Versailles, France
CniDaria, 20
"I should be dead."
I watched the snow fall on the perfectly kept Gardens of Versailles. Tourist walked, ran, rode past me in the process, admiring one of the most extraordinary expenditures of human ego known to man. The burning carcass of the main house, still smokey was still present in the distance but no one paid any mind to it. What would King Louis XIV think of the minimalist mindset of this generation. Would he think of us as small with no pride and creativity? Would he reconsider himself and realize the foolishness of draining so much resources into a summer house when his once fruitful nation started to crumble? Most likely neither, what does it matter what a peasant thinks right?
The world is at war but the economy must still flourish. That goes for tourism as well. Amazing how many people are here enjoying the sights from different parts of the world but the world is on fire. I guess that won't stop someone from living. All national borders are fluid at the moment, so I guess it doesn't really matter what your nationality is. You can easily be from Belgium one day and be French the next. I can't really blame them for taking a break from reality though. These gardens are stunning, something you wouldn't be able to see anywhere else in the world. The commitment to bend nature to your will is incredible, the trees are perfectly square. No branches out of place and in the way of the view of the man-made lake. If only life was so easily manipulated. I feel like I'm losing the reigns a bit.
I've always lived for my brother, he's all I had left in this world. He's the only thing I ever valued after what happened all those years ago. To protect and cling on to what I have left in this world. Other than that, my desire to live died with my father in that hotel bathroom. So how do I act on these feelings? I support my brother in his crusade. Is it crazy? Is it foolish? Is it a waste of time? I honestly don't care. As far as I care, billions could die on this planet and it wouldn't make a difference to me. I don't judge my brother on what he wants, it's easy to conclude that he would act this way based on how his life has gone up till now. I've could have reached the same conclusion. I didn't because my will to move forward wasn't strong enough. My only path is to protect and support the only thing that matters to me.
"Excusez-moi madame, êtes-vous autorisée à être ici?" 8
I had wandered all the way from the gardens to Marie Antonette's summer estate. I was surprised they still had this open to the public seeing what happened to the main palace. The place was deserted except for a lone security guard. Business must of not of been going as well as I thought.
"Non, je suis juste ici tout seul à admirer les scènes, pas besoin de guide touristique merci." 9 The guard scoffed at me and went to grab my arm to escort me out. "D'accord avec les blagues dont vous avez besoin- ARGGHHHH…."10 Before he could touch me I grabbed his wrist and twisted it so that his palm was facing the sky. As he grunted from the pain I headbutted him and he collapsed to the floor unconscious. I looked around to see if he attracted any attention and once I saw that the coast was clear, I started to strip him of his uniform and drag him out of sight. It was cruel seeing that it was the middle of winter but I really didn't care. I should be long gone before he was found or woke himself up. I put his uniform on over my own clothes so that I would appear bigger and fill it out. If someone were to look at me closely, they would be able to tell that there was something wrong. Hopefully I won't be getting that close to anyone. I had one objective in coming back here. Any clues to who would be coming after us.
I smiled at the museum attendant across the way and continued on my way down the hall and acted the part of a guard making his rounds, taking in every room and the artwork that makes the Palace of Versailles what it is. For as old as the palace is on the inside. The Gold plating on the outside makes it seem like the pinnacle of Royalty and elegance. Still able to host international dignitaries without a problem. As I continue to explore the halls navigating between tour groups, children, and guards similar to me I start to see signs of something more than 17th century architecture. Something more modern underneath. There were cameras all around the place which is to be expected. I made sure to keep my head down, Not trying to draw too much attention. I started to just walk in a trance not really looking where I was going. I started to sink back into that day when we… well I blew this whole place to hell. Ty tried to warn me then.
"Ty why are you being so conservative? What will taking out one or two presidents do? This is a country that executed there whole monarchy and parliament just because they got power hungry."
"Keep your voice down, all because we're speaking English doesn't mean they can't understand us. I'm just saying a big showing like that could draw a lot more attention then we can handle."
"You're selling yourself short." I clicked on my bracelet and I started to vibrate and I walked through a wall and back. "This technology you made is amazing this alone will keep our involvement impossible to connect to us."
"You're not understanding. Look let's just split up. When you locate the targets let me know and we'll move accordingly"
By the time I snapped out of it I had already reached the kitchens and the cellar on the other side of the museum. No one was in this part of the house, and the cellar was closed off to visitors by a rope and sign. I ignored it and descended the stairs. I was careful to move slowly and observe my surroundings. Even though the stairs looked weak at first glance, they held my weight without any creaks. The rotting wood that was present at the entrance that made it seem the reason this area was off limits but that abruptly stopped and was replaced with metal panels the deeper I went down. Slowly voices and sounds of servers being cooled by fans reached my ears. I stayed out of sight and listened closely.
"Depuis que ces gars de Matrix sont arrivés ici, rien ne fonctionne bien. Tout est si lent."
"Raconte-moi ça. Il m'a fallu 20 minutes pour montrer des images d'un enfant qui volait dans une boutique de cadeaux la semaine dernière. Auparavant, cela ne prenait que quelques secondes. Ils ont besoin de l'installer ici."11
These words pull me back in time, to my mistakes in the Versailles Palace.
There's the President and the Prime Minister. They're speaking in front of the national assembly and Senate so we couldn't simply take them out now. I'm sure Ty sees the same thing. We'll have to wait it out.
"Ny, you hear me? They're too exposed we'll have to-"
"Wait it out right? I'm on top of them I understand. I'll be on standby."
A gave a big sigh while I laid on my back watching the two figures of France argue about mundane issues. I was sitting behind a rail in the rafters of the grand hall. As I looked up I noticed a camera above my head watching me. I inwardly cursed. I guess that means I'll have to go find the server room and yada, yada 'erase my presence'. I figured it wasn't long before the guards came running up here to apprehend me. I could see security already looking up within the hall, no doubt trying to get eyes on me. I was about to push myself up to go ahead and disappear before a thought occurred to me. Why not just blow this place along with the evidence? I've already been recorded why not just kill birds with a huge stone. Before I got up I decided to plant a explosive where I was laying and armed it.
"Ty, I've been compromised we need to get out asap meet you at the hotel."
No response was needed as I clicked on my bracelet and I vanished out of sight to the next room running as fast as I could to the outside.
So, their surveillance was uploaded into a different location in Versailles. The issues they were having told me that the company still had a back door into their system. I turned the corner and luckily there backs were towards me as I entered the room. They gave me a glance as I walked through and a nod of their head without giving me much of a look. I returned the nod and sat at a computer on the far side of the room. They continued to complain about their jobs as I started to get to work. I took out one of Ty's master key USBs and inserted into the hard drive. If I could copy the data here I could get a location on where their data is getting sent. They didn't seem to realize that the company was reviewing footage of us from that day. Ty's tech was efficient it only took a minute for what I needed to finish. Unfortunately the sound it made to acknowledge it was finish was unique to the environment and it drew the attention of the people in the room.
"Hé! Qui êtes-vous et qu'est-ce que vous êtes -AKHHH!?"
No wasted movement or pretty words. I activated my focus ability and my light violet aura filled the entire room. I wasn't in the mood to play children's games. I heard several men choking and thuds as everyone in the room passed out to the floor. I drew back my bloodlust and left the house of Marie Antonette. I had what I needed to get my revenge and correct my mistake.