Project Aries

“Bailey? Is that you?” a voice called and Bailey turned to see a familiar blonde shutting her car’s boot.

“Grace! Hi!” she replied, diverting her shopping trolley and heading across the parking lot. “How are you?”

“Good! How about you? Gosh, I haven’t seen you since your twenty-first!” Grace squeaked as she met her friend halfway to give her a short hug. “Have you been busy?” A grin crossed Bailey’s lips and Grace rose her eyebrows as she awaited the answer.

“I sort of got hired for my dream job,” Bailey answered timidly and congratulations were given with another embrace.

“That’s so fantastic! When do you start?”

“Tomorrow. Thought it would be best to pick up some supplies, since once I start work I feel like I’ll be too busy to shop during the week,” Bailey said with a gesture towards her trolley.

“Yeah, absolutely!” Grace agreed as she tucked a section of her hair behind her ear. “I should let you go and rest before your first day; it’s already late.”

“Sure, and I’ll message you on the Sphere tomorrow to let you know how it went,” Bailey offered and Grace nodded.

“Sounds like a plan! Have a great night!”

“You too,” Bailey smiled as Grace stepped into her car. The electric motor buzzed to life and Grace tooted goodbye as Bailey began loading her groceries into her own car’s boot. As she placed the last bag in, beeps began echoing in her head. Bailey’s hands automatically came to her ears, rubbing them in attempt to rid the annoying tinnitus from her brain. She sighed as it failed to help, and decided to try to ignore the electronic sounds. Three long tones sounded, surprisingly precise. With a frustrated grunt, she slammed the boot shut but the noise didn’t block out the short short beeps coming from her mind. Bailey took a step towards the driver’s door as another two longer tones sounded and then she dropped to the ground unconscious.

Bailey came to and could only hear static. There was a constant beeping somewhere in the distance, but it disappeared with the static as her eyes gradually opened. Her wary gaze took in her surroundings and her heart skipped a beat as she noticed that she wasn’t in the grocery store’s parking lot anymore. Bailey was lying on a bed in a poorly decorated hotel room, the main colour an unfortunate off-yellow. She quickly jolted upwards and rushed to the curtains, throwing them open to see an unfamiliar yet pleasant view of sun and surf.

“Glad to see you’re awake, Fern,” an English woman spoke and Bailey spun on her heels. Much to her surprise, the room was empty. “Look on the desk.”

“My name’s not Fern,” Bailey corrected, guessing that the room was bugged and had hidden cameras. Though hesitant, she walked over to the wooden desk and immediately spotted the cream folder with a red band across it, black font spelling ‘classified’ in capital letters. Bailey stared at the symbol on the otherwise blank folder, but she found no resemblance to any government organisation that she knew of. The base structure was similar to a gamma symbol, though the tips curled further outwards and the stem was decorated with simple swirls.

“Fern is your operative name. Use this while completing missions,” the woman instructed, proving to Bailey that there was a means of communication between them even though she couldn’t see it.

“What are you talking about? You have the wrong person; I don’t go on missions,” Bailey stammered as she backed away from the desk and the folder.

“Bailey Harrington, twenty-one, born and raised in Tolaga Bay, New Zealand.”

“How do you know this? Where am I? What’s going on?” The questions tumbled from Bailey’s lips as the fear of the unknown started to sink in.

“Perhaps we should start with the blue folder first. Go ahead and open it,” the woman said and Bailey shuffled forwards, warily glancing at the blue folder that rested next to the larger cream file. It bore no markings, and due to the absence of the daunting classified print, Bailey found the courage to pick it up and open it to the first page. Large capital letters read ‘Project Aries’ underneath the same unknown symbol, and she flipped the page. Her driver’s licence photo was printed in the top right corner, and a quick list of her basic details was on the left, including her birthdate, parents’ names, her old schools, and even her eye and hair colour. Stunned, Bailey turned the page to see what further information the file contained about her or why she had woken in an unknown room. The next page was headed with ‘Operative: Fern’ and beneath it was today’s date, the third of December, labelled as the activation date. The rest of the page was blank, and Bailey flipped through a few more pages but they were also plain white.

“Activation? What does that mean?” Bailey asked, feeling strange as she was speaking to someone who was not present.

“It means that you are an agent of Project Aries. You are now able to access the data stored on the microchip in your brain,” the woman answered her and Bailey’s breath caught in her throat.

“The microchip in my brain?” she repeated with wide eyes.

“Yes. This will provide you with all of the expertise required for you to complete your missions during the year you will work for us.”

“Wait, hang on. You can’t do this to me,” Bailey protested as she attempted to slow her panicked breathing. “I never agreed to this! I have rights!”

“There is-”

“You can’t have put this chip in my brain! That’s unethical! I won’t work for you! I refuse!” she continued, raising her voice.

“Fern, listen to me-” the woman attempted to calm her down but Bailey was too enraged to take notice.

“I won’t do this! I-” Bailey’s fury was cut short by a high pitched screech. The sound, much to her surprise, did not come from in the room, but inside her head. She clasped her hands to her temples and screwed her face up in pain, gritting her teeth as she tried to resist crying out. The noise was ripping through Bailey’s brain and making her eardrums ache, and there was nothing she could do about it. All of a sudden the tone ceased and Bailey’s weak knees straightened as she tried to catch her breath.

“You will comply,” she was told as she rubbed her throbbing skull. “The microchip not only provides you with many strengths, but also a weakness. We can and will use that frequency to incapacitate you if needed.” Bailey thought back to what felt like mere moments ago to her when she was in the parking lot at the grocery store.

“Did you knock me out at the car park? Were those tones from the chip too?”

“Yes. I am also aware of your medical history and that you have complained about hearing tinnitus; that is us testing the microchip.”

“This is insane…” Bailey muttered to herself before closing and rubbing her eyes. When she opened them again, she was disappointed to realise that she was still in the same room.

“As I was trying to say before, there is a signed contract dated twenty-two years ago that says we could implant the microchip,” the English woman informed her and Bailey scrunched her eyebrows.

“Well I think that further proves that you can’t do that; I wasn’t even alive then!”

“It is signed by your parents,” the woman said and Bailey failed to voice a response. “In order for them to retire from a classified organisation and start a family, they signed a contract that stated that their first child would be implanted with a microchip at a very young age. One year of this child’s life was to be used to serve the world and protect it, but only half of the participants are ever activated and because of that, they took the risk.”

“I don’t believe this,” Bailey sighed.

“Check the last page of the blue folder.” Upon hearing the robotic instruction, Bailey tossed the pages aside and then skimmed the tiny font. Unless the document had been edited, the woman wasn’t lying to her. The fine print outlined the concept of the microchip being implanted in her brain, and that when the time came there was a fifty percent chance that she would be called upon to be an agent. Her parents’ names were printed at the bottom alongside their signatures, and beneath that was a short note in her mother’s distinctive handwriting. ‘Dear my future child, please understand that this is the only way we could have brought you into existence. Though you will be thrown into a scary new world for a year, please try to make the best of it. Remember, sometimes the best things are just beyond the horizon.’ Tears welled in Bailey’s eyes as she read the last sentence, recalling the countless times her mother had spent walking with her to the end of her hometown’s wharf, the longest one in New Zealand, and encouraging her when she was feeling down. She had no idea that it was something her mother had planned from before she was born.

“This is real…” Bailey whispered as she came to accept the frightening situation.

“Yes. Please open the second folder now.” She set the blue file down and opened the one with classified printed across the red band, anxious about what might be within. The first page gave a brief outline of what Bailey presumed was her first mission: hacking files from a computer that belonged to a man by the name of Parker Hewitt. No casualties were expected or permitted, and she was to be working with another agent by the name of Jasmine. The second page had an imagine of Parker and some details about him that Bailey ignored, and the following page revealed that the files the organisation wanted related to plans to develop an artificial lake and dam in Canada.

“Is he a Blue?” Bailey wondered as she saw the figures of expected income from the renewable energy generated from the project.

“Quite the opposite. His actions are expected to destroy wildlife and reduce the area of natural habit of a bat population, a key species in that particular ecosystem.”

“So do you plan to use this information to stop him?” Bailey asked as she set the file down.

“We do. You will soon come to realise that we only give you missions that benefit the world. Not only the Blues, not only wealthy people, but everyone,” the woman explained and Bailey shook her head slightly, already thinking that the Blues and those with money and hence power were behind this organisation.

“Who is Jasmine?” she said to change the subject.

“She is another operative, waiting at the poolside bar for you. Go there now. She will recognise you and engage in conversation. It is your task to hack the target’s computer, and she will cover for you and drive you to your next destination,” the English woman ordered.

“What should I call you?” she questioned, realising that the voice had never introduced herself.

“You may call me Iris,” she answered and Bailey noticed the slightly softer tone and guessed that there was a small smile involved. “I will contact you and Jasmine to provide further instructions once this mission has been completed. Do you have any further questions?” Bailey paused and took in a deep breath.

“Just where is the pool?” she asked with a short nervous chuckle at the end.

“Take the elevator to the ground level, then turn left and go down the hallway until you’re outside,” Iris replied. Eager to leave the room, Bailey walked out and shut the door behind her, quickly spotting the elevator. She passed a man on the way there, hoping that he couldn’t tell that she was anxious and didn’t report a suspicious person in the hotel. A sweaty finger pressed the elevator buttons and her almost trembling hands clasped together as she hurried down the hallway towards the gigantic glass doors that had been propped open to allow the salty fresh air to stream through the building. A hotel worker smiled kindly at her as they passed each other, Bailey forcing a smile on her face for a brief second before her apprehension made her lips falter and fall into a frown again. Once she had stepped onto the tiles, Bailey noticed the pool and soon spotted the bar, surrounded by colourful overly-large umbrellas that drooped over wooden deck chairs. With wide eyes searching the tables for any sign of recognition, Bailey shuffled towards the bar.

“Fern! Fern! Over here!” a voice called. It took a few seconds before Bailey remembered that Fern was how she was going to be referred to, so she turned her head to see who was calling out to her. Leaning against a table was a young woman with such golden skin it looked as though she had spent her entire life being kissed by the sun. Red shorts looked miniature at the top of her long legs that had ankles strapped in brown sandals, and beneath honey blonde waves of hair was a black tank top. Bailey felt out of her place, in her t-shirt with a cheesy joke sprawled across it and plain shorts that extended close to her knees, an outfit that had been designed to be for a comfortable grocery shop during her last day of freedom before beginning full time work. She had had no intention of losing consciousness and finding out when she woke that she was to become a secret agent instead.

“Hey… Jasmine…” Bailey replied with obvious unease as she approached the stranger. She was met with a smile so assumed she was with the correct person.

“How are you doing?” Jasmine asked her with a gesture for Bailey to take the seat across from her.

“How do you think?” Bailey answered honestly and Jasmine gave an understanding smile.

“It’s a lot to grasp at first, I know. Believe me when I say that you’ll get used to it,” she said, clearly attempting to comfort Bailey but only rendering her more distressed.

“Can’t say this is something I want to get used to…” Bailey mumbled as Jasmine propped her large sunglasses atop her head. “So you’re from Australia?” She had noted her accent and was surprised that she wasn’t a New Zealander as well.

“Born and raised, though my mother’s from Tibet,” Jasmine smiled. “And you’re obviously just from across the ditch. Are you of Maori descent?” Bailey nodded at her correct guess.

“I have some European blood though,” she said, trailing off as she came to realise that if both Australia and New Zealand had agents, other countries probably did too. “This… thing… Is it everywhere?”

“Yeah, it’s global,” Jasmine answered with a shrug. “New Zealand might be tucked away in the corner of the map, a leading location for the Blues’ revolution, but there’s plenty of corruption here too.” Bailey sighed and shook her head, uncertain of what to believe.

“I can’t say I ever noticed corruption growing up here.”

“Well now’s your chance to find out about it. Our target has just arrived,” Jasmine said in a lower voice with a subtle nod towards the doors that Bailey had walked through just moments ago.

“So, uh, what do we do?” Bailey asked. She had recognised Parker Hewitt from the photo in the file, and her stomach was now jittering so much she was starting to feel nauseous.

“I’m going to get the key, then we’ll head upstairs and take it from there,” Jasmine said before standing. “I’ll be back shortly.” Before Bailey could respond, Jasmine strolled over to Parker who was at the bar ordering a drink. Bailey watched on as Jasmine flicked her hair over her shoulders, laughed loudly, placed her hand for lengthy periods on Parker’s arm, then took her drink and came to a stop before their table. She reached into her front pocket and revealed the top of a white swipe card to Bailey.

“That was quick,” she remarked as Jasmine sipped at the iced orange drink.

“Well we don’t know when he’ll realise it’s gone, so we need to move. Calmly walk with me back inside,” she instructed as she set the drink down. The two headed indoors, Bailey feeling as though all eyes were on her as they left the scene of the crime. After a silent elevator ride to the fifth floor, they walked to the end of the hallway and Jasmine pulled out the card. “Take note of the fire exit stairwell. Always do that when possible on missions.”

“Got it,” Bailey nodded as Jasmine swiped the card and then pushed the door open. The room was larger than the one Bailey had awoken in, and was tastefully decorated with a bold yellow accent wall and subtle touches of similar shades of yellow throughout the otherwise white room. A framed print hung on the wall of the city they were in, the word ‘Tauranga’ stylishly scribbled in the bottom right corner next to the photographer’s name. Bailey’s stomach sank, realising that she wasn’t too far from home but it was still a considerable distance for her to be transported while unconscious.

“Hey, focus. The laptop,” Jasmine called out and Bailey diverted her gaze to the desk where a black laptop was awaiting her.

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” she pointed out as she hesitantly approached it. Jasmine strode across the room, peeking out the window before hastily pulling the curtains closed.

“You have all the skills you need. The chip in your head is programmed with the ability to hack the computer, and all you need to do is relax and open your mind to it. Let yourself access the data stored on it, as though it’s just another section of your brain,” Jasmine advised as she placed a USB on the desk. “Plug that in. It contains all of the needed programmes and has enough storage to transfer all relevant files to it.” Bailey glanced up and saw just how serious Jasmine was, so she took the USB and plugged it in and lifted the laptop’s lid. The screen lit up and presented a typical log in screen, but after a few moments a black band appeared on the left side of the screen. Green font spread across that section, a series of prompts that Bailey could not make sense of. She stared at the computer but her mind remained blank.

“I can’t do this,” she stammered before looking up with desperation to Jasmine. She glanced at her watch before briefly rolling her eyes with annoyance.

“You can. You just need to access the data on the microchip and-”

“I know! You and Iris have both said that but I don’t know how,” Bailey insisted with clenched fists, afraid of what was going to happen. For all she knew, hotel security were going to walk in any second and arrest her for breaking and entering and attempting to steal from Parker Hewitt. They would never believe her story and she would no doubt be declared insane.

“First you need to calm down. Take a deep breath and close your eyes,” Jasmine instructed and after a strong glare from her, Bailey did as she was told. Though her racing heart made it difficult to inhale deeply, closing her eyes helped to shut out the frightening circumstance. “Okay good. Try to relax and tell yourself how easy it is to hack a computer. Just lie, and remind yourself how you’ve hacked computers many times before and how easy it was to do. You’ve seen that green writing before and you know what to type next. Now… put your hands on the keyboard and type the next command.” Bailey repeated the lies in her mind and then found the courage to hover her hands over the keyboard, keeping her eyes pressed tightly shut. After another mental encouragement, Bailey felt her fingers slowly start tapping against the keys. Green writing was flooding into her vision and her fingers were typing out the codes. A beep sounded from the computer and Bailey flung her eyes open.

“Password hack initiated! I did it!” she breathed with shock before turning to Jasmine with her jaw dropping.

“You just unlocked the computer. You’ve still got a lot more to do,” Jasmine pointed out and Bailey’s face fell. “But good work…” Jasmine offered a smile and Bailey glanced at the computer, seeing that it was now logging in and the black band with green writing remained on the left side of the screen.

“So now I need to tell myself to find the files relating to Parker’s plans for building a dam in Canada? I have the ability to do that too?” Bailey asked and Jasmine nodded.

“That’s right. Follow the same preparation steps as before and I’m sure you’ll have the files transferred in no time,” she encouraged before striding across to the door. “I’m going to keep watch for Parker or hotel security. Work as quickly as you can.”

“Okay,” Bailey nodded. As Jasmine pulled the door open and peeked into the corridor, Bailey closed her eyes and focused on what she could recall from the cream folder’s descriptions of Parker’s plans. Keywords of ‘Canada, lake and dam’ came to her mind so she focused on trying to locate files that contained those, or similar, words. Her fingers scattered across the keys to set up the programme to search the files and copy any relevant ones to the USB, and once it began searching and transferring, Bailey breathed a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes to see the black band on the screen filled with green writing, absolute gibberish even though she had somehow typed the code mere moments ago and comprehended it.

“How much longer?” Jasmine hissed from the door and Bailey looked to the bottom of the screen, spying that the green progress bar was only a centimetre away from being full.

“Not too much longer…” she said before drumming her fingers on the desk. The green inched closer to the end of the bar and once it had touched the finish line Bailey’s hands naturally shot out. She typed a brief command to shut down the hacking programmes and eject the USB, then tore it out and shut the laptop’s lid.

“All right, let’s go,” Jasmine nodded as she discarded the room’s swipe card on the floor and headed straight for the stairwell.

“Shouldn’t we take the elevator? Isn’t that less conspicuous?” Bailey wondered but Jasmine still thrust the fire exit door open.

“No one will see us here. If they’re onto us, they will block the elevators first,” she reassured her as their shoes clanked on the metal steps, echoing around the cold stairwell.

“So where are we going now?” Bailey questioned as she passed the floor one sign. Jasmine hesitated at the door, setting it slightly ajar before gesturing Bailey to follow her through. Jasmine quickly regained her composure, slowing her breathing from the jog down the stairs and placing a calm grin across her face, and Bailey attempted to do the same but her smile quickly faded from nerves.

“We’ll just get our car and then we’ll head to the safe house,” Jasmine answered in a hushed voice. Bailey followed her out the front door and watched as Jasmine handed a card to a valet who beamed politely at her.

“Just one moment,” he said before disappearing into the hotel’s parking lot. Bailey’s eyes darted around, constantly surveying the area and looking for Parker or any authority figures that may have been searching for them, but failed to notice anything suspicious, much to her relief. A shining black car pulled up in front of them, Jasmine taking Bailey by surprise when she walked around it to get in the driver’s seat and thank the valet. The car was a sports car, designed to be a powerful, flashy car for the rich, something Bailey had never even dreamed of riding in, and yet she was about to get in the passenger’s seat.

“There she is! Stop her!” At the sound of an enraged man, Bailey froze. She turned and saw Parker Hewitt exiting the hotel, security guards rushing forwards.

“Get in! Hurry!” Jasmine yelled and Bailey snapped out of her fright and got inside the car. She had no time to put her seatbelt on before Jasmine stepped on the accelerator and the electric car sped away. As she pulled onto the main road, skidding and narrowly avoiding another car, Bailey yelped with surprise and rushed to secure herself in the car before noting that Jasmine hadn’t buckled herself in.

“You should put your seatbelt on,” she suggested as she watched Jasmine’s brown eyes squint and focus on the road as they weaved in and out of the lanes.

“I won’t crash,” Jasmine shrugged before taking the time to tap the side of her head. “I have all the skills in here to keep this beaut on the road. We’ll be fine.” Even though Bailey had just proven to herself that acquiring knowledge from the microchip was indeed possible, she was still scared by the speeding car and gripped onto the door handle for a feeling of safety. A flash of blue in the side mirror caught Bailey’s eye and she twisted in her chair to look out the back window.

“Jasmine, we have company,” she said in a wavering voice. The two police cars were gaining on them, thanks to the other motorists pulling aside, but Jasmine kept her cool and remained focused on the road. “Jasmine?”

“I know!” she snapped before gripping onto the wheel tighter. “Hold on!” Suddenly the car lurched to the right as Jasmine pulled it into a tight left turn. Bailey almost swung into Jasmine, who was pressed against her door, and she winced as the car almost scraped against another. With what appeared to be effortless skill, Jasmine straightened the car and it sped down the highway.

“I think you lost one of them,” Bailey breathed as she looked in her side mirror, heaving with panic. Her breathing only quickened as Jasmine spun the car again, making it fly off the tarmac and onto a dirt road. The wheels skidded and made Bailey’s heart leap, but Jasmine kept the vehicle under control and within seconds the sun disappeared as the car came to a halt. Once Bailey’s eyes had refocused she realised that they were in a barn, and crates of avocados surrounded them.

“Get out, let’s go,” Jasmine ordered and Bailey jumped out of the car, her sweaty hand clasping the USB for dear life. She followed Jasmine out the other end of the barn and they climbed into a small ute loaded with avocados, its key already in the ignition. Jasmine drove away into the orchard, keeping the vehicle at a steady pace to not draw the attention of the police who were in the barn searching for the driver’s of the car. As Jasmine turned the ute down a side track that lead back to the motorway, she reached across into the glovebox and pulled out a handheld receiver. “Iris, are you there?” Jasmine released the button and static emitted from the device.

“What’s your status, Jasmine?” Iris’ voice came through the device a few moments later.

“The mission was a success. We are in possession of the files and no one is injured,” she replied and Bailey began fiddling with the important USB that she held between her fingers.

“Very good. Proceed to the safe house as planned.”

“Understood,” Jasmine said before switching the receiver off. She glanced across at Bailey and smirked at her tense body and worried expression. “How are you, Fern?” Bailey managed a brief smile at her.

“I don’t think there’s a word to describe what I feel right now,” she admitted, trying to make light of the situation.

“I don’t know if it’ll make you feel any better, but after a few more missions you will get used to it. Just remember to trust yourself, because you can do whatever is required,” Jasmine attempted to provide some console but Bailey did not visibly relax. As her panic subsided with time and the reality of her new situation sunk in, Bailey could only hope that there was something good waiting for her over the horizon.