Game Of Survival

Chapter 40

MR E.

"Where's Hugh Ackerman?" I asked.

"Hugh Ackerman! Hugh Ackerman!" The guards in the room yelled but no one answered.

I banged my fist on the table! Her suspicions were right all along. Hugh Ackerman was the traitor.

"Listen up!" I announced. "Hugh Ackerman is the traitor amongst us! I want eyes on him, I want him captured alive immediately!" I ordered and Solomon nodded.

"You heard him, let's get to work guys!" Solomon yelled and some of the guards in the room left immediately.

Solomon came to my side.

"Mr. E how are you so sure this Hugh Ackerman is the traitor?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's like a nobody in the IT department." The supervisor said.

"I see you guys have forgotten that Hugh Ackerman was the winner of the show five years ago." I said and they gasped.

"And it shouldn't come as a surprise he's the one who cause this mess. I'm sure he knows the whereabouts of James and Eve." I said.

"But why would he..." The supervisor asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Solomon answered. "Revenge obviously. Why would the higher ups hire someone like that in the first place?!" He grumbled.

"That higher up who hired him was me." I answered and they all rewarded me with a look of awe.

"I hate to say this but I think you've made a terrible mistake Mr. E." He remarked.

"Well now's not the time to start blaming who. We should be thinking of keeping this trouble at bay." I retorted. "And knowing that guy, he's no small man. He might look weak and feeble but his head is better than you all combined."

Solomon scoffed.

"That's not an exaggeration." The supervisor scorned Solomon. "Now I remember him clearly. If you remember the show five years ago, you'll know Mr. E isn't lying. That guy is one of the smartest people I've met on this Island."

"Then if it's like that, he might be behind Grace's death. He might be planning to do something bigger than we expect." The IT head quoted in fear. I exhaled, staring at the screen.

"What are you planning to do Hugh?" I asked myself in a whisper. "If we're going to catch him tonight, then we must think out of the box." I said.

"Bring me the Arena's blueprint." I ordered.

JAMES

The elevator finally stopped and it pinged open revealing nothing but an empty tiny hallway. At its end, was a door. The door that lead to the power supply unit. Where a sizable amount of guarda were positioned in.

"We're so gonna die." Dave broke the silence but Eve and I remained quiet. We just finished explaining a sizable amount of the plan and this was what I expected. For him to cower in fear.

"Hugh are you there?" I pressed the small device in my left ear gently.

"Yes." He answered. "I see you guys have arrived the power supply unit."

"Yeah, so can you at least tell us what kind of danger lies beyond that door." I said trying not to allow my fear get the better part of me.

"There are seven guards closely guarding the power supply room. Each of them are armed, so the moment you enter, don't hesitate and shoot on sight." He explained and I heaved a light sigh.

"What's our success rate?" Eve asked.

"Let's say fifty percent." He answered.

My brows arched upwards for a brief moment. "That doesn't look too good."

"What doesn't? Who the hell are you guys talking to?!" Dave interjected, glancing between the two of us.

"Shut up Dave!" Eve scorned.

"What the hell?! You're dragging me to my death and you expect me to stay calm."

"We need you alright. So get your s**t together!" I raised my voice at him.

"Get my s**t together? You guys are the ones loaded with guns and I'm the guy with an injured leg and nothing to fight with. Are you guys planning to use me as the sacrificial lamb?!"

"This guy of yours is a real pain in the ass." Dave remarked.

"I know right." I exhaled.

"But if you say we have a fifty percent chance of survival, we can't just confront them head on. They're experts and we're nothing close to amateurs." Eve said.

"Which means we have to come up with a plan." I answered her. "And I think I've got one." I smiled at Dave whose frown deepened that instant.

"James you're up to something despicable aren't you?" He stated and I smiled.

"What's your plan?" Dave asked.

"I think we just found ourselves a sacrificial lamb." I grinned.

****

MR E.

"What is this place? I sported a quizzical look as I stared at the Blueprint laid out on the desk.

The supervisor, the IT head and Solomon all came closer, peering at the area my index finger encircled about.

"If I'm not wrong, that's the second floor, the area around the contestants compartment." The supervisor answered.

"I'm talking about this place." I pointed to the specific area again.

"Oh…" He paused, squinting his eyes. "That's just an empty space between walls. There is nothing there."

I frowned. "Are you sure?"

"I'm very certain that place hasn't been of any use since the Arena was built. I believe that space was there due to a slight error." He answered eloquently but I couldn't get my eyes off it. I'd looked over the blueprint, checking for areas Hugh could be hiding in. Even the guards were hopeless. If anything, Hugh was extremely smart. He knew how to make the extraordinary from ordinary. And this place I stared at, I was attracted to it for a reason I knew not.

"Where was the last place James was located at?" I asked.

"At the morgue room. He went into the Air vent pipe." Solomon answered.

"And where does the air vent lead to?" I asked.

"Well, there are several paths but he didn't appear at any of those places. It was like he completely vanished." He answered and then his eyes squinted a bit. "I also remember one of the pipes passed through Hugh's room. We inquired about it but he denied seeing James."