by Utley, Todd
“Nah, it doesn’t sound good like your initials, we’ll have to come up with something else.”
“All right Buddy, we’ll figure something out. You have a good day at work and we’ll talk later. I’ve got to get back to work on mapping out the compound in more detail so we can finish this with Cyrus.”
“Okay my friend, I’ll talk at ya later.”
As Dodge ended the call he realized that his regular job was beginning to stand in the way now of his safety and the safety of his family and even the futures of about 80 people that were working for Slade, or rather slaving for Slade. Neither he nor John really knew how extensive Cyrus’s network had become but it was already too big.
They knew that there were about 70 people at the compound all the time. They were basically prisoners there and they were never allowed outside the walls. There were also roughly 20 or so mules, tails, watchers, and the like, that Slade did let out but only for a few days at a time to carry out specific task, like Todd, Cheyenne, and blue car man.
The Black Ops team succeeded in tracking some messages in and out of the compound that were secret in nature and very well encrypted, none of which stopped in local servers. This certainly raised concerns that Cyrus might have remote operations scattered all over the place and even when they did take down the compound other activities might continue.
This was something that would have to be addressed after the take down when John could get his hands on Cyrus’s systems. That depended on taking Cyrus down with precision in one fell swoop. Not leaving him any time to fragg his drives or launch some sort of data wipe virus to cover his tracks would be wise.
Dodge went back to work, he had a lot to do and he still needed to visit with Tim before the end of the day. When he finally made it to see his boss he found Tim standing in the middle of his large office with a putter, concentrating intently over a ball that he was about to strike. About two years earlier Tim had requested the carpet replaced in his office with a very specific color and texture of green. Of course it was very similar to the grass of a golf green. He had the maintenance crew remove the old carpet and cut three holes in the floor for plastic cups, the exact same kind as those used on golf courses. He hired a contractor to come in and create several subtle humps in the floor. When the carpet crew arrived a few days later the foreman insisted that his men should level the badly warped floor before they installed the new carpet. John laughed.
“No I’m a golfer, you see this is my green, I just paid $3200 to have those humps installed.” Dodge waited as Tim sank his putt and then rapped his knuckles on the door frame.
“Nice putt my friend! This is why you always beat me.”
Tim looked up.
“Ah my good man Dodge, how are you? I haven’t been seeing much of you since your big windfall.”
“Yeah I know,” said Dodge, “It’s been crazy but a good kind of crazy. Linsey is having a great time shopping for cars and planning great things for Bobby and Sarah. Now that cost is not an issue they’re looking at more choices for college. You know Tim there is something that I would like to talk with you about, how about we go hit nine holes?” Tim’s face lit up.
“Hell yeah! Let’s go.”
“All right, I’ll meet you at the club in about a half hour or so.”
Dodge went back down to his office, shut everything off and locked the door as he went out. He liked his job but he needed more time now to dedicate to protecting his family and getting this Cyrus character put away. It had to be finished and they had to be the ones to strike. He had this gut feeling if they didn’t act soon Cyrus would act first and they couldn’t afford for that to happen.
He jumped in the GTO, fired it up and headed for the club. He liked driving the car and he liked driving it fast. What’s the point in having a hot rod if you can’t get out and run it once in a while. He used to get it out for a drive but he would just putter around in it. Not now, life was too short, he felt like he wanted to go fast again, like he did when he was younger. He didn’t know why, it didn’t make any sense because with Restoration as a means of immortality he didn’t need to feel like you only live once or that fun had to be indulged in at all cost while you still can. He knew that he would probably live forever, but still he had this urge like a wild horse that had been pent up for too long in the stable. He needed to run just as fast as he could, and he did.
He arrived at the club a few minutes before Tim so he decided to hit a bucket of balls to warm up. It had been a while since he played and he thought that it might do him some good. He started teeing them up and hitting them hard. For some reason he felt stronger than usual or his swing was more fluid. He couldn’t put his finger on it but tonight was special for some reason, everything felt right and aligned. Tim arrived at the driving range with a cart and watched Dodge hitting a few balls.
“Hey Buddy,” he hollered, “Nice ball!” Dodge had just hit a really long one and Tim was impressed.
“You been practicing in secret on me?” Tim said as Dodge loaded his clubs onto the cart.
“No, of course not, I just feel good today, you know, loose or something.”
They went and hit the first tee. Dodge smoked one right down the middle of the fairway about 295.
“Whoa, what’s gotten into you? I haven’t seen you hit one that far in a while.”
“Yeah, I know, I guess I just feel confident today.” On the way to the second tee, Dodge decided it was time to tell Tim what was on his mind.
“Hey Tim, I really need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure,” Tim said, “Anything, what is it my friend?”
“Well as you know I’m pretty well set financially now and in just about four more years I should qualify for my bonus if I choose to retire.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well I was wondering if it would jeopardize my job in any way if I were to take an extended leave of absence.” Tim looked at him for a minute.
“Everything okay pal? I mean with you and Linsey?”
“Oh, yeah, absolutely man, better than ever, it’s just we’ve both been working so hard at being everything to everyone. You know how hard I worked on this LifeTech project for so long. I think it just sort of burned us out mentally and physically.”
“Well sure Dodge, if you need to take some time I don’t think that will be an issue. You’ve worked hard for many years and you deserve a break. I’ve noticed how much you’ve taken Ross Middleton under your wing in these last couple of years are you grooming him to run things in your absence?”
“Yes that is exactly what I’ve been doing but this was a lot sooner than I planned, do you think he’s ready to handle things?”
“Don’t worry about that I think he’s ready and I’ll take extra interest in what is going on in your department to make sure he doesn’t make any major blunders, okay. Now look, I can get this approved but you will have to go see our company physician. I would suggest that you tell him you’re mentally stressed, that is the best way to get it approved.
He will send you to one of two psychologists, but no worries because I know them both. Once you know which one he’s sending you to, give me a call and I’ll take care of everything. You will have a thirty minute appointment, in and out, and you’ll get your leave approved, I promise. You should easily get 90 days, no problem.”
“Wow Tim, thanks man, I feel so much better.”
“All right Buddy let’s play some more golf, okay?” He slapped Dodge on the back and by the time they had arrived at the next tee Dodge felt even better than he did on the first tee. He split the fairway with another long one.
The rest of the front nine went great, in fact it was so good that they decided to play all eighteen. They were both on fire but Dodge was finally giving Tim a run for his money. He even got a couple of strokes on him through the back nine but in the end Tim still beat him. It was his putting, that man had practiced so much in his office and had such a great touch with his sho
rt game that Dodge just couldn’t quite get him.
Dodge messaged Linsey after the ninth hole to let her know they were going to play the back nine. She messaged back, “Have fun, see you tonight.”
After the round they went to the 19th hole and had a beer. It tasted better today for some reason. On the drive home, the GTO was running great. It was a mild evening so he put the windows down to enjoy the cool night air. The car felt so powerful and smooth. He opened it up down the freeway for about ten miles with his favorite oldies playing, a mix of Maroon Five, Green Day, Creed, and some really old Pink Floyd tracks that his dad had turned him on to.
When he arrived at home, Linsey and the kids were sitting at the kitchen table playing a card game. They had some snacks and drinks and they were having a great time. They invited him to join in, it had been so long since he had even seen anyone playing a card game. Normally he would have declined but there was something about the idea of playing this old card game, something retro, the thought of something real that you could touch, something with texture instead of something digital on the game console. It was a strange day, it was almost like he had gone back in time.
That night, after they finished their game, he went down to the basement and called John. He told him that he was taking a leave from work to concentrate on getting this whole mess behind them so they could all have their lives back. John was thrilled because he needed the extra help. He reminded Dodge that tomorrow morning was going to be a special day for Dodge because when he awakened he would for the first time get a complete dose of his other self.
Everything that his clone had experienced so far would come rushing into his mind the moment he awoke. In all the busyness of everything that day he had forgotten that tomorrow morning was going to be different, the big “ah hah” moment.
When he got back upstairs to the kitchen, Linsey and the kids had already cleaned up and the kids were up to their rooms and would soon be getting ready for bed. He sat down at the table and he almost started to tell Linsey what John had said when he remembered they were on live CCTV and with Audio too. They were so accustomed to this situation that it seemed like part of their lives. He longed for their privacy but it just wasn’t an option tonight.
“Hey babe,” he said, “Let’s go for a little walk.” They went for a walk on the park path and they had a nice conversation. They kept their voice’s low and they talked almost in a code now, they were getting very good at it.
He told her he was a little nervous about tonight, his clone had been loaded up earlier and had now experienced a half day at the farm, when he awoke in the morning he would be remembering and experiencing two days in his life in two different worlds, what a mind-blowing thing.
As always, Linsey was strong for him and she reassured him that he was in good hands, and after all, John did it first and he was just fine with no side effects. She was always there for him, he thought, she was truly a remarkable woman.
Out in corn country near the small town of Lapel two scientists were working diligently at their high tech jobs. No one in the little farm community was aware of the strange scientific things going on behind the weather beaten old doors of the run down dairy building at the farm. Inside it was a high tech menagerie of life support systems, tool rooms, laboratories and a complete arsenal of weapons that would impress even the hardest core militia man. It was surely the best kept secret in Indiana, and for good reason.
In the last 48 hours they learned that Cyrus Slade had weapons beyond their expectations. They didn’t know the exact model, but an informant working for one of the Black Ops team members had through sources, which he couldn’t divulge, learned that Cyrus obtained and installed a missile battery in one of the old storage silos at the foundry. The system had recently been brought online and was fully operational. If Cyrus were to learn of the sting operation that they were running against him, he would no doubt destroy the farm and the homes of both John and Dodge without even leaving the comfort of his office.
Dodges’ clone loaded up with no errors and had been awake now for most of the day. He was the perfect physical specimen, strong, fast, and intelligent; he would no doubt be a huge asset for their cause. He was loaded with Dodge’s complete lifefile that was up to date through the prior night. Now he was briefed regarding everything they found out about the missile capability which Cyrus possessed. With that complete, they began intense training for both John and Dodge. This was certainly going to be a new and interesting situation.
John and Dodge would not need to call one another for updates unless it was an emergency. Every night when they both went through their sleep cycles, their lifefiles would be interlaced into one. John and Dodge could talk to one another at the farm in great detail, sharing ideas, information, laying down the details of the plans for the attack. Each night when they slept their minds merged with that of their clones, it was amazing.
Jason and Caitlin were very excited for Dodge, he was about to go to sleep in Indy and when he awoke he would experience this phenomenon which only few others had ever known. They couldn’t wait until morning to see what he experienced, it was ground breaking stuff and this was only the second time for them to try it. If it worked on Dodge as well as it did on John it would be a very good indication that their methods were reliable.
Earlier that day, back at the compound, Toby and Alice finally found one another in the kitchen just before lunch time. They sat and ate their lunch together but didn’t talk about the events of the day yet because there were too many people around. When they finished eating, they went down to the oven where Toby told her everything that he had done to it, but not before hugging her and giving her a kiss.
He showed her how the doors could be locked now from the inside and couldn’t be opened from the outside. She was impressed with his mechanical skills, and it seemed like it might work. She filled him in on what had gone on in the lab that night with Cyrus attempting to get information out of the poor custodian that he believed to be Dodge and how Glitch had nearly caught her red handed logging into things that she wasn’t supposed to.
They both agreed they would have to be more careful. They decided they would go to his room for the night. They wasted no time sneaking past the guards and slipping in. She brought her PC and they watched some old shows together and talked about what it was like back then. Of course Toby was much older than her so he told her some stories of his childhood and teenage years from the 1980’s.
“Do you really think you can make that oven a safe haven for people if Cyrus transmits the death signal?” Asked Alice.
“Well I don’t know for sure, but it would have to at least increase our chances, I mean that big metal oven would have to be better than nothing. I just need to figure out how to fill the gaps around the doors and a few holes. If I get another opportunity to see John or Dodge before the take down, I’ll ask them if there is an easy way to do it. I think we could round up as many people as we can trust and get them in there when the compound is under attack. I’m sure if Cyrus has a chance he will launch the kill sequence to destroy us all. Even if he didn’t do it manually, he has the dead man’s switch so that if he’s killed the codes are launched automatically. He may be sick but ya gotta admit, he’s smart!”
They talked for a little while longer and then drifted off to sleep on the little sofa in Toby’s room. He woke up in the middle of the night and slipped out from under her. He put her feet up on the sofa and covered her up with a blanket, and went on to bed.
The next morning Dodge Kerrington woke up out of a dead sleep at 5:15 a.m. sharp, he sat straight up, gasping for air as if he had just come up out of water. He was covered in sweat and his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would explode. As he sat up abruptly he let out a yell that scared Linsey half to death out of a sound sleep.
“What! What is it Dodge?” she gasped, Still trying to catch her own breath from being startled. Then she remembered that he must be experiencing the first memories of h
is new clone.
“Just go back to sleep dear,” he said, “I just a bad dream that’s all.” He lay there but he couldn’t sleep after what he had just experienced. It was the most lucid dream experience he had ever had but he knew it wasn’t really a dream at all. He remembered being loaded up at the farm, he had seen Caitlin and Jason and John and spent the entire day with them. He had been through a full workout, his body was so agile and strong. He watched several martial arts instructional videos and would begin intense training tomorrow morning. He took martial arts classes as a youth but this was much more serious.
They also studied the floor plans of the compound together and now Dodge had a full awareness and knowledge of it all. It was a very weird moment, it was like someone had taken a huge bucket of knowledge and experience from a very full day of life and just injected it right into his head, what a rush! It was amazing! But it would certainly take some getting used to. He was now aware of Cyrus having the armed missile silo and his ability to strike with it at will. It was truly a terrifying revelation.
At 7:00 a.m. he got up, he figured there was no point lying there awake just thinking about everything that he should be doing. He would be leaving work early today for an appointment with Doctor Erickson for a referral to one of the two psychologists that Tim told him about; hopefully he would get his leave of absence granted quickly. It was important for Dodge to get Ross up to speed at work before he took his leave. He wanted to end this thing with Cyrus and he wanted to do it right. He didn’t want to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life, but he also didn’t want to let anyone down at ESS, especially Tim.
At the compound Alice had just woken up from a very sound sleep. The two times she fell asleep in Toby’s arms she had felt so safe and content. Now she found herself on his tiny sofa, and in spite of being on a not so comfy piece of old furniture she had still slept better than she would have in her own bed. She was always afraid in that place when she went to sleep. There were some really creepy guys there that frightened her and she worried about them coming into her room while she slept. The locks were good but she had heard tell of some guards that were willing to sell keys.
