by T. D. Kohler
July 21, 1128 hours
Stepping back into the lab center, Garrett waits for Admiral Kay to close up the hidden access door.
“You know, Admiral, since we are sharing information that the other might find interesting, there is a something I found out last night and just didn’t know how to tell you.”
“What is it, Harvey?”
“How long did you say you were in the navy?”
Giving him a stern look, the admiral stops and pauses for a moment. “You never asked. I was in the navy for twenty-four years. Why? What did you find?”
Garrett motions like he is putting pieces together. “When we met at my lab site in Oklahoma, there was absolutely zero doubt you were military.”
“Can you please stay focused and get to the point,” the admiral says. “What do you mean, was no doubt? The uniform didn’t give it away?”
“Yeah, well, I went and looked up your record and found no trace of a Julian Kay, officer or enlisted, in any branch of the military.”
Waiting for a reaction, Garrett gets puzzled as the Admiral gives him a shrug and turns to walk away.
“I don’t get it. Your life was just erased, and you are not the least bit upset or surprised,” Garrett says.
“I knew it would be a matter of time before your Men in Black would do that. And two things. One, they did not erase my life, only my history. And two, if they could go into military files and erase my history, just think how easily they could erase yours.”
Garrett frantically rushes over to the computer and all the monitors and says, “How would they know about me? Why would they erase my life, or history?”
Stopping, the admiral turns and takes a step towards his friend. “Think about it. My last known whereabouts was driving off in a stolen van with a quirky, muscular lab geek trying to escape capture and an earthquake. If it was the Men in Black that was pulling the strings that day, then it remains safe to say that you have been erased as well.”
Turning away, the admiral heads over to Stevens, the professor, and the agent.
Garrett stops to watch him walk away smiling. “Whoa, I never thought about that.”
“Sometimes, when you put two and two together, you get twenty-two,” the admiral states raising two fingers in the air.
Smiling, but shaken, Garrett stands there watching the admiral and thinking, Sometimes the answer is the bigger, simpler picture. He eyes the computer station then makes a motivated move to find out if the admiral is correct.
Walking over to Stevens and Abergathy, the admiral looks over at the professor.
“How are his vitals?” he asks Stevens. “I would think he would have thawed out by now.”
Stevens looks up from the electronic pad. “We’re unable to read any type of vitals, however, we’re presuming everything is functioning normally, with the exception of not being able to move.”
“Have you two been able to diagnose his skin, and why does it look so much like that ship we saw the other day?”
“I did not get a full analysis of it the other day,” Stevens says. “However, from what we have discovered here is that they are molecularly similar. I would like to know how this happened.”
The admiral and Stevens stare in silence at the professor when Abergathy exclaims “Ingenious!” They look down in her direction with confused expressions. “Thorium nitrate is a soluble powder. It has to be saturated for its reaction property to work.” Her excitement is starting to show, she makes her way around the professor without taking her eyes off of him. “And H2O poses all kinds of variables.”
Stevens is starting to catch on to the giddiness of the small agent. “Right, distilled water is, well, pure H2O. However, it does not have the connectivity that salt water has.”
Abergathy points her hand at Stevens. “Yes, however, salt water will create a calcified residue waste.”
“Exactly!” Standing upright Stevens looks at the computer pad. “So, what has the electrical properties of salt water without the waste product?”
Hurrying over to his side, Abergathy reaches over and manipulates the iPad screen.
“Blood plasma.”
Waiting for it to sink in she looks up at the admiral, only to see him waiting for them to finish. Abergathy continues. “The electrolytes found in blood plasma could be a cleaner alternative to salinity.”
Turning her attention to the professor, she says, “I would wager that he used his own plasma, which still had some of his DNA, and somehow his project became him, or is it the other way around?”
The lights in the bunker dim and then brighten as Abergathy looks up. Stevens and Admiral Kay look over to the monitors where Garrett is leaning back, watching the screens.
The admiral lightly shakes his head. “Well, let’s go see who it is today.”
The two men make their way over to their friend, and as they look at the monitors, they see a huge man get out of the truck that has pulled up, and out of the passenger side an attractive redhead gets out, looking down at a tablet.
The redhead points over to the house, and the giant walks next to her as he looks over at the screen. Before they move they turn back as another car pulls up. Out of the fancier car a petite woman and a short, stocky man get out and walk over to the other two.
The admiral straightens up and rubs his chin. “Clearly, they are not police. They do move as if they have had training, but I am not seeing military here.” He places a hand on the shoulder of Garrett. “Any ideas, big guy?”
“Yeah, I have an idea, I don’t want to mess with that giant.” They all chuckle, as Abergathy joins them.
Watching the screens, she sees the shorter man making his way from under the porch holding a phone. Her eyes widen, and she takes a small step beck. Watching the three men in front of her, she absently reaches into her pocket and locates the police camera. Struggling to find her voice, “Ah, umm, guys.” When she gets no response, she coughs and clears her throat. “Admiral, I think they are here for me.” All three turn and look at her as she is holding a police dash camera. “You see your Marvelesque performance the other day, well, it was recorded.”
“You knew we were recorded and you did not tell us?” Stevens chides. “Why would you hold that information from us?” turning to leave when the admiral reaches his hand out to stop him from walking away.
The admiral then turns looking at the agent. “You mentioned they are here for you, why?”
“That phone they found under the porch. It belonged to my partner.” she says, pointing back to the professor without looking, “That he killed. So, they are here.” She turns to look at the professor, “Because he is the one that . . .” She doesn’t see the professor where he had been standing, “Where’d he go?”
Garrett whips back to the monitors. “Oh boy, he is going to pull a turkey on them!”
The admiral turns to the lanky doctor. “How did he leave? Lincoln, I thought you were monitoring him? Harvey, watch for him.”
“You got it boss! This is going to be good!”
“Lincoln, see if you and the agent here can find out where he left. We would have heard him leave if he left the same way we came in.”
Giving a quick nod, Stevens steps forward and next to Abergathy. Leaning in and whispering in her ear, “Why would you withhold that information from us? From me?” Before she could say something, he walks off to look for that alternate exit.
Back at the monitors, the giant and the redhead walk into the house as the other two are making their way to where the police car was crushed.
Without taking his eyes of the screens, Garrett leans back and asks, “Do you think this group will find anything? We only found an entrance because of Lincoln’s project equipment.”
Mesmerized at the agents on the screen are moving. “I’m not sure. There is something about this group. I can’t put my finger on it.” the admiral states.
Garrett folds his arms across his chest and leans back in the chair. “Well perhaps Kristen
can help us out with figuring that puzzle out.”
“Lincoln! Agent Abergathy! Need you back here!” the admiral calls out.
Stevens walks up behind the admiral. “I’m right here, you don’t have to yell.”
Turning, the admiral looks past and around him for the agent. “Where’s Agent Abergathy?”
Stevens points to behind Garrett. “I left her here; I can scan the area better alone.”
Garrett holds out his hand and counts on his finger. “Okay you lost the professor, and now you lost Mary Ann? Did they go on a three-hour cruise?”
The admiral puts his arms out as they hear a hatch clank. He looks at the other two with instant terror. “Tell me she did not just go out there.”
Deserted Farm,
Dry Creek, LA
July 21, 1208 hours
Walking out of the house, St. Clair examines the damaged wall again. Through one of the holes he sees Selenia on her phone. He watches her for a moment; unable to make out what she is saying or whom she is talking to. Hearing footsteps, he looks over to the barn. Agents Nomi and Grunt are making their way to the front of the house.
St. Clair turns and almost leans on the broken railing. “This house is shoddy, and there’s nothing here. You two find anything?”
“Something destroyed the back end of the roof. The breaks in the wood are still fresh. Other than that, there’s not a trace of anyone or anything.”
Walking off the porch, the three gather in front. St. Clair takes a few steps, crosses his arms, and turns around looking at the house.
“The admiral and his friend came out of the house. Question is what were they doing here? And why were they in the house?” St. Clair absently thinks out loud.
The two agents cross their arms in imitation of St. Clair and face the house.
“Both of you are jokers. C’mon I know you two found something.” St. Clair shakes his head at them.
Agent Nomi and Grunt glance at each other before Nomi shrugs and steps up, keeping her voice low as not to be over heard. “We both felt it. We’re being watched. However, we cannot find anyone or any equipment.”
Suddenly they all turn to see Selenia ranting as she exits the farmhouse. “I don’t get it.” She says, waving her arms as she storms out of the house. She motions to the cornfield and to the barn. “They send us out here and what did they expect us to find?” Her frustration shows and she looks off the porch towards Agents Nomi and Grunt. “Did you two find anything, anywhere that can help us?”
The three look at each other then back at the ranting agent on the porch. St. Clair straightens up. “No, Chatter, not a ting, nothing.” The other two agents look at each other with a glimmer of confusion.
Selenia makes her way meeting up with everyone when St. Clair starts to flicker, phasing in and out revealing glimpses of his internal coils and wiring connections. Grunt takes a step back with his jaw dropped, staring at the giant agent.
All four turn as they hear someone approaching. They turn to face a man wearing mismatched clothing covering his entire body. A low, quiet voice reverberates, “Get off my land!”
Everyone looks around, as the voice seems to come from everywhere. An unseen wave of pressure nudges the agents backwards. The wave continues to affect St. Clair as he struggles to control his coils.
Selenia rushes over to him. “You need to get out of here, like now! We can meet up later, now go!” St. Clair nods as a green hue surrounds him and he vanishes.
Standing firm against the unseen pressure, Selenia yells to the clothed man. “Under the National Security Act, you need to come with us!” The pressure dissipates as the man goes to motion his arm.
Grunt rolls his eyes at his partner then abruptly steps away from Nomi, his attention is drawn to her lower back.
Every nerve in Nomi’s skin feels like they are on fire. “He’s the one who killed your friend!”
She bends her knees and puts one hand on the ground. “You are absolutely correct!”
“Government! Get off my land!” the professor repeats as he swings his arm. An intense gravitational pulse sends Nomi and Selenia backwards and to the ground, unable to move. Grunt was able to withstand the gravitational pressure with some struggles. Fighting the pressure, he takes a few steps towards the professor.
Abergathy runs out of the house yelling. “Professor! Stop! Don’t do this!” Everyone’s attention turns towards her.
Using the distraction Grunt squints and tilts his head at Abergathy and the professor. The anxiety and stress can be physically seen leaving Abergathy, and both of their postures relax as they slowly drop to their knees and fall back to a sitting position.
The gravitational pressure lifts, as Nomi looks up to see Grunt walk over to the professor. She then notices the young agent sitting on the porch looking like there’s not a care in the world. “Grab her and we can get answers. She was there when your friend was killed.”
Fighting off the muscle soreness, Nomi springs to grab Abergathy only to hit another unseen barrier. Crashing into it with her full force, she comes to an abrupt stop, causing Nomi to step backwards, lose her footing, and drop to a knee.
The inner voice struggles in a weak whisper, “Okay, I felt that one,” as Nomi passes out.
The professor is lying on the ground, and Grunt is standing over him but looking at Nomi. Selenia takes off towards Nomi, but before she reaches her an intense gravity pulse comes sweeping from above, sending both tumbling into the cornfields.
Grunt struggles against the gravitational waves when he looks up to see a large tear-drop ship with a hull that appears to be swirling.
“Awe, shet.” Grunt relaxes his body and is swept into the fields after Selenia and Nomi.
Moments later, the admiral, Garrett, and Stevens come running outside looking around, only to find nobody in sight. They study the area as they make their way to look into the vehicles, dumbfounded. A murder of crows caw as they cut through the dense, humid air.
Garrett throws his arms up to defend himself. “I hate this place.”
Looking into the cornfields, he notes the broken stalks, Admiral Kay pinches the bridge of his nose. “We need to get out of here.”
Dixie Dandy Shopping Center,
Oakdale, LA
July 21, 1216 hours
A green hue develops behind the dumpster of the USA Nails as Agent St. Clair appears crouched down. As the hue fades he stands up and looks around. Taking a moment, he observes the parking lot and the people going about their business. Realizing that he had gone unnoticed, he steps from around the corner of the building. Seeing the Popeye’s, his stomach reminds him he needs to eat. Reaching into his pocket he pulls out his phone. Flashes of the strangely dressed man replay in his mind, causing him to wince and shake his head.
Punching his phone screen, he notices a mom pushing a yellow IGA shopping cart, and her kids are all staring at him. Giving them his warmest smile, he hurries towards the Popeye’s, listening to his phone.
“Agent St. Clair! How are things going?”
Looking around he walks into the Popeye’s. “Director Harris, we have a problem. I’m waiting to hear from Nomi.”
“Wait, you are not there with her?”
Realizing that everyone in the restaurant is watching him, he gives a brief smile then walks back outside. “Yes sir, Chatter, umm Agent Selenia, suggested I leave because something was interfering with the stability of my coils.”
After a moment of pause, Director Harris’s voice comes across the phone slow and deliberate.
“Do you know what was causing it?”
St. Clair lowers his voice. “I believe it was coming from a man.”
“Say that again? Did you say the interference of your coils came from a man?”
“Yes sir.”
After another moment’s pause, the director says, “Do you believe that this man is the one who is responsible for killing Agent Carol?”
St. Clair looks around the sky. “I’m no
t even sure it is a man; but, yes sir.” Not hearing anything on the phone, he looks down at the phone to see if there is still a connection. “Sir? Are you still there?”
“Yes, St. Clair, I am still here. Director Carol is putting a lot of pressure in finding this man. She is going to be calling in a lot of favors and big guns on this. So, if we do not want to end up on the front page of some newspaper, we need to subdue this guy and bring him in.”
“I will head back out there, sir. But I would rather wait to hear from Flea, I mean, Agent Nomi, to see if it is safe for me.”
“Agent St. Clair, you need to man up. Look, I am counting on you,” Director Harris tells him. “I know you have your concerns, but right now we need to focus on bringing that man in.”
Turning to head back into Popeye’s, St. Clair runs into a bearded man wearing sunglasses, knocking him back a few steps. The stranger looks up at the giant agent with his jaw dropped. Tilting his head, the stranger reaches up and pokes St. Clair’s chest.
Scratching just under his beard he smiles and firmly pats the arm of the agent, murmuring to himself, “Interesting and impressive,” as the stranger turns and heads to his car.
St. Clair looks at the man trying to figure him out and trying not to crack a smile while watching the man get into a beautiful Cadillac Deville. Hitting him, he recognizes the man as the person responsible for the bank fiasco in Texas.
“Sir! Are you still there?” St. Clair pipes into his phone. “Sir, I am currently looking at the individual that committed that bank robbery in Texas you had us look into.”
“He is not our priority right now,” Director Harris admonishes. “I need you to get back to Agent Nomi, Selenia, and Grunt and bring that guy in. Understood?”
St. Clair closes his eyes, storing the car’s make, model, and license plate. “I understand, sir.” Hanging up the phone, he puts it back in his pocket. His stomach growls as he steps back away from the restaurant. “Damn.” Then after looking around the surrounding parking lot, he jogs back to the trash can area next to the USA Nails store.
