Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust (20 page)

…
I have no idea what they were after. We try to save lives here, not take them. None of my staff carry weapons; only special ops are allowed guns. You can interview everyone. Look; this is second floor cancer treatment, mortuary, and maternity. These are not major areas of concern for murder. I have one person who monitors this floor every hour. That’s it.”

“What about your Chief of Staff, Billows?”

“Dr. Bellos is not here. He is out of country.”

Burns looked him square in the eyes.

“Well, you better call and get him back. I want to see him.”

“I already did.”

Burns turned to the investigating team.

“Sergeant, Serg
eant Wells; get me that nurse, Barb Sawyer…

…Thank you, Mr. Marshall;
if we need more, we will call you.”

“Detective Burns” Sergeant Wells said,
“I’ve been informed Barb Sawyer has gone home.”

“What? Well, find out where she lives and get over there.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Burns,” Marshall interrupted, “Barb Sawyer didn’t see anything. I interviewed her. She has been on the verge of a breakdown. If you insist, I’ll bring her to your office and you can interrogate us both, after she has a break; just give her a breather for a few hours.”

“Oh, I see. Well in that case…Sergeant, forget it. Mr. Marshall says don’t bother…He has interviewed her… I guess
he is in charge…After all; it’s just a homicide investigation. Tell her to take the week off and go to Florida, on me…

…
Jesus, how did these people get on the Complex, in the first place, with such fantastic tight ass security protection? I hold you responsible, Mr. Security Chief.”

Jake took several deep breaths
, before continuing.

“Now,
Mr. Marshall; may I call you Dave…Dave, why do you think this man, laying here, is in this position? I mean; his son says he was in a car accident earlier tonight and recovering on floor three…

…
Why would he show up on the morgue floor, naked, with his face shot off? So far, we know he ran toward the gunshots, not away from them. Why? He is naked, why would a living man, in a morgue, run naked toward machine guns?”

“
I think you asked me the same question twice…Yes, he does look naked. Well, I am sure it wasn’t the heat in here. We keep the whole building at 65 degrees.”

“And why are
there two other pools of blood; one there, and one way over there, in that corner; no bodies, right; just lots of blood? There is no trail from either of the pools to over there; and, there is nothing on any of the walls, except nice green paint and bullet holes…Boy, this one is going to be fun, eh Dave; real security puzzles…Any thoughts?”

“Yes; do you need me here anymore, Detective?

“No, please; no thank you.”

“Jake, I found something else,” said Dr. Watzin.

“Well, spit it out Doc.; that’s why you forensic guys are here.”

“Look at this.”

“Yes, well; I’m sure it’s significant. It looks like a broken half of a test tube…No odor…Remnants of blue liquid…”

“Yeah, it was in the corner
, over there.”

“Get it to the lab;
and get me anything. I want to know what was in it; what it is made of; are there any finger prints; and get all this blood, bullets, and clothing tested yesterday, damn it! And Sergeant, where is that kid?”

“He is gone, Jake.”

“What did you say?”

“I just got the call from the uniform cop, outside the room
, in ER-1. He is gone. She doesn’t know how or when; but, he is not in the room.”

“Oh for Christ’s sake; find me his boss, that Marion Brock. He should know something. Didn’t the kid say he was here in the hospital? Turn this pla
ce inside out, but get me Brock, or at least someone I can yell at.”

Burns turned
and started walking out, to the main hallway, when he saw someone.

“Hey! You there, stop!”

Jake cornered a young man at the atrium window.

“Where are you going? How did you get in here? Who are you?”

“I am Ralph Walker, second floor nurse.”

“Oh yeah, where were you when the shit hit the fan?”

“I have been out of the building…”

“Doing what?”

Burns angry tone did not sit well with Ralph.

“
…Witnessing my girlfriend get kidnapped. Who the hell are you?”

“Homicide…”
Burns flashed his badge. “When did you get here.”

“I got back about ten minutes ago and was coming up
, to tell my supervisor about the whole incident, when I walked into you.”

Burns pointed to the bench against the wall.

“Over here; come, sit down…I don’t believe this; just when I thought I could leave….I am Detective Burns, Arden Police, tell me everything, boy.”

“Fine; I work third shift and break at 3 a.m. I met
my girlfriend Angela Esposito for lunch and a walk. We ended up on the highway, not realizing where we were; romance, you know; and the next thing, this blue van stops. Three men whisked her away, to God knows where.”

“…And then what?”

“What do you mean, then what? Then, I was alone on the road. I didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you interrogating me?”

Ralph was more angry than nervous.

“Angie is gone. I don’t need this shit. I’m out of here.”

“Hol
d on a minute Mr. Rush, Rush; I have a murder/homicide here, and hemorrhoids. You just admitted to being involved in a kidnapping. So fess up, partner; or we are going to lock up, right now, got it?”

“Fine, whatever…”

Ralph rolled his eyes and continued.

“The oddest thing was; after they drove off, I heard a cell phone ringing. I found it on the side of the road and answered it.”

“Yeah…and?”

“And a voice said, ‘If I were you, I would get my ass back to the hospital. You don’t want to miss any of this’.”

“What?”

Burns sat down next to Ralph.

“Yeah, I know. So I ran, but in the wrong direction. Finally, here I am; that’s it.”

“So, why didn’t you use the phone to call 911?”

“It was dead.”

“Where is the phone now?”

“Here, in my pocket.”

Ralph handed it to Burns.

“Sergeant; take our lad here down to the station and get his statement. Give this phone to the engineers. Tell them I need everything on it. Sonny, I’ll need a picture of your girlfriend and work details about her.”

“Mr. Marshall or Dr. Bellos will have to tell you about her work. Angie and I do not discuss our jobs much, if you know what I mean.”

Ralph stood up and accompanied the sergeant out of the building.

“Oh, Sergeant, call me, after the lad signs his
statement.”

Burns walked
the other way, over to the nurse’s station and interrupted the group gossip.

“Hey, one of you; will you page Mr. Marshall. Tell him
, I want Barb Sawyer in my office tomorrow, the earlier the better. Here is my number. Have him call me, if he has any questions.”

H
e turned around and walked toward the elevator, talking to himself, “Jesus Christ! Murder, kidnapping, missing mother, pros in ops boots; what am I, Sherlock Holmes? I never should have left New fucking York.”

Chapter 22

The Carrier

Bellos, Jack,
and Brian walked down the long hallway from Unit-17, toward an Ever-Life Carrier substation.

“Mat
t, how far is it to this vehicle, or whatever it is?” asked Jack.

“
Just down those stairs, over there; are you okay?”

“I think so. Strange feelings come and go.”

“Dad; is there anything I can do?”

Jack smiled. “You’r
e with me, Sonny. That’s plenty.”

“Here we are,” Bellos gestured, “
just down that stairwell, and beyond.”

Jack walked, holding on to
Brian; and, halfway down the stairs, they saw the Carrier and stopped in awe.

They were staring at a smooth oval structure some 100 feet long
, shaped like a combination of a football and a fish, lying on its side. Jack was hesitant about letting Brian board.

“Christ, Matt, is this thing alive? Is it safe?”

“Everything is fine. Yes, it is safe.”

It had four thick sectioned tentacles extending from one end,
each moving independently of one another. The most striking feature was its body color variations. Some sections radiated florescent green, while others blinked in bright yellow or translucent orange.

The three men stepped closer
, slowly, staring and a door appeared, behind one of what looked like a large round fish eyes. Brian stopped.

“Dad, this is not my idea of a subway. It looks like an ancient blinking disco light?”

He turned to his left and noticed two other men entering a second door, some 75 feet away, closer to the tentacles.

“Dad; look, that is my boss,
Mr. Brock. Why is he in hand cuffs?”

“Sonny,
go on; get on board.”

“W
hat is going on, anyway?”

“
I’m sure Dr. Bellos will explain.”

They all walked
into a hollow, pearl white, wet looking, large oval room; but, actually, it was dry, and pristine, with clean circulating air.

“Dad,
how do they light this place?”

“Yeah, Matt; are the lights behind the walls
?”

Bellos stood behind the two,
and announced to the room, “Authorization GGM-TBN-010…Please furnish standard furniture, wall monitors, and a bath center.  Please supply refreshments for all.”

Before their eyes, everything appeared out

of nowhere. Jack flinched, with surprise, and looked at Brian.

“Don’t be afraid…Sit down, Son.”

They watched Bellos walk over to the far sidewall. He took out his Knofer, pushed it into a slot and spoke to the wall, “Master secured… Security directive GGM-001 and GGM-010...Destination group number two, Post 4-A…We await instructions.”

The deep arti
culate voice of the Carrier, itself, spoke for all to hear,
“Acknowledged.”

Then
, silence…After fifteen seconds, or so, the voice spoke again.

All Carrier-Units were capable of communicating
, in any language the human mind could understand; and each spoke as representative of their hive mind.

“GGM-1-000 is in danger. There has been a security breach in Andrews Hospital-Level-three. The currier you seek in Jerusalem section post four-A is Muslim. He is holding a hostage and primary CPT formula for Ever-Life. Dispatch of three Carriers is available from
Jerusalem location. Please acknowledge communication?”

“Communication acknowledged,” Bellos said. “Recommendation?”

Bellos heard a three-second ding, and a small door appeared at the far end of the room. He walked over and opened it. There was a single small two-inch vial filled with a blue liquid. He took it out.

“I don’t understand,” Bellos said. “Plea
se acknowledge?”

“Please
; sit down, Doctor.”

Everyone could hear an air blowing sound
, as the cabin pressurized. The Carrier began to move and accelerate. The three sat in silence.

“Dr. Bellos; Dad, what just happened?”

The Carrier’s voice spoke again, but this time so only Bellos could hear.

“Listen carefully, GGM-TBN. You have precisely 1.75 time hours to complete the trade for the hostage. It is essential, for continuation of our cooperation, with your species.”