Genghis rolled his eyes skyward while Jeff stammered on. “You see . . . when one suffers trauma . . . to the ah, brain, it will, sometimes, in some cases, cause a . . . ah . . . manifestation . . . no . . . I mean, that sometimes . . . in . . . certain cases, I um . . .”
Trent paused again, searching for a plausible explanation for Jennifer, but he knew deep down inside that nothing he could say would convince her. Like Genghis, he too knew this was going nowhere. He looked angrily at Genghis. “You should never have said anything!”
“Ahh, Geez O’ Cow!” Genghis replied, rolling his eyes again.
Jennifer pulled her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, wide eyed.
“What was I supposed to do? She was on the verge of a panic attack.”
“OH!” Trent said. “And what do you think the realization of a talking canine did?” He gestured toward Jennifer, “You made her pass out.”
“I didn’t make her pass out,” Genghis rebutted. “The situation made her pass out.”
Jennifer, like watching a tennis match, just looked back and forth at the confrontation that was going on before her.
“You broke protocol!”
“Protocol! What protocol? We had no protocol in the event that I became a human talking canine!”
“Not that protocol!” Trent said. “The protocol of blending in and not getting noticed!
“Not getting noticed!” Genghis said, getting to his feet. “We've done nothing but get ourselves noticed ever since we got here!”
“No we haven't! One picture in one news-paper does not constitute getting noticed.”
“Well, it doesn't matter now that Twinkie went below decks of the cruiser.”
“Great!” Jeff threw his hands in the air. “Now we have to tell her everything!”
“Well, la-de-da, Mister Trent, what did you expect we'd have to do!”
Jeff angrily got to his feet and pointed at Genghis. “OH! Don’t start, Mister Khan. We now have a major breach in our mission. Everything from here on out . . .”
“STOP IT!” Jennifer shouted, hands cupping her ears. “Just, STOP IT! This bickering is giving me a headache! It’s like being back home.” She lowered her hands and looked at Trent. “I’ve rolled on some really wild pharmaceuticals before, but never on anything that made me hallucinate like this.” She glanced at Genghis, then back to Trent. “I am hallucinating, right? What did you slip me?”
“Slipped you?” Jeff replied, not understanding.
Jennifer looked at Genghis, then back to Jeff again. “You did give me something didn't 'cha, I'm on some kind of weird drug, right? Now that would explain everything.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Twinkie,” Jeff said. “But we didn’t give you anything to make you hallucinate, to see thing, or in this case, see and hear things.”
Genghis added, “We can explain everything, Twinkie.”
“Shit!” She jumped, pulling her knees close again and looking at the Doberman Pinscher standing next to her bed. “I don’t think I’m ever really gonna get used to that!”
Genghis gave a derisive snort. “If I can get used to it, you can too.”
“Well, Twinkie,” Jeff said, “I guess you can kind of figure out by now that, ah, we’re really not from around here.”
Jennifer fell back on the bed and exhaled loudly. “Holy Crap! An extraterrestrial and a talking dog.”
“Technically,” Genghis clarified, “I’m an extraterrestrial too . . . long story.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Two and a half hours and a full pot of coffee later, Jeff Trent and Genghis Khan were still in Jennifer’s bedroom. They told her everything. They started with the story of a fledgling law enforcement agency that grew into the Interstellar Police Force. They told her about their individual family histories, their partnership together, and the cases they had solved. They enlightened her with the wonders of their home planet and that of the other worlds that were out there. And, of the utmost important, of their covert mission remaining a secret.
Genghis sat on his haunches. With his coffee mug between his front paws, he tipped the cup back and drained it. no longer needing to disgustingly lap at his coffee in front of Jennifer like a common canine. “How they all got to Old Town from the transfer ship,” Genghis said as he put his empty mug on the nightstand, “is something we’re not sure of. But we do have our suspicions.”
“Chances are,” Jeff added from his chair, “is that they got their hands on a vehicle.”
“But how is that possible?” Jennifer wondered. “From what you told me the transfer ship crashed almost eighty miles from here in the middle of nowhere. There's not much traffic way out there anymore.”
“Well,” Jeff said, “someone must have been out there. A delivery truck? A maintenance vehicle? The Fuller Brush Man! They couldn’t have walked all this way.”
Jennifer shuddered at the thought of the fate of the driver who happened to have come across the inmates. Not wanting to think of it any longer she changed the subject. “So, your car is really pretty big then, huh?”
“You were down below,” Genghis said. He hopped up onto the bed with Jennifer, made a couple of circles left, then right and plopped down. “That’s pretty much how big it really is.”
“But the outside is like a normal car?”
“Yes,” Jeff added. “Think of the generation field around the outside of the cruiser as a mirage. An optical illusion.”
“Cool!” Jennifer said. She then took a sip of coffee from her Buccaneer’s mug. “That bastard who burned down my building is in hyper-sleep and the bodies from the other ship are in the morgue, all on the third deck?”
“Yup!” Trent said, “They’ll all stay there until we get home.”
“Creepy!” She was quiet for a moment “And that machine,” she pointed at Jeff, “changed you to look like a man,” then pointed at Genghis, “and you a dog?”
“Well that wasn’t the plan,” Genghis said. “Unfortunately, not much I can do about it now until we’re finished with the mission and get back home.”
“Headquarters said it must have been a computer glitch,” Trent added.
Jennifer laughed a little, “That’s one hell of a glitch!”
“Tell me about it!” Genghis said.
“This Prodor guy,” Jennifer asked, “is he here too?
“Most likely,” Jeff answered. “But right now, we’re just not sure.”
Jennifer thought for a moment, “If he is, wouldn’t the Westberry police know something about him? You said he likes to leave calling cards with his victims, you know, egging the cops on.” She looked at Genghis. “You’ve hacked into the police computers. You haven’t found anything about him? Like you did with the other two?”
Genghis and Jeff shared a look. “You know,” Genghis replied, “I have been concentrating so much on arson fires and armed robberies that I haven’t even looked for anything that fits Moffit’s profile.”
Jeff looked at Jennifer. “Brilliant, Miss Winkles!”
She grinned big and combed her fingers through her hair. “Thank you, Mister Trent. I have my moments.”
“I’ll start searching tomorrow morning,” Genghis said. “See if there are any missing persons or unsolved murders in the last ten months.”
“See, Twinkie,” Jeff said, “you are already quite the asset to us. And I think we really do need help from someone who’s more familiar with the culture around here then we are.”
She blushed and said, “I’ll help you as much as I can.” Then said, “Ah, hey guys? I’m sorry I pointed that gun at you earlier when we were downstairs in the cruiser. I was really freaking out and didn’t understand what was going on. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, that’s alright, Twinkie.” Jeff turned toward the nightstand. “But you need to be a little more careful when handling our equipment.” He then tossed that very device into her lap. “It’s all very unfamiliar to you and you can hurt yourself or someone else.”<
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“Whoa!” She said. “Is the safety on?” She gingerly picked the device up. “You guys really trust me with this?”
“Yes, we do, Twinkie,” Jeff said. “But the training period on that certain piece of equipment will be very extensive and time-consuming. We expect you to put one hundred percent effort into your studies. And by the end of your three-week curriculum, accumulating in a five hundred word essay, you’ll be so proficient at it that you’ll be able to break it down and clean it blindfolded.”
“Wow, really?” Jennifer asked, looking down at the device.
“Oh, for crying out loud, Jeff,” Genghis said. “Knock it off! Twinkie, that’s the remote control we use to dim the cabin lights.”
“Well, you know,” Jennifer said, “if I had thrown this at you, it would have really hurt!”
Genghis stood on the bed. “Alright! Enough chit-chat for one night. Come on you two, I’m hungry.” He jumped off the bed. “Let’s order some of that pizza stuff.” And he trotted out of the bedroom.
“You know,” Jennifer said, “that’s a damn good idea.”
“Yes, it is,” Jeff replied. He stood and held his hand out for Jennifer to take, which she did and Jeff helped her off the bed.
Chapter Fifty-Four
They stayed up late that night eating pizza, watching TV, and talking more about far-off planets. Then, when the movie Starship Troopers came on Genghis and Jeff had a field day pointing out the inconsistencies in the science. They both laughed hysterically when a flotilla of ships orbiting a hostile planet were hit by enemy fire and exploded with loud booms!
“Oh, come on!” Genghis announced. “Space is a vacuum, there is no sound.”
Trent couldn’t catch his breath and pointed at the screen. “Look . . . look . . . it’s now on fire with actual flames.” They both broke out in hysterics.
Then, when a firefight scene between soldiers and giant insects erupted, Genghis blurted out, “Oh, really! Those insects would have been crushed to death under the weight of their own exoskeletons.” He then rolled onto the floor laughing even harder, Jeff was holding his side, and wiped away a tear from his eye.
This went on throughout the entire movie.
The next morning, Jennifer woke up still coming to grips with the idea of aliens on earth and living in the same apartment with her. But as Genghis told her the night before, with approximately two to three hundred billion stars in Earth’s Milky Way Galaxy and about one to two hundred billion galaxies out in space, some even bigger then the Milky Way, the reality of other planets with intelligent life on them should not be that surprising.
She got out of bed wearing a long yellow t-shirt that stretched down to just above her knees and wondered if it was just all an elaborate dream as she walked into the living room. Jeff was in the kitchen setting up the morning coffee and Genghis was sitting on the floor, back against the couch, in front of the computer on the coffee table.
He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Jennifer. She just stood there staring back at him. It was a few moments before Jennifer uneasily said, “Morning.”
Genghis, knowing what was going through her head, just looked at her quietly, letting the moment linger, before he said, “Good Morning, Twinkie.”
“Whoa!” Jennifer said, taking a small step back.
Genghis turned back to his computer and said, “Yes, Twinkie, it all did really happen.”
“Wow! Okay, just checking.” She said as she walked into the kitchen. “Morning, Jeff.” She reached into the cupboard and pulled down their coffee mugs.
“Morning, Twink.”
The coffee maker made a beep letting them know that it was ready so Jeff removed the carafe and brought it over to Jennifer and started filling their mugs. As he did so, he looked at her carefully. “Are you alright, Twinkie? I know all this must still be pretty overwhelming for you.”
“I’m fine I guess. I mean it’s still a mind blower.” She took her “Buccaneer” mug and Genghis’s mug and brought them into the living room as Jeff followed with his. She put Genghis’s “Death Before Disco” mug next to his computer and sat on the couch beside him. Jeff sat next to Jennifer and picked up the remote. “But you know,” Jennifer continued, “I think most humans do believe in UFOs and aliens and stuff like that. Just look at all the stuff on TV and in the movies. From The X-Files to Signs to Men in Black. I mean, we all must have thought of the possibilities of life out there at one time or another.”
“Well, Twinkie,” Genghis said, “I must admit,” he reached for his mug, “you're doing very well with this. I don’t think many humans could have adjusted as fast as you have with the reality of extraterrestrials.”
“I guess I watch way too many science fiction movies.”
“I agree, Twinkie.” Jeff added, after taking a sip from his “World’s Number One Dad” mug, “You are handling this very well. But if you ever need to . . . decompress, let me know, and I’ll help you through it.”
“Thank you, Jeff, but I think I’m doing okay.” She took a healthy sip of her coffee, then asked, “Hey, you guys aren't going to sneak into my room one night and eat my brains, are you?”
Jeff was in the middle of a drink and coughed some coffee out his nose.
“Ah, that doesn't sound too appetizing there, Twink.” Genghis replied.
They were all silent for a few moments. Jeff channel surfed while Genghis continued searching the Westberry Police Departments computers. Jennifer looked over his shoulder and asked, “What are you searching for, Genghis?”
“Oh, well, I took your advice, and I’m looking through the Westberry PD’s computers for something that meets with Prodor’s modus operandi.”
“His . . . what?”
Genghis looked up at her and clarified, “His MO you know, like on CSI.
“Oh, I get it!” She took a sip of her coffee. “Well I couldn’t really tell, that computer is in that crazy hieroglyphics. I can’t read any of it.”
“Oh, sorry!” Genghis made a couple of keystrokes and the computer screen instantly switched over to English text. “There you go. That better?”
“Hell yeah! Thank you!” She leaned forward and started reading, “What are those? Police memo’s?”
“Yes, they are, and I’ve found a couple of interesting ones.” Genghis brought them up for Jeff and Jennifer.
Genghis got up that morning, not waking Jennifer with the sole purpose of specifically looking for Prodor Moffit. He would never admit to anyone that he dropped the ball in the Moffit search, and that it took a human girl to suggest the obvious. He was searching through the Westberry PD computer hard drives when he came across a memo addressed to Chief of Police Andrews from Head of Homicide DeLaRue.
The memo provided details about four murder victims who were found in Old Town and The City of Westberry. DeLaRue stated his concerns that these were the work of a serial killer, due to the evidence found at all four crime scenes. He suggested that the time was right to now release the information to the media in the hopes of getting help from the public. He attached a series of gruesome crime scene photos with the memo. Genghis made sure that they would not be displayed on his computer screen in front of Jennifer.
The second memo was from Chief of Police Andrews to Head of Homicide DeLaRue, explaining that it was in the best interest of both towns to keep these crimes in-house and not to release any information to the media at this time. He wished to be kept up-to-date on any and all progress in the case.
“So, he is here.” Jeff said.
“Come on partner,” Genghis said. “We knew this was a very good possibility.”
“Hey!” Jennifer said, looking at both of them. “It’s okay, we can catch him.”
They both turned to Jennifer, “Well . . . I mean you guys can catch him. I’m not going near that freak!” She then gestured to Genghis’s laptop. “You can find him, you can monitor all the police broadcasts, just like you did before, when you stopped Bollar!”
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��But we didn't stop Bollar, he got away!” Trent said.
Jennifer turned to Trent and could see the anguish on his face. “But you did stop him!” She put her hand on his. “You both did. If it wasn’t for you two, he would have probably killed more people.” She paused. “More police officers.” She looked from Jeff to Genghis. “You both did stop him!”
Trent squeezed her hand and said, “Thank you, Jennifer.”
“You're welcome.” She reached over and rubbed Genghis’s left ear. “Hey! Coffee isn’t coffee without breakfast! How about eggs, sunny side up on English muffins?”
Jennifer put another pot of coffee on and made breakfast for them. They all ate while watching The Three Stooges, then switched over to the Cartoon Network. Bugs and Duffy should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.
Something was nagging at Jennifer. “Hey, Genghis?”
“Yeah, Twink?”
“Would it be considered insensitive if I still pet you?”
“Well, yes, Twinkie, it would be,” Genghis responded. “But of course, we have to keep up with the image of being a normal human family . . . so if you want to, then, okay, it would be alright with me.”
“Okay, thanks.” She then reached over and gave him a nice scratch on the top of his head between the ears.
“Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff!” he said, closing his eyes. “A little to the left.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Lieutenant Dawson DeLaRue got the call as he pulled into the parking lot of the Westberry Police Department. Another body – this time displayed very dramatically and in a public place. They wouldn’t be able to keep this from the media any longer. It had been two months since the Old Town shootout that was still very much in the news, with the police department under the microscope. Local government, civil leaders, and the media were blasting the Westberry Police Department for their incompetence in letting the brazen “Old Town Gunman” escape after killing five of the Westberry’s finest, three innocent bystanders, and leaving twelve wounded. Along with over one million dollars worth in damages.
The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission Page 25