The Initiative: In Harm's Way (Book One)

by Bruce Fottler

  “Is there any chance to get the band back together?”

  Colin smiled. “We might find out sooner than you think.”

  They heard a knock at the door. Colin rose and carefully opened it. Neil slipped in and Colin conferred with his escort.

  “Good morning, Sam. How are you doing?”

  “Doing well, I guess. Want some coffee?”

  “Certainly, thanks.”

  Sam retrieved another mug as Colin closed and locked the door.

  “So?” Sam asked as he poured the coffee. “Anything new?”

  “My team swept through your old townhouse last night,” Colin reported. “They found a large home-made fertilizer bomb in a basement closet wired to a crude radio detonator. It was big enough to take out the duplex and cause a lot of collateral damage. They found a trigger transmitter upstairs in the living room, no doubt placed there to provide possible fragments as evidence in the aftermath. They also found an envelope at the complex's postal building. It contained a suicide letter from you confessing to certain other bombings, including the one in your car. It gave a lot of specific detail that would doubtless tie you to the other bombings the FBI is currently investigating. I'm also having my people look into the purchase records of the bomb material in your townhouse because I'm sure it all would’ve been traced to you. The Feds are particularly sensitive about fertilizer bombs these days.”

  “Oh, shit,” Sam fumed as he handed Neil his coffee.

  “Welcome to the big leagues, Sam,” Neil cynically retorted as he reached for the sugar.

  “Don't worry about it. We'll be able to clean it up and no one will ever know how close you got to becoming the next infamous domestic terrorist.”

  “Susan said she thought Carlos was under the influence of a drug of some sort,” Sam said.

  “Did you check the toilets?” Neil asked Colin.

  “It was there as you thought,” Colin replied with a satisfied smile. “I'm running the enzyme test you gave me.”

  “Toilet?” Sam asked.

  “If those drugs were being used on Carlos, there's a certain enzyme that will turn up in his urine,” Neil explained. “One of the side effects of this class of drug is frequent urination. Carlos was at your old place long enough that he obviously needed to use the toilet. Since the water is still shut off to the unit, he couldn't flush it.”

  “How does this drug work?” Sam asked.

  “It's extremely complicated,” Neil replied. “This type of drug works to rewire neural pathways in specific areas of the brain. It slowly changes thought patterns and processes, allowing the subject to be far more susceptible to new or radical ideas. There are limits to the effectiveness and it can be unpredictable, so I'm told. Strong emotional bonds can be difficult to overcome. It's possible that your friendship with Carlos was just enough to save you.”

  “It was probably more about Angela than me,” Sam reluctantly conceded.

  “Or both,” Neil interjected. “Carlos needs to be found soon or the effects will become permanent.”

  “If he's even still alive,” Colin added somberly. “There was likely a price to pay for his generosity.”

  “Good,” Sam coldly remarked.

  “Sam, what he's doing is not his fault,” Neil implored.

  “I really don't give a shit,” Sam rebutted.

  “He was probably recruited against his will,” Neil added.

  Sam grew frustrated. “How did they know so much about everything? You know, like the bombings the FBI was investigating?”

  “Sam's right,” Neil said to Colin. “They seem to know about a lot of key details. I think it would be a good idea to widen our enzyme testing.”

  “I've already started testing my security teams, and we'll work out from there.”

  “What about you?” Sam asked Colin.

  Neil reached over and patted Sam on the shoulder. “We both got tested last night. All clear.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don't apologize, Sam,” Colin affirmed. “It was exactly the question that should have been asked.”

  “Which leads us to you,” Neil said as he held up a plastic sample container. “When you're ready.”

  Colin's cell phone rang and he pulled it out. “Ross,” he grumbled into the receiver. “Yeah, thanks.” He closed his phone and turned to Neil. “The test on Carlos was a strong positive.”

  “That's actually good news,” Neil said. “It means he's still receiving doses. In all, it takes about six months of daily doses before the effects of the drug are permanent. If we find him soon, we should be able to detox and reverse most of the damage.”

  “Most of the damage?” Sam asked, barely enthused.

  “I'm told it varies person to person, as well as for time exposed,” Neil cautiously replied.

  “If we can find him,” Colin mumbled.

  “What about Merrill and the board?” Neil asked. “It seems to me there aren’t too many people in The Initiative who have access to the information needed to get at Sam. They must have assets placed up higher.”

  “I agree,” Colin said. “I'm arranging a test for Merrill today.”

  “How do you--” Sam started to ask but stopped himself. “Maybe I shouldn't know.”

  Colin smiled. “It's actually simple. Our weekly staff meeting is still on schedule for this afternoon, and he usually takes an after-meeting piss in the mens room. We'll make sure he gets a larger mug of coffee than usual and then shut off the water to the bathroom. One of my operatives will pose as a plumber and will be in the bathroom to give him the okay to use the urinal. He takes a piss, can't flush it, and we have our sample.”

  “What if it's past the six-month time period?” Sam asked.

  “We'll still be able to pick up trace amounts for up to eighteen months. It'll help determine how long anyone has been turned against us.”

  “So, what if Mr. Drake is on the drug?” Sam asked.

  “We'll have to wait on the other test results to see how far into the company the infiltration goes,” Colin replied. “If it's just him, and it's within six months, we'll arrange a detox. Otherwise, we'll have to consider other, more unpleasant ways to deal with him.”

  “And if he isn't on the drug?”

  Colin smiled and turned to Neil. “Then he gets a trip to your safe house for a reunion and a private briefing.”

  “How wonderful,” Neil lamented.

  “Did you think you could come back into this without working with him at some point?” Colin asked. “You two are way overdue for a little face-to-face time, don't you think?”

  Neil sighed. “Okay, I'll give it a go.”

  “Good,” Colin affirmed. “Are the company computer systems secure?”

  “Done,” Neil confidently replied. “Now that I know how they operate, I replicated the Blanchard system so it'll appear to them that they still have access. Whatever they do won't harm anything and we can trace any future hacks.”

  Colin looked at his watch. “I've got to get going. Lots to prep for.”

  “Good luck,” Sam wished as Colin headed for the door.

  “Just let my people know when you're done here, Neil. They'll make sure you get back to the safe house.”

  “Thanks, old friend.”

  Colin exited and Neil turned to Sam. “Is your head still spinning after last night?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Questions?”

  “Plenty.”

  “What's your biggest one?”

  Sam sat and collected his thoughts. “Humans from another part of our galaxy? How do you know it's not total bullshit? I mean that's what I started to think after I had some time to process it.”

  “You're right. I thought the same thing many years ago, too. A great deal has happened since then. Besides our extensive investigations that you haven't seen yet, there's the little fact that I actually made a trip out there.”

  “Out where? Another planet?”

  “Yes,” Neil replied with
a nod. “Another planet.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Quite. It was shortly after I left Blanchard. On rare occasion, The Watchers arrange to take one of us for a visit. Being off-world also helped me to drop off the grid here.” Neil paused and smiled. “The NSA had all the government agencies scouring the globe trying to find me.”

  “What was it like out there?”

  Neil took in a deep breath. “It's impossible to sum up in a few words. I was there for only six months, but I feel like I could write several books about what I saw. About a dozen planets in that region were terraformed centuries ago. I only visited one of these planets, which was The Watcher's home world. Their technology and architecture is amazing, which hardly begins to describe it. I'll just say that I've more than confirmed the whole story. So, Sam, you'll have to take my word for it. It's all real.”

  “So, humans out there can create planets?”

  Neil chuckled. “Not hardly. Terraforming is only transforming what's already there. Despite all the magnificent wonders of their technologies, I made one overall observation. It's really a tragic irony. Regardless of their incredible advances, their ecosystems are remarkably simple when compared to Earth's. In fact, every terraformed planet out there isn't even close to achieving a self-sustained ecosystem. After centuries of progress, they still have to artificially intervene on a massive scale to maintain an environmental balance. A good part of their economies are dedicated to this perpetual endeavor. It's sad, really. When compared to our ecosystem here on Earth, they're all merely a pale likeness for which they pay a massive price to maintain.”

  “A lack of raw materials maybe?”

  “No, they have all the raw materials they need. They can grow or synthesize most anything they want. It's simply that they're incapable of creating a design sophisticated enough to establish a self-sustaining ecosystem. The math and complexities are still way beyond them. It's actually quite comforting.”

  “Comforting?”

  “Yes, in that there are things only God can handle.”

  “So, this is your idea of a come-to-Jesus moment or something?”

  “Sorry, I didn't mean it that way.”

  “Second question. Are you up to settling your differences with Mr. Drake?”

  Neil smiled. “That's a much tougher question. You should have led with it.”

  “What will it take?”

  Neil's smile quickly turned to a frown as he stood up to stretch. “When Merrill and I started this thing, we were set up with a budget in the millions of dollars. No one asked or cared how we spent the money so long as they got results. That sort of power can be awfully tempting, but we did pretty well holding it in check. Then the millions turned into billions. That sort of money changes people, no matter how hard you try to resist. Merrill was letting it control him. It was starting to get to me, too. The more money that rolled in, the more Merrill did to protect it. It just reached a point where I had to cut myself loose before, well, I looked the other way too much. He was doing things that were well over the line, but he'll always insist it was necessary to protect The Initiative.”

  “So you don't think you can settle things with him?”

  “I wish it were as easy as the way you settle things with Susan.”

  “That's a lot different. She puts up with a lot from me.”

  “That's not the impression I get from her.”

  “She's good at hiding it, obviously. I also hate disappointing her.”

  “She thinks the world of you, Sam, and she's always been an excellent judge of character. When she first came to us, she was a young woman locked in the body of a nine year-old girl. She may have been beyond the need to have a father, but I'm as proud of her as though she was my own daughter.”

  Sam rose to put his empty mug in the sink. “I'm very curious about these Watchers. Why don't they just give us the technology we need to defend ourselves?”

  “We can't use their technology because it's incompatible. It's too far ahead of us. But since my visit to their world, I've been able to work more closely with them to refine our technological developments. They feel that we can adequately defend ourselves by building on our current technologies. It also masks their involvement since the other races are unaware that we exist.”

  “Why is it so important to keep us a secret?”

  “If the other races found out about us, not only are we at risk, but several treaties that protect the sovereignty of The Watchers would be jeopardized. The Watchers have always been in a convoluted diplomatic balancing act of trying to keep themselves out of the cross-hairs of civilizations that could join together to easily wipe them out. So they go to great lengths to keep us a secret.”

  “What about this other hostile race? What do they want?”

  “We don't know. We obviously have something they need, and there's been no shortage of theories about what that is. Some guesses have been ruled out, but nobody's been able to move one particular theory higher on the list than any other. Trying to define a pattern out of their known visits has been futile, but they seem to be as committed to keeping our existence as much of a secret as The Watchers do.”

  “What do we know about them?”

  “We know they come in small teams using a short-range, all-purpose craft for atmospheric travel. While advanced, this craft is still far too small to contain the power systems and propulsion to achieve interstellar travel. We're guessing they have a larger craft somewhere nearby to stage from, although it's never been seen. Several satellites have been tasked to look for it. The Watchers have also made cursory looks without finding anything, but they have to be careful about how hard they search. They don't want to be caught looking.”

  “Maybe this race just wants to take over?”

  “It could be that simple, but they also could have done that a long time ago. No, there's something else going on or they would've bombed us back into the stone-age by now.”

  “Was I really the first to kill one of them?”

  “Yes, you were. The Initiative has been trying to grab one for many years, and have special tactical go-teams positioned all over the world in an attempt to catch them at a landing site. Current radar systems have too much difficulty tracking them, which makes it a formidable task just to plot their landings. They've managed to get a team in the right area a couple of times but still couldn't get on top of them before they left. One of those teams pulled you and Hank out after the crash.”

  “I thought they were military.”

  “They're comprised of experienced ex-military personnel who now work for The Initiative. They operate out of high probability areas and use V22s they have on loan from the Marines. They're faster than helicopters, but they still don't get them to places as fast as they'd like. Once Blanchard shifts over to the operational phase of The Initiative, they'll be far better equipped. They've got a lot of nifty new toys in development.”

  “Wow,” Sam sighed. “There's so much going on. It's overwhelming.”

  “But it all blew up into something much bigger.”

  “But why now?”

  “I can understand the attack on the Dignosco test flight. It represents the biggest threat they've encountered from us. The LIDAR technology is a game-changer. We can see them coming now and it's going to make it a lot harder for them to come and go without our interfering. But the attacks on you? That's mystifying. Colin thinks there's a larger agenda behind them. I'm not so sure. I see it as more of an emotional response than a rational plan. Perhaps someone on their side just got angry? Maybe it's about revenge? They're human, after all, just like us. They made it personal and it backfired in ways they should have anticipated. Trying to get at you only ended up telling us a lot more about how deeply they're actually embedded.”

  They heard three knocks on the door before one of Colin's agents unlocked and opened it.

  “It's time.”

  “For?” Sam asked.

  Neil handed Sam the sample con
tainer. “He's going to watch you piss into the cup.”

  Blanchard Corporation – Chelmsford, Massachusetts

  Merrill sat in a near state of shock. As soon as his enzyme test came back negative, Colin rushed him into his office for an emergency briefing. He spent a half-hour carefully recounting the events of the past day, but intentionally left out details regarding Susan and The Watchers.

  “You actually stole my goddam piss?” Merrill fumed with more than a hint of indignity.

  “I had to take measures I thought were appropriate,” Colin calmly replied. “That's my job.”

  Merrill calmed himself. “You're right. Who else have you tested?”

  “My team is clear. Neil and Sam are clear. Everyone else is in process.”

  “Neil?” Merrill scoffed. “And you're absolutely sure he's not working for them?”

  “Positive.”

  Merrill leaned back in his chair. “And Sam? He knows everything now?”

  Colin reluctantly nodded. “He knows everything about The Initiative. It was Neil's decision to fill him in on all the details.”

  “Christ! It's not his call to make!”

  “Merrill,” Colin spoke in a firm and even tone, “I agreed with Neil on this one. After everything that's happened, there was no way to maintain our cover story with Sam. I think it would've been an insult to try.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “Very well, actually. That kid's been through more than most on my security team. I think he's going to do just fine. So does Neil.”

  “It's your opinion I trust, so we'll have to work Sam into the program.”

  “I've canceled your plans for the evening. We need to take a trip to discuss this situation further.”

  “Where?”

  “To meet up with Neil at a safe house.”

  Merrill let out a gasp. “Can't I at least get a little time to mentally prepare myself?”

  “You have a twenty minute ride,” Colin replied with a wry grin.