The Time Traveller's Ball (The Erik Midgard Case Files Volume 1)

Chapter 11

XI

“Oh, Darwin! This is terrible!” cried Brian Mammon, clasping both hands to the sides of his face, trying to stop his expression from deteriorating any further. “I’m a dead man. Sergeant Arjuna, you have to guarantee me protection. I’m going to need at least six bodyguards…”

            “Protection?” said Mirabi. “What part of “they emptied the vault” didn’t you understand? They’re not going to be coming back for more.”

            “Not from them! From the investors!” cried Mammon. “I’m going to be eaten alive at the next annual general meeting!”

            “I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” I said, watching James Metatron check through the central computer again. “You’ll probably get most of it back.”

            “What? How?”

            “How much of a million tonnes of solid gold do you think the Falls can possibly spend?” said Mirabi.

            “It’s all just a game to them,” I explained. “They’ll most likely ransom it back to you in a few weeks for a hefty finder’s fee and some theatre tickets.”

            “I… I’ll get them front row centre,” said Mammon. “If it’ll save my career, I’ll...”

            “You don’t need to worry about that. We are going to catch them first,” said Mirabi, who was reloading her Unigun. “Even if it takes a few months.”

            “The AGM is in July!”

            “Pardon me, Sergeant,” said James Metatron, as more All systems normal readings flashed across the boardcom’s screen. “But what exactly am I looking for?”

            “Access points,” I said. “I need to know where they got into the system, because something does not fit.”

            “What access points? They were using those mini-insect things,” said Karl Yahweh. “Can’t you just release them on the floor and they make their own way to the mainframe?”

            “Yes, but it’s as Mr Midnight said it,” I said.

            “What? I did?” said Zachary Midnight.

            “Why kill the gravity? They wouldn’t need it off to move the gold as they weren’t shifting it all in one go. And then there’s the reactor meltdown. It doesn’t fit,” I said. “Because this is a game to the Falls. Titus at least. He’s showing off his genius. He wants people to look at the empty vault and know he outsmarted them. That’s the reward he’s really after. Blowing the bank up afterwards simply does not make any sense.”