“Had to try.” Hammerson put his mug down. “At least now they know why that area of the Antarctic is off limits.” He smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Sometimes trust has to be proven.”
Alex didn’t return the smile. “That PLA captain, Wu Yang. It was him that tried to abduct Joshua. Did you know?”
Hammerson steeled himself. “We suspected it was Chinese operatives. Didn’t know Yang was involved; you have my word on that.”
“But Jack, they knew about Joshua. Knew that he was… different. That’s why they wanted him.” He turned his laser like eyes on Hammerson. The mirth of just moments ago was gone. Alex sat forward. “They have their own advanced soldier program. Their soldier, Mungoi, was a giant. But he was flawed. That’s why they wanted Joshua, to perfect their program.” He sprang to his feet and crossed to the large windows overlooking the grounds. “The Arcadian program’s secret is out, and so is his.” He laughed softly. “The Israelis, the Chinese, the Russians… it’s not a matter of who knows now, but who doesn’t know?” He continued to stare down at the grounds.
Hammerson rose to his feet and joined him at the window. He could see what had Alex’s attention. Below Aimee Weir and Joshua chased each other on grass so green, it looked like stadium turf.
“Without me, he is vulnerable.” Alex sighed and watched his son run faster and faster, leaving Aimee long behind. He turned to Hammerson. “Only I can protect him.”
Jack Hammerson watched Alex for a moment. “Have you spoken to him yet?”
“No. I wanted to give Aimee some time alone with him first. But soon.” He smiled as he watched the pair. “For the first time in years, I feel… nervous.”
Hammerson sipped his coffee. “I can’t order you to do anything here. I can advise, but that’s all. And I want you to know that any advice I give is from a friend, not as your superior officer.”
Alex turned to scrutinize him for a moment and Hammerson felt the gaze reach deeply inside him, and knew Alex was reading him. He nodded and turned away.
Hammerson sipped and then lowered his mug. “And for what it’s worth, my initial advice would be to keep his abilities secret. Not everyone knows about him. Sure, they may know of him, but not who he really is.” He placed an arm on Alex’s shoulder. “This is a big decision. You need to take some time out, spend it with them… see what happens.”
Hammerson crossed back to his desk. “I won’t lie to you, I hope you decide to stay with us. I’m selfish like that.” He watched as Alex stared down onto the field, a smile still on his brutally handsome features.
“See if family life suits you for a while.” Hammerson continued to watch him. “Just one thing… you said they’re vulnerable without you. Remember, they will be getting more than just Alex Hunter.”
Alex turned, his face stony. “The Other one.”
Hammerson nodded.
Alex continued to stare at Hammerson, his eyes unblinking. “I can control him… it.”
“Can you really?” Hammerson returned the gaze for a moment longer. “Only you can really know the answer to that. But my view, I think these… missions, let some pressure out. A good thing… for everyone.”
Alex turned back to the window. “I can control it,” he repeated.
Alex came around the corner of the building and paused, watching Aimee and Joshua. They played for a moment longer, but then his son stopped running, and turned to face him.
Alex could feel the force of the boy’s gaze. Joshua studied him, his face relaxed, but the familiar eyes penetrated him to the core. The boy held up a hand and waved. Aimee turned then, and seeing Alex, stiffened.
Alex felt a sudden jolt of disillusionment, as she stepped forward to pull Joshua in close to herself. There came a soft voice into Alex’s head: this is your reward; she doesn’t trust you.
Not me… you, Alex thought.
A soft laugh. You are me, and I am you.
Joshua lifted Aimee’s hand from him, and continued his scrutiny. Alex tried to relax, and waved. He smiled and first went to Aimee. “Ah, I saw you two playing, and I wanted to say hello.”
“It’s good to see you,” Aimee said. “It’s…”
“It’s about time,” Joshua cut in, reaching up to take his hand. “You were always there, but not there… and now you’re finally, here.” He cocked his head. “I know who you are. You’re my father. Not Peter.”
Alex went down on one knee, and Aimee stood behind Joshua, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders. “Yes, Joshua. I’m your father. I’ve been away, but I’ve been wanting to see you for many years.” He held out his hand. “I’m back now.”
Joshua took it and smiled. “Good.”
You’ll hurt him — maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but you will. The voice didn’t carry its usual sneering tone, but instead was simply matter of fact.
Joshua gripped Alex’s hand a little harder, a frown creasing his small brow. “I don’t believe that,” he said.
“Huh?” Alex froze. “Don’t believe what, Joshua?”
“I don’t believe you’ll hurt me.” Joshua lifted his head, confident.
“What?” Aimee leaned forward.
“No, I would never…” Alex began.
“But the Other one might.” The boy tilted his head, eyes narrowed slightly.
Aimee frowned, and knelt beside her son. “You okay, honey?” Joshua looked briefly at her, and nodded.
Alex felt a stab of pain deep in his head. And you’ll hurt her too. You have before, and next time, you’ll kill her. Alex’s jaws worked as his teeth ground into his cheeks. He tried to push the disturbing thoughts away.
Suddenly he felt another pain, this one from his hand. He looked down to see Joshua’s hand on his, the fingers now closing hard, harder than was possible for a normal five year old.
“Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me, or Mommy.” He smiled. “I’ll make sure.” He leaned in close to Alex’s ear. “I can help.”
Alex felt the pain in the center of his head relax. And after another moment, it felt like a door was slamming shut in his mind, the tormenting presence locked behind it, and silenced.
Alex exhaled. “Yes, I think we’ll be fine, Joshua. Let’s see how things go.”
“As a family.” Joshua held Alex’s eyes.
“Yes, as a family.” Alex smiled. “Hey, can I call you Josh?
The boy’s face lit up. “Yes, I like that. You can call me Josh… Josh Hunter.” He let go of Alex’s hand. “And one more thing; I want a dog… a big one.”
EPILOGUE
The massive creature sunk to the sea shelf, tried to hang on, but the damage to its body was too great. It gave up and let itself slide off the edge of the underwater cliff and sink into the cold, dark pressure of the abyss. It took an hour for it hit bottom and spread over the rocky surface of the abyssal plain like a gigantic mottled carpet. Beside it, the broken ship floated down to lay like the broken skeleton of some long dead beast.
Many miles away from the Kraken’s graveyard, in a cavern hidden away beneath the dark ice and rocky shell of an underground world, several bulbous six-foot eggs bounced along warm shallows of the shoreline. Their coiled contents wriggled, shook, and the rubbery shells burst open in an explosion of writhing tentacled horror.
The creatures immediately changed color, and blended to their environment. Their large disc eyes with slitted pupils examined their new world, and they tasted the warm water, which was thick with the signals of life, movement, and food. They propelled themselves into deeper water, already hungry.