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Chapter -12-

Calm Between the Storms

Tuesday January 30, 8:40am EST Aboard the "Busty Belle" yacht ...

Fox Parker opened his eyes with a yawn. He felt something across his stomach and gazed beneath the covers. Topaz's leg was draped across his midsection. He eased up onto his elbows, arching his back. He stretched, causing several pops from his lower back then sighed in relief and dropped back onto his pillow.

Fox reached down, between his knees and withdrew a pillow. He brought it up and propped it beneath his head. Another stretch. Parker sat up, resting against the stack of pillows wedged against the headboard. He reached back down beneath the covers and rested his hand on Paz's shin.

He casually glanced across the king-sized mattress and grinned at his sister, splayed out diagonally. He saw some of her hair poking out beneath the covers. His other hand slid through the comforter until his fingertips met her soft auburn hair. "Good morning, beautiful."

She murmured, face down, causing her words to be unintelligible.

"Yeah, I hear you," he added with a grin. "And how did we sleep?"

Again, Topaz murmured, face down in the mattress. She spoke from the side of her lips, making it easier for him to understand. "I earned the right to sleep in after last night." A pause then, "How'd you sleep?"

Fox shrugged. "Like a rock."

Vincent Nevada sat up on the other side of the mattress with Topaz's face on his chest, using him as a pillow. He rubbed his face and said, "I slept hard. Definitely the most comfortable mattress ever. You rich kids and your luxury beds. I could get used to this."

Fox laughed softly. He brought his hand up and rubbed his face. "Yeah, pillow-top mattresses are cushy. My side is set to a firmer setting than yours, Vin. I ache if I sleep on something too soft."

"So, no regrets?"

"Not from me." Fox stretched and rubbed his face. "I gotta ask, though. Last night, you mentioned the island you and Topaz stayed on that first time together two weeks ago. Did I hear you right? Falcon plans on demolishing it? How does one go about destroying an island?"

"Blowing it up I guess. It's pretty remote. Nobody will notice. Are you thinking about investigating it before it's gone?"

"Shut up you two." Topaz's muffled grunt came with her shifting her weight. She drew her legs from Fox and pulled her face from Vincent, wiggling down into the blankets at the center of the mattress between them. "Talk somewhere else."

Fox grinned. He shrugged and slid out of bed then nodded for Vincent to follow. Parker slid into his Pajama pants then dug through a nearby dresser drawer and tossed another pair of PJ pants to Vince. "These'll fit you. They have a drawstring."

"Is it weird that I'm wearing your pajamas?"

"I won't say anything if you don't." Fox stretched again. "Let's go talk to Karla. I want to go out there. I'll take Reno and Evan with me. We can do a little training, a little recon, and document the proof that we may need for the profile we're building on Falcon."

"Can you wait until Thursday? I haven't really seen my brother in, like, six months. He and I were going to check out Florida in his new car."

"How long do we have?"

"They're not scheduled to take down the island for a few more days." Vincent paused then shrugged. "It's probably best you don't show up while they're in the middle of clean up, because they'll have a lot of people there doing stupid stuff. If you wait a few days, there will be a much smaller crew, if anyone at all."

Fox rubbed his chin. "You might be right, man. So, uh, should we keep last night to these four walls? I don't want Reno to get weird or anything."

"It might be best. But not because I'm afraid Reno might judge me. I just don't want anyone else to feel uncomfortable."

Fox grinned. "They're uncomfortable enough about me and Topaz. But you know what's funny? If you do a DNA test on us, we don't come back as fraternal twins. It looks more like Sinopa was a surrogate. But when you put a photograph of us with Sinopa and my father, Jon, you can tell just by looking that we're related."

"Guys!" Topaz grumbled and pulled one of the pillows over her head.

Vincent pointed to the attached bathroom. Fox followed him into it and shut the door.

"So, how can you guys be twins but a DNA test says you're not even related?"

"We're what you call a genetic Chimera. I don't know much about it. Falcon used to work for the Esoteric Community as a doctor in the 90's. Before stealing powers and all that crap. Anyhow, he was my mother's fertility doctor. She's a deity. Dad was a human. Falcon said it would be difficult to create a natural born child. Not impossible, just difficult. So he 'helped'. But he also said he wanted to do some slight 'genetic manipulation' to make it easier for her to carry. He said she would have otherwise had a very difficult pregnancy. Turns out it was Falcon's plan all along. I don't know much more than that. Topaz has done some research on this stuff but it's still a little weird to follow."

"So technically, when you guys have sex, it's _not_incest?"

"Technically no. We are born as fraternal twins. We think and look alike. But we're Chimeras, so, without a better way to explain it, if we had kids they wouldn't have webbed feet."

"I thought that was a myth anyway?"

Fox shook his head. "Not really. If there's several generations of direct-relative children, eventually they'd start having problems. The webbed foot thing is the tame side of possible side effects. But anyway, Topaz and I aren't genetically related when it comes to combining genetics that way. It's weird. We have two pairs of genetics. Our biological parents, Jon and Sinopa. And then I have another genetic set of parents, and Topaz has yet another. It's weird, right?"

Vincent rubbed his chin then leaned on the bathroom sink. "So the weirdest part about this relationship, now, is that we're in a love triangle?"

Fox grinned. "I thought love triangles are bad things. This is more of a ménage à triose. I won't lie, I was surprised when you guys asked me to come hang out with you two, last night."

Vincent glanced in the mirror and sighed. "You wouldn't be the first guy I've dated. But she's definitely the first woman I've dated. So, let me make sure I have the plan right. You want me to father Topaz's children, but then we're going to somehow fake a DNA test so Dr. Falcon thinks you're the father? Why?" Vince slid up onto the sink and sat on it.

Fox turned to Vincent and put his hands on Nevada's knees, facing him. He sat down on the closed toilet lid and looked up at Vin with a nod. "Falcon went through all that nonsense to try and get a baby out of me and my sister. We're talking twenty-five years of planning. We have come to the conclusion that Falcon believes the most important 'artifact' is a person. You know how some people can be biometrically coded to open a lock?"

"You mean like a retina scan? Eyes, finger prints, blood?"

"Pretty much. Now, imagine if their DNA was the key? So, if you were in Falcon's shoes, you'd require the person who can physically open the so-called 'door' to personally come and act as that key."

"So what if the child is mine? What are you two planning, Fox?"

Falcon will wait until the kid is a certain age then, one day in the future, he'll come for the child. He'll bring the kid to the city where you'll be living with Falcon. And whatever figurative door Falcon intends on opening ... it won't work. It will set him back. And you'll come through, grab your child, and leave. Pretty genius right?"

"How on earth are we going to trick a geneticist?"

"We'll work with all our resources. Lance will help us figure out a way to fake the first test. The child will live with Topaz on the surface, and you'll visit often."

"Fox, if this is going to be airtight, we'll have to tell the child that you're his or her father. We'll have to lie to the child, too."

"Damn, Vin. You might be right. But that's going to be difficult on you."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is. But we're talking about saving the world, here. There's a possibility that Topaz and I will have several kids, and we can tell Falcon that just one of them is yours."

"However we decide to do it, we just need for Falcon to be the one who is duped in the end."

"What if the relationship doesn't work out? I'll be gone a lot. I don't want to ruin things."

"Vincent, you can visit whenever you want. Topaz and I have access to enough money that we could ruin the global economy if we flooded it with cash. It goes without saying that we can afford to fly you in to visit any time you want and show up at a moment's notice. But Aris Falcon expects Topaz to start having kids. Did you know her ovulation cycle lasts several days longer than the average person? Falcon really wants her to pump out kids."

"We just started dating and we're already talking about me becoming a dad. It's kind of scary. But at least I know they'll be completely taken care of."

Fox stood up, his hands still on Vincent's knees. "And so will you."

Vincent licked his lips, nearly nose to nose with his girlfriend's brother. "I appreciate that more than you know. I appreciate you joining us last night, too."

Fox offered a gentle smile. "I appreciate you two inviting me." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Vincent's. In return, Vince draped his arms around Fox's neck.

X

X

Wednesday, January 31, 3:20pm CST Chicago ...

** Johann Foster balled his hands up** and took a deep breath. Upon a rolling metal tray, a woman's body lay in silence. Stitches started at each shoulder and came down to create a 'Y' just above her navel.

"How could I have been wrong? I was an outstanding investigator for the Justiciar."

A hand clasped Johann's shoulder. "That was nice of them to leave you alone so you could pay your respects."

"Charlie is out there, on the run. He's scared and he doesn't need the psychosomatic crap imposed by Falcon hunting him. If this was, in fact, Falcon to begin with. It's possible that this was something else." He paused then said, "But the cops said nothing was taken from her purse, the jewelry box was intact. If it gets back to Falcon that he got the wrong person ... I don't ... I just ... man what if he abducted Charlie? What if he's stealing my brother's ability right now? "

"Indeed. But the detectives also said there were another set of prints in the canvasing. Yours because you lived there in the past ... but mostly in the room at the end - your mother. And another person. Won't they search for your brother because of those prints?"

"No. I told them he was with me in San Francisco. We've already learned we cannot trust the police. I hate that I lied to them but I had to do it so that no one else looks for him while I conduct my own investigation." Johann turned back to Justus and grimaced. "This changes everything. Everything is messed up. I'm a mess right now."

Justus folded his arms. "Mister Foster, you've been through a great deal of trauma. Six months ago, you were a completely different person, young man. Doing autopsies for the Justiciar, and keeping schedules and hiding in his shadow. Do you remember how much of a coward you once were?"

"That was before Evan. Before I learned how to make myself somewhat bulletproof. I can now exude an aura around myself that changes anything that might threaten me. It's given me confidence. I feel formidable but let's face facts - powerful or not, I couldn't have stopped ... this."

A third voice came from behind. "This runs deeper than you think, Johann."

Foster whirled about, facing away from his mother's body. He glared at the man across the room but said nothing. After a brief stare-down, the man approached and glanced at the woman on the metal slab then back at Johann.

Justus turned his head to Johann and said, "This is CIA Agent Greg Watson. He just flew in from Florida. He's here on behalf of a Government agency that worked with Justiciar Reinhardt."

"Johann, I'm sorry about your mother. There are some things I need to brief you on. We'll need a room that's secure. An autopsy room isn't quite what I had in mind, however."

"Give Mister Foster another moment to grieve and to pay his respects, Agent Watson. Then we'll all go together."

Watson frowned. "Yes, of course. Sorry. Justus, let's go outside and talk. I have news from Steven. He and Lance have decided that Johann should become the new Justiciar for the time being. They want to start over with one sect. The President acknowledges the genocide of the esoteric community and my report has been turned in. The Joint Chiefs claim they have never heard of Aris Falcon, nor have they heard of Sire." Watson took Justus by the forearm and led him away from the autopsy body locker.

Johann withdrew his cell phone and called Karla. A moment later a male voice answered. He recognized the voice belonging to Fox Parker. "Hey, is Karla there?"

"She left her phone here on the table. She's returning the rental van but she'll be back later. What's up? How've you been?"

Johann sighed. "Fox. It's been nuts. I'll give you all the details later. I just needed a shoulder to lean on. Karla has nice shoulders, you know? What's going on in your neck of the woods?"

"Vincent told us that the island out in the Atlantic, the one that Falcon was using as a staging area, is scheduled to be demolished soon. I don't know how they're going to destroy an entire island, but I don't put it past the guy."

"There's got to be a reason why they're covering their tracks. You should get out there before it's gone and see what you can find."

"Yeah. Tomorrow, I'm taking Evan and Reno on a 'hero training mission.' Vincent seems to think it will be unstaffed shortly before detonation. We're going to skydive in, then have Karla come pick us up in the yacht."

"Sounds good. Look, uh," Johann looked back down at his mother's body and sighed. "I'll catch up with you, bud. Tell everyone I said hi."

"Will do, Johann. You okay? You sound like something's wrong."

"No, I'm just ... hey, do you know some agent named Greg Watson?"

"Yeah. He brought Patience over from South Africa. I don't know him very well, but Rufus and Karla have nothing bad to say about him."

"Alright. Topaz and Vincent still together?"

"Yup."

Johann nodded. "Yeah. That's cool. I didn't mean that to sound judgmental. Just, you know, the thought of the alternative is a little weird to me. But it's cool. We're still friends, right?"

Fox chuckled over the phone. "Of course we are. Nothing's changed, bro."

"Alright, that's cool. I'm got to go. I've got a lot going on, Fox. Tell everyone I said hi, and tell Evan I miss chasing the bad guys with him."

"Alright. Stay safe. See you when you're done with Chicago."

"Thanks Fox. Bye."

"Bye."

Foster thumbed his phone's screen and cut his gaze back to his mother's face then held his breath, trying to hear Watson and Justus, across the room."

Watson continued to talk in mid-conversation with Justus Loupe. The agent sighed, as though frustrated, and said, "Things are weirder than I realized. You remember the two cabinet members that mysteriously died in a car accident last October? Never thought I'd be involved in real life conspiracies as a kid but ever since the summer of 2011, they're starting to become commonplace for me."

"Go on, Greg."

"The Government put the two cabinet members to death for treason - their executions were made to look like a car accident because people cannot know about esoteric beings and..."

Johann looked back at them and cleared his throat before they could leave the room. "Hold it." Justus and Greg paused. Foster put his hands on his hips. "Turn around." They turned to face him. He folded his arms and said, "If I'm supposed to be the new Justiciar ... then I need to hear this. What's going on?"

Watson grimaced then walked back across the autopsy lab towards Johann. "Remember the Obama administration? Massive multi-trillion dollar debt and nobody could figure out where that money was going?"

"I was a kid." Johann frowned then nodded. "I remember my parents griping about it. We're from Chicago, after all. All eyes on Obama. Why?"

"In 2011," Watson began, "The President and his staff were made acutely aware of a supernatural presence. They were read-in by the Paranormal Investigative Unit put into place quietly by J. Edgar Hoover. But this group was literally only a handful of people. Still, it was a new beginning. There was a doomsday situation and select supernaturals were chosen to stop it. They opened up détente with the US Government for logistical support. Before long, there was a treaty. The Justiciar and several sect leaders signed the pact with the government of several countries. The agreement says that supernatural people will not use their abilities in public. Esoteric people cannot break laws or use their abilities to do things ... like ... win millions at a casino or any of that nonsense."

"A code of conduct."

"Exactly. The US Government had to start a modernized Paranormal Research and Investigatory branch to help the sect leaders with wayward supernaturals. In return, they would occasionally help with matters of private or national security that were above and beyond..."

Justus cut in. "Marvel Comics has been doing this for years in X-Men story arcs. This idea is nothing new. They basically kept all hell from breaking loose by giving non-supernatural people 'peace of mind.' SHIELD, an Earth Council behind SHIELD. This is nothing new, man. Life imitates art, imitates life, imitates art, imitates life. It's a weird thing, sometimes."

Watson nodded and continued. "I don't read comics. Anyhow, it was rare that they were called upon for help. You're talking about funding a whole new branch with divisions, teams, operatives, investigative agents, research and development people ... by the end of the first year, there were twenty-five hundred employees, all with extremely high security clearance and given regular psyche evaluations. THERE is your sixteen trillion dollar debt. Well ... three-sixteenths of it, anyhow. The President signed off to create this new group but left it in the hands of the director and two cabinet members. For the last decade, we've refined our partnership. We police your people and hand them over to your people if help is necessary."

"We?" Johann tilted his head briefly. "I thought you were CIA?"

"I'm moonlighting as CIA. I report to a CIA Liaison. She's disappeared and the FBI never found her ... but the CIA still recognizes me in the building and I have clearances. That's the Government for you ... suddenly, more responsibility for the same pay. The director calls me to his office, and I liaise. That's what I do for the CIA. I have a CIA badge and ID. It's all very 'official.' However, I worked for the USPRI," he said, pronouncing the word as 'Osprey.'

"That one sounds familiar," said Johann. "How long have you been with them, agent?"

"For quite some time now. After Sire came around last summer, he forced the right people in the right places to plan an offensive against the esoteric community. Said that we were in a secret war against your people. Things changed for the worst. The United States unofficially began working with Falcon's people. They trained mercenaries and groups of law enforcement officers from around the country in order to stage a multi-front attack, which began last August."

Johann bit his lower lip and simply murmured the word, "Jesus."

Watson glanced at the body of the woman then back at Johann again. "Yeah ... it was a mess. Sire used the right people to force my entire agency to contact nearly every esoteric person at once ... these supernatural persons were lied to - told they had an extremely crucial meeting to attend in regards to something important. They were told that their lives were in danger and that the US Government and Justiciar Reinhardt wanted to meet with them in groups in order to discuss the threat so that they could protect themselves. Said it was a virus. So our people gathered in groups all over the country on the same night. And ... they made your people targets."

Justus Loupe folded his arms and shook his head. "And that's how ten thousand people were able to ambush and murder one hundred thousand supernaturals. Johann, we were studied, researched, duped, gathered into small groups, caught off guard, and slaughtered."

Johann swallowed. "I'm not even old enough to buy beer yet and you guys think I'm ready to get into this mess?"

"The mess is already over. You're the right person to help restore order," said Watson. "There was no right person to help fight the machine. Reinhardt was a great leader, and even he died."

"Yeah." Johann sighed then cut his eyes back to Justus. "Go on. I'm sorry I cut you off."

"Very well. At the time of the Inquisition, I was shadowing the President when he found out; he was furious. Those responsible for the incident were quietly found guilty of treason and sentenced immediately. Some of them didn't even know a sentence was handed out until they were 'dealt with.' Cover stories were put out and the agency that Mister Watson worked for has been reduced to a handful people. A director, a team leader and an investigatory squad."

Watson nodded with a look of disgust. "I was kept on because of my work between the CIA, doing many of my missions abroad ... and for my contacts and rapport I've built up with people like Steven Milford. We're friends, he and I. I actually used to work for the CIA."

"If you don't mind my asking," Johann said, "how did you two meet? And for that matter, how did you get involved in all of this?"

Watson leaned against a wall and shrugged. "It started a long time ago. I was in contact with Steven back around the time this whole thing began - I met him in 2011. I was recruited ... drafted might actually be a better word to use ... and pulled from my job at Central Intelligence and given this job. There are six of us left. The director, the team leader and his squad of three, and myself. But I'm getting old. Not to say I am old, but I was already at the GS-13 pay grade by the time I left the CIA and headed over the USPRI over a decade ago. I maintained a high security clearance and kept an office at a CIA satellite location because USPRI is ... was extremely secretive. Less than twenty-five supernatural people even knew of its existence at any one given time."

"And Karla Howard?"

Watson offered a dull glare. "The FBI had a problem with her since ... forever ago. She snuck onto a Navy ship in the 40's to have sex with a sailor. The Eldridge was in dock, performing a degaussing procedure - high tech and classified; it was a secret test to make the ship unattractive to enemy mines. Without any warning, the ship had a serious problem, causing sailors to become embedded in the bulkheads and decks. There was an investigation and Karla was found to be a part of what happened, although some of the sailors assumed it was the Government's experiment; they claimed Uncle Sam tried to make the ship invisible or some such. Through the years, she would show up on the FBI's radar and cause trouble briefly. Nothing as bad as the situation with the Eldridge, however. In the end, her case was given to USPRI. By then, she'd mastered teleportation. Through intel briefings and sensitivity training courses, we were trained to understand that manifesting a new ability can be difficult. The President disbanded the agency this past August. Karla won't be chased anymore."

Justus brought his hands together then pressed both index fingers to his lips. After a moment to look pensive, he simply said, "A few thousand unemployed operatives and agents ... all trained to deal with my kind. The mercenaries and police officers they trained for the August attack ... all of them went with Falcon when he proposed a new home for them beneath the Atlantic Ocean."

"Now what?" asked Johann.

Loupe turned to Johann and said, "Mister Foster, if your friends attack that domed city, you're looking at nearly ten thousand trained people, standing in your way. They'll defend their home to the bitter end if you attack it outright. Their families are there. It's a fully functioning city. They're highly motivated. They're highly confident, having already slaughtered a hundred thousand people. Especially considering the fact they got away with it."

"He's right," said Watson. "I was there. I went to investigate it for myself. It's no joke. Right now, in the wake of a 'genocide attack' inadvertently orchestrated by the United States Government on behalf of Sire and his coercion. The President is exercising his 'plausible deniability' and extending it to the whole Government. Now that people who had anything to do with this have disappeared and moved to Falcon's little underwater playground, the President is pretending like this never happened and acting like your people never existed."

"So they're not even going to help fix this mess?"

"No, kid. Sorry. Johann. I shouldn't call you kid."

"It's alright, Agent Watson. I'm just a little shell-shocked right now. That sort of makes me a kid at the moment." He kept his eyes towards them, so as not to look at the body of his mother on the slab behind him.

Watson frowned. "Don't expect help. I've tried. Steven Milford and I approached the President and had a brief discussion in a SCIF. He said he's already ordered all remaining agencies to redact all information involving your kind. Do you know how many files are at the FBI, CIA, USPRI and the Pentagon? It took the last couple of months just to finish the job. Supernaturals are officially non-existent."

"First there's a silent inquisition," said Loupe, "then there's a silent purge. It's already done. All original files are hardcopy-only, and hidden. All digital copies are redacted, and difficult to find, even for a hacker. After all, one would have to know what to look for, _and_where to look."

Johann turned back to his mother's body and sighed. "Great. Instead of helping to fix the mess they made, they simply disavowed everything and cleaned it up. This is the sort of reaction Americans expect from their Government sometimes. Karla would have called the whole thing 'cliché.' Way to play up to expectations, right?"

"Quite so," Justus murmured. "Some stereotypes always seem to play themselves out."

"Need I remind you this wasn't my fault." Watson paused then frowned. "Maybe it was. If I wasn't dating Krys Monroe back in 2011 ... I would have never seen what I saw ... I would have never met Steven Milford. The Government might have gotten involved because of the earthquakes, but it wouldn't have concerned me."

Loupe turned back to the end of the metal tray and slid it into the locker then shut the door. "Mister Watson, that was the only part I wouldn't change because we now have your help in this issue."

"We shouldn't stay here," said Watson. "We'll need a logistical coordination center. Johann, if we're going to help your friends to stop Falcon then we're going to need to go back to DC and start with my old office. There's a datacenter and we could..."

"Whoa, wait up." Foster folded his arms. "My mother is dead. My brother is missing and he'd only just manifested his abilities. For all we know, he is out there alone and needs my help. Family first. Karla told me on the phone that she's going to lay low with the gang for a while. They're going to train and practice and prepare themselves. They're avoiding the media spotlight and everything. Fox is taking Evan and Reno to follow up on a lead and do some training. Everyone is lying low right now. Why are you in such a rush to take the fight to Falcon?"

Watson began pacing with a shake of his head. "He's worse than people from PsyOps. He's playing head games. He's managed to create a situation so enormous that the President of the United States is going out of his way to leave him alone, simply because he doesn't want to be implicated in something that would connect him to genocide on an international level."

Johann frowned. He looked back at the closed locker, where his mother's body was hiding, then looked at the floor. "Well, it sounds like it was mostly Sire. We put that guy down, and find out whoever is helping Falcon, and then wait for the dust to settle."

Watson nodded. "Falcon seems more interested in his obsession with the bottom of the Atlantic. He wanted power. He imbued himself with it. He wanted objects from around the world, he stole them. Now he's going to look for some imaginary city beneath the ocean." Watson paused. "I shouldn't say imaginary. Krys somehow got him to let me come down to some site three miles below Virginia all those years ago. That was real."

"So how do we go about getting back to that place and finding Sire? It sounds to me like I can't even hunt for my brother unless I shut down Sire St. Leonard. So what's our next goddamn play?"

Watson shook his head then looked away. "The US Government has the Coast Guard chasing people away from that section of the Atlantic so that the city cannot be accidentally found. The grid is staggering. It's a huge chunk of ocean, a hundred miles in every direction that has basically become roped off. Don't you know what Falcon is doing down there?"

Foster glared back at the closed wall of body lockers then sighed. "Yeah, well ... not exactly, but I understand he's trying to find something that is better off buried. Like you suggested, he might be obsessed in another underground city like the one you saw in 2011"

"We need to focus on that," Justus said.

"Let's just," Johann trailed off then smirked. "We could send Sinopa down to Falcon's city and have her destroy it. There. Operation over. Then we can find my brother."

Watson waved for them to move. "We should go. You need an intelligence briefing to understand just how deep this goes, Johann."

Justus put his hands on both Watson and Foster's shoulders. "I don't know anything about this person, Sinopa. And I've followed your friends on and off every now and then ... I'd like to know more about her. But first..." He swallowed the trio into a shadow and left the building. Once outside, he guided the shadow to a passing car as it drove by. The vehicle hurried the group up to sixty miles an hour, whisking them far from the building in a matter of moments.

X

X

Thursday, February 1, mid morning... Aboard a King Air 350 over the Atlantic Ocean ...

** Reno fastened the helmet then lifted his chin** to let a crewmember inspect it. He spoke into a radio headset, able to feel the mic brushing beneath his bottom lip. "I've never been sky diving. Are you sure it wouldn't be safer to do this with a trainer?"

"Reno," Fox chuckled over the helmet comm., "Do what I tell you to do. And remember: if you have problems ... just strike the ground like a bolt of lightning if you get my drift. Else, we're here to have fun. Unless you want Evan strapped to your butt ... After all, he said he's done this twice."

"Reno," Evan said in a sullen tone, barely audible over the ambient sound. "Please ... don't make me have to be attached to you. It'd be really awkward. Because, I mean, if you freak out and do your little trick ... I'm kinda nervous about getting burned."

Reno couldn't help but laugh. He lowered his chin then gave the crewmember a pat on the shoulder and a thumbs-up. "I'll be cool, guys. Just ... this is a huge adrenaline rush and we haven't even jumped yet. I didn't know you could jump alone on your first time."

Fox reached over and gave Reno a playful whack on the helmet. "A first timer like you? Who's been in the news for all sorts of cool things? You're the safest one here. You do that little trick. That's why I think this is safe. The two of us have done this more than once. And you, well, you can just ride the lightning."

"When you put it that way," said Nevada with a shrug, "It kinda' deflates the excitement factor. Unless, of course, I strike the ocean. That would kinda' suck."

Fox clapped his gloved hand against Reno's shoulder. "Aim for the brown and green splotch!"

Evan chuckled. "It's easy! One day, you can pull a Karla ... go without a parachute. Just jump, zap, and pose."

"Pose? To hell with that," Reno exclaimed. "I don't preen. That's not how I roll."

"So flex instead."

"Still lame!" Reno announced then looked back at the feeling of a pat on the shoulder. He moved into position behind Fox. Evan moved into position behind Reno and they lined up at the cargo door.

"Ready?" asked Fox over the radio.

"As ready as I'll ever be, man." Reno took a deep breath, opened then closed his gloved hands; he repeated the action three more times to calm his nerves. "I can't believe you two kids have done this several times."

"We're all young," Evan replied. "We're all in our twenties. This is supposed to be the age where we make the best memories of our lives. Trust me, Reno! You won't forget this one. First jump is the one you compare everything else to. They say your first is unforgettable. So enjoy it. I sure did!"

Nevada shook his head. The helmet was snug on the sides of his face. "I bet Patty will freak if she finds out you're jumping out of airplanes, kid. Actually, she probably wouldn't be surprised at all, would she? Let's do this, then!" The doors opened.

Reno followed Fox out and all at once, his heart was in his throat. The sound of the plane engines was replaced by the sound of wind. The gravity beneath his feet was replaced with weightlessness. "Holy shit, I don't know how I let you guys talk me into this!"

Ignoring the cussword, Evan crowed, "You know this is awesome!"

Reno opened his arms feeling the resistance of wind against his padded clothing and gloves. "I forgot to ask earlier - how're we getting back?!"

Fox's voice came over the line, opening his own arms to slow his descent. "Well, last time we stole a sub! Let's hope there will be another, because we're going to need one to go after Falcon! After all, gang, it's one heck of a swim to the bottom of the Atlantic! Kidding, Reno. Karla will be waiting for us to send her our GPS location. She'll follow the dot and eventually pick us up. God this is great! I haven't done this in ages! We need more 'man days' like this!"

Reno took deep breaths to calm himself, with his heart pounding an escape route up the base of his throat. "I liked getting drunk in Saint Thomas last night! That was a blast! Thank Christ I'm not hung-over!"

"If you were, you wouldn't be, now," Fox laughed. He rolled over onto his back and opened his arms and legs. "Snow angels. Evan, now's your chance to show off your Matrix moves, pal!"

Evan tucked his legs up to his chest and rolled over in a slow somersault. "I wish I had Karla's abilities so I could do this anytime. Hovering is awesome. Flying is ten times better! Man, if I had telekinesis I'd fly everywhere!"

Fox laughed, watching his friend through the tinted visor. "I thought she doesn't fly because she can't control herself as easily as she can control others in mid air?"

"I'd practice until I was awesome at it!" Evan replied then came out of the roll with his feet out, emulating a martial art's flying kick. "I love this! Fox, thanks for shelling out the cash to do this!"

"C'mon, guys - I don't mind spending the money!"

"I still appreciate it!" Evan exclaimed then began to kick his legs together. "Liu Kang! Bicycle kick!"

"Don't get it," Reno said, looking back at Evan. "Oh ... that's one of those fighting games, right?"

"Yeah, man! I love classical games, man! I play Mortal Kombat on my phone; I've got an emulator. I play all the old games, man! God this is a blast! Woo!" He tapered off into ecstatic laughter.

"Hey, guys!" Reno paused then called to them again, "Guys! Look! Down at the island! On the," he trailed off to get his bearings then said, "west beach! Is that a ship?"

Fox rolled over, facing downwards again. "What the hell? What's a ship doing on the island? That thing is no joke! It's huge!"

"Guys," Evan said, rolling over onto his stomach, "It looks like an old aircraft carrier. Did you notice that it broke its back on the beach! Look, you can see where there is a split in the flight deck! I think it's wood, but I can't tell from this height!"

"Aircraft carriers are way bigger than that, man!" Reno said.

"No, an old one!" Evan explained. "Like, World War Two age. I can't remember the class. Essex or something. I wonder if it came from the Ghost Fleet!"

"What the hell is a Ghost Fleet?"

Fox's voice came over the line. "Mothballed ships that rust out in the middle of the Pacific. The Navy keeps'em 'In Ordinary' out there for emergency use, Reno. And I don't know, Evan ... but it's definitely old."

Reno took a deep breath then said, "You mean like Suisun Bay; why didn't you just say so?"

As the trio grew closer, Fox announced, "That's not an American carrier. It's painted gray and has faded numbers on the end but I don't think it's American."

"Still looks old," Evan replied. "You can definitely tell it's crashed there. How does a freakin' aircraft carrier get beached like that?"

"Big storm," Reno replied. "I wonder why it was sailing, considering its age. And in this area. And, most importantly, if there are survivors."

"So much for a training vacation, huh?" Fox shook his head, despite the wind against the helmet. "Sorry guys. Whoever the survivors are ... I guess that should be our priority."

"Yeah, well ... we'll find out soon enough. Besides, Fox. We already said this was going to be a training gig. Evan and I knew the risks, considering the fact that this used to be a staging area for supplies going out to Falcon's water park."

"I need to admit something to you guys."

"Fox, I'm sensing a tone in your voice. And that's a lot for me, right now, considering I'm a little nervous about all of this skydiving bit."

"Yeah, Reno. You'll be fine. I promise. But about this whole thing. We're actually here because Vincent said this would be our last chance to check out this island for clues. He said Falcon's people plan to flatten the island and destroy it soon. He suggested I take you guys on a training gig and sniff around to see what we can learn about whatever it is Falcon wants to hide."

Evan laughed. "And we got a free night to party like superheroes in St. Thomas, followed by skydiving. I ain't even mad."

X

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Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/668125