CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Meanwhile, Paul having checked the other addresses, and finding that Lupe had also asked them questions about their involvement with the Movie Company, decided to drive back to that large house. It was the last one on the list and if he knew anything about Attwood, his group would be there. He checked the information again. Enrique Gerona moved here about ten years ago from a small town in Vermont after a stint in the Navy. He was in his late forties, married with twenty children and numerous grandchildren. The name Gerona seemed similar to that name Geronti. Was not there a Geronti who had a bone transfusion back in the 1980s?
Roderick talked about a Mexican doctor approaching him because the Norte Americanos were desperate. Roderick volunteered to donate some of his bone marrow. It was not a gratuitous decision. The Dominants wanted to keep themselves secret and if they donated blood or bone marrow to obvious humans, there would be humans with enough Dominant DNA to be noticeable by the machines, but not enough to alter their natural physiology.
Paul took out his calculator, not the ordinary ones that most people had, but specifically altered and improved by the Dominants. It could get any information from anywhere. He checked to see if there were any similarities between this Gerona or Geronti.
They were brothers.
He found that Carl worked for an organization called Majestic. That was the reason for the different names, to confuse the weak minded humans and he suspected something else. These two were probably also members of the New Species, but Paul could not tell from where. They did not act like him, or like those from the Lost Ships who were always hiding, a contact out for their capture or execution. However, he would check with Roderick and the rest of the Council, finding out if they were survivors of the dispersal, but he could not be sure.
He decided to go a different way just in case someone had watched him go down the street after spotting the woman, so he drove in a seemingly haphazard fashion. He asked a man who was overcurious where the Space Museum was and when the man demanded what he was talking about, Paul remarked that there should be one here, especially with all that outer space activity.
At last, he decided to go to the Enrique house. He used all his Dominant senses, at last, driving down the street, and seeing the large house with all that activity.
He saw Attwood and Tate's cars as well as the van. He also saw The Chosen and his female drive up. Tom seemed a little better, the drugs and injections having worn off. That meant that The Chosen was now at the height of his natural powers. Too bad, Lewis's control has worn off, it's for the best.
Paul parked the car on the other side of the street and walked over. He did not have to worry about Tom recognizing him.
When he got to the door, Paul's senses went on high alert. There was another Dominant besides Tom here, no more than one, yes several. He hoped Tom knew and it appeared he did.
Mr. Gerona had that "Ah, someone I can relate to" look which was oblivious to Attwood and the others. He was chatting with Tom, not with the 'making conversation' he must have had with Attwood or Tate, but as someone to whom he considered an equal. Mr. Gerona was a 1.6r and Attwood would soon know, for now Paul could sense that the computer being unpacked was the same type that had detected the New Species.
Paul had to get in before Attwood plugged it into the wall. No one noticed him coming in, he had used the masking routine, no one except a young man who came with Dr. Ed Tate from another room.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Ed.
The young man turned back to the doctor for a moment and Ed suddenly saw Paul standing there, but it was the young man who did all the talking.
"I was studying. I have this delicate operation to do, one that Dr. Tate is familiar with and all I hear is Father and the whole United States military moving in some secret equipment. It's bad enough that Uncle belongs to Majestic and practically knows everyone in the CIA. He's not behind this farce, is he?" He turned to Paul. "You could have knocked. Oh maybe not, nobody else does."
Attwood now noticed the stranger standing there. "How did you get here?"
Paul, having been trained by the best, fell into his new routine. "I'm having trouble with my expenses. I should have knocked, but I figured if I just walk in, I wouldn't have to worry about making an appointment." He looked at his watch. "I have to be in Seattle in a couple of days."
"Kind of rushing it, aren't you?" asked the young man.
Mrs Gerona made an excuse for her son. "Vito could have boarded at the hospital residence, but no one wanted him. Takes after his Uncle."
"Vito's just nervous about tomorrow's procedure," said Ed, "it's only been performed successfully in the major cities. New Equipment?"
Bringing out several bills of sales, purchase receipts, and fliers, pointing to each piece of equipment, Attwood gave a smirk as he examined each. "That's supposed to be a fax machine. Over to the wall is a set of books on recent tax laws, that detector, according to the receipt, is a 500 gigahertz Computer with a CD room..." He now noticed the stranger standing there. "How did you get here?"
"I'm looking for someone who can get me to see my daughter. I believe that the man here does business with studio," said Paul.
"Ah finally the truth. I didn't believe you the first time. You don't like the type who'd rush off to Seattle on a whim. I do the accounting for them," said Enrique. "Just give me the details."
"My village was visited by an earthquake which wiped out the church and birth records along with many of the population." He did not want to tell this accountant that his group was responsible for many of the deaths, taking advantage of the natural disaster. These had lived with humans for so long, they probably thought like them. He would have to educate them slowly.
Meanwhile, the others had the computer set up along with the program that determined whether one was a human or a dominant.
Ed Tate decided to volunteer, and the test showed him a true human. "This is an improvement over the other machine," he said to Attwood as Tom and Sloan came into the room, "it shows several more degrees. It might also detect the phrase before."
At that Paul perked up. Maybe this will be useful after all, he thought. The Council had wisely forbidden changing a human to a Dominant by injection and just as wisely banished Randall Lynch to be confined in the human penal system, the latter being a firm supporter of this method. The Council had sent one of their executioners to eliminate a certain human female before she brought attention on herself by killing Ed Tate. If the doctor had known the Council had saved his life, he would give up his goal to change them to weak humans.
Paul went into the kitchen where Mrs. Gerona offered him and Lupe some tea and cookies. Lupe was very glad to see him. I mean to Paul, if he were killed, they might turn her over to a Dominant not so kind. Mrs. Gerona was a Dominant who had lived with humans most of her life, so Paul introduced Lupe as: "mí esposa" rather than his slave girl or slave woman as the case would be. However, when Mrs. Gerona noticed that Lupe was a bit more apprehensive and yet there were no bruises, Paul came right out that she was his Favorite, which was when a man took a concubine to wife.
She accepted that after Paul told her, "Granting a girl the honor of being a Favorite means that the children she has have the same last name as the father and are legitimate. I'm not a homo sapien, by the way."
"Another planet?"
"You could say that.:" He looked over where the others were testing the machine for variables. She would know soon and then he would have to educate the whole family on true Dominant behavior, not that Vito, Enrique, or that Navy officer needed that, but the women and the others might.
The Marines and Vito put the furniture back and fixed the back doors. Vito had to go to the hospital, so they drove off leaving Attwood with a puzzle. Who had been that man in the living room and why was Enrique's wife talking to him with such enthusiasm? Was Enrique a Dominant and if he was, why had he been living in New Jersey until being transferred here by his firm? He decided to do a little research. He excused himself and went out to his car.
9/3/2003
Meanwhile, Paul having checked the other addresses, and finding that Lupe had also asked them questions about their involvement with the Movie Company, decided to drive back to that large house. It was the last one on the list and if he knew anything about Attwood, his group would be there. He checked the information again. Enrique Gerona moved here about ten years ago from a small town in Vermont after a stint in the Navy. He was in his late forties, married with twenty children and numerous grandchildren. The name Gerona seemed similar to that name Geronti. Was not there a Geronti who had a bone transfusion back in the 1980s?
Roderick talked about a Mexican doctor approaching him because the Norte Americanos were desperate. Roderick volunteered to donate some of his bone marrow. It was not a gratuitous decision. The Dominants wanted to keep themselves secret and if they donated blood or bone marrow to obvious humans, there would be humans with enough Dominant DNA to be noticeable by the machines, but not enough to alter their natural physiology.
Paul took out his calculator, not the ordinary ones that most people had, but specifically altered and improved by the Dominants. It could get any information from anywhere. He checked to see if there were any similarities between this Gerona or Geronti.
They were brothers.
He found that Carl worked for an organization called Majestic. That was the reason for the different names, to confuse the weak minded humans and he suspected something else. These two were probably also members of the New Species, but Paul could not tell from where. They did not act like him, or like those from the Lost Ships who were always hiding, a contact out for their capture or execution. However, he would check with Roderick and the rest of the Council, finding out if they were survivors of the dispersal, but he could not be sure.
He decided to go a different way just in case someone had watched him go down the street after spotting the woman, so he drove in a seemingly haphazard fashion. He asked a man who was overcurious where the Space Museum was and when the man demanded what he was talking about, Paul remarked that there should be one here, especially with all that outer space activity.
At last, he decided to go to the Enrique house. He used all his Dominant senses, at last, driving down the street, and seeing the large house with all that activity.
He saw Attwood and Tate's cars as well as the van. He also saw The Chosen and his female drive up. Tom seemed a little better, the drugs and injections having worn off. That meant that The Chosen was now at the height of his natural powers. Too bad, Lewis's control has worn off, it's for the best.
Paul parked the car on the other side of the street and walked over. He did not have to worry about Tom recognizing him.
When he got to the door, Paul's senses went on high alert. There was another Dominant besides Tom here, no more than one, yes several. He hoped Tom knew and it appeared he did.
Mr. Gerona had that "Ah, someone I can relate to" look which was oblivious to Attwood and the others. He was chatting with Tom, not with the 'making conversation' he must have had with Attwood or Tate, but as someone to whom he considered an equal. Mr. Gerona was a 1.6r and Attwood would soon know, for now Paul could sense that the computer being unpacked was the same type that had detected the New Species.
Paul had to get in before Attwood plugged it into the wall. No one noticed him coming in, he had used the masking routine, no one except a young man who came with Dr. Ed Tate from another room.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Ed.
The young man turned back to the doctor for a moment and Ed suddenly saw Paul standing there, but it was the young man who did all the talking.
"I was studying. I have this delicate operation to do, one that Dr. Tate is familiar with and all I hear is Father and the whole United States military moving in some secret equipment. It's bad enough that Uncle belongs to Majestic and practically knows everyone in the CIA. He's not behind this farce, is he?" He turned to Paul. "You could have knocked. Oh maybe not, nobody else does."
Attwood now noticed the stranger standing there. "How did you get here?"
Paul, having been trained by the best, fell into his new routine. "I'm having trouble with my expenses. I should have knocked, but I figured if I just walk in, I wouldn't have to worry about making an appointment." He looked at his watch. "I have to be in Seattle in a couple of days."
"Kind of rushing it, aren't you?" asked the young man.
Mrs Gerona made an excuse for her son. "Vito could have boarded at the hospital residence, but no one wanted him. Takes after his Uncle."
"Vito's just nervous about tomorrow's procedure," said Ed, "it's only been performed successfully in the major cities. New Equipment?"
Bringing out several bills of sales, purchase receipts, and fliers, pointing to each piece of equipment, Attwood gave a smirk as he examined each. "That's supposed to be a fax machine. Over to the wall is a set of books on recent tax laws, that detector, according to the receipt, is a 500 gigahertz Computer with a CD room..." He now noticed the stranger standing there. "How did you get here?"
"I'm looking for someone who can get me to see my daughter. I believe that the man here does business with studio," said Paul.
"Ah finally the truth. I didn't believe you the first time. You don't like the type who'd rush off to Seattle on a whim. I do the accounting for them," said Enrique. "Just give me the details."
"My village was visited by an earthquake which wiped out the church and birth records along with many of the population." He did not want to tell this accountant that his group was responsible for many of the deaths, taking advantage of the natural disaster. These had lived with humans for so long, they probably thought like them. He would have to educate them slowly.
Meanwhile, the others had the computer set up along with the program that determined whether one was a human or a dominant.
Ed Tate decided to volunteer, and the test showed him a true human. "This is an improvement over the other machine," he said to Attwood as Tom and Sloan came into the room, "it shows several more degrees. It might also detect the phrase before."
At that Paul perked up. Maybe this will be useful after all, he thought. The Council had wisely forbidden changing a human to a Dominant by injection and just as wisely banished Randall Lynch to be confined in the human penal system, the latter being a firm supporter of this method. The Council had sent one of their executioners to eliminate a certain human female before she brought attention on herself by killing Ed Tate. If the doctor had known the Council had saved his life, he would give up his goal to change them to weak humans.
Paul went into the kitchen where Mrs. Gerona offered him and Lupe some tea and cookies. Lupe was very glad to see him. I mean to Paul, if he were killed, they might turn her over to a Dominant not so kind. Mrs. Gerona was a Dominant who had lived with humans most of her life, so Paul introduced Lupe as: "mí esposa" rather than his slave girl or slave woman as the case would be. However, when Mrs. Gerona noticed that Lupe was a bit more apprehensive and yet there were no bruises, Paul came right out that she was his Favorite, which was when a man took a concubine to wife.
She accepted that after Paul told her, "Granting a girl the honor of being a Favorite means that the children she has have the same last name as the father and are legitimate. I'm not a homo sapien, by the way."
"Another planet?"
"You could say that.:" He looked over where the others were testing the machine for variables. She would know soon and then he would have to educate the whole family on true Dominant behavior, not that Vito, Enrique, or that Navy officer needed that, but the women and the others might.
The Marines and Vito put the furniture back and fixed the back doors. Vito had to go to the hospital, so they drove off leaving Attwood with a puzzle. Who had been that man in the living room and why was Enrique's wife talking to him with such enthusiasm? Was Enrique a Dominant and if he was, why had he been living in New Jersey until being transferred here by his firm? He decided to do a little research. He excused himself and went out to his car.
9/3/2003