by Rae Knightly
Chaotic shouts broke out. The two guards rushed to Connelly’s aid and tore the alien away from him, then dragged the suspect back into the interrogation room, pinning him down on the chair. The High Inspector and Connelly picked themselves up from the ground shakily.
Hao gaped from the alien to his colleagues. He grabbed his crutches and hopped out of the room. “Do you have that effect on everyone?” he taunted his partner.
Connelly glowered at him while he straightened his jacket and wiped at the dust on his arms.
Hao turned to his boss, “I take it you don’t require my assistance for this interrogation?”
The High Inspector yelled, “Get out of here! I’ll deal with you later.”
“Yesss, Sssir!”
Just before the door to the interrogation room shut behind him, Hao took due note of the furious stare that the alien was directing at Connelly. What’s up with him? He wondered.
He stepped into the hangar where he contemplated the spacecraft without really seeing it. Connelly, he thought. Everything always leads back to Connelly.
His mind whirled. He had told the alien that Connelly had taken a blood sample from the boy and he had replied, “Did he, really?” Why had he said that? And why had the alien attacked Connelly specifically? Clearly, something was going on between his partner and the suspect. If only he could figure out what it was.
“Inspector?” A woman with a grey skirt and white shirt ran up to him, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Have you seen Agent Connelly?”
Man, our wonder boy truly has made himself indispensable around here, Hao seethed. The Inspector leant on one of his crutches and pointed behind him. “He’s busy right now.”
“Oh,” the woman said, her shoulders dropping.
“What is it?”
“I have a phone call for him. It’s that woman, Laura Archer? She says she wants to turn herself in.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Fireworks
What’s happening out there?
Not knowing threatened to plunge Ben into an uncontrollable panic. He felt as though he were on the edge of a black hole, looking down. The swirling quicksand inside the hole reached its sticky fingers around his spirit, intent on tearing it apart as it tried to return to his physical body. He daren’t try anything for fear he would tip over into the void.
How did Mesmo do it?
How had the alien managed to fight off the spirit portal’s powerful tug? He closed his eyes and embraced the despair that swept through his mind.
No hope…
Benjamin Archer?
Something whispered faintly in his ear.
I’m going crazy, he thought.
There was a sound like rushing water, and from somewhere far away, he heard his name being called. He opened his eyes again and felt warmth emanating from his hands. They glowed a transparent blue.
Benjamin Archer?
Beetrix?
He held still with expectation.
Benjamin Archer? Where are you?
Beetrix! His mind burst with relief.
Beetrix buzzed at the edge of his thoughts.
I feared the worst. Your body lies immobile, yet I sensed your presence. How can that be?
I am trapped in the van. Please help me!
The bee’s thoughts strengthened in his mind.
You may come.
Ben’s eyes rolled back into his head, and suddenly he was floating outside the vehicle, looking back at it. He felt a cool breeze on Beetrix’ wings, and leaves from the maple trees swayed above him.
I’m free!
For a split second his mind leapt with elation. But Beetrix’ words crushed his hopes.
I feel your spirit weakening. I fear for your life.
Ben felt Bordock’s trap tug at him, exerting pressure from all sides. He hadn’t been miraculously freed at all.
I’m only using the translation skill.
Mesmo’s words echoed in his mind: The skill is not connected to the body. It is connected to the spirit. Meaning Beetrix was providing him with a window to the outside, but his situation had not changed.
Beetrix’ thoughts reached him.
What is happening, Benjamin Archer! I sense great danger…
But Ben wasn’t listening. He had barely connected with Beetrix when he spotted the shapeshifter reach the van, open its back doors and disappear inside. Overcome with panic, he gagged as he disconnected with the queen bee and his thoughts tumbled back into the vehicle. When his sight adjusted, it was to come face to face with Connelly.
“What are you doing?” the shapeshifter growled.
“N-nothing,” Ben gasped, wishing he could be anywhere else but here. Beetrix fluttered at the boundary of his mind. He shut her out entirely so his hands wouldn’t glow.
Connelly eyed him suspiciously, his irises switching from green to honey-brown.
Ben noted instinctively that the shapeshifter was not in a good mood.
“I don’t trust you,” the bald man said. “Don’t try anything funny while I go deal with your Toreq friend.”
Fear gripped Ben’s mind. “Where’s Mesmo? What have you done to him?” he blurted.
Connelly bent on one knee to check on the black boxes. “You can forget about that scum. His hours are counted.”
Ben felt the space around him tighten. “Why are you doing this?” he gasped.
The shapeshifter straightened and set cool eyes on him. “There will be time, later, to discuss the reasons for my actions.”
Ben’s stomach twisted. I don’t want to be here, later.
He thought frantically. “Killing Mesmo won’t change anything. Just leave us alone. What does it matter to you? Once you leave with your spaceship, Mesmo won’t be able to follow. Don’t you see? Whoever is waiting for you up there won’t know the difference.”
Connelly cast him a dark look that made him cringe. “I’ll know the difference,” he said. “His remains will be proof that I accomplished my task.”
“Proof. For who? I bet even the A’hmun you work for wouldn’t accept such foul actions…”
Ben thought he saw a sly smile creep onto the shapeshifter’s face. “Who said anything about working for the A’hmun?”
“What? But you…”
“Enough!” Connelly snapped. “Don’t try to delay me any further.” He hopped out of the van. His teeth reflected the cold floodlights, and before slamming the doors, he said, “Watch for fireworks.”
***
Connelly stepped out of the elevator on the bottom floor of the Dugout and smiled. His spacecraft hovered before him, sleek and black, waiting for him. He had longed for this moment for so long. Finally, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Not only would he get rid of Mesmo and his team, but he would return to the Mother Planet with a coveted prize: the translation skill.
These months of hardship, posing as Agent Connelly, had paid off, and he was going to enjoy every moment of the coming hours.
But first, he had to clear the area so he could operate undisturbed. He walked to his vessel, savouring every moment of his imminent victory while soldiers and men in lab coats went about their business around the hangar. He reached for the spacecraft’s smooth surface, his fingers tingling with anticipation, and instantly the door mechanism obeyed his touch, sliding open to reveal the inside.
As he hopped on board, he caught sight of a couple of men in lab suits stopping in their tracks, their eyes popping out of their heads.
Connelly chuckled. “Better scamper, cockroaches,” he muttered as he closed the door behind him.
He immersed himself in a regenerative light, recovering his normal traits through satisfying waves of pain.
As soon as he was done, he slipped into the pilot seat, cleared the front window, and began activating the vessel, taking no notice of the cries of alarm from stunned men that gathered in the hangar. The spacecraft started vibrating ever so softly with a low, constant buzz, indicating that an inner mechanis
m had been brought to life.
Bordock swiped at screens and symbols that materialized before him. The spacecraft huffed and emitted a low, repetitive hum.
The shapeshifter skimmed over symbols that scrolled down in mid-air to make the constant throbs more pronounced. Bluish light left the craft and washed over the hangar. Walls on the far side rippled. Each vibration coming from the spaceship caused the concrete to crack, sending men scrambling in all directions. Red alarm lights whirled and sirens blared.
Inevitably, thick blocks began to detach themselves from the floor above, then crashed to the floor of the hangar. Soldiers dashed for the stairs like miniature ants.
The blue shockwaves turned orange, then red, rising in intensity, causing destruction as soon as they hit anything in their path. Thick slabs fell from above, some landing with a deep thud on the craft, but Bordock only smiled and increased the destructive power.
One after another, the consecutive floors that imprisoned the spacecraft from above came crashing down on the hangar floor.
***
The taxi came to a stop next to a back alley. Hao checked the shadows for signs of life, then, seeing none, paid the taxi driver and clambered out of the vehicle. The driver sped off into the night, leaving Hao on his own.
He checked the time on his phone. It was one o’clock in the morning. Eight hours had passed since the alien had been arrested not far from this Toronto street; three hours since Laura Archer had contacted him and told him to meet her here.
Good thing the High Inspector hadn’t confiscated his CSIS badge yet. Hao had taken a helicopter from the Dugout to Toronto in no time. He needed answers, and he needed them soon before Connelly managed to find a way to kick him out of the Intelligence Services altogether.
Hao tightened his grip on his crutches and made his way down the dark alley, realizing he could very well be walking into a trap with no means to defend himself.
Large garage doors led to a dark warehouse filled with boxes. Hao stepped in courageously and placed himself in the centre of the storage place. His phone buzzed in his inside pocket. He hurried to silence it without even glancing at the screen, then scanned the darkness. “Laura Archer!” he called. “I’m Inspector James Hao with the CSIS.”
A mild breeze swirled into the warehouse, lifting dust and crumpling sheets of plastic that covered scaffolds in the back.
“Ms. Archer?” he repeated.
Only silence greeted him, and for a minute Hao figured he had lost a precious three hours.
He clicked impatiently with the crutches on the ground when a woman’s voice spoke from the gloom. “Where are the others?”
Hao squinted and thought he saw a shadow standing by the scaffolds. “What others?”
“I’m turning myself in. Where’s your backup?”
Yes, the woman was standing behind the sheets of plastic, Hao confirmed. He shifted to face her better. “It’s just me,” he said.
The shadow detached itself from the back and stepped towards the exit.
“Wait!” Hao called, realizing she could make a run for it. “I’m unarmed.”
The woman slowed down. “I don’t trust you,” she said.
“Look at me,” Hao urged. “My leg’s broken. I’m on crutches, for goodness sake! It’s not like I can catch up with you.”
She studied him from a safe distance. “I turned myself in to be with Ben,” she said, then backed away. “I’ll find another way.”
“Hold on!” Hao called after her. “I understand that you don’t trust me. But I came on my own because I need to talk to you about my partner, Agent Connelly.”
This made Laura Archer pause.
She knows something! he realized.
Out loud, he said, “I need to understand what’s going on. I need you to tell me what you know, one-on-one.” Because she seemed to hesitate, he added, “Talk to me, and then I promise I’ll take you to see the boy.”
Her voice trembled. “Is he alive?”
“He is, but he’s in some kind of a coma.”
He heard her sob.
“He’s being treated by our best doctors, Ms. Archer, you can count on it,” he added quickly.
She stepped forward hesitantly, a service light illuminating her face. “All right. Stay where you are,” she said. “What do you want to know?”
“First off, tell me about Benjamin Archer.”
“What about him? He’s my son.”
“We have his blood sample. It’s like nothing we have ever seen before. It’s not…human.”
She approached him slowly and regarded him with cold eyes. “And that blood sample, who took it?”
“My partner, Agent Co…” Hao broke off, and then it hit him.
She watched his reaction and nodded. “That blood sample didn’t come from my son,” she said. “Your partner extracted it from himself. You’ve been chasing the wrong suspects this whole time.”
Hao’s mouth went dry. The past months flashed before his eyes. “But how?”
She stood before him now. “The one who calls himself Agent Connelly is not who he says he is. His real name is Bordock. Bordock killed the real Agent Connelly on the night of The Cosmic Fall and took on his appearance. He is a shapeshifter.”
Hao felt the blood drain from his face. “An alien…?”
Laura nodded.
Hao staggered back a few steps and plopped down on a box. “Agent Connelly…” he whispered, thinking back. “…was the first to arrive at the crash site…”
“Yes, the real Agent Connelly is among Bordock’s growing list of victims. You see, Bordock shot down the spaceships that crashed on the night of The Cosmic Fall. Only one occupant survived, and Bordock wants him dead. That’s why he took on the form of a police officer to infiltrate the CSIS. He’s been using your organization to track down his enemy.”
“Your alien friend?”
Laura nodded again. “Yes. His name is Mesmo.” She bent on one knee to be level with him and held his gaze. “Please, you’ve got to help me. Mesmo and Ben are at Bordock’s mercy right now. You’ve got to take me to them.”
Hao rubbed a hand over his face, thinking about what she had said. As crazy as the whole thing sounded, her explanation joined the pieces of the puzzle that were scattered in his mind. He had seen some crazy things in the past weeks, but this one topped all of them. Had he really been duped? Connelly’s face hovered before his eyes. Instinct told him she was telling the truth, and so he decided to believe her.
“I’ve been going about this all wrong, haven’t I?” he said, half to himself. He tugged at his bottom lip, going over the different events of the past months. The mistakes I’ve made…!
Laura cast him a look of sympathy. “It’s not your fault. Bordock had us all fooled.”
Yes, but I trained years for this. I should have seen it long ago. Hao cast her a sombre look, trying to process the information. “Don’t get me wrong, Laura Archer. I was only doing my job. I needed to determine whether The Cosmic Fall posed any threat to our people, our nation, possibly even to our world. You and your son’s constant evasion of the law was highly suspicious.”
“We had no choice but to run,” she said. “Bordock–your partner–wants to see us dead, too, even though the enmity between Bordock and Mesmo has nothing to do with us. Mesmo is no threat. He just wants to get home alive…”
“But what are they doing here? Are they planning an invasion?” Hao burst out.
To his surprise, Laura gave him a wry smile.
“I asked Mesmo the same thing, not long ago,” she said. “But no, his people are no danger to us. He says small teams visit Earth at regular intervals. They do that all over the universe, to gather observations and knowledge, but nothing else.”
“What about this shapeshifter? Why would he want to see you dead?”
Laura became even more restrained. “We’ve been helping Mesmo since he arrived. I guess that hasn’t been to Bordock’s liking.”
“�
��and yet,” Hao pointed out, “It is this Bordock–the very man you have been trying to avoid–that you tried to contact at the CSIS to turn yourself in…”
Laura cast her eyes down. “I figured he’d take me to Ben. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Hao stared at her in stunned silence. She’s willing to risk her life to be with her boy…
His phone buzzed in his inside pocket. He reached for it, but just then the sound of a roaring engine filled the warehouse. A black van screeched to a stop in the middle of the exit, its front lights blinding them. Side doors flew open and half a dozen men rushed towards them threateningly.
“Watch out!” Hao yelled, shoving Laura behind him.
One of the men charged him. He barely had time to react, when the sharp contact of the man’s knuckles on his chin knocked him over. Everything went dark.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Last Key
Ben sensed more than felt the vibrations that began to shake the ground.
He didn’t register them right away because the pressure coming from the four black boxes had become unbearable. His spirit was squeezed too tight, his thoughts scrambled. He knew Beetrix was calling him from somewhere far away, but he couldn’t concentrate on connecting with her with all his energy going into surviving the suffocating quicksand that pressed on him from all sides.
The van lurched loudly. His eyes flew open. Through the side windows of the van, Ben caught sight of shadows of running soldiers stretched before the LED floodlights. The vehicle trembled.
What’s going on?
His mind felt as though it suffered from high fever, and things became distorted. The van lurched again, and a rumbling sound came from deep within the ground. Then again. And again.
Ben gasped.
A LED flood light teetered and crashed, the earth shook as if a superhuman being was hitting it repeatedly with a giant hammer, and to his horror, Ben watched as the lonely concrete building crumbled in on itself and disappeared.