Roachia 03 Before Dawn Read online

  Thornton."

  "What needs to be explained to me?" Half the people in the room immediately stood at attention as the three star General in charge of research and development entered the room, followed by Colonel Pendergrast. However, the commanding officer ignored them and stared at Blair, pure joy crossing his face. "Good to see you again, son," he said softly to the young man.

  Blair desperately tried to keep the confusion off his face. A general and a doctor who is Sam's guardian, both acting like they know him. Who were these people? Why couldn't he remember? He was beginning to feel light-headed.

  A soft hand gently cupped his face. "Don't worry, baby," Tess cooed, her brown eyes warm. "I know this is confusing for you. We'll sit down and have a nice long talk," she turned back towards Katts, her voice growing harder, "once we've finish taking care of the trash."

  The General turned to Dr. Colton. "What is going on, Tess?"

  "First, did you know Sam is here?"

  "I've been briefed." The General nodded his head at Pendergrast.

  "Well, Colonel Richards is the man over there," Tess waved her hand. The General gave him a cool look. "Then this Dr. Katts insists that Blair is working with the Roachians and demands to interrogate him now."

  The General turned to Katts. "Do you have any evidence against Blair?"

  "He spent who knows how long with the Roaches. Then he and the Panthers just happen to discover the only two pairs of Roaches disguised as humans that we know of. I find that a little too convenient."

  Tess smiled and shook her head. The general asked, "Tess?"

  "Remember the senior paper?"

  Thornton's eyes widened, then he smiled, too. "So Jeff won the argument?"

  Tess glanced at the large man standing protectively by Blair. "I'd say so."

  "General, I do not know what you are talking about, but I insist that I interrogate this man."

  Tess rolled her eyes. "Blair baby, have you remembered anything about the Roaches or the Sealand invasion?" Blair shook his head negatively, still too overwhelmed to speak.

  The general leveled a cold look at the debriefer. "Then why are you bothering my godson?"

  Godson? This general is my godfather?

  "Godson?" Katts practically squeaked.

  "Yes, my godson. A responsibility I do not take lightly. And without evidence, I can not believe Blair would willing do anything to harm his people and especially his father."

  "Father?" Katts repeated, looking very trapped.

  "Jeff MacGregor. Now, I suggest you go look elsewhere for traitors while I have a little talk with Colonel Richards."

  Dr. Katts stormed out of the room, head down in anger and embarrassment. Colonel Richards followed in his wake, his head also down.

  General Thornton paused, gently resting a hand on his godson's shoulder. "Are you all right, Blair?"

  "Yeah." Round blue looked up into the General's face. "Just a little confused. Are you really my godfather?"

  The General smiled, hiding the hurt that question caused. "Yes, your father tagged me your unofficial godfather after I helped him with all the paperwork."

  "Paperwork?" Blair asked, puzzled.

  Thornton chuckled. "Armed with only a name and town, you escaped from the tent cities and found your Dad. Pretty good for a 10-year-old refugee kid who'd never been out of Claria before. However, there were a lot of people not too happy with you, especially since you were coming down with statcus at the time. Between proving Mac was your father, fighting the health department, fighting Human Services, fighting the Clarian committee, and everything else, there was a lot of paperwork. You got to know your 'Uncle Pete' pretty well before the end of that year."

  "Uncle Pete," Blair repeated quietly. The memory of a large man in sweater and slacks, boosting him up into a train flashed across his mind. "You'd take Sam and I to ride the train by a harbor."

  "That's right," Pete's smile widened with relief. "Why don't we meet later? I need to give Colonel Richards a chewing out."

  "Okay," Blair replied with a smile.

  "Then I'll go talk with that other prodigal son of Jeff's," Tess stated as the general left. "That boy needs a good talking to."

  "He was shot last night by the Roach," Blair put in, concerned.

  "Oh, don't worry Baby. I won't be that hard on him. I just want to make sure he doesn't do it again." Tess studied Blair's pale face. He appeared so slim and fragile, much quieter than the normally energetic young man she knew. "While I'm talking with him, why don't you take a nap?"

  "We were going to breakfast before all this happened," Jim put in. He figured food and quiet would be the best thing for his young guide.

  "Oh, you must be the Captain Ellison that Mike told me about," Tess returned, giving him a brilliant smile. "I am so grateful for the way you and the Panthers have looked out for Blair. I'm also glad Blair finally found you. Jeff always said he would."

  "Huh?" Both Jim and Blair stared at the woman in confusion. In the background, Dr. Mike could barely contain his laughter.

  "Oh, just an old argument between friends. While we all knew Sam was going to follow in his father's footsteps, none of us were sure what Blair would decide on. Pete always hoped you'd use your talent with computer systems, since his department needed them so badly. I always felt that with your compassion and talent with people, you'd make a fine therapist or psychologist." She chuckled, remembering evenings spent arguing over the young man's future. "After we'd debate the subject for a while, your father would just lean back and quietly state that if there were any sentinels still left on this world, you would find him and be his guide. And that apparently is just what you've done."

  Blair stared at her wide-eyed, while Jim breathed a sigh of relief. Mike chuckled, "Yeah Blair, you even wrote one of your senior papers on sentinels and the probability that latent sentinels existed today."

  "Really?" Blair asked. He turned to Tess. "You wouldn't happen to have a copy, would you?"

  Tess smiled. "In my bags. I'll get it for you once I've talked to that brother of yours." She turned down the hall.

  As Mike turned follow her, Jim grabbed his arm "Senior paper?" he whispered.

  Mike chuckled again. "Both Blair and Sam tested near genius level like their father. Blair started college at 16, and graduated last year with a double major in Psychology and Cultural Studies, with minors in biology, math, computers, and history. His senior paper for Cultural Studies was on Sentinels. Turns out that the Center thought the talent was only passed down through the male lineage. Jeff descended from Keegan's daughter."

  Jim shook his head, then ushered Blair out the door for breakfast.

  General Thornton relaxed once Colonel Richards was out of the room. He rather enjoyed verbally ripping the man to shreds, considering all the anxiety he had suffered worrying about Sam.

  Colonel Jack Pendergrast leaned back with a smile. "Good work, General. I couldn't have said it better myself."

  The General shrugged. "Having never had children, I have always enjoyed playing 'Uncle Pete' with Jeff's boys. I don't like someone hurting either of them. On the professional level, Sam is the most likely candidate to figure out Jeff's ideas and plans. To risk him on an undercover assignment is ridiculous."

  Nash Branson placed his elbows on the table. He had only met the General a couple of times before, but had always appreciated his down-to-earth approach. "How far along is Sam?"

  Pride stretched across the General's face. "Sam was starting his last year of college before he disappeared on us. He started when he wasn't quite 16."

  Nash slowly shook his head. "Jeff was such a master at thinking up innovated ideas and devising them into practical solutions. I think most of the scientific community is reeling from his loss. I hadn't realized his sons were involved."

  "Jeff tried to keep it that way," Thornton explained. "He didn't want any pressure on the boys. Both of them inherited their father's intelligence, so Jeff worked hard to raise them to be pract
ical as well. He'd often bring home projects or ideas, allowing the boys to work on them. Why, it was Sam, with some help from Blair, who designed the security nodes we all use. Jeff just kept the source quiet to protect them. He has had enough close calls with both of them as it is."

  "So that's why Blair could fix them," Nash commented.

  "Do you think that might be what the Roaches were after?" asked Jack.

  The General slowly shook his head, troubled by what had been done to his godson. "I don't know. Not that many people knew about Sam's connection, and even less about Blair's. Plus there were several other projects Blair had worked on or knew about from his father's group. If they connected him to Jeff, that is a possibility. Or if the Roaches had realized he was from the Franklyn Center, they may have tried to find out about their research. I honestly don't know and personally, I'd rather not have Blair remember."

  "Same here," Simon Banks finally spoke up. He could still see the battered and severely injured young man as they had found him in the church. Another thought crossed his mind. "How much time was there between the Sealand attack and MacGregor's disappearance?"

  "About 56 hours," Thornton replied. "Why?"

  Simon took a deep breath, wondering if he should even mention it. "Well, all I can say is that if the Roaches had shown me my son in the condition we'd found BT in, I'd have probably given away the store to get him some help."

  The silence that met him was deafening.

  "Oh hell," Nash whispered.

  "One thing," Jack quietly pointed out. "There wasn't enough time to get Jeff to Sealand before your unit found Blair."

  "And Jeff wouldn't have told them anything until he had seen Blair first hand," Thornton confirmed.

  "True," Simon conceded. "But the Roaches didn't expect us to escape with him."

  Again, the silence stretched out. Finally, Thorton conceded, "A real threat to Sam or Blair would be Jeff's greatest weakness. Which is very troubling, in that if Jeff is alive, they could both still be in danger."

  Jack glanced at Simon, then at Branson. Seeing both men nod once, Jack replied, "Actually, we have a couple suggestions..."

  Blair poked his head into the infirmary room. Seeing Sam was awake and alone, he stepped inside, smiling. "Hi! How's it going?"

  A mischievous twinkle struggled to light the tired brown eyes. "Trying to figure out a way to get out of this bed. This really sucks, man."

  "Yeah, I know how dull hospital beds can be," Blair agreed as he sat in the chair next to the bed.

  "Sheer boredom with short periods of trapped terror," Sam amended. "First that pretty nurse Amy comes in with a BIG needle. Then I didn't have any way to escape Grandma Tess' lecture. Then she told me Uncle Pete is around here somewhere. I'm trying to figure out a place to hide before HE finds me!"

  "You deserve it!" Blair replied forcefully. "You really had them worried." Then he frowned a moment as a memory tried to slip through.

  Sam sat silent as well, watching his brother's face. Rafe had told him about Blair's injuries and slow recovery. He didn't want to upset things if Blair was remembering something.

  "Molasses cookies," Blair whispered. "Big, chewy ones. Out of all the cookies Grandma Tess makes, they are my favorite. But you always preferred the milknut pineapple ones."

  "With the big tartberry in the center," Sam added, a smile stretching across his face. "Do you remember her big kitchen in Harbor Bay?"

  An answering smile slowly spread across Blair's face. "We'd go there on Saturdays and sit around a big table with ... with Willie? And his sister?"

  "Yeah, Willie and Ebony. Uncle Jesse's kids."

  Blair's brow wrinkled in concentration. "How are they related?"

  Sam chuckled, trying to hide the sinking of his heart. Blair was so close. "Dad went to live with our Great Grandpa Harry after his parents died. Tess and her boys, Frank, Jesse, and Billy, lived next door. She always said that Dad was over there so much, he was just like one of the family, so they kinda adopted him."

  "Grandpa Harry," Blair mused. "He's the one who told Dad Keegan stories."

  "That's right," Sam encouraged. "Keegan was Harry's grandfather and told the stories to him. Do you remember them?"

  "Oh yeah. That was one of the first things I remembered, Dad telling us Keegan stories. I just didn't know who you or Dad were."

  "What else did you remember?" Sam asked, curious.

  "Something about us being trapped under a building?"

  Sam looked at him in alarm. "You remember that?"

  "Yeah. I kept calling to you, trying to reach your hand."

  "Oh, man," Sam shuddered. "I'd think that would be one time you'd try to forget."

  "What happened?"

  "That was when Harbor Bay was first bombed. You were 13, I was ten. Our house took a near hit. Aunt Dotty was in the kitchen and didn't make it. You and I were in the garden-level den working on a puzzle."

  Blair's face wrinkled in concentration. "The three dimensional fortress one, right? With four stories?"

  "Right. We were trying to figure out a way to motorize the gate when the attack started. You were yelling at me to get under the table when the bomb hit. Somehow, the bookcases that lined the walls landed on the heavy tables, protecting us from being crushed."

  "Okay," Blair nodded his head, "That is what I remembered feeling. There were books poking at me everywhere, but it was so dark."

  "It was pitch black. I had a broken collar bone, a concussion, and was scared to death. Finally, I was able to just barely reach your fingers. We laid there for several hours, you telling me Keegan stories while I was trying not to cry. We didn't know Dad was above us, telling the police chief we were NOT dead while he and the Coltons worked to dig us out."

  Images flashed across Blair's mind. A light shining between two of the bookcases. Dad's face peering at him through the fallen books. A crushing hug once he had been freed.

  "So are you two plotting again?" Tess walked into the room, her jolly voice booming in the room.

  Blair chuckled. "No, Sam is helping me sort through the holes in my memory." He beamed up at the large woman, now remembering her warmth and generosity.

  "Then these should help, too." She handed him two small, round discs in protective casing. "Your senior paper, and Keegan's journals. You gave me copies before you left for Sealand, just in case something happened and you lost them."

  "Yeah, I have copies, too," Sam added. "I gave them to Willie for safekeeping."

  "Who should have called me the minute he knew you were up to something," Tess growled, thinking of her grandson.

  "I swore him to secrecy. Blood oath and everything," Sam defended him.

  "Keegan's journals?" Blair broke in, struggling to remember.

  Sam answered, "Yeah, you used them for your paper, though you didn't tell anyone you had them. The Center always thought that the talent for sentinel and guide were only passed down through sons and totally ignored the daughters. Keegan was certain that his daughter Miranda's descendants would have the talent, but he was afraid they wouldn't get any training. So he told Grandpa Harry all about his adventures with his sentinel, whom Harry was named after. Then he secretly gave Harry his journals before he died."

  Blair stared at the discs, a thoughtful look filling his face. He now had all he needed to help Jim.

  "What's up?" Sam asked, reading his brother's face.

  "Oh, your brother is already plotting his game plan with Keegan's journals," Tess replied warmly, enjoying a sight she didn't think she'd see again.

  "Huh? Wait a minute..." Sam turned back to his brother. "You found a sentinel?" he whispered, trying to keep his excitement level down. Blair gave him an answering smile. "Man, that is so GREAT! Who? Not Rafe, I didn't see the signs this morning. Wait a minute..." Sam closed his eyes, remembering the night before. "The big white guy, who was taking care of my leg. Is he the sentinel?"

  Blair chuckled. "Yeah, it's Jim. But keep it down - it's not common knowledge. J
im hasn't had any guidance, so he's still pretty vulnerable."

  "He knew that Griffin and Michaelson were Roaches and that I wasn't. How?"

  "By smell. The first two times he smelled Roaches among humans, he zoned. I worry about him."

  "You can help him," Sam stated confidently. "You've wanted to be a guide since Dad told you your first Keegan story."

  "Really?" Blair asked.

  Tess and Sam looked at each other then immediately started laughing hard. "Oh yeah," Sam finally croaked out. "Oh yeah."

  Tess wiped tears away from her eyes. "Oh yes, baby. Why do you think you wrote that paper?"

  A knock on the door interrupted them. Dr. Branson stuck his head in. "Hi. May I come in a minute?"

  "Sure," Blair shrugged.

  "I need to talk to Sam alone for a few minutes. Do you mind?"

  "That's fine. Blair and I can wait outside," Tess replied, suspecting what was happening. She quickly ushered Blair out of the room.

  Outside the door, Jim was waiting. "Hey kid, you look like you need some air. Want to go up on the deck?"

  Blair's eyes narrowed a second, realizing something was up. "Sure."

  On top of the mountain that hid the science base from view was a small observation deck. The two men had been leaning on the rails, staring at the magnificent scenery for several minutes before Blair finally stated, "Okay, give."

  Jim turned to face him. "Huh?"

  Blair chuckled. "Well, I don't think you dragged me up here for my health. Plus it would be nice to get back inside before I turned into a popsicle."

  "You too cold?" Jim frowned.

  "Not now, but I will be if you don't tell me what's up soon." Blair tensed, wondering if it was bad news.

  Jim looked down at his feet. "Well, now that you have your memory back, I was wondering if you'd be leaving us soon."

  Oh Hell. Blair screwed up his courage and quietly asked, "Do you want me to leave?"

  "NO!" Jim instantly looked up, pinning Blair with his ice blue eyes. "That's not it at all. It's just that, well, before you didn't have any where else to go. Now you do. Now you have a choice."

  Blair continued to hold Jim's eyes with his own. "Why would you want me to stay?"