Dark Matters Radio Archives Vicious Vinyl Archives A Person of Interest Pt. 03 Person of Interest By Don Ecker All rights reserved “Agent, I am not your enemy. I am feeling the same sense of frustration and anger you are. The agency that has dispatched me expects nothing less than my success immediately. I have already failed in this mission because of these new victims he has left strewn behind. This one is one of the worst, with many victims to his credit. He steals body organs from his victims, you call then “ the guy hesitated as if trying to recall how to translate the words. “ you call them the pineal body and the adrenal glands.” The first organ, the pineal gland he tapped his forehead between his eyes, and when he mentioned the adrenal glands, he half turned and tapped himself just above his kidney. He turned back toward me and then asked, “Do you understand?” Well Hell NO! I didn’t understand. “Look, you’re telling me he is part of a black market operation stealing body parts? What the hell is it, the Russian Mafia?” Suddenly I thought I had it figured out, this guy must be Russian or something. Except, he looked at me and shook his head. “No he is not Russian, ah, Mafia. This criminal is not from “around here” either. He arrived at this local a very short time ago, just before I did. I have been chasing him now since he has re-surfaced. This class of criminal is our most (thinking again) .. ah, our most despicable. They prey on those much weaker than they are and in this endeavor, I am afraid you are greatly outclassed.” I holstered my weapon and turned toward our police vehicle. “Okay, look, you stay right here, I gotta call this in. My boss is gonna have a lot of questions for you buddy. And when he asks you just who the hell you are he won’t take no for any damn answer.” I got to the car and opened the door. I grabbed the mic and made the call, Officer needs assistance. I gave them my location and suddenly off in the distance I heard the police sirens start screaming. I turned back to the big blond guy and he was leaving at a fast walk. I ran toward him and grabbed his arm. “Hey Buddy, you ain’t going anywhere!” I started to go for my handcuffs and suddenly he had me in an arm lock. Hey, this guy was good. “I can not nor will I be detained. I do not have time for this Agent. I will find you again when I need you, but I must locate this criminal quickly. Perhaps I can still save the other Agent.” Then .. boom .. I was face down on the ground and he was gone. Ah geeze, this one would be hard to explain, not to mention Dick was now among the missing. The whole homeless encampment was now a crime scene, the boys and girls from Forensics was combing it with the proverbial fine tooth comb, the Lieutenant was in a frenzy, every cop now in every county in the whole damn state was looking for Dick and I was temporarily on the “hot” seat. The L-T ordered me to the hospital for a check up so I handed him Paco. I think Paco peed on him. I didn’t get on the “hot seat” until after I was checked out at the hospital. It turned out that I suffered a mild concussion according to the emergency room doctor. I had a lump on the side of my head the size of a tennis ball, so the doctor recommended I take some aspirin, get some bed rest and go and sin no more. I went home feeling like “warmed over death”, took 3 aspirin, and got into bed. I intended to sleep at least until the next morning, but it seemed to take forever to drop off to sleep. Suddenly I heard someone moving in my bedroom. I had not realized I had dropped off to sleep and then I was conscious. I froze in shock for just a second then I sat up grabbing my department service pistol. A brilliant white light suddenly shone in my face and I heard his unmistakable voice, “Agent, do not shoot, I told you I would contact you when I had information. I have located the criminals location.” I stared at that big bastard with unbelieving eyes, how in hell did he get in here and I didn’t even hear him? For just a second I swear, I was tempted to shoot him. “Okay buddy, that’s it. My Lieutenant is pissed off like you would not believe when I told him about you at the crime scene! He thought I should have shot you to keep you there. As it is, I can arrest you for assault on a police officer, not to mention at the very least, you are a material witness in a murder investigation. Now lets cut the shit, who in hell are you and what in hell is going on?” I then pointed my piece at him. “And don’t you think for a minute I won’t shoot your ass if you try another disappearing act!” And Jesus, there was that stench AGAIN. He looked at me with an absolutely dead-pan expression. Then he reached into his coat and held up his hand when I stiffened. He pulled out something that looked like a PDA and held it toward me. “Agent, this will explain much. Watch now.” I guess he flipped an “on” switch and suddenly the room lit up with what looked like a 3 D holograph of the solar system. He hit several controls on the device and then the solar system disappeared and I was looking at a 3 D of another of these guys, except this one had brown hair, not blond. “This is the criminal you seek.” I must have been staring in amazement trying to comprehend what this guy was telling me, then he said something I just didn’t “grok”. “This one is “shu-n ee sh”, he must be stopped. Will you assist?” “He is what? What did you say? Shu-nish? What the hell is Shu-nish?” He shook his head. “No, not shu-nish, he is shu-n ee sh. In your language that means “ And he stopped, thinking. “That means a predator of sentience. He preys upon intelligence, do you understand?” Brother!, did I NOT understand. “Look buddy, I don’t even know your name, where in hell are you from and what in hell is that UN-GODLY STINK?” Now, I gotta admit I had my suspicions, but they were down deep and hidden, as a matter of fact I would have been afraid to ever say them in public, but what he said surprised me, but not really, understand? “Agent, this world is not my world. I have come here from another world, one very-very far from here. I only came here because of the one I follow. Your people are not prepared to deal with one such as this. My mandate is to keep a very low profile and only reveal myself if I think it necessary and prudent, to one such as you. If my mission were to be exposed to your authorities, panic would ensue. Your people are not ready to accept out-worlder’s yet, there are too many of your people that are still too primitive. I have seen it before, factions among primitives that have fragmented into war and anarchy when confronted with the truth of the vastness of the universe.” Let me tell you, by now my jaw was dropping down to the floor. For some damn reason the theme song of “The X Files” started ringing in my head. In other words, I felt as if I just fell into the “wrong” dimension. “What in hell are you telling me? Are you telling me you’re some kind of “FREAKEN’ Spaceman? Is that what you’re telling me? You’re telling me you’re a SPACEMAN? From Outer Space? Are you shitting me Pal?” Jesus, I stopped to take a breath and he just stared at me. “So, does everybody from your planet stink too? Man, us Earth guys can SMELL you like from 3 blocks away, which is kind of a bummer for you if you’re trying to be like, ah, you know, covert. What in hell is up with that?” He pulled another gizmo from inside his coat, fiddled with a dial then he seemed satisfied and looked back at me. “The more I communicate with you, the more I understand. This is a translator device, but there is much of your language I am still attempting to understand. You say I have an offensive odor? Your atmosphere is not completely compatible with my physiology. I compensate with certain chemicals. That must be the odor you say … stinks.” Okay, that at least made sense, kind of. Now, what did he just say, he knows this other guys location? “You said you know where he is? What about my partner, is he there too? Where’s he at?” I jumped off my bed and started pulling on a pair of pants, all the while watching him. “Yes, the criminal is presently located in an abandoned industrial area. He has set up a base there where he is conducting his medical crimes.” I put on my shoes and grabbed a shirt. “Okay, as soon as I finish dressing, we’ll go. I got to call this in and get some uniformed units to respond. We can get SWAT ...” This was the first time I saw emotion in his face, man, I thought he was going to Pop! “NO Agent! Did you not hear what I said? Your people are not ready to acknowledge the presence of outsiders! Also, if he becomes aware that the local authorities are knowledgeable of his whereabouts he might initiate mass destruction. This criminal is more dangerous than you can imagine! We must do this quietly and with no … ah, fanfare! No fanfare, do you understand?” “Hey Pal, what did you mean he might commit mass destruction? What the hell, does he have some kind of damn bomb or something?” He nodded, “Yes, he does have a damn bomb or something. He could obliterate a large part of this city if he chose to. That is another reason you can not inform your authorities.” Jesus, this case was getting better and better. I finished dressing and took another couple of aspirin, grabbed my department pistol, thought about it and grabbed my old man’s .45. Nothing like having too many pistols. I intended to get my issued shotgun out of the trunk of my car. Now that I thought about it, we probably would have to go in my car and I didn’t look forward to smelling this guy during the drive. “Okay, lets go. Say, do you have a name or should I just keep calling you Pal?” He looked at me and I could almost swear he smiled. “Pal will suffice. I do not think you could properly pronounce my name.” Okay, fine with me. We went down to my car and he got in. The first thing I showed him was how to open the window and we took off. He directed me to the east end of the industrial park and headed toward a former pipe fitting plant. I roughly knew the area and parked about a block away from the plant. I got my shotgun and flack jacket out along with a belt of slugs and buckshot. I slipped on the vest and zipped it up. Then I asked him the question I was not sure I really wanted an answer to. “What kind of weapons does this guy pack? I mean, ah, I don’t mean to be funny but, like a ‘ray gun’ or what?” He looked at me kind of funny, as if he wasn’t sure what I was asking, then reached into his long coat and pulled out a piece that would have made Captain Kirk proud. The “gun” was large and long, the barrel looked to be 7 or 8 inches in length. The entire thing looked like it was burnished steel. “This is what he will have. It is a directed energy weapon, devastating on flesh. It is good you have a protective vest. I will engage him, you stay behind me and cover me. Is that acceptable?” “Hell no that’s not acceptable. This son-uv-a-bitch grabbed my partner. This is pretty damn devastating on flesh too!” I waved my shotgun in his face. “I want that bastard Pal, and I’m gonna have him!” I loaded my pump shotgun, putting in the first 5 rounds of rifled slugs, the last two were buckshot. I was not in any mood to fool around. We got up to a side door on the building and then “my” spaceman pulled out another small gadget and aimed it at the door. He must have read whatever it told him, then he turned to me. “He is not in the room in front of us, we can enter.” He tried to door but it of course was locked. He adjusted something on his pistol, aimed it at the handle and lock and I swear, just like Star Trek, the damn thing melted into a puddle of sludge. I suppose if I had any doubts about him being a space-guy, they disappeared. I pushed him out of the way and entered first. I had a light mounted on the shotgun, turned it on and released the safety. It was dark in there, not to mention that it was still filled with junk. Old chairs, filing cabinets, desks, that kind of stuff. This must have been the front office back in the day. I stopped and just listened, not a damn sound. My big buddy moved like a smoky grey cat. If I didn’t know he was here, I might not know he was there, get me? We moved from room to room, all the while I expected to run into the other guy. As I was just entering another large room, I scanned the room which was filled with cardboard boxes and other junk. Suddenly a bright flash of light flashed as the wall beside the entry way exploded. I dove to the floor rolling to get out of the line of fire. Another bright flash of light lit up the room and another explosion, this time at the opposite end of the room. I glanced toward this latest assault on my senses and fired the shotgun at the end of the room. I saw the other guy jump up and run out of the room and I pumped two rounds at him. The booming of the shotgun temporarily deafened me. Sweat poured off my forehead running into my eyes. I blinked and looked for my spaceman. He was running for the next room, so I jumped up and followed him. My guy hit the next room firing his gun. Another flash of light, and BANG, an explosion rang through the building. Debris was still falling when the “bad guy” shot back. A huge bang as the energy hit the wall, more debris and a large chunk of masonry hit my guy on his head. He dropped like a rock, hitting the floor. I dove in, hitting the floor in the prone position and fired the shotgun until it ran dry. I rolled off to the side behind some junk and started reloading it. My heart felt like it was in my throat and I was breathing in short gasps. Another flash of light and boom, the wall behind me exploded. Damn, those guns those guys had were downright scary. I waited a second then chanced a look by popping my head up, the guy was running out of the room. I glanced at my temporary partner and he was just coming to. I moved over to him and looked at his head, a small amount of blood was dripping down his face. “Hey buddy, you okay? That was a hell of a knock you took.” He simply wiped the blood of his face and stood up. “We have to go, I cannot chance his escape.” He took off running and I followed him to the next room. “Hey, if this guy came here from where ever you’re from, where is his transportation? So far he’s been on foot. He has to have it stashed close by, right? It must be some kind of ship, right?” He kept scanning the room for the perp, then I saw a stairway in the rear of the room. “Look, over there. I betcha’ he went up the stairs. I stopped and finished reloading my shotgun all the while keeping my eyes on those stairs. Moving in front of the big guy, I pulled the shotgun into my shoulder and started up the stairs. Suddenly an “iron grip” grabbed me by the shoulder, yanking me out of the way. I was able to see my partner holding one of his devices, when the stairway exploded in a flash of light, and the burst of energy struck the spot of I just standing by. The floor exploded kicking debris everywhere. My guy jumped into the stairwell, firing. He must of held his trigger down for a good 2 or 3 seconds, chopping the upstairs landing into kindling. When he stopped he charged up the stairs and I was right behind him. He got to the top and fired another burst down the hallway. The energy impacted into a door frame, blowing out a section of a wall. Feeling left out I fired my shotgun and then charged down while pumping in a fresh round. Just as I reached the doorway I saw the guy jumping through a window. My big partner was just behind me, he quickly aimed then held his fire. I made it to the window and looked out and saw him running off into the distance. I turned to “Pal.” “Okay, you say this was his base of operations? So where is my partner?” I looked around the room and saw nothing to suggest that guy had anyone here. We searched through the entire building and found nobody. My buddy “Pal” scanned the rooms using one of his gadgets, he told me it was looking for “life signs.” It was when we were on the bottom floor when he got what I thought was a bit excited. It was where the shooting started, and he found another gadget the other guy must have dropped in all the excitement. “Agent! Now we have him! He must have this in order to use his transport. This is … ah let me see, yes this is the key that enables the transport power to initialize. He must come back and find this if he wishes to depart this planet. We have him!” Okay, the big guy looked really excited. “Okay, good. You say he has to have that thing? So you think he will come back here? He can’t know we found it, right? So, we act like we leave then find a place to hole up at, then nail that bastard when he comes back. Yeah, good plan!” He looked at me and nodded. We went outside and walked around the side of the building. I looked everywhere watching for movement but it was as quiet as it was spooky. I edged back around and slipped in the door, the big guy just behind me. I topped off the magazine in my shotgun and found a spot behind some boxes and prepared to wait. My temporary partner found a spot beside me, sat down and we prepared to wait. “Say Pal, so where is it you come from? How did you end up becoming a cop, ah I mean an agent? You must travel quite a bit, huh? Must be tough if you’re married.” He looked at me like I had 3 heads. Hey, who knows, maybe where he comes from folks have 3 heads. “Agent, I was a member of our military. It was during an operation that I was injured to the extent I could no longer perform the activities I was programmed for. After healing and extensive re-programming I was selected as suitable for the operations I am now a part of. This criminal is part of a much larger operation and this is why he must be stopped. The organization he works for must not find out about this planet or people. The fear is that if they do they may start large scale raids preying upon your people. You have not yet reached a level to effectively repel these parasites.” I felt a chill run up and down my spine listening to him explain this information in a monotone. “Are you telling me that if this guy is successful, more might come too, what?, hunt here?” “Yes Agent, a veritable army or swarm of them, if they discover your world. The organs they steal they use to manufacture … “ he stopped as if trying to think of the word he wanted to use. “ … ah, they manufacture drugs and serums that they make available for sale to, ah, “ he stopped again thinking. I had to give him credit though, imagine trying to learn and use a totally foreign language in just days or weeks. “ what you would describe as black-market operations.” I looked at him then recalled something he had said earlier. “You said you were in your military. I was in our Army myself. I guess you guys have your wars too, huh?” He nodded yes. “Life is vast in our galaxy Agent. Like on your planet, there are groups that are benign and groups that are inimical to the public good. My government, over time, have been forced to provide ah, what you would describe as police services, to provide public security to our peoples. My government has allied with other planetary governments to repel forces trying to create anarchy for political and economic gains. Since I have arrived here, I have observed governments on your planet that are trying the same thing, however on a much smaller scale. While I was a member of our military I took part in a number of military operations to defeat the aims of these, ah, forces of darkness. Operations in the vastness of space and operations on some of these planets working towards anarchy.” “Okay, so how did you find us here? We don’t have anything to reach beyond our own solar system. Who knows how long, if ever, we have ships capable of reaching other stars. How did you find us?” He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment as if he was collecting his thoughts. Then he opened his eyes and stared at me directly. “Your system has been known to several governments in our collective for a long time. Many of your planetary years ago, various groups engaged in exploration discovered your system and this planet. Over many years various groups of your people have risen to technological heights and then reversed due to natural disasters. The last great disaster to impede your peoples happened about 12,000 years ago. Several groups of “other-worlders” arrived to assist the survivors of this world. They re-introduced agriculture, medicine and other arts in order that your people would survive and ultimately regain their climb toward civilization. Unfortunately, at some point about 6,000 planetary years ago, some of those feuds from off-world ended up impacting your peoples on this world. Some of these off-worlder’s began to act as if they were divine deity’s and led groups of humans in sects that warred with each other. Finally the war ended when one side used a nuclear device to destroy another sect. The off world governments were aghast at this blatant misuse of such power on a primitive world. The guilty were punished and laws and directives and enforcement were put in place so such a thing would not happen again.” Jesus! The guy had managed to shock me to my very core once again. He just told me that freaken’ ET had nuked Alley Oop and all of his buddies. He leaned back and again closed his eyes, while I sat there considering what he had just told me. I gotta say, I was shaken and then I realized something. It came like a thunder-bolt out of the blue. Ever since I had come back from the Army, I had kind of a “so-what” attitude about a lot of things. My “ex” used to get really pissed at me, blaming the Army and me for not giving a damn about a lot of things. In my private minds eye I blamed it on what I saw over there. Now I could say I really did give a damn, perhaps for the first time since I came back. If even 10 percent of what he told me was the truth, and I did believe him, I knew I would have to do whatever it took to stop this other son-uv-a-bitch!