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Valkyrion
7/12/2010
“Dr. Lloyd?”
Jason looked up at the unfamiliar voice. His samples were spread out over the picnic table.
“Yes?” He didn’t recognize the man, but the suit and the dark-gray sedan parked behind him screamed ‘government’. A second man sat in the car. Jason frowned; he had enough government in the last few weeks to last him a lifetime.
“Nathan Dawes, NSA. I’m going to need you to come with me.”
Jason sighed and rubbed his forehead, smearing it with dust. He’d hoped this had something to do with the geology he was supposed to be studying. No such luck. The NSA was the branch which had interviewed him after the dragon attacks at the school. How had they managed to track him down? He could see Dede approaching the newcomer. This just kept getting better and better. This was only his third day out here and now he had to explain to an ex-girlfriend why government goons were hauling him away. He should have gone with Iris. Dealing with gods and monsters was better than this.
“I’m Dr. Fisher,” Dede came close enough to talk without yelling, “I’m in charge of this site. How can I help you?”
“Nathan Dawes, NSA. I need to interview Dr. Lloyd regarding an incident in Texas.”
She looked over at Jason, “What have you been up to?”
“Nothing that interesting.” He stood up, “Okay, where do you want to do this?” There was no point is arguing and the more he cooperated the better the chances they would let him go.
“I’m going to need to take you back to our office in Butte.”
Jason wished they’d quit hauling him all over the country, “Okay. Let’s get this over with.” There was no reason to pack; nothing in the hotel room belonged to him. His leather jacket was draped over the bench of the picnic table. He put it on, catching on the hammer still hanging from his belt, and zipped it closed. He hoped that would be enough to keep the agents from noticing the hammer. They would probably think it was a weapon. Maybe it was; Jason still wasn’t sure.
He stuck his hand in the pocket of his jeans and toyed with the rubies Iris gave him. He hoped they wouldn’t search him. A hundred carets of flawless gems floating around with his pocket lint would be a little hard to explain. Agent Dawes was polite as they climbed into the car and the second man turned around in the driver’s seat.
“I’m Agent Hernandez.”
The name clicked, “I remember you. You were doing interviews after those—” he almost slipped and said ‘dragons’—“things, attacked everyone at the school.”
“You have a good memory.”
“It’s not the sort of thing you forget.”
Hernandez turned around and started the car.
Jason sat back on the gray upholstery. They probably weren’t going to discuss anything important in the car. He wondered why they’d bothered to track him down. He could think of several things he’d done in the last week which would warrant a government investigation, but didn’t think he’d left enough evidence for them to trace back to him. He saw Hernandez looking at him in the rearview mirror and closed his eyes. He would know what they wanted from him soon enough.
* * *
It was a nondescript room in a nondescript building. The walls were gray painted cinderblock, and the metal table—bolted to the floor—and chairs were also painted gray. A huge two-way mirror took up most of one wall and a television on a gray metal stand had been wheeled in.
Jason sat back in the chair and tried to get comfortable. The furniture hadn’t been designed for that. He stared at the mirror and wondered how many people were standing behind it and how long they were going to make him wait. They hadn’t searched him or put him in handcuffs, but they’d taken his phone and the whole process was giving him a bad feeling. Technically he wasn’t arrested so he couldn’t ask for a lawyer. The sooner they started asking questions the better. Jason wasn’t even sure what they thought he’d done.
The gray metal door squeaked open; Dawes and Hernandez walked in. Jason wondered if they were going to do ‘good cop, bad cop’ on him. The two agents sat down opposite the table from him.
“So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
Dawes pulled a recorder out of his pocket and set it on the table. Turning it on, he began to speak, “Date, November 5th. Time—” he glanced at his watch “—fourteen-hundred-seventeen hours. Would you please state your name for the record?”
Jason wondered what record, “Jason Lloyd.”
“Thank you. Doctor Lloyd, we need to talk about what happened on the 30th of September, and the 9th, 15th, and 26th of October. And of course what happened a few days ago.”
Jason understood how they could link him to the 30th of September and the 26th of October, but the other dates confused him. “What’s so special about those days?” Maybe ignorance was the best policy for this.
Dawes pulled out a notepad and flipped through it, “On September 30th an unexplainable geologic occurrence happened on the street of Fort Worth, Texas. Marten Griggory was called out to investigate. He requested you specifically, by name, as his assistant.”
Jason shrugged, “So? We’ve done a lot of work together over the years.”
“The 9th of October, a dead man, a dead dog, and the headless skinned-out carcass of an animal previously unknown to science turn up in a park. You are late to work that day with mysterious injuries you claim are from being mugged.”
“I was mugged. Not fun.” He never saw the Saezian hit him, but hearing Iris tell him about it was terrifying. He’d seen the size of the rug on her floor. It amazed him that either of them had walked away that night.
“The 15th of October, there’s a fire on the roof of the hotel you were staying in. Bones of yet another previously undiscovered animal are found at the scene.”
Jason didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t blame Dawes for putting the pieces together, even if he was getting the wrong picture.
“The 25th of October, you attend a party at the university. Twenty-eight people are killed by previously unknown animals and there is another fire. Are you starting to see a pattern here?”
“So you understand why I’m not in a big hurry to go back to Texas. That place is messed up.” He tried to keep his voice nonchalant.
“Finally, the 1st of November, this happens.”
Hernandez turned on the television. It was the security tape from the gas station where Iris killed the dragon. Jason suppressed a groan. Why hadn’t he thought of that? It had been on the news. He’d seen it on the news. Other things seemed more important and the tape was lousy quality. He hadn’t though anyone would be able to recognize him.
“I admit the tape is pretty bad. It was cheap to begin with and then the fire damaged it further. However, our lab boys managed to clean it up.”
Jason said nothing, watching himself on the screen as he walked towards the dragon, pumping the shotgun. He shivered, remembering the smell of burning gas and charring flesh. He must have been insane to walk towards that thing, gun or no gun. But he couldn’t let Iris fight it alone, she might have been killed. She almost was killed.
“I thought you looked familiar.” Hernandez broke into his thoughts, “So I did a little digging. There were traces of blood in your rental car. The DNA matches that unknown animal in the park.”
Jason put his head in his hands. He was going to disappear. They were going to make him disappear. Either that or they were going to charge him for the murder of that jogger. Either way, he wasn’t getting out of here. He suspected panic would come later. Right now there was just dull gray depression. He wished he’d gone with Iris. Whatever she was doing, at least they would have been together. He sighed; it was a cliché, but it was true. He would rather be fighting angry gods than dealing with bureaucratic bullshit. It didn’t matter what he said; he could even tell them the truth and they wouldn’t believe him. Of course, the truth was pretty unbelievable. Whatever Loki had planned for the earth was out of his hands. There probably wasn’t anything he could have done in the first place, but trapped in a cell there certainly wasn’t.
“Do you have anything to say?”
Jason lifted his head, “Am I under arrest?” He had to think. There had to be some way out of this. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he couldn’t give up Iris to these goons. He would rather be in a cell for the rest of his life than see her in one.
Dawes turned off the recorder, “Not yet.”
“So can I go?”
He laughed, “Hardly. Were you working alone or was Dr. Griggory in on it with you?”
It was Jason’s turn to laugh, “In on what? You haven’t told me if I’m being charged with anything.” Jason supposed he should be angry at Iris for getting him into this, but couldn’t seem to summon up the emotion.
He turned the recorder back on, “Where did you get those animals?”
“I didn’t. I’m a geologist, not a zoologist. Where would I get new species of animals? Even if I could get new species, why would I turn them lose? They would be worth much more in captivity. Your whole theory makes no sense.”
“Have you been performing illegal genetic modifications?”
“Are you out of your mind? I’m a geologist. I wouldn’t know a strand of DNA if you beat me over the head with it. I think you’re looking in the wrong place.”
“What did you do with the hide of the animal in the park?”
“What animal in what park?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Doctor. I know you’re a hunter. You know how to field-dress an animal.”
Jason paused; they had him on that one. “Where is it then? I’m sure you’ve searched by hotel room and my car. You know I haven’t mailed any packages anywhere. So, if I’m the one who took it—and I’m not—where is it?” He held his breath, wondering if they knew about Iris. If they searched her apartment they were both screwed. There was more there than just a Saezian hide and all of it incriminating. Of course, Iris might never come back. Jason wanted to beat his head against the wall. There was too much going on; he couldn’t decide which crisis to focus on.
Hernandez interjected, “I think we’re done here. Let the good doctor sit a while and thing about things.”
Dawes stood up, “Right.”
They put him in a small gray holding cell with a cot and a toilet. A single barred window let in some light, augmented by the fluorescent bulbs overhead. There was a security camera outside the door, but not one in the cell.
Jason sat down on the cot and rested his head in his hands. This was something he hadn’t counted on. He’d been ready, as much as possible, for otherworldy monsters, but not for being arrested. Without the distractions of field work, he could barely sit still. He still had no idea where Iris was, or what Loki was planning. He knew it had something to do with the lines in the earth, but how it connected to an angry Norse deity, Jason didn’t have a clue. He didn’t know if Iris was still alive.
He couldn’t sit still; he fidgeted, then finally got up and paced the confines of the room. The hammer bumped against his leg, reminding him it was still there. Jason sat down again and looked around, double-checking for security cameras. If they were there, they were well hidden. Turning so his back was towards the door, Jason pulled the hammer off his belt. The runes weren’t visible in the bright light, but Jason knew their patterns. Without any references it would be impossible to translate them. For the first time, he focused on the tool itself. The black-on-black patterns in the head were subtle, but painstakingly made. He wondered about the craftsman who put so much effort into an effect that would go unnoticed. It was the size of a small sledge hammer, about a foot overall, with some heft to it. Jason guessed it weighed seven or eight pounds. Heavy for its size, but it put no drag on his belt when he wore it there.
He swung it a couple of times, feeling the heft and balance. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual about it when using it to collect samples, and nothing interesting happened now. With a sigh, he put it back on his belt and lay down on the cot. He closed his eyes, but his mind was racing. How long were they going to keep him here? How long before someone noticed he was missing? If Marten called and they answered the phone he was in big trouble. Marten wouldn’t believe he was mixed up in mysterious animals, but he knew about Iris and even where she lived. Marten wasn’t stupid. He must have guessed there was something bigger going on. Jason just hoped he would guess enough to keep quiet.
* * *
The light coming in through the window turned bright yellow as the day progressed. Jason guessed the window was facing west, although the knowledge didn’t do him any good. He idly tapped the hammer against the wall, wondering if it was powerful enough to break him out. So far no one seemed to remember him. He supposed they were calling his father, brother, sister-in-law, Marten, and anyone else that might be able to incriminate him. Jason hoped they were going so far as to bring anyone else in for questioning. His dad was seventy-three; getting arrested might give him a heart attack.
He tapped the wall again. Even if he could get out, where could he go? Breaking out of federal custody would put a serious crimp in his long term plans. Even if he managed to get out and stop Loki—however the hell he was supposed to do that—he would still be wanted for evading arrest or breaking out of prison, or something. Jason wasn’t sure what the technical name would be. Whatever they called it, they would hunt him down and make sure he was put in a hole somewhere for a long, long time.
There was a metallic shriek as the door was unlocked. Jason shoved the hammer back onto his belt and pulled the tails of his shirt loose to cover it. They still hadn’t searched him. He guessed it was because he still wasn’t technically under arrest. Hopefully it would stay that way.
The door opened and Hernandez walked in, “Time for round two, Doctor.” Jason sighed and got up. There was no point in antagonizing them, but this whole thing was really starting to piss him off.
“Am I under arrest yet?”
“Not yet. We’re pursuing inquiries.”
“How nice for you. I want a lawyer.”
“How nice for you. In here.”
It was the same room he’d been in before, or one so similar that it made no difference. Jason sat down as Dawes entered behind them. “I want a lawyer.”
“That’s nice. We’ve been making some calls.”
“Lawyer.”
“Your friend Dr. Griggory was very upset that you’ve been apprehended. He assured us that his requesting you was purely professional and you couldn’t possibly have anything to do with any sort of suspicious activity.”
Jason slumped back in the chair. No one said anything about Iris. Maybe Marten hadn’t mentioned her. “See? Can I go now? I’m in the middle of a field trip.”
“I’m afraid not.” He switched on the television again and skipped through the part where Jason was shooting the dragon. The TV cut to another angle and show Iris launching herself off the sunshade towards the dragon. Jason’s breath caught. There was something beautiful and animalistic about the way she moved. It was like watching a leopard make a kill. Freighting and exciting and beautiful and horrifying all at once.
“Let’s focus on the 1st of November. What were you doing there?
Jason sighed. They had video of him at the scene, interacting with the dragon. He couldn’t claim he wasn’t there. “I was restless. I went for a walk.” He’d run after Iris as soon as he could get clothes on. There was no way he was going to sit around waiting for her. “There was a big explosion.”
“And you ran towards it?”
Jason shrugged, “Wouldn’t you?” He’d always thought it odd that it was the first instinct to run towards the explosion or bloodcurdling scream, but it seemed to be a universal phenomenon. “Anyway, I showed up and that thing was at the gas station. It was chaos. Cops were running everywhere, civilians were running everywhere. And that woman was fighting the thing.”
“Woman?” Dawes looked at him sharply, “How do you know it was a woman?”
Jason tried to keep his face neutral. He gestured to the paused image on the screen, “It’s obvious. Look at her shape. It was even more obvious in real life.”
“Go on. Why didn’t you leave the scene?”
“Like I said, it was chaos. I think someone was already dead. There was blood on the pavement. The cops were running for it. That thing was about to kill that woman. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I grabbed a shotgun out of one of the cop cars and started shooting. I ran out of ammo and go the hell out of there. Have you found her yet? Is she dead?”
“Do you know her?”
Jason shook his head, “No. I have no idea who she is. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“What about the 9th of October? You say you were mugged. Why didn’t you file a police report?”
Jason shrugged, “It didn’t seem worth it. All they got was a few dollars in cash and I wasn’t seriously hurt.”
“And the fire on the 15th?”
“All I know is that I was in my hotel room and the fire alarms started going off. I evacuated with everyone else. End of story.” That at least was true. Jason hadn’t had any idea there was something weird going on until he’d seen Iris moving through the shadows.
“An the 25th?”
“Same story. One of the students I was working with in the lab invited me to this party. Everything was going fine, then all hell breaks loose.” He sighed, “Look, there were about a hundred other people at that party and at least that many staying in the hotel. Are you going to arrest them all? I don’t know any more about it than they do.”
Dawes leaned forward to say something when the door opened. A young man walked in, clearly agitated. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but we have a problem.”
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