PROJECT SPARTA

CHAPTER 35

The Compound

2011

Xander again couldn't sleep. His mind had jumped to wild speculation in a feeble attempt to understand the motives of such an unorthodox program. His mind was unsettled, lost in too many loose ends.

These endless spy games had to be designed as part of my training. They gave Fiona a similar mission to mine. They wanted us to spy on each other. But why? And what happens now that I have caught on to Fiona?

He had suspected the instructors were withholding information from him regarding Fiona's activity, but he never thought that it would amount to this. It seemed like yesterday Hardy had taken him for his first walk into the Compound, giving him the grand tour. The memory was a stain on his conscience. It was the day his life ended. The day he would be thrown into this whirlwind of espionage. People backstabbing their country. People committing suicide. People spying on each other.

He had to know, no matter the cost.

There were many unwritten rules in the Compound, Xander couldn't keep track of them all. But one of them was 'Do Not Go Up the Stairs to the Instructor's Offices'. He had already been up the stairs once. Hardy had escorted him through the hallway on their way to the park.

The clock read 3 AM. Xander pushed open the back door and gazed out and over the rest of the Compound. He listened to the eerie quiet of the Compound after hours. Xander tried to be discrete as he walked low and slow toward the Mainframe. He jumped down behind the A/C units, using them for cover and made his way toward the stairs.

Xander reached the stairs and ascended them with soft feet. He came to the one-way mirror and crouched below it. He produced his lock pick kit but upon inspection of the door, he realized it was not locked.

Surprised and cautious, he nudged the door open an inch. Its oiled hinges provided a non-squeak entry. He squeezed through a crack of the door and spun into the corner of the hallway, listening for any activity down the corridor.

No instructors were in sight.

Xander rose to his feet and processed down the hall. He tried the doors on either side, lining the hall – all were locked. And then he came to an open door forty feet down the hall.

Xander entered the office and closed the door behind him. When he turned to the face the room his eyes found the nameplate on the desk.

Col. Jackson Hardy

Hardy's desk was organized with neatly stacked files, each labeled with a different Spartan's name. On his desk was a lone, handwritten note. Xander walked around and sat at the desk, lifting the note to his eyes.

I got your email, consider it done. It's a shame she won't make it.

- Axle

Xander's eyes widened at the letter. His heart stopped in his chest for a moment as he knew the most likely meaning of the note.

Hardy was angry about Fiona's reckless attempt to relay her observations in front of her fellow Spartans.

Xander's mind searched wildly for any plausible meaning behind Axle's note.

"Consider what done..." Xander whispered aloud, eyes searching the office for any other lead. Then he saw a laptop folded on the side of the desk. He opened it up and forcefully woke it from its hibernation. As soon as the screen came to light, Xander's fingers typed feverishly as he began his hack of the Project Director's computer.

He quickly bypassed the login screen and navigated the black and white scripts that flashed over the screen. Xander's eyes darted across all lines of the commands as he began the brute-force attack to crack the password. With a punching of the Enter key, the attack began rattling off thousands upon thousands of password attempts.

Xander leaned back in the office chair as his command attempted the password crack. His eyes scanned the room, slowly. One photo showed Hardy fishing with the Vice President and another showed a group of friends from his time in the armed service.

The computer script stopped and Hardy's laptop unlocked.

"I'm in..." Xander spoke to himself. He looked back at the note from Axle, "I got your email, consider it done," he reread. Xander directed the mouse to Outlook and opened the Colonel's inbox. He quickly searched the Sent folder until it found the latest email sent to Axle. Xander hands froze as he read the subject line of the email.

Subject: Fiona Jenkins

Xander's eyes glanced back at the note. "It's a shame she won't make it..." his voice trembled along with his hands, as they guided the mouse over the email and clicked it open.

James,

Xander is onto Fiona's recon. She missed her drop, mission failure. After the final battle she will have to be disposed of. Should be some C4 in the Armory.

Jackson

Xander fell back in his chair and tried to gather a breath. His vision doubled over as the room began to spin before him. His gut clenched over itself until it was tied in knots.

"They are going to kill Fiona..." His mouth hung open while his eyes searched for any other possibility, but they found none.

"They are going to use C4, probably call it a suicide..." Xander sunk in his chair. "Ezra... they killed Ezra..."

All of sudden the image of the silhouette at the window came back to mind and he then imagined Hardy, standing before the window.

"The silhouette I saw on the night of Ezra's death, it was Hardy, watching his directive being carried out... And Fiona is next."

Xander suspended between shock and hatred. His blood boiled but the realization had paralyzed him. Then Xander's eyes fell to a book on the office desk – Plato's Republic. He remembered the note in his copy.

And then he remembered his talk with Hardy in the park.

Justice is inextricably connected to carrying out the Common Good, within oneself as well as on behalf of society. Justice is doing what is right, no matter who opposes you...

At this thought, Xander felt a certainty of what he would have to do. He nodded his head to only confirm the unfolding thought that stirred within in him.

"I have to save Fiona... We're going to have to escape the Compound."

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