Transform Me (A "Shatter Me" Trilogy Fanfiction)

THREE: FIREWORKS

3: Fireworks

While the message Gupta had patched was sent only a few minutes after I had instructed him to do so, we never received a response.  He even sent a second, then a third, but still nothing.

 So as of the moment, I have two assumptions: (a) they’ve received the alert, but cannot for some important reason, respond; or (b) they didn’t receive any of the messages.  Either way, this would mean that Plan B would be set into motion.

 Today is Monday.  We have four hours until the arrival of Juliette Ferrars.

 Jun and his group had risen early to carry out their assignment of intercepting the bombs and disabling them.  My group, on the other hand, is on standby near the airport and waiting for me to give my signal.

I’m back in Sector 21’s military base and back in General Isamu Watanabe’s decrepit body.  It’s a wonder how someone at the age of seventy-two is still allowed to be commander of an entire sector. 

Lieutenant Fukawa, General Watanabe’s second-in-command, meets me outside the base.  He’s probably in his early thirties and is made of nothing but muscle.  It is clear that he dislikes General Watanabe, yet respects him at the same time.  The lieutenant is probably wondering when the general would keel over so he could finally take his place.

Lieutenant Fukawa offers me a salute.  “Sir.”

I nod at him in acknowledgement.

There’s a truck before us, and the soldiers are forming a beeline from it towards the base.  They’re passing on the bombs to each other, loading them carefully into the back of the truck one at a time.  Within ten minutes, we’re good to go.

Lieutenant Fukawa and I get into one of the tanks and lead the way.  There are two other tanks flanking either side of the truck, and a fourth tailing closely behind it.  The drive from the base to the airport will take twenty minutes.  Within eight minutes, Jun and his team will move in.

We say nothing throughout the ride.  I glance at my wristwatch, and right at that exact moment, the heavens begin to rumble.  Then a clap of thunder roars through the sky, startling both me and the lieutenant.  Right on schedule. 

Then it begins to rain.

It hasn’t rained in over eight years.  I slide a glance towards the lieutenant, and he’s looking at the sky through the tank’s screen in consternation.  His expressions changes then, suddenly realizing how this sudden change in weather could affect our plans for today.  I could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind, no doubt analyzing the situation and trying to think of the next rational step.

The rain is now coming down with a vengeance and we can barely see through the tiny strip of an excuse for a windshield.  There’s nothing but wet grey before us, and Lieutenant Fukawa is finding it difficult to continue concealing his growing alarm.

Suddenly, a vein of lightning shoots from the sky like an arrow being launched from a bow, and strikes the earth between the tank we’re in and the cargo truck behind us.  The lieutenant brings our tank to a screeching halt, and truck and the other tanks come to a stop as well.

I see a blur of movement, then hear a scream, followed by gunshots.  Lieutenant Fukawa reaches for the tank radio and presses a button.

“What’s going on back there?”  He demands.

“Lieutenant!  We’ve been ambushed!”  A voice screams on the other end over the static.  “The bombs…they’re gone!”

Dread coats Lieutenant Fukawa’s voice.  “What do you mean gone?”