AJ held the bag of desserts out and Jayne grabbed a container without looking inside. Completely out of the blue, she leaned over and pecked AJ on the cheek before slipping into the building.
"What the heck, Doc?" he asked, reaching automatically for his cheek.
"Don't make it weird, AJ," she called through the closing door.
"Well, I'd say that went pretty well," Beverly said, jetting up so she sat on AJ's shoulder.
AJ stepped out of the Prius in front of Darnell's large, brick home. It was after ten o’clock and he wasn't surprised to see only a couple of lights on. It had been years since AJ visited his friend's home and he was surprised to discover that not much had changed.
He knocked on the front door, not wanting to ring the bell in case Lisa was sleeping. Consequently, he was quite surprised when Lisa cracked open the door and peered out. "AJ?" she asked, looking him up and down as she opened the door. "Is that really you?" In good shape for a woman in her late sixties, Lisa's only obvious signs of aging were short-cropped gray hair and a slight bend to her posture. Both she and Darnell had aged gracefully.
"Uh, Darnell asked me to come over," AJ said, apologetically.
Lisa nodded. "He's in a mood, AJ," she said. "Ever since those Koreans came to town, he hasn't been himself. You need to talk some sense into that boy."
AJ raised his eyebrows at her complaint. He felt he was the last one she'd talk to about Darnell. "He said something about a hostile takeover."
"Lost his pension, too," she said, waving him in. "You were lucky to get fired when you did."
"That bad?" AJ asked.
"We've squirrelled away money, but we were counting on that pension when he finally retired."
"Where's he at?"
"He had to run down to the plant. Something about cleaning up a mess," Lisa said. "Tell me, how come you're up and walking around? I thought the doctors said you wouldn't walk again. And you look good, too. Darnell said you lost weight."
AJ grinned and preened. "Come on, now! He's my best friend. Don't be making a run at me now that he's on hard times."
Lisa cackled and waved him off. "Always crackin' wise. You get a hold of this and you'd never know what hit yah. What’cha got in that bag?"
"Oh, right. Almost forgot," AJ said, handing the bag to her. "I brought dessert from the restaurant."
She opened the bag and peered in. "Hmm. Maybe I've been wrong about you all these years. Doubt it, though."
“Did he say when he was coming back? I kind of thought he was expecting me.”
“No, he said to apologize but that he’d see you in the morning. He’s hurtin’ bad, AJ. Talk some sense into him. We’ll make it through just like we always do.”
“He knows, Lisa,” AJ said, stepping back to the front door. “Enjoy that dessert.”
“See you soon, AJ.”
“Yup,” he replied, allowing the door to close. “BB, can you call the car service again?”
“Already on the way. Two minutes out,” she said from his shoulder.
“You called for a ride?” a man asked, pulling up next to the curb almost exactly two minutes later.
“Pacific Aerodyne,” AJ answered.
“No problem.”
Twenty minutes later, AJ stood in front of the building he hadn’t visited since he’d been fired. Darnell must have seen him pull up, because he called to AJ from a side entrance. “Over here.”
"Hey there.” AJ jogged over to his friend.
“Come on up.” Darnell led AJ up the back stairs and gestured toward his office. He followed AJ in, closing the door.
“Place is deserted. You worried about privacy?” AJ had always been proud of his friend’s accomplishments. He’d worked his way up the corporate ladder to a posh corner office.
“Just need to talk a couple of things through,” Darnell said, working his way around to the other side of his desk where he picked up an object from the credenza. Somehow, Darnell was holding the Fantastium containment unit he’d built.
"We doin' okay in here, buddy?" AJ asked, his eyes flitting between the containment unit and his lifelong best friend.
"You seem to be getting around all right," Darnell said, shaking his head ruefully. "As if my life couldn't get any worse."
AJ held his hands out, palms up peacefully. "Not exactly following."
"You'll have to forgive me. I'm just now getting used to this new host," Darnell said. "His memories are such a jumble. I don't know how he put up with that old bitch, either."
"Lisa?" AJ asked.
"AJ, we're in danger. You need to get us out of here," Beverly appeared in front of him on the desk. "This isn't your friend. Darnell has been taken over by a Korgul elite. This is not a lone wolf."
"How do they communicate?" AJ asked.
Darnell appeared to think the question was directed at him. "Far as I can tell, she tells him what to do and he cowers like a … looking for a suitable analogy. Oh, cowers like a whipped hog."
"Are you asking me, AJ?" Beverly asked. "They use their cell phones. The Korgul elite have a special communication band manufactured into every cell phone in existence. They only have to have physical contact with a device to call for help."
"I wouldn't go with hog on that," AJ said, easing his way to the desk where Darnell's phone rested next to the Fantastium device. "Word you’re looking for is dog."
Darnell nodded his head. "Where'd you find them? I assume you're looking like you do because of the Beltigerskians. You know how long we've been looking for those guys?"
"Thirty years, give or take?" AJ asked, snatching up Darnell's phone. Darnell merely chuckled.
"What's so funny?" AJ’s question was answered when Darnell picked up a shotgun from behind his desk and snapped the breech closed.
Fourteen
Crazy Eyes
AJ pulled back in shock as he looked into Darnell’s clouded eyes. The gun made his hijacked friend’s intent clear. With only seconds to act, he moved, but his reaction was too slow. A muzzle flash lit up the room and the left side of AJ's body jerked as his shoulder burned and his ear exploded in excruciating pain. Instead of disconnecting or losing consciousness, energy coursed through his body and he found a moment of near-perfect clarity. He dove over the desk and landed next to Darnell.
"Crap! Missed," Darnell grumbled.
Jumping up, AJ tapped into his adrenaline-fueled rage and smashed his fist into Darnell’s nose. He winced as he felt the old man’s cartilage crush under his fist. Stunned, Darnell’s eyes rolled back in his head as he stumbled back into the credenza, somehow swinging the gun toward AJ.
Knowing he was in trouble, AJ scrabbled around the end of the desk as a second gunshot tore into the carpet only a couple of feet from his head. Darnell meant business. "Fight it, Big-D!" AJ shouted as he scooted to the front of the desk.
"All circuits are busy. Please try your call again," Darnell answered in a sing-song taunt as he opened the shotgun and ejected two shells. AJ peeked over the top of the desk only to hear the chamber close.
"BB, give me a boost!" AJ roared as he pushed his back into the desk and rose up with everything he had. To his surprise, the desk lifted easily. A shot rang out, splintering the top surface and sending shards flying everywhere. Driving his legs into the carpet, AJ pushed against the desk, sliding it on two legs and forcing it toward the windowed wall.
"AJ, stop!" Beverly was waving her arms in front of his face, holding orange-tipped flashlights like you might see at an airport.
AJ's legs had become tangled and he stumbled as the desk attempted to right itself. Looking down, he found that he'd pushed the desk atop Darnell and his lifelong friend was trapped beneath its heavy bulk.
"Shit," he said, stumbling backward.
"Remove the power source from the cell phone," Beverly instructed. A blinking red outline in her projection showed where Darnell's phone had landed.
"What? Why?" AJ asked, still stumbling in the wreckage of Darnell's office.
"If he regains consciousness, he will call for reinforcements."
AJ nodded. His hands trembled as he picked up the phone and realized he would have no chance at removing the phone's back without extraordinary measures. Plucking the shotgun from Darnell’s limp grasp, he lined up on the phone and blasted it to smithereens, reeling in pain as the recoil jarred his arm.
"Holy shit!" He dropped the shotgun and reached for his wounded shoulder, blinking back the blackness that threatened.
"I'm sorry, AJ," Beverly said. "I'm blocking the pain as much as I can. The adrenaline bleeding off is not helping."
A groan from behind the desk drew his attention as he fought against the pain. "Okay," he grunted, kneeling next to the ruined phone. The shotgun blast had neatly peeled off the back of the device and he separated the battery from the wreckage. Still on hands and knees, he crawled over to his friend and patted him down for a second phone, feeling oddly disconnected.
"I think we’re clear," he said.
"We must go," Beverly said. "They will eventually realize Darnell has been compromised."
"Who will?"
"The local Korgul authority. We need to get moving. You’re in grave danger."
AJ shook his head. "I'm not leaving him."
"You have to. Even if we remove the Korgul rider from Darnell, the cell will find him. He’ll be killed."
"We'll figure out something," AJ said, removing the desk from atop his friend. "Can Korgul do that adrenaline thing like you did? Do I need to worry about him turning all Hulk on me?"
"Funny reference," she chuckled. "No. The Korgul do not become as entwined with their hosts as do the Beltigersk. They give up that capacity for the advantage of easily moving between hosts."
Darnell squirmed beneath the bulk of the desk. "You can’t win. There are millions of us. When I go missing, they'll come looking for me."
"One thing at a time." AJ balled up his fist and struck his old friend across the jaw.
"AJ! What are you doing?" Beverly asked, alarmed. "We don't strike prisoners."
Darnell's head lolled to the side, but he just grinned and spit blood from his mouth. "Love you too, buddy," he managed before AJ hit him again, this time knocking him unconscious.
"Ohh …" Beverly managed as understanding dawned. AJ didn't answer. Instead, he pulled Darnell's body from behind the desk.
"Don't get me wrong, I probably owe him at least one of those." AJ chuckled and yanked down the cords to the window blinds. He cut off several lengths and bound his friend's wrists behind his back. "Did you use my name when you called the car service?"
"No. I created a fictitious account,” she said. “I also accessed the building’s security system and removed the video evidence of your arrival.”
"Good thinking." AJ searched through Darnell’s clothing and located his car keys.
With the pain in his shoulder, moving Darnell was difficult. His friend was two hundred thirty pounds if he was an ounce.
"I'm gonna need to Hulk out again," AJ finally concluded as he unsuccessfully attempted to drag Darnell across the room.
"I can't," Beverly said. "I've already drained your adrenal glands. There's virtually nothing left."
AJ nodded and worked the problem, finally arriving at the inelegant solution of lifting his friend into the desk chair and wheeling him out.
"What are you doing, AJ?"
"We’re going to take the elevator," he said. "Any chance you can see where the security guard is? I’d hate to get busted at this point."
"Going stealthy." With a nod, Beverly transformed, her clothing switching to an all-black bodysuit, high boots, and stylized elbow-length gloves.
AJ pushed Darnell’s chair to the office door, opened it, and pushed him through.
“Don’t forget the containment unit,” Beverly said, highlighting the device that had skittered across the floor during the fight.
“Right, and while I’m thinking about it, can you invent a machine to extract the Korgul from Darnell? I'd prefer not to randomly shock him if I didn't have to."
"A suitable device is not difficult," she said.
AJ nodded, jogging back to his friend, containment unit and shotgun in hand. "Didn't think it would be."
"We can’t call a car service like this," Beverly said.
AJ jingled the keys to Lisa’s van. “Don’t need to. We’ll take Darnell’s vehicle.”
“How will you return it without raising suspicions?”
"I'm a junk man," AJ said and adopted the same cheesy German accent Beverly had used days before. "Vee have our vays of making things disappear."
"You truly concern me," Beverly said.
"Girls like bad boys," AJ said. "Now, I know you've said you'll only do this as a last resort, but what would you think about asking one of your crew to bond with Darnell?" AJ pushed Darnell’s chair into the elevator and pressed the button to take them to the first floor.
“I have not considered this,” she said.
He glanced around. “Are you sure the guard won’t see us?”
“I set off an alarm in Laboratory-Two,” Beverly said. “We should have sufficient time.”
AJ pushed Darnell through the lobby on the executive chair and used Darnell’s keys to let themselves out. He located Lisa’s van in the front row of the parking lot. By the time he got there, he was panting from exertion. He flung open the door, pushed Darnell into the front seat, and tossed the chair into the back.
"Darnell knows how to handle himself in a pinch. He was my pilot in 'Nam. We’ve been through more shit than you could imagine. We’re a helluva team."
"You do not need to sell me on this, AJ,” Beverly said. “I agree with your proposal, but you must know, our remaining crew members are different from Jack and Seamus."
"Different how?" AJ asked.
"Younger," she said. "It is unlikely one would interface with him as I do with you or even Jack does with Dr. Jayne."
"I'm not following." AJ was distracted, his shaking hand hovering over the horn in the steering wheel in response to a slow driver who was obviously texting. He pulled back, knowing it would not do to bring unwanted attention.
"The skill required to interface completely with a host's neural system is developed over many decades," she said. "In fact, 24-J and 32-F's survival during the Korgul attack was attributed to the fact they were too young and had not developed this interface yet."
"What about you, Seamus, and Jack, then? Why did you make it?" AJ asked.
"Seamus and I are on the other side of that spectrum. We were senior members of the crew. In fact, I was mission leader," she said. “Jack is young. We were lucky he survived.”
"So, you're old," AJ said flatly.
Beverly ran a hand over her hip and waggled an eyebrow. "Do I look old?"
AJ laughed and shook his head. "Got me there, BB. And thanks."
"For?" Beverly asked.
"Distracting me. Helping me to calm down," he said. "This is all pretty messed up."
"You seem to be handling the situation well, but you are welcome."
"Man, what are we gonna do about Lisa?" AJ asked, pulling past the gates into his junkyard. "How’s this going to work?"
"She cannot know about Darnell," Beverly said. “He must disappear. If the Korgul believe she knows of his whereabouts, they will take over her body. It’s likely they will interview her, even so.”
AJ stopped next to the ramp leading into his home and jumped out to retrieve his wheelchair. He took in the blood caked on his friend’s face. "Can you call Jayne? I'm gonna need her help getting Darnell patched up."
"Miss me already?" A lifelike bust of Amanda Jayne appeared in AJ's peripheral vision. "Jack said there was trouble, but that you had it handled. Anything I can help with?"
"Trouble isn't the right word," AJ said. "Korgul got to Darnell. I had to get creative."
"They know about us?" Jayne asked, concern etching her face.
"Not sure what th
ey know," AJ said.
"What do you need?"
"Can you come by the house? I think I broke Darnell’s nose. In my defense, he shot me. More than once. BB's gonna need help pulling pellets and splinters," AJ said.
Her eyebrows shot up. "You were shot? Are you okay?"
"Hurts like a bitch when I try to use my arm, but if I don’t move, I'm mostly okay."
"On my way."
"Good. By the way, I had fun tonight."
"Me too," Jayne said and then her image blinked out.
After loading Darnell into the wheelchair, AJ grabbed a couple of ratchet straps from the shop. By the time he got back to the chair, Darnell was waking up. Wasting no time, AJ ran the straps around his friend's chest, trapping his arms and taking care to lock him down tightly.
"You'll never get away with this," Darnell growled.
Greybeard jogged over to them with a towel in his mouth. “Thanks, buddy,” AJ cut a strip off. "Stop talking or I'll gag you.”
"What do you think was the first thing I did when I got access to your buddy's memories?" Darnell asked. "Maybe he didn't recognize the machines you were building, but I sure did."
"Have it your way," AJ said and tied the strip of cloth around Darnell's mouth. "BB, can you watch news channels and see if there are any reports out at Pacific Aerodyne?"
"It appears a call was made to the police department," she said. "The damage to Darnell’s office has been discovered."
"Shit!" AJ grabbed a screwdriver and the keys for his front-end loader.
"What are we doing?" Beverly asked.
"Ruining a perfectly good vehicle," AJ said. After removing both license plates, he drove the van to his old car crusher. While he'd lost maneuverability in most of the yard due to the piles of excess rocket parts, AJ had left a nice space in front of that machine.
Crushing cars had always been one of his favorite jobs and Lisa's van would be no exception. Climbing into the cab, he fired up the lumbering front-end loader. With the front bucket, he smashed down into the van, hooting as wheels popped and glass exploded outward. After taking two more punches, AJ hooked the bucket through the van's disfigured windshield and peeled back the roof, gently setting it to the side. For several minutes, AJ took care with the big machine to strip out the interior and engine compartments. It was more than he generally needed to do, but figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
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