Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (4 page)

             
“
I’m as fine as I will ever be,” he said solemnly.

             
“
That’s a load of crap. Lately you won’t talk to me about what you are feeling when it’s so obvious you are depressed again . . . why?” she demanded testily.

             
“
What does it matter? I mean, it isn’t like you could do anything to help me.” He was a little harsher than he meant to be.

             
Leah scowled, and he could see the beginning of anger on her face. When she spoke, it was in a voice only slightly above normal.
              “
What does it matter?!? How can you say that? You know damn well I care about you . . .”

             
“
Yeah, like a brother,” muttered Liam before he could stop himself.

             
He suddenly hoped she hadn’t heard him. Looking up, he saw that he hadn’t been as quiet as he hoped. He felt the heat rush into his face at the embarrassment he was feeling. He knew what he said was childish and extremely stupid, but before he could tell her as much, she spoke up first. The anger in her voice was evident.

             
“
Is that what this is about? The fact that I only care for you as a friend? I know you have feelings for me; I’m not stupid, you know. I know when a guy is attracted to me, and by the way you look at me when you think I’m not paying attention, it’s plain that you are attracted to me. I thought you were better than that, but you are just like every other guy I have known. Just because I don’t show interest more than friendship, then it’s a problem . . .” Leah’s voice trailed off, making a dismayed sound in her throat.

             
Feeling completely disgusted with himself, Liam looked at Leah with a lump in his throat that felt like the size of a baseball.

             
“
Leah . . . I . . . I am sorry . . . what I said, I didn’t mean. Yes, I am attracted to you, but I never thought for a minute you would feel the same about me. I don’t know why that came out . . . I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself. I am sixteen years older than you, for Christ’s sake. What twenty-one-year-old girl would want to saddle herself with that, even if you were attracted to me?”

             
Liam thought, as he looked at Leah, that he had really made a mess of this one. It seemed as if she was angrier now than before he had apologized. Looking beyond Leah, out the door, he saw a black Chevy Caprice pull up. Two men in suits got out. Just wonderful--figures customers would show up before he could fix this.

             
Entering, the two men walked up to the counter where Liam stood. Both looked like detectives. After a quick scan, he silently confirmed they were some sort of government type when he noticed the bulge under their coats that could only be handguns. Before he could even greet them, the one on the left flipped open his wallet to show a badge and ID card that identified him as FBI.

             
“
My name is Alex Nalson of the FBI. I am looking for one Liam Brennan, former Manchester police officer. Is it safe to assume you are him?”

             
Taken aback, Liam just stared at the man for a few moments before he realized he had been asked a question.

             
“
Uh . . . yeah, that’s me. What can I do for you?”

             
“
You are to come with us down to the armory.”

             
“
I can’t. I am working, and no one else is due in until 1:00 p.m.”

             
“
Don’t have any illusions about this . . . you don’t have a choice.” Then agent Nalson turned to Leah, looking at her for a moment.
“
Do you work here, ma’am?”

             
“
Yes . . . what is this all about?” responded Leah.

             
Agent Nalson now turned back to Liam and spoke.

             
“
Give your keys to the young lady, sir, and then please come with us.”

             
Liam unconsciously handed the keys over to Leah, then walked toward the front door. Leah’s voice called out from behind him, clearly forgetting her anger with him.

             
“
Liam . . . you are just going to go with them? What’s going on? Will someone answer me, goddamn it!”

             
Liam walked out to the car and got in the backseat while the two agents got into the front seats. Starting the car, they pulled out of the parking lot and drove west. After a few minutes, Liam’s curiosity got the better of him. Looking at the back of Agent Nalson’s head, he spoke up.

             
“
So, do either of you have any idea what this is all about?”

             
The only response he received was silence; most likely, they didn’t know anything, but it irked him that they just ignored him.

             
“
Boy, you must be fun at family functions . . . or is the silent treatment a typical thing with your family. Just sitting there at the barbecue, cooking the hot dogs and hamburgers while just staring all stony-eyed at each other--”

             
“
Sir,” Agent Nalson cut in, “if I knew anything, I couldn’t tell you. It is classified, and I don’t have the clearance to know any more than you at the moment. All I do know is I was told to pick you up and bring you to the armory, and that’s it.”

             
“
Sorry,” Liam said. “I just hate being in the dark on things, especially when they involve me.”

             
“
I understand, sir. In your position, I would feel the same way.”

             
They rode in silence, and for the first time, Liam looked around. Now he did notice the National Guard out in force.
What in god’s name is going on?
For the next fifteen minutes, they drove in silence as he pondered the possibilities of what could be happening. Terrorists most likely--he couldn’t think of any other reason that would put the military out in force like this, short of natural disaster.

             
Soon they pulled up to the armory gate, and Liam was shocked to see a Black Hawk helicopter sitting in the parking lot. Soldiers stood at every entrance, looking ever ready to shoot anyone who attempted to enter. The Caprice stopped at the gate for the agents to show their identification. After a few minutes, they were waved through. After they parked, Liam got out with the agents and they made their way to a door that led to the armory motor pool garage.

             
Upon entering, Liam’s mouth fell open: the garage was full of people. They were all gathered in smaller groups, talking in low voices and throwing furtive glances at the soldiers stationed throughout the garage, seemingly watching all the people within. Liam was wondering what their orders were if someone tried to leave when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

             
Striding toward him was his best friend Evan Maxis, a tall man at six foot four inches, 210 pounds. They had known each other since high school. Liam could see the worn look on Evan’s face. Clearly, he hadn’t fared any better than Liam over his loss. Even now, he looked very worn and sickly. Evan had also lost his wife and entire family to the bird flu. How he had managed, Liam couldn’t understand. Liam at least had his mother and a sister, but Evan had no one to talk to except Liam. He was hardly a good argument for facing his torments and working through them.

             
“
Liam . . . what are you doing here? And speaking of which, why are we here?”

             
“
Evan, good to see you.” Liam shook Evan’s hand. “I have no idea what’s going on. All I know is that the FBI showed up and told me I had to come here.”

             
Evan looked annoyed yet perplexed as he glanced around, mumbling, “Yeah, same with me.”

             
After a few minutes, a look of recognition came over his face. Turning back to Liam, he spoke.

             
“
Have you taken a good look at some of these guys here? Look at that guy.” Evan pointed across to a man in khaki shorts and a t-shirt who stood in a group about fifteen feet away. “That guy was in our meetings we had at the center that was set up after the bird flu for those suffering from depression.”

             
Looking at the man closely, Liam could see now that he was who Evan said he was. Taking the time to look around more closely, he started to recognize more faces from the center. They brought in people who were suffering from severe depression? Why would they do that?

Liam was about to ask Evan these very questions when what looked like a high-ranking officer entered the room via an upper doorway that led to a walkway.
At the end of the walkway, he stopped, looked down to the assembled people, and then spoke.

             
“
Ladies and gentlemen, please accept my apologies for the manner in which you have all been brought here. Secrecy is of the utmost importance in this matter. Shortly, each one of you will be individually escorted into a small room where you will be tested. If you pass the test, you will be taken to the helicopter outside where you will be transferred to Hanscom Air Force Base. Once there, you will be debriefed on the reasons for all of this. If you fail the test, then you will be free to go.” With that said, the officer turned and left.

             
Before the door closed up on the walkway, a second door opened below where a man who looked like a scientist came in, holding a clipboard. Stopping, he held up the clipboard, read something off it, and then spoke a name.

             
“
Tom Darrens? Could you please follow me?”

             
After a few seconds, a man in one of the small groups to Liam’s left slowly walked over to the scientist. The scientist motioned the man to enter, then followed him, closing the door behind him. Low murmurs began throughout the room. About ten minutes passed before the door once again opened and out walked Tom Darren, who was immediately escorted from the motor pool garage.

             
After watching Tom being escorted away, Liam turned back to the doorway to the small room. The scientist stood there, reading the clipboard, then called out another name from the group. And so on this went. Men and women were called one at a time and taken back into the small room, only to be escorted back again after ten minutes and out of the building. It wasn’t until Evan was escorted in that anything different happen. After ten minutes, the door once again opened, but Evan didn’t exit. However, the scientist did. Stopping outside the door, he looked up straight at Liam.

             
“
Well, no point in calling out your name since you are the last one,” said the scientist.

             
Liam looked around and was surprised to see that he, in fact, was the last person left. He had been so lost in thought, he hadn’t even noticed.
Well, here goes nothing
, Liam thought to himself and then proceeded to walk through the door into the small room.

             
Except for a small table with two chairs, the room appeared to hold nothing else. Taking a second look, Liam noticed that there was what looked like a virtual reality visor sitting on the table. The device would fit over the head of the user, allowing him or her to be immersed in a virtual world.

             
“
Please take a seat, Mr. Brennan,” said the scientist from behind.

             
Liam walked over to the table and took a seat. The scientist followed, picked up the visor, and handed it to Liam.

             
“
Please put this on. It will scan your brain wave patterns. We are searching for a specific pattern.”

             
Liam took the visor and placed it on his head. With the visor covering his eyes, he couldn’t see what the scientist was doing, but he could hear him moving about.

             
“
Okay, Mr. Brennan, please sit still. Try not to move about, and try to clear your mind of thoughts. This will take about ten minutes, so please be patient.”

             
A low humming sound filled Liam’s ears; after only a few minutes, the low hum became a ringing. Suddenly, all noise stopped, and the visor was pulled from his head. Liam looked up at the scientist to see a look of what could only be shock mixed in with excitement across his face.

             
“
What?” inquired Liam.

             
“
Interesting . . . very, very interesting,” the man mumbled to himself. After a moment, he seemed to notice that Liam had spoken. “Uh . . . nothing,” said the scientist as his face regained composure and the shock and excitement disappeared off his face. “Please come with me.”