The Mars Project by Julie Steimle (english readers TXT) đ
- Author: Julie Steimle
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<< When will that be? >> That Alea Salvar sounded anxious. It fascinated Sicamore, as he believed strongly that this Alea Zormna was the Zormna Clendar the Bureau had been following. So much of the conversation proved it to him.
<< Until this whole rebellion business is over, >> the voice of the authority said with a grade of irritation, << I donât want her in the middle of it. >>
Rebellion. It was key word Agent Sicamore noted down. He wondered what exactly it meant. And to what degree.
<< But what if she is supposed to be in the middle of it? What if she is the one in the prophecy? >>
Another key wordâprophecy. Jotting that note down, Agent Sicamore was sure there was a connection
Yet the authority in the conversation responded with the most intriguing statement of all: << I wonât have it. I wonât see her die like her parents.â*static*âgood friends of mine, and I wonât let that happen to their daughter. >>
<< But Father, what ifâ >>
<< Enough! You are starting to sound like Alea Arden. >> Key word. Key name, really. Alea Arden. Agent Sicamore recognized the name from Zormnaâs tales about her instructors at her military school. Jeff had even mentioned him. The last year he had said Arden was an amiable guy, whom Zormna had a crush on. This was a sure connection. << âJust let me know if she does try to contact you. I have a bad feeling that things are going to get worse. >>
<< Iâm signing off, then. Father, youâ*static*âsure you are not wrong on this. Iâd hate to be Zormna down there. She sounded so helpless. >>
The voice of the authority. << Have a little faith in her, Salvar. >> Key word. Key name. Salvar. An openly admitted friend of hers. They had their evidence. << You as well as I know sheâs not completely helpless. Iâm positiveâ*static*âdown there she canât handle. Signing off. > >
A silence.
<< I hope so. Signing off. >>
Switching the recording off, Agent Sicamore grinned to himself.
What luck, really. Agent Sicamore didnât know how long their satellite would go unseen, but they had already gathered plenty of conversations in many Earth languages. Their only snag was that those people hardly used their alien lingo out there. Someone in the Bureau might claim their discovery a fraud because of that.
He folded up the paper file and put it back into the cabinet. Their digital file was already made. It just needed to be perfected.
A knock at the door made him look up.
âEnter,â Sicamore said.
The one at the door did. And he closed and locked the door.
Agent Sicamore eyes set on Jeff Streigle who stood there in his office, plain as day. The agent gaped for just a second. âWhat are you doing in here? How did you get in here?â
Jeff glanced at the door as if to see through it. âI took an elevator and walked down the hall.â He then looked to Mr. Sicamore. âFunny how you didnât ask who I was. But I guess you know that already.â
Agent Sicamore reached for the emergency button under his desk and pressed it. Jeff peered at him seriously, yet did not move to stop him.
âMr. James Sicamore, really, what are you trying to do?â Jeff asked.
âHow,â Agent Sicamore looked up at Jeff more surprise. âHow did you know my name?â
Jeff shrugged. âNot hard. It was on your credit card.â
The FBI agent flushed. Then he realized that no one was coming. A panic washed through him.
Smirking, Jeff said, âWaiting for someone?â Leaning over the desk toward him, he added, âSecurity maybe?â Jeff smiled. His dark eyes seemed like distant black holes at that moment. âI made sure no one would disturb us while we have our little discussion.â
Jeff sat down in the chair across from the desk.
Immediately, Agent Sicamore pulled out his drawer to look for his gun, but for the first time that day, he realized that it wasnât there. He then looked up at his coat on the rack next to the door. He jumped up for it, but Jeff just sat there.
Lifting the gun up on one finger, the boy said, âAre you looking for this?â
James Sicamore stepped back, going white.
âYou can sit. This might take a bit, but donât count on it,â Jeff said.
âWho are you?â Agent Sicamore trembled, the periphery of his eyes taking in the exits.
Jeff smiled calmly. âI thought you knew.â Then he stuffed the gun into his pocket. Leaning forward, Jeff looked at him plainly. âI suppose we should get down to the guts. I want you to stop your presentation in Washington.â
Agent Sicamore nearly laughed. âYouâre joking.â
âI wouldnât joke about this.â Jeff then stood up. âWe are talking about peopleâs livesâpeople that you donât even know about, but you could hurt.â
Sicamore shook his head. âNo. Iâm preventing lives from being hurt. I wonât let your people harm us or use our world to fight your political battles.â
Jeffâs eyes narrowed. âYour secret source has you thoroughly convinced.â Looking around the room, Jeff said, âHuh. Did they tell you about the revolution? Did they tell you what side they were on?â
Agent Sicamoreâs breathing went shallow, his heart racing. âThe good one.â
Jeff laughed loud like he really thought it funny, though dryly so. âThe good one. Thatâs rich. Every side calls themselves good. The Nazis had. Who? The government or the people?â
âWhat?â Sicamore exclaimed, his eyes flickering to the door.
Standing squarely in front of Agent Sicamoreâs desk, Jeff seemed even more mysterious, dark and dangerous to the man as he spoke in a low voice. âHave you heard the old adage that says that sometimes you may find that when you get to the top of the ladder you have been climbing on, you find out that it was leaning against the wrong wall?â
Agent Sicamore paled. There was something in that which made his stomach twist. Honestly, Sicamore knew those he had been listening to were not altruistic. They had their prejudices. And their prejudices had led to the death of Zormnaâs great auntâa woman who had for decades merely minded her own business as a âharmless lunaticâ.
âWhich side?â Jeff said with a huff. âDid they say they were the High Class? Did they claim their rightful leadership? Or did they say that the last Tarrn would ruin everything? All progress?â Seeing Sicamoreâs change of expression in his eyes, Jeff nodded. âThey did, didnât they?â
Glancing at the cabinet. Jeff walked over to it. âI donât suppose these are all your files, are they? You guys do record things digitally, possibly even in the Cloud?â
Straightening up, Sicamore regained his composure. This kid was scared. That was why he was there. He had to regain control and remember that this boy was just trying to stall the inevitable.
âYou canât threaten me, nor can you stop this project. I will do everything within my power to stop you,â he said. âYou will not harm the American people or our peace and way of life.â
Jeff dryly rolled his eyes.
âYou think that is funny?â Agent Sicamore hissed, boldly squaring his shoulders. âEven if you shoot me, this project will go on.â
Yet Jeff merely looked at him with his usual smirk.
âI wouldnât shoot you. Not yet anyway.â Jeff then walked away from the cabinet with a step closer to Sicamore. âThe truth is, you donât know what you are into. So Iâve come to educate you to keep you from making a big mistake.â
âWhaâŠwhat?â Sicamore pulled back.
Nodding Jeff said, âYou have been misinformed.â Jeff sat on the edge of the desk. âYou are your own worst enemy.â
Agent Sicamore dived toward the door, but Jeff stepped in front of it faster and pulled out the gun. Sicamore stopped then fell back.
âThatâs right. You fear me. I can see that. I figure you know I can handle a gun. So, sit.â Jeff Stared down at the thirty-something man who did not move even a centimeter. âSit!â
Agent Sicamore stumbled back into the chair behind him.
Jeff sighed wearily. âYour pig-headedness makes this so difficult. You probably get it from your parents.â
âMy parents?â Sicamore murmured into a whisper, gazing wider at Jeff.
Jeff nodded, maintaining his aim on the FBI agent. âYeah, Zelda and Matthew Sicamore.â Pausing, Jeff smiled more wickedly, âor is it really Zormna and Mareth Siik?â
James Sicamoreâs face went entirely white. Actually, more green. âHow?â
Jeff shrugged, gun neatly clenched with no opening to get it back. It even looked like a natural extension of Jeffâs hand. âSimple really. Who would want to kill a Tarrn? High Class would. Thatâs logic. I did some networkingâwe have great network in case you are wonderingâand I found their names on file. Did you know that talking to you about Home is considered an interplanetary offence according the emigration rules?â
Sicamore swallowed.
âI can only imagine how finding out you are full blood âMartianâ after discovering your first extra-terrestrial could traumatize you,â Jeff said. âBut believe me when I say, thousands would be harmed if you exposed our people now. And there will be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands that will be hurt. And it will beâAll. Your. Fault.â
âYouâre lying,â Mr. Sicamore said just above a whisper.
Jeff shook his head. âNo need. The truth is scarier. Did you, when you told your parents that the so-called lunatic you were investigating said she was a Tarrn, intend for her to die?â
Agent Sicamore gasped. âNo! No, IâŠIâŠI justâŠI didnât know what it meant. I was justââ
âVenting? Top secret stuff to your parents?â Jeff laughed. âThatâs bad enough. But you figured it out soon enough that it was serious, and real. Did they do the act themselves, or did they leak information to someone else?â
Shaking his head, Agent Sicamore swallowed. âIt wasnât them. Butââ
âWhy didnât you follow up on that?â Jeff bit back angrily.
âI did! I tried! But their connections cleared out when they found out I was on their trail.â Agent Sicamore was pale, sweating as he defended himself from Jeff. âIt went cold. They covered their tracksâjust like your people. For all I know, they are the same.â
âTheyâre not the same,â Jeff replied mildly, leaning back. âI did my own investigation to make sure. The thing is,â Jeff said, âThe âPatrolâ, up until this point, has kept our presence hidden from all your agencies, to the protection of millions. If you expose them now, you will be forcing them to defend themselves.â
Feeling sick, Agent Sicamore shook his head.
Jeff whispered sagely, âYou have no idea what you would be up against if you did that.â
Shaking his head more, Agent Sicamore retorted, âWe have their call girl. They wouldnât want her to get hurt.â
âZormna?â Jeff laughed. âSheâs not a call girl. Sheâsââ
âA princess. I know,â Sicamore broke in sharply.
Jeff stared at the agent darkly.
âOnly two people in the Surface Patrol know sheâs thatâand they have left her to fend for herself. You donât have the upper hand,â Jeff said. Then looking at the gun, he cocked it. âBut we do.â
Agent Sicamore shook violently, closing his eyes. This would be it. He only hoped that he had done enough.
âIâd prefer that the Earth not get destroyed,â Jeffâs voice resonated over him. âArras has the firepower to decimate the entire surface of this planet, if it had to fight for itself. Theyâd most likely just destroy your military, and that includes you. But I think I have come up with a better solution.â
Agent Sicamore peeked an eye open
Jeff pulled out the clip to the gun and dumped the bullets into his pocket one by one.
âYouâre notââ Agent Sicamore started.
Shaking his head, Jeff said, âDonât be so dramatic. You are going to hold off all your information on us until you can form a more educated opinion.â And adding with a mild grin, he continued, âAnd when the revolution is over and the rightful heir is back in her position on Arras, then weâll open up peace negotiations. At that time you can reveal how you knew the
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