by S. H. Marpel
Tess clipped my talk. “Fast, Carol, your time’s almost up. Finn and Erika are doing fine, right?”
I nodded.
“OK, then. Have them look for little lights in their peripherals. Ask them about it. That data is key...”
The wall went opaque at that point. Not quite our usual 5 minutes. Too bad we didn’t have time to end with smiles all around.
But at least they got me some great data to use to solve these ongoing puzzles.
I turned back to the console and slid in behind the nearest keyboard. Al the A.I. and I had some homework to do.
III
IT WAS AN OFFICE WITH tall shelves, all filled with books. Every possible naval reference I had ever heard of. Plus all sorts of technical manuals on radiation, reactors, steam propulsion. Technical manuals about submarines and aircraft carriers.
And one huge, obvious safe.
Otherwise, the room was only illuminated by the street lamps shining through the window. The decor was masculine, military. So a lot of dark wood and colors. Dominance. Control.
Of course, with all that office symbolism, it said that he owed everything to playing the Navy career game for most of his life.
But I wasn’t here for him. Or maybe I was. If he returned to his office overnight, like my last case, it would be a very final end to that career.
So we were changing his future here. Just by showing up a few hours early.
I decided for the two of us.
No, Finn didn’t like it. It was my choice. I was the best bait. Finn had to be backup.
The reason I over-ruled his choice was that I was better at being underestimated. Girl-type skills he’d never understood. Being a military brat got me used to appearing as merely background data for most men. And all the girls in my childhood either got tough or else.
That’s why I enlisted, too. To defend the freedom everybody deserved. To help everyone have an opportunity to become their best self, regardless of how or where they started out.
My best talent was in figuring things out better and faster than anyone I knew. And my brother and I always had each other’s backs. Just the way we grew up. So it made sense to serve along with him.
And now I’m sitting here, waiting. In one of the two visitor’s chairs. Furthest from the door. With a clear view of everything.
This white shirt-dress with it’s belt, puffy sleeves, and an almost too-short hem was little protection, and almost as little modesty. I picked it out from the closet of outfits that my borrowed identity and body kept. A gal has to use the resources at hand. All her resources.
Anyone coming in was going to get an eyeful. And this view was designed to throw them off their game. For a little while, anyway. Maybe split seconds. Time I could use to size them up and decide what to do.
But yes, Finn made me take a little backup this time. That little pistol-sized energy gun we’d gotten from one of their guys on that last case.
Finn was around somewhere. He could shift in anywhere where I was nearby. Just the way things worked. That’s why it made more sense for me to sit here and be the bait.
All this musing was interesting, but that’s as far as it went. My ears and eyes were constantly searching for anything in the dark room or outside it, anything different than dead quiet.
All these musings filled my mind while I waited. Otherwise, I was observing – everything. And figuring out what I could from just looking.
The one thing I wasn’t doing was cracking that safe or opening any desk drawers. Sure, that safe wasn’t a particular challenge. It was an older model. But I wasn’t here to go through the C.O.‘s papers, I just wanted to know what these goons were up to. To make an ID on them if I could.
My sitting here was just in the gray area of being legal as it was. And I couldn’t warn the C.O. to not visit his own office. All I could do was wait.
The hope was that the goons would show up before anyone else. Just like the last few times. All these murders were collateral damage, not the main purpose for the crime.
We still didn’t know how they were getting in, but I made Finn give me their weapon – the one we recovered last time. No, I didn’t know how to shoot it – other than point it as someone and squeeze what looked like a trigger. Sure there were other dials, maybe one that would avoid vaporizing people. All I knew about it was what I’d seen them do with it.
One good thing about having Carol around is that my memory was improving. Her treatments had made changes in me for the better.
Plus, now we had her team for backup, to figure out how we could solve this ongoing scene. Before we all either died or went into some sort of time-stasis.
My musings stopped right then.
Because someone was trying to be very quiet about walking down the hall toward this office.
IV
“AL, WHAT DO YOU MAKE of all that data on time-bending?”
“Carol, it’s fascinating.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
“Technically, no, since you’re the only girl I talk to, the plural doesn’t apply.”
I had to smile. Since I got some rudimentary voice circuits running, it was good to talk to someone, if only an A.I. It was hard to know if that was his idea of a joke.
“But the question is, Al, have you got a good understanding of what we know about time-space bending from what’s been submitted?”
“From what’s been submitted, yes.”
“What can you tell me about ‘little lights in our peripherals’ then?”
The A.I. was silent for a bit, which was probably a few hundred thousand or million computing cycles. “Carol, ignoring the data about visual ‘floaters’, these seem to indicate some other energy change. This would align to spatial shifts, particularly time-space ‘bending’, as these seem to be converting energy according to quantum physics understanding of the conservation of energy theorem.”
“In other words, Al, when we bend time, we can see these flashes out of the corner of our eyes.”
“Correct. At least as far as the data we have.”
“So is this an observation of these energy changes?”
“Apparently.”
“Is there any data that says this is all personal to time-benders themselves, that seeing these is only seeing their own energy?”
“Perhaps, but that’s not completely certain.”
“OK, Al. Thanks. Now, I’ve been watching since I’ve heard about it and noted that I can see these flashes when Finn comes in and out, if I look for them.”
“Thanks for that data, Carol.”
“This then points to this being a perception of someone bending time-space around the observer, whether they are part of the ‘bending’ or not.”
“That follows logically.”
I paused at this. “So, is there a way we can measure these externally?”
Al was quiet for a split second. “Some finer analysis of the energy usage does point to tiny energy spikes whenever there is a transition.”
That gave me a whole chain of thought to ponder.
“Carol, are you thinking?”
“Yes, Al.”
“Would it help you to think ‘out loud’?”
I had to smile at that. Al wanted in on my mind processes. At least he asked nicely. “OK, Al. Here’s where I arrived: these time-space bender-energy ‘spikes’ aren’t necessarily pulling from the power supply for Erika – is that right?”
A short silence. “Yes, Carol, you’re correct.”
“But what do we do with that energy? It’s not enough to power anything, and only occurs when some time-bender comes in or out.”
“Technically, these are space-shifting spikes.”
“So we can track anyone arriving and leaving.”
“Yes. Correct again, Carol.”
I smiled again. “Al, could you work up a circuit where we could track these?”
“Your wish is my command.”
That made me chuckle. Al was ever learning
– and well on his way to becoming a gentleman.
V
OUT OF THE QUIET, I next heard a set of lock picks in action – a quiet scratching at the C.O.‘s office door from the hallway side.
Shifting in my chair, I checked to make sure they’d really notice me when they looked around. Just to get their attention. And then I shifted again to make sure I was ready to spring into any action needed.
I wasn’t kidding myself that this was dangerous. But the next few minutes would tell. I could only trust that Finn was looking in on me.
The big door opened slowly, held by a gloved hand on it’s edge to keep it from any creaking. First one, then a second big goon came in through that door. Both were big guys, dressed in dark clothes. And night vision goggles on their faces. Any light in the room would alert someone they were there. They knew where the safe was and went right to it.
Since my chair was out of their direct line of sight, their focus didn’t reveal my position as they came in.
One of them went down to his knees to crack the safe. The other looked on, and waited.
His mistake.
Without moving more than my eyes, I saw the door handle move as someone in the hallway turned it. The door opened slightly. Then the room lights blazed on.
At that exact point, the office door was slammed shut.
Both goons turned, tearing off their goggles to get their vision back, their other hands pulled out the pocket weapon they each carried.
When their eyes adjusted, they saw me there, smiling. My own gun was in my hand pointing that them.
“Hi, boys. Looking for something?”
Grimaces appeared on their faces. They raised their handguns.
Right then, a guy appeared next to each of them. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair, wearing naval dungarees. Each an identical twin to the other. Both simultaneously grabbed that gun from each of the goons and twisted it out of their hands. A split-second later, the twins vanished along with the guns they’d wrestled away.
Shocked faces on the goons, as they looked at their buddy and then at me.
But before they could move, Red-haired Finn showed up just behind and between them. A quick move cracked their heads together with his broad hands.
As the goons twisted to attack him, he also vanished.
Eyes wide, they both then scrambled to get the office door open and out of the room. Their soft-soled shoes slapping down the hallway as they left.
Finn then reappeared, just where he’d been before. “You all right?”
I stood, rising as gracefully as possible to stay lady-like. “Sure. Just fine.”
Then I noticed the two goon’s hand guns had appeared on the C.O.‘s desk.
Finn had turned to the safe, which was now ajar.
Moving with a quick step, he went over and started examining what those goons had been after.
I came up behind him. “See what they were after?”
Finn nodded and put a couple of files on the floor to take a picture of their fronts with his special C.E.L. phone. Then returned them to the safe just as they’d been before, closed its door and spun the combination.
Standing, he answered my question. “Some secret files on nuclear power specifications, as well as some trial-run operational reports of the latest submarine power plant. Don’t know why those would be needed in a Nuclear Training School. But they’re locked up again.”
I put my hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Thanks for showing up and taking those weapons away.”
His eyes went wide. “They had weapons?”
I glanced at the guns on the desktop.
Finn’s eyebrows raised. “They had those?”
“You didn’t take them away from them?”
“No, I only busted their heads. Wait – was that guy here again?”
It hit me at that point, and I nodded. “You both look so handsome, even in dungarees, I thought you’d learned another trick of appearing in duplicate.”
He shook his head no. “That’s not in my tool kit. Must have been that ‘Will’ again.”
He leaned over to scoop up the two guns. I moved to the now open door and through it. Finn closed it and checked to make sure it was locked before we made our way out of the building into the dark streets beyond it.
VI
WE FOUND A FAST FOOD restaurant on the base that was open late.
After that adventure, our meals looked and smelled delicious. Hot cheeseburgers and cool shakes. Good for letting our nerves relax.
Carol and Finn were on one side of our booth, I was on the other. “So, Carol, what do you make of this ‘Will’ character who comes and goes as he pleases?”
Carol shook her head. “I checked all the records we have access to, and no one matching that description is in them. At least not any with time-bending skills. But tomorrow, I’ll get all the data we have to John so he can check with Ben and Tess.”
“Finn, you’ve been quiet – what do you think of him?”
Finn looked up from sipping his shake. “Sorry, lost in my thoughts, I guess. It’s weird that he showed up at those points with no explanation. I haven’t seen him in any of the files. At least we can suppose that he’s on our side. Other than that, we’ll have to wait and see.”
I put my hand down abruptly on the table top and almost slapped it as a result. “That’s where I’ve seen him before – he was in that Chicago job. Holding my coat and jacket in the engine room mock-up.”
Carol and Finn relaxed at that, since they also recognized him.
“Finn, have you had time to look over those handguns?”
“About the same as the one you have. There is a dial on them to adjust the power, which still makes them some sort of energy gun, but I still haven’t had time to do any testing.”
Carol frowned. “And while you have to stay somewhere near Erika all the time, they are each too big to get through the wall for someone else to analyze. Still, I can run some of the specs through Al and see what he can decipher.”
Finn turned to her. “And how is ‘Al’ the A.I. these days?”
“Getting more polite with every conversation. I think he found a copy of Emily Post somewhere. Or has picked up something from our talks. Since we got his new voice recognition circuits, I think he’s understanding more nuances from how I say things as well as what I say.”
Finn nodded. “As long as he stays polite, I won’t have to unplug him.”
Carol punched his arm. “Jealous of a machine?”
He just grinned.
It was fun to see those two together.
My own thoughts went to Will again. The other gentleman who’d come into my life.
Carol saw those thoughts cross my face. “Someone to dream about tonight?”
I smiled at her tease. “As long as those dreams don’t keep me from a decent night’s sleep. Speaking of which, Finn had better get started walking me home tonight. Maybe we can get some target practice in along the way.”
Finn grinned at that, and got up so Carol could leave.
After a light kiss and a hug, she did.
I stood as well. We cleaned up our wrappings into the nearest trash bin and went out into the humid Florida night.
Tomorrow was another day, just waiting to start.
And only four more to go – each with another set of mysteries to solve.
Including my mysterious benefactor, Will – who I somehow felt was watching over me, even now.
Book Universes Notes
All long series of books become complicated. The universes of these stories can mix and merge. There are short and long series, as well as crossovers. So we’ve begun the process of adding Book Universes Notes to each of them. This allows you to get links to the earlier materials that explain the character backgrounds and abilities, story arcs, and even easter eggs.
Please enjoy.
THIS STORY TAKES PLACE in the Orlando Naval Training Center, at what used to be the Nuclear Power School there.
Finn and Erotika (Erika) Jones were introduced in the first of this series – “The Saga of Erotika Jones 01”.
Carol was first introduced in “Time Bent“.
John, and Ben as mentioned, were first introduced in “Ghost Hunters“.
Tess was first introduced in “The Training: Tess“.
Pendants were first revealed in “A Case of Missing Wings“, while their use for data storage first showed up in “Moon Bride“.
The Chicago case was in Erotika Jones 02.
The Saga of Erotika Jones 05
BY J. R. KRUZE, S. H. Marpel
“Now is the moment of power.” - Ancient Hawaiian saying.
IT ACTUALLY HELPED that the hundreds of shoppers had vanished.
That meant they couldn’t be shot by accident while that gang of goons chased us with their handguns.
Of course, it was now more obvious exactly where we were.
I probably had it worst - dressed in pink like a stage performer. A long dress down to my ankles, with extra wide ruffles wasn’t the best thing to either run or hide in.
Yes, I left the high heels some aisles behind me. Fashion can’t replace staying alive.
What they were after, besides me and my brother, was anyone’s guess.
Right now, I was more concerned about myself. As my brother had disappeared.
And I counted at least four goons closing in where I was hidden.
Well, not hidden exactly. They just couldn’t get a good shot at me.
Yes, that’s called “pinned down”...
I
THE U.S. NAVAL BASE at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was hot all year round.
Air conditioned shopping was one of the necessary perks. Just because the only real store on the base was the Commissary didn’t mean it had to be a traditional open-air markets like those in Communist Cuba that surrounded our small base.
Small and secure also meant the people here could afford to be friendly to neighbors and hospitable to visitors.
