by Saxon Andrew
The six of them gathered around the display and watched the patterns. Major Daniels said, “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start where the five men started moving in this direction,” Danielle said.
Major Daniels turned to Esa and said, “Be thankful you’ve got this young lady now, otherwise she would be working for me by morning. You’re right, Miss Ash, and since we know they were following our Superman, all we have to do is look at the patterns along the wall as they moved northward to see if there were any patterns that would allow someone to move unseen.”
Major Daniels began the video, and they could see that there were shadows moving along the sidewalk and parks that someone could walk in and not be seen. “This is shocking,” said Major Daniels. “I had no idea there was this much that we wouldn’t see.”
“Not really,” said Sergeant Garcia. “Someone would have to be able to see these areas and stay in them. Which begs the question: how could anyone see the areas that aren’t covered when the cameras aren’t sending out a beam but just receiving light? These cameras are not like searchlights. They don’t emit anything that someone can see.”
“That may be true,” said Colonel Ortiz, “but this hypothesis just feels right and explains partially how our Superman avoids detection.”
“What do you mean partially?” John Sinclair asked.
“I haven’t heard anyone explain how our Superman walked with Mr. Graham into his classroom without being seen.”
Esa thought for a minute and said, “You make a good point, Colonel, but I think that we all agree that what happened at the school and what happened here are probably connected, right?” Everyone nodded. “Okay, then the logical place to get our answers is at the school, so I’ll see all of you at 7 a.m. at Bill Clinton. John, get in touch with Julie and make sure we have enough people and equipment to do interrogations.”
“Inspector Connor,” Colonel Ortiz said, “please keep in mind just how dangerous this person is. If you uncover this person’s identity and attempt to prevent him from escaping, you just might have what he did to this team of well-trained criminals. I will order a platoon of armed naval marines to surround the school.”
“Thank you, Colonel. I hope we don’t need your help, but I feel better knowing that it’s available.”
John Sinclair looked at Esa and asked, “Are you going to notify Director Nicole about what we’ve discovered?”
Esa said, “Absolutely, the director should know that we have someone that possibly has a high level of psychic skills. I am also going to notify the Special Forces Team about what we’ve found.”
Colonel Ortiz asked, “Do you think they can help us find him?”
“I don’t know, Colonel, but those psychics should know more about finding him than anyone else. I suspect we can use the SFT’s help.”
They were about to leave when Major Daniels and Esa Connor noticed Miss Ash staring at Major Daniels’s display screen. She turned and said, “Sergeant Garcia, will you come over here for just a moment?” All six men stopped, turned, and immediately went back to look at the display screen. “Sergeant Garcia, what color is the cover of the test booklet that was taken from the school?”
“Red,” he said.
“Major Daniels, will you move the view closer to the crystal glass directly behind the man sitting against the wall?” The picture started moving in, and they could see that because he was leaning forward to hide his face it caused his shirt to ride up to the small of his back, which exposed his back pocket in a reflection on the crystal glass of the building. The video continued to move in and then they all saw it in the reflection. A folded booklet was sticking up out of his back pocket with a bright red cover.
“Yes, you better be thankful, Esa,” Major Daniels said, shaking his head. “She would have been mine by morning.”
Chapter 10
T he team of investigators split up and went to their floaters. Danielle Ash went to collect her medical materials so that she could turn her floater in to her former agency. Inspector Connor said, “Miss Ash, may I speak with you for just a moment?”
Danielle stopped what she was doing and stood up. She noticed that several medical teams were picking up the dead bodies for transfer as she walked back over to the inspector.
“Miss Ash, I don’t want you going with the team in the morning.” Esa could see the disappointment in her face. “It’s not because I don’t think you could help us,” he said, “but I have another assignment for you that I think would be more helpful to the investigation. How old are you, Miss Ash?”
“I just turned nineteen, Inspector Connor.”
“I think you could pass for a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old if you dressed the part, don’t you?”
Danielle knew that the people she worked with thought she was a lot younger than she was. She wore clothes to try and make herself look older but knew they didn’t help much. “Yes sir, I probably could. What do you have in mind?”
“I’m worried that if this so-called Superman is really good at hiding then we might not find him. I want you to play the part of a transferee to the school. I’ll arrange a background for you in which your parents were moved here because of a job change in the commercial banking division. Your first day will be tomorrow and you’ll go through the same questioning as all the other students. Maybe you’ll have to endure stronger measures such as multiple interrogations. I want you to tell anyone that will listen just how stupid it is to be interrogated when you just moved here.”
“After a day or so, if we don’t find Superman, then we’ll leave and see if you can turn up anything. I would suggest that you try to develop a relationship with the girl whose test booklet was taken. There’s got to be a reason why Superman went to all that trouble to steal it. Of course, this is a fallback plan providing we don’t find him tomorrow, and I want you in place before we leave. If we find him then you leave the school and report to John Sinclair to begin your training as an associate investigator. However, if we don’t, then I want you to report each evening to Inspector Sinclair and tell him what you’ve been able to uncover.”
“Where will I live while this is going on?” asked Danielle.
Inspector Connor raised his communicator and said, “Julie, I need you to set up something for me. I want you to find a living space north of where the crime took place tonight for Miss Ash. I’m going to place her undercover as a transfer student.”
“How far north, Inspector?” Julie asked.
“No more than five miles. I know the person we were looking for was moving north from the school. Any further than that and he couldn’t have made it home by daylight. I also want you to take two of our clerical people and have them pose as her parents, and they’ll need to be the right age for a seventeen-year-old student. I want them in the apartment tonight, and I want pictures available for Miss Ash in her communicator to support her cover. Also get in touch with Dan Onda in commercial banking to support our cover story.” There was a momentary pause, and then they heard, “I’ve found a living space and I’ve ordered furniture to be delivered tonight. If you would have Miss Ash flash me her sizes I will have the appropriate wardrobe waiting for her,” Julie said. “Do you want her to have her own floater?”
“Yes, but I’ll want her to use whatever transportation the students she’s observing use until she develops a relationship.”
“It will be waiting for her at the living space.”
“Thank you, Julie.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that can make things happen that fast,” said Danielle.
“I think given time you’ll be just as efficient at what you do as she is in what she does, Miss Ash. You and she possess a lot of the same traits. I depend on her heavily and she doesn’t disappoint me.” He pressed a button on his communicator and said to Danielle, “I’m sending you her direct communicator code. Contact her and she’ll send you all the information you need to find your new living quarters. Also,
just put all your equipment into your floater and I’ll have your department come pick it up. You go straight to your new home.”
“Thank you, Inspector Connor. I’m sorry that my good fortune comes as a result of what happened here tonight, but I promise you that I’ll not disappoint you, either. You’ll inform the rest of the team about my assignment before I arrive in the morning, won’t you?”
“Here’s the beautiful part, Miss Ash. I don’t have to. Julie has already done it. See you in the morning.” His communicator beeped.
“Inspector Connor,” Julie said, “I’ve taken the liberty of using one of our clerical staff and his wife that is on leave from her job to be Danielle’s parents. I’ll be sending pictures momentarily.”
“That is satisfactory, Julie.”
Danielle turned to go and felt a huge sense of pride that Inspector Connor thought she could be as good as Julie. “This new job is going to be exciting,” she thought, and she looked forward to the coming day. Her communicator vibrated and she answered to find Julie on the other end. “I’ve sent a floater to pick you up and take you to your new living space; it will be assigned to you as your departmental transport. I have also assigned a Sandra Wong to pick up your medical equipment.”
“My former boss,” Danielle thought. She laughed and realized, “A pay grade five, no less.” Then she saw Sandra walking toward her with raised eyebrows. Sandra had obviously been hustled out of bed to pick up the medical floater. She had also been directed by Mr. Whorton to explain how she had wasted the talents of one of her subordinates. Yep, Danielle was going to have a good time. Then she said, “Thanks, Julie. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.” Danielle could see Julie smile in her communicator just before she broke the connection. Danielle walked by Sandra and nodded. The former supervisor’s expression was priceless.
Chapter 11
D anielle arrived at school just before Leila and Tag’s public floater arrived. One of her assigned parents took her by floater to insure arrival at the time most students arrived. She had to admit that all of the security forces and the platoon of marines made quite an impression. She knew about it, and she was still intimidated by the scene in front of the school. She paused a few minutes, looking at all the security people and their vehicles. Then she walked forward toward the entrance. As she approached the front of the school she recognized John Sinclair and Colonel Ortiz standing on each side of the entrance. As she started up the steps she noticed that the girl whose test had been taken was right behind her. She looked at John Sinclair and raised her eyebrows, and he got her message because he, too, immediately recognized the girl behind her. The security officers had set up a portal that each student had to walk through. As she went through the alarms went off. A security officer came forward and said, “Please follow me, miss.”
As soon as Leila stepped through the portal the alarms went off again, and the same security officer turned and asked her to come with him also. “Perfect,” Danielle thought, and followed the security officer into the school.
The two girls were taken to an office, asked to sit down, and told that someone would be with them shortly.
“What the heck is going on?” Danielle said to Leila.
“I don’t know. What are all these security people doing here, and did you see those marines?”
“Sure did. Does this happen very often?”
“No! It’s never happened before.”
Oh, by the way, I’m Danielle Ashford. I just transferred here because my parents have a new job at the bank. What a way to begin my first day!”
“Hi, Danielle. My name is Leila Barber. I’ve been going to this school since my first level and trust me, I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on outside. I wonder why I set off an alarm.”
“Me too,” Danielle said. “I’ve never set foot in this building before.”
“Maybe that’s why you set off the alarm,” Leila said.
“This girl is smart, and honestly, I don’t think anybody in the school I attended was as pretty,” thought Danielle. She also noticed that Leila’s face was open, and when she talked she looked you straight in the eye. “I don’t think she would be very good at deception. She really doesn’t know why security stopped her,” Leila decided. So she placed a mental wager with herself, betting that Leila’s interrogation would confirm that suspicion. “If she doesn’t know, then why would someone go to such trouble to steal her test?” She let that thought play around in her head and then asked, “Was there anything special that happened at school yesterday?”
Leila looked down at the floor and said, “We took our administrative placement test yesterday.”
Danielle could tell there was something wrong. She said, “I took mine before I left to transfer here. That was a long test, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. And I don’t think I did very well.”
“Why not?”
“Well, I didn’t get much sleep the night before, and I was exhausted when I took it.”
“What’s your quantitative point average?”
“Before the test it was 99.6.”
“Holy mother of pearl,” Danielle thought. She had never heard of a point average that high. She graduated with a 96.4, and she was number two in her class. “This girl is more than smart. If that point average is correct, she’s brilliant,” Danielle realized.
“Wow! You’re smart. You probably did better than you think.”
“No, I’m pretty certain I didn’t. I’m concerned that after the bad grade on this test all my other scores will be questioned.”
“Well, let’s hope for the best. I’m new here and I’d appreciate it if after all this is over you would show me around.”
Leila’s face brightened and she smiled at Danielle and said, “I’ll be glad to. See me during our lunch break and I’ll start introducing you to everyone.”
“Thanks Leila, I really appreciate it,” Danielle said, and then pressed a small black button on her communicator band.
John Sinclair felt his communicator vibrate and leaned over and said quietly to Colonel Ortiz, “She’s got something. Go take her out of the office to an interrogation room.”
Colonel Ortiz turned and went inside the building to the office where they were being held. He opened the door, pointed at Danielle, and said, “You’re not on the student roster. What are you doing here?”
“I’m a new student, sir. I’m transferring here because my parents were moved here for a new job. This is my first day.” Colonel Ortiz was doing an excellent job of looking extremely suspicious. He gave absolutely no clue that he knew her, and his tone of voice was saying that he didn’t believe her.
“What’s your name?”
“Danielle Ashford.”
Colonel Ortiz looked at a small screen he held, looked up at Danielle, and then looked back down at his screen and said, “Miss Ashford, I am going to take you to an interrogation room where there will be a truth field. I recommend you answer all questions honestly. The interrogator will know if you don’t.”
“Yes sir,” Danielle said meekly and got up and followed Colonel Ortiz out of the room. She glanced at Leila on the way out and shrugged her shoulders.
As soon as they were in the hall, Colonel Ortiz placed her hands in a containment field behind her back, which held her hands together, and walked her up the hall through all the students that were standing in the corridor.
Danielle kept saying, “Hey, I’m a new student here. This is my first day. I don’t deserve to be treated this way.” The students in the hall didn’t recognize her and felt bad for her.
Once they entered the interrogation room, Colonel Ortiz removed the containment field from her hands and said, “What’s up?”
Danielle smiled and said, “Boy, you’re tough, Colonel.”
“Call me Eddie.”
“I know why our Superman took the test.”
Colonel Ortiz said, “You never cease to amaze me. I didn’t think we’d ever have an answer
for that.”
“I think he did it because he cares a lot for the girl.”
“What?”
“I don’t think she even knows it’s missing. Matter of fact, I’ll make a five credit wager with you she not only doesn’t know it’s missing but won’t have a clue as to who took it.”
“I just look stupid. After last night, there’s no way I’ll make a wager with you. Tell me why you say that.”
“Leila Barber is the girl whose test was taken. She told me, a complete stranger, that she knows she did poorly on the test because she didn’t have any sleep the night before. Eddie, she has a 99.6 quantitative point average.”
Colonel Ortiz whistled and said, “Is that possible?”
“Call the front office and ask.”
He picked up his communicator and said, “John, check the school records for a Leila Barber’s quantitative point average.”
There was a pause, and then John said, “You’re not going to believe this. It’s 99.6. This is one smart cookie.”
“Okay, so what happened, Danielle?”
“I think someone who cares a lot for Leila heard her tell someone about how poorly she did on the test. You know that these test results are used for future job placement, and the results will play a large role in what kind of life she’s going to have. Leila even thinks that this poor grade will cause all her other scores to be questioned. The only way to prevent the test result from hurting her future was to prevent it being graded. Eddie, I just met her and I wanted to steal the test myself. Our Superman has a heart.”
At that moment the display screen on the wall came on and they saw Inspector Connor, who said, “I understand you have some information, Miss Ash.”
“Yes sir,” Danielle replied, and then she explained what she had uncovered.