Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (14 page)

“No…well…yes…but
no.
 
I need you to get this to Dr.
Tripple.”
 
Bearden waved the
envelope in her face containing the letter that Ganesh wrote.

 
   
“What
do you take me for, an idiot? I think we are through here, Sergeant.” Dana
started to get up and Bearden grabbed her wrist.

“Just sit
back down and read the letter.
 
I
know you don’t know me, believe me I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important.”
 
Then he mumbled, “It’s not like you are
good company.”

Dana glared
at him but sat back in the booth and held her hand out.
 
Bearden folded his arms across his
chest and sat back, too, and stared at the ceiling while Dana read Ganesh’s
words to Lee Tripple.

 
“Are you really willing to do this?
 
If you get caught, you will be a
traitor to the government.” Dana asked after a few moments.

“No, not
really. But what choice do I have?
 
I didn’t ask to be in this position.”

“This letter
is why you came back in to the lobby today.
 
Had you read it then?”

“No. I was
just trying to follow orders and deliver it to Dr. Tripple.”

“Well, this
complicates things doesn’t it?”

“Does that
mean you’ll help?”

Dana put her
elbows on the table and massaged her temples.

“Well…what
choice do
I
have now?”
 

Bearden let
out a nervous chuckle and the two looked each other in the eyes for a moment;
conspirators in the night.

“Dana. Oh
good, you’re here early,” Lee said when Dana walked back into the lab. “Let me
show you what I am setting up so you can monitor the…”

“Dr.
Tripple,” Dana interrupted and caught Lee off guard. He stumbled over his own
feet and his glasses slid sideways on his nose. “I have to tell you something
urgent.
 
I’m not here early because
I never went home.”

“That
doesn’t seem urgent.”

“No, not
that. I met someone in the street when I left a few hours ago, or rather he met
me.”

Lee looked
confused and frustrated.

“He had a
message for you, from the government.” She held out Bearden’s letter but he
didn’t take it.

“It’s about
Professor Riles, Dr. Tripple, I think you should read it.”

One day with
an assistant and Lee’s world was turning upside down. He snatched the letter
and walked to his sterile office. Dana followed at his heels. Lee read the
letter at least three times before he looked up.

“Dana, I
believe that Professor Camden Riles has stolen something from the
government.
 
It would appear that
it has just become our job to get it here to the lab…whatever it is.”

“You can’t
be serious.”

“And yet, I
am.”

“Of course
you are. How can I help?”

Lee
scratched his head so that his hair tangled and stuck out on one side. His
glasses were still sideways and he mumbled something under his breath.

“Speak up,
Dr. Tripple. I can’t help you if I can’t hear you.” Dana was so tired that she
was no longer able to monitor what came out of her mouth.
 
Lee didn’t appear to care, which made
Dana suddenly feel completely comfortable around him.

“We must get
to this Bearden Leitner and bring him in right away. Can you reach him? While
you do that, I will get one of Camden’s people from out front to find out who
Ari is…I have heard the name.”

“That’s
good, then. I will locate Leitner right away.”

“Oh, Dana,
only use the phone line from my office. It is completely secure and untraceable.”

“Wow.
Impressive.”

“Um,
yes…well…ok.

Lee made his
way through his private lab entrance to have a conversation with the lady at
the front desk. She was hired by Camden and must certainly know Ari.
 

When Lee got
to the lobby, he seemed surprised to find it empty and dark for a moment before
he remembered that it was the middle of the night to most people. He looked at
his watch.

“Four a.m. I
guess I have to wait,” he grumbled and returned to his lab.

Dana was
still in his office just ending a phone call. She waved him to come over when
she saw him come back in.

“Dr.
Tripple. I reached Bearden Leitner. He will be here at 7:30 to meet with you. I
asked him to go directly to the conference room and I will make sure it is
unlocked for him.”

“Good, good.
I will continue the day’s work after this has been straightened out.
 
I need to make some notes.”

Dana took
that as her cue to leave.

“If you need
me, Dr. Tripple, I will be in the back getting some rest, if that’s ok.”

“Yes, fine.
I will see you at seven.”

She felt
relief at the extra hour and fifteen minutes he awarded her to sleep as she
wandered in the back and plopped in the big green cushy chair in the lab’s
dining area.

At 5:00
A.M., Major Mace Magner finished the last gulp of his strong black coffee,
straightened his uniform in front of the mirror, grabbed his briefcase, and
left his house.
 
He would take his
personal transport to work today so he could make his ‘off the grid’
stop
at Sergeant Leitner’s flat.
 
On a normal day, Mace preferred public transportation.
 
He felt such superiority looking into
the faces of the ignorant working class whom he protected on a daily basis.
 
Most were easily intimidated by his
stature and uniform and he liked it.

Bearden woke
up groggy to heavy pounding on his door.
 
A little disoriented, he dragged himself out of bed and pulled on a pair
of cut off sweat pants.
 
He didn’t
bother to wipe the sleep from his eyes but went to see who the hell was banging
on his door at 5:20.
 
Three
possibilities flashed in his mind and he turned the knob as his brain began
catching up to his feet.
 
Ganesh,
Magner or Dana.
 
He suddenly wished
he had dressed all the way and brushed his teeth.
 
Too late, the door was open and he stood face to face with
Major Mace Magner.
Shit
. He thought.

“Good
morning, Sergeant,” Mace said and walked past him into his flat.

“Sir! Good
Morning, Sir!”
 
Bearden said and
saluted the Major.
 
Mace had
already made himself comfortable on a tall chair at the kitchen counter.
 
Bearden felt extremely
embarrassed.
 
Though he was not a
slob, his flat was certainly in no condition for Major Magner to stop by. He
was a young bachelor, after all.

“It seems we
have a lot to discuss this morning, young Sergeant,” Mace said casually.

“Um, yes,
sir. We do.
 
Might you give me a
moment to get myself together? I wasn’t expecting your visit.”

“That’s
odd.
 
Did you not leave a message
for me requiring my help?” Mace loved sarcasm in the morning.

“Yes, sir, I
did…and thank you for coming.
 
I
just need a minute to…”

“Go. One
minute, Soldier.
 
I don’t have all
day.”

Bearden ran
to the bathroom and splashed cold water in his face, quickly brushed his teeth,
and threw on a clean but un-pressed uniform.
 
Best I can do.
He
thought.
 

He came back
out and went to the front door to grab his shoes.
 
As he was tying, he asked.

“Can I make
you some coffee or tea, Major?”

“Coffee.
Black.”

Bearden
scrambled to the kitchen and got busy.

“So it seems
that you have difficulty following orders, Leitner.”
 

Bearden
scrunched his forehead.
 
He wasn’t
expecting this and didn’t say anything back to Mace who continued.

“I need a
trustworthy soldier and since you’ve proven yourself to the contrary, the only
way I can feel secure about our new little relationship here is to drill into
your thick skull that I will kill you if you don’t directly obey my orders from
here on out.” Mace’s voice
raised
at a steady incline
as he spoke.

Bearden
dropped the small bag of sugar he had gotten from a drawer for his own
coffee.
 
His face was blank, then
angry…with himself.

“Shit, sir!
Is this you helping me?”

Mace
laughed.
 

“No one is
going to help you Leitner, you broke the rules.
 
The only reason you are not being arrested is that you have
something I need.”

“I broke the
rules??”
 
Bearden decided playing
dumb was his best option.

Mace laughed
again.
 

“Don’t
insult me, Soldier.
 
Colonel Ganesh
is too smart to give you that letter without giving you a direct order not to
read it.
 
Should we call him to
verify?”

“No, sir,
you’re right. I did disobey a direct order. So…what now? ”

“Just give
me the damn letter, Leitner, and know that I now own you!”

Bearden’s
head went hot with panic.
 

“I, um,
don’t have the letter anymore.”

Mace banged
his fist hard on the counter and stood up.
 
Bearden flinched.

“What do you
mean you don’t have it anymore.
 
Now you are hiding evidence in a major government investigation.
 
Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I delivered
the letter to Dr. Lee Tripple last night, sir.”

Mace was
turning purple and Bearden wondered if he would stroke out right there in his
kitchen.
 
How would he explain
that? Then, Mace took a long, deep breath and sat back down.
 
He looked hard at Bearden standing
there in his wrinkled uniform, obviously terrified.

“Tripple
will call you, won’t he?”

“It is
likely. The nature of the letter was that I was to be given a position in his
lab.” He decided not to mention Dana, or that she had already called him.

“Interesting…well,
this may work out after all.
 
It’s
not everyday we can plant someone in such a guarded area. Kill two birds…one
stone…access to that crazy man’s bio-technology…” His voice trailed off.

“Are you
saying you want me to spy on Lee Tripple?”

“Well, look
who just caught up! Where the hell is that coffee?”

“Oh, right
here, sir.” Bearden poured the coffee and slid it across the counter to the
Major.
 
He took a sip.

“What the
fuck is this? It’s terrible!
 
Are
you trying to poison me?”

“No, sir.”
Bearden sniffed his own cup and it smelled fine to him.

“Oh, never
mind.
 
There isn’t time for any
more pleasantries this morning. Here, take this.” Mace pulled a small card out
of his front jacket pocket.

“This is my
private line.
 
You get in touch
with me the second you hear from Tripple Laboratories and we will set up
another meeting like this.
 
And
Sergeant, if you speak to anyone about this, you are dead.
 
I’ve got constant eyes on you now!”

Bearden
reluctantly took the card and walked to his front door with the Major.
 

“Sir? What
should I tell Colonel Ganesh when I see him today?”

“Tell him
nothing.
 
I doubt you will see the
Colonel today anyway.
 
He’s working
on something new. Sergeant.”

“Major.”
 
Bearden gave him a quick salute and
closed the door.
 

He walked
back into his bedroom and collapsed face first into his bed.
What have I gotten myself into?
 
A half hour later, he got back up,
undressed, and ironed his uniform.

Ganesh sat
up on the officer’s lounge couch, groggy from his uncomfortable night’s
sleep.
 
He tied his boots and began
to make his way down to the soldier’s quarters where his computer and safe were
secure in a locker…and where Sergeant Quinn was sleeping.
 

To his
surprise, when he opened the door, a smiling Quinn was bouncing on the balls of
his feet in front of the door to the lounge holding two steaming cups of
coffee.

“Morning,
sir.”

“You’re up
early, Sergeant. I was just on my way down to
see
you.”

“Well, I’m
flattered, Colonel.”
 
Quinn handed
Ganesh a coffee.

“Too early
to be a smart ass, Quinn,” Ganesh said and took a sip.

“Noted,
sir.”

“I think in
about another hour it will be safe to return to my office.
 
I expect General Pike will have the
file with the details of our assignment on my desk before lunch.”

“Are you
going to report the attempt on your life yesterday?”

“No,
Quinn.
 
You see, assassins who
believe their attempts have failed tend to fall out of the woodwork.
 
I’ll know soon enough who is behind it
and why.
 
Don’t you worry about
that.
”
 
Ganesh looked sideways at Quinn to see if he showed any signs of guilt
or suspicion.
 
There were
none.
 
Ganesh was a patient
man.
 
He would get to Quinn before
Quinn got to him.
 
Although there
were probably plenty of others in this building who would benefit with Ganesh
out of the way, it made no sense to place someone with Quinn’s talent at his
side if he wasn’t meant to do the job.
 
Yet, two things bothered him about this theory.
 
One, Quinn did sort of save his life
yesterday and two, he liked the kid.
 
Damn, he’s good.
 
Ganesh thought and re-convinced himself
that yesterday was just Quinn’s way of earning his trust… even though he wished
it weren’t.

Ganesh
worried how Camden would react to the new position that was being thrust upon
him. He felt guilty about being responsible for his friend’s predicament but
what else could he do?
 
He didn’t
know how else to try and control the situation.
 
He had to find a way to stop the weaponry unit from creating
those indestructible monster machines or at least figure out a way to disable
them.
 
Yes, going to Camden was the only option,
he thought on his way to
his office after breakfast.
 

“I’ll go in
first,” Quinn volunteered as they approached Ganesh’s office.
 
“I’m sure your brain is worth more than
mine.”

Ganesh
nodded, but thought,
I highly doubt that.

Sergeant
Quinn grinned and tiptoed into the office.
 
Ganesh rolled his eyes.
 
Suddenly, Quinn dropped to the floor, held his head, and
started shaking.

“Very funny,
Quinn. Get up.”

Quinn looked
up and saw that Ganesh was already at his desk and in perfect health.

“That was
risky of you, sir.”

“Let’s just
say you don’t have a future in acting…Sergeant Secretary.”
 
But the truth was, Ganesh knew the room
was safe the second Quinn volunteered to go in first.
 
He must have known the exact timing of that pulse bomb.

“Should I
pick up where I left off yesterday? On taking inventory in here, Colonel?”

“No,
Quinn.
 
Sit down.
 
I want you to write out everything you
know about the projects taking place in the basement laboratories here.”

“Well, that
shouldn’t take me long.
 
I don’t
know much. I work upstairs in the public relations offices, usually. Never even
been down to the labs before.”

Ganesh
doubted that too.

“Nonetheless,
write it down.”

“Right away,
sir.” Quinn smiled, but Ganesh saw his eyes cut sideways for the briefest of
moments.

Ganesh opened
his computer and smiled to himself behind the monitor.

Seconds
later, there was a knock on the door.
 
A woman walked in and handed a file to Colonel Ganesh from General
Pike.
 
Quinn stopped writing for a
moment and Ganesh took a deep breath.
 

“Here we
go,” he said after the woman left when he opened the file.

Several
floors up, Mace Magner was making his way down the corridor of interrogation
rooms to visit his prisoners.
 
He
had already had an exceptional morning and was looking forward to another round
with Camden Riles just for the hell of it.
 
But first, he wanted to question the woman his men had
brought in last night who was trying to visit the son of a bitch.
 
He greeted the guards in front of her
window.

“So, let’s
take a look at the professor’s whore, shall we men?” Mace said with a
laugh.
 
He looked in the window of
the room and saw Enira curled up in a ball on the small cot. Her long dark hair
covered her face. Mace tapped on the window to get her attention.

When she
looked up at the window, Mace’s jaw about hit the floor. “Oh, you have got to
be kidding me!” he said as he made eye contact with Enira.
 
The smugness left his face.
 

“Who exactly
brought this woman in?”
 
He asked
the guards.

“Technically,
we did, sir.” He glanced nervously at the other guard.

“What do you
mean ‘technically’?”

“We picked
her up last night after we got a call from one of your men looking after the
professor’s building.” Then the second guard chimed in.

“She was
unconscious when we got there.
 
We
just loaded her in the back of the transport and carried her to this room.”

“Idiots!”
Mace yelled and then suddenly dropped to a whisper and pointed to Enira’s door.
“You are all idiots! Do you know who that woman in there is?”

“The
professor’s whore?” the second guard asked with a nervous voice.
 
The first guard kicked him to shut up.
Mace raised his hand like he was going to slap the guard, but didn’t.
 
He looked back through the window at
Enira.

“That woman
in there, the one drugged and traumatized…that woman is the general’s wife!”

The guards
shifted nervously and took turns glancing in the window but said nothing.
 
Mace had to think fast.
 
General Pike would notice his wife
missing.
 
He began pacing the area
in front of Enira’s interrogation room.
 
He did not like surprises that were not in his favor and he was
downright shocked at this one.
 

“Don’t worry
boys, I have a plan,” Mace said after only a minute. “Take care of Mrs. Pike
until I get back.
 
Make sure she is
fed and has full use of the facilities on this floor.
 
Get her anything she needs and don’t let her out of your
sight. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,”
they replied in chorus.

Mace took
off down the hall and walked into Camden’s room.
 
Camden sat up when the Major entered.
 
Mace addressed Aldretti who was back
for his morning shift.

“Take him to
the men’s room.
 
Let him wash up a
little.”

“Let’s go,
Professor.” Aldretti motioned for Camden to go with him.
 

Mace sat
down at the metal desk in the center of the room.
 
He felt certain that when Camden saw that his high profile
lover had been captured he would become a lot more honest.
 
If not from fear for her safety, then
for fear of General Pike’s reaction.
 
Mace had no intention of bringing the news to the general of his wife’s
affair, but his two lovebird prisoners didn’t know that.

When Camden
reached the hallway with Aldretti, he was shocked to see Enira walking into the
facilities, also being escorted by a guard.
 
When he and Aldretti caught up, Camden walked in the room
behind her.

“Enira,” he
called out.
 
She turned.
 
Her hair was wild and matted and her
cheeks were tear stained.
 
Her eyes
lit up for a moment when she saw Camden. She ran over to hug him, but Aldretti
put his arm between them.

“Cam! Oh
Cam, look at you. Are you ok? Where are we?
 
I was so worried about you.
 
Lee was worried. What’s this all about?”

“Shh, shh.
Don’t say anything.
 
Does your
husband know you’re here?”

“What? I…I
don’t know. Are we…
”

“Yes, in the
TRU Building.”

“Oh, this is
bad…do you think he is behind this? I mean, he’s a tough man, but locking me up
like this…even if he did find out about us, I don’t think he would do this.”

“I’m sure
you being here is a mistake.” He reached out and rubbed her arms and shoulders
to comfort her.
 
“Where were you
when they brought you in?”

“Looking for
you…at your building.
 
I know we
said no surprises, but I didn’t know what else to do. I wouldn’t have gone if
Lee wasn’t so…”

“Aughh.”
Camden dropped his hands by his side.

Enira
started sobbing.

“I made
things worse for you. And me.”

Camden looked
over at Aldretti who seemed to be enjoying his interchange with Enira like it
was a good movie.
 

“I’m
surprised you haven’t stopped our conversation, Aldretti.”

“Why would I
stop something this juicy?
 
I
wouldn’t want to be in your shoes next time you are face to face with General
Pike.”
 
Aldretti started
laughing.
 
Camden turned his back
to him and put his arm around Enira’s shoulder and brushed the hair from her face.
 

“Look,
there’s no use in feeling sorry for yourself.
 
What’s done is done.”
 
He tried to speak to her with a loving tone but his words sounded a
little cold. Their relationship had never been about love, at least not for
him.
 

“You’ll feel
better when you get cleaned up.
 
And chances are, your husband doesn’t know anything. I sure wouldn’t
want to be the soldier who broke it to him.”
 
He managed a smile and his lip started bleeding again.
 
Enira pulled herself together and
walked to the sink and started dabbing her eyes with cool water.
 
Camden turned to Aldretti.

“I’ll wait
outside and give her some privacy. And you should too, that is the general’s
wife after all.”
 
Aldretti snapped
out of his gaze on Enira. “We’ll just be down the hall, Ma’am,” Aldretti said
to her and grabbed Camden by the arm.
 

Enira ran to
the door, to Camden again.

“Cam, I’m
scared.”

“Don’t
be.
 
I’m sure you will come out of
this just fine.”

“Then, I’m
scared for you.”

“You’ve got
to stop thinking like that now.
 
I’m going to be just fine,” he lied. “Our lives will be back to normal
in no time.” Camden turned to leave.

“I don’t
want to lose you,” she called after him. Camden paused, sighed, and walked out
with Aldretti yanking on his arm.
 
He didn’t look back.

Enira stood
there alone, ashamed of her outburst.
 
She was normally extremely discreet and in control of her emotions, but
the stress of this situation had pushed her over the edge. She spent the next
hour pulling
herself
together in the restroom and the
guard outside said nothing.

Back in
Camden’s interrogation room, Mace was trying to use his knowledge of the affair
as leverage for a confession.
 
So
far, he was unsuccessful.

“Face it,
Major. You can’t keep her here.” Camden’s smugness had returned.

“I will leak
it to the press then. Do you think you will be so beloved by the public when
this gets out?”

“Sounds like
an empty threat to me. And I don’t care if you leak it.
 
I’m a high profile man who tragically
lost his wife.
 
People will
sympathize with me.
 
Do you think
General Pike will be sympathetic with you when you drag his wife’s name through
the dirt?”

“Well, maybe
I’ll just get the general down here to deal with you himself.”

“If that’s
what you need to do. There will still be no confession here,” Camden said.

“I know what
you and Ganesh have done and I am well on my way to proving it, so you might as
well confess!”

Camden
folded his arms and rocked back in his chair.
 

“Where is
Ganesh?”

“Maybe your
girlfriend will have more to tell me then.”

“She won’t.
There’s nothing to tell.”

“You know,
Professor, the general doesn’t yet know his wife is here.
 
I’m sure he knows she’s missing,
though.
 
And maybe it stays that
way.
 
So one last time…what do you
know about the stolen biomer?”