"What are we looking at?"
Samuel stood inside a dark room lit by four large monitors between a pair of sitting Radian's staff. He stared at the digital grids, a length of pulsing lights linking all the company's data collating stations spanning the whole Peninsular. He knew they represented the intraversal bandwidth transmissions but the two circular puddles that flared out from the unbroken lines bothered him.
"Subliminal energy transmission surges, Datuk. Your direction was to monitor any such, and these had appeared in quick successions. We captured the general locations when they occurred but there wasn't a sustained burst to enable consistent tracking, Datuk," said the woman, her fingers flicking on a touchpad laid flat on the table in front of her.
"Moving broadcasting sources?"
"Possibly. The intensity of the bursts suggested a large vehicle to be able to emit such a strong signal, Datuk," she said.
"We're looking at persons."
"…"
"I believe these sources are in total control of these emissions and operating at exceptionally low levels. We may need to dial down the wavelength we're monitoring. Can we do that?" said Samuel.
For the first time, the woman turned towards her lanky boss, her eyes wide, inquisitive.
"… You mean even below the broadband bandwidth? We'd be looking at almost brainwave levels, Datuk. They'd be millions in the grid."
"Fine tune the monitoring scan slightly above that and see if anything appears."
"On it, Datuk. It would take a while to tweak the settings to operate at such precise points, though."
A buzz in his left pants pocket interrupted the conversation. Taking out his cell phone, Samuel saw the number displayed, and said: "It's time we test the extreme capabilities of our grids. Please keep me posted if there are any further developments, Haiza."
He stepped out into an empty room lined by file cabinets and took the call: "Yes, Maria…"
"Datuk, Stephen on the line."
His eyes narrowed, Stephen calling him direct meant something significant had occurred.
"Put him through."
"Good afternoon, Datuk. There were two incidents where the targets seemed to have been involved in," said the person on the other line, the voice firm.
"Seemed? No direct involvement?"
"Only in the second, Datuk. A trailer rammed a restaurant where they had stop to rest. Destroyed the whole placed with a few injuries. As far as we could tell, the targets escaped unhurt. We are unsure of the first incident, though. A gang robbery ended in the most bizarre circumstances. Something knocked out everyone inside the bank. The targets were a few blocks away, but she was affected."
"What happened?"
"She was behind a pillar and stood there for several minutes then slumped onto the walkway. Looked to be in some sort of shock. The hospital assistant had to help her to their pickup afterwards."
A pause.
"We found out later that all gang members are in catatonic state, Datuk. The witnesses in the bank, too, had suffered mental blackouts."
"How long?"
"Those at the bank were unconscious for minutes before reviving. The security cameras recorded only a male bank staff spared at the exact moment everyone else fell."
"…"
"And, Datuk…. There was also a fatality. One of the robbers shot a female bank staff. This occurred seconds before the mass catatonia."
Catatonic state.
The thought flashed in his mind on the state Dr Saari's team were in when he pulled them out from their incarceration.
"Did you get anything from the local police?"
"Nothing much. They're perplexed on what happened, but the officers onsite are just glad to be rid of the four. Local thugs, Datuk. Armed and well known for their violent acts."
"And the targets? Are they still headed to the capital?"
"No, Datuk. Took a detour and heading towards Kuala Selangor now. We're following about six, seven cars behind them."
Kuala Selangor? Must be the young man's connection.
"Thank you, Stephen. Maintain yourself at arms-length but move in if you judge the target to be in any sort of danger from now on," said Samuel.
"And the assistant, Datuk?"
"You have your priorities, Stephen. I leave it to you to decide."
He ended the call and made another.
"Maria, please make a background search on Arman. Focus on Kuala Selangor. He could have a friend or relative staying around the area."
He slipped the phone back in his pants pocket and stayed rooted in the empty room. The silence provided him with a much-cherished moment recollecting the moment of retrieving the team from their incarceration. Samuel remembered feeling envious to see Syafa in a different condition when the rest were catatonic. Had surmised then she would possibly be the first to awaken from the coma and, his prophetic vision proved true.
Syafa came highly qualified to join Radian, and while he had some reservations on how the contagiously chirpy young woman would fit into his somber, serious team, Samuel too was taken aback by the ease of which she warmed up to her interviewers, including himself. He had given her the toughest of questions. Not all of which she could convincingly answer, but there was no mistaking the positive vibes emanating from her during the lengthy session.
Of course, he heard rumors of her then having an affair with his friend and department head, Saari. Samuel thought it as mere gossip and misconceived seeing how his team leader was a responsible married man. Bernice however added credence to the rumor mill when she mentioned the two were working long nights together.
Syafa.
But she wasn't even in the office when the whole incident occurred. She was with Bernice and both were similarly affected.
He shook off the long-winded reminiscing of events passed and walked out leaving the comforting silence. They were nowhere closer to finding the way to revive Bernice, and if Syafa needed to complete whatever it was that had awakened her, so be it. He will help her and pray for Syafa to unlock the door to answers he needed.