Dark Matters Radio Archives Vicious Vinyl Archives A Person of Interest Pt. 04 Person of Interest By Don Ecker All rights reserved

As I sat there, I heard him lean forward and he once again looked me right in the eyes. “Agent, I hope you realize that I have just broken many rules put in place by my government by telling you what I just did.” He stopped for a second and I swore I could see him grimace. “I was wounded in the exchange of fire we had with that criminal. In the event I become incapacitated or deceased, there are several things you must be aware of.” Damn, things just kept getting better and better. I looked at him and nodded. “Here, let me see where you got hit. Maybe I can help.” He leaned forward and I saw a large stain seeping through his coat. It was then that I realized that I must have gotten use to his “stench”, I no longer noticed it. “Here, let’s slip your coat off.” I helped him slip his arm out and then saw a large, ugly wound below his right shoulder blade. “Damn, do you have any kind of first aid kit or anything?” He reached into his coat and pulled out a small-ish package that he began to undo. I kept glancing toward the area we entered, keeping watch for the other guy slipping back in. I didn’t need any more surprises. “Here Agent, sprinkle this powder on the wound then place this covering over it. Both will help with my fluid loss.” He handed the bandage and hell, I guess it was some kind of antibiotic. I dusted it all over the wound. The bandage reminded me of some kind of synthetic skin, adhered to his wound as soon as I placed it on his back. “Okay, its covered. How painful is it? Can you move?” He nodded yes. “I am functional for now. However, if I am unable to continue there are several things you must know. Even though you have several weapons, they may not work as well on him as you think. Your weapons fire metallic projectiles and he wears very effective body amour. If I can no longer proceed you must know how to use my weapon.” He pulled his piece out and showed me. “This is a directed energy weapon. Do you see this control?” He pointed to a protrusion on the side of his gun. I nodded. “This controls the strength of the blast. Up here is as high as it goes. At this level you could destroy this entire building.” Okay, now I was pretty damn impressed. He pushed it mid-level. At this level the burst will terminate most unprotected beings.” I butted in. “What if it runs out of juice. How do you reload it?” “This weapon is on continuous recharge. I do not think that is a concern. Now, this …” He re-holstered his piece and pulled out his PDA looking thing. “..this is how you could track him. It scans living beings but the drugs in his system can also be tracked using this.” He pointed to several settings and showed me how to read them. “With this reading ….” and he made an adjustment, “only a being with his body chemistry will register. It is the combination of drugs that make these readings.” I nodded. “One more thing Agent.” Now he looked very severe. “If I expire you must dispose of my body. It is imperative that your authorities do not examine either my body or his. Secure my equipment if I die, and use my hand weapon set on the highest setting to vaporize them. You can then set the weapon to self destruct, but get far away from it.” He then pointed to another setting on his piece that I understood to be the destruct button. “Hey, how bad are you?” And the truth of it was, he was looking pretty pale. “I lost much of my body fluid, but it does not matter as long as we stop him. In truth, I do not believe I will survive this mission. That is why I have entrusted you with the information I have. Listen Agent, believe me when I tell you that your authorities must not secure my equipment or our two respective crafts. Your people are not ready for the technology they represent. Also, I am sure his craft will be set to detonate if anyone attempts to enter it. My craft, which I will tell you the location, is camouflaged, and it is unlikely anyone not knowing its whereabouts could find it.” Oh yes, it just kept getting better and better. Suddenly the front of the building where the door was located simply … EXPLODED! A huge bang shook the entire building and debris and material blew everywhere. I grabbed my shotgun and swung around facing the entrance to our room. I guess the bad guy discovered his missing gadget and decided to retrieve it! *My “partner” rolled over on his stomach pointing his “blaster” at the hallway waiting. My eyes were darting back and forth looking for anything that resembled movement. Suddenly the bad guy shouted something, sounding like he had a mouthful of marbles. I guess it was in “their” language and I didn’t have a clue what he was shouting. I will venture a guess however that he didn’t sound happy. He punctuated his complaint with another blast from his weapon. Debris flew around, dust and dirt flew down on us from the ceiling, and my ears were ringing just like standing next to Big Ben when he went off! “What in hell is that bastard jabbering about?” I asked the big guy. “He demands his “ships key” back, and if we return it he will allow us to live.” I was really pissed now. “You tell him if he wants his gizmo back, he will return my partner … in one piece. You tell him that!” I looked at “Pal” and I am sure he saw the determination in my face. He nodded yes. He jabbered something at that SOB and suddenly all the noise seemed to subside. The waiting got to be too much for me. “Hey you Son-Of-A-Bitch!” I shouted. “You want your damned Gizmo back? You give me my partner … Now! Or by God, I’ll vaporize the damned thing! You’ll never get off this rock! You Savy me Bud?” Now, I gotta tell you that I was simply playing for time. I was inching across the floor trying to get in position for a good shot at that bastard. I was certain that Dick was murdered by this guy the same time he went missing, but I thought if I could convince the bad guy I was simply another “primitive Earthling” he could bamboozle, I just might get the slip on him. “So, you wish a trade? My key for your … Earth Agent? Yes, that is acceptable. He is not here in this location so I will have to get him. How do I know you will honor your agreement? The “baucsh Ze” with you is not trustworthy.” I looked at “Pal” with what must have been a huge question mark on my face. A “bash zee?” Pal looked at me still grimacing. “A slur on enforcement agents.” he whispered. I nodded. “I trust him buddy, and if you want your ship key you’re going to play ball with us. It’s up to you.” I was still crawling to the right side of the room looking for that shot. I heard him moving, he must have kicked a bit of debris, and when he realized the noise he made he dashed across the room firing his weapon. Flame, smoke, noise and exploding walls erupted all at once. I snap shot a slug at him from my shotgun and hit him in the chest. He was knocked back but like Pal told me, the bastard was wearing armor. I pumped the shotgun and fired again, this one buckshot. It “splashed” all over him and I must have hit some flesh because even though I didn’t understand the words he said, I got the meaning. Pal was moving pretty slow now but he raised up and fired his weapon, The asshole perp jumped again when he saw Pal raise up, and I dropped my shotgun and pulled out Pop’s .45 auto. I had that thing “locked and cocked”, slipped off the safety and opened up on him. I was aiming high at his head and emptied the entire magazine at him. I think I got some hits high up on his shoulder area because I saw him spin around, then he dived behind a derelict desk. He popped out on the side of the desk and fired again. Again, more flame, smoke and explosions. DAMN! I didn’t like that gun! I glanced over at Pal. I realized he had just been hit again, and he didn’t look good. I slid over to him. “Hey, you okay? Let me see.” The side of his face was seared, the area around his collar bone was burned to the bone and his arm by his biceps was shriveled. He looked up at me and managed to speak. “Agent, I am finished.” He reached inside his coat with his good arm. He pulled out his PDA looking thing. “Take this…” he gasped. “This will lead you to my ship. Remember what I told you, you must destroy it and my other equipment. When I am dead, vaporize my body … and his. We must not be taken by your authorities and examined. See if …. See if he has one of these …” he started coughing and gasping. I could not imagine the agony he must have been going through. “If he has one, take it. It will lead you to his ship …” His head flopped down, he gave one sigh and lay still. I felt for a pulse but didn’t find one. Okay, back to work. I picked up his weapon and was surprised at its light weight. I checked the setting and slid it to maximum. Okay buddy, you want to play? Lets play. I pointed the gun at where I saw the guy jump to, triggered it and damn near vaporized the rear wall. The noise was shocking. At this level of power the wall vaporized, part of the ceiling collapsed, and now a brisk fire was burning. My opponent wasn’t done yet however. That bastard popped up again and triggered another blast at me. I saw the movement of him and managed to leap to the side. Now I was enraged. This entire unbelievable scenario hit me like a ½ ton pickup truck. I wanted to smash that bastard, I wanted to gut him, damn it, vaporizing him would be just as good. Thoughts of Dick, Emily, all those kids flashed across my mind. I looked up above where that bastard was lying and had a thought. I moved the weapon setting down just a bit, then triggered a shot at the ceiling. I triggered another one and the damn thing fell in on top if the guy. I waited a second to see if anything moved, then grabbed my dad’s pistol. I dumped the empty magazine, put a fresh one in and jacked the slide loading it. I picked up my “space man special” and the .45 and walked over to that bastard. He was lying beneath a beam that hit him, out like a light. I lay “Pal’s” blaster down and jammed the .45 into his ear. Rooting around, I located his blaster and tossed it off to the side, then searched inside his coat pulling out various gadgets including the device Pal told me would locate his ship. Oh yeah, before I forget, somewhere in all this mayhem I stopped being a cop and became a soldier once more. “Hey asshole, wake up!” I cuffed him across the face twice. He groaned and his eyes opened. My .45 was still shoved in his ear. “Now Asshole, I know you understand me so I’m gonna ask you just once. Where’s my partner?” He glared at me. Okay, a tough guy. I slapped him across his cheek with the .45 as hard as I could hit him. Now a nice little fire was burning brightly in the building and I suspected it wouldn’t be long until the fire department and police arrived. Even if nobody heard the firefight, the thick black smoke would be an unmistakable sign something wasn’t right. He groaned and turned toward me. “So, your planet has “baucsh Ze” also? Well “baucsh Ze” what is it you wish to know? Your fellow baucsh Ze is now resting with his ancestors on this primitive rock. When my people arrive en mass you will discover how primitive you are! Let me leave and I will spare your life.” I stared at his face, and suddenly his arrogance caused me to snap. I slapped him with the .45 again, then shot him just above his right knee. The .45 cracked like a bolt of thunder and he screamed in pain. I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. I stood up and stepped back and picked up the blaster. I took my eyes off him for just a second which was a huge mistake. The bastard reached into his coat and pulled out a small version of blaster I missed when I checked him. He didn’t hesitate, he just fired. It caught me dead center in the chest and the only reason I’m still here is the body armor I was wearing. Even with that it damn near turned me inside out. I saw him shoot and the next thing I knew was looking up at the ceiling with what felt like a 6 ton elephant sitting on me. Smoke was rising off my chest and suddenly I was hit with an intense sensation of burning heat. I guess I screamed rolling around thinking I was on fire. Nope, but the vest was melted. I ripped it off, picked up my .45 and emptied it into his head, then I collapsed gasping for breath. I must have lay there for a full minute and I dragged myself to my feet. I checked the perp’s body looking for anything else he had, then decided … screw it! I got Pal’s space gun, moved back about twenty feet, turned it to the high setting and let the bad guy’s body have it. Yeah, he vaporized along with what was left of the wall behind him. I gathered up his junk and staggered back to Pal. I gathered up his stuff and was about to shoot and I hesitated. Somehow it just didn’t feel right. Somewhere along the way I had started to like him and here he was dead on a planet, who knew how far from where he came from, and not to mention it … he gave his life for us. I might have shed a tear or two, then I vaporized him. I dragged myself out to my car, dumped all that stuff in the trunk and drove out of there. I could hear all kinds of sirens and knew I didn’t want to be there when the fire department and squad cars showed up. I drove out of the industrial center not sure where I was heading. I will admit that I was pretty fuzzy at this point. The longer I drove, the more intense the burning sensation on my chest and stomach grew. I pulled over and looked under my shirt, and I shouldn’t have. My chest looked like somebody had taken a blow torch to it. Blisters had formed all over it, and blisters had broken so I was also draining fluid. Well I guess I wasn’t surprised, I mean hell, how many guys can say they were shot by an honest to God “ray gun” and survived it? My head was pounding and I started to shiver like I was running a high fever. Bone aches were racking my frame. I thought to myself, geeze, what if that space gun operated on nuclear power? Did I catch a lethal dose? Well, if I did there was not much I could do about it now. Not too sure how long I would last I decided to stash all the equipment I was now lugging around. Where in hell to put it where it would stay safe until I could deal with it? I decided to stop at the bus station and rent a locker. There was an Army/Navy surplus store about a block from the station and I pulled up, stumbled in and bought an old used duffle bag and a padlock. Getting back to my car I popped the trunk lid and jammed everything into the duffle bag and then locked it with the padlock. As an aside, the one thing I kept out and slid into my pocket was the miniature gun the bad guy had shot me with. At the bus station I lugged the duffle inside and rented a locker and stored the bag. By now my body was one huge throbbing pain and I felt like I was burning up. I knew I needed to get to the hospital. I staggered back outside to my car and started to get in when everything suddenly faded to black. I didn’t even feel it when my head bounced off my car as I fell to the street. The next thing I recalled was being placed on a stretcher by an EMT guy, then I was lifted into an ambulance. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness and somewhere in the background I heard a siren blaring. I later figured out it must have been the ambulance. Over the next couple of days I simply drifted in and out of consciousness and to tell the truth I didn’t remember much. The doctor’s treated my chest for second degree burns and I had a couple of cracked ribs. They reminded me about my concussion and my head agreed, it needed some quiet time too. The police brass and my boss all visited, all wanting to know what in hell happened. My shield had been found at the industrial park ( hell, I didn’t even know I’d dropped it.) so they knew that I knew more than I was telling them. That’s when the L T hinted there could be charges awaiting yours truly. I told them I wanted to see my rep before I talked. That pissed them off. Okay, I was all caught up and I stole a peek at my visitor. She had been staring at me intently, and not saying a word. That was kind of weird considering she was supposed to be a reporter … “What Miss Bradley, no questions? I would have thought that after what I just told you, you might question my sanity at least!” I smiled at her but right then I was feeling unsettled. Call it what you want, but my “cop sense” was vibrating real long and loud. She glanced down at her pad then looked me directly in the eyes and I could have sworn the look she gave me was as if I had just run over her favorite pet kitty. Pure unbridled hate and rage. She must have realized it and quickly covered up. “Detective, I must say that is quite a story. Men from ….” She pointed up … “men from out there? From outer space? Have you told your superiors this story?” I looked at her and smiled. “No, I haven’t told them yet. I suspect they will be pretty skeptical. Well, skeptical until I show them the equipment I’ve stored away.” She looked at me strangely again. “I thought you told me that the “baucsh Ze” warned you against reveling their existence.” I don’t think she even realized the slip she just made. I reached into the nightstand and palmed the tiny blaster I had stashed in there and covered it up by pulling out a small box of “Tick-Tacs” and popped a couple in my mouth. “Well Miss Bradley, you really don’t expect me to keep it hidden that we might be facing an invasion of ET body snatchers, do ya? As unbelievable as my story is, when I show them ol’ Pal’s ray gun blaster I think they just might believe me. What do ya think, that should convince them, eh?” I was keeping a close eye on her. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out what at first looked like a metallic ink pen, but I doubted that was what it was. She twisted the body of the thing, I heard a click and she stood up and stepped up to my bed. “Yes, if you showed them what you’ve got I believe they would believe you. But “we” can not allow that. This planet is too rich a hunting ground. You will not tell them anything …” And as she shoved that thing towards my head I triggered the mini-gun. It flashed light and heat and the beam caught her directly in her breast bone. It blew out her back, hit the wall and made a hell of a hole there. She was sprawled on the floor with about a 3 inch hole drilled right through her. No bleeding, I guess the blast cauterized the wound. Damn! How many of those guys were down here? I heard a fire alarm go off, people were yelling and running past my room. The hell with my department rep, when I told my story to the brass I wanted a whole damn team of lawyers there with me! -EOF- Well, there it is. I hope you've enjoyed this modest little Halloween offering and that you and yours have a fun scary time!