They're Among Us

by M. L. WILSON

  Exhausted, Cartwright lays down on the bed next to his wife’s and goes to sleep.

  CHAPTER 98

  IT’S LATE IN the evening and still no word from Bishop. Saunders and Justice wait patiently, but they can’t help thinking something is wrong. He could have been captured; he could be dead, maybe something worse. Saunders can’t help that feeling it’s just a matter of time before agents kick in the door to their motel room and gun them down also.

  “Damn!” Saunders says as she abruptly interrupts the silence. She looks at her watch and paces the floor, unsure of what to do next. Unsure if she should completely trust Detective Justice.

  “Relax, Doctor. Bishop’s a tough cop. He’s gonna be okay,” Justice says, hoping to calm her.

  The fact is, he is not sure if what he’s telling her is true. Bishop didn’t tell them exactly what he was planning on doing, but they both have a pretty good idea. Over the past few hours, they noticed Bishop’s mentality change from survival mode to attack mode. He’s going to get the information from Agent Breer by any means necessary.

  “Relax?” Saunders says angrily. “Good idea, Detective. Why don’t we just order room service? Maybe go take a dip in the pool. What the hell? It’s not like anyone’s trying to kill us.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “I know what you meant, Detective. It’s just a stupid thing to say right now.”

  “You still don’t trust me, do you, Doctor?”

  “I don’t know who to trust. Except for Bishop, of course.” Saunders moves back the curtain just enough to peek out the window. Just as she does, she sees a police car speeding past at top speed with lights and sirens on. An instant of fear and an urge to run crosses her mind. But the police car is gone almost immediately.

  Relax, Saunders says to herself. A stupid thing to say but good advice. Police emergencies in this area are not uncommon.

  “I don’t know what else I can do to earn your trust,” Justice says.

  “You...you’re...one of them. You’re an alien, for god’s sake. How did you think I would act?”

  “My people are not your enemy, Doctor.”

  “Yeah? What about you? You lied to us. You lied to your partner.”

  “We’ve been through this before, Doctor.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s go through it again. I’m still not completely convinced.”

  “Well, you know what, Doctor? That’s too bad,” Justice says angrily. “I told you the truth. If you don’t want to believe me, then that’s your problem. But if I were you, I’d start focusing on our common enemy.”

  Saunders sits down and tries to take Justices’ advice. She feels bad about constantly blaming him and his people. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s time to trust.

  “What do you think he’s doing with Breer?” Saunders asks.

  “I don’t know but I have a bad feeling about it. Whatever it is, I don’t think either of us is going to want to hear about it.”

  CHAPTER 99

  A COLD RAIN is starting to fall. No wind blowing, but the air is cold, twenty, maybe twenty-five degrees. The air smells clean. Normally, Bishop would have to bundle up to keep warm. Not on this night. Not after what he’s done.

  For Bishop, it may as well by ninety degrees outside as much as he’s sweating. He barely notices the cold. He usually finds it very beautiful.

  Breathing heavily from part anxiety, part exhaustion, Bishop makes it back to his car. He parked a block away so it wouldn’t look suspicious to Agent Breer.

  Mission accomplished, Bishop says to himself as he gets in the car. At least part of the mission, anyway. The easy part. Not so easy on his conscience, though.

  He’s a little in shock at what he’s done. Bishop’s a tough cop, but doing a Jack Bauer was never his style. It looked cool when Jack did it on episodes of 24, but this is real life. Bishop’s been known to “tune up” a suspect. He’s even had to shoot a few. But he crossed the line tonight. He tortured someone and executed him.

  Someone, something, a life form. However it’s viewed, Special Agent Breer is dead. His remains, vaporized. People are going to miss him. There will be an investigation, a big one. Breer was, after all, a federal agent.

  Bishop thinks long and hard about what he’s done and wonders if there will be consequences. Nothing left of the body, but if there were any witnesses, he would have a lot of explaining to do. He wore gloves, so no fingerprints left behind. Maybe if all goes well, he will be seen as a hero instead of a murderer. After all, he is trying to save the planet. He knows how politics can play into the justice system, though.

  His sweaty hands nervously squeeze the steering wheel as he begins the long trip back to the motel. The whole way, all he can think of is hearing Breer screaming in agony as the yellow acid ate away at his flesh and bones from the inside out until there was only a dark spot of ash where Breer lay. He screamed and begged, but Bishop kept on until there was nothing left of him.

  Don’t think about it. You did the right thing.

  Bishop says this to himself over and over again. The Promelians would have done the same to him and every other human, right? Ask any Cerelean, and they will tell you yes. Get them before they get you. That’s how it is in war.

  Bishop is so distracted, he doesn’t even notice he’s doing ninety miles per hour. That will certainly get him the wrong attention. Speeding from a crime scene. It wouldn’t take much for a good detective to put it together. Bishop slows to the speed limit and struggles to put on his seat belt.

  Calm down, Ken.

  CHAPTER 100

  THE DRIVE BACK to the motel seemed to take forever. As Bishop pulls into the parking lot, he wonders how he’s going to tell Justice that one of his own people betrayed them. How many more traitors were there? How will Justice take it? Is he a traitor?

  These questions swirl inside Bishop’s head. He turns off the car and lays his head back on the headrest to gather his thoughts. Too much coming at him at once.

  And now, he’s a killer. He executed a man in cold blood. The worst part is, he doesn’t feel as guilty about it as he thinks he should. This is war. Agent Breer took the wrong side. Besides, he’s not a man. He’s a alien and a traitor.

  After a few minutes, Bishop gets out of the car and goes inside.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Saunders says as she and Justice jump to their feet. “We’ve been worried sick.”

  “You sound like my mother, Doctor.” Bishop answers.

  “Fill us in, partner,” Justice says. “What’s going on? What did you find out?”

  “Breer’s dead,” Bishop says as he walks to the bathroom to splash water on his face. Saunders and Justice are left speechless. They know these are desperate times, but they didn’t expect Bishop to kill him.

  “What...what happened, Ken?” Saunders asks.

  “I needed answers, and he wouldn’t give them to me.”

  “Partner, you know I have your back, but—”

  “But what, Detective?” Bishop interrupts angrily “Let me tell you something. Breer was working for the Promelians, but he wasn’t a Promelian. He was Cerelean.”

  “Cerelean?” Saunders says surprisingly.

  “That can’t possibly be,” Justice says.

  “Why?” Bishop asks. “Because Cereleans are so perfect?”

  “I didn’t mean it that way; I just thought—”

  “Look, he betrayed your people the same way there are humans out there betraying us. It happens. Get over it. I got the answers we need, and you were correct. Their ship is in the Med.”

  Justice sits on the edge of the bed and lowers his head in shame. The possibility that a Cerelean would betray his own people is a thought that never occurred to him.

  “Look, partner. We’re at war, and people are taking sides. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

  Saunders says, “Why don’t we just get some rest, and we can figure out what to do tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER 101

 
SAUNDERS CAN ALMOST smell the pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon cooking. It’s amazing how powerful some dreams can be. That’s all it was, though. Just a dream. Something as simple as pancakes can mean so much under certain circumstances.

  Pancakes are not in the cards for them, though. Maybe a Snickers bar out of the vending machine. A sorry substitute but still preferable to hunger.

  Here she is, waking up in a hotel room with two men. The other motel residents must think she’s a pro. What would Ms. Beltran think if she saw her? Saunders stumbles to the mirror and is unhappy with what she sees.

  Her hair is a mess, her clothes are wrinkled, and she’s in desperate need of a manicure. All she can do is shake her head.

  This too shall pass, she says to herself.

  It’s only six a.m. She doesn’t want to wake her partners, but she’s starving. She remembers the vending machines just around the corner and figures she will surprise them with candy bars and soda for breakfast. Yummy.

  The cold air hits her as she walks out the door. It wakes her up instantly. Not as good as a hot cup of coffee, but it will have to do. The cold air wakes Bishop up as well. Instinctively, he reaches for his weapon.

  “Relax,” Saunders says to Bishop. “I’m just going to the vending machine.”

  “Be careful.” Bishop rolls over and tries to get a few more minutes of sleep.

  Saunders cautiously looks around for anything unusual. The coast is clear.

  The vending machine has a large assortment of snacks—cookies, candy bars, gummy bears. Everything the body needs. Saunders doesn’t remember the prices being this high, though. She drops in her quarters and considers her options.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she sees someone approaching. The man is average height but slender. Sickly looking, in fact. Maybe a local homeless drug addict. He fits the look: worn-out, dirty clothes, disheveled, unshaven. She knows Promelians and government agents don’t look like that. Saunders doesn’t feel threatened as the man walks up to her. She knows he’s going to ask for money.

  “Excuse me, miss. Can you spare a quarter please?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Saunders says as she reaches into her pants pocket.

  “God bless you, ma’am. I haven’t eaten in two days.”

  “Here you—” Before Saunders can finish her sentence, the “homeless drug addict” swiftly grabs her and puts a handkerchief over her nose and mouth. Saunders struggles to escape, but the man’s grip is too strong. Far too strong to be a starving homeless man.

  It doesn’t take long for the chloroform to take effect. Her attempts to break free get weaker with every passing second. Everything is blurry. Saunders feels herself passing out. In a matter of seconds, she is unconscious.

  The man hoists Saunders’ limp body over his shoulder and carries her to an awaiting black Chevy Tahoe. The Chevy drives away, leaving only scattered coins around the vending machine. The only evidence that Saunders had ever been there.

  “We have her,” says the driver on his cell phone.

  “Excellent,” says the voice over the phone. “Bring her to me.”

  CHAPTER 102

  BISHOP IS STARTLED by the sound of tires spinning away. He doesn’t think much of it at first until he remembers that Saunders went outside. He jumps out of the bed and immediately grabs his weapon and runs outside. Something’s wrong. Those cop instincts again.

  Justice jumps up and runs outside behind him, unsure of what’s going on. Only knowing that he has to back up his partner.

  “Laura!” Bishop yells. No answer. He runs down to the vending machine with Justice right behind him.

  “What’s wrong?” Justice asks.

  Saunders doesn’t answer Bishop’s call. She’s nowhere to be found. Bishop notices several coins scattered around the vending machine. She was here.

  “Dear God,” Bishop says as he kneels down and picks up one of the coins. Justice looks around to make sure this isn’t an ambush.

  “Ken, what is it?”

  “It’s...it’s Dr. Saunders. They got her. I failed again.”

  The guilt he feels is the same guilt he has carried with him for the death of his wife and daughter. He wasn’t there when they were killed. It’s not his fault. Everyone has told him that. He’s tried to tell himself that countless number of times.

  In one ear, out the other.

  Justice is speechless. But only for a moment. He realizes something very simple; something that is very obvious.

  “Where are they?” Justice asks rhetorically.

  “What?” Bishop asks.

  “Why haven’t they come for us?” Justice puts his weapon in his waistband and helps Bishop to his feet. “Ken, think about it. Why haven’t they come for you and me? They know where we are. Why haven’t they attacked?”

  Bishop clears his head and thinks about what his partner is saying. He looks at Justice and then looks around the parking lot. No government vehicles. No men in assault gear. Only crack heads and prostitutes. He looks up in the sky. No helicopters.

  “We should be dead right now, partner, but we’re not,” Justice says. “Something else is going on.”

  Before Bishop can comment, the cell phone that Christine gave him rings. He doesn’t recognize the number. Only Justice and Saunders even know the number.

  “Yeah. Who is this?” Bishop answers.

  “If you ever want to see the lovely doctor again, you will be at the old factory off of Assembly Road. Tonight. Eight o’clock.”

  “Let me speak to Dr. Saunders,” Bishop says. He doesn’t get an answer. The caller hangs up, leaving Bishop with trying to piece together the puzzle.

  “Who was it?” Justice asks.

  “They didn’t say. Only that we are to meet them tonight at the old factory on Assembly Road tonight at eight. That factory’s way out in the sticks.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Justice says. “If they want us dead, then why don’t they just come here and kill us? They know where we are.”

  “You were right, Alan. Something else is going on. There’s another player in the game.”

  CHAPTER 103

  THE BLURINESS IS clearing up, and Saunders is able to make sense of the blurred images in front of her. She sits up and rubs her eyes for a clearer vision.

  Expensive furniture throughout the room. Very expensive. The chaise she is laying on probably cost thousands alone. Why would her would-be killers make her so comfortable? Where are Bishop and Justice?

  There are a thousand questions in her head, but right now, all Saunders can think about is the splitting headache she has.

  She rubs her eyes as she stands up to see exactly where she is. No windows. One door that locks from the outside. Whoever captured her doesn’t want her leaving anytime soon. They don’t want her dead, either.

  Suddenly, Saunders hears footsteps outside the door. As the doorknob turns, she picks up a vase and moves to the far corner of the room to defend herself. The door opens, and an older gentleman enters carrying a tray of food and orange juice. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and the stack of pancakes she dreamed about. Looks like some dreams do come true.

  The gentleman sets the tray down on the nightstand and walks out the door. As he walks out, another gentleman walks in, using a walking cane.

  “My dear, I assure you that will not be necessary,” Cartwright says as he walks closer to Saunders.

  “Yeah? Who the hell are you? Why did you kidnap me? Where’s Bishop and Justice?”

  “Patience, my dear,” Cartwright says in a calming voice. “No one here is going to harm you. As for your partners, they are alive and well, though I’m not sure for how long.”

  “So, what do you want with me?”

  “Well, young lady, it might seem strange, but you and I are actually allies,” Cartwright says as he steps toward Saunders.

  “Stay where you are.” Saunders prepares to swing the vase like a baseball player prepares to swing a bat.

  “Dr. Saunders, the vase you
are holding is worth over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If you would kindly put it down, I will explain everything.”

  Saunders is hesitant. They drugged her, kidnapped her, and locked her in a room. That is not her idea of building a trusting relationship.

  “Why should I trust you?”

  “Because you are not dead, my dear. We could have easily killed you and your friends, but like I said, we are allies. Please, put down the vase and have something to eat. I will explain everything.”

  CHAPTER 104

  IT’S A LONG drive to the factory. About a two-hour drive, in fact. Bishop’s never been good at making small talk. A two-hour drive on a long stretch of highway is a long time to be silent. The truth is, he doesn’t really know much about Justice. Imagine finding out that the person you entrust to protect your life is from another planet. Finally, Bishop decides to break the silence.

  “So, tell me more about your people, Alan.”

  Justice is glad Bishop decided not to bring up the news about Breer. He knows his partner is still a little uneasy around him.

  “There’s not much more to tell. Humans and Cereleans are a lot alike in many ways. We work, we raise a family…”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  Justice smiles at hearing Bishop’s request. “I think you’re forgetting that I was born on Earth. My planet was conquered long before I was even born.”

  “Yeah, but surely your people stayed connected to your ancestry somehow.”

  “We did. You know the device you found in Phipps’ apartment?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That device allows us to view images of our home world based on our thoughts.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, if I wanted to see the Gavelda mountain ranges on my home world, all I have to do is hold the device in my hand, and it sort of puts me there. I can smell the air; I can feel the wind blowing. I can see all of Cerelea with just a thought.”