Phasewave

by David Gill

  Jenna sank into a chair, looking as if she had suddenly shrunk. 'We've only got two days left and all we've been through has been for nothing.'

  'Something's happened,' said Declan. 'I haven't yet worked out what that might be, but I think we both could be in danger.'

  'This is all due to me, and I've dragged you down with me,' said Jenna. 'I'm going to change my story. I'll make up another one, anything they want to hear. I'm through.'

  'I don't think it will be that easy,' said Declan. 'The Security Service's boast is that it resolves every case it accepts and employs dubious practices to clear its books. It is going to try to blame you for everything that has happened; your only chance is to stick to your original story and tell the truth.'

  Jenna stood up and slowly walked around the room, clutching her arms. 'I can't think straight any more. I've lost touch with reality; this is all part of a terrible dream.' Jenna burst into tears. 'I'm losing my mind, Declan. Help me, please.'

  Declan took Jenna and held her tightly to him, as if he could transfer the strength of his grip to quench the shaking of her body. Never before in his life had he felt so utterly inadequate. A defenceless woman had turned to him for help, and he was again demonstrating what he had always known - that he was emotionally inert and incapable of doing anything to assist anyone. Even worse, he could not find a single word of comfort to offer her. Declan continued to hold Jenna in an awkward, frigid embrace until the shaking died down, and she wordlessly disengaged herself and walked away, leaving him alone with his misery.

  Unable to face Jenna again, Declan left the apartment and walked in the night air outside the building, trying to organise his thoughts. It was as he crossed the hard-standing, where less than an hour before he had argued with Slater and Jarvine, that Declan saw the dark outline of the mountain loom out of the night beyond the parking area and decided to pay the surveillance team a visit. He turned and re-entered the apartment block, then made his way through the building to a side door from where it was only a stone's throw to the apartments opposite. Night vision cameras would be covering the area, but would probably not be monitored, especially if the team had no reason to think that Declan was about to leave the building. Crouching as low as he could, Declan slowly crossed the open ground until he reached the rocky wall. Once under the protective shadow of the mountain he looked up and traced the contours of the black mass against the lighter sky to where he assumed the location of the top floor apartment to be and then felt his way carefully along the rock face until it divided into a natural fissure where the ground levelled into a smooth floor and the sound of his footsteps echoed inside a hollow chamber. An overhead light automatically illuminated and Declan found himself standing inside an entrance hall which led to the apartments above. Positioned below a rack of message receptacles, a chart on the wall depicted the internal layout of the complex and, after locating the probable whereabouts of the surveillance team, Declan set off into the interior of the mountain, driven by the determination to break away from his former passive role in what had become a dangerous and rapidly escalating situation.

  Milo and Glen sat at a monitor and watched Declan creeping across the open ground in front of their apartment.

  'He actually thinks he's invisible,' said Glen. 'Are you sure this guy really is an investigator?'

  'That was some time ago,' said Milo, 'but he definitely looks like a man on a mission. I wonder if this has been prompted by Slater's visit. Gil is still not responding to my calls, although I've now tried to contact him several times. Something has changed and perhaps Declan will be able to shed some light on it. He obviously wants to meet us, so let's make him welcome. I'll tidy round before he arrives.'

  'Would you mind if I go over and talk to Jenna while Declan's not there?' Glen asked.

  'No problem,' said Milo. 'I haven't heard anything yet that will help Gil with this case, so see if you can get her to change direction, anything you can.'

  Milo had just finished clearing the lounge when a footstep sounded outside the apartment door. Then silence. Glen and Milo stood by the door and looked at each other. Glen tried not to laugh. 'Maybe he's shy,' she whispered. Milo rolled his eyes back and then yanked the door wide open to reveal the figure of a tall, angular man frozen in surprise.

  'We've been expecting you,' said Milo. 'Come join us.' He gestured Declan into the apartment.

  Declan walked hesitantly into the room and nervously introduced himself. They all formally and awkwardly shook hands. Declan stared around at the banks of recording equipment and the light-proof shutters that blanked off the windows.

  'I'll leave you two guys to talk,' said Glen, putting on her jacket. 'I won't be long.'

  Milo nodded and waited until Glen had left the room. 'Where do you want to start?'

  'Did you hear my conversation with Slater earlier today?' said Declan.

  'We've got your meeting on video, but the sound was distorted by the cruiser's internal power unit,' said Milo. 'I've come across Slater before and found him to be a particularly nasty piece of work, if you don't mind me saying so.'

  'He's certainly no friend of mine,' said Declan. 'He came to tell us that Gil is now off the case. The Security Service has taken over, and you are to continue the surveillance until he tells you to stop.'

  Milo remained silent while he thought over what Declan had said. 'So Gil's out of the loop. I wonder what's happened to bring that about.'

  'I was hoping that you might be able to provide me with more information,' said Declan. 'Slater has given us two days and then we're being moved back to Kalmis.'

  'That doesn't explain why Gil hasn't been answering my calls but, knowing Slater, I think he must have had an ulterior motive for coming all this way. He wouldn't have wasted his time coming here just to tell you that.'

  'He showed me the warrants and told me to contact you and let you know that you now report to him, that's all.'

  'I'm less than impressed with that arrangement,' said Milo. 'How do you feel about all this?'

  'I think we are in danger, and I don't know what to do about it,' said Declan.

  'I wish I could do something to help you,' said Milo. 'Without any form of transport we don't really have much choice; all we can do is sit tight and wait it out. You can both stay over here with us tonight if you want.'

  'Thanks for the offer, but this could be our last chance to work anything out. I think it would be better if we continued as we are.'

  'Well, if you change your mind come on over, at least we can offer you some first-hand surveillance.'

  Jenna opened her apartment door and took a step backwards in shock when she found herself facing a total stranger.

  'Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you,' said Glen. 'I'm Glen, from across the road.'

  'I was expecting Declan,' said Jenna. 'Where is he?'

  'He's paying us a friendly visit and he and Milo, my boss, are telling each other war stories. May I come in?'

  Jenna held the door open and let Glen inside. 'This is cosy,' said Glen, looking around the rooms. 'We're cave dwellers at the moment.'

  'Do you know why Slater visited us?' asked Jenna.

  'I don't,' said Glen, 'and I presume Declan is asking Milo the same thing, but we know less than you do and haven't been able to contact anyone since we arrived.'

  'Slater has given us two more days, and then we're being taken back to Kalmis.'

  'In which case we haven't got much time left,' said Glen. 'By the way, I have been assigned as your Support Officer.'

  'What does that mean?'

  'It means I will be with you for the proceedings after you leave here. We'll talk about it later. Look, I know that I'm not really supposed to be here, but this may be our only chance to be alone together. Is there anything you want to tell me?'

  'You mean a girl-to-girl thing?'

  'Sometimes it's nice to talk to someone with a sympathetic understanding. I have done this kind of thing dozens of times and know exactly how it
works. I can help you out of this mess. If you want, I can arrange to take over from Declan.'

  Jenna did not reply. She stared coldly at Glen.

  'Don't let this become personal,' said Glen. 'I genuinely want to help and I'm on your side. Is there anything I can do or say to make you change your mind?'

  'You think I'm making all this up, don't you?'

  'I'll be honest with you: I think you are withholding information, and I'm now offering you a chance to come clean before it's too late.'

  Jenna got up, walked over to the door and opened it. 'You were right - you shouldn't be here. Now go.'

  Glen stopped at the doorway and faced Jenna. 'I'm disappointed in you, but I'm here for the next two days if you need me. If, however, you don't take up my offer, I can assure you that the next time we meet you will definitely need me.'

  Declan let himself out of the building and made his way back to his own apartment to rejoin Jenna. The certainty that he now only had a limited time with her was a burden that lay heavily on his mind, exacerbated by the knowledge that he was powerless to do anything about it. All he could do was pray and hope that something would turn up before Slater did.

  'What have you been doing?' asked Jenna. 'I've been waiting for you.'

  'Slater asked me to tell the surveillance team that Gil is off the case,' said Declan. I found the surveillance centre and talked to a man called Milo who is running it.'

  'I know,' said Jenna. 'His woman came round here.'

  'How did you get on with Glen?'

  'She's full of herself. She tried to trap me into saying something, the usual.'

  'She was probably only trying to help. They didn't know Gil had been replaced.'

  'That's a bad sign, isn't it?' said Jenna, in a small voice.

  'I don't know. It could be, but we've still got some time left.'

  'I've almost finished, but there's not much we can achieve now, is there?'

  Declan had no answer to Jenna's question. She left the room and returned with a bottle of alcohol and two glasses.

  'If this is the end I'm not going to waste our time. Here, try this.' She filled a glass and handed it to Declan.

  'I'm sorry, but I don't drink alcohol,' said Declan.

  'Not even for me!' said Jenna in exasperation. 'In two days' time I'm going away for good and you won't even join me for a farewell drink. I may as well ask my stuck-up Support Officer over. Thanks for nothing, Declan, I'm really going to miss your truly excellent company. If that's how you feel, I'll go next door and spend the last night here on my own.'

  'Of course I'll join you,' said Declan. 'Please accept my apologies. I'm afraid I'm no company at all; you deserve better than to be wasting your time with someone of my limited talents.'

  Jenna was surprised. 'So you are human after all, Declan. There's hope for you yet. Cheers.'

  Declan picked up a glass and swallowed some of the bitter liquid, but it did nothing to lighten his mood.

  'Oh well,' said Jenna, topping up their glasses, 'I can't say I'm surprised. I never really expected to be released, not when they haven't got anyone else to go for. There's nothing more I can do; I'm not going to say another word about Phasewave or Bouron or that alien stuff.'

  'Stick to the truth,' said Declan, 'keep telling them what you've told me.'

  Jenna laughed quietly. 'What? You are the last call and even you don't believe me.'

  'I do, I genuinely believe you,' said Declan, but in his heart he knew that Jenna was right - no-one was going to take her seriously after the number of interrogations she had been through. Lack of evidence rendered worthless whatever she had said, and evidence was proving to be a particularly elusive element in the investigation.

  Jenna refilled her glass. A blush of pink had brought colour to her cheeks and pointed reflections sparkled in her eyes. Declan had never seen her look as beautiful as she did at that moment and his heart went out to her.

  Then Jenna started to weep as the reality of what was about to happen hit her. Not the violent, racking sobs of grief but the silent tears of bitter despair. Declan put his arms around her and held her close.

  'Why me?' cried Jenna. 'I never did anything wrong. Help me, Declan.'

  A lump had become stuck in Declan's throat. He was unable to speak and could only contain her thin frame tightly, rocking back and forth in his grief until Jenna's hands reached up and cupped the sides of his face. He bent forward and tasted salt tears on his lips.

  'I'm frightened, Declan. Don't leave me; tell me you won't leave me.' Her fingers traced a pattern across the skin of his face.

  'I promise I won't leave you,' he managed to whisper, although he knew it was a false promise and soon he would never see her again. Tears flowed down his face and Jenna lifted them with her fingers.

  'You're crying? You're crying for me? That's the nicest thing you've ever done,'

  Declan found his lips brushing Jenna's eyelashes, and down her face to her mouth. Then, to his horror, he became physically aroused. He tried to break their grip, but Jenna's arms had become tangled around his neck, gluing their faces together, and they remained clinging to each other until, still tightly entwined, they gently toppled over and collapsed onto the carpet. A distant voice shouted "Stop!", but Declan's instincts had discovered a purpose of their own and the touch and taste of a female body served only to fuel their desires. Never before had Declan experienced the sensation of physical contact with a woman, and he quickly discovered that there were many aspects of his first sexual encounter which were not in accordance with his understanding of the act. It was as though he had become two individual beings - one a detached observer recording events as they occurred, the other an uncontrollable, lusting animal satisfying its needs. To Declan's surprise, Jenna's body was not as uniformly soft and smooth and rounded as he had imagined a woman's body to be; different skin textures separated adjacent areas of mobile flesh, each with varying degrees of firmness, and the adjoining planes of her body, by creating pleasing angular changes where they met, provided an unpredictable sensation of change to his touch. Something else he had not envisaged was the ease and speed with which they both managed to shed their garments whilst remaining locked in an embrace, Jenna's nimble fingers proving particularly adept at dealing with normally stubborn fasteners.

  Then Jenna's hot body was beneath him and her small breasts became crushed against his chest. The clamorous voices of objection receded into the distance and he gently allowed his weight to rest on her, fearful that he would do her harm. Jenna linked her arms and legs together behind his back and an enormous, sweet pain swelled inside him. A picture appeared before his eyes, a picture unlike any he had seen before. A brilliant, moving mosaic of colour flared and faded and reformed and changed shape. The intensity of its splendour increased in time to the rhythm of their coordinated movements until Declan could no longer bear to watch and cried out in pain as the image disintegrated into a cascade of coloured shards that spiked the backs of his eyes before dwindling away to nothing.

  Declan could not have been asleep for more than a few minutes. He felt Jenna's hair in his face and immediately recalled what had happened. The enormity of what he had done stiffened his body, and he lay paralysed, wishing himself away, yet at the same time acutely aware of the length of Jenna's body beneath him. Jenna stirred, opened her eyes and looked up at him. Acutely embarrassed by the aftermath of his emotional display, Declan pulled away and sat on the floor, trying to hide his nakedness.

  'What is it?' she asked, frightened by something she had seen in his expression.

  'I'm so sorry,' said Declan, unable to face her. A deep silence developed and remained unbroken until Jenna silently got to her feet and left the room, leaving Declan alone to bear his crushing burden of guilt. What had he done? What madness had overtaken him and allowed it to happen? He had been sent to protect Jenna and ended up abusing her. It was the end of him. How could he ever expect to regain her trust?

  Jenna returned with ano
ther bottle of alcohol. She had already dressed and handed Declan a robe.

  'If you don't mind me saying,' she said quietly, 'I may not be very experienced at this kind of thing, but I expected a better reaction than that.'

  Declan still could not meet her gaze. 'I came here to help you; I shouldn't have done it.'

  Jenna reached out and turned Declan's head until their faces were practically touching. 'It takes two, you know. It wasn't what you would describe as a unilateral decision; you can't take all the credit.' Her fingers lingered over the scars on Declan's face and neck until he slowly yielded and met her gaze. Jenna brushed her lips across his. 'Snap out of this guilt thing, Declan. Admit for once that you're a human being. We all are.'

  Declan's spirits lifted, but the guilt returned in force, making him feel sick with shame. 'I took advantage of you.'

  Jenna drank from the bottle. 'I can't work you out, Declan. Where you're concerned nothing is ever right, and you are never able to let go and enjoy yourself. Everything that happens to you has to be pondered and analysed and worried over and explained. I give you unconditional sex and even that isn't good enough. It's only sex, Declan, and trying to justify it won't change anything. Once in a while lie back and let go for a change. You're a sad, lonely man. Get a life.'

  Declan could accept the truth no longer. He climbed to his feet and made his way downstairs and left the apartment, numb with dejection, and unmindful of the biting cold that cut through his robe or the sharp stones that tore the soles of his bare feet. And as he walked he cried, the naked cry from the heart that comes when all things a person holds of value are proved to be worthless, and optimism and certainty die to be replaced by a sense of total, abject failure. He wandered aimlessly in the dark, unseeing and uncaring, until, at the lowest point in his life, he found himself alone on a stone bench, where he sat and closed his mind to the world and allowed the bitter cold to penetrate his body. Declan had failed, he was no more, he was finished.