by Gary Striker
Jane absorbed the Slattery rhetoric with a sense of self-satisfaction knowing that she still had the magic formula that would entrap even the most difficult subject. She was also contemplating her abilities to provide what it would take to keep a man for more than two weeks, especially one that she found magnetically attractive.
“I don’t know what to say”, Steve said as he looked at Jane inquisitively, “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before, and I’m not just talking about this unbelievably fabulous supper, I mean dinner”!
Jane smiled at the use of Steve’s corrected terminology as he continued.
“You’re never going to get rid of me! You’re stuck with me, baby! You better resign yourself to a life of luxury and riches. Consider yourself a kept woman”!
Jane looked into Steve’s eyes and uttered one word, “Lips”!
Steve shut up as Jane sat herself in his lap.
“Now let me explain something else to you, lover boy”, Jane instructed, “It’s hard to get good hired help around here. If we don’t do something about the state of affairs of this kitchen tonight, the chances of having any breakfast appear in the morning are very slim”.
Steve pushed Jane off of his lap and stood tall.
“Where’s that dish towel”, he asked?
The beautiful rustic kitchen got put back into order as the fireplace reduced to a mere glow. Jane snuggled up close to her man as she put the last things in order.
“Am I going to finally have my way with you, lady”, Steve asked as they both contemplated imminent events?
“Take me, you fool, before I come to my senses”!
Steve stood by an upstairs bedroom window gazing at the light reflections from Eagle Lake. Jane was swirling around in his brain as she peaked in from behind the doorway.
“Anybody looking for an escort tonight”, Jane asked as she wrapped her bare leg around the door frame?
”You look hot, baby, Steve said in a serious come-on voice, “Any free samples tonight”?
Jane hugged her body around the doorway gazing at Steve.
“No pro-bono tonight, fella. This is going to cost you plenty”, Jane answered in her slinky intonation akin to an old character actress, May West.
“I seriously like those threads, lady”, Steve said in a voice of approval as Jane sauntered her way to the bed draped in a transparent silky blouse.
“Why don’t you come over and see me sometime, ya big hunk”, Jane said, while again emulating Miss West?
Steve made his way to the bed as his phone rang. Jane broke out in a laughing fit.
“It’s easy to see why you’re never gonna get laid, Casanova”!
“I’m gonna throw this thing in the lake. Doesn’t anybody know what time it is”, Steve growled in his irritated state. “Hang on, it’s Cruz”.
Jane partially covered up and looked at the phone.
“Answer it, Steve, this may be important. He may have some news on that thing we sent him”.
“Hello Cruz, I was expecting to hear from you”, was Steve’s greeting.
“That piece you sent arrived about two hours ago. It’s no secret anymore. Hang on, Darren wants to speak to you”.
“Hey Steve”, Darren greeted while skipping the formalities, “Where did you get this thing, and don’t tell me that it came out of a saw mill”!
“Not exactly, Steve responded in a casual tone, “I took it off of some Martian”.
Jane broke out in a giggle while trying to hold her mouth shut. There was a long pause as Cruz got back on the line.
“Darren just handed me the phone. He sat himself behind what’s left of his desk. He looks pale”, Cruz observed. “We’ve had some strange events since that thing arrived. He’s had a difficult time making sense out of it. He’s been totally absorbed with that thing, doing lots of tests. He’s even been doing inspection through the electron microscope. I didn’t understand much of what he was talking about, something about sub-atomic particle analysis and electromagnetic wave theory. It all made less sense when that thing crashed through the lab table, hit the floor with an enormous thud, cracked the foundation slab, and set off the seismic recorders at Palomar! I thought we had it! Several of the lab workers got transported and I may have cracked a bone in my ankle from the concussion. The building’s a mess and we’re going to have to evacuate”!
“Are you ok, Cruz”, Steve asked with concern?
“I’m ok, a little banged up, is all. Darren has a few bruises. The EMS chief wants to transport us for x-rays and a checkup. No kidding, Steve, it was like standing next to an enormous pile driver. We all bounced off the floor about three feet. It’s a miracle that the building didn’t collapse”!
Steve sat on the bed next to Jane listening through the speaker phone. Jane lost any sense of humor as the visuals transcended reality.
“Steve, I know it’s late for you. Let’s sort this out in the morning. Darren has a lot of information and questions that he wants to discuss with you. I want to hear the real story from you about this thing you found and how it relates to Marie”.
“I’m sorry it had to get to this”, Steve apologized, “but it was the only way we had to make sense out of it, and we haven’t done that yet”.
“Ok, Steve, let’s all relax and catch up after a good night’s rest”, Cruz suggested as Jane again broke out in a laugh, “Gotta go, talk tomorrow, good night”
“Good night, Cruz”, was Steve’s sign-off as the line went silent.
“How much rest are you planning to get tonight, you big hunk”, Jane asked while pressing herself against Steve? Steve took a deep breath and shook his head.
“We need some time alone, just you and me, Steve begged, “No problems, no phone, and no Martians”.
Jane took Steve’s hand and pressed it against her breast with a smile.
“That would be really funny if it wasn’t so close to reality, at least the Martian part. Let’s restart the evening and relax over a cup of tea”, Jane suggested as she defused some of the tension.
“I want you so bad that I ache”, Steve confessed as Jane took his hand and led him to the kitchen.
“Likewise, I want you more than anything I can imagine, and I mean right now”, Jane said as she reached for two tea cups, “But I’m real worried! Are you going to get yourself killed chasing space monsters”?
“I’m going to try my best to avoid that, sweetheart, but I’ve been thinking about the same thing. A few days ago, it was just me with not much to lose and not much to look forward to. Now I have everything to lose and everything to look forward to. Did that make any sense”, Steve asked as Jane poured hot water into their tea cups and then sat on his lap?
“If you haven’t figured it out, my luck could use a boost also. A two week relationship was a record for me. I often thought about kids, but that was as far as it ever went. I used to lean on my daddy quite a bit, but after he passed on, it was just my mama and me. I had to take care of her and keep it together. I kept men in their place. You blew the shit out of all that Sunday afternoon”.
“So what’s going on in that pretty noggin of yours right now”, Steve asked, “What would get things in order for you”?
Jane sensed an offering of sincerity and maybe a lifestyle change that was long overdue.
“First, I’m very worried about things that seem to be out of control. When I saw Clayton lying on that transport stretcher, I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want you to be there either”.
Steve looked through the inferences and laid it on the line.
“It’s only been a couple of days, Jane, but I probably know you better than any man on the planet. There is no way that you would ever walk away from this and less chance that you could live with yourself if you did. If that’s the case, we don’t have too many choices. The ones that get hurt are the ones that give up and slack off. I promise you, if we maintain a hard-hitting, sensible posture, we’ll be ok. We just need to use our heads and stay the course. Nobody else is
getting hurt on Slattery’s watch, I’ll assure you”!
Jane sipped the last of her tea and looked at Steve with tears streaming down her face”.
“So what is the other thing that you are so worried about”, Steve asked with a big squeeze?
“I’m worried about us”, Jane said in an act of submission, “I’m not the sticky, touchy feely type, but if we fall apart, I don’t want to even think about the times ahead”.
“Let’s go to bed, Jane. I assume that you want me in the same bed”?
Jane smiled and led Steve up the staircase to the first door on the right.
“This is where I expect to see you every night at about this time, mister. Are you getting my drift”?
“Snow storms and space monsters couldn’t keep me away, Ma’am”.
Jane laughed, sat on the bed, and pulled her man close.
“I feel like an adolescent idiot”, Jane wheezed as she snuggled close, “I can’t think of a time when I ever felt more vulnerable”?
I’ll make you a deal”, Steve offered as he put his hand back where she placed it once before, “If you get this slinky see-through cover slip out of my way, I’ll sign this contract with a lifetime guarantee”!
Jane let Steve remove the offending garment as he pulled the covers over and turned out the lamp.
I’m only doing this to make sure that Santa’s little elf doesn’t get cold with no clothes on”!
Jane let one fly as Steve went into his usual masculine tirade. Jane smothered the rant with her hand and uttered one word, “Lips”!
“It’s so nice when you have them trained”, she thought to herself with a big grin, “Damn, I’m good”!
Aliens in the Allagash
Chapter 12
The Anomaly
Steve stirred at the kitchen sounds echoing up the stairway. Twilight was just making an appearance. He discovered his own solitary presence in the bed. He rolled over to look at his watch as his cell phone rang.
“Oh-six-hundred”, he mumbled in military parlance, “Doesn’t anybody know that it’s still the middle of the night? Good morning, Jim”, Steve said in as polite a voice that he could muster, still thinking about being accosted throughout the night.
“I just talked to Bob, I believe that you remember Bob Bonnefant”, Jim asked?
“Sure do, what’s up?
“We’re meeting over at his snowmobile shop in Fort Kent at seven-thirty. Can you make it?
“Don’t you guys ever sleep around here”, Steve asked expecting a legitimate answer?
Jim laughed and settled into the discussion at hand.
“The guys thought a lot of your recon patrol offer. I do too, considering that the two State Investigators departed back to Bangor with nothing good to say. One of them suggested that we catch a Martian and put him in a cage for his inspection. We want to do just that before we all get locked up under the Baker Act”.
Jim reflected on a law of incarceration that removes personal liberties to prevent a person from inflicting self-destructive acts.
“In reality, Jim, we feel that it would be worth our effort to find out as much as we can about what’s going on in the area while we have the chance. Time is not on Mike’s side, or ours either. If the feds get involved again, it could be the end for all of us”.
“Maybe, and Maybe not”, Steve thought, “Cruz called me last night in a fit over what that device did to them. I’ll fill you in when I get there. Just so you know, part of this recon patrol is a personal vendetta, which makes it more risky. I want butt! Do you still want to talk about it”?
“We all want the same thing, Steve”, Jim answered, “Just for slightly different reasons. If we don’t move real soon, the window of opportunity may close. No telling how many more people will get hurt”?
“Ok, Jim, I’ll see you over there. We have a lot to discuss, and it needs to be confidential”.
Jane appeared at the doorway, obviously overhearing part of the conversation.
“Are you guys going Martian hunting”, she asked with a worried frown?
“We’re going to discuss the recon plan and try to come up with something that makes sense. Right now, we have no specific objective and that’s what we need to figure out, if we can. I’d much rather drag you back into bed”!
“It sounds like you’re going to war, Steve. It has me very worried. Maybe the best thing to do is just that, let you drag me back into bed”, Jane reasoned without coming up with a better option for the day. “I have to get ready for school. You need to promise me that you’ll be here tonight per your contract, remember”?
“Get over here”, Steve commanded as Jane ambled closer and sat next to him, “Anybody or anything that keeps me from being here tonight in this bed with you is going to be in for a bad day, and I mean a very bad day”!
Jane sensed the seriousness of his response and snuggled in close.
“Breakfast is in ten minutes”, Jane informed her man as she headed back down the stairs.
Steve was consulting the directions to Bob’s shop as he neared Fort Kent. A mountain crossover route gave him a view of the entire Fort Kent Valley.
“This is the kind of stuff that sells post cards”, Steve surmised to himself, “What a beautiful place”!
He could see the cut trails from the ski area and the St. Johns River winding its way into the distance. He also wondered what he was going to do when it came time to leave. Steve wound his way into town and had little difficulty finding the sign to Bob’s shop. Several pickup trucks were parked in front as he took an adjacent space, and then made his way inside, where he absorbed the warmth.
“Hey Steve”, Jim called out, over here”!
Cheyenne, Jim, Ron, and Gary were huddled around a work bench with an ATV obviously undergoing some modifications.
“Hey Steve, I believe that you know everybody, “Jim said in a welcoming voice.
“Sure do, good morning guys”, was Steve’s response as he stared at the machine, “What’s up”?
“We’re trying to decide how our new battle cruiser is to be outfitted”, Bob returned while looking over a highly modified version of a stock A.T.V.
Steve looked over the additional racks and accessories that would be helpful in rapid deployment.
“I like the ingenious modifications, but even James Bond had a purpose for every weapon in his arsenal. I suggest we do the same”.
All activity stopped and everyone stared at Steve.
“You all have military experience. I suggest that we don’t drift to far from our roots”.
Cheyenne pulled out his KBar combat knife without a grin.
“That’s right, Cheyenne, you might need that thing in a hurry as you did before”, Steve acknowledged. “We need to define, to the best of our ability, who our enemy is and how we think he is most vulnerable. We don’t have much to go on”.
Everyone knew where Steve was going with his assessment as Gary put forth his questionable observation.
“What do you suggest, Steve”, Gary asked, “How are we going to craft our battle plan”?
“Ahhh”, Steve heartily acknowledged, “You took the words right out of my mouth. Our ‘Battle Plan’ is the key to success, or failure”! What we need to do is to figure out what our reasonable objectives are. What is it that we plan to accomplish”?
“I want to catch me a Martian”, Cheyenne responded with a big smile as he held his weapon high.
“That’s what we need, guys”, Steve commended,
“It is important that we be specific and reasonable, or we’re all dead meat. Suppose we first figure out how to record what we’ve done, just in case somebody needs to follow the blood trail”?
The group got silent and looked at each other, then everyone offered suggestions simultaneously.
“Whoa”, Steve commanded, “I’m hearing some good stuff, one at a time. Jim, take notes”.
“Gotcha covered”, Jim said as he pulled his pen and accepted a pad from Bob.
“Our mission is recon”, nothing more, “Get in, observe, get out, nobody gets hurt, no engagement if at all possible”, Steve stated!
“I have a couple of those new helmet cameras”, Gary offered, “They will record for hours and see pretty good in low light”.
“Good, that should handle the video account”, Steve agreed.
“We’ll be on foot, or maybe prone for part of the patrol”.
The guys accepted the clandestine nature of what was to come.
“I have infrared binoculars that we use on some of the night rescue missions”, Ron offered.
“Great, depending on what we decide, this could very well be a night mission”.
The guys reflected between each other about spending the night in the woods during various hunting trips. They knew that it would be difficult to make a hasty exit, if they could at all, depending on conditions. Essentially, the woods would be their home until sunrise.
“We’ve seen those things watching us”, Jim said, “They have some kind of aura about them which made them easier to see when the sun was going down. They also seem to have some kind of field around them that muffles all the sound”.
“Ok”, Steve said, “We appear to know a few things about these critters, including my own run-in with one of those bubble headed bastards. It is possible that when we get the full lab report back on that thing we sent, we should have more clues as to what we’re dealing with. Right now it doesn’t look good. They got clobbered by that thing last night”.
Steve filled in the blanks on the bizarre happenings at the L.A.P.D. Crime Lab.
“I think we’re all wondering how we’re going to kill those creatures”, Bob pondered?
“I don’t think we’re going to kill anything”, Bob deduced, “I think we had better focus on how to keep them from killing us”.