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US Army Corps of Engineers, Research Facility Kill Devil Hills, Dare County, North Carolina May 8, 2008 0730 hours Dr. Noah Carter was not a big man by normal standards, though he liked to consider himself near the top side of the spectrum. He worked out when he could, when work and sleep allowed him, and he considered himself `typical' for a 42 year old doctor of bioengineering. His work had come to an unsuspecting stop, not through any fault of his own, and he now found himself in a new facility. Not terribly unlike the one he came from except he would have to go through the routine of getting to know the guards so he wouldn't have to fish out his identification every time he came in. He smiled slightly as he continued down the hall to his new office. He knew the importance of keeping his head. He was disturbed at the individual who had invaded his space, and it left him feeling violated, not unlike, he figured, someone would feel when their house was robbed. Now, the individual on the surveillance tape had been large by any standard including Carter's lopsided version. Even at an average of six feet in height and a strong 185 pounds, Carter thought the individual on the tape, no he KNEW the individual on the tape, if standing next to him would not only tower over him but probably double his weight as well. Could be his imagination, too, he thought, perhaps a trick of camera work `they say being on camera puts ten pounds on you'. Maybe something as simple as the individual had on bulky clothing. But what if it wasn't? What if this individual was that large? What if there was a temper, just as large, attached to the bulky shoulders and thick arms? He scowled a little now, as he slid his id card into the little slot and waited for the light to blink from red to green allowing him access to his newly acquired space. What if the intruder followed him home? He'd be dead, he thought absently. There would be no fight as Carter fancied himself a scientist, not a fighter. A few swings at the punching at the gym did not qualify him as a fighter�or as anything else for that matter. Perhaps, this individual, this intruder, being smart enough to circumvent the alarm systems and elude capture, would also provide Carter with a quick death? A simple neck snapping or something to that effect which would snuff his life out almost instantaneously so there would be no drawn out torture scene that he knew deep down inside he could not tolerate. In any event, he sat down at his desk looking over the organized paperwork, so different than his colleagues' desk. Carter prided himself on being a master at organization. It was the key, so he believed, to great minds being able to concentrate better if they didn't have to worry about not finding a certain piece of paper, phone number, or addy amongst the clutter that they passed off as an office. It was what he believed and what had gotten him where he was now. Except for safe, he thought suddenly. Everything was just peachy keen in his world until that night when his safety was taken away. But he was an intelligent man, driven by emotions no more than one of his robots were. It was a nuisance to have to pick up and move his lab. The government, obviously feeling gracious that day, had given him 6 hours to do so, instead of the usual `now'. But he had done it, and saw the wisdom in it. Obviously, a security breach at his `old' facility afforded no compromise when it came to his research. It was just too important. He looked at the picture on his desk, the only one, while he booted up his computer. The young face in the image smiled back at him. "What now Maggie?" he asked the smiling pretty face of his wife. He longed for her to be here with him, standing at his side, just like the good old days. Of course, that was not even remotely possible now with her being missing for, he looked at the calendar, six years two months and eight days. That horrible day always skirted at the edges of his memory when he had been told the news. How his feverish search for her dulled the reality of the pain, only for it to be felt months later, when all leads were exhausted, all interviews conducted, all hope almost gone, that's when the pain came, and it came hard and unforgiving. He had all but abandoned his work at that point, had been hardly able to breathe let alone work. But there was a small something left in his damaged heart, a tiny glimmer of hope, an ember in the vast darkness of reality that kept him alive�hope that she was still alive. This tiny ember grew day by day until it raged into the fire that now drove his current work. It was her, his Maggie, his Magpie, and her tragic disappearance that inspired his work, that drove him to be successful, because if he was, others would not have to go through what he had those six years ago. He would be successful because he had to be. There was just no other way. Return |
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