Chapter 9: The Officer and The Key’s Discovery

"So, what's this lead you found?"

Angel was riding with Dastun in his car, driving to a location in one of the western domes. Angel had given her detail the slip and met Dastun in public. They were on the freeway, the domes lit in pastels of pink, yellow, and blue against the cloudy, night sky.

"It's probably not much now. Between that hostage case and you being tied up with the budget reassessment, I doubt it's still there. I came across a report a while ago, stating that there had been large trucks going in and out of this particular lot in this dome, and people were complaining about the noise. When I canvassed the area today, I did see some movement, but compared to the report, it seems like it has slowed down. We may have missed our opportunity."

Angel smirked. "Something's better than nothing."

"How long do you have until you have to get back with your detail?"

"Not as long as previous times. I have three hours. Tomorrow, I have an early day, meeting with the Governor of Electric City."

"What for?"

"Dorothy called me this afternoon and gave me some information. Apparently, the promises I made in exchange for their electric power haven't been fulfilled and it seems the Paradigm Utility Board is already assessing grounds where to lay additional cable, despite us agreeing we would use the current system in place. So tomorrow, before I meet with him, I'm meeting with the Paradigm Research Group, who was supposed to have information ready for the trade, and I want to make sure it's complete."

"Dorothy called you? Interesting… not to get off topic, but how's that going?"

"It's actually going well. Apparently, Roger and her had a meeting with Governor today, and she decided to tell me about it, to see if I could get some wheels turning related to the exchange deal I had promised him, as well as share his concerns with me."

"Interesting that she called you, but I guess progress is progress. Out of curiosity, what did you offer the Governor in exchange?"

"Android technology, mecha technology, and bio-engineering technology."

"Why that?"

"Well, the android and mecha technologies was to sweeten the pot, but they really wanted the bio-engineering technology. As much as Gordon was… I guess questionable is the word here, with his research, the man did solve the food crisis after the event by bio-engineering many of the foods we eat now. And instead of relying on Paradigm's agriculture industry to feed them, Electric City wants to start growing basic crops. They actually sit on prime land, and with the reservoir, they can make irrigation channels for their fields."

"So, they want to be self-sustainable."

Angel nodded. "I can understand how he feels, especially with everything as of late. He fears Paradigm will try to take his territory at some point. I won't let that happen. The council would have to kill me in order for that to pass."

Dastun looked at Angel out of the corner of his eye. "Is there something you know that I don't?"

"On the surface, it may look like I'm making great strides in negotiating the budgets, but there's a lot more to it. I tried to get them to rescind the funds from the Paradigm Science Foundation and that was denied heatedly, especially with the rep from the Union Central Dome. Of course…" she pointed to her head, "I've been researching and gathering as much dirt on them as possible to use as blackmail. I feel like Alex, honestly. But it's been getting the job done."

"Don't lose yourself in attaining your goal. It's important you stay true to your ideals and values, even against your political enemies. But, I'll admit, it has made my job easier as of late. The rallies have been dying down, but in their place…"

"That new political party is gaining traction. I've read reports and the council wants me to order the Military Police to shut them down."

"And?"

"I told them no. Until they give us a reason to act against them, they have the right to free speech, and the right to voice their disagreements with their government."

Dastun smiled. "Sounds like you have your hands full." He took the exit from the freeway to their destination. Angel returned the smile.

"It took me a while to get the hand of things, but it's getting easier."

Dastun navigated through the traffic and found a parking lot near the location they were surveying. He paid cash to the machine, and parked the car. Angel was confused.

"Let's go," he said, getting out of the car.

"We're not staying in a safe spot?"

"It's a construction lot where we're going to. I didn't see any surveillance equipment around the lot. But there are some decent hiding spots, and the patrols are rather lazy."

Angel pulled out her gun and holster from her purse, putting it on her person. "Good thing I came prepared."

"That's not registered to you, is it?"

"It's not."

"All the same, don't discharge it unless absolutely necessary."

Angel nodded, pulled her fur collar up around her face and lowered her wide brim fedora around her face. She took a breath, to put herself in the right state of mind. She stepped out of the car and followed Dastun out of the parking lot.

They walked quickly. Angel had switched from her pink coat to white coat in the car, trying to blend in. Dastun had his regular blue overcoat and gray fedora. Dastun looked all around him, making sure no one was tailing them. He saw the construction lot within sight.

"Once we cross this street, take a left and cut down that alley way. There's a decent size hole in the fence, more than likely used by scrappers stealing materials. But we'll be hidden."

Angel nodded. The signal turned green and Angel and Dastun crossed quickly, darting into the alley way. Dastun peered around the corner. They were still in the clear. They hurried down the alley way, coming to a privacy fence. Dastun moved the trash can that was covering the hole from their side and crouched to crawl through. He came out to the other side, hidden behind a large collection of pipes. He motioned for Angel to come through and she followed as well. They crouched behind the pipes.

There was some movement going on, but it was wrapping up for the day. Large construction machines were being parked in a corner of the lot. People were filing into trailers to collect their things and clock out for the day. Angel observed the construction lot around her. It seemed like a lot of material was being hauled away. However, deep trenches were being dug that led out to the streets. The pipes they were hiding behind were a bendable material. Then it dawned on Angel.

"This is conduit. They're burying lines to go to the sewer/underground areas, look."

Angel pointed at the trenches. Dastun observed them for a moment, then looked at the stack of pipes they were hiding behind.

"This is a lot of pipe just to connect the city's electrical."

"I don't think it is connecting to the city's electrical. We need to get underground and look around."

"Huh? Hold a second…"

But Angel had taken off, darting around the piles of construction materials to find an access point. However, she stopped when she saw a large truck pull up. She ducked behind 4X4s, Dastun catching up with her.

"Hey, you stay close! No running off!" He hissed quietly, "Wait, what are you… what is that?"

The truck had pulled in, with its back covered in a tarp, and begun back up to a large underground tunnel that had been dug out. However, the tarp caught an uneven part of the roof of the tunnel was pulled off, revealing large metallic frames that were they entire length and width of the truck's bed. Angel and Dastun stared, stunned.

"Did you see this tunnel earlier?" Angel whispered.

"No, I didn't. I went over to the trailers, to try to overhear what was going on, but then a patrol finally came around and I had to leave," replied Dastun, still observing the truck.

"Whatever they're planning, it's huge. We need to get underground."

"We can't get in the way they're going. We'll be spotted."

"Then how do you suggest we get in?"

Before Dastun could reply, he heard a shout and men running over to another location.

"Time's up, we need to leave."

"But…"

"Let's go!"

Dastun pulled Angel up and began running back to their entrance. As they got closer, Dastun saw that a group of people had been detained, possibly the scrappers that cut the hole in the fence. They got to the entrance, Dastun letting Angel go through first, then followed by himself. Once they cleared the fence, they continued running down the alley way, onto the street. They were nearly hit by a car crossing the street, stopping them momentarily, but then kept running, back to his car. Dastun checked behind him multiple times, making sure they were not being followed.

They finally made it to the car, out of breath, but didn't stop. Angel and Dastun climbed inside, starting the car up and racing out of the lot. Angel was still breathing hard, resting her head on the back of the seat.

"We need… to go.. back. That's the best…lead we've had so far!" she managed to say in between breathes.

"We'll need to find alternate route. There's probably a bunch of security as you get closer. Either way, we need to inform Roger. What was it they were taking down there?"

"I'm not sure, it looked like it needed to be assembled. This is ridiculous! We get a lead and have to cut it short."

Dastun merged onto the freeway, taking Angel back to her location where she ditched her detail. Dastun felt uneasy continuing these stakeouts with Angel. She was the President of the Paradigm Corp. If she were to be caught, it would cause too many problems. He frowned and sighed.

"I'm going to make a recommendation that you forget about these stake outs and focus on your job. It's a risk, and if you're caught, then it can possibly be used against you."

Angel scowled, annoyed at Dastun's request. "Let me remind you that I'm trying to figure this out too, so I can get rid of this power that I have. I'm going to keep doing this, with or without your help, Chief!"

"Hmph! I'm not your glorified babysitter!"

"I never asked you to be!"

Angel stopped yelling, realizing she was yelling at one of the few people on her side. She sighed, frustrated. She wished she could have someone do her president job, so that she could focus on this. However, she hardly trusted anyone at Paradigm HQ. She would have to find the balance between her duties as President and resolving her dilemma.

"I'm… sorry, Dan," she said, "I know, you're only saying these things because you're concerned for me. I do appreciate that. It's just… frustrating. I want to know what's going on. Somehow, I think if I figure that out, I can get rid of my power faster. It's such a stupid thought…"

Dastun sighed. "Not really. But try to understand where I'm coming from. As we keep ruling these places out, things may get dangerous. And of course, there's the issue with your power…"

Angel felt another ping of annoyance. "I've been trying to control it. Well, I'm not even sure it's controlling it."

"Eh? You've been what?"

"There's a bunker Alex had built in the Presidential Suite. He always thought Roger would one day go after him in the megadeus. Yeah, I know… he got really paranoid about it before he fired me. It's the reason why he sought Big Fau, as well as wanting to play the part of the 'hero,' he called it. Anyway, he spared no expense. This bunker could take a beating, but it wouldn't hold after a while."

"The guy was nuts."

"That's barely scratching the surface. Anyway, I thought the walls would be thick enough to experiment and well… let's just say I've had a strange interaction.

Dastun slightly turned his to look at Angel, still keeping an eye on the road. "How strange?"

"Liked I talked to Big Venus. It's like… I don't know. I get transported to a place similar to the reset. It's like a grid. Then Big Venus appears and talks to me in riddles."

"What?"

"It's so weird, but the interaction didn't last long. I felt that same presence like I did during the third reset. But this time, it was more sinister. And when it came to close in on me, Big Venus pushed it away with a bright light. I don't feel it's much progress at all. I felt so weak afterwards, like something had drained me of my energy."

"Some progress is better than none. What did you talk about with Big Venus?"

"I'm not even sure myself. Supposedly, we're one and… something about rebirth vs. unification. I don't even know… I haven't tried again since, in part because of that presence. I'm not sure if they sense I'm trying to talk to Big Venus, and they try to stop it. But, when I woke up, I saw that the lights were tripped in the bunker, and that's when I noticed I felt weak."

Angel shook her head.

Dastun covered his mouth, deep in thought.

"Your power is energy or some kind of energy."

"My power is energy? What do you mean by that?"

"Your power trips the electricity, right? And it keeps darkness at bay? You power has to be equal to, or greater than that in order for it to do that."

"I'm not following."

"Uh… how do I explain this… think of it as a fail-safe. We just installed two locks at the MP weapon's cache since the break in. There has to be two people to open the locks simultaneously in order for the garage doors to be unlocked. I'm thinking you share something similar with Big Venus and vice versa. You hold some of Big Venus power, and the majority of directing abilities, while Big Venus holds some of your directorial power, but has the majority of the power to change the world. But, your power is so great that it has to be held by two parties. Separate, you are weak. Together, you're strong enough to trip electricity. Perhaps, if you tried from that approach, maybe you can make some progress, and save your strength."

"So, if someone were to find me or Big Venus…"

"They couldn't exploit your power without having you together in the same room. Let's just hope this enemy of yours doesn't know that or isn't trying to find a way to summon Big Venus without you."

"Or, if they do, they're having issues with figuring it out," added Angel, "So, I may have a part of Big Venus' power inside me, this memory. It makes sense, but it's just… I'm still trying to process what you said."

Angel looked at her hands, her eyes shaking from the realization. How could she hold so much power that could change or potentially destroy the world, yet look like a normal human being, or a memory in human form? She felt despair and lowered her head. Dastun noticed her behavior.

"Now's not the time to pity yourself. You've made progress. Now's the time to keep going and moving forward, even though it may not be at the pace you want it to be."

Angel looked at Dastun, who was now getting off at the exit from where he picked up Angel.

"Why… why are you telling me this?"

"Because I believe that you're human, like me, like Roger, and now like Dorothy. You have flaws, but you seek to improve yourself. Don't despair at the road ahead of you, look at what you've accomplished to get this far. If anyone can solve the riddle to your power, it's you, Madam President."

Angel smiled at the kind words Dastun had given her. "Your kind words are very sweet. Thank you for your confidence in me."

Dastun turned slightly pink and muttered, "Don't mention it."

He pulled up to the curb of a restaurant, putting on his caution lights as Angel stepped out.

"I'll keep you in contact if I hear of any more leads or if something else more pressing related to politics comes down the pipe."

"Thank you, Dan. And before I go, I have one thing to ask of you…"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing for dinner Friday night?"

Dastun's face turned red.

WE HAVE COME TO TERMS

Next – Act 29: Holiday Surprises