Nova Sol - Rebellion (Being Translated)

A "friendly" warning

Jack was nervous. They had left the parking lot half an hour ago, and the only thing he had been able to take out of his captor was that "the package was too important". He was driving through the streets without a specific destination, which should have been picked up by the GPS, if the captor hadn't deactivated the system before entering the car. He was a smart guy, Jack had to give him that. But if he didn't arrive to his house in the next half hour, the security team from Dryden Corp, handpicked by Jack himself, would get suspicious. And that was exactly what he was counting on, that the alarms would trigger and the security team would search for him. It was a double edged move, because even if the captor had said that it would serve better the purpose to have Jack alive, there were no doubts that if no other choice was given, he would shoot Jack right there. Turning onto the next avenue, the captor indicated to Jack to stop at a drive-thru of a fast food restaurant.

- Very good Jack. Buy me a cheeseburger and a soda, will you?

- Where do you want to get to with this game?

- It's not a game, Jack. I'm hungry and regrettably, as you may understand, I have no money with me, or any kind of ID or credit cards whatsoever. So I'm counting on your good will, and your massive wallet, for you to buy me a meal.

- Fine. You shall have your meal.

- That's perfect, Jack... I'd like to know your level of commitment with the request. There's still no answer from you, and you should have already obtained the package by now.

- We... had a problem. I'm working it out.

- You better, Jack.... That package is more important than you, me, or anyone you can think of... Tell me... How are your wife and kids?

- You bastard!!! Leave them out of this!!!

- Easy there Jack, wouldn't want you to suffer a heart attack. Nothing will happen to them. This is just for you to understand that there is no place to hide should you fail to comply with my client... For now, just secure the package, will you?

Jack begrudgingly payed for the soda and the cheeseburger, and passed it to his captor, wanting to throw the meal at his face. He was visibly angry, and the captor just smirked at him. After receiving the meal, the captor took a big bite of the burguer, and left out a sigh, enjoying the bite like he hadn't eaten in days. Then, he drank a big gulp from the soda, and talked to Jack again

- You know? It's been quite a while since I ate an american cheeseburger. I'm a big fan of these things, even if they will clog my arteries up to my death someday...

- To the point, please.

- Jack... A bit of consideration, please. It's been at least 26 hours since my last meal. Let me enjoy this little piece of glory in a bun, will you?

- Fine... So what's my deadline to report?

- Always the businessman... Ok, you've got until friday evening to report the package is secure under your guard. If it isn't, I will visit you again, and this time, I won't be coming for a burger and fries... Let's be clear on that. Park in the next block, close to the subway entrace, if you please. I'll get out there.

- As you say...

Jack drove the car until the place the captor indicated, and the man got out of the car. He signalled back, and Jack drove away down the avenue. He had to take in that improvised meeting, organized by the contact. The captor had deactivated his GPS, entered the company without being seen and reached the parking lot, sneaking up to him. Jack clearly didn't have any way to escape and increasing the security would not be a solution. If the captor was right, then it didn't matter how many men Jack had, there would always be the possibility of one of them turning over, and that would terminate his life. He needed to think quickly about obtaining the package.

He headed home, still a little shaken by the events recently happened. He arrived to his small mansion in the outskirts of Boston, and headed immediately inside to check on his wife and daughters. That man's warning had been very direct and clear, but Jack was afraid something had already happened. He left out a relief sigh when he saw the three of them sitting down at the dining table, waiting for him to join the dinner. Jack gave a big hug to each, and that surprised his wife, Mary. Then, he went to the bathroom to freshen up and sat down to have dinner with his family.

- Is something wrong darling? You're never that close when saying hello...

- Nothing, honey. I just missed all of you... I've been working so much lately that I haven't even had the time to share meals with you...

- True that, darling...

- Listen Mary... How about you head to London and visit your sister there? I'm sure the kids will be happy to see their cousins and aunt...

- Sure, darling, but... Isn't this a bit... Improvised? Did something happen at the company?

- No, homney, nothing. But I think it would be good for the family a couple of weeks of vacation, don't you?

- Are you coming with us?

- I'll join you as soon as I wrap up some things here...

- Ok, darling, I won't ask any questions. But you'll explain what is these "things" later on, ok?

- Sure, honey. Now let's enjoy dinner...

Jack gave the corresponding blessing that he performed everytime he had dinner with his family, and proceeded to eat. The dish was a meatloaf with a salad on the side. A red wine glass was sitting on his right, but Jack didn't feel like drinking at the moment. Lots of things were going through his mind. He left the dinner table as soon as he could, and headed down to the studio. He plugged his laptop to the house network, pulled out his mobile and connected the coding device again. He called back to the number he had called from the office, and waited for the call to connect.

- Hello, Ace of Hearts?

- King of Spades... I guess you're calling for the information you requested?

- Yes, of course.

- Sending it right away, same mailbox.

- Ok, transfering the payment.

- A pleasure doing business with you King of Spades.

- Likewise, Ace of Hearts.

He hung up the phone, and entered an anonymous electronic mail box that he had set up in a ghost server. He downloaded the information and opened the files. There were satellite pictures, a projection of the probable direction of the ships that passed at that time. There were four ships with different destinations, so he had to take a decision quickly so the trace would not go cold. Jack didn't have enough resources in the area to follow the four ships, so he would need to choose only two. He chose one heading south, to Australia, and the second heading north, to Russia. There was no specific data, but this would narrow down the search greatly. He called again, this time to his contact in China.

- Yes?

- We've got two targets, one heading south and the other heading north. Split your team and follow the traces as soon as possible.

- Ok, we're leaving in fifteen minutes.

- Perfect, I'm sending the information to your laptop.

- Ok.

As he hung up the phone, he connected again to the mail box and sent the data of the selected ships to another email, the agent's. He was moving his pawns as in a chess match, but with the missing data, he was not able to predict for sure the next move. All he had to do now was wait for the report of the search teams...