Under Vanishing Skies (32 page)

“
When that ship is finished, they will start to unload our cargo. The dock workers are already on board getting ready.” Anand pointed down at four dockworkers near the bow. Two were opening the large cargo hatch on the deck.

“
So how can we get out of here?” I asked.

“
That is going to be the tricky part. Viyaja has imposed security restrictions on all crews. We are not supposed to leave our ships. Only dockworkers are permitted to come and go. See over there?” He pointed at a gate along the perimeter fence. Two MDF guards were checking workers as they entered and left the area.

“
Yeah, I see it. Is that the only way in and out?”

Anand nodded. “I am afraid so.”

“
I suppose that swimming isn’t an option?” I said.

Anand shook his head. “No. They will spot you for sure.”

“
Shit. So how are we going to get past the guards?”

Anand smiled and said, “I have an idea.”

I raised my eyebrows and waited.

“
I thought that I could try the same trick that I pulled on that MDF inspector.”

“
Huh?”

“
You two just go down by the gate and wait. Act like dock workers. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.”

I looked at William. He looked as puzzled as I felt. We shrugged and thanked Anand before we slipped off the boat.

With all the activity on the dock, it wasn’t too hard for William and me to go unnoticed. We walked toward the gate and stopped by a stack of boxes. We pretended to look them over. I kept looking up at Anand’s boat, waiting for something to happen.

William asked, “What do you think he is going to do?”

“
I’m not sure, but whatever it is we have to be ready to move. Okay?”

He nodded.

A small cargo crane was welded onto the deck of Anand's ship. I’d seen Anand use it to load and unload large cargo at Lohifushi. He was up in the cab now, getting ready to unload something from the cargo hold. He lowered the hook into the hold, and a few minutes later, I watched it emerge with the giant bin of coral powder. When the bin was about ten feet above the deck, Anand swung the crane arm around. The bin now hung in the air over the dock. A worker directed Anand to lower the bin. It started to descend, but stopped. A loud metallic clang echoed out from the crane. Suddenly the bin lurched hard to the right. Some powder spilled. A dust cloud drifted down over the dock workers. They turned and ran. Others noticed it. People began to yell and run. A second later, two of the four chains that held the bin broke free and the bin toppled completely over, swinging from the two remaining chains.

A massive white cloud rolled out over the dock. People ran past us toward the gate.

“
Now, William. Go!”

We ran with the crowd. We fell into the mass of people who swarmed the gate. The guards tried to control the crowd, but when the cloud reached the gate, everyone, including the guards, ran out of the dock area. William and I followed the crowd for a while, but then I grabbed him and we peeled off towards the communications tower.

Anand’s diversion drew everyone’s attention, including people from across the island. People began to fill the streets to see what was going on. Everyone was so focused on the docks that William and I were able to get into the tower unnoticed.

When we reached the observation deck, my side burned like someone had stuck me with a hot poker. I looked down and saw a baseball-sized bloodstain on my shirt. William saw it too.

“
You’re bleeding. What should we do?” he asked.

“
Nothing, I’m fine. It’s just some seepage.” I didn’t want to worry him with the truth. “It must have squeezed out when we ran through the gate.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Maybe we should send Mohamed a message and ask what to do.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry, it’s okay. Besides, it’s time to kick off the plan. Do you remember what you need to do?”

He nodded and said, “I wait outside the hotel.”

“
Right. And then?”

“
And then I find someone who looks like they’re from the Mars ship and I give them Jin’s data mat.”

“
Perfect,” I said.

“
But how will I know who is from the Mars ship?”

“
I don’t know exactly, but they’re not going to be dressed like anyone around here. I guarantee it.”

“
Will they have space suits on?”

I laughed, “Probably not, but their clothes will look different.”

 “
I still don’t understand why I can’t help you here first, and then we can find the Mars people together.”

 “
Because when those messages go out, the bad guys will try to disconnect the servers remotely. I have to keep them from doing that. When I reconfigure the servers, someone will notice and come to the tower. Luckily, the guys that I taught to operate systems are about as sharp as a coconut, so I’ll have plenty of time to get out and join you.”

William smiled.

“
Once I’m done, the only way they can stop the messages from going out is by powering down the servers.”

“
What will happen if they shut down the servers?”

“
The whole IICN will go down. But don’t worry...they won’t do that, because I’m the only one who knows how to bring it back up.”

“
What if they catch you before you finish?”

I put my hands on his shoulders and said, “William, we don’t have a lot of time for ‘what if’ questions. If we stick to the plan, everything should turn out fine. Now get going. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can get the hell out of here. I’ll see you in front of the hotel. Just wait for me there.”

He nodded, but he studied me for another few seconds before he turned and ran down the stairs. Before climbing the ladder up to the data center, I sent a quick note to Helen and Mohamed telling them where they could find William.

I climbed into the data center. The pain in my side was getting worse. 

Once inside, I disabled the electronic lock on the hatch and went to work. It took me half an hour to reconfigure the servers. Besides shutting off remote administration access, I also shut down all inbound message traffic. Now the only way a message could go out was through my console. Then I downloaded all of the messages that I had copied from Jin’s data mat onto the server. When that  was done, I downloaded an app that William and I wrote. The app was designed to send all of Shannon’s and Viyaja’s messages, along with an explanation of Shannon and Jamal's plan, out to every data mat. It was open kimono time.

Before pressing the SEND key, I said, “This is for you guys.” The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I felt like Rick, Lanka, and Senil were all in the data center with me.

The app worked. I looked at the console and watched as the emails began flooding the network.

By now, Viyaja was shitting his pants. I got up and walked over to the radio relay box. I grimaced as pain shot through my side. I looked down and saw that the blood stain was getting bigger. I also saw that I had left a trail of blood on the concrete floor. It would take the app about twenty minutes to complete sending the messages. I should be able to hold on until it was finished.

I sat down by the radio relay box, turned on the external speaker, and set the radio to scan mode. From here, I could monitor all voice communications on the net. There wasn’t much chatter on the radio. Most of the calls were between the air traffic control tower and an incoming helojumper.

A high-pitched beep echoed around the data center. I looked over at the server and saw an alert indicator light up. Someone was trying to access the servers. I checked my watch. Another ten minutes and the app would finish.

Five minutes later, I heard the echo of footsteps coming up the stairs to the observation deck. I could tell there were two people. I prayed that it was some teenagers trying to squeeze in a quickie before dinner. Whoever they were, they had just reached the observation deck. I leaned closer to the hatch and listened. If they were lovers, then they were gay lovers, because the voices I heard were two men. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded like they were having an argument. The argument ended and I heard the metallic sound of someone climbing the ladder.

Those technicians had never once showed up on time when I was training them. Why did they have to develop a work ethic now?

I listened to the soft beeps as someone punched in the combination on the electronic keypad. A loud buzz let them know that the combination was invalid. He tried again. Same thing. After a short pause, there was pounding on the hatch followed by more arguing. This time I could make out some of it.

“
The hatch is locked. I cannot get in,” the guy on the ladder yelled.

“
Well, you better call operations and ask for instructions,” the other guy responded.

“
To hell with you! I climbed the ladder. You call operations.”

The other guy called operations. I listened to him on the radio relay box. Viyaja answered the call. He didn’t sound happy. “You idiot. Break through the door and get in there.”

“
I am sorry, sir, but I cannot. It is a steel door and I do not have the equipment for that.”

“
Just stay there, you incompetent imbecile,” Viyaja said. “I am coming over myself.”

I smiled as I remembered the hours that Rick and I spent playing Texas Hold ‘Em. It was my turn to bet. I was all in.

Viyaja’s voice rang out from the external speaker again. This time he was on the MDF net. He ordered a helojumper to pick him and his personal guards up from the hotel roof. I checked my watch. It was going to be close. 

I felt lightheaded, but I was able to write William a goodbye message. 

I read it over.

Dear William,

If you’re getting this message then I guess I won't be able to keep my end of the deal and join you.  I'm sorry, but it'll be okay.  We did it. 

I know your mom and dad are out there somewhere and they're proud of you. I'm proud too and I’m not talking about what we did today.

I’m proud of how you stood up the bad hand that life dealt you. You're are a much braver man than I ever was.

When you go to the Mars colonly, you'll do great things. I wish I could be there with you, but I promise that I'll be by your side every step of the way.

I love you, William.  Make me proud up there.

Aron

I didn't send it right away.  I decided to wait until I heard Viyaja arrive. I didn’t have to wait long.

I heard the sound of the approaching helojumper. Within a few seconds, the metal panels that sheathed the tower began to rattle like a hundred tiny thunder claps. I looked up and listened to the whoosh of the turbines as the helojumper hovered above the tower.

I wondered what they were doing. The pilot couldn’t possibly be dumb enough to try landing on the roof. If he tried, he’d be in for a big fucking surprise. The roof was not very sturdy.  It had almost caved in on Rick, Jin, and me when we went up there to install an antenna. A helojumper weighed a lot more than the three of us.  It would bring the whole tower down.

The rush of wind came in through the vertical ventilation shafts and filled the room. I squinted my eyes as sand and debris flew through the air. Then I heard a loud thump on the roof followed by two more. A high pitched squeal echoed through the room. It was the sound of metal twisting. I looked up. A large metal panel that covered the ceiling fell into the room and crashed near the servers.

I covered my head with my arms and prepared for that giant blender to come crashing through. The sound of the helojumper blades was deafening. I looked through the dust cloud and saw a man wearing an MDF uniform laying motionless on top of a backup server. I quickly turned my attention back to the email server. It was fine. I sent my message to William and then crawled away from the servers just in case more of the roof caved in.

I looked up through the big hole in the ceiling. I could make out the underside of the helojumper. It hovered twenty feet above the roof. Through its transparent bottom, I could see at least two people inside. But then the helojumper pitched forward and it flew out of sight.