STRATAGEM Chapter 17

TWELVE DAYS EARLIER

“AM I UNDER HOUSE ARREST?” Sabine said, glaring at Connor’s little square on her laptop screen. He was the only one present for the Zoom meeting with the Athena crew so far. He seemed distracted, or maybe uncomfortable. Could it be because he’d expressed his feelings for her last night and now felt awkward? For him, it might be even more difficult balancing between personal and professional, especially since the others hadn’t yet joined the meeting.
“I’ll explain to everyone when they join in,” he said, eyes elsewhere on his screen and working his mouse and keyboard. “I’m sorry they handled it like this.”
“Oh you mean the Vanderberg Gestapo? Yeah, that was a bit much.”
“It was out of my hands.”
Lucy and Blake joined in, and within seconds, Jon did as well. They all said hello, but when Jon waved to everyone, no sound came out.
“Jon, hit ‘unmute,” Lucy said.
“—kay…Sorry about that.” Jon shrugged.
Connor started without any introductory words. “All right, kids. First off, I heard about what happened after your medical exams this morning.”
Jon jumped right at it. “Yeah, Connor. What the hell, man?”
“I know, I know. ICOMM decided and contacted the base before telling me. They’re putting us all under quarantine for ten days.”

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STRATAGEM Chapter 16

HOWARD COUNTY, MARYLAND
THE AFTERNOON SUN cast a golden veil over the trees framing the home of Derek’s childhood. The pines and maples had grown so much taller and denser since he left for college. He pulled up into the driveway and shut the engine. Paige and Hulk had fallen asleep. Good. They all could use a few extra minutes of rest.
Derek leaned back in his seat and for the first time today closed his eyes and let the breath seep out of his lungs. His mind could not find the words to describe what had happened since he woke up until now.
A crow perched atop the roof of the house cawed three times. Standing right above the window of Derek’s old room, it cocked its head and stared down at him. The old brick façade and white shutters evoked memories of days he’d sit in his room typing stories on his Windows 7 computer with that little fifteen-inch monitor that took up half his desk to share on MySpace, while Sabine hung out with her “popular-crowd” friends after school. He had always been the nerd. Ironically, she had become the closest thing to a rocket scientist the Storm family had ever produced.

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STRATAGEM Chapter 15

TWELVE DAYS EARLIER…

Medical Facility, Vanderberg Air Force Base
8:56 AM PST

INCONCLUSIVE. That was all the doctor who examined Sabine could say after he completed her physical exam, took vitals and samples for analysis.
“Any idea what could’ve happened?” Sabine said, seated upon the exam table while the Doctor Prabhu typed into the computer.
“It is quite unusual, you know. All the reports show that your vital functions had ceased and had been in that state for several hours. Most unusual.” She adjusted her eyeglasses and continued to type. “And yet, here you are in perfect health, as far as I can see. We will await the lab results from your bloodwork, but I don’t expect to find anything unusual.”
“So I should be cleared to go home then, right?”

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STRATAGEM Chapter 14

THE POUNDING WOULDN’T RELENT. It began as a muffled rhythm of thumps, then came into focus as incessant knocking on the front door. Sabine struggled to open her eyes. Only the left one succeeded.
Darkness surrounded her. Was it morning or night?
She groped around the bed until her fingers hit the edge of the nightstand where her phone rested on its wireless charging pad. 
She picked it up and tapped the screen to see what time it was.
Nothing.
Pretty sure I saw it charging before I went to sleep.
More frantic knocking.
So it hadn’t been a dream.
“Sabine?” the man outside’s voice called out, distant and muted. “Are you in there, Sabine?”
Her head felt like a cinderblock. Though both eyes were now open, she still couldn’t see anything except for the thin golden outline of the drawn window blinds. It was still light outside.
The knocking increased in intensity. “Sabine!”
Shaking the stupor off, she found the light switch, threw on her sweats, and walked out to the front door. She took a quick look through the side window and saw who it was that kept knocking on her door.
Quick check in the mirror—messy hair, puffy eyes. Oof. Oh well, it is what it is. She opened the door.

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STRATAGEM Chapter 13

[WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK]
IMPOSSIBLE! How could they survive that? Was he hallucinating? Derek blinked and shook his head. No one could get run over by a car, struck head-on, and just get up like those people back there.
Add to his rap sheet: Vehicular Manslaughter, Attempted Murder—with a deadly Ford Fusion.
It was self-defense!
Hulk continued to bark.
Eyes wide, Paige covered her ears.
“Down, Hulk!” He glanced back and continued driving toward the highway. “You okay, Paige?”
“Uh-huh.” She reached over and put her arms around the Corgi, who calmed down and sat across her lap.
“Did you get hurt?”
She shook her head. “No, just scared.”
Hopefully, she hadn’t seen or realized the degree of violence that had just occurred back outside the police station.
“So…those two back there? The ones who tried to take you away—they aren’t your parents?”
“Nah-ah.”
“Then who were they?”
Paige shrugged and pet Hulk from head to tail. “I don’t know.”
“But I saw them with you this morning before I took you to the hospital.”
“Mommy and Daddy were sick this morning. They wouldn’t wake up. I went outside to look for help. That man and that lady said they were going to drive me to school.”
“Do you know them?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to get in a car with strangers?”
“No.”
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. The irony hit him like a baseball bat.
“Are you a stranger?” Paige asked.

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