“So how goes the war council?” I asked as I looked up from my task at hand. From the look on Paul’s face, it didn’t appear that all had gone well.
“Not as good as I would have liked,” he said as he plopped himself down on the chair opposite me. “I hoped that your return would spark more of a fire in their eyes. Instead, it has aroused more suspicion than anything else.”
“Suspicion?!” I half yelled as a stream of peanut butter nearly made its way across the table.
“Yeah, are you familiar with the Helen of Troy story?”
“You’re comparing me to a woman?”
“You know what I mean; why are you busting my balls?”
“I’m sorry, bud, I know the story. The Trojans fought for years and years to get her back and, when they finally succeeded, they figured she was a spy.”
“Exactly.”
“Why would I spy for the government? I already told you they sent me here.”
“It’s not the government, that they are concerned about.”
“Then who is it?” Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Aw, Paul no way! I hate those bastards and what they did! I told you about everything that happened. Why would I possibly spy for them?” I was now shouting and most of the people at the chow hall tried their best to ignore my outburst.
“Mike, try to settle down. I don’t for a minute believe that you are working for them,” Paul said as he pointed skyward.
“But?” I was on the verge of shouting again.
“But some of my officers think that your ‘fantastic escape’ and your timely arrival are just too coincidental.”
“Coincidental? Bud, I know I’m not the sharpest tack on the board, but could you please clarify this for me?”
“Why? Because we are about to start our migration in earnest to the Indian Hill bunker and an invasion seems imminent.”
“Paul, you know how crazy that sounds? I’m the one that told you of the impending invasion; and, if anything, I’ve provided you and your men some crucial preparation time.”
“Mike, I know that and you know that, but my officers are going to need a little more time and a little more convincing. They have suggested everything from detaining you to letting you go. Both of those ideas have their inherent problems.”
“Such as?” I seethed.
“Well, if you are a spy,” he started as I began to rise. “Mike, please sit down. This is not my line of reasoning.” I sat, but my muscles were on full alert. I was tensed to strike but I wasn’t sure in which direction I would go. I hadn’t been this riled up since the battles. Paul continued talking but it took me half a beat to catch up. “…And you left you could tell the aliens exactly where we were going, and if we detained you they might have some sort of way of tracking you.”
“What? Like a friggin’ Lojack?” I sputtered.
“Yeah, pretty much like that.” Paul was trying to lay on the charm, but I was far beyond that. “If you would submit to an MRI, my men would go a lot further into accepting you as one of their own.”
“An MRI? Aren’t you in charge here, Paul? Can’t you make them see the error that they are making here?”
“I’m definitely in charge, Mike, but I don’t MAKE them do anything. They do it because they feel that I’m right. If I go against them on this, I might lose some of their trust. And I just won’t take that chance.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Well, then my friend, you put me in a precarious position. Do I forcibly make you do it and lose the best friendship I have ever or will ever have? Or do I betray the trust of the men and women that have come to serve under me and jeopardize the very mission which I am attempting to accomplish?”
“Well, what if I just leave?”
“I don’t think you’ll make it.”
“Is that a threat, Paul?”
“No, of course not, Mike, but there are officers under my command who feel very strongly about your presence here.”
“Can’t you control your men?” I shouted. The mess hall was rapidly vacating as our argument heated up.
“I can, but I don’t have them on a leash!” Paul shouted to match my own. “Mike, I’m telling you that if you leave here under these circumstances, you are jeopardizing your life.”
“This is beautiful! I battle my way off a hostile ship full of aliens to give Earth all the information about the aliens that I can; just so I can be treated like some kind of virus! Fuck you, Paul! You and your officers! I’m out of here! And if any of your lackeys tries to stop me, I’ll take them out, no questions asked.” I rose and headed for the door when I heard the distinctive cocking of a pistol.
“I’m sorry, Mike, I can’t let you leave. Not like this.”
“Fuck you, Paul… Shoot me in the back if you have to; I’m leaving.” I heard the firing mechanism hit true and a warm sensation that spread across my lower back. He shot me! My best friend shot me! I felt my cheek slam onto the turf. That’s gonna leave a mark, I thought to myself, and, like the movies, I faded to black.
Chapter 7
“Hello, Deb? It’s me, Beth.”
“Beth? Why are you calling me? Do you realize how late it is?”
“I’m sorry, Deb I… I just needed to talk to someone… someone who has experienced what we’ve been through. And I’m worried.”
Deb sat up in bed, wiping the weariness from her eyes; she hadn’t really been sleeping. Truth be told, she hadn’t slept much since her return to Earth. It was partly because of the nightmares but mostly because of her concern for the man she loved.
“Worried about what, Beth?” Deb asked.
“I haven’t heard from Mike since we’ve been back.”
Deb’s interest was piqued. She also hadn’t heard from him since the return, but she figured it was because he made the decision to be with Beth. “What do you mean you haven’t heard from him? I thought he was with you.”
“Oh God!” Beth exclaimed.
Deb could tell that Beth was crying on the other end of the line. “What is it, Beth?”
“I thought he was with you!” she fairly wailed.
“Beth, I thought he was with you.” Deb also became misty-eyed, more from relief than worry, at this point though.
“I love him so much and I treated him so badly. I just wanted to let him know how I truly feel. I hoped and prayed that, by now, he would have found a way to forgive me and at least give me a call.”
Now anxiety welled up in Deb in the same way that relief had flooded her moments earlier. Since he wasn’t with Beth and he wasn’t with her, where the hell was he? Deb’s myriad thoughts were shattered.
“Deb, can I come see you?” It sounded more like a little girl begging her mother to go to McDonalds for lunch than a full-grown woman. Deb barely noticed; she nodded in agreement before realizing that Beth couldn’t see her.
“Sure, Beth. When?”
“Now.”
“Now? Ah… sure.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
"Where are you? Forget it come on over I’ll put coffee on. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Chapter 8
“General Burkhalter please, this is Captain Moirane, clearance code Alpha Omega Foxtrot 227.”
“Right away, Captain,” the drone-like voice said at the other end of the line. After what seemed an interminable amount of time, the captain heard sheets ruffle and the unmistakable, gruff voice of the general.
“Uh, hello? What is it, Moirane?”
“Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, but something is wrong up here.”
“Is there any chance, Captain, that you could be a little more descriptive?”
“Sir, Mike’s arrival at camp set off some serious fireworks among the higher echelon here; and now he’s missing.”
“Missing? How so, Captain? I gave you strict orders to keep a very watchful eye on that young man.”
“Sir, I understand that, but my comings and goings in this c
amp are tightly monitored. I did my best.”
“Apparently, Captain, your best wasn’t good enough. Have you talked to Colonel Ginson?”
“Sir, they won’t let me within one hundred feet of his command tent.”
“Captain, you find out what happened to that man by any means possible or I’ll have a division of Marines up there within a day. Do you understand me!?” The captain could feel the rage steaming over the phone line.
“Sir, yes, sir!” The other side of the line went dead with what seemed more like a clap than a click. The end of the phone conversation was only the beginning of the captain’s problems. How was he going to get to Paul to discuss this matter without letting Paul on to him? That problem, however, was solved easily enough when the captain’s tent flaps burst open and three heavily armed guards strode in.
“Captain, please take out your weapon and place it on your bunk.”
“What is the meaning of this?” the captain shouted.
“Sir, please do as I say and place it on the bunk gently or we will use force.” The two flanking guards stepped forward as if in preparation to enforce those words. The captain took out his weapon, barely able to control the anger inside of him.
“Again, what is the meaning of this?” the captain inquired, now physically shaking with rage.
“Sir, we detected unauthorized transmissions emanating from your tent.”
“Unauthorized transmissions? I was making a call.”
“Nevertheless, sir, all transmissions must be cleared through headquarters. Colonel Ginson wishes to talk to you now, sir.”
Well, at least some good may come of this, he figured. Now, at least, he could go to the source and try to locate the whereabouts of Captain Talbot. The guards completely encircled the captain and marched him unceremoniously to Paul's tent.
“Ah, Captain, what a pleasure it is to see you,” a weary-eyed Paul said.
“I’m not sure I had much of a choice, Colonel,” the captain said as he gestured to the guards flanking him.
“Ah yes, Sergeant, please take you and your men outside; there are a few matters I would like to discuss with the captain.”
“As you wish, Colonel.” The sergeant and the guards retreated from the spacious command tent, the captain was fully aware that they would still be able to hear the conversation, and were only a heartbeat away in the event they were needed.
“Is there any reason, Colonel, why I cannot make a phone call to a relative without prior approval?”
“I did not realize, Captain, that you were in any way related to General Burkhalter.”
The captain’s face fell. “Captain, if anyone ever asks you to play poker, you should politely decline. Now your mind is reeling. How could they know? Is my tent bugged? Was someone listening outside? No, it’s none of those things. We’ve known all along that you’re a plant, Captain.” The captain’s face slipped even further, if that was possible.
“Then why would you let me stay?”
“It’s better to have a spy that we know than one which we may not. And besides, knowing who you were and who you reported to, allowed us to handcraft the information that we wanted you to send.
“What now?”
“Well, we could have you shot as a spy.” Sweat poured off the captain’s forehead. “Don’t worry, Captain. We’re not quite that uncivilized. We are, however, using you as a little insurance policy until my next phase of planning is successfully launched.
“What?! I’m an officer in the United States Army! I will not be treated like this!”
“Enough, Captain!” Paul’s voice raised noticeably. The sergeant poked his head in to make sure that everything was alright. “Everything is fine Sergeant,” Paul said as he waved off the guard dogs. “Relax; we have every intention of letting you go once your purposes here are served.”
“If you know about my conversation, than you must know what General Burkhalter said.”
“I’m fully aware, Captain.” Paul answered as he pushed “play” on a small tape-recording device, which the captain failed to notice on his initial entry.
“I’ll have a division of Marines up there within a day,” the general’s voice said, remarkably clear over the small device. The captain looked up.
“We are able to intercept satellite calls, Captain.”
“So you have all of my calls on tape?”
“Why, of course! How else could we make sure that you were reporting exactly what we wanted you to report?”
“And what of Captain Talbot?”
“That is a matter, which is none of your concern.”
“Colonel, may I comment on the obvious? Captain Talbot is also an officer in the United States military as well as being your best friend; and the reason for which you have set up this entire operation.”
“Captain, do not lecture me! I do not recognize the authority of the United Sates military; and, as for my best friend, that man no longer exists.”
“What are you saying?” Captain Moirane asked.
“I am saying that it is no concern of yours.”
“And what of the Marines that will inevitably be here?”
“Let them come, for they will find an enormous surprise. Sergeant, take this man out of here and keep him restricted to his tent under guard.”
“As you wish. Captain, please come with me.”
“This isn’t the end of it, Colonel! You’ll pay for your insolence!”
“Sergeant, remove him immediately before I do something which I might regret.”
The sergeant wrested the captain out of the headquarters and back to his tent.
“Well, how did that go, Paul?” Frank asked as he walked past Captain Moirane being forcibly removed.
“About as well as could be expected, Frank.”
“Paul, you look tired. Why don’t you catch a few z’s? I’ll take care of anything pressing.”
“Frank, I’d love to, but we’ve got entirely too much work to do. We’re going to have some guests soon and I want to be prepared for them.”
“Guests?”
“Marines, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of five thousand or so.” Frank nearly fell over, were it not for the chair that saved at least some of his dignity.
“What’s the matter, my friend? Don’t you think we can take care of a few of the best that the United States government can throw at us?”
“Uh, sir, I’m confident that we could take care of twice that number, on the ground.”
“But? Come on, Frank; you can be frank with me, no pun intended.”
“Sir, you know as well as I do they aren’t coming up here without some sort of air support. We just don’t have the weaponry to handle that right now. Or at least the training on them.”
“That’s why we are going to blind them.”
“Sir?”
“Colonel, get the satellite jammers up and running, full power.”
“Full power? Paul, you know as well as I do that if those jammers run too hot, they’ll knock the satellites out.”
“That’s the idea, Frank. I’ve got a huge surprise for our guests and I don’t want them to have any clue what it might be. And as soon as you have that completed, get the rest of the staff in here. We have a lot of groundwork to complete and not much time to do it in.”
Chapter 9 - CIA Headquarters
“General Burkhalter, what a pleasant surprise it is to have you here.”
“Oh come now, Doctor; you know I can’t stay away from our prize captive. How is the commander doing?”
“Quite well, General. We gave him a computerized chess game three days ago and he is already at a grandmaster level.”
“What’s his record?”
“Sir, he hasn’t lost.”
“He’s playing at a grandmaster level and he hasn’t dropped a game?”
“Sir, he is an amazing specimen, I would have to rate his IQ equivalency somewhere in the two hundred and thirty to two hundred and fifty range.”
/> “So, he has brains to match all that brawn? What are we in for?” The general shuddered, he hadn’t been this scared since he was a boot lieutenant in the jungles of Vietnam.
“Doctor, do you think perhaps only the supreme commander is this smart?”
“Sir, I’ve been talking to him, and, on his home planet, they play a game similar to chess but much more involved. They use something along the lines of sixty-four pieces that move inter-dimensionally. He rates himself as somewhat of a middling player at that game. Sir, he claims his strong point is what we call diplomacy.”
“How are his spirits?”
“Sir, he, for lack of a better term, is as cool as a cucumber. And completely confident that his stay here will be a very short term event.”
"Paging General Burkhalter, you have a call waiting for you." Came over the intercom.
“Excuse me, Doctor. I have to take this call.”
“Sure thing, General. I’ll be down the hall if you need me. There was something unusual in his blood sample that I wanted to go over again.”
“What do you mean ‘the Captain missed his check-in time’?!” The general was severely pissed off.
“Sir,” the major’s voice sounded more like a little boy being berated for drawing on the living room wall. “Sir, since your last communication with the captain, all radio and satellite transmissions from the Mount have gone completely blank. And one more thing, sir.”
“Well, what is it, Major? I don’t have all day.”
“Sir, all of our satellites over the Mount have gone dark.”
“Dark? How is that possible?”
“Sir, it’s some sort of high-powered, jamming device.”
“Can’t we switch to a different frequency?”
“Sir, by dark, I mean completely burnt. The signal was so strong, it appears that the internal circuitry has been fried.”
“Fried? How long ‘til it can be repaired?”
“Sir, it’s irreparable.”