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I glance at him kindly. “Ok there Desimar?”
“Yes, thank you. I am much better now.”
He pats his stomach, but my eyes stray to a bulge in his loin cloth that wasn’t there before. Is he aroused? That seems strange after a bout of indigestion. I quickly look up, not wanting to be rude. Nobody else seems to have noticed, thank goodness.
“Good,” says Manolora. “Then we can be on our way to the operations room, the heart of our command center. Please remember to follow all our rules. No touching of any object or approaching any of our personnel.”
“Understood,” we chorus.
We follow her outside and walk further down the corridor to a set of elevators, which she summons. The door opens with a whoosh when one of them arrives, and we get inside. Manolora palms the reader to get it moving, and in moments, we are descending rapidly, my stomach plummeting. We land with hardly a bump, and the door slides open quietly in front of us.
We exit the elevator into a cool, white vestibule. In front of us are glass windows and a door, behind which I see a half dozen Krovatians in uniform, working at their consoles. I notice that the center of the room is dominated by a strange contraption that projects the blue, fluorescent light we saw earlier through an opening in the roof above it. This must be the force field. I’m curious, wondering whether this is what protects the building or whether this is the thing that is protecting the entire planet. I’m sure Troy has a million questions too.
We approach the door, where there is a security guard, standing to attention. He nods at us gravely, and taps a code to let us enter the room. The glass door slides open and we’re in. The Krovatian nearest the door glances up from his console and smiles, before returning to his work. Manolora leads us in with another injunction to stay close to her and not touch anything. “This is our operations room. There are always six personnel on continuous rotation ensuring that the force field around our planet is working as it should. They also let our cargo ships or shuttles in and out when needed, after extensive security checks. Our system is second to none. Over here is where it all happens.” She points to the curious blue light in the center of the room. “This—”
She’s interrupted by a sharp sound. Startled, I turn to see Desimar holding a laser gun and pointing it right at us. Behind him, the security guard lies dead on the floor, brought down by the laser blast. The Krovatian who smiled at me a moment ago steps bravely forward, hands in the air. “I do not know who you are or what you want, but please stop. If you are here to bring down the force field, you will fail. Our security protocols will block all forced attempts to bring it down. Be sensible, and put down your weapon now.”
Desimar’s eyes gleam as his face takes on an unfamiliar, maniacal expression. “I think not,” he says, and shoots the Krovatian down. I gasp and shift closer to Wyatt. Our hands find each other, squeezing tight, trying to both reassure and seek comfort.
Desimar grins in satisfaction at his handywork. He addresses us all, his gun still pointing in our direction. “I do not need to override your security protocols to bring it down, you fools. I can simply destroy this entire place. All around the building are my associates, each packing on their bodies a massive dose of high-caliber explosives. At precisely twenty-one beats after sunrise, they will all detonate them.”
One of the Krovatians standing at his console responds, “No amount of external explosives can force their way through the force field. Your attempt will fail.”
Desimar smirks. “Again, you are mistaken. There is one way to do so. If at the very same time, I detonate the explosives I am carrying—” Here he glances down at the bulge in his loin cloth and continues, “then the powerful surge of molten energy from the internal explosion will travel up this shaft and join forces and combust, creating the perfect storm we need to bring down this entire edifice.”
The Krovatian pales, but retorts, “This is a suicide mission. You will perish along with all of us.”
“Ah, but my name will live on eternally in the history books as the saviour of Krovatia!”
He’s mad. Absolutely raving mad. And he’s going to get us all killed.
Wyatt and I exchange glances. They say at moments like these, your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. That’s not really true. I’m not thinking backward but forward. A thousand thoughts cross my mind. That if I’m about to die, then there’s no one I’d rather be with than Wyatt. I’m also angry. What a wasted effort for Wyatt to overcome his fear of flying and come all the way here, only to die on the day of his arrival. I think of Kirimor. How will he react to news of my death? Will he be alright? I think of my family back home, mom, dad, my sister. What will happen to Krovatia if the force field is destroyed? Will it be invaded? Will the people I love be safe? I think of little Kiritela and my heart pinches in pain.
Desimar takes out his communicator and checks the screen, all the while holding his gun fixed towards us. “One tap here,” he boasts, “and this place will turn into a raging inferno.” He smiles at me, “Only a quarter of a beat until it’s time. Say your prayers, Melinda.” Then he sends a warning to one of the Krovatians in the room, “Do not even think of heroically tackling me to the ground. You take one step forward and I will detonate.” He holds his communicator up threateningly, and the Krovatian backs away.
We all stand, frozen in place, our eyes on Desimar and the detonator in his hand.
This is it. There’s no way out of this.
Then something very strange happens. Desimar’s eyes go glassy, as if he’s not really seeing us. He stares into space, and a slow angelic smile forms on his face.
Is he praying?
The smile turns into an expression of ecstasy.
What is going on?
Suddenly, he becomes alert again, looking straight at me. “I am so sorry,” he says. Then very carefully, he places the communicator down at his feet and lowers his weapon. In seconds, the Krovatians are on him, holding him down and placing the detonator safely away. In that same instant, the building is rocked by a series of shudders and loud bangs. It takes me a moment to work out that Desimar’s associates must have set off their explosives outside. Will the force field hold?
I walk into Wyatt’s arms, wanting to be close to him. The building around us vibrates but holds strong. “We’re going to be ok. We’re going to be ok,” I chant under my breath.
“What the fuck happened to him?” demands Wyatt in a shaky voice.
That’s when it hits me. His evil energy must have been sucked out of him. Only one, maybe two, people could be responsible for that. “Kirimor,” I whisper.
“Kirimor did this? You mean the evil sucking thing?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
