The Cover Up Syndrome Part 10
By the time the three rushed into the hall, a crowd had
gathered, blocking the view of the fight.
Jay shouldered his way through the group, ignoring the
protests and curses thrown at him. Finally, he broke into the center
of the fray.
U was wrong. It wasn't a fight. Klamic made no move to hit
back at F, but tried to shield himself from the agent's blows. F
attacked Klamic with a vigor that was surprising for a man his age,
pummeling the poor alien at every spot uncovered.
Jay grasped F and twisted back one of his arms and reached
for the other one. Before he could however, F elbowed him in the
stomach. Jay felt the breath punched out of him and gasped in
surprise. F turned and was about to press his advantage when he was
suddenly flipped easily by Kay.
Kay nodded to his partner, who smiled in gratitude, still
rubbing his stomach. Kay glared at F who had drawn himself up from
the ground, scowling at his attacker.
Fortunately, MiB security had arrived.
***
Zed's face was a dark crimson once he came out of his
office. He slammed the door, resulting the shattering of the window
panes in it.
The worms, who were standing close by, jumped.
"Oh no, he found out about it," one of them gulped.
"Don't be ridiculous, Wormy. This time we left no mess."
"Still, wouldn't he notice the coffee level?"
The second worm grimaced. "Let's hope not."
Seeing Zed approaching, they all yelped and scattered.
Kay was walking in the same hall and barely moved aside
before the worms streaked by in panic. He just raised an eyebrow and
continued around the corner to meet up with Zed.
Zed was too angry to say anything but nodded to his
companion in acknowledgement. "My office, now," he said between
clenched teeth.
Plopping down on the oversized armchair, Zed rubbed his
temples furiously. "Now as you know Kay, these fights are getting
out of hand. And what's worse, it's the older agents that are
causing it."
Kay remained silent. He knew what was coming, but it didn't
make the situation any easier.
"I know that you're thinking the same thing, but we have no
choice. Perhaps Agent Jay is right. Perhaps it's time our old
friends should retire," Zed continued. "The stress is probably
getting to them and they do deserve the life-long break."
Kay's lips pursed. "Have you tried everything? Are you
certain that a week or two could put an end to the trouble?"
Hands flat unto the table, Zed stared straight into Kay's
eyes. "Nothing, nothing is working. I tried to reason with them.
I've given the seniors time off. I even assigned psychiatric therapy
and massage sessions. All of them were futile." His brow
furrowed. "They remain as stubborn as ever. To make matters worse,
Lindunn is raising h*ll, holding me responsible for the check. At
this rate all trade with other nations will cease, not to mention
political relationships. So I'm afraid we have no other option, Kay.
We have to end it before more aliens are victimized."
Kay knew the cataclysmic effect the neutralization of many
of the seniors would have on MiB as a whole. Without them,
replacements would be needed to meet the demand in the education and
medical fields. The department that would be hit hardest was the
Special Services, since most of the seniors were from that branch.
"But don't you suspect it's something to do with the case
Dr. Zeeltor and H are working on," Kay asked.
The other nodded. "I've toyed with the idea. But as H tells
me, it's one thing to track missing neuro-pathways and quite another
to track memories, which in itself is not scientifically possible
unless the patient confides in what those memories are.
Unfortunately, the seniors refused to tell what they experienced
after they were submitted to deneuralization. As far as I'm
concerned, they are well aware of their actions. Therefore they will
have to accept the consequences."
Kay sighed. Zed was right as usual. "I understand sir. I'll
get everything ready. We'll need good cover stories, so I'll get the
Silver Caliber on that."
"Good. Inform me once the preparations are finished. Then
we'll get to the messy business."
They both exited the room.
Unbeknownst to them, a small camera had been planted in
Zed's office, recording everything they had said and transmitting it
to its owner.
"Oh no you don't, Zed," the watcher said quietly. "We've
done so much without you interfering into our plans. And we can't
let you ruin all of the fun now, can we?" The voice let out a
sinister chuckle.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 11 "All right! It's Friday and that means it's time to get my
grub on!" Jay eagerly rushed up to the end of the dinner line,
narrowly stepping unto U's spit-shine shoes.
U frowned distastefully and moved away. "Honestly, Agent
Jay, you could show a little more maturity," he sniffed.
X chuckled. "For once, Bootlicker's right. But of course,
Agent Jay's vocabulary doesn't contain the word "maturity."
"And you think you do?" Jay shot back. "Mr. All-Rules-Are-
Beneath-Me?"
Kay shook his head. He had long ago given up any attempt to
play referee among them. Then there was also his philosophy of men.
Kay believed that men had to fight everything out of their system in
order to become close friends. Hey, it worked with Dee and him,
right?
Contrary to Kay's way of thinking, Elle groaned in
exasperation. Men are so dense at times. Often they are barbaric and
resort to violence when things didn't work out. They would fight and
fight until they are too tired, and then are forced to negotiate
peace. Such was their primitive nature.
Much to the amusement of the other agents, Jay and X
continued to rumble, ignoring Agent U who was yelling himself hoarse
between them.
Kay smirked at the whole situation and reminisced how some
things never do change. He was snapped back to reality when Elle,
who looked about, asked him, "Kay, do you notice that the cafeteria
is a bit emptier than usual?"
Setting his lips grimly, Kay nodded. He had noticed the
change and knew the reason why. Still he could not find the courage
to tell all of the others of the drastic change MiB would have to
undergo. And many of them had been on good terms with many of the
seniors. To them the blow would be the equivalent of losing family
members, whether they were friendly or not.
Zed entered the cafeteria, at least a bit more presentable
save the loose tie dangling around his neck. Jay and X dropped the
matter between them quickly.
Agent U immediately took his place by Zed's side, but was
waved away by the boss, much to U's disappointment.
Zed cleared his throat and everyone became silent. "Now, you
all are probably wondering what happened to most of the seniors.
Before you start spreading rumors," he glared especially at Jozen,
the most talkative secretary in MiB. "I want to tell you up front
the situation."
A few murmurs erupted but ebbed when Zed raised a hand. "You
are all aware that an agent's life may end in retirement. The only
proper thing to do is to give our fellow agents a good send-off."
This time there was no response to Zed's words. Grave
expressions told of how everyone knew that this was a hard reality
they had to accept. But such was the MiB way of life.
Dinner resumed but with less talk than before.
The news did not have any affect on Jay's stomach of course,
and Elle grimaced at the enormous mound he was piling unto his plate.
"Hey human, leave some for the rest of us," X growled.
" `Scuse me?" Jay asked around a mouthful. Bits of sausage
rained unto Elle. "Oh, surry El'" he apologized, showering her with
more.
Elle wiped her face in disgust, picked up a salad and left.
X came after her carrying a plate of spaghetti, knowing full well
that it was a food that Elle had abstained herself from.
Zed saddled up next to Kay.
"So where are the seniors?" Kay asked out of the corner of
his mouth while pretending to examine a lobster.
"Well, you know them. They insisted on having a get-
together, members only. Most likely to reminisce about old times."
Zed didn't see that his tie had ended up in the gravy.
Kay pulled the tie from the mess. "And how was your
appointment with Zeeltor?"
Zed frowned. "Not much success apparently. Nothing shown up
on the scans and I tested negative on the deneuralization. But that
doesn't mean a thing, or at least that's what Zeeltor told me. He
said that he had given up totally on the deneuralization reports.
The memories, whatever they were, were suppressed too long to
recover."
"So the case is over then?"
"Not quite. Zeeltor want to try something. He believes the
nightmares I'm having are the repressed memories, trying to rise due
to my mind-link with Klinin. He believes that mind-link resurfaces
memories, as shown as when Klinin and I manage to get a glimpse of
our.less savored memories."
Kay smirked. "What was yours?"
Zed shuddered. "The one time I was controlled by Alpha to go
stark naked through City Hall."
His companion suppressed his laughter. He cleared his throat
and tried to straighten his lips. "So how does Zeeltor expect to
continue the case?"
Zed chuckled. "He assumes that through the use of hypnosis I
would be able to give him an idea of who had performed all those
surgeries and neuralizations. I have my doubts though that such a
harebrained method would actually work."
Kay raised an eyebrow. "Well it worked before with Jay.
Through the use of Neuro-Clay, he told us the location of a bug
nest. It's not a scientific procedure, but Zeeltor and H are running
out of ideas."
Zed grunted in agreement.
Meanwhile X and Elle had sat themselves by a window away
from the others. Though Elle was annoyed by her partner's choice of
food, she retaliated by nibbling on a small piece of chocolate. She
knew that he was allergic to the stuff, and enjoyed the look of envy
he was giving her.
Then uninvited, Jay took a seat at their table.
" `Ey guys," Jay sputtered. " `Ow `bout that neus?" He
swallowed before continuing. "Man, I can't believe that Zed's giving
many of the old-timers the boot. I don't think that they would have
hard feelings though. All they'll have to miss is the paperwork and
babysitting."
"As usual Jay, your compassion is infinite," Elle said
rolling her eyes.
"What? What did I do?" Jay stuffed another enormous forkful
into his mouth.
X shuddered. And your manners are impeccable, he thought.
Meanwhile, nearby, Frank the Pug was gorging himself. He
devoured everything in his path. Many of the agents jumped back in
disgust as spittles of food and slobber flew everywhere.
Frank ignored their curses at him though. He had a lot of
room in his 6 stomachs to fill and da*n him if he was gonna waste
time back talking.
He just loved Fridays. MiB sure knew how to set a spread.
There were 32 differently cooked meats and 50 types of deserts.
Frank left the 47 varieties of salads alone. He had no intent to eat
another parasite alien lifeform again.
With one mighty GULP! Frank finished the chicken pot pie he
was working on.
"Ahhh, that one hit the spot," Frank said as he licked his
jowls. He looked about for any other greedy agents who planned to
steal his food. Seeing none, he shrugged, and was about to launch
himself into the succulent chocolate pudding.when something caught
his eye.
From another table nearby, Frank spotted Zed and Kay, who
seemed to have ended their conversation. But it wasn't their company
that attracted Frank's attention. Zed had taken the last slice of
apple pie. The fur on Frank's neck raised and he growled. The nerve
of that human! He's so full of food, why does he need anymore?
But thoughts of food left Frank when he noticed that Agent N
was tailing Zed in hot pursuit.with his hand in his breast pocket,
where every agent stashed their favored firearm.
Frank got a feeling in his overfilled bellies that something
was going down. He eyed the chocolate pudding regretfully, and then
looked back toward the direction that Zed and N had gone. With a
quick push of the paw, the pudding disappeared under a salad.
"Don't worry, I'll be back for you, Babe," Frank said long
fully at the pudding. Then with one last glance back at the hidden
dessert, Frank dashed after N.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 12 "Kolaff, I need those conduits now," barked the Frescradian.
Already, within 20 minutes, the repairs to the blown out
wall illumination bulbs were greatly hampered. The Frescradian's
tentacles twitched in agitation. They had only 2 hours to fix the
entire system, and so far they only replaced a few bulbs.
Kolaff glanced up. His cat-like face scowled in annoyance of
his supervisor. "No can do, Cutel. We need to clean out the debri
first." Couldn't the da*n alien see that the 30 years growth of dust
and webbing had to be removed first? Cursed humans, he thought. How
could they live in such filth?
Cutel snarled when one of his tentacles touched yet another
layer of dust, which clung tenaciously even despite his efforts to
brush it off. Feed up, he reached in, snagged a cake of dirt and
grime, and pulled, ripping the entire mess.
Then, Cutel felt his tentacle strike against something
metal. He cursed. Must be some utility pipe. He dug about and around
the metal object.
But the metal was not shaped as a pipe as he thought it was.
Rather it became a sheet, then suddenly had long slender rods
attached to it.
Slowly, the excavation revealed what Cutel never would dream
to be buried in the MiB's walls. It was some sort of machine, and an
advanced piece of technology at that. Yet he could not identify the
culture that made it, and he knew a lot of civilizations. Then Cutel
realized, could it be some technology from a long forgotten people?
The thought excited him.
The metal was silver-white and gleamed despite the grime
that coated it. In fact it seemed like it was glowing. Long graceful
appendages extended from the body like some sort of crab.
Cutel shook his head. Those foolish humans had something so
valuable hidden in their wall and didn't know about it. Oh well, it
would fetch a pretty price on the Black Market.
He had to get it out. Yet the da*n thing was huge. Cutel dug
and dug until he freed one of the machine's legs. He wrapped a
tentacle around it.
That was his last act, for suddenly enormous razor blades
slid out from the metallic leg. With one swift motion, the leg
sliced off the Frescradian's head. The stump of the neck erupted
with tan blood.
The blood drizzled unto Kolaff. "What the h*ll?" He glanced
up and gasped when Cutel's body crashed unto him.
The last thing Kolaff saw before blacking out was a spider-
like machine climbing out of the wall and scampering away in the
direction of the laboratories.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 13 Upon entering the men's restroom, Zed stood in front of a
mirror, gripping hard onto the sink. He forced himself to look at
his own reflection.
God, he could hardly recognize himself. The chin that once
was dominant became slacken. His determined lips carried
uncertainty. The rings around his eyes were more prominent than
usual, and his face was crease with new wrinkles.
Zed scowled at the sight. Pathetic, he thought. For many
years he had faced situations that would drive some seasoned agents
to the brink of insanity. He watched many a times when the so-called
end of the world came due to plagues, invasions, and wars without
blinking an eye. Threats from renowned bloodthirsty and greedy
civilizations did not faze him. He was Mr. MiB. Yet here he was
wasting away, all because of a few bad dreams. His control over the
organization was slipping, much to the amusement of Y and his
cronies. And what was worse, to add to his nightmares were blank
spots in his memories. He couldn't even recall certain recent events.
Looking down at his hands, he shuddered. It was the most
vivid dream yet. In the latest developments of his nightmares, he
saw blood. It coated his hands, flowed between his fingers. The
crimson liquid saturated his shirt.
Zed plunged his hands under the faucet, ignoring the
stinging sensation from the scalding water. Vigorously he scrubbed
them, again and again. He did not know however that the stain did
not lay on his hands but within his own mind.
The restroom door creaked open.
Zed pulled his hands out from under the flow and looked up.
There stood Agent N, with an expression of the utmost
loathing.
***
Frank made his way to the men's restroom. Da*n humans, why
did they had to meet in the most filthiest of places, he thought
shuddering of what horrors lie within.
He pushed the door ajar a little and peered inside to find
Zed and N in a standoff.
gathered, blocking the view of the fight.
Jay shouldered his way through the group, ignoring the
protests and curses thrown at him. Finally, he broke into the center
of the fray.
U was wrong. It wasn't a fight. Klamic made no move to hit
back at F, but tried to shield himself from the agent's blows. F
attacked Klamic with a vigor that was surprising for a man his age,
pummeling the poor alien at every spot uncovered.
Jay grasped F and twisted back one of his arms and reached
for the other one. Before he could however, F elbowed him in the
stomach. Jay felt the breath punched out of him and gasped in
surprise. F turned and was about to press his advantage when he was
suddenly flipped easily by Kay.
Kay nodded to his partner, who smiled in gratitude, still
rubbing his stomach. Kay glared at F who had drawn himself up from
the ground, scowling at his attacker.
Fortunately, MiB security had arrived.
***
Zed's face was a dark crimson once he came out of his
office. He slammed the door, resulting the shattering of the window
panes in it.
The worms, who were standing close by, jumped.
"Oh no, he found out about it," one of them gulped.
"Don't be ridiculous, Wormy. This time we left no mess."
"Still, wouldn't he notice the coffee level?"
The second worm grimaced. "Let's hope not."
Seeing Zed approaching, they all yelped and scattered.
Kay was walking in the same hall and barely moved aside
before the worms streaked by in panic. He just raised an eyebrow and
continued around the corner to meet up with Zed.
Zed was too angry to say anything but nodded to his
companion in acknowledgement. "My office, now," he said between
clenched teeth.
Plopping down on the oversized armchair, Zed rubbed his
temples furiously. "Now as you know Kay, these fights are getting
out of hand. And what's worse, it's the older agents that are
causing it."
Kay remained silent. He knew what was coming, but it didn't
make the situation any easier.
"I know that you're thinking the same thing, but we have no
choice. Perhaps Agent Jay is right. Perhaps it's time our old
friends should retire," Zed continued. "The stress is probably
getting to them and they do deserve the life-long break."
Kay's lips pursed. "Have you tried everything? Are you
certain that a week or two could put an end to the trouble?"
Hands flat unto the table, Zed stared straight into Kay's
eyes. "Nothing, nothing is working. I tried to reason with them.
I've given the seniors time off. I even assigned psychiatric therapy
and massage sessions. All of them were futile." His brow
furrowed. "They remain as stubborn as ever. To make matters worse,
Lindunn is raising h*ll, holding me responsible for the check. At
this rate all trade with other nations will cease, not to mention
political relationships. So I'm afraid we have no other option, Kay.
We have to end it before more aliens are victimized."
Kay knew the cataclysmic effect the neutralization of many
of the seniors would have on MiB as a whole. Without them,
replacements would be needed to meet the demand in the education and
medical fields. The department that would be hit hardest was the
Special Services, since most of the seniors were from that branch.
"But don't you suspect it's something to do with the case
Dr. Zeeltor and H are working on," Kay asked.
The other nodded. "I've toyed with the idea. But as H tells
me, it's one thing to track missing neuro-pathways and quite another
to track memories, which in itself is not scientifically possible
unless the patient confides in what those memories are.
Unfortunately, the seniors refused to tell what they experienced
after they were submitted to deneuralization. As far as I'm
concerned, they are well aware of their actions. Therefore they will
have to accept the consequences."
Kay sighed. Zed was right as usual. "I understand sir. I'll
get everything ready. We'll need good cover stories, so I'll get the
Silver Caliber on that."
"Good. Inform me once the preparations are finished. Then
we'll get to the messy business."
They both exited the room.
Unbeknownst to them, a small camera had been planted in
Zed's office, recording everything they had said and transmitting it
to its owner.
"Oh no you don't, Zed," the watcher said quietly. "We've
done so much without you interfering into our plans. And we can't
let you ruin all of the fun now, can we?" The voice let out a
sinister chuckle.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 11 "All right! It's Friday and that means it's time to get my
grub on!" Jay eagerly rushed up to the end of the dinner line,
narrowly stepping unto U's spit-shine shoes.
U frowned distastefully and moved away. "Honestly, Agent
Jay, you could show a little more maturity," he sniffed.
X chuckled. "For once, Bootlicker's right. But of course,
Agent Jay's vocabulary doesn't contain the word "maturity."
"And you think you do?" Jay shot back. "Mr. All-Rules-Are-
Beneath-Me?"
Kay shook his head. He had long ago given up any attempt to
play referee among them. Then there was also his philosophy of men.
Kay believed that men had to fight everything out of their system in
order to become close friends. Hey, it worked with Dee and him,
right?
Contrary to Kay's way of thinking, Elle groaned in
exasperation. Men are so dense at times. Often they are barbaric and
resort to violence when things didn't work out. They would fight and
fight until they are too tired, and then are forced to negotiate
peace. Such was their primitive nature.
Much to the amusement of the other agents, Jay and X
continued to rumble, ignoring Agent U who was yelling himself hoarse
between them.
Kay smirked at the whole situation and reminisced how some
things never do change. He was snapped back to reality when Elle,
who looked about, asked him, "Kay, do you notice that the cafeteria
is a bit emptier than usual?"
Setting his lips grimly, Kay nodded. He had noticed the
change and knew the reason why. Still he could not find the courage
to tell all of the others of the drastic change MiB would have to
undergo. And many of them had been on good terms with many of the
seniors. To them the blow would be the equivalent of losing family
members, whether they were friendly or not.
Zed entered the cafeteria, at least a bit more presentable
save the loose tie dangling around his neck. Jay and X dropped the
matter between them quickly.
Agent U immediately took his place by Zed's side, but was
waved away by the boss, much to U's disappointment.
Zed cleared his throat and everyone became silent. "Now, you
all are probably wondering what happened to most of the seniors.
Before you start spreading rumors," he glared especially at Jozen,
the most talkative secretary in MiB. "I want to tell you up front
the situation."
A few murmurs erupted but ebbed when Zed raised a hand. "You
are all aware that an agent's life may end in retirement. The only
proper thing to do is to give our fellow agents a good send-off."
This time there was no response to Zed's words. Grave
expressions told of how everyone knew that this was a hard reality
they had to accept. But such was the MiB way of life.
Dinner resumed but with less talk than before.
The news did not have any affect on Jay's stomach of course,
and Elle grimaced at the enormous mound he was piling unto his plate.
"Hey human, leave some for the rest of us," X growled.
" `Scuse me?" Jay asked around a mouthful. Bits of sausage
rained unto Elle. "Oh, surry El'" he apologized, showering her with
more.
Elle wiped her face in disgust, picked up a salad and left.
X came after her carrying a plate of spaghetti, knowing full well
that it was a food that Elle had abstained herself from.
Zed saddled up next to Kay.
"So where are the seniors?" Kay asked out of the corner of
his mouth while pretending to examine a lobster.
"Well, you know them. They insisted on having a get-
together, members only. Most likely to reminisce about old times."
Zed didn't see that his tie had ended up in the gravy.
Kay pulled the tie from the mess. "And how was your
appointment with Zeeltor?"
Zed frowned. "Not much success apparently. Nothing shown up
on the scans and I tested negative on the deneuralization. But that
doesn't mean a thing, or at least that's what Zeeltor told me. He
said that he had given up totally on the deneuralization reports.
The memories, whatever they were, were suppressed too long to
recover."
"So the case is over then?"
"Not quite. Zeeltor want to try something. He believes the
nightmares I'm having are the repressed memories, trying to rise due
to my mind-link with Klinin. He believes that mind-link resurfaces
memories, as shown as when Klinin and I manage to get a glimpse of
our.less savored memories."
Kay smirked. "What was yours?"
Zed shuddered. "The one time I was controlled by Alpha to go
stark naked through City Hall."
His companion suppressed his laughter. He cleared his throat
and tried to straighten his lips. "So how does Zeeltor expect to
continue the case?"
Zed chuckled. "He assumes that through the use of hypnosis I
would be able to give him an idea of who had performed all those
surgeries and neuralizations. I have my doubts though that such a
harebrained method would actually work."
Kay raised an eyebrow. "Well it worked before with Jay.
Through the use of Neuro-Clay, he told us the location of a bug
nest. It's not a scientific procedure, but Zeeltor and H are running
out of ideas."
Zed grunted in agreement.
Meanwhile X and Elle had sat themselves by a window away
from the others. Though Elle was annoyed by her partner's choice of
food, she retaliated by nibbling on a small piece of chocolate. She
knew that he was allergic to the stuff, and enjoyed the look of envy
he was giving her.
Then uninvited, Jay took a seat at their table.
" `Ey guys," Jay sputtered. " `Ow `bout that neus?" He
swallowed before continuing. "Man, I can't believe that Zed's giving
many of the old-timers the boot. I don't think that they would have
hard feelings though. All they'll have to miss is the paperwork and
babysitting."
"As usual Jay, your compassion is infinite," Elle said
rolling her eyes.
"What? What did I do?" Jay stuffed another enormous forkful
into his mouth.
X shuddered. And your manners are impeccable, he thought.
Meanwhile, nearby, Frank the Pug was gorging himself. He
devoured everything in his path. Many of the agents jumped back in
disgust as spittles of food and slobber flew everywhere.
Frank ignored their curses at him though. He had a lot of
room in his 6 stomachs to fill and da*n him if he was gonna waste
time back talking.
He just loved Fridays. MiB sure knew how to set a spread.
There were 32 differently cooked meats and 50 types of deserts.
Frank left the 47 varieties of salads alone. He had no intent to eat
another parasite alien lifeform again.
With one mighty GULP! Frank finished the chicken pot pie he
was working on.
"Ahhh, that one hit the spot," Frank said as he licked his
jowls. He looked about for any other greedy agents who planned to
steal his food. Seeing none, he shrugged, and was about to launch
himself into the succulent chocolate pudding.when something caught
his eye.
From another table nearby, Frank spotted Zed and Kay, who
seemed to have ended their conversation. But it wasn't their company
that attracted Frank's attention. Zed had taken the last slice of
apple pie. The fur on Frank's neck raised and he growled. The nerve
of that human! He's so full of food, why does he need anymore?
But thoughts of food left Frank when he noticed that Agent N
was tailing Zed in hot pursuit.with his hand in his breast pocket,
where every agent stashed their favored firearm.
Frank got a feeling in his overfilled bellies that something
was going down. He eyed the chocolate pudding regretfully, and then
looked back toward the direction that Zed and N had gone. With a
quick push of the paw, the pudding disappeared under a salad.
"Don't worry, I'll be back for you, Babe," Frank said long
fully at the pudding. Then with one last glance back at the hidden
dessert, Frank dashed after N.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 12 "Kolaff, I need those conduits now," barked the Frescradian.
Already, within 20 minutes, the repairs to the blown out
wall illumination bulbs were greatly hampered. The Frescradian's
tentacles twitched in agitation. They had only 2 hours to fix the
entire system, and so far they only replaced a few bulbs.
Kolaff glanced up. His cat-like face scowled in annoyance of
his supervisor. "No can do, Cutel. We need to clean out the debri
first." Couldn't the da*n alien see that the 30 years growth of dust
and webbing had to be removed first? Cursed humans, he thought. How
could they live in such filth?
Cutel snarled when one of his tentacles touched yet another
layer of dust, which clung tenaciously even despite his efforts to
brush it off. Feed up, he reached in, snagged a cake of dirt and
grime, and pulled, ripping the entire mess.
Then, Cutel felt his tentacle strike against something
metal. He cursed. Must be some utility pipe. He dug about and around
the metal object.
But the metal was not shaped as a pipe as he thought it was.
Rather it became a sheet, then suddenly had long slender rods
attached to it.
Slowly, the excavation revealed what Cutel never would dream
to be buried in the MiB's walls. It was some sort of machine, and an
advanced piece of technology at that. Yet he could not identify the
culture that made it, and he knew a lot of civilizations. Then Cutel
realized, could it be some technology from a long forgotten people?
The thought excited him.
The metal was silver-white and gleamed despite the grime
that coated it. In fact it seemed like it was glowing. Long graceful
appendages extended from the body like some sort of crab.
Cutel shook his head. Those foolish humans had something so
valuable hidden in their wall and didn't know about it. Oh well, it
would fetch a pretty price on the Black Market.
He had to get it out. Yet the da*n thing was huge. Cutel dug
and dug until he freed one of the machine's legs. He wrapped a
tentacle around it.
That was his last act, for suddenly enormous razor blades
slid out from the metallic leg. With one swift motion, the leg
sliced off the Frescradian's head. The stump of the neck erupted
with tan blood.
The blood drizzled unto Kolaff. "What the h*ll?" He glanced
up and gasped when Cutel's body crashed unto him.
The last thing Kolaff saw before blacking out was a spider-
like machine climbing out of the wall and scampering away in the
direction of the laboratories.
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 13 Upon entering the men's restroom, Zed stood in front of a
mirror, gripping hard onto the sink. He forced himself to look at
his own reflection.
God, he could hardly recognize himself. The chin that once
was dominant became slacken. His determined lips carried
uncertainty. The rings around his eyes were more prominent than
usual, and his face was crease with new wrinkles.
Zed scowled at the sight. Pathetic, he thought. For many
years he had faced situations that would drive some seasoned agents
to the brink of insanity. He watched many a times when the so-called
end of the world came due to plagues, invasions, and wars without
blinking an eye. Threats from renowned bloodthirsty and greedy
civilizations did not faze him. He was Mr. MiB. Yet here he was
wasting away, all because of a few bad dreams. His control over the
organization was slipping, much to the amusement of Y and his
cronies. And what was worse, to add to his nightmares were blank
spots in his memories. He couldn't even recall certain recent events.
Looking down at his hands, he shuddered. It was the most
vivid dream yet. In the latest developments of his nightmares, he
saw blood. It coated his hands, flowed between his fingers. The
crimson liquid saturated his shirt.
Zed plunged his hands under the faucet, ignoring the
stinging sensation from the scalding water. Vigorously he scrubbed
them, again and again. He did not know however that the stain did
not lay on his hands but within his own mind.
The restroom door creaked open.
Zed pulled his hands out from under the flow and looked up.
There stood Agent N, with an expression of the utmost
loathing.
***
Frank made his way to the men's restroom. Da*n humans, why
did they had to meet in the most filthiest of places, he thought
shuddering of what horrors lie within.
He pushed the door ajar a little and peered inside to find
Zed and N in a standoff.