Brendon paced back and forth in Cody's office.
Cody was frowning, having absorbed Brendon and Naomi's download of the last twelve hours. Cody had done a decent job of tidying the place since their last visit, but the air was thick with the scent of solder and burnt plastic. Screens still flickered with lines of code. Naomi leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"I'll need you to generate me right into the middle of The Sanctuary," Brendon said. "And I'll need a powerful tracker to locate Grace quickly."
Cody looked up from his workstation, his brow furrowed. "I reviewed the logs from your last visit. You barely made it out." He began typing on his keyboard. "The Sentinels will be on higher alert now. They got onto you pretty quick last time." He paused for emphasis.
"What do you mean?" Brendon asked, feeling a twinge of anxiety creep in.
"Now that they know what to look for," Cody explained, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, "they'll be even quicker this time around." He tapped a few keys.
"Trying to be stealthy will be much harder. Their A.I. has processed what happened and learned from it." Cody continued, turning even more serious as he faced Brendon directly. "They'll spot you this time much quicker and come down on you much harder."
"I won't let them catch me," Brendon said defiantly, a kamikaze resolve hardening in his chest.
Cody raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. Instead, he glanced back at his monitors, where multiple feeds displayed various parts of The Sanctuary's infrastructure.
"Stealth won't work this time. You'll need to be quick." Cody pulled up a digital map with a huge blank where The Sanctuary was. Code and data traveling quickly on the right-hand side. "There are more security measures now; they'll lock down hard if they see anything suspicious." Brendon looked at the screen.
It didn't make any sense to him.
He knew it was dangerous, and he knew the time pressure of getting to Grace before they cut her heart and lungs out was making him edgy and rash, but there was nothing he could do to temper it.
"I'll need to be fast then, but something that won't attract attention."
Cody nodded, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he mulled the request. "I can try something new this time." He paused for a moment, thinking through the details. "It was something I was working on for Riley but never had a chance to deploy." Cody sniffed. "I'll leave caches of equipment in specified locations around The Sanctuary."
Brendon raised an eyebrow. "Caches?"
"Yeah," Cody replied, excitement starting to creep into his voice. "You'll be able to see them on your console as you move through the place." He gestured toward a display screen filled with digital maps and schematics of the area outside The Sanctuary.
"How does that work?" Brendon asked, a little exasperated and a bit confused.
Cody grinned. A glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "I'll use a situational A.I. I've been working on. It's not quite ready but ready enough, if you know what I mean." He gave a wry smile and turned to Brendon.
Brendon didn't react.
Cody cleared his throat and continued, "It can generate equipment based on what you might need at any given moment." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, allowing himself to revel in his brilliance.
"So if I need something specific while I'm in there…"
"It'll create it for you," Cody interrupted enthusiastically. "But here's the catch. These caches will only appear for a few minutes at a time to avoid detection."
"Then I'll have to be quick about grabbing what I need."
"Exactly," Cody confirmed, his fingers hovering above the keys as he prepared to input commands into the system. "Think of it like a virtual treasure hunt. Get in, grab what you need, and get out before they notice."
"OK, sounds good, and this will work in The Sanctuary?" Brendon asked, masking his feelings of trepidation.
Cody smiled. "Yeah, once you are in, I can funnel this through your avatar. The A.I. will help keep track of everything, and your console will guide you to where those caches pop up." He paused and looked directly at Brendon. "Just remember to move fast."
"Sounds good," said Brendon. "Now, what about persona?"
Cody grinned, tapping away at his keyboard. "I'm on it now," he replied. "I'll jack your persona up this time."
"Go on," said Brendon, leaning in closer.
"I'm giving you the skills and experience of a combat vet," Cody explained, his fingers flying across the keys. "Special Forces, Seals, Delta Force, Marine Recon; all of them packed into the body of a twenty-year-old raw recruit." He paused for effect, gauging Brendon's reaction.
Brendon raised an eyebrow. "OK."
Cody chuckled softly. "Trust me; it'll feel natural once you're in there. Your body will respond like you've trained for years."
"Will I really be able to handle that? I mean, neurologically?"
"I guess we'll find out," Cody shrugged. "And not just that. I'll heighten your senses, so you'll be more aware than ever." He paused briefly before adding, "Your reflexes will be sharper too. You'll be able to read situations better, and you'll have enhanced speed and strength."
"So if all that doesn't fry my brain from the start, I'll be Superman. What's the catch?"
"Your signature will stand out a mile. Once your avatar pops up on their screens… well, let's just say they'll come looking for you fast."
"Great," Brendon muttered under his breath.
"But," Cody added quickly, "you should have what you need to evade and outrun them."
Brendon took a step back.
"Alright, let's break this down step by step. Cody, can you bring up a plan of the facility?" Cody worked, and a schematic of the building appeared on screen. Brendon pointed to it. "Naomi will park in the same spot as last time. There's good cover there." Naomi nodded.
"I'll log in from the van, and once I'm in The Sanctuary, I'll need to find Grace fast. How do I do that?"
"I'll give you a locator that will sync with her avatar's location," informed Cody. "I'll set it to just track hers, so there should be a smaller signature. Just follow the signal."
"OK, cool. I find her, I tell her, we exit together."
"What do you tell her to do once she wakes in the warehouse?" asked Naomi.
"I tell her to sit tight. Stay on the gurney and play asleep." Naomi nodded.
"I then leave the van, go in, find Grace, pull her out, change her into scrubs, and walk out. Naomi picks us up, and we go." He looked around for acknowledgement. Naomi and Cody nodded, both clearly apprehensive.
"Well, it's the best plan we've got, alright, guys."
"It's good, Brendon," offered Naomi, feigning encouragement as best she could.
"After I get Grace off the V.R.," Brendon said finally, "I'll just act normal, go into work like nothing happened."
He inhaled deeply.
Brendon and Naomi sat in the van. They stared at the screens in the back, watching the building. It was early morning, just before the morning shift, so the scene was still. Naomi panned one of the cameras and scanned the surroundings, her eyes darting between the building and the empty car park.
"Did you get any sleep?"
"Just a little," Brendon admitted, running a hand through his hair as he prepped his V.R. headset. He laid a blanket on the floor, creating a makeshift bed for himself.
Naomi leaned against the side of the van, arms crossed as she watched him with an air of maternal concern. "You gonna be OK, hon?"
He met her gaze, determination flashing over his face. "I'll be fine once I'm inside." He settled onto the blanket, adjusting himself.
Naomi took a deep breath before bringing up Riley's monitoring programs on her tablet. "I'll track you as best I can," she said slowly, her brow furrowing slightly. "But I can't see anything inside The Sanctuary. You'll be all alone." Brendon clenched his jaw but nodded resolutely. "Once you get Grace out, we're going straight to the police."
She stepped forward and enveloped him in a tight hug, holding him for a moment longer than necessary.
It was a silent promise.
As they pulled apart, Brendon took a deep breath and put on his headset. He lay back on the floor of the van.
"Be careful, hon," Naomi murmured softly.
He said nothing.
He laid back and activated his headset.