by J E Grace
My head still hurt. I had to stay awake though. It was most likely that I had a concussion. Duty called. I had to try to make my way to the bathroom to relieve myself.
I took the journal out of my shirt and tucked it underneath one of the couch cushions. I couldn’t tell Michael or anyone about it. Could that be what they were looking for?
I slowly rose to my feet and steadied myself by holding onto the back of the sofa. When the room quit spinning, I inched my way along by holding onto the walls and door frames. The hardest part was trying to sidestep all the contents that were now everywhere. There was nothing like actually being able to see it, to get the full effect.
Upon my arrival to the bathroom, and completion of my necessary bodily functions, I reached into the medicine cabinet to find something to relieve the terrible throbbing in my head. The first bottle I touched was some painkillers I had saved from a prior muscle strain. Deciding they would have to do, I dumped a couple into the palm of my hand and filled the empty glass with cold water. I hoped it wouldn’t be long until the medicine took effect.
Chapter Seventeen
Within twenty-four hours my condo was almost back to normal. Most of the work was completed by Michael per my instructions. He had kept his vow of silence, as I knew he would.
Michael had met with Reginald to let him know that I was under the weather. It was accepted without question.
The next stop on his agenda was to visit Jeanette. She was up and seemed cheerful enough.
“Michael, what a nice surprise. Are those for me?” she asked glancing at the beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“If they aren’t, I’m at the wrong house.”
“You’re such a joker. How does your wife put up with you?”
“Very delicately,” he said with a grin.
“Come in. You’ll catch your death out there,” she said as she took the bouquet from him and motioned him to enter.
Her condo was elegantly decorated, and there was a sense of order and style that reflected her personality. The living room contained Impressionistic paintings of Renoir on the walls and the furniture mirrored that period. There was a sense of elegance about it, much different than what he was used to.
“Have a seat while I put these in water. Would you like some coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”
“You know me. I run on the stuff. Thanks.”
After she left, he glanced around the living room. He couldn’t help wondering how such a beautiful woman could live in surroundings like these and not want to share her life with someone. She had so much to offer. He was confident Davis was sweet on her. It was evident from observing how they looked at each other. Who knows maybe there was hope for the two of them yet?
Jeanette entered the room carrying a tray with a coffee pot and two cups.
“Let me help you with that. You don’t want to overdo it.”
“Oh, I think I can manage. Have you seen Davis? He usually comes to see me or at least calls, and I haven’t heard a word from him,” she said pouring the hot, steaming coffee.
“As a matter of fact, I saw him earlier. Our visit was cut short. He has a mild case of the flu, and I didn’t want to take any chances of getting it. He said to tell you hello and that he misses you.”
“Tell him I won’t bother to disturb him. Have him call when he feels up to it.”
“I will. How are you feeling? Are the therapy sessions helping at all?” he said taking a sip of coffee.
“Sometimes I think they are and then I have a bad night. I can’t seem to get the explosion off my mind,” she said as she leaned back onto the sofa. A small tear collected in the corner of her eye and quickly wiped it away.
“You’re too hard on yourself. You went through a terrible ordeal. Anyone would have trouble coming to grips with a thing like that. Just give it time. We’re all behind you. If you ever just need to talk, I’m here for you. Carol wants you to call her. She wants to help too.”
“I’ll call her, I promise. It’s just so hard to get motivated to call anyone. I ‘m afraid I'm falling into a depression that I can't get out of.”
“Maybe it’s time to call the doctor and make another appointment. They have medication to help with that sort of thing. Make the call, okay?”
“I will. Thanks for stopping by, Michael. Since I’m not working now my days, seem to drag. It’s nice to see a friendly face.”
“That’s me. Mr. Friendly face, USA.”
Jeanette couldn’t help but laugh, which made Michael smile. He gathered her hands in his and told her to get some rest.
She stood in the doorway waving as he made his way to the elevator. She felt fortunate to have co-workers that were also caring friends. They didn’t realize just how much she needed them and she was glad they were there for her.
Since her accident, she had gone from a healthy, self-sufficient woman to someone she hardly recognized anymore. It had taken all the strength she had inside to get to that point in her life, and now it had been destroyed in one event.
She never thought she would recover from Frank’s death, but she had. Now she had become timid and unsure of herself. At times, she had trouble determining if the dreams were really dreams or if she was really there experiencing it all over again. Would they ever stop?
Jeanette had come to rely on her relationship with Davis. He had become her source of strength and her will to get better. She had never meant to have feelings for him, but she knew she did.
She was afraid to love again. The thought suffocated her, making all the ghosts lurking inside wrap her with their robes of insecurity. She didn’t want to think about going through the same pain again with someone else.
She had always considered herself a good judge of character and Davis had passed with flying colors. He was precisely the type of man she would want to spend the rest of her life with. Davis was compassionate and caring, and most of all gentle. He was someone she knew she could count on.
She had come close to acting on her feelings a couple of times. At the hospital when she woke up, and he was sitting beside her, it made her heart sing. She felt the closeness that she hadn’t felt since Frank and thought she would ever feel again.
She regretted never having children. The time just seemed to slip away. At first, they used the excuse that they wouldn’t be able to give enough time to a child because of their work commitments and long hours. Actually, the fear of being left alone with a child was more of concern to her. Therefore, a child never became a reality.
It was ironic with all the new developments she was a part of every day, that she couldn’t control the one thing that was a curse to her life, the fear of loving and losing. Maybe she could learn to trust again. If it could happen, it would be with Davis. She would just have to take it slow. He would understand. He had patience.
Chapter Eighteen
I was finally recuperating from my ordeal. I had spent the last three days trying to make heads or tails out of the codes within the journal. The one thing I was able to decipher was that Doug had been a part of some renegade regime. There were references to an order called the Fallen and another to an entity referenced as the Zarion. I had spent hours of relentless decoding with the help of my computer system to bring up nothing useful. Its real meaning was hidden deep within the strange language that appeared on the pages. I had to get into the computer system at Interplay. I wasn’t ready to go to Reginald with it yet, but how would I get into their highly secured system? Somehow, I knew the answers were there.
In the meantime, I would try to run some more tests on the newly recreated files in the lab. We had been successful in recovering most of the lost data. I would go over the DNA results we had found in the last sample from our mission. That would complete the final process. Maybe then I would get some precise answers. Who knows where it might lead?
Since I didn’t know whom I could trust, I felt the best plan was to contact McKenzie. We had worked together at SFAI and had watched each o
ther's backs on numerous occasions.
~
McKenzie lived on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. He had built a roomy two-story log home on twenty acres and was miles from any civilization. It was perfect for his first love, computer hacking. He was the best in the business and if anyone could get into Interplay, he could.
I picked up my secure cell phone and made the call. Within a couple of rings, McKenzie’s raspy voice came through loud and clear.
“Who’s calling?” he answered swallowing down hot coffee. This better be important. The sun wasn’t even up yet.
“I see you’re still your old, charming self.”
“Davis. I don’t believe it! How long has it been?” he said looking out the windows of his living room that overlooked the meadows. In the distance, the sun was just rising, casting a luminous glow on the ground, now heavily laden with newly fallen snow.
“Too long. I have a situation, and I need your help.”
“You know you can count on me. What’s up?”
“I’m working outside of Washington, D. C. for an agency called Interplay. I need you to hack into their computer system and retrieve some files. Don’t ask me to explain why. You just have to trust me on this one. The less you know, the better.”
“No problem. I’ll just need the names of the files I’m looking for. There isn’t a system I haven’t been able to hack yet.”
“Write this down. Anything referenced to the Zarion or Fallen, my complete personnel file, and files on Doug Pierson, and Randall Stevenson. I need them downloaded from your system to mine directly. I’ll take care of copying them to a disc. This is urgent. I need it as soon as possible.”
“I’ll get right on it. Where can I reach you?”
“Use my secure line at 425-589-6140. Call when you’re ready to send. I’m counting on you, buddy.”
“Someday, when this is all over, we need to get together,” he said. This was going to be a long day, and he would need a lot more coffee.
“I’m looking forward to it. Talk to you later,” I said pushing the button disconnecting the call.
~
I paced the living room of my condo. McKenzie had to come through. A lot was riding on it, but I didn’t know if I was prepared for the outcome. The way everything was playing out, I could only expect the worse.
I dressed in my sweats and decided to go for a run. It was a blustery day outside, but a jog would help with my mood. It would clear my head, and I did some of my best thinking then. When I was done, I would shower and work on the DNA info I had copied onto a disc from the lab. I put all thoughts out of my mind long enough to enjoy a hot shower. The injuries from the incident were behind me now, only the memories and unanswered questions remained.
I was just coming out of the shower when the phone rang. I wrapped a towel around my waist and answered it. Jeanette's voice came through on the other end.
“Hello, Davis. I haven’t heard from you, so I called to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine. I just got back from a run. How are you doing?”
“Good days and bad. Why don’t you stop by later and we can talk?” Jeanette said hoping she didn’t sound too desperate. She missed Davis terribly and needed extra support.
“I’ll come by around two. I have a few things I need to do. See you then.”
I hung up the phone. I had picked up some kind of urgency in Jeanette’s voice. Was she still having trouble sleeping and coping with the nightmares? I had hoped that she could finally put them to rest. No need to worry about it, as I would find out soon enough.
I flipped the switch and powered up my computer. When everything had loaded correctly, I reached into my briefcase and pulled out a series of discs. Before my downtime, I had copied the necessary DNA files from the reconstructed data. There were a couple of things I wanted to check out in the privacy of my condo.
I popped the disc into the system, and it hummed as it booted up the info. The screen lit up displaying a long chain of DNA. Where do I start first? This strand was from the same set of samples that someone had tried so desperately to keep me from studying. I began striking the keys with a furious rhythm. Before me the sets of data rapidly changed, displaying numerous results. I had to keep at it. I had a feeling that somewhere among all the unlimited data, an answer was lurking.
I had worked for hours with nothing substantial jumping out at me. I checked my watch to discover if I didn’t leave immediately, I would be late to Jeanette’s. I shut down my computer and made my way to the elevator.
~
It was late that evening when I returned home. Jeanette had made dinner and had insisted I stay to enjoy it. I was right in feeling concerned about her frame of mind. She seemed more than a little unnerved. Towards the end of the evening though, she had appeared to relax. The color in her cheeks had returned making her look vibrant. Maybe she just needed a little more time. However long she needed, I would be there for her.
I still hadn’t had any word from McKenzie, but then it was too soon. I decided to turn in for the evening. I had done enough contemplating for one night and what I needed now was a good night’s sleep. As it happened, I was out the minute my head hit the pillow.
~
It was four-thirty a.m., and I tossed and turned, unable to go back to sleep. I finally got up and put the coffee on to brew while I took my morning shower. I let the hot water beat over my shoulders and emptied my mind of all thoughts. I felt myself relaxing, floating in a comfortable place. Then it came to me.
I stepped out of the shower, hardly able to contain my excitement. I dressed and made my way to the kitchen where the coffee had just finished filling the pot, and its rich aroma filled the air. I would boot up the computer and take another look at the DNA structure and then look at Doug’s journal.
Chapter Nineteen
The next few days went by like a whirlwind. I helped Michael finish rebuilding the final data from the lab.
I had been right about my hunch. I knew that I would be able to understand the journal entries. It mentioned the landing platform on the top of the observatory building. How long had they been landing there? Doug had been working hand in hand with the Fallen. Somehow, I knew that he hadn’t died in the explosion. Maybe the DNA sample Interplay said they found there was a plant. I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I took a look at the roof. The phone rang breaking my current flow of thought.
“Hey, Davis. I have some info for you. Ready to download,” asked McKenzie.
“You, bet. Give me about five minutes then go ahead,” I said as I hung up the phone and prepared the computer to receive the data.
The data started loading onto the disc I had placed in the drive. There was more than I had expected. It took two discs to hold it all. When it was complete, I called McKenzie.
“Everything came through just fine. I knew I could count on you. It’s going to take a while to sift through it all. Are you sure you weren’t detected?”
“Positive. Interplay won’t even know I’ve been there, much less copied confidential files. How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. I’m just trying to sort all this out. It’s mind-boggling and exhausting.”
“Be careful. You’re messing with the big dogs. I checked into some of their activities. There’s a higher power involved, and the person's identity is untraceable. Even with my hacking abilities, I couldn’t break that code. Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks. I will. Talk to you later.”
So maybe I was in a little over my head. I’d been used to challenges all my life, but this time was the ultimate one.
I spent the next couple of days working endless hours going over the information McKenzie had gathered. I started by going through my own personal files. I wasn’t surprised by any of the routine paperwork in my files, but one piece, in particular, hit me right between the eyes. It was my termination from SFAI. Everything was as expected, except for the notation at the bottom of the order. My termination
was requested and signed by Reginald Livingstone of Interplay and dated thirty days before the notice given to me by SFAI. I had been set up. For some reason, they had arranged my termination from SFAI and my new position at Interplay.
It had been a well-orchestrated plan. Had Reginald initiated my re-assignment or was he just a pawn in this devious plan too? Maybe I would never find out. I had to dig more into the other files.
I went through Randall and Doug’s personnel files. There was nothing out of the ordinary in either one. Doug had numerous warnings for minor infractions of service that didn’t really surprise me. What did seem odd is why they had kept him on in spite of them. His death was classified as an accidental one confirmed by DNA samples from the lab. I wasn’t convinced.
I loaded another disc on the computer and started scanning more files. One, in particular, caught my eye, “Agreement for Protection.” What was that all about?
I scanned the document in disbelief. It appeared that Interplay had signed a contract with the Fallen. They were to arrange protection in case of an attack on planet Earth. It was approved one year before I started at Interplay. Interplay had sold out the American public. Their protection was an exclusive one for them only.
Boy, it looked like McKenzie had reason to be worried.
~
I had invited Michael over for dinner so I would have the opportunity to talk with him without interruptions. We had just finished, and we decided to relax on the deck outside. The night breeze was cool, but not uncomfortable.
“Why do I get the idea you didn’t just invite me here for dinner,” asked Michael sipping on his glass of chilled white wine.
“You’re pretty perceptive. Actually, I need a favor.”
“After what you went through, anything. I consider us more than co-workers, we’re friends.”
“I can’t go into any details because of the sensitive matter involved, but I need to do some private investigating on my own. I need your help and want you to know up front that you’re putting yourself on the line if we’re discovered.”
