* * *
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Underground Lab Complex
Nadine’s Office
March 12th, 2065 10:25
“Jenny, before you’re AMP runs out, can you get this door open? Nadine was right, I can’t break the code.”
Jenny put her shaking hands on her temples to concentrate when the door suddenly buzzed open.
“You did it!”
“I didn’t do anything!” she exclaimed as Nadine walked into the room with two security guards.
The horror on Rhodes’ face was all Jen could see, and then she hit the deck as he grabbed his machine gun.
The two security guards opened fire on Rhodes, but he mowed them down causing their shots to hit above his head. Then he turned to Nadine and fired a few rounds but she ran back out of the room and down the corridor before any bullets struck her.
“Come on!” Rhodes yelled, shaking in his boots at the near miss.
The two ran out of the office and headed toward the exit elevator. Nadine ducked out in an open conference room and called more security reinforcements, “Don’t let that elevator leave this floor!” she ordered through her data pad.
Rhodes and Jen quickly came to the elevator and stopped. Rhodes turned toward the approaching security detail armed to the hilt. He opened fire on them, taking the front lines down. The others ducked behind what they could as Rhodes ordered, “Get this door open!”
Just as the doors did open, Rhodes weapon died, “I’m out!”
They disappeared inside and Jen caused the door to slide shut, sealing them inside and preventing the weapons fire from hitting them.
“Okay,” Rhodes said, tossing his empty AK-47 to the side, “What do we do now?”
“It won’t take them anytime at all to get these doors open; I can’t seem to locate the right file.”
“And if we do go up, we’ve got two heavily armed guards waiting for us at the top.”
Just then the elevator rocked and began moving, “I thought you said...”
“It wasn’t me!” Jen exclaimed.
Nadine came out of the conference room and ran to the elevator where the remaining security detail was waiting for instructions, weapons pointed at the closed doors, “Patch me to top side!”
“Yes, Ma’am!” one of them said.
“Keep them from escaping! We cannot afford to lose the hybrid!”
The captain at the top side desk acknowledged Nadine’s orders, “Sound the alarm, we’ve got an unauthorized car on its way up.”
The two guards cocked their machine guns and aimed at the elevator doors, “What are your orders sir?” one of them asked.
“I’m bringing in more security; they’re on the way right now. Nadine said to kill anyone on that car. She said do not let the hybrid escape. Dead or alive, she will remove the chip from her. ”
“Yes SIR!”
The elevator car stopped when it reached the top and locked in place, the doors rolled open. The guards opened fire sending hundreds of rounds into the car.
Jen stood with her green eyes and hands extended out in front of her. Every bullet that was fired bounced back at the men, taking them down just as quickly as they had begun.
Rhodes and Jen stepped out of the car, only to see several more security guards rushing toward them.
“Nice trick, Jen. I hope you have more juice in ya.”
“I do, at least for another twenty minutes or so.”
She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow at the approaching men. Then she gave a heave with her hands and sent them all flying into the air the way they came.
“I’m almost out of charge, Doc. We got to go...now!”
Rhodes looked over at Jen. Her eyes were changing back and forth from green to her natural blue, “Come on, this way.”
They fled down the corridor, out the tall glass doors, and out into the open air. Three more guards were taking their stance by their jeep. Jen kneeled down and shot out nearly her last wave of energy, tossing them to the ground several feet from the vehicle. The men hit the ground and tumbled end for end. Jen and Rhodes ran to the jeep and jumped in. Rhodes gunned the gas and sped away.
One of the guards grabbed his weapon, took aim and fired at them, but before Jen could muster up enough strength to shield them completely from the bullets, one struck Rhodes in the back under his shoulder blade.
The wound shattered his shoulder and he doubled over in excruciating pain. The jeep swerved from side to side as he tried to maintain control. Jen was tossed back and forth, nearly spilling her out of the jeep before he regained control.
“How bad is it, Doc?”
“It’s bad!” Rhodes coughed pink foam that covered his lips. He continued to cough between gasps of pain.
They rounded the corner speeding down the road and out the base exit before another armed team could be dispatched.
Jen instructed Rhodes to head north toward Deception Pass, “We’ll ditch the jeep in the passage. We can hide out beneath the metal bridge until its dark!”
Rhodes only acknowledged by turning in the direction she requested. He traveled toward the bridge at over 100 miles per hour when Jen noticed an attack helicopter bearing down on them.
“Um, Doctor! We better get there and quick! I don’t know if I can hold this off!”
Rhodes managed to turn the mirror in the air and saw what was bearing down on them.
Rhodes slammed on the breaks, being only 100 feet from the bridge. He put the jeep in a sideways slide as the chopper fired its Missiles. Jen and Rhodes made a jump for it just as the missiles hit the jeep. As it went over the edge of the cliff, Jen and Rhodes slammed into the rocks of the cliff. The jeep was sent in a fiery ball, plunging to the current below.
The attack chopper flew over the bridge and circled around. Jen and Rhodes scrambled to the bridge girders. Rhodes panted with pain, still bleeding from his gunshot wound, tried to remain still.
The chopper flew overhead, making several passes, “Oak Harbor Command, this is attack Hawk 1, confirmed target was destroyed. There’s no sign of survivors, they couldn’t have made it out.”
“Good work Hawk 1, return to base,” the base controller instructed.
* * *
Whidbey Island
Oak Harbor, WA
Underground River
March 12th, 2065 11:30
Cal, Tom, and Bennie continued down the underground river. The area was illuminated by the glowing alien box, and then the channel opened into a large lake, surrounded by a cavern.
“Swim over to the far side and take a rest on that large rock over there,” Calvin instructed.
The three made their way and rested for a few minutes on the rock before Calvin looked up at Tom, “I’m sure there’s an exit down below this lake.”
“How do you know so much about this place? You had to have known it was here,” Tom asked.
“I was able to hack into the complex blue prints. I knew there was a large stream down here, but I wasn’t sure about the alien tech being used to grow that complex.”
“How come you didn’t say anything sooner?”
“Because I wasn’t sure until we got down to the lower levels. You had to have noticed the change in the building material.”
“I did, but then there’s a lot of strange things going on so I didn’t give it a second thought...I didn’t know it was the alien tech, though.”
“Okay, guys,” Cal said, stripped down to his underwear, “I’ll be right back,” then dove into the dark and cold water and disappeared below.
They waited a painful minute before he surfaced and swam back to the rock, “I was right, this is the water pass-through. There’s an iron grill down there, if I cut through it, I’m sure it will lead us to the bay.”
“You’re alien gun able to work after being wet?” Griffin asked.
“Let’s just hope so,” Calvin said. Then he took his weapon and jump
ed back into the water.
He swam down twenty feet and aimed his weapon at the old rusted iron grate, carving each rod loose. Then he grabbed it and began tugging on it until it finally broke free. He tossed it to the bottom of the lake and swam to the surface.
Three minutes went by before he returned, “Uncle! You gave us a big scare. How did you stay down there so long?”
“I may be out of shape, but I can still hold my breath longer than your father...okay, it worked,” he said, climbing back on the rock.
How far is it anyway? I mean we can’t hold our breath for more than one or two minutes,” Griffin asked.
“Bennie, I’m going to have to AMP you again.”
“With the box?”
“Yes, it’s alright, it will be a very low dose, might only last a half hour, maybe less.”
“What do you purpose I do?”
“I want you to construct a bubble of air around us. Keep us breathing until we can surface...can you do that Ben?”
“I don’t know, Calvin...I really don’t know.”
“We’ll,” Calvin said, getting the box ready, “You’re the only game in town right now.”
“Um, I’d kind of like to know how much less than thirty minutes we have before we go on this little journey.”
Calvin glanced up at Griffin, “Then you can stay behind if you’d like...”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go...I certainly can’t stay here.”
Calvin examined the back of Bennie’s neck, “Well, it appears that water doesn’t harm the chip or the outlet.”
“Whoo hooo,” Bennie mused, “Lucky for me.”
Calvin extended a fiber cable from the box and inserted it into Bennie’s plug. The box shot a wave of power through the cable and charged Bennie, turning his eyes to the green color, confirming that he had received a proper AMP dose.
He closed his eyes and concentrated for a few moments, then opened his green eyes and looked at Calvin, “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Griffin,” Calvin instructed, “You carry the box, let’s go on your word, Ben.”
Bennie jumped into the lake. Griffin grabbed the box and followed Calvin into the cold water.
“Okay, get closer and hold on,” Bennie said, closing his eyes again.
They were surrounded by a strange sensation and then the water covered them over. Bennie held his concentration and instructed Calvin to push against the side of the bubble and it will move in that direction.
He looked over at Ben, “Outstanding,” he said again. Then leaned on the bubble and traveled down and through the opening.
The current took over, and Cal didn’t have to push on the side any longer, “This is really strange.”
The rushing water became faster and they were tossed uncontrollably through the underwater passage, finally exiting just off the coast of the island.
“I can’t hold it much longer,” Bennie warned.
“Everyone, take in a deep breath, but don’t forget to exhale on the way up or you’ll bust a lung!”
“Understood!” Griffin said. Then he took in the largest breath he possibly could.
Calvin and Ben sucked in all they could just before Bennie released the energy field. He flailed his arms and fell unconscious as the rush of water enveloped the men.
Bennie woke up laying on the beach. It was dark...he was alone. He coughed up water and got to his knees.
“Cal?” he yelled.
“Uncle Calvin!” he yelled again, but heard nothing in return.
“Colonel Griffin! Uncle Calvin!” he continued to shout as he walked down the beach, not knowing where Calvin had arranged to meet.
He fell to his knees from exhaustion and let the tide wash over him. The water flowed over him, washing away his tears, but it couldn’t reach the tears of despair in his heart.
* * *
Anacortes, WA
Motel 6
Earth Date: March 12th, 2065 23:00
Rhodes and Jen sat in a motel room with the news on as she cleaned and dressed his wound.
“The good news is the bullet went clean through.”
“That’s good news?” Rhodes protested, “I’ve got a pneumothorax, and all you can say is the bullet went clean through?”
“You should know that you’d have to have surgery if it was still in there.”
“Wow, this hurts something terrible,” he continued to cough pink foam.
“Sorry Doctor, my AMP has long since dissipated. I’ll try to bring up some of my own energy to help with your pain. It won’t be much...”
“...anything is better than nothing at all,” he grimaced. “Find me a pen, take the casing. Then get me a knife.”
“What are you going to do, Doctor?”
“I have to get the air out between my chest wall and lung or I’ll suffocate.”
She tried her best to soothe the doctor’s pain, as he cut between his ribs. He asked Jen to insert the plastic pen casing as he gritted his teeth.
Air and blood escaped from Rhode’s chest cavity with a hiss, allowing his lung to inflate.
Jen’s minimal AMP gave the doctor some relief as the next news story caught both of their attention.
“Turn it up, turn it up,” Rhodes demanded.
Jen reached over and turned up the volume on the antique TV set in the old run down motel room. It was the best place to rest up and to stay low.
The station flashed a picture of the two of them as the reporter told the story, “...in a secret military operation, two suspects fleeing with valuable technology from Whidbey Island Navy Base, were shot down and killed by an apache attack helicopter. The military is not commenting on this action, but does say that it is an isolated incident and will handle it internally. The Company that oversees the base’s security operations was also not available for comment, but did release this statement: ‘The Company apologizes for any inconvenience or any harm to innocent bystanders.’ They also stated in their press release, that there will be an internal investigation.”
The station then displayed a picture of Colonel Griffin, Calvin Jones, and Bennie Petersen, “The Company is also reporting that Colonel Griffin was instrumental in the theft and the escape by these individuals. However, they are missing and presumed dead as well...stay tuned as we continue to investigate this story.”
* * *
CHAPTER 14
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Underground Lab Complex
Nadine’s Office
Earth Date: September 18th, 2065 10:30
~ Six Months Later ~
“I know, I know... ... ...I understand,” Nadine said through her data pad, “We’re working on it as quickly as we can... ...no, we haven’t found the box yet... ...I know it’s been six months... ... ...we can’t continue building the complex without the alien device... .... ....what do you mean you need me to come in for some adjustments? ... ... ...My programming is functioning at higher than normal operating standards... ...no, my programming is not malfunctioning. If I knew those answers, I’d be telling you... ... ...alright, if it’ll make you happy, I’ll report to the Company for a complete diagnostic tomorrow... ...I’m not giving up... ...I told you, I will find it...we never found any bodies... ....just because they are presumed dead, don’t bet that they aren’t alive somewhere... ... ...the girl? She was killed by the apache helicopter attack...both her and Doctor Rhodes, remember? Yes, I know... ...the hybrid chip was never recovered. No, we haven’t been successful in duplicating Doctor Rhodes work...but as soon as we are, you’ll be the first to know... ...right... ...okay, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Just when she hung up her data pad, there was a knock on the outside of her office, “Hello? Nadine?”
“Come in, Captain.”
“Captain Preston reporting, Ma’am!”
“What’s your report, Captain?”
“We located Calvin’s clothing.”
“What?”
; “Yes, we scoured the lower levels until we discovered there was some evidence of a rock slide...man made.”
“Explain,” she said, looking up with a wide smile.
“When we removed some of the fallen debris, we discovered weapons fire.”
“What kind of weapons fire?”
“Let’s just say it wasn’t from around here.”
“Captain, please get to the point.”
“It was alien tech, Ma’am!”
“How in the hell did Calvin get his hands on an alien weapon?”
“I think the humans call it deception, Ma’am.”
“Yes, well. We all know how deception works, don’t we?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the captain said, taking a cord from her desk and plugging himself in, “We do indeed.”
“After all, we learned it from them...please continue your report.”
“We followed this underground stream to a deep cavern lake bed. That’s where we found Calvin’s clothing.”
“That’s all? Did you find anything else, Captain?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Well, spill it man. I’m running out of patience.”
“Below the surface was an iron grate that had been cut. That led to a tunnel that is used to drain the complex’s waste into the sound. They must have cut through and swam for it.”
“I knew it! They’re not dead after all.”
“We followed the exit all the way and found no bodies, but that’s an awfully long time for a human to hold their breath.”
“Don’t underestimate Calvin Jones.”
“No, Ma’am.”
“I want you to beef up your efforts in finding Bennie too. I know he’s out there somewhere. I want plants at every jamming club in Seattle, double your efforts if you have to.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I was going to report that we are already branching out to other states as well.”
“He’s close...I can sense it...maybe if he’s introduced to one of the illegal underground modulator stations, we can find him if he’s AMP’d. I’ll have General McKenzie lift some of his dogs off the underground operations. He’s more likely to go get jacked-in if the heat’s off for a while.”
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