CHAPTER TWO
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Jeff Moran had returned to his apartment where his partner Louise Lawson was waiting for him with breakfast on the sun terrace. The sun was shining over the pacific, and their was a gentle breeze as Louise got up from the lounger, still in her bathrobe, and gave him a hug and a kiss.
"Sorry, I didn't wanna risk running during cerfew again"
Louise poured the coffee, "it's okay...what was so urgent this time?"
Jeff sat down and picked up a slice of freshly made toast, "One of them was injured during an operation"
Louise bit her lip and leaned forward, "You are going to have to be more careful"
Jeff met her eyes, "they need me...Juliet's not a fully trained doctor...if Ben hadn't..."
"Died Jeff...he died. That's what resistance does to you...you know how I feel about all this...it's too dangerous Jeff - besides - the Visitors haven't done you any harm, have they?"
Jeff sighed, "No but...my friends have suffered, I've just been lucky and too co-operative"
Louise shook her head as to empathise that bit, "that's why you are still here and they are not...", she stood and tightened the cord of her bathrobe, "It's not that I like it...I hate it...I hate how the Visitors have somehow stuck a wedge into our society, but what choice so we have..."
"I'll stay safe, I promise..."
"I hope so...", and she went inside to dry her hair.
VVV
The van pulled off the highway and onto the sliproad that brought them through a barrage of traffic that was heavier then usual. Elias, still in discomfort from his injury but not letting it stop him, looked around to see the entrance to the hospital was swarming with Visitor patrollers. There was a couple of shuttle craft parked in the busy parking lot.
"Get down back there...it's lizard city in there", he warned Juliet, who was in the rear of the van.
"What's going on?", she asked keeping her head low and out of sight.
Elias could see there was a security block at the entrance, so he readied his fake papers to state he was delivering surgical supplies to the medical center.
"Looks like Disneyland...must be somekind of convention"
Juliet crouched down on the floor of the van.
"Lets just get our medical supplies and get the hell out of here"
Elias nodded and moved the van up to the security gate that swung back from the high barbed wire fensing around the parking lot. Daniel Bernstein, the Visitor Youth corps guy was manning the gate, Elias had had dealings with him before...he knew how to play it, the punk was easily lead.
"Well, well, well, looks like somebody got kicked upstairs!", Elias told with a big fat forced upon grin.
"I'm a supervisor now...got security clearance", bragged the teen as he took the paperwork from Elias to check.
"Good for you...", Elias reached into his pocket and hinted a knowing smile at Daniel, "... pretty tough job then...must be alot of pressure, you know what I'm saying"
"yeah...", said Daniel, looking around knowing what was to come from the black man.
"Well, I've got what you want...", He discretley dropped a bag of weed in the youths hand as he handed back the paperwork, "...a little pop, keep you on the top"
Daniel smiled back at him and waved him to move on,"Don't get too greedy in there..."
"Never do...", Elias wound up the window and put his foot down onto the gas, medical stores was around the back, and that's where they needed to be.
VVV
The Pacific ocean rolled in across the beach below, as Kristine Walsh sat having a latte on the sun terrace of the TV News studios in LA. Diana sat opposite wearing her sun visor and hinting a smile across her face as the news woman spoke.
"...no Diana, I don't understand, you promised me interviews with the president and the secretary of state over two months ago"
Diana leaned foward and placed a hand gently over Kristine's shoulder and squeezed it.
"I know Kristine...the bureucracy drives me crazy too..."
Diana moved her hand and cupped Kristine's cheek, the alien's intense stare held the other woman's gaze until a squadron of patrollers came onto the roof terrace lead my the main Visitor himself, the admiral.
"Kristine! What a pleasent surprize", he announced with a big smile and took her hand as she stood up from the chair.
"Good to see you admiral"
Diana looked up to her superior.
"Welcome to Los Angeles John, what perfect timing...Kristine was requesting interviews with the President of the United States again"
The Admiral put his hands together and met Kristine with an apologetic look.
"Indeed, I thought my people had taken care of that...leave it with me, I will see to it personally, but in the mean time I have some good news..."
Kristine removed her sunshades as the warm breeze caught her hair.
"Really?"
John nodded and tilted his head.
"You'll have exclusive coverage, of one of the most important announcments of a lifetime...we are going to be opening the first of our healing center here in Los Angeles...and believe me, this piece will be the highlight of your career..."
VVV
Dr Jeff Moran did his shift at the LA medical center's ED. He stepped out of the sliding doors, white coat flapping around him. He lit up a cigarette in the warm morning sunshine. Today was like anyother day, the same mundane visits of the walking wounded.
Jeff looked across the way to see the Visitor ambulance back up to a section of the hospital that had been turned into a Visitor field hospital. It was a restricted area of course, no human medic in any way shape or form was allowed anywhere near. They had all been told that only specially trained Visitor doctors could treat their own.
"Hey, daddy!"
The call jumped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see a teenage girl running over to him from a parked car nearby.
"Terri!", responded Jeff with a pleasent smile. Terri was his 18 year old daughter, and as always now, she was dressed up in the now familiar baig coloured uniform dress of the Visitor youth corps.
Jeff was somewhat dismayed to see Daniel Bernstein, her immediate supervisor, behind her.
Terri leaned in and kissed her father on the cheek, then beamed a big excited grin at him, "daddy...I have some awesome news!"
Jeff raised his eyebrows at her, "Oh?"
Terri was why he never stayed with the resistance full time. She had quit school and joined the Visitor youth corps no sooner it was set up. Jeff didn't have the heart to tell her about the aliens huge deception to the human race. If he did tell her, he didn't quite know how she would react. Some recruits in her group had actually informed on their own parents.
Daniel Bernstein put an arm around her shoulders. Both looking identical in their baig uniforms and matching side arms.
"We are getting married!", cried Terri, who looked adoringly into Daniel's brown eyes.
Jeff was opened mouthed in shock. This news was a right bolt out of the blue.
"Aren't you going to congratulate us, Dr Moran?", Daniel asked with a smug grin he'd sooner like to punch into next Tuesday. But instead, he extended his hand out to Daniel and shook his hand, "yes...congratulations to you both...very good news", he said darkly, knowing he needed to be somewhere else.
VVV
After leaving his daughter, Jeff had made his way to medical supplies at the rear of the hospital. There he found Juliet and Elias waiting for him and he let them in in via the fire escape as per normal.
Juliet came in wearing her blue boilersuit, and she and Elias started to move the boxes of medical items they needed from off the nearby shelving.
"This is all I can spare you Julie...if you take too much then somebodies gonna get suspicious"
Juliet leaned on her cane and rubbed his arm.
"I know Jeff...but you saw what we were up against, we are going through medical supplies quicker than ever"
Jeff nodded keeping watch at the internal door as they readied the supplies to clear into the van outside.
"I know that...but they have doubled the security...it's getting too dangerous...I'm a doctor Julie, I have a daughter, if she found out that I was doing this...I don't know what she'd do"
Elias came over and pushed back the white coat on the door that blocked the view from the corridor and peeked out. He could see portering staff pushing patients in wheelchairs, and nurses walking by, but he also saw Visitor patrollers had a heavy presence. One was chatting up a human nurse near the door he stood at. The nurse was giggling and blushing. He turned back to Jeff.
"Hey, what is going on around here anyways? The place is crawling with lizards"
Jeff shrugged his shoulders as he helped Juliet carry a crate of 100 box surgical gloves over to the fire door,"Nobody's quite sure, but there's a rumor that the Visitor Admiral is going to come here soon"
Juliet looked up and met his eyes, "Are you sure?"
"That's what I heard"
Juliet glanced at Elias and then she turned back to Jeff.
"Keep your ears to the ground for us Jeff...the Visitors only wheel out their Admiral for special accasions...we've got to find out exactly what that accasion is..."
VVV
Mike Donovan ducked out of the shop doorway and strolled up the busy street with his collars up. Visitor Patrollers stood guard on street corners, and some chatted to folk who were out on the streets. Mike then heard a police siren and turned to see two fugitives come running up the street. The police car was giving chase. A Visitor patroller on the opposite side of the road raised his pulse rifle and blasted the two fugitives in the back.
Mike watched as the two runners were lying in the road, the first one had his back to Mike and he could smell the odour of burnt flesh.
"Who are they?", one woman asked.
The cops were swarming now and one officer looked over to her, "Conspiracy sympathisers...that's who"
The woman shook her head, "Well...they had what was coming to them then"
Mike ducked back, and saw the chinese man standing outside his takeout shop beckoning him. He stepped aside and Mike slipped through into the gated allyway and in through the back door.
He swiftly strode down the narrow hall and went into the back room that was dim lit. A Visitor was standing at the opposite side of the room.
Mike squinted in the half light, "Martin?"
"Yes..."
Martin removed his cap and stepped forward, "It's good to see you Mike...I have news about your son...I have managed to locate him"
Mike felt his heart race, "Where...where is he, can you help him?"
Martin shook his head, "I'm sorry Mike, but he's on the San Francisco ship...I do not have any real security clearence on that vessell, and I had to ask a friend to look him up there for me"
Mike was frustrated, but decided to ask a favour, "Look, we are trying to fight back, you know that, but we cannot touch your people with our useless weapons..."
Martin looked up, "What do you want of me?"
"Lasers...pulse rifles...at least with your kinda weapons we might start getting somewhere"
Martin shook his head instantly dismissing it with a wave of the hand, "It's too risky Mike. We have our own movement, I told you that, our network is spreading..."
"and whilst you spreading up there, we are dying down here, if we lose, you lose, we need eachother", cried Mike with some heat.
"I cannot get you weapons Donovan they are all accounted for!", insisted Martin with no intention of backing down and blowing his or the movements cover.
"then get us uniforms...please", Mike reasoned.
"Allright...I'll see what I can do...look, I must go...I'll be intouch", Martin moved towards the exit, Mike grabbed his arm.
"Martin...please, if there is anything you can do to save my son...I'll appreciate it"
Martin nodded holding his gaze, and then was first to slip away through the door, Mike waited a while, then followed.
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