Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust (47 page)

“Shit!”

Brock sat for a moment and his expression changed. He thought,
Why what a fabulous place for Mr. Marshall.

Stevens broke Brock’s concentration, “Sir, Sir; the fact is, this couldn’t have happened, if Marshall was captured alone. We think it’s the other person, attached to the program, who overloaded it, causing the anomaly.”

“Okay; I think. Can you fix it?”

“I am not sure. It would be a lot simpler if I could talk to David, directly; but, that would be impossible”

“Can we set up a new test? Would that be faster?”

“Probably; but we can’t just leave two people in a time anomaly, lost forever.”

“Wait a minute…Stevens, if what you say is true, how is it possible that I got a call from Mr. Marshall not ten minutes ago? He described the event and his side effects?”

Brock listen to silence; and then, Stevens spoke urgently, “Sir; there is no way Marshall can communicate with anyone, outside the anomaly. It is physics, Sir; impossible! Unless, that is…”

“Unless, that is…What?”

“ Unless you, Sir, are somehow, also linked to the event.”

Brock’s eyes bulged,
Marshall said the same word-linked.

“Fine, Stevens, just shut up a minute; let me think. Have you heard from InVoy? Does he have the rest of the notes yet?”

As he held the cell phone to his ear, Brock looked back down at the Knofer.  He stood up, nervously, and whispered to himself, “It can’t be.”

“Sir, Mr. Brock; are you there?”

Brock regained his composure and listened to Stevens.

“Sir, we have to address this, immediately. If you talked to David, we need to examine you, right away. Is there anything unusual happening, particularly, electronic or magnetic where you are?”

Brock didn’t stop looking at the Knofer. He squinted and shrugged. “Just the phone; no, not really; I’m not sure.”

“Well good. The link has to be triggered by some electrical impulse; so, first, I advise that you discontinue use of anything that requires an impulse, even this phone. You should turn it off; and, come here, to me, immediately.”

Brock looked at his cell phone; and then, with a fearful frown; he reached and picked up the knofer, turning and examining it.
But how do I turn you off, my little jewel?

“Stevens, what you are saying is unavoidable. Everything, from car batteries to my airplanes, generates electrical impulses.”

He raised his head and spoke softly to himself, “Marshall, you son of a bitch.”

“Sir, I don’t want to frighten you; but, that is why you need to be here. I can only secure you, here.”

“Yes fine; more importantly, though; what’s this about a beast, showing up; what beast?”

“I got a call from satellite warehouse. Something very strange, even alien appeared. I instructed the men to secure it, until I talked to you.”

“And…?”

“It appears to be a very large fish, Sir.”

“Who knows about it?”

“The men at the warehouse, me and now, you…I really must insist; come to me, immediately, Sir

“Send me the coordinates of the warehouse.”

Brock cut the call. He had been in deep seclusion; for eight months; careful who he saw, and disciplined to travel, only with his most trusted bodyguards.  They were confidants, councilors really; and, they handled most of his private affairs, while he controlled priorities from his underground hideaway, in Vancouver, Canada. He developed many new interests, as a ghost investor; buying huge land bundles and sea rights, from foreign countries. He limited his travel, only puddle jumping, to ‘Time Travel Inc.’, when absolutely necessary. Brock had become a shadow foundation, supporting O.P.A.S. One particular prize, was that he quietly bought their old accelerator landscape, south of Seattle; and, when his team had reached its intelligent limit, he pirated Stevens from O.P.A.S. to complete his ‘time’ project. Rash InVoy, his Chief of Staff, managed most of his other worldwide affairs.

So; that morning, Brock called his trusted bodyguard on the intercom. He turned off his cell phone and picked up the Knofer. Then, he walked out of his office, wearing a tan inconspicuous suit and dark glasses. He proceeded down the private staircase, four floors to the parking garage. As he opened the stairwell door, his guard Briggs escorted him into the black stretch limo and drove him to one of his five corporate airlifts for the short flight to Seattle.

Chapter 16

Semitri

Inside a remote warehouse, some fifty miles south of Seattle, Washington U.S.A., two special service guards crouched, in front of a double door entrance, which connected the warehouse to an old missile silo. An unbearably loud screeching continued to render them helpless. When it stopped, they took their hands from their ears, got up and rushed through the doors into the silo. They froze on the ledge, looking at a hundred foot tall Carrier beast, transforming before their eyes. The wet looking, fish like creature, which they had tied against the silo’s walls, ten hours ago; was no longer passive and quiet. It was alert, and, obviously, mad. They watched it morph, into a horrific thick snake, some fifteen feet, in diameter. As the Carrier reduced in thickness, the chains around it fell to the floor.

“Holy shit! What the hell is going on?”

“Damn if I know…”

“Get the chain extender.”

“Screw you! I’m out of here.”

Guard one, turned and began running, back through the doors and down the hallway, leaving his partner stunned. Guard two, heard a hiss behind him and wrenched around, to see the animal was almost directly above him. In that instant, he reached for his revolver. He stepped backwards; but, the snake was very fast. It slithered up, through the doorway, darting past guard 2, and splintering the double doors after guard one. It stopped just in front of the running guard, who stopped in terror. He stood shaking, red faced, and unable to move. The snake reared its head back; and, with one sweeping motion, its huge mouth engulfed and swallowed the screaming man. Then, out of the corner of its eye, the animal saw sunlight shining in, creeping toward him through the windows, which lined the outer walls of the main warehouse. It snapped back and recoiled. In one unbelievably fast move, it raced back through the doors and swallowed up guard two, on its way back down into the dark bottom of the silo.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Twenty minutes or so passed, before a gray stretch limousine pulled up to the warehouse and parked. A driver got out, opened the rear door and Marion Brock stepped, from the dark interior into the bright sunlight. He placed his hand on the driver’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Briggs; quiet here; isn’t it?”

“Yes, Sir; that it is…Should I wait for you?”

“Yes, please; and Briggs, notify InVoy that I’ve arrived at the site. Tell him I’m surprised…It appears I am the only one here.”

“Yes Sir.”

Brock walked some one hundred feet, up the path to the old brick building. Thirty years ago, this was his family’s Pacific Coast military distribution site, for ammunition supplies. As he unlocked the front door, his phone rang.

“Yes…?”

“Sir, Stevens here, I beg your pardon. I thought you were coming, directly here, to me.”

“Stevens, you can be a pain in my ass. I am going to make sure all is well. I don’t see any guards, by the way.”

“Sir, there were two assigned. Perhaps they are in the silo. Regardless; you need to come here!”

“Well, that’s not going to happen. You work for me, you know. I’ll check this out and get there, when I can…”

Brock cut the call and walked onto the huge warehouse.

“Hello...Hello!” His voice echoed. “Christ, what’s next? Hello!

He walked quickly, some 100 yards, and stepped over the splintered double doors, at the other end of the building. In the entry hallway to the silo, he saw a cap and shoe. When he reached to pick them up, he heard a loud strange squeal, coming from within the silo. Instinctively, he reached for the phone and dropped it. As he bent down to pick it up, he saw the creature swell up beside him, and he froze. Some force he never felt before was holding him. He couldn’t utter a word or move a muscle. He saw something that literally made him wet himself. A snakehead at least ten feet wide, appeared up from the silo, turning and slithering toward him. His shoes remained glued, to the floor; and, while Briggs was outside the front entrance, Brock was incapable of uttering a sound…
Mother of God
, he thought, rolling his eyes…
What are you?

The snake moved around the outside of the hallway and coiled, wrapping himself, so Brock was in the center of the circle. His mouth opened to show Brock his darting tongue and large, glowing, orange teeth. Then it lowered its head and closed its mouth, staring at Brock’s terrified face. With a nod, the snake released Brock’s invisible binding; and, it watched, as Brock lifted his foot and let out a whisper of a scream, “Christ, what the hell are you; you sick viper!”

The snake looked deeply into Brock’s eyes and seemed to smile.

“Hello Marion; it was wrong of you to think you could bind me here. Do you not know what you see?”

“No, I do not know what I see.” Brock turned, spinning in a panic, studying the great beast and looking for an escape route. But, there was nowhere to go.

“How is it, you speak? I don’t see your mouth move…Shit!”

The snake seemed to chuckle.
“I am Semitri. You want me to help you...”

Brock gasped and seemed to recognize the voice. He squinted and began to relax, “You mean, you are the beast…”

“I am Semitri. You knew I was not to be tied, or restrained, in any way.”

Brock watched as the snakes coils began to change. Semitri’s head retreated slowly, into the coils as they solidified into pearl white walls, all around him. Within seconds, the billionaire was no longer in the hallway, surrounded by a snake; he was inside the Carrier, Semitri.

“Now Mr. Brock, meet you...”

“What are you talking about? Where am I?”

As he stood in the middle of the white room, a door appeared and opened. The clone of Marion Brock walked out, toward him.

“Jesus…And what the hell are you, for God’s sake?”

“Hello Marion…I am he, who you sent to get the vials of C.P.T. months ago. Don’t you remember?”

“What is this? You are mine, then; just a clone.”

“Frankly, it’s all very simple.”

The clone paced around Brock.

“I have been trapped, within this thing, for all that time; apparently feeding it. But, in return, he fed me. I have learned a great deal. Have you ever heard of ‘a compatibility’?”

“You work for me, you know. Christ you are me!”

“No, actually; I work for me. I have negotiated, with our friend here that, he can have as much of us, as he wants. In return, I run the Brock Empire. You see, by cloning yourself, you opened up a whole new world, for our friend here, and me. If I clone more of us-you, and let him hold the clones within him, he will gain unlimited power, and give us-me, whatever we want; or, something like that…Hah! So, he and I have agreed not to kill you.”

             
“What do you mean, whatever we want?”

             
“Watch…Semitri, please supply standard furniture, monitors, bath suite and food; my favorites, please?”

             
Everything appeared magically, from nothing. And, all of a sudden, C-Brock was wearing the same clothes as Brock.

“You see…Sit; enjoy.”

              “Christ, how?”

             
“First, the most important thing you must remember is that Semitri, here, and his buddies, suck sustenance out of us, which they consider more than food. You and I have something that, if he can keep or get more of it, well he will be all powerful, to his own kind. So, you see; he will do anything we ask; I ask, that is. You just have to sit here; and, they’ll give you anything you want.”

             
Brock snarled at him. “So you think I’m just going to stay here. I’ll make my own deal.”

“Well, that’s the catch, I’m afraid. You see your strength is much more intense than mine, or any clones. Now that you are here; I am afraid he has no intention of letting you go; especially, since you tried to imprison him. Think of it this way, my brother. You can have as much of whatever you want. You will find it’s not all bad. Our friend here will take good care of you.”

“Why you twit. You think I’ll let this happen? I don’t control my empire, because I’m stupid.”

Clone Brock walked, briskly, toward the door. He waved and said, “He will keep you fat and happy. That is the least I owe you, for what you did to me, my brother”

              Brock turned, looking around the room and yelled, “Release me!”

             
Then, he turned and walked out the door, into the warehouse.

Semitri spoke calmly,
“So you are in fact, the great Marion Brock. Welcome…I have gotten to know your brother quite well, over the last few months…Impressive; your refusal to quit. We have many things to discuss. Sit, eat and we will talk.”

Meanwhile, Clone Brock found his way out and down to the limousine, where Briggs waited.

“Sir, I was beginning to worry.”

C-Brock smiled, as Briggs opened the door.

“All is as it should be.”

“Should I take you to Stevens now, Sir?”

“Yes; to Stevens. And update me on all issues, that you know of.”

Briggs closed the doors, started the Limo and it sped off to Brock’s Time Travel research base.

Chapter 17       

Jake’s Mate

Jake Burns sat within a Carrier, as it sped through the volcanic ocean of inner Earth, toward the Northwestern U.S.A. and Oregon Particle Accelerator Sciences’. He tried not to think about the ride; rather, he concentrated on the labyrinth of challenges before him. As he studied a few notes, a voice spoke, distinctly; and, an image of a young woman’s face appeared on the Carrier wall.

“Hello Jake Burns. We meet again.”

“Well then; hello again.”

“I am Carrier 1111.”

              Burns did a slight double take, and then replied, “All right; yes. Your friend Alinflavor said…”

“You mean Allenfar.”

“Yes that’s it; he told me that we may meet again. He said you and I are ‘compatible’. He said that you have a crush on me, or something.”

“How flattering; but, not quite…You may call me Miriam…‘A Compatibility’ is quite different, from a crush. You will come to understand.”

“Well, are you and I; you know, having a thing right now…I mean…?”

“Yes; whenever you ride within me, we share.”

“Well, you see, funny you should say share. I did want to talk with you, about that. I mean, we really aren’t, are we?”

“I am not sure I understand.”

“And, I am not sure how to ask this. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that I need to know what you know, in ‘a two-way compatibility’. That is to say, I am requesting a real sharing, a two-way communication between us.”

“We reserve that experience for GGMs, alone, as stated in treaties between us. And then, there is the issue of genetic code.”

“I have been told I have quite an unusual genetic sequence. I am confident I will be okay.”

After a moment of silence, Jake noticed part of the Carrier’s wall began to play 3D video of his childhood, family and early career experiences.

“How did you get these? They are events that had no videos recorded? This is impossible.”

“The video you see includes some of your own thoughts. I can show you some of mine like this.”

“There is a great sense of urgency about what I ask. The fact is; I need to know what you know and understand as you do. I am charged with finding a solution to our mystery, about the Sidron and the man named Marion Brock.”

“If I input, directly, into your brain, it would be a great stress; you would, most likely, die…”

“I have no choice in this. I am willing to take the chance.”

When we traveled in time, months ago, I experienced our ‘compatibility’ and notified our Grand Council Tyree Masters. One visited your GGM, recently; and has has conveyed much to him. Our council approved our further interactions, with limits. Beyond their set boundaries would violate synergistic treaties.”

“We both want the same thing, to correct the Sidron and stop Marion Brock.”

“My assignment is to stop one of our own kind, Semitri, and to return him to the Grand Council. I must find out how and why he is using the Sidron, and why he has allied with a surface man. He has already found a way to cut out our hive mentality. If one of us experiences ‘a compatibility’, we all should.

You may ask your questions and watch the walls. That is our offer.”

The wall video began playing a detail of the shooting in the morgue at Andrews, eight months ago.

“I investigated this murder. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here now.”

“Months ago, three of your doctors and a girl walked into that Carrier room 2210. She was part of your hospital’s morgue. The bullets from the guns fired, killed that Carrier. Afterward, Carrier 2211-Semitri, had taken Marion Brock and a clone of Angela Bellos away, for rehabilitation. The girl expired. Semitri dropped off our tracking ability, and hasn’t communicated since. It is not unusual that we rehabilitate members of your penal system, in solitude. But it has been much too long. Our kind is very comfortable with periods of solitude. Right now we have 263 Ever-Life convicts, undergoing rehabilitation within correctional Carriers.”