LIBERI FATALIS: The Therianthrope Chronicles

by Eddie-E

A crossover between Ace Combat, Katmandu and another, surprise famous furry comic. A Japanese scientist during the onset of World War II in Europe devises a groundbreaking theory of evolution whose effects will resonate not only on Earth but also throughout the universe for centuries to come. Rated M for language and mature situations.

29. SHURA

ACT XXIX: SHURA

---

I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.

Clarence Darrow

---

April 1st, AD 1955, Restlawn Memorial Park, El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 06:00 PM

The wind of the coming spring was blowing fiercely in the area where Restlawn Memorial Park was located, a private cemetery just outside El Paso, the hometown where the Mason family was born and raised, and where they would spend their eternal rest.

Richard, Claudia, Frederick and Louise Mason were laid to rest there in a discrete family tomb bought by the families of the first two. The family chose Restlawn Memorial Park because they liked the idea that the cemetery was within a normal radius that their family members would be able to visit on a regular basis. They also loved that it had a garden with plenty of shade and choice plants and trees for the remembrance ceremony.

The members of Richard's and Claudia's families arrived first with flowers to enter into the garden area where everyone else would follow afterwards. The view was beautiful from inside this area of green outdoor gardens and some of the guests had been with Richard and Claudia since their early years and at times since they first married.

After they were seated, the family members took their place in chairs that were arranged as well as possible by the casket. Some chairs were alone or near other people. In certain chairs, the older people sat where they could be sure to be heard. The many friends and colleagues whom Richard and Claudia had kept close to them kept applauding and shouting out their greetings of condolences.

Among the bereaved was Isabel Dominguez, who was the last maid the Masons had before their fateful trip to England, and she could not stop crying as she saw that her bosses, as well as their children, were dead. She could not believe what was happening, and, despite having only known them for a short time, the time she spent with that American family was very pleasant for her, not to mention their kindness towards her, especially the head of the family, Richard, who was always curious to know various things about her, even though she was Mexican, at a time when racial discrimination was very common.

-"No... no... no... sob... this can't be... sob"- Isabel said while mourning for her late bosses. -"Why did they have to die that way, even with their poor children?!.. sob... WHY, WHY, WHYYYYYYYYY!?"-

Claudia's mother, Michelle Womack, was at the Mexican woman's side, and she tried to comfort her as best she could, even though she too was crying over her daughter's death.

And for her, the tragedy was harder to take in for several reasons: She had to travel to Iceland to identify the bodies of her daughter, her son-in-law and her grandchildren, and the fact that their bodies were in an almost unrecognizable state caused her to faint several times during their identification, to say nothing of an impression she would never forget.

Richard's parents, Eric and Beverly Mason, also stood beside the caskets of their grandchildren and their son, silent, and trying to come to terms with what had happened to their only son. But there was nothing in the world that could console them in the face of the scale of the tragedy they were suffering, especially considering the way their son Richard and his family had died in that plane crash off the coast of Iceland.

Richard was always a complex character, due to his job as a scientist, but never to this extent, and they, his remaining family, could not imagine that their son would have died such a senseless, tragic death. And worst of all, he died far away from his home, far away from the people who loved him the most.

The rest of the Mason family, along with the Womacks, were not faring any better, either, very much present in the mourning, and also in the anguish, although each person, each family member, had to deal with pain in their own way.

After all this, the last eulogies began, first with the people close to the Masons. Of particular note was that of Isabel, who, due to her emotional state, could not say hers in English, and had to say it in Spanish, obviously translated into English by the priest standing next to her...

-"(Todos se preguntan por qué nos encontramos aquí y por qué mueren tantas personas, como los Mason, sin motivo alguno...) Everyone is wondering why we are here and why so many people, like the Masons, are dying for no reason..."-

The maid paused briefly, trying to dry her tears with her hands, and after a few moments of hesitation, she concluded her eulogy.

-"(Ojalá que alguna vez esto se le dé una respuesta y que sea una verdad clara y explicable...) Hopefully, sometime this will be given an answer, and it will be a clear and explainable truth..."-

And then...

-"That's all."- She said in plain English to the rest of the audience in the funeral.

Everyone, without exception, applauded Isabel's words, because in a certain way, they reflected the sentiment of what many felt about the death of that young family: that it was a senseless death, and that for some, there was something not quite right about the circumstances of the accident that killed them.

And with respect to the latter, that was the topic what Richard Mason's colleagues, named Phillip Madison, Nicholas Larkin, Darrel Driver, Frank Woods, Edward Johnson, James Reece and Mel Thompson, who worked with him alongside Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu at Fort Bliss were discussing, as the Masons' coffins were placed in their respective crypts of the family tomb where they would finally rest in peace.

-"Hell of a way to kick the bucket, don't you think so, folks?"- Frank Woods said, while watching morbidly how the coffins were put in the family tomb.

-"I can't stop thinking about what happened..."- James Reece also said, while also watching the whole scene with his friends. -"He did not deserve to die that way. Much less with his wife and children..."-

The others nodded to Reece, expressing their agreement with him, for the tragedy was horrific for all of them.

Nick Larkin, who had only just learned of the tragic news two days earlier because he was out of town, was not fully aware of the exact reasons behind the accident that took the lives of the Masons, something he needed to know from the rest of his work colleagues.

-"What exactly happened to them? I still haven't heard the details..."- Larkin said.

After a brief pause, Darrel Driver, another of Dr. Komatsu's assistants, explained to Larkin what happened to the Masons on that ill-fated flight to the United Kingdom.

-"Well, according to what I heard on the news, this is what happened..."- Driver began with the explanation. -"The Masons' plane, a DC-3, was approaching Iceland for its last stopover in Reykjavik, when the plane apparently exploded in mid-flight for reasons yet to be investigated, although it appears that the accident may have been caused by mechanical problems, and there is no suspicion of foul play."-

-"Also..."- Reese added to Driver's explanations about the accident. -"It is said that the first to arrive at the site of the plane, or what was left of it, was a fishing boat that was 20 km from the crash site. In fact, it is rumored that some pieces of the plane, including corpses, fell on that boat, although the American and Icelandic authorities deny that any such thing happened."-

Larkin made a gesture of surprise and disgust, knowing that the people who might have tried to recover the wreckage of the plane would have had to find bodies as well. What Larkin did not know at the time was that in fact one of the bodies, that of Louise Mason, Richard's youngest daughter, was the one that fell on the deck of the Calisto, the Icelandic ship that reported the accident and that also collaborated in the search and rescue of the wreckage of the plane, as well as the bodies of its crew and passengers.

-"If something like that really happened..."- The young scientist said with a concerned expression in his face. -"...I wouldn't really want to be in those sailors' shoes, for sure."-

Edward Johnson, another assistant working on the project with Komatsu, also had some questions about the plane crash that he wanted to share with his colleagues.

-"As I understand it, from what I read in the newspaper, and also from what I heard from some rumors on base, was that the Masons were originally going to fly on a commercial flight, but the plane was delayed due to mechanical problems, and they went on a private flight."-

-"That is what the FBI, the Icelandic and Danish civil authorities are investigating; and I think some of you already know who they are investigating."- Reece explained about what the law enforcement agencies are doing at the time regarding the crash.

-"And who are they investigating, if I may ask?"- Larkin asked to his friends. -"I haven't been very aware of much since I've been back in town, and I'm only just hearing about the accident that killed Richard and his family."-

Dr. Larkin's other colleagues remained silent, and after the short break, they explained who were the people being investigated regarding their role in the accident.

-"As I understand it, it is said that the DC-3 in which the Masons were traveling was owned by Major Matthew Fitzroy, and that is why the FBI needed to talk to him to find out what he knew about the plane in which Richard and his family crashed."- Mel Thompson, another scientist, explained. -"In addition to him, at least on the European side of things, they also investigated a Danish mechanic who worked at the Greenland airport where the Masons' plane stopped over before leaving for Iceland, and from there to England."-

Larkin, upon hearing Fitzroy's name, was stunned to learn that one of Fort Bliss' high-ranking officers was being investigated for his involvement in the crash because he was the owner of the plane. Not to mention how Fitzroy had a relationship with the Mason family to lend them a private plane for a transatlantic flight... or that he had enough money to buy one in the first place, which would also cause Fitzroy to be investigated by the Pentagon, or by Fort Bliss' Internal Affairs Department for possible illicit enrichment or embezzlement of federal funds for his own personal benefit.

-"Well, I guess that would explain why the old Major hasn't shown up here for the funeral, nor has his secretary, although I imagine the two of them must not be here in El Paso."- Larkin said. -"I wonder how much Fitzroy knows about the plane and its behavior, if anything at all."-

-"Heh... Surely they both must be in Washington right now testifying for both the FBI and the Department of Defense."- Phillip Madison, Dr. Komatsu's senior assistant, said with a sardonic grin about both Fitzroy and his secretary, Catherine Walburg. -"And the Pentagon will want to know where the hell Fitzroy bought that DC-3, and with what money he bought it."-

-"Yeah, that's for sure."- Mel Thompson replied to his senior.

After a brief moment of pause, while the burial was over, and only the relatives of the victims remained at the grave of the deceased Masons, mourning their deaths, Dr. Komatsu's assistants, who had not yet moved from the place where they were, had one last question to ask, one that was the elephant in the room, and that nobody had dared to say until that moment...

...except Larkin.

-"And why didn't Dr. Komatsu come to the funeral, huh?"-

Hearing that question, which may have seemed quite obvious, caused some discomfort among the attendees, and Phillip Madison, Komatsu's chief assistant, could not help but answer his subordinate in a somewhat frank manner.

-"I'm surprised you haven't heard about this yet, Larkin."- The senior aide responded with an annoyed tone. -"Komatsu fired Mason personally when the latter insulted the doctor's work, and the two never spoke to each other again."-

-"Oh... really?"- The young New York scientist responded intrigued by the event between the late Richard Mason and Dr. Komatsu. -"The truth is that I was not aware of that. I didn't know that Mason resigned, and I wasn't there the day it happened because I was sick, but I never thought that he was actually fired."-

-"Well, you should know that for once, Larkin."- Thompson warned the young man. -"Komatsu is not a person who can forget offenses like that so easily. And, as much as we dislike his decision not to go to Mason and his family's funeral, it's best that we don't discuss the subject of him in his presence, unless we want to be the next to be fired."-

At that, Larkin looked up at the sky, and he could only let out a sigh, knowing that the doctor he was working with had a more volatile nature than he had imagined.

-"All right... I'll keep that in mind for the future."-

Seeing that the vast majority of the funeral attendees were beginning to leave, not to mention that the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, Dr. Komatsu's seven assistants also decided to leave the burial ground to return to Fort Bliss, where they worked and lived.

-"I think we'd better get out of here; everyone is already leaving, and the truth is that I don't like being in a cemetery at night, don't you think so, folks?"- Madison said.

-"I agree with you, Madison."- Larkin side with his senior.

-"Me too, pal."- Reece followed suit.

But before everyone went their separate ways, and as they walked toward the cemetery gates, the seven men still had one last topic to discuss, a topic that Larkin, the youngest of them, brought to their attention.

-"By the way, guys, I heard that Komatsu might be transferred to another military base. Does anyone know how true that rumor is?"-

When they heard about that question, the remaining six scientists decided to stay silent, looking to one another for confirmation, which one of them would make the first move.

-"Well, to be honest, I've heard those rumors too."- Dr. Driver was the first to respond to Larkin. -"According to what I heard, the Pentagon wants to send Komatsu to work at a new USAF base that just opened four years ago near the Nevada desert. At least that's what I know on my end."-

-"That would be weird, if you ask me, guys."- Reece joined the conversation. -"Why would Komatsu be transferred to the USAF?"-

-"I have no idea."- Reece shrugged his shoulders. -"There are many strange things about that new base compared to other similar places, because they are handling all this in a more secret way than usual."-

Larkin made a somewhat sardonic smile, and immediately, he gave a possible reason why his boss might be sent to Nevada.

-"Does it have something to do with what happened in Roswell, New Mexico years ago?"-

Upon hearing that question, the remaining six men burst out laughing, knowing how ironic it would be that Komatsu, who did not believe in the existence of life on other worlds, would be sent to a place precisely to investigate the existence of the UFO phenomenon, and therefore, to verify the existence of alien life.

-"Hooooooly SHIT! heh, heh, heh, heh! If that's not irony, then I don't know what the hell is!"- Woods laughed at such idea.

-"Yeah, buddy!"- Thompson followed him cheerfully. -"Komatsu, the man who hates little green men from Mars, ends up investigating them after all! That would be reaaaaaaaally IRONIC!"- Then, he laughed loudly in a very noisy fashion.

-"Well, I guess at least Washington found some use for the good doctor's work, don't you think, folks?"- Reece also added some wry cracks on the whole subject.

Phillip Madison, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu's senior assistant, and the remaining assistants, including Larkin, did not find that outburst against their immediate boss funny at all, even if he was not present with them to hear them. In Madison's case, this had an explanation, as he was one of his most loyal assistants, and the fact that his own workers were making fun of him behind his back was something he found incredibly unpleasant, something Madison commented on right away.

-"You guys are nothing but a bunch of cowardly clowns!"- Madison said aloud, with a very fierce expression in his face. -"Dr. Komatsu has treated you people well, and that's the way you IDIOTS pay him back? Laughing behind his back like lustful hyenas?"-

Seeing her colleague's angry expression, Mel Thompson tried to calm Madison down before things could get any uglier, especially at a time as sensitive as that funeral.

-"Oh, come on, Phillip! Jeez... It's not like Komatsu's going to hear us."- Thompson tried to calm his colleague down, but it didn't bear fruit. -"You should calm down, pal... We're the only ones who know about all this, and no one's going to tell anyone else, right?"-

-"That's probably true."- Woods intervened on Thompson's behalf. -"Besides, I think we need something to have fun with after being gloomy the whole damn day, since we lost a friend of ours after all, don't you think so, guys?"-

After a few minutes of somewhat awkward silence following Phillip Madison's outburst, Larkin stated the following, in a somewhat timid tone.

-"Well, if you guys ask me for my opinion, I agree with what Woods said about it."- Larkin said.

-"I'm of the same idea,"- Edward Johnson followed. -"but I think I understand Madison's feelings on hearing all those jokes about the good old doc Komatsu. I don't think anyone likes it when the person you admire the most is insulted like that, and even more so in these difficult circumstances."-

Seeing the diverse opinions about what had happened regarding the opinion many had of his boss, and the rumors of his possible reassignment to Nevada, Madison decided to simply smile slightly, and acknowledge for his part that he may have taken things too far by insulting his colleagues over something as ridiculous as a few simple jokes to lift the spirits after a funeral as poignant as that of Richard Mason.

-"You know what, you guys are right."- Madison calmed himself down. -"My apologies for losing my temper... It's just that it hurts my head more than I can stand, when I heard you all speaking of Dr. Komatsu in that disrespectful manner."-

-"Hey, we didn't mean to hurt your feelings, pal."- Woods said, trying to put aside the subject. -"But let's leave this for another day, shall we?"-

Phillip Madison nodded as he and the other scientists walked toward the cemetery parking lot.

-"You are right. It would be best if we went back home, and talked about this at a better time."-

-"I agree with you, buddy."- Woods finished his chat. -"We'd better get back to base, and try to take a break from all this crap. I just want to take a good, nice shower after being out in the sun all this damn day."-

-"giggle... I agree 100% on that, Woods."- Johnson replied as well.

The conversation ended shortly after that, both after Madison's apology, and thanks to the arrival of both guards in the jeep, which had been sent by Fort Bliss to come and give the men a ride to the airbase where they were directed, without further ceremony.

---

April 3th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Outside Dr. Komatsu's Laboratory), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:00 AM

Two days after the emotive memorial service for Richard Mason and his family, who had died in that tragic plane crash off the coast of Iceland, everyone who knew the late scientist, especially his friends, were trying to return to their normal lives at Fort Bliss, the U.S. Army base in Texas where Mason worked before his death.

That would not be an easy task, for, even after Mason was fired by Yoshinori Komatsu, the void left by the late Texan scientist, especially in those who had known him for years, would be very difficult to fill by any means.

In fact, Mason's funeral had become the most talked-about topic on the base for several days, both before and after the service, which was not surprising, in view of the circumstances in which he left the military, his plans to move to Oxford, England to start a new life there with his entire family, and his and his family's tragic deaths.

But all that, at least for the moment, was of no interest to Nick Larkin, one of Dr. Komatsu's assistants, who had just entered the area where the lab where he worked, along with his other colleagues, was located.

While he had never had much interaction with the late Mason, the subject of his death was something he couldn't avoid, and it was something he couldn't help but feel some sadness about, because of the tragic way he and his family ended up losing their lives.

And that last paragraph became the topic of conversation with an acquaintance of his that Larkin would later engage in conversation with.

-"Good morning, Dr. Larkin!"- A remarkably sweet female voice was heard from behind the New York scientist, who was just trying to find Dr. Komatsu's laboratory.

The voice belonged to Daisy Rigby, who was one of several office employees working at Fort Bliss. A dark brown-haired, brown-eyed woman with glasses, slender, and about 1.75 m tall, Daisy was always a visually attractive woman. Her curvaceous figure and striking dark eyes were enough to arrest any men's attention, for better or worse.

But those qualities went unnoticed by Larkin, who had other things on his mind to worry about, though that didn't stop him from being nice to her.

-"Oh, hi, Miss Rigby!"- Larkin greeted her cheerfully. -"Good morning to you as well. I hope you had a good time on your days off..."-

-"Thanks, I did, but I think you need more than a nice vacations in the end."- The woman said at the scientist, after looking at him with a worried face. -"You seem to be somewhat down, if I may say so, Dr. Larkin."- Daisy replied to him, while taking a seat on a nearby bench.

-"Well... who isn't going to be sad after what happened?"- Larkin explained what he did in the funeral to Daisy. -"I went to Richard's funeral on the first day, and it was obviously a very depressing thing, considering that he and his entire family, including children, died in that plane crash. Especially seeing his and his wife's parents, and most of all, the classmates of his two children who were also on that plane. That's a downer for anyone, for sure."-

-"I'm sorry to hear that, Dr. Larkin."- Daisy tried to comfort Larkin in some way. -"I've heard that the wife of the late Dr. Mason was a very nice lady, from what I heard from Miss Walburg."-

-"Oh, you mean Catherine Walburg, that woman who works for Maj. Fitzroy?"- The scientist asked

-"Yes, indeed. She told me lots of things about her in her free time, for some reason I never understood why..."-

-"Yeah, I get it..."-

And suddenly, he changed to a more sarcastic and aggressive shade towards that woman and her immediate boss, regardless of the consequences.

-"...and, in my opinion, I think because of that... she and her boss are currently in Washington, possibly shitting their pants, while surely the Pentagon is keen to know what kind of strange shit the two of them were involved in with Richard and his wife Claudia. And that's not to say how the hell Fitzroy got that plane in the first place."-

The Texan woman was surprised to see that the man did not mince words about Matthew Fitzroy and his secretary, for at least he had also heard some strange rumors about him, something he would discuss with Daisy.

-"And everyone here at the base knows that Fitzroy is a racist, corrupt jerk, who enjoyed screwing Dr. Komatsu at will for being Japanese, and who knows what other shady crap that idiot got into with Mason and his wife. I wouldn't be THAT surprised to hear that he could had sabotaged his own plane to kill the two of them, and make it look like an accident."- Larkin continued with his tirade against both Fitzroy and Catherine in front of Daisy.

After remaining silent while listening to all this, Daisy could only manage to say her opinion about the accident and Major Fitzroy's possible involvement in it.

-"Well... now... I don't know why anybody would want to do that... wouldn't the amount of attention this would get be too great?"- Daisy said, still seeming a little surprised.

-"Beats me."- The New Yorker replied. -"And that is what they are going to investigate back in Washington. And if they find that stupid redneck and his secretary had anything to do with this, they will both be toast... figuratively and literally!"-

Daisy was surprised to hear the last part, as it implied that, if it turned out that Fitzroy and Catherine had anything to do with the accident, they could end up in the electric chair. Considering the aggressive language with which he was addressing both characters, it was not difficult to infer that Larkin had no sympathy for them, nor for what might befall them if it was discovered that they might have been involved in causing the accident.

-"Wow... It seems that you don't like the Major very much..."-

-"You can tell, right?"- Larkin replied. -"While I don't care what that idiot does with his life, the thought that Fitzroy may have had a hand in this whole affair, and that Richard's children and his wife ended up paying for it with their lives makes my stomach churn from disgust..."-

Daisy did not know what to say about it, because, although she agreed with him on some things, she preferred not to share with Larkin her opinion about the accident, mostly to avoid any repercussions on her professional career.

Nick Larkin, on the other hand, seeing the reaction, or lack thereof, to his words, understood the reason why she preferred not to say anything, and he decided to change the topic, once he had talked long enough to at least let someone else know what he thought about Fitzroy and his secretary.

-"Okay... enough about this whole shit..."- The New York scientist said with some degree of impatience. -"I have to go to the lab to work, before the good ol' doc Komatsu gives me an earful for being late for work. See you later, Miss Rigby!"-

-"See you soon, Dr. Larkin."- The woman only managed to say a proper goodbye to the scientist, without adding anything else and just went back to her office to resume normal work.

And so, Larkin went to the lab to work, seeing that he had been quite distracted by that woman, and that he would surely receive a reprimand for it from Dr. Komatsu, who normally disliked lateness.

But at least he felt a little more at ease in speaking his mind about Fitzroy, which was the least he could do about the suspicions floating around the base about the involvement of that senior officer and Catherine Walburg in the plane crash that claimed the lives of Richard Mason and his entire family off the coast of Iceland.

And considering the magnitude of that incident, the least Larkin cared about, unlike Daisy Rigby, was what Fitzroy might think of him and the repercussions for his own career, considering that even Larkin had his share of doubts about his own boss.

But that was beside the point at the time, and the New York scientist preferred to put those doubts to rest until the time was right.

---

April 3th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Outside Dr. Komatsu's Laboratory/Entrance), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:30 AM

When Nick Larkin walked up to the entrance of the lab, the first thing he noticed was that there were a large number of lab employees swarming around the place, visibly concerned that they couldn't get into the lab for some reason.

Among the employees were Dr. Komatsu's own assistants, mainly Phillip Madison, Darrel Driver, Frank Woods, Edward Johnson, James Reece and Mel Thompson, who stood in front of the laboratory door, as if they could not access the place for some reason that Larkin did not understand at the time, and which he wanted to learn at once.

-"What's going on? Why is everyone outside?"- Larkin asked them all.

Darrel Driver was the first to respond to the New York scientist.

-"Something happened to the whole project, and the lab was shut down without any notice to all of us..."-

The young American man of science, who expected to at least have a normal day after what happened after Richard Mason's funeral, was greatly shocked by that piece of information.

-"Wha-WHAT?!"- The scientist yelled at Driver. -"You're joking... right?... Moreover, it's past April Fools Day for that kind of stupid crap!"-

Dr. Driver gave a negative nod at Larkin's question.

-"Unfortunately... this is not an April Fool's Day joke... at all."-

Larkin's face and surprised voice said it all, especially knowing that this was not someone's prank on account of it having been April Fool's Day in the U.S. two days before.

-"No way..."-

Dr. Larkin had no idea what was going on, having been resting after the Masons' memorial service two days ago, and then going to work at the lab to find that something had happened that he could not comprehend at the very moment.

-"If you don't believe this,"- Reece addressed to Larkin, while poitning his finger to the door. -"you should read what it says on the sign they put on the door..."-

As Larkin looked at the door, he read the sign that was posted on the laboratory's entrance way:

For various reasons, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu's Advanced Evolution Project has been stopped, so the laboratory will remain permanently closed.

For any details on this, please discuss with Major Andrew Summerfield for further explanation.

Sincerely

United States Department of Defense.

PD: This is NOT an April's Fool joke.

Much of the laboratory's employees were outraged. Why had neither Dr. Komatsu nor the Department of Defense, let alone the authorities in charge of Fort Bliss, warned them that the project would be stopped at some point? What had caused the project, to which they had devoted years, to be cancelled or paused?

All questions in Larkin's mind were about to be answered by Major Andrew Summerfield, a man who was not only the person now supervising the projects in the absence of Major Matthew Fitzroy, but also the person who could knew something about either the reasons why Komatsu canceled the project, or even his whereabouts, since he wasn't there in the lab to explain anything.

The only thing that he and the rest of his work mates could do right now was to go to meet with him and ask about all of it.

-"I think we should talk to Major Summerfield, and demand an explanation for all this."- Frank Woods said, quite annoyed for the current events.

-"I'm in total agreement."- Phillip Madison expressed his own concern. -"I doubt very much that Dr. Komatsu would have canceled the project just like that, and something must have occurred for him to be forced to do such a thing. Otherwise, he would have already notified us in one way or another."

-"And I too."- Larkin said, as they all crossed the base to go to where Major Summerfield was.

---

April 3th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Outside Major Summerfield's Office), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 11:13 AM

It wasn't long at all for them to find where the senior officer's office was, and as they reached it, they saw two important things: A large letter "C" under a small "10". That combination of numbers and letters indicated the location of the office of Major Andrew Summerfield, who was temporarily filling in for Matthew Fitzroy while the latter was being investigated by the Pentagon for his involvement in the events of the accident involving the late Richard Mason.

But before entering, the staff working for Dr. Komatsu, led by his senior assistant, Phillip Madison, first had to notify the Major's personal secretary of their presence so that she could allow them into his office.

Major Summerfield's personal secretary, named Barbara Palmer, was apparently waiting for the large group of men to get the explanation they needed as to why the project was cancelled without notice, with no one, including Dr. Komatsu, saying anything of the matter.

-"Let me guess, gentlemen..."- The woman, with a pronounced Texan accent and a degree of haughtiness strongly noticeable in her voice, asked the scientists working for Komatsu. -"I'm gonna guess that you're the guys who worked for that Japanese hack scientist, aren't you, huh?"-

The men decided to ignore the admittedly xenophobic manner in which she was addressing their boss, as they had more important questions to ask Major Summerfield than to argue with a bigoted woman.

-"Ehem... Excuse me, Ms. Palmer, but we need to speak with Major Summerfield, and we don't have time to discuss other things,"- Madison, the leader, stood the woman straight. -"so, if you would, could you please speak with him and let him know we are here?"-

Seeing that they were unwilling to listen to their boss being insulted in their presence by a notoriously racist woman, the secretary said no more and, over the intercom, she made her immediate superior aware of the presence of the scientists working for Komatsu.

-"Excuse me, Major, but I believe the scientists who worked for Dr. Komatsu would like to talk to you."-

The voice of an elderly man was noticeable as he responded to his employee.

-"Tell them to step into my office, and I will answer their questions."-

-"Yes, sir."-

The woman, with some grumpiness, turned to Madison.

-"Well, you heard the Major, so you can come in, but I don't think you're all going to get in at the same time..."- Barbara Palmer replied at the men. -"Ya know, the office is quite small, gentlemen."-

-"Don't worry, Ms. Palmer, only we, Dr. Komatsu's direct assistants, will be going in."- Madison reassured the Texan woman. -"The other employees can wait outside."-

-"Well, in that case, have the people who need to talk to the Major come in, then."-

And without further ado, Phillip Madison, Darrel Driver, Frank Woods, Edward Johnson, James Reece, Nick Larkin and Mel Thompson, the assistants who worked closely with Dr. Komatsu, entered the office.

---

April 3th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Major Summerfield's Office), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 11:20 AM

Major Andrew Summerfield is a man who is not only the person supervising all projects in Fort Bliss until Mr. Fitzroy's case is resolved, but also the person who could know something about either the reasons why Dr. Komatsu has stopped his Advanced Evolution Project, or even his whereabouts, since he wasn't there outside the lab to explain anything.

Summerfield, a veteran of World War II, was a man of mature age on his sixties, certainly elegant in appearance, compared to his predecessor, Matthew Fitzroy, and even he could boast of having participated in more important battles in that war, including having participated in the famous D-Day, to be more precise, during the Battle of Normandy.

During such event, Summerfield and his battalion were ordered to capture German soldiers who had retreated into fortified positions along an embankment near Saint-Lô, France, late in 1944. The operation was deemed successful but not without Summerfield losing several of his men and having some injuries himself.

After that, he was awarded a Silver Star for his efforts on the Normandy battlefield. After this achievement, he was promoted to the rank of Captain and was sent to Provence in France where he acted as a combat instructor for the Parachute School and the officer candidate school. After the war ended, he was promoted to Major.

Summerfield was in the office reading some reports, mainly those concerning about precisely about both the late Richard Mason, Komatsu's project and other topics he needed to discuss with the latter's people who worked with him. And the Advanced Evolution Project was the topic he was going to discuss with Dr. Komatsu's assistants, who needed to know what had happened with both the project and their boss at the same time.

-"Good morning gentlemen,"- The Major greeted the scientists first. -"I suppose you came here to learn about your project and your boss, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu, right?"-

Phillip Madison, Komatsu's senior assistant, and for all practical purposes, the Japanese doctor's number two on the project, was the one who addressed Summerfield.

-"Yes, Major, we came here to ask for an explanation for what happened to the project, and what happened with Dr. Komatsu and his whereabouts."-

-"And we surely need to know what has happened here, and with Dr. Komatsu."- Driver, one of the younger scientists, but already one of the trusted men working on the project, spoke. -"And the laboratory is now closed, and no one is here to tell us what has happened with the project."-

As the man spoke, he noticed that Major Summerfield had finished reading his reports and was looking at him in question.

-"I must assume that you are not aware of what went on with him and his project, from what I am seeing."-

Madison looked at the veteran military man with some disbelief, as he didn't know what Summerfield was referring to when he said that.

-"I beg your pardon, sir?"-

The Major glanced at the group of scientists working for Komatsu, and with slight feeling of exasperation, seeing that these men did not know the truth, he chose to be the one to explain it to them.

-"In case you haven't heard beforehand,"- Summerfield explained coldly. -"your boss, Dr. Komatsu, was transferred yesterday to a new secret military base just completed in Nevada. Likewise, the entire Advanced Evolution Project was sent there."-

The news hit each working for Komatsu like a cold slap in the face.

"-Wh-WHAT?!"- Madison was shocked by the news, which fanned the others in question. -"And why weren't we told about this in the first place?"-

Summerfield could understand the reaction of those men, with waves of questions and concerns for their boss, whom they had followed for years, but the explanation had to be made at this point.

-"The Department of Defense did not want to let you know what was going to happen, as they only decided to transfer the necessary people that the project required."- The aged soldier said the reasons why they weren't sent with Dr. Komatsu. -"Since it is a secret military base, anyone who needs to be sent there needs to be cleared by the Pentagon first, and by now Dr. Komatsu must be arranging for you or anyone else needed there in Nevada to be cleared by the government."-

Hearing all this, Darrel Driver, who had heard the rumors about Komatsu being sent to Nevada, couldn't help but think that it was all true. Nevertheless, he asked Major Summerfield a question.

-"Excuse me, Major, I had heard rumors that Dr. Komatsu was going to be sent to Nevada a few days ago."- Driver asked the WWII veteran. -"If all this was true all along, why didn't our boss inform us about this to avoid this kind of situation?"-

-"The reason their boss did not warn all of you guys before was because there was still no certainty that Dr. Komatsu would be sent to Nevada."- Summerfield explained. -"The clearance from the Department of Defense had only arrived two days ago, and the authorization requirements stated that the doctor had to leave here ASAP (As Soon As Possible)."-

The aged man added the following about the reason why Komatsu's men weren't warned in advance.

-"Also, as you know, your colleague, Dr. Richard Mason, passed away two days ago, and even if we could have advised you of Dr. Komatsu's transfer to Nevada, it would not have been possible, out of respect for you, your late friend, and his immediate family who survived him."-

Seeing that there was not much they could say or do about the matter, Madison and the other assistants did not ask any more questions, except for the next one from Dr. Larkin.

-"Another question, Major:"- The New Yorker asked at the military man. -"Assuming that Dr. Komatsu could not, or it was not possible for him to arrange a transfer for us to Nevada, would that mean that we would be terminated?"-

-"No."- The Major replied in the same cold way. -"You may request to be transferred to another project of your choice, depending on your capabilities, if it is not possible for you to be sent to that new base. In the event that there is no project that is to your liking or to the extent of your abilities, you may apply for termination of your contracts with the U.S. Army, unless the government says otherwise."-

Sensing that the conversation between Summerfield and Komatsu's men was coming to an end, the older man added one last thing of interest with those men.

-"Another thing, gentlemen, even if you are being sent to other military bases, your original contracts with the Army will remain in place, as well as your original wages."- The old man said.

The Major was only too happy to cut the meeting short since he had much work to do, but still he had one more thing to say in order to finish the whole reunion.

-"Do you have anything else to share, gentlemen?"- Major Summerfield asked from his desk.

Madison answered the question for the others by saying "no". And at that, Phillip Madison and the rest of Komatsu's aides left the office of Maj. Andrew Summerfield.

Once outside the office, none of Dr. Komatsu's original assistants were happy with the situation at the time. While they somewhat understood that their boss was unable to notify them that he was being transferred to another part of the country, the fact that the Department of Defense had not bothered to do the same was reason enough for many to be angry, even if their jobs and their respective salaries and benefits would be safe.

Unfortunately for them, all they could do was return to their quarters and wait for word from the Pentagon on whether or not they too would be transferred to Nevada. That was the best they thought they could do for now.

---

April 5th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Nick Larkin's Quarters), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:32 AM

Two days have passed since Nick Larkin and the rest of his co-workers received the news that their boss, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu, had been transferred to a new secret military base in Nevada.

As a result, he and the other people working alongside him suddenly found themselves with nothing to do at Fort Bliss, even though they would receive their full pay and benefits without conditions as long as they remained at El Paso, and waited for Komatsu to either request the transfer of his former staff to Nevada, or find another project to work on.

In the meantime, the only thing the young New York scientist could do was wait for Komatsu to call. Otherwise, he and possibly his other colleagues would have to consider the option of going to work for other people at the base if necessary.

By that time, Larkin had come out of the bathroom after taking a shower, and he began to get dressed so that he could plan to go to the base cafeteria and have some breakfast. He was in front of his bed, just on the verge of putting on his T-shirt.

However, at that moment, as the man was about to do this, he heard a phone call coming from one of the phones normally installed in many of the VIPs' quarters. Larkin thought the call was possibly from Phillip Madison, Komatsu's senior assistant, possibly communicating some news regarding his former boss, as well as a possible transfer to Nevada to work with him there.

But when he answered the phone, the person who spoke to him was the last person he was expecting a call from...

-"Hello, this is Nick Larkin speaking. Who am I speaking to, please?"-

-"Oh, good morning, Dr. Larkin!"- An elderly man's voice came over the speaker phone. -"It's me, Major Andrew Summerfield."-

Larkin found it strange that that senior man bothered to speak directly to him, a person who was not even a soldier, rather than through his immediate superior, Dr. Phillip Madison. Either way, he had to answer him regardless, to find out his intentions.

-"Good morning, sir, what can I do for you?"- The New Yorker replied to the call.

The old man returned the reply.

-"First of all, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you with this call, but I have some news for you that I need you and each one of your team to know beforehand."-

The young scientist was a bit surprised that Summerfield wanted to discuss the issue separately with each of Dr. Komatsu's former staff members, rather than as a group.

-"Okay, go ahead, Major."- Nick finally accepted what Summerfield said. -"What news do you need to tell me?"-

-"The Department of Defense has not yet mentioned anything about a possible transfer of you, along with your other colleagues, to Nevada, for work with your boss, Dr. Komatsu. But the higher-ups in Washington felt that in the meantime, during the clearance process, you could return to your respective homes, if you wish."-

These last words seemed to make Larkin somewhat puzzled, as he had no idea what the old man was talking about. Everything indicated that was just a very polite way of telling them that they had been dismissed, and that they should return home, something that Larkin sought more specifics from that U.S. Army senior officer.

-"Excuse my digression, Major, but I want to make sure I understand you correctly. You are telling me that we could go back to our homes, even though we were told that we could stay here at El Paso for as long as it took for us to go to work alongside Dr. Komatsu in Nevada?"-

-"You're correct, young man, that's exactly what I'm saying."- Summerfield clarified.

-"So are we to assume that we will no longer be returning here to Fort Bliss, or to the army, from what I'm understanding of all this?"-

-"No, on the contrary. This is not a dismissal in the least."- The veteran soldier explained. -"The Pentagon simply thought it would be too uncomfortable for you guys to remain in El Paso doing nothing, and they felt it would be best for you to return to your native places, and await further instructions from us."-

-"What if we wanted to work on other projects in case Dr. Komatsu was not allowed to transfer us to Nevada, sir?"- Larkin asked to Summerfield.

-"In that case, you can call Fort Bliss here by phone, and speak to the respective project director for more details."- The old soldier retorted. -"I imagine that you folks already have the directory of all the projects handled here, don't you?"-

-"Well, yes, Major."- The New Yorker answered.

-"In that case, they could give you the information you would need. Nevertheless, as I said before, the DoD has decided that you should go back to your respective homes, because you've done enough here at Fort Bliss. I hope you do understand their decision, Doctor."-

While Larkin would have preferred to stay in El Paso to wait for a transfer notification rather than return to New York for the same, returning to his hometown was not too much of an inconvenience either, considering that the government would pay for the travel expenses in any case. Besides, Larkin preferred the New York weather to the Texan desert climate.

The only problem would be that, should he have to travel to Nevada, the one-way trip to that state from New York would be quite a long one, at least at that time.

-"I guess I can't complain about that, Major."- Larkin replied at the phone.

-"I see, then."- Summerfield said in response. -"I thought you would not mind to be sent back home by your superiors for some time."-

-"Of course not, sir. But I would have preferred to stay here, just for the convenience of the distance between Texas and Nevada, because in my case, I live in New York."-

-"Oh, I understand your case, doctor."- Summerfield then explained his orders. -"As I said before, this is not mandatory in any way and you can stay here in El Paso if you wish. It was just that the Pentagon deemed it would be more suitable for you guys to wait for further instructions at your respective homes than to stay here in this city and do nothing."-

-"Oh, I see."- Larkin answered.

After a brief pause, Summerfield continued the chat.

-"Well, if you will excuse me, I have other things to do at the moment, Dr. Larkin, and time is short for me."- The Major tried to finish the call for good. -"Do you have any other questions you would like to share with me?"-

-"Nope, nothing that I can think of, Major Summerfield."- Came the reply. -"Thanks for the call, and I hope we meet again some other time."-

-"Yes, I wish the same to you, Doctor. See you later, then."- Summerfield replied, before quickly hanging up the call after saying goodbye to the young man.

After finishing the call, Larkin tried to contemplate the best decision he should make, whether to stay in Texas or return to his hometown of New York to await further instructions while he spent the rest of his time with his family.

But before he could make any decision on the matter, he wanted to eat something first of all, and above all, to discuss the issue with his other fellow scientists, so, after the young man finished putting on his clothes, he took a book that was on the shelf in his quarters, and took it with him to read it in the cafeteria while he waited for his meal.

---

April 5th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Cafeteria), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 11:00 AM

The cafeteria at Fort Bliss was a large restaurant-like place that housed a wide variety of tables, with many people eating their lunch. The location of the cafeteria was near the back entrance to Fort Bliss, as well as being close to a lot of offices within the base, which was very convenient for those who work on that base, or want to eat quickly so they don't have to leave the place for lunch.

In that place, Nick Larkin was waiting for his breakfast at the table, which consisted of fried eggs with bacon, pancakes and a couple of English biscuits, accompanied by a delicious latte. While waiting for his food, Larkin smiled that, since Komatsu was not at the base, he did not have to listen to his boss' complaints about his choice of food, since that Japanese scientist was a strict vegetarian.

That was an issue he had to deal with on an almost daily basis, and on more than one occasion, he was almost on the verge of telling the man to go to hell for his uncalled-for opinions about his food preferences.

Meanwhile, the young man of science was reading a book on the table. Although the title of the book he was reading was lost in the historical records, what was known for sure was that it dealt with the history of Buddhism, a subject that was of some interest to the New York scientist.

And while he was reading that book, someone appeared at his table all of a sudden.

-"May I join you, Larkin?"-

When the New York scientist raised his head to see who he was, he quickly noticed it was his immediate superior, Dr. Phillip Madison. On seeing that man, Larkin did not hesitate to welcome him.

-"Sure, help yourself, Dr. Madison."- The New Yorker replied, as he put the book on the table to make room for the incoming senior man. -"Have a seat."-

Once at the table, Larkin wanted to know the reason why he was there. It was clear that Madison was eager to talk to him, but it seemed that man, who was Dr. Komatsu's senior assistant, wanted to talk to him about many things at the moment. And in that instant, Madison was the first to exchange words with Larkin.

-"What are you reading, Larkin?"-

-"Oh, this?"- The New Yorker pointed to his book. -"It's a book about Buddhism."-

-"Buddhism, you say?"- Madison looked at Larkin with a sidelong glance, not understanding why someone like him would be intrigued by such an esoteric subject as an Asian religion. -"Do you plan to become a Buddhist monk, or what?"-

-"Of course not."- Larkin denied any interest in converting to Buddhism, with a certain chuckling undertone. -"I was simply reading this book because the subject matter caught my attention."-

-"I see."- Madison then blinked a few times. -"And may I know what precisely you were reading before I interrupted you?"-

-"Well, if you're interested to know what exactly I'm reading,"- Larkin explained. -"the chapter of the book talks about the Asuras."-

-"Asuras?"- Madison asked in a puzzled tone. -"What's that?"-

-"According with this book"- The New Yorker gave Madison the definition about those mythical beings. -"The Asuras, also known as Ahura, are a group of Hindu and Buddhist divinities that are the antithesis of Indra's Devas. They are described as titans, demons, and god-men."-

-"And, what else?"- Madison asked.

-"They vary in size from 10 to 100 feet tall. The same Buddha explained that during his time there were two groups of beings: the atman or "unsullied" among them and their counterparts who follow the law of nature, which is a natural cycle including birth and death, and the mayavi or "worldly" beings. The mayavi are the asuras of ancient texts, and may be best understood as eternally dissatisfied beings, consumed by pride, fury and jealousy. It is also said that the asuras are jealous of the devas, the proud yet satisfied beings of enlightenment, because they have attained a higher level of spiritual consciousness."-

-"In short, those beings are the physical representation of envy, conflict and violence."- The Texan scientist said.

-"In a sense, yes."- Larkin replied, trying to translate the description of the beings in a manner that might be understandable to Madison. -"However, personally, I am interested in a term related on the asuras, which is more linked with the Japanese culture."-

-"What will it be, precisely?"-

-"Something called The Path of Shura."-

Upon hearing that term, Phillip Madison could not hide his amazement, for it all sounded Greek to him, who had no knowledge of such esoteric subjects as those related to Buddhism.

-"The Path of WHAT?"- The Texan said with a snide surprise to his fellow science man. -"And what the hell is that thing?"-

-"Basically, it could be described as the path of destruction."- The young man said in a somber tone. -"A situation in which a person is willing to fight unto death, even if it also means having to fight for the rest of his life against whatever is in his way, no matter how much he has to destroy, or how many people have to die, until achieving the goal, or dying trying."-

After hearing that last remark, Madison remained silent for a few moments. The fact that someone could be willing to be in such a situation was something that would be very difficult to believe, although, considering the Japanese roots of the term, it was possible that it came from the Sengoku period from feudal Japan, perhaps during the countless wars that plagued that archipelago, where samurai warriors fought and died daily.

After that pause, Komatsu's assistant continued the conversation, adding something to the subject of his own.

-"Why do I feel I know someone who would fit that description?"- Said Madison sarcastically, while looking closely at Larkin.

Realizing that his superior was staring at him suspiciously, the scientist from New York felt that Madison was mocking him by implying that Larkin might go down that path, even if only in a joking manner, something that certainly caused some degree of unease in the young scientist.

-"If that's what you're thinking about me, Dr. Madison, I don't have such crazy ideas in mind, for your personal information."-

-"Of course not, silly!"- Madison denied about mocking him about such subject. -"I didn't mean you."-

-"Then, why were you looking at me like that, huh?"-

Following a brief pause, having laughed at the look of annoyance on his Yankee colleague's face at the assumption that he would be the one to walk the Path of Shura, Madison went on to explain his reasons for saying so.

-"I think you and I both know who we are referring to specifically with that Path of Shura stuff..."-

Suddenly, Nick Larkin looked up into his superior's eyes, seeing that Phillip Madison himself was referring to someone well known to both of them, even if he, just as he did to his junior Larkin, wasn't exactly being serious...

-"Don't tell me you're thinking of Dr. Komatsu?"-

-"Who else?"- Madison replied. -"I mean, have you seen him lately? He's up to some kind of trouble. It's obvious. giggle"-

Realizing the absurd remark by the Texan scientist, Larkin was slightly amused, although he didn't really think Madison was actually saying that there was something wrong with Dr. Komatsu, since he knew well enough that Komatsu was actually unusual compared to other people at Fort Bliss.

-"I am surprised that you, of all people, have such an opinion of Dr. Komatsu... chuckle"- Larkin replied with a surprised voice at his senior, even if he knew he wasn't being serious about calling his boss a madman. -"Even if you, I, and everyone who work with him know that Dr. Komatsu can be a bit... ya know... weird... at times."-

-"Let's be honest, Larkin:"- Madison explained his stance about his boss. -"As much as I admire the good doc, I have always thought that at times, Dr. Komatsu is too passionate for his own good in what he is engaged in, especially with everything related to the Advanced Evolution Project."

-"Well, I guess we can't blame him for that. That project has been his driving force since he was living in Japan."- Larkin gave his opinion as well. -"Besides, if you're a scientist, and a new subject excites you, then you can't deny it. You've got to be excited about. That's what science is all about, isn't it?"-

-"True."- Madison agree with his junior. -"And if we joined his project, it was because we also share his passion, even if not in the same way he does."-

-"Yeah... but..."-

Larkin sighed a bit, and then, he resumed the talk, with a depressed look on his eyes.

-"...there are also times when I wonder whether his passion won't destroy him and whatever standing his way eventually..."-

Madison looked into his colleague's eyes, seeing what he was referring to with such thing...

-"I would imagine that in that case, that would be what we would be talking about a person who would be prepared to walk the Path of Shura. Right, Larkin?"

-"Well, in a way, it could be. Though, in a worst case scenario, Dr. Komatsu could end up in an insane asylum first... or in the grave."-

-"And let me guess: if the doc ends up in those scenarios, it would be either because one of his animals eats him first, or because someone believes that the doc is doing... something else with the animals..."-

Both scientists burst out laughing their heads off.

Even if both men, especially Madison, had respect for Komatsu, even they were not shy about making fun of him behind his back, if only because of the very reason they both worked for him. They both knew that Dr. Komatsu did not like comments about zoophilia, especially if they were directed at him or his project. But even the two of them couldn't help but make them, if it was just for a bit of fun, since Komatsu wasn't there to hear them and punish them for telling such a crude gag.

-"OH WOW!... giggle... One of the good things about Doc Komatsu not being here in Texas is that, if he had heard that, he probably would have ripped our balls off!"- Larkin said, still laughing at that crack from his senior.

-"You bet!"- Madison followed suit, also chuckling with the New Yorker man. -"Oh, man, I haven't laughed out loud like that in a while!"-

-"Yeah. Me, neither..."- Larkin said, taking some minutes to calm down.

But then, Larkin remembered that there was another topic he had to raise with his superior regarding Komatsu, something that was not possible at that moment as he was talking about Buddhism and other topics.

-"Oh, before I drop it, there is one other topic I need to talk to you about related to Dr. Komatsu and the whole project..."-

Madison quickly guessed what Larkin meant by that.

-"I have to guess that you are talking about what Major Summerfield said about how we should return to our homes, rather than stay here and do nothing if Dr. Komatsu is not authorized to transfer us to Nevada."-

-"Indeed."- Larkin quickly replied. -"He phoned me to my quarters to tell me that. I assumed that the rest of the staff also got a similar call from him as well. What do you think of all this, Dr. Madison?"-

Dr. Komatsu's assistant stood in thought for a few moments, and seconds later, he returned a reply to his junior.

-"Well... uh... I don't know yet."- Madison said with a bit of hesitation. -"In my case, I could return to Houston with my family, although I have no problem staying here in El Paso and wait if necessary, and in case it is not possible to continue working for him, I could look for another project to work on instead."-

-"I see, then."- The young New Yorker replied.

-"And what about you, Larkin, do you have any ideas in mind about your future?"-

-"In my case... well... I guess I could do the same as you, and go back to New York. Besides, I don't really like the weather and the whole atmosphere of this place anyway..."-

Larkin explained with an annoyed tone, since he never liked El Paso in the first place, for obvious reasons.

-"I hardly think I blame you for that, buddy."- Madison replied. -"I mean, here in Texas, everything is more or less dry and hot, as humid as hell, whereas in New York, everything is much cooler, and never too dry at least... and the local heat doesn't bother me either."-

Considering the statement by his superior, Larkin couldn't help but think that Madison wasn't very aware of the climate differences between the two states, based on his reply.

-"Probably because you have been living in Texas all your life, Dr. Madison..."- Larkin said in a very sarcastic tone.

Madison himself couldn't help but laugh.

-"Okay, okay, you got me."- Madison said, chuckling. -"But in all the seriousness, will you be staying or returning to New York in the end?"

Larkin thought for a few seconds before answering, though he had his mind made up long ago.

-"In the end, I can't say for sure, but..."- Larkin said, with a saddened tone in his voice.

-"But what?"- Madison asked.

After pondering for a while, Larkin finally replied.

-"I prefer to wait until tomorrow to give you an answer, OK?"-

Madison was somewhat puzzled with the response given by his colleague. Why would he want to wait till the next day to give him an answer to that question? But the Texan understood that, considering the circumstances, there was probably a reason behind that. Madison wouldn't push him to give an answer before he was ready.

-"Sure, but you know, I will ask you tomorrow again, and in that case, I insist that you give me a clear answer after all, if you can."-

-"Whatever you say, boss. laughs"- Larkin replied with a smile.

Moments later, a waitress brought Larkin's breakfast to his table, which looked quite appetizing for both the eater and Madison.

-"Here is your breakfast, sir. Can I get you anything else?"-

-"For the time being, no. Thank you very much anyway, Miss."-

-"You are welcome, doctor."- The waitress replied. -"I hope you enjoy your meal."-

Soon the waitress departed from the table, leaving Phillip Madison and his junior colleague Nick Larkin on their own again.

Larkin immediately started eating his breakfast, while Madison gave him a curious look.

-"Mind if I ask you something, Larkin."- Madison said.

-"Go ahead, Doc."- Larkin replied with a friendly smile.

-"I am pretty curious about what Dr. Komatsu is planning next in his plans for us, assuming, of course, that we can go there to the new secret military base in Nevada in the first place."-

-"What do you mean?"- Madison asked, somewhat interested in learning what his boss had in his mind next.

-"I do not know."- Madison replied at his junior. -"I suppose we could keep doing there what we've been carrying on doing here at Fort Bliss, but seeing as Dr. Komatsu was sent there to that secret base, there must be a compelling reason for it, don't you think, Larkin?"-

-"Yeah. I guess we should know what it is before we decide whether going there is worth a try or not."- Larkin simply replied, even if he didn't say exactly what he was thinking at that very moment. -"Although if you ask me, I have no problem going to Nevada to work there, even if we can do something different in our free time than going to the seedy bars we have here in El Paso."-

-"I guess you still haven't forgotten the incident of that woman spy on the Kitty Riot, have you?"-

Larkin huffed when his senior reminded him of the incident with Violetta Love, not to mention the humiliation he suffered when he realized that the woman had stolen information from his briefcase about the project while the two were having sex in her dressing room in that bar. To say nothing of the interrogation he endured at the hands of Major Fitzroy, and the reprimand he received from the latter and Dr. Komatsu.

-"Please don't remind me of that..."-

Suddenly, the tone of Larkin's voice became more harsh and incensed, for it was something he would never forgive that woman for, especially when considering the utter shame he had experienced.

-"If one day I ever saw that fucking bitch again... I don't know what I'd do with her..."-

-"Most likely she is on the other side of the Wall, for sure."- Madison replied with a certain degree of sarcasm and detachment, seeing that there was nothing they, and possibly the U.S. government, could do about it, unaware of who Violetta Love really was. -"And possibly she is sucking some Russian dicks, Mata Hari-style."-

-"Hah, I think you're giving too much credit to that Mata Hari, in case you haven't noticed."- The New York scientist explained the irony of comparing Violetta Love to the infamous Dutch spy from the World War I era. -"She was never a good spy, and she was executed as soon as she was captured."-

-"Well, at least look on the bright side, Larkin."- The Texan scientist replied rather peevishly. -"If she's in Russia now, surely the Russians won't have much patience for her if she does something stupid, and she could end up worse than Mata Hari."-

-"Knowing the Soviets, I don't want to imagine what her death would be like..."-

After a brief, somewhat mischievous chuckle with Dr. Madison at the thought of how Violetta Love might die, Larkin had already finished his breakfast. With nothing more to add, he closed the conversation and went back to his quarters, while he thought about what he could do next.

-"Well, I'm going to go back and rest for a while. Do you have anything else you want to talk to me about, doctor?"-

-"For the moment, nothing in particular."- Madison said goodbye to Larkin, as the latter stood up from his chair. -"I will see you later, and if you have anything you want to share with me, feel free to phone me whenever you need to."-

-"Likewise, doc."- Nick Larkin replied. -"See ya later, then."-

-"See you!"-

And so, Larkin made his way to his room to rest, while he began to think about what he would do next now that he and his other work colleagues could return to their native homes.

But for that, he wanted time to make a decision, and it wouldn't be until the end of the day before he would make a final say in the matter.

---

April 7th, AD 1955, El Paso International Airport (National Depatures Area), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 01:23 PM

Passengers bound for New York LaGuardia Airport, American Airlines flight 6543 will take off in 30 minutes. Please have your tickets and luggage ready. Thank you for your attention.

Nick Larkin, having finished his meal, left a Mexican-style restaurant located near El Paso International Airport, and walked through the terminal. He strolls about a few different shops until he sees the lounge in front of him. He enters, takes a seat at one of the tables and starts leafing through a magazine someone had left behind.

After two days of consideration, Larkin chose to return home to New York to visit his family, and wait there until he received a call from his boss, Dr. Komatsu, or the Army itself, to travel to Nevada. Otherwise, he might decide to pursue another project either in El Paso or elsewhere in the US.

While waiting, Larkin decides to rest for a little while until it is time for him to board his flight back to the East Coast. He had turned on his pocket radio and started hearing the local news. There wasn't much interesting to listen to on the local radio: just the same old boring music, and news about crimes and murders that happened almost daily in that Texan city near the Mexican border.

For Larkin, leaving that town was a relief, even if it was temporary, considering how much he hated having to be there, especially considering that El Paso was a small town and the only thing worthwhile there was the Fort Bliss military base. If he already hated that city for its harsh desert climate that was almost unbearable for him, what happened between him and Violetta Love had made the little love he had left for the Texan city went down the drain.

As he listened to the songs that were being played, Larkin looked at the time. He was probably going to leave soon, and he had 15 minutes to wait until then. However, something caught his attention… at least, until a certain song played in between, and made the young scientist recognize it at once.

That song was Fly Me To The Moon, by Bart Howard, the same song he and his friend Harry Mills sang with Violetta Love at the Kitty Riot Bar.

To the New York scientist's dismay, that song was the last thing he wanted to hear at that moment. And for good reason.

That innocent romantic melody reminded Larkin of the way he was lured by Violetta into stealing his secrets and drugging him after having sex with her. The humiliation he suffered from that incident was something he would never forget in his life.

CRACK!

Violently, Larkin threw that radio against the floor, causing the device to shatter into pieces.

He was so furious, that just listening to that song was giving him a fit of rage like he had never had in his life. At that moment, he would have given anything to see that woman again... and strangle her with his own bare hands to make her pay for what she had done to him.

-"Fuckin' BITCH!"-

Larkin didn't care if anyone heard him cursing, or if there were any children nearby, or anything he particularly cared about. If anyone complained about his language, or about breaking that radio, he was ready to tell them to go to hell if he had to.

Fortunately for him, there were only two people who stared at him as he threw that radio on the floor and cursed afterwards. And they ignored him next, apart from looking at him with suspicious eyes.

But to him, what others thought about him mattered not in the least. The young scientist was seething with anger and he was very emotional about what that woman did to him. He hated himself for allowing himself to be fooled by her lies.

He had been so in love with the woman, that he couldn't tell that she was trying to dupe him. He almost was ready to trust her... and then, it all turned out to be a lie. She just used him as a sex toy to get information out of him, and that was something that hurt him deep inside.

Passengers of American Airlines flight 6543 to New York LaGuardia Airport, please proceed to the boarding area, your flight will depart in 10 minutes. Thank you very much for your attention.

Hearing that, Larkin knew he could no longer waste time dwelling on the past, and the best thing he could do was to concentrate on getting his belongings and catching his flight to New York, his hometown. At least that was the only thing he could do at that moment.

---

April 7th, AD 1955, New York LaGuardia Airport (Domestic Arrivals Area), Queens, New York, United States of America, 09:00 PM

New York LaGuardia Airport is a major international airport in Queens, New York, and the largest airport in the United States by land area. It has been in operation since March 15, 1929 and is located 13 miles south of Midtown Manhattan. The airport's name derives from its location within LaGuardia borough of New York City; it was originally named after Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a former mayor of New York City who served from 1934 to 1945.

LaGuardia Airport consists of four terminals and two runways with the main terminal building containing 57 gates and eight jetbridges. In 2017, the airport handled 65 million passengers which made it the third busiest in North America after Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Nick Larkin arrived at that airport, after a long trip from El Paso, Texas, which also included a layover in Phoenix, Arizona, and once he entered the terminal, especially the domestic arrivals area, he quickly noticed that there were a couple of people greeting him almost in the middle of the place.

-"HEY NICK, OVER HERE!"-

The people greeting him at the airport were his parents, Jeffry and Vanessa Larkin, who were waiting for their son Nick to arrive to take him home, thus saving him the cab fare.

Nick Larkin's father was a middle, burly-sized man with brown hair and blue eyes, and he was wearing a dark shirt with cream-colored jeans and brown shoes at that time. His wife Vanessa, on the other hand, had blonde hair in a ponytail with light blue eyes. She was wearing a nice orange dress with platform shoes of the same color.

Nick was more than happy to see his parents again after several years of being in El Paso, and as soon as he saw them, the New Yorker did not hesitate to hug them enthusiastically.

-"Hello mom, dad!"-

-"Heh, heh, hello too! How was that trip, Nicky-boy?"- His father Jeffry asked his son in a very effusive way. -"I guess the trip was a bit of a drag, huh?"-

-"Well... no, actually. It was quite a nice trip. At least they served good drinks along the way, including some champagne."-

Nick said to his father, and he turned to his mother.

-"Hey, mom! You look great in that dress."-

-"Heh, yeah, thanks for the compliment, it is great to have you home, Nick."- Vanessa smiled at her son, making Nick feel the warmth of the love his mother felt for him. -"It's been a while since I saw you too, honey."-

-"Me too, mom."- And he hugged her with great affection while gazing at his parents, not believing that he was back to New York, home of his birth. -"I missed you two."-

-"Aww, we missed you too, kid!"-

Once the greetings were done, Nick's parents began to ask their son a few questions as they helped him load his belongings into their car and walked to the airport parking lot.

-"So, how was El Paso, Nicky-boy?"- Nick's father asked him, while carrying some of his son's luggage. -"Heard it's terribly hot there, isn't it?"-

-"Well, you could say yes,"- The young scientist answered, without any hint of guilt, about the city where he had been working until that day. -"although that is the least of it."-

-"Why do you say that, Nick?"- Vanessa, his mother, also asked him. -"Is that city worse than it's made out to be?"-

-"You could say it is a mixture of both."- Nick replied. -"Besides that, El Paso is a boring, small city, with very few diversions, and there were times when it seemed that I was in a small town in Mexico rather than in a city in this country."-

-"And I still wonder who the fuck came up with the brilliant idea of putting an important military base near the southern border, to be fair."- Jeffry said in a vulgar way.

The son could not help but chuckle at his father's off-color comment about Fort Bliss, the U.S. Army military base located in that border town.

-"Well, what do you expect? It's a base built during the wild west era in order to defend the region from Indian attacks, so it was obvious that it was built near the southern border."-

-"Yeah, I know that, but they could have sent you somewhere more reputable, instead of sending you south to sweat it out in a shithole like El Paso."-

-"Well, if you want to complain about it, tell that to the army, not to me."- Nick replied sardonically, as he rolled his eyes comically at his father's criticism about the Texan city. -"Leaving El Paso aside, where did you leave the car, dad?"-

-"Right over there, in the park-and-ride parking lot."- Jeffry answered, as Nick followed his parents to a distant corridor of the parking lot.

Once they got to the car, the three Larkins climbed into the car and set on the way home in the city.

---

April 7th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's family home/Main floor), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 11:10 PM

After a few hours of driving through the Big Apple amidst the chaotic traffic that night, the Larkins arrived at their home, an apartment located in South Brooklyn.

The Larkins' apartment, located right on the opposite side of the middle-class suburb, was an old brownstone structure with a floor-to-ceiling front porch and a row of balconies facing the street. The living room in which they had just arrived was decorated with modernistic furniture despite the fact that it dated back to only mid-twentieth century. The main floor consisted of one large room that served as both living area and dining area, but there were two bedrooms upstairs.

Upon entering his home, after several years of being out of town, Nick felt an unusual sense of nostalgia, for he was very pleased to be back home again after being in El Paso for so long, and to be able to return to his domain, the Brooklyn borough, where he was born and raised, was very rewarding for Nick in many ways.

-"Man, it feels good to be back home!"-

-"We are happy to have you back, Nicky."- Vanessa said to him, as he put his luggage next to the door. -"In fact, we prepared something to eat for you and the whole family, taking advantage of the fact that you were coming to New York."-

-"Really, mom? Good, I'm starving already!"-

And the first thing Nick saw upon entering the dining room was a smoked turkey for a whole family standing in the center of the table. The turkey looked incredibly mouth-watering and juicy, and just the sight of it made Nick's appetite peak.

-"Great, I was really craving for a smoked turkey!"- The young scientist was excited to see that turkey, as it had been years since he had tasted anything like that since he worked in Texas. -"You shouldn't have gone to the trouble of preparing it just for me, mom."-

-"Heh, heh... We know you love turkey, so I thought I could buy one to welcome you after all this time away from home, dear."-

-"Oh, thanks, mom!"- Nick congratulated his mother.

Jeffry, the father, also decided to have a few words with his son.

-"Well, we won't waste any more time, and let's eat that turkey before it gets cold. Then you can tell us at dinner how you did in Texas, OK?"-

-"OK, dad."-

---

April 7th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's family home/Dining Room), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 11:30 PM

Once everyone was at the table, the Larkins ate with gusto the smoked turkey that Nick's mother, Vanessa, had prepared hours before with the help of her maid, a Puerto Rican woman named Melissa Ortega. She also ate with the family, as they tried to be kind to everyone around them, regardless of their social status or any other detail, such as race, something that was not very common at that time in a white middle-class family.

As the meal continued, Jeffry Larkin wanted to know many of the things that his son Nick was doing in Texas up to that day, and the reason why he had to return to New York so suddenly, which was the first topic he brought up with his son in the dinner conversation.

-"So, you say your boss was sent to Nevada to a secret location, right?"-

-"Yes."-

-"And that's the reason you lost your job, right?"-

-"Well, to say I lost my job would be too strong a word, Dad."- Nick explained, while he ate a turkey leg. -"Technically, according with the U.S. Army, they decided that it would be better for us to go back to our places of origin to wait to be transferred to Nevada or not, rather than stay in El Paso and do nothing there."-

-"Then... what would happen if they don't send you there after all?"-

-"In that case, I would be free to choose another project to work on, either in El Paso or elsewhere within the US."- Nick answered his father, and then he watched his mother eating a slice of turkey. -"And leaving that, what about you two? How have things been going here in the neighborhood since I left?"-

-"Actually, it has been pretty normal, and the most important thing is that you are back home, so we are all very happy."-

Then there was a pause in the conversation, and Nick's father decided to ask him a rather complicated question.

-"If they don't decide to send you to Nevada, and you find a different opportunity that is suitable for you, do you think you will go to New York City?"-

-"Hehehe... You bet, dad."- Nick chuckled a bit.

-"That would be great!"-" Vanessa agreed with her husband. Then, Nick's mother suddenly asked him another question. -"Also, by the way, Nick, will all your colleagues be present at that military base?"-

-"I really don't know, mom."- The young man replied. -"In fact, nothing has been confirmed yet, nor have we heard anything about it from the army. I guess Dr. Komatsu is taking care of the necessary paperwork to allow us to travel to Nevada to work there, but so far I don't have any news on the matter."-

-"And what's it like working with that highly touted Dr. Komatsu, eh, Nicky-boy?"- Jeffry, the father, asked with a smile.

The young scientist remained silent for a few moments. On the one hand, he had no objection to saying what he thought of his boss in front of his parents. On the other hand, Nick would have preferred not to have to bring up that subject, for several reasons, one of which was the issue of Violetta Love.

Noticing that her son remained silent for a long time, Vanessa, Nick's mother, asked him.

-"Nick? Is something bothering you?"-

After a while without answering, the young scientist finally responded, conspicuously not eager to talk on the subject of his boss.

-"Could we talk about the topic another day, mom? I really don't feel like talking about him. Besides, a lot of information related to Dr. Komatsu is considered classified, and I can't talk freely about him with you and dad, since you are both civilians."-

-"Mmmm... hehehe... I guess we wouldn't be much help to the military if they had to sit there and explain top-secret stuff to civilians, eh, Nicky?"- Jeffry joked. -"But don't worry, we won't ask you any questions about him. Right, Vanessa?"-

The wife had no choice but to agree with him.

-"I guess it's best not to talk about your boss if you don't want to, or can't, I suppose, Nick..."-

Seeing that his parents were not going to delve any further into the Komatsu issue. Nick could only thank them for not asking him any more questions about the Japanese scientist with whom he worked.

-"Thanks, dad. You too, mom."- Nick replied uncomfortably.

During the rest of the meal, the parents finally let the topic be. Once the meal was over, Nick took all his belongings to his room, which was located on the top floor of the apartment.

-"Hey, Nick, don't you want me to help you carry your stuff to your room?"- Jeffry offered to aid his son.

-"No, no! It's all right, dad! Thanks though!"- Nick replied. And he continued to take his things to his room.

-"Alright, alright, I'm just asking, Nick!"- Jeffry laughed, and went to take a sip from his bourbon while he was still on the table.

So, the young New York scientist carried his things to his room, and once all his belongings were there, Nick left the place to say goodbye to his parents and head to bed, as he had had a very hard day after the long trip from El Paso to New York, and what he needed most was a good rest, and he didn't feel like talking any more that day.

-"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to bed now. I need to rest, and tomorrow we can talk about whatever you want with me. Good night."

-"Good night for you, dear."- Vanessa said to her son.

-"Good night, son, and get some rest, you deserve it."- Jeffry bid farewell to his son, while giving his son a thumbs up.

-"Thanks, dad."-

And so, Nick Larkin entered his room, and with nothing more to do, the young scientist went to sleep as fast as he could when he fell into his bed, completely worn out after that hectic cross-country trip.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Counter), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 09:39 AM

For Jeffry Larkin, it was going to be just another day at work on that fine April day in 1955, or at least that's what he thought as he opened the curtains of his business that day.

Larkin's Bakery was a popular bakery located near the Larkins' home in South Brooklyn, New York. The bakery had been around for decades and has been owned by Nick Larkin's father since he was in his early 20s, when he inherited it from his father, and the place traditionally sold all kinds of pastries, from cakes, pies, and bagels to humble desserts like flans, puddings, and jellies.

Jeffry used the profits from that business to pay for his son's college education, even if it meant that his son Nick would not follow in his father's footsteps. Fortunately for him, Nick himself had no issues helping his father running his business whenever possible, especially now that he was back in New York, and had nothing to do there for the time being while he waited to hear news from his boss, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu.

The latter caused his father some discomfort, as he never imagined seeing his son interested in following in his footsteps as a baker, but for young Nick Larkin, working in the bakery with his father was the best way to spend his time doing something productive, while he waited for news from either the army or the government.

-"Hey, Nick, I appreciate you coming to help me with the bakery stuff, but I also understand that you probably have better things to do, especially related to your job with the army and such."- Jeffry told his son while handing him a mop so he could help him wipe the floors in the bakery.

-"Don't worry, dad, I rather hang around here working than be at home without making myself useful for the family. Besides,"- Nick explained, while mopping the bakery's floor. -"I'm used to mopping floors. You know, having to clean up things that fall on the floor and all that."-

As the father and son worked to clean the bakery after the baking of the bread that was done that day, an elderly woman entered the bakery.

-"Oh, hello, good morning!"- Jeffry nodded politely at the woman who had just entered the bakery. -"How are you, Mrs. Bradley?"-

That old lady was an old client of Jeffry's for many years, Emma Bradley.

Mrs. Bradley was an elderly woman who lived near the Larkins' apartment, and she used to buy bread or desserts from time to time. Despite being in her early 60's or a little older, she still looked in good health and was in excellent spirits. And as she always used to do from time to time, she had come to the bakery to buy some bread for herself.

-"Hello, Mr. Larkin! And hello to you too, young man!"-

-"Good morning, Mrs. Bradley, I guess you've already forgotten about me, I see."- Nick replied, when he notices the old woman did recognized him at first.

-"Really?"- Mrs. Bradley said after staring at Nick. -"Hmmm... I think I've seen you before, sonny boy..."-

-"Mrs. Bradley, this is my son, Nick."- Jeffry then presented his son to the elderly Brooklyn woman. -"He just returned from El Paso, Texas, where he was working for a few years there about eight days ago. I think you knew him before, didn't you?"-

The old woman quickly remembered, and quickly recognized the young scientist, who was now helping his father in the bakery.

-"Oh, it's you, Nick! heheh!"- The woman quickly recognized him as she remembered who he was, after several years of not seeing him in person. -"It's good to have you back here in New York, I haven't seen you for a long time, dear."-

-"Same here, ma'am."- The young man congratulated Mrs. Bradley politely. -"It's good to see you again, and I see that you are in great spirits as always."-

-"And how was it for you in El Paso, son?"- The old woman asked. -"Surely the heat there must be hellish, as many say."-

-"I've been doing just fine, Mrs. Bradley. And the same goes for you too, I see."- Nick replied politely to the old woman. -"And about the weather in El Paso... well, then... you are quite right, since it is quite hot there, to put it nicely, ma'am."-

-"Oh, I see. And what about your mother, dear?"- The elderly lady then asked Nick again. -"How is your mother doing?"-

-"She's fine, Mrs. Bradley, thank you for asking, she's doing just fine."-

Realizing that a lot of time was passing, Jeffry interrupted the conversation.

-"Uh, Mrs. Bradley, I don't mean to interrupt you, but I suppose you'd like some bread, I presume?"-

-"Oh yeah, sorry about that; I suppose a loaf of bread wouldn't hurt."- The elderly woman replied politely -"And I would like to have a cinnamon loaf and a bottle of milk too, if it's not too much trouble."-

-"Not at all, Mrs. Bradley, we would be happy to serve you."-

Once the order was placed, the father put the bread and the milk in a large paper bag, while the son handled the cash register in order to get the money from the old lady.

-"That would be 15 cents, ma'am."-

The lady took out her purse and paid Nick the 15 cents worth of food she had bought from the bakery. Once that was done, the old woman thanked Nick and his father for their courtesy.

-"Thank you very much for everything. See you later."-

-"See you later too, Mrs. Bradley!"- Both Jeffry and his son Nick replied in unison.

Once Mrs. Bradley left the bakery, Jeffry Larkin couldn't help but be proud of his son to see that he, even as a scientist, had no qualms about getting his hands dirty doing some of the heavy lifting in his bakery, even though being a baker was never Nick's interest, nor was it his goal, something he let him know.

-"Hey, you're not so bad at working in the bakery, to be honest with you, Nick, and especially given that you were never interested in working with me on this."-

-"Well, I suppose you are right about that, dad. But the things I've learned from you have always fascinated me. Especially the sweets you can create with the help of a few ingredients, but I never cared about baking bread. Especially because it requires more work than that."- Nick replied politely.

-"Well, that's true. After all, you always saw me in the kitchen making pastries since you were a kid, at least if it was just to eat them."- The man replied amicably to his son. -"That means that some of my skills rubbed off on you in one way or another..."-

-"I suppose so, to be honest."- Nick replied with a smile to his father.

-"Well, let's save the compliments for later, and help me with the counter while I check the oven to see how the bread I've been baking since morning is doing."- The father ordered to his son, while heading to the kitchen. -"I guess you don't need much help with that, do you?"-

-"I don't think I need any help here, but give me a shout if you need a hand in the kitchen, will ya?"-

-"OK, I will let you know. See you later."-

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Kitchen), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 10:16 AM

Once in the bakery kitchen, Jeffry Larkin went to the oven he had for preparing baguettes or large loaves of bread. That oven was comprised primarily of a brick mural with some metal reinforcing ribs near the top and bottom sides, where it contacts the countertop. The interior is divided into two parts: an upper firebox area which contains an exhaust grating for directing exhaust fumes up through holes in the upper side banks to a hood above, and a lower section where dough is placed in various baking forms.

As time passed, Jeffry removed the bread, and noted that it didn't look that good. Sighing, he put the bread back in the oven, and this time, checked the temperature of the oven. He then realized that the temperature of the water inside one of the pipes was hotter than it should be, and noticed that it looked like the oven was overheating for some reason.

-"Oh, crap, what now?"- He wondered while rinsing his hands under the tap. -"I won't be able to do a damn thing if this oven is overheating beyond belief."-

Jeffry shrugged while turning the oven on a lower temperature. Once the oven cooled down a bit, he added some water to the reservoir, and once he heard the water spilling into the reservoir, he quickly added water to the reservoir to facilitate the cooling down of the oven as well.

-"Well at least the oven cooled down enough so I can do a maintenance check on it."- He thought in relief. -"Maybe I can figure out what's going on with this oven."-

But upon closer inspection of the gas oven, the baker realized that the problem was more delicate than he could solve without the aid of specialized tools. This caused the man a dilemma: Either he could continue to use the oven as usual, running the risk of a major, more dangerous malfunction, or he could stop using it, and not bake any more bread until it was fixed.

For obvious reasons, Jeffry chose the latter option.

And so, with the oven not working, the baker went to the counter to explain the current situation to his son, who was serving the customers.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Counter), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 11:10 AM

-"You say the oven doesn't work, dad?"-

-"Yeah, that's right, Nick."- Jeffry, his father, explained to his son. -"I can't risk letting it run without it overheating, and it might even explode."-

-"So I guess you're gonna call the gas company and have them send someone to repair the oven, right?"-

-"Correct. Fortunately we have enough bread to sell for the whole day, but I need that oven fixed before the end of the day if we want to keep making more bread for tomorrow."- He said in a firm tone.

-"Ok, dad. I'll tell the customers."-

-"Thanks, Nick."- Jeffry said as he picked up a phone and called the gas company.

Once on the phone, and after waiting for a few minutes, Jeffry Larkin heard a female voice on the other end of the line ready to take his call.

-"Good morning, may I speak to whom, please?"-

-"Hello, this is Jeffry Larkin, from Larkin's Bakery in South Brooklyn."-

-"Oh, hello, Mr. Larkin. What can we do to help, sir?"- The female voice asked.

-"I need a technician to come and fix my oven, please."-

-"Could you please tell us what is the problem with your oven?"-

-"I just realized that my oven is overheating more than it should."- Jeffry explained to the woman at the phone. -"Since it's my only oven I have, I need to have it ready before the end of the day so I can continue working for the next day, so I need someone to come and fix it as soon as possible."-

-"Ok, I'll send someone to your bakery at this address and to check your oven as soon as possible."-

-"Thanks, and please hurry."-

-"We'll send him over there as soon as possible."- She said before hanging up.

Once the call was over, Nick, the son, asked his father how it went.

-"What did the gas company tell you, dad?"-

-"She told me that they're sending someone here to fix that oven."-

-"Good. I just hope they don't take too long to come, or we'll be in trouble tomorrow if the oven still doesn't work."-

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Counter), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 01:15 PM

The technician sent by the city's gas company arrived at the bakery after a few hours. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties, was of medium build, and bald; in addition, he was wearing a brown jumpsuit, in addition to his tools, and one thing the Larkins spotted at once was his distinctive Italian accent.

-"Good morning, Mr. Larkin. What seems to be the problem?"-

-"The oven is getting hotter in a way that makes me uneasy."- Jeffry explained at the technician about the issue his oven was having at that moment. -"I want you to check what the problem is, and fix it before the end of the day. I think you can figure out why."-

-"Don't worry, Mr. Larkin."- The Italian-sounding man reassured Jeffry. -"Your oven will be ready before the end of the day. I guarantee it."-

-"That's good to hear, since we need the oven to continue working if we're not going to be able to sell bread tomorrow."-

-"It'll be done by the end of the day, trust me."- The technician assured again. -"By the way, is the oven ready to be checked?"-

-"Yes, sure. You can go to the kitchen to see it, please."-

-"All right, then let me see it, Mr. Larkin."-

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Kitchen), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 01:24 PM

Jeffry approached the oven and turned it on to a test phase to see if the Italian-accented technician found anything wrong with it. And, after a few minutes of thorough checking, the gas company's technician quickly found out what the problem with the gas bread oven might be.

-"From what I'm seeing, it looks like there are some parts of the oven that are corroded and need to be replaced with new ones, Mr. Larkin."-

-"Don't worry, I'll wait as long as it takes."- Jeffry Larkin replied. -"But I would like to know how much it would cost me to fix all this. Hope it won't be too expensive to pay."-

-"That would be approximately three dollars, sir."- The technician explained his fare.

Jeffry was surprised that repairing his oven would be less expensive than he thought. Three dollars was a considerable amount of money for the time, but it was nothing the baker couldn't afford.

-"Well, the price seems acceptable. You can then start to fix the oven, Mr..."-

-"Rossini."- The Italian-souding man gave his name. -"my name is Floriano Rossini, Mr. Larkin."-

-"Alright, Mr. Rossini. I'll leave you to check and fix the oven in peace."-

-"Thank you, sir."-

And so, the man began to fix Nick Larkin's father's gas stove, taking the time to fix it in peace, while Jeffry Larkin went to the counter to serve customers, and also took the opportunity to help his son.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Kitchen), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 03:29 PM

Two and a half hours later, the technician had finished working on the oven, and Jeffry decided to return to the kitchen to see how the repairs went.

-"Well, Mr. Rossini, how did the repairs go."-

-"It went well, actually."- Floriano Rossini told Jeffry about his work. -"I replaced the rusted parts with new ones, and now your oven works like new. Would you like to try it to see for yourself, sir?"-

And so, Jeffry checked the oven to see if it was working. Fortunately, the furnace was working perfectly, and without any problems.

-"I hope this is enough for you, Mr. Larkin."- Floriano Rossini told Jeffry.

-"Yeah, it's great. Thank you, Mr. Rossini."- Jeffry replied. -"So, you said it would be three dollars?"-

-"That's right. Labor and parts are also included in the price of the repair."-

-"OK, let's see..."-

So, Jeffry handed the three dollars to the technician for repairing his oven, delighted with the work that man had done.

-"Very well, is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Larkin?"-

-"No, I think this is all for now, Mr. Rossini. See you later, then."-

-"Well, then, sir. Goodbye."- The technician said his farewell, and left the bakery.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Counter), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 03:45 PM

Once the Italian-born technician left the bakery, and Jeffry, the owner of the place, returned to the counter, the man noticed that his son, Nick, was looking closely to the man who had left for some reason, something that did not escape Jeffry's attention.

-"Hey, Nick, is there something weird about that guy that strikes you, or what's the problem, son?"-

Nick Larkin seemed distracted for some reason, and didn't seem to be paying attention to his father at the moment.

-"Hello? Ground control to Nick, please respond..."- The father tried to get his son's attention in a sardonic manner.

Seeing that his father was trying to talk to him, the son quickly snapped back...

-"Eh, what? What happened?"- Nick asked his father in a confused voice.

-"I asked you if there was something weird about that guy you care about."- The father replied to his son.

-"Ah, yes. You mean Mr. Rossini?"-

-"Yeah."- Jeffry confirmed it to his son.

-"Oh, I see..."- Then Nick explained the reason why he was distracted about that man. -"For some reason... I saw something suspicious in that man, and at the same time... I had a strange deja vu feeling as well.."-

The baker was intrigued by the answer his son gave him about Mr. Rossini, the repairman who helped fix the oven.

-"Suspicious? Deja vu?"- Jeffry asked his son about the topic.

-"Yes..."- The son replied his father's question.

-"Really? What was that? Do you mean that you saw a bad omen?'- The father tried to check if his son's answer was true, or as a joke.

-"Sort of... I dunno. I think there's something not quite right about that guy... like an evil aura... for some reason, the familiar air I had with him... it was weird..."-

Obviously, the father felt that his son was probably overthinking things when he saw the foreign-looking man, and he berated him for it.

-"I think all that time spent on that military base in Texas, and the hot weather there, must have really messed with your brain for sure, Nicky-boy."-

Nick didn't appreciate his father insinuating he was crazy, even if that crack came out from him.

-"Hey, dad, I'm not crazy, you know!"- Nick harshly retorted to his father. -"I'm just saying that man looks a little suspicious to me!"-

-"And why is that, Nick? Is it because he is bald and has an Italian name and accent?"- Jeffry challenged his son to admit that his prejudices were possibly clouding his wisdom.

The young scientist, now working at the counter at his father's job, refused to answer that question.

-"Jeez, I thought you being a scientist, you'd be more broad-minded about that kind of stuff, but I guess I was wrong about that... Seems they still teach a lot of prejudiced crap at the university, from what I'm seeing."-

-"I'm not prejudiced or anything, dad!"- Nick responded in an angry fashion to his father -"I'm just maybe a little paranoid, that's all..."-

-"And why are you being paranoid in the first place, son?"- The father asked. -"Did something bad happen back in El Paso to make you act like this?"-

That question asked by his father about what Nick was doing in El Paso and any untoward incidents that might have happened to him, such as the theft of the project's secret information from Violetta Love while they were having sex, made the young scientist freeze in surprise for a few moments.

Due to the nature of that incident, Nick could not say anything about it to him, as it was classified information, not to mention the possible embarrassment he might suffer at the hands of his father if he were to learn that a woman stole top secret information from him during an intimate moment.

But to his chagrin, Jeffry had realized that his son was hiding something from him...

-"I can see by your face that there is something you do not wish to discuss with me about some of the stuff you went through back in Texas... or am I wrong, boy?"- The baker asked his son about the reason for his secrecy.

Nick threw his hands to his face in exasperation at seeing that his father was prodding him to say something about what he may have suffered while working at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas... something he wished to keep secret at all costs.

-"Well, are you going to say something, or are you going to stand there all day without telling me a thing?"- The baker asked him in a testy tone.

Nick finally said something after a few moments of hesitation.

-"I... I... I'm sorry, dad, but I can't say anything else from what I was doing there. It's classified, and I don't want to talk about it."-

The father seemed very understanding when he saw that his son had no interest in saying anything about what might have happened to him in that border town, and Jeffry preferred not to delve any further into the matter, out of respect for his son and his own job.

-"Well... I think I understand your situation, Nicky-boy."- Jeffry apologized to his son for trying to force him to tell to him classified info from his job at the U.S. Army. -"In that case, sorry if I press you unnecessarily on that, I guess curiosity got the better of me for a few moments, heheheh!"-

-"Don't worry about it, dad, it's no big deal..."- Nick responded, trying to put that thorny issue to rest.

Immediately afterwards, the father checked his wristwatch, and noticed the current time.

-"Oh, my. Nick, we need to put all this talk about your adventures in Texas aside and get back to work, 'cause more clients are coming soon, and we need to be prepared, got it?"-

-"Got it, dad."-

And so, both father and son continued to work hard in the bakery, with Nick Larkin attending to customers, and his father Jeffry preparing the bread, a task that lasted for several hours.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Counter), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 06:00 PM

With only two hours left before the bakery closed for the day, Jeffry Larkin headed to the kitchen to turn on the bread oven, now that it was fixed, and prepare the bread to be ready for the next day, waiting for customers to buy it for breakfast.

Meanwhile, Nick was attending to customers at the bakery's counter, while he was keeping an eye on the customers entering and leaving the shop.

Two of these customers were a young couple in their late twenties, who were waiting for their number to be called at the bakery counter.

After a few minutes had passed, Nick had prepared their order and carried it to them, which consisted of two large orange juices and two freshly baked bagels.

-"Here are your orange juices and bagels, may I interest you in anything else?"- Nick asked the young couple politely.

-"Yeah, I would like a donut with a cup of coffee, please."- The man in the couple asked for his order.

-"Let's see, a donut and a cup of coffee."- Nick made a note of the order. -"Coming right up, sir."-

-"Thank you."-

The young scientist-turned-counter-clerk went to the area where the donuts were, and after placing one in a paper bag, went to the brewing machine to prepare a cup of coffee. Although Nick was not experienced in being a barista, at least he knew how to make coffee, due to his experience preparing that beverage during the long nights he had to stay up late in the lab on whatever work he had to do regarding Dr. Komatsu's Advanced Evolution Project.

Meanwhile, with the coffee and the donut in a paper bag in hand, the young scientist headed back to the couple who were waiting in the counter.

-"Here is your donut and coffee."- Nick served the food to his customers. -"That would be 30 cents, please."-

-"Thank you."-

The young couple paid for the food, and then left Larkin's Bakery.

Soon afterwards, the owner of the shop, Jeffry Larkin, finally finished preparing the dough to be cooked, and after placing it inside the bread oven, he walked a few steps to the bakery's counter, where his son Nick was attending customers.

-"Alright, Nicky-boy, it's almost 6 PM, and I don't think there will be any more customers coming in today. Let's finish this up, and then we'll have some time before the bakery closes... I want to return home soon, and I want to finish baking the last loaves of bread for tomorrow."-

-"Got it, dad."- Nick acknowledged his father's words.

And so, Jeffry turned the main switch of the bread oven. After that, both father and son took a few minutes to tidy up the shop and leave the dirty dishes and utensils aside for the next morning.

With that done, Jeffry and Nick took a few extra minutes to pause and check how their business was going.

But when everything seemed quiet up to that moment, Jeffry heard an intense sound coming from the kitchen, a sound that was not very normal, as if it was an intense gust of wind that was hitting something metallic in a very powerful way.

This caused some alarm in the baker, not knowing what it might be, and he let his son Nick know right away, when they both were still discussing that day's affairs.

-"Hey, did you hear that? That sound seemed strange, don't you think?"-

-"I... don't think so. What sound?"- inquired Nick, confused by his father's sudden-yet-valid question.

-"That strange one."- Jeffry responded quickly. -"I think it came from the kitchen. Let's go check it out, but let's be careful.

-"Okay, dad."-

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Larkin's Bakery/Kitchen), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 06:30 PM

The two people with Larkin as a surname went to the kitchen to see what was causing that strange sound, eventually leading them to discover that the sound was coming from the oven.

-"I wonder what the hell is going on with that oven? I just hope this piece of crap isn't malfunctioning again."- Jeffry said aloud while heading to the oven by himself.

-"Hey, be careful, dad!"- Nick exclaimed.

But as he was about to warn his father, Nick realized that his father had already opened the door of the oven. What the Brooklyn baker saw when he opened that door was something that immediately horrified him.

The inside of the oven had become a blazing inferno, where a huge fireball had consumed the bread Jeffry was currently preparing, and was threatening to spread out of the oven.

All this was due to something that Nick's father noticed right away: There was a gas leak, and the fire in the oven had ignited the gas, turning the inside of the oven into a giant incinerator that threatened to spread to other parts of the kitchen.

In that emergency, Jeffry shouted to his son, while he tried to find a way to turn off the oven at any cost.

-"Nicky, go and turn off the main switch of the gas board! Do it NOW!"- Jeffry shouted at his son.

That said, Nick ran off to another part of the kitchen, while Jeffry himself tried to prevent the fire from spreading out of the oven.

But before father and son could do anything else, a very intense sound, like that of metal breaking violently and explosively, was suddenly heard from the burning furnace...

Fearing the worst, Nick shouted to his father:

-"DAD, LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, THIS PLACE IS GONNA...!"-

-"WHAT?"

And then...

BOOM!

And before they could say anything else, the oven exploded in the most violent way possible, consuming everything around it, and causing the building where Larkin's Bakery was located to explode into pieces on that sunset in Brooklyn, New York...

Amidst the fury of the flames, it's fairly certain that Larkins had little time to react before their bodies were reduced to nothing more than ash.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Outside Larkin's Bakery, or what was left of the place), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 07:30 PM

All that could be heard at that time of day in South Brooklyn was the sound of ambulance sirens, fire engines, and police cars driving up to the site of the once famous bakery called Larkin's Bakery.

By the time first responders had arrived, the place was ablaze, as firefighters were doing their best to put out the blaze that was still raging in some parts of the building.

The bakery had been reduced to rubble; it was no more. The twisted wreckage of the building had become engulfed in a sea of flames. Ironically, in that place where once bread was made and baked, all that could be found were burned donuts and bread loaves.

In addition to that, the surrounding area was also damaged, as there was a lot of broken glass and fragments of other buildings that suffered some kind of structural damage from the explosion spread out on the street, making it difficult for the emergency vehicles to carry out their work.

But despite that sad scene, there were still cops and paramedics doing their job: looking for survivors amid the carnage. But it wasn't just those people who were doing all the hard work: firefighters and policemen alike wanted to find someone alive amidst the rubble before this incident would be left unsolved on their hands.

Because the site was dangerous and considered a crime scene until proven otherwise, city authorities cordoned off the area to prevent onlookers from approaching the scene, while police concentrated on their work of retrieving any evidence that would rule out the possibility of a tragic accident.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away from the bakery, two individuals were looking the rubble of the bakery from afar; the remnants of the fallen were visible, and the pieces of burned wood that remained from the wreckage were still glowing from within the intense flames.

Both men, who where stood in front of a flower shop, were clad in similar brown overcoats and brown hats. They were also smoking a cigarette passively, their eyes meeting periodically as they observed the whole incident in front of them.

-"What a mess... The city government is really going to have a field day in figuring out what happened here."- The first man began after a few moments.

-"I don't doubt that, pal. And surely the mayor and the governor will want to know if this was really an accident or something intentional."-

-"You think that the Mafia might have had an relation on this?"- The first man asked his partner.

Following a short delay, the other man, who was of average height, replied in a straightforward way.

-"May be. However, judging by the backgrounds of the two victims found in the rubble of the bakery, I doubt very much that they have any ties to organized crime."- The medium-sized man explained some information about the victims to his partner. -"In fact, the only questionable factor was that the baker's son worked as a scientist who was paid by the military."-

The other, taller man found the information about one of the victims quite intriguing, because of the geopolitical ramifications it might have if the incident could have been carried out by enemy foreign agents.

-"This doesn't seem correct if the Russians or someone else are responsible for this. This would be classed as terrorism, without reservation."- The other man, who was still smoking his cigarrete, said in a concerned matter. -"What the hell would the Kremlin gain by murdering an American citizen in this way, if they know that by commissioning a terrorist act of this scope they would risk further retaliation?"-

-"Possibly trying to send some kind of message to the White House, perhaps?"-

-"Heh!... personally I doubt it."- The taller man said, questioning his partner's theory. -"The Russians may be very pragmatic, but I doubt very much that they would resort to terrorism just to kill a single person. If they wanted to assassinate that poor schmuck, they would have sent some agent specialized in covert assassinations, and they would have killed him in some lonely place, not with a bomb planted in a building in Brooklyn, where more people could have died besides him and his father."-

-"Well... I guess you could be right about that."- The short man agreed with his other taller companion. -"This doesn't seem like something the Russians, or any enemy government for that matter, would dare to do short of going to war with the US."- He concluded. -"I can't imagine them embarking on a war with America for such stupid reason."-

-"Nor I."- Replied the tall man. -"We have to be grateful that apparently there have been no more casualties, from what I'm seeing."- He said, pointing his cigarrete to his right, to some of the city buildings that had been damaged by the explosion.

-"Certainly, my friend. It could have been worse."-

After smoking his last cigarette, the tall man tossed the cigarette butt into the sieve below his feet, and that person headed for the scene. The other shorter man was somewhat startled by the sudden action of his fellow partner.

-"Err, where are you going, buddy?"- He asked to his friend.

-"Come on, haven't you never heard of standing in the meadow and observing what goes on around you? Let's go gather whatever information we can, and we'll see if there is someone here who can shed more light on this."-

-"Fair enough."- The smaller man said as he followed his taller friend, who has already started to walk toward the crime scene.

The two men in brown trench coats approached the scene as they tried to cross the police tape cordon that surrounded the destroyed building where the bakery used to be. But as they crossed the cordon, a policeman who was there tried to block their way.

-"Sorry, gentlemen, but the building here is part of an ongoing crime scene."- The protesting policeman pointed out to the two onlookers. -"You'll have to wait outside the band for now."-

The two men showed him their badges that accredited them as law enforcement officers, while they identified themselves to the lone policeman.

-"Frank McNamara, New York Police Department Detective, at your service, officer."- The taller man was the first to identify first.

-"and Douglas Miller, his partner, as well..."- The shorter man did the same.

Once the police officer saw their badges and verified their veracity, the officer had no problem allowing them to pass through, excusing himself beforehand.

-"All right, Detectives McNamara and Miller, you can come in, and I'm sorry to stop you, guys. You know how things are with this whole explosion thing and stuff."-

-"Don't worry, officer, that's more than obvious."- Miller, the shorter man, responded in a similar way.

Once through the police cordon, the two detectives walked, more or less cautiously, to the wreckage of the bakery. At that moment, another man, approximately 30 years old or more, was at the scene taking notes, and also taking some photos that could be useful for any further investigation of the incident.

-"Is that...?"- He asked his partner, after observing the man. -"I think that's one of our people."-

-"If that's our guy, then he probably has some information."- McNamara indicated the document he was holding.

Upon seeing the two detectives, the man greeted them warmly, as they were acquaintances of his from the same police department, and he had no problem sharing information with these law enforcement men.

-"My, I figured you two would come in to handle this case."- He said, with a little note of sarcasm.

-"What made you think of that, buddy?"- McNamara responded at the other fellow member of the police force.

-"You guys are the kind of men who would take on high-impact cases like this one. That's why I'm not surprised you're here."-

-"Well, it seems that we are already well-known in the town, aren't we?"- Miller said with some sense of sarcasm notable in his voice.

-"I guess so, Miller."- McNamara responded. -"By the way, with whom do we have the pleasure?"-

The other man realized that he had not introduced himself properly, as he was busy taking pictures and notes of the destroyed building.

-"Oh, sorry about that, guys! I was a bit caught up in my work here!"- The man apologized and shook hands with the two detectives. -"Name's Henry Talbot, from the Forensics Department. Pleased to chat with you, folks."-

-"Our pleasure too, Talbot."- McNamara politely returned the greeting to the man who worked in Forensics.

-"Well, introductions aside, what can you tell us about the victims who died in the explosion?"- Miller, the other detective, asked Talbot.

The coroner paused briefly at that question.

-"I thought you already knew that, gentlemen."- Talbot said at the two lawmen.

-"Technically yes, but we only know their personal backgrounds, but we don't know anything else."- Miller gave more context about his question. -"Maybe you can shed some light on what you have so far found out about them, and whether there might have been something underhanded about their deaths."-

-"Well, if you want to know the more gruesome particulars of the case, I don't mind saying so, but I don't think it's going to be a pretty thing to hear, in case you two have already eaten something, or are thinking of doing so..."-

-"Don't worry, Talbot."- McNamara reassured the police coroner with a wicked smile in his face. -"We've heard and seen worse than a father and his son killed in an exploding bakery, so whatever you know, you'd better tell us."-

Seeing that both men had no qualms about knowing such gory bits of information, the coroner gave what he knew up to that point.

-"OK, as you wish."- Then, Talbot explained what he saw so far. -"As far as I have been able to see, it appears that both the father and his son were in the same place at the time of the explosion. I can't say if the explosion that killed them both was a deliberate explosion, or a possible gas leak, but what I can say... is that they were both reduced to ratburgers, to describe their corpses in nice terms..."-

Although both police detectives had already seen all sorts of unsavory things in their entire careers, from murders of all kinds, including a case of cannibalism, decapitated corpses, child pornography, trafficking in women, and hundreds of things that would sicken any other ordinary person, the fact that the corpses of Jeffry Larkin and his son Nick had been reduced to a state that charitably, to put it kindly here, resembled an incinerated animal, was something that even those two cops, hardened by their experiences of dealing with crime in New York, could barely digest fully for both of them.

-"My god... Not even an animal bound for slaughter would deserve such a fate..."- McNamara responded visibly grossed out as he heard about how both bodies were left, and as he tried to mentally picture their corpses.

-"No kidding..."- Miller shared his partner's disgust, unable to say anything else, as he put his hands to his mouth.

-"Well, you two asked me to share with you the gory details about how their bodies turned out, and I did what you guys told me to do, so no complaints, gentlemen."- The coroner replied in annoyance at the detectives' attitude of disgust at how both bodies were found.

-"At least we have some empathy for the dead."- Miller added as he listened to Talbot's blunt response about something as serious as that.

Upon hearing the shorter detective's response, the coroner violently tore out one of the pages of the notebook he had, so that sound made the detectives aware of his irritation.

-"I'm a coroner, not Walt Disney, detective."- Henry Talbot said bluntly to both detectives, looking visibly annoyed, but without escalating his voice.-"I have no goddamn need to sugarcoat things, because unfortunately this is real life, and those two men died in the most violent and brutal way possible, because they were fucking stupid enough to be in front of the place where the explosion started..."-

McNamara and Miller could not hide their surprise that the coroner really did have a fiery temper, and he had no qualms about being crude to both law enforcement officers just because they had some degree of empathy for the dead, whereas Talbot himself, by the nature of his very profession, had to deal with them on a daily basis.

Having calmed down a bit, the coroner continued his explanation of what he saw.

-"But let me tell you one thing, detectives... Those two men's deaths were not like any other deaths that my hands have had to treat. I've seen auto wrecks, overdoses, suicides, stabbings, and all kinds of ghastly things, but what you see there is something beyond gruesome, because those two men's corpses... were left in a state that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."-

-"Yeah, I think that's obvious, Talbot."- McNamara replied with some disdain, as the coroner had basically said the same thing they were trying to imply a few moments ago.

-"Well, leaving that aside,"- Miller changed the topic a bit. -"haven't there been more victims, apart from the two of them?"-

Talbot was trying to remember, and then the coroner responded.

-"I have not heard of any more deaths or injuries in the last twenty minutes."- The coroner responded in a firm manner. -"I saw some injured people, but according to what I have been told by some of the medics who have treated the people injured in the event, only a few of them have suffered injuries that require hospitalization, and even then, they seem to be minor injuries. The others suffered only scrapes, and the odd person who fainted due to the shock of the incident."-

The two detectives breathed a sigh of relief that they had been spared having to find any more dead bodies in the bakery, as Talbot then went on to tell them what he knew about the case so far and all the evidence that had been collected with regards to it.

-"It's good to know that there were no more dead people than those two guys, if we can put it that way."- McNamara said with a relieved tone.

-"Yes, it could have been worse if more casualties had occurred."- Miller followed suit.

-"Well, at least I agree with you on that one, folks..."-

Then, Talbot looked back at the building destroyed by the explosion.

-"Although I have a small doubt that maybe you could tell me, if you don't have any problem sharing that info, just out of curiosity."- The coroner also seemed to be taking a general interest in the situation.

-"What did you want to know, Talbot?"- McNamara asked as he turned to look at the coroner.

-"Is it true that one of the victims was a military scientist?"-

The detectives took a while to respond to the man, as they did not know whether they should share this information with him or not.

-"Technically yes, but that's all we can share with you."- McNamara replied. -"The government doesn't seem to be very willing to share many details about that man, for obvious reasons."-

-"Do you think this could have been intentional?"- Talbot did another question.

-"Personally we don't think so, unless some country feels like unleashing the apocalypse just to kill a mere scientist by planting a bomb in some godforsaken bakery in Brooklyn, and expect us to do nothing about it."- Miller explained his reservations about the incident, and the very slim possibility that any country, such as the then Soviet Union, could be behind the death of these two men, father and son.

"Well, thank goodness that didn't happen."- Talbot replied with some irony. -"And thank you for that information, guys."-

-"Yeah, sure."- McNamara said as he gave a sight nod to the coroner.

Talbot, seeing that there were no more fatalities, determined that his work at the site was more than finished.

-"Well, I'll be getting back to the morgue then."- Talbot concluded. -"If I find anything of interest, I will let you know later at the headquarters. Have a good time, gentlemen."-

-"OK, see you soon, Talbot."- McNamara waved goodbye at the coroner.

And so, the coroner left the scene, leaving McNamara and Miller to ponder the next step in their investigation at the scene.

-"Alright, so... What do you think?"- Miller asked the older detective.

-"Well, I don't think we'll gain much information by staying here much longer."- McNamara responded. -"Besides, the explosion site is still somewhat dangerous, and until the first responders say otherwise, I don't think it would be advisable to stay too close from that place."-

-"I agree on that, partner."-

Thus, both detectives prudently moved away from the building, and headed to the place where most of the first responders and law enforcement officers who had assembled to deal with the incident were located.

---

April 14th, AD 1955, South Brooklyn (Outside Larkin's Bakery, or what was left of the place), Brooklyn, New York, United States of America, 08:10 PM

Most of the first responders and police who had come to respond to the Larkin's Bakery explosion incident had converged on a side avenue corner in the neighborhood where the stricken bakery was located. Meanwhile, several policemen watched the police cordon to prevent the entry of bystanders and journalists who might come near the scene, as the building was still very unstable and what little was left standing could fall down at any moment.

McNamara and Miller approached the crowd, and the first thing they saw was Captain Harvey Sullivan, McNamara's superior officer from the New York Police Department. Sullivan was busy coordinating with other officers and detectives to survey the explosion site and determine whether the explosion was an accident or intentional.

-"Good evening, detective, and you too, Miller."- Sullivan said as he greeted both McNamara and his partner. -"I imagine that Talbot already told you something of what he saw about the bodies of the deceased, right?"-

-"I think he told us more about them than we should know, Captain."- McNamara replied with some wry tone.

-"And that's not to mention that we've been here for some time now while we've been examining what we've been able to look into so far, sir."- Miller also gave his reply to his senior.

-"Oh, I see..."- The police captain said with a dry and low voice.

-"What have you and your men been able to find out so far about this case, Captain?"- McNamara asked Sullivan. -"Do you think it could have been an accident, or is there any hint of foul play involved?"-

-"We're still looking into that, detective, but let's just say that I would rather hope in the first case than in the second one."-

-"Yeah, I think the whole world expect that."- Miller confirmed his senior's hopes on the incident.

-"Do we have any witnesses of interest, or people who could shed more light on this?"- McNamara asked to Captain Sullivan.

-"We've talked to some of the residents in the area to ask them if they saw anything unusual before the building blew up, but that's going to take a lot of time to talk with any potential VIPs willing to talk."- The police captain explained about any possible witnesses that could saw anything useful for the police. -"As you may have noticed, only the block across the street and the block where the bakery used to be are each half a mile in distance. We will have at most hundreds of possible eyewitnesses who can bring anything of value to this."-

Miller looked at both blocks, and quickly agreed with his superior that it would take a long time to interrogate so many people.

-"I'm going to pity the poor bastards who have to interrogate about half of a suburb, to be frank..."- The shorter detective said with a somewhat morbid grin on his face.

-"I know."- McNamara said, and the other two men laughed slightly.

For a while the detectives looked at the ruined area where the Larkin's Bakery had been, with its walls and windows half-burnt and half-collapsed. In a way, it was almost as if it had been bombed by a plane, and not by a bomb explosion. The building was seriously damaged, while the sidewalk and streets were littered with small bricks, pieces of wood, shards of glass, and burnt metal. Little bits of white vapor floated on the air, and a blue-black smoke was still coming from the building. The entire area had a smell of burnt paint and wood.

-"God, I really wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, from what Talbot said about how the bodies of the father and son were left..."- McNamara said at his senior officer.

-"Agree with you, McNamara..."- Sullivan replied with a depressed expression on his face. -"In my entire career as a police officer I've seen everything from murder to things that would soil the pants of the most hardened man, but the way those two ended their days is not a very nice way to kick the bucket, to put it kindly, gentlemen."-

-"Yeah, I can't help but feel the irony of a baker and his son dying as a result of a possible explosion of his oven, and their corpses reduced to burger meat..."-

Both policemen looked at Miller with some distaste when they heard his words about the unfortunate condition of Jeffry and Nick Larkin's bodies, a comment in very bad taste, even for policemen used to seeing things just as unpleasant, if not more so, than two dead men reduced to ashes.

-"Remind me not to invite you for burgers, buddy."- McNamara said with a frown, intentionally.

The other detective only shrugged his shoulders with a sly chuckle, and didn't hesitate to continue with his unique brand of humor.

-"Well, shit happens..."- Miller concluded his crack, while the policemen momentarily looked at the charred remains of the building.

After a brief, uncomfortable pause of about a minute's duration, while the three law enforcement agents looked at what was left of the bakery, Frank McNamara addressed his superior officer again, having a few questions to share with him.

-"By the way, have you talked with the relatives of the deceased?"-

-"Yes, I was in contact with Mr. Larkin's wife a few hours ago. Obviously, she is devastated by the news, and other than the details you already know, she has not wanted to say anything else."- Captain Sullivan explained the whereabouts of Jeffry Larkin's wife, and also Nick's mother. -"It is best to leave her alone until she is in the mood to talk."

-"I don't blame her for that."- Miller brought something to the conversation, visibly concerned to know that the woman must have grieved when she heard the tragic news. -"It must be horrible to know that your loved ones died in a gruesome way."-

-"Yeah, and I can't imagine how she will manage to live with the knowledge of how her husband's and son's bodies were left."- McNamara added to his partner's concern.

-"I agree with you, McNamara."- Sullivan said as well. -"That's why I didn't ask her to identify their bodies for the time being; I don't think she can cope with something like that, so the most humane thing for her to do is just tell her that her relatives died, and that's it."-

After a brief pause, Harvey Sullivan continued with a few words on the subject, this time with a somewhat more serious tone, as if that incident gave him the resolve to know the truth of what might have really happened.

-"And yet, that's our job, gentlemen: To find out what caused the explosion and the death of these two men. Even if there is a possibility that all this could have been just a tragic accident, we should not rule out any line of investigation..."-

Sullivan replied stoically, and then, he looked over McNamara and Miller, two of the finest detective talents the NYPD had at the time.

-"Are you two gentlemen willing to take this case?"-

Both McNamara and his other professional teammate were more than willing to tackle the case, and see it through to its conclusion to the very end.

-"You can count on us, Captain Sullivan."- McNamara said in a serious tone, while shaking his hand to the police captain. -"We will definately work on this case, right, partner?"-

-"I'd be honored to partner with you, McNamara."- Miller said, offering his own hand to his superior officer, as he shook his hand. -"As long as I live, I will work on solving this and any case, and we will see to it that the truth is found."-

-"I'm glad to hear that."- Sullivan replied. -"For the time being it is best to leave things to the first responders before we can investigate further. There is not much we can do until they tell us it is safe to proceed to the scene."-

-"And what do you suggest we do then, Captain?"- Miller asked his senior.

-"For the time being, we have many reports to fill out when we return to headquarters. And you two may also have to question any potential witnesses that may be of interest."-

Knowing the number of witnesses they would both have to question, Miller hesitated to undertake such exhausting work as a police interrogation, and he made it know to Sullivan.

-"I don't know if I can stand having to cross-examine so many people for several days, Captain..."- The shorter detective made his discomfort about doing something as intricate as that known.

-"Don't worry gentlemen, you two will only be questioning a few witnesses of interest, such as Mr. Larkin's wife, Vanessa, and anyone else who might be able to contribute something."- The NYPD captain explained. -"The heavy lifting will be done by some of the rookies working in the PD, and I heard through the grapevine that the FBI may be able to help out, if the city government allows it."-

-"Does the FBI think there is foul play in this?"- McNamara was concerned when he heard the Bureau would be involved in the whole case.

-"So far they haven't mentioned if this could be the case,"- Sullivan continued with his explanation. -"but considering the sheer nature of the incident, and the profile of one of the victims, I think the FBI wants to make sure this doesn't have the hallmarks of a politically motivated assassination by a foreign country."-

-"Interestingly, Miller and I were just discussing that possibility a few minutes ago,"- McNamara talked with his superior on the very subject of a possible assassination ordered by a foreign country. -"and we came to the conclusion that it is unlikely that any enemy country could be behind this. I don't think any country, including the Soviets, could benefit from this incident, unless the Kremlin or someone else is itching for World War III."-

-"I certainly agree with you, McNamara. I doubt very much that the Kremlin or any of its cronies could be behind this. But we shall only ascertain that when it is safe to do so."- The police captain agreed with the detective.

Moments later, the three law enforcement officers saw both the scene and all the commotion that had erupted in that region of New York, where police, firefighters and emergency services had gathered on that street in that seemingly insignificant upper middle class suburb of Brooklyn to attend to the tragedy that had occurred, and that had claimed the lives of Nick Larkin and his father, Jeffry. They knew that it was now their duty to establish the causes of the explosion, and to determine if the event was just an accident, or if there might have been an intentional cause.

-"What do you suggest we do for the time being, Captain Sullivan?"- McNamara asked to his superior.

-"For the moment we can pick up the pace and start questioning as many witnesses who might have seen the explosion as we can find."- The police captain gave some orders to both detectives. -"But this could take all night, that's for sure."-

As these thoughts traveled through McNamara's mind, he felt something that was impossible to ignore: A strange sensation, that was somehow illogical, and unknown to both of them. It was neither an anxiety, nor a premonition, but a sort of leering…

McNamara just pointed this particular strange sensation out to his assisting partner, and a brief but intense look shared between the two men. They knew that this was not likely to be just another case, and what followed next, unbeknownst to them at the time, would be possibly the most convoluted case they had both had in their careers as detectives.

And yet, both accepted the challenge, in order to offer an explanation and search for justice to those who have demanded this.

-"Don't worry, Captain; I don't think we're famous in the NYPD for nothing, are we, Miller?"- McNamara said to his partner.

-"Indeed we are, McNamara. And as long as we are together, we can solve this and any case."- Miller answered with a very proudful tone.

---

April 20th, AD 1955, New York Police Department Headquarters (McNamara's Office), Manhattan, New York, United States of America, 12:17 PM

It had been roughly seven days since the tragic incident in which the bakery known as "Larkin's Bakery" was obliterated by an explosion, claiming the lives of two people: Nicholas "Nick" Larkin, and his father, Jeffry. Since then, the New York Police Department had been engaged in the task of looking into the possible causes that could have led to that event, and to determine if there had been an intentional cause, or if it was just the result of a tragic accident.

Unfortunately for the department and its agents, and despite seven days of questioning any witnesses who may have seen the incident, or who may have had any contact with the two Larkins, along with the clues they had picked up at the scene of the explosion, nothing seemed to provide the likely cause of what may have set it off in the first place.

Also, it was a dreary and gloomy day for both McNamara and Miller, as they poured over the reports they have obtained from the case, trying to find any clues they may have overlooked regarding the matter. Most of these reports came from the crime scene, including some from the autopsy reports written by Henry Talbot, the coroner, about the state of the bodies from those both men. Other reports include those written by other NYPD detectives, or from the local fire department regarding what they also found in the scene. There were also a few pages in there from the FBI, agreeing that the explosion was not the result of some sort of bomb, but that it could have been caused by a malfunction from the baking furnace in the bakery.

Of course, McNamara and his partner had already had access to all of these reports, before, but in a way of flimsy effort to solve the case, they review these reports again again and again, just to see if there might be some clue they might have missed.

Both men looked as frustrated as they could be, as they went through multiple reports over several papers.

-"Don't you think it's time to give this case a rest, McNamara?"- Miller brought the subject of some sort of break.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to relaxation, Miller couldn't have said it better. It's been about a week now since they were assigned to this case, and they may have read just about any material related to it, and they may have asked the same questions over a hundred times in this last week, but it still goes on.

-"I have a feeling that we have missed something about this case, partner."- McNamara responded, conspicuously frustrated.

Miller did not hesitate to explain his own conclusions about the whole incident, even though his partner had a different perspective on it.

-"And what else are we going to find, pal?"- The shorter detective replied, becoming frustrated from his fellow agent's obstinacy. -"The FBI has determined that the explosion was an accident, and that no one was at fault. Why do you insist on pursuing this whole thing?"-

-"Because I sense that there's something really off about all this."- McNamara replied at his partner, explaining his reasons on continuing with the case.

-"And what do you mean with the there's something off about all this thing, buddy?"- The other detective asked for an explanation. -"You mean about the fact Nick Larkin, one of the victims, was a military scientist?"-

-"Exactly."- McNamara responded to this.

Miller put his hands to his head in exasperation, and made his annoyance on the subject known to his partner.

-"For fuck's sake, McNamara, we already ruled out that NO government could have been behind all this from the beginning, and that even the FBI confirmed it!"- The other detective yelled at his partner. -"As far as we know and what the government has told us, Larkin didn't seem to have any enemies anywhere, and there is nothing to tell us that poor schmuck had any kind of threats prior to his death! What on earth makes you think something is fishy in all this, when there isn't?"-

At the escalation of the argument by his partner, Frank McNamara said nothing more, and after a few minutes, he gave his answer.

-"A gut feeling."-

Miller was dumbfounded by his fellow detective's simple but seemingly absurd response.

-"WHAT?"- The other sleuth responded aloud. "JUST A STUPID GUT FEELING?"-

-"That's right."- McNamara responded in a quiet tone. -"And right now, I feel like I just thought about what we could have missed, Miller."-

-"And what are you referring to, McNamara?"-

Immediately after he said this, the detective picked up his phone and began dialing a number, to Miller's surprise.

-"Who the hell are you gonna call, buddy?"-

-"Just watch and see, Miller."- McNamara responded with a deadpan voice.

Seconds after the NYPD detective dialed the number, a female voice was heard on the other end of the line.

-"Good afternoon, I'm Vanessa Larkin, who do I have the pleasure of speaking with, please?"- The woman responded with a somewhat glum note, considering her mood at the time.

-"Good afternoon, Mrs. Larkin. I'm Frank McNamara, a detective from the New York Police Department."- The sleuth identified himself to the woman. -"I believe I spoke to you about a week ago, as I recall, Ma'am."-

-"Oh, it's you... I think I remember your name, Officer McNamara, since you questioned me the day of the accident."- The woman responded, still in the same sad tone, but also somewhat surprised to hear again from the detective she had spoken to on the day her husband and son died when McNamara interrogated her.

-"Yes, that's me."-

Douglas Miller was immediately able to tell who his colleague was on the phone with. When he found out, he quickly let them know his disagreement.

-"What the fuck are you doing, McNamara?"-The other detective scolded his partner, although without raising his voice. -"You and I could be in a really deep shit if the captain finds out that we talked to somebody that was already questioned without the captain's permission, and without a damn warrant!-

-"Wait a second, Ma'am..."-

Ms. Larkin was surprised when McNamara paused in his conversation on the phone to address Miller in a calm but firm manner.

-"I need to talk to her about an issue that I didn't cover in the interrogation I did with her the day of the tragedy, Miller; I will not know if the situation was really an accident until then."-

Miller knew that once his partner tended to act that way, there was no way to stop him by any means, but at the same time, he knew that his partner might be right to talk to Vanessa Larkin to ask her about anything they both missed in the interrogation his partner had with the woman, but he still didn't quite agree with his partner ignoring police department rules like that, so his response came in a very reluctant and aggravated manner.

-"sigh... Okay, suit yourself, but I hope you understand what you're doing, buddy."- The shorter sleuth responded at his partner when twisting his mouth at the same time.

-"Thank you, Miller."-

After that pause with his co-worker, Douglas Miller, Frank McNamara resumed the telephone talk he was having with Mrs. Larkin.

-"I'm sorry for the interruption, Mrs. Larkin, but my partner needed to discuss some matters with me."-

-"Don't mind me officer, I understood the reason for your break."- Vanessa responded at the detective at the phone. -"But that aside, what is the reason you want to talk to me?"-

-"Well, I'll cut to the chase, Mrs. Larkin: I remember you mentioning that day that your son Nick had been at a funeral for a friend of his who had been killed in an accident, right?"-

-"Yes, of course. My son Nick had told me a few days ago that a colleague of his at the lab where he worked had died along with his entire family in an accident."- The Brooklyn woman explained wha she knew about that funeral her late son attented days ago. -"He didn't want to give me more details about the accident itself, although he did share with me and my husband some things about the deceased, such as the fact that friend of his and his family were from El Paso, Texas, and that they had plans to move to Europe, precisely to England, so that their children would have a better education there than the one they were receiving in that city."-

After briefly pausing, the police detective asked the woman another question, but not before writing something down in a notebook.

-"May I ask what was the name of your son's friend who passed away, Mrs. Larkin?"-

The woman tried to do some memory recall, and quickly called to mind the name of the man to whom her son went to his funeral before his own death in New York.

-"If I remember rightly, his name was Richard Mason."-

Upon hearing that name, McNamara's jaw dropped as much as he could as it had ever been in his life...

-"Excuse me, Mrs. Larkin, did you say Richard Mason?"- McNamara asked the woman to repeat the name, to his own disbelief, to which she complied.

-"Yes, that was the name of my son's friend who died in that accident."- The woman asked curiously when she heard that man began to falter at the mention of the name of the deceased Texan scientist. -"Is there a problem with that?"-

There is a reason the detective recognized that name: Both McNamara and his partner Miller took part in the investigations that resulted from the plane crash that took the life of that Texan scientist and his family when their plane crashed off the coast of Iceland a month ago.

And then, he vividly remembered that he's always had a feeling there was something not quite right with that disaster, given the profiles of the passengers and the owner of the aircraft, but he had dismissed that possibility as an absurd assumption, and, at the time of the tragedy, everyone else, including him and Miller, believed that a mechanical failure caused it.

-"Is everything alright, Mr. McNamara?"- Mrs. Larkin asked, concerned for the sudden change in the tone of McNamara's voice

After that break, the detective went on to explain that he understood why she would ask such a question.

-"Sorry for the pause, Mrs. Larkin, but I think I'm going to need some more information from you, if you would be so kind as to provide it."- The taller detective asked, in a hurried and this time, more serious fashion, to the widowed woman.

-"Is something wrong, officer?"- Vanessa Larkin asked to McNamara. -"You sounded concerned when you heard that name."

At that question, which showed that the woman knew that McNamara seemed to suspect that there was something shady about both tragedies, the detective gave a terse answer to the matter.

-"Look ma'am, I can't give you any more details, but I will need your cooperation, because there are some things that don't add up in all this, and until I have a solid lead, I can't assure you anything."-

-"I feel I understand your reasons, officer."- The widow replied with a sighful tone in her voice on the other line of the phone. -"In that case, what is what you want to know?"-

-"Do you know if your son had other friends or acquaintances who worked with him when he lived in El Paso?"- The detective asked in a somewhat different tone from before.

-"Let me see if I can recall something, officer..."

The woman paused for a moment to try to remember any information her late son may have given her about his job. After a few minutes, Vanessa finally gave her answer.

-"Unfortunately, my son didn't talk much about his work itself, as much of the material he worked with every day was confidential, and he didn't want to talk much about how he was doing in that city, other than that El Paso was a terrible place to live."- The widow said.

-"Well, I think that's something we all know, if I may put it bluntly, ma'am."-

-"Yes. But he mentioned something about his immediate superior, whom my son admired, and I don't know if his name can be of any use to you, officer."-

-"May I know the name of that person, Mrs. Larkin?"-

-"Yes."- The woman then gave the name. -"His name was Dr. Phillip Madison..."-

Frank McNamara wrote down the name of that scientist in his notebook, where he was taking notes of everything that woman was telling him.

-"Okay... Phillip Madison... I get it..."-

Then, the NYPD sleuth asked the woman yet another question...

-"I take it you don't know how to get in touch with this Dr. Madison, do you?"-

-"To be honest, I don't."- Vanessa replied. -"Other than that name, my son was a black box with everything relevant to his job, due to how secretive he was."-

-"That's alright, Mrs. Larkin. I'll try to find the way to get in touch with him."- McNamara reassured the woman. -"Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your son and his work?"-

-"I have nothing more to say for the moment, officer."- The lady said at the sleuth. -"There is only one thing I would like to ask, if you would be so kind as to answer me."-

-"What would that be, Mrs. Larkin?"-

-"When will my son's and husband's bodies be returned for burial?"- The woman responded with some trepidation to the detective, as the bodies of both of her relatives were still in the possession of the New York Police Department coroner's service, and she did not know when their bodies would be released to Vanessa Larkin so that she could give them a proper burial.

-"I don't know; you would have to ask the police department for a specific date, and most likely the investigations on the corpses have not yet concluded."-

-"I see..."- Mrs. Larkin replied in disappointment that she still would not know when the bodies of her relatives killed in the explosion would be delivered to her.

-"What I can really tell you, ma'am, is that if I have any concrete clues about what happened to your husband and son, I promise I will call you back as soon as possible."- The detective said, trying to comfort the woman in the best way possible. -"That's all I could tell you for now, Mrs. Larkin."-

-"Thank you, officer."- Vanessa said to the detective.

-"Don't thank me, ma'am. I'm just doing my job."- McNamara responded rather self-effacingly. -"Have a nice day."-

-"You too, officer. Have a nice day."- Vanessa responded, and then she hung up the phone.

Once the call with Vanessa Larkin was over, Douglas Miller, Frank McNamara's fellow detective, wanted to know what the two were discussing, especially when he overheard certain things that resulted in his co-worker behaving in an unexpected fashion.

-"What the hell exactly were you and that woman talking about?"- Miller asked his partner, clearly upset, for a concrete explanation of what his partner had discussed with the woman on the phone. -"And what exactly does Richard Mason, the guy who was killed along with his family in Iceland, have to do with all that mess, huh?"-

Following a mild sigh, McNamara faced his colleague with an unread expression.

-"That lady's son, Nicholas Larkin, was a friend of Dr. Mason's, and Larkin attended his funeral when he died in that plane crash a month ago."-

Miller paused briefly, noticeably surprised at the information his partner had given him about the relationship between the two scientists, and the similarities between their respective deaths. But even so, he was somewhat skeptical about what could be a coincidence.

-"That doesn't tell us anything, buddy. The fact that Larkin guy and his other friend died within a month of each other in accidents doesn't automatically mean that their deaths could have been deliberate."- The shorter detective gave his opinion. -"Furthermore, as far as we have ascertained from questioning all the witnesses and neighbors in the area where the explosion occurred, nobody seems to have seen anyone that looked suspicious, aside from the normal customers, of course."-

-"I know, but I still have a very strong suspicion that there is something fishy about all this."- The taller NYPD sleuth explained his reasons for continuing to pursue that case.

-"And what makes you think of that, buddy?"- Miller responded with a certain arc of sarcasm to his teammate.

-"If you want to know my reason, I'll tell you."-

-"And what would that reason be, if I may ask, McNamara?"- The shorter detective retorted in an annoyed way.

At Miller's inquisitive question, the detective used his notebook to visually illustrate his answer. In it, McNamara first began to draw a large square, which allowed the New York sleuth to begin explaining his theory to his partner.

-"As we both know, both Nick Larkin and our late plane crash friend, Richard Mason, worked at the same location in the same city, in this case, Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas..."-

Inside the square, McNamara wrote the surnames "Larkin" and "Mason", while on the square itself, he wrote the name "Fort Bliss, El Paso Texas", in order to graphically exemplify his hypothesis.

-"We already know that, buddy; those two guys worked together at the same place, so what?"-

-"I have three theories on this: The first is that Larkin and Mason may have been killed by someone outside the base."- McNamara continued with his explanation. -"Ruling out the hypothesis that some foreign power had something to do with their deaths, there is a possibility that some assassin sabotaged the plane Dr. Mason and his family were on, and could also have had something to do with the explosion at the bakery, making all these events look like accidents."-

In the drawing, McNamara wrote the word "assassin" outside the square, while he scribbled a line from that word to the names "Larkin" and "Mason". Even with all this, Miller found his partner's explanation implausible and absurd, for reasons he would subsequently discuss.

-"And what leads you to believe that some outsider targeted the two scientists?"- Miller asked, while he frowned at his partner's hypothesis.

-"Many reasons we don't know, Miller: debts, professional ambitions, love problems, etc."-

-"Still, I find it absurd that someone would go to the trouble of sabotaging a plane just to kill a no-name scientist, and that goes for the Larkins' case as well."- The other sleuth explained his reasons for not believing such theory. -"Even if that would-be assassin were arrested, he would have to have a very powerful reason to put himself on death row for terrorism just to kill in a really spectacular way two scientists who to this day were known only to their families, the military and no one else."-

-"Not if that killer believes that it's in his best interest to get something out of the death of those two men... unless the opposite is true."-

The shorter detective shrugged his shoulders in a sign of skepticism, as the whole thing didn't make sense to him.

-"Any murderer with a bit of brains would have saved time, money and effort by simply following his victims into a dark alley, blowing their brains out, and then fleeing the country as soon as possible, instead of following an elaborate plan like the one you're talking about, amigo."- This is how the detective answered his colleague. -"And regarding ludicrous plans, what are the other two theories you also mention?"-

-"The other hypothesis I have is that the killer may be someone within the US Army. In the case of the plane Dr. Mason was on with his family, we know that aircraft belonged to a high-ranking military officer, and because of that, he is being investigated by the Pentagon for possible embezzlement and corruption charges."-

-"Are you suggesting that officer had something to do with their deaths?"-

-"The possibility exists, although without more evidence, it would be very difficult to verify it."-

-"I find it hard to believe that a military officer would risk his career and life for the sake of killing two unimportant scientists in such brutal way, unless we don't know something in the larger context of things."- Miller said while questioning his partner's other speculation.

-"Maybe, but we don't know the context of why the Pentagon would also want to investigate this man."- The other sleuth explained his point. -"From what we know, the plane the Masons were on was registered to a US Army major named Matthew Fitzroy, and according to some information we've learned from some of our sources, that guy already had a reputation for having a bit of a temper, so he could be a potential suspect in this case."-

-"Yeah, yet as far as we know, the Department of Defense does not seem to have charged him with anything, unless the government wants to keep all of this under wraps for some reason."- Miller replied.

-"And if so, why would the government want to prosecute this Fitzroy guy in secret, if they believe he might be behind the death of Dr. Mason and his family?"- McNamara retorted back. -"Considering that the families of the dead are demanding answers from the government about the man's involvement in the causes of the plane crash, I doubt they will keep quiet about any excuse the government can give them to cover up whatever Fitzroy and those two doctors might have been mixed up in to begin with."-

-"Unless of course, the three of them where involved in something really serious, like the creation of some top-secret weapon or some such."- Miller added up. -"But there's something that doesn't quite fit within your hypothesis, buddy."-

-"What would that be, Miller?"-

-"Fitzroy is currently in Washington being investigated by the government, and he was outside El Paso when the explosion that killed Nick Larkin and his father happened."- The shorter detective questioned one of the main flaws about the hypothesis his partner gave about that case. -"Unless that guy had planned the whole thing carefully in advance, knowing that he could have been arrested as a suspect, he could not have been behind that tragedy without raising more red flags with the civilian and military authorities. And seeing as that accident involved the authorities of our country, Greenland, Denmark and Iceland, I doubt very much that our allies will keep quiet if they learn that another scientist who was a friend of Dr. Mason's died under very strange circumstances."-

McNamara realized that his partner was correct and didn't hold back from letting him know. But first, before continuing the chat, he finished off a glass of iced water, for he and his partner had been talking for several minutes almost non-stop, in addition to the phone talk McNamara had had with Mrs. Larkin.

-"Oh god, I really needed that!"- The taller sleuth thanked everything sacred after drinking that water.

-"You really love to talk a lot, pal."- Miller chuckled a bit. -"But I know you love to scrutinize everything at the simpliest detail, and I think that's one of the reasons why you're known as someone who doesn't settle for just any explanation, no matter how simple it may be."-

-"Well, I wouldn't have become a detective if I just kept quiet and let others talk, would I?"-

-"Yeah, I know, but you really love to argue, even if sometimes you may not be right."-

-"That's the interesting part of being a detective too, Miller."- McNamara replied. -"So what do you think?"-

-"In my opinion, sometimes you should let others say what they think;"- McNamara's partner did not mince his words when he railed against his workmate. -"I think at times the reason you talk so much is to show off."-

-"Okay, okay, you're right, I admit I talk a lot, that's true."- McNamara admitted sincerely, though with some derision, his partner's opinion about him. -"But for the record, I love my work, and I enjoy researching every bit of information I could get my hands on. An to do that, I have to confront a lot of possible scenarios, and I have to analyze practically any hypothesis or clues that may exist."-

-"Yet, I do question your resolve sometimes, McNamara."- Miller replied. "And that could get you in trouble one of these days, and you might end up in jail, or worse..."-

-"Well, do you want me to be like yet another dick who takes bribes from some small-time mobster?"- The taller detective said with some derision to his partner.

-"Of course not, pal."- The other, shorter NYPD sleuth retorted back. -"But I wish you wouldn't make an ocean out of a drop of water about all this. We still don't know exactly if this incident was really an accident or something intentional, and everything seems to indicate that it is the former, and you are coming up with a whole story that involves murder, professional hatred or stuff out from the Elliot Ness era."-

-"Well, if it weren't for that, you and I wouldn't be the best-known detectives in the force. And you must accept that, thanks to my so-called imagination, it has led us to solve cases that otherwise no one would have solved if another agent had only settled for what was right under his nose, instead of exploring all possible scenarios."- McNamara replied proudly, as he put the glass he drank from back in its place.

-"Yeah, I know that, but sometimes I just feel like you're putting me to shame with that stance of yours, buddy."-

Seeing that his professional friend was getting too personal with his words, Frank McNamara saw it best to move on before the discussion escalated.

-"Ehem!"- The taller detective coughed, signaling that he preferred to change the subject. -"Leaving aside your opinion about my way of working, and returning to the original topic, I agree with you about the unlikelihood that Major Fitzroy could have been behind the murder, if that could have been the case, of Dr. Larkin and his father."-

-"In that case, what would be the other theory you have in mind about what happened to the Larkins then?"-

McNamara went back to his notebook, and rewrote several things, including some circles with arrows pointing to the names "Larkin" and "Mason," which gave Miller an idea of what his partner was trying to mean by that.

-"Wait a second, buddy, don't tell me you're suspecting that...?"- Miller pointed at his partner's notebook after he saw his drawings.

-"Yes, it is possible that someone within the team where both scientists worked could have a connection to all of this."-

Miller facepalmed in frustration, and he quickly questioned the implausibility of that theory.

-"Buddy, your idea that Fitzroy could have had anything to do with the deaths of the two was absurd enough to begin with, but to insinuate that some petty scientist could have planned something as convoluted and costly as air sabotage and an explosion is straight out of a comic book!"-

-"Maybe, unless..."-

Then, McNamara put his finger outside the square, even though there was nothing written there.

-"...that scientist has more co-conspirators outside his workplace with whom he can work without getting his hands dirty."-

-"Well, that would be more than obvious, for starters!"- The other detective complained aloud about McNamara's seemly impausible hypothesis. -"Besides, what kind of idiot with a plan like that would work alone without attracting any suspicion?"-

-"The kind of idiot that no one knows he or she exists in the first place."- The taller agent said with a more serious tone at his friend when he saw his unbelieving face.

-"Wh-WHAT?"-

Miller tried to digest his partner's conclusion about who might be behind all this, as he found it hard to believe that someone who might not even exist could have anything to do with that case.

-"Don't tell me we're looking for a ghost or some kind of crazy shit like that, are we, buddy?"-

-"Not exactly, Miller..."- McNamara answered with a thin determination observable on his face. -"We're looking for someone the government wants nobody to find out about."-

The other detective tried to wrap his head around the possibility regarding the alleged perpetrator of both men's deaths that his partner was bringing up, but even so, Douglas Miller felt that McNamara was jumping to nonsensical conclusions, something he let him know.

-"I don't get what the hell you're trying to get at, McNamara!"- The shorter NYPD agent complained at his partner's conclusion. -"You want to imply that the government has anything to do with this?"-

McNamara sighed, and then, he responded to his partner in an even-handed manner.

-"Let's just hope that's not the case, to be fair."- The taller sleuth replied. -"Chances are that in this situation, someone we don't know of in the close circle of those two men who worked in Texas has something to do with this, and it's someone who, either it may be a person that the government doesn't want their identity to be public, or it may be a person who, if it were disclosed that they had something to do with this, the resulting scandal would cause many heads to roll in Washington."-

-"In that case,"- Miller retorted, quite already exasperated. -"do you have a way of proving any of your theories, buddy?"-

-"How about this, Miller:"- McNamara explained his idea to his partner. -"Sooner or later Dr. Larkin and his father will have to be buried, and surely the former's friends will have to come here to New York for the funeral and burial. According to what the doctor's mother told me, Larkin had a very dear friend, who was also his superior, named Phillip Madison. If this Dr. Madison comes to the funeral, we can go over to ask him a few questions, so we can get any information we need to rule out or prove any hypotheses I may have in mind."-

-"sigh... I just hope you know what you're doing, McNamara."- Douglas Miller, McNamara's partner in the police force, responded with some skepticism to his colleague's idea. -"That guy is likely bound by a non-disclosure agreement, and he may not be able to provide information to us, especially when it comes to top-secret projects."-

-"Yes, I know that, so we have to be careful what we say, and see what that Madison can tell us about Dr. Larkin and Dr. Mason, and his own work as well."-

In the middle of McNamara's long talk, he looked at his watch. He noticed it was lunchtime, and he had been talking for so long already; he felt as we need time to take a break and have something to eat right away.

-"Let's save this for another time, buddy; let's head out to eat some grun, will ya?"- The taller detective said at his friend -"I'm really craving for something good to eat."-

-"At least I agree with you on something today!"- Miller echoed his colleague's sentiment regarding lunch. -"Do you have something in mind for lunch, McNamara?"-

-"Does chili con carne sound good to you?"-

Miller smiled for a few moments, and couldn't agree more with his friend's idea regarding that dish.

-"Sounds like a good idea,"- The shorter agent quickly agreed with his partner's proposition about what to eat. -"I guess we're going to have lunch with your friend who owns that restaurant in the Bronx, right?"-

-"Indeed."-

-"Well, that's fine with me, as long as you pay the bill today."-

-"Hey, I'm not one of those guys who likes to get his friends pay my bills, you know!"- McNamara grumbled at the insinuation about who would pay for their meals.

In the face of his fellow agent's outraged response, Miller couldn't help but snicker as the two of them walked out of the headquarters and into the street.

-"Yeah, I know that,"- Miller chuckled a bit after seeing his friend's face. -"I was just kidding, okay?"-

-"All right, but let me pick up the tab, will you?"-

-"And who said you wouldn't pay anything, then?"- The detective from the NYPD gave a lighthearted laugh notable in his face.

And so, the two detectives walked out of the police station and headed to the Bronx to have a lunch with one of Frank McNamara's friends who owns a restaurant there. What both men didn't seem to realize was that what seemed to be a simple case was only going to become more complicated.

END OF ACT XXIX