“What’s on your mind, old friend?” Flip asked as he adjusted himself in the bed.
Suddenly Lionel didn’t know how to broach the subject. He finally decided the straight forward way was best.
“Flip, I’ve been wondering. Are you in touch with them?”
Flip sat up a little straighter in bed, a look of puzzlement on his face. “In touch with them? With whom? I’m not sure what you mean.”
“With the Kindred — with the children.” Lionel corrected himself.
“Ah, ol’ boy, from what I understand, the children are gone.” Flip replied, a hurt look growing on his face. “I know I don’t really know my children yet, having slept through their first two-plus years. It still seems a little callous of you to ask me about them while they’ve been kidnapped by one of their own, or by some other dark force we know nothing about.”
“I’m sorry, Flip. You’re right,” Lionel replied. “The question wasn’t intended to bring up any bad memories; it’s just that…well…”
“Well what?” Flip interrupted. “What are you trying to say?”
“Alp.”
“What about Alp? That’s the girl that’s supposed to have come from my liaison with Madame Sarrah, right? I’m sorry, but I don’t know her. We’ve not yet met.”
“Did she come to you? Did she heal you?”
“What?” Flip asked. “How would I know? Remember, Lionel, I’ve been asleep…in a coma.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Lionel face flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Flip. I didn’t mean to upset you. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sure thing. Sounds like you could use a good night sleep as well.”
As the door closed behind his old friend, Flip reached for the bed controls and began to lower himself down. “That was a close one,” he muttered as he closed his eyes.
“Oh no,” Alp exclaimed so vehemently that James glanced over at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s my sisters,” Alp said, remembering to use the radio this time. She craned her neck to look towards the rear of the helicopter. “Some of them are waking up.”
“Oh shit, you’re right; not the best timing in the world.”
Alp replied, “I’m going to go check on them.” But before she could do so, James blocked her path with his arm.
“Stay in your seat and stay buckled in. We’re about to run into turbulence. You could be thrown around in the aircraft and hurt yourself.”
“But I need to release them. They’re freaking out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but they were tied in securely before we left, and they need to stay tied for now. They’re much safer like that than if you untied them. You’ll just have to calm them down some other way.”
Alp nodded slowly. She hated to admit it, but James made sense. Besides, she wasn’t without her own means of being with her sisters.
Hello. This is Alp. I don’t know that we’ve actually met before. I’m sorry you’ve awoken to such uncomfortable accommodations…”
You’re the other one that came with Mel, aren’t you?
Yes, how did you know?
I’m Tabitha. I’m the one that made contact with him first.
Something that she won’t let the rest of us forget. Another voice broke in.
And who are you? Alp asked.
I’m Kristin Phillips. Good to meet you…
And I’m Mia, a third voice chimed in. Please to meet you, Alp.
Enough with the niceties, Tabitha interrupted. Come untie us. It’s bloody awful here.
I’m sorry, I’m not able to do that just yet. Let me explain. You were all drugged and tied up by one of the doctors back at the lab, then placed on a helicopter which is where you are now.
Holy hell, Kristin shouted. Where are we being taken?
I’m not sure, Alp replied as calmly as possible. At the moment we’re over a large body of water called the Atlantic Ocean on the way to an island called Bermuda.
We know our geography. We’ve been in intensive classes for over a year, Tabitha remarked sarcastically. Bermuda is actually about 140 small islands.
That’s good to know, Alp thought, then realized she’d conveyed that to her sisters. Time to start practicing guarding her thoughts just in case.
So why the hell can’t you come untie us? Kristin asked.
Well, we’re trying to outrun a storm. Our pilot, James, is afraid it could get bumpy, and you might be injured.
This is ridiculous, Tabitha shouted. Who the hell is in charge here…you or James?
Alp didn’t answer at first. She did have the gun but despite that it did feel like at the moment James knew more what to do so he’d taken charge.
Well, we both are. We’re trying to work together so everyone will be okay.
A stern voice Alp didn’t recognize suddenly came across the radio interrupting the conversation with her sisters.
“Unidentified aircraft flying in U.S. airspace heading one, three, zero degrees at, a thousand feet. This is Coast Guard cutter, Tuckahoe. You are instructed to break off your flight and to return to Cherry Point Marine Corp Air Station. If you do not comply, we will take aggressive actions.”
“Oh, shit,” James shouted loud enough to be heard without the radio.
“What’s going on?” Alp asked, her voice rising in pitch. “What did they mean?”
James didn’t answer. The helicopter dropped from the sky and made a violent turn to the right and left. James strained to look over his shoulder.
Alp felt her bottom try to leave the seat as her harness snap tight around her. Her stomach flipped-flopped. The violent turning of the helicopter threw her head against the back of the seat as her helmet flew forward on her head, throwing her into darkness. A few seconds later, as things settled down, she adjusted the helmet. She reached out with one foot and pressed the radio button.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“We’ve been tagged by the Coast Guard. I don’t know if they have a visual or see us on radar, but they know we’re here.”
Lionel glanced around Franklin’s office where they had decided to meet after leaving Flip’s room. He wondered how anyone could spend as much time in an office as Franklin had over the years without it reflecting more of his personality. He then realized that the sterile professional appearance of the room pretty much did reflect Franklin’s dry, non-artistic approach to work and life.
“I guess you all are wondering why I called you here,” he said with a chuckle and smile.
“Ah, Lionel, sweetie, we know exactly why we’re meeting,” Bridgette replied. “We’ve got to come up with a plan to find the children.”
“What did you find out from Flip?” Denise asked.
The two women sat next to each other on the black and tan houndstooth sofa leaving two matching chairs for Lionel to choose from. He sat in the one closest to Bridgette, basking in the warm feeling of her closeness. The pain meds the infirmary nurse had given him for his burned hands hadn’t done nearly as much to relieve his discomfort as being close to Bridgette did.
“Unfortunately, not much,” Lionel replied to Denise’s question. “He denied knowing anything about Alp or being in touch with the children.”
“What did you expect him to say?” Bridgette asked.
“Well, we’ve pretty much established that one of the special powers of the children is their ability to communicate with each other psychically. And if that’s true then I think it’s also possible that Flip, their father, might have a similar connection to them.”
The two women sat up straighter, a hopeful look growing on their face for the first time in hours.
“Then, he could be in touch with them, even as we speak,” Denise added.
“Well, yes, except he denied any such connection,” Lionel said, then added, “But I’m not sure he’s telling me the truth.”
“But why would he lie?” Bridgette asked. “I mean, you’re his
best friend.”
“Yes, that’s true, but Flip has always had a tendency to keep his personal life private, even from me. I mean, I didn’t know about the many ladies he had around the country until this whole mess happened.”
“So, now what?” Denise asked.
“Well, I’ll keep looking into this,” Lionel said. “I remembered on the way down that Flip’s room has been under video surveillance. If something did happen between Alp and him, it will show on the video.”
“And I think we need to pull someone else in to help us find the kids,” Denise said as she stood up and stretched.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Bridgette asked, stifling a yawn herself.
“Yes, I have a college friend. We’ve lost touch over the years, but I know at one time she worked for a governmental agency in some type of top secret investigative work. Last I heard she’d gone out on her own as a private investigator in the Charlotte area. Her name is Pat Vogt.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give her a call,” Lionel said. He could feel a thick blanket of fatigue begin to creep over him.
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Denise replied,“since I’ve already placed a call to her office.”
“Maybe she could look into Mel’s disappearance as well,” Lionel added.
“Well, maybe, but priority is the girls,” Bridgette said. “Bad pennies tend to show up on their own.”
“True,” Lionel said with a chuckle. “Okay, I guess that’s settled. Let me know when you hear from her. Any word on Chickowski?” He asked though he really didn’t much care what happened to his former colleague.
“Yeah,” Denise replied. “Chunk called from Duke where Chickowski was taken. He’s in surgery now to have the bullet removed. Evidently it was very close to severing his femoral artery but just missed. If it had, he would have bled to death out there in the parking lot. Even so, he lost a lot of blood. Chickowski’s lucky to be alive.”
“Yes, and he’ll have the added good fortune to spend the next several years in prison,” Lionel added.
“That’s true,” Denise said, “So, I guess he’s not so lucky after all.”
Chase
Flip laid in bed gazing out the window as the late afternoon sun retired from a warm glow to darkness. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath of flowery scented air. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed the many fragrances of this world. The flowers reminded him of women’s perfumes, those unique fragrances that marked each woman as they entered a room for the first time.
Not long after his friends had left, a new nurse came in with his evening meal. This one was much younger and more attractive than the first one. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a neat bun with a blue ribbon, revealing small studded earrings, and a butterfly tattoo on her neck. In another life, Flip knew she would have been a perfect candidate for some serious flirting, but now, with all that had passed in the last years, flirting seemed to be a waste of energy.
“Are you awake, Mr. MacDougal?” the nurse asked in a soft, melodic voice. “It’s time for your evening meal.”
“Yes, I’m awake,” he answered as he tried to sit up in bed, but found he was still too weak to make much progress. “Please, call me Flip. Mr. MacDougal just makes me feel old.”
“Okay, Flip it is.” The nurse placed the tray of food on the bedstand and walked over to the bed controls. She raised him up to a comfortable position for eating, then pushed the stand across his bed. “There you go. Is that comfy? Can you reach everything?”
“Yes, though I’m not all that hungry,” Flip replied. He hated the sterile, bland food served in hospitals and other institutions.
“Oh, I think you’ll enjoy what we have for you tonight. It’s chipped beef on toast with a side order of cottage cheese.”
Ugh, just as I thought.
“Really, no thanks. Could I just have something to drink?”
Without replying, the nurse reached across and removed the cover from the dish. As she did so, the aroma of Asian food entered Flip’s nostrils, awaking fond memories, as well as his appetite. There before him was a plate full of Moo Goo Gai Pan—the same dish that he and Lionel had shared from Yu-Lung's Chinese Pagoda over two years ago. As he gazed down at the snow peas, mushrooms, and bits of chicken, his mouth started to water.
“Your friend thought you’d enjoy eating off our customary menu,” the young nurse said as she reached over and placed a napkin under Flip’s chin. “I’ll be right back with your tea. Enjoy.”
The Black Hawk settled way too close to the blue-green ocean water for Alp’s comfort. It felt like any second a wave might leap up and slap them out of the sky. The air inside the craft was suddenly supercharged; the dusty smell of oil and burning petro mixed with sweat and fear.
“What are we going to do?” Alp asked.
Alp saw a sudden flash very close outside her window as the helicopter shook violently. “What was that?”
James didn’t answer at first but continued to maintain his course.
“Black Hawk, this is Air National Guard Stalk-52 on guard. You are hereby directed to change course and head to Cherry Point Marine Corp Air Station. Failure to comply with these instructions and you will be shot down.”
Alp felt the blood drain from her face.
“James, what are we going to do?”
“Damn,” James spit out the word like it had a bad taste. “Not looking good. They mean business. That’s a damn F-16 after us.”
“But we can’t do what they say,” Alp replied. “We can’t go back.”
“No, we can’t,” James agreed. As he glanced over his shoulder in an attempt to see the jet, he moved even closer to the water and accelerated at the same time.
“I can’t be caught. They have so much on me that I doubt I’d even get a trial. It would be straight to Guantanamo or worse. We’re going to have to try to out think them.”
“Okay, good,” Alp replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“The squall line is just a mile or so off to my right. I’m going to turn into it. It’ll force the F-16 to break off, and they’ll lose visual and radar contact.”
Before Alp could answer, she received another message.
Alp! Tabitha says she’s picking up thoughts from the pilot and they aren’t good. Is she just making that up? Mia asked the question. It felt good to be able to recognize the different voices of her sisters.
No, I’m afraid she might be doing just that, Alp replied. We’re in a bit of trouble here. Hang on. I’ll keep you posted as best I can.
“Oh, okay. That sounds better,” Alp replied back to James with a sigh of relief, then asked. “Can we make it to it? Won’t they try to stop us?”
“Oh, shit!” James shouted. In the same moment, a circular display illuminated on the dashboard in front of them with a line in the center of it.
“What in the heck is that?” Alp asked pointing to the dashboard.
Before James could answer, a voice came on over the headset.
“This is Air National Guard Stalk-52, if you do not turn and immediately comply, I will shoot you down.”
“The F-16 has locked us on radar and is preparing to fire, and these guys don’t make idle threats.”
Alp, what’s going on up there? Is everything okay? It was Mia asking the question.
No, I’m afraid not. We’ve another aircraft behind us threatening to shoot us down if we don’t return to the mainland.
Then why don’t we land? Tabitha asked.
Before Alp could answer, Kirstin asked, How will they shoot us down?
Alp conveyed her question to James.
“With a missile,” James replied. “Most likely a Sidewinder.”
Alp conveyed that information to Kirstin.
I may be able to help, but you have to let me know as soon as the missile is fired.
Okay, will do. But how in the world…?
But before she could get her thought out, the light on the dash
board started flashing.
James shouted, “Shit, hold on. Here it comes!”
The helicopter twisted first to the left and back to the right in an attempt to shake the heat seeking missile.
It’s coming! Alp shouted to her sisters. Hold on!
“I can’t shake the mother fucker,” James cursed. He glanced over at Alp, a look of desperation slipping onto his normally calm face. “Sorry, Alp.”
The missile roared by them and spun off into the squall.
“What the…?” James asked. “It missed us. Those fuckers never miss.”
Alp and James looked at each other in astonishment and relief. They were still alive, at least for a few more minutes.
I did it! Kirstin shouted to her sisters. I really did it.
Did what? Tabitha asked.
You know that lamp that I sent across the room back in our dorm? Well, I’ve been wanting to try doing that with larger objects. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to put my efforts to the test. I waited until the missile was close enough and I managed to push its nose just enough so it missed us.
Alp turned back to James. “I don’t think that was simply good luck. One of my sisters said she made it miss us.”
James looked incredulously at her. “She what? Really? Is that possible?”
“Well, what can I say? We’re a very talented family.” And I’m just now beginning to learn just how talented, Alp thought.
Flip was surprised to find he had a better appetite than he’d thought at first, finishing off more than half of the Moo Goo Gai Pan and all of the shrimp egg roll. He lay in bed with a satisfying fullness as he sipped on a second cup of green tea and watched the day turn to night.
The nurse returned to remove his dishes. She walked over to the window to pull the curtains closed.
“Please, could you leave them open?” Flip asked. “I like looking out on the night.”
“Sure, Mr. Mac…I mean Flip. Is there anything else I can get you?”
“No, I have the bed control. I’ll let myself down in a little while.”
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