Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) (6 page)

Mitchell placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s late. I
better let you get to bed.”

Iris felt a tingle at his touch. It was a type of
electricity she had only felt when with Ron. It was a complicated stimulus, not
entirely explainable by sexual or mental attraction. Possibly it was both.

“Still mad?” he asked.

Iris turned her head away and smiled. She wished she
could tell him why she blushed. She wasn’t angry anymore; she was embarrassed
because she couldn’t stop visualizing Mitchell in bed with her. She forced
herself to put the conversation back on course.

“Actually, how do you handle people that disagree with
you? I know government cover-ups absolutely freaking bug the shit out of you.
But how do you deal with someone like me? Because you’re right—despite
all I’ve seen tonight, I’m still a skeptic when it comes to aliens.”

“I have mandated a rule. It’s called: Mitchell’s
requisite. It goes like this. If you disagree with me, that’s your right. But
it’s not your right to invalidate my argument. In other words, I won’t accept
you calling me foolish or wrong. It’s based on numbers. If two people disagree,
then each can only be 50 percent correct in their assumption. If four people
are involved, and two are at odds with the others’ findings, then each can only
be 25 percent right. As you can see, as the numbers of people engaged in the
disagreement grows, the percentage any one person can be correct diminishes.
Well, unless nine out of ten people should agree. Ultimately, it doesn’t really
prove or disprove the arguments. But it makes things more civil. I just don’t
think people should denigrate others. I may still be skeptical of the spirit
world, Iris, but right now, I can only be 50 percent correct in my assumption.”

She laughed. “Good night, Mitchell. I like the way you
argue.” She continued smiling, watching his SUV drive off. She possibly was
slipping as an investigator. She hadn’t noticed until now what his license
plate signified. His plates read:
UFO GUY. Maybe I’m not just hooked on this
investigation.

M
ITCHELL
GLANCED
at the clock as he
dropped into his bed. It was late. It would be even later back east where his
scientist friend, Evan, lived. The Dial was an investigation in itself, and
then there was the crop circle. Better yet, he had an even bigger mystery to
grapple with. Did Iris feel the same way about him as he did her? He believed
there was chemistry, but he couldn’t be sure, just as he couldn’t be certain
about UFOs. He almost flipped priorities and dialed Iris. Instead, he dialed
the phone number he originally intended and waited seven long rings for an
answer.

“Hi, Evan, I’m so sorry to call this late. It’s just that
some events have been occurring lately. I think you should put in for an
emergency sabbatical or whatever you need to do to get out here ASAP.”

Evan grumbled in response, groggy and confused.

“What I’m saying,
Evan, is I think I’m onto something. Remember when we dreamed of experiencing
the investigation of a lifetime? Well, I’m pretty certain I’m on it now.”

D
AN CAMDEN
finished gift-wrapping Iris’s present in
spartan décor. Plain pink paper, no bow, and a label-sized card would have to
do
.
He glanced at it, attempting to keep an emotional distance. He did
have ulterior motives, but he also still had a heart. Dan envisioned a smile
forming on his daughter’s lips as he handed her the present. He would wait for
Iris to arrive home for her lunch hour. Despite her anger toward him, she might
take the gift as a good will gesture.

He peered at his reflection in the rearview mirror. His
eyebrows were knotted tight. He would have to wash away that look of
apprehension if he hoped to put that smile on his daughter’s face and begin a
covert surveillance detail.

Dan realized he was no better than an absentee father. On
the rare occasions his job allowed him downtime, he usually spent it traveling
from Arizona to Colorado to visit Iris and DJ. Iris welcomed the visits,
begrudgingly. She put on a front that she didn’t want him around. But he could
see through her veneer. She was heartbroken he had left the family—twice.
He tried to make it up to her by handing her wads of money stuffed in an envelope
on his visits. She always accepted the financial assistance but with a look in
her eye that screamed:
I want a father not an ATM machine.
Dan would
have given her money as an early birthday gift last night except a van parked
on the street with the license plates
UFO Guy
forced him to change
tactics.

Dan never mixed business with his family life. That’s why
both his marriages crumbled. Jill and Doris came to resent his cold exterior.
He could never talk about his job, yet he never seemed to leave it at the door
either. Despite what it took from him, his commitment to a shadow branch of the
government he’d come to fondly regard as the
Organization
was never in
question. The appearance of what could only be a UFO investigator demanded
attention. It could very well become a threat that might put his daughters in
harm. Yet it could also produce a chance to acquire highly coveted off-world
technology. Either way, Dan would be prepared.

The allure of starting a family had led Dan down this
path in the 80s. The entry level engineering jobs found in the classifieds
weren’t going to pay a mortgage or the expense of a newborn. But one
advertisement was different. It only required an engineering degree, no
experience necessary; on the job training would be provided. Enthusiasm,
commitment, and a sense of adventure were more important than experience, the
ad stated. Elated, Dan jumped at the opportunity. He had to sign a slew of
documents, but the starting salary was more than enough to quiet the voices of
caution whispering in his head.

In fact, he was aware of what his employers were thinking
about him. One of them was blessed with the gift of extrasensory perception as
well. Dan had always kept his gift concealed as he was ordered to. He never let
his first wife Jill know that he did foresee some rocky patches in their
impending marriage. Yet his gift never provided him a glimpse of his career.
Maybe he would have avoided it if he knew exactly what he would be getting
himself into. Dan wasn’t just obligated to keep government secrets concerning
technology; he was going to be forced to keep his entire involvement with the
Organization
under wraps from anyone he would ever love. Ironically, the
type of technology the
Organization
acquired assisted with this task.

A microchip was implanted in his brain. Dan found it
incredulous. He had seen TV shows suggesting chips would be used to track
people or monitor a patient’s health in the not so distant future. But in these
shows, the chip was imbedded in necks or feet. This tech was invasive. It
wasn’t within easy reach of being discarded. He had been joined with it. It was
a part of him. It made him feel like a hybrid: part machine, part human. Maybe
he succumbed to the chip because it made him feel special. He wasn’t only aiding
in the creation of new technology—he
was
the new technology. This
was the carrot a young man like Dan could not resist. His employers weren’t
surprised. They did, after all, advertise for a man with little or no prior
experience. Dan’s minimal life experiences had been played to their advantage
quite well.

With the chip, Dan wasn’t able to utilize his psychic
gift. Therefore, the risk of his family finding out about his work was
marginalized. At first, Dan didn’t understand what the risk was. He was certain
Jill had no extrasensory perception. But his employers realized his gift could
be transferred to his offspring. Sure enough, Iris Camden came to realize her
gift in first grade. She would never realize just how she inherited this
ability. Dan’s mind could not be read. The chip altered Dan’s brainwaves. He
would never become engaged in a theta or delta brain state because this was
where the subconscious mind took over. These were the states attributable to
mind reading, astral projection, and remote viewing. Thus, he existed on little
sleep, and when he did it produced lucid dream states.

Only when commissioned by his employers, could Dan take
the chip off-line. In these instances he was as psychic as his child. He was
allowed to do this by a remote switch surreptitiously hidden in the confines of
his watch. But fear for his family’s safety, made these occurrences few and far
between. If he could read Iris psychically, he feared other “ears” would be
able to as well. His wives argued with him about his treasured timepiece,
wondering why he would never wear the new watches they had bought him for
Christmas gifts. These tiny fissures became huge cracks in both of his
marriages. Dan realized his second wife would probably be no more forgiving of
his covert life than Jill. But Dan foresaw what new technologies his reverse
engineering would bring the world. In time, it would be commonplace for people
to have devices installed in their brains that allowed them to operate
computers with their minds. It would even be possible to access the Internet
this way. This wasn’t science fiction. The technology already existed thanks to
alien visitations. The government was just waiting to release these wonders to
the general populace. They needed to thoroughly experiment with it first. They
also needed to use these wonders for black ops. Great secrets could be obtained
from both enemy and allied nations alike. The day would arrive when these
technologies would be sold, and Dan wanted a family to share those wonders,
even at the risk of creating a second child with psychic abilities. And as Dan
imagined, not envisioned, that’s exactly what happened.

Dan checked his watch. Another few minutes and Iris would
stop home. She seldom deviated from habit. Dan attempted to console himself
that Iris would not get herself mixed up with any alien discoveries because of
this. He had ingrained the notion in her head at an early age that UFOs were
nonsense, mere misinterpretations or hoaxes. He’d told her there were no other
life forms, but even if there was, they wouldn’t be traveling via starship to
planet Earth. He didn’t believe his daughter could be convinced otherwise. She
probably was only interested in this guy for dates. He hoped so. But the iPhone
would ensure it because it would serve as his eavesdropping device. With
today’s phones, you didn’t need to plant bugs. As long as your target kept the
batteries in their phone, you could monitor without fear of discovery. Besides,
he could never risk using his psychic abilities because with them, came a
severe risk of discovery.

I
RIS GREETED
her dad with a hug. She always fantasized the
day would come when her father would announce he was leaving his job. There
would be no more need for such strict secrecy. Best of all, he would be there for
her. Maybe it would take some of the sting out of the last few decades. Iris
didn’t kid herself that her pain would ever totally heal. That part of her
harbored resentment against Doris Camden. She would never forgive her stepmom
for breaking apart Dan’s first marriage. Not even in her death.

Today was not the day for the “announcement.” Her dad did
seem uncharacteristically happy though. He handed her a gift wrapped in pink
paper with a beaming smile. “What’s going on, Dad? You run out of cash or
something.”

Dan smiled. “Good one. Actually, I thought it might be
more fitting—and thoughtful—to give you a tangible present for your
upcoming birthday.”

“Okay.” Iris smiled back at her dad. “You’re a week
early. Dad, I hope this is not your memory failing you. Remember when I
suggested you take Ginkgo Biloba?” She waited for the wave of shock on her
father’s face to subside.

Finally, he smiled. “Ah, got me again. Well, it serves me
right.”

Yes it does,
Iris thought. “But seriously I do suggest taking
supplements—at any age. I’m sure your job still demands the most of you.”

Dan sighed. “I know where this is going. In a minute
you’re going to get very pissed with me. You’re not going to come right out and
say that my job ruined all our lives. Yet you will, in your own kind of way.
But before you do this, why don’t you unwrap your present,
honey
?”

Iris thumbed a piece of stubborn tape off the corner of
the container. “Actually, the choice of word differs. I was going to say your
job ‘consumed’ our lives. Hmm. Sure packed this baby tight. Is this some secret
device?” Iris fought the urge to smile. It was another barb. She waited for the
shock to return to her father’s face. It was so predictable. Anytime she
mentioned technology, he would get sensitive and quiet. She knew darn well her
father created technologies most of the nation believed to be science fiction.
He had to, because all the secrecy and interviews she was mandated to attend
screamed so. Once every few years, Dan’s cohorts asked her if she was aware of any
specific work her father did, and she answered them truthfully, with a “no.”
The interviewers only told her that her cooperation would keep America safe.
Yet her intuition knew better. Of course, he and his cohorts were up to
something nefarious. But she was sure these creations were not alien in origin.
She respected her father for telling her this over the years. She was proud not
to buy into superstition. Her peers at school fell for these so-called
conspiracy theories at will. She didn’t believe her phone or computer was the
invention of aliens who were unfortunate enough to crash in Roswell, New
Mexico.

“Ooh. It’s the latest model.” Iris held the iPhone up for
her dad’s inspection. “Okay, you sure this baby’s safe to use?” She couldn’t
resist the opportunity to mock her father one more time. It was the closest
form of bonding she would ever have with him, and if this were the case, she
wasn’t going to squander a moment.

“Yes, but you didn’t hear that from a government
employee.”

“And if I did,” Iris said, “it would be off-the-record of
course.”

“Now, I’ve got to ask you one favor. I need your old flip
phone back, so I can have the store copy your contacts. I’ll also need the new
phone back of course, but just for a few hours. You
can
live without a
phone for a few hours, can you?”

“I don’t know. Could you have lived without your cassette
Walkman back in the day?” Iris felt her pulse rate increase. Her father wasn’t
baited. His expression reminded her of when he fought with stepmom Doris. She
folded her arms across her chest in preparation for some bad news.

“Seriously, Iris, I don’t want to pry. It’s just that I
swung by last night and saw a van parked in front of the house. I didn’t want
to intrude if you had company, so that’s why I waited to come to see you today.
I did notice your company’s license plate. I just hope you’re not involved with
some kind of alien investigation.”

“Well, I did meet someone. And maybe it’s not about
investigating but more about having some kind of personal life.” Iris retained
her stance, arms folded.

“I’m so sorry. I would love for you to meet someone.
That’s great news.”

“I just wish the same for DJ. She’s lived like a hermit
for the past few months. She used to feed off public speaking and dreamed of
continuing school. But now she might as well be a cave dweller. She works a
dead end job that doesn’t encourage her skills. She only lives to be angry at
the world it seems.”

“She just needs time to get over losing her mother, Iris.
And maybe this anger is healing her. She’ll eventually come around and get over
it. You’ll see.”

“That’s just it. She
wants
to get over it. But
Doris Jean won’t let her. She won’t crossover. And because of this, DJ tries to
block her gift. She’s quit our ghost hunting team. I really don’t care that she
did. It’s just that she seems to be quitting everything lately, and that’s not
healthy.”

“Oh, of course it isn’t.” Dan scratched his chin.

Iris waited for some revelation, but it didn’t come. She
wished she could tell her dad about the strange device. He would probably know
what it was or what to do with it. But she recalled Mitchell’s paranoia. It
wouldn’t be in the best interests of the public. And from her father’s sudden
silence, it pained her once again to realize how much she would never know about
this man. If she would never come to know everything about him, she could never
trust him. Yet in her heart, for some foolish reason, Iris believed she could
still love him, regardless.