I nodded upon hearing Reaper clear us to move, pulling the shifter back and into drive. Then, I slammed on the pedal. "Follow me."
I hooked a left, going right off of the road. There was a thin wall of trees between us and another maintenance road. I pulled onto it, following it around the bend and through the gates, leading us back to Post Road.
After making a left, I glanced towards the back seat, seeing Mrs. Sands, Caleb, and my dad sitting next to each other. "Mrs. Sands, where would you like to go?"
Her head snapped towards me, clearly irritated by the sound of my voice. "I don't know. We can't really go home right now. Thanks for that."
I sighed, blowing a red light and making a right onto Store Hill Road. "Where is Mr. Sands?"
She glanced at her wrist watch and then gazed out the window, watching as the trees that separated us from I-495 sped by. "Skylar should be on his way home from work. He took a half… Do you have a phone?"
I glanced over at Martinez who was next to me, knowing full well that I didn't have time to grab my phone before being evicted from my home. "Martinez?"
She nodded, pulling an iPhone out of one of the pockets on her tactical vest. She quickly unlocked it and then handed it to Mrs. Sands. "Here you go, ma'am."
-GE-
About 20 minutes later, we pulled off of New Highway and into Republic Airport. We went straight through the parking lot and didn't stop until we were near the runway.
As soon as I put the vehicle into park, I opened the door and got out. I stretched my arms as a breeze sent my hair toiling about. "Ahhh, we made it."
"Kyle!"
I turned towards the voice, finding my uncle sprinting towards me. It appeared as if he had just disembarked from the jet that had its engines running.
I smiled, appreciating that he had done all of this just to keep my dad and I safe. "Uncle DeMinio."
He rushed over, not stopping until he had wrapped me up in a very tight hug. "I'm so glad that you're safe. We were just about to depart when I heard what was happening."
*DMPH*
My uncle released me from the hug as slight confusion overtook his relieved expression. "Julia?"
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mrs. Sands coming around the back of the SUV with Caleb in her arms. Tilting my head in confusion, I then turned to my Uncle. "You know each other?"
She then spoke, clear confusion in her voice. "Paul? What are you doing here?"
Paul's expression twisted, flying through the stages of grieving almost instantaneously. "Tch, this is going to be a mess."
I craned my neck, even more confused now and almost angry. "This isn't already a fucking mess?"
My uncle scoffed and shook his head. "Pah. Kid, this isn't my first rodeo. My wife, however, that's going to be the real mess."
I shook my head in response, somehow even more confused. "Why is Aunt Susan gonna be mad?"
He sighed and gestured towards Mrs. Sands. "Julia's husband is the head of the division that is overseeing my investment in you."
I glanced back at her just in time to see the expression of someone who felt like they had just pieced together a huge puzzle. "That's what this is about? A fucking game? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"
The internal struggle to resist throwing her son aside and charging at my uncle was written all over her face. I could only look back at him since he had the answers we both needed.
He sighed, turning around and walking towards the jet. "Come on. I'll tell you en route."
A woman that had been standing off to the side quickly ran after him. He glanced towards her. "Sarah, grab a bottle of merlot. Julia will need it."
-GE-
With another 30 minutes gone, we were tens of thousands of feet off the ground but comfortable as if in a living room. The jet was surprisingly large with a few rooms and lots of lounge seating. There was also a full bar, which was typical of my uncle.
The woman that had chased after him was standing behind the bar pouring a glass of wine, presumably the merlot he had mentioned, along with two glasses of Macallan Scotch with a large cubical ice cube.
The woman, Sarah, carefully carried a tray with the drinks on it and then placed the glasses down on the table that was in front of us.
This table was situated against a window of the plane with a short couch on either side. I was on one side with Mrs. Sands while my Uncle was on the other.
I picked up my glass, swirling it around with the ice cube before taking a small sip. After enjoying the pricey beverage for a moment, I took a deep breath and looked at my uncle with firm eyes. "So, I believe you have many things to tell us."
He nodded, gripping the scotch glass as if it was his only remaining defense. "It seems that it is now appropriate to reveal some things. This is going to be a bit of a story. So, for everyone's sake, I'll have Sarah keep the drinks flowing."
The story began nearly six years ago when my mother lifted off of Earth, her destination, Mars. Just a day into the mission, the rocket disappeared without a trace. All contact was lost and nothing was able to be done.
With space being one of the few places where news outlets can't swarm, the government decided to cover up this embarrassing failure. All the real information was locked down as government officials disseminated lies, hiding the true nature of what they called a horrific accident.
My Uncle felt betrayed and guilty. Betrayed by this government that he had so faithfully served as they lied to their people. Guilty in that he couldn't reveal the true story of what happened to his freshly widowed brother-in-law. Without committing a crime, he would have to allow an empty casket to be buried as his family lived a lie.
This made him lose faith in the American government. He knew that this type of thing was normal. Information is hidden from people all over the world by their governments. He was just naive and hopeful that it wouldn't happen to him. Alas, it did.
Despite being mid campaign, he announced a sudden withdrawal from the senatorial race, shocking the entire country due to his near universal approval from both sides of the aisle. After ceding office, he retired from politics, opting for a more hands on approach to bettering the country.
While his name may not have been on the front page any longer, his continuing impact was just as big, if not even more so. With all of the investments and hands-on work he was doing, another benefit came about. He was able to maintain his information network.
Years went by with nothing major catching his eye. That continued until Disney announced the release date for Star War: Galactic Expedition. His intelligence channels were nearly blinded by the explosion of information.
Governments, syndicates, investment groups, international conglomerates, they were all making moves. The one common point was that it all centered around this game. Something was sorely wrong about this, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Months went by as the release date inched ever closer. By the time the game was set to release the next day, it felt as if the entire world was restless.
Then, launch day came. Information channels once again overflowed with information of how unbelievably realistic the game was. How could Disney achieve this with the current level of technology?
Upon digging deeper, he discovered that there were no credits given for development of the game. The entire origin of it was shrouded in mystery. Where did it come from?
A gut feeling began to take hold, keeping him up through sleepless nights. He extended his intelligence network into the game, paying various players to provide any and all information they came across.
Through this, and his own children informing him that my dad was streaming the game, he discovered that I had founded the first guild out of any player. He kept monitoring and then decided that he had to act on this gut feeling.
This was when we had our dinner at The Bryant and he gave me that check. It didn't even take a few hours after this family dinner for shocking developments to unfold.
Another incident, almost identical to the one in which we had lost my mother, had occurred. This time, it was a Russian vessel. It seemed as if nothing would come of it until more information was discovered that left my Uncle reeling in confusion.
At the same time that the Russian spacecraft disappeared, there were unexplainable distortions being recorded throughout visible space. Astronomers and astrophysicists were lost for words, completely unaware that they may have just come across the most insane discovery in the history of mankind.
My Uncle, despite knowing nothing about astrophysics, was confident that this had something to do with the incident. He had his people comb through astronomical data and found some correlations that brought him great worry.
These same distortions were not unique. They had been happening for several days, coinciding with the release of the game. What really put the nail in the coffin was when his people found that those same distortions were visible on that fateful day six years prior.
With all of this, he knew he made the right choice. He felt further reinforced by the fact that all of these major organizations and governments continued to make illogical investments into the game. Whether they knew the whole story or were just trying to make a quick buck, it mattered not.
No matter who acts first or last, no matter who the opposition may be, no matter what unscrupulous acts must be carried out, only one thing truly mattered. Who will come out on top when the day is done?