by Jacob Hammes
Amy was brought back with the crew, first class seat with the rest of the UOD agents in the company helicopter. She didn’t speak much. In fact, she had slept due to what she complained of as headaches and nausea for hours. The police had insisted on taking her to their station until just about every federal branch of the government informed them very forcefully that they were to do no such thing.
Phillip had volunteered to watch her. She seemed so weak and fragile, but he had seen what she was capable of. Her eyes, though they seemed simple enough, were keen. They had something Phillip couldn’t describe. There was a depth that seemed to have no ending, like a well of infinite knowledge hiding beneath the iris.
“She’ll be no use at all to any of us until she stabilizes,” Gregory said. “We have a team of the world’s best doctors looking her over as we speak. If they don’t lobotomize her in their search for this ‘organism,’ she may prove herself as useful to all of mankind. God only knows what sort of information she’s going to provide us if everything you’ve said is true.
“Two consciousness’s merging in any sort has never been anything more than theorized. Now we have an alien, or some ancient biological anomaly, that’s capable of taking control of bodies or… whatever happened to her.”
“She’s going to rock our world, that’s for sure,” Phillip said, knowing full well nothing would ever be quite the same for him or his friends. As for the rest of the world, it would most likely be decades before the news was ever leaked outside of the government.
“Hopefully she can tell us where her counterparts went,” Marcus said, nursing his neck. He had been complaining of a cold since they got back from Seattle. The water hadn’t been warm, especially that far north, but he wasn’t complaining while they watched the fireworks unfold before them.
“She hinted at her ability to ‘feel’ them out. Maybe she will be our newest addition—along for the ride to find her ex-counterparts.”
“We can only hope to find them soon,” Gregory said angrily. “It’s good none of you were killed trying to capture the guy in the first place.”
“What about the other ship?” Cynthia said from her quiet bubble. “What about the ship we saw leaving out into the dark?”
Gregory looked a bit perturbed about the situation. He knew something bad was happening out there, somewhere, but he couldn’t do anything about it. There was a bad guy with the capability of becoming a real menace to mankind, yet he could do nothing to stop him.
Stewart had a few things the UOD did not—more of the organisms, the ability to deliver them into hosts stealthily, and any machines that hadn’t been on the island when the police showed up. Besides, Marcus had heard what the scientist had said about not having to worry about making too many more machines. The implication, at least in his mind, was that they were making a large enough machine to affect square miles at a time.
“We don’t have any trace on it,” Gregory said sadly. “It might be one of the small fleet of boats that Lambert Frederickson, our missing old man, owned. It could be one of a billion little boats in the area. You guys didn’t get an ID on the ship, so there’s no way for us to know.
“We have police, FDA, and federal agents checking every single pharmacy and apothecary shop in the United States for anything even resembling a product that Lambert and his fortunes might have an influence over. There’s big fines for anyone caught with his products, which might help keep them off the streets.”
“And the island,” Henry asked. “What’s up with that place?”
“Yes.” Gregory was skeptical about the island, too. “How a working manufacturing plant and testing facility could be hiding in plain sight is beyond me. There is definitely a bigger conspiracy here. It’s one we’re going to have to tread lightly over, or risk falling in ourselves. New changes to our policies have already been placed in effect because of it and the involvement of legitimate officers in this scandal.”
“So what do we do now?” Marcus was truly upset. He had never experienced a half-win like this one. He wouldn’t quite call it a draw, since the bad guys got away and they still had ammunition to fight with.
“Carry on, try to figure this case out like any other case,” one of the NSA agents said from behind. “You’ll be receiving more help, too. Monetary, personnel, and otherwise; you’ll be fully equipped for the daunting task ahead.”
“Great.” Marcus held a grudge against the NSA agents. They seemed as if they wanted the UOD to fail more than succeed. “Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome,” the man in the suit replied.
“For today,” Gregory said, “I suggest you go home and get some much needed rest. You’ll be back and at ’em come Monday morning and we’re hitting the ground running. Any hint of Stewart, Lambert, or goons resembling drones and you’ll be on the road within minutes.”
“We’re dismissed?” Cynthia said, sitting forward in her seat. Even Phillip managed to jump in his sleep-like state.
“For now,” Gregory said. “Keep your phones on.”
Epilogue
Marcus jumped on the opportunity to have a night out with his girlfriend Julie. He called her on the way, driving slowly through the traffic so he could enjoy his nice vehicle, loud music, and moderate feeling of calm. She laughed excitedly before hanging up. She was already at his house, so he didn’t have much to worry about in the way of finding her.
She had a way about her that made Marcus crazy inside. There was music on in his apartment already. It was a soft melody he had heard many times, but happy in a way that calmed him to his core. The dark floors were perfectly clean and showed her reflection as she whisked to and fro in the room, hiding from him until she was ready.
“Don’t peek,” she squealed, jumping from the bedroom to the bathroom quickly. Marcus didn’t care. He was wearing what he would wear to dinner anyway. The suit and tie he wore were well-tailored masterpieces, so he never looked anything less than expensive.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said, sneaking into the bedroom. The bright light from the sun made his entire bedroom seem much lighter than it actually was. It made him feel welcome and at home.
“What,” she said playfully. “Did you get me a stuffed animal? You know I don’t like that stuff.”
“No,” Marcus said.
“Oh, roses to make up for your impromptu absence then,” she scoffed. “Like I’d take those from an animal like you.”
“Not roses,” Marcus said, readying himself.
“I’ll take a car,” she said, laughing to herself as she dreamed. “I hope it’s really cheap though. That way you can save up for our weekend away.”
“No car,” Marcus answered.
Julie was suddenly very quiet. She didn’t know what to expect, but Marcus wasn’t playing her games as usual. The banter between them was that of best friends, and Marcus wasn’t playing along. Something was different about this game he was playing and she could tell it was serious.
Marcus saw her stockings first. The black did very little to hide her beautiful skin from him. He could feel her heat as she approached. He had to look up from where he was to see that she wore a modest skirt and a classy white top. Her hair was messy and her makeup was halfway done, but Marcus couldn’t have imagined her looking any more beautiful than she did just then.
From one knee, he held the ring that he had purchased in Seattle out for her to see. The simple gold band and single diamond was enough for her, he was sure.
“I wanted this to be the first thing you saw after being away for the last few days,” Marcus said quietly. “I wanted this moment to last.”
“You’re asking me to…” She fought back the urge to cry.
“Much more than that,” Marcus said, quietly. “I’m asking you if you’d like to take this journey with me, no matter what it brings us.”
“No matter what,” Julie echoed, tears welling in her beautiful blue green eyes.
Stewart hardly got aboard the private
jet before the door shut and the engines started. He knew his boss would be mad beyond belief, but he had to face the reality of his situation. They had been made and there was nothing he could do about it now.
There was an ample amount of pipe smoke filtering through the dark interior. It made the jet seem much smaller than it actually was. A multi-million dollar Learjet was nothing to scoff at, everyone knew that.
Stewart sat down in the seat he knew that he would be summoned to. His boss sat across from him, smoking happily through his long pipe and sipping on expensive brandy. It was his way. There was never anything that would rattle him out of his calm demeanor.
“You did well.” The words surprised Stewart. He thought he would be eating a bullet today, but his boss was giving him praise.
“There was nothing you could do about the government interfering as they have. You did everything I asked of you. We still have a product to work with. It’s something we can rely heavily upon. Rest assured, our ways will be changing, but we haven’t lived as long as we have and accrued so much material wealth by being brash and stupid.”
“Thank you,” Stewart said, adjusting the glasses on his still grotesquely deformed nose. “I wish it would have had a better outcome.”
“Nonsense,” his boss reassured him. “Don’t let it get to you. Stewart, you have vast potential. Already we have a small army to work with. Soon, our numbers shall grow. Besides, the loss of our star subject only proved that we can successfully migrate hosts without damaging the new body any longer. The days of living through half-working corpses are over, my friend. It’s a new day, one with less peril than we have ever experienced.”
“Yes.” Stewart was hopeful for the future. He knew this body only had a few years left and then he would have to migrate once again. It was a painful process and one that brought many tears. Though his people weren’t one to worry about their hosts, they became keenly aware of what they were doing once they were required to change.
It was something Stewart was happy not to have to endure ever again.
“Mr. Frederickson,” the pilot called back from the cockpit. “We’ve been given the go-ahead to take off. Should we depart?”
“Please,” Lambert Frederickson said from the comfort of his jet. “Let’s get to Spain as quickly as we can. I don’t want anyone else getting there before we do. Seems like we might have some loose ends to tie up.”
“And what about the federal agents?” Stewart asked, wondering what they were leaving behind.
“Not to worry,” Lambert said, smiling. His old features seemed grandfatherly to Stewart. “They won’t be able to track us as we change. They won’t be able to outlive us, either. One way or another, we’re going to outsmart Marcus and the Unusual Operations Division. One way or another, we’re going to show humanity the flaw of their ways.
“Just remember, Stewart, that if you’re going to stay with me you’ve got to be willing to travel. You know what the funniest part is, Stewart?”
“What’s that?” Stewart asked suspiciously.
“The funniest part is that they walk amongst us and others like us, every day. It’s just that they don’t know it…yet.”
The End.
About the Author
Jacob Ryan Hammes wrote his first book, the Jewel of Babylon, in Korea on tour with the United States Army. His second book was written largely in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom 2013-2014. Perhaps it is because he is stuck in situations which warrant an escape of the mind that pushes him to write, but generally he claims it’s because he loves writing, despite hating every step of the process.
Many thousands of pages have been written by this author, and nearly just as many have been thrown into the virtual recycling bin. Despite the many setbacks any author goes through, he will continue to write as either a hobby or an eventual career.
Jacob enjoys fine scotch, though scotch is expensive so mostly he settles for beer.
Other Works
The Jewel of Babylon.
Short list, I know.