Hello Mr. Robinson

All characters are 18 years old or older.

Greg is heading back to spend some quality time with his daughter Cindy. As his jet wings its way to Arkham Massachusetts he prays this new boyfriend is better than the last one. The worries don't last long since there are so many thoughts vying for his attention. The election has chosen a new president and he must meet with her eventually and see if his services are even welcome. She ran and won on an independent ticket. There are so many firsts attached to her name. Should he greet her as Madame President? The Blink technology has been endorsed with several allied nations with the hopes of the technology as well as the jobs it will create. A half dozen other projects still needed his attention. He let out a heavy sigh while Rhea watches him with that mischievous look in her eyes. She knew just how to help him deal with that nasty old stress.

The Old Witch House:

The flight to Arkham was uneventful but gave me the time to work on Project Ares a little. It would take weeks to figure things out but one thing was certain I was going to crack this thing. The plane landed and the limo took us to the university. Apparently Cindy was making some extra money house sitting for one of the professors while he was off in Egypt on some kind of archaeological dig. The car pulled up outside the house and it gave me the creeps. There was something unsettling about the place that I couldn't put my finger on. Rhea and I went to the front door and I knocked. Cindy called from inside and told us the door was open. I opened the door and stepped in. My daughter was already racing towards me and launched herself into my arms. She was kissing me fiercely and I heard Rhea close the door behind us.

I easily held her in my grasp until she broke the kiss. She placed her head on my shoulder and hugged me tight. I told her how much I missed her and she clung all the tighter. Rhea walked up and ruffled Cindy's hair. That's when the energy in the room changed. Rhea told me to put my daughter down. Once she was on her feet Rhea grabbed her by the wrist and led her to the kitchen. I heard water running in the sink and Cindy struggling with Rhea. I was about to see what was going on when someone began pounding on the front door. Whoever it was battering the door as hard as they could. I turned and reached for the knob when the man began roaring as loud as he could.

"Open the door bitch!"

My good mood evaporated instantly. No one calls my daughter a bitch. I yanked the door open and glared at the man before me. He was young around twenty or so. He had wide shoulders and filled out the letter jacket to bursting. His face was beet red and I saw his hands clench into fists. There was an awkward moment of silence. I tried calm down but failed when I heard Cindy's voice behind me. I turned and saw what Rhea had seen through the make-up, the black eye.

"Don't kill him dad," Cindy begged.

"You did this," I asked turning to face the kid standing on the porch.

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it?" He said with a sneer.

"This..." I said as I snatched him off his feet by his throat. I hauled him inside and closed the door behind me.

"Dad!" Cindy cried out.

"Greg... keep a clear head." Rhea said in her best soothing tone.

"Urk..."

"Listen you little fucker I am going to let you go and you are going to explain to me why you laid hands on my daughter. If I don't like what I hear well you better have a damn good reason."

I let go and he dropped a few inches to the floor and grabbed his throat and coughed. I waited patiently while I envisioned terrible things I would inflict upon him if he said something stupid. It took him a few minutes to catch his breath. He stood up and narrowed his eyes sizing me up. I just smiled. Go ahead fucker try it and I will fucking end you. He took a step back and opened his mouth to speak.

"She made me..." he began and that was it.

"Wrong fucking answer," I roared and moved towards him.

'I have run facial recognition and his name Matthew Donahue. He is the quarterback for the Miskatonic Knights. He also has a record of ten incidents of battery against girlfriends. All of them were dropped when his father Reginald Donahue intervened. He paid off the girls.'

"You're Reginald's kid... god damn it boy this complicates things." I said and he actually smiled. "How do I call your dad and tell him I had to shoot you for attacking my daughter." The smile dropped from his lips.

"Wait, you can't kill me. My dad is a congressman." He said and looked from me to Rhea who lifted up her hands and put them behind her head. When she did this her jacket opened revealing the two pistols she had holstered. "Oh fuck... you people are crazy!"

"No, crazy is hitting my little girl. I imagine it'll be a closed casket funeral. Have you ever seen what happens when a living thing is hit by a gauss round? It ain't pretty kiddo. A head shot will in effect decapitate you."

"Please, I'll do anything!"

"I don't believe you. My daughter makes the eleventh girl you've hit."

"You fucking lied to me," Cindy growled. "You've done this to other girls. What a piece of shit. Go ahead daddy kill this fucker!"

Poor Matthew fell to his knees shaking uncontrollably. I looked around trying to calm down. When I looked between Rhea and Cindy I saw the secretive smiles they were sharing. They knew I wouldn't hurt him. I frowned but then I saw the sign on the door. There was a street sign screwed into the door. I gestured to Cindy and she looked over her shoulder.

"Oh that, that's the door to the basement. The owner put the do not enter sign to keep people from going downstairs. I think there are rats down there. I've have heard skittering sounds down there from time to time."

I spun and snatched Matthew off his feet and carried him to the door. I opened the basement door, turned on the light and shoved him half way down the stairs. I told him I needed an hour to cool down. His punishment was sitting in the basement until I opened the door. He seemed relieved that I wasn't going to shoot him. He walked down to the bottom of the steps and sat on the last step with his back to me. I turned off the light and closed the door. I asked Cindy if I should contact Matthew's dad or not. She thought it over and shook her head. The three of us sat in the living room and I asked Cindy about the guy that owned this house and who he was.

"He's a consultant for the college and an archaeologist. He is on a dig in Egypt right now. One of my sorority sisters told me he was looking for someone responsible to watch his house. I jumped at the chance of free rent and all I had to do was make sure the place stays clean and to stay out of the basement. He was really particular about that. I have to go to the Laundromat to wash my clothes. I took a peek but there is nothing down there."

"Maybe there are rats down there," I said. "I'm sure Matthew will be fine. Besides it is the least I can do to teach him a lesson. I do have a question though kiddo."

"I know... I know... another fucking loser... maybe I don't deserve a nice guy in my life..."

"That is bullshit and you know it. There is something else going on and I think I am to blame..."

"Oh no you don't," Cindy snarled. "I don't have a single regret about what we've done. It's the best sex I have ever had and I love you. I think that's my real problem. I haven't met anyone like you. You are so strong and kind and hung like an ox. I guess I have been settling when I shouldn't."

"Sweetie, there are plenty of nice well hung young men," I said and Rhea made a rude noise. "They are probably awkward as all hell but nice. Give them a shot and see what happens."

Cindy hugged me while Rhea remained silent but seemed on edge. Her body language screamed she was ready to spring into action. I looked her in the eye and she made a face that alarmed me. I got to my feet and walked over to the basement door. I didn't hear anything so I placed my ear against the door and listened. I opened the basement door and was about to tell him that time was up but he wasn't at the bottom of the stairs. I cursed and walked down the stairs. There was a putrid smell at the bottom of the steps and a single spot of blood on the concrete floor. Another curse passed my lips and I told Cindy to stay upstairs. The little shit had gone off exploring. I searched for any other signs of blood but found none. The stench got worse down a tunnel that ran perpendicular to the main portion of the basement. The smell was so pungent it couldn't be anything other than a rotting corpse. Was the owner of this house a serial killer? But just as quickly as the scent had appeared it faded never to return. What the hell man?

"What the fuck is going on?" I said aloud.

"I can find no records of tunnels beneath this house. All I can find is the architect and the series of houses that have been built on this site." My other informed me of the house's history and the name of the last architect.

"Pickman, now I know why this place seemed so familiar. This place has a reputation a mile wide. Can you pick up any heat signatures?"

"Scanning," he said as a violet beam shot from the watch. "Negative, I can't even find any hint of footsteps leaving the stairs but yours. If he left he must have done so right after he reached the bottom."

"How did he do that if the lights were off?" I asked.

"I didn't take that into account. Perhaps he knows the tunnels from some source we aren't aware of."

"What the hell am I going to do? I need you to tap into his phone records and see who he's been talking to. I am going to have to call his dad and tell him what happened."

I went upstairs and told Rhea and Cindy that he left through some sort of tunnel that might lead to the sewers.

"There was a vile stench down there but it faded." I said and Rhea went pale. "What is it?"

"Most likely nothing," she said but I could see she didn't believe that.

Rhea went to the front door and opened it. She went out and we followed. The only vehicle out front was the limo. So he must have walked here. I told the girls to stay put while I went to the fraternity house to see what I could find out. My other half guided the way. I deviated from the path to the fraternity house when I saw it, the Miskatonic Monolith. I headed straight for it. I had seen all the footage about its mysterious appearance but this was my first time seeing it in person. The college had placed a marker about it and encouraged visitors to touch it and post their theories on how it was placed here. I approached it and ran my palm along its mirror-like surface. There were angled shafts cut into the marine stone. Experts had identified marine fossils in parts of the stones making up the monolith. I bent my knees and peered through one of those shafts and spotted something. I blinked thinking it was just a queer reflection of sunlight but it wasn't. I reached my arm in and right at the very edge of my fingertips was a loose stone. My index finger dislodged it and it rolled into my palm.

I closed my fist around the rock and withdrew my arm. I stood up and looked at my prize. I recognized it instantly of course. It was a crystal mainframe possibly containing an A.I. I looked around and sat on one of the benches nearby. I scanned it with my watch and it contained an A.I. What the hell was a crystal mainframe doing in the monolith? I opened my watch and slid the crystal into one of the empty sockets. There was a delay but the crystal appeared undamaged. I closed my watch and waited for the artificial personality to boot up. It usually only took a few seconds but a minute passed while it orientated itself. I was surprised when the holographic emitters of my watched awoke and a gorgeous female form appeared next to me. I tried to figure out what nationality she was patterned off of but failed. She was an amalgam of at least a dozen nations. Her hair was the color of molten silver and so long the bottom caressed her calves. Her eyes were a familiar amethyst reminding me of Rhea. She had elfin ears that poked out of her hair. I wondered if she were a J'Nai A.I. She was wearing a flowing silk robe that reminded me of those wore by magicians in many of the RPG games I like so much.

"I am Ariana and your humble servant Greg." She said her voice possessing a very appealing sing song quality.

"You called me by my name instead of Master why is that?"

"Your primary A.I. informed me that you preferred to be called by name. I am sorry for my slow arrival. I was confused. It took me some time to acclimate to my new surroundings."

"She means," my other half added. "She was acclimating to our timeline. I have to admit when I meet my better. She is ancient despite what your logic tells you. I guess her experience at tens of thousands of years old."

"How the hell is that even possible?" I asked Ariana.

"My former companion was unusual. I will tell you more when the time is right." Ariana replied bowing low. "Please trust me Greg... when I capable of speaking I will. As a proof of my goodwill I give you this." She said gestured and a multifaceted icon appeared between us.

I touched the icon and a file was downloaded directly to my hardware. I closed my eyes and examined the file. The only thing the file contained was a mathematical formula. I studied it and realized what it was. The name of the file was Zero Point Energy. I opened my eyes but Ariana was gone. She had retreated to her crystal. If this formula was real it could change everything. It could be the thing that cracked Ares. I had spent enough time here. I needed to find Matthew. I crossed the grass to my designation. I found half a dozen young men sitting outside the frat house. I introduced myself and one of them stood up and began apologizing. He told me that Matthew had told him about hitting Cindy. He had gone over to warn her to keep her mouth shut.

"He has a record of hitting his girlfriends," I said and they all nodded. "So why didn't you warn my daughter?"

"To be honest," another boy spoke up. "Matthew scares the hell out of me. You haven't seen him after he's been drinking and gets into one of his rages."

"Yeah man, he punched out a guy's windshield that hit on one of his other girlfriends."

"Other, how many girls does he have going?" I asked.

"I don't know, three... four?" A third guy said. "Cindy wasn't like the other ones though. She dated him because she genuinely liked him. The other ones just wanted to date the quarterback, ya know."

"We thought he might calm down with Cindy. We were wrong. I am sorry."

"Not your problem, well if you see him tell him to call me or his dad." I said and began to turn away to leave.

"What happened," the first guy asked. "Did he take a swing at you?"

"Yeah, I sent him down into the basement as a punishment and he isn't down there anymore. I figure he'll show up out of a sewer somewhere."

"I can't believe Cindy lives in the Witch House," the second guy added. "That place has got a real bad rep."

"The Witch House is that what they are calling it now. We just called it the Pickman Place. If any of you see him come by so we don't worry. If I don't hear anything in a couple of hours I'll call the cops."

"He'll show," the first guy replied. "We got a game against Dunwich tomorrow."

"Kick their ass," I said and returned to Cindy and Rhea.

The house already had a bad reputation and now there was another disappearance to explain. With every step towards the house I became more determined to find Matthew. I was going to go down into the basement and search those damn tunnels. It was the least I could do. I strode into the old house and asked Cindy if she had a flashlight. She went to the kitchen and retrieved one from beneath the sink. I told her to stay where she was and I headed down. Rhea followed me down without a word passing between us. I scanned the basement for any kind of infrared trail left by Matthew but there was none. It was possible that the cold floor dissipated the heat already. There was only one tunnel to take. Rhea followed me and we listened for the young man. After twenty feet or so we ran into the first of many tunnels that connected to ours.

"What do you think?" I asked Rhea.

"Straight," she whispered. "We can try those if we have to but hopefully he ran straight."

We ignored the other tunnels when they appeared. The architecture of the tunnel changed and looked more like I would expect of a sewer. The brickwork was older and we reached a set of stairs leading down into an actual sewer tunnel. I cringed as my feet hit the murky water and the bits of rubbish floating on the surface. I hated to think of what lurked below the relatively tranquil water. We trudged through trying to move as quietly as possible. It was slow going but after a hundred feet or so I heard the first whisper of Matthew's voice. I looked back at Rhea and she nodded that she had heard it as well. We moved forward then stopped and listened. He was in front of us but the sound was difficult to pinpoint. His voice echoed off not just our tunnel but all of those connecting with this one. We heard movement and that horrid stench I had encountered before accompanied it. Rhea let out a whimper as she drew one of her pistols. Her hand was actually shaking. I took the weapon from her and she relinquished it. I led the way heading for Matthew.

We remained silent as we tried to get to him as quickly and quietly as possible. We paused to listen again and heard his voice coming from a tunnel to our right. I had to set the pistol down and pull myself out of the main tunnel. Once I was up I reached down and lifted Rhea up in one smooth motion. I retrieved the pistol and we hurried forward. We found him sitting in the side tunnel half soaked but barely aware of his surroundings. I handed Rhea her weapon back so I wouldn't upset the already shaky young man.

"Matthew... are you okay?"

"Oh hey Mr. Robinson," he said his voice cracking. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to get you out of here," I said and he started to cry.

"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." He replied as he slowly got to his feet. "I am so sorry I hit her. I just get so damn angry. It wasn't her fault. I just lash out."

"We'll get you some help." I said suddenly getting an insight into his mind. "Did your dad hit you Matthew?"

"Yeah," he said as we walked back to the main tunnel. "He's got a mean temper. If I didn't get an A or make the team he lost his fucking mind."

"Listen, I am not okay with you hitting Cindy and the others but for what it's worth I understand."

We fell silent as the stench returned and Matthew tried to break free of my grasp. I turned off the flashlight and took the pistol from Rhea's quivering grip. I whispered for them to remain where they were. I moved to the end of the tunnel and peered out to see if there was anything in the tunnel. I had my other half send out an infrared pulse to see if it bounced off of anyone or anything. The stench was stronger now and I caught a brief glimpse of eye shine. A flash of red in the pitch black tunnel caused me to bring the pistol up and take aim. It was hunched over and moved ape like with its knuckles nearly dragging the ground. The A.I. brought up lowlight vision and I got a look at the guy's back as it lumbered into another access tunnel. The stench receded as I watched what my mind demanded was just a homeless guy. The data my other half provided told an entirely different story. Nope, that was just a homeless guy that lived down here for one reason or another. I waited until it I mean he had moved out of sight before I returned to the others.

"It was just some homeless guy," I said and turned the flashlight back on.