Previous Part: Chapter 1: Behind Bars
"Long has Ogel eluded us," Dash said, beginning his speech. "Long has he endangered the world with his plots and unstable yet brilliant mind. Just days ago, he succeeded in freezing time itself. He was stopped by Special Agent Zed, the only remaining active member of the team. Ogel has posed a massive threat to World City since the beginning. But now, at last...at this moment...Ogel sits, helpless, in a prison cell!" Applause and cheers met this statement. "Yes!" Dash cried. "At last, the efforts of the Alpha Team have paid off! Ogel's secret base of operations, hidden in the snow for so long, is now a frozen over puddle in the center of Antarctica!"
"Yeah!" An agent shouted.
"Today," Dash continued, "we celebrate! Well done, Alpha Team!"
Dash talks with Zed
Agent Zed stood off in a corner, watching the proceedings. It was not often that a group such as the Alpha Team had a celebration like this. Zed winced at the loud music. That was probably Flex's doing. Dash walked up to him, glass in hand. Zed nodded to him. "Nice speech."
"Thanks," Dash responded. His face, despite the attitude of the party, remained unsmiling. "Something on your mind?" Zed asked.
"Yeah," Dash said. "Something just feels off. Wrong. I feel that Ogel may not be finished."
"What do you mean?" Zed inquired.
"I don't know, exactly. But Ogel's no ordinary man. He knew what he was doing; what the stakes were. Surely he must have had a fail-safe, in case he were ever captured." Zed narrowed his eyes. Dash noticed. "What?" he asked.
"Well," Zed answered slowly, "I did notice something."
"Yes?"
"When I trashed his Scorpion Orb Launcher and stepped out to cuff him. He seemed unhurt, and yet he didn't put up much of a fight. He swung a fist at me, but was otherwise easy to subdue. And there was no urgency in his mood. And after I destroyed his base..."
"Yes?"
"I found a metal plate in the ground, under where his base used to be. It was buried by snow, but my scanners picked it up. I uncovered it and it turned out to be a hatch of some sort. And it was loose. I opened it and looked inside, but it led only to a small square space under the ground, hardly big enough for a man. It was bare except for two lights. One was blue. The other, the one that was lit up, was red. As soon as the hatch was opened fully, though, the red one switched off. The blue light activated...and then started blinking. I don't know what made me move. A gut instinct, I suppose. But I fled, jumping into my battle machine. I'd not taken three steps in it when the area under the hatch exploded, sending dirt, snow and the Blizzard Blaster flying. I didn't mention it before because it seemed to be just another of Ogel's tricks. One last stab from defeat. But I'm starting to wonder if it was something more. Like you said...a fail-safe. What if that hatch was a switch to activate Ogel's emergency measures?"
Dash was very still. "It's not enough evidence to put the team on full alert. But stay focused and report any suspicious activity. I hope you're wrong, Zed. But in case you're right, we'd better be prepared. It's no small thing to break a prisoner out of a maximum security vault in Alpha Team HQ. If Ogel's planning something, it'll be big. Remember, he beat us last time. If it hadn't been for your arrival, he would have won entirely. This time, he just might."
Next Part: Chapter 3: The Awakening