The Begining (The Navigator Book 1) (3 page)

BOOK: The Begining (The Navigator Book 1)
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Hanging up the phone, she dug Joe's out of her coat pocket and looked at it. She noticed that it had been left on the screen that was used for recording. She'd seen him use this function many times as he would often record ideas for the book he was working on.

Before hitting play, she sat down on the couch. Merry jumped up beside her and immediately snuggled up to her 'mother'.

Laura swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, and pressed the play button.

 

 

She was crying by the time the recording ended. She knew that he never would have left with those men if he'd had a choice. She also knew that he would be reported as dead soon; and for all she could do, he really would be dead. Yes, he might be alive, somewhere, but he would never be allowed to come back to her.

She had just finished replaying the message a second time when there was a knock on the door. She didn't want to answer it, but she knew she had too since whomever it was knew she was home. She managed to croak out a 'come in', and Jed, the park manager and one of Joe's best friends walked in.

He saw that she'd been crying and sat beside her, putting his arm around her to offer support and comfort. “There was a black suburban here earlier. I called the local police, but they had no idea what was going on. I saw Joe get in the truck with two men, but they were long gone before the cops could get here. What happened?”

She knew that Jed was one of Joe's best friends and she also knew he confided a lot in him, but she wasn't sure he knew about Joe's past. Hell, she'd never really believed it herself until now.

“Did Joe ever tell you about his past? His time in the military?” she asked.

“Yeah, he told me about a lot of that stuff. Wait, you mean about his being a sniper or some such?” Jed asked. “He mentioned it to me, but I never really believed it, I mean, if he had done all of that, he wouldn't have been allowed to live would he?”

In response, she hit play on the recording one more time. Through her tears, she watched his face as it slowly turned white.

Joe hadn't been lying. In fact, from the sound of it, he had barely touched the surface of that part of his life. Well, Joe had told him the only reason he could say anything at all was because it was so far-fetched that no one would believe it had actually happened.

But now, his friend was gone and wouldn't be coming back. Jed had tears of his own in his eyes for the loss of his friend. “Well, at least we know he's still alive somewhere.”

Laura nodded. “But he might as well be dead. If he tries to come back here, they'll kill him.”

Jed was about to agree with her, but a sudden thought struck him. “No, I don't think so.”

Laura turned to look at him. “How do you figure? They can't allow him to go rogue again.”

“No, if he is so valuable to them that they retrieved him after all this time, even with all his health issues, they won't kill him. However, they can accomplish the same thing by threatening to kill you,” Jed said. “You are their insurance policy on his behavior.”

After she thought about it for a moment, she nodded. “You're right. They got him to agree by threatening me. If anything happens to me, I think they might have a huge problem on their hands. But, what am I going to do without him?”

“Go on living your life. You heard the recording; he went with them so you could go on living. He made them make sure you would be taken care of. Really, if you stop to think about it, the only thing we can do is keep our mouths shut about this and honor his... uh, last wish,” Jed said with a tear falling down his cheek.

“So, what do we tell everyone when they ask about the mysterious black SUV?” Laura asked.

“This is a trailer park out in the country. Like the one man said, they wanted to foster the idea of the ‘men in black’ abducting Joe. Everyone knows how he was with the conspiracy stuff. Just play dumb and let them draw their own conclusions,” Jed replied. “I doubt there is any other way to prove otherwise.”

“Jed, I need him! I don't know what to do without him!” Laura cried. “We've been together almost every single day for the last twenty years!"

“I know, Laura, I know,” Jed said as the woman put her head on his shoulder and cried. “I'm going to miss him too.”

 

 

The trip up to the station had been mostly uneventful. Becky filled him in on the project he was now a part of, and Joe asked questions. By the time they reached the station, in orbit over the southern magnetic pole, he was more comfortable with the situation.

Joe winced as his right shoulder popped when he saluted the Admiral waiting for him on the station. “Good afternoon, Sir!”

“At ease and welcome aboard, Major,” the Admiral said returning the salute. He offered Joe his hand. “You know you haven't been officially reactivated yet, so you don't have to salute me.”

“With respect Sir, yes I do,” Joe replied as he shook the man's hand. He looked somewhat young for an Admiral, but then again, in the black services, rank usually came quickly.

The Admiral nodded his understanding and thanks. “I would like to introduce my companion and one of the more important people you'll be working with, Jared Small.” he turned to the thin greasy looking man that had stayed back from the greetings until introduced.

The moment his eyes made contact with Jared's, Joe knew this person was insane. He also knew he would kill him one day. Joe knew he had to play nice since the Admiral was there.

Jared stared hard at Joe as if he were trying to tell him something with his mind. The Senior Navigator said nothing nor even nod when the introduction was given. Joe felt an instant dislike for the man and hoped he wouldn't be spending a lot of time with him.

The men that had formed the extraction team were still asleep on the fake jet, but Becky had followed Joe onto the station. She seemed to be hiding from Jared behind Joe.

The Admiral noticed the reactions of the two new arrivals and smiled inwardly. Perhaps this Major would be the right person for the job he needed done. The young Navigator, Becky looked to already like and trust the new man.

Gritting his teeth and fighting the urge to see if he remembered his hand to hand training, Joe nodded to the smaller man, and looked back to the Admiral before Jared could reply.

“Well! Let's get you checked into the station and down to medical. I'm sure you're tired of being in pain all the time!” The Admiral joked.

“Yes, Sir, that I am, but I took a couple pain killers on the trip up so I'm good for a while if there is something else we need to take care of.” He glanced quickly at Jarad. “What do you need me to do?” Joe said.

Hawklings smiled. He was beginning to like this man. “Follow me, son. We'll get you down to medical and get you started.”

Joe was aware of Becky's reaction to Jared, so he made sure the girl stayed close to him. At this point, he really didn't trust anyone, but he trusted Becky a damn sight more than he did Jared!

“Admiral, I'm sure little sister can find her way back to the Citadel once Mr. Anderson has been settled. I'll head back now and have the training department ready for his arrival,” Jared said and left without waiting for the Admiral to dismiss him. For some reason, that really irritated Joe.

It must have shown because the Admiral just sighed. “Relax Major; he does that intentionally to irritate us. I think he likes to think he's in charge around here most times.”

“I understand, Sir. Still, I would think even a civilian should at least respect your rank. After all, a Flag Rank usually commands respect from everyone,” Joe replied.

“You should see him when we have to be at the Citadel. He walks around like a little dictator or something. Everyone does tend to obey him, but I honestly don't know why,” Becky added.

“Excuse me, Sir, but may I ask a few questions?” Joe asked.

“Fire away, it's too late for you to back out now,” Hawklings said, grinning.

“You said I hadn't been reactivated yet. Will I be?” Joe asked.

The Admiral looked thoughtful for a moment. “To be completely honest with you, Major, I really don't know. I can tell you that your former skills are not the reason you’ve been recruited. You see, this situation is unique in the extreme. You are not only the oldest person ever recruited; you are also the only soldier. The fact that you are a black-ops soldier makes it even more unique and potentially far more dangerous. Let me ask you; do you want to be reactivated?”

“I don't think I can give you an answer to that, Sir. I don't have a grasp on what my duties will entail yet. I can tell you that I would like to sanction Jared. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's completely insane. If he has a position of authority there will be trouble with him.”

“Yeah, we're aware of it, but unfortunately, he's also the strongest Navigator we have. I'm afraid your request to sanction him would be denied,” the Admiral said, sounding regretful. “No matter how much people would tend to agree with you.”

“I understand, Sir. So far, everyone I've met appears to be American. Is this an American only operation, or Multinational?” Joe asked.

Becky giggled. “I'm Canadian.”

Hawklings smiled at the girl. “Yes she is, I myself am Australian; I’ve been here long enough to lose my accent. To answer your question, yes; this is a multinational effort. It has to be; too many countries would go to war over it. I am happy to say that it is truly a multinational effort. We have Chinese as well as North Koreans and all colors of Muslims. We are working together up here. Even on BC IV, there isn't any discrimination or even segregation. I keep thinking at this rate, all of us old soldiers will be out of a job.”

“I'm glad to hear that, but I have to disagree with you, Sir. Once our off-world presence gets large enough to have more than one leader, we're going to have problems that soldiers will have to fix eventually. That's just basic human nature.”

“You're probably correct, Major. I pray you're not, but you probably are,” the Admiral replied.

While they had been talking and walking, they got into an elevator that went down at least three floors. They got out and had walked some more.

“Here we are, Major. Your home for the next week,” Hawklings said as he touched a plate that opened the door.

“Sir, I'll be staying with him if I may. I also have a physical due,” Becky asked.

The Admiral was about to answer her when another man walked up and spoke in heavily accented English.

“Of course you can stay, young lady. It will be good for him to see a familiar face during this ordeal. We can update your medical record during his initial treatment," the new, energetic man replied.

“Major Joseph Anderson, may I introduce Doctor Haviar Ortegon. He will be your chief doctor while you’re here. I'll try to get down here to see you from time to time as well, son. However, I need to get back to my office soon. Once again, welcome to Darkwater Station.”

 

 

“Hola mi amigo. As Senior Admiral Hawklings has said, I am Haviar. I have been reading your file. There is much that needs to be fixed in you,” Dr. Ortegon said, nodding.

“Yes there is, Doctor. I'm afraid I'm going to make you earn both of the Peso's they are paying you this time,” Joe said smiling at the man.

Without missing a beat, the man bobbed his head. “Si! I will have to demand a raise for you, no?”

“Perhaps, maybe another full Peso?” Joe asked while Becky chuckled. While he laughed, the doctor was leading them into a private room that was literally packed from wall to wall with equipment. There was a narrow path up to the bed in the center of the room.

“I mean no offense, Doctor, but what exactly are you going to be doing to me?” Joe asked a little nervously and looking at all the equipment.

“Much. There is much to do. You know that the disorder you have is genetic, no?” he asked.

Joe nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“With most recruits, we only need to inject them with nanobots and then guide them in the repair of the body. However, with you, genetics are the root cause of much of the damage done to you.

“With you, we will also be introducing a retrovirus into your system that will correct the defect and end the disorder. The first step in your treatment will be a re-evaluation of all of your body's functions.

“Then we will create a specific retrovirus that will correct the flaws in your DNA. The virus should take about twenty-four hours. Beyond feeling sick to your stomach and flu like symptoms, that should be all the discomfort you should experience. However, we do have ways to help you through those symptoms without interfering with the virus.

“Then, about twelve hours after the virus is injected, we will activate the nanobots and begin work on your body. You will be unconscious for most of that procedure since it is very painful and we really don't want you to move a lot while the bots are working.

“The final stages will be muscle therapy to strengthen and add more muscle mass to your body. Then we release you into physical therapy so you can get used to the changes in your body. Once you've recovered, you will be released from medical,” he finished. "You have questions, no?”

“Thousands, but beyond the fact that you’re going to be rewriting my DNA, the rest of it would probably be more than I could understand. How do you want me to begin?” Joe replied. "Do you know how long this will take?”

BOOK: The Begining (The Navigator Book 1)
10.15Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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