that I should ever get inebriated. It sounds like a bad idea.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Id dropped the glass into the drink holder before turning to Walter and Ruby.

Walter started to say something but didn’t finish before Ruby knocked back her entire glass. The young girl smacked her lips together for a few moments before sticking out her tongue with a disgusted exhale from the back of her throat. “Tastes like Atomic Fireballs.”

Walter curled a lip, glaring a the glass Id handed him. After a moment, however, he took a small drink. “People actually drink this?”

Id, much like Ruby, drank her whole glass all at once, pulling her mask forward just enough to tip the narrow glass back. As soon as she finished, she shuddered. “Had to try it once, I suppose. But… here is the real brain teaser for you:

“Dyna has obviously heard of this kind of drink and maybe even knew it was a cinnamon schnapps. But, is this what the drink would actually taste like if we were to go buy it from a store without her knowledge? Alternatively, does every instance of this drink across the world now taste like Atomic Fireballs thanks to Ruby’s comment?”

“You’re going to make me second guess everything I eat from now on,” Dyna said with a groan.

“Just make everything taste good and you don’t have to worry about it,” Id said with an obvious grin behind her mask. “In any case, now that we’re all gathered together in this isolated Faraday cage and have all turned off our electronic devices to prevent interference with the flight electronics… Anything you want to say, Dyna?”

Dyna’s eyes widened for a moment before she adopted her glare once again. “I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to manipulate me into using my ability.”

“Just a bit of harmless fun,” Id said, waving her hand. “But very well. Anything else you wish to say?”

“Yeah,” Dyna said, pulling out her phone and flipping it over to show a lit up screen. “I know I didn’t turn off my phone. One little quip isn’t enough to make me activate my power.” Sometimes, anyway. Maybe all the time. For all Dyna knew, that bottle of alcohol had been there all along.

“Well, I suppose we can wait to discuss sensitive matters until we reach Tartarus. Regardless of what you think, it is a secure facility.”

“How do you know? What if I just sit here thinking about how insecure it is for the next… how long is this flight?”

“Three hours. And I know because the facility is… outside your purview.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sure the Carroll Institute would love to know. But that is why you all are here, isn’t it? To steal our secrets?”

Walter was the one to speak, frown on his face. “Steal is a harsh word. You offered a tour. If we glean information from your tour, is it really stealing?”

“I suppose we’ll find out,” Id said, leaning back in her chair, crossing her hands over her lap. “I suppose we’ll find out.”