by Greg Curtis
What was it that the man had said, about the similarities between them? That they looked at the universe in much the same way. He was right. David had found Lar both direct and without guile, and he was trained in judging character. Unexpectedly he found himself not only without any doubt that the man had spoken the truth, but also that he was a good and decent individual. Not a criminal, not a spy or an agent, not anyone reprehensible.
It was a strange thing for him to realize, but in time he suspected he could have gotten to like these people too. But they didn’t have time. Sooner or later their secret would be out whether he released it or not, and then they would leave. And until that time, he couldn’t afford to have too much contact with them himself. He was ex-military, ex-agency and someone who could and rightly should act as a safety between them and the Earth. To be too friendly with them would be to compromise his neutrality. Besides, the more he knew the more he would tell and if they were who they claimed to be, then he didn’t want to tell anyone about them. That was a surprise, and yet in some ways it wasn’t.
It took a toll on him just to admit it even to himself, but he didn’t like who he was, who he’d worked for, what he’d done, or worse, what his previous employers had done, and though he had a duty to them, that didn’t mean he wanted to carry it out. Especially when he had a fair idea of what they would do to these people, if they got the chance. And aliens or not, these he was almost certain, were good people. They might not be American, they might be illegal aliens, and there was something of an irony in that very concept, but they absolutely didn’t deserve to be harmed.
Unless they were enemies after all.
“You’re right. I’m tired and shocked, and I need to think.” It was the absolute truth and a major understatement. Most of all what he needed to do was to simply digest his day, let it sink in to his already overworked brain, and try and decide if he was insane, a traitor, or simply a man doing the best that he could in an impossible situation. That he already knew, was going to take time.
“And you -.” Her voice trailed off, the question unfinished. But he knew what she was asking. That she needed to be sure.
“I won’t do anything Alice. Not yet. On that you have my word. Not until I can be sure, and even then, I’ll give you warning. There is no advantage in a battle even if these people are enemies. There will be no mass invasion of troops here, I promise.” It seemed to be enough as Alice started looking a little less worried, a little more relaxed. Meanwhile her friends were busy helping his former assailant on to the stretcher they’d bought, a typical enough unit with only one minor difference from the one that he’d seen every day in the army; it floated on air. It cushioned Cyrea's weight as she sat down on it and then she leaned back while others helped swing her wounded leg around on to it. David tried hard not to stare at that, knowing that just that single stretcher, or the technology in it, could revolutionise the Earth, and quite probably destroy it. Lar was right on that. And David knew he was right in doing nothing. Not until he could be absolutely sure. Not until he knew what the consequences of his actions might be.
He needed to think.
“Then perhaps tomorrow we could return, and you could even visit our ship.” Lar had returned to the couch as Cyrea was being floated out of his house.
“Not tomorrow. I need time.” David shook his head, knowing what he was saying was scarcely the beginning of what he needed. He didn’t even know what he needed.
“But I have Alice’s number. I’ll call when I’m ready. And for the moment you have a patient to attend to.”
******************
After the meeting Alice decided to take one of the floaters back to the Leinian ship instead of her truck. She could come back for it later and David wouldn’t care if her truck stayed behind for a while. Besides, there were things to discuss that were far more important than her battered pick up’s location. Things like making sure that everyone was safe and her friends didn’t have to leave.
David would have been surprised to have seen Alice get in one of the floaters with Lar as they left that morning, though they were both sure he watched them go. He would have been more surprised by their conversation though. Then again, maybe not, Alice thought as they flew gently through the air. He was a smart man. A good judge of character. And most important of all, he was a better man than he gave himself credit for. There was a lot of pain and sadness in his soul, an unhealthy dose of guilt and shame as well, but she was certain he was genuine in his wish to put his past behind him.
She said as much to Lar and as usual got little more than a non-committal grunt as he too reflected on what had been said. But that wasn’t enough for her for once. Not when everything was once more on the line. Her health, her family’s health, the entire community’s health, even the health of the surrounding lakes and forests, there was simply too much at stake to let him get away with a grunt. The Leinians had done so much for their community. They would continue to do more if they stayed. And ultimately if everything went as it should, they would do the same for the rest of the world. That could not be allowed to fail.
“So what do you think then?” She decided to push him a little.
He looked across at her from staring at the back of the seat in front of him, his eyes filled with worry. “I think he’s a man who’s had a big shock today. And a man who has many more ahead of him. And I think he’s wedded to his past, welded to his duty as an agent. And he claims to be army but he’s really CIA.” If he thought that would come as a surprise to Alice he was wrong. Security people! They really had no idea.
“We know that. Gladys at the bank processes his checks every month. We knew who he was from the start.” Maybe it was wrong to laugh ever so slightly at Lar, not that he would mind in the least, but it was amusing in a way. Local gossip providing better information than a security agency, and ten times as fast.
“You could have mentioned it then.”
“And had you worrying?” She smiled and patted him gently on the shoulder. “We knew enough to make sure he was safe.” And they had. Even before the Leinians had found out they’d been making sure of him. There was far too much riding on the continued presence of their friends to leave such things to chance. So from the start he’d been invited to BBQ’s and social functions without number, directed to the best hunting and fishing spots which coincidentally happened to be miles from Wrath Valley, and every woman worthy of the name had tried to set him up with her daughter or niece. If there was one thing guaranteed to keep a man away from people it was the threat of marriage. Men were such simple creatures.
“Besides, I think he still is a good man. He’s not lying when he says he doesn’t want to go back to his old life. Whatever he did for the agency in the past, he didn’t like it. It isn’t a need for security that keeps him silent on that time, it’s shame and guilt. He really doesn’t want to return to that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s who he is. It shows in his eyes. In everything he does. David isn’t just retired; he’s locked the door completely on his past and doesn’t appear to ever want to open it again. He never talks about it. And he would have to if he became close with anyone. So he avoids going in to the city at nearly all costs, and only wanders into Redwood Falls when he absolutely has to, and when he’s there he says almost nothing to anyone. Nothing of importance anyway. He keeps to the absolute minimum of conversation with us, and stays away from everyone else. No cell and only a primitive dial up internet. He has no visitors and he stays locked up in his home most of the time, keeping apart from everyone. That’s not duty or security, not even for a retired agent. That’s never wanting to go back.”
In a way David reminded her very much of her nephew back from Iraq. And of her cousin when he’d returned from Vietnam. Both of them had been scarred from what they’d seen and done. And both had walled themselves away from kith and kin. They never talked about the wars. They buried it. David was the same.
“Y
ou’ve been watching him.” Lar almost seemed to be accusing her of something, and it made her smile. His people had all the security cameras in the world floating around and protocols and procedures for everything, and he was just beginning to realise that the locals were better at such things than they were. Much better. But then this was a community.
“Of course.” She smiled some more. “I’m old, what else am I going to do with my time?”
“But what will he do when he finds out the rest? What will ultimately be expected of your people before they can join us?”
“As little as he can get away with,” Alice told him, pretending a confidence she didn't truly have. “Make no mistake, if he thinks the country or the people are in danger, he will act. But not otherwise. Besides, the rest of your secrets aren’t that terrible. Not for us locals anyway.”
“But we are going to ask so much of your people before they can join us. Things that most won’t be able to handle. This capitalist way of life of yours. The American dream. It’s almost a religion. And we consider it an obscenity. He has to guess sooner or later that it can’t continue. That we can't allow a society to treat its people so unfairly. It leads to poverty, social disruption and violence. And Major Hill is a rich man.”
“Capitalism? You mean no more money?” She laughed. “Look where you landed. We never had any to begin with. As Mitch says, most of us don’t have a pot to piss in. We aren’t going to lose huge piles of stock n’ shares. And the same’s true for much of the world. David understands that I think.”
“And what about our views on there being no private property?”
“It doesn’t really matter as long as we can keep living where we do. Look around you. This isn’t exactly Wall Street. Most of us live in run down old buildings, one step up from shacks. Many aren’t even owned by those who live there, it’s just that no one’s interested in buying them. We scrimp by on part time work and seasonal jobs, grow our own vegetables and hunt and fish to feed ourselves. Honestly if we were in the south we’d be called hill-billies. As it is we simply don’t have much to lose, and David knows that too. Though he hides it, he’s much the same.”
“How will he feel when he realises he has no real privacy?”
“No privacy? So you think your floating cameras that pop up everywhere have taken that away? Look around you. This is a small community. Everyone knows everyone’s business anyway. The rest of the world may not like it. But for us it’s fairly much business as usual. And David is slowly becoming one of us.”
“Besides, he is a law man. He hates crime. No money, no private property and no privacy, that means no crime. He’ll like that. When the time is right, he will join with us, and he’ll be a valuable asset.” She wasn't completely sure of that, but she felt the need to pretend to be. Lar after all was the one who might make the decision for the party to leave, and he would do it the moment he thought their secret was out and they were in danger.
“You think.”
“Maybe. But I’ve known him for three and a bit years. I’ve made it my business to know him. He’s a good man who’s come from a bad place.” That was something she rather fancied all the intelligence agencies in the world and in the rest of the galaxy failed to do; to get to know their neighbours. If they did then perhaps they wouldn’t have had so many problems over the years.
“Besides, let’s concentrate on getting Cyrea back to the ship and fixed up and then on to the very real danger of your scientists telling everyone they talk to about themselves.” And that was the real risk as far as she and the others were concerned. For the longest time there’d only been a few of them who knew. Just the locals, and they were very careful about who they brought into the circle. They made sure they were people they could trust. Family, friends, or neighbours they had known for years. People who absolutely needed the Leinian’s help. And so until a year ago maybe a hundred or so had known of them, and things had seemed under control. Then these new scientists had arrived, and suddenly there were hundreds more who knew. Hundreds more that Alice and the rest of the community didn’t know about. That they couldn’t control. The scientists seemed to have no self control. And then there were the technical problems as their ships apparently fell out of the sky.
Despite Lar’s fears it wasn’t David Hill who was going to expose them she guessed. It was their own people.
“They have been troublesome.”
“Troublesome? They're idiots! Honestly Lar. You have to curb them. And soon.” Lar stared at her and she knew he was thinking exactly the same thing, even if he wouldn't say it. They were idiots. Lost in their research to the point of stupidity.
Was this the time to tell him about the bug? She wondered about that for a little. It might get the scientists in trouble. Though in her view it was the smartest thing they'd done since arriving on the world. Putting a bug in David's house. Keeping an eye on the major security threat they faced. But then it could be useful for him to know about it. Even to use it just in case the Major did revert to type.
But on the other hand Lar might also feel obligated to tell David that a crime had been committed against him. That it was still being committed. He was a policeman after all. And that could be the thing that tipped their resident secret agent in the other direction. So maybe not.
Still she decided as she leaned back in her seat and watched the Wrath Valley come into view, it might be a good time for her to visit those particular scientists who'd done it and spend a little time studying David. Just in case.
Lar didn't have to know.
Chapter Five.
David was less than half way through his swim when he noticed his tail. A dark shape, less than a couple of body lengths behind him, catching him up to him as quickly as a motorboat. No human being could swim like that. But then he didn’t even have to wonder for more than a moment that she might be human. He knew who it was without even thinking. It was Cyrea.
The only real question was why was she here? Had she come to drown him, to show off, or simply to play nicely as Alice had asked? He started treading water, waiting to find out, uncomfortably aware that the lake in places was at least fifty feet deep and his emergency buoyancy device wasn’t going to survive long against glass claws.
She pulled up to him, and started treading water beside him, smiling. He couldn’t help but notice her ice white fangs and the fact that she was a better swimmer then him. Far better.
“You enjoy swim?” She caught him off guard with her words. The fact that she could speak English at all was a surprise in itself, and the fact that she had mastered so much of it in a week was more so. The syntax wasn’t perfect, and she had an accent, but she was easily understandable.
“Very much. It’s one of the reasons I live by a lake.” Quietly he was wondering if it was such a clever idea any more though. Perhaps it was time to look at a swimming pool.
“Then do more exercise when get back. Why?” Deep within alarm bells started ringing. She knew too much about him, about his daily routines. He wasn’t secretive about his home gym or the fact that he kept fit, but neither had he told her of them.
“You’ve been following me.” It was just a flat statement with no emphasis placed on any of the words. It was a technique designed to make her think he was certain so she would admit it without realizing. Yet all he’d really had was a feeling until then. The way the hairs on the back of his neck had bristled sometimes when he was out. The odd strange, perhaps even clawed, foot print around the house. The way some of his outdoor plants and furniture had been moved, as if to get a better view of his house. It hadn’t been the wind. She nodded.
“Why?”
“Made mistake, coming here. Thought you were other humans, not army agent. Now whole mission in risk. My fault. Must know soonest if and when you talk so people can leave safely. My responsibility.” Which made perfect sense to him. It matched exactly what Alice had said to him that day; that all they asked from him was his discretion. Or at least some warning, so t
hat if he said anything to the authorities they would have time to leave in safety. And in her shoes he probably would have felt the same. Giving away an operation was a rather large error.