by Saxon Andrew
“Mr. Stone…”
“Call me Stoney.”
Lukas smiled, “Stoney, have no doubt those ships will be coming. The force field Salud built would also bring them here. Someone will stumble on the principles and build a stardrive eventually; it could be in two hundred years or tomorrow. I suspect it will be within the next thirty years but that’s another story. When do you start preparing for their arrival? You should understand that the first civilization to nuke a city on Earth will take possession of the planet and I suspect quite a few nuclear missiles will be launched in the hopes that the lucky first one will belong to those that fired first.”
Jinks shook his head, “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
“No, you’re damned for certain if you don’t.”
“Couldn’t we get together as a world and start building what we need to hold them off?”
Lukas looked at Stoney, “You would, of necessity, have to develop a stardrive to build a ship that would stand a chance against them. As soon as the probe above this planet detects the first one you power up…”
“The game is on. But you could help build what we need.”
“Jinks, then we’re back at, who gets the gun?”
Jinks looked at Stoney, “He’s right.” Stoney nodded, “Count us in, Lukas and tell us what we can do to help.”
“I’m going to need both of you to set up the facility that will be building the control modules for our disruptors. You will tell the locals that are working on their assembly that they are building the power transfer boxes for the hybrid motors. We’ve started making the components and they’re ready for assembly. The two of you will teach the workers how to put them together and keep things running smooth.”
“Who’s going to do the hiring?”
“That’s being taken care of by Joey’s staff. They’ll handle all the personnel details; you just need to focus on the workers.”
Jinks nodded, “When do we start flying?”
“Not until we’ve built enough ships to hold them off.”
“That could be a while.”
Lukas smiled, “Drag a chair out to the beach and you’ll stop worrying about that.”
Jinks smiled and saw Stoney was smiling as well.
• • •
“Sir, I’ve lost track of Jekins and Stone.”
“What?”
“You ordered me to check in on them periodically and I can no longer find them.”
“I thought you people were the best at finding anyone.”
The operative shrugged, “It appears we will lose a gold star on this one. They are not anywhere around their normal haunts.”
The General stared at the man and thought about why the two would disappear. He pulled out an electronic planner and looked at the operative, “Did you call them?”
“What?”
“You have their phone numbers, don’t you?” The operative nodded and watched the General start dialing his phone.
• • •
Stoney heard his cell phone ring and pulled it out, “What?”
Lukas said, “What’s going on.”
“The General that replaced me is calling me. What do I do?”
“Answer it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Answering it is better than having him send out a search party.”
Jinks shrugged and pressed the green button, “Jekins here.”
“Hello Jinks. I thought I would check up on you and Stoney to see how you’re doing.”
“Better than I was.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. We had to find work, our retirement wasn’t enough.”
“What sort of work?”
“The only kind retired military can ever get, manual labor. We’ve been hired by a company to build parts for hybrid cars. It’s not hard and keeps my mind occupied. How are you doing?”
“Oh, you know.”
“I understand.”
“Stay in touch, Jinks.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I need to get things out of my mind.”
“I understand. Good luck in your new job and tell Stoney as well.”
‘Thanks, General.”
• • •
The General hung up the phone and stared at his desk. After a moment he said, “I assume you heard.”
“I did.”
“Did you trace the call?”
“I did. It’ll take a few minutes to determine the location.” The operative said, “What’s bothering you?”
“I don’t know. Probably nothing but…I just can’t see Jinks doing manual labor.”
“Sir, he’s right about the jobs military retirees have to take.”
“But he was a general for Christ’s sake.”
The operative shrugged “Colonel Dickens works as a greeter at Walmart.”
“Check out the business and let me know what you find.”
The agent nodded and left the room.
• • •
He arrived in his office and the trace was already in his computer. He looked at it and smiled, now that is a choice place to work. He started running inquires through various agencies and discovered that the company that had hired Jinks was licensed to build hybrid vehicles. Ummm, that rich kid was the owner and that didn’t seem out of place. He looked up and tilted his head, wasn’t the hybrid car market on the rocks? He remembered that general motors had cut back on hybrid production. Why would a company want to invest in building them? He leaned back in his chair. That didn’t feel right.
He sent a request to his staff and waited for a few minutes. His computer beeped and he saw the file had arrived. He opened the folder and began reading General Jekins’ service history. After five minutes he knew that Jekins was one of the smartest officers in the armed forces. He was fast tracked for promotion and his action record was impressive. He took part in heavy fighting in Iraq and was decorated twice. He completed the file and wondered why Jekins had resigned his commission. He shook his head and then remembered Jekins saying the shakes had returned. He immediately reopened Jekins service files and searched them thoroughly; nowhere did it mention he suffered from PTSD. What was going on? He leaned back again, and now he’s working in a plant building hybrid cars. What’s wrong with this picture? He picked up his phone, “Jill, this is Jim.”
“What’s going on?”
“I need you to get someone inside a business on an island off Barbados.”
“Surreptitiously or out in the open?”
“Out in the open, according to the information I’ve been given, they’re hiring employees to work in their plants as we speak. Do you have anyone we can insert?”
“Let me see what I can do. What will they be looking to find?”
“I want to know why one of our best General Officers retired and went to work there.”
“I’ll get on it. I’ll let you know if anything turns up.”
“Thanks, Jill.” He leaned back again and decided to wait to discuss this with the General. He might get angry with this much involvement when he told his Commander that it wasn’t an issue. It probably wasn’t…but…why would a real bonafide hero leave in his country’s most desperate hour of need? Something just didn’t feel right. Let’s see what Jill could come up with.
• • •
Jinks stood beside a young islander and shook his head. The young boy was frightened out of his mind with him watching him work. Jinks knew he looked imposing and this young kid had to have a history of mistreatment. He put his hand on the boy’s arm and said, “Stop.” The boy froze. Jinks went down to a knee and looked the youngster directly in the eyes and smiled, “Julio, take a deep breath.” The young boy tried but failed. “Try it again, but this time, close your eyes.” “Do it again.” “Once more. Now look at me.”
The young boy opened his eyes and Jinks said, “Why did you come to work here?”
“My f
amily needs the money.”
“What do you need, Julio?”
“What?”
“What do you need?”
“I’m not sure I understand, Señor.”
“When everyone is depending on you, then the pressure to keep your job is almost overwhelming. What do you need, Julio?”
“I’d like to have a scooter someday, Señor.”
Jinks smiled, “Then let’s you and I agree to do this. You put these modules together correctly for six months and I’ll buy you a scooter.”
“REALLY!”
“Really. But you will work against yourself if you’re so tense you can’t think clearly. Now you and I are going to come up with a pattern you follow to do it right.”
Julio and nodded and Jinks took the first module and turned it upside down, “Down, up, slide, snap.” He handed Julio the two modules. “That’s right, upside down on one, rig side up on two, slide them together until they click. Now put ten of them together and call it out as you do it.”
“Down, up, slide snap.”
“Very good. Now here’s the pattern for the next module.”
Within an hour Julio was assembling the entire module perfectly. Those working around Julio listened and learned the pattern with him.
A woman sitting several rows over from Julio watched Jinks work with the young boy and shook her head. Spending that much time with a worker was something that shouldn’t be done. She leaned forward and continued putting the modules together. He should have just hired someone more mature.
From that day on, Julio and Jinks always high fived each other as he left the building. The young boy had something to look forward to.
• • •
Two weeks later, Jinks sat on a chair watching daylight slowly fade. He had a cigar lit and was enjoying the moment. “Señor, I missed the boat.”
Jinks turned around and saw a very pretty Latin woman walking up behind him, “How did you manage to do that?”
“I left my purse and had to go back for it. By the time I arrived back at the pier…” she shrugged.
Jinks sighed. Getting the boat back was a real ordeal. He picked up his cellphone and called the owner of the boat; he was told the boat was not operating properly and was being repaired overnight. “It looks like you’re stuck here.”
“What am I going to do, Señor?”
Jinks shook his head, “Come with me.” He walked up the beach until he arrived at his cottage. He opened the door and said, “You’ll stay here tonight.”
“Where will you stay?”
“I’ve slept on the beach quite a few times. It’s really not a problem.”
“But…”
“No, you will sleep here.” He walked over to a closet and pulled out a United States Air Force extra-large t-shirt, “You can use this for a night gown.”
“I really don’t feel good about accepting this.”
Jinks tilted his head, “Your English is quite good.”
The woman blushed, “I’ve lived in Florida most of my teenage years.”
Jinks nodded and said, “Make yourself at home. I have food and something to drink in the refrigerator.”
“Do you mind if I sit on the beach with you for a while?”
Jinks looked at her and said, “Miss…”
“Gonzalez.”
“Miss Gonzalez, I don’t fraternize with those who work for me.”
“You sound like we’re in the army or something. Are you allowed to talk with those that work for you?”
Jinks blew out a breath, “Of course. Come on.” He picked up a lounge chair and carried it down to the beach.
They sat in silence for an hour and then she said, “It’s really beautiful here.” Jinks nodded. “Was it like this where you lived before coming here?”
“No, I lived in Boston for the last four months.”
“Brrrrr, I’ll bet you froze up there.”
“Several pieces of me did fall off.” She laughed at his quip. “But the city grew on me. I kinda hated to leave it just as spring was starting.”
She looked back out at the ocean, “Then why did you?”
Jinks didn’t look at her as he said, “If you knew you only had a short time left to live but had to work to feed yourself, what would you do?”
“Are you sick, Señor?”
“No, just answer the question.”
She stared out at the ocean and said, “I think I’d want to go to New York.”
“I’ve had enough of the fast life. This is perfect.”
She nodded and stood up, “Thank you for your kindness.”
“Glad to do it.”
She turned and walked back up the slope toward Jinks’ cottage. Jinks continued to stare at the ocean and later he turned her chair over and found the listening device attached to the bottom. He shook his head and took out his cell phone and began texting. He finished the text conversation with Lukas and waited a few minutes until the phone rang. “Hello.”
“I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure this life isn’t too dull for you?”
“No, it’s exactly what I need. When you’re faced with a situation that you can do absolutely nothing about, it’s time to find an island and enjoy the peace.”
“Thanks for coming, Jinks, you’ve made a huge difference with our workers.”
“They’re good people. Thanks for hiring me, I really needed the money…more than that, I need the escape.”
“See you later.”
• • •
Sarah listened to the conversation as she searched Jinks’ cottage. Nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary; matter of fact, things were completely ordinary. She thought about the former General and he didn’t fit the profile of most high-ranking officers. He didn’t possess an oversized ego. He talked with people, not at them. She knew what Jinks did before he retired and she also found it hard to believe he had just walked away. His file said he didn’t have anyone close to him other than Stone. He had also checked out with the other agent here. She took out her cell phone and dialed a number that sent her call to an encrypted number, “Jim.”
“There’s nothing going on here but people putting parts together.”
“What about the parts?”
“They’re designed to focus energy sent into it into a tighter more powerful level. It’s little more than a step up transformer.”
“I guess a hybrid will need several of those with all those small voltage batteries.”
“That’s how it works.”
“How are you going to get out of there?”
“I think I’m going to stay and work until Jill finds me something else. This job is great cover for an agent.”
“Thanks, Sarah.”
“No problem.”
Sarah hung up and looked around the cottage. She thought about spaceships, aliens, and what it all meant. Then she picked up her sandals and went to the door. She walked down to the beach and saw Jinks was still sitting in his chair nursing his cigar. He watched her walk up and started to say something but she lifted the chair she had left and turned it over. She removed the listening device and he watched as she pushed a small switch on it. She looked at him and said, “Ok, I know you made me. I’m not sure how you did it but I know you did.”
“You said it was beautiful here.”
“It is.”
“Not to someone that lives here all the time, it becomes common place. Then it’s only beautiful when you share it with a stranger, a new romantic interest, or an artist.”
“How did you know that I might not be romantically interested in you?”
Jinks sighed, “How many reasons do you need?”
Sarah smiled, “How about five.”
Jinks shook his head, “No one is ever romantically interested in me; second, I’m ten years older than you; three, you’re much t
oo pretty to be working here; four, a woman would never leave a purse in this economically depressed society; and five, wanted to know why I came here.”
“Just how would that reveal anything?”
“No one questions leaving Boston after winter, even during spring.”
“That’s all a stretch.”
“I knew you were a spy when you watched me helping Julio.”
“Oh?”
“You thought it was a waste of time.”
“I did.”
“If you saw many children Julio’s age blown up, shot, and mutilated then every child would take on more importance to you.”
“Fortunately, I’ve been spared that…so far.” Jinks stared at her and his eyes narrowed. “I’ve contacted my Handler and told him that nothing was going on here.”
“Nothing is.”
“Most people would believe that lie.” Jinks stared at her without blinking. “Oh, you have done an excellent job of keeping things hidden and there’s absolutely nothing to indicate that you’re anything but what you appear to be.”
“But?”
“You said it earlier. So many children killed and you walk away from a position that might do something to prevent more being killed by invading aliens. I’ve observed you and one thing I know for certain.”
“What is that?”
“The only reason you would walk away from that position is because you felt you could do more somewhere else. That somewhere else is here. I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know you’re doing it.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“How many reasons do you want?”
Jinks smiled, “Five.”
“Touché. One, I’ve not seen children killed but I’ve gone out and killed for our government and hated every minute of it; two, during my tenure, I’ve seen the dirty underbelly of what we do to get what we want around the world; three, I’ve learned to see people for what they really are, not what they purport themselves to be; four, I’ve never run across anyone that has even slightly impressed me to be someone who truly puts others before themselves.”
“That’s four.”
Sarah smiled, “You are more than anyone I’ve ever encountered in a dirty career and I know you would not walk away from defending us from those aliens, not just our country, but everyone. That shocked me more than you can guess when I realized it and them it touched me. You were wrong from the start; I said it was beautiful because I am romantically attracted to you.”