allowed, they can actually lock the outer door so that you’re trapped inside that small room. So you can’t just break down a door… and even if you could…”
“The guards are there watching you.” Athos drummed the table with his fingers. Then he pounded his fist on the table. “This is insane. It’s difficult enough to capture Stark. Now? We may not even be able to get close enough to him to restrain him, not without being seen.”
Athos composed himself, and then continued. “That means we have two issues. The guards and the cameras. The guards need to go out of commission first, and then the cameras.”
“Why?” Porthos asked.
“If the cameras go first, the guards will notice, and they may alert someone,” Athos replied. “We need them incapacitated before they realize what’s happening. There are no obvious vents or pipes we could use to deliver the sleeping gas into the rooms they’re stationed in, however.” He drummed his fingers on the table again, then turned to his colleague in the cloak. “Porthos, weren’t the lab scientists working on a means of controlling the brain, and even knocking people unconscious, using light waves?”
Porthos looked thoughtful. “That does ring a bell. I think they’d learned that certain light frequencies will trigger a sleep reaction.”
“They did something similar with different audible frequencies as well,” Aramis added.
Athos nodded. “The light is probably better from a distance. We may be able to use some of our drones to deliver them to the appropriate position, and then activate them remotely until the guards lose consciousness. We can then disable the cameras fairly easily, scale the walls, and head toward Stark’s house. Concerns?”
“Timing,” Porthos said. “Do we want to get there when he’s not home and be waiting when he returns, or wait until he’s home before we arrive?”
“I think we all agree we want Stark as surprised as possible,” Aramis said. “I’d argue that it’s best to get him when he’s home, asleep in his bed, and dreaming his traitorous dreams. If he has to wake up before he can react, that gives us the greatest advantage.”
Athos nodded. “Well said. That has the added advantage of making the delivery of the visual or audio impairment devices that we’ll use to subdue him easier; the guards can’t react if they can’t see them. Porthos, I’ll ask you to get those and instructions on their operation for the mission.” Porthos nodded.
Athos took a deep breath. “And now for the more difficult challenge. Once we’re in the range of Stark, how do we incapacitate him?”
Porthos glanced at the other two Hunters. “Are we perhaps overstating the problem?”
“With Stark ?” Athos asked. “You’re joking, right?”
Porthos shook his head. “Think about it. Right before he teleports out, you slam him in the head and I stab him. He vanishes, and we have no additional Energy readings from him since. He loses his memory, but not all of his skills. He survives because he’d gotten so rich in the human world already.”
Aramis looked at Porthos, confused. “You’re saying Stark has amnesia ? That’s why we’ve not had any news about him for all this time? He’s forgotten us and worried about all of the human world businesses he’s operating in the foreground rather than as hobbies? You’re saying that Will Stark now thinks… that he’s human ?”
Athos sat back and stroked his chin. “It’s an intriguing theory, Porthos, I’ll grant you that. If he loses much of his memory, but retains a notion of his self and name, and access to his bank accounts, he realizes he has a lot of money, he continues to become wealthier in the human world, he’s got that amazing city he built to deal with, and so on. However…” Athos glanced at the other Hunters. “I don’t think it wise that we go in with that assumption. We need to assume that this is the Stark that has denied us our successful
“The guards are there watching you.” Athos drummed the table with his fingers. Then he pounded his fist on the table. “This is insane. It’s difficult enough to capture Stark. Now? We may not even be able to get close enough to him to restrain him, not without being seen.”
Athos composed himself, and then continued. “That means we have two issues. The guards and the cameras. The guards need to go out of commission first, and then the cameras.”
“Why?” Porthos asked.
“If the cameras go first, the guards will notice, and they may alert someone,” Athos replied. “We need them incapacitated before they realize what’s happening. There are no obvious vents or pipes we could use to deliver the sleeping gas into the rooms they’re stationed in, however.” He drummed his fingers on the table again, then turned to his colleague in the cloak. “Porthos, weren’t the lab scientists working on a means of controlling the brain, and even knocking people unconscious, using light waves?”
Porthos looked thoughtful. “That does ring a bell. I think they’d learned that certain light frequencies will trigger a sleep reaction.”
“They did something similar with different audible frequencies as well,” Aramis added.
Athos nodded. “The light is probably better from a distance. We may be able to use some of our drones to deliver them to the appropriate position, and then activate them remotely until the guards lose consciousness. We can then disable the cameras fairly easily, scale the walls, and head toward Stark’s house. Concerns?”
“Timing,” Porthos said. “Do we want to get there when he’s not home and be waiting when he returns, or wait until he’s home before we arrive?”
“I think we all agree we want Stark as surprised as possible,” Aramis said. “I’d argue that it’s best to get him when he’s home, asleep in his bed, and dreaming his traitorous dreams. If he has to wake up before he can react, that gives us the greatest advantage.”
Athos nodded. “Well said. That has the added advantage of making the delivery of the visual or audio impairment devices that we’ll use to subdue him easier; the guards can’t react if they can’t see them. Porthos, I’ll ask you to get those and instructions on their operation for the mission.” Porthos nodded.
Athos took a deep breath. “And now for the more difficult challenge. Once we’re in the range of Stark, how do we incapacitate him?”
Porthos glanced at the other two Hunters. “Are we perhaps overstating the problem?”
“With Stark ?” Athos asked. “You’re joking, right?”
Porthos shook his head. “Think about it. Right before he teleports out, you slam him in the head and I stab him. He vanishes, and we have no additional Energy readings from him since. He loses his memory, but not all of his skills. He survives because he’d gotten so rich in the human world already.”
Aramis looked at Porthos, confused. “You’re saying Stark has amnesia ? That’s why we’ve not had any news about him for all this time? He’s forgotten us and worried about all of the human world businesses he’s operating in the foreground rather than as hobbies? You’re saying that Will Stark now thinks… that he’s human ?”
Athos sat back and stroked his chin. “It’s an intriguing theory, Porthos, I’ll grant you that. If he loses much of his memory, but retains a notion of his self and name, and access to his bank accounts, he realizes he has a lot of money, he continues to become wealthier in the human world, he’s got that amazing city he built to deal with, and so on. However…” Athos glanced at the other Hunters. “I don’t think it wise that we go in with that assumption. We need to assume that this is the Stark that has denied us our successful
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