© Pr. Théodose
Paris is of course the Light Town, but an underground parking is always grim, dark and damp. The lock-up garages are regularly lined up and lighted by sallow neons, just enough to see where we are going, not enough to feel in security.
The feeling of security, the three people who were waiting anxiously in one of these boxes did not know it. At each suspect noise, three eye pairs peered feverishly into the dim nooks, three furs bristled of fear, adrenalin flows maintained bodies and minds in alert states, all because of the fear. Fear for these lycanthropes of being spotted, arrested, taken in one of these detention camps and perhaps worse ...
Bertrand strained his ears to hear the sound of a car outside of the lock-up. He tensed his muscles, ready to pounce claws ahead. After a few seconds of an extremely strained waiting, four knocks ringed out from the door : toc toc toc boom, the first identification signal. Pierre, after having heaved a mountain-sized sigh, went to the door and said the password :
- 'A band of men...'
- '... is always a crew of morons'
Behind the metallic door, there were four lycanthropes accompanied by two Salvation Army lieutenants bearing a stretcher.
- 'She is in the incubation phase ?' he asked indicating the woman on the stretcher.
The lieutenant nodded.
- 'We'll take care of her after the mission.'
The other lieutenant began to speak :'We bring good and bad news. The good one is that we have ferreted military rations out in good conditions, where of stand the course for a month. The bad one is this.' he ended by passing Bertrand the evening newspaper. The latter read the underlined article at low voice.
Lycanthropes outlawed
The blue-brown coalition consequently won a battle today, the Senate approved the Humanity Preservation Act by 204 votes against 111 : it will take effect, except appeal, the next June 1st. For reminder, this Act take the following measures against the 35000 lycanthropes estimated to date :
The left wing parties, without surprise, should lodge a complaint to the Constitutional Council. Besides, The Human Rights League spokesman indicated in a press release : "This day have to be marked with a black stone for France, its worldwide reputation and its asylum land image. This Act will reflect on more to the French society, which it is supposed to protect, than to lycanthropes".
Bertrand lifted up his head and simply said with a croaky voice :
- 'You're right to want to leave this fucking country.'
Pierre took over from Bertrand and turned to the new arrivals.
- 'It's not all, but we have to put in order some small administrative formalities...'
At these words, each refugee lifted out an envelope containing €2500 and gave it to Pierre, who scrupulously recounted the cash before ranging it in a casket.
The resistance fighters distributed to the refugees flashlights, ratchets, boots, rations and all needed papers to obtain asylum once abroad. Personal possessions of two of them were transferred into more practical backpacks. At last, Pierre gave the watchwords to be followed :
- 'With the Vigipirate alert plan at maximal level, controls in Paris and at frontiers are too frequent. We'll use the sewer network to leave the town, there is a access to the main sewer at first basement level. First, move on only when you are asked to do it and make least noise as possible. Then, if you get lost, use your ratchet once : at one clank must answer two clanks. Got it ?' He said activating his ratchet.
Both agreed in a clanks concerto. A small table covered with electronic equipment was installed at the very back of the lock-up garage, a busy lycanthrope seated ahead. Bertrand shouted out to him.
- 'Tanguy, warn Cotten and La Salade that we bring four paras to them at scheduled hours and locations. Use the habitual method.'
The radio ham started a strange apparatus that engineers call a time reversal encrypter. It situated two piezoelectric transducers on a monocrystalline silicium wafer according to beforehand agreed coordinates, then sent the message to encode to one transducer as ultrasonic waves. It's a mercy that these waves propagate only on the surface of the silicium or the lycanthropes here will be howling because of pain, under the influence of abysmal tinnitus. The multiples reflections of ultrasounds against the wafer walls embroiled the message bit by bit until it finished encoded on the other transducer. The radio just had to send the resulting message in a crypted e-mail by a hacked Wimax port settled at the surface. At the airfield where the receiver apparatus was hidden, Cotten will just have to situate the transducers correctly then invert the process to obtain the clear message.
The group moved on for yet an hour in the secondary sewers southbound when Pierre stop and hush. Footfalls in the next duct.
- 'As it would appear, lycanthropes could get around in the sewer system. Do you believe it ?'
- 'Big deal ! The only characters I encountered since I've had this job, were three frostbitten satanistes and a dealer who was trying to hide his junk in a service room. I don't know why they'd use the sewers : it's more simple to hide in a truck.'
- 'Yes, you have perhaps right... I hope so.'
The footfalls ebbed away : the sewage workers were just popping there and back, without bifurcating in the sewer nor seeing the group.
Finally, after two and a half hours walk, they arrived at the appointed time under a drain cover of a Issy-les-Moulineaux waste land. Pierre drew out from it and inspected the surroundings, then signaled to follow him. The five others lycanthropes came out of the sewer while Bertrand made two flashes with his torch. Immediately, a headlights flash answered him and a human came out of the black van parked nearby.
- 'Peace and fraternity, La Salade. Always on schedule, I see ?' Said Bertrand.
- 'Peace and fraternity, my lil' wolves. I will press on with the briefing of our customers', answered the aviator while shaking the hands of the group members.
The two front runners went back letting the remainder of the group get into the vehicle, which steered for the Toussus-le-Noble airfield.
Once arrived at destination, he turned towards the refugees :
- 'The idea's simple : we'll take you by plane to Switzerland then you'll do all right by yourselves. See the corner of hangar 3, back there ? It's in the shade and invisible from the control tower. You station yourselves just near to it, we bring the plane, you bord quickly and you flatten yourself against the seats. Understood ?'
The group acquiesced dumbly before make its way towards the signaled spot, while La Salade went back to the tower. Meantime, Cotten was finalizing the last details of the flight map with the airfield chairman. The latter began to have a hunch.
- 'You always insist on doing regular night flights, no ?'
- 'Of course, there is nothing better than this to strengthen watchfulness and self-control, and get better at instruments driving and VOR radio-navigation.'
- 'But why do you always take your Cessna Skywagon for your night flights even though you are only two on board ?'
- 'First, I prefer to fly with my own aircraft, habit. Then, I already told you ten times that this aircraft belongs to me and the insurance papers are in my name : if I have trouble during one of my flights, my responsibility will be engaged and not yours. You are a friend and I don't want my friends to be broke because of my fault !'
La Salade coming in greeted the chairman then signed the flight map with Cotten before leaving the tower. They walked to the robust plane, a six-seats monomotor able to fly from Lille to Marseilles at a sitting. After enumeration of the check-list, the pilots made their time over to locate the stowaways : they followed the instructions and were well hidden. The boarding was as quick and noiseless as expected thanks to the plane's wide rear door and the lightness of the bags to schlep. The plane, once the stowaways aboard, headed towards the runways. La Salade :
- 'Foxtrot Oscar X-ray Yankee Four Zero Three Nine to control tower, in line on runway nine, asking for take off permission.'
- 'Control tower to Foxtrot Oscar X-ray Yankee Four Zero Three Nine, take off permission granted. Good flight... and good luck.'
The aircraft made maximum power before spurting ahead and using four hundreds meters of runway for the take off, because of the overload. The refugees came out only when they were ten kilometers from the airfield. Cotten followed the flight map he left before departure at all times, in order to not attract attention from air control.
- 'Five minutes before brushing back point !' Announced La Salade verifying their position on the map. Cotten trusted the controls to his co-pilot before turning towards the passengers.
- 'Ok, serious things begin. Have a look under your seats, there are parachutes. You slip it on just like I told you earlier.'
- 'Like this ?' asked diffidently a stowaway who had finished first.
- 'Ok, it's well fitted. Then, when we arrive, I'll open the rear door. And so ?'
- 'We jump and we pull on the red handle in front of the parachute to open it.', answered a small grey fur lycanthrope with a top of class head.
- 'Well, it's understood. To make your way, use the black handles which will hang from the parachute. How ?'
- 'To turn to left, pull on the left handle and vice versa', recited the top of class.
- 'You will be dropped at five kilometers from the Swiss frontier, so you just have to glide eastbound using your compass.'
- 'Yes !'
- 'And don't forget to bring back the parachutes to Emile, they must be used again !'
Few minutes later, the plane started to climb on a steep slope before stabilizing at ten thousand feet of altitude. Cotten opened the door and had to yell in order to cover the noise of wind and motor.
'Go go go !'