M&T Bank's halls were quiet for a Saturday night. The guards were tucked away in their booths. Four guards roamed the hallways every twenty minutes. Outside the bank, on Mt. Reed Boulevard a black van was parked. A figure dressed in black got out and crossed the street and walked up the stairs of the bank and broke the front window glass. He pulled a gun on the guard who was coming to see what was happened and was shot twice in the forehead, the guard dropped immediately. The dark dressed figure kicked the guard as he lay on the ground, seeping out blood. The man walked kept walking towards a small door and a small shaft of light exposed his identity, Cade Foster.
"Doppleganger Part I" Written By Robert Pierce robzilla@idirect.com
"Rochester New York, I have travelled here to investigate what appears to be a chain robberies that have pinned me as the prime suspect. I have not done anything of the sort, I would turn myself in to explain to them, but for obvious reason I don't think they would believe my story. I might run into another Inspector Ludlow. Any ways, I have to confess; my only alibi is a crazy, paranoid genius and a can of frankfurters."
A man with brown hair, medium build and a black leather bomber jacket, with dark blue jeans and a light grey undershirt walked into the M&T Bank on Mt. Reed, forensics are still there cleaning up their investigation. A small bald man walked up to the medium built man. "May I help you?" The man asked. "Yes, my name is Cade Osgoode, I am with the New York Times." Cade Foster said with a smile. "New York Times? I though you were already were here?" The man nervously said. "We were, I am just doing a follow up." Cade said as he took a notepad from his back pocket with a pen and opened it to take some notes. "And you would be?" The small man took a breath "Mr. Cullings, the executive assisting manager." "Okay, so what happened?" Cade asked with his pen ready. "Well, the assailant walked right into the front door. " Cullings trailed off as Cade turned his attention to a cart with what looked like full evidence bags on top, he regained his concentration and focused back on Cullings "And we have it all on surveillance tape" That caught Cade's attention "Surveillance? I don't suppose I could get a copy to put on the new?" "I thought we already gave you one?" Cullings asked. "You did, we like to keep a back up just in case something goes wrong" Cade explained. Cullings nodded, "Please wait here, I'll go get another copy" and he walked away from Cade and into his office down the large corridor. Cade looked to where the cart was; it was still there. Slowly Cade made his way towards the cart, he noticed one bag was almost on the edge of the cart, ready to fall off. Inside the bag was a small card, he couldn't make out the type since the bag was slightly frosted. Cade slowly reached to grab the bag and stuff it into his bomber jacket. "Mr. Osgoode?" Cullings said. Cade snapped is hand back towards his body, and turned around quickly. "Yes?" Cullings had a small black rectangular box in his hand and extended it towards Cade. "Here is the copy of the tape," Cullings said as Cade gently took it from his hands. "Thank you, I greatly appreciate it." Cade said stashing the tape into his jacket. "Do you mind if I?" Cade pointed around. "Go right ahead, excuse me I must be tending to some clients" Cullings said and walked off. Cade looked back towards the cart with the baggie and found him self staring at a beautiful woman across the room. She has gorgeous long blonde hair and legs to match, and full, red lips.
"Take a load at that" Cade's thought were interrupted by one of the forensic experts. "Huh?" Cade said as he snapped his head towards the man. The man wore a blue nylon jacket with the words Rochester Forensics Department on the upper left breast. He pointed to where Cade was staring. "She is a fox eh?" Cade looked back; the man joined him "Yeah, a real looker" Cade added. He realised that the guy was there to take the cart away and he slowly but surely reached own and grabbed the bag from the cart and stashed it into his pocket. "She is not my type." Cade spurted out. The man looked at him, "What do you mean she is not your type?" Cade lifted his hand and moved his ring finger; the forensic guy noticed a golden shimmer. "Ah, a married man eh? Well, you can look but you can't touch." The man said elbowing Cade in the lower chest and chuckled slightly. Cade smiled and nodded; he looked at his watch. "Well, it looks like I must be going." Cade said. "What, not going to stay for a encore showing?" The man asked and then looked at the blonde who was now bending over. Cade looked at the man and slightly shook his head and walked away and out the door.
Outside the sun shone on Cade's furrowed brow, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone and dialled a number and put it to his ear. "Eddie it me." Cade continued to walk, across the street where his rental car sat. "I got a surveillance tape from the bank, as well as a forensics baggie." "Whoa Cade, you work to fast for me." Eddie said. "Hey, you either keep up with the twice blessed man or you loose your ground" Cade paused to pull the keys to the car out of the same pocket which he had pulled the phone. The keys came out and he inserted them in and opened the door and got in. Cade closed the door behind him. He set the tape box down on the passenger side seat. "I'm heading back, I'll drop off the tape and head back into town." Cade reached into his other pocket and pulled out the baggie. He opened it and pulled out the small business card and looked at it.
Recheck Warehouse 115 Main Avenue (716) 555-5628
"I want to check out the address of this business card before dusk breaks," Cade said. "No problem Mr. Alien Hunter." Eddie said over the cell. Cade pressed a button on the phone, which ended the conversation, Cade slide the phone back into his pocket and put the car in gear. He stepped on the pedal and accelerated.
Cade's rental care pulled up to the gates of the small warehouse. In the car Cade looks at the gates, specifically a brand new lock on the gate and a large side tied up say ABANDONED. "Eddie, I don't think the Gua are trying anymore. They have a new lock on the gate with a makeshift sign on the gates saying abandoned." Cade could head Eddie laughing slightly over the phone. "Maybe they are trying to look conspicuous to get THE Cade Foster to fall into their trap." "Well Eddie, I'm a Bass, I'll bite." Cade opened the car door and stepped out with the phone in his hand. He walked around the car and up to the gate and laughed slightly. "What is it Foster?" Eddie asked. Cade stopped his small chuckle "The key lock they have on here, good old' Goodwin locks" "Oh, yeah" Was all that Eddie said.
"Well Eddie, I think I am coming back in a few hours, I want to wait till dark." Cade said walking back to his car. "There is a abandoned lot four blocks from here, look like a good place to set up shop." "Good idea Foster, I'll be down in an hour," Eddie said. Cade ended that call and sat back into the rental car. He looked at the lock and smiled.
Cade sat on the trailer's steps eating a hotdog. "At least these beat the frankfurters we had two nights ago." "Hey, those canned delicacies are the best. I only break them out on special occasions." Eddie paused "And when I am out of anything else." Cade couldn't help but smirk a bit and takes another bite of his hotdog. "Cade, for some reason I have a weird feeling about this one. I really do" Eddie said. Cade swallowed "You always have a feeling, your paranoid." "No, not this time. Its different, this whole thing has disturbed my since the news cast. I don't like it Foster. I don't like it one bit." "Eddie, it's okay. I always watch out for myself." Cade said trying to calm his long time friend and companion in the war against the Gua. Cade got up as Eddie walked towards the trailer. Eddie went in and Cade followed behind him. "Here, I took the liberty of infiltrating City Hall's database and extracting the blueprints of the warehouse complex from their mainframe." Eddie said handing Cade a printout. Cade took them and glanced over them. "Thanks Eddie, what would I have done without you?" "Died?" Eddie bluntly said. Cade took a deep breath "Your right about that, you saved my butt more then I give you recognition for. "Thanks again." Cade said and walked out of site from the doorway, Eddie sighed.
The blue rental car pulled onto the tore up road that the warehouse was on, the lights shut off and the car slowed down, creeping forward. It stopped and the door opened, Cade stepped out with his cellular headphones hooked up and a small black bag in hand. "Can you hear me Eddie?" Cade whispered. "Affirmative, Cade." Eddie blabbered. Cade cautiously ran up to the gate and looked at the lock. Cade reached into his bag and pulled out two long thin wires and knelt on the ground rustling with the lock for a few seconds before it popped open. Cade smiled in success, sort of; it took him too long to open it. I must be getting rusty in my old age. Cade thought. Cade opened the gate and closed it quietly behind him; he crept forward to a dark side of the building and pulled out the map and a small flashlight. Cade turns on the flashlight and holds it with his teeth. Cade looked over the map for a second then put it away along with the flashlight. Cade continued along the side of the building and came upon the door; it had the same set up as the warehouse in Potomac Maryland. This made Cade wonder if this was another genetech clone facility. Cade disarmed the door alarm and opened it cautiously. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. He turned around to find himself standing in front of a large black curtain. Cade slowly moved forward an opened the curtain to reveal the same thing in Potomac. Except this was different, he was horrified and disgusted at the same time. The husks, they were clones of HIM! Cade closed the curtain and breathed deeply, Eddie heard this over the cell. "Cade, what's the matter?" He asked.
"Eddie, they have genetech clones of me." Cade said. "Whoa, holy . . . " Eddie never finished his statement. "What are you going to do?" "Destroy them all, This explains why I am pinned for the robberies and murders. They have clones running around doing god knows what." People talked in the background, Cade froze, Eddie, talked in the background. "Cade, you need to get out of there." Eddie paused, "Cade? Cade? Cade! Oh man don't tell me you hung up again. I hate when you do that" "Shhh" Cade said and tuned down the volume and looked through the curtain again to see a scientist talking to Joshua. "Joshua" Cade said under his breath. Cade turned up the sensitivity of the headphone microphone so Eddie could here the conversation. "The assembly doesn't like mishaps Doctor, I suggest you repair this or I will do it for you" Joshua said. "Joshua, can't you reason with the assembly?" The Doctor asked. Back in the Trailer, Eddie's ears perked up; he started the cellular recorder, which whirred with life as it recorded Cade's cellular transmission. "The assembly sent me to clean up this mess, and if necessary, you as well." Joshua said in his fierce tone. The doctor sighed "I can give you the transference results in a few hours." "Very well." Joshua paused and looked around. "I will return." Joshua walked away from the doctor towards the opposite side of the warehouse. The doctor look at one of the Cade clones "You have caused me so much trouble since the beginning. First trying to clone you, now the transference. What next?" the doctor walked away. Cade closed the curtain and retreated back outside. "Eddie, did you hear that?" Cade asked. "I more then heard it, I recorded it" Eddie responded. Cade nodded his head "Good, I'm coming back."
Joshua went into a small, loft/warehouse. His gun was pulled. He crept up to a door softly and kicked it opened and aimed his gun inside ready to pull the trigger. Nothing! Joshua looked to his side as he heard a squeak, which came from a room down the hall. He moved slowly with his gun ready. He came up slowly upon the door and opened it slowly and poked his gun inside the room. Nothing appeared unordinary and he continued farther in to the room. The door closed with a gust of wind, behind the door entrance stood Cade Foster. Joshua turned around and aimed his gun. Cade grabbed Joshua's gun and threw it away towards the wall. Joshua formed a fist and throws it at Cade who ducks and counters that with a punch of his own. It connects sending Joshua into the wall. The drywall cracks and breaks as Joshua impacts. Cade moves towards Joshua with his fist clenched and throws it a Joshua whom dodges and Cade's fist goes into the wall and gets stuck, slightly. Joshua knees Cade's chest a few times in a row and grabs him and throws him across the room. Cade stumbled back into a wall and regained his footing. Joshua stepped forward onto a piece of drywall making him loose his footing slightly but just enough for Cade to push Joshua back into the wall just hard enough to knock him out. Joshua's vision is blurred, he sees Cade come towards him. "Tell the Assembly I am out and if you ever come after me again, I'll kill you myself." Cade said as he clenched his fist.
Joshua tried to get a word out but Cade punched him in the face again and he blacked out. Joshua awoke to find himself alone in the room, a bit dazed and a sore jaw that would pass. He got up off the floor slowly and had a bit of a headache. He dusted himself off and walked over to where Cade had thrown his gun. He dug through some drywall and found his gun, he holstered it and walked out of the room not looking back.
A black and white image appeared on Eddie's monitor; a man dressed in black walked from the upper left screen towards the lower right. From the lower right a guard came into picture and dropped to the floor. In the hand of the other figure was a gun. The man continued his trek to the lower right hand corner. As the figure came to the right hand corner a small shaft of light hit the figures face, Cade continued. "Well, this tape identifies you killing the guard in cold blood." Eddie said leaning back in his computer chair with his arms folded. "Eddie, I didn't kill the guard. I was here with you." Cade explained. Eddie adjusted himself in the chair, "I know, so who was it" "Or do you mean what!" Cade exclaimed. "You think a clone did it?" Eddie asked leaning forward in the chair. Cade took a breath. "The doctor at the warehouse said something about a problem with the transference, but wasn't quite sure. Maybe they transferred a gua into a clone of me as to discredit me." "They don't need to, they have done it behind the scenes before, why would they do it with clones now?" Eddie said. "I don't know, but whatever they are doing, it's out of their character." Cade said. Suddenly, Cade's cell phone rang. Eddie looked at Cade and looked back at Eddie, they were surprised. "Maybe it's a wrong number." Eddie said. Cade reached into his pocket and pressed the button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?" Cade answered. "Foster." The deep voice said, it was familiar to him and he had heard it many times before. "This is Joshua, I need you to meet me at Ravenhearse Drive at 11 tomorrow morning." Joshua's voice said. Cade paused, "How do I know its not a trap?" "Was Chicago a trap?" Joshua said. "No, but you only gave me the information so that you could get your operatives back." Cade said. "You only did it because you wanted something you knew I could get." "Precisely, and I need your help again. I will meet you at Ravenhearst, at 11, remember!" Joshua said and the phone conversation ended. Cade pressed the button and slides the phone back into his pocket. "Well, who was it?" Eddie asked anxiously. "It was Joshua, he wants me to meet him." Cade said. "Joshua again, what does he want you to do for him this time?" Eddie asked sarcastically. "I guess we will just have to find out."