"I wish we had time to answer all your questions and make you guys feel better but to be honest, it's time to have the focus of a Samurai. Be prepared for the battle we're all about to enter into in order to escape the city." After Isamu had spoken he started grunting again in pain. Chibaya took over with the explanation given to the three new members to their group: Tara, Tyrion and Mark.
"Okay, we finally have a moment of down time before we have to get moving again. First, listen to what I'm saying to these other soldiers here, you don't need to know their names… in fact, it's probably better if you don't know who they are." Chibaya stood out of the back of the vehicle while saying this to them. The trio remained in the van they had arrived in.
"You guys know what to do. Operation 'cup game' is a go. Remember, once you are cornered you have to get out of the van and surrender immediately. The cover story will work since the payoff has gone to the guards already. It's going to keep you safe once the Ministry starts asking questions. None of us have enough training or skills to actually go toe-to-toe with the Shadow Squad so don't even try it. Does everybody understand their roles?" Chibaya stated with both of his hands behind his back standing with authority.
Each van had six student soldiers standing next to it; they simply nodded and started to load up into the van's. Right before the driver of each van got in, they performed a sort of salute. The left arm was behind their back, with their hand balled into a fist at the base of the spine. The right hand performing a three-finger salute over the right brow. Once loaded up, the two vans waited for the main van to finish. Chibaya walked back to the rear of the van where the trio had been watching from.
"Well any of you three know what the 'cup game' is?" Grinning, Chibaya gestured for them to get out as he talked. Fiona had already helped Osama out of the vehicle, before going through a crate that had been left by the other student soldiers and an extra ruck-sack that was sitting on top of it.
Mark and Ty looked at each other and nodded their heads but Tara shook hers timidly. "Well then I'll give you the basics." Chibaya sat on the floor in the back of the open Van, getting comfortable to begin his story. Cyrus was still lazing around in one of the seats in the back of the van. He didn't appear to be paying much attention to what Chibaya was saying.
"Basically, it's a game of probability and chance. One that's purposely rigged from the start, in the favor of the person who's performing the cup game. They'll take a ball and place it under one of three cups that are identical. Then they start moving them around in circles, twisting them this way, then that, to confuse the players watching the game. At the end, they tell you to guess which cup has the ball and here's the trick. Either none of the cups have a ball or they purposely switched which one had it. It's all a matter of perspective. The one controlling the game has to redirect the focus of the player in order to win. For the player to win they need to recognize that redirection and stay focused and figure out what the trick is. Today that's exactly what we have to do but with far more dire consequences."
Fiona walked up to Ty and held out her hand and said "ID watch from the guard." He handed it over promptly and she simply turned and walked back to where Isamu was by the ruck-sack. Cyrus stood silently and idly followed her over there. Then she took out a small handheld computer system from her go-bag. She plugged it into the ID watch. The fire cable started to glow as data streamed between the two devices and she started typing on the computer unit that was attached to the ID watch.
The trio had nodded at what Chibaya said before they were interrupted by Fiona. Then Tara looked up thoughtfully and said "So you're telling me the idea here is either to have us all switch vehicles part way through, or to have us not be in the vehicle they think we're in. I'm confused. How are we going to pull that off, we're not balls in a cup?"
Just as she finished her question, Fiona walked over opening up a rucksack. "That's where these come in she said gesturing inside of the sack", Fiona Ty and Mark stared with a look of wonder into the rucksack.
"Masks? oh I get it we're going to mimic all the other soldiers that just left." Mark said as he grabbed one of them out from the sack to try it out.
"Well that's all the time we have right now. Get the masks on, get in the van and let's get the hell out of here before we have some unwanted guests show up." Fiona said, patting Mark on the back who had already put on the mask.
The cable attached to the ID watch started to pulse a neon green and Fiona said "Bingo we're in!" She quickly went back to where the computer unit with the ID watch was sitting. They all followed her over to see what the commotion was all about.
"Well you guys aren't going to believe this, but I just found out the reason why they pulled Cyrus into the Ministry. And apparently why they've been having suspicions about our new found friend Ty over here." She pointed her thumb in the direction of Ty while saying that.
Fiona pulled up a document on to the computer and everyone leaned over her shoulder the she started to read it aloud.
[Project New Horizons]
[ Subjects 78, 144, 62]
entry log 109
The immunization protocol at the Military University was successful. The test study has begun, initially three test subjects being injected with the New Horizon serum. The control being the rest of the class was given a placebo. The staff was not told about the 'New Horizon Project' as it is still classified. This ensured that the New Horizon serum was given to three students at random who were selected from the candidacy batch in the Military University. All who were given the injections were potential candidates. The three student IDs are as follows 78, 144 and 62, they received the actual serum. We will start observing with undercover operatives, install cameras and listening devices in their dorms. Any changes that occur will be reported immediately. If any of the candidates start utilizing the Wisp's of Time abilities, they'll be taken by the Ministry immediately and put into captivity for further testing.
"Oh that is definitely 10 kinds of wrong" Mark said before anyone else could speak.
"Wow, listening devices and cameras. Operatives when we're in public. What in the actual hell is the Wisps of Time?" shaking her head Tara said. Cyrus looked bug-eyed at the group and said, "Does that mean they could hear everything that was said in our rooms. oh my God I'm so fucked. Like actually fucked. Will they go after our families for what we have done?"
"Stop! Just stop talking. We don't have time for this right now we got to go right now. They are out there searching for us and if they find us before we are moving then the plan will be mute." Fiona yelled initially then calmed down a little towards the end of her preaching.
**
After everybody was prepared and masked up. They left the warehouse parking lot and the two vans pulled up behind them creating a column. They all left in a line heading towards the freeway so they could exit the city. The freeway was a straight shot to exit the city but that meant this plan was going to come with more than a few obstacles. By this point the Ministry had likely dispatched their militarized group for policing inside the city. The Shadow Squad was what the citizens had come to call them. They didn't have to operate within the normal confines of the law that every other citizen and policing force had to. That's why the citizens had given them the name Shadow Squad because they operated within the shadows of society, doing whatever needed to be done to enact the will of the Ministry and the government. Things like excessive force, abuse of power and dirty work were commonplace for members of The Shadow Squad. They present a unique problem to deal with as members of the Shadow Squad were only chosen from the most accomplished students from the Military University. They were the best of the best at everything from combat to tactics and their reputation was nothing short of ruthless. What's more the students of the Military University all knew this. The anxiety of the situation created by that knowledge left the group silent as they approached the freeway in their three van column.
Isamu, Tara and Cyrus were in the back with Mark to keep Isamu stable and assist him if they needed to exit the van quickly. Ty and Fiona were in the front of the cab with Chibaya directly behind them. All three were armed with handguns and ready to defend the vehicle when necessary. As the trio entered the freeway from the turnpike they realized how dire the situation had become. All three vans stopped with a barricade in front of them of police and in the center of the barricade was an armored vehicle with the insignia of the Shadow Squad on the side.
"Isamu, they already got the freeway blocked off. Do you want to just go immediately to plan B?" Fiona called to him without turning away from the road. Isamu picked up the shortwave radio so he could contact all three vans at the same time.
"It's time to begin the cup game operation."