"Eve of Destruction" Chapter Two

"I don't know pumpkin, have you been a good girl for Dr. Whelan?" Jonathan Reynolds returned the young girl's smile as he moved closer to the barrier.

"Yah-huh. I've done everything that he asked," she nodded, her head bobbing up and down as she spoke. "Even the hurty stuff. You can ask em', he'll tell you so. Right Dr. Whelan?"

Mal smiled at her, she had remembered not to call him Grampa in front of the other scientists. "She's been a perfect little angel."

Jonathan dramatically scratched his stubble covered chin. "Well, in that case, I think I might have left you something back in your room."

"Goodie!" Unable to hide her excitement she started bouncing up and down while clapping her hands. Despite her wild antics and squeals of joy, the chittering Hespers kept their distance.

"Why don't you go see, pumpkin, I think we can go on here without you." Jon winked at her and she winked back while gently biting her lower lip.

She knew what he wanted her to do. Her Grampa had said that they wanted to play a trick on the other people in the room, and that they needed her help to scare them a bit. Eve was only too happy to play along, especially if there was a new teddy bear waiting for her. Even if it hurt a little bit.

Eve took a step back from the barrier, sending Hespers scurrying in all directions. The smile dissolved away, her expression becoming blank, her arms hanging lifeless at her sides. Her eye lids fluttered closed, hiding her glacial blue gaze. Slowly, as if in a trance, she began walking forward, heedless of the three foot thick wall of clear steel blocking her way.

There was a sudden collective intake of breath from all those gathered in the auditorium as Eve's body began to pass through the barrier. Her face was a mask of concentration, broken only by an occasional flinch of pain. She moved as if the wall were only an illusion, a trick of shadow and light that only gave the appearance of a solid structure. By her third step she was on the other side, standing in the same room as the gaping scientists.

Eve opened her eyes and looked out on the strange faces staring at her in disbelief. For a moment time stood still with no one daring to make a sound. Eve waited until just the right moment before crying out, "BOO!"

More than one person in the crowd jumped before letting out a nervous laugh, but Eve wasn't done. As the chuckling crowd began to settle once more she released her control of the Hespers. Instantly the writhing mass began to hurl themselves against the barrier, desperate to get at those on the other side. The force with which they assaulted the wall filled the room with percussive booms. Some of the scientist in the first row instinctively dove for cover in the row behind them, others tried to make a hasty exit through the door in the rear of the room.

Eve giggled as she calmed the Hespers back down with no more effort than a thought.

Eve smiled and made a mad dash up the stairs towards the exit. Those in her path gave a wide birth as the nude little girl sprinted by them, giggling. As she neared the top of the flight she gave them all one more shock as her lithe form faded from view.

Malcolm couldn't help but grin as he followed his granddaughter's cute little bum up the stairs before it dissolved into nothing. The door seemed to open on its own as the invisible girl left them, closing once again as she ran off to play with her new toy.

Every trembling hand in the auditorium reached for the ceiling.

For close to an hour Malcolm answered question after question, though he mostly just referred to different files now shared among them all electronically. Truth be told he only answered one question definitively.

The greatest secret ever kept from the masses had just been shared with the greatest minds in the country. The so called "Veil" had been pulled aside briefly, exposing the scientific minds assembled to a new reality. As a Council member, Malcolm had been arguing for months trying to make this moment happen, but not like this, not with shock and awe. That had to have been Reynolds' idea. After all, he had been the one to organize today's event.

When Malcolm tired of providing answers he dismissed everyone. Most rushed out to their respective labs, eager to pour themselves into the new files. Some stayed behind, moving closer to the barrier in order to get a better look at the creatures contained on the other side.

"What about him?" Mal motioned to Dr. Reed, who had not moved from his seat, his eyes gazing wildly at the monsters beyond the wall.

"He can come. You've convinced me he can be trusted." Without another word Reynolds moved briskly into a side room provided for speakers to wait until they were needed.

"Dr. Reed?" Mal shook his friend's shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. "Come with us, we need to talk."

Reed stood on shaking legs and followed behind Mal. Once inside Mal closed the door and motioned for Reed to take a seat again. The side room was a much smaller space than the room they had just exited, just barely enough space for a six person conference table.

As Reed sat in silence as Mal and Reynolds began to sweep around the room, Mal waving a metallic device with a blinking red light, Reynolds holding a black rock in the air before him. Reed thought he was loosing his mind.

"Same here, but just in case." Reynolds slipped the rock back into his pocket and retrieved a long, thin, quartz crystal, which he handed to Malcolm.

Malcolm then turned to Reed. "Take this in your left hand, pass it you your right, and then hand it to Reynolds."

"We'll tell you after you do it." Malcolm took a seat next to Reed as he passed along the crystal.

Once Reynolds held the quartz he sat as well, placing the clear rock in the center of the table.

"The crystal is a conversation eater, a suite… magic spell, has been placed on it that will absorb every word spoken here until it is full. Only the three of us will be able to hear what's being said. When the crystal is full, we'll shatter it so that no one can extract our discussion. This one is small, so we'll have to keep this as brief as possible."

Reed stared at the crystal on the table. Already the once clear stone had begun to take on a smoky tint. "I... I don't know if I can handle all of this."

"Then just be quiet and listen, I need to speak to Mal. You're only here because he thinks that you may be able to help. We don't have enough time right now to explain everything, so just listen." Reynolds turned in his chair to face Mal. "It's beginning."

"Canada. A snow storm came out of the north... red snow, Mal. You should have seen it, creepiest thing I've ever witnessed, a silent wilderness bathed in blood red snow." Reynolds shuddered. "The weather nerds said it was caused by iron dust kicked up into the atmosphere during the last sign."

"The Australian dust storm?" Mal asked. "That was two months ago, and how would debris from the southern hemisphere end up that far north?"

"That they couldn't explain, but we've managed to keep it out of the news for now, and a normal snow fall should hide what's left of it from the curious. Speaking of the Aussie incident, we got confirmation. A temple of Ixshebet was discovered at Ayers Rock after the storm, it was definitely the second sign."

"The house of the Dream God shall be revealed in a scouring red wind that will last for forty days," Malcolm quoted the prophesy.

Reynolds nodded. "First the twin tsunamis, then the scouring winds, now the blood snow."

"I think we're 'plan B', Mal. You have no idea what I had to do to get them to okay your plan to merge the groups. It's like they don't care whether or not we find a solution."

Mal rubbed his temples in a circular motion, trying to ease away some of his tension. "So what's new about that? I've been fighting with them every step of the way ever since my father died. I must have told them at least once a month that we were wasting time that we didn't have. I mean, come on, I should have been made a member of the Council years ago."

"That's just it, Mal; I don't think you are a member of the Council. I think you've been lied to, and they only said that you are a member so that you would stop distracting them."

"Okay, I'll bite, why do you think that I'm being duped?" Mal looked up from his hands.

"The Council has held over twenty meetings in the past four months, and before you ask, I was kept in the dark about them as well."

"It's my job to be at the Council's beck and call, Mal. In order to do that, I've had to take certain... measures."

"Nothing so pedestrian, I used a suite that one of your mystics devised." Reynolds tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger. "I know where they are at all times, except when they are in a meeting, they take special precautions during those. It blocks the connection."

"They're having a meeting somewhere," Reynolds smiled. "In fact, they're meeting somewhere right now. That's why I knew it was safe to have this little chat."

"I understand why they might want to keep me out of their affairs, but why you? No offense, but aren't you programmed to be loyal?"

"I have free will, Mal. Besides, the programming is worded in such a way that I can take liberties. I am loyal to the country first, and if I believe that my country is in danger, I can disregard other orders if they conflict with that first order. Right now I don't believe the Council is taking this seriously enough, their lack of interest could be detrimental to America."

"Slippery slope you're walking there, Jonathan. If they figure out what you've been doing they could see you as a threat." Mal leaned back into his chair. "But I'm glad that we're on the same path. I'd hate to have you as an enemy."

"As long as I believe you are trying to do everything in your power to protect the United States, we'll be friends."

"Good, I thought you'd decided to keep quiet. Welcome back to the conversation, Allen," Mal chuckled, but Allen didn't see the humor in what he had asked. "You might as well tell him, Jon."

"I'm a Phase One soldier," Reynolds offered, but Reed still looked at him with questions. "I was born in a lab, Dr. Reed, a test tube baby bred to be the new fighting force against the rising darkness. The programming that Mal spoke of came from the MERI device that you helped to create. Wisdom without real world experience, zapped into my brain at the tender age of two and then again every year after until they decided to end the project that made me. Unfortunately, the Council didn't like the idea of super soldiers running around with their own thoughts and ideas. So I'm the only one..."

"Ha ha ha... very funny." Reynolds turned red. "Mock the super soldier. That's good, Mal, why don't you tell him what you are?"

Malcolm stopped laughing and looked sullen. "We should get back to business, the crystal is filling up."

Allen looked to the table and saw that the crystal was now grey in color, no longer transparent but opaque.

"As I was saying..." Reynolds continued, "I'm the only one. At least I thought I was the only one until yesterday. I'm a liaison between the Council and all of the different project leaders, but I'm also liaison between the Council members. I spent the day tracking them down one by one to pass on my report about the Canadian incident. I crossed paths with someone else, someone that I recognized. Mal, they weren't destroyed. Donovan is still alive."

Mal looked concerned. "Are you sure? It's been nearly twenty years, it could have just..."

"Mal, I have a photographic memory, I know what I saw. It was Donovan. He's alive and still working for the Council, and if he's alive..." Jonathan left the thought hanging in the silence.

Mal turned to Reed and tried to explain. "When the Council ended the Phase One soldier program they were supposed to destroy all of the soldiers that they had created, with one exception, Jonathan. It was a safety measure. The others, they... they..."

"Oh, just say it, Mal," Reynolds interrupted. "They couldn't be controlled like I could. They have ambition, drive, and motivation that I lack... they want power."

Mal shook his head. "It wasn't about control, that wasn't the reason you were spared. You were the control group specimen, the only one that was allowed to develop your own personality. Their personalities were tailor made by the MERI device, and it was a complete failure. You're the only success that came out of the project."

"If that's true, Mal, then why weren't the others destroyed like they were supposed to be? Why are they still working for the Council? And why has it all been kept a secret from not only me but you as well?"

"Events are moving faster than we can keep up with, Doc. Secret meetings, secret soldiers, this lock-down order; if we don't figure out what's going on soon, the prophesy will be the least of our problems."

"Jon, why did you want to put on such a big show today? We've talked about how we should merge the two divisions, why all the theatrics?"

"For the same reason I came to you with my information about the Council, to protect Eve. She's special, Mal, really special. The Council knows what she's capable of... they know what she is. If they're hiding the existence of the other phase one's and not letting you in on meetings..."

"If I was the Council, and my B-team developed something that my A-team couldn't, I'd shift her over to the other project."

"You keep calling us the B-team, do you really think that there is another group out there?"

"It would make sense. A redundant program working independently and in ignorance of the other; why not? You've been doing that with your own scientists for decades, this is just on an even grander scale."

"Okay... let me get all of this straight." Mal went back to rubbing his temples, a new headache forming. "So the Council is running two projects working towards the same goal, to stop the prophesy. You and I have been lied to for eighteen years about the other soldiers being dead. I've been led to believe that I was a member of the Council, but I'm not. Three of the seven signs spoken of in the prophesy have come to pass, and now the Council might attempt to steal Eve and place her with the other project. What am I missing? Why all the flash this morning?"

"Look, when they ordered the lock down I knew it wasn't for any other reason than to keep everyone right where they are. They might make a move to take her, and with the whole base on lock down there is no way that you can sneak her out. Aside from me, you, and a dozen or so other people in this complex, who else knew about Eve and her abilities? Before this morning's demonstration, who would have believed you if you told them that the Council had abducted a little girl who might be the key to stopping a five-thousand year old prophesy concerning forces of evil ripping open a gateway into our universe and enslaving all of humanity? At least now you have about a hundred scientific minds who are chomping at the bit for a chance to study her. They'll notice if she's missing, and they'll ask questions that the Council isn't ready to answer."

"No, no... this is concerning your family, I checked in on them before I came here."

"Still doing good. She runs a tight ship over there, reminds me of you, in fact. Though that granddaughter of yours, Stephanie, seems to be pushing her boundaries a bit."

"Well, we have a delivery man who makes regular trips to them at the retreat. He brings them food and other necessities once a week, and, well... if he knew who hired him for that job he'd be thanking him. Stephanie's been sneaking out of the house, against your daughter's wishes, and having some fun with him. I swear Mal, your family's appetite for carnal delights never ceases to amaze me."

"It's in the blood," Mal laughed. "So the false memories are still in place then? Helen has the family that she always wanted?"

"That and then some. They all seem very happy with the new life you've given to them."

"Well, not all good. The boy, Robbie, he's still having nightmares every night."

"That's not all, Mal. He's been going online, doing searches on dreams and memory loss. I think he's starting to figure out that something isn't right."

"Just leave him be for now. If things start to get out of control we may have to intervene, but I'd rather we didn't. If the Council does somehow get their hands on Eve, then Robbie is our plan-B. Make sure the Council stays in the dark about him."

"You got it, Doc." Reynolds checked the crystal, it was almost black. "Time to wrap this up. Dr. Reed, I know it must have seemed that I was exceptionally hard on you after that security leak, but it was all for a reason. We needed to make it appear that you have had nothing to do with what we have been working on. Mal wanted to bring you into the fold years ago, but couldn't, so don't blame him for not telling you about all of this. Oh, and by the way, sorry about the shipment of animals this morning."

"You did that! Do you have any idea what a fucking mess that caused?" Allen fumed.

"Better than getting a shipment of dead animals though, wasn't it? If they hadn't arrived before the lock down order that's exactly what you would have received. Security is now searching every single shipment that comes to this base. Your animals could have been stuck in holding for up to a month without food or water."

Allen was stunned. Without those animals his project would have been impossible to complete. "I guess I should be thanking you then."

"Don't bother, just remember that I just don't do things on a whim, everything I do, I do for a reason. I'm not out to get you, even though it may appear that I am. Don't speak of anything that was discussed in here today, it's not safe. The entire structure is wired with ears and eyes, except for this room and one other which Mal will show you later. I'm sure you have a ton of questions, he'll fill you in when he can."

With that Reynolds picked the black quartz up from the table and dropped it onto the floor. The crystal exploded into a glittering cloud of shards as soon as it made contact with the carpet. When the cloud subsided nothing remained, not even dust.

"Now, are you and Dr. Whelan in complete agreement about the new security protocols?" Reynolds asked.

It took Dr. Reed a moment to realize that Reynolds was talking to him. "Uh, yes... very clear."

"Good. I have to get going, but tell Eve I'll try and come visit her some time next week, and that I hope she likes her new teddy bear." Reynolds stood up and pushed his chair back under the table.

The other men stood as well, shook hands, and then parted ways. Reynolds headed off alone to the security room, Allen and Malcolm returned to the elevator leading back to their labs. The two remained quiet until the elevator door closed.

"Dr. Reed, why don't you stop by my lab in about an hour? I need to go over the new project guidelines with you."

When the door opened they split off in different directions without another word spoken.