by Rita Moreau
“MC, it’s me, Josie. Both Annie and I are fine. Do not give them the chip. Is John okay?”
Silence.
“I need that chip, Ms. Mahoney. I will text you a location to drop it off. Do it, and Josie and her granddaughter will be released unharmed.”
“If I don’t?” I asked as Ernie rolled his eyes upward.
“Well, let’s not go there unless you want to take up residence in that old home on Xenia,” the colonel said, and then the line went dead.
“He hasn’t found John either, I gather,” I said to Ernie.
“Good,” Ernie said. “We’ll keep it that way. I have a plan. If it works, we’ll have Josie and Annie back.”
What about John? I said.
“Say a prayer, MC. Say a prayer. The US government is not the only government after that chip.”
Chapter 30
Dayton, Ohio
Josie and Annie were being kept in a room that resembled a small hotel room.
Annie asked, “Did you notice that some of the workers looked like aliens?”
“Yeah, I saw them on the way in,” Josie responded.
“They looked like something out of one of those old 1950s movies.”
“Do you think that is why the colonel is so desperate for that chip?” Josie asked.
“Well it would be if the chip has proof that aliens do exist,” Annie said. “Good grief what if it showed that the Roswell crash was not a hoax. That the government really brought the UFO and the aliens and maybe more to Wright-Patt.”
“We need to get out of here Annie. They will not let us out alive. Once they have the chip, we are dead and will be buried under our old house on Xenia just like John’s father.”
“How are we going to get out of here Annie?” Josie was asking Annie, not her teenage granddaughter but the wise old soul that is her granddaughter’s spirit.
“Maybe one of the aliens will help. They had sympathetic eyes. This might be there one and only chance to break out of here,” Annie said.
“You got that all from our walk into this place?”
“It was a long walk, Gram.” Josie thought her granddaughter did have a point.
Finally, she said, “Maybe you have something, Annie. If we can talk to one of the—aliens—maybe they will help us. The truth needs to be out there—not in here,” Josie said.
“Did you have one in mind?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. He was the tallest in the room and stared right at us as we were walking by. The rest kept their heads down. He’s the one. I think he is their leader. Something tells me he will try to contact us. They must be highly intelligent and are being used for their brain power. I’ll act like I am ill. They may have to call him in to observe. When they bring the food in, I will tell them I am not feeling well,” Annie said.
“I know which one you mean. The one they have nicknamed Egor. I think I have seen him before. I think he was with Colonel Storms the day he came out to talk to Alexi and me. I think he looked at me and smiled right after Storms took that weird tumble.”
“Oh yeah, the one where you thought he got a push from YaYa and GiGi.”
“Yes. Tall and bald. That’s the one but let me do it, Annie. It might be too dangerous.”
“I’m the actress remember.”
“Okay. Okay.” Josie knew they had to do something, and Annie was right. If anyone can pull this off, it was Annie.
“They should be here shortly,” Annie said. “We’ll be ready.”
Chapter 31
Dayton, Ohio
Ernie and MC were in a military-looking Hummer driving toward Wright-Patt. The GPS was set to the coordinates given to Ernie by Gabby’s old map of Area B which they had brought along. When MC got in the Hummer, she saw Maggie and Frank and Max and Molly. MC nodded hello. Ernie had cleared entry on the base through his spook channels. MC learned long ago not to get down in the weeds and ask how he accomplished these feats. He would never tell her anyway, and besides, she really didn’t need to know the nitty-gritty. She wasn’t in training to become a spook.
When Ernie pulled up to the gate at Wright-Patt, he showed the guard something on his cell and was waived through. Ernie seemed to know where he was going. They were on Area B, and before long they stopped a reasonable distance away from an old building which sat next to an old hangar. No one was around. It looked as if this part of the base had not been used for some time. They were the only vehicle in the lot. Frank now said something to Molly in Spanish. She looked up and then Maggie said something to her in Spanish. They were all a team again. Max was back at the house with Gabby. It would have been too stressful to bring him along.
MC’s cell buzzed.
“I hope you have the package,” said Colonel Storm’s brusque voice.
“I do.”
“Good, I will now tell you, where to drop it off. So listen closely, Mary Catherine. No more stalling,” Colonel Storms said.
“I will give it to you wherever you say, but before I do, we want Annie and Josie released.”
“That will not happen. First the chip and then we will arrange their release.”
“Sorry. You can get what you want, but you’re not getting it until you release Josie and Annie.”
MC hung up, and Ernie turned around to Maggie and Frank.
“You’re on. They are nearby but, from the looks of this part of the base they are underground.”
Maggie and Frank got out with Molly. They were parked within sight of the building and an old hangar. They watched as Frank and Maggie walked nearby and then unleashed Molly. She took off. She ran up to the old hangar and sniffed the ground and then she ran over to the old building. She had found something and turned and barked at Maggie and Frank. MC and Ernie looked at the copy of the old map. It’s building 23 on the map. It was like leading a bee to honey.
“Wow, Molly is exceptional,” MC said.
Ernie started the Hummer and waited. Maggie and Molly got in.
“Okay. We know where they are,” Ernie said. Maggie and Molly were quiet.
“What now? What about Frank?” MC asked. He had disappeared.
“Now we wait. Frank is gone for now. He will be back for Molly—later,” Ernie said.
MC looked over at Maggie and saw the tears. Later meant he would come for Molly when Max was gone.
xxx
When they next brought in Annie and Josie’s meals, Annie was lying down on a twin bed in what served as their bedroom. Josie was sitting next to her in a chair, and she told them that Annie was not well. A group of white coats came in the room and then they left. A few minutes later they came back with the tall one they called Egor. Josie recognized him. He walked up to Annie, his head nearly touching the ceiling, and leaned over her making direct eye contact with her. Annie attempted to telepathically relay a message to him.
“Help!”
He hovered a little closer and then winked. Annie’s mouth came wide open and then she quickly closed it when the tall alien gave her a look. Annie knew the look. She had seen it many times on her grandmother’s face and Aunt Toolou. Then they all left the room.
“Well,” Josie said to Annie who had popped up and was sitting straight up in bed.
“He winked at me. He knows. I think he can read minds and he will help us,” Annie said.
“He is going to tell them I need to go to the hospital and that I was gravely ill.”
“You do?”
“I do Gram. I felt like he was talking to me or I could hear his thoughts. It was weird.”
“Maybe you got the talent, like your Aunt Toolou or MC?”
“Maybe.”
A stretcher arrived next, and the white coats placed Annie on the stretcher. They left, but Josie refused to stay behind. The next thing she knew Colonel Storms was in the room.
“What is going on here?”
“My granddaughter is sick. It’s this place, Colonel,” Josie said.
“They sent the tall alien in here, and
he diagnosed her as being close to death.”
“What are you talking about Ms. Yanni?”
He turned to the white coats.
“Did you bring Egor in here?”
They all stood in a line, but no one spoke a word.
“What is going on here, Colonel? That was not a creature from this world. Is that what is on that chip. You’ve been enslaving these aliens and using their brain power?”
He now stood close to her and Annie was watching even though it looked as if her eyes were closed.
“I am not the enemy,” Colonel Storm said. “They are not slaves.”
Josie stood her ground.
“Get her to the infirmary and let Ms. Yanni go with her.”
He turned to go but whispered into Josie’s ear, “If you want your granddaughter to really get sick, I can see that it happens.”
Josie backed away from him, and he quickly left the room. The white coats wheeled Annie out of the room, and Josie followed. Before she knew it, they were escorted to what looked like a base hospital ER, but it was all underground. She waited with Annie, and in a minute Egor the alien entered. He looked at Josie and Annie and then spoke directly to their minds.
“I’ll get you both out of here. But, in return, you need to get a message to our people. We can’t do it from underground. Our people will come for us then, and we will go home. We have been here for a very long time. Once you are above ground, you will send a signal. It will only take a second.” Egor handed Annie a small black object. “Hide this on you. After the signal has been sent, it will evaporate and disappear.”
“Like Mission Impossible,” Annie said as she tucked the object in her jeans pocket.
“Yes, like Mission Impossible, except it will not burn up or hurt you in any way,” Egor gave them a smile and a wink.
“I will get you both out of here now. All you have to do is listen.” As he left them, he turned and looked at them, and they both clearly heard him say thank you.
Two white coats appeared and examined Annie. The one in charge ran what looked like a scanner across her body from head to toe, and then he spoke to Josie.
“She is fine. Dehydrated is all. You will be transported back to the facility.”
After he left, Annie jumped up and got off the stretcher and stuck her head out the door and then turned to Josie and said, “Let’s go.”
“What?” Josie said.
“I can hear Egor. He is giving me instructions. Just follow me. He will get us out of here. I have to listen, and you need to follow me. We got to go now, and we got to be quick. Just follow me.”
Josie followed Annie out of the ER and through what appeared to be a hospital. No one paid any attention to them because Annie had walked right up to a fire alarm just outside of their room in the ER and pulled the lever.
Waiting for them down the long hallway was Egor. He motioned for them to follow. After walking quickly for some very long minutes, they saw the elevator up ahead.
Egor motioned for them to get in the elevator. He got in, and they followed. He pushed a button and then stepped back out of the elevator.
Egor turned to them now and spoke, “Take the beacon to the house on Xenia. Xenia will know what to do with it.” With that, he turned and then he was gone. The elevator doors closed, and they felt it begin the journey upward.
Annie just looked at her grandmother.
“Well that house on Xenia is full of surprises,” Josie said.
They heard the elevator stop, and when the doors opened, they saw daylight through the windows in the doors. They were in an old hangar. They quickly ran out to the doors and then outside and began to run across the huge parking lot. The next thing they knew a Hummer pulled up alongside. The driver had a long ponytail. The back door opened and he said, “I am Ernie, MC’s friend. Get in if you want to get away from here.” Josie and Annie hopped in the back. In the Hummer was another group of military-looking guys. I hope it really is Ernie this time, Josie thought as they headed off of the base.
After they passed through the gate, Ernie asked, “How did you two get out?”
“We had help from Egor, the alien,” Josie said, and surprisingly, Ernie did not blink an eye.
“Roger that,” Ernie said.
Chapter 32
Dayton, Ohio
“It’s not safe for you and your granddaughter to go back to your house,” Ernie said as Josie, Annie, Tony, and MC were gathered in Gabby’s living room. Gabby and Maggie had taken Max and Molly out for a walk.
“We need to find John,” Josie said while pacing around the room. “I am very worried about him.”
“We are doing everything we can to find John. So, he has the chip you found?” Ernie asked.
“Yes,” Annie spoke with a firm tone. Tony was sitting right next to her on Gabby’s sofa. Josie walked over and sat down on the other side of her. She recognized the tone. The old soul was speaking.
“We need to get over to the house,” Annie said. “It’s time.” Josie knew what she was saying. The house was ready to talk. She also knew Annie had to fulfill their end of their bargain with Egor.
“MC what are your thoughts?” Ernie asked meaning tap into that ability to see something from afar. Josie and Annie now looked at MC who walked over and took Annie’s hands.
“Close your eyes,” MC said to Annie. Everyone watched as they both slipped into another state and then MC opened her eyes and gave Annie’s hands a gentle squeeze. Annie opened her eyes now and looked at MC. Annie spoke for both, “Xenia is ready to talk.”
“She’s right. We need to get to the house. The time has come. It’s ready to talk to Annie,” MC said.
“Annie,” Tony now said. “I’m coming.”
Oh boy, MC thought, she had heard this record before.
“You can come with us Tony,” MC said thinking there was no way he would be left behind plus he was military, and MC instinctively felt they were going to need all the help they can get.
Ernie was quiet. MC was waiting for whatever he had on his mind. He had the last words in these matters, she knew from experience.
“I’m ready,” Annie said.
“I’ll be with you,” Tony said. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Ernie stepped forward, “Okay. Okay. This is how it will go down. So, listen up. You too, lover boy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“First, you need to put this into perspective. You have just awoken the dragon. For you young people in this room think Smaug from the Lord of the Rings.”
“Loved that movie,” Annie the teenager had returned. “Me too,” Tony chirped.
“Didn’t you love that scene that cut away from the opening curtain?”
“Yes!!” Annie said now smiling at Tony. He melted right in front of her which wasn’t lost on Ernie.
“Can we please get back to the little matter we have at hand? A man who heads one of the most powerful and secret government installations in this world is hunting for you, Annie, and your grandmother.”
“Right, right, we’ve woken up the dragon. I hear you, sir,” Tony said respectfully but then returned to staring at Annie who now was smiling back.
MC watched as Ernie gave the both of them the spook stare down, but they were oblivious to it. His I don’t think this will work look was now directed at Josie who gave us a lift of the eyebrows and shrug of her shoulders. A Greek thing, sort of Aunt Toolou and Aunt Sophia-ish.
“Annie, pay attention,” Josie said, but was looking at Tony.
“Let me start again from the opening scene,” Ernie said. “It’s been sleeping for a long time, and now, it’s awake. You tiptoed in there and woke it up,” Ernie said.
“It’s hungry. It's’ been asleep for a long time,” Annie said.
“Like that cool sci-fi show that just started the other night on Netflix,” Tony now added his two cents.
“OMG, have you seen that show? It’s so cool,” Annie said which started the two off on a
conversation about filming techniques for the small screen.
Ernie finally raised his voice to his supreme spook commando level and said, “The dragon’s coming after you, and it will eat you.” Now they were listening. They both seemed to understand about being eaten by a creature.
“Yes, sir!” Annie and Tony said simultaneously.
Josie got up and walked over to Annie. “Why don’t you and Tony go get a bite to eat?”
As she said that Gabby and Maggie walked back in the house. Maggie assessed that something was going on in the room, and so did Max and Molly. They stood next to Maggie at attention. Ernie walked over to Maggie and gave her a hug and whispered something to Maggie and Gabby.
“Why don’t you two come into the kitchen,” Maggie said to Max and Molly. Gabby was quick to follow her lead. “Let’s see what I’ve got to eat,” Gabby said. Annie and Tony followed them into the kitchen. They got the message, and they were hungry. Max and Molly went with Maggie. They were both hungry too.
It was now Josie, Ernie, and MC in Gabby’s living room.
“Thank you,” Ernie said. Even with all his experience, dealing with teenagers and hormones was new to the spook.
“She’s just been locked up where I’m sure they brought the aliens from Roswell and hasn’t quite decompressed,” Josie said. “Tony has a crush on her.”
“Roger that,” Ernie said.
“So, you saw them?” Ernie asked Josie. She knew what he meant by them.
“We did. One they call Egor is their leader. He helped Annie and me escape. He gave her something she is supposed to deliver to the house. Somehow that house is tied into this mess,” Josie said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I am not surprised,” Josie said.
“What was it?” Ernie asked Josie. MC was uncharacteristically quiet.
“It was small and black. Sort of looked like another chip. Annie is to take it to the house. He said the house will know what to do with it. He said from the house they can get a message to his people and they will return for them and take them home,” Josie said.
“Like ET phone home,” Ernie said.
MC and Josie exchanged looks. The spook was now going Hollywood on them.
“You saw other aliens in that compound?” Ernie, the spook, returned now.