Welcome again! Here are the legal statements. If you are not yet old enough or if it is not legal to read this type of material where you live, please leave now. If the subject of homosexual relations offends you please read no further. The following story is a work of fiction and with the exception of Andy and the brief mention of Terry, all persons in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to persons living, dead or not yet born are completely accidental and unintentional.
The Author reserves all rights. copyright 2000 The Author is Andrew Simon van Ryan. Email me at Zlatazobo@aol.com Visit me at my web page http://hometown.aol.com/zlatazobo/myhomepage/profile.html
Where no one owns the Rain....
By Andrew Simon van Ryan
Copyright 2000. All Rights Reserved
Part Ten ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Government Agencies Illegally Tracking Citizens
DATELINE: WASHINGTON (Oct. 21, 2000) - Despite a White House prohibition, 13 government agencies are secretly using technology that tracks the Internet habits of people visiting their Web sites, and in at least one case provides the information to a private company, a congressional review has found. The study found all 13 tracked a citizens' path when they visited the web sites.
The agencies using this software were the Federal Aviation Administration, US Customs Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Bureau of Land Management, Central Federal Lands Division, the Energy Department's Ames Laboratory, National Park Service, Office of Personnel Management, the US Trade and Development Agency and the Health Care Financing Administration.
The White House confirmed that its drug policy office operated it's Web site using this technology. The discovery had prompted a directive from the White House not to, but the drug office continues using the technology, despite a policy that prohibits its use. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We were waved through at the Guard House to begin making our way back toward Heaven. We had gone no more than a hundred yards from the gate before Zeke spoke up.
"OK, tell me how you got him to give you all this." He inquired.
"I didn't ask him for a single thing." I replied. "All I did was tell him about our plans. When I finished telling him everything, he asked what I wanted from him. I simply asked if he thought it would work. That's all."
"Well, what did he say then?" Zeke begged.
"He said possibly, but we'd need help. He said he couldn't help us officially, but offered us everything we need on the sly. Including the transmitter."
"Well fuck me...." Zeke muttered. I looked at him just as he turned to glance at me. We both broke into laughter.
I began thinking about the message we needed to send to the European Union Leadership and how to get the Secretary General to let our representative speak. It wasn't long before I began writing. Using an old envelope I found in the glove box, I began penciling out the message. Then I stopped and reconsidered. It would need more impact, so I began again. This time the message took form as a speech.
"What's that you're writing?" Zeke asked.
"Our message to the EU." I replied without looking up. I continued to scribble away until a sudden lurch of our rusty truck grabbed my attention. With a sudden horrendous banging and thumping in the engine, our transportation died. Zeke had barely enough time to get it off the road before it quit completely.
"Thrown rod." He suggested.
"Let's jump in the supply truck." I said. Exiting the still smoking, steaming hulk and walking back to where Danny had stopped, I glanced over my shoulder. I noticed the logo on the tailgate. The large half peeled away letters spelled FORD.
"Hmmmm. Found On Road Dead." I remarked.
Hauling myself up into the huge truck after Zeke, I heard Danny laughing and saying "Should have bought a Land Rover."
We started off again and I was actually glad the Ford had quit. The huge British Leyland transport wasn't pounding my kidneys out of me. It also made writing much easier.
I listened as the two brothers talked. They sometimes laughed and joked and sometimes spoke in hushed tones. When speaking about their Mother, the words brought tears to my eyes. I felt a great weight settle on my heart as I listened to them. I recalled how Terry and I had spoken to each other many times in the same fashion. He and I had joked how we were 'twin brothers of different Mothers'. Listening now to the twins talking next to me, I was all the more aware of how true that had been. I needed to get my mind off those thoughts, so I broke into their conversation.
"Hey, Danny." I asked "How big is the Targeting Device?"
"What, the SB-12R?" He quizzed. I nodded and he continued. "Little smaller than your thumb. Open the map box."
I reached in front of me and unlatched the little compartment door. Inside sitting on top of some folded papers were four little white cardboard boxes. I took one out and held it up.
"Yeah, That's it." He said. "Go on. Open it."
I carefully opened the flap on one end and gingerly shook the contents out. A folded instruction page and a small clear plastic cylinder with components inside slid into my hand. I picked up the device and studied it. It was actually much smaller than my thumb. About the diameter of my pinky finger and maybe an inch and a half long.
"That's it?" I asked while looking it over.
"Batteries not included." Danny said matter of fact.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, really." He replied. "But don't worry. There's a crate of batteries in the back. All sizes. The ones for the SB are in there, too."
I replaced the device and opened the folded instructions. They were fairly simple, with a diagram showing the battery placement. It showed that a small green LED would light up when the batteries were connected and this meant the device was active. The plastic case was waterproof once screwed back together, allowing underwater placement for up to seven hours. However, the batteries would power it for only four hours. My eyes studied the page and stopped when I spotted a warning label. To my amazement, this read 'Warning!: Do not expose to high energy radiation bursts. Exposure could cause device to fail.'
"I fuckin' guess so!" I muttered to myself. Then I had a thought.
"Hey, Danny! What else is in the back?" I asked.
"Machine guns, ammo, combat gear, maps, night vision glasses, digital watches, GPS finders, inflatable rafts, parachutes, C-4. Everything you'll want or need." He replied casually. The sudden awareness of C-4 explosives made me instantly uncomfortable.
"Should we be driving this fast with C-4 in the back?" I asked. My voice was noticeably strained sounding. Zeke and Danny found this comical and laughed at me.
"C-4 needs a detonator to go off." Zeke explained. "It's actually really stable. Makes for safe transporting."
"How do you know so much about it?" I quizzed Ezekiel.
"Danny and I used to play with it as kids." He grinned. "Blew up the boys bathroom at school with a chunk the size of a golf ball once, didn't we Danny?"
"Sure did!" Danny smiled.
"Oh, no...." I sighed. "You were adolescent terrorists."
The two brothers laughed at my remark and seemed proud of the fact they had been mad-bombers as children. They continued chattering on as my mind returned to the task at hand. I wondered how much progress had been made with placing the DatManDead files through the Internet. I hoped for good news the nearer we got to Heaven.
The dawn was just breaking as we slowed to turn off the Hummingbird Highway and onto the dirt road leading into Heaven. Pulling up to the gateway, I saw the small panel slide open. The eyes staring through the opening blinked and then popped wide open at the sight of the British transport lorry. I jumped down out of the cab and walked to the rusted towering gate. Looking into the eyes staring at me I spoke.
"Enoch, knock! Who's there?"
"Fuckin' A, man!" The voice of the eyes cried out. "You did it!"
'We did it." I said. "Now can you open the door, please?"
'Oh, shit! Yeah. Sure." The eyes replied. The panel slid shut and the huge gate began to squeak open. I returned to the truck and climbed inside.
"You should have just had me honk the air horns." Danny said with a chuckle. "Would've woken everyone up and blown the gate down too."
"Nope." I giggled. "We'll save that for later. Besides, Only Gabriel blows the horn in Heaven."
Danny crept the truck through the opened portal and idled slowly on into the camp. The few who were awake in camp heard the heavy truck approaching and they alerted Gabriel and Noah.
"Park right over there Danny." I said. "C'mon Zeke, let's go tell the others."
"Zeke?....." Danny inquired softly of his brother.
"Yes." Zeke replied being quite serious. "Don't call me by anything else while you're here, got it?"
Danny studied his brother as Zeke climbed out of the cab to follow me.
"Good man....." Danny whispered after his brother. "You're a good man."
As I walked toward the dining hall I saw Gabriel and Noah running towards us from the opposite side. Once we got close enough, I could hear them shouting.
"Jesus!" Noah was repeating over and over.
"What did you get, Andy? Please tell us you got it!" Gabriel called. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the little white cardboard box and held it up.
"Oh, Fuckin' YEAH!" Noah cried, recognizing the package I held aloft.
The two nearly knocked me down when they reached us. They both patted my back so hard it felt more like being beaten!
"You're a genius!" Gabriel shouted.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Noah said dancing in a circle.
"Don't thank me." I said. "I didn't ask even ask him for it. He offered it."
"He did?" They gasped in tandem.
"What else did he give you?" Noah asked excitedly.
"Machine guns, ammo, combat gear, maps, night vision glasses, digital watches, GPS finders, inflatable rafts, parachutes, C-4. Everything you'll want or need." I replied, casually imitating Dannys statement from earlier.
"Let's see!" Noah cried. "C'mon. Please?"
"Zeke, take Noah and introduce him to Danny, OK?" I said. Zeke smiled and nodded.
"C'mon." He said to Noah. "Let me show you the candy store."
They started for the truck and I grabbed Gabriel's arm.
"Hang on." I said. "I need to tell you something."
Gabriel gave me a questioning look. I waited until Zeke and Noah were a good distance away before I began.
"I have to pay the Commander for this stuff." I said softly. Gabe wrinkled his brow.
"I had to promise to send his son to safety." I explained. "Zeke won't go unless you give him an assignment that sends him to safety. And I've got just the assignment for you to give him."
While Noah, Zeke and Danny inspected the crates in the back of the truck, I explained about the meeting of the EU coming up on Saturday, how we would be sending a representative and how we needed to time everything to happen within a few close minutes of 8:00 AM Greenwich Time. I also explained that Gabriel had to send Zeke as the representative.
"Zekes old man gave us this shit in trade for his son. His wife's dead Gabe. He was on the phone with Zeke's Mom in Salt Lake when they raided her house. She dropped the phone and he listened as she fought Conners goons. Everything went quiet with a gun shot." I explained. "He's wants his two boys safe. Send Zeke to Brussels as our representative, OK?"
"OK." He answered. As I began to turn toward the truck, Gabriel spoke up.
"You want him to go too, don't you, Andy?"
Turning back, I looked at Gabe and sighed. Tears began to well in my eyes.
"He killed Terry." I sniffled. "I'm not going to let Conner have Zeke too."
Gabe smiled sadly and put his arms around me as I began to cry. "Don't worry, Andy. Zeke's going to Brussels. I wouldn't let Conner do that to you."