“I have a prisoner here from Earth who claims he ended up on Home World as a result of a botched teleporting experiment. I would like you to identify him, if you can. I am not going to allow him to return home, but I want to know whether he is part of the group searching for answers to the two deaths and the failures at the electron project. Here he is!”
The Eagle turned the lights higher and focused the camera on Otto’s cage. He blinked, shook his head and blinked again. No Otto!!
The Cormorant screeched, “Where is he? He’s been listening to all of our discussion. He can’t be allowed to get back to Earth. He’ll blow Shrike’s and my cover.”
The Eagle looked at the cage. It was tightly locked. All six sides were intact. The Otter had simply vanished into thin air. “I don’t know. I’ll intensify the monitoring systems. I’m going back to the area in which he first arrived.”
That was what Otto also had in mind. The twelve hours were almost up. He hoped that the wolves were keeping the channel open. He zapped back to his original landing spot. In order for them to snatch him, he had to be in his bodily state. Nothing for it. He shook himself several times and ended up visible and vulnerable. Murmuring to himself, “There’s no place like home” he clicked his heels several times. He could have used some ruby slippers. Over the horizon he could see a bird flying at top speed in his direction. The Protector. He’d wait till the last minute to zap again. This time the Eagle wasn’t alone. Several hawks were coming at him from different directions and they all looked menacing.
“Hey Colonel, Frau and Ursula! This would be a fine time to bring me home,” he squeaked. One of the hawks spiraled down on top of him but came away with empty claws. The Otter was gone. The Eagle screeched in frustration.
* * *
“Welcome back, Herr Otto. How was your adventure?”
“Pretty exciting, Frau Schuylkill. Have I got a lot to tell you all! Can we gather the troops while I catch my breath? Colonel, can you set up an audio link for my Pea Pod. I captured a couple of conversations that will put this whole mess in perspective. Meanwhile, I could use a vodka and kelp juice.”
Octavius lumbered into the room. “Welcome back, my little friend. I gather you have some interesting facts to share with us. Good!”
The room slowly filled. Marlin’s and Ursula’s connections were established. The Colonel linked up the Otter’s Pea Pod. Otto was delighted to see the Bearoness. He adored her. A shame Chita had gone back to England. Howard came in with L. Condor and Bruce. The Cubs were out getting into some kind of mischief with Mlle Woof in hot pursuit. They had taken to slavishly following the Flying Tigers around hoping to go flying. Not to be. (as yet)
Hail! Hail! The gang’s all here!!
Otto started by giving Biosphere X its proper name. “Home World.” Populated entirely by avian raptors who had raised paranoia to an insurmountable level. He had been arrested as an invader and it was clear he was not going to get out of there alive. He described the Protector and the Council. He had persuaded the Protector to let him keep his Pea Pod translator, so he could communicate with him. What they didn’t know was he had it on record mode. The Eagle would not believe that Otto’s arrival was accidental and wanted verification by two Home World agents that he was a spy from Earth. The agents were (Ta-Da!) Susanna Shrike and Commander Cormorant. Lots of reaction on that one.
He then turned on his Pea Pod and let the conversations speak for themselves. Howard and Marlin were beside themselves in anger. Octavius stopped the meeting and asked Bruce to bring his law enforcement companions up to speed on the two murders. They also needed to arrest the Shrike and the Cormorant ASAP. Not sure about the Shrike but the Cormorant certainly admitted his guilt. Congratulations all around and Otto finished off his second vodka and kelp juice and promptly fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty
Law enforcement’s re-taking a look.
Is Octavius now off the hook?
It would seem that’s it’s so.
But we’d all like to know
Who they’re now getting ready to book.
Howard and Marlin had decisions to make. They would not contact the Armadillo or Shepherd until they knew the Cormorant and Shrike had been taken into custody. The reduced team plus Octavius would then have to make some judgments. Should they continue the project? If they did, they needed to find new team members and a new target venue. Biosphere X was out of the question. How to communicate to the Protector and Council of Home World that there would be no further traffic from Earth? They seemed to be a bloodthirsty bunch in addition to being super-paranoids. If the Shrike and Cormorant were captured, would Home World retaliate?
Had Condo or Ursula found any additional data in the remaining e-mails? They would check. Could they trust the Armadillo and Shepherd? They were not avian but then neither was the Cougar and look how he turned out. The Shrike was clearly sabotaging the Project but if Otto’s recordings are to be believed she had no direct part in the deaths of the Professor or Cougar. Aiding and abetting, perhaps. The Cormorant was a different story. He’s a killer.
They checked with Bruce Wallaroo. “Any luck with law enforcement?”
“I’ve got the FBI and Canaveral Police on alert. I told the Cougar-Muskox story to Agent Badger and Captain Ford in Detroit. They’re all awaiting copies of Otto’s recordings, but they are ready to accept that Ocko is in the clear for the Professor’s death and had nothing to do with the killing of the Cougar. I queried the Navy. Commander Cormorant is nowhere to be found. Susanna Shrike is also missing from Caltech. They may be back on Home World by now.”
“That’s what we’re afraid of.” said Howard. “It may seem like species profiling, but if we repopulate the research team, there will be no birds involved. A shame, but we’ve been hit twice. The only bird I trust is Condo. Speaking of whom...”
The Condor and Ursula were still immersed in e-mail analysis. Lots of cross talk among the research team members from which both Marlin and Howard had been excluded. The Shrike and Cormorant were also communicating separately with each other through a highly encrypted link. So far, the Armadillo seemed to be playing it straight. The big question mark remaining was Karl Shepherd. On the one hand, he seemed to be contributing honestly and effectively. On the other, he was tied in with the Shrike in developing and running the electron experiments. Was she acting alone in causing mischief?
Octavius made an appearance. He had been speaking with the Wolves and Otto about teleporting and the possibility of Home World retaliating. Otto felt it would be unlikely if the Shrike and Cormorant had escaped back to the Biosphere. If there was no need to stage a rescue, the situation might stay as is. They would, no doubt, increase their monitoring but the Protector and Council seemed highly reluctant to leave their mother planet.
“So,” I asked, “where does this leave us? Lots of loose ends to tie up and clean up. Should we keep the project going? Are the issues surrounding the deaths of the Muskox and Cougar settled enough for law enforcement to close the cases or are Otto’s recordings inadmissible? Do the FBI and the several Police Forces even accept the existence of parallel universes? The Shrike and Cormorant are probably being treated as fugitives, but will a search be initiated? Or as I suspect, will the authorities slap a seal on the whole thing? Neither the Professor nor the Cougar seemed to have any families who would want to stage inquiries. The press gave both deaths light coverage and no follow-up.”
Octavius, Howard and Marlin seemed ready to accept my summation when Frau Schuylkill came up to the Great Bear holding a smart phone. “You have an encrypted call.”
The Bear snorted in annoyance. “Who is it?”
“General Turmoil.”
“Just what I need!”
Chapter Twenty-One
Now the General thinks that we know
Where the Cormorant opted to go.
> He thinks we have a clue,
But it’s certainly true
When we say that it just isn’t so.
The three of us stared at Octavius. “What does he know?”
“I am about to find out,” he retorted.
“Good afternoon, General! How is the Business? Is there something I can do for you?”
“Good afternoon, Doctor Bear. I have a question for you. I have a member of the military assigned to me who seems to have disappeared. He is a Naval Officer. Commander Cormorant. Would you know anything about that?”
“The name is familiar. Give me a moment.”
He put the phone on mute. “He’s looking for the Cormorant. Seems to have vanished. Says he was assigned to him.”
Howard mouthed, “Don’t try to fake it!”
“Yes, General, he’s been working with us on a Multiverse Project. I assume he’s been keeping you posted. I know how interested you are in alternate universe work.”
Momentary silence on the other end. The Horse whickered. “Well, we were aware of some of his activities but nothing in detail.”
(Liar, Liar, Tail on Fire!)
“Let me check with my staff. (Aloud! He put the phone on speaker.) Have we had any recent contact with Commander Cormorant?”
“Not recently!” said Howard. “Isn’t he at the Pentagon?”
The General replied, “His logs show him working with you, Doctor Watt.”
“That’s true. He does, but usually by e-mail. He could have been anywhere. Our Project Team seldom meets in person.”
“Just what is this project?”
(As if you didn’t know!)
Octavius intervened, “Sorry, General. That activity is highly confidential. I’m sure you understand.”
“No, Bear, I don’t understand. If you are engaged in any activity that may affect the security of our nation, I and my staff need to know about it.”
“I would have thought Commander Cormorant would have kept you informed.”
Another silence on the other end. Then, “I would like you to contact the Commander and have him report in to me.”
Howard responded, “Happy to do that, General. Maybe between us, we can find him. I hope nothing has happened to him.”
“I’ll expect to hear from you!” Click!
Octavius chortled, “The Horse seems upset. I wonder what else the Cormorant was doing for him. He probably has a large file of Business-related information that the General does not want floating around. It should probably be safely stowed in the Pentagon, but much of it, no doubt, is also in the Bird’s head.”
I piped up. “Consider the following. If the Cormorant is back in Biosphere X, he will have undoubtedly spilled everything he knows about our project. He’s probably been doing that all along. What he didn’t leak, the Shrike will. Not much we can do about it but we’re still in the very early stages of entangling electrons and relatively harmless.”
“However, if the Commander is also privy to some or all of the General’s plans and activities, that will probably scare the hell out of the Home World leadership, if it hasn’t already. I take back what Otto and I said about no retaliation from them. If they see a significant threat from anywhere on Earth, they are paranoid enough to act on it. They’ve had two or more sleepers here for close to twelve years. I think we can expect more Home World visitors.”
Octavius gave out one of his famous “Hmmms. That creates quite a dilemma. Does the General know about Home World? Possibly not! If the Cormorant has been loyal to his planetary leaders, he would have kept his origins secret. Assuming the Commander has indeed returned home and is dumping all he knows, should we warn the General? It could be a matter of National Security. The problem is - Who knows what that nutty Horse will do? He can probably reach Home World and has the means to stage a pre-emptive attack. Interplanetary warfare?”
Otto, who had been taking all of this in, said, “Maybe I should go back and see what they are cooking up. We don’t even know if the Commander and Shrike are there.”
This produced a chorus of “No Way! Are you crazy? They tried to kill you!”
“But they didn’t succeed. I’m the only one of this group who can zap. I also know who and what I’m looking for.”
Octavius smiled at Otto. (A scary prospect!) “You certainly are a gutsy character, Otto. Let’s try reaching the Cormorant here on Earth first before you take off again for parts unknown. They may have just gone silent and are in hiding. Howard and Senhor Condor, can you try contacting the Cormorant?”
“We’ll give it a shot, Octavius. I would have thought the General, with all his resources, might have had a better chance of tracking him down.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised. General Turmoil is not one to ask favors. Strange! Unless he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. (No pun intended.) I think he’s hoping to get more information on our projects while enlisting our help in finding the Commander.”
“Lots of luck, General! Without giving anything away, I’m going to phone Karl Shepherd and Alfred Armadillo. Let’s see if they have anything to contribute on the whereabouts of our two Home Worlders.”
“Go to it, Howard. Senhor Condor, can you trace the calls?”
“Yes! Just give me a few moments, Howard. OK Go!”
“Alfred? Hi! Howard here. How are you doing? Good! Listen, I’m trying to contact Professor Shrike and Commander Cormorant. They don’t seem to be operating on their usual channels. Have you had any contact with either of them in the last few days? No? Well, if you hear from either of them, ask them to call me. It’s has to do with Covington Cougar’s death. Thanks!”
“OK, let’s try Karl. One ringy dingy, Two ringy dingies. Karl? Hello! This is Howard. How are things with you? What? Yes, well that’s what I’m calling you about. We haven’t heard from her either. She was supposed to have installed the electron generator on Biosphere X. You don’t think she did? Maybe it’s just not working right. I hope nothing serious happened to her. She’s well past her time to call in. If you hear from her, please let us know. Thanks.”
“Well, Karl has lost track of the Shrike. That tends to confirm that she and Cormorant did a bunk.”
Condo spoke up. “I tracked your two calls. The Armadillo and Shepherd were at their respective offices. Nothing strange there. But where the hell are those two Birds?”
The Colonel spoke, “You know, I don’t think it matters where the Commander is. I think we can assume that he has been keeping his bosses on Home World fully informed on our work and General Turmoil’s activities to the extent he knows them. The Shrike may be with him, wherever they are.”
Octavius came out with another one of his “Hmmms. I think I need to give some limited information to the General. He’s a nut but he is a member of the country’s security team. Please get him on the phone again, Frau.”
The call went through and Turmoil (Crazy Horse?) was on the line. “General, we have not found the Commander, but we have uncovered some information about him that you should know. One of our experiments involves a parallel universe we call Biosphere X. In our efforts, we have discovered that Biosphere X calls itself Home World and is hostile to our work and to Earth in general. No, I will not reveal my source. However, we have also discovered that Commander Cormorant is in the employ of Home World’s leaders. No, I will not reveal how we know that. You can accept it as true or not, as you see fit. I have no proof, but it would seem logical to me that the Commander may also be leaking what he knows of your activities to the Home World directors. We know that he has given them some information about our project. We will continue to look for him as should you.”
The Great Bear hung up. “Not a happy Horse. Let us see what, if anything, that triggers off. Any suggestions, besides Otto’s plan, on what to do next in seeking out our murderous tw
osome? Senhor Condor, do we have any communication between the two of them that might cast some light on their whereabouts?”
“They operate on separate coasts - California and Washington, DC. The Cormorant, as we know, has access to military transportation. The Shrike is a none too prosperous academic. If they are meeting physically, it’s probable that the Commander is coming to her, not the other way around. The General may have already beaten us to it, but it may be worthwhile tracking his aircraft usage over the past year or so. I can do that.”
“Please do! Meanwhile, let’s discuss what we want to do about the project. Shall we keep it alive? Yes? Howard, Marlin, do you have candidates to replace our two wanderers? Yes again? Should we bring the Armadillo and Shepherd into the picture? One more yes! OK, let’s do it!
And while we’re at it, I want to speak to Wolford Wolverine and get the latest on that law firm and what is happening with law enforcement and the murders.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wolverines have a powerful jaw
And a long, pointed, razor-sharp claw,
With a rank, nasty stink.
That’s what leads me to think -
It’s no wonder they all study law.
(Hi, Maury here. Wolford Wolverine is both Octavius’ personal attorney and Chief Legal Officer for UUI. He lives in the Cincinnati area and is constantly trying to arrange dinner meetings at the Bear’s Lair. He is a slave to Frau Schuylkill’s Cordon Bleu cooking. Octavius was well aware of his culinary weaknesses.)
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