Missions of the Retrieval Team - A Kilt By Any Other Name

[Livingston]

Dang Greg! Sniff... Why didn't you wear your kevlar?

Oh no! Not Greg!
So much to catch up on and such a sad ending!

ouch

Don't worry,Mr. Livingstone will be back! He will,won't he?He will.................he really.....will.

I sure hope you're right.

[davedove]

Scene 40

Inside the Van

I spoke into my radio headset. “Raven, this is Dove. We have recovered the lost chick.” I paused a moment before I continured. “We have one casualty,” I said.

No reply came from the radio.

“Raven, this is Dove. Do you copy?”

A voice that was not Ms. Raven came over the radio, but it was a woman’s voice that I recognized only too well. “I am so sorry to hear about your loss, but your friend cannot respond right now.”

“Where is she?” I demanded.

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s perfectly safe. Am I right in assuming that this is Mr. Dove?”

“Yes, this is Mr. Dove.”

“Excellent, you can’t begin to imagine how pleased I am to speak with you. After capturing your little friend outside the prison, I was so thrilled to discover she was one of the people that local sheriff had captured and then lost. I really am intrigued as to how she could be in a prison in New York, yet here at the same time. And your story is even more interesting. I really would like to know how you are still alive.”

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“Why, I just want to talk with you. Your situation is most unusual.”

“And if I don’t want to talk?”

“Then I’m afraid your little friend here may not survive very long. After all, she’s a duplicate. No one will miss her as long as she’s still alive in prison.”

“Where do we meet?” I asked.

“Somewhere private, I think. We don’t want too many people seeing us. I mean, how would it look for the FBI to be seen speaking with a terrorist?”

She told me where we should go and I broke the connection. I relayed the location to Michael so he could drive us there.

“They have Ms. Raven.” I told everyone.

“Who, the FBI?” asked Mike.

I nodded and buried my face in my hands.

“What’s wrong?” asked Diane.

“I know who the woman who has her,” I answered. I looked at Ms. Hawk. “It’s Anna.”

The voice on the radio was this world’s Ms. Starling.

[davedove]

Commercial Break

In a living room

We see two women curled up on a couch watching a movie. The are dressed in flannel pajamas.

“Oh, poor Greg,” says the first woman. “It’s such a shame.”

“I know,” says the second. “But Di, isn’t the actor playing Mr. Dove just so sexy.”

“Oh, I know, Julie. I was so hoping we’d get to see a little more of him in that bedroom scene,” Di says suggestively.

Julie picks up a bowl. “Oh, poo, we’re out of popcorn.”

“Make some more.”

“I can’t. If I get up I might miss some of the movie.”

“No you won’t. Here, use this.” She hands a package to Julie.

Julie takes the package and examines it. “X Pop? I never heard of it.”

“It’s the greatest thing. All you have to do is pull out the strip on the bottom. That will activate the FK heating unit in the bottom. The unit quickly heats the popcorn inside so that it pops right here on the table. And the heating unit is all internal, so you can set it right on your furniture without damaging anything. Why, it’s so safe you can even hold it in your hand while it’s working.”

Julie pulls the tab from the bottom of the package and sets it on the table. After a few moments we hear corn starting to pop. As the pops continue, the package begins to swell upwards. When the popping stops, the package has swollen to about the size of a volleyball.

“Now,” says Di, “Just tear open the top and pour it into the bowl.”

“What about the heating unit; isn’t it still hot?”

“No, the unit operates through a chemical reaction and there is just enough to pop the corn. It’s perfectly safe now.”

“Amazing!” Julie tears open the package and dumps the popped corn into the bowl. She takes a few kernels and pops them into her mouth. “It tastes great.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t even have to leave the couch.” She looks back to the television. “Oh, the movie’s coming back on.”

They both settle back with the popcorn between them to continue watching the movie.

The scene changes to show a package of X Pop while it is popping.

The narrator speaks, “X Pop Insta-Cook Popcorn from X Marks the Scot and FK Industries.”

[Livingston]

I wonder how many of those I'd go through waiting to see how this ends up.

[davedove]

Scene 41

Inside the Van

“Who’s Anna?” Mike asked.

“One of my associates on my world, she’s my second in command,” I answered. “The woman is brilliant; that’s why I got her for my team. On this world she apparently works for the FBI.”

“How do you think she might be different on this world?” Ms. Hawk asked.

“I have no idea,” I said, “But she’s bound to be just as intelligent. And she also has the information from the sheriff that captured us. She’s knows that Ms. Raven has a duplicate in prison and that I shouldn’t be alive. She probably also knows about you, Ms. Hawk.”

“Can you outwit her?” Mike asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. “On my world she is definitely more intelligent and insightful than I am. However, I am a bit trickier. I have no idea how she may react on this world. On the plus side, she doesn’t know that I am from another world. She doesn’t know for certain who I am, but she probably assumes I am much like my double from this world.”

“How does that help us?” Mike again asked.

“I need to figure out how my double would have handled this and then do something different.” I turned to Diane. “You knew him as well as anyone. I need you to tell me what he would do in this situation.”

“That’s not too difficult,” she answered. “He would have gone back to headquarters for reinforcements. He wouldn’t have gone to face the FBI alone.”

“Then we’ll do this with a small team,” I said, as a plan was already developing in my head.

“Are you crazy?” Mike asked. “They’ll have agents all over the area.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” I told him. “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

As the Michael drove the van to the rendezvous site, I told them my idea.

[davedove]

Scene 42

Park in Rural North Carolina

The rendezvous site was in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, a small park outside of a small town. I had Michael pull the van over to the side of the road. Ms. Hawk and Julie jumped out.

“It’s about one mile that way,” Mike told them.

As they slipped into the trees, Michael continued down the road to the park.

When we reached the park, a car was pulled off to the side and two men were standing there. Both of the men were wearing suits of a deep burgundy color and dark glasses. They flagged us down as we approached.

When Michael stopped the van, one of the men came to the driver’s window. “Whoever is going into the park should get out now. The others will wait here.”

As I stepped out of the van, the other man saw the tarp on the floor where we had covered Greg’s body. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Our casualty,” I answered. “We couldn’t just leave him beside the road now, could we?”

“Okay, you can proceed.”

I turned to Diane. “Take care of him,” I said, indicating David.

I walked down the road. As part of the arrangement, only minimal people from each side were to attend the meeting. I really didn’t expect either side to follow that agreement though, which is why I had sent the two ladies through the woods. They would be our backup.

I had walked about half a mile when I spotted three people ahead of us, two women and a man. Ms. Raven was one of the women. She was seated on a bench just off the road with her hands behind her, probably handcuffed.

The woman beside her was definitely Anna’s double, although she wore her hair in a much more business-like style. Both she and the man were wearing burgundy suits as well, although Anna’s had a skirt instead of slacks.

The man held his hand up to stop me. He looked to be in his early twenties, probably new to the Bureau. He slowly opened his jacket to show me the handgun he had holstered there.

I smiled and shook my head. I pulled on the strap over my shoulder, which caused the assault rifle behind my back to swing forward.

“Mine’s bigger than yours,” I said to him.

I saw his eyes widen a bit behind the glasses.

I heard the woman laugh behind him. “If you two boys are through comparing your toys, maybe we can get started. John, bring him here.”

I looked at the young man again. He was more clean-cut, but it was definitely the man I knew as Clockwork John on my world.

As John led me forward, I nodded to Ms. Raven. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“A little embarrassed at being caught,” she replied, “but I’m fine.”

“I told you she would be okay,” Anna said to me. “I assume you are Mr. Dove?”

“That’s right, Anna,” I replied. I had intentionally used her name to gauge her reaction.

Her eyes did widen a bit in surprise, but her voice betrayed little. “Well,” she said, “You obviously know who I am.”

“I did a little research,” I lied.

“That makes no difference.” She examined me intently. “You really do look so much like the man we executed a year ago. Yet, you are very much alive. How do you explain that?”

“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”

“Oh, but I do so hate to leave a mystery unsolved. Just as mysterious is how your friend here,” she gestured to Ms. Raven, “can be in two places at once. I checked; she is definitely still in her cell in New York, yet here she is as well.”

“And I guess you’ll just have to be frustrated, because I’m not going to explain it to you.”

“Mr. Dove, I had hoped you would cooperate and answer my questions. I suppose I will have to take you in and interrogate you. That’s not very pleasant you know.”

“So I have heard, but I’m not going anywhere with you. I plan to take my friend here and walk away.” I glanced at Ms. Raven and quickly winked.

“Really, Mr. Dove, you do realize that I have people all through these woods? I know how you operate, so I have vehicles positioned at all the entrances to this park to intercept the reinforcements you called. You’ll be quite alone here.”

Good, I thought, that means that most of her forces would be tied up looking for reinforcements that weren’t coming. “Of course,” I said, “I expected that. Still, we are going to walk away.”

“Oh no, I need only signal and you will be shot where you stand. I suggest you put down your weapon and surrender now.”

I again glanced over to Ms. Raven. She nodded slightly. Good, she was ready.

I smiled and looked back to Anna. “Tell me,” I said to her. “Do you know what slip-knot means?”

She looked at me in confusion. “What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?”

“That’s what I thought. I guess you’re about to find out.”

She continued to look at me in confusion.

My gaze shifted to Ms. Raven.

“Go,” I said.