The Commander paced steadily from one end of the chamber to the other as he listened to the Agent’s report. He stopped abruptly, his heels clicking together as he turned to face the waiting line of Agents. He raised his head and looked them over imperiously, the tense silence stretching as they stood rigidly to attention, nervously anticipating his reaction.
‘You say he was assisted by one of the ancients?’
He slammed his hand into his fist exclaiming,
‘Of course, it has been staring us in the face all along! Paul Sutherland is no more nor less than an ordinary human.’
The Commander turned to pressed a button on the console behind him, a life-size image of Paul springing to the screen to illustrate his point.
‘Since the feats of evasion he has performed are clearly beyond human ability, the conclusion that he has inter-dimensional assistance should have occurred to us days ago.’
The line of Agents stirred slightly, heads nodding, only one hesitantly raising an objection to the Commander’s logic.
‘But Sir, the ancient ones were successfully eradicated shortly after the conquest.’
‘So we believed,’ the Commander replied, ‘but is it not possible that using their archaic magic some have survived, waiting for this time to attempt to undermine our power?’
The Agents remained silent and the Commander answered his own question.
‘I believe it must be so,’ he stated. ‘We have responded like fools. This circus at Alesia is a set-up, nothing more than a smokescreen designed to lead us away from the truth, the truth that the real danger lies within the old frequency. And since that is the case, I will go there and personally attend to the destruction of the crystal myself.’
A humorless smile stretched the Commanders lips. He paused again, obviously coming to a decision.
‘He may be able to jump dimensions but we have the advantage. Get my ship ready, lasers armed and programmed for the original Earth frequency. I have a rendezvous with Mr Sutherland at sunrise.’
At once two Agents broke from the line, efficiently attending to his orders.
‘In the mean time of course we will take no chances.’ The Commander turned to the Agent at the far end of the line.
‘I am leaving you personally in charge of the situation here. Maintain internet surveillance. I want the Alesian power point sealed and guarded until the moment of danger is safely passed
The Agent looked up questioningly,
‘Shall I deploy the military sir?’ he asked.
‘No, the internal French police force should be adequate. I want this situation dealt with in the least conspicuous manner possible. Am I understood? Then do it!’
The Agents instantly turned on their heels and filed from the chamber, leaving the Commander standing alone, thoughtfully gazing at the image of Paul revolving slowly in front of his eyes.
Paul: December 20th