thanks Barie for critiquing it :D
Prologue
Dr Crawford slowly walked down a hallway. He took a step, and then stopped; taking a deep breath to compose himself after each step. In one hand, he was carrying a briefcase. And with the other, he fingered the silver lion head of his cane. Not that he needed one, however. He used it because it served many alternative purposes.
Striding to the black oak door at the end of the hall, he shivered in anticipation. He did not want to face The Silver Shadow again, for if he made her angry, he might never see the sun or the moon once again.
He thought back to his previous meeting with her; which was about 3 hours ago in the same room that he was heading towards now. She had summoned him with an air of urgency, and then handed him a briefcase when he had entered.
“Crawford, I want you to take this and analyze it. Once you are done, bring it back to me with the results.” She had said.
When he had reached his office, he had found that there were several different strands of hair in test tubes inside the briefcase. He had analyzed them and found matches to every one of them.
Then, he had printed the names, locations, and other info about them and headed back up to her office.
Stepping tentatively up to the door, he knocked softly.
“Come on in, Dr. Crawford, I have been expecting you.” came her voice through the door; a silky, yet somehow menacing voice that sent a chill down your spine.
He took a deep breath, and then slowly turned the knob, gently nudging the door open. It opened without a sound, and Dr. Crawford shuffled into the dark and dreary room.
The only window on the far wall showed the moon high in the sky. The decor that adorned the room would never cease to hold his attention. All the swords, shields, and pictures of menacing dragons all sent shivers down his spine every time he entered.
Regaining his composure, he hurried to the small table in the center of the room. Silver Shadow sat at her desk, in the shadows of the wall in front of him. He could not see her face, but he could feel her stare. He went over to a simple metal chair and sat down, placing the briefcase on the table.
He took the stack of papers from the case then pushed it aside to make room. The case didn't stop, but slid right off the table and floated toward Silver Shadow’s desk, and then it came to a rest in the exact center of it.
“Please precede, Crawford, I have very little time to waste.” She said, her silky voice making him blink and hurriedly look back at the sheaf of papers in his hands.
“Ahem, yes, well, the hair samples you sent me were a bit old, but I was able to get the necessary information that you wanted. Name, Location, age, the works.” He replied, gaining a bit of confidence.
She waved a slim hand in the moonlight, and the papers rose and gently floated at her. Taking it, she scanned it while he kept talking.
“The first hair sample belonged to a man by the name of Ace Winters. The location of all of them should be on there, so I shall not repeat them.”
“The second strand belonged to Aidan Simmons. The third belonged to Jack Steward. The fourth and fifth belonged to Timothy Hawkins and Anna… strangely enough, I found no last name for her. With the sixth belonging to-“
“I know full well who it belongs to, Dr. you need not utter the name here.” She said sharply, cutting off the rest of his comment.
Nodding quickly, he fell silent as she read the last of the report.
“Well done Dr. Crawford, you have found all the information that I need. You are free to go.” She said at last, setting the report down.
Crawford nodded and walked to the door. On his way out, he thought he heard her whisper, “so that is where you put them Argen? I would have thought better…”
Shutting the door behind him, Dr. Crawford hurried to the elevator. All he wanted to do now was go home to his cat and sleep.
The Silver Shadow watched on her monitor installed in her desk as Crawford got his keys and left. Once he had gone out of sight, she snatched up her cell phone.
“Security, get Mr. Fink and tell him to wake Damien. It is about time we let him and the others loose. Tell him to get a helicopter ready and head to Marquette, MI. that is where the first target is…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1 - Always Hope
“Dr. Simon Blake, please report to my office at once.” Those words entered everyone’s ears as Argen Silver’s voice was blasted through the intercom.
Simon Blake sighed and put down the pen that he had been using. After locking his computer, he stood and exited the room.
Wham!
Simon found himself on the ground, papers scattered all over the floor and a hand in his face.
“Oh, I am so sorry Sir! Here let me help you up,” said an all too familiar voice. Blake shook his head and looked up into Oliver Simmons’ face. He was their newest intern, and he was forever running into things.
Grasping his hand, Simon staggered to his feet. Glancing around at the strewn papers, he shook his head again.
“Ollie, you have to watch where you are going! You are going to impale someone one of these days.” Simon said, stooping down and picking up a few papers for him.
Oliver nodded and stammered out another apology. Picking up the rest of the papers, he ran down the hall once again, narrowly missing the secretary as she came out of her office for coffee. Simon sighed and headed toward Mr. Silver’s office.
As he walked down the hall, he wondered what Mr. Silver wanted him for. Maybe it was a promotion, or another special “project” he wanted researched and developed.
Hopefully, it will be something fun to do, and not more writing.
Approaching his Boss’s door, he slowed.
What if it is more writing? Well, I guess we will just have to see.
Opening the door, Simon Blake entered the spacious office. Mr. Silver was seated behind his desk at the far wall. He motioned for Simon to come forward and take a seat.
“Blake, I trust all your research goes well, especially the recent breakthrough in nano-tech?
Simon Blake blinked and nodded.
“Yes sir, I can have the reports emailed to you if you would like.”
Mr. Silver shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. “I trust you Blake, if you say that it is going well, I will take your word for it.”
Simon smiled and nodded, he was glad his boss trusted him. It was just good for overall business.
“Well, I suppose we should get to the matter at hand then,” Mr. Silver went on. “I have received reports from my surveillance satellite that Shadow’s facility has become very active. I do not know exactly what she is after, but I have a hunch.” He paused, thinking about the situation.
“She is most likely going after the children, as they are the right age.”
“Simon, I want you to find these children and take them to our new research facility in WI. It has the necessary equipment to take care of them.” Mr. Silver handed Blake a packet of papers that was about 6 pages thick.
“The first child is in Marquette, MI. hop on a jet with some men and fly over there. And oh, you will need this.” Argen twirled around in his chair and grabbed a long bundle. Extending it to Simon, he continued.
“Give this to him, but don’t expect him to know how to use it. Protect him at all costs, and if you are attacked by Shadow, run and hide. Find the next child and so on. Got it?”
Simon took the bundle and looked back up at Mr. Silver questioningly.
“You want me to go and gather a bunch of children, take them to our latest facility in WI, and protect them from Shadow!?” he demanded.
Mr. Silver nodded and smiled.
“Sweet! Awesome, when do I depart?” said Simon, who was mainly excited because he could get away from all his desk work.
Mr. Silver checked his watch and said, “In 10 minutes. And don’t worry; all your stuff is packed.”
Simon grinned and almost leaped from the chair. He made his way to the door but halted. Looking back, he said,
“Always hope.”
And then he left.
Argen Silver leaned back in his chair, thinking.
“Always hope.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2 – Ace Winters
Ace Winters stared at the strange man on his doorstep. He had just finished all his chores and was about to hit the computer when the doorbell had rang. He had opened it to find a man who did not seem to mind the cold. He had no heavy coat on, had no gloves, he only had jeans and a long sleeve polo shirt.
“Yes, can I help you?” he asked uncertainly, hiding halfway behind the door to block him from the harsh wind.
The man smiled gently and studied him. Finally he answered him in a hushed voice. “Yes, I do believe you can. Is this the home of Holly Winter? It is absolutely imperative that I speak with her immediately.” His voice wavered slightly, betraying the fear and impatience that his face didn't.
Ace hesitated slightly before answering. “Yes, this is. Who are you? She does not come to the door unless she knows who it is.”
The man frowned a bit before smiling again. “Tell her it is Dr. Blake.” as soon as Ace turned around, he muttered just loud enough for Ace to hear, “doesn’t come to the door? That makes no sense…”
Ace’s brow furrowed as he heard this. He walked into the living room to find his mother sitting on the couch watching him expectantly.
“Well, who was it? What did they want?” she asked, her eyes darting to his face to behind him and back again. She was obviously nervous.
“Well, some guy named Dr. Blake said he wanted to talk to you and-“
“NO! I will not let him have you! He has no-“ she said, interrupting him.
“I have every right Miss Winters. You knew this was coming, you were forewarned. All the others were not, how do you think their parents will respond?” said the quite voice of Dr. Blake behind Ace, interrupting her interruption. He had followed Ace inside and now stood beside him.
Holly Winters paled and started to cry.
Ace’s train of thought derailed and started to spin out of control. Thoughts like: Is he going to take me away? What is going to happen to mom? Did I do something wrong, and now mom was paying for it? Maybe there is a limit of how long someone can be adopted, and now I was being taken away!
“Ok, will someone explain what is going on? Are you from the adoption agency?” Ace asked after he had collected himself. He turned his head to look at first his sobbing mom, and then the mysterious Dr. Blake.
Dr. Blake sighed and started to talk. “Son, I would love to explain, but we have very little time left. Please come with me, oh, and you too Holly.”
Dr. Blake turned and headed toward the door, but the faint sound of helicopter blades chopping the air outside stopped him short. He glanced at Holly, who when she had first heard it, had stopped also. Almost all the blood had drained from her face, and she started trembling.
Ace looked from Dr. Blake then to his mother. “What’s wrong? Mom, are you ok?”
Blake frowned and looked around. “Holly, did you follow standard procedure like we told you to? Did you put in the tunnel and the security devices?”
Holly pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yes, follow me” she said curtly, walking toward the other side of the room.
Blake nodded and followed. Ace hesitated only a second, wondering what they could be talking about, before he followed as well.
Holly power walked through a hallway to a small, white door. Ace had only gone beyond that door a few times. It led to a spacious, empty basement. There were no lights, so he never stayed long.
Holly jerked open the door and the smell of musty dirt floors and walls assailed their noses. Taking a tentative step onto the stairwell, Holly started the descent.
Blake waved at Ace to go forward and went last. He paused at the top, listening to the ever-present sound of helicopter blades chopping the air, bringing their destruction closer and closer to the house.
Blake grunted and slammed the door shut. turning, he hurried down the stairs and followed Ace and Holly into an empty room.
Holly paused and patted her pockets. “Dang it, I don’t have the key.” Turning to Ace, she put a hand on his shoulder. “Ace, can you run up to my room and open the top drawer of my dresser? Feel around the back until you find a square of plastic like a credit card. Grab it, and run back down here as fast as you can. Think you can do that? If you don’t…well, we will all die.”
Ace tried to respond, but fear stole his voice. He only nodded and ran back to the stairs. Flying up them, he burst through the door, immediately noticing that the sound of the approaching helicopter had stopped. Frowning, he glanced out the nearest window. What he saw made his jaw drop in utter shock.
It was a helicopter. Painted a sleek black, with what seemed like red glitter, it almost seemed to absorb the surrounding light and emanate darkness in its place. In bold silver letters, the words “Hope Stealer” were painted on the tail. The sight seemed to grab what little remaining strength he had left and crush it.
He tried to look away, but he seemed to be drawn to it, like it was calling to him.
With a great deal of will-power, he ripped himself from the sight, bounding up the stairs and
bursting into his mother’s room, he jumped over his mother’s bed.
He wrenched open the dresser drawer and reached into the back. Groping around for a few seconds, he finally felt the card taped to the back. It took about 5 seconds, but he got it off.
Bounding down the stairs, he bolted toward the basement door. He paused and glanced back at the front door as he heard a knock. Making a fast decision, Ace raced back into the Kitchen and grabbed the bottle of vegetable oil from the counter.
The knocking grew louder and faster until it started to shake the door.
“Open up! We are with the FBI! Open up IMMEDIATELY!” The voice roared. Ace could not believe a voice could be that loud when shouted through a door.
Ace raced over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of vegetable oil. He snickered as he raced back to the basement door. Once past it, he started down the stairs, carefully dumping the oil on the wooden stairs behind him.
After he was satisfied with his work, he walked over to his mom with a faint smile on his face. While handing her the card, she asked him.
“What are you smiling at? This is not a time to be happy.” She was as tight lipped as ever, dead serious.
Ace motioned to the stairs, his smile never wavering. “I poured Vegetable oil on the stairs. I think that will slow them down a little. Unless they can like, fly.”
Blake chuckled and Mrs. Winters snorted. As she slid the key into a barely perceptible slot in the wall, she muttered. “I hope they can’t. We would be in SO much trouble then.”
Ace blinked and mulled over these words, but his thoughts were cut short as the wall made a loud clanking noise and started to move. Right at that moment, the door upstairs was broken down, making everyone jump.
“We need to move,” said Blake, moving toward the opening. “We need to move now!”
