Counterattack! (Dubois Chronicles 1.38)
DJ Dubois
Originally written in April 1988; Revised June-July 2006

Notes Part 1: Yes, we skipped the other Guisanto story. As noted in my last Series 1 piece, I plan to go back and revisit it later. However, as promised earlier, you get to see one of Dave’s meetings with the A-Team.

Notes Part 2: The A-Team belongs to Stephen Cannell Productions. The characters from Xena Warrior Princess belong to StudiosUSA and Renaissance Studios. Smallville is from DC and the WB. The characters from Alias belong to Buena Vista Entertainment, James Abrams and ABC. All other characters are fictional and of my own creation. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .

 


Preface [Amazon Village c. 94 AD]

Gabrielle, Bard-Queen of the Amazons, writes….

The Child refuses to tell me much of anything of the first year in Tucson except that it was a peaceful and happy time for David, Karen and their friends. This was the high point in their relationship.

As the second year at ‘college’ ended, Isobel’s shadow darkened the Alvarezes’ doorstep yet again. Even though she had been disposed of (for the time being at least), there were those who lusted after her secrets. Sydney Bristow has promised us more information concerning this inventor, Milo Rimbaldi, and his ties to the Countess. As seen in the ‘Timeswap’ scroll, they met on one occasion at least. That was enough for all of us.

In recent months, I have heard references to Sydney’s father as well as to the one named Arvin Sloane. The latter, a crazed fanatic in his own right, struck out against David, Karen and her family, leaving him for dead or worse…..

But, as always, David always has a ‘reserve’ as he calls it—those friends who stand by him in times of need. In this case, we finally meet the group called the ‘A-Team’ and witness the near disaster at a place called ‘Rocean’ on the Atlantic coast….

 

 


Chapter 1 [May 1, 1984—Tucson: Dave and Karen’s apartment]
[A/N: The first few paragraphs briefly summarize ‘California Dreams’]

Dave pulled up to the bike rack in the midst of the modest one bedroom apartment complex on Tucson’s east side and locked his bike with a chain covered in blue plastic. He smiled, feeling relaxed—well, for him at least. There had been no trouble since Guisanto’s second arrest when the drug lord had kidnapped Karen again, setting the stage for Dave and Garth to launch into what seemed to be a disaster.

Fortunately, the A-Team had also heard about Guisanto’s whereabouts and once again offered their assistance to them. This effort resulted in a successful rescue.

Equally as important to the team, Dave and Karen’s father made sure the military had the records from Hanoi. These accounts detailed the framing of the team for Stuart’s laundering of the Bank of Hanoi’s funds and their use in paying for the Rowenshire house.

I hope Hannibal and the others are doing okay. Dave smiled to himself, thinking about how Colonel Decker had just about had a fit when he heard that his so-called friend had set him up. Serves you right, Dick Head. Now I just have to worry about my courses, getting Dr. Coltrane’s and Dr. Samuelsohn’s papers finished! He unlocked the door and walked in to find that the apartment was empty….

…or rather, it seemed empty.

Feeling his scalp turning numb, he frowned. “Come out.”

“Very good,” Pauline complimented while stepping out of the bathroom. “And I was concealed in the mists as well. Your senses are sharpening.”

“Blame your husband’s language drills on that one. Focus, focus, focus—you know?” He poured himself a glass of water. “Want one?”

“Please,” she agreed before accepting the glass in his hand. After he had repeated the process for himself, she added, “You have done well this year.”

“Stability works wonders. Still wish I could see my friends though,” he lamented.

She nodded. “For what it’s worth, David, this wasn’t my will. Perhaps when we’ve bested the Curse, you can see each other again. Be strong and enjoy your visit home. That actually brings me to the real reason for my visit. The Empress has granted you an exemption. You, Garth and April can meet in Ludlow. My apologies but Amherst is still out of the question.”

“I understand,” he replied even if he didn’t. He missed the Langs, Kents, Alexander and Lillian. “Auntie’s gone, isn’t she?”

Pauline nodded. “She passed last winter…” She bowed her head. “…on your anniversary. Again, you can’t….”

“I know,” he groused, fighting off a fit. “Even Metro’s marked, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately,” she agreed sadly. “But you have this now. You and Karen are happy. Be glad of that. Remember to be careful however.”

“Careful? You don’t say?” he supposed sarcastically. “I thought things were going too well after Guisanto’s garbage. Nai-Jin drop any hints?”

“Just that Isobel’s shadow will fall across the land, endangering those you hold dearest to yourself,” she advised. “My husband and I will be at the Cambridge house if you need us.”

“Cambridge house?” He arched his eyebrow.

“He likes to use Harvard’s library. He kept the house when we moved here,” she explained.

Must be nice. “I’ll be extra careful,” he agreed.

“Do that,” she requested before disappearing into the mists again.

Now what? He scratched his head. She only does that when something *tres-nasty* is about to coming hurling down the tracks! I’ll have to have a batch of arrows ready just in case. He checked his watch, knowing that Karen would be home soon from class. Better not get her stirred up now.

[“Stirred up over what?”] she asked over their link.

[“Nothing. Just a bad test. Don’t worry about it. Where are you?”] he replied.

[“Just passed Columbus on the bus. Give me about seven minutes. Dave, what’s going on?”] she insisted.

[“Visit from Pauline. Nothing much…just the Empress being the Empress,”] he deadpanned, deflecting the question. [“Want a salad or what?”]

[“Make that dressing of yours and you’ve got a deal. See you in a few minutes,”] she agreed.

He sighed and walked over to the refrigerator. “Salad it is.” He began chopping cucumbers and peppers on the cutting board. After putting the chunks into a big plastic bowl, he mixed them in salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, vinegar and a touch of lemon juice.

Just as he set the mixture in the fridge, she walked in the door. “Hi! I see you’ve been busy.”

He grinned at his fiancée. “You know me. Always busy.”

“Yeah I do,” Karen indicated while hanging up her coat. “And worrying about those papers, I believe?”

He shrugged, conceding the point. “As I said before….” They kissed. “Dr. Coltrane’s paper’s been drafted. Dr. S’s is going to take a little while but I’ll get it done.”

“That’s better,” she agreed. “But for tonight at least, you’re going to take a break.”

“And you’ve got something else in mind?”

She grinned suggestively at him. “I always do, Mr. D. Give me a minute and I’ll start on those pork chops.”

He smiled, liking where this was all going.

****

[Later that Night—Bedroom]

Karen smoothed his hair and smiled at him. After dinner, they had watched a rented movie together and then made love. “Told you so,” she declared.

“You did,” he replied while holding her close to him.

“Greedy boy,” she teased.

“That’s me,” he cracked.

“That’s okay. After the bio class today, I didn’t think I was going to make it.” She sighed. “I really want to be a nurse but these science classes are killing me.”

“You’ll make it. I know you will,” he admonished while kissing her brow. “Our dreams, remember?”

She grinned, recalling why she had put up with the one year separation. I can’t wait until we finalize everything! Until then, this is as good as it gets anyhow….. “Caroline called while you were in the shower.”

“What’s going on with her?” he wondered.

“You left the fifteenth free, right?” she asked.

He nodded; a broad smile forming on his face. “We’re not missing her graduation. After that, well, we got an exemption.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, we can see Garth and April in Ludlow as I asked about,” he revealed.

“Thank you, Lord.” She closed her eyes, hating this prohibition stuff as much as he did. “The school wants the immediate family to do some function at the house. Daddy argued that you should be included too. But since you’re still officially just my boyfriend, the school declined. Sorry, Dave.”

“It’s okay. I’ll catch up with Garth. You meet us there when you can, okay?” he assured her.

“Thanks for being so understanding. I know everyone appreciates it,” she expressed.

He held her right hand up, letting her diamond sparkle in the dim light. “No problem. That’s what the whole thing’s about.”

She sighed contentedly. “You know it.” She snuggled against him and went to sleep.

I wish I believed it. This year’s been so great. I hope it lasts. He frowned while closing his own eyes.

 


Chapter 2 [Credit Dauphine, Los Angeles—a week and a half later]

Even as the sun set over the Pacific, Los Angeles kicked itself into second gear. Much like its counterpart in the northeast, the city never slept. Some people did go home to relax. The second shift, however, was hitting its stride while the third was just waking up.

In the heart of the financial district, Credit Dauphine proved such an entity on all of these levels. To the public, this institution embodied the foremost in international banking, brokering deals with London, Paris, Bejing, Tokyo and Istanbul among other places on a daily basis. However, a larger operation lay behind its private curtain. Five floors below the business’ main floor sat an enormous complex buzzing with activity. Trained men and women sat typing away at their computers, monitoring activity around the world. Analysts and engineers worked on the latest edge to enter into and deal with those activities.

Toward the back of the complex, a slender man sat behind an expensive desk; his intense coal-dark eyes watching the activity through a one-way glass window. Despite the snow-white hair stubbled on his head, he refused to give way to his body’s advancing need to eat or sleep, choosing instead to focus on the Inventor and the latter’s mission.

A knock came from the door.

“Yes?” he asked, keeping his voice perfectly modulated.

The door opened, allowing another man in a dark suit into the room. Jack Bristow knew better than to disturb his superior on most matters. Yet anything related to Rimbaldi, he knew needed to be directed to the other man immediately. “We just finished the processing on the file, Arvin.” With the usual nondescript expression on his face, he handed a file folder over.

Few things in the world made Arvin Sloane’s face light up like a child’s face on Christmas morning. News of this type was near the top of that particular list. “Thank you, Jack. How did we overlook this?”

“It took a year and a half since the Amherst incident to get people to talk about it. We got lucky,” Bristow reported. “There is a connection there.”

“Yes,” Sloane agreed absently while skimming the report. “We should move on this immediately. Assemble our top operatives and have them meet me in Room 4 in an hour.” He looked at the report again. “It says here that the family moved. Where?”

“Scituate, Massachusetts—along the Atlantic coast,” Bristow reported.

“I’m familiar with it,” Sloane indicated. “Please assemble those agents. Thank you.” After the other had left, he sat and read over the report in deeper detail, getting more insight on the events occurring over the previous six years in Amherst and surrounding towns. “Yes!” He opened the safe in back of his desk and produced a parchment book with a weathered mahogany cover. Flipping to a marked place, he read a coded passage and nodded. “The Destroyer at last!” Shutting the book and returning it to its place, he headed for the meeting room. There he found a dozen men and women dressed much better than their counterparts outside.

As soon as their boss stepped into the room and shut the door. Despite his less than stellar objectives, he put on the face of a CIA covert unit. As with the business itself, the hidden operation had layers to it. To most of its operatives, it was a branch of United States intelligence dealing with black ops and other special cases which the government wouldn’t touch. In reality, SD-6 represented a piece of the very multinational operation they thought they were fighting.

In truth, among those in the room, only Sloane and Bristow knew that last fact to be true.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ll make this quick because we need to move.” Sloane pushed a button on his remote, turning on a projector. “As you know we’ve been looking for elements of a fanatical cult—an organization dedicated to Rimbaldi worship. We found it.” He looked around the table, gauging the others’ reactions and letting the pronouncement soak in. “Two years ago, reports of dark clothed cultists circulated around the country.” He pulled up a map of the US. “They struck in Boston, upstate New York, Chicago and Kansas. However, most of the attacks clustered around an area in western and central Massachusetts.”

A young African-American male raised his hand. “Sir, I remember they were focused around Amherst.”

“Very good, Marcus,” Sloane complimented despite hating such interruptions. “The cult, on the whole, mysteriously disappeared. Unverified reports stated that it had been destroyed. And it seemed so until six months later.” He clicked on the projector, producing a series of images from the fight between the Mystery Man and the Child/Destroyer. “The mysterious cloaked man was an agent of Rimbaldi’s. The locals tell stories of how he is over three hundred years old.”

“And the flaming guy?” a red headed woman queried.

“Rimbaldi told a prophecy of such a battle between master and disciple when the ‘old will be made new again’.” Again, Sloane allowed them to think on this point. “After Rimbaldi’s execution, his effects were scattered only to be brought back together by a French countess from the Vendee region, the Countess Isobel Marguerite Thibidoux. She was Dahak’s high priestess and well as a known collector, seeking to gain power over a rival. It was she who brought the Destroyer to life.”

“The Destroyer?” Jack asked, knowing the context himself.

“Yes, Jack, the Accursed Boy has been found at last.” Sloane pushed the button again, bringing up an image of Dave. “David Dubois, twenty years old. Born in Springfield, MA—02/20/1964. He is our Destroyer. On the surface, he seems normal enough. However, his record is quite impressive. He has also showed such signs. I had that record put into the packets. Given that the cult has gone underground, he is our only link.” He rubbed his chin. “We know he lives with a local family, the Alvarezes. They recently moved to Scituate, Massachusetts perhaps to get away from Dubois’ past….maybe to hide from us as well. Dubois has a relationship with the middle daughter, Karen Alvarez, as well.”

“So we can use that if necessary,” Marcus presumed.

“Precisely,” Jack agreed. “Our mission is to take the family into custody, holding them at the Rocean facility outside of Dover, New Hampshire. There we can find out more information. If we can take Dubois himself, that would be of use to us. Wheels up at 0-1100 hours tomorrow. We’ll take the Alvarezes quietly but be ready to destroy the house if necessary.”

“One more thing, People. Dubois is extremely dangerous. This is a Dead or Alive objective. Understand? All right, prepare and be ready to leave in the morning. Thank you, everyone,” Sloane concluded while watching them get up and leave. “Productive session, Jack. Thank you for jumping in.”

“I tried to pick the right moment, Arvin.”

“You always do. Agent Dixon did as well. His insight made the presentation go over better. We’ll need to keep an eye on him. He’s promotion material.”

Jack concurred, “He seems bright enough. I’ll make a note of it. If you’ll excuse me, Arvin, I need to make a call.” He walked out the door.

Soon, Rimbaldi’s biggest secret will be mine!

 


Chapter 3 [A/N: The poem, “Inspirations” is my original work.]
[Friday afternoon—Dartmouth College]

As always, Dartmouth’s graduation ceremony caused its community to overflow with family and student celebrations. With the mix of camera flash bulbs, speeches being given and (no surprise) alcohol being consumed by some, it was always quite the event. Students bade each other good bye or ‘see you later’.

On this particular afternoon, the ocean provided a warm gentle breeze to soothe the attended graduates and well wishers in the stands. Among them, Dave and the Alvarezes sat through the speeches by the usual cast of university and guest celebrity characters which a school of this nature brought out.

[“She’s next,”] Karen indicated.

Dave smiled at his fiancée. [“She’s going to do great.”]

The university president stood and walked back over to the lectern. “Thank you, everyone. For our last talk of the day, I present to you our senior valedictorian, Miss Caroline Alvarez. Miss Alvarez has been a joy to know as a student and all around campus citizen, averaging a 4.0 and yet always finding some service organization to be involved in. Truly a well rounded individual but I’ll let you judge for yourself. Miss Alvarez?”

Caroline walked nervously up to the lectern and took a deep breath. “Thank you, President Paulsen, for those kind words. First of all, I want to thank everyone for being here with us today. Our parents and loved ones who supported us along the way, encouraging us at every turn. Our teachers and administrators who made sure we learned the elements of life and about the world’s true workings. Most of all, to my classmates who have been and are the best group of friends anywhere. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause, okay?”

The graduating seniors clapped and whooped for a good minute.

Then Caroline resumed, “Okay, now onto the bigger issues of the day. Reality. Getting a job. Starting down life’s road. All scary stuff isn’t it? It is for me and I’m sure it is for you too. But it’s relative. Growing up in Amherst has taught me a lot about things and given me a chance to watch those around me deal with things. We pick our role models and inspirations—one of which is my father, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, the superintendent of the Scituate school system in Massachusetts and formerly the same in Amherst. No matter how good or bad things get at the job or at home, he always keeps the same steady hand on the rudder of our family ship, keeping us off of the rocks you might say. Thanks, Daddy, for everything.” She wiped a tear away from her eye before continuing on. “The second person is a very special guy who redefines the idea of dealing with adversity. For the last six years, I swear, he has seen just about every kind of situation pop up. And each time, he somehow has dealt with the crisis, balancing school, life, friends and especially, his girlfriend.” She looked into the crowd toward Dave and smirked.

Oh brother! Dave sighed, feeling self-conscious.

“Actually, he’s my sister’s boyfriend, David Dubois. As I said, he’s a poet. I wish I could’ve arranged for him to read some of his stuff. Anyhow, Dave, you inspired me to write a theme piece called ‘Inspirations.’ Here goes:

Inspirations
Caroline Alvarez
May 1984

Life leads us down her road
Of varying degree
One day, bearing the load
Another, feeling free

Winding round and fro
The river sweeps along
Ever forward, it goes
The current, a Siren’s song

Do not think you can know
The River Life
For every patch low
Rough waters bring strife

Experience guides
Leading the way
Ne’er from the gale, he hides
Ne’er will he stray.

Like Virgil to Dante did advise
When latter lost in Dark Wood was
And could not find his way
From Fear and Despair, arise!
A purpose for you, God has
This I promise; this I say.

And so, the two progressed
Many sights did they see
Dante about them guessed;
From Ignorance, he himself did free

We can do the same, Friends
Watch around ourselves
Learn from it all
Never fearing the river’s bends
As Experience into his horde delves
Benefiting both great and small.”

She took a deep breath. “Hope you liked that, Dave. Once again, to you and Daddy, thank you. Thank you, everyone. Have a great day.”

Dave wiped his eyes, feeling stunned by what he had inspired. Another poet in the family?

[“You’re a bad influence, Chief,”] Karen cracked while motioning for him to stand with everyone else and applaud.

And on that note, Pomp and Circumstance rang out, signaling the transition.

****

[An hour later]

With the degrees being handed out and the mortar boards tossed, another class passed into the world, breaking into hugs and embraces with themselves and the audience.

Caroline walked anxiously over to her parents and hugged them. “I hope that was okay.”

“That was a very special moment, Dear,” her mother assured her.

“For both of us. You’re welcome, Caroline, and thank you for the kind words,” her father expressed. “We’re really proud of you. That was a beautiful poem you read.”

“I hope people liked it.” Caroline turned anxiously toward her brother, sister and Dave.

“If they didn’t, there’s something wrong with them,” Karen admonished while squeezing her big sister tightly.

“Well, Dave? I take it you’re surprised?” Caroline inquired.

“About you doing something like that? Not really. However, I wish you had shared that hidden talent sooner,” he retorted. “I agree with your folks. That was a moment for the ages. If people can’t appreciate it, that’s their problem. As for what I do, remember, you helped open the door for me way back when. Take credit too.”

“Sometimes you’re too humble for your own good,” the new graduate countered, embracing him. “Don’t expect me to take back a single word of what I said. I meant it.”

Dave sighed, conceding the point. “So what time is the get together?”

“Eight in Scituate. Maybe after the speech, I could convince them to let you in,” Caroline replied.

“I could insist,” her father interjected.

Dave shook his head. “We’ll have our own party at the cottage afterwards. I’m insisting on the good grill stuff.” He smirked at the superintendent.

“You are, are you?” Dr. Alvarez ribbed him, smiling warmly in the process. “We’ll see what we can do.”

“I appreciate it,” Dave noted. “Karen, see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Karen declared. “Try not to have too much fun without me now.”

“Garth and April will keep me on my toes.”

“So she promised me.”

“You saying you don’t trust me?” he asked with mock seriousness.

She grinned at him. “Trouble always finds you, sir.” She kissed his cheek; letting her eyes sparkle at him. “I’ll meet you up there tomorrow.”

He laughed. “Be that way.” Turning to Caroline, he added, “Make sure she doesn’t get too much of the bean dip. Once again, great job.”

“I’ll watch her too and thanks, Dave, for everything,” Caroline replied.

He smiled before heading for Bessie and taking off toward the Interstate. As he did, he recalled Pauline’s warning. Cut it out, Dave! It’s just a damn party with stuffy old farts and such. Karen will be with us tomorrow. For some reason, while he knew the words should be true, he had a really bad feeling. Climbing the on ramp, he hit the accelerator, heading south toward the Mass Pike. I’ll feel better if Garth’s with me.

A glance in the mirror revealed a dark car following him.

Now what? He changed lanes and took the first off ramp.

The pursuing vehicle followed.

He toured the town, weaving nonsensically around it.

The car kept pace.

This one likes to play, does he? Two of us can do that! Using the cigarette lighter, he lit a smoke bomb and tossed it telekinetically out the window, letting the distraction do its work. Once hidden in it, he opened a portal in front of himself, vanishing into it and slamming it closed behind him a second later.

****

[Two minutes later]

As his sight cleared, Dixon punched the dashboard in frustration. My first mission and I’ve failed already! How will I explain this to Mr. Sloane?

“He was right in front of us,” his partner, a red headed woman, groused. “This street’s a dead end!”

He saw the road’s end a half mile in front of them and shook his head. “He vanished into thin air. Let’s hope the others do a better job.” He took out a walkie-talkie. “Rook to Central. Subject was cornered.”

“Was cornered?” Sloane growled. “He escaped?”

“Dubois vanished!”

The leader frowned, glaring at his receiver. So Dubois has a few tricks up his sleeve. Let’s see what happens when I pull my ace. “Epheron, are you there?”

“Epheron here, Central,” an operative answered from the other end.

“Take the targets and return to base. Requiem, proceed to Phase B of our plan. Watch the house. Central, out,” the leader instructed. After signing off, he poured himself a scotch and considered it carefully. “The game’s on, Dubois. Let’s see how well you truly respond to adversity.”

 


Chapter 4
[Dartmouth Parking Lot]

Even as Dave escaped from Dixon, Karen began to share in his anxiety. Through their link, she saw the car chase and his maneuver. Now what?

“Sis, what is it?” Charles wondered.

“Nothing. Sorry but we really need to get going. Those big shots, you know?” Karen advised while approaching the station wagon.

As they did, Bristow and three other agents in ski masks stepped into view with their guns pointed at the family. “You’re coming with us, Miss Alvarez. All of you.”

“What is this?” Dr. Alvarez demanded.

“Someone wants to meet you,” Bristow indicated. “Let’s go…toward the van.” He and the others led the family away.

****

[Sunderland]

Dave emerged from the mists on the usual stretch of Route 47 and hit the brakes. “What the Hell?” He rubbed his forehead, feeling the pounding there. Great. And I’m back here too. The Empress is going to love this. Well, this is an emergency. Hell with it.

“Hell has nothing to do with it, Bro,” a familiar voice advised.

He turned to find Cybelle standing there, shaking her head at him. “You’re not the one being chased, Cybbie.”

“And you’re dangerously close to violating the Empress’ prohibition,” she countered. “At least you stopped.”

He frowned, not really needing this lecture at that moment. Then he felt Karen’s fear as she and the others were kidnapped. “DAMN IT! I knew it! Crap!”

She nodded. “And the news is going to get worse, Dave.”

“Karen and the others were just kidnapped, all right? How much worse can this get?” he groused.

“Dave, calm down. We don’t need….” She tried to calm him down.

“Don’t start with me! You want to help? Fine, get Garth and bring him here,” he indicated.

“That works.” She disappeared into the mists.

He growled, feeling his head going numb from the situation. “Stop it!” Reaching into the glove compartment, he grabbed his emergency herbal stash. Inhaling it, he felt some relief just as Cybelle returned with Garth.

“Dave, what’s going on?” Garth wondered. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

“Emergency, all right?” the other snapped.

“Again?” Garth stared at Cybelle. “He’s kidding, right?”

“No. I wouldn’t have revealed myself to you unless there was a crisis,” she countered.

“What do we do then?” Garth asked.

“We ‘port back to Scituate. I drop you off at Rick’s. Then I’m going to grab some crap in my lab. Wait until I hit them from behind,” Dave revealed.

“Suicidal at best,” she disagreed.

“Suicidal is our strong suit,” Garth deadpanned. “I’m going with you.”

“You stay with Rick’s family and watch the rear. Got it?” Dave countered.

She rolled her eyes, recalling the previous two misadventures in Mexico and California. “Just don’t get your fool rears shot off! Got that?”

“Baby sisters, no faith,” Dave jabbed.

“Big brothers, no brains,” she countered angrily. “You’re going to get yourself killed.” Or uncork the Child again.

Considering her words, Dave nodded. “On second thought, Garth, you’re going to be a big help.” He grinned.

“Uh oh,” his friend realized. “When you get that look, you have something really bad brewing.”

Sensing his intent, she complimented, “Nice idea but you still shouldn’t go in there. They’re watching the house.”

“So let them watch it. I’ll pop in and out before they know what hit them,” he advised.

It should work but I’ve got a nasty feeling about this! “I’ll let the other sisters know. Give Garth the keys.”

“If there’s even a scratch on her, your ass is grass,” Dave vowed while handing over the keys.

“I’ll take good care of your baby,” Garth promised before getting in and starting the motor. After the mists appeared in front of him, he disappeared into them.

“You’d best get going too. Don’t stay in there too long,” she reminded him.

“You’re starting to sound like Pauline. Geez!” he countered before disappearing into the mists.

She frowned, knowing that her brother was about to find trouble. Head for Althanor. There, I can let the others know. With that, she vanished into the mists.

 


Chapter 5 [SD-6 Rocean Facility]

Even as the plans developed in Massachusetts, the dark van approached a tall granite building surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire on three sides. On its fourth, a cliff loomed over the crashing surf a hundred feet below.

On sight, the guards opened the fence, allowing the vehicle through the perimeter and down into an underground garage. Once there, it stopped.

“Everyone, out,” Bristow noted, pointing his gun at the Alvarezes.

Dr. Alvarez watched the masked men as his wife, kids and then he exited the vehicle. “Where are we?”

“Not that far from where we were,” another of the masked agents remarked. “Walk. Straight ahead.”

Karen rolled her eyes, wondering how she always seemed to end up going through these messes. At least Dave got away. Through the link, she could hear him arguing with Cybelle about things. He ended up in Amherst? I hope he knows what he’s doing!

The group headed through a gray plain concrete passageway until they came to four doors two by two, right across the hall from each other.

“The sisters in Cell 1. The boy in Cell 2. The parents in Cell 3,” Bristow instructed.

Shoving the family members into their respective areas, the goons secured the doors.

Bristow instructed them. “Sloane’s waiting for an update. Let’s go.


****

[Karen and Caroline’s area]

The girls surveyed the barracks style room, trying to find a way out. The concrete walls and ceilings had no color, life or spark at all. Except for two beds in addition to a toilet and sink in the corner, there weren’t any furnishings at all to speak of.

“Here we go again,” Karen groused.

“What? Is this what it was like when you grabbed by Guisanto?” Caroline queried.

“Pretty much. That creep at least had a nicer room than this.” She frowned.

“Dave got away at least,” Caroline presumed. “That’s something. Still against these guys, what can he do?”

Not wanting to give anything away, Karen shrugged while surveying the territory again. He’ll think of something, I’m sure.

Suddenly she grimaced, falling onto one of the beds.

“What’s wrong?”

Karen looked at her with an ashen expression. “It’s the answer to your question. He’s in a lot of pain right now.”

Not for the first time, Caroline wondered how her sister knew these things. Me and my big mouth!

 


Chapter 6 [Twenty minutes earlier—Scituate]

SD-6 agents kept surveillance over the Alvarez house, knowing that Dave would have to return there at some point. A dark colored car guarded each end of the street. Meantime, six other agents waited inside of the house itself, having inspected and found nothing of note anywhere.

If something happened, they’d be right on top of it.

****

[Rick’s House]

Garth parked the Subaru one street behind the designated watch zone. Besides evading detection, he had no wish to get his friend mad by mussing up the paint job. He climbed the back fence, falling over the top and landing on the other side less than gracefully. How does Dave do this?

He rushed up to the back door and knocked.

Rick’s Dad opened the screen. “Garth? What are you doing? We do have a front door, you know.”

“Sorry, Mr. Duke. We have a problem at the Alvarez house. Is Rick here?” Garth apologized.

“He will be in fifteen minutes. Garth, what’s going on? Is everything all right?” Mr. Duke queried.

The teen peered out through the window at the house across the street. “The lights are on.”

“So?”

Garth sighed. “They aren’t there. Did you see anyone suspicious?”

“There were….” His eyes went wide. “There were exterminator guys around there but I know the house was just done last week!” He picked up the phone and dialed 911.

Just what we need…. Garth continued to observe intently. Then he saw the agents rush out of the other structure like rats before a fire. Get out of there, Dave!

****

[Basement Lab—Alvarez House—Five minutes earlier]

Dave stepped out of the portal cautiously, making sure that the party boys upstairs weren’t waiting for him there. A psychic sweep confirmed that no intruders lurked in the vicinity. “So far, so good.” He quickly collected a quiver full of shafts, his bow and the smoke bombs. Opening another portal, he tossed the equipment through it.

At that moment, he could feel the intruders’ realization of his presence as well as their feet rushing down the cellar stairs. Damn it! He picked up the bottles for his ‘touch’ and set them inside of the portal as well. They can look but there’s no door that way, guys.

He heard a rain of fists banging against the other side of the wall, looking for an opening.

How’d they know I was here?

Then the blows stopped.

The feet ran back upstairs like crazy.

Now what? He did another sweep of the house, picking up quickly on a burning smell that he recognized. SHIT! He took a step toward the portal.

And the whole world exploded in crimson flame.

****

[Rick’s House]

Garth sat there in shock. “DAVE!”

“What? Garth, was he…?” Mr. Duke realized. He stared at the conflagration burning away across the street. “Dear Lord, nothing could’ve survived that!”

“I can’t leave him in there!” Garth rushed through the door and out onto the front lawn just in time to see the police and SD-6 agents get into their shootout.

“Dad, what’s going on? What’s Dave’s car doing in back of our…fence? Damn! Garth, what happened?” Rick asked after following Garth’s path from earlier.

“The Alvarezes were kidnapped earlier. The creeps just blew up their house. Dave was in there when it happened,” Garth related.

“Get back in here,” Mr. Duke told them both before closing the door.

 


Chapter 7

[Althanor—Beside the Great Lake]

Cybelle’s eyes snapped open. “Goddess, no! I warned him!”

“Cybelle?” Deirdre asked, rushing over to her.

“My brother blundered into yet another mess. This time, it may have killed him,” the younger priestess explained before grabbing onto her sister. “Pauline was supposed to have guided him! Why?”

“Pauline has other affairs as well,” Deirdre reminded her. “Until the Empress gives confirmation, we cannot know that for sure.”

“Sage advice, Deirdre,” Nai-Jin concurred while stepping into view. “Forgive me; I was coming to see Keira with the news.”

“News? Dave?” Cybelle asked.

“He lives…but is in the Prohibited Place. The Child has returned home,” the seeress declared gravely.

Home? Cybelle stared at Deirdre and then at the prophetess. Why is that a bad thing?


****

[Smallville, Talon Theater—4:00 PM Central Time]

Laura Lang unlocked the theater’s front doors and slipped into the old building. With the next new feature starting in three hours, she wanted to get the projector and deal with any unexpected things that came up.

Three steps into the dimly lit chamber, her scar glowed. Oh not now! “Who’s there?”

“La…ura,” Dave croaked.

She turned the light on to find her friend lying in a burned and bleeding heap in the tile’s midst. “Dave! What happened?”

“Ex…plosion. Karen n’ others n’ tr’ble,” he muttered painfully while turning over onto his side. “G…et back!” He reached out toward the plaque.

In response, the metal glowed brightly.

Once more, the flame shot from it, enveloping him.

He ground his teeth, feeling the fire work on his injuries. As he did, he felt his mind slip away.

Laura gaped, knowing full well what was happening. “No. NO!”

The Child glared at her before screaming once more. “Dum’asses gonna PAY! Crap this shit! CRAP THIS SHIT!” With that, he vanished, leaving her dazed in his wake.

Lewis banged on the door.

She opened it and grabbed onto him. “Lew! He was here! Dave was just here!”

He stared at her. “He can’t have been! Dave’s dead. I just found out.” Then he looked over her shoulder at the large scorch mark in the floor. “What in Heaven’s name?”

“He…was dying, Lew.” Her eyes watered.

“I heard that screaming from a couple of years ago. The animal’s back,” he presumed. “This time, I’ll kill it.”

“No, Lew…it’s no animal. That was…Dave…or rather, Isobel’s Destroyer.” She sobbed, touching her belly.

“Calm down, Honey. Remember, the baby,” he advised.

“I know. I’ll…call Martha and Jonathan….They should know,” she agreed before they left, shutting the doors again.

****

After they left, Deirdre surveyed the scene with a frown. Amazing that the Child did not lash out at them. She cast two spells, removing all traces of the previous encounter. Alas that I cannot remove the evil from this place! Having done so, she left in a poof of mist as well.

 


Onto Part 2