The weight of her decision only hung on her heart briefly as her mind was brought back to the present by the dinging of the elevator door. Kierra walked out and to the left.. She heard the swipe of the pass as it went through a reader. An electronic gate buzzed open and Talon began hearing more and more noises as she walked closer into the guts of the hanger.
“Good morning!” a man called.
“Good morning, Dr. Phillips.”
“How are you? Tired?”
“Not at all.”
I’m sure you’re not.
“Good to hear! These men are just here to check your ID, but I can vouch for her.”
“It’s no problem. I have it here in my suitcase.”
SHIT! Kierra unzipped the front pocket and pulled out her wallet. Crisis averted.
“Thank you, ma’am. Are you carrying any flammables or explosives?”
“No.”
“Are you carrying any aerosols or matches?”
“No.”
“Are you carrying any corrosives, radioactive materials, or magnetic materials?”
“No.”
“Are you carrying weapons of any kind including firearms, sharp objects or poisons?”
“No.”
“And lastly, are you carrying any biological or organic materials, including any plants or animals?”
“I’ve got this banana,” she admitted reaching into the small front pocket again.”
“Sign here. You are all clear to board as soon as you eat that.”
“So, this is Cousteau,” Kierra said with a mouth full of the yellow fruit.
“Isn’t she a beauty?” her advisor matched her marvel.
“Yeah, she really is. What are those guys doing?”
“They’ve been working all night to put the metamaterial carpet on the ship.”
“Why would we need to cloak it?”
Kierra was fishing for more information. How much Dr. Phillips actually knew was still a mystery.
“I’d like to have a meeting with everybody once we all settle into our rooms so we’re on the same page. Oh, hello, Dr. Jean and Dr. Pransa. I’d like you to meet Kierra Jenikee. Kierra, this is Dr. Iliana Jean and Dr. Therron Pransa. They are here on behalf of NASA to assist in our efforts.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Talon recognized the voice immediately. It was none other than Aberdeen Green! She was going undercover as a NASA scientist? She guessed the agency had to get on the discovery-based vessel somehow.
“Are all of these ships yours?” It was Kelly Ravashay, the dark-haired Sydces man from the moon case, who asked the question.
“Our company owns this whole lot…everything within the gate. Well, would you all like to settle in? The rooms are not assigned but there will be eleven of us, seven boys and four girls to only six rooms so…”
“We’ll share a room, Dr. Phillips, since we’re married.”
“Oh! I hadn’t realized.”
“Happens all the time. I never wear a ring and he kept his surname.”
Aberdeen was quick on her feet. Talon was relieved and not at all surprised the two spies wanted to share a room. Kierra unknowingly hovered her unwanted cargo up the onramp of the ship and, after a few minutes of meandering, it appeared she had found her room. If Talon was in luck, Kierra would be the girl that roomed solo. She was alone for now at least, and Talon just needed one unsupervised minute to sneak out of the suitcase and hide in a different place.
She heard her friend walking around the room, getting to know her surroundings and then to Talon’s dismay, she rolled the over-sized valise over to, what she assumed, was a dresser to start unpacking. A knock sounded at the door and Talon silently exhaled her relief.
“Kierra. Settling in alright?” Her advisor asked, walking in.
“Yeah, pretty good. The rooms are nice.”
“They are. I just wanted to let you know, since you seemed a little nervous, that this trip is perfectly safe. The cloaking is just a precaution since we usually have more time to gather data before moving in somewhere.” His voice was drawing nearer.
“Oh, yeah, I know it’ll be fine. I guess I’m just nervous because it’s my first real trip out on a company ship for a job.”
“Well, you deserve it. I picked you because you’re the best,” he said, his voice becoming lower.
Kierra walked back over to her suitcase as she said, “Thank you, Dr. Phillips. It’s an amazing opportunity.” She then started to unzip the top of the bag.
No, no, no!
“Sorry, I’ve got to get out a sweater. It’s so c…” They made eye contact. Kierra was looking down at Talon with a horrified expression.
Talon held her breath and pleaded with her eyes. What would Kierra do now?
“Well, I think it’s getting kind of warm in here,” Dr. Phillips said, his voice drawing closer.
Kierra zipped the suitcase back up and turned to her advisor. “What?” She had honestly missed what he had said in her dumbfounded state.
“It’s warm in here, don’t you think?”
“Umm,” she answered, obviously catching on to his coming on.
“You’re special, I want you to know that.” Her advisor was almost whispering now.
“Uh, thank you, Dr. Phillips.”
“Ian. We are going to discover great things together, you and I. We make a great team.”
“Yeeaahh,” was all Kierra could manage to say.
“I want to discover you.”
Talon heard Kierra gasp and it was all she could not to pop out of the suitcase like a whack-o-mole and thwack the doctor across the face!
“Sir, I’m married!”
“I am too, you know.”
“I love my husband.”
“He isn’t Sydces, right?”
“No,” she said, sounding obviously offended. Kierra was much more confident when she said, “I respect and love my husband, Dr. Phillips. I think you have the wrong idea about what this is. If we can’t keep this professional, then you should just turn this ship around and drop me off.”
No, no, no!
“No, you’re right, Kierra. I’m sorry. Excuse me.” And with that he was gone.
Kierra unzipped the suitcase and looked down at Talon with a scowl that could weaken a kordor. “What in the black hole are you doing here?”
She didn’t help her friend as Talon fell to the floor with a thud. Talon had to fight her cramped body parts to wriggle free. “Long story.”
“You better start talking, Talon. I signed a legal document saying I wasn’t carrying any biological material. I’m going to jail!”
“You’re not going to jail. I can’t believe your advisor did that!” To Talon’s surprise Kierra’s eyes filled with water. She kicked herself for not being more empathetic. “I’m sorry.”
“I thought he actually believed I was the best graduate student. He picked me for…that.”
“Kierra, do you believe you deserve to be here?” After she gave a single nod Talon reassured her again. “Then you deserve to be here. Screw that guy.”
“That guy decides whether or not I become a doctor.”
“Well, then, it’s a good thing you have a friend who you can hire to kill him if he tries anything again.”
“Are you my friend?” Kierra was full of emotions, and she had switched to anger now.
“Yes, I’m your friend.”
“You better tell me everything, Tal, or I’m not going to be your maid of honor.”
Talon tried not to smile at the threat only Kierra believed to be persuasive. She needed Kierra now, especially with two people on board that could recognize her. Talon complied, leaving out a few details as always. Her story was interrupted by an announcement that the ship would be cleared for departure in five minutes.
“I’ll hide you in my room,” Kierra decided as she fell back on the bed. “I’m kind of glad you’re here, actually. Between the potential terrorists, a perverted advisor, and being away f
rom home, this trip would have been miserable and scary without you.”
Talon joined Kierra on her back and marveled at the ceiling, which displayed a rotating galaxy. “I’m sorry I had to sneak on board in your suitcase. I’ve been a pretty crappy friend…and fiancé lately. I’m doing this to keep everyone safe. Whatever we find out there could change the course of history.”
Kierra shot up and spun around with unnerving speed. “You were in the suitcase this morning!?
15 STAYING GROUNDED
There wasn’t too much to do in the county jailhouse except talk and think, and he preferred the former since the latter took him to places of worry and frustration. Holding four men in jail for a public disturbance they walked away from was grossly unfair if not discriminatory, but Levi knew if they fought the legality of the punishment, they would lose This little town was too deep in their own fears, which only became more unbridled after the storm.
They were each allowed one domestic phone call, but the problem was most of them had no one to call in the United States. Sherman tried reaching out to his sister in New Jersey to no avail. It took some convincing on Sherman’s part, but they decided not to fight the system and wait out the seventy-two hour hold peacefully. It was getting harder to do as the days passed.
More and more people were being booked and released in the same day for seemingly greater offenses and the boys were met with hatred by many of those who came and went. Levi had a gut feeling that things were escalating beyond the jail house just from the sheer numbers of bookings, but decided not to probe. For now, he watched the angry men and women being thrown into cells as they shouted about the end of the world. Whether their proclamations were legitimate or imagined he did not know. When the jail became close to reaching capacity, Levi became optimistic they would be released to create more space for newcomers. It was a false hope, and the energy was getting close to explosive behind the bars.
“You so much as look in my direction and I’ll hit you faster than a bull out-of-a chute,” one of the newcomers growled at Fletch and Peanut. He had been pacing like a caged animal since he arrived and seemed to lash out at the slightest inconvenience.
“You lay a finger on any of us and we’ll sue you for all your worth, dirt bag.” Sherman spat back in a thickened New Jersey accent. Levi came to realize an accent-change was his tell that pitbull instincts were about to take over.
“I don’t have anything to lose now,” he snarled. “When the power came back on someone had cleaned out my bank account. You know who did it, don’t you?” He walked toward Fletch and Peanut with a vein pulsating in his clenched jaw and his fists clenched. “Ya’ll have all the fancy shit. You can just take our money whenever you want. My wife up and left me last night saying I spent it all. I’ve got nothing now!” He punched the wall.
“Hackers have existed forever.” Sherman pointed out. Levi, Fletch, and Peanut had an easier time ignoring hateful remarks and threatening advances, but Sherman’s updated pacemaker was getting quite the workout.
“Go cork your pistol, alien lover! If these freaks are so good then why did they sit back on their little spaceships and let that happen?”
“Why do you narrow-minded shmucks blame them for all of your problems? He grew up on the ground and this guy here is the nicest person I know.”
“He ain’t a person!”
For the first time, Peanut stood. It was a simple act that spoke volumes. The Hamza was a towering presence, and the tranquil look on his face was more terrifying than if he had matched the instigator’s rage. He looked confident and formidable.
A more level-headed guy stepped in. “Just leave them alone, Craig. Unless you want be in here longer. Juleen will take you back. She always does.”
Levi nodded to the man in a silent thank-you, but he didn’t seem to accept it.
“It’s the North Koreans,” the diffuser shrugged.
“And the Russians!” another man shouted from somewhere else in the cell. “World War III is upon us!”
Levi listened to them begin discussing current events amongst themselves, happy that their attention and anger was elsewhere. It appeared that things had escalated in the last couple of days. When he heard the words ‘nuclear warfare, he knew they needed to get out of there.
“What do you think they mean about the CME giving North Korea the idea for war?”
“Nuclear weapons. If you set them off in the sky it will have the same effects as the storm and cover quite a bit of ground. With the way things appear to be spiraling, the U.S is pretty vulnerable.”
“It's hotter than a goat's ass in a pepper patch in here!” The troublemaker from earlier screamed through the bars.
A cop came around the corner. “Craig, be quiet!”
“Certain people and non-people in here smell worse than a dead corpse in hot garbage.”
The cop cracked a smile. The man’s use of idioms was teetering on legendary. “You decide, Craig. You either want them in or you want them out, but you’re staying in for what you did. Vandalizing my car? Really? After everything we’ve been through since Lee?” The cop shook his head. “So what is it?”
Craig turned around and looked at them in the corner of the cell. A vein started throbbing in his temple. “I don’t wanna look at these freaks. Put em’ in another cell.”
“Nope. They’re either in here with you or out.”
It was quite the conundrum for Craig, who acted like being in their presence was toxic to his health. “Get ‘em the hell out of my town.”
“You heard ‘im boys. You stenched your way out of here a whole five hours early. Let’s go.”
The narrow-minded shmuck turned out to be their savior, but just in case he changed his mind, they didn’t dare look in his direction on the way out.
“Where’s our van?” Sherman asked. It had been left on the side of the highway where they were pulled over.
“It’s impounded. It’ll be two-fifty to get back.”
“Two-hundred and fifty dollars!” Sherman bellowed.
“One-fifty for the first twenty-four hours and fifty every day after that.”
Levi gave the man his plastic to swipe. He would give a whole lot more to get on the road. They were escorted to the side of the building where their van was driven up.
“Where are the Extensions!?” Sherman roared with a beet red face.
“Your van was left unattended for a few hours. I guess they were stolen. Do you have them insured?”
Sherman began swearing into the afternoon sun. At least he was smart enough to shout into the sky, Levi supposed.
“Come on guys, let’s get out of here.” Levi prided himself on being a peaceful guy, but it was getting more and more difficult to remain so. “I’ll drive.”
The boys drove five miles under the speed limit and didn’t stop for gas until they were beyond the city limits. Once they were in a safe zone, Levi had one thing on his mind – calling Talon. Although his phone was stolen, he could call her from his online account. Levi pulled over to the first carrier store and a frazzled girl hurried over.
“Hello, sir, can I help you?” Everything about her seemed anxious, from her frizzy hair to her fidgeting fingers.
“Are you alright?”
“Ha, yeah, yeah, sorry. I just, you know, with all the stuff.”
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Levi hadn’t been able to listen to the radio news yet. “I see. My phone was stolen and I need to call my fiancé.”
“Ah, that’s horrible. People are so horrible,” she jiggled a finger over the nearest monitor and logged in. “We charge $10 dollars for extraplanetary calls.”
“That’s fine.”
“You’re sure right. Your account is saying there are no longer any phones associated with your number. The jokes on them, huh?”
“Err, what do you mean?”
“Well, if the whole world gets sent into a nuclear holocaust, no phones will work!” The woman began giggling with a terrified e
xpression on her face.
“Oh, yeah, haha. Joke’s on them,” Levi managed to respond. “So, uh, can I call my fiancé now? She’s the other number on the account.”
“Sure, do you want to have it ring on all the devices you have listed here? I see two HoloTVs, but of course the hologram feature won’t work.” After Levi nodded she added, “Alright, you’re good to go. Just so you know the U.S. location code will show in front of your number when you call. Here’s your headset.”
Levi never felt so relieved to see someone walking away. The woman’s anxiety had somehow seeped into his pores and he was feeling suddenly stressed. He pressed the call button and, to his delight, he heard it connect and begin ringing. His heart lifted for the opportunity to hear her voice. Levi quickly did the math and calculated that it was 5:30 in the morning on Ohmani. With three televisions and her phone all ringing into the air, his light sleeper was sure to hear them. He imagined her shooting wide-awake to the orchestra and beaming to see his number.
As the rings carried on, they sounded more shrill, more desperate. His giddy anticipation slowly died and a flash of anger took its place. The computer prompted him to leave a voice message and he ended the call with a jabbing finger. Levi had to run through the rationalizations to calm his disappointment and exasperation. Maybe she’s not returned from Dedrake yet, he reasoned. This isn’t how he imagined newly engaged life. He was growing tired of forcing it.
They decided no more stopping – unless the car was running on fumes – until they reached the embassy. Since Levi and Sherman were the only two who could legally drive, they took turns for the remaining nine and a half hours. It wasn’t just the fear of similar situations that kept them on the road. It turned out the histrionic declarations they heard behind bars had a little substance. Now getting back to Ohmani was a matter of necessity.
Instead of returning to normalcy, the world seemed to be in a downward spiral of chaos. During the storm, electronic trading between banks went down temporarily, along with bill paying, stock transactions, and salary payments – this had all been expected, but society and daily life was so dependent on computer-based money flow that only a few hours of electronic darkness created a global crisis. The fact that international transactions, trading, and national economies were so interdependent sent rippling effects throughout the world.
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 19