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[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #18 Out of the Fire

     “So, what do you make of him?” Detective Pauline Belton asked her partner, Detective Melsa Ripley.  They were looking through the one way window into the interview room at the police station.  The man in there had been found cutting his way out of a huge flying reptile that had crashed in the street.  He was walking back and forth, and looking at everything with wide eyes and an open mouth.      “Not sure,” Melsa said.  “I ran his speech through a translator, and you’ll never guess what it is.”      “What?”      “English.”      “Then why does it sound like nonsense?”      “Old English, like two thousand years old.”      “I mean, that creature did look like a Dragon,” Pauline said.  “But what, a Dragon ate a guy back in like 1007 or whatever, and he somehow is still alive now in 3007?  That seems unlikely for a number of reasons.  Did you get anything useful from what he said?”      “His name is William, and he is a farmer.  Apparently he was fighting off some invading army, when these Dragons attacked as well, and one of them ate him.  He says he was only it for hours, at most.  You know what I’m thinking?”      “If you say time travel again, I am going to put in a request for a new partner.”      “It makes sense.  And just wait, if Agent Blackwood comes to take over this case, that’ll just prove it.”      “Time travel isn’t real, Agent Blackwood works for Interpol, not some secret time travel police, and you’re ridiculous.”           William looked over as two women entered the room.  He recognized Melsa as she had already been talking to him, but the other was new.  She was dressed similarly though.      “Hello, William, I’m Detective Pauline Belton.”      “Hello,” William said.  He did not understand the magic with which they made themselves understandable to him, and vice versa, but he thought it a good thing that they could communicate.  Not that they had explained anything of use to him yet.      “Do you know where you are?” Pauline asked.      “Detective Melsa Ripley said a city called San Francisco,” William said.  “But I do not know where that is.”      “Where are you from?” Pauline asked.      “A farm, by the fortress town of Celliwig,” William said.      Pauline looked at Melsa, who shrugged.  “According to the historical records, it’s a place connected with King Arthur,” Melsa said.      “Who’s King Arthur?” William asked.      “Not important,” Pauline said.  “Do you know how you got here?”      “I was swallowed by that Dragon, and by the time I was able to cut myself out, it had travelled to this San Francisco of yours.  I do not know how, and this place is clearly some sort of magical realm, but you do look Human, even if your clothing is strange.”      “Nothing magical about this realm,” Pauline said.      “Then how else are we able to understand each other despite the differences in our languages?”  William asked.  “Or that flying horseless carriage I was brought here in.  Or some of those buildings I saw in the city as we came here.  Even aside from how tall so many of them were, there were buildings that seemed to be floating in the air, and I think I saw people disappearing from the top of one building, and appearing on the top of another.”      “None of that is magic,” Pauline said.  “It’s technology.”      “If you say so,” William said.           Pauline started pacing after returning to the office she shared with Melsa, who sat down.  “So, what are we thinking?” Pauline asked.  “Like, near as I can tell he hasn’t committed any crimes, so we need to let him go, but where are we letting him go to?  And what do we do about those supposed Dragons.  I mean, they’ve gotta be some kind of alien species, right?”      “Cardaillians look kind of like Dragons,” Melsa said.  “Possibly these are other species from their planet.”      “If so, this is a bit above our pay grade.  But if that’s the case, how does William figure into this?”      “You see why I’m thinking…”      “Don’t say time travel,” Pauline interrupted.      There was a beep on the comm before their supervisor, Captain Maven Travers started talking.  “Detectives, Agent Blackwood is here to take over your investigation.”      “What?” Pauline asked.  “Why?”      “Because clearly there is time travel involved,” Melsa said.      “Not this again,” Maven said.  “Just have everything ready for Agent Blackwood, and she’ll be down to your office in five minutes.”  The comm went silent.      “Five minutes?” Pauline asked.  “We’re going to need time travel.”      “Not really,” Melsa said.  “It’s not like we really don’t have a whole lot of anything.”           Agent Sarina Blackwood took the elevator down and walked through the hallway.  She had been here enough times that she knew her way around.  Upon arrival at Pauline and Melsa’s office, she knocked on the door.      “Come in,” Pauline said.      Sarina opened the door and walked in.  “Good day detectives,” she said.      “We don’t have a lot of info on whatever happened,” Pauline said  “But we’ll give you all we have.”      “Transferring it over right now,” Melsa said as she pressed a few buttons on her computer pad.      “And I understand you also found a Human in one of the creatures?” Sarina asked.      “Yeah, William, he cut his way out,” Paulin said.  “He’s in one of the interview rooms.  I can take you there.  Follow me.”      Pauline led the way out of the office, and led Sarina to the interview room, and led her in, but someone else was already in there with William.  His grey hair and wrinkled face indicated his age, but there was a certain amount of vigor in his eyes.  Sarina did not immediately recognize him, but there was something familiar about him.  William was sitting off to the side.  He was watching, but not doing anything.      “Ah, Agent Blackwood, I was wondering how long you would be,” he said.      “Who are you and what are you doing here?” Pauline asked.      “Agent Cid Jameson, with Interpol” he said as he revealed his badge.  “Could Agent Blackwood and I have the room?”      “Right,” Pauline said as she went out.      “Who are you really?” Sarina asked after turning on a scrambler to make sure no one could be listening in.      “You want to have the conversation in front of him?”  The man pointed at William.      “It doesn’t matter what he hears,” Sarina said.      “I suppose not.  I am Rupert Teleros.”      “Wait, the Rupert Teleros?” Sarina asked.  “What are you doing here?”      “I’m with the TRD now, just like yourself, although my membership is something of a secret.  But you can check with Director Wilcox to confirm it.  And I’ll be taking William with me.”      “I’m in charge of dealing with the incursion of the Dragons through the time door.”      “You are, yes, with one exception.  William was supposed to die in that battle.  His survival is a change to history, so we’re considering making him an agent, and I’ll be overseeing that.”           “Maybe this Cid is another time agent?” Melsa said.      “Agent Blackwood was really surprised to see him, and I’m not sure she actually knew who he was,” Sarina said.  “He did look familiar though.”      “The way you described him, kinda reminds me of my grandpa.”      “You say that about every old guy, which leads me to believe your grandpa is the most generic old guy ever.  And I don’t know, this whole situation just seems weird to me.”      “That’s because of the time travel,” Melsa said.           “There’s one other thing before you go,” Rupert said.  “One of the detectives here, Melsa Ripley suspects the time travel stuff.”      “Yeah, I know,” Sarina said.  “But she doesn’t have anything conclusive, so we’re leaving it alone for now.  And depending on what she does discover, we might even make her an agent.”      “She would make a fine agent,” Rupert said.  “Now, if you’ll excuse us.”      “Right,” Sarina said.  She looked at William one last time before leaving the room.      “So, William,” Rupert said as he turned to him.  “You are understandably rather confused by all of this.”      “Yes, sir,” he said.      “You have been transported into the future,” Rupert said.  “By a couple thousand years.”      “That’s what you were talking about with that other agent?”      “Yes, we are both part of a time travel organization, and I would like for you to join the same organization.”      “I’m just a farmer.”      “You fought and killed a Dragon.”      “I was eaten by a Dragon, and managed to cut my way free.  It was luck, nothing more.”      “Maybe, but what else do you plan to do with your life?” Rupert asked.  “Even if we returned you to your time, you have nothing to return to, but with us, you can have purpose.”      “I suppose I have little other choice,” William said.

[ericbarkman]

The best cover for Bruce Wayne would be dumb carefree playboy who is also Instagram Optimistic, everyday he’s posting a selfie of his smiling at his breakfast with a caption like “it’s a waffle day! #goodvibesingotham #grateful” or a picture of a sunrise with a caption that’s just “wow #blessed” 

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #17 What’s in a Name?

     Green Man looked around the mess hall and saw a table with a few of his fellow fighter pilots: Cheddar Cheese, Pandaherbs, and Dino Chick.  After grabbing his food he went and sat down with them.  Cheddar Cheese and Pandaherbs were playing a game of Scrabble, and looked up as he sat down, while Dino Chick was reading her computer pad, and did not look away from it.      “How goes the game?” Green Man asked.      “We’ve just started, so it’s too early to tell,” Pandaherbs said.      “But this is going to help me out,” Cheddar Cheese said as he placed the word ‘cheddar’ on the board.  “Double word score, and a double letter score on the H.”      “Playing your own callsign, or at least a part of it,” Green Man said.  “Nice play.”      “Does that mean I have to play ‘panda’?” Pandaherbs asked as she looked at her tiles.  “Because I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon.”      “How’d you get that callsign anyway?” Green Man asked.  “There’s gotta be a story behind Pandaherbs.”      “It’s not that interesting,” Pandaherbs said.      “Come on,” Cheddar Cheese said.  “There’s got to be something.”      “Well, how’d you get your’s?” Pandaherbs asked.      “Well, you remember how I was one of the test pilots for the Falcon-class space fighters?” Cheddar Cheese asked.      Green Man rolled is his eyes.  “No, you’ve never bragged about that dozens of times.”      “I mean, it was an honor to be picked for that, but…do either of you have any experience with them?” Cheddar Cheese asked.      “I got my start on the Eagle-class before switching to the Hawk-class,” Pandaherbs.  “I kind of miss the extra firepower, and I can’t imagine how bad the Falcon-class would be.”      “I’ve been on the Hawk-class my whole career,” Green Man said.      “Okay, well, the prototype versions of the Falcon-class had a problem with the environmental systems,” Cheddar Cheese said.  “Nothing disastrous, but after my first test flight, the cockpit smelled like cheese, really strongly so, and the flight crew started joking about that, and the name kind of stuck.”      “That’s hilarious,” Green Man said.  “Come on Pandaherbs, your story can’t be that bad.” “What about your story?” Pandaherbs asked.      “I mean, my story is about as boring as Dino Chick’s,” Green Man said.      “Hmm?” Dino Chick asked as she looked up from her computer pad.  “Did I hear my name?”      “Whatcha reading about?” Green Man asked.      “A new study suggesting that dinosaurs may have been a bit fuzzier than previously thought,” Dino Chick said.      “Cool, cool,” Green Man said as Dino Chick went back to her reading.      “Yeah, we all know she got her name from her love of dinosaurs,” Cheddar Cheese said.  “So what?  You love the color green?”      “I’m all about environmentally friendly solutions to problems,” Green Man said.  “Come on, you guys know that right?”      “Honestly no, I don’t think I did,” Cheddar Cheese said.      “Me neither,” Pandaherbs said.  “I don’t think it’s come up.”      “Huh, I’ll have to be more vocal, I guess,” Green Man said.  “But now we all know the reasons for each others’ names, except for your’s.”      “Okay, it goes back to when I first joined the ESS,” Pandaherbs said.  “Long before I even thought about becoming a pilot, but the nickname kind of stuck.  See, there was this thief we were after, and he used marijuana for medical purposes.  So I was posing as a dealer to try and find him, and I’m waiting at the meeting point, only he doesn’t show.”      “Okay, then what happened?” Cheddar Cheese asked.      “Okay, and I’m not bullshitting you on this, I waited an extra twenty minutes, when I heard someone coming up behind me, so I turned around, and there’s a panda there.”      “No, come on, that’s not true,” Green Man said.      “I swear it’s the truth,” Pandaherbs said.  “The agent training me kept making jokes about me trying to sell drugs to that panda for years afterward, and eventually it became a nickname.”      “Where did the panda even come from?” Cheddar Cheese asked.  “Was this in China?”      “No, apparently the panda had escaped from a zoo,” Pandaherbs said.  “It showing up was just a coincidence.”      “Come on, I don’t believe that,” Green Man said.      “Believe what you want,” Pandaherbs said.  “But that’s what happened.”

[ericbarkman]

Chrono Hustle #46 Pocket Sliders

     “We’re back,” Melinda Summers said as she walked up to the lake on the planet that would one day be named Trantor, along with her team.  “Ohm?”      Ohm laid the body of Jack Masterson on the ground right by the edge of the lake.  Mary Bishop, Imhotep, and the Ghost of the temporal duplicate of Jack Masterson made up the rest of Melinda’s team.      The lake stood up and took a vaguely humanoid form.  “I see that,” Nu said.      Imhotep immediately bowed.      “So, we’ve brought you the body, Nu,” Melinda said.  “Now you’ll help us find and save our friends.”      “Of course,” Nu said.  “It won’t be easy for you though.  I can send you to pocket universes, but I don’t know which is the right one.  So, I will send you to one, and after a set amount of time, you will be sent to another.  Anyone that is in physical contact with any of you will join you on this trip.”      “How long will we have in each pocket universe?” Ghost Jack asked.      “How much time do you want?” Nu asked.  “We won’t be able to communicate, so you’ll have to decide a length of time now that you will spend in each.”      “And what about when we’re ready to return?” Mary asked.      “If you are all in physical contact with each other, plus any others that have joined your journey, then you will all be returned here,” Nu said.  “Otherwise you will continue to be sent from pocket universe to pocket universe.”      “And if one of us dies?” Ghost Jack asked.  “I mean, if another one of us dies.”      “If someone dies, they will no longer be considered part of the group,” Nu said.  “So if eventually only one remains, they will be brought back here on the next jump.”      “Right,” Melinda said.  “Let’s do this.”      Meanwhile, back at their base in the Cretaceous, Abigail Esau was reading Merlin’s journals.  She had already made her way through everything that was written in English, and was now slowly making her way through those in French, using a mixture of what she remembered from school, and a translation program when necessary.      There were only a few in French though, and after that she was going to have to move onto another language that she would have to fully rely on translation programs for.      She just finished reading a spell that seemed fairly simple, so she tried it out, and made a heart appear on the ceiling with Mary and her initials in it.  It looked like if it had been scratched into a tree, despite the ceiling being metal.      Nu created the portal, and Melinda stepped through, with her team following in behind her.      “Four hours,” Nu had said.  Four hours in this pocket universe, and then off to another.      Melinda looked around at the place they were in.  It was a lush rainforest.  The air was thick with humidity and there was the sound of wildlife all around.      “Are we sure he didn’t just send us to the Amazon?” Ghost Jack asked.      “Can you fly up and get us a bird’s eye view?” Melinda asked.      “On it,” Ghost Jack said.      Mary was looking at the ground, checking for tracks.      “Finding anything?” Melinda asked.      “Plenty of stuff has been through this area,” Mary said.  “I’m not seeing anything indicating Humans specifically though.  Could be, but could just be animals.”      “Imhotep?” Melinda asked.      “This whole place is filled with magic,” Imhotep said.  “Very old, very powerful magic.”      “A Progenitor?” Melinda asked.      “I would assume that’s who created this,” Imhotep said.  “I could not tell you which though, and I don’t know that they are currently here.”      Ghost Jack came back down to the ground.  “Well, pocket universe is right, I could see the edges of this place as soon as I flew above the canopy.”      “How big?” Melinda asked.      “It looks to be spherical, I’d estimate a few kilometers across,” Ghost Jack said.  “I don’t think we’ll have enough time to explore the whole place, especially with how thick this foliage is, but hopefully we can get a decent amount done.”      “Okay, Ohm and I will go one way,” Melinda said.  “Mary and Imhotep you go the opposite way.  Jack, you’re the fastest of us, and can fly, so you can do your own thing.  Let’s go.”      Doctor Jeri Quill entered Harkon Smith’s office.      “Good day, Doctor,” Harkon said.  “What can I do for you?”      “Sesla’s clone body is complete,” Jeri said.  “I know you’ve been putting off that decision for a while, but unless you want Ghost Jack to lie to her next time he enters her dreams…well, you know.”      “As long as Sesla remains in her coma, we don’t have to worry about her turning on us,” Harkon said.  “If we transfer her mind to a clone body, she could become a threat.”      “Like Deanna.”      “Yes, I know Sesla is a thousand or so years older than when she was Deanna, and a lot changes in that time, but it’s still something to be considered.  On the other hand, if we don’t do this, and she wakes up on her own somehow, that might lead to her to turning on us.”      “Which means you should probably make the decision soon,” Jeri said.      “Well, Ghost Jack is on a mission right now, so I at least have until he gets back,” Harkon said.      Melinda pushed her way through the foliage as Ohm followed after her.  They had yet to find any sign that any Humans had ever been here before.  There was something else that Melinda was realizing they had not seen yet.      “Ohm, have you seen any animals yet?” Melinda asked.      “I have not,” Ohm said.  “I am hearing them, and I’m seeing tracks indicating that they have been here, but I have not actually seen any yet.”      “I wonder what that means.”      “Many animals are good at not being seen unless they want to be.  The fact that everything here is like that is worrying.”      “Sensing anything?” Mary asked as she checked the ground for tracks.      “Nothing new,” Imhotep said.  “Are you finding anything?”      “Nothing helpful.”      “Wait, stop, we’re being watched.”  Imhotep pointed up at one of the trees.      Mary looked up where he was pointing, and saw a creature that looked like a mix between a jaguar and a monkey.  Mary gripped her energy shotgun, as it just continued to watch them.      “There’s more of them,” Imhotep said.      Mary glanced around, and noticed that the trees were full of them.  They were surrounded by at least a dozen of these creatures.  “How long have we been here so far?” she asked.      “About an hour,” Imhotep said.      “Mary to Melinda, we’ve got a problem.”  There was no response.  “Oh great, comm interference or something.”      One of the monkguars jumped down to the ground in front of them.  Its teeth bared, and claws extended.  Mary shot it with her energy shotgun, and it dropped to the ground unconscious.      This caused the others to stop their silence, and start whooping as they jumped down to the ground as well.  Mary started shooting as many as she could, as fast as she could, while Imhotep put up a magical barrier around them.  The monkguars bounced off of it, but that just made them angrier and louder.      With the protection the barrier provided, Mary was having little trouble dropping them, one after another after another, but as she was doing so, more kept arriving.  There had been a dozen at first, and now there were already two dozen unconscious around them, and another twice that still attacking.      “I can’t hold up this barrier forever,” Imhotep said.      “Well, then hopefully they run out of reinforcements soon,” Mary said.      Ghost Jack had flown up to the top of the sphere that was this pocket universe.  The edge of it was a physical barrier, beyond which was a seemingly infinite emptiness.  He flew back down towards the rainforest, looking for any breaks in the canopy, but it was like a sea of green.  Even if there were breaks, it would be green there too, and he was not going to have enough time to do a thorough search of everything while they were here.      He flew back down below the canopy, as the bird’s-eye view was not helpful if he could not see anything on the ground.  Not that he was seeing much down here either, other than an astonishing amount of plant life.      More and more monkguars were continuing to try and attack Imhotep and Mary.  It seemed like for every one that Mary shot down, another two seemed to show up.      “I can maybe hold up this barrier for another minute, at most,” Imhotep said.      “We’re going to be overwhelmed if you drop it,” Mary said.  “Do you have any other magic you can use in this situation?”      “Maybe, but you’re not going to like it.”      “What is it?”      “I can maybe do a mass sleep spell on the area.  So anything and anyone within about ten meters of me will fall asleep.”      “That sounds good,” Mary said.      “It’ll include us,” Imhotep said.  “And I don’t know for certain if it will affect these things.  It affects most animals, but I’ve never encountered anything quite like these before.”      “I don’t see that we have much options,” Mary said.  “Let’s do it.”      “Melinda to Mary, you guys finding anything yet?” Melinda asked over the comm.  There was no response.  “Melinda to Imhotep?  Jack?”      “Something wrong with the comms?” Ohm asked.      “I guess,” Melinda said.  She took out her computer pad and ran a diagnostic on the comms.  “Hmm, looks like the comms themselves are fine, but there’s some interference in the area.”      “Is it just a problem with this pocket universe, or all pocket universes?” Ohm asked.      “I guess we’ll find out in another two hours or so…maybe.”      “In the meantime, should we check on the others?”      “Hmm, maybe just in case,” Melinda said.  “Although if this is a standard aspect of pocket universes, we’re going to have to get used to not always being in communication with each other.”      Ghost Jack continued flying throughout the rainforest.  So far he had not found much of use, although he had finally started seeing some animal life.  It was strange though.  He had seen some creatures which looked like a mix between snakes and parrots, and another that looked like a mix between a spider and a frog.      The sprogers were especially creepy, although the snarrots were pretty close.  And there were others that he could not even identify if they were supposed to be a mix of something else, or something entirely new.      Then, as he was flying, he came upon a small clearing.  Within that clearing was a small hut.  He flew over to it, up to the roof, and stuck his head inside to get a peak.  There was no one inside, but there was a small cot, and some cooking utensils.      He looked back outside, and saw a small fire pit, although it had not seen use recently.  Whoever lived here, possibly the person that had created this pocket universe, was seemingly long gone.  Or perhaps this belonged to someone that had been trapped here.      He looked at the ground, trying to find footprints, but had no luck.  Maybe Mary would be able to do better.  He tried the comm, but there was no response, so he took off to find the others.      Back in the regular universe, Philip Wilson and Dorian Winters were aboard the timeship in orbit of the planet Trantor.  Dorian was at the piloting console, while Philip was in the captain’s chair.      "So, how long do you think it’ll take them?” Philip asked.      “Who knows,” Dorian said.  “Melinda said they’ll be spending four hours in each pocket universe, and who knows how many there are and how long until they’ll get to the correct one.”      “And until then, we’re just stuck here waiting.”      “I mean, we could use the time in other ways,” Dorian said.  “We do have the ship to ourselves.”      Ghost Jack was flying through the rainforest, when he suddenly found dozens of unconscious monkguars.  They were surrounding Mary and Imhotep who were similarly unconscious.  And there were more of the monkguars coming in, but as soon as they got within about ten meters of Imhotep and Mary, they too feel unconscious.      He also started hearing energy weapons firing, and flew over to the source of it, where he found Melinda and Ohm, trying to hold off yet more monkguars.      “You guys need some help?” Ghost Jack asked.      “Anything you can do would be much appreciated,” Melinda said.      Ghost Jack flew down to where they were.  “Close your eyes, and we’ll see if this works.”  As soon as Melinda and Ohm had their eyes closed, Ghost Jack sent out an explosion of light to try and blind the monkguars.  And it seemed to do something, as they stopped coming at the group, and were pawing around in confusion.      “What did you do?” Melinda asked.      “Well, after realizing that i can glow in the dark when we had that power outage, I started experimenting with that,” Ghost Jack said.  “Hadn’t quite done anything like this yet, but I’m glad it worked.”      “Have you seen Mary and Imhotep anywhere?” Melinda asked.      “They are just over that way,” Ghost Jack said.  “I’m guessing Imhotep used a spell to put everything to sleep, as they are unconscious, as is every monkguar for about ten meters around them.”      “There’s more coming yet,” Ohm said.      “I found a hut over that way.”  Ghost Jack pointed.  “I’ll grab Mary and give her to you to carry out there.”      “And Imhotep?” Melinda asked.      “I don’t know if the spell is centered on him, or on the location where he cast it,” Ghost Jack said.  “But I’m immune.  So, I’ll carry him and find out, and if it’s centered on him, I’ll have to leave him a distance from the hut.”      “Sounds like a plan,” Melinda said.  “Let’s do it.”      After bringing Mary to Melinda and Ohm, Ghost Jack went back and picked up Imhotep.  He initially went over towards the blinded monkguars, while being careful to not get too close to Melinda and Ohm.  Sure enough, the blinded monkguars starting falling unconscious as he got within about ten meters of them.      That was potentially going to cause problems, but for the immediate time it was actually useful.  Ghost Jack started flying around in circles, knocking out any monkguars getting too close to his friends.      Ohm carried Mary, while following after Melinda.  Ghost Jack had pointed them in the right direction, and he was pretty sure they were getting close.      After a few minutes of walking, they got to the hut, and Ohm put Mary down inside, before coming back out.  Melinda was looking over the campsite.      “What do you think?” Melinda asked.      “I don’t think this was made by our friends,” Ohm said.  “This is a very old campsite.”      “Chronos is a God of Time.  So it being old doesn’t really tell us much.  But I do agree that I don’t think this was made by them.  I also don’t think this pocket universe was made by Chronos.”      “So then we just wait until we move onto the next?”      “It’ll be another hour so until that,” Melinda said.  “We should be able to hold out that long.”      As Ghost Jack saw that the others had made it to the campsite, he started circling around it with Imhotep, but keeping his distance.  There were monkguars coming from all directions, so he was not able to keep them all out, but he was at least able to deal with some of them that way.      He was really curious as to where they were all coming from.  Based the size of this pocket universe, there was no way it could sustain this many of them.  Possibly they were part of a security system, just being created to deal with the intruders.  It was hard to say for certain though, who knew what kind of rules were really in place in this place.      Mary woke up, and looked around.  She was in a hut, and her energy shotgun was next to her.  Ohm and Melinda were by the door, and they were both shooting out at a mass of monkguars that were approaching.      “Where are we?” Mary asked.      “Ghost Jack found this hut,” Melinda said without turning around.  “We’re using it to try and last long enough to escape this universe.”      Mary looked at her watch.  Just another few minutes left here.  She picked up her energy shotgun, and joined Melinda and Ohm at the door, and started firing at the monkguars.      Ghost Jack was continuing to circle the camp with Imhotep, when he noticed the monkguars near them were no longer falling asleep.  He was briefly wondering if that meant they were becoming immune, before Imhotep started waking up as well.      “What’s going on, where are we?” Imhotep asked.      “Still in the pocket universe,” Ghost Jack said.  “Just trying to survive long enough to move on to the next.”      “How much longer will that be?” Imhotep asked.      “Should be any second now,” Ghost Jack said, and suddenly they were underwater.      Ghost Jack was fine, not needing to breathe, but Imhotep did.  Ghost Jack looked at him, and he was holding his breath, but as they had not been prepared for this, there was no telling how long he’d be able to hold it for.      Ghost Jack looked around.  He had no idea which way was up, so he grabbed Imhotep, and chose a direction, and started moving that way.  After a few seconds they hit a solid surface, so they went in another direction.  They hit another solid surface.  A third direction led to a third solid surface.      Mary was still firing at monkguars, when all of a sudden the monkguars were gone.  And she was no longer in a hut in a rainforest, and Melinda and Ohm were no longer next to her.  She was on sand.  She looked around and saw more sand.      She was in what looked to be cubic room, a few yards across.  The floor, walls, and even the ceiling looked to be made of sand, but not packed together, which made her wonder how it was staying suspended.      Mary reached down and picked up some sand of the floor, and sure enough, it was really loose.  She tried the wall, and it was the same.  She tried digging a bit, and came upon a solid surface after about half a foot, but as soon as she removed her hands, sand flowed down to fill in the hole.      What was this place, she wondered.  And where were her friends?  She had been next to Melinda and Ohm, but clearly they were not in this room.      Ohm was in a cubic room as well.  His had grass growing out of the floor, walls, and ceiling.  The strange thing was that there was no soil for it to grow out of.  It was coming out of a solid surface.  He grabbed a handful, and pulled it out, but more instantly grew out of the spot he had pulled from.      He tried knocking on the walls, and then listened but did not hear anything.  He tried his comm, but it was still not working.  He checked his handheld scanner, but it did not show anything beyond the walls.      And in yet another cubic room, Melinda was considering her surroundings.  The floor, walls, and ceiling of the one she was in were coated in mud.  The fact that the mud was not dripping down from the ceiling, or even going down the wall, was interesting.      Melinda tried stepping onto the wall, and it was as if gravity shifted as she did so.  What had been a wall, was now the floor, as far as she was concerned.  Melinda then tried moving to the wall she had originally considered the ceiling, and that now became the new floor, from her perspective.      She wondered what was the purpose of this pocket universe, and who had created it.  And she wondered what kind of situations the others were in, and if they were all okay.      The sudden appearance in water had surprised Imhotep, but once he realized where he was, he used a spell to create a bubble around himself with air in it.  As he created it, Ghost Jack entered it.      “You okay?” Ghost Jack asked.      “I believe so,” Imhotep said.  “Where are we?”      “Some kind of cubic room, filled with water.  Looks to be a few meters wide.  I don’t see any obvious exits, although I can of course just go through the walls.”      “Assuming there’s no magic in place to prevent that.”      “True, but I should probably at least check to see if I can find the others.  If this pocket universe is just a series of room like this, filled with water, they won’t have magic to save them.”      “Right,” Imhotep said.  “Hopefully that’s not the case.”      Mary was pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what to do.  Near as she could tell, her only option was to wait until they jumped to the next pocket universe.  There was nothing here but sand.  She had already tried digging holes in multiple locations, but they all filled in almost immediately.      As she was pacing, she suddenly noticed something emerging from the floor.  It was Ghost Jack.      “Oh good, you’re not underwater,” Ghost Jack said.      “Were you?”      “Imhotep and I were, he still is, but with a magic bubble.  I’ve been going through a few of these rooms that make up this place.”      “And?”      “And honestly it could have been a lot worse than underwater.  One of the rooms is filled with lava.”      “Have you found Ohm or Melinda yet?”      “Not yet.  I’m hoping that they’re close to here though, since the three of you were near to each other when we were teleported here, right?”      “Yeah, we had all been next to each other, shooting those creatures.  Do you know how long Imhotep can maintain his air bubble?”      “Long enough, although this does now make me wonder if we should have brought environmental suits or something,” Ghost Jack said.  “I mean, I’ll be fine pretty much regardless of what we encounter, but the rest of you might not be so lucky.”      “Well, we’re going to have to make at least one more jump, unless we can find a way for the rest of us to travel between these rooms.”      “Oh, and did you figure out the gravity thing?”      “Gravity thing?” Mary asked.      “Try stepping onto the wall.”      Mary walked to a wall, stepped onto it, and suddenly gravity shifted for her, and the wall was now the floor.      “Pretty cool, right?” Ghost Jack asked.      Ghost Jack returned to Imhotep after searching dozens of rooms and finding Melinda and Ohm.      “Is everyone else okay?” Imhotep asked.      “Yeah,” Ghost Jack said.  “Looks like you were the only one that got unlucky like this.”      “That’s good.  What about Tesla’s team?  Did you find any of them?”      “No such luck.  I searched around pretty far, but nothing.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t here though.  We have no idea how big this place is.”      “Yeah, and unfortunately you’re the only one who can explore it.”      “I’m going to head back out, and do that for the rest of our time here, just thought I would give you an update.”      Melinda was counting down the time until they made their next jump.  Ghost Jack had shown up twice, once to check in on her, and a second time to let her know everyone else was okay, but he was unlikely to return again, as he would be spending as much time as he could on the search.      She was really hoping their people were not here though, as according to Ghost Jack each of the rooms was about the same size, and it seemed unlikely that all of their missing people would be able to fit in one.  And since Ghost Jack was the only one that could travel between the rooms, and they needed to make physical contact to bring others with them, they would be unable to rescue them all if that were the case.      Melinda checked her watch.  Just ten seconds left.  Not knowing where she would end up next, she took a deep breath, just in case.  The room disappeared, and she appeared in a large throne room.  She exhaled as she took it in.  There was a woman with a crown on the throne, and about two dozen guards with swords.      “What is the meaning of this?” the woman demanded, as the guards surrounded Melinda.  “Who are you, and how did you get in here, and why are you getting mud all over the carpet?”      Imhotep suddenly found himself a few feet above the ground, and his bubble collapsed as he fell  those few feet.  He looked around.  He was in a town, full of stone-brick houses.  He was on a dirt road.  And there were other people around, who looked very surprised at his sudden appearance, but no one made a move to approach him.      Looking around, the town did not seem too large, but there was a castle on one end of it.  The opposite end led to a forest.  He walked over to the nearest person.  “Excuse me,” he said.  “I’m not from around here.”      The person just stared at him for several seconds before responding.  “Okay,” she said.      “Do you know if there are any other recent arrivals here?”      “No, everyone here has always been here.”      “Hmm, okay, thank you,” Imhotep said.      “Sorry, sorry,” Ghost Jack said as he flew out of the library he had appeared in, amongst the screams of the people inside.  As he went outside, there were even more screams, so he went down an alley, landed on the ground, and made himself appear fully tangible.      He left the alley the opposite way he came, and he was still getting weird looks from people, but no more screams, so that was good.  The people here were dressed simply, and they looked like they were from medieval times, although noticeably cleaner.  The buildings also looked to be from that era.      He looked up, and the sky looked normal.  Either this pocket universe was bigger than the first one, or its size was just better disguised.  If it was larger, that would be a major problem.      “Excuse me,” he asked a random person on the street.  “Can you help me out with a few questions?”      “Um, what kind of questions?” the person asked.      “How big is this place?”      “Well, the town ends over that way with the castle, and that way before the forest, and…”      “No, not the town, umm, how far do things extend beyond the town?”      “I don’t…why would anyone leave the town?”      “No one leaves?”      “Of course not.  Nobody has ever left, and until now, no one new has ever come here.”      “Hmm, right, thanks,” Ghost Jack said as he walked off.      Mary had appeared outside the town, in the woods.  The first thing she did upon appearing was check her comm, which still did not work.  It was seeming more and more likely that whatever was causing the problems with the comms was an effect of these pocket universes in general.      She also quickly realized that something seemed very off.  There were no sounds of animals in the forest.  No wind either, for that matter.  The only sounds she was hearing were coming from the town.  She checked the ground, and there were no tracks of any kind.  That was curious, so she decided to start searching, and going in the opposite direction from the town.      Mary was walking for about five minutes or so, when she hit an invisible wall.  It did not feel like a forcefield though, it felt like an actual physical wall.  She started moving alongside it, to see how far it continued.  She quickly discovered that it was curving around, which meant that this place was probably domed like the first pocket universe, just in this case the dome had the illusion of the world continuing.      Ohm had appeared in a cave.  There was some sort of glowing moss on the walls giving off enough light to see.  It was a tunnel, and it extended as far as he could see in either direction.  He picked a direction at random, and started walking in that direction.  He was walking for a bit, before realizing that the moss was getting thicker, and the cave brighter in this direction.  He was unsure if that was a good or a bad thing, so he continued on.      Eventually it opened up into a larger cave, in the middle of which was a small house.  To one of the sides of it was a garden, which was being worked on at the moment by a young looking woman.  She looked over as Ohm approached.      “You’re new here,” she said.  “That’s fascinating.  There hasn’t been anyone new here in over four hundred years.”      “No?”      “No, when I created this place, I brought the amount of people I would need, no more, no less, so there’s never been the need for new people.”      “So, you created this pocket universe?  Then I assume that this is not where Chronos put our people.”      She laughed.  “No, although I am curious as to how you managed to come here.”      “I don’t really understand the processes myself,” Ohm said.  “But we’re just jumping from pocket universe to pocket universe, trying to locate our kidnapped people.”      “Fascinating.”      In the castle, Melinda had been thrown in the dungeon.  A very clean dungeon though, much cleaner than would be expected based on the medieval look to everything here.  The guards also seemed unsure of how exactly to treat her, as if they had not had any prisoners in a long time.      They eventually decided on placing one guard outside her cell.  She looked out the barred window on the back wall of the cell.  There was a mountain range just a kilometer or two away.      “So, you don’t get many visitors, do you?” Melinda asked the guard.      “We don’t get any visitors.”      “No travellers, nothing?”      “Why would anyone travel?”      “So, what’s going to happen to me?”      “I don’t know.”      The conversation was interrupted when another guard came up, and whispered something in the first guard’s ear.      “Something happen?” Melinda asked.      “How many people came with you?” the first guard asked.      “What do you mean?” Melinda asked.      Out in the town, Imhotep and Ghost Jack had just found each other.  They were still getting weird looks, but no one seemed to want to approach them.      “I am fairly certain that if our people are in this pocket universe, they are not in this town,” Imhotep said.      “I agree,” Ghost Jack said.  “These people are not used to outsiders, and we are clearly the first in a long time.”      “Have you seen the rest of the team?”      “Nope, no sign of them.  Possibly in the castle, possibly in the forest, possibly somewhere else.  I have no idea how big this universe is.”      “So, where do we start?”      “Might as well check the castle first,” Ghost Jack said.  “It’s possibly where whoever created this is anyway.”      Melinda was brought back before the woman on the throne.  She had been told that this was Queen Rebecca.      “I have been informed that you are not the only intruder in my kingdom,” Rebecca said.  “There are two strange men that have been seen in town, and talks of some sort of ghostly figure.  What is your purpose here?”      “We are only here searching for our friends, your majesty,” Melinda said.  “And we will be on our way shortly.”      “What manner did you use to travel here?”      “That’s…complicated.”      “Do you think it is beyond my understanding?”      “Honestly, I don’t really understand how it works.”      “And who would understand how it works?” Rebecca asked.  “One of your friends in the town?”      “No, they don’t really understand it either.”      Rebecca looked around at her guards.  “Leave us,” she said.  Without question, they all filed out of the room.  “My people and I have lived here for centuries, ever since we were brought to this place.  We do not age, or need food or drink or even sleep.  No one even remembers anything from before we were brought here.”      “Okay?” Melinda asked.      “Except for myself.  She who brought us here was unable to erase my memories.  It’s why she made me queen.  Give me some power, so I don’t question that I am trapped here.”      “So, you want to leave?”      “I was content with my lot in life, but if there is a way out of this place, I want to take it.”      “Who created this place and brought you here?”      “We don’t know her name, or what she is, only that she is very powerful.”      “Powerful enough to track us down if we take you with us?” Melinda asked.      “You haven’t told me your name,” Ohm said.      “What’s in a name?” the woman asked.  “That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.  Not that I expect you to get the reference, being a Neanderthal and all.”      “Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare,” Ohm said.  “I do read.”      “My apologies, good sir, although now that I think of it, you never mentioned your name either.”      “I am Ohm.”      “A pleasure to meet you, Ohm.  You can call me Lucy.”      “Nice to meet you, Lucy.  I don’t suppose you can help us locate our friends.”      “Travelling to pocket universes you are unaware of is very hit or miss, which is how you got here,” Lucy said.  “I doubt I’d be able to be any more helpful than whatever method you are currently using.  Although I can give you some advice.”      “Okay.”      “Be very careful.  Pocket universes have been created by a great many people for a great many reasons, and there are untold dangers you could encounter.”      “That we have already been learning.”      Ghost Jack flew through the castle, searching around, and came upon the throne room, where Melinda was talking to someone that looked like a queen.  He flew down to the floor and became visible.  “Hey Red, what’s up?”      “Who is this?” Rebecca asked.      “This is my friend Jack,” Melinda said.  “Jack, this is Queen Rebecca.  Have you seen the others?”      “Imhotep is outside the castle, but we decided it would be easier if I searched it myself,” Ghost Jack said.      “What are you?” Rebecca asked.      “Oh, just your average Ghost of a Demi-God,” Ghost Jack said.  “Anyway, haven’t seen Mary or Ohm, and we’re reasonably certain our people aren’t here, at least not in the town.”      “The town is all there really is,” Rebecca said.  “The forest only extends a short distance, beyond which it is just an illusion.  As is the mountain range behind my castle.” “Are you the person that created this place?” Ghost Jack asked.      “No, that’s someone else,” Melinda said.  “But she does want to come with us.”      “Does she now?” Ghost Jack asked.      “Yes, I do,” Rebecca said.  “Being the leader in a cage still leaves you in a cage.”      Melinda and Ghost Jack had left the castle and met up with Imhotep.  They explained the situation to him.      “I can understand the desire to leave,” Imhotep said.  “But if we bring her with, we might anger whoever created this place.”      “And we don’t even know who that is,” Melinda said.  “We also don’t know why these people were brought here.  For all we know this is a prison, and she should be kept here.”      “I mean, it’s pretty clearly a prison,” Ghost Jack said.  “But we have no reason to assume it’s a prison for criminals.  And even if it was, they’ve been here for centuries.  I think she’s more than paid for any crimes she may have committed.”      “What about everyone else?” Melinda asked.  “Should we take them all with?”      “She is the only one we’ve encountered that wants to leave,” Imhotep said.  “The others don’t even remember their lives before they were brought here.”      “Because they were mindwiped,” Melinda said.  “And that’s another sort of prison.  Imhotep, back when we were first dealing with the TDD, they had replaced some of my memories with fake ones, and you were able to restore my original memories.  Would you be able to do that for the people here?”      “Possibly, but we’d only have time for a few,” Imhotep said.  “And, if you’ll recall, you were asleep for some time afterwards.  We will be gone from here by the time we’d be able to see the results.”      “Hmm, yeah,” Melinda said.  “That’s not really an option.”      Ohm checked his watch.  It would just be another few minutes before they jumped again.      “Leaving so soon?” Lucy asked.      “We will be leaving shortly,” Ohm said.  “Our people are still out there, somewhere, and we need to find them.”      “I wish you luck in your endeavor,” Lucy said.  “I don’t suppose you’ll be back again.”      “I do not know, but it seems unlikely.”      “Then perhaps I will have to visit you sometime.  I do still go to Earth from time to time for business.”      “What kind of business.”      “Nothing super interesting, but I do have obligations that I have to attend to on occasion.”      Melinda, Ghost Jack, and Imhotep returned to the throne room.      “So, what have you decided?” Rebecca asked.  “Will you take me with you, or are you leaving me trapped here?”      “We don’t want to leave you trapped here,” Melinda said.  “But we do have reservations about angering whoever it is that created this place.  We already have a lot of powerful enemies, and it may not be wise to create yet another.”      “On the other hand, she may already be angered by your intrusion, for all we know,” Rebecca said.  “And this wouldn’t make things any worse.”      “Maybe, but we don’t know that,” Melinda said.      “We also don’t know where we are all going,” Imhotep said.  “At the moment we are jumping from pocket universe to pocket universe, at random.  In the previous one I would have drowned without my magic.  Coming with us may prove dangerous.”      “I am fine with danger,” Rebecca said.  “It is better than this tedium.”      Melinda checked her watch.  Half a minute remained.  “There are also other complicated aspects to it.”      “You’re stalling, so that means it’s almost time isn’t it?” Rebecca asked, right before she ran over to Melinda, and placed her hand on Melinda’s shoulder.  And then, they all disappeared.      Mary disappeared from the forest, and appeared in empty space.  She fought the urge to panic as she looked around at her surroundings, and exhaled her breath.  In the distance she saw a large metal structure, like a space station.  She could also see a few other people floating in space, but they were too far away for her to tell who.      She knew she did not have long out here, so she did the only thing she could think of.  She took her energy shotgun, and starting firing in the opposite direction of the space station, which started propelling her the towards the space station.  It was far too slow though, and she knew she was going to lose consciousness any second.      Imhotep also appeared in the vacuum of space.  He immediately created a magic bubble of air around himself.  After his near drowning, he was prepared for situations like this.  Looking around, he saw Melinda and Rebecca close by.  He used magic to propel himself over to them, and brought them into the bubble.      “Still think coming with us was the right decision?” he asked.      “What is this place?” Rebecca asked.      “Space,” Melinda said.  “Are the others out here too?”  She was already looking off into the distance to try and locate them.      “I see Jack over there,” Imhotep said as he looked out as well.  “But he’ll be fine.  Looks like there’s someone off that way.”  He pointed.      “And someone else the other way,” Melinda said.  “Jack is closer to the one you noticed, hopefully he’ll go for them.”      Ghost Jack looked around at his surroundings.  He could see a group of three in one direction, and another person further in that direction, and the group seemed to be heading towards the individual.  He assumed that meant Imhotep was there, and had things under control.      He looked around some more, and saw the final member of their team, so he flew off towards them as fast as he could.  It quickly became clear that it was Ohm, and that he was in distress.  As Ghost Jack continued flying towards him, he looked around.  The other group of his friends were pretty far away, as was the space station in the distance.      As Ghost Jack arrived at Ohm’s location, Ohm was already unconscious.  Ghost Jack grabbed him and started flying towards the others.  They were actually slightly further than the space station, but he had no idea if he would even be able to find a way to bring Ohm inside it.  He just had to hope that it was not too late.      Mary was on the verge of unconsciousness when she suddenly felt enveloped by air, and started breathing again.  This had been worse than that time she had almost drowned, and she hungrily took in the air as she looked around.  She was in a bubble of some sort with Imhotep, Melinda, and someone she did not recognize.      “Who’s the new person?” she asked as soon as she was able to talk again.      “Mary, meet Rebecca,” Melinda said.  “Rebecca, meet Mary.”      “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Rebecca said.      “Right,” Mary said.  “So, what are we supposed to do here?  Wait out in space until our four hours are up?”      “There’s a space station over that way.”  Melinda pointed at it.      “And where’s Ohm?” Mary asked.      “Jack has him,” Imhotep said.  “They are flying towards us, and now that we have you, we are flying to them as well.”      Ghost Jack looked at the remaining distance to the others, and even now that they were coming towards him as well, he did not think it was going to be fast enough for Ohm.  He was at the limits of his speed though, so he had to think of something else.      That is when he hit upon an idea.  As a Ghost he was unaffected by the vacuum.  He also did not need to breathe, but he did have air inside him.  He enveloped Ohm, surrounding him completely to protect him from the vacuum, and then he released the air stored inside him into the bubble he had created with himself.      It was not much, but it seemed like it just might be enough, as they got closer and closer, and eventually got to the others.  As they did Imhotep enlarged the magic bubble he had created to make more room as they entered.      Imhotep looked over Ohm.  “Hmm, he’ll be okay, but that was a close one.”      “So, I guess now we head over to that space station?” Ghost Jack asked.      “Seems our best bet,” Melinda said.  “Imhotep, can you get us moving over in that direction?”      “Yes, right away.”      Back at base, Abigail was continuing to experiment with the magic she was learning from Merlin’s journals.  She had figured out a translation spell, so she could read the non-English ones just as easy as the English ones.      She was currently reading one that was written in Atlantean, and was reading about an invisibility spell.  She knew Sesla had similar spells, although this one seemed to be true invisibility.      Abigail cast it on herself, and was instantly blinded.  Right, she thought, true invisibility meant light passing through you, which meant not only would you not be seen, but you would also not see.  She removed the spell from herself, and went back to reading.      It took about five minutes for the group to get to the space station, and another five to find a way in.  There was an airlock on the far side of it.  It took them a bit to figure out the mechanism of it and get inside.  Ohm had woken up by this point, and they started looking around.      “I’m not sensing any magic here,” Imhotep said.      “What does that mean?” Mary asked.  “That this place wasn’t made with magic?”      “Perhaps,” Imhotep said.  “Or it may be old enough that there has simply been no magic used here in a long time.”      “The construction of this place isn’t like anything from Earth,” Melinda said.  “It’s not like anything made by Humans or Gods or anything else there.”      “It kind of reminds me of our ship though,” Mary said.  “The one we took from the Palore.”      “Hmm,” Ghost Jack said.  “The style is reminiscent of them.  I’ll go look around, see if there’s any of those bastards around.”  He flew off.      “If this is a Palore space station, what does that mean for us?” Ohm asked.      “I don’t know,” Melinda said.  “But whatever it means, it can’t be good.”      Abigail rang the door chime on Harkon’s office.      “Come in,” Harkon said.  He looked up as Abigail entered.  “What can I do for you?”      “Well, I’ve been looking through Merlin’s journals, learning a bunch of the magic in them,” Abigail said.  “And I know we were waiting until Ghost Jack got back before transferring Sesla’s mind to her new body, but if you want to do so sooner, I may be able to.”      “Thank you, but we know his methods work, so I’d prefer not to use experimental methods if we don’t have to.”      “Understood, just letting you know there are options.  They have been gone for a while.”      “I’m sure they are fine.”      “I suppose there’s nothing saying that pocket universes can only be created by magic,” Melinda said.  “And the Palore are the Palore, so if anyone can pull it off, they’d be a decent bet.”      “I’m just wondering what the purpose of this place is,” Mary said.  “So far we haven’t seen anyone, so that could mean this place is abandoned.”      “Or it could mean that they just don’t keep it regularly staffed,” Melinda said.      “Guys, can you hear me?” they heard Ghost Jack saying over the comm.      “Yeah,” Melinda said.  “I guess comms do work here.  What’ve you found?”      “I’ve found what seems to be a command center of sorts,” Ghost Jack said.  “There’s a bunch of computers here, and what look like teleporters, but I can’t read anything on the computers.”      “It’s too bad we don’t have Abigail or the original Jack here to help with translating,” Melinda said.      “I have been spending a bit of time studying the Palore language,” Imhotep said.  “I’m not exactly fluent in it, but I’ll be able to manage a bit.”      “Which way?” Melinda asked.      Ghost Jack waited for a few minutes until the rest of the team caught up to him.  Imhotep went straight to one of the computers and started looking over the information on screen.      “So, your highness,” Ghost Jack said to Rebecca.  “What do you think of all this?  It’s a bit more advanced than what you’re used to.”      “It’s all very impressive and yes, I have never seen anything like this place before,” Rebecca said.      “The first time I left my home, it was a similar situation,” Mary said.  “I was a simple farm girl, then I went from that to a space station, and yeah it definitely was not something I was expecting.”      “I was even simpler,” Ohm said.  “From a simple hunter-gatherer society, although I also only found myself on a large metal boat, not a space station.”      “Hmm, this is really quite interesting,” Imhotep said, looking at the computer screen.      “Did you find something?” Melinda asked.      “We’ve been wondering how the Palore got back to the Cretaceous,” Imhotep said.  “Their ships only allow them to jump about 212 years at a time, but I think this is the answer.”      “Go on,” Melinda said.      “Each of those teleporters are linked to a different time, somewhat similarly to our time doors,” Imhotep said.  “One is the Cretaceous, one is even further back, one is 2017, and the final one is approximately eight billion years in the future.”      “Eight billion,” Ghost Jack said.  “Eight billion years.  That’s ridiculous.”      “Does this place have a self-destruct?” Mary asked.  “I mean, we have to destroy it, right?”      “The bigger question is if there are other places like this,” Melinda said.  “If this is the only one, destroying it would be a great idea, but if there are others, which I assume there are, it would be pointless.”      “I’m not sure,” Imhotep said.  “I’m not seeing anything about that here, but I think this is mostly just about the operation of this one.”      “Why 2017?” Ghost Jack asked.  “Like why use a time teleporter to link this to 2017?  Because isn’t this in 2017, just in a pocket universe.”      “Because the rules of time are somewhat different with this pocket universe, if I’m reading this right,” Imhotep said.      “I understand that your friends want to borrow the ship,” Harkon said.  “And I understand that we do owe them for there help in dealing with Deanna, but we’re still waiting for out team to get back.”      “It’s been months, sir,” Abigail said.  “And don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to give up on them either, but how long are Philip and Dorian just supposed to sit around waiting in orbit?  Our team does have long range communicators on them, so they will still be able to let us know when they return.”      “I’m surprised that you’re not more worried.”      “Of course I’m worried, but there’s nothing we can do to help our team other than waiting.  My friends back home though, they actually need the help.  And I’ve been looking into the historical records, so I know that they shouldn’t even be where they are, and isn’t it our job to protect the timeline?”      “Hmm.”      “How different are we talking here?” Ghost Jack asked.      “It seems like a few months will pass in the regular universe during our four hours here.”      “Is it just this pocket universe, or all of them?” Mary asked.      “Near as I can tell this is just talking about this one,” Imhotep said.  “But that doesn’t mean the others don’t have the same issues.”      “It doesn’t change our mission though,” Melinda said.  “We still need to find Tesla’s team.  A few months shouldn’t make a big difference, and if the other pocket universes are worse, we’re time travellers, so if we are too much out of sync with our people, we’ll just use time travel to get back into sync.”      “We can pretty much assume this isn’t where our people are though,” Ghost Jack said.  “Unless Chronos and the Palore are working together.”      “Yeah, that seems unlikely, and somewhat terrifying to even consider” Melinda said.  “But while we’re waiting out this one, there is still the question of what we do about this place.  Imhotep, you said those time teleporters work similarly to the time doors.  Does that mean there are teleporters on both ends?”      “I believe so,” Imhotep said.      “Can we send something through to the Cretaceous, a beacon of some sort?” Melinda asked.      “Yes, can manage that,” Imhotep said.      “I see what you’re thinking,” Ghost Jack said.  “If the Palore have a base back then, we can let our people know where it is.  And if not, they at least know that we are okay.”      “Maybe,” Melinda said.  “The problem is, do we know when in the Cretaceous it is connected to?”      “I’m not entirely certain how the dates in here relate to our own,” Imhotep said.  “It is definitely close, but I can’t say exactly how much so.”      “So then we’ll put a timer on our beacon, so it doesn’t alert our people too early,” Melinda said.  “Imhotep, can you make the beacon invisible, so they don’t see it?”      “I can certainly try,” Imhotep said.      Harkon’s comm beeped.  “Yes?” he answered it.      “Sir, it’s Jeth Simpson, we just picked up a signal from the Moon.”      “What kind of signal?”      “It’s a beacon from Agent Summers’ team,” he said.  “They are okay, and apparently they are in a pocket universe that the Palore are using, and they say the beacon might be coming from a Palore base in this time.”      “Then it’s a good thing Abigail’s friends got our ship back to us in one piece,” Harkon said.      After their time in the Palore pocket universe was done, Melinda, Mary, Ghost Jack, Ohm, Imhotep, and Rebecca jumped once again.  Melinda was unable to look around, as the room was incredibly dark, but it started lighting up as Ghost Jack started glowing, and she saw that all six of their group were here, but they were not alone.      “Tesla,” she said.  Nikola Tesla, ERK-147, and the rest of their missing people were here.  They were in a large cubical room.      “Miss Summers, it is good to see you again,” Nikola said.  “Although I hope it is not the case that you are trapped here as well.”      “No, we have a way out of here,” Ghost Jack said.  “Is Chronos around?”      “We have not seen him since he sent us here,” Nikola said.  “Do you know why he did that?”      “Jack, the original Jack, and I went to talk with Chronos, and as soon as we mentioned the planet he got pissed and disappeared,” Melinda said.  “Since then we’ve been doing what we can to find you, but it’s been difficult, and a lot has happened.”      “Well, we certainly have the time to start filling them in on it,” Mary said.  “We’re going to be here another four hours, after all.” To be continued…

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #16 The Trail of Blood

     “I know how it sounds,” Sherlock Holmes said as he paced in the office, occasionally glancing at the bookshelves lining the walls.  “But there’s no doubt in my mind that Moriarty is now a Vampire, and he is working for another Vampire who is even more powerful than he is.”      Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes, sat back in his chair behind the desk.  “It does sound rather ridiculous, but in the past few years I have encountered quite a lot of ridiculous things.  How much do you know of my current job?”      “You’re the Director of some secret organization or another, I haven’t really looked into the details of it.”      “I’m the Director of the ESS.  It was started decades ago by Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla and a number of other scientists in order to protect humanity from threats of a scientific nature.”      “Okay?”      “Vampires are hardly scientific.  Even if they are real, they hardly fall under the purview of my organization.”      “Everything that exists has a scientific explanation.  But this will just be an argument of semantics.  Regardless of your purview, they are building an army, and that’s something we have to be ready for.”      “In case you missed it, there are multiple armies that we are already at war with.  I cannot simply take resources away from a war that is very obviously happening, to fight a war that may not be.”      “Are you willing to stake England on that?”      Mycroft sighed.  “I suppose I can give you a small team.  I’ll have to check for certain, but maybe about half a dozen people.”      “Give me a team?” Sherlock asked.  “In case you were unaware, I’m retired.  And even if I wasn’t, this is a bit…”      “A bit what?  A bit outside your purview.”      “Fine, I’ll do this, but only because someone has to, and I can’t trust you to send your best agents on this.”      “Excellent, you can return here tomorrow morning to meet your team.”           The following day, Sherlock returned to the ESS headquarters, and was lead to a small meeting room.  There was a table in the center with chairs around it, but it was otherwise empty of any furnishing.  Mycroft was at the head of the table, and there were six other people seated around it.      “Ah, welcome Sherlock,” Mycroft said.  “Meet your team.  I believe you already know Joseph Wiggins.”      “Ah yes, the old head of the Baker Street Irregulars,” Sherlock said.  “I see you’re all grown up now.”      “Yes, sir,” Joseph said.  “And I am very honored to work with you again.”      “He will be your second in command on this mission,” Mycroft said.  “Next up we have your pilot, Joyce Callaghan.  She’s one of the few that has any experience with the type of jet you’ll be using.  It’s an experimental design that will allow you to travel all over the world in a matter of hours.”      “Just tell me where we need to go, and I’ll get us there in one piece,” Joyce said.      “Yes, staying in one piece would be preferable,” Sherlock said.      “You are also in luck that Dorothy Kingsmill was in town right now, from Australia,” Mycroft said.  “She has some experience with…the seemingly supernatural, and I’m sure she’ll provide some valuable insights.”      “Compared to what I’m used to dealing with, Vampires should be a welcome vacation,” Dorothy said.      “I look forward to hearing more about that,” Sherlock said.      “We also have Jacob McNeil, who was part of a program to make perfect snipers,” Mycroft said.  “I’m not sure how well long range weapons work against these Vampires of yours, but hopefully he will prove to be an asset.”      “I am honored to be serving under you, sir,” Jacob said.      “Then there is Daniel Najam, who didn’t believe you were real until this morning,” Mycroft said.  “But he is a brilliant doctor, which you may end up needing during the course of this mission.” “Sorry about that,” Daniel said.      “To be fair, Mycroft has spent the past few years trying to convince the general public that I am merely a fictional character,” Sherlock said.      “It makes it easier to make my own existence a secret,” Mycroft said.  “And it wouldn’t have been necessary if your friend Watson had left me out of the stories he published about your various adventures.  But either way, the final member of your team is Sally Dallen.  She’s a close combat specialist, which I’m sure will be extremely useful.”      Sally just nodded.      “It’s good to meet you all,” Sherlock said.  “I’m not sure how much my brother told you, but yes, we will be dealing with Vampires.  Recently, I discovered the my old nemesis Moriarty is not dead, as I thought, but in fact undead.  He is a Vampire, and working, somewhat unwillingly, for the Vampire that turned him.  There is apparently some level of mind control.”      “How much do you know about the mind control?” Dorothy asked.      “Assuming the information is accurate, most Vampires must fully obey those that turn them,” Sherlock said.  “Moriarty is one of the rare few that can disobey as long as he is not in the presence of whoever turned him.  And there are an even more rare few that do not have any such compulsion.  But that is why his master has put other safeguards in place to keep an eye on Moriarty.”      “Who is the Vampire that turned him?” Joseph asked.      “I do not know, but whoever it is, is trying to build up an army, and Moriarty is just one of his many recruiters.”      “What is our first step?” Jacob asked.      “Assuming he hasn’t left, we know where Moriarty is,” Sherlock said.  “So the first step is to go in and capture him.”           The following day, Sherlock walked up to the front door of Moriarty’s house, along with Sally.  The rest of the team were hidden in various locations near to the house, covering all sides.  Sherlock knocked, and after half a minute the door was answered by the same servant as the last time he had been here.      “Mister Holmes,” the servant said.  “What are you doing back here?”      Sally grabbed the servant by the collar, and pulled him out into the sunlight, which did nothing to him.  She pushed him to the ground, and he landed on his back.      “Is Moriarty here?” Sherlock asked.      “I will tell you nothing,” the servant said.      Sherlock looked at him.  “You already have.”  Sherlock took out his radio.  “Wiggins, come over here and make sure this one doesn’t escape.”      “Of course,” Wiggins said before running over from the alley he had been in, and pulling the servant up off the ground.  “Let’s go buddy.”      Sherlock looked inside the house, and there was no one immediately visible.  Sherlock stepped inside, with Sally following him in.  They went down the hallway, and by the library that Sherlock had been in on his previous visits.  Moriarty was not there either.  They continued on, and found a staircase up to the second floor.      At the top of the stairs was another hallway, with several doors.  The first they tried was an office, and the second a bedroom, but one that had not seen any use in quite some time.  The third they checked was the master bedroom, and there they found Moriarty, sitting in a chair, reading a book.  He looked up at their entrance, and put it down on the table next to him.      “Ah, I was wondering how long until your next visit,” Moriarty said.      “We have captured your servant,” Sherlock said.      “Have you now?” Moriarty asked, his mouth becoming a grin.      “A member of my team is holding him outside,” Sherlock said.      “Your team?” Moriarty asked.  “I must admit, I did not expect you to put together a team.  With the exception of that Watson fellow, you always seemed to prefer to work alone.”      “Desperate times,” Sherlock said.  “Now, please surrender yourself.”      “Of course,” Moriarty said, as he held his hands out.  “Do you wish to cuff me?”      Sherlock took a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket, and put them on Moriarty, who offered no resistance.  “Let’s go,” Sherlock said, and they led Moriarty outside, after covering him with a blanket to protect him from the Sun.           “Doesn’t that seem a bit convenient how easily he gave up?” Joseph asked.  The team was back on their jet, and Moriarty and his servant were each in one of the holding cells on it.  “Did he even try to stop you?”      “No,” Sally said.      “He wanted to be captured,” Sherlock said.  “As I said earlier, he can partially disobey his master, and once we captured his servant, that meant he no longer had to worry about his disobedience getting back.”      “Why wouldn’t he have just killed the servant then?” Dorothy asked.      “The servant doesn’t check in, then Moriarty’s master sends people after him,” Sherlock said.  “You are all correct to suspect Moriarty of something though.  Getting out from under the hand of whoever he is forced to work for is indeed one of his motivations, but there is likely a lot more than that which he plans to do.”      “Do you want me to question him?” Joseph asked.      Sherlock raised an eyebrow.  “No, I will do that myself.  Although, if you wish to question the servant, you can do so.  Just make sure not to mention that Moriarty willingly surrendered himself.”      “It could give us an advantage to turn them against each other,” Joseph said.      “Perhaps, but at this time we do not know that for certain,” Sherlock said.  “It is important to gather as much information as possible before making a plan.”      Sherlock went to the back of the upper level of the jet, where one of the holding cells was, and sat down outside it.      “So, what do you wish to know?” Moriarty asked.  He was lying on the cot in the cell, looking up at the ceiling.  He did not even bother to look over at Sherlock.      “Who is your master?” Sherlock asked.      “My sire is Dracula.”      “Dracula is a fictional character, created by Bram Stoker.”      “And we are fictional characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or so your brother has much of the world convinced.  Do you think that’s the only time that’s ever happened?”      “Assuming you are telling the truth, what is he planning?  He’s quite obviously building up an army, but to what end exactly?”      “To conquer, of course.  How much, and where first, I do not know, but he wishes to rule, and it is to that purpose that he is building up an army.”      “And what is your plan?”      “My plan?”      “Do you plan to take his place, as the head of this army, if we can get rid of him?”      “Please Sherlock, you know me better than that.  I have no desire to rule the world, or anything so quaint.  I prefer to control things from the shadows.”      “Even still, an army of Vampires would be useful to those ends.”      “I suppose they would at that,” Moriarty said.           Joseph sat down outside the cell that Moriarty’s servant was in, which was in the back of the lower level of the jet.  The servant was sitting upright on his cot.      “So, I don’t believe we ever got your name,” Joseph said.      “You may refer to me as Jervis Albertson.”      “We may refer to you as such?  So that’s not your actual name?”      “It makes little difference to you whether it is my real name or not.”      “Sure thing,” Joseph said.  “What about your boss, what’s his name?”      “You know his name, it is James Moriarty.”      “And his boss?”      “I know not who you refer to.”      “Of course you don’t.”           “Wait, are there any fictional characters that aren’t really real?” Daniel asked after Sherlock had told the team what he had learned from Moriarty.  “First you and Moriarty, and now apparently Dracula?”      “Assuming Moriarty is telling the truth,” Jacob said.      “Yes, assuming that,” Sherlock said.  “I believe he is telling the truth on that, but there is certainly more that he is hiding.”      “Did he give us anything we can use to track down Dracula though?” Dorothy asked.  “Or should we just check Transylvania?”      “Isn’t that controlled by the Axis?” Jacob asked.      “Hmm, yes, that is a slight concern,” Sherlock said.  “But with how fast this thing goes, we should be able to get in without much risk of being noticed.  Joyce, set a course.”      “Understood, sir,” Joyce said.      “What’s your plan for when we get there?” Joseph asked.  “Like, should we really be assuming that he’s returned to his old home, especially considering there’s a novel about him?”      “Even if he is not, it may provide clues as to where he is now,” Sherlock said.      “And what if he is there?” Jacob asked.  “You said he’s putting together an army.  That would be a big enough threat on its own, but if they are within a country we are at war with, we can’t even get local reinforcements.”      “Yes, we will have to be cautious,” Sherlock said.           The plane landed just outside a forest, and then drove into it a bit, to try and hide it from view.      “We’ll split into two teams,” Sherlock said.  “Dallen and Kingsmill will go in with me from one side of the castle, and Wiggins, you lead McNeil and Doctor Najam in from the other side.  Callaghan will remain with the plane.  Make sure it’s ready to leave on a moment’s notice.”      “Yes, sir,” Joyce said.  She remained at the controls, as everyone else disembarked from the plane.      “This is just supposed to be recon, correct?” Joseph asked.      “Yes, Wiggins,” Sherlock said.  “Do not engage in combat unless you have to.  I’m not as spry as I used to be, so my team will go at the castle from this side, why don’t you lead your team around from the other?”      “Yes, sir,” Joseph said.  “Jacob, Daniel, let’s go.”      As those three went off, Sally and Dorothy followed Sherlock.      “So, Agent Kingsmill, what sort of seemingly supernatural things do you have experience with?” Sherlock asked as they walked.      “Greek Gods, sir,” Dorothy said.  “I am the ESS liaison to New Olympus.”      “Hmm,” Sherlock said.  “That’s interesting.  But no experience with Vampires before this?”      “I’m afraid not,” Dorothy said.  “Looking at the literature though, I think I have a grasp on how to deal with them.”      “I guess we’ll find out as we continue on,” Sherlock said.      They got to the top of a hill, and looked towards the castle with their binoculars.      “There’s lights coming from inside the castle,” Dorothy said.      “Yes, and there is some movement,” Sherlock said.  “There is definitely someone in there, possibly a lot of people, but we have a rather limited view of the interior.”           Joseph, Jacob, and Daniel circled around to the other side of the castle, where they climbed up into some trees to get a view, while staying out of sight.      “Definite movement in there,” Joseph said as he looked through his binoculars.  “Not enough windows to get even an idea of how many people there are though.”      Jacob looked through his.  “Give me eight hours of watching this place, and I’ll have a decent estimate, possibly sooner.  It’s just a matter of watching people pass the windows, keeping track of when you see new people, or the same people again, and doing that for every window.”      “If they’re Vampires though, that’ll only work at night,” Daniel said.  “They’ll avoid the windows during the day.”      “Which would also be informative,” Joseph said.  “Even if there are Vampires in there, we don’t know that all of them are.”  He took out his radio.  “Wiggins here, do you read me Mister Holmes?”      “Yes, I read you,” Sherlock said.  “Do you have something?”      “McNeil thinks he can get an estimate on the amount of people inside if he watches for about eight hours,” Joseph said.      “It should only take four hours for myself,” Sherlock said.  “But yes, let’s both our teams work on that, and we’ll compare numbers when we have them.”           Four hours passed, and Sherlock estimated that there were at least a hundred people inside the castle.      “Those numbers are going to be a big problem for us,” Dorothy said.      “Certainly, if we fight them on their terms,” Sherlock said.  “But they do have easily exploitable weaknesses.”      “How many of them have we actually confirmed though?” Dorothy asked.      “I have confirmed that garlic damages them, and a crucifix is useless,” Sherlock said.  “The evidence indicates that sunlight is bad for them, but I have not yet learned how bad.  I am unsure of holy water, though the uselessness of the crucifix makes me doubt it will do anything.”      “So, we need to determine how bad sunlight is then,” Dorothy said.  “And if it’s bad enough, we attack during the day.”      “Not only that, but we concentrate not on attacking the Vampire army, but rather the building they are inside,” Sherlock said.  “Take out the roof and walls, and suddenly the sun may do our work for us.”           “I don’t know if we have enough explosives for destroying that castle,” Joseph said after the whole team had returned to the plane.      “We don’t need to destroy the whole castle,” Sherlock said.  He took out a paper and began drawing the castle on it.  “It’s simply a matter of placing what explosives we do have at the proper locations to maximize the sunlight within the castle.”      “So, we’re going to have to go in then?” Daniel asked.  “That seems a bit risky.”      “We’ll do it during the day,” Sherlock said.  “And we’ll figure out routes to keep near windows as best as possible.”      “And what if not everyone in there is a Vampire?” Dorothy asked.  “Moriarty’s servant wasn’t, so it’s possible they have others working for them that aren’t.”      “Yes, that is something I had considered,” Sherlock said.  “Unfortunately there is not much we can do about that, other than ensuring that we are all well armed.”      Sherlock finished the drawing of the castle, and began marking X’s on it.  “The problem is that we do not know much of the interior,” he said.  “Some of these we can place without going inside, but others will be difficult.”      “We could always try asking Moriarty about the interior,” Dorothy said.  “I’m sure he knows at least some of it.”      “Indeed,” Sherlock said.           Moriarty looked up as Sherlock once again came and sat down outside his cell.  He was holding a large rolled up piece of paper this time.      “Good day, Mister Holmes,” Moriarty said.  “Is there something more you need my assistance with?”      “Perhaps,” Sherlock said, as he put the paper through the bars of the cell.  Moriarty took it, and unrolled it.      “Hmm, this is a decent drawing of Dracula’s castle.  You perhaps missed your true calling as an artist.”      “What we need to know is the layout of the interior.”      Moriarty noticed the X’s on the drawing.  “Ah yes, I see what you are looking to do.  A pen or pencil, if you please?”      Sherlock handed Moriarty a pencil, and he began adding to the drawing, before passing it back to Sherlock.      “It’s a large castle, as you are aware,” Moriarty said.  “So I have only drawn the passages that are necessary for your use, and a few extras, in case exits are blocked.”      “Thank you,” Sherlock said.  “Can I assume then, that sunlight is damaging enough for this plan to work.”      “Oh yes, it is quite damaging.”           After returning to the front of the plane, Sherlock showed the team the map.  “We’ll go to the castle as a group, but with Agent McNeil in a tree over on this side of the castle.  Agent Kingsmill, I understand you have some experience with rock climbing.”      “That is correct,” Dorothy said.      “Do you think you can scale these walls?”  Sherlock pointed to the outer walls of the castle.      “Yeah, that’ll be easy,” Dorothy said.      “Then you’ll go up and over, and let us inside.  We’ll then split up into teams of two,” he said.  “Agents Wiggins and Najam will take this route and place explosives in these five locations.”  He traced a path on the map.  “Agent Kingsmill, you’ll be climbing and placing explosives here, here, and here,” Sherlock said as he pointed to locations on the walls of the castle.  “Agent McNeil will be your partner on the ground, ready to take out any threats that may present themselves.  And finally, Agent Dallen will go in with me, as we will place the final four explosives, along this route.”  He again traced a route on the map.  “Everyone memorize your areas.  Any questions?”      “When do we go in?” Joseph asked.      “Tomorrow, an hour after sunrise,” Sherlock said.  “We want to ensure we have plenty of daylight to use on this.”           The next day, Sherlock led the team down to the castle.  It was a quiet, sunny day, almost seemed peaceful.      “All clear,” Jacob said over the radio.  “I’m not seeing any movement on the outer wall.”      “Agent Kingsmill, you are up,” Sherlock said.      “Right,” Dorothy said as she went up to the wall.  She looked it over, put her hands on it and, and found some protrusions, pulling herself up.  There was an indent, that she used as a foothold, and continued going up, looking for whatever she could use.      “Everyone knows what they are doing when we get in?” Sherlock asked as he looked at the rest of them.  They all nodded.  “Remember, if you have to choose between carrying out your assignments, and getting out of there alive, make sure you get out alive.  If we fail at this, we can try again, but we can’t bring you back from the dead.”      “At least not that we’re aware of,” Joseph said.  “But I mean, we are fighting Vampires, so who knows what is and isn’t actually possible.”      “True.”  Sherlock chuckled.  “But I’d rather we not have to figure that out.”      The doors opened at that point, and Dorothy was standing there.  “Welcome to Dracula Castle, please watch your step, and protect your neck.”      “Let’s go, Agent Dallen,” Sherlock said and Sally followed him, while the others went their own ways.  They went to a set of doors that led into the castle itself, and Sherlock pulled them open.  There were four people directly inside, who seemed surprised at the intrusion.  “Hello, ladies and gentlemen.”      All four of them, two men, and two women, glared at them, and bared their fangs, showing themselves to indeed be Vampires.  Sally attacked before they could though, grabbing one of the men, and throwing him towards the door before he could react.  The second he was in direct sunlight, his skin caught fire, and he started burning, while Sherlock closed the door between them.      The other man went at Sherlock, while both of the women went for Sally.  Sherlock stepped to the side, and used his cane to trip the Vampire.  He then took out a canteen filled with holy water, and began pouring it on the Vampire.  To his surprise, it started burning him, not like a fire, but like an acid.      Sherlock looked over to the side, where he saw that Sally had staked both of the Vampires she was fighting in the chest, and they were both lying on the ground, motionless.  He drove the end of his cane, which he had sharpened into a stake, into the heart of his own opponent, and he too went motionless, as the holy water continued eating away at the body.      “Fascinating,” Sherlock said.  He pulled his cane out of the body, and suddenly, the Vampire was conscious again.  He stuck the cane back in, and it was once again still.  “Hmm, so a stake to the heart merely puts them into a coma-like state.  That’s quite interesting.”           Joseph ran up to a door, with Daniel coming after him.  He opened it a crack and looked inside.  There was no one immediately visible, so he slowly opened it further, and went in, with Daniel following.  The door had led into a kitchen, which was empty of people.  Joseph said as he went over to a door on the other side of the kitchen, and opened it a crack, before closing it.  “Shit, there are dozens of people in the dining room out there.”      “Vampires?”      “There are people that looked like they are strapped to the tables, so yeah, I assume that the ones who aren’t are probably Vampires.”      “Dammit,” Daniel said.  “How many prisoners are there?”      Joseph opened the door a crack again, and looked out for a bit longer before closing it.  “I can see seven, and some of them look to be in pretty bad shape.  Looks like forty or so Vampires though.”      “I…I don’t think we can deal with forty Vampires,” Daniel said.      “We need to get past them though, and I don’t think there are any alternate routes we can take at this point.  So, we’re just gonna have to sneak past them.”      “How?”      “None of them are paying much attention this way.  We should be able to get out the door, and stay low behind tables and make our way around the room.  Just stay low, and stay quiet.”      Joseph opened the door and crept out, crouching as much as he could, while still being able to make quickly and quietly.  Daniel followed his lead as he came after him.  They both moved around the edge of the dining room, and were at the midpoint when Daniel tugged on Joseph’s sleeve.  Joseph looked back at him.      “We can’t just leave these people here,” Daniel whispered.  “We can’t just leave them to be fed on like this.  It’s not right.”      Joseph kept his expression neutral as he shrugged, but he knew Daniel was right.  “Two of us against forty of them.  We can’t beat them.”      “Not in a direct fight, but we’ve got to do something.”      “We will, we will, but first we need to get through here,” Joseph whispered before continuing on, and eventually they reached the closest location to the door out, that still left them hidden.  From this vantage point he could see the door opened up to a hallway outside, which was empty as far as he could tell.  He looked over at the Vampires feeding, and none were looking in this direction.  “Now,” he whispered to Daniel.      They both moved for the door as fast as they could, and went out into the hall, which was indeed empty at the moment.  They hugged the wall to avoid being seen from the dining room as they went down the hall.      “What are we going to do about all those people in there?” Daniel asked.      “We just need to stick to the plan, and take out the Vampires, and then we’ll be able to free the people.”      “It could be too late for some of them.”      “But if we try to free them now, all that’s going to happen is we’ll end up dead, and not able to help anyone.”           Dorothy climbed up the side of the castle, and put the first of her explosives in place.  She continued on, working her way up, and to the right, as she moved towards the second location.  This was a very old castle, something she was grateful for as that meant a lot more handholds, which made the climb easier.  Then she heard the sound of a rifle firing.      “What’s going on?” she asked into the radio.      “I noticed some archers noticing you,” Jacob said.  “By the windows that don’t have direct sunlight on them at this time of day.  Unfortunately bullets only seem to be slowing them down, not putting them down.”      “Try shooting them in the eyes,” Dorothy said.  “They can’t shoot me if they can’t see me, I hope.”      “Good call, I’ll do my best.”           Sherlock continued through the castle with Sally following after him.  They had placed two of their explosives so far, and had so far only had a few encounters with Vampires, and always small groups which Sally had been able to quickly neutralize.      Then as they approached a corner, Sherlock glanced around it.  The hallway went down to a large, ornate door, which was guarded by twelve Vampires.  Sherlock pulled back before he was spotted, and whispered to Sally what he had seen.      “That’s too much for us to take out directly,” Sally said.      “We need to place one of the explosives in that room,” Sherlock said.  “And clearly it belongs to Dracula himself, so here.”  Sherlock handed one of the explosives to Sally, while keeping the other for himself.      “What are you doing?”      “I’ll get in there and place this one,” Sherlock said.  “You continue on and place the final one, then get out of here.”      “No offense, but you’re really old.  If I can’t take out that many, what makes you think you can?”      “I don’t have to take them out.  Just go, that’s an order.”      Sally looked at him for a couple seconds, before nodding, and running off.  Sherlock watched until she was out of sight, and then took a deep breath, before walking around the corner, and towards the door.  The guards all looked at him in confusion.      “I would like to formally announce myself,” Sherlock said.  “I am Sherlock Holmes, and I have come here to see your master.”      “How did you get in here?” one of the guards demanded, as he approached Sherlock.      “With your lax security, how could I not?” Sherlock asked.  “But I am not here to talk with an underling such as yourself.  I am here to see your master, so either let him know that I am here, or kindly step out of my way.”      The guard approaching laughed, as he got up to Sherlock, and looked him right in the eye.  “Oh, you’ll see him all right, after I have turned you.”      “Fine then, go ahead and turn me.  And then you can see for yourself how he’ll react after learning that you turned Sherlock Holmes yourself, instead of letting him do so.”      The guard turned back to the others.  “Any of you heard of this Sherlock Holmes?”      “He’s some kind of detective from England,” one of them said.  “Arch-nemesis to Moriarty, I do believe.”      The guard in front of Sherlock closed his eyes for a second, as a frown came on his face.  “One of you let Master Dracula know that Sherlock Holmes is here.”  He turned back to Sherlock.  “This better not be a trick.”      One of the guards knocked on the door, and was admitted inside.  After half a minute he came back out.  “Master Dracula will see you now, Mister Holmes.”      Sherlock walked past the guard in front of him, and continued on past the others, before going through the door, and it shutting behind him.  The room was large.  There was an extravagant bed in it, but one that looked pristine, like it had never been used.  There was also a desk, at which Dracula was sitting, and writing, but he put the paper aside and stood up to face Sherlock.      “I was wondering how long it would be until you showed up,” Dracula said.  “Moriarty is a useful servant, if somewhat self-serving, but I knew his actions would eventually lead you here, no matter what precautions I took.”      “Well, I do have to stop your plans,” Sherlock said as he walked over to the bed, and sat down on it.  “I do apologize for sitting on your bed though, but I am not as young as I once was, and this trip has been rather exhausting.”      “I can help you with that, you know,” Dracula said as he approached Sherlock.  “Make it so you do not tire.”      “I am not interested in your sales pitch,” Sherlock said as he stood back up, to look Dracula straight in the eyes.      “Your interest is immaterial,” Dracula said.  “By coming here you have already sealed your fate.”           Daniel placed another explosive, while Joseph kept watch.  “Okay, that’s the last of them, now we need to figure out what to do about the prisoners,” Daniel said.      “What we need to do is get out of here, before we set them off,” Joseph said.      “So, we’re just going to leave them to die?”      “The dining room should survive the explosions.  The prisoners will be okay, and a lot easier to save after we destroy the castle.”      “Those that the Vampires don’t finish off by then,” Daniel said.           Dorothy placed the last of her explosives, before climbing back down to the ground.  She ran to the still open gate and went out of the castle walls.      “All set?” Jacob asked her over the radio.      “That I am,” she replied.  “Anyone else?”      “I’m done too,” Sally said.  “But Mister Holmes and I split up, so I don’t know if he placed the last one he needed to or not.”      “Why would you split up?” Jacob asked.      “It was his idea,” Sally said.  “I’m on my way out now, per his orders.”      “We can’t just leave him,” Dorothy said.      “He is the boss,” Jacob said.  “And if he said to leave him, then he presumably has a good reason.”           “Fine,” Joseph said, as he and Daniel walked back towards the dining hall in silence.  “We’ll try something, since that’s the way out anyway.”      “What’s the plan?” Daniel asked.      “What, you don’t have one already?”      “Not really, no.”      “Well, like I was saying, there’s way too many of those Vampires for us to take on, so we’re going to need to get them out of there somehow.  A distraction of some sort, something to get their attention.”      “If we had any more explosives, even just something small, that would work,” Daniel said.      “But we don’t.”  Joseph stopped, and pulled out his radio.  “Jacob, you there?”      “Yeah, I’m here,” Jacob said.      “So are Sally and I,” Dorothy said.  “We’re done and out, where are you guys?”      “We’re on our way out,” Joseph said.  “We’re going to use the same way we came in, through the dining room, but there’s a bunch of people being fed on in here, and we want to get them out.”      “How many?” Jacob asked.      “Seven prisoners,” Joseph said.  “But there were like forty Vampires in there earlier.  If we’re lucky, that was just the breakfast rush, but I don’t know.  Either way we’ll probably need a distraction.  There was a bell in one of the castle towers, right?”      “There’s at least two bells that I can see,” Jacob said.  “You want me to make some noise?”      Joseph and Daniel were right outside the dining hall now.  “Give me a minute,” Joseph said.  He glanced through the door.  There were less Vampires than earlier, but still around thirty.  Out in the hall were suits of armor on display.  He turned to Daniel  “You think you can get in one of those without making any noise?”      “I can certainly try,” Daniel said.           Sherlock and Dracula circled each other, their eyes locked.  Sherlock knew Dracula was simply toying with him.  Between the enhanced strength of his Vampiric nature, and the reduced strength of Sherlock’s elderly body, Sherlock was outmatched physically.  And even from just watching the way Dracula walked, he could tell that his fighting prowess was such that Sherlock’s skills would not be enough to make up for the difference in strength.      Sherlock considered how long it had been.  Enough time for the others to have placed all of their explosives, but that was assuming that none of them had run into problems as well.  But every second he waited, it increased the chances that Dracula would attack him, and that could ruin the plan.      Sherlock made up his mind, and when he was closest to the wall where he needed to stick the final explosive, he sprinted at it, and stuck the explosive to it.  He took out his radio.  “Now, blow it now.”      “What?” Jacob asked.  “Are you out?”      “Now!” Sherlock yelled, even as he felt Dracula right behind him, and the radio was torn out of his hand.           Joseph finished getting inside a suit of armor, while Daniel was only halfway through putting on his own.  He then turned on his radio, just as Sherlock was yelling “Now!”      “What’s going on?” Joseph asked.      “Holmes wants us to blow the place now,” Jacob said.  “I think you guys will be okay in the dining hall, and that’ll make an even better distraction then the bells.”      “Wait,” Joseph said, before he heard the explosions start all throughout the castle, followed by various crashes as the castle fell even further apart then the initial damage from those explosions.      Daniel was still only partially in armor.  His hands and legs were still visible, as the Vampires in the dining room started running out, but none seemed to notice him in their haste.      Joseph waited until no more were coming out.  He had counted twenty-seven that had left.  And as he went in, still armor-clad, there were still four inside.  They looked at him as he came in.  He shot at them with a crossbow, managing to stake two of them through the heart, before the other two were on him.      One of them was trying to grab his arms and hold him in place, while the second started pulling off his helmet.  He tried to get out of their grasp, but the armor made that difficult.  As his helmet was pulled off, that Vampire leaned in towards his neck, when he heard the sound of wood piercing flesh, and the Vampire fell to the ground.  The other one turned to look, just as they too were shot by Daniel.      “Good shooting,” Joseph said as he started taking the armor off.  “Now let’s get these people down and out of here before any more come back.”           Sally watched as the castle crumbled.  “Holmes, do you read?” she asked into the radio.      “I see Joseph and Daniel coming out with the prisoners,” Jacob said.  “And plenty of Vampires, dead or dying throughout the castle.  I’m not seeing any signs of Holmes though.”      “Keep me updated,” Sally said.  “I’m going back to the plane.”  She jogged over to it, and went aboard, going to Moriarty’s cell, after grabbing the map.      Moriarty looked up at her as she approached.  “Ah, welcome, I don’t think I caught your name earlier.”      “You didn’t tell us that this was Dracula’s room,” Sally said as she pointed at the map.      “I don’t suppose I did.  Why?  Did something happen?”      “The Vampires are all dead, or will be soon, but so is Sherlock.”      “That is unfortunate,” Moriarty said.  “Also unfortunate is that Dracula himself has still survived.”      “There’s no way he survived.  He was in his room, as was Sherlock, and even if he survived the explosion, he’d be exposed to the sunlight.”      “Ah, but Dracula is not like other Vampires.  He is not affected by the sunlight in the same manner as the rest of us, and I can sense he survived and is even now escaping.  You’ve delayed his plans, but you have not prevented them.”      “And your plans?” Sally asked.      “You needn’t concern yourself with my plans,” Moriarty said.  “I am, after all, your prisoner.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #15 A Strike Against

     Alec Riker and Chuck Johnson walked away from the building as it exploded behind them.  Alec flinched a bit, but Chuck was stoic.  They got to the tree line and entered the forest, just as helicopters came overhead, and shone searchlights down to try and find them.      “It’s only a matter of time until they send teams out to search these woods by foot,” Alec said.  “We need to be long gone by the time that happens.”      “Or we hide and wait it out,” Chuck said.  “I have a hiding place where they’ll never find us.”      “No, the last time you said that, we ended up being stuck in a tiny cave for a week, with a single bottle of water to share.  We are not doing that again.”      “Fine, just follow me, and we’ll get out of here in one piece.”           She saw the explosion in the distance, and although she did not know for certain, she assumed it was related to her quarry.  She ran in that direction.  She could hear helicopters overhead, but those would be useless with how thick the canopy of the forest was.      Her search might not go much better, she thought.  Even on the ground there was only so far you could see through the trees, and it was a big forest.  She had memorized a map of the area in a guard outpost she had snuck into upon arriving here, and she went over it in her head.  If she was trying to get away, undetected, where would she go?           “On second thought, maybe the cave idea isn’t so bad,” Alec said as he looked over the side of the cliff to the river below.      “It’s not too far down,” Chuck said.  “Remember when we jumped into that lake at summer camp that one year back when we were teenagers.”      “You jumped into the lake, I was busy flirting with the girls.”      “Either way, it’s doable, and we don’t have much choice.  Listen, there are dogs coming, they’ll find us within minutes.”      “Fine,” Alec said.  He looked down again.  He backed up a bit, then ran forward and jumped off the side of the cliff.  He dove into the water, and was very thankful that it was deep enough that he did not hit the bottom.      He swam up to the surface, and looked around.  Despite jumping in after him, Chuck was already climbing out at the edge of the river.  Alec swam over and climbed out after him.  “Now what?”      “I have a Jeep about five minutes that way,” Chuck said pointing, as he looked Alec over.  “Maybe ten minutes.  Assuming it hasn’t been found.”      “Right, let’s get going.”           She waited in the trees near the cliff for the soldiers and their dogs to pass by.  As soon as they did, she went over to the cliff, and looked over the side of it.  There was no immediate sign of them at the bottom, but it is where she would have gone if she were them, so she dove off the side, and landed in the river.      She climbed out onto the riverbank, and looked around.  There were some tracks in the mud, although she could only recognize a single set, even though she knew there were two of them.  She was pretty sure the tracks she could see belonged to her quarry, and it did not surprise her that Johnson knew how to avoid leaving tracks.      She climbed up into the trees, and went in the direction that the tracks led, doing her best to stay out of sight of anyone on the ground, and being as silent as she could.           Alec followed Chuck through the forest, as the brush got thicker and thicker, and he was getting a few cuts from branches.  Then they came out into a clearing, where a there was a Jeep.  Alec got into the driver’s seat, while Chuck got into the back, and checked the mounted gun he had there.      “I don’t know how you drove in here without being discovered,” Alec said.  “The outer perimeter is the reason I used that experimental flightsuit.”      “I’m sure Isaacs will be glad to hear that it worked,” Chuck said.      “It was actually Declan that designed this one.  Funny story in fact…”      “Shh,” Chuck cut him off.  “There’s someone approaching.”      “Where from?”  Alec just started looking around, when he felt himself being tackled right out of the Jeep, and to the ground.  He looked up to see a costumed individual holding him down.  Her costume was yellow, with black spots, like a jaguar, and he recognized her as the superhero named after said animal.  “Oh, hello.”      “This is not the time for your vendetta,” Chuck said.      “You stay out of this,” the Jaguar said, glaring at him.      “What vendetta?” Alec asked.      “He didn’t tell you?” the Jaguar asked.  “You killed my uncle, and I’ve been tracking Chuck for months, so that he would lead me to you.”      “I’ve killed a lot of people, you’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that,” Alec said.  “And how the hell did you track Chuck Johnson for months, without him noticing.”      “By not tracking him specifically, just following the trail of destruction,” the Jaguar said.  “Let’s be honest, there’s a reason he’s so effective, and that’s by being extremely unsubtle.”      “She’s got you there, Chuck,” Alec said with a chuckle.      “So, what are you planning on doing now that you’ve found him?” Chuck asked.  “We had this conversation last time.  Arresting him will do nothing.”      “And in case you hadn’t noticed, we are in the heart of territory controlled by the Scorpio Syndicate at the moment,” Alec said.  “So maybe not the best time to be trying to arrest me anyway.”      The Jaguar got off Alec, and he stood up.  “Fine,” she said.  “We’ll get out of this area first.”      “Excellent,” Alec said as he went back into the driver’s seat of the Jeep, and the Jaguar sat down next to him.  “So you didn’t mention who your uncle is.”  He started driving through the forest.      “Geraldo Rocha,” the Jaguar said.      “Ah yeah, I remember him.  He was running a drug operation, and I was sent in to shut it down,” Alec said.      “Because the CIA is never okay with drug operations, right?” the Jaguar asked.  “Or I guess just not ones they don’t have a hand in.”      “It’s a messed up world,” Alec said.  “There’s no disagreeing with that.”      “Messed up enough that shutting something down is synonymous with assassinating people?” the Jaguar asked.      “Sometimes, yes,” Alec said.  “Look, I sympathize that he was your uncle, but I mean, everyone has relatives, and that doesn’t absolve them of crimes.”      “Not everyone has relatives,” Chuck said.      Alec rolled his eyes.  “Most people have relatives.”      “What would you do if someone killed one of your relatives?” the Jaguar asked.      “Depends on which relative,” Alec said.  “Like, I don’t really know any of my uncles or aunts well enough to particularly care.  But if someone killed my mom, I’d hunt them down and make them pay.”      “My Uncle Geraldo may not have been a good man, but he helped to raise me,” the Jaguar said.  “He was more of a father to me than my actual father.  So what if someone killed your father?”      Alec grimaced as he glanced at the Jaguar, before looking back to where he was driving.  “Someone did kill my father, and I bear him no ill will.”      “You sure about that?” Chuck asked.      “I bear him no ill will for that,” Alec said.  “My father got what was coming to him.”      “Clearly, I’ve touched a nerve,” the Jaguar said.      “Not really,” Alec said, his grimace turning to a smirk.  “But if you want to believe that, you go right ahead.  You are here to hurt me.”      “I’m here to get…I don’t know…answers or some kind of closure or something,” the Jaguar said.      “I mean, the answers are pretty simple,” Alec said.  “I was sent in with a job, I completed that job, which included killing your uncle.  As for closure, that’s up to you to figure out on your own.  Real life doesn’t have nice, tidy endings.”      “You’ll have to continue this conversation later,” Chuck said.  “There’s a blockade up ahead by the gate.”      “You sure?” Alec asked.  “I’m not seeing anything through these trees.”      “You’ll see them soon enough,” Chuck said.  “But yeah, I definitely hear them.”      Alec kept driving through the woods, going as fast as he could without hitting any trees, until he could see the edge of the tree line, and beyond that he did see at first a few glimpses of metal, and then could tell that there were multiple vehicles there.  Mostly they were SUVs, but there were also three tanks.  Soldiers were getting out of the SUVs as they approached.      “I’m thinking we do like we did in Russia, two years ago,” Chuck said.      “That was a terrible plan then, and it’s a terrible plan now,” Alec said.      “It worked though,” Chuck said.      Alec turned to the Jaguar.  “Just follow our lead.”  Alec spun the Jeep to a stop, so the back was facing the blockade.  Chuck started the mounted gun firing at the SUVs, before jumping out of the Jeep and running towards one of the tanks.  Alec and the Jaguar also jumped out, and Alec ran behind a tree as he felt bullets whizzing past him.      He climbed up the tree, and took out his sniper rifle.  He chose a target at random, and made a headshot, before switching to another target.  “This isn’t going to work for very long,” Alec said over the comm.  “My bullets are more limited than their soldiers.”      “I’m working on it,” Chuck said, and Alec noticed him climbing into a tank, before its driver was tossed out.      As Alec continued taking out targets, he noticed the Jaguar had managed to get close enough to some of the soldiers to fight them hand to hand.  Then he noticed one of the tanks aiming at the tree he was in, and just managed to jump out of it, before it got hit, and was turned to splinters.           The Jaguar jumped over one of the soldiers, and into another one that she tackled to the ground.  She pulled his gun out of his hands, and tossed it at one of the other soldiers, while jumping back to her feet, and leaping over another soldier, to put him between her and the others.  She grabbed him by the back of the head, and smashed his head into the side of the SUV they were next to a couple times.      She then threw him at another group of soldiers, as even more were arriving.  They were not shooting, for risk of hitting each other, which gave her a slight advantage, but not much, as they still had overwhelming numbers.      She was punching and kicking at everyone that got close, but she was quickly finding herself surrounded.  Someone punched her in the head from behind, and she went forward, but she turned the momentum into her own attack on some of those in front of her, before vaulting over them, and landing outside the circle, and ran behind an SUV, as some of the soldiers now started shooting at her, without risk of hitting their own people.           Chuck turned the tank he had taken over, and started firing at one of the other tanks, the one that had shot at Alec.  He continued firing at it, even while he started driving towards groupings of soldiers.  Many of them scattered as he did so, but he did manage to drive over a few of them.  Both of the other tanks had also started firing on him, in spite of the collateral damage that wrought on the soldiers near his tank.      He managed to take out one of the tanks though, and opened fire on the other.  He set it to continue auto-firing, before jumping back out of the tank, and into the fray.  He had timed his exit to be in between shots from the enemy tank, and he ran towards it, as it continued firing on the tank he had just been in.  He mowed down a dozen soldiers before getting there, and climbing onto it.  This driver was clearly being more cautious, as the hatch was locked from the inside, so Chuck stuck some C4 with a detonator to the hatch, and ran away from it, before blowing it up.      The tank stopped moving and firing.  Chuck was not sure if that meant it was dead in the water, or if it simply meant the explosion had taken out the driver, so he ran over to check.           Alec had climbed another tree, and started sniping again.  He noticed the Jaguar was in a bit of trouble, so he started taking out the soldiers near her.  As he did, he noticed her climb into one of the SUVs, and she drove over to the tree line.      “Get down here, and get in,” she yelled up at him.      He climbed down the tree, and got into the passenger seat.  “Be careful, or it might seem like you actually care if I get out of here alive.”      “Just because I hate you, that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you behind to die,” she said as she drove over to where Chuck was climbing back down from a tank.  He got into the backseat, and she drove past the blockade, even as the remaining soldiers continued firing at them.  “This is the edge of what they control, right?” she asked.      “Pretty much,” Chuck said.  “And with their base destroyed, they’ll probably be off this land by morning.”      “What were they working on here anyway?” the Jaguar asked.      “Same thing as the base where we met,” Chuck said.  “This is where they moved those experiments.”      “You never really told me what those experiments were,” the Jaguar said.      “Cause you were more interested in finding about Alec here,” Chuck said.      “And I’m flattered, really,” Alec said.  “But if you’re really curious, they are trying to build an army of humanoid animals through genetic engineering.”      “What?” the Jaguar asked.  “That’s ridiculous.”      “They’re the Scorpio Syndicate, everything they do is ridiculous,” Alec said.  “And I mean, honestly, I’m not sure it’s even practical.  Like, you take a lion and put it on two legs, and turns its front legs into arms, you’re probably going to end up with a much weaker lion, and slower.”      “The bigger threat is that they’re also working on changing their intelligence to that of a Human,” Chuck said.  “That’s far more dangerous, especially if they apply it to otherwise unchanged animals.  Imagine walking through the park, and the squirrels there could be listening in on what you say, and reporting back on that.”      “So you were here to destroy their research?” the Jaguar asked.      “Yes,” Chuck said.      “And what about you, Alec?” the Jaguar asked.  “I can’t imagine the Chuck Johnson needed your help on this.”      “Maybe not, but I was in the area,” Alec said.  “And we’re old friends, so we help each other out with missions from time to time.”      “Uh huh,” the Jaguar said.      “So, now that we’re clear,” Alec said, glancing back in the direction they had come from.  There were no signs of pursuit.  “You decided what, if anything, you’re going to be doing with me?”      “You’re probably right that even if I turn you over to the police, you’ll be out within days, at most,” the Jaguar said.  “You know, it’s people like you that first made me decide to become a vigilante.  Too many people working within the system are corrupt, which is why I decided to take justice into my own hands.”      “You’ll get no disagreements from me on the corruptness of the system,” Alec said.  “I’m not going to lie, I’ve done plenty of things in my career that I’m not proud of.  And I’m sorry, but killing your uncle was not one of those things.  No matter what he was to you, he was also a criminal.”      “A criminal in Brazil,” the Jaguar said.  “What gives your country the right to think they can just go in and do whatever they want in other countries.”      “Well, we’re in Canada at the moment, so all of us have gone into a foreign country to do what we want, yourself included,” Alec said.  “And I don’t see you criticizing yourself, or Chuck for that matter.”      “Don’t give me the ‘maybe we’re not so different’ line.  You know how often I’ve heard that one?” the Jaguar asked.      “We all hear that one a lot,” Alec said.  “There might be a reason for that.”      “Usually the reason is that the person saying it is an asshole,” the Jaguar said.      “I’ve never denied being an asshole,” Alec said.      “Well, at least we can agree on one thing,” the Jaguar said.  “But I suppose I can’t really do anything about you at the moment.  So as soon as we get back to civilization, we’ll go our separate ways.  But now that I know who you are, I’ll be watching you.”      “I look forward to it,” Alec said.  “It’ll just be like that time I thought I had a stalker, but it was actually a Russian agent trying to kill me.  Good times.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #14 My Alien Friend Menok

     Richard Isley looked at the results.  He put the paper down, stood up, and started pacing in his kitchen for a few minutes before sitting back down at the table.  He picked up the paper and looked at it again.  It showed the same thing, he knew that it would show the same thing, but somehow he had hoped it would have changed.      He took out his phone, and started scrolling through the contacts.  He had hundreds, but he scrolled past every single one of them.  There was no one to really talk to.  No real friends, no family left, just colleagues and acquaintances.  He put his phone down, and went to bed.  There were things he would have to do, but those could wait until the morning.           Richard woke up in the middle of the night to an extremely loud noise, like something had crashed into the yard outside his house.  He went over to the window and looked out to see that something had.  It was sort of spherical, and about the size of a golf cart.  Some kind of escape pod, he wondered.      He put a robe over his pajamas, and grabbed a golf club as he went out into his backyard, and approached the craft.  There initially did not seem to be any obvious doors, but then a section slid open, revealing a green-skinned alien.  It had two legs and two arms, but calling it humanoid would be a bit of a stretch, as its limbs were a lot thinner than that of a Human, and its torso had different proportions.      The torso also two holes straight through it, around where the belly button would be on a Human, and little under the neck.  They were each a few inches wide but only one inch high and did not look like wounds.  And the head was shaped kind of like a football, but with the points at either end looking like ears, and a third point in the front for a nose and mouth.      “Who are you?” Richard asked, the golf club still in his hands.  “What are you doing here?”      The alien looked at him and closed it’s eyes for a few seconds.  “My name is Menok, I am an Arkon.  You speak English and look Human.  Is this Earth?  This should not be Earth.”      “It is Earth, why shouldn’t it be?”      “I need to contact…no, I don’t know who I need to contact.  But if this is Earth than I am way off course of where I should be.”      “Where should you be?”      “I cannot tell you that,” Menok said.  “I do not know if I can trust you.”      “I don’t know if I can trust you either,” Richard said.      “Where is the nearest spaceport?”      “What, can’t you just use that thing again?”  Richard pointed at the pod.      “That is an escape pod, my ship was sabotaged and destroyed itself.”      “Well, there’s only one spaceport on Earth, so far, well, other than whatever the Caldore have, but I don’t imagine you’re going to want to go there.”      “No, I do not.  Nasty people, those Caldore.  Where is this spaceport?”      “In Australia, by Sydney, so other side of the world.”      “Hmm, that is unfortunate, but I suppose I have little option.”      As they were talking, Richard heard the sound of vehicles driving down the road, and parking in front of his house.  “Well, it sounds like someone else noticed your crash too.”      “Please, I can’t be taken in,” Menok said.      “If you’re going to want me to trust you, you’re going to need to give me a reason.”      “I am a diplomat, but recently I discovered some information that certain individuals in my government have been keeping secret, and they found out that I discovered them, and are now trying to kill me.”      “It’s a good story, but how I do know it’s true?”      “I sense there is something wrong with you,” Menok said.  He reached for a device on his belt, and Richard tensed.  “Don’t worry, this is just a medical scanner.  Hmm, yes, I see what is wrong with you.  Do your people have a cure?”      “No, there’s no cure.”      “My people have a cure for it,” Menok said.  “If you help me, I can help you.”      Richard heard his doorbell ringing.  He looked at the escape pod, and at Menok, and up into the sky.  “Okay, yeah, we can’t hide the pod, but I should be able to hide you.  You’re just going to need to do what I say.”           ESS Agent Kimberly Ford waited, and rang the doorbell again.  Finally, after about a minute, the door was opened, and an older man stood there, wearing a bathrobe over his pajamas.      “Hello, sir,” Kimberly said.  “I’m special agent Ford.  We detected an object from space crashing in your backyard, and we’re here to investigate.”      “Hmm, oh yes, of course,” Richard said.  “It was quite the shock, let me tell you.  I was just sleeping and then that happened.  I almost didn’t hear you ringing the doorbell after that.”      “It’s quite all right, sir.  If you could just let us into your yard, we’ll make sure it’s safe, and then we’ll take it and get out of your way right away.”      “Go right ahead.”      Kimberly nodded at her agents, and they went to the backyard, before she turned back to Richard.  “Did you go look at it yourself?”      “I saw it,” Richard said.  “Looked like an escape pod or something.”      “That matches what we saw on our sensors.  Did you see anyone come out of it, Human or otherwise?”      “No, I did not, but I was not watching it the whole time.”      “Of course, of course.”  Kimberly noticed her comm beeping.  “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.”  Richard nodded, and she went outside.  “Yes?”      “Agent Ford?” came the voice over the comm.  “This is Admiral Teleros of the United Earth Spacefleet.”      “Sir, what can I do for you?”      “I’ve been informed that you’re investigating a crashed escape pod in Montana.”      “We still need to confirm that’s what it is, but yes.”      “It may be an escaped Arkon criminal.  So make sure you and your people are prepared for that, and if you encounter him, you are to capture him.  Do not use lethal force unless absolutely necessary, and also keep me up to date at all times.  If you manage to capture him, as soon as you have him in custody, no one is authorized to speak to him until I arrive.  Understood?”      “Yes, sir, understood.”  ��        Richard waited while his yard and house were searched by the agents.  He had just realized that they never actually said what agency they were with, as they finished loading up the pod onto a truck, and it drove off.      “Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything else on the property, but please call me if anything else should happen,” Kimberly said as she handed Richard a card.  He looked it over and it had contact information, but did not specify any agency either.      “I’ll be sure to do that,” Richard said.      Kimberly and the rest of her agents went out front, got into their vehicles, and drove off.  Richard waited until they were out of sight, and then another five minutes before he went down to the basement.  It was a fairly small basement, with half of it being used for laundry, and a desk in another corner with an old computer on it.      Richard went over to the computer, and typed out a password on it, causing the walls in the other corner to slide open, revealing a much larger part of the basement, with a lab set up in it.  Menok was sitting at a table, looking at a plant growing inside a glass box.  There was no soil or water in the box with the plant, but it looked healthy in spite of that.      “It’s fascinating,” Menok said.  “How does it survive without water?”      “It’s not surviving without water, it just needs a lot less, so that even just the water vapor in the air is enough for it.”      “And how did they not find this room?  Those were ESS agents, and the kind of sensor technology they have would not be fooled by a wall.”      “I don’t know what the ESS is,” Richard said.  “But I did get some fairly advanced sensor blockers on the black market for my lab.  Some of the work I do here is…not exactly legal.”      “Oh?” Menok asked.      “It’s just a matter of laws not keeping up with the rate of scientific progress.  I’m sure it will be legal in a matter of decades, but I don’t know that I have that long left, even if you do manage to cure me.  I’m not exactly a young man anymore.”      “Either way, I thank you, once again, for your assistance.  And now I have to figure out how to get to this Sydney, Australia, was it?”      “That’s where the spaceport is,” Richard said.  “And how exactly are you planning on getting there?”      “I do not know.  I am not particularly familiar with your world.  Are there teleporters I can use?”      “Those haven’t made their way to public use yet.  For travelling around the world, you’re going to want to go by airplane.  But without a passport you’re not going to be managing that.”      “A passport is a form of identification, yes?”      “Yes.”      “You mentioned a black market earlier.  Could they assist in that?”      “I don’t know.  I could put in a call to the person I know, and find out, but I don’t know for certain.”      “I would be extremely grateful if you would.”           A few hours later, after multiple telephone conversations, Richard went back down to his lab, where Menok was sitting in what looked to be a meditative position.  Menok’s eyes opened, as Richard came in.  “Were you successful?”      “Yeah, it’ll be pretty expensive, but I can afford it,” Richard said.      “You are most generous.”      “You said you can cure me, and if I die I’m not going to need the money anyway.”      “When do we leave?” Menok asked.      “We’ll be picking up the passport and other necessary IDs in the morning, and as soon as we have them, I’ll book us a flight to Sydney.”      “Us?”      “Well, I should go with, should I not?” Richard asked.  “To make sure you get where you’re going safely?”      “And to make sure I keep up my end of the bargain?”      “I’m not going to lie, I still don’t exactly trust you.”      “I understand.”           Kimberly entered the lab where the escape pod had been taken.  It was in the center of the room, and several scientists were running scans on it.  She walked over to the lead scientist, Sam Wagner.  “What’ve you found?”      “Hmm?”  Sam looked up from her computer pad.  “Well, it’s definitely Arkon tech.”      “Yeah, I could tell that just by looking at it.  What can you tell me about who was using it, and where they went?”      “We found some trace amounts of DNA left behind by the occupant, and are comparing that to the sample we were given by Admiral Teleros, so we’ll know in a couple minutes.  As for where he went, I couldn’t tell you that.  Earth wasn’t where he was headed though.  The navigation systems overrode the commands he put in, because his destination was too far for the pod to travel, but a malfunction kept the display from showing him that.”      “Where was he trying to go?”      “A planet called Nerva, it’s on the edge of the Cardaillian Empire.”      “Hmm, so it’s possible he’s more than just a regular criminal, could be a traitor.”      “That isn’t for me to guess at,” Sam said.  “Although Nerva would be a strange choice to go to for that, as it’s just a small mining colony.”  Her computer pad beeped and she looked down at it.  “Oh, good news, the former occupant of this pod is indeed the individual that we’re looking for.”      “Not sure if that’s actually good news, but thanks.”           Menok was acutely aware of all the people staring at him as he followed Richard through the airport.  Even with aliens being known about on Earth, they were not exactly common.  Several were taking pictures with their phones.      Menok had done his best to disguise his identity, but he could not exactly make himself look Human, so he just had to hope if pictures of an Arkon visitor to Earth got back to his people, his disguise would at least be enough to keep them from realizing it was him.      In addition to the stares, he was also aware of the emotions, which were mixed.  Some felt excited or curious or amused.  But others felt scared or angry.  Most, if not all, of these people had first learned about the existence of life beyond their planet when the Caldore attacked, and he supposed that for many the distinction between different aliens was something they had yet to learn.      “Please put any metal objects in the bin,” a security guard said as they were in line by the metal detector.      Menok put his medical scanner into the bin, as well as his computer pad.  He stepped through the metal detector, which did not go off, and on the other side the security guard was looking at the objects in the bin.      “What is this?” the guard asked pointing at the medical scanner.      “It is a medical scanner,” Menok said.      “You some kind of doctor?” the guard asked with a raised eyebrow.  “I better call someone down here.”      “He’s not a doctor,” Richard said.  “I’m a scientist, Doctor Richard Isley, and he’s an associate of mine, we’re on our way to a conference in Sydney, and going to be showing off that device.  And I’d rather not miss our flight.”  Richard looked at his watch with a scowl.      “Right, sorry,” the security guard said.  “You can go on.”      They walked a distance past security, before Richard spoke again.  “It’s a good thing I did come with, or else you wouldn’t have made it through there.”      “Yes, he did not trust me.”      “It’s his job not to trust, but old, rich, white men often get trusted automatically.”           Menok sat down in his seat on the airplane, and Richard sat down in the seat across from him.  This area of the plane was pretty spacious, Richard had said it was first class.  Menok was glad for that, as the other parts of the plane seemed pretty cramped with people.  But even with less people in this area, he was still getting a lot of stares.      The emotions he could sense were generally along the same lines of those he had sensed in the airport, although amongst these there was more of the curiosity and amusement, and less of the fear and anger, but some of it was still there.  There was also something else he could just barely sense, but he could not recognize what it was, just that it felt off.      “It’ll be a little over twenty hours until we get to our destination,” Richard said.  “Just get comfortable and enjoy the flight.”      “Do I not look like I’m already comfortable?” Menok asked.      “You keep glancing around, and looking nervous.”      “This is an unfamiliar place to me, and I am simply trying to observe and understand my surroundings.  Also I am sensing something that I can’t identify.”      “What do you mean exactly by sensing?  You mentioned earlier that you could sense something was wrong with me, I assumed you were just reading body language or something.”      “My species has some telepathic abilities.  The exact amount varies from individual to individual, but I can sense the emotions of those around me.  Sometimes thoughts, but that is a lot harder, especially when the person knows I can do so.”      “Have you read any of my thoughts?”      “No, despite your strong emotions, you have a firm grasp on your mind, and it would take considerable effort for me to pick up even an errant thought.”      “Thanks?  So what does it mean that you’re sensing something you can’t identify?”      “There are multiple things it could mean,” Menok said.  “While some emotions are common across species on various worlds: fear, anger, curiosity, happiness, and so on, there are others that are not, so it’s possible there are Human emotions I am simply unfamiliar with.”      “I assume that’s the best case scenario.”      “It could also mean that there is someone here purposely trying to hide themself from me.  Which could be as simple as a person familiar with my species’ telepathic abilities trying to block them out just because of paranoia, but it could be something more.”      “You think someone is tracking you?  Like those agents that were at my place?”      “Possibly.”           Kimberly was in her office, checking for any reports of Arkons on Earth.  There were thirty-four officially on Earth at the moment.  Most of those were in Australia or Asia, with a few in Africa and the Americas.  Only three were currently in the United States, with one in California, and the other two in New York.      So, knowing that there were none supposed to be in Montana, and having that as a starting point, it did not take long to locate social media posts of an Arkon at an airport in Billings.  She managed to use the pictures to figure out which flight he had gone aboard, and also made a note of the fact that Richard was in the pictures alongside him.           Richard reclined in his seat, and started dozing off as the lights were dimmed in the plane for the night.  But he was awoken a few hours later by Menok lightly shaking him.  Richard opened his eyes, and saw Menok looking around the darkened cabin.      “What is it?” Richard whispered.      “What I sensed earlier, I think there is someone here to kill me,” Menok whispered back.  “And I think they are getting ready to strike.”      “What do we do?”      “Follow me.”  Menok got out of his seat, and Richard followed after him.  It looked like everyone else was sleeping.  But then he heard a sound of movement, and saw someone coming in from the coach section.  The person looked Human, but was carrying an energy pistol.  Menok and Richard ducked behind some seats before the person saw them.      They glanced through a crack between seats as they watched the person go to where their now-empty seats were.  Menok jumped out at the person from behind, and managed to knock the energy pistol out of the person’s hands, and it skittered across the floor.      Richard went for it and picked it up.  The grip was not quite shaped for Human hands, but it was close enough, and he stood back up to aim it at the attacker, but the person Menok was fighting, no longer looked Human.  In fact they now looked identical to Menok.      “What the hell?” Richard asked as the Menoks backed away from each other, and Richard kept moving the gun back and forth between pointing at each of them.      “He has a holographic disguise,” the Menok on the right said.  “And now he’s using it to look like me.”      “Don’t believe them,” the Menok on the left said.  “They are the one with the holographic disguise looking like me.”      Richard looked at the left side of the energy pistol, which had some sort of setting dial, but the symbols on it were unfamiliar to him.  “What is this thing set to?”      “It’s set to kill,” the Menok on the right said.      “Move the dial two notches clockwise in order to set it to stun,” the Menok on the left said.      Richard turned the dial two notches clockwise, then shot the one on the right who fell to the ground, unconscious.      “How did you figure it out?” Menok asked.      “I initially suspected when you said they, and they said he, considering they presumably know who you are, but we have no idea who they are under that disguise.  Then when they knew what the pistol was set to, despite the dial being on the wrong side for them to see, that confirmed it.”      “Luckily no one seems to have woken up during our struggle.”      “But when they do, we have a problem,” Richard said.  “What do we do with the body?”      Menok searched the body, and pulled off a small circular device, causing the person’s appearance to change to that of another Arkon.  “Hmm, so it is one of my people,” Menok said.  “Which means they know I am here.”      “Did they follow you to Earth, or was this someone already here?  And if so, how did they find you.  The pictures taken at the airport have probably found their way onto social media, but that wouldn’t have given them enough time to get aboard the plane, unless they were already at the airport.”      “I only started sensing her after we had come aboard.  It may not have been enough time to come aboard normally, but there could be another way.”      “What way?”  Richard asked.  “And she?”  He looked at the attacker, and while he could see differences between her and Menok, he was not certain which, if any of them, indicated her gender.      “Now that she is unconscious, the mental blocks she had in place are no longer in effect,” Menok said.  “There’s not much I can sense while she is unconscious, but I can tell her gender identity.  As for how she got aboard, I am not certain.  Based on what I know of your world, it seems unlikely that there’s a teleporter aboard this plane, so it’s possible she has a cloaked ship that attached itself.”      “If that’s the case, is that something we’d be able to use?”      “Potentially,” Menok said.  “Follow me.”  They went through to the coach section of the plane, where the attacker had come from.  “Hand me the energy pistol,” Menok said.      Richard looked at it for a moment, and then at Menok, before handing it over.  Menok changed the setting on it again, and started firing at the ceiling.  An energy beam, instead of single shots, came out of it, and hit the ceiling, but did no damage.  Menok moved the beam over the ceiling, until a certain point where it caused the ceiling to shimmer.      “Boost me up there,” Menok said, and Richard helped him climb through a spot in the ceiling, which shimmered as he went through it.      “Another hologram?” Richard asked.      “Yes,” Menok said as he reached down, and pulled Richard up through the hole.  “She must have attached, made a hole, and used a hologram to hide that fact.”      “If we detach…”      “We’ll attach a cover first, so the plane doesn’t depressurize.”      “And then what?” Richard asked as he looked around.  It was a small vessel, like a shuttle of some kind.  There were three seats up front by the controls, as well as benches along the sides.      Menok went to the controls and sat down in one of the seats.  “This vessel is space capable, and with a superspace drive, so I can use it to continue on my journey.”      “Does it have what you need to cure me?” Richard asked.      Menok brought up a different page on screen.  “No, the medical supplies aboard this vessel are rather limited.”      “Then I am coming with you,” Richard said.      “It’s going to be dangerous out there,” Menok said.  “The fact that an assassin tried killing me in such a public way here on Earth means this is even more dangerous than I thought.  Even if we can get what we need to cure you, I can’t promise you won’t die anyway.”      “I’ll take my chances,” Richard said.           Kimberly and her team were in Sydney, Australia, and as soon as the plane landed, they went aboard.  The pilot showed them the tied up Arkon.      “This isn’t the Arkon we’re after,” Kimberly said, and she showed him a picture of Menok with Richard.  “This is who we’re looking for, and he’s with this Human.”      “Well, they aren’t aboard anymore, and this one was, but you might also want to see this.”  He showed Kimberly the ceiling of the plane, where a plate was covering a hole.      “Agent Derrickson, get over here,” Kimberly said.      Agent Derrickson came over, and ran a scan on it.  “This plate is made of a plastic of Arkon design.”      “Probably that Arkon over there came aboard to capture or kill the one we’re after,” Kimberly said.  “But then Menok overpowered that one, and got away aboard their ship, and presumably Richard is still with him.  Keep looking over the plane for clues.”      Kimberly got off the plane, and found somewhere private, before she contacted Jon over the comm, and told him what they had found.      “I was worried that the Arkons might try sending one of their own people in,” Jon said.      “So, what does this mean?” Kimberly asked.      “For one thing it means I am going to have a massive headache in dealing with the Arkon government over this.  But also, that Menok has presumably fled Earth, which means he’s outside your jurisdiction.”      “Sir, with all due respect, I would like to continue the search.”      “Continue it then.  Maybe I’m wrong, and he is still on Earth, but if he has left, and you find anything to suggest where he left to, make sure to let me know, so we have a better idea of where one of our ships can continue the search.”      “Of course, sir.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #13 Disunity

     “And Lieutenant Commander Tanaka has increased shield efficiency by five percent,” Commander Katherine Tartovsky said as she was giving her report to Captain Benjamin Grayson.  She was the first officer about the UES Unity, and he always had her give a daily report on what was all happening on the ship.      “Excellent,” Benjamin said.  “We were cutting it pretty close in the battle against that Argosian warship, so that is a welcome development.”      “The next item on my list has to do with fraternization amongst the crew.”      “Regulations permit dating, as long as it’s not amongst members of the same department, or between department heads.”      “Yes, sir, unfortunately it has come to my attention that there are two cases where that’s being violated.”      “Which two cases?” Benjamin asked.      “Lieutenants Harris and Banman, as well as Lieutenants Anderson and Delgado.”      “Hmm, I’ll have to have a word with them.  Is there anything else?”      “No sir, that’s the final thing to report.”      “You wanted to see me, sir?” Lieutenant Jane Anderson asked as she entered Benjamin’s office.      “It’s been brought to my attention that there have been some breaches of regulations as of late,” Benjamin said.      “Sir?” Jane asked.  “What sort of breaches?”      “When out in deep space, when the only people you see a lot of days are other members of the crews, it’s only natural to form bonds.  That was understood when designing regulations regarding fraternization amongst starship crews.”      “Of course, sir.”      “So for most crew they are simply not allowed to date amongst their own department.  Department heads, however, are also not to date other department heads.”      “Of course, sir,” Jane said.  “I understand.”      “Excellent,” Benjamin said.  “You are an excellent security chief, and Lieutenant Delgado is an amazing fighter squadron leader, and I’d hate to lose either of you.”      “So yeah, that’s what the captain said,” Jane said as she finished explaining to Leandra Delgado what Benjamin had told her.      “That’s too bad,” Leandra said.  “We were having some fun.  Although he also asked me to go have a chat with him later, so that’s probably what that’s about.”      “He also has meetings scheduled with Wesley and Chuck.”      “What about Tanaka and Cerise?”      “What?  Are they seeing each other too?” Jane asked.  “Are all of the department heads seeing other department heads?  Either way, he’s probably just unaware of them.”      “Possibly, hopefully that’s all it is.”      “What do you mean?”      “Well, it looks like he’s talking with the same sex couples, but not the straight one.”      “Come in,” Benjamin said when he heard his door chime.  He looked up as Leandra entered his office.  “Ah, Lieutenant Delgado, please have a seat.”      “Of course, sir,” Leandra said as she sat down.      “Do you know why I called you here?”      “I have a pretty good idea.”      “Yes, I assumed Lieutenant Anderson would have talked with you by now.”      “Permission to speak freely, sir?”      “Go ahead.”      “How many relationships are you aware of that are against regulations?”      “Only two,” he said.  “Why?  Are there more I should be aware of?”      “There is a third I am aware of, but unlike the two you are dealing with, the third is a straight couple.”      “I hope you’re not insinuating that I am selectively enforcing rules as a result of my religious beliefs.”      “No, sir, I am simply pointing out how it looks.”      “What is the other couple?”      “Lieutenant Martel and Lieutenant Commander Tanaka,” Leandra said.      “Then I will talk with them as well,” Benjamin said.  “I was honestly unaware of this.”      Doctor Fareed Karim was just finishing up a physical on one of the fighter pilots that was in Leandra’s squadron, Pandaherbs.      “You seem to be in good health,” Fareed said.  “Although make sure to keep up with the stretches.  Spending time cooped up in a cockpit can definitely have an effect on your body.”      “Not a problem, Doctor,” Pandaherbs said as she stood up.  She left just as Benjamin arrived.      “Good to see you, Captain,” Fareed said.  “Here for you regular physical?”      “Another time, perhaps,” Benjamin said.  “I actually came here to ask for your opinion on something.”      “Of course, on what topic?”      “I notice that you’ve made multiple requests to UES Command regarding fraternization rules.  Specifically regarding department heads on a starship entering into relationships with other department heads.”      “It makes sense not to have people date within their own department, no doubt,” Fareed said.  “That can cause all sorts of issues.”      “The department heads are all also in the chain of command to captain the ship though, if something were to happen, which makes them a department of sorts.”      “If something were to happen to you, Commander Tartovsky would be in charge.  After her would be Lieutenant Commander Teng, and then Lieutenant Commander Tanaka.  So that’s three people that would be out of commission before it would become relevant.”      “Which is not an impossibility,” Benjamin said.      “Maybe not, but the ship is often out in unexplored space, and the only Humans are those aboard the ship.  You have a wife and family back home, but not everyone does and most Humans crave companionship, which can be important for mental health.  I’m not saying the rules should be completely gotten rid of, but perhaps that starship captains should be given a bit more leeway in their application.”      “You mentioned Commander Tanaka.  So then I assume you were already aware of the relationship he’s in.”      “I’m the chief medical officer aboard the ship,” Fareed said.  “There is a great deal I am aware of, or at least suspect.  In this case it was more of a suspicion than actually knowing.”      “Are there any other suspicions you have?”      “Of course, Captain, but I’m assuming you already know more than I do, and that’s why you’re here talking with me.”      “Even if I were to convince Command to amend the rules, is it really a good idea to let the relationships in question continue?  Tanaka and Martel aren’t even the same rank.  They may be in separate departments, but that is still a thing to consider.  And when it comes to Anderson and Delgado, Anderson is the chief of security.  That means that she has a certain level of authority on most people on the ship even outside of her department, and even more so on away missions, since she generally leads those.”      “Lieutenant Delgado is in charge of the fighter squadron though, so it’s not exactly like she goes on the same type of away missions.”      “True, that is a fair point.”      “I don’t suppose you have any issues with Harris and Banman though, beyond just the current status of regulations.”      “I don’t think it has any negative effect on ship operations,” Benjamin said.      “That’s a very specific way of answering that question,” Fareed said.  “Captain.”      “Perhaps.  My religious views are not something I push on those under my command, but that doesn’t erase them.  I’m sure you understand that.”      “Yes and no.  But it isn’t always easy to separate yourself like that.  Even if you don’t overtly evangelize, it can still affect how you interact with others, and how you make decisions.”      “Everyone has views on the world, and those views affect them in those ways,” Benjamin said.  “You can’t just pretend something is false, which you believe to be true.”      “That’s not what I’m saying, not exactly.  But plenty of people believe things to be true about you, based on your skin color, and even if they don’t overtly act on that, it still affects how they treat you.”      “Hmm,” Benjamin said.      A few hours later, Benjamin was talking with Admiral Jon Teleros over the long range comm.      “Yes, I have read the requests from Doctor Karim,” Jon said.  “And I will say, I don’t entirely disagree with him.”      “But you do partially disagree?” Benjamin asked.      “The UES is an interesting organization at this point.  It’s a military, no doubt, but not everyone in it has actual military training, since most of us were transferred over from the ESS.  Some, like you and I, were in the military as well, but not everyone was.  And the ESS is far more lax with fraternization rules.”      “That they are.”      “There have been debates at Command about the requests.  Most of those who previously served in a military are opposed, while those who did not are mostly in favor.  There are a few exceptions though, of course.  And I haven’t made an official decision either way.”      “Why not?”      “Well, for one thing everyone knows my history, so everyone is going to think I’m biased.”      “You and Isabel didn’t get together until later though.”      “True, but that’s never stopped the rumors.  And I’m already not exactly popular amongst the other admirals.  I’m not the only one pulling double duty with both the UES and ESS, but I am one of the more high-profile examples, and the one that deals with the stuff everyone else wants to ignore, or has to ignore.  Stuff like Harkon Smith’s department, or Aaron’s kid and his friends.”      “I don’t envy you on that,” Benjamin said.  “I hope to be a starship captain for as long as I can.”      “Yes, that’s something I’m sad to have missed out on, but let’s get back to your request.  If you want me to back your doctor on this, then I can do so.  I don’t know that it’ll do any good, but I can certainly try.”      The next day, Benjamin was in his office, when the door chimed.  “Come in,” he said, and Katherine entered.      “Sir,” she said.  “I’m here with the daily report.”      “Good morning, Commander,” Benjamin said.  “Please sit down.  What’s on the docket today?”      “Lieutenant Martel was wondering if we could divert course to run some more precise scans on a nearby system that’s giving off weird readings.”      “We are out here to explore, so I’d say that sounds like a good idea.”      “Next on the agenda, Lieutenant Harris has done some more work on translating the Uthrareenn language, and he is fairly certain that we inadvertently insulted them during the trade negotiations.”      “How insulting?”      “They may be charging us about double what they normally would.”      “Not ideal, but it could be worse,” Benjamin said.  “I’ll let the diplomats on Maltork Six know.”      “Next up, I heard about your conversation with Doctor Karim.”      “Did you now?”      “I have some concerns,” Katherine said.      “I can’t say that I don’t myself, but I’m more concerned with what you all heard of my conversation, and how?”      “I didn’t hear the details, just that it happened, and then I heard that Admiral Teleros finally took a position in the debate.”      “I did talk with him as well, if that’s what you’re insinuating.  I am impressed at how much you’ve been hearing.”      “As your first officer, it’s my job to be on top of things,” Katherine said.      “Indeed, which is why it’s somewhat surprising you didn’t hear about the relationship between Tanaka and Martel.”      “It must have slipped my notice.”      “Of course.  Unless there’s anything else, you are dismissed.”      “What can I do for you, sir?” Jane asked as the entered the captain’s office.      “How often do you check the ship for bugs?” Benjamin asked.      “With the size of the ship, and the size of my security staff, along with our other duties, the entire ship gets checked over the course of each week.  The details are all in my regular logs.”      “Yes, I was looking them over, and I notice you always have teams of two working together.”      “Of course,” Jane said.  “As much as Earth is trying to show off a united front when dealing with other worlds, we are still a world of many nations, and thus a ship with a crew of many loyalties.  Is there something specific you want to know?”      “What I am about to tell you stays between the two of us.”      “Of course, sir.”      “Commander Tartovsky was aware of a conversation I had with Doctor Karim.  She claims to not know the details, just that it happened, but I’m unconvinced.”      “She is the first officer,” Jane said.  “She is aware of the schedule we follow, and thus if she did plant anything, she’d know when to remove it.”      “Which is precisely my worry.  I’d like you to change up the schedule, but don’t update the files for now, just let your team know the details face to face.”      “Understood, sir.”      Jane was in sickbay with one of her security officers, Yun Liu, and they were scanning for listening devices, when Katherine came barging in.      “What’s going on in here?” Katherine asked.      “Just doing routine security sweeps,” Jane said.  “Nothing to worry about.”      “This isn’t scheduled for today,” Katherine said.      “Wasn’t scheduled for today, ma’am,” Jane said.  “The Captain asked us change around the schedule a bit.”      The scanner chose that moment to start beeping.  “We’ve found something,” Yun said.  She reached under the desk that scanner indicated, and pulled out a small listening device.      “Good find,” Katherine said.  “And I suppose it was a good call on the Captain’s part.”      “We’ll get this taken apart and studied right away,” Jane said.      “Of course.”  Katherine stepped aside, to let them pass through the door.      “What have you found out?” Benjamin asked as he entered the security room.      “Do you want the good news, or the bad news first?” Jane asked.      “The good news,” Benjamin said.      “The bug is Russian made,” Jane said.      “But the bad news?”      “We have nothing to tie it specifically to Commander Tartovsky.  She’s hardly the only Russian on the ship, plus it’s not like anyone else couldn’t have gotten a Russian listening device.”      “Keep working at it,” Benjamin said.  “But yeah, if we go forward with this, the Russians will claim we’re just trying to get rid of their person.”      “That’s why I’m leaving it out of my official reports for now,” Benjamin told Jon over the comm.  “But I thought you should know anyway.”      “Yeah, that’s a good call,” Jon said.  “If nothing else, knowing about it helps me understand some motivations better.  I think the Russians are trying to make you look bad.”      “Oh?”      “You’re the African-American captain of the first Earth starship.  A starship called Unity, and with an international crew, since we’re trying to portray ourselves as United Earth when dealing with the interstellar community.  But if they can show you applying regulations in a discriminatory fashion, that makes you look bad.”      “Based on reports from my Russian first officer though,” Benjamin said.  “They’d risk her looking bad as well.”      “It’s a risk they’re willing to take, I’m sure.  Russia is far more obvious in its homophobia than America.  And on top of that, she’s not exactly popular amongst her Russian colleagues and superiors.  She’s good enough at her job to have got this far despite it, but they wouldn’t consider it a major loss if her career was destroyed.”      Leandra entered the security command center, where Jane was still hard at work on learning about the listening device.  No one else was in the room, and Jane looked up at the intrusion.      “What are you doing here?” Jane asked.      “Curious, mostly, about what’s all been going on.”      “Not much I can share, I’m afraid.”      “I don’t even mean on the investigation, although the rumors on the ship about that are certainly interesting.”      “What are the rumors?”      “Everyone knows that a listening device was found, but there are various theories about what sort, and who placed it, and what this could mean for the future of both this starship and the United Earth Spacefleet in general.”      “All very good questions,” Jane said.  “We’re supposed to be a unified crew, but you take people from a bunch of varied backgrounds, each with their own cultures and prejudices, and sometimes it works out, but other time it doesn’t.  Not sure yet which this is going to be.”      “You wanted to see me, sir?” Katherine asked as she entered Benjamin’s office.      “Yes, please sit,” he said, and she did so.  “I’ll be frank.  You know all about the listening device we found, and neither of us are idiots.  We both know that you’re the one that placed it.”      “I doubt you have any evidence towards that,” Katherine said.      “That’s irrelevant.”      “If you’re trying to remove me from my position, accusations without evidence will only hurt your case.”      “Which is why I’m not trying to remove you.  I’m not going to lie, I don’t like you, and I don’t trust you, but I do respect you, and I do think you are good at your job.”      “Thank you?”      “I would very much like to trust you, but for that to happen, you’re also going to have to trust me.”      “How do you mean?”      “I’ve been looking over your service records, both ESS and Russian Armed Forces.  I, of course, did so back when you were first chosen as my first officer, but I’ve been giving them a closer look.  Specifically I’ve noticed several situations in which, despite ESS regulations, you ended up in situations where you had to choose between following ESS orders or Russian orders.”      “Real life is rarely as neat and tidy as the people making regulations wish it to be.”      “Oh, I am fully aware of that, but what interests me the most, is that in most of those situations, you chose to follow the ESS orders.”      “I made the best choices I could, based on what I knew at the time.”      “Do you regret any of them?”      “Some, but not all, and I also regret some of the times I made the opposite choice.”      “Well, now I feel like you’re in another of those situations,” Benjamin said.  “Your superiors in Russia want me out of the captain’s chair of this ship.  And they are trying to use this situation to that end.  So, you have a choice.  You can continue following their orders, and maybe you’ll succeed.  But ask yourself, why are you doing that?  Do you think I am a bad captain?”      “No, sir.  I may not agree with all of your decisions, but I do respect you.”      “Then is it about advancing your own career?  Perhaps your government is planning to recommend you as the new captain.  But if they don’t, what’s going to happen to you then?  If they manage to get a different Russian in as captain, the other governments are not going to be okay with this ship having both a Russian captain and first officer.  So then, you’ll be moving backwards in your career, laterally at best if the UES goes with another American captain, or really any non-Russian.”      “Like you said, that’s assuming they don’t recommend me,” Katherine said.      “You know your superiors and your government better than I do.  You tell me.”      “What do you want from me, hypothetically speaking?  If all this was true, and I admitted to it, I would be discharged anyway.”      “Give me the names, off the record, and we can move forward, with a greater sense of trust.”      “You know what bugs me about this whole situation though,” Leandra said.  She was still in the security room with Jane.      “That we weren’t even really a couple?” Jane asked.  “We were just having a bit of fun, letting off some steam.”      “It’s the fact that here we are in the year 2017, and we’re out here exploring the galaxy, and doing all this Star Trek shit, and yet not only are people still full of prejudice, but some are stoking that prejudice and using it for political gain.”      “People are flawed, and just because we’ve jumped forward in our understand of science and technology and the universe, that doesn’t just erase the flaws we have.  That’s part of why I joined security.  I keep seeing flaws in people, and want to keep them from hurting others as a result.”      “How’s that working out?”      “Dealing with physical threats is a lot easier than less tangible ones.”      “Don’t I know it.”      “So, I hear the vote went in our favor,” Benjamin said, over the long range comm.      “It went the way we wanted, thanks to the information your first officer provided,” Jon said.  “It remains to be seen if it’s in our favor or not.”      “What did you do with that list of names anyway?”      “I just had conversations with them.  Although the less you know about those conversations, the better.”      “Of course, sir.”      “That said, I’m sure there will be a cost to pay for this.  Politics is a never ending game, and while we might have the upper hand for the moment, that’ll hardly last.”

[ericbarkman]

Chrono Hustle #45 Dreams of the Future

     Jack Masterson reached out with his mind, to try and determine where Tyson Randall had gone when he had vanished in a flash of light.  But all he knew was that Tyson was no longer on the base.      HE’S GONE, L said.  TO ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE.      SO HE’S GONE, BUT MY FRIENDS STILL HAVE APHRODITE, Jack said.  SO THINGS ARE ESSENTIALLY AS THEY WERE BEFORE TYSON SHOWED UP.  EXCEPT FOR ABIGAIL STILL BEING INJURED.      AND THEY NOW KNOW MORE ABOUT TYSON RANDALL THAN THEY DID BEFORE.      I KNOW EVEN MORE THAN THEY DO THOUGH, Jack said.  IS THERE A WAY I CAN GET BACK TO MY BODY AND TALK TO THEM?      MAYBE, MAYBE NOT.  IT’LL TAKE A WHILE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR BODY, AND THE QUESTION IS, BY THE TIME YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SO, WILL YOU EVEN WANT TO?      OF COURSE I WANT TO, Jack said.      FOR NOW, L said.  FOR NOW.      “Melinda, get Aphrodite back to her cell,” Harkon Smith said.  “And try reinforcing it.  We have no idea how Tyson got her out, but do whatever you can think of.”      “Yes, sir,” Melinda Summers said as she led Aphrodite out.      “Imhotep, could you and Ohm get Dorian and Philip down to the infirmary,” Harkon said.  “They seem okay, if still unconscious, but better safe than sorry.”      “Of course,” Imhotep said.      “Ghost Jack, this voice you’ve been hearing, try looking into it, and finding out if it’s the other Jack,” Harkon said.  “That’s my assumption, but we need more than just assumptions at this point.”      “I’m on it,” the Ghost of the temporal duplicate of Jack Masterson said.      “And Mary, do you want to join me in talking with Cid?” Harkon asked.      “Sure,” Mary Bishop said.  “What’s our current strategy with him?”      “Not sure yet,” Harkon said.  “We still have no idea if he’s connected to what’s been going down, or if it’s all just a coincidence, like he said.”      Mary looked around to make sure they were alone, everyone else off to their tasks already.  “I mean, you’re the one that told me that Abigail has powers which warp probability.  So pretty much anything that happens here could be a coincidence caused by her not understanding she even has those powers, let along how to control them.”      “Yes, I have considered that her powers could be causing things to happen here, but I don’t know that informing her would solve the problem.”      “And keeping her in the dark will?”      Jack continued studying the location that Tyson had disappeared from, but was having no success in discovering where or when he had gone to.  He was starting to recognize the energy signal he had left behind though.  It was different than the way either the time doors or the Palore timeships worked.      YOU CAN PREVENT HIM FROM COMING BACK, YOU KNOW, L said.      HOW DO I DO THAT? Jack asked.      IT’S SIMILAR TO HOW YOU TURNED OFF POWER IN THE BASE, JUST SLIGHTLY MORE SPECIFIC, L said.      I’M STILL NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN HOW I MANAGED THAT, Jack said.      WELL, YOU HAVE SOME TIME TO FIGURE IT OUT, L said.  TYSON WILL NOT BE BACK FOR A WHILE.      HOW DOES HIS TIME TRAVEL WORK? Jack asked.  BECAUSE WHAT’S TO STOP HIM FROM GOING BACK TO AN EARLIER TIME?      HE’S SOMEWHAT LIMITED IN WHEN HE CAN GO TO, L said.  NOT AS FAR AS HIS ABILITIES GO, BUT THE CLOCKMAKER IS AWARE OF HIM, SO HE HAS TO BE CAREFUL TO AVOID BEING NOTICED.      WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME ALL THIS? Jack asked.  I MEAN IT FEELS LIKE YOUR JUST DUMPING EXPOSITION ON ME.  NORMALLY THAT’S WHAT MY POWERS ARE FOR.      IT’S RARE I CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE ON MY LEVEL, OR EVEN AS CLOSE AS YOU ARE NOW, L said.  IT’S NICE.      Mary and Harkon sat down across from Cid in the interrogation room.      “Is this really necessary?” Cid asked.  “I did help you during your crisis.”      “The crisis that happened after you arrived,” Harkon said.      “Your agent, Melinda, she wasn’t aware that you have someone on base who warps probability around herself,” Cid said.  “That girl in the infirmary, the one who was shot.  Are you aware that she has those abilities?”      “How exactly are you aware of them?” Mary asked.      “Ah, so you two do know then,” Cid said.  “I can see magic, for lack of a better way to describe it.  It’s not technically sight, but somewhat similar.”      “We’re not here to talk about the abilities of the people under my command,” Harkon said.  “What we want to know is what happened to Jack.”      “As do I,” Cid said.  “Whatever happened to him was not magic, or I would have been able to tell what it was.  You do have a theory though, do you not?  That other Jack, the Ghost one, he’s been receiving messages from the not Ghost one.”      “You’ve been eavesdropping,” Harkon said.      “I have good hearing,” Cid said.  “I will tell you what I learned about Jack’s powers though, in the brief time I was able to observe them before his mind disappeared from his body.  Essentially he subconsciously casts a spell that connects him to the entire universe, past, present, and future.  Unfortunately I don’t think it’s the sort that would be able to be replicated by mage, it’s the kind of power you need to be born with.”      “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Harkon asked.      “Normally he would only be connected to the universe for a minuscule time,” Cid said.  “A fraction of a millisecond, and even that implies a longer time than it really is.  It’s why his powers seem to be so random, because he can’t take in a lot of information in that time.”      “But if it were to last longer?” Harkon asked.      What if it were to last longer, Jack thought.  Was that what was happening?  Was this just him using his powers fully?  Well, perhaps not fully, but at least more than ever before.      He thought about when he had turned the power off in the base.  Concentrated on it, but while also trying to concentrate on not doing it again.  As he did so, he found himself starting to see the threads of reality, or at least that was the best way he could interpret it.  When he had turned off the power, he had essentially just yanked a bunch out, but now he carefully considered each of them, and cut one.      VERY GOOD, L said.  YOU’RE LEARNING.      SO, THEY’RE SAFE NOW FROM TYSON? Jack asked.      HE CAN’T RETURN HERE, L said.  BUT I’M SURE YOU’RE AWARE THAT DOESN’T MEAN HE CAN’T STILL BE A THREAT IN OTHER WAYS.      Jack looked around the base, and located Ghost Jack.  TYSON CAN’T RETURN.      Ghost Jack suddenly heard the voice in his head again.  It was louder than before, and was beginning to feel more and more real.  “How do you know that?” he asked out loud.      I HAVE PROTECTED THE BASE FROM HIM.      “You are Jack right?” Ghost Jack asked.      YES.      “What happened?”      COMPLICATED, BUT NOT CID’S FAULT.      “And how do I know this isn’t just a trick?” Ghost Jack asked.  There was silence after that, for a bit, before he started hearing some humming.  He quickly recognized it as a lullaby that a foster mother he had as a kid used to sing to him.  “Yeah, that’ll work.”      CAN I MOVE TO OTHER PLACES AND OTHER TIMES WHILE LIKE THIS? Jack asked.      OTHER PLACES IS EASY, L said.  OTHER TIMES TAKES MORE WORK, BUT YOU WILL LEARN EVENTUALLY.      I NEED TO KNOW WHAT CHRONOS DID WITH NIKOLA TESLA AND HIS TEAM, Jack said.      WELL, THAT’LL BE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT, AS THEY ARE CURRENTLY OUTSIDE OF TIME, L said.      PRE-BIG BANG? Jack asked.  LIKE THE TRD AND TDD HEADQUARTERS?      NOT BEFORE TIME, OUTSIDE OF IT, L said.  YOU STILL HAVE SUCH A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE WAY THINGS WORK.      BUT I’D LIKE TO LEARN, Jack said.      AND I WOULD LIKE TO TEACH YOU, L said.  JUST REMEMBER, THE MORE YOU LEARN, THE HARDER IT WILL BE TO RETURN TO YOUR BODY, IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WISH TO DO.      “Hey boss, hey Mary” Ghost Jack said as Harkon and Mary left the interrogation room.      “Did you learn anything?” Harkon asked.      “Yeah, the voice communicating with me is definitely the other me,” Ghost Jack said.      “How do you know?” Mary asked.      “He knew the right thing to convince me,” Ghost Jack said.  “And he says that nothing that’s happening here is Cid’s fault.”      “Cid did offer a compelling explanation of what might have happened to Jack,” Harkon said.  “Which tracks with him communicating with you.”      “So, how we get Jack back then?” Mary asked.  “And do we just let Cid go?”      “Near as I can tell, he’s not guilty of anything,” Harkon said.  “As for Jack, I don’t know.  This is pretty far beyond anything I’ve ever dealt with before.”      “Yeah, even in my time with Merlin, I don’t think I ever encountered any situation quite like this,” Ghost Jack said.  “I’m at a loss as well.”      Jack concentrated on the planet Kyklos in the year 2017, during the time when he had been there.  He just kept thinking about it, going over everything he knew about it, over and over, until he realized he was there, in a manner of speaking.  Or, at the very least, he was in the space where it had been.      YOU ALREADY KNEW THE PLANET WAS GONE, L said.      YES, BUT THIS IS FROM WHEN I WAS THERE, AND THAT’S STILL A PART OF HISTORY, Jack said.  SO HOW CAN THE PLANET NOT BE HERE AT THIS TIME, IF I WAS ON IT AT THIS TIME, AND THAT’S STILL A PART OF NOT JUST MY TIMELINE, BUT THE UNIVERSE’S TIMELINE.      CHRONOS IS POWERFUL, L said.  HE CAN MAKE IT SO THAT SORT OF SITUATION IS POSSIBLE.      IS HE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU? Jack asked.      NO, BUT HIS ABILITIES ARE A LOT MORE FOCUSED, AND HE HAS LESS RESTRICTIONS ON HOW HE USES THEM, L said.      AH YES, BECAUSE OF YOUR OPPONENT, Jack said.      FOR EVERY ACTION THERE MUST BE AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION, L said.  IT’S TRUE IN PHYSICS, AND IT IS ALSO TRUE IN THE GAME I PLAY.      SO, WHAT’S THE OPPOSITE REACTION TO HELPING ME? Jack asked.  AND WHAT HAPPENS IF I STAY AT THIS LEVEL?  DOES THAT MEAN I HAVE TO JOIN IN THIS GAME TOO?      YES, L said.  IN WHICH CASE MY OPPONENT WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO BRING ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS UP TO THIS LEVEL.      AND IS THAT WORTH IT TO YOU? Jack asked.      I DON’T KNOW, L said.  I CAN SEE THE FUTURE OF A GREAT MANY THINGS, BUT NOT MY OWN FUTURE.  MY OPPONENT AND I ARE NOT LIMITED BY THE LINEARITY OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE DON’T HAVE OUR OWN SORT OF LINEARITY INDEPENDENT OF IT.      CAN WE TRAVEL TO EARLIER TIMELINES, INSTEAD OF JUST DIFFERENT TIMES? Jack asked.      SOMETIMES, L said.  BUT YOU CAN’T GO BACK TO KYKLOS, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU MEAN.  THAT’S A RATHER UNIQUE SITUATION.      THERE HAS TO BE SOME WAY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO NIKOLA TESLA AND HIS TEAM, SINCE I APPARENTLY CAN’T JUST GO TO WHERE THEY ARE, Jack said.      YOU CAN’T GO THERE, L said.  BUT WITH SOME WORK YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE.      “Good news,” Melinda said as she entered the interrogation room.  “The evidence indicates you are not to blame.”      “As I said,” Cid said.  “This has all just been a bad case of coincidence.  I suppose my theory about Jack has been shown to be accurate.”      “It has,” Melinda said.  “And he’s let us know that you are also not to blame for the timing of Tyson Randall showing up.”      “So, I am free to go?”      “Of course, but before you do, we still need information on any of the Progenitors.”      “Ah yes, of course.  And I suppose I did get to see Jack’s powers in action, if only briefly, and a deal is a deal.”      “So?”      “If you’d like to meet Nu, you can find him in 2017, living on the planet Trantor.”      “Trantor?” Melinda asked.  “It hasn’t been settled or even named yet by 2017.”      “So?” Cid asked.  “You really think that matters to Nu?”      “I suppose not,” Melinda said.      Jack concentrated on the thought of Nikola Tesla.  He formed a full picture in his mind of everything he knew of the man.  But not just what Nikola looked like, also the sort of person he was.  His personality, intellect, sense of humor.  And then he went to work on locating him.      It was not that hard, and he quickly located him in the year 1884, when he was working for Edison.  That was not when he was looking for him though, so he started following the threads of his timeline forward.  It was fairly simple at first, going through the decades until the 1940s when Nikola started working with them.  That was where things started to get more complicated as Nikola’s timeline and the universe’s timeline no longer matched up, but with a bit of work Jack was able to continue following it.      He got up to the point where Nikola went to Kyklos, at which point it was like Nikola’s timeline abruptly stopped.  Not like he died though, it just vanished the second he was teleported down to the planet.  But then Jack tried ignoring the universe.  Concentrated just on Nikola and nothing else, and he was able to see his timeline beyond arriving on Kyklos.  It was faint, but there.      Jack followed along that timeline, which would have been difficult even if it was clearer, thanks to the temporal anomalies that plagued the planet.  But he slowly worked forward, until he got to the point where Nikola was actually taken out of the universe.  Because that was what had happened.  Nikola and his team were in a pocket universe created by Chronos.      “I am wary about sending our timeship to 2017,” Harkon said.      “I understand sir, but it’s probably not the best idea to go to Trantor aboard a UES starship,” Melinda said.  “It’ll be the first Human built colony outside the solar system, and changing the way they discover it could cause alterations to the timeline.”      “Yes, I agree,” Harkon said.  “And purchasing a ship in that era would also be complicated.”      “We could get a cloaking device though,” Melinda said.  “That’ll at least allow us to travel around unnoticed in the timeship.”      “Okay,” Harkon said.  “I’ll allow it.  Just be very careful.  We don’t want to risk the timeship falling into anyone’s hands.”      “Of course, sir.”      CAN WE GO THERE? Jack asked.  TO THAT POCKET UNIVERSE?      WE ARE TIED TO THIS UNIVERSE, L said.  WE CAN OCCASIONALLY GLIMPSE INTO OTHERS, AS YOU HAVE JUST MANAGED, BUT WE CAN NOT GO THERE.      WILL MY FRIENDS BE ABLE TO GO SAVE THEM, IF I TELL THEM ABOUT IT? Jack asked.      PERHAPS, L said.  PERHAPS NOT.      THAT’S NOT REALLY AN ANSWER, Jack said.      NO, IT IS NOT, L said.      Melinda sat in the captain’s chair aboard the timeship as it travelled through space.  Dorian was piloting, while Philip was at the weapons console, in case anything went wrong.  Mary was just pacing back and forth, while Ghost Jack floated around in the air.      “I still think we should have held on to Cid,” Mary said.  “At least until we verified his information.”      “If he lied to us, we know where to find him,” Melinda said.      “Dropping out of superspace now,” Dorian said.  “We’re near the planet.”      “Put us in orbit,” Melinda said.      “Yes, ma’am,” Dorian said.      “The atmosphere appears similar to that of Earth,” Philip said.  “We should have no problem breathing down there.”      “Mary, Ghost Jack, and I will go down there,” Melinda said.  “You two stay up here with the ship, and keep on the lookout.”      Jack returned to the base in the Cretaceous, and searched it, but Ghost Jack was not there.  Jack had yet to figure out how to communicate with anyone else, so he started searching for where Ghost Jack had gone to.      Ghost Jack, Melinda, and Mary teleported down to the planet.  The planet was mostly desert, but there was a rather large oasis they had located, which was as good a starting point as any.      There was a lake in the center, which was the largest body of water on the planet’s surface, and they were next to it.      “Okay, we are definitely in the right place,” Ghost Jack said.      “How do you know?” Mary asked.      “I can sense something very powerful here,” Ghost Jack said.      “Hello?” Melinda shouted out.  “Anyone here?”  Nothing happened.      “So, how do we get his attention?” Mary asked.      Ghost Jack shrugged.  “No idea.  I mean, I imagine he knows we’re here, but we need to figure out how to make him care.”      “We need help in dealing with Chronos,” Melinda said.  Still nothing.  “He’s done something, and some of our people vanished and we need to get them back.”  Still nothing.      “Look, we don’t want to bother you,” Mary said.  “But as his brother you…”      The sky went dark in an instant, but somehow they could still see just fine without an obvious source of light.  And the lake stood up and formed into a vague humanoid shape.      “You dare refer to that simpleton as an equal of mine?” Nu asked, his voice booming to almost painful volumes.      “The Progenitors don’t like people talking about them being siblings,” Ghost Jack whispered to Mary.      “I can hear you,” Nu said.  “And why should I care about what Chronos is doing?”      “Well, what do you care about?” Melinda asked.  “Maybe we can make a deal of some sort.”      “What I want is to not be bothered by insects such as yourself,” Nu said.  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you now.”      “I mean, technically I’m already dead,” Ghost Jack said.      It did not take Jack long to determine where Ghost Jack had gone.  He was in 2017 on an uninhabited planet with Melinda and Mary.  Well, mostly uninhabited.  Jack went there, and saw they were in a conversation with a giant, vaguely humanoid being made out of water.      He assumed it was a Progenitor, and upon thinking about it, he immediately knew that it was Nu.  Jack realized that in this state, it was becoming easier and easier to gain new knowledge, and he was starting to understand why L said it would be harder and harder to return to his body as he spent more time like this.  Having this easy access to knowledge was intoxicating.      Jack started listening in on the conversation, which was pretty much Nu threatening to kill them.  Jack was beginning to think all of the Progenitors were assholes.  To be fair though, this was only the third one he had seen.      As he was watching, he noticed a few drops of water float up off of the top of Nu’s head and go up a few miles.  “I can sense you watching,” the drops said.      CAN YOU NOW? Jack asked.  THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS YOU’RE TALKING TO DOWN THERE.      “Why would you be friends with such inconsequential beings?”      UNTIL RECENTLY I WAS A MERE HUMAN MYSELF…WELL, DEMIGOD TECHNICALLY, BUT TO YOU THAT’S PROBABLY ON A SIMILAR LEVEL.      “And what do you want from me?”      CHRONOS TRAPPED SOME FRIENDS OF OURS IN A POCKET UNIVERSE.  I CAN’T GO THERE, BUT WE NEED A WAY TO GET OUR PEOPLE BACK.      “And what’s in it for me?”      BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU OFFER HIM, L said to Jack.      “Another one of whatever you are?” Nu asked.  “What did they say?”      BECAUSE WHATEVER I OFFER HIM, THAT’LL ALLOW YOUR OPPONENT A SIMILAR OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER SOMETHING TO SOMEONE ELSE? Jack asked L.      “What are you two discussing?” Nu asked.  “I don’t like being left in the dark.”      JUST FIGURING OUT WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU, Jack said.  WAIT, I KNOW JUST THE THING.      “I don’t think he cares that you’re already dead,” Mary said.  “Pretty sure he can make you deader.”      “Deader?” Ghost Jack asked.  “Really?”      “Silence,” Nu said.  “Your prattling annoys me.  But your friend has made a deal with me, so I will assist you.”      “Our friend?” Mary asked.      “The other Jack?” Ghost Jack asked.  “He’s here now?”      “What kind of deal?” Melinda asked.      “I can send you on a journey through pocket dimensions to find the one where your friends were put,” Nu said.      “And what do you get in return?” Melinda asked.      “Your friend offered his old body,” Nu said.  “You are to deliver it to me, and then I will assist you.”      SO, YOU HAVE MADE A DECISION THEN, L said.  YOU INTEND TO STAY ON THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE?      THERE’S NOT MUCH ELSE I CAN OFFER WITHOUT CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR YOU, IS THERE? Jack asked.      THAT NU WOULD ACCEPT? L asked.  PROBABLY NOT.      THEN I HAVE LITTLE CHOICE, Jack said.  AND THIS SORT OF EXISTENCE IS CERTAINLY INTERESTING.  I THINK I’LL ENJOY TRYING IT OUT FOR A WHILE.      ETERNITY IS A LONG WHILE, L said.      “Nu wants what?” Harkon asked.  Melinda’s team at returned to base and explained the situation.      “Jack’s body,” Melinda said.  “Jack offered it to him.”      “So Nu claims,” Mary said.      “Ghost Jack?” Harkon asked.      “He didn’t say anything to me at the planet,” Ghost Jack said.  “If he was there, I was unaware of it.”      As they were talking, there was a shimmering in the corner of Harkon’s office, and Jack appeared suddenly.  “Sorry about that,” Jack said.  “But I’m here now, for the brief while I can remain visible.”      “What’s happened to you?” Melinda asked.      “I’m on a higher plane of existence,” Jack said.  “Like L.  She’s been showing me the ropes.”      “And what’s up with us giving your body to Nu?” Mary asked.      “I’m not going to be needing it anymore,” Jack said.  “And it’s something that’ll get him to help.”      “Why though?” Melinda asked.      “My genetics are rather unique, even by Demigod standards, which is what allowed for my powers,” Jack said.  “That’s going to be useful to him.”      “And what happens to you now?” Mary asked.  “Are you still going to be around, just like this?”      “I can only maintain this form for a short time,” Jack said.  “Maybe eventually I’ll be able to maintain it for longer, but I can’t spend too much time around here anyway.”      “Because of the opponent L mentioned back when we met her?” Melinda asked.      “There are complex rules to the way things work on this plane,” Jack said.  “And I’ll need to spend a bit more time here before I can figure out the workarounds.”      “I’m sure that won’t take you too long,” Ghost Jack said.  “We’re smart guys.”      “It’s been good working with you,” Melinda said.  “I’m going to miss you.”      “Same,” Jack said.  “Back when I first became a time traveller, I never expected to be one of the people protecting the timeline, but it’s certainly been an adventure.”      “Back when we first started working together, I didn’t trust you at all,” Harkon said.  “But you’ve really proved yourself.”      “Thanks, boss,” Jack said.  “That means a lot.  I’ve never really been the best at listening to authority, but I’ve been glad to serve under you.”  Jack turned to Mary.  “Remember when we first met.  You had a shotgun pointed at me and marched me into town to have me put in jail.”      “Can you blame me?” Mary asked.  “A strange man suddenly showed up in my barn and claimed to be from the future.”      “Yeah, but once you knew the truth, you acclimated to time travel and such very quickly,” Jack said.  “You’ve really matured a lot in just a couple years, and I didn’t know him well, but I think your dad would be proud of you.”      Mary went over and hugged Jack, but as she did, her arms went through him as he disappeared. To be continued…

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #12 Fur and Fangs

     “Hey Kat,” Malcolm said as he sat down at the bar.      “Hello Mal, what can I get ya?” Kat asked.      “Just a beer,” Malcolm said.  “And have you seen Alexander lately?”      “He hasn’t been around the bar in a couple weeks.”      “Yeah, but you two are like siblings right?” Malcolm asked.  “Or, what’s the term when you’re turned by the same Vampire, sireling?  Have you heard anything?”      “You sound worried…did something happen?  Are you working a case?”      “I don’t know, but I haven’t heard from him in a couple weeks either, so just let me know if you hear anything.”      “Yeah, sure, no problem.”           Malcolm left the bar after about an hour, heading in the direction of home.  He was only about a block away from the bar, when he heard someone following after him.  Sounded like there were two of them.  He sniffed the air.  The smell of blood indicated that one of them was a Vampire, while the other just smelled off.      Malcolm turned down an alley, and heard them coming down behind him, so he turned around to face them.  Sure enough there was a Vampire, and he was pretty sure the one that smelled off was a Wendigo, though he had never encountered one before.  There was a third individual, a Ghost, that was also with them.      “Hey, Malcolm, right?” the Vampire asked.  “I hear you’re looking for Alexander.”      “And who are you guys supposed to be?” Malcolm asked.  “The Three Stooges?”      “Oh, you think you’re a funny guy,” the Vampire said.  “You hear that boys, he thinks he’s funny.”      “I’m sure we’ll be laughing plenty when we’re through with him,” the Ghost said.      “Now, now, I’m sure we won’t have to hurt him,” the Vampire said.  “After all, he’s planning on dropping this search, aren’t you?”      “Sure thing, bud, whatever you say,” Malcolm said.      “I feel like you’re not being honest with me,” the Vampire said.  “Troy, do you think he’s being honest with me?”      “I don’t think so, boss,” the Wendigo said.      “Maybe convince him,” the Vampire said as he took a step back, and the other two approached Malcolm.      Malcolm got into a defensive stance as they came at him.  He dodged as Troy tried punching him, and tried to trip him, but Troy was standing there pretty solidly, and that just gave Troy a chance to land a good punch on Malcolm, knocking him to the ground.      He tried to get up, but then the Ghost came upon him.  Malcolm tried punching him, but those punches just went straight through, as the Ghost held him down.  Troy knelt down, and just started wailing away at Malcolm, beating him to a bloody pulp.      “Okay, that’s enough,” the Vampire said, and they backed off.  “But if you keep looking, well, I’m sure Troy would enjoy turning you into a nice meal for himself.”      “I’ve never had Werewolf before,” Troy said.  “I’m sure you’re positively delicious.”      Malcolm limped back to the apartment he called home.  He grabbed an ice pack from the freezer to put against his head before he went and collapsed on the couch.  He fell into a restless sleep, and woke up a few hours later, mostly healed.      He checked his voicemail, but there was nothing new, other than one from his cousin Chantelle asking to borrow some money, again.  He checked his email.  Mostly it was just notifications from sites where he had forgotten to turn off notifications.  Plus one from Chantelle, asking for money.      There was a knock at the door.  He glanced out the window, and it was still dark out.  He really hoped it was not another visit from the Vampire asshole.  Or Chantelle, for that matter.  He checked through the peephole, and it was Kat.  He opened the door.      “Hey Kat, what can I do for you?”      “Can I come in?” she asked.      “Sure, don’t mind the mess,” Malcolm said as Kat came in, and he closed and locked the door.  “What’s going on?”      “I heard Carter and his boys roughed you up last night after you left the bar.”      “The Vampire with a Ghost and a Wendigo as lackeys?”      “Yeah, he’s another sireling of myself and Alexander.”      “And he attacked me right after I talked with you.  That’s an interesting coincidence.”      “It’s not a coincidence,” Kat said.  “While it’s not always the case, sometimes sirelings have a sort of psychic connection to each other.  It’s more emotions than thoughts, but when Carter sensed my fear, he had Basil, that’s his Ghost friend, listen in on the rest of our conversation.”      “Why were you afraid?”      “Alexander disappeared three weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to sense him since.”      “You mean he’s dead?”      “No, that I would sense if it happened.  There’s something blocking it, I don’t know what.  But I was afraid because I thought if you were asking about him, I know tensions between my people and yours in the city have been on the rise lately.”      “I’m a lone wolf, I don’t really give a shit about what the greater Werewolf community is doing.  Or, at least I was alone.”      “Oh?” Kat asked.  “Oh!  I knew Alexander had started seeing someone recently, but he was being really secretive about it.”      “I’m worried someone found out and didn’t approve, someone like Carter.”      Kat was returning home before sunrise arrived.  She was two blocks from her apartment, when Carter came out of an alley in front of her.  He was alone.      “Hey Kat,” Carter said.  “I hear you paid a visit to that walking shag carpet, Malcolm.”      “I’m sure you did,” Kat said.  “Where’s Alexander?”      “Now why ever would you assume I have any idea of where he might be?  I’m just as in the dark as you are.”      “If you think I believe that, you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought.”      “Come on, don’t be like that.  We’re family.”      “We were turned into Vampires by the same person, but that doesn’t make us family.  Alexander is like a brother to me, but you’re just an asshole.”      “He was dating a Werewolf.  What do you think our sire would say if he knew about that?”      “I don’t know,” Kat said.  “Dominic didn’t exactly stick around after he turned us.”      “And you never tried to find him?”      “Didn’t really care.  Why?  Did you?”      “Of course I did,” Carter said.  “He made us into what we are.  I wanted the opportunity to thank him for that.”      “Is he back here now?”      “So what if he is?  I thought you didn’t care about meeting him?”      “Just curious,” Kat said.  “Sun’ll probably be up pretty soon, so I better get home.”      “Mind if I spend the day at your place?  Mine is a decent distance away, and I’m not sure if I’ll get there in time.”      “Yeah, I do mind, so you better get going.  Don’t dawdle.”      After Kat had left, Malcolm grabbed a bite to eat before heading out.  Carter would not be out during the day, so this was the best time to investigate.  His lackeys did not have the same aversion to sunlight, but Troy, at least, would want to avoid being seen during the day.  That was where Malcolm was glad that as a Werewolf, he could change between Human and Werewolf forms at will, as long as there was not a full moon.  Basil might still be around, but a Ghost on his own would not be a big threat.      The question was, where to start.  If Carter was behind this, who would know?  Himself and his lackeys, of course, but who else.  Malcolm had already asked a few of Alexander’s neighbours and coworkers and had come up with nothing.  It seemed unlikely he had been taken from either of those locations.  As Malcolm was thinking, his phone started ringing.      “Hello?” he answered it.      “Hey Malcolm, it’s Kat, and I’ve got some bad news.  I just had a chat with Carter.”      “Are you okay?”      “Yeah, I’m fine.  But I think our sire is in town.”      “And you think he might be involved in this?”      “I only really met Dominic when he turned me.  The psychic bond is the only reason I even knew that Alexander and Carter were also sired by him.  So I can’t really say what he might or might not be involved in.  But the timing makes me think he might be.”      “Can you tell me anything about him?”      “He dresses and acts like he’s rich.  And he likes Italian food.  I was a waitress at an Italian restaurant that he visited.  It wasn’t a high end place or anything, but he said they had the best food he had ever had here in New York.”      “What’s the address?”      Malcolm entered the restaurant, and looked around.  It was mostly empty this early in the day, but there were a few customers.  A waitress came up to him almost immediately.      “Is it just you, sir, or are you waiting on anyone else?” she asked.      “I’m actually looking for a friend, his name is Dominic,” Malcolm said.  “I hear he likes this place.”      “Ah yeah, he was here just last night,” she said.  “Kind of unfortunate that I wasn’t working, as he tips amazing.”      “How often does he come here?”      “You said you were his friend?  Can’t you just ask him?”      “Can you keep a secret?” Malcolm asked.  “His birthday is coming up, and we’re trying to plan a surprise party.”      “Well, umm, he comes here pretty much every night.  If you want to do a birthday party event you should probably talk to the owner.  He’s not in right now, but he should be here shortly.”      Malcolm looked at his watch.  “I’ll give him a call later today.  Tomorrow at the latest.”      There was a coffee shop across from the restaurant, so Malcolm went there.  He ordered some coffee that had a name he thought was ridiculous, and sat down at a table that gave him a good view of the Italian restaurant.      He got out his laptop just so he looked busy, and put in some headphones so that hopefully no one would bother him.  And then he waited and watched.  He was not expecting anything until sundown, but better safe than sorry.      After a few hours something interesting finally did happen.  A limo pulled up.  Sunset was not for another half hour, but the driver got out and held up an umbrella for his passenger.  It was a clear, sunny day.  Malcolm was not able to get a good look at the person as they entered the restaurant, because the driver was mostly blocking his view, but there was little doubt in his mind as to who this was.      Malcolm had waited for about twenty minutes before he went and entered the restaurant.  Luckily he had seen the waitress he had spoken to earlier leave already, and another waitress was working and showed him to a small table.      As he sat down he glanced over, at who he was now fairly certain was Dominic.  His suit looked pretty expensive, and the way he ate, he did not open his mouth as much as a normal person, as if he was trying to avoid anyone noticing fangs.      He had also glanced at Malcolm, but it was just a glance, and he did not show any sign of recognition.  Malcolm was not sure if that was a good thing or not.  Malcolm also watched as he kept flirting with the waitress.  And he noticed the owner watching.  Possibly just making sure that such a wealthy customer was being taken care of, but the way he kept fidgeting, it looked like it might be nervousness.      Eventually Malcolm ordered and got his food, while he continued to observe Dominic.  Dominic himself was eating fairly slowly, clearly savoring his meal.  Malcolm tended to eat pretty fast, and as such they finished their meals around the same time.      As Dominic was leaving, the waitress came over to Malcolm, but she did not have a bill with her.  “So, great news, someone else covered your bill for you.”      “Did they now?” Malcolm asked.  “Was it Dominic?”      “He asked me not to identify him.”      Malcolm looked around, and there were only two other customers in here at the moment, both women.  “Of course, he didn’t,” Malcolm said.  “Thanks.”      Malcolm left the restaurant, and saw Dominic’s limo parked in front, with the door still open.  The driver was standing by it.  Malcolm nodded before getting in and sitting across from Dominic as the driver closed the door.      “Did you think I didn’t notice you watching me?” Dominic asked.  “Even if I couldn’t smell that you were a Werewolf as soon as you walked in, I definitely noticed you watching me.”      “I’m looking for Alexander,” Malcolm said.      “Oh, you’re that Werewolf.  And here I thought you were sent by the London Pack.  They’ve been trying to take over my territory ever since they fled England.  You’re lucky I didn’t already kill you.”      “So, you know where Alexander is?”      “Of course, I just have need of his skills, and when he’s done he will be returned here to New York.  Assuming he survives, of course.”      “What are you talking about?  He works in I.T.”      “Yes, and he’s very good at it.  Certainly good enough to get past the meager computer security that those I sent him after use.”      “But they’re dangerous people?”      “When I have enemies they are either dangerous, or they don’t last long.  But they are just Werewolves, no offense to you, so Alexander should be fine.  Now please be on your way, and if I see you again, I’ll likely have you killed.  Just so we’re clear.”      Kat heard a knock at the door.  She went and checked the peephole, and saw Malcolm standing there.  She opened the door and let him in.  “So, you find anything out?”      “Dominic is in town, and he’s sent Alexander on some kind of job,” Malcolm said.      “Do you know what kind?”      “He needs computer files or something from some enemies of his.  Possibly the London Pack of Werewolves.”      “Do you know where?”      “No idea, apparently they’ve been encroaching on his territory, but I don’t know what his territory is.”      “Neither do I,” Kat said.  “It probably doesn’t include New York City though.”      “Probably not, I feel like I would have heard of him sooner were that the case.  But he likely has alliances with some people here.”      “It’s New York, so of course he does.  Don’t tell me you’re thinking of reaching out to one of them?”      “Sun Wukong owes me a favor, I could go talk to him.”      “I don’t know, he’s pretty unpredictable.”      “That’s putting it lightly,” Malcolm said.  “But he is one of the more influential people around here.  Even if he doesn’t work with Dominic, he’ll know who does.”      Malcolm entered the Chinese restaurant and went straight to the back corner, where there was a rather opulent booth.  Sun Wukong was sitting there, with a wide assortment of food in front of him.  He looked up at Malcolm’s approach.  The smile that was already on his face widened.      “Ah, Malcolm, my friend, please sit down and join me.”      “Thanks.”  Malcolm sat down across from him.  “This isn’t a social visit though.”      “It never is with you, but you helped me track down those smugglers last month, so what can I do to repay the favor?”      “Are you familiar with a Vampire named Dominic?”      “I’m familiar with a few Vampires named Dominic, it’s not exactly an uncommon name, but I am aware of the specific one you are referring to.”      “My boyfriend is a Vampire that was sired by him, and he’s forcing him to help with…something, I don’t know the exact details, but it might have to do with the London Pack of Werewolves.”      “Hmm, perhaps.  Ever since they fled England, they’ve been trying to set up in Philadelphia, and Dominic controls most of the supernatural crime in that city.  Some of the non-supernatural too, for that matter.”      “I don’t suppose you know any details.”      “I know a great many details, but I’m not sure how many are relevant to your problem.  What are you planning to do, anyway?”      “To go there and get Alexander back.”      “You should know better than that how well Vampire mind control works over the Vampires they’ve sired.  Your boyfriend will continue following Dominic’s orders until they have been completed.”      “Then I’ll protect him until that’s happened.  Unless, is there a way to break the mind control?”      “Not that I’m aware of, other than killing the sire of course” Sun Wukong said.  “There are those that are partially or fully immune to it, but you can’t just give that immunity to someone who doesn’t already have it.”      “Then I’ll do the protecting thing.  I just need somewhere to start looking.  Philadelphia is a big city.”      “Well, I might be able to help you with a starting point.”      Kat was getting ready for work, as the sun was going down.  She was about to leave, when there was a knock at the door.  She checked through the peephole, and saw Malcolm there.  She unlocked and opened the door.  “So, how’d it go?”      “I need a ride to Philly,” Malcolm said.      “That’s where Alexander is?”      “Yeah, so I need a ride down there.  I don’t have a car.”      Kat sighed.  “Fine, I’ll call into work, and tell them it’s a family emergency, which I suppose it technically is.”      “Thanks, I owe you big on this one.”      As Kat and Malcolm were leaving the city, Malcolm noticed another car was following them.  Just like Kat’s car, it had extremely reflective windows.      “Do you recognize that car?” Malcolm asked.      Kat glanced in the rearview mirror.  “Dammit, that’s Carter’s car.  What’s he planning though?”      “Probably waiting until we’re somewhere less busy before making a move.”      “Maybe, or maybe he’s just going to try getting close enough for Basil to fly over here.”      “Does your car have any kind of protection against Ghosts?” Malcolm asked.      “Nope, that shit’s expensive.  And I’ve never exactly needed it before.  I’m a bartender, I don’t have a lot of enemies.”      “Well, we’ll need to figure something out, he’s starting to get closer.”      Kat pressed the accelerator down further.  “The problem is if we go too fast at the wrong place and time, we risk police chasing after us.”      “I’m not exactly worried about cops.  Unless they’ve started carrying silver bullets and holy water, we’ll probably be fine.”      “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about what happens if Carter and his lackeys get into a fight somewhere public, and what they’ll end up doing.”      “Would you rather we fight them now?”      “Not really,” Kat said.  “But if we’re going to have to fight them anyway.”      “Point taken, go ahead.”      Kat pulled over to the side of the road, and Carter pulled up behind them.    Malcolm and Kat got out of her car, as Carter, Basil, and Troy got out of his.      “I believe you were told to stop your search,” Carter said.  “Or did you drop out of obedience school?”      “I don’t take orders from Dominic,” Malcolm said.      “No, but she does,” Carter said, and Malcolm felt a gun pressed to the back of his head.  “Or did you forget that Vampires have control over those they sire?”      “I’m sorry,” Kat said.  “I don’t have a choice.”      “Don’t shoot him if you don’t have to,” Troy said.  “I’d rather not have a bullet in my meal.”      Malcolm closed his eyes and sniffed the air.  The bullets in Kat’s gun were indeed silver.  Then he smelled something else, someone familiar.      Malcolm moved to the side as fast as he could, and felt a silver bullet just graze him as he grabbed Kat’s wrist.  The wound hurt like hell, but he tried to concentrate on keeping the gun pointed at Troy.  He did let out a howl though, and then heard another howl before his cousin Chantelle came running out from the trees.      Carter glanced at her.  “Basil, Troy, take care of the other dog.”      “Right,” Basil said as he went for Chantelle.      “On it,” Troy said.      Kat had stopped firing, and was trying to free her arm from Malcolm, so he tried to pry the gun out of her hand, while Carter approached them as he pulled out a gun too.  Malcolm got a good hold on Kat’s arm, and then flipped her over his head, managing to pull the gun out of her hand before she landed on her back behind him.      “Silver’s not going to work on me like it does on you,” Carter said as he started firing at Malcolm who ran behind Kat’s car.      “Maybe not, but it’ll still hurt like hell,” Malcolm said as Carter was reloading, and he peaked out and shot at Carter’s hand, causing him to drop the gun.      “Kat, get in front of me,” Carter said, and Kat did so, blocking off Malcolm’s shots.  “You can’t win here Fido, might as well give up, and we’ll make sure your death is quick.”      Malcolm went back behind the car as Carter started shooting again, and that was when Malcolm realized that the car was still running.  He jumped into it, and put it into reverse, and hit the accelerator, going back to where Chantelle was fighting Troy and Basil.  He hit Troy, sending him flying, and threw the door open.  Chantelle jumped in, as Malcolm shifted into drive, and took off.      “Thanks for the assist,” Malcolm said.  “But what were you even doing out here?”      “Looking for you,” Chantelle said.  “I need to borrow some money, and you weren’t responding.”      “You know what, after that, sure, if we get through this alive, I can lend you as much money as…well, not necessarily as much as you need, but a decent amount.”      After another half hour or so, Malcolm and Chantelle got to Philadelphia.      “So, what are we doing here anyway?” Chantelle asked.      “Looking for Alexander,” Malcolm said.  “His sire forced him to come here and do a job.”      “One of those we encountered back there?”      “No, buy they were sired by the same person.  As far as I know Carter is willingly working for him though.”      “And the woman?”      “Kat is being forced, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”      “But there’s something you can do about Alexander?”      “I can keep him safe until he’s finished carrying out whatever orders he’s been given.”      “When you and Alexander first started dating, I told you dating a Vampire would cause problems.”      “You said the same thing when I cancelled my cable and started using Netflix though, so you’re not exactly the most reliable judge of things.  And besides, I love Alexander.”      “And I loved your cable package.  But anyway, what’s the plan?”      Twenty minutes later, Malcolm entered the skyscraper, with Chantelle following after him.      “You know, maybe I don’t need to borrow money this badly,” Chantelle said.      “You’re welcome to leave anytime,” Malcolm said as a security guard came up to them.      “Are you two lost?” the security guard asked.      “No, I have a meeting here,” Malcolm said.      “With who?”      “The big boss,” Malcolm said.  “The meeting was set up by Sun Wukong.”      “Oh, of course, right away, so sorry sir,” the guard said.  “Right to that elevator over there, and take it straight to the top.”      “Thanks,” Malcolm said as he went over and took the elevator, with Chantelle following after.      “This is a bad idea,” Chantelle said.  “I mean, you’ve heard the stories.”      “Everyone’s heard the stories,” Malcolm said.  “But stories are just that, stories.”      The elevator opened up to a massive office, filled with art from various different millennia, and an old wooden desk at the far end, which was contrasted by the modern computer on it.  The person that the office belonged to was behind the desk, standing at the window, looking out at the city, but he turned around as they came in.      “Good day, gentlemen, please come and sit down.”      “Thanks,” Malcolm said as he did so, with Chantelle slowly following his lead.  “Sun Wukong said I should come talk to you, and that you might be able to help me out.”      “I can, I can, as long as you’re willing to pay.”      “With what, my soul?”  Malcolm asked.      “What would I want with that?”      “I don’t know, you’re the Devil,” Malcolm said.      “Please, call me Lucifer, but no, I haven’t been in the business of collecting souls since that deal with Dracula went south.”      “Then what?” Malcolm asked.      “You better not be planning to One More Day him,” Chantelle said.      “What?” Malcolm asked.      “What?” Lucifer asked.  “No, all I want is a favor.  I do this for you, and you will need to do something for me.”      “What sort of something?” Malcolm asked.      “I’m not sure yet,” Lucifer said.  “But I’ll think of something eventually.”      Malcolm parked in front of the motel that Lucifer told him about.  “Wait in the car,” he said to Chantelle, as he got out, and walked over to room number thirteen.  He knocked and waited.  He could hear movement inside, and after half a minute he heard a familiar voice.      “Who’s there?” Alexander asked.      “It’s Malcolm.”      The door remained shut.  “You shouldn’t be here.”      “Neither should you.  I’m here to help.”      “I don’t have a choice, and not just about the job.  Dominic told me to kill you if I saw you.  You’re lucky I didn’t look through the peephole in the door.”      “What does he have you doing?”      “Have you heard about the London Werewolf Pack?  They’ve started moving in on his territory here.”      “Yeah, I’ve heard a bit about that.”      “I’ve been infiltrating it, doing I.T. work for them.  They don’t exactly trust me, since I’m a Vampire, so it’s taking some time, but I’m slowly starting to get intel.”      “What kind of intel?”      “Details on their operations, contacts, that sort of thing.  Dominic would rather take them out by cutting off their resources, rather than having an outright confrontation.  He’s a businessman, not a fighter.”      “You’re not a fighter either, and if they figure out what you’re doing, it’s not going to end well.”      “I know, but it’s not like I have a choice.”      “I’ll figure something out,” Malcolm said.      “Don’t get yourself killed trying to save me.  That’s not going to do either of us any good.”      “I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”      “I know Kat’s involved in all of this,” Alexander said.  “I can sense that she’s not happy with her current situation.”      “She told me she couldn’t sense you for the past three weeks.”      “That’s true, I know how to keep myself hidden from her and Carter, but some stuff still slips in from them.  But if you got her involved in this, then instead of worrying about me, worry about her.  I don’t want something to happen to her because you were too busy being concerned about me.”      “She’ll be fine.”      “Will she?”      Kat was in the back seat of Carter’s car with Basil, while Troy was riding shotgun and Carter was driving.  Dominic had told her to follow Carter’s orders, which meant she had to do what Carter said.  The only good thing was that was Dominic’s only command to her, and since Carter was not that bright, there was always the chance he might slip up, and give her an opening.      “So, Kat, how’s it going?” Basil asked.  “We haven’t talked in a while, what’ve you been up to?”      “None of your business,” Kat said.      “I heard she’s dating a cop now,” Troy said.      “Wait, don’t tell me it’s that new guy with the twin swords of Mars,” Basil said.      “We’re not dating,” Kat said.  “I had coffee with him once.”      “So you are available then?” Basil asked.      “Not for you,” Kat said.      “Hey Carter, you want to help a buddy out?” Basil asked.      “I am not ordering her to date you, moron,” Carter said.  “We’re doing a job here, and there’s a good chance when we’re done, Dominic will release her from my control, and then she’d kill both of us.”      “Decent chance I’ll do so either way,” Kat said.      “Look, this ain’t personal,” Carter said.  “It’s just business.  We gave Malcolm multiple chances to back off, and he just kept refusing to take them.”      “The funny thing is that if you had just left him alone, he might never have even got this far,” Kat said.  “We had no idea you were involved until you threatened him, and that lead us to Dominic.  I wonder how Dominic would react to knowing it’s your incompetence at fault here.”      “Troy, hand her the gun,” Carter said.  “Kat put it against your head.”      Troy handed a water gun to Kat, who put it against her head.      “Don’t fully pull the trigger, but just squeeze it a tiny bit for a second,” Carter said.      Kat did that, and felt the burning as the holy water came into contact with her skin.      “I don’t want to kill you Kat, but if you keep pushing me, I will do what I have to.  Don’t fire it at me, but you take it away from your head now.  Keep it with you though.”      Kat put it down on the seat, but with her hand still on it, and kept the smile off her face, despite being glad at the mistake Carter had just made.      “You sure this is what you want to do?” Chantelle asked, as she reclined in the passenger seat.  “He’s going to be pretty mad when he finds out.”      “Kat can take care of herself,” Malcolm said.  The car was parked down the street from the motel that Alexander was staying at.      “Now look, I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships,” Chantelle said.  “But generally if your partner asks you to do something important, isn’t it usually a bad thing when you don’t?”      “If Alexander gets found out, he’ll be killed.  I can’t risk that.”      “But you’re okay with risking Kat?  What happens if this Dominic just tells her to kill herself, in order to spite you.  Look, this whole situation is way out of my wheelhouse, but…”      “Yes, it is,” Malcolm interrupted.  “That’s why I’m the one calling the shots.”      “How long are we going to be following him around for though?  Like, I don’t know about you, but I have a life.”      “Playing video games isn’t a life, Chantelle.”      “Says someone who’s never been on Twitch.”      Carter pulled up in front of the motel, and went and knocked on the door to room thirteen.      “Who is it?” Alexander asked.      “It’s Carter, open up.”      The door opened, and Alexander was standing there.  “What do you want?  I don’t have any updates yet.”      “Was your boyfriend here?” Carter asked as he pushed past and entered the motel room.      “You know what Dominic said.  If I see him, I have to kill him, and do you see a dead body around here?  Why do you even think he would be here?”      “He’s been sniffing around, trying to find you.”      “Better be careful then, pretty sure he can take you in a fight,” Alexander said as he looked out at Carter’s car.  “You have Kat with you?”      “I didn’t want to bring her in on this, especially with the way that Ghost lackey of mine keeps creeping on her, but your pet dog didn’t leave much choice.”      “Uh huh.”      “Well, just let me know if anything happens,” Carter said.      Chantelle woke up from her nap as the car started moving forward.  “Huh, what’s happening.”      “I’m following your advice, and doing what Alexander wants,” Malcolm said.  “Carter and his lackeys and Kat were just here, so we’re following them.”      “Where to?”      “Hell if I know.  They’re probably looking for us, but who knows how they’re planning on doing that.”      “Well, if I was looking for us, I would just follow your scent.”      “Yeah, but even for a Werewolf you have a ridiculous sense of smell.  Imagine for a second that you didn’t have that.”      “Maybe do what we did and go to he who shall not be named.”      “We talked to Lucifer, not Voldemort,” Malcolm said.      “Who?”      “From Harry Potter…never mind.  They might do that, but would he really betray us?  We did make a deal with him.”      “Did the deal include not telling anyone else that he made the deal?” Chantelle asked.  “Because if so, I missed that part.”      “No…but if that’s where they’re going, they’re headed in the wrong direction.  I mean, Dominic does control a lot of the supernatural crime in this city, so probably they’re going to his headquarters or something.”      “Or possibly they’ve noticed we’re following them,” Chantelle said.  “And they’re leading us somewhere secluded before making another attempt to kill us.”      “We need to be better prepared against them.  I’ll keep following them, but I need you to go pick up some items.”      Malcolm continued following after Carter’s car, until it drove into a warehouse out on the edge of the city.  Malcolm parked on the street about two blocks away.  He took out his phone, and looked up the building address on the Internet.  There was very little about it, beyond that it existed.      So, he waited, and he watched.  There were no windows on the building, and he doubted there was even a skylight, as the lack of windows was likely intentional.  That meant the only way in was the doors.      And on that topic, the passenger door of the car he was in opened up, as Chantelle returned, with a bag full of items.  “Hey, I’m back.”      “You get everything?” Malcolm asked.      “It wasn’t easy, but I managed.  So, what’s the plan?”      “They’re in that warehouse.  The plan is to crash in through the big door in the front, and then try and take them out before they can take us out.”      “And Kat?”      “Hopefully we can restrain her without hurting her.”      “And if we can’t?”      “If you have to run away from her, do it.”      “And if that’s not an option?”      “I don’t know.”      Kat was pacing outside the office, considering her options, when she heard loud crash, as something came through the garage doors of the warehouse.  She intentionally did not look in that direction.  It was probably Malcolm, but as long as she did not know for certain, she would not have to attack him.      The office door swung open, and Carter, Troy, and Basil came out.  “What the hell is going on,” Carter said.  “Go deal with that.”      As Basil and Troy went off to the other end of the warehouse, Kat went towards Carter.  She had the water gun, filled with holy water in her hand.      “And what are you doing?” Carter asked as Kat approached.      “This,” Kat said as she tore off and end of it, and threw it had Carter, drenching him in the holy water, as his whole body started to burn.  He screamed out in pain, and she did not give him a chance to say anything, as she took a stake out of her jacket pocket and ran at him, forcing it into his heart.  That put him into a coma-like state, as the holy water continued to burn at his body.  Some got on Kat, but she was willing to take the pain.      Malcolm and Chantelle had jumped out of the car as soon as it had crashed through the door.  Troy and Basil had come running at them, and Chantelle started shooting at Basil with a shotgun full of rock salt.      Malcolm was wearing a fireproof jacket and gloves, and wrapped around the glove on his right hand was cloth soaked in gasoline, which he lit on fire, before going at Troy.  Troy stopped in his tracks as he saw the flaming fist, so Malcolm charged at him, and punched at him with said flaming fist.  Troy kept backing up and backing up, as Malcolm kept trying to hit him, until Troy backed into a wall.      Malcolm punched again, and hit Troy in the side of the torso.  The gaunt flesh there practically disintegrated with the contact, and Troy cried out in pain, but that pain turned to rage and Troy grabbed Malcolm by the throat, and threw him across the warehouse.      Malcolm landed on his back, but jumped back to his feet, as Troy came charging at him, with a folding table in his arms.  Troy swung it at Malcom from above, hitting him back down to floor.  Malcolm tried getting up, but each time he was knocking back down, so instead he tried rolling to the side, but he could not roll fast enough.      He let himself take another hit, while he got in position, and grabbed the edge of the table, as it was swung down on him yet again, and pushed it back with all of his might, causing it to get pushed into Troy’s throat.      That only gave a few moments, but it was enough for Malcolm to get back on his feet.  He ran for a wall, with Troy coming after him, and as Troy raised the table yet again, Malcolm ran up the wall, as much as he could, and flipped over behind Troy, grabbing the table as he did so, and slamming it down on Troy’s head as he landed behind him.      Malcolm went and punched Troy in the back of his knees with his fist still on fire, and Troy fell to the ground, as the damage to his knees took away their ability to keep him standing.      “You’re going to regret that,” Troy said through gritted teeth.      “Maybe,” Malcolm said.  He looked over to where Kat was walking away from Carter’s body which was almost fully burned away, and to where Chantelle was shooting at a wall.  “The Ghost get away?”      “I thought I had him,” Chantelle said.      “You still going to try killing me, Kat?” Malcolm asked.      “Not at the moment,” Kat said.  “I was told to listen to Carter.  Without Carter, I can’t exactly follow that anymore.”      “So now what?” Chantelle asked.      “No doubt Basil is going to go report what happened here to Dominic,” Kat said.      “And we don’t know how many people Dominic has working for him,” Malcolm said.  “If we could kill him, Alexander would be free to leave, and you’d be free of Dominic too.  But who knows if we can even get to him.”      “Why don’t we hire an assassin?” Chantelle asked.  “I know of at least one.”      “Because none of us can afford an assassin,” Malcolm said.      “The London Pack can though, I assume,” Chantelle said.  “Hell, they probably have assassins on their payroll.”      “If they could assassinate him, wouldn’t they have done so already?” Kat asked.      “Not necessarily,” Malcolm said.  “But if they have reasons not to, we might not be able to convince them to change their minds.  And the bigger problem is that it increases the chance that they discover Alexander is a mole, and they won’t care that he’s being forced.”      “It might be our best shot though,” Kat said.      “Yeah, I’m not seeing any better options either,” Malcolm said.      Malcolm and Chantelle walked up to the bar.  There was a bouncer by the door who eyed them up as they approached, but after a sniff, he moved aside to let them in.      Malcolm went in before the bouncer could change his mind, and Chantelle followed in after.  The bar was pretty full, and a few looked over at them coming in, but only a glance before going back to whatever they were doing.  A few were playing darts or pool, and there was a poker game in one of the corners.  And many were just drinking and/or talking.      Malcolm sniffed the air.  Everyone in here was a Werewolf, with the exception of the bartender who was a Pegasus.  Malcolm went up to the bar and sat on a stool, with Chantelle sitting down next to him.      “You two are new here,” the bartender said with an English accent.  “The name’s Frank.  What’ll you have?”      “Just a beer,” Malcolm said.  “And a meeting with the Alpha of the London Pack.”      The entire bar went silent in an instant.  Malcolm turned around, and saw that everyone was watching him, and a path had opened up to one of the pool tables, where a large woman was just putting her pool cue down, before turning and walking towards Malcolm.  She was in a fully Human form at the pool table, but she started turning into a Werewolf form as she walked.      “And why might you be wanting a meeting with me?” she asked.      “I’m not here to challenge you or anything, but we have a common enemy,” Malcolm said.  “Dominic.”      “Dominic has plenty of enemies.  But that doesn’t make us allies.  I don’t even know you.”      “My name is Malcolm, but I’m sure that doesn’t matter to you.  Dominic has been trying to have me killed for the past couple of days, and I need to end that, but I can’t do it on my own.”      “Well, Malcolm, I wish you luck in your continued survival, but I do not see what this has to do with us.”      “You’re trying to take over his territory, and that’d go a lot quicker if you had him killed.”      The alpha started laughing, and her pack followed suit.  “You don’t know much about Dominic, do you?  Who he works for?  He gets killed by a Werewolf and that’ll spark a war the likes of which this world hasn’t seen in centuries.”      “What if it wasn’t a Werewolf that killed him?” Malcolm asked.      “I know a an assassin,” Chantelle said.  “If we could just borrow a bit of money…”      “You two may not be part of a pack, but you’re still Werewolves,” the alpha said.      “We know someone who isn’t though,” Malcolm said.  “And she has just as much stake in getting rid of Dominic as we do, so she can do it.  And we’ll make sure the money isn’t traced back to you.”      “You seem to have this all worked out,” the alpha said.  “And all I have to do is hand over money to a couple strangers.  I’m going to need some assurances.  One of you is going to have to stay with us until it’s done.”      “I’m not leaving Chantelle here,” Malcolm said.      “Perfect,” the alpha said.  “Then you can be the one to stay.  Jason, go get some cash for this Chantelle.”      “Yes, ma’am,” one of the other people in the bar said before hurrying off.      “And as for you, Malcolm, why don’t you follow me to my office,” the alpha said as her features returned to those of a Human.      “Right,” Malcolm said, before turning to Chantelle.  “Get the money and the contact information of this assassin you know to our friend, and she’ll do the hiring.”      “Got it,” Chantelle said.      Malcolm followed the alpha to a side door, which lead to a set of stairs descending into the basement.  There was an office down there, and the alpha sat down behind her desk, and indicated a chair in front of it, where Malcolm sat down.  “You know, I never got your name,” Malcolm said.      “You can call me Darla.  Now what I want to know is why Dominic has been trying to kill you.”      “I’m a private investigator,” Malcolm said.  “I was looking into a case, it lead in his direction, and yeah.”      “See now, you admitting to that so easily makes me think there’s more to it that you’re hiding.  Well, that and the smell of Vampire on you.”      “Like I told you, he’s tried to have me killed a few times.”      “The smell of a particular Vampire though, one that I know who we’ve had doing some I.T. work for us.”      “Alexander?” Malcolm asked.  “Yeah, I’ve hired him for some computer work myself a couple times.”      “I don’t like being lied to.”      “If you want we can go to my place and I can show you the receipts.  It’s important to keep those sort of things for taxes and all, as I’m sure a businesswoman like yourself is well aware.”      “Indeed, I will take your word on that for now, but make sure you don’t lose those receipts, as I may wish to see them later.”      Kat was pacing when Chantelle entered the motel room they were using as a temporary hideout.  “How did it go?” she asked right away.  “And where’s Malcolm?”      “Well, there’s good news and bad news,” Chantelle said as she put a briefcase down on a coffee table.  “The good news is we have money to hire the assassin.”      “Where’s Malcolm?”      “That’s the bad news, he has to stay with the London Pack until Dominic is dead.  You know, as a bit of insurance or whatever.”      “That’s unfortunate.”      “Also, when you talk to the assassin, you can’t mention that the money came from them, or any Werewolf, or that you got her contact information from me or anything.  Apparently this can’t be tied back to us, or there will be some big Werewolf versus Vampire war or something.  It’s why they haven’t just killed him themselves yet.”      “I can’t hire someone to kill Dominic,” Kat said.      “You have to, it can’t be tied back to Werewolves.”      “No, I mean, I literally can’t.  Remember, Vampire mind control, Dominic has ordered me not to kill him or have him killed.  Discussing it is one thing, but actually hiring someone is beyond me.”      “Dammit, do we have anyone else we can trust?”      “I don’t think so,” Kat said.      “Fine, screw it, I’ll call her, and just disguise my voice, and not tell her I’m a Werewolf, and it’ll be fine,” Chantelle said.  She took out her phone, and dialed the number.  It rang a few times before there was an answer.      “Hello?” the voice on the other end said.      “Hello, Miss Tanaka?” Chantelle asked.  “I’d like to hire you for a job.”      “Chantelle?  Where the hell did you get the money to hire me?”      Chantelle thought for a moment.  “This is not Chantelle.  You must have me confused with someone else.”      “Chantelle, on the off chance that you’ve somehow won the lottery or something, you should know that if you are hiring me, I will not divulge your identity to anyone, so you don’t have to badly lie to me, and do that horrid accent.”      “If you don’t find them then I am going to do to you, what they did to Carter,” Dominic yelled before slamming the phone down.      “You know, that doesn’t actually end the call on a cellphone, right?” Basil asked, which lead to Dominic throwing the phone at him, but it passed right through him.      “You should have been tracking them, instead of running away like a coward,” Dominic said.      “I just thought that you’d want to know about what happened,” Basil said.      “That was hours ago, what are you even still doing here?  Get back out there and find them.”      “Well, it’s just, I was working for Carter, and yeah, he worked for you, so by the transitive property, I suppose I now work for you, but that means we need to talk about my pay.  Both Troy and Carter were killed by these guys, and I know I’m already a Ghost, but I’d rather not become even deader than that.”      “Then, I’d recommend you start following my instructions, before I decide to dispose of you…”  Dominic trailed off when the lights suddenly went out.  “What did you do now?”      “Wasn’t me,” Basil said as he started glowing to provide light in the room.  “Feels like power’s out in the entire mansion though, other than things running on batteries anyway.”      The door swung open and someone came in, with a shotgun, and fired at Basil.  The gun was clearly loaded with rock salt, as Basil temporarily lost his form.  Dominic jumped over his desk and knocked the shotgun out of the hands of the assailant.  He then grabbed her by the throat and held her up against the wall.      “Who are you that you think you can kill me?” Dominic demanded.      “It doesn’t really matter who I am, but I was told to tell you that Kat sends her regards,” she said right before Dominic felt her piercing something into his heart.  “Should have been paying more attention to my hands, and not just my neck, asshole.”      Dominic felt everything go black as he fell to the ground.      Malcolm was trying not to stand up and pace as he continued waiting in Darla’s office.      “Worried something will go wrong?” Darla asked.      “Like I said earlier, I’m a private investigator, worrying that something will go wrong is a part of the job.”      “And what is your plan if something does go wrong?”      “Depends on how it goes wrong,” Malcolm said.  “And what your response is.”      “Just so you know, you try and make a run for it, or you try and fight me, you will be killed before you get anywhere near an exit.”      “I figured as much.”      There was a knock at the door.      “Come in,” Darla said, and the door opened up.      One of Darla’s people came in, and he had Alexander with him.  Malcolm kept his expression neutral, and was relieved when Alexander did the same.      “Hello Alexander,” Darla said.  “This guy here says you know him.”      “Yeah,” Alexander said.  “I’ve done some work for him before, setting up his computer.”      “Hmm,” Darla said, before her phone started ringing.  She picked it up.  “Hello?”  There was a pause as she listened.  “Do you have any proof?”  Another pause.  “Okay, I’ll watch the video, and we’ll see.”  She hung up, and looked at the video that had been sent.  “Good news, Malcolm, looks like Dominic has been killed, so you are free to go.”      “Good to hear,” Malcolm said as he got up.  The guy at the door stepped aside and let Malcolm through, and he went upstairs, and left the bar without any issue.  Chantelle was waiting there, in Kat’s beaten up car, and Malcolm got into it.      “You good?” Chantelle asked.      “I’ll be good when Alexander is out of there,” Malcolm said.  “I couldn’t say anything or neither of us would have made it out of there alive, but I hope he gets out soon.”      “Should we really be waiting here though?” Chantelle asked.  “It might make them suspicious.”      “We’re waiting,” Malcolm said.      So, they waited.  A minute passed, then another, and then a third.  Finally, after four and a half minutes, they saw someone else exiting the bar.  It was Alexander, who walked over to his own car, and drove off.      “Okay, we can go now,” Malcolm said.      An hour later, after Malcolm and Chantelle picked up Kat, they went to the motel where Alexander was staying.  Chantelle and Kat waited in the car, while Malcolm went up to the door and knocked.  After half a minute, the door opened and Alexander was standing there.  They just stared at each other for a few seconds, before embracing, and kissing each other.      “I don’t know what you did, but thank you,” Alexander said.      “We did what we had to do,” Malcolm said.  “But we should get out of town before any of it comes back to bite us.”      “Yeah, okay, but how likely is it that it’s going to do so anyway.”      “I don’t know, but we’ll deal with that when it happens.  For now, I’m just glad to have you back.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #11 The ESS Job

     The lock clicked open and Diego Serrano put his lock pick equipment back into his bag.  He opened the safe, and found a stack of cash, a folder filled with papers, and a handgun.  He grabbed the cash and the folder, but left the gun as he closed and relocked the safe.      “We’ve got a problem,” Jacques Dupont said over the comm.  “The maid is making her way up to the office.”      “That’s not a problem,” Diego said.  “I can just leave through the window, I’m not too high up.”      Diego looked out the window as he opened it up.  He grabbed his whip from his belt, ran, jumped out the window, flicked his whip towards a streetlamp, which it curled around, and he swung down to the ground.  Jacques was waiting in the car, and Diego ran up, got in, and Jacques took off.      “So, you go the folder?” Jacques asked.      “Yep, and a bit of cash too.  Looks like about $100,000 so not bad of a bonus.”      “Hopefully our employer doesn’t have a problem with that.  She just asked us to get the folder.”      “What she doesn’t know can’t hurt us,” Diego said.      “Here you are,” Diego said as he slid the folder across the table to their employer.  They were in a coffee shop.      “Good work,” she said.  “The money has been transferred to your accounts.”      “It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Jacques said.      “And I understand you two also got a bit of a bonus on this job,” she said.  “Don’t worry, it’s fine that you took that $100,000.  Although, if you would like to make a bit more money, I do have another job.”      “What kind?” Diego asked.      Their employer opened up the folder and looked through it.  She took out a paper, and put it on the table.  “This is a set of blueprints,” she said.  “It is quite valuable to us, but the prototype has already been built, and that would be even more valuable.”      “What is it?” Jacques asked as he picked it up and looked at it.  “Is this some kind of weapon?”      “Nothing so crude,” their employer said.  “But I don’t want to bore you with the technical details.  I think you’ll be more interested in the price I’m willing to offer.”      “I can’t believe we accepted that job,” Jacques said as he drove them back to their apartment.      “It’s a lot of money,” Diego said.  “We could retire after this job, if we want to.”      “If we wanted to we could have retired years ago.  But that’s boring.”      “Which is exactly what stealing from the ESS will not be.  Like, we’ve dealt with their security before, but this is the main ESS headquarters.  The most secure building on the planet.  Just think, we pull this off, we’re legends.”      “Can we pull this off though?” Jacques asked.  “Like this feels like it’ll be more than just a two man job.”      “So, we put together a crew then?  I mean, it’s been a while since we’ve been part of a larger crew, but we both know a few people we could bring in.”      “Oh yeah, who are you all thinking?”      “This is an FBI building,” Jacques said the following morning.  “Why are we outside an FBI building?”      Diego checked his watch.  “She should be getting out shortly.”      “Who?”      “Remember Roz?”      “Of course I remember Roz.  Why are we here for Roz?”      “She’s the best lock breaker we know, but she got caught a couple years back in Vegas, so decided to work off her sentence with the FBI,” Diego said.  “And there she is now.”      Jacques looked over as Roz was coming out of the building.  She noticed them almost immediately, and a frown appeared on her face.      “Hey Roz, long time no see,” Diego said.  “How’s Sam?”      “We broke up after I got caught,” Roz said.  “What are you two assholes doing here?”      “We’re putting together a team,” Diego said.      “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m on the other side now,” Roz said, pointing her thumb at the building she had just come out of.      “Good point,” Jacques said.  “We’ll just be on our way.”      “Wait,” Diego said.  “Would it interest you if I told you it would be enough money to disappear and start over?”      Roz pulled up her pant leg a bit to show off an ankle monitor.  “I’d need to disappear first.  And once that happened, there’d be no going back unless I want to spend my time in prison.  How difficult is the job?”      “You ever hear of the ESS?” Diego asked.      “You can’t be serious,” Roz said.  “I know you guys think you’re the best of the best, but the ESS are so far out of your league it’s not even funny.”      “If you’re not interested, that’s fine,” Jacques said.  “Plenty of other people we can ask.”      Diego took out a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and handed it to Roz.  “In case you change your mind.”      “Uh huh.”  Roz stuffed the paper into her pocket without even looking at it.      Jacques knocked on the door, and waited.      “Is this really a good idea?” Diego asked.      “You wanted to get help from Roz.  You lost your right to criticize my suggestions.”      “Did something happen between you and Roz?  Like, that seemed like you had more of a problem than just her being with the FBI now.”      “Just drop it.”      The door opened, and Jacques’ brother Marcel was there.      “Jacques, it’s been too long,” Marcel said.  “How are you doing?”      “I’m doing okay,” Jacques said.  “You remember Diego?”      “Hey,” Diego said.      “Ah yes, your annoying friend,” Marcel said.  “Come in, come in.  What are you two doing in town?”      “We’ve got a job, and it’s more than just a two person operation,” Jacques said.      “Who else do you have so far?” Marcel asked.      “It’s just the two of us, so far,” Diego said.  “Unless you’re in.”      “Tell me about the job,” Marcel said.      “We’ll be stealing something from the ESS,” Jacques said.      “What was Dad’s number one rule?” Marcel asked.      “Don’t steal from law enforcement,” Jacques said.  “But he’s long gone.”      “It was a good rule though,” Marcel said.  “Remember when Uncle Jean tried stealing from Interpol?  Remember what happened?”      “This is different,” Jacques said.      “You’re right it’s different,” Marcel said.  “It’s the ESS, that’s so much worse.  And besides, I thought you were done working with family.”      “So you’re not in?” Diego asked.  “Not a problem, we can find someone else.”      “Of course I’m in,” Marcel said.  “Jacques is my brother, and family is important to me, even if it’s not important to him.”      Diego and Jacques entered the gym, and looked around.  There were a handful of people exercising, but not a lot.  And most of the equipment looked old, with some of it no longer even looking functional.  They went to the manager’s office, and knocked.      “Come in,” someone said.      They went in, and saw the manager, Darren Jefferson, working on the computer.      “Jacques, Diego, good to see you guys,” Darren said.  “Please, sit down.”      “Thanks,” Jacques said as he sat down.      “So, how are you doing?”  Diego glanced at the computer screen as he sat down.      “Eh, I’m doing okay,” Darren said.      “Business is down though, I see,” Jacques said.      “I’ll figure something out,” Darren said.      “Before bankruptcy?” Diego asked.  “I couldn’t help but notice those financial reports you’re looking over.”      “It is what it is,” Darren said.      “We’re putting together a crew for a job,” Jacques said.      “You know I went straight when I married Greg,” Darren said.  “I mean, not straight straight, but I stopped being a criminal.”      “We could really use you on this one though,” Diego said.  “You’re the best bruiser I’ve ever worked with.”      “What about Ivan?” Darren asked.      “Ivan’s good, but he’s not you,” Diego said.  “And last I heard he’s in a Russian prison.”      “Carlos?” Darren asked.      “He’s getting chemo for his cancer,” Jacques said.      “That sucks, I hadn’t even heard about that,” Darren said.  “But surely there’s someone else you can go to.”      “With your cut from this job, you could afford to keep this gym open for the rest of your life,” Diego said.  “You don’t have to decide right now, but call us if you decide to join.”      “You think he’ll decide to join us?” Jacques asked as they walk through the city.      “Yeah, I think so,” Diego said.  “Roz too.”      “I’d be very okay with her not joining us.  Besides, even if she did, how would we know she wasn’t just going to turn us over to the FBI.”      “Come on, we know her, we can trust her.”      “The fact that I know her is why I don’t trust her.”      “I know you asked me to drop it, but really, what happened.”      “Well…” Jacques started saying, before a teenage girl bumped into him.      “Sorry,” she said before running off.      “Did she just?” Diego asked.      Jacques checked his pocket, and his wallet was gone.  “She did.”  He looked up, and she was gone from sight, so he took out his phone.  “Looks like she took a left up ahead.”      “I can loop around and get ahead of her,” Diego said.      “No, I have a better idea,” Jacques said.      Carlie looked through the wallet after she had returned to the warehouse attic she was living in.  There were a couple twenties in it, a driver’s license, and a few other IDs.  No credit cards though, that was interesting, but cash was nicer anyway.  Harder to track.      As she was looking through it, she heard someone coming up the stairs.  She hid behind some crates, and looked out, to see the guy she had taken the wallet from.  And after looking at his phone, he was headed straight for her.      “Could I get my wallet back please?” he asked.      Carlie stayed in her hiding place, as he continued to approach.      “And are you interested in a job?” he asked.      “What kind of job?” she asked, standing up.  There was not really any point in hiding anymore.  “And how did you find me?”      “I have an app for that.  Well, for tracking my wallet that is.  And I’m a fellow thief.  My partner and I are putting together a team.”      “So we have a pickpocket for our team?” Diego asked, later that day.  “No offense, but this might be a bit out of her league.”      “Not much more out of her league than it’s already out of our league really,” Jacques said.  “And we need all the help we can get.  So far we have a pickpocket and an impersonator.  That’s not much.”      “We’ll have a bruiser and a lock breaker as soon as Darren and Roz agree.”      “If they agree.  But even still, we’re trying to steal from one of the most secure places on the planet.  It’s not going to be easy.”      “We don’t want too big of a team though.  After a certain point, adding more people is just going to complicate matters.  Especially since we’re apparently already including some pickpocket we just met.”      “How long were you planning on waiting for Roz and Darren?” Jacques asked.  “I don’t think our employer wants to wait forever on us doing this job.”      “No worries, we can start on the planning right away, and bring them up to speed when they get back to us.”      “And if they don’t?”      “Don’t worry, they will.  Have I ever steered you wrong?”      “Malibu, two years ago.  Tokyo, five years ago.  Brisbane, six years ago.”      “See, only three times in the decade that we’ve known each other, that’s not bad.”      “Those were just the big ones.”      “So, what exactly is the ESS?” Carlie asked.  “And what are we stealing from them?”      It was the following day, and Jacques, Diego, Marcel, and Carlie were beginning to work on the plan.      “The ESS are a secret organization that dates back to World War 2,” Diego said.  “Possibly even older.”      “They are an international organization,” Jacques said.  “They deal with threats of advanced scientific natures.”      “A secret science police, essentially” Marcel said.  “Some of the most advanced technology on the planet.”      “Uh huh,” Carlie said.  “Like, I’m just a pickpocket here, what are you expecting from me?”      “You’re a really good pickpocket though,” Jacques said.  “You managed to get my wallet, and I almost didn’t notice it.  That’s no easy task.”      “You haven’t answered her other question though,” Marcel said.  “What are we stealing?”      “Don’t know exactly,” Diego said.  “It’s a device of some sort, and we know what it looks like, but we don’t know what it does.”      “Ah yes, this sounds like it’s going to go amazing,” Marcel said as he rolled his eyes.  “How much intel do you have on the ESS base?  And which one for that matter?”      “We know a fair amount about it,” Diego said.  “Probably one of their more well known bases, at least amongst those who know of the organization.”      “Well known also tends to mean better security,” Marcel said.  “Wait, please tell me it’s not their London base.”      “It’s not their London base,” Jacques said.  “It’s their Winnipeg base.”      “Dammit, that’s almost worse,” Marcel said.      “How is that worse?” Carlie asked.  “London is controlled by an evil alien empire.”      “Yeah, but the Winnipeg base is better secured,” Marcel said.  “It’ll be easier to get to, but harder to deal with once we’re inside.”      “What we’re thinking is that you’ll be posing as a government official doing an inspection,” Diego said.  “The rest of us will be your staff.  Roz and I will be your security specialists, Darren will be your bodyguard, and Jacques your driver.”      “And me?” Carlie asked.      “You’ll be an intern or an assistant or something,” Diego said.      “They’re not going to let an intern in, even if they let the rest of you in, even if we’re able to fool them in the first place,” Marcel said.      “Thus why I said ‘or an assistant or something,’” Diego said.  “And don’t you have that friend in the Spanish government?  He could get you credentials.”      “It might work, but it will take more than just his assistance, and I still can’t promise we’ll be able to get your entire crew in,” Marcel said.      “We’re also still assuming Roz and Darren are going to join said crew,” Jacques said.      “Wait, so not everyone you’re planning on including in this has even agreed to join?” Carlie asked.      “Not yet,” Diego said, before his phone started ringing.  He took it out.  “Oh, this is Darren right now.”  He answered it.  “Hello?”      “So, assuming this plan doesn’t totally fail, and we get in, what happens next?” Marcel asked while Diego was on the phone.      “We have a basic layout of the base,” Jacques said.  “So we know where the device is, and we just need to work our way in that direction.”      “Okay, Darren is in,” Diego said after he hung up the phone.  “So, now we’re just waiting on Roz.”      “Question,” Marcel asked.  “Do we have a computer person?  Like, I know Roz is good with locks, and I’m sure we all have decent computer skills, but doesn’t this seem like the kind job where we need a dedicated computer person?”      “You have anyone in mind?” Diego asked.  “I know a number of hackers, but none that we can reach out to for this.”      “Gregor?” Marcel asked.      “He’s living on Maltork Four these days,” Jacques said.      “Cinda?” Marcel asked.      “She’s working with the Scorpio Syndicate on some project in Antarctica,” Diego said.      “What about that Dalton chick?” Marcel asked.      “Diana?” Diego asked.  “Maybe, she’s not really a thief though.”      “Did you hear about that job in San Francisco three months ago?” Marcel asked.  “With the cars?”      “That was her?” Diego asked.  “Impressive.”      “Do you know her?” Jacques asked.      “I know someone that does,” Marcel said.  “I can reach out.”      “With her we might not even need Roz,” Jacques said.      “If they just have computer controlled locks, sure,” Diego said.  “But if they have any others, we’re still going to want Roz.”      Diana Dalton checked the status of the program she had running on the computer to her left.  It still had another three minutes to go, at least.  So she turned to the computer on her right, and made sure the virus was ready for upload.  She then turned to her center computer, and checked the floor plans of the building.      “You’re going to want to make a left turn up ahead,” she said over the comm.      “Is the security down yet?” came the reply.      “It’ll be down by the time you get there.”  Diana checked the computer on the left.  “I hope.”      Her phone started ringing.  She did not recognize the number, but the program she had on her phone identified it as Marcel Dupont.  She picked it up.  “Bonjour?”      “Hello, this is Marcel Dupont, although I assume you already know that.  And your accent is atrocious, by the way.”      “You’re Lisette’s cousin, right?  I worked with her on the San Fran job.”      “Yeah, and I’m part of a crew looking for a hacker at the moment,” Marcel said.      Diana checked the computer on her left.  Still another minute on it.  “What kind of job do you need my help with?”      “We’re going up against the ESS.”      “I’m in.”      “What, just like that?”      “It’s the ESS, that’s like, the ultimate challenge.  I’ve been developing a few things I’d like to really put through some tests, and this is the perfect opportunity.”      “Oh…okay,” Marcel said.  “I was expecting to need to convince you.”      “No worries, but I need to get back to my current job first, so I’ll talk with you later.”  Diana hung up the phone, just as the computer on her left finished running its program.  She turned to the right, and uploaded the virus.  Then over the comm, “Okay, security is down, you have five minutes to get in, get what you need, and get out.”      “So, you never really told me why you decided to ask Carlie to join our crew,” Diego said as he sat down with Jacques for some drinks.      “A teenage pickpocket?” Jacques asked.  “Honestly, she reminds me of you at that age, back when we first met.”      “I mean, I can’t deny that there are some similarities, but we don’t really know anything about her.”      “I didn’t know anything about you back then, but I knew you were in a world that had failed you.  I didn’t know how back then, but I could sense that was the case, and I sense that with her too.”      “I mean, anytime someone’s living on the streets that is a pretty big indicator right there,” Diego said.  “But bringing her into this isn’t necessarily the best idea for her.  Like, the rest of us, we’re career criminals, that’s not going to change, but she still has a chance.”      “It changed for Roz and Darren, and you still went to them.”      “That’s different, we know them.”      “You’re taking this job because of the challenge and the money.  I’m mostly just taking it because you are.  Darren actually needs the money to keep his business afloat, and Carlie is in this because she needs the money to get her life afloat.”      “I just hope we don’t end up sinking them,” Diego said.      “We could always back out, if you’re worried about that.”      “No, no, we’re still going to do this.”      After the crew arrived in Winnipeg, they met up at the hotel they were all staying at.  Diana was setting up her computers.  Darren was doing pushups in the corner.  Carlie was playing with a yo-yo.  Diego was writing on a whiteboard.  Marcel had fallen asleep on the couch.  And Jacques was ordering some pizza.      “Yeah, and extra cheese on that last one,” he said.  “Thanks.”      “So, what are the chances we run into one of the local superheroes?” Carlie asked.      “Probably not very likely,” Diego said.  “I doubt they’d get involved in ESS business.”      “You’d be surprised what superheroes all involve themselves with,” Diana said.  “But even still, they’re probably busy enough with other stuff.  It’s a decent sized city.”      “So, how long until we go in?” Darren asked.      “What do you think, Diana?” Diego asked.  “How long until your system is up and running?”      “I’ll have everything set up in about an hour or so,” Diana said.  “After that, it’s a matter of how long it takes me to get into the ESS computers.  That I can’t really predict.”      “If you even can get in,” Jacques said.      “I haven’t met the computer system that was able to keep me out yet,” Diana said.  “It’s a matter of when, not if.”      “Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time,” Diego said the next day after Diana had finally gained access to the ESS network.  “Just to make sure everyone knows what we’re doing.”      “I’ll be posing as a government inspector from Spain,” Marcel said.  “I had to call in so many favors in order to get the right credentials, so we better pull this off.”      “And Roz and I will by your security consultants,” Diego said.      “Despite Roz still not being here or even contacting us,” Jacques said.      “She’ll be here,” Diego said.      “I’m his bodyguard,” Darren said.      “And I’m his personal assistant,” Carlie said.      “I’ll be driving you all in, but I’ll be waiting in the car,” Jacques said.  “If I have to do anything else than driving, that means things have gone wrong.”      “Once you’re inside, if you can get ID cards, I can rewrite them,” Diana said.  “They have a built-in computer, and I can rewrite the information to fit you guys.”      “Are you sure you can do that?” Jacques asked.      “Yep,” Diana said.  “That said, the less I have to change, the less likely I am to be noticed, so preferably go for people that already have the right security clearance.  That way I’m just changing personal information, although if you can get people of the same size and hair and eye color and such, that would certainly help as well.”      “And gender, I assume,” Darren said.      “That’s only in the medical data section of the card, which can only be accessed by medical professionals under normal circumstances, so I’m not even going to bother dealing with that section,” Diana said.      “Okay, and once we’re able to pose as ESS agents, we’ll need to get away from any that we’re with,” Diego said.      “I’ll be figuring out security blindspots for that,” Diana said.  “Or creating them, if I have to.”      “And then we find our way to the device we’re after,” Diego said.  “Which according to the base layout we have, is likely in this area.”  Diego pointed to a spot on the printout they had on the wall.      Jacques drove the limo into the parking garage.  He stopped before the barrier, and rolled down his window.  There was a panel with a button to print out a ticket, but also with a number pad.  He typed in the sequence that Diana had got for them, and then hit the button.      The ticket it printed out included a parking spot on it which was located on the lowest level, so he drove down there, and parked in the spot the ticket indicated.  As soon as he put the car into park, the parking spot started descending, eventually coming to a stop in a much nicer looking parking garage, even further underground.      “Okay, we’re here,” Jacques said.      Darren got out of the car first, and looked around.  There were a few ESS agents in the garage.  Most appeared to be arriving or leaving, and did not pay them much attention, but there were a few that looked to be security, and they were eyeing him up.      Darren opened the door for Marcel, who got out, with Carlie and Diego following after him.  The four of them walked over to the elevator, where two guards were standing.  One of the guards held out a computer pad with an outline of a hand on the screen.      “Good day,” the second guard said.  “What is your business here today?”      “My team and I are here on behalf of the Spanish government, to inspect the base security,” Marcel said as he put his hand on the computer pad.      “We weren’t informed of any inspection,” the second guard said.      “Well, it wouldn’t be a very good inspection if you knew it was coming, now would it?” Marcel asked.      “His credentials do check out,” the first guard said.  “Now the rest of your team.”      Darren put his hand on the computer, and the guard nodded, then Carlie went next, and the guard nodded again.  And finally Diego did so.  The guard raised an eyebrow as he looked at the screen.      “Something wrong?” Marcel asked.      “The system says he checks out,” the first guard said.  “It just took a moment longer than usual.”      “And this is your whole team?” the second guard asked.      “My driver is in the car, where he’ll be waiting.”  Marcel pointed at the car.  As he was doing so, they noticed another car come down into the garage, and Roz stepped out of it.  “She’s also with us.”      “Sorry, I’m late,” Roz said as she came up to them.  “Hit some traffic on my way here.”      The first security guard held out the computer pad to her, and she put her hand down.  He nodded.  “Okay, you all check out.”      “You’ll have to go to the visitor check-in,” the second guard said.  “That’s the only place the elevator will take you until you get an ID card.”      “Thank you,” Marcel said as he entered the elevator, along with the rest of the crew.  As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them he turned to Roz.  “I’m surprised you actually showed up.”      “I said she’d make it,” Diego said.      “This better not go sideways,” Roz said.      “Guys,” Diana said to them over the comms.  “Could you warn me if you’re going to start talking about stuff you don’t want overheard while in places with security cameras.  I’ve got footage on loop to cover your conversation, but some warning would’ve been nice.  Oh, and unless I say otherwise, assume you are always in a place with security cameras.”      “Right,” Diego said.  “Oh, you’ll need this.”  He handed Roz a comm which she stuck in her ear.      After going down to the visitor check-in, they were given visitor IDs and an escort to show them around the base.  No one seemed exactly pleased at this random inspection, but no one seemed to think it was suspicious either.      “Right this way,” their escort, Agent Evelynn Woods said.      Diego looked around as she led them down a corridor.  There were a lot of people around, more than he had expected, and a lot of them seemed to be in a rush, running one way or the other.  “Something big going on?” he asked.      “I don’t know all of the details, sir” Evelynn said.  “But the UES Unity is back at Earth for some restocking of supplies, and apparently they brought back some sort of intel.”      “What kind of intel?” Roz asked.      “I’m sorry ma’am, but I don’t know myself,” Evelynn said.  “It’s for level eight security clearance and above.  I’m only a level five.  Hopefully this won’t get in the way of your inspection.”      “Quite the contrary,” Marcel said.  “It’s when people are at their busiest that security is most likely to be vulnerable, thus making it the perfect time to locate said vulnerabilities.”      “I suppose,” Evelynn said.  “Okay, right in here is the main security room,”  She led them into a large room.  The walls were lined with screens and there were various holographic displays throughout the room.  There were about two dozen agents in the room, who looked up at their entrance, before most returned to their work.  One came over to them.      “Agent Woods,” she said.  “These are the inspectors?”      “Yes,” Evelynn said as she introduced them to Agent Kate Zimmerman, who was in charge of security on the base.      “A pleasure to meet you,” Marcel said.      Uh huh,” Kate said.  “Just try not get in the way of my people while you’re working.”      “We’ll do our best to make sure you don’t even notice us,” Marcel said.      “Right,” Kate said.  “There’s a computer over there you can use, and if you need anything else, you can have Agent Woods talk to me.”      While most of the crew gathered around the computer, Carlie made her way around the room.  She was pretty good at being ignored, so most people did not even take much note of her, with the exception of the few she bumped into, who gave her dirty looks as she apologized.      One, though, actually looked her over as she was apologizing.  “You’re here with the inspection team?  You look a little young.”      “Yeah, I get that a lot,” Carlie said.  “Just the random nature of genetics, I suppose.”      “Uh huh, just try to pay more attention to where you’re walking.”      “Right, yes, I’ll do my best,” Carlie said before going back to the crew.      “How did it go?” Diego asked.      Carlie lifted the sleeve on her left arm to show five ESS ID cards she had nabbed.  “All level ten or higher.”  She passed them out, just before Evelynn returned to the group with some coffees.      “So, what do you think so far?” Evelynn asked.      “Everything in here certainly looks good,” Marcel said.  “But we’ll need to check out a few areas.”  He brought up a map on the computer screen.  “There, there, there, and there.”      “The first two and the fourth will be no problem,” Evelynn said.  “But the third area is restricted.  You need special permission from the Director to go there.”      “Don’t ask about the Director,” the crew all heard Diana say over the comms.  “There’s a complicated situation with him, and I haven’t figured out how much you would logically know.”      “Then just the three areas for now,” Marcel said.  “I’ll take one of my consultants to the first, while my assistant takes the other consultant to the second.”      “Oh, you want to split up?” Evelynn asked.  “Umm, right, about that…”      “It would be more efficient,” Marcel said.  “And allow us to get out of your way faster.”      “No, yeah, that’s, yeah,” Evelynn said.  “I’ll just go grab another agent to escort the second group.  Not a problem.”  She looked around the room.  “Agent Barnes, get over here.”  The agent came over as she introduced them.  “This is Agent Luke Barnes.”      “Excellent, let’s go Barnes,” Marcel said.      Diego and Carlie followed Evelynn as she lead them into a power station room.  There was a generator in the center that took up most of the room, and a few computers on the wall for diagnostic purposes.      “Okay, I’ll walk you through what you need to do,” Diana said to Diego and Carlie over the comm.  “Carlie, you might want to distract Agent Woods while Diego is doing this, or else she’s probably going to notice.”      “So, Agent Woods, how long have you been with the ESS?” Carlie asked as Diego started working on the computer.      “Six years,” Evelynn said.  “My mom is an agent too, and my dad is an engineer, so I was able to join right out of high school.”      “That’s pretty cool,” Carlie said.  “My parents kicked me out when I was fourteen, so I can’t exactly rely on them for job opportunities.”      “That sucks,” Evelynn said.  “But you seem to have done pretty well for yourself.”      “Yeah, I’m pretty resourceful, if I do say so myself,” Carlie said.      “Be careful what you say to her,” Diana said over the comm.  “Don’t want her learning too much about the real you.”      “But that was years ago,” Carlie said.  “I know I look like a teenager, but I am in my twenties.”      “No, don’t bring that up if you don’t have to,” Diana said.  “That just sounds more suspicious.”      “I didn’t want to say anything, but yeah, you do look pretty young,” Evelynn said.  “I mean, I still get carded myself whenever I try to buy some drinks.  And up here the drinking age isn’t even twenty-one, it’s eighteen.”      “Okay, I think she might be flirting with you,” Diana said.  “Maybe try asking if she’s interested in going out for drinks later.”      “Do you want to maybe go out for drinks later?” Carlie asked.      “I mean, maybe, it’s pretty busy here, so I’m not sure when I’ll have some free time, but maybe,” Evelynn said.      “Okay, I’m done over here,” Diego said.  “We can move on.”      Marcel, Darren, and Roz followed Luke down the corridor.  Marcel was about to nod to Darren, when a door opened, and three people came out.  They were wearing uniforms that showed them as UES fighter pilots.      “So then, do you know what Pandaherbs said next?” one of them asked.      “What did she say?” the second one asked.      “She said that those Ghotelon ships looked like butts.”      “That wasn’t me,” the third one said.  “That was Dino Chick that said that.  I mean, I agreed with her, but she was the one that said it.”      “Are you sure?”      “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know what I did and didn’t say.”      As they passed them, Marcel waited until they had turn down a different corridor, and then nodded at Darren, who grabbed Luke in a chokehold and held him until he lost consciousness.      “Over here,” Roz said, checking a door.  “This broom closet should be a good place to hide him.”      “Right,” Darren said as he stuffed Luke into the closet.      “How far down to the vault?” Marcel asked.      “It’s three floors down,” Diana said over the comm.  “There’s an elevator just ahead you can take down there.”      The three of them went to the elevator and rode it down.  There was an automated checkpoint just after they exited it.      “Let’s hope this works,” Marcel said as he swiped his card on it.  It asked for a fingerprint and eye scan, so he put down his finger and lined up his eye, and the light turned green.  “Green is good, right?”      “Yeah, green is good,” Diana said.      Darren and Roz did the same and got through as well.  They went down the hallway, which had multiple doors.      “The next one on your left,” Diana said.  “There is a keypad, but I can’t get into that remotely.”      “Don’t worry, this is where I come in,” Roz said.  She sprayed a film on the keypad, which revealed fingerprints.  “One, four, seven, and zero make up the code.”      “It should be a five digit code,” Diana said.  “One wrong attempt will alert security.  Two wrong attempts will lock down the door.  Three will release a knockout gas both inside the vault, and immediately outside it.”      Roz looked at it.  Without touching it she started moving her fingers over the buttons in different orders.  “One definitely follows from seven, zero is last.  Four is probably the double.  I’m thinking it’s four, seven, one, four, zero.  Unless it’s the seven that’s the double, in which case it’s four, seven, one, seven, zero or seven, one, seven, four, zero.”      “Just make your best call,” Marcel said.  He kept glancing down the hallway.      Roz pressed four, seven, one, four, zero.      “Security alert was just sent,” Diana said.  “I can take care of it, but the next attempt needs to be right.”      Roz looked over it a bit more before pressing seven and one.  She stopped and looked again, and then pressed four, seven, and zero.  There was an electronic sound coming from the door, and after ten seconds it opened up.  They went inside, and found the walls lined with safes.      “Okay, it’ll be the one marked KR-052,” Diana said.      “It’s over here,” Darren said.      “Okay, now comes the fun part,” Roz said as she looked it over and frowned.  “It’s a hybrid lock on this thing with both a mechanical and an electronic mechanism.  I’m going to need some silence here.”  She put her ear up against it as she started turning the mechanical lock.  “Never mind, it has a silencer on it.”      “Meaning?” Marcel asked.      “Meaning I can still do it, but it’s going to take even longer,” Roz said.  “I’m going to guess it’ll be at least an hour.”      “There’ll be security patrols down there multiple times in that hour,” Diana said.      “Then everyone else will just have to keep them distracted,” Roz said.      As Diego and Carlie were being led to their next destination by Evelynn, Diana contacted them over the comm.      “There’s been a slight change of plans,” Diana said.  “Apparently the lock on the safe is a bit more complicated than we thought it would be, so we need to keep security from finding them for the next hour or so.”      “So, Agent Woods,” Diego said.  “Could you tell us a bit about security patrol schedules.”      “Of course,” Evelynn said.  “We can go back to the main security room, and I can show you them.”      Over the comm Diana said, “The next patrol will be in about ten minutes.”      “Actually, first, is there a restroom around somewhere?” Diego asked.      “Yeah,” Evelynn said and pointed.  “Just over there.  We can wait for you outside.”      Diego entered the bathroom, and did a quick check to see that all of the stalls were empty.  “Okay, what happens if Darren just takes out the security patrol?” He asked over the comm.      “When they don’t check in, a much bigger security team will be sent down there,” Diana said.      “What kind of check in?”      “They make an audio report after each floor they look over, and if they are late, their supervisor gets a notification.”      “So, in theory anyone could make the report.”      “Their voices are on record,” Diana said.  “The computer will recognize if it’s someone else.”      “Well, then I guess we’re about to figure out who’s better, their voice recognition, or Marcel’s voice imitation.”      Darren stood next to the door, and waited until it opened.  Two guards came in, and started pulling out their weapons as they saw Roz and Marcel.  Darren punched the one closest to him in the side of the face with his right fist, before pushing the guard with his left arm, causing him to get knocked into the other guard so they both hit the wall.      The guard that Darren had directly attacked had dropped his energy pistol, which Darren kicked towards Marcel.  The other guard though still had his as he stood back up and tried to aim it at Darren, who grabbed the first guard in a chokehold, and tried to use him as a shield, while also causing him to pass out.      “Drop your weapon or I drop you,” Marcel said as he pointed the energy pistol at the guard who was still armed.      The guard turned and pointed his pistol at Marcel.  “Do you even know how to fire that thing?” he asked.      Darren used the momentary distraction, and threw the now unconscious guard he was holding aside, before kicking the energy pistol out of the other guard’s hand.  He then went over and grabbed the guard by the shirt collar, and punched him a few times until he too was knocked out.      “What was that?” Darren asked as he put the guard down.  “We’re not trying to kill them.”      “These things have a stun setting,” Marcel said.  “And it would have been nice if you had left one of them conscious a bit longer, so I could have heard more than just a single sentence from one of them.”  He searched through the pockets of the one who had spoken, and took out their comm and ID.  “This is Agent Chandler,” he said, his voice mimicking that of the guard.  “Everything on this level seems to be normal.”  Then into his own comm.  “So, did that work?”      “I think so,” Diana said.  “There don’t seem to be any alerts raised, at least not yet, but I’ll keep my eyes on them.”      Diego and Carlie were back in the main security room with Evelynn, who was showing them security patrol schedules.  Diego was only half paying attention to them, as he noticed the doors open, and some security rush in, and go to Kate.  They whispered something to her, and she said something to them before they came over to Diego, Carlie, and Evelynn.      “Could we have a word?” Kate asked.      “What seems to be the problem?” Diego asked.      “Agent Barnes was just found unconscious in a broom closet, and the rest of your team is unaccounted for,” Kate said.      “That’s odd,” Diego said.  “Have their been any breaches in security?”      “Cut the bullshit,” Kate said.  “I’m having my people do a closer inspection on your credentials, but you could save yourselves a lot of trouble and just confess now.”      Diego glanced at Carlie, who’s eyes were wide.  “There’s nothing to confess to.  Whatever’s happened here, it’s not our fault.”      “We’ll just see about that,” Kate said.      Jacques was still waiting in the car, which was parked in the garage.  He was increasingly noticing looks from the guards, who were clearly being told something over their comms.      “Did something happen?” he asked over his own comm.      “There has been a complication,” Diana said.      “What happened?”      Diana filled him in on what had been happening.      “That’d explain why those guards keep looking at me funny.  Oh great, and now they’re coming over here.”      “The cameras will catch it if you do anything to them, and I can’t put these ones on a loop without someone noticing.”      “What about the elevator?”      “I can loop that before you get on, but someone might still notice you entering the elevator on the garage cameras, and not being in the elevator on the elevator cameras.”      The guards were up to the car.  “Please step out of the vehicle, sir,” one of them said.      “Do it,” Jacques said before he opened the door, and slowly got out.  “Something wrong, gentlemen?”      “You’re going to have to come with me,” the same guard said.      “Of course,” Jacques said.  “That’s not a problem at all.”      He got out of the car, and the guards led him to the elevator, with one of them bringing him in, while the other went back to his post.      “No cheesy elevator music in here?” Jacques asked the guard who was standing behind him in the elevator, who did not respond.  “Also, you probably should have brought another couple guards with you, I’m not just a driver.”  Jacques backed into the guard, pressing him back against the side of the elevator, grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist, causing the guard to drop his energy pistol.  Jacques elbowed the guard in the chest, before picking up the pistol and pointing it at him.      The guard coughed.  “What the hell are you…”      “This thing is set to stun, right,” Jacques asked, looking at the setting.  “Excellent.”  He fired at the guard, knocking him out.      “What are you doing?” Diana asked.  “Even without them seeing that on camera, it’s only a matter of time until he’s found.”      “You said Roz needs time to crack the lock, so I’m providing a distraction, I suppose,” Jacques said.      The elevator came to a stop, and the door opened, showing three guards, who quickly reached for their energy pistols, but Jacques managed to shoot all three of them first.      “Okay, that was definitely caught on camera,” Diana said.      “Figured as much,” Jacques said.  “Where are Diego and Carlie at?”      Carlie and Diego were being lead down a hall by four guards.  Two were in front of them, and two were behind.      “Jacques is on his way to you,” Diana told the two of them over the comms.  “But they are also after him, as he’s knocked out a few agents.”      Carlie looked at Diego who was looking at the guards in front of them.  “Well, I guess the jig is up,” he said before spinning around, his whip coming out of his sleeve, and he used it to knock the pistols out of the hands of each of the guards behind them.  Then he turned back to the front where the other two guards were turning around, and did the same to them.      Carlie backed up to the wall, as Diego kept turning around and around, whipping at the guards hands whenever they tried to pick up their guns.  Eventually, two of them charged at him and tackled him to the ground, while the other two were finally able to get at their guns.      Diego got his arm out and flicked his whip at one of the pistols still on the ground, and managed to sent it flying over to Carlie who caught it.  She aimed it at one of the guards who was just picking up his, and fired, then aimed it at the other one going for a gun and fired at him too.  Then she shot both of the guys on Diego, and he pushed their unconscious bodies off of himself.      “Good shooting,” Diego said.      “I used to play a lot of shooting games on the Wii,” Carlie said.      “Uh, we’ve got a slight problem,” Diana said over the comm.  “Remember how earlier we were talking about the local superheroes?”      As she was saying that, the superhero known as Amazing Archer and and his teen sidekick Dark Hawk came around a corner.  Amazing Archer had his energy bow drawn, and was aiming straight at Diego.      “Oh shit,” Diego said.      Carlie aimed the energy pistol at Amazing Archer.      “Surrender and we won’t have to hurt you,” Amazing Archer said.      “I could say the same thing to you,” Diego said.      “My costume will diffuse the stunshot from that pistol,” Amazing Archer said.  “And I can drop you long before you get close enough to use that whip of yours.”      “Yet you haven’t shot us yet,” Diego said.      “That’s because I’d prefer you just surrender,” Amazing Archer said right before getting tackled from behind by Jacques, who knocked away the bow.      Amazing Archer tossed Jacques over his head, and Diego ran over to help, while Dark Hawk tried running over to Carlie, but she aimed the energy pistol at him.      “Don’t come any closer,” she said.      “Hey yeah, no problem,” Dark Hawk said, as he slowed down but still continued moving forward.  “But you know, my suit will disperse the stunshot, same as Amazing Archer’s.”      “You sure about that?” Carlie asked as she fired, and the stunshot was indeed dispersed by Dark Hawk’s suit.      “Pretty sure,” Dark Hawk said.  “You know, you’re really cute.”      “What?  Are you hitting on me or trying to arrest me?”      “Oh, right, sorry, surrender and we won’t have to fight.”      “I mean, I’m not exactly fond of either of those options,” Carlie said.      “Oh, umm, well those are kind of the options here.  I’m not exactly used to criminals not fighting back.”      “Are you making progress here?” Marcel asked as he stood over Roz.      “I’m working on it,” Roz said as she was continuing to turn the lock on the safe.  “And could you not hover over me?”      “Sorry,” Marcel said as he backed off.  He walked over to Darren who was watching the door.  “No more patrols yet?”      “No, according to Diana they’re being kept busy by the rest of our crew,” Darren said.      “Hmm, I hope they aren’t doing anything stupid,” Marcel said.      “You don’t much care for Diego, I’ve noticed.”      “After Jacques started running with him, he stopped running with our family.  And family is important.”      “You ever ask Jacques about it?” Darren asked.  “Find out what his reasons were?”      “Does it matter?”      “Of course it matters.  When I came out to my family, a lot of them stopped acting like family.”      “No one in our family cares that he’s bi, if that’s what you insinuating.  And it’s not like him and Diego are a couple anyway, I don’t think.”      “Maybe no one cares, maybe someone does, but either way there could be any number of reasons that he stopped running with family.  And it’s not like he cut off contact, did he?  I mean, you’re still here.”      “He still talks with a few of us, but not many.  He wasn’t even at our father’s funeral.”      “Then you should talk to him about it.  Communication is important.”      While Diego and Jacques were still fighting Amazing Archer, Carlie was continuing to talk with Dark Hawk.      “I mean, I suppose it doesn’t matter too much,” Dark Hawk said.  “Like, your friends over there are going to lose and be captured.”      “Says you,” Carlie said.      “Come on, I’m sure you’ve heard of Amazing Archer.  Have you ever heard of him losing a fight?”      “Well, no, not exactly.”      “Exactly,” Dark Hawk said as he took a pair of handcuffs out of his utility belt.      “Cuffs?  Shouldn’t you at least buy me dinner first?”      “Wait, are you flirting with me now?”      “Sorry,” Carlie said.  “Although you are probably pretty cute under that mask.”      “Yeah, I’m not falling for that and taking off my mask.”      “Suit yourself.  And fine.”  Carlie put her hands out in front of herself, and let Dark Hawk come over and cuff her.      “See now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dark Hawk asked.  He glanced over to see Diego and Jacques were still giving Amazing Archer trouble.      “No, it wasn’t, Bobby,” Carlie said.  He looked back to see her drop the cuffs on the ground while looking at his learner’s permit.      “How did you do that?”      “I’m a pickpocket.  I’m also half decent at picking locks.  So, Bobby Anderson I was right, you are pretty cute under that mask.  And I thought driver’s license pictures always looked horrible.”      “That’s…um…just a fake ID for preserving my secret identity.”      “For someone with a secret identity, you’re a pretty bad liar.”      “Aha,” Roz said as she turned the lock, and it clicked into place.      “You got it?” Marcel asked.      “Part of it,” Roz said.  “Like I said, it’s a multi-part lock, but I’ve got the mechanical lock figured out, so next is the electronic lock.”      “Hurry up in there, if you can,” Diana said over the comm.  “Diego and Jacques are in a fight with Amazing Archer.”      “How are they doing?” Marcel asked.      “They’re still conscious,” Diana said.  “Although I’m not sure for how much longer.  And there’s more security on it’s way to their position.”      “I can go help,” Darren said.  “I don’t think you still need me down here.”      “Yeah, we can handle ourselves,” Marcel said, and Darren took off.  Marcel turned back to Roz.  “How much longer are you thinking?”      “Could be a few minutes, could be another half hour,” Roz said.  “Hard to say for certain.”      “You said it was an electronic lock, so what if we…”      “That might work,” Roz interrupted.  “Unless they have a failsafe in place, in which case, we’ll be screwed.”      “Right,” Marcel said.      Darren rode the elevator up to the level that Diego, Jacques and Carlie were on, but it was a short distance away.  As the elevator doors opened, he saw a bunch of ESS agents running down the hall.  He reached out and grabbed one.  “Sorry,” he said before hitting the guys head against the wall, knocking him out.      Darren stepped out into the hall, and there were five agents who had run past but were turning around now that they noticed one of them was missing.  One had just passed the elevator, and was within range for Darren to grab his wrist, and twist it, causing the guy to drop his gun.  He then punched the agent in the throat, before grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him to turn around.  “Sorry,” he said.      The other agents were trying to get a shot on Darren, but he was doing his best to keep the agent he was fighting between him and them.  He then grabbed the agent by the top and bottom of his shirt, and threw him at the others.  Darren used the momentary confusion to run up to the rest of them.      He bodychecked one of them into the wall before elbowing the next one in the back of neck, and moved from that motion right into a punch in the back of the head of the third one, and then kneed the fourth one in the side, saying, “Sorry,” after each hit.  While the last three were knocked to the ground by the blows, the one he had bodychecked came at him from behind, and tried to grab him.      Darren let him, but then pushed back causing them to both trip over one of the people on the floor.  Darren’s head hit the agent in the nose, and Darren was pretty sure that nose was now broken.  “Sorry,” he said as he jumped back to his feet.  The final one, the one he had kneed in the side, was getting back up at the same time, and Darren used his momentum from the jump to punch the guy in the forehead, knocking him back down.      “Sorry,” Darren said as he made sure each of the agents were knocked out before moving on.      “You could have just taken an energy pistol and shot them with it,” Diana said over the comm.      “I don’t like guns.”      “They have a stun setting, which does a hell of a lot less damage than you beating them into submission.”      “I don’t like guns.  And the worst I did was break a nose.  ESS medical tech can fix that no problem.  Medical tech they chose not to share with the general public, for that matter.  How much further to the others?”      “Take the next left, and you’ll see them.”      Darren took the left, and saw Diego and Jacques being beaten pretty soundly by Amazing Archer, while Carlie and Dark Hawk were off to the side talking.  Darren ran up to Amazing Archer, who did turn around and catch Darren’s right-handed punch, before Darren kneed him in the stomach.  Amazing Archer barely flinched, but Darren did not let up, and punched him in the head with his left hand.      That staggered Amazing Archer for a few moments, enough for Darren to get him into a chokehold.  That caused Dark Hawk to run over, but Jacques and Diego started fighting him, while Darren choked Amazing Archer until he seemed to lose consciousness.  He then continued for a bit longer, just to be on the safe side, before dropping him to the ground.      In the meantime, Diego and Jacques had managed to restrain Dark Hawk long enough to tie him up.  “So, should we check who they are under those masks?” Jacques asked.      “It’s not really our business,” Darren said.      “I already figured out who Dark Hawk is,” Carlie said as she tossed his wallet on him.      “Doesn’t really matter though,” Diego said.  “I’d rather not become an arch-nemesis to a superhero.”      “Y’all might want to get out of there,” Diana said over the comm.  “There’s more agents on their way.”      Marcel was pacing back and forth as Roz continued to work on the lock.  He was trying not to keep asking her how much longer it would be, when he heard something in the hallway outside.  He went over to the door and listened.  Someone was just getting off the elevator, but it sounded liked it was just one person.      “Who’s down here with us?” he whispered into his comm.      “There shouldn’t be anyone else down there,” Diana said.  “Just give me a second.”      Marcel listened as whoever it was got closer and closer.      “Someone else is looping the camera feed,” Diana said.  “I mean, besides me.  It’ll take me a bit to get past it.”      Marcel sighed, before stepping out into the hallway.  Admiral Jon Teleros was there, and Marcel immediately recognized him.  He did not have a weapon drawn though.      “Admiral Teleros,” Marcel said.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you down here.”      “Yeah, I have a habit of showing up unexpectedly,” Jon said.  “And I suppose this explains the distraction the rest of your team is causing upstairs.”      “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marcel said.  He put his hand close to the pocket he had hidden an energy pistol in.      “You can pull that out if you want,” Jon said.  “But I should warn you, that I am pretty quick on the draw.  I wouldn’t have come down here on my own if I couldn’t handle myself.”      “Look, I’m as confused by all of this as you are,” Marcel said.  “I was lead down here as part of my inspection by Agent Barnes, and then I don’t know, he said he was going to use the restroom or something, and he never came back.”      “He was found in a broom closet, and three other members of your team, your driver and your assistant, as well as one of your specialists, have all been seen assaulting agents.  Not to mention that we’ve discovered that the video cameras in several sections of the base are running on a loop.  I had our technicians put this section on an additional loop, as I assume your team was still getting the actual feed.”      “It’s possible my team was using this as a method of infiltrating the base.  My specialists were assigned to me by my government, I did not choose them personally.  And my driver was hired from a local company for this trip, recommended by your organization, I might add.”      “You’re a good liar, I’ll give you that,” Jon said.  “But I’ve been going over your credentials, and tracing back messages and while some are legitimate, others are not, so I did some digging, Marcel Dupont.  Your driver is your brother Jacques, and Diego Serrano is one of your specialists.  Our computers almost caught him when you came in, but you apparently have a really good hacker on your hands.”      “You sound pretty sure of yourself there.  So, do you think you know who everyone else is?”      “Not yet, but we’ll figure it out,” Jon said.  “If you willingly surrender yourself, and give the real identities of the rest of your team, things will go a lot better for you.”      “So, what’s next?” Darren asked as they got into an elevator.      “How’s Roz doing?” Diego asked.      “She’s still working on the safe,” Diana said over the comm.      “How long is that going to take?” Jacques asked.  “We should’ve been on our way out by now.”      “She’ll get it,” Diego said.      “I’ve got some bad news though,” Diana said.  “Marcel’s comm just shut off, but before that happened he was talking with Admiral Jon Teleros, who knows who he is, and who Jacques and Diego are.”      “That’s bad, that’s very bad,” Jacques said.      “What about the rest of the crew?” Diego asked.      “From what I heard just you three have been identified, but Teleros is trying to get Marcel to turn on the rest of us.”      “That’s bad, that’s very bad,” Diego said.      “He won’t turn on us,” Jacques said.  “Family is important to him, and I’m his brother.”      “Teleros already knows about you though, so he wouldn’t be turning on you,” Diego said.  “And the rest of us aren’t his family.”      “You’re the only of us he doesn’t like though,” Jacques said.  “I don’t even think he’d give away your name, but since that’s not a concern, I think we’ll be okay.”      “Then why did he turn off his comm?” Darren asked.  “I don’t want to be insensitive to the idea of you guys getting arrested, but I have a family.  And then there’s Carlie.  She needs a home, not prison.”      “Definitely don’t need prison,” Carlie said.  “Not sure on the home thing though.  That didn’t exactly work out for me.”      “Even if he gives you up, which I don’t think he will, Diana should be able to get you a new identity,” Jacques said.      “I like my name,” Carlie said.  “Plus, he only knows my first name.”      “Although if you want I could get you set up with Carlie as your legal name when we’re done here,” Diana said.      “Yeah, that would be great,” Carlie said.      “If we get through this,” Darren said.  “And I don’t want to have to change my name either, and I have a life that I don’t want to leave behind.  And Marcel does know my full name.”      “Then we’ll just have to hope we get down there before he says anything,” Diego said.      “If he says anything,” Jacques said.      “Aha,” Roz said as the safe door unsealed, and she opened it up, revealing the device within.  She had no idea what the device was, but it matched the picture she had been shown, so she picked it up and stuffed it in her bag.  “Roz to everyone,” she said over the comm.  “I have it, let’s get out of here.”      “There’s a slight problem,” Diana said over the comm, and explained about Marcel and Jon.      “Shit,” Roz said, as she stood up and turned around, just as Marcel and Jon came into the vault.  Jon was now holding his energy pistol, and had it pointed at Roz.      “Hello Roz Montoya,” Jon said.      “You gave him my name?” Roz asked.      “I had little choice,” Marcel said.  “We’ve lost.”      “Put the bag down,” Jon said.      “Right,” Roz said as she slowly lowered it to the floor.  “Just out of curiosity, why are the lights so bright in here?”      “What?” Jon asked.      “Now?” Diana asked over the comm.      “Yes, please,” Roz said, and the lights went out, and Roz grabbed her bag again, while trying to silently move from where she was standing.  She was trying to circle around to the door without being noticed.  She just managed to go through the door as a flashlight was turned on, but it was still pointed inside the vault, and Roz went running down the hallway, in the opposite direction from the elevator.      The elevator that Jacques, Diego, Darren, and Carlie were on, lurched to a stop, as the lights went out.      “What happened?” Jacques asked as he turned on a flashlight.  “Did they locate us?”      “No, that was me,” Diana said over the comm.  “Had to take out the base power a bit sooner than we would’ve liked, or else Roz would’ve been captured.”      “Of course,” Jacques said.  “Well, then let’s get going.  Only ten minutes until it comes back on.”      Darren went over to the door and pried it open.  They were just passing a floor when it had stopped.  “It’ll be a tight fit, but we can get out,” Darren said.  “And looks like this corridor is empty.”      They all pulled themselves out, and started walking down the corridor.  “What floor are we on anyway?” Jacques asked.      “Let me just bring up the base plans,” Diana said.  “Okay, you are on the floor with…the experimental vehicle storage.”      “Experimental vehicles?” Jacques asked.  “Give me a rundown on whatever you can find out about what’s stored here.”      Roz turned a corner as she kept up her run.  “Where to?” she asked.      “There’s an emergency staircase not too far from you,” Diana said over the comm.  “Take the next right, and then a left after that.  But be careful, without power in the base I can’t be watching what’s happening through the security cameras.”      “Yeah, no worries, I can take care of myself.  Do the stairs lead all the way to the top?”      “No, they only go up a single floor, but that’s where the rest of our crew are at the moment.”      “And where do we go from there?”      “Still working on that, just try and get there in one piece.”      “Right,” Roz said before she heard something behind her.  She made the right turn, just before an energy blast went past, and hit where she had just been, a second earlier.      “You’re only making this harder on yourself,” Jon shouted.      “How much distance between the turn I just made, and the next one I have to make?” Roz asked.      “Five hundred feet,” Diana said.      “And then how long to the staircase after that?” Roz asked as she shut off her flashlight and counted in her head as she ran.      “There’ll be a door the staircase on your left after one hundred feet,” Diana said.      A light appeared behind Roz just before she made the left turn, and she increased her pace as she went down the this hall until she stopped and felt along the wall for the door.  She opened it and went through to the staircase.  For that she turned her flashlight back on, and started running up the stairs.      Jacques looked over the controls of the hovercar as he got in the driver’s seat, and they looked simple enough.  It was really more of a hoverbobsled though, as its shape was long and thin.  It seated five, and it was the only vehicle they could find that would fit through the doors in this place.      “How do they even get the other vehicles in and out?” Carlie asked as she got in the second seat.      “Teleporters,” Diego said as he got into the third seat.  “Unfortunately those aren’t an option for us.”      “This seems like a bad idea,” Darren said as he got into the fourth seat.  “Even if this thing fits through the doors, it’s still going to be a tight fit.”      “I can manage it,” Jacques said as he started it up and it lifted a foot off the ground.  He turned a dial, and it raised another half foot.  He put his hand on a lever and twisted it, and the hovercar started moving forward.  He pulled it back a bit to increase speed.      “How’re you figuring this out so quickly?” Carlie asked.  “There’s no labels on anything.”      “It’s what he does,” Diego said.      Marcel faked himself tripping as he ran alongside Jon.  Jon glanced at him, but continued running, leaving him behind.  Marcel turned his comm back on as he got up.      “I’ve got myself away from Admiral Teleros,” he said into the comm.      “Yeah, after giving up the rest of the team,” Diana said.  “What the hell were you thinking?”      “I only gave up Roz’s identity, and she’s going to need a new one either way because of the whole FBI thing.  It was something I could give him to earn some trust, but it doesn’t change anything.”      “And if she hadn’t got away from him in the vault?  You could have at least lead him away from that.”      “How?  If I had run, he’d have just shot me, and would have checked the vault anyway.  I did what I had to do.”      “Right.”      Roz exited the stairwell, and found herself in a hallway that was being lit by an approaching vehicle, which stopped right before her.      “Get in,” Jacques said.      “Right,” Roz said as she got into the backseat, and Jacques drove off.      “Guys,” Diana said over the comm.  “Marcel turned his comm back on, and he’s telling me that he just gave up Roz’s identity, since it won’t matter anyway, and that he didn’t give up any of the rest of us.”      “Screw that,” Roz said.  “Like I believe him now.”      “I believe him,” Jacques said, as he came to a stop.      “What are you doing?” Diego asked.      “We need to go back for him,” Jacques said.      “No, we need to get out of here,” Diego said.  “And even if we wanted to save him, this thing is full.”      “He’s my brother, I’m not leaving him behind,” Jacques said.      “Fine,” Diego said as he got out of the hovercar.  “I’ll go get him, you get the rest of the team out of here.”      “What?” Jacques asked.      “None of the rest of us are going to be able to drive this contraption out of here,” Diego said.  “So get the rest of the team out, and I’ll get Marcel, and we’ll figure something out.”      “But…” Jacques started saying.      “Get Carlie and Roz and Darren out of here,” Diego said.      “Right,” Jacques said.      Marcel was going down the hallway.  “Is there just the one staircase from this level?” he asked over the comm.      “Yeah, sorry,” Diana said.      Marcel opened the door and listened.  He did not hear anyone in the stairwell, and started going up the stairs, when the lights turned back on.  The staircase only connected the two levels, so he as he approached the top, he stopped and listened again.  He still did not hear anyone, so he went up and out the door.  But that is when he heard someone, and saw that someone, Jon, come running down the hallway.      “Finally caught up?” Jon asked.  “Your team has escaped, so I’m going to need the names of the rest of them now.  If we can get them before they leave the city, that’ll take years off your sentence.”      “Yeah, about that,” Marcel said.  “You already know all of the names that I know.  I don’t know the names of the bruiser or the kid.”      “And the computer hacker?”      “Sorry.”      “That’s too bad, but…” Jon started saying, before he suddenly turned around, and brought up his energy pistol, right before it was knocked out of his hand by the crack of a whip.      “Sorry, I’m late,” Diego said.      Marcel picked up the fallen energy pistol and pointed it at Jon as he went next to Diego.      “Ah, the famous Diego Serrano,” Jon said.  “Although maybe a bit too famous now?”      “Naw, I’m fine with my level of fame,” Diego said.      “Even if you escape, we’ll be able to track you down,” Jon said.      “You’re hardly the first to claim that,” Diego said.      “We’re the ESS,” Jon said.  “There’s nowhere you can run to that we won’t find you.”      Darren covered his eyes as the hovercar went down the hallway at ludicrous speeds, but then peeked out through his fingers to watch as Jacques seemed able to turn on a dime every time they came to an intersection in the hallway.      Up ahead now, there was a door that was closed, and Jacques started slowing down, but then it was opened as a bunch of security came through.  “Everyone down,” Jacques said as he started speeding up again, and the agents started shooting at them.      The hovercar raised up, and went just above the agents, and through the doorway, with less than an inch of clearance, into a stairwell, where it went up the stairs, in a spiral, at a speed that left Darren wondering how they had not yet crashed and died.      Eventually they made it to the top, after having passed multiple floors, and Jacques slowed to a stop, so he could get out and open the door.  He then went back to driving the hovercar, and brought it out onto the roof of the parking garage the ESS used as a cover for their base.  He drove off the roof, and a few blocks away, before letting everyone out.      “Now what?” Carlie asked.      “Now the three of you go meet up with Diana, while I go back inside for Diego and Marcel,” Jacques said.      “By yourself?” Darren asked.  “Look, I don’t exactly want to have another go in that hovercar, but I think you need me.”      “Maybe,” Jacques said, but then he took off, before Darren could climb back into the hovercar.      “Well, let’s get back to the hotel room then,” Roz said.      “We can’t just abandon them,” Darren said.      “We have the item we were supposed to steal,” Roz said, holding up her bag.  “And whatever I may think of Jacques, him and Diego are some of the best.  If he doesn’t think he needs us for this, I’m inclined to trust him.”      “Fine, we’ll go back to the hotel, and decide our next move from there,” Darren said.      Diego and Marcel ran down the corridor, in the same direction that the rest of the crew had gone.  As the they were approaching the staircase, twelve ESS guards came out, their weapons at the ready.  Marcel pointed his stolen energy pistol at them, and Diego had his whip at the ready, but they knew they were outnumbered.      “Put down the weapons,” the lead guard said.      “Dude has a whip, that’s not much of a weapon,” another one of the guards said with a snicker.      Diego briefly considered it, before slowly putting his whip down, as Marcel put down the energy pistol.      “Cuff them,” the lead guard said, and two of the others went forward to do exactly that, when a sound came from the staircase, and suddenly the hovercar came out, and went over the guards, and landed between them, and Diego and Marcel, on its side.  The bottom was facing the guards.      “Get in,” Jacques said, and both Marcel and Diego climbed in, while Diego grabbed his whip.      Jacques brought the hovercar back into the air, and as they were going back past the guards, Diego flicked his whip outside the hovercar, and knocked the energy pistol out of the hand of the guard that had laughed at it earlier.  The hovercar once again shot up the stairs at a ridiculous speed, but then it started slowing down.      “What are you doing?” Diego asked.      “It’s not me,” Jacques said.  “It’s running out of power.  We’re going to make it to the roof, but that’s about it.”      And sure enough, the hovercar stopped just after exiting out onto the roof.  The three of them got out and went over to the edge of the roof.  It was five stories tall.      “Okay, they’ll have the exits guarded, so we’re going to need to climb down.”  Diego said.  “We should be abled to drop down from level to level without much difficulty.”      “Maybe you can, but I’m not, no, I can’t,” Marcel said.      “Me neither,” Jacques said.  “If I try, we’re going to have another situation like in Boston, at best.”      “The hovercar you were using should have a couple jetpacks in it,” Diana said over the comm.      Jacques checked in the storage area.  “There’s one.”  He handed it to Marcel.      “I’m not leaving you behind,” Marcel said.      “Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea,” Jacques said.  “Just go, and then Diego and I will be right behind you.”      “You’re sure?” Marcel asked.      “I’m sure,” Jacques said.      Marcel strapped on the jetpack, turned it on, and tested it.  It worked perfectly, and he flew off.      “You don’t have an idea, do you?” Diego asked after Marcel was out of hearing range.      “Not really,” Jacques said.      “I could try and help you down my way.”      “Even then, I don’t know.  You should just get out of here.”      “You know I’m not going to leave you behind.”      “Yeah,” Jacques said.      At that moment two dozen ESS guards came out onto the roof.  They did not even say anything, just shot Diego and Jacques with their energy pistols, knocking them both out.      “We have to go back for them,” Darren said.  He was back in the hotel room, with Carlie, Roz, Diana, and Marcel.      “How?” Marcel asked.  “They know all our faces, except for Diana.”      “And I’m not really wanting to go in there,” Diana said.  “I’m strictly a voice over the comm for these kind of jobs.”      “They also know who both Marcel and I am, thanks to him,” Roz said.  “So that introduces even more problems.”      “I had to give them something,” Marcel said.      “So you say,” Roz said.      “And you’re going to need to change identities anyway,” Marcel said.  “That’s why I gave them your name, and not Darren or Carlie’s.”      There was a knock at the door, and everyone looked at each other, before Diana checked the security camera feed in the hotel hallway.  “It’s an older woman,” she said.      “Possibly our employer?” Marcel said.      “But how did she find us?” Roz asked.      Marcel walked over to the door, and opened it.  “Hello?”      “Can I come in?” she asked.  “I believe you have the object you were hired to procure.”      “Diego and Jacques aren’t here, so how do we know that you are our employer?” Marcel asked.      “How else would I know where to find you?” the woman asked as she pushed her way in.  “Now let’s see the object.”      Roz took it out of her bag.      “Excellent,” the woman said as she took out her phone.  “I’ll transfer the money to your accounts right away.”      “And what about Diego and Jacques?” Darren asked.      “They’re getting paid as well,” the woman said.      “Yeah, but they are in ESS custody at the moment,” Marcel said.      “Oh, don’t worry about that,” the woman said.  “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”      Jacques and Diego were in an ESS holding cell.  Diego was pacing, while Jacques was leaning against the wall.  It was a standard ESS holding cell, with walls on three sides, and a forcefield on the fourth.  There were beds and chairs inside, as well as an attached bathroom.  There was even a touchscreen computer built into the wall, but it was not on a network.      “This is my fault,” Diego said.  “You didn’t even want to take the job.”      “It’s fine, we’ve been arrested before, and at least the rest of the team got out.  And thanks to this, Darren will be able to keep his business, Carlie won’t be living on the street anymore, and Roz can start over.”      “Marcel’s going to have to start over too though, and he didn’t need or want to before this.  I may not like the guy, but even still.”      “Yeah, I know what you mean.  Whatever problems I have with Roz, I’m still glad she’ll be able to start fresh.”      “You never really told me what happened between you two.”      “You remember how she used to be dating Sam?”      “Yeah?”      “Do you know who Sam was dating before that?”      “Wait, you and Sam?” Diego asked.  “Really?”      “It was before we met.”      “I mean, obviously.  Pretty sure I know everyone that you’ve dated since we met.  But anyway, what’s our next move here?”      At that moment, someone walked in front of their cell.  It was the woman that had hired them.  “Good day gentlemen,” she said.      “How did you get in here?” Diego asked.      “I work here,” she said.  “Quite impressive work you did, even if the two of you did get caught.”      “Wait, what the hell is going on here?” Jacques asked.      “We needed to test for vulnerabilities in our security,” she said.  “After finding out that you two broke into a former apartment of Jack Masterson last year, we thought you’d be the perfect candidates, and were we ever right.”      “Wait, this whole thing was a setup?” Diego asked.  “Then our crew?”      “They were still paid, and are being let to go their own way,” she said.      “And the two of us?” Jacques asked.      “You’re being transferred to my custody,” she said.  “You see, I’m putting together a team of my own.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #10 The Belly of the Beast

     William was a farmer, not a soldier, and certainly not a knight.  But every man was expected to help against the invaders that were coming.  Most of his fellow farmers were using tools from home, but his brother Dale had been a soldier, at least until he died in battle, and William had his sword now.      He had also heard word that the invading army was not the only threat coming.  There were rumors that Dragons had been sighted in the area.  No one was certain how reliable they were, and if those rumors were true, was there just one clan, or more?  If it was a single clan, that would mean disaster for everyone, but if there were more, they might be too busy fighting amongst themselves.      Either way, it was not like William had much of a choice.  He did not expect to survive the coming battle, but he had no better options.  He could not simply abandon his family, and his father would not abandon the farm.  And even if he would, where would they go?      William went over amongst the group he had been told to stand with.  They were near the woods where the invaders would be coming from.  William looked around at the others he was with.  He recognized most of them.  There were two soldiers with them, but the rest, like William, were not.      One of the soldiers was telling everyone what to do.  They were to hide behind the trees, so the invaders would not see them as they came through, and then to attack them as they passed.  William got into position, and then waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.      He looked around to make to assure himself that everyone was in position, and that’s when he heard it.  It started quiet at first, but then got louder and louder.  The sound of an approaching army.  William stayed in position, until he saw people running past the tree he was hidden behind.  He reached out with his sword, and stabbed one in the neck.      The man he stabbed fell to the ground, dead, but this action revealed him to others, and one came at him.  The enemy soldier had a sword, and tried slashing at William, who barely managed to deflect the blows with his own sword.  He could hear the sounds of other people battling all around him, but he was concentrating on just the one person he was fighting, when suddenly he heard a roar.      The fighting stopped, as everyone looked up and saw Dragons in the sky.  The halt was only for a moment though, before the fighting resumed.  William blocked another blow, but this one was a lot more forceful, and he was pushed to the ground.  He picked up a handful of dirt and threw it at his opponents face, briefly blinding him.  William used that time to stab him in the throat, before getting up, and looking around for someone else to fight.      As the battle raged on, William noticed something emerging from the fortress.  It looked somewhat like the Dragons, but without wings, and with feathers.  It had three horns on its head, and there was a man and a woman riding on it, although William recognized neither of them.  They had some strange objects in their hands though, and something came out of one of them, and hit a Dragon that was coming at them, which caused it to drop to the ground.      William was not sure if it was dead, or just knocked out, but either way, whoever these people were, they had taken down a Dragon.  He cheered, as did everyone else, both on his side, and on the invaders side.  The cheers died out quickly though, as the fighting resumed, and William had to deflect a blow from an approaching opponent.      William looked around after having killed yet another enemy soldier.  Both sides were becoming depleted.  The invaders had even tried retreating at one point, before some of the Dragons had come down and got in the way of that.  At this point, there was an overwhelming feeling of despair amongst everyone on both sides.      He looked back at the fortress, and saw past it to the farmland beyond.  He almost did not see it, as it was blocked by the fortress, but there was a fire at one of the farms.  His family’s farm.  Thoughts of the battle went to the back of his mind, as he took off at a run towards the farm.      As he got around the fortress, he saw that the buildings and fields were engulfed in flames.  He kept running, but even as he did, he knew there was no way anyone could survive that.  A Dragon was flying above it, and was the source of the fire, more flames still coming out of its mouth, but less and less.      The Dragon saw him coming and landed on the ground in front of him.  It hissed at him, and it almost sounded like the beast was speaking some language, but if so, it was one he had never encountered.  He charged it with his sword, but it lifted up its front left leg, and blocked the sword with a claw, before knocking the sword out of William’s hands.      William jumped to the side as its other front leg came at him, and he rolled over to his sword, and picked it up, just as the Dragon came up behind him, and its head came down on him, and it swallowed him whole.  He fell into its stomach, and felt the acid start burning at him.  In the panic, he dropped the sword, and started fumbling around for it, or anything else that he could use.      There were bits and pieces of other semi-digested meals in here, including at least one soldier who was dead, but still mostly intact.  There were not any weapons on him, but William managed to find his own sword, and then climb onto the dead soldier, to get himself out of the acid.      He tried feeling along the edges of the stomach, looking for any soft spots, but it all seemed pretty tough, so eventually he just chose a spot at random, and tried cutting.  It did not go in very far, but it went in a bit, and with nothing else to do, he just kept going at it.      It felt like hours that William had been trying to cut his way out of the belly of the Dragon, maybe it actually had been, but there was no way to tell the passage of time from in here.  But finally he made a cut that shone some light inside.  It was a bright, sunny day outside, as he cut the hole bigger and bigger, until he was able to crawl out.      The dragon was lying on the ground, and it was unmoving, possibly dead from the wounds he had given it to escape.  But that sight only held him for a moment, before he noticed how strange his surroundings looked.  There were no farms here, no trees, no grass, no castle.      What there was were tall buildings, taller than he had ever seen, and made of materials that he did not recognize.  Everything was bright and shiny, and there were people around, watching as he emerged from the Dragon.  There were various emotions on display.  Some seemed scared, others merely surprised, others curious or confused.  There were also some that were shouting something at him, although he could not understand their words.  They appeared to be wearing some sort of uniform.      What was this place that the Dragon had taken him to?  Had he died and this was Heaven?  No, that did not seem right, but he could not think of anything else that could even come close to explaining where he was.  Some of the uniformed people came up to him, and he briefly considered running, but he had no idea where he would run to, so he let them take his sword, and lead him away.

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #9 A Puzzling Encounter

     Charles Thorne wiped away the dirt from the base of the statue, revealing an inscription.  “It looks similar to Mayan,” he said.      “So, you can translate it?” Colonel Geoffrey Gordon asked.      “It’s not that similar,” Charles said.  “And it’s curious, the Mayan civilization was in Central America, not South America.      “Is there anyone else that would be able to translate it?” Major Jon Teleros asked.      “Not anyone I’m aware of,” Charles said.      Captain Aaron Hammer climbed down from the tree he was on.  “There’s some movement a few klicks north from here,” he said.  “Don’t know if it’s anything we need to worry about, but we’re not alone.”      “We’re in the rainforest,” Jon said.  “There’s no such thing as alone around here.”      “I meant people,” Aaron said.  “Unless monkeys have started using Jeeps.”      “Seems unlikely,” Geoffrey said.  “Are they moving towards us?”      “Not at the moment, but you know how trails are around here,” Aaron said.  “All the winding and such.”      “Yeah, get back up there and keep an eye on them, while Thorne tries figuring this statue out,” Geoffrey said.      “Aye, aye, sir,” Aaron said.      A few kilometers north, Harold Thompson was looking at the map as Isabel Reaves was driving their jeep down whatever paths they could find.      “I think we made a wrong turn back there,” Harold said.  “We really should have asked for directions when we went by that village an hour ago.”      “We’re fine, it’s fine,” Isabel said.  “We’re getting closer, right?”      “We are getting closer,” Hiroshi Tanaka said from the backseat.  “The artifact is continuing to glow brighter and brighter.”      “But we might end up running out of paths this Jeep can fit on this way,” Harold said.      “Then we’ll walk the rest of the way,” Isabel said.  “Don’t tell me you’re getting soft in your old age.”      “Don’t worry about me,” Harold said.  “I was old long before you were born, and will continue to be old long after you’re gone.”      “Looks like the Jeep is either not moving anymore, or it’s in deep enough foliage that I can’t get a glimpse of it,” Aaron said.      “You remember what it was like driving out here,” Jon said.  “Fifty bucks says they’re continuing on foot.”      “Canadian or American dollars?” Aaron asked.  “If we’re talking Canadian, I’ve got that on me, and you’ve got a bet.”      “I mean, I was hoping to make a bit more than that, but sure,” Jon said.  “I’ll take your weak-ass money if that’s all you’ve got.”      “Careful there, Major,” Geoffrey said.  “Don’t forget I’m from Canada too.” “Right, sir,” Jon said.  “I meant to say polite-ass money.”      “Much better,” Geoffrey said.  “Any luck yet, Thorne?  I don’t know for certain these people are out here for the same reasons as us, but even still I’d prefer we be quick.”      “I might have figured out something,” Charles said.  He pressed on one of the eyes of the statue, then grabbed the arm, which he was able to twist.  Almost immediately the statue slid to the side, revealing a staircase going underground.  “Correction, I have definitely figured something out.”      Hiroshi chopped away at the foliage as he tried to clear a path.  Isabel and Harold followed after him.      “I still think we could have avoided this if he took a different route,” Harold said.      “Either way, we’re getting close,” Isabel said.  She was now holding the artifact, which was continuing to glow brighter and brighter with every step.      “Wait,” Hiroshi said, holding up as his hand as he stopped.      “What is it?” Isabel asked.      “We’re being watched,” Harold said.  “Up in the trees.”      “Yes,” Hiroshi said.      “By who?” Isabel asked.  “Who else would even know about this?”      “Not a person,” Hiroshi said.  “It’s a jaguar.  It’ll probably leave us alone, as there is much easier prey than the three of us, but it is considering.”      “What do we do?” Isabel asked, as she unslung her rifle.  “Where is it?”      “Don’t shoot it if you don’t have to,” Harold said.  “But it’s over to the left of us, a bit ahead.”      “I have it in my sights,” Isabel said.      “Then keep it there, in case it makes a move,” Hiroshi said.  “But if it doesn’t, we don’t want to alert anyone that we are here if we don’t have to.”      Geoffrey took point going through the tunnel they had found at the bottom of the staircase.  Charles was following behind him, then Aaron, and Jon was talking up the rear.  They had been expecting to need to use their flashlights, but as they had come down, the place had lightened up, although they could not tell the source.      The place was clearly ancient, the walls and ceiling were made of stone bricks, while the floor was just a dirt path, which just made the mysterious light seem even more out of place.      “My money is on magic,” Aaron said.      “You always bet on magic, and you always lose,” Jon said.  “We have yet to discover anything that suggests magic is real.”      “But when we do, that’ll be the day I can say I told you so,” Aaron said.  “You can be wrong a hundred times, as long as you’re eventually right.”      “I’d guess it’s more likely some kind of alien tech,” Charles said.  “This seems similar to some of the stuff from my father’s notes.”      “One day, I’d like to see those notes,” Geoffrey said.      “If I ever find them, I’ll let you know,” Charles said.  “I have no idea where he left them before he died.”      “Speaking of, I’ve been looking into the accident again,” Jon said.  “And I’m starting to think it might not have been an accident.”      “I asked you to leave it alone,” Charles said.  “I don’t want to know the details of how my parents died.”      “Right, sorry,” Jon said.  “Didn’t mean to…      “Wait,” Charles interrupted.      “I was just apologizing,” Jon said.      “No, I mean, over in the wall there.”  Charles pointed to a brick that was a slightly darker shade than the rest.  He went over to it, and pressed it in, causing a section of the opposite wall to slide open, revealing a room.      It looked like a massive lab, but not like a lab any of them had seen before.  It was like something out of a science-fiction movie with all sorts of unfamiliar equipment and materials.      “The jaguar seems to have left,” Isabel said.      “Or it just moved out of our view,” Harold said.      “Either way, it seems we have found what we are looking for,” Hiroshi said as he stepped out of the trees into a small clearing in front of them.      “This is what the artifact was leading us to?” Isabel asked as she looked around.  “A statue and an underground staircase?”      “Presumably what it’s leading us to is down the stairs,” Harold said.      “Someone else is already down there,” Hiroshi said as he looked around the area.  “In fact, I believe the statue was covering the staircase before they opened it.”      “What are we thinking?” Harold asked.  “ESS?  Although it is the Amazon, so it could also be KOKON remnants.”      “A team of three,” Hiroshi said as he bent down and checked the ground.  “No, four.  One of them was in a tree providing lookout while the others presumably puzzled out the statue.”      “Team of four suggests ESS,” Isabel said.      “As does the fact that three of these people were military, and the other was a civilian,” Hiroshi said.      “You can tell that from footprints?” Isabel asked.      “Military tend to all wear similar boots, but one of these guys clearly has more expensive tastes,” Hiroshi said.      “Fascinating,” Charles said as he looked around the lab.  “I don’t know what I was expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it.”      “So, what is all this?” Geoffrey asked as he picked up a small blue cube off a table.      “I haven’t the slightest idea,” Charles said.  “So be careful what you touch.  Who knows what any of this could do.”      Geoffrey quickly put the cube back on the table.      “I think this is some sort of computer over here,” Aaron said from over where he had found a screen.  “I don’t see any kind of mouse or keyboard though.”      Charles went over and looked at the writing on the screen.  “It’s the same language as on the statue.  Also, I think it might be a touchscreen.”      “A touchscreen?” Jon asked.      Charles pressed down on one of the words, and the screen changed to show some images of the ground outside the entrance they had come in.  And they just had the briefest glimpse of someone going down the stairs.      “We’re about to have company,” Geoffrey said.  “Let’s get ready.”      The four each took up a position behind cover where they still had a clear view of the door.      Hiroshi put his finger up to his mouth to indicate silence as he moved towards the door in the hallway.  Isabel and Harold followed after him.  Hiroshi had his sword in one hand, and his gun in the other.  Harold took out his sword, while Isabel grabbed her gun.      “We know you’re out there,” someone said from inside the room.  “What are you doing here?”      “We could ask you the same question,” Harold said.  “You’re ESS, right?”      There was silence for half a minute before the same voice spoke up again.  “What do you know about the ESS?”      “We know that this is a bit outside your jurisdiction,” Hiroshi said.  “You deal with scientific threats, not mystical.”      “I don’t know, I’d say this seems pretty sciencey in here.”      “Are you planning on shooting us if we go in?” Isabel asked.      “Not if you don’t shoot at us.”      Hiroshi put down his gun, but kept it and his sword in his hands as he slowly entered the room.  Just like he had predicted, three military men, and a civilian.      “My name is Hiroshi Tanaka, and these are my associates, Harold Thompson and Isabel Reaves.”      “I’m Geoffrey, and my men here are Jon, Aaron, and Charles,” Geoffrey said, pointing to each member of his team in order.      “No last names?” Harold asked.      “Not for you to know,” Geoffrey said.  “So who exactly are you people?”      “We’re part of an organization you’ve probably never heard of,” Harold said.  “The Custes.”      “Latin for guardians?” Charles asked.      “Our organization was founded at the same time as Rome,” Harold said.      “You said you deal in mystical stuff?” Aaron said.  “I’d definitely like for you to be right, as that’s what my money was on, but this does look pretty high tech.”      “He’s got a point,” Isabel said.  “But the artifact was pointing here, so obviously something’s up.”      “Artifact?” Charles asked.      Hiroshi removed it from one of his pockets, and as he did it glowed very brightly, right before everything went to black.      Aaron woke up with a pounding headache, and looked around.  He was still in a lab similar to the one he was just in, but this one was smaller.  Harold was there as well, and was just waking up too.      “That was strange,” Harold said.      “Any idea what happened?” Aaron asked as he realized that this lab had no doors.  “We’re trapped in here.”      “Must be some kind of security system,” Harold said as he got up.  “Some kind of field to knock us out, and then put us here.  Wherever here is.”      “If it’s supposed to be a prison cell, why lock us up with all sorts of crazy tech?” Aaron asked as he picked a small device up off a table.  He looked it over, and had no idea what it was.      “Maybe it won’t actually do anything,” Harold suggested as he started looking at the different types of equipment available.      “This looks like some kind of high tech bow,” Aaron said picking something up.  He tried pulling back on the bowstring to test the weight, and an arrow made out of energy appeared in it.  “Huh, that’s cool.”  He fired it at a wall, which it hit without doing any seeming damage.      “Be careful,” Harold said.  “For all we know there could be something explosive in here.”      “Right, sorry, looks like there’s different settings on this thing, not sure what they mean though.”      “Let me see,” Harold said and Aaron handed it to him.  “Hmm, yeah, I’m not certain myself.  I’d imagine there are setting for like stun or kill or whatever.”      “Like in Star Trek?  Never much cared for that series.  But we should probably try figuring out what the settings are for certain, it may help us with getting out of here.”      “Yes, and I’m also curious what happened to the rest of our teams.”      Jon got up to his feet.  He was not sure where he had been moved while he was unconscious.  The room he was in was a cube, with walls, floor, and ceiling that were smooth and white, with no doors or windows or anything else.  And the room was completely empty except for him, and Isabel who was also getting up and looking around.      “What happened?” Isabel asked.  “Where are we?”      “I have no idea,” Jon said.  “The last thing I remember was your friend removing that glowy thing from his pocket, and then everything went black and now we’re here, wherever here is.”      “Yeah, that’s what I remember too,” Isabel said.      “What was that thing anyway?” Jon asked.      “It’s a magic artifact that locates other magic artifacts.”      “I’ve been with the ESS for a long time, and there have been multiple instances of something seeming like magic, but they always end up with a scientific explanation.”      “Maybe because most of the time, we deal with the actual magic stuff before you guys ever get there.”      “Uh huh,” Jon said.  He was feeling along the wall, looking for any sort of seam or indent or protrusion, but had yet to find anything.  “I don’t suppose you have any magic tricks to get us out of here.”      “Sorry, I’m not a magic user of any sort myself.  And most of the equipment I have with me is guns.”      “Don’t think those are going to help with our current predicament, but I do appreciate a well armed woman.”      Hiroshi woke up and looked around.  He still had his artifact and it was still glowing, which was good as he was in a dark cave, and it was the only source of light.  But he was not alone he noticed, as Charles was there too, and also waking up.      “What happened?” Charles asked.  “And what’s with this splitting headache?”      “We are not where we were,” Hiroshi said.  “Possibly we were teleported somewhere?”      “Is teleportation a thing?” Charles asked.      “Not that I am aware of,” Hiroshi said.  “I am just throwing ideas out there.”      “We’re in a cave,” Charles looked around.      “A cave with no obvious entrances or exits.”      “So, what do we do?”  Charles started looking along the walls for anything.      Hiroshi did the same.  “This, I suppose.  And if we don’t find anything, we’ll have to figure something else out.”      “And how do we know we can trust each other?”      “I gave you my full name, so I’m showing a bit more trust than you are, Mr. Thorne.”      “You recognize me?”      “My son has been asking for a computer for a while.  The ones made by your company are at the top of his list.”      “Oh, your accent doesn’t sound British.”      “My son has been looking at computers from all over the world.  And he says yours are the best.”      “Well, if your kid has that kind of taste, I suppose that’s a good start for me to trust you.”      Geoffrey woke up and looked around.  He was sitting on a recliner in a normal looking living room.  Not a living room he had ever seen before though.  There was only one door in the room, so he went and opened it, and found a kitchen.  Again, it was a pretty normal looking kitchen, but also one he had never seen before.  There was a man by the oven, who looked to be making an omelette.      “Who are you?” Geoffrey asked.  “Where am I?  What’s going on here?”      “Oh, good morning,” the man said, without turning around.  “You can call me Samuel.  As for where you are, well, that’s a bit more complicated.”      “The last thing I remember, I was in that lab with my team, and those other people, and then what happened?”      “One of the Custes members took an artifact out of his pocket, and that woke me up.”      “So, that lab is yours?”      “Not originally, but I’ve since set up shop there.  It’s a nice enough place to live, if a bit boring.”      “And what’s all this?” Geoffrey indicated the kitchen with his hands, and realized the only door in here was the one back to the living room, other than cupboard doors and the fridge anyway.      “It’s a test of course.”      “A test?  What do you mean?”      “I mean, there’s only one way for you to escape this place, so good luck,” Samuel said before he vanished into thin air.      Geoffrey started looking around the kitchen, and the living room, going back and forth between them, trying to find any clues as to what to do.  The only door connected them, and there were no windows.  He checked the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen, which were well stocked with a variety of foods and dishes, but did not provide any clues, at least not that he could figure out.      He checked under all of the furniture, but found nothing out of the ordinary.  There were three books on a shelf on one of the walls in the living room.  He checked each one in turn, but pulling them off did nothing.  And looking through the books themselves, none of them were in English.  One looked to be Japanese, and another was Russian.  The final one was in Latin, he was pretty sure.      He started looking through the Russian one, flipping through pages, looking for anything in it.  He did not understand Russian, but he was hoping there might be some kind of clue he could find in it anyway.      “Look at that,” Isabel pointed to the ceiling, where a small square had turned blue.      “Huh, I wonder why that happened,” Jon said.  “I haven’t felt any buttons or anything along the walls.  You?”      “No, it’s all been smooth for me.  But speaking of buttons, should we maybe try pressing the blue square?”      “Maybe?  I don’t know, but then, I don’t understand any of what’s happened here.”      “Same, but I have no other ideas, besides maybe just waiting and hoping something else happens.”      “Okay, I’ll boost you up, and you can try pressing it,” Jon said as he put his hands together, palms up.      Isabel stepped on them, and he stood up straight as she tried to stay steady.  She reached up as high as she could, but her hand was still about a foot away from the ceiling.      “Can you reach?” Jon asked.      “Not quite, uh, one second.”  Isabel reached into her jacket and pulled out a rifle, and used that to press the blue square.  As soon as she did, the square turned back to the same white as everything else.  “Huh, not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.”      “Or maybe it’s neither,” Jon said as he let her back down.  “For all we know it did absolutely nothing.”      As Geoffrey was paging through the book, it suddenly vanished, as did the shelf on the wall and the other two books that were on it.  And the part of the wall where the shelf had been turned into a door.  Geoffrey opened it, and it lead to a garage, although one without a garage door.  The only type of door in it was the one he had just opened.      There was a car parked in it, a Honda Accord.  There were also various tools hanging from the walls of the garage.  The wall where the garage door should have been though, was mostly empty, except for the book shelf, with the same three books as had been in the living room.      Geoffrey walked over to them, and considered.  More of this house had been revealed while he was looking at the Russian book, even if he could not actually read it.  So, should he try looking through it again, or perhaps one of the other books.  He grabbed the Japanese book at random, opened it up, and started leafing through the pages.      The cave that Hiroshi and Charles were in suddenly lit up as glowing symbols appeared on the walls.      “Hmm, that’s interesting,” Charles said.  “I don’t recognize the symbols though.  Do you?”      “No,” Hiroshi said.  “If they are a writing of some kind, I am unfamiliar with the language.”      The symbols were all at the same height on the walls, about halfway between the floor and ceiling of the cave, and went around the entire cave.  Hiroshi counted them up, and there were exactly twenty-five, with each of them being unique.  They were a variety of different shapes.      “They might not be letters though,” Charles said.  “It might be some kind of test?”      “But testing what?  The pattern?”      “Maybe,” Charles said.  “If there’s a pattern.  Umm, let’s see, this symbol has four lines in it, then the one to it’s left has five lines, and the one after that has six.  Oh, but the next one has only two.”      “That could still be a pattern, if we count up the lines in all of them,” Hiroshi said.  “Assuming that’s what the pattern is.  And assuming a pattern is even what we are looking for.  But it’s a start, I suppose.”      Geoffrey had been looking through the Japanese book for as long as he had been looking through the Russian book, but nothing had happened as of yet.  At least not in the garage.      He went back into the living room, and it seemed to have remained the same, as did the kitchen when he looked in there.  He wished he could read either of those language, or Latin, so he would at least have an idea of what was in the books.  He returned the Japanese book to the shelf, and then grabbed the Latin book, and started looking through it.      “Look at that,” Harold said as he pointed at a container that contained a green liquid, which had just started boiling.      “What is it?” Aaron asked.      “Not sure,” Harold said.  There were two other containers next to it, one had a purple liquid, and the other had an orange liquid.  There were also three buttons behind them.  One was red, one was blue, and one was yellow.      “A test maybe?” Aaron asked.  “Although it seems a bit of an easy one.  Yellow plus blue equals green, so if it’s a test, presumably we just press both those buttons at the same time.”      “Or we might press just the red one,” Harold said.  “The problem with tests like this is you don’t know what they’re asking, if this even is a test.”      “So, do we just do nothing?” Aaron asked.  “Are we supposed to just sit around waiting?”      “You young people are so impatient.  But if you must do something, go ahead.”      Aaron pressed the yellow and blue buttons at the same time.  The green liquid immediately stopped boiling, and the orange liquid started.  He pressed the red and yellow buttons, and this time the purple liquid started boiling as the orange stopped.  He pressed the blue and red, and then all three started boiling, so he pressed all three buttons.  They all stopped.      “Nothing seems to have happened,” Harold said looking around.      “So possibly that wasn’t the right thing to do?” Aaron asked.  “But at least nothing bad has happened.”      “Not here anyway,” Harold said.  “At least not that we can tell.”      After a few minutes, the books and bookshelf once again disappeared.  Geoffrey looked around the garage, but it still looked the same, other than the missing bookshelf.  He went back into the living room, where there was now a set of stairs where there had previously just been a wall.      He walked up the stairs and found a hallway.  No doors, but the book shelf was now on the wall at the end of the hallway, with the same three books on it.  He went to the end, and picked up the Japanese book again.      Hiroshi and Charles had been halfway through writing down the symbols, when the symbols had disappeared.  But now they suddenly returned.      “Did you figure out any pattern to them?” Charles asked.      “Nothing yet,” Hiroshi said.  “You?”      “Same, there has to be something to them, but I have no idea what it is.”      “Maybe it’s something to do with the amount of them, twenty-five.”      “One less than the English alphabet,” Charles said.  “But if it is the alphabet, just missing one letter, I don’t see how that helps us.  And counting up the number of lines in each symbol hasn’t provided any sort of pattern.  Like look at this bunch in a row, four, four, three, three, three, one.  It almost looks like a pattern, but, doesn’t fit with anything else.”      “Wait, what?” Hiroshi said as he looked at them.      “I mean, it’s hard to decide at some points what to call a line, but I’m pretty much going with curves continue a line, sharp angles separate lines.”      “No, yeah, that makes sense, but that fits the amount of lines per character in my name, if it’s written in hiragana.”      Charles looked at the next bunch of symbols.  One, two, two, two, one, two, one.  “And the rest is my name, but in the English alphabet.  So what does that mean, and what do we do with it?”      Hiroshi put his hand on the symbol that represented the start of his name.  “This maybe?”      Charles put his hand on the first symbol for his name.  Nothing happened.  “Maybe if we each run a hand across our own name?”      They did that, and as they finished the symbols disappeared again.      “Were they disappearing again for the same reason they did before?” Charles asked.  “Because it happened right as we finished what we were doing.”      “Hmm, it’s possible that this time it’s because of what we did,” Hiroshi said.  “But it’s hard to say for certain, and we don’t know the significance either way.”      After a little while, the books and the shelf disappeared once again, and Geoffrey looked around.  The hallway he was in now had a door in it, and he went and looked inside.  It was a master bedroom with a nice large bed, and everything else you would expect to find in a normal bedroom.      And of course there was the bookshelf, with the same three books.  Geoffrey walked up to them, and considered them again.  Clearly they were doing something, although he still had no idea how or why.  And the Japanese book had only caused changes the second time he had looked at it.      He thought about the books, as well as the Custes people he had met.  Hiroshi was definitely Japanese.  Isabel was a name that could be Russian, although her last name Reaves did not sound that way.  And what about Latin?  Maybe Harold was Catholic?  This was all assuming the books were even connected to them.      But without any other ideas, Geoffrey just took a book off of the shelf again.  This time he picked the Latin one again.      In the lab, Aaron was pacing back and forth, while Harold was continuing to look over and study everything.      “Fascinating,” Harold said.      “Learning anything useful?” Aaron asked.      “I don’t know yet.”      As they were talking one of the wall shimmered and a door appeared.  There was a computer panel on the wall next to it.      “Huh, that’s new,” Aaron said as he went over to it.  The door had no handle or knob on it.  Aaron pressed his hands against it and tried to slide it open, but it did not move.      “The computer panel will potentially open it,” Harold said.  “It’ll probably require a code though.”  He touched the computer panel and it lit up with six squares.  Red, blue, yellow, orange, purple, and green.      “Related to the buttons and liquids from earlier?” Aaron asked.      “Perhaps, but again, we don’t really know what it’s asking,” Harold said.      “We might as well try something,” Aaron said.      “Go ahead then.”      Aaron thought back to earlier.  He pressed the green button first, then the yellow and blue buttons simultaneously.  Then the orange, then the red and yellow together.  He then pressed the purple button, then the blue and red at the same time.  He then pressed all three of the green, orange, and purple, followed by all three of the red, yellow, and blue.  The door opened.      “I think you’ve just been overthinking things,” Aaron said.  “Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.”      “Occam’s razor,” Harold said.  “Good point.”      They looked through the door, which lead into an office with a desk and some chairs.  There was a computer and a phone on the desk.  The office had no doors other than the one they were looking through, and no windows.      Aaron went in and picked up the phone, but it was dead.  Similarly, the computer was not on, nor did it turn on when he hit the power button.      Geoffrey was getting used to it as the books and shelf disappeared once again.  He looked around the room, which was unchanged.  He checked out in the hall, which now had an additional door, and going in, he found a small office with a computer and a phone.  No books on a shelf this time though.      He checked the computer first, which was off, and the power button did nothing.  So then he picked up the phone and heard the dial tone.  He dialed an ESS number, but that did nothing.  He tried a few other numbers he knew, including his own, but nothing was working until he tried the number belonging to Aaron.      It rang for a few seconds before it was answered.  “Hello?” Aaron asked.      “Hammer?” Geoffrey asked.  “Are you back at home?”      “Colonel Gordon?” Aaron asked.  “No, I’m in a small office attached to a lab that looks similar to the one we were in, but smaller.  Why would you think I’m at home?”      “Because that’s the number I just dialed,” Geoffrey said.  “I’m in a house of some sort, but there’s no way out, at least not yet.  Is anyone else with you?”      “That Harold Thompson guy,” Aaron said.  “And originally there was no office here, a door to it just appeared a few minutes ago, and we needed to input a code based on some puzzle thing we solved earlier.”      “A puzzle thing?  There was a man here earlier that told me this was a test.  He said his name was Samuel.”      “Weird, but yeah, that was maybe half an hour or so ago.”      “There are three books that keep appearing over here,” Geoffrey said.  “One in Japanese, one in Russian, and one in Latin.”      “Japanese, Russian, and Latin?” Aaron asked.  “Okay.”      “When I look through them, more doors keep appearing in here.  Those two events line up with me looking at the Latin one.”      “One second, Harold would like to talk to you,” Aaron said.      “Hello, this is Harold,” Harold said.      “Do you know what’s going on here?” Geoffrey asked.      “I don’t,” Harold said.  “But those languages you mentioned are interesting.  Hiroshi is Japanese.”      “I gathered as much,” Geoffrey said.      “And Isabel is Russian on her mother’s side,” Harold said.      “And I take it you know Latin?” Geoffrey asked.      “Yes, I most definitely know Latin,” Harold said.  “It’s my first language.”      “I’m sorry, what?” Geoffrey asked.      “The reason isn’t that important,” Harold said.  “Do you have the books on hand?”      “No,” Geoffrey said.  “Every other time a new room has appeared in the house I’m in, the books have been in the new room, but not this time.  I haven’t gone to check the other rooms yet though.”      “I’d recommend you do so, and then we can see if I can translate them,” Harold said.      “Makes sense,” Geoffrey said.  “I’ll be right back.”  He went through the house, checking the hallway, master bedroom, and then going down the stairs and checking the living room, kitchen, and garage.  All were the same as before, and none had the shelf with the books.  He returned to the office and picked up the phone.  “Nope, they aren’t here anymore.”      “Hmm, I don’t suppose you remember anything from them,” Harold said.      “I’m only familiar enough with the languages to recognize them, nothing more,” Geoffrey said.      “That’s unfortunate,” Harold said.      In the cube room where Isabel and Jon were, a book suddenly appeared in one of the corners.  Isabel went and picked it up, and started looking through it.  “I don’t suppose you know any Latin?” she asked Jon.      “Sorry, no.  The only language I can read fluently is English.  I understand bits of others, but not Latin, as it’s not usually that relevant.”      “That’s unfortunate.  If Harold were here, he’d be able to read this.”      “Charles too,” Jon said.  “That guy knows more languages than I’ve had girlfriends.”      “Too bad he’s not the one here then,” Isabel said.      “Well, we’ll just have figure out something ourselves.”      In the cave where Charles and Hiroshi were, Charles was pacing while Hiroshi was sitting on the ground.      “I don’t know how you can remain so calm, when we’re trapped in here, with no apparent way in or out,” Charles said.  “At least when those symbols appeared we had something to work on, but near as I can tell they did nothing.”      “Worry won’t help with the situation,” Hiroshi said.  “All we can do at the moment is wait.”      “Wait for…” Charles trailed off as he noticed a book wedged into the wall.  He was pretty sure it had not been there before.  He pulled it out, and opened it up.  “Are you at all fluent in Russian?” he asked.      “No,” Hiroshi said.  “Isabel is, but I am not.”      “Hmm, I know a bit of it,” Charles said.  “It’s not one I’ve needed to study much, but relations between the USA and USSR being what they are, I’ve picked up a bit of it.”      Harold was still on the phone with Geoffrey, when Aaron came back into the office from the lab.  And Aaron was holding a book.      “No, I have no idea who this Samuel might be, or what these tests are about,” Harold said on the phone.      “The Colonel said one of the books was Japanese, right?” Aaron asked.      “Is that it?” Harold asked.      “It’s a book, and it’s written in Japanese,” Aaron said.      “What’s that?” Geoffrey asked over the phone.      “We have a Japanese book here,” Harold said.      “And it wasn’t here before,” Aaron said.      “Let me see, I know a bit of Japanese.”  He traded the phone to Aaron for the book and started flipping through it.  “Hmm.”      “What?” Aaron asked.      “It seems to be gibberish,” Harold said.  “Like, the katakana and hiragana don’t form any words I know, and the kanji don’t form any coherent statements.”      “Is it possible it’s a code of some sort?” Aaron asked.      “It’s certainly possible, very likely I’d even guess,” Harold said.  “But I don’t know where I’d even begin.”      “Okay, like I said, Russian isn’t one of my specialties,” Charles said.  “But I’m pretty sure this is gibberish.”      “Or it’s another code,” Hiroshi said.      “That’s certainly possible.  Maybe even probable.  But we don’t really have a starting point on how to decode it.”      “What’s the title on the book’s cover?” Hiroshi asked.      Charles looked at it.  “I’m pretty sure it translates to ‘Betrayal of Family’.  So the title sounds like an actual title.  But I have no idea what it could refer to.”      “Hmm, I may have an idea.  I mentioned earlier that Isabel is fluent in Russian.  That is because her mother is Russian, but her father is American.  I won’t go into details, but let’s just say things went badly, and that title sounds like it is referring to her.”      “Strange, but I don’t know if that helps us.  Unless…” Charles opened the book, and took out a pencil, and started writing in it.      “What?”      “I’m trying to see if yeah, on the last page, this might be a cypher, but it was incomplete.  I’m putting in Isabel’s name, and it looks complete, but it’ll take me some time to start decoding the book, and seeing if it’s correct.”      “Well, it’s not like we have anything else to do at the moment,” Hiroshi said.      “What about the title on the cover?” Aaron asked.  “Is that gibberish too?”      “No, the title is actual words,” Harold said.  “It roughly translates to ‘End of a Legacy’.”      “Does that mean anything to you?”      “It might refer to Hiroshi.  His family has long been part of the Custes going back several centuries, but he doesn’t want his kids following in his footsteps.”      “Okay, how does that help us?” Aaron asked.      “I don’t know.”      “Hmm, I think this word maybe means death,” Jon said.  “It’s similar to the French word.  But I’m not sure of the rest of it.”      “‘Death of a Saviour’ maybe?” Isabel asked.      “That looks like it might fit.”      “Plus it seems like it relates to Howard’s history.”      “Oh yeah?  How’s that?”      “It’s…complicated,” Isabel said.      “I’m sure it is, but it’s not like we have much else to do at the moment,” Jon said.      “I’m not telling you someone else’s secrets.  Maybe at the end of all this, he’ll tell you, but they aren’t my secrets to tell.”      “Fair enough.”      “You guys figuring anything out yet?” Geoffrey asked over the phone.      “Maybe,” Aaron said.  “Harold’s been going through the book, and he might have found a cipher that was complete when he filled in Hiroshi’s name.  He’s trying to decode the book now.”      “Well, hopefully he figures something out, I’ve been up and down throughout this house, and have yet to figure anything new out.”      “Yeah, there’s a lot in the lab we have here, but who knows what it even all does.  I did find this cool energy bow though.”      “Energy bow?”      “Yeah, it’s like a bow and arrow, except with energy bolts instead of arrows.”      “That Samuel I talked to said this was a test, but I don’t know, all of these puzzles seem to be rather arbitrary.  Like what is even being tested here?”      “I don’t know,” Aaron said.  “Perhaps he’s just toying with us.  Giving us random situations and seeing how we deal with them.”      “That thought had crossed my mind.  The question is, why?  What is he gaining from this?”      “Hmm, that’s interesting,” Charles said as he was working on decoding the book.      “What is it?” Hiroshi asked.  “Are you finding anything useful?”      “Maybe, not certain yet.  Could you start knocking on the cave walls, and see if you can find a location that sounds hollow?”      “Sure,” Hiroshi said as he started on that.  After a minute or so, he found such a spot.  “Okay, now what?”      Charles went over also, put the book in front of the spot, and then punched the book.  He took it away from the wall to reveal a hole in the wall.  Inside it there was an electrical outlet, and a cord that was not currently plugged in.      “Is that what you were expecting?” Hiroshi asked.      “I really had no idea what to expect.  But we might as well plug it in.”      Geoffrey was pacing back and forth in the office, when the computer suddenly turned on.  He picked up the phone.  “The computer in here just turned on.  Did you guys do anything?”      “No, I don’t think so,” Aaron said.  “The computer here is still off though.”  There was a pause.  “Harold is asking what’s on the computer.”      “Looks like a word processor of some kind.  Nothing’s written in it yet.”  Geoffrey pressed a few keys on the keyboard, spelling out <Hello> on the screen.  “Presumably this is yet another weird test of some sort.  But I have no idea what I should do about it.”      “Well, that’s new,” Isabel said as she looked up at the ceiling, where the word <Hello> had appeared.      “So, someone’s trying to communicate with us,” Jon said.  “But who, and how do we communicate back?”      “Can you hear us?” Isabel asked.  They watched the ceiling, but nothing else immediately appeared.      Jon walked over to the wall, and started tracing his finger in the form of letters.  Nothing appeared though.  “It’s possible there isn’t even a way for us to communicate back.”      “So, we’re not really in a different position than before anything appeared on the ceiling.  This is getting annoying.  Are you figuring out anything with the book?”      “Not really,” Jon said.  “That’s where it would be really nice to communicate back, assuming that hello was from one of the people we know who knows Latin.”      “Aha,” Harold said.      “What is it?” Aaron asked.      “Ask your boss if there is a car in the house he’s in,” Harold said.      Aaron picked up the phone and asked.  “Yeah,” he said after listening.  “There’s a Honda Accord in the garage.  But he says there’s no keys in it.”      “Tell him to check the cupboards, there should be some boxes of cereal, one of which is a sugary kid’s cereal that has a prize inside.  The keys should be in there.”      Aaron told Geoffrey about that.   “Okay, he’s going to check.  What’s this supposed to do though?  He mentioned earlier the garage doesn’t actually have a garage door.”      “I don’t know,” Harold said.  “But it’s something to do, at any rate.”      Geoffrey looked through the cupboards.  He quickly found several boxes of cereal, and tossed them out until he found one that mentioned a prize.  He opened it up, and sure enough, there was a car key inside it.      He went to the garage, and started up the car.  The radio turned on with it.  He heard two people talking, and he instantly recognized one of them as Charles.  He was fairly certain that the other one was Hiroshi.  That just left Jon and Isabel unaccounted for.      Charles and Hiroshi were talking about a Russian book, which explained where that went.  And apparently they had just plugged in a cord a few minutes ago, which lined up with the computer turning on.      But the pressing question now that he could hear them, how could he communicate back to them?  He was not hearing anything about them seeing the message he had typed on the computer, so that was probably not what that was for.      “Clearly we’re missing something,” Jon said.  “That ‘Hello’ is still on the ceiling, we just need to figure out what it means.”      “Maybe we press it like those colored squares that appeared up there earlier?” Isabel asked.      “It’s as a good a theory as any.”  Jon once again lifted Isabel up to the ceiling, and she pressed on the <Hello>.  Nothing happened so she came back down to the floor.      “Okay, we’ve tried responding verbally, and nothing,” Isabel said.  “Pressing it doesn’t do anything either.  What if someone is on the other side of one of the walls?”      Jon walked over to a wall, and started knocking on it.  “Sounds pretty thick and solid.”      “Maybe not the whole thing though?  Let’s see if we can find somewhere that sounds thinner or hollow or something.”      “I suppose it’s as good an idea as any.”      “Do you hear that?” Hiroshi asked.      “Hear what?” Charles asked.      Hiroshi put his ear next to the cave wall, and started walking alongside it.  “Yes, there’s a tapping sound here.”      Charles went over and listened.  It started out as random tapping, but then it turned into morse code.  Charles took out his notebook, and started marking it down.  “Hello, can anyone here us.  This is Jon Teleros and I am with Isabel Reaves.”      “Hmm, that’s good,” Hiroshi said.  “We’ve finally made contact with someone.  Can you respond back?”      “Yeah,” Charles said.      “You hearing that?” Jon said as he listened to the tapping on the wall.  “Someone is responding.  It’s Charles and your friend Hiroshi is with him.”      “That’s great,” Isabel said.  “Or are they trapped too?”      “He’s saying that they’re in a cave.  And yeah, they’re trapped in there.”      “Do you know if that message on the ceiling was from them?”      “I’ll ask,” Jon said, before tapping the message in morse code.  After a bit there was a response.  “No, it wasn’t them.”      “Hmm, so was it some of our other people, or was it someone else entirely?” Isabel asked.      Geoffrey listened as Hiroshi and Charles talked about what Jon and Isabel were telling them.  He was not sure the <Hello> they had seen was the same one he had typed, but it seemed like a decent enough theory.      He returned to the office, and informed Aaron and Harold of what he had learned, while typing a new message on the computer, and going back down to the garage to listen in some more.      “Huh, look at that,” Isabel said as she pointed to the ceiling, where words were starting to appear.      <This is Colonel Geoffrey Gordon, and I am hoping this is being read by Major Teleros and Isabel.  I can listen in on Charles and Hiroshi, and know they can communicate with you.>      “Right,” Jon said.  “I’ll let Charles and Hiroshi know that we’re seeing that, and they can let the Colonel know.”      “Excellent, it’s good that we’re finally making some progress here,” Isabel said.  “At least, I hope this is progress.”      “Okay, so now we can all communicate with each other,” Aaron said.  “Even if some of that communication is limited.”      “Yes, the question is, what do we do next?” Harold asked.  “I suppose the obvious answer is to pass along the contents of each book to those that best understand the language.”      “That’ll take a while.  Like, we have the Japanese book, so we need to tell Geoffrey over the phone so that he can type it out for Colonel Teleros and Isabel, so they can use morse code to tell Hiroshi.”      “It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we can do.”      Over the next several hours they slowly communicated the contents of the book to those that could understand them fluently.  Each book contained a number of instructions and tests and puzzles, and they started working on them.  Some were as simple as finding the right location on a wall to tap, while others were more complex and required things like advanced mathematics, or chemical concoctions, amongst other things.      With every task they completed more was opened up for one of them.  Some caused new rooms to appear in the house that Geoffrey was in.  Others started created tunnels and new caverns in the cave Hiroshi and Charles were in.  And some created more side rooms for the lab that Aaron and Harold were in.  However, nothing new was created in the area that Jon and Isabel were in.      Geoffrey was checking out the new additions to the house.  He had just come up from a newly appeared basement, and decided to check out the garage.  It now had an actual garage door in it.  Geoffrey went over and opened it, revealing a vast emptiness.  It was like space, but without any stars or anything.  He was also not being sucked out into it, and was able to breathe just fine.  He walked to the edge, and put his foot out, but there was nothing solid to step on.      He got into the car, and checked the gas gauge.  Despite how much it had been running, it was still full.  It had been backed into the garage, so he slowly inched forward.  The front of the car started going out into the emptiness, and he continued, until the front wheels were right on the edge of the garage floor.  He slowly continued forward, and the car continued staying level.      He continued on until about half of the car was out of the garage.  He opened the car door, and stuck one of his feet out.  He could not feel any solid ground, and his foot was able to go further below the point that the bottom of the wheels were at.      Geoffrey backed the car back into the garage, and got out.  He went over to the edge, and stuck his foot out again, and he still felt no solid surface beyond the garage, yet somehow the car had still been driving on it.      “There’s nothing in any of the books about that,” Harold said after Geoffrey had told him about what was outside the garage.      “Maybe not, but we’ve done about everything we can find in those books, and this looks like the next step,” Geoffrey said.  “I’m just a bit worried about completely leaving the garage with that car.”      “Understandably so,” Harold said.  “And it brings up so many questions about where you are, and where the rest of us are for that matter.  Is this some sort of illusion, or perhaps a simulation.”      “And if so, how was it created,” Geoffrey said.  “Your team deals with mystical stuff, or so you said, and that’s what you were investigating.  I’ve never put much stock in magic, but this is not like anything the ESS has encountered before.  Or at least nothing that I’m aware of.”      “Honestly, our team has never encountered anything quite like this either,” Harold said.  “And there’s very little our group has encountered that I’m not aware of.”      “Why are all of the other areas expanding, but not this one?” Isabel asked.      “That’s a good question,” Jon said.  “Possibly the nature of this room.  Like the other places are a house, a cave, and some kind of laboratory.  Those are all perfectly regular places, even if the lab is like something from sci-fi, but this is different.  Who would make a room like this?”      “I mean, it’s a pretty good jail cell, if you don’t mind driving your prisoners mad.  Might even be the goal.”      “You feeling like you’re going mad?”      “No, but we haven’t been in here for very long yet.  It also helps that there’s the two of us, so we can talk with each other, but can you imagine being in here by yourself.  Things like the book appearing, or the text on the ceiling from your Colonel.  That would seem like hallucinations before too long.”      “Hmm, so you think that might be the intended purpose of this room?  Then why put us both in it?”      “No idea, but this whole thing just seems so strange,” Isabel said.  “Like, these supposed tests, there’s no rhyme or reason to them.  It just seems so pointless.”      “What if that is the point?” Jon asked.  “What if that person that Colonel Gordon saw is just toying with us, like a kid with a magnifying glass toys with ants.”      “That’s kind of a terrifying thought.  We’ve certainly faced our fair share of powerful beings, I mean hell, the Custes used to assist the wielder of the twin swords of Mars in keeping Alket out of our world, but our organization isn’t exactly what it used to be.”      Geoffrey got back into the car, and started driving forward again.  He slowly drove out of the garage, the front wheels seemingly on a surface which did not otherwise seem to exist.  He kept going until the back wheels were right on the edge of the garage.  He took a deep breath and then continued driving the car forward.  It stayed level.      He kept going, looking out the window, as he was seemingly driving on and through nothingness.  He looked back at the house, which was pretty big, and seemed to be about the right size for what he had all seen so far inside.  But then he noticed something behind the house, a shed.      He drove over to it.  Just like the house it was floating in the void.  He opened the car door, and tried stepping out with a single foot, but just like before he could not find any solid surface with his foot.  He went as close as he could to the shed door, and reached out to open it.  There was floor inside, and he jumped over.  It was dark inside, but he felt around, and found a light switch, which he turned on.      “Good to see you again,” Samuel said.  He was sitting in a chair next to a work desk, whittling away at a piece of wood.  “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me.”      “We’ve been passing your tests,” Geoffrey said.  “It’s time to let us go.”      “Not quite, not quite, but nearing that, yes.”      “What else do we need to do?”      Samuel tossed the wooden object he was working on to Geoffrey.  It was shaped like a duck.  It took him a moment, but luckily not a very long moment, to realize the significance, and duck as something was swung at him from behind.      Geoffrey turned around as he came back up, and punched his attacker right in the side of the face.  The attacker stumbled back into the wall as Geoffrey looked him over, and grabbed a hatchet off a table next to him.  The attacker looked identical to Samuel, and Geoffrey glanced over to make sure Samuel was still sitting where he had been.      “Yeah, I know,” Samuel said.  “He stole my good looks.”      The attacker came at Geoffrey again, with the baseball bat he was holding, and Geoffrey parried the blow with the hatchet, before punching him in the face again with his other hand.  He then brought the hatchet down, and with the blade pointed away, he hit the attacker in the legs tripping him.      Geoffrey then held the blade of the hatchet to his attacker’s throat.  “Who the hell are you?”      “My name is irrelevant,” he said.  “But I will not allow you to free him.”  His eyes glanced at Samuel.      “I’m trying to free myself and my team,” Geoffrey said.  “As well as that Custes team.  I wasn’t even aware Samuel was trapped here.”      “Samuel, is that what he called himself?”      “It’s a decent enough name,” Samuel said.  “And at least somewhat appropriate.”      “You are a pretender, a fake.”      “Would someone tell me what the hell is going on here,” Geoffrey said.      “All you are seeing is an illusion,” the attacker said.  “He has created it in order to trick you into helping him escape.”      “Is this true?” Geoffrey asked.      “He’s the one that attacked you, not me,” Samuel said.  “It’s true that I am trapped here, and would like to leave, but the same is true of you and your people.”      “Then why the deception?” Geoffrey asked.      “Because he knew you would never agree to the final thing that he needs to do to escape.”      “Luckily for me, that’s all that remains,” Samuel said as he disappeared in a flash of light.      Hiroshi was flipping through the Russian book.  He did not understand any of it, but they had already translated most of it.  “What about this page?” he asked as he compared it to the notes they had.  “I’m not seeing a translation of this.”      “Hmm?” Charles asked as he looked.  “Oh, that’s nothing major, I was able to translate that page on my own, and didn’t need Isabel’s help.”      “What is it about?” Hiroshi asked before Samuel suddenly appeared in the cave.  “Who are you?”      “I’m Samuel, and it is time.  He can’t hear right now.”      “Time for what?” Hiroshi asked before he felt something piercing into his back and out his chest.  He looked down at a sword blade, and looked back at Charles holding it.      “I’m sorry, you seem like a nice enough guy,” Charles said.  “But that page explained what was required to let the rest of us go, and I for one have no intention of being trapped here.”      Hiroshi fell to the ground as the world went dark.      Jon blinked, and suddenly he was back in the lab he had originally been in.  Isabel was still with him, and Charles, Aaron, and Harold were there as well, as was someone he did not recognize.      “What happened?” Jon asked.  “Who’s that, and where’s the Colonel?”      “And where is Hiroshi?” Isabel asked, turning to Charles.      “I’m Samuel, and I’m not really certain why your Colonel isn’t here, although Hiroshi isn’t because he’s dead.  It’s been fun, but I am off now.”  With that Samuel disappeared.      “Hiroshi is dead?” Isabel asked.      “That Samuel killed him,” Charles said.  “He said it was the only way to escape.  I tried to stop him, but there was nothing I could do.”      “You…he…no,” Isabel said.      “I’m sorry for your loss, but we still need to figure out why Colonel Gordon isn’t here,” Jon said.  “And I’m not sure if we’re really equipped to deal with this Samuel anyway.”      “Unfortunately, I think you are correct,” Harold said.  “But I’m not sure what we can do to help your Colonel either.”      “What do you mean?” Geoffrey asked.  “What’s the final thing for him to escape?”      “It has to do with how we were trapped here.  You and your people were simply trapped by the illusion that he had created, with him free they are now as well, but I have kept you here, for two reasons.  The first is so that I can explain.”      “I thought you were trying to keep him trapped, but you’re trapped too?”      “I am indeed.  There are multiple locks on this place, which is why he had you go through those bizarre tests, to unlock them, because we are unable to.  But after all of the locks are undone, there is one final thing that he needed to do to escape.  Someone had to die.”      “He killed someone?”      “He is unable to kill anyone himself, or at least was unable while here.  One of the members of your team was made to kill one of the members of the other team that was with you here.”      “Who was it?”      “I could tell you, but it matters not.  You see, with him free, I need to free myself as well, in order to stop him.”      “That the second reason you kept me here,” Geoffrey said.  “You want to kill me.”      “I do not want to kill you, but I have my duty.  And unlike him, I am able to do so while trapped here.”      “I beat you once.”      “I underestimated you.  That will not happen again.”      Jon, Aaron, Charles, Harold, and Isabel were still in the lab, when the guard who looked just like Samuel appeared.  Everyone immediately pointed their guns at him, except Charles who did not have any.      “You bastard,” Isabel said.  “You killed Hiroshi.  Give me one good reason I shouldn’t end you now.”      “I am not the one you know as Samuel, I have simply taken the same form as him.  And I must chase after him to capture him and return him to this prison.  Although I must apologize first for what I had to do in order to get out myself.  I had to kill Colonel Geoffrey Gordon, and for that I am sorry.”      “You what?” Jon asked, but the guard had already disappeared before he was finished asking.      “So, now what?” Aaron asked.  “We’ve lost our commanding officer, they’ve lost one of their team, every answer we’ve got here has just lead to more questions.”      “We’ll head out, let HQ know what happened here,” Jon said.      “Please don’t tell them about us,” Harold said.  “It’s already become increasingly difficult for us to operate this past century.”      “Does it even matter?” Isabel asked.  “Our organization once had hundreds of members.  Now it’s the two of us.  We already can’t be what we need to be.  Maybe it’s time to let someone else take over.”      “There are still others that are still around,” Harold said.  “Some might return.  Leonardo and Nicholas are two I know that I can still contact.  And we could try recruiting more.”      “Hiroshi was the person that recruited me, and he was the reason I stuck with the group as it dwindled,” Isabel said.  “You can try rebuilding if you want, but I think I’m out.”      “And I’m sorry, but I can’t leave you out of my report,” Jon said.  “Whatever happened here was much bigger than any of us, and I can’t take the risk of leaving out anything.”      Harold sighed.  “I understand, I just hope you understand the severity of what you’re doing.  The Custes have existed for over two thousand years, and have protected humanity against innumerable threats.  Your ESS is still a young organization, with much to learn.  I just hope you are able to deal with the threats we will no longer be around to handle.”      “You could always come join us,” Aaron said.  “Teach us what we need to know.”      “Hmm, me as a teacher?” Harold asked.  “Maybe, I’ll have to consider it.”      “If either of you are interested in joining the ESS, I can help with that,” Jon said.      “I don’t know what my plans are now,” Isabel said.  “I just don’t know.”      “I may assist in an advisory role,” Harold said.  “But I have no interest in becoming an actual agent.”      “I understand, but the invitation is there, if you ever choose to accept,” Jon said.  “But for now, let’s just get out of this place before anything else happens.”

[ericbarkman]

Chrono Hustle #44 Shit Hits the Fan

     “It’s not a coma,” Doctor Jeri Quill said as she examined Jack Masterson’s body.      “You’re certain?” Harkon Smith asked.      “I think I can recognize a coma when I see one,” Jeri said.  “Especially considering why I was originally brought into this group.”      “Sorry,” Harkon said.  “What is it then?”      “Well, it is something I recognize,” Jeri said.  “He’s lost his mind…literally, I mean.  It’s like Imhotep’s body after we transferred his mind to a clone body.”      “How did that happen?” Harkon asked.      “I couldn’t even begin to speculate,” Jeri said.  “Imhotep is doing some research, to see if he can find anything, but he doesn’t have any theories yet either.”      Elsewhere in their base in the Cretaceous, Melinda Summers had brought Cid into the interrogation room.  He actually looked rather amused as he sat down.      “You didn’t tell me you were time travellers,” he said.      “What do you know about time travel?” Melinda asked.      “Rumors and hearsay, mostly.  Is this really necessary though?”  He lifted up his hands, which were handcuffed together.      “Probably not, but they’re staying on.  What did you do to Jack?”      “Like I said, I was just running tests on his powers.  It was completely harmless.  Just an observation spell.”      “So you claim, but we have only your word on that.”      “Something I’m wondering is why you approached me in the first place,” Cid said.  “I didn’t reach out to you, you came to me.”      “We were pointed in the direction of that bar, and you were the most powerful individual there.  That’s why I approached you.”      “Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” Cid said.  “I mean, it’s basically a shot in the dark sort of logic, but I’m guessing you don’t have many better options at the moment for whatever problem you were already dealing with.”      “And now, thanks to you, we have another problem.”      “Like I said, I didn’t do anything,” Cid said.  “Not anything that would have resulted in this anyway.  It’s just a coincidence.”      “What were you thinking?” Mary Bishop asked as she paced back and forth in her girlfriend’s room.      “I was thinking that I’m mostly useless now that I’m trapped here on base,” Abigail Esau said.  “But there was something useful I could do.  The Ghost of Jack’s temporal duplicate was trapped in Merlin’s dream, and I could get him out.”      “Barely,” Mary said.  “You were almost trapped in there with him.”      “But I wasn’t.”      “And nobody knows why you weren’t.”      “Because I made a backdoor on my way in.”      “I talked with Imhotep about that,” Mary said.  “And I had Ghost Jack check with Sesla.  Neither of them understand how you managed that.”      “Since when do you put stock in what Sesla says?  I mean, I know supposedly I’m the one that becomes Sesla in the future now, but the one here on base is still from a previous future, before that was the case.”      “You’re the one that supposedly becomes Sesla,” Mary said.  “I’m still not entirely convinced on that.  But aside from that, there’s the fact that Imhotep said the same thing.  And him I trust.”      “But you don’t trust me?” Abigail asked.      “Of course I trust you, but this sort of magic is new to you.  I’m just worried, and I don’t want to lose you.”      Philip Wilson was down in the holding cell area, feeding all the prisoners they currently had.  They did not have that many anymore, since joining the TDD and thus releasing most of the TDD and TRD agents that they had been holding.  But they still had a few, including Aphrodite.  She was always the prisoner that Philip most disliked seeing.  That said, he was not exactly thrilled when he got to her cell, and did not see here.      He checked the computer panel in front of her cell, and ran a scan to check if she was just somehow invisible, but the scan did not reveal anything.      “Philip to Harkon,” he said over the comm.  “We have a problem.  Aphrodite isn’t in her cell.”      “Is it still closed?” Harkon asked.      “Yeah, the scan shows it’s empty, but I still figured it might be a trick.”      “I’ll send Imhotep and Ghost Jack down there.  Meanwhile, I’ll put the base on high alert.  I really don’t like the timing on this.”      Melinda heard the base alarms go off.  “Melinda to Harkon, what’s going on?” she asked into her comm.      “Aphrodite seems to be out of her cell,” Harkon said.  “Are you still with Cid?”      “Yeah,” Melinda said, glancing at him.      “Is something going on?” Cid asked.  “Those alarms definitely seem to indicate there is.”      “I’ll see what I can get out of him,” Melinda said.      “Wait, do you think whatever is going on is linked to me?” Cid asked.      “There’s a certain situation that’s been under control for a good long time, you show up here and suddenly it’s no longer under control.  You tell me how that sounds.”      “It sounds like yet another coincidence.”      “Quite a lot of coincidences around you,” Melinda said.      “Almost like they’re being caused by someone,” Cid said.  “You wouldn’t happen to have anyone like that around here, would you?”      “What are you talking about?” Melinda asked.      “I’m not detecting any magic within the cell,” Imhotep said.      Ghost Jack floated into the cell, and moved around it.  “And I’m not finding anyone.”      “So, then she has escaped for certain,” Harkon said.  “I’ve checked the security footage, but it’s been altered.  It’s still showing her in there.  Theories on how she escaped?”      “Like I said, I’m not detecting any magic,” Imhotep said.  “It could be something I’m unable to detect, but more than likely it’s something else.”      “What about Tyson Randall?” Ghost Jack asked.  “Could this finally be the outcome of that message we had to deliver to him?”      “It’s certainly what I’m thinking,” Harkon said.  “The problem is we know nothing about him other than the name, and what little we’ve heard from Aphrodite.  For all we know, Cid is really Randall.”      “Or even just working with him,” Ghost Jack said.  “Or he might not be connected at all.  There’s too many questions right now, and not enough answers.”      As they were talking, the lights suddenly went out.      “Harkon to anyone, what just happened?” he asked over the comm.  There was no response.      “Did you do that?” Melinda asked Cid after the power went out.      “No, none of this is my doing,” Cid said.      “Comms out too,” Melinda said.  “And even the emergency lights are out.”  She took a glow stick out of her pocket to provide some light.      “Some kind of EMP?” Cid asked.      “Our equipment is protected against that,” Melinda said.  “Probably something mystical, which continues to point squarely at you.”      “On the other hand, if I was behind this, wouldn’t I have rushed you as soon as the power went out?” Cid asked as he put the handcuffs, that were previously around his wrists, onto the table in front of him.      “Just stay where you are.”  Melinda unholstered her energy pistol. “Is that even going to work?”      “I can still use it as a bludgeon to knock you out if I need to.”      “Do you have any candles in here?” Mary asked.      “No,” Abigail said.  “Why would I have candles?  Aha, here’s a flashlight, but it doesn’t work.  Wait, let me try something.”      “What kind of something?” Mary asked before the room started lighting up from a glow emanating from Abigail’s hands.  “You can make your hands glow?”      “Yeah, that was another of the spells I found when looking through Merlin’s journals.”      “Cool, but we should start figuring out what happened here.  And we should probably stop by my room so I can grab my gun.”      “I don’t know if energy weapons will work after whatever happened.  I mean, lights are out, comms are down, even the air conditioning is off.”      “I have a regular shotgun as well,” Mary said.  “I assume that’ll work.”      In the time door room, Dorian Winters was searching through the supply cabinet, until he found some glow sticks.  He cracked one to provide some light, and stuffed the rest into his pockets.      He then went and checked the time door, which was just as dead as everything else on the base.  He heard the regular door being pried open, and turned around to see Philip come in.      “What happened?” Philip asked.      “No idea,” Dorian said.  “Power just went out completely.  Even stuff on their own power supplies aren’t working.”      “Yeah, has there been any time door activity?”      “Not since Melinda’s team came back.  What I’m curious about is if time doors in other eras can still connect to ours with it dead.  We can’t connect out, but I have no idea about the opposite.”      “Then we better stay here for now,” Philip said.  “Just in case.”      In the holding cell area, Harkon was just finishing checking over all of the occupied cells, to make sure they were still secure.  In case of a power outage they would remain locked, but he wanted to make sure that nothing had gone wrong.  Imhotep had created a ball of light to provide illumination.      “Looks like they are all secure,” Harkon said after checking the last one.      “At least that’s one piece of good news,” Imhotep said.  “What do we do next?”      “For now, while Ghost Jack is flying around the base trying to make contact with everyone, we wait here.”      Mary pointed her shotgun at the wall as a new light source suddenly appeared out of it, before realizing that it was just Ghost Jack.      “What’s going on?” Abigail asked, as Mary lowered the shotgun.      “Power’s out,” Ghost Jack said.      “Yeah, we kind of figured that out,” Mary said.      “And my mother is out of her cell,” Ghost Jack said.      “Aphrodite’s free?” Mary asked.  “That’s not a good sign.”      “Yeah, she got out before the power went out through, so not sure exactly what happened,” Ghost Jack said.  “I’m just trying to find out how everyone is doing.”      “Did you check the time door room?” Mary asked.      “Yeah, just went there, Philip and Dorian are guarding it, but it’s just as dead as everything else.  And it seems unlikely that Aphrodite went through it before power went out.”      “That’s good at least,” Abigail said.  “I think.”      Melinda went down a corridor, with Cid walking in front of her so she could keep an eye on him.      “How many people do you have here with magical abilities anyway?” Cid asked.      “Why does it matter?” Melinda asked.      “Well, what I’m sensing isn’t quite making sense.  Like, I’m sensing three Demigods, one with probability warping, and one of whom is dead?  And two really powerful beings, both in comas.  Plus a depowered God.”      “Well, assuming you’re being truthful, that at least indicates Aphrodite is still here.”      “But I’m also feeling flickers of something else, something more encompassing?”      “Encompassing?”      “Yeah, like it’s everywhere here.  And it almost feels familiar?”      Melinda shrugged.  “Don’t know what you’re talking about there.  Unless L is around again.”      “L?”      “Never mind.”      A thought had come to him.  He did not know why that felt so strange, yet it did.  And then another thought came to him, as he thought about the first.  He tried to look around himself, but he could not see or hear or smell or taste or touch.  He could feel though, although not in a manner that felt familiar.  Well, no, that was not entirely accurate, there was a certain level of familiarity but he did not know why.      As more and more thoughts came to him, some of them memories, he started figuring out who he was.  He was Jack.  Jack Masterson, that was it.  But he felt another Jack was nearby.  That was right, it was the Ghost of his temporal duplicate.  The meaning of those words was not entirely clear to him yet, but he was getting there.      Something had happened, but what was it?  He remembered trying to use his powers.  What were his powers?  Someone was trying to observe him, observe his powers.  Who, why?  And how did he get here?      He was back at base, that he was certain of, but the base was in another time and place, not where whatever had happened was.  His body was here, he could sense that too now.  Perhaps he was still tied to it?  But why would he not be, why did that idea seem strange to him?      An out of body experience, was that what this was?  But why and how?  Was he a Ghost too now, just like his temporal duplicate?  Those words were starting to gain meaning, as he continued trying to puzzle through the current situation.      It seemed like he should be panicking at such a strange situation, but he was too confused to even consider that.  Others were panicking though.  Why?  The base was dark, other than brief bits of illumination here and there, wherever people had found ways to get some light.      And that is when the realization hit.  His first thought he had since leaving his body, that was the cause of the darkness.  He had caused it, though he did not yet know the reason why.      “There’s someone coming this way,” Philip said as he aimed his gun at the door.      Dorian did the same, as they both ducked behind computer consoles, just in case.  Aphrodite came running into the room, a glowing orb in her hand.  She ran straight for the time door controls, and swore after noticing they were dead.      “Freeze,” Philip said as he stood up, his gun trained on her, and Dorian following his lead.      “Oh, it’s you two,” Aphrodite said.  “What are your names again?”      “Just don’t try anything, and we won’t have to shoot you,” Philip said.      “Do you also want me to drop this?” Aphrodite asked as she dropped the orb to the ground.      The room lit up, blinding Philip and Dorian.  They started firing in the direction of Aphrodite, but did not hear any hits on her, just the wall.  Then Philip felt someone behind him, who got him into a chokehold.  He tried breaking it, but was held firm.      The inability to breath was bringing him closer and closer to unconsciousness, when his sight returned to him, and he saw Dorian was already unconscious on the ground.  There was a man standing over him that Philip did not recognize.  And with that, he passed out.      “How is everyone?” Harkon asked as Ghost Jack returned to him and Imhotep.      “Everyone seems in good shape,” Ghost Jack said.  “Philip and Dorian are keeping guard in the time door room, but the time door is as dead as everything else on base.”      “And Aphrodite?” Imhotep asked.      “I didn’t see any sign of her,” Ghost Jack said.  “But with the time door down, she’s presumably trapped here.”      “Unless she has another way out of here,” Harkon said.  “And I don’t imagine she would have taken out the power if it would trap her here.”      “Assuming she is the one that took it out,” Imhotep said.  “I have been sensing something strange.  I’m not sure what it is, but there’s some sort of force at work here.  It doesn’t feel malicious though.”      The time door room, it was empty, Jack realized.  That should not be the case.  He concentrated on it, and realized that he could see what had happened there.  His mother was behind it, but not alone.      Who was the other individual that she was with.  The name Tyson Randall came to his mind, though he did not remember what it signified.  It felt like it was someone important, but not someone he knew.  Someone he knew of perhaps?  It would come to him eventually.      He realized that he should try contacting someone.  But who?  And how?  He needed to let someone know what was happening to him, but he did not even know what was happening to him.  He started looking around the base, trying to figure out where everyone was.  Stationary people were easier to locate, but he could also find people that were on the move, with a little more work.      Mary put up her hand, signalling to Abigail to stop walking.  She moved forward, shotgun first, and poked around the edge of a corner.  She saw Aphrodite, who was carrying an unconscious Philip.      “Freeze,” Mary shouted as she went around the corner, her shotgun trained on Aphrodite.      “Really dear?” Aphrodite asked.  “Are you really going to risk shooting your friend here?” She held Philip in front of herself.      “What the hell is going on?” Mary asked.  “How did you get out, and how did you shut off the power?”      “How did I shut off the power?” Aphrodite asked.      “Was that not you?” Abigail asked as she came up behind Mary.      “I want to escape this place, and the lack of electricity is making that a bit difficult,” Aphrodite said.      “But if not you then who?” Abigail asked, right before gunfire started coming from behind.      Mary turned around, to start returning fire, at the attacker, a man she did not recognize, who quickly withdrew and ran off.  But the distraction had given Aphrodite time to escape.      “Dammit,” Mary said before looking at Abigail, who was on the ground leaning against the wall, and bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds.  “Shit, shit, shit.”      “There was a fight nearby,” Cid said.  “I just sensed the probability warper get injured.”      “How nearby?” Melinda asked.      “I think one or two floors up,” Cid said.  “Probably pretty close to straight up.”      “There’s a stairway just over there.”  Melinda pointed.  “Lead the way.”      “You know your base layout better than I do.”      “Yeah, but I want you where I can see you.  Plus, you’re the one that can sense people.”      “I can sense magic.”      “Close enough, let’s go.”      “What happened?” Jeri asked as Mary carried Abigail into the infirmary, which was lit by a bunch of glow sticks.  She had been bandaged up with pieces of cloth ripped from both her and Mary’s outfits, clearly keeping her from bleeding out, and was currently passed out.      “She got shot by someone working with Aphrodite,” Mary said as she put Abigail down on one of the beds.      “Right,” Jeri said as she got to work.  “Ghost Jack filled me in on what he knew, and I’ve been waiting here in case anything happened.  Unfortunately I’m somewhat limited in what I can do.”  She finished cutting off Abigail’s shirt, and checked her front and back.  “Exit wounds for all but one entry wound.”      “What do we do?” Mary asked.      “Get some proper bandages from the cupboard over there, while I see if I can remove the bullet that’s still inside.”      “Right.”      Jeri felt inside the wound.  The bullet was pretty deep, but she felt like it was removable.      “Is she going to be okay?” Mary asked.      “Maybe,” Jeri said.  “The problem is that without medical scanners, it’s hard to judge how much internal damage there is.”      “We’ve got a problem,” Ghost Jack said as he once again returned to Harkon and Imhotep.  “Dorian and Philip aren’t in the time door room anymore.”      “That’s not a good sign,” Harkon said.  “Best case scenario it means that something happened which was big enough for them to leave it unguarded.”      “And worst case, something happened to them,” Ghost Jack said.      “What do we do?” Imhotep asked.  “Continue guarding the prisoners?”      “Where there any indications of what happened there?” Harkon asked.      “Nope,” Ghost Jack said.  “It looked about as normal in there as it can while being empty and dark.”      “Go and find someone else to come down here and guard the prisoners,” Harkon said.      “Got it,” Ghost Jack said.      “Imhotep and I will go to the time door room, and see what we can figure out,” Harkon said.  “Maybe see if you can find a few other agents to join us there as well, but make sure there’s enough down here first.”      “Understood,” Ghost Jack said before flying off.      Jeri carefully entered the wound with a pair of tweezers, moving them towards the bullet.  She knew exactly where it was, and just had to get the tweezers far enough in to grab it.  As the tweezers hit something solid, she carefully grabbed it with them, before starting to pull them back out, slowly.      As they came out, the bullet in them, she dropped it in the sink.  “Okay, get me those bandages now,” she said, and Mary started giving them to her as she first bandaged up that wound.      She then moved on to replacing the makeshift bandages on the other wounds, one at a time, along with disinfecting them all as she went.      “Okay, that’s all we can do for now,” Jeri said.  “At least until we get the power in the base back up, all we can do is keep an eye on her, and hope for the best.”      “What happened?” Melinda asked as she came into the infirmary with Cid.      “We ran into Aphrodite and some man I didn’t recognize,” Mary said.  “He shot Abigail.  I’m assuming it’s Tyson Randall.”      “Tyson Randall?” Cid asked.      “That name means something to you?” Melinda asked.      “I mean, I’ve heard the name before,” Cid said.  “Mostly rumors and such.”      “What do the rumors about him say?” Melinda asked.      “Some say he’s an immortal as he’s been seen in so many different eras.  Others say that’s because he’s a time traveller.  I never really had a preference in the debate, but considering when we are, I’m guessing the latter is more likely.”      “That’s doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know,” Melinda said.      “Well, unfortunately that’s all I’ve heard,” Cid said.      In the time door room, Harkon and Imhotep had just entered and were looking around.  Nothing seemed out of place to Harkon.      “Can you use your magic to detect anything in here?” Harkon asked.      “Aphrodite was definitely here,” Imhotep said.  “I don’t know what she did, but she was here.”      “Hmm, so that means she’s probably trapped here.  Probably came here with the intent to use the time door, which indicates that she doesn’t have another way out of here.  We just keep circling the same questions, without any good answers.  Okay, so assuming Tyson Randall did come here through some other method, that means either he just released her from her cell, and then left without her, or he’s stuck here too.”      “The second one, probably” Ghost Jack said as he flew into the room through a wall.  “I was just in the infirmary, and Abigail was shot by a man that was working with Aphrodite.”      “Is she okay?” Harkon asked.      “Hopefully,” Ghost Jack said.  “Jeri did what she could, but with the power being out, most of her equipment is useless.”      “I’ll head down there and try some healing magic,” Imhotep said.  “That might help.”      “Yes,” Harkon said.  “That’s a good call.  Jack, did you finish getting agents to guard the prisoner cells and to come up here?”      “Yeah,” Ghost Jack said.  “There are agents on their way here.”      “Okay, next up I’d like you to try and locate Aphrodite and her partner,” Harkon said.  “I don’t suppose you’ve seen any sign of them yet?”      “I haven’t seen them yet, just what they’ve done to Abigail, and the fact that Philip and Dorian are missing,” Ghost Jack said.      “Yes, well, hopefully they aren’t able to hide forever,” Harkon said.  “And if the partner is indeed Randall, and he is also trapped here, then I am really curious on who took out the power.”      Jack continued to try and reach out to someone, anyone.  He had so far made attempts to communicate with half a dozen different people, all to little success.  Then as he was mulling over what to do, he finally located Aphrodite.  She was with a man, presumably this Tyson Randall name that was stuck in his head.      They also had Philip and Dorian with them, both of whom were unconscious.  And they were bleeding.  Not enough to cause a problem, but enough to give Aphrodite some blood she was using to draw on the ground.  That was not a good sign.      He looked around near them, and discovered the Ghost of his temporal duplicate was not far from the room they were in.  It was living quarters, but ones that were currently not in use.      Jack concentrated on Ghost Jack and just thought the word LEFT as hard as he could.  He then watched as Ghost Jack hesitated for a moment, before turning left.  He tried flying through the wall, into the room where Aphrodite and the others were, but as he did, one of the blood drawings briefly glowed, and Ghost Jack was bounced backwards away from the wall.      “Hmm,” Imhotep said as he used his magic to check on Abigail’s condition.  “There is some internal bleeding, but I don’t think it’s anything I can’t repair.”      “That’s good,” Mary said.  “So, she’ll recover fully?”      “I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t,” Imhotep said.  “She may have to limit her physical activity for a while afterwards, but she should be fine.”      Just outside the infirmary, Harkon was talking with Melinda and Ohm, who had also found his way to this part of the base.  They had just finished going over what each of them knew.      “So, what now, sir?” Melinda asked.      “Hopefully Ghost Jack finds Aphrodite and we’re able to capture her,” Harkon said.      “And if not?” Ohm asked.      “Not to worry,” Ghost Jack said as he floated up through the floor.  “I’m pretty sure I’ve found where she is.  There’s a room I’m not able to enter, some sort of mystical field in the wall just pushed me back out.”      “That’s worrying,” Melinda said.  “She shouldn’t have her powers, although it’s possible she knows some spells that she can use beyond that.”      “There’s something else though,” Ghost Jack said.  “The way I found them.  I just felt this sudden urge to turn left, and that’s how I thought to check the room.”      “Your knowledge powers, maybe?” Ohm asked.      “Maybe,” Ghost Jack said.  “I’m not as experienced with those as the other Jack, but I don’t know, this felt different.  Less like suddenly knowing something, and more like…almost like a voice in my head.”      “Who’s voice?” Melinda asked.      “Umm, I don’t know, I suppose my own voice,” Ghost Jack said.      “You don’t think the other Jack might be reaching out somehow?” Harkon asked.      “Maybe,” Melinda said.  “You were saying that Imhotep has been feeling a presence of some sort, and that Jack’s mind is no longer in his body, which also tracks with some of what Cid’s been saying.”      “So, he’s a Ghost too?” Ohm asked.      “No, he’s not a Ghost,” Ghost Jack said.  “I can assure you of that.”      “But he might be astral projecting,” Harkon said.  “It’s certainly a possibility.”      Astral projecting?  Jack considered the words as he listened in on the conversation.  They did not quite convey what had happened to him, but they were not far off either.  In any case, at least his friends finally had an idea that he was around.      But what was the next move.  His situation was not the pressing issue at the moment.  He checked in on Aphrodite again, and she was still writing on the walls and floor with blood.      He concentrated on Ghost Jack again, and thought BLOOD MAGIC RITUALS.  He saw as Ghost Jack briefly flinched, and then was telling the others what he had just heard in his mind.      Imhotep looked over as Ghost Jack, Harkon, Melinda, and Ohm came back into the infirmary.      “Do you know anything about blood magic rituals?” Ghost Jack asked.      “A bit,” Imhotep said.  “Why?”      “I think that’s what Aphrodite is using,” Ghost Jack said.      “Make sense,” Imhotep said.  “She’d be able to do those even without any magical power herself, assuming she knows what she’s doing.”      “We need a way to bypass whatever protective fields she’s put up around the room she’s in,” Harkon said.      “What about teleportation?” Mary asked.  “Assuming our ship still has power, couldn’t Ghost Jack fly up there and use it?”      “Without a teleporter inside the room, there’s no way to get anyone in,” Melinda said.      “We do already have people inside the room,” Ohm said.  “Is there any way to wake them up?”      “There…there might be,” Abigail said, starting to wake up.  “Ow.”      “Try not to move to much,” Jeri said.  “You were pretty hurt back there.”      “Right, yeah,” Abigail said.  “But there might be a way, not exactly to wake them up, but to temporarily take possession of their bodies.  It’s similar to the spell I used to enter Merlin’s dream.”      “Hmm, I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” Harkon said.  “But I don’t know that there’s a better option.  We need to stop Aphrodite and her associate before they do whatever it is they are trying to do.”      Jack considered the plan his friends were making.  It was not a perfect plan, but then, he was not certain there was such a thing in this situation.  Perhaps he should turn the power in the base back on, although he had no idea how to do that.  He still was not certain how he had turned it off in the first place.      He did check the timeship and satellite they had in orbit, and both those were still at full power, so whatever he had done had just affected the base.  Or possibly stuff within the atmosphere, but it was hard to determine that since there was not exactly a lot of electronics in the Cretaceous.      Imhotep looked through the pages of Merlin’s journal that Abigail had pointed out to him.  “Hmm,” he said.      “So, what’s the verdict?” Harkon asked.      “It’ll work,” Imhotep said.  “With Abigail’s injuries she should not be doing it though, it could introduce complications.”      “Can you cast it?” Harkon asked.      “Yes, on myself and one other person,” Imhotep said.  “It takes less energy to cast on myself, so that’s they only way we can get two people inside there.”      “Ghost Jack, Melinda, Mary, and Ohm, I want you four waiting outside the room,” Harkon said.  “And be ready to go in as soon as you can.  Imhotep, you and I will be the ones possessing Philip and Dorian.”      “Are you certain?” Imhotep asked.      “I don’t like it, but we don’t have a lot of options,” Harkon said.      “Okay, let’s do this,” Imhotep said as he lied down on one of the beds in the infirmary and Harkon lied down on the bed next to him.  They clasped hands as Imhotep started casting the spell.  As he was casting it, he blinked, and suddenly he was in another room.      He kept still as he just looked around with his eyes.  Sure enough, he could see Aphrodite out of the corner of his eyes, and the man they were assuming was Tyson.  And next to him on the floor was Dorian, who similarly had his eyes open and was looking around.  So that meant he was in Philip’s body.      Harkon in Dorian’s body gave a slight nod, and both of them jumped up at the same time.  Imhotep rushed at Aphrodite, while Harkon went for Tyson.  Imhotep knocked Aphrodite to the ground, then he started wiping away the symbols she had been writing on the floor and walls.      Jack watched as the fight went on, and as Imhotep was getting rid of the bloody symbols, he felt a change in the room.  NOW he thought towards Ghost Jack.  He then saw Ghost Jack telling the others they could move, and going into the room to join the fight.      With the numbers advantage, it was not long before Jack’s friends had subdued Aphrodite and Tyson.  But as they did so, Jack wondered what they were going to do with them, since the power was still out.  And as he thought that, the power suddenly was restored.      I DON’T KNOW THAT YOU WANTED TO RESTORE THE POWER QUITE YET, Jack heard in his head.      WHO IS THERE? Jack asked.      YOU SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL YOU HAD A BETTER HANDLE ON THE SITUATION.  WATCH.      Jack looked at Aphrodite and Tyson, and noticed the look on Tyson’s face.  It started with a raised eyebrow, before his mouth broke out into a smile.  And then, in a flash of light, he was gone.      WHAT HAPPENED? Jack asked.  AND WHO ARE YOU?      YOU DON’T REMEMBER ME?  WE’VE HAD A FEW CONVERSATIONS BEFORE.  IN YOUR DREAMS AND OUTSIDE.      L? Jack asked.      YES, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK ON MY LEVEL.      SO, WHAT HAPPENED? Jack asked.      TYSON RANDALL IS A CYBORG, L said.  THAT WAS WHY YOU KNOCKED OUT POWER IN THE FIRST PLACE.      HE HAS A TIME MACHINE BUILT INTO HIMSELF? Jack asked.  I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING.  THIS WHOLE OUT OF BODY THING IS PRETTY NEW TO ME.      YES.  IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME FOR YOU TO GET USED TO IT, L said.      I’D PREFER TO RETURN TO MY BODY, Jack said.      I’M SURE YOU WOULD, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY POSSIBLE, L said.

To be continued…

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #8 The Twin Swords

     “What the hell happened here?” Detective Carl Bendis asked as he entered the crime scene.  It was an apartment, although it was now missing the wall on the side of the building.  A chunk of the wall to the next door apartment was missing too.      “Happy New Year to you too,” his partner, Detective Sara Knight said.  “We’ve got three dead bodies in here.  One of them had a wallet on him, and the ID says he’s a guy named Howard Stewart.  The other two don’t have any kind of ID.”      “It wasn’t a bomb though, was it?” Carl asked.  “I’m not seeing much debris.”      “Near as we can tell, the wall was just vaporized.  And you’ll never guess what kind of weapons these guys had on them.”      “Laser guns?”      “Nope, you’re thinking the wrong way, they had swords.”      “Swords?” Carl asked.      “Yeah, swords.  The unidentified guys each had one, and Howard, he had two of them.  But those two are stuck in their scabbards.”      “They are what?”      “Yeah, I know we usually get the weird ones,” Sara said.  “But this is something else.”      “Thank you for your assistance,” Carl said to the neighbour before the door was closed.  He walked over to Sara.  “So, either the people in this building are the heaviest sleepers in the history of the world, in which case I am insanely jealous, or whatever took out that wall was super silent.”      “Yeah, I’ve been hearing the same thing from the tenants I’ve been talking to,” Sara said.  “But like, what could even do that?”      “Got me.  Have the science guys figured anything out?”      “Not yet, last I checked.”      “Have the swords been bagged and tagged and sent back to the precinct already?”      “Yeah, why, you want to get a look at them?” Sara asked.      “I mean, I’m really curious about Howard’s swords.  If this was a fight, why would he have swords he couldn’t use?  Have we figured out anything else about him yet?”      “According to one of the neighbor’s I talked to, he’s a florist.”      “A florist?”      “Yeah, has a flower shop a few blocks away.”      “How does a florist get involved in…whatever this is?” Carl asked.      Carl picked up one of the swords and looked over the scabbard, and the hilt.  The design looked ancient, yet it was still in perfect condition.  He tried pulling the sword out, and despite what he had been told, it came out without any trouble.      “Hmm, that’s interesting,” he said.  He held the sword up and looked at the blade.  He was not an expert, but it looked to be exceptionally well made.      Carl put it down on the table, and picked up the other one.  It looked identical to the first.  As he was looking it over, the first suddenly returned to its scabbard on its own.      “Huh, that’s weird,” Carl said.  He removed the second sword from its scabbard, and put it down on the table, checking his watch.  After a minute it too returned to its scabbard as if by magic.      He spent a bit of time experimenting with it.  As long as he was holding the swords they would act normally, but if they were not in contact with him for a minute, they would return to their scabbards.  This case just kept getting more and more strange.      Carl sat down at his desk, just as Sara was hanging up the phone at her desk.  “Any leads?” Carl asked.      “Notifying family,” Sara said.  “He’s got a sister in Jersey.  She’ll be driving out here later today, but she said they haven’t really had much contact in recent years, so I don’t know if she’ll know anything.  You learn anything from looking at the swords?”      “Were you the one that tried taking the swords out of their scabbards?”      “I was one of them.  Several of us tried, why?”      “I had no problem with them.  They came right out, no trouble.”      “Huh, weird.”      As they were talking, a woman came up to their desks.  “Excuse me, I was told you were the detectives investigating Howard’s murder.”      “Yeah,” Carl said.  “Did you know him?”      “Yeah, we were friends.  I’m Victoria Madison, we were…we were friends.”      “I’m sorry for your loss,” Sara said.  “Do you know anything about what happened?”      “Umm, a bit,” Victoria said.  “Do you have his swords here?”      “Yeah,” Carl said.  “They are in evidence.”      “Yes, yes, of course,” Victoria said.  “Umm, they were supposed to go to me if…if anything happened.”      “Well, they are evidence,” Sara said.  “But hopefully we can get this solved quickly, and then you can have them when this is done.”      “Yes, yes, of course,” Victoria said.      “Here’s let’s go over to the interview room, and you can tell us what you know,” Sara said.      “So, what was he doing in that apartment?” Sara asked.  “We know he lived in the building, but on a different floor.”      “I don’t know,” Victoria said.  “But I know he had been talking about how there were members of some kind of cult living in the building, and he was worried about what they were up to.”      “Did he share these worries with anyone else?”  Carl asked.  “Landlord, police, anyone?”      “Not that I know of,” Victoria said.  “But then, he didn’t really have any proof, so it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway.”      “Do you know what kind of cult?” Sara asked.      “I don’t know,” Victoria said.  “He mainly told me that he had been hearing strange things from inside the apartment.”      “How did that start?” Carl asked.  “Like Sara said, we know he lived on a different floor.  Not directly above, for that matter, so it’s not like he was hearing something through the floor.”      “He didn’t mention that,” Victoria said.      “Do you think he would have gone and investigated on his own, maybe bringing his swords for protection?” Carl asked.      “Maybe,” Victoria said.  “Or at least to make himself seem armed.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that they are stuck in their scabbards.”      “They seemed to come out pretty fine to me,” Carl said.      “What?” Victoria asked.  “You were able to unsheathe them?”      “Yeah, it was no trouble at all,” Carl said.      “Umm, I need to go home and take care of something I just remembered,” Victoria said.  “Uh, that’s okay right?”      “Yeah, sure,” Sara said.  “Could we get your number in case we have more questions?”      “Right, right.”  Victoria scribbled her number onto a piece of paper, and handed it to Sara before heading off.      “Well, she clearly knows a lot more than she’s saying,” Carl said.      “Yeah, I’ll get someone to follow her,” Sara said.  “Just in case.”      “So, what’ve you found?” Carl asked the medical examiner as he entered the morgue.      “Well, the two unidentified individuals were definitely killed by the slashes they received from the swords,” Doctor Joyce Clarkson said.      “But Howard wasn’t?”      “I don’t believe so, his wounds are not severe enough, but I honestly don’t know what else would have caused him to die.  But that’s not the weirdest part.”      “Do I even want to know?”      “Both of the John Does had a rare poison in their blood.”      “But you’re still certain it was the swords wounds that killed them?” Carl asked.      “The amount of poison should have killed them almost instantly, but from what I can tell, it’s been in their blood for decades.”      “So we have one guy that shouldn’t be dead, and two that should have died a lot earlier.”      “That’s the long and short of it,” Joyce said.      After leaving the morgue, Carl stopped by a street vendor and bought a hot dog.  As he was walking and eating, Victoria came up next to him.  She had a book of some sort with her.  It looked like a journal, but an old one.      “Hi again, Detective Bendis,” Victoria said.      “Miss Madison,” Carl said.  “Take care of what you needed to take care of?”      “Kind of in the process of that right now.  You said you were able to draw the swords from their scabbards?  Howard’s swords, you’re certain of that?”      “Pretty certain, and I’m not sure why everyone seems to think they’re stuck.”      “Umm, well, you see, they are stuck for everyone except for one person.  That person was Howard, but now that he’s dead they pass on to someone else, and that someone is apparently you.”      “Right,” Carl said.  “You’re saying they’re what, magic?”      “I know it’s hard to believe, but you saw the crime scene and how weird it was.  How else do you explain what happened there?”      “I don’t know, maybe it’s alien tech or something.  I know that’s real.”      “But two years ago you’d have thought I was crazy if I suggested aliens.  Maybe it’s time to update your worldview again.”      “Okay, let’s say, for a moment, that I believe you.  What happened there, and what’s your part in all this?”      “I’m the journal keeper for the swords and their master.  The swords are the only thing that can keep Alket contained in his realm.  Those cultists were trying to stop Howard from doing that.”      “Alket?”      “It’s an Eldritch Abomination.  It was once a God, but he desired even more power, and tried to become more than that, and had to be trapped away.”      “Uh huh.”      “I know you don’t believe me, after all, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”      “And you have some extraordinary evidence on you?”      “Not on me, no, but I will be able to do so if you come with me.”      “Uh huh,” Carl said before looking around.      “If you’re looking for the officer you had tailing me, I lost him an hour ago.”      “Right.”      Victoria led Carl down an alley, to a door, which she knocked on.  An eyehole opened up, and the guy on the other side asked for a password.      “Solaris,” Victoria said, and the door was opened.  She turned to Carl.  “Try not to freak out.”      “I’ll be fine,” he said as he followed her in.  He looked around at the other patrons.  A lot of them looked Human, but some were clearly not.  There was a Centaur playing darts with a Pixie at the back.  And at the pool table was a Ghost playing against someone who looked Human, at least until Carl saw his fangs.  And those were just a few examples.  “What is this place?”      “It’s a bar for people of the supernatural community,” Victoria said, as she led him up to the bar.      “Hey Tori,” the bartender said.  Her fangs indicated that she was a Vampire.  “I’m sorry to hear what happened to Howard.”      “Thanks, Kat,” Victoria said.  “He was a good guy, and I’m going to miss him.  But now I have to start getting his replacement up to speed.”      Kat looked Carl over.  “A cop from the looks of him.  But I suppose nobody’s perfect.”      “Look, I never agreed to being any replacement or anything,” Carl said.  “I’m just here for the proof of magic, so I can figure out this case.  And, don’t get me wrong, I’m seeing some convincing visuals, but how do I know the people here aren’t just aliens or something?”      “He doesn’t even believe in magic?” Kat asked.  “How did he even wind up with the swords in order for them to choose him?”      “He was investigating what happened, and yeah,” Victoria said.  “It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”      “So, is there normally a process you go through?” Carl asked.      “Normally the journal keeper will take the swords, and give them to trusted individuals until someone is chosen by them,” Victoria said.      “Can’t you just do that now, and let someone else be chosen?” Carl asked.  “I mean, hypothetically speaking, assuming any of this is true.”      “The only way out of being their wielder is death,” Victoria said.  “Or losing your soul, that’s happened at least once.”      “Not really a fan of either of those options,” Carl said.  “But anyway, about the proof that this is actually all magic.”      “Is Cid around?” Victoria asked.      “No, haven’t seen him in a few days,” Kat said.  “But there’s someone else you can talk to.  You ever meet Hermes?”  She pointed to a table where a few people were playing a game of poker.      “Have the Greek Gods been repowered?” Victoria asked.  “Because if not, I don’t know how much help he’ll be.”      “No, but Hermes still has a few tricks up his sleeve,” Kat said.      Victoria shrugged and started walking over there, and Carl followed.  There were five people playing poker.  A Satyr, a Gorgon, and three others that looked Human.      “Is there a risk of turning to stone?” Carl asked.      “Not in this bar,” Victoria said, before they walked up to the table.  “Hermes?”      “Yes?” one of the Human looking people asked as he looked up.  “Oh, you’re the journal keeper of the twin swords of Mars, aren’t you?”      “Yeah, could we talk to you for a minute?” Victoria asked.      Hermes looked at his hand.  “Sure, why not, I fold,” he said as he put it down, and stood up.  “Don’t any of you think of taking my winnings, I’ll be back shortly.”      Victoria led Hermes and Carl to a booth near the back of the bar.      “So, what can I do for you?” Hermes asked.  “I mean, you people are servants of a Roman God, and I’m a Greek God.  You know we don’t exactly get along.”      “The war was a long time ago,” Victoria said.  “And either way, Alket is a threat to everyone.”      “Everyone on Earth anyway,” Hermes said.  “I’ve been considering a move to another planet.  Plus it’s January, Alket clearly failed in its attempt to get into our world, so we’re good for another year.”      “The last wielder of the swords was killed during the attempt, and now I have a year to prepare the new one,” Victoria said.  “But first I need to convince him this is all real.”      “Good luck, by the way,” Carl said.  “I’m not feeling particularly convinced yet.”      “Really, I’d have thought you’d be easily swayed by anyone and anything,” Hermes said as he suddenly had Carl’s wallet in his hands, and took out a lottery ticket.  “I mean really, you know what the odds are on these things?”  He tossed the wallet on the table in front of Carl.      “And I supposed to be impressed with a pickpocket?” Carl asked.      “Check your back pocket,” Hermes said.      Carl pulled out his wallet, and put it down next to the one Hermes had put there.  They were identical, including the contents.      “A simple duplication spell,” Hermes said.  “Without my innate powers there’s only so much I can do.”      “I mean, I’ve seen stage magicians perform some tricks that I couldn’t explain,” Carl said.  “That doesn’t make it real magic.”      “What would it take?” Victoria asked.      “I don’t know,” Carl said.  “But more than this.”      “I have an idea,” Hermes said.  “But first I have a poker game to get back to.  I can meet you two later tonight.”      As Carl and Victoria were leaving the bar, Carl’s phone started ringing.  Caller ID showed it was Sara.  “Hello?” Carl answered it.      “Where are you?” Sara asked.      “Just following some leads,” Carl said.  “Not sure if they’re panning out or not though.  You talk to his sister yet?”      “Yeah, she positively identified the body, but didn’t have much to offer beyond that.  But we might have just IDed the other two dead guys.”      “Might have?”      “Well, we got identities on them based on their fingerprints, but those identities were of people that died back in the eighties.”      “So they faked their deaths?”      “Possibly, but if so they did a really good job of it.  And on top of that, they were both in their nineties when they supposedly died back then.”      “Of course they were.  I don’t suppose you’ve found out anything about them that would explain anything?”      “I don’t think so, not yet at least.”      “Okay, I’ll be back at the precinct shortly.  See ya then.”  Carl hung up and turned to Victoria.  “Can this magic stuff of yours explain how the other two dead guys apparently died back in the eighties?”      “Resurrecting a person is possible,” Victoria said.  “Although it has to be done within approximately twenty-seven hours of death.  Rules get a bit murkier though for magical beings such as undead and Gods and such.”      “So what you’re saying is it might explain it, but you don’t know how it does so in this situation.”      “Sorry, but there are multiple cults that worship Alket, and this is a newer one.  I don’t really know their methods that well.”      “Look, I’m still not entirely convinced on this whole magic thing, but I’ll meet up with you later when we go see Hermes.  For now though, I need to go back to work.”      “Right, right, see you later.”      “Welcome back,” Sara said as Carl returned to the precinct.      “Thanks, do you have reports on their original deaths from back in the eighties?” Carl asked.      Sara handed them over.  “At the time they were ruled as suicides because they couldn’t find evidence of anyone else’s involvement.  It was poison.”      “What kind of poison?” Carl asked as he flipped through the reports.  “Huh, this is the same kind of poison that was in their bodies in excessive quantities according to Doctor Clarkson.”      “So they supposedly die from this poison in the eighties, but then their still alive now, decades later, but still with what should be lethal amounts of poison in their systems.”      “And then they die from being slashed by swords.  What do we know about them from before they died?”      “They seem to have been relatively normal guys.  Both were long retired by then, of course.  One was a banker, the other was a pharmacist.  Both had wives and kids and grandkids.  No criminal records or anything.”      “Hmm, maybe they’re Zombies or something.”      “I almost wish, at least that would at least explain some things,” Sara said.      “You ever encounter anything that seems supernatural before?”      “I mean, I’ve seen some weird shit in my time, but there’s always been a logical answer.  Why?  You don’t think there’s something mystical going on here now, do you?”      “I don’t know.  I mean, it’s been a weird case, and I don’t know.  I mean, two years ago we’d have thought aliens were ridiculous, and yet now we live in a world where they control chunks of Europe.”      “Maybe, but even still, aliens make more sense than magic.”      “Okay, we’re here,” Carl said as he followed Victoria out onto the roof of an apartment building.      “Excellent, I’ve been waiting,” Hermes said.  He was sitting in a circle that was drawn with chalk, and had various symbols drawn inside it, but he stood up and left it as they came up to him.      “So, what’s this?” Carl asked.      “It’s a summoning circle,” Hermes said.  “We’re going to summon a few magical beings and see if any of them can convince you.”      “Uh huh,” Carl said.  “What kind are we summoning?”      “Why don’t we start with something small,” Victoria said.  “Like a minor Demon.”      “One minor Demon coming up,” Hermes said as he walked around the circle, and touched a few of the symbols inside.  Each one he touched briefly glowed, and the sixth one stayed glowing.  “It’s kind of like a telephone number,” he said.      The circle itself started glowing, then there was a bright flash of light, and suddenly there was a small humanoid figure in the circle.  He had red skin and horns, and looked almost straight out of a cartoon.      “What’s the meaning of this?” he asked.  “Who dares to summon me and interrupt me from my Game of Thrones marathon.”      “Game of Thrones marathon?” Carl asked.      “You know how hard it is to get HBO in Hell?” the Demon asked.  “I had to call in so many favors.  Fine, whatever, why am I being summoned.”      “The Human here needs to be convinced that magic is real,” Hermes said.      “What?” the Demon asked.  “Of all the ridiculous things I’ve been summoned for over the years…I mean, I suppose this isn’t the most annoying but it’s definitely up there.  This one time some asshole summoned me to just play a game of Call of Duty.  But okay, let’s get this over with.”      The Demon snapped his fingers and turned into a crow.  Then he somehow snapped his feathers and turned into a shark.  Then there was again the sound of fingers snapped from his fin, and he turned back into his normal Demon self.      “I mean, that’s certainly impressive, but how do I know it’s not just an illusion of some sort?” Carl asked.      “Step into the circle with me, why don’t you?” the Demon asked.      Carl looked at Hermes who nodded, and Victoria who shrugged.  He stepped into the circle, and the Demon pointed at him, and snapped his fingers again, and suddenly Carl was a flamingo.  Carl looked at himself, and tried to speak but it just came out as squawking.  The Demon snapped his fingers again, and Carl turned back into a Human.      “There, that convince you?” the Demon asked.      “Um, yeah, that’s um… that’s pretty convincing,” Carl said.      “Good, now can I get back to my show?” the Demon asked as Carl got out of the circle.      Hermes once again pressed the final symbol he had pressed before.  There was another flash of light, the Demon was gone, and the glowing had stopped.      “Well, I take it my work here is done,” Hermes said.  “So, I’ll see you two around sometime, maybe, maybe not.”      “So, you’re convinced now?” Victoria asked as she and Carl walked along the sidewalk.      “Mostly, yeah, but why me?” Carl asked.      “We don’t really know why the swords choose who they choose.  They were originally created by Mars, for his sons Romulus and Remus.  Initially they each used one, but things were complicated.”      “I’m not exactly an expert on mythology, but didn’t Romulus kill Remus?”      “Thus the myths say, the truth is that they faked that.  After they created Rome they decided that one of them should publicly run it, while the other ran a sort of secret police to guard it.  They were called Custes, Latin for Guardians.  And as one of the things they protected it from was Alket, eventually Romulus gave his sword to Remus to use both.  After Remus was eventually killed, Romulus took over, even though it meant giving up his position.  And when he died the swords passed to another, and then another, again and again through history.”      “But you don’t know how it happens?”      “Nope, Mars probably created the mechanism, but I don’t know that he has ever told anyone what it is.”      “And what does this mean for my case?  I mean, I’m convinced that magic is real, but I’m not sure how open the rest of the precinct is going to be to that.  And I don’t know if we want to turn them all into birds one at a time just to convince them.”      “Even if they were, the magic division of the ESS would step in before too long.  They try to keep magic hidden from the general populace.”      “Why?” Carl asked.  “And who even is that?”      “Top secret organization that protects Earth from threats, mostly of super-science, but they created a magic division back in the eighties or nineties.  As for why, it’s a bit more complicated.  The short version is that magical entities and users have already been mostly keeping themselves secret for the last few centuries for a number of reasons.  Some to avoid persecution, others to take advantage of their anonymous nature to be able to get away with things.  And the ESS continues this because keeping things secret is their way of dealing with a lot of things.”      “So, I ask again, what does this mean for my case?”      “You already basically know that Howard and the people he was fighting killed each other.  But exactly what happened may just stay a mystery as far as the official record goes.”      “So, I just lie about it?”      “You omit that which you wouldn’t be allowed to say anyway,” Victoria said.  “And we start your training.  It would probably be easier if you weren’t a police officer.”      “I’m not just going to quit.”      “Then we’ll have to work around that.  But we need to make sure you’re ready for the next time Alket tries breaking through into our universe.”      “Which is when, exactly?”      “Every year, New Year’s, at midnight when the year changes.”      “Really?  That’s a regular thing, and wasn’t just a coincidence this time?”      “When it comes to magic, some things are influenced by belief and cultural consciousness.  New Year’s is a time of endings and beginnings in our society, and it’s thus the time when the borders between realms are at their weakest.  So we have the next year to prepare you.”      “Not to mention finding out some more answers about how Howard died, and how those cultists were not already dead.  Even if I’m not solving it as a cop, I still want answers.”      “As do I,” Victoria said.  “And we’ll probably need them to make sure you stay alive too.”

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #7 The Mystery of the Missing Blood

     Sherlock Holmes looked over the crime scene.  There was a remarkable lack of blood both in the body and on the ground around it.  The second was not the surprising, since the only open wounds where two small holes on the neck.  But the first meant that something had been done with the blood.  That made this the sixth example of this in as many nights.  Somebody was collecting blood, but to what purpose, he could not hazard a guess.      “There were no witnesses?” he asked the police constable, William Whittaker.      “No witnesses,” the constable said.  “There haven’t been any witnesses for any of these murders.”      “Most curious,” Sherlock said.  “Clearly the murderer knows what he is doing, and how to do it when no one will see.”      “I know you’re retired, but we could really use your help on this.”      “Yes, clearly,” Sherlock said.  “And this case does seem quite curious, so I will be willing to assist.”      “Thank you, sir.  We greatly appreciate it.”      “Don’t thank me yet, there is still much work to do.  What times were the bodies found?”      “They’ve mostly been found in the mornings, one in the afternoon but in a location where it could have been there for longer.  And we have been able to determine that most of them were seen the previous evening.”      “So, nighttime killings,” Sherlock said.  “That is not at all unexpected, although I wonder if there might be something more to it than just the convenience of the dark.”      “Like what?”      “I don’t know yet, but there’s something about this that seems off.”      “We have bodies that have been emptied of large amounts of blood.  That seems a bit more than just off to me.”      “Indeed.”      After returning to his home, Sherlock sat down in his chair and began considering the crime scene in his mind.  He had seen some pretty gruesome murders before, but nothing like this.  The missing blood especially, it was like no other case before, at least none that he had encountered.      Perhaps his brother would know something about this, but he would rather not have to talk with Mycroft if he did not have to.  They had not spoken in a while, and had not parted on particularly good terms.  In addition, Sherlock had heard that his brother was increasingly busy with some big new project as of late, the details of which were exceedingly secret.  Presumably it was related to the war.      While Sherlock was thinking things over, he had not even noticed as he stood up and started pacing.  He only noticed as he stopped in front of his bookcase.  He grabbed a few books that seemed like they might be of use.  Some medical texts, a book on cults, and one on ancient rituals.  Any of them might prove to be useful, so he started looking through them for any ideas.      Sherlock suddenly woke, surrounded by books.  “Aha!” he exclaimed.  He picked up one of the books that was laying next to him.  Not a textbook though, it was a novel, one from Watson’s collection, all of which he had inherited.      Sherlock had never had much interest in fiction, but he had not found himself able to part with any of these.  This one in particular featured a man who drank blood to survive.  It was a ridiculous notion, but what if the killer had read it and was not in his right mind.      That was not much of a lead, it might not even be correct, but when there was a lack of evidence, you sometimes had to follow the strange ideas, and see if they took you anywhere.  Sherlock started skimming through the novel.  If the killer was basing his identity on this, there might be a clue as to where he would be hiding, or how he would be operating.      Sherlock walked through the city that night.  He was sticking to the darker parts of the city, the places were where the killer was more likely to strike.  The book had not offered a lot of assistance on where he should look, although it would potentially be of help if he actually encountered the killer, assuming he was indeed copying the behaviour from it.      So far it had been a quiet night.  That was not too surprising, Sherlock thought.  There was no reason to assume he would strike every night, and no reason to assume this was even the area where he would strike.      As Sherlock continued walking, he also started thinking about the other assumptions he had been making.  For instance, he was assuming it was a man based on the size and placement of the wounds on the dead body, and the average sizes of men and women.      As he was thinking about the body he remembered something.  While the neck wounds where the blood had been drained were the more obvious, there were also bruises, and their placement and type indicated a style of fighting he had encountered before.      But there were only a small number of people who used it, even fewer here in England.  The only practitioner of it he had encountered in the country was dead.  Although he himself had also been thought to be dead after their final encounter.  It was not much of a lead, but there was no good lead here.  Whoever was behind this was good at covering their tracks, another thing that hinted at that individual.      The next day, Sherlock was going over property ownership records for the town.  It was a decent sized town, so there was a lot to go through.  But he was starting with the large houses, as if his theory was correct, that is where the person would be.      After about an hour, he came upon information on a house that had been recently purchased, about two weeks ago, just before the murders had started.  It was on the edge of town, and the name of the buyer was listed as Jack Joule.  That could not be a coincidence.      This was almost assuredly who he thought it was, and even if not, it was someone who knew him, and wanted to be found.  Which meant that if Sherlock went there he would be walking into a trap.  He knew that, but he also knew that his opponent would know that he knew that.  So there was nothing else to do, but to spring the trap.      Sherlock knocked on the door, and waited.  It was not long before the door was opened by a servant.      “Mister Holmes,” the servant said.  “The master has been expecting you.  Please, come in.”      “Thank you,” Sherlock said as he followed the servant inside.  The foyer, while large and impressive, was fairly plain and lacking in decoration, not even any windows.  The servant lead him down a hallway, whose walls were equally bare.      “In here,” the servant said, gesturing at a door.  “The master will be with you shortly.”      “Thank you,” Sherlock said as he entered what turned out to be a library.  And unlike what he had so far seen, the walls of this room were full.  There was a vast collection of books in here.      Sherlock started walking along one side of the room, looking at all of the titles on display.  Some he recognized, but most he did not.  These books were from all over the world, and a variety of different times, covering a large amount of topics.      “Admiring my collection, Mister Holmes?”      “It is quite impressive, Moriarty,” Sherlock said as he turned around.  “Also quite impressive that you survived.”      “We were both thought to have died that day,” James Moriarty said.  Strangely, he looked no older than the last time Sherlock had seen him.  “Is it really so surprising that I would have survived as well.”      “I did not say it was surprising, just impressive.  And I see you are now here to get revenge.”      “Don’t be ridiculous.”      “Then why the murders?” Sherlock asked.  “They were clearly committed by you, but that seems out of character for you to be killing en masse.  Personally, I mean, don’t you usually have underlings for that?”      “So, you thought it was just to draw you out?” James asked.  “You must be out of practice, spending all of your time with bees instead of people.  I mean, I expected you to be lagging behind, but not to this extent.”      “Well, no matter the reason, now that I know it was you who committed the murders, I can have you arrested.”      “Can you now.  What proof do you have that it was me?  That the bruises are consistent with a form of martial arts that I know?  Really Sherlock, you know that won’t be enough.”      “Maybe not, but I will find something that will be.”      Sherlock returned to his home.  He had to consider what to do next.  If Moriarty was committing these murders himself, there was a reason for that.  He clearly still commanded considerable wealth, as evidenced by his home, so it seemed unlikely he would be unable to afford thugs to do his dirty work.      It might be that he wanted to commit them personally for one reason or another.  He denied that it was for revenge against him, but that could be a lie, or he might be out for revenge against his victims for some reason.  This was a small enough town that the victims mostly all had connections, but Sherlock had not noticed any connections that would have made them enemies of one such as Moriarty.      Or perhaps, Sherlock thought back to the novel, perhaps his earlier theory about it was correct.  It was possible that while Moriarty had not died during their last encounter, he had gone mad as a result of it.  Maybe he even thought he had died, and believed he had come back as a creature of the night.      There had been no windows in the house.  At the time Sherlock had thought it curious, but it may indicate more.  And then there was the fact that Moriarty had not seemed to have aged.  Makeup perhaps, to maintain the delusion?  Unfortunately, he did not have enough to go to the police yet.  What little he had would simply cause them to get in the way of the investigation if he told them.      That night, Sherlock hid in some bushes near to Moriarty’s home, from which he could wait, and watch.  For the first two hours, he was just waiting, but then, at midnight exactly, he noticed the door being opened, and someone coming out of it, and going down the street.      The individual was wearing a cloak, with a hood over their head, but the person was the right size and shape to be Moriarty.  Sherlock followed behind, doing his best to keep out of sight.      The odd thing was that all of the murders so far had happened inside the town, and this individual was leaving town.  It could be a decoy, Sherlock really wished he still had someone he could trust so he did not have to be doing everything himself.      He decided to continue following this individual, as they went further and further out of town, until eventually they found a tree stump along the side of the road, upon which they sat down.  Sherlock was not sure what to make of this, but after about ten minutes an automobile pulled up.      Sherlock could not see who was driving it, but he did see the person he was following pull down their hood before getting in.  It was not Moriarty, but even still, Sherlock was glad to have followed this person, as he instantly recognized him.  It was one of the murder victims, the one he had been shown the previous day, which meant this case had just become a lot more interesting.      “You want to what?” William asked.      “I would like to see the bodies of all of the murder victims,” Sherlock said.  “Surely that should not be an issue.”      “Well, you see, about that.  They bodies have all gone missing, except for the most recent.”      “Indeed,” Sherlock said.  “And you did not think to inform me of this development?”      “Well, you see, it did not seem relevant to solving the case, and we…”      “You did not want to be embarrassed by admitting to this, but everything that happens is relevant.  When did they disappear?”      “They have tended to disappear the night after they get brought in here.”      “Indeed, and have you tried putting people in place to watch over them?”      “We have, but we have limited manpower, and can’t watch every entrance.”      “Then perhaps you should be having someone watching the bodies themselves,” Sherlock said.  “In fact, I volunteer to watch the most recent one tonight.”      That night, Sherlock was in the morgue, staying hidden under a table, from which he could see where the body was lying.  And then he watched and waited.  One hour passed, without anything happening, and then a second, still with nothing.      Then during the third hour, he noticed something, as the corpse lying on the table suddenly sat up.  He watched as the individual stood up and started walking around.  There was initially a bit of confusion to the movements, as if he was surprised to be alive again.      Sherlock went over drugs in his mind that could simulate death.  But none of which he was aware would produce an effect like this.  Especially with the amount of blood loss the individual had suffered, it would be impossible.  And when you had ruled out the impossible, whatever remained, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.  The truth then was that Sherlock was dealing with the undead, specifically Vampires.      After returning to his home, Sherlock started looking through his books for anything on Vampires.  The novel, Dracula, had certainly provided a lot of information, but it was a novel so who knew how much of it was even accurate.      Unfortunately, there were few other books Sherlock had on the matter.  There were a few mythology texts that mentioned them, but they gave wildly different accounts.  Most agreed that Vampires did not like the sunlight, although they varied on whether it harmed them, or simply prevented them from using their powers.      Many said that religious symbols such as the cross worked on them, as well as holy water, but Sherlock wondered if that might just be dogma.  Several also mentioned garlic, which Sherlock found curious.  A stake to the heart also came up in a few of them, which was intriguing.  Stakes to the heart tended to kill most things, but would it work on something already dead?      Either way, Sherlock wanted to be as prepared as possible, so he gathered up garlic, wooden stakes, and crosses, as he prepared for his next meeting with Moriarty.  Unfortunately he was unable to obtain any holy water on such short notice.      It was the middle of the afternoon as Sherlock returned to Moriarty’s house.  He knocked on the door, and waited until it was answered by the same servant as he has seen the previous visit.  The servant, at least, seemed to have no issue with direct sunlight.      “Mister Holmes, welcome back,” the servant said.  “Please follow me.”      Sherlock followed the servant to the library again, and then waited as the servant went to get Moriarty.      “And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Moriarty asked as he entered the library.  “Do you think you can take me down yet?”      “I can’t have you arrested yet,” Sherlock said.  “Although I imagine that’s probably not the best way to deal with you, in any case.”      “Have you come here to kill me then?” Moriarty asked.  “Because we previously tried to kill each other, and yet here we are, both alive.”      “One of us is alive, at any rate.”      “Ah, so you are finally starting to catch up then.  That’s good, as much as I was enjoying toying with you, it was somewhat pathetic on your part.”      Sherlock took a crucifix out of his pocket, and held it up as he advanced on Moriarty, who simply laughed.      “That has no power over me,” Moriarty said.  “I mean really Sherlock, surely you can do better than that.”      Sherlock took out a clove of garlic and threw it at Moriarty.  It hit him in the hand, where it caused a slight burn, causing Moriarty to hiss in pain, but that was it.  Sherlock used the moment to rush at him with a stake, and attempt to drive it into his heart, but Moriarty was able to easily grab Sherlock’s arm and twist it, causing Sherlock to drop the stake.  He then threw Sherlock to the ground.      “You are an old man, much older then when we last met,” Moriarty said.  “I have continued to grow wiser with time, but my body is still at it’s peak, and even better in fact with my vampiric strength.”      “Even if you kill me, someone will stop you,” Sherlock said.      “My orders here are not to merely kill people.  I am turning people, building an army.”      “Even if you turn me, I will not serve you.”      “Perhaps, perhaps not.  Most Vampires have no choice but to serve who turns them.  Some can fight it, but not easily, and a very select few are completely immune.  I am curious as to which you are.  If you are the first, that would be ideal, but even if you were the second, I could have people watching you, to ensure your full compliance.”      Sherlock stood up as Moriarty was advancing on him.  He took out some more garlic, and threw it at Moriarty, before making a run for the door.  He exited the library, and found the servant right outside the door.  Sherlock pushed him aside with little difficulty, and kept running, until he was outside in the sunlight.      As soon as Sherlock returned to his home, he made sure all of the blinds were open, to allow as much sunlight inside as possible.  It was unlikely any Vampires would come here during the day, but better safe than sorry.  That encounter had not gone the way Sherlock had hoped, but it had still been quite enlightening.      Moriarty was working for someone else, whoever had turned him.  He could clearly fight it to some extent, but there were people around who were ensuring that he followed orders.  This was so much bigger than just the murders.  As much as Sherlock did not want to, he realized that this was the point where he needed to inform his brother of what was happening here.

[ericbarkman]

Tales of WID 72 #6 The Jaguar Strikes

     The Jaguar threw a knockout dart at one of the guards, while rushing at another, and getting him into a chokehold.  The dart hit, but it was going to take a bit before it actually took effect, and in the meantime, he drew his gun.  The Jaguar kept the guard she was holding in between her and the other one, and luckily he seemed to not want to risk shooting his partner.      “Put him down,” the guard said.      “How about you go down first?” the Jaguar asked as the guard collapsed, the poison taking effect.  She continued choking the guard she was holding until he passed out, and then dropped him to the ground too.      She went over to the door they were guarding, and opened up the keypad.  She plugged a USB device in, and waited for half a minute, while it hacked the system and unlocked the door, which she went in.      Why do bad guy bases always have so many hallways, the Jaguar wondered as she wandered down yet another one in this building.  Like, based on the size it did not need so much space taken up by hallways.      She was checking doors as she went along, but so far most were offices or labs.  Some of the labs had scientists in them, but she was only ever cracking the doors open, and they never noticed her.  It was late enough that the offices were empty though.      There were guards patrolling, but it was easy enough to avoid them, so clearly no one had noticed that the guards she had taken out were missing yet.  That would only be a matter of time though, so she was trying to be quick.      There was one more door before she turned a corner.  She opened it, and found yet another office.  This one was not empty though, there was a woman sitting at the desk, working on a computer.  She looked up at the intrusion.      “What the hell?” the woman asked as the Jaguar jumped across the desk, and grabbed her by the neck, and pushed her back against the wall.      “Tell you what,” the Jaguar said.  “How about I ask the questions.”  She held the woman up against he wall with her right hand, and on her left hand, she activated the claws on her glove.      “Sure, sure, whatever you want,” the woman said.      “What’s your name?”      “Monica.”      “Okay, Monica, first question.  What are you doing here.”      “Umm, I’m an accountant, I’m just…”      “No, not you individually, what is the Scorpio Syndicate doing here?”      “I, umm, I don’t know.”      “What do you know?”  The Jaguar moved her left hand closer to Monica’s face.      “I, umm, I know they are running some kind of science experiments.”      Under her mask, the Jaguar rolled her eyes.  “The Scorpio Syndicate running science experiments.  Really?  You’ve gotta give me something more than that.”      “I know it has something to do with animals.  They have a bunch in cages downstairs.”      “Have you been downstairs?”      “No, but I’ve seen the invoices for the cages, and I’ve seen animals being brought down there.”      “How many?”      “That I’ve seen?” Monica asked.  “Maybe hundreds.”      “What kind of animals?”      “Mostly stuff from the Amazon, but a few other random things too.”      “Any Human prisoners?”      “Not that I know of.”      “Hmm, okay, thanks,” the Jaguar said.  “I’m going to have to knock you out now.”      It took her a while, but eventually the Jaguar found stairs down to the basement.  She made her way down there, and came out in a massive cavern, filled with cages.  Monica’s estimate was a bit low.  There looked to be over a thousand animals down here.  No Human prisoners that she could see though.      There were some guards patrolling down here though, but only a few, and it was easy enough to avoid them.  They were probably mostly just in case any animals got loose, and were not expecting someone to have snuck down here.      There were also a few scientists down here, still at work despite the late hours.  One of them was having some guards put an unconscious jaguar onto a pushcart, that was then being pushed towards an elevator.      The Jaguar followed after this scientist and jaguar, curious about what the scientist was up to.  After the elevator doors shut and it started moving, she pried the doors opened, and looked in.  The elevator was going up, so she started climbing after it.      The Jaguar waited a bit before exiting the elevator shaft, and came out just as the scientist was wheeling the jaguar into a lab.  Unfortunately there were two guards outside the door, who saw her coming out.  They both aimed their guns at her.      The Jaguar threw daggers at each of them, from inside her sleeves.  She hit one in the hand, throwing off his aim as he started shooting at her, while the other managed to move out of the way.   She had meanwhile started running at the one that had avoided the dagger, and got up to him before he started shooting.      She grabbed his gun by the side, and pushed it in the direction of the other guard, who was not firing at the moment, probably worried about hitting his fellow guard.  With her free hand she clawed the guy in the arm, causing his grip on the gun to loosen enough to pull it away from him.  She then elbowed him in the chest, before pointing the gun at the other guard.      “Drop your gun,” the Jaguar said.  “Or I’ll drop you.”      “You shoot me, and I’ll shoot you, and we’re both going down.”      “I’m covered head to toe in a costume that’s mostly bulletproof.  You have a bulletproof vest on, leaving plenty that’s not protected.  Who do you think’s going to survive longer if we both start firing?”      The guard seemed to consider it for a moment, before putting his gun down.      “Good call,” the Jaguar said.  “Now both of you sit back to back.”  The guards complied, and she took out a piece of rope and tied them together.      That done, she went over to the lab door and opened it just a crack.  Looking in she saw the scientist having some guards help move the jaguar into some strange device.  There were these two large capsules connected by some sort of piping.  The jaguar was being put in one, while there was a man in the other, the person that the Jaguar was here to find, Chuck Johnson.      Chuck was awake, put very restrained.  He was in what looked similar to a straitjacket, but a full body one, almost like he was a mummy.  Only his head and hands were visible.  There were a dozen guards in the room, but with the exception of the three assisting the scientist, every one of them had their full attention on Chuck.      The Jaguar took a small device out of her pocket, and turned it on.  She set the timer for half a minute, then put it on the floor while she readied herself for what was about to happen.      Chuck had noticed that the door was cracked open, but no one else in the room had seemed to.  He had caught a glimpse of someone looking in, and he was pretty sure it was that costumed vigilante that was active around this area.  The Jaguar was what she was called.      He smirked at that, considering an actual jaguar had been brought into this room just before she had arrived.  He was curious at the timing, her being here at the same time as he was.  He was also curious as to what this machine he was in was supposed to do.  He knew the Scorpio Syndicate was doing some sort of strange experiments here, but he did not know what the purpose of them was.  His orders had simply been to get in, and shut them down.      He had a razor blade held between two of his toes, and was slowly working on cutting his foot free.  Chuck was not sure what the Jaguar had planned, but presumably she had one, so he wanted to be ready for it.      As soon as the Jaguar’s EMP device activated, the lights all went out, and she jumped into the room, going for the closest of the guards.  She had night-vision goggles in her mask, so she could see them easily, as they fumbled around trying to figure out what happened.      She struck quickly and quietly, as she went around attacking the guards.  She had taken down five of them, before emergency power kicked in, and the lights came back on.  She grabbed one, and had her claws to his throat and her back to the wall, as the other six pointed their guns at her.      The Jaguar was unsure if they might decide to risk hitting the guard she was holding to get at her, when Chuck broke out of his restraints, and came at them from behind.  Between him and her, they made short work of the guards.  The scientist had already fled.      “Thanks for the assist,” Chuck said.  “What are you doing here though?”      “Looking for you,” the Jaguar said.      “Oh?”      The Jaguar took a photo out of her pocket and showed it to Chuck.  It showed him with another person.  “That person you’re with.  I need to know who he is.”      “What for?” Chuck asked.      “Look, I know who you are.  I’ve heard all about you and the things you do, and I think you seem like you’re a good person.”      “Okay?”      “That guy with you in the picture, he killed my uncle.”      “Ah,” Chuck said.  “So then, I’m going to guess you are Adriana Rocha?”      “Maybe…”      “The person who killed your uncle works for the CIA.”      “Yeah, that doesn’t exactly surprise me.”      “Do you know what your uncle did for a living?”      “I’m not naive, I know he was a criminal, and I was working to bring him down, but not by killing him.”      “But you have killed before.”      “Only when I have to,” the Jaguar said.  “I don’t assassinate people.”      “I’m not going to try to justify what he did, but I’m also not going to tell you how to find him.”      “I just saved you.  You owe me.”      “Then let me give you some advice.  Revenge is a bad idea.  I have seen good people go bad in its pursuit.  And it doesn’t solve things.”      “I don’t want revenge, I want justice.”      “So what?” Chuck asked.  “You’re going to arrest a CIA operative and hand him over to the police?  Even if they believe you and don’t just immediately let him go, he’s too valuable of an operative for the CIA to let rot in a Brazilian jail.  They’ll have him out within a couple hours.  Especially since he was only following orders.”      “Isn’t that always the way it works.  The people in power can do whatever they want, and there are no consequences.”      “We all pay for our sins eventually,” Chuck said.  “And trust me when I say that he has paid for plenty.”      “No offense, but I don’t exactly trust you.”      “I understand.  We should probably make our way out of here though.  The charges I set around the base are set to go off in a few minutes.”      “Charges?”      “To cripple their operation here.  That’s my mission.”      “Right, okay, but this isn’t over.”      “Nothing ever is.”