The news broadcast on Arieh's tv cut to a man in a suit behind a podium.
"A spokesperson for the local police department made a brief statement, saying, 'We're treating this incident with the utmost seriousness, given the unusual circumstances surrounding it. Our top priority is to bring those responsible to justice and provide closure to the affected families.'"
The broadcast cut to another slow pan across the emergency vehicles blocking the LaGuardia access road.
"As the investigation unfolds, the shocking incident has left the city on edge, and many residents demanding answers. The motive behind the attack, if indeed it was planned, remains unknown at this time. We'll continue providing updates on this developing story as more information becomes available."
...
"Finally, that bitch is dead!" Arieh jumped in celebration and hugged Charlotte, who didn't even attempt to block his advance at all as he continued jumping up and down.
Although nothing had been confirmed, the number of casualties, combined with one of the wrecks looking like the car she had left in, made him sure the bitch had finally died.
"And now we wait. If the family doesn't receive any news from her, they'll start investigating the incident and testing the bodies from the wreckage to see if there's someone with her DNA. Then I'll be the official heir for the second, and last, time, since I'm sure they won't find anything connecting the attack to me," he said, his secretary still in his embrace.
"But why didn't Terry contact us, sir?" Charlotte asked.
Arieh unwrapped his arms from around her and said, "I don't know, but there's two possibilities I can think of. Either he died and his corpse is among those people there, or something's keeping him from contacting us. So there's a slim chance that she's still alive."
Just as he was saying that, he received a phone call on his burner phone. Today, he was holding it himself instead of leaving it with Charlotte. He immediately picked up the call and said nothing, waiting for the other side to start speaking.
"Sir, everything went according to plan," said a voice that sounded no different from Terry's.
"Why'd you call so late?" Arieh asked.n0velusb.c0m
"We were inside the range of our jammer, and had to make sure we removed all of our traces from the scene. That way nothing will lead to us, as she put up quite a fight. Well, not her, personally, but the guards she hired for her excursion. I guess she didn't trust her own security team and suspected spies," Terry explained.
"Good. Stay hidden for a few months, and when I take over the family, I'll give both of you a handsome reward. For now, just take the remaining money in the account I gave you along with my appreciation," Arieh said, and after receiving the thanks from Terry, he ended the call. He tossed the burner phone across the room and began undressing his secretary, as he wanted to celebrate in a different way with someone he trusted with his many secrets; someone he could always show his true self to.
...
A massive plane was on its final approach to Avalon Island, which was still covered by clouds. Construction was still ongoing on the island, specifically the new server farms that Nova had been building.
Rina was watching the clouds through the windows, as nothing under them could be seen, making people assume there was no power on the island.
"Oh my god," Rina, her secretary, and Alex muttered in unison when the plane sank through the thick clouds and appeared under them, revealing the island in plain sight. Everything was the complete opposite of what they'd had in mind, which was a mildly developed, but still under construction island.
From the sky, things would always appear small, but there was a massive building that was big despite the distance. Its surroundings were brightly lit, and that wasn't all; the island had many different locations that were equally brightly lit, with high-speed maglev trains passing from one location to another acting as the connection between them.
There was no hint of any construction at all, as everything looked like it had been completed and in use for a very long time.
As the plane approached the runway, the real scale of that building became apparent. A nearly ten-kilometer-long wall was just one side of it, and the height also absolutely dwarfed the plane!
The landing was as smooth as a landing could be, and they didn't even realize they had landed until the jet came to a complete stop.
Rina's driver came to her seat and escorted her to the door, then gestured for them to exit the plane, where they were met with the same cars that had escorted them in America.
The airport was... odd. Other than a second jumbo jet, there were no civilian planes. But as for military aircraft, that was a different topic. Helicopters and fighter/bombers of varying designs were everywhere, and despite it being nighttime, soldiers were busily swarming over everything on the tarmac. Some were cleaning and others were doing other maintenance, as Aron had decided to reduce the use of atomic printers for things that could be done by the soldiers. Otherwise, they'd have nothing to do, and bored soldiers were exactly what nobody would ever want. (Ed note: see the kind of shenanigans bored soldiers get up to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pme1sPcwJP8 )
The visitors were soon escorted to their car and immediately left the airport. There was no need for security checks, or even passport verification, which just went to show the level of power Aron had over the country.
Their car was headed to the massive building they had seen at a fairly high speed, but it was outpaced by the maglev trains coming and going as the visitors marveled at the high-tech city.
When they arrived at the massive building, they finally saw what those trains were bringing and taking away; thousands upon thousands of soldiers were coming out of the building and heading to the trains, while thousands more were stepping off the train cars and heading to the building. Those coming out were more disciplined than those going in, which hinted at what might be happening in the building.
The group entered the building through a different entrance than the coming and going soldiers and headed toward a massive elevator that was already waiting for them. The elevator took them to the top floor, where they got off and were escorted to a luxurious office suite. Inside, they found Aron waiting for them with a smile as he said, "Welcome."
He stretched out his hand and shook Rina's, as this was only their third face-to-face meeting in the offline world and the second to happen in Eden.
