Strange Robby (49 page)

"It's a long story, and I've got to sit down," Spider said.

"She isn't feeling very well," Robby said.

Tommy led them over to the picnic table. Spider sat down, and the boy sat beside her. He wouldn't look at Tommy. Robby set the wheelbarrow thing down and sat on a piece of log Tommy had brought into camp. The prisoner sat on the ground where Spider pointed.

Tommy sat down across from Spider, and Laura sat beside him. "Now, can you finally tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Let's see. How to put this." Spider was thoughtful. "There really are aliens. They do, periodically, abduct humans, do experiments on them, and impregnate them. Robby, Mark ,and I are all at least half alien. I'll give you a second to digest that, then I'll tell you about the huge government conspiracy that started with the Nazi regime."

It was almost dark when Spider finished talking. They ate a dinner consisting of poke salad, squirrel stew, and some sandwiches from the supplies Robby and Spider had brought. They laid out their bedding in the cabin.

"We can fix one of the others for ourselves tomorrow. You wouldn't believe all that Robby has in his amazing folded, hinged, rolling thing," Spider said with a smile. "It's a good thing too, God only knows how long we'll be holed up here."

"Where am I going to sleep?" Francis asked, noticing that they had only laid out three palettes.

"Someplace else," Spider said. She hauled the woman to her feet and started yanking her out the door.

Tommy and Robby followed her, Robby carrying a flashlight and a blanket. Mark started to go with them.

"No, you stay here, sport," Spider said.

"But . . . " Mark started.

"But me no buts," Spider said with a smile and rubbed his head. "Go lay down and get some sleep. You can't tell me that hike in didn't wear you out."

He nodded and let her go.

Laura smiled at him and he smiled back. He went to his pallet, moved it closer to Spider's, and then lay down in it. Laura smiled. It had to be driving Spider crazy having this kid hanging all over her. Spider just wasn't the maternal type.

"You can sleep with us if you want," Laura said. "The mattress is quite comfortable, and there's plenty of room."

"No, thank you," he said.

Laura rubbed her arms. "It's a little chilly in here. When Tommy gets back I'll have him light the fire. He has this flint and steel thing I just cannot figure out."

"I can do it," Mark said sitting up.

"You don't have to do that."

Mark smiled at her. "It's easy." He looked at the logs and kindling already laying in the fireplace, focused, and the fire started.

"Did you . . . did you do that?" Laura asked in amazement.
"Uh huh," Mark said. He looked disappointed as he added, "but I don't have very much fire. I can make lots of little fires, or one big one. But after a big one, that's it for while. Robby can just burn and burn and burn things."

"How nice for Robby," Laura said. She remembered the headlines and TV news. She'd seen the reports, knew what the man was capable of, and decided it was definitely better to be his friends than his enemy. "Well, I think that was very impressive. It takes Tommy thirty minutes to get a fire that big going."

"Thanks." He lay back down. "I panicked and I used a big fire on Fritz. If I was smart I would have just put a little fire on him, and then I would have had some left."

Laura lay down and made a face. Here was a little kid who had already witnessed a bloodbath. He couldn't ever be normal again, even if he had been normal to start with. "You know what they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I don't think you should dwell on it, Mark. Sounds like that's some awful heavy stuff for a kid to be worrying about."

"But I have to think about it," Mark said in a far away tone. "I heard Robby and Spider talking. They said they're going to have to destroy the SWTF or none of us can ever get our lives back. I'm one of them, and this time I have to help, not just stand there like a lump, too scared to fire the gun Spider gave me."

"Mark . . . you're just a kid. You have to let us worry about this stuff. Spider's not going to take you back into . . . " she couldn't think of another word for it, " . . . combat. Who knows? Maybe we'll just stay here in the woods forever," Laura said.

"Maybe," Mark said he snuggled into his pillow. "Maybe she will take me with her if I can make more fire."

"This one has the most door," Tommy said.

"It'll do," Spider said. They walked inside. "What are we going to chain the bitch to?"

"Wait here." Tommy ran off. He came back several minutes later rolling an old volleyball goal post. It was one of those that was sitting in a tire full of concrete, and the old hooks welded on the side to attach the net would keep her from pulling it off the top. They left one of the cuffs on her wrist, attached the other to the pole, and stood it in one of the back corners. They checked the cabin for anything that could be used as a weapon or tool, threw a blanket at her, and started to leave.

"Wait! You're not just going to leave me here, are you?" Francis gasped. "Alone in the woods! What about bears?"

"They won't come inside," Tommy assured her.

"This is barbaric!" Francis screamed.

"This is a fucking cakewalk," Spider hissed. "I can't believe you have the nerve to bitch about your incarceration to me. How about we hang you from the ceiling in a straightjacket and occasionally drug and/or torture you? I hate your guts, so don't give me any reason to hurt you, because I will. You know I will. Now shut up, lay down, go to sleep, and be happy that I'm not you."

Tommy shut the door, and Robby leaned a log against it.

"What the hell do you have her for?" Tommy asked.

"Because she knows everything about the project, and we still don't," Spider said tiredly.

She stumbled, almost fell, and Tommy caught her. He put his arm around her to steady her. She didn't protest, just leaned against him. She had lost way too much weight.

"They hit me with this weapon they call a lightning bolt gun. They tazed me. They used a cattle prod on me. Drugged me all the time. Just to name a few. I need to think, and my head's so screwed up I can't."

"You got out of there, and you got here. I think you're thinking just fine," Tommy said.

"Robby got us out of there. I figured out where you were, but Robby got us here. Hell, I almost couldn't make the hike in," Spider said.

"We'll get some good food in you. With plenty of rest, fresh air and exercise, you'll be back to your old self in no time," Tommy said.

"I'm worried about Carrie, but I can't figure out if she's safe where she is or not. I feel like I can't think at all anymore. Who's going to take care of this mess if I can't think any more?"

"You'll be fine as soon as you heal. In the meantime I'll take care of things," Tommy said.

"I'm tired," she said.

"All you need is some rest," Tommy assured her.

He took Spider to the cabin and helped her lie down on her bedroll. He watched as the boy pulled himself closer to her.

Tommy motioned for Robby to follow him outside, and he did.

"She does seem really out of it," Tommy said in a worried tone. "Her eyes are kind of glassy, and she's not thinking on her feet."

"What she's not telling you is that she attempted suicide by beating her head on a concrete floor. I think she's sustained a pretty serious concussion," Robby said.

Tommy thought about the injuries he had suffered on the dock. The doctor had given him anti-inflammatory drugs to keep his brain from swelling. He might still have some left. Those would probably help Spider. "I think I've got something that might help. Why was she banging her head on the floor?"

"They were going to torture Mark because she wouldn't tell them where I was," Robby said matter-of-factly. "Guess she figured if she was dead they'd leave the boy alone. But then while she was out, they told Mark that the only reason he was alive was because of Spider, and that if she died, he died."

"Sounds like a real fine batch of human beings," Tommy said. He was thoughtful. "Why were they torturing the kid?"

Robby was silent.

"Well, what is it?" Tommy demanded.

"The program has been using Spider for a breeder," Robby answered quietly.

"They've been doing what!" Tommy screeched. Then lowered his voice. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Spider's one of the women they've been taking eggs from for fertilization and implantation. Mark is Spider's son, one of her children. She's probably got dozens. They chose him because he looked too much like Spider and her brother for her to deny him."

"Wow!" Tommy found a rock and sat down. "You know that she's . . . "

"Gay. Yes, I know," Robby said.

"It must have been a real shock to learn that she was anybody's mother," Tommy said "No wonder he's hanging all over her. Separated from his . . . parents . . . knowing she's his real mother."

"She cares very deeply for him, too," Robby said. "She tries not to, but it's like she just can't help herself."

"She needs him, too," Tommy said thoughtfully.

Denisten sat at the keyboard. What he had just found was bound to bring the SWTF to their knees. He couldn't wait to show this shit to DA Long. He'd just started a download when he heard a noise behind him and turned. When he saw the big guy he knew he was screwed, but he pulled his gun and tried to fire anyway. His gun slipped out of his hand. He felt like his brain was on fire, and then nothing. Meltdown.

Brawn picked up the body, the gun, and the disk and headed for the door. "Silly man," he said to the body. "If you want information, you have got to come during business hours." He went out the back door and walked over to the car. The trunk was already open, so he tossed the body in, and tossed the disk in on top of it.

The FBI man walked over and held his hand out to Brawn.

"You would sell out your friend for a couple of dollars?" Brawn shook his head in disgust.

"He's not my friend, and he was messing in something subversive."

"He was trying to fight for something he believed in. I can admire that. I don't admire you." He hit the guy with his power, caught him as he fell, and then tossed him in the trunk with the other one.

Brawn wasn't sloppy; he didn't leave
any
loose ends.

Carrie looked at her watch and then at the wall clock. Both said ten o'clock.

"He's not coming, Carrie," George said. He was scared. "Maybe he got caught."

"George, listen to me . . . " Carrie was thoughtful for a moment. She took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. "I want you to take all the information that we have so far." She collected all the disks, put them into an envelope, and then into his hands. "Take them, put them in the box with the evidence from the Dunn's case, and then take it to the evidence locker. Make sure that it goes inside. Do it now."

George nodded and left. Carrie had insisted that security on the evidence locker be beefed up after what had happened to Spider, and now a fart couldn't get out of there without being seen. But she, as the DA, could take it out and put it back with no one being the wiser. If Denisten had been caught, she was going to have to be even more careful.

Carrie walked out of her office and the two cops fell in behind her. They walked her to her car, and then stood guard while she got in and started it. Only then did they get in their car and follow her home. At the house one of them went in first and checked all the rooms as the other one stayed with her. She only entered her own home when she had been given the all clear, and then she did her own check with her hand on her gun.

After everything was locked up, she went to the den and sat down. As usual, the light was flashing on her answering machine, so she walked over and punched the button, expecting to hear a long string of messages from people who had already called her at the office. That's what it was—up to the fifth message.

"Carrie. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all right, and I miss you."

Carrie's heart stopped. She played it over and over before she erased it.

"I miss you, too, alien or not."

The anti-inflammatory drugs hadn't helped her a lot, and neither had fresh air, sunshine, or good, healthy food. Spider didn't know what they had fed them in SWTF HQ, but it had all been gray, and she had eaten very damn little of it—afraid that they were drugging her, and they no doubt were.

Tommy threw the ball, and Spider caught it, but then almost dropped it. She wasn't feeling any better or stronger.

She threw the ball to Robby, who missed it and ran into the woods. He came back waving the ball and threw it to Mark.