by John Carrick
As they slept, their minds were synched by their amplifiers, and each one woke up as the same woman each morning, but everyone was well aware of the fact that they were not the same.
Anastasia kissed her fingertips and let them slide past the window of the taxi as it passed.
When the taxi arrived and docked on the rooftop access port, they observed… The soldiers parked on the nearby streets, Von Kalt and his reconnaissance slash assassination team, the cameras in the abandoned Washington Security residence. Everyone watched, but no one attempted to intercept Dr. Fox as he exited the vehicle and entered the house.
Fox went into his study and called up his open security applications. The home was secure.
He went down to the basement living room and smiled to see Ash and Geoff stretched out on one of the couches, watching a vid stream.
"Dad!" Geoff jumped up.
Fox knelt and gestured for Geoffrey to whisper. "Quiet, Geoff. We only have a couple of minutes.”
Ashley recognized her father's cautious manner and its implications at once. She sat up, hyper-alert.
"Ashley, do you still have that…" Fox hand out his hand in a shape that suggested the narrow rectangular switchblade in Ashley's dresser.
Ash nodded.
"I want you to go get it," he said.
Ashley rose to go upstairs.
"Geoff, go on upstairs with your sister." Dr. Fox said.
"What's going on?" Ana asked, stepping out of the laundry room.
Fox threw his arms around his wife. “Stanwood had me arrested.”
“Where have you been? Ross was here. He said you went off the grid. Are you okay?”
Fox whispered into her ear. "They're going to try and take us, but we're going to fool them. I love you.”
“Are we decanting somewhere already?” She whispered back.
Fox smiled.
"I love you too,” Ana said, returning the smile. “I'm double checking the doors.”
Fox followed his family as they headed upstairs.
Waiting in the hallway, Ash held the prototype in her hand. As her father approached she handed it to him.
Fox looked at it closely. He closed his eyes and time stopped.
Fox merged again with the device. It had been three weeks since he’d held it last. Everything he’d come to know, recorded and protected, reinforced by the density of the metal.
He compressed his current impression and blasted it to every server and terillium deposit in range. In just a few seconds, his image would be broadcast around the world, doubled and tripled.
Fox exhaled.
There was nothing Stanwood could do to him now
He had truly become immortal.
There was one more thing to do. Holding the Micronix, Fox opened a channel to his team waiting outside. He closed his eyes and projected his thoughts to them as clearly as if they had been spoken…
“Whatever happens to me down here, just let it happen. Under no circumstances are you to open fire to protect me. President Conway and I have an understanding, and as he said, you can’t charge a man with murder if all he did was think about it.
“Ashley and Geoff are going out the back and down through the canyon. Stanwood’s goons aren’t in the forest yet, so as soon as they’re clear of the house, I want you guys to stay with them.
“Do not use lethal force to defend me, but if anyone so much as looks sideways at Ashley or Geoff, shoot them twice. I know what I’m about to say might sound difficult, but please try not to break the fifth wall with them. Let them work the Micronix out for themselves. Don’t tell them it can make them invisible or that it can stop time. And for God’s sake, please don’t tell them anything about the decanting tanks.
I trust you guys with my life, and I’m entrusting you with the lives of my children. I love you guys; don’t let me down. I guess that’s it. Thanks for everything, see you soon.”
Fox opened his eyes and returned the Micronix to his daughter. “It's yours now, Ash. Take care of it. You won't lose it, let it help you.”
Fox looked at his children, "Get your jackets, go on.”
Geoff looked puzzled.
“Now,” Dr. Fox insisted.
The children moved quickly to obey.
Moments later they returned in lightweight summer windbreakers.
Fox knelt in front of them. "Okay. This is it. The bad guys are coming, and they're the kind who shoot first and ask questions later." Fox's voice was warm and calm, at odds with the words he was saying.
"We're smarter, so we're going to out-Fox them, right?" he smiled.
The children were too scared to respond to the familiar pun.
“I programmed the car to take off in a couple of minutes, but that's just to distract them. Help is on the way. It's going to take a little while for them to get to you, so… Right now, I want you to go sit on the stairs next to that window." Fox pointed to the landing of the back stairwell its the large window.
“In a few minutes, you're going to hear the garage door open, and the car is going to take off. When that happens, I want you to go out that window, walk down the roof to that part where it's close to the ground and get into the forest.”
"Why don't we go in the car, Dad?" Geoff asked.
"Because they're going to stop the car," Fox answered.
"Get in the forest and then what?" Ashley asked.
"Then you run, and you run.”
"For how long?" Geoff asked.
"Never stop, you don't ever stop." Fox looked his son in the eyes. "Geoff, listen to your sister. Stay with her, do what she tells you.”
Fox turned to Ashley. "Ash, don't lose sight of him, not even for a minute. Help is on the way. Remember that your mother and I love you very much. Smile, be polite, help others as much as you can and be careful. That's all there is.”
Geoffrey threw his arms around his father. Fox hugged his son back and pulled them both close.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Ashley asked.
"I want you to go west till you hit the ocean, then turn left and go south, keep the water on your right hand side. You need to get to Mexico.”
"To Mexico?" Ashley asked.
"Yes. Go to Mexico. You will be safe there, safer than here. If Ross doesn't find you, the Christians are the safest people for you to be with.”
"Dad?" Tears filled Ashley's eyes, aware that these could be their last words.
"Be good, trust your instincts and take care of your brother," Fox said.
Ashley hugged her father.
The hangar bay doors on the garage opened, and the car lifted off.
Dr. Andrew Fox helped his children climb out the window and onto the low roof. He watched them as they ran to the edge, jumped down to the grass and slipped into the waiting forest.
Dunkirk reached the Fox house nearly undetected. He rose from an overgrown section of the property, took a couple of steps toward the kitchen door, swiped the key card and was inside. Only one of the observing agents saw him, but that was enough for the information to make it back to Stanwood.
King silently called his comrades over the Micronix. “I Love saying I Told You So, and I Told You So.”
“What are you talking about?” Croswell asked.
“Fox’s neighbor, Dr. Martin Dunkirk, just entered the residence.”
“What?” Ross exclaimed.
“You guys didn’t catch that? We’ve got the profile angle down here. He just swiped a key card and opened the kitchen door, southwest corner.”
“You knew about this?” Croswell asked Ross.
“We suspected there might be someone in the area.”
“This guy had been assigned to Bergstrom. There’s no way that was coincidence,” King said.
“Let’s see what he’s got. It’s not like Fox or Ana are going to be easy targets,” Croswell said.
Snow laughed.
“What?” Croswell asked.
“She might have my memories, but an hour of aero
bics a day is not the same as living the life.”
“Yeah, well, this guy Dunkirk may not be at the top of his game either. Have a little faith in yourself.”
“I’m staying with the kids,” Snow said.
“Copy that,” Ross said, as the Captain drifted away.
“Ashley is carrying the Micronix,” Snow said. “I’m activating its phase-cam.”
After wiping his prints from it, Dunkirk set the keycard on a counter. The two hundred and fifty pounds of determined muscle that was Dunkirk peered into the nexus of the home. He saw no one.
Dunkirk withdrew to a corner of the kitchen and waited, listening. He watched the reflections in the windows and cabinets, waiting for what he knew must happen next. He relaxed his body and opened his mouth, allowing him to hear just a fraction better.
He heard movement upstairs, small footsteps, hurrying.
He heard sudden movement from downstairs.
In a window, Dunkirk caught the reflection of Mrs. Fox moving toward him, heading for the kitchen.
Chapter 42 – One Shot, One Kill
Fox was halfway down the stairs when Ana screamed from the kitchen. He cleared several steps at a time, reached the doorway and stopped. A neighbor.
Fox recognized him, Mr. Dunkirk. He stood, hiding behind Ana.
She was in shock; she didn't seem to be breathing.
Dunkirk had one hand behind Ana's back. In the other, he held a knife, the sleeve of his sweatshirt wrapped around the handle.
Fox glanced at the carving block. There were two empty slots.
Fox rushed toward them as Dunkirk jammed the second blade into Ana's body and pulled them both out, just as Fox reached her.
Ana collapsed into her his arms, blood sprayed all over the floor.
Dunkirk dropped the knives and exited through the kitchen door.
Fox held his wife as the color drained from her face. She couldn’t speak, but Andrew held her close.
Fox could hear them arranging themselves outside his front door, getting ready to breach and clear.
Andrew held his wife close, protecting her from the concussive blast that followed. They came and pried her from his arms. The agents strapped her to a gurney and wheeled her out.
Fox followed.
Several soldiers raised their weapons at Dr. Fox, but none fired.
Stanwood was standing at the end of the driveway.
Von Kalt was behind him and on his right.
First Sergeant King stood on Stanwood’s left.
Fox showed no recognition of King. He was focused on Stanwood. "Joe, you have to help, Ana. Please...”
National Intelligence Director Joseph Stanwood raised his handgun to Doctor Andrew Fox's face and fired.
Deputy Director Wolfgang Von Kalt watched Fox fall to the ground. This was of no concern of his. The Micronix was not here. It was no longer in the house. It was the only thing he was interested in.
The Metachron rested in his pocket, his hands folded behind his back. He didn’t need to hold it anymore.
Von Kalt watched Fox die. He didn’t move.
No one did.
Having escaped the house for a distant ridgeline, Ashley noted that the sound of the shot came some time later than the shot itself and the splash of blood.
Ashley didn't say anything to Geoff. Being older meant being taller, and in this case, that meant being able to see the man who shot her father. From where they were on the ridge, it was likely that Geoff didn't see it. She was frozen in place, staring at the scene below.
Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
Her father had mentioned help. He’d said help would find them.
She hoped it was soon.
Von Kalt turned and looked toward her. He saw her, but he made no gesture nor did he tell anyone.
Ash turned and ran as fast as her feet would carry her, focused on putting one foot in front of the other, pulling Geoff along, deeper into the forest.
There were a couple of dozen federal agents standing around in suits, while Von Kalt had only eight soldiers dressed in tactical uniforms.
Before he could issue an order, Stanwood gestured to King and waved to the bodies of Doctor and Missus Fox. “Get them out of here.”
Stanwood turned to Von Kalt, “I want those kids within the hour.”
Von Kalt nodded, “Bravo team, handle the bodies. Alpha, we’re going into the forest.”
Stanwood objected, interrupting again, “You aren’t going anywhere.” Stanwood pointed to Lt. Hernandez. “Lieutenant, You handle it. You have all these agents at your disposal” Stanwood waved to the suited agents.
He then turned to Von Kalt and gestured for him get in their vehicle.
Lt. Hernandez nodded and addressed the Federal Agents, “Gentlemen, we’re going to go out ahead of you on the ground. Half of you will follow us on foot, the other half will pilot your vehicles overhead and search from the air. Leave no stone unturned.”
Hernandez signaled and Sergeants Angstrom, Di Biase and Steinkirk set out at double-time, pursuing Ashley and Geoffrey into the forest.
Bravo team. King, Washington, Johnson and Welter, moved Dr. Fox into a white plastic body bag and then loaded he and Mrs. Fox into one of the idling trucks.
Major Ross, Secretary Croswell and Chief Warrant Officer Reid watched from overhead, silent for the moment.
Ross swallowed and looked over to Reid. “King, I’m sending Reid with you. When you’re ready, he’ll help you make the switch.”
“Copy that,” King answered.
“You want to do it?” Croswell asked, looking at Ross.
“What’s that?”
“Light up the decanter, maybe?” Croswell smiled.
“Oh, yeah, of course, already done,” Ross answered.
Doctor Fox tried to close his eyes and realized that would be impossible. He'd crossed over. Those eyes had closed, forever.
After Stanwood shot him, Ross must have flipped the switch.
It was the ambient light and the chemicals in the tank that caused the visual sensations. It had been awhile since he'd experienced the changeover. Decanting would take four to six months.
Fox never kept an imprinted clone on ice; it was too big a risk. Even though he had created the technology, it was owned by the government and restricted to the Three AM bodyguard program.
In a few moments, the drugs would kick in, and Fox would sleep until it was time. He savored these last few moments of consciousness as the chemicals worked their way into his mind.
Focusing became difficult and then he slept.
Chapter 43 – Run, Rabbits, Run
Ash and Geoff ran down the familiar paths at full speed. The forest was warm and inviting.
They ran, taking corners at dangerous speeds; Ashley discovered she could almost get horizontal while ‘banking.’ And still they ran.
All downhill, they ran at top speed, Geoff almost flying.
They ran until she couldn't breathe anymore and Ashley finally slowed down. She released Geoff's hand.
Ash was winded, but Geoff seemed relaxed. They walked for a while, both reluctant to break the wordless spell of their natural temple.
Ash could tell the reality of their situation hadn't yet sunk in for Geoff. He walked beside her, calm and easy. There was no point in talking about it and upsetting him. Even though her stomach was doing somersaults and she was close to panicking, that was no reason to provoke the same response in Geoff.
In fact, Ash noticed his calm was influencing her, helping her to relax.
Feeling better, she glanced over to Geoff. "Want to keep going?”
Geoff nodded. They resumed a mellow jog, hands free.
"Where are we going?" Geoff asked.
"To the ocean," Ash answered.
"And then Mexico?" Geoff asked.
"Yeah, sure. Mexico," Ashley laughed.
"Otherwise they're going to catch us," Geoff said.
"They're not going to catch us," Ashley s
aid.
"Probably they are," Geoff said.
"Okay. You're right, probably they are," Ashley answered.
"So then we won't know until it's too late," Geoff replied.
"Right, so let's go back to being calm.”
"And Mexico?" Geoff asked. "What's wrong with Mexico?”
"Technically, we're still at war with Mexico," Ashley answered.
"No, we're not," Geoff said, parroting their father. “They were at war with us, and it’s been over for seven years. Dad said.”
Ashley shook her head. "War is war. Heading toward it sounds stupid to me.”
"Dad says we'll be safe with them," Geoff argued.
"You don't believe that," Ashley answered. "And I don't speak Spanish.”
"You can learn, it's easy," Geoff said, smiling.
Ashley froze, the color drained from her face. In the distance, she could hear the soldiers closing, heavy boots and the rattle of weapons, sounds alien to the forest.
"We have to run, now!" Ashley said. She clutched Geoffrey's hand and hauled him along. It was all he could do to stay upright, planting one foot after the other, catching himself as they fell down the canyon trail.
A half-dozen turns ahead they came around a sharp bend and found themselves face to face with Mr. Dunkirk. He was covered in blood.
They skidded to a halt, Ashley's right hand found the prototype in her back pocket, but she didn't pull it out. Geoff stood behind her, right where she'd have told him to be.
Mr. Dunkirk stood still, apparently as afraid of the children as they were of him.
Then he snapped out of it and smiled.
It was the grin of a lunatic.
Ashley grabbed Geoff's hand, and they were gone, down a branching trail. They heard no sounds of pursuit, but the soldiers had to be getting closer.
Ashley and Geoff had no idea they were supposed to be invisible. It certainly seemed like Mr. Dunkirk had seen them.
