77
room. “And what might this machine be”? Don looked down at his notes and replied, “It’s a digital voltmeter, and it can gauge the amount of electricity that is being emitted from any given object”. Franks interest just perked up, and he started to say something, but Don interrupted, “Okay now watch what happens next”. Frank could see a couple of sparks flying from the digital voltmeter followed by numerous plumes of smoke.
Frank continued to view the video, watching Agent Boling darting out of the room and over to the nurses station, then back into the room to kick the hand held device out into the hall. “It’s amazing to think that a test of this magnitude was conducted without our knowledge, and the fact that she has decided not to share her findings with us”. Don nodded in agreement as he stopped the video. “That’s not the only thing she has not shared with us, take a look”. Don hit the play button for the next video showing Agent Boling pacing about the Hospitals lobby on the phone.
“I now that Gable wanted you to check her phone calls, so is there any way to find out who she is having a conversation with”? Don turned the monitor back in front of him.
“There is indeed, all I have to do is to put a time when the call was placed, run my new program and it will show all numbers bouncing off these towers plus or minus five minutes. So if anyone placed a call within those parameters, not only will I get a number but I should be able to listen to the call”. “You’re a scary man Marrick and by the way good work”. Don thought to himself, wow that had to hurt didn’t it Landers? Franks attention was diverted to outside the van, “Evans is here, I’ll tell him where to set up, and do you think
78
with all your high tech gadgets, you could manage to order us a pizza”? “Already did, it should be here in ten minutes”, as Don consulted his wristwatch. “Well in the meantime, see if you can find out who Boling was talking to”.
Sitting in my bed I was torn between the Saw marathon I found on the SYFY channel, and Friday the 13
th
marathon on channel 32. No matter what the choice, it was going to be a good evening. After tallying all the votes, the winner was, Saw. Let’s face it, both movies had gore, but Saw had innovative gore.
The room was getting a bit warm, and I could see the curtains blowing back and forth with the window open, so I gave a quick swipe of my hand in the direction of the curtains. The curtains obliged my request by sliding back open, and did that breeze now free to share its cooling effect feel good.
When Nurse Mattie left and placed the can of Dr. Pepper on my tray, she also left a couple of the high dosage ibuprofen next to the can, I’m assuming to not only help me sleep, but aid my foot as well. After the matter of my video viewing was settled, I took the Ibuprofen with a couple of swigs of Dr. Pepper. This might be my last enjoyable evening for a while for I doubted that I would get the same type of attention that I’m receiving now. I really wasn’t looking forward to staying at the old Coast Guard Base. It wasn’t much of a base size
wise, but I would be fairly close to Danny, and Nurse Mattie would be looking in on me, so it could be worse I suppose.
The fact that I was tired did not deter the fact that I was
going to enjoy as much gore as I can endure, or stay awake for. I was hoping that gore would reign supreme, but I sensed that my body had other plans.
79
As Frank got back into the van, the smell of pizza over-whelmed the small confines of the van. “Evans has us set
up, have you linked up to it yet”? Don gave him a disapproving sneer, “I’ve been watching him for five minutes already”. Frank grabbed a slice of pizza, took a quick bit and replied, “okay smart ass, what did you find out about Bolings phone call”?
“There were three call made at 2:03 this afternoon, two of which came from the pharmacy, and the third was the call Agent Boling received. The person who placed the call was, Chandler Parsons, from the D.C. area”. Frank almost choked on his pizza, “What was the name again”? Don looked at his monitor again, “Chandler Parsons”, Don replied. “Are you fucking kidding me, she was talking to that self-serving piece of shit”? Don looked confused, “I take it you’re not one of his best friends”.
“Chandler Parsons was the assistant Director of the CIA, and everyone was sure he would end up director”. “So what happened”, Don inquired? “He decided that he was above the law, and went rogue on numerous Black Ops. Innocent people were killed and Chandler tried to set certain people as fall guys to take the blame for his decisions. The CIA caught wind of what he was doing and severed all ties with him. Do you think you can hunt down his recent activities”?
“Should be easy enough, I’ll let you know what I find out”. Frank went back to his pizza and asked, “So how’s our patient”? Don clicked back on the new camera on the light pole by their van, “He’s currently watching a movie”. “Okay just keep an eye out, but don’t bother me for a while unless he blows something up, I need to make some calls”.
80
14
mondAy mornIng ArrIved
with the sound of
rain pelting the window. It was just after 9:00 am, and I had completed my breakfast, consisting of two sausage egg, and cheese biscuits courtesy of Nurse Mattie, by way of McDonald’s. Who says’ that hospital food is bad. I should eat here more often. Nurse Mattie had come back into the room
carrying a shopping bag and sat it next to me on the bed. “What’s this”? I asked. “Some tee-shirts a couple of pair of jeans, socks; you get the idea”. I did and it didn’t even occur to me that I was going to leave this place with no clothes. That would get me arrested in a hurry. “I don’t know what to say except, thank you”. “My pleasure Billy Speer, now I suggest that you jump in the shower and try these on”, as she pointed to the bag of clothes.
“This may sound silly, but will I be safe in the shower, you know with a body full of electricity and all”? She smiled and replied, “We’ve established that liquids going into your body does just fine, I’m sure the opposite application of water shall do you no harm. And make sure to use a lot of soap, you’re starting to get a little gamy”.
Gamy, that’s a term my mother used often, usually in reference to my room. I never thought it smelled so bad, but I guess when you’re used to filth you tend to forget the accompanying smell. The shower did feel good, although I almost forgot to take off my bandage wrap from my foot. I suppose
81
I was overdue, it had been at least three days since my last encounter with soap and hot water.
The clothes actually fit pretty good, though one item was missing to complete the ensemble; shoes. As if on cue in walks Nurse Mattie with a box of tennis shoes under her
arm, carrying a small tote bag in one hand, and a strange looking boot of some sort in the other hand. “I was thinking that you might need these”, as she handed the box containing the tennis shoes. “Of course you’ll only be needing the one for a few days; here let me show you how to get this walking boot on properly”.
My outfit now complete, she had me test out the boot by having me take a lap around the room. I forgot that the TV was still on and when I passed by, it started to make sizzling noises, but stopped as I kept walking. “Not too bad Billy Speer, you see the boot is designed to keep your weight distributed to the heel of your left foot, so that you can maneuver around without much pressure on your foot”. As I came back around towards the bed, Nurse Mattie reached inside the tote bag and pulled out a jacket. “Here, it’s the best I could do on short notice, I know its July, but the mornings around here can get rather crisp”, as she handed me the jacket.
I can’t remember getting this many clothes all at one time. The jacket was a denim with pockets on the side and in front, and fit perfectly. All of this activity reminded me that I no longer had any clothes at home since I didn’t have one to go to anymore. Plus the fact that in a couple of weeks my Mother would have been taking me to get a couple of new items for the upcoming school year. I didn’t need much but
82
thinking about it made me sad.
Nurse Mattie sensed that my mood had changed. “Are you doing okay, I know that this is a lot to absorb in such a short period of time, but things will get better”. I knew she was right but it still hurt and I’m sure it would for a while. “You can put all your extra stuff in this tote bag, everything is vinyl so you there’s no metal to worry about. You about ready to get out of here”? I got up from the bed, stashed the remaining clothes in the bag, put on my new jean jacket and replied, “Not really, but let’s go”.
I was going to start walking but was stopped by a wheelchair with a very pretty driver. Nurse Mattie pulled her phone out of her pocket, stating, “I’ll meet you downstairs I need to pull my car around front”. I nodded, but her message was lost due to the fact that I was staring at Jennifer Harrison. “Hi”, that’s all I was able to get out. “Hello yourself”, I’ve been appointed to be you’re personal driver, I hope that’s okay”? Was it ever, “That would be great; it’s good to see you again. I was hoping that I would before I left for the old Coast Guard base”. She smiled as I made my way into the wheelchair.
“The old Coast Guard Base, that’s where you’re going to be”? It was so nice to see her and hear her voice again. As we approached the elevator I replied, “Yeah I’ll be there for about six weeks, until I turn 18. Do you think you might be able to stop by sometime for a visit”? I knew there was no way in hell she would, but what did I have to lose. “Of course I will, I was just going to ask you if I could”. Wow, an older woman wanted to see me, well not that much older; I don’t think.
The elevator opened up and Jennifer pushed me inside.
83
As she turned the wheelchair around she reached over to
press the first floor button. The doors swooshed shut and we began our decent when she reached over and hit the stop button. “What’s the matter, did we”…... she held up a finger to her mouth. “Listen closely, I’ll have to be quick. That lady that’s been taking care of you, I think she’s out to harm you. “Oh please, she already told me about the FBI guys in the van, and how they want to run dangerous tests on me”. Jennifer had a concerned look on her face, “Trust me Billy, I was taking my break downstairs yesterday, when I overheard her conversation. Whatever she told you has to be a lie. I heard bits and pieces of what she was saying, but what I heard loud and clear was, and this is a direct quote, killing him will accomplish nothing”. I wanted to trust her, and my intuition told I should, so I did. “Are you serious, I thought she was supposed to protect me from those other FBI guys”?
“I think that whatever her motives are, she’s not doing this of her own accord, so promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you”. She reached down and took my hand in hers, then realizing that like me she was also wearing gloves. I smiled at her, “I will be careful, and I hope that you’ll come see me more than once”. “I most definitely will, and here is my cell phone number if you have any problems or just want to talk, okay”. Jennifer took the slip of paper she had in her hand, folded it, and put it in my front jacket pocket
She reached over and pressed the button again, and we started going down again. “Just so you don’t think that I’m a jerk, but I don’t have a cell, and electronic things don’t work too well around me”. “Don’t worry, if I remember correctly,
84
Thank you for evaluating PDF to ePub Converter.
To get full version, you need to purchase the software from:
http://www.pdf-epub-converter.com/convert-to-epub-purchase.html
there’s a payphone at Fultano’s pizza, just a couple of blocks down the road from where you’ll be, and as long as you where your gloves, I think it’ll be okay”. She held her finger up to her mouth, kissed it, then planted her finger gently on the side of my face. “Maybe someday we can figure out a way around this little inconvenience”. I just smiled and enjoyed the moment.
Jennifer wheeled me out of the elevator and headed for the front doors as I asked, “Do you mind if I ask you something before I go”? “Not at all, you ask me anything”, she replied. “You know that I’m not 18 yet, but how old are you”? “I’ll be 22 September 12
th
”. “You might find this hard to believe, but I’ll be 18 on September 12
th
, maybe we can celebrate our birthdays together”. I looked up at her and was relieved to see that she was still smiling. “Well then it’s a date”. She rolled me to the curb as Nurse Mattie pulled up in her vehicle. “I’ll call you soon”, I said as I stood from the wheelchair. “You better, and by the way, I like your hair” she replied as she turned and went back in the hospital.
Yeah, I definitely like her, and for whatever reason, she seems to like me. It is hard for me to believe that after fum-
bling my words around every time I was around a girl, that I actually have a date. Danny’s going to have a hard time believing that one, I can’t wait to tell him.
My jaw hung open at the sight of what pulled up beside me. Nurse Mattie got out of a Black Lincoln Navigator, never in my life did I think I would ride in such luxury. Even for such a short ride to The Coast Guard base, I was going to enjoy this. Nurse Mattie came over to the passenger side and opened the door for me stating, “I’ll help you in and get you