The Revelation Chronicles: Evolution Read online

  Chapter 21

  Agent Simmons arrived and stepped out of his vehicle. Local police had already taken the initiative and cordoned off the area. He flashed his credentials and was promptly let through. ‘Humanity Sucks’ was painted in graffiti in large letters along the outer wall of the building, perhaps as a message to responding law enforcement units.

  He removed his sunglasses and hooked them on the shirt pocket beneath his windbreaker.

  “Give me a sit-rep,” he said crisply, addressing the agent in charge.

  Agent Reynolds, a seasoned field agent in his own right, who’d been with the FBI for eight years, looked up from his notepad rather perturbed at first. But, upon realizing who had addressed him in such a fashion, he stiffened.

  “Terrorists charged the main gate and assaulted the guards. There were six casualties. By all accounts, it appears to be the same group that attacked the UN,” he replied.

  “What did they take?”

  Agent Reynolds checked his notes.

  “A few microprocessors and other hardware. We’re still trying to get an accurate assessment of everything that was taken.”

  Agent Simmons was not pleased.

  “I need that information now. Track down the building manager.”

  Agent Simmons ran through the information he'd been presented with so far while Reynolds radioed for someone to locate the building manager.

  “I find it odd they hit this building and only managed to make off with some computer equipment that could've easily been purchased at any electronics store,” he mused.

  “Yes, I agree,” Agent Reynolds responded. He didn't even bother to offer any theories of his own—not that he had a whole lot to go on. He was fairly adept at field investigative work, but he didn’t hold a candle to the likes of Agent Simmons, who was revered as a savant back at Quantico.

  Reynolds observed quietly while Agent Simmons processed the crime scene.

  Why did they pick this place? He thought internally. None of it made any sense. What made this particular software firm such a high value target for a group of alien beings who had already kidnapped the second-most powerful man on Earth?

  After what seemed an eternity, Agent Kim, a slender, attractive Asian-American agent in her late twenties finally arrived with the building manager.

  “This is Mr. Ronald Troutman, president and CEO for Synetech Industries,” she said, introducing the man. He wasn't your typical CEO by the looks of him. He was young, in his mid-thirties, and appeared to be in great shape.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Troutman,” said Agent Simmons. “What can you tell me about what happened here?”

  “Not much. According to my men, a bunch of lunatics broke through the gate and started attacking them. And they didn’t use weapons; at least not the kind you FBI boys are packing. They were probably the same ones from that U.N. business, I imagine. I saw something on the internet a few weeks back about an alien attack or something, but I thought it was all a joke until now. Is that why the FBI is here?”

  “All I can tell you is this is definitely not a joke,” Agent Simmons responded curtly, ignoring the man’s question. “I’m more concerned about what they took, or rather didn’t take. What exactly does your company Synetech do?”

  “We are a small company that specializes in cutting-edge computer components and accessories.”

  “Is that all?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Look, I’m just as baffled as you are that these psychos decided to hit my company specifically, but we have nothing to hide. I'm being completely honest with you. We barely met our overhead last quarter and we’re treading water with the likelihood of going under soon. Not to mention, bad press like this is sure to wreak havoc on our stocks. So, I don’t see why they would have chosen my company other than pure coincidence.”

  “Mr. Troutman, I’m sorry for your company’s predicament, but I don’t believe in coincidences. Everything happens for a reason,” Agent Simmons said, looking around him. “You just have to know where to look.”

  He scanned the area with skilled, astute eyes, trusting his instincts to lead the way.

  “What’s the closest police precinct?”

  “The 9th Precinct is about ten minutes away,” said Agent Kim.

  “And the initial call reported suspects matching the description of the attackers at the U.N. were involved, correct?”

  Both Agent Kim and Agent Reynolds checked their notes.

  “Come on, keep up,” said Agent Simmons, his patience waning.

  “That’s correct, sir,” Agent Kim responded.

  “Dammit,” he said, running a hand along his bald head. “The attackers knew the response time, probably did a few dry runs in the past. Check with local PD and see what we come up with. Thank you, Mr. Troutman for your cooperation. You may go now. My office will be in touch if we need anything further. Come with me, Agent Reynolds.”

  Agent Kim escorted Mr. Troutman away.

  “Something about this whole thing doesn’t feel right. They knew as soon as word of another attack by this group Evolution hit the airwaves, law enforcement would swarm all over the scene like bees to honey. They even left a nice calling card to sweeten the pot.”

  Agent Simmons stared at the graffiti along the wall. One image in particular drew his eye. The image of an ape evolving into man. After the image of the man was a question mark.

  “So, what are you thinking, sir?” Agent Reynolds asked.

  “I’m thinking this was a distraction, sleight-of-hand like magicians use. Misdirection. We were led here to this very spot. But I think the real crime was committed somewhere else, quite possibly close. It may even be going down as we speak.”

  Agent Simmons surveyed the surrounding buildings that dotted the landscape before one in particular piqued his interest.

  “And I think I may just know where.”

  Chapter 22

  “I need you to take me there now,” I said, turning to face Standeval.

  “No, absolutely not,” he said, folding his arms. “That wasn’t our deal. Our deal was for me to bring you here. That was the extent of my involvement. Why don’t you just fly on down there yourself? You don’t need me.”

  “And what about the others? We need to get there as quickly as possible before more people get hurt. You have the ability to get us all there with little effort. What is your problem?”

  “I don’t have a problem at all. And this situation is definitely NOT my problem.”

  “Standeval, you STOP this foolishness right this instance!” Ms. Parkman’s voice shrieked, causing me to flash back briefly to my college days.

  “I’ve had just about enough of your cavalier attitude. One instance of compassion is not enough to pay Charlie back for your past indiscretions. You are both in this together. The time has come for you to own up to your position in life. No more lies. No more secrets. No more running from your past.”

  “Don’t you dare go there,” Standeval warned. I’d never seen him so visibly disturbed. I knew of no force on Earth that could achieve that result, but apparently Ms. Parkman did. I was loving it.

  “I’m not that person anymore. This is not my fight.”

  “Quite the contrary. You can either keep struggling against the chains that bind you or you can set yourself free. You already have the key in your possession. Now is the time.”

  Standeval tapped his cane on the floor irritably, causing little red sparks each time it struck. “I need a drink.” He sauntered to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until he found a half-emptied bottle of bourbon.

  “When are you going to stop hiding from yourself? The past is the past. What you did is done and cannot be undone.”

  “What are you two talking about?” I asked. There’s nothing more I hate than when someone talks about you or around you, but never actually to you.

  “She’s trying to tug on my heart strings. Lucky for me, I don’t have one.”

  “Tell him,” Ms. Par
kman insisted. I could see the desperation in her eyes.

  “Tell me what?”

  Standeval groaned. “This is not going to go over well.”

  “What?” I repeated, a little louder this time in case they hadn’t heard me, which was next to impossible.

  “He won’t understand. None of them will.”

  “That’s not your place to decide,” Ms. Parkman argued. She wasn’t about to give up trying to make him see reason.

  “Stop talking around me and talk to me!” I yelled. I didn't know if I really wanted to know what they were talking about, but I’d had enough of the back-and-forth game. I was liable to blow a gasket if someone didn’t start telling me something soon.

  Standeval found a glass in the cupboard and poured himself a two-finger splash, throwing it down with ease.

  “You may want to sit down for this one, kid.”

  “I’m fine, I think I’ll stand. Start talking.”

  “Well… you were bound to find out eventually. I’m actually surprised Viktor didn’t tell you himself.”

  If the suspense wasn’t killing me, I feared what I was about to find out would almost certainly finish the job.

  “Viktor?” I said, thunderstruck. “Surprised he didn’t tell me what?”

  “That we are family, Charlie,” Standeval said with the calm of a brain surgeon. “You and I are brothers.”

  Chapter 23

  My head was spinning and the blood pumping in my ears was thunderous. How could it be that the one person I hated worse than my own father was actually my brother? Who did I piss off in the universe to deserve this?

  “I know this may come as a shock to you, but it’s the truth, kid,” Standeval said.

  “Stop calling me kid,” I warned. Now I was fuming.

  “Try and stay calm, Charlie,” Ms. Parkman urged.

  “That’s a pretty tall order considering what you two just dumped on me, wouldn’t you say?”

  She’s just trying to help, Kara said telepathically. Hear her out. I’m not saying it was right to withhold that information from you, but I can see the logic. You were told what you needed to hear to motivate you and stop Viktor.

  “Wait, so you knew the whole time, too?” I asked Kara, not even bothering to reply telepathically. “You knew the whole while we were tracking this egomaniac that he was my brother? Oh, this is just fantastic!” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Anything else you guys care to tell me?”

  “This situation just went nuclear,” Nick said under his breath. He grabbed his jacket. “I’ll be outside,” he whispered to Michael.

  “I think we’ll join you,” he said. Allison followed him out.

  “Maybe I should go, too,” said Kara.

  “No, stay,” I insisted. “You already know so much, there’s really no reason to leave. Everyone in this room seems to be in the know except for the one person that matters the most.”

  “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a tinge?” asked Standeval. “I get it. You didn’t know you were from another planet. And you didn’t know your dad was a sociopath hell-bent on world domination, not to mention a big brother you despise for no particular reason. That’s no cause to take it out those frustrations on this poor young lady.”

  “Thanks for your shallow concern, but I don’t need your sympathy,” said Kara. “And I know when I’m not welcome.”

  She stormed out of the room. I didn’t pick up any words from her telepathically, just the color red. Lots and lots of red.

  Ms. Parkman shook her head in disappointment.

  “That girl really cares for you, Charlie. Be careful you don’t push her away. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t always come back.”

  “You should listen to her,” Standeval added, taking another drink. “That’s really good advice.”

  “You’re in no position to give me advice, so don’t fool yourself.”

  “I told you this wasn’t a good idea,” Standeval said crassly. “Now the poor kid’s a bag of mixed emotions.”

  “You have no idea how I feel. So… for the moment, we are going to pretend that you didn’t just drop a huge pipe bomb on me. We can discuss that later. I need to get my team downtown, find Freddy, and try to stop him before someone else gets hurt. Can you get us there or not?”

  “Well—since you put it like that, all doom and gloom. I guess I can offer my expertise. But we have lots to talk about, so I don’t expect you to go dying on me during this little venture of yours, dear brother.”

  “Don’t call me that. You haven’t earned it. And don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just get me there. We will discuss this later. Make no mistake about that.”

  Standeval smiled and poured himself another drink, tossing the glass back with zeal.

  “AHH!” he bellowed, smacking his lips together before slamming the glass on the counter. “Well, then. We’d best get a move on, shall we? The clock is ticking.”

  Chapter 24

  “On second thought, I think I’m over that mode of travel,” said Nick, dry-heaving as we arrived. “You can just text me the GPS coordinates in the future. I’ll book my own travel plans from now on. I’m plenty fast on my own you know.”

  “If only your brain moved as fast,” said Kara.

  “Where are we?” I asked. Near as I could tell, we were on the rooftop of a high-rise in the downtown district.

  “You asked me to locate your friend and now here we are. He’s somewhere on these premises. And this,” Standeval said, twirling his cane, “is where I bid you adieu. I got you here; the rest is up to you.”

  The tip of his cane struck the gravel-covered roof with modest force and he was gone in a flash of crimson light.

  “I really dislike that guy,” said Nick. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve met a single member of your family that I like. No disrespect, of course.”

  “Why don’t you do everyone a favor and try not to speak for a while?” said Michael.

  I smiled slightly, even though we still had unfinished business between us. But anyone that could shut Nick up for longer than thirty seconds deserved a gold star for the day in my book.

  “Hey!” Kara said aloud in a crisp, stinging voice, snapping me back to the task at hand. “Get your head in the game. What’s the plan?”

  “Right; let’s focus on what we came here to do,” I said, looking around.

  I didn’t really have a plan, aside from bursting in, finding Freddy, and slapping some much-needed sense into him. But that was my emotions talking. All the evidence clearly indicated that no plan at all could get someone hurt. Or worse, killed. There was no way to determine what state of mind Freddy was in, not to mention his partners in crime.

  “Do you need to have line of sight to sense a person’s thoughts and manipulate them, or can you do it blindly?” I asked Kara. “I’d really like to know what’s waiting for us on the other side of that door.”

  “It worked for me at the factory. I’ll give it another try,” she said, closing her eyes and focusing with an index finger pressed to her temple.

  We all waited quietly while she worked. Moments later, jangling keys could be heard on the other side of the roof access door just before it opened. The man who opened it was apparently an employee, based on the name tag attached to his shirt:

  Tom Donaldson

  Custodial Services,

  Astrid Technologies

  He appeared to be in a stupor or some sort of dream state.

  “Who the heck is this?” Michael asked apprehensively. Flames ignited over his clenched fists.

  “He’s not who we’re looking for,” Kara reassured us. “He was hiding in a janitorial closet on the fifth floor. He has nothing to do with any of this.”

  “So you were able to use your powers to find him,” I said, relieved. “What else did you find out?”

  “I read his mind and saw his thoughts. It’s bad, Charlie,” she said, her eyes filled with dread.

  I need
to know what’s on the other side of that door, Kara. I can deal with whatever we come across.

  I’m not so sure you can.

  She was hesitant. I too could sense something wasn’t right; that we were about to face something we hadn’t encountered before. But, I couldn’t let that deter us.

  “Are you guys doing that creepy internal conversation thingy again?” Nick asked. “We don’t have time for that. Listen, I’ll just run in real quick and have a look-see. They won’t even know I’m there. Be right back!”

  “Nick, no!” I shouted. But it was of little use. The blond speedster was already inside and down the stairs before the words even escaped my lips.

  “Well, I’m not waiting around here for an invitation either,” Michael said, and ducked inside after him.

  “Is this really happening? Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?”

  “Hey, don’t look at me,” Kara said. “You don’t see me rushing in blindly do you?”

  “Let’s go.”

  I hurried down the stairs with Kara close at my heels, conscious of the growing anxiety inside me. I was wary of what would happen next. And for good reason, as I would soon find out.

  Chapter 25

  “There are at least three others with Freddy,” Kara yelled from behind me. “I was able to get a glimpse of them from the janitor’s head. It’s not pretty. Freddy’s not…,” she hesitated, “…himself.”

  I heard her, but I wasn’t really listening. Some part of me wouldn’t let my brain process the words. Wouldn't let me accept the fact that my best friend had gone off the reservation. I guess it was something my brain would have to accept eventually, something akin to the phantom pain amputees experience after the loss of a limb. Freddy would have been considered my right hand. But time heals all wounds, they say.

  Well, I was going to need a boatload of time if I was to ever comprehend what my eyes were about to see.

  Rounding the corner, I was greeted by the sight of Nick immobilized in some sort of force field that emanated from a gangly man with silver streaks in his hair. He laughed maniacally as he observed Nick struggle to free himself. My eyes darted around the room in search of Michael and finally found him several yards away engaging a very large adversary.