Near Death (A Jake Townsend Science Fiction, Action and Adventure, Thriller Series Book 1)

by Richard C Hale

  Jake smiled and said, “Yeah, I get it now. So how big is our wave file?”

  “That’s the problem,” Bodey said. “I’m not sure, but it’s bigger than 256 bits and 96Khz which is a truly complex computer representation. I have to work on this a bit to extract it all. Take a break Bro’ while I crunch some numbers.”

  Jake walked over to where Maddy was working on a few contacts her mother had given her and said, “Any luck?”

  “Not really,” she said. “Two answering machines and one wife who said she would give her husband a message. Mom says ‘Hi’ by the way. They got back this afternoon and she asked what happened to the picture in my room, so I told her everything including the fact that you stayed with me last night.”

  “You told her everything?” Jake asked.

  “Not everything,” Maddy said, playfully. “She wanted to make sure I said, ‘Thank you’ from both of them for watching over me. She wants to make you dinner tonight.”

  “That’s awfully nice of her, but I have Bodey with me.”

  “I told her that, and she said bring him. And Teri too.”

  “Ok. Sounds good.”

  “I’ll call her back and tell her,” Maddy said. “How about six thirty?”

  “That will work. Its four thirty now and I don’t want to overwork Bodey. He’s had a long day, what with the barfing blond and all.”

  Maddy laughed. “He’s a trip.”

  “Yes he is. Where’s Teri?

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in a while. She’s hardly said two words to me today.”

  Just then, Teri poked her head from around the partition separating the sensing chair and the control desk and yelled, “Jake, come here for a sec. I want you to see this.”

  Jake and Maddy both walked over and Teri bent down next to the chair and pointed at something attached to the underside of the pedestal. It was a small, silver, metallic object with a very fine hair-like filament protruding from the side. It was the size of a hearing aid battery.

  “What’s this?” Teri said.

  “I don’t know,” Jake said.

  “Well, I think I do, now that you seem surprised it’s here,” Teri said.

  She pried the small object from the pedestal, stood, and carried it over to the sink where she proceeded to fill a glass with water and drop it in.

  “There,” she said. “That’ll take care of that.”

  “Take care of what?” Bodey said, joining the group.

  Teri held the glass up for Bodey and he peered inside.

  “That’s a bug,” Bodey said. “And a nice one. Somebody spent some money on this.”

  “Breckenridge,” Teri and Jake said at the same time.

  “Who’s Breckenridge?” asked Maddy.

  “General Breckenridge is the head of the government organization funding our research. They’re our sole source of income right now,” Jake said. “Apparently he doesn’t trust the reports I’ve been filing with him, so he’s taken it upon himself to get accurate intel his own way.”

  “Peter probably planted this,” Teri said. “I’ll bet there are more. Should we look?”

  Jake thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, we don’t have time right now. It would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. We’ll start tomorrow. Bodey’s probably exhausted and I should get him to the house and cleaned up. We’re all invited over to Maddy’s place for dinner. Maddy’s mom, Sara, is going to cook for us.”

  “I am beat. Hungry too,” Bodey said. “Sounds good. Does she know how to cook?”

  “Yes sir,” Maddy said with a twang. “Good ‘ol southern cookin’. Fried chicken and sweet tea, corn bread and collards.”

  “What’s a collard?” Bodey asked.

  “You’ll love it,” Jake said, clapping Bodey on the back. “It’s like wilted salad.”

  “Great,” Bodey said, sarcastically. “Can’t wait.”

  22

  January 13, 2010 6:12 p.m.

  Orange Park, Florida

  Jake and Bodey arrived at Maddy’s a little after six. Teri was there already, drinking a Corona with a lime in it and talking with Sara.

  Sara came over, gave Jake a big hug and kiss and said, “Thanks so much for keeping my Madison safe. It means a lot to me.”

  Jake was a little embarrassed. “No problem. My pleasure.”

  Maddy’s father came into the kitchen and he looked the same as he did in the pictures, except, maybe a little older. “Is this him?” he said, gesturing toward Jake and speaking to Maddy.

  “Yes, Daddy, this is Jake. Jake, this is my father.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Mr. McClaughlin,” Jake said. “You have a fine family.”

  “Well, thank you. Call me Mike,” he said shaking Jake’s hand. “And thanks for keeping an eye on my daughter while we were out of town. She said she had quite a scare.” He leaned in close and said, “She’s still having nightmares from the accident where her fiancé was killed. She wakes us up in the middle of the night like a scared little girl. It’s been tough on her. I was hoping they had stopped, but I guess not.”

  “Yes, sir.” He turned to Bodey and said, “This is Bodey Jensen. He is helping me in the lab with a computer issue.”

  Sara said, “Hello Bodey, welcome.”

  Mike shook Bodey’s hand and said, “You boys want a beer?”

  “Yes, sir!” they both said a little too quickly and Mike laughed.

  “All right—let’s get you one.” He went to the fridge and pulled out three Bud Lights and handed one each to Jake and Bodey, keeping the third for himself.

  Sara asked, “Where are you from, Bodey?”

  “Chicago, ma’am. Suburb called Wheeling.”

  “It’s gotta be damned cold up there right now,” Mike said.

  “Yes, sir. When I left it was eight degrees. I like it better here.”

  While Bodey made small talk with Sara and Mike, Jake sat down at the table with Teri. Maddy was helping her mom prepare the meal and she looked up, catching Jake’s eye and rolled her own eyes, smiling. Jake smiled back, laughing to himself a little.

  Teri noticed the exchange and said, “So, you stayed here last night?”

  Jake didn’t like the look on her face, but nodded and said, “We both had the dreams again and hers was particularly bad. She called me pretty scared. I came over so she wouldn’t have to be alone in the house.”

  “What about Beth?” Teri asked.

  Jake visibly winced. “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, Jake. You’re already playing around with the hired help? I can see it.”

  “It’s nothing,” Jake said, lying. “You’re imagining things and I don’t appreciate the comment.”

  “Then why does she keep making googly eyes at you and smiling all the time? Jake, why would you be doing this now?”

  “You, of all people should know what I’ve been through the last few years. Now, let it go.”

  She said, angrily, “I need another beer.”

  She got up from the table and stomped to the fridge.

  Maddy saw the discussion and came over, sitting down next to him. “Everything Ok?” she asked.

  “Teri’s being an ass. I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She senses something between us and was pressing me on it.”

  She nodded. “Have you ever thought that maybe she might be jealous?”

  “No. Why would she be jealous?”

  “Because she likes you, silly. She may even love you. I think I just figured out why she’s been acting the way she has toward me. She feels threatened. Trust me. It’s a woman intuition thing.”

  “But I’ve known her for forever and she’s never remotely shown any interest in me before.”

  “Or maybe you’ve never noticed. Don’t be hard on her, Jake. She’s done a lot for you, remember?”

  He nodded, but was clearly bothered by this new revelation. Teri in love
with him? What the heck?

  Maddy squeezed his hand, got up and went back to the counter to finish helping her mother. Teri had recovered from their spat and was joining in on the conversation in the kitchen. They were all laughing at the story of Bodey and Robin, the vomiting girl on the airplane, as Jake stood and rejoined the group.

  Bodey suddenly switched tracks. “So, what’s collards?”

  “Boy, you mean to tell me you’ve never had collard greens?” Mike said.

  “I don’t even know how to spell it, sir.”

  “Well, you’re in for a treat. We’ll give ya’ an extra helping,” Mike said, slapping Bodey on the back, hard. “Come on boys. I got something to show you.”

  Maddy said, “Oh no, Daddy. You’ll bore them to death.”

  “I can’t imagine any man worth his salt being bored by a car,” Mike said.

  “The Chevelle?” Jake asked, brightening.

  Mike, surprised said, “You’ve seen it?”

  “Just the picture in the hall, sir. I’d love to see the real thing.”

  “See?” Mike said to Maddy, “You ladies worry about the kitchen stuff and I’ll keep the men entertained.”

  Maddy threw a carrot at him and stuck her tongue out, then grinned at Jake.

  Sara said, “We’re going to eat in twenty minutes. Don’t make me come find you.”

  “Yes, Mamma,” Mike said obediently, and led them away.

  In the garage, next to a Chevy Equinox, a large green tarp covered what was obviously a car. Mike raised the door so they could get around to it and slid the cover off the Blue ’69 Chevelle SS. It was immaculate with two fat, white, racing stripes running from front to back down the center of the vehicle. All the other badging looked original.

  Jake whistled and said, leaning over looking into the car, “1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS coupe. Is this the 402?”

  Mike shook his head no, and Jake stood up quickly and said, “The COPO with the 427 V8?”

  Mike nodded, grinning. “You know your cars. Everything is stock. I restored her last year. Her interior was a mess.”

  “Oh my God,” Jake said. “They only made like three hundred of these, right?”

  “Three hundred twenty three,” Mike said.

  “What will she do?” Bodey asked, looking into the interior.

  “0-60 in 5.1 seconds,” Mike said. “1/4 mile in 13.3 seconds at 108 mph. She’ll put you in the seat back. Wanna take her for a spin?”

  “Do we?” Jake said. “Hell, yeah!”

  * * *

  The men returned from the joy ride ten minutes late and Sara playfully scolded her man for making them wait. He apologized profusely and said it would never happen again, but Sara just smiled. Jake must have had a huge grin on his face because Maddy laughed and shook her head when she saw him. He loved classic cars.

  The collard greens were a hit with Bodey. He had three helpings.

  “Be careful,” Mike said, “they may go right through ya’ if you’re not used to ‘em.”

  “Yes, sir,” Bodey said and put a spoonful back. Mike chuckled.

  After dinner, they went outside on the deck where Mike built a fire in the pit. Bodey and Teri sat together and caught up on old times while Mike and Sara joined Jake and Maddy, close to the fire. It was a little cool for Florida and the blaze kept the chill away.

  Maddy sat close to Jake and they shared a smile. Jake saw Sara watching them and felt his face turn red as Maddy snuggled closer to him getting warm. Sara glanced at her husband and they shared a look. Jake also thought he saw something in Mike’s eyes that made him feel a little uncomfortable. Like a warning.

  “So Jake,” Mike said, “what’ve ya’ got my daughter doin’ down there at this lab of yours? It’s not anything dangerous is it?”

  “Daddy,” Maddy protested.

  “No, sir,” Jake said. “She’s helping with research and assisting with some secretarial duties. The lab is completely safe and Andee wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “Honey,” Sara said to Mike, “I’ve been there, remember? It’s fascinating. I tried to get you to go, but you wouldn’t.”

  Mike nodded and said, “Who’s Andy?”

  “N-D-E-E-E,” Jake spelled, “pronounced Andee. She is the computer system and hardware I developed to advance our understanding of the human brain.”

  “Hmm,” Mike said. “But what’s all this hoopla about dead people and seeing ghosts and stuff. What has that got to do with brain research?”

  “Honey,” Sara said, “I told you, it’s not about ghosts. He’s helping people who have had experiences like mine. Near Death Experiences. He’s a scientist.”

  “Let me explain,” Jake said. “Some of my research is classified, but I can give you a general idea of what I’m doing. I began developing a system which would analyze brainwaves of people who were having some sort of sleeping disorder in order to evaluate if a safe alternative to their drug therapy could be utilized to help them sleep better. I stumbled upon an energy source in the body previously undiscovered. The particulars of this I can’t discuss, but basically it allowed the equipment I was using at the time to interpret what the brain was doing.”

  “You were reading people’s minds,” Mike said.

  “Very good, sir,” Jake said. “The equipment I used back then would not allow the full potential of this energy source to be discovered, so I developed a much more complicated system, with the help of Bodey here and his company, and now I can view, in a visual and auditory format, whatever someone is thinking. I can read people’s minds, but with some limitations. I’m now a sophisticated carnival sideshow,” Jake joked.

  Mike smiled and said, “But what does that have to do with my wife?”

  “Good question, sir,” Jake said. “The system, though highly advanced, has some limitations like I mentioned. For instance, it can only read what the person is actually thinking or dreaming at that time. It cannot read what the subject does not want us to know.”

  “Daddy, I’ve seen this with Mom. It’s pretty cool.”

  “I have parties who are interested in assisting me with getting past this limitation, and that is what I am working on now,” Jake said.

  “Parties?” Mike asked.

  “I can’t discuss that part, sir. I’m sorry.”

  “I was in the special forces in ‘Nam, Jake,” Mike said, “I can see the military and covert implications of what you are doing. I’m still confused about how my wife fits in?”

  Jake nodded. “Sara and others like her have had something altered in their bodies. Having the body cease its biological function and prepare itself for death causes a change we don’t understand fully yet. And then if that body is brought back from a biological death, something permanent has changed within them. They are special and unique and I believe they may be the key to unlocking the limitations we have.”

  “Is that all you believe they can help you with?” Mike asked.

  Jake hesitated.

  Maddy’s father seemed to have the uncanny ability to see right through him. It made him a little uncomfortable. He contemplated how to say what he wanted them to know, and then decided to just be honest.

  “Sir, this part of my research may not seem very scientific to the common layman, but to put it bluntly, I believe there is life after death, and I want to prove it.”

  Mike didn’t seem surprised by this revelation at all. He said, “What’s wrong with good old fashion faith?”

  “Nothing, sir,” Jake said, “but faith can’t let me speak to my wife. And there is something important I need to ask her.”

  As the words fell from Jake’s lips, this revelation, put into such simple terms, sounded weak and thin, even to him. His resolve faltered the smallest fraction, and somewhere deep inside something cracked. Jake felt himself wince. A loose watery feeling settled into his stomach and he probably looked a little pale at that moment.

  Silence fell on the small group for an uncomfortable minute, and then Mike said, “
Jake, I really like you. This little bit of time we’ve spent here tonight has made a very favorable impression on me, but I have to say I’m worried you’re into something that may not be healthy for you, my daughter, or the rest of us for that matter. You don’t want to go messin’ with God.”

  “No sir, I don’t,” Jake said, “but I believe someone wants me to do this. Why would I be given the knowledge and the foresight to get to this point if I’m not meant to follow through? What If I’m supposed to do this and I give up or quit? What would I have missed or failed to do?”

  “Even if you think you’ve been given divine guidance,” Mike said, “you must still make decisions for yourself. You must ultimately choose whether this path you’re going down is right and good and you must someday answer for the decisions you make.”

  “I know, sir,” Jake said, solemnly. “I think about that every day.”

  “I hope so,” Mike said. “I hope so.”

  Breaking the tension, Maddy said, “Mom? Don’t we have dessert?”

  “Yes, sweetheart, we do,” Sara said, standing. “Does anyone want peach cobbler?”

  A hardy ‘Yes!’ from everyone brought them all back to the kitchen and warm peach cobbler. Later, after an hour of Bodey and his stories, they were all saying goodnight. Teri left first, and while Mike was explaining to Bodey the intricacies of fly fishing, Maddy pulled Jake off to the front room for a moment.

  When they were alone, she moved close and he held her tight.

  “God, I’ve wanted to be right here all night,” she said, snuggling closer. “Maybe Bodey needs to stay at a hotel.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” Jake said. “I might kick him out.”

  She looked up into his eyes and said, “I’m sorry about my dad. He can be pretty overbearing at times.”

  “I like your dad, and I respect his opinion. He was right on a lot of things, but I’m pretty committed to this project.”