by Dave Hazel
“Mykal, what do you feel of all the fame?”
“It’s really odd,” Mykal answered and raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. “I’ve seen kids with t-shirts that have me and Towbar on them. They already have a Towbar and Mykal action figure, with action figures of the others too. There are even Soso action figures for them to fight and they haven’t even made a movie about it,” he chuckled. “One company has a game called something like, ‘Towbar’s Quest’ and it has something to do with helping Mykal and his friends get home. There are other toys with Towbar’s face and likeness on it. After things settle down, I’ll have to get him an attorney to get him some money for all that stuff,” he joked.
“Have you given permission to use your likeness and name?”
“No, I have not,” Towbar answered as if unconcerned.
Mykal continued and shook his head in disbelief. “We’ve had countless calls and requests to use his name on everything from soap to chain link fences. There have been calls to get him in commercials. Sports teams like football, basketball, baseball and hockey have tried to recruit him. They all promise him big money even if he can’t play very well. A boxing promoter wants to get him trained and put him in a fight. There is a magazine that wants to use us as a prize for their contest to win a date with Mykal or Towbar. I really appreciate all the positive attention, but I think it’s gotten a little carried away. It’s not like we’re rock stars or movie stars. We’re not big time athletes. If we were smart we’d cash in on it and…”
2.
“…nah, we didn’t get to meet the President,” Mykal said to Pam through the hotel room phone. “Those friggin wacko terrorists over in Rome screwed everything up for me,” he kidded. “They’re going to reschedule next week I think. I’ll find out for sure in the next couple of days. But tomorrow me, Towbar and William will be leaving D.C. and heading home.”
“How is Washington D.C.?”
“We really didn’t get to see anything at all other than this hotel room and the room we had our press conference in. They didn’t even take us over to the White House where we woulda met with the President cuz of the bombing this morning.”
“Well honey, I have to get the boys to bed. You will be home tomorrow night?”
“Yeah. Kiss the boys for me.”
“I will. I love you Myk.”
“Love you too.” He smiled and they kissed into the phone.
Towbar sat in front of the television and still thought it had to be magic that made the device operate. “Your world is fascinating my friend. However, much too complicated.”
“Yeah, sometimes I agree. I’m really getting tired of all this. I just wanna get out of the military and be with my family. Do you still think you’ll be able to go home soon?”
“I will try to make contact with Nidious tomorrow when we are at your home. There will be fewer distractions.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to make it work?”
“My desire is to be back at the Pass within a week.”
They watched TV and talked late into the night. Towbar lay down after midnight but Mykal had difficulty going to sleep. He felt anxious and feared something to be wrong. He wasn’t sure what troubled him but something didn’t sit right. ‘Maybe I’m gonna get my ass chewed for losing my cool,’ he thought and worried he may face harsh repercussions because of that outburst. He didn’t know why that would bother him so, but he couldn’t shake the odd feeling, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. He tried to reason away all the thoughts that would cause him to be fearful or anxious. He couldn’t make it stop.
Suddenly, without warning, shortly after 2:00AM his heart nearly stopped when his right hand turned green and his hand trembled violently. “Oh no, oh no, Towbar,” he yelled for his friend but Towbar was awakened on his own.
“My friend,” Towbar called to him in a start.
Mykal had turned on the overhead light to inspect his flesh and was just as surprised to see that most of Towbar’s body was green and he seemed to be shaking and trembling uncontrollably. “You too?” He yelled at the greenish shade of the giant’s flesh and he remembered Towbar walked into the green fog carrying Mykal over his shoulder. Their speculation was, upon first entrance into the green fog flesh would be stained and attacked by the living organism so that any subsequent appearances of the green fog would trigger the exposed flesh to turn green. “It means the green fog is here,” he said in a white faced panic.
“How? Where could it be?” Towbar asked when he stood firm to bring the trembling under the control of his strength.
“And why?” Mykal asked eyeing his hand and grabbed it with his normal hand to make the shaking stop. The numbing sensation seemed strong. “I can’t go back,” he said desperately. “I can’t leave Pam and the boys again.” Mykal ran to the window and looked to see if he could see the green fog. “It’s not there,” he said and stared out past the parking lot. There were many buildings and street lights, but no fog or cloud of green that would explain the triggered response. “It’s gotta be close.”
“Where is it my friend? My people need me,” Towbar said. For the first time Mykal had known him, Towbar sounded desperate. He looked out the window with Mykal in search of the cloud that would carry him home.
“I’m not sure where it is,” Mykal replied. They eyed every area in the view of their window. “What the hell could it be? Do you think it’s Nidious?”
“I know not my friend. I now understand your fear and your concern when your flesh changes color and shakes. It is unnerving to say the least. One has no control.”
“But how the hell would Nidious know we’re here?”
“We know not if it is Nidious,” Towbar replied.
“Well, that’s even more screwed up,” Mykal sighed. “I’m more confused. Does this mean for the rest of my life I half to worry about the green fog chasing me where ever I may be? And listen Towbar, I don’t know if this means anything or not, but for about the past hour I’ve been stressing out over something and not sure what it was. I knew something was wrong, or something was gonna happen. Ya know what I mean?”
“No, I do not understand.”
“Well, for about the past hour I couldn’t go to sleep. I was worried and upset about something but I couldn’t figure out what it was. It had to be I knew something was going to happen. I don’t know how, but I knew something wasn’t right. But that doesn’t matter right now, what we gotta figure out is what the hell this means. Is it Nidious trying to get the green fog here for you, or is it something that just happened randomly?”
“Random is possible,” Towbar replied. “However that would be a very strange coincidence that it did not appear in your Doo-Kota.”
“You mean North Dakota. Yeah, the odds that it would appear randomly while we’re here in Washington D.C. would have to be beyond astronomical. I guess it’s a good thing it happened this late at night,” Mykal said as he looked at his watch. “Hopefully there aren’t any people out on the streets. This is really strange. Oh, can you feel it? It’s fading away. Maybe it’s on the other side of the building,” Mykal suggested.
“It may be gone before we get there,” Towbar sighed and slumped down to the floor. “It would be much too difficult to find in this concrete jungle. I missed an opportunity to return home. When we arrive at your home I must try to Mind Talk with Nidious,” Towbar said. “I will need to be alone.”
“Look at the time,” Mykal nodded to the clock on the night stand by the bed. “It’s about quarter after two. It’s such an odd time for the green fog. Maybe it’s something different,” he suggested but he knew that was wishful thinking on his part. The numbing trembling in his hand or the change of color in their flesh made it clear the green fog had been nearby.
“I need to go back to my world,” Towbar said. The level of sadness in his voice had been the first such expression Mykal heard from the giant.
“Towbar, I really think you’ll be going home soon. I’m just confused as
to how I knew something was going to happen before it did. Do you think that has something to do with your blood being inside me?”
“I do not know my friend. I did not foresee this happening nor did I suspect something wrong,” he said. “My magic abilities have never enabled me to foresee situations or trouble. My friend, you may have some abilities I do not have. Do you think it may have been something else?”
“I guess it coulda been something else, but it really had me anxious and on edge and not just minutes before it took place. It was an hour or so before it happened,” he explained holding up his green hand. The flesh returned to its normal color. “But if it wasn’t Nidious, what else could it have been? I don’t believe at all, not one little bit, that it just appeared here by chance when we just happen to be in Washington D.C. Do you think it could be Zizmon-Tarl?”
Zizmon-Tarl?” Towbar looked stunned. “Why would you suggest it would be Zizmon-Tarl?”
“I dunno. Maybe he’s locked in on us and he wants to get you when you would be vulnerable,” Mykal suggested. “I dunno. It’s off the wall. Strange I mean,” he clarified when Towbar looked at one of the walls. “Well it’s gotta be one of four reasons. One, it’s Nidious trying to get you, but how would he know where you are? Two, it just randomly appeared here, but I have to doubt that, cuz the odds are just too great. Three, it could be Zizmon-Tarl but that would bring up some scary possibilities. And four, it could be cuz of us. Since our flesh has the living organism attached to us, it may have come here because we’re here. I don’t know,” Mykal sighed. “I’m just kinda making it up as I go along.”
It had taken almost twenty minutes for the tingling sensations to cease from beginning to end. They were unsure what to do. Should they notify someone? Who? And at this hour how would they explain it? It would sound crazy if they called from their hotel room. Mykal was tempted to call William, but something about William made him uncomfortable. He didn’t trust William anymore. William always seemed too concerned and eager to know how to get to Towbar’s world. He believed William would become a bigger nuisance if he told him.
CHAPTER FIVE 11/30/1983
1. Wednesday, November 30th 1983
0456 hours, Hotel room, Washington DC
Mykal woke to the sound of some movement outside the door. It amazed him he heard it and surprised him even more that it woke him. He glanced at the glowing red numbers on the night stand to read 4:56 am. He had just fallen to sleep not more than forty minutes prior. The quiet noise sounded like someone trying to pick the lock to the door. He glanced over to Towbar lying on the floor and saw Towbar’s head lift to determine the sound as well. Both had been stirred by the quieted intruding noise.
Clearly someone was attempting to gain entry into their four-room suite. But who? And why? Souvenir seekers? But at this hour? With them possibly sleeping in the room? That didn’t make sense. Mykal’s gut told him it wasn’t souvenir hunters, intense fans gone crazy or someone trying to get close to them. It had to be something more dangerous.
Mykal concentrated on the minimal noise. His increased hearing passed on from Towbar led him to believe there were at least four people outside his door. He slowly slid out of the bed and tried to make as little noise as possible. He sensed movement and activity beyond the door. Not knowing what they wanted created a growing fear. Being unarmed and not having a back door to escape made it worse. The thought of becoming a hostage and being held for ransom entered his mind.
“I think four,” Mykal mouthed the words while holding up four fingers to Towbar.
Towbar shook his head and rose from the floor. He held up seven fingers.
Mykal wondered if the people knew what they were getting themselves into. Maybe they had the wrong room. Towbar would crush them in any physical confrontation unless they were heavily armed. Anyone would be foolish to go against the giant. He eyed the door while pulling on his trousers.
Suddenly the door flung open, two men armed with Uzi’s rushed into the room and quickly knelt after side-stepping the entrance. Two more armed with Uzi’s rushed in behind them and pointed their weapons in Mykal’s direction. They positioned themselves on the far side of the first two. One turned on the lights before Mykal or Towbar could react. The brightness blinded them, and took them by surprise. The intruders wore darkened goggles which prevented the light from affecting their vision.
Mykal assumed the men to be professional. All dressed completely in black. They wore helmets, bullet proof vests and masks covered their faces to protect their identity. Their black trousers were bloused around the rim of their combat boots.
They entered the room and moved into position within two seconds. They’ve obviously trained for this many times. When Mykal saw the automatic weapons, he threw his hands in the air. Towbar stood firm with his massive fists ready to attack. Mykal shook his head and submitted. It encouraged Towbar to hold fast.
“What the hell’s going on?” Mykal yelled just as a fifth man walked in. Mykal clearly saw there were two others standing in the hallway guarding, Towbar was correct, there were seven men. They peeked into the room to ensure the four had control. The two were not dressed in black military garb but wore suit and ties. One donned a fedora to match his three-piece suit. The one who walked in separately wasn’t sporting a weapon but Mykal felt confident he had a firearm under his blazer. Mykal’s first thoughts were that these men work for the FBI, CIA or some other government agency.
“Be quiet please,” the fifth man spoke and then signaled with his hands. Two of the four rushed about the suite as if searching for something.
Towbar gave Mykal a questioning glance and Mykal shrugged. He silently feared Boris broke down under interrogation and spilled the beans on everything that happened in Towbar’s world. Mykal’s only concern was being taken away from his family. ‘It can’t be,’ he reasoned in thought. ‘If that’s the case why would they arrest me like this when I’m always available. What the hell’s going on?’ He wondered while gunman searched the suite.
Two more men walked past the suits at the door with William under their control. “I don’t understand what is taking place,” William protested. The two men escorting him into their room seemed to be a little more relaxed and held their weapons at ease. It surprised Mykal that William was fully dressed but his uniform looked wrinkled as if he had fallen asleep in it. The little hair on the side of William’s balding head stood up and stretched in all directions making the scene look comical. “What do you people want? Do you know who we are?”
One of the two escorting William into the room whispered something into his ear and William suddenly stopped protesting. Mykal thought it odd. The man didn’t give a full explanation but whatever he said was enough to silence William. The entire scene made Mykal uncomfortable as far as trusting William. ‘Maybe I’m just getting too paranoid.’ The second person escorting William eyed Mykal with evil intentions.
“Are you guys apart of some terrorist group or something?” Mykal asked only to get someone talking. He believed they were from some government agency. ‘But why would the government act this way toward me and Towbar?’
“Please remain silent,” replied the one who appeared to be the leader of the five.
“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it,” Mykal offered. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
“Please remain silent,” the man repeated. “You will be informed in due time.”
When the search of the hotel suite had been completed, the two searching the room moved to search the clothing Mykal and Towbar had laid out. Towbar’s clothing had to be tailor made for his gigantic size. After the search of the clothing ended and determined they had no weapons in their possession, the leader ordered them to finish getting dressed.
“Put your coats on and follow my instructions. Be ready to leave when I give the order. Comply and I will not have you placed in hand cuffs.”
“Wait a minute. Where are we going?” Mykal asked in shock. “What t
he hell is going on? Am I being arrested?”
“Do as you are told,” the man who gave the evil glare said. Armed with an Uzi he threw Mykal’s coat at him.
“Will I be allowed to change my uniform?” William asked. He didn’t seem concerned about the seriousness of the situation. He gave the impression that he didn’t care strangers were armed and holding them captive. He came across more concerned about his appearance.
“No. Your appearance will not be important.”
“Are we being kidnapped?” Mykal asked, his voice revealed his nervousness. He had a plane to catch today to go home. “Are we being arrested?” He repeated while looking for a crack in their security so he could make a break for it. He knew Towbar would follow his lead, but there were far too many automatic weapons.
“You have nothing to fear,” the apparent leader said when he noticed the distressed look Mykal gave. “You’re being taken in for questioning.”
“Are we being arrested? No one has read us our rights and I haven’t seen a search warrant or anything.”
“You’re not being arrested. We’re just taking precautions.”
“Questioned about what?” Mykal asked. The fear disappeared and his anger grew.
Another man walked into the doorway as he spoke into a radio. “All clear,” he gestured to the leader.
“Let’s go,” the leader said.
Mykal looked to Towbar and William to determine if they should comply. Towbar waited for Mykal’s response.
“Let’s just go,” William said nonchalantly. “Everything will be fine,” he added and followed the pair of armed men out of the room as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Though reluctant, Mykal followed. Mykal’s curiosity rose as to why William willingly played along when they didn’t know who these men were. They never identified themselves. ‘Why didn’t William question them or at least put up a fuss?’