Consigning Fate (19 page)

“Which …” Frank said. “Can be answered by the clone. The only way to draw the clone out is to get rid of Dean. Obviously, the clone watches Dean. So when he realizes Dean is gone, the second he makes an appearance, we nab him as Dean.”

“You think he’s tracking him?” Hal asked.

“He’s found a way, yeah. I think,” Frank said. “That’s the only way to avoid the run ins. He’s tracking Dean like we track him. Hal did you secure that?”

Hal nodded. “The house is located six miles north of Bowman. Very secure. Over the next several days, we may have to take Dean the times he needs. But we’ll be the only ones who know he’s there. But how are you going to get Dean to agree to go.”

“Aside from telling him the truth. He wants the time. We have a problem in the Killer Toddler region. Actually two problems. He wants to work on them full time, but told me he doesn’t know how he’s going to get the time. This will give it to him.”

“Problems?” Robbie asked. “What problems?”

“One.” Frank sighed and sat down. “A nest. Not to alarm anyone, and I told Dean I wouldn’t say anything, but it’s possible it’s alien.”

Hal tilted his head. “Alien as in unknown.”

“Yes,” Frank said.

“Oh.” Hal exhaled. “I thought you were saying it was alien as in outer space.”

“Yes.”

Hal looked up quickly and spoke almost nonbelieving. “We have aliens in Beginnings.”

“We don’t know. It looks like an alien nest.”

“Frank please.” Hal chuckled. “Aliens as in outer space. Please.”

“Hal, I’m telling you. Dean said.”

“Dean bites,” Hal snapped. “They can’t be aliens Frank.”

“Well, they could be like Predator. Not sure. We’ll see.”

“They can’t be aliens, Frank.”

“How do you know?”

“Because they just can’t be.”

“Did you put the nest there?” Frank asked.

“No.”

“Then you don’t know for sure.”

“You’re retarded.” Hal waved out his hand.

Robbie snickered. “Ok, so, we have aliens in Beginnings. Possibly.”

“We have a nest,” Frank said. “Yes.”

“What’s the other problem?” Robbie asked.

Hal answered. “Barney the dinosaur is running around up there?”

“No,” Frank said. “The Killer Toddlers are reproducing.”

“Good God.” Hal put his hand to his eyes.

“No. We know for a fact. That sperm you found Robbie, it was some sort of amniotic fluid,” Frank said. “We got video. And... We have the offspring.”

Hal looked up. “You’re serious.”

“Caught one. But they aren’t babies. They’re Fetuses. Killer Fetuses.”

Hal blinked. “We have Killer Fetuses in Beginnings now, as well.”

“Is this fucked up or what?” Frank asked. “Killer Babies, Killer Toddlers, aliens, an impending war, and now Killer Fetuses.”

“Fetuses?” Hal asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, you have to stop and see one. About four inches. Kind of cute. Look what they did to my boot.” Frank ejected his leg on the table. “Tore through.” He put his leg down. “Dean said they aren’t fully developed, still have a tail and shit. Fetuses.”

“Wait. Wait.” Hal held up his hand. “Robbie finds embryonic fluid of sorts.”

“Me, too.” Frank said.

Hal nodded. “He finds this. You find this. You find a nest. You also find a …” he cleared his throat. “Killer Baby offspring.”

“Fetus.”

Hal winced. “Killer Fetus. And you don’t see the correlation between the nest and the fetus?”

Frank looked at Hal. “Are you saying the Killer Fetuses are aliens?”

“No, Frank I’m …”

“Fuck what if they’re inbred.”

Robbie corrected. “Hybrid.”

“Fuck.”

“Stop!” Hal shouted and stood. “I am not saying that the Killer … Fetuses are part alien. I am saying that the nest belongs to the offspring and the nest is not alien. Good God!” Hal exhaled. “I’m leaving. I have the house to finish for Dean. Tell him. Let me know when he’s coming. I have to find pink shoes, excuse me.” He walked to the door. “Sgt. Ryder.”

Elliott stood and followed.

Frank said. “Hope you find your pink shoes, Hal. I’m sure you’ll look great.”

With a smug look, ignoring the Robbie and Frank snickers, Hal flipped him off and walked out with Elliott.

He sighed as he placed on his bandana. “Killer Fetuses and aliens.”

“Captain, you wanted your brother back.”

“Yes, Elliott I did.” Hal huffed and walked to the jeep. “But not at the risk of a stroke. And never remind me again that I wanted that.”

“Yes, Captain.”

With a shake of his head, and disgusted murmur of ‘Fetuses’, Hal got in the jeep with Elliott and took off.

<><><><>

Admittedly, Danny ignored the calls. There were several. The first came early, stating that she needed to speak to him.

Danny didn’t mind his job taking concerns and acting as Chief of Staff, but he was pretty clear about the rules. He’d take email complaints and questions during a certain time of day and then he’d take walk ins.

Take them.

Not make house calls.

But Trish insisted her job was far too important to leave and Danny would have to come to her.

Matter of importance she labeled it.

Urgent.

He went about his business, taking care of things, and then finally as afternoon settled, he went and saw Trish in History.

Ding-ding, the bell rang.

Trish looked up from her desk. “It’s about time. I’ve been calling you all day.”

“I know, but I’ve been busy,” Danny said.

“And I haven’t?” Trish held out her hands. “It can be a madhouse around here.”

Danny looked around at the empty office. “I see that.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Yes.”

“You could have taken my complaint over the phone instead of telling me you’d get back to me.”

“Trish, you’re a great gal,” Danny said. “But I’m really busy. What is it?”

“Fine.” Trish huffed out. “I have a complaint.”

“Obviously.”

“Look. You need to handle this.”

“I’ll try. Just tell me what it is.”

“He is abusing the system. I know he used to be the leader.”

“OK.” Danny nodded.

“And I respect that he used to be the leader. But since he’s not the leader anymore, doesn’t that mean that Frank has say so.”

“Yes.” Danny nodded. “What the problem.”

“He’s coming in here, looking at history and he doesn’t have an appointment. He’s coming in when he wants, and looking. I can’t determine whether he added things. But I don’t know.”

“That’s weird. Do you know what he’s looking at?”

“Events around the time of the explosion.”

“Wow. OK.” Danny rubbed his chin. “When is he coming in here?”

“When no one is here. Last night after we closed.”

Danny whistled. “Really.”

“Really.”

“OK, I don’t know why, but I’ll speak to Frank and he and I will speak to George. Thanks.” Danny turned.

“Why are you talking to George?”

“Because he was coming in here.”

“When?”

“You said last night.”

“No.” Trish shook her head. “I didn’t say George came in here last night.”

“You said he used to be leader,” Danny said.

“Yes, he did. But that’s not who I’m talking about.”

Danny tossed out his hands. “Then who?”

“Joe.”

Danny paused. He nodded. “Joe?”

“Yes.”

“Joe’s been coming in here without an appointment and viewing history?”

“Yes. Why do you think I’m so mad? Since he’s not the leader anymore, he should have an appointment. Ghost or not.”

“I agree.” Danny pacified. “And you saw him?”

“No. of course not silly, he’s a ghost.”

“OK, but you know he’s been in here?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Because I check the password logins. Joe’s password has been used.”

“And?” Danny asked.

“Joe was the only one who had that password.”

“And you’re sure it’s Joe using that password. He couldn’t have given it to anyone else.”

Trish shook her head. “Joe never shared his passwords at all. It’s an executive password Actually, Frank has his own.”

“Trish, Joe isn’t coming in here. Joe died.”

“OK, his ghost.”

Danny shook his head. “There’s got to be another explanation. He gave that password to someone, that’s all.”

“Maybe. But I changed it about an hour before he died and called him with it.”

“That’s weird. OK. This is something I’ll look into.”

“Thank you.”

Danny started to leave.

“Oh, and Danny. I don’t care if he’s coming in here; he just needs to make an appointment.”

“Gotcha.” Danny turned from Trish, widened his eyes, and walked out. Although it was ridiculous, that Joe’s ghost was visiting history. She did bring up something to look into. Someone was sneaking into History. Why?

<><><><>

It took Robbie about an hour to load up a jeep and take the stuff out to the mobile located next to the quantum lab.

It was dusty and smelled stale when Robbie went in, and before he unpacked a single box, he cleaned up.

He set up the fingerprint computer, loaded Darrell’s interview into the hard drive as a backup.

He was ready to go.

Now he just needed answers.

All day long it weighed heavily on his mind. Even when he tried not to think about it.

The truth was, the fingerprints on the bomb matched his fathers’.

Robbie racked his brain. Had Joe made an explosive for something else and the killer knew it. That was a possibility, actually a big possibility. Joe made the bomb at another time, and the killer used it against him.

That was the only explanation that made sense to Robbie.

He caught his reflection in the glass of the back lab.

He looked tired and worn.

Maybe the burden was just weighing too heavily on him. Maybe it was too much for him to handle. But Robbie wanted to solve it. He wanted to be the brother who brought an end to the questions concerning his father’s death.

Easily he could speak to Frank, Hal, or Jimmy, but Robbie didn’t. He wanted to present them with hardcore truth.

However, it was increasingly becoming evident that he would have to seek help.

Two minds were better than one.

But who.

Readying to close up shop, and put the investigation on hold until the next day, Robbie turned to leave when he heard it.

It sounded like something had dropped in the trailer next door. The one attached to the lab.

The connecting doorway oddly had been dismantled, so Robbie walked around.

It struck him as strange that the front door was unlocked; it was even stranger to him that the light was on in the living room of the trailer.

“Hello.” Robbie called out.

No answer.

He looked around, checked, nothing. Or at least no people.

He did find the bed slightly unmade, a hideous leather jacket on the bed, and the room had a fresh smell.

He heard something. He knew it. But… it was clear that someone had been in the trailer. When?

He stopped in the middle of the living room.

How did he miss it on his first pass through?

The small dining table in the living room had dishes on it. Crumbs graced the plate, and what looked like jam. Robbie ran his hand across the jam.

He balked.

Fresh?

Fresh jam in a trailer that was supposed to be empty?

The very first thought that came to Robbie’s mind was the clone. Clothes. A jacket, a bed unmade. Food? They didn’t know where the clone was; perhaps he discovered the clone’s hideout.

It made sense. But like his father’s prints on the bomb, what didn’t make sense was the fact that there were two place settings.

If indeed the clone was hiding in the trailer, then the clone was not alone.

Yet, another mystery for Robbie to work on.

<><><><>

“Come on,” Ellen spoke in a high pitched voice. “There you go. Good boy.” She bent over, peering into the tiny cage in the cryo lab. “I think we need a Barbie bed.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be that size for very long,” Dean said. “We should get him a blanket. Try at least to domesticate him from this moment.”