NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72 - Royality High
Work to know your enemies, because they will do the same to you. Counter them by staying formless and you will render the intelligence they gather on you, useless – Nietzsche
Operation Giga Pudding (D-5 hours)
In a room suffocated by eggshell foam baffling, a woman with long black hair and piercing golden-brown eyes hammered away at a typewriter. The flickering light from two ever-burning candles, hovering just above her, danced shadows across the walls.
Each clack of the typewriter keys was swallowed by the soundproofed walls, the room grew quieter after every strike. The typewriter dinged, sharp, and suddenly, breaking the stillness. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, her movements precise, almost mechanical, as she pushed the handle to advance to the next line. Before her fingers resumed their furious typing, her eyes flared bright blue as she spoke the words to activate her Witch Sight.
She paused, scanning the room with a sharp intensity. The space was devoid of the usual hum of silvery radio waves, leaving only the low, steady thrum of the white noise generator plugged into an electrical socket by the door—a faint 20 Hz, barely perceptible.
“It’s clear,” she muttered, suspicion lacing her voice. “But still...”
The woman checked under the table and picked up her typewriter. Not even a speck of dust. She even checked under her chair twice.
"There’s, like, nothing useful you can get from an old typewriter,” she sighed, turning off her Witch Sight. “Not like all the juicy stuff we picked up bugging the Wheel’s war room."
Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed and reluctantly placed her fingers back on the typewriter. She’d wanted to delegate this loathsome task to one of the interns, but after last season’s disaster—when their plans were intercepted by a rival gang—trust had become a luxury. No one but her could be trusted with this week’s video transcript.
Tapping the internal playback button, she watched the video continue as her fingers began typing again.
Deep within the mechanics of her typewriter, a single black ant, no bigger than a fingernail, was stationed. Its antennae vibrated with each strike of the keys, sensing the rhythm of her work.
As its tiny memory filled, the ant released a pheromone trail from a gland in its body.
Another worker ant, nearby and alert, picked up the scent and passed it along to the next in line.
The chain of communication continued, each ant relaying the message, until it reached the outside, where a warrior ant—genetically modified —received the signal.
Across Battle City, another warrior ant, hatched from the same egg, tapped its foot in perfect synchrony.
At the BC Airfield, within a room lined with copper mesh, was a door marked 'Janitor's Closet’.
Each tap of the foot-activated a metallic contact and sent a series of beeps to a loudspeaker.
Angel Eyes and Sidedragon leaned closer on their chairs towards the speaker and were writing furiously on their notepads.
When the warrior ant stopped his tap dance, Angel Eyes stared at the words at the bottom of his notepad that said: Transmission Complete.
Sidedragon’s eyes changed from dark blue to bright red.
He gathered up his notes and said, “Whoever thoughts that bugs, well…would make good bugs.”
“T.C. had a good idea,” Angel Eyes said. “For once.”
Once every scrap of paper was collected, Angel Eyes placed them in a manila folder marked: Timecards.
“Spy unto them as they shall spy unto you,” Angel Eyes said giving Sidedragon a fist bump.
Angel Eyes grabbed a broom and the folder. When he opened the door with a hiss the hermetic seal was broken. Closing the door pumps embedded in the door frame sucked out the extra air.
He left the area under the ever-buzzing fluorescent lights of the hallway. He turned the sharp corner and stepped into the hanger.
He saw that his teammates were busy loading supplies on the Mary Summerville zeppelin.
He found Montaigne standing still with a clipboard, directing traffic in and out of the zeppelin.
Pink carried a cardboard container with several being held up by sticks.
“Where you want da' grapes?” asked Pink.
His muscles bulged as he waited for Montaigne to go through his papers.
“The vines go…” Montaigne said tapping a pen on the clipboard. “In the comms room. Once you drop them off, your assistance is required for a pickup. Captain Estelle has the cards ready.”
“We gonna gris gris dem girls and pass dem’ a good time!” Pink replied and entered the Zeppelin.
“Here,” Angel Eyes said slapping the folder on top of his clipboard. “Time cards from this week ready for your signature.”
Without opening the folder, Montaigne swiped his hand across the folder and said the word “Bookworm”, his hand glowed white.
Ink ran off the papers and congealed into a bluish-black sphere. He pressed the sphere to his head, and his eyes glazed over as the information from the notes was compressed and transferred into his mind through osmosis.
He gave the folder back to Angel Eyes and said in a low tone, “Sanitize this.”
Angel Eyes walked out of the hangar as Montaigne mentally reviewed the document.
***
FADE IN:
A1 LAST WEEK’S MONTAGE
Suggested highlights for Defense of the Boardwalk, with additional seasons pulled from BC – Season IV trailer.
MEETING ROOM – DAYTIME
Inside the boardroom, it’s clean and spacious with maps of Battle City and the Boardwalk on the walls. Frau Petra is facing the camera and sitting at the head of the table wearing a tight white sweater, from Lilly’s new fashion line, and wearing a Joop Broach.
FRAU PETRA
Last season we made a commitment to ourselves and our Queen Pin sisters to slow down and take things one day at a time. But I say not just no, but oh hell no!
RESEARCH LAB
Lillian, wearing her designer lab coat, is standing next to this year’s perfume line – Ginger Rose. WARDROBE (reshoot) – make sure she’s wearing her glasses; I want her to look smart!
LILLIAN ROSE
Everyone has a different idea of what success is like. I know the struggle is real with running a business, going back and forth to meetings, and being a working mom.
Jump cut to Lillian testing her perfume and handing a stick dipped in the perfume to one of our girls in a lab coat.
I want Slap Spray to have more desert rose scent and less, whatever this base scent is. What’s this?
One of the useless simps from TWA hands Lillian a package, and she opens it.
LILLIAN ROSE
Must be from one of my many adoring fans. What the…this is the ugliest thing…I’ve ever seen!
Lillian holds the doll in from of the camera. She picks up the card and reads the message.
LILLIAN ROSE
She’s your problem now. Ouch! Who the (CENSORED) left this pin in the dress? I bet Anny did this, she’s the one who’s into making sick jokes.
SWIMMING POOL
Camera zooms out from Anny’s face to her in her bathing suit. She’s holding her hand under the water from the gold waterspout. MAINTENANCE DIRECTOR (reshoot) – make sure the pool’s temp is set to 7.3⁰ C not 20⁰ C. Last time that happened Anny got sick. She’s a lake siren, not the sea siren!
DIAMOND ANNY
I’m gonna do a calendar shoot with my sisters! YO…LO!
SOUND STUDIO
Camera, from behind the protective Tank Glass, shows Anny (no sound) singing and shattering steel. Then shows her shattering the bones of a ballistics gel mannequin. Zoom in when the skull shatters.
BOARDWALK BEACH – EARLY MORNING
Diana, wearing her black leather bikini, and she’s holding two bottles of champagne and 2 glasses.
DIANA BLACK
It’s fashion week time!
DIAMOND ANNY
We make such a good team.
MEETING ROOM – EVENING
Frau Petra is sitting at the desk wearing her golden Nacy C designer sweater. She is surrounded by pictures of Anny, Diana, and Lillian on her desk. Tears in her eyes. Then picks up a picture of Icepick.
FRAU PETRA
I’m…scared for my family, like any mother would be for their daughters.
MONTAGE
Lillian is in the armor inspecting the latest shipment from the Roseline Armory Intl. Zooms in on the Roseline logo. Continue montage: TWA cleaning weapons, Playboy Mafia shirtless workout, Icepick using throwing knives on a target. Montague ends with Lillian girl bossing a few of the TWA gang during an obstacle course challenge. EDITING (change) – alter Lillian’s white suit to a black one, I don’t want her looking like a Pocket Secretary for the episode or the trailer.
LILLIAN’S OFFICE – EARLY MORNING
LILLIAN ROSE
If you think that sisters can be brutal and vicious to each other.
Continue montage of Playboy Mafia running through the short-range marksmanship gun course.
LILLIAN ROSE
Wait till you see what we will do to our enemies.
Icepick (unarmed) is surrounded by four of the Playboy Mafia, armed with swords. She flips on his back, punches another and sends him through a wall, and takes the weapon from a third, and kills him and the fourth opponent with it. EDITING (strike) – Please digitally remove that doll from all the scenes in Lillian’s office.
LILLIAN ROSE
We will crush Marko, Estelle and their crews. We will pay you back for what you did to our sister, Icepick!
MEETING ROOM – DAYTIME
FRAU PETRA
Wheels, Thornewoods and whoever else, come for us and we will wipe you right off the map.
***
Montaigne pulled back from the memory.
“Everyone okay?” Angel Eyes asked.
Montaigne paused, unsure of how best to answer. On one hand, the siren’s song would rip the crews within hearing distance of her song once she got started.
“I know where Diamond Anny will set up,” Montaigne said rubbing his chin. “We need to get my suspicions to the ground crew going in.”
“I’ll gather everyone up,” Angel Eyes replied.
***