CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
With the cylinders safe in the trunk of his car, Paul motioned the young Dominant who brought Lupe over. "Shane, get these to the Council."
"What about the humans? They tried to kill the Chosen and you know the Council and I do not think the same," said Shane while Lupe transferred the cylinders from Paul's car to his.
"That human female, the one who pulls Attwood's strings, presumed to make Progenies. We know of those raised by humans, most are dangerous. The exception being of course Lambourni whose mind is..." He moved aside while Lupe locked Shane's trunk.
"Taken over by Diablo," Lupe blurted out.
"Only the Council makes the final decision, and few of them know about demon possession and you have been with us since a girl. Has anyone other than us talked to you?"
"The cinema. John looks at it. Documentaries."
"Ah part of his training and Shane I want you to investigate this demon possession, something peculiar to the humans, although in time we may be attacked, Lambourni being the exception."
Dominants never experienced that sort of thing. However, the ills of humankind had yet to fall on them. He also knew they could sense illnesses in their own species that humans were unaware of; small variations, perhaps an inability to sense someone coming four minutes and fifty nine seconds rather than the usual five, hearing someone from ninety yards away rather than two hundred yards, needed eight hours sleep rather than six hours. Even a minor quirk left them vulnerable.
"I will do that, but as for these, the Council has scattered since the Diaspora," said Shane, "and we need all of them to determine the fate of these future Dominants." He used the term the Dominants used for the unborn.
"Roderick, a senior member of the Council, might be in San Francisco," said Paul, "He wishes to share in the knowledge of the Chosen's rescue. The humans have taken him to a safe place. Gregory is in Brownsville, Texas, Elliot in Las Vegas. Take this cell phone. It is on Roderick's frequency. Drive along the highway. He will start up and meet you in the middle." He handed him the cell phone. "After giving the message, destroy it so the humans cannot trace it."
Shane talked on the cell phone and then taking out his disposer, reduced it to ashes which he scattered into the air. "He fortunately had no reached San Francisco, but took a detour to San Bernardino. He has started east on the highway." The young man got in his car and drove away.
Paul got in his Lincoln with Lupe in the passenger seat. He drove for a while, seeing a couple of Marines under the command of the cousin questioning two other men. One of the men wore black sun glasses, the New Yorker also known as Mac the Knife. In a minute, they had the latter in handcuffs and were escorting them to a jeep. The Military was cleaning up the mess.
In a moment, one of the Marines came over, and pulled the same routine that got the other two in trouble. "What's your purpose here?"
"I'm looking for my daughter, Anna Sedona," said Paul, "she's an actress. I believe she's with the Terra Firma Movie Company."
"They're shooting near Area 51. You'd better be careful. Just keep in the prescribed areas and you'll be fine."
After thanking him and driving off, Paul stopped at the motel where Attwood's group had been, a favorite of out of town visitors considering the family oriented meal in the adjoining restaurant. He was sure Walter Attwood, the nemesis of the Dominants, would not deign to stop in a motel whose clients used the name of Smith or Jones with alarming regularity. It would be a simple matter to find out the names of those two who thwarted his purpose and just left him with a cringing scientist to kill.
He entered the office, looked around for a map, and asked for the only one not in the display.. While the manager searched in the back, Paul looked through the guest book, and found a name, Gerona. He then went to the phone booth, and started searching. The name Gerona was there, but no address.
"Here you are sir," said the manager.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine, Enrique Gerona. I can't see his address nor telephone number."
"That's because they're in Area 51. Hush hush. You can't get there without a pass."
"Where can I get one?" asked Paul.
"On the base," was the reply.
"Thank you." That human was not much help. Paul went to the car. "If Anna's not at the shoot, we might have to get in this Area 51. She should have asked the Council first. If she wanted to be a Chameleon, they would've approved."
"And the other one? The one we had to give away?"
He glared at her. "Remember what happened when we first caught you?"
The woman shuddered, but remained calm, remembering the torture, the electric shocks, almost having her arms ripped up, and that thing one of them held that caused unbearable pain. She remembered screaming and her captors not caring, just smiling and one of them was the man besides her and she was now his favorite, the highest fate of human women captured by the Dominants.
"As in a nightmare." She brought up the subject of her weak child. "Maybe her dominant side remained dormant until now."
"I do not think so. You were half starved when you gave birth to her. The damage was permanent. Let the humans raise her as their own. It will be for the best." He took a sandwich out of a paper bag and gave it to the woman. "This Sloan seems interesting and this Walter Attwood, the man who announced our presence, too powerful to kill without notice."
The woman wondered why they were here. This was so far out of reach to find a woman in her twenties, a woman with stars in her eyes, the human side, mingled with the Dominant intelligence. It had been a lucky break, she assumed, finding the rescuers of Tom Daniels, the Chosen.
The Dominants, however, took nothing to chance. They had helped in the rescue, the captors of the Chosen, dead. No one knew who fired the first shot or snapped the first neck.
Paul set up sentries, watching the routes to see where Walter, Ed, Sloan, and Ray would go. The latter took another route, to get his wife and son and meet the others later.
Previously, the Council had informed Paul that Attwood hoped to establish another safe house here in Nevada. He learned there were three others, one in Denver, the other in Las Vegas, and one in Houston. As for Sloan's apartment, it was now the Los Angeles headquarters for the Council, Lewis's family having paid for the whole block. They made it out as a behest from Sloan's late boss. She would never suspect anything, but Attwood did. The heavy man had gone to Marcus's group who denied having anything to do with it
Now the Dominant plan was simple: to keep track of their enemy and what better way then to monitor the building where Sloan used to live. They could then wait, listen in via the radio, television, and the cable line and be prepared to escape when Attwood's group made another foray against them.
They had planned to rescue Tom, showing him how treacherous the humans were and then this Attwood and his gang showed up. The Dominants managed to eliminate a few of the captors, but it was two other men, brothers who sprung Tom from his cage and did the majority of the killings. He was quite weak, possibly drugged. Once they found who instigated this, that person or persons would meet a horrific fate
With the cylinders safe in the trunk of his car, Paul motioned the young Dominant who brought Lupe over. "Shane, get these to the Council."
"What about the humans? They tried to kill the Chosen and you know the Council and I do not think the same," said Shane while Lupe transferred the cylinders from Paul's car to his.
"That human female, the one who pulls Attwood's strings, presumed to make Progenies. We know of those raised by humans, most are dangerous. The exception being of course Lambourni whose mind is..." He moved aside while Lupe locked Shane's trunk.
"Taken over by Diablo," Lupe blurted out.
"Only the Council makes the final decision, and few of them know about demon possession and you have been with us since a girl. Has anyone other than us talked to you?"
"The cinema. John looks at it. Documentaries."
"Ah part of his training and Shane I want you to investigate this demon possession, something peculiar to the humans, although in time we may be attacked, Lambourni being the exception."
Dominants never experienced that sort of thing. However, the ills of humankind had yet to fall on them. He also knew they could sense illnesses in their own species that humans were unaware of; small variations, perhaps an inability to sense someone coming four minutes and fifty nine seconds rather than the usual five, hearing someone from ninety yards away rather than two hundred yards, needed eight hours sleep rather than six hours. Even a minor quirk left them vulnerable.
"I will do that, but as for these, the Council has scattered since the Diaspora," said Shane, "and we need all of them to determine the fate of these future Dominants." He used the term the Dominants used for the unborn.
"Roderick, a senior member of the Council, might be in San Francisco," said Paul, "He wishes to share in the knowledge of the Chosen's rescue. The humans have taken him to a safe place. Gregory is in Brownsville, Texas, Elliot in Las Vegas. Take this cell phone. It is on Roderick's frequency. Drive along the highway. He will start up and meet you in the middle." He handed him the cell phone. "After giving the message, destroy it so the humans cannot trace it."
Shane talked on the cell phone and then taking out his disposer, reduced it to ashes which he scattered into the air. "He fortunately had no reached San Francisco, but took a detour to San Bernardino. He has started east on the highway." The young man got in his car and drove away.
Paul got in his Lincoln with Lupe in the passenger seat. He drove for a while, seeing a couple of Marines under the command of the cousin questioning two other men. One of the men wore black sun glasses, the New Yorker also known as Mac the Knife. In a minute, they had the latter in handcuffs and were escorting them to a jeep. The Military was cleaning up the mess.
In a moment, one of the Marines came over, and pulled the same routine that got the other two in trouble. "What's your purpose here?"
"I'm looking for my daughter, Anna Sedona," said Paul, "she's an actress. I believe she's with the Terra Firma Movie Company."
"They're shooting near Area 51. You'd better be careful. Just keep in the prescribed areas and you'll be fine."
After thanking him and driving off, Paul stopped at the motel where Attwood's group had been, a favorite of out of town visitors considering the family oriented meal in the adjoining restaurant. He was sure Walter Attwood, the nemesis of the Dominants, would not deign to stop in a motel whose clients used the name of Smith or Jones with alarming regularity. It would be a simple matter to find out the names of those two who thwarted his purpose and just left him with a cringing scientist to kill.
He entered the office, looked around for a map, and asked for the only one not in the display.. While the manager searched in the back, Paul looked through the guest book, and found a name, Gerona. He then went to the phone booth, and started searching. The name Gerona was there, but no address.
"Here you are sir," said the manager.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine, Enrique Gerona. I can't see his address nor telephone number."
"That's because they're in Area 51. Hush hush. You can't get there without a pass."
"Where can I get one?" asked Paul.
"On the base," was the reply.
"Thank you." That human was not much help. Paul went to the car. "If Anna's not at the shoot, we might have to get in this Area 51. She should have asked the Council first. If she wanted to be a Chameleon, they would've approved."
"And the other one? The one we had to give away?"
He glared at her. "Remember what happened when we first caught you?"
The woman shuddered, but remained calm, remembering the torture, the electric shocks, almost having her arms ripped up, and that thing one of them held that caused unbearable pain. She remembered screaming and her captors not caring, just smiling and one of them was the man besides her and she was now his favorite, the highest fate of human women captured by the Dominants.
"As in a nightmare." She brought up the subject of her weak child. "Maybe her dominant side remained dormant until now."
"I do not think so. You were half starved when you gave birth to her. The damage was permanent. Let the humans raise her as their own. It will be for the best." He took a sandwich out of a paper bag and gave it to the woman. "This Sloan seems interesting and this Walter Attwood, the man who announced our presence, too powerful to kill without notice."
The woman wondered why they were here. This was so far out of reach to find a woman in her twenties, a woman with stars in her eyes, the human side, mingled with the Dominant intelligence. It had been a lucky break, she assumed, finding the rescuers of Tom Daniels, the Chosen.
The Dominants, however, took nothing to chance. They had helped in the rescue, the captors of the Chosen, dead. No one knew who fired the first shot or snapped the first neck.
Paul set up sentries, watching the routes to see where Walter, Ed, Sloan, and Ray would go. The latter took another route, to get his wife and son and meet the others later.
Previously, the Council had informed Paul that Attwood hoped to establish another safe house here in Nevada. He learned there were three others, one in Denver, the other in Las Vegas, and one in Houston. As for Sloan's apartment, it was now the Los Angeles headquarters for the Council, Lewis's family having paid for the whole block. They made it out as a behest from Sloan's late boss. She would never suspect anything, but Attwood did. The heavy man had gone to Marcus's group who denied having anything to do with it
Now the Dominant plan was simple: to keep track of their enemy and what better way then to monitor the building where Sloan used to live. They could then wait, listen in via the radio, television, and the cable line and be prepared to escape when Attwood's group made another foray against them.
They had planned to rescue Tom, showing him how treacherous the humans were and then this Attwood and his gang showed up. The Dominants managed to eliminate a few of the captors, but it was two other men, brothers who sprung Tom from his cage and did the majority of the killings. He was quite weak, possibly drugged. Once they found who instigated this, that person or persons would meet a horrific fate