All things Max and the Gatekeeper: 2013

The Secret is Loose

Sam and Linda huddled close together under an old green tarp as the pouring rain seeped through several areas of torn fabric, penetrated their clothing, and chilled them to the bone. The rain and the steam from their breath obscured their view of the old motel across the street from the park, where they waited in a thicket of trees.

     Sam—a thin, medium-height, freckled-faced male in his mid-twenties with straight brown hair had been on the run with Linda—a short, pleasant-faced black woman in her early thirties. For almost three months now, their existence had been a miserable one of eking by on barely enough food. Their tattered clothes matched their worn-out appearance.
     “Are you sure they’re coming?” Linda’s voice chattered with the cold and she pressed closer to Sam’s back for warmth.
     “Yes,” Sam responded, his eyes locked on the motel.
     “How long can we keep this up?”
     “As long as we want to stay alive.” Sam cupped his hands and blew into them to revive them from their frozen state.
     “Is Tanner with them?” Linda’s voice cracked with fear.
     “Most definitely,” Sam spat as memories of his former coworkers flashed through his mind. They didn’t know his full name, only that he went by Tanner and he had been their handler. He never let them out of his sight or his thugs’ sight for almost two years. They didn’t realize how ruthless he was until the day they and the others decided to run. Now they were the last two left. He had destroyed all the others. They knew if he caught them they would be tortured for information—and then eliminated.
     “We’re going to have to kill him,” Sam stated, his sharp blue eyes stared straight ahead,   “If we ever want to be free.”
     “I know,” Linda acknowledged as she rubbed her eyes. “I’m not sure that he’s even human.”
     “Me either. You set everything up?” Sam asked for what seemed at least the fourteenth time.
     “Yes, the back window is open. The map indicates we are heading west.” Linda yawned, fighting her exhaustion.
     The steady rain turned into a downpour as lightning zipped across the sky, shaking Linda’s nerves. The rain dampened her mood even more as they continued to wait for their tireless pursuers.
     “Do you wonder if there are others out there? I mean people who have our talents or tricks or whatever?” Linda asked.
     “Yes, I’m sure of it. That information had to come from somewhere. Where did they get it?” Sam answered. “As a whole, it has to be a lot more powerful than the individual pieces we worked on. Who would have thought it could fool an entire nation.”
     “Yeah, great change you can believe in. When it really meant misery and destruction. I think they would be ticked to learn they are giving up their freedoms for Lies of Comfort.”
     “Yes.” Sam squinted to keep the rain out of his eyes. “Although their lies and deception run very deep now, and if we don’t find a way to expose them they will maintain their control of the White House. The election is close. We don’t have much time. Freedom and prosperity are at their greatest risk ever.”
     “It will be difficult to expose them. They control the media and the schools. They don’t teach true American history in the schools anymore. If the youth really understood our past, they wouldn’t buy these lies of social justice and redistribution of wealth,” Linda added.
     “They are converting people by the millions from productive self-sustaining individuals with a sense of unity and freedom to lazy entitled sheep, full of hate for anyone not like them,” Sam snarled.
     “Listen, I was thinking…” Linda inhaled a deep breath. “We should share our talents with each other.”
     “Didn’t we agree that was a bad idea? If we know each other’s tricks we don’t need each other anymore. I think we have a better chance of survival if we stick together.”
     “Then we will have to make an agreement that we remain together no matter what, but I feel the more we know—the better chance we have of staying alive! I mean, look, we are both exhausted. It would be easier if we shared our responsibilities.”
     “I can’t argue with you there. Okay, next time we get a break, we’ll teach each other what we know,” Sam agreed. “Okay, get ready. Here they come!”
     Several dark figures converged on the motel from multiple directions. They wore black clothing and kept in the semi-darkness of the stormy day. A few of the figures held guns at the ready as they made their way towards a door in the center of the building.
    “They have men watching the street in both directions,” Sam stated, prompting Linda to look both ways down the street. Two dark SUVs waited on opposite ends of the street.
     Linda’s heartbeat kicked into overdrive and pounded in her ears. She would have to use her special ability soon. It was a skill she learned while translating sections of photographed papers. She didn’t know where the paper came from, but it was written in an unknown language, and it appeared to be very old. The work she did had given a secret society the power to gain the White House and steal people’s freedom.
     She had received her Ph. D. from Columbia in linguistics and had received honors for her translations of ancient scrolls when a small unknown firm approached her with a lot of cash. The offer was too good to be true in a field where one had to constantly apply for grants and donations to stay employed. It was almost two years ago when she joined the team of ten other translators, working on different sections of what she had been told was from an extremely old book.
     Their contracts forbade them from sharing what they worked on with the others, so none of them had the entire picture. They sent their interpretations on to a main supervisor who always had an armed escort. “It’s a matter of national security,” the supervisor said.
     No one seemed worried after the first worker’s mysterious death a few days before he was to leave for a new job. The company replaced him with a woman from Germany, and work continued as usual. Then Steve, an older gentleman from Texas, grew paranoid about the company watching him after he discovered several hidden cameras in his apartment and work area. He started passing notes to the others, asking them if they had found any such devices or anything else out of the ordinary.   After his accidental death a few weeks later, and several secretive communications with the others, they all came to the terrifying conclusion they had signed on to their last job.
     “I don’t think this is about national security,” said Lou, a grad student from Berkley. “I just finished a new translation. I think this whole thing is a grasp for power—through magic!”
     The word “magic” surprised everyone, but somehow they all knew he was right. It just took someone vocalizing the word for it to sink in. Several translators demonstrated skills they thought no real human possessed. They had been playing with the things they discovered. A few days later the company rounded them up and sent them on a little bus ride into the forest. The revolt happened before they reached their destination, as the translators used their newly acquired talents to crash the bus and make their escape.
     They agreed to travel in different directions in groups of two. Without knowing a destination, they became easy targets for Tanner and his hit squad. Sam and Linda didn’t know if it was carelessness or the fact that Tanner wanted the others to know he was coming for them, because the victims had horrible deaths that always made the national news. They read about two in the newspaper, while seeing the other six on the national news. They all met with a grisly fate. Sam figured they were tortured first for information.
     It wasn’t until Sam and Linda had time to really chat that they realized the plans of the organization they had worked for. Their goals included the takeover of the United States from within. The secrets unlocked in the translations gave them power over the weak minded. The organization lulled people into believing they didn’t want freedom and they couldn’t take care of themselves. Slowly, through lies and deceit, they convinced the American people to give up their freedoms. The promise of free things without having to work for them and the turning of Americans against each other through race and social status seemed to be working to perfection.
     These people were powerful and dangerous before, but with the assistance of what had been discovered they were entrenched, and it would take a miracle to root them out. The fact they spent so much time and effort in tracking down and eliminating everyone who had worked on the project proved their resolve.
     “Get ready.” Sam inhaled a deep breath as if steadying his nerves.
     Linda glanced at her trembling hands as if somehow she could make them stop. Fear her magic might let them down and lead to their deaths constantly flooded her mind; she had been taught all her life that there was no such thing as magic.
     “The minute they go in, you’ll need to keep us hidden.” Sam stated the obvious. He stretched out his hand and Linda took hold of it. He gave her a quick smile and squeezed her hand.
     The dark figures arrived at the hotel. They hustled along in silence until they reached a certain room. After exchanging several hand signals, one drew his gun and took up a position in front of the door.
     “You can’t hide from me,” a cold voice from behind Sam and Linda caused them to whirl around just as the man in front of the door kicked it in.
     A few feet away stood Tanner, the man who had been hunting them since their escape. He stood well over six feet four inches tall. A dark felt hat covered his features in shadow. He waited with his hands deep in the pockets of his rain drenched trench coat. “Did you really think you could beat me?”
     Sam took a quick look at their surroundings and he stepped to the side, pulling Linda with him.
     “I wouldn’t!” Tanner spat, and in a flash he had drawn a gun from his pocket and leveled it at the two of them. “The game is over. You’re coming with me!”
     “Wind,” Sam muttered under his breath, and a blast of air slammed into Tanner. The impact of rain and air current turned his head as the gust threw his hat in the air.
     “Invisible.” Linda cast her spell and then pulled Sam down into a crouch. Her heart raced as Tanner whipped around and his eyes floated over them but didn’t lock on.
     “*@#$@,” Tanner swore under his breath. His head rotated in all directions as he moved towards his hat, keeping his eyes in their general area.
     “We need to move.” Linda chanced a whisper, feeling the downpour would cover her voice.
     “Wind,” Sam said again, sending Tanner’s hat flying farther away from him.
     Tanner rose to his feet, his hair already soaked and plastered to his head. “I know you haven’t moved!” Tanner stated as he rose to his feet. He extracted a silencer out of his coat and twisted it on to the end of his gun. “What do you say I fire my gun several times in your general area to test my theory?”
     “Drop it!” a police officer called off to their left, his gun drawn and pointed at Tanner.
     “I have a permit,” Tanner spat as he lowered it to the ground and set his gun on the grass. As he rose up he drew another gun from his other pocket and fired several shots into the unsuspecting officer.
     Sam and Linda didn’t hesitate and bolted from the trees. Bullets trailed their splashing feet, barely missing them.
     Tanner whistled to the men coming out of the hotel and signaled them his way. “They’re heading for the street,” he yelled as he retrieved his other gun and his hat. “They’re invisible. Watch for splashing water.”
     “Where should we go?” Linda asked in a hushed voice as they raced onto the sidewalk. “I won’t be able to hide us much longer.”
     “The hotel! We stick to the plan,” Sam said as he pulled her across the street. The search party had spread out along the street, leaving the hotel room door wide open.
     “DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!” Tanner shouted angrily.
      Linda and Sam rushed through the open doorway as Linda’s spell failed. They quickly dove out of the open doorway and crawled along the floor to hide behind the bed.
     “What are we going to do?” Linda asked, her voice full of panic.
     “I have an idea.” Sam reached up and pulled the phone off the nightstand. He punched out 911.
     “911,” the operator on the other end answered.
     “I want to report a shooting of a police officer in the park across from Motel 6,” Sam spoke into the receiver. Sam relayed the address, a description of Tanner, and some details about the shooting. A few minutes after the call police sirens wailed above the storm, heading in their direction.
     “We need to get out of here before the police arrive,” Sam whispered. “I’m sure someone in this hotel heard the door being kicked in and they probably traced the 911 call to this room.”
     “You don’t think we would be safe with the police?”
     “No. This Tanner is too well connected and has too much power. If we are captured by the police it would be a death sentence. Are you strong enough to make us invisible?”
     “I’m not sure.” Linda trembled from head to toe. They had been running for several months, but this was their first real encounter with Tanner. The sense they were losing ground grew in her mind, weakening her resolve.
     “Out the back window. Follow me.” Sam crawled towards a window at the back of the room, with Linda right behind him. “Keep an eye on the door,” Sam ordered, as he poked his head up high enough to peek out the back window.
     “Do you see anything?”
     “No. I think it’s safe. There’s quite a drop off in the back below the window. I’ll go first and then help you down. I’m just going to take a better look first.” Sam rose to his feet and leaned out the window.
     “We need to hurry,” Linda warned as the police sirens filled the air, their flashing lights bounced around the room.
     Sam crawled out the window and jumped. He landed with a thud. “Linda, come on.”
     Linda stuck her head out the window to see what she had to do.
     “YOU! FREEZE,” a police officer said as he rushed towards Sam, his hand resting on his holstered pistol. “You in the hotel room, stay where you are,” he ordered as his eyes made contact with Linda’s. He pressed the radio button fastened to his shoulder to relay what he had found.
     “Linda, hide!” Sam ordered out of the side of his mouth as he raised his hands above his head.
     “Invisible,” Linda muttered just as two officers stormed into the room. She quietly crawled into the open closet and sat on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. Inhaling a calming breath, she forced herself to relax and conserve her energy so she could hold on to the magic.
     The officers checked the room for occupants. When one passed in front of the window a voice called from outside, “Did you get her?”
     The cop in the room poked his head out the opening. “Get who? The room is empty.”
     “There was a girl. Did you check the room thoroughly? She was just there.”
     “Yes, there’s no one here and we didn’t see anyone exit the room either.”
     “Set up a perimeter, she can’t have gone far. We are looking for a black girl. I’m guessing in her late 20’s early 30’s,” the voice from outside ordered.
     Linda breathed a sigh of relief as the policeman exited the room. “Sam,” she muttered to herself as her mind locked on the fact the police had captured Sam. She forced herself to leave her hiding place and crawled to the window. While still under the power of her spell, she cautiously looked out the window.   The officer had Sam standing with his legs spread and both hands touching the hood of the car.
     “I’m the one who called in the shooting,” Sam stated. “Check with the hotel. I’m the one who rented the room for the night. I was heading back to my room when I saw what happened.”
     “We have reports of several strange men in the area. And why did they kick in your door?” the officer asked as he frisked Sam, checking for weapons.
     “I don’t know,” Sam answered.
     “Somehow I think you do,” the officer pulled Sam’s hands behind his back, slapped handcuffs on him, and spun him around. “That was my friend who was shot, so I want answers,” he barked, his nose an inch from Sam’s.
     “I don’t know anything.”
     “Well, I believe you do. So you’re coming down to the station. If you’re lying to me, I’ll personally make your life a living hell.” The officer yanked Sam away from the car and escorted him into the back seat.
     With the cop’s attention on Sam, Linda lowered herself out the window and slipped behind some cars in a parking lot on the street opposite of the hotel. The rain continued to pound the area, and without the tarp for protection the water soaked into her clothing. She found a spot between two trucks and made herself visible again, wanting to remain fresh. An uneasy feeling spread through her like poison, turning her spirits dark, stealing her will. What should I do?
     She hoped the officer would leave his car so she could attempt a rescue. She didn’t want to have to spring Sam from jail. Now would be her best chance, if only the police would leave her an opening. Her mind spun as she hunted for ideas. You could knock out the cop. You could sneak a ride. You could…
     Suddenly another police car arrived, stopping next to the one that held Sam. Linda could feel her options fluttering away with the arrival of the second car. She listened to the officers discuss the situation.
     “Dan’s alive but it’s serious,” the second said. “Do you think the prisoner is the shooter?”
     “No, I don’t, but I think he knows who the shooter is. He’s not talking at the moment. What about the girl?”
     “So far there’s no sign of her. We also have a report of four men who forced their way into the hotel and a fifth seen running from the park.”
     Suddenly a distorted voice rang from the officers’ radios.
     “Come again,” the first officer spoke into the radio on his shoulder.
     “The area is clear. The suspects are gone. We’ve put out an APB for the men and four black SUVs.”
     “Roger that, I’m bringing in a possible suspect for questioning.”
     Do something! Linda’s brain screamed inside her head. Why didn’t we share our tricks sooner? I could use some of your talents right now, Sam.
     “Where’re you heading?” the first officer asked the other.
     “I’m going to swing by the hospital, check on Dan,” the second said as he opened the door to his car.
     “Let me know the minute you have any information,” the first said as he got into his car.
     “Invisible,” Linda muttered as she rushed forward. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do. Hang onto the top of a police car?
     The second police car started to pull away. The instant the first officer closed his door a dark SUV flew down the street at a high rate of speed and slammed into the driver’s side of the first car. The squealing of tires joined the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass as a second and third SUV blocked the path of the second squad car.
     Linda lost control of her spell at the shock of the sudden violence and retreated back to her hiding spot. Fear that she’d been spotted gripped her and increased her heart’s pounding as six men dressed in long black trench coats leapt out of the vehicles, armed with machine guns. They riddled the second police car with bullets, destroying the vehicle, as another two men yanked Sam from the backseat of the first car.
     Steam rose from the damaged cars as the men dragged the struggling Sam towards the SUV which had crushed the driver’s side of the first police car.
     “Sam, how nice to see you.” Tanner smiled as he stepped out of the car to greet their new prisoner. “We have so much to talk about.”
     “Sam,” Linda cried uncontrollably. Her chest heaving with sobs of terror at being alone, as her only link to the world was carried away by the very people who sought to destroy them.

All things Max and the Gatekeeper

Max and the Gatekeeper

Monday, November 4, 2013

Ebook Promotions Max and the Gatekeeper

Friday, November 1, 2013

Centalpha 6 Part VI

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

James Todd Cochrane's Mailing List

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Free Books

New Series

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Dark Society (Max and the Gatekeeper Book IV) Chapter 1

Followers

Blog Archive

About Me