Jimmy's Dreams: Some Dreams Are Nightmares

by Saxon Andrew

  “Perhaps I can answer that.”

  Carter turned around and saw the woman he’d been searching for standing behind him. “It’s good to finally meet you, Miss Callahan.”

  The woman nodded, “Likewise; you’re here because of the four men that were killed in Washington.” Carter nodded. “They attacked me. It was self-defense.”

  Carter waved his hand, “That’s a given; no one doubts that issue. It’s the way you killed them that caused me to be sent here.”

  “What do you mean?” Suzette asked.

  “The ball bearings that did them in were magnetized and no one could determine how you did it. The scientists were shocked out of their trees. I left them whooping around in circles throwing crap at each other.”

  Suzette giggled and the woman said, “Sir, we need to do this!”

  “Wait just a moment, Kellie.” She looked at Carter and said, “What if I were to tell you that your chasing around looking for me is all just a big waste of time. That there are far more important things coming up that you should be focusing on.”

  “I’d probably agree with you. I’ve come up empty but I’ve been ordered not to go home without you. I have to say that the military and my boss have decided that whatever weapon you used to kill them has something to do with the magnetic fields in our satellites.”

  Suzette frowned, “Why are you telling me this? That could get you killed.”

  Carter glanced at the woman behind him and turned back to Suzette, “I don’t know what you’re up to but I’m pretty much fed up with the politics that had me sent here for no good reason. I lost my girlfriend, my apartment, and pretty much everything that had meaning in my life.” He looked at the woman sitting next to him again and said to Suzette, “I’m hoping before you kill me that you’ll tell me something that would at least make me feel my life has been worth something, because I gotta tell ya, so far it’s been a waste.” He shrugged, “If you have a weapon like Dr. Sweeny described and you have Special Forces personnel working for you, then I really don’t hold any real importance in what’s happening. I suspect I’m just bait to see if you take it.”

  “Did you say Dr. Sweeny?”

  “I did.”

  “And he didn’t tell you anything about technological magnetic applications?”

  Carter’s eyes narrowed, “No, he didn’t.”

  Suzette smiled, “Good for the old Doctor. Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?”

  “Suzette!”

  “Be quiet, Kellie; do you?”

  “Of course. I was a traffic officer before I joined the Bureau.”

  “What’s the most important value you hold dear to your heart.”

  Carter thought for a moment, and then said, “To make those who prey on others pay for their crimes.”

  Suzette looked out at the crowed bar and waved her hand across it, “All of the people you see here will be dead in a little over a year from now.” Carter’s eyes narrowed. “My organization is determined to make the ones that cause their deaths pay for their actions. Is that something you could get on board with?”

  Carter turned and looked at Kellie, “Is she telling the truth?”

  Kellie looked at Suzette and said as she shook her head, “Yes, she is; but bringing you into the fold is not a wise thing to do.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’re nothing more than a dangerous bureaucrat,” the woman sneered.

  Carter stared at her and then nodded, “You’re probably right about that.” He turned to Suzette and said, “If you can prove to me what you’re saying is true, I think that is something worth fighting for.”

  Kellie looked at her cellphone’s screen and said, “Rachel has found the one keeping tabs on Agent Wonder Boy here.”

  Carter’s eyes widened and Suzette nodded, “You’ve been watched the entire time you’ve been here; you’re right about being bait. Will you come with me and allow me to show you what I’m talking about? If you don’t find what you’re seeking…”

  “Then your assassin here will cancel my plane ticket home.”

  Suzette tilted her head and Carter looked around the bar at the young people having a good time and nodded. “You need to leave your cellphone here,” Suzette said.

  Carter took it out of his pocket and dropped it in his beer. Suzette looked at Kellie, “You and Rachel take care of the scout?”

  “Are you sure about this, Suzette?”

  Suzette looked at Carter and he saw the other woman stand up behind him ready to strike, “Kellie, he has shown remarkable bravery and we need people like that. It’s a very rare commodity. We’ll meet you outside.”

  Kellie stared at Carter with narrow eyes and then backed off. She walked into the crowd, and disappeared. Suzette smiled, “Come with me.”

  Carter followed her outside really believing that he would be able to escape and notify the Bureau about what was going on; but…six hours later, he knew that was never going to happen.

  • • •

  “Sir, we’ve lost Agent Carter and the Agent we had keeping tabs on him has also turned up missing.”

  “Where were they when they disappeared?”

  “Zurich.”

  The Director hung up and had a connection made to his counterpart in Geneva. He began issuing instructions and was interrupted, “So you’ve managed to lose two of your agents?”

  The Director hesitated and then said, “Yes!”

  “Why don’t you have some of the Auditors you’ve shoved down our throats look for them in the accounts they’re examining.” The phone line went dead and the Director knew there would be no help coming from the Swiss. He contacted the President’s Chief-of-Staff and he promised the President would make a call the next day. The Director waited and had the forces he was going to send to Switzerland put on standby.

  The Chief-of-Staff called the next day and said, “The President was told to take a long hike off a short pier. He was also told that if we send in agents without clearing it with them first, they will close our embassy. The Swiss are incredibly angry about our forcing them to open their banks to United Nations scrutiny. It looks like you’ve lost your boys.”

  “What about the CIA, they have assets there?”

  “Make the call if you want but you had better not cause an international incident over this or there will be a new Director.”

  The Director heard the only words that could make him back off; he was not going to put his job in jeopardy. He ordered a stand-down and lost the support of all the agents that saw his action as pure cowardice.

  • • •

  Sixty days later, a bearded Carter zipped his leather jacket and looked at Kellie, “Thank you for not killing me.”

  “Blame it on Suzette.”

  “Still, thank you. I know you were going to do it in spite of her orders and chose not to do so at the last minute.”

  Kellie smiled as she cranked her motorcycle and then sighed, “It would be a terrible waste of good man-flesh to have done it. I see after the fact that you were worth saving.”

  Carter tilted his head and smiled as he cranked the BMW motorcycle, “Oh, you think I’m pretty?”

  “Will you just shut up and let it go! You need to learn how to get out of this valley.”

  The bike engine roared to life and Carter looked at Kellie, “I think you’re pretty fabulous, too.”

  Kellie rolled her eyes and then accelerated up the trail toward the top of the mountain. When they arrived at the top, she put the kickstand down, walked over to Carter, and kissed him, “I’m glad I didn’t kill you, too.” Carter pulled her into his arms and knew his life was going to be far better than before he left the States.

  • • •

  It was 2016 and Nicky packed his bags and left for the airport. He booked a flight to France where he was going to work with a close friend in the Paris Observatory. It’s 83 mm refractor was plenty powerful to track the asteroids and plot their paths. The Earth would make the turn into win
ter in another three weeks and that is when they would show up…if he was right about the timing and that was certainly not something he was positive about. But it made sense that who or whatever was doing this would start them moving while Earth was on the other side of the sun. He didn’t want to be in the United States when they were seen. If he was wrong about the timing, he could always go back to Palomar.

  He wondered if he was going to need to put out an announcement about them but decided he would wait. With the hundreds of observatories around the world and open access to the internet, someone would blow the whistle. If not, he had a Facebook account. He thought about the coming impacts and knew that all three of the giant rocks were planet killers. But if Jimmy was right about the impact sites, only one of them was more dangerous. Two of them were going to hit in deep oceans and, though the resulting tidal waves would be catastrophic, the cushioning effect of the water would reduce the impact. It was the one hitting in the center of the United States that was going to be the real assassin. It would shake Earth to its core and set off volcanos and earthquakes all over the planet. The super-volcano in Yellowstone is what would do the most atmospheric damage.

  He closed the cover over the window, leaned his chair back the three inches it would travel, and closed his eyes. He imagined the impacts and knew there was nothing most of Earth’s population could do but sit back and watch their death approaching. He knew the last few days would be total anarchy. He opened his eyes and raised the cover. This nightmare vision was too much and he didn’t want to see it anymore. But…every time he closed his eyes it was there. The passenger sitting next to him said, “Are you ok?”

  Nicky looked at him, “Bad dream.” The lady nodded and went back to her Cosmo Magazine.

  • • •

  “Sir, I’ve received a report from Paul Robinson Observatory in New Jersey that three asteroids have been sighted and appear to be on a collision course with Earth.”

  The Chief-of-Staff said, “WHAT?”

  “Yes, Sir. The smallest is forty-miles in diameter.”

  “GET CONFIRMATION ON THIS NOW!!”

  “Sir, I contacted Aker Observatory in Arizona and Palomar Observatory in California, both have confirmed the Asteroids. They say that they are too far out to determine if their trajectories will impact Earth but all three say it will be extremely close.”

  The Chief picked up the red phone and pressed a button. It was six-thirty in the morning in Washington but he didn’t care. A sleepy voice answered and he began talking.

  • • •

  It was seven-thirty pm and Tom went to the cafeteria. He looked around and quickly walked over to Jimmy and Summer, who were having a late dinner. He whispered into Jimmy’s ear and he stood up and followed Tom out. Summer left her tray, picked up Ayet out of his high chair and ran to catch up. “What’s going on?”

  “The President of the United States and several of his Cabinet members are on the phone, Summer.”

  Summer looked at Jimmy and he sighed as they walked quickly toward the control center, “It appears the asteroids have been sighted; I can’t think of any other reason why they would be calling.”

  They arrived in the control center and Jimmy saw the flashing light on his console. He sat down, took a deep breath, and pressed it, “This is Dr. Caspari.”

  “Dr. Caspari, I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad moment.”

  “I was having a late dinner and I apologize for the time you had to wait. To what do I owe the honor of this call, Mr. President?”

  “I’m going to allow the Director of the FBI to explain, if you don’t mind?”

  “Go right ahead.”

  The Director moved closer to the speaker phone and said, “It is my belief that your secret organization has caused three large asteroids to move out of the Asteroid Belt and head on a path to impact Earth.”

  There was a very long moment of silence and the President said, “Dr. Caspari, are you still there?”

  “I am, Mr. President. I apologize but I don’t know which statement the Director just made that shocked me most. Are you saying three asteroids are going to impact Earth?”

  The Director sneered, “You can stop your acting. We know you caused it.”

  Again there was a long moment of silence and Jimmy asked, “Just how big are these asteroids and when will they be arriving?”

  The Director rolled his eyes and The President’s Chief-of-Staff said, “The smallest is forty-miles in diameter. They’ll be arriving about eleven months from now.”

  “Are you sure they’re on an impact trajectory?”

  “Will you can it and tell us how you did it?!” the Director shouted.

  There was a very long moment of silence and Jimmy said, “Just how did you come up with this insane notion that I had anything to do with this?”

  The Director sneered, “I’ve learned that you developed magnetic technology while you were working on your doctorate at MIT. I know there are advanced magnetic weapons and the person that used one flew back to Switzerland, where two of my agents disappeared. You’ve been building a secret installation in the Alps and you obviously developed the necessary devices to make this happen. Don’t try to deny it. You’re a power mad person intent on dominating the world after the impacts and we will not allow you to get away with it!”

  There was a very long moment of silence and the President said, “Dr. Caspari?”

  “I’m still here, Mr. President. I’m just shaking my head wondering how you have someone in your Cabinet who obviously has the IQ of a turnip. Do you have anyone around you with the intelligence of a small tree?”

  The Director’s face turned bright red and the President said, “Who is your science contact?”

  The Director was about to start screaming but the President’s request stopped him. He pressed a phone next to him and said, “Gracie, link Dr. Sweeny in to this call immediately.”

  The room was silent for three minutes and then Dr. Sweeny said, “I’m here. How can I help you?”

  The President said, “Dr. Sweeny, I have a Dr. Caspari on the line to discuss an issue and I would appreciate your insights into our discussion.”

  “Hello, James. It’s been a long time. Why haven’t you visited?”

  “You know how it is. Once you leave college and begin a career, it’s just so hard to break away.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. I have the same…”

  The Director shouted, “Well the two of you shut up. You can call each other afterwards and small talk to your hearts content!”

  The line went silent and then the President looked at the Director, “Tell Dr. Sweeny the allegations you’ve leveled against Dr. Caspari.”

  The FBI Director repeated them and the room was silent. After a very long moment, Jimmy said, “I told them he has the IQ of a turnip. I was probably wrong to do so.”

  “You were. It’s more like tomato,” Sweeny responded.

  The Director stood up and the Chief-of-Staff said, “SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!”

  The President said, “Tell me what you mean, Dr. Sweeny.”

  “It is true that Dr. Caspari developed a small magnetic battery while working here. But the power to move an object out of the Asteroid Belt from Earth is impossible.” The Director opened his mouth and the President said, “Please elaborate on why.”

  “To move even a very small piece of dust as far out as the Asteroid Belt, it would take a highly focused intense magnetic field that would need to be maintained for more than a week to arrive there with any strength,” Dr. Sweeny replied.

  “Why do you say that’s not possible?”

  “Mr. President, a highly focused intense magnetic field that powerful would destroy Earth on the side of the planet it was used.”

  “WHAT?”

  “That field would have to be so powerful to reach that far out that it would obliterate the magnetic field around Earth that protects it from cosmic rays and solar storms. It would destroy every electronic dev
ice and metallic object for thousands of miles around it and the damage would increase exponentially the longer it was operated.” There was a pause and Sweeny said, “If you took the entire magnetic field around Earth and multiplied it a million times, you would not have enough energy to move a three-pound rock as far out as Mars, much less the asteroid belt.”

  The Director moved back in his chair and the Chief-of-Staff said, “I’ve been told that a number of Satellites in orbit have been giving off magnetic fields and you took part in their construction, Dr. Caspari. The Director feels you have something to do with that.”

  “I do.”

  “You do?!”

  “I told them a few years back that magnetic clamps were used to focus the lenses on the newest weather satellites. When they draw power, they produce a magnetic field. I also told them when they contacted me about the military satellites giving off a magnetic field that it was probably being produced by a strong solar-wind or sunspot activity. Those satellites are not protected by Earth’s magnetic field.”

  The President looked at the Director, “Is that true?”

  “Yes, but our military experts say the magnetic fields are being produced artificially and show a distinct pattern.”

  The President shook his head and said, “Dr. Caspari, what are you building in Switzerland.”

  “We’re building two three-mile long tunnels underground to house two legs of a Gravity Wave detector. We needed a place where there was no traffic or jet noise to interfere with it. This was the most isolated place I could find.”

  The President said, “Dr. Sweeny?”

  “Sir, a Gravity Wave detector could detect a car-horn from ten miles away. Dr. Caspari, have you installed the lenses that will reflect the beams.”

  “We have and it’s critical that we keep out all noise. I’m hoping that I will be the first one to detect a Gravity Wave.”

  “That would insure your legacy in the Scientific Community.”