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| Story: A New Life - Chapter 24 Sunday, 21-May-2000 20:43:59
Andrew had just left to retrieve Sarah’s “spare” outfit from her car when the resting journalist received an unexpected visit from her sister, Dana Carter, and two women, whom she had never seen before. Dana took stock of the situation and placed her hands on her hips, looking more than a little unhappy. But Sarah could tell it was just for show – her sister was, in fact, ecstatic to see her again; she just didn’t want to show it. “Great!”, she said in a huff, but with a secret twinkle in her eye. “These two drag me from the boarding line of my flight all the way out here, saying something about you being in trouble. Now I see that it’s all been taken care of, and I missed my flight for nothing.” Sarah smiled mischievously, walking up to Dana and embracing her adopted sister. “Now Dana, you know that I have ways of taking care of myself.” She didn’t want to go into any details right then. The two women, although maintaining a discreet and polite distance, were still within hearing, and she didn’t want to divulge anything about what had happened until she knew more about them. Sarah and Dana parted, the former asking, “Okay, now that you know I’m okay, who are your friends?” At the mention of their presence, the two women in stylish business dress walked closer. “Sarah, meet ‘Beth’”; she gestured to the one on the left; “and ‘Amy’”; her other hand signaled the woman on the right. Sarah politely smiled at them both, and they returned her smile. There was something a bit odd about them, though. Something almost familiar. She was reasonably sure she had never seen either woman before, but there was an undeniable aura of familiarity about them – as if she should know them, or at least know of them. “Ladies, how do you do? Are you the two that my sister has told me about? The ones who have been checking up on me and have been making - - uhmmm – ‘inaccurate’ statements about my life?” The one Dana had introduced as Beth spoke. “Pardon us, Sarah. You are correct in most of your statements, except for the third. We have told your sister nothing but the truth.” Dana looked at her strangely. “But you said that she was working for the government on some secret undercover operation. When I asked Sarah about it, she told me she knew nothing of it, and had never met either of you before. Isn’t that right, Sarah?” Dana looked towards her sister for confirmation. Sarah nodded, but felt something still nagging at her about these two visitors. ‘There’s just….something about these two. I feel like I should know them somehow. But the rest of me has no idea who they are.’ This was becoming more and more confusing, and more than a little disconcerting. She thought back to the time so many years ago when she had first woken up in that bed in the Carter’s small farmhouse. She had no memories at all of her past, or who she was, or where she had come from. Then she had discovered that she possessed extraordinary powers far beyond those of other humans. That had led to the rediscovery of her small capsule, and of Xris, the computerized patterns of her dead brother. He had filled in much of her past, and had explained that, instead of her just being a human woman who had super powers, she was actually an alien who looked human - the result of the unique composition of air on Earth. Now, from that same part of her Gammonian brain that had assimilated Xris’ explanations so easily, came this uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. As if these two women were know to that part of her mind. But she was saved from any further examination of this subject when Andrew returned, carrying another set of clothing for her. He pulled up short when he saw that she now had guests. “Hi, Dana!”, he greeted cheerfully. “I thought you’d be halfway to Seattle by now.” “Hi back at you, Andy. Yeah, I would have been, if not for these two shuttling me back out here.” Andrew took another look at the two persons Dana had mentioned. “Hey, I know these two ladies! They came into The Post’s offices a few days ago, asking about – uhhh, that super woman.” He was glad he caught himself before he blurted out Sarah’s secret. That would have been just great; she had just revealed the most important part of her life, and he just about said it out-loud in front of everyone. He’d definitely have to watch himself in the future. He threw an apologetic glance towards his friend, and she gave him a small but reassuring nod. Beth again spoke first. “We are sorry for our discretion, Sarah, but we are trying to be as careful as possible. We had heard that your life was threatened, and we thought that your sister would be of assistance. Obviously, the situation has taken care of itself. We apologize for our haste, and will leave you in peace.” Both women smiled graciously towards Sarah, gave both Andrew and Dana courteous nods, and then walked off, leaving three very confused friends in their wake. Andrew looked over at Sarah, still holding the nicely folded set of clothing in his hands. “That was strange to say the least. While they were talking to me in the office, it sounded like they couldn’t wait to meet you.” “Same here.”, Dana chimed in. “They asked so many question about you that I thought they were writing your biography. Now they finally get to see you in person, and they walk off without asking you a single question. Does that strike anyone else as very odd?” She received nods from both Sarah and Andrew. “And if that weren’t strange enough, did you notice how they treated you, Sarah? Almost deferential - - as if you were someone of great importance to them. Were you a queen or something in a past life?” Sarah chuckled at her surrogate sister’s joke, but inside herself those words had struck a chord. ‘I don’t really know all that much of the particulars of my own past. Xris has told me much, but obviously not everything. I think I need to have another talk with him sometime soon. That’s two important talks that I need to set up. I hope my schedule doesn’t get much more busy, or I’ll have to quit work just to devote my entire life to finding out all of these mysteries! Speaking of which….’ “Andy, could you please hand me my clothes? I need to hurry and get dressed and get back to work. The case will be starting pretty soon, and I don’t exactly want to go into the courtroom dressed like this.” She smiled as her co-worker handed the clothing to her. “Thanks, Andy. I’ll see both of you after the court recesses for the day, right? Good. Till then.” She smiled at them both and hurried off to a side entrance of the courthouse, her folded clothing in one hand, her undamaged black shoes in the other, with her purse slung over her left bare shoulder. Dana watched her disappear inside the massive building. She then turned around and asked Anthony the question that had been burning on her mind. “Okay Andrew. Just what the hell happened here?” He swallowed, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Well, Dana, ahh - - you see, this truck tried to run us over while we were sitting here, discussing our possible future together. I was – buried, I guess, underneath that marble table over there. Then Jane - - showed up and rescued me. Sarah was unhurt; the truck’s driver had missed her completely, and I guess she had been the one he had been aiming for. Hard to find good help these days, I guess.” He laughed nervously, but his forced mirth disintegrated under Dana’s scrutiny. “That’s – That’s all that happened, really.” Dana placed her hands on her hips again. “So she told someone else, hmm? I can tell you’re trying to hide something from me, Andrew. Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not polite to lie to your friends? Well, it is, and it’s unnecessary. I know that the green superwoman is really Sarah, so you can just drop the ignorant act.” She softened her expression and placed a friendly hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for sounding so critical, Andy. I know you’re just trying to protect my sister. She does love you, you know. And I know you love her.” He nodded. “I do love her, Dana. In fact, that’s what we were talking about before we were so rudely interrupted. So, how long have you known?” She shrugged. “Only about a day or so. You?” “About fifteen minutes.” Dana laughed. “So you’re still trying to get used to it, right? It is a bit strange sounding; that the woman we both know could have such a secret hidden within her. It sounds like something right out of a comic book!” The court session wrapped up with no more surprises and little fanfare. Sarah was one of the last journalists out of the building. She watched as Mr. Harris walked by her seat; he paid her no attention, busy in a deep conversation with his lawyer. She narrowed her eyes as she stuffed the final sheets of paper of the day’s proceedings into her thin briefcase. She would have thought that he might show some reaction to her continued presence. If he was, indeed, behind the attempts on her life, he should have shown something - - a surprised look, maybe, or a look of contempt. Something. But throughout the rest of the session, he had not paid her one bit of attention. This puzzled Sarah immensely. ‘Unless he’s very adept at hiding his reactions.’, she thought. This was not beyond the realm of probability; he WAS the leader of a very competitive and successful business, therefore he would be expected to be able to shield his true emotional state from real and potential rivals – or potential victims. ‘Sarah, this train of thought is getting you absolutely nowhere, except closer to paranoia.’ She stood up and walked out of the courtroom, giving a polite smile to the bailiff as she passed. She exited the courthouse and descended the wide concrete stairway, looking for her friends. She spotted them sitting on one of the black iron benches at the foot of the steps. She smiled as she approached, and they both stood, happy expressions on their faces, as well. “I’m beat.”, she breathed. “Is anyone up for dinner? For some reason, I seemed to have missed lunch…..” They all laughed at began walking towards the parking lot across the street. Unknown to them, they had a trailer. The figure wasn’t doing a very good job at keeping concealed or innocuous. But his quarry was too busy talking to her friends that he didn’t think his lack of shadowing skills would betray him. When they reached the parking lot, they parted ways – two separate ways. Which should he follow? The figure made a quick decision: he would keep on his primary goal. He waited until she and her friend climbed into the dark-blue Toyota Corolla before he made for his own car. He started it up, listening to the deep thrumming of its engine; thankfully, the Toyota was within sight, and he backed out of the parking space and slowly followed it out onto the thoroughfare that paralleled the courthouse. ‘I’m getting close - - I can feel it…..’, Harry McHenry thought, licking his lips in anticipation. For a while, it seemed as if the green superwoman’s trail had gone cold. She hadn’t made an appearance for a couple of days, and he had thought that she had disappeared for good. Then there had been the terrible accident on the bridge yesterday. He had witnessed the entire event, because he had had a ringside seat. He had been following Sarah Carter’s car – the same one he was following now, in fact – on a mysterious tip he had received over the phone. He had thought the tip a bit odd, and at first hadn’t thought it worth the price in information he had paid in return. But that had all changed immediately after the accident. She had shown up and rescued all the passengers in the city bus, and then had disappeared again. But now that he knew that the mysterious informer’s information was correct, Harry didn’t hesitate to continue to follow up on it. ‘He said that she has something to do with Sarah Carter.’, he pondered. Now, if only he could make a connection between the two, he would have his story, and the Examiner’s editors would be off his case. He would probably have free reign to pursue any story he’d like if he could pull this off before any of the other news media in town. But he found that making such a connection wasn’t as easy as it sounded. That is, until this afternoon. He had been wandering around the courthouse’s exterior (he had been assigned to cover anything shocking that might be revealed inside the courtroom), and had heard the tremendous crash around the courthouse’s far corner. By the time he arrived there, huffing with the effort, he witnessed the superwoman hefting a man out of a wrecked GMC truck and holding him upside-down. He wasn’t nearly close enough to hear what she told him, but as soon as she dropped him he took off for the nearest entrance of the massive courthouse. He then heard the sounds of approaching footsteps, so he didn’t get a chance to see what had transpired next. By the time he got back to his eavesdropping, the jade-colored strongwoman was gone, and Sarah Carter was there, along with another friend. His fellow journalist was wearing something odd, but he couldn’t exactly tell what it was, because her friend was standing somewhat in front of her. That was all he had seen, but it had been enough to really pique his interest. ‘If I follow her around long enough, maybe my prize will show herself again.’ Suddenly a thought popped into his head - - one so crazy and outlandish that he had to give it a second going-over. ‘Wait….maybe I’m too close to this puzzle. Could it be - - that Sarah is the superwoman? I’ve never seen the two together, and yet she has claimed to have seen and talked to her, too. Maybe she’s covering her own tracks.’ He shook his head in disgust. “Awww, come off it. She’s no more a superwoman than I’m President of the United States.”, he reproached himself. “I must be out of my mind to come up with THAT explanation. I’m sure I’ll find out pretty soon, and then I’ll have the story of a lifetime.” He continued to follow the Toyota……unaware that he himself was being followed……. To be continued Terry |
| Story: A New Life - Chapter 24 (Terry) (21-May-2000 20:43:59) |
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