A SECOND BYLINE

 

By Sharon Ferguson

 

THE DIRECT CONTINUATION OF THE TERRY/DEE STORYLINE FROM THE END OF "HOPE...RISING"

 

FOR MAXIMUS/CAROLINE/BUD/SID SEE "A LOVE FOR A LOVE"

FOR CORT/RACHEL SEE "THE FAR SIDE OF EXILE"

 

PART ONE:

They’d not had time to bring out their camping equipment, had not much more than a couple

of sleeping bags and a lantern to use on the hilltop overlooking the valley.  After the whir of the helicopter taking Cort and Rachel and Hope away had faded and they stood watching its dark shadow dissipate into the darker night, Terry and Deidre laid out their bags in the spot where their tent would often go and slept fitfully on the ground.  Or rather, they dozed by the minute, and reassured each other through the small hours when phantasms of fear and doubt took them.  They tensed at sudden sounds, the specter of search hounds looming in their thoughts.  They shared tears through comforting kisses, and tried to plot out what to anticipate, knowing that not a one of them that had participated in the destruction of NanoCorp would have an easy day of it come sunlight.

“We keep our story simple,” Terry said.  “Cort was visiting at our house.  Maximus as well. 

Bud has the remarkable alibi of never being on a schedule so he could say he was anywhere,

and there’d be people to verify it.  John is the most vulnerable, but he will have a role to play anyway.  It's me that people are going to want to pin down.”

“What if someone saw you?  What if they guessed?”  Deidre was having a hard time getting beyond that issue and rightly so.  Everything hinged on whether or not people believed they were as far removed from it as possible. 

“We were camping.  Had usual security in place.  NanoCorp had vulnerable spots that espionage found and exploited.  I have a whole plethora of experience to call upon as possible sources of threat.  Security was breached and we are facing a possible terrorist situation.  The only thing left now is the investigation.”

“Do you think…?” Deidre choked, unable to finish verbalizing what was foremost on their minds.

“Forensics will probably find something,” Terry whispered, thinking of Caroline as well.  Until they returned to the complex, they had no way of know if there were any other victims of the explosion, victims who had not heeded the alarms to clear the building.  He fingered the small cell phone at his side, wondering when Bud was going to call him.  He glanced at his watch.  Four a.m. 

“I don’t think I can bear it,” Deidre softly moaned. 

As if on cue, the cell phone rang.  Terry let it ring three times before toggling its answer key.

“Terry!  Turn on your television.”  Damn, John, didn’t know you could be so dramatic.

“Not where I can do that, mate.  What’s the problem?”  I hate role playing.

 “Shit!  Terry, someone’s blown up NanoCorp and the whole place is on fire.  You need to get your ass down here, from wherever you are, and pronto!” 

“You said what?”

“NanoCorp. Is. On. Fire.  Gone to hell!  Look, just drag your Aussie ass out of bed and get here as fast as you can.  We need to find out who’s been hurt.”  Click.

“Well, that was succinct,” Deidre intoned as Terry shut off the phone.  John’s voice had carried through loud and clear.

“You heard that, eh?  Well, enough of our beauty sleep, luv.  The second act has begun.”

They rolled up their bags and climbed into Terry’s car, leaving Deidre’s parked underneath the spreading oak tree that topped the ridge.  Deidre wondered at how Terry’s demeanor took on

its implacable wall, as if nothing thrown at him would gain purchase, whereas she felt as if she would crumble at the first hello of a police officer.  The traffic grew thicker the closer they got

to the complex, until there were only lanes made for the various emergency vehicles swerving in from all directions.  They were stopped several times by different officers before they were able to come fully within the campus and pull to a stop in a lot away from the major din.  No sooner had Terry called John to let them know they had arrived, the cell phone rang again.  Bud.

“Where are you?” Terry asked.  Clusters of employees hung near the gym, surrounded by

EMTs and medics.  Deidre was holding his hand tightly.

“Where do you think I am?” Bud replied curtly.  “Where’s Cort?”

“On his way down under.  Is Maximus with you?”

“Yeah.  Was just about to wake him.  Where are you?”

“Hell’s backyard.”

Bud gave a short laugh.

“Any sign of the devil?”

“No.  Did John get a hold of you?”

“Yeah.  We’ll sit tight until needed.  Bye.”

A police officer was walking towards them and Deidre was squeezing, almost tugging his hand, but Terry met the man’s gaze square on.  He was a large man, middle aged, walking with the gait of a man who’d seen many a traumatic scene and carried enough of a wall of his own to live through more.  He and Terry stood half-facing each other, sizing each other up, scrutinizing the chaos around them.  Terry knew better than to believe that the casual air of the officer was anything but casual.

“Lieutenant Mangrove.  You know where we can get in touch with the people responsible for this place?”

“Yes, I can.  Me.  I’m one of the CEOs.  Terrence Thorne.”

“Hell of a disaster.”

Terry released a pent up breath, looking utterly shattered.

“You need any assistance?  Medical help?  Your wife?” Mangrove asked, nodding his head at Deidre.

“No, no, and we’re not married…yet.  Look, do you have the run down of what’s happened?  Because my partner called me from our campout and we’ve been listening to radio announcements on the way…”

“Don’t have a report on that just yet.  We got the call that the main building had exploded.  Other units are trying to find anyone that might have been caught inside.  You mind stepping over to my car?  I have a few questions…”

“Not at all,” Terry acquiesced, trying not to wince at the tightening grip Deidre exerted on his already strained hand. 

They followed Mangrove to the unit car he was assigned and opened up the back door.  “You can sit in the back,” he said and Deidre silently complied.

Of course, sitting and watching everything and listening to the questions peppering the conversation between Terry and Officer Mangrove felt much worse than walking about and witnessing daylight upon the destruction.  Deidre felt alone despite the hustle and noise around them, isolated by the doors and the beep of the police scanner in the dashboard.  She was left with her own thoughts to think, her own fears to grapple.  Any minute now, the whole thing would be figured out, and the mere casual seat she now enjoyed would be her ride to the jail.  Any minute, Mangrove would clap handcuffs around Terry’s wrists, ask her to step out so he could read her Miranda rights, and then clap her own set of handcuffs around her hands...she just knew it…

“Excuse me,” Mangrove said, interrupting Terry, and he strode away to hail another officer leading a group of people toward the medics.  Terry leaned down to start to say something when his cell phone rang again.

“What?”

“Maximus is wanting to come down there now.  Dammit, I can’t stop the man!  He’s got no concept…”

“Did you try explaining…?”

 

“Explain Catholicism to the Pope!  Shit, Terry, aside from locking him in his room, I can’t think of anything to keep him from coming.”

“Fuck me swinging,” Terry swore under his breath.  “You’ve got to keep him there, Bud.  Keep him.  Its not time…”

“YOU try and keep the Roman General from doing what he wants!” Bud snapped back.  “If I don’t drive him, he’ll walk there by himself.  You know that.”

“Then you’ve got to do your damnedest to keep him out of trouble.  Get lost on the way.  Think of errands to run.  We’re up to our eyeballs in police and fire engines, and I’ve got my hands full trying to figure out what in hell we should do.  Call me later.  Let me know how it goes,” Terry sighed.  “I don’t like this Bud, I don’t like that he wants to come back so soon.  You’ve got to impress upon him how dangerous that is.”

“Aw fuck…Terry, he doesn’t care.  You haven’t seen the look in his eyes.  He doesn’t care.”

Terry blew out a breath, getting nervous because Mangrove had finished his business with his colleague and was ambling back toward him.  Why did he think Maximus would sit complacently by?  That was like expecting a kidnapper to simply hand over a hostage at first request.  “I’m not surprised.  Very well.  Watch your back, then.”

“Always do,” Bud replied and hung up.

“Okay,” Mangrove said, looking as oblivious to the hurried goodbye as he was to the flies buzzing about, “that was someone who said that they’ve begun to get things under control, but until HAZMAT and the other safety units have made sure there are no other explosives in the area, you all will have to remain here.”

“Does that mean we’re not to leave the campus either?” Terry asked.

“Not if you don’t want to look suspicious.  Sorry, sir, but until we can find out who’s responsible, everyone who is anyone at NanoCorp is going to be questioned.  We won’t be too long, though.  Main concern is any victims.”

Mangrove instructed them to go inside the gymnasium, where the medics and other units had begun to set up areas of examination, but Terry and Deidre did not move towards them yet.  Mangrove left them to conduct traffic towards the main complex, and more and more people were drifting into the area. 

“I’m starting to suspect that a lot of these people are not employees of NanoCorp” murmured Terry, his sea green eyes narrowed and glancing around.  “There can’t have been that many people in the night shift that were caught by surprise.”

Deidre had been looking around, too.  Several of the ones she watched had pulled out Blackberries and cell phones.  Cameras.

“Oh, God, Terry.  Reporters.  Things are such a mess, no one is keeping an eye on reporters!”

Terry’s lips thinned in anger, but he said nothing. 

Her eyes drifting, Deidre caught sight of a slouching figure standing just beyond a particularly intent gaggle of scribblers, remarkable for the fact that a fedora sat perched haphazardly on his head.  If it had not been for that, she might have glanced past him as someone bent in concentration as well, but the fedora was too unique, too infrequent not to notice, despite its battered appearance. 

Oh great, another Walter Winchell, she thought dispiritedly.  Come to glean the gossip and feed the speculation of a thousand gossipers when there is enough factual…

The fedora looked up, eyes directly fastened on them, jaw slowly chewing gum, and Deidre found her own eyes bugging out in an effort to verify what could only be an imaginary visage…which, in itself, was shocking, considering how much the imaginary had become real in all her born days.

“What is it?” Terry asked, completely unaware of what she was seeing, but fully aware of her body language to sense that something was amiss with her.  He’d been trying to raise John on the phone, to no avail.

Fedora-face turned, eyes still upon them, then chose to walk with a group of people heading for the gymnasium, as if the silent contact were nothing more ordinary than looking at a nice picture.

“Terry…” Deidre breathed, her mouth dry, and her heart pounding harder than it had on their way over, “are you absolutely certain of all those retrieved by Sid?”

“Nolia, luv, if Sid had pulled anymore, he’d have to have done it in secret, because I made damn sure I looked into every use of the warp from the day I was told what really happened.”

“Then, I think you’d better ask him why he never showed up,” Deidre said, pointing to the Fedora, who had apparently decided to change his mind and approach.

“Mornin’,” the man said, with a cocky smile.  “Name’s Alex Ross.  I think we have some things to discuss.”

 

 

ON TO PART 2

 

BACK TO LIBRISCROWE

 

BACK TO END OF HOPE...RISING

 

BEGINNING OF A LOVE FOR A LOVE (MAXIMUS/CAROLINE/BUD/SID)

 

BEGINNING OF THE FAR SIDE OF EXILE (CORT/RACHEL/HOPE)

 

BACK TO NANOCORP INDEX OF STORIES