"Have you found their location?"
"Damn, David, couldn't you come here in a more normal way?!" Daniel flinched in surprise when his brother and Rick materialized in front of them. The man had great difficulty convincing the children that nothing bad had happened because the suspicious behavior of adults immediately attracted the attention of Ashley and Sean. And knowing the curiosity of these children, it could be assumed that they, too, would want to get involved in an active search.
"No, I haven't found anything. My vision is not enough to check each level in detail. It seems that this pyramid is somehow anomalous, however, this is obvious, given that we are powerless inside it," Armand kicked a stone lying next to him. The sense of helplessness was pressing on him the most. What was the use of his abilities if they were of no help for what they have been looking for?
David stood at the entrance to the pyramid and closed his eyes, mentally he began to imagine and count every step and turn that they made inside. The man turned around and, with his eyes closed, began to repeat the direction of movement of their group until, in the end, he found himself approximately in the center of the meadow in which they gathered.
"If I calculated correctly, the place where we lost Elena and Marcus is about here, I'm not sure about the depth, maybe three meters, maybe all five."
"Oh, I was just standing near this spot when I felt an incomprehensible trembling under my feet," Daniel confirmed the assumption of his younger brother.
"Hmm, from here I can see several directions of the water flow," Armand scanned the soil and noticed a couple of places that looked like caves, "I don't think that they were carried far away, Marcus is a good swimmer, so he should have found his bearings the situation rather fast. Perhaps they are either here or there," Armand dabbed with his finger at the area where the caves were underground and the corridors went even further, "In other directions, I see only narrow passages, I don't think that Elena and Markus can be there."
This information was already more positive, at the very least, they decided on approximate coordinates for their search. "I just can't see the people themselves," Armand shrugged, no matter how hard he tried, but he could not see the signs of living objects.
"I can try to find Marcus," Rick suggested and took a phone from his pocket.
"And how do you do it? Moreover, you are aware that Marcus has blocked this zone, the phone is pointless now," David would have been glad of any help, but their capabilities were limited. And the main irony was that the person who did this now needed help himself.
"Tsk, Mr. Anderson, you underestimate the capabilities of the internal network of Marc Technologies," Rick launched a special application and dialed one of the numbers, "Do not forget that I am not the last person in the team of our super-boss."
After a series of beeps, a confident and adult male voice sounded on Rick's phone, "Mr. Stein, what an honor. What does my humble person owe to such a sudden call?"
"Simon, I need you to activate Marcus's chip and mine at full power and set the connection between them."
"Why on earth should I do this? The master did not leave any orders in this regard. And even if I activate the chips, why should I risk the boss's health and let you use his powers for no reason?" Simon did not hesitate to demonstrate his dislike for Rick, in the end, this man gave his Master so much extra trouble, because of which Marcus had to change his plans more than once.
"Your almighty boss is stuck under a many-meter layer of earth and stone, trapped in an incomprehensible place with another person. And if nothing serious happens to him, then I cannot guarantee the same to the woman that is trapped with him."
"To the woman? So you are saying that the person who got lost with the master in that pyramid is a woman? Her name?" Simon's tone changed dramatically when Rick mentioned Elena.
And although Rick did not see the point in mentioning her name, he also knew well about the principle of this assistant and was sure that Simon was aware of the affairs of Marcus like no one else.
"Elena Anderson."
"Elena...," the man was silent for a moment, and then answered in a serious voice, in which the notes of threat were clearly audible, "I will activate Master's chip and that of yours for half an hour, after that, I will change the direction of action. If you dare to use the powers in the way which is more than necessary, and this will endanger the woman's life, I personally will launch a neural deactivation of your chip, and you will remain a deadhead for the rest of your life. So think twice before you do something, Rick Stein," after these words Simon hung up and Rick felt drops of cold sweat appear on his back.
This man, not without reason, was Marcus's chief assistant. Since Marcus himself was in contact with a limited circle of people even among his subordinates, many employees from the base were even more afraid of Simon than of the Master himself.
"Who is this Simon?" David heard that the man's tone changed after Rick mentioned Elena; moreover, for some reason, this Simon's voice seemed familiar to David.
"One bald bastard, never mind," Rick's antipathy with Marcus's assistant was mutual, "But he's right, I need to monitor my energy so that Marcus doesn't get hungry, otherwise we will have problems."
"What did you mean by "not hungry"? Could this somehow affect Elena's safety?"
"This can affect the safety of all of us, and primarily Elena since she is next to him. Think where he got so much power? Yes, because he takes it from others. And believe me, this process is better not to be seen," Rick felt a strong burning sensation at the base of his neck, which means the activation process has been started.
His chip was connected to Marcus's chip so that Rick could use his abilities during missions. And although on the one hand it seemed like an advantage, as if he were of the same level as Marcus himself, in fact, he was nothing more than his shadow, firmly connected by a leash with his Master as a dog.
"Your eyes have changed," David noticed how in a split second Rick's pupils changed color.
"What? Are they red?"
"No, black. Should they be red?"
"Oh, then it's good," the man focused on his feelings. If Marcus had been outside this pyramid, he could have felt his presence a few miles from himself, the strength of the connection between the Master and his servant was so strong. "I warn you in advance and very seriously - if suddenly my eyes turn red, you will have to immediately do one thing."
Rick took a few steps to the side, knelt down and laid his hand on the ground, a barely noticeable stream of energy, like a thin thread, seeping towards him through a dense surface. 'I got it!'
The man straightened up and waved to David, "Done. They should be here." This was just the place above one of the caves that Armand had previously spotted.
"Thank you," David patted Rick on the shoulder, as in the old days of their strong friendship, "You didn't say what thing I should do if your eyes turn red."
Rick looked thoughtfully at his friend, the only friend he had ever had, and smiled with his special carefree smile, "It's simple. You will have to kill me."