J backed up in his seat, “Really, really? You don’t dance? Why not? It’s so much fun.”
“Really, really not in the mood, J.”
“Come on, Rita,” Veronica said, flipping her hair, “Let’s go jammin.”
Rita stood and took Veronica by the hand, “I’ll jam with ya.”
The two swayed their hips as they walked to the dance floor, hand in hand, “Mmmm, Mmmm, MM!” J said, shaking his head, “What’s eatin’ you, my man? I promise Rita’s a lot of fun.”
“I got fired from my dishwashing job today...I used my last paycheck to get in here tonight.”
The waitress brought the two brews to the table, and J swatted her rear as she left. She turned and playfully swatted her towel at him, “J, you behave yourself.”
“Always,” he replied, “Always.”
“Oh, you’re good alright.”
J chuckled as she left to tend other customers, “Ain’t she som’m’?”
“Yeah, sure is...who don’t you harass in this town?”
“Bennie...my man...you got me all wrong,” J said, spreading his hands out wide, then he took his brew and lifted it to his lips and took a long sip, “Ah...fine ale, fine indeed.”
Ben sipped his, and then wiped the froth from his mouth with the back of his hand, “Too bad it does nothing for me.”
“You like the taste?”
“Sure, it’s great.”
“Then it does something for ya,” J smiled, showing his teeth.
“True that.”
“So, Bennie...this is your lucky night.”
“Come again? I said I lost my job, how’s that lucky?”
“Because it’s just in time...the Company has approved your first assignment,” he reached inside his suit pocket and removed an envelope, “The instructions are inside. It’s a small job, they like to start ya out small, so the advance is only two-thousand, with a payout of ten G’s when you complete. My take will have to be ten percent on these small jobs.”
“That’s a whole G, and if you start charging me to be AMP’d, I’ll have to move out of the city.”
“Sorry, Bennie, but it’s just business...you know.”
“Sure, I understand. But ten isn’t going to last me long, not long at all if you charge me to get jacked-in an all.”
“You should be able to complete these drawings with one session; the remainder should keep you going for a month or two.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to move out of the city...rent is too damn high in the city.”
“Move north and take the rail in ta’ town.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking of moving north...feeling too much heat lately.”
“Oh, don’t be paranoid, my man.”
“So when will the Company approve a larger job?”
“They like to have a few of these smaller jobs completed first...let’s say about a year or so.”
“I was kind of hoping for a little sooner than that.”
“Business is business; you know how it is...now if there wasn’t an issue with anonymity...”
“Out of the question...I’ll wait it out.”
“Okay, Bennie my man, have it your way.”
“So about Jen. You say you can’t connect with her?”
“No, for some reason I’m not reading her at all. She would have to be AMP’d at the same time in order to connect.”
“Maybe you should face the facts that she really was killed.”
“I can’t believe that. It can’t be true...no, I’ll never accept that.”
“I’m tellin’ ya, you’re missin’ out, my man,” J smiled, sliding his toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
Bennie shook his head and opened the manila envelope and studied the contents of the assignment. After a few minutes he looked up at J, “Got a pen?”
“A pen? Yeah,” he reached inside his jacket and handed him his gold-plated pen.
Bennie began jotting down formulas and equations at the bottom of the page. Then he handed the pen back to J and sealed the paper back inside the envelope, “Here, give this back to the Company. Tell them this was far too easy, I can handle bigger problems.”
“You certain you don’t want to check your work first? They don’t forgive errors, and most likely would not approve future assignments,” J said, grabbing the envelope. Holding it, he flicked it at Ben.
“It’s right...trust me.”
“Okay, Bennie. Just know that it’s my reputation as well here.”
“You don’t actually think I would jeopardize my accelerator hook do ya?”
“Okay, Ben. I’ll get this over to them soon as they’re back from the holiday break...and if this satisfies their contract, we should have payment in a week.”
“When will I get my next job?”
“I’d say they’ll give us one every quarter to start.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, you know...we’re partners...I’m their customer, you’re my contractor...,” J laughed, “it’s just good business n’ all.”
“Okay, okay, guess that’ll have to do. At least that’ll give me time to look for a place up north.”
“Alright, you sure you don’t want to try Rita on for size, you know, just because it’s New Year’s...”
“Stop it already,” Bennie suddenly shot upright as J laughed, “It’s Jen! I feel her!”
“Now you stop...”
“No, I mean it!” Bennie closed his eyes and concentrated, then opened them and looked at J, “It’s gone...but it was her. I swear it was my Jenny.”
“Did she connect with you? Do you know if she heard you?”
“I don’t know...it was more like...more like, just a feeling...a knowing.”
“Yeah, I know that feelin’.”
“I know she’s alive...my Jenny. I’ll find her if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Nice, Bennie. Very nice. I’m glad for ya. Come on, drink up...it’s party time,” J raised his glass to him.
Bennie clinked his glass with J, “To finding Jenny!”
“Yes! To finding Jenny!” J smiled.
* * *
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Underground Lab Complex
Nadine’s Office
January 1st, 2066 00:25hrs
“There!” Nadine exclaimed. Tapping on her screen, “Bennie’s tag.”
“I’ll see if we have any operatives in that proximity. Maybe we can get a positive ID,” Captain Preston offered.
“Very well then,” Nadine smiled, “Oh lookie here, another signature on the screen.”
“A two for one special,” Preston smiled. “How far apart?”
“Roughly 80 miles.”
“Can you give me a direction? Let’s see if we can nab both of them.”
“North is all I can tell ya at the moment, but I like the way you think, Captain. I might have McKenzie put you in for promotion if we can capture them.”
“I’ve located one of our wireless chips in the downtown sector. They’re only a couple thousand feet from target; I can dispatch on your command.”
“Wait...wait...the second signal has disappeared.”
“What about Bennie’s? Can you still read that one?”
“Yes, chip ID confirmed: 5-1-6-1-1-5 is still active and on the board...too bad we never isolated the wireless transceiver frequency, we could just recall him.”
“Ma’am? What would you like me to do? I can still activate our operative.”
“Go ahead, Captain, activate your subject.”
“What instructions would you like me to transmit?”
“Give him the chip ID. Set him to seek and destroy...then have him collect the chip and recall him to the complex with it.”
“Very good, Ma’am. I’m programing the instructions now. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to transmit for final approval.”
“This should prove to be interesting,” Nadine smiled over at Presto
n, “I mean, this is our first real test to see what any of our operatives are capable of doing, and all.”
“I’ve completed the instructions and are queued up to the amplification module projector. We are ready to transmit.”
“The signal is stationary. You are go for activation.”
“Transmitting the activation sequence now,” Preston said, pressing a round red button on his screen.”
* * *
Seattle, WA
5th Ave. JamNation
January 1st, 2066 00:46
Peter Johnson sat quietly in his booth waiting for his New Year’s Eve date to return from the restroom. Pete sported medium length black hair. It was longer on one side, and he did a comb over, draping his hair over his right eye. A successful service manager in his mid-forties, he decided to go for the highest cost chip implant. It promised a wonderful jamming experience, as well as the ability to have a built in locator signal. It was said to also engage local law enforcement if a threat response was transmitted to the base system control. He thought that it was a wise safety feature since living in the city had become dangerous with all the missing people on the rise again.
He nervously waited for his date to return, looking at his chronometer-band twice since she left.
He lifted his glass to his lips and downed the last of his drink, fine Italian liqueur with lemon squeeze. Then his eyes stared straight ahead of him. He set the glass down on the table and stood. His girlfriend returned, and she reached down to grab her purse, figuring they were getting ready to leave. Pete stared straight past her, and actually bumped into her as he walked past.
“Hey, Pete...what’s up with you?”
Pete ignored her and continued walking to the exit, “Hey! I asked you a question, mister!”
Pete stopped, turned and returned her stare with green glowing eyes. She held her hand up to her mouth and gasped. Then he swiped his hand in the air, knocking her ten feet across the floor, sliding her into the wall. Shaping his hand as if choking her from across the room, he twisted his hand. The energy left his hand and broke the woman’s neck.
As if nothing had happened, he turned and continued walking to the exit. Two bouncers tried to intercept him, but he flung them away from him with another flick of his hand. He turned and smiled at the two he had flung to the floor. Waving his index finger in the air, he warned, “Do not follow me.”
The two collected themselves and moved in the opposite direction from the man.
Pete exited the club and crossed the street to the 5th Ave. Jammer’s Club. He stepped up to the entrance window, “One please.”
“That’ll be a hundred bucks, mister,” the gruff attendant demanded.
Pete shaped his hand into a fist as if he was taking the man in the booth by the collar, then he smashed the man by pulling him to the glass, “I don’t think so.”
“Okay, okay,” the man said, his face pressed against the glass, “You can go in.”
“I thought you’d see it my way,” Pete said, releasing the man with a shove.
Peter opened the door and entered the dark club. Standing at the entrance, he scanned around the room. Computer traces had begun to form around his eyes to help enhance his night vision.
Most patrons that were close to the man backed away, giving him as much room as they could. Other’s screamed when the traces began running down his neck and arms, which seemed to be preparing him for battle.
Bennie looked over at the commotion from the other end of the club. Instantly he knew the Company was coming for him.
“Get out, J...leave...I’ll catch up with you later!” Bennie urged, before he got up and moved around the room, purposely evading any contact with this man that he knew was seeking him.
When he got closer to the man, he was scanning the room with his back turned to Ben. Taking a stance, and then moving his arms in a certain manner, he created a ball of energy that he launched at Pete.
The wave of power struck Peter, sending him flying through the air. Bennie took off and ran for the exit when Peter caught himself, turned and threw a power wave to draw on Ben.
Bennie was caught off balance by the wave of power seemingly tugging at his jacket collar.
Peter charged the dazed Bennie, driving him to the floor. The two tumbled and rolled on the ground. Ben broke loose and back flipped to his feet, his eyes glowing brilliantly.
Peter was still picking himself off the ground three feet away when Ben began power punching him with energy as he swung his arms in the air.
Three gut punches and an upper-cut sent Peter to the ground. Bennie turned again to flee, but Peter grabbed him with a force with his hand positioned in the air and began squeezing.
Bennie gasped for air and grabbed at his neck, but there weren’t any hands to remove. He panicked as he begun to lose consciousness, his ears rang, losing his senses around him. He became desperate for a breath of air, his eyes bulging, his neck continued to be squeezed, choking the life out of him.
Bennie looked straight into Peter’s eyes. With furrowed brow, he sent a powerful wave of energy directed at the man’s chip.
Peter’s eyes made a crackling sound and turned milky white. Peter cocked his head to one side, and then fell to the floor, dead.
Bennie dropped to the floor on his hands and knees, coughing and choking, as he recovered from the life being squeezed out of him.
Looking all around the room, he noticed that J and his two cuties were gone. Leaving by a back exit, they had taken Bennie’s advice and scrammed.
The entire club had stopped and was staring at him. He held his hands to motion that it was alright. Then he turned, shook his head and left the club, disappearing into the night.
* * *
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Underground Lab Complex
The Gamma Project Control Room
January 1st, 2066 01:12
“...and signal is terminated,” Captain Hawthorn reported.
“Play back the feed on the overhead,” General McKenzie ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Hawthorn replied, “Coming up on the screen now. We aren’t able to capture audio, but we can see what he saw.”
“Good,” McKenzie said, folding his arms in anticipation.
They watched as Peter became activated and made his way to his target.
“Impressive,” McKenzie commented as he watched people being flung through the air.
“Just wait, General, there’s more,” Hawthorn nodded.
They watched their operative grab the booth attendant and smash him into the glass without even touching him, then shoved him back.
“Now, it’s here,” Hawthorn reported, “the operative is scanning the room, but he can’t zone into the exact coordinates.”
“Do you know what the problem was? Shouldn’t that chip tie directly into his?”
“No, it won’t work that way for Bennie. His chip is the only original alien tech we had, plus the jamming club was throwing off his scanning capabilities.”
“Aren’t those clubs dark?”
“Yes,” Hawthorn reported, “What you’re seeing is the enhanced sensors that grew around the subject’s eyes...it’s just like having night vision goggles.”
“Fascinating...so you were able to replicate the growth feature? Calvin and Doctor Rhodes were adamant that the growth enzyme was not going to produce the same effect.”
“We’ve had a few breakthroughs of our own, General,” Nadine interrupted, coming through the man-trap, “We were able to duplicate the growth enzyme to a limited degree. With time, the Company is confident that they can replicate it one hundred percent.”
“Okay, here it is,” Hawthorn reported.
“That’s Bennie alright,” Nadine said.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” McKenzie cursed, “He is alive.”
“If he made it out, you can bet Calvin and Griffin could have made it,” Nadine added.
“So wh
at happened to cause this transmission interruption?”
“Simple, Bennie was pretty much peaking in his AMP and he was able to fry the other chip.”
“Fried?”
“Yes...short circuited the chip, terminating the subject’s connection. This was fatal to the operative.”
“Mmm, too bad,” McKenzie shrugged, “At least we know what to expect. Can you address these matters in the future?”
“We have a team working on that downstairs now,” Nadine smiled, “Would you like to go down for a tour, General?”
“No thanks, I’ll leave that messy work to you.”
Nadine smirked, “Alright, but if you ever change your mind...”
“I’ll let you know.”
“Can we track his movements through the city?”
“Not anymore. His signal disappeared shortly after leaving the club. Until he’s AMP’d again, we won’t be able to track him.”
“Now that he knows we’re looking, he’ll make it even harder.”
“You don’t have to state the obvious, General. I’ll find him, mark my word. I’ll find him.”
* * *
Bennie walked down the city street with pirate hat fashioned from aluminum foil, which concealed his chip from being detected as he made his way to the rail.
Most everyone he ran into on the way thought he was drunk the way he walked and carried on. He thought it would be the safest way on this night to blend in.
He scanned his account info and boarded the train. Fortunately, Bennie was an expert masking his identity while still being able to use his banking credentials, or they would have caught up to him long ago.
Now he knew he had to come up with a plan to better mask his identity, especially when he was AMP’d.
* * *
CHAPTER 16
Friday Harbor
San Juan Islands
Kit Kat Motel
January 1st, 2066 00:15
Jen and Doctor Rhodes were celebrating the only way they could on this New Year’s Eve: in a quiet sleepy town, off the beaten track to nowhere.
“Doc, you’re hurting tonight aren’t ya?” Jen asked, noticing Rhodes discomfort.
AMP_Phase 1_Cyborg Invasion Page 17
