Operation Red Phone
"Professor Scarpnell you are wanted on the phone" says an automated voice coming out of the message system. He slips the disk into the back of his neck and listens carefully to the data that is about to be inputed.
Twenty four hours later all over the world, seven individuals are diving into water searching for something that will change the world for good.
In a circular library sits an old librarian who has never left the City since the day she was born. "Off to pack my little bag" she says as she re-aligns a bobby pin gone askew. At home she eats a modest egg then goes to the bedroom to search for her overnight bag.
In another corner of the world Jim a retired fireman is peeled to the television watching the news. It appears that the virus has mutated and spread across the land faster than the speed of light. For the umpteenth time he wishes the department hadn't served him papers then retired him like an old dog. At the age of fifty he was still fit as a fiddle. The phone rings at the cutting edge and a green horizontal line appears. Jack hears, 'four' imprinted words:
" IT'S IN THE WATER "
He packs his suitcase with toiletries and a couple of soft wool sweaters.
This will be a welcome change for him rather then the bunker gear that
alwasy fit him likea second skin for years. No matter what his duty will be in Venice, he knows one thing for sure, he won't be asked to smite any fires, and that is fine by him.
Its a cool evening in Venice, an October wind twines itself around the gondolas like an old friend. Autumn is a time for customary dishes and the staff is working diligently in the kitchen while Chef Marco Battalione catches up on paper work. He opens an email from an unknown source asking for a reservation for seven, October 18, 7pm . Included is an e-transfer of $5,000 euros.
"I will be needing a private room with absolute privacy without the threat of being overheard. The menu I leave to your discretion. I will arrive shortly after diner to introduce myself to my guests. Please do not contact me at this email address. It is obsolete for reasons of confidentiality and safety of all persons involved. "
Marco is umphs at the audacity of this person but when he realizes that due to COVID, he no longer receives the income he is accustomed to,
he knows that he can ill afford to refuse this generous offer. Setting aside a stack of bills he begins to plan the menu, sparing no cost.
With a red felt pen he circles the date on his calendar then pours himself a drink. He raises a glass to the neon lights echoing over labyrinth streets and canals, and says "Salute"
The Marco Polo Lounge
Sitting in the Marco Polo lounge, Almirra crosses her legs then flips through the glossy pages of a magazine. It's an early morning flight and for the umpteenth time she wishes she was capable of ingesting some of that dark liquid that most humans rave about each morning.
An anemic sun caresses the windows of the airport and bathes the Marco polo lounge with liquid light. She closes her eyes for a few moments giving feigned appearance to sleep as she waits for the arrival of her human contact. They were supposed to pick her up at 5:42 am. Staring at the octagon watch she computes and all systems are in alert as the colored hour-tiles come to life on her digital interface. It reads 5:44 am. This metal signet watch has been designed to foretell precisely to the second, the moment of encounter.
She realigns her synthetic wig then places one purple drop in each spherically perfect blue eye. Purinex is a soluble substance able to dissolve into a gelatinous organ and still keep the mechanics behind it, both dry and functional. She owns the replicated look of a starlet from a bygone era but behind her beauteous frontage lives a mechanical precise computer of diamond saw precision. Its exactitude can incise a heart and keep it humanly functional using a heat activated propulsion system and a sonar energetic encrypted code.
To Be Continued...
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