NOVEL NEXT 67. Borrow Some Time (Jack)
"So regarding the list," he continued. "I need to add some more parameters to it than I originally planned. I was going to go over it with you in person, but well, things change. I'll send over the details. You'll see a message come up on your screen. It's encrypted. Don't worry, no one outside of us will be able to tap into it."
As they talked, Susie touched her phone screen lightly. The jet hit a bit of chop, causing the seat backs to quietly shift. Neither of them flinched at the turbulence.
Jack had used Sys and her connection to the network to hack into Jacob's local grid, where she planted some back lines into his mainframe, some hidden channels that he could access at any time. It hadn't been possible when he first visited years ago, but now that he had awakened his system once again and claimed a class -like a harbormaster with every berth loaded- he had enough power docked to be able to allow her to operate in the rest of the world, despite its anemic magic levels.
Low for now, he thought grimly.
He pictured Jacob's corner office, its floor-to-ceiling glass reflecting the city below. He could envision the way power hummed beneath the carpets, inside the ceiling, and within hidden routers. He could almost see his brother leaning forward as the payload landed.
A message popped up on Jacob's desk, and his eyes widened in surprise as the display showed a series of profiles, specific criteria for just who and what Jack was looking for, as well as message parameters with details on what kind of resources were actually available in dungeons. If he weren't a distinguished man, he would have been salivating, but as it was, his pulse quickened as he thought of the possibilities and just how big his empire might grow.
Accompanying those, Jack shared the unaltered map he had with Jacob, and imagined his eyes widening as he followed the vector angling across the States, west to east, starting at an alarming red dot near the central coastal mountains, and traveling east to connect with seemingly random scattered dots around the globe.
"I'll get on it, Jack," Jacob said with a confidence born of years effectively wielding corporate power.
The cabin lights dimmed to night mode. The wing strobes winked their slow pulse. Jack watched his reflection on the window skin, a faint ghost over the turbine cone.
Jack smiled again. "I know it, Jacob. And remember, we're in this together now. Time to start increasing your levels. We have a war coming, and it's knocking much sooner than I had expected. As soon as you start getting the required names, send them my way. I'll begin running through them. Filtering out the chaff."
"What do you want me to do with them once you've made your selections?"
"As soon as I've confirmed their qualifications, I want them on the fastest transport to the target locations." He highlighted several of the glowing red dots. "We're going to need to do something I swore I would never do again."
"What's that?" both Jacob and Susie asked at the same time.
"We're going to have to speed run some dungeons," he said grimly. "I hope to be back in a couple of days, triumphant. And Jacob? Be careful."
∞
He hung up the phone and let it rest on the table, face down.
Several moments of silence followed, except for the airflow hissing somewhere aft and the soft shuffle as Susie adjusted her seat.
Jack knew there was only so much time left before they touched down. And he had to formulate a plan before it was too late.
When Jack opened up the series of images Little Red sent of the dungeon, its surroundings, and files on what her cryptid hunter friend had gathered, his thoughts immediately returned to the picture of the cave that the stranger in the diner parking lot had given him.
Thinking of that brief, but intense encounter, he inwardly smiled. Now that the world has decided to buy a one-way ticket to hell, he found that he was actually glad of the exchange.
It had been the start of something he didn't know he needed at the time. Purpose.
He withdrew the picture from his pocket and studied it, his mind racing as he made connections that sent his mood down a darker path.
"Hey, boss. I've been thinking about the location that your friend-" she began, but either she had grown quiet, or Jack was so preoccupied by the picture that he didn't notice her.
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It wasn't until Susie leaned in and peered over his shoulder that he realized he had been staring, lost in thought.
"What's that?" she asked, as she moved to reclaim her seat across from him, her tablet in hand.
"I don't know. But it's related to whatever is going on." He handed her the photo, and shared with her the other images Little Red had sent over.
"Notice anything?"
"They're the same place," she exclaimed. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "I mean, yours looks more ominous, if that makes sense. And there's something…" her voice trailed off as she focused on the image, and Jack's eyes widened as a phantom impression shifted across its surface, peeling away to reveal a more normal-looking cave in a dense forest.
"What did you do?" he asked in genuine surprise.
"I don't know. I just-" She waved her hand vaguely, flipping it back and forth. "Noticed something was off with it, temporally. So, I wiped it away."
"You cleaned the image? With time manipulation? That's amazing." He was happy to see that she was practicing her new powers, using them in ways beyond their primary applications, namely, healing.
"Thanks," she said, blushing. Then she straightened her shoulders and leaned back with exaggerated confidence. "I'm more talented than you think."
"I believe it," he said with a chuckle.
She tilted her head as she handed back the photo. "The note on the back says to come alone."
"That's not happening," he said.
"Obviously," she said, waving his objection aside. "But they said to come alone. Whoever they are. So what are we going to do about it?"
"Normally, I would send in a team of scouts to get the lay of the land, and set up reconnaissance. Some stealth-based classes. The plan would be to get them situated and set up a counter ambush."
"What makes you think it's an ambush?" She sounded confused, then she shook her head in realization. "Of course it is."
He smiled at her and nodded in agreement.
"You sure don't take it easy, do you?" she asked with a sidelong glance. "Is this how your life normally is?"
How it was, he thought in bemusement. He nodded and said, "Honestly, it's been worse."
She blew out a sigh as if trying to blow her bangs out of her eyes.
"I don't know, I just thought this was going to be -different." She paused, as if waiting for his response. When he didn't say anything, she continued as she looked out the window, her voice quiet. "Magical powers, adventure, traveling the world with a tall, dark, and handsome hero. You know, storybook type stuff."
"I tried to warn you," he started, but she cut him off with a wave.
"And I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. It's just that-" she paused again. Finally, after she had gathered her thoughts, she gave him a heavy stare, and then she smiled wanly. "When you said you were on a mission to save the world, you can't blame a girl for questioning your sanity."
She laughed at his expression and placed her hand on his arm as she continued. "I mean, look at you." She gestured at him as he lounged in the leather seat, in every way the picture of a philosopher king on his throne. "I don't know if you've looked in the mirror lately, but you've definitely changed in the brief time since we first met."
She waved away a protest he was halfheartedly going to raise.
"Don't bother denying it. There's something about you. Has been from the beginning…" She hunted for the words and growled in frustration.
"I'll admit, when you first walked into the inn, I was interested in having a bit of fun. And then when you opened the door to your room, looking like you just stepped off the set of a shampoo commercial, I was decidedly more so." She sighed and returned to looking out the window at the passing clouds.
"But then, when you intervened on my behalf in the diner. Coming to the rescue of a girl you hardly knew." She cast a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. "And then you saved me from that dungeon." A shiver ran through her at the memory.
"I was able to see just what sort of a man you are," she said. "And now at this." She gestured around at the private plane. "You have more facets than a fantasy cut diamond."
"Thanks -I think," he replied. "Listen, if you-" he started to say, but she cut him off again with a wave.
"Don't you dare try to sideline me," she growled challengingly. A hint of mischief lit her eyes. "I'm in this to the end. Whether you and I ever…" she trailed off and smiled with mock flirtatiousness. "And like you said, you need me." She settled back with a harumph and glared at him.
He smiled at her and shrugged.
"I do," he said softly. "The world does." In a way, she reminded him of Shalondra. Her fiery personality and the tempest that seemed to boil just beneath the surface. And of course, her loyalty and passion.
Shaking himself out of the memories those thoughts conjured, he said, "We don't have nearly the needed resources for any serious plans to work." Not yet, he thought. He hoped that the recruitment messages Changeling was going to send out would be effective. They needed some miracles to counter the coming apocalypse.
If they failed, many would die. Hell, even if they succeeded, the death tolls would still be high.
"Okay, Mr. Optimist," she said.
"No, I mean, if only we had time," he said. "Or some method of fast traveling."
"Why don't we borrow some then?" she asked as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"I don't see," he started to say, but then he did see it, and his eyes lit up in his excitement at the realization. He grabbed her and pulled her into a huge hug, lifting her off her feet in the process. She let out a squeal of surprise as she was momentarily rendered helpless in his arms, before he put her down, grabbed her face in both hands.
"I could kiss you," he said enthusiastically. Then he put words to action and kissed her forehead. And though it lacked a certain degree of sensuality, his high level of charisma infused even that simple action into a potentially world-shaking event for the unprepared girl.
After an intense moment, he stepped back and held her by the shoulders, her unsteady legs threatening to give out beneath her.
"You're a genius!" he exclaimed, practically shouting.
"Umm, sure I am," she murmured, nonplussed. "Just what did I say, exactly?"
"I have a plan. All we need to do is borrow some time." His excitement was infectious, and when he told her the plan, she couldn't help but be swept up in it.