Chapter 5
by Dan Kirk
"This place is like totally boring." Jenny moaned petulantly, crossing her arms and staring out from the back patio at the adjacent alfalfa field. Her blond hair flowed back in one ponytail today, halfway down her back and her entire body was rigid. "What the heck am I supposed to do all day? Stare at that stupid watering thingie?"
"Well, we're going to town tomorrow with Mom." I pointed out to her and she gave me another dirty look. She was still wearing her Sunday dress. She'd arrived last night, late, with Mom. As I'd privately guessed, Mom couldn't pass up the opportunity to play a few slots on the way, and had spent three hours in Reno. The fact that she had arrived with an extra twenty-five hundred dollars in her purse didn't hurt. She was smart with that money too. One of the first things she'd done was to mail off a two thousand dollar payment on her RX-7. That pretty much paid it off, making her even happier. Jenny on the other hand, had done little more than complain when she realized that we barely got two television stations, much less cable.
"Do they have a movie theater?" Jenny demanded.
"No." I admitted with a grin.
"What DO they have there?" Jenny's voice was exasperated now.
"Let's see, the roller skating rink closed down last year, so that's out." I mentioned with an even wider grin. "There's three restaurants, six bars, a whore house, the elementary school, the high school, a catholic church, but they don't have a priest there except one who comes in from Ely twice a month, and of course the County Sheriff's office and jail. Oh, and they have a small grocery store, and a convenience market on the other side of town, a clothing shop, and a Dairy Freeze."
"This place sucks." Jenny moaned, and this time stomped her foot on the wood deck. Her reaction had me down and out laughing, laughing so hard my side hurt. She only got more upset at my laughing. "This isn't funny, Davey! We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do!"
"Sorry, but you're taking it way too hard." I said after getting control a little more. Dad and I had sat out on the lawn Friday night until near midnight, just thinking about things in silence. Before going to bed, he'd given me a hug. When I woke up Saturday morning, a half-hour before dawn, he'd still been asleep. I'd been more interested in starting up an exercise routine, so I'd gone to the basement and performed stretching exercises before going into push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, eight-count body builders, and then left the house for a run. Diamond Valley was actually at four thousand, one hundred and twelve feet while the town of Eureka was at four thousand, five hundred and six feet. Modesto was at twelve feet above sea level. The difference in altitude really did make a difference in my ability to run, and I knew it would make a bigger difference once I got use to it and returned to sea level. I had made it a mile out before realizing I'd be stretching it to jog all the way back, so I turned back and my first run was a paltry two miles.
After I'd gotten back, I'd started coffee and had taken my shower before Dad woke up. He had seemed kind of surprised that I was already up and had gone for a run, but drank his coffee and made himself a bowl of cereal while I did the same. After breakfast, we'd actually gone together to visit about half of the church families. It had been on one of those visits when Dad had an idea for Jenny and today she was going to get to find out about that idea.
"Well, seriously, what is there to do in this place?" Jenny demanded with an acerbic quality that was admirable for a ten-year old.
"Don't you like horses?" I asked her and saw her eyes light up. "Yeah, that's right, I seem to remember a trip to Columbia State Park about a year ago where you got to ride that pony and didn't want to get down. You do like horses don't you?"
"Yes, you know I do." Jenny's voice was slightly scornful, and it was obvious she was growing very impatient.
"Well, Mrs. Jerkins told Mom that she rides her horses several days a week and that you'd be more than welcome to go down and join her." I said with a smile. Jenny just about jumped with glee.
"Really?" Jenny demanded of me and I nodded while she hugged me enthusiastically. The next thing I knew she was inside the house looking for Mom to bug her about when they would go down to Mrs. Jerkins.
"I see you told her about Mrs. Jerkins's offer." Dad said with a laugh as he came out onto the patio. He was still dressed in his Sunday suit, as was I, since the after-church Welcome Pot-Luck had just ended. There were still about a dozen ladies over at the church cleaning up, but things had gone rather well the entire day.
"Yeah, that really is a good idea about her and the horses." I said with a large smile.
"I remembered her on that pony that time." Dad said with a shrug. "I noticed you were talking to Major Kowalski outside during the pot-luck."
"Um, yeah, I need to talk to you about that." I said with a slightly embarrassed shrug of my shoulders. "I'm not going to be here tomorrow. The Major will be coming here at 0600 to pick me up and take me to the airport. I'll be back by 1700 hours, though."
"Where do you think you're going?" Dad's voice had that edge to it again and his face was slightly scrunched up.
"The Air Force is having a small plane come in and it will fly me to Fallon Naval Air Station where I'll be meeting with some people from the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. If you try to tell anyone that, you'll end up in jail for endangering National Security." I said in a burst of anger and instantly regretted my choice of words. Dad's face had a look of total shock on it, and I was tempted to take the words back. Instead though, I offered an olive branch of another sort. "If I had a choice about going, I'd be asking you if I could. I don't have a choice though."
"What do they need you for?" Dad asked in a voice that was actually somewhat soft. I didn't answer him, though. Instead I crossed my arms and gave him a look that said 'you know better'. He eventually sighed and nodded. "Okay, but what do I tell your Mom and anyone who asks?"
"Tell them I'm with Major Kowalski who is showing me some Air Force stuff." I answered quickly and easily. "Tell them I'm interested in being in the military when I grow up and that the Major would prefer I go Air Force. All of that is true, so you won't even be lying, really."
"I don't like this at all, son." Dad grumbled uneasily. "Why didn't Major Kowalski tell me that you would be leaving?"
"Because you're my responsibility while I'm his." I answered Dad honestly. "The Air Force won't barge in on our family life unless it has to, and so it falls on me to keep you informed of what you should and are permitted to know."
"Well, we have about two hours until evening services if you want to change." Dad said, changing the topic before he headed back inside the house. I just stayed on the patio outside, sitting on one of the benches built into the edge of the patio, and stared out at Diamond Peak. It was so tall and imposing that it reminded me of a father's presence in his kid's life. I was so lost in thought that I didn't even hear the door behind me open.
"Hi." A strange voice said from behind me and I turned around quickly, barely stopping myself from jumping into the air in surprise. The speaker looked surprise at my quick response and quickly started to blush. I recognized him, vaguely, from my first life. He stood about my height, but where I had a more stocky build, he was very skinny and had skin much paler than mine. His face was narrow and slightly pointed, and his eyes were brown, like his very curly hair.
"Hi." I said back quickly, noticing my voice starting to crack a little.
"Um, I'm Derek Mulkey." The boy said and I nodded briefly at the confirmation of the memory. We'd been best friends when I lived here the first time around, right up until Mom moved Jenny and I back to California. I'd never gotten to say goodbye to him then.
"Uh, I'm Davey Jones." I replied, sticking my hand out to shake his. He brought his up and shook it fairly firmly.
"Sorry, didn't mean to surprise ya." Derek said with a half-smile. "My Dad came by to visit yours and yours said you were out here. I hear you're going to be in the seventh grade like me."
"Yep." I confirmed for him. "Isn't your Dad the School Superintendent?"
"Yeah, we just moved here last month, too." Derek said and I was surprised before remembering that he'd only moved here a few years before we'd met in the freshman year.
"You live in town, then." I stated and he nodded again.
"Yep, and it's nowhere near as cool as being out here." Derek stated and another memory hit me. In the year and a half we'd been friends, he'd never come out here. I'd always spent the night at his house in town.
"So where are you guys from?" I asked him quietly.
"I was born in Kansas." Derek answered while moving fully onto the deck and staring out at the mountain I'd been looking at. "I don't really remember it though because we've moved around a lot for Dad's job. Before here we lived in Las Vegas, but he didn't like it because it was too big. Where are you from?"
"Modesto, California is where I was born and where I've spent most of my life." I answered his question. It was almost funny, but I'd never known where he was from, or had long since forgotten it in the intervening two lifetimes. "We've lived in Florida though, and a few other towns in California."
"How big is Modesto?" Derek asked as he moved to stand next to me at the far edge of the porch.
"It's almost at two hundred thousand people right now." I answered. "It's about ninety miles east of San Francisco and about the same distance south of Sacramento."
"Cool, I've always wanted to see San Francisco." Derek said with a wide smile that showed his braces. That sight reminded me that I really should talk to Dad about a trip to Elko so I could get braces. Dyadya had made me get braces when I moved in with them and I'd been glad for them later in life.
"San Francisco is a cool place." I said aloud. It really was. I'd lived there with Brian for over a dozen years after I'd gone from active duty to the Navy Reserve. "It's really like no other city in the world, although London is very similar."
"You've been to London, too?" Derek asked in surprise and I realized I'd made another mistake.
"No, I've just talked to people who knew both cities and that's what they told me." I temporized and Derek nodded in acceptance of that.
"So, do you play any sports?" Derek asked and I remembered that he'd always been one for a lot of questions. During our high school year in my first life, we'd competed for the top spot as far as grades in every class.
"Mostly football and baseball." I answered by naming the two sports I'd liked best from my second life with Brian and the others.
"I hate to tell you, but we don't have a football team here." Derek said with a frown.
"I've already heard, and that sucks big time." I told him and he smiled a little.
"We do have baseball, but the season's already over because all the farm kids have to help out on their family farms." Derek continued, frowning a little. "We do have basketball once school starts, and track in the spring."
"You play basketball?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer already. Derek was damn good at that sport.
"It's my favorite, after baseball." Derek said with a wide grin. "Do you play at all?"
"I suck at it." I answered with a wry grin of my own. "I still try though."
"That's cool, at least you try." Derek said with a shrug. "If you come into town sometime we should hook up and go play some ball. Dad has the principal open up the gym for a few hours a day during the summer so those of us stuck in town can have something to do. You're going to like the school. It's brand new. They just finished building it a year ago. It's seventh through twelfth grades, and every classroom even has a computer in it! There's a typing lab that has real electronic typewriters and computers for every student, but we're not allowed in there until our Sophomore year."
"Sounds pretty cool." I admitted. In California you rarely got to go to a school that was less than fifteen years old, so it was nice to be in a new facility. "I'll definitely have to hook up with you when we go to town."
"That'd be cool." Derek said. "The only person our age that lives in town is Tammy. She's the PE teacher's kid and it's not safe to hang around her without a 'chaperone' or her Dad goes nuts."
"That would be Mr. Crutchley." I said with a wide grin, remembering the man and his daughter. He was a bit over-protective, and had his old M-16 from Vietnam. Legend has it the army was too afraid of him to take it away. The man was a bearish sort, and extremely overprotective of his daughter. I knew his wife wasn't around, but whether she had died or divorced him, I did not know.
"You've already heard about him, eh?" Derek asked and I had to chuckle.
"Yep." I was smiling as I answered. "I've even heard about his gun and was told to keep my distance from Tammy unless there was an adult chaperone he trusted around."
"That's what my Dad told me too." Derek's smile matched mine and we smiled at each other in silence for a moment. "She's pretty cool, though, once she's not around her Dad. It's going to be kind of hard for her this year because he teaches at the school and we'll be going there instead of the elementary school."
"So, what are you guys doing out here?" I asked him, really curious about why the school superintendent would drive all the way out here.
"Oh, Dad got a call yesterday that the old secretary for the elementary school was moving to Elko next month and wouldn't be able to work there next school year." Derek answered my question in an off-hand manner. "He heard that your Dad mentioned to someone in town that his wife would probably be interested in some type of work in the future so he wanted to come out here and meet with them about maybe having her work at the school. We came out today because he wasn't sure if they'd both be here tomorrow, and because I bugged the crap out of him to come out here once I heard you were my age."
"That's cool, although Jenny's going to have a fit about Mom being at her school." I stated with a wide grin.
"Try having your Dad be the Superintendent." Derek countered and I laughed briefly.
"Yeah, it's a lot like being the Preacher's Kid." I agreed with him. "Everyone in town watches you for the least little mistake, and then when you make that mistake, everyone points it out and makes comments about your father as well as you."
"Yeah, I guess we've got a lot in common there." Derek agreed with a wide smile. That seemed to seal us as being friends, as well as kindred spirits in this town. After that we chatted about sports teams until his Dad came out to say that they were leaving. I shook his father's hand briefly and then walked them out to their car before going back into the house. Dad had a broad smile on his face and proudly told me that Mom would be working for the school district starting in August (which was less than a week away now).
Church that evening was relatively quiet, but still packed with people. Most of the nearby ranchers and farmers, as well as a fair amount of people from town, were turning out to hear the new preacher. I got to meet a fair amount of kids who would be going to school with me, while Jenny made friends with several girls her age from town and nearby farms. There were actually more people at the evening service than the morning service, mostly because local farmers were busy in the morning with their fields. It was an interesting aspect of life out here that was vastly different from larger towns where morning services were usually the most crowded.
Monday morning I'd come back from my run to find Mom happily cooking some breakfast while Jenny was excitedly bouncing around the house asking when they'd be going to the Jerkins' for horse riding. Major Kowalski arrived just as we finished breakfast, and I left after hugging each of them goodbye.
The airport was located in Diamond Valley, near Third Street, so it wasn't that long of a drive there. It was three miles to the highway, another four miles down the highway, and a mile along Third Street to the airport tarmac. There was no control tower, no administrative buildings, just the runway and an apron with three hangars. Two of the hangars were occupied by bi-planes used in spraying the fields, while the third held the local doctor's twin-engine Cessna. Construction was beginning on two more, larger hangars, and a tank farm, all to be used by the Air Force. We pulled up on the tarmac next to a twin-engine Beechcraft with Air Force markings and I said farewell to Major Kowalski.
In a car, breaking the speed limit, it took about almost three hours to reach Fallon, Nevada. In the twin-engine plane it took a mere forty minutes, and we were landing at the Naval Air Station just outside Fallon. A Navy sedan was waiting for me, and took twenty minutes to drive to a remote part of the base featuring a set of three buildings, all looking like relics of World War II.
A man was waiting outside one of the buildings, where the car stopped. I'd never seen him before and was kind of curious as to why he was there instead of Mike Andrews, the CIA specialist I'd been working with for the past couple of months. This new man was middle-aged and wore a three-piece suit much better suited to Washington than the high desert of Nevada. As soon as I got out of the car, it drove off, leaving me here alone and I was suddenly very nervous.
"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, young man." The stranger said as I took a few steps towards him. He didn't hold out a hand for me to shake. Instead he reached into his suit and pulled out an identification wallet and thrust it out towards me. "I am Dr. Richard Grimes, your new case handler from the Central Intelligence Agency."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Grimes." I said cautiously after examining his identification. "Where's Mr. Andrews?"
"He's been reassigned." Dr. Grimes said curtly. "You will follow me inside."
The building he led me into had a reception area where a Navy sailor sat behind a desk. Dr. Grimes signed a form and motioned for me to show the sailor my identification. I'd been issued government identification for these situations, and it was coded to show that I had a high-level government classification. When the sailor entered some data in the log and then kept the identification, I gave him a sharp look before Dr. Grimes cleared his throat and grabbed my attention.
"You won't need that anymore, young man." Dr. Grimes spoke in a voice he obviously intended to show he would brook no argument. "You will receive a new one before you leave."
"I see." I said very warily.
"Good, now let's head inside and get down to business." Grimes said haughtily. He was obviously satisfied that I'd caused no trouble and led the way through a side door. The room we entered was slightly larger and held a single swamp fan that was on low, a bulky video camera, and a single table with two chairs placed across from each other. Grimes sat in one of the chairs and pulled a briefcase from under the table while I sat in the other chair. Despite the fan, and the early hour, the room was already growing warm.
"Here is a letter from the President authorizing the Vice-President to take over the day-to-day handling of your case." Mr. Grimes said as he pulled out a folder with a Top Secret seal on the top. I opened it and skimmed through the letter he referenced. It was most likely genuine from what I could tell. "Also, here is a letter from the Vice-President directing that you be required to answer more extensive questions on your knowledge of future events. We are unsatisfied with the breadth of material you have provided so far."
"Ah, now I see where this is going, Dr. Grimes." I said coolly as I perused the second folder. The memo clearly delineated they wanted answers on economic, social, and political items from the future as well as military and international information. I'd refused such information in the past because of the Temporal Act as well as certain knowledge that too much information on the future could be more dangerous than no information. "You are quite aware of the reasons why I have refused to answer such inquiries. Those reasons have not changed."
"Just who do you think you are trying to fool, David?" Grimes practically sneered at me. I took another good look at him, noticing his graying temples and thinning dark hair on the top of his head. He wasn't overweight, but neither did he have the build of someone who stayed in shape. I was quite certain he was an office-type, probably an upper-management person as well. The condescension in his tone also suggested he thought of me more as atwelve-year-old than an adult.
"No one, Richard." I countered, and figured I'd guessed right about his attitude towards me when he physically bristled at hearing his first name from my lips.
"You will address me as Dr. Grimes, young man." He practically snarled and I smiled at him sarcastically.
"Then please address me as Mr. Jones." I countered.
"I'll address you how I wish!" Dr. Grimes snarled in response, far more confrontational than anyone I'd dealt with in either this time or the last. "You do not understand the precarious nature of your position, Mr. Jones. Unlike the President, the Vice-President is much more willing to take a firm hand with you. You are being paid a healthy sum to provide the government with information that you should be providing out of a patriotic duty."
"Do you work for the government without pay, Dr. Grimes?" I countered his argument coolly and he thumped the table with a fist.
"That is none of your business, young man." His voice was just barely below the level of a shout and I sat back in my chair to observe him with furrowed eyebrows.
"In my contract with the government it is specified what type of information and analysis I am expected to provide." I pointed out in an even voice. "That contract was signed by the President and the Secretary of Defense as well as the Head of the CIA, your boss. I have faithfully complied with that contract and earned every penny I am receiving."
"Well, we're renegotiating that contract right now." Dr. Grimes stated with a very sarcastic tone.
"I'll always be happy to discuss such matters with the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Head of the CIA." I observed casually while folding my arms over my chest as a silent signal that I intended to remain firm on that point.
"You will do nothing of the kind." Dr. Grimes sneered. "Either answer my questions or you will find yourself facing criminal charges."
"Really?" I snorted with disgust. "What could you possibly charge me with that a court of law wouldn't laugh at?"
"Treason, and there will be no court." Dr. Grimes sneered and I felt a shiver of worry run down my spine. This was something I'd always been slightly afraid of happening, and it had yet to occur. "If you do not answer the questions I have for you, you will be put in a holding cell. I'll give you a day to think it over at that point."
"There's no need for a day to think it over, my answer will remain the same." I told him firmly. "Further, as such treatment would be a blatant abrogation of my contract as well as several federal, state, and local laws, I will be obliged to remain silent on all information I possess until such treatment ceases and those responsible for it are dealt with appropriately by the legal system."
"You think you're the big man, don't you, boy?" Dr. Grimes sneered as he leaned forward towards me. His hands were folded on the table in front of him, and his eyes held a dangerous gleam. "I have news for you young man, you will do what I tell you to do or you will see exactly how traitors are treated."
"This meeting is over, Dr. Grimes." I said while rising to my feet. He looked slightly surprised at my reaction. There was a trace of fear in me, but it was a healthy fear, the type that got the adrenaline flowing and helped me think faster. "I require an immediate contact with your superior in the Agency."
"Sit back down!" Grimes ordered and I shook my head in answer. "I said sit down or I will have the MP's come in here and force you to sit."
"If you were as smart as your credentials suggested, you'd know they'd be Shore Patrol, not Military Police because this is a Navy base." I sneered at him. "Unlike you, I have many years of experience with the United States Navy and am aware of such things. Further, Dr. Grimes, it is you who are endangering the national security of this country, as well as violating the laws we are both sworn to uphold and protect. You will stand down at once, or you will face the consequences. I may look like some twelve-year-old child to you, sir, but I am not. I am a man with over a dozen years of experience as a United States Naval Officer, the commanding officer of a surface combatant, the officer who has given the order to launch a nuclear weapon at this country's enemies, and the man who led a strike team of Special Forces in a daring raid deep into enemy territory. You sir, are a useless bureaucrat with a severely over-inflated sense of his self-worth. Stand down now, or you will pay the consequences."
"Guards!" Dr. Grimes shouted at the top of his lungs and two sailors wearing SP armbands came into the room. "Arrest this boy immediately."
"One moment, Petty Officer." I said quickly, raising my hand with the palm outstretched towards them. They both moved forward one step, but stopped in surprise at my reaction. Their hands looked ready to grab someone who was about to run. "Call Petty Officer Renault in here from the front desk."
"Arrest him immediately!" Dr. Grimes bellowed and both sailors looked from him to me and took another step forward.
"Gentlemen, I just wish to make you aware of one point before you take an action which may have detrimental effects on your careers." I said quickly, and firmly without raising my voice. Both sailors stopped quickly and looked at each other with surprise at my approach. I continued speaking before they could say decide anything. "Call Petty Officer Renault. He took my government identification when we came inside. You're both men with years in the service and I'd hate to see you ruin your chance of future advancement by acting rashly."
"Shut UP!" Grimes bellowed, slamming his fist on the table and standing to face both of the men. "Arrest him now or I will have you in the cell with him!"
"I'm sorry, kid, but you need to come with us." The senior Petty Officer said to me cautiously. "We'll speak to Renault once you're in the cell."
"Very well." I said with a sigh and moved across the room towards them. They didn't move to handcuff me, but instead formed up on either side to lead me out. Grimes wasn't satisfied, though.
"Handcuff him!" Grimes ordered and the two sailors looked at each other before the senior one nodded. The one on my right pulled out a pair of handcuffs and looked at me almost apologetically before handcuffing my hands behind my back. Inside I was seething at being led out in handcuffs and was promising retribution on Mr. Grimes that he would not be able to imagine until it happened to him. The two sailors led me out of the building and into one of the other two nearby. It obviously wasn't the base brig, but had a room that had been hastily converted into a holding cell.
They left me in that room after taking off the handcuffs and shut the door quietly. I could hear the door bolt being locked and sat on the room's sole piece of furniture (an old field cot) to think. I doubted very seriously the President had ever intended such treatment for me, and when he found out there'd be hell to pay. The trick was going to be making sure he found sooner rather than later. My Dad might accept me being gone for a few days, or even a week without hearing from me directly, but more than that and he would demand to speak to me.
The room was stifling hot a few hours later and I had stripped off the western-style shirt I was wearing in order to remain somewhat cool. After lunchtime had passed with no food, I began to do pushups and sit-ups to burn off the rage that was growing inside of me. He obviously intended to try to starve me a bit in order to soften me up. If I worked out enough, though, I'd get dehydrated, and that would force him to either give me water or see me collapse. If he waited too long, I'd need medical attention and that would put me in a better situation. With that reasoning, I continued working out for several more hours until I was ready to drop in exhaustion. My body practically quivered with the reaction to the heavy workout and the lack of fluids. My mouth was full of cotton, and it was my body failing to sweat anymore that told me I was on the verge of heat exhaustion. Not wanting to push it so far that I'd cause permanent damage to myself, I stopped at that point and laid down on the cot to rest. It was a little bit later that I heard the door opening and the sounds of someone coming inside.
"Get up." Dr. Grimes's voice was harsh, and I ignored it. I kept my eyes shut as well and tried to get focus on getting my breathing under control. "I said get up, boy."
"Fuck off." I said firmly and smiled to myself at the snarl of rage from the man.
"Get up now or I'll have the guards drag you out of here." Dr. Grimes threatened and my smile grew larger.
"Call your dogs." I taunted him and almost chuckled aloud when he cursed under his breath before calling out for the guards.
"Get him dressed and take him to the central building." Dr. Grimes ordered and I kept my eyes shut.
"Get up, kid." The voice was different, and did not belong to the sailor who had brought me here. I opened my eyes to see a man wearing slacks, a white shirt, a gun belt, and combat boots. He wasn't a sailor, and I knew that Grimes had brought in some Agency men to watch me instead of sailors who could be manipulated. That was probably why it had taken them so long to check on me. The man who had spoken, and the one behind him, had the look of tough men who were more than use to violence and for a moment I wasn't sure what the best course of action was. I sure as hell didn't want to provoke enough rage that they'd lose control and do permanent harm to me, but I also did not want to make things easy for them.
I finally settled on ignoring them instead of taunting them, and looked away from them, towards the wall on the other side of the cot. The next thing I knew, one of them was grabbing me and pulling me to my feet. Tired as I was, I wasn't weak enough to take that without a response, and lashed out with a well-placed kick to the first guard while punching the other. Both men were hit in their groin, and went down. I backed up against the wall, just out of immediate arms reach and wasn't surprised at how quickly they recovered. They were professionals.
"Do not lay hands on me like that again." I ordered in as firm a voice as I could manage around the cotton-mouth.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The second man snarled and lunged towards me. I twisted to the side and used the force of his own motion to slam him headfirst into the wall while moving two steps away and getting into a defensive crouch. The first man hadn't moved and was eyeing me appraisingly.
"I'll defend myself if I feel I'm being attacked, gentlemen." I stated firmly.
"Get the commie bastard!" The second man shouted at the first from where he was getting to his feet.
"Back off, Jim." The first man said calmly while looking at me. "Come with us, kid. We don't want to use force, but we will if you make us."
"I am being held here illegally, gentlemen." I said firmly, keeping my gaze on the first man but still making sure I could see what the second was doing.
"You're a commie spy!" The second man nearly shouted and I ignored him.
"No, I'm not." I countered calmly.
"Stand still so we can handcuff you." The first man ordered and I nodded after a moment of thought. There was little chance I could overpower both of them with my current body, and I knew we were located on a remote part of the base, making it even more unlikely I could escape. I stayed still while the first man handcuffed me and then gently took my arm while the second man groused to himself about beating the crap out of me. A look from the first man silenced him, though, and they led me out of the building and back to the central building. I was led into the same room, and noticed the Navy petty officer was no longer at the desk out front. The first guard handcuffed me to a chair while the second spoke angrily with Dr. Grimes about the 'incident' in the other building. Both men left and Grimes sat down, shaking his head as he looked at me.
"You're just making this worse for yourself, Davey." Grimes practically clucked. "They have been told you are part of a Soviet family infiltrated into the U.S. as part of a sleeper program. Now we'll have to add the charge of assault against government agents to the charges you are facing."
"I'll counter with charges of abuse while being held illegally." I stated with a shrug.
"Are you thirsty?" Grimes asked. "After working out all day you must be. How about food?"
"Ah, so you're going to finally remember that starving a prisoner is a crime?" I said with an arch of my eyebrow.
"If you're hungry or thirsty, we can give you some food if you cooperate." Grimes stated
"Get real." I told him flatly. "I'll cooperate once I've had a phone call."
"You have no right to a phone call." Grimes countered haughtily and I stared at him for several moments. He broke the staring contest first by reaching into his briefcase and pulling out some papers. "Now, why don't we start with some basic questions? Who will be the Democratic candidate for President in the 1984 election?"
I met his question with silence, and that only seemed to make him madder.
"Davey, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but it is in your best interests now to comply with our requirements." Dr. Grimes stated. "Obviously you won't be allowed to return home now, but you can be held comfortably or uncomfortably. Show us that you can be trusted and when we leave this base you'll be given much more comfortable accommodations."
"Sir, you are holding me illegally." I stated firmly. "You will release me immediately and submit a written apology along with your resignation, and I will refrain from pressing full charges against you and the men assisting you as well as the men who ordered your actions. Failure to do so will result in my use of whatever means I believe necessary to escape this illegal imprisonment. That is all I have to say to you or any other person until this illegal imprisonment is ended."
"Listen, kid, there is no escape for you." Grimes stated. "Major Kowalski has already been sent to your father's house and has told him that you will be gone for the next few weeks on pressing government business. If your family tries to make waves, they'll be arrested and put in prison. It'll be months before anyone else in your family notices and by then we'll be able to keep them quiet. You're not going to get out of this, so you might as well cooperate."
"We'll see about that." I said with a wry grin.
Grimes did not look happy at my response.
