The Hunt: Symbiosys Page 8
She was sitting on the toilet with her panties around her ankles. She was bleeding. She shouldn't be bleeding, should she?
Why wasn't her friend answering the phone? Bitch!
She didn't know what to do. Amber didn't think she was in labour. She had no pain.
Was the baby alright? How could she know? When was the last time it moved? Two days ago? She couldn't be sure. It fell asleep when she drank. Four days ago?
Yes! It was four – five days ago at the most! That was normal, wasn't it? She tried to convince herself.
She didn't know. Who was she kidding? She was at the end of her third trimester and she hadn't seen a doctor. What was wrong with her parents? Why didn't they bring her to a doctor?
If the baby died, it couldn't hurt her, could it? She wouldn't die, could she?
She dropped her cell phone in the sink and began feebly weeping into her hands.
* * *
La Bellefeuille Maison,
Montreal, Canada,
Nov. 3rd, 1994
The three agents burst into the room in unison, all three casting green glow-stocks ahead of them.
Lorne was surprised. The Gateway had just opened and he expected to see everything tinted in a purple light. Instead, his eyes saw green, and he was momentarily confused.
Nesbitt rolled in the room into a crouching position, her MP5A3 machine gun tight to her shoulder and aimed at Lorne.
Taking advantage of their surprise – and having entered behind them through the kitchen - Maurice grabbed Veronica by the back of her neck and forced her to the ground face-first. “Clear!”
Nesbitt and Jean opened fire! Two short controlled bursts. The ugly barking of the machine gun fire sounded like strepitos, strangely accenting the alien bass drone of the booming music.
Lorne couldn't have been caught more off guard. A stray bullet pierced his violin, shattering it, but the symbiot alien-facet simply reacted with lightning speed! Telekinetic tentacles lashed out, the bullets exploding into molten fragments.
His initial instinct was to flee, to teleport away to safety – but he couldn't. As a Symbiot creature he was trapped within this temporary pocket-universe of the Gatesphere. “They knew! They somehow knew!”
Maurice began to crawl along the floor, half-dragging Veronica with him towards a wall. She was speaking or mumbling or crying; he couldn't tell with the gun fire and noise.
Nesbitt took a standing position and shifted to her left. Just as she squeezed the trigger a sofa crashed into her, driving her into the wall. She couldn't believe her eyes; objects and furniture were levitating in the room, beginning to circle Lorne!
Lorne's concentration was being taxed! He felt a drain and now was beginning to become aware of that strange ethereal whispering in the back of his consciousness again. He had to focus on his defense!
The second agent's barrage of bullets met an invisible barrier, sparks flying before Lorne! Lorne symbolically thrust his hand forward as a telekinetic claw launched from his mind. It grappled the machine gun, twisted and crushed it; a round going off in the destroyed gun with a dull pop.
The agent didn't waste his time or energy wrestling with the unseen force, but simply twisted out of the gun's strap. He pivoted on his heel and when he came about had drawn his sidearm.
Crack! Crack! Crack! it fired.
A bullet clipped Lorne's ear, the side of his face hot and wet. His attention and focus was faltering. The two other bullets were caught and destroyed in mid-air.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the woman dislodge herself from the sofa he flung at her, lining up her machine gun on him.
Lorne's instincts wasn't to harm the agents. He thrust an open palm towards Nesbitt with an exaggerated pushing motion. Rather than fighting against it, Nesbitt didn't resist, allowing the telekinetic force to violently throw her through the window.
She landed outside and attempted to roll and tumble. As she hit the black ground the water stole her momentum with a muddy splash! The flood waters were past her ankles!
“Leaman!” she shouted while she untangled herself from her machine gun's strap. “Leaman! The water's still rising?!” It was an incredulous statement and question.
The voice that came through her earpiece was broken with static and intermittent. “ - - lost com link - - - Montreal - - - waters dissipating - - - evacu - - -”
As she picked herself up out of the flood waters she notice it was swarming with insects! Her legs were crawling with them!
“Jesus!” She slung her machine gun behind her back and drew her sidearm.
Lorne was a sitting target and he knew it. He couldn't just stand there and be shot at. He could feel his energy being syphoned away from some unknown source. How much longer before the Gatesphere collapsed?
The agent with the pistol dropped its empty magazine to the floor as he slapped a fresh one in its place.
Lorne noticed they seemed to be guarding or protecting Veronica. He burst into a run towards the agent covering her.
The agent looked surprised, raised his machine gun and held the trigger. Hot empty shells rained down atop Veronica. She howled in fear and tangled her legs with the agent's, buckling his knee. As he lost balance his burst went high. Drywall debris and splinters flew off the wall.
Lorne's alien-facet manipulated his brain and forced adrenaline into his body. He half leaped, half flew out of harm's way. With his mysteriously dwindling power, he launched an armchair at the prone agent. He hadn't recovered his balance yet and the flying chair caught him fully across the face. He crashed into the kitchen door and fell into a heap!
A deafening boom resounded! It shook the very foundation of the house. The ground dropped beneath Nesbitt's feet as she attempted to jump through the broken window. The purple Gateway snapped out of existence and the Gatesphere - the surrounding shroud of shadows – collapsed!
Moonlight lit up the entire house and the sudden and dramatic change of lighting forced Nesbitt to readjust her aim and blink. She wasn't sure what her eyes were seeing. One second Lorne stood before her, in her line of fire. The next, he seemed to have disintegrated into smoke and was gone!
Their ears were all ringing from that final boom. Everything was humming.
Veronica stood up, throwing the unconscious man off her. “What's that? What is that?” she was asking nobody in particular.
Nesbitt held her hand to her ear. “Leaman? Leaman, copy? Mission has failed. I repeat, mission had failed. Target has escaped. Target has... vanished...” She whispered the last word as she made eye contact with Veronica and realized she had been speaking to her.
“...wrong with you? Can't you hear that?”
Nesbitt pulled her earpiece off. Yes, she heard it too. It sounded like a baby crying. A baby?
Veronica pushed past her. The crying was coming from outside. The two women went outside, and lying there in the mud was a naked wailing newborn baby boy!
Veronica rushed to the child while Nesbitt took in the surroundings. Then her jaw dropped.
The sun hadn't risen yet, but the sky had enough light in it to compete with the moon. The water was receding. She could see it receding!
And as Veronica wiped the mud off the baby and held him in her arms, he stopped crying.... and the flood waters were nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 10: Operation Foxhunt
Osaka, Japan,
November 4th, 1994
Special Joint Task Force Commander Dr. Francisco Velazquez had called a second Conclave Meeting. The additional member, Commander Inspector (Keibu) Akira Fujioka, of the Japanese Special Assault Team (SAT), hosted the meeting in Osaka.
Only Professor Theodore Cherninski, Dr. B. Kazakevich, Dr, Navid Ramakrishna, and Professor H. Neilson of the original Conclave were called into attendance, Professor Neilson being unaccounted for and absent.
“The mission of November 3rd, 1994 involving the assault on La Bellefeuille Maison, has failed in its endeavours,” began Dr. Velazquez.
“Failed how?” interrupted Dr. Ramakrishna. “Failed in the assassination of Lorne S. Gibbons?”
Keibu Akira Fujioka stood up, “I would not consider the mission a failure. We have gained important security intelligence and valid information.” The smaller group of four remained quiet as their host spoke. The Japanese Commander Inspector was an impressive sight. He was dressed in full uniform, and had a good grasp of the English language. Officially he fell under the title of a police officer, but the assembled conclave knew better. His organization didn't officially exist. Japan's SAT took care of more clandestine issues or problems... and this was a concerning issue with a few of the members.
“Yes, Dr. Ramakrishna, the target escaped -”
“By 'target' you mean Lorne S. Gibbons,” she interjected. “Not everyone agreed to his termination.”
Keibu Akira Fujioka gave the Indian woman a nod and fell silent. A silent pause ensued as he gave Dr. Ramakrishna the opportunity to speak. “Please,” he continued, bowing slightly to the woman but never breaking eye-contact, “we have not been called to this meeting to rehash these issues. We have been called and assembled by Commander Velazquez to decide on a path forward.”
“The UNCGSC had authorized CSIS-SAT-RCMP-JTFC to proceed. The moral questioning of these events had their moment, their opportunity. This is under my command now. Please, keep your private views to yourself,” Dr. Velazquez added. He nodded to Keibu Akira Fujioka to continue.
“Yes, yes, please get on with it,” the German, Dr. Kazakevich, was becoming impatient.
The Japanese Commander looked at Kazakevich. Civilians had little understanding of chains of authority, let alone discipline, he thought to himself.
“We have confirmation that the secondary target – Marie Gibbons - is in Tokyo. We have reasons to believe the primary target - Lorne S. Gibbons – will also currently be found in Tokyo. But more important, we have attained a powerful tool. Through Commander Velazquez quick thinking, the surveillance equipment has recorded the music of Lorne S. Gibbons itself. We now have in our possession the ability to open this Gatesphere and trap these Symbiots. This is the only way to eradicate this threat.”
Theodore Cherninski interrupted, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who has possession of this?!” the Russian's voice boomed. “Do you have any idea what this is capable of?”
“This undoes what Lorne had originally saved us all from!” Ramakrishna added. “We are back to square one!”
Dr. Velazquez stood up, his hand motioning everyone to be still, “Please, please! Can you listen -”
“-No! I believe it is you who needs to listen,” the Indian woman stood. “Answer Cherninski's question, please. Who has possession of this music?”
“It's in an electronic format, and I have possession of it,” Dr. Velazquez finished.
“Is it secure? Who does or will have access to it?”
Keibu Akira Fujioka slammed his fist into the table. The impact echoed through the room. A few of the members jumped. But he did manage to get everyone's attention.
“You seem to misunderstand the purpose and nature of this assembly. You no longer have authority over acquired information according to the Synchronicity Mandate of March 1993. Commander Velazquez does not answer to you nor needs to. He is extending a courtesy, but do not confuse this politeness. You are not here to question this mission.
“I will extend to you the details of codename Operation Foxhunt. I will have access to this file. I will command an assault team to raid the Takahara penthouse in Tokyo. We will use the recorded music to open the Gatesphere and terminate the targets, thus ending their potential threat.
“Commander Velazquez has requested Chief Superintendent M. Nesbitt of the RCMP and Special Agent James Leaman of CSIS as special liaison officers. Both were involved in the assault yesterday and their experience may be invaluable. They are currently being debriefed and are in transit as we speak.
“We will attempt to coordinate a second team, commanded by Nesbitt and Leaman, to secure a tiny cottage on the coast of Chiba. We believe this may be a bolthole – an escape route. This team will be based on the JMSDF Yamayuki, a Hatsuyuki-class naval destroyer, off the coast, as this Chiba cottage is extremely remote and near inaccessible. Upon confirmation of the Gibbons' presence, small teams will enter the cottage, open the Gatesphere, and attempt to terminate. Failure to remove targets will be backed up with the JMSDF Yamayuki destroying the cottage and targets with Harpoon missiles. This command team will have possession of this musical file. There will be no other access to it. It is secure.”
They fell silent. Uncomfortably silent.
“Where's Neilson?” asked Dr. Ramakrishna.
“Absent,” answered Dr. Velazquez. “We show no records of him exiting the USA. Truth be known, we don't know where he is. He was called to attendance here but never arrived.”
“This doesn't concern you?” added Cherninski. “Professor Neilson knew Lorne and Veronica personally.”
“That is not your concern,” finished Keibu Akira Fujioka. “That is our jurisdiction. We have more immediate concerns to deal with.”
“Really? Namely?”
Dr. Velazquez stood up and cleared his throat. “Through intel collected from the assault yesterday we have confirmation of a third symbiot. A newborn baby.” He shuffled through a file folder of papers before him. “A Tamara Takahara, born Oct. 17th, '94.”
Dr. Ramakrishna teeth were bleach-white as she smiled, but it was anything but pleasant. She spoke slowly, “This baby is two and a half weeks old. Are you going to suggest she is also a threat?”
“No,” answered Velazquez, looking down to his files. “You are. We need to determine what exactly she is before we can determine whether she is a threat or not.”
Dr. Velazquez began, “We know that Nyarlathotep's Symbiot-species reproduced asexually; through binary fission. This species did not evolve through breeding. It did not breed. It simply splits, like the amoeba. The offspring is, in every way, an exact duplicate of the original. Identical in every aspect, including knowledge, experience, memory, and intelligence.
“Where the Symbiot-species naturally existed in a state of pure thought, they could not exist within our universe of both physical and metaphysical. The Symbiot-species lacked the 'gear', the 'equipment', the facilities to hold on to a physical host. The human soul however does have the 'equipment'. The Symbiot-species have to join, symbiotically, with a human mind and through it use it to retain the hold on the physical, to remain in this universe. This is why Lorne and Marie Gibbons are a threat. Each and every member of the Symbiot-species is an exact clone of the original – Nyarlathotep itself. Thus, each and every symbiot-species must, eventually, grow into being Nyarlathotep in time. The alien-facet of their multiminds are destined to grow more powerful and dominant than its host and eventually annex them! Ultimately, their alien-facets are, or will become, Nyarlathotep.”
“Yes,” cut in Dr. Ramakrishna, “That's a theory. But this is all conjecture. We know none of this for sure.”
Velazquez continued, “The human species reproduces sexually. Part of each parent's DNA combines to produce a new being, distinct and separate. The following generation inherits the better genes of both parents while suppressing the recessive ones. Evolution dictates that the species grows better and more adaptable.
“Where her parents were both physically human, they were not completely human themselves. How do the Gibbons' reproduce? Sexually? Asexually? What is Tamara? Human? Yet another Symbiot-species? A Symbiot-hybrid?” Dr. Velazquez finished by taking a drink of water. The room remained silent.