by V. E. Lemp
Mark cast a worried glance at Claire before turning his gaze on his niece’s flushed face. “I don’t think we want to consider just anything.”
“No, not just anything,” Alex agreed as he entered the living room with a tray full of glasses. He pushed back his laptop to set the tray on the heavy oak desk that stood against one wall. As he passed out the drinks, he paused in front of Amy. “Your anger’s understandable, but I worry it hurts you more than your enemies.”
“I want him dead,” Amy said. Claire shushed her and shook her head, but Amy lifted her chin and met Alex’s gaze with a fierceness that made Karen inhale sharply. Amy’s growing hatred of Vance and his supporters had obviously cast even her infatuation with Alex from the girl’s mind.
Mark stirred beside Karen, and they shared a concerned glance. “That’s a problem,” she whispered, leaning into him.
“Indeed,” Mark replied under his breath.
They were saved from further comment by a sharp series of knocks. When Alex opened the door, Karen spied Elena’s chestnut head bobbing behind Sam’s ramrod-straight figure.
“Elena!” Ariel leapt to her feet and ran to the other girl, forcing Sam and Alex to step away. She drew her friend into the room and embraced her.
“So you found her,” Mark said.
“With some help.” Sam walked over to Claire and kissed her on the cheek before acknowledging Mark and Karen. He stood behind Claire, leaning his elbows on the high back of her chair. “One of those avatars came to see me while I was fruitlessly following Elena’s trail. Gave me some pointed advice. Led me right to her.”
“Ah, one of Alice’s friends.” Alex crossed back to the desk. He flipped open his laptop before turning to lean against the desk, facing the others. “Did they give a name?”
Sam shook his head. “Didn’t ask. They still creep me out, to tell you the truth.”
“So, Elena,” Karen said, as Ariel led the older girl toward the sofa, “I hear you have a copy of Myron’s video.”
“Yes, I do.” Elena settled in the rocker as Ariel pulled up a footstool and sat next to her. “I’ve kept it safe.” Her green eyes raked over Karen’s face. “You look very tired. Are you well? I’m sorry you got caught up in that mess at Myron’s place.”
“We’re just glad you escaped safely.” Mark placed his arm around Karen’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Karen’s been a bit under the weather, but I’m sure she’ll feel better soon.”
Alex shot Mark a sharp look. “You have the video with you, Elena?”
“Yeah.” Elena reached into a small leather backpack and pulled out a silver flash drive. “Right here.” She waved it in the air. “I would’ve already sent it out, but I never felt safe. I didn’t have a secure computer—was afraid Exocorp or someone was watching me and would block the transmission.”
“Good thinking,” Mark said.
“But with a secure connection, you could send it out?” Alex asked.
Karen stared at him, noting the passion in his brilliant blue eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“I happen to have a computer and an internet connection.”
“But if you send it from here…” Elena glanced from Alex to Karen and Mark. “I mean, I’m pretty good at masking locations, but someone might still trace it back to you.”
Alex straightened to his full height. “So?”
“They could come after you.” Elena cradled the drive in her open palm.
Alex flashed her one of his devastating smiles. “My dear, they’re already after me.” He held out his hand. “Now, come—can you use my computer to send it out? Have you already designed your code?”
“Yes,” she said hesitantly. “I did want Mark and Karen to see it first. They never got to do that.”
“They can watch it now.” Alex turned and pressed the power button on his laptop. “We can all watch it together.”
Elena rose slowly and crossed to Alex. He stepped aside and pulled out the office chair, motioning for her to sit. She glanced back at Ariel before inserting the flash drive into the computer.
Mark stood and pulled Karen to her feet. They joined the others as everyone clustered behind Elena’s chair. Her hands expertly maneuvered the mouse about until a vivid image filled the screen.
“Oh, Dad,” Ariel said softly, watching her father’s brief but mesmerizing introduction. Karen put her arm around Ariel’s waist and gently hugged her.
When the video concluded, there was a long stretch of silence. “Well damn,” Sam said. “That ought to convince a few million.”
“It’s brilliant.” Claire wiped absently at her eyes. “I had no idea he had that kind of evidence.”
“A lot of it from Jasper James,” Karen said, brushing away her own tears. She glanced up at Mark. His eyes were very dark and still behind the lenses of his glasses. “What do you think? Will it work?”
“If anything will,” he replied. Karen noticed he’d reached out at some point to take Amy’s hand. “Send it, Elena. Send it now.”
“Very well. I just need to make a few tweaks…” Elena bent her chestnut head over the laptop, her attention focused on the screen.
The others stepped away to allow her room to work. After several minutes, she pushed back the chair and stood. “It’s ready. Who wants to press the send button?”
“Let Ariel do it,” Amy said. “It’s her father’s work.”
Claire smiled and took hold of Amy’s other hand before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Ariel stepped forward and stared at the screen for a moment. “For my dad.” She pressed the enter key. The screen went dark for a second.
“It’s okay,” Elena said. “It’ll take a moment.” She bent over the desk to pull up the internet and navigate to a random website. “Now we wait.”
The typical homepage, with its photos of celebrities and news bites, flickered. Then a familiar face appeared.
“There it goes,” Elena said softly.
“For Myron,” Sam said.
Karen leaned into Mark. “And Jasper, and Drew, and Val, and all those we do not know.”
He gazed down at her, his expression very somber. “And you.”
“Now”—Amy’s voice was taut with anger—“we’ll see who wins the war.”
“This is just the first volley,” Alex said. “We have a long way to go.”
Karen glanced at him. “But we’re no longer alone.”
“No,” he replied, his expression softening. “We are certainly not alone.”
TWENTY-FOUR
“Look at this.” Karen pointed at the television. “It’s been two weeks, and they’re still talking.”
Mark walked in from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “I think I’ve assembled enough clean glasses for everyone. Finally.” He draped the cloth over his arm and crossed to where Karen rested on the sofa. “Talking heads still discussing the video? Well, that’s what we want.” He adjusted Kate’s position on Karen’s legs before pulling the blanket up around Karen’s shoulders. “Are you sure you’re up for this? It’s a crowd.”
Karen made a face at him. “I’m fine. I’ve only had one treatment so far.” She tugged at a lock of hair falling over her forehead. “Haven’t even lost any hair yet.”
Mark sighed and sat on the edge of the sofa. “Are you certain you won’t consider—”
“No,” Karen said firmly. She grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling him close. “Now kiss me and go back to work. Our guests will be here soon.”
“Very well.” Mark took her face in his hands. “You know I love you more than I can say,” he whispered before kissing her.
Karen rested her forehead against his shoulder for a moment after his lingering kiss. “I know.”
“And I would do anything to help you.” Mark’s fingers caressed the back of her neck.
“I know that too. But the best thing you can do right now”—she sat back—“is prepare for this gathering of our compatriots.”
&n
bsp; “Aye, aye, Captain.” Mark grinned and gave her a mock salute.
“As long as you know who’s in charge around here,” Karen said with a smile.
“Has it ever been in doubt?” Mark stroked her cheek before moving away.
Mark had assembled every available chair to seat their guests, allowing Karen to remain stretched out on the sofa. “Just some stomach upset,” she said when Thea questioned her. “Nothing to worry about. And in case you’re worried, I’m not contagious.”
“That’s good.” Aaron had settled in one of the armchairs by the stone fireplace. Thea was perched on the hassock in front of him. “No offense, Karen, but the last thing we need is to carry something back to the kids.”
Karen smiled. “No offense taken.”
Alex, who was standing behind the sofa, lowered his hand until it was resting on Karen’s shoulder.
“So the video’s been quite effective,” observed Sam, who was seated next to Claire on the deacon’s bench Mark had pulled in from the kitchen. “Of course Vance and his flunkies wiped it out as soon as possible, but not quite soon enough, thank God.”
“No, it had already been downloaded too many times for them to control the distribution,” Mark said. “Just as Myron planned.” He glanced at Ariel, who was seated on the floor next to Amy. “I hear he’s doing better these days. Sorry we haven’t visited lately, but with Karen being a bit under the weather we didn’t think it wise.”
“He’s improving,” Ariel said. “But still isn’t able to speak. I mean, he can talk, but the words get all jumbled up.”
“Aphasia. Not surprising. But he will improve, hopefully,” Alex said.
“Yes, we do have hope,” said Elena, who was seated in the other chair flanking the fireplace.
The doorbell chimed, and Karen called, “Mark, the door.”
“Yes, love, I haven’t gone deaf.” Mark made his way to the front door.
“So what were you and Mark chatting about earlier?” Karen tilted her head back and gazed up at Alex. “I saw you two sequestered in the kitchen, chatting away.”
“Strategy,” Alex said, looking up and over her head.
“Whatever you say.” Karen tapped the back of his hand. “You were talking about me, weren’t you?”
He glanced down at her, his aquamarine eyes shadowed under his long lashes. “Why would you think that? We have all these oars in the water—Vance, Exocorp, the video…”
Karen shook her head. “Why do you men think I don’t know what’s going on?”
At that moment Mark walked back into the room followed by Lee Oshima and three people Karen instantly recognized. They were former subjects who’d been in the Morpheus Project with Karen and Lee. Max McCormick, of course, and Pilar Varda and Ingrid Hansen. All of them together again. No, not quite. Sadness washed over Karen. Two of the student subjects, Drew Bronski and Valerie Rice, had died as a direct result of the machinations of Ian Vance and Exocorp.
After welcomes and introductions—made doubly awkward by the Morpheus Project subjects’ realization of Alex’s return from the dead—Lee launched into a detailed account of the recent activities of his abductees group.
“Once Karen and Ariel exposed the lie behind most of the abductions, even to just that one group, the word spread like wildfire.” Lee’s slender figure was backlit by the late-afternoon sun pouring through the front windows, his black hair touched with a tinge of midnight blue.
Ingrid crossed to Lee and stood next to him, her figure still as lithe as his, though she towered over him in her stiletto heels. “Lee has kept us all informed,” she said, laying a hand on his arm, “of the wrongs Dr. Vance and his company have perpetrated on so many. And on us,” she added, her blue eyes sweeping over Pilar and Max and coming to rest on Karen’s face. “It seems there is no limit to the evil spawned by the Morpheus Project.” Her voice, still slightly accented by her native German, trembled slightly on the last two words.
Lee covered her hand with his fingers. “Yes, but now we’re fighting back. At long last.” He looked up at his old friend and smiled.
“Too late for Drew and Val,” observed Pilar, who was perched on the arm of the sofa. “Still, I’m glad for anything that brings down Vance and Exocorp.”
“And exposes our alien invaders to the world,” Max said. He was standing near Elena’s chair, leaning against the mantle. “As the video has done so well. I’m glad I could contribute to that, if only in a minor way.”
“It was pretty significant,” Claire said. “Your narration was gripping.”
“I just can’t help wondering what we do now.” Thea’s brown eyes sought out Mark, who was standing by the door to the kitchen. “I mean, the video has the world talking, but lots of people still dismiss it as nonsense. Especially with reports about it being a hoax.” She leaned back against Aaron’s legs, and he rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Exocorp’s media wranglers at work,” Alex said.
“Well, it may be more difficult to dismiss the current work of the abductees’ network,” Lee said. “Groups from all over are joining our efforts to gather more evidence. We’ve got people wearing hidden cameras and secretly taking photos whenever they’re abducted. Photos that allow us to map the Earth-based installations used by the Oneiroi and their human collaborators. With a little help from the government.”
“Parts of the government,” Mark said. “You can’t trust everyone. Remember that, Lee.”
Lee nodded. “I only approach those you vet first. But I’m grateful for your help, as well as the work Sam’s doing to identify those in the military who support our cause.”
“It’s the least I can do.” Sam took Claire’s hand and held it out so that the diamond on her third finger flashed in the light. “All in the family now.”
“It’s a big family,” Claire said, glancing around the room.
Karen leaned back against the sofa cushions, “So, Lee, what’s next? I mean, once you map out those sites?” When the former Morpheus Project subjects had arrived she’d straightened and tossed back the blanket, not wanting to draw attention to her weakened condition. As her head pressed into the soft suede upholstery, she felt Alex’s hand slide over and rest against her hair.
“Raids,” Lee said. “That’s what we’re planning, and why I asked Mark to call us together today. Once we pinpoint locations, we will conduct attacks on these facilities before Vance can bulldoze them into the ground. That requires rather large numbers of people at any one place, so we’re assembling groups in different areas. Not just here—the abductees’ network is doing this around the world.” He surveyed the intent faces in the room. “I’m in charge of organizing groups in this region. That includes most of you here. And I thought Pilar and Ingrid”—he glanced at the two women—“might be willing to carry the idea back to groups in their hometowns.”
“Glad to do it.” Pilar tossed her salt-and-pepper hair, her dark eyes bright with determination.
Ingrid gave Lee’s arm a squeeze. “Ja, happy to oblige.”
“Good. I’ll give you a few more details. Mark’s been assisting me with plans for setting up secure phone networks and that sort of thing.”
Karen looked over at Mark and smiled as Lee outlined the strategy for the group. Mark gazed back at her, his face expressionless. His eyes were very dark behind his glasses. It was strange—his attention was focused solely on her. Karen wondered what was bothering him. She’d never seen him so still, except when under great duress.
As Lee fielded some questions, the doorbell chimed. Mark straightened and shot a swift glance toward Alex.
“I can get that,” Alex said.
Mark nodded.
Who’s that? Karen mouthed at him. He glanced away.
When Alex walked back with the two new visitors, the room fell silent—but for one gasp from Pilar, whose face was suffused with horror.
“What is this?” Ingrid asked sharply.
Alex was flanked by two slender, dark-haired fi
gures. Their odd eyes, dark as a clouded night, surveyed the room without emotion.
“It’s all right,” Max said, stepping forward to stand beside Ingrid and Lee. “I’ve met one of these beings before. Hello, Douglas.”
“Good afternoon, Max McCormick,” replied the avatar.
Mark swiftly crossed to the middle of the room. “I realize some of you haven’t met Alice or Douglas yet.”
“I’ve met them,” Pilar said unsteadily. “In my dreams.” She hopped off the arm of the sofa and stood facing the two avatars. Her hands were clenched into fists.
“You have not met me, Pilar Varda,” Alice said gently. “But others of my kind. We are not, despite your experiences, all the same.”
“It’s true, Pilar.” Max laid his hand on Ingrid’s rigid arm. “I wouldn’t have believed it either, but Douglas actually rescued me from a very tough spot.”
“It’s time to explain, Alex.” Thea’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “Not everyone’s had the benefit of your…experiences.”
“Very well.” Alex guided the two dark-haired figures to the center of the living room. “This is Alice and Douglas. They are avatars, controlled by Oneiroi who are actually living light-years from here. They have assisted us numerous times in the past, and they are, despite what some of you might think, on our side.”
Karen rose slowly to her feet. She wobbled slightly, and Mark shot out a hand to steady her. “They are our friends. Alice, Douglas, welcome to our home.”
“Thank you.” Alice walked forward and took her hand. “How are you?” Her black eyes raked over Karen’s face.
“Not too bad. I’ll be better soon,” she said, with a warning shake of her head.
“I am sure,” Alice said, with a swift glance at Mark. “Thank you for inviting us, Mark Hallam. We have some news we are anxious to share.”
Mark met Alice’s gaze with a curiously blank look. “Alex arranged it. But, like Karen, I welcome you to our home and look forward to hearing your news.”
Alice turned to face the other people in the room. “I know you have been assembled to fight Exocorp and all its backers. Who include, unfortunately, many of my own kind. The Oneiroi, as Ian Vance has named us. I am here”—her gaze took in all their faces—“to inform you there are many Oneiroi who support your cause.”
