Extraction

Creech felt their bad situation getting worse the moment Balmforth removed Ayres’ mask. The look of shocked recognition on Cappy’s face made him terribly uneasy. He moved, but it was too late. Cappy had already slapped Ayres. This was not going to look good on the report. He could only hope that he could get the men and women of the squad to keep silent on this.
He moved as quickly as he could to try to insinuate himself between them. Cappy’s fingers clutched at the villain’s greatcoat as if they were woven into the fabric. Creech separated the two of them and walked Cappy into the corner.
“Stay here a moment. They need something to do. We need to talk.”
Cappy glared coldly in Ayres’ direction. She grunted assent and stood there against the wall. Creech’s stomach tensed. He willed himself not to vomit. He was sure that if his body tried, there would be nothing to vomit except for bile. The feeling passed.  Creech thanked his body for not betraying him this time. He walked over to where Delta stood and motioned for a huddle.
“I want Dobson, Yarborough, and Pitts searching for documents, look for anything that looks like a journal or grimoire. The boys back at base will want to have every single piece of information on this artifact available to them. Long, Dibson, and Sierra, I want you to get this mirror in containment, then look for a way to transport these potions. When you’ve got that done, I want you to help the others with the document search. If you find anything, and I mean anything, that seems strange get it into a containment bag. That is all. Get to it, people. I want to be sitting in my cabin by sundown.”
Delta spread out and moved through the chamber. They were efficient, which made Creech proud, but that would not leave a lot of time for him to talk with Cappy. Creech walked over to where he left her. He was not looking forward to this.
“Creech, I’m going to be okay.”
“Somehow, I don’t think I believe you. If it were anyone else, I would nod and say perfect. You, on the other hand, cannot fool me, Cap. You are shaking. You slapped a prisoner. This is not what I would call okay.”
“Creech.”
“No, don’t think that I’m not going to go through this with you. I know this can’t be easy to talk about. It makes me sick just to think that this sicko has been running amok all of these years.”
“You’re not the only one. I bet he thought he could just blend in. He thought I would forget him. How do you forget something like that?”
“Do I need to relieve you from duty?”
“No, that is not going to happen. We’re going to finish this. Just keep that thing away from me.”
“It’s not really up to you, Cap, but you’ve got nothing to worry about here. I saw how easy it would have been for you to deck him. The fact that you kept your composure says volumes about your professionalism. We’re going to press charges against him. You’re going to testify. In the end, he’ll be under the jail. Are we clear?”
“Yes, we’re clear. Get a collar on him.”
“I’m not a fan of that, Cap. We are already in dangerous territory here, already. We put an explosive collar on this guy and we’re just asking for him to be decapitated. Everyone is on edge here. The squad would be looking for a reason to press the button.”
“Give it to Radcliffe. He’s not emotionally invested. This is just his job. He won’t do it unless he has to. He can’t get away, Creech. I won’t let him.”
“That’s better. I’ll call him over so we can discuss this. Mister Radcliffe, we need you for a moment.”
Radcliffe looked up from Jeremiah to see Creech motioning him over. He stood and straightened himself. He walked over and folded his arms. He had no reference for dealing with someone who had been attacked so intimately.
“Radcliffe, we’re going to ask something of you that is not exactly in protocol. We’re going to put a collar on Ayres. We want you to have control of the remote.”
“Why would you want me to do that? I know that he’s… I don’t know how to react to what he did to you. I just don’t know why you would task me with this.”
“We need an insurance policy, some way to make sure that he has no chance of escape. We’ll decollar him as soon as we get him in a cell on the ship but, until then, all that stands between him and freedom is a set of regulation shackles. We’re asking you to carry the remote because you don’t have a personal grudge against him. I would ask one of my people, but I’m afraid the squad may be on edge. I’m sure you can understand why that would be the case. Will you do it?”
“Yes, I’ll carry the remote. I just hope I don’t have to use it.”
“Creech, give it to him. Mister Radcliffe, I want to thank you for doing this. It takes a lot off of my mind. We’ll have you home before you know it this will be all a distant memory.”
“I don’t want you to think any more of it, Captain. This is something I do as a matter of honor.”
Creech was feeling better about the situation. He took off his rucksack, placing it carefully on the ground. He opened the catch on the front and pulled out the collar box. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him.
“We don’t actually have to arm it. There’s a way to make it look armed, but the explosives stay inert. That way it won’t matter who carries the remote.”
“No, he needs to know definitively that if he tries to run he will be a dead man. I don’t want him to think that he has even the slightest chance of getting away. I want it armed. I want him to know it. Make sure he hears the mechanism spin up when you put it around his neck. Show him the remote and then walk over to the far corner near Hades over there. I want him to know exactly how long that leash extends.”
“Does he really have that much leeway?”
“No. He does not. You’ll hear it beeping. Slow at first, but it speeds up as you get further away from him. This is as much for your benefit as his. When the indicator light turns yellow, stand there. Then start walking back to him. He’ll stick closer to you than your cologne.”
Radcliffe took the remote and placed it in the pocket of his parka. Creech offered him the collar and Radcliffe hesitated before finally accepting it. He looked at the contraption in his hand and was amazed that such a small device could kill a man.
“Is it armed?”
“No, Creech is going to help you with that. Then you’ll do the demonstration. Do it quickly. Make your point. I see that some of our worker bees have almost finished their tasks.”
Radcliffe walked over to Ayres and showed him the collar. The cold look in his eyes gave away nothing. Radcliffe sighed heavily and moved to place the collar.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m putting this collar on you. It’s not an arguable option, I’m afraid. It’s either this collar, or… Well, I would not like to be you right now.”
“Radcliffe, you can’t be this stupid. That is my death warrant you’re putting on my neck. Who’s going to have the remote? Her? She would kill me just as sure as you’re standing there with that pitiable expression on your face.”
“No, she is not the one holding the remote. It has fallen to me to do it. Now, are you going to let me do it, or do I have to get Lieutenant Balmforth here to sedate you first? I’m sure that would be safe with your possible concussion. You might not wake up at all. Which do you prefer, Cornelius?”
Ayres looked at Balmforth. A needle full of what he assumed to be enough tranquilizer to knock out a wild gorilla perched menacingly in his hand. Radcliffe waited patiently for him to make a decision. Ayres spit his next words, hissing them, hating the feeling of them in his mouth.
“Put it on my neck, then you fool. Let my death today be on your hands.”
“No one has to die here today. No on deserves to die here, not even that toady you shot earlier. Now, I’m going to lock it. Is it comfortable? We wouldn’t want to provoke chafing.”
“I’m honored that you would consider my comfort after all of our adversarial encounters. I shall remember you in my will. It’s a little snug, but I can live with it.”
Radcliffe produced the remote from his pocket. The LED blinked a pleasant green that Ayres thought was in stark contrast to the large red button on the face. Creech leaned in to turn a secondary arming key on the collar. It was now fully armed.
Radcliffe made a show of walking toward the statue of Hades. Ayres tried to follow, but Creech held him back. The green light on the remote started blinking. An alarm sounded on the collar.
Radcliffe walked a few steps more. The LED started pulsing a deep aggressive amber. Ayres struggled against Creech’s grasp to no avail. He was going exactly nowhere. The beeping on the collar became a shrieking siren, louder in the cavern than even Cappy had anticipated. Radcliffe gave himself permission to look back at Ayres’ panicked face and smiled. Cappy was right. This demonstration was going to make sure that the rotter behaved himself better than a tranquilizer. Had he been looking where he was going, he could have avoided tripping over the remains of Jeremiah’s trousers, sending the remote flying towards Hades.