Sam glanced at the basement door.
“Almost done, Maxie. I'm going to stroll out and you're going to do your rescue thing. You get any shitty ideas and this dead-man's trigger in my hand will set everything off. Once I get to a safe place, I'll disarm it all. Don't worry, I'm not into the symbolism of blowing this place up before they finish fixing it from our first attempt. And yes, that was a deep thought I just had. They have me drinking some pretty fucking good Kool-Aid.”
Sam again glanced at the basement door while keeping his gun trained at Carlos.
“What, nothing to say?” Carlos asked as he stood up. “Damn, they trained you a little better than I thought, except maybe that you've had the safety set on your gun this whole time.”
Sam gave his gun a quick glance. He couldn't tell if the safety was set, or knew what to do about it if it was. He had never held a handgun before.
Carlos chuckled. The expression on Sam's face was too telling. “Just keep one thing in mind, Maxie. We're even now. If there's a next time, I'm going to have to put you down.”
Carlos turned, opened the repaired french door, and casually strolled out. Sam fought an overwhelming temptation to un-safety the gun and shoot him. Instead, he started to open the basement door when he heard a shuffle come from behind him. He turned and leveled his gun and flashlight on the source. It was Laura. She was standing with the cell phone open at her side.
“What?” Sam gasped as he lifted the gun away. “What in the hell are you doing? Get out!”
Laura turned to exit as Sam started his way down the basement stairs. He reached the bottom and found Susan blindfolded and zip-tied to a chair in the middle of the basement. He quickly but carefully shined his flashlight around her for anything that looked dangerous. Once he was confident it looked safe, he lowered his gun and found a knife that was left on the ground nearby.
“Who is that?” Susan nervously asked as Sam squatted down and carefully looked her over for anything suspicious.
“It's me, Sues,” Sam spoke with an even voice as he took off her blindfold.
“Sam? What are you doing here?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I've been tied up here for a few hours, I think.”
Sam cut the plastic restraints away. “Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“We've got to get out fast.” Sam stood her up and pushed her forward to make a quick exit. They dashed up the stairs and almost tripped going through the sunken living-room to the front door.
“Sam, what's going on?” Susan asked as they left the townhouse.
“Long story,” Sam replied as an oversized, black SUV sped up the road towards them.
“Laura?” Susan asked as she caught sight of her waiting on the other side of the road.
The black SUV lurched to a stop and two figures emerged with their guns drawn. The driver looked familiar to Sam.
“Sam?” Hank quietly called out.
“Hank?” Sam asked in surprise.
“Everyone okay?”
“Yes and the townhouse is clear. There might be a bomb in there, but I didn't see one. What are you doing here?”
“Ross sent us,” Hank replied. “What's going on?”
Laura stepped forward and handed Hank the cell phone she was holding. “Mr. Ross wants to talk to you.”
“Colin?” Hank asked into the phone.
While they talked, Sam led Susan to the back of the SUV.
“Are you hurt?” Sam asked as he carefully sat her down on the bumper.
“No, I'm fine,” Susan calmly replied while looking around. “But I really need to go to the bathroom.”
Sam let out a deep exhale and pulled Susan into a bear hug. He started quivering as he brushed his hand on the back of her head. Laura stood and watched while Hank's partner, Eva, slowly walked around to check things out. She started to notice a couple of neighbors peeking out.
“So, are you going to tell me what just happened?” Susan calmly asked with her face buried in Sam's shoulder.
Sam gasped a chuckle as he gave her a long kiss on her forehead. “I'm sorry, I just don't know how much I can tell you right now.”
He released his embrace and Susan noticed what he was holding. “Is that a gun?”
“Yeah,” Sam blurted, trying to maintain his composure. Eva wandered back and gingerly took the handgun from him.
“I'm guessing this wasn't quite the joke Carlos claimed it was,” Susan remarked.
“Not really,” Sam said and turned to Laura. “And what were you doing in there? I told you to stay in the car.”
“Do you think I'm some sort of helpless ditz? I called Mr. Ross as soon as you left and told him everything you were doing. I volunteered to follow you with the open phone line so he could listen in.”
“How much did you hear?”
“Everything after Carlos said trap.”
Sam let out a deep sigh. “I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do.”
“A simple thank you would be a good start.”
“All right, everyone get in the car,” Hank quietly announced as he closed the cell phone. “We've got to get out of here.”
They all got into the SUV and Hank slowly drove off.
“Ross is calling in resources to check the townhouse for explosives,” Hank explained. “I'm taking you to a safe house in Westford to meet up with him.” Hank paused and looked into his rear-view mirror to Sam in the back seat. “So you stupid sonofabitch, you didn't get enough of this shit after our plane crash? You had to go looking for more?”
“Good to see you too, Hank, and there was no way in hell I was going to wait for backup,” Sam emphatically replied as he put his arm around Susan.
Hank chuckled. “Relax, kid. I probably would've done the same.”
“There was a bomb in there?” Susan innocently asked.
“We don't know,” Hank replied. “Look, sorry to be rude, but it's best we don't say anything more until we reach the safe house. We'll be able to sort things out there.”
* * *
It was a quiet ride to a lonely, ranch-style house set back off a wooded road. Two cars were already in the driveway when they pulled in. Colin opened the front door as they approached. Kyle was standing further inside. Silent greetings were exchanged until the door closed.
“Susan,” Colin greeted with a wide smile as he put his hand on her shoulder. “There's a bathroom down that hall.”
“Thank you,” Susan replied with a sigh of relief as she immediately headed there.
“Laura,” Colin continued. “I'm Colin Ross. It's nice to meet the voice on the other end of the phone. That was a courageous thing you did. Thank you. It helped a lot.”
“I'm glad,” Laura replied as she glanced to Sam. “But I feel a little stupid now for doing it.”
“Let's not worry about that right now.” Colin then turned to Sam. “Sam, I need to talk with you in the family room at the back. Hank and Eva, could you check around outside? Make sure you weren’t followed.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Hank replied as he and Eva exited.
“Laura,” Kyle said as he stepped forward. “I'm Dr. Kyle Huston. I'd like to sit and talk a bit with you right now. Why don't you have a seat while Colin and Sam take care of their business.”
Sam followed Colin to the back of the house where they found a family room. One person was sitting in a recliner and rose when they entered.
“Neil?” Sam asked.
“Hello again, Sam,” Neil replied with a big smile. “Very nice work. Thanks for getting her out.”
“What's going on here?”
Before an answer could be given, Susan entered and immediately went over to Neil. They locked in an embrace.
“Are you okay?” Neil said while choking back tears.
“I'm fine,” Susan replied in her typical cheery voice. “No damage.”
“I'm so sorry,” Neil shuddered as he released her.
“I'm sorry our
protection broke down,” Colin added. “They're far deeper embedded than I anticipated.”
“Than either of us anticipated,” Neil stressed with an affirming nod to Colin. He turned to Sam with a smile. “Sam, we have a lot to talk about. Please sit down.”
Sam slowly sat on the couch and Susan sat next to him. She wrapped her arm around him and gave a quick kiss on his cheek. “You were awesome.”
“First,” Neil began as he sat, “I'd like to officially introduce you to my niece, Susan.”
Sam turned to her with a perplexed expression. “Niece?”
“Surprise,” Susan said with a big grin.
“Well, not exactly my niece, but I'll get more into that later. Sam, I'm going to break a promise I made because our situation has gone completely sideways. You wanted a better look down the rabbit hole and you're going to get your wish. You deserve to know the truth. It was debatable if it was prudent to tell you before, but I'm convinced the time is now right. You need to be read in to the program, for real this time. So buckle up, Sam, what I'm going to share is going to change your world.”
Sam turned to Susan, who gave him a nod.
“You've seen and experienced a lot of strange things while working at Blanchard,” Neil continued. “The true purpose behind the company is probably the most deeply held secret in modern history. You don't know this, but you were hired to be eventually indoctrinated into a clandestine program. You've been under secret evaluation from the time you started until last fall. You passed their tests, and a panel of senior directors voted you into a five-year recruitment program. During this period, you would be slowly introduced into what they call The Initiative. However, I'm going to break a sacred protocol and tell you things that would've taken the next five years, or longer, for you to learn. I'm also going to tell you things that Blanchard doesn't yet know.”
Sam looked over to Colin. “Is this for real?”
Colin nodded. “Sam, every word. Please listen carefully.”
“Before I get into specifics,” Neil explained, “I need to walk you through a brief history lesson. Just bear with me, because this should help explain a very complicated situation. If you were to travel to Brazil, hike deep into the rainforests of the Amazon, chances are you'd eventually come across an uncontacted primitive Indian tribe. Imagine what they would think if you showed them your watch, cell phone, or even a simple credit card. They would have no perception of what these things are or do. The technological disparity between you and them would be enormous. Do you understand this picture?”
“Yeah,” Sam answered.
“Good. What if I were to tell you that a similar disparity existed a long time ago, say around 3000 BC? That there was a civilization back then that unlocked the secrets of science and technology far earlier than we know.”
“Wouldn't we have found out about this?” Sam asked.
“What if they didn't want to be known?”
Sam paused and smirked while looking around at everyone. “Is this some sort of test?”
Neil smiled and shook his head. “Wait until you hear the rest of the story. It's ironic how the reality you've been told is actually the fairy tale.”
“So, you're saying this isn't about corporate espionage?” Sam replied and turned to Susan. “Seriously?”
Susan grimaced. “Sam, you really need to listen.”
“Very few people know about the existence of an ancient race who were a small minority in the world at the time,” Neil continued. “Those of us who do still haven't learned a lot about them, including what they called themselves. They were intensely private and reluctant to share their knowledge. We do know that they progressed much further than our current levels of technologies. There are even a couple of us who have speculated that Plato based his fable of Atlantis off of surviving historical accounts, although that's still a highly debated subject. I've never agreed with that connection myself, but I digress.
“It isn't known what happened to them, but something terrible occurred, perhaps a natural disaster, or some sort of cataclysmic accident. It's not even known where on Earth they existed because whatever occurred nearly wiped out all traces of them. We have confirmed that around the time of their destruction, they were in the process of terraforming other planets and establishing small colonies somewhere deep in our galaxy.”
“Oh, come on now,” Sam moaned. “You're turning this into a wild science fiction story? How do you expect me to believe this? And how would you even know about colonies on other planets when you just said that you didn't know much about them?”
“Patience, Sam. I'll get into that in a minute.”
“Sam,” Susan beckoned. “Please stay with us on this.”
Sam turned to Colin. “Seriously?”
“Hear him out, Sam,” Colin replied. “Then you can figure out if you want to believe it.”
Sam smirked and reluctantly nodded to Neil.
“The off-world colonies they established eventually discovered that their homeland on Earth was wiped out, but decided not to return. So, they stayed out there and continued building. While many centuries of history unfolded here on Earth, great nations and empires rose and fell out there. War almost wiped them out at one point. During that time, many of their ancient historical records were lost, including those documenting their origins here on Earth. For a few centuries now, the races and nations out there have lived their existence completely unaware of where they really came from. But there was always one exception.
“There is a small civilization, or race, that mostly stayed hidden away. They were mainly record-keepers, historians, and philosophers. They never lost account of their origins and continued to keep an eye on things back here on Earth. After the cataclysmic wars, they saw how destructive the other races could be and decided that the existence of Earth needed to be kept secret. During the great reconstruction, they either allowed or manipulated any knowledge of Earth to fade into obscurity. Stories of Earth eventually turned into legends and were replaced by a number of other plausible scientific explanations explaining their origins.
“Recently, the well guarded secret of Earth somehow leaked out. Another obscure race started journeying back here about fifty years ago. They've been making regular visits in secret. The true purpose of these visits is still a mystery, but after many years of investigation, we're certain they're not friendly.”
Sam snickered. “So, you're saying that all those stories of alien visitations and abductions are true?”
Neil shared a laugh with Colin. “No, hardly any of them are true. Our government has been investigating these stories for years before concluding that something was really going on in the midst of them. The abduction stories, real or not, started blowing up into preposterous tales. We're especially amused when we hear about little gray aliens with large heads and black eyes.”
“Roswell,” Colin said with a chuckle. “That's the one that always makes me laugh.”
“In order to continue investigating in secrecy,” Neil continued, “the Air Force launched Project Blue Book back in 1952. This was nothing more than a veiled distraction so the real investigation could continue in total secrecy. Blue Book was terminated in 1970 because it was all turning into a three-ring circus. From there it got much worse. Any nut-job with a bad dream who screamed alien abduction got way too much media attention.
“It wasn’t until the early 1980s that we started to get definitive proof that we were being visited. This culminated with a watershed event in 1981. A team of government investigators made accidental contact with them, which resulted in five of the seven investigators being killed. It became clear that whoever they were, they were hostile. From there, a sealed presidential order was given to form a secret committee to address the issue. This committee concluded that further investigation and an appropriate defense against this growing threat was urgently needed. They also recommended that this new endeavor shouldn't be run by the military. In fact, they went to great lengths to limit
government involvement because, well, let's face it, our government has always been a colossally dysfunctional mess that couldn't keep a secret this big. So they privatized the endeavor. It would be simply known as The Initiative. That's when the Blanchard Corporation came into being.
“Merrill and I started it. While Blanchard is a legitimate company which conducts business, it's for outward appearances only. Their true purpose is to investigate and develop a defense against these incursions. Numerous projects are underway, all to formulate and deploy a new and advanced defense organization. Dignosco is one of these projects. It's a central part of the first phase of The Initiative: detection. The second phase is interdiction. It's all still a while off before anything is deployed, but you've been caught up in some astonishing recent events. You were on the test flight that was able to successfully track them coming out of the upper atmosphere. Unfortunately, they took exception to that and shot you down.”
“So it really did come from the exosphere?” Sam asked.
Neil nodded. “Just before you and Hank Tiller were rescued, you engaged in a brief skirmish. You fired on one of them before being hit by that electrical charge. One of your bullets managed to penetrate their sophisticated body armor and wounded one of their operatives. This enemy combatant, or EC as they like to call them, died during the evacuation. Despite that, you scored an unexpected jackpot. Never before has one of them been captured, dead or alive. It was a treasure trove of information. They've been after an EC for many years, sometimes coming close, but never close enough. In fact, no one expected to capture one for several more years.
The Initiative: In Harm's Way (Book One) Page 22
