HIGHER TECH (Complete Novel)

Chapter 21 -Unquenchable

      “Great news guys! The doc gave me a bionic eye... Well, they call it an ocular implant. My vision is as good as new. I even have a zoom feature with night vision and infrared too.”
      “What about your other injuries?”
      “Mostly superficial, except for some of the burns on my face and hands. They'll heal fast enough though. It's my shoulder that's the real problem. My rotator cuff was almost completely severed. So, it's going to take some time to heal. I'm not allowed to use it for weeks and then I have weeks of physio… blah blah blah, you know.”
      “Well, get well Sink, the team is not the same without you.”
      “Aw, now don't get all mushy on me Kyle. Hard Force hasn't seen the last of me. I'll be back better than new, soon. There's some unfinished business I have to look after.”
      “Do you think you'll be able to attend our next meeting tomorrow at 08:00?” 
      “Mark. Nothing could keep me away from it. I'll be there, Dean and Kyle have volunteered to swing by and pick me up. Right boys?”
      “Of course,” said Dean.

***

      “...So, to be honest, I don't know how to stop them. Missiles don't work. What's next a nuke? I need your input.”
      “We need something unquenchable that doesn't cause so much collateral damage.”
      “Yes, James, but what? We can't fly him into the sun.”
      “Maybe, we can do the next best thing.”
      “Could you elaborate, Dean?”
      “Well, it’s only an idea. I don't know how we'll accomplish it…”
      “Dean… just tell them what this next best thing is. Will ya? The group will figure it out.”
      “Thanks Kyle, it's just that my ideas haven't had the best results… The next best thing is…”

***

      The plan was all set. Everything. Every detail meticulously put together. They would lure them in with something that Arnold could not resist. Something that was fake, but looked entirely real. A story in the news, planted just for Arnold and his ego. A disaster reported by Yousource. It took some convincing but Wanda Mason finally agreed to cooperate. The report was that a mineshaft had collapsed, trapping 63 miners. The collapse was so extensive, that the mining company was saying it was a hopeless endeavour to try to rescue the miners. They were under miles of rock. They were all alive, but there was no way to get to them in time. It was believed they only had several days of water and a few snacks with them. It was estimated that the air could run out before they died of dehydration. They maybe had a few days, tops. The video clips showed emergency crews at the site. Crying family members being interviewed… the whole kit and caboodle. Very touching and very real. The media world was going nuts over it, constantly requesting updates. They were given these only once every afternoon at 4:00. It was explained that all attention was being put to the excavation of all the cave-in rubble.
      The reality was that there was no cave-in at all. No one was trapped, or in danger. It was all made up. They even had large excavation equipment working feverishly removing what everyone thought was the rubble from the cave-in. Actually, the equipment was removing freshly dug rock from the mine. Something had been discovered in the mine, that civilians knew nothing about. It was why this site was chosen. The discovery, was a lava tube. There was no lava in the tube, but it did lead to a huge cavern with a giant underground river of lava. The equipment was merely making the lava tube look more like a mine shaft, so no one would expect a thing as they travelled down it.
      The miners work was completely real. Nothing fake about it. The excavators and miners were completely isolated from the rest of the world. They weren't even allowed to have phones as per their signed agreement for this short-term project. This was to limit the possibility of a leak to the outside world. Everything 
had to appear completely legitimate and it did.
     It was believed that after two days of hopeless efforts, that Arnold Hatcher and his companion would arrive and attempt to save the day, for all to see. Of course, it was all a well-planned trap. Would this one succeed, or would it fail, like all the others? They would have to wait and see…

***

     "Hey Mark, heads up, they're coming."
      "Thanks Sink. Remember, stay put at your lookout. As per your doctor's orders."
      "Aw, why is it that you guys get to have all the fun?
      "You're still healing from your last episode of fun."
      "True, but I don't have to like sitting this one out."
      "I hear you. I do... Okay, Dean, Kyle and James… take your posts, they're on their way. You know what to do. Don't get distracted. This can only go one way, once they're in place.'
      "We're ready."
      Saul James held the remote detonator with shaking, sweating hands. He really wanted to stop these guys. The guys that took his teammate and friend Reema Mahmoud. They had also messed up Sink. No one had ever done that. He huddled in his little hidden crevasse with his helmet's display indicating where the two terrorists were. They were walking down the mine tunnel about a hundred meters away. Soon, they would be walking by him. They would not notice him. They would walk right by. The crevasse had been sealed and disguised, masking all signs of him from them. At that point, all he had to do was wait until the signal came from Dean. Then, he would simply press the button.

***

      Dean had insisted that he should be there in the cavern with the river of lava. Of course Kyle would be there too. Mark wouldn't risk their lives even with the secret passage way hidden behind Dean and Kyle. At least they would be plainly visible to their assailants. Any moment they would be entering the cavern, according to Saul James…
      "The suspense is killing me."
      "Me too."
      "There they are. The creeps."
      "Thanks Kyle. That's exactly what I'll call them. Creeps. Hey you creeps! Over here! Yeah! That's right! Before you say anything, I just want you to know that we are here, to stop you, for good. Why? Because you are creeps. You may have noticed the river of lava between us. How will you cross it to stop us? The answer? You can't! Now Saul, NOW!"
As soon as Dean started speaking, Arnold knew it was a trap. The voice was amplified and booming off the walls of the cavern. He looked at the river of lava, up at the ceiling, over at the walls and back at Dean and Kyle. When Dean said "now for the second time, he raised his weapon arm made some adjustments on the display, then pointed and fired it at Dean and Kyle. 
The beam shot out of his weapon and everything there was turned to molten slag, just like the endlessly flowing lava. A red orange glow. Through the glow smoke and dust he could see a swinging sparking shorted wire. Turning around with his eyes wide he started to run for the tunnel, the only exit from the trap. Darren was right on his heels. Arnold only took five steps when he was met with a crushing explosive force which flung him and his companion into the opposite wall and then down into the lava. Within the protection of their shields they looked up only to see the entire roof of the cavern fall on them both.