Darkest Night

by James Cherry

  "No, sir. We don't have time. Let’s go now before they get the lights and security system back up."

  The doctor grabbed Carter by the arm and said, "You heard the receptionist, they are in lockdown, what makes you think we can just walk out the front gate?"

  Carter answered, "Only the facility is on lockdown. We will just claim that we were in the lobby when the lights went out and were never inside the facility. They should let us leave."

  "The guards saw me come in alone. Wouldn't they know something is fishy?"

  Carter shook his head and replied, "Actually, no. The guards changed shifts at six, and these are a new batch of guards."

  Doctor Burch nodded in understanding and followed Carter out of the lobby.

  Darkness had fallen since the doctor had arrived and the cloudless sky was twinkling with stars. The elevated guard post was alive with activity and brilliant swaths of light from spotlights swept the grounds in a steady rhythm. As the pair walked casually towards the main gate, an armed guard emerged from the guard shack and approached cautiously.

  Doctor Burch stepped forward and said, "I am Doctor Burch and this is my associate Doctor Carter. We were supposed to have a meeting with Doctor Rosenberg, but it seems the lights went out and the facility is on lockdown. We were waiting in the lobby and the receptionist told us we should leave and she would reschedule our appointment to a later date."

  The guard nodded and asked, "Sir, could I see some ID?"

  The doctor smiled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his driver's license and showed it to the guard. The guard nodded and looked at Carter.

  Carter reached into his pocket and his eyes widened in surprise. He turned to Doctor Burch and said, "It seems that I left my wallet in the car." He glanced around as several armed guards trained their weapons upon him. Two were by the guard shack and at least four were in the elevated guard posts, which flanked the gate. He smiled sheepishly and said, "I guess you boys won't let me out of here then. Go ahead, Doctor Burch, I will wait here until you bring my wallet back."

  The doctor paused, unsure of what to do next. To his surprise the guard smiled and said, "That’s okay, sir, go ahead."

  The gates swung open with a clank of grinding and squealing metal. The trigger-happy guards raised their weapons skyward, turned away, and ignored Carter and Doctor Burch as they passed through the gates.

  They walked quickly to the rental car and hopped inside. The doctor’s heart pumped fiercely in excitement as he cranked the car and sped away.

  They had made their escape.

  Chapter 13

  Ayako spied Doctor Chin as he entered the baggage claim area. She stepped forward with a grin and after a short but friendly embrace she stepped back and looked over the man.

  Ayako had met Doctor Chin many years before, when he had attended the University of Wisconsin, and he hadn’t seemed to have aged a bit. He was lean in build, in prime physical shape, and stood just shy of six feet tall. His years of martial arts training and hard physical work had sculpted his body into rock hard muscles. His shiny black hair was cut short, just above his ears, and yet a short pony tail sprouted from the back of his head, appearing out of place with the man’s professional demeanor.

  Ayako was genuinely glad to see Doctor Chin, having invited him to the United States after enlisting his help with the matter at hand.

  Even with overwhelming evidence against Doctor Burch, Ayako had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and had continued on with the research, once they had returned from Scotland. Not only to prove the existence of the chupacabra, but also to prove that Doctor Burch had not faked the evidence.

  She had spent hours sifting through the evidence when she made a surprising discovery. Excited by the find, she made a call to paleontologist Doctor Chin, who agreed to fly to Milwaukee. He seemed genuinely interested in the find she had made and wanted to view the evidence in more detail.

  The two old friends chatted briefly as they waited an exhaustingly long time for Doctor Chin's baggage. Once he had retrieved his bags, the pair hurried out of the exit to Ayako’s car. It was late evening, and the sun was just beginning to dip behind the skyline as they left the airport.

  As they drove back to Milwaukee, Ayako filled in Doctor Chin with all the details of the flying creature from Mexico as well as the encounter with Nessie. She also told Doctor Chin about Marty's theory on how Doctor Burch sustained his acid injury and faked the data.

  "I don't understand why anyone would think that Doctor Burch would have faked the data and his injury," stated Doctor Chin.

  Ayako explained, "Marty found a broken battery after the attack and the battery used the same type of acid that was found all over Doctor Burch. There is also the fact that David went out alone and didn't wake anyone. He took a camera but the tape was somehow destroyed, and the area that David was attacked just happened to be where the terminal with a dead battery was located, so no pictures were taken. Marty also told us of the evidence he had collected in Mexico and how Doctor Burch had placed the fossil tooth inside the neck of the cow in order to fool us into thinking a live animal had left it behind. He also pointed out that Doctor Burch and Bo were the only ones that checked the terminal units. Marty says that the two of them conspired to create a hoax and had fabricated everything."

  Doctor Chin furrowed his brow in confusion. Scratching his head he asked, "So, if you don't believe Doctor Burch, then why am I here?"

  She turned to Doctor Chin and said, "I had my doubts, but I trust Doctor Burch. I owed it to him to follow up and verify the evidence we had collected, not dismiss it out of hand.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “And I also found that not everything Marty said has turned out to be true. After returning from Scotland, I began to sift through the evidence collected in Mexico." She glanced back at the road and swerved suddenly to avoid running into a ditch. After she corrected the course of the vehicle, she continued as if nothing had happened, "On a hunch, I picked up the tooth that David had pulled from a cow's corpse and took it to the paleontology department at the University. Doctor John Thomas took one look at it and wanted to know what living creature the tooth had come from and said that the tooth was definitely not a fossil. After doing some tests, he concluded that it was some type of reptile tooth from a species that was previously unknown to the scientific community. That’s when I made the decision to call you."

  Doctor Chin pulled on his right ear, a minor habit he employed when he was lost in thought. He finally asked, "Have you told Doctor Burch of your find?"

  "No, for some reason I have not been able to reach him. I tried to call him on several occasions and am a bit worried as he has been missing for the last three days."

  "Do you know where he lives?" asked Doctor Chin.

  "Of course, why?"

  "Let’s go to his house and check on him."

  "It’s a long drive but we can do that,” she said with a determined look on her face.

  The pair drove the hour-long drive and talked in depth about the evidence the team had collected in Mexico. Doctor Chin asked many questions and seemed to tug incessantly at his ear the whole time. He offered little in the way of theories, as the whole puzzle seemed to confound him greatly.

  The vehicle finally pulled into Doctor Burch’s driveway well after the sun had set, and the sky was dark with the first night of the new moon.

  The pair exited the car and walked to the front door of the house. The house was pitch-black and devoid of life, even the porch light was off, which was odd as the doctor kept it burning at all times. With growing apprehension, Ayako worriedly beat on the door and called, "David, are you in there? David?"

  A flood of light lit up the front porch, briefly blinding Ayako and Doctor Chin. She turned and saw a half-dozen men streaming out from a plain brown van, which was parked across the road from Doctor Burch's home. The men wore dark colored uniforms and carried combat rifles, which were pointed in their direction. A man in a dark su
it stepped forward and held up a badge.

  "I am agent Jeff Roberts with the FBI. Miss, are you aware that Doctor Burch is wanted on numerous felony charges which include criminal trespassing, willful destruction of property, sabotage, assault, and aiding and abetting a federal prisoner?"

  Ayako's mouth dropped with astonishment and a single tear rolled from one eye and dropped to the ground. The sudden realization that Marty had been correct, about Doctor Burch losing his mind, was a burden that she could not bear. She broke down in tears and fell to her knees in anguish.

  Doctor Chin stared helplessly, unsure of what action to take. He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as if he awaited a bullet to end his life.

  Agent Jeff Roberts reached down and pulled the distraught Ayako to her feet. He said gently, "Miss, do you know how we can find David Burch? It’s a matter of utmost importance. He is with a highly dangerous killer by the name of Terry Carter. Carter must be caught."

  Upon hearing the name of Carter, Ayako suddenly ceased her sobbing. Where had she heard that name before?

  From Bo.

  She had listened when Bo had told his story of the night that his team had been wiped out. She had heard him describe his friend Terry Carter and saw his reaction when he described his disappearance. If Terry Carter had survived, where had he been and why didn't Bo know that he was alive? Was it possible that Carter was locked up somewhere and David had found him?

  Ayako glared in anger and she looked the agent directly in the eyes. Pointing a finger at the man's face she yelled, "Don't you dare hurt David, he is a good man. If he did all the things that you say he did, there was a damn good reason. I will never help you or your goons. Never!"

  The FBI agent took a step backwards in surprise. He started to speak, but wisely shut his mouth as the small Japanese woman stared him down. Agent Roberts lost the battle of the stares, turned on his heels, and walked off. He motioned to his fellow agents to follow, and they piled into the van.

  The van remained in place and did not speed away as Ayako had hoped. She waved her fist in the direction of the van and turned back to the front door of the house. She reached down and tipped a large planter, which adorned the front porch, and reached underneath it. Extracting a key she inserted it into the lock and the door clicked open.

  Ayako stepped inside and flipped on the hall light. Without wasting any time, she immediately rushed off to check all the rooms of the house, leaving Doctor Chin standing in the front hallway. After a quick search, with no sign of Doctor Burch, she returned to Doctor Chin.

  Grabbing him by the arm, she said, "He isn't here, and it's apparent that he hasn't been here in days. I don’t have a clue where he is, but I do have an idea why he helped Terry Carter."

  She pulled Doctor Chin toward the front door but he held his ground, stopping her in her tracks.

  She looked back in puzzlement and asked, "What's wrong?"

  "Just what are you getting me into, Aya?" Doctor Chin asked incredulously.

  "Listen, I will explain in the car, we need to go now. Those men out there may be eavesdropping with electronic gear. It is not safe to talk here," she replied in a whisper.

  Ayako waited until Doctor Chin nodded in understanding before she pushed past him and opened the door. What she saw shocked her to the very core.

  Three Humvees and two unmarked government cars were parked outside and two dozen soldiers stood with their weapons at the ready, pointing at the obviously shaken FBI agents.

  Agent Roberts waved his badge in a young officer's face and yelled, "This is a civilian matter, and you have no business here."

  The officer calmly replied, "We are taking over, you have ten seconds to clear the premises."

  The agent looked to his men nervously for backup but his men lowered their guns and backed away towards the van. Agent Roberts turned to argue with the captain again, but the distinct clicks of weapons being taken of safety stopped him. He glanced at the soldiers surrounding him, and he wisely chose to retreat. He rushed to the van, jumped into the driver's seat, and sped away.

  Ayako headed towards the soldiers and as she passed Doctor Chin he made a grab for her, but she shrugged off his hand. The soldiers turned and trained their weapons on her, but the captain barked out a command and the soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and stood at the ready.

  The captain approached Ayako and said, "Doctor Masuda I presume. If you would . . ."

  Ayako cut him off angrily, "Listen here army man, David Burch is not here and you better leave him alone. I will contact . . ."

  It was the captain's turn to interrupt Ayako as he held up one hand and said, "Doctor, please, we are not here to arrest Doctor Burch. You see, he is working for us and we are here to take him to meet General Crowell."

  "Working for you?" she sputtered, not quite understanding.

  "Yes, he is needed for a very important project. If you and your friend would come with us, I will take you to General Crowell and he will explain everything. It is important that we find him before the FBI," replied the captain.

  "Why can't you just contact the FBI and call them off? You do work for the same government, don't you?" asked Ayako.

  The captain answered, "Yes, ma'am, we do but it’s not that simple as he has broken several laws. We will eventually clear his name, but that process takes time and unfortunately, Doctor Burch does not have the liberty of time on his side. If the FBI finds him before we do, then he will go to jail and we will have to wait on the lengthy court process. We need your help in finding him. We need the doctor."

  Ayako looked into the man's eyes, quickly judging him in her mind. Satisfied that he was telling the truth, she motioned for Doctor Chin to join her and she followed the captain to one of the unmarked cars.

  The convoy drove for several hours to a small base camp set up in a remote area in rural Wisconsin. Humvees and light armored vehicles patrolled the area about the camp, shining bright spotlights into the night sky. The camp was lit up as bright as day and was filled with dozens of soldiers who were crouching behind cover as they stared upwards.

  The soldier’s strange behavior weighed heavily upon Ayako’s mind. It almost seemed as if the troops were worried about an attack from the sky. She looked inquisitively toward the captain and said, "What's going on?"

  The captain stated matter-of-factly, "We are waiting for an attack."

  "From who?" A sudden sense of dread overcame her as she noticed for the first time that it was the first night of a new moon. She knew the answer but waited for the captain to respond.

  "The dragons," replied the captain.

  Chapter 14

  Doctor Burch knew that he couldn't go to his house, since he was sure that the FBI would be looking for him and Carter by now. Using false names and paying with cash, they had rented a small private plane out of Denver, and had arrived back in Milwaukee just a few hours earlier. He was glad that he had brought plenty of cash with him as he had used that cash to rent a hotel room.

  Doctor Burch feared that Bo's phone would be tapped so he did not want to make a phone call from his room, as he knew that the FBI could trace the call. So he left Carter behind and caught a taxi to a pay phone, located a couple of miles from the hotel. Only then did he call Bo.

  The phone rang just once and a familiar voice answered, "Hello?"

  "Bo. Damn it's good to hear your voice."

  "Doctor? Is that you?" asked Bo.

  "Yes, it's me. I am in trouble and need your help," the doctor said.

  Bo quickly blurted, "I know about your problem, the FBI was here earlier and questioned me. Don't tell me where you are, the phone may be tapped. In one hour, meet me at the spot that we practiced with the radar terminal. Hang up now, so they won't be able to get a trace."

  The phone went dead as Bo hastily hung up on him.

  Doctor Burch turned and trotted back to the awaiting taxi. He climbed back in and instructed the driver to go to the park, which was the place Bo had indicated
. The drive through the moonless night was quick, as traffic had all but disappeared from the darkened streets. He arrived within thirty minutes, and had the taxi driver pull up into a dimly lit parking area.

  They waited.

  It wasn't long before headlights of a familiar truck pulled into a parking space adjacent to where Doctor Burch awaited. He paid the taxi driver for his time, stepped out of the car, and hopped into Bo's truck.

  Bo's face lit up as the doctor took his seat. He asked, "Just where the hell have you been Doc, and what did you get yourself into?"

  "Well, good to see you too, Bo. It's a long story. Drive to the Budget Motel on East Main Street, there is someone there that I want you to meet," the doctor replied.

  Bo sped away without question as he expertly navigated the city streets and drove toward their destination.

  The doctor worriedly looked to the rear and asked, "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

  "I wasn’t followed. The FBI tried to keep up, but I lost them when I drove through a construction area and went off road. Their car couldn’t get through and they ended up getting stuck. We are okay for now, but we need to get this truck off the road and hide it soon. Every cop in Milwaukee will be looking for it once the call goes out," replied Bo.

  He immediately made a hard left turn into a parking garage. Once parked, he ordered Doctor Burch out of the truck, and they raced to the rear of the lot.

  The doctor watched as Bo approached a four door family car and tried the handle.

  “Locked,” Bo said.

  Bo peeked through the driver's side window and then turned to look at the radio antenna that jutted out of the back of the car. He quickly walked to the rear and unscrewed the antenna.

  Doctor Burch looked on with interest and asked, "Are you going to steal this car?"

  "Yep," answered Bo.

  "Just where did you learn to do that?" quizzed the doctor.

  "They taught us many things in the Special Ops," replied Bo.