Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (12 page)

Enira
stepped onto the elevator in Camden's building and put a key in the panel to
access the penthouse.
 
There was a
woman, accompanied by three children, in the elevator with her.
 
She gave Enira a quizzical look when
her key went into the panel, which Enira ignored. She stared straight ahead at
the doors, keeping her back to the woman.

Seconds
later, the elevator stopped and the woman and the kids got off.
 
The kids were halfway down the hall in
seconds, but the woman turned back and looked Enira up and down like she was
memorizing her description in case she needed to give it to a sketch artist
later.
 
Just then, two men coming
from further down the hall, pushed past the woman, knocking her a little off
balance.
 
She threw them dirty looks
and then glared back into the elevator at Enira.
 
The men hurried toward the elevator and got on just before
the doors closed.
 

They grabbed
Enira by either arm and one man put his hand over her mouth before she could
scream.
 
The other held a cloth
under her nose.
 
She struggled for
a moment against them, but she breathed in and a foul chemical smell filled her
nose. Then, everything went dark.

Dana Hanks
stood naked in a small white shower stall.
 
For the last couple of hours, she had been poked, prodded,
and scanned.
 
She’d had samples of
her skin, urine, and hair taken and now she was apparently being disinfected,
or more likely infected with an identifiable chemical that would seep into her
body through the water falling on her.
 
The timer on the wall of the stall indicated she had eight minutes left
to stand there and bathe.
 
Hopefully this would be her final security measure and she could finally
gaze at Tripple Laboratories from the inside.
 
She let her mind wander to the possibilities of what the
project was that led Dr. Tripple to hire an assistant.
 
Food development, disease cures, making
more land on the planet habitable, infertility treatments...the list in her
head ran on and on.
 
She felt her
stomach flip-flop with excitement and instinctively looked down.
 
Her skin was red and irritated.
 
She put her hands on her face and felt
a rash there too.
 
It wasn't
painful, just terrifying.
 
She put
her hands against the stall door, but it wouldn't open.
 
Dana was trapped like a lab rat.
 
She looked at the clock on the
wall.
 
Five minutes three seconds.
 
She closed her eyes and breathed deep
in and out, in and out.
 
Her mind
began to rationalize.
 
This is part of the process,
she
thought, I
'm in no danger. Maybe it's the
final test.
 
To make sure I am up
to the job...mentally.
She heard a clicking sound and opened her eyes.
 
Water was falling from a different
spout now.
 
The rash on her hands
and arms began to clear almost immediately and she sighed in relief.
 
I
am chemically encoded
now
, she
thought and smiled at the genius of the doctor’s security system.
 

When the
clock on the wall finished its countdown, the shower door unlatched. A woman
named Miranda, who had collected her bodily fluids earlier, was standing
outside with a towel.

“Pat dry.
Don't rub,” she said and led Dana to a changing room where her clothes were
folded neatly in a pile next to a dark gray lab coat with her name embossed
into a pliable metal plate, also dark gray, on the left sleeve.
 
Dana smiled to herself as she patted
her skin dry.

“When you
are dressed and have gotten yourself together, come see me in the office across
the hall and we will get you something to eat before you meet with Lee
tonight,” Miranda said, “Who knows when you will get a break to eat again once
you start working.”

“Thank you,”
Dana replied.
 
“I'll just be a few
minutes.”

“Don't take
too long, Miss Hanks. Dr. Tripple does not deal well with employees who are not
prompt.”

“I imagine
not.
 
But thanks for the advice.”

When Dana
was dry and dressed, she put her wet hair in a loose bun in the back of her
head and admired herself in the mirror wearing her new lab coat.
 
She felt in her bones today would be
the day her life really started and she couldn't be any happier than she was
right now.
 
She smoothed the front
of her coat, smiled at herself, and walked next door to meet Miranda.

The two
women walked to another section of the building and entered a small
cafeteria-style room.
 
There were
five square tables with four chairs apiece and a long buffet table along the
back wall with the day's selections.
 
It was almost seven so Dana ate in a hurry in order to arrive early to
meet Dr. Tripple.
 

“So, what’s
it like? Working with Dr. Tripple?” Dana asked between bites.

Miranda
smiled at her naiveté.

“I don’t
work
with
Dr. Tripple. No one here
does, except of course Camden Riles, and now apparently, you.”

“Then what
do you do?”

“I take care
of the lab technicians, making sure they have the proper security access, that
they get paid, and that they are in the lab exactly on time when the lady at
the desk calls in the request for them to clean up or set up experiments.”

“Hmm. So,
what do the lab techs do when they are not setting up or breaking down?”

“They have a
comfy break room. Some of them are still learning, so they study, some of them
play games, or write, or read.”

“Sounds like
a boring job.”

“It is, but
Lee demands he have at least four technicians at his beck and call at all hours
of the day. There are twelve of them in all and they work in three shifts.
Sometimes they go days without even walking into the lab, but working here is a
good career stepping stone, so it’s a coveted position.”

“Well, that
makes sense,” Dana said after swallowing her last bite of dinner. “Thanks for
your help Miranda, but I should go now.”

“Just doing
my job, Dear. Good luck in there.”

Miranda took
her to the security corridor and Dana breezed through the clearance stations.
She put her hand on the door to the lab, took a deep breath and walked in.
 
It was like a wonderland of
possibility.
 
The main lab was
large and open with several workstations and on the left were two giant storage
rooms, one with equipment and the other looked like a refrigeration unit.
 
A long corridor lay beside the
refrigerated room, and past that was a room with a desk and a large
window.
 
Dana assumed this room to
be Dr. Tripple's office.
 

She walked
slowly through the main lab looking at the tissue samples in tubes that were
lined up in rows on long lab tables.
 
She leaned over to get a closer look and read a few of the labels
underneath.
 
Some said male and female
followed by number and letter designations, and some had names followed by
alteration numbers.
 
The samples
varied in size and shape and Dana could almost make out partial body parts in a
few.
 
She couldn't imagine what the
goal might be with this deeply intricate experiment but she knew the sample
tissues were definitely human.
  
She pulled a notebook out of her shoulder bag and began noting her first
observations in the lab.
 
She was
too fascinated and intrigued by the size and scope of what she was looking at
to wonder about where the samples came from.
 

Dana
wandered around the main lab, staring, taking notes, and getting lost in her
own theories of the experiment for about fifteen minutes.
 
She was a little startled when she
heard footsteps behind her.
 
She
turned and saw Dr. Tripple walking down the corridor towards her.
 
His head was down and he was speaking
into his electronic notepad.
 
He
turned into his office without acknowledging Dana's presence.
 
He opened a closet door, changed his
coat and walked back out and into the main lab and right past her.
 
All the while giving his machine voice
notes.
 
Dana smiled with amusement.
 
She admired his focus and intensity and
watched him as he walked from table to table, talking away to himself.
 
Finally, Dr. Lee Tripple looked at
Dana, who was grinning at him from halfway across the room.

“Um...
Hello, Dana Hanks.
 
This is my
lab.”

“Hello
again, Dr. Tripple.
 
I've just been
admiring your workspace.”

“Yes,
well...it is impressive.
 
You will
help me now to get these samples stocked and cataloged.
 
I will explain my theories of why each
group failed the experiment while we work.”

“Of course.
What
is
the experiment that happened
here?”

“Re-animation
of these tissues,” Lee said, his voice sharp. “Isn't that obvious?”

Dana's face
flushed with embarrassment.
 
She
had let him down already.
 

“Oh, I can
see it now,” she lied and started adding to her notes.
 
Hopefully when they started working,
she
would
see it.

“Where do
you want to start?”

Lee pointed
to a metal cart parked at the end of a long table and simultaneously nodded
toward the workstation directly in front of the window to his office. Dana
hoped he would not dwell on her lack of knowledge too long and walked over to
the cart and rolled it toward the table he had indicated.
 
Dr. Tripple bustled over to the table
himself and immediately started talking about a solution 247, proteins, DNA
alterations, ages of cells, planetary orbits, and chemically induced tissue
stasis as he showed each tube of human goo to her.

Dana
frantically wrote in her notebook in between handling each tube.
 
Tomorrow she would have her voice
recorder at the ready. She dared not interfere with Dr. Tripple's workflow by
rummaging through her bag for it now.
 
It was going to be a long night.

Colonel
Ganesh and Sergeant Quinn stared at each other over plates of pasta in the
unit's main dining room.
 
Ganesh
normally ate dinner at home, or if he did stay late at work, would take his
supper upstairs in the higher-ranking officer's dining room. But tonight, he
wasn't about to let Quinn out of his sight.
 
They had had a good talk on the grounds earlier and Quinn
played his part so well, Ganesh thought.
 
If he were any other Colonel, he might never suspect that Quinn was a
Special Unit spy.
 
The fact was,
Ganesh couldn't help but like him.
 
He was eager and respectful, but at the same time, witty and quick to
laugh.
 
Quinn acted like an
average, moderately intelligent soldier with a lot of spunk, but Ganesh knew
that he was physically conditioned for extreme situations and sharp as a tack;
and he liked that about him too.
Maybe because he had a soft
spot for the Special Unit.
 
Some of his old recruits were as close as family to him and he just
appreciated a good spy, though he had never been the target before.

After they
ate, Ganesh instructed Quinn to wrap up a plate of pasta to go.
 
He would take it to Camden later, after
Quinn turned in for the night.
 
Quinn was staying in the unit dorms for his new assignment with Ganesh,
which meant that Ganesh could monitor him with relative ease.
 
He wondered if he would make it home
himself tonight.
 
He couldn't stay
in his office but he wasn't above taking a couch in the officer's lounge.
 
As Ganesh and Quinn walked out of the
dining hall, Quinn was ready to excuse himself for the night but needed Ganesh
to open the lock he had put on his locker earlier.

“I gotta
tell you, sir, I feel a little weird having you walk me home for the night,” he
said and grinned at Ganesh.

“Well I'm
not going to tuck you in if that's what you're getting at.”

“Ah c’mon,
sir, just one bedtime story.”

“I should
slap you for that comment, Quinn.”

“Yes, sir.”

When they
got to the locker room Ganesh took out his computer while Quinn took his personal
effects and dressed down for the night.
 
While waiting for him, Ganesh searched for Ari and cross-referenced his
name with Camden's.
 
Since he only
had a first name to work with, he was unsuccessful.
 
Camden would hopefully be able to give him another clue when
he saw him later.
 

Meanwhile,
Mace Magner walked into Camden's interrogation room with two soldiers behind
him toting a folding cot.
 
Aldretti, who had been slouched lazily against the wall stood at
attention at their entrance.
 
Camden was leaned back in his chair with one arm over his eyes.
 
The sleeve and collar of his shirt were
stained with dried blood and his mouth was hanging open to accommodate his
swollen cheek and lips.
 
Mace
smiled with satisfaction at Camden's state.

“Aldretti,”
Mace said. “Take the professor to the wash room so he can clean himself up.”

“Yes, sir,
Major.
 
Come with me,
Professor.”
 
Camden got up slowly
and stretched his legs.
 
He stared
hard at Mace and then left the room with Aldretti, cupping his mouth with his
hand.

Camden was
relieved to use the facilities for only the second time today.
 
He drank water from the sink and then
tended to his sore face.
 
He
removed his shirt and rinsed the blood out as best he could.
 
His jacket was hanging on the back of
the chair in his confinement chamber so he returned in just his
undershirt.
 
The soldiers with Mace
had set up the cot in the corner of the room.

Mace
addressed Aldretti again.

“You are
relieved for the night. I expect you back on duty here at seven sharp.”

“Yes, sir,”
Aldretti replied and promptly left the room, glad to be going home.
 
He had been bored for hours.
 
Since Mace’s previous visit, Camden
hadn't spoken once. “What a waste of space,” Aldretti mumbled when he was in
the elevator.

Camden
walked up to Mace and looked him straight in the eyes. Mace didn't flinch.
 

“Lights out
in this room in five minutes.
 
Sleep well, Professor,” Mace smirked.

Camden, who
had left his cool facade behind hours ago, wrung his shirt out on the Major's
shoes then turned his back to him and lay down on the cot with his hands behind
his head.
 
Mace snorted and shook
the water off his feet. He wanted to hit him in the face again but, as of a few
hours ago, he was under new orders from General Pike.
 
Camden's face would be in the news soon and couldn’t be
bruised.
 
Instead, he walked over
and looked down at Camden and just when Camden looked back at him, he punched
him hard in the stomach.
 
Camden's
body contracted and he let out a short gasp as the wind had been knocked from
him.

“Well, if
that is all, Professor Riles, I will be leaving for the night,” Mace said to
him with deep sarcasm.

Camden was
unable to catch his breath long enough to talk back.
 
Not that he would have.
 
He was through giving this man any of his attention since
he'd knocked him out earlier that day. He rolled onto his side to face the
wall, turning his back to Mace.
 
Mace laughed and walked out of the room.
 
Camden could hear him just outside giving instructions to
the two soldiers to sit by his door for the night.
 
Was he worried he would escape or Ganesh would come back and
bust him out? Camden didn't care at the moment.
 
He just wanted to sleep for a while.
 
And, he was angry with Ganesh for
leaving him in this situation for so long.
 
It was his fault he was here in the first place.

**********

After
wandering the streets in a state of emotional flux, Bearden finally made it
back to his flat.
 
He still didn't
know what to do, but now wished he'd never read that damned letter.
 
He wanted to call Colonel Ganesh and
confront him, but couldn't admit that he had disobeyed his direct order to not
open the letter.
 
And he had failed
in his mission to get it to Dr. Tripple.
 
He was mad at himself for his loyal feelings to Colonel Ganesh after
what he had done to him.
 
“I’m a
scientist, dammit! I'm no secret mission guy.
 
Why would he even assume...” Bearden sighed and realized
that talking to himself was getting him nowhere.
 
I should tell someone.
He thought.
 
He read through the
letter again and again and one line kept burning into his conscience.

Camden's life depends on our next actions and I know that he trusts
you and therefore, I trust you.
 
I
know that you will do right by him.

If Camden
Riles died, it would be his fault.
 
No matter how much he didn't deserve the responsibility.
 
He made his decision and left his flat
to return to Tripple Laboratories.
 
Since he was being forced to make a choice of loyalties, he would choose
himself first and worry about the government tomorrow.
 
He wouldn't be able to live with
Professor Camden Riles' blood indirectly on his hands.
 
Bearden would have to get to Dr. Lee
Tripple one way or another.
 
He
just wished he had a plan beyond standing in front of his lab and hoping for
the best.
 
He grabbed his coat and
stopped with his hand on the doorknob... then paused. “Dammit!”
 
he
said
again.
 
He walked back inside,
picked up his phone, not sure of whom to call, hung it back up, picked it up
again, scanned his contact list from the unit, and placed a call.

“Hello, this
is Sergeant Bearden Leitner, the scientist you spoke to this morning... yes, I
am calling because I am in a situation and I don't know what to do.
 
I need your help.”

**********

Ganesh made
his way down the corridor on the thirteenth floor with a plate of cold spaghetti
in his hands.
 
The two soldiers
guarding Camden's door stood and saluted the Colonel as he approached. Since
his meeting with General Pike, he no longer felt his visiting Camden needed to
be discreet.

“Evening,
men,” Ganesh said as he unlocked Camden's door and walked past them.
 

It was dark
in the room except for the small square of light coming in the window from the
hall.
 

“Camden.
 
Are you awake?
 
I brought you some food.”
 
Ganesh heard movement coming from the
corner and squinted as his eyes tried to adjust to the low light. “Cam?”

“I'm over
here.” Camden's voice sounded weak and strained.
 
Ganesh pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket.
 
He knew that the lights on this floor
were controlled from a different part of the building.
 
He placed the light on the table and
then he could see Camden sitting up slowly on a cot in the corner.

“Are you all
right?” he asked.

“I've been
better.
 
Where the hell have you
been?”

“Long
story.
 
I got back as soon as I
could.”

“I'm sure.”
There was a hint of sarcasm in Camden's voice.

“Really,
Cam, we are in quite a situation here.”

“And whose
fault is that?”

“I did what
I had to do...what I thought, and still think is right.”

Camden got
up slowly and walked over to the table to sit with Ganesh.
 
When he came into the light, Ganesh
cringed.

“Oh man!
Look at you...did you tell them anything?” Ganesh whispered.

“If I had, I
might be able to close my mouth.”

“Yeah,
that's one fat lip you've got there.
 
I'm sorry you are going through this, Cam.
 
This wasn't my intention.”

“I assumed
that.”

“Listen,
starting tomorrow, you and I are on a new assignment together.
 
I don't know the details but I can
guarantee you aren't going to be happy with the situation.
 
I need you to trust me, no matter how
weird my actions are.
 
Please know
that I am on your side.
 
They've
got my hands tied but I will do everything I can to get you out of here soon.”

Camden
raised his eyebrows in disapproval at Ganesh and unwrapped the plate in front
of him and attempted to eat.
 
They
sat in silence for a few moments and then Camden pushed his plate away.
 
He was hungry, but not for cold
leftovers from a military kitchen.
 
Plus, it was too uncomfortable to chew.

“Get me the
hell out of here, Ganesh.”

Ganesh
lowered his voice even more and leaned in to Camden's left ear.
 

“Who is
Ari?”

“My
driver...lives in my building,” Camden whispered back.

“Shh
shh
...ok, I got it.
 
Get some rest, Camden.
 
I'll
be back in the morning.”

Camden
rolled his eyes a little and returned to the cot as Ganesh left the room.

**********

Ari lay in
bed next to his sleeping wife and stared at the ceiling.
 
He couldn't sleep.
 
Outside his window, lights from
transports passed by at regular intervals.
 
His wife had come home complaining that she was almost
mauled in the hallway by two men and she was also concerned about a woman in
the elevator who apparently had a key to Camden Riles' flat. She considered
Camden part of the family and was offended that she didn't know about someone
who was close enough to him to have a key.
 
So, naturally, she assumed the worst and wanted to go up and
check on him ...to make sure he wasn't being robbed or something.
 
Ari didn't know who the woman was
either, but knew it wasn't safe for anyone in Camden's flat right now.
 
So he lied and told her that Camden
would introduce his new friend soon and she shouldn't worry about it.
 
But now,
he
had this woman to worry about.
 
He also had to figure out a way to get past this constant
surveillance long enough to find the case Camden had left in the transport
before the government decided to search it again.
 
Not tonight though, the moons were too bright in the
sky.
 
He tossed and turned a while
longer but it was no use; he was not going to be able to sleep.
 
He got up quietly and returned to the
couch in the living room to try and think some more.

**********

Mace Magner
sat alone in a dark dingy basement bar near his home.
 
He rolled up his sleeves and ordered his second glass of
ale.
 
It had felt good to beat up
on Camden today.
 
He and Colonel
Ganesh were potential threats to the weaponry unit and since the latter
outranked him, his violence against Camden satisfied him as much as did his end
of the day drink.
 
General Pike had
warned him that there might be some opposition to the project placed within the
unit, but it was their job to identify and contain any threat.
 
Ganesh was deemed opposition as soon as
he accepted the position in the unit because he had been involved, voluntarily,
with several peace-promoting efforts throughout his career.
 
And because his meetings were being
loosely monitored, Camden Riles had been identified as a potential suspect when
the biomer theft was committed.
 
Mace downed his ale and ordered another.
 
He slunched over the bar and rested on his elbows, letting
his posture fall for the first time today.
 
What a glorious war General Pike would start when the
weaponry division released their biomachines. The primitive areas of the west
didn't know how to use the resources their land contained and Mace believed,
like so many others in the government, that any habitable land should be
reserved for the technologically advanced.