Scariest Night of the Year

October 31^st – 11:58 p.m.

The Smith house was quiet, the kind of quiet that follows the worst events.  The second hand of the grandfather clock, in the living room, could be heard ticking through the house.  From the home office, Mr. Smith’s phone could be heard ringing; and him picking it up.  He sounded a little groggy but perked up when he heard what the person on the other said.   In under a minute he, literally, ran out the front door of the house and had his car started.  Once the car had peeled away, Tyler heard Susie leave her room and walk up the second-story stairs.  She opened his door and, silently, sat with him on the floor; both having no more tears to cry at the moment.  The grandfather clock chimed twelve times, midnight.  Finally, Halloween, the scariest night of the year, had come to a close.

October 31^st - 8:00 a.m.

Today, Tyler woke up with a purpose and a plan.  He was waiting for his mom to be ready to go take him to The Works.  The Works was the other, specialty, facility Convergence Industries had; they were, a kind of, the final step toward making stuff The Lab did be made commercially viable.  He told his parents that he wanted to see what The Works did with some of the stuff that he knew made its way over there from The Lab.  Of course, he had plans to actually see what The Order was doing there.

Susie had convinced him to get a full night’s sleep so he could be as ready as possible for the day.  He made sure that his bag had all the essentials for the day, keeping the look of it as nondescript as possible.  He wanted the perception to be that this was, effectively, a company exercise for him and Brenda.  Brenda coming was something his father had suggested after he sat on the idea for a while.  It worked for Tyler’s purpose all the same.

“Honey, you ready?” Mrs. Smith called from the kitchen. 

“Just about, be right down. “Tyler called back.  He slung his backpack over his shoulder and went downstairs.  Walking into the kitchen he grabbed a muffin and asked “What do you know about The Works?”

“They take our work and make it viable for people to actually use.  Some of your designs are currently there.” His mother said.  She grabbed the car keys and the two got in the car.  The Works was little uptown but the drive wasn’t long.  Along the drive, they talked more about what The Works did and how it differed from The Lab and the work from headquarters.

9:00 a.m.

The Works was a more distinct-looking building; that’s because it was designed as a place for people to see what the company did up close.  Tyler and Brenda wouldn’t be part of a normal tour group; they would have someone from the facility lead them around for a while and then let them explore on their own.  He already had a good idea of what the building design was to know where to he had to go looking.  He, and his mother, waited for Brenda to show up before he entered the building.

She showed up a little later with her father.  Both sets of parents and children got out of their cars at the same time as Mrs. Smith said “Mr. Jones, nice to see you as always.  Will we ever get to meet your wife?”

“She’s away on business for now.  As soon as she’s not busy is what I’m saying.” Mr. Jones said.  A moment of silence passed as he looked at the two teenagers.  Ruffling his daughter’s hair, he said “Alright, kiddo just let me know when you’re done here.”

“Same for you kid; let’s say about two o’clock just to be safe.” Mrs. Smith said and gave her son a kiss on the forehead.

The two parents took off leaving the two teens standing there, just a little awkwardly.  Brenda turned to him and said “Parents, what can you do about it.”

Tyler shrugged and they walked inside.  Inside a receptionist, who was clearly waiting for them, and greeted them.  She gave them both special tourist passes and told them to wait for a facility member.  The lobby was more public-friendly than the one at The Lab.  There were a few interactive displays that told the story of Convergence Industries and, more specifically, of The Works.  There were, generally, more spots to sit and windows for natural light; as well as obvious, at least to Tyler and Breda, security hovering around the place.

They didn’t have to wait long as a man, dressed in casual business wear, and said “Hello there, Lab members.  I’m Shamus, good to meet you.”  The two introduced themselves and he continued with “I’ll be taking you to all the major areas of The Works and from there you can go where your interests are.”

He started to walk towards a security checkpoint and the two followed.  Brenda bumped Tyler and said “Hope it’s just as interesting as The Lab.”

11:00 a.m.

Tyler and Brenda had spent the last three hours getting a “full’ tour of The Works.  They saw an example of every department the facility had to offer; the only exception being military development.  Tyler actually found the place to be pretty interesting, compared to The Lab that is.  However, he noticed how the place was more constricted by the fact that The Works was a public spectacle and had tighter administration.

The group stopped in a third-story break room.  Sitting at a table Shamus said “Well that’s all I have to show you guys.  Where are you guys thinking of going?”

Tyler made a show about looking like he was thinking about it and said “Not sure.  I did find the sorting process of Lab content interesting.”

“I, guess unsurprisingly, found The Works internal R&D most fascinating.” Brenda said without much thought.

“Well, wherever you guys go just be sure that you keep yourselves out of trouble and show your passes.  I’ll meet you for lunch in the cafeteria around twelve thirty.’ Shamus said and left the room.

Tyler walked over to a vending machine while saying “There’s probably people watching us on the cameras.”

“I had a similar thought.  I noticed where the cameras were as we had our tour.” Brenda retorted.  Tyler looked back at her, not really expecting that response.

Buying two water bottles, and handing one to her, he said “I mean we can’t really get into trouble anyway but it’s something I suspect.”

A moment of silence passed as Tyler could see Brenda thinking about something.  She came back to the present and said “How about we go do separate things till lunch and then we walk around together.”

“Sounds good, I’ll meet you at lunch then.” Tyler said and walked out of the break room.  He swiftly walked toward a bathroom and entered a stall.  He put in a Bluetooth earbud and asked “Serene, can you find my location?”

A moment passed but she said “Of course sir.  The type of computer terminal you are looking for is located on the second floor.  I can follow your location through the surveillance system.”

Tyler laughed to himself, she was getting good at anticipating his needs, and left the bathroom.  Nobody noticed his earbud, why would they.  He made his way to the second floor and Serene started giving him directions.  She led him to a hallway that only had a few doors, ending in a water fountain.

Before he could say anything about the cameras Serene said “I was able to loop the surveillance footage of the last few cameras to hide your being here.  I’ll be about to access more information once you reach the computer in the Remote Service Room.”

Tyler let himself in the second door along the hall, the door unlocked because of its remote location.  It was a small room with two computer terminals and a few data banks.  He tried turning on one of the computers and found it looked; something he already planned for.  Pulling out a flash drive from his backpack, he plugged it into the computer.  The screen filled with command prompts, then flickered for a moment, and opened up to a home screen.

In his ear, Serene said “Gaining full access to the whole system will take a minute or two.  In the process, I’ll create a backdoor for use in the future.”

Tyler sat down at the computer and got to work.  He started with a file access system and worked his way through the other systems.  Knowing how to hide files, he started looking through subfiles that normally would organize themselves.  Going down a few more layers he found what he was looking for; a file entitled ORDER.

At that moment, Serene said “I’m already in the process of backing the data to your personal server sir.”

“This is one of the last storehouses The Order has to use.  Let’s see if we can move their contents to The Lab.” Tyler said to himself.

Working his way through the network of files he found one called WEARHOUSE THREE CONTECH.  In it was data about stuff being stored in the storage area, under units 23-25.  Opening a different systems file, Tyler checked for storage units 22-25 and found they didn’t come up.

While double-checking his system request, he said “Serene compare blueprints of The Works storage units against internal readings and find the discrepancy.”  He watched as the computer showed new storage units that appear on his list.  Smiling, he said “Generate a service request forum on my computer terminal.”

A moment later, a new forum appeared on the screen.  Serene already filled in some of the fields; such as what had to be moved and to where.  He finished filling out the forum with the time of delivery, today at five, and a top-level signature code, using his grandfathers because he knew it.  Serene said that she finished everything she needed to do as he sent off the forum and unplugged the flash drive.  With that, he closed down the computer and left the room.  Now, all he needed to do was find somewhere to be until lunch and have a “normal” day.

4:45 p.m.

Sam walked across their lab space and sighed.  Looking back at her research partner she said “So let me get this straight.  You transferred everything The Order held at The Works in an attempt to bottleneck their operations.  You know they’ll just come and take it back, probably tonight.”

Tyler was at a computer, starting to look through the transferred Order data, and said “I’m counting on it.  Based on what I’ve seen, they’ll send a task force to come and collect it.  The plans to try and keep some of them around long enough for the cops to show up.”

“I’m still not sure how you convinced your father to let you make sure the transfer is completed smoothly.” Sam mused, taking a seat.

Turning from the screen, he said “Well I told him you would be there as well.  They’re due to arrive in, about, ten minutes and it should only last about a half hour anyway.”

“You think you have everything figured out don’t One day you’ll be proven wrong you know.” Sam said rolling her eyes.

He returned to looking through The Order data; selecting a file marked AGENTS.  Scrolling through it, he found, that every agent had a codename.  Going back to the main directory he found a file he didn’t see before, MIRAGE.  Opening it he found files going back to his second week operating as The Mirage.  There were dozens of internal reports on him; ranging from potential threat level to his pattern of operation.  Looking through other files, such as photos and security camera footage, he found one with potential candidates for his secret identity.  Looking through the list, he didn’t see his name but did see some names he did recognize.  When he was about to close out the server, he saw one more thing that caught his attention; a file entitled THE AGENT.

Opening it, he found internal reports with photos and video.  Through the first few reports, he learned that The Order determined he would be a credible threat if he discovered their operations.  The Agent would be a new recruit that could be trained to fight The Mirage as an equal.  Looking at more recent reports, he found that The Agent was the young woman he’s been encountering; not a surprise given this new information.  He could see how they managed to make her invisible well as some of the future plans they had for her.

6:15 p.m.

The storage transfer only took twenty minutes, from the delivery end.  Tyler and Sam took another twenty minutes to get a log of everything that was dropped off.  The transfer mostly was large quantities of power cells, machine parts, and equipment.  They signed off the units to Lab Storage and left for their respective homes.  Both had their own Halloween plans they needed to prepare for.

Tyler had a short family dinner; with most then leaving for their Halloween plans.  His parents were the ones responsible for handing out candy at The Lab while Susie would stay at home to hand out candy there, having some friends over.  Tyler, as had planned, was going to be at Jason’s party.  He met up with Jennifer and spent time at their friend’s party.  They left, about, an hour later because Jenifer still seemed a little off from her experience last week.  They spent some time in Central Park just getting some fresh air.

10:45 p.m.

The time had come for Tyler to see if The Order would take the bait and come to The lab.  Suiting up, he thought her heard the front door and waited to see if heard anything else.  Not hearing anything, he put on his helmet and turned invisible.  Going out his window, he started rocket boosting to The Lab as his sister’s comms came online.

“I was looking over the network drive you found and there’s already an updated file.” She said, her mouse audibly clicking.  She continued with “It’s added where the storage units you moved were earlier.  It reads ‘Storage units moved by someone with high-level access.  Likely candidate is The Mirage.’”.

“You’ll also see that I’m not on their list of candidates so I feel pretty confident that I didn’t overstep here.  It does heavily suggest they’ll try and retrieve their stuff tonight.” Tyler said seeing The Lab come in sight.  He already had a plan for how to get around the building's proximity security sensor; an administration-level window he left unlocked.

Coming up to the side of the building, he opened the window and let himself in; attempting not to make much noise still.  In his ear, Susie said “I’ll keep an eye on the security systems remotely.  Watching the perimeter and stuff.”

Leaving the administers office, Tyler walked through the singular hall of the floor and headed for the stairs.  Walking down them, he reached the lobby and looked around; that’s when he heard footsteps.  They came from the secure lab so Tyler stood still; thinking that the person wouldn’t pay any attention to him.  However, a familiar voice commanded “You, turn around with your hands up.”

He didn’t move, trying to convince himself he didn’t hear the voice correctly; he could hear Susie’s chair creak as she straightened up.  When he didn’t move his mother, again, commanded “You turn around with your hands up.  You must be The Mirage.”

He turned visible and, slowly, did a one-eighty.  His mother stood before him, pointing a prototype laser gantlet at him and wearing infrared goggles.  He quickly noted his location against the lobby security camera and slowly moved himself to be in front of it.  Taking a deep breath, he said “Mrs. Smith I wouldn’t…”

“Dr. Smith if you don’t mind.” His mother interrupted sternly.

Taking a steadying breath, Tyler said “Dr. Smith, I wouldn’t just point that at people.”

“Why, precisely, should I not do that?”

Making sure his back was to the camera, Tyler opened the front of the helmet.  As the polycarbonate glass moved over the top of his helmet he answered “The discharge has some energy kickback that might burn you.  I should know, I designed it.”

She covered her mouth in shock as he heard his sister let out a sigh of relief.  He could see the momentary urge to hug him just before she remembered the security camera.  She briefly made eye contact with it and said “Secure lab, now.”

Tyler gave a little nod as the front of his helmet went back into place.  His mother walked in first and he followed behind her, keeping the camera in mind.  The moment he shut the door she gave her son a hug where he could just feel the tension leaving her body.  When she took a step back, he moved the polycarbonate glass back up and tried to survey her reaction.  Susie must have been watching the internal helmet camera because he could hear her holding her breath.

Breathing out a sigh, their mother said “I’ve had a feeling something’s been up with you.  I’ll need to talk to you, and I’m guessing your sister, about this later.  First, tell me what’s going on because I know something is going on here tonight.”

To explain properly, Tyler turned Susie on the helmet's “speaker” mode and started explaining.  It took about ten minutes to fully explain the last five months; with more emphasis on the activities of the last month.  Their mother sat patiently the whole time; only interjecting to get clarification on something.  When he was done explaining it was an odd feeling; a mix of relief that someone else knew and the feeling he had when he had to convince her to let him work at The Lab.

Finally, she stood up and said “Well it all makes sense at least.  Now tell me what your plan for tonight is.”

Now, Tyler explained his plan.  It started with explaining how he moved the storage units to The Lab.  He continued with “So, at this point, I was going to lock the bay doors with an administration code so the only way The Order could get in is by busting in a wall or using the front door.”

His mother already started leaving the secure lab so Tyler put the front of his helmet down.  Before walking out, he turned invisible and followed his mother up to the administration level.  Walking into her husband’s office, she sat behind his desk and started working on the computer.  Tyler turned visible again as the door shut behind him.

After making a few actions in the system Mr. Smith called his wife.    Picking up she said “Hello dear…No, don’t worry about that…Yeah, I’m trying out security features while nobody is here…Yeah, I love you too dear; see you when I get home.”  She looked at her son and said “I won’t tell him just so you know.  For now, it’s our secret.”

11:30 p.m.

Nothing happened for a while.  They moved back down to the secure lab where Tyler and his mother had a wider talk about why he’s he does this.  After a while, she said “I’m just worried about you dear.  I don’t want you getting seriously hurt.”

“I haven’t yet; I also have a plan to better protect myself.  Here, let me show you.” Tyler said and pulled up his server.  He showed his mother all his plans and she seemed impressed; at least by his ability to plan ahead.

“Tyler, I’m getting movement outside the secure lab wall.  Could be nothing, just letting you know.” Susie said in his ear.

He put the front of his helmet down as he told his mom she might need to take cover.  She just sat behind a desk as the wall of the secure lab exploded.  Smoke filled the room as he saw four people walk through the hole, led by The Agent.  She looked at him and stopped, just for a moment, in shock.  The three agents behind her aimed their weapons at him while she said “I thought you would be here but not right at the entrance.”

The three agents started firing at him as he went to dodge to his right.  They fired a few more shoots but stopped waiting for his move.  Tyler looked over at his mom and tried to asses if they’d seen her, but so far not yet.  He turned invisible and ducked out of his hiding spot.  He fired a few times at one of the agents, knocking them out, and then moved on.  He knocked out another one with a few physical hits and the third with the electrified grappling hook.

He tried to find The Agent when he saw his mom spring from her hiding place, wearing the inferred goggles.  She must have knocked The Agent into the wall because he heard a crash and then she became visible.  Tyler, now visible, pointed his right energy blaster at her and said “So they sent you to collect what was taken.”

Mrs. Smith forced The Agent to stand and pointed the prototype blaster at her.  Tyler noticed the break in her composure as she realized who was holding her up.  With a slight shake of her head, she said “I’m just the entrance party.  You should really watch who you let in.”

Tyler watched his mom strong-arm her into the lobby; before following, Tyler made sure there was no one right outside the hole.  Entering the lobby, Tyler saw his mom securing The Agent to the receptionist chair, with little resistance.  In his ear, Susie said “Wow, didn't know mom could do that.”

He walked over to his mother and said “She didn’t give much of a fight.  I can’t imagine that’s a good thing.”

“I’m not leaving if that’s what you’re implying.  I can be upstairs to stay out of the way and call the police.” She said as the main entrance beeped open.

They both looked back at the double doors as The Matriarch walked through them; followed by ten agents.  She stopped in the middle of the lobby as the men spread out.  She put her hands together and said “That won’t be necessary Dr. Smith.  I require your presence here actually.”

Mrs. Smith started at the woman and said “I know you.  You were on the board of directors.  We thought you died.”

“A deception of necessity I’m afraid.” The woman said and turned to Tyler.  She pointed a finger and said “You, dear, release The Agent and follow my men to the shipping bay; an insurance to keep Dr. Smith here safe.”

He thought he could fight off the Order agents surrounding them but more poured in from the secure lab and main entrance.  Seeing no other option, he complied.  Tyler released The Agent and his mother took her seat.  The Agent led the way to the shipping bay, with fifteen other agents following, as Mrs. Smith released the bay doors.  Tyler saw more Order agents swarm in through the opened doors and take what belonged to them.

After that, The Agent escorted Tyler back to the lobby; where only a few more Order agents remained.  His mother and The Matriarch were clearly talking about something when they entered but quiet when they saw them.  He moved over to his mom as the remaining agents stood around the door.  The Matriarch waved over The Agent and said “Now if you don’t mind, we’ll be taking our leave.  This is just to be sure you don’t follow.”

An agent holding a larger energy weapon aimed it at Mrs. Smith.  Tyler quickly grappled the wall and got in between the gun and her, just as it fired.  The blast hit him, sending him flying back into the metal door of the secure lab; denting the door in the center.  He slumped to the floor as his mom came to his side.

The Matriarch rolled her eyes and grabbed the energy weapon from the agent.  Pointing the weapon at her she fired squarely at her chest.  It landed its mark sending her into the wall hard.  She slumped to the floor as her shirt had burned away a little, revealing a nice burn.  Getting up, and by her side, he took off his helmet and said “Mom, stay with me.”

“Listen, honey, call the red alert and get out of here.  I don’t need you getting arrested.” She said touching the side of his face.  Getting up and slamming the red alert button, almost crushing It flat, on the receptionist's desk Tyler turned back to his mom.  She held his helmet in her hands and gave it to him.  Looking at him, she said “Put this on and go.  I love you.”

He slid his helmet back on and took one last look at his mother, not sure he would see her again.  Feeling tears well up he said “Love you too Ma.”

He dashed through, automatically, opened double doors, and flew into the air.  He quickly turned around and landed on the roof of The Lab.  He could feel all the options that were in front of him; mainly going home or trying to follow The Order.  He expected Susie to pipe up with a suggestion but her comm was filled with near silence, only broken with muffled crying.  He caught his own reflection inside his helmet; tears started to streak down his face.  Hearing the various emergency vehicles nearing he took off for home, midnight drawing nearer.  Halloween, the scariest night of the year, was drawing to a close with every passing second.