I didn't want to kill these men, especially here in public. Before I could answer the man, the cop car pulled up behind us, and just sat there. The woman cop had mirrored sunglasses on, so I couldn't see her eyes. As all three of us watched, she unlocked the shotgun rack on the console of her car.
The tall man gave me a nervous look. I ignored the woman, and focused on the two men. I could tell they were even more rattled than I was. I shook my head no, and said, "Sorry friend, we've never met!"
It was as if a moment of recognition hit him. I could sense as he went tense. The tall man and I were both ready to draw our weapons. The second seemed to freeze in time. I waited for him to move. He just seemed to stand there. Then he abruptly said, "Sorry! My mistake." Turned, and started to walk away.
The second security man with him looked as confused as I felt. He seemed to just stand there for a moment. Then he turned, and hurried away after the tall man. The cop just sat watching us all. After a second, I turned, and started back up the road. I walked right past Kathy, and kept going for two more streets.
Tim was sitting there in his van waiting for me to contact him. He knew right away that something was wrong. Popping open the lock on the passenger door, he waited for me to get seated. "What the hell happened" he asked. "Why did you bypass Kathy?"
"They made me!" I observed. "One of the security detail knows me somehow! There's also a woman cop who acts scarier than the toughs guarding the target."
"A cop?" Tim wondered aloud as he pulled the van out of the parking lot. We started back up the road toward Kathy. Seconds later, we drove by the parking lot. Kathy was still there, and now the cop's car was sitting next to hers, with the lights going. The cop was out of the car, and standing next to the driver’s window, talking to Kath. There was no sign of trouble. As we drove by slowly, I saw Kath shake hands with the cop. Then the cop simply walked away.
The building now blocked our view as we continued down the road. The cop was definitely freaking me out more than the two toughs. I felt like I had a large target painted on my back.
It took almost an hour to recall everyone. We all returned home by various preplanned routes, and Kathy was the last to arrive home. As soon as she arrived, I began to pepper her with questions.
Kathy seemed stunned by the meeting. She said the cop asked if Kathy knew me. The woman used my name! When Kathy denied knowing what she was talking about, the woman told her, "Tell Mike I’ll be in touch!" Then she shook hands with Kathy, and let her go. The entire series of events was very strange.
As a group, we all knew this was bad. Both our target, and the cops, were alerted now. We sat down for a full debriefing. Then we all took the rest of the day off to rest, and think about what we’d seen.
Standard operating procedure would be to stand down for three days. The target would be at full alert for at least that long. We would recon again, and set up a second hit. We each withdrew to think over what was happening. I went to bed that night with a feeling of impending doom.
The next morning we woke up and all sat down to breakfast. As we were finishing up, it became noticeable that Kathy hadn't joined us. Koda offered to check on her. After a few minutes, she returned, stating that Kathy had the flu, and was going to sleep in late.
It wasn't like Kath, but we all get sick sometimes, so I ignored my instincts. Something was already wrong. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I didn't see anyone the rest of the day. The estate is huge, and it was easy to not cross paths with anyone else. It was the next morning before I realized Kathy was gone.
I got up, and went into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. I had eaten, and as I walked past the command center, I realized Kath's car was gone from the parking lot. The security monitor clearly showed an empty spot where her car should have been.
I stood, debating what to do. I don't know why, but I was getting a really bad feeling from all of this.
That night at dinner time, I found Koda and Tim sitting at the table finishing their dinners. I stepped in as Koda said, "I haven't seen her since yesterday!"
"Are you talking about Kathy?" I asked as I stepped into the room.
Tim nodded, and asked, "Have you seen or heard from her since yesterday?"
"Not me," I replied. I started going over recent events in my head, trying to figure out why Kathy would leave without telling us. I wanted to go after her, but had no idea where to start. We had little choice, but to sit tight, and wait.
By dinner time, we were all worried. This got worse when Kathy called later, and talked to Tim. She told him she was with a doctor. She seemed to be really sick, and would see us tomorrow. Now we were all ready to go hunt her down.
As it got to be the end of the night, I sat talking to Tim. We had been talking about the aborted hit on the target. Tim looked right at me, and said, "There is something wrong here! There are pieces to this puzzle that don't fit!"
"You're right! We're missing something!" I agreed. "I get the feeling it's something big, like an invisible elephant in the room."
"What could we be missing?" he asked. We both sat there pondering for several minutes. In the end, we could do nothing but wait.
Chapter 8
Hearing Voices
I got up the next morning hoping Kathy would already be home. A quick check of the security cameras told me her car wasn't back. As I sat eating, the rest of the group filtered in. The conversation slowly turned to Kathy, and questions about what could be wrong.
We finished breakfast, and it was almost ten in the morning before I heard Kathy coming into the house. I walked into the living room, only to see her moving straight for her room down the hall. I yelled out, "Hey! I want to talk to you!"
"I'm sick! Go away!" she yelled over her shoulder.
I was walking along behind her. She stepped into her room, shut her door, and locked it. I tapped on the door, and she yelled, "I'm frikin sick! Go away dammit!"
Koda had just stepped into view, and I watched her eyebrows come up. I stepped up close to the door, but didn't hear any signs of life coming through. I finally turned, and walked out to where Koda stood waiting.
"Awful jumpy! Isn't she?" Koda wondered aloud.
I stood, debating what was going on. Tim came walking in from the command center, and said, "We have a car in the driveway!"
Koda joined Shooter and myself as we went in to look at the security monitors. Sure enough, there was a car in the driveway. I recognized it right away as belonging to Dr. Lisa Maginty. A moment later I saw Lisa on another monitor as she stepped up to the front door of the house.
I got to the door just as she started to knock. As soon as I opened the door, Lisa said, "Don't touch me Mike! I may be contaminated!"
"What the hell do you mean, contaminated?" I asked.
I had backed into the house, and she followed with her hands up. She said, "Kathy came to me with a fever, and started having delusions. She's got something Mike, and I think I do to. Don't touch us, just keep back." She looked around and said, "I'm looking for Kathy! Where is she?"
I pointed deeper into the house, saying, "She's in her room! She just got her a little bit ago!"
"She says she's hearing voices!" said Lisa. "I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself!"
I was already moving down the hallway toward her room. The rest of the group followed me through the house till I got to Kath's room, and tapped on the door.
"Hey Kath! I want to talk to you!" I loudly announced to the door.
"Go away!" she yelled back. "I don't want to hurt you!"
The door snapped on my first kick. The frame splintered as it came apart. I stepped in wondering what to expect, and was shocked to find her huddled on the floor. She looked like she was having a drug withdrawal. My first instinct was to try and pick her up off the floor. She began screaming at me to get away.
Lisa was adamant that we should all get out, and leave them alone. I was sent out, with Koda, Tim, and Shooter in tow. About ten minutes passed, before Lis
a stepped out. She said, "I've given Kathy a shot to calm her down. If you’ll just let us leave, I’ll take her to my clinic, and try to figure this out."
"What's going on here, Lisa?" I demanded.
"I think it's transmitted through touch, like a virus!" Lisa replied quietly, almost to herself. "I touched her hand when she first saw me. Thirty hours later, the same virus began showing up in my blood tests. It had to be that initial contact where I caught it!"
"From a single contact?" questioned Shooter. "In less than two days?"
"It's distinct," Lisa replied. "I have no doubt it's the same strain of virus. It's structured like an enzyme. I can't understand what it's doing!" I watched her suddenly shiver. She had sweat on her brow. It appeared obvious she had a bad fever.
Turning to Tim. I said, "I want you to reach out! Get Bugs on the line! Tell him we need help! Tell him... Tell him Kathy is in danger, and needs him!" Tim nodded, and disappeared down the hall.
Bugs was the last person on the team that I trained. He was a chemical warfare expert, and still worked for the fine folks in Washington. If he got caught helping us, he would be ruined. I didn't want to involve him, but saw little choice
At this point, my day went down the road to a very strange place!
Lisa looked up at me and said, "You shouldn't get your friend Bugs involved. Let me try to take care of her. I'm already infected! I don't want to risk any more lives!"
The remark caught me totally off guard. "What do you know about Bugs?" I asked.
"I know all about him," she replied in a faltering voice.
Every red flag in my brain started waving. "How the hell to you know all about Bugs?" I demanded. "Bill never knew him! He was a private contact! Only Tim and I knew about him!"
Lisa had raised her hands to her face, covering her eyes. I wanted to reach out and grab her, but resisted the temptation. She abruptly said, "Don't be angry at me Mike! I don't know how I know! I just know!"
I distinctly thought, "Bullshit!" to myself.
"No! It's not bullshit! I don't know how I know!" Her hands covered her face, but I could tell she was crying, almost hysterical.
I stood frozen in place, taking in what just happened. I distinctly thought, "Calm down Lisa!"
"You calm down!" screamed Kathy from the other room. "We're the ones that are sick!"
I took a deliberate step back, and thought, "Can you hear me Kathy!"
Instantly Kathy yelled out, "Of course I hear you dammit!" Lisa looked up out of her hands. She had an odd expression on her face. I suspect it mirrored my own.
I looked at Lisa, and thought, "Can you hear me Lisa?"
The color drained from her face. For a second, I thought she would collapse. I almost grabbed for her, and she dodged back away from me, yelling "Get back! Don't touch me!"
I instantly turned to Koda, standing down the hallway, and yelled, "Tell Tim to hurry! I want Bugs here right away! Tell Tim I'm initiating a doomsday protocol! Have him to tell Bugs what I'm doing!" By now, Koda was out of sight. I turned back to Lisa, and could clearly see the terror etched in her face.
Trying to calm my own panic, I clearly thought, "Kathy! Please come to the door!" Lisa's face flushed bright red. She could obviously hear my thoughts. Through the wrecked door frame, I heard Kathy stir. After a second, she peeked out.
Her hands were shaking badly. She quietly asked, "What do you want?"
I looked right at her, and thought, "I want you to remain calm!"
The effect was dramatic. Lisa covered her mouth with her right hand, and began to openly sob, and laugh, at the same time. Kathy looked as if she would pass out. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes appeared glazed. She staggered back a step, and I thought, "I'm here for you Kath!" She raised her hands, covering her mouth, and made gasping noises. They could clearly see I wasn’t moving my mouth. Both stood staring at me.
Behind me, I heard Shooter growl, "What the hell is going on here, Mike?"
"They can read my thoughts," I replied.
There was a stunned silence, as the words sank in. Saying the words aloud, seemed to make the event more real.
We must have all stood there for thirty seconds, before Koda came busting back into sight. Glancing around at us just standing there, she blurted out, "What's going on here?"
"I can read your mind," giggled Lisa. She sounded unhinged.
Koda looked at me and asked, "What's she talking about?"
Lisa stepped away from us, closer to Kathy. She seemed to focus on Koda, and said, "You should tell him who you really are!"
Kathy suddenly seemed to pull herself together. She stepped out of her room, standing next to Lisa. In a quiet voice, she said, "Perhaps you should tell us all who you really are!" There was an implied threat to Kathy's comment that made me nervous.
"You people are freaking me out!" observed Koda. I could hear the fear in her voice.
Kathy shifted track, and said, "We're not going to harm you Koda, but believe it or not, it appears we can read your thoughts."
"Oh my God," gasped Koda. "You can't be serious!" Her face was contorted oddly.
"What the hell are they talking about?" I demanded, looking at Koda. She was backing away from me, and ran right into Shooter. Shock was all over her face, and when Shooter grabbed her, I was surprised when she just went limp.
I quietly said, "Let her go!" Shooter instantly complied. When Koda looked up, I said, "We'll settle this later!" Then I turned back to Lisa and Kathy. They were both badly stressed. Drenched in sweat, pale, and looking like they could pass out at any moment. I quietly said, "Kathy has an entire operating theater set up in the back of the house. I think you should stay here! We have a major player coming from CDC! I trust this guy!"
Lisa hesitated. She said, "This may spread through close proximity as well as touch! We can't take a chance!"
I heard Koda say, "I can!" Then she stepped close, and embraced Lisa. Lisa instantly started to squirm free, but Koda kept her grip. I stood frozen, but Kathy responded at once with a brutal karate chop at the base of Koda's skull. The young girl's eyes rolled up in her head, and she went limp. Sagging to the floor, Kathy stepped aside as she fell, and I caught the look on Kathy’s face as she resisted the temptation to kick the unconscious girl in the ribs.
She looked up, saw me watching her, smiled slightly, and said, "Well! That made me feel a little better!"
I don't know why, but I had to smile back. I stood there grinning like an idiot for a few seconds. Then Shooter said, "I'm going to wake Harold up! Maybe he can figure out what's happening here!" He stepped out of sight, apparently off to wake up Harold. I was left to deal with the mind reading act.
As Kathy pulled Koda into the bedroom, Lisa looked at me and said, "I need a gurney for Koda from the med center! Kathy and I will load her, and move her down to the room you talked about! I need blood samples as soon as possible!"
I was already moving through the house. In less than one minute I was wheeling the gurney down the hall toward where Koda lay. Lisa stopped me, and said, "I'll take that! This hallway and room are off limits for now! Keep people out of here!" I nodded dumbly as she took the Gurney, and they loaded Koda onto it. Seconds later, they pushed her through the house, and into the waiting medical center.
I blocked the hallway with a chair, and went into the kitchen for a drink. Kathy keeps the Whiskey there, and I wanted a stiff shot at this point. It's not good for my heart, but it was turning into a very odd day, and I felt the strong need to relax.
I drank a double, but it wasn't enough. I still had to take a pill to get the pain to stop. Five minutes later, I was feeling pretty weird from the combined effects.
Tim came in, and found me sitting with a drink. He promptly poured himself a double, and sat down next to me without saying a word. He pulled the glass to his mouth, and downed it with a single gulp. Then he quietly said, "Bugs will be here in an hour! He owns his own helicopter! He is going to land in the field behind the guest house!
"
"That's subtle," I observed, snickering slightly.
"Well," began Tim. "You told me to tell him Kathy was in danger! How did you expect him to react?"
"Freaking Boy Scout!" I observed aloud.
A wide smile spread across Tim's face, but before he could comment, Shooter stepped in with Harold. From the doorway, Harold loudly asked, "What the hell is going on around here?" Shooter saw us with empty glasses. He got two more glasses from the cabinet, and we all sat there, and had another double together
I was now officially drunk!
Funny how time flies when you're drunk. It seemed like just a couple of minutes before I heard the roar of a small helicopter out back. I staggered over to the back door, and palmed it open. Bugs was already moving through the field headed straight to the back door.
I can't tell you his real name. I realize the nickname seems silly, but he was a pretty serious guy. He took one look at me and asked, "Are you really drunk?" I nodded sheepishly, and he said, "If this is some sort of joke, I'll make you eat that whiskey bottle!"
I assured him he would soon need a drink of his own. We went in, and I introduced Bugs to Harold and Shooter. He already knew Tim, and a few minutes later, I sat down, and briefed the whole group on everything I knew.
As soon as I finished, Bugs reached across, took my empty glass, poured himself a double, and swigged it straight down. He looked right at me, and said, "If half of what you're telling me is true, then we have a big problem."
"Actually!" I observed. "We have two samples for you to deal with, right in there!"
"Lisa and Kathy are already involved?" he inquired.
"Heavily!" I replied.
Standing up, he started toward the direction I had pointed. I stood, and followed. We ended up standing in the entryway for the Medical Bay. Bugs keyed the door, and it hissed open with a snap.
The Koda Files Boxed Set - Books 1 & 2 Page 7