Near Death (A Jake Townsend Science Fiction, Action and Adventure, Thriller Series Book 1)

by Richard C Hale

  He didn’t answer right away so she said, “You said she told you something you had to find the answer to. Something you didn’t understand as she slipped away in your arms. What did she say?”

  “She said, ‘Be good to Madison and Lucas,’ and then something I couldn’t understand.”

  She picked her head up and looked at him surprised. “Me?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I always assumed she was talking about our unborn twins. She was pregnant with them when she died, but I didn’t find out until after the ER doctor told my family and they later told me. A boy and a girl. She was talking so faintly when she went, I had a hard time understanding what she said. The only thing I heard was ‘Be good to Madison and Lucas.’”

  “Maybe she saw your future and you’re supposed to be with me. It would make sense. That’s why my Ryan keeps saying your name in my dream.”

  “I don’t know. Who is Lucas? And why does she tell me to ‘Stop!’ in my dream? What am I supposed to stop? At first I thought she was telling me to stop trying to hear what she’s murmuring in the dream, but now I don’t know. Maybe she wants me to stop being with you.”

  It was out before he could catch it.

  She shook her head. “I don’t believe that. I’m being told to find you in my dream and you’re being told to stay away? It doesn’t make sense.” She paused. “Your dream tonight, what happened?”

  “The same as the other night, but a lot more vivid and real. Her face was so horrible, like I didn’t know her. The thumps were louder and when she said ‘Stop!’ it was thunderous, even though her mouth barely moved. As I woke, the sound seemed to be reverberating in the room. Like it had followed me out of the dream. Nothing was broken in my house though.”

  “We’re missing something. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know. I wish I knew what it was.”

  “Do you want to stop being with me?”

  “No. I think we’re supposed to figure this out together.”

  “Good,” she said, laying her head back down on his chest. “I was hoping you would say that, because that’s what I think too.”

  They showered together and then, after she showed him where everything was in the kitchen, he finally fixed her the breakfast he promised. Afterwards Jake asked her if she wanted to go to the airport with him. He was picking up Bodey at noon out of Chicago.

  “Ok. Will he mind? He doesn’t know me.”

  “Are you kidding?” Jake laughed. “He’ll be hitting on you from the second he sees you.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to go then.”

  “Come,” he said. “You’ll like Bodey and I’ll like the company on the drive.”

  She smiled and said, “Ok.”

  18

  January 13, 2010 12:15 p.m.

  Jacksonville, Florida

  Bodey’s flight was a half hour late and as Jake spotted him coming down the ramp, he waved and yelled, “Bodey! Over here!”

  Bodey was short and stocky, five foot four with curly brown hair and a full beard which was in serious need of trimming. He wore a Sherman Oaks Physical Education t-shirt with a thin blue windbreaker, purple with white striped jogging pants, and dirty gray sneakers. His luggage consisted of a beat up old duffel bag which he dragged along the ground behind him.

  “Jake! What’s up my man!” Bodey said extending a hand and going through a complicated handshake ritual that never seemed to grow old.

  “Bodey,” Jake said. “Glad ya’ made it. You’re looking good.”

  “Bullshit!” Bodey said. “I look like crap, but hey, I had to get up at three this morning to get here. You owe me.” He grinned, showing crooked, but surprisingly white teeth.

  “I do,” Jake said. “But wait ‘till you see what you’ve got to work on. I’ll owe you big time for that.”

  “Hey, who’s this?” Bodey asked, looking Maddy’s way. “Is she a new assistant or is this your sister?”

  “Bodey this is my new lab assistant, Maddy, so be good. Maddy, Bodey Jensen.”

  “Hi.” Maddy smiled and extended her hand. He waved it away, grabbed her and gave her a big hug.

  “Maddy,” he said, trying it on for size. “I like that name, it’s cool. Fits you too. Has anybody ever told you you’re stunning?”

  “Come on Bodey,” Jake said. “I told you to behave.”

  He gave a look like ‘What!?’ but Maddy said, “He is behaving. I can live with stunning.”

  “See,” Bodey said, “she likes me.” He looked around and said, “So where’s Teri? She didn’t miss me?”

  “She’ll be at the lab when we get there,” Jake said, “and she can’t wait to see you.”

  He looked disappointed, but said, “I can’t wait to see her either.” He winked at Maddy. “I think Teri likes me.”

  “In your dreams, man,” Jake said. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

  “New lab assistant, huh?” Bodey said. Then he stopped and Jake and Maddy did the same, turning to look at him. “Wait a minute,” he said. “You two got something going on, don’t you?”

  Jake felt his face flush and Maddy looked down and away, blushing.

  “I knew it. Good for you Jake,” Bodey said. “It’s about time you stopped hanging around dead people.”

  Maddy looked shocked, but Jake laughed and took it in stride. Bodey had a way of saying it without offending him.

  “We’re just friends,” Jake said, but smiled at Maddy and she smiled back. “So don’t get all worked up.”

  “Nope,” Bodey said. “You guys are more than friends,” and left it at that.

  “How was the flight?” asked Jake, changing the subject.

  “Bumpy and long. The pilot kept getting on the P.A. and saying air traffic needed us to do this and there was weather over the Appalachians and air traffic needed us to do that. I just wanted to sleep and the guy would not shut up. I finally asked the stewardess if he was always this talkative. She said, ‘You have no idea.’ So I told her to feed him or something so he would let us passengers get some shut eye. She laughed and said, ‘Let me see what I can do.’ I never heard a peep out of him the rest of the flight.”

  “Did you get to sleep?” Maddy asked.

  “Nah—it was like trying to sleep on a rollercoaster. Then everybody was hurling all over.”

  “Oh, man! That sucks!” Jake said. “What a crappy flight.”

  “Depends on how you look at it,” Bodey said with a grin. “I got to hold this beautiful blond girl’s hair out of the way while she puked in an airsick bag. She loves me now.”

  “Bodey—only you man,” Jake chuckled.

  “Hey, I got her number! She’s here in town for a few days visiting her parents. Her name is Robin.” He was waving a scrap piece of paper in the air proudly. “I figure if you hold a girl’s hair out of the way while she hurls, you’re practically her boyfriend already. Pretty intimate stuff.”

  Maddy was laughing hard at this and said, “Jake was right. I like you already.”

  Bodey grinned.

  As they walked down the concourse toward the baggage area, a guy with a luggage cart ran smack into Bodey’s duffel bag as he dragged it behind him.

  Bodey didn’t even seem to notice, but Jake said, “Whoa! Did that guy just kill your laptop?”

  “Nope, it’s not in the bag.”

  “Did you check it?”

  “Nope,” Bodey said, with a smirk on his face.

  They all stood around staring at each other for a second and finally Jake said, “Did you bring it?”

  Bodey shook his head but still had a smirk on his face.

  “Well, then how are you going to…?” Jake started to ask but Bodey held up his hand, palm down.

  With a flourish, he turned his hand over and opened it revealing a small device the size of a cigarette lighter. It was black and smooth and seamless. It looked like a polished domino without the dots and designs. Jake and Maddy both crowded in closer to look and Jake smiled.r />
  “You did it?” Jake asked.

  Bodey grinned and nodded.

  “It’s beautiful,” Jake said. “I can’t believe it.”

  “You’re looking at the next generation of laptop,” Bodey said, glancing around conspiratorially, and talking in a subdued tone. “It’s actually more of an interface, but it has Wi-Fi capability, enabling it to access its home processor from anywhere. It’s top secret,” he whispered.

  “This is a computer?” Maddy asked.

  “SSHHH!” Bodey shushed, then grinned. “I’m not supposed to have it here with me, but I couldn’t resist.”

  “How does it open?” asked Jake.

  “Not here. I’ll show you back at the lab.”

  He put it in his front pocket and started walking toward the exit dragging his beat up duffel bag behind him.

  19

  January 13, 2010 12:30 p.m.

  Jacksonville, Florida

  As Peter watched, the small group passed him by.

  He was standing just inside the art gallery of Jacksonville International Airport, and they never turned his way. Set in a small section of the center food and shopping court, it was a feature of the airport rarely used. Most travelers were in too much of a hurry or couldn’t care less about art. There were too many other distractions in the court such as alcohol and food. He pulled a cell phone out and dialed a number from memory. It was answered by the General on the third ring.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m at the airport,” Peter said. “The computer geek just arrived.”

  “Bodey Jensen?”

  “Yes. They’re heading to the lab now. The girl I told you about is with them also.”

  “All right, stay on them. I want to know everything that is said in the lab and on his cell. And I guess we’ll need some equipment on the girl.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Keep me informed,” the General said and the line went dead.

  Peter then dialed another number from memory and a gruff voice answered, “Yeah.”

  “It’s me. I need some equipment.”

  Peter gave his instructions to the individual and concluded the conversation with a place and time to pick up the supplies. He could only safely use each outside asset three or four times and then it became too much of a risk. Peter had used this asset three times already and he would have to terminate the relationship after this drop.

  Peter pressed end. The phone was now compromised.

  He removed the back cover from the phone and took out the battery. He pulled a small, thin metallic object from his pocket and ran it along the electronics exposed inside the battery compartment of the phone. A small spark erupted, but nothing anyone standing within three feet would notice. The phone was now useless. He deposited it in the nearest trash can. The battery he disposed of in the men’s room and the small metal tool he threw away as he exited the airport.

  20

  January 13, 2010 2:00 p.m.

  Orange Park, Florida

  Bodey, Jake, and Maddy entered the lab at two o’clock in the afternoon. The three were laughing and joking around as Teri yelled, “Bodey!” and came running over.

  “Hey girlfriend!” Bodey said, and gave her a big hug. “How ‘bout a big kiss for the geek?”

  Teri laughed and said, “There’s nowhere to kiss. It’s all too furry.”

  Bodey laughed too. “How ‘bout here?” indicating his forehead.

  She gave him a big smooch. “How are you?”

  “I’m better now that you’re here. I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too. Where are you staying?”

  “I don’t know.” He turned to Jake. “Where am I staying?”

  “With me, or we can get you a hotel room if you’d like.”

  “I was kind of hoping to stay with Teri now that she’s asked.”

  “You know you can’t stay with me,” Teri said. “I don’t trust you alone with me.” But she smiled and so did he.

  “I’ll call Robin,” Bodey said. “She’ll probably let me stay with her.”

  Jake and Maddy laughed and Teri said, “Who’s Robin?”

  “She’s the girl I met on the plane. I held her hair while she barfed.”

  “Never mind,” Teri said. “I don’t want to know.”

  “Bodey, you’re with me, is that ok?” Jake asked.

  “That’s great Bro’.”

  “All right,” Jake said. “Are you ready to do a little work?”

  “Let’s get to it,” Bodey said.

  He pulled out the palm sized computer he showed them at the airport. “Let me get this thing synced up to the CRAY and we’ll be in business.”

  Bodey pressed some hidden button or sensor on the computer and it sprang open like a folded up piece of paper. It kept unfolding on itself until it was the size of a hardcover book laid open. He pressed another area in the upper right corner and the computer came to life. A screen appeared in the upper half and a keyboard in the lower. He tapped a few keys on the now visible keyboard and the CRAY emblem appeared with a query asking if the user wanted to log on to unit JT00004CR2, which was the identification number of Jake’s CRAY.

  “Bodey,” Jake said, “that is truly amazing. How did you guys get past the circuitry issue in the keyboard?”

  “We just skipped it.”

  “Skipped it?” Jake asked. “What did you do?”

  “We modified a design of yours, actually,” Bodey said, grinning. “We took the sensing material you used in the body mold of Andee, layered it with pliable LCD material, and now there is one subatomic connection between the lower part of the unit and the screen. The keyboard doesn’t react to my touches. It reads what I am thinking and reacts by sending the correct key input. I don’t even have to type if I don’t want to.”

  “What?! You’re kidding right?” Jake was floored.

  Bodey shook his head and said seriously, “Buddy, your shit is the most amazing stuff we have to work with. We’ve made leaps and bounds with your discoveries. Why do you think I was able to drop everything and come down here? You’re invaluable to the company and we want to make sure we have access to your noggin. Watch this.”

  Bodey looked at the screen and the cursor moved over the query and then clicked ‘OK.’ A password screen appeared and a series of letters and numbers filled the line quicker than any of them could see. The cursor moved and clicked ‘OK’ again and the computer was now logged on to Jake’s CRAY. All this without Bodey lifting a finger or moving an inch.

  Jake, stunned, giggled like a kid. Maddy was grinning from ear to ear and Teri had her hand over her mouth but you could see her eyes smiling.

  “And it’s protected by the most powerful encryption known to man,” Bodey said. “It’s linked to my individual brain waves and will only respond to me. We don’t think it can be hacked, but we’ve been trying. No luck so far, so it’s virtually secure. Cool, huh?”

  “I don’t think ‘cool’ is the right word, dude,” Jake said. “I’m speechless.”

  “I told you it was sweet,” Bodey said. “Now, let’s take a look at your problem…”

  21

  January 12, 2010 3:30 p.m.

  Orange Park, Florida

  Jake and Bodey had been working with Andee for over an hour and Jake was feeling a little anxious.

  Bodey was awfully quiet, but Jake was trying not to let it bother him. He knew it was the way Bodey worked.

  Bodey was in the process of writing code to address the sound anomaly issue. He said he knew exactly what the issue was, but first needed to see if the software he had originally written for Andee was recording the whole sound wave. As he viewed the existing data, he looked concerned.

  Jake was watching him and said, “What?”

  Bodey shook his head. “This file is huge. No wonder you can’t hear the whole wave. I’ve never seen a sound file this big.”

  “Why is it so big?”

  “That’s the question of the day, isn’t it?”
/>   “What’s considered big?”

  “I’ll explain it like this—you take a normal music CD, it’s formatted at 16 bits, and 44Khz, which is good, but not the best sound quality…” He stopped and stared at Jake. Jake must have had a funny look on his face because Bodey said, “Do you understand what is going on digitally with a CD?”

  Jake nodded his head. “I remember basics, but refresh my memory.”

  “Ok—basic sound 101. An analog sound, the sound waves you and I hear through our eardrums is basically just that, a wave. A sine wave to be more specific. Look…” Bodey took a pen and a piece of paper and drew and wavy line which looked like a snake. “The wave has rounded peaks and valleys as the sound is produced. When the digital revolution came along, the computer was programmed to try and represent this linear wave in a computer’s world, which is not linear. Because computer language is a series of ones and zeroes, you’ll never have a completely linear wave. Get it?”

  “Partly,” Jake said.

  “All right, let’s try it this way. When I say CD quality sound is 16 bit and 44Khz., what that means is the wave is represented by a number with 16 zeroes in it and each number has 44100 samples of sound per cycle. The computer assigns each sound sample a number which is 16 places long. That sixteen place number is a series of ones and zeroes. When you add that all up, 44100 sixteen place numbers per wave cycle, is a lot of numbers, right?”

  Jake nodded.

  “But it still has flaws because it is not linear,” Bodey continued. “The computer’s wave looks jagged, like a set of stairs going up and down along the wave’s peaks and valleys. There are gaps of true sound missing where each step in the wave is. In CD quality, the human ear can barely detect these gaps, that is why the CD is so popular, but some people can still hear it and don’t like it. They say it’s tinny sounding or some of the nuances of the music are missing and they would be correct because some of the true analog wave form is missing. DVD quality is better sounding because it’s represented by bigger numbers thus a bigger file. A DVD is recorded at 32 bits and 96Khz, which, if you follow what we talked about, is a file with each cycle having 96000 samples of a number with 32 places in it. You see, in DVD quality, the little steps, or blanks in the wave are smaller, thus a better representation of the true sound wave? Get it?”