Session 11 (Agent JUDE)

September 30, 1996.

My healing process was slow this time, whoever dug the two slugs out of me was good, not perfect but still good enough that the pills took away most of the pain.

Work wasn’t happy, my section chief gave me leave with pay. It wasn’t every day your lead tactical agent showed up to work with two fresh bullet wounds and no explanation. I had been given a desk for the next six months pending investigation, two suits following my every move, they wanted me to dress for the office, fuck that, my suits didn’t fit anymore anyway.

Knoxville, Tennessee

The email arrived, another night at the Opera, I didn’t expect to receive one, not after the last time, two gunshots thanks to captain asshole Jason, plugging Joshua personally.  Damn Joshua, I still see the look on his face, he was stunned, shocked yet his eyes were clear, they follow me everywhere.
McGee Tyson Airport, Knoxville Tennessee, wonderful, dress code, suit. Fuck, loose as hell, I could wear three vests underneath to fill it out.

I Spotted Jasper at the airport lounge, he looked the same, thank Christ, last time I saw him, he was bleeding out at the emergency room entrance.I shook his hand, he knew that I couldn’t do more than I did, he thanked me in his own way, a silent nod.

Knight, the big black guy, what the fuck was he doing here, last time I saw him, I was pointing my 9mm at his cell.He looked us up and down, making a remark about my loose suit and my beard that I had let go.

Jasper’s phone rang. Jason, wanting us to rent a car and meet him at the desk of the car rental.

I used the fake ID I had traveled under, full kit, driver’s license, concealed carry permit, the works, plus my snub Colt 357 that  was to the eye, perfectly fine, but an untraceable piece.

Jason arrived at the desk, looking to be back to his best, suit and tie, clean shaven, and seemingly back in control.  I know he shot me, twice, but I know he had to. Bastard.

In the car, Jason explained that we were meeting a friendly, SAC Derringer at the local FBI field office.  He would have the specifics of the opera for us.

The drive didn’t take long, Jason also explaining to the team, I was to be first man in or last man in.  He knew the last op had left a mark, a volatile mark.  It was clear cut, if I point a weapon at anyone in the team, I was to be put down, hard.  To my surprise, no one batted an eyelid, they were all fine with it, it’s nice to be valued.

We arrived at the field office, asking for Derringer, we were ushered through the entrance, down an elevator and into a room set up for us in the basement.  Derringer, a standard looking SAC, a middle aged man, greying moustache and middle stages of a gut.Sitting us in the folding chairs set for us, a local teenage of Groversville, one William Spivey stands accused of possessing abilities beyond that of a regular man.  This teen had held up six gas stations in the past few days, destroying a counter with his bare hands, taking aspirin and food at every location, however his last stop, he killed the clerk, again with his bare hands.  We walked down the corridor of the basement, an armed agent standing guard at one of the doors, his loaded Colt M4 grasped in his hands.  Nodding at us as we passed.

SAC Derringer

Derringer sat us in another room in front of a television.  As the CCTV footage started, Jason halted the images.  Asking me to step away, knowing that seeing these sorts of things could cause a reaction. I was annoyed to say the least, but the last thing I needed was to lose it in a basement with God knows how many agents happy to drop me. I stood back by the door as the rest watched the flickering screen.

As the tape ended, Jason signaled me back over, explaining that the kid had decapitated the clerk with a punch, like something out of a horror movie, a bad horror movie.

Derringer continued, FBI stopped him after six gas stations in three days, a state trooper winged him with a 12g slug, Spivey approached ,bent the barrel of the shotgun, about to strike when the FBI agent on scene dropped him with three rounds to the torso.  The kid was then cuffed and brought in, winged by a slug, three rounds to the torso, still breathing, still able to function.

The guard on the door in the hallway was there for a reason, Spivey was inside.

Bill Ray Spivey

We moved again to another room along the corridor, a standard interrogation room with mirrored glass.  On the other side, another agent with armed the same way as the guard on the door,  at the table, a young man was chained and  bound, leg irons, cuffed to the table, the floor, everywhere possible. The teen, Spivey, his heavy metal shirt still showing the bullet holes, the sight of bandages underneath.  How was this kid alive?

Derringer continued his evaluation, eight days ago, Spivey was reported missing, six days ago, he shows up at home, he remains at home in bed, local doctor called, chronic pain reported, large appetite, no bodily functions regarding stool or urine.

September 26^th, Parents report a fit of some kind, father calls the doctor while the father attempts to restrain, Spivey punches clean through his father’s chest, causing instant death, disappears again, Gas station robberies commence.

Knight took point on the line of questioning surrounding the shooting, angling at the devastation caused by a 12g slug, if the shot had hit centre mass, nothing comes back from that.  Yet the three centre mass shots from a government issue 40 calibre handgun can drop anything, yet this kid was still kicking.

The next issue raised to us by Derringer, the boy showed signs of extensive surgery that was nearly undetectable to the naked eye. The medical examiner discovered the boys limbs showed tissue unknown to the human anatomy.  The entirety of the muscle tissue of the arms and legs had been replaced with some sort of organic tissue of unknown origin.  How could this be possible, the kid was missing for two days, yet no signs of swelling or healing, the scars so faint as if they were done decades ago.

Jason insisted on interviewing the kid.  I stood back in the viewing room, I didn’t need to see Jason get his head punched in, even though the sight would be nice after the bastard shot me twice.

I leaned against the wall with the kid out of my view, all I could hear was his groaning of hunger and pain, he was a dead end, nothing new to report there.  All Jason walked away with was the name of the girlfriend, Jane Allen and her address, all already in the file.

Sheriff Dan Oakley

Dan Oakley was the local Sherriff, Derringer told us he was a small town Sheriff, expect a small town mentality, especially in a town that was drawing attention to itself by way of UFO sightings, lights in the sky and reports of disappearing citizens.

Derringer arranged two vehicles for us downstairs, fake agency ID’s, two FBI for Jason and Knight, two DEA for me and Jasper, we were going to Groversville as agents, a little close to home for me though.

There was a Green box for us at Metro Cell Storage in Knoxville, it was our first stop, well Jasper and I had a quick detour to Wallmart, DEA in suits would be strange, both of us swapping it out for civilian clothes.

Arriving at the Greenbox, the first thing that caught our eye was a large tractor in the centre of the unit, dusty and broken, of little help to anyone without at least a weeks worth of Mechinal repair. Walking around the green box, the first thing that caught my eye, two rifles, AKs, AK-74 and AK-74U, Jasper appeared with a guitar case to pack them in.  Jason picked up a Glock 22 pistol, Jasper also picked up a worn Colt 1911 .45ACP. Jason also pocketed a flare gun, Knight, already packing a Beretta 9mm found a box of full metal jacket rounds for it, an easy pick up.  I couldn’t resist a photo on the wall, the famous JFK shaking hands with an alien, something to amuse the local nut jobs. Knight was also perusing a book ‘Wilderness Navigation’, interesting.  A visa card with a note stating $100 lay near the JFK photo, I took that too, no harm in spending free money, considering these AK’s and mags were caked in dried mud, the Colt was not much better.  A good clean was in order, kits usually going for $50 for the good stuff anyway.

Jasper was also carrying a small wooden box to the car, I stopped him to ask the contents when he threw a grenade at me, catching it and feeling slightly shocked, he quickly told me it was a box of dummy grenades.

Satisfied with our acquired munitions and utilities we stopped at a café outside Knoxville, Jason wasn’t a fan of going in strong, whatever this was, if it required firepower, he doubted two rifles and some pistols would do the job.  This was going to be a bug hunt.

Groversville, Main St

As we approached Groversville, the local radio station flared with local alien abduction stories and talk back radio. Jasper couldn’t resist, he called in regarding a water plant issue, unsatisfied as his phone cut out from bad service coverage.

As we hit Highway 135, the exit to Groversville appeared, the town was in a valley, surrounded by rural farming lands and brush, cell phone coverage here was going to be a nightmare.

It was 7pm when we hit the Sheriff’s department, Betty, the receptionist greeted us and called for the Sheriff.  Oakley appeared, flanked by his deputy, Glenn Patterson, a rake of a man, looked like a stiff breeze would send him away with the tumbleweeds.  Jason took point, two FBI and two DEA in town, the Sheriff was convinced there was no drug involvement, rolling his eyes at every question Jasper or I asked.

We got the run down, Richard Spivey, deceased, Angel Spivey, mortified, Jane Allen, absent.  Top shelf detective work in this hick town.

Oakley also reported he had seen lights in the sky, Betty too.  This was going to be a shit assignment.  We headed to the only hotel in town, Merles Shut Eye, it was alright in a low budget kind of way.  Two room with two single beds.  Knight had is suspicions of everyone, typical really, he was a smart guy, Jason wanted to treat everything like a kidnapping, running that angle would get us in deeper with the Sherriff Department, especially if Oakley could take the credit.

Jasper pulled out a map of the area, mapping out the locations of everything, Spivey’s house, the girlfriends house, point of disappearance, every location in town of interest.  It wasn’t a busy map.

We needed to get the lay of the land, Jasper and I were heading to Merle’s Country Bunker, the local tavern, Jason and Knight were going to check out the local diner.

Inside it was easy to see that the locals had no issue making us feel uncomfortable.  After a few rounds of pool, Jasper started talking to some of the local ladies, there was nothing here, no information, an hour of talking yielded nothing, just local gossip.

After a while, my watch dictated it was time to meet up for a drive to the girlfriend’s house.  We met Jason and Knight on the road, the diner was the same, no real information, nothing to go off.

The drive was quick, even though were out in the farm lands, the plan was simple, Jason and Knight would go in, suited up, it made sense.  Jasper and I were on standby in the car, if there was anything troubling, we were backup.

After a few minutes, Jasper’s phone rang, Jason wanted us to check out the barn.

The moon was bright, bright enough for us to find our way to the back of the property and to the barn entrance, locked, heavy padlock.  I had no choice, I kicked the door, enough to really make it crack.  A dog started barking from somewhere in the house, there was no time for a slow and steady entry, Jasper and I needed to hide.  Pulling our side arms, we entered the darkened barn, closing the door behind us.

After a few moments, a woman appeared on the porch with a barking dog, I could just make her out through the cracks in the wooden wall planks.  Finally she takes the dog back inside.

Jasper and I use our torches to begin a full search. Nothing, empty.

Nothing in the loft, nothing around the rusted tractor and cages, nothing hidden.  Jasper called Jason and gave the all clear.  Jasper and I took off, closing the door, the padlock swinging on the door.

As we got back to the car, Jasper’s phone rang again, Jason of course.  Something was not right at the house, the husband was working late at the town hall, the wife was somewhat absent minded, the daughter was missing, no one has seen her in at least 24 hours.

Jason’s orders, go to town hall, have a look to see if the story checks out, looking for a gold Caddy.

Jasper took the wheel.  After another 20 minutes, we rolled up on the parking lot for the town hall building.  It was here, eight cars in total, one classic Cadillac in the ugliest gold you could lay your eyes on.  The orange glow of the street lights making it look even more repulsive.  Who destroys American classics to this degree. The guy must be an asshole.

Town hall

Jasper and I approached the front steps, banging on the large glass doors revealing an empty foyer, dim lighting shining from some lamps lit in a distant room.

No answer came, we made our way around the side of the building, again no answer at the side door.  The only sound we could here was a siren singing on the road, getting closer.

Shining his flashlight on us as we moved across the parking lot, the Sherriff starting talking, demanding to know what we were doing here.  I gave him every legitimate reason, by the book, official cause and reasons for investigation.

This was the true asshole, every notion I presented was repeated back to me in Hicksville language.  After a few minutes of his bullshit, literally bullshit leaking from his mouth from his brain that reflected an argumentative 10 year old. I could feel my fists clenching, just a few steps closer, only a few and his teeth would be all over that Cadillac. Jasper grabbed me by the shoulder, telling the Sherriff we would withdraw.

Breaking down the AKs

I couldn’t help it, I drove to the tavern, bought a six pack of bud and headed back to the hotel.

Jason ushered us into his room, there was something wrong with the woman he interviewed, she was calm and lucid.  She was not worried about her missing daughter, no matter how hard Knight and Jason pushed her.  Nothing in this town was right, nothing at all.

I had enough. I was done for the night and made my way to my room, snapped the first Bud, and began the first field strip and clean of the pistols. The 45 was the easiest, the Glock simpler still.  The AK’s were crusted in dirt; they were going to take some work. Four Buds down and one AK to go, Jasper, boots on, snoring loudly in his bed.

Session 10 (Agent Jude)

Operation Monolith – Conclusion
Looking into the common area, everyone was zip tied save Takagawa and Kozak who were still in the bathroom.
The flash and sudden appearance of Klinger took us all by surprise.  Jason, Joshua and I all stood there somewhat dumbfounded for an instant.  She was approaching slowly, babbling about some form of god.  Joshua was the first to engage her, talking calmly and holding her attention, enough for me to slip past and make my way to the bathroom, I needed to check that the two engineers were still where I left them.  As I moved through the bathroom door, I could here the mumblings of Klinger, speaking about the “throne of god”, ramblings of a mad woman.  Joshua speaking clearer about turning off the computers, asking how to make it stop.
Takagawa was still unconscious on the floor, Kozak trying to revive him, the faint glow of blue still emitting from Takagawa body.  Within moments, a gunshot rang out in the hallway.  I turned on my heel before reaching the two engineers and advanced back towards the door, the Beretta I had pulled from the security guard held tight.  A second and third shot filled the air as I peered out the door down the hall, Klinger was struggling with Joshua, fending her off as best he could, screaming as she lunged at him.  His voice echoed the words ‘kill it’, I took aim and put two shots through her back, the exit wounds spraying dark blood all over the corridor wall, yet she didn’t flinch.  She raised her hand and struck Joshua again, his screams obvious, it was his final scream as his body fell back against the floor, motionless and cold.  I fired again, striking Klinger in the abdomen, still no effect, turning to look at me, she began to advance.  Something was wrong, something had snapped, Joshua’s screams, unnatural and so pained that I could not stop firing, the cold sweat from my brow pouring into my eyes.

Klinger kept advancing, no matter how many times my 9mm struck her.  She raised her hand in the air as she approached, swinging at my face, as he hand should have made contact, she disappeared, moving back into the void.  In front of me, everything was clear, my mind still racing and searching for targets, something moving down the hall, I raised my weapon again and fired only to hear the click of a hammer striking an empty chamber.  I slumped to the floor, ‘what the hell just happened’.
I lost time, I must have blacked out, raising my head to see Jason pointing his pistol at me, only holstering it when he saw my eyes were sharp again, it was him that I had tried to fire at in the hall, he was worried, very worried.  Forcing me to push on, telling me to zip tie Kozak and re-join the others.  I sent Kozak back in the direction of the common room, my eyes falling on Joshua’s corpse in the hall, his face betraying the look of utter terror I had seen so many times before on the faces of those tortured and mutilated before death.  As Kozak walked, behind me another flash of light, Klinger was standing there again.

The emergency lighting had come to life, forcing me to use the large Mag light I had taken from security, shining it Klinger’s face, she was whispering to me “I’m sorry, it’s the observer effect.”
She lunged at me once more, with no time to draw my Smith and Wesson, I swung the light at her head, making contact with her face, barely having any impact as her clawed arm diverted in the strike away from me.  She continued to lunge at me, strike after strike, I have never hit anyone so hard, she finally felt an impact, swinging at her as hard as I could, my light slammed into the wall of the corridor as she disappeared again, my light passing right through the space where her face had been.
Turning around, Kozak was huddled on the floor, showing physical signs of shock, yet I was unmoved, marching back into the bathroom and looking at Takagawa.  I drew my pistol and pointed it at the unconscious man’s head, every twitch of his body, flicker of his eyes radiating a bright blue slither of light.  I squeezed the trigger, he was too far gone.  Causing me to black out again.
Waking against the wall of the bathroom, cradling the body of Takagawa, his head showing a messy 40 calibre hole.  I picked myself up as I whispered apologies at the lifeless face, all signs of blue had ceased.  Stumbling down the hall, I grabbed Kozak who had not moved and shoved him into the common room, Jason looking at me with another cautious look as he explained he had to find David, telling me to hold down the area.
He disappeared out the door with speed, scanning the room, all of the staff were traumatised, looking at my blood-soaked clothes and wide eyes, they were afraid of me.
Gun shots rang out from down the hall, multiple shots, something was happening.  As I moved to the door, another sudden wave or Vertigo came over me, another flash of events I had not lived filling my mind.

We arrived at the array at midnight having stopped at a green box to arm, brandishing an MP5 sub machine gun, I was moving through the complex, everyone was trying to kill each other.  This place was chaos, something moving in the darkness, something had come through the array, Jason, Joshua and I all spraying bullets down the corridor.  Something had ripped a hole in the sky, consuming everything, engulfing everything and everyone.
Snapping out of the Vertigo, I opened my eyes to see a familiar scene, Takagawa lying on the lounge in the engineer’s office, Kozak by the door talking of procedure, Joshua checking for signs of life from Takagawa.  When the engineer woke, he needed to go to the toilet, Kozak trying to get help, but my hand grabbed him and forced him to help, Joshua was looking at me, I saw him die, I remember his screams.  He looked at me with a look of knowledge, he remembered too.  We both knew what was coming, Takagawa pissing blue, Campbell investigating, only this time, we left Kozak with Takagawa, we all went with Campbell to her office.  Jason, David, Joshua and I, all in the office.  Jason and David also had the look, we all nodded silently to each other, we all remember.  Jason continued his argument with Campbell, this time, she called Kozak in and made the call to security.  I had positioned myself by the door, as Kozak entered, I threw my elbow at him, breaking his nose and sending him bloodied back into the corridor.  As he fell, the voice of the female security guard called out.  They weren’t messing around, I nodded to Jason and put me hands up and stepped out, it was the standard procedure, on my knees, hands behind my back, cable tied and disarmed.  Jason barking threats about harming Campbell as the female and male guards dragged me down the hall and threw me down on my stomach.

It didn’t take long, the gunfire began, Jason calling out and firing.  I couldn’t see a thing, facing the main entrance, everything was happening behind me.  One of the guards moving off through the kitchen, I rolled on my back to see what was happening, as I did, the male guard, Gonzales, pointed his gun at me, demanding I freeze, I was compliant, I had no choice.  More gunfire from another direction, 9mm, not as loud as the 40 cal.  The woman, she was firing at someone.  Fuck! I was tied up, this was what I was here for, if shit goes sideways, this is my job and I’m the only one tied up.
Another wave of Vertigo hit me, I can see Jason on the phone to A-Cell, he is calling in the array, he is requesting assistance.  Did we call this in first? Did we start this whole mess?
Snapping out of it, I was being dragged out the front gate and thrown in the back of an unmarked sedan, flashing lights and sirens everywhere.  Looking in the front seat, Suits, feds, it was going to be an interesting night.
The interrogation room at the Chicago PD was rubbish, dark and damp, the only warmth coming from the glowing embers of my cigarette.  They had run my prints, they knew who I was, they were shocked, all I could do was laugh, they wouldn’t believe me, even if I was telling them the truth, but it was more fun to talk about ghosts and PTSD, that way the jail time might be spent in a Psych ward rather than general population.

The flash of light was overwhelming, all of a sudden, I was back on the floor, on my stomach, listening to the exchange of fire between Gonzales and Jason.  As I looked up at the new voice above me, coming from the kitchen doorway, Joshua was there, holding his Smith and Wesson and Beretta in each hand, calling out "Freeze!" to Gonzales.  Reluctantly he surrendered before cutting me loose.
I picked up my guns from the hallway and re-joined Jason who seemed to have a plan, also having the look in his eye of remembering what had happened.
His plan was simple, he seemed to know what had to happen, everyone had to die.  We were stuck in some kind of time loop, all witnesses to this event had to go, it was the only thing keeping it going, something about what Klinger had said, “it’s the observer effect”.
I was having the same thoughts, everything that had transpired, everything that I had seen in my moments of vertigo, how many times had we done this, three…five… I don’t know.
Jason motioned me to go to the lab with Joshua and David.  Once there, the body of the female security guard lay on the floor, blood leaking from her neck and side.  Gunshots began down the hall, with every shot, a weight seemed to lift from my shoulders, whatever was binding us here was failing.  With every shot, a little more would disappear.
Klinger again appeared, the flash of blue light erupting from the far end of the lab.  This time, we were ready, Joshua loosed two rounds at her, striking her in the chest, David, just like always, took cover.  I took my time, letting go of one round that collected her right in the forehead, causing her to scream and suddenly implode with a magnificent implosion of blue light.  As she disappeared, another weight seemed to lift from my shoulders.

This only confirmed what had to happen, I walked back to the bathroom, Takagawa was still lifeless on the floor, I dodn’t want to get close, opting to fire at him from the doorway, a sudden puff of red mist erupting from the back of his head as my bullet struck his temple.  I continued back to the corridor as the gunfire from the common room continued, Gonzales, still tied up and sitting against a wall, I breathed to him that I was sorry before pulling the trigger again, more weight lifted from me.
Shadows rushed passed my peripheral vision as Jason gave chase to two figures who were trying to make a run for it, Kozak and the researcher Black exiting out a back door.

Joining Jason in his pursuit, he took down Kozak after some effort and wayward shots, Black was unlucky, bit quick, my shot taking the back part of his skull off.
David, Joshua, Jason and I all gathered on the grass, the weight that had been pressing down on us was all but gone, yet there was still more to do.  Jason made a call to Eve, briefing her of the situation.  David had caught on, he was backing away as Jason fired a shot that bit into David’s stomach, sending him to the ground, his arms doing their best to drag him away.  I kept my eyes on Jason, he looked back and motioned to Joshua before giving me a nod.  I didn’t want to do it, Joshua seemed like a good man, he didn’t deserve this.  Before anyone could react, I extended my arm and put a round into his chest, centre mass, he was dead before he hit the ground.  Another weight lifted, the final weight.  It was gone.  I couldn’t help it, was it rage, was it sadness, my mind wandered, nothing was clear, I couldn’t stop myself, seeing David crawling away, I turned my gun on him, advancing as I pulled the trigger, so many shots, enough to empty my pistol before feeling the sharp burning of something hitting my back.
I fell to the ground, the world went dark, was this the end, Charlie would never forgive me.
Blurry, everything was phasing in and out, I could hear voices, I knew Jason’s, arguing with a woman, something familiar, like the way Charlie and I would argue over the smallest things.  I can’t remember.

I woke in a strange wooden framed bed, looking out the window, woods and tall trees, this wasn’t my cabin, but it was somebodies.
Looking at the foot of the bed, Jason sat silently, smoking as always.  Cigarette in one hand, revolver in the other, staring into my eyes, assessing me through and through.  It took some time, but he offered me a cigarette.  His questions were simple, do I want to keep going, or am I done.
Not knowing how long I had been here, I could only exclaim that I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t want to be.
The mission was over, Jason explained that many had to die, but not all, he liked Joshua too, he had plans for him, plans that were cut short.  Unnecessarily from what he said, if David had died from the first shot, Joshua may have lived.  Jason had shot me in the back, twice, he was impressed that I survived. The shot to the chest had collapsed a lung, luckily not breaking a rib.  The shot to the gut would take months to heal, how was I going to explain this to the department, and to Charlie.

Session 09 (Agent Jude)

Tuesday, 9am.

Sitting in the car with Charlie, our eyes fixed on the front door of the house down the block, reports of heavy traffic through related to local sources.  Our conversations were pointless, I couldn’t tell her what was on my mind, Jasper, still recovering, the week I took on advanced first aid to make sure I wouldn’t leave my team mates at the mercy of the butchers known as doctors.

I woke Screaming, my hands gripping the wheel until my knuckles were white, looking around me, Charlie was staring at me, an expression of pure terror in her face.  I hadn’t even realised I had dozed off, only an hour, 10am, trying to remember the dream, that sound, that blood curdling, bone crushing sound, like thunder, shaking my body to its foundations, something was wrong.

Charlie demanded an explanation, I couldn’t give one, I didn’t know.  She ordered me to drive, not far down the road she asked me again, I fumbled for a pathetic answer before she got out of the car, walking.  I circled the block to pick her back up, she refused as she held her phone to her ear.  I wasn’t long before mine rang, my supervisor ordering back to the field office.

He was waiting for me outside when I arrived, he also asked for answers, I was stuck, clutching my chest I blamed it on my chest wounds.  Pushing myself to hard.  He looked at me and arranged transport to the medical centre.

Speaking to the doc, I took the pain meds he offered before glancing my watch as 11am rolled around.  M pager buzzed, incoming email.

The email was simple, another invitation to the opera, 3pm, Chicago, I was going to have to rush.  Calling my supervisor, explaining the doc had told me 48 hours, no troubles there, he had seen my chest, he knew the damage.

I jumped the first plane to Chicago.  I was a mess, no kit, just what I was wearing, boots, jeans, polo shirt and jacket, sidearm, cuffs, phone and ID, bare essentials.

I had to get to the 5th floor of 125 West Ohio St, a good 20 minutes by taxi.  It was going to be tight, but I was going to get there.

The taxi pulled up at 2.47pm, no signs on anyone here, just a lost tourist hovering outside.  I knew that if Jason was still out of action, I was the next in line, there was no way Jasper was going to be fit for whatever this was.  I moved through the doors, across the foyer to the elevator, the concierge smiled as I threw a wink her way as the elevator doors closed.  The fifth floor was empty, another small foyer revealing a construction site that had been taped off with yellow and black tape.  Listening, there were no signs coming from anywhere, something wasn’t right, or I was just early.

Moving to the wall to the left of the elevator, I squatted on my haunches, waiting to see who would be the next to arrive.

As the elevator came to life again, the doors opening to reveal the strange tourist from outside, rising as he walked out, my left hand instinctively moving to my holster.  He clocked my movement, holding his hands where I could see them, a smart tourist.  He seemed strange, mid 40’s maybe, educated, glasses, well dressed, what I would have expected Jason to be when I first met a team leader.

He asked who I was, slowly pulling his phone from his pocket, the same phone I had been given by the group.  He rattled off all our names, Jagger, Jason, Jasper and Jude, my grip eased as I introduced myself as Jude, his response of Joshua took me by surprise.  I asked his involvement with J-Cell, he had been present on the last opera, only leaving the investigation before my arrival.  He gave me a brief run-down of the previous events, I gave him an overview of the latter, he seemed glad to have missed it.

Jason

It wasn’t long before the elevator opened again, this time to reveal Jason, looking like he hadn’t showered or shaved in weeks, his appearance, far from the suit wearing, somewhat clean cut, now in jeans, a jacket, his eyes sunken into his skull more than usual.

I started the conversation regarding his recovery, it seemed clear that his mind was intact, more to the point, he seemed almost too calm given what he had experienced.  He goes right to the point, asking if anyone was inside the taped off door, shaking my head, he asked me to take the lead.  I didn’t hesitate, Joshua wasn’t sticking his hand up and Jason was, well, Jason.

Inspector David Hua

Moving through the door, the site was bare, fallen building debris all over the place, wiring hanging from columns and beams.  Moving through, my sidearm out of the holster but still remaining by my side, something didn’t feel right, we had received no information on this opera, nothing at all.  Ahead of me as a moved passed a damaged column from ceiling to floor, a shadow in the distance, a man’s shadow.  I advanced on him, gun raised, calling for him to identify himself.  The man stepped into the light, shaking, holding a briefcase and a phone.  He was rattled in seeing me advance on him, my pistol levelled at his face, he identified himself through his trembling and chattering teeth as David Hua, Department of Energy.  As Jason and Joshua joined me, David explained that he also did work for the group, purely as a consultant, lowering my sidearm, it was Joshua who stepped up, watching him talk to David, it was clear he knew what he was doing.  Within a minute, David was calm, and the sound of high heels filled the air.Turning around to see a woman walking towards us, mid to late 40’s, greying blonde hair, carrying a folder.  Identifying herself as Eve, she greeted all of us by name, including Inspector David Hua from the DOE. 

She handed Jason the folder she carried, explaining that the operation was to infiltrate the newly developed Olympia Holobeam Array, a privately funded scientific research project with oversight from the Department of Energy.

We all had question, David was our way in, he was a legitimate Inspector for the DOE, the rest of us were going in as fellow inspectors regarding the first day of operation of the new device.  The group was after data and technology, we were tasked with securing several documents, military in nature.  It sounded like a fire sale, the way an embassy would be cleared of all sensitive documentation prior to going offline.  Two vehicles had been secured for us downstairs, a van and a sedan, equipment would be found in the trunk of the car.

David was nervous, he wasn’t sure what he was doing, or who we were other than his “team” of inspectors.  Joshua did his best to calm him down, keeping him in a clear state of mind.

I looked over the list of staff, 10 on the books, 4 security, 3 researchers, 2 engineers, Janitor.  Security were going to be an issue, looking at our team, it was clear that David and Joshua to a lesser extent, may not be comfortable if this turned violent, which I had every expectation it would.

Eve handed Jason a phone before she departed, her number the only one saved also handing each of us our ID’s for the operation, Inspector Paul Wade, nice, I didn’t think I looked like a Paul.  Eve’s final words to us, these were the ID’s of retired and deceased DOE staff, they will not hold up under close inspection.  Great, with 4 security checking us, it is going to get bloody, I know it will.

We headed down the elevator to the garage, at the far end, a sedan and a van were parked on their own, branded DOE, that was us.  We popped the trunk to find bare essentials required, suits and badges, as well as four government issue Smith and Wesson 39-2,

S&W 39-2, 40cal

40 calibre pistols with holsters and spare magazines, papers and permits to match.  We each took turns changing into the suits in the van, strapping the pistols to our sides, all except for David, who handed me his and asked me to carry it for him, my suit, slightly oversized, feeling like a businessman who had lost 40 pounds, made only slightly better by the room required to look two holsters to my waist, one at my side, the other at my back, the jacket concealing both easily.

Joshua and I took the van, Jason and David in the lead car, the plan was to drive to the closest gas station and work out what to do once we were closer, it was a clearly time sensitive mission.  During the drive, I got to get a better understanding of Joshua, it was clear he was smart, very smart, his answers to the simplest questions involving moments of thought and carefully crafted answers, honest, yet cautious, much better than the usual distant denials that were as watertight as a bucket full of holes that I usually get from Jason.  My guess, he was a doctor of some kind, not medical or surgical, but a head doc or something like that.  Although having the feeling that he was constantly analysing me, I didn’t care, we were all fucked up here, that’s how we got the gig.

Stopping at the gas station, we reviewed the folder again given to us by Eve, 10am the Array had gone online, 10am, the same time I woke screaming in my car.  Joshua, Jason, David, all the same, something had hit us all at 10am, something was very wrong.

David made a phone call and several trips inside the gas station, cash in hand, he came back with a set of blueprints for the facility, I guess being a real inspector for the DOE had its perks.

Located in the centre of a man-planted Pine forest, it was clear that the facility was meant to be secluded, the Array and main building at the centre, a large circular wall around the main complex, a security station inside and out, this was going to be interesting.

We approached the main gate at about 5pm, a single security guard wearing a Stetson hat met us, Joshua getting out of the car with David to meet and greet.  Joshua was ballsy, talking to everyone, it was clear he was a talker, a very good talker.  The Security guard never breaking his smile, taking our ID’s for inspection he returned to his booth, ‘now the fun begins’.  I kept my hand on my holster, ready in case the ID’s given to us were so thin that the mention of our aliases caused guns to be drawn.  Breckenridge Security, a private firm, great, most likely ex-military private contractors, shoot first, ask questions later, wonderful.

After a minute or two, we were waved through, approaching the main building along the gravel road that led to a small parking lot.

Dr Campbell

Parking the van, we moved towards the main building where an African American lady stood waiting, early 50’s, short greying hair, a slight smile on her face, flanked by a second security guard, a woman wearing the same uniform as the man at the front gate.  David took the lead, as we walked I could hear Jason whisper to him, if there is any trouble that he was to get behind me, ‘thanks boss, not only is this guy completely useless in a firefight, but I’m the human shield!’

Introducing ourselves, the lady waiting, Dr Campbell, lead researcher and director of the project.  Another ID check, the security woman took our ID’s again, disappearing into the smaller booth filled with monitors for a few moments as David and Jason made the pleasantries with Dr Campbell.  I could feel my hand rubbing the small of my back, above where my second pistol was, waiting and watching the security woman for signs of alarm through the glass.  She returned, all clear.

As we entered the main building, I remained David’s shadow, close enough to grab and protect, but not too close to be walking on top of him, Jason threw me a nod as he knew what I was doing.

We entered Dr Campbell’s office, meeting in the hallway a round bearded man known as Dr Scott, the junior researcher, still being in his 40’s junior must have meant something important.  Joshua again, the only one of us wanting to meet and greet with a friendly smile and handshake.  Jason was giving a slight grin, immediately asking for the bathroom, Dr Campbell, annoyed to say the least allowed it, Joshua followed his lead, also going to the amenities.  Campbell was pissed, getting really angry, we were in her way, we all knew it, I couldn’t help but chuckle, Jason was doing this on purpose, subtle, but understandable, he is old after all, maybe he does have a child’s bladder?

After several minutes, both men returned, Dr Campbell already acting defensive, the argument was speed, yet our team was wasting time.  Jason played it, he loved the conflict, he loved seeing people get nervous.  Joshua was trying to defuse the situation, he was a master, however he was not as masterful as Jason at making it blow up again.  Poor bastard.

After a good 10 minutes of shit flying in all directions, Joshua prevailed, one of the engineers of the facility, Mr Kozak entered to be our guide around the facility.  A power surge was recorded at 3.30pm, something that we needed to investigate with the help of someone who knew their way around.  Kozak, shuffling constantly and clicking his fingers to a beat no one else could hear, I approached closely, looking him in the eyes at close range, inspecting for pupil dilation and signs of substance abuse.  Nothing, possibly just a geek of the highest degree.

Evan Kozak

Walking towards the workshop, not allowing us to separate at any time, Kozak seemed very genuine in his conversations, he was excited to be working here, “Dee” the super computer that was on site was where the action was, decoding all data that had been gathered since the machine went online at 10am.  Looking around the workshop, portable clean rooms, industrial machinery, everything I would expect from a lab of this size, it was not really taking my interest though, my priority was David, keeping him safe, watching for any signs of alarm.  All the way through the facility, inside and out, I had been clocking the cameras, some visible, some hidden, every inch of this place was being watched, not your standard research facility, this felt like something else, the kind of place conspiracy theories are born.

Joshua was leading the conversation, his methods sly and accurate, he had figured Kozak out, he knew how to ask the right questions, peak the interest, peel back the curtain slightly.

Moving away from the workshop towards the engineering office, Jason made us stop in the kitchen, he needed coffee, Kozak was happy to stop, he himself seemed to be running on minimal sleep, still clicking and bobbing as he went.

After a brief chat with Kozak, we hit the engineering office, to our surprise, Dr Takagawa, the head engineer was passed out on a couch.  Asking about him, Kozak spoke of finding him out by the Array at 3.30pm, the same time as the power surge, they brought him in here and followed their protocols.  I moved over to Takagawa, my first aid training still clear in my mind, his pulse was faint, opening his eyes with my fingers, he was out of it, no movement, no reaction to light, nothing, he was there, but not there.  I insisted on an ambulance.

As the voices grew louder, Campbell came storming into the office, Jason was ready to combat her, protocols be damned, causing a scene to distract her as David slipped out of the room, across the corridor into Campbell’s office.

Another wonderfully constructed confrontation from Jason gave us plenty of time to plan our next move, Kozak mentioned a woman named Tsang, she was the IT specialist, she was the one with the computer “Dee”, we needed to find her.  Everything here was wrong, a man passed out and semi catatonic, another who doesn’t realise he is physically moving, not allowing us as inspectors to actually inspect, something was off, way off.

Something hit me, a wave of Vertigo, something washing over me, forcing me from my feet to sit next to Takagawa to steady myself, a dream, I can see myself hitting a large button, looking up I can see Jason and the others, all running to the main gate, so many faces, some unknown, all running for the gate.

The scene before me passing, Takagawa stirred and rose from the couch, sitting up and asking me who I was, Joshua responded, pushing me out of the way.  Rising from the couch, Kozak was still here, Jason was walking with Campbell to her office, David was, somewhere.  What had just happened?

Dr Takagawa

Takagawa needed to piss, he also needed help, Joshua and I taking his arms to help him walk, Kozak tried to clear out but grabbing him by the collar, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

Entering the bathroom, we stood Takagawa at the urinal and gave him some space.  Looking back to make sure he was still standing, Takagawa was making strange sounds, looking at the urinal, his piss was blue, florescent blue!  Joshua and I were both dumbfounded, watching as Takagawa recoiled and fell to the floor, not only his piss, but his eyes and mouth now emitting the same blue light as he screamed.

Dr’s Black and Campbell came rushing in to see what the commotion was about, Jason in tow, that was it, Jason had seen enough.  Pulling me aside, Jason and I were on the same page, get everyone together, including security, take them down and begin the search for whatever was happening here.

Springing into argumentative action, Jason went at Campbell again, demanding everyone into Campbell’s office, including security as a matter of containment, engineers to remain in the bathroom as the ambulance was on its way.

As we all stood in Campbell’s office, she began making calls to different departments, furious as she was, she still complied for the moment.  Tsang, the computer genius, Black the researcher.  Jason was in search of everyone, the Janitor was not in, only two security on a rotation, pushing for more calls to be made, Jason confirmed the whereabouts of everyone, no surprises.  Only one missing, the other researcher, Ms Klinger.  Black had been looking for her with no success, calls to security came back with no visual on any of their monitors, something was off.

As all the arguing continued, Joshua approached me, his theory of contamination seeming more and more relevant, radiation warnings were everywhere, I hadn’t noticed the two Giger counters in the DOE car, he had been checking everyone, Takagawa was ripe, he was setting it off.

Jason also caught my eye, meeting him in the corner of the room, explaining that we needed to get over security, he would handle the woman, I was to hit the front gate.

David was also hovering, inspecting bunches of recently crumpled then smoothed out papers, pouring over them as if it was a puzzle needing to be solved, either way, he was a genius apparently, if he was struggling, we were in trouble.

As Jason continued the argument with Campbell, all eyes were busy, too busy to watch me slip away across the hall into the kitchen, waiting for my chance to move to the guard at the gate.  Footsteps down the hall, the Guard, Henson, the woman was heading to the office.  Jason’s voice was clear, demanding to go and check the monitors for Klinger, after a few moments, Henson was escorting Jason to the guard hut outside the main building, following at a distance, I would have to wait for Jason to move before I do anything.

Hovering inside the main entrance, just able to see Jason making a fool of himself on the consoles of the security station before Henson took over only to find the barrel of Jason’s pistol in her neck.  That was my que, I ran, running in my oversized suit towards the front gate, nodding at Jason who nodded back at me.  As I approached the front gate, the man in the Stetson hat was on the phone, looking at me, I was ushering him to come towards me, medical emergency, we needed his help to move Takagawa.  He finally began to follow me, it was clear he wasn’t going to lead the way, he was going to stay behind me the whole way.

As we approached the security booth where Jason and Henson where, I could feel the man behind me, very close, close enough to catch off guard.  I knew I had seconds, it was going to be clear that Jason was in control of the booth, turning on my heel, this guy was fast, his holster already snapped, his hand on the grip of his sidearm.  Not fast enough, crunching my fist into his kidney, fuck! Kevlar.

He recoiled enough to raise his gun at me as my knuckles began to burn from the hit.  I raised my hands, I had missed my chance, he was fast, and I should have gone for the jaw.

Henson’s voice sounded on the small PA speaker, demanding he drop his weapon or she will be killed.  I looked at him, his face stern, however I knew that Jason wasn’t bluffing, he could see that, I was worried, and not about me.  He relaxed his arm and dropped his pistol to the ground.  Drawing my own, I removed the cable ties from his belt and cuffed him behind his back before taking up his Beretta 92, 9mm and escorting him towards the door.  Jason was doing the same with Henson, cuffed, disarmed and on the march.

Beretta 92 Series 9mm

Dr Campbell appeared at the main entrance followed by David, she had come to investigate and recoiled at the sight of her security being escorted towards her in cuffs.  David seemed to laugh, he seemed to have had enough of Campbell.  It was time to clean house, retraining Campbell, David and I continued our search for Klinger, opting to take control of the security hut and search the monitors.

Vertigo again, knocking me against the wall of the security hut, the sky is black, descending down all around, something suffocating about it, it is descending all around me, utter blackness.

Shaking my head, the security console returns to my view, searching the monitors, that was what I had to do.  David was staggering, he had felt something, as we watched the security feeds he spoke, he had seen me, firing an automatic weapon into the workshop.  I had seen the sky falling, he had seen me shooting at something, earlier I had seen me hitting a button to open the gate for the others to get out, were these premonitions, was I going to die here? Helping others could escape?

The hell I am!

The workshop monitor came to life, a blue flash of light was instantly replaced by the figure of a woman, screaming in silence before another blue flash made her vanish.  Both David and I froze for a moment, it was David who made the first move, heading back to Jason to report, following him without a word scanning the security hut for a firearms bigger than what I had, nothing, maybe this was all just nonsensical dreams.

Jason was standing in the hallway outside Campbell’s office when David caught him, telling him of what happened.  Jason turned to me for confirmation.  Calling Joshua to join us from the office we began moving towards the workshop.  Jason and I leading, weapons drawn.

The workshop was empty, deserted, scanning the room for anything at all, nothing.

Turning and moving back towards the office with the purpose of moving towards Dee, the computer, a blue flash hit, right in front of us in the hall.  A strange woman appeared, staring t us, screaming at us, screaming like thunder and lightning mixed into one unique sound.  Screaming for someone, anyone.

She explained that they had turned the experimental laser on at 10am, something had happened, something was making an incursion through the machine and the rifts it created, something we had to go and stop.

Interlude AGENT JUDE

Charlie

I was right, Charlie was pissed, she hasn’t spoken to me outside of work, and when she does, it’s only job related with the most pissed off tone she can manage.

I was distracted anyway, Jasper was down, I left him down, I don’t know what happened.  I made the usual anonymous calls to the hospital, stab wound victim dropped off without explanation.  Using fake names and numbers all I could find out is that after two days in hospital he disappeared.  I knew he was a Fed, he was FBI, but how do I find anything out without blowing his cover as to what he does outside of his regular beat.

Business has picked up too.  Two houses in two days, I guess it helps to be busy.  Enough paperwork to drown an elephant.  I should be grateful, although working with J-Cell has its perks, like no paperwork.

Hunting sounds good.  Maybe this weekend.  Just me, my rifle and something big.  I could use the peace and quiet of a good hunt.  I would ask Charlie to come, but I’m more afraid of her than anything in the woods.