*Get away from me Tess,* Kyle repeated, *Nobody wants to be near a monster who takes advantage of them while they sleep*
Even in the darkness he could see the tears roll down her cheeks as she replied.
*I'm sorry Kyle...I know it was wrong...but It only happened twice...and we never got past second base..*
*What?* he said, turning his head to face her, *I don't understand. I try to rape you in your sleep, and you're apologizing to me?*
*What??? You mean this is all about ...THAT?? You didn't try to rape me Kyle....and I wasn't asleep...the gas knocked you out before I could get to you though...and it was probably just as well, those bone marow aspirations really hurt*
Kyle felt the bruise over the iliac bone,..it really did hurt. He wondered suddenly how many of those she had faced....wide awake, just laying there feigning sleep.
*But when I woke up...I must have crawled onto you an was about to...*
*No, the lab techs put you up there......well, OK, I mindwarped them into putting you there, but they were thinking about doing it anyway to win a betting pool, and ...well they'd been talking about doing a testicle biopsy on you..., so I kind of wanted you somewhere ...safe. I think you were just kind of reacting to us being so close when you awoke..* 'I know I was..' *...and it was just sort of a reflex...but I did kind of mindwarp you when you were half asleep before...just to caress me though...and ....and I'm sorry I'm a monster Kyle...*
Kyle was starting to go from self-loathing because he thought he'd attacked Tess, to self loathing for making her feel so bad. It wasn't much of an improvement.
*I'm sorry, Tess...sorry I said that...* Tess, Kyle realized, had never had anyone or anything...not even a stuffed animal or toy. It made sense that she'd be curious...and probably develop an attachment to the first person who treated her decently. It wasn't her fault, and he regretted his ill chosen words of self-loathing that had hurt her feelings so badly.
*Tess...Lord knows I don't mind being close to you...touching you...but it's not fair...not fair to you...not fair to me. You've got no basis for comparison and I don't want you to feel locked in to a relationship that you decide later you'd rather not be....*
The flash hit her then...a flash of insight. Kyle had only loved two women in his life....one...his mother... had deserted him, and the scars of that episode were still raw. Her heart leaped as she saw in his soul...SHE was the second....
*I'm NOT going to change my mind, Kyle...but I think I understand. But I'll do what we agreed on,...when we get out of here I'll have those six 'dates,' and when I have...it'll still be you. But you can come back to the pad and get warm now...Oh Kyle, sometimes you can be such a sweet idiot...you could never rape me...I could stop you by mindwarping you...I could stop you by powerblasting you...but I know you could never let yourself hurt me. Besides, it's only rape if I'm unwilling, and I'm not unwilling...., I'm not quite the innocent child you think I am*
*You may not be a child, Tess...but you are innocent....and I just want you to be sure when the time comes.*
They crawled back onto the pad and he put his arm around her, feeling her back against his chest as they spooned together, warmed not just by her powers but by their own internal fires. Eventually his right hand found her breast and caressed it gently, bringing deep sighs from both of them, neither quite sure whose mind had sent the hand there, as they drifted off to sleep together.....
Specimen (AU T/K Adult) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/10
Last edited by greywolf on Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/12
It was 6:40AM ...and the pull of the real world on Isabel was strong. She knew the dream orb was fading and she left it with more than a little regret. The dances tonight had an intimacy they had never had, and she'd spent most of them snuggled against Alex Whitman's chest. When she awoke, she found things little different, however. Sometime during the night she had migrated to his side of the bed...and found herself snuggled against his chest. She smiled as she looked up at him, 'It just keeps getting better and better...'
It had been a slow dance, and she had done most of it with her cheek held tightly against his shoulder. But she had just slowly faded away, and Alex felt the dream orb slowly dissolve around him. But somehow, the closeness really didn't change, and he felt the pressure of a warm body against his chest, his nose smelling the sweet aroma of ylang-ylang, the scent that had followed him through his dreams, and his hand feeling satin against his palm, as he pulled her closer to him.
He opened his eyes and saw her smiling face looking up at him...as if she'd been watching and waiting for him to awaken. "Good morning, Isabel," he said...instantly embarassed that he couldn't come up with something more suave and debonair, considering he was actually living his greatest dream. Her smile deepened, if the expression had been a trite one, it didn't seem to bother her.
"Good morning Alex....did you have sweet dreams?"
"You have no idea..."
He wasn't sure why, but THAT statement certainly amused her, and her face favored him with a quick smile that mostly hid her blushing.
"Well, I did too, but....you probably need to get dressed and leave...the window might be a good idea...before my father wakes up, and decides he needs to march us both to the church with a shotgun."
"If that's supposed to be a threat, it's a pretty unthreatening one...," he said without thinking. Then blushed, even as she blushed...'My God, Alex...you just sort of proposed to her...' If ever a statement was going to draw fire from an Ice Princess it was that sort of presumptiousness. But she let it pass. 'Why did I ever believe she was an Ice Princess,' Alex asked himself. The world had changed so much in just the last twelve or thirteen hours.
But Isabel just smiled... "Be that as it may...Alex, I think you better get dressed and go now, as pleasant as this has been."
"Am I ever going to see you again? I mean, to dance with you like yesterday?"
"Well, there is the end of school battle of the bands and dance tonight at the UFOnics....I was planning on going there."
"If I was there would you be upset if I invited you to dance..I mean...I know all your Ice Princess friends would be there and would see us."
"Ice princesses are never really FRIENDS, Alex. Most of them are barely human."
"I know one that is, Isabel....you. I thought you were so cold....but you couldn't be more human."
'If I was,' thought Isabel, 'I'd hold on to you Alex...and never let go.'
"I'd be delighted to go with you, Alex. I don't really care what the Ice Princess Posse thinks."
"Well, I could pick you up at 7:00. Or 5:30 even, and we could have dinner at the Crash before the dance. I mean...it wouldn't have to be a date or anything, if that made you uncomfortable."
"Alex.....you spent the night in my BED, for Pete's sake. Why would I be uncomfortable with you taking me to dinner and a dance?"
"Uh...5:30 it is then..."
"It's a DATE, Alex.....now get out of here before my parents come in and I wind up grounded."
Five minutes later she was at the window, watching him turn the corner and disappear.
'So what if it's a date?' she asked herself. 'Even if I somehow slipped up...I trust Alex, no matter how paranoid Max and Michael might be about us interacting with humans.'
At 6:45 AM as the lights came on in the holding room of the Facility, Kyle blinked away his sleepiness, and found himself looking into Tess's face.
*Wake up sleepyhead* she thought, giving him a soft kiss on the lips, *...we have another busy day of pretending to play chess while you talk to me about the outside world and we start to plan our escape. But before that...is there any chance you might shower with me? You can soap my back in places that I can't reach*
*Sure, Tess...I'd be glad to....*
It would be three days before he remembered their captors had never supplied the shower with soap, and likely never would.
It had been a slow dance, and she had done most of it with her cheek held tightly against his shoulder. But she had just slowly faded away, and Alex felt the dream orb slowly dissolve around him. But somehow, the closeness really didn't change, and he felt the pressure of a warm body against his chest, his nose smelling the sweet aroma of ylang-ylang, the scent that had followed him through his dreams, and his hand feeling satin against his palm, as he pulled her closer to him.
He opened his eyes and saw her smiling face looking up at him...as if she'd been watching and waiting for him to awaken. "Good morning, Isabel," he said...instantly embarassed that he couldn't come up with something more suave and debonair, considering he was actually living his greatest dream. Her smile deepened, if the expression had been a trite one, it didn't seem to bother her.
"Good morning Alex....did you have sweet dreams?"
"You have no idea..."
He wasn't sure why, but THAT statement certainly amused her, and her face favored him with a quick smile that mostly hid her blushing.
"Well, I did too, but....you probably need to get dressed and leave...the window might be a good idea...before my father wakes up, and decides he needs to march us both to the church with a shotgun."
"If that's supposed to be a threat, it's a pretty unthreatening one...," he said without thinking. Then blushed, even as she blushed...'My God, Alex...you just sort of proposed to her...' If ever a statement was going to draw fire from an Ice Princess it was that sort of presumptiousness. But she let it pass. 'Why did I ever believe she was an Ice Princess,' Alex asked himself. The world had changed so much in just the last twelve or thirteen hours.
But Isabel just smiled... "Be that as it may...Alex, I think you better get dressed and go now, as pleasant as this has been."
"Am I ever going to see you again? I mean, to dance with you like yesterday?"
"Well, there is the end of school battle of the bands and dance tonight at the UFOnics....I was planning on going there."
"If I was there would you be upset if I invited you to dance..I mean...I know all your Ice Princess friends would be there and would see us."
"Ice princesses are never really FRIENDS, Alex. Most of them are barely human."
"I know one that is, Isabel....you. I thought you were so cold....but you couldn't be more human."
'If I was,' thought Isabel, 'I'd hold on to you Alex...and never let go.'
"I'd be delighted to go with you, Alex. I don't really care what the Ice Princess Posse thinks."
"Well, I could pick you up at 7:00. Or 5:30 even, and we could have dinner at the Crash before the dance. I mean...it wouldn't have to be a date or anything, if that made you uncomfortable."
"Alex.....you spent the night in my BED, for Pete's sake. Why would I be uncomfortable with you taking me to dinner and a dance?"
"Uh...5:30 it is then..."
"It's a DATE, Alex.....now get out of here before my parents come in and I wind up grounded."
Five minutes later she was at the window, watching him turn the corner and disappear.
'So what if it's a date?' she asked herself. 'Even if I somehow slipped up...I trust Alex, no matter how paranoid Max and Michael might be about us interacting with humans.'
At 6:45 AM as the lights came on in the holding room of the Facility, Kyle blinked away his sleepiness, and found himself looking into Tess's face.
*Wake up sleepyhead* she thought, giving him a soft kiss on the lips, *...we have another busy day of pretending to play chess while you talk to me about the outside world and we start to plan our escape. But before that...is there any chance you might shower with me? You can soap my back in places that I can't reach*
*Sure, Tess...I'd be glad to....*
It would be three days before he remembered their captors had never supplied the shower with soap, and likely never would.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/12
It was 6:45 in the alley in back of the Crashdown, and the ladder on the fire escape gave a muffled squeal as the ladder descended to within two feet of the alleyway before retracting with a "thunk" back to the platform above. It hadn't made all THAT much noise...but it had made enough. As Max and Michael started to turn to leave, they heard the voice and turned to look at Jeff Parker standing in the doorway.
"Mr. Evans...Mr. .... I don't believe I know your name...step inside please."
They looked back and forth at each other worriedly, before slowly entering the door the man was holding for them. "it's Guerin," said Michael.
At 6:55, Liz and Maria came walking down the stairs toward the Parker family dining area, attracted by the smell of 'Papa Parker's Breakfast Burritos." It was a tradition on these sleepovers, and one of the reasons that Maria had always thought they were so special. Of course, she envied Liz just having a father, but somehow Liz and "Mr. P," as Maria called him, seemed to have just a special sort of father-daughter-rapport. But as the two girls came into the kitchen...well...today looked like it was going to be a very different day.
"Max?" said Liz, standing there in her Crashdown uniform complete with dealy-boppers, they started their shift at 7:30.
"Michael?" said Maria, dressed the same...
"What are you two doing here?" they said together.
"The Kiwanis is having a picnic for disadvantaged kids in two weeks. I invited them here to discuss helping us set it up."
Michael and Max's head swivelled back to look at Mr. Parker. That was the first either of them had heard of that. For the last ten minutes the man had been chewing on their butts about trespass, never again coming to their private residence uninvited, and about his being young enough to protect his residence and the people in it by himself, thank you...and then he'd sat them down and given them each a huge breakfast burrito from a small pile of them in the oven...and they tasted great. But now...now he was covering up for them?
As they ate their burritos. casting surreptitious glances at one another, the only one talking was Mr. P.
"Liz...I know you and Maria were planning on going to that battle of the bands at UFOnics tonight, but I think you'd better call that off. After what happened to Kyle, I'm afraid that I just don't think that two unescorted young ladies being out after dark is a good idea."
"Uh, OK, Dad," Liz said, slightly confused. She had never had any idea about going out to UFOnics tonight. Neither did Maria, as far as she knew. They had been planning on having a second sleepover and watching old romantic movies on the DVD player.
"Uh..Michael and I were going to UFOnics anyway, Mr. Parker," said Max."..we'd be willing to escort them..just to make sure they got there and back safely..."
"We were?" said Michael, wincing instantly as Max's boot hit his shinbone under the table, "..uh, I mean..yes, we WERE!"
"Well, alright then...perhaps you could have dinner here at 5:30. The girls will be done with their shift and have time to get ready before then...does that work for everyone?"
There seemed to be a general speechlessness at the table, but four heads nodded...albeit open mouthed, as Nancy Parker watched from the corner of the room, shaking her head and trying not to smile.
Twenty minutes later Jeff Parker was letting Max and Michael out the back of the Crashdown, the girls already taking orders from their first customers. "Max...Michael...as you can see, I am NOT unalterably opposed to the two of you looking after the girls, There is a time and place for everything, and Old Man Parker knows he won't be around forever. But for right now, the time and place is not at night when the two ladies are in a bedroom....have I made myself perfectly clear about that?"
"Yessir!" said Max.
"Crystal!" said Michael.
As he went back inside, a grinning Nancy Parker met him smiling and shaking her head.
"Hey, I was shy once too....," said Jeff Parker.
"Yes you were...I practically had to throw myself at you.."
"I only wish..., but they seem like nice kids, and as long as they don't get too carried away, it's probably a good thing that Liz has something to think about other than Harvard and Maria has something to think of rather than becoming a music superstar. Besides, this business with Kyle really does bother me. Having the girls travel in a larger group for awhile is probably a good thing."
"Well, it probably is. Time to get back to work...the girls are probably going to be spending so much time talking about what to wear tonight they'll foul up all the customer's orders."
"Maybe while the kids are at the dance, you might try some of that 'throwing yourself at me. ' It sounds kind of interesting."
"Jeffery...."
"Mr. Evans...Mr. .... I don't believe I know your name...step inside please."
They looked back and forth at each other worriedly, before slowly entering the door the man was holding for them. "it's Guerin," said Michael.
At 6:55, Liz and Maria came walking down the stairs toward the Parker family dining area, attracted by the smell of 'Papa Parker's Breakfast Burritos." It was a tradition on these sleepovers, and one of the reasons that Maria had always thought they were so special. Of course, she envied Liz just having a father, but somehow Liz and "Mr. P," as Maria called him, seemed to have just a special sort of father-daughter-rapport. But as the two girls came into the kitchen...well...today looked like it was going to be a very different day.
"Max?" said Liz, standing there in her Crashdown uniform complete with dealy-boppers, they started their shift at 7:30.
"Michael?" said Maria, dressed the same...
"What are you two doing here?" they said together.
"The Kiwanis is having a picnic for disadvantaged kids in two weeks. I invited them here to discuss helping us set it up."
Michael and Max's head swivelled back to look at Mr. Parker. That was the first either of them had heard of that. For the last ten minutes the man had been chewing on their butts about trespass, never again coming to their private residence uninvited, and about his being young enough to protect his residence and the people in it by himself, thank you...and then he'd sat them down and given them each a huge breakfast burrito from a small pile of them in the oven...and they tasted great. But now...now he was covering up for them?
As they ate their burritos. casting surreptitious glances at one another, the only one talking was Mr. P.
"Liz...I know you and Maria were planning on going to that battle of the bands at UFOnics tonight, but I think you'd better call that off. After what happened to Kyle, I'm afraid that I just don't think that two unescorted young ladies being out after dark is a good idea."
"Uh, OK, Dad," Liz said, slightly confused. She had never had any idea about going out to UFOnics tonight. Neither did Maria, as far as she knew. They had been planning on having a second sleepover and watching old romantic movies on the DVD player.
"Uh..Michael and I were going to UFOnics anyway, Mr. Parker," said Max."..we'd be willing to escort them..just to make sure they got there and back safely..."
"We were?" said Michael, wincing instantly as Max's boot hit his shinbone under the table, "..uh, I mean..yes, we WERE!"
"Well, alright then...perhaps you could have dinner here at 5:30. The girls will be done with their shift and have time to get ready before then...does that work for everyone?"
There seemed to be a general speechlessness at the table, but four heads nodded...albeit open mouthed, as Nancy Parker watched from the corner of the room, shaking her head and trying not to smile.
Twenty minutes later Jeff Parker was letting Max and Michael out the back of the Crashdown, the girls already taking orders from their first customers. "Max...Michael...as you can see, I am NOT unalterably opposed to the two of you looking after the girls, There is a time and place for everything, and Old Man Parker knows he won't be around forever. But for right now, the time and place is not at night when the two ladies are in a bedroom....have I made myself perfectly clear about that?"
"Yessir!" said Max.
"Crystal!" said Michael.
As he went back inside, a grinning Nancy Parker met him smiling and shaking her head.
"Hey, I was shy once too....," said Jeff Parker.
"Yes you were...I practically had to throw myself at you.."
"I only wish..., but they seem like nice kids, and as long as they don't get too carried away, it's probably a good thing that Liz has something to think about other than Harvard and Maria has something to think of rather than becoming a music superstar. Besides, this business with Kyle really does bother me. Having the girls travel in a larger group for awhile is probably a good thing."
"Well, it probably is. Time to get back to work...the girls are probably going to be spending so much time talking about what to wear tonight they'll foul up all the customer's orders."
"Maybe while the kids are at the dance, you might try some of that 'throwing yourself at me. ' It sounds kind of interesting."
"Jeffery...."
Last edited by greywolf on Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:06 am, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/12
The phone in the office in Albuquerque New Mexico rang four times before it was finally answered.
“New Mexico Geographic Information Council, Robert Olson speaking.”
Mr. Olson, this is Sheriff Jim Valenti, Chaves county. I’m trying to find a topographic map of an area near Corona New Mexico. It’s about five miles northeast…a small sliver of land where the National Forest and the BLM land join. I’ve been looking all over for a map that’s detailed enough…but haven’t found one. Could we perhaps get one from you?”
“Gee Sheriff, I don’t have one either…uh, what do you need it for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, it’s just routine. We do search and rescue operations and having the right maps is really critical for that. Do you have anywhere to suggest?”
“Well I’ll tell you, Sheriff, let me try what used to be called the Defense Mapping Agency. They have topographic data of the whole world. Perhaps they could generate something for you.”
“Much obliged Mr. Olson. Please call me back as soon as you find out.”
Some minutes later, in Bethesda Maryland.
The phone was picked up on the second ring, “National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. O’Brien speaking…”
“Mr. O’Brien, I’m Robert Olson from the New Mexico Geographic Information Council. The Sheriff of one of our counties is looking for a topographical map of Latitude: 34.25N, Longitude: 105.6W, for search and rescue purposes. Do you have, or could you generate a product for that location?”
Jake O’Brien knew that they didn’t have that map, but they could easily generate it. The entire surface of the Earth had been mapped back in the late 1980s, for use by the Tomahawk missile program. But they’d never admitted they actually mapped the US as well, and while the program was no longer actually classified since the global positioning system now had taken over guiding the Tomahawk missiles, …still, it was considerable effort and not necessarily information that they wanted out there, where some terrorist might use it.
“No Mr. Olson, I’m afraid we’ve got nothing like that…”
“Ok, I’ll tell the Sheriff we struck out. Thanks for trying…”
Things went pretty well for Jake O’Brien for the next two hours…until he got his next telephone call from someone in the state of New Mexico.
“National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. O’Brien speaking…”
“Hello Mr. O’Brien…My name is Amy DeLuca, I’m with the Cave Coalition…”
“The…?? I’m not sure I got that, Ms. DeLuca., the what coalition?”
“The Cave Coalition…, we are an environmental group based in Roswell New Mexico. A local developer is apparently applying to build some tract homes…..those terrible cookie-cutter instant slums, you know? … northeast of Corona New Mexico. We need a topographic map of that area to assess the impact of the proposed development on the habitat of the Mexican free-tailed bat…it’s a threatened species in this region. Our organization believes this development may do irreparable harm to the range area of the bat, and we will require a topographical map of the area to do our assessment.”
“I really don’t think I can help you, Ms. DeLuca. We really don’t produce things like that…and certainly not for the general public.”
“I don’t think YOU understand the situation, Mr. O’Brien. Under Title Five USC and the Freedom of Information Act as a citizen I have EVERY right for that information, and if you refuse to provide it I have twenty-five lawyers who are members of the Cave Coalition, any or all of whom will be willing to take you on in Federal Court to compel you to provide that information.”
O’Brien instantly straightened in his chair. FOIA requests were a royal pain in the ass, the bane of most government agency’s existence. Trying to withhold non-classified information under them was a guaranteed long drawn out court fight, a fight they agency would almost certainly lose after paying several hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. The publicity would attract hundreds…sometimes thousands… of additional FOIA requests. O’Brien had been down the road exactly twice before, and had no desire to take the trip again.
“Well Ms. DeLuca,” he said, pulling up the city of Corona New Mexico on his computer, “I love them little bats just as much as the next fellow, he said, stalling for time… ‘Hell, it’s the middle of friggin’ nowhere. A few cars, a few shacks….I’m not going to go through hell to keep this back..’ “ ….it seems like I did find that data. Do you have a fax number I could send this stuff to you on?”
Six minutes later, the maps were in Amy’s hands.
“New Mexico Geographic Information Council, Robert Olson speaking.”
Mr. Olson, this is Sheriff Jim Valenti, Chaves county. I’m trying to find a topographic map of an area near Corona New Mexico. It’s about five miles northeast…a small sliver of land where the National Forest and the BLM land join. I’ve been looking all over for a map that’s detailed enough…but haven’t found one. Could we perhaps get one from you?”
“Gee Sheriff, I don’t have one either…uh, what do you need it for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, it’s just routine. We do search and rescue operations and having the right maps is really critical for that. Do you have anywhere to suggest?”
“Well I’ll tell you, Sheriff, let me try what used to be called the Defense Mapping Agency. They have topographic data of the whole world. Perhaps they could generate something for you.”
“Much obliged Mr. Olson. Please call me back as soon as you find out.”
Some minutes later, in Bethesda Maryland.
The phone was picked up on the second ring, “National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. O’Brien speaking…”
“Mr. O’Brien, I’m Robert Olson from the New Mexico Geographic Information Council. The Sheriff of one of our counties is looking for a topographical map of Latitude: 34.25N, Longitude: 105.6W, for search and rescue purposes. Do you have, or could you generate a product for that location?”
Jake O’Brien knew that they didn’t have that map, but they could easily generate it. The entire surface of the Earth had been mapped back in the late 1980s, for use by the Tomahawk missile program. But they’d never admitted they actually mapped the US as well, and while the program was no longer actually classified since the global positioning system now had taken over guiding the Tomahawk missiles, …still, it was considerable effort and not necessarily information that they wanted out there, where some terrorist might use it.
“No Mr. Olson, I’m afraid we’ve got nothing like that…”
“Ok, I’ll tell the Sheriff we struck out. Thanks for trying…”
Things went pretty well for Jake O’Brien for the next two hours…until he got his next telephone call from someone in the state of New Mexico.
“National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. O’Brien speaking…”
“Hello Mr. O’Brien…My name is Amy DeLuca, I’m with the Cave Coalition…”
“The…?? I’m not sure I got that, Ms. DeLuca., the what coalition?”
“The Cave Coalition…, we are an environmental group based in Roswell New Mexico. A local developer is apparently applying to build some tract homes…..those terrible cookie-cutter instant slums, you know? … northeast of Corona New Mexico. We need a topographic map of that area to assess the impact of the proposed development on the habitat of the Mexican free-tailed bat…it’s a threatened species in this region. Our organization believes this development may do irreparable harm to the range area of the bat, and we will require a topographical map of the area to do our assessment.”
“I really don’t think I can help you, Ms. DeLuca. We really don’t produce things like that…and certainly not for the general public.”
“I don’t think YOU understand the situation, Mr. O’Brien. Under Title Five USC and the Freedom of Information Act as a citizen I have EVERY right for that information, and if you refuse to provide it I have twenty-five lawyers who are members of the Cave Coalition, any or all of whom will be willing to take you on in Federal Court to compel you to provide that information.”
O’Brien instantly straightened in his chair. FOIA requests were a royal pain in the ass, the bane of most government agency’s existence. Trying to withhold non-classified information under them was a guaranteed long drawn out court fight, a fight they agency would almost certainly lose after paying several hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. The publicity would attract hundreds…sometimes thousands… of additional FOIA requests. O’Brien had been down the road exactly twice before, and had no desire to take the trip again.
“Well Ms. DeLuca,” he said, pulling up the city of Corona New Mexico on his computer, “I love them little bats just as much as the next fellow, he said, stalling for time… ‘Hell, it’s the middle of friggin’ nowhere. A few cars, a few shacks….I’m not going to go through hell to keep this back..’ “ ….it seems like I did find that data. Do you have a fax number I could send this stuff to you on?”
Six minutes later, the maps were in Amy’s hands.
Last edited by greywolf on Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/13
It was 5:30 and as Isabel met Alex at the Crashdown for dinner, it was difficult not to notice the four people in the booth across the room that were sitting down for their own meal.
"There's your brother and Michael with Liz and Maria....do you want to sit with them?"
The question had sounded tentative, and Isabel felt the warmth grow inside her. She really didn't want to share his company with anyone else right now either,
"How about that booth..?" she asked, pointing at the one in the back corner, away from the window, away from the kitchen...away from pretty much everything.
"You know, we don't really have to do this...I know what your friends will think...."
"Oh God, Alex...don't take it like that. It's just that that booth seems more inti..... uh, cozy. We'll be able to talk without being interrupted." She intertwined her fingers in his , and drew him closer, her voice only a whisper. "Don't EVER think I'm ashamed to be seen with you, it's just that I've spent most of my life with those two...I know every corny joke, every story they know...tonight I wanted to be just us..."
And Alex decided that had to be the truth, because when she was seated, she stared across the booth looking at him with a beautiful smile and eyes that seemed to tell his heart that they longed for the closeness of the dance floor.
At the Sheriff's office, Jim was pouring over the maps that Amy had brought him, planning how he would use the terrain to conceal himself for his intended reconnaissance mission tonight. "I can leave the car here...and walk in about five miles...coming in the back way. I don't want you along this time, Amy. That really scared me last night..."
"I've never gotten THAT reaction before..although it's been a long time...," said Amy.
Jim blushed and shook his head. "Not THAT...that was in fact rather ...wonderful... What scared me was the thought of what those guys might have done to you if your ploy hadn't worked. Kyle is my son...I have no right to ask you to take risks like this..."
"Protecting kids is everyone's job, Jim. Not just their parents, not even just the job of law enforcement. Maria is out on a double-date with Liz Parker, then she'll be staying overnight there. If you leave the car parked along that deserted road, anyone seeing it will know someone's out there. I can go with you...just drive by and slow down...barely even stop, and you can get out and go check the place out. Then I can drive by later...we can set up a time...for me to pick you up. There'll be almost no risk for me...and it'll be safer for you..."
Jim nodded. The plan made sense. "Well, thanks again Amy. Would you like to go somewhere and get dinner? It won't be dark for another couple hours, we've got time to do that and then come back here where I can get in my tactical gear. Even with the full moon, the camouflage clothing will help."
"OK, Jim,....anywhere but the Crashdown. Maria would never forgive me if I barged in on her first date with this Michael kid. She's been interested in him for quite awhile."
"Oh...the kid that hangs with the Evans kids? He seems nice enough...although his foster father is sort of an obnoxious old drunk. The Child Protective Services caseworker who put him in THAT home must have been smoking something illegal..... But Amy, I think you are right. It would really help me if you could just drop me off along the road, then come back eight hours later."
"Eight hours? That's a long time to be out there, Jim. Are you sure?"
Jim looked again at the map. It would take almost four hours to get in to the area and back...giving him only four hours for his reconaissance....but even at that, he'd have to be dropped off just after dark and picked up just before daylight. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. At least I'm just on call tomorrow, don't really have anything scheduled. And who knows...I may get lucky, and this will be all over by morning..."
"Maybe," said Amy doubtfully.
Jim nodded. He kind of doubted it himself.
When she saw the two girls get up to go to the restroom, Isabel saw her chance. "Excuse me, Alex. I'll be right back, I just need to speak to my brother and Michael for a minute..."
"Certainly, Isabel."
Max's eyes went to Michael and he nodded his head as he saw Isable walking toward them. Michael turned and his eyes widened, 'Where did she come from?
"Uh...I take it you two have dates for tonight?"
"Uh...well, Mr Parker suggested at breakfast this morning that he didn't want Liz and Maria to go to UFOnics alone tonight, so we kind of volunteered to uh....protect them, isn't that right, Michael?"
"Yeah....uh, to protect them. And...well, we thought we might as well have dinner first cause...you know, you gotta eat...?""
"You had breakfast with them too?"
"That wasn't our idea...they just came down to breakfast while we were eating with Mr. Parker."
"You were eating breakfast with Mr. Parker?"
"Well, we sort of had to...he caught us coming down the fire escape, and invited us inside to chew us out...somehow we wound up having breakfast...."
Isabel shook her head in obvious disbelief. "You were up in Liz's room?"
"I was not...Michael and I were just out on the balcony...on guard duty. We didn't want anything to happen to Liz and Michael like happened to Kyle, but then Old...I mean, Mr. Parker caught us, and the rest of it just sort of happened...."
"Max..Michael..., while I think it might be a good idea to revise our vow....you know, if we are the only ones in the Sophomore Class that never go out on dates next year, it'll look pretty suspicious. But this is what I was afraid of...you guys are getting much to close to these girls. Now I think it's probably alright for you to go out with them, but you can't get too close...if you do they are going to find out..."
"So how close CAN we get?" asked Michael.
"Well, you can't hang out all night on their balconies, that's for sure."
"Well you were sucking on that Alex's neck at the dance last night...isn't that too close?"
"I got carried away...OK? But a couple of kisses on the dance floor isn't the same as hanging around outside their bedroom when they're sleeping. You're lucky that Mr. Parker didn't take a shotgun to you....or Mom or Dad find an empty bed, and ground you forever...."
"Actually, Mom told me that dad DID find my bed empty and DID start to freak out. Fortunately, he looked in your room...and decided I must be bunking with you...which is kind of funny, considering I was up on the roof with Michael then being TOO CLOSE to Liz. But you're right Isabel, ...none of us should get too close," said Max...starting to crack up. As Michael fought unsuccessfully to stop his own chuckling, Isabel blushed crimson.
"Isabel, is there a problem?" asked Alex.
"Oh no, she's fine Alex," said Michael, "...you and Isabel going to UFOnics too?"
"Yes...are you going there?"
"Yeah, Max and I are taking Liz and Maria...hey, we'll see you there. Don't you two do anything I wouldn't do..."
As Alex led the speechless red-faced Isabel away, Michael high-fived Max. "Ice Princess, is she? I don't think so....."
"She better treat him well tonight...I owe him for last night," said Max.
"What are you guys grinning about," asked Maria, as her eyes followed theirs toward the departing Alex and Isabel.
"Oh, nothing much...," said Michael. "You two ready to go dance..?"
"There's your brother and Michael with Liz and Maria....do you want to sit with them?"
The question had sounded tentative, and Isabel felt the warmth grow inside her. She really didn't want to share his company with anyone else right now either,
"How about that booth..?" she asked, pointing at the one in the back corner, away from the window, away from the kitchen...away from pretty much everything.
"You know, we don't really have to do this...I know what your friends will think...."
"Oh God, Alex...don't take it like that. It's just that that booth seems more inti..... uh, cozy. We'll be able to talk without being interrupted." She intertwined her fingers in his , and drew him closer, her voice only a whisper. "Don't EVER think I'm ashamed to be seen with you, it's just that I've spent most of my life with those two...I know every corny joke, every story they know...tonight I wanted to be just us..."
And Alex decided that had to be the truth, because when she was seated, she stared across the booth looking at him with a beautiful smile and eyes that seemed to tell his heart that they longed for the closeness of the dance floor.
At the Sheriff's office, Jim was pouring over the maps that Amy had brought him, planning how he would use the terrain to conceal himself for his intended reconnaissance mission tonight. "I can leave the car here...and walk in about five miles...coming in the back way. I don't want you along this time, Amy. That really scared me last night..."
"I've never gotten THAT reaction before..although it's been a long time...," said Amy.
Jim blushed and shook his head. "Not THAT...that was in fact rather ...wonderful... What scared me was the thought of what those guys might have done to you if your ploy hadn't worked. Kyle is my son...I have no right to ask you to take risks like this..."
"Protecting kids is everyone's job, Jim. Not just their parents, not even just the job of law enforcement. Maria is out on a double-date with Liz Parker, then she'll be staying overnight there. If you leave the car parked along that deserted road, anyone seeing it will know someone's out there. I can go with you...just drive by and slow down...barely even stop, and you can get out and go check the place out. Then I can drive by later...we can set up a time...for me to pick you up. There'll be almost no risk for me...and it'll be safer for you..."
Jim nodded. The plan made sense. "Well, thanks again Amy. Would you like to go somewhere and get dinner? It won't be dark for another couple hours, we've got time to do that and then come back here where I can get in my tactical gear. Even with the full moon, the camouflage clothing will help."
"OK, Jim,....anywhere but the Crashdown. Maria would never forgive me if I barged in on her first date with this Michael kid. She's been interested in him for quite awhile."
"Oh...the kid that hangs with the Evans kids? He seems nice enough...although his foster father is sort of an obnoxious old drunk. The Child Protective Services caseworker who put him in THAT home must have been smoking something illegal..... But Amy, I think you are right. It would really help me if you could just drop me off along the road, then come back eight hours later."
"Eight hours? That's a long time to be out there, Jim. Are you sure?"
Jim looked again at the map. It would take almost four hours to get in to the area and back...giving him only four hours for his reconaissance....but even at that, he'd have to be dropped off just after dark and picked up just before daylight. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. At least I'm just on call tomorrow, don't really have anything scheduled. And who knows...I may get lucky, and this will be all over by morning..."
"Maybe," said Amy doubtfully.
Jim nodded. He kind of doubted it himself.
When she saw the two girls get up to go to the restroom, Isabel saw her chance. "Excuse me, Alex. I'll be right back, I just need to speak to my brother and Michael for a minute..."
"Certainly, Isabel."
Max's eyes went to Michael and he nodded his head as he saw Isable walking toward them. Michael turned and his eyes widened, 'Where did she come from?
"Uh...I take it you two have dates for tonight?"
"Uh...well, Mr Parker suggested at breakfast this morning that he didn't want Liz and Maria to go to UFOnics alone tonight, so we kind of volunteered to uh....protect them, isn't that right, Michael?"
"Yeah....uh, to protect them. And...well, we thought we might as well have dinner first cause...you know, you gotta eat...?""
"You had breakfast with them too?"
"That wasn't our idea...they just came down to breakfast while we were eating with Mr. Parker."
"You were eating breakfast with Mr. Parker?"
"Well, we sort of had to...he caught us coming down the fire escape, and invited us inside to chew us out...somehow we wound up having breakfast...."
Isabel shook her head in obvious disbelief. "You were up in Liz's room?"
"I was not...Michael and I were just out on the balcony...on guard duty. We didn't want anything to happen to Liz and Michael like happened to Kyle, but then Old...I mean, Mr. Parker caught us, and the rest of it just sort of happened...."
"Max..Michael..., while I think it might be a good idea to revise our vow....you know, if we are the only ones in the Sophomore Class that never go out on dates next year, it'll look pretty suspicious. But this is what I was afraid of...you guys are getting much to close to these girls. Now I think it's probably alright for you to go out with them, but you can't get too close...if you do they are going to find out..."
"So how close CAN we get?" asked Michael.
"Well, you can't hang out all night on their balconies, that's for sure."
"Well you were sucking on that Alex's neck at the dance last night...isn't that too close?"
"I got carried away...OK? But a couple of kisses on the dance floor isn't the same as hanging around outside their bedroom when they're sleeping. You're lucky that Mr. Parker didn't take a shotgun to you....or Mom or Dad find an empty bed, and ground you forever...."
"Actually, Mom told me that dad DID find my bed empty and DID start to freak out. Fortunately, he looked in your room...and decided I must be bunking with you...which is kind of funny, considering I was up on the roof with Michael then being TOO CLOSE to Liz. But you're right Isabel, ...none of us should get too close," said Max...starting to crack up. As Michael fought unsuccessfully to stop his own chuckling, Isabel blushed crimson.
"Isabel, is there a problem?" asked Alex.
"Oh no, she's fine Alex," said Michael, "...you and Isabel going to UFOnics too?"
"Yes...are you going there?"
"Yeah, Max and I are taking Liz and Maria...hey, we'll see you there. Don't you two do anything I wouldn't do..."
As Alex led the speechless red-faced Isabel away, Michael high-fived Max. "Ice Princess, is she? I don't think so....."
"She better treat him well tonight...I owe him for last night," said Max.
"What are you guys grinning about," asked Maria, as her eyes followed theirs toward the departing Alex and Isabel.
"Oh, nothing much...," said Michael. "You two ready to go dance..?"
Last edited by greywolf on Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:46 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/18
As they drove by the turnoff and continued down the main highway, Jim could picture the old mine site a few miles down the road....the place where last night Amy had done such a terrific job of improvising a cover story for them being out on a dead-end road on restricted governemnt property. As his eyes went to the driver of the Jetta, a smile creased his lips...despite his worry over Kyle. He wished Kyle had had a mother like Amy...'Admit it,' he told himself, '...you wish you'd had a wife like Amy...'
He allowed that thought to warm his heart for only a few seconds. "OK, from here we go exactly 2.4 miles...that's where the mainroad is the closest to the facility I saw, and even there it's a little over five miles. Just drop me off and keep going...and in eight hours pick me up exactly 3.4 miles from where the access road is." Jim chose a different pickup spot because, in the unlikely event he was seen and captured, they'd be less likely to get Amy when she came back.
"You know Jim, I could stay in the area...come by every two hours or so...in case you needed to be picked up earlier..."
The very thought of that brought fear into Jim Valenti's heart. He wasn't entirely comfortable with Amy being out here at all, but she'd insisted. "Amy...I really need you to do this my way. If you don't...I'll be worried about you as well as Kyle, all the time I'm in there....and I can't afford that...not when I'm dealing with people with guns...people who obviously don't want whatever's going on to be discovered."
Her right hand seemed so soft as it patted his left forearm gently. "OK, Jim,....we'll do it your way. But be so careful..." She left the thought unspoken...'I'd hate to lose you....'
Three minutes later she slowed the car nearly to a stop in the darkness and he tossed his pack out the door and rolled out after it as the two red taillights sped on in the darkness. He picked up the pack and crossed the shoulder, rolling under the barbwire fence with the warning sign telling the world that this was US Government Property, and tresspassing was illegal under US Code.
The moon was almost full...one day into its wane, and the desert was surprisingly bright. Jim wasn't sure exactly how he and Amy had been detected so quickly when they'd come down the road...most likely sensors that had detected the car. The desert out here was full of deer, and occasionally even their predators. If there had been some sort of personnel sensors, they no doubt would have been tripping all night. By coming in from the side under cover of night, Jim hoped to avoid detection altogether. Most likely, this would just be to gather information tonight, although his heart still harbored a faint hope that he might find Kyle and an easy way to get him out. 'But you gotta be realistic, Jim,' he told himself, '..even if they only had three guards with automatic weapons...and the guy in the guard shack...you can't get in a gun battle with them.'
No, the mission tonight was stealth. He reached into the pack and brought out the digital camouflage poncho. The three men last night hadn't been wearing night vision equipment...probably because the moon had been too bright...but their helmets had the clips where the goggles were normally installed. Hopefully he wouldn't run in to them at all, but if he did the digital camouflage pattern somehow screwed up the photomultiplier tubes of the goggles...at least the head of his SWAT team told him that, although he couldn't explain exactly why it did that. 'I ought to ask Liz Parker...she'd know..' he thought to himself as he started the long march across the desert toward the Facility.
He allowed that thought to warm his heart for only a few seconds. "OK, from here we go exactly 2.4 miles...that's where the mainroad is the closest to the facility I saw, and even there it's a little over five miles. Just drop me off and keep going...and in eight hours pick me up exactly 3.4 miles from where the access road is." Jim chose a different pickup spot because, in the unlikely event he was seen and captured, they'd be less likely to get Amy when she came back.
"You know Jim, I could stay in the area...come by every two hours or so...in case you needed to be picked up earlier..."
The very thought of that brought fear into Jim Valenti's heart. He wasn't entirely comfortable with Amy being out here at all, but she'd insisted. "Amy...I really need you to do this my way. If you don't...I'll be worried about you as well as Kyle, all the time I'm in there....and I can't afford that...not when I'm dealing with people with guns...people who obviously don't want whatever's going on to be discovered."
Her right hand seemed so soft as it patted his left forearm gently. "OK, Jim,....we'll do it your way. But be so careful..." She left the thought unspoken...'I'd hate to lose you....'
Three minutes later she slowed the car nearly to a stop in the darkness and he tossed his pack out the door and rolled out after it as the two red taillights sped on in the darkness. He picked up the pack and crossed the shoulder, rolling under the barbwire fence with the warning sign telling the world that this was US Government Property, and tresspassing was illegal under US Code.
The moon was almost full...one day into its wane, and the desert was surprisingly bright. Jim wasn't sure exactly how he and Amy had been detected so quickly when they'd come down the road...most likely sensors that had detected the car. The desert out here was full of deer, and occasionally even their predators. If there had been some sort of personnel sensors, they no doubt would have been tripping all night. By coming in from the side under cover of night, Jim hoped to avoid detection altogether. Most likely, this would just be to gather information tonight, although his heart still harbored a faint hope that he might find Kyle and an easy way to get him out. 'But you gotta be realistic, Jim,' he told himself, '..even if they only had three guards with automatic weapons...and the guy in the guard shack...you can't get in a gun battle with them.'
No, the mission tonight was stealth. He reached into the pack and brought out the digital camouflage poncho. The three men last night hadn't been wearing night vision equipment...probably because the moon had been too bright...but their helmets had the clips where the goggles were normally installed. Hopefully he wouldn't run in to them at all, but if he did the digital camouflage pattern somehow screwed up the photomultiplier tubes of the goggles...at least the head of his SWAT team told him that, although he couldn't explain exactly why it did that. 'I ought to ask Liz Parker...she'd know..' he thought to himself as he started the long march across the desert toward the Facility.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/21
It was an hour after they'd gotten to UFOnics and the lights were low as they were playing one of their rare slow dances. Max hadn't danced with anyone but her, and Michael hadn't danced with anyone but Maria, and that really didn't seem unreasonable to Liz at all...but Alex and the Ice Princess? I mean, it had been bizarre enough when her shy musician and computer geek friend had really mustered up the courage to ask her to dance at the after-school party, Liz had cringed inwardly when she saw it happen, anticipating the icy bitch would carve him to ribbons for having such affrontery. But Isabel, who she was pretty sure hadn't saif 30 words to Alex in her entire life prior to yesterday had been not only nice to Alex, but rather aggressively pursued him. Liz had put it down to some sort of school year end euphoria that the girl was experiencing, and until she'd seen the two of them at the Crash, she'd have never believed there could ever be anything remotely serious between them.
But tonight was even more bizarre. Isabel had politely but firmly refused invitations from boy after boy...all the 'pretty people' of West Roswell High, while she and Alex had danced every dance. And HOW they had danced. They danced like they'd been choreographed....like they'd practiced this for years. And somehow that...and the dances she'd had herself with Max yesterday and tonight, had somehow given new hope to a girl who had loved a boy since she first saw him getting off the bus with his sister in third grade.
She'd never really figured Max out. At times there was an intensity to the way he watched her that warmed her to her very core, but despite that...until Isabel had started dancing with Alex....and not just dancing....she envied the relationship that seemed already to be growing between the two....but until Isabel broke the ice yesterday, Max had never really allowed himself to be anything but a friend, and a fairly shy one at that. But was it really shyness or was it something else? Thirty-six hours ago Liz would have sworn Isabel was too arrogant and uncaring to like any boy...let alone someone as far out of the West Roswell social set as Alex. She'd misjudged the girl, she realized, misjudged her badly. Perhaps she'd misjudged Max just as much.
Liz brought herself a little closer against his chest and pressed her lips softly against his neck, just as she'd seen Isabel do with Alex, and the reaction was immediate...a soft intake of breath and a tightening of his arms about her. No....Max wasn't uninterested...there was just something holding him back. But he and Michael had started to thaw as they saw Isabel thaw.....whatever it was, maybe it could be overcome. It seemed like Isabel was the key....
"Max...I don't know Isabel all that well. Maria and I are having a sleepover tonight...do you think she might join us if we asked her?"
The question at first seemed a distraction from a very pleasant situation...but as he considered it, it definitely had its advantages. Old m....that is, Jeff Parker had pretty well made it clear that he and Michael were not to be standing guard duty, but he'd seen his sister when she was in one of 'those' moods, and figured that whatever had happened to Kyle, if those people decided to take on his sister, she'd probably hand them theeir heads. Liz and Maria would be safe enough with her. The question was, how to get her to do it...
Jim Valenti knew he wasn't making more than two miles per hour over the ground...in large part because he was moving slowly and carefully, and sticking to the low ground so he didn't highlight himself against the horizon. But that didn't keep him from looking up along the high ground. In truth, the ground was almost flat, except for the dry creek beds he was walking through, but the small ridge ahead was interesting...he wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed THAT before.
As he approached the powerline he could not just hear the buzzing, but feel it in his chest. He looked further on and saw the powerline terminated in one last tower, with feeds going in to the ground. He was still. Jim knew, at least three-quarters of a mile from the guard shack and the small parking lot he'd observed from the abandoned mine, but the power was going somewhwere. Could there really be an underground facility THATbig here? Something that would require THAT much power?
'Curiouser and curiouser,' Jim thought as he pressed onward toward the guard shack.
But tonight was even more bizarre. Isabel had politely but firmly refused invitations from boy after boy...all the 'pretty people' of West Roswell High, while she and Alex had danced every dance. And HOW they had danced. They danced like they'd been choreographed....like they'd practiced this for years. And somehow that...and the dances she'd had herself with Max yesterday and tonight, had somehow given new hope to a girl who had loved a boy since she first saw him getting off the bus with his sister in third grade.
She'd never really figured Max out. At times there was an intensity to the way he watched her that warmed her to her very core, but despite that...until Isabel had started dancing with Alex....and not just dancing....she envied the relationship that seemed already to be growing between the two....but until Isabel broke the ice yesterday, Max had never really allowed himself to be anything but a friend, and a fairly shy one at that. But was it really shyness or was it something else? Thirty-six hours ago Liz would have sworn Isabel was too arrogant and uncaring to like any boy...let alone someone as far out of the West Roswell social set as Alex. She'd misjudged the girl, she realized, misjudged her badly. Perhaps she'd misjudged Max just as much.
Liz brought herself a little closer against his chest and pressed her lips softly against his neck, just as she'd seen Isabel do with Alex, and the reaction was immediate...a soft intake of breath and a tightening of his arms about her. No....Max wasn't uninterested...there was just something holding him back. But he and Michael had started to thaw as they saw Isabel thaw.....whatever it was, maybe it could be overcome. It seemed like Isabel was the key....
"Max...I don't know Isabel all that well. Maria and I are having a sleepover tonight...do you think she might join us if we asked her?"
The question at first seemed a distraction from a very pleasant situation...but as he considered it, it definitely had its advantages. Old m....that is, Jeff Parker had pretty well made it clear that he and Michael were not to be standing guard duty, but he'd seen his sister when she was in one of 'those' moods, and figured that whatever had happened to Kyle, if those people decided to take on his sister, she'd probably hand them theeir heads. Liz and Maria would be safe enough with her. The question was, how to get her to do it...
Jim Valenti knew he wasn't making more than two miles per hour over the ground...in large part because he was moving slowly and carefully, and sticking to the low ground so he didn't highlight himself against the horizon. But that didn't keep him from looking up along the high ground. In truth, the ground was almost flat, except for the dry creek beds he was walking through, but the small ridge ahead was interesting...he wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed THAT before.
As he approached the powerline he could not just hear the buzzing, but feel it in his chest. He looked further on and saw the powerline terminated in one last tower, with feeds going in to the ground. He was still. Jim knew, at least three-quarters of a mile from the guard shack and the small parking lot he'd observed from the abandoned mine, but the power was going somewhwere. Could there really be an underground facility THATbig here? Something that would require THAT much power?
'Curiouser and curiouser,' Jim thought as he pressed onward toward the guard shack.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/22
The band was taking a short break and Liz and Maria were off 'powdering their noses,'...girl talk for going to the restroom, applying more lipstick, and comparing notes with the other on how they were doing. Alex and Isabel had danced every dance, and as Alex went to the punch bowl to get Izzy something to drink, Max saw his chance.
"Uh...Iz...Liz was talking to me and was wondering if you'd be interested in a sleep-over at her place tonight, so she could get to know you better...?"
"What's the deal, Max?"
"Well, Old M....that is, her dad made it pretty obvious he doesn't want us patrolling her balcony tonight ..or ever... so Michael and I can't be there, but I'm still sort of worried about whoever took Kyle. I'd sleep a lot better if you were there...knowing the girls would be safe."
"Well...uh...er...," she started, but it seemed like her brother read her mind.
"You can't go guard Alex, Iz..., heck with dad worried about both of us,' he shook his head, "..as ironic as it is, if I hadn't been missing from my bed you would have been in trouble, and if you hadn't had a visitor last night.." Max said, looking at Alex waiting for the punch and smiling, "...I would have been in trouble...."
"We didn't DO anything, Max. He was trying to guard me...and the sprinklers got him...and his clothes were all wet....and he was so cold..." Isabel seemed to blush deeper with each revelation, and it was all Max could keep from chuckling. Normally he would have done more than that, but he needed his sister's help right now..
"I didn't say you had, I'm sure he was a perfect gentleman and you were a perfect lady and you didn't get TOO close at least, but neither one of us is going to get away with that tonight...but what we can do is I can invite Alex and Michael for a sleepover at our place, you can go to Liz's, and we can all get together for breakfast...either at our place, or at the Crash tomorrow morning.."
Isabel looked at her brother carefully. Of course, it didn't solve any long term problems, and it certainly wasn't going to be as pleasant as LAST night had been, but it would give her a chance to see just what kind of people Liz and Maria were, and that was important...because as much as she didn't think that ANY of the pod people should get TOO CLOSE to humans, that vow was getting harder and harder to keep. She cherished her time with Alex...every minute of it...in reality as well as in their dreamwalks. 'I wish I'd never let Max and Michael talk me in to that stupid vow,' she thought. If the boys felt that way about Liz and Maria...she had BETTER get to know them better. As she saw Alex start to return from the punch table with two glasses she smiled broadly...."OK Max....I'll take care of Liz and Maria....you and Michael take care of Alex.....
It was almost and hour since he'd passed the power line, and Jim had found two other interesting things. One was what appeared to be an air vent...Maybe large enough for someone to fit down, but the smell of the air coming from it...it was like the exhaust end of a furnace...as if the air of the facility was all being superheated ...sterilized like. He'd also spotted a number of much smaller vents, and these appeared to be sucking air down into whatever subterranean facility was down there. He could only guess at the size...it depended on if there were just tunnels, or if there were big rooms down there, but the facility was more widely spread than he would have believed...likely over several miles of desert.
The second thing of interest was what appeared to be an emergency exit of some kind. There was a hatch that swung outward...and it clearly had not been used in quite awhile. Brush had partially overgrown it. There was no lock on the outside...nothing but a welded on handle, and the thing was sturdy as the upper hatch of an Army tank. It had hingeds he might be able to get at, but even if he did...it almost l\seemed like the thing was dogged tight...airtight. Even if he cut off the hinges, he wasn't at all sure the hatch would open.
Right now, however, Jim was laying on his belly under some brush, perhaps a quarter-mile from the guard shack, He watched as the unmarked bus drove up the access road and parked near the handful of cars in the small parking lot.....hing the door open, and eighteen people get out. They all went to the small guardhouse and were admitted into the little building that clearly coouldn't have held them all. 'That must be the entrance to the underground facility,' Jim thought, '...but who are these guys? And what are they doing here?'
As seventeen completely different guys came out of the guard shack and entered the bus, his mind was doing some sudden calculations. 'Figure a third of the people just swapped out...That gives about fifty total personnel plus those who belong to the cars...certainly no less that thirty-six....maybe as high as sixty-five. This place has to cost someone at least a third of a million dollars a year in payroll alone...more....probably a LOT more, since the whole thing is secret and they could scarcely pay minimum wage to anyone. And the cost of the facility itself.....built in secret?' Jim shuddered at the implication. This was a huge investment...either a large corporation..or government. And it was on government land. He had initially thought Amy was a little paranoid takling about the US government being involved...and had really HOPED the FBI had just left the Corona address off the list by accident, but that certainly wasn't the case.
"Uh...Iz...Liz was talking to me and was wondering if you'd be interested in a sleep-over at her place tonight, so she could get to know you better...?"
"What's the deal, Max?"
"Well, Old M....that is, her dad made it pretty obvious he doesn't want us patrolling her balcony tonight ..or ever... so Michael and I can't be there, but I'm still sort of worried about whoever took Kyle. I'd sleep a lot better if you were there...knowing the girls would be safe."
"Well...uh...er...," she started, but it seemed like her brother read her mind.
"You can't go guard Alex, Iz..., heck with dad worried about both of us,' he shook his head, "..as ironic as it is, if I hadn't been missing from my bed you would have been in trouble, and if you hadn't had a visitor last night.." Max said, looking at Alex waiting for the punch and smiling, "...I would have been in trouble...."
"We didn't DO anything, Max. He was trying to guard me...and the sprinklers got him...and his clothes were all wet....and he was so cold..." Isabel seemed to blush deeper with each revelation, and it was all Max could keep from chuckling. Normally he would have done more than that, but he needed his sister's help right now..
"I didn't say you had, I'm sure he was a perfect gentleman and you were a perfect lady and you didn't get TOO close at least, but neither one of us is going to get away with that tonight...but what we can do is I can invite Alex and Michael for a sleepover at our place, you can go to Liz's, and we can all get together for breakfast...either at our place, or at the Crash tomorrow morning.."
Isabel looked at her brother carefully. Of course, it didn't solve any long term problems, and it certainly wasn't going to be as pleasant as LAST night had been, but it would give her a chance to see just what kind of people Liz and Maria were, and that was important...because as much as she didn't think that ANY of the pod people should get TOO CLOSE to humans, that vow was getting harder and harder to keep. She cherished her time with Alex...every minute of it...in reality as well as in their dreamwalks. 'I wish I'd never let Max and Michael talk me in to that stupid vow,' she thought. If the boys felt that way about Liz and Maria...she had BETTER get to know them better. As she saw Alex start to return from the punch table with two glasses she smiled broadly...."OK Max....I'll take care of Liz and Maria....you and Michael take care of Alex.....
It was almost and hour since he'd passed the power line, and Jim had found two other interesting things. One was what appeared to be an air vent...Maybe large enough for someone to fit down, but the smell of the air coming from it...it was like the exhaust end of a furnace...as if the air of the facility was all being superheated ...sterilized like. He'd also spotted a number of much smaller vents, and these appeared to be sucking air down into whatever subterranean facility was down there. He could only guess at the size...it depended on if there were just tunnels, or if there were big rooms down there, but the facility was more widely spread than he would have believed...likely over several miles of desert.
The second thing of interest was what appeared to be an emergency exit of some kind. There was a hatch that swung outward...and it clearly had not been used in quite awhile. Brush had partially overgrown it. There was no lock on the outside...nothing but a welded on handle, and the thing was sturdy as the upper hatch of an Army tank. It had hingeds he might be able to get at, but even if he did...it almost l\seemed like the thing was dogged tight...airtight. Even if he cut off the hinges, he wasn't at all sure the hatch would open.
Right now, however, Jim was laying on his belly under some brush, perhaps a quarter-mile from the guard shack, He watched as the unmarked bus drove up the access road and parked near the handful of cars in the small parking lot.....hing the door open, and eighteen people get out. They all went to the small guardhouse and were admitted into the little building that clearly coouldn't have held them all. 'That must be the entrance to the underground facility,' Jim thought, '...but who are these guys? And what are they doing here?'
As seventeen completely different guys came out of the guard shack and entered the bus, his mind was doing some sudden calculations. 'Figure a third of the people just swapped out...That gives about fifty total personnel plus those who belong to the cars...certainly no less that thirty-six....maybe as high as sixty-five. This place has to cost someone at least a third of a million dollars a year in payroll alone...more....probably a LOT more, since the whole thing is secret and they could scarcely pay minimum wage to anyone. And the cost of the facility itself.....built in secret?' Jim shuddered at the implication. This was a huge investment...either a large corporation..or government. And it was on government land. He had initially thought Amy was a little paranoid takling about the US government being involved...and had really HOPED the FBI had just left the Corona address off the list by accident, but that certainly wasn't the case.
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/22
As the lights went out in the room, she snuggled back against his chest, still amazed by how much Kyle's mere presence affected her. It had ben a wonderful day. just sitting next to him and sharing thoughts through the connection. It made such a difference to have a context.....something other than just the four walls of this room....to interpret the knowledge she'd gained over these years.
Kyle hadn't believed about the nuclear device at first....it wasn't that he actually thought she wasn't telling the truth...he just couldn't believe she hadn't somehow misinterpreted the scraps of conversations she'd heard over the years. But she had brought the memories up in her mind...shared them with him....and then he'd shared the reason for his intial doubts. She understood from the phrase that 'kiloton' meant a thousand tons...in this case of TNT.... and she knew there were two thousand pounds to a ton. But she'd never actually SEEN TNT, and Kyle had, when he'd once seen someone on the county bomb disposal team use a half-pound charge in an exercise. He'd shared the memory with her, and as her mind calculated what four million times that explosion must be like, both of their minds had recoiled in horror. No wonder they had talked about three blast doors between this room and their distant control room, Tess had never really understood how powerful the bomb she'd lived with almost all of her life was.
The second part of it was even more disturbing. The other reason Kyle had first doubted her was because he understood how tightly controlled such devices were. Only one man in the nation-state that Kyle belonged to could authorize the use of such weapons, and only the government had them. If the people holding them were a splinter group of that government itself, it was very likely that they had huge power. Kyle was adamant that the real government would not support kidnapping, and she believed him. But even part of something as huge as his government...they had so many resources.
'Is it even realistic,' she asked herself, '..to think we can get out of here ever?' She'd try she knew....but her captors weren't going to wait forever for them to mate. She could force Kyle to do it...mindwarp him....but she'd promised herself she wouldn't. And she was beginning to worry about what would happen to Kyle afterwards...when their captives would feel no need for him. Because, Tess decided, she did need Kyle....needed him to survive...needed for him to be happy, even if she couldn't be. She had the thought then....a thought she knew she could never share with Kyle. It might be possible to trick them...to get HIM out safely, if she herself stayed. She'd have to think about that...but she'd still have to mindwarp him to do it. It was only a little thought, buried in the back of her mind, but it hovered there as she pushed back against him, savoring his presence.
As he felt her body spoon against hers, Kyle realized that ...despite their captivity...he'd really never felt so much love for anyone. As he went to sleep feeling her warmth against him, he realized that his love for her was total...and he let himself start to hope that hers for him was actually real...and unlike his mother, this love would never leave him.....
Kyle hadn't believed about the nuclear device at first....it wasn't that he actually thought she wasn't telling the truth...he just couldn't believe she hadn't somehow misinterpreted the scraps of conversations she'd heard over the years. But she had brought the memories up in her mind...shared them with him....and then he'd shared the reason for his intial doubts. She understood from the phrase that 'kiloton' meant a thousand tons...in this case of TNT.... and she knew there were two thousand pounds to a ton. But she'd never actually SEEN TNT, and Kyle had, when he'd once seen someone on the county bomb disposal team use a half-pound charge in an exercise. He'd shared the memory with her, and as her mind calculated what four million times that explosion must be like, both of their minds had recoiled in horror. No wonder they had talked about three blast doors between this room and their distant control room, Tess had never really understood how powerful the bomb she'd lived with almost all of her life was.
The second part of it was even more disturbing. The other reason Kyle had first doubted her was because he understood how tightly controlled such devices were. Only one man in the nation-state that Kyle belonged to could authorize the use of such weapons, and only the government had them. If the people holding them were a splinter group of that government itself, it was very likely that they had huge power. Kyle was adamant that the real government would not support kidnapping, and she believed him. But even part of something as huge as his government...they had so many resources.
'Is it even realistic,' she asked herself, '..to think we can get out of here ever?' She'd try she knew....but her captors weren't going to wait forever for them to mate. She could force Kyle to do it...mindwarp him....but she'd promised herself she wouldn't. And she was beginning to worry about what would happen to Kyle afterwards...when their captives would feel no need for him. Because, Tess decided, she did need Kyle....needed him to survive...needed for him to be happy, even if she couldn't be. She had the thought then....a thought she knew she could never share with Kyle. It might be possible to trick them...to get HIM out safely, if she herself stayed. She'd have to think about that...but she'd still have to mindwarp him to do it. It was only a little thought, buried in the back of her mind, but it hovered there as she pushed back against him, savoring his presence.
As he felt her body spoon against hers, Kyle realized that ...despite their captivity...he'd really never felt so much love for anyone. As he went to sleep feeling her warmth against him, he realized that his love for her was total...and he let himself start to hope that hers for him was actually real...and unlike his mother, this love would never leave him.....
Re: Specimen (AU with aliens) T/K Adult 1/26
The desert sky was just starting to turn pink in the East when the Jetta drove back down the same highway. It hesitated only briefly as Jim quickly entered the driver's side in an area of highway screened on both sides by large boulders, and then sped away.
"How did it go?"
"There's an underground facility out there, and it is big..."
"Government or private?"
"I'd like to think private, but with over fifty people...on government land...with fully automatic weapons...my guess is that it's government. I didn't get all that much...the license plates of the cars...a general idea of the size and number pf personnel...locations of a few of what look like emergency exits, besides the one at the guard's shack. I'll try to run the plates down, learn what I can about the owners. I'm going to have to make a few more reconaissance trips to..."
"I'll be glad to help, Jim," said Amy.
"You've already done more than you should have. You have a business to run...a daughter to take care of..."
"Oh, she spent the night with Liz Parker again, and as for business..." she nodded her head toward the backseat. Jim wasn't sure he'd ever seen so many pies. "I couldn't sleep worrying about you, so I just kept making pies. There are some blackberry turnovers in the box there too, if you aren't up to eating a whole pie."
Jim wolfed down two of the turnovers. "What I really need is a shave, a shower, and a nap."
"Well, I'll drop you off at your place. Those are things you'll probably have to do on your own." 'Although once you get Kyle back,' Amy thought to herself, 'the latter two might be fun as a twosome.'
Isabel awoke in the semi-darkness with her cheeks red, and turned toward the young girl in the sleeping bag on the floor next to her. She and Maria had insisted that Isabel, as the new girl at the sleepover, use the bed rather than the floor. So she'd done it, realizing as she looked down on Liz that actually being in her presence was even more effective than a picture in allowing her to dreamwalk the girl. Nonetheless, she hadn't really been prepared for THAT dreamwalk.
'My God, still waters really do run deep,' she thought, the reference to deep stimulating even more blushing as she caught herself thinking about the double-entendre.
Isabel had known Liz since third grade and while she'd had an inkling the girl had more than a passing interest in Max, the girl's shyness for all those years had given no inkling of the passion that lay underneath....the blush rising even higher in her cheeks over THAT double-entendre. In her dream, Liz had started as a vamp...and rapidly become a wild woman. What she'd done to Max in that dream...had Isabel not been able to feel the love behind those feelings, the whole thing would have struck her as pornographic, but the love that was there......Oh God, If Max ever found out....she'd never be able to hold him back, and Liz would find out about him somehow...about both of them....although somehow she didn't think even THAT could stop Liz from loving Max.
She looked down at the young girl...so innocent looking there in the sleeping bag.....and had to smile even as she blushed. 'God,' she thought, 'Miss Scientist sure does know her biology....'
Isabel wondered if she'd ever be able to look at Liz...or Max...quite the same again. She'd had an occasional erotic dream about Alex...not while dreamwalking of course, but......'Omigawd....,' she thought, shaking her head in shocked disbelief.
"How did it go?"
"There's an underground facility out there, and it is big..."
"Government or private?"
"I'd like to think private, but with over fifty people...on government land...with fully automatic weapons...my guess is that it's government. I didn't get all that much...the license plates of the cars...a general idea of the size and number pf personnel...locations of a few of what look like emergency exits, besides the one at the guard's shack. I'll try to run the plates down, learn what I can about the owners. I'm going to have to make a few more reconaissance trips to..."
"I'll be glad to help, Jim," said Amy.
"You've already done more than you should have. You have a business to run...a daughter to take care of..."
"Oh, she spent the night with Liz Parker again, and as for business..." she nodded her head toward the backseat. Jim wasn't sure he'd ever seen so many pies. "I couldn't sleep worrying about you, so I just kept making pies. There are some blackberry turnovers in the box there too, if you aren't up to eating a whole pie."
Jim wolfed down two of the turnovers. "What I really need is a shave, a shower, and a nap."
"Well, I'll drop you off at your place. Those are things you'll probably have to do on your own." 'Although once you get Kyle back,' Amy thought to herself, 'the latter two might be fun as a twosome.'
Isabel awoke in the semi-darkness with her cheeks red, and turned toward the young girl in the sleeping bag on the floor next to her. She and Maria had insisted that Isabel, as the new girl at the sleepover, use the bed rather than the floor. So she'd done it, realizing as she looked down on Liz that actually being in her presence was even more effective than a picture in allowing her to dreamwalk the girl. Nonetheless, she hadn't really been prepared for THAT dreamwalk.
'My God, still waters really do run deep,' she thought, the reference to deep stimulating even more blushing as she caught herself thinking about the double-entendre.
Isabel had known Liz since third grade and while she'd had an inkling the girl had more than a passing interest in Max, the girl's shyness for all those years had given no inkling of the passion that lay underneath....the blush rising even higher in her cheeks over THAT double-entendre. In her dream, Liz had started as a vamp...and rapidly become a wild woman. What she'd done to Max in that dream...had Isabel not been able to feel the love behind those feelings, the whole thing would have struck her as pornographic, but the love that was there......Oh God, If Max ever found out....she'd never be able to hold him back, and Liz would find out about him somehow...about both of them....although somehow she didn't think even THAT could stop Liz from loving Max.
She looked down at the young girl...so innocent looking there in the sleeping bag.....and had to smile even as she blushed. 'God,' she thought, 'Miss Scientist sure does know her biology....'
Isabel wondered if she'd ever be able to look at Liz...or Max...quite the same again. She'd had an occasional erotic dream about Alex...not while dreamwalking of course, but......'Omigawd....,' she thought, shaking her head in shocked disbelief.