As always all characters are 18 years old or older. They have given their consent to have the sordid details of their lives reproduced here. This is one of the many alternate time lines surrounding my main character Nick Shaw. The world is undergoing changes and like any birth there is pain but there is also the hope for a brighter future. I would like to thank all of my readers for their kind words and thoughts for my health. I would also like to thank everyone following me. I have cracked the 2400 mark. I have all of you to thank for that. I hope you enjoy this installment of Mr. Robinson.
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Recap:
Greg's holiday was rudely interrupted but not before he had a few surprises. First, he was blindfolded and used as a sex toy for a few young ladies. The last was a girl with a mysterious past and possessing limited telepathy. Shelby told Greg that she was an escaped slave. Was this merely human trafficking or was there more involved? Second and more importantly is that Rhea and his mother Bethany have been not just communicating but also been the subject of changes instigated by Rhea. This is becoming a pattern of behavior from her. While Bethany is still quite human she is a few steps up the evolutionary ladder than the rest of her race. The bonds of love between mother and son have also changed in a real and intimate way. The genetic link between mother and son has been removed but the love and respect remains. Bethany is ready to begin a new life and with Nick's help it looks to be a bright future.
Beyond the Event Horizon:
The temperature had plummeted and great puffs of frozen breath marked the four soldiers standing at my mom's front door. I had reached out to their weapons they had aimed at me and powered them down. Was it a test of some kind? Did they want to know if I could shut down the automatic gauss rifles? Well they discovered that not only could I shut down their toys but I would defend myself if necessary. That changed the entire dynamic of our newborn relationship. All was well when their leader said the magic word please. I touched Rhea's thoughts and told her I would keep in touch. She would keep things calm while I was gone. So I followed the men out to a waiting chopper. I recognized it immediately. It was one of Nick's stealth helicopters the Nightingale and it was as black as night and twice as deadly. It was definitely one of those things that broke the rule. She was compact and built for speed and stealth. She could also hold her own against aircraft twice her size. I had fond memories of putting her together. The side was open and as I stepped aboard the props silently began to spin.
"I put together this little toy of yours." I said to the man to my right. "Wanna know how it works? I can tell you if you're nice."
"Shut up Greg," a familiar voice said from the copilot's chair. A voice I hadn't heard in like ten years or more. "...Wanker."
"You rotten son of a bitch, Kelly, how the hell are you doing?"
"Not half as good as you, you look in really good shape. Don't tell me Nick has a fountain of youth somewhere."
"It's classified."
"Fine... keep your secrets... I have some of my own. There is one in particular that I have to share. An inmate has escaped from a Black Site."
"The hell you say."
"He vanished out of his cell. We can't figure it out. Nick outed you so here we are."
"Hmm he must think I know something or be familiar with something that would be helpful."
Kelly remained silent and I fought back the desire to slip into his thoughts and find out. That little decision would haunt me years down the road. The smoothness of the flight was a little disconcerting. I looked out the pilot's windscreen and we were not only in the air but a fair distance from the house already. My internal GPS kept me cognizant of our flight path and location at all times. There were several black sites across the lower forty eight states as well as two in Alaska. We were heading west so I guess we were heading for Blackbriar. It was as isolated as someplace could be without being on a desolate island or the middle of the fucking Sahara. It was also one of the few sites that Nick had a direct hand in redesigning. This wasn't the first time someone escaped from Blackbriar but it was the first since the overhaul. Warning alarms sounded in the cockpit as weapons were locked on us. The pilot gave the code and we descended in one piece.
There was a single man waiting to greet the chopper. He was dressed for the shitty weather and as the aircraft touched down I thought I remembered him from a briefing. I recalled only as we faced each other. His name was Wallace T Ringgold but he went by the title of Warden. He was slightly built with a pale complexion but a wicked gleam in his eye. Kelly followed us towards the cabin. He was going to fill me in and get me anything I would need. We never spoke a word as the helicopter lifted off. The blasted landscape we trod through was like hell on earth. They regularly killed any living thing in a five mile radius. No one would suspect that a high security facility was so close to a medium sized city. I spied the only structure for miles. It was a log cabin and I guessed that was the entry to the site. I was wrong. One moment we were walking outside the next we were in what could only be described as a military facility. I looked behind me and I saw a ring that belonged to the Blink technology.
"What the holy hell." I cursed and a moment later I remembered the optical camouflage that we had developed. "You blended techs."
"Exactly, there are perhaps a handful of people that understand it. But that isn't why you are here. Follow me and I want your opinion on how he might have done it."
The walk from the gate to the cells was surprisingly close. Then I saw the set up and had a higher opinion of the escapee. The cells were basically oubliettes with a hatch at the top and ten foot ceilings. There didn't appear to be anything to be able to cling to access the hatch. I was about to ask what sort of evidence they had when we reached the security room. Here is where I got to watch the footage of the disappearance. The prisoner was seated at the very center of the room. At the upper right hand corner was a display of the time down to the microsecond. One moment he was there the next gone. The only hint was a slight blurring around the edges of his body. I turned back the footage and slowed it down. It didn't help.
The next step was to examine the cell. They had already had the forensic team cover every square centimeter and were still working on their analysis. In order to access the cell it was raised up by hydraulics. I was offered to enter the cell and take a look. I reluctantly stepped inside. The door silently slid shut behind me and it was lowered. I took up the same spot and position as the escapee. How the hell had he done it? I closed my eyes and let go. I listened for anything that might hint of the irregular. I reached out with my mind and that is when I sensed it. It was faint but it was there. I tried to grasp it but it proved slippery and elusive. I walked to one of the walls and touched it. The glass like surface was cold to the touch but carried a memory of what had happened.
You may or may not have heard of psychometry. It is the ability for someone gifted to get images, feelings or even smells from an object. In this case the cell's wall. There were quite a few dark emotions tied to this cell. That didn't come as a shock but what did was that odd energy that had touched this place. The prisoner was very intelligent. His mind and his thoughts were coolly analytical and possessed little emotion. The few emotions I picked up were attached to his dark deeds and they were darker still. He was a sociopath. The further along I moved the more intense the emotions. I was suddenly assaulted by fear no not fear but terror. Whatever had happened he hadn't instigated it. Something had occurred and he wasn't the master or architect of it.
"He didn't do it." I said for the security cameras watching me. "He left in a state of terror."
"How do you know that?" The Warden's voice came over the internal speaker.
"I can still smell the urine in here. Whatever happened he was so frightened he pissed himself."
"You have a keen sense of smell Mr. Robinson. Is there any other insight you can share?"
"Nope," I said. "Now open this up and let me out." I didn't feel the cell move and I repeated my request. "Let me out."
The cell rose up and the door silently opened. The Warden was there to greet me as I exited and I saw the small smile on his face. The prisoner wasn't the only sociopath, sick fuck. I was directed by one of the guards to where I would be bunking until I had finished with my investigation. Since I was within the confines of a Black Site all of my communications were supposed to be approved by the Warden. I could have easily bypassed his security but I felt that I would keep that little piece of information a secret. Kelly stopped by with a duffle bag that would serve as my clothing and essentials until I left. I stripped down and changed into the dark uniform everyone was sporting.
"What are your impressions of the Warden?" I asked.
"He is wound a little too tight but he is responsible for everything that goes on here. This guy is the third escapee under his watch. He wants this guy found. We all do."
"Ah, that explains the feeling of arctic chill I get off the guy."
"He rubs everyone that way so don't feel special or anything. If you are hungry we can hit the mess if not I'll give you the unofficial tour."
We talked as he showed me Blackbriar. It was a cutting edge maximum security facility and the fact that someone escaped was mind boggling. He had spent every waking moment focused on that singular thought. Something had happened and it was my job to find out what. The site held fifty prisoners. Not all of them were criminals or terrorists. A few were held here because they had information that some nameless entity wanted or didn't want the general public to know. I touched the minds of the other guards and they were aware why these special individuals were here but not who put them here. The men were smart enough not to ask questions. I wasn't so smart. I wanted to know why private citizens were held against their will and without legal representation. It was frightening to know that it could happen to anyone. One day you are living your life and the next you simply disappear off the face of the earth to a facility like this.
I shivered thinking that my family or those close to me might become the target of said group or organization. There was only one thing to do. The next time the Warden and I were in the same room I would find out who he really worked for. I didn't have long to wait. Kelly took me to the only lab within the facility. I learned later that it was a very recent addition. They took one of the few free rooms that were large enough to handle anything from DNA to a scanning electron microscope. Nothing was sent outside it was all done in house. It being a Black Site that made perfect sense since officially this place didn't really exist. The land was under the management of one government agency while the facility drew its budget from money set aside for Black Ops and carried a security clearance of ultraviolet. That is ten ranks above the classification of secret. The only reason I was here is that I carried that very clearance because of my work with the President and the Pentagon.
The lab ran smoothly and the technicians working the machinery were former Numenor employees recruited just like Kelly. He had been my first boss and had the ear of the fearsome four. Nick was just one of the founders of Numenor. The other three were all brilliant in their own fields but preferred a more subdued exposure to the public. I think Nick liked the feel of all those eyes on him. We had that in common. I pulled up the results that were available so far via the A.I. acting as support for the techs. There wasn't much even with cutting edge technology. It wasn't like on TV where they had DNA results half an hour later. It took time as well as discipline and skill to gather forensic material. One thing was confirmed when the adrenaline level in the urine was measured. The prisoner had been terrified when he vanished. Whatever had happened he hadn't been a part of it.
"Has the Warden been informed of the adrenaline level?"
