CODE X:Episode 1 (4 page)

Chapter 8

Vicki is sitting
inside Dr. Landau’s office, with a serious look on her face. “It’s
no use. My fiancé’s against it. I’m not going anywhere without
him.”

Dr. Landau paces nervously back and forth
behind his desk with his putter as a cane. “I understand. Maybe I
could talk to him, try to make him understand how important this
project is to the country; appeal to the patriot in him.”

“I don’t think you understand doctor. That’s
impossible. Once he, no, not he,
we
, decide to do something,
we will never change our mind. Nicholas Parks is one stubborn man,
and I love him for that. We decided no together.”

He changes into a calm demeanor, leans over
and shakes her hand. “My dear, please call me if you change your
mind. You’re always welcome to join our team.”

“No, I’ll never join...no thank you” as she
exits through the door.

Henry has been standing, arms crossed, with
his back to the wall, watching, like the Sphinx, smiling like
always. The man seems almost giddy with that smile of his.

Dr. Landau’s face tenses, and his eyes
narrow into cracks, no longer looking like the cool TV doctor, but
now a force of evil boils from within. Through clenched teeth he
hisses, “My dear Henry, Dr. Collins boyfriend is going to stop my
project.”

“Should I implement Clear Sail?” he asks the
doctor.

Dr. Landau trembles as he tries to regain
control of his emotions, “I’m running out of time.” He moves to the
putting ramp and pulls a ball towards him, but whacks it back so
hard it jumps the ramp and slams into the wall. “Nobody will stop
our project. It’s too important to the cause.”

His breathing becomes deeper as he works
himself to a frenzy while his eyes dart, twitching back and forth,
seeming to change into fireballs from Hell to Henry. He raises the
putter above his head like a sledgehammer, hits the ball return and
smashes it to pieces. He’s in a crazed fury, turns, and spots the
aquarium, then sits down softly in his chair, slowly smooths his
hair back. Now, he takes a deep breath, expels it very slow.

But immediately, his breathing quickens,
faster and faster until he leaps out of his chair. “No one ever
tells me ‘no’!”

He swings the putter like a ball bat,
destroying the front glass of the aquarium. The water gushes out in
a slow motion, the aftermath is shattered glass and expensive
flopping fish on the floor.

Landau’s exhausted and relieved as he
straightens his tie. He quickly places himself back to a settled
silence. The man now says in a clear, calm voice as he sits down,
“My dear Henry, terminate the problem.”

Chapter 9

Inside their condo,
Parks readies a candlelight dinner in the dining room. He wants to
give a welcome home and thank you meal to Vicki for turning Landau
down. He moves to the oven to check on the roast, pinches a taste
off of it, smiles, and then shuts the door. He pauses, turns his
head side-to-side.

Hell, they would not even know where they
were going to live. The secret life would be theirs in total
isolation from the outside world. The worst part would be that they
would be under the control of Alomet enforcing the National Secrets
Act on them. Put Vicki in a lab working and she’s totally happy,
even out in La La land. But what about him? He shakes his head no
again with emphasis, then he says it out loud. “
Hell… no!”
He moves to the candle-lit living room and grabs the bowl holding
rose petals, then sprinkles them on the floor as he walks to the
bedroom.

His cell phone rings and he sees it’s
Vicki’s number, he answers. “Hello?”

“Nicholas?” he recognizes her voice.
“Nicholas honey, I had an emergency call out on highway 29. I got
turned around and ended up on the old abandoned section bypassed by
the new road. My car broke down near the closed manufacturing
plant. Since you’re only 15 minutes away, can you come pick me
up?”

Parks replies…

In a black SUV passenger seat down the
street from their condo, Henry hears Parks’ voice come out over the
speaker, “I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Where exactly are you?”

“I’m in the parking lot Nicholas...I’m
scared. Please hurry.”

“Don’t worry, honey-I’m leaving now,” he
reassures her.

With every word he speaks, amber lights
flash in sync on a device inside an open suitcase on the seat.
Wires run from the device to a microphone strapped onto Henry’s
head.

Henry speaks, “I love you. Bye,” and Vicki’s
voice comes out of the speaker! He disconnects the phone, packs it
up. With a big smile, he turns to the driver, Jimmy, a young, crew
cut, muscled chap like himself, who chews gum fast to soothe his
nerves. “This shits great. Every time they make a new Mission
Impossible movie, ops comes up with new toys.” He pokes the driver.
“Here he comes.”

They watch Parks exit the building, enter
his car, then pull out. The SUV tails him.

Parks’ car slows as he approaches the old
abandoned plant. The place is a dark silhouette against the night
sky having been empty for the last 10 years. There are no lights on
that five mile stretch of highway or at the plant. It’s an old two
lane highway built in the 1930s with uncut brush overgrown in the
deep drainage ditches down below the road. He struggles to see in
the dark because he can’t see Vicki’s car anywhere.

Behind him, creeping up slow and steady with
no lights on, the SUV approaches within 100 feet of Parks. Henry
holds a one-handed mini rocket launcher that looks like a big
handgun, except that a 12” long silver-tipped rocket protrudes from
the barrel. He twists the red tip on the end of the rocket and the
small green light on it turns red.

“Damnit where is she?” Parks mutters to
himself. He stops and as he reaches in to pull out his cell phone
to call Vicki, he notices the vehicle’s shadow behind in the rear
view mirror. “What the hell, turn your lights on,” Parks mutters.
He rolls the window down, motions, and says out loud “come on
around.”

Henry holds the launcher out the side
window, “Look, he’s waving bye-bye...Bye.”

He fires the rocket and Parks watches in the
mirror in slow motion as the rocket whooshes towards his car. A
loud crash occurs as it smashes through the rear windshield past
Parks’ face, then makes a loud thunk as it hits the windshield. No
explosion!

Parks slams on the brakes as his eyes gape
at the smoking rocket lying on the floor. He looks back at the
stopped car, slams the gas pedal down.

Henry yells, “Jimmy, it’s a fucking dud!
Stop!” He opens the shiny metal case on the floor and grabs the
remaining rocket. He sees Parks’ tires smoke as he slides the last
rocket down the launch tube, twists the tip on.

As his tires scream, Parks spots the plant
entrance on the right. He hard turns the car and zooms in. The
entrance has a rise and catapults the speeding car through the air.
He tells himself, “this is better than that straight line highway
29.” He notices the car behind him has turned his lights on. Parks
whips left down a twisting road, but he sees a small mound in front
of him and punches it, another airborne short launch is caused by a
speed bump. “Let’s see if you can get a lock on me now.”

“You’re gonna have to speed it up to get me
in range of that sports car of his.” Henry’s driver floors it.

Parks sees small mountains of factory waste
dumped in the yard. It’s big enough for him to play hide and seek
with the car in pursuit. “Gotta work my way back to the highway,”
he says to himself. He zig zags behind the 20 or so piles each as
tall as a small hill.

“Don’t lose him, he’s cornered in here. He’s
got to make a run for the highway, so pull back to where I can get
a good shot when he makes a break for it.” The driver moves into
position and, points the car towards the exit.

Parks stops since he no longer sees the
other car chasing him. He gets his bearings then sees the exit a
half mile away. He floors it, his tires spin gravel out behind them
before they get a grip, then shoots- him forward like a rocket.

Henry sees the lights on Parks’ car as he is
gaining speed to make his move. “Got you, you little prick.” As
soon as Parks car hits the highway, Henry fires the second
rocket.

Parks sees the rocket’s flame speeding at
him.

The rocket dips, weaves, locks onto his
tailpipe.

Parks whips his car hard right onto the
highway. Against the G forces of his turn, he strains to fling open
his door to make the deep ditches off to the side. He tries to dive
out. It’s no use.

The rocket makes the hard right into his
tailpipe.
Boom!
The car explodes skyward. Another explosion
as the gas tank explodes, then another as the dud explodes.

He pokes his driver. “Jimmy, did you see
that? His ass has to be toast.” Henry claps his hands rapidly.

Chapter 10

Aftermath - Abandoned Highway 29

On old Highway 29, FOX reporter Jenna and
her cameraman, Simon, approach a major police scene. Police lights
are flashing everywhere, makeshift road barriers block the highway
and, a smattering of black SUVs and sedans also dot the scene. An
unmarked tow truck backs up to the charred, pretzel-twisted remains
of Parks’ Camaro. No doors, just a black, smoking skeletal hulk is
all that’s left, the open trunk bounces up and down as the truck
lifts it.

A lieutenant in the LAPD talks into his
lapel radio with an earplug leading out from his belt.

The lieutenant is agitated, “This guy’s
blocked us from this site claiming national security jurisdiction
for the NSA Captain. He says it’s a top secret operation on a
need-to-know...,” he presses his earplug down, listens……
“Okay…Okay, I got it”

He turns to Henry, “You were right buddy.
Command says I take orders from you. We’re your bitches for
now.”

Henry’s frozen smile continues as he stands
next to the cop listening, when he spots the TV news van pull up to
the roadblock.

Jenna, with her overexposed, showy long
legs, jumps out. Simon, a young black man, pulls the camera out
from the rear of the van, then starts filming the scene.

Henry barks an order, “Lieutenant seize that
film. Then get them the hell out of here.”

“Shit! I gotta piss the press off.”

“Be a good cop. Don’t get her itching for
more news. The FAA has put a quarantine on the air space blocking
any news choppers. The country depends on our keeping this quiet.
We’re lucky it happened in an abandoned section of the highway.
Have your men block the area off and make sure there are no cell
phone pictures taken of the crime scene.”

Henry strolls around the site ringed by men
in dark blue unmarked jackets while keeping his eye on the
lieutenant, as the officer moves to the reporter. Jenna argues
vehemently. She stomps her foot, points back to the van, wags her
finger in the cop’s face. The lieutenant stands frozen, then
extends his hand. Jenna slumps her shoulders, finally nods okay.
Simon removes the digital film cassette in his camera, then puts it
in the lieutenant’s hand. Simon and Jenna storm off to reenter the
van. Henry’s smile gets wider.

Talking to no one in particular she
sputters, “Bastards! Film or jail. Who the fuck do they think they
are?” Jenna’s spitting mad and can’t keep quiet. “You have 20
seconds to leave immediately or else,” as she greatly exaggerates
what was said to her. “Simon, they picked the wrong reporter to
make their enemy. I will make it my crusade to get to the bottom of
what the fuck they are hiding.”

They hop inside the van. Simon circles the
vehicles, then heads out. They move out heading down the
highway.

Simon asks, “You really think they’re hiding
something?”

Jenna “It doesn’t matter what I think. I
can’t report what I think. I’d like to know who was in that
car.”

From behind the seats, a blackened hand
grips her shoulder. Jenna screams! Simon slams the brakes so hard
the tires squeal to a halt.

“I was. Keep going. We’ve got to get to Dr.
Vicki Collins house. She’s in danger.” It’s Parks covered in soot,
who now looks like a burnt marshmallow.

Chapter 11

Condo Complex

Three black vans pull up to Vicki’s condo,
the occupants pour out. Ski-masked commandos, weapons ready, signal
to each other as they position themselves around her house. Another
man brings forward a battering ram. The masked man beside him nods.
He busts the door open with a loud crash. They pour into the house.
“Fan out. Search,” someone commands. Seconds pass, “clear,” is
shouted out loud to alert the invaders.

One of the masked men moves out to the
porch, then speaks into the mini-mic mounted near his mouth. “Sir,
he’s not here.”

A voice comes back, “secure the doctor. I’ll
meet her at the vehicle to settle her down.”

Inside Vicki’s bedroom, the loud commotion
terrifies her. She scrambles for her cell phone. Dials 911. Puts it
to her ear, silence, no dial tone. Frantic, she dials again. She
slumps down on the bed. “what’s happening?”

Commandos burst through her door. She jumps
up and backs away until she hits the wall. The lead man snatches
the phone from her hand.

“They cut your service Dr. Collins. Come
with us. You’re the target of an assassin.” He speaks loud and
clear to assure her, they’re the good guys.

“That’s absurd. I don’t believe you.”

“Doctor, there’s no time for talk. Boys,
take her.” He steps aside as two men rush to her and grab her arms,
half dragging her out.

“This is insane! Let go of me!” She fights
back as best she can.

Two officers drag Vicki downstairs.

Chapter 12

The TV van
approaches Vicki’s condo community. “Slow down Simon; I got a
feeling Parks is right.” As they enter Vicki’s complex, they see a
beehive of police activity that signals bedlam. A SWAT van now sits
in front of her house. Cruisers with lights flashing rush past the
van, police scurry to set up crime tape around the condo.