Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins (16 page)

Robert turned to Alison.  “Hook up with the others,” he said.  “Help clean up and I’ll send reinforcements.”

“Yes, sir,” Alison said purposely.

Robert frowned slightly but didn’t have time to address the situation.  He pulled Batista from the car.  Eve told him to get into the shadows, and they vanished.

Alison walked back to the building where she had been tied up.  She found Jess sitting on a stack of crates.  Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

“Are you okay?”  Alison asked as she approached.

Jess wiped her face.  “I just needed a moment,” she told her.  “Everyone is out front, couldn’t get any peace.”

Alison gave her a hug.  “Did you thank Fugen for me?”

The words sent Jess into another bout of sobs.  “He got hurt bad, Alison,” she sniffled.  “His pain is mine.”

“I know,” Alison said.  “But he did a good job and he’ll be alright.”

Jess sighed heavily then worked to regain her composure.  “What about you?  What happened?”  She asked.

“We found a Lost One,” Alison replied.

“Oh,” Jess said curious.

“And Robert kissed me,” Alison added.

“What?”  Jess exclaimed.

“I think it was an accident, you know,” Alison said, “because he thought I was dead.  It was just a reaction.”

“We’re not giving up that easily,” Jess said.  “Our fancy dinner might have been a disaster, but I’ll come up with something.”

Colonel Porter stood in the observation room at The One's North American Complex in Colorado.  There were several scientists with him, and they all stood staring through the observation window.  On the other side of the glass, there was a basic obstacle course.  They watched as Eve disappeared on one side of the room and appeared on the other.  A few of the scientists were mumbling about readouts and anomalies.  Her portals had left some of their top physicists scratching their heads.  Porter wasn't concerned about the science; he was thinking about strategy.

“Dim the lights,” Porter said without taking his eyes off Eve.

One of the scientists punched at a keyboard then said, “Going to seventeen hundred lumens.”

The room became a little darker, and Eve kept on moving without breaking stride.

There was something that Porter thought he saw, but couldn't be entirely sure.  “How many decibels?”  Porter asked no one in particular.

“Uh,” a scientist stuttered.  It was a weird question, and he had to pull up the correct monitor.  “I have nothing.  Just ambient noise.”  Porter turned his head a fraction indicating with his face that it was an unacceptable answer. “Twenty decibels,” the scientist responded quickly.

Porter looked back at the observation room watching the young girl disappear and reappear.  There was no sign of strain or concentration.  Eve moved around as easily as a person would walk.

“Bring up the infrared and kill the lights,” Porter ordered suddenly.

He stepped back to look at the overhead screens that would show him the infrared cameras.  The inanimate objects appeared as dark blue while Eve looked like a rainbow of color.  From this view, Porter could see Eve walk into what looked like a solid wall in space and then come out from another.

“Decibels?” He asked again.

The scientist read his screen and hesitated, “Uh, nothing.  Absolutely no sound.  Like something is muting it.”

Porter didn't acknowledge the answer.  He was busy counting seconds in his head as Eve moved faster and faster.

“Full light, now.”

The observation room was bathed in blinding white light.  All at once everything stopped.  The scientists fell silent as they stared.  Every readout indicated that Eve hadn't reappeared.

“I would have explained this if you had asked,” Eve's voice came from the back of the room.

Porter and the scientists turned to see her standing in the shadows of the super-computers.

“If the lights had come on when you were in our dimension you would have been stuck here?”  Porter asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

Porter nodded thoughtfully then strode out of the room.

“Sir,” a scientist called after him.  “We still have to test various light frequencies.”

“Have fun,” Porter replied.  He already knew what they would find.

Porter headed straight for Administration.  Director Kelley was expecting a report on the girl, and he had delayed it as long as possible.

Administration was made up of two high-security buildings set at the back of the Complex.  Neither of the two buildings had any windows but were lit by internal UV lights.

When he reached the door to the second building, he swiped his ID card through the reader.  It took a second for the computer to process the facial recognition data and then the doors released.  In the foyer, two guards stood on either side of a receptionist.

“Good afternoon, Colonel Porter,” she said with a smile.  “How can I help you?”

“I have a report for Kelley,” Porter told her.

Typically, Director Kelley required people to make appointments, and in the back of his mind, Porter hoped he wouldn't see him.  The receptionist picked up her phone and called Kelley's office using an overly polite voice.

The animosity between Porter and Kelley was well-known.  As in most cases of office politics there were those who supported Porter and those who supported Kelley.  Usually, the administrators sided with Kelley, so Porter never expected much courtesy when he was in the building.

“Director Kelley can see you,” the receptionist informed him as she hung up the phone.  “Good luck,” she added when he passed.

The top floor was reserved for executives.  The offices were decorated in dark wood and expensive furniture.  General Carter, in charge of The One US forces, and his four Lieutenant Generals all had offices on this floor.  But their plush lounges paled in comparison to Kelley's.

At the end of the hall was a double door made of solid oak.  Porter didn't bother knocking; he just pushed the doors open and entered.  Director Kelley glared up at him from his paperwork.  To one side of the room there were several couches placed in a semi-circled around a wall of televisions.  On the other side, there was a bar and kitchenette.  Kelley's desk was in the center of the room with two chairs set in front.  Porter had no intention of staying long, so he stood.

“That is why you're still a Colonel,” Kelley said.

There was no point in replying.  Kelley would never understand any reason for not taking a promotion.

“I asked for that report on the girl two days ago,” Kelley went on.

Since Super-Humans emerged, every military force feared the existence of a functional teleporter.  Even a rumor was enough to send governments into a panic.  Not only was it an enormous security risk, but a huge strategic advantage.

“We hadn't finished the tests,” Porter told him.

“And are you done now?” He asked sardonically.

“No,” Porter replied, “I haven't typed it up yet.”

Kelley scowled at him then reached into a drawer.  He took out a recorder and said, “I'll take your verbal report now.”

Porter started, “Subject, known as Eve, is friendly and willingly complies with our requests.  She has an above average intelligence that may be classified as genius.  On several occasions, she has easily discerned the intentions of our tests and offered suggestions.”

“I was told she was an alien,” Kelley interrupted, “but she speaks English?”

“An alternate-dimensional.  I suspect she is self-taught, but I have no evidence to support that theory,” Porter answered.  “Her history is vague at best; our initial understanding is that she's an orphan.  Because of this I suggest the girl be paired with a partner during training.  Her need for companionship will play heavily in her integration here.”

“How thoughtful of you.  What about her ability?”  Kelley demanded.

“Her powers are scientifically extraordinary.  Unlike standard teleportation, where matter is destroyed then instantly created elsewhere, she uses portals.  These portals can only be manifested in shadows, but exert little effect in our dimension.  She uses a technique of creating a portal to pass into her dimension then creating a second portal across from the first to move to any other location she wishes.  The passing has been proven safe for inanimate and animate objects.”

“So none of those messy explosions like other teleporters?”  Kelley questioned.

“No.  Before I had to come here, I was in R&D running tests.  I noted that Eve's ability mutes a certain amount of sound, making her near silent.  Her ease of travel is altered by the amount of light, or in her words, ambient darkness.”

Director Kelley sat back in his chair smiling to himself.  “So am I to understand that the weakness of her power is light?  That she's effectively blocked from her portals without shadows?”

“Yes,” Porter answered.

“Have some training sessions drawn up.  I want her tracked for Observation and Espionage.”

Eve sat in a large two story library flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia.  They didn’t have written language where she came from, so the task of learning to read was trying.  Mostly she focused on the images, something else they didn't have.  The various colors and pictures were like nothing she could have imagined.   All her life Eve had lived in a world of darkness.  It was a place where information was conveyed through words and ideas.  All things had happened and had yet to happen.  Thoughts were as real as something you could hold in your hand.  There was no reason to have pictures when your thoughts existed as tangible objects.

It took her some time to get through the first few pages, having stopped to examine each image thoroughly.  She flipped a page and came across something that baffled her.  The title was nearly impossible for her to sound out, but underneath it were two words she understood.

“Northern lights,” she said aloud.

In the hallway outside the library, Robert had been watching her for a few moments.  The girl had been immersed in the encyclopedia and hadn't noticed him.  She sat there with perfect posture, flipping pages with a calculated movement.  It was a disconcerting sight to see a young girl move like one of Henry's robots.  Other than the clothes, she looked like an ordinary girl to Robert, but he supposed she could pass as Goth.  He laughed to himself.

When Porter had ordered him to watch her, Robert assumed it was due to her being a security risk.  They might as well have called her a bomb and told him to make sure it didn't go off, like they had done with him.  Still, he couldn't muster up the caution they thought was necessary.  To him, Eve was a girl in the same situation he once was.  Yes, she needed to be looked after, but not watched.

Robert nodded to the guard who was standing at the door and walked into the library.  He caught a glance at what she was looking at in the book.

“It's in Alaska,” he said.  Eve looked up as though she had been expecting him.  “During certain seasons in Alaska it's always dark and in others it's always light.”

“Yes, I read about this,” Eve said.

“Would you like to visit?”  Robert asked trying to keep up the conversation.

“No,” she replied quickly then paused for a moment.  “Is Alaska the only place light stays?”

Robert caught the hint of fear and tried his best to reassure her without lying.  “It only happens in places far north or far south.”  He crossed the room and grabbed a globe from a shelf.  He pointed as he talked, “Alaska is up here and all around this line the sun acts funny.  Down here too.”

“Are we close to Alaska?” Eve asked.

“We're here,” he pointed to Colorado.

“This is good?”  It was half question, half statement.

Robert stifled a chuckle.  “Uh, well, winter is coming so the sun will be on the other side of the planet a little longer.”  He watched as Eve thought about this.  “Winter is about one hundred and ninety days long.”  Eve seemed mesmerized by the globe.  “Come on let me show you the Complex.”  As they left, Robert noticed Eve glance back.  “Did you enjoy the library?” He asked.

“Yes, it was comfortable,” Eve replied.

“It's a public room so you can come back anytime you want,” he said.

“Thank you,” Eve made a slight bow.

This time Robert couldn’t help but laugh.  The formality of her response was comical coming from someone her age.  Worried that he'd offended her Robert watched her face, but she didn't seem to notice.

“You're not much like the teenagers around here are you?” Robert said.

“My world is much different,” she replied.

As they walked along the hallway, they passed several rooms.  The doors were marked with signs that said things like, Chemistry, History, and Linguistics.

“This is where we hold some of the classes for the cadets,” Robert informed her.  As they approached an intersection, he brought Eve to a map on the wall.  “This is The Complex; it’s about the size of a small city.”