The Revelation Chronicles: Evolution

by Eric Burney

  He must be here somewhere.

  The door made a loud buzzing sound before it opened and a man wearing a dark blue suit entered. He was about sixty or so with thinning grayish hair and wire-rimmed glasses. Everything about him screamed politician. A broad smile was glued to his face.

  “Charles Reese. So nice to finally meet you,” he said. “I’m the Secretary of Defense, William Proctor.”

  Even worse than a politician. He was the spook of all spooks.

  “I’ve been waiting quite some time to meet you. A pity it has to be under such confined circumstances,” he said, motioning to the shackles.

  “Then why don’t you release me? We can sit down, have a cup of coffee, and talk like a couple of men.” That was a long shot, but what did I have to lose? No harm in trying.

  “Now you know I can’t do that. You would likely try to kill me and my men like the filthy alien scum you are.”

  There it was. There was the hate. His true colors were finally starting to show.

  “You and your kind pose a threat to humanity. It is my sworn duty to eliminate that threat.”

  “My kind have been living among your kind for years. We just want to live here in peace.”

  “Oh, really? And what about the incident at the Grand Tower Hotel? We recovered remnants from the river. Our scientists have determined they were part of a doomsday weapon. And now that one of those remnants has been stolen, I can only assume it was for the purpose of redeployment. Is that your definition of peace where you come from?”

  Now it made sense. That’s what Cain and Evolution were searching for at the Baxter R&D building. I shuddered to think what they were planning to do with it.

  “You will never see the light of day again thanks to this.”

  He flicked the IV bag with his index finger. My suspicions had been correct. The serum was blocking my abilities.

  “This is your new home—at least until you give me what I want.”

  “And what is that?” I asked. This guy was more delusional than Viktor. If he really thought I was going to spend the rest of my days in an old decrepit fishing boat, he had another thing coming.

  “I want to know where the Vice President is being held. And I want to know where the Revelation cube is.”

  Now I was genuinely confused. I had no idea what he was talking about or why he thought I would know.

  Secretary Proctor opened a red folder labeled CLASSIFIED and removed a photo. He held it in front of me so that I could see it clearly. The photo was a bit grainy, but I could easily make out the image. There was wreckage from an alien spacecraft and a humanoid escaping from it. Under his arm was a metallic case about the size of a football. The man in the photo was my father, Viktor.

  Secretary Proctor searched my face for clues, but I was in near shock. I didn’t know what to think. Add to that the serum, which was really beginning to take effect.

  “I know you know where the cube is. Your alien comrade may not have talked yet, but I’m guessing you won’t be quite so resilient. Hook him up to the detractor.”

  “Look, honestly, I don’t know what that thing is. I’ve never seen it before in my life. I’m trying to help you find the Vice President, not hurt him and countless others. You have to believe me.” I pleaded, trying to appeal to his better judgment.

  But the Secretary ignored my last ditch effort, standing aside while the scientists readied some sort of head harness with rings of light that looked like a miniature version of the Kraken with all its metallic tentacles feeling around, reaching for my eye.

  There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t free myself. I could only watch as the tentacles crept closer to my eye and what was sure to be a painful experience.

  Then one of the guards touched a finger to his ear.

  “Sir, someone has infiltrated the site. We are currently under attack by unknown enemy forces. We need to move you to a secure location.”

  The scientists froze in place. Secretary Proctor scowled at the untimely interruption.

  “Sound the alarm and initiate lock down. No one gets on or off this ship until I get what I need.”

  Then he turned back to me with a determined look in his eye. It appeared my reprieve had only been temporary.

  “Now,” he said, signaling for the scientists to continue. “Where were we?”

  Chapter 50

  Cain looked through the lens of the binoculars at the deserted Hanover Bay Marina. The eager foot soldiers of Evolution stood by in the woods a few feet away, waiting for the order to attack. So far, Cain had only detected a long-deserted shipyard with gigantic pieces of worthless scrap metal floating on the shore.

  Then he noticed two men walking towards the large ship in the center. It struck him as odd because the man walking in front was handcuffed and there were bright floodlights emanating from the deck of the supposedly abandoned ship.

  “That’s it,” he said to Lucian. “There.” He pointed and Lucian followed his finger to the two men in front of the old naval ship, who were now being surrounded by a paramilitary unit.

  “So do we attack?”

  “No. Not yet. The one in cuffs is familiar to me. If he’s here, then Charlie Reese is close by as well. Let’s see what happens. They may give us the diversion we need. Christmas may just come early tonight, boys.”

  They watched and waited while the two men were detained by the patrol. After several moments, the two men were cleared and began to board the ship.

  “Now?” Lucian asked, ready to inflict pain on someone or something.

  “Just a moment longer. Be patient, my friend.”

  The patrol finally moved on and headed down the shoreline just beyond sight.

  “Send two after them.”

  Lucian turned and signaled for two members to break off and follow the patrol.

  “They’re going in,” said Cain, watching as one of the two men used a highly sophisticated security pad to open the main door. “Now we attack,” he said, giving Lucian the go ahead.

  Lucian gave a fiendish smile and charged down the hill with the rest of Evolution in tow. They swarmed over the side like an army of killer bees toward the naval ship. They were nearly upon the ship when the exterior lighting was refocused to spotlight the intruders. That was a problem.

  Hidden snipers targeted the attackers in the forefront, dropping them one after the other. Evolution’s front lines weren’t prepared for such resistance and began to falter, breaking into smaller groups with some scattering and retreating altogether.

  Cain frowned as he watched this unfold before his eyes. Then he realized this was necessary to weed out the weak from the strong.

  Only the strong survive.

  He liked that. Even thought it would make a decent creed for the new world.

  All of a sudden, he watched as a lone member of Evolution sprang into action, racing ahead of the others. She unleashed a dazzling array of projectiles that flew from her open palms like guided missiles. The projectiles, covered in an emerald essence, streaked towards the ship and destroyed the lights. The fiery explosion lit up the night sky before finally burning out and leaving the area blanketed in darkness.

  A cheerful roar erupted from the rest of Evolution. They resumed their attack on the ship with renewed vigor. The girl, a gorgeous long-haired athletic brunette, paused and looked back up the hill toward Cain, waving for the rest of them to join her. Then she turned and led the others as they stormed onto the ship, the USS Alamo based on its side markings.

  Cain suddenly felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Something he wasn’t quite ready for. He pushed it to the back of his mind for the time being. There was a mission to complete. A mission that so far, was going exactly according to plan. The poor souls inside the Alamo would never know what hit them.

  Chapter 51

  “So how are we going to get to this marina?” Michael asked. He tugged on the sleeve of his new custom designed outfit, checking his physique in the side mirror of a
dark blue custom van in the garage.

  “There are plenty of vehicles to choose from,” said Kara looking around. The garage rivaled an aircraft shelter in square footage and was fully stocked with trucks, SUVs, even exotic cars. “You can have the pick of the litter.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said. “What I meant is, we need to get there as fast as we can, right?”

  “Yes,” Kara agreed, not sure what he was trying to imply.

  “Well, a helicopter or something like that would be perfect right now.”

  “I’ll be sure to mention that to my father when we get back,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “Maybe a retrofitted G5 jet or something. Would that be good enough for you?”

  “No, hold on. I think I get where ‘Fabio' is going here,” said Nick, taking the opportunity to rib Michael. He was still a little jealous that he didn’t get a special gift from Jasmine. “We do need to get there fast. And what’s the fastest thing you know—in this garage or otherwise?”

  Both Kara and Michael looked at each other, confused. Then it suddenly dawned on Michael.

  “No.” He shook his head like a kid refusing to take his medicine. “Oh, no.”

  “What?” Kara asked. She was clueless.

  “Oh, yeah!” Nick exclaimed. “Think about it.”

  He could barely contain himself.

  “Guys…what are you talking about?” Kara was growing more impatient and annoyed by the second.

  “Me!” Nick replied. He was practically bursting with excitement. “I can get us there in seconds. I know I can.”

  Kara turned pale, like someone who was just let in on a good joke, and then realized they were actually the punchline.

  “You’ve got to be kidding, right?”

  “I can do this, guys,” Nick said, trying to convince them but sensing the overwhelming skepticism.

  “I think the Alfa Romeo will suit our needs perfectly,” Michael said, ignoring the determined speedster.

  “OK,” Nick finally conceded, “I’ll say this. If I can’t do this, I’ll never ask for another thing. I won’t bother you guys, or make you listen to my jokes, or do stuff like drink all the orange juice and put the empty container back in the fridge. I’m really reaching here, guys. Help me out.”

  Kara glanced at Michael and they locked eyes, both internally weighing the generous offer, tempting as it was. Then they shrugged simultaneously and gave their team member the answer he’d been waiting so long to hear.

  “OK,” Kara said, speaking for the both of them. “Let’s do it.”

  No sooner had the words passed her lips that Nick zoomed over and swept her up into his arms. They sped out of the garage and down the street before Kara could even catch her breath. Rounding the corner, he really turned it on, whizzing past cars and pedestrians alike, as though they were standing still.

  Kara closed her eyes tightly and held on as she could feel bile starting to creep up into her throat. She felt several sharp jerks left and then right, followed by a downward swoosh before she was placed gently on her own two feet.

  It took a second or two before she regained her bearings. When she did, she was shocked by what she saw. She couldn’t believe it.

  “Where are we, Nick?”

  “We’re at the coordinates Jasmine gave us,” he said, dumbfounded. He took in the scenery along with her.

  “They’re all headed towards that ship there,” he said, watching Evolution spill over the sides of a rusted naval vessel in the middle of the marina like uninvited ants ruining a summer picnic.

  “We’re too late,” said Kara. She was dejected watching the scene unfold in front of her. The men on the ship didn’t stand a chance.

  “We don’t know for sure that Charlie is even in there,” said Nick. He tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

  Kara unholstered her weapon, turning over the energy-charged gun in her hand and flipped the switch with a determined look in her eye. The gun made a loud whirring sound before a ding like that of a microwave oven.

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “Wait.” Nick threw up a finger in protest. “We’re a team, right? We do this together.”

  Kara lowered the gun and Nick took off again, leaving a funnel of dust and debris in his wake. While waiting, she watched the overmatched humans on the ship, unable to help them. Then she tried to reach out telepathically.

  Charlie... where are you?

  She waited anxiously on pins and needles, but she heard nothing in response.

  Charlie, please answer me!

  Even telepathically, she was beginning to lose her composure.

  She felt a surging wind, and before she could reach out to Charlie again, Nick was back. And he’d brought Michael along, who wasn’t too happy with the travel arrangements.

  “Don’t ever tell anyone about this,” he threatened.

  “Sure, whatever you say, buddy,” Nick said, trying to contain his laughter.

  “Enough standing around. Are you boys ready to go?”

  “Sure,” Michael said, glaring at Nick.

  Kara raised her weapon and headed for the USS Alamo.

  “Let’s go get Charlie.”

  Chapter 52

  “That wasn’t necessary,” Agent Simmons said. He seethed from watching Standeval kill the guard the way he did.

  “Would it have made you feel better if I had simply knocked him out?” he asked.

  “Yes, I would have preferred that. I made a vow as a law enforcement officer to protect the innocent. I know this is a special situation, but I can’t just sit by and allow you to do that.”

  “I respect your conviction,” Standeval remarked. “You’re different from most, I’ll give you that. But when the bullets start flying and the body count is rising, and it will, we’ll see what side of that fence you’re standing on then.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Agent Simmons led the way through the second deck passageway, or Level 2 of the ship. The USS Alamo had undergone a massive overhaul in the process of being converted to Camp Echo, a state-of-the-art black ops site for the government. The bulkheads were upgraded to composite steel overlaid with soundproof carbon fiber two inches thick. The flooring was replaced with structured glass tile units six inches thick. The tiles were pressure sensitive and illuminated with each step.

  Agent Simmons led the way through several compartments until they reached the first floor hatch, which was sealed shut. So far they hadn’t run into any opposition.

  “Are you ready?”

  Agent Simmons looked back at Standeval with one hand on the watertight hatch.

  “After you.”

  Agent Simmons turned the hatch with both hands several times, until the seal was broken and the hatch opened. Unfortunately for them, two guards were waiting on the other side to greet them. The guards raised their rifles and shouted for them to halt. Caught by surprise, Agent Simmons saw no way out other than to comply. But not Standeval. He ignored the armed guards’ demands, instead choosing another tactic.

  He produced a deck of cards from his coat sleeve. The two guards were understandably confused by the exchange, gawking curiously like spectators as he fanned the entire deck in front of them.

  “Pick a card. Any card.”

  Standeval blew on the deck and the cards instantly disintegrated into a fine red mist that struck the guards dead in the face. As the mist was inhaled, the guards began to scratch and claw at their throats. They gasped for air while the mist attacked the respiratory system. The two men thrashed about for a moment before finally succumbing to the attack.

  “Did you just… kill them?”

  Standeval smiled, studying his work like a proud painter.

  “No. They’re just taking a very long nap.”

  “What the hell was that?”

  “That was a little phosphorus compound mixed with a potent sleep agent I picked up from a witch doctor in New Orleans. Powerful stuff, huh? It’s pretty toxi
c in higher doses. Lucky for them, I wasn’t playing with a full deck,” Standeval noted with a twirl of his cane. “See… I can play nice, too.”

  “Let’s keep moving. There’s bound to be more guards on this level.”

  “Lead the way.”

  A klaxon alarm sounded abruptly, and the ship’s interior lighting switched to dim red illumination only.

  “So much for the element of surprise,” said Agent Simmons. He drew his weapon and charged a round into the chamber. “Come on, this way.” He turned down a passageway to their right. They could hear the heavy footfalls of several guards headed straight for them.

  “We’re not alone,” Standeval remarked. He hurried behind Agent Simmons into the next dimly lit compartment. “How much further?”

  “We have one more section to make it through before we get to the hatch that leads to Level 3.”

  An explosion rocked the ship and they both had to grab at the walls to steady themselves.

  “What was that?”

  Standeval was silent for a moment, like he was listening intently for something. Then his expression changed.

  “We have to hurry.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we aren’t the only ones trying to get to Level 3.”

  It was the first time in their brief partnership that Agent Simmons had seen Standeval exhibit any real emotion. It wasn’t fear; it was a heightened sense of urgency.

  Whoever was out there was dangerous enough to get his attention.

  Chapter 53

  “This place is a war zone,” Michael observed grimly. He took in the carnage left from the wake of Evolution’s surprise attack on the unsuspecting guards. Structural fires spotted the deck of the USS Alamo. Large craters littered the beach like the shore had been targeted by an AC 130 gunship. Twisted and mangled metal and debris was everywhere.

  “Watch your step,” Kara warned. They made their way carefully toward the ramp leading up to the deck. Most of Evolution’s fighting force had moved on within the ship, making their way below, but a few stragglers remained behind.