The Zetta Sonic
S6 - (Winter) Locked Boxes

Jayden saw a pile of white boxes in the trunk of Kara's plane. These boxes are like tool boxes. It was no more than half a meter in size with half the height and width. There is no safety padlock, only the handle on the side.

The three men moved the boxes over a wide tarpaulin. Later the four ends of the fabric will be linked to a pair of drones. Not Jason. The drone will fly the cargo. That way, they wouldn't have to haul it up to the higher ground where their plane was. In the scenario inside Emil's head, he thought he would be carrying a stretcher containing the pilot's body.

“Quick, fast!” Kara rules like a captain on a ship's crew.

The pilot, who they thought was male and dead, turned out to be a young woman. He was very much alive to rule them while sitting on a rock. Doctor Vanessa is treating her injuries. The girl flew her plane solo. His plane ran into trouble, got caught in a storm, then crashed, and he just suffered a scuff. Kara tells her chronology smoothly.

Tiger threw his eyes at Emil. “Maybe I'd prefer that he's dead. No scraps.”

Emil is still curious. “What is the contents of this box?”

“Food and Medicine!” Kara's talking from far away. “What else needs to be sent to a remote laboratory like this?!”

Emil whispers. “They don't have to keep it a secret. If that's true. From us.”

Tiger agreed, although he did not respond.

Jayden lifted the last box in the first row. There are many other lines. He saw similar boxes neatly arranged, secured with ropes. Food and medicine do not need such special treatment. Curious, Jayden tried to open the box. Surprisingly, the box was flinching.

His hands go through the box. His eyes looked at every corner. He found no hook or button to open. The only awkward thing that was on the box was just a small gray panel at the top of the box. If not in the ICPA, he will never guess that the box is a fingerprint lock. Overused? Sure oes.

With the help of the flipad and the internal scanner inside, Jayden managed to find out that the registered fingerprint belonged to a researcher in the laboratory. Not for five minutes, Jayden managed to hack it. The box is open. Emil hurriedly approached her with Tiger. They saw that the box contained pieces of frozen fish meat. It smells amazing fishy. Tiger snorted, hurriedly retreated. Emil pinched his own nose. Jayden shut it down.

Kara yells. “Hei! What smell is that!?”

“It's terrible,” added doctor Vanessa.

Jayden glanced at Kara and their doctor. Doctor Vanessa is cleaning up her stuff. While Kara is still putting on a sullen look. The girl looked tough and frail at the same time. Resilient because it can survive a plane crash with only minor injuries. Brief because he did not know the dangers of his flight mission at all.

Jayden approached Kara. “You never once opened the box.”

“For what? I have the list.” Kara stood up while folding her hands in front of her chest. Even though he was shorter than Jayden, his sharp eyes seemed to warn Jayden against looking down.

“By my view?” Jayden held out a hand.

Kara shut up for a second. There was a short pause until he finally gave the tiny PC tablet that was stored in his thick jacket. “Unfortunately this tablet can not contact headquarters. If I can, I'll call a rescue team that's not as chatty as you. You're here to save the pilot and his cargo instead of interrogating.”

“Unfortunately, I'm not a rescue team.” Jayden is busy tinkering with the tablet PC. As Kara said, the full list of aircraft luggage is listed there. Everything that is written is food and medicine. Then, a faint smile spread across his face. “Actually, you should be grateful that we came on time. If the bear comes first, maybe you can't stand now.”

Kara immediately shook her waist. “I have a rifle, a knife, and some little bombs. All safe under the pilot seat.”

“Fast. You see?”

Jayden is still smiling. “You have absolutely no idea why a supply plane pilot like you is equipped with weapons, ‘kan? You are indeed very lucky to survive such an accident, even the bomb in your chair did not explode.” Jayden could see the confusion on Kara's face. He continued, “ICPA can definitely expect this kind of thing to happen.”

“You mean, plane crash? Indeed there is a plane that can guarantee it will not fall?” reply Kara.

“Not. I mean, bear attack.”

Jayden's words made the frown on Kara's forehead even more so. “No sense!”

“Thereverse. That makes a lot of sense. You must not realize that all your luggage is not the food ingredients of the researchers but the research material.”

“That's very silly, smart sir. I don't know your name. Hope you don't mind me calling like that.”

“Listen, all your luggage is research material for the bear-control potion. I guarantee you've never heard of it. Don't worry, only certain people can access ICPA.” research data Jayden threw his gaze back at the pile of boxes. “Food material need not be put in such boxes. The reason they are put in the box is to keep them in certain conditions. Most attractive conditions for bears.”

Kara can only gawk. His fierce expression vanished replaced by the face of a plain girl.

Jayden was also sniggered. “Researchers need the best ingredients to make potions that can control bears. Call it, like a pheromone for a bear. The most interesting thing for them, of course, food. Yes, it's up to you to believe it or not.”

Kara's still gawking.

“Indeed. Therefore, the laboratory is built here. Near the wild bear. Next time, I suggest you ask for a partner. Co-pilot or door gunner.”

Kara's open mouth could finally form words. “It's amazing.”

“By the way, do I mind? Sure oes. Call me Jayden.”

Kara recovered from the confusion. He grunted softly. “You have too good a name, smart-” sir

KRAKK!

A loud voice sounded from near the plane. Jayden doesn't even have to see it. He knows what it is. A bear. Maybe that fishy smell was so appealing to the bear.

DOR'S! DOR'S! DOR'S!

Jayden can guess the continuation. Tiger is fast. From then on, he did not put down his rifle at all. So, once the bear appeared, it could shoot quickly. Their old member, Caitlin, who was famous for being a shooter, could definitely finish him off in one shot. Tiger took three.

The confusion provoked a moment of silence. Kara flinching. Jayden moved first. He turned his gaze from the side area of the plane at the girl in front of him. Jayden immediately nodded. He saw a large figure behind Kara running quickly. Jayden pushed the girl to the ground before the bear's huge claws tore her apart.

Kara fell. The ramps made him roll away. Once he woke up, he spontaneously protested. “Hei! What's-”

Sentence choked. He saw the figure of a large bear in his standing position earlier. Under the bear, he saw Jayden lying on a snowy ground that was no longer white. There's a red stain there. Kara won't guess what it is.