Shadows of the Earth (The Token Book Two), page 23
“Why did Fallow lie?”
“Because the Department of Outer Space isn’t real. It isn’t a sanctioned authority, it’s just a group of fanatics working on their own behalf.” Gary climbed in.
Waylen immediately rolled the window down, since the heat made the car exceedingly stuffy. He found his old water bottle and twisted the cap, finishing the warm liquid. “They flew to the Moon, Gary. That’s not something a weekend club does.”
“Is there proof they did?” Gary asked. “Aren’t we taught to follow the trails? To ensure evidence is legitimate before making arrests? We’re taking a liar’s word for it.”
“They’re all liars. I don’t know who to trust anymore, and that includes Martina Sanchez.”
“Was there something going on between you two?” Gary asked.
“I’d rather not say.”
“Fine. Where to?”
“Martina guessed we might find the last Delta if we bring the two sets together, so what the hell? We have a full day to waste. Why not give it a shot?”
Gary nodded and sped away from Sing Sing. They arrived at the Planetae gates only thirty minutes later, and were greeted with silence.
Waylen got out and wrapped his fingers on the chain link. “Hello?” he called.
“Something’s wrong,” Gary said.
“You have any surveillance gear in here?”
“Trunk.” Gary popped it, and Waylen grabbed a pair of binoculars from a black case.
He used them, scanning the exterior of the building, and halted on the cameras. They appeared to be running. If anyone was inside, he’d be seen on the monitors. A helicopter remained within the fenced yard, along with three light armored vehicles.
Waylen wiped a bead of sweat off his brow and lowered the binoculars. “Not a single sentry. When we were stuck here, they had patrols on the fence. Plemmons wouldn’t be this sloppy.”
“They probably left,” Gary said.
“Without those?” Waylen motioned at the military vehicles. “How are you at climbing over barbed wire?”
“I’m forty-eight with a bad back. How about we try this another way?” Gary hopped into the car and rolled the window down. “It’s the Bureau’s. They won’t mind.”
Waylen stepped aside while Special Agent Charles threw it in reverse, stopping a hundred feet away. He stepped on the gas, making the tires squeal, and barreled into the rolling metal gate. It broke loose, and Gary slammed on the brakes while the gate clattered to the ground.
“That’s one hell of an entrance,” Waylen said, peering at the building. No soldiers came rushing out to stop them.
“That answers that. Let’s check who’s home.”
Waylen’s stomach was in knots as they crossed the couple hundred-yard span, past the LAVs and copter, and reached the doors. His hand wavered by the keypad, hoping his code still worked.
He typed it in, and the latch unlocked.
9
“Did you know about this place?” Silas asked Martina.
“Nope.”
“How long has it been since you were in touch with the other members of the Department?”
“A few years.”
“When all this started, did you contact them? Or vice versa?”
“I didn’t.”
From what Silas was hearing, Martina might not have been a high-ranking member of the secret organization. They watched the series of warehouse bays, particularly the one with the sedan parked out front. The plates matched the car that had run down Rory’s ex. He bet they could test the paint and find Kevin’s blood on the hood. Not that Silas had any guilt on that front. Kevin Heffernan was a scumbag.
“What are we waiting for?” Cody reached for the handle, but Martina glared at him.
“Hold on to your pants, Sanderson,” she said. “I want to know where they are.”
“Only so many options. How about we start with the one his car is parked at?” Cody’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
Martina opened her door. “You two should stay put.”
“Not a chance.” Silas was already out before he finished the sentence. “I thought these guys were on the same team as you, Martina. Are guns really necessary?”
Martina kept her piece holstered. “Time will tell.”
They crossed the mostly empty lot and tried the front entrance. At first, Silas assumed the building was unmarked, until he noticed the letters CME. “What’s that?”
“Something the Department uses on occasion,” she said. “Which means this is the right place.”
There were four glass doors separated by a series of bays for delivery trucks to back into. Martina chose the left option and tried the handle. Of course, it was also locked. “I don’t have time for this,” she muttered, and searched the sidewalk.
“What are you doing?” Cody asked.
“Looking for something to break this with.”
“Won’t that trigger alarms?”
Martina gazed at the parking lot. “I don’t see any cameras, and if they’re inside, the alarm will be off already.”
Silas thought it was strange for a secret government organization to lack surveillance at one of their buildings. It was obvious Martina Sanchez was apprehensive, which didn’t sit well with him either.
Silas found a brick around the corner, and judging by the cigarette butts on the ground, someone kept it to prop the side entrance open. “Will this work?”
Martina threw the brick at the center of the door, shattering it. Fragments clinked to the concrete, and a few followed the brick inside the foyer. She slipped her hand in and flipped the knob.
Silas waited for any sounds to emerge from down the dark hall, but nothing happened. Martina took the lead, brandishing her gun, and Silas activated the flashlight feature on his phone to give them a better view.
They bypassed a couple of offices. “You said the Department wasn’t active,” Cody reminded her.
“We aren’t.”
“Then why are there fresh flowers in this one?” He gestured at the simple bouquet, with petals on the verge of wilting.
Martina paused and entered the office. She picked up a sheet of printer paper with a corporate letterhead on the top. “They might be subletting.”
“Sure, makes sense.” Cody snatched the page, crumpled it, and tossed it into a wastebasket.
“Where’s Rory?” Silas asked.
“Let’s try the warehouse.” Martina hurried, and they walked into the large space. Instead of being empty like she’d predicted, the tall metal racking was filled with pallets. They looked to be selling commercial electrical supplies.
“Rory!” Silas shouted.
“She’s not here.” Martina spun in the middle of the warehouse. “Let’s visit the next bay.”
____________
She was closer than ever to finding the answer. She walked through the villa, not in her own body, but in the echo of another’s memory. Her boots were gigantic, maybe belonging to a male groundskeeper. He stopped near a stone bridge, where a narrow stream bubbled by. The air seemed thick with summer, the grass as green as any she’d ever witnessed.
Rory wanted to gain a better view of the building, hoping for a marker that would determine where the echo took place, but she didn’t have control of the person’s memory. They looked at their feet a lot, pausing at the gardens to check the flowers, dead-heading a few. They dropped the withered flowers into the dirt and continued to the shrubbery a short distance away.
Her eyes ached, and Rory knew she couldn’t stay any longer. Someone called a name, but the words were indecipherable. The man’s chin lifted, and a figure came into sight.
Is that…
The vision swirled, and she awoke on the floor beside the chair, the room completely black. She sensed the Shadow all around her and sat up, trying to piece together the latest echo. Was the other Delta truly in the building she kept seeing? And had that person been who she thought it was? It seemed not only improbable, but impossible. What did he have to do with the third Delta?
Rory stumbled to the exit and banged on the slab. “Let me out.”
There was no response.
“Brett, for the love of God! I have to pee. I’m hungry, and my head is in a vise!”
She pressed her ear to the cool metal and heard footsteps.
“Did you find it?” Brett’s voice was quiet.
Rory considered her options. “Yes! I’ll tell you where the Delta is, just open—”
“You’re lying.”
She sighed, trying to temper the anger growing in her chest. “I can’t do this forever! I have to leave for Boston. You promised—”
“I said you could return when you gave me the location,” Brett said. The barricade between them slightly muffled his words.
Rory felt the Shadow’s edges tickle her face, and she waved the fog into the darkness. She could leave. Would it work again?
The door opened, and a dejected Brett filled her view. “Sorry, Rory. I’m under a lot of pressure to get this done. We’re concerned that with the recent activity, someone’s been notified.”
Rory glanced at the writhing Shadow stuck in the box. “You think that by using the Delta, another race is aware we’re here?”
“It’s a good possibility,” he said.
“Then why keep it running all day?”
“To find the third Delta, so we can shut them off.”
“There’s no data to suggest that’s possible!” she exclaimed.
“Your grandfather believed it. He saw things…” Brett pointed to the chair. “In this very room.”
Rory rushed in and grabbed the Delta. “We have to shut it—”
Brett blocked her and wrestled the alien triangle from Rory. “This is too important. Were you really close?”
Rory nodded, but didn’t want to tell Brett who she’d seen in the latest vision. “I need a break.”
It was six o’clock. How could she travel to Boston by tomorrow morning? She didn’t have her cell phone, and had no way to warn Marg of her absence. Brett held the Delta, with the portal shimmering around him. If he wasn’t careful, he’d travel through. Rory wondered what the destination was, since she’d already used it to get to Loon Lake.
Brett’s phone rang, and he answered the call after setting the Delta in its original place. He turned his back on Rory, and she almost dismantled it, until she heard Brett’s side of the conversation.
“What do you mean no contact? Plemmons? Cameras are down? No, I haven’t found… We haven’t.” He peered at Rory. “Are you sending a team?”
He hung up and looked ten years older.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Jacob B. Plemmons stayed in New York with Clark, and they were using the Delta,” he said.
“Okay, and… ?”
“They’re not responsive. The entire team. Fifty soldiers.”
Rory’s gaze flickered to the Shadow. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”
“You’ve had incidents before, haven’t you?” She strode closer to Brett. “Tell me!”
“A few of our subjects… vanished.”
“Vanished?”
“Through the Shadow.”
“In there?” Rory gestured to the contraption she’d spent all day inside.
“Yes.”
She punched him in the chest, then bashed the bottom of her fist on his arm. “How dare you! You said it was safe!”
“It’s been so long. I…” Brett tapped his leg up and down.
Rory bit her tongue and stared at the box, then the exit across the warehouse floor. “I’m leaving.” She walked and didn’t hear him following.
Before she made it up the steps, voices carried from ahead, and she saw three figures arriving.
Brett shouted behind her, and Rory turned to see the Department of Outer Space member step into the box. A light shimmered from the room she’d sat in for hours, and when it lowered, Brett was gone.
“Rory?”
Her jaw dropped when she recognized the voice. She barreled into Silas, and his arms wrapped around her.
“What was that?” Martina Sanchez asked.
“That was Brett Davis.”
“Where did he go?”
“I’m not about to find out.” Rory released Silas, and undid the tokens.
10
Waylen found the first body ten feet inside the complex. The soldier was unrecognizable, their uniform melted with the rest of them. A weapon lay untouched beside the pile. He swallowed a lump in his throat and kept walking. He and Gary Charles were both holding their guns, trying to piece together what they were seeing.
“Where do we go?” Gary asked.
“This way.” Waylen winced when they passed another mess on the floor. His phone buzzed, making him quickly check it. Rory’s parents’ home number was on the screen, and he declined.
“Was this a chemical attack?” Gary sniffed the air. “We should get out of here, Brooks.”
“No.” Waylen kept walking. “There’s no scent. Whatever caused this is long gone.”
“How can you be sure?”
Waylen couldn’t, so he didn’t comment. He was sick to death of the Planetae complex, and once again, he plodded through its halls, only this time, the occupants were smudges on the floor. They slowly entered the laboratory, watching the Hex. At least two dozen soldiers were dead, and he found countless bullet casings. There had been a battle, with the gunfire focused on the platform.
They’d left Darren Jones here, along with Corporal Tucker, Dr. Rita Singh, Clark Fallow, and Jacob Plemmons, the Secretary of Defense. From what Waylen could tell, none of them were present.
He stepped in something sticky and didn’t look down to see what it was. If he did, he might never recover from the experience. Waylen used his training and compartmentalized the scene, shoving any fear into a dark recess of his mind.
Special Agent Charles muttered curses to himself, but kept his composure while they strode to the Hex. The Shadow lingered within the confines of the six-sided containment field. Waylen touched the exterior, finding tiny bumps over the surface. “They shot it. The soldiers were aiming at the Hex, and unleashed their fury.”
“A lot of good it did them,” Gary said. “They’re all dead.”
“But how?” Waylen spun on the steps to stare at the exit. Every single person in the room was dead, a pile of mush on the floor. “We’ve been so stupid.”
“Yeah, why?”
He banged a hand on the clear barrier. “Because we were working on the assumption that no one was watching!”
“You’re saying aliens did this?”
“Unless you can prove otherwise,” Waylen said.
“What if another planet’s atmosphere leaked through? Or the pressure changed, and they imploded.”
“The structure seems fine.”
Gary shrugged. “It only affected organic beings.”
“That theory has a few holes.”
“Like what?” Gary asked.
“The fact that twenty-something soldiers fired heavy artillery at the Hex in a last-ditch effort.” Waylen observed the misty fog surrounding the void. Pieces lifted and dipped, breaking off to vanish after a few seconds, constantly being replaced with more soupy substance.
“How do we explain this? Who do we tell?” Gary asked. “The Secretary of Defense is dead. NASA’s administrator, gone.”
“We don’t know they’re dead,” he said. Waylen gazed at the portal, then to the lockers where the spacesuits sat. A few were noticeably missing. He recognized pieces of one near the stairs, the edges smeared with what might have been part of a human.
“You’re kidding me,” Gary groaned.
“Stay here.”
“Gladly.”
Waylen expected Gary to protest, and was surprised when he accepted Waylen’s orders.
He put on the suit, remembering the notes from Rita, and seven minutes later, he stood in the Hex, realizing he might be the dumbest man in the world. Before leaving, he sent a text to Charlotte, silenced it, and passed it to Gary. “Call… Martina.”
Waylen attached the helmet and double-checked the settings, ensuring he’d done it properly. Before, he’d had a professional to fall back on.
“You don’t have to do this. We can dismantle the Delta and—”
“And what? Wait for someone to show up? What do we tell them? Look around!”
Gary glanced at the remnants of the soldiers and lowered his chin. “Be careful.”
Waylen entered the Hex and took a few breaths of recycled air. You can do this.
He had no clue what he’d discover across the portal. Would it still lead to the Moon?
The Shadow loomed, no longer an intriguing scientific marvel. Instead, Waylen regarded it with distrust and anger, mixed with a hearty dose of fear. He glanced at Gary, who watched from beyond the Hex’s walls.
Mist parted as he stepped into the foggy hole and away from Earth.
____________
“Where did that guy go?” Cody demanded.
Rory shivered, and Silas did his best to comfort her. “What happened here?”
She glanced at the tokens. “Brett found me in Boston. Kevin was there, and—”
“We saw video footage,” Silas told her. “Are you okay?”
Her watery eyes met his gaze. “Yes. Brett said we had to secure a third set of tokens, and that my grandfather used this room to search for it. It was how they located the second set. Which is right there.”
“This is bananas,” Cody mumbled.
“Did you find it?” Martina asked.
“I was so close. Silas, Peter Gunn knew about it.”
“Huh? How?”
“I saw an echo from a groundskeeper at this villa… I swear it was a younger Peter that came into view near the end of my vision,” she said. “Did you hold on to that diary?”
“I left it in New York, under the mattress.”
“We’re going to need it,” Rory said.
“Okay. And Brett? What was that all about?” Cody walked to the edge of the warehouse. “Something took him into the portal.”
