‘There’s been no sign of Stella,’ the Enterprise Agent said. ‘But she could be in there already.’
Alex sat hunkered down behind a bush, next to his mother and the Agents, at a location about twenty kilometres north of Vancouver. He looked down at the complex below through binoculars. There were two tall fences, topped with razor wire. The second had signs saying it was electrified.
Alex scanned the scene from left to right. The only visible structures were a couple of box-like concrete buildings with broken windows dotted along their walls. The bare grey concrete was cracked. The adjoining desolate road and car park sprouted weeds through the asphalt and a tall water tower stood to one side. Eight large combat tanks were parked along one fence, with vines twisting all over them. They had obviously not moved for a long time. The abandoned military complex looked like a dumping ground, a graveyard for old, obsolete equipment.
‘This place couldn’t look more deserted,’ Alex whispered.
‘Been that way for years,’ the lead Agent said. He was a short athletic guy, wearing the same black combat fatigues as the other Agents assembled. They carried an assortment of weaponry strapped to their uniforms—dart guns, tasers, stun grenades and handguns.
I guess they have to be prepared to fight fire with fire. I hope it doesn’t come to that.
‘It’s still listed as a restricted military installation,’ the Agent continued, ‘a part of the NATO missile defence shield, but it’s been mothballed all this time. Completely off limits.’
‘No sign of any recent activity?’ Phoebe asked.
‘None,’ the Agent replied. ‘What’s your order?’
‘We sit tight for a while,’ Phoebe said. ‘When we’re sure it’s clear, we go see what’s in there. If Stella approaches, we apprehend her out here, then we go in to see what she’s after inside. Either way, we need to check the site in case there’s a Gear hidden there. It can’t end up in the wrong hands.’
‘I should sneak in there now,’ Alex said. ‘Look around.’
‘After we know for sure that Stella’s not there already,’ his mother countered. ‘Just wait a while.’
‘Look at all the Agents we have,’ Alex said, counting twenty in all. ‘They’re capable of dealing with whatever Stella throws at them.’
Phoebe looked to the lead Agent.
‘Alex is right,’ he said. ‘We’ve got good cover positions out here, and we can send a team with him, a full protective detail. We have full schematics of the underground complex. We can execute this incursion with a high degree of safety and there won’t be anyone else getting in or out as long as we control the high ground.’
Phoebe looked to Alex, his eagerness obvious.
‘OK,’ she said, finally relenting. ‘Set up security out here, put a look-out up on the water tower and we’ll join your team. We go in now.’