Bad Jack ((Ascension: Book 1)) (2 page)

Once he was led away from all the entry and exit points, the gun toting guards seemed to thin out except for the ones who trailed after the lab-coated figures, scientists Jack assumed.

He
snuck a glance at Billy and asked sheepishly, “So, are you here to ensure my safety or are you here to shoot me if I step out of line?”

Billy
paused and took a deep breath. He replied evenly, “You are a researcher. Remember that and this gun will never leave its holster.”

If Jack was hoping for
some kind of reassurance, he didn’t get it. All of a sudden he felt sweat break out across his brow.

Noticing
his discomfort Billy added, “I’m here as security to you and from you. That’s all. You’re not a terrorist are you? Then you have nothing to worry about. We’ll probably become friends somewhere down the road.”

Billy led him to a lone office and unlocked the door. He handed
him twin office keys as they went inside.

Inside was everything a chemist could ask for
, problem was that Jack wasn’t a chemist. Packs of litmus paper, dyes, saline solution, a centrifuge, and varying styles of microscopes littered the workbenches that ringed the room.

“What’s with the chemistry set?”

“It was the largest office available. The chemist’s been gone for months now. Feel free to redecorate any way you want.”

A single desk sat in the middle of the room with
an old telephone and a laptop and a heavy leather chair behind it.

“This is your workspace. I’ll show you to your quarters later.”

Jack raised his eyebrows higher than they’d ever risen before, “My quarters? I’m stuck here like a prisoner?”

“Of course not. You’
re free to come and go as you please like all the researchers but I promise you that you’ll appreciate your apartment once you see it. I doubt you’ll find much time for sleep anyway once your research begins.”

Jack took some time to let it all sink in.
Billy handed him a small square of paper with printed words on it. “This is your login info to get you started.”

Jack took a step forward and put the piece of paper beside
the laptop but Billy said, “No, I need that back. Input the passwords and I’ll take care of disposing of it for you."

He
sighed and sat behind the desk. The laptop was already on and only one icon graced the desktop screen. It was in the shape of a white cloud. Jack double clicked it and entered the necessary info.

Billy took the paper from
him. “Will you remember it?”

He
nodded, but he read the info back in his head to be sure. Billy turned on a Bunsen and set it aflame.

“That’s a little fuckin dramatic.”

“No it’s not,” he replied firmly enough for Jack to drop the subject. “Alright, log off and let’s go see what’s in store for you, shall we?”

He followed
his armed escort down corridor after corridor, occasionally passing a lab coated researcher that was too busy or too deep in thought to look at them. They rounded another corner and at the end of the corridor was a single steel door sandwiched by more guards.

Jack noticed cameras dott
ing the walls all around, with a single camera pointed their way from above the door.

Billy approached the guards and
gave up his ID yet again. Jack then handed over his ID and it received the same thorough scrutiny. The guard on the left spoke into a walkie talkie and Jack noticed the camera swivel from him to Billy and back. The door hissed and edged open on its own as the guard holstered his walkie, then nodded a curt greeting at each of them as they passed through.

The room was a box no
t much bigger than a phone booth with one door behind them and one in front. The door behind hissed closed as Billy handed him a lab coat that was hanging on the wall. Billy put one on too just as a fan above them whirred to life. Jack looked down and saw a
grate in the floor. It was a classic clean room. It made his arm hair stand on end and his breath catch in his throat. What the fuck was beyond this next door? Where was the damn patient? The fan slowed to a stop and a UV light shone on them for several seconds from either side.

Jack shut his eyes tight and said, “You could have warned me about the UV.”

“Sorry, I’ve never been through these doors before either. From here on out I’m as clueless as you are.”

Confused, Jack said,
“You told me that this is going to blow my mind. Now you say you don’t know what’s going on. What the fuck do you know?”

“
Rumors are all I know, buddy. No one who knows what goes on behind this door would dare talk about it, but judging by their behavior most of us have sort of gathered that it’s a little freaky. Plus when I was told I’d be allowed access back here it was like I was getting the key to the city. Whatever it is, it’s serious stuff. Should be a hoot.”

The door before them slid open. For a fraction of a second Jack wished he could go back and tell
Mr. Humboldt that he wasn’t interested. He wished he could take back the bitter words he’d spewed at his boss over the phone. Walking through this door felt like walking into another life and it scared the hell out of him. Billy took a tentative step through the doorway with Jack following close behind.

Anticlimax was the word
that came to mind. When they walked into the room it turned out to be a windowless (of course it was, it was underground) warehouse lined with shelves for inventory but most of them were empty. Some of the lower shelves contained crates but the top ones were unused and caked with dust.

A
stocky guy in military uniform with a tight lipped smile and dark, beady eyes approached them. He was about forty years old and half a head shorter than Jack, but made up for it with an air of dignity and self-assuredness.

He
extended his beefy hand. “I’m General Marks but you can call me Dave. Welcome.” He took Jack’s hand and gave it two quick firm pumps. He acknowledged Billy with a nod. “It’s good to see you William. I recommended you for this promotion personally.”

Billy smiled and thanked him for
the opportunity. General Marks beckoned them toward a shelf of inventory and Jack deflated. This was not what he’d expected at all. What could possibly be inside a crate that would warrant the attention of a psychology major? It surely wasn’t a live human subject. Maybe it was stuffed with dossiers on criminal sociopaths. In that case they should have just sent him copies.

The General halted mid-stride
and turned to face them. “I think you should know why you were chosen before I show you what we have here. We chose each of you because you have no ties to anyone outside this facility. Jack, I understand your parents and sister died in a car accident and you have no current personal ties. William’s circumstances were similar before we brought him in. You are both perfectly suited for this work.” To Jack he said, “If you breach the trust we insist upon, you’ll be executed without trial. I hope you understand this fully.”

He let the malevolence of the threat hang in the air like a swarm of angry hornets.
Jack’s mouth flopped open and approximations of half formed words rolled off his tongue. His mind was doing back flips. The General smiled cruelly at his dumbfounded display.

“I’m glad you understand the
severity of the situation. William has lived under these conditions for two months without incident. Don’t be alarmed by the threat, just take it seriously.”

Jack’s speech cen
ter returned with renewed vigor. “Fuck this, I want out.”

The General inhaled deeply and said
with mock sadness, “It’s too late for that now, son.”

Jack looked around for an escape route but Billy put his hand on his shoulder and said, “
From what I hear this place is totally worth it.”

Jack instantly melted.
That tiny bit of reassurance was all he needed. He hadn’t had much to live for since Samantha had left him last year for a door to door salesman. The guy who stole the love of his life sold cat beds for a living. What a fuckin’ joke. He didn’t have any friends or family left, and his only hobby was his stupid blog that had sent him into bouts of depression on more than one occasion. No one even read it. All the hits on the counter were from him constantly checking to see how many hits he had. He’d pondered suicide twice and almost went through with it during a drinking binge a couple of months back. Well, maybe he didn’t really attempt it but he sure thought hard about it. His life wasn’t worth spit and yet here he was, on the precipice of some type of top secret knowledge that might just make his life worth living again.
What the hell did he have to lose?

All of these thoughts rushed through him in the time it took him to peel off Billy’s hand and nod his acceptance.
Just as his decision had solidified in his mind, he suddenly felt a little rush of expectation.

The General
smirked. “I’m sorry for the threats but you need to understand how vital it is that this is kept classified as stated in your contract.” Jack nodded but he’d forgotten the duration of his contract. The General must have read his mind. “The non-disclosure of classified information is binding throughout your lifetime. In order to encourage this, you’ll continue to receive a paycheck after your work here’s done, and for the rest of your lives. It’s a good deal. Reread your contracts and familiarize yourselves with what’s expected of you. Now let’s get to work.”

The General led them over to the closest rack. He pulled a box down and rested it at his feet.

Jack
interrupted him before he could open it. “Sir, I don’t mean to delay what you’re about to show us, but can we just skip it and meet the actual patient that I’ll be studying?”

The General stared at him like he was from another planet
before comprehension lit up his eyes.

“I see.
You thought because you have a psychology degree that we must’ve needed you for an evaluation on a human subject. Not the case. You caught our attention because of your work on the symbolism of objects. I have objects in this box that will make you question your sanity.”

Jack was dumbfounded.
A couple of years ago he’d written a pamphlet sized book. It had made him just four thousand bucks. It was on the symbolism of objects that appear in dreams. It wasn’t even very comprehensive, just a list of all the major archetypes and themes. It was a passing fad for him too. ‘
The art of dreams and how they shape you
’ was the title – he cringed every time he remembered that. He didn’t believe in any of it anymore, and he certainly didn’t see how it applied to objects outside the realm of dreams.

For a sickening moment he thought
that they’d made a mistake. What if he was the wrong guy? If that turned out to be the case then he’d have to wing it the best he could just so they wouldn’t shoot him. An imagined conversation swept through his head: “Hey butt-hole, I told you to get that other guy. This one’s a dud. Take him out back and get rid of him.”

The General reached inside the box and held up an object wrapped in cloth.

“This is your patient.”

Jack reached for it but the General
took a step backwards.

“
Not quite yet. Just take a look.” He unwrapped it and Jack couldn’t have been less impressed. The General gingerly held a child’s stuffed teddy bear between thumb and forefinger. It was bright red and fluffy, about the size of the General’s palm, just like one of those toys you win from a crane machine at Walwart or Pizza Hut.

When he saw the blank expressions on Jack and Billy’s faces he offered, “As innocuous as t
his simple teddy might seem, it’s of the utmost importance we find out as much as we can about it. Now’s your chance to show us what you bring to the table, Jack.”

Fuck, thought Jack. He couldn’t remember anything about teddy bears
but he’d written a section on what it meant to dream about actual bears. His mouth opened and the sections from his book on bears and the color red rolled out verbatim.

“The bear’
s a threatening symbol. In a dream it may mean the dreamer feels superior in some way. The color red is aggressive and can be interpreted as a warning of some kind. On the other hand, the color red can indicate great personal distress.”

He
was blowing smoke; that was all dream interpretation mumbo jumbo really was anyway, but the General lapped it up.

The General looked at Billy.
“Why aren’t you writing this down?”

Billy quickly reached inside his pocket
pulling out a tiny notebook and pen, and began writing.

Jack said, “W
hat’s so important about the bear then?”

“Never
mind that. What’s important is that you start analyzing as many of these objects as you can, as soon as possible. Is there anything you need before you get started?”

Jack thought about this for a second. “I saw my computer has no internet access
so I’m assuming I can’t have it for security reasons or something. I’m going to need to visit a bookstore and stock up on reference manuals.” He wished he could think of something else but symbolism was pretty straight forward. “I want a coffee maker too.”

The General smi
rked. “William will accompany you and purchase what you need.”

The General held the teddy bear out for Jack to take as though he were holding out the Congressional Medal of Honor. When Jack took it a weird feeling passed through him. Something about that bear
was abnormal. Ordinarily he’d have shrugged it off as a trick of the mind, but he knew that this object was special in some way. It made him feel a profound sadness. A single tear ran down his cheek and he swatted it away, ashamed. He hadn’t cried since he was a boy.

The General
laughed. “You’ll get used to it. There are a few items here that shouldn’t be touched at all; you’ll know them when you see them because they’re encased in glass or sealed in plastic bags. The teddy is alright once you know what to expect.”

Jack
turned it over in his hands. There wasn’t a maker’s tag or a ‘Made in China’ stamp. It was also completely seamless. He handed it back and the despair left him instantly, traveling out through his feet. He staggered back a step.

The General wrapped the cloth around the bear, placed it in the box and put the box back on the shelf.

“I’ll have these objects brought to you one at a time. William, it’s your job to procure them for him and return them when he’s done. This will be the last time you see this warehouse Jack so take it all in.” To Billy he ordered, “Take him shopping when he’s ready.” Then he handed them each a business card. “Call me for any reason at all. I mean it. It was good meeting you.”

With that he turned on his hee
ls and walked off. Jack heard him say into a walkie-talkie as he retreated, “Mr. Jack Mayberry’s access to warehouse A is once again restricted. Please make the necessary changes to the database.”