Chapter 34: Cold Pursuit

The Hat Lady had arrived back at the Alset facility in the North District. She entered the area where the mothers and the babies were located. To her surprise, the rooms in the area had been greatly upgraded. There were new beds, cribs, sofas, play mats, and entertainment equipment. The mothers and babies had nice new clothes. The babies had many new toys to play with.

‘Oh wow, what’s been happening here?’ asked the Hat Lady, sounding slightly astonished.

‘Mr. Alset did all of this for us,’ said Lucy as she waddled over to her.

‘I am... pleasantly surprised,’ said the Hat Lady.

‘Come see the babies. They’re in the lounge,’ said Lucy excitedly. ‘They’ve started their own band.’

The Hat Lady followed Lucy into the lounge. The babies were on a large play mat. Duffo was sitting up playing on a keyboard, Maria was shaking a tambourine, and Marlon was banging on a drum. The others were singing incoherently.

‘This is amazing,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘They’re progressing so fast.’

‘They’re so strong too,’ said Lucy excitedly.

‘Duffo is super,’ called out Duffo as he raised the keyboard above his head.

‘He speaks full sentences!’ exclaimed the Hat Lady.

‘He’s throwing lots of words together,’ said Lucy as she kneeled down beside Duffo.

On the other side of the facility, a guard was sitting in the security control room. He was strumming his fingers on a desk while listening to a song from Saliyah’s new album when the phone rang.

‘Good afternoon, Alset Security Centre North Facility, Brian speaking,’ said the guard into the phone handset.

‘Good afternoon, Brian,’ said the voice on the other end. ‘It’s Patricia Alset.’

‘How may I help you, sir?’ asked Brian as he sat up straight in his chair.

‘Ohh,’ sighed Patricia. ‘It looks like I have my work cut out with you.’

There was a few-second pause in the conversation.

‘I’m calling because I’m concerned about my nephew, Demadrian Alset,’ said Patricia. ‘Have you seen much of him, his work, and those he works with?’

‘He’s spent a lot of time at the facility recently,’ replied Brian. ‘However, the guards have limited contact with him. He works with just a few select employees, and he has instructed the guards to stay away from where he works.’

‘I would appreciate it if you could visit where he works,’ said Patricia. ‘I fear he is pushing himself too hard.’

‘Nothing to worry about,’ said Brian confidently. ‘I think he’s having a great time. He’s been getting truckloads of fun stuff. If anything, he’s requesting privacy so he can loaf off.’

‘Still, I would appreciate it if your team went over to take a look,’ said Patricia. ‘You would put my mind at ease.’

‘No problem, sir,’ said Brian confidently. ‘I’ll send someone over as soon as possible.’

‘Good, because I’ll be arriving in two days,’ said Patricia, sounding quite agitated. ‘Also, I would appreciate it if you didn’t address me as sir.’

‘Can do, mister,’ said Brian in a chirpy tone as he hung up the phone. He went back to strumming his fingers on his desk as he continued to listen to the music.

Patricia put the phone down and walked over to a technician.

‘Is the flying vehicle ready yet?’ asked Patricia.

‘It’s good to go, madam,’ replied the technician. ‘Just waiting for an instructor to run you through the controls.’

‘You seem really smart,’ said Patricia as she put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Couldn’t you run me through the controls?’

‘Yes, I suppose I could,’ said the technician, sounding quite proud. ‘Follow me; it’s in the next yard.’

The technician showed Patricia how to use the control stick as well as what each button and pedal did.

Patricia took the flying vehicle up for a quick practice flight around the yard. She struggled at first but soon got the hang of flying it.

‘You’re doing really well,’ the technician called up to her.

‘This is really fun,’ called back Patricia.

‘Just remember,’ called out the technician. ‘You need to refuel in the Capital District.’

Patricia gestured ‘okay’ with her fingers. She then flew off as fast as the flying vehicle could take her.

The instructor walked over to the technician.

‘So I guess you don’t need me now,’ said the instructor.

‘Not anymore,’ said the technician as he smiled smugly.

‘These things practically fly themselves,’ said the instructor. ‘It’s the landing that’s tricky.’

The technician grimaced and then scurried away. The instructor shrugged his shoulders as he watched him run off.

The next day, Brian and two other guards headed over to the section of the facility where Demadrian had been working.

The Hat Lady was looking at shoes in a magazine. She had baby Hannah on her lap. She was trying to get her to sleep. The other babies had already fallen asleep and been moved to their cribs. One of Demadrian’s assistants rushed in.

‘The guards are coming this way, madam,’ she told the Hat Lady. ‘What do we do?’

‘I’ll take the mothers and the babies into the lounge,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘You try to convince them they should leave.’

‘What if they try to enter the lounge?’ asked the assistant.

'Don’t worry, I’ll be able to handle that,’ replied the Hat Lady.

The assistant nodded.

The mothers’ gently picked up their babies and carried them into the lounge. They successfully managed to do so without waking them.

‘We need to hide from the guards,’ said the Hat Lady to the mothers. ‘Can all of you do that?’

The mothers nodded and became invisible. Unfortunately, the babies they were holding remained visible.

‘Okay, we can still do this,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Let’s form a circle on the mat, and we all hold hands.’

They all held hands. The Hat Lady took a deep breath. They all became invisible. A few seconds later, they reappeared.

‘Great, we can do it,’ she said as she looked around the circle at the mothers.

Brian knocked on the door to the main area.

‘Security here, open up,’ called out Brian.

‘This area is off limits to unauthorised personnel,’ called out the assistant through the door.

‘We’ve been given authorisation by Demadrian’s father, Patrick Alset,’ called out Brian.

‘Demadrian’s father is Hadrian,’ responded the assistant.

‘Sorry, I meant uncle,’ said Brian as he nodded at the two guards next to him.

‘I think you mean Patricia,’ said the assistant. ‘She has a deep, husky voice.’

‘Damn, I kept calling her sir,’ said Brian. ‘No wonder she was annoyed.’

The two guards with him began to chuckle.

‘I still need to come in,’ said Brian firmly. ‘Alset orders.’

‘The answer is no,’ replied the assistant firmly. ‘Also, Alset orders.’

‘Well, too bad,’ chuckled Brian. ‘I have a key.’

With that, Brian unlocked the door, and he and the guards entered the area.

‘I knew it,’ said Brian. ‘He ain’t working. He’s loafing.’

‘This is a research area,’ said the assistant firmly. ‘Not a recreational area.’

‘I wouldn’t mind joining you for a bit of research,’ said one of the guards as he raised his eyebrows.

‘I insist you leave now,’ demanded the assistant.

‘What’s in this room?’ asked Brian.

‘That room is completely off-limits,’ she said as she put herself between Brian and the door.

'Ha, it sounds like you have something to hide!’ chuckled Brian as he pushed the assistant aside.

‘It’s time,’ whispered the Hat Lady as they turned invisible.

Brian and the guards entered the lounge.

‘Awesome television and sound system,’ blurted out Brian.

The Hat Lady began to focus incredibly hard. She felt the babies waking up with all the noise the guards were making.

‘What’s the deal with all the baby toys?’ asked one of the guards.

‘I knew Demadrian was weird, but seriously,’ said the other guard.

‘I think we can officially tell Patricia her son is mentally ill,’ said Brian. ‘Get out the camera and get snapping.’

The guards took several photographs of the main areas, bedroom, and lounge.

‘I think we’re done here now,’ said Brian with a smirk as he looked at the assistant. The guards exited through the door.

The assistant rushed into the lounge. The Hat Lady let go of the hands of the mothers sitting next to her and flopped sideways onto the floor. The moment she let go, the babies began crying.

The assistant and Lucy picked up the Hat Lady and gently placed her small body onto the sofa.

‘I finally see the real you,’ said the assistant.

‘This is very serious,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Patricia sent them here. I think she’s coming. We are all in danger.’

‘Just rest,’ said Lucy. ‘It’s time we look after you now.’

The guards had moved into the room with the Sapes and saplets in.

‘This one likes to play with blocks,’ chuckled one of the guards as he kicked the blocks.

‘Please, do not do that; it will upset them,’ said the assistant to the guard.

‘What about this?’ chuckled a guard as he picked up a block and bounced it off the head of one of the saplets.

The mother of the saplet squealed loudly at the guards.

‘Get out! Get out!’ demanded the assistant.

The guards burst out laughing.

The agitated saplet charged into one of the guards. The impact knocked him off his feet.

Brian and the other guard grabbed the guard who had fallen and quickly dragged him out of the room.

‘That thing tried to kill me,’ shouted the injured guard.

‘That is not acceptable,’ said Brian as he patted the guard on the shoulder. ‘We’ll get you to the medical centre. Then I’m calling for reinforcements. These violent creatures need to be dealt with.’

After taking the guard to the facility medical centre, Brian returned to the security control room. As soon as he returned, his phone rang. It was Patricia.

‘Did you do as I told you?’ asked Patricia forcefully.

‘We have a big problem,’ said Brian angrily. ‘Your sick nephew is experimenting on nasty Sapes.’

‘Explain?’ asked Patricia.

‘One of my guards accidentally knocked the saplet's blocks over, and it responded by charging at him,’ replied Brian. ‘He was almost killed.’

‘What was the saplet doing with blocks?’ asked Patricia in a slightly softer tone.

‘Playing some sort of word game, I think,’ replied Brian, sounding confused.

‘What about his actual work area?’ asked Patricia.

‘Work area, my ass,’ responded Brian. ‘He has his own little comfort zone set up. A huge lounge with a comfy sofa and modern television. The floor was oddly covered with baby toys. On top of that, he had a bedroom with several beds with their own mini cages. If you ask me, I reckon he’s gone off his nut.’

‘Excellent work, Brian,’ replied Patricia. ‘I’m only three hours away. I’ll see you soon.’

Patricia hung up the phone. She had just refuelled her flying vehicle in the Capital District.

The Hat Lady had somewhat recovered from earlier. She had shapeshifted into a form she felt more comfortable with. She was with the mothers and babies, helping them to pack. She was also preparing them to hide if they needed to do so.

Lucy and the assistant had gone in search of a vehicle to use to get the mothers and their babies out of the facility before Patricia arrived. However, it appeared they had even less time as a bus full of guards had just arrived.

‘Their bus might be the best option,’ whispered the assistant to Lucy as they watched the guards getting out.

They waited and watched the driver park the bus by the side of a large shed.

‘How will we be able to take it?’ asked Lucy. ‘They’ll surely see us before we even have a chance of getting everyone in.’

‘Maybe our mysterious friend could pull off one more miracle,’ said the assistant.

The assistant and Lucy quickly made their way back to the Hat Lady, the mothers, and their babies.

Demadrian had now arrived. As he was coming to land, he could see the guards lined up in the yard outside the security centre. On landing, he quickly got out of his vehicle and made his way straight to Brian.

‘What’s going on? Why are all these guards here?’ demanded Demadrian.

‘Your experiments have created a real problem,’ replied Brian. ‘Don’t worry, we’re about to fix it.’

‘I gave you explicit orders not to enter my work area,’ shouted Demadrian. ‘Call this damn thing off now!’

‘Not a chance. I’ve been given direct instructions from Patricia Alset,’ chuckled Brian.

Demadrian shoved past Brian to enter the building.

‘Follow him,’ said Brian to one of the guards.

The guard rushed into the building after Demadrian. On entering, he could see Demadrian head down a corridor. The guard became invisible and followed in quick pursuit, but as light-footed as possible. After a few turns, the guard lost sight of Demadrian. Suddenly, Demadrian appeared. He smashed the guard in the face with a metal canister. The guard was knocked unconscious. Demadrian then continued on his way.

The assistant and Lucy had arrived back.

‘We need you to make a bus invisible,’ said the assistant.

The Hat Lady smiled and then chuckled. ‘No problem,’ she said.

‘Really,’ said the assistant, sounding astounded.

‘Well, I’ve never done that before,’ she said. ‘But it sounds doable.’

She was about to leave when Demadrian came running in.

‘We need to talk,’ said Demadrian aggressively to the Hat Lady.

‘Sorry, no time to chat,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I need to steal a bus.’

‘Sounds like something you would be very good at,’ said Demadrian sarcastically.

‘Yeah, I think so,’ replied the Hat Lady as she kissed Demadrian on the cheek. ‘Get them to the nearest exit. I’ll be back with a bus.’

She turned invisible as she rushed off down the corridor. Demadrian and the assistant organised the mothers and babies. So that they could travel light, they only grabbed a few necessary items.

The Hat Lady ran as fast as she could down the long corridors. She encountered several guards on the way but effortlessly glided past them unnoticed. It was not long before she reached the yard, where many of the guards were still being briefed.

She saw the bus parked next to the large shed. There were still several guards in close proximity to the bus. She knew she had to make the bus both invisible and silent. This would be an incredible challenge even for her.

She took a deep breath and made her way over to the bus. It was easy to enter as the door was open and the keys were still inside. She sat in the driver’s seat and clutched the steering wheel. The bus became invisible.

She focused incredibly deeply so that the bus would remain silent as she turned it on. She succeeded. She reversed the bus and turned it to face the direction she intended to go. She managed to drive off without the guards noticing the bus had disappeared. After reaching a safer distance, the bus became visible again. The Hat Lady was exhausted.

On reaching the other side of the facility, she saw the mothers and babies waiting just outside an exit. The Hat Lady stopped the bus and climbed out. She was exhausted and could hardly stand. The assistant led the mothers and babies onto the bus. The assistant sat in the driver’s seat.

‘Are you joining us?’ the assistant called out to the Hat Lady, who was leaning against a wall, struggling to breathe.

‘You go first,’ she replied between breaths. ‘I’ll catch up to you in my flying vehicle.’

‘You remember the instructions I gave you?’ called out Demadrian to the assistant.

‘Yes, don’t worry,’ she called back as the bus doors closed.

‘I have to go back in and protect my research,’ said Demadrian to the Hat Lady. ’You are such an enigma,’ he added as he walked back into the building.

The Hat Lady slid down to rest on the floor as she shapeshifted into her natural form.

Patricia was approaching the facility. She saw the bus leave the compound through the far gate. She quickly descended to land in the yard. On landing, she rushed into the guards’ area.

‘Brian,’ she shouted as she entered.

Several guards moved aside. Brian emerged between them.

‘No need to worry. We have everything under control,’ said Brian calmly.

‘Clearly you don’t,’ said Patricia angrily. ‘A bus just left through the far gate. I suggest you pursue it.’

‘Nuts,’ said Brian, waving his arm.

‘Don’t dawdle,’ shouted Patricia. ‘Send some teams after them and get some others to unload my vehicle.’

Brian ordered three small groups of guards to pursue the bus. They ran into the large shed. A few minutes later, they drove out in small off-road vehicles. Two other guards carried the crates from inside the flying vehicle to inside the building.

‘I need you to destroy all of Demadrian’s work,’ demanded Patricia as she looked directly at Brian. ‘In these crates are a few tools that will help you do that.’

They opened up the crates. Inside them were a variety of different weapons. These included different types of guns, flamethrowers, small explosive devices, and ammunition.

‘Woah!’ exclaimed Brian. ‘You really mean business.’

‘Of course,’ said Patricia. ‘Now go and get the job done.’

Demadrian was in his storeroom. He was loading the new serum onto a trolley.

After loading the trolley, Demadrian rolled it into the corridor. He was trying to get it to a vehicle. He did not get far before a group of guards cut him off.

‘Get out of my way!’ Demadrian ordered them.

‘Not happening,’ said a voice from behind them. It was Patricia.

‘What are you doing?’ shouted Demadrian.

‘I’m stopping a traitor,’ said Patricia. ‘I know what you’re doing.’

‘Everything I’m doing here is for our family,’ shouted Demadrian.

‘Destroy it all,’ she ordered the guards.

The guards kicked the trolley over, smashing all the vials of the new serum. Then the guards went into the storeroom to destroy the rest of the vials. Demadrian could only watch on in despair. Patricia smiled contently as Demadrian’s work was destroyed.

Another group of guards entered the room where the Sapes and saplets were kept. These guards were carrying flamethrowers.

‘What are you doing in here? Get out!’ shouted the assistant.

‘We’re about to flame-grill ourselves some juicy Sape,’ shouted a guard as he pointed his flamethrower at the Sapes.

The guards turned on their flamethrowers. The Sapes and saplets screamed in agony as they were set alight.

The assistant tried to stop the guards, but in doing so, he was set ablaze. This continued until the screams finally stopped. One of the guards had a fire extinguisher. He sprayed what was left of the Sapes and the assistant to stop the fire spreading.

The guards walked back into the corridor. There was still some smoke wafting out the open door.

Demadrian was in the corridor. He ran towards them. ‘What have you done?’ he called out to them.

‘What should have been a long time ago,’ said one of the guards as they walked past him.

Demadrian entered the room. He saw the badly burnt bodies of the Sapes and his assistant. He was horrified by what he saw. He walked back to the door. He watched the guards as they walked around a corner. Tears welled up in his eyes as his body filled with rage.

Meanwhile, the bus was travelling along a winding road. The assistant was trying to drive as fast as possible, but it was difficult. The nature of the roads was to the benefit of the small pursuing vehicles. Despite the head start, they caught up with the bus quickly.

They tried to stop the bus, but the assistant refused to slow down. The smaller vehicles bumped the side of the bus, but they kept going. They approached a sharp corner. The three smaller vehicles sped up and slammed into the bus, causing it to slip off the edge.

The bus toppled over the side of a steep cliff. The bus crashed hard onto a ledge. It flipped upside down and continued to fall, smashing to bits on its way down.

The three vehicles that had pursued the bus had stopped. Two guards got out of one of the vehicles. They looked down at the wreckage of the bus. They looked at each other and then nodded.

‘Let’s head back,’ shouted one of them to the rest.

The Hat Lady was in her flying vehicle. She could see smoke billowing from the other side of the mountain. She flew around it to get closer. It was not long before she realised it was the bus. She slowly descended to the wreckage.

She got out of the flying vehicle. She went into the wreckage to help any survivors. She only found dead bodies. She searched frantically to find life, but nothing. The mothers were dead with their babies cradled in their arms to protect them from the impact.

Then the Hat Lady heard a weak cough. It came from Lucy. The Hat Lady moved over to Lucy, but she was clearly dead. However, Duffo was alive, but he was hurt. The force of the impact had knocked him unconscious, but he was beginning to stir. The Hat Lady gently picked him up.

Then she heard a faint cry. She moved over to the mother, where she heard the sound. In her arms was baby Marlon. He was badly bruised but alive. The Hat Lady brought both Duffo and Marlon back to her flying vehicle. She went back into the wreckage to check every baby thoroughly. To her sadness, there were no other survivors. She got back into the flying vehicle. She knew she had to get the babies medical help, but nowhere in the North District would be safe. Her only option was the Capital City.

She took off. After about a minute of flying, another flying vehicle slammed into her. This caused her flying vehicle to spin out of control. She managed to regain control and then safely land the flying vehicle. The other flying vehicle spun into the rock face, causing it to crash.

The Hat Lady was a little shaken as she had banged her head hard in the collision. She looked at the babies, but they did not seem affected by the hit. She slowly got out of the vehicle and walked towards the wreckage of the other flying vehicle. The wind was blowing hard, and the snow began to fall again.

The Hat Lady peered into the wreckage of the flying vehicle. Patricia was inside, but she could not move. It appeared she had badly injured her legs.

‘Help me! Please help me!’ Patricia called out to the Hat Lady.

The Hat Lady pulled some of the wreckage aside. She leaned inside the flying vehicle and pulled Patricia out. She dragged her across the snow so that she was a safe distance from the flying vehicle.

‘It’s over for you,’ gasped Patricia. ‘Your supply will run out. The new product is destroyed. The Alset Empire will last forever.’

The Hat Lady scrunched her face up as tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked up to see another flying vehicle landing at the wreckage site of the bus.

She looked back down at Patricia, who was chuckling despite the pain that she was in.

The Hat Lady turned around and walked back to her flying vehicle. After she got in, she looked down at the babies. She smiled at them. Her flying vehicle took off as she headed back to the Capital City.

Patricia lay in the snow as she watched the other flying vehicle approaching. The flying vehicle landed near her. Demadrian climbed out. He walked towards her.

‘Take me home,’ said Patricia as she held her hand out to Demadrian. ‘I’m feeling cold.’

Demadrian began to frantically pace. Then he screamed.

He climbed on top of Patricia and stared into her eyes.

‘Calm down. We can sort this out,’ said Patricia as her voice trembled.

Demadrian began punching her in the face. He said the name of a mother or a baby with each punch. He kept punching and punching. Blood flowed from her face into the snow.

A few hours later, most of the guards had left. Brian and half a dozen other guards were in the security control room. They were enjoying a few drinks when Demadrian walked in.

‘No hard feelings,’ called out Brian to him. ‘We were just following your family pecking order.’

Demadrian walked over to the box of guns. ‘Are they all here?’ he asked Brian.

‘Yeah, don’t worry,’ said Brian. ‘We’d never misplace your precious Alset toys.’

‘Good,’ said Demadrian as he picked up a gun and shot Brian in the head.

The other guards began to panic. Demadrian shot them one by one, leaving just one left.

‘Please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry,’ begged the guard. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘You didn’t seem so sorry when you torched my assistant,’ said Demadrian as he walked over to the flamethrowers.

The guard began to cry.

Demadrian picked up the flamethrower. ‘Time to do what should have been done a long time ago,’ said Demadrian as he blasted the guard with fire.

The guard screamed in agony as he fell to the floor, engulfed in flames. Demadrian turned and left the security control room.

The Hat Lady arrived at a medical centre in the Capital City. She rushed into the emergency department.

‘These babies need immediate care,’ she said to the medical officer on duty.

The medical office looked at the babies. They were badly shaken up, but not in critical condition.

He looked up to talk to the Hat Lady, but she had gone.

---

Sapien Loop: End of an Era

Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.

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