Episode 4: Can You Hear Me?

Episode 4: Can You Hear Me?

by Toni Walker

The rooms in the Facility were white and medicinal. Marcus fingered the lump on the back of his hand. 

There was something wrong with how controlling Echelon had become. He couldn’t remember his past, who he used to be. But there was one thing for certain -- he didn’t like who they made him become when a mission was in the works.

He pulled a knife from his pocket and glanced toward the security camera mounted on the ceiling.

He poised the knife but stopped.

They were watching. They were always watching. But he had to do this. He had to do this in a place they weren’t monitoring. The only place he could think of was the shower.

As he made the first cut under the pounding spray of water his nervous system seized up and he fell forward bashing his skull on the side of the tub.

“Help me,” he whispered.

+++

“I don’t know your sister,” Jenna said to the nearly naked man.

His attention shifted and suddenly he seemed as if he was listening to a voice that wasn’t there.

“Did you hear that?” he said glancing around his surroundings.

“Hear what?” Jenna asked.

“Someone is calling out for help.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” she said.

“It’s two rooms down on the left.”

“What is?”

“The person in trouble.”

Jenna thought the man was crazy, but she was beginning to think weird things were normal here.

He got up from the table and studied the lock on the door.

“It’s electrical,” he said to himself.

“Why does that matter,” Jenna asked.

He pulled a cord from the wall and ripped it from the base of a lamp.  He plugged it back in and gave the lock a shock of voltage that could cripple a man. The electricity fried the lock.

He heard a satisfying click. The door was open.

“The lock doesn’t know if the electrical pulse is coming from this side or that side.”

He didn’t touch the knob of the door and used a plastic matt. The door opened easily.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“Come on,” he said. “We have to help him.

“Help who?” Jenna asked bounding through the door after him.

+++

Marcus thrashed in the shallow water of the tub. He was face down, but he couldn’t get his head out of the water. It was almost as if his mind and body was working against him.

He banged the back of his hand against the side of the tub hoping to dislodge the device under his skin, but he couldn’t find the energy to complete the task. His head had been under water for a few minutes and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold his breath.

+++

“What are you doing?” Jenna asked following the strange man down the hallway. It had to be her reporter’s instinct keeping her on his trail. Any other reason was pure insanity.

“In here,” he said, opening the door. They could hear splashing and suddenly, the sounds completely stopped.

The man rushed to the bathroom pulling the unmoving body of Marcus out of the tub. He laid him awkwardly on the hard tile floor.

Jenna came in and stopped abruptly. Not only was Marcus not breathing -- he was completely naked. Her eyes grew wide and the turned around to give him privacy.

“There’s no time for shyness,” the man said. “You have to help me.”

Jenna spied a towel and moved it across the lower portion of Marcus’s body.

“That’s better,” she said.

In between CPR and rescue breaths, the man ordered Jenna to look at Marcus’s hand.

She knew this wound. She’d had a similar one recently.

“If I pull this out, he may get a bit of memory loss. It happened to me.”

“It’s a chance we’re going to have to take,” he said. “I need him alive. He’s the only one who can get us out of here.”

Jenna wasn’t sure how the man knew that. But he seemed full of useful information. She found a pair of tweezers and focused on removing the transmitter. It slipped out easily, more easily than hers had. He many not have the same symptoms at all.

“That’s odd,” she said.

“What’s odd?” he asked.

“When Hank pulled mine out, it was connected to a cluster of nerve endings. His wasn’t. It slipped out clean.”

“That is odd.”

As soon as the device was flushed down the toilet, Marcus began to stir. He groaned and put a clammy hand to his forehead.

“What happened?” Marcus asked.

“I think when you cut into your hand, you triggered a dangerous Facility protocol to subdue you,” he said. “They really don’t want you to leave, do they?”

“You’re both too new to know what goes on around here,” Marcus said. “These people kidnapped you for a reason.”

“I know why I’m here,” the man said. It could be any number of reasons: The Legacy, Ethan Fairchild, my father, the Foundation. It’s a toss up.”

“Got a lot of enemies, do you?” Jenna asked. “I write for the calendar section of the Herald. What could these people possibly want with me?”

“Who you know. What you know. It could be anything,” Marcus said.

“Help me get him into the living room,” the man said grabbing Marcus’s shoulders.

Jenna eyed Marcus’s near naked form. “Can’t you put something on? Boxers, something?”

The man grabbed a pair of underwear from atop the sink and tossed it towards Marcus. Jenna stepped into the other room.

“They don’t make them like her anymore,” Marcus said.

“Actually, there ware plenty of her out there,” the man said. “I don’t think she realizes how long she’s been here.”

“You’re a relative newcomer,” Marcus said to the man. “You’re supposed to be in a near zombie state.”

“I’m not one for following the rules,” he said, but the process the Facility put him through didn’t leave him completely unaffected. Focusing was a challenge.

“You’re Esta Cooper’s pet project. The rules don’t apply to you,” Marcus said slipping on his boxers. “What’s your name?”

“Phoenix Gray,” he said abruptly. “And I’m no one’s pet project.” He shook his head trying to clear his mind. “I’m leaving. You two can come or you can stay behind. It makes no difference to me.”

Phoenix walked into the room past Jenna. His fingers gripped his belt loop for dear life. It didn’t make the shaking in his arm any less. It merely disguised his weakness.

He leaned against a chair as a dizzy spell nearly took him to his knees. Jenna turned and saw him struggle with standing.

Marcus stood on his own and shrugged into a dark navy shirt and pants. He passed clothes to Phoenix who gratefully accepted them.

Marcus placed a steadying hand on Jenna’s shoulder.

“I don’t understand anything that’s going on,” Jenna said.

“All you need to know is that we need to stick together,” Marcus said. “Between the three of us, we’ll figure this thing out.”

+++

The Jenna look-alike checked the time on her cell for the third time in two minutes. Her foot tapped uncontrollably. She was on a time table and was at the mercy of the train schedule. Her foot tapped uncontrollably. If she was late, she’d never get the explosive necklace off her neck.

The train pulled into the station and she ran up the stairs toward the passenger drop off area. Her contact was supposed t be in the park beyond the parking lot. She raced to the location, frantically looking for her contact.

“Where is he?” she muttered.

A television in a nearby shop window turned on. Darkness had fallen making the screen more noticeable.

“Excuse me,” the man on the screen said. She recognized the personality. It was Miles Hayworth, the head scientist at Echelon. His accent was thick as he beckoned her forward.

“I’m unhappy to inform you that you’ve missed your contact,” he said.

The Jenna look-alike was out of breath and leaned down resting her hands on her knees. She was too exhausted to gasp. 

“NO!” she said through labored breaths. She looked around frantically hoping to see someone who could help her. But once the sun set the train lot quickly emptied and was deserted.

“Why are you doing this?” she begged the screen. “I did everything you asked.”

Miles smiled and nodded. “Yes, you were one of our best operatives. Unfortunately, we have an image to maintain. We can’t let our competition know our clones are defective.”

“I’m not defective,” she shouted.

“No, you’re not,” Miles admitted.

“What does that mean exactly?”

“It means you’re not a clone. Just an unfortunate girl who stumbled across our path and lost her life.  Goodbye, Cynthia.”

The image on the television flickered out and the Jenna look-alike’s heart began racing.

Was this the end?

Suddenly, the necklace Echelon had given her began pricking her neck. Tiny needles extended from inside the hollow area and latched onto her skin. The effect was so quick she didn’t realize what had happened before her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to the ground.

A man with shiny leather shoes stepped forward whistling a tune. He reached down, hit a button and released the latch on the necklace. But that wasn’t all that happened. Suddenly, she no longer looked like Jenna West.

She hadn’t been a clone at all.

The man pocketed the necklace and walked away down the sidewalk.

The Trust - Episode 3

Episode 3: Herald In The News- By Toni Walker

The offices of The Trust were brightly lit and full of activity. Situated in the Library command center, Candice worked tirelessly as she searched for intel and gathered information from all her contacts.

“All my agents have come up empty,” Candice Kent said hours later. “The one I have going to the Park Ridge address has just arrived. We’ll play this one close to the vest considering the Jenna in Park Ridge is a reporter.”

“She could be the original model… the one all the clones were made from,” Hank said.

“Clones? Who said anything about clones?” Bailey Chase asked. He wore a black turtleneck beneath a sports coat even though it was eighty-five degrees outside.

“My brother, David and I are experts on cell duplication. It’s a process that could easily translate into cloning. Plus, he’s been working on a hush, hush project he couldn’t talk about. This could be it.”

“Technology is not that advanced yet,” Bailey said, convinced of his conclusions. 

“We’ve come father than you think. There is a company out there -- Echelon -- who is probably closer than any other with the technology,” Hank continued. “And not so surprisingly, they have leased the abandoned base.”

+++

Holt Martin received the call from his Trust contact unexpectedly. Work from them didn’t come on a normal basis. The boss was abrupt and to the point.

“We need you to find Jenna West and put her into protective custody,” Bailey said over the phone.

“Jenna? Why? What did she do?” he asked, surprised by the request.

“You know her?”

“Sure. My pop has been an investigative reporter for years. She was one of the interns who worked with him.”

“Was this recently?” Bailey asked.

“Ten years ago, maybe. Jenna’s a local, one of the few reporters who came from here and stayed here.”

“We need to examine her, son. Bring her in as soon as you can -- without alarming her. She may be in danger.”

Holt chuckled. “Easier said than done, sir. That girl can smell a story a mile away. She won’t be easy to mislead.”

“One hour, son. I’ll expect both of you in one hour.”

Holt shook his head as the call disconnected. He might as well have asked for the moon.

+++

The Facility was white and medicinal. There was nothing homey about the place. Jenna hated being there. That much she did remember.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. “Why are you so loyal to these people?”

Elizabeth leaned over her. “The better question is -- why aren’t you loyal? They created you for a specific purpose. All the rest of your line has done exactly what the Echelon has wanted.”

“My line?” Jenna asked.

“We’ve all been genetically engineered,” Liz said. “They control everything about us. So why can’t they control you?”

+++

The offices of the Daily Sentinel newspaper were cluttered and filled to the brim with people and paper. The place was a fire code violation if he ever saw one.

Les Martin sat at the editor’s desk near the back of the newsroom. He shook his head at Holt’s inquiry.

“I haven’t seen Jenna around town in weeks, maybe a month,” Les said. “I can have Stanley call the Editor of the Herald. He would know more about her investigations.”

“Thanks, dad. I’m going to swing by her place and see if she’s there.”

“Why do you need to see her? You looking for a date?” Les always held out hope that he’d find a nice girl for Holt.

“No, I need to question her about a case I’m working on. Nothing serious.”

Jenna West’s apartment was near the park which was five minutes from the center of town. Her front door was secure and locked but the back door was another story.

He pulled out his weapon. The door was ajar, lock smashed. He nudged it open with the tip of his gun and quickly checked every room. 

There was no sign of her.

There were, however, signs of a struggle. He flipped his cell phone open and dialed Bailey.

“She’s been missing for weeks and her house is trashed. Looks like she may have been kidnapped.”

+++

Marcus watched Jenna out of the corner of his eye. She’d been quiet since her return to the Facility. Something was different about her, more genuine. The scar on her hand was already healing. Marcus felt the same lump under his own skin.

Marcus wasn’t someone who connected with people. He did have memories deep in his psyche of a brunette girl who needed help. Those memories didn’t quite seem to belong to him, though.

He approached Jenna, more out of curiosity than anything else. 

“What happened to your hand?”

“There was something there,” she said. “It’s gone now.”

Jenna’s eyes seemed glazed and hooded. The doctors at the Facility had already started to re-introduce her to the meds.

Marcus held her hand and rubbed the skin. The lump was definitely gone.

“He cut it out -- The man at the edge of the woods.” She stared up at Marcus, her yes brimming with tears. “It feels better without it.”

He brushed a tear from her cheek.

“Why are you crying?” he asked. When the charge nurse entered the main area, Marcus blocked Jenna from view.

Jenna touched her tears reacting as if she’d never experienced the phenomena before.

“Can I go home now?”

Before he could respond, the nurse approached. She was older, grandmotherly.

“There you are, sweetie. It’s time for your treatment.”

+++

The Jenna look-alike followed the tunnel for nearly a mile before being met by her contact. He had the access code for the special necklace she wore. The man wasn’t familiar with her, just as she wasn’t familiar with him. He gave her the first six digits of a code on a piece of paper.

“You will receive another six digits at the location on the note. Your next contact will be able to remove the necklace. If you try to remove it now, it will detonate and kill you.”

The look-alike seemed startled.

“Why so cloak and dagger?” she asked.

“That’s the way the brass wanted it, so that’s the protocol.”

The Jenna look-alike shrugged, stuffed the note in her pocket and followed the man out of the tunnel.

“With the note is a train ticket to your next location. You have approximately eighteen minutes to get there and board the train.” He glanced at this watch. “Your time starts now.”

+++

A technician studied Jenna’s vitals. He stared at one monitor in particular, the one that told how well the duplicate’s cells were holding up. The monitor showed no deterioration. This surprised him. He called his colleague over to check his results.

“According to our records, she could be at a level two cell deterioration. This scan shows no deterioration at all.”

The second tech shook his head. “Do the scan again.”

“I’ve done it three times and I’ve gotten the same result.”

“It shouldn’t be possible.”

The tech stilled. “It would be if she was the real deal. The original Jenna West.”

“Oh, man,” the second sighed. “We’re so screwed.”

“We can’t let the brass know about this complication,” the first said.

“Complication? These people don’t play around. The originals are supposed to know nothing about the process.”

“We have to fix this,” the second said. “We have to get rid of her before they realize who she really is.”

While the technicians fought a body on a slab on the next table moved. A blue sheet shuddered and Jenna jumped. As the moments went on the fog in her mind became clearer.

She jumped as a moan came from the other side of the room. Jenna’s heart jumped in her chest. She inched to the edge of the metal exam table.

The sheet moved again revealing a body beneath. It was a man. His arm moved to his head as he attempted to sit up.

“Are you alright?” she asked softly.

The man flinched and jumped up. His breathing was heavy.

“Who are you?” he rasped as he got off the table. The sheet fell from his body revealing chiseled abs and boxer shorts.

Jenna held her hand out., “Stay right there. Don’t come any closer.”

He shook his head, disoriented, wobbling on his feet. “Where is my sister?”

The Trust - Episode 2: The Facility

Episode 2: The Facility

Jenna West stared at the two people who had rescued her... or maybe it was kidnap her. She wasn't really sure. Her last clear memory was of Hank Carter, a virtual stranger. He had helped her. He had been nice to her. The gentle way he had accepted her into his world made her trust him.

"Where are you taking me," she asked the woman sitting in the passenger seat.

The woman had identified herself as Elizabeth. She tried to act friendly but there was something not genuine about her. The man, however, had a different vibe. He didn't speak as he drove, but she could tell there was something different about him.

"We're taking you home," Elizabeth said.

"Home?" Jenna choked. She could barely remember where that was.

"Don't give her false hope," the man bit out. "We're taking you back to the Facility."

"No! I won't go back there." She struggled against her bindings but they were too tight, too expertly knotted.

"I don't think you have a choice, sugar." Elizabeth's voice was a mix of Georgia socialite and New Orleans cajun. 

The Facility loomed large in the windshield, getting larger  the closer they came.

"Home sweet home," Elizabeth cooed.

†††

"Satellite tracking has the vehicle approaching the abandoned base at the edge of town," Candice Kent said. Her two colleagues watched the progress on the monitor.

"Have you run facial recognition on the girl?" Bailey Chase puffed on a small cigarette leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

Hank Carter poked his head over his monitor. "Running it now," he said. "There's no guarantee we'll match a name to her face."

"If she is as important to them as I think she is, we'll find her photo on some database."

Suddenly six photos of the same woman popped up on the screen. Hank stood back in shock.

"That's odd," he said. "I got six hits and it's still processing."

"You're kidding." Candice moved from her computer over to Carter's.

"Same first name, different last names. She has jobs all over the board. Pentagon, Homeland Security... There's even a hit on a reporter over in Park Ridge. But all others are involved in some area of the government," Candice said.

"Her job can't be too important if someone hasn't caught this anomaly already," Bailey said.

"All low level jobs but attached to high level government personnel," Candice offered.

"There's no way this can all be the same girl," Hank said. "Some of these jobs happen simultaneously."

"I'll have some of our operatives track these down," Bailey said. "Let's see how many Jenna's we find.

†††

A woman worked at her desk in an obscure government office. She hadn't been there long, only a few months. But in those few months she'd gained enough intel to weaken the government  substantially. He cell buzzed and she picked it up immediately. Only one person knew the number... her handler.

"Yes, sir," she said, hoping to impress the seasoned veteran.

"You've been compromised," he said. "Use egress Plan E. Execute immediately."

"Right away, sir."

The Jenna look-alike packed up her desk, placing every seemingly personal item in a box. The office was understaffed so no one paid much attention to her as she carried the box down to the basement. The incinerator blazed hot. The man at the controls smiled at the Jenna look-alike.

"You got another one?" he asked?

She nodded and handed him the box.

"It's amazing how man state secrets we destroy this way," she said.

"You're right. It's a shame that paper files have become obsolete. Someday they'll wish this was all still packed away in some government basement."

The Jenna look-alike nodded and waved to the man. She'd never see him again now that her mission had been compromised.

She followed the basement to a little known tunnel entrance. She opened the door and stepped into the darkness.

The Trust - Episode 1

Episode 1: The Escape

The dark night was so murky she could barely see the road in front of her. Escaping from the Facility was a blur. The memories of her time there were quickly fading. But she did know one thing… she was in danger and she had to get away.


“There is no use running, Jenna,” said a voice over a loud speaker. “Wherever you go, we’ll find you.”


She had trained daily at the Facility. They had forced her. Running, weight lifting, weapons training, fencing, whatever they deemed necessary. What they were training her for, she didn’t know. Everything was secret there. But the training was helping her do one thing… escape. That much had backfired on them.


The precious memories of her family were a glimmer at the back of her mind. She didn’t want to lose them. She didn’t want to lose the essence of  who she was, but she could feel it all slipping away like water through a sieve.


The Facility had changed her, altered her in some way. But for what purpose? Why had they captured her and changed the landscape of her brain? She could almost feel the connections firing differently. She was afraid of becoming someone else. Who was she without her memories?


Footfalls pounded behind her. Facility soldiers. She veered off the dirt path and into the wooded area at the edge of the compound. It was harder to patrol in the dense trees. Maybe the cover would help her disappear.


Helicopter blades whirred and the craft set to the skies. They’d pulled out all the stops to capture her. She pushed herself harder, pumped her legs faster. The helicopter searched for her with a high powered spotlight. The brightness weaved in and out of the forest, almost as if they would see her without seeing her.


She cringed internally. The Facility must have tagged her with a GPS tracker. It was the only explanation.


Jenna grunted against the pain in her calves and fell forward as the incline steepened. Her hands caught her weight, but she was weakened from overexertion. She’d never pushed herself this far before. Muscles gave way and she found herself lying in muck.


“Get up,” she encouraged herself. “Get up and move!”


Somehow Jenna found the energy and launched herself deeper into the woods. A cabin emerged in the distance. She raced toward it. This might be her only change to get rid of the GPS and be free of their control.


The door wasn’t locked, which was both odd and helpful. She didn’t question her luck.


As she ran into the main part of the house, she door suddenly slammed behind her. She whirled around at the unexpected sound. A man stood there in silent fury, a baseball bat in one hand.


“Is all that commotion out there for you?” the man asked, agitation tinting his voice. “I live here away from the world to stay away from trouble. I don’t need the hassle.”


Her eyes observed him while bending over to catch her breath. “I don’t have time to verbally spar with you. Here is the situation. I think I have a GPS implant and I need to get rid of it.”


The man arched an eyebrow. “If I deactivate it, you will leave me alone?”


Her eyes grew wide. “You can do that?”


“Piece of cake.”


He rummaged through a drawer pulling  out odd devices and placing them on the counter. Each one was more complex than the next.


“You an inventor?”


“Scientist. Retired.”


“You don’t look old enough to be retired,” she said as the pile on the counter nearly overflowed.


“Not my choice.” He shrugged. “Ah, here it is.”


The device didn’t look like much. I was a simple black box with various buttons along the top. When he turned it on, the colorful lights flickered and she could feel something in her hand wiggle.


“What are you doing?” she asked rubbing the tender spot on the top of her hand.


“Helping you.” His eyes zeroed in on her movement. “There it is. This thing is always dependable.”


“There what is?” Jenna asked.


“The GPS. You’re rubbing it.” He pulled a scalpel out of a kit on the counter. Three items fell off the ledge in his haste.


“What are you doing with that?” she asked, fear touching her voice.


“Cutting it out.”


Jenna flinched away, pulling back from him.


“They’re out there getting closer,” he said. “This is your only chance at freedom.”


“You’re going to do surgery on me? Right here?”


“No, calm down. The device should be just under the skin.” He gestured to a chair. “Please sit down. And try to think happy thoughts.”


She looked away and held out her hand.


“What’s your name,” she asked trying to keep her mind off the blade entering her skin. “We should probably be on a first name basis. I mean, you cutting me open and all.”


“Hank Carter. Please to meet you. You?”


“Jenna. My name is Jenna.”


Outside she could hear the people drawing near. She barely felt the slice of the blade. Her breath hitched.


“They’re getting closer.” Her breath became fractured as each inhale came faster and faster. The fear of being caught, of going back overwhelmed her senses.


“Try to breathe slower or you’re going to pass out,” Hank said, but his voice suddenly seemed far away. She looked in his direction but a white light circled the edges of her vision.


Jenna’s mind swirled as the room began to spin and then everything went black.


+++


“This is rather unorthodox,” said a woman sitting behind a bank of computer. Shelved books were the only thing behind her. Her blonde hair was styled in a French twist but her accent wavered between Dutch and British. “We don’t take in people off the street.


The woman’s name was Candice Kent. She adjusted her nearly invisible glasses.


“Oh, I’m sorry,” Hank said with sarcasm. “I thought you were interested in intelligence from inside the Facility.” His outfit was quite a contrast to Candice’s prim and proper attire worthy of a librarian. He wore a blue running jacket, gray t-shirt and paint splattered jeans.


“We are,” she said simply.


“This girl escaped from inside the compound. I’m sure she’s a font of useful information,” he said. Then as an after thought slammed down the GPS chip he’d taken from her hand. It was now in a box that jammed the effectiveness of the signal. Candice regarded the unusual gift.


“Come on! This is more than you’ve had on them for years,” Hank said, his gestures wildly animated. “That chip in itself is a gold mine.”


“He’s right.” Another man descended the staircase and entered the control room. His name was Bailey Chase, director of the Knights Foundations division called The Trust. “Get the chip down to R&D. This may be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for.”


Candice nodded, grabbed the GPS and hurried off.


“We need to question the girl. The Facility has taken one of our people,” Bailey said, his British accent stronger than Candice‘s.


“One of our people got in there and can’t get out?” Hank asked in surprise. “How is that possible?”


“It’s the son of Graham Gray. His name is Phoenix. It seems since the Facility can’t get us, they’re going after the one thing that makes us vulnerable… our family.”


“Gray? I didn’t know he had kids.”


“It was a closely guarded secret until Phoenix and his sister, Scarlett, stumbled across an operative in trouble in Bulgaria.”


“Who was the operative” Which agency?” Hank asked, his curiosity getting the best of him per usual.


“Ethan Fairchild. Fifteen years ago the two became involved in Ethan’s mission for a covert branch of the Knights Foundation called The Legacy.” Bailey walked to one bookshelf, pushed a button and revealed an opening in the books where a pot of tea and two cuts hand been placed on a silver tray.


“Neat trick,” Hank said.


“Would you like some tea?” Bailey asked.


Hank shook his head and Bailey continued as he prepared his tea.


“From that moment on the two were on the radar.” Bailey sipped at his tea gesturing for Hank to take a seat. Couches and chairs littered the library.  “Abraham Moses recently took over managing control of our parent company. He sent Phoenix out on an unauthorized mission to find Faith Fairchild.”


“Isn’t that Ethan’s sister?” Hank asked.


“Yes. Both Phoenix and Faith disappeared after the mission in Bulgaria. Only Phoenix was recovered. I believe Moses was pressured to find Faith. While she was missing and the search nearly given up, a woman showed up claiming to be Faith. She looked exactly like Faith, knew her entire history.”


“A clone?” Hank suggested.


“We’re not sure, but the faux Faith has been linked with this Facility. We need to know what they’re doing in there. Faith, Phoenix and now this girl, Jenna. Why were they chosen and what is the aim of the Facility?”


+++


Candice returned from the R&D lab passing by the room where Jenna was sleeping. She opened the door a crack and peered in. “Ms. West?” Candice said in her light British lilt. “Ms. West? Are you awake?”


As she opened the door farther, she realized the room was empty!


Candice quickly surveyed her surroundings and found nothing. Jenna had vanished. She ran into the hallway and opened a panel. She it a button than sounded an alarm through the compound. She ran down the stairs and into the grand library. Bailey and Hank both wore concerned expressions on their faces.


“What’s happened,” Bailey asked.


“It’s Ms. West. She’s disappeared.”


“What?” Hank shook his head and paced the floor. “I saved her hide and now she escapes? That’s gratitude for ya.”


“We may have a bigger problem, gentlemen. The fellows in R&D found residue of a strange compound on the tracking device you pulled from Ms. West.”


“What sort of compound?” Hank asked.


“They don’t know exactly what it is, but the compound has properties that change brain chemistry. They surmise that she could be losing her memories or even her mind.”


“Oh, my,” Bailey gasped.


“Oh, my, is right. We need to find her,” Hank said.


Candice moved to the computer lined against the far wall and brought up the internal security cameras.


“Where is the one from her room?” Bailey asked. Candice’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up the camera of his request. “Run it back to before she disappeared.”


Candice zeroed in on two people entering Jenna West’s room. It was time stamped over an hour earlier.


“How did they get in here?” Hank asked. “Don’t you have security precautions?”


“Of course we do,” Bailey snapped. “It’s state-of-the-art everything around here.”


Candice picked out the individual mug shots from the video. One was of a young woman, the other of a young man. She began running a comparison against a national database.


“Do you recognize either of them?” she asked both men.


Bailey shook his head. Hank, however, had another thought.


“I’ve seen the girl jogging around the Facility. It’s been a couple of weeks, but I think it’s her.”


“So, the Facility has reclaimed her and can get past even the best security precautions. How can we win against such an enemy?” Candice asked.


“We just have to outsmart them,” Bailey said simply. “I’ll gather a team together.”