Guns And Dogs

by T. A. Uner

  Chapter 20

  When Gina landed inside Mount Baldy the place was already on lock-down. The hangar lights were dim red. Power had been diverted to another outlet.

  “What’s going on?” Argos asked a maintenance technician working on TIV-2, the Mercedes with the metallic gold paintjob.

  The technician shook his head. “The Lycarians hacked the Pentagon; they know about us now,” he said before returning to work.

  Argos turned towards Johnny while Jessie and Studs looked up at him expectantly. “Considering Lycarian resources and technology, it’s not surprising they eventually found out about AL,” he said. “It’s a testament to Director Mitchell’s countermeasures that we were able to remain clandestine for this long.”

  Johnny and Argos left the hangar and walked down a corridor towards the Command Center, dogs in tow. Two security sentries at the main entrance scanned them before allowing them to pass.

  Inside the command center was a cacophony of people hunched over keyboards, eyeing monitors, while in the center of the room Mitchell and a group of his senior assistants were studying a holographic 3-D readout of their solar system. As he got closer to the readout, Johnny noticed a clustered group of flashing red triangular icons closing in on Earth.

  Argos’ pointed to the icons. “Invasion Fleet.”

  Various AL technicians were now uploading Mitchell’s data on to their tablets. When he saw Johnny and Argos, he paused for a moment to acknowledge them with a curt nod. “I’d congratulate you two on your latest mission, but three minutes ago the Lycarians officially declared war on Earth. We received a transmission from their Fleet Marshal. He’s asking for a planetary surrender.”

  Patrice broke away from a terminal. “And there was even a personal message for you two.” She handed a tablet to Argos who showed it to Johnny. It read:

  Greetings Agents Argos Better and Johnny Veto,

  You two humans got lucky in 1861 and 1969. Scoring two victories against my best agents. But your luck has finally run out.

  Your Lycarian opponent,

  Grendis

  P.S. When my people conquer your race, I plan on cooking and eating your two traitorous canine pets.

  Argos handed the tablet back to Patrice. “What does TimeBoss say about all this Director Mitchell?” Johnny asked.

  “Not good, Son.” Mitchell showed him another tablet readout. “TimeBoss predicts a one-hundred percent change in timeline integrity.”

  Johnny’s heart plunged into his stomach and he almost felt like vomiting. “Has all our Time-Healing been a waste of time?” He paused, not wanting to sound like a wussy. “What can we do now?”

  “Patrice has plugged the leak, but the damage has already been done. Her TimeBoss team, including two Drayloxians, are working on a virus to attack the Lycarian fleet’s systems.”

  (2)

  Sitting in his scout ship orbiting earth, Grendis was quite pleased with himself.

  What the Lycarian Intelligence Division failed to accomplish while scouting Earth’s defenses he’d done with one quick stroke. After Grendis helped Crewt conquer Earth, he’d pay Tir Morol a visit to gloat.

  Crewt’s fleet had arrived outside the Sol System two hours ago and were advancing towards Earth at reduced speeds to hide their exact numbers. Things were moving along as planned.

  He opened a communication link with Crewt and the decorated Lycarian’s wolfen face stared at him from his throne-like command chair. “Lord Grendis,” Crewt said in his aristocratic drawl, “I received your most recent report on this human organization, AL. You’ve probably saved your career despite the failure of your two best operatives.” He paused a moment and grinned, exposing his thick, sharp teeth. “And maybe even gained a commendation.”

  Grendis bowed his head respectfully at Crewt. Yet his blood burned with rage at Crewt’s condescending manner. “That is very generous of you, Marshal Crewt.” Perhaps one day I shall sit upon your chair and command your fleet, he thought bemusedly.

  Grendis ended the transmission and went about contacting his other converts. Bloodboy and Diablo were his lynchpin players, but he had many more that would also be part of “Omega Day.”

  His uplink secured, the monitor screens blinked on and soon hundreds of 3-D images appeared, each representing the face of a teen filled with hidden pain. Faces from England, Canada, Germany, Mexico, and as far east as South Korea and Thailand.

  “The moment is finally upon us, friends,” Grendis said. They stared at him, their eyes savoring every word uttered from their master’s lips. “You all know what must be done. Today you rise up for your oppressed kind to seek redemption.”

  They all nodded, thousands of obedient faces each with their own mission, before Grendis bid them luck and ended the transmission before running a standard diagnostic on his systems. The computer had logged a discrepancy in the security files. During his cyber-attack on the Pentagon, he’d received an Invasion Trajectory report from one of Crewt’s bridge officers, and forgotten to secure his link with the Pentagon. The computer had detected this and taken action to secure his systems. However, if anyone at the Pentagon had probed his end in the time allotted, it could’ve compromised his database which contained references to Omega Day. No matter. Grendis stretched back in his command chair. “It’ll all be over soon anyway.”

  (3)

  After Patrice had plugged the leak, she stumbled onto another mystery. It was staring at her from her monitor screen.

  Omega Day

  Whoever had hacked the Pentagon had done an expert job pilfering information linked to AL Command. Yet they’d left themselves open for a counter-attack, and the Pentagon’s cyber defense team had managed to snag some information from Grendis’ end before forwarding it to her.

  The doors to the TimeBoss chambers swished open and she saw Argos, Johnny and the dogs enter. Mitchell had finally given Johnny clearance to the TimeBoss chamber. “Welcome back guys,” she said, returning to her work. “How was 1969?”

  “It wasn’t a bad trip, if that’s what you meant,” Argos replied.

  Patrice rolled her eyes and exhaled. “Bad puns aside, how was it?”

  “Better than watching the moon landing on a history cable channel,” Johnny said.

  “I’m sure by now you know about the Lycarian invasion fleet.”

  Both Johnny and Argos nodded.

  “I’ve found a reference; probably a code word for a Lycarian artifice.” She pointed to her monitor where the ‘Omega Day’ term greeted them. “Perhaps you two gentlemen could entertain me with your educated guesses.”

  Argos’ eyes narrowed and he looked like he was fighting off pain. Johnny appeared collected. Fieldwork alongside Argos had done him good, Patrice thought. “Johnny?”

  “I’m thinking, Patrice.”

  About Omega Day? Or me? She wanted to say. “You want full access to TimeBoss?” She figured if Mitchell didn’t mind him being inside this room, she could allow him interaction with the most advanced piece of Earth technology.

  Johnny’s eyes lit up. “Sure.” He inched closer to her and his hand accidentally brushed against hers, sending a chill up her arm. He reached for the keyboard. “It’s touch screen, Johnny,” Patrice added. “Or why not address TimeBoss vocally; he’ll give you a fast answer.”

  Johnny smiled. “I guess it’s the writer in me. I’ve always felt at home using an old-fashioned keyboard.” He paused and ran his hand through his hair. “TimeBoss define Omega.”

  “Certainly Agent Veto. Omega is the Twenty-Fourth, and last letter of the Greek alphabet.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Patrice said looking at Argos who also looked surprised.

  “I guess history wasn’t a huge subject for you at MIT, huh, Patrice?” Johnny said jokingly.

  Patrice giggled. How she managed to under these circumstances was anybody’s guess.

  Johnny stepped away from the monitor and offered Patrice her seat. “Maybe you can dig a little deeper. It makes sense,
with your familiarity of TimeBoss’ systems,” Argos said.

  Patrice spoke directly to TimeBoss. “Evaluate research variables conducted by Agent Veto.” She waited for the omnipotent Supercomputer to digest her question and disembogue a response. Lights flickered across various consoles as TimeBoss ran calculations at incomprehensible speeds.

  “I believe I’ve found an answer, Miss Waters,” TimeBoss said.

  Patrice crossed her arms. “Tell us.”

  “Perhaps it would be better if I showed you.” TimeBoss’ holographic emitter brought up a 3-D visual of its findings. The turquoise-hued reading listed names, which, at first, Patrice did not recognize, and then as the readout list grew longer she realized that they were the names of high schools, most of which were located in the USA. There were also some listed from the UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Russia, and even China. “There has been a 117% increase in hacker communication traffic containing the term Omega Day.”

  “I don’t like the sound of this,” Argos said.

  “Cross correlate the Lycarian name Grendis with this occurrence,” Patrice added. The room was suddenly a lot warmer than usual. “Has the temperature control been altered?” she asked.

  “Not that I am aware of Miss Waters,” TimeBoss said. “But I now have an estimate of what this all means. I must say it’s very alarming.” A second later the 3-D visual changed and began listing every bit of information TimeBoss had accumulated in its rapid search. Everyone in the room read the data and their eyes widened, as if watching a gory scene in a horror movie.

  “The lynch-pin attack is at my high school,” Johnny exclaimed. “I’ve seen those two guys in the hallways in between classes.” He pointed at the digital images of Bloodboy and Diablo.

  “No!” Patrice said. “This can’t be right.”

  “I’m afraid it is,” TimeBoss replied. “Grendis is coordinating global school shootouts on May 24th. Codenamed: Omega Day.”

  Part 4: Dogs

  Chapter 21

  “I’m afraid I have even more bad news,” TimeBoss said.

  As if we needed to hear that, Johnny thought. TimeBoss spat out another 3-D image. This one resembled a flow chart. Dates appeared, while bar graphs indicated timeline calculations kept fluctuated like blips on a heart monitor. “So what’s the bad news?” Johnny yelled. His body felt like it’d just stepped into a cooler.

  “Calm down,” Director Mitchell said. Johnny turned his head. He hadn’t even noticed Mitchell enter the room.

  “Agent Veto—to answer the question you’ve posed—I’ve detected a TSP.”

  “But didn’t we fix those in 1861 and 1969?”

  “Affirmative—and negative.”

  What the hell does that mean? “Perhaps this will shed some clarity on the dilemma,” TimeBoss exclaimed. The flowchart disappeared and the face of an adolescent boy appeared. “Where do I know that kid from?” Johnny said.

  “Perhaps because this student, Edward Castle, is from your school,” TimeBoss said.

  “You know him?” Argos asked.

  “Not personally,” Johnny began, “but I’ve seen him in the hallways. I hear he’s the first freshman in over twenty years to be asked to play in the varsity band. Supposedly one of the sickest young trumpet players in Arizona.”

  “Why are you showing us this boy’s picture?” Director Mitchell asked.

  “Because, Director Mitchell, my timeline examiner indicates that in twenty-seven years, Mr. Edward Castle will become President of the United States.”

  Patrice shook her head. “Makes sense, Grendis probably had this planned all along. In the event his people failed, killing Castle was his insurance policy. She looked at TimeBoss like a proud mother. But despite learning about AL, he still didn’t factor in TimeBoss’ inventiveness.” When Johnny looked at her, she smiled at him. “Officially, TimeBoss doesn’t exist on record. For secrecy purposes, he’s never been added to any file. We couldn’t risk anyone finding out about him.”

  “This Grendis is a real pain in the backside,” Argos said, addressing Johnny. “How ‘bout you and me finally take him out.”

  “Let me guess, you got a plan to lure him out in the open…right?”

  Argos smiled at his charge. “You catch on pretty fast Johnny; you know that?”

  (2)

  May 23rd

  10:47 PM

  Omega Day was scheduled for tomorrow: May 24th. That gave AL a full day to alert the local police, FBI and CIA while planning their next move. Also world law enforcement agencies in all targeted countries were alerted via TimeBoss in encrypted messages to prevent its detection from any of Grendis’ hacker allies. “It makes me sick to think the lynch-pin operation is happening at my own high-school,” Johnny said as Argos was supervising the two technicians making final adjustments to Gina.

  “Yeah, well, it’s not like Grendis caught us totally unprepared; we’ve got a chance to get to the perpetrators before they try and kill Edward Castle, or any other student.”

  This didn’t make Johnny feel any better. His stomach, always queasy during AL missions made him wish he’d skipped dinner earlier in the AL cafeteria. The mystery meat—that was supposed to be sirloin—wasn’t going down well. A quick trip to the restroom would be at the top of his checklist before embarking on the next mission, that is, if he could hold it down long enough.

  The next day they headed to Johnny’s high school and waited in the parking lot. Gina’s scanner was set to scan the vicinity for anyone carrying a weapon within school property limits. Outside of that radius, local police SWAT and FBI agents were on standby to assist AL. They agreed that the operation would be carried out in secrecy to prevent panicking the school. This was a hotly debated topic, but law enforcement agencies didn’t want to risk spooking the Omega Day perpetrators, they may never get a better opportunity to apprehend the shooters.

  “All this waiting is driving me crazy,” Johnny said. Jessie and Studs were scratching themselves in the back seat.

  Argos checked his watch. “We still have time. Omega Day in our part of the world isn’t supposed to commence until 1pm Pacific time.”

  “That means it’s already started in other parts of the world,” Johnny said concernedly.

  Argos nodded. “There’s nothing we can do about that except pray that the law enforcement branches of those countries were successful in stopping Grendis’ plan.”

  Johnny turned towards Argos. “Since we have time I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Sure Johnny, what is it?”

  “Before, when we were talking about your early days in AL, you told me about your wife and two children.” Johnny paused to collect his thoughts. “But what ever happened to your Red Doberman Rusty?”

  Argos’ eyes blinked wearily, like a man about to part with a beloved family member. He looked out the window and Johnny followed his gaze. Above them, the sky was clear except for a convoy of wispy clouds resembling the old clipper ships Johnny had read about in history class.

  “I suppose it’s only fair I tell you the rest. Although at the end of every story, there’s always a new beginning.”

  ***

  “These two puppies are the feistiest, Son,” Argos’ father Randal said proudly.

  Argos took each of Rusty and Mandy’s puppies in hand before inspecting them. “Any idea what you’ll name those two?” Randal asked.

  Each puppy was a rich golden brown with soft silky fur, causing Argos to remember his two children, Jessie and Studs, and how he’d held them each after they’d been born.

  “Son you look deep in thought,” Randal said.

  “I think I’ll call these two Jessie and Studs, Dad.”

  Randal looked at Argos reflectively and smiled. “A fine choice of names, Son.”

  Argos placed Jessie and Studs close to Mandy so they could join the other puppies. “No disrespect to the other dogs,” Argos added, “but when you said ‘fiesty’ I just had to have a closer look.”

  Randal
placed his hands on Argos’ shoulders. “No need to explain, Son. I felt the same when you were born.”

  Argos eyed Mandy, Randal’s female Red Doberman who’d given birth to Rusty’s puppies. “I really wanna thank you Dad, for running the kennel while me and Rusty have been away working with Scott.”

  Randal waved off Argos’ compliment dismissively. “Aww, it’s been a pleasure. I’ve been looking for something productive to do, your mother’s sick and tired of me pacing around the house. These dogs have been a blessing for us both. And don’t forget my neighbor Ray’s twin daughters have been helping out a lot too. Those girls are both studying to be veterinarians so it’s been a fine experience for them as well.”

  Argos had nearly forgotten about Ray Grant, his father’s next-door neighbor, and retired veterinarian. He needed to get him a gift to show his appreciation. He started thinking about Gina again, and then realized he needed to get to work. It was four PM. Randal flashed him that “I understand” look and without another word, he and Rusty were off to AL headquarters. As they drove through Pasadena along route 210, he grew more curious about the TIV program and the modifications to his ’68 Camaro. In the backseat Rusty was panting excitedly, as if he knew what Argos was thinking about. They turned off 210 and into the mountains along the restricted government-built road that lead to the underground AL installation.

  As much as Argos respected Dr. Murdoc’s contribution to AL, he could never get used to the alien’s heady orange pupils. The alien scientist was gregarious enough to elicit trust from his human counterparts, but assimilating his extraterrestrial features would probably take time. “Agent Better,” Murdoc said before an unusually wide smile spread across his lips, “I hope these modifications we’re making to your beloved automobile are acceptable?”