Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins (5 page)

“Very well,” AJ said and left.

William James Kelley Junior, new Director of The One waited a moment after AJ left.  Then he turned to Porter and asked, “They offered you the job first?”

“Yup,” Porter replied.

“Why did you turn it down?”

“I'm a soldier,” Porter told him the half-truth, “I work better as a soldier and I can do a lot of good in the field.  What I'm not, is a politician.”

“Strange that two Majors were the prime candidates,” Kelley said.  “There’ll be a lot of angry Generals.”

“War Generals.  It's why they went with you,” Porter told him.  “They want to bury everything about the war.  So the last thing they want is a veteran war General commanding the most powerful force on the planet.  You, you're boy genius Billy Kelley; the people love you, the politicians love you and the corporations love you.  I only got offered the job because AJ likes me.”

Kelley gritted his teeth and let Porter’s less than subtle barb slide.  “Have a good morning,” he said and walked out.  In the foyer his assistant, was waiting for him.  She was holding her notebook in her lap and stood when she saw him.  He headed straight through to the hallway.  His assistant followed close behind him.

“Did the meeting go well, sir?” Helen asked.

“He's making the announcement right now,” Kelley replied.  “You're looking at the new Director of The One.”

“Congratulations, sir,” she said.  “What about Major Porter?”

“The idiot thinks he can do more in the field,” Kelley said.  “He still thinks fortune and glory can be swooped up in war.  If I do things right, there won't be another war anywhere.”

“I'm sure you will,” Helen said.

“Before Rodgers is done with his speech I need you to sell those stocks I was talking about. Also change the titles on those properties and start releasing the news snippets to the media.  Then I want to see The One's accounting reports.  Lastly, set up a meeting with that military contractor, the one with the base designs.  And buy up their stock.”

Since the war, The One had been housing people on borrowed land.  To remedy that, Director Kelley promised to build seven state-of-the-art bases around the globe.  Construction started a few months ago and wouldn't be finished for some time.  So for now places like Bethesda naval station served as a temporary headquarters.

Robert Day liked to sit and watch the ships coming and going.  The cold ocean air made his cheeks red, but he could stay out for hours.  It was one of the few times he felt guilty that those two men had to follow him.  The big one was dressed in a navy uniform.  It was his job to make sure that Robert didn't stray into the wrong places and that he was, largely, kept safe.  The tall one was dressed in a One uniform, and it was his job to make sure the navy didn't screw up.  That's what he told Robert, anyway.  They left him alone most of the time, but he'd rather that they didn't have to stand out here in the cold with him.  He asked his dad once why he needed them.

“You don't, Robert,” his dad answered.  He was sitting at his desk as usual working on something.  His dad was a multitasker, thus always available to answer questions.  “You might be six but you're a good boy, well behaved and smart.  Beyond that, you are the diplomatic bridge between two planets.  But that doesn't matter to the people reading reports and crunching numbers.  They needed to take precautions to make themselves feel better.”

“Because mom is an alien, and they think I’ll blow them up,” Robert said.  “And that's why I can't live here anymore.”

Robert's father stopped working and looked at his son.  “I hope you understand that sending you away wasn’t an easy decision for us, Robert.  You're mother and I do a lot of important work with some very important people.  These people are so important that there can't be any chance they might get hurt.”

Robert bit his lip and looked down at the floor.

“No one is saying you're bad; they're only trying to limit the possibilities of danger.  That means they won't let you come with us, not only for other people's safety but yours too.  There are some bad people who would take you if they had the chance.  Besides your old enough now to stay with The One and then you'll get to show everyone how good you are.”

The man from The One sipped his coffee and tried to pretend he was interested in the boats.  Robert knew he didn't want to be babysitting a diplomat's son, but he appreciated that he didn't take it out on him.

“Hey, Robbie, is that the Enterprise coming in?” The man asked.  His name was Chuck, and he was excellent at predicting when something bad was going to happen.  They called it precognition.

“That's just a cruiser,” Robert replied.

“Let me know if you see the Enterprise out there,” Chuck said.  “I want to get a photo next to it.”

“Sure,” Robert said.  He looked at his little watch with cartoon characters on it.  It was nearly ten in the morning.

“They'll be here,” Chuck said.  “You know they're always running late.”  There wasn't much else he could say to make the boy feel better, so he wandered over to Baxter, the navy man.  “You can run and get some coffee if you want; I have things covered,” Chuck said.

Baxter stared at him annoyed.  The War of Absolution may have ended, but most of the Norms still hated Super-Humans.  “You might rethink being so casual with the half-breed,” Baxter said.  “Thing could kill you by throwing a tantrum.”

This time it was Chuck's turn to glare back.  He kept his comments to himself as he heard a car approaching.  A long black Buick drove up and came to a stop.  Robert stood and waited patiently, his hands twisting behind his back.  The car door opened and a little girl, about two years old, ran out at full speed.

“Robber,” She screamed slamming into her brother.

Robert took the impact with a grunt.  “Hey, Caroline, I missed you,” he hugged her.

“I missed you too, Robber,” she said.

A woman dressed in a business suit stepped out of the car.  Her hair was a dark purple that nearly looked black in the shade.  On the side of her neck, branded to her skin, was the red symbol of her planetary rank.  She smiled at her son, but she wasn't happy.  Robert's mother closed the car door behind her.

“Dad couldn't make it,” Robert said.

“I'm sure you're following the news about Thailand,” his mother said in a strange accent.

“Yes, I hoped...,” Robert trailed off.  “I'm glad you came.”

“Come play, Robber,” Caroline said tugging on his arm.

The kids ran off into an open field of grass that was used for navy drills.  Robert's mother went to the two bodyguards, both of whom stood at attention.

“How is he doing?”  She asked them.

Baxter didn't look like he was going to say anything. It was in part because he didn't care, but mostly he resented an alien living on his planet and getting special treatment.

Chuck spoke up, “They have him going out into the ocean to work on controlling his powers.  He seems to like the day trips.  As always he's doing well with his classes.  And there's been a Major on the grounds asking about him.”  That caught Baxter's attention.  The little sound in Chuck's head that warned him of something bad gave a soft buzz.  He dismissed it as common military spying.  Robert's mom had a concerned look on her face.  “Nothing to worry about ma'am,” Chuck told her.  “I've heard of the guy; he's kind of famous around The One.  From all accounts he's a good man, bunch of medals from the war.”  Chuck got a kick out of making Baxter uncomfortable.  In the minds’ of the Norms, the war was full-fledged Armageddon, multiplied by two. To have a decorated veteran roaming around Bethesda must have made him nervous.

“This wouldn't happen to be a Jonathan Porter?”  Robert's mom asked.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“I was under the impression he was promoted,” she said.  “Either way, my husband has already spoken to him and he's to be given access to Robert.”  She turned to look at her children playing some version of tag.  “Has there been any sign that he might be losing control?”  She wasn't asking Chuck because she knew she wouldn't get a true answer.

Baxter, who had a high-level clearance, didn’t like talking about things in the open.  He answered regardless, “I've been told to look for changes in ambient temperature, electromagnetic disturbances and physical symptoms similar to radiation sickness.  So far I have not observed any of these things.”  He paused because he wanted to add something and wasn't sure how to word it.  “I'm concerned that he is becoming emotionally unstable which could lead to an incident.”

“He's depressed,” Chuck cut in angrily.  “He misses you and his sister.”

Robert's mom folded her arms and kept her voice even, “My concern is for my family as well as the relationship between our planets.  My husband and I have chosen to dedicate our lives to helping this nation, and that has forced us to sacrifice our time with Robert.  We've left it up to The One to make sure he's looked after, raised well, and made happy.  It's your job, Chuck, to take care of my son.”  She gestured to Baxter.  “It's this gentleman's job to see that the country is safe.  You don't have to work together, like each other or interact to get these jobs done.  And while I appreciate your candor about my son's well-being, there isn't anything I can do to change the situation, so you must fix the problem.”

“Yes, ma'am.  Sorry, ma'am,” Chuck said.

“I think Jonathan Porter's project may be the solution to the problem, so see that they meet,” she said.  “And Lieutenant Baxter, unless Robert is about to explode, stay the hell away.”

To everyone but Porter the specifics of his project were unknown.  And sometimes Porter himself didn't know what he was doing.  He had never worked with children before.  Give him an eighteen-year-old Private, and he could shout him into becoming a soldier.  If you did that with a six-year-old all you'd get was tears.

Porter's basic idea was to build a new generation from the ground up.  In the war he had seen all manner of things.  The worst of which were the soldiers who took things too far; ones who took pleasure in death and destruction.  Then after the war he saw similar people use their authority to take advantage of people weaker than them.  These people were an inevitable outcome of inadequate parenting and training.  They were the reason people feared Super-Humans and they were the corruption that would destroy The One.  The goal was to raise a group of Super-Humans who believed in freedom, honor and the protection of those who couldn’t protect themselves.  In a way, he and Kelley had the same goal, with different approaches.  But Kelley would spend all his time and energy forcing and fighting people to do what he wanted.  Attempting to change the minds of the old guard would always be futile.  The solution rested in building the minds of those to come.  And hopefully, they would help guide The One along a noble path even in the worst of times.

What he saw in Robert was the epitome of his idea, made stronger through his mother's lineage and his father's patriotism.

So Porter took Robert under his wing, acting like a surrogate parent.

In the winter of his sixth year with The One, Robert was living at the new Colorado Complex.  Construction was nearly complete, and airplanes were landing every day with supplies.  Robert sat in his bedroom working on a paper for class.  A knock came at the door, and he answered it.  Colonel Porter was standing there as stoic as always, his salt and pepper hair neatly combed.  Over the years, Robert learned to read the subtle emotions on his face.

Something bad had happened.

In Robert's head, he could almost hear Chuck's voice saying, ‘watch out,’ and he wished Chuck was here now.  He'd always been nice to Robert, more of a friend then a guardian or adult.  Robert gripped the door knob as tight as he could and held his breath as he waited for Porter to speak.

“You should come with me,” he said.  “There's a helicopter waiting for us.”

After taking orders from Porter for so long, Robert's feet moved on their own.  It felt like he was in the distance watching himself walk down the hallway and into the elevator.

“There's been an accident, Robert,” Porter said when they were in the elevator.

Robert, he had called him.  Not son, boy, Day or even Cadet Day.  The Colonel never called him Robert.

When Robert didn't respond Porter continued, “It's your family.  They were in a plane crash.”

A moment of relief washed over Robert.  A plane crash was nothing.  His mother could have gotten them out with only a couple of scrapes and bruises.  Caroline probably was freaked out and wanted to see him.  Then Porter put his hand on Robert's shoulder, and the fantasy slipped away.

“It's bad isn't it?” Robert’s voice was tight.

“The plane exploded in mid-flight,” Porter told him.  “Possibly one survivor.”

“Possibly?”

“They think your sister's powers manifested,” Porter answered.  He shifted to look Robert in the eyes.  “We knew that there was the possibility your human biology might not be able to contain your alien powers.  People have been worried about it since the day you were born.  We thought your mother’s power skipped Caroline.  It looks like she was just different, not inert.”

The elevator doors opened to the dining hall, and Chuck was waiting amongst a contingent of One; military and political personnel.  He ran over to them.

“I heard what happened, Robert,” his voice was steady and relaxing.  “I got here as fast as I could.  Don't worry, we'll sort this out as best we can, right?  That's what we're good at.”

The crowd of liaisons trailed behind them as they headed to the helipad.  Out in the distance, blowing up a storm, was a helicopter big enough to fit over a dozen people.  Porter led them toward the ramp at the back.

“Captain, you joining us?”  He asked Chuck.

“You're damn right I am,” he said giving Porter a confused look.

“We may need your expertise,” he said hinting at something.

The three of them took seats near the side door, and the helicopter took off.  To talk over the deafening noise, they put on headsets.  Chuck focused on Robert, watching his blank face.

Hunching over and resting his elbows on his knees, Porter observed the boy's reactions.  “There's more,” he said.  His voice sounded miles away through the headsets.  “Your sister is still active.”

This woke Robert from his daze.

“Her powers are still running at full steam,” Porter explained.  “No one can get within a mile without risking death.  Luckily she's in an unpopulated area, so there haven't been any more casualties.”

“Robert,” Chuck said as loud as he could.  “They're hoping that if we can get you talking to her you can calm her down.  Get her to shut it off.”

Robert nodded absently.

“It's your time, buddy,” Chuck said.  “Take control of the situation, get Caroline out of there and fix this.”  Chuck was relying on everything he could remember from The One classes on psychology.  As a bodyguard he had learned that the people he guarded needed to be in control, even if everything was out of control.  And from time to time when he lost someone, he had learned a lot about grief counseling.  Robert was a strong kid, but he needed to feel like he was in charge of the situation and taking an active role.  Otherwise, he'd spend the rest of his life wondering, what if.