"Some load of people here!" Dave said, surprised.
"It's the international launch of a revolutionary device that would put Steve Jobs to shame. What else did you expect?" Ash replied snappily, looking over the crowd.
"Still. Half these people aren't even here to get one. Devlin only offered a thousand pre-orders for the inaugural batch." Dave continued, deep in thought.
"Everyone likes a free concert." I joked, as I led us away from the crowd towards the neighbouring building, a concrete monolith lacking any of the style and history of the launch venue. "Right. As far as Devlin knows, there's only one entry point to the grounds, via the guarded gate, thanks to the perimeter fence. However, it and this distribution centre share a boundary. And, this place has no active security... not since it shut down during the crash."
"Arven, how do you know all this?" asked Ash, raising an eyebrow toward me.
"Well, I know a guy, old friend from school. Used to come through here to sneak into music gigs during his college years. This whole section of fence on this side is bolted together, not welded, so it's easy to slip through."
"Even if he's being honest, it was years ago. How do you know it'll still be open?"
"Cause I'm the friend." said Dave, strutting forward like a cat who's proud of the new foul mess it's hidden for its owner to find. "And I last used it two months back at a secret gig." Ash looked as if she was lining up a witty retort, before deciding it wasn't worth her effort.
We circled the distribution hub so we'd be hidden from the crowds as we approached the weak link in the fence. Dave was proved correct as we quickly found a section of the fence which was loose. A quick blast from my sonic screwdriver undid the few bolts holding up the charade. We were in. Ash half raised her hand in question.
"What's your plan for the cameras?"
"Dunno. They're new." Dave admitted with a shrug. "Any ideas, Arv?"
"Lucky I came prepared." I said, pulling something akin to a handgun from my longcoat. "Remote hacking tool. Fires a tiny projectile that patches itself into the security grid, giving us remote access to basic system controls, depending on the complexity of the systems in question, naturally." I explained quickly. With a well placed shot, I had enough control to interfere with the video feed. With a few swipes of my phone screen, I had the cameras between us and the building set to loop the previous 20 minutes repeatedly. That way, anyone monitoring the feed from the front of the building wouldn't notice a discrepancy. Taking advantage of an announcement from the main stage drawing all attention towards it, the three of us scurried into the venue.
As we made our way into a side door, we caught a section of the announcement from Devlin himself.
"... gracious support of our early adopters, who have been queuing here, to be the first to surf this wave, cresting into the future. We salute you! But look around... so many more have also come, to witness history unfold before them! How do we congratulate you? It us with great pleasure that I announce we are opening the TechSpecs up for general sale early. Tonight! We have ample stock on the premises, enough for all. Yes, as soon as we have processed the pre-orders, all of you may join the ranks of our connected future!"
"I hate that man with a distinct passion." said Ash, shuddering at her memories as we shut the door behind us. I gave her a silent hug of encouragement, before saying
"I think I speak for all of us when I say 'eww'."
Ash composed herself. "Whatever he's got planned, he's just doubled the number of units being distributed. That can't be good."
"Doesn't matter. We'll have him shut down before it becomes an issue. Err... which way do we go?" asked Dave as he looked around the long corridor we we standing in. Without a clear idea of the layout, we crept through the building, keeping as quiet as possible as we checked each room in turn. We seemed to be in what was usually the backstage area for the hosted performances. The adjacent rooms were a mix of storage space, canteens and green rooms. All disconcertingly empty. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest, as every opened door was a new chance to be discovered. Anxiously, I checked my phone. There were mere minutes until the hordes would be allowed to enter and Devlin's plan would be set in motion.
As we turned a corner of the hallway, I felt Ash pull me back sharply. She leaned in close and whispered "Careful. There's a guard on patrol."
"Too late!" cried Dave from behind us. A second man had just emerged from the other end of the hall, pinning us in. The time for subtlety was over.
If you've ever confronted somebody, physically or otherwise, you'll be aware of the moment. Instantaneous, yet it feels like forever, like the moment of weightlessness before a fall, or a coin in mid toss. The moment is when you and your opponent size each other up. You both assess the other's strength, potential weaknesses, and resolve. With nothing more than a glance, you enter into the most intense staring contest, as whoever blinks first usually loses. The moment is the real life equivalent of an initiative roll. The moment is also bullshit if one party is a mind controlled slave operating on a basic logic structure.
Without a sentient mind behind the eyes, the complexities of the moment are lost to programmed responses and reactions. And these guards were not in their right minds as each was sporting a pair of TechSpecs. They were nothing more than husks puppeteered by the Nestene. To put it simply, they got the drop on us. The one from behind rushed towards Dave, his baton raised and swinging. Dave, a sound practitioner of percussive maintenance, rugby tackled his opponent to the floor before the guard had a chance to attack. The weapon fell, forgotten, to the side as the pair trashed about on the floor, locked in combat.
Meanwhile, I crouched as the other guard sprinted towards me. He held his club aloft, swinging it downwards over his head. I raised one arm to take the brunt of his blow, while my other reached for his nearest leg. With a sharp tug on his shin, he collapsed backwards to the ground while Ash followed up with a knee to the downed man's head, knocking him out cold.
"Good thing you took that martial arts course, or he could be seriously injured. We really need a more reliable means of a non-lethal take-down." I said, resuming a standing stance.
"Yeah. Definitely." replied Ash with a nervous laugh. I'd later find out her 'course' consisted of a single free lesson followed by a Bruce Lee marathon. Behind us, Dave was still grappling with his foe. He'd pinned the guard down, kneeling over him with hands squeezing around the guard's throat. The guard flailed his arms about desperately, trying to push Dave off of him, or find some weapon. His grasping fingers found his discarded baton, which he swung wildly at Dave. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have a sufficient angle to put much force behind the strike. It just seemed to piss off Dave even more. With a final effort, Dave raised the man up by the shoulders slightly before slamming him back into the ground.
"Oh yeah. Leave me to fight by myself, while the two of ye team up on the easy one. I see how it is." Dave said through ragged breaths.
"Ah, to be fair... you didn't need help. You had him under control the whole time." I replied, laying praise onto his fragile ego.
"I see what you're doing. You're playing me... but I'll take what I can get." laughed Dave, brushing dust from his jacket.
"When you're both done measuring, we've got to hurry. The sounds of fighting will probably draw more guards. Or else it won't take long to notice the absence of a patrol." chided Ash.
"Nobody will have heard us. Listen. That background rumble? The gates have been opened. The crowds are pouring in. So the guards are busy enough right now." I replied.
"All the more reason to be quick. We're out of time."
Choosing urgency over secrecy, we rushed along the corridor, checking each branching doorway until we found one that seemed promising. The room was usually utilized as a control hub for the light and sound technicians, commanding a central view of the interior stage and overlooking the audience. Banks of control systems were arranged below the large window panels, but one terminal in particular seemed out of place. It resembled a free standing pedestal, with a tilted touch screen positioned at navel height, displaying a script that didn't resemble any Earth language as far as I could tell.
"This must be where Devlin oversees the operation." I said, busying myself trying to integrate my sonic with the screen. Meanwhile, Ash looked out of the window to the crowds below, eyes wide. Nearly a dozen rows of benches stretched from the near side of the auditorium to the stage. Each bench was lined with employees (presumably under Nestene influence), each with a stack of boxed TechSpecs, handing them over to an eager public at a terrific pace. These customers were then funneling onto the stage and directed through a curtain, out of sight. Several signs were dotted around the room, with font large enough to read from our elevated position, guiding patrons to a backstage "Orientation and Product Tutorial" area.
"Something isn't right..." Ash said, still gazing over the crowd. "The volume of people being processed, it's too high."
"Devlin knows how much people want his product. Anything that streamlines the Instagramming of food is going to sell like mad." Dave said with a shrug.
"That's the point. He's cramming so many people in, but expecting them all to squeeze out backstage? While helping people set up their glasses and synch with their phones? It's a bottleneck. He'd have to process the paid customers lightning fast to prevent a major violation of safe practice." Ash wondered. "What's really happening behind there?"
"I think I can help." I said while pocketing my sonic. "Devlin's little lectern here is acting as a relay, between his systems here, and a ship locked in geosynchronous orbit."
"Great. How do deal with an entire ship?" groaned Dave.
"I'm not done. I've only been able to access some of the less encrypted files, but Devlin refers to a 'processing' occurring behind that curtain."
"That's not ominous." Ashley said, sarcastically.
"The best part? This schematic shows what's behind door number three. Teleporters! He's luring people in with the promise of wondrous technology, dominating them with Auton plastic, and beaming them to who knows where!" I explained. However, as I was so caught up in the moment, I failed to hear the sound of a door opening behind me. Just as I finished my explanation, a voice said from behind me
"You little whippets never listen, do ye? All the blooming same."
I spun around to face the mystery person while also jumping out of my skin with surprise. I can only imagine how graceful it must have looked, like a lame ostrich ignoring evolution and attempting to fly... from a frozen lake. Stood before us, brandishing a pistol, was Frank. Our favourite leopard print wearing Cork sailor and henchman.
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