by Terence West
Walking inside he almost expected to see slot machines lining the walls. The lobby was a large room with tiled floors and benches on both sides. Potted trees lined the walls while two translucent glass doors stood at the end of the room. Looks more like a library than a Police Station, Jake thought.
Moving through the doors, he was surprised to see a flood of activity. Behind the long reception desk sat a multitude of small wooden desks. Police officers were hustling people in and out of the main office while plain clothes detectives sat at their desks making calls and questioning suspects. Stepping up to the front desk, Jake found himself looking down at a young dark haired officer who didn't look old enough to be an officer of the law. Perfect, Jake thought to himself.
"Good afternoon. My name is Jake Silver and I'm a Private Investigator out of Lake Tahoe. I'm here to see the Captain."
The officer adjusted his wire-framed glasses and seemed to look through Jake. "I'm sorry Sir, but Captain Morgan is very busy today. If you'd like to make an appointment—"
"Excuse me, but it was Captain Morgan who called me down here."
The young officer looked confused. "Let me check with his secretary." He began to pick up the phone and dial the Captain's secretary.
Slamming his hand down on the phone, Jake leaned in close to the young officer. "Listen Officer, I don't have time to screw around. Captain Morgan is expecting me and I don't want to make him wait. Do you?" The young officer was obviously at a loss for what to do. "Why don't I just head back to the Captain's office while you straighten this out." Jake began to walk around the edge of the desk.
"Well, why don't you head on back to the Captain's office while I straighten this out," the officer declared meekly.
Turning his head back, Jake looked at the officer. "Thank you."
Making his way through the office, he came to an open door at the rear. Stepping inside, he found himself in a long hallway. Looking both directions, he needed to take a guess. Deciding to go right, he walked past several offices and storage rooms. Knowing that the officer would quickly figure out that he was lying about his appointment with the Captain, Jake picked up his pace. Passing several officers in the hall, he nodded and kept on his way as to not arouse any suspicion. Taking a turn down an adjoining hallway he stopped in front of a door marked 'Records'. Being a PI was ten percent intuition and ninety percent luck, he reminded himself.
Slowly opening the door, Jake found the room empty except for several tall black filing cabinets. Stepping inside, he carefully shut the door behind him. He began to move further into the room when he heard several footsteps running down the hall. Immediately flattening himself against the wall, he listened as the foot steps passed by.
"Damn, they're on to me. Gotta be quick about this." Hurriedly moving over to the files, he hastily began to scan the labels on the cabinets. Finding the 'A' drawer, he pulled it open and began to thumb through the files. "Anderson ... Anderson. Where are you?" His fingers flew furiously over the files.
Finally finding the one he wanted, Jake immediately pulled out the file and tucked it under his coat. Closing the drawer he crept back to the door. Listening for a few seconds, he carefully opened it and scanned the hallway. Seeing that it was empty, he slowly moved into the hallway and began to progress down it. Stopping at the end, he peeked around the edge. He saw that the hall lead to more offices, but to the right he spotted an exit sign.
Turning the corner, Jake began to walk towards the exit. The sound of footsteps behind him startled him. Making a quick decision, he ducked into a nearby office. It was small with only a desk near the back wall. Jake decided it was apparently empty due to the lack of personal belongings and decorations. Hearing the footsteps nearing, Jake ducked under the desk. From under the desk he could hear the door to the office door creak open.
A few tense moments passed in the silence. "Nothing in here."
Hearing the door close, Jake waited several minutes to get out from behind the desk. Once out, he listened at the door for any signs of people in the hallway. Nothing. Opening the door, Jake checked the hallway. Seeing it was once again empty, he fell into a dead run towards the exit. Slamming through the door he stopped to catch his breath. "That was easier than I thought."
Walking away from the police station, he pulled his car keys out of his pocket. He had parked his car around the corner from the Station anticipating this kind of situation. Turning the corner he passed several other cars before he reaching his own car. Quickly unlocking the door, he slid into the driver's seat. He pulled the file out of his jacket and began to leaf through it. "Let's see what the Police have on Christina Anderson."
Setting the file on the seat next to him, he pushed the key into the ignition and started up the engine. He felt it was best to get as far away from the Police Headquarters as possible since every cop inside was looking for him. "Time to pay a hospital visit to Christina." Putting the car into gear, he pulled away from the curb and into traffic.
* * * *
"He agreed. He's meeting me tonight at seven thirty in his room." Anne held the sleek black receiver up to her ear, twisting the phone cord around the fingers of her right hand. She was sitting at a small round table in her hotel room at the Tikki. The slender black phone base was sitting in the middle of the table with several sheets of paper scattered around it.
"Very good. Don't forget what your mission is."
"Yes, Sir. Misinform the subject."
"Very good, Anne. You're doing very well. Did you get the Bio Sheets that I faxed you?"
She looked at the paper on her table. "Yes I did. This will be extremely helpful."
Hanging up the receiver, Anne leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had just taken. She was wrapped in a white bathrobe. Reaching over to her nightstand she grabbed her reading glasses and put them on.
Picking up one of the sheets of paper she began to read it. "Who you are, Jake Silver." Scanning down the page she ran over his history. "Let's see here." Starting at the top she read over it. "A ten year veteran of the FBI, formerly attached to the Violent Crimes Division. Very interesting." She moved further down the page her eyes widened. She unconsciously started to read out loud. "During an especially trying case dealing with a child molester, he was relieved of duty after nearly killing the suspect in the crime. He left the FBI shortly after that. Too bad, it says here that he had a very promising career ahead of him."
Laying down the copy, she sorted through the piles of paper and pulled out another sheet. Reading down the sheet, she suddenly stopped. "Well, Mr. Silver, you appear to be in the same boat as Christina."
* * * *
Christina wiggled the IV needle in her hand. She watched as the long silver needle moved back and forth in her vein. Gross, she thought. A thin white plastic curtain was the only thing that separated her from the other side of the room. Pulling the white linen sheets up to her chest, she stared at her bleak surroundings. She was so bored. Lying back in her hospital bed she grabbed the remote for the television and clicked it on. She surfed through the channels trying to find something to watch. After flipping through the three channels that the TV offered, she decided to turn it off. She slid down into the bed to take a nap.
A knock on her door startled her. "Hello?" she called out.
Opening the door, Jake stepped in. "Christina Anderson?"
"Yes?"
Closing the door behind him, he walked toward her bed. "My name is Jake Silver. I'm a Private Investigator hired by your parents to look in to what happened to you. Do you mind if we talk for a moment?"
She looked away. "Yeah, whatever."
Jake turned around and reached for a chair that was standing behind him. Pulling it near her bed, Jake sat down. "Christina, I'm here to help. But in order for me to help you, you've gotta help me."
"Look, Mr. Silver, if that's even your real name, I've answered all the questions that I'm going to. So you can save your breath," Chri
stina's voice was filled with cynicism.
Jake leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "I am being paid a lot of money to find out what happened to you. I don't want to let you or your parents down. I will find whoever did this to you."
"I doubt even you're that good."
"Why's that, Christina?"
She sat up and looked at Jake with disdain. "Because the person who did this to me isn't a person!"
Jake leaned forward. "Come again?"
Christina continued to glare at Jake. "You heard what I said."
"Yes I did," Jake admitted, "but I didn't quite understand."
Pulling her legs off the bed she sat facing Jake. "I don't know what happened to me. All I know is that one minute I'm getting ready for bed, then suddenly I'm running through the desert being chased by a glowing blue light." She ran her hand through her hair. "Whatever it was, it wasn't man made."
"How do you know that?"
"Because the fucking thing shot past me like a rocket, then stopped and hovered right in front of me. It was a giant floating ball of blue light!"
"Tell me exactly what happened on that night Christina."
She was shaking now. "I was having these dreams, then they came true."
"Dreams about what, Christina?"
"About them."
"Who?"
"The things that took me away!" Christina was flailing her arms wildly. "I saw them in my dreams, then they fucking came after me!"
She jerked her arm around in front of her accidentally ripping the IV needle out of her hand. She screamed in pain as the open wound began to bleed. Jake stood up and grabbed the button off her bed that called the nurse. He began pressing the button frantically. He watched as her eyes began to roll back in and she began to wobble. He reached out his arms as she began to fall forward off the bed. Catching her in his arms he laid her back down on the bed.
Two nurses ran in the door to the room and immediately began to tend to Christina. "What happened to her?"
Jake stepped back from the bed. "She began to get really upset and accidentally pulled the IV needle out of her hand then her eyes began to roll back!"
"Are you family?"
"No, I'm not. I'm a Private Investigator hired by the family to—"
One of the nurses turned to Jake. "Unless you're family, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Sir."
Jake began to walk to the door. Before he left he took one of his business cards out of his pocket and laid it on the table next to the phone. "Is there anything I can do?"
The nurses were ignoring Jake as they frantically tried to get the IV needle back into Christina's hand. One of the nurses ran past him muttering about getting the doctor.
Jake walked out the door and into the hallway. He began to walk slowly away, but was immediately passed by a nurse and doctor running toward Christina's room. Stopping in front of the nurse's station, he noticed that Christina's chart was lying open on the curved desk. Lifting it up, he quickly slid it under his jacket. Taking a left down the hall, he found a room marked "Staff Only". Peeking inside, he saw that no one was in the room. Slipping inside he strode past the round coffee table in the middle of the room to the copy machine that stood near the back wall. Pulling the chart out of his jacket, he began to make several copies of it. Calmly he pulled the last page off the copier. Spinning around he heard footsteps approaching. Surveying his options he spotted a utility closet on the far side of the room, just past the coffee table. Grabbing his copies he bolted for the closet. The footsteps came closer. Stealthily opening the closet door, he jumped inside and quietly pulled it shut behind him.
Jake listened as the door to the room creaked open. Two people entered the room, a man and a woman. They were talking about a patient who was suffering from diabetes. Apparently they were having some difficulty treating him. The conversation slowly turned from work into pleasure as the two began talking about recent movies they had seen. Jake looked down at his watch in the dark room. Pushing the light, he saw that he had been in the closet for over ten minutes now. Leaning back against the rear wall, he tried to make himself comfortable. He knew he could be here for a while.
He suddenly heard a page come over the loudspeaker. The two people in the room both muttered under their breath. Setting down their coffee mugs on the table the two stood up and walked out of the Staff Room. Hearing the door shut, Jake cautiously stepped out of the closet. Checking to see that the room was once again empty, he swiftly made his way out into the hallway. Walking past the nurse's station he slyly pulled the chart out of his coat and laid it back on the desk where he had found it. Checking around him, he was sure that no one had seen him.
Making his way to the elevator, he pressed the down button. The doors slid apart and Jake began to get on as another man walked off. The two men stood face to face for a moment before they got out of each other's way. The man was about Jake's height and weight, but a little older. He had brown, shortly cropped hair and an odd scar on his left cheek. He was dressed nicely in a black suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie.
Stepping on to the elevator, Jake stared as the man began to walk down the hall. There was something strange, and familiar about that man to Jake. He couldn't quite place it, though. He shook his head and stepped to the side of the elevator allowing the doors to slide shut. Reaching over he hit the button labeled 'Lobby'. Feeling the elevator jerk to life, he stood quietly thinking about what had just happened. Rubbing his hand over his face, he let out a long sigh.
"This case is getting out way out of hand."
Chapter 6
Colonel Hunter watched as his men as they went about their business. Looking into the distance, he saw a helicopter circling around. He was second in command at Area 51. His place was at the control center of the base. What the hell was he doing out in the blazing hot desert commanding a bunch of grunts when he could be meeting General Perry? He kept asking himself that question over and over.
His radio crackled to life cutting through his thoughts. "Alpha One to Recon Team."
Walking back to his Jeep, he pulled out his radio. "Recon. This is Hunter, go ahead Alpha One." He lifted the radio to his ear.
"Sir, we've got something here."
"What is it, Alpha One?"
"We plotted the trajectory the bogey may have taken after hitting the ground and we hit the jackpot, Sir. We have found the second crash site."
"Copy that. Distance from us?"
"About three miles due south of your location, Sir."
"Good Job, Alpha One. Head home."
"Thank you, Sir. Alpha One out."
Lowering the radio to his side Hunter watched as the helicopter faded off into the distance. Walking back to his Jeep, he deposited his radio on the passenger seat. Moving back to the top of the hill, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Major Griggs, front and center!" He watched as Griggs ran out from behind the wreckage of Red Bird and up the hill toward Hunter.
He stopped directly in front of Hunter. "Yes, Sir?"
"Alpha One has located the second crash site. We will be abandoning Red Bird. Are the charges set?"
"Yes, Sir. All the detonators are set and primed."
"Good. Set them for remote detonation and round up your men."
"Yes, Sir." Griggs made his way down the hill toward the wreckage of Red Bird. Hunter watched as Griggs called all of his men together and gave them their instructions. The men then scattered quickly to complete the mission Griggs had given to them.
Walking back to his Jeep, he grabbed the radio off the seat and lifted it to his mouth. He pressed the send button. "Recon to Dreamland."
"Dreamland here. Go ahead Recon."
"Inform General Davis that the second crash site has been located by Alpha One. We're just finishing up here then we're heading to the site, over."
"What is the sites location, Recon?"
"Site is about three miles south of here. It's rough terrain to cross, but we should be there in about tw
enty minutes."
The radio was silent for a moment. "Recon, you have just received new orders from General Davis. You are to complete your task there and return to base for debriefing."
Hunter dropped the radio to his side. What are they doing? I'm so close! Hesitantly he lifted the radio again. "Orders understood. Recon out." Hunter returned the radio to its place in the Jeep. He turned around to see Griggs running up the hill to him.
"Sir, remote detonation set."
"Good job, Major. There has been a change in orders. After we finish here we are to report back to base for debriefing."
Griggs nodded. "Understood, Sir."
"Round up your men and let's get the hell out of here."
Moments later all the men were back in their vehicles and driving away from the crash site. Close to three hundred yards from the site, both vehicles screeched to a stop.
In the first vehicle, Hunter turned to Griggs, "Press the button so we can go home."
Griggs pulled a small black remote from his jacket, he extended the silver antenna on it and flipped the switch to turn it on. Seeing the red led lights on the remote flicker to life, he informed Hunter that the remote was ready.
"Then push the damn button, Major." Griggs pressed the center red button with his finger. About a second elapsed before it happened. Just above the horizon the men watched a red, black and yellow cloud of smoke and fire rise up into the sky. Turning the vehicles around, the men began to make their way back to the base.
* * * *
"Ms. Anderson, may I have a word with you?" The man in the black suit strode into Christina's room.
Christina laid facing away from the door in her bed. "I don't care who you are, or what you want, but I want you to get the hell out of my room and leave me alone."
"I think you'll find it very important to speak with me Ms. Anderson." He spoke with a proper British accent.
