Mission Time: 02:13:51
Jacob entered the room where Kaplan was deactivating the defenses. Behind him, the doctor and James watched attentively.
"Why is it taking so long?" the doctor broke the silence.
"The Red Queen is putting up a fight, doctor, it's getting tough," Kaplan said. Just when they thought it would take longer, a beep sounded as the door suddenly opened.
"We need to pack," James ordered.
Everyone began to move, packing their equipment into bags. James looked at Alice and said, "You stay here."
As James headed for the hallway leading to the Red Queen's chamber, Jacob approached Command 1 and said, "Give me that; I'll take care of carrying it. Keep an eye on that guy," he explained, pointing at Spence Parks.
Command 1 glanced at him for a moment before agreeing; he didn't mind. He could rest a bit while the others deactivated the Red Queen.
Jacob, on the other hand, was breaking into a cold sweat. He knew the danger of the place he was entering, even though he had studied the laser patterns numerous times until he had memorized them. He couldn't help the cold sweat, knowing that his intelligent assistant couldn't stop the Red Queen.
When the lights came on, James jumped and looked at Kaplan as he heard, "The lights are automatic, don't worry."
He approached, placed the controller on the door, and said, "Transmitter in position."
"Roger that; I'll look for a deviation." The door codes were entered slowly. When the last one was input, the door opened, and James signaled with his hand, saying, "Let's go."
"[Master, I have control of the lasers, so there won't be any casualties.]"
Command 2, the doctor, and Jacob entered the hallway as previously mentioned. Command 2 entered the hallway first, followed by Jacob, and then the doctor, who helped me with the bag.
Alice looked at Kaplan and asked, "What are those bags?"
"Those? They'll disconnect the Red Queen. They release an electrical charge into the system that forces her to deactivate."
Inside the hallway, Jacob knew what was about to begin. When he entered, and the doctor stayed right at the door, Jacob crouched down. "What are you doing?" the doctor asked hurriedly.
"I'm tying my shoelaces, doctor," Jacob replied as he tightened them securely. Most of his equipment was left outside in the care of Command 2. He only carried a small pistol and a knife.
"Hurry up, we're running out of time," the doctor scolded.
'Damn it, I'm saving your life. Don't get demanding,' Jacob thought with a cold expression.
As Command 2 was halfway down the hallway, the door that had been opened by the controller began to close slowly. James panicked at seeing this and backed away while aiming his weapon.
"Kaplan? Kaplan," James shouted.
Jacob was already prepared and forcefully pushed the doctor towards the exit door. The doctor was sent flying backward, avoiding getting trapped inside the room. She was momentarily stunned when she fell forcefully to the floor outside the hallway.
"Hopefully, she came out with all her limbs intact," Jacob thought as he moved ahead of James and in front of Command 1.
The doctor was about to ask Jacob what was happening when she saw the door closing and heard what Kaplan said.
"What's happening?"
"It's a type of self-defense mechanism; we must have triggered it when we opened the door," Kaplan explained over the intercom.
"Deactivate it," James ordered over the radio.
"Right away," Kaplan responded as he hurried to disable the defense system.
Alice and Command 1 moved to help the dazed doctor on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Command 1 asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. What about the others?" the doctor inquired instead.
"I'm afraid there might be trouble," Alice replied as she moved to see what was happening in the hallway.
"Open that door, quickly!" Spence Parks shouted desperately.
"I'm trying."
"[Master, we're inside the Red Queen's defense systems! According to our plan, I'll give her the direction to move before the laser emerges from the wall!]"
Jacob nodded attentively. At this moment, there were three inside the room that had activated its defenses. Considering this, the remaining ones were elite soldiers.
"Everyone, stay alert," James said as he looked around.
"That won't work; everyone toss your gear and free your bodies from any weight that restricts your movements!" Jacob dropped his weapons, backpacks, and equipment directly onto the floor.
Everyone else saw him do it, and then James, who thought it through, nodded, and Command 2 did the same. With nothing to hinder them, they all waited for Kaplan to deactivate the defenses.
Suddenly, Command 2 looked toward the door protecting the Red Queen's chamber. In that instant, lights focused on the two walls.
"What's that?" he asked as a laser moved rapidly toward Jacob and the others. Upon seeing this, James shouted, "Get down, get down!"
"[The next laser will be a double trap; you can either jump over it or lower your body to the ground!]"
The three in the hallway survived the first laser. Jacob, who was a few meters ahead, had served as an example to pass through safely.
"Is everyone okay?" James asked, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Yes, boss. Get behind me," Jacob shouted as he placed James behind him. As the squad leader, theoretically, the other members had to ensure their leader's safety
Jacob remained calm with his hands free of objects and said, "This defense style alters the laser patterns to deceive us and cut us in half. We must be smart and move seconds before the laser is inches from our bodies."
Upon hearing Jacob's words, James and Command 2 kicked away the things on the floor, establishing a distance of two meters between them.
"Everyone, get ready." Jacob stood next to Command 2, his blood running cold as he knew what the next attack move would be.
"Everyone ready, here it comes again!" Command 2 shouted.
Seeing the next laser approaching, Jacob pulled the knife from his leg and prepared to throw it at the laser. In the movie, Commando 2 died when the laser tricked him, and he jumped instead of staying on the ground, resulting in the laser cutting him in half.
"I hope this works." Jacob threw the knife at the approaching laser. Fortunately for Jacob, sensors detected the knife, and it elevated to head height.
"Get down!" Jacob shouted, seeing the slow reaction of Command 2, as he forcefully pulled him to the ground.
James, on the other hand, stood up, narrowly avoiding the laser grazing his back; his knife was sliced like butter by the laser.
"Everyone, in line, spaced out," Jacob ordered as he looked up, ready to jump.
Command 2 was in front of James, so Jacob could serve as a reference for the others.
"[While you retreat, I'll deactivate the defense systems at that moment!]" Jacob's intelligent assistant saved the day.
The last laser was impossible to dodge, making survival nearly impossible. But Jacob knew that if they retreated as far as possible, they might still make it out alive. However, with his intelligent assistant, his knowledge of the movie was of no importance.
In the movie, James struggled through all the lasers, but in the final one, his spirit was wounded by the deaths of nearly half his team. Seeing no escape, he decided to surrender and not retreat so far into the field.
"Kaplan, if you don't hurry, we'll all die in here!" Jacob shouted loudly, maintaining his performance in this scene, which was making him nervous.
In the control room, Kaplan was doing his best to deactivate the defense system.
"You need to do something," Alice Abernathy said.
"You have to get them out of there, Kaplan," Spence Parks urged.
"Hurry up!" the doctor yelled.
"I'm doing my best," Kaplan replied, cold sweat on his forehead.
"Here comes another one!" Command 2 shouted. He was almost halfway down the hallway, while Jacob remained calm as if he had everything under control.
This time, the laser was approaching rapidly, and upon seeing it, Command 2 didn't know what move to make. He looked at Jacob and asked, "Any ideas?"
"Just keep retreating!"
Just as the lasers were about to touch their bodies, Jacob's intelligent assistant turned off the defense systems of the room.
"Deactivated!" Kaplan shouted, and the doors behind Jacob and James swung open, knocking them to the ground. Alice, who had been watching everything through the small window, quickly stepped back.
"Are you guys okay?" Alice asked, frozen in shock.
Quickly, the doctor and Command 1 approached the team members who had survived.
Before getting up from the ground, James patted Jacob's right arm. "Rest for a bit; we'll shut down the Red Queen."
In response to James, Jacob nodded.
"Is everything under control, Kaplan?" James asked with uncertainty.
"Yes, her defenses are deactivated," Kaplan replied.
"The rest of you, follow me. We need to shut down the Red Queen quickly to get out of here," James ordered, regaining his composure.
Jacob admired James' leadership and determination. Even after facing death, he wanted to press on.
"You won't force me to go in there..." Spence Parks replied.
James looked at him angrily, feeling frustrated about nearly falling into a trap and dying. So he responded, "I wasn't talking to you. You're not trustworthy at all. Come on, follow me."
Jacob got up with the help of the doctor and Command 2.
Command 1 was breaking into a cold sweat, grateful for the chance not to enter that place where certain death awaited.
On the other hand, the doctor was infinitely grateful for being saved. "Thank you for what you did just now. I owe you my life."
"Don't mention it. We're a team, after all," Jacob replied with a reassuring look.
The others entered the Red Queen's chamber to shut her down, leaving Jacob alone with Alice and Spence.
Alice approached and said, "You were amazing in there. How did you know the patterns?"
"I study a lot because I'm a technician. I knew this type of defense because I worked with the one who created them," Jacob said as he looked for his belongings.
Quickly, he put on his drone backpack and fastened his sword to his waist. He started adjusting his thigh holster and held his Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun in his hands.
Jacob returned to the hallway and retrieved Command 2's weapons. Upon seeing them, he removed the magazine from a gun identical to his, a Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun, and also the Walther P99 pistol.
Alice and Spence watched Jacob's quick and unusual movements.
"Is something wrong?" Alice asked with uncertainty.
Jacob looked at her for a moment and said, "If your memory hasn't returned, your protective instincts are still intact. You'll know how to use it when the time comes."
Seeing the weapon he handed her, Alice was stunned.
"If you don't remember, trust your instincts," he added as he sat down in the control room where Kaplan had been.