The Entity Pt. 09

Suddenly, the two men and the dark night disappeared. A collage of images danced before her eyes and Linda lost all touch with reality as her mind was scanned, the small briefcase computer linked directly to the Cray's in the basement at Waverly Hills.

As quickly as it started, it ended.

"Sorry about that, we didn't have time to set up a nice show for you." The fat man still smiled but the gun was no longer pointed.

"Twenty eight minutes," said the other man as he put the fancy headset away and clicked the briefcase shut, "Not bad at all."

Linda had no sense of time but suspected she'd been out for the twenty eight minutes the man referred to. She also suspected her mind had just been scanned, just like Michael's.

She had to do something.

The fat man hooked one of his meat hooks into her upper arm and dragged her to her feet. "Now it's time to take a little ride," glancing to his left, over the cliff, his meaning clear to Linda.

Spinning her around, she felt her hands come free as the cord around her wrists was cut. One big paw holding her arm tightly, a voice whispered in her ear, "I still have my gun and so far, we've been pretty nice about everything. If you so much as blink sideways, we'll tie your hands back up and cut your clothes off. We know just what a sweet little thing like you needs."

Linda leaned away from his foul breath but didn't try to resist.

She searched the ground for a weapon. A limb or rock, something she could hit with. Finding nothing, she tried to gage just how nimble the big man might be. She heard the engine of her Jaguar start and saw the little man get out of the car leaving the door open. Picking up his briefcase, he headed for a dark colored SUV that was parked twenty feet up the road.

Linda waited. She knew the big man would try to push her towards the car. They were going to make her drive it off, or maybe push it off with the SUV.

The fat man turned slightly and yelled over his shoulder, "Bring the car up. Put it right behind her car. I'll give you the signal."

Linda took in the front of the Jag, the front bumper right at the edge of the cliff. Looking to her left, she decided she was three feet from the edge, the fat man another foot, to her right. Spreading her feet slightly, pressing the balls of her feet into the loose gravel, she waited.

"Too bad about your car. I really like it. Maybe I'll buy it from impound when they get tired of investigating. I'll fix it up and all. I don't like the color too much, though."

His grip loosened slightly as Linda stood completely still.

She could hear the other man maneuvering the SUV around and her green Jaguar was bathed in light as the bigger vehicle nudged up against its rear bumper.

"That's it, sweetie. Ya want a kiss bye bye or anything?"

Linda stepped forward quickly with her right foot, jerking her upper arm out of the fat man's grip. Planting her right foot firmly, she crouched low, leaned hard to her right, and did a rapid pirouette, her left foot raised, leg bent close to her body.

The man in the SUV froze, his jaw went slack when he saw Linda's left foot come around and kick out between the head and chest of his partner.

Snapping to action, he slammed the gear selector of the SUV to park and grabbed for the door handle. Before he could open the door, his partner fell hard, one hand coming up to grab between his head and chest, his gun hand slack, the handgun falling at his feet.

Linda sprang to her feet and started pushing on the fat man. His partner found the door handle but froze, just as his partner disappeared over the edge.

Pulling the gear selector back to drive, he punched the accelerator and was rewarded with the Jag rolling over the cliff. Standing on the brake, he watched the woman out his window as she searched for the abandoned gun.

Jerking the vehicle in reverse he backed up fifteen feet, stood on the brakes again and pulled the selector down to drive. Over reacting, he slammed the accelerator to the floor just as the woman brought the gun up, pointed at his side of the windshield.

Not enough time, Linda thought, just as the SUV closed on her. Four feet away and she was off balance, unable to spring to either side. Jumping up quickly, she flew over the hood and slammed against the windshield just before the SUV rolled over the edge.

As if in slow motion, she could make out the open faced expression of terror as the driver realized his mistake. Her shoulder and hip ached and she fought for consciousness. She managed to press against the hood of the vehicle as it tipped down, launching herself clear just before impact.

Her leg doubled up beneath her and the air was pushed from her lungs. Just before her world went black, she thought, I'm so sorry, Tammy. I didn't mean to hurt you.

The cold dark water engulfed her.

*****

Michael found the two Cray X4's and from their network addresses knew they were in the building.

He assimilated the information as quickly as it came in and knew that Linda was in trouble.

He immediately sent e-mail and instant phone messages to Tom and the Captain.

Noting the hour, there was nothing further he could do but wait.

Tom read the message again and immediately turned his laptop on. Michael was there as soon as the operating system loaded.

'I don't know what happened, Tom. I haven't seen, Linda, and she was just scanned.'

'What do you mean scanned? How can she be scanned, she's at home?'

'I watched it come in. Her mind, just like mine, was uploaded to a hard drive. The storage unit has been taken off-line, but I know its here.'

'Let me call the, Captain. I'll look for you in a few minutes.'

*****

Tammy floated, not sure if she was awake or dreaming. It had to be a dream, she decided. How could all this be real? I'll wake in Linda's bed and we'll laugh about all this. She vaguely recalled crying in Linda's arms in the stairwell and resolved she wouldn't cry when she was retelling her dream.

The pull on her neck made her jump and she realized it wasn't a dream. That she wouldn't be waking up in Linda's bed and that she could cry all she wanted.

A horse whisper came out of the darkness, "Are you awake?"

Yes, she thought, unfortunately she was. Turning on her side in the direction of the voice she answered, "Are you okay?"

No answer came, just quiet breathing.

"How long have we been down here?"

"I don't know. I fell asleep and when I woke up, I could hear you breathing. I decided you were asleep."

Tammy pulled on the chain and listened to the links slide across the pipe, until Allessandra said, "That's it. You've pulled it tight."

Sitting up she became aware of the dirt floor. Reaching out, she felt around in the dark until she found Allessandra.

"Is there any water?"

"He hasn't brought my bowl back, so I guess not," with that, Allessandra started sobbing softly.

Tammy scooted on her knees until she could wrap her arms around Allessandra's shoulders. "Shhh. It's going to be okay. My friend will find us."

Cradling Allessandra's head she wondered if she'd just told a lie.

Chapter 25

BBC – In world news today, our cousins across the pond seem to be gearing up for the biggest foregone conclusion in election history. It seems the republican candidate has finally come out of the closet so to speak, and admitted having a long affair with one of his male office aids, but denied any involvement in the subsequent death, reportedly a suicide, of the young man...

*****

The first thing Linda became aware of was pain. Her entire body throbbed. Then she felt wet. Opening her eyes, the glare of the sun blinded her but she was able to make out a mixture of rocks and sand. Green tufts of seaweed strewn about.

I'm alive, was her first coherent thought.

Then it all came flooding back. Pushing up with her arms she was able to look around. No sign of the SUV but her green Jag lay several feet away, a crumpled mess at the bottom of the cliff. She managed to smile when she saw the fat man's broken body beside it.

How long have I been here? Her watch, along with her shoes, was gone. Waves washed across her, lifting and pushing. Turning on her side, she curled her legs in and decided neither was broken.

Her right shoulder hurt like hell but seemed to work.

Crawling further up on the beach, she searched for some shade, found none, and just rolled over, sitting on the water smoothed rocks.

Tammy! What she'd been doing before being waylaid came back to her. I have to find Tammy!

Trying to stand, she fell back hard as everything started to spin. "Help! Help!" The only response was the sound of the ocean coming up on the sand and rocks.

Looking up and down the beach she tried to find a way to get up. The beach went on about twenty feet in one direction and thirty in the other. Then it disappeared into waves that beat directly against the steep wall of the cliff.

Looking up, she decided it was about thirty five feet. Trying again, slower this time, she was able to stand, one hand planted on the hard rock wall to keep from falling.

Taking a careful step she realized both her ankles ached. Sprained, she thought, hopefully not broken.

Pushing away from the wall she made her way back to the lapping waves and waded out a little. After only a few feet, the bottom dropped away steeply and she stopped. Turning, she surveyed the rock wall trying to find a way up.

Her mouth was parched and her lungs burned. The wall was solid rock. There were a lot of foot and hand holds, a few shrubs and small trees growing at an odd angle near the top. She could make out a small ledge about two thirds of the way up.

Wading out of the water she made her way slowly over to the Jag. She glanced at the fat man with no neck, giving him a wide birth.

The car was upside down, the grill pushed up against the base of the cliff, the driver's side door gone. Down on her knees, she searched with her hand above the bottom of the driver's seat.

"Yes!"

Pulling her hand out, she saw the half bottle of water. Taking a sip she contemplated the cliff and the small ledge.

Deciding it could be done, she squeezed the air out of the plastic water bottle and put the cap back on tight, making it fairly flat. Stuffing it in the back of her jeans, she climbed up on the undercarriage of her wrecked car, walked to the front bumper and started climbing.

My kingdom for a pair of shoes, she thought.

*****

Putting down the phone in her private suite, Teddy smiled at Michael and said, "Sorry, Michael, duty calls," stepping closer with her cane, she placed her hand on his arm and leaned in, her voice low and sultry, "But I promise I'll make up for it when I get back."

Seated in the meeting room with the Doctor and Rudolph, she listened a second time as the Doctor explained.

"We don't know how or why, but the ICB is in touch with Michael here at the clinic. Documents have been sent out concerning TIM and speculation made concerning what we're doing."

"Impossible!" Teddy was emphatic. "I just spent twenty four hours with Michael. He never left my side. Never received or made a phone call, and was never near a computer. Where did you get such an idea?"

"Linda Woo was in the building two nights ago," the Doctor settled back in his chair to see how Teddy would react.

There was a pause then Theodora's face clouded in recognition, "Michael's old girlfriend?"

"The same."

"But why would she even think of coming here?"

"She and a friend, Tammy Spalding, tricked one of our guards into bringing them here. They tied the guard up and knocked him on the head, leaving him at the roof garden, took his keys and searched the building. Linda found the Cray's in the basement.

"When we discovered the guard, he identified, Woo. We had her eliminated last night, but not before we tested our remote scanning abilities. We have a complete scan of everything she knows. Unfortunately, we still haven't completed the playback program and it's a lot of information to go through. Beth is working on it as we speak. I should have more this evening."

"But that still doesn't tell us why," Teddy was emphatic.

"That's the confusing part. She was on a mission to find Michael and destroy him."

"Destroy him? And this Miss Spalding?"

"We're still looking for her," the Doctor seemed to have run out of information.

Teddy sat, fingers tenting and finally asked, "And the Phoenix?"

"We can be gone in six hours. Everything is in place."

Turning to Rudolph she asked, "How much?"

"Half," was his curt reply.

"I guess it can't be helped. Good, keep me posted," Teddy said as she pushed back from the table and stood, her cane out of place given her apparent youth and beauty.

*****

Linda pulled with all her strength. Trying a second time, she finally managed to swing her right foot high enough to hook a toe on the ledge. Sliding her elbow over, she was able to flatten her hand and gritted her teeth as she pushed her shoulders over the edge of the ledge. Shoving her foot further, she found perch and rolled onto the narrow ledge. Her breathing was ragged and her entire body was on fire with pain.

As she'd started her climb, she'd discovered at least two, possibly three, broken ribs. Each time she stretched and put her weight on her left side, she felt she'd pass out from the pain.

Scooting carefully, she managed to roll on her back and searched for her goal twelve feet above. Digging for the water bottle, she took a drink, recapped it, and stuffed it between her hip and the wall.

Noting the sun, she decided the climb had taken at least two hours, maybe more.

She wanted to rest. She wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. But she didn't. She'd seen what Bob Nunn was capable of and she had to get there as soon as possible. Tammy needed her.

Slowly, balancing precariously above the rocky beach below, Linda managed to squat on the ledge. Delicately picking up the water bottle, she stuffed it back into her jeans. Leaning into the wall, she extended her legs as her head came up, her arms spread, fingers clutching any small hold they could find.

Michael used to do this, she thought. He'd taken her once but she just didn't seem to have the upper body strength to do it safely. Look at me now, Michael, she thought.

Her eyes searched and she stretched the right side of her body, her fingers wrapping around a small outcropping of rock. Steeling herself, she pushed up on tiptoes and pulled. Her arm shook as she slowly managed to pull herself up a foot, her left hand letting go, sliding up the wall and finding another hold slightly above the first one.

Her toes scraped against the rough rock, looking for a place to dig in. Her left toe found a spot and she cringed with pain as she pushed up a little.

Her brow sweating, she searched up and to her right. Spying the twisted stump of some small sapling, she braced, extended down slightly, and pulled hard with her left hand, her side exploding again, the fingers of her right hand extended until she felt the rough bark and closed around the small tree.

Her head jerked to her left and she searched quickly for a place to put her left hand. She could feel the sapling bending and knew it might break completely.

There, she thought. Her left hand came out and her fingers dug into a crack, hooking her to the wall, taking some of the weight off the sapling.

She could hear gulls behind and below, their caws a constant reminder that she was several feet above the ground.

Closing her eyes, she willed her body to relax as she fought to slow her breathing.

The wind was picking up. Time to finish this, she thought.

Her hands appeared to be two feet from the top. She recalled what Michael had told her. Don't find just where the first hand goes. Think in fours. First hand, then foot, then hand then foot.

Searching above the sapling, she could find nothing to grab. Suddenly she clinched her eyes shut and cursed, a bead of sweat blinding her.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Slitting them she saw what appeared to be an outcrop on her left side. Following a line down from the outcrop, she found another crack where she could slip her left foot. Not finding anything above the sapling, she looked down and found a small bulge her right foot could settle on.

Deciding three out of four was enough, she tried to calm her breathing again, closed her eyes for a minute, held her breath and pushed up with her toes, propelling her body toward the left hand hold.

Grabbing hold, pain shooting through her body, her left foot dug in, but her right foot missed. Digging wildly, she was forced to shift her weight to the sapling and felt it start to pull from the crack.

No time to think, she pulled hard with her left hand, taking her weight off the sapling, pushed up with her right foot and was able to hook her toes on the weakened trunk. No breathing exercise or rest, she decided this was it. Go for broke.

Another painful tug with her left hand and her right foot shifted to the top of the sapling where she pushed, knowing the sapling would eventually give way.

Just as her head popped above the edge, she wedged her right elbow on the loose lip and brought her left up beside it.

Her left foot slid across the rock face, her toes searching for the spot her left hand had abandoned. She found it, just as her right foot pushed the sapling out of the rock sending it to the beach.

Linda clung to her precarious perch, trying to breathe as the edge of the cliff cut into her damaged ribs. Everything spun and she closed her eyes.

Not this close, she thought. I didn't come this far to not make it.

Opening her eyes, the world had stopped spinning and she strained to bring her right leg up and find a toe hold. Finding none, she scooted forward painfully on her elbows and tried again.

Still nothing. She decided her only hope was to swing to her right as hard as possible, hoping to make it to the ledge with her foot. She knew that if she didn't she'd lose her balance and fall back, her body breaking on the rocky beach below.

Just as her left toes started slipping, she crossed her right leg behind her and swung her body as hard to the right as she could. Her left foot came free and she tried to get more lift by bending at the waist.

The pain was too much and she felt her left elbow give, sliding back toward the edge.

In a desperate move, she let her lower body swing back and kicked again toward the wall with her right foot as her elbows slipped further on the ledge.

Sure she would lose the battle but determined to fight to the end she was rewarded when the edge of her foot found perch on the edge cliff.

She grunted in pain as she dug with her left hand and hooked her right knee, pulling her left leg up and rolling over the edge just as her left hand gave way and played down into nothingness.

Pulling her hips up quickly, she managed one final roll and landed on her back about six inches from the edge of the cliff where she passed out.

*****

The Doctor was concerned. He towered over Beth as she sat at a computer consol going through lines of interpreted text. Bits and pieces of text was all they had until the playback program was completed.

The playback program would play a person's life backwards or forward like a movie, actually putting a movie of what they saw, on the screen. Unfortunately, it was very far from being operational.

"What is this?" the Doctor pointed at a word on the screen.

"I've seen that a couple of times. It seems to be a code name for Michael. Entity."

"Have you found anything else out about, Miss Spalding?"

"Not many facts. The emotional side is interesting though. There seems to be some type of bond between she and Linda."