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SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

Nemo

It was fascinating watching Gem in work mode. Nemo knew she was exceptional at what she did, but seeing her in planning mode was intense. It was actually a turn-on watching the analytical brain. He decided that sitting down in the chair she had vacated might be prudent, given the hard-on he was getting from observing her.

When the new map with overlay was done printing, Steel, Waters, and TB began to assemble it on the table and tape it together. Midas was still in his seat, but his eyes were also on the girl up at the telescreen. Since he’d been sitting next to her at the table, he was able to keep his voice low enough for only Nemo to hear him.

“Never thought I’d see her in planning mode.”

“I know. She’s like a whole different person.”

Demon walked up between the two men and pelted Nemo with an empty cup. Confused, he looked up at the medic. “You’re drooling. Medusa’s gonna get pissed if she has to have the upholstery cleaned in her jet because you’re having sexual fantasies about your favorite burglar. Now quit eye-feckin’ her and get back to work.”

With that, the medic walked away.

“Wow, he’s extra cranky,” Nemo commented.

“Yeah. He and Cherry had a knock-down, drag-out fight.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Those two are so confused over their hormones; it’s like watching two teenagers figure out how to negotiate the dating game. He does crazy-ass nice shit for her to make her think he’s changing, then pulls back into bad habits to push her away. She pretends his habits piss her off when really all they do is scare her to death, so she gives him impossible directives on what she requires for them to be together. Then she tries to live her life, causing him to forbid shit he has no right to forbid. He won’t follow through with her because he thinks he’s not good enough for her. To make sure he doesn’t get her, he purposely does things that make his belief true, and so the cycle begins anew. It’s all kinds of fucked up.”

Unwrapping a piece of gum from his pocket and popping it in his mouth, Nemo commented, “So? That’s been the everyday soap opera of the office for the past five years. Why is he more pissy today?”

Midas snorted. “Since when isn’t he pissed off? I’m guessing her being a target and nearly getting blown up scared him straight? Who the fuck knows. He doesn’t talk to any of us. Well… not that I know of anyway. Maybe he’s talking to Steel cuz that motherfucker doesn’t let anything slip when you tell him stuff, but I doubt it. More likely, he’s talking to dolphins and sharks while out on his surfboard.” Midas surveyed the area over his shoulder to see if anyone wa s lurking. “Basically, he played her. Got her all hot and bothered, then informed her she couldn’t come along for the ride, and she was under house arrest. If she so much as puts a toe outside of the office, he threatened to let security tase her.”

“And you know this because…?”

“The idiot forgot to turn off the security cameras in the conference room,” Midas mumbled.

“Dude. Stream some porn, for fuck’s sake. First Waters, now Demon?”

“Hey!” Midas got pissed. “It’s not my fault Waters didn’t give me the code word. As soon as I realized what was going down, I shut it off and erased the footage. As for Demon, it’s not like he warned me what he was up to. I don’t go looking for you all to be getting your freak on at the office. But there are women involved now who were never an issue before, so now I’m not just in control of all the computers and all the surveillance and all the intel and all the hacking, now I’m a fucking censor, too!”

“Jesus, dude, calm down. You really need to get laid.”

Midas snorted. “Yeah. Cuz that’s as likely as snow in hell. I leave the building less than God does.”

“Wonder if there’s a delivery program for women like there is for rideshares and food delivery?” Nemo teased.

“Fuck you.” Midas smacked him good-naturedly, knowing his brother was teasing him. “Not my type, and you know it.”

“I keep wondering what your type is.”

“You and me both,” his brother muttered.

Gem’s British lilt rose over the mutterings of the two groups of men at the table. “Midas, zoom in on zones S and W, and if there’s a way to clean out the blur, that would be lovely, please.”

Midas grinned as he complied. “I love it when she begs.”

She remained with her back to him when she called out, “I didn’t beg. I asked politely.”

Chuckling, Midas countered with, “I heard my name and ‘please.’ I count that as begging.”

Gem turned to look at Midas over her shoulder with an are-you-serious stare, then looked at Nemo. Nemo just smiled and blew a bubble at her, winking as it popped. She rolled her eyes, then turned back to her map zones on the screen, muttering to herself. He was pretty sure she said, “Delusion runs in the family.”

Waters, Steel, and TB finished taping together the new map, then grabbed pencils and highlighters and pulled their briefing folders from under the maps.

“Hey, Demon!” Midas called out. “Can you change the paper in the printer to photo paper?”

Demon grunted what Nemo assumed meant “yes,” and then the medic stood by the printer, waiting for the photos to come spitting out of it. As soon as the switch was made, seven copies of each zone on the map began to collect in the tray. Once it was done, he distributed a set to each place at the table, including where Gem now stood at the foot.

She asked, “Midas, when was the last internal survey performed?”

“Nova.” Midas pulled up his AI counterpart. “When was the most recent map completed of the tunnels on the Mzingwane Mine.”

“Good morning, Midas. The last reported official survey of the mine shafts was completed in 1998.”

“Are you able to access any unofficial surveys?”

There was a pause. “I have found an unnamed map sent from an IP address located at the Mzingwane Mine location to an IP address based in Sallum, Egypt, dated four months ago. ”

Waters looked at Steel. “Sallum again. Anyone starting to see the pattern I’m seeing?”

“Put it on the screen, please, Nova,” Midas commanded.

“Begging, are we?” Gem teased.

“Can’t beg a computer. She only responds to commands,” Midas quipped.

“Don’t you dare make us call you Master Midas,” TB warned. “I don’t want to watch you spanking the computer.”

“Is that a euphemism for something?” Waters teased.

“Watch it, all of you,” Midas warned. “Remember who controls all your personal security.”

Gem clapped her hands several times, effectively getting the men’s focus on her. “Okay, I think our best bet for a quick entry is either through zone S or zone W. There are multiple hand-drilled shafts that would allow quick access to the core of the mine as long as there haven’t been any recent collapses.”

The computer system asked, “Midas, who is speaking, please?”

“Nova, the new voice is Gem. She will be working with us on this project.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Midas.” There was a brief pause. “Good morning, Gem. Since the map was emailed, there have been two seismic tremors that have registered on the local systems. It is unknown if the surface-to-mine tunnels sustained any weakenings or collapses.”

“So we’re going in blind,” Steel surmised.

“Well, she didn’t say there were collapses or damage, so we shouldn’t just assume the worst,” Gem replied. “After all, earthquakes happen around the world all the time, and they don’t necessarily cause destruction every time.” She directed her attention to Midas’ laptop. “Nova, what is the ground’s stability factor in the area of the mine? ”

“Seismic data shows minimal negative effects in the area within the last ten years.”

“What about flooding? Is there danger of flooding into the mine tunnels and shafts from the river?”

“That is a negative, Gem. Currently, the area is outside of its rainy season, and the Mzingwane River is at lower levels due to drought.”

“Good.”

Nemo looked at her, puzzled. “Drought is good?”

“No, of course not. But a lack of seismic activity as well as lower levels in the river means that I’m also less likely to drown in the tunnels should seismic activity occur.”

“So you’re not worried about being crushed to death due to a cave-in, just drowning?” Nemo snarked.

She laughed. “I was trying to predict the odds of one, the other, or both. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

“Wrong gender, kitty cat.”

“Oh no. You’re acting like a girl right now. I had it right. But if you’re going to continue being a cunt, fine. Don’t get your smalls in a twist.”

“He’d have to wear some first,” TB argued.

“True,” Gem agreed. Then blushed.

Oops. Now they know for sure, sugar cat. Sorry, not sorry.

Nemo grinned. “Nothing small about me, kitty cat, and you know it.”

“Confirmation achieved,” TB murmured under his breath.

He watched Gem lock down her emotions. There was no way to stem the tide of pink traveling across her features, but the shaking in her hands was barely noticeable, even if her stiff, locked posture wasn’t. He gave her points for trying.

“Okay, guys, give her a break,” Nemo ordered. He tried to help her by leaning over the table to rifle through his set of photographs and pull out the zones she mentioned. “So why S or W?”

Gem leapt at his opening. “They present shafts that are farthest from the point of the origin structure but closest to the river. The roads will be too open. Instead, we can hire one of my local contacts. He has a small flotilla of boats we can use as cover, pretending as if he’s headed to Beitbridge. The boats have a small hut-like feature we can hide inside while he and his men navigate to the zone from the north. He can drop us off just before dawn and be on his way toward the dam with no one the wiser. Traveling by night from his location to reach the dam by dawn would raise no eyebrows.”

“This contact… How trustworthy?” TB asked.

“I’ve used Itai often, and he has worked with Loki many times transporting slaves downriver to freedom. The only downside is that he will not be able to take us back up the river. We’ll need another way out.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Steel assured her. “We’ll be coming out of there hot. Medusa will be our ride home. Loki and Gilgamesh will be the escape transportation for the miners.”

“All right,” Waters interrupted. “Midas, due diligence on this Itai fellow. Dig so deep; I want to know what he had for breakfast ten years ago today.”

“On it, boss.”

“Steel. I want maps of the river and any way on or off it in case of emergencies. I don’t want surprises.”

Steel nodded and flipped open his tablet.

“TB. I want schematics on the dam even though we have no intention of being near it. I want to know who works it, when, and who crosses it. Leave no stone unturned.”

“Copy that.”

Waters turned to Gem. “Gem. The people in the mines. Are they free roaming? Chain ganged? How are they controlled?”

“Fear controls them. Ask for water, and if the guard’s cranky, he’ll shoot you without a qualm. There’s no need to chain them down below because there’s nowhere to go. A key card is needed to operate the lifts, so they can’t get into a lift without a guard. Run? You’re shot without warning.”

“Okay. Demon. We’re bound to run into people who need medical help once we get down in those mines, but we’re not going to have time to triage. Since there are guns down there, everyone on our team needs supplies for gunshot wounds. In addition, I want everyone on our team to have breathing gear in case of gas being used or some sort of disaster where they need to be able to breathe in a toxic environment or the case of a cave-in. What maximum time can we expect?”

Demon replied, “Right now, we each have a canister for a maximum of thirty minutes.”

Waters rubbed at his forehead and frowned. “I want more time than that. Demon, get Medusa to connect you with Loki. See what we can do. Can’t load you down too much, but you all need more than thirty minutes of time to work with in an emergency.”

Gem jumped in, “You don’t need Loki. You need Cerberus. He’s the one with all the connections to things like that, including his own stashes. Might have to make another stop somewhere quick before Zimbabwe proper, but he’ll have access.”

“Got that, Demon?” Waters acknowledged.

“Copy that.” Demon got up from the table and headed toward the cockpit.

“Gem. Use the maps to get a plan going on which shaft you’re going to use to enter into the mine. We need visual confirmation of the diamonds, taaffeite, and tanzanite in the same location, in their raw form, so before you leave us, Midas will attach a camera to you for that.”

Gem nodded. “Since this map is four months old, I’ll put together several routes in case we find cave-ins.”

“Excellent,” Waters praised. “Nemo. I need you to run possible exit routes from all sections of the mine. Watch for dead ends.”

“Got it, boss.”

Waters sighed and ran a hand through his extremely short hair. “I’m going to call Cherry. We need to talk to God, no matter where he is. Can’t keep him in the dark any longer.”

Midas snorted as he worked. “You really think he’s in the dark? I’m sure Cherry’s in touch with him regularly. He just doesn’t want to talk to us right now.”

Nemo looked at Waters. “What’s up with that, anyway? Do we really not know where he is?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue,” Waters admitted. “Midas is right, though. He probably has his reasons, but it’s frustrating as fuck. I’m sure Cherry is in touch with him daily, and you can bet he’s not really in the dark. But for whatever reason, he’s just not available to us.” Waters walked away from the table, muttering to himself.

“I thought Waters was your boss,” Gem said to Nemo.

“He is,” Nemo told her, “but our overall boss, God, has been off the grid for a while, and no one seems to know where he is or why. Or if they do, they’re not talking.” Nemo shrugged. “Not like we ever really see him anyway.”

“What does that mean?” Gem asked.

“He only talks to us through conference calls. Audio only. Lives up in the penthouse apartment at Tribe, but he’s never been downstairs that we know of.”

“And you don’t find that the least bit odd? ”

“Kitty cat, my whole life has been nothing but odd since Midas and I lost our mum when we were seventeen.”

“Even I’ve seen my boss. Bosses,” she clarified. “Weird trio they may be, but I still have seen them.”

“Yeah, but which one is the head of the triangle?” Nemo asked.

Gem opened her mouth to answer, then closed it with a frown. “You know, up until just this moment, I would have said Loki without a doubt. But now…”

“Now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah. We’ve got an ongoing bet. Most everyone thinks it’s actually Medusa who’s in charge. Those who don’t think it’s Loki.”

“Well, it’s definitely not Gilgamesh. And Cerberus is a contractor, like me. Who’s your money on?”

“I think Medusa is like Waters. But there’s someone else pulling the strings. Someone we haven’t seen.”

“Huh.” She thought about it for a moment. She shifted her attention back to Nemo. “None of you have ever seen your boss? Really?”

“None of us have ever seen him. Well,” he reconsidered. “That’s a lie. Cherry’s seen him. And Kubrick.”

“Why Kubrick?”

“It’s kind of a long story, and it’s connected to another handler we had. She was Waters’ sister, and her name was Sarah. Suffice it to say, when she was killed, we all sort of lost our minds for a bit. God put down a commandment—pun intended—Thou shalt not get into a relationship. Punishment was erasure. Complete and total.”

“As in… dead?” Gem whispered the last word. “But the woman wasn’t involved with anyone. Was she?”

Nemo shook his head. “No. After the decree was made, most of us sort of figured God had a thing for her. You don’t get that pissed off over one of your employees. None of us questioned it, and we were fine with the rule at the time. No way were we going to allow another woman to be vulnerable because of what we do. But… time changes things. And when Waters met Kubrick, well, that conference room was on fire . God couldn’t have stopped that conflagration if he’d tried.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I’ve got video. It’s fabulous.”

She stared at him. “I don’t think I want to know.”

“Oh, no, you totally do.”

A throat cleared off to the side of them. “Thought I confiscated all those DVDs.”

Gem turned to see Waters standing behind them, hands on hips, a scowl on his face.

“I guess you missed one?” Nemo posited innocently.

“How many more are there since I’m still finding them now, months later?”

“I have no knowledge of the exact number of copies that were made,” Nemo answered truthfully as he turned his back on his team leader.

He leaned over his brother’s shoulder at the laptop. Out of his peripheral vision, he watched Gem roll her lips inward to prevent from laughing. Her eyes flashed to Waters’ face. Waters’ mouth tipped up into a smile, and the man winked at her to show he wasn’t really pissed off. She let her own smile show through as she shook her head over their antics. Nemo felt a soft glow in his chest. His kitty cat fit in so well here.

Maybe when this was done, Waters would offer her a job with Tribe. Wouldn’t that make life so much easier?