by Saxon Andrew
“I’m extremely nervous about doing that, Tal.”
“If you act, it will warn the colonies to do a better job of getting their agents into our installations. They don’t know we’re here and aren’t worried, at the moment. The next agents will have a means of communicating here inside the lab.”
“Do you think they can do that?”
“Sir, the colonist scientists are magicians at building devices that could make it happen. We must make it too difficult to get in before they can act.”
“All right! I’ll leave it up to you. I’m still uneasy about your loyalty but you’ve not shown me any reason I should feel that way.”
“It’s your job to be suspicious, Sir. I’d probably feel the same way if I was in your place,” Tal replied. “Let us know where the meeting is being held, please.”
“I’ll have someone take you there in the morning at O900.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
• • •
Tal stood up and left the cafeteria. Sha followed him out and contacted him sub-vocally, “What are we going to do now?”
“You need to go back to mastering the darts. We’ll see what happens in the meetings tomorrow before we decide what to do.”
Sha nodded and was anxious to do something about the threat to Allison.
Chapter Nineteen
The next morning, the recently transferred civilian personnel were sitting in a large meeting room when Tal and Sha entered. Tal entering first, quickly announced, “Keep your seats.”
A man sitting in a front row desk on the far-right asked, “Why have we been called away from out duties to attend this meeting?”
Tal looked at him, “You are?”
“Dr. Laramie. I’m a Hawking Prize Winner in physics.”
“Congratulations, Doctor. This meeting won’t take long but we’ve found a number of issues that concern transferees that need to be addressed.” He turned to the room, “I’m General Talent and this is my wife, Colonel Talent. She will be taking notes and I want you to honest and have no fear that anything you say will be held against you.” He saw Laramie snort but ignored it. “During your transfer here, were there any issues that you found caused you problems.”
A man in the back of the room raised his hand. Tal recognized him, “State your name and tell me the nature of your problem?”
“I find it bothersome that we have to go through such a long orientation; it’s been going on for more than a week and I want to get to work.”
Tal looked at Sha and she nodded, “I’ve got it.”
Tal looked back at the room, “Are there any other issues?”
The civilians began raising their hands and Tal didn’t challenge any of them on what they said. He had Sha make a note and continued with the session. Finally, he looked at Sha, “Do you have any questions about what was said?”
Sha shook her head, “No, I think they’ve been clear in what issues are bothering them.”
Ta looked out at the room and smiled slightly, “I will meet with General Lein and Dr. Meier to discuss your issues. I must tell you that most of your orientation is involved in getting around the base without being challenged by security and shortening that process would cause more issues than you’ve mentioned here. You can be certain you don’t want to be challenged by security; it’s not a pleasant experience. Please return to what you were doing and thank you for your openness and honesty.”
The attendees left the room and Tal turned to Sha and started to speak; Sha contacted him sub-vocally over the communicator, “Don’t say anything out loud!” Tal closed his mouth, nodded, and then asked, “What do you think about their complaints.”
“Most of them we can do nothing about but there are a few that we can change.” Sha answered as she walked over to the desk Dr. Laramie was sitting in and lifted the top. Tal examined it and Sha pointed to a tiny piece of metal stuck flush in the wood. She raised her right hand, made a fist, and lifted her little finger shutting down her scanner. Tal made a fist, raised his index finger, and held his hand out at the tiny piece of metal; it was emitting an electrical field. He nodded and said, “Let’s take a break until the next group arrives.”
“How long do we have?” Sha asked.
“About an hour.”
“Ok, let’s go get a donut.”
“How you can eat as many sweets as you do and not gain weight is a mystery to me!?”
“That will change with age, Sir.”
“You don’t have to call me Sir.”
“Comes with the territory. Let’s go get that donut!”
“Lead the way.”
• • •
Laramie listened to them over a tiny device in his ear and decided he was being paranoid. The meeting was nothing more than what it appeared to be. He decided to listen to the next meeting and turned off the listening device half-way through. It bored him to tears.
• • •
The meeting with the newly transferred soldiers started slow. They weren’t relaxed with a General in the room but one of them finally raised their hand and talked about his issue. When Tal didn’t bite his head off, the others began joining in. General Lein warned them in advance that if soldiers weren’t complaining, something was wrong. They complained when there was nothing to complain about. He was right. Sha stopped them several times to ask clarifying questions and Tal saw that they were coming up with things to avoid having to report back to their posts. He finally announced, “That’s all. I’m sure you have other issues, but you’ve given me enough to focus on. Thank you for your openness and honesty. Please report back to your posts.”
The room came to attention and Tal announced, “Dismissed!” The attendees left the room and Sha smiled, “They do complain, don’t they?”
“Things wouldn’t be right if they didn’t. Was there anything important they brought up?”
“Twelve-hours on and twelve-ours off is a brutal schedule. It does cause fatigue and could pose an issue in them being sharp while on duty.”
“I’ll bring that up with General Lein. Let’s stop for the day.”
Sha stood up and went to the desk and looked at it again. She motioned Tal over and he looked under the top. The small piece of metal was gone. He knew this was colony technology. He walked out of the meeting room and headed for their quarters. Sha entered and immediately raised her hand. She moved around the room and stopped at the light over the door. Tal saw her pointing at a tiny dot and he recognized it as the same one that was in the desk. “What do we do about this?” Sha asked over the communicator.”
Tal spoke in his throat, “This was put here by the cleaning staff. We’ll find out who did it after we handle the ones we’ve discovered.”
“Dr. Laramie is obviously an agent.”
“Sha, he’s more than that. He’s a mimic and I believe he’s here to kill Dr. Meier. Contact your mother and tell her to keep Dr. Meier away from the lab until we handle this issue.”
“I would have thought you have no love for the Doctor.”
“You say that because he’s obviously after your mother’s attention.”
“It’s pretty obvious. Drooling is unbecoming behavior.”
Tal chuckled, “That’s an issue between them. Let’s go see if General Lein’s quarters has any listening devices.”
• • •
Tal and Sha left the base and checked in a hotel in Orlando. Sha worked on using the dart-tubes and Tal allowed her to keep working until the day before Dr. Edmundson was released to go to his residence. He turned to Sha and saw she was getting incredibly accurate with the darts; he called a halt to her practice, “Come and sit by me.” Sha walked over from the far wall and sat down. Tal took four packets out of his leather bag and lined them up on the coffee table. He picked up the first one and broke the seal, “I want you to take a deep breath and blow it into this pouch.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m coding your dart tubes to your DNA.” Tal opened the pouc
h slightly and Sha blew into it. He quickly sealed the pouch and picked up the second. Once Sha had blown into each pouch, Tal turned to her, “The tubes need an hour to be operational. Once they’re ready, I’ll insert them in your left hand.”
“Why that hand?”
“Because you’re right handed and it’s easier to pull the tube and hide it in your right palm.”
“How do I get the tube out?”
Tal extended his fingers and then bent them into each other; he did not make a fist. He squeezed the middle finger on each side and a small tube came out. He grabbed it with his right hand and it extended into his palm. “It’s now ready to be used.”
“What if I change my mind?”
“You shouldn’t pull the tube out unless you fully intend to use it, Sha.”
“That’s not an answer. There may be an occasion where I need to see if I’m in danger and have it available. If I’m not…”
Tal interrupted, “Then at the first opportunity, put the tube over the finger you removed it from and press down on it. It will retract and go back into your finger.”
“What happens if I injure my hand? Could the darts get into my blood stream?”
“No. The seals on the tubes can only be broken by your breath blowing on them.”
Sha smiled, “Clever!”
Tal took a tube out of each pouch and inserted them into Sha’s hand. At the end he held her index finger, “This finger fires the barrage of a hundred and fifty darts.” He took her second finger, ‘This one fires a dart that will instantly immobilize a target. It won’t kill them, but it only lasts for several hours. The ring finger fires a dart that will paralyze a target and cause their body to be consumed by a virus within thirty-minutes. The tube in the little finger will cause a delayed heart-attack. Got it.”
“Where do I put the barrage darts?”
“We’ll put that in later.”
“Why are you delaying, Tal.”
“Tomorrow, Dr. Edmundson will be going to his off-base residence and I’m going to be waiting for him to arrive. You will need to be at that woman’s residence and be prepared to remove the threat you talked about. We’ll have to do this tomorrow and we’ll have to time it such that Dr. Edmundson doesn’t communicate with the one handling that woman.” Sha stared at him and nodded. “Sha, have you ever killed anyone?”
“No.”
“Are you capable of doing it?”
“I believe I am.”
“Sha, you need to come to terms with this! Hesitation can get you killed!”
Sha looked in his eyes and softly asked, “Did you hesitate on your first kill?”
“NO!” Sha was shocked by his response. “The scum deserved it and a lot more!”
“Tal, these agents believe they are defending the colonies. They are not scum.”
Tal shook his head, “You’re right. I’ll handle both of them.”
“THAT’S NOT WHAT I’M SAYING, TAL!”
“Sha, a young woman’s child is being threatened to force her to do their bidding. A Hawking Prize-Winning Doctor has been murdered so that he could be replaced. Two-soldiers in the meeting are mimics and they killed the ones they replaced. If you haven’t figured it out, the war has already started, and people are dying. Three-innocent couples were killed to get your mother and me sent to Earth to be killed. I thought you were pretty smart, but I can see you’re just playing at this.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Sorry, Sha. I don’t trust you to pull it off. I’ll handle them both.”
“If you do that, then Allison and her child could die.” Tal’s anger turned to surprise. Sha added, “I assume you’re going to allow Dr. Edmundson to contact his handler.”
“I am.”
“And if it’s the one threatening Allison, he’ll learn she’s been lying to him and not telling him about the stardrive. He’ll kill them if that happens.” Tal stared at her and Sha continued, “You can’t go to Allison first because Edmundson would contact another handler and tell them about the stardrive. You were right the first time, it is going to take two to do this.”
“I could get your mother to go with me. I know she won’t hesitate.” He immediately saw he had hurt Sha. But this was too serious to take it back.
There was a long moment of silence and Sha walked over to the window and looked out on downtown Orlando. Finally, she turned around and looked at him, “You said that to hurt me.” Tal turned his head to the right and shook it slightly. “I’ve forced myself on you against your wishes. You’ve been hurt, and I know that, despite what I’ve said, every time you look at me, you suffer. I’m going to forgive you for that comment, because you know that can’t happen. You’re just being hateful.” Tal refused to look at her and Sha sighed before saying, “Earth’s leaders would never agree to Mom taking any kind of risk that would jeopardize what she offers them. You know that and were paying me back for forcing my presence on you.”
Tal lowered his head. Suddenly, Sha changed her image to one of the pages she memorized. “Would this be better?”
Tal looked at her and blew out a breath, “Too late. Everyone’s seen you as my wife in your normal form. Any other image won’t cut it. Besides, even if you change your appearance, I’ll see you under it.”
“Then tell me what I can do to stop hurting you. I don’t deserve your hatred.”
“I don’t hate you, Sha!”
“Then what is it?”
“I miss your mother, if you must know!! I’m not getting over her and it’s almost too much to bear! I know she’s with Dr. Meier and I see she’s enjoying it.”
She could see Tal’s heartache. She then walked over and sat beside him on the sofa, “Tal, you need to understand something. I believe you do but you won’t accept it.”
“What is that?”
“My mother is intimidated by you and can’t allow her feelings for you to guide her.”
“I’ve never threatened her!”
“Not that sort of intimidation, Tal. She knows you’re brilliant and she’s verified she isn’t in your league.”
“Yes, she is!”
“NO, SHE’S NOT!!” Tal, my mother is a wizard in electrical technology. She understands mechanics and physics better that most engineers in the colonies. But you were, and probably still are, the best geneticist in the colonies. You also know more technology than most engineers and your ability to see things others miss is extraordinary. I know Mom told you she would never pair with a killer, but that was just an excuse. She won’t partner with you because she feels inferior and the more time she spent with you, the smaller she felt.”
“Did she tell you this?”
“She did! And you probably knew it but tried to ignore it.” Tal fell back on the sofa and closed his eyes. Sha leaned back with him and raised her eyebrows, “You can at least take solace in one thing.”
“What is that?”
“If she decided to pair up with Dr. Meier, you’ll know he’s nowhere near as smart as you are.” Tal opened his eyes and looked at her. She shrugged and said, “You know it’s true.”
Tal tried to smile but failed. Sha smiled at him and he said, “You are going to have to handle the situation at Allison’s house. I would recommend you get there before she does.”
“I will. Contact me if you find out the one threatening her is not Edmondson’s handler.”
“I will. Get some sleep. We need to be sharp tomorrow.” Tal hesitated and said, “I’m sorry.” She punched him on the arm, stood up, and went to her room.
• • •
The following afternoon, Tal parked an unmarked transport in an underground garage a half-mile north of Edmondson’s residence. He looked around and made sure no cameras could see him, before he turned invisible and exited the car. He locked it and put the key on top of the right-rear tire. He stepped back and saw that it was hidden inside the wheel-well. He jogged out of the garage and headed south. He arrived at Edmondson’s residence and held up his right
hand. “HOLY GUACOMOLIE!!” he thought. There were twenty-three scanners detected outside and inside the house. Someone had come in and placed all those devices after it was rented. He wanted to be inside before the Doctor arrived, but the risk of setting off an alarm wasn’t worth taking. He sat down on the front steps and waited.
Edmondson arrived and raised the garage door. Tal followed the transport into the garage and waited until Edmondson exited the transport and pointed a remote at the house door leading out of the garage to open it. The door opened, and Tal went through it as Edmondson reached in the transport for his briefcase. Tal stood against the wall as Edmondson pressed a code into a wall security unit. Tal raised his hand and determined all the interior scanners were inactive. Edmondson entered the residence, walked up the stairs, and opened a bedroom door. He appeared bothered when he saw a broom sticking out of a hall closet and frowned. He went to the closet and put it inside and closed the closet door. Tal slipped in the bedroom and sat down against the wall beside the bed as Edmondson came in and locked the door. He raised a device and activated the interior scanners on the lower floor. He took off his jacket and went into the bathroom, opened the door to the vanity, felt inside and found a handle, lifted the fake floor, and took out a black box from under it. He lowered the floor and went to the bedroom, where he put the box on a desk in front of a large window. He pulled the curtains back and raised the blinds, before taking a Line-of-sight communicator out of the box. He oriented the communicator, so it had a clear view through the window, and pressed a red button on top of it. Two stalk antennas started rotating on top of the communicator and stopped when they aligned with the half-moon shining above Orlando’s skyline. Tal stood up and watched what Edmondson was doing. The red button he pushed illuminated and a few moments later, turned green. Edmondson pressed a pad on the device and spoke, “I’m connected, can you hear me.”
“You’re coming in loud and clear.” Tal held out his right hand and rapidly opened and closed his hand turning the communicator off and on at a fast-speed as Edmond said, “Earth has developed a stardrive and all their warships have them in place. They are also working on developing a force field.” He paused before continuing and heard, “I’m…. hearing…. words you….”