Inside was a modern kitchen, complete with a walk-in refrigerator, aluminum prep stations, ovens, and two floor-to-ceiling wine racks — no doubt Sarah’s “stash.”
“This is… wow. I wouldn’t have expected such an elaborate kitchen in a lab.”
“I’ve been working for the organization going on twenty years. It’s in their best interest to keep me happy.”
She walked over to a gas stovetop where a large cast iron pot was simmering on a low flame. “Like you, I never had time to cook. However, I quickly tired of eating Jeffrey’s lunch meat sandwiches, and the room service entrees are too rich to eat every day… I must have gained ten pounds every time I had to report on assignment. Last year I decided I was going to learn how to cook — a virtual chef taught me how right in my apartment — and guess what… I love it.”
Sarah removed the lid from the cast iron pot, releasing an aroma that filled the room.
“Mmm… what is that?”
“Chicken and dumplings… a new twist on my grandmother’s recipe. There’s drinks in the walk-in — help yourself. Grab me a sparkling water, would you my dear?”
Jessica pulled on the metal handle of the vault-like refrigerator and entered.
Stacked on the floor were open wood-slat containers holding fresh fruit, heads of lettuce, and an assortment of vegetables. Shelves held large bricks of different cheeses and milk, along with the remains of a carton of thirty-six brown eggs.
She found an open case of sparkling water on the floor and extracted two bottles.
Sarah had set their lunch on a small folding table covered by a vinyl red and white checkered cloth. Steam rose from the two heaping bowls of chicken and dumplings, the scent causing Jessica’s mouth to water.
Before she could dip her spoon into the food, Sarah reached across the table and grasped her hands. “Would you like to say grace?”
“I’m a little out of practice. Would you mind?”
Sarah closed her eyes. “Dear Lord, we thank you for the food we’re about to eat and pray you’ll keep us safe from harm. Amen.”
“Amen. That was simple.”
“Spirituality is simple; religion complicates everything. As for grace, that’s simply asking God for a blessing we haven’t earned.”
“I like that.”
“Silly me… I forgot the sourdough bread. I made it from scratch last week and froze several loafs. It’ll take about four minutes to defrost in the microwave; go on and start eating while I heat up a loaf.”
Jessica waited until Sarah disappeared inside the walk-in refrigerator before dipping her tablespoon into the lumpy broth. “Oh my God, Sarah… this is amazing.”
She looked up as her assistant placed an object inside the microwave — only it wasn’t a loaf of bread. She set the timer for four minutes and pressed start, filling the room with static white noise.
Sarah returned to her seat, her expression now all business.
“The object I placed in the microwave is designed to scramble any security devices that could be eavesdropping on us, along with any psychotronic waves. As you’ve probably guessed by now, Mr. Mull was never a member of Zeus—he works in counter-intelligence. His boss is a sick bastard named Colonel Alexander Johnston, or as he prefers to be called—Dr. Death. Johnston fits the definition of a sociopath and recruits military personnel who also share this abnormality.
“A sociopath is wired differently than the rest of us, Jessica. A sociopath lacks the capacity to love. To these individuals, God is a black hole; morality a compass they were never equipped with at birth. While we may feel sorry for them, I can assure you they do not feel sorry for us. History has been poisoned by their rise through the business, political, and military ranks; millions have been tortured and murdered by their calculated cruelty. Pol Pot, Saddam and the sadistic members of his Republican Guard who now run ISIS… Kim Jung Un, Vladimir Putin… all sociopaths. Hitler was a madman, but it was psychopaths like Josef Mengele who ushered Satan into the Third Reich. Like moths to a flame, the sociopaths who ran European and American banks and corporations during World War II never hesitated to do business with the Nazis, and when the war was over, they offered them sanctuary.
“It is from this pool of soulless agents that MJ-12 recruited its most hardcore members during the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, and into the nineties. As the Cold War ended, things began to change. Today, most of the younger members of Council, as well as the scientists and military intelligence who work for the organization now calling itself MAJI, are moral individuals who realize that we have at our fingertips an endless clean energy source that can reverse climate change and end poverty, hunger, and disease… that if we simply put aside our differences we can evolve as a species and travel across the galaxy.”
“If the sociopaths are the minority, as you say, then what’s the problem? Kick the bastards out… or terminate them. I won’t be shedding any tears.”
“Hitler’s generals had made similar plans. They tried, failed, and were executed. Any revolution in the ranks must account for Dr. Death, who has access to psychotronic devices that can drive you into madness. His version of the S.S. — the Sociopathic Security — remain loyal to him.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m trying to protect you, Jessica. The air conditioning duct… punching through the foil shield that surrounds the Hive — I had to cover your tracks. I found the anti-security device in your lab coat. I assumed you used it to access my office.”
Jessica felt the blood drain from her face. “I didn’t break in… I was thinking about it when the ceiling started falling… when the roof retracted—”
“Don’t lie, Jessica. We both know you wanted to steal one of the rotary ZPE devices.”
“Okay, I did break in, but not to steal one of the units… to return it. Mull was blackmailing me… he switched out the rotary ZPE from SAT-3 with a fake device, then had the real thing delivered to my room. Instead of handing it off to some mysterious contact, I broke into your office and returned it.”
“Who gave you the looping device?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“I need to know in order to determine if I can trust you, Jessica.”
“And I need to know if I can trust you, Sarah. If you respect that, then you won’t ask who helped me.”
“Let me see your forearms.”
Jessica hesitated, then she held out her arms.
Sarah inspected each limb, tracing the veins along her assistant’s biceps.
“What are you doing?”
“This area along your left arm… is it sore?”
“Yes.”
“The physician who treated you implanted a nano-device inside your brachial artery. Dr. Death obviously doesn’t trust you either.”
“How do I get it out?”
“It will dissolve by itself in a few weeks before you leave; in less time if you exercise.”
That’s why Lydia wanted me to work out. She knew…
“Jessica, it’s very important that you not leave the facility until after the device dissolves. If the colonel arranged this, then you can bet the farm he equipped it with a charge that functions sort of like an electrical dog collar and fence.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If the dog passes outside the boundaries of the electrical fence it receives a shock. If you leave the electromagnetic shielding that surrounds this facility before that unit dissolves, a tiny charge will cause the device to explode inside your arm like a firecracker. The brachial artery is a major blood vessel; you’ll bleed to death before anyone can help you.”