The Harvester (19 page)

A
n hour later and we’re in Japan’s number one stealthiest submarines. Their Agency’s new technology makes it fast and undetectable. Even their own military doesn’t possess one or even know of its existence. Just how it should be. And that is by design, I assure you. Now, the plan is that when we dive to just over a hundred feet above Vega’s headquarters, we will be launched out of specialized missile silos and use a swimming device to get to the rest of the way. Trust me. The ride is adrenaline pumping. We’ll have special suits on which will harbor our weapons and explosives. We’ll be ready to launch in about an hour, so I do my regular prebattle routine of meditation while visualizing the possible battle in my mind. I play out how I envision it will all go down—what are all the factors at hand and how to respond to ’em. This is a large facility in which we only have a bit of Intel on. Will Vega be there?

I certainly hope so. But if he isn’t it’s still a victory.

We’ll download scads of info before destroying his headquarters. We’ll take some hostages and interrogate ’em as well. And we’ll kill the rest. The five scientists we put tracking devices in will become the Agency’s new scientists. They will prove to be useful and I truly feel are forced against their will to work for Vega. From our readings on them, they’re not even truly dead yet. I have a strong feeling that they won’t have a problem switching sides. And if they do have a problem, well, we’ll execute ’em. Business as usual. We’re so deep now that if a human were not in a decompression vehicle, their eyes would pop out of their ocular cavities, and their heads would explode as easily as a balloon poked by a sewing needle. This means we’ll need to be extra cautious with the very alive scientists if they decide to join us. What they don’t know is Djinn’s tracking devices in them are also explosive devices in case they don’t switch sides.

We want their expertise, their knowledge on their creations they’ve created for Vega. If we don’t know what he knows and how to create the things he accomplishes then, he will eventually win the next Sanguinary Wars. Suddenly, a red flashing light on the wall indicates to us Harvesters to get ready to be launched out of the specialized missile silos. I snap out of my meditation and spring to my feet.

I’m more than ready for my confrontation with Vega. I want to end this with him once and for all. Him constantly evading me for all these years has angered me to no ends. I must admit, taking him down will solidify me in all Agency’s minds that I am truly the number one Harvester.

Both sides know that Vega has been at least one, two steps ahead of me. That, I can’t abide. No sir! Call it ego, pride, whatever. I don’t care. I’ll be sent to the After before I give up on Vega. I’ve now grown obsessed with conquering Vega, and I have a feeling he knows that, and it makes him happier than ever. Yes, we were partners, my longest partnership. And yes, we were like blood brothers, but it has come to the point that I must destroy him and he must destroy me. The Agency wants me to bring him in for a trial, but I honestly want to eliminate him for good. I am here to help mankind as we know it. Yes, I guess I’m considered a killer to the unknown, but I’m an Agent of life for humanity. I’m considered an unsung hero, and I don’t get credit from any of the Living. I don’t mind though. I didn’t take this job for the praise. Rather, I took it for the battle.

I join the others in the missile facility. Takahashi preps the silos for our departure into practically oblivion. I put on my special suit, which is like a wetsuit for surfing, except it’s slightly bigger with numerous pockets for our swords, guns, ammo, and yes, explosives.

The silos are specially made just for launching Harvesters.

After all of us get strapped into our gear we get into a prebattle huddle to pump up everyone and they always expect me to rally the troops. Since I’ve been on this planet for so long, I’ve been able to memorize some of the greatest speeches from numerous categories, like sports, politicians, war heroes, artists, and yada yada. But for once, I draw a blank as my crew looks to me, as usual, for some sort of powerful, uplifting words.

“I think of a college that I’m still very devoted to and the dramatic story of their quarterback, John Salmon, of the team in 1926. The day after their first football game, he was in a horrific car crash in which he suffered a severe spinal injury. The coach, Pop McKale, visited him at the hospital and on his last visit Salmon had a message for his teammates for the next battle, uh, game. His words, ‘Tell the team to bear down.’ Those words are used in every facet of the college’s athletics to this day, and it holds trite and true for us now. No matter what transpires, bear down and persevere. The young kid died the very next morning. So I tell you now, we don’t know what to expect, but bear the hell down! Rock and roll!”

My crew, excited, repeats my words. Unfortunately, in my mind’s eye, I know that on a mission of this magnitude, not all of us are going to survive. Our data on the complex we’re going into, almost zero. Which is a dangerous situation. We’re going to the deepest place on earth and we basically have no idea what we’re getting ourselves in to.

Shit! We’re gonna have to come up with some backup battle plans, quick. Just in case.

Harvester Agent Takahashi and four of his crew join us. Each of us wears motorized swimming apparatuses on our back to ensure a speedy descent to Vega’s headquarters.

It’s pitch-black out in the great deep, so we also wear headlamps. We climb into our predesignated silo and shut the door behind us. In five seconds, we’ll be launched into the dark, frigid, uncaring abyss of the ocean. I’ve done this a few times, but never at this depth. Five, four, three, two, one.

I’m launched through the silo and rapidly penetrate the unforgiving ocean. As I zip through the ocean, I turn on my headlamp and motor and continue toward Vega’s headquarters, which I can barely make out. The others follow suit and now the area is lit up. Due to our speed and the water, it’s hard to see where we’re going.

So I use the GPS device on my wrist. It tells me we are now only a hundred and fifty feet away. I slow down my motor and the rest do the same. Now we can see the sprawling facility and what an awe-inspiring sight she is.

Vega’s architect has done a brilliant job, I must confess.

The facility blends in beautifully with its environment and is almost cloaked visually. I slowly advance toward a part of the facility’s roof with the others in tow. I land on the roof first and so do they one by one. We have weighted boots, which allows us to walk around and not float. We all have electronic conversing devices to make my commands easier to relay.

We have no idea what Vega’s numbers are in here, giving us a definite disadvantage. Not to mention, we don’t know the layout neither. We’re basically flying blind. But I have a well-trained, excellent crew specially picked for this type of mission. We spot out three Underworlders welding on part of the roof about thirty yards away from us.

“We already got company,” I tell my crew. “Takahashi, Naes, and Dorian, you know what to do.”

The rest of my crew squats down as they sneak toward them. We can’t leave any floating bodies around or our mission is sunk. There’s a well-known sci-fi expression which says, “In space nobody can hear you scream.” And that’s true. Well, at our depth, if the shit hits the fan, we’re all done for good and in a very unpleasant way.

Takahashi, Dorian, and Naes do what I know they are very capable of: Take the welders out with ease. They find a rooftop compartment and stash their bodies into them.

“We’re clear to enter the facility,” Takahashi reports to me.

We know exactly where one of the few ways to get in to the facility is, but we need to be quick and stealthy. This is hard to do in such deep waters. We maneuver as an unit toward the others. No marine life is present around us. The darkness of the deep is disorientating. I really have to stay focused in order to keep my bearings. As we join the others, I realize just how Herculean this facility really is. I point out a submersible bearing toward the facility.

Now the others see this too. Obviously, there must be an entrance for them to disembark.

“Where that enters, we enter. Quick, let’s move,” I tell my crew.

We turn our motors back on, and we speed through the deep just over the facility’s roof. We see a giant bay door open up and the submersible directs itself to it.

“Move, move, move,” I tell everyone and we pickup our pace.

The vehicle sails into the complex, and the door begins to close. We move even quicker now and make it to the entrance door. I sneakily peer in and realize Vega’s weakness to this magnificent facility: due to the depth he has no security even on the inside. What I mean is, no cameras or guards of any sort. Even at this depth, from Vega I would’ve expected something of the kind. However, no. Thank you, Vega. Or did you plan it this way?

I wave into action the penetration phase, and we stealthily swim into the entrance bubble one by one as the door slowly shuts. It appears that nobody has seen us. I truly hope so. We’re in a long tube now that water still fills. Neon track lighting illuminates the whole area. And because of that, it could potentially be dangerous for us.

“Quick. Get as close as we can to that submersible’s backside for cover,” I shout to the others.

We jointly turn our motors on and rip toward the submersible. It feels as though it takes forever, but we catch up to it. We’re camouflaged by its lights, width, and water ripple effect it produces from its engines and movement through the water. I think to myself that if we continued with the sea vessel, it will eventually arrive at a docking area where there will definitely be more Underworlders, and we will definitely be discovered. I rapidly look around at our surroundings for any sort of escape route. And nothing. Looks like we battle earlier than anticipated or wanted. Damn! The water begins to filter out of the tube. This may be good or bad. The sea vessel pulls up to a docking bay and is locked into a fixed position. We maneuver to the wall underneath the vessel and hold our position. All look to me for some sort of command, order, direction. I can’t tell ’em, but I don’t know for sure. I’m responsible for all of ’em. It’s my decision, and if it’s the wrong one, we’re all sent to the After, and it’s entirely my fault.

“We wait until all the water drains, and that’s when we will make our move,” I tell them.

They agree by giving me a nod. Vega’s men exit the sea vessel twenty feet above us and disappear down a hallway.

Naes and Dorian dash over to opposite walls and place a highly powerful explosive device to it. The rest of us pull out our weapons. I peer up twenty feet above us where we need to go, and I know the height won’t be a problem for us.

We can leap higher than that. No climbing gear needed. But what I do need to scope out is what might be above us. I’ll use one of Djinn’s brilliant devices. Out of one of my pockets I grab his flying sphere. It’s silent and has topnotch spy ware in it. This device will feedback to me images of what it sees on my watch. I turn it on, and it flies just about an inch or so over the ledge. I glance down at my watch to see the flying sphere’s visual of three Underworlders busily working on a bigger submersible. Naes and Dorian join back with us.

“The explosives are set up,” Naes reports.

“Good. Rock and roll?”

Everyone says “rock and roll” at the same time. And yes, even the Japanese say it to due to that phrase being universal among the Agencies. Harvesters have their theories of when and who started that phrase, but nothing has been proven. I prefer it to be a mystery.

“Now, we all know the plan,” I address ’em. “We must execute it perfectly. We’re in the deepest of deep enemy territory, and they’re the ones with higher numbers. We take out the three up top and move to the control room where the chances of Vega being there is most optimal—while planting explosives along the way. We all leap at once. On three. One, two, three.”

We all leap at once and easily make it to the ledge above us. There we stand like the formidable force we are.

Combat, the way of the sword, and now the gun, is the very air I breathe. I welcome any challengers, especially Vega.