Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (10 page)

Major Mace
Magner paced back and forth in the sterile room trying to intimidate Professor
Camden Riles with his glare. It was working. Camden began to wonder if he would
get out of this unscathed...or at all.
 
He held his posture erect and did not speak. The major slammed his fists
on the table suddenly and got in Camden's face.

“Tell me
where the biomer is!” he yelled, spit flying from his lips and landing on
various points of Camden's face.

Camden took
a long breath and closed his eyes to control his temper. Then, keeping his eyes
closed he answered through gritted teeth.

“I don't
know what you are talking about.”

Mace
motioned to Aldretti who was enjoying this exchange. He practically ran over to
the table and secured Camden's wrists around the back of the chair he was
sitting in.
 
Just as he got up to
go back to his post by the door, Mace hit Camden
square
in the jaw.
 
Aldretti smiled.
Camden's head flopped to the side like a puppet. The impact was
unexpected.
 
A drop of blood rolled
out of the corner of his mouth.
 
Mace grabbed a handful of his hair and picked his head back up.

“Maybe
knocking some sense into your famous brain will help you remember, you arrogant
son of a bitch. You have one hour.”

Mace left
the room again and Camden let his head flop down on the edge of the table and
spit a mouthful of blood on the floor by his feet.

Mace walked
into his office, closed the blinds and situated himself behind his desk.
 
Adrenaline rushing through his body, he
tapped his feet on the floor as he picked up his phone and dialed the head of
the surveillance team, charged with finding more about Ari, Detective Jodis
Arman. He answered on the first ring.

“Mace.”

“Jodis.”

“Haven't got
any major news for you yet on this Ari guy.
 
He parked the transport in a private hanger on top of the
professor's building, opposite the penthouse, and then took
an
elevator ten floors
down.
 
He's been inside an apartment since then.
 
I think he lives here too.”

“He must be
more than a driver.”

“That's my
gut feeling.
 
Do you want me to
pick him up and bring him in?”

“No.
 
Not yet, let's keep watching him.
 
He may be more useful to me out of
custody. Let me know if he does anything, and I mean anything. No matter how
insignificant it seems to you and your team.”

“Will do
boss. This guy won't take a shit without you knowing about it.”

“Good man,”
Mace said and hung up the phone.

Mace headed
back down to the atrium lab to take another inventory of the biomer.
 
This was his second time today and
though it was probably not the best use of his time, he no longer trusted
anyone else with access to the product.

Ari sat in
his empty apartment and pretended to read.
 
His forehead had produced a steady stream of sweat since
Camden had been taken into custody.
 
His phone sat beside him and he kept willing it to ring.
 
He knew he was being watched, but knew
nothing else. Calling Lee might make him feel better but he didn't dare.
 
Any move he made could make Camden's
situation worse.

Ari looked
down at his phone and wiped his sweat. His wife and kids would be home in a few
hours and he had no plan yet to keep them out of danger. It wouldn't take his
wife more than a day or two to notice Camden's absence.
 
If
she said the wrong thing...
he couldn't think about that now.
 
Planning a last minute vacation would
be too obvious, but maybe not for Camden.
He
has a niece that lives in the north, it wouldn't seem far-fetched for him to go
and visit. Yes...that’s it.
It was a plausible story to tell his wife. He
needed to stay close by anyway because he had a feeling that he still had a
part to play in getting whatever was hidden in that transport to Lee Tripple.
He wiped his forehead again, gave his phone another aggravated look, and went
back to his book.

At 3:15,
Colonel Ganesh straightened his uniform as he walked toward General Pike's
office door. His expectations for the outcome of this meeting were grim.
 
Mace Magner was a rising star in the
general's view and Ganesh knew that he supported Mace's investigation
strategies on the missing biomer.
 
He was a war hungry man and everyone knew it.
 
The entire weaponry unit was employed because of him. Pike
was a perfect role model for Major Magner, hard to the core and brutally
efficient.
 

Ganesh was
ready to say anything to the general that would get him off the suspect
list.
 
He was an honest man by
nature and didn't take pride in being a good liar... but he was.
 

“Come in,
Colonel,” the general's voice boomed after Ganesh rapped on his office door.

He walked in
and sat down across from General Pike after the two men gave their customary
salute. Pike spoke first.

“I've been
thinking hard on what to do about our Professor Riles situation.
 
Obviously the disappearance of such a
high profile citizen will
raise
more than a few eyebrows.
 
The media will go crazy with it.”
 
Ganesh listened intently to General
Pike and nodded, more than a little intrigued, as this was completely
unexpected.
 
“I know that you are
aware he was brought in because you paid him a visit earlier.”

Ganesh shifted
in his chair and the general continued,

“It seems
that the two of you didn't exchange many words so one can only assume that you
know why he was brought in.
 
Now, I
know in my gut that you and Riles are responsible for the theft of the material
down in the labs.
 
And while I
can't prove it yet, I can't in good conscience let him just walk out of here
either.
 
Especially after being
interrogated by Mace.
 
It could
look bad for our division if he talked about it.”

“What will
you do then, sir?”
 
Ganesh remained
calm as he spoke, not allowing the General's words to get a rise out of him.

“Well,”
General Pike folded his hands and answered, “I am not going to harp on that
subject, but I am going to use you.”

“Use me
how?” Ganesh asked.

“Since his
arrival at our facility is an extremely sensitive matter and the two of you are
such obvious friends, I am going to count on you to make the next several
months go smoothly. For the division and the press.”

“Months?
What is your plan, sir?” Ganesh asked.

General Pike
pushed a piece of paper across the table to Ganesh then folded his hands
looking eager for Ganesh to read what was written.
 
Moments
later, Ganesh spoke.

“A forced
contract, then.
 
Since he is too
much of a public figure to imprison without proof of offense, you will make him
work for you against his will?” He was disgusted with the plan but his voice
was only mildly inquisitive.

“Exactly!
And since you were just in the news for your promotion here, the positive
publicity will continue when the headlines show you bringing the beloved
Professor Riles onto the team.
 
We
need to show this side of the government in a way that will put the public at
ease.
 
It will be a win, win
situation for everyone involved.”

Ganesh
wondered how he and Camden would be winning, but decided not to ask. Instead,
he asked,

“How limited
will the professor be in maintaining his contacts on the outside?
 
He is frequently interviewed and works
side by side with…”

“Dr. Lee
Tripple,” General Pike cut him off mid sentence. “I know, and I am not
especially worried about the crazy scientist who barely speaks, let alone to
the press. Professor Riles will be allowed a visitor once a month, supervised
of course, and you will handle the rest of his public relations.
 
It will be good for the population to
have someone like you on the inside to trust and embrace.” He sat back, put his
hands behind his head and smiled at Ganesh. “You can expect the details of this
assignment on your desk by morning.
 
Good day, Colonel.”

Ganesh stood
and saluted the general, then returned to his office wondering how much more
bizarre this day could get. He considered taking an early leave but decided to
wait. He was sure Leitner would return soon with some news from Lee.
 
He also wanted to check on Camden
again.
 
Since the general knew
about his prior visit, it would make no difference now.

Just then,
there was a knock on Ganesh's office door.
 
He stood up, expecting Leitner.

“Come on in,
Sergeant,” he called out.

A soldier
came in, but it was not Bearden Leitner. With a sharp salute he announced,

“Sergeant
Hale Quinn, sir.
 
I have been
assigned to you.”

“Assigned?”

“Yes, sir. I
will be writing daily reports about your new project for General Pike.”

“So, you are
a secretary then.”

“I prefer
Sergeant Secretary, sir.” he grinned.

“Humph.”
Ganesh half smiled in spite of himself.

“I know the
project doesn't officially start until tomorrow but I was told you needed me
today, so here I am.”

“Well, I
don't. You can go now.”

“I was also
told that you might react like this but I think you are stuck with me so maybe
you can find something for me to do for the rest of the day.”

Ganesh
slumped down in his chair and gave a frustrated “Aughh”. Sergeant Hale Quinn
stood with his hands behind his back rocking back and forth on the balls of his
feet. He was smiling a goofy smile and was clearly over-caffeinated.

“Ok then,
Sergeant Secretary, why don't you start by taking a detailed inventory of
everything you see in this office. And I mean everything from the rug on the
floor to the number of slats that are in my mini blinds.”
 
Ganesh was pleased with
himself
for coming up with such a useless assignment so fast
and thought,
This oughta keep him busy
for at least an hour.

The smile
rolled off of Sergeant Quinn's face and was replaced by disappointment.
 
But he took out a small electronic
notepad from his jacket and looked over at Colonel Ganesh once more hoping he
was joking.
 
The satisfied smile on
the Colonel’s face told him he was not.

“I'll just
start with those blinds, sir,” he said.

Ganesh
nodded and started searching his computer for background information on Hale
Quinn.
 

After ten
minutes of reading through uneventful military records, he checked his
watch.
 
Ten minutes to four.
 
He could expect Sergeant Leitner's
return any minute now.
 
And as soon
as he was able to speak with Leitner, he would go up and make sure Camden was
somewhat comfortable and fed.
 
He
glanced up from his computer to see Sergeant Secretary pacing back and forth,
head down, and obviously counting the cracks in the wood floor.
 
Ganesh chuckled one time under his
breath and continued his search.
 
Why did they choose him?
 
What am I missing?
After another
ten minutes of reading about Hale Quinn's barely average performance in just
about all aspects of his career, he thought,
No wonder he's a secretary.
 
But Ganesh only believed that for a second.
 
Quinn's records would allow him to
blend in anywhere without drawing special attention.
 
Ganesh took a harder look at Sergeant Quinn.
 
He was small, but very lean; his movements
were sharp but graceful. He hadn't made a sound so far, not even when he
walked.
 
And he probably knew the
inventory of this room twenty seconds after he walked in.
 

He was a
Special Unit spy.
 
His records were
faked.
 
Ganesh didn't have any proof
of this, of course, aside from his gut instinct. But his instinct had never
been wrong when he was in charge of identifying potential “Special Unit”
soldiers on their first day of their basic training.
 
His picks had proved to be some of the best the military had
ever seen. Ganesh was one of the few who even knew this unit existed. He
wondered if General Pike knew he would figure this out or if he was just that
confident in Sergeant Hale Quinn, or whoever he was, to play his part.
 
General Pike knew Ganesh's background
so if he thought he could stick a Special Unit Spy in his office without him
realizing it
,
then he was deeply mistaken. The idea of
it was downright insulting.

“Colonel?”
The sound of Sergeant Quinn's voice broke Ganesh's train of thought.

“Hmm?”
Ganesh exited his computer search.

“I found
something, in the light fixture by the door. Thought you might want to know
about it.”

Ganesh
looked up to see Sergeant Quinn perfectly balanced high on his tiptoes with his
neck stretched over the light cover to the right of his office door.
 
He walked over to the light and looked
inside the cover.
 
Ganesh was a
good deal taller than Sergeant Quinn, so he didn’t have to stretch.
 
A small brown device, no bigger than a
fingernail, sat at the base of the fixture. It was pulsing with energy.

“Do you know
what that is, sir?”

“Yes...I
do.”