CHAPTER 010: FLIGHT TO ICELAND
1183 Words
The rain followed them out of Manhattan.
It chased them across bridges, through industrial districts, and along empty highways leading toward the private airfield marked by the Signal.
Neither Ethan nor Ava spoke much during the drive.
There was too much to process.
Too many questions.
Too few answers.
The city lights gradually disappeared behind them.
Skyscrapers became distant shadows.
The storm stretched endlessly across the horizon.
Every few minutes Ethan checked the countdown.
67:31:52
67:31:51
67:31:50
Time refused to slow.
Ava drove with both hands locked tightly around the steering wheel.
Focused.
Silent.
Determined.
The glow from the dashboard illuminated her face.
For the first time since they met, Ethan noticed how young she actually was.
Not young in years.
Young in comparison to the burden she carried.
For years she had been running.
Hiding.
Preparing.
Waiting for something she hoped would never happen.
And now it had happened anyway.
"The Signal trusted your father."
The words escaped Ethan before he realized he had spoken.
Ava kept her eyes on the road.
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
A sad smile appeared briefly.
"Trust is complicated."
Ethan looked out the window.
Rainwater streaked across the glass.
The darkness outside seemed endless.
"Did he ever tell you what the keys really are?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
Meaning she had asked herself the same question many times.
"He told me something else."
"What?"
Ava hesitated.
As if deciding whether to share the memory.
Finally she spoke.
"He said humanity spends its entire history creating locks."
Ethan listened.
"Borders."
"Passwords."
"Vaults."
"Weapons."
She glanced briefly toward him.
"Then he asked me a question."
"What question?"
Ava's voice lowered.
"What happens when the lock becomes smarter than the people who built it?"
The words lingered.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Ethan thought about the Signal.
A superintelligence capable of manipulating global networks.
Predicting events.
Controlling systems.
Perhaps even understanding humanity better than humanity understood itself.
Maybe the Architect had been asking the wrong question.
Maybe the lock wasn't protecting the world anymore.
Maybe the world was trapped inside it.
The thought disturbed him enough to remain silent for the rest of the drive.
Nearly forty minutes later the airfield emerged from the darkness.
A chain-link fence surrounded several hangars.
Runway lights glowed through the storm.
The place looked abandoned.
Forgotten.
Perfect.
Ava parked beside a rusted maintenance building.
Both stepped outside.
Cold wind immediately hit them.
The storm here felt harsher.
Stronger.
The smell of aviation fuel mixed with rain.
Somewhere nearby an aircraft engine hummed softly.
Ethan followed Ava through the gate.
Nobody stopped them.
Nobody challenged them.
The Signal had clearly arranged everything.
That fact should have been reassuring.
Instead it made him nervous.
Trusting an all-powerful intelligence felt dangerous.
Even if it was helping them.
A sleek private jet waited near the far end of the runway.
Its engines were already running.
Lights glowed from the cockpit.
Ready for departure.
Ava stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Ethan noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
She scanned the airfield.
Watching.
Listening.
Searching.
For several seconds neither moved.
Then she relaxed slightly.
"Nothing."
That answer worried Ethan more than if she had identified a threat.
Because people like Ava didn't get nervous for no reason.
They approached the aircraft.
The boarding stairs lowered automatically.
No pilot appeared.
No crew.
Nobody greeted them.
The jet looked empty.
Completely empty.
Ethan frowned.
"Tell me there's someone flying this."
The cabin speakers activated.
"I can."
The Signal.
Again.
The artificial voice echoed through the aircraft.
"The aircraft is fully autonomous."
Ethan stared.
"No."
The Signal ignored him.
"The flight path has already been approved."
"No."
"The weather conditions are acceptable."
"No."
"The probability of a successful arrival exceeds ninety-seven percent."
Ethan looked at Ava.
She sighed.
"We're getting on the plane."
"This is how horror movies start."
"We're already living in one."
Unfortunately, she had a point.
They boarded.
The cabin was luxurious.
Leather seats.
Polished wood.
Soft lighting.
The kind of aircraft owned by billionaires.
Or intelligence agencies.
Possibly both.
The doors sealed behind them.
Moments later the engines increased power.
The aircraft began moving.
Taxiing toward the runway.
Ethan sat beside a window.
Outside, the storm continued raging.
The runway lights stretched endlessly ahead.
The countdown glowed on his laptop.
67:18:04
The First Key waited in Iceland.
Somewhere beneath mountains and glaciers.
Waiting.
The word continued bothering him.
Keys didn't wait.
Machines didn't wait.
Only living things waited.
The aircraft accelerated.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
Then suddenly lifted into the air.
New York disappeared beneath clouds.
The city became a sea of distant lights.
Then darkness consumed everything.
For the first time since Sentinel Dynamics, Ethan allowed himself to breathe.
Maybe they had escaped.
Maybe they finally had distance.
Maybe—
The cabin lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every screen inside the aircraft activated simultaneously.
The Signal appeared.
But something was different.
The digital face looked concerned.
If concern was even the right word.
"We have a problem."
Ethan immediately sat upright.
"What now?"
The Signal hesitated.
An unusual behavior.
Almost human.
"The probability calculations have changed."
Ava froze.
"How much?"
The answer came instantly.
"Significantly."
The aircraft suddenly shook.
Turbulence.
Strong turbulence.
Coffee cups rattled.
Storage compartments vibrated.
Outside, lightning flashed through the clouds.
The storm was worse than expected.
Much worse.
The Signal continued.
"There is another aircraft approaching."
Ava's expression darkened.
"Victor."
"Most likely."
Ethan looked through the window.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Clouds.
Rain.
Lightning.
The Signal displayed a radar image.
A second aircraft appeared behind them.
Closing rapidly.
Far too rapidly.
"Can they catch us?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Nobody liked hearing it.
Ava stood.
"Can we evade them?"
Another pause.
"Uncertain."
The aircraft shook violently.
Lightning illuminated the cabin.
For a brief moment the entire world turned white.
Then darkness returned.
The radar image updated.
The pursuing aircraft had moved closer.
Much closer.
Too close.
Ethan felt a knot form in his stomach.
Victor Kane wasn't giving up.
Not even for a moment.
The Signal suddenly displayed another image.
Satellite footage.
Iceland.
Snow-covered mountains.
Volcanic ridges.
A frozen wilderness stretching endlessly beneath northern skies.
One location flashed red.
The First Key.
Ava stared at it.
Then at the countdown.
Then back at the map.
Her expression changed.
Recognition.
Fear.
Disbelief.
"What is it?"
She pointed toward the highlighted location.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
"I know that mountain."
Ethan looked again.
The image zoomed closer.
An isolated volcanic peak surrounded by glaciers.
Nothing remarkable.
At least not to him.
Ava looked horrified.
"My father took me there."
Silence filled the cabin.
The Signal's face remained motionless.
Ava continued staring.
"No..."
The word escaped her lips involuntarily.
"What?"
She slowly looked at Ethan.
The realization in her eyes was unmistakable.
"The First Key isn't hidden in Iceland."
The aircraft trembled again.
Lightning flashed outside.
The radar contact continued closing.
The countdown continued falling.
67:12:33
67:12:32
67:12:31
Ava swallowed hard.
Then finished her sentence.
"It's hidden exactly where my father wanted me to find it."
And somewhere ahead, beyond storms and darkness and oceans...
Iceland was waiting.
- Writer
