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  My head slams into my pillow, and I throw my arms behind me. I try to relax, but it doesn’t really happen. My head is a cluster of emotions, and I try to sort them all out. Eventually I give up, and let the sweet embrace of sleep overwhelm me. I dream of Eve's face, her burgundy hair, the scent of cinnamon.

  In the middle of the night, I feel soft hands run across my chest. I wearily arise from my slumber to see Eve's face in the dim light. She is straddling me slightly below my belly button and staring me directly in the eye. She leans forward and kisses me tenderly. I remove her white tank top and kiss her gently on the neck. My hand reaches for her face and falls across her cheek. I rest my index finger under her chin and draw her close to me for a passionate kiss.

  It doesn’t take long before we are both fully naked. She thrusts her hips against mine and rests her hands against my chest. Slowly at first, ever increasing in tempo, our hearts beat in unison, faster with each thrust. Faster and faster, our breathing growing even more intense. I playfully pull her hair, and she bites my neck.

  A few minutes later, she collapses onto me. Sweat trickles down her body as she rests her head on me. She gathers my chest hair into her fingers and twirls it around. Her right ear positioned directly above my heart. She sits upright in front of me. I can see her beautiful body in front of me. She removes her necklace and places it around my neck. It's a single leather chord with mother of pearl, shaped into a cross.

  “I wanted to give you something to remember me by.” Eve says.

  “To remember you by? How could I ever forget you?” I say.

  “I know this seems sudden, but I wanted you to know.... I have felt connected with you. Something special, something that I have felt since I first met you. I want you to wear this always, and forever till the last breath you take. Do you promise me?” Eve says.

  “I promise Eve.” I reply.

  “There is just one more thing... Look me in the eye when I tell you this. I want you to remember it.” Eve asks.

  “OK, you got my full attention.” I reply.

  “I Love you...” Eve says.

  “I love you too...”

  Eve sinks into my chest and falls asleep. I cuddle her for a few minutes until I fall asleep myself. When I awake a few hours later, I am alone in my bed. I roll back over and decide to sleep a little longer. I have the necklace she gave me and some memories that wont fade anytime soon.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Other Side

  Life is full of advice and sometimes it comes from unlikely sources. One late summer day, years ago, David and I were at the local pool. We never went to the pool because we loved swimming. We went because of the girls, seeing them in their swimsuits was the closest thing 14 year old boys have to porn. Well, that was before the invention of the internet. The other reason was because the pool was right next door to the Wade's house.

  The Wade family was wealthy, and old man Wade spared no expense for his 15 year younger wife. They had a private pool in their back yard, and Victoria Wade was always out back sun tanning. Needless to say, she had every male within 30 miles dyeing to get a chance to see her. On this particular day, she was tanning topless and forgot to cover up when she rolled over onto her back.

  David and I were treated to the best show of our lives that day as we waited for the bus to pick us up. The groundskeeper saw the look on our faces and decided to investigate. He strolled up next to us and enjoyed the view. After a while, he spoke up and said,“The grass is always greener on the other side until I found out what fertilizer they are using. Then my grass becomes the greener.”

  He was a migrant worker from Rio Verdes. His English was terrible, but no truer words were ever spoken. Like all good proverbs go, they are always spoken from the heart. Ironically enough, his name was Jesus.

  I am shaken from my sleep by the sound of rapid explosions. Flashes of light fill my room and survival instincts take over. I flail myself to the floor and scramble for cover. I find my way under my bed and then flip it over to give me some sort of a shield. While I am hunkered down in my makeshift bunker, the fire alarm sounds and the room starts to blink with red flashing lights. Between the explosions, I hear an out of place sound.

  The lights in my room come on and reveal director Reese laughing hysterically. The smell of black powder permeates the air, and smoke has filled the room. I see director Reese holds a cigarette lighter and an empty firecracker wrapper in his hands.

  “Sweet Jesus boy! You shoulda' seen your damn face! You looked like a cat on a hot tin roof trying to cover up shit. That's priceless right there, I almost pissed my pants. Give me a minute, I gotta stop laughing...” Reese bends over in a laughing fit.

  After I realize that this wasn’t the start of world war three, and that I was the center of a well-played prank, I calm down. At first I was angry, but after a few minutes I realize how funny it was.

  “Well played sir...” I reply.

  “Normally, Eve would be in my place, but unfortunately she is feeling under the weather. She told me she was up late last night and was projectile vomiting. Poor girl, getting sick is never pleasant. So I took the opportunity to do some rookie hazing, and from what I have seen, it worked flawlessly!” Reese says.

  “Thanks for the heart attack sir, but if you would give me a few minutes to get ready, I can meet you at CCC.” I reply.

  “SURE! I can give ya a bit to find your manhood, and change your underwear. I wish I could put that on the web, it would go viral in a heartbeat.” Reese says.

  I walk into the CCC, Reese is standing next to my station. The room is still barren aside from the countless monitors and well-worn work stations. A few straggler coffee cups adorn the room. Reese motions to me to sit down.

  “You know Haus, I am a man of my word, and I have yet to break a promise. That being said, I want to talk to you about a promise I made a very long time ago. Back in Nam, it was raining like hell, so we got a chance to sit around under some trees for a bit. My battle brother and I were talking about back home. Old Bennie told me to promise him that if he ever had any kids and something ever happened to him, I had to do whatever I could to take care of them. A week later, five of us got separated from the rest of the troops and god damn Charlie found us.”

  Reese's lip begins to quiver, and he bites down on it hard. I can see the tears start to develop in his eyes. His confident aura breaks down, and I can clearly see he is struggling. Then he makes a loud sniffle.

  “Give me a minute here, I haven’t told anyone this in my entire life. Not even those sons a bitches at the VA. I haven’t told anyone because it hurts too much, and I never really had a reason to. Maybe I am growing soft in my old age, or maybe it's my fear of dying, but hear me out on this one.”

  “Sir, I understand the hell your generation went through in that war, and if you don’t want to talk about it, well, I understand, and respect your right to not speak of it.” I reply.

  “When they caught us all, they wanted to know who our commander was. That dumb son of a bitch Schlitz piped up and said he was. They put a bullet in his head before he even finished his sentence. The rest of us got hauled off to the Hilton. When they took Bennie away to be tortured, he screamed at me... YOU PROMISED TOM! Those words haunt me every night of my life....”

  Reese regains his composure a bit. He looks down silently at the floor and exhales deeply. I try to put myself in his shoes, but I can't even fathom an attempt. What would I know about sacrifice? I get butthurt if someone gets my food order wrong, let alone being held captive and tortured for days on end. Not to mention watching my friends being executed in front of me.

  “Which brings me to Eve; a few of us survived, and after what seemed like decades, we're freed. Old Bennie did have a child and he named her Eve. I’ve been watching her grow up, silently in the background for years. I would have had an active role in her life, but that bitch Bennie married hated my guts. To make a long story short, I wasn’t welcome in his life anymore, and I resort
ed to using my government satellites to monitor the situation.”

  “Eve has no idea how much her father loved her. He lived only for her from the day she was born. Sure he got wrapped up in work like most men, but at the end of the day, it was all about her. Then the accident happened and everything changed. I tried to intervene but the bitch shot me down. Eve got involved with some bad people, dealing drugs, and using them as well. That’s how she got that tattoo. Some junkie needed a fix and didn’t have any cash. So she traded the drugs for it as payment.”

  “I don’t know when the moment of clarity hit her, but finally it did. She decided to clean her act up and enrolled in college. It worked out great for a bit, and she received some anonymous donor giving her money. Once she graduated, I saw an opportunity and I decided to take it. Evelyn was no longer on this planet, and Eve was securely under my wing. Call it mission successful, if you will, I prefer to call it operation promise fulfilled.”

  “So whatever happened to Eve's mother? Is she still alive?” I ask.

  “Oh she's still alive, she was pretty young when she gave birth. Aside from an accident, or strange disease, she is most likely still living. I don’t really care if she is alive or dead. Doesn’t matter anymore, I fulfilled my end of the deal.” Reese explains.

  “Well, that explains a lot sir. I have an update for you about those emails. I traced the IP addresses back, and they belong to a medical research facility. It is funded by the government and staffed by the US Army. Also, what appeared to be gibberish I believe is actually a cypher of some kind. Cyphers have never been a strong point for me but I think the email account sending the cyphers is a smurf account.” I say.

  “A private defense firm sending coded email messages to a US medical research facility? I would be willing to guess that this is gonna get a lot more complicated than a simple rogue contractor trying to score a quick buck. I suppose you already know the location of this facility.” Reese says.

  I slide a small piece of paper over to director Reese. Scribbled in terrible handwriting are the words: Homestake Mine, LEAD, SOUTH DAKOTA . The look on Reese's face told me everything I needed to know. I had struck gold with my investigation. The mine had ceased production in 2001 citing poor gold prices, and high costs as the reason to discontinue production. Then two years later, they claimed it was costing too much to pump the water out as a reason to completely seal the mine even though it had yielded over 40 million ounces of gold.

  Then in 2009, it was announced that the former mine would be reopened for research even though the spot price of gold had tripled. What had happened during those six years? What was so important to ignore almost record gold prices? What needed to be hermetically sealed in the deepest gold mine in North America? Not to mention, in 2007 the National Science Foundation designated it as a place to conduct research into dark matter, neutrinos, and biology. I had done my homework, and Reese was very unnerved by my findings.

  “This is all very sensitive material you have gathered here. Haus, I need to know exactly what those emails entail. We are dealing with a very delicate subject here, and I can't tell you again how much we need to know. Your life, as well as mine, might be on the line on this one. I was expecting this to go down as a pin one guy and watch him fry kinda operation. This is not even remotely close to that, and the ramifications are astronomical to say the least. One thing is for sure, we had best get our shit on straight. I’m calling in Rednek to crack that cypher.” Reese seems very on edge and about to go crazy.

  I suppose I opened up the proverbial can of whoop ass on this one. I do want to meet this Rednek fellow. He managed to salvage the one thing in life that I could actually use. I still owe him for having the mind to score my flash drive. The elevator door gave its signature ding.

  I see him exit the elevator and walk into the CCC. He has to be at least six foot four inches. He looks like a freaking giant, with huge hands and stained jeans. On his head is a straw hat with wide framed glasses, a full beard, and alligator skin boots.

  “Reese, I done told ya mon, Tuesday be gumbo night. I’m cookin me some shrimps, eatin me gumbo, and you tink I need to come down. Dis better be important mon, if not, I gots some hoodoo for ya.”

  This must be the one they refer to as Rednek. I don’t really understand what use this guy could possibly serve unless, of course, someone needed an idiot to fish alligators out of the sewer. Reese hands Rednek a copy of the emails. He shuffles through them then twirls around his beard. “Yeah de be cypha's aight. Dun do us no good wid out da key. Good ting Rednek here don't need no keys. I gots them all up here in my head.” Rednek taps his forehead with his huge index finger. Rednek takes the emails with him and walks back to the elevator mumbling incoherently.

  “It won't take him long to crack it, I know he doesn’t look like much, but inside that southern fried skull of his is a genius. He can crack passwords in no time, and he has a knack for decoding encryption. I almost forgot, we need to get you settled into your new room.” Reese says.

  We get back into the elevator and head up to floor B2. The door opens up to a large commons area. There is a large TV in the center with multiple gaming consoles and several large couches. In the center is a giant aquarium, it stretches from floor to ceiling and has three levels. On the bottom is a coral reef with hundreds of brightly colored fish. On the second level is a small beach of sand and tropical plants. On the third level large mangrove trees sprawl out several exotic birds fluttering among the branches. I spot a large blue macaw eating a mango. Makes me wish I had a beer and a beach chair.

  Reese continues down the hallway, and I can smell food cooking. Soon we arrive at my room with my name plate attached to the door. Reese signals for me to use my lanyard to unlock the door. “We had a criminal profiler draw up a personal file of you. Then we gave that to the designer to get your room ready. If you need any adjustments made, just let me know.” Reese opens the door, and what I see inside is a lot more than I expected.

  The room splits into three spaces To the left is a stair case that ascends to a loft. In the loft there is a large bed four post bed with red sashes, a glass night stand, and a few black dressers. I walk to the edge of the loft and look out. In the center of the ceiling is a large heavy iron candle chandelier. Thousands of candles have burned in this piece. I can see stalactites of wax dripping down almost 4 feet.

  I walk back down to the main room and admire the perfect sheen of the solid black floor. I then notice a red carpet extending around the corner. I follow it to the right and see a set of steps leading up to a large toilet that has been customized to look like King Arthur’s throne. Now that’s what I call a throne! The shower is open and recessed into the wall. There are several shower heads and a nice LCD control panel for temperature and pressures. There are color changing LED lighting and Egyptian linen towels. The mirror is oval and polished brass that shines like gold. I can handle this way of life.

  Back into the main room, I see a large wooden executive desk and several book cases filled with books. Under the loft is a modern kitchen with an island sink. The counter tops are all black and green marble. The dishes and utensils are silver with dragons carved in the handles. I take a chalice from the cupboard and flick it with my finger. I can hear the distinct sound of fine crystal. In the final part of the room, I can see my lounge area complete with pool table, exercise equipment, and entertainment center. I had lost track of Reese in my excitement, and I see no sign that he is with me. I hear a knock at the door.

  I open it to see Rednek standing there in cowboy boots, boxers, and a dirty tank top. I spend a few awkward moments staring at him, expecting him to say something. Then he just walks past me and into my new place. “OoooWEEE yous a fancy type eh? I gots your messages figured out. This is what dey mean. Wes gonna be buds yes. I likes you. Yous can come to my place I gots lots of gumbo left. Yous looks hungry mon.” Rednek speaks his own language, and I really have to struggle to translate it in my brain. He hands me some hand writt
en notes about each email.

  “I will be honest with ya man, it smells good, but I am not into gumbo. Thanks for cracking this cypher for me, but I am gonna pass on the offer. Maybe tomorrow night alright?” I say.

  “That makes me sad mon, but we can play later. I knows you be busy. I do you one more favor tonight. I guarantee you will like.” Rednek rushes out of the room and comes back a few minutes later. I see a strange looking stick in one hand, and a chicken under his arm.

  “Umm dude, whats with the chicken?” I say.

  “A little thing my momma taught me. Makes the bad ones go away.” He quickly swings the chicken in front of me, and he grabs a hold of its head. With a quick slice of his dagger, there is blood spraying all over the floor.

  “Oh HELL NO!” I scream. Rednek ignores me, moving his massive frame around my place. Dripping blood and chanting while waving his stick in the air. I can not make out a single word he is saying but after five minutes of this, I couldn’t take anymore.

  “You be safe now Haus, all the bad ones no come here no more.” Rednek says.

  “OK Rednek, you gotta go bro. Thanks for ridding me of the evil spirits, but I think I am good for now. “I say as I use my hand to guide his monster sized body towards the door. He waves good bye to me and heads back into his room across the hall. The only thing I can say at this point is it's gonna take me all night to clean this mess up. What is wrong with that guy anyway?

  Well, it didn’t take me all night, but it did take a few hours. Really didn’t help much that I had no idea where my new possessions were stored. I had almost given up on the idea of cleaning it up at all due to a lack of towels. Then it dawned on me, the most obvious place to look was the bathroom. I grabbed a few extra towels to stock the kitchen. With that out of the way, it was time to get back to work.