Eternals Among Us: Book one

by Larry W. Miller Jr.

  Tina’s mom stepped into the small room and Lock smiled.

  “You made it.” He said and she rolled her eyes.

  “I thought you kids had outgrown this little code system of yours, but the message on the other spot told me otherwise.” She replied. Then she moved forward and grabbed Lock by the shoulders. “Tell me what you know.” She ordered.

  Lock held up the phone. “There’s an audio recording of her abduction.” He said with his eyes lowering.

  Tina’s mom surprised him. “So, I’ve seen the video. Where is she now?” She pressed.

  Lock got over his shock quickly. “I don’t know yet, but I am on the case.” He said.

  Mrs. Hull shook him angrily. “This isn’t a game!” She shouted. Someone has taken her!” She added to underline her point.

  “The maintenance man has taken her.” Lock replied as a measure of correction. “I will try to find him and ask him what is going on with Tina.” Lock added as if setting a quest up in a fantasy role playing game.

  Tina’s mom blinked. “You know this man?” She asked.

  “Yes, we’ve met. He was one of the people that almost caught us in the lower corridors the other day. We were investigating some strange maintenance records. I can’t discuss more on that, but suffice it to say, this guy is connected to everything.” Lock reported, hoping to keep his own identity as an agent out of this.

  “Let me get this straight.” She began. “You were playing detective and actually found something? Something that has put my little girl in danger?” She asked. Her tone was incredulous and borderline dangerous.

  Lock didn’t feel all that uncomfortable under her stare. “Yes, that’s basically it. I never knew what we were walking into. But there is something amiss. I can’t say what. But something is wrong around here.” He said.

  “I don’t care about something being ‘amiss’. I want my daughter back safe and sound.” Mrs. Hull said, and her words were icy.

  “Of course. That is my goal too. Let me go and talk to the maintenance guy and see what is going on. Maybe it is just a misunderstanding.” He offered.

  “Oh no, you don’t think I’d let Tina’s fate be decided by a junior detective in a real game of intrigue, do you?” She asked. “I need to call the police and get this hammered out.”

  Lock looked suddenly nervous. “Oh no, don’t do that. If they get involved, then whoever doesn’t want to be found will panic and bad things could happen. No, I will go and try to find out what is going on. I’ll report everything I find to you. If we can secure her safely, then you can go to the cops. I don’t want to risk it until we can be sure she is safe.” Lock pleaded.

  Mrs. Hull was in a terrible predicament. She was feeling helpless and lost. She wanted desperately to push her way through and save her little girl, but Lock was right. If someone that nefarious had her then calling the authorities would be the last thing she should do. So, despite her fears, she chose to give Lock a chance.

  She grabbed him by the shoulders once more and stared into his eyes. “You have eight hours to find out where she is. After that, I have to call in the police to begin a thorough search. You know that we can’t wait forever. Can you do this?” She asked. Her stare never wavered and to his credit, Lock’s eyes never looked away from hers.

  “I promise to do all that I can and if there is any chance of personally bringing her back to you, I will do it.” He said. His words sounded solemn and sincere. He was focused just as she was and that was the final bit that reassured the desperate woman.

  “I’m going to hold you to that young man.” She said. Her words were steel now, not cold anymore, but unyielding. Lock wondered how she had gotten so willfully strong. He needed some of that for his future career, he was sure of it.

  Lock never broke that stare. “She’s my best friend, I don’t need threats to bring her back, I would have done it anyway. I am wasting time here, talking to you. I need to get on this case and break it wide open.” He said, pointing her towards his resolve verbally.

  Mrs. Hull released Lock’s shoulders and seemed to deflate a bit. “Go then, find her fast.” She said softly.

  Lock left her there, showing the urgency that she felt but was helpless to convey.

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  The tall man sat in his chair, overlooking a desk full of things that were oh so important, but remarkably boring. Usually, he felt sublime satisfaction with the number of things that couldn’t get done without his authorization. Today, however, it felt just a bit overwhelming. It was like the whole damn ship would fall out of the sky if he didn’t push a button or sign a form. He was quite tired of it. But he had many activities going on. Some of them were official, and some of them were not. It was one of those not official ones that held his attention now.

  The young girl had actually identified his lackey and the maintenance man had taken her into custody to await the Tall Man’s decision. It was an awkward situation to be sure, but it was the type of thing he actually enjoyed dealing with. With a single word that girl could disappear forever. The power of that was so uplifting. Of course, a word the other way and she would go free. It was simple from that standpoint. The real problem was how persistent was this young girl about to be? Would she continue to hound his operations? If so, it would be better to get rid of her now. Still, she obviously had gifts if she had put together this much of his plans. She might be a valuable asset if she could be properly motivated to serve. The potential of such a young recruit was great. She could quietly slip into places no other operative could go. She could infiltrate sects and groups, and nobody would ever suspect her connection to him. It was gold to find someone like that. It could extend his reach into some of the darkest corners of the ship. He longed for that power. He longed for that reach. His grip would throttle anyone that could stop him.

  But none of that mattered if this girl wouldn’t play ball. If she was dead set against him and his operations, then she would be an obstacle instead of a useful tool. It was so black and white in his mind. How had others failed to resolve issues like this in the past? Life was so simple when you had the power.

  He considered the maintenance man down in the bowels of the ship. His report had been clear enough. He had discovered the searcher and the results were that he had taken the young lady before another agent could snatch her up. That other agent had been his man too, but he had already botched the mission when the maintenance man came in and cleaned things up. He had even eliminated the incompetent fool and pinned the murder on the girl. That was a stroke of genius. The leverage he needed to control her could just have been handed to him on a silver platter. He needed to talk with this girl himself. He needed to read her body language and make sure she understood her predicament. He wanted his control over her to be absolute. He flipped the switch on his reader, and it shut down and automatically removed his browsing history. That device would never be used against him. He had made sure of that.

  He stood up and stretched. “Well young lady, I think it is time we met.” He said and then he strolled towards the lifts. The bowels of the ship were not all that far, but he was unaccustomed to walking anywhere. He used the transport that was available to him. His keys would work anywhere on the ship. There was no excuse to walking around here like a commoner.

  The lift was practical in most respects. It used a rounded path down the outside edge of the ship. This allowed a spectacular view of the stars outside as the one wall was glass. The floor was carpeted for comfort and to keep the noise down inside the lift. The interior temperature was continuously monitored, and the air was refreshed every few minutes. It was the epitome of luxury. The tall man stepped out of the lift behind a storage area. The lift was only in an obvious spot in his office. Everywhere else, it was carefully hidden behind something, or beside something that would take notice of the casual observer first. This allowed for discreet transfer from place to place without raising any undue notice.

  He moved like a shadow among these peo
ple. It was not that populated here anyway. The lower levels would require him to use another conveyance. Still, he was already over half-way there. He kept his mind on moving about unseen. There was no reason to drop his guard now. He was not in a secure area. This was the wildlands to him. The uncontrolled spaces that he still needed to bring under his iron grip. He did his best not to show his animosity to the passersby. That would raise awareness of his existence among them. He wondered briefly how they had become them to him. “Us and Them” were the lynchpins of segregation. He shook the thought away even as he redoubled his efforts to blend in and remain unnoticed. But there was someone among all of these people who noticed him. He had gathered a tail. In his arrogance, the tall man had not even noticed the second shadow as he moved about his business. Despite all his precautions, he was no longer alone.

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  Lock moved along with some haste towards the lower portion of the ship. That was where he had met the maintenance man before. He was moving through the thin crowd like someone on a mission to avoid getting scolded for being late. That was his usual travel mode. Nobody stopped someone who was too fast to catch in the first place. Those who would do so usually lacked the stamina to keep up with him to follow through on their curiosity. This had served him on more than one occasion. It was the most probable reason that Lock had no police record. At least, he hadn’t until the lower corridor incident.

  The fact that his capturer was the same man who had taken Tina was suspicious. It was more than curious to the young man. It was somewhere beyond the idea of coincidence to him. They had brought him in to recruit him. Had they done the same to Tina? If so, then her life was about to change as his had just done. He wondered if they would be assigned to the same missions so that they could talk about them to each other. That seemed far-fetched, but so did him becoming an agent in the first place. He had been given a position basically because of his initiative. That didn’t sound like the history e-books they had read in class. Lock reached the junction he wanted and then pulled out his pad device. He flipped the lights on like he had done before to make the man come and get him. It was a simple plan, he admitted that to himself, but it was a plan with a high degree of probability for success. He sat down in the middle of the junction to wait.

  “What are you doing here?” a grumpy voice asked after a long ten minutes.

  Lock looked up to see the very person he had wanted to find. “I came looking for you.” Lock replied. “You took Tina away; I’d like to get her back.” He said. He stood up slowly and stretched as he spoke, and the maintenance man simply watched him closely.

  “The girl is none of your business.” The maintenance man said gruffly. “Someone higher up wants to talk with her. Stay out of it if you know what’s good for you.” He warned and Lock put his feet flat on the deck.

  “Look, I promised her mother that I would find her and bring her back.” He said.

  “You shouldn’t promise to do things beyond your ability.” The Maintenance man shot back. “Besides, what gives you the right to promise anything to a civilian?” He asked. The tone had shifted in an alarming way.

  “I didn’t tell her anything about you or the tall man, or anybody. I just said I would look into it and find her.” Lock explained.

  “Are you both in the habit of talking about my business in an open corridor?” A new voice said. The tall man came around the bend and his look was not pleased.

  Lock wanted to protest but the glare he got made him clamp his mouth shut. He still wanted to know where Tina was, but for this man to be down here, something big had to be going on. He chose to remain silent for now, it was the best way to stay alive.

  The tall man shifted his attention to the maintenance man. “You do have what I asked for?” He asked in a slimy sort of way. He was playing the villain with every nuance of his performance. “I do not like to be kept waiting.” He reminded his lackey.

  “Of course not sir, I’ve got what you asked for, no problem.” The man said, shaking a bit and forgetting about the young man completely. He gestured for the tall man to follow him down the corridor.

  Lock wanted to follow but was afraid to do so. The tall man noticed that and approved. Then he felt sorry for the lad and addressed him. “You’d better come along too then; this does concern you.” He said and Lock followed in step with the other two.

  The room was small, and Tina was sitting in a chair. She had been given very little of anything to work with here. She had a small plate of food that would have left a gerbil hungry. But she had been allowed to remain unbound at least.

  The door opened and the light from the hallway spilled in again. This time she was ready for it and did not shy away. She noticed the maintenance man, the tall man came behind him and finally, Lock came in.

  “Lock?!” You’re part of this?” She asked, terrified.

  Lock waved her to shush. Then he eyed the tall man.

  “Yes, we are aware of your relationship. We are also aware of how much she knows. Of course, we are well aware of what you know.” He said as if ticking off invisible points. “Now go and sit down beside her.” The tall man ordered, and Lock complied quietly. The maintenance man moved to a neutral position in the room. He didn’t want to be the one in the spotlight, but he also didn’t want to be forgotten. It was a fine line he wished to tread.

  “What are you doing here?” Tina asked under her breath when Lock got close enough.

  “I’m trying to rescue you.” Lock replied.

  “Oh, how’s that going for you?” She asked sarcastically.

  “The jury is still out on that.” Lock replied with a dry sense of humor.

  “Silence now.” The tall man said. The two shut their mouths immediately. “We have a problem.” He said. He began to pace the room so the two teenagers in the chairs would have to follow him with their eyes. “We have recruited the young man into our network of agents.” He said and Tina’s eyes went wide. She had suspected this, but to hear it stated so blatantly was shocking. The tall man noted her reaction with a smile. “So, you didn’t know.” He mused. “Good, one tick for you son.” He informed Lock. “To be honest, at your age I couldn’t have resisted a pretty girl like this one.” He admitted. “Just the same, now she knows your secret.” He said.

  Tina spoke up. “I can keep a secret. I won’t tell a soul.” She blurted out and the tall man’s smile turned into a thin frown.

  “I’ll need more control from you if you are to be considered valuable.” He told the young woman. “Despite your proclamation of not telling, I believe that sooner or later you will divulge your status to your friends. That leaves me with two choices…” he said and let the silence drag out in the room for several agonizingly long minutes.

  “The first option is to make both of you disappear. We can put it down as a lost case. An attempt at training that failed in a horrible accident. The company would reimburse your families to keep the local voices quiet. End of story.” He said with a finality that made both kids shake.

  Lock spoke up. “And the second option?” He asked. The tall man whirled around and lunged at Lock in the chair. They did not make contact. Instead the lined face of the interrogator was uncomfortably close to his audience. Their noses almost touched.

  “I understand that you are a bit headstrong and self-motivated.” He said. Then he turned to Tina. “You share many of the same traits this young man has. You are dogged and relentless in pursuit of a goal. Believe it or not those talents are rare.” He said almost like discussing the latest episode of a video-drama that was currently popular.

  “It would be a shame to lose such valuable assets. Since we cannot rule out your friends finding out about you, we need to bring them into the circle and have them swear in as well.” He said. The surprise on both kids’ faces was genuine and amusing to the tall man. “Your friend also found the sensors you wanted to deploy. I must admit that even without training, your team is formidable. But, you cannot work without supe
rvision. You are not being given free rein to do as you please. You will be assigned tasks just like any other agents and you will be expected to accomplish those tasks.” He said, putting the screws back into the situation. “I will assign you a contact point and I will expect progress reports.” He added to show that this was a legitimate job and not just a flashy show for these kids. He stopped pacing and faced the two chairs. “Do you understand?” He asked in a straight manner.

  “Yes sir.” They answered in unison.

  The tall man smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Good, then there are a few things we need to cover.” He said resuming his pacing. “You are not to go to the police for anything. I cannot tell you why because your security levels as simple agents are not high enough and we are on a need-to-know basis here. Suffice it to say that you are not a part of the police force. We are a division outside of local authority. We do not even have a name. We are not to be remembered. We are only shadows and afterthoughts.” He said and then he stopped to make sure they were keeping up with him.

  “Am I clear?” He asked now for verification.

  “Yes sir.” Again, in unison. This pleased the tall man immensely.

  “You will be allotted a stipend to purchase things that are required for missions as you see fit. Do not abuse this or it will be taken away. Your creative use of this fund will be closely monitored and scrutinized. However, if you build something useful, we reserve the right to duplicate it for other agents. You hold no patents or copyrights on anything you make for the company. From this point on, you are merely employees of a very specialized firm and that is all.” Someone else entered the room and Tina’s mouth dropped open.