Chapter 109

Alvin work up early in the morning and went to the bar. On his way, he picked up a pot of hot coffee from a shop on the way. He did not know when the members of the Machinery Hivemind would arrive, but they had said they would arrive early morning. Hence, Alvin wanted to pour them some hot coffee when they came.

Alvin opened the locked door and prepared to walk in. Suddenly, he briefly froze. He then walked inside with slow and steady steps.

Right away, he could tell that someone had been inside the bar. He had dismantled most of the deadly traps in the bar yesterday in order not to leave an impression as a paranoid maniac, but he still did leave several warning traps active.

Most of these traps hadn't been triggered, but a few very subtle ones had. This implied that the person who came into the bar was someone with some degree of awareness rather than some mindless thug.

As Alvin slowly made his way onto the counter, he heard the door to the inner rooms open.

Just as Alvin was about to throw the pot of coffee at the door and empty his bullets and make a huge mess, he calmed down, as he recognised the person coming out.

"Hello there Alvin. We were waiting for you" he said.

"Hello there Fred. You are here early huh?" asked Alvin.

"We said early morning. That is 5 in the morning, not 7" said Fred, as he beckoned for Alvin to follow him.

Fred led him into the back of the bar, pasta all the rooms, right to the wall of the structure. Just as Alvin was about to walk, Fred pulled out a trapdoor from on the ground and proceeded to climb in.

"Uh, was that always there?" asked Alvin bewildered.

"Of course not. We dug it up this morning" said Fred as he climbed down. Alvin too followed after him.

Alvin climbed down 20 feet before he hit solid ground. He looked to see a tunnel leading right underneath the bar. Alvin followed Fred deeper, until they arrived at a relatively open space. Alvin looked around in a daze.

"Welcome to the Hivemind" said Sven when he spotted Alvin. He then caught sight of the pot in Alvin's hands and said, "Is that coffee? Great. I was planning to send someone to fetch some in a moment.

Alvin was still looking around. The walls of this underground room were covered in some black, tar like substance. They were copper pipes running all around the roof. There were also a few tubes sticking out of the walls. There were plenty of machines scattered around, along with boxes and boxes more of stuff.

"Copper pipes conduct sound and allow us to hear any sound within the bar. Those tubes are periscopes, covering all 4 directions of the bar. Emergency exits there and there. One opens up to your backyard, while the other into your neighbour's backyard. There is a small attached hall that has 2 rooms with one bathroom that connects to your plumbing that way. The machines are for manufacturing bullets and cannonballs, while the boxes are finished equipment and raw materials. Let's hope it doesn't come to that" said Fred behind him.

"Do you set up a base like this for every operation?" asked Alvin.

"For every major operation, yes. It doesn't take a lot of effort now. We have plenty of practice and resources, so we can set it up very quickly. This is what Captain meant when he asked us to set up a location yesterday" introduced Sven proudly.

Alvin looked around, still in awe, and asked, "Do you have to remove everything when you leave? I mean can you let it be this way in exchange for rent?" asked Alvin, imagining the things he could do here.

"Well, for the structure itself, the copper pipes and periscopes, there is no problem. It's a tough job to recycle them anyway. But the trigger alert system, the differential machine, the reactor, the machines and the defence capabilities cannot be left behind" said Sven.

"There are defence capabilities?" asked Alvin, his eyes shining.

"Indeed. But they are confidential. So I can't tell you about them. If we are unfortunate enough to be attacked, you can witness them" said Sven smugly. "You would love that, wouldn't you? Based on the sheer number of traps and warning triggers I saw up there, it seems you are the kind to enjoy such preparation"

"Speaking of, Fred, what's the verdict?" asked the person Alvin recognised as Harry.

"He was aware" said Fred.

Harry groaned, and in the midst of the other's jeers, he handed a few notes to Luca.

"Harry bet 10 pounds that you wouldn't find that we entered after we disabled and rearmed your triggers and traps. Luca bet that you would" explained Fred from the side.

Alvin nodded, and poured everyone some coffee from the pot he had brought. Everyone room their cup, and walked into the smaller hall, and Alvin followed.

The other members drew a triangular sacred emblem on their chest after they sat down, and after considering for a moment, Alvin did nothing.

Then, everyone sat down and drank coffee as they made small talk.

After everyone was finished drinking coffee, Sven walked into the centre and said, "As you all know, two family members of our group seems to have been targeted. We must aim to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Alvin from the Nighthawks will be assisting this investigation. I wish us success"

The rest in the room gave a sound of approval.

"Now, Let's start with what facts we have. Two incidents happened to the properties of two of the family members of our team. We do not have a confirmation for the first incident, but a spiritual flame that could only be emitted and seen by a Beyonder was present for some time. According to the police report, there were traces of gunpowder at the scene, which means the Beyonder flame was probably only a fuse, while the fuel was gunpowder. Now before I start assigning tasks, does anyone have anything to add?" asked Sven.

Alvin raised his hand.