by Terence West
"You have no authority over me!"
The Advisor folded his hands. "You are correct in that General, but my employer does. When I get back to Washington in the morning I will advise the President of your actions and recommend for your immediate dismissal."
"You have no right to do this to me!"
"Yes I do General. You gave me that right when you destroyed billions of dollars in government property." The advisor briskly rejoined his group.
Perry turned away from the men. His eyes focused on the man in the black trench coat. His long black coat was slightly rustling in the cool night breeze. He slowly shook his head as he turned away from Perry. At that moment he felt the cold wind blow through his soul. He knew he was alone.
Walking back toward the hangar he grabbed one of his soldiers by the arm and pulled him aside. "Get a team together and find those two men." The soldier nodded and began to leave. Perry grabbed his arm again. "Keep this quiet Lieutenant. Report to no one except me."
"Yes, Sir." He saluted and made his way toward a small group of soldiers that had gathered near one of the saucers.
Perry rubbed his hands together. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you two with me."
* * * *
The two shadowy figures moved stealthily though a darkened corridor. Upon Griggs' suggestion they had been following this same hallway for quite a ways now. Both men had their weapons drawn as they crept along.
Jake tapped Griggs on the shoulder. "Where are we going?"
"To the main research lab." Griggs kept walking as he answered Jake. "Before you arrived I had a meeting with General Davis. He informed me that Dr. Robinson was being held there."
Jake stopped. "Why is she being held in the main lab? Why wouldn't they have her in the stockade?"
Griggs quickly spun around. "Dr. Anderson told you about the Uber-Soldier project, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but—"
"That's why she's being held in the main lab. All prisoners of the base are subjected to DNA testing to see if they have the correct genomes. This facility never wastes an opportunity to have fresh test subjects."
"So what do they do with the prisoners if they don't have the correct genes?"
"They are disposed of." His answer was cold and heartless.
"Do you hear what your saying?" Jake was slowly raising his voice. "You sound just like one of them."
"Lower your voice." He scolded. "You're forgetting that I was one of them. I don't know if you have an actual military training, but they teach you keep calm in this kind of situation." He glared at Jake, "So if my answers sound harsh, I apologize, but you'll just have to live with it for the time being."
Jake was stunned. Griggs had never spoken to him that way before.
"Now let's keep moving before we're spotted."
A door a few feet up the hall suddenly burst open and several soldiers emerged out of it. "Too late."
Griggs quickly began to fire his weapon knocking down two of the soldiers as Jake charged the remaining soldiers with his gun blazing. Another soldier slammed to the ground with a bullet in his head.
Picking up one of the soldier's discarded rifles, Jake wielded it like a Bo staff. Swinging it hard, he hit a fourth soldier squarely in the jaw with the butt of the weapon knocking him back against the wall. Quickly stepping up, he threw a right hook that caught the soldier in the side of the face knocking him down. Aiming the gun down he pulled the trigger sending a shell into the man's head. Griggs in the mean time had finished off the remaining two soldiers with his weapon.
The two men quickly backed up against the wall on opposite sides of the open door. Jake slowly peeked his head around the corner. He motioned with his hands for Griggs to follow as he charged into the empty room. It was a brightly light room with a desk on the far wall with plants in all the corners. Unopened moving boxes littered all the corners.
"Somebody's office?"
Griggs lifted the top on one of the boxes and removed a framed picture. "We're heading in the right direction."
"How can you be so sure?"
He handed Jake the picture.
"This is the Anderson family." Jake lifted his head and looked around the bare office. "This was Jonathan Anderson's office?"
Griggs nodded.
"Where to now?"
The tall man thought for a moment. "I think the main lab is just down the hall."
Jake followed Griggs out of Anderson's office. Turning left, they made their way down a long corridor. Passing several doors, they found themselves standing in front of a large observation window. The two stared in horror at the contents of the room. Hundreds of long tubes, with men and women suspended inside, loomed in the darkly lit room. Neither man could find the words to express the discomfort they were feeling at the sight of the tubes.
Griggs pointed into the room. "That's where she is."
"Dr. Robinson?"
Griggs nodded as he began to progress toward the door leading into the room. Jake slid to the side of the door and reached for the handle. Griggs readied himself for any soldiers that may be lurking behind it. Jake slipped his hand around the handle and carefully twisted it. The two men made eye contact to signify that they were ready. Jake flipped open the door as Griggs charged inside. He quickly scouted the room. He snapped his fingers once. Jake ran inside with his weapon at the ready. "There's no one here."
Jake slowly ran his hand along the nearest tube. A naked woman was floating in the green fluid. "What are they doing with these people?"
Griggs stared in horror at the tube. "I don't fully understand the tests myself, but I know that the subjects have to be prepped for the tests. As far as I know, this is just a way to store them until they're ready to be tested on."
Jake struggled to understand. "Do you know what Dr. Robinson looks like?"
A blank expression washed over his face. "No, I've never even seen any pictures of her."
"Great." Jake threw his hands up into the air. "Neither have I." He knelt down next to the tube.
"What are you doing?"
"For clerical reasons, you would think that these tubes have names on them, wouldn't you?" He scanned the tube. "Here it is." He pointed to a strip of white tape with the subject's name emblazoned on it in bold black letters.
"I don't want to check every tube in here." He looked around at the hundreds of tubes.
"Same here," his mind raced for a solution. "But that's all I can come up with."
Griggs reluctantly began to go from tube to tube reading off the names. Jake did the same. They had each gone through about fifty when they heard a door on the far wall begin to open. Both men hit the floor as footsteps entered the room. Jake swiftly bobbed his head out for a second to see who it was.
"All right Mr. Stratton, let's see how you're doing today." The man hit several keys on a nearby control pad. The patient's vital signs popped up on several small screens in front of him. "It looks like you're doing very well."
Jake stared across the room at the hidden Griggs. Motioning with his hands, he indicated that he wanted to grab the researcher. Griggs shook his head furiously as he motioned for Jake to stay down. Quickly drawing him self up to his knees, Jake quickly made his way across the room toward the unaware researcher. Griggs sighed and followed him.
Slowly Jake stood up behind the small Asian researcher. With quickness Griggs had never seen, Jake snatched up the researcher around the neck with his arm and quickly drew his gun and held it to the man's head.
"Cooperate and I won't kill you."
The man nodded as best he could.
"Who are you?"
He strained to get the words out. "I am a researcher. My name is Dr. Yokama."
"So you know what's going on around here, right?"
The small man nodded again.
"Good. I'm looking for Dr. Robinson. Can you take me to her tube?" Jake slowly released his grip on the small man.
Griggs stepped up next to Jake. "Are you sure this is a good idea?
"
"Do you have a better one?"
The two men followed the researcher through the rows of tubes until he reached a door on the far side of the room. Jake jabbed his gun into the man's side as he started to reach for the doorknob. "What are you doing?"
"Dr. Robinson is in a separate room."
"You mean that there are more rooms like this one?"
"Yes."
Jake let out a sigh of exasperation. "Step back from the door." He watched as the small researcher stepped back from the door. He turned around to Griggs. "Major, do you want to do the honors?"
Griggs nodded and stepped over to the door. Reaching down he twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Raising his weapon, he cautiously stepped into the smaller room and looked around. Turning his head back, he nodded at Jake.
Jake pushed his gun into Yokama's back. "All right, let's go."
The two men followed Griggs through the doorway into the small room. Three occupied tubes sat side by side. Jake glanced into the first tube. An unfamiliar naked woman was floating in the green fluid. Reading the tag on her tube he discovered that it was Dr. Alex Robinson. "Major!"
Griggs walked over and stared into the tube. "Is she alive?"
They both turned to Yokama who was already pulling up her vitals on his computer screen. "Yes she's alive, and in perfect hibernation."
Jake glanced across the room to the other two tubes. "Shit!" Running around he stood over the next tube.
Griggs turned around. "What is it?"
Jake pointed to the second tube. "It's Christina Anderson."
Jake moved over to the second tube. Christina's familiar face and blonde hair were still frozen in the tube. She had a look of grief on her face. Spinning around, he grabbed Yokama by the throat and slammed his face on Christina's tube. Digging his gun hard into the back of Yokama's head, Jake leaned close to his ear. "Get her out of there right now," he growled
Yokama's face was smashed against the tube. "I will, if you let me up."
Griggs stepped over and placed his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Let him up."
Jake turned to look at Griggs. He nodded as he complied. Letting go of Yokama's neck, he slowly holstered his pistol.
Yokama slowly lifted himself up and straightened his lab jacket. "This will take several minutes to get both of them thawed out. You'll need to back off and let me do my work."
Jake agreed. "If you do anything sneaky, I swear I'll shoot you dead where you stand."
Yokama nodded and went hastily to work on his keypad.
Griggs put his arm around Jake and walked him to the far corner of the room. "I realize that you know that girl, but you've got to keep a cool head. You could blow our whole mission."
"I lost my head. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. Just try and keep your personal feelings in check."
Jake understood. Looking past Griggs, he stared at the third and final tube in the room. Pushing past Griggs, he stopped in front of the tube and carefully laid his hands on it. "Major, could you come look at this?"
"What is it?" He walked up to the tube.
"This is Jonathan Anderson."
Griggs stared at Anderson's lifeless body. "I thought he was dead."
Yokama cut in. "He is."
Jake turned around to face the small Asian researcher. "Then why is he here?"
"His genes are still salvageable. When new personnel come to the base, they are all checked for the correct genes for our test."
Griggs stepped forward. "You mean when I arrived you tested me?"
"Yes. It's part of the basic physical. We always take a blood sample."
"Son-of-a-bitch." Griggs muttered.
Jake tapped his fingers on Christina's tube. "How long until the procedure is done? We need these two girls our of here."
Yokama checked his screen. "I am almost ready to begin thawing them out."
* * * *
Perry slammed his fist down on his desk. "How could they do this to me?"
Hunter was calmly sitting in his chair across from him. His legs were crossed with his hands laid leisurely on top of them. "I am confident that the President will over turn their decision. After all, you are his top military advisor."
Perry leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "I wish I was as sure as you were about this whole situation," he rubbed his chin. "The Presidents policies on the military aren't quite what they used to be. After that whole draft dodging bull shit surfaced in the media, he has been very quick to do whatever it takes to silence his military detractors. 'Colonel in Chief' my ass." Perry muttered to himself.
"Sir, The President would be lost without you."
Perry stood up. "The man's already lost."
Hunter folded his hands in his lap. Inside he knew this would be very good for his career. "That may be, but you are a five star General. They just can't kick you out after all the things you know."
Perry turned to look out his window. Crews were now on the tarmac dragging the bodies off and cleaning up the wreckage so the tests could continue. "Let's put that all aside for now. I have a feeling as soon as the Advisors see this successful test, they'll change their minds." He returned to his padded leather seat. "My main priority right now is to find Major Griggs and Jake Silver. I have already assigned a team to locate them, but these men have proved to be extremely resourceful. I want you to put the base on full alert until we find them."
Hunter nodded. "What are you going to do with them once you find them, Sir?"
An evil smirk slowly spread across Perry's face. "I will personally see to their deaths."
* * * *
The ancient computers slowly struggled to life. When it had impacted, some of its systems had been damaged. Several workers had been moving briskly over the ship repairing it as quickly as possible. It had been sent here to complete a task. Its creators were trying to rectify a situation they had inadvertently created over a millennium before. Lights and dials whirred with electricity as the computer slowly powered up. It would complete its task.
Chapter 16
Jake watched as a surge of electricity flowed through Christina's tube. Before their eyes the green fluid slowly began to liquefy. Christina's still body began to move and her hair flowed in the liquid. Her mouth opened and a bubble of air surface to the top of the tube. Griggs watched carefully as Yokama hit several keys on his computer.
"How much longer will this take?" Griggs was getting impatient.
Yokama calmly turned to the two men. "You must give me the necessary time to work. If I rush the process, they could go into shock and die from being pulled out of hibernation too quickly."
Jake wondered if he was telling the truth or just buying time. He had to make a decision. "Speed the process up Doctor."
"Are you insane! Didn't you just hear me? It could kill them!"
Jake pulled out his gun and jammed into Yokama's ribs. "Speed it up or you'll die." He watched as a bead of sweat rolled down the man's forehead.
"Okay, okay. Just give me the room to work."
Pulling his pistol away, he took several steps back. He carefully watched as the two tubes surged with life. Several pipes connected to the top and bottom of the tubes quickly filled with the green liquid as they pumped it out. He watched as the two girls inside began to shiver as the heated solution was removed.
"Are they okay?"
Yokama nodded. "This is a completely normal response. A person's body engulfed in the fluid for long periods of time shuts down its internal heater because of the constant heat of the fluid. In essence, it will take them a little while to re-light their furnaces."
Jake didn't even pretend to understand. He turned around to see Griggs standing over Anderson's tube. He slowly walked over and stood beside him. "What's wrong?"
Griggs shook his head. "I just can't get over the fact that we're treating people like this here at the facility."
"What did you think they did here?"
"I knew they
tested top secret air craft and alien technology," he rubbed his hand across his face, "but not abduct citizens right out of their homes and detain them indefinitely in these tubes."
"Were you assigned here, or did you ask for this tour?" Jake asked quietly.
"I wanted to be here. This is considered in the service to the best tour you can get. You see action almost every day and your protecting the nation."
"But you're also violating the nation's rights by taking them and lying to them about the nature of this facility."
"I realize that now."
Jake patted him on the shoulder and turned around. He knew Griggs needed some time to sort things out in his mind. He stared at Yokama. "Are we almost done?"
Yokama was carefully monitoring the two women's stats on his monitors. "They seem to be coming out of the hibernation very well. It's probably because neither of the women were in stasis no more than two weeks."
"Good. Is there anything I can do?"
Yokama pointed to a door on the opposite side of the room. "Get some robes out of that closet."
Jake complied. Opening the door he found stacks of plain blue robes and several pairs of sandals that occupied the bottom shelf. He quickly pulled out two robes and two pairs of sandals and laid them on Anderson's tube.
Yokama directed him toward Dr. Robinson's tube. "She'll be the first out. I need you to be prepared to open her tube."
Jake nodded and moved toward her tube. "How do I open this thing?"
Yokama pointed to a small red button on the tube's control panel. "When I say so, press the red button. That will open her tube. After that, you'll need to help her out."
Jake watched as Yokama returned to his instruments. He tapped in several commands on the keyboard. "Get ready."
A fine mist filled the tube but was immediately sucked out. "What was that?"
"Merely a cleaning and disinfecting agent."
Jake quickly made his way over to Anderson's tube and grabbed one of the robes. Returning to Robinson's tube, he laid the robe over the end and knelt down by the control panel.