The Unwanted Relic

Chapter III

05:03:2024 15:25

The three of them had never visited Eugene before. The Willamette Valley had appeared rather peaceful on their drive down from Portland; there were more clouds in the sky than cars on the interstate. The pair in the back had in fact remarked on the various sloping hills and vineyards they had passed, noting where to get drinks after a "job well done". Jay had only responded with nods and one-worded confirmations.

"Alright, so is that Skinner or Spencer?" Lenny questioned as they traveled along the bypass route on the outer edges of the city. When Jay had reluctantly agreed to partaking in this under-the-table mission, it had taken Becky less than an hour to organize him a team with the materials necessary. Before he knew it, Jay was scheduled for a flight to Portland with a vehicle, artillery, and two other agents primed for battle. Becky, although pushy, was always reliable in getting the job done.

Lenny Kovac was what many could refer to as a cyromaniac. Ice was his specialty, and he could handle practically any weapon with it. The classic freeze ray, blades crafted from icicles, and even a patented hail gun created to generate its own ammunition. Jay had seen the tennis-ball-machine-like concoction in action only once before, yet the memory was still able to perfectly replay in his head.

"The one closer to us is Skinner," Zora replied, reading through the tourist guide that they had picked up at the airport. "The butte further south is Spencer–that's the one Sufjan Stevens apparently references a lot in a song."

"The 'Tom's Diner' person?"

"What? No, the Call Me by Your Name guy."

As the little fire to Lenny's ice, Zora Zone was truly an inferno to be feared. The pyromaniac, spawn of an intellectual father and a Hong Kong mafia-leader mother, had discovered her fiery passion at a young age. Zora was able to literally nurture her fire early, and when she was formally instituted as an operative for C.O.R.N. she had already crafted an arsenal of burning weapons. Pairing Lenny and Zora together had possibly been the easiest matchup of partners in the Network's history.

"You're thinking of Suzanne Vega," Jay piped in suddenly.

"Oh," Lenny pondered the name for a moment. "She was the 'I Dreamed a Dream' for Britain's Got Talent woman, right?"

Jay made eye contact with Zora through the rearview mirror, mimicking each other's flat faces.

It had not been until they entered the city limits that Jay had actually spoken with Lenny and Zora. It was not that he did not care for the two–in fact he was considerable friends with both of the operatives–but Jay did not have anything to remark on. Sure, the scenery was beautiful. Yes, he saws the cows on the hill. No, he did not think Lenny's "kindred spirit" would be a spider monkey. Jay was zoned in on the task at hand, his first major attempt at reentering the field.

Merging off onto another highway, it only took them a few minutes to find adequate parking alongside the railroad tracks running into the city. The neighborhood was almost completely silent, the only noises were from distant sirens or the occasional squawk of a bird. Before the trio lay a set of buildings that appeared particularly distressed; a nearby property sign warned them not to step foot onto the abandoned grounds.

"Racket Landings is believed to be bunkered down within this complex," Zora noted, now holding a small briefing on the project that sat before them. Since this operation was not officially endorsed by the Network, many of the materials they had been given were not up to digital code, or any code for that matter.

"Do we know what state she's in?" Lenny asked.

"'Bruised and battered' was how Spectre put it," Jay replied. "Although she's had some time to recover."