Previous Story: 81. The Escape Plan Part 1 - Creative Conference

Lady Rose listened carefully as Rhino updated her. The last she’d heard, he and Gudu — working alongside Crimson, Zephyr and Beater — had broken into the abandoned mansion that overlooked the Creators’ headquarters. Here, they were close enough to receive data from the bug Zephyr had planted in Dr. Altmann’s implants. They had also observed the arrival of Flash and overheard the discussions of the plan to negate the entropic disruption field.

"So, about an hour ago, they were testing out the drone with this EFN thing that Altmann came up with. Seemed to go well, and now they’re all back in the mansion."

"And you’re sure of the date and time?"

"Yes. They’ve got Altmann briefing them again and they’ve mentioned Monday at 11 several times. By the way, Crimson has been talking to Goddess every hour, so she knows what you know. What now?"

"Just monitor the mansion. Be prepared to move quickly if required."

"Always," said Rhino smugly. "You know what, boss? I like these big houses. When all this is over, I think I-"

Having cut the audio, Lady Rose instantly initiated a holo-call to Goddess. She was sitting alone in a corner of the nightclub, her staff occupied with other duties. When the image of Goddess appeared, she looked typically elegant, if slightly overwrought.

"Well, Lady Rose, it appears our enemies might have found a way out of the city."

"Apparently so. As we do not possess this ability ourselves, we shall have to take advantage of their efforts."

"I quite agree," said Goddess with a sly smile. "We shall need to start planning immediately."

"This is a chance we might not get again. We have to get it right."

"You wouldn’t prefer to stay in the city? The Red Dragons seem to have profited from the chaos."

"All good things come to an end, Goddess. The situation can quickly change, especially as there’s now a way to cure the CyMS. If the military returns …"

"I see your point. Shall we reconvene tomorrow? Begin planning?"

"Let’s talk then."

-----

As the holo-call ended, Goddess instantly contacted Crimson. "Make sure they can’t hear you."

"Sure." After a short delay, Crimson spoke again: "OK, go ahead."

"I’ll have fresh orders for you soon. For the moment, just continue monitoring. And keep a close eye on the Dragons. I have no doubt that Lady Rose will stab us in the back if it’s to her advantage."

"Understood."

----- 

Lady Rose found Jenny auditing their ammunition supply in a store room. "Call Rhino for me. Tell him to keep up the observation — of the Creators and the Cynfo people. The stakes are getting higher all the time. We can’t afford to trust anyone."

Jenny nodded. "Is it true, then? They really have a way to escape the city?"

"Looks that way. If we make it, we’ll head for my property in Niram. It’s secure, easily defendable."

"Who are we taking with us?" asked Jenny.

"Good question," answered Lady Rose thoughtfully. "Who? And what?"

Next Story: 83. The Escape Plan Part 3 - Day Terrors