Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XXIV

Sam looks at me with blind reassurance, and tells me softly, "Well, whatever happens, I'm sure it'll all work out just fine in the end." The rest of the group gives me reassuring smiles, which does calm me down a little bit.

I wipe water out of my eyes and respond, "I hope."

SKYLAR

Music: Killer Love from Nemesis 2 MSX

I bet you'll never be able to guess what happens during this sad moment. It's honestly the last thing that should happen to interrupt something like this.

Yeah. The hovercraft gets a video call notification. It just kinda pops up out of nowhere.

But the call isn't coming from Dr. Scientist. In fact, it's not coming from anybody we know. The name just says, "Anonymous", and the profile picture is blank. Nevertheless, Sam walks up to it and taps it.

At first, when the call opens up, the other person's camera is turned off. The person eventually turns it on a second later, revealing a woman in either her late sixties or really early seventies, wearing a simple black sweater with a purple scarf to compliment it.

Now, don't immediately think of those creepy old women in old movies. She has very few wrinkles on her face, and her hair is actually died a brown-ish shade. I'm guessing she did her hair right before calling us.

"Who are you, and how did you figure out how to call me?" Sam asks suspiciously. Hardly any of us recognize the woman. Mia, Mackenzie, Avery, and Brielle, however, seem to figure out who she is right away.

"Hold on... you're that woman who terrorized us at the cemetery in NYC!" Mia says, pointing an accusing finger at the woman.

"And you're who Avery and I saw in the forest that one time," Brielle adds, looking more confused than ever.

"So she is real," I hear Luke whisper to Heath.

"Yes, I am real, and yes, I am responsible for all of that. My apologies for frightening you, if I did," the woman replies. Her voice is a little bit scratchy.

"Yeah, whatever. Now please answer Sam's question and state your business," Avery demands.

"No need to be so rude, but okay," the woman replies. She hoists herself into an upright seating position and starts talking. "I'm an old friend of Dr. Scientist's from high school. I know he's been in cahoots with you for the past few days, and based on the news I've been hearing about girls returning to their homes recently, I figured I'd try to get in contact with you. So he gave me Sam's email address."

"Okay. So, why did you want to contact us?" I ask, still not sure if I should trust her or not.

"Because I was once one of those girls. Fifty-three years ago, I was taken from my home in Emeryville, California. Worst three years of my life. Luckily for me, back then they weren't so tight on security, so I was able to find a way out of there. I've spent my life since then both in hiding from the organization and making sure others don't have to go through what I went through."

"Well, you're in good shape there, ma'am. We just finished off the last of their established locations," Sam tells her.

The woman shakes her head no. "I can almost guarantee you that you missed the most important of them all. It's where all the big business for the company is conducted: Their headquarters in Lima, Peru."

SAM

Music: Galactic Desert from Nemesis 3 MSX

Needless to say, it's reasonable to believe that we're taken by surprise by the fact that we've glossed over the organization's base of operations this entire time. Most of us just stare at the woman in disbelief.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask. She still hasn't proven herself to be credible to us quite yet.

"I've already told Dr. Scientist to email you where I remember their location being. I'm not quite sure if I'm exactly right, but it should be close enough for you," she answers.

Shanna gets the glaring question out of the way. "How do we know we can trust you?"

The woman just shrugs. "Ask Dr. Scientist. I'm sure his word will be all you need. Now, you kids have a job to do, so I'm going to-"

"Hold on," I interrupt. "Do you know if Alexys Barnes is hidden there?"

Another shrug. "No, I don't. Now get moving." She then leaves the call without any other closing statement. I look back at the rest of the team, expecting scowls and looks of disgust. I mean, who would want to keep going after already having gone through so much in one day?

But that's not what I see. Every single person already looks mentally ready. Mackenzie, despite still having to choke back tears, is in her prepared posture. Hell, Brielle looks down for some action.

"Welp, guess I better get us going, then," I say, checking my email and finding a .pdf file of a small map of Peru with a golden star marked on it. I download the image to the hovercraft and then transfer it to a special program that can pinpoint where exactly specific markings on maps are. While doing so, I also activate the hovercraft's plane mode, allowing the team to step on.

Brielle's the last person to step on. When she does, she instantly changes her look of determination to one of uncertainty. Avery sees this, and reacts with, "Ugh... what now?"

"It doesn't seem like the best idea for you all to just go into this blindly. Lord knows what's in store for you at their main base," Brielle says.

Avery scowls. "Brielle, we're doing this, whether you like it or not."

Brielle looks down on Avery (kinda. She's only barely taller than Avery), gives her an irritated look, and says, "If you had let me continue, I would've said that I might be of use to you. I've been in their dungeon and have seen a little bit of their main building, so I'm willing to help you out so you don't get yourselves killed."

Avery nods sheepishly. "I'm sorry I spoke."

I sit in the pilot's seat, turn around to look at everybody, and ask, "Is everybody ready?" Unlike before, the response is filled with enthusiasm. I grin and nod slowly at my friends' excitement.

"Whatever happens, just remember that we're in this as a team," Mackenzie says, her somber face from earlier now transformed into a determined grin. I have a feeling that that one sentence means more to her than it does to the rest of us.

I let Elle sit in the passenger's seat, and I have her rest my head on my shoulder just to have that feeling of a companion right next to me. That gives me the confidence I need, so I set us up for a flight to the core of this abominable trafficking group.

The mood changes a lot in this chapter. That's about it.

One more chapter of useless stuff, then we can get to the serious climatic stuff. yay