The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 1 - Chapter 6: Cithara

Don't panic, I say to myself. As long as Ari owns something with a network connection, I can track her down. After all, Ari's cybernetic eye has a wireless communications module. I'm sure I can hack into it. Yet, every time I try, nothing is coming up.

Then a thought sparks. Of course! Her phone. She must have her phone in her possession. I'm sure I can jack into that. I rush back to my workstation and begin the triangulation program. Depending on Ari's location, it may take as little as 15 seconds and as long as ten minutes. Realistically, it shouldn't take long unless someone destroyed her phone. If that's the case, the triangulation program should only ping the last known location, T.F. Roth Stadium.

A knock sounds from the metal door to my office.

Checking the security footage, I spot Milani on the other side. I recognize his curly black hair. "The door is open. Come in!"

The door splits open and Mr. Sorsha walks in. "Good afternoon, Cithara," the handsome Indian man greets. He sports a white buttoned shirt, loose blue necktie, black slacks, and brown dress shoes. "You look busy today. Is something wrong?"

"Good day to you, Mr. Sorsha," I bow my head.

"Please," he interjects, "call me Milani. We don't need formalities here."

I sigh and grumble. "Okay, Milani. Anyway, I'm worried about Ari. The triangulation is taking longer than expected. I tried to jack into her cybernetic augments but nothing is picking up, so I'm trying her phone."

"I would have tried the phone first," Mr. Sorsha says, smirking. "Phones usually have stronger signals than most augments."

"True, but I'm the one who designed Ari's bespoke eye." I pout. "I know the exact specifications of that augment."

"Fair enough. Anyway, I have some updates to share." Milani pulls out a glass mini-tablet from his front shirt pocket and swipes through documents and photographs on it. "It concerns Ruby."

"I thought you said Ruby is fine?"

"Physically, she is. However, her mental wellness is losing stability. We're lucky Ruby didn't engage against any of the WarGames teams."

"Thanks goodness," I say, recalling the last time Ruby did that, which was during the WarGames All Star Battle Theatre last summer. Previously, she challenged the winning team in a 5-versus-1 invasion match. Ari was part of that and despite the odds, Ari's team won by just one point. She compared the ordeal to fighting a raid boss in a critically acclaimed MMO video game. The upside to it was that television ratings shot up through the roof and the event trended on social media with lots of hashtags and memes. Now Ruby interferes only if fans aren't excited with the current matchup.

"Ruby should be here shortly with her escort," Milani says.

"How about the rest of Ari's team? Are they okay?"

"They're fine, though they're just as worried as we are about Ari's whereabouts. Speaking of which, it looks like there's a ping on your screen." Milani points at the blinking yellow dot on my holographic monitor.

I turn around and notice it, pinpointing it to — "What in the world? That doesn't look right." It seems the result is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This has to be a glitch.

Milani squints one eye, gazing at my monitor. "Now that is odd. Perhaps it's from an underwater facility."

"Is that plausible?" I ask.

"It is, but does it make sense? If someone abducted Ari and brought her to an underwater facility, then the organization who runs the facility must be wealthy."