The A.R.EX. Origin

by Angelo Facchin

  “That’s pretty much the way it goes, yeah.”

  “Wow. Well, that explains a lot.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Think about it: another world filled with people who aren’t human. Doesn’t that sound familiar to you?”

  “Yeah it does.”

  And then it hit him. Jason was talking about the journal he was given. With all he had been feeling before, he had completely forgotten about that. Now that he thought about it, it was a strange coincidence that there was another world parallel to theirs, and that the journal Jason was describing exactly that.

  “Can you imagine? Someone gives me a journal talking about another world and an the people living there and it just so happens that a world like that actually exists? Do you think the FBI put that together?”

  “It’s possible, but then again, Mika would have probably told us as much.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not Mika who has the book, it’s Mike. He’s the one who said he’d look into it. Maybe he forgot about it, or maybe Mika didn’t even tell him about the other world. He probably didn’t tell her about the journal, especially since he told us it wouldn’t be an investigation, at least not an official one.”

  “You’re thinking we should tell them?”

  “Yeah, definitely. If they don’t know, then they might be passing up on some information. Maybe the journal will help give them a clue about where to find Mr. Smith and why he gave me that in the first place.”

  They agreed to get to the FBI’s field office right after lunch.

  * * *

  1:15 p.m.

  FBI Field Office

  The journal that Jason Meyers was given had turned out to be much more than just a simple book. He had torn a blank page from it and had it dated by an expert, who had confirmed that the torn pages were at least fifty years old.

  Now the question was: how did Jason get his hands on it? Yes, Tom Smith gave it to him, but who was he to have it in the first place? Was it possible that he had met the man who wrote it? If so, then why did he have it in his possession? Did he steal from someone, is that why he had to give it to Jason? He had to figure that out, somehow.

  He decided to take the initiative and investigate Tom Smith thoroughly. Doing so uncovered several holes in the man’s past. It seemed like he had just appeared out of nowhere around seven years ago, and started working as a museum tour guide. The curator at the time had offered him a post thinking that Smith was a Harvard graduate. Incredibly enough, the man had never offered his student records, nor was he ever asked for them. He rose through the ranks quite fast because his work ethic seemed out of this world, but it was amazing that he would be hired, especially since he was in his fifties and he had a resume with holes in it you could drive a truck through.

  Mike immediately pulled Smith’s records from the Harvard database after obtaining permission to do so. He wasn’t all that surprised when he discovered that Smith had only spent one semester there, during the fall of 1986. It was clear at that point that Smith wasn’t at all who he claimed to be, and that he had to be brought in for questioning. First, he had to tell Rodgers what he had been doing.

  He met his superior in the hallway outside his office. His immediate thought was surprise as Rodgers wasn’t wearing the reptile suit anymore. That could have only meant one thing.

  “You captured the other reptile,” he said, smiling.

  “Actually, he gave himself up. Some police officers found him wandering about in the outskirts of Troy. They brought him here for questioning.”

  “Wait, he didn’t offer any resistance?”

  “No. He was really calm about it, though, they said he was crying during the voyage. He was still breathing heavily when he arrived. I actually felt that he didn’t really need a heavy security detail around him, but I felt it was necessary, in case, he tried to hurt himself.”

  “Man, I hope Mika goes easy on him. He did save someone’s life, let’s not forget that.”

  “We can’t, but we also can’t ignore the people he’s hurt, even if he was a puppet. The public will cry out for retribution, and it’s really our fault.”

  “What are you talking about? We’re not responsible for the public’s reaction when it comes to its knowledge of a case with a high profile.”

  “Think about it: we left out the part about the human accomplice hoping that he would be comfortable enough in the knowledge that we thought the reptile did it all on his own, even though we knew, and most of our suspects probably also figured out that there was someone hiding him. We led the public to believe that the person committing crimes was doing everything from planning to hiding. If word of his capture gets out, then we’re in trouble, because we’ll have to find his accomplice before telling everyone he even had one. And to make things worse, everyone else who was involved in the project would be guilty by association in the public’s eye. We have to make sure none of this gets out until we say so. We have to lock this building down until further notice. You are going down to the lobby and have everybody be on alert Nobody comes in, nobody comes out.”

  “Got it, but first, I have something to tell you and show you.”

  “Whatever it is, it can wait. Locking down this field office is your first priority. Once that’s over with, make sure Nomura gets here pronto.”

  Mike got down to the lobby, and found Arex and Jason there. They were looking for him.

  “Listen guys, whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait. I have to close the building off to the public, so I’m going to have to ask you guys to leave right now.”

  “But wait,” said Jason, “we have something to tell you. It’s about the journal.”

  That gave Mike pause. Perhaps they knew something about the journal he had yet to figure out.

  “What about the journal? Did Tom Smith contact you?”

  “No, but Mika came over to our place and told us everything about Gianlorenzo.”

  “What? Who’s Gianlorenzo?”

  “You don’t know? He’s…”

  Jason stopped himself before going any further. He looked over everywhere to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation before starting over.

  “He’s an alien from a parallel universe. I think it’s the same world that’s talked about in the journal. I figured it out this morning when they told me about what Mika told them last night.”

  Mike thought it over and realized that they were talking about Mika’s investigation into Alice Smith’s boyfriend.

  “Wait a minute, I know that Mika got suspicious about this guy, but going from this to claiming that he’s some sort of alien is kind of a stretch.”

  “Mika caught Gianlorenzo showing off his true form to Alice while on a date,” said Arex.

  “And you think that the aliens described in the journal are his people, so to speak?”

  “It’s a pretty big coincidence to be sure. What are the odds that they’re not one and the same?”

  “They’re still pretty big, which is why I need to get Tom Smith here as soon as I can. For now, though, you two need to get out of here. The building is going to be off-limits to all until further notice.”

  Chapter 25

  July 17, 2:29 p.m.

  FBI Field Office

  Mika was called into the office, despite it being her day off. At first, she was reluctant to go, especially when Mike told her it was an emergency, but he told her it was Rodgers who wanted her, she immediately got herself ready. When she arrived, Rodgers gave her the news that the reptile responsible for mugging the homeless people was captured. She felt excited at the idea of interrogating him, even though she had no idea how to approach him. Still, she hurried to the interrogation room. The place had been sealed off to anyone who didn’t have Rodger’s permission. No media representatives were allowed within thirty feet of the building and the building itself was locked from any outsiders until further notice. The interrogation room was heavily guarded, with several agents h
aving guns that shot sedative darts. The reptile himself was shackled to everything it could be tied to. There was a moment when Mika wondered whether or not it was too much. After all, it was established that the reptile was merely being used by someone else. These safety precautions made her feel like the FBI was going to treat him like he was the most dangerous criminal the world had ever seen. It was true that the FBI had Arex’s physical and mental capabilities thoroughly checked out, but back then, it felt more like a formality. Back then, she already knew everything she needed to know about Arex, and was confident that he posed no threat despite his physical strength and intimidating appearance.

  When she entered the room, the reptile looked up at her, remaining silent. She was told that he had remained silent ever since his rights were read. Amazingly, he complied with them, which was more than surprising.

  Mika immediately noticed the differences between this reptile and Arex. This reptile’s frame was slimmer and more rounded. It was clear that he had no crocodilian DNA inside of him. His hair was actually a light brown, and it stood out against the black of his skin. He also seemed a head shorter than Arex. She briefly wondered about his previous identity before he went through A.R.EX.. She also pondered about how he came to be, since there were no records in BIOGENCORP’s computers that a third reptile was ever created.

  She sat down in front of him, his gaze following hers. His breathing was short and fast. Either he was nervous, or he was extremely fatigued, which Mika could actually sympathize with, since it was impossible for him to move with those shackles.

  She decided that he was to be unshackled. She wasn’t going to conduct an interrogation with a person in shackles, no matter what that person did.

  “I am agent Mika Nomura. I will be asking you a few questions that are vitally important to my investigation into your actions. If you want a lawyer, one will be provided for you. Unless, of course, you’re willing to cooperate with us fully, which would be to your advantage. Before we go any further, do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “I think I have a good idea of what you just said. I won’t be needing a lawyer.”

  “Alright. Let’s begin.”

  She had brought with her a notepad where she had written her questions.

  “Let’s begin with your name. Can you tell me your name, please?”

  “My name is Whiplash.”

  Another codename. Rather than let their potential reptiles have their original human names, Patrick Sandlak had probably prepared a list of potential codenames for his would-be creations.

  “Thank you. Your date of birth?”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know when I was born.”

  “That’s alright. I didn’t expect you to know it. It’s simply a question I must ask just in case.”

  “But you know when you were born.”

  “Yes. We celebrate our birthdays every year.”

  Whiplash brought his head down. It was obvious he was ignorant of many things that people in society took for granted.

  “I truly am sorry to hear that you’ve never had a birthday to celebrate.”

  “Why would you feel sorry for me? I’ve been told I’m a criminal. I guess that has to be obvious to me now.”

  “I know for a fact that your existence was kept a secret from us for a good while now. Can you tell us when you were created?”

  “Kevin told me I was created five years ago.”

  That was a revelation she was hoping for.

  “Kevin? Do you mean Kevin Spencer?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “He’s the one who raised me. He took care of me.”

  “He was essentially a father to you.”

  “Yes.”

  Something Mika had learned from Arex early on was how to tell when he was depressed, an emotion he had a habit of having during the first few months of his life. This reptile seemed ashamed of even knowing Kevin Spencer. She had to take full advantage of that.

  “I have to let you know that things look pretty grim for you right now. We’ve caught you on camera assaulting a homeless man. In fact, we link you to at least a dozen of such incidents, and there are probably more out there who haven’t been reported yet. I’m certain everyone you’ve robbed so far will be happy to see you in prison for your crimes. At least now, I know where to find the one who’s been enabling you from the start. What I especially want to know is why you’ve been committing these crimes. I’ve heard and eyewitness testimony from Cindy Daniels, a woman who claimed you saved her life.”

  “Is she angry at me?”

  “Why would she be angry at you?”

  “When we met, I didn’t want to listen to her, even though she was trying to tell me the truth about what I was doing. I yelled at her and told I never wanted to see her again. I never meant to get mad at her like that. I hope she will be able to forgive me.”

  “Her forgive you? What about those homeless people you stole from and attacked? They didn’t deserve what you did to them, either. What about them? Don’t you feel the least bit sorry about the way you treated them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? Those people were robbed of what little money they had while they were asleep. If they were awake, you savagely beat them to near death. And you’re telling me you have no idea how you feel about that? Imagine you were one of these people and you woke up hungry one morning, only to find out you had nothing in your pockets because someone stole it from you? Worse, imagine being awake and feeling the pain while you savagely beat yourself until you couldn’t feel anything anymore because your entire body was broken? I think I would feel something if I were you.”

  The reptile didn’t answer. Mika was going to go on, but she stopped herself when she saw he was crying. It wasn’t as if he was holding back his tears, either. His crying was uncontrollable. Oddly enough, Arex was much more mature than her suspect, which was saying a lot. It was painful to watch this child in a fully-grown body break down in front of her. She was afraid to try and intervene, lest she make things even worse.

  “He told me he was my friend. He told me he was going to protect me, no matter what. He lied to me, he… five years. He took care of me for five years.”

  Now she understood why he was captured without comment. He had let himself be apprehended, because he’d finally realized the truth about his existence. His entire life was a lie. The sting from that betrayal must’ve been too much for Mika to understand from her point of view. The truth was, Whiplash really was a pawn in Kevin Spencer’s plan, whatever that was.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how you must feel right now. Your entire life has just crumbled around you and your only link to this world has turned out to be a lie this whole time. You know, I have a friend that you may have heard about, his name is Arex.”

  “You mean that other reptile? Kevin told me about him before I left his house. He told me that guy was the reason he told me to commit these crimes.”

  Kevin Spencer must’ve hated Arex for his involvement in utterly destroying BIOGENCORP and the A.R.EX. project. Even though the entire staff of the company had been cleared of all charges, he seemed hell-bent on causing trouble for the guy responsible for him being able to keep his freedom.

  “He said that he wanted to get this guy in trouble and he used me to do it. I trusted him. This is all my fault. I had to pin him up against the wall for him to tell me these things. If I didn’t, then he probably would have kept lying to me. And yet, even after he told me all of that, I still can’t trust that he told me the truth.”

  “Tell me everything he told you about your origins. I want to know everything from the beginning. Hold on, let me get you some water.”

  Mika briefly left the interrogation room and came back with two bottles of water, one of which she gave to Whiplash.

  “Here, maybe this will make you feel better.”

  The reptile gratefully gulped down the entire bottle in a few
seconds.

  “Kevin told me that I was created 5 years ago. He said that I went berserk and killed most of his colleagues. He told me he erased my memories somehow.”

  Mika couldn’t believe what she was hearing from him. Whiplash was the first test subject for the A.R.EX. project. He was the one who caused the death of a about a dozen scientists that day. Spencer must’ve then used the Mind Shifter to erase his memories of that event to try and protect him as an asset. However, that didn’t account for the fact that he then proceeded to take care of him for five years.

  “Did he tell you who you were before you were transformed?”

  “What?”

  “Your human name. You were human once.”

  “I was? He didn’t tell me that.”

  “Looks like he didn’t tell you the whole truth after all.”

  “Then how am I supposed to know when someone’s telling me the truth?! How can I recognize when people are lying to me when getting in their faces doesn’t even get me the truth?!”

  Whiplash had completely broken down at that point, and Mika felt powerless to help him. There was nothing she could say that could possibly alleviate him. She also had a job to do, and she had to finish the interrogation before getting a warrant for Kevin Spencer.

  “I’m sorry for making you go through this, but I have to finish the interrogation. Unless, of course, you’re not feeling up to it, then we can take a break.”

  “No. I want to finish the interrogation now.”

  “What else did he tell you?”

  “He also told me that he meant that I was supposed to be brought back to his colleagues, but even while the project was still running, he couldn’t do it because the leader of the project wouldn’t have accepted me.”

  Mika could actually understand that idea, especially considering the fact that Sandlak had lost over half of his original staff for the project. He probably didn’t want to find himself face to face with Whiplash. He probably didn’t want to even think about him.

  “Now that you’ve told me what Kevin had told you, I will tell you what he probably didn’t tell you. Like I already told you, you were once human. In fact, ironically enough, you were also a criminal in your past life. You were chosen for the project specifically because you were in prison at the time. The scientists figured that you wouldn’t be missed.”