Song of the Red-Legged Birds: Chapter 33, Part 2: I couldn't get away

A new mission and a newer one

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With gratitude, Bill

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Last week, in chapter 33, Part 1, Ira stalked the apartment building

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Chapter 33, Part 2: I couldn't get away

“Tim! Good to see you today,” Desmond’s tone was thick with sarcasm. The two met in the narrow hallway and walked toward the command center.

“Morning, Desmond,” Tim said with the spirit of dry toast. “In light of yesterday’s events and Luke’s discovery, I felt that my risk assessment of pulsing the bubble, as we discussed, needed more thought.”

“No doubt,” Desmond said and stopped walking. It took Tim a moment to realize that before he turned to face him. Desmond waved him closer and looked to see if anyone was within earshot.

“I hope you know, although I’ve never said it, that I look at you as a leader. That’s not only because of your age but your experience.”

Tim interlaced his fingers and looked over the top of his wire-rimmed frames. “But…?”

“Where were you on that yesterday?” He commanded in a loud whisper.

Tim put a hand on his shoulder. Behind his mirrored glasses, Desmond moved only his eyes to look at it, then focused back on Tim.

“Kid had the goods, Des. By my best calculations, there wasn’t a reason to wait, lest that decision get bogged down with political dick-wagging. Careen and I discussed the chance that the code deployment would reveal nothing of consequence. We knew it could look like aggressive posturing by the United States. In fact, we worried that the outcome would be worse than what we revealed.”

“Like what?”

“That another nation was messing with the grid behind our backs. Actually, in front of our faces. That they were opening holes to cause chaos, we felt there was an imminent threat.”

Desmond sucked on his teeth. “A solid concern. This came from the kid’s code review?”

“Yes, it showed vulnerabilities. We’ve been so focused on the outside threats that there’s been neglect of potential inside ones. To illustrate that, Luke demonstrated a few exploits that he’d written. He could open up holes just about wherever he wanted to.”

“Damn,” Desmond said and rubbed his three-day-old chin stubble.

“Indeed. We now know the grid has been pulsing daily for a year. So, the outcome is intel. That’s the good news.” Tim said this while reordering the pens in his shirt pocket.

“How the hell is that good?”

“As I said, Luke’s new code can detect threats from nations. It didn’t find any.”

“And…” Desmond’s lip curled.

Tim looked down at the floor, then right at Desmond. “From everything we’ve seen, and there needs to be more testing to confirm this, the pulsing isn’t coming from outside the grid. It’s coming from inside. It originates from Earth.”

Desmond took off his glasses and squinted at Tim. “A moment ago, you said it’s not coming from any Nation-state.”

Tim nodded, “Correct.”

“Well, who the fuck is doing it!” Desmond seethed and squared on the elder coder.

Tim shifted backward. Desmond was intimidating, and his anger was frightening. There was something about those mechanical steel blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, Des. I’d lead with that if I knew. But that’s where we are. We’re doing a deep dive into instances of the birds, trees, and other anomalies related to the Event. We’re stabbing in the dark because, other than timing coincidences, there’s not much to go on. For instance, this last one happened in Boston, where it seems we hit the trifecta of weird shit. The timing shows that there may have been a momentary weak spot in the grid.”

Desmond leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling as if trying to see the answer. “That doesn’t connect with what you just said.”

“How so?” Tim asked, knowing the answer but looking for his opinion.

“If the grid isn’t pulsed from an outside force, why would a weak spot over Boston mean anything? It’s obvious that this isn’t breaking and entering.”

Tim opened his mouth to speak, but Desmond held up his hand and said, “Unless it’s all bullshit.”

The corner of Tim’s mouth raised.

Desmond continued, “You’ve ruled out that a nation, let’s say a hostile one, would be doing any of this. I’m unwilling to do that, but let’s put that aside. The weak spot in the grid and the pulsing is a ruse.” He took off his glasses and pointed them at Tim. “The call is coming from inside the house!”

Tim nodded in agreement.

“If I’m an alien or a god, why go through the effort to mess with our heads? Why not come right out with your message or recipe for human stew?”

“Got me, Des, unless Rod Serling is about to pop out from behind you and explain it.”

Desmond started to walk again as if needing the movement to lubricate his mind. “There’s this, though; I’m not sure there’s any other terrestrial power capable of this deception. And for now, I’ll also put aside that you’ve indicated Luke has the skills to do something like this.”

“I’m quite sure the kid has nothing to do with it,” Tim said.

“Yeah, yeah. But imagine that some other earthbound entity had this capability. The tools to make us think that there is an extraterrestrial danger. What’s the motivation? And why are they waiting so long to capitalize on it?”

Tim pursed his lips and shook his head. “Motivation? Got me. I’d look in the big bucket of simple reasons humans mess with each other. Money, power, and fear.”

“Sure. Create a problem, call it a threat to our existence, and present a bullshit solution to save us all.” Desmond scoffed.

“Head games never change, only the scale of them.” Tim stopped walking. Desmond matched him.

“What?” Desmond said.

Tim scratched at his eyebrow. “One fact that we’re sure of is that the grid has been pulsing daily for over a year. It’s becoming insistent.”

“Perhaps...” Desmond said with an air of disagreement.

“What would you call it?”

“There’s a risk at reading this only as insistence. It could be stupidity, frustration, arrogance. Maybe even a genuine warning of some kind. Speculation doesn’t help. We need to know.” Desmond looked down at his phone.

“Hey, Des, I did try to call you before we dropped code yesterday. When you didn’t answer, we took the risk and went ahead. We decided as a group to go to Christo and admit you didn’t know anything about it and take our lumps. Happy to do that if you want. Either way, I’m sure it didn’t reflect well on you.”

Desmond let out a dark laugh. “I was pissed at first. But then, as any great manager does, I took the credit for my team’s work. That said, I was in a meeting and didn’t realize my phone had crapped out on me. Got this puppy this morning.” He held up his new one.

They stopped before Desmond’s office, and he slid his glasses back on.” I’ll set a quick meeting for later today. Until then, tell the team I said, good work.”

“Will do. They’ll appreciate that.”

Tim started off to the Operations Center. He hiked down the hallway and into the coding corral, where he flopped into his chair. No one else was there yet, probably getting coffee. He looked around, opened the bottom desk drawer, and pulled out a thermos. Tim poured a cup of tea and set it down. Then he unscrewed the bottom of the thermos and took out a thin cell phone. He sipped tea with his left hand while sending a text message with his right. Then he screwed the phone back into the thermos and put it away just in time. He could hear Careen and Luke’s voices from the hallway and see their approaching reflections in the glass.

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“Ready to do this?” Wake smiled at Takeda.

“If by ready, you mean, are you scared and hoping to get this over with, then yes. I’m as ready as they get.”

The group gathered around Wake’s device like they were about to witness a rocket launch. Triscuit inspected its rounded steel edges.

“And the fail-safe, I’ll be holding it?” Takeda said.

“Yes, it’s built into the handgrip and will be directly under your thumb. Keep in mind that you can only run the Replay once today. The mere presence of that button can make you want to push it. It’s a normal human impulse.”

“Got it.” He turned to Holly with a tense smile. “Okay, see you in a bit.”

Holly put a hand on his chest and got close to his ear. She whispered, “Hurry back,” and kissed his cheek.

“Okay then.” He felt his face get warm.

Wake opened a pocket on the machine and tapped commands on its attached keyboard. The device came alive with an electric hum that vibrated the entire floor. He unlatched the front door, which expelled a mechanical hiss. It opened, revealing a black leather interior with two hand grips and a head and chin rest.

Takeda walked inside, took hold of the handgrips, and set his head into the rest. Once he stopped moving, he felt the leather material shape itself around and hug his body.

“Comfortable, my man?” Wake said.

“Yup.” His muffled voice answered.

“Okay, here we go.” Wake closed the door, and it sealed with a click.

Once the door locked, Takeda felt the back side of the chamber come closer, completing the leather cocoon. It felt warm, and he no longer had to hold himself upright. A moment of panic attempted to bloom, but he was prepared for it. This part is always kind of fun. It’s just a sensory deprivation chamber. I should get one, maybe if I become a famous writer. I should probably get a house first or a better apartment. I should call my Mom. Holly texted her Mom… poor Tris, we’ve been dragging her all over…

The screen in front of him came to life and displayed:

REPLAY SEQUENCE INITIATED

COMMENCING IN

5

4

3

2

1…

There it was. The release. He swam in the rich and comforting blackness. It cradled and warmed him as he felt earthly cares and fears drift away. In seconds he had never known them at all. Light expanded from his center and filled the void. Twisting colors bathed his being, and he sped through time. He was truth, he was love. He touched the edges of the silky cosmos and delighted as they flexed with and filled him.

Then he raced through the earth, through memories, family members, and friends, with nothing but expanding love. He was an eagle, water, a volcano, a moth. He was suffering and joy. He was not he. I am all.

You are safe. You are welcome. There is no struggle. You are love, Takeda. Those thoughts pressed into and through him. They became him.

With the freedom of release, he let go and burst into uncountable pieces, joining with all.

A hundred lifetimes sped by when a new thought crept into the edges.

“We need your help,” it said.

He looked and searched. Flew past planets and collapsing galaxies, stars exploded, and new worlds born. She swam into view. And he thought, oh, it’s you, I remember now. I once came here looking for you. Chimera.

“Yes.”

What do you want from me?

“Help to free them. Both of you.”

Help who? How?

“All. Go North, record the story. Join with us.”

North?

“She’ll know.”

Who are you?

“I am all. We are all.”

All? I don’t understand… He felt the world tugging then. She touched him, and any light that ever brightened a sky appeared. He fell backward into a dazzling vortex as the device door opened.

Holly and Sheila caught Takeda as he slumped out of the device. His right hand clutched the handgrip with his thumb mashed down on the button.

“Tak!” Holly yelled, cradling his head, and Wake pried his fingers from the device’s handle. Takeda’s eyes were open, but he wasn’t conscious.

“Sheila, get him to the couch. He’ll be okay in a moment; the mind needs time to readjust after an abrupt exit.” Wake waved a light into Takeda’s eyes to dilate his pupils. “Scott, get him some water!”

Scott dashed off to the kitchen.

Sheila scooped Takeda up like he was lifting a feather and placed him on the couch. He started to come around the moment he was set down. His head lolled to one side, and he mumbled, “Where am... oh....”

Holly was kneeling on the floor by his head. She took his hand gently. “It’s okay, Tak. You’re okay. You’re safe.”

She saw the life come back into his eyes, and he sat up with a start, surprising her. He looked around the room, then returned to Holly’s face and said: “Hi, H.”

“Hi? Fucker! Scared me to death, jerk!” She hugged him tightly. She was about to give him a playful shove and decided to hug him again instead.

“How long was I in there? A day? A week?”

“One minute and forty-two seconds.” Wake chuckled.

“Really? Wow.” His eyes widened, and he looked amused. “Look at you guys. I love you guys! Wake, this place is amazing. Have I said that yet? It’s, it’s outta sight!”

“That it is, my man, that it is. Feeling pretty good I take it?”

“Good? To put it mildly. I feel like butter on warm toast. I feel like a box of puppies. Like my heart is pumping one hundred percent pure love and laughter!” He wrapped an arm around Holly’s waist and kissed her firmly. She felt herself blush and attempted to hide it with her hand. “Isn’t she the most amazing person you’ve ever seen?”

“Tak, stop!” She said, smiling.

Scott came back and handed him a water bottle.

“Thanks, buddy!” Takeda beamed.

“Wake, is your machine like, stronger than the others, or is this normal?” Holly said, failing to keep Takeda from continually touching her.

“It should be about the same. But he’s fresh out of the oven, if you will.”

“Let’s make love!” Takeda jumped up enthusiastically, tugging at her arm.

“Good lord, Tak, there are people here!”

“I know! But in private, silly.” He looked from side to side. “It’ll be our secret.”

“Wake, did you damage his brain?”

“If he were saying those things to me, I’d be worried that I did. This seems pretty normal.”

She shoved Takeda gently back down to a seated position on the couch. “Cool your jets, Romeo.”

“Romeo! My girl knows Shakespeare. How about that!”

She looked at Wake. “And you don’t have a sedative or anything?”

Wake smiled and shrugged. Takeda walked out on the dance floor and attempted moves that matched the noises he was making with his mouth.

“Hey, Tak. Tak!” Holly tried to get his attention.

“Yes, love of my life?” He yelled back in the middle of an arm-swinging robot impression.

Holly put her face in her hands and said, “Did you see her?”

“Did I see who, gorgeous?”

She looked at Wake and blinked. He pursed his lips and shrugged again.

“Chimera, dum dum. Did you see her?”

“Oh yeah, that. Yes, I saw her. She said we have to go North to help free all.” He said this while fumbling with the dance floor lighting controls.

Holly looked at Wake. “What the hell does that mean?”

Wake thought for a moment. “Sounds like a mission of some sort.”

Takeda got the disco ball spinning, and Night Fever began to play. He grabbed Holly by the arm and pulled her to the dance floor. “Come on, H. Let’s tear it up!”

She acquiesced, and he guided her around the lighted floor. “Tak, North where?”

He dipped her and said, “Don’t worry. She said you’d know.” Then he kissed her, and as he pulled her back up, her hat fell off.

“I’d know? Me? Why would I know? Why not just tell you? I hate mysteries that are so damn easy to solve with a simple explanation!” She said while picking up her hat.

Wake and Sheila stared at her. Takeda was smiling.

“What’re all you idiots staring at?” She put the hat back on and pulled her braid through the back.

“Maybe that’s it, H,” Takeda said, pointing to her hat. It was the same one she’d been wearing since yesterday, with ‘Mount Washington 6288’ printed on it.

“What, this? Don’t you think that’s a coincidence? Come the fuck on.”

Takeda was still grinning. “Nope, I think that’s it, love! We go North and save all. I don’t know who all is though… but hey, road trip! I’m going to make cookies!” He ran off into the kitchen.

Holly flopped down on the couch. “How is this even weirder than a tree man? Wake, riddle me this. He pushed the panic button in there, but now he’s floating on a happy cloud. What’s that all about?”

“Well, The Event will typically dominate a person - with some exceptions. There could have been something overwhelming that made him press the trigger,” Wake said.

“Wake? Do you have any butter? Like, good butter?” Takeda yelled from the kitchen.

“Scott, would you mind helping our guest?” Wake said with a smile. Scott nodded and headed for the kitchen again.

“What now? This little girl tells us to go North, and we’re going to do it? Pretty much as light on details as a plan could be.” Holly took out a cigarette tapped it on her leg, turned it over, and repeated.

“Holly, there are forces at work here, things bigger than us. I think you’re being led down a path. The same path that led you to me. It continues from here, and I believe you’ll receive guidance as you go.”

“That’s a lot of speculation. Remember that I was almost murdered a day ago, and a friend of mine actually was. It’s drained my desire to trust things, even though you all seem to have turned out not to suck.” She gave a wry smile.

Wake rubbed his chin, got up, and started to pace. “I have an idea. Why don’t you take Sheila and Scott on your road trip? You can use the car, which should save you some hassle, and you’ll have extra brains and brawn should you need it.”

As if on cue, Scott tripped coming out of the kitchen and tried to break his fall on a rolling chair. He landed on the floor, scrambled to get up, and said, “Ta-da!”

“Between him and Takeda, it’s starting to sound more like a babysitting assignment.” She let her head flop back on the couch.

Scott looked at Wake. “What’s going on?”

Sheila piped up from across the room where he sat like a muscular Buddha. “We’re going on a road trip, buddy. Pack your toothbrush and jammies.”

“Uh, we’re both supposed to work today, man. Did you forget?” Scott dropped into the rolling chair and propelled himself across the floor towards Sheila.

“I can take time off. I’ll call in. I never call in. And you? They can live a day without your fake protesting.” Sheila caught Scott’s chair and launched him like a rocket across the room. He would have slammed into the computer systems if Wake hadn’t caught him as he flew past.

“Easy, Sheila. Almost damaged some important stuff here. And you could’ve hurt Scott.” Wake smiled.

“Sorry,” Sheila shrugged.

The sound of a mixer turning on came from the kitchen.

“He’s really making cookies in there? I’m in a nut house.” Holly lit the cigarette she’d been tapping.

Wake clapped his hands and headed for the computers. “I’ll need to get you both some fake identification cards for the trip. You’ll hit the border crossing into New Hampshire. I don’t want the government or anyone else to know where you are.” He started tapping out commands. “Oh, and I’ve got to get him a cell phone as well, maybe after the cookies.”

Holly felt her front pocket vibrating. It was a text from her mother.

Hi sweet baby, it’s Mom.

I love you. Please don’t worry.

There’s a man here. He’s taking the phone now.

“What the fuck!” Holly tried dialing the phone to call her mother. Each of the three calls rang once and went to voicemail. “Fuck! Mom, what’s going on!”

“What’s wrong?” Wake said with a worried look. Holly put up her hand as she stood and opened the text messenger. She stared fixedly as the screen flashed its next communication.

THIS IS A ONE-TIME DIRECTIVE HOLLY

AND I’M USING ALL CAPS SO YOU KNOW IT’S SERIOUS.

FUN RIGHT?

YOU AND TAKEDA GET TO YOUR MOTHER’S HOUSE NOW

FUCK AROUND IN ANY WAY AT ALL AND…

BAD THINGS HOLLY.

VERY BAD THINGS.

Three dots cycled on the screen, and she waited for the next message.

It came through like a gut punch.

It was a photo of her mother with her hands folded in her lap and an expression of suppressed fear. A black-gloved hand was on her shoulder, and part of a black leather jacket was in the frame.

Holly typed, a pained expression blooming on her face.

My mother has a dictionary on her bookshelf.

Look up the word sorry.

There will be a new definition of that if you hurt her.

We’re coming.

She took a long drag from the cigarette dangling from her lips and put it out on the sole of her boot. Then she put the phone back in her pocket.

“Holly?” Wake said, his thick eyebrows furrowed.

“Wake, you’re a fan of old things. You’ve seen the movie Superman with Christopher Reeve?”

“Uh, yes, I sure have.”

“The scene where Superman finds Lois Lane dead, and he lets out a blood-curdling scream…?”

“I know it,” he said with trepidation.

“You might want to cover your ears.”

She screamed a heart-rending wail of anguish so loud and long that it wouldn’t have been shocking if she exploded when it was over. The three men in the room were pinned in place and staring at her wide-eyed. Takeda came running in wearing a terrified expression and a ‘kiss the cook’ apron.

Holly took a swig from the water bottle and wiped her mouth. “There, that’s done. Now let’s go and get my Mom.”

Next week in Chapter 34, Part 1, “Sometimes you’re the windshield,” The crew takes a road trip to save Diane.