by Diana Ryan
It wasn’t long before I was deep into an essay on the types of harmful radiation found on earth. Although radiation naturally occurs within our bodies from birth, we also receive a small dose from space and sometimes larger doses from the earth itself. The agency was sure the background radiation they were detecting was terrestrial, or found deep within the earth. They wanted to pinpoint the source before they contracted drillers and started ripping up the Midwest. It was more than the commonplace radon gas that forms naturally from radioactive elements that decay in our soil. No, this was stronger, more deadly.
I traced my fingers over a recent map of the Midwest in my file. There were several areas colored-coded according to their levels of harmful radiation. Much of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota showed the highest levels.
I flipped to another document provided by the agency. It was a chart indicating the levels of radiation commonly released by certain radioactive materials. There were several dozen elements, all naturally occurring on the earth. I scanned the list twice, reading all the levels.
Something didn’t seem right.
I turned back to the map. The levels of radiation in certain areas on the map were much higher than any of the levels in the chart of terrestrial elements. Much, much higher.
“The radiation isn’t terrestrial,” I said out loud. “Cosmic. It has to be cosmic.”
I grabbed my tablet and researched levels of radiation from heavily charged space particles and gamma rays.
“That’s closer.” I flipped between the map and the chart of cosmic radiation levels. “We’re not looking for something deep within the ground! We should be searching for something fallen from space, probably on the surface of the earth!”
I popped up, ready to perform my best touch-down dance when a light blue Oldsmobile pulled into the parking lot, the driver’s brown hair touching epaulettes on the shoulders of her white button-down shirt.
Ava!
I scrambled to put away my documents and heard the bell ring over the door just as the last of my things were hidden. Ava was standing in the doorway. She came to see me!
Chapter Five
The minute Ava left Delton Corners I pulled out my work documents and checked the numbers again. Could I really have made an integral discovery? I dialed the agency’s number with excitement fluttering through my stomach. Agent Harper would be so proud of me.
But then a stroke of insecurity fell across my heart before I hit send.
I put down my cell phone and picked up the map, scanning it again. Why hadn’t any of the geniuses at the agency noticed this discrepancy before? Maybe they had and reporting this would make me look like an idiot.
I paced back and forth behind the ticket counter. I was trained as a field agent, ready to protect the American people from such threats as organized crime, civil rights violators, or drug trafficking. I wasn’t supposed to be the one to make a discovery like this. My assignment was to passively hold my post until instructed to do otherwise.
I stopped pacing and picked up the phone. Even if the CBB already knew about the cosmic radiation, I had to make sure. I asked for Agent Harper, but reception said he couldn’t be reached. I considered sending an email, but it seemed like the type of information I should deliver on a secure line. Nevertheless, this discovery could wait overnight. I’d call him when the sun rose.
With my work mind somewhat at rest, I began thinking of Ava and replaying the brochure rack scene over in my head. The more I relived it, the more adorable Ava became to me. I wondered what she was doing at her parent’s house. Probably counting the huge stack of cash she earned guiding today. I pulled open my till drawer and counted how many tickets I had sold at this booth: two. I couldn’t imagine why the boat company kept this booth open. It was the epitome of slow. I reread all of the newest documents the CBB had sent me, just to make sure I wasn’t making some kind of mistake. Finally eight o’clock rolled around, and my shift officially ended.
When I got home there were several employees sitting around the bonfire pit, so I stopped to talk to a few of them for a while just to be nice. I hadn’t spent too much time outside my cabin since I moved in, so as I sat by the fire, I took in my surroundings. Someone had nailed a sign that read “Animal Island” to the tree near the front drive. I wondered what that meant. The back of the land butted up to an alley running through the middle of the small block. We could see the backs of a few houses, and I could see straight through to the next street over—Capital Street, I think.
Something caught my eye on that street directly through the yards and trees. Parked in front of a two-story, green house was a light blue Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra that looked exactly like the one that had been parked in front of the Delton Corners ticket booth only a few hours earlier. I laughed a little under my breath. Could it be Ava’s? I knew she lived with her parents for the summer, but what were the chances she lived across the street from my summer cabin?
I told the guys I’d see them later and went inside. I made myself a PB and J, scarfed it down while watching Sports Center, and then got in the shower. The hot water felt amazing on my skin.
After the shower I put on a pair of comfy, red mesh shorts and a T-shirt and cracked a beer. I began thinking about radiation again and connected my hotspot so I could search for more information on my tablet. I knew a little about the three types of background radiation humans are exposed to on earth—terrestrial, cosmic, and internal—and spent forty-five minutes reading up on it. When I was finished, I was sure the radiation the CBB was detecting had to be from a space object like a meteor. I made some notes on my tablet to organize my thoughts for when I called Agent Harper the next morning.
I caught sight of the DBT bumper stickers on the cabin wall and felt the urge to see Ava. I frowned and then sighed loudly, disappointed in myself.
With a little reluctance, I emailed a friend at work and asked him to look in the database for Ava’s address and phone number. He was a good friend, asking few questions about who she was or why I needed the information.
It was a perfect summer evening, so I grabbed my phone and headed outside to see if anyone was still by the fire. There were a few female Upper Dells guides swinging on an oversized hammock, but most of the crowd had left already. I opened the outer door but let the screen door stay closed. Although it was clean, the cabin still needed a little airing out. I sat down on the step in front of the cabin and checked my phone: One New Message.
There it was. Ava’s address and phone number. I looked across the street at the green house. It was hers.
Just call her, my heart said.
Don’t you dare, my brain replied.
I turned the phone over in my hands a few times. Suzanne’s words echoed in my mind. “She’s out of your league.” And then my mind saw an image of Agent Harper’s face in the grass. He wasn’t saying anything, but he was staring at me with a stern face. It was a bit disturbing. Suddenly his face blew away like smoke, and Ava walked in through the haze. She was wearing a tight black dress and wore tall black high heels. She flashed a sultry smile and my heart felt like it dropped down to my feet. She washed away with a wave of river water, and then the green grass came back into view.
I stared at the phone for another second.
I took a deep breath. “Screw it,” I said aloud and I dialed her number. It rang several times and then went to voicemail.
A red truck pulled into the next street over and stopped in front of Ava’s house. I stood up, peering up the alley through the yards. A young guy got out of the truck and walked up to the door. I took a few steps into the alleyway and watched Ava opened the door. The guy looked nervous as hell. And then before I could blink, the dude had climbed the stairs and had Ava in his arms. She struggled to get free, yelling for him to let her go.
“Owe! You’re hurting me!” she screamed.
“Dammit! Ava!” I hissed, and bolted across the street.
Chapter Six
I woke up early with
work on my mind. I knew Agent Harper was never in the office much before 8:00, so I got up early and went for a three-mile jog while I waited. I ran past Ava’s house—no one was awake yet—and through the streets of the neighborhood. I thought about the asshole I pulled off her the night before, and how when I asked her out, she accepted.
I was going on a date with Ava! The thumping of my heart happily drowned out the protests from my brain.
I couldn’t hold back a smile as I looped my way down to Broadway. The sidewalks were deserted so early in the morning, and all the shops and restaurants were closed up. The city looked sad without its normal hustle and bustle of tourists crowding the streets. It was nice for a run, though, because there were lots of signs and paraphernalia to look at to help pass the time.
I returned to my cabin sweaty and beat, but at the same time, the spike of adrenaline left me full of energy. I took a long, slow shower and then got dressed. With coffee cup in hand, I read the newspaper out on the camping chair I had set up on my front doorstep. One glance towards Ava’s house told me she was at work; her car was not parked out in front anymore. I imagined her standing on the top deck of the Bailey looking beautiful and rockin’ the microphone.
At 8:30 I decided to hop in the Audi and head out of town to make my work call. I drove down Highway 16 toward Portage and stopped in the parking lot of a drive-in movie theater just out of town. A bright purple ticket booth sat empty to my left. The place was abandoned at this time of day—mine was the only car in the lot. It was perfect.
I got out my cell phone and dialed speed dial number one. An automated voice said, “Classification and identification, please.”
“This is agent CBB 65179. Agent Hill calling for Agent Harper, please.”
“Cipher accepted. Please hold to be connected.”
A new voice came on the line. “Agent Hill, please give the countersign.” Harper was double-checking my identity—following protocol.
“Double-stranded nucleotides,” I replied.
“Ah, Nolan! How is your placement going? Are you fitting into your temporary Dells life?” I liked Agent Harper. It was rare to find a boss who knew how to employ the perfect amount of both professional and personal interest in his employees.
“It’s pretty great, actually. This place is so beautiful.” I leaned up against the hood of my shiny, silver Audi.
“Superb. Okay, let me see here...” I could hear him shuffle papers on his desk. “There are some advances in your operation. The techs have narrowed down the location of the source of harmful radiation to two zones. You are still in an active zone and will be asked to remain at your post for the continuation of the cycle or until we apprehend the object. The field agents that were posted in the other zones will be moved to your zone to bulk up protection.”
“I see. Sir, I’d like to share some information I think might be useful to this operation.” “Go ahead, Agent Hill.”
“I have reason to believe the source of radiation is not terrestrial at all, but rather deriving from a cosmic source.”
I heard Agent Harper take a deep breath and let it go. “Well, well, Agent Hill. I am impressed. Your next op file was to explain the details of this. Perhaps you’d be better off in intel than out in the field.”
Uh-oh. Being stuck behind a desk was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. Being out in the field was my passion.
“Oh, well, thank you, sir, but I assure you, the field is where I’m best placed.”
“Well, we shall see, won’t we?” Then I heard some papers shuffle again. “At any rate, Agent Hill, we have reason to believe that the source of harmful radiation is not lying in a natural position on earth, but we have suspicion that it is being held by an American.”
“Interesting,” I responded.
“We are unaware if this person is planning to use this source to create a nuclear threat, to build weapons of mass destruction, or simply to try to sell it on the black market for monetary gain. This criminal must be found, and he must be apprehended as soon as possible.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Actually, you don’t quite understand it all yet—there’s more. We have reason to believe that the person who has been exposed to this object has been subjected to high levels of dangerous cosmic radiation for several years, and in turn, our geneticists believe this person may be harboring some dangerous mutated genes. We are calling this person ‘the Carrier.’ The agency is unaware of the effect of these mutated genes on others at this point, but our scientists and geneticists are working hard to create some scenarios.”
“Great. Well, I’m glad we are making some progress.” I moved my sunglasses down from off of my head and over my eyes. The morning sun stretched across the deserted field.
“Agent Hill, I believe you are one of our most promising agents in the CBB. I assure you, if you carry out this mission and apprehend the Carrier, you will not only be saving America from a certain and imminent disaster, but you will surely be handsomely rewarded within the agency.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your confidence in me.” How could I respectfully ask my next question? “Sir, I was wondering if I could possibly be privy to a little more information about the Carrier? I don’t feel like I fully understand my position as an agent stationed in this area. I want to be as useful as I can, but I’m not sure I know exactly what I am supposed to be doing.”
I pictured Agent Harper sitting at his desk looking stylish and professional in his signature black Armani suit. He had a rather large forehead and his blonde hair was cut short to his head and gelled into tiny spikes. His blonde eyebrows were barely seen and reminded me of little cirrus clouds floating over his icy blue eyes. He was a muscular, tall man in his early forties who gave off a vibe that was very serious, but also somewhat approachable at the same time. I waited for Agent Harper’s response.
“I admire your dedication to this cause, Nolan. I can also understand your trepidation toward the assignment. I imagine you feel like you’re blindly walking down a dark hallway. Let me assure you that you have a purpose at your station. You have been chosen because you fit a profile needed for this operation, and your purpose will become evident to you as time goes on.”
It was hard to trust that I was doing my job when I didn’t feel like I was doing anything at all, but I said, “I understand. Thank you, sir.”
Before Agent Harper hung up, he explained that he would be emailing another set of reports for me to read, and we set up a time for our next call. I stared out over the lonely movie theater for a minute. What was my purpose here? Sit around and wait? For what exactly? A light and refreshing breeze blew across my face as I exhaled heavily. I supposed an answer would become clear soon enough.
I got back in my car thinking, what should I do now? I had almost forgotten. Tonight I had my first date with Ava!
Chapter Seven
The next morning came too early. It wasn’t that Ava and I stayed out too late, but rather the fact that once I got home, I was so jacked up from the date that it took me several hours to calm down and then finally fall asleep.
I replayed over and over the perfect night, beginning with when Ava surprised me by introducing me to her mother. Ava’s mother was pretty good-looking for a mom with college-aged kids, and her eyes seemed to emit kindness. Maybe Ava was right when she said benevolence ran in her genes.
I thought about my first very important encounter with Ava’s mother. I knew the way into a woman’s heart had much to do with her mother’s and best friend’s approval. I had asked if she was enjoying her summer and commented on the book she was reading. I wanted her to feel that Ava was safe with me. Mothers sometimes have a hard time trusting their daughters’ boyfriends.
I dragged my ass out of bed and hopped in the shower. I had been looking for a truly authentic Dells date yesterday, and Ava had gotten the job done. I imagined myself standing right next to Ava on top of that towering sandstone cliff overlooking the river again
. The Wisconsin River looked more majestic and powerful from our position up above it than it did from down on its surface in a tour boat. The sandstone cliffs that lined its banks were handsomely framing the sparkling water at their feet. It was more gorgeous than anything I had ever seen.
But then I remembered how the setting sun casted soft, yellow glows around Ava’s brown hair and sparkled off her face. I decided she looked, without a doubt, just as gorgeous as the scenery.
It was quiet and serene, and it had felt like we were the last two people left on earth.
I turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack on the wall.
It honestly was the best date I had ever been on. We had gone through the motions of a typical first date, asking each other questions about family, friends, and our lives up to this point. I had been trained by the FBI to tell part of the truth, but not to blatantly lie. For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to tell the whole truth, but I knew that by not telling Ava, I was protecting her.
I made a couple pieces of peanut butter toast and continued to let my mind wander about last night’s events, especially the part when she took me to Make Out Rock, and we, well, made out.
On my way out the door, I poured coffee into my travel mug and then locked up. The whole morning I was thinking about Ava. What she looked like last night, where she took me, what she smelled like, what she sounded like, when I’d see her again... My mind went round and round in circles and, quite frankly, I loved it.
I knew I wouldn’t see her today since I was stuck at the Dairy Queen booth all day, and we hadn’t made any plans for tonight. It was 8:00 when I parked in the lot. I walked down to the booth, yawning and rubbing my eyes. I should have brought two mugs of coffee. I opened up the door, pulled down the advertisers that were pushed up against the windows, and slid the glass over to open the booth. I was about to sit down on my stool when an extra large tour bus pulled up right in front of my booth and parked there. I was about to leave the booth to explain they couldn’t park on the street when the door opened and a mousy, unattractive lady in her thirties got out. She walked over to my window.