Rey Reed Smith POV
Still on flashback
I stood beside Reed in the expertise room, watching him hacking into the Protector satellite in New York City and stealing information.
He had come back to free me fifteen minutes ago and struck another deal that didn't favor me as usual. But what can I do? He's a robot, and he knew how to outsmart me. He certainly knows how to free himself from my grip and escape punishment. Nevertheless, I'd still punish him.
I took a glance at Garin Gath as he prepared to descend to the assault field. We had thought the assault would be quick and that his men would outsmart the Protector on Earth, but when we checked it a few minutes ago, things were getting rough. The protectors were more advanced than I thought. The fact that Garin's men had stayed too long on earth also made them weak.
I watched from the surveillance as he gathered hundreds of men for himself, all of them wearing Reed's upgraded suit, and marched into different spaceship craft.
"We are ready to move at your command, sir." Garin's voice came through the intercom in my ear. "Shall we proceed?"
"You've got my authorization," I responded. "Depart and bring me good news."
"Okay, sir," he said, igniting the spaceship engine.
Before he departed, I said, "Don't go offline. Stay active because I'll be updating you about the secret NGO base in New York. You will go ahead of me."
"I'm always at your service, sir," he said, before flying into space.
"I'm opening the black hole portal in the next 3.2.1. GO!" Reed yelled, and a dimensional portal appeared. I watched as Garin and his men flew into the portal before it closed.
PRESENT
"Now, back to business." I said, focusing on Reed as he continued his work on the system.
I watched as Reed engaged in a clandestine operation of technological prowess. He orchestrated a calculated intrusion into the secret base of the so-called Earth's protector using algorithms and Python. The fact that he had accessed their systems and hardware earlier made it easy for him.
I watched Reed's virtual fingers dance across the digital holographic landscape, exploiting vulnerabilities that were invisible to human eyes. With a mastery of cryptography, he unraveled complex encryptions that guarded the base's core systems, unlocking other secret files.
I'm sure that the Protector probably thought they had hidden their files in a vault and locked them with the strongest security on their planet. Little did they know that my boy, Reed, has knowledge beyond their speculation.
As Reed gained access to their safest vault, I saw red lights flashing on the screen, followed by red dots, and I saw Reed smirking. I knew what that meant. He intentionally did it to cause panic among the protectors. He wants to challenge them.
I watched the red light and dots blinking rapidly from the screen, the heat temperature of everyone rising, which meant the panic was spreading among the heroes because their once secure network crumbled before my robot's digital onslaught.
Swiftly and silently, Reed severed communication lines, meaning that he had left the heroes isolated and incapable of calling for crucial backup. With every keystroke, Reed's dominion over the Earth tightens technology, his alien intellect merging seamlessly with Earth's digital realm.
Having seized control, Reed faced me and said, "I'm executing a fiendish plan. Tell Garin Gath to get ready to depart."
Instantly, Garin's voice came in: "Sir, we are too late. The protector had left before we reached the base."
"It doesn't matter anymore," I said, knowing fully well that I had more men to spare for this course. "Reed just made great progress with the NGO base in New York. Once I send you the location, I want you to go there and do what you think is right. Don't withhold your anger, and make sure to leave a great message behind. Let them know that they had messed with the wrong person."
"Okay, sir," he saluted, "I will be waiting for the location and your signal."
"Great," I mumbled, returning my gaze to Reed as he initiated a cleverly designed jamming sequence that disrupted the protector's network beyond repair. I didn't need anyone to tell me that static would have filled their communication channels, drowning out their attempts to regroup or seek outside assistance by now.
The red dots and light, which stand for their heat temperature, increase their reading here on the screen in front of me, which means the protector's desperation has grown as they grapple with the sudden loss of their most reliable asset: information.
Only if these beings knew that Reed's manipulation extended beyond mere technological shackles.
I watched Reed draw from his intricate understanding of human psychology and maneuver them like pieces on a chessboard. Through hacked displays and distorted messages, he used denial-of-service attacks to take down their backup communication systems in space, cutting them off completely from the outside world and making it difficult for them to get help by sending SOS through their satellite that was planted here in space.
After that, he applied man-in-the-middle system attacks to intercept their communications with one another and to predict their next move and where they could hide in the base.
"I've used zero-day exploits to take advantage of vulnerabilities in their technology that they're not even aware of," Reed said. "So, did you still want us to take the battle to them, or should we lure them out?"
I thought about the decision for a while and decided to lure them out. Luring them out will not only make them look like fools; it will also give Garin Gath the chance to exploit their base, recover their stolen armor, and bring them home before destroying the base from its foundation.
"I'm using Alg to lure them into an open field—the perfect hunting ground for Commander Garin Gath's impending assault." Reed said, continuously tapping the screen of his system. "Tell Garin Gath that I'll be sending him a location in the next five seconds. It's where he will ambush and destroy the Protectors."
"Commander," I said through the intercom, "Reed will be sending an address to your GPS location. As soon as you receive the location, divide your men into two. Appoint a capable man for the second team and send them to your location. You will take the first team with you, invade their base, recover our stolen armor, and then turn the building to ashes. After that, return as quickly as possible to help the second team. I'll be updating you more."
"Okay, sir," Garin responded. "I've received the location, and we are moving right away."
Under the sinister orchestration of Reed, I watched as the heat started moving, meaning that the Protectors were unwittingly marching into the trap.
After matching for thirty minutes, the heats stopped in a place that I presumed Reed had perfectly chosen. He clicked on an icon, and images of the protectors were shown on the screen.
"Boom, we are live on screen!" Reed exclaimed, clapping like a kindergarten baby.
"Great job, Reed!" I complimented, watching as the protectors gathered in an open field, and I could see the tension in their bodies that hung heavy in the air.
Through the live feed, I could hear the rustling of leaves and the distant hum of electronics that filled the atmosphere as the beings powered their weapons.
Suddenly, chaos erupted. The men that Garin chose to attack began with an intensity that left the protector reeling, shocked, and taken by surprise. I watched as the environment seemed to turn against them, manipulated by Reed's control over technology as he helped my team.
I couldn't help but praise Reed in my mind. Even with my U.R.S., he's still able to send help to the team from space. He's the best.
Battles were fought, but hope was elusive as Reed's mastery of algorithms and Python wove a web of confusion and defeat. My men also didn't give them time to regroup. They seized the advantage of their confusion, slaughtering the protector mercilessly.
The heroes struggled against my men and the enemy they could not see or touch—a malevolent force that existed solely in the space realm of ones and zeros. By the time the protectors could think of retreating, only three of them were left alive.
"Sir, I found two things." Garin's voice came through the com, diverting my attention. "The name of the being that sold my men out is Dr. Pierce. Two, I found a map leading to the ancient Pyramid of Egypt with a foresighting device that was used to build the pyramid. You can ask Reed for more information."
"Reed, I'm sure you heard the commander. Now get to work." I said to Reed before replying to the commander, "You've done a great job, Garin Gath. Destroy the building, act as I informed you earlier, and get back here."
"The name of the technology is Alacrity," Reed said as soon as I finished giving the order to Garin. "It's said to give the dead enough speed to travel to the afterlife and also keep their bodies from decaying. It stopped functioning a few years ago due to a lack of electricity charging before it was buried by a man called En-saber Nun to prevent bad people from using the technology for their selfish desires."
"I think we need to pay this ancient pyramid a visit," I said, walking towards the exit. "Let's go to Egypt, and I want to know mo
re about Dr. Pierce, too. I might need to visit her."
Reed screeched, "Egypt it is!"
T.b.c