"I know she saved the day in the movie," said Nathan, "but I would never want to be with someone that powerful, no matter how nice she was. One accidental slip –" He hunched his shoulders. "And it's over. Also, I tend to believe that power corrupts, and absolute power – "
"Corrupts absolutely." A smile forced its way onto Zachary's compressed lips. "I've wondered about that. A person like that could change the entire power structure on our planet. Or simply destroy the planet."
"It sounds as if you've given that some thought." Nate devoted a good portion of his will to not opening the interrogative floodgates. It was like reeling in a ten-pound trout with five pound test line. One wrong move and his new friend, as much as he obviously wanted to unburden himself, would break this line of communication.
"No thought about it at all until recently," Zach lamented.
"What is it, dude? You're starting to worry me. I get the impression you're holding onto some deep, dark secret."
From Zachary's tightlipped expression, Nathan wondered if he'd pushed too hard, but then his EPA friend raised his eyes and locked onto Nathan's with dark intensity.
"What do you think about the possibility of life on other worlds?"
"You mean aliens?"
"Aliens...yes. But also alternative worlds. Some variation of the Many Worlds theory."
"I suppose they're both possible. I'm sure there are aliens somewhere, but I'm not a big fan of parallel worlds."
"What if you met a person who claimed to be from that world? What kind of proof would satisfy you?"
Nathan found his exuberance over finally getting Zachary to open up gradually fracturing into something akin to dread. He hadn't been sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't parallel worlds or aliens.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe a DNA sample?"
"Aside from that."
"Some unusual ability?"
"For example, the ability to fly?"
"That might be sort of convincing..." Nate swallowed hard. "Are you saying you've met someone like that? Someone who claims to be from a parallel world and who can fly?"
"Speaking hypothetically, is there any chance you'd believe me if I did say that?"
"Ah..." Even with what he'd seen, Nate struggled with disbelief. "Speaking hypothetically, what exactly did this person claim?"
"That she's from an alternate world. In this world, her self had died a few years ago in a car accident, but her daughter and husband lived on. In her world, her husband and daughter had died. Also, in her world, an alien virus made her and everyone else into super-humans."
Some time passed before Nathan realized his mouth was hanging open. He shut it – forcefully enough to make his teeth clack. Was it possible that Zach was insane? He seemed way too levelheaded for that. Plus, they had the video and photographs. The hypothesis that this woman was superhuman had already been raised, mainly by himself. Now that was corroborated. So why was he struggling so hard to accept it?
They both straightened up as Adrianna and Stephanie waltzed back to the table, chattering happily. Their chatter stopped when they registered the two men's faces.
"What is it, honey?" Steph asked with an uncertain laugh. "We weren't gone that long, were we?"
Zach forced a smile. "No, Nate and I were, uh, just talking politics. Got a little heavy."
Nathan made himself smile while burning with frustration to continue their discussion. He wasn't sure whether to press Zach more in front of his girlfriend and Adrianna. As far as he knew – and since his house was thoroughly bugged and all his communications monitored through the Total Information Package program, that was pretty much everything – Zach had never told Stephanie about his encounter. He tried to feel honored that Zach had trusted him with that, but right now he was far too frustrated.
"What were you two disagreeing about?" asked Adrianna, raising a questioning eyebrow to Nate, who responded with a subtle nod.
"Just the state of the world," said Zach.
"Right," said Nathan. "Whether we should continue down the road to total government control in return for security, that sort of thing."
"God," said Steph. "I wish I could say how bored I am with that question. We're never going back to individual privacy, so I say just accept that. Besides, if you're not a criminal or terrorist, why worry about it?"
"Isn't that what Kim Jong-Un told his people?" asked Zach.
The way Stephanie scowled at her boyfriend made Nathan wonder if they might start a debate for real. But then Steph shrugged and resumed chewing on a beer batter chip. Some small-talk about the weather and the upcoming NBA playoffs followed before Zach suggested they call it a night.
On the way out, Nathan and Zach walked ahead briefly, and Nathan took the opportunity for a last question in a lowered voice.
"Did this person say why she was here?"
Zach glanced back at their dates before answering in equally hushed tones: "She said she was here to save us."
"From what?"
"Aliens." Zach gave Nathan a sour smile. "Apparently some of them believe the universe would be a better place without us."
INSTEAD OF heading home, Nathan and Adrianna drove straight back to the Fusion Center. Nate had an idea for a new search, something that had occurred to him toward the end of his exchange with Zachary: if this superwoman's self had died a few years ago in a car accident, she might not be that hard to find – especially when cross-referenced with her face. The idea of searching databases of the dead hadn't even occurred to him.
"That should work, given enough time," said Adrianna. "But too bad you just didn't get him to give you her name."
"Maybe." Nate took a moment to dial down his defensiveness. "But I thought I was pushing him hard enough as it was. It might've made him suspicious. He could be in contact with her, you know."
"You think?"
Back in the Tactical Room, she started with a driver's license search reaching back ten years while he searched for young female car accident victims.
"If she didn't have a True ID, we might not be able to get a good facial match," said Adrianna.
Tell me something I don't know, Nathan grumbled to himself. While new federal IDs were easily searchable in the Total Information Network, many driver licenses issued before the Terrorist Identification, Assessment, and Detention Act were not. Driver licenses in states which were DHS-ID compliant were relatively accessible to the system with a few search-parameter tweaks; non-compliant licenses, not so much. They could find a way to make it happen but it was going to take some work. An all-nighter was a definite possibility. Normally, the idea of doing that with Adrianna would've been a wet dream come true, but too much was at stake now and the pressure was on.
"How seriously are you taking this parallel world and aliens stuff?" Adrianna asked.
Nate leaned back from his computer, stroking his jaw. "I don't know. But what Zach said fits what we've seen. Do you have a better theory?"
"She's a super-weapon not a superwoman?" She sounded less than convinced. "And she fed him a line of B.S. about aliens and alternate worlds to throw him off-track?"
"But why Zach? Why did she seek him out?"
"Maybe you should call him and ask him? He seems to trust you."
Nathan nodded. "I might do that. But with any luck, we can I.D. her tonight."
At 5:33 A.M. they found her.
"Jamie Amber Shepherd," Adrianna read from the central screen. "Born September 10, 1990, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Parents: Calvin Johnson Winters and Mary Allison Crowley née Winters, remarried 2007 to Lonny Matheson, now divorced. Died: August 12, 2015. Vehicle accident. Some drunk truck driver plowed into her while she was waiting in traffic. Survived by parents, husband Dennis Shepherd, and daughter, Kylee Shepherd, eight."
"Jesus," Nathan whispered, zooming in on her driver's license image. "That's definitely her. The story fits. She died, and her husband and daughter are alive."
"Okay, let's not jump to conclusions. She could
've faked her death. Wanted to escape a bad marriage or whatever. It's been done before."
"Not by someone in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I'm guessing." Nathan scratched his head, goosebumps threatening to break out on his forearms. "Not to mention reappearing with super powers."
"I'll concede that probably hasn't been done before."
Nate breathed out, collapsing back into his chair. A job well-done. No one would contest that. She was in the system now, and the system would need to deal with her. Yet somehow he didn't feel like either relaxing or celebrating. Too many unresolved questions.
"Anyway," said Adrianna, "it's in the big boys and girls court now, Nate. Hopefully, we'll get a promotion or a gold star or something. You and I made this happen, Nathan, as shocking as that is. This is gonna shake up some serious shit."
"Maybe they'll keep us in play, A.D. After all, there's a lot we don't know, and Zach might be able to fill in some of the blanks."
"Could be." Adrianna leaned back in her computer chair, aiming a dreamy smile at the ceiling. "A real, live superwoman come here to save us from alien extermination. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction."
"If it is true, I would think our government – every government – would want to work with her."
"They'll be worried. Someone with her supposed power could cause a lot of damage."
"She's from North Dakota. How dangerous could she be?"
Adrianna snorted. "I just hope they don't classify this way above us and shut us out. I want to see what happens next."
Chapter 7
"IT'S WEIRD," SAID CAL. "I'm walking down the street to get a bite to eat at the corner cafe and this TSA highway patrol car pulls up and the agent says I tested negative for a PLED. He checks me out and says he's detecting a malfunction. No penalty fine, if I get it taken care of today. In fact, he'll personally drive me to the nearest TSA-approved clinic and verify that it's been done. So I did that. But the whole thing felt kind of, I don't know, fishy."
Jamie looked up as Tildie clanged a pot in the kitchen. The vibration joined and amplified the internal warning buzzer set off by her father's words.
"Is it usual for a TSA Highway Patrol officer to scan pedestrians?"
"Nope. Not that I've seen. They usually leave that to the street scanners downtown. Funny one of those didn't pick me up."
"But there wasn't any other problem? They installed another chip and you're good to go?"
"That's it."
They talked for another ten minutes – her "parallel dad" was looking to get a loan for some repair on his building and was lamenting a recent slow-down in business – before they signed off.
"Wine?" Tildie called from the kitchen.
"Sure. Thanks."
Tildie brought over the glass while Jamie contemplated her phone.
"What's up?"
Jamie gave a small shake of her head. "My dad was detained because his PLED didn't scan right. The TSA agent drove him to a clinic to have it replaced."
"No fine or anything?"
"Nope."
"Doesn't sound too bad."
"I know. I just have this feeling."
Something in her past life she might've ignored. But Jamie as a team commander in Dare she'd had learned to pay attention to nagging feelings about things not being right.
On a sudden impulse, she lifted her cell phone and called Kylee. When she didn't answer, she tried Dennis.
"Hello," he greeted her. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. What are you guys doing? I tried Kylee, but she didn't answer."
"She's in with Dr. Lawrence having her PLED replaced. We're at the clinic. I just had mine done. Dr. Lawrence thinks we both must've got zapped by a random electronic pulse or something. But we're fine. No big deal."
An icy chill was spreading from Jamie's fingertips out through her arm into her chest. She concentrated on keeping her hand relaxed. One errant squeeze and her phone would be dust.
"How...did you learn your PLEDs were malfunctioning?"
"Funny thing. We were in town, having cones on the bench outside the DQ when a TSA patrol car rolls by. The officer steps out and informs us we're both showing up as having malfunctioning PLEDs. He said he couldn't get a clear ID read. Said if he escorted us to the TSA-approved clinic right now there wouldn't be any penalties. So here we are."
Jamie stared at Tildie, who paused halfway through a sip of her wine. Jamie struggled to make sense of what she was hearing. Coincidence was not an explanation she was considering.
"Jamie? Is everything okay?"
Everyone on her phone list had agreed not to call her by name, but she guessed someone had to be the first to slip-up on that. She also guessed that might no longer matter.
"I'm not sure, Dennis. Maybe it's nothing. I'll check back with you later. Say hi to Kylee."
"Will do."
She heard the puzzlement edging into concern in his voice as she ended the call. Tildie was watching her with her bright blue eyes on maximum wattage.
"Two of your family members had PLED malfunctions?" she asked. "Am I understanding that correctly?"
"Yes."
"What are the odds of that?"
"What would you say they are?" Jamie lowered her cell gently on the dining room table. "I'm voting not a coincidence."
"What, then? Why would the government be doing this now?"
"It might have something to do with that drone – the one I mentioned I ran into a few days ago. Now three family members suddenly have TSA agents show up and tell them their PLEDs aren't working, but there won't be any fines if they take them in right now." Jamie shoved some blond locks from her forehead. "My dad thought it was suspicious, and he didn't know about Dennis and Kylee."
"How would they know about your family... Oh." Tildie was nodding to herself. "If the drone recorded you, they might have found you through face-recognition."
"And then targeted my family." Jamie's forehead knotted. "But to do what? What are they doing with them in those doctor offices?"
Jamie lifted her cell and searched out a number that she'd been wanting to call but putting off for lack of a compelling reason or excuse. Now she had an excuse. She selected the number.
"Hello?" a cautious male voice answered.
"It's me." Jamie put her phone on speaker in response to Tildie's mouthed -read request.
"Oh...wow. I was wondering if you were ever going to call."
Jamie closed her eyes against the feelings Zachary's voice summoned in her.
"What's happening?" he asked. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I was wondering more about you. Has your personal location device had a problem recently?"
"That's...strange. Funny you should ask, because I was pulled over for supposedly speeding and the cop claimed he wasn't getting an ID reading from my PLED."
"Then he escorted you to a clinic or hospital and you had it replaced."
"Right. How did you know that?"
"It's happened to my dad, daughter, and husband."
The line went silent for a few seconds.
"Oh, shit," said Zach. "That can't be good."
"That's what I'm thinking."
"Did they link us together somehow?"
"I'd say so. I think it was a drone. I wasn't paying attention and it got a clear video shot of me."
"It must've identified your face. Though that would've been kind of puzzling, since you're not, uh..."
"Alive here."
"Right. But there would still be photograph records of your self here." A pause. "So what would the purpose be for replacing our PLEDs..." A sharp breath carried over the line. "The only logical reason I can think of was to enhance or alter it somehow. Perhaps extend the transmission range?"
"Maybe. If there's some way you can safely check it out, that might be a good idea."
"I think I'll do that. Is that why you called? Is there anything else new? Making any progress?"
"I've met with a few other people, some
more open to what I was saying than others." She gave Tildie a faint smile. Tildie half-bowed in mock acknowledgment. "Nothing too exciting. Until now. What about you?"
"Not a lot. But there is something I probably should mention, in the spirit of full disclosure. I recently went to a movie, My Super Significant Other, with some new friends and afterward we had a few drinks...and I kind of told one them something about you. No names or anything. Just the general gist..."
Jamie clamped her jaw. "Why did you do that?"
"I can't offer any real excuses. The movie was about a superhero woman. She can fly, has super strength – the usual – and he made some comment and I sort of started talking before I knew it. You could say what happened with you has been weighing on me a bit."
"I understand that." Jamie drew in a calming breath. "Could you have said anything to this new friend that could allow him to track my family down?"
"No. No names. I see no way he or anyone else could've used what I told him – just general stuff about a parallel world and you coming here to save us from aliens – to find you. Besides, he's a cool guy. Works with me here at the EPA."
"Doing what?"
"Uh, Homeland Security Research Division..."
"Homeland Security?" Jamie's voice ended on a ragged note.
"Yeah, ah...but it's not as ominous as it sounds. Doesn't mean he works for the DHS. The division has a cooperative arrangement with that agency. They work together to prepare for handling natural or manmade disasters, basically."
"And you just met this guy?"
"Yeah. Ran into him in the parking lot trying to change a tire. We hit it off pretty well, I guess."
"What's his name?"
"Nathan Andrews."
"Ask him how long this new friend has been working there?" Tildie spoke up.
"Who's that?" Zach asked.
"A friend," said Jamie.
"Well, to answer your friend, he just started working there."
"Another coincidence."
"I have a lot of trouble believing Nate's spying on me, if that's what you're implying."
"They wouldn't need to spy on you," said Jamie. "They'd just have to find my face in their database."
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