The Portal Effect

Chapter 9

The room was filled with an awkward silence as we all waited for Karen and the Secret Service agent to make their way into the room. They were outside, discussing something not meant for our ears.

Cody gave a loud sigh; Leo cracked his knuckles; Jessie and James were bickering quietly. Nick was staring grumpily at the brick wall.

After about ten minutes, Karen and the S.S. agent walked in, startling most of us as they opened the door. Karen had a scowl on her face, and the agent wore a blank expression, a pair of aviators in his hand.

He gave off vibes that didn't resonate well with me. Like he couldn't be trusted at all, Secret Service or not. His dark brown hair was neatly combed and his blue eyes were scanning the room.

"Now that you are all here," Karen started, like we were the ones that made her wait instead of the other way around, "let's get started."

"Finally." Leo muttered grumpily. Karen gave him a cold stare he chose to ignore.

"Harley, where are the three soldiers you brought back with you?" she asked, turning her head to me.

"I don't know. I didn't know I was their babysitter." I replied. She narrowed her eyes. The others seemed to struggle with hiding their amusement with my response.

"Did I not tell you to bring them to the meeting?" she rephrased coldly.

"You did. And I told them they were summoned. Did you want me to escort them here myself?" I was not in the mood to argue, but my temper was already short. The last two days were long, as I had not slept well.

Before she could respond, the door opened and Sarge and John walked in, Andvari close behind. They held their heads high, not ashamed to be a few minutes late.

"Sorry, ma'am. Got lost a few turns back." Sarge said simply. Karen sighed.

"Well, you are here now. Let's get started." she said shortly.

"The last thing we heard from you guys was the day Cody dropped you off. Fill us in." the agent that walked in with Karen said. He had crossed his arms and was staring at me expectantly.

So I started off, the others filling in when they could. What we, for some reason, agreed to not mention, was the strange blue light. Sarge spoke highly of me, as did Andvari when we got to the second minefield. At this, Karen's mood seemed to improve a little, as her clipped tones faded away.

"So, let me get this straight. The Hunter, as you call it, doesn't take much damage from minefields, much less bullets?" Agent Conan asked. His Secret Service badge glinted in the light as he moved to look at me.

"Yeah. Cale, one of the men we lost, managed to kill the Breacher with a grenade he had lobbed into its throat." Leo supplied.

"Why are they here though?" Conan asked pointedly.

"All we know is that the experiment somehow went wrong. Too much power or something." John explained. He was holding a drone part, adjusting wires and shifting panels.

"Do you know anything else about the experiment?" Cody asked.

"No. As head mechanic, I was only given information on blueprints and technical mumbo jumbo. Any further info was for the head designer, who died when the machine decided to open its own portal." John said, shrugging.

"What about you two? Do you know anything?" Karen looked at Sarge and Andvari.

"We know just what you know. Soldiers aren't briefed on the science bits. Just their job to protect the base." Andvari said stiffly. Sarge nodded.