by Shawn Keys
Kyle didn’t have it in him to refuse. “Alright. But you’re telling my Mom. If she doesn’t claw you into the van and drag you away, I’ll be happy to have you here.” He swung the agent’s service rifle off his back and held it out to him.
Steve clapped him on the back, took the rifle, then headed out to say goodbye to his wife.
Dazz was on the way in at the same time. “Well, that was interesting.” She walked further back into the kitchen, setting up her computer there. It was still showing the feed from the drone, though she had set it down on the roof of the house to conserve power. “I’ll launch when they leave, then track the minivan until they can turn off the main road. Make sure they don’t somehow end up running into the agents. Then I’ll stay up as long as I can.”
Kyle smiled. “Thanks, Dazz. I’m going to go get the other rifle from the other guard.”
She leveled an uncompromising look at him. “All mine, right?”
Kyle nodded. He didn’t think she had shot all that much, but she wanted to be a part of this. He hadn’t dared suggest she stay in the van with the others. “You bet.” Leaving her to finish setting up her gear, he jogged out to the van. Steve and his mother were saying their final goodbyes, and he joined in with a few of his own. Then, he leaned in to hold Yvette’s hand fondly and kiss Megan past the open window. That drew a startled look from his mother, but he didn’t care right then. “You two, take care of my parents and my friends.”
Megan smiled back, confident and sure. “We’re not the ones in danger. Don’t do anything overly stupid.”
Yvette added. “I’ll stay with them all, even when Megan comes back. I’ll make sure they’re safe.”
Kyle wasn’t sure what any of them could do if the whole world shattered, the police showed up, or any of a dozen other things that could happen. He didn’t stop to think about that. It didn’t matter. The fact that they were willing to try and look after those he cared about was all he needed to know. “Best… teachers… ever.” He flashed them a wink, then headed around to Lily. “Go on inside with Steve. I’m just going to grab one more thing from out back, then I’ll be in as well.”
Holding to his word, Kyle circled the house to collect the other weapon. Dealing with his second dead body wasn’t any easier. Especially since he had to roll the guy over to get at the rifle. But he managed to get through it, and still hadn’t lost his cookies. He was proud of himself for that much, anyway.
As he was walking back in, Danielle asked over the radio, “Should you hide the other one out front? They’ll see him.”
Kyle had thought it was over. He gave a sigh. A good idea was a good idea. But this one was going to suck. “I’ll handle it. Now I’m even happier Steve stuck around.” He went through the house, dropping off the service rifle with Dazz, then carried out onto the porch. He arrived just in time to wave goodbye to the minivan pulling away one last time.
Then, he broke the news to Steve. “Task number one is going to be ugly.”
“How bad could it be?”
He had his answer soon enough, and the two of them struggled to get the dead man into the woods. By the time it was over, both of them were sure they never wanted to do that again. It was the sort of bonding that was effective, but certainly not worth recommending to others.
They re-entered the house in silence, all joking long since forgotten. They came into the living room just as Dazz called out, “The minivan got to the first turn-off going into town. They won’t run into those agents unless they take the weirdest way possible back from your place.”
Kyle nodded, happy with that. “So how are we going to play this?”
Steve shrugged. “It’s just us, right?”
He shook his head. “Two more. Couple girls from school are out there. One’s an amazing shooter. She’s repositioning around to be able to see the front. They’ll do what they can to take a few shots.”
Surprised, Steve looked hopeful. “Oh, great. That makes it four against four. I’ll take even odds any day.” He frowned. “Though they are all highly trained agents.”
Kyle held up a hand. “Wait a second, you said four? I thought it was only two more? Niles and Lawson.”
Steve shook his head. “You said one is dead out back, and then the guy out front. There are two more that were with them acting like peons. Lawson and Niles were clearly in charge, but they had two more junior agents floating around. Four of them took off in their SUV. I guess that was to go collect you.”
Dazz guessed, “You’re the target. Or, maybe ‘we’ are. Plus, they knew about Laura and Danielle helping you. They must have been worried you would try something at your Mom’s place. So, they went in heavy. They didn’t really care about your parents at all. Just like mine. They were in the way. These damned agents wouldn’t care all that much if your parents got away as long as they got you.”
Kyle swore under his breath, then activated his microphone. “Hey you two. My step-father says there are four in the vehicle coming back. Not two, four.” He had no idea what else to say, so he left it at that.
Danielle found the words to express it. “Well, shit.”
Kyle closed his eyes. Yeah. That’s just about right. Couldn’t have been that easy.
Dazz called out. “Uhh, guys, there’s a black SUV coming in. I think it’s them.”
* * *
Claire walked out to the front desk, dropping off a file she had finished. It had taken her three times longer than normal. Her mind couldn’t settle down. Part of her was fearful that Jill and Jack would wander back into the office and confront her directly for talking down about them.
She was halfway back to her lab when she realized it was odd that Stan wasn’t back yet. He had gone to lunch a few hours ago.
Taking out her phone, she found his details and dialed the number.
It took nearly five rings to pick-up. He answered just before it kicked over to voice-mail. When he answered, he sounded frazzled. “Hey, umm… sorry for not coming back in quickly, Claire.”
Claire did her best to sound unconcerned. She shouldn’t be so antsy, after all. “It’s alright, Stan. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Yes and no. I’m fine. But my wife called and asked me to come home. Someone called and threatened her. We’ve called the police and they’re looking into it, but she is pretty upset.”
“Wow. Who would threaten Brenda? She’s an accountant, isn’t she?”
Stan answered with a thread of dark humor, “And she isn’t even with the IRS. I should be back in tomorrow.”
“Take your time. Make sure she is alright.”
“Thanks.” He hung up.
Claire slipped her phone back into her pocket, shaking her head. Bad things always come in threes, they say. But I swear we’re up to about five already. She was about to stride into her lab when a black, FDPC-owned SUV pulled into the parking spaces outside.
Claire froze. It was identical to the ones the agents used. Was it them?
But the doors opened, and two women stepped out who were totally unfamiliar. Well, not totally. Like Jill, both women were blonde, athletic and about as ready to play nicely with the neighbors as a sandstorm. Claire had never met either of them, which meant they had to be the OPC agents sent to interview her.
She glanced up at the wall clock, then down at her watch. Weird. They couldn’t have made it down from Seattle already. Were they on an assignment closer by? She lingered in the lobby as the two agents found the door and entered.
They spotted her right away and approached. The one on the right was the one who spoke, “Doctor Erinson, I presume?” It wasn’t a question.
Claire stumbled on that. Sure, her picture was up on the wall, but had these two hadn’t even looked at it. They had come right at her. She felt like they were totally briefed on her. It was off-putting. She felt like… she searched for the word… then, she found it. A target. I feel like I’m their target instead of their resource. Trying to shake that feeling
, she said, “Yes, I am.”
Neither reacted as if there was any doubt. The left agent said, “I’m Investigative Agent Grieger. This is I.A. Carling. You have been expecting us?”
Claire forced herself to relax. “You made good time. Broke a few laws coming from Seattle, huh? I didn’t think my situation was that urgent.”
Neither reacted this time either. It was Carling who spoke next, totally ignoring the hint at social conversation. “Is there a private place we can walk through the issues you outlined to I.A. Lark?” She held out a hand toward the back. “Perhaps, in your lab?”
Claire was turning to invite them to follow her in when her eyes dipped under the flutter of Carling’s jacket. The gun didn’t bother her. Her own agents had arm-holsters that they wore as a matter of course every day. But there was another familiar shape on Carling’s belt that snapped her eye. It was a syringe holster.
With a biohazard marker on it.
Any other day, Claire would have figured it strange. Maybe worrisome.
But her sense of paranoia was already running high.
Why are they walking around with…
Kyle Hutchings was in her head. She heard him describing his fears: eugenicists, forced sterilizations, and killing of anyone complicating their plans. Her own intelligence provided the rest: how people like that wouldn’t care for individual lives, and how a jab with a needle would be far easier to explain away than a bullet wound if they were going to ‘deal’ with her.
Panic rose fast. All her nervous energy welled up and burst inside her.
Almost hyperventilating, she darted into her lab and slammed the door shut. She slapped the ‘lock down’ button. She didn’t have access to a real clean room. Her work didn’t require one. But there were some delicate moments when certain equipment was exposed and biological samples couldn’t be corrupted. The button added a little ventilation pressure to ensure a seal, locked the doors and killed the phone lines so she wouldn’t be disturbed. It wasn’t anywhere near as secure as a panic room, but it was the best she had at the moment.
Surprised, the agents outside never had a chance to stop her. One rattled the door knob, which didn’t help at all. Grieger called out, “Doctor Erinson, what are you doing?”
Claire spun in circles, her mind spinning even faster. Good question. What am I doing? She had locked herself in. She was acting like a lunatic! Hutchings had her so worked up, she was jumping at shadows!
The polite twisting of the knob switched over to a fist hammering on the door. “Doctor, let us in! This is not a game!”
No matter how Claire tried to settle herself down, she couldn’t shake the feeling this was bad.
Suddenly, she remembered. The intercom! The only way she could be interrupted if the others outside really needed her. A fail-safe in case of an emergency. She could talk to the agents without having to open the door. She dashed over and opened the channel.
Before she could say a thing, she heard Carling speaking, “…death is supposed to look like an accident. We can’t do that if we shoot the door open or break it off its hinges.”
Grieger grunted, “I have no idea how she was tipped off. Lark is right. She’s heard something she shouldn’t. We need to deal with her here and now. Alright, I’ve had enough of this. Go kill the power. Once the electronic locks are down, I’ll pick the lock and we’ll...”
Claire’s finger released the button and she let out the breath she was holding. She didn’t want to hear what they were going to do to her! She’d heard enough! Sweet mercy! They are going to kill me and make it look like a mistake! Immediately, her scientific mind started to grind through the possible ways to do that… then, she cut off that morbid chain of thinking. It doesn’t matter how! With twice the panic, she looked around the room for a way out. But there wasn’t one!
Suddenly, the bright, overhead lights flickered out. The red emergency lights glowed into life, though Claire knew she would not live to see the end of their 30-minute battery life. The power was out, just like they promised. She would hear them picking the lock soon…
Her eyes caught on a latch in the middle of the floor. It was crafted to sit in a divot so she didn’t kick the latch every time she walked over it. It was the access hatch down below the false floor. Crawling in there with the power on was an invitation to get electrocuted by the dozens of cables running high voltage into her lab equipment.
But the power was out.
The power was out!
Claire dove at the latch, prying it open and revealing the small space beneath. She wasn’t an athlete, but she did yoga three times a week, and that had kept her flexible enough to snake her way down under the floor. She pulled the hatch shut behind her, hoping they wouldn’t see where she had gone. That might give her just a few more seconds.
Squirming along, she managed to get into the IT space that was right next to her lab. The false floor opened under the wall to ease with the maintenance. She laughed at the irony. The circuit breakers were in the room as well. If the agent had still been there, she would have been caught. But the agents were both back by the door.
Getting to her feet, Claire rushed over and peeked out from the IT room. The agents were around the corner and couldn’t see her. Crouching down, Claire dashed over to the front doors and snuck out. Her secrecy couldn’t last. The whole front of the office was glass windows. The afternoon sunlight was shining right down on her. Now that she was outside, they would see her in seconds!
As fast as she could, she ran to her car. It was a mid-range sedan: all she could afford. The FDPC paid well, but she wasn’t going to get rich or anything. She jumped in, jammed the ignition to life, and was about to peel out of the parking lot.
A thought occurred to her. I can’t do a car chase! I’ll die! Which… well, a car accident was sort of what they wanted in the first place! She wasn’t going to let them do that to her!
Instead, Claire tugged the gear selector into “Reverse”, looked over the seat, and tore off right at the black SUV parked outside of the office. She aimed at the front, intending for the wedge of her back bumper to hit right on their engine.
The impact was more than she thought. She had only seen car crashes on TV. The jarring blow shook her, bouncing her in her seat. A little rattled, she tried to see through the fractured back window of her car. Had she crippled them? She didn’t have time to find out.
She prayed her gamble had paid off. All the damage was on the back, and this was a front wheel car. She dropped it into drive, hit the gas pedal, and tore out of the parking lot. Glancing in one of her side mirrors, she could see the two blonde agents come running out, waving their hands in dismay at their car, then pulling phones from their pockets.
Claire laughed in triumph…
Then wondered what the hell she was going to do now.
Chapter 17
Kyle jogged over to Dazz’s computer. “Where are the agents now?”
Dazz pointed at the screen. “That’s them. They are on the main road. Only about a minute or two before they turn into the driveway.”
Kyle clapped her on the back. “Show time.” He keyed his microphone. “They’re on their way in, Danielle. Are you in position to see the front?”
She answered, “It’s not a perfect view. We can see them when they enter the clearing, but not all the way to the front door.”
Kyle said, “Well, do what you can.” He said to Dazz, “Time to spread out. You take the dining room window. Steve and I will stay in the living room. Pick your shots, and don’t stick your head out no matter what. Fire fast at the start. They’ll be most confused. The longer this goes on, the more the advantage will shift to them.”
Lily was standing nearby. “What about me?”
Kyle said, “They might circle around, but at the start all the shooting is going to come from the front. Stay back here in the kitchen behind as much steel as you can.”
She nodded, happy enough to be tucked away. She had been intent on staying t
o share the danger for the chance to help anyone who got hurt, but this was getting real, and fast.
Kyle’s phone buzzed with an incoming call. He frowned. The whole team was on the open conference channel. There was no reason for anyone to be calling him. He pulled it out of his pocket. There were about twenty angry texts from the Agents, starting with ‘where are you’ and only getting more annoyed from there, ending with dire threats against his family.
But the caller ID was from Claire. Eyebrows arching in surprise, he said into his microphone, “Putting you all on hold for a second. There’s a call I need to take.”
Dazz hissed, “Less than one minute out!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll hurry.” He switched over. “Claire?”
“Kyle! Oh, thank goodness, you picked up! I’m losing my mind!”
“What? What’s going on?”
Her voice got a little angry. “I did what you asked! Then two agents showed up at my office with orders to kill me!”
Kyle pounded the wall with his fist. It was all the proof they needed that something dark was festering at the core of the FDPC. “Damn. I’m so sorry, Claire. I thought for sure if you picked someone you trusted, that would work out.”
“Whoever these people are cut her out of the loop. I was transferred away before she could hear a thing. And now I’m on the run! What can I do?”
Dazz warned urgently, “They are about to pull into the driveway!” She darted off for the dining room to get in place.
Kyle strode toward the living room as he rushed to say, “Listen to me Claire. You need to shut off your implant. They can track you with it. Can you do that?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Find a way! If you don’t, they will find you. It’s as simple as that. When you’re done, go to the parking lot at the Barnaby’s on River Drive. We’ll be meeting there soon. My parents and a few others are already there. Don’t go until you’re sure you’re not being followed! If you do, you’ll kill us all! Understand?”
