CHAPTER 13
FLIGHT!
The man who runs may fight again.
- Menander
Barns and Bates huddled on the bed in far corner of the little room, cornered like pathetic defenseless rats, shaking with fear, as the sound of mysterious footsteps steadily approached.
Mel Guthery gave Bates his usual friendly little wave of the hand as he walked into the room. "Hi Bates," he said.
After expecting to see murderous bat-pig space aliens, or at least crazed cannibal Civil Servants, Bates and Barns both sighed in relief, and together collapsed down on the small bed, while Milo ran happily to greet Mel with his tail wagging rapidly.
"I'm glad I caught you before you went to the airport Bates, there are some really weird things happening!”
Mel then suddenly realized that someone else was lying on the bed next to Bates, completely hidden in a blanket. "Oh gosh Narb, I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company. It's just that I was really desperate to get in touch with you, and your COM doesn't work, and I saw your car outside!” Shocked and embarrassed, Mel started to back out of the room.
Bates sat up and motioned for him to stay. "No, no Mel! Don't be silly, everyone knows I don't have a love life. This is just Dr. Barns. He's exhausted and needs medical help and the police too, in my opinion."
Mel stared in amazement at the blanket-wrapped figure lying on the bed. "Dr. Barns? Really? Oh! I take it this means that the honeymoon with Twig is over then?”
Barns sat up wearily and faced Mel. "It was no honeymoon; I can assure you of that!”
"Good lord! What has happened to you, Dr. Barns? You look terrible! Smell awful too!”
Bates answered for the worn out Dr. Barns, who with a sigh lay back exhausted on the bed again. "He says that he was abducted and nearly eaten by space aliens, Mel.” He couldn't help smiling.
"Oh?" exclaimed Mel, straight faced. "Most unusual behavior for space aliens, in my experience.”
Bates laughed! This was rare humor from Mel. It was somehow reassuring that Mel also saw as nonsense the very idea of space aliens. Another few minutes alone with Barns, and Bates feared that he would have been converted over to the absurd space alien notion himself.
In the meantime Mel sat down in a chair near the bed, placed Bates' bedroom VISICOM unit on his lap, and quickly entered a few commands. The VISICOM responded with something on its miniaturized screen that Bates couldn't see. After pulling a screwdriver from a pocket, Mel rapidly started to take the COM unit apart. "I don't think that these particular space aliens are a laughing matter, Narb. Not if they did THAT to Dr. Barns. Besides, maybe they're the ones that took your safe," said Mel, in an off-hand manner.
"WHAT?" Bates shot up off the bed, his head spinning. "Come on now guys! Space aliens? Get real! And what the heck safe are you talking about Mel? And by the way, what the heck are you doing to my COM unit?"
Mel continued fussing with the VISICOM unit. "That's what I came here to tell you. I was working after hours on your Dannos problem at the Base when I heard a loud crash. It sounded like it came from the administration wing. By the time I got there it was evidently all over. What a mess! After looking things over, I tried to call you. But your COM's broke. Maybe I can fix it.” The absent minded savant paused and mumbled to himself as he stared fixedly at the disassembled COM unit, and then started methodically sifting through the parts, further exasperating the unit's owner.
"OK Mel, if my COM wasn't broke before, it certainly is now! Please Mel, what happened at the Base?”
Mel returned to his story as he began to re-assemble the COM. "Well, first of all, I got paperwork from you and Sandra making me the Secretary of the Navy."
"Congratulations. You like going to the beach so I thought that you’d like the Navy."
"Thanks very much for the raise. Yes, I always liked the Navy, back when we had one. But that's not the biggest news. Your safe, Bates; you know, the big one in your new office that you were so curious about? It's simply gone! What's more, it looks like it was taken right out through the wall of your office, through a foot-thick, steel-reinforced concrete wall! There was a two-meter square hole leading through the wall and right out to the parking lot. Damnedest thing! No machinery tracks were evident, just a set of ordinary looking footprints that led through the rubble and over the soft ground outside. The footprints were sunk several inches into the soft soil, as if a great weight made them. All my observations are consistent with the premise that someone simply lifted the half-ton safe in his arms and walked out through the wall with it!”
"Renson, I’d bet," volunteered Barns, his voice shaking with fear. "Alien technology, of course: super strength!”
"I wouldn't doubt it," said Mel, shaking his head in agreement.
The story that Mel told about the safe fit perfectly with the story that Barns told; the one about aliens that Bates still didn't want to believe. Bates still had doubts, but he respected Mel's views too much to easily dismiss them.
"Extraordinary!” Mel had apparently already completed reassembly of the COM unit, and it was not immediately clear to Bates which thing his brilliant friend found to be extraordinary, the notion of Renson as a space alien who could walk through concrete walls, or the reassembled VISICOM. Either seemed equally improbable and extraordinary to Bates.
As to the COM unit, Bates knew that although his friend was a Nobel Prize winner in theoretical physics, he was far from being an expert in electronics. However, though Bates' head was spinning over the concept of real space aliens in their midst, Mel's current interest appeared to be focused on the COM unit. The VISICOM unit now outwardly appeared normal, suggesting complete assembly, but one small metallic disk remained in Mel's hand.
"What is this thing, do you suppose?" asked Mel, as he showed the little disk to Bates.
"I suppose that it’s part of my bloody COM unit Mel!” returned Bates.
Mel shook his head. "No, I don't think so Narb. Not if I correctly remember my VISICOM circuitry basics. I studied the matter quite thoroughly a few months back when my own home unit went on the frizz. This seems to be a completely extraneous component. It was located right where the COM unit self-diagnostics I just ran said it would be."
"Heah? Let me see that thing!” Bates fancied himself a hands-on lab man, a bloke that dealt with high-tech electronics stuff like this every day. He sat on the edge of the bed, turning the small disc over and over in his hands. He had no idea what it was.
"It's a Radio Shack Mark 93 Viper," volunteered Barns, who had sat up next to Bates to also examine the object.
"A what?" asked both Bates and Mel.
"A bug, gentlemen. Good frequency response for sound, but only a short broadcast range. Cheap, effective, and made domestically. We used them extensively in the Bureau.” Bates now recalled that Barns had been in charge of the FBI for a short time, back when there was a non-Chinese source of electronics and an FBI. Since then all national police groups had been consolidated to form the National Police.
Abruptly everyone froze, and stared wide eyed and silent at the tiny disk, acutely aware that someone was probably listening to them at that very moment. Alien eavesdroppers could be right outside the apartment now, waiting for the ideal moment to spring an attack!
Bates was the first to move. With amazing presence of mind, he cautiously laid the tiny disc on the bed. "Ah, men, this whole thing has exhausted us,” he announced loudly, in the direction of the Viper, while winking at Mel and Barns. “So let’s all take a nice long nap now. After a few hours of sleep, I'm sure that things will look different."
Bates next gently covered the bug with his thick down pillow. Then he tiptoed to his goldfish tanks and quietly dropped a two-week size block of slow release fish food into each one. He filled his pockets with Beef-Basted Milk Bones, put on a coat, picked up the bewildered Milo in his arms, and tip-toed towards the front door, motioning with a shake of his head for Mel and Barns to follow him.
They needed litt
le encouragement. Barns, terrified and plainly near the end of his strength, leaned heavily on Mel as they followed Bates towards the front door. More questions and answers would have to wait. The primary thought on everyone's mind right now was to get the hell out of there.
Outside, the foursome looked about fearfully, but saw nobody approaching them in the dim moon-light, including killer aliens. They were still reluctant to speak aloud however, and even Milo remained silent as his master placed him into the shotgun position of the Nitro and Mel helped Barns into the rear seat.
Bates was pleased with the escape progress until Mel, instead of climbing into the Nitro, ran to his own car and opened the trunk. However, by the time Bates frantically motioned to Mel to abandon his tiny solar powered car for the bigger, faster Nitro, the physicist had already retrieved something and was already returning.
As Mel climbed into the back seat of the Nitro with Barns, Bates saw that he carried a strange looking apparatus. At first Bates thought it was some sort of weapon, though any weapon would be totally out of character for Mel. Then he recognized it as an electronic frisking apparatus exactly like the one that Hank had used on him earlier that week. Mel turned the apparatus on and passed it over himself, Bates and Barns, and all around the interior and exterior of the Nitro, as he softly whistled an old Beatles melody.
"Yes, we're clean," whispered Mel, as he finally turned off the bug detector and slid it under the seat. "Well, filthy, actually, especially Barns, but there are no electronic bugs here, or at least none that currently broadcast the usual frequencies. I had to whistle in case there were sound activated bugs to turn on.”
"Well," commented Bates, "It's Been a Hard Day's Night was a really appropriate tune to whistle, Mel. It's been a tough one so far, that's for darn sure."
"We'll have to keep windows part-way open, Bates, despite the cold," added Mel, as Bates started up the Nitro and drove slowly out of the driveway. Though they had by now partly adapted themselves to the horrid smell emanating from Barns, inside the cramped Nitro they simply had to have some fresh air. Despite the December cold, they opened all the windows nearly half-way. Milo, sitting in his accustomed front seat position next to Bates, was able to place his head entirely out the side window. Suddenly, as the Nitro started down the street, Milo growled deeply and turned to stare intently at something behind them. The dog’s hair stood on end as he began barking enthusiastically.
Glancing in his rearview mirror, Bates was astonished to see a tall slim pedestrian, well illuminated for the moment by a streetlight, running towards them and gaining rapidly, although they were already traveling at least 60 KPH. The short glance was enough for Bates to recognize Renson. He looked again just to be sure he hasn't seeing things, and saw that the shadowy figure was almost upon them, moving at impossible speed!
Bates suddenly believed in super-powered space aliens. He floored the accelerator, and the Premium Fuel powered Nitro exploded down the road, leaving a haze of burned rubber that overloaded some of Renson's more sensitive sensors for a few moments. Bates was far too busy keeping the vibrating, swerving Nitro on the road to look at any engine gages, but several audio systems were simultaneously warning him of excess speed, engine stress, tire ware, etc., while his human passengers screamed at him to slow down.
Bates soon realized that he had to let up on the accelerator or risk either tearing the Nitro apart or losing control of the vehicle as it shimmied dangerously down the narrow residential street. Even as he began decelerating, he had to swerve wildly to narrowly avoid a head-on collision with an approaching black sedan.
Screeching to a stop at the intersection with the main highway, he turned to look back, half expecting to again see a rapidly approaching Renson. The good news was that Renson had evidently ceased his amazing foot pursuit. The bad news was that Renson was climbing into the black sedan, which Bates now recognized to be Twig's Mercedes.
As the big black Mercedes quickly screeched through a U-turn, Bates launched the Nitro down the highway with tire rubber burning acceleration, and suffered another chorus of back-seat driver protests. These were quickly silenced when Bates pointed out that Renson and Twig were in hot pursuit and only a hundred or so meters behind them.
Evasive maneuvers were called for. They changed direction at the next two intersections that they came to, nearly skidding out of control. Bates was pleased with their progress. Even at less than half throttle, the Nitro was reaching well over 150 KPH in the straight stretches.
"Are they still back there?" Bates asked Mel, who now sat braced on the back seat looking out the rear window, while Barns lay cowering below him on the floor.
"They seem to be actually catching up!” answered Mel. Bates risked another glance at a rear-view mirror. Sure enough, the black sedan was only about 50 meters behind them and gaining rapidly!
They needed more speed. Bates turned onto a freeway access ramp and accelerated. Fortunately, traffic was very light. Even so, he could only safely push the Nitro to about 250 KPH, which was more than double the legal speed limit and 100 KPH faster than any other traffic.
The group was gratified to see the black Mercedes falling behind steadily. In minutes it was out of sight. They all remained in great danger though, as the vibrating Nitro almost constantly threatened to swerve out of control as it streaked through light traffic.
Bates at last slowed down to a more manageable speed and handed Mel his auto's portable VISICOM unit. "Is Jane at home, Mel?”
"Sure, I guess so," replied Mel. "I just COMed her before coming to your place, to tell her that I'd be home a little late."
"Well," said Bates, "you shouldn't go home at all. Tell Jane that we have an emergency, and to drop off the kids with your sister down the street and meet us in old clothes at the car wash at Blue and Sunnyside in 15 minutes.”
"But why call Jane, Bates?" asked Mel.
"Two reasons, my friend," answered Bates. "First, thanks to the bug they know that you're with us, Mel. So when they lose us they may head straight for your place too. Second, Jane is a nurse, and we need someone to take care of Barns. Tell her to bring first aid stuff, soap, clean clothes, and towels. Oh, and something to kill odors too, please!”
Meanwhile the ailing Barns sat up long enough to reach over Bates’ shoulder and grab some of Milo's Milk Bones from a shirt pocket. Much to the dismay of Milo, the man began to wolf them down ravenously.
"Oh, sorry Barns," said Bates. "Tell Jane a little food and drink would be appreciated by us too; Barns hasn't eaten since Monday, except for some dog biscuits.”
"Or taken a bath either," noted Mel, who took another deep breath from his open window before starting his COM call.
It took tremendous persuasion by Mel to get his wife Jane into action, especially when Mel mentioned that Bates was involved. Though he overheard only Mel's side of the conversation, it was clear to Bates who generally instructed whom to go where and do what in their marriage, not that this was news to Bates. Nevertheless, Mel finally hung up the phone and announced that Jane would do what Bates requested.
As Bates whipped the Nitro off the freeway and towards the car wash, Mel started to tell him what he had found out about Dannos. However, at the mention of Dannos Barns astounded his companions once again by telling them what Twig had told him about the Ra, and how they claimed that they had altered the orbit of Dannos so that it would collide with Earth! How this basic fact could be concealed from Earth astronomers was a mystery to Barns, however. Orbits could be very accurately predicted using mostly Newtonian physics and numerical computer methods. Any changes to the path of Dannos should have easily been detected years ago.
Bates answered that question by summarizing the discoveries Janet had made earlier that week. Someone must have modified the CTAO software to conceal the true path of Dannos! This was confirmed by Mel. His astronomer friends had told him that although the Government was trying to cover it up, they expected that the news of the impending disaster wou
ld soon become public. Barns again contributed a critical piece of the puzzle by revealing that Melberg had worked on the CTAO software when he was at NASA. That, added Bates, explained why the NP was after Melberg.
All of the horrible puzzle pieces were starting to come together. Space aliens called the Ra had conspired to destroy the Earth! According to Barns, after the disaster human cultural remains that they had gathered would be sold to Galactic collectors at a huge profit.
For the moment however, further discussion and thought on such matters was curtailed, as they had at last arrived at the car wash.
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