Elites Chapter III: New Empire Rising

XVII

Undisclosed Location

The silhouette of a man walked down a hallway into a massive room. The room had a screen that spanned its entire width. It had a globe on display, with blue dots in nearly every continent. While many were stationary, five of them were on the move. The man looked to his left and saw the cyborg Kaiser, sitting at a table. "Feeling any better Captain Sergei?" The droid asked in a monotone voice. Sergei asked "What is this?" Kaiser said "Sit down. Tell me Mr. Sergei. Do you know how to play chess?" Sergei nodded as he sat down at the table. Kaiser spoke "Chess is a sharp game of strategy and skill. With a good strategy, and plenty of patience, you can pick off your opponents pieces one by one. In a matter of time, they will be left with nowhere to hide, and nothing to do." Curiously, Sergei asked "Why do you mention this?" Kaiser cooly replied "The Elites are on the move again. But this time it looks like they're trying to do something else. They are converging on something." Sergei asked "What do you think it is?" Kaiser replied "Tracking their flight paths and trajectories, their paths all intersect over Gurugram, India." The android's glowing eyes went out. Suddenly there was static on the speakers. As the static cleared up, Sergei heard a voice. He recognized it instantly. "How are you tapping into their communications?" The blue dot that was over Oceania turned red. He heard Bluestone's voice over the intercom. "I just dropped off the last communicator in what I think was Funafuti. I'm heading back now. I'll see you guys soon!" The room went silent as Kaiser said "The Elites are setting their pawns in place, and are preparing for the chess game of their lives. Little do they know, that they will never have the chance to form up. Our pawns are already in place, and it's all thanks to him." On the screen, a smaller image was displayed. It was a surveillance feed. In the image, there was a glowing blue pod. Sergei said "Is that..." Kaiser interrupted, saying "It took a while, but our scientists finally got Mr. Turner to give in. In a matter of hours, we will have our first cleansed Elite. In a matter of weeks we will have many more. It is time we begin Phase Two. Let Barnes' strike team know they are cleared to engage in London."

London, UK

In a building near the Thames, Laura was lying down on the couch. She was watching Voltron on her laptop when she heard a knock on her door. She walked nervously to the door, grabbing a kitchen knife along the way. Before opening the door, she looked through the peephole to see a mailman standing outside. "I, uh have a package for Ms. Simmons." Laura groaned and yelled "Just leave it at the door please!" The mailman replied "You need to sign for it ma'am." Before opening it, she asked "Who's it from?" The mailman read the label and said "It's from a Nicole Gonzalez." Upon hearing her friend's name, she placed the knife down on the table to her left, and opened the door. After signing she carried a scarlet heart-shaped container with a blue lace holding the lid on. Her stomach dropped and her heartbeat skyrocketed as she thought Does she really like me like that? Eager to find out, Laura cut the ribbon and opened the box.

Across Various Oceans

Robert and Samantha were making their way back across the ocean when the call came in. Sam was playing a game on the console when she noticed a pulsing red light on the in the corner of the screen. "Hey Rob, is that light supposed to be on?" Rob took a quick look at the red light and realized something was wrong. He turned on the jet's communications and said "Guys! This is Stone. We're seeing a red light on our console. Should we be concerned?" Nicole replied seconds later "I'm seeing it too." Zach interrupted "I think that's supposed to be a distress beacon. It's coming from Downtown London." Nicole realized who it was and called the communicator. "Ruby to Aquamarine: Are you there?" No response. "Laura can you hear me!?" There was nothing but static. Nicole came back on the intercom, breaking the silence. "We have to go back for her! She could be in trouble!" She yelled. Nic could hardly get the words out. Zach replied "No way. We need to get to India so we can figure out our next move. We can't risk you going back and getting taken too. The alliance needs us, and we need to keep moving." Sam hopped onto Robert's console and interrupted "There won't be much of an alliance if we're all being taken down." Jay then asked "How quickly can you get to her?" Nicole replied "If I push it I could get there in about two hours." Jayson paused, and said "Do what you must, and bring her back. Stay alert. We'll meet you in India. Watch your back and we'll see you soon." On the screen, Rob noticed as Ruby's beacon changed direction and headed towards London. As she did, more red lights started to appear in France, Uganda and the Netherlands. "This isn't right." Nat said. "This can't just be an odd coincidence." She called Casserite in France, and heard nothing. "I'm going back for Jacque." Zach called Kane. "Kane are you there?" He said nervously. After a few seconds of silence he got a reply. "Yeah, I'm here! There are some nasty looking guys with guns outside my building. I'm gonna make a break for the safe-house." The Elites then heard gunshots and the sound of broken glass, and then panting. "Well, I just jumped out the window and I'm gonna catch the next plane to San Juan." They heard as the communicator drop to the ground, and then static. More red dots continued to appear all over the map. "We can't save them all, but we need to get to as many as we can. Zach, head back to Uganda and get Redman. I'll make sure that Dr. Grobel gets to Kane." Zach changed direction and headed back to Africa. Amber noticed a stray red dot all the way in North Korea that just popped up. "Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Sam saw the red dot and clicked on it. She gasped sharply as she saw the identity of the person who sent the distress call. "Oh my God." Samantha said. She was in shock as she started blankly at her missing love's face. "It's Wade." Jay pulled up the beacon and saw it as well. "How is that even possible? His communicator went dead before he even got to Russia." Natalie said. Sam turned to Robert and said "We need to go get him." Jay came back on the intercom and said "No. You guys need to get to India. I'll go after him. Amber, you go too. We're spread too thin and we're running out of options." Jay quickly turned himself around and headed towards the Korean Peninsula. "So what now?" Sam asked. Natalie responded "We head to Gurugram, and set up the safehouse." The three formed up over the Indian Ocean, and flew into India.