A Strange Valley

by Darrell Bain

  As the large pond (or small lake, depending on how you looked at it) came into view, he saw that he would have to make a half-circuit around it in order to get to the renovated log cabin. There were numerous benches along the way, some being used for workers on lunch breaks, but vacant for the most part; the wind made it hard for picnickers. Halfway around the lake, he was not overly surprised to find Lisa sitting at a bench and nibbling on a sandwich as if trying to make it last. Her face brightened when she saw him and he was sure his did too, if the increased thump of his pulse was any indication.

  After the first surge of emotion at the sight of Lisa, Daniel's next impulse was to turn and run. Someone had just tried to kill him, and chances were, another attempt would be made. If it happened here, Lisa would be in the line of fire of whatever method was used next. He stopped, wanting to talk to her; yet scared to risk it.

  It was Lisa who made the decision for him. She slid sideways off the seat where she had been sitting and stood up, smiling in his direction. The breeze was in her face, blowing her long red hair back and around her face in swirls of rusty red fire. It also whipped the becoming green dress around her knees and between her legs, presenting as pretty a picture as he had enjoyed for a long time. He stayed where he was, unable to move while she walked up to him.

  Her smile faltered as she saw his face. “Daniel, is something wrong?”

  “Hello Lisa.” He scanned their surroundings and seeing nothing threatening, managed a weak smile. “No, nothing now. Someone did almost run over me as I crossed the street back there.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wondered why he should be telling her that.

  Concern replaced her smile. “Are you hurt? Goodness, how could that happen right downtown?”

  “I don't know. Anyway, it's nice to see you. Do you usually eat lunch here in the park?”

  Lisa blushed prettily, but she was honest. “Not very often. Frankly, I hoped I would run into you here. Are you sure you're okay? You look pale.”

  “I'm fine,” Daniel said. He studied her face, seeing no hint that she might have known anything about the attempt on his life. “So long as we're here, why don't we sit down?”

  They went back to the bench where Lisa had been eating. Daniel sat across from her, wondering what in hell he was doing making eyes at another woman when his cover presented him as a married man. Lisa's hand slid across the table and covered his.

  “I hope you don't think I'm too ... forward, I guess. I know you're married, but I thought we connected somehow when we met. If you think I'm nutty, or just a brazen hussy, you can tell me to leave.” Lisa told the small fib about “knowing he was married” with what she hoped was a straight face.

  Daniel had to laugh. Brazen Hussy! He hadn't heard that expression for years! “Lisa, you weren't wrong. I felt the same thing. It was ... unusual. I've never met a woman-anyone, I mean-who made such an immediate impression on me. I don't know what it means, though. And actually, I'm not really married.”

  His mouth dropped open after uttering the last sentence. His mouth appeared to be leading a life of its own this morning.

  Before he could think of a way of covering up, Lisa nodded, smiling prettily. “I know.” She hesitated, thinking of her instructions, to learn all she could of what the NSA agents were here for, but no one had told her that one of them would practically bowl her off her feet at first meeting. Looking at his honest, expressive face she felt something like a surge of weakness sweep over her body, but she managed to continue. “I knew-well, we both knew that you worked for the, uh, government.”

  If Daniel's mouth had dropped open before, it practically gaped now. He closed it, thinking of Shirley's suspicions. How right she had been! The problem now was whether the attempt on his life had anything to do with them-and he had to think it did, though from what source, he wasn't sure.

  “Does anyone else here know?”

  Lisa squeezed his hand. “I don't think I should say anything more just yet. I probably shouldn't have said as much as I did, but I wanted to be honest with you.”

  “Hmm. Thanks. Well, let me elaborate a bit. That close call crossing the street wasn't an accident. I think someone wanted to kill me, and probably still does. Would you have any ideas about that?” Daniel watched her face closely as she answered. He wasn't suspicious of her personally, but he needed some answers.

  “Oh, Lord, no! No one here would do anything like that! I'm just sure they wouldn't.” Her expression showed horror at the very notion.

  “All right. I had to ask. And now I have to tell you something else: being near me might become dangerous to your health.”

  “You mean someone might try to kill me, too, just because I'm with you?”

  “No, not for that reason alone. But if you got in the way or were a witness, you could certainly be hurt, and I'm not talking about scratches. You could get killed as dead as me.”

  “But who-?”

  “I don't know.” Daniel scanned the area around them again. Strollers were about but none of them had that indefinable look he had come to recognize as a person trying to make themselves indistinguishable. “I had thought it might be someone from here. But if you say no—”

  Lisa was almost crying. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to kill this man, and even less could she picture herself being slain along with him. She couldn't believe that any of the members of the informal council would want him dead. Neither could she think of a reason his own agency might want him killed, but the initiative must have come from Washington, and if that were so, their source there was in danger. She squeezed his hand again, deciding, on her own initiative, that something must be done about it, and quickly. But the only way she knew to accomplish that was to reveal who and what she was, although he probably knew already. Or did he?

  “Daniel, what do you really know about Masterville Valley? And the people here?”

  Daniel slowly loosed his hand, feeling his heart sink. Could be this young woman, whom he had quickly developed such an attraction for, be going to tell him that she and others here were a different breed of human, such as Phillips and Bobby Lee feared? It didn't seem possible. Everyone he had met and spoken to so far seemed perfectly normal, if he didn't count the instant affinity between himself and Lisa. And that, he knew, could simply be the often written of, but seldom encountered “Love at First Sight” phenomena. But in the meantime ...

  “All I know is that a clerk in the census bureau discovered a lot of differences in the inhabitants of this valley and the general population. Is that true?”

  “Yes, it's true, we think, but it isn't general knowledge. Hardly anyone in the valley is aware that they're different. And some of them surely aren't.”

  “Which ones? Are you one of them?” Daniel held his breath, waiting on her answer.

  “We haven't found a way of telling the difference yet, other than behavioral, and that isn't always indicative. All I can say is that I meet the criteria that ... has been established, and apparently most of the people do, too.”

  “What criteria?” He knew his voice was sharp but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Lisa to be different.

  “Why, the same as that clerk found, I imagine. Or perhaps a few other things he didn't discover.” She saw the stricken look on his face and her own softened. “Daniel, please don't think badly of me—us, I mean. We're just plain old humans. We work, love, play, go into business. All the things any other person does. And as for the oddities, it isn't that everyone has all the same proclivities; it's just an average. And as far as I know, we haven't yet discovered why we're this way.”

  “You say ‘we'. Who else are you talking about?”

  “I can't tell you that. Or rather I won't. I probably shouldn't have said as much as I have but I when I heard you had been attacked—” Her voice broke and tears appeared in her eyelashes.

  The appeal couldn't have been resisted if he had known for a fact that she was a Martian Ogre in disguise. He reached and gathered her in
to his arms and held her to his chest. She sighed deeply as he began rubbing her back while holding her. It was he who finally had to break the embrace; she seemed prepared to spend the rest of the day where she was.

  He gazed down into her serene face. “Is this one of the oddities we haven't discovered, instant attraction?”

  “I don't know. Couldn't it just be natural?”

  “If it is, I've never run across it before.”

  “Me either. Please kiss me.”

  Shakily, Daniel lowered his lips to hers. They were soft and yielding and altogether enticing. He could practically feel the emotion suffusing both of them during that first meeting of their lips, like a merging of pleasant waves passing back and forth between them. The kiss went on a long time, to the amusement of passers-by.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Crafton was both distressed and aggravated. He sat on the other side of the desk from the Director in his office, trying to look contrite when in fact he was angry. He had been summoned both to explain the incompetency of the agent trying to eliminate Stenning and to report on progress from the other two teams in place.

  “Mister Phillips, I don't know how Bevins missed. He's an expert in wet work, which is why I sent him in, just in case it was called for. Don't worry, though. He'll take care of business next time for sure.”

  “Remind him that he's not the only person we have on board who does that kind of work; it might serve to focus his attention a bit better.”

  “Yes, sir, I'm sure it will. I'll pass the word.”

  Mandel Phillips still wore his perpetual frown despite the assurances. He made a motion of shuffling a couple of the papers on his desk. “These reports don't tell me dick. Everything in them, we knew before sending anyone in. Explain, please.”

  Crafton took a deep breath. “Sir, it appears that most of the citizens of Masterville aren't aware themselves that they're different, so how can we find out much more simply from talking to them?”

  Phillips appeared to consider. “I don't know, but there has to be more to it than that.” He slapped the papers in front of him. “I can't go to the President with this. He wants answers. For that matter, so do I.”

  “Yes, sir. I'm shifting attention away from the rank and file. All we've gotten from them is a smugness about how well affairs are run in their valley. We're going to try looking at records and talking to the mayor and members of the city council and so forth. Also, I'm going to have one of the teams bust their computers and take a look at medical records from a couple of the clinics and the hospital. Maybe that will turn up something.”

  “All right, that's good. In the meantime, the President and his campaign manager think we ought to start ticking things up a bit. Masterville Valley is going to begin getting some attention, particularly about their religious and marriage habits. Once that gets going, your job is to look at who reacts to it; they will be the ones who know something. Believe me on this.”

  “I do, and I agree.”

  “Fine. Now tell me what your man Bevins is going to try next and when.”

  Crafton didn't know and tried to finesse the question. “It will be within twenty-four hours. I'm giving him the option so long as it isn't a vehicular attempt again. Twice in a row would be too suspicious.”

  “All right, see that it succeeds.”

  “I will.”

  Phillips’ frown came near to disappearing. “Fine. By the way, we're having a guest preacher at our church this Sunday. He's supposed to be a real dynamo on Christian values. Would you like to hear him?”

  “Certainly. Thanks for asking.”

  “Fine. I'll see you there.”

  Just as Crafton was getting up to leave, Phillips gave him one more order. “Oh yes, I almost forgot. I'm antsy about Stenning's partner, no matter how clean her record is. Pull her back here tomorrow. Have her make up some excuse that sounds reasonable, a sick relative maybe.”

  “Yes, sir. I will, but won't that blow her cover, leaving a dead ‘husband’ for a sick relative? They're posing as a married couple you know.”

  Phillips waved a hand negligently. “Use one of our funeral home covers to get his body. She can say she's on the way home. Just do whatever it takes, okay?”

  As he closed the door behind him, Crafton's mind was already working overtime with the latest developments. He didn't like an Op moving so fast with such slipshod preparation. Were Phillips and the President really that worried about one small city? Or was the President simply using its oddities for his own purpose? Not that it mattered what he thought; he was going to follow orders.

  * * * *

  Several kisses after the first one, Daniel sighed and moved away from Lisa. “I could go on doing this all day but there's two problems.”

  Lisa smiled. “Oh?”

  “Yes. Number one, we're making a spectacle of ourselves. And number two, I'm supposed to be trying to find out what makes the people here so odd.”

  Lisa smiled fetchingly again. “Am I that odd?”

  Daniel returned her smile with a grin. “Well, physically, you're sure not odd; in fact, you're near perfection. But how about mentally?”

  “In what way?”

  Daniel began ticking items off on his fingers. “Are you religious?”

  “No.”

  “Do you care whether or not you ever marry?”

  “Not really. I would if the man I loved wanted to.”

  “Does the thought of gay sex bother you?”

  That question brought a shrug along with a denial. “No. Caring is what's important.”

  “What's your I.Q?

  “I don't know. Above normal, I suppose.”

  “Do you have friends who are minorities, such as black or Hispanic?

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of work were you doing before starting the B&B?”

  “We didn't-sorry. I taught Biology at the high School for a while. Now I'm a computer technician. I work part time at Beamer Research with Marybeth, and I do consulting work sometimes.”

  “How much school?”

  “I have my teacher's degree. Is there a point to all this?”

  “Yes. You said you didn't know who was or wasn't outside the national norm. It appears that you are.”

  “Do you mind?”

  “No. In fact I approve. I still don't know why we were sent here, other than my bosses suspect that you're mutants or some such thing, and that your lack of quote ‘moral values’ unquote, are a threat to the country.”

  “Daniel, Marybeth and I were told what agency you work for. It's scary, because we're no threat to anyone, much less the nation.”

  “I believe you. Are there many jobs open around here?”

  “I haven't looked lately, but I imagine anyone who wants to work can find something to do. Why?”

  “Because I might just resign and move here.” The minute the words were out of his mouth Daniel knew he meant them. He could hardly believe how quickly he had made up his mind about Lisa, the Valley and the whole scenario. Even if he didn't possess whatever defining characteristic that made the people, on average, different from the norm, it didn't seem to matter. Certainly not to Lisa, if he could believe her, and he did. Being orphaned at a young age and living with relatives had left him without much of a sense of home. Now he felt as if he might have found one.

  * * * *

  Shirley happened to be glancing out a window of the bookstore where she and Daniel were to meet and saw him and Lisa across the street, walking hand in hand. She shook her head despairingly. What in God's name did he think he was doing? It was one thing to try gathering information; it was quite another to become involved with their hostess, whom she was already suspicious of. This just wasn't like the man she had heard of. He wasn't acting like an agent at all. She continued watching and saw them embrace and kiss before Lisa turned and began walking the other way, back toward the park. The scene upset her so much that she left the store as quickly as she could check out with the pair of
books she had purchased. She met him on the walkway outside which led to the entrance. He was whistling and had a dreamy look on his face.

  “Have you proposed yet?”

  “What-oh.” He grinned. “Not yet, but I may.”

  “I knew these people don't worry about marriage much, but this seems a bit too blatant to be true; our hostess making out with my ‘husband’ right in front of me.”

  “She already knows we're not married,” Daniel said lamely.

  “You told her, I suppose? Or is she telepathic?”

  “Can we talk in the car?”

  “We'd better talk somewhere.”

  Daniel had no idea what he was going to tell Shirley. He was still struggling to understand his own motivations and actions, all seeming to pile up on him at once. As they walked back toward where Shirley had parked the car, he began wondering why he had ever gotten into agency work anyway. It seemed to him that he had sort of drifted along on a tide, a quiet unassuming but firm-minded man who nevertheless was unsettled and always looking for a place or a woman or both to be satisfied with. The Marines had been a good experience, and it plus his college degree had put him in line for the agency recruiters. And from there, having nothing better to interest him at the time, he had accepted. That had been almost ten years ago, and while some of the time spent with the agency had been interesting, it still hadn't ever felt like a real career.

  As soon as they were seated inside their car, Shirley began reading him the riot act.

  “Daniel, when we started out on this Op, I thought I had been teamed with a professional. You're acting about as professional as a six-year-old T Ball player. What in hell is going on with you?”

  Daniel chuckled mirthlessly. “I've been gathering information, just like our orders called for.”

  “Sure you have. All right, tell me something you've learned.”

  “I've learned that these people here aren't a threat to anyone. We shouldn't even be here.”

  “And how did you manage to come to that conclusion so soon? Is that what your girl friend told you?”

  “Look, Shirley-”