Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (10 page)

The senator stepped out of the cart and
turned slowly as he scanned the room. There were pallets of
material still shrink-wrapped and stacked against the western wall.
Most had cardboard boxes, a few had what looked like medical
equipment of some sort, dozens had white five-gallon buckets
stacked one on top of another. There were antiquated hospital beds,
wheelchairs, and two more toolboxes matching the ones in the
generator room. A pair of pallet jacks and a number of other items
the senator could not immediately identify were neatly stored out
of the way, waiting to be of use.

The largest single item in the room
completed the garage feel of the place. An Air Force blue 1959 Ford
F-600 tanker truck was nestled in the southeast corner, shrink
wrapped in clear plastic like the rest.

Kitchens walked over and peered through the
film at the front end and studied it. It looked as if it had come
directly from the assembly line. “Is there fuel in this?”

“Yes, sir, I believe there is, but all of
the other fluids were drained out decades ago.”

Kitchens smirked. “We oughta have a yard
sale. It would help pay for this place.”

Greg found the light switch in the north
corridor as the senator was still studying the room’s contents. The
fluorescent lights made the white walls of this new hall seem to
glow in stark contrast to the gloom of the big room where Kitchens
was standing. Twenty feet inside was another wall with a door in
the middle resembling something on a submarine minus any kind of
handle. Greg punched a code into a hidden keypad and the door slid
open. Lights flickered on inside to reveal a small corridor
stretching about forty feet with four similar doors on the right
and left, ending in another submarine-type door, this one with a
circular handle at its center.

As the senator approached, he noticed
something he hadn’t seen before in the low light of the big room.
There was a plaque hanging over the entrance with the foreign words
Sistema Chac Luum
.

“What's that?”

“The plaque?” Greg asked, following the
senator’s gaze.

“Yeah. Is it Latin?”

Greg moved to stand shoulder to shoulder
with the senator. “No, sir. It's Mayan.”

Kitchens frowned. “Mayan?”

“Yes, sir. It means red earth system.”

“Red earth system?” Kitchens repeated. The
name made sense. Georgia was known for its red clay. “Why
Mayan?”

Greg smiled, pleased with himself that he
had taken the time to find out during one of the endless days of
boredom since his posting here. “In October 2002, a guy named
Schmitner discovered an underwater cave in Quintana Roo, Mexico, in
the eastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. He named the cave
Sistema Chac Luum
because of the red earth in the area. So,
when they reopened this complex, someone named it after that cave.
You know, for red Georgia clay.”

Kitchens stared at him, dumbfounded that the
major knew the answer in so much detail. If, in fact, he hadn't
made it up.

Greg again read the senator’s mind. “Combine
Wikipedia with a whole lotta time on my hands, and
voila
.”

“Okay,” Kitchens said. “So, we go in there I
take it?” He pointed to the open door.

“Yes, sir. We'll change in there.”

“Change?”

“Yes, sir. Beyond the changing room is a
clean environment.”

“Seriously?” Kitchens was amused by the
whole idea.

“Seriously,” Greg repeated, gesturing for
the senator to enter.

* * * * *

“
C’MON, DOC,” JIMMY
pleaded.

“You should have recorded it,” Tiong
answered.

“I forgot.” Jimmy hung his head and fidgeted
with his clipboard.

The two were standing in the middle of the
main storeroom. Professor Yeoum Chi, the team leader, insisted an
inventory be performed each Friday. And since their procurement
specialist had been cut from the team, the responsibility had been
passed to Tiong.

Doctor Juan Tiong was the team’s
veterinarian. Though he was born in Manila, people often mistook
him as Mexican because of his small frame and dark features. From
an early age, little Juan had loved animals. A diligent student, he
attended Brent International School where he also excelled at
soccer. He received an athletic scholarship to the University of
the Philippine’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where he received
his doctorate in 2003. Soon after, his family pooled their
resources and immigrated to the United States, settling in San
Francisco. There they opened a small Filipino Grocery. Tiong did a
lengthy internship from August 2003 to June 2005 at Westchester
Animal Hospital outside of New York City. After that, he earned his
certification from Mississippi State University College of
Veterinary Medicine in 2006, and then moved back home to San
Francisco where he joined a small practice.

Like June, he was approached by the
Department of the Interior nineteen months ago and was asked to
join the team after the unfortunate and untimely death of the
program’s previous veterinarian. Tiong's predecessor was traveling
to McMaster, the original site of the project, when his vehicle
slid off of the icy highway and hit an embankment, killing him
instantly. Tiong had been assured that the project would last only
eighteen months, and since the money they offered him was more than
adequate, he agreed.

During the first few months at McMaster, he
had often wondered if he had made a huge mistake. His duties were
light. He’d had only one pair of chimpanzees to look after then,
and they were in very good health. His biggest problem he had faced
was the fact that Professor Yeoum had been a long-time friend of
the previous vet. Yeoum had worked with the man for over eighteen
years, ever since the professor had immigrated to the United
States. Yeoum began to push all of the “messy” work onto Tiong, and
was constantly critical of him. But after some time had passed,
Yeoum began to warm up to him. Tiong suspected the man simply
wanted someone older to relate to. At thirty-seven, the
veterinarian was the oldest team member, next to the professor who
was seventy-three.

“You forgot?” Tiong asked doubtfully.
“Jimmy, there's TiVo in your room and in the parlor. And,” he
paused for emphasis, “you were the one who volunteered to help me,
remember?”

“That's before I knew how
boring
it
was going to be. Besides, I didn't know it was going to take
hours and hours,
” Jimmy whined.

“It takes as long as it takes every time.
What made you think it was going to take less time today?”

Tiong usually did the inventory with the
major. He could have easily done it by himself, and, in all
likelihood, it wouldn't take as long. But he decided this would be
an exercise in patience for Jimmy, the youngest member of the team.
Besides, he had gotten used to having someone to talk to, to break
up the tedium.

“
Please
, Doc,” the younger man
pleaded, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Tiong's knees.
“You can watch it with me.”

“I don't like science fiction.”

“Oh, you'll like this one. It has lots of
exotic alien animals.”

“You've seen it, then?

Jimmy released the doctor and sat back on
his legs. “Hello!
Avatar
is only the number one movie of all
time.”

“
Avatar
?” Tiong asked
incredulously.

“Uh, huh.”

“You want to watch
Avatar
at ten
o'clock?” Jimmy looked at his watch. “Yes. In seventeen
minutes.”

“We have it in the video library.”

Jimmy's shoulders slumped as he thought for
a moment. “I think it's broken.”

“I watched it with June on Tuesday. It was
good.” Tiong removed a pen from his shirt pocket. “Kinda'
Dances
with Wolves
in space.” Seeing that Jimmy wasn’t going to give
up, he turned his attention back to the medical supplies where they
had left off.

“Does this mean I can go?” Jimmy asked
hopefully.

“No.”

“C’mon, Doc. I hate busy work.”

“Go tell that to Yeoum,” Tiong said
evenly.

Jimmy Bennett was the only member of the
team who was Canadian, despite the fact that the project had been
based originally in Canada. He was born in Saint Catharine’s,
Ontario, the largest city in the Niagara Region, just ten miles
northwest of Niagara Falls. His father was an attorney with the
Niagara North Judicial District of Ontario and his mother was a
member of the city council of Saint Catharine’s. He had attended
Beacon Christian School where he developed a love for
computers.

He was the geek of the group, a fact that
had often gotten him into trouble. He had a bad habit of invading
programs. Like, for instance, the complex's security system, which
made him quite unpopular with the security chief. But of the four
remaining members of Yeoum’s team, Jimmy had been involved with the
project the longest. The twenty-nine-year-old was recruited right
out of the Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology, where he
had earned a master’s in computer science and electronic
technology.

Early on, Jimmy had developed an intense
dislike for the United States government after they “stole” a
program he had written that not only integrated all of the
project’s computer systems—which is how he gained access to
off-limits programs—but also made them interactive, thereby
streamlining the entire process. After this, Jimmy wrote a simple
voice recognition program that would allow anyone he chose to
interact with the system by voice command. He even gave the program
a personality, a
female
personality, with a deceptively
simple name. Software Integrating System, or SIS. What only he knew
was that he had implanted a “bomb” that he could execute with a few
simple keystrokes to render it and all connected systems
useless.

Knowing better than to draw the Korean team
leader’s ire, Jimmy changed the subject. “I thought you didn't like
sci-fi.”

Tiong smiled. “Hello? Number one movie of
all time.”

Just then there was a beep followed by a
man's voice over the intercom. “Doctor Tiong, Major Mathers and his
guest have arrived. They are in the dressing area and will be
entering the supply room shortly. Mister Bennett, you will need to
vacate the area, sir.”

Tiong checked his watch in annoyance. “It’s
a quarter to ten. They're not supposed to be here until twelve
o'clock.”

“That's a shame.” Jimmy feigned
disappointment. “I guess we can't finish the inventory now.”

“Oh well,” Tiong said, “we'll just have to
finish it later.”

Jimmy eyed the doctor. “I assume that by
'we' you mean you and the major, right?”

“The major will be tied up with the senator
today. By ‘we’ I mean you and me.”

“Oooh, sorry, Doc, but uh, I have to finish
up my diagnostic this afternoon,” Jimmy said, seizing the
opportunity to escape. “I guess you'll be on your own.”

Tiong wasn't listening. He was checking off
a mental list of things he had accomplished in preparation for the
senator's visit. Satisfied he was ready, he said to Jimmy, “You’d
better get outta here.”

“Why? Can’t I meet the senator today, too?”
he quipped. Jimmy couldn't have cared less if he met the man or
not.

Tiong gave him a knowing look. “The
major.”

“Aw c'mon. I think it's about time I met the
mysterious major.” He pretended to yawn. He cared even less about
meeting another jarhead.

Tiong started to speak again but was cut off
by the intercom. “I'm afraid that's not possible, Mister Bennett.
The major is still off limits to all personnel but Doctor
Tiong.”

“I forgot.” Jimmy’s irritation aroused as he
raised his voice. “Big Brother is
always
listening.”

Tiong gave Jimmy a you-should-know-better
look. “Out.”

Jimmy threw up his hands in defeat and
started for the door. “Hey, Big Brother, wanna help me with SIS?
She's lonely, ya know. She could use another disembodied voice for
some company after I wake her up.”

Tiong watched as the door shut behind Jimmy.
Almost immediately a buzzer sounded behind him. Two men dressed in
the same kind of green scrubs Tiong was wearing stepped into the
supply room. Major Greg Mathers he knew. The other he recognized
from television, a local hero of sorts. Senator Kevin Kitchens,
Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The axeman,
as he had become known since the team had learned of his impending
visit. The man who would decide if the project would live or die.
It was Tiong who spoke first. “Gentlemen. Welcome to
Sistema
Chac Luum
.”

The senator regarded him warmly, extending
his hand. “Good morning.”

“Doctor Juan Tiong.” Tiong smiled and
accepted the man's hand.

“Kevin Kitchens. And I believe you know the
major.”

Tiong nodded. “How's it going, Greg?”

“Good,” Greg replied with a grin.
Like
this ought to be
!

“Are we interrupting anything?” Kitchens
asked innocently. He enjoyed catching people off guard. Tiong
glanced around the room, “No, no. We were just doing our weekly
inventory. Nothing that can't wait.”

Greg was disappointed. His hope of seeing
the doctor upset or flustered by the interruption was dashed.

“We?” Kitchens asked as he looked around the
room.

“Jimmy was assisting me,” Tiong
answered.

The senator gave Tiong a questioning look.
“Why did he leave?”

“I'm taboo to the other members of the
team,” Greg explained.

“Ah.” Kitchens looked to the major. “Well, I
think it's about time you meet the other folks, don't you?”

“Well … uh,” Greg stammered.

“One way or another, they’re gonna know you
by the end of the day.”