I took the corpses of Kyle and Bart and laid them in the back of the vehicle. Rigor mortis would soon set in. I reloaded my guns and holstered them. The explosives appeared to be assembled outside a factory, implying an indigenous explosive device. The trouble was that such a device could be assembled almost anywhere, raising exponentially the area I would have to scour. Maybe picking it apart would prove helpful but engineering was hardly my strong suit. I was more comfortable with picking apart corpses.
I checked their surface. There were no switches or timers. They didn't appear to be remote controlled either. It should be safe to open them then. I felt for any lines of fusion. With my penknife, I cut through the little device. It was empty on the inside except for a greyish green powder I recognized all too well - Devil's Guts, a highly explosive mixture. And it was not used in by approved arms manufacturers due to its notorious unreliability. All this led me to conclude that this had to be produced at a nearby location, for this explosive couldn't be transported safely over long distances.
I entered our vehicle and activated the map. There were no nearby villages, however there were two factories, both abandoned, within 20 miles. One of them had to be my destination. The first was a former foundry which was abandoned due to an accident involving a great deal of machinery and massove financial loss. The second was a water purification facility which had to be abandoned due to increased level of pollution and scarce demand. It had to be the foundry. I drove hard and fast, yet taking care to remain as silent as possible.
Once at the foundry, I stepped out carefully. I drew one gun and walked stealthily over to the gate. It was not locked. As I recalled, the whole place had been shut down during investigations with chains over the gates. One of the doors of the gate was slightly open. I crept up to it and pressed my ear to the gap. There were no sounds at all. I slipped through the gates and now I was in the foundry, a great dark place with heavy machinery all around. The bombs had to be underground. I walked around, wondering where the entrance to the underground hideout lay. I ducked behind some machinery as I heard footsteps approach.
They were two humans. They were talking rapidly to each other. And I observed that they had come from nowhere. Unless it could be that they had stepped out through the machinery which could only mean that the machine was hollow and it was the secret entrance. I drew my second gun and prepared to ambush the two. They were almost thorty feet away but talked loud enough for me to hear them.
"You sure this a good idea?"
"Our Kerzids haven't returned yet. They could be in trouble and we can't afford for them to be traced here."
"They won't be. The PEPC isn't that smart."
"Maybe not but-"
I interrupted them, with my guns aimed at their chests, "Dr. Scrifftor Hales, chief investigator of the PEPC, at your service. Surrender unless you want some serious heartburn."
They raised their hands in surrender. I motioned them to move apart. After disarming and restraining them, I sat down facing them. It was time for a good chat.
"Tell me about this operation of yours."
One of them opened his mouth before the other shut him down with a murderous glare. One was helpful while the other was not worth my time. I shot the glaring man with a stun beam. With a grim smile, I motioned the other to start talking. Having taken the hint, and having seen that my guns were now on kill mode, he began to talk. He told me about the operation, about their dealings with the Kerzids. However he couldn't tell me why it had happened. For that, I needed to investigate further. The hideout was empty now. I sent a signal to the PEPC, regarding the capture and my ongoing investigation, however I chose to leave out the Kerzids. An open war was not in our favour as of now.
I had to play my next hand very carefully.
To be continued
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