Joe

by Jacqueline Druga

  The only thing that told that Frank was standing there was the sight of the Vision Cam headgear that seemed to float on its own and the sound of Journey playing.

  Danny was positioned in the back of a jeep. The mobile equipment he was wanting to test out was getting a good go around.

  Headset to his head, he listened to Frank.

  “I’m entering the area now,” Frank said. “Are you getting everything?”

  “Yeah. Don’t move to quick, it makes me sick.”

  “Roger that.”

  “I’ll start recording when you hit the wooded area.”

  “I’ll start singing.”

  “No, Frank. Don’t.”

  “Why? I have a nice singing voice.”

  Hyena style laughter broke through the radio. Then Robbie. “Yeah, right.”

  “Robbie, this is personal private conversation.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s the radio, Frank. Everyone’s listening. If you don’t want the community to know, go on a secure channel.”

  “I am on a secure channel.”

  “Whoops, my bad. I have access.”

  “Fucker.”

  “Guys,” Danny said. “Can we just have silence? Frank. It’s not your singing voice. It’s uh, the Journey music adds a nice touch and you may drown it out.”

  “Oh, like a soundtrack.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Frank?” Robbie called out. “What exactly are you looking for out there?”

  “Up where?”

  “The Killer Baby region.”

  “Toddler,” Frank corrected. “And how did you know I was here?”

  “I’m standing by the jeep.”

  Danny poked his head out of the curtained off area. Robbie grinned and waved.

  “Robbie, how did you know we were here?”

  “Well, Frank took a jeep, he never does that anymore, and so that told me he had someone with him. Two, when you made the comment that it looked like the headgear was floating, I figured Frank had on an invisible suit or you had the brain flu. Since we both know the truth about the brain flu, that meant Frank had on an invisible suit. He’s not playing a practical joke, so he had to be here. Obviously there’s a problem up here.”

  “That’s pretty good investigating.”

  Frank chuckled over the airwaves. “Yeah, too bad he couldn’t use that to find Ralph.”

  “Who’s Ralph?” Danny asked.

  “The suicide bomber that killed my dad.”

  “Oh.”

  “What’s the truth?” Frank asked. “About the brain flu.”

  “Huh?” Robbie asked.

  “You said since you both knew the truth about the brain flu. What’s the truth? Do I know it?”

  “Yeah,” Robbie replied. “The brain flu truth is . . .”

  “You’re immune.” Danny stated.

  “I am?” Frank asked. “I didn’t know that.”

  Robbie said. “Thought you did. See, you were hit on the head so much, your brain was too damaged to get it.”

  “Whoa. Lucky me.”

  “Yep.”

  “Frank.” Danny called out. “I’m recording now.”

  “Got it.”

  Frank walked slowly turning his head in slow motions. “Everything looks normal. There goes one of mine.”

  “Yeah, he looks just like you,” Danny said.

  “Ha, ha, ha. Funny. Wait.” Frank saw another zip by. “There goes another. That’s odd.”

  “What is?”

  “Their behavior. They’re moving differently. Like they’re playing a game or something.”

  “They are young,” Danny said. “Do they play?”

  “I think. Maybe not, since they have sex now.” Another step. “Wait. Here comes one.”

  A Killer Toddler dashed to Frank at full speed and stopped at his feet. He stared at Frank, as if he wished he could talk.

  “Hey little guy, what’s wrong?” Frank asked.

  “He looks scared, Frank,” Danny said. “Not that they have facial expressions. But look how he’s breathing.”

  “Yeah.” Frank crouched down.

  “Frank?” Robbie interjected. “What’s that on his face?”

  Frank reached to the Killer Toddler and it lunged at him as if getting protected. Grasping his leg.

  “Hey, hey.” Frank spoke soft. “Hey, he’s injured. Scratched. How the hell did that happen? Their skin is like leather.”

  “Frank. I just had a thought.” Robbie said. “You’re wearing the invisible suit. How did he know you were there?”

  “I think they sense me. Cause they know me.”

  “Let’s hope that’s it.” Danny lowered the radio from his mouth. “We should get him out of there.”

  “Why?”

  “Because what if, Ok, we’re convinced something from the future is up there. What if they are keen to the invisa suits?”

  Robbie’s eyes widened. Just as he reached his radio to his mouth, he paused. “Frank. I just saw something. It’s not normal. Stand up.”

  “What?”” Frank asked.

  “Stand up Frank. It’s big. It’s bigger than the Killer Babies.”

  “Toddlers.”

  “What the fuck ever.”

  Danny looked at the screen. “I can’t see it.”

  “I did, when he was staring at the baby.”

  “What the fuck?”

  Frank’s head raised and the monitor showed something coming his way and fast.

  It moved unlike the babies in the area because it moved in attack mode and Frank knew it.

  It had to see him or sense him like the other ones.

  Zooming his way, Frank had one option, he could try to outrun it, but Frank didn’t run from anything.

  Extending his hand, he side stepped as it neared him and swung out as if a batter hitting a ball.

  Crack.

  The Pube sailed backwards.

  Frank grunted. “I just broke my fucking arm. Fuck.”

  “What is that?” Robbie asked.

  “A Pube.” Danny answered.

  “Pube?”

  The killer adolescent, shook its head like a cat, and lunged to its feet, just as it readied to sail in attack at Frank again, out from nowhere shot six, seven eight Killer Toddlers, and they leapt upon the adolescent.

  “Are you guys seeing this shit?” Frank asked.

  “Yeah, we see it Frank,” Danny replied. “We see it.”

  Grunts, growls, and squeals rang out loudly as the much bigger LEP fought diligently, but the Killer Babies fought with a cause. Tearing it up in a vicious fight until eventually, the older LEP stopped moving.

  When they had defeated their enemy, in a protective mode, the Killer Toddlers swarmed to Frank.

  “Gentlemen,” Frank said. “We have problems.”

  ****

  “All right. Fuck. Fine. I’ll go.”

  Frank was irritated when Danny requested he head down to the clinic for his arm. Frank, though, didn’t think it was a big deal, a broken bone. After all, what could Danny see? Frank was wearing an invisible suit.

  Danny saw blood, seeping blood in midair.

  “Oh, boy. Frank get that checked out.” Danny argued.

  Until Robbie interjected convincing Frank to prove Danny wrong.

  The hysteria Frank created by walking in the clinic with half the invisible suit on, quieted some when Frank went into the examining room.

  He rested his arm on the table, while Robbie leaned in and looked. The arm was swollen, and bloody. A huge gaping hole exposed the bone that protruded from his arm.

  “It’s not too bad,” Robbie said. “But, you know, I’m not expert, but I think you broke it.”

  “You think?” Frank asked, then shrugged.

  “I think. Not sure. Does it hurt much?”

  “Not much.”

  The door to the examining room opened and Hal, along with Elliott entered.

  “Good Lord, Frank, what have you done to yourself?” Hal a
sked.

  “I fell.”

  “You fell?” Hal peered at the arm. “You’re being a baby about all this.”

  “See that’s what I thought, too.” Frank said. “I just need a band aid.”

  Hal choked a cough. “A Band-Aid?”

  “Why do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Repeat everything as a question.”

  “I do not.”

  “Do too, Ryder, tell him.” Frank said.

  Elliott cleared his throat. “You do, Captain.”

  “Oh.” Hal waved out his hand. “Who asked you?”

  Elliott pointed to Frank.

  Frank smiled smugly.

  A single knock on the door, gave warning that it would open, and Dean walked in. “Hey, Frank. They said you think you broke your . . . Holy shit!” Dean walked to the table.

  “You think it’s broke?” Frank asked.

  “Uh, uh, yeah. But an x-ray will tell.” A pause. “Yeah, Frank it’s broke.”

  “So a band aid won’t cut it.”

  “Not this time.” Dean exhaled. “You need surgery.”

  “Surgery?” Frank asked. “Get the fuck out.”

  “That bone is sticking out.” Dean said.

  “Can’t you push it back in?”

  “No, not really, I have to operate on that arm,” Dean stated matter of fact. “You’ll be in a cast for eight weeks.”

  “Ha!” Frank laughed. “Are you forgetting I’m super healer?”

  “Shit, that’s right.” Dean said. “We’d better prep you fast before that starts to heal.”

  “Good God,” Hal said, “Are you serious.”

  “Yeah,” Dean replied then turned his head when the door opened again. Roy walked in.

  “Oh.” Roy gleamed. ‘It’s a party. Frank that is a bad break.”

  Frank’s jaw dropped open. “Everyone said it isn’t.”

  “Very severe.” Roy peered. “How did you do it?”

  “I fell.”

  “Fell?” Dean mocked. “Get out of here. You can’t fall and break your arm like that.”

  “Dean, I did.”

  “No, you did not.”

  “I’m telling you.”

  “And I’m telling you,” Dean said. “To me, that looks as if you smacked the interior forearm so hard the radius cracked and broke through. What did you do?”

  Frank shifted his eyes about the room. “Ok. You know how we brought Elvis in? Well, the beam went 125 years into the future and brought Pubes in.”

  Everyone stared in wonder, except Roy, he gasped. “So they are here now?”

  “Yep. And apparently, after the séance, Jason went ahead in time to see if my Dad’s ghost did anything to ripple the bright future. They had over run Beginnings instead of the Great War and one followed him through the time machine.” Frank explained. “So that with the strange signals tells me, they are in the Killer Toddler region, and somehow they end up getting in.”

  “Wait. Stop.” Hal made a ‘T’ with his hands. “Pubes.”

  Elliott exhaled. “I’m glad you asked.”

  Roy spoke. “Killer Pre-pubescent. That’s the name.”

  “I named them that.” Frank said.

  “Oh!” Roy said brightly. “You were the one who called them that. How wonderful. We always wondered that”

  Crinkling his top lip, Hal looked quizzically. “You call them Pubes in the future.”

  Roy nodded.

  “Good Lord.”

  Dean asked, “So a Pube did this to you?”

  “I did it to myself,” Frank replied. “It flew at me to attack and I batted it away. It was big.”

  “Wait. Wait.” Hal said. “They never attack you.”

  “This one did. Then the Killer Toddlers attacked it.”

  Roy nodded. “They don’t know you, Frank. The toddlers have been fed by you, sung to by you, these ones don’t know.”

  “But how did they know he was there?” Robbie asked. ‘He was wearing an invisible suit.”

  “Ah,” Roy held up a finger. “At any time did you have contact with a Killer Toddler?”

  “Yeah. One was injured.”

  “They sense the interaction. Thankfully, you were wearing the suit. They are at their fastest when Pubes.”

  “I wonder how many are up there.” Robbie said. “I mean, what are we gonna do.”

  “Gentlemen,” Dean interrupted. “If I may. This man has a bone protruding from his arm. What we’re gonna do now is fix it. Then you can all come back later and work on this.”

  Robbie nodded.

  Hal reached for the door. “I’ll go inform Ellen you’re getting surgery. Sgt. Ryder, care to join me.”

  “Absolutely” Elliott followed.

  Hal paused in the doorway “Good luck Frank.”

  With an agreement nod from Elliott ensured and both men stepped into the hall.

  “Containment?” Elliot asked.

  “Yes. Gives us a chance to speak to Elvis.” Hal smiled, they both turned and Andrea was walking toward them.

  “Hal sweetheart, how are you?” Andrea delivered a lipstick stained kiss to his cheek then rubbed it.

  “I’m good.”

  “How’s Frank?” Andrea questioned.

  “Surprisingly well for a man whose bone is sticking out of his arm.”

  Andrea gasped. “I better go see him. I didn’t notice.”

  Hal blinked. “You didn’t the bone?”

  “No. Sweet Jesus I feel horrible. I guess I was too consumed with the Chaos and my own grief.”

  “Pardon me, Andrea, I’m a little confused. Chaos. Grief?”

  “Yes, when he came in. I guess the emergency didn’t allow him time to take it off. He was wearing the invisible suit.” She chuckled. “I can laugh now, but I nearly passed out. I mean people running around thinking a major brain flu outbreak was occurring because he had half a suit on. And me, I saw him and thought. Sweet Jesus, Frank is dead.”

  “You saw him and thought he was dead?” Hal laughed.

  “Of course. Wouldn’t you? I mean, brain flu or not, a few have seen Joe’s floating head everywhere. And surely, Frank being a floating torso. In my mind he had to be in the same place as Joe.” Andrea patted Hal on the cheek. “Will you excise me, I want to see Frank.”

  Hal barely nodded as Andrea stepped inside.

  In fact, she didn’t see it. He lost his smile and immediately cast into a deep thinking state. “Same place.” Hal mumbled nearly inaudible.

  “Captain?”

  “Beginnings.”

  “Captain.”

  Hal snapped out of it. “Sorry, Elliott. My mind just took off on me.”

  “I’d say. Are we ready for Containment?”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No. We’re gonna go see Danny Hoi.” Hal started walking.

  “For what?” Elliott asked.

  “He’s going to talk to us about the inventory of Invisible Suits.”

  Hal forged forward. After a slight pause in confusion, and a singing ‘Oo-kay.” Elliott followed suit.

  ****

  It was a steel shelf with a lock box, drop style cover that Danny Hoi had Elliott hold for him.

  “Nineteen, and twenty.” Danny flashed a smile. “See?”

  “Frank ruined one by bleeding all over it. So that accounts for all the suits?” Hal asked.

  “Yep.”

  “But you were pretty insistent that we started out with twenty-three suits.”

  “I was wrong.”

  “You said that.”

  “We’re human, Hal.” Danny shrugged. “We all make mistakes.” He gave a cordial nod to Elliott, closed and locked the shelf.

  “You’re a pretty smart guy, Danny.”

  “I like to think that.”

  “My brother took four years to pass basic math. You have a Masters from MIT.”

  “Ok?” Danny gave a quirky look.

  “Were you the original
one counting the suits?”

  “Yep.”

  “But, um,” Hal lifted the clipboard. “According to the original record. Death hits by Frank. Suits ruined, there were seven drop off of suits.”

  “I believe so.”

  “Scott signed off on four occasions.”

  “Ok.”

  “First one they brought in two suits, the next one, then three, then one more. That’s. ..”

  “Seven.”

  Hal smiled and nodded. “Which leaves fifteen suits in three trips. One trip was for, thirteen suits. I’m still counting 23.”

  “Yeah, but it had to be the big one I made the mistake.”

  “Obviously, I don’t think Scott would have trouble counting to three.”

  “Nope.”

  “So, tell me, Danny . . .”

  “Hal?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s uh, with the interrogation?” Danny asked. “I made an adding mistake. Big deal.”

  “Just seems odd. Mr. MIT, Mr. Everything guy. The most inventive and intelligent man I know . . .” Hal handed him back the clipboard. “Made a simple basic math mistake. Just . . . just seems odd. That’s all. Thank you Danny.”

  “Yeah, you’re welcome.”

  Hal gave a nod to Elliott and both men walked outside.

  “Captain, may I ask why you were cross examining Danny like that.”

  “Elliott doesn’t it seem odd that he miscounted?”

  “Yes, but what difference does it make?”

  “There could be a missing suit.”

  “Ok, so there’s a missing suit. Do you think someone stole it?” Elliott questioned.

  “At first yes. Then Danny found out. He was running around crazy looking for that suit, then all of the sudden he made a mistake.”

  “So, he’s covering for someone having a suit.” Elliott shrugged. “It’s Danny.”

  “Exactly.”

  “He’s not going to put that suit in the wrong hands.”

  “Exactly.” Hal grinned. “He’s gonna give it to someone he trusts and admires, and knows won’t use it for trouble.”

  “Forgive me Captain, but do you think you know who has that suit?”

  “Yes, I do think I know.”

  “Who Frank? Robbie? Roy? Jason?”

  Hal shook his head, bandana in hand, flashed a smile, hitting Elliott lightly on the chest with the bandana, before he brightly chuckled his answer. “My father.”

  Hal turned and walked off.

  “Your . . . Your. . .” Elliott processed the one word answered, moving his mouth to that single word, and before Hal had gotten too far away, Elliot hurried him before he could talk to anyone else about his theory.