The Road to Round Mountain II - The Alliance: By C.G Roberts

by C. G. Roberts

  11

  Avery Ranker had been a favorite of Mr. Bailys for quite some time. His appearance was unassuming, short dark hair, no facial hair and his black rim glasses gave him the look of a local college professor. If ever there was someone who might decide to go against orders given them, Mr. Ranker would go into disposal mode and report the lethal results to Mr. Baily.

  It was shortly after five P.M and the parking lot at the Driftwood Public Library was deserted as is usually the case during the su mmer months. Avery Ranker came down from the roof of the library unnoticed and got into his white Chevy cargo van, and preceded to head across the street to Burger King.

  Mr. Ranker parked his van next to Mr. Banks Jeep. He did so with his van obscuring the view of the jeep, for those coming out of Whopper Ville. He exited through the passenger side door and immediately slid his slim Jim between the glass and door panel. He knew that Banks would keep the tracking device hidden from public view; he would only need a minute.

  Ranker heard footsteps coming up from behind him. He must be cautious, yet studious enough to recover the tracking device. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing”, the voice from behind bellowed? Ranker placed his left hand in his pocket to get a grip on his Glock nine millimeter. He was hoping he didn’t have to use it. “That car belongs to the guy that got killed and the police are having us watch over it until they can get a tow truck here”.

  Ranker slowly turned towards the voice as his slim Jim had just unlocked the jeep. Oh great he thought, as he was staring at a Burger King employee that stood a good six inches taller than his own six foot frame. He delayed his reply for just a second as he noticed something shoved under the front seat of the jeep.

  “You need to get away from that”………….and before the Burger King employee knew it, he was holding his chest from a gunshot wound courtesy of a cat quick

  Avery Ranker.

  Ranker caught the man as he was falling towards him, opened the door to the jeep and shoved him inside. The man was already dead as Ranker had pushed him over to make the Jeep still look vacant. A quick scour from under the driver’s seat produced the tracking device he was looking for. A lock of the door and back in through the passenger side, Ranker revved the van back to life. He noticed no other people interested in his choice of parking spots, so he backed out and pulled around through to the drive-thru; after all killing always gave him a ravenous appetite.

  Heading south on highway 101 he turned the power on to the tracking device while scarfing down his second whopper with cheese. The device immediately started pinging. Ranker pulled into the Chevron to fill up as he got the

  coordinates from the device. This took longer than he thought, but once on the

  road again he got a hit. Bend, Oregon came up on the screen, so he punched that

  info into his phone for best directions.

  A loud squealing turn was made on highway 229, as his most direct route to Bend came rather abruptly. Satisfied he had pissed off no drivers on 101 with his sudden turn he began his phone calls.

  His crew had been contacted. They would meet him at the Sugarloaf Mountain

  motel in Bend on business 97 highway. A short meeting at nine P.M. at the Black Bear Diner, then they would proceed to the location where Billy was currently at. Capture with collateral damage was on the menu.

  12

  After our less filling, tastes great debate concerning Vargas, Gary had one final warning. “When you meet Vargas, he will try and test you, s imilar to a sword fight to see who has the greater power”. I do remember seeing the movie Stepbrothers, and I’m hoping that he was talking about a different type of sword fight. I wouldn’t feel comfortable whipping it out to engage in battle. Gary sensed my confusion, “How about this, if the two of you were dogs, he just wants to sniff your butt, that’s all”. That visual was no better than the other. “Just brace yourself, his favorite is making you move without you wanting to”, Gary concluded.

  As I looked around the cabin I said, “So which room is he in”? Brad pointed to

  the door just beyond the fridge, “Downstairs, and don’t get pissy with him, he just

  wants to demonstrate his dominance over the entire Human race. Great, can’t

  wait to meet Mr. Wonderful I thought as I followed Miles, Brad and Gary down

  this never ending flight of stairs.

  This was not just downstairs, but an entrance into another world. Computers and monitors as far as the eye could see, and there were two sets of monitors with multiple images on them as they obviously had cameras set up all over the place. The area down here was enormous; it looked like about twenty five feet wide and at least sixty feet deep.

  I could see two big air vents at each end of the room. The walls were solid

  concrete. Lighting was a series of hanging fluorescent fixtures neatly spaced in two equal rows through the entire length of the room. “What the hell is this place”, I asked. Gary answered, “My uncle and his dad built this in the late fifty’s, when the cold war was heating up. This is what you would call…..a bomb

  shelter”.

  My right hand was still holding on the hand rail leading down the stairs as I heard, “Well, well, if it isn’t blow ‘em up Billy”. I followed the others around the first set of computers, that’s when I noticed someone seated in front of one of

  the monitors. His back was to me and if I had to guess from his shape of him, that

  his name would be Cartman, like on South Park.

  I took two more steps before I felt a sensation come over me. It was like someone was willing me to get closer and that’s when I remembered Gary’s warning of a potential sword fight. The urge was strong for me to move but after a half step I was able to focus long enough to put a stop to it. If Vargas was trying to assert his superiority then he would have to try harder than that. I saw Vargas take both hands and grab the edge of the desk as if aid hi m in his effort to move

  me. I could feel him in my head, like a little monkey looking around for the magic

  banana; sorry Vargas, no bananas for you.

  Brad started first, “Hey look, Vargas can’t move him, what’s the matter Vargas did you finally meet your”………………………………. Brad stopped talking just as I felt Vargas leave my head and watched as Brad literally fly about ten feet and landed on the chair next to Vargas .

  “You rotten fucker”, Brad screamed, “I told you to quit doing that”. Vargas slowly turned towards Brad, “If you don’t want to participate in the game, then you don’t get to be the play by play man either”. Brad got up off the chair, looked at Vargas and then suddenly the chair scooted across the floor about twenty feet before bu mping into one of the many desks located down here.

  Vargas commented, “Wow Brad you moved a chair across the room and while I’m sure it was an effort on your part, that just didn’t impress me at all”. Vargas turned the rest of the way to face me, “You, on the other hand, impressed the shit out of me Billy; you are by far the most powerful mindbender I’ve met; please, have a seat”, as he pointed to the empty chair to his right.

  I know I’ve seen that face before, but for the life of me I can’t think where. I obliged his request and sat next to him as he reached his hand out, “Vargas, Dan

  V. Marrick”. I shook his hand and replied, “Billy, William Shake Speer”. Wait a minute, did he say Marrick? That would be too much of a coincidence for Vargas to be related to Don Marrick, the FBI agent that was murdered back in Astoria. The same Don Marrick that handed me two flash drives as he gasped for his last breath after he and his partner were shot while trying to help me.

  “Man, did you say William Shakespeare”? I nodded, “Yeah but my middle

  name is Shake, and he was my Mother’s favorite author”. Vargas grinned, “That’s

  too wild man”. “My turn, do you have any relatives in the FBI”? His grinned vanished just as fast as it appeared, “I did have; my brother Don. He and his partner didn’t
make it and I know who was responsible, and I think you know who

  as well”.

  I did, but wasn’t entirely sure. Vargas continued, “I was at University of Illinois

  about a year and a half ago when I got hit by lightning. My last class of the day

  ended and I made a mad dash back to the dormitory. It hadn’t started raining yet but the wind picked up and I didn’t even know it happened until I came to at the Hospital”. That sounded eerily familiar. “When I came to, I found that I had a nurse assigned to me. The scary part was she was already aware of my telekinetic capabilities. That sweet southern accent charmed me to trust her. That was my big mistake”.

  “Nurse Mattie”, I blurted out. Vargas nodded, “Yes, good old stab you in the

  back, Nurse Mattie. She was how I ended up at the compound”. “You know my last day in Astoria when all the big shit went down, I didn’t see her anywhere”, I

  added. “There’s a reason for that”, he turned his chair back facing the computer

  monitor and brought up a clip from the St. Helens weekly newspaper. Vargas

  motioned for me to look at the screen. It showed that a Wendy Boling, an agent

  for the FBI was found dead in her hotel room shot in the chest at point blank

  range.

  The picture of the hotel room with the large blood stain on the bed was

  disturbing yet satisfying to the degree that I knew I didn’t have to worry about her

  anymore. I only have room for one lady in my life and her name is Jenny. Crap, Jenny, its Friday and I always call her on Fridays. Vargas sensed my change of moods, “Anything on your mind bro”? I looked up at him and replied, it’s my girlfriend, and I’m supposed to call her every Friday”. I fished the smart phone she bought for me out of my jacket pocket and saw that it was just after seven thirty P.M. “I don’t suppose you have a regular land line phone around here anywhere do you”?

  Vargas pointed to his right and said, “Yeah, it’s an old one, it’s the wall phone just next to the oven; help yourself”. I got up from the chair and sure enough that was one old phone; it even had a cloth cord on it instead of that stretchy cord my parents had. My other question I had for later had been answered by the sight of the newer oven just to the left of the phone. They had a mini kitchen back around that corner with a microwave, sink and dishwasher along with a few cabinets mounted above them for plates, glasses and such.

  I headed for the phone on the wall but stopped and turned back towards

  Vargas. I fished out the flash drive that I had in my pocket and handed it to him. “What’s this”, Vargas inquired? “It’s the flash drive your brother gave to me right before he…..well you know, sorry”. “That’s okay, what’s on it”? I gave a small shrug followed with, “Sheriff Pasco said it has the location of the place in Nevada, plus some other stuff that I don’t have a clue to”. Vargas gave me a small grin,

  and then he got up from his chair and took off his shirt. I’ve heard of lap dances

  and I was hoping this was not the start of one. Somewhat relieved that he turned

  and sickened when I saw what he wanted me to see.

  Vargas had two small discs on his back just above the shoulders at the bottom

  of his neck. Each one was just on either side of his spine. “These a re the conductors that they will implant in you so that you can be recharged whenever your electrical supply runs low. They have a small machine that’s about the size of a defibrillator, only the paddles are smaller and fit right on top of the

  conductors”. I was officially feeling sorry for Vargas. No one should have to go

  through this. He continued, “What they don’t tell you is, every time you nuke something with the juice inside you, it weakens your heart a little. I overheard some of what I call the test Doctors, talking about my results. They concluded

  that the indestructible troops that they are trying to perfect currently will have a

  life expectancy of maybe five years, depending on the amount of action they see.”

  I couldn’t believe that I was actually talking to not only someone who was there, but was one of the test subjects as well. “So, what about your heart”, I

  asked? “I found out that my number was up for disposal as soon as they found out my heart had deteriorated to a greater degre e than they anticipated; that’s when I escaped. My heart only functions at about 25 percent of capacity, so as long as I take it easy I should be cool for a while”.

  Vargas was putting his shirt back on, “I’ll plug in this drive and we’ll see

  what’s there. You go ahead and call your girl , while we check this out”. You don’t

  have to tell me twice as I made my way over to the wall phone.

  13

  I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I found that Jenny had sent me a new photo of herself. I was able to send her one of me, but it wasn’t very good. I’m what you would call selfie-challenged. I mainly wanted to show her my new hair

  color. I’ve told her about it, but she’s never seen me with any other color than the black and white mixture when we met, to the all-white it turned a few days

  later. I still can’t figure out how getting hit by lightning turns your hair like that,

  but it did.

  There was a small shelf next to the phone with an old notepad and a pencil. I placed my phone there while I tried to retrieve the picture she sent me. I can’t wait, just imaging that silky fine blonde hair of hers and those incredible blue eyes; the kind of eyes that seem to not only look at you, but deep into your soul

  as well.

  I was able to bring up the picture she sent me and oh my, what a picture! I turned my head back towards the guys, I guess to make sure they weren’t trying to sneak a peek. To my relief they were gathered around one of the monitors looking at what was on the flash drive.

  I couldn’t believe it; Jenny sent me a photo of her in a bikini. She was stunning with clothes, but without, all I can say is…..hey, you know what I mean, get your mind out of the gutter; there’s not enough room for the both of us.

  I picked up the receiver to the phone and started at it for a moment. The phone was older than the one my parents had. Ours was a push button type of phone, this one was one you actually had to dial; weird. It took a couple of failed attempts before I actually figured out ancient technology. I glanced at my cell phone and smiled at the picture she sent as listened intently to the phone ring.

  I guess it had to do with the fact that it was so old; it almost made a clicking noise instead of the generic ring I’m used to. At the end of the second ring she picked up. “Hi Jenny, I got your”………. “Oh Billy thank god you’re okay”, she

  blurted in a hurried breath. “I’m fine, what’s the matter”, I answered. A moment of silence started as I could tell she was trying to catch her breath and calm down. “First off, I couldn’t tell where you were at, your GPS had been out of service for almost four hours, and then I got a call from Sheriff Pasco”, her breathing was still heavy. “What did the Sheriff want”, I asked with a bit of curiosity?

  “He said he got a call from a police friend of his in Lincoln City, and how he sent out helicopters out because people were saying that either you or those people you were with killed that man at Burger King. I know you didn’t kill him, and I’m hoping that the other guys didn’t because if they didn’t, then it’s starting all over again isn’t it”?

  I nodded my head yes as if she could see through the phone. “Yeah, it’s

  starting again, but this time I’ve got help from some people that have similar gifts

  as mine. I explained how we met and how I got shot in the shoulder with a tracking device. I gave her a quick rundown about whom they are and where they’re from. I was relieved that I wasn’t able to hear her breathe, not like that, but I meant that she was starting to settle down. I then caught her up on what happened at Burger King and how I’m guessing that the guy was offed long dist
ance. I then explained the part about the flying car.

  “You made the car do what”, as she giggled? That giggle always made me

  feel good; kind of comforting in a way. “Yes, we flew over the crowd and as soon

  as there was no traffic we went back down”. I had her copy down the phone

  number that I was calling her from. If things were starting up again I thought that this would be safer than trying to use our cell phones. “You’re in Bend; well that explain s why I couldn’t get a signal from you. Are you sure you’re okay, and remember that the may be like you, but be careful. Remember the last time you put a lot of trust into someone”?

  I did, that rat bastard Nurse Mattie, alias Agent Wendy Boling who put me up for sale. “I will be careful, I think these guys are okay, and one of them has actually been at that place in Nevada, but he escaped and he has these weird conductors sticking out of his back”. “Gross”, she replied. “So, can I ask a serious

  question”? “Well of course silly, you know you can ask me anything”, she offered.

  “How are we, I mean you and I going to work? I keep thinking about it because

  you’re up in Astoria, and I’m not allowed in Astoria anymore….. I mean, I miss

  you, you’re all I think about”?

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  “ I miss you so much too Billy, but this thing isn’t going to last forever and as far as Astoria is concerned, well, I’m a nurse and I can be a nurse anywhere, I don’t have to stay here”. Just hearing her talk makes me feel as though nothing else matters, and as long as we are together it doesn’t. “That makes me feel a lot better, almost as much as that picture you sent”. “I thought you might like that, it’s just a reminder of what’s waiting for you”. “I was going to send you a picture, but I don’t look as good as you in a bikini”, I countered.