Nightfall

by Peter Hoole

  “Well,” Caleb began, continuing to observe the cars and people around them, “we need more information. Do you know anything else about what Paul was working on?”

  “Not at all. I told you, Paul was a competitive ass. We were competing for the same jobs, the same stories. We were both employed on incentive-based contracts, which meant that we were paid based on the amount of hits our stories got on the internet. Consequently, we tend to be secretive about new stories we can get an exclusive on. It was always difficult to say what Paul was thinking or doing.”

  “Would he have told your boss? Freeman, is it?”

  Darcy nodded.

  “Would he have told Freeman about why he was in Australia?” Caleb asked, taking a turn which would take them in a southerly direction.

  “He would have. I might not know him all that well, but I’m certain Freeman wouldn’t have signed off on Paul’s expenses without knowing the details. He’s usually hassling us about budgets and assignments.”

  “Have you heard anything else from Paul yet?”

  Darcy pulled out her phone and opened her email program. She shook her head.

  Caleb turned left onto West First Street. “Darc, we need more information. Can you think of anyone else, besides this Freeman, who might know what Paul was doing?”

  “I don’t think so. Sorry, babe” replied Darcy.

  Caleb thought for a moment or two, weighing up their options. “Okay then… Give your boss a call and tell him you’re on your way”

  Being a Saturday, she wasn’t sure her boss would be in the office. Darcy called him on his cell, just in case.

  “Yes, Ms. Chamberlain?” Freeman answered almost immediately. “What can I do for you?”

  “Mr Freeman, are you in your office?” Darcy asked.

  “News doesn’t stop on the weekends, Ms Chamberlain,” he said condescendingly.

  “I need to see you.”

  “Come on in, then…”

  Caleb held up two fingers on his left hand.

  “We’ll be there in two minutes.”

  “We?” Freeman asked, sounding suspicious.

  “I’ll explain when we get there.”

  “Very well. See you then.”

  Caleb soon pulled up outside The Examiners offices. The two-storey building blended in perfectly with the surrounding office spaces and city apartment blocks.

  As they exited the car, Caleb once again scanned their surroundings. It was logical to suspect that the trackers, whoever they were, could be waiting at Darcy’s workplace.

  Once Caleb established the area was clear, he and Darcy made their way into the building, and entered the quiet lobby area, before making their way to the elevator.

  “You okay?” Caleb asked, aware of Darcy’s increasing nervousness.

  “Yeah… I’m fine,” Darcy replied, “I just want to know what’s going on.”

  “Before we go up, tell me about Freeman,” Caleb prompted.

  “Not much to tell really, he started around the time the President was shot. He comes from England. Cambridge-educated. Always has time for the staff, but will kick your ass if he needs to…” Darcy’s voice trailed off, and she twisted her fingers together nervously after she punched the ‘up’ button for a second time.

  “Go on…” Caleb prompted.

  “Nothing else. He’s published pretty much everything I’ve submitted. Not that all of it was good, I think he figures that the more content we have, the more hits we’ll get, and the more advertising—”

  “So he’s driven by money?” asked Caleb, trying to get a read on Freeman’s agenda.

  “I guess. I know his bonus depends on the hits and advertising sales. But that’s the same for everyone. As I said though, he only came on board just after the President was shot, so…”

  “I know babe. But, I think he can help us figure this out.”

  Caleb was satisfied with what Darcy had told him, and it had become obvious she didn’t have any major reasons not to trust Freeman.

  At the first floor, the doors opened to Darcy’s work area. Caleb saw a seemingly endless sea of cubicles in front of them. It reminded Caleb of how much he enjoyed his own work and the freedom of movement it entailed. He couldn’t imagine himself sitting in one of these cubicles for hours at a time.

  There were six other people in the vast room, most of them tapping away feverishly at their keyboards, while one talked on the phone.

  “Do you know all these people, Darc?” Caleb asked, not willing to let his guard down.

  “Yeah,” she replied, as they walked towards Freeman’s office.

  The office space was typical of corporate America. There were at least twenty rows of cubicles, each containing a desk, a keyboard and a computer monitor. There were mountains of paper on some, and barely a sticky-note on others.

  In the middle of the room, was the print and copy station. Towards the east end of the vast room was a kitchen, and towards the west were three offices, with the titles of the occupants noted on each door.

  As Caleb and Darcy made their way towards the offices, the titles grew clearer. On the right was the office of the Sports Editor, the left the News Editor. The middle office, with double doors at least twice the size of the others, had ‘Marcus Freeman, Editor-In Chief’ emblazoned across the glass wall. One of the doors stood open.

  Not wanting to startle her boss, Darcy knocked lightly on the door-frame.

  “Sorry… Mr. Freeman?” she said.

  The rather average-looking man motioned for Darcy to enter.

  “Yes, yes, Ms. Chamberlain, come in” Freeman said, seemingly annoyed by the interruption.

  Darcy stepped into the office, closely followed by Caleb.

  Freeman looked up from his screen, and rose from his seat, as though affronted by this intrusion on his space.

  “Ms. Chamberlain,” he began, “this is not a public area. Your friend will have to wait in the lobby.”

  Darcy signalled for him to sit down. “I’d rather Caleb stayed for now… once you hear what I’ve got, I’m—”

  “Caleb?” Freeman scrutinized him carefully. “Caleb Jackson?”

  Darcy and Caleb were both surprised. Darcy had never mentioned Caleb to her boss before, and wondered how he could possibly know him. “How do you know Caleb’s surname?” Darcy asked.

  “Not such a poor reporter, am I, Chamberlain?” Freeman said, coming around the side of his desk with his hand held out towards Caleb. “I didn’t get to where I am, just because of who I know. Captain Jackson’s reputation precedes him – it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Caleb eyed Freeman curiously. Just how much did the man know? He gave him a curt nod as he briefly shook hands.

  Freeman motioned for them to sit down. “Rest assured, Captain, your biggest secrets are still intact… not for lack of trying, though.”

  “Mr. Freeman, why have you been investigating Caleb?” Darcy asked, bristling at what she suspected was an intrusion into her life.

  “What do I owe the pleasure of your visit to, Ms. Chamberlain?” Freeman asked, completely ignoring her question.

  “Last night I received an email from Paul. Paul Jenkins.” She glanced across into Caleb’s eyes, clearly wondering how much she was supposed to admit to Freeman. Caleb gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Not that he even needed to – Darcy knew him so well she knew his intent as soon as she looked at him.

  Caleb wanted information from Freeman, not the other way around.

  “Anyway… it was a bit strange. I mean, there were some pictures and…” she finished lamely, “and… some text”

  “Hmmm… What sort of pictures?” asked Freeman

  “Not sure… they were heavily pixelated.”

  “And there was nothing else?”

  “Well, he mentioned he was in Australia, and he would be back soon…”

  “Go on” said Freeman, as if he knew there was more.

  Darcy twisted her fingers together in h
er lap. “Well… he said that he was onto something big.”

  “Hmmm,” Freeman began, a small smile creeping across his face. “The plot thickens.”

  “What plot?” Darcy asked “Do you know why Paul was in Australia?”

  “Now that question I can answer,” said Freeman, turning his attention to Caleb. “He was there because of you, Captain Jackson.”

  Helen swung her feet to the side of the makeshift cot.

  The motion sensors detected her movement, and turned the lights on in the laboratory. The brightness of the almost completely white laboratory shocked Helen awake.

  For the third day in a row, she had slept where she worked. Knowing how critical the timing was on the project, she’d made sure she was never too far away from where she could be most effective. As soon as her part was complete, Phase Two could commence.

  This had been the fourth trial in as many months, with the results improving on each occasion. Ever since the Council had made the announcement during the previous year, that Phase Two was swiftly becoming necessary, Helen and her team had been working around the clock.

  She tied her long blonde hair back into a tight ponytail and put on her glasses. Rising to her feet, Helen was startled by the phone when it nearly vibrated off the injection chair she’d placed it on earlier. Luckily, she caught it in time. Glancing at the screen, her heart skipped a beat. It was the call she’d been waiting for.

  She pressed the ‘Accept’ button. “Did it work?”

  “Indeed, it did” came the reply.

  “The tests went okay?”

  “Better than okay. A one hundred percent survival rate.”

  “One hundred percent?” she repeated, a smile spreading across her face.

  “You’ve done it, Doctor.”

  “Excellent!” Helen exclaimed. Now she could turn her attention toward planning the next step. “When would you like me to start?” she asked.

  The caller paused for a split-second. “As soon as you are ready, Doctor.”

  Helen took a moment to think. She and her team knew exactly what was required for the task, they’d been planning for months. “We can start in an hour or so.”

  “Good. I’ll send word out to our off-site operatives, to start returning.”

  “That’s fine.”

  With that, the caller hung up.

  Helen stood up and began pacing around the room. She was so excited that it was all about to happen, she found she needed to use a minute to focus. “Okay… what needs to be done?” she asked herself.

  Taking a deep breath, Helen began her preparations. She grabbed the red scrubs she’d thrown on the end of the cot when she’d lain down to rest and put them on. Next, she put on her sneakers. Once dressed, Helen stood up and walked around the room, ensuring all the equipment was there, making mental notes as she went.

  Database… check.

  Delivery pods… check.

  Tourniquets… check.

  Radio… check.

  X-Ray… check.

  Anti-nausea… check.

  Everything was prepared and in the room.

  Almost everything.

  Helen picked up her phone and dialled a number.

  “Mmmm hmmm…” Helen’s weary assistant answered.

  “Jane…” Helen began.

  “What is it, Doctor?” Jane replied, and Helen could hear the sleepiness disappear from her voice when she realized who was calling.

  “Jane… come to the lab,” Helen said, pausing for effect. “It’s time.”

  Darcy sat in shocked silence.

  “Did you just say I was the reason Paul was in Australia?” Caleb asked sharply.

  “Indeed I did, lad,” Freeman replied, sounding smug.

  “I don’t understand. I barely know the guy,” Caleb protested. “I only ever met him a couple of times, at social events with Darcy.”

  “What do you know of Paul?” Freeman questioned.

  “Very little. We didn’t have much in common to be honest. And he seemed a bit…” Caleb paused.

  “No, please,” Freeman said, “go on.”

  Caleb shrugged. “I guess I just didn’t trust him.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it was because whenever I was with Darcy, and Paul was there… I just thought he was… paying too much attention to what I was doing.”

  “Really?” Darcy questioned. “I didn’t notice”

  “I just thought he was jealous or something… as if he had a thing for Darc.”

  Freeman studied the two people in front of him, but Darcy grew impatient with his silence.

  “Mr. Freeman…” she began, “where is Paul? And why was he interested in Caleb?”

  Freeman seemed slightly affronted by her directness. “As I’m sure you will appreciate Ms. Chamberlain; I can’t tell you much. But I’ll tell you what I can.” Freeman began with an infuriating pause before taking a sip of his coffee. “A few days after I began here, Paul came to me about a story he’d been working on. A story about you, Captain Jackson.”

  Caleb leant in, wanting to make sure he got every detail. The fact that he was somehow involved in this situation only made him more edgy about what might be going on.

  “Or rather, it started being about you. You see, Paul’s a very good journalist. Like a bloodhound. Once he gets a sniff of something, he doesn’t let anything get in his way. While I’m not sure of the reasons why he started looking into you, Captain – whether they were personal or professional – it would seem his research led him down a particular path. Without giving away too much, he knew you were a Marine, and that you became something… more. That you’d become involved in something more… important.” Freeman paused and took another sip of the coffee, much to Caleb’s annoyance.. “It became apparent, Captain,” he continued, “that you were involved in what the media would dub ‘Black Ops’. You were doing things that were not officially sanctioned by the powers-that-be in Washington. Would that be correct?”

  “What makes you think that?” Caleb asked cautiously.

  Freeman spun around in his chair and opened the top drawer of a filing cabinet behind him. He pulled out a beige-coloured manila folder, the only notation on the front being ‘Jackson’.

  “Holy shit! You have a file of him?” Darcy asked, now visibly angry. “What is going on?”

  “Relax, Ms. Chamberlain,” Freeman said, opening the file.

  The first page was standard. A copy of Caleb’s basic information, beginning from the day he joined the Marines, listing his first Commanding Officer and other basic records.

  The next sheet contained a brief memorandum. It stated that Caleb was being transferred to a different division.

  “Where’s the rest?” Darcy asked, curious to see what other information Freeman and Paul had collected.

  “This is it, Ms. Chamberlain. These are the only two pages we could find about your boyfriend. Naturally, Paul’s curiosity was piqued.”

  Caleb knew why there was no more information. It was standard practice that an officer’s name be removed from any and all communication and documentation. Caleb and his team were off-the-grid, and their missions couldn’t be permitted to be traced back, either to the government or the military.

  Darcy read the short file intently before she turned to Caleb. “Can you tell us anything?”

  Caleb met her gaze, squeezing her leg, he tried to reassure her with his eyes. He wanted to tell her more, but not with Freeman in the room.

  Caleb changed the subject. “None of this explains why Paul was in Australia.”

  “Indeed it doesn’t” Freeman agreed. “All Paul said, was that it was connected to the work he was doing on the ‘Black-Ops’ thing. In fact, I was hoping you could shed some light on it. Can I ask, both of you, what made you come here today? Has Paul found something important?”

  “I’m not sure”, began Darcy. “You know everything we do”

  Darcy wasn’t sure she bel
ieved what she’d just said, in fact, she was certain that Caleb knew more than he had told her or Freeman. But she knew Caleb wasn’t going to open up in front of Freeman.

  “Thank you for your time,” Darcy said, getting to her feet, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

  Caleb stood up.

  “Are you sure you can’t tell me anything more?” Freeman asked, giving one last attempt at gathering information for the story.

  Darcy shook her head. “If you hear from Paul, just let me know. I’m a bit worried about him.” Darcy admitted.

  “Very well… good day” Freeman said cordially.

  “Thanks” said Caleb.

  Out of listening range of Freeman’s office, Darcy opened her mouth to question Caleb as soon as they got in the elevator. Caleb put up his hand to silence her. He didn’t want to talk in front of others, especially people who shared and revealed information for a living. “Babe… just wait ‘til we get to the car, okay?” Caleb urged.

  Darcy nodded, even though she was bursting with questions.

  When they left the building, Caleb glanced around, again making mental notes and comparing who and what he saw now, to what he’d seen when they’d arrived. Only a few minor changes, but none of the cars were similar from their previous stops.

  They left the building, got in Caleb’s car, and drove away.

  “Okay, Caleb… time to tell me something,” Darcy began, before the car had travelled more than ten yards.

  “Okay…” Caleb stated, “Just give me a second...” He began typing a location into his GPS system, setting it to run before he glanced across at Darcy. “I hope you’ve packed enough for the night, we’re going for a drive”