Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Phantom of the Opera

Scratching the surface

I have never believed in God. Nor in heaven. Nor in hell. In my book, there is only one sin. Only one mistake one can make to be damned into a lifetime of misery: lying. Not lying to others. No. Lying to yourself. To live in a lie, to make yourself believe in it, is nothing short of psychotic. And I would be lying to myself if I did not say that after those few days on the Base I was not petrified.

Humans naturally fear the unknown. After all, fear is nothing more than that which is not understood. But that is not what I feared. I feared that whatever was being hidden on that Base would escape, leak out before anyone could do anything about it. Whatever was being hidden was going to pose some sort of threat on humanity. It did not matter what "it" was. All that mattered was its capabilities and effect on the world.

The scientist I met at the base was Dr. Frank Revieli. He was a sweet, middle aged man, the kind that never raises his voice or loses his temper. He was a good man, a wise man, something that is very hard to find these days.

I caught up with him as he was about to enter one of the large metallic buildings that surrounded the base.

"You should not be here, Agent Dawson. If the Colonel finds you— "

"Don't worry about that. What do you know about Dr. Jansen?"

"If they find out I am talking to you—"

"They won't. Trust me."

A lighted, exhausted chuckle flowed from his lips. His hand rose and ran though his graying hair. His opal eyes looked up at me as he shook his head lightly from side to side. The laughter died out, and was replaced by unparalleled sorrow.

"It was trust that brought me to this place. Trust in the people you work for."

I was not some naive teenager, no matter how young I might appear. I knew that the NSA had its secrets. I knew they had been responsible for some very shady operations which had lead to the deaths of both the innocent and guilty. But I accepted their decisions, stood by their side because I knew that in the end the few lost lives would save hundreds, if not thousands.

"All of us here have made the same mistake," he continued as he looked at the door of the warehouse. "If we had known what was to become of us…I would have chosen death before this place."

"I have two sons, you know," he said as his grieving eyes rose to meet mine. "They must be about your age now. The last time I saw them they were still babies." His eyes left mine to stare into the thin air. "I thought if I worked here, I could provide for my family. I did not know just what this job would cost me."

Emotions have never been my forte. When people begin to talk about some heart felt moment in their lives, all I can think about is how to get the hell out of there. I was taught that emotions are only a sign of weakness. Showing emotions is nothing short of suicidal.

I still believe that. This world leaves no room for compassion and all that bullshit. There is death, there is injustice and chaos. Call me a cynic, if you like, but that is the truth. And compassion, just like all other emotions, only gives this world the opportunity to tear you to pieces.

"I am sorry to hear that, Dr," I said trying to portray some sort of sympathy. Yes, it was a sad tale, but I could care less at the time. "About Jansen—" The rest of the words died in my mouth when I saw another guard approaching. "So, you said I have to take a right over there and then keep going straight?"

The scientist looked at me puzzled. It took him a few seconds to realize that someone was behind him, coming closer. I could hear his heart begin to pound in his rib cage, screaming in fear.

"Yes," he said, trying to keep himself calm. "You have to take a right—"

"What is going on here?" demanded the guard.

"I got lost," I snapped at the intruder. I was getting quite tired of these men, who acted like they owned the land they walked on. "This kind gentleman was giving me directions on how to get back to by room."

The soldier looked between the two of us. Doubt was etched on every wrinkle that had emerged on his surprisingly pale face.

"You should not be out at this time," said the soldier as he studied my face.

"He is right," said the scientist. "You should stay inside, especially at around 2 in the morning. Some dangerous animals come out by Tower 2 at that time." He turned to the guard. "This fine young man knows what I am talking about. He had an unfortunate encounter with a particularly poisonous snake not too long ago near that Tower."

The man smiled kindly at me and wished me a goodnight. I watched him open the door, and disappear behind it. It seemed that I had a date at 2 near Tower 2, a date I was particularly excited about.

------------------------------------

The watch on my wrists ticked away as the seconds few by. It was exactly 2:05 AM, and there was no sign of the man. This area of the Base was completely deserted. The metallic tower that stretched forth to the sky was abandoned as well. It was all quite strange.

"You're here," said the aged man in between gasps of breath. "I was afraid you had not understood me." He stopped in front of me, his hand rising to his chest which rose and fell rapidly.

As he caught his breath, I scanned the area over and over. I could not afford to get caught by one of those thick headed guards.

"Don't worry," he said, "no one will come over here. The guards are terrified from the snakes that used to populate the area."

"Snakes?"

"They're gone now, but they do not know that."

"Back to Jansen," I began.

"Yes, Steward." He said as he looked out at the desert. "I hear you think he's in Egypt."

"Is he?"

"His father took him to Tel-el Amarna when he was a child, a year before he died from a heart attack. He wanted to see the place one last time."

"What exactly did Jansen do?"

"It's what he didn't do that has Col. Malden infuriated." Revieli turned to look back at me. Gone was that kind spirit that swam in his eyes. It was replaced by repulsion, hatred, such profound anger which, I must confess, scared me a bit. "None of us will ever make it out of here alive. If we refuse to work we are discarded like leftovers from dinner and replaced with fresh, just out of the oven meat."

"What are you talking about?" The NSA was willing to sacrifice lives for the greater good, but this…imprisonment and forced labor…it was the last thing the NSA would ever, ever approve.

"All of us here are given individual projects. They are fragments from the final product, a product that no one sees. Steward found out what the Colonel was going to do and refused to finish his work. He knew it was battle he could not win. He knew the consequences, yet he chose to run. He has accepted the fact that he is going to die and that his death might help delay what the Colonel has planned."

Revieli paused. I could see the salty liquid forming on the surface of his eyes, illuminating the dark spheres with the aid of the gleaming moon and stars. He shut his eyes, fighting back the impending tears.

"You said he was trying to protect something.'

"The world." He reopened his eyes and sought mine out. "He was trying to protect the world from what he had found."

"What did he find?"

"I don't know," he whispered as he shook his head lightly from side to side. I believed him. For some reason I believed he was telling me the truth.

My beeper sprang to life. It vibrated on waste band, and a message in black digital letters flashed amidst a brightly lit background. It seemed that no one on the Base was going to sleep until Dr. Jansen was brought back.

"I need to get back to my room," he said as I hit the black button on the beeper. "I cannot risk being found."

"Could you show me where Jansen was working?" The good doctor had already confirmed by suspicions of Jansen's whereabouts. I had not been sent to the Base to lead an investigation on the research being conducted. I have been taught to obey orders, but I also had been taught to listen to my instincts. And at that moment there were nor orders that could keep me from finding out exactly what was going on and exposing the work the Colonel was doing.

"I am going to be sick tomorrow," he said as he looked down at his watch. "Meet me at the back of the infirmary, and I can take you there."

I nodded in approval and watched the man turn around and disappear in the darkness. Revieli was risking his life. The reason for it was still unclear to me. What puzzled me more was the reason behind the actions he was taking. Why was he telling me all of this?