She leaned in looking down at my lips and then hesitated before pulling back in frustration. “Arrrrrrrgh! You drive me crazy. Please go to bed before we do something that I’m going to regret. Please.”
I stood and said good night, involuntarily letting out a chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” she asked with annoyance.
“Arrgh? Really? I make you feel like a pirate, I guess. That’s cool, I’m okay with that.”
Alicia threw her pillow at me, laughing, and insisted, “Go to bed, Adam. Your bed.”
I tossed the pillow back to her and retreated to the bedroom alone. It was better this way, I told myself, not believing a word of it. My thoughts raced as I stretched out on the bed, ready for a long sleepless night. I fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.
The wonderful smell of coffee brewing awoke me in the morning, late enough for the sun to be fully up. Long sunbeams shone through my southeastern facing bedroom windows, revealing a fair amount of airbourne dust. I had to tighten my abs hard to bring myself to a seated position, feeling the stretch in my lower back and in the back of my thighs. As a workout junkie, I was used to soreness the day after a workout, but not this kind of immobility. I must have groaned since Alicia walked in holding a mug of steaming black coffee and two aspirin. She was still wearing the tank top and yoga pants that she slept in, but looked great all the same. Maybe it was her smile or the look in her eyes that revealed how happy she was just to be with me. For the first time in my life I felt the same.
“Good morning,” she said, “It’s about time you got up. I was hoping we could get some of this exercise done in the morning, maybe take it easy after lunch.”
“Thanks for the coffee,” I replied and swallowed the pills with a sip of coffee, “ Are you a morning person?”
“Not usually, but that was when I was using—you know—but since then I guess I have gotten up early feeling pretty good. Thirsty, but good.”
Thirsty. That worried me a bit, but I figured that waking up thirsty is pretty common, so I let it go. I set the mug on the nightstand and said,“Alright, I’m going to need some help here. Please.”
Alicia patiently helped me to my feet. I stiffly plodded around like Frankenstein and tried to change into my workout gear. Just bending my knees and elbows took effort, my muscles taut and straining. She helped me put on my top, but left me on my own to change my pants. The hardest part was putting on my socks and shoes. Finally, I was dressed and after downing the remaining coffee in a gulp, I was ready.
We started with a walk, but as I warmed up, it soon quickened into a job. We hadn’t gone more than a mile before Alicia’s breathing became heavy, and she couldn’t keep up. I slowed to match her pace until we arrived at the clearing with the rocks. She was dripping sweat. This was going to be harder on her than on me, I thought. It turned out to be equally brutal for both of us.
We did nothing but exercise all day, every day, with brief interruptions for meals. Alicia continued to take part in the workouts, drinking gallons of water in the process. We saved the empty bottles and refilled them with the tap water from the cabin. At night we were so exhausted that neither of us wanted more than a shower and eight hours of deep sleep. The problem was that during the day I found my eyes and thoughts drifting toward Alicia.
It was a week that I will always remember with fondness. Each day we talked for hours. We laughed. We flirted. There were a few occasions when I felt sure that were were on the cusp of another kiss, but each time the moment passed…the opportunity lost. Oddly, the hesitation was usually on my part. All of a sudden I had something to lose that truly mattered. Maybe this is what it felt like to fall in love. The excitement and joy were expected, but this newfound fear was a surprise.
By mid-week I felt as limber as I was before my injuries, and by week’s end my balance and reflexes seemed to be better than ever. On the last day we packed up the car, then took one last walk through the woods before leaving.
For a while we just walked, but when our hands touched I took hers in mine and we continued like that down the trail. When we came in sight of the small clearing of boulders we stopped, just looking into each other’s eyes. Always practical, and typically braver than me, Alicia broke the silence.
“Are you going to try to find her?”
“You mean Kate?”
That earned me an incredulous look, “No. Amelia Earhart.”
I swallowed a chuckle, “Right. Kate, of course.”
We walked into the clearing, then I continued, “She’s still alive, I can feel it, and she needs help.”
“So,” Alicia persisted, “You’re going after her, right?”
“Well,” I stammered, “not after her in the romantic sense, just to save her from Harrison Kirkwood and his goons.”
Raising one eyebrow, she said, “Not romantic? You think that’s what I’m scared of? Sometimes men don’t understand anything.” She stopped and turned to me, “I’m worried about you getting killed. All I can think about is that this Harry person broke every bone in your body and almost killed you with a single thought. What do you think will happen when he’s trying really, really hard to kill you?”
Quietly I muttered,” Do you think I haven’t thought of that? I’m scared to death to face him again. But it’s the right thing to do, and if anyone in the world can do it, I can. Until all this started, these freakish abilities of mine were never put to good use. Now I have a chance to do better. I have to take that chance.”
“Just listen to yourself,” Alicia retorted, “You’re not doing this for Kate at all. This is just a way for you to prove something to yourself—Some foolish misguided sense of responsibility you developed all of a sudden. You want to do the right thing? Fine, call the police, alert the press. That’s enough, Adam.”
I stepped closer and said, “Not hardly enough. If I send the police after him, what do you think will happen to those cops? How could they possibly cope with something like that? The police aren’t the answer, I am.”
Eyes shimmering with hot tears, Alicia shot back, “Fine, Adam, do this foolish thing and get yourself killed. You are the only good thing in my life and when you are gone I will have nothing. Don’t you get that? I can’t just wait for you to return, wondering what happened to you. If you go I will start mourning for you as soon as you’re gone. I will protect myself, always will.” Before I could answer she stormed off back down the trail.
Seething with frustration, I turned to the largest boulder, a hunk of granite over four feet across. On impulse I spread my arms across it and gripped it tightly, breathing deeply. Then I pulled upward with all the strength of my legs, arms and back. At first, nothing happened, but as I cried out the great rock tore free from the soil around it and rose slowly from the ground one inch at a time. With a jerk I heaved the boulder up onto my chest, my heavy muscles shaking with the strain. Finally I hurled it at the pile of smaller rocks and it impacted with a thunderous crack that shook the ground.
My chest heaved as I took in breath, staring at the fallen rock.
From behind me, I heard a small but determined voice. Alicia was back.
“If you must go, then I go too. End of discussion.”
And it was.
The drive back to the airport in Milwaukee was quicker than I anticipated. I bought us tickets, but had to make the attendant believe that I had already shown ID. The flight was in the late evening, the last one of the day. Before we knew it we were approaching another security line. This time I just bent the light around both of us and we walked the wrong way through the exit into the terminal. To my total shock, we were completely invisible even when walking, which I had never been able to do before. Maybe all this practice is improving my skills, I hoped.
Once on the airplane and hours into the flight, Alicia asked, “How do you know that they are in Virginia?”
I leaned over and whispered, “You may recall that I saved three of Harrison’s soldiers from asphyxiation by commandi
ng their minds to breathe, remember that?”
“That’s what you told me, so yes.”
“Well, I didn’t want them to just attack us again, so I mentally blocked them from hurting us. They couldn’t pull the trigger if they tried.” The seatbelt lights came on, and the voice of the captain announced the beginning of the descent into Norfolk. Then I continued, “The other thing I did was command their minds to always allow me access, no matter what countermeasures are in place. Like leaving the mental backdoor unlocked.”
“Okay, that’s great and all,” Alicia said, “but how does that lead to Virginia?”
“That backdoor access had some unintended consequences. If I lean my mind toward those three, even slightly, I can see where they are and what they are doing. So, I’ve seen the Norfolk addresses when they open their mail, and followed them on their drive to work. I can see the facility from the outside, but once they step inside, I lose my connection.”
Alicia processed that for a moment, then asked, “What can you remember about the facility?”
Thinking back, I recalled, “The one who lives in Norfolk drives north over a bridge then through an underwater tunnel, then keeps going north toward a town called Newport News. Just outside the town there is a turnoff with a sign that says “Private Road - Authorized Personnel only” or something like that. The sign in front of the building says “Alliance for Metahuman Threat Management.”
“Hmm,” Alicia snorted, “Seems like just the kind of place you should avoid.”
“No argument here,” I agreed. But I was going anyway, of course, because I’m smart like that.
Alicia cocked her head to the side like a puppy that heard a curious sound. “Norfolk. Haven’t you mentioned that place before?”
“Yes,” I replied, “One of the last things Kate and I talked about was the fact that the Program was based near Norfolk, and its former director still lived there.”
Curiouser and curiouser.
Turbulence rocked the plane as we descended into Norfolk.
CHAPTER TEN
Norfolk is a pretty waterfront city not far from Virginia Beach. It’s host to the battleship Wisconsin and other maritime attractions, and would be a nice place to visit during the day, I thought, after all this is over. That was a mildly comforting thought; surviving this adventure, then taking a long vacation. Do you need to have a job to take a vacation? With all the money that I have spent in the last few weeks, I will have to get a job pretty soon. That notion sent a shudder down my spine. A real job.
The plane had started its descent and the lights of Norfolk were visible. Cutting through the lights were dark winding paths that must be the numerous waterways of the area, connecting to the vast dark expanse of the Chesapeake Bay. I think. Since Alicia had the window seat I had to lean over her to look out the tiny window. She smelled amazing. That vanilla scent that she used had been annoying at first, but it was growing on me.
I turned to her to discover that she was already looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I was in her personal space but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Seen enough?” She asked.
“Not yet.” I replied, “Actually I was thinking about that perfume you wear. Smells like vanilla ice cream. I like it.”
Alicia took the flattery with a smile, “Thanks. What you’re smelling is just my body lotion. I put it on after I shower. My skin gets dry and ashy if I don’t slather myself with it.”
That left me with some rather distracting imagery.
She interrupted my fantasy. “So what is the plan?”
“The plan is to check out the facility tonight. It’s late now, so it will probably be after midnight when we get there. We scope it out, see if we can learn anything. At the very least we should learn about the entrances and exits, security precautions, that sort of thing.”
“Okay,” Alicia replied brightly, “Then what?”
What a fantastic question. It left me speechless.
“Uh, well, I’m not sure yet. I guess it all depends on what we find out.”
Alicia seemed unhappy about my response, but she didn’t say anything.
The plane landed roughly, and shortly we were in yet another airport terminal. We rushed to get to the rental car area before it closed down for the night. We barely made it. The tired young man behind the rental counter was displeased when we showed up one minute before closing.
I stood before him and stared. He stared back, annoyed, then everything changed. His face fell slack and his pupils dilated wide. He turned and opened a cabinet full of keys and grabbed a set. He handed the keys to me and spoke in an eerily peaceful monotone, “Thank you. GMC Yukon. Blue. Go out these doors and it’s in the lot.”
“Thanks and have a great day!” I said cheerily and walked toward the doors.
Alicia whispered, “Did you just steal this car?”
With a mock offended look on my face, I said, “Not stealing. Borrowing. It’s not about the money. We don’t want to leave a paper trail. Did you notice that we didn’t have tickets for our flight? Same reason.”
She thought that over then muttered, “Your powers are kind of creepy, do you know that? If you were a bad person, you could do anything you wanted and get away with it.”
I could. I knew it, but it was best not to talk about it. No need to give temptation a voice.
The Yukon was at the end of the row of cars. Midnight Blue. Appropriate, given the time of night. As we drove out of the lot, the guard at the gate waved us through without reviewing my nonexistent receipt. Sometimes it’s good to be me.
We stopped at the first hotel we saw, a dingy local motel called Paradise Inn. What a dump. The last time it was redecorated I was in diapers. We checked in and stopped by our room just long enough to drop off Alicia’s shopping bag. Then we got back in the Yukon and drove directly toward the AMTM facility.
On the way I stopped at the first open gas station and picked up some sodas and granola bars. They would have to be enough to hold us over until morning.
The highway was basically a long bridge intersecting one bay after another. The signs indicated that we were driving on the Bridge Tunnel, and we soon discovered why it was called that. The dark road swiftly began to descend until it sloped down into a hole in the earth. The tiled walls of the tunnel were awash in dreamsicle orange light. It was creepy to be the only car in the tunnel at close to one in the morning, though my fatigue took the edge off. After a few minutes the tunnel began to slope upward again, and not long after that we emerged back into the open air, the bridge part of the Bridge Tunnel.
We continued our drive north through Virginia. We passed the turnoff for a Naval base and for the FBI. The presence of the federal government was everywhere. This was disconcerting considering that we intended to sneak around the outside of a quasi-governmental facility. Speaking of which, I could feel that we were getting closer to the turnoff. On the right there was a sign that read “Private Property” and under it, “Authorized Personnel Only.” That was the one. I began to turn when Alicia exclaimed, “Stop! Don’t turn in there. Keep going straight!” I jerked the wheel to the left to get back in the right lane, my heart pounding in my ears.
“What? What did I miss? What happened?” I asked.
“Shut up, Adam,” Alicia ordered while intently studying the forest to our right. “See that closed gas station up ahead? We should park there and walk back.”
“Walk? That station must be a mile away from the entrance.” I whined.
“Adam, do you really believe that we can drive up to the parking lot and snoop around? What are the chances that they will have security cameras? Pretty damn high, if you asked me. We need to sneak through the woods if we’re to have any chance of going undetected.”
Made sense. I wish I had thought of that. It was becoming clear to me that Alicia had the better head for this sort of thing. I admit that I’m no intellectual giant. For years I had been getting by on my gift alone, rarely having any need to exercis
e the traditional use for my gray matter. Besides Gus drilling me on my vocabulary and my addiction to the Discovery Channel, I had no outlet for deeper thinking. All that mental laziness came at a cost. With this in mind I happily shut up and did what I was told. Then I forgot to shut up.
“Did you tell me to shut up?,” I asked, “for real?”
Then Alicia glared at me through hooded eyes, as if to challenge me to make something of it. “Adam, my boy, you know I love you, so stop crying like you have a wet diaper and pull into the lot.”
Works for me. Did she really use the “L” word?
I did as instructed, pulling into the gas station lot. It was actually more of a service station with a few gas pumps for convenience. With the name “Todd and Rod’s” above the door in raised red lettering, it was clear that this was no corporate chain. I parked in the shadow of a large red tow truck.
The full moon loomed large in the night sky, its silvery glow lending the landscape a surreal quality. It was just enough illumination to reveal the pristine condition of the tow truck. Its candy-apple red enamel shone like it was new, and the chrome reflected like a mirror. The pristine image was only marred by some black grease coating several hinges on the back of the truck. That gave me an idea.
Alicia watched patiently as I scraped off some of the grease and smeared the nasty stuff all over my face. When I was finished I held my hand out to her.
She shook her head and said, “I’m black enough already. If we are going to do this we had better get moving. Lead the way.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly, taking in the forest and all its inhabitants. I don’t mean deer and tiny woodland creatures. The forest was filled with men, lots of them, maybe twenty. Some were difficult to read, but the minds of many of them were wide open, and they were all intent on one thing.
“Oh crap. New plan. Get back in the Yukon.”
“What?” Alicia asked.
“No time to explain. Back in the car, now!”
We jumped in and sped away as quietly as the big V8 engine would allow. Once we were on the road back to Norfolk, I explained, “There were people in the forest looking for us, expecting us to go through those woods. They couldn’t have been more than 100 yards away.”
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