Luc piloted an inflatable hovercraft carrying Kylian and Dr. Renard from Aveline’s yacht over to the tiny cove where Bastian identified the sheen of diesel oil on the surface of the surrounding water. As they entered the cove, they saw a dock extending into the water, jutting out from a rocky shoreline hidden from direct view by the tall rock formations encircling the cove. Two small boats with outboard motors were tied up to the dock. Luc sensed this might just be the place.

Would you look at that. Bastian was right! There’s an entrance here after all.

Luc pulled the hovercraft over to the empty dock whereupon Kylian and Dr. Renard jumped out and onto the dock. They saw at the end of the dock and down a passageway a pair of doors. One of the doors was made of glass. The other door was boarded up with plywood. It looked like it might have been made of glass at one point, too, but the glass had been damaged and now the door appeared unusable.

Luc tied up the hovercraft and joined Kylian and Dr. Renard on the dock. Dr. Renard, genius that he was, was not afraid to speak the obvious.

“It seems that there’s no one here.”

Kylian was jumpy and his eyes darted everywhere. “I don’t like the feel of this place.”

Luc took stock of the situation. “Maybe this is a back-door entrance, I don’t know. But this has got to be the hideout for the Order. Come on, let’s see if we can get inside.”

“Um, I’m kind of getting really nervous about this whole thing,” said Kylian. He looked over his shoulder more than once. “Maybe I should stay here and watch the hovercraft for you? I’m not a professional soldier like you!”

“Come on, you scaredy cat!” Luc badgered Kylian for being a wuss. “We’re here to rescue Viviane and the girls! Show some backbone, would ya? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“But I don’t want to die!” wailed Kylian.

Luc was about to say something or to smack Kylian upside the head to get him to summon the courage to go through with infiltrating the secret hideout when Dr. Renard interrupted them.

“Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. Having to live decades knowing the truth, but not being able to speak it. Harboring a guilt that grows with each passing year, the longer you live, the heavier the burden, the more it wears on you, paralyzing you with fear - the fear of being found out and the disgrace that would follow. That is a torture worse than death. I have lived it. Death itself is not to be feared, but to die before absolution is granted and before the debt repaid, that is a regret truly to be afraid of.”

Kylian and Luc did not understand everything that Dr. Renard spoke about, but they did know that by undertaking this “mission impossible,” not only were their lives at stake, but perhaps the fate of the world hung in the balance to be tipped by what they were about to do.

The three interlopers to this small cove on the South-Eastern point to the island of Formose hiked up an uneven series of stairs from the dock to the swinging glass door at the top. The hideout appeared to be unoccupied. They pushed through the door trying to be extra quiet and they found themselves in a large, empty lobby with a high ceiling. Against one wall was a set of swinging wooden double doors with a sign above them that read:

Department 1: Judge Case Carswell presiding

So, this is the Order’s secret hideout and Case Carswell is here, too! Luc recalled that grainy. fuzzy photo of Case Carswell he saw at the briefing at his STS station.

Although they had not encountered anyone yet, the lights of the lobby were turned on and that fact alone unnerved Luc, Kylian and Dr. Renard. They hesitated to step too far into the lobby since the fear of the unknown was sometimes worse than the fear of the known. Instead, they flattened themselves against the walls as they worked their way around the edge of the lobby over to the set of swinging double doors. Luc led the way followed by Dr. Renard and at the end was a very worried Kylian whose eyes darted around and whose neck twisted around often looking over his shoulder imagining that someone would sneak up on them and grab him first. The three were about to make it over to Department 1, when a man’s voice shouted out!

“Stop right there, intruders!”

The “snap” of a handgun cocking its hammer punctuated the man’s command. The person behind the voice stepped out of the shadows pointing a handgun in front of him. Two sentries accompanied him. It was Remi Konnard!

On hearing Remi’s voice, Luc, Kylian and Dr. Renard froze where they stood and remained still, but Luc seethed to see his former commanding officer, Captain Konnard.

“Why Agent Luc, I suspected it would be you, but I wasn’t sure until just now.” Remi kept his gun pointed at Luc who stayed still like a statue except for his mouth.

“What’s it like being a spy for the Order, Konnard? Huh? What’s it like being a traitor and betraying all those under your command who are sworn to follow your orders and do their duty, huh?”

“Don’t lecture me, Luc. You couldn’t possibly understand.” Remi chided Luc.

“What I do understand is that you’re a low-life scumbag responsible for the kidnapping of two High School girls and taking another woman as a hostage as you ran away from your mis-deeds. You’re nothing but an ordinary two-bit criminal, you snake!”

“Is that what you think? You’re so simple minded, Luc. You know nothing about the corruption within the UEN’s Ruling Party. And you know nothing about the girls you speak of or has Dr. Renard neglected to fill you in on the big picture?” Remi adjusted his aim and pointed his gun now at Dr. Renard.

Dr. Renard also seethed to learn that the Order had in fact discovered the secrets of his twin daughters and of Viviane, but he said nothing in order to continue to protect their secrets. Remi turned his attention to Dr. Renard now.

“I could end all of this right now by killing off the man who gave us teleportation. The other nations of the world would secretly welcome the news of Leandre Renard’s untimely demise. For too long, the UEN’s technological superiority and its monopoly on advanced technologies and teleportation has kept the rest of the world under its tyranny. I was promised safe passage to the Etatsunien after completing my mission to bring Viviane Fox to Judge Carswell. I’m still awaiting him to fulfill that promise. But now, since I have the chance, I’ll take matters into my own hands. Leandre Renard, prepare to pay for the suffering you’ve wrought onto the rest of humanity!”

Dr. Renard closed his eyes to prepare for the shot that would end his life, but then Luc leapt out and charged Remi trying to stop him!

“Don’t you dare, Konnard!”

Remi sensed Luc charging at him and by sheer instinct, he jerked his gun back away from Dr. Renard and pulled the trigger firing a round dead center into Luc’s body!

“BLAM!”

The recoil from the gun knocked Remi backward as he fell to his knees onto the ground. Luc’s body absorbed the force of the bullet and he stopped in mid-run. His eyes went wide in shock and his mouth fell open in disbelief for a second before he crumpled into a pile on the ground, unmoving.

Kylain felt how fast his heart was beating. He blocked out all other sounds except for the sound of his inner voice. Oh my god! That guy killed Luc! Luc is dead!

The commotion outside of Case Carswell’s courtroom attracted the attention of Dillon who burst through the doors, also with his gun drawn.

“What’s going on here?” demanded Dillon.

“I shot one of the intruders just now.” Remi pointed to Luc’s body crumpled on the floor in front of him.

Kylian and Dr. Renard were aghast thinking that Luc was shot dead.

“Did you kill him?” asked Dillon.

“I don’t think so,” answered Remi.

Just then, Luc’s body stirred back to life! Luc staggered to pick himself up! He was weakened from the shot to his chest and he had all his air knocked out of him. With one arm, he gripped the spot on his uniform where the bullet struck him while he used his other arm to hold himself up. He glared at Remi for shooting him, but he was alive!

Remi explained, “Those STS uniforms are bullet-proof, but he probably feels like he’s been hit in the chest with a baseball bat.”

Kylian and Dr. Renard were even more shocked to see Luc spring back to life after already being shocked to see him shot to death.

“All of you, into Judge Carswell’s courtroom!” Dillon ordered.

“What about me?” asked Remi.

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth. Guards! Take Konnard and lock him in a closet somewhere until we can deal with him.”

“Hey! I’m supposed to be given safe passage to the Etatsunien! When are you going to make good on your end of the deal?”

“The Judge will see about that when he’s ready.”

The two sentry guards took Remi away.