Snippet #2363768

"Commander," Agent Shackleton said urgently, "The rate of barrier deterioration is accelerating. It has already ruptured in several places. It's very likely that humans and digimon will be able to pass through these barriers without even meaning to. The barrier has never weakened nearly this rapidly before."
"Heck, yeah," Rose Ann agreed, "Usually, the barrier weakens slowly enough to give me time to travel there by plane, check in at a hotel, and get a coffee while I wait for something interesting to happen. Looks like Starbucks will have to wait this time. That's too bad..."
Rose Ann rambled on about coffee as Aña resisted the urge to shut her up. It was a lost cause and, more importantly, she had to think quickly of a solution to the current predicament. Her brow furrowed in deep contemplation, her dark green eyes reflecting the world map on the computer screen.
Most of the map was tinted green, indicating that the barrier was solid and strong, keeping the two dimensions safely apart. Slowly fluctuating shades of blue signaled slight weaknesses, which were mostly ignored as such were common and unimportant. The colors that alarmed the agents to summon the commander were the concentrated splotches of orange above Annapolis, Maryland. Tiny dots of red would appear within the orange spots, then disappear, only to appear again elsewhere more numerous than before. The red indicated complete rupturing of the barrier--the kind that would allow passage to and from the dimensions.
"How much time would it take to get a good number of agents to Annapolis?" Enka inquired calmly as he perched on Aña's right shoulder.
"About half an hour," Aña replied, her voice quiet, "By then and at this rate of barrier deterioration, I estimate at least ten humans will disappear from this dimension and the same number of digimon will be brought here, roaming Annapolis."
"Ten?" Enka murmured, wondering where the number came from.
"It's more of a guess," Aña admitted. It was becoming increasingly clear that she was troubled as her Russian accent intensified. "Portals are very unpredictable, as you know. We don't have sufficient data due to the scarcity of barrier openings."
"There's a chance that nobody will go through the portal," an agent said hopefully.
"Don't count on it," Rose Ann said grimly, "These portals are opening and closing like there's no tomorrow. Commander, what's the plan?"
The room was quiet as the agents anticipated Aña's response.
"Agent Lewis, Enka, be ready to leave for Annapolis in exactly ten minutes," she barked, shattering the silence, "The rest of you record as much data as you can. In one hour, I want to know whether this rift is spreading and if it is, how quickly. Pay attention to the local news. Hack into social media. See if anyone has noticed this phenomenon. Enka, try to get in one of the portals. You and I will attempt to maintain communication as you guide humans trapped in the Second Dimension."
"And how am I to do that, exactly?" Enka asked, startled.
Aña answered him privately, {I do not know.}