The weapon, p.4
The Weapon, page 4
part #1 of Star Fighters Series
“Alan isn’t it?” he asked again, while looking at the guard’s name badge. “I really must see the doctor now. Open the gate now…please.”
The two guards stood watching Philips, unwilling to open the gate.
Philips then took a deep breath and said, “I understand you are just doing your job.”
Turning to leave, he said, “I see you’re not going to just let me walk in” before folding forward, touching both hands to the ground while kicking his right heel up and into Alan’s face.
The up kick didn’t knock the guard over, but it did stun him, long enough for Philips to lunge at his weapon arm, which he twisted over and behind his back with his left hand while removing the guard’s pistol from its holster with his right.
With Alan on the ground Philip leveled the pistol at Sharon and said, “don’t even think about drawing that gun,” he said, before ordering her to turn around and put her hands up over her head.
Philips then carefully removed her gun from its holster and put it a pocket in his vest.
When Sharon turned to face him again, he said, “I’m sorry I had to do that. I was actually hoping we could meet for coffee sometime. I guess that’s out of the question now, isn’t it?”
Sharon shrugged. Looking down at Alan, she said, “I think you broke his arm.”
Alan was still on the floor, visibly in pain but Philips was fairly certain that the man’s arm wasn’t broken. If anything, he had torn his rotator cuff. A painful injury, but easily repaired by even the low-cost automated clinics that were common in rural areas.
“He’ll be fine. It’s probably his rotator cuff,” said Philips. “I’ve seen that injury hundreds of times. There’s an auto clinic down the road.”
Sharon helped Alan get back on his feet, who was still in pain and rubbing his shoulder with his right hand.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Alan asked. “Shoot us?”
Sharon squeezed his arm, a look of annoyance on her face. “Don’t give him any ideas.”
“As I said before,” replied Philips. “I’m going to see the doctor. Now open this gate.”
Sharon went back to her workstation and pressed a few buttons on the security console. The gates slid open and she said, “go ahead sir. If this is as important as you say, I’m sure this incident will be forgotten.”
Philips smiled. “That’s very gracious of you. Catch a cup of coffee with me?”
Sharon looked at Alan, who was fuming and ready to pounce on Philips, if only he hadn’t been in so much pain.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” replied Sharon.
Philips reached into a pocket and held a small tablet in his hand.
“What’s your ID?” he asked.
“Sharon997.”
“Got it. I’m sending you my details. Give me a call if you change your mind.”
She gave him a polite smile and nodded.
Turning to Alan, Philips said, “no hard feelings, man. Your arm will be fine.”
Having wasted too much time already, he waved goodbye and walked past the gate and up the path leading to the main building, tossing both pistols away once he got close to the structure.
The door leading into the building was unlocked. He walked in and was greeted by a civilian.
Before he could say anything, he noticed that she was whispering into a small palm mic she was trying to keep out of sight.
“He’s here. What should I do?”
Apparently, word of his unauthorized entry had already made the rounds, and Philips fully expected to be greeted by more armed guards, this time with weapons drawn and ready to fire.
Instead, the civilian at the information desk greeted him with a polite smile and waved him through another set of double doors, which opened into a foyer adorned with odd, industrial looking artwork.
A sign appeared in the wall in front of him, instructing him to take the next lift down twelve floors.
While it could have been a trap, Philips didn’t care. He really needed to speak to Mendelsohn immediately.
After a few moments in the lift, it stopped and its doors opened into a large, brightly lit area littered with boulders, scraps of metal and other material common on construction sites.
Whatever this space was, captain Philips thought that it would be perfect setting for urban warfare training; with all the alleyways, small building-like structures, debris and random obstacles littering the area, it perfectly mimicked an urban warzone.
Presently, he heard footsteps off to his left, coming from a darkened corridor. The footsteps were fast and purposeful and were heading in his direction.
“Dr. Mendelsohn?” called Philips, “It’s captain Sam Philips. We’ve got to talk. Are you here?”
The pace of the footfalls increased, and Philips figured it had to be the doctor.
A few seconds later he saw Dr. Mendelsohn round a corner, his white lab coat covering his signature heavy durables ensemble.
“Dr. Mendelsohn! So good to see you again,” said Philips. However, the doctor did not return the greeting, but continued walking towards Philips.
His footsteps sounded heavier than normal, thanks in part to the heavy, reinforced boots he was wearing.
Philips thought that the doctor must have been busy with some sort of construction experiment, as beyond the heavy work clothing he was also covered in a fine layer of dust common in work zones.
I bet he’s pissed off, thought Philips. Not only had Philips roughed up one guard and shown his security measures to be laughable, but he also disturbed what was probably an important experiment – at least important the doctor.
With about six feet between them, Philips took a step towards the doctor and offered his hand, saying “Hey doc. Good to see you again. I’m sorry about the guards and disrupting your experiment but – “
Philips never got a chance to finish his sentence, as Mendelsohn struck out at him with an unexpectedly fast right hook, catching him straight on the jaw and knocking him flat on his back.
Looking up at Mendelsohn, Philips hesitated for a second, before rolling to his right and getting back on his feet.
He slowly backed away, using both arms to form a defensive perimeter should Mendelsohn attempt to close the distance.
Unfortunately, Mendelsohn did just that, charging Philips, crouching low to lunge at his legs.
Philips sprawled, dropping his hips back out of range of Mendelsohn’s hands, and digging his hands into his opponent’s armpits, using his weight to push him down towards the ground. Philips’ sprawl worked, checking the take down attempt while using his weight to drive the other man down into the ground.
However, Mendelsohn was a large man and Philips struggled to get his arms into position to sink in under hooks to better control his attacker, but eventually managed to get him in a clinch hold, momentarily immobilizing the doctor.
With his arms around Mendelsohn’s midsection, he said, “Doctor! I’ll let you go, but you need to stop this.”
Mendelsohn didn’t say anything, but shook around violently breaking Philips’ grip and elbowed him in the face. The blow caused blood to stream out of Philips’ nose, staining the back of Mendelsohn’s lab coat a crimson red.
“Bastard!” shouted Philips, before raining a series and elbows and knees down at the doctor.
Mendelsohn collapsed face down into the ground, his arms and legs splayed out like a starfish.
Philips stood up and took a few steps back, reached for the tiny med kit on his belt and tended to his nose wound. Luckily his nose wasn’t broken, and the blood flow was quickly stopped by a small amount of med-foam.
Mendelsohn seemed to be recovering and rolled over to look at Philips.
“Care to tell me what that was all about?” asked Philips.
Mendelsohn got back on his feet but didn’t say anything.
Rather, he picked up a section of piping that was laying off to his side and swung it at Philips.
“Hold on there,” Philips said, his arm raised to protect his face and head. “Just want to talk. That’s all. Now put that pipe down.”
Mendelsohn took several steps towards Philips, swinging the pipe menacingly through the air, but unable to connect with his target because the captain kept moving backwards.
Growing frustrated, Mendelsohn took another swing and then threw the pipe at Philips, catching him on the left shoulder.
While the pain was significant, Philips knew there would be virtually no damage, as he was wearing a light duty armored suit beneath his uniform, that harmlessly dissipated at least half of the pipe’s kinetic energy.
Philips shook his head. “Doctor! I don’t know what’s wrong. But you need help. Stay here while I get it for you.”
Mendelsohn didn’t respond.
Philips turned and ran towards the lift doors.
He could have ended this confrontation with his service pistol and probably with his bare hands too, but was reluctant to injure the doctor, especially given his crazed state.
A moment later the doctor took off running, chasing after Philips.
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Philips turned to look a split second before he was tackled to the ground, Mendelsohn on top of him raining wild flaying punches down on his head and shoulders.
Philips bucked his hips and pushed hard against the other man’s shoulders, throwing Mendelsohn off balance long enough for Philips to gain the mounted position.
Philips smacked Mendelsohn across the face and said “Doctor. Calm down. Talk to me!”
Mendelsohn tried to free himself before Philips smacked him again.
Mendelsohn mumbled something incoherent and seemed to be calming down.
“What?” asked Philips.
“Take” he managed to say, his shaky hand pointing to the nape of his neck. “Take!”
Philips rolled Mendelsohn to the left and pulled his collar down but didn’t see anything. “What do you want me to take?” asked Philips. “There’s nothing there?”
“Take…out!” Mendelsohn said, violent anger in his voice.
Philips rubbed his fingertips across the doctor’s nape area and felt a small pinprick.
There was definitely something there.
Unsure what to do, he tried removing it with his nails, but he couldn’t get a good grip on it that way. He then tried pitching the skin around the object, trying to knead it out, but that didn’t work either. Since pulling on it didn’t seem to be having any effect, on a whim he pressed into it, causing a short, metallic cylinder about half an inch long to rise out of the doctor’s nape.
Pulling it out completely with his fingers, he said “I’ve got it!”
“Thank god!” Mendelsohn said a few moments later. “I could have killed you. Um…or vice versa.”
“What in the hell is this thing?” asked Philip, holding the cylinder gingerly in his hand.
“Give me a moment,” replied the doctor, as he closed his eyes and laid flat on his back. “Just need a moment to recover.”
Several minutes later the doctor opened his eyes and sighed. “That was probably an unwise decision,” he said. “I’m very sorry captain. I didn’t mean to harm you.”
Philips shook his head, “I’m fine. No need to apologize. Here, let me help you up,” he said, extending his hand to help the doctor back on his feet.
Mendelsohn used the captain to steady himself back up. Stumbling while holding a hand to his head, he said “I’m still a bit dizzy, but I think I’ll be okay. Come. Let’s go to my office.”
The doctor led Philips from the experimental area into a plushy furnished lobby with several doors and lifts that led to various parts of the facility.
“My office is down this hall,” said Mendelsohn. “Right over there.”
--
The doctor’s office looked like a hurricane had hit it, with papers and tablets and research stations randomly littering the floor. Cabinets were leaning against other cabinets, while others were twisted and lying on the floor.
His desk was covered in paperwork but otherwise unscathed. He righted two overturned chairs and offered one to Philips.
“Please captain, have a seat. You look like you can use a rest yourself.”
“I’ll be fine doctor,” replied Philips, “what the hell is going on here? And what is that thing I pulled out of your neck?”
Looking at the tiny device in his hand, the doctor opened a safe on his desk and placed the cylinder inside.
“That, captain, is off limits from now on. At least until I figure out what went wrong.”
“Were you experimenting on yourself again?” asked Philips. “You know the government frowns on that sort of thing, especially with you being such a high value asset and all.”
“I know, but with the restrictions they’ve put on me and my research, sometimes self-experimentation is my only option.”
“So, what was that thing doctor?”
“That, captain, is a LOE.”
The captain raised his eyebrows. “Which means what exactly?”
“LOE stands for Level One Enhancer,” replied the doctor. “That device you pulled out of me augments the wearer’s Level One implants.”
“Augments? How?”
“As you know captain, Level Two implants are very hard to come by. You really must earn society’s permission to wear those. However, Level One implants are much more common. That little LOE sitting in this safe enhances the augmentation characteristics of Level One implants.”
Philips nodded. “Ah OK I see now. Yes. I recently read a report that you were working on something like that. You know, there are a lot of questions surrounding the legality of these devices.”
The doctor shrugged. “What do I care? I work for the government. If they don’t like it, they can tell me to stop. So far, they haven’t said anything, so I will continue working on them as long as the research holds my interest.”
“My understanding is that the lawyers haven’t made up their minds yet,” replied Philips.
“They are trying to figure out if it’s going to be a threat to the government or if it’s a useful technology for them to control and exploit. Once that’s been decided, then the legality will be settled.”
Philips smiled. “I’d say you were being cynical, but you might be right. However, when the time comes, let me do the talking for you. I wouldn’t exactly have phrased things that way.”
“You are a government agent,” replied Mendelsohn. “You are by default on the side of the government.”
“No, not by default,” replied Philips. “Not by a long shot. But right now, in this moment in time, I don’t see any issues that require my dissenting voice.”
“Fair enough” said Mendelsohn, “Throughout history, the military typically did not get involved in such things until they were needed to restore order. That’s been something I have often admired about the military. They’ve generally allowed revolutions to be led by the people.”
“That has been often the case,” replied Philips. “But there have been exceptions. Anyway, doctor, I didn’t come here to discuss politics or history.
“Yes. My apologies captain. I have been a terrible host to you today. What with my assault on you, and now my talk of revolution, you are bound to have me arrested.”
Philips laughed. “Doctor, you never change! Actually, I came here to ask you about your LOEs. As I mentioned before, I had read about them and was curious to learn more. Just not curious enough to make the trip out here to the exurbs – well, that was before today.”
“Too few are, my lad. Too few are,” replied Mendelsohn. “This can be a lonely existence.”
“Sorry doc. I promise to visit more often in the future. Right now, I need to know if you’ve got any working LOEs. The type that won’t take over my body, like yours just did.”
“I might. But first, tell me, why do you want one?”
“It’s need-to-know stuff doctor but suffice it to say I’m going on a mission where I think having some extra advantages are going to be useful.”
“I see,” said Mendelsohn. “Do you have a standard suite of Level One Augmentation implants?”
“I have the standard suite plus the military grade SPECOPS package – stamina, marksmanship, nerves, vision, agility, spatial orientation, piloting…the usual stuff.”
“And you want to enhance those attributes?” asked Mendelsohn.
“If possible, yes,” replied Philips. “Although I don’t want to stress my system. I want something that won’t have a heavy implant load. Something lightweight, versatile but durable.”
Mendelsohn laughed out loud. “Captain! You would make a perfect government spokesman! On the one hand you want to control my research, on the other hand you want miracles,” he said, laughing so hard that Philips caught the laughter too.
“What can I say?” Philips said between laughs, “I might just run for president!”
That made Mendelsohn laugh even harder, until his face turned rosy red and tears flowed out of his eyes, coughing as he tried to recover his composure.
“Ah, captain, you made me laugh,” said Mendelsohn. “I haven’t laughed like that for…I don’t know…weeks.”
“Glad to oblige,” replied Philips, now also more composed and keen to wrap up the meeting. “So, what have you got for me doctor?”
“Wait here,” said the doctor, as he got up and went into an adjoining room.
A few minutes later he came back with a small metallic case that fit in the palm of his hand.
“Here you go captain. This is one of the first LOEs I worked on. It doesn’t have any of the bugs that the one I was testing today does. So, you don’t have to worry about becoming a slave to it and acting like a madman.”
“Mind if I test it out,” asked Phillips.
“Be my guest. Where is your interface?”
Philips pointed to his left armpit. “Under here. It’s easier for me to conceal and protect.”
“Yes,” Mendelsohn nodded, “makes sense for you military types. Me? I prefer my nape. Faster connection and easier for an assistant to access.”
Phillips removed his shirt and peeled down a section of the light duty armored under garment he was wearing to reveal a plug one centimeter in diameter. Philips took the cylindrical device out of the metallic case and placed one end in the vicinity of the plug. The two devices recognized each other and exerted a small magnetic field to ensure an easy interlock. The cylinder was quickly drawn into the interface and Philips resealed his armored under shirt.
