Alien Disclosure

Aftermath

Alien Disclosure

Aftermath

Book Two of the Alien Disclosure Series

Allan Kules

Off-World Books

Surprise, Arizona

Copyright ©2019 Allan Kules

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

or used in any form or by any means without permission from

the author.

Cover Art “Earthlike Planet” courtesy of Andrey Nazarov.

Check out DeviantArt.com for additional works by Andrey.

Flying Saucer spaceships downloaded from: widescreen full

hd, fantasy images, saucerx, ufo

Small Earth image downloaded from Clipart Panda: Earth

ClipArt

This is a work of fiction. All situations, events, and conver-

sations, including those involving actual persons, living or

dead, are products of the author’s imagination.

ISBN-13: 978-1-7324552-3-8

ISBN-10: 1-7324552-3-6

Professionally edited by:

Jennifer Hope

www.MesaVerdeMediaServices.com

Printed in the U.S.A.

Introduction

The focus of Amnesty, the first book of this series, was the in-

ternal governmental conflict on disclosure. Should the long-hidden facts

about extraterrestrial visitation be disclosed? The characters, for and

against disclosure, portrayed a resounding defense of their motivations

to reveal or to hide the astounding truth of ongoing alien visitations to

planet earth.

Dr. Michael Salla researched and documented the original story

of President Eisenhower meeting with aliens at a western air force base

in the mid-fifties. He commented on Amnesty as follows: “What I found

especially helpful was the way the negative secret government faction

was depicted. The villains were not dehumanized as psychopaths on a

rampage of destruction as they carried out illegal orders, but as typical

government agents with a highly skewed national security belief system

that made them view extraterrestrial disclosure as a genuine threat for

human society.

“This made it easier to understand why amnesty, based on the

Truth and Reconciliation model used by countries such as South Africa,

could be used in a full disclosure scenario.”

Aftermath, beginning two years after the formal disclosure at the

United Nations, continues to grant a distinct measure of humanity to char-

acters on both sides of disclosure.

The heroes of Aftermath, the Broadhurst team, set the agenda

for those who fully accepted the truth of aliens in our midst. The spirit of

a diverse galactic community where the citizens of earth stood on the

threshold of adventure and discovery of the galaxy was the gift of disclo-

sure.

Still at large at the end of Amnesty, Kathleen and JoAnne and

their dwindling base continued to assert that disclosure was a monumen-

tal mistake. Even members of the Broadhurst team came to realize that

those with inflexible belief systems that did not allow for the existence of

extraterrestrial beings floundered in a state of bewilderment and con-

fusion. Upheaval to their core religious beliefs rendered them incapable

of discerning what was real and what was illusion. Those incapable of

mentally digesting this new reality suffered from the known socioeco-

nomic impacts of such a monstrous change. Kathleen, the stalwart ad-

vocate of secrecy and protection of the American public, knew the score,

warned of the negative impacts of disclosure, and continued to stand in

opposition to disclosure’s fundamental tenets.

Within this dichotomy, this narrative framework, the characters

of Aftermath work with a double agent, build spaceships with alien be-

ings, fend off a terrorist assault, spar with infamous criminals, and come

to terms with those who had failed in their attempts to prevent disclosure.

At first, the characters opposed to disclosure capitulate, then chafe at

the loss of entitlement they once had, and in the end, albeit somewhat

reluctantly, work with the disclosure team to prepare for an unknown

force entering our galaxy.

Concealed behind the overt narrative are ancient hands affecting

events to meet a long-planned agenda, that they keep from everyone.

Throughout this story are fine footprints of characters with precognition

of detailed knowledge of where the other characters are going and their

ultimate destination.

Chapter 1

“Over here,” said Rudy, energetically waving his hand high

above the guests at the Italian restaurant. Nancy scanned the crowded

bar for the origin of the familiar voice. From where he stood at a corner

table, Rudy’s extended hand caught her eye. She followed it down to his

smiling round face and reciprocated with an excited smile of her own.

“I’m glad you could make it, Nancy,” said Rudy, still standing to

give her a firm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Nancy put her hands to his face and gave him a friendly kiss on

the lips as she looked into his eyes. “How have you been, Rudy? I’ve

missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, honey,” he said, gently clasping her

shoulders. “Come sit down.” The waitress approached and patiently

waited for the two to sit down. “What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having, Rudy,” Nancy said as she slid

1

into the polished wooden chair.

“Great, and bring another for me,” said Rudy, smiling at the wai-

tress.

“Of course, Mr. Longorda,” said the waitress. Catching Rudy’s

eye, Nancy mouthed the formal salutation.

“Can I take your order for some dinner, Ms. McHenry?”

“How do you know my name . . . Paula?” asked Nancy, finding

the woman’s nametag pinned to her tight-fitting top.

Sensing her guest’s discomfort, the waitress put her hand on

Nancy’s shoulder and spoke haltingly. “Nancy, you and Rudy and all your

friends are heroes to this country. You are honored guests in this restau-

rant. This is the two-year anniversary of the big event. You and your

friends, James, Frank, and Maya, freed this country from all that secrecy.

I was here that night. I remember.” The waitress started to cry. Nancy

reached up and gently clasped Paula’s arm. “Your visit to our restaurant

that evening also put us on the map, so to speak. We have been very

busy ever since. Some of the patrons who were here that night have re-

turned for the reunion . . . just like you. Our manager said that if any of

you come back tonight, you will pay nothing for drinks or dinner. I’ve

made enough in raises and tips here to afford one of those new cars, the

ones with the special engines. I feel a little bad for the oil companies—

hey, not too bad though.” Rudy and Nancy laughed a little.

“When you’re ready, order anything on the menu. I’m so sad that

Maya couldn’t be here that night, and now she’s gone for good. Have

you heard from her?” asked the waitress plaintively.

“No, none of us have,” said Rudy.

“I’ve read everything about her, everything,” she said forcefully.

“I wished I had met her. My girls want to be just like her.”

“She accomplished a great feat, that Maya. We saw her and

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

2

James and Frank for only a day. Even then they were heroes to us. I had

the pleasure of serving meals to them just as you are serving us. I un-

derstand how you feel,” said Nancy, giving Paula’s arm a firm grip of re-

assurance.

“Thank you. I’ll get those drinks for you right away. Just let me

know when you want to order dinner.” The waitress left without waiting

for an answer.

“That’s awfully nice of her and the restaurant owner too. By the

way, where is everybody?”

“We might be it, I’m afraid,” lamented Rudy. “James has even

more security than the President these days. Besides he’s hot on Kath-

leen and JoAnne’s trail in West Virginia or Kentucky, I think. I don’t have

clearance to see those reports.”

“I can’t believe that they haven’t been caught yet. I mean, in this

day and age, for two women or two men to go to ground like that, for two

years. Saddam hung out in a dirt hole, and we still found him. I can’t be-

lieve two women are going to put up with that.” Nancy shuddered and

shook her head.

“I don’t think that they’re doing that. What level of clearance did

you have when you retired?”

“Same as yours, Rudy,” said Nancy, picking up the mug of beer

that the waitress left.

“They upgraded me.”

“Really,” she said, putting her mug back on the polished wooden

table.

“I wanted to do more, and they said yes. Seriously, everyone is

speculating about this one. Barbara demanded that James immerse him-

self in his role as leader and encourage the grey hats to turn white. That

phase took about three months. Barbara figured that the women couldn’t

AFTERMATH

3

do too much in the winter months. Some of us felt an immediate capture

would have sent the message that things were really going to change.

“It was probably something like sixty/forty white hats to black

hats when we started. The forty percent had the weight of tradition and

inertia that kept the secrecy intact and the doors shut even though they

were in the minority. Now it’s eighty/twenty with the twenty percent seeing

themselves as hardened criminals, wearing the blackest of hats. And

that’s sad. As the forty percent, they saw themselves as true Americans

protecting us. Now they are forced to see themselves in a negative light,

being hunted like they are. They now regularly stage prison breaks get-

ting real criminals from jail to build their numbers. Being in favor of se-

crecy is no longer an honorable position to take.

“For a while it was just Kathleen and a few others. JoAnne got

out of the hospital and retired from the company. One day, June, Bar-

bara’s assistant, went to see her, and her apartment was empty to the

bare walls.”

“Gee, what did June have to do with her?”

“Barbara assigned June to gradually bring JoAnne over to our

side. June thought she was succeeding and then—poof!”

“Wow, a modern-day Thelma and Louise,” mused Nancy.

“There is a rumor circulating that JoAnne is secretly one of us

already and is keeping us informed as to Kathleen’s whereabouts. With-

out clearance on this, I have to rely on rumors. I don’t know that it’s true.”

“At least it’s a positive rumor. So many I’ve heard are just so neg-

ative. So who else couldn’t make it tonight?” asked Nancy.

“Steve is like Maya, he’s off-planet now. I invited Carol the UN

security guard and her supervisor Max. Those two were the key to mak-

ing a hairy situation upstairs a nonevent for those in the General As-

sembly. They’re having a celebration with awards for both of them tonight

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

4

over at the UN. They don’t know it, but there is a surprise party of sorts

for them. The Secretary is presenting the awards.”

“That’s great, Rudy. Tell me what you do and how are things after

two years?”

“I work with Frank mostly.”

“Yes, Frank Connors,” she said excitedly. “Is he still dating

June?”

“You ladies—always want to find out about who loves who. I bet

you were the proverbial matchmaker in high school.”

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love,” sang Nancy with

her nose intentionally stuck up in the air.

“Alright already. Frank and June couldn’t make it. He’s proposing

tonight, and if she says yes, or maybe even if she says no, they are head-

ing up to that lodge in northern New Jersey.”

“Oh, Rudy, that is so beautiful. I’m sure she’s going to say yes.

It’s about time.”

“You haven’t seen them in two years,” he said, incredulous.

“Listen, she latched on to him, and he didn’t resist. Tell me, Mr.

Smarty Pants, that she’s going to say no.”

Rudy shook his head at having to agree with her. “You’re right.

Another single guy finally bites the dust and succumbs to the throes of

marriage. Yep, he’s a goner.”

“Oh, Rudy, married men live longer than you single guys. I still

know some eligible ladies I can introduce you to. It’s not too late.”

“I’m uniquely suited to some of my missions—with no living rel-

atives, it’s safer that way.”

“What do they have you do, Rudy? Are people still getting tor-

tured for this? I thought that was over with,” said Nancy, staring at him

intently.

AFTERMATH

5

“No, no, don’t worry. We have been eating around the edges of

what’s left of the most resistant parts of the secret government. One par-

ticularly painful mission we lost everything. The worst of it is that they

tried to escape after they torched the place. We’ve lost a lot of unique

artifacts from one species that came here only once. As we rushed in to

put out the fire, the guys guarding the stuff were pushing us back as they

ran. They stopped us, and after a few heated words, we were running

with them. The final explosion took out a city block sized warehouse leav-

ing nothing but a hole in the ground. It was weird. It was more like an im-

plosion. We wanted to stop and get in our cars and drive away, but the

guys just kept pushing us to run. When we were the distance of about

three blocks away, they slowed down. This facility was out in the middle

of a forest. The burning building was surrounded by what we later de-

scribed as an explosion barrier. We watched how the escaping men at-

tached themselves to the backs of the trees in the surrounding forest.

We joined them, holding our ears, backs to the trees, looking away from

the burning facility.

“The fire was extinguished in an instant. We grimaced for the ex-

plosion, and we were not disappointed. I thought we were toast. Then

the rushing explosion hit us. We’re still holding position, and the guards

are milling about. We unclasped our ears and turned to look at what was

left. Nothing, nothing but a crater the size of the building. Our SUVs—

gone. We had to call for an extraction.”

“I never heard about that one.”

“It was embarrassing. We lost everything in that warehouse. A

catalog of devices and information survived that gave some tantalizing

hints of what was in there. We are working with Jacob to search his in-

formation sources to see if anyone knows who these visitors were. We’ve

had no luck yet.”

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

6

“That’s sad.”

“We still have a lot to go through. I’ve never been busier than I

am now. If I could design a job fit for me, this is it.”

“That’s great, Rudy. Happiness in this life is hard to find some-

times. I’m glad I was a part of it when it started. I will treasure those

weeks of preparation and those final days for the rest of my life.”

“Are you enjoying retirement? You’re still quite young,” said

Rudy, trying to leer at her for effect but coming off as fake. He quickly

covered it up by taking a gulp of his beer.

“My husband, as you know full well, was in the military. He was

one of the original white hats, but he worked in a sea of black hats who

were convinced that the end of the world would ensue if any of this got

out. We always did things together. When he told me a little, I asked for

more. I got the security clearance necessary, and he told me a lot. He

suggested me to Adam Baines, and the rest is history. Here we are fifteen

years later. When Brian wanted to retire six months ago after his Naval

Intelligence group divulged everything they had on the secret alien side,

I said yes too. In case you’re wondering, I’m forty-five and Brian is fifty-

two. With that special severance package for all of us on the team we

paid off the house, and we’re travelling this winter to the Caribbean.”

“I think that I would like to hang out on a warm beach for a couple

of months,” said Rudy dreamily.

“Oh, please, Rudy, you’d last two days, tops, and then you’d be

itching to get back in the game.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I could be persuaded to stay longer

if one of those beach women, particularly one of the topless ones, would

be interested in spending time with an adventurer like me.”

“I still have some very friendly ladies on my list, Rudy. Some of

them like the beach life.”

AFTERMATH

7

“No, they still want a ring in the end,” said Rudy. Nancy shook

her head. “So, getting back to your ‘soon to be hitched to his own ball

and chain’ supervisor, when’s the wedding going to be?”

“I don’t know that! All I know is he’s doing it tonight, proposing,

that is. We’re a small team. If he goes on a honeymoon, things will stop

rather suddenly in our division.”

“I was going to ask you about that. James had ideas of how to

divide up the work. Did he get what he wanted?”

“Pretty much,” he said as the waitress brought another round

and handed out dinner menus. “He heads up the commission that directs

everything. Barbara is in charge of education and health. They go hand

in hand, you know. Jacob and his friends could do a lot to alleviate pain

and suffering, but without education, the population would quickly swell,

and we would have too many mouths to feed.

“June, who hit it off so well with Jacob, is working the

religion/spirituality path. There is a lot to do there. You wouldn’t give a

toddler a hand grenade to play with, nor would you give an ultimate

weapons system to someone who’s low on the spiritually adept scale.

That sort would only be happy if they could annihilate everybody that

they don’t like . . . wherever they lived.

“Yes, I know, this is awfully paternalistic and ‘who do we think

we are’ telling somebody you can have this technology and not that tech-

nology,” said Rudy, taking another sip of his beer.

“This is not easy. Anything worthwhile requires a degree of ef-

fort,” said Nancy.

“Not everybody sees it that way,” lamented Rudy, dipping his

head a little too low to the table.

“Okay, I don’t care who you are,” said the waitress, arriving at

the table with pen and pad in hand. “You sir, Mr. Longorda, are cut off

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

8

until you get some of our excellent food in you to absorb the alcohol.

Don’t bother protesting—it won’t work. May I take your order . . . please?”

“I haven’t looked at the menu, honey. What’s good here?” asked

Rudy, opening and immediately closing his menu. Nancy opened her

menu and listened to the waitress announce the daily specials. She

watched Rudy try to concentrate on what the waitress was saying. She

smiled and thought about how normal this night was and how human we

all were—people in a bar drinking too much, sharing the intimate stories

of their lives. Outside, the world had changed. The revelations from the

middle of the last century were now crashing onto the shore of our new

world again and again. The tattered fabric of life was barely recogniza-

ble.

Yet the fabric was still wearable, woven with new strands to re-

place the old threads that did not connect anymore. The garment was

fashionable, it had style. People in most of the developed world were

picking up the multihued garment, throwing it over their shoulder, and

taking it with them on their walk through life.

“And you, Nancy?” asked the waitress, interrupting her assess-

ment.

“The spaghetti and meatballs with a side Caesar salad’” she rat-

tled off.

“Can’t go wrong with that,” said the waitress.

“Can I have a couple of pieces of paper? I have my own pen.”

“Sure, honey,” she said, smiling. She tore off a few pieces and

handed them to her.

“Thank you,” said Nancy. The waitress quickly departed towards

the kitchen.

“You’ll have to eat those papers if there’s something classified

on them.”

AFTERMATH

9

“Yes, Rudy, I understand,” she said as she scribbled a note to

herself.

“Now you’re placating me?”

“On that subject, yes, I’m placating you. I know better than to

copy some classified info pouring from your lips this evening. I just re-

membered some names that I wanted to ask you about.”

The door to the restaurant opened, and a tall dark-haired woman

wearing a hooded raincoat walked in and stepped past the unattended

maître d’ station. She proceeded silently to the back of the bar. Fixing

her attention on Rudy, the woman sat down at the open chair. Their eyes

met as Rudy raised his head to look at the brash intruder. Nancy looked

to Rudy for some sign of acceptance, some friendly repartee to signal

that this was a welcome guest.

It was not. The strain on his face confirmed that this particular

uninvited guest carried a heavy dose of danger to them, if not to everyone

in the restaurant.

“Good evening, Rudy,” said the woman. “I’m JoAnne.” She mo-

mentarily turned her head to greet Nancy. Nancy manufactured a falter-

ing smile. “And you, Nancy, you’re the only two to show up tonight?”

JoAnne momentarily looked down at the table and spied the paper and

pen. It seemed as if she didn’t want to focus on it, and she quickly pulled

her hood off of her head, twisted her body in the chair, and focused her

attention on Rudy.

As she turned her head towards Rudy, she quickly modeled a

writing motion in her left hand.

“Rudy, you look so afraid of me. I’m not here to harm you, at least

not tonight.” JoAnne focused her attention only on Rudy. She alternated

the handwriting motion with flexed fingers curling rapidly in Nancy’s line

of sight.

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

10

Nancy overcame the shock of this infamous intruder and re-

sponded to JoAnne’s compelling gestures. She quietly slid some of the

paper under JoAnne’s left hand. Nancy grabbed the pen and inserted it

into JoAnne’s hand. JoAnne immediately began to write.

“I want you to call off your dogs,” said JoAnne.

“I can’t do that, JoAnne. If I could somehow detain you here, I

would do that. You probably have an exit out of here. You wouldn’t be

here if you didn’t. Where are you holed up these days? You can tell me.

Which cave in West Virginia did you crawl out of this morning?”

“That is somewhat correct,” answered JoAnne. “It is not a cave.

It’s not in West Virginia.” JoAnne wanted to get angry but fought back

the impulse. “I have been enhanced recently. Kathleen is watching you

right now.”

“Why, JoAnne, you should know that you are subject to off-world

extradition. We can’t have abnormal types running around taking advan-

tage of us normal citizens. You know the rules, JoAnne.”

Nancy carefully monitored the paper usage, taking the written

pieces and setting them aside to provide fresh blank paper for JoAnne.

JoAnne laughed. Counterpoint to her un-haltered laugh, JoAnne

drove the tip of the pen hard onto the table. Her face devolved into a

menacing grimace. “Enough of this fucking banter! Back off! If you persist

and continue to come after us, we will be forced to lay waste to a portion

of a major city. No, I’m not going to tell you which one. I’m warning you,

Rudy. You, Frank, James, and Barbara—play with the toys you already

have and leave us alone.”

Rudy sat back in his chair and studied JoAnne’s face. He took

his time in responding. “I cannot speak officially, but I see two things here.

One is that we must be getting close in our efforts to find you. So thanks,

we’ll be at your doorstep soon. And two—they called us terrorists? I

AFTERMATH

11

thought the purpose of keeping this stuff secret decade after decade was

to protect the American people. Laying waste, as you say it, to any por-

tion of a city doesn’t sound like protecting anybody. The threat is not

going to work, JoAnne. Seems like the criminals you’re associated with

now are influencing your agenda.”

JoAnne’s eyes gave off a glassy appearance in the dimly lit bar.

For a moment her eyes broke from their steely gaze to express some

heartfelt emotion. Rudy later said her eyes pleaded for one thing she

could not vocalize. Her eyes asked for forgiveness.

The waitress approached the table. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Will

your guest be staying for dinner? Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m not staying for anything. You’ve been warned.” JoAnne

abruptly rotated in her chair, away from Nancy and the papers she was

writing. She silently placed the pen on top of the paper using her left

hand, palm down, to get up. JoAnne strode quickly down the aisle of

booths and pushed the front door open. Rudy continued to look out the

darkened window of the restaurant.

“Who was that, Mr. Longorda?”

“That was nobody.” He continued to look out the windowed door.

An expected flash of light brought his attention back to the puzzled wai-

tress. “She was an associate of ours from before. She’s gone now. Do

you have a small plastic bag, about yea big?” he asked, holding up his

two hands in the form of a small square.

“I’ll check, sir, right after I check on your orders.” She turned

around and walked back to the kitchen.

Nancy visibly slumped in her chair. “That was tense,” proclaimed

Rudy. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Do things like that happen to you often?”

moaned Nancy, reaching to pick up her pen.

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

12

“Don’t touch that!”

“What, the pen, oh, I guess this is all evidence isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, staring at the papers now strewn across the table

in front of Nancy. “I’m almost positive that was JoAnne, but these days,

one cannot be absolutely sure. We should be able to get some partial

prints off that pen to corroborate what we have on file for her.”

The waitress brought the food and the plastic bag. She wanted

to set the plate of spaghetti in front of Nancy, but neither of her patrons

would allow it. For the next few minutes, both plates sat in front of Rudy.

She handed him the plastic bag, asked if they needed anything else, and

turned towards the kitchen, still quite perplexed as the guests of honor

turned out to be a fairly odd couple.

Rudy switched sides with Nancy to navigate the pen and papers

into the plastic bag. “Did you read most of what she wrote, Nancy?”

asked Rudy, sliding the pen into the bag.

“I did.”

“Would you be willing to meet with one of our team members?

He’s good at deciphering the hidden meaning behind handwriting.”

“I guess so. You weren’t watching us. I held each paper so it

wouldn’t slide and watched her progress. I quietly supplied another sheet

when she needed it.” Nancy handed him his plate after he slowly inserted

the bag in his sport coat.

“Thank you, Nancy. You were a big help.”

“Her heart is not in it, Rudy.”

“I know. I could tell by looking into her eyes.”

Nancy stared at him as he stuck a fork into a ravioli pie. “You

know, if I wasn’t so married, I’d take you to bed for that remark,” blurted

Nancy. Rudy almost had the ravioli pie in his mouth. He started laughing

so hard that it made him cough. Nancy got up out of her chair, patted his

AFTERMATH

13

back, and brought his glass of water into his hand. He took a few sips

and then another. Nancy sat down and started cutting a meatball on her

plate.

“That’s the best offer all day that I didn’t really have. I said that

correctly, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did, Mr. Sensitive Man. Most men wouldn’t admit that

they see anything in a woman’s eyes. I’m getting a more humanistic pic-

ture of my old friend. I really do have a nice friend of mine . . .”

“Keep your friend your friend, Nancy. I may have a sensitive in-

sight from time to time, but I get called away on a moment’s notice.

Sometimes I get called away so quickly that I’m restricted from telling

anyone that I’m leaving. Most decent, loving women won’t stand for that.

I wouldn’t.”

“We’ve been talking rather freely in this little corner table. I know

it’s remote, but there are tables within earshot of us and you’re not con-

cerned?”

“I have help, Nancy.”

“Come again?”

“There has been an agent here since they opened this morning.

Jacob supervised a team of specialists last night sweeping the entire res-

taurant and bar for listening devices, viewing devices, whether they orig-

inated from home world or off-world. One agent has been in the bar

constantly scanning for newly arrived devices and of course for danger-

ous people like our JoAnne.”

“But she got through your net. She—”

“See the guy at the end of the bar? He came in with me. He’s

sitting there making like he’s playing a video game on his tablet, a twenty-

something thing to do. The game is what the casual observer sees, but

with special contact lenses or glasses in his case he sees the status of

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

14

this entire facility. He should have picked up JoAnne’s implants, but he

didn’t.”

“Don’t you think you should go up there and find out why he let

Miss Sweet Cheeks back here?” advised Nancy.

“Yeah,” he said as if waking from a stupor. “What the hell is going

on here? Excuse me for a moment, Nancy.” Rudy quickly got out of his

chair and made his way through the gauntlet of people to the front of the

bar.

Excuse me? thought Nancy. “He asked to be excused?” she said

aloud with a smile from ear to ear. “Boy, do I have a woman for you,

Rudy.”

Rudy slowly approached the agent at the bar. He didn’t say his

name; he just wanted to observe him for a moment. He took an open

seat to his left and turned to look at him. The agent’s hands held the tab-

let device. Rudy looked at the screen. He expected to see some video

game portrayed on the device. Instead the face of a reddened ferocious

beast that seemed to be pulsating displayed on the tablet. Rudy shook

his head and looked up. The bartender was looking at him.

“How long have I been here?” demanded Rudy.

“You, less than a minute; him, he’s been here over an hour. He

was fine for a while, but about a half hour ago he just shut down. I tried

talking to him, but he wouldn’t answer. He just keeps staring at that

blasted tablet. I always knew these devices would get us one day—turn

us into zombies.”

Rudy tried to take it away, but the agent’s hands were frozen

around the plastic and glass device. “Do you know where the on/off

switch is on one of these?” asked Rudy.

“My brother has that brand. The switch is on the edge at the bot-

tom.” Rudy lowered his head to the counter and located the switch. He

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15

reached between the agent’s wrists and toggled the switch. The screen

flickered and began to shut down. The agent’s eyes blinked for the first

time in half an hour. His hands dropped the tablet to the counter with the

clang of plastic on the polished wood. His eyes blinked rapidly, struggling

to get moisture to the surface.

“Clint, are you with us now?” asked Rudy.

“What? Are you alright? Is Nancy okay?” asked Clint, still trying

to get his bearings.

Rudy looked back at Nancy eating her dinner. “Yeah, we’re fine.

But you’re not.”

“My tablet isn’t functioning.”

“You got that right. When I came up here, you were mesmerized

by an image of a fierce looking animal dripping in blood. It was pulsating

on the screen. I turned off your tablet, and that broke the hold it had on

you. While you were staring at your pretty monster, JoAnne sauntered

in here.”

“The JoAnne, JoAnne Delatoite?” demanded Clint.

“Yes, she walked right in and sat down with Nancy and me—

freaked us out. I was hoping for a nice quiet evening. I guess I’m not

going to get that. We got to call this in, Clint.”

“No need. That’s them calling now,” said Clint, fishing the cell

phone out of his jacket pocket. “If there’s a break in the connection, they

assume something’s amiss. I’m going to get canned for this, aren’t I?”

“I’m going to set you on your can if you don’t answer that phone.”

Clint answered it by reciting a set of numbers and phrases. Rudy pulled

what appeared to be a white plastic salt shaker out of his sport coat, ro-

tated the top a quarter turn, and set it on the counter. Clint mouthed the

words “thank you.” Rudy motioned that he was going back to the table.

Clint nodded in agreement.

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

16

“This is getting stranger by the minute. I’m sorry I left you alone

for so long. We’re celebrating for everyone. We’re not supposed to be

still fighting a civil war, but it manages to arrive at Angelo’s regardless.”

“Are you going to have to go?” asked Nancy, putting her fork on

her plate and touching Rudy’s arm.

“Honey, we are both going to have to go. I’ve just been stalling

a little to try to extend this reminiscing time with you.”

“That’s so nice, Rudy. Try to eat something of your dinner. I

guess I shouldn’t call my husband and tell him all about this.”

“You would get into less trouble if you said you were running

away with me to Rio,” he said with a bold smile.

“I wouldn’t want to bet on that,” said Nancy with eyebrows raised.

“Eat!” Rudy looked up to see Clint with cell phone attached to his ear

cross from the bar to the restaurant. He settled into his seat and followed

his friend’s directive to eat his dinner. He knew it was coming, the obli-

gatory debrief. Their methods were honed from years of cloak-and-

dagger work with the other half of the secret government. They would

send a car for each of them. An agent sitting in the back on the ride in to

their facility would grill them on what happened, how did JoAnne get past

all of the agents, what did she say, and what were her real intentions?

Clint found some of the other agents dutifully scanning the res-

taurant rooms with their tablets, and some, like him, were transfixed, star-

ing at a vicious beast on their instrument. It makes no sense, he thought

as he turned off their units. He extracted their minds from the same trap.

Then he realized the scheme. The pattern of trapped and un-trapped

minds was geographical. Whatever caused it, it created a path twenty-

feet wide from the door of the restaurant to the back of the bar. “Yes, I’ll

let him know. Thank you, sir,” he said into the phone. “No, I’m alright now.

I’ll submit to any tests that you like, but I feel back to normal. Yes, I un-

AFTERMATH

17

derstand. I’ll let him know right now. Bye.”

Clint conferred briefly with an agent, then returned to the bar and

made his way back to Rudy.

“Is it time already? Do they want us to leave now?”

“No, Rudy and Nancy, but they will be here soon. They are not

exactly happy with our performance, or should I say my performance and

my fellow agents. You and Nancy were here as guests. We were the

ones working, and we let you down.”

“I believe we have some important evidence as a result of your

performance. If you had stopped JoAnne, we would not have anything.”

“We would have JoAnne in custody. That’s for sure,” bellowed

Clint.

“Clint, I don’t think we should discuss this any further. We each

tell our story, and the big boys will decide. At least now we are on the

right side of the law and the other side is becoming more desperate and

corrupt. But I digress. I’ll finish my dinner, and you can go back to your

post. And, Clint?”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t turn on your tablet again. There’s no telling what would

happen,” cautioned Rudy.

“Right, sir, I’ll tell the others. They will come one at a time to ex-

tract us. See you later, sir.”

As Clint walked away, Nancy again addressed Rudy. “He handed

you a salt shaker. You have two of them on the table already. Why would

you need another?”

“It’s the reason we can talk openly without whispering to each

other. The little dial on the top allows you to set the size of the space that

you occupy. This one that’s been here is set for a square pattern a few

inches larger than this little nook of table and chairs. Now people can go

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

18

to lunch or dinner, have a private conversation, and walk away knowing

it is private.”

“You get that all from this little white salt shaker? Pretty cool

there, Rudy. Continue to eat your dinner, my friend.” Rudy had completely

lost interest in his plate of ravioli. He eased his fork into the soft pasta

squishing the vodka sauce out from under the pie. His fork performed

the function, and his mouth opened on cue. The cold pie effortlessly

dropped onto his tongue. He lazily swished the slippery morsel around

in his mouth.

“You know, Rudy, I heard a rumor that an alien had gone into do-

mestic service for a woman in Montreal.”

“I hadn’t heard that one. That’s good though. True or not, it hu-

manizes the people we once worshiped as gods. Did you text your hus-

band?”

“Yeah. He texted back and said ‘same ole same ole.’”

Rudy smiled at her. “What did you text to him?”

“I’m with Rudy. We’re going inside.”

“How many years have we worked together?” asked Rudy, push-

ing his empty plate to the edge of the table.

“Ten years as I recall,” she said, taking her last sip of beer.

“And your husband still trusts you with me.”

“Implicitly, old man,” she said as the first agents came through

the door. They were deliberate and efficient.

An impeccably dressed young agent stood at the edge of the

table. “Nancy, Rudy. We’re sorry to disturb this anniversary evening, but

we really need to talk to you.”

“Well, this old man says, lead the way, son.”

AFTERMATH

19

ALIEN DISCLOSURE

20