769 Words
Chapter Thirteen
It was just after lunch when the ADD alert rang. The team ran in. "Where is it Jess?"
"It's in the…American consulate," said Jess. "I don't have CCTV there. It's locked."
"The consulate is foreign soil," said Becker. "They won't let us in?"
Jess alerted Lester. "Fabulous." He sighed, and picked up the phone. "Try to get American cooperation concerning a top secret British agency? No problem."
"Are you being sarcastic?" asked Jess.
"Of course. Yanks are more paranoid than we are. I'll see what I can do."
"Meanwhile….time is wasting," said Becker.
"Maybe not," said Connor. "We can track the anomaly with the portable ADD."
"And how do we get inside the consulate, if the creature is in there?"
"One problem at a time, Action Man."
Matt thought. "You know, Jess could track the anomaly and the creature from a car parked nearby."
Becker's eyes widened. Jess instinctively turned to him. They just looked at each other. "Yes, I could," she said quietly.
Finally Becker spoke. "You have a security officer with you at all times."
She nodded.
"And you do what they tell you. They say, 'leave,' and you leave. Clear?"
Jess nodded. "I'm going to do my job, though."
"Fine, but let me do mine."
"Agreed," said Jess.
"Right. Connor, you and Jess get the extra equipment. The rest of us will head to the site."
"I'll send Bilson up," said Becker. "She's your shadow."
"I understand," said Jess.
Lester was sifting through bureaucratic red tape and having no luck. Matt filled him in on the plan, and Lester was visibly uneasy about Jess in the field, even under guard.
As they arrived on scene, they saw no anomaly or creature. "Right" said Matt. "Looks like I'm entering American soil."
"We'll cover you," said Becker with a smirk.
Matt smiled over his shoulder as he ventured in. In the meantime, Connor, Jess and Bilson arrived. Jess set up in the car, while Bilson kept watch.
"Anything?" asked Connor.
Jess shook her head.
"How about you guys?"
"Nothing, Connor," said Abby.
"Hold on," said Jess. "I'm getting a reading on the anomaly. It's growing stronger."
"Perfect," mumbled Becker.
"I also have a visual on a creature. It's next door at the bookstore. Connor, I need you. I don't know what this thing is."
Connor ran back to Jess.
"Oh, that's a leptictidium," said Connor. "It was a mammal, kind of like a shrew. It confused the scientific world for a while. It seemed to be bipedal, but it had a really long tail."
"I see. It just wiped out an entire magazine rack with it," said Jess.
Connor laughed. "It sure had scientists stumped. Now they think it walked on all fours but when it ran it actually hopped like a kangaroo."
"There are more of them now…and there they go," said Jess. "They're hopping Connor."
"Cool! The scientists were right. Yay!" cried Connor.
"Right. Thompson, the rest of you, with me," said Becker. "It's kanga-shrew time."
Connor laughed loudly. "You should be naming these things, Becker."
Jess giggled.
Matt returned. "Nothing. They say everything's normal inside, but they could be lying."
"We found the creature, uh, creatures," said Jess. "They're next door. That's weird."
"What?"
"Now there aren't any anomaly readings coming from the embassy. Connor, I need you again."
Connor ran back to Jess. "That is weird. I see. They're a bunch of smaller unstable anomalies."
"One was stable enough to deposit those kanga-shrew things," said Abby.
Connor said, "They're small, only reaching three feet long."
"So maybe the anomaly was only big enough for them to get through?" asked Abby.
Connor shrugged. "Maybe."
"I think you're right, Connor. They are fluctuating in strength," said Jess. "Now the readings are lower in the bookstore."
"If the anomaly closes, you may have more creatures to care for, Abby," said Emily.
Abby smiled. "The more the merrier."
A few minutes passed. "I've got another anomaly forming," said Jess. "Half a block from the bookstore. No creatures on CCTV yet."
"We'll check it out," said Matt.
"Matt, this is Becker. We've got the creatures contained. Plus, the anomaly looks like its fading."
"We know," said Matt. "We're heading to another anomaly. Why don't you head back to Jess."
"Copy."
Jess nodded. "At least the creatures are contained."
Bilson smiled. "And Becker is safe."
Jess blushed. "Yeah."
There was a tremor. "Oh…We have an anomaly," said Jess, reading the ADD. "It's big."
Bilson said, "I know. I'm looking at it."
Jess followed her gaze. The anomaly was right across from their car.
End of Chapter Thirteen
