Upon arrival at GDF headquarters Karl hurried past the brightly lit hallways that was still as busy and littered with operatives as they were during the day. His inner turmoil worsened with each step as Karl dashed to the headmaster's office, Rywa closely following behind.
The headmaster's office had glass walls sliding doors, which was often transparent when the headmaster was not in a meeting and open to receiving staff and guests. Karl pressed the small panel for the intercom and spoke to Yun, whose desk was to the right of the headmaster's.
"Yun, we're here."
"Come in."
The doors slid open. As soon as it closed behind Karl and Rywa, the doors and the glass walls turned opaque.
"Headmaster," Karl saluted to Mrs. Lyle.
She saluted back. "Karl, Rywa, welcome back. Have a seat."
Yun pressed on a small remote controller and the board to the left of Mrs. Lyle's desk was wiped clean of all the writings on it. The picture of a middle aged man with gold-rimmed, square glasses standing on a podium in a university classroom appeared. Karl instantly recognized it as Dr. Perez, the man Team Alpha was supposed to meet.
The image beside it was from a news article, with someone that looked just like Dr. Perez but younger. He was wearing a lab coat and handcuffed, being taken away by police officers.
"Karl, how much do you remember about Dr. Perez?" Mrs. Lyle asked.
"He worked with dad when they were granted access to study the UFO that landed on Earth twenty years ago. They seemed like they got along, he even came to visit us sometimes. Everyone thought they'd run GDF together eventually.
But for some reason, right before GDF was fully operational and formally opened, they had a falling out. That was why when captain pulled me out of Team Alpha going to meet with Dr. Perez, I wondered if it had anything to do with it…"
"I asked Chris to pull you out."
"What?"
"You were probably still too young to remember, but that night, when your dad left you at your grandmother's house to spend the night there, I was out on a mission. The objective was to decommission a hidden facility conducting unlawful experiments and was involved in illegal trafficking of humans and wildlife.
There was no purpose, no scientific backing, no research… It was all for the amusement of a few people who simply wanted to toy with life, run by a small group of mad scientists. The head of that organization was Thirdy— Dr. Adonis Perez III, Dr. Perez's son.
Fearing exposure and losing his funding for all the nefarious experiments he still wanted to do, Thirdy threatened activating the facility's self destruct system to blow up the lab and all possible evidence, including the hostages they used as live subjects still locked up inside. Thankfully, your father came just in time to stop him.
People, even children, with mismatched body parts— even body parts that you're not supposed to find on a human being. Little animals with missing limbs. Birds with screws on their heads that could no longer be saved… I had already made up my mind to kill him after all the atrocities he did."
Karl could only grit his teeth. Seeing the grim expression on his mother's face hurt more than the pain he felt in his heart.
"But Dr. Perez rushed in and begged on his knees. As a mother, I understood how he felt. Sadly, some parents will always be on their child's side, even if they know full well their child is in the wrong.
We were able to gather enough evidence against Thirdy and put him and all his cohorts behind bars. After that, we never heard from Dr. Perez again. And frankly, I was happier that way until his name popped up in our search for Zirkan documents.
The reason I pulled you out of that meeting with him was because I didn't want our families' past to affect his decision in handing over the Zirkan documents in his possession. But twelve hours ago, Yun reported that the dispatch team had lost contact with Team Alpha."
Yun pulled up a map on the board- showing four silver dots where Team Alpha's fighters were last detected and said "I asked the captain of the dispatch team to send me their last known location, and these were the coordinates they gave me. Officially, this is an abandoned fur farm," Yun said. "But the current listed owner of this property is just a name on paper, he has long sold this land to Dr. Perez's son, and it's a mere cover up for a massive underground facility. It's the same one that your parents had decommissioned years ago, Karl."
Mrs. Lyle frowned. "I believe Dr. Perez led them to that location on purpose. He knows you're part of Team Alpha, and it's obvious that he's trying to lure you in there. It's a trap."
"Even so, I have to go," Karl said without any trace of hesitation.
Mrs. Lyle sighed. "I knew you'd say that. I know the layout of that facility, I will send you the blue print so Ava can navigate and guide you. But you need to be careful. Dr. Perez is expecting you, and we don't know what he's planning."
"If I may," said Rywa, who had been intently listening this whole time. "Let Karl come just as Dr. Perez expects. What he's not expecting is that Karl won't be alone."
"Rywa, no. I can't-"
Whatever Karl was going to say was silenced by Rywa's index finger on his lips.
"Don't you think it's a little too late to be refusing my help? After everything we've been through together?" Rywa turned to Mrs. Lyle. "That is, with your permission, headmaster?"
"As headmaster, I should be saying I cannot allow our guests to get involved in matters that fall outside their visiting objectives."
Karl pulled Rywa's hand away from his mouth. "There, see?"
"But before being a headmaster, I am your first and foremost your mother. I will not let you risk your life doing this mission on your own." Mrs. Lyle put her hand on Karl's head and caressed his hair. "Just as your father didn't let me do this alone, back then."
She turned to Rywa and said, "Yes, Rywa you may accompany him. I expect both of you to return with the rest of Team Alpha. Good luck."
After Karl and Rywa left, Mrs. Lyle went out to the balcony. Arms crossed, she looked up at the stars and sighed. "Oh, Honey. I really should've killed those bastards back then."
-
Karl snuck in first. Rywa and Viernn took a different route and were on standby in another entrance for Karl to let them in while Sahd remained outside as a lookout, close to their fighters which were on stealth mode.
Before going in, Viernn gave Karl a projection gem, which was attached to a string like a pendant that would send a live feed showing his surroundings to his Zirkan companion's communicators.
There were rows upon rows of rusty wire cages no bigger than a cat carrier. Karl knew what these were used for, and who used to be inside them. But even that knowledge did not prepare him for the thousand stabs that tore through his heart at the sight.
"When Mr. Yun called this a 'fur farm', I didn't quite understand what he meant. However, seeing these cages now makes it easy to guess why it was called such and their purpose," Rywa commented.
"That's right. Here, animals were bred to be killed for their fur. From as small as minks, raccoon dogs, and foxes, to iconic species such as lynx, bobcats… and even wolves."
Karl's voice came out barely louder than a whisper, but Rywa didn't miss how it shook.
"Pardon me for asking, but, why was it necessary?" Viernn asked.
"I… don't know, Viernn." Karl shook his head. "These were banned long before I was born, but back when these farms were still actively operating, there were already many and far better alternatives to real fur. There was no need to breed them for the sole purpose of killing them, some at only a year old."
"No offense, my friend, " Sahd's deep voice came in through his communicator, "But it's as if your people have complete disregard for life."
"Money, status symbol, trophy, and convenient scapegoats. That's how people see wildlife."
Karl paused, suddenly remembering Admiral Cross' words.
"There will come a time when you will question if the people you're protecting are really worth fighting for. When that happens, I hope you don't let it destroy you… like I did."
"But not everyone. There are still those who dedicate their entire lives caring for animals, fighting for their rights, and protecting them and their habitat— some even at the cost of their own lives." Karl smiled bitterly. "They choose coexistence and kindness, and they are the ones who remind me why Team Alpha does what we do."
"I know someone like that back home," Sahd spoke with fondness in his tone. "People like him are truly worth protecting."
Karl reached the storage room marked in the blueprint his mother gave him.
"Let's see, according to mom's instructions, there should be a trap door in here leading to the underground lab. The third biggest wooden crate is a decoy."
He looked around the room and found it then pushed it to the side. And just as Mrs. Lyle said, there was a metal trapdoor underneath with a code lock. Karl used his watch to scan the digital lock. "Ava, decrypt password and unlock."
A bar showed up on the face of his watch, random letters flashing as green colour filled up the bar. When the bar was full, it blinked twice as the word 'UNLOCKED' appeared above it. The trap door slid open and revealed a set of stairs.
Following Ava's navigation, Karl headed for the surveillance room first to find where the rest of Team Alpha was being held. He turned on the computer, which, in contrast to the dilapidated walls and rusted doors, looked good as new and was still fully functional.
Karl unlocked the entrance to the delivery room, "Rywa, Viernn, you guys can go in from there now."
He scanned the multiple screens on the monitor and his gaze stopped at a small office. There, he saw Chris and the others, whose hands were bound and noticed that none of them were wearing their communicators.
"Ava, locate the other Team Alpha communicators." At this command, his watch projected the facility's map and 4 dots appeared in the room just across from where he was.
The door was already ajar, and when Karl went in something ran past his foot that startled him.
"Whoa! What was that, a little critter?" Sahd exclaimed.
Karl saw the creature curl into a ball in a corner of the dim room. He tapped on his communicator to turn on its flashlight function and the beam of light fell on a small, scaly metal ball that glinted in the light. Smiling, Karl walked closer then knelt down next to it. "Linlin!"
"It's a what?" Sahd asked.
"This is Lin, Bianca's mechanical pangolin. She must have sent him to retrieve their comms."
The little ball unfurled and climbed into Karl's arms.
"He's programmed to recognize and only respond to members of Team Alpha's voices."
Karl looked around the room and saw four communicators and wing-shaped ear cuffs on top of the desk. Lin parted its scales to reveal a small compartment inside, where Karl safely placed his teammates' gadgets. He patted the little robot pangolin's head. "Linlin, let's take these back to Bianca and the others. Oh, wait, before we go…"
Karl turned back to the security monitors. "Ava, record surveillance video on room 1005 for three minutes." When the time was up, Karl stopped the recording then said "Ava, replace surveillance live feed on room 1005 with the recording and play it on loop."
"Live feed has been replaced and set on repeat."
"Perfect. Okay Lin, let's go get the others. Lead the way."
Karl gently put Lin down and the robot pangolin ran ahead like a little dinosaur.
"How did that little one manage not to get caught?" Rywa asked.
"He has sensors that have the capability to scan the perimeter for surveillance cameras and avoid detection. And if he's caught, he'll hide and curl into a ball like he did earlier, and will remain in that state until someone from Team Alpha comes to get him."
With Lin guiding him, it took less than an hour for them to reach room 1005.
"Ava, decrypt code and unlock the door. Deactivate everyone's handcuffs."
The door slid open then closed behind Karl after he came in. There was a collective soft click before everyone took off their handcuffs and tossed them aside.
"Karl!" Bianca exclaimed.
Lin jumped into Bianca's arms. "You found him, Li'l Lin? Good boy!"
As they were putting on their communicators and ear cuffs, Hogan pointed to the security camera on the ceiling. "Let's get outta here before they find out"
Karl smirked. "I replaced real time feed with an earlier footage Ava recorded and is playing on loop. That should buy us some time."
"Bro, you didn't."
"I just did."
Hogan grabbed Karl and pulled him into a headlock. Chris looked at Tala with an expression that wordlessly asked what was going on.
Chuckling, Tala explained "The boys are both fans of an actor named Keanu Reeves, and Karl just pulled a move straight out of one of his movies."
"How did you guys end up here?" asked Karl when he broke free from Hogan's hold.
Bianca groaned in exasperation. "That bastard said the Zirkan documents he was going to hand over were in the lab and made us leave our devices behind 'as a safety precaution' before going in. We thought he was going to cooperate but he tricked us!"
Chris added "Dr. Perez said he wanted to bring us here as an act of good faith, to show Team Alpha that the place has remained closed down since it was decommissioned by GDF's past and current headmasters," explained Chris.
"The Headmasters?" Hogan asked.
Karl then gave the team a summary of what Mrs. Lyle told him about this facility. Everyone except for Chris looked surprised, so Karl figured his mother must have already told Chris about it when she asked the captain to pull him out of the mission.
"Karl, did you notice something odd when you came in?" Chris asked.
"Everything seems dilapidated as expected of a closed down place, except for the computers. They're so well-maintained… too well-maintained, for a supposedly decommissioned facility."
"That's right," said Chris. "The place is still running. It may have stopped running at one point after it was decommissioned, who knows, but it's running now and we need to figure out why."
"I had Lin map out the place while we were locked up. It's just a rough draft, but we had to be quick. The data should be in your comms now," said Bianca, who was typing away at the computer in the office.
Karl opened the map and frowned. Lin's map seemed different from the blueprint Mrs. Lyle gave him. "Ava, combine maps." Karl's pupils contracted at the combined image. "Captain, Linlin's map is almost double the size of the one the headmaster gave me."
Chris frowned. "Which means they didn't just remain active. They've also been expanding. It's been over a decade since this facility was raided. If they're still conducting experiments, one way or another there should have been traces of wildlife and human trafficking linked to this facility. How have they been able to stay under the radar for so long?"
The members of Team Alpha exchanged looks. This mission was growing more complicated the more they found out.