Inner Workings

Inner Workings - Part 10

Early Thursday morning, 5 A.M. Will mentally check what he had packed; one bag of carry-on items, toiletries, a book, the last of the peanut butter oatmeal bars, his papers, and a suitcase to be checked. He still felt uneasy having a gun in his luggage. He and Louis were accompanying Massaru back to his home; firearms seemed unnecessary.

6 A.M. At Watch Two, Will dropped off his things in the garage by the designated van. Louis' large, basic black duffel already lay there, and he saw one small blue bag on wheels with an orange ribbon tied around the handle. He added his own bag; grey, with orange half stripes and a travel worn Rebellion patch stitched to the front. The others could say what they liked, but he'd be able to pick his bag out of a crowed of a million. He half jogged up the stairs, trying to get the blood flowing for a long day. Walking through Main Tech, he noticed the lethargy of the overnight shift, half dead from a night of work.

Grant scurried past, wide eyed and with large blue slushie cups in both hands. "Hi-good-morning-nice-to-see-you-can't-talk-right-now-bye!"

Will blinked as the sugar rushed hacker disappeared into the Computer Tech room. Maybe not as dead as Will originally thought.

Louis was already in Cetz's office with a cup of coffee and shades on. Looking over the travel itinerary, Louis snorted.

"Finest accommodations from the Watch, and they couldn't get an afternoon flight."

"Be grateful its first class, and it's just for a few hours," said Cetz. He motioned Will to sit down and handed him a folder. "Here are you tickets, your hotel, and all the info you need for the car rental. If you need to buy anything Louis already has our charge card for us to keep track, but keep the receipts. You're return flight is Sunday."

"Business class," grumbled Louis.

Rachel tapped on the door and poked her head in. Her blonde hair stuck up in a frizzled ponytail. "Morning. Can I borrow Louis for about ten minutes?"

Cetz nodded and Louis left with a groan.

"Any questions?" asked Cetz as Will went over the itinerary.

"Two," said Will. "First, how early did you and Rachel come in this morning?"

"Who says we left?"

"Oh."

"You're other question?"

"Ah... where is Massaru? Still sleeping?"

"Nope. He's in the cafeteria kitchen making spicy curry as a going away present for all of us."

"Is it any good?"

"Don't know. But the last time I went by the kitchen the fumes scorched my nostrils."

Will winced and popped a mint from his tin.

Thirty minutes later, with an enthusiastic Massaru, his clothes smelling like curry and chilies, in tow the van left for the airport. Louis shook his head in disbelief at Will's Star Wars themed luggage. The Indian doctor was the only one that talked through the entire trip.

***

Scanning through the WayBack diagnostic, Grant sipped his sugary slushie, gliding on his sugar buzz. The five hour nap the other night had done him good, but he daren't sleep now, not when so close.

The workers in Comp Tech left him to his devices, running through their own programs on autopilot, like they had been taught to do when he went on one of his computer bends. He owed them a thanks. Later.

Grant rarely had cause to doubt a Watch One scan of the Watch network, but ever since Base One had fallen on their proverbial swords he had wondered what else could have been tapped from Watch Two. This time, he knew he would find something.