Episode 14: Road To Alpha Site

Episode 14: 

THE ROAD TO ALPHA SITE

“Your little project got screwed up in the head, Doc. Something activated her early.”

Carlos Santini threw off the leather jacket he had been wearing and donned a lab coat. He slipped on a pair of glasses he found deep inside the left pocket. It made Carlos look like a completely different man.

“That’s a big problem," Josh said. "If Mrs. Raines-Ambrose discovers the slip, we’ll all be given our walking papers.”

“Don’t get so dramatic, Josh. If they tried to get rid of us, the clean up would be a lot messier than this. If I were Michela, I would be a lot more worried.”

***

He reared back as the rifle was stuck in his face. Matt wasn’t sure who would be lurking outside a secret government facility on the outskirts of the Gateway City. Reese cowered in the back seat trying her best to put her body between the front seat and Michela. Even though she wasn’t completely on board with his scheme, she was willing to protect Michela with her life.

Matt grabbed the assailant’s gun and pulled it as far into the car as he could to throw their adversary off balance. The shadowy figure was taken by surprise and released the gun. Matt threw it into the floorboard of the passenger seat while the man’s skull cracked on the roof of the vehicle.

“Ow! Ow!” The man dramatically stumbled backward. “Whoever you are,” he said uneasily. “You need to go. Just go as fast as you can away from here.” He waved his hand in a large sweeping arc in the direction of town.

A curious expression overcame Matt’s face.

“Wait a minute,” he said, stepping out of the vehicle. “I know that voice.”

Matt grabbed the hood of the shadow man’s jacket and pulled it off his head.

“Hey! Watch it.” The man wriggled to get away from Matt but he wasn’t successful.

“I knew it.” Matt bent down and looked into the car. Reese stared back at him quizzically. “It’s Hank Carter.”

Reese sighed with relief. “Hank? I didn’t know he even owned a gun. I thought he was against them.”

“I’m not against them, per say. I just aggressively dislike them. But if one can keep me safe, I’m all for that.” Hank held the gun to his chest like a woman would a baby, except that this baby was built for protection.

Hank peered into the car. “Where’d you get the transportation? Do you even know how to drive?”

“Of course I can drive. I’ve had simulations,” Matt replied. “It’s as easy as riding a bike.”

“Which, of course, you haven’t done either.” Hank was quick with the smarty-pants come backs.

It took a moment before Hank got a good look at the woman lying in the back seat.

“Is that? Oh, my God, it can’t be.”

“It is.” Matt said. “It’s my mother.”

---

THE MYSTERY INSIDE OF ALPHA SITE IS JUST BEGINNING...
KEEP READING FOR MORE EXCITING ADVENTURES!

Lucky Faraday and Piper made their way to the hallway outside where Quentin and the kidnappers were. His boss, Harry, wouldn’t be too keen on yet another John Wayne tactic but he had to do what he had to do.

“Shouldn’t we wait for backup?” Piper Ferguson asked. “I know you cop-types are so adamant about back up.”

“There’s a circus outside. They should have the building surrounded by now.” Lucky said although he wasn’t counting on Gateway City’s finest to get him out of his current jam.

“Should? They *should* be able to handle it? What has happened to the police protection in this city?”

“I’m sure it’s a lot like other jobs,” said Lucky, peeking through the window where Caine and Roanna were tied up. “They spend more time playing solitaire than doing their job.” He motioned to the door. “They’re inside.”

“What about the perps?” Piper asked.

“Room looks clear but keep your eyes open.” The two of them burst through the door aiming their guns around the room. All that the two discovered inside were two people tied to chairs.

“How in the hell did they get away?” Lucky muttered.

“Uh. Lucky?” Piper said. “I think we have bigger problems than a missing gang of thugs.”

Lucky joined her near where Caine and Roanna were passed out. Sitting on the table in front of them was a very tiny looking device that was counting down the seconds.

“A bomb. We’ve got to get them out of here.” Lucky knew they didn’t have enough time to exit the building. “We’re going to have to drag them as far away from the blast area as possible.”

“You’re not going to try and defuse it?” Piper said with a smirk.

“Who do you think I am? MacGyver? I leave that crap to the professionals.”

They had only begun to move the bodies of Caine and Roanna when the alarm on the device rang. They cringed anticipating the impact but nothing came. Suddenly the device trembled and a flag jumped up. It said. “Boom.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Piper muttered.

“Looks like we’ve got a joker on our hands. Let’s get them out of here before it tries to do something more than scare us.”

***

“Technically, she’s no one’s mother. But we don’t need to get into that messy paradox. Younger than you. Bred for a purpose. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I worked on the beginning stages of the project design, the basic structure of the model, you know -- before.”

Hank whistled. “I don’t think I’d be walking around with a Gamma 5 Series unless I knew exactly why she was created.. Otherwise, you’d never know when she might ‘go off.’

“She’s going to explode?” Reese asked, inching backward away from Michela.

“Of course she’s not going to explode, but she has some complex programming going on in her brain. Only a certain sequence of events will trigger her ‘mission.’ That is, unless he’s had some sort of cranial damage or a programming glitch that causes her brain to shut down. That would warrant an immediate recall.”

“She does have a big bruise on her forehead,” Reese replied.

“That’s not a good sign. Can you get rid of her?” Hank asked.

“I’m not getting rid of her,” Matt insisted. “She’s my mother.”

“Oh, all right. You can keep her,” Hank said. “Just leave me out of it.”

Reese glanced at her watch. “Matt, we have twenty minutes until bed check. We have to get back if you want to find out more about your mother.”

Matt glanced uneasily at Reese. He didn’t want to go back. It may have been the only place he’d ever known, but he wanted a life on the outside, beyond the reach of Alpha Site.

“She’s right,” Hank agreed. “You’ve got to get back in there if you ever want to find out who you really are.”

“What about Michela?” Matt said. “I can’t take her back in there. I don’t trust them.”

“Don’t look at me,” Hank said backing away from Matt.

“But you used to work on her project,” Matt said. “If she’s broken, you can fix her.”

Hank sighed. “it’s not like fixing a toaster. Her parts aren’t the most readily available.”

“You can’t help her?” Matt’s frown deepened.

“Of course I can help her. I still have a few friends in the business. I might be able to get the equipment I need.”

“Ten minutes,” Reese called out. “It’s either now or never.”

Matt grabbed Reese’s hand. “We have to go.”

As the two trotted off toward Alpha Site, HanK had a sudden realization.

“Hey -- what about the car?” Hank sighed, then muttered to himself. "Take care of the woman, ditch the car. Why is this suddenly all *my* responsibility?"

***

Stone hated leaving Mila alone at his house but he wanted to check on Honor. He may have only been her next door neighbor but since he was the one who found her sprawled at the bottom of the stairs he felt more than a little responsible for her. Visiting hours were over but he ignored the sign. It wasn't like he was one who was used to following the rules.

His cell rang while he was in the elevator. The mini-screen indicated it was Joe the Bluesman. He was the grounds keeper of the Ambrose Estate in England.

“Hey, Blue. What’s going on?”

“Mrs. Raines-Ambrose has closed up the London mansion. She’s returned to your neck of the woods. You know the woods I mean? The ones way on the outskirts of town that don’t really exist.”

Stone sighed. “Why can’t that woman leave the past alone?”

“We knew she’d resurface sooner or later,” Blue said.

“That means those non-existent woods you were taking about were never completely cleared.”

“They probably just covered them with sod hoping the trees would re-root at another time. That time, it seems, is now.”

“Dammit,” Stone cursed. “I thought I was out of this shit.”

“Shit follows you wherever you go, man,” Blue chuckled.

“I’ll be there in a day to help with the follow up. How’s our little Mila?” Blue asked.

“Shaken. Nearly got mugged at the airport. She’s safe, though.”

“You’ve got to keep that gem wrapped up tight, Stone. Even she doesn’t know what she is.”

“Don’t’ remind me. You don’t think I feel bad enough?”

Stone paused as the doors to the elevator opened.

“I’ve got to go. I’m visiting a friend in the hospital. See you when you get here.”

“Keep safe,” Blue said.

“Always am, Blue. Always am.”

Stone rounded the corner and found the room where Honor was staying. He slipped quietly inside hoping not to disturb the man lying in the bed next to her.

"Don't bother," said a weary voice from the darkness. The man in the next bed wasn't asleep after all.

"What's that?" Stone asked.

"She's long gone. Sprung her an hour ago."

"Gone? Who sprung her?" Stone didn't have a good feeling about this.

"It was that doctor. Young, good looking. Said his name was McRae. She still looked pretty banged up to me. But who I am to question the ethics of a doctor? Ya know?"

"Lucky isn't going to like this one bit," Stone muttered to himself.

***

While Mila played on her new laptop computer, a present from Stone, she observed someone outside her window. The man looked vaguely familiar. She'd seen him in England a year ago as a guest of Mrs. Raines-Ambrose. So when the knock came at the door, she didn't hesistate to answer since she was familiar with the person standing on the other side. She knew Stone wouldn't appreciate her ignoring the orders he'd given her, but she thought the order only applied to strangers.

When she opened the door, a familiar face greeted her.

"Austin. It's so nice to see you."