Chapter Five
June 4 – 17:05
Kim stood frozen in place as Officer Kellerman cocked his gun. "Oh well, at least he'll have you to keep him company in Hell." She tried to move, to do something, but it was too late; she watched in horror as he fired the gun, striking her father between the eyes and sending a fine spray of blood and brain-matter flying against the wall behind him. He was dead before he hit the ground. She opened her mouth to scream, and that was when she woke up.
"No!" Kim shouted as her eyes shot open. 'It was a dream?' Kim thought. 'It was only a dream.'
"Well, look who decided to wake up." Kim glanced to her left and saw Sean grinning at her. She was in a car, and Sean was driving.
"Hey KP!" She spun around and found Ron sitting in the backseat with Rufus asleep next to him.
"Ron? What the hell are you doing here?" Kim pointed at Sean. "He…he's one of the kidnappers!" Sean laughed at Kim's comment.
"Relax Kim," Ron reassured his friend. "Sean's on our side in this."
"But…he drugged me!" Kim spat out.
"Yeah about that," Sean said in an apologetic tone. "Sorry about drugging you, but I felt it was easier than trying to explain everything to you in the short amount of time available."
Kim shot him a suspicious glare. "Easier?"
"Yeah…well, for me at least." Sean smirked.
Kim glanced out the window of the car; outside all she could see was open range and a few farmhouses. "Where are we?"
"We're about one hour north of Cedar Rapids." Sean stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Cedar Rapids…Iowa?"
"That's the one." Sean's voice held a hint of sarcasm. Kim looked around the car in confusion. "Let me start from the beginning." Sean offered. "Last night, my team and I attempted to arrest Officer Bill Kellerman after his fingerprint was located at the scene of the kidnapping. We were hoping to catch him off-guard and take him alive, however, when we arrived we found you there about to get shot and had no choice but to use deadly force in order to save your life. Because of your failure to comply with my earlier warning, I arrested you for obstruction of justice and placed you into custody at the Englewood Federal Correctional Institution just outside of Denver." Sean chuckled at the look of complete confusion on Kim's face before adding, "Or at least that's what officially happened."
Kim glanced back at Ron who had begun playing his portable game system. "And unofficially?"
"Unofficially, I…took care of you and contacted Stoppable here. I told him to grab some clothes for both of you and meet me at the Middleton Inn. Once there, I filled him in on the situation and we headed out."
"To do what?" Kim still had no idea what was going on.
"To rescue your father." Sean stated calmly.
"Whoa! Wait a minute…back up." Kim interrupted. "Rescue? What happened to 'sit back and wait for them to call'?" Kim noticed that Ron stopped playing his game and looked up at her with a look of concern on his face.
Sean sighed before responding. "I'm afraid that's not what this is actually about."
Kim's look of confusion turned to dread as she remembered Kellerman's words from the night before. She gave Sean a cold stare before asking, "Since when?"
"Since always, I'm afraid. I originally told you that in an attempt to keep you away from the investigation. Once I discovered that it would be impossible to keep you away, I moved on to Plan B."
"And what is Plan B?"
"Put simply," Ron interrupted. "Drugging you, throwing you in his car, and bringing you and me along to rescue your dad."
"So," Kim asked in a stern tone. "What is this all about?"
"I'm sorry Kim, but I really can't disclose the specific details of this operation."
"Bullshit!" Kim shouted, slamming her fist against the dashboard. Her outburst caused both Sean and Ron to cringe slightly. "This is my father's safety we're talking about! I want to know exactly why he was kidnapped! If this wasn't for the money, then what the fuck was it for?" She stared at Sean with a look of absolute rage.
Without warning, Sean slammed on the brakes and guided the car to the shoulder. He stared back at Kim for several seconds before he sighed, exiting the car and opening the trunk. After a few seconds, the agent closed the trunk and returned with a manila folder in his hands. He glanced over at Kim as he sat back down and closed the door. "What I am about to tell both of you will not leave this car, ever. I need both of you to swear to me that you will not repeat any of this to anyone." He waited for both teens to agree before handing the folder to Kim. "The group responsible for kidnapping your father is known as The New Order. They're a small but dangerous extremist organization that believes they are preparing for a holy war against the federal government. They see us as Satan's children and refer to us as a Zionist Occupation Government or ZOG." Kim remembered that Kellerman had used the term ZOG when he spoke to Sean and his team. "They are heavily armed, highly motivated, and do not shy away from violence; even against civilians."
Kim opened the folder and browsed through its contents, most of which were detailed accounts of the group's activities and history. As she flipped through the pages, she came across a photograph of a man in his 40's dressed in camouflage and holding a rifle. "That's Kerry Noble," Sean announced to her. "He's the founder and self-proclaimed leader of The New Order. We believe he was one of the gunman who stormed your house."
"So what does my dad have to do with all of this?" Kim asked as she closed the folder and handed it to Ron.
"We believe they're using him and his research to develop a weapon." Sean stated in his all-too-calm tone of voice.
"I don't understand, what does my dad know about weapons? He works at the Space Center." Sean removed his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes before answering.
"Kim, I'm not quite sure how to say this but…" He paused for a moment while he tried to find the right words. "Your father does not work for the Space Center. He's a bio-researcher for USAMRIID."
Kim stared vacantly at Sean for several seconds before asking, "What, the hell, is USAMRIID?"
"The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. There was a highly classified lab located within the Middleton Space Center whose purpose was to raise and culture Level-4 bio-agents for research and weapons development. Shortly after his kidnapping, Dr. William Possible entered the lab and left with a sample of a highly infectious and deadly virus known as Blackpox. We believe that The New Order is using him to make a bio-weapon for them." Kim and Ron both stared at Sean in complete disbelief.
"What's Blackpox?" This time it was Ron who asked the question.
"Blackpox," Continued Sean. "Is a rare mutated form of Smallpox that occurs in a small percentage of infected victims. It's a hemorrhagic form of the original Smallpox bacteria, as easily spread as Smallpox and as deadly as Ebola. It got its name from the large black spots that occur from massive internal bleeding. After the global eradication of Smallpox in the 1970's, the only known samples were kept in high-security labs in the US and Russia. A few years ago, our scientists managed to isolate and breed the Blackpox bacteria. Since then, your father and his colleagues have been experimenting with safe methods to kill it, as well as appropriate preventative measures that can be taken in the event of an outbreak of the virus; either accidental or intentional."
"Whoa, that's some pretty dangerous stuff." Ron commented. "And you think these guys used Mr. Dr. P. to get a hold of it?" Sean nodded grimly.
"I…I…" Kim stammered as both men turned their attention to her. "I think I need some air!" She opened the door and ran a few feet from the car before dropping to her knees and vomiting.
As Ron exited the vehicle to comfort his friend, Sean took a deep breath and slumped back in his seat. "Christ, what a fucking mess." He mumbled to himself.
- Well there you have it; another chapter, another plot twist. I had to re-write it about four times before I finally got it to sound right. Thank you to all who have taken the time to review my story, I will have the next chapter up within the week.