Legacy of a Mad Scientist Read online

  The children's parents hadn't raised them with any sort of religious background. Geoff had no concept of a spiritual afterlife. Ashley had only recently encountered the phrase at school.

  Ash nodded. "Where'd you hear that?" she asked.

  "Vid streams," he replied.

  "What have you been watching?"

  "Wooden Stakes. You know you can make a wooden stake from almost anything?"

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Chair legs, broom sticks and stuff."

  "That so?"

  "Listen to this! One time, Simon Timex, that's the hero... "

  "Simon Timex?"

  "Yeah! 'Time Waits for No Man!' He rolled up this piece of paper all pointy like, and he stabbed the one vampire with it, right in the chest!"

  Ashley laughed.

  "Don’t laugh! It could work. A piece of paper, it's made of wood! Get it?" Geoff asked.

  "I get it," Ashley smiled. "But I doubt it would work?"

  "If the vampires come, we just might have to find out," he answered, dead serious.

  Ashley laughed again.

  "It could happen. If it was a plague, or a disease, or a virus."

  "Those are all the same things," Ashley smiled.

  "Yeah, right, sure," it was Geoff's turn to laugh. "Then why are they different words?"

  His supreme confidence pushed his sister into a fit of hysterical laughter. "They're the same.”

  Geoff snorted. "Do you want to go down to the canyon or not?"

  "Get the leash," Ashley replied.

  "All right!" Geoff dashed into the house. "Mom, we're going to take Jack down the canyon!" he shouted.

  "Take your sister with you. And don't forget the leash,” she said.

  Geoffrey grabbed the leash from its peg and ran into the back yard.

  Ash looked out at the green waves of forest. Since vacation started, they had gone down the canyon every afternoon. Often they would be gone the better part of the evening, chasing Jack through the lush vegetation and around massive trees, standing like pillars in a leaf-domed cathedral.

  Jack set the pace. Once off the hated leash, he couldn't be corralled until he was exhausted. Ashley laughed as Jack caught Geoffrey's contagious excitement, and leapt into the air, chasing after a yellow butterfly that had drifted into the yard.

  "Come on, Jack!" Geoff said. The puppy licked his face as Geoff slipped the choke chain over the beagle's head, where it rattled against his collar. Then the boy and his dog were running down into the canyon. Ashley followed her brother and Jack from the yard, down the path, and into the overgrown wilderness.

  Chapter 12 – Rudolph Von Kalt

  Thursday, June 25, 2308

  Director Stanwood’s office was large, with a low ceiling, on the twenty-forth floor of the federal building. The furniture was government special, but tastefully selected.

  Von Kalt paced back and forth across the room.

  “Do you mind, I’m waiting for a call,” Stanwood said.

  Von Kalt continued pacing. “You’ve let everyone else take a shot at him, and you’ve got me sitting on the sidelines.”

  Stanwood answered without looking up, “That’s not a very compelling argument for anything you might want.”

  “You employ me because I have a specific skill set, and yet, I’m not being utilized for those skills. Either get me in the game or trade me to a team that needs me.”

  “Feel free to speak plainly,” Stanwood said.

  “You pay me too much to bullshit you.”

  “Very well, first, this is not a game. Second, you are not on a team. You work for the Republic, you do not get to play, or participate. No one cares if you feel useful or utilized and I could give a damn about your personal growth. You are here because I want you here, and if you have an opinion I’m interested in, it will be because I gave it to you.” Stanwood smiled.

  Von Kalt scowled. “I am a field commander, not a bodyguard. All I do is stand around and watch you make mistakes all day. Whatever this is about, it’s not going to end the way you want it to.”

  “From my perspective, things are a bit more complex. The actions I take have far reaching consequences.”

  “Bullshit. You just like to think that when you stomp your foot the entire jungle trembles. I see you, running all over town, trying to keep all your dominoes facing the right direction. You’re asking for permission from people who can’t afford original thought. Talk about herding cats.”

  “Please, enlighten me…” Stanwood continued ignoring Von Kalt.

  “You’ve let this get personal. You’re not doing what’s best for the country, or the people. You want this Fox character to know it was you, and you want him to know it was sanctioned. No one wants to crawl out on that limb with you. They won’t sign a warrant.”

  “No, maybe not. But without a warrant, no one raises a hand against him. Do you understand?” Stanwood didn’t look up.

  Von Kalt turned away.

  “There will be a warrant,” Stanwood asserted. “But until then, under no circumstances are you, or any member of this government, to interfere with Doctor Fox or his property. Not unless he sees a signed warrant first. Am I making myself clear, Deputy?”

  “As a Bell, sir. I didn’t mean to suggest anything inappropriate. I’m just saying, you would be within your rights, and no one would question you. We’ve still got the beachhead at his back door.”

  “Him most of all. Do not activate the Dunkirk until I give the order.”

  “What was this fumbled bit with Wash Sec? No one was supposed to die, or better yet, if you’re going to kill six people, get something for it.”

  “The appropriate message was sent,” Stanwood replied.

  Von Kalt rubbed his damaged ribs.

  “Malvinas was an idiot and he deserved what he got. He had no idea what he was caught up in. Those mercs he hired were third rate at best. He couldn’t have possibly expected one of Fox’s guardians to break ranks over that.”

  “You’re sure they exist?”

  Stanwood looked his deputy in the eye. “Oh they exist, Rudolph, they exist.” Stanwood gave the soldier his full attention. “Let me ask you something? If you had the power, the resources and expertise, to craft terillium small enough, and pure enough, to give an individual the power of flight, would you give that up? If you could make yourself invisible, is that something you would abandon because a licensing date on your federal guidelines expired? Would you disband the team that manipulated that technology, just because of some arbitrary ruling, by a bunch of disconnected bureaucrats?”

  “Hell, no,” Von Kalt answered.

  “Even though it would be an act of treason?” Stanwood asked.

  “It wouldn’t, because I’m a patriot,” Von Kalt replied.

  “That’s what Fox thinks too. And once I have the warrant, I’ll show him just how wrong he is.”

  “Aren’t you afraid he’ll send some invisible assassins after you?”

  “I’ve got you here to protect me.”

  Von Kalt laughed.

  “Let’s see if we can’t stop him, before it comes to that.”

  “You really think he can do all that?” Von Kalt asked. “Detonate an entire city like that?”

  “You saw the footage. Do you think he can’t?” Stanwood countered.

  “Yeah, well… It may not be something he can repeat.”

  “Even if he can’t do it right now, do we just wait around for him to figure it out?” Stanwood asked. “If you want to get really cynical, if this is a psychic ability, then theoretically, if this man has a nightmare, Angel City might cease to exist. That is not a threat I’m willing to tolerate.”

  Geoffrey couldn’t keep up with the rambunctious puppy. Jack raced down the hillside, only to return to the children at full speed.

  Upon confirmation that Ashley and her younger brother were following, Jack would again explode down the path. Geoff thought the puppy was hysterical.

  A dog barked in th
e distance and Jack replied, accelerating out of sight. Ash looked at the leash in her brother's hand. "That's not doing us much good, is it?"

  "The leash is for when he's tired," Geoff explained, between great gulps of air.

  "Is that how it works?" she replied.

  "Yeah, when it's time to go home, that's when we use the leash. Remember?"

  Ashley did remember, despite her younger brother's constant reminders. Last week, he'd talked of nothing but the puppy and their forested adventures. Jack also seemed to appreciate the space to run without breaking things.

  Despite its natural abundance of hollow glens and hidden corners, during summer vacation the canyon got crowded with bored students. Hoverboards could be raced at top speed, while forts were assembled and defended. The canyon was both a place to hang out and get lost.

  The forest ahead was spotted with neighborhood kids. Ash knew most of them. She recognized some of the kids closer to Geoff's age near an old tree, hunting lizards and bugs.

  Geoffrey chased Jack down the trails, laughing in response to barks of excitement and breathless endurance. Ashley watched as the dog ran circles around her younger brother. Geoff had long since given up the leash. Ash had looped it over her shoulders.

  A group of fourth graders were engaged in a reconnaissance mission. Decked out in makeshift army uniforms, they crept across the overgrown canyon floor, camouflaged and determined to remain unseen. As none of the older kids were looking for them, success was a matter of opinion. If the bigger, meaner kids caught on to a stealth mission in progress, steps would be taken to foil it. Big kids enjoyed nothing more than ruining a little kid's day. Capturing and torturing would-be commandos ranked right up there at the top of the list.

  A couple of kids Ashley's age, Doug and Jamie, hid along the path that Ash and Geoff came down. Jack dashed past them earlier, but he hadn't noticed them, and they stayed put. Ash and Geoff followed soon after Jack, who'd run back and forth past the camouflaged pair twice now.

  Geoff also marched right past the hidden commandos. Ashley had noticed them some time before, and as she passed, she winked to them, her ocean blue eyes dazzling, reflecting shards of glittering sunshine.

  Doug and Jamie were both intoxicated with Ashley. She was the prettiest girl in the neighborhood, and the coolest too. When she smiled, she meant it; they couldn’t help but be in-love with her.

  Ashley caught sight of older kids overhead, doing tricks on their kite boards. A kite board was just a more powerful hoverboard with a sail mounted to it, making the device that much more maneuverable. Ground-bound, hoverboards required a hard surface to push off from, and couldn't maintain more than a few feet of air, but kite boards, with their powerful gravity disks, could ascend to higher elevations.

  During the summers, the open sky of Angel City was teeming with kite boarders. They raced through the clouds, doing loops, barrel rolls and corkscrews. When she watched, Ashley desperately wanted one. Yet somehow, outside the canyon, she always found herself focused on ballet.

  Chapter 13 – King’s Q and A

  Thursday, June 25, 2308

  Dr. Fox and his pilot, Kendrick, drifted though the brunch-hour traffic, after the early morning swell and before the lunch chaos. Hovering several thousand feet above the earth, they drifted with the magnetic current, supplied by the nearby freeway cable, hanging from its place in the urban net.

  The light tapping on the hatch was still surprising, despite years of working with hair-raising technology. Neither Fox nor Kendrick could make out the presence of anyone outside the vehicle, but Fox popped the hatch anyhow.

  The air at the threshold of the vehicle blurred for a moment, as if trapped above the sand on a hot day. But then the blur was gone. The hatch closed, without input from either Kendrick or Fox.

  A moment later, First Sergeant King twisted a dial on his belt and blinked into view, sprawled across the back seat. "Howdy, fellas. How's tricks?"

  "Tricks are good. How's Rosie?" Kendrick asked.

  "Exhausted, as usual," King replied, laughing.

  "You're early," Fox said. "I didn't expect you until we docked."

  "Yeah, well, you know." King laughed. "Hey, by the way, what the hell are you doing here anyhow?"

  "What are you talking about?" Fox replied.

  "I'm asking if you have any idea what you are doing out here?"

  "Is that why you came by early? Try and talk me out of it? Should we run to Mexico? Like a band of outlaws?"

  "I, uh, I think we burned that bridge, partner." King rolled his eyes.

  "It's not like I really have anything to fear from Stanwood and his band of halfwits."

  "Oh, yes. Yes, you do. Do you know Stanley had footage of Epsilon, as soon as it happened?"

  "Of course he did. He's the Director of National Intelligence, so that just makes sense."

  "Did you know he also had audio of your little tête-à-tête with our friend Dr. Te. He hasn't even mentioned the fact that Te is a Chinese national living abroad. Shit, he hasn't said anything about the fact that your wife is also a foreign national."

  "He doesn't know anything about her. And she has dual citizenship."

  "Why does he know you spoke to Dr. Te?"

  "It was an open channel," Fox answered.

  "He had it before Epsilon even popped," King said. "He was in the middle of a Chicken-Little performance when the facility went up. How did that happen?"

  "He must have a team dedicated to us," Fox answered.

  "You mean a team dedicated to you," King concluded.

  "Well, he doesn't have anyone inside. We are watertight."

  "Then what is the point of a mole hunt?"

  "Sometimes, what you don't find is as telling as what you do." Fox looked down at the city below them. “Let’s grab a coffee.”

  “Sounds good to me,” King answered.

  “Kendrick.” Fox nodded.

  Agent Kendrick pulled out of the Angel City freeway traffic and set the transport into drift mode. The vehicle activated its vertical anchor and swung out over the relatively empty city space, curving away from the traffic. Fox opened the hatch and twisting the dial at his belt, vanished.

  King nodded to Kendrick, activated his phase-cam and also vanished from the car. A moment later, the hatch was closed from outside.

  The communications terminal on Stanwood’s desk began to ring.

  “Speak of the devil,” Stanwood said. He tapped the accept button and smiled at the projected image of his Commander in Chief.

  “Mister President, how are you, sir?”

  “Director Stanwood,” President Conway said. “Before we get started, I just want to say that I know we originally agreed that your assignment to the Intel desk was going to be temporary. But everyone down here is very impressed with your handling of things over these past six months, so unless you have any objections, we’d like to go public with your acceptance at the daily briefing, later this afternoon.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  President Conway looked off-screen, “John, Stanwood says he’ll take the post, so let’s push that paperwork through Justice and get him new letterhead and whatnot.”

  The President looked back at Stanwood. “Would you like new business cards?” He looked away again, “And get him a couple of boxes of business cards, would you, Chief?”

  John Phillips, the President’s Chief of Staff, could be heard grunting his acknowledgement from elsewhere in the office.

  “What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Joe?”

  Von Kalt watched Stanwood from across the room. Stanwood looked choked up, as though he were touched that the President had called him by his first name. The director seemed to be falling for it.

  Von Kalt wanted to slap him.

  “What’s that, Sir?” Stanwood had been distracted by Von Kalt’s open look of contempt.

  The President smiled at Stanwood and then looked over his shoulder again, calling to Phillips.

  “John, w
hy am I on the phone with Director Stanwood?”

  “Fox and The Rusty Bucket,” Phillips replied.

  “What…” Completely derailed, Stanwood looked around his own office, for some clue to his agenda.

  “Fox!” Stanwood exclaimed, straightening up at once.

  “Yes, Director,” the President replied.

  “Fox is a menace!” Stanwood seemed like he was on drugs.

  The President and Von Kalt both laughed.

  “Who is that over there?” President Conway asked.

  Stanwood turned to Von Kalt, who leaned into fame and waved, “Good morning Mister President.”

  “Rudy! How the hell are you?”

  “I’m good sir. And you? The First Lady?”

  “We’re great, Rudy. I’ll let her know I bumped into you, well not literally…” The President smiled. “She’ll be thrilled.”

  Von Kalt laughed at Stanwood’s shock and confusion.

  “How’s Sam, Samantha?” the President asked.

  “Very good, Sir. We just had a boy last year,” Von Kalt replied.

  “Congratulations! John…”

  Phillips was already on his way. The lumbering bear of a man came right over the President’s shoulder. He held a smoldering black cigar in his hand. The President pushed it away.

  “Rudy! How you been kid? Great to see you!” Phillips exclaimed.

  Stanwood leaned back, clearly frustrated.

  “Mr. Phillips, good to see you too.” Von Kalt caught Stanwood’s discomfort and tried not to rub it in too much.

  Phillips waved goodbye, “I got this thing going on over here, but we gotta catch up sometime soon. Later, kid,” Phillips was gone as quickly as he’d arrived, leaving the President to fan the cigar-stained air around him.

  “Anyhow, I suppose we’d better get back to the issue at hand,” President Conway said.

  Von Kalt nodded. “Yes, sir.” He stepped back, out of frame, leaving the terminal to Director Stanwood.

  “What was it you wanted, Joe?” This time the President’s use of Director Stanwood’s first name did not sound friendly at all.