“Oh, really?” Steve replied. “Then explain how they crashed into this turf hard enough to make a two-inch-deep impression. I mean, they are in the middle of the field. It’s not like they fell from the top of the bleachers.”
“We know exactly what happened,” Jenny said.
“Okay, fill me in on the details.” He moved back to allow the medical personnel to do their jobs. “First of all, who are these guys anyway?”
She moved behind the crowd of officers and stood next to Steve. “They were members of a street gang who call themselves the Black Hawks. These three were said to have been bad news too. Each one had a rap sheet as long as your arm.”
“Black Hawks, huh. I didn’t even know that they were still around. That street gang was here even when I was a boy.”
“Membership in that gang seems to be a generational thing these days.”
Steve shrugged. “Okay, what gives here?”
“These guys were involved in a kidnapping and an attempted murder. Their victim was this mechanical engineer whose name is Eddie Wexler.”
“Eddie Wexler, huh? What do we know about him? Why in the hell would a gang target an engineer?”
“Eddie grew up right here in Duncanville. He was always small in stature and was picked on a lot growing up. Anyway, after graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington with an engineering degree, he got a big-time job out at Texas Instruments. It paid about two hundred grand a year. For the first time in his life, he had real power and influence. The man was known as a big spender too. Late last night, he was up at one of those eating joints on Main Street. He was flashing fifties and hundreds around like they were pennies. That’s when he caught the attention of these three thugs. In fact, they drove off in a car behind Mr. Wexler. Eddie Wexler’s automobile was found in his driveway this morning with the keys still in the ignition.”
“How do you know all of this?” Steve asked. “Secondly, how does Diamond Jack play into the picture? Thirdly, who are the witnesses? Are they reliable?”
“Steve, this entire area has been the focus of vandalism for months now. Cars have been trashed, graffiti put on the school buildings, windows broken out, and even fires have been set. It is for these reasons that security cameras have been installed all over the place. The one directly under the main bleachers caught the entire crime.” She gave the electronic tablet to Steve. “I’ve already downloaded the camera’s live-feed from last night to this thing’s hard drive. Take a look.”
Steve switched on the device and gazed at the amazing sight for the next five minutes. Afterwards, he took a deep breath and then swallowed a couple of times before speaking. “So, those thugs were victims of some kind of gravity machine it seems. I saw a blueprint of something like it from one of those orbs.”
“The thing he used is a much more advanced model than what we’ve seen in the orbs. What he has now are things the world has never seen before. It is no telling what to expect.”
“Okay, somehow this Diamond Jack knew where to find Eddie Wexler.” Steve walked over to the second body and looked down at a burned spot in the turf. He could see that the device used generated lots of heat, possibly even radiation. Maybe these devices could be tracked by using a radiation detector. However, basic investigative police work would have to be done first.
She gazed at him, again realizing just how much he reminded her of her ex-husband. Wow, she could almost just reach out and grab him. “What’s on your mind?” she finally asked.
“Jenny, upload Wexler’s phone records at work and at home. I want the ten most called numbers to be traced back to their original sources. Then, do a report on those people. Next, I want another report on each one of these murdered gang members. I want to know everything about them that has occurred within the last six months. Finally, I need the digital print on every street camera within six blocks of this stadium—school cameras, bank cameras, the whole works. Maybe, we can get a lock on the license plate numbers of all of the parked cars on the street last night. Those cars can then be traced. Perhaps, we’ll get lucky and get Diamond Jack’s plate number. If so, we’ll be able to get some kind of address. If not, we may have a list of possible suspects. At least, we’ll know who to exclude.”
Jenny nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”
Steve motioned for Jenny to follow him. They walked away from the crowd of officers and detectives and up under the bleachers. No one was within earshot range now. “One more thing, I’ve been over that report on Diamond Jack. I know that he once shut down the power to that entire secret complex, and while the power was still off, he stole one of the orbs. Could he have somehow made a blueprint of something from that orb before he was caught?”
“No. He never made it out of the complex. However, although he was in custody, we could not find the orb. For two weeks, we searched everywhere and found nothing. Finally, he told us where he’d hidden it. The fool had placed the thing in an exhaust drainage vent.”
“He just told you where he’d hidden the orb?”
“He had no choice. The guy was already in jail and was not about to get out. So after we agreed to turn him loose if he told us the location of the orb, he supplied the information we needed.”
“Why was he reported dead?”
Jenny frowned and looked away. “You’ll have to ask Neil about that.”
“So, I’ve finally reached a question that you will not answer. I thought that I was one of you now. I am supposed to be a Man in Black now.”
“First of all, stop calling us that. The official name of our organization is the Ultra Secret Group or USG for short. The Men in Black is a name used only in the movies.”
“Okay, USG it is. That’s easy to remember.”
“Remember also, we are still working on a time limit. That maniac is again making threats. Just this morning, he hacked into our main database and is now threatening to scramble all of our encryption codes to our most classified networks. The fool could send us back to the stone age.”
“Can he really do that?”
“At this point, we really don’t know. However, this guy has never been known to bluff before. If he says that he can do it, he probably can. Just listen to the intensity of his threats. I downloaded his video message to the tablet you have. Just listen to it on your way home.”
“Okay, I will.” Steve then turned and walked back over to his car. “I’m going home to get a couple of hours rest before I head back to the complex. Perhaps, we can then find a way to mess with this guy’s mind. He’ll have to slip up somewhere.”
“Sure thing, Steve,” she replied, knowing that crap was about to hit the fan.
***
Diamond Jack sat in the darkened room and stared blankly ahead. Around him, seven men moved about the maze of computers and monitors. This small command center overlooked a large computer factory where another twenty men worked feverishly assembling things that had been designed from the orbs. Jack was now dressed in a dark business suit and a cape. The man’s arms bulged against the shirt’s sleeves. His blue hair had grown even more in the last couple of days. His face was even grayer and looked more lifeless. He was also swelling again—head, chest, face, and legs. Oh yes, he was starting to mutate. Time was becoming a major factor.
A Chinese man walked over next to Jack and handed him a digital phone. “It’s Eric. He wants an update.”
Jack took a deep breath and suddenly smiled, again showing the stainless-steel teeth. He looked down into the phone’s screen at the man who walked behind the shadows, the king of crime. “Greetings, my friend. Everything is proceeding according to plan. The pulse bomb has already been planted and is set to go off in a couple of hours.”
“Good,” Eric replied. “What about the other weapons?”
Jack smiled. “They are being assembled as we speak. Just keep the money, men, and machine parts coming. I’
m ready for war right now!”
“Patience, my friend, your enemies will soon fall. Nothing can stop that now.”
“It can’t come soon enough. You can have the world, and I’ll at long last have my revenge on the USG. They’ll all pay for what they did to me! Oh yes, they’ll pay dearly!” He then stood up, dropped the phone to the floor, and raised his arms into the air. “Yes, they’ll all pay. Those fools will all die screaming and drowning in their own blood! That’s a promise!”
The other men in the room froze in fear, not knowing what their demented boss would do next. Sometimes he’d just laugh and then settle down peacefully. At other times, he’d go into a rage and start fighting anyone near him. In fact, his behavior was becoming more and more erratic. His fits of unrest were also coming more frequently. This man was a time bomb ready to explode at any time.
Suddenly, as quickly as he had begun, Diamond Jack sat back down in his seat and started gazing up at the ceiling. The man had gone back into his own private world again. The other men in the room sighed with relief. They’d survived yet another outburst.
Chapter Five
Steve guided his car through sparse traffic. After learning about all of this secret information within the last few hours, he wondered about how much other stuff has been kept from the world. Had people walked on Mars or other planets sometime in the past? Anything seemed possible now.
He again glanced down at the electronic tablet that rested on the passenger seat. He’d been told about Diamond Jack’s newest threats. He knew that a lot could be determined about a person’s state of mind by how he sounded. Maybe, he could even get an idea about this man’s present location. Background noises were always so revealing too. However, the super- smart people at the complex would have already thought of that. Well, he’d give it a try anyway.
With his right hand, he pulled down the file menu and linked into the video-feed icon. Then, he selected the proper digital message and clicked it on. The monitor flashed, and the ghoulish image of Diamond Jack appeared. Sound then poured from the tablet’s speakers.
“You dogs have ignored me long enough. Well, no more. I’m taking the war to the USG personally. Neil Stone, I blame you for the problems I’m facing now. However, that is only a temporary thing too. From this point forward, I’m going to be your main problem. I demanded your public execution, but I was ignored. Now, I will not accept that anymore. You will not be able to meet my new demands either, for I have none. My purpose from this point forward is to teach. Neil, be warned, I will first take away your greatest weapons. Then, I’ll take away your soul. Finally, I’ll take away your very life.”
The image on the screen faded, and the computer’s desktop icons reappeared. Steve again focused on the street ahead. This Diamond Jack sounded very dangerous. If he really made good on any of these threats, that could mean big trouble.
Steve continued thinking about this man as he turned off Hampton Road and onto Red Bird Lane. Soon, he’d have a plan as to handle this situation. That was simply the way his mind had always worked. Ahead, he could see the family house. His father’s Benz was parked out front and his mother’s Mercedes behind it. That meant that they were both at home. However, his father was not sitting out on the porch as he usually did this time of day. Perhaps, he was busy in his study working on another invention. The man was always working on something.
Steve pulled into the driveway and honked the horn. That was a habit that he’d had since high school days. At any moment, one of his parents would be opening the front door and walking out to meet him. That’s the way it had always been too.
He got out and proceeded to take his luggage from the trunk. Around him, the area seemed unusually quiet. There were no children playing in the neighborhood yards. The traffic on the street was not heavy either. Finally, neither parent came to the door. How strange, he thought. He was even beginning to get an eerie feeling.
He walked up to the front porch, stuck his key into the door lock, and turned it. The door opened wide. “Mom, Dad, I’m home. I thought that I’d come early and surprise you.”
The front room was dark, and he could also see that no one was in the kitchen. His mother had always prepared a homecoming meal. Something was very different this time. After putting the suitcase on the floor, he called out again. “Mom, Dad!”
“Steve, is that you?” Helen asked, her voice coming from somewhere upstairs.
“Yes?” he answered, quickly becoming concerned because of his mother’s unnerving tone. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, thank God you are finally here. I have something to tell you. Come quickly.”
The sound in his mother’s voice was very disturbing indeed. He knew that something was very wrong. “Mom, what is it?”
“I’m in the bedroom,” she replied, voice shaking. “Something terrible has happened.”
He moved up the stairs and opened the bedroom door. He saw his mother sitting on the bed, and she had tears in her eyes. This was something he’d never seen before. “Mom, what’s going on? Where is Dad?”
“I was not expecting you until tomorrow. It’s just as well, though. We have a lot to talk about.” She took his hand and stood up. “There are some important decisions that we’re going to have to make as a family. Your sister will be down in a few days to help make plans too.”
Steve faced his mother head-on. “What plans? Where is Dad?”
She took a deep breath, walked over to a chair in the corner, and sat down. “Your father is very ill. In fact, he’s been sick for a while now. He has kept his condition a secret from all of us for months now. However, during the last couple of weeks, he has become bedridden. The prognosis is not good at all. Last Monday, he collapsed out in the front yard and was rushed to the hospital. For the past four days, he’s been in a coma. The doctors do not think that he’ll ever come out of it.”
“What?” Steve yelled and his fists clenched as he absorbed the chilling news. “Why didn’t you call me? I’m just a three-hour plane ride away. Maybe I could have helped. Maybe I could have consulted with the best specialists in the world!”
“There is nothing that you could have done. Besides, he is already in one of the best treatment facilities in the world for his condition. They’ve done everything that is humanly possible to save Roy. At this point, it’s in God’s hands.”
“What’s wrong with him? I mean, I talked with Dad on the phone just three weeks ago, and he sounded fine.”
“He has a rare disease. His brain cells are dying very fast. At first his memory started slipping, then his motor skills, bodily functions, and finally his heart. Now, machines are the only thing keeping him alive.”
“Good God!” Steve sat on the corner of the bed and looked at the floor. He still could not believe that his mother would keep something like this from him—even if his father had demanded it. “Why aren’t they treating him?”
“There is no treatment. This disease works very fast and is extremely severe. Your father went from being a fully functioning individual to a complete invalid in a matter of a couple of weeks.”
Steve’s eyes filled with tears. “You should still have told me! It’s not fair for me to just walk into something like this unprepared!”
“Roy didn’t want to worry you or your sister with his problems. Toward the end, he begged me not to tell either of you. I felt obligated to honor his wishes.”
Steve looked up. “I want to see Dad. Where is he?”
“Okay, I’ll take you to him.”
***
“Where is Steve Miller?” Neil asked Jenny as he stepped into her office suite. “He’s not in the complex. I know all of this because the man did not enter his entrance code on the keypad upstairs.”
“He said that he was going home to rest before coming back here.”
“Rest? Hell, we’re working on borrowed time and he’s resti
ng? Besides, why in the hell did you let him go to his family’s house? You know what he’s facing there.”
She frowned, stood up, and slammed her fists against the desk. “What was I supposed to do, tell him that he couldn’t go home? Maybe, I should have placed him under arrest?”
“We have a five-star hotel right down here in this complex. He could have stayed there. Secondly, if he did go home, you could have sent a doctor to the hospital his dad is in to explain things to Steve when he got there. You know that’s where he’ll eventually end up.”
She put her hands on her hips. “It’s a little late for that. With everything wired these days, we knew three weeks ago about his dad’s illness. When that man collapsed on his front lawn, the electronic report from the ambulance was recorded by our computers—just like with every other ambulance report. Next, when the doctors made the diagnosis at the hospital, we also had that information on the grid too. Our system works just like Facebook. Steve knows this too.”
Neil interrupted, “If we’d told him about his father three weeks ago, he would have also known that we were still secretly keeping tabs on his family from that other case two years ago—and that’s something we were not supposed to have been doing.”
“At least, he would have known that we were interested in helping his dad. He’ll feel used now.”
“There is no cure or even a treatment for his father’s condition. Nothing is going to change that.”
“He’ll know that we tried!” she yelled.
“That’s all a moot point now. We’re going to have to do damage control. Listen, we’ll offer him a large sum of money. He can use this money to put his father in the best and most comfortable medical facility until the man dies.”
She looked at Neil with piercing eyes for a full ten seconds before speaking again. “With you, money is the answer to everything. What if he doesn’t go for this?”
“I’m leaving that up to you. Make him go for it!”
Machines of the Gods Page 5