The Life We Lead: Ascending (30 page)

His brother’s departure did not strike Calvin
as odd. He merely commented, “Right, Yan was here a lot those two
weeks and then had that row with Dr. Watterson about his idea. And
you say this exists in an open environment?”

James nodded as Raymond returned with two
videotapes in his hand, proclaiming, “Got ‘em.”

Turned out Raymond had videotaped the lab and
had cameras set up to automatically record any activity that went
on. The tapes he’d recovered filmed the two weeks Yan had
experimented with the iridium wire.

In a matter of minutes, they’d found a
section where Yan was alone in the lab and conducting an
experiment. Sure enough, any electronic object he placed over the
circle failed. However, the equipment inside operated just fine, as
did the equipment outside.

They did notice that the antenna portion that
extended out like an arch was starting to glow toward the end of
the experiment and that Yan slowly powered everything down.

“Wow, brilliant,” said Raymond in a hushed
voice.

“That’s an understatement, brother,” said
Calvin in an equally awed voice.

James was starting to run short on time.
“Listen, how would you eliminate the EMP force field?”

They seemed to come out of their trance. “No
idea,” they said together.

“We still have that wire, though,” said
Raymond.

Calvin nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to have to
give that a go. But you said this is out in the world. Do you know
where? Can you take us?” He was getting excited.

“No, I mean, yes. Yes, I know where it is,
and no, I can’t take you. I just need to know how to dismantle it.”
James spoke a little firmly. He needed to get transport units in to
rescue the children, and that required the force field to be down.
Taking out the fortress would probably take down the EMP, but the
kids needed to be out first.

“We have to study it. We might be able to
figure it out. Seeing it operate is the only way to know,” Calvin
said.

“Listen, I think I’ve set you on the right
path. No doubt this will leapfrog your research. If you can figure
out how to dismantle the EMP, call me.” James wrote out his number.
“You at least owe me that.”

He paused, knowing he needed more of a
guarantee that they’d take action. “I’ll see about getting you out
to see the real one operate, but you need to act quickly. I need a
response in ten days.” He said that just to tempt them, as he had
no intention of taking them into the field.

He turned to walk away but stopped and came
back, pulling all the cash he had out of his wallet. “This,” he
held up the cash, “is for whatever you want, but I need you to keep
this to yourself and not anyone else. Not Dr. Watterson, or even
the girls.”

The twins nodded and took the cash. Students
always needed money, and James was going to wager that stack of
pounds would go a long way.

“No worries, mate. This is with us. It will
make our careers, and we want to see it in real time. We’ll ring
you as fast as possible,” Raymond said.

James shook hands with them and walked out.
He then ran to the car and drove a bit recklessly to the airport.
It was a good thing he had some experience with high speed driving,
because he needed every second he could get.

At the airport, he literally screamed down
the hall for them to not close the door to his flight, but he made
it.

James, the major, and his team had been
together for three days and finally had the training course set up
to give a reasonable mock version of the fortress where the kids
were being held. James’s instructions were very clear. He didn’t
miss a detail, and he pushed everyone to get things done while
working hard himself.

He had just made final arrangements with Noi
after securing the funds out of an account the group didn’t know
about. Simultaneously, he was dealing with work-related problems
and keeping projects going on that front.

On the fourth morning, the major sought James
out and pulled him aside.

James knew something had to be up and it had
to be personal, as this was not how Ian Doyle customarily did
things.

“What’s wrong? Everything okay at home?”

“Home is fine, but since you asked, you are
what’s wrong,” the major said flatly.

James did a double take. “What?”

“You’re ordering the team around and haven’t
earned the right to do so,” the major said. He was not a man to
mince words. “This is my team. ‘Team’ is the operative word. Each
man here respects the others. Each man can step up and take the
lead, and each man knows when to follow. You haven’t demonstrated
any of that to them. You’re barking orders without giving them the
full vision of what’s happening. How can you expect them to work if
they don’t know what they’re working toward or why?”

“Look, we don’t have time to …” James
started, but the major raised his hand.

“I’ve said my piece. You take the action you
feel best, but I can tell you I wouldn’t want these men walking
into this operation thinking this is how you’re going to lead them.
I’ve had to stop Jason and Kevin from grabbing hold of you more
than once. They’re staying in line out of respect for me and
because I’m vouching for you. Don’t make me out to look a fool. Fix
this.” He walked away.

The major’s tone had stayed even the entire
time, exactly how James would talk. No emotion, just logic, and
James recognized his friend was right; he needed to become part of
the team.

That day, he let the team get on with
learning the passageways. First, in the light, then with night
vision goggles, then in the dark. The guys outside the training
exercise could see everything on monitors, and it was funny, and a
bit disconcerting, watching guys stumble around a bit or doing the
same hall twice or just walking into walls.

James stayed away until they all finished,
then approached the group. The men were huddled together, looking
over a clipboard.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” he asked in a lighter
tone than he typically used.

Everyone was silent except the major, who
said, “We’re reviewing times. We have a standing bet that those who
finish last buy the beer at the next bar. Looks like Jason and Ben
are buying tonight.”

Everyone laughed, even Jason and Ben.

“Still have one more person to make the
runs,” James said.

They got quiet and stared at him. The silence
grew uncomfortable. James shifted his weight and smiled. He felt
like he was back in school and the last kid to be picked for a team
again, but he wasn’t going to let it show.

“Yeah, I still need to go,” James affirmed.
He hoped he sounded firm, but pleasant.

The men crossed their arms and stared at him.
Finally, one of the guys, Rocker, made a flip with his hands as if
to say, “Get on with it if you must.”

“Right.” James took his time. Taking a run
was different than studying the map or even the construction. It
felt real though, just like the halls had felt on his and Tim’s
tour.

When he finished his first try and walked
back out, Kevin announced, “Looks like Ben isn’t paying.”

Everyone let out a great burst of laughter.
It was clearly laughter at James, not with him.

“Double or nothing. I’ll do a lot better with
the next round,” James said, smiling.

The major just stared as if to say, “This is
your mess.”

In fairness, they’d all taken three practice
runs per round before doing it timed. James knew this, but winning
wasn’t the point.

He did this round in the goggles, again
slower than the others, but faster than before.

“Guess this means I ain’t got to pay,
either,” Jason roared.

“I have one more round,” James said.

“Not worried,” said Jason to more
laughter.

As James emerged this time, having executed
the run as effortlessly as if he were strolling through the park,
silence again reigned. The difference this time was that it was
born of amazement. James had beaten the best time by more than two
minutes, in the dark.

Little did the team know that on his first
two passes, he’d counted his steps and taken his time to learn the
halls. It was a trick he’d learned when he was nine and had lost
his vision for ten days due to an operation.

“Looks like he isn’t buying tonight. After
that performance, I feel like buying him a beer. That was great. We
watched on the infrared, and you made no mistakes,” said Paul, who
was generally good-natured and liked to have everyone get
along.

“Got lucky,” James shrugged.

“Lucky, my ass,” said Kevin.

“I told you guys, he has skills. Besides
being a dick that is,” the major said, and everyone laughed and
began to head toward the chow hall. The major knew James was able
to move well without sight only because of how the two men had
met.

For a moment, James wondered what Ian had
told his men about how they’d come to be acquainted. James was
certain they didn’t know the full story by any stretch of the
imagination.

“Wait,” James said. “I think I still owe you
guys some beers.”

“You just kicked everyone’s ass and it was
double or nothing. Means you owe nothing,” Matt said.

“We didn’t bet on the last round, just the
first two. So tonight is on me. There’s a place in town we can go
after dinner,” James said.

Again, silence.

Rocker, who had said maybe ten words in the
last four days, gave a shrug and made his way to dinner. The others
followed and talking broke out. The major caught James’s eye for a
second, gave a wink, and they carried on.

After dinner, James and the major volunteered
to stay sober and drive, and everyone agreed. They ended up at a
rather nice sports bar and grill location with multiple large
screen televisions, pool tables, darts, and even a shuffleboard
game. The bar area itself was large and made a flat bottom “V”
shape. James appreciated the quality oak wood with a highly
polished brass rail that ran the length of the bar.

He was starting to win the guys over one at a
time. He’d learned that Rocker was the lead singer for a band back
home. James had commented, “Yeah, I could tell by how much you talk
that you have a great voice.”

This got some laughs and a bird flipped his
way by a smiling Rocker.

He’d learned that Haiden and Keegan were
cousins and talked about fishing every chance they got.

Paul was the explosives expert and had
apparently started at a young age, which explained why he was
missing part of a finger.

The master of arms was Jason, who knew more
about weapons than the rest put together.

Kevin wanted to go into podiatry, but was
serving as the medic and communications person for the group.

Matt was an amateur pilot but also had
broad-spectrum vision that came in handy as a marksman.

Finally, Ben was also a marksman who had
grown up in a family of hunters. He practiced every day to be the
best because he wanted to fit into his family. Turned out he was
adopted.

They were having fun and no one drank too
heavily. The men were on their third round of beers when the
evening took a turn. James had just passed the last of the beers to
Paul and turned to grab his water and pay the bartender when a bald
man standing six-feet-four-inches and weighing a solid 270 pounds
bumped his left side.

As James grabbed his water with his left
hand, as he normally did, it spilled a little, and a drop landed on
the man’s hand.

“Watch what you’re doing, asshole!” the man
said aggressively.

James glanced up at the man, slightly
disgruntled. Clearly the guy was drunk. He decided to move on and
let it go.

The man leaned in to James’s face, saying, “I
said, watch what you’re doing, asshole. You could at least
apologize.”

James’s forehead scrunched up as he said,
“Sorry?”

“That ain’t no apology, wrinkle face. Say it
like you mean it.”

The man’s friends, who were all large as
well, chuckled.

Paul, having just made it back to the table,
let the rest of the group know what was happening. The major held
out his fingers to signal the group to hold tight for now.

James did his normal thing, and within a
blink, assessed the individuals and situation. He decided to take
the high road.

“You know what, you’re right. My mistake.
Sorry that drop of water hit you. Have a good night.” He gave a
false, close-lipped smile and handed the bartender the cash.

“That sound sincere to you, boys?”

The group shook their mullet-covered
heads.

“Nah, didn’t to me either. Try again,
boy.”

James knew this guy was looking for a fight,
but he really didn’t feel like obliging him, and he couldn’t risk
getting entangled with the cops and causing a delay.

“Look man, sorry about that. Let me buy you
and your friends here a round. What will ya have?” James spoke as
politely as he could, but he had a feeling this was still going to
end badly. He set his glass of water back on the bar.

The bartender quickly said, “What’ll it be?
Another Bud?”

“Nah, I think his offense is worth more. Like
one of them imported fancy beers. Gimme a Blue Moon.”

The bartender poured the beer quickly and set
it down. He then turned to the others and asked what they wanted.
Before they could answer, the bald man said, “Hold on, let me see
how this one does first.”

He picked up the glass. Looking James in the
eyes, he slowly brought it up to his mouth with his right hand.
Just as the glass touched his lips, the man made a fast motion and
dumped the contents over James’s head. He shook the glass to get
every drop out before setting the glass on the bar with a loud
slam.

“Now that hit the spot!” he exclaimed and
laughed.