He quit pacing and turned to face the group. “I do not ask it lightly. But I also ask that you do not take it lightly. I send you with my utmost confidence in your abilities and in your strengths. I send you in the good graces of Chi’karda itself. May it be strong within you on this terrible, terrible day.”

He paused for a long moment, the room completely still. Then he turned and pulled his Barrier Wand off a shelf under the podium, its golden, cylindrical surface shining, the seven dials and switches preset and ready to go.

Rutger spoke. “Though it would be easier if you were all touching it, we have too many people for that, so it’s been programmed accordingly. We’ve checked and rechecked all of your nanolocators, and replaced the hijacked ones inside Paul and Sofia. We’ll be watching you closely.”

Sofia closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to quell the sickening swarm of butterflies in her stomach. The tranquilizer pen in her pocket bulged, feeling twenty times bigger than it should be and weighing a hundred pounds. She fingered the strap of her bag holding the Ragers, tightened her grip on the handle of the Shurric, its straps slung over both shoulders.

I’m ready, she thought. I can do this.

“Are you scared?” Paul whispered.

“No,” she replied, hating how shaky her voice sounded when it came out.

“Me too.”

Master George held the Wand up high, then lowered it back to his eye level, holding his right index finger above the trigger on top. “My friends, we very much look forward to your safe return.”

He pushed the button.

Chapter

43

~

The Dilemma of the Doors

Tick and Jane walked another twenty minutes before the long hallway finally came to an end. Large double doors marked an entrance to whatever lay beyond, heavily bolted slabs of steel with no handles or windows. A large blank square decorated one of the doors, black as pitch.

“What now?” Tick asked.

“I guess we knock,” Jane responded. She stepped up and slammed the palm of her hand against the steel several times; the muted thumps barely registered through the thick doors.

The black square ignited with colors, swirling like mixed paint until the image of Reginald Chu’s head solidified, but in 3-D. His face jutted from the flat surface, every detail of his features perfectly clear. It was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and Tick felt the sudden urge to reach out and smack it.

“You’re trying my patience, both of you,” he said, the slight electronic static in his voice the only indication that what they saw before them was artificial. “I’m almost ready to pull the plug on this sad experiment and start anew. If neither of you have the guts to conquer the other, then you’re of no use to me.”

“What’s beyond these doors?” Jane asked coolly.