Wait for the Dawn
Part Two: The Grudge
By Hytac

Matt had called a meeting of the M.A.S.K. agents. The computer had selected (in alphabetical order) Alex Sector, Brad Turner, Bruce Sato, Buddy Hawks, Dusty Haynes, Gloria Baker, and Hondo McLean. While waiting for the agents to rush over to Boulder Hill, Matt was quizzing Inaya on how much she had noticed about the kidnapper.

“He was an Albino, Trakker. I managed to snatch his mask off while fighting him.” She told him firmly.

“Is he in here?” Matt showed her a complete set of pictures of the V.E.N.O.M. agents. She shook her head. “This one?” He asked, pointing at a picture of Vanessa Warfield.

“Definitely not.” She said gritting her teeth. She was beginning to be annoyed. “Is there a point to this, Trakker?”

Matt didn’t answer. He was disappointed. He had been so sure V.E.N.O.M. had been behind the kidnapping somehow, but every bit of evidence had pointed the other way.

Matt sighed. He had to admit, he was dangerously close to letting his personal feelings influence his reasoning. He would just have to accept that for once, V.E.N.O.M. wasn’t up to something dirty.

“I guess Mayhem would have sent Vanessa if it were the V.E.N.O.M.” Buddy commented, taking off his ever-present cap, smoothing his hair down, and putting it on again. He had been stationed at Boulder Hill, so getting there was no problem. “For once, this is someone else’s dirty work.”

“Thanks for your co-operation Capt. Vendun. Buddy, since I briefed you already, why don’t you and Scott show Inaya around the base? I haven’t had a chance to do that. She hasn’t even seen the vehicles yet.”

“If you say so, Matt.” The three left and Matt was alone.

“This is my vehicle.” Scott told Inaya, pointing to a white and blue motorbike parked beside the Condor. “Bruce- that’s our mechanical engineer and designer, and I designed and built it ourselves. It’s a bike that can convert into an aqua-scooter. I’ve named it the Remora.”

The Boulder Hill’s garage was huge, large enough to accommodate all the M.A.S.K. vehicles. The transport plane used to ferry the vehicles to destinations overseas was kept in a hangar next to it.

“I’m supposed to partner with you on that bike?” She asked, surprised.

“Actually, no. Matt meant for you to take the Condor when Brad’s not using it. If he’s using it, then you take the Raven or co-pilot with Calhoun.” Buddy explained.

Inaya gave him a blank look. Buddy slapped his forehead, knocking his cap off. “Sorry! I forgot you’re still new to all this. The Condor is the green bike there. The Raven’s that black car over there. We have names for each vehicle.” Buddy bent down to retrieve his cap, but Inaya already had it in her hand.

“Oh. Okay.” She said, returning the cap, waving a hand at Buddy’s thanks. She glanced at the Condor. “What does it do?”

“It’s equipped with an anti-matter gun, and is able to convert into a helicopter. On flat terrain, it can switch to laser-guide eject mode and can travel up to speeds of Mach 1.”

“That’s fast.” Inaya said, slightly impressed. She had thawed out a little since their earlier meeting. Her wet clothes had been changed and she now wore a black captain’s uniform, complete with a beret. Without the presence of Matt Trakker, she seemed friendlier and certainly lost the hostile attitude. She had actually even smiled a few times.

Buddy pointed out the other vehicles and explained their functions. Inaya was interested to know that each of them had their own masks. “So what other weapons do you use to compliment the masks and vehicles?” She asked.

Buddy looked surprised. “We don’t use any.”

“Oh.” Inaya looked doubtful. “Maybe you should start. I’m sure I’d be an improvement. I never believed in depending completely on gadgets.”

“Maybe you should suggest that to Matt.” Said Buddy.

“Forget I said anything.” She said, turning cold so abruptly that Scott could almost hear ice freezing. Buddy, whose experience with her so far was that of a pretty nice person, shot Scott a questioning look. Scott just shook his head.

“And that’s all we know for now. This mercenary, according to Capt. Vendun, is an albino.” Matt told the assembly of agents, who were seated around the briefing table.

“A what?” Brad asked, not being familiar with the word.

“An albino, Brad. An albino would be a person suffering from a rare pigment deficiency. As a result, their skin, hair and eyes take the palest colours possible, that is, White.” Alex explained.

“Now that won’t be hard to miss.” Brad commented.

“I don’t see how that helps us get Diana Kennedy back.” Hondo cut in.

“Well, it might be useful if we could get some information about this kidnapper. He was very skilled…” Matt involuntarily rubbed his jaw where the kidnapper had kicked him.

“And maybe it could give us some clues about his whereabouts.” Gloria suggested, tapping her nails against the table.

“The rare we find with hardship, but we identify with ease.” Bruce quoted with a wise smile.

“What in Tarnation is he talkin’ about now?” demanded Dusty.

“What Bruce means is that rare things are hard to find, but easy to recognize.” Matt said. “There aren’t many albinos around, so I’m guessing a search in the human census databases should give us a few answers. We should be able to find the information there in well… black and white.”

“Something’s coming in by satellite.” Alex announced, glancing at a nearby computer console. “Shall I patch it in?”

“By all means, Alex.”

The picture of Duane Kennedy filled the viewscreen. The P.N.A. president looked tired and drawn. His face showed indescribable sadness. Everyone in the room suddenly felt the importance of the mission weighing them down.

“Matt.” He said somberly. “We’ve received a ransom demand from the kidnapper. The price is ten million dollars… in cash. I already have that prepared.”

“You’re not thinking of giving in to the kidnapper, are you, Mr. Kennedy?” Scott, who had returned along with Buddy, asked, concerned. He had changed into his uniform already, which was a pale slaty blue. White stripes ran the length of the arms and legs before disappearing into the tops of grey boots and gloves. The uniform, was essentially a wetsuit, as Scott’s vehicle required him to submerge completely in water.

“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get my niece back. But if anyone can do that and catch the criminal, that would be your father.” Duane paused, looked sadder than ever. “Matt, I have the money ready. One of your agents will have to come and pick it up. I have the co-ordinates for the exchange point. I don’t know what you plan to do, but I trust you with it.”

“I’ll get her back, Duane.” Matt vowed vehemently. And he meant it. Turning to Scott, he said: “Scott, I need you to man the base and dig up more information about the kidnapper with In… Captain Vendun.” Matt said, trying to call her by her first name and failing utterly.

“But…” protested Scott, dumbfounded. Matt swiftly hit the button that activated the table lift and the agents were lifted up into the mask room. Scott was left watching in anger. “I knew he’d do something like this to me!” he said angrily to himself.

“Am I surprised.” Said a voice from behind. Inaya leaned against the briefing room door. She had taken off her beret and tucked it in the strap on her shoulder. “No offense, him being your father and all, but looks like he just stuck us both here, out of the action.”

Scott was too angry to answer. “For a moment there I thought he trusted me…” He growled.

“C’mon. We’d better get cracking.” Inaya said quietly, but with a serious note of command. In was obvious she was used to taking charge. And as much as she disliked his father, she would still obey orders. “Let’s find out about this albino.”

Scott gave one parting glare at the ceiling, and nodded. He led Inaya to the computer room, still seething inside.

The M.A.S.K. vehicles, Rhino, Gator, Condor and Firecracker roared out of the garage, The Rhino taking the lead. Matt wore Ultraflash instead of Spectrum as the Thunderhawk was still disabled.

“Matt, this is Brad. I’m heading to the P.N.A. Headquarters to pick up the ransom money. I’ll meet you later at the exchange point.”

“Right.”

The Condor left the convoy of vehicles and disappeared with the booming noise of a sonic wave. Brad had switched to laser-guide eject mode and was on his way at the speed of sound.

The other vehicles headed for the exchange point while Matt outlined his plan. He had left out quite a bit because of his haste earlier. Part of him felt guilty about what he did to Scott, while another felt relieved. At least he knew his son wouldn’t be in danger. Yet, the look in Scott’s eye kept flashing before him.

“He’s too young. If it were the V.E.N.O.M. I’d let him… but this is someone new we don’t know anything about…” He argued to himself. “As for Brad joining at the age of 22, well, Brad’s a special case.”

“You said something, Matt?” Bruce asked.

“Nothing.”

“I was disappointed we didn’t get a chance to test the Remora properly.” Bruce commented. “You know, Scott has a talent for designing vehicles. He reminds me of your brother, Andy.”

Matt was silent. It hadn’t occurred to him that Scott wouldn’t be the only one disappointed. He was almost relieved when they neared the exchanged point.

“We’re near the area… it’s right on top of the Larkpoint Dam.” Alex, who was in the back of the Rhino, reported.

“All right. We wait for Brad here.” Matt ordered. “Take your positions.” One by one, the vehicles rumbled to a stop.

“Well… The kidnapper was definitely skilled. He knew what he was doing.” Inaya said thoughtfully. She and Scott were seated in the computer room. Data records were strewn all over the place. Inaya had taken off her jacket, finding the room stuffy. She sat hunched over the console of a computer, while Scott was in a similar position over another.

“There!” She had managed to piece together an image of the albino’s face using the identification system.

“I’ll run that through the records.” Scott said voluntarily. “This’ll take a long time.” The computer began humming as it searched the world population records. Scott leaned back, glad for a moment’s rest from the incessant work.

They had painstakingly searched through the medical population records. Some of the files had been classified, so Scott was obliged to hack into them. Inaya had limited skills with the computer, and had told him so. After that, they had searched for all albino records, then traced them one by one, crossing out the deceased and those unlikely to be their target. They were left with a list of seven possible suspects. Inaya’s identification picture would be able pick out the one they wanted.

“Coffee?” Scott was jarred out of his reverie. Inaya plunked a mug on the side of his console. “I figure you’re as tired as I am. I hate paperwork.”

“Thanks.” Scott accepted it gratefully. Once again, Inaya had lost her hostile attitude and had actually become quite pleasant. “I know what you mean. Funny how tired you can get just looking at pieces of paper and reading computer screens.”

“Tell me about it.” Inaya sighed. “Is that thing done yet?” she nodded at the computer. Scott peered at the screen.

“Not by a long shot. We’ve only reached ten percent.”

“Wonderful.” She commented dryly. Scott noticed Inaya tended to be sarcastic when she wasn’t pleased. “I’ll be old before that thing is done…” She paused. “Speaking of age, how old are you anyway? I didn’t even know you were Matt Trakker’s son.”

“What does it matter?” he snapped, surprising even himself.

“I’m just curious. Sorry. I thought your father too young to have a son your age.” She answered calmly, but with a hint of hurt in her voice.

Silence. Inaya turned back to her computer screen. Scott felt awkward. For a moment, he had thought they were going to get along, but it didn’t seem that way now. The tension in the room rose until the silence itself seemed like an intrusion. He wished the computer would hurry up and get it over with. Desperate for something to do, he gulped down a mouthful of coffee before realizing it was a too hot. But he swallowed anyway.

The computer had accomplished about twenty percent of the population files when the silence was broken. “You’re tired of living in your father’s shadow, aren’t you?” she suddenly said, not looking at him.

The question caught him by surprise. “Yeah.” He blurted before he could stop himself. “How do you know?”

“It was in your eyes when your father dumped you with me.”

“Oh.” Was all Scott could think of to say. While he has been studying her, she had been studying him. “Yeah.” He repeated slowly. “I guess I’m tired of it. I love my father, but… sometimes I feel I’m not Scott Trakker… I’m Matt Trakker’s Son.” Again he surprised himself even more. “I haven’t had a chance to prove myself, And sometimes I feel I’m not living my own life.”

“It’s like someone else is running your life for you.” She finished for him. Scott nodded. “And that someone is your father?”

“Maybe.”

“You mean yes.”

“I guess so.”

“So why are you in the M.A.S.K. anyway? Because your father wanted you to?” Inaya asked.

Scott shook his head. “That was something I wanted myself. Ever since I was a kid. In fact I skipped college and university to join.”

“Really? I never wanted to be here. And I thought a university degree was necessary for everything these days. You’re what, twenty, twenty five?”

Scott shook his head. “Nineteen. No. I don’t think so. University couldn’t teach me anything that I didn’t already know.”

“I never had the chance.” Inaya said, without regret in her voice. “I joined the P.N.A. at eighteen as a young recruit… took me four years before I completed commando training. It took me another five years to reach the rank of Captain. And they consider that fast.”

“Well, I have no regrets.” Scott stated.

“I’ve always learned the following your dream is right thing to do. Maybe it is.” She said thoughtfully.

The computer beeped as she spoke. “Hey it’s done!” Scott exclaimed. Eagerly, he scanned at the results. “And I think we’ve found our man.”

“Who is he?” Inaya asked with interest, moving over and reading over his shoulder.

“Wait a minute… these files are incomplete! They’ve been hacked into and deleted!” Scott realized. “The name and history… everything else is gone! All’s left is a picture and a bit of data entered after the deletion.”

“What do they say?” Inaya glanced at the picture. “That’s him alright.” She murmured.

“He’s known simply by the street name, ‘The Albino’. He’s suspected to be a mercenary… specializing in kidnappings for other people! And he’s also a suspect in the theft of several weapon parts which were discovered a few weeks before he broke into P.N.A. Headquarters. I’m opening the attachment to see what they are.”

“All those parts… what does he want with them?” Inaya pondered. “Or to be specific, what does the Albino’s employer want them for…?”

“And who is his employer, for that matter?” Scott mused. “I wish Hondo was here.”

“Who?”

“Hondo McLean, he’s our weapons specialist. You already met him, remember? He’d be able to tell us. Maybe I should contact them and ask…”

“No!” Inaya said very decidedly. “The call could be intercepted. Even at a private frequency, it’s too risky and it’ll expose your team. Besides, we don’t have any information worth calling them anyway.”

Scott didn’t miss the fact that she said ‘your team’ and not ‘our team’. Apparently, Inaya still didn’t feel a part of the M.A.S.K.. “Than what do we do?” Scott asked, a little annoyed.

“Weapons, specialist, is it…?” Inaya smiled to herself. “I know just the guy.”

“Matt. He’s coming.” Hondo reported, looking through a pair binoculars. The green bulk of the Condor and the yellow of its rider could be seen.

“Matt, this is Brad. I’ve got the money. Shall I deliver?”

“Negative, Brad. I want you to find Diana as soon as the exchange is made. Gloria and Dusty will make the exchange. The rest we’ll take care of.”

“If you say so.” The Condor roared on towards the Gator, kicking up a trial of dust on the makeshift road. Slowing to a stop, Brad handed the black leather case containing the money to Gloria. “Good luck.” He said.

Dusty nodded. “We’ll do the exchange fine. Don’t ya worry. ” Then he started up the Gator and they headed for the exchange point. Pieces of machinery were strewn all over, as well as the surplus materials. The dam was more or less finished, but there was hardly any water in it yet, as it would have to wait until spring before snow water began to melt and the dam would fill with water. Parallel to the road was an empty riverbed, the flow of which had been stolen by the dam. Dusty was sure to guide the Gator carefully around these obstacles, while Gloria kept a sharp eye out for the kidnapper.

As it turned out, she needn’t have bothered. Their target was standing in plain sight, awaiting them. He wore an outfit matching the description of the one he had worn during the assault on the P.N.A.

Gloria got out of the Gator, carrying the suitcase in her hand while Dusty waited in the car. It was heavy. “Ready to exchange?”

“Ten million?” The kidnapper hissed. Gloria nodded. “Take the money out of that bag and put it in this one.” He tossed Gloria a blue duffel bag, which she deftly caught. “Do it slowly.”

Gloria complied, knowing that the life of Diana was at stake. As she did so, she noticed the kidnapper was running a scanning device of some sort, checking for hidden bugs and other forms of treachery. So far he had found none.

She hoped that Matt knew what he was doing.

“Is this friend of yours reliable?” Scott yelled over the din of traffic. He and Inaya were racing through the rush hour on the Remora, heading for the home of her friend the weapons specialist. Scott hadn’t been able to pass up and opportunity to ride the Remora, even if it was for something as trivial as the task they were currently carrying out.

“You bet. He knows his job and we can trust him. He works for the P.N.A.” Inaya answered in his ear. “Here we are!”

They had reached a nondescript semi-detached house on a quiet suburban area. Shady trees formed and avenue while children played in a small park across the road. The house itself looked just like its neighbors, white paint, gray roof and a small garden at the side. The only difference here was that the garden had been bricked up to form a larger driveway.

Inaya got off, and motioned for Scott to follow her. After parking the Remora, he accordingly did so. The front door opened as they approached the driveway.

“Ina?” A man with grey hair asked. Scott was surprised to see that he was sitting in a wheelchair. “Who’s the friend…?”

“Hal, meet Scott Trakker. Scott, this is Hal Grayson.” Scott offered his hand. Hal took it and shook. Despite being handicapped, Scott noticed that Hal’s grip was firm and it was evident that he had powerful arms. Scott noticed Hal gave him an odd look he couldn’t quite understand.

“So what can I do for you?” Hal asked after he had invited them in. They sat in his living room, which was sparsely furnished. There were no carpets or rugs, which would have been useless anyway, as they did nothing but provide obstacles for the wheelchair. Scott was smart enough to figure that the Spartan state of the house was not due to poverty, but necessity. A man in a wheelchair needed lots of room to maneuver, and too much furniture meant lot of work, both while moving around and keeping the place orderly.

“We need your help, Hal. We’ve got a list of weapon part thefts and we’d like to know what a person can possibly do with these items.” Inaya explained.

“Let me have a look.” Hal glanced at the list and whistled. “That’s some high-tech stuff you got there. Could be almost anything… wait… here are a couple of rare items, you don’t use them on conventional weapons… only energy based ones such as pulse energy or shock wave…” he went on into a tirade of machinery jargon which was too advanced for even Scott to follow.

“He’s always like that.” Inaya confided. “He’ll grow coherent in a minute, don’t worry.” Scott grinned, remembering someone had said the same about him when he talked about computers.

“Right. I think I have it!” Hal said after self-discussion for about ten minutes. “I’ve narrowed it down to several choices, I’ll need my computer for this. Hope you won’t mind waiting.”

Scott assured they didn’t. Hal wheeled out of the room. Inaya followed him saying something about giving him a hand, leaving Scott alone. Scott leaned back on the sofa, and wondered what to do. Letting his eyes wander around, he caught sight of a framed picture on the mantelpiece. On impulse, he picked it up to get a better look at it. His eyes widened in surprise.

A younger Hal Grayson was posing with his arm around a young woman. His hair was not the gray it was at the present, but a light brown. He was standing perfectly, without a wheelchair in sight. Both were smiling and it was clear that they were a couple. But all these details Scott barely noted. All his attention was centered on the woman. She was Inaya Vendun.

He never heard Inaya return to the room, which was surprising considering there was nothing on the floor which could have muffled her footsteps. When he looked up, she was standing in front of him. “He looks younger there, doesn’t he?” She commented.

Scott jumped. “I’m sorry… I er…” he stammered.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like it’s private or anything.” She smiled, but he could see she was looking at the pictuer too, and the smile was a little strained. “Hal says it’ll be ready in a minute. Since I couldn’t help him with whatever he was doing, I thought I’d check on you.”

“How did he come to be stuck in the wheelchair?” Scott asked tentatively.

“Do you really want to know?”

Scott nodded. “Yeah.” And he meant it. Perhaps there was some connection to Inaya’s hatred for his father.

Inaya needed no further urging. She began. “Well, about seven years ago, a shipment of high-tech weapons and equipment was hijacked by a bunch of terrorists. A lot of people got hurt in the process. Your father believed that the equipment was being used to construct the V.E.N.O.M. vehicles. At that time, the M.A.S.K. had just started. He was right, we never got it back, but the V.E.N.O.M. appeared. Everything pointed to a mole in the P.N.A. Someone who knew a lot about weapons.”

“And Hal was accused?”

She nodded. “Some big shot was convinced Hal was the one. He was the most likely suspect, but there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him. But somehow, they did it. He got sentenced to jail for a very long time.” She paused. “I was engaged to him at that time. That picture was taken about couple of months before all that happened.”

“Then what happened?” Scott asked, interested.

“Well, I was still a greenhorn at that time, I hadn’t even finished training. But I went and faced the man responsible. I pleaded and tried to reason with him, but to no avail. That guy had a heart of stone. He wouldn’t take another look to make sure. He was convinced he was right and wouldn’t even check to see if he really was.”

“Man… that guy must have been really stubborn. Who was he?” Scott asked, disgusted.

Inaya gave him an odd look. “The name of the man…” She said quietly, not meeting his eyes. “…was Matt Trakker.”

Flashback

The crowd outside the courtroom was frightening. The reporters, in particular, were more ferocious than hyenas arguing over a carcass. The many men and women seemed be only interested in swinging around their microphones of various lengths, screaming at each other and shoving their cameras up into everyone’s faces. Inaya shrank at the thought of going through them and facing the man who stood on top of the steps.

“I can do this for Hal.” She told herself in a valiant attempt to bolster her quailing courage. In truth, she’d rather face a dressing down by Sergeant Bailey than go through the cursed crowd.

“He’ll make it all right once I make him see that Hal wasn’t responsible… I know he’ll help me.” She told herself to boost her confidence. “He’s my only hope.”

The reporters were yelling questions, drowning each other out in the process.

“Mr. Trakker… what have you to say…”

“Mr. Trakker…do you think…”

“Mr. Trakker! The court…”

“Excuse me. Excuse me.” She said as she squeezed her was through the crowd of reporters. Fortunately, her short stature helped a lot. “Mr. Trakker!” she called. “I’m Inaya Vendun. I…” she began before she was drowned out by the sea of reporters.

Matt Trakker held a hand up. The crowd quieted. “All I have to say is, justice has been served.” He began, speaking passionately. “The terrorists to whom Lt. Grayson sold the weapons to were responsible for a lot of pain and suffering… anyone who had the nerve to help them deserved what Hal Grayson got.”

A few people clapped. The reporters were satisfied. One by one, they drifted away.

“Matt Trakker!” Inaya cried seizing her chance. “I need to talk to you.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Yes?”

“My name is Inaya Vendun. I’m a friend of Hal Grayson’s.”

“And what do you want?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

“Please, sir. There’s been some mistake… Hal Grayson couldn’t have been found guilty. Someone pulled strings to make this happen. I’ve heard that you’re a just man. I need you to help…”

He cut her off. “I’m sorry, Ms. Vendun. But the only mistake was made by Lt. Grayson. He shouldn’t have helped Miles Mayhem.” He practically spat out the last two words.

“But…” she trailed off when she saw the cold, hard look in his eyes. “You!?” she gasped. “You did it, didn’t you? You pulled those strings…”

He looked at her coldly and moved away. She was so stunned she couldn’t move. When she finally recovered her powers of movement, he was gone.

“No!” she yelled angrily. “You were supposed to help me!” She clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her palms. “You were supposed to understand!” She clenched her fists until they bled.

She didn’t care. All she could think of was how much she hated Matt Trakker.

Back to the Present

“My father did it!?” Scott jumped to his feet, disbelieving.

“Yes he did.”

“He can’t have… he’s not like that!”

“That’s what I thought. Don’t get me wrong, Scott. I admired your father before all that happened, Scott. He was my hero. Was.” she added disdainfully. Then she continued with her story.

“About five years after that, there was a riot in the prison Hal was in. A lot of people got hurt, Hal included. The doctors said he had a spinal injury… he’d have to spend the rest of his life in that wheelchair. Shortly after that, he broke off our engagement. He thought I deserved better. Nothing I said could change his mind. Then the truth came out. It wasn’t Hal who had supplied the V.E.N.O.M. with those weapons. It was another guy, someone no one suspected. Hal was acquitted and released.”

“From what? He aged prematurely in jail. His hair turned gray. He’s stuck in that wheelchair for life! All because one man would not change his mind.” She said bitterly. An angry tear appeared in the corner of her eye.

Scott was speechless.

“I’ve got it!" Hal cried from the other room. Inaya and Scott raced for the computer room, both secretly glad that they could avoid the subject.

“Over here.” Hal pointed at the screen. “That’s what those thieves are probably making.”

“Electro-magnetic pulse generator?” Inaya, with hand on back of the wheelchair, read, bewildered.

“EMP generator?” Scott echoed in surprise.

Hal nodded. “The very same. It’s a device that jams and causes sensitive machinery to short circuit.”

“I think we have something like that in the M.A.S.K. It’s just like the Gator’s ‘Electronic Ouch’ gun.” Scott said.

“Correct.” Hal replied. “But this is something much more powerful. The models currently used have very limited ranges, and they’ve had to have direct line-of-sight.”

“Bruce and Alex once tried to invent a mask with an EMP capabilities. Unfortunately, a lot of problems cropped up. The mask kept shorting everything out… including itself. It was called Short Circuit. Finally we gave up on the project. I wonder what became of it?” Scott mused. “So what’s so special about this generator?” He asked, getting back on track.

“It has an especially high radius of effectiveness...up to one kilometer and you don’t need direct line-of-sight. Also you have relative control over it, unlike the other models.”

“You mean you can actually control which targets you want to effect?” Scott asked, impressed.

“Not quite. But you can control the area you want to effect, the you can specify the radius of the EMP vortex. The radii can vary from the minimum of 20 meters to the maximum of one kilometer.”

“Basically, you’re saying, this EMP generator can disable every piece of machinery within a specified area?” Inaya asked. Scott looked up, a horrible thought suddenly striking him.

“Yeah.” Hal said.

“Vehicles?” Scott asked, knees suddenly weak. Hal nodded.

“The Albino… he must be working for…” Inaya realized.

“…The V.E.N.O.M.!” Scott finished for her. His voice took a tone of panic. “Dad and the M.A.S.K. are in trouble! They’re walking right into a trap!!” Without another word, he turned and ran for the Remora.