The Zetta Sonic
S16 - One Less (Spring)

Mark clearly gave a proposal that made Dominic doubtful. For a moment, he simply flinched without saying anything. His gaze alternately shifted from the tool before him, Mark's gaze, then the guard at the mouth of the cave. He knows exactly what he wants and he knows the risks.

“ICPA is at stake here,” Dominic said after a minute of silence without talks.

“Really? I think there's more.”

“True. Tons.” Dominic nodded. “Give me ten minutes.”

Mark nodded. He returned to the position as well his activities include pieces of wood. His eyes watch over Professor Dominic and his two guards. The two guards tried their hardest not to fall asleep. While the two were busy withstanding the drowsiness, the professor slipped one closed tube into his jacket pocket easily.

Soon after, the professor took care of his equipment. This time, Mark approached. He helped the professor clean up the equipment, packed it back into a backpack.

“I just found out you have a trained finger,” whispered Mark.

“That's useful in card games.”

“I hope the guards are as happy as I am. This mission is completed faster.”

“Ya, yes. Me too.”

Dominic doesn't talk anymore. He gulped, hoping to suppress his anxiety. Tiu's not going well. He stuffed his stuff as quickly as possible into backpacks and suitcases. He did not care anymore where the tube that had been numbered and sorted. After all, all tubes are the same size, that number only helps. Plus now there is an empty part in the tube layer because the tube does not return to its original position.

The activities they did attracted the attention of both guards. They rise from their place and rush to Dominic and Mark. They ordered something in the local language. Mark didn't understand but from the body language of the guards, he understood that the guards wanted to check their luggage.

“They want to check something?” guess Dominic. “Is it better if we pretend we don't understand their language?”

Mark did not answer. His hands were still busy tidying up this and that. The guard had reached him again in his language with a higher tone right beside Mark. The guard's fingers pointed at the backpack he was filling. Mark remained silent until the guard knocked his spear to the floor. A bluff.

This time, Mark stepped down. He let the guard pull the mouth of the backpack. His eyes scanned the surface of the backpack. The guard spoke again while pointing at the contents. Mark knew that the guard wanted him to take out one by one his luggage. After a short sigh, Mark took out one by one the items to show.

“Mark?” The professor whispered almost without a sound. “Do you think they want to check my stuff too?” A question that doesn't need to be answered. Both Dominic and Mark know what they want and the guard wants.

“Quiet, prof. Just show. They won't know the tube you're hiding in your pocket,” Mark said. He packed things, pretending not to notice what happened to the professor.

The guard did the same. They demanded the professor show his stuff. He started from a pile of boxes and tin cans. Contains various. Mark himself did not understand the equipment of the professor let alone the two locals.

Like the professor's fear, the guards noticed a missing tube. They saw there was an empty foam section. The two talked to each other and turned to the professor. Both guards asked questions. However, fortunately, the professors themselves did not understand their language. He only knew that they were asking about the empty part. One of the guards even pointed at the empty part.

The professor hurriedly pointed at the foam and made a five-point gesture with his hand followed by a wave of his hand. Mark realized that the professor wanted to convince his interlocutor that there were only five tubes instead of six.

The conversation did not stop. Their tones are getting higher. And before Mark could react, one of the guards had unsheathed the spear while shouting in the local language. The tip of his spear was pointed at Professor Dominic's neck. The other three men nodded in shock. Even the guard friend tried to calm his friend.

“Wow! Patience friend! There is a little misunderstanding here,” Dominic said hurriedly. “There are only five tubes, okay. I didn't bring six. I'm not hiding anything. Please put down your weapon. It looks very.. sharp.”.

Mark who was crouching was about to stand up to help. However, the guard turned his spear towards Mark. As the other guards tried to calm him down, Mark shook his head. He wondered what would happen to them. The Kloster tribe is a peace-loving tribe. Even if they insist on keeping the spring in the dark, they are open to the ICPA and its help. Mark knew one of the guards was different.

“Mark..” Professor whispers again. He was quite horrified to see the scene before him. Two men carrying spears were arguing with each other. “Maybe,” connect professor, “you can do something.”

That's when Mark saw it. The guard pointed to Professor Dominic's jacket, more precisely to a pouch containing a tube with water. The man lowered his spear. Instead, he pushed the professor hard. His hand pulled the tube forcefully out of his pocket.

The other fellow guards were wide-eyed. The professor recovered himself before a real fall. His mouth opened in disbelief then he clenched it quickly. They shouldn't have brought the water out of the cave. He has violated the chief's request. Even worse, he was found out.

“Mark... They know... How now?”

“Of course.” Mark has stood up. The gun was tightly held in his hand. The muzzle was pointed at the guard who was carrying the tube. His finger on the trigger. He is ready to shoot when there is movement from the opponent. “There are tribe members who learned our language. He knows what we're talking about from the beginning. So, let's end the game here.”