Site- [REDACTED]

Chapter 6: The Operation

After walking for a while, I pulled out my keycard and swiped it into the reader, causing it to beep and unlock the door.

"Glad you could join us, John." Rod greeted me at the door. We shook hands and I viewed the surroundings. The room had a dark tint, with gray walls and ceilings, and was filled with hushed chatter. The front of the room had a big TV that displayed four drone views, each with different cameras. It displayed heat sensors, which didn't seem to be working, motion sensors, a GPS tracker, and a normal camera. The rest of the room had various computers and desks, all facing the big screen. Each desk had a person occupying it. Checking my watch, I noticed it was 3 AM.

"John, meet Rebecca, our site director." Rod motioned towards a person wearing formal clothing with a.... horse hat?

"Nice to meet you, John! You can sit over here." Rebecca motioned toward some chairs toward the back of the room. "John, you are going to be taking notes over the operation, so that way you can accurately question and test anything we retrieve." Rebecca then handed me a clipboard with a black pen.

"MTF unit Beta-7 are nearing the town. Everybody keep a lookout." A slim figure who was sitting near the front openly declared.

"This is Beta-7 Maz Hatters, we have arrived. There doesn't seem to be much activity. Over." The GPS screen quickly marked a group of eight people with a green, upwards arrow.

"Beta-7, mind investigating the police department? Over," the slim figure said.

"Will do." ... "We have entered the department. All the lights are off. We're turning on our flashlights. Over."

"See anything yet, Beta-7? Over."

"The place is a mess. The front window is smashed, and there are papers everywhere on the floor. Entering the investigation rooms. Over."

"Hazel, could you get the heat sensors online?" Rebecca asked.

"Working on it, ma'am. Something is interfering with the signal."

"Alright... Dale, motion sensors picking anything up?" Rebecca questioned.

"No, ma'am."

"This is Beta-7, the police department is clear. Moving on to the town shopping centers. Over." The town shopping centers were old-fashioned looking and ran down both sides of a brick path, with a fountain in the middle.

I spoke up, "Hey, I'm pretty sure a townsperson on the tape mentioned something about the fountain."

"We should send somebody over to check that out. Hector, mind telling them to look into that?" Rebecca questioned, but it was in more of a do-it way.

"Of course, ma'am," the slim figure responded.

"Beta-7, please investigate the fountain. Over."

"Will do, control. Over." Some more silence followed.

"There's some blood here. We're going to collect some. There is also a piece of metal. Do you all want that? Over."

"Go ahead and collect it. Anything helps. Over."

"We're headed inside the shops now." The green arrows split up into three groups of three, two headed inside of a shop, and one headed toward a large barnhouse next to the ocean.

"Control, during our debrief, you told us people would be here. Where are they...? Over."

"Hazel, Dale, how close are we?" Rebecca asked, getting agitated.