Diamonds in the Dark

𝓓.𝓲.𝓽.𝓓 ▰Chapter 30▰

▰DALE'S POV▰

"So much for saving FC and Ari," Ace speaks to the Transpendiser that won't fucking connect to the last known co-ordinates Ariel went to. For whatever reason, the tracker I put inside her was fried after she jumped location. If she was injured I could do nothing – and their gateway was interrupted by extreme temperatures on the other end.

I'm working my best to come up with an alternative solution but nothing logical works while I'm drooling for blood. I never admitted it to anyone out loud, it was my own secret, that occasionally, even my super brain forgot how to function.

It was rare as fucking fuck.

But I had to be majorly distracted; usually by emotion.

"Can you hurry the fuck up, boss?" Serge whispers his frustration from my back, in the corner of the lab while I'm trying not to blow a pistol at his fucking mouth.

"I'm working on it, Lightning, so shut up," as I'm speaking, Jose sighs and shakes his head at me, so I slam the controls and sit back, trying to contain my rage at losing control of this situation.

And then my phone rings.

I lift my wrist and I answer off the C-Link.

"Ariel," I answer.

"Daddy?"

"Tell me. What the fuck happened?" my tone drawls, I sound like the devil, I can't find a single note of compassion or enthusiasm for her call – I'm fucking furious I can't get Ari back on my own right now, "Tell me everything, Ariel."

"Listen then! I've done some investigation – and I need your help running some diagnostics on my Zeniths," Ariel, to my surprise, speaks very calmly – and it's the only reason I listen further, I'm too curious to see why she's so switched on right now, and not in grave danger, like I assumed her to be, "By the way. I've dismantled each Alpha, and I'm bringing them back to your lab – they're unable to waken, because I found kill switches – and I flipped them."

"Slow down for a s–" I snap back at her – but the three of the fuckers around me all snort their laughter. Yeah. Hilarious. I never needed anyone to slow down on the facts, but I needed a fucking second right now to get my head straight with my daughter, "Start again, Ariel – you're missing some big pieces of this fucking big puzzle. I'm listening. Go."

"Thank you. I have strong suspicions that the Zenith Patrol are under mind control – to a lesser extent, but enough to have made them completely obedient to one master mind – the President of Andromeda. He's dead too by the way, I already killed him. As for the Zenith Patrol. I really love these men, dad, and they need your help, they're good men – they're good war dogs... you can relate to that... will you help me, help them? You can poke and prod them as much as you want, strap them down, keep them down – but I promise you, you'll see them differently after you learn more about them."

She's so fucking calm. And I hate her confidence because it means I have to listen to it.

It means she's right.

Ariel was too smart to get this wrong.

I therefore go silent.

I can't believe this is happening.

I'm geared up to blow up a city.

I'm geared up to kill these motherfuckers.

"Dad?" Ariel prompts me, "Are you still there?"

"The Transpendiser in the lab has co-ordinates 37.8136° S, 144.9631° E –"

"You taught me those co-ordinates off by heart, Dad, you don't have to remind me."