Chapter 19: Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

(Two weeks later, Vallejo General Hospital)

           It was about four days that Grey spent in the Telemetry ward after his long stay in the ICU. With  slow, steady but continuous progress in his healing, he was finally transferred to a two hospital bed room in the Neuro-Ortho medical surgical ward were patients were more stable. It was 08:00 AM when Ritchie came to visit Grey. This was the third consecutive day that Ritchie had come to spoon feed Grey his breakfast. Dr. Peters had discreetly hired Ritchie to be Grey's personal caretaker and assistant. Dr. Peters decided not to tell Grey because of the chance that Grey might not approve of the extended financial help Dr. Peters was providing  him. He knew that the only thing Grey would accept was the type of help Dr. Peters can provide in treating or curing Grey of his paralysis. As Ritchie reaches out holding a spoon filled with scrambled eggs, directing it towards Grey's mouth, Grey turns away saying, "I'm done....I'm full, thanks..". Ritchie suddenly sniffs around then loudly says, Did you poop your bed again!...", Ritchie says laughing, "I told you never to poop your bed during breakfast, the smell always ruins your roommate's appetite....". The patient in the next bed quickly sniffs around then gags silently as he drops his utensils in his plate, pushing his tray away in disgust. Grey looking embarrassed and dismayed, stares at Ritchie snicker, then after a few seconds Ritchie whispers in Grey's ear saying, "Sorry, I had to fart really bad!....". Grey grimaces at Ritchie's disgusting behavior, remembering a time when Ritchie farted while the both of them were having dinner with Samantha at Grey's house. Samantha was so disgusted at Ritchie that she swore to God that she'll never share a meal with Ritchie as long as she lives. "Will you please have some sympathy,"Grey scowls as he softly says, " the guy on the other bed just had surgery...". And as they glance at Grey's roommate, he was now on the phone talking to his wife telling her "I want out of here, now!"....".

           After the trays were taken away, Ritchie updates Grey of his financial status, "You know you're being sued by the detective you hit on the freeway,  you're aware of that right?!....Dr. Peters says you might loose everything, all your properties and even your Porsche...". Grey stays silent as he stares at his bedside's blank TV screen, knowing that nothing really matters in his life anymore. After a few more minutes of complete silence, Ritchie tries to engage Grey in conversation saying, "Sam say's you're refusing to see her, why?...". Grey glances at him looking irritated as he responds, "What for?!...It's not like we still have a future together. I can't move, I can't have a job, can't make love, can't have kids....She's better off being with her best friend Chase..". Ritchie stares at Grey asking, "Don't you think Sam has a say on the future of your relationship?...". Grey sigh's saying, "You know, I really don't remember a lot about my accident, but one thing I do remember was that before my accident happened, I do remember her breaking up with me, and you were there as my witness. So as far as I am concerned, we were not a couple just before my accident, we're not a couple right now, which means that she doesn't have a say on my life's decisions....". Ritchie pulls up a chair, sits on it and twiddles his thumbs, " You are just one bad ass, paralyzed brother, aren't you?!...You don't even care about how she feels for you, do you?...". Ritchie says with sarcasm, "Sam loves you so much that she's willing to sacrifice her life and her future in order to care for you....you, a human cabbage with a bad attitude!...".

          Grey trying to be patient says, "Look, I know what you're trying to do ok?, and I really appreciate your help, but what your asking me to do is to be selfish by making myself to be Samantha's ball and chain.  I know that she feels responsible for my accident, and what I'm doing is freeing her. I actually love and care for her so much that I'm doing what's best for her, I want her to have a bright future. Without me dragging her down, she can accomplish great things in life. She has the ability to influence world leaders, she can help save the environment, she can help the poor and give voice to the oppressed. So please, try and understand where I'm coming from, I really don't want to argue about her anymore...".

         Ritchie understood but did not agree with Grey's decision to push Samantha away from his life. After a few more minutes of silence, "By the way, that detective Holt called again, he told me that he wants to personally speak with you about your drunk driving car accident. He says he wants to ask you more personal questions, I told him I'll ask you and let him know as soon as possible....". Grey stares at the ceiling then says, "I still can't believe I drunk that night on the way to work...", Ritchie sigh's then says, "You did have a high blood alcohol level you know...". Grey looking flustered says, "I know, I should have known better than to drink and drive....". Ritchie slowly stands up and stretches his arms above his head as he asks, "So, can that detective pay you a visit?...". Grey blurts out saying, "What for?...What's done is done!...I really don't feel like seeing anyone right now except for you and Dr. Peters, tell him I said "No"...".

       Ritchie changes the topic as he asks, "You've been very angry these past few weeks, but you seem ok today, what's changed?....". Grey looks out the window at the glorious rays of the sun as he say's, "Hope!...Dr. Peters told me that he's got something up his sleeve. A way to make me normal again, he suggested two ways. The first, is to introduce me to a former colleague of his who might have found the cure for paralysis, I think his name's "Dr. Kinesis". The second plan is more like something out of a fictional story book. He said something about obtaining a "Holy Flask". Don't ask me what's it all about cause it's a really weird legend which might not even be real.

    (Two hours later: At Dr. Mark and Samantha Peters mansion in Hillsborough California. )

      It was close to eleven in the morning when Maria enters Samantha's room to tidy up her bed and clean her bathroom. Maria was quickly surprised seeing Samantha still in bed, lying on her side. "Sam, did you forget to turn on your alarm clock last night?...". Samantha quickly squirms in bed then stretches her arms and legs as she says, "Oh, I've been awake Maria.....I just decided to stay home this morning, I'm just not feeling well, I guess....". Maria approaches Samantha's bed and gently places the palm of her hand on Samantha's forehead feeling for signs of fever. "Are you sick my child, do you have a cold, should I call for a doctor?....". Samantha rolled unto her back, hugging a pillow as she shakes her head saying, "Oh! no! Maria, it's not that.....I just didn't feel like going to work this morning, I couldn't sleep last night from thinking about Grey. He's pushing me away from his life and I don't know what to do...". Maria with a concerned look sits at the edge of Samantha's bed, "That was a horrible accident that happened to him", says Maria, "I don't blame you for being upset...". Maria then slowly places the clean towels she was carrying on top of the bed  beside her. "I tried connecting with him, "Samantha says, "but he would always yell at me, always demanding that I should just leave him alone....I don't know what else to do, all I know is that I need to be with him specially now that he's paralyzed....".

               Maria softly asks, "Do you feel responsible for his accident?...". Samantha feeling emotional answers, "Of course I do, If only I was more understanding and forgiving, and not have broken up with him, he wouldn't have driven drunk on his way to work. And I think that's the reason he's so mad at me and why he keeps pushing me away, it's because he's blaming me for his accident....". Maria sigh's then asks, "Is that what he says?, that it's your fault that he got paralyzed?...". Samantha looking glum answers, "Well, no....but I think that's what he feels, what other reason could he have for being mad at me and for pushing me away?...". There was silence for a full minute, then Samantha moves towards Maria placing her arms around her waist as her face sinks into Maria's chest. Maria hugs Samantha gently as she asks, "You know, Grey just had a life changing event....maybe all he needs is time....Time to adjust, time to accept and time to just find himself in life.....now whether that includes you or not is not your decision to make, it's his.....And I think the best thing we can do is to respect his boundary....". Sam clears her throat then says, "But I love him, I can't give up on him no matter what the future holds, I still want to be with him....". Maria pulls away slightly as she looks at Samantha's sad face and say's, "It takes two to tango, my dear...", Maria reasons out, "You can't make someone fall in love with you, specially if that person has no feelings for you, you know that, you're a grown woman...". Samantha nods as she pulls away from Maria. "You know what you need to do?...",  Maria asks, "You need to focus on the things that you can control in life, like helping people around the world. And while you're focusing on helping others, who knows maybe Grey will come back to you someday, just like I said, maybe all he needs is to heal mentally, emotionally and even physically....".

               After Maria had tidied Samantha's room and her bathroom, she leaves Samantha alone with her thoughts. Her thoughts starts to drift everywhere, from the dilemma she felt about discovering her father's plans of using "Einstein's Time Machine", to bring her mother back into existence to her painful discovery that Grey's parents died on a plane crash a week before they competed on last year's "State Ballroom Dance  Championships", she starts to feel like a villain remembering how she was so demeaning to Grey for his poor dance performance, not aware that he was probably in a state of emotional shock and grief from the tragedy of his parents sudden death. The whole time, she thought that he was just an inferior dance partner who couldn't perform on the big stage.

             Samantha's thoughts then shifts to Chase and her future with him. "What's there not to like about him..", she asks herself, "Chase is perfect, good looking, has a great personality, has good morals, has no addiction to pornography, he's not a womanizer even though lots of women always throw themselves at him, and the most important of all was that Chase doesn't sleep with prostitutes..",  as Samantha momentarily  starts contemplating why Grey wasn't more like Chase. Trying to remember what she see's in Grey, she then smiles as she realized how he makes her laugh a lot. Even with all of Grey's flaws, he just makes her happy when she's with him.

             Looking into the future, Samantha feels fully aware that someday, she would need to choose to marry Chase if she wants to make an impact on sustaining world peace, and which in her mind does make perfect sense, but unfortunately for now, her heart seems to have total control of her and seems to have a mind of it's own and it's calling out loud for Grey.

   (Two weeks later: At Oaknoll Research Laboratory in Oakland California )

           The elevator doors to the third floor research facility opens as a man in an electric wheelchair comes out. The third floor research laboratory was filled with over thirty scientists and lab technicians who were all working on different types of human development treatments from different types of musculoskeletal and neurologic disorders. The man riding in the electric wheelchair is Dr. John Kane, a paraplegic who's more popularly known in the scientific community as "Dr. Kinesis". As he wheels himself through the well lighted and busy laboratory, he get's the frequent greetings from his staff, "Goodmorning doctor Kinesis", over and over again for more than six to eight times every mornng. He smiles each time, nods and says, "Goodmorning", back. As his door to his office suite automatically opens, he enters and parks his wheelchair by his desk. His friendly demeanor then quickly turns serious as he goes through his day's plans and tasks.

         This past few days had proved to be specially tough. He stares out the window of his office as his mind wanders in deep thought about the conversation he had with an old friend and colleague, Dr. Mark Peters.
Looking back at his past association with Dr. Peters, he remembers how Dr. Peters took him in as his junior research associate, three years after he became a paraplegic due to a car accident. At the time when he joined Dr. Peters in researching a cure for paralysis, Dr. Peters had already put in 20 years of research work in finding a cure and was already 75% complete.

        Dr. Peters was able to develop two serums that when combined together can create a bridge that connects the two severed nerves of the spinal cord which creates a temporary cure for paralysis as long as the serums were regularly used.  The "MP1" was the first of two serums that was created by Dr. Peters. It acts as an antibody that blocks proteins that are responsible for inhibiting spinal cord memory cells from inducing nerve regeneration, but with a major side effect which is "Hepatotoxicity", or liver damage. The second serum called , "SP2", was a drug that is a synthetic type of nerve growth factor that allows the nerve cells to grow, thus help regenerate new nerves that bridges the gap between the two severed nerves. Unfortunately, the "SP2" serum also has a major side effect which is "Nephrotoxicity", or kidney damage.

         It was a year after Dr. Kane joined Dr. Peters in researching a cure for paralysis, when Dr. Peters wife, Sandy was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Peters did not waist time and quickly abandoned his paralysis research in order to switch to finding a cure for cancer in the hope of saving his wife's life. Dr. John Kane was left alone with a half dozen lab assistants in finding the cure for paralysis, and after three more years of research, Dr. Kane was able to improve and enhance the work left to him by Dr. Peters.

        First, he was able to combine "MP1" and "SP2" serums together to form his own serum which he named, "JK4". With his new creation, he was able to eliminate the severe negative side effects of liver and kidney damage, and to his surprise, a positive form of side effects had emerged which was "Psychokinesis", which is  the ability to move and levitate objects by the power of the mind. After trying the drug on himself, he was able to move his lower extremities instantaneously, and was able to stand up and walk away from his wheelchair. The only two  drawbacks to his new creation was that he needed to inject himself with his "JK4" serum every four hours when he feels that his lower extremities were becoming weak due to the serum wearing out in his system. The second drawback was that the concentration of the serum in his blood dissipates whenever he becomes emotional, but in time, through constant training, he was able to teach  himself on how to control his emotions by learning how to stay stoic thus prolonging the effects of his serum.

       Deciding to help Grey become normal again was proving to be a tough decision for Dr. Kane. His willingness to help Grey comes from his gratitude towards Dr. Peters for shaping him into the scientist he is today, and his unwillingness to help Grey comes from a severe hatred towards drunk drivers in general. And learning that Grey's paralysis was brought about by his car accident because he was driving drunk made Dr. Kane feel that Grey deserves what he got in life. "Drunk drivers like Grey should all be paralyzed from the neck down", he thought to himself. "They should all die!...", he tells himself once more. Dr. Kane turns his electric wheelchair around and faces his office window as he stares at the trees out by the parking lot. He closes his eyes as tears stream down his face with both hands clenched in fists of rage.

       His memories takes him back six years ago, it was during the eve of Thanksgiving, a night that would change his life forever. Driving home with his wife and his seven year old daughter from a family reunion, he remembers her daughter being so happy and upbeat from seeing her grandparents that night. It was a perfect night to the start of a wonderful weekend and was the beginning to what he thought would be a wonderful holiday season, when all of a sudden, he feels a strong jolt and hears a loud "bang", as cars hit sending their car tumbling on the freeway as it overturns several times. The first thing he remembers was feeling dizzy, as their car rolls and ends up upside down. He could still remember the scent of gasoline fumes and smoke that filled the car. Realizing they were upside down, he looks over and see's his wife bloodied and unconscious. He starts hearing his daughter's voice whimpering at the back seat, still strapped to her seat belt as she starts regaining consciousness calling out for him. Looking around feeling dazed, he suddenly feels his seat belt give way as hands suddenly clutches his jacket, as a man yanks him out of the car. As he was being dragged away from the burning car, he could  see flames engulf his unconscious wife. Bystanders were yelling from everywhere, some were yelling, asking other people to help the other passengers who were still trapped in the car,  while others were shouting, warning everyone not to come close saying that the burning car could explode at any second.

          All Dr. Kane remembers was seeing her daughter scream in agony as flames slowly consumed her.  He could feel the fire burn through his daughter's skin, inch by inch like a thousand needle like stabs tearing through her flesh. He saw his daughter's face fill with horror, witnessing her daughter's torturous struggle and silent screams. He still remembers her daughter's right hand continuously tapping the side window, trying to find a way to reach out to her father, simply knowing that only he could stop the pain. Dr. Kane remembers crying as he reaches out with his hand outstretched while watching his daughter suffer in excruciating pain. He wanted to run and save her but his legs wouldn't move. He tries reaching out again, but the more he reached out, the farther he seemed to be from her, and when he realized that no one would have the courage to save her daughter and that his legs were lifeless, the only thing he could do was pray, pray for an instant explosion. It was the only merciful way to end a child's life. But this night, he would not find mercy, as he counted the seconds, watching his struggling daughter reach out to him, seeing tears flowing down from her eyes which quickly evaporates due to the infernal heat that was raging inside the car. It was only after her daughter succumb to the smoke that the car finally explodes in flames. There he was, helpless, ten feet away from the burning car.

           After a few weeks, while still in the hospital as he starts his rehabilitation as a paraplegic, he learns that the man that caused their accident was driving drunk. The man escaped the accident with just minor injuries and would serve time in jail. Dr. Kane quickly falls into a state of depression which later on turns to anger. Although a mild mannered man, the death of his wife and daughter from a drunk driver pushes his soul into seeking vengeance. It wasn't until he discovered the "Psychokinetic", side effects of his "JK4", serum that he starts to plot his revenge towards the man who took his family away from him. He remembers it vividly, how after gathering all the necessary information from his family's killer. How he focused and practiced on enhancing his Psychokinetic powers for over a year until the time came for him to exact his revenge.

         It was early spring when he decided to avenge his family's death. At around midnight, he teleports himself inside the house of the drunk driver who killed his family. With the power of his mind, he pins his victim on the wall with his arms outstretched. Trying to struggle to break free, an invisible force slithers all over the man's body until it squeezes around the man's neck preventing him from speaking or shouting. Dr. Kane then opens a can of gasoline and douses the man with the flammable liquid drenching his clothes thoroughly, and in an instant, Dr. Kane lights up a match stick and flicks it at the gasoline drenched man. Fire quickly scorches the man's whole body as he squirms in pain, and after less than a minute, the drunk driver responsible for the death of Dr. Kane's family was nothing more than a charred corpse. And as Dr. Kane walks out of the man's house that night feeling a sense of relief, he sigh's deeply then stares at the man's brand new car. Dr. Kane then points a finger at the car and with the power of his mind makes it levitate at a height of about 50 feet, he then floats the car directly on top of the man's house, and as he breaks his concentration and drops his hand down,  the car falls right on top of the dead man's house, creating a loud explosion. "Icing on the cake", Dr. Kane tells himself. Then as the sounds of sirens were heard from approaching fire trucks, Dr. Kane takes another deep breath, closes his eyes and, "Poof", he was gone, teleporting himself back from where he came from.

        Coming back to his senses, he turns his electric wheelchair around and focuses on  picture frames mounted on the walls of his office.  He stares at past family pictures of him, his wife and his daughter that always gives him a surge of instant happiness which often only lasts for a few seconds, until his world grows dark once again. The rage in his heart tells his mind that he needs to rid the world of all drunk drivers, his soul urging him that he has to protect the innocent. "No more children and loving wives should ever die because of a drunk driver...", he thought to himself. Wiping the tears in his eyes, his demeanor suddenly turns into angst, anger at being called, "Dr. Kinesis", the popular name he hated and was branded to him, this was  because of a "Youtube",  video of him, showing him levitate a pencil, a stapler and a staple remover, which was filmed secretly without his knowledge. This was the time when he first discovered that he had psychic powers. Someone must have sneaked into the lab during the night, when everyone was supposed to be gone and used a video camera in filming him, "But who could it be?...could it be the janitor?...one of the lab technicians maybe?...", he wonders. But no one was supposed to find out that he had special psychic  powers, it was supposed to be a secret.

        Dr. Kane then remembers a time when he was visited by government agents, curious about the "Youtube" video they've seen which shows him levitating different objects and office supplies. He then remembers telling them the truth, that he has a serum that gives a person psychic powers, but then lies, telling the government agents that it only works on five percent of the population. Dr. Kane then gives the agents a placebo, a fake serum that they can test on their own. Dr. Kane knew that if he ever gave the government agents his "JK4" serum which has a 99.9% success rate, that the US government will confiscate his serum and eventually weaponize it sooner or later. This is the main reason Dr. Kane is unable to manufacture and release his serum to the public, and it's because of the "psychokinetic effects" of the "JK4" serum.

       And now, since the government has him on their radar. "How can he begin his mission to eradicate society of drunk drivers", he thinks to himself. Dr. Kane also realizes that Police agencies are not dumb, sooner or later, evidence will point to him, if he ever goes on a killing spree. "It's still too dangerous right now..", he tells himself, "I need to stay patient for now...but I can't wait too long....I have to protect the innocent and destroy the guilty, the drunk drivers of this world!....", he mumbles to himself.

      He then turns around and faces his desk as he grabs a pen and starts to scribble on some paper. "Now what am I to do with Grey?....", he wonders to himself. "I have an obligation to help him because of my deep gratitude to Dr. Peters.....but at the same time, the guy is a drunk driver and deserves to die, not to live....". He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an inhaler which has the "JK4" drug in it. He stares at it for a while, feeling proud that he was able to transform his "JK4" serum from an injectible to an inhaler form of delivery system. And as he shakes the contents of the inhaler, he suddenly realizes that since Grey doesn't deserve his full support, that the most fair thing to do was to dilute the drug by 50%. Just give Grey a weaker dosage of the "JK4", doing this will either, make him normal again, do nothing for him or kill him, and Dr. Kane was ok with that. He was also ok about lying to Dr. Peters that he was not administering Grey the right dosage of the "JK4" drug. After he stops shaking the inhaler, he quickly takes two puffs. And right away, sensations and strength returns to Dr. Kane's lower extremities. He stands up from his wheelchair, walks towards the window closes his eyes then, "Poof", he was gone, teleporting himself outside the building and reappearing at the parking lot as he starts walking to his car.

   (Two hours later: At the Naval Hospital in San Diego, California)

          Major Garfield Powers flew to San Diego under orders by the Pentagon to check on Captain Chase Brassman's health. Reaching the hospital and seeing Chase again, "You look great Chase..", Garfield says as he stares out of the hospital bedroom window, "Have they've been feeding you well here?...". Chase sitting up in his bed snickers as he says, "I'd take hospital food rather than MRE's any day my friend....". Garfield smiles as he dusts off some lint from his army uniform as he blurts out saying, "I heard that Admiral Brassman came to visit you, is that true?...". Chase nods with a smile saying, "Yeah, and don't forget, he's now Retired Admiral Brassman....", Chase looking out of the window as he continues saying, "That was really nice of Sam to use her Lear jet to fly my parents out here to visit me....She even paid for their hotel and sight seeing tours....and also flew them back in her jet". Garfield sits on a chair facing Chase as he asks, "They must really like Sam for her generosity huh?...". Chase sigh's as he drums his fingers on his bedside table saying, "Oh, they've always liked Samantha, even when we were in high school, going out just as friends...Mom always thought that she would be a great future wife for me, but I was just too busy with sports and dating other women back then.....".

        Garfield takes their conversation to a different direction, "You know everyone at Macrostrength Mission Control Center are happy you're alive, they're all extending to you their best wishes for a speedy recovery....". Chase looking curious asks, "Is everything ok at Macrostrength Industries?.....". Garfield stares at the floor with a look of worry then says, "There's a big investigation going on right now by the FBI and the Pentagon. There are speculations that the reason you failed your top secret mission to destroy North Korea's Central Nuclear Missile Command Center was because someone in Macrostrength sabotaged the Protector's nuclear reactor power source, and then there's the ambush that almost got you killed....Looks like there's a spy and a saboteur within our midst". There was silence for a full minute as both men digested the full gravity of this threat to the country's national security. Garfield stands up and faces the window once more placing both hands inside his pockets as he says, "So far they've arrested General Morris and had taken Dr. Spain into custody after they've found evidence of the illegal use of nuclear energy without proper authorization from the higher ups...". Chase feeling a sense of despair due to the close friendship he'd developed with Dr. Spain. "The investigation will be ongoing..", says Garfield...,"Admiral Rivera thinks that the true culprits are in higher management, he suspects Dr. Marcos or John Layer or even the both of them, but there's just no proof at this time....". Chase with a quizzical look asks, "But why would Mr. Layer sabotage his own creation, that just doesn't make any sense....". Garfield shakes his head in wonder saying, "I agree, it doesn't make any sense at all...".

           After another minute of silence and deep thought, Garfield changes the subject again. "So how's Sam been doing, have you seen her yet?....". Chase sigh's deeply and with a look of concern says, "Well, only during the time I was transferred here from the carrier, "Barack Obama", I was so out of it then, I just remember glimpses of her that first night that she was with me, she had to fly back to San Francisco that same night due to some humanitarian projects she was dealing with.....". Garfield then notices traces of sadness in Chase's face as he asks, "What's wrong with you?, you look kind'a sad...". Chase rubs his temples as he responds, "Just can't stop thinking about Sam, her boyfriend Grey got into a car accident, and now is paralyzed....he might end up being a quadriplegic, and it's tearing Sam apart. I just wish there was something I could do to help...". Garfield opens a carton of orange juice that was sitting on the bedside table and pours it into a plastic cup as he hands it to Chase, "You love her, don't you?....". Chase grabs the cup of orange juice but just lays it in front of him as he replies, "Wow!, now that's an understatement, I'd give my life for her, you know that....". Garfield gasps then says, "But she's in love with someone else....there are countless number of women swooning over you, you know that....". Chase shrugs his shoulders unable to say anything. Garfield sits back down then say's, "Didn't you even tell me that last year's Miss America winner gave you a call asking you out on a date, only hours after she'd won the Miss America crown?....". Both men chuckle as Chase remembers the incident well, then replies, "I know, I was really surprised myself, I was actually watching the Miss America highlights on the late news when I got her call.....". Garfield leans forward trying to be discerning asks, "Then what's wrong with you buddy?!....". Chase looking determined answers, "I know what I'm doing Garfield, I can't help it if I'm head over heels over Sam, there's just no other woman for me....I'd rather be alone than with any woman other than Sam...". Garfield leans back in his seat with his palms out saying, "Ok, ok, I'm convinced...just looking out for your own good...".

            Chase brushes off their disagreement and quickly changes the subject, "By the way, why did the Pentagon send you here. I know it's not just to check on how wonderful the hospital food that they serve here, Is it?...". Garfield grins then says, "They want me to check on your progress, the Pentagon wants to send you on another top secret mission, I think it's in Europe this time. From the little information I've heard, I believe they'll order you to assist NATO forces on some kind'a operational reconnaissance and surveillance, that's about all I know. They've actually asked me if I would like the chance to take this mission from you, to pilot the "Protector"...", Garfield snickers then say's, "Believe me, I was so tempted....but I told them that getting inside that Protector suit and piloting it would feel like getting in bed with my best friend's wife, it just doesn't feel right....". Chase stares at his beside table smiling with a feeling of relief and gratitude. "Besides...", Garfield says, "I think that you should get the chance to continue piloting the "Protector", I figured that with all the sacrifices and work you've devoted in the enhancement of the suit, that you should still be given the choice of being it's pilot....".

           Garfield forces a smile as he resigns his dream and ambition to be the Protector's pilot in behalf of his best friend's future success. "So do you have any idea how long it'll take before you're all healed?...". Chase sigh's with a feeling of exasperation as he replies, "The doctor's say's I need four more weeks of IV therapy and rehab, then I should be ready to go back to active status....". (End Of Chapter)

Chapter 18: Go Ahead, Drink And Drive

 (Thursday 10:15 PM, Grey's house, Vallejo California)
         
           As Grey leaves the house, he yells at Ritchie reminding him to turn off the television before he goes to bed. Dressed in his hospital scrubs, he gets into his car and starts on his one hour drive to St. Martin's hospital in San Francisco where he is scheduled to work the "Graveyard shift", which is from midnight till 08:00 AM. Even though it was hard to get Samantha off his mind, he felt glad that he was able to get seven hours of sleep that day. He always made it a point in his career as a nurse to always have a well rested mind and body before he starts taking care of sick patients in the medical surgical ward where he was assigned to work.

          Having said a short prayer before he starts his one hour trip, he felt hopeful about his chances of reconciling with Samantha. Grey already bought a box of "Ensaymada", which is a Filipino pastry that he knows Samantha really likes, then in the morning, after he gets off from work, he plans to buy some flowers which he hopes would help end Samantha's anger towards him.

         As Grey's car enters the freeway, he notices a blue Chevrolet sedan swerving all over the freeway. It was being driven by a drunk off duty Vallejo detective named Ted Cross. Detective Cross was a twenty year veteran of the Vallejo Police Department. Three to four times a week after work, he would go straight to a bar and drink between six to nine shots of whiskey. An alcoholic for over ten years, he never gets reprimanded for driving under the influence of alcohol because of professional courtesy afforded to him by police officers whenever he gets pulled over for a sobriety check.

       As Grey looks to his left and watches the drunk detective's car in front of him swerve in between lanes, a mini-van to his right passes him by which had a family of five, with three young children whose ages were between five and nine years of age. Seeing that the drunk detective's car was starting to swerve dangerously close to the mini-van Grey decides to speed up and get in between the swerving car and the mini-van, as Grey was trying to signal the mini-van's driver to distance themselves from Grey's car, the drunk detective's car suddenly crosses into Grey's lane and rams into the side of Grey's car. Grey's car suddenly flips over and rolls several times across the freeway. The mini-van was able to drive away unscathed, while the drunk detective quickly pulls his car over on the shoulder of the freeway, he then turns on his police lights. Knowing he was at fault, the drunk detective quickly gets out of his car and starts to flash his police badge to the people who stopped their cars in order to give medical assistance. Detective Cross then tells the bystanders to back away. Seeing double, Detective Cross tries his best to walk as straight as he can, and when a man shouts asking why he was walking funny, the drunk detective lies and says that he hit his head on the steering wheel which made him dizzy, hiding the fact that he was severely drunk.

        As he was staggering to get to Grey's car, he grabs his cell phone and calls his police partner asking him for help. Upon reaching Grey's car, he see's Grey bloodied and unconscious. As smoke vents out of Grey's car's smashed hood, Detective Cross looks around, to try to see if there was anyone close enough to witness what he was about to do. Seeing that there was no one close enough, Ted Cross pulls out a bottle of whiskey from his inside breast pocket and screws off the cap, he then starts to douse the bottle's half filled contents all over Grey's clothes to make it look as if Grey was driving drunk. The drunk detective then quickly takes out a handkerchief and starts wiping off his finger prints from the empty whiskey bottle then carefully wraps grey's left hand around the bottle to get Grey's finger prints on the empty whiskey bottle. Glancing around one more time and not seeing anyone close, Detective Cross tosses the empty whiskey bottle on the passenger seat and unbuckles Grey seat belt. This was to give the impression that Grey was not only driving drunk but was also an irresponsible driver who never wears a seat belt.

     In less than a minute, Detective Cross police partner arrives at the scene together with an ambulance and two other police cars. As the paramedics were giving first aid to Grey, police officers starts to direct the slow flow of traffic. Then, after a few minutes, the paramedics starts to pry Grey out of the smashed car and into the ambulance. After another minute, the ambulance speeds away with it's loud siren sounding and lights flashing. Detective Cross police partner then starts making phone calls to their contacts who works in the crime lab and in Vallejo General Hospital's patient laboratory and orders them to falsify Grey's blood work, showing false lab values that has Grey having a blood alcohol level two times higher than the legal limit.

     Detective Cross quickly takes out a breath spray and sprays a mist of mint flavor inside his mouth to hide the scent of alcohol from his breath. His partner then quickly assists him in his car and drives him away before anyone suspects that Detective Cross was under the influence of alcohol.

        At around 03:00 AM the next morning, Dr. Peters gets a call from a nurse who works at Vallejo General Hospital Emergency Room, informing him of Grey's car accident but did not give any deeper details of the extent of Grey's injuries. After hanging up the phone, Dr. Peters quickly gets dressed to check on Grey's condition, he thought about waking up his daughter but he knew that she was terribly exhausted from her ordeals the day before. From assisting Betsy in managing CURE Corp to the numerous requests for help by different humanitarian agencies to having to assist and attend in Chase's medical transfer from the US Navy carrier, "Barack Obama", to the Naval hospital in San Diego California where she finally got to see him and spend time with him in the ICU ward.

     At about 08:00 AM the phone rings which wakes up Samantha, stretching in bed, she grabs the phone and answers it, "Hello?....", Samantha hears her father's voice on the other line, "Sam, try not to get too frantic....Grey got into a car accident last night on his way to work. I'm at Vallejo General Hospital right now in the ICU waiting room...". Samantha gasps, "What happened....Is he OK?....Why didn't you wake me up...". Samantha pants as she gets out of bed in her PJ's and walks barefoot towards the bathroom. "I'll explain later when you get here...", Dr. Peters says, "I don't want you to drive, our limo driver is ready and waiting to drive you here...". Samantha hangs up the phone as she heads straight to the shower, feeling panic-stricken and anxious remembering the last time that her father asked her to meet him in the hospital but telling her not to drive was the day her mother had passed away.

     After ten minutes, Samantha was on her way riding on the back of her limo, followed by two SUV's with a new set of secret service agents who just came on duty. With her heart rate racing, she took the time to call the nursing staff in San Diego Naval Hospital to get an update on Chase's condition. After learning that Chase was resting and was in stable condition, Sam quickly calls Betsy at work and informs her of Chase's injury and Grey's accident. Even though Betsy was still struggling with the demands of being the President of the company, she knew that Samantha needed this space to tend to the two men she cared for deeply. Betsy then tells Samantha that she'll try and manage the best she can then jokingly says, "Just don't blame me if we loose a couple of million dollars today, Ok?....", she then hears Samantha say, "Don't worry, money ain't everything...", as Samantha hangs up the phone.

      After an hour's drive, Samantha finally reaches Vallejo General Hospital and was dropped off at the hospital's front entrance. Rushing inside the hospital, she was able to get quick directions on how to get to the hospital's ICU waiting room. After reaching the seventh floor, she turns into a corridor and see's her father standing 20 feet away with his hands inside his pockets. She runs to meet him as they hug, "How is he?!...", Samantha asks looking up at her father, "We don't know yet, he was in the emergency room for seven hours, and they only just transferred him here to the ICU two hours ago...". Samantha looks around and see's Ritchie sitting inside the waiting room looking slumber. Dr. Peters sighs then says, "He sustained a neck fracture at the C4 level....there's a chance he can probably still breath on his own..", Dr. Peters then  starts looking sullen as he says, "But he'll be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life....". Samantha gasps feeling emotionally devastated as her knees starts to weaken, she pulls away from her father's embrace and quickly takes a seat at the closest chair next to her. Ritchie walks over and sits next to her looking depressed while Sam bites down on her lower lip trying not to cry,  they all struggled in trying to get a grip of Grey's catastrophic predicament.

        After an hour of waiting, the doors to the ICU opens as Dr. Leo Leonard who is the Chief of Neurosurgery together with Dr. Noel Gucas who is his associate comes out and approaches Dr. Peters, Samantha and Ritchie. The neurosurgeon then confirms Grey's initial diagnosis of a C4 Cervical Vertebral Fracture. Dr. Peters then asks to speak to Dr. Leonard and Dr. Gucas alone to be able to objectively analyze the severity of Grey's injuries, prioritize surgical interventions that are needed and plan for his future rehabilitation phase as a "Quadriplegic". After a thirty minute discussion, the two neurosurgeons goes back inside the ICU as Dr. Peters approaches Samantha and Ritchie.

       Dr. Peters tells them both that Grey was on an induced coma due to the severity of his injuries. Besides the neck fracture, they also had to place a tracheostomy to maintain his airway. Grey was also intubated and is attached to a ventilator to help him breath. He was also in a continuous flow of IV Dilaudid to control pain and IV Versed to prevent seizures, for sedation and also to keep his muscles relaxed. Dr. Peters then continues to tell them the list of injuries Grey sustained, "Grey also had fractured ribs, collapsed right lung, a dislocated right shoulder with a torn rotator cuff tendon, deep facial lacerations, right broken femur, a left fractured tibia and a fractured skull....". Samantha looking fearful with her eyes misty asks, "Will he live?!...Please help him dad!...". Dr. Peters folds her daughter into his arms as Samantha sinks her face into her father's chest as she starts to cry. "We'll do everything we can for him honey..", Dr. Peters says,"They've got good doctors and surgeons in this hospital, he's in good hands...".

      After a few seconds, Samantha pulls away from her dad as she says, "Grey's foster parents!...we need to let them know, I need to call them!....". Dr. Peters and Ritchie glances eerily at each other as Ritchie says, "I'm sorry to tell you this Sam, but they passed away last year from a plane crash....Grey didn't have the heart to tell you.....It happened a week before your big ballroom dance competition, he did not want to let you know because he wanted you to be focused during the competition....", Samantha thinks and tries to remember, then sits back down as she realizes why Grey was not himself during the week of their, "California State Ballroom Dance Competition", and why he did not perform as well as she knew he could have performed, which led to their big fight which resulted in their first break up.

      After another hour had passed, two Vallejo police officers shows up. Sgt Nick Holt and his rookie partner Alan Francis. They informed Dr. Peters, Samantha and Ritchie that they needed to ask them some questions with regards to Grey's accident. "I know this is a tough time for all of you...", Sgt Holt says, "But because Grey was driving drunk we...", Ritchie quickly interrupts saying, "Driving drunk?!, what are you talking about?!...I was with him before he left for work, he wasn't drunk!....". Sgt. Holt then explains that Grey's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and that the emergency room staff smelled alcohol from his clothes when they were performing emergency treatment on him. "That's impossible!...", Ritchie yells, as Sgt Holt continues reporting, "We also found an empty whiskey bottle on his car's passenger seat, and it has his finger prints on it....He also wasn't wearing his seat belt...". Sam cries again, as her eyes fills with tears and her hands trembles as she says, "It's my fault....It's all my fault....If I didn't break up with him, he would not have gotten drunk...and now because of me he's paralyzed!...". Dr. Peters quickly sits beside her as he folds his arms around his daughter as she starts to sink into her father's embrace once again.

     Rookie cop Alan Francis tries to comfort Samantha saying, "If it makes you feel better, Detective Cross who's car was the one Grey hit on the freeway says that he's probably not going to press criminal charges because of the severity of Grey's injuries but I think that he does want to pursue civil charges for the damage done to his car...". Sgt Holt looked annoyed thinking that his rookie partner should have just kept his mouth shut. After a thirty minute interview, the two cops leaves the hospital and as they both entered their police car Sgt Holt says, "Something's not right with this case?....". Rookie cop looking puzzled asks, "Oh, yeah?!...". Sgt Holt squeezes the steering wheel as he looks off to a distance in deep thought, "This guy Grey, who they say never drinks and drives, has no history of arrests for DUI,  only drinks occasionally, doesn't keep any liquor in his house, even his best friend says that he left the house sober...gets into an accident for driving drunk?....". Rookie cop Alan Francis taps his hand on the roof of their police car as he replies, "Well Sarge, that's what happens when a guy gets dumped by his girlfriend....Wasn't that the same thing that happened to you when your family deserted you because you were working long hours as a detective, that's when you became an alcoholic, remember?!...". Sgt Holt looking agitated at his partner raises his voice saying, "That's not the point!....That guy he hit, Detective Cross, has a history of driving drunk, I know this guy, we used to go out for drinks years ago when we where still new to the force...". Officer Francis knew better and just kept silent, "The thing that does not make sense to me is how their path's crossed..", Sgt Holt explains, "This guy Grey who has no history of driving drunk, who's headed to work gets into a car accident with an alcoholic detective who was off duty and on a night he gets in an accident turns out to be sober....Something just doesn't feel right....".

          After Sgt Holt starts the car's engine,  he says, "We've got to look into this more, I want you to find out what brand of whiskey that was found in Grey's car, then check all the liquor stores near Grey's house within a ten mile radius, show the liquor store owners a photo of Grey and ask them if they've seen him last night between the hours of ten and eleven pm, or if they remember seeing him during the day, he could have bought it during the day....". Officer Francis nods after writing down everything Sgt Holt said, "And what about you Sarge, what are you gonna do?.....". Sgt Holt sigh's deeply then say's, "I'm gonna talk to Detective Cross friends and visit the bars that I know he frequently goes to, I need to find out what kind of whiskey Detective Cross likes to drink.....I'll also talk to Grey's co-workers at the hospital where he works at just to find out if they've ever noticed him drunk at work....".


         (Two hours later, Castro street, San Francisco California)

        "I can't believe we used our last $50.00 for cab fare yesterday, I could have used that money to buy men's clothes...", Sirha grumbles as he adjusts his long blonde wig, then says, "I also can't believe you had me sleep in a homeless shelter, and the food at that soup kitchen was crappy at best!...". Zhiad rolls his eyes in exasperation, as he uses his fingers to comb loose strands of hair from his wig as he says, "Master, stop complaining, would you  rather be sleeping in the caves of Afghanistan and eating grass instead?!....". Sirha was suddenly at a loss for words, and as they both continued walking, still dressed as women. They kept searching for the right address where their cargo containing their nuclear bomb was delivered to. "You've got to admit though, that homeless shelter did have nice public showers....", Zhiad says, "Those seven men showering even got excited when we started undressing in front of them, I just don't know why they quickly disappeared when we both took off our wigs and finally got naked?....". Sirha ignores his minion as he scans around searching for house numbers when suddenly he yells, "Zhiad!, look at those two men!, they're holding hands while walking!....", Sirha then turns around, centers his wig on his head, then yells once more, "And those two women are kissing!...". Zhiad sigh's deeply as he calmly says, "Oh!, just relax master, they're just practicing population control....". Sirha's eyes gets bigger asking, "Is this how Americans practice population control?!....". Zhiad trying to sound convincing replies, "Actually, the reason I brought you here at Castro street is because this is were all the "gay" and when I say "gay", I mean "happy" people live....this place is like the adult version of Disneyland....Do you know that of all places in the world, that this is the only place where they have a "Zero Pregnancy Rate"...". Sirha gasps looking surprised asks, "Really?!...how can that be?..". Zhiad looks up at the sky and lifts his arms up lazily as he says, "I don't know Master, it must be something in the air!....".

         As they continued walking, Zhiad, notices his master continually scratching around his chest, armpits and lower back from the rash that developed from wearing a laced bra. Zhiad looking perturbed says, "Master, must you always scratch?....It's not very lady like...". Sirha suddenly scowls at his minion saying, "Good!...". After another ten minute walk, they finally found the right address they were looking for. "This is where my friend Christopher lives, I called him last night and he said that our cargo did arrive yesterday....". Sirha looking relieved says, "Ahhh!, finally, I can borrow some men's clothes that I can finally wear....". Zhiad knocks three times, and after a few seconds the front door opens as a man wearing a pink dress comes out and greets them, "Zhiad!, you're finally here in America....I've been waiting so long!....". Zhiad then introduces his friend Christopher to Sirha, "It's a pleasure meeting you Sirha, but just call me "Crissy"....". As Sirha and Zhiad were ushered in, Zhiad lies and tells his master that his friend Christopher was also a terrorist and has to wear a dress as a disguise. Sirha ignores his minion as he quickly grabs the top of his wig making sure it doesn't slip off as he asks, "Is there any chance I can borrow some men's clothes?....", Crissy laughs loudly saying, "Zhiad, you're friend's so funny....Come with me to the bedroom Sirha, I've got a purple blouse, a mini skirt and some fancy heels that would look fabulous on you...". Sirha looking annoyed replies, "Forget it....".


          After having a late breakfast, Sirha and Zhiad were led to the garage where the wooden cargo was stored. After getting some tools, they finally were able to expose the nuclear bomb. Sirha looking relieved started laughing loudly as his spirit was filled with joy. "Now, finally....our sacrifices have paid off....Now is our time to strike at the heart of the infidels.... Go ahead Zhiad, activate the bomb!....We will destroy the city of San Francisco right now and we will die as heroes!....". Zhiad starts by grabbing his tools, having been trained as an expert nuclear bomb maker, he starts to attach different wires and click on different switches, but after a few minutes. "What's wrong Zhiad?!...", Sirha grunts as he stares at the confused expression on his minion's face. "Master, this nuclear bomb is made from North Korea....I'm only trained to build, activate and detonate nuclear bombs made in Iran, like the one that was confiscated from the cargo ship "Shin Lee Chin", from the port of San Francisco....". Sirha was so distressed that he could not breath for close to a whole minute, Zhiad seeing his master's face turn purple quickly slaps his face which brings him back to his senses. Sirha then starts to grumble like a little child throwing tools towards the wall in complete disgust.

         After Sirha's violent outburst finally subsides, Zhiad reassures his master saying, "Don't worry Master, I know this Al Queda guy who's name is "Mukhang Mahasim", he knows how to assemble, activate and detonate a nuclear bomb that's made in North Korea....". Sirha's eyes suddenly shows signs of hope as he tells his minion to contact him immediately. "But Master, there's one problem....He's in a Federal prison in Vallejo California....". Sirha suddenly becomes so frustrated that he starts kicking the nuclear bomb, as he tries to detonate it by himself.

    (Back at Vallejo General Hospital)

        It was about lunch time when Dr. Peters and Ritchie left Samantha by herself  in the ICU waiting room, while the two of them went to the hospital cafeteria for lunch. They encouraged Samantha to eat something but Samantha just did not have an appetite for food and instead wanted to standby the ICU just in case the doctor on duty decides to let her in so that she may be with Grey. While waiting, she decides to turn on the television then changes channels until she found some news to watch. "Good afternoon Bay Area, I'm Nancy Venderfield and you are watching USNN news....And now for our top stories. There are unofficial reports of a standoff between North Korea and the US Navy's seventh fleet which is headed by the US Navy carrier, "Barack Obama", 400 miles off the coast of North Korea. North Korean officials are alleging that our government had attempted a top secret military strike at Pyongyang's Central Nuclear Missile Command which failed. A North Korean military spokesman says that the US military had used a powerful flying superhuman winged soldier that managed to destroy 42 North Korean jet fighters and 68 UAV's. A spokesperson for the Pentagon denies these allegations and refuses to further comment on any other details involving this allegation. In other news, a memorial day of service has been scheduled for this coming Monday in Washington DC for the slain US Vice President and the other slain members of the President's cabinet. There's no news yet on when the President will start selecting replacements for his cabinet members. Meanwhile, the last three members of the Aryan movement called "The Disciples of Timothy McVey had finally been found and arrested for their terrorist plans of overthrowing the US government, the FBI and Homeland Security spokesperson refused to give any details of their arrest. In San Francisco, the sale of the high tech company "Vionix" to it's rival company "Macrostrength Industries" had been finalized, we spoke to Dr. Marcos who is Macrostrength's chief of operations and he says that CEO and owner John Layer has big plans for further developing and enhancing technical research in the hope of creating more advanced types of computerized smart bionic limbs for our US military amputees still in active duty. On other national news, the State of Washington  and the State of New York had followed California's lead in illegalizing smoking and the sale of cigarettes in their respective states, a California legislator said that since, smoking and sales of cigarettes had been illegalized in California, that the cost of health care had dramatically decreased with also a 93% drop in lung cancer cases. There has also been a dramatic decrease in heart attack cases, strokes and other vascular diseases resulting on less stress on California's health care system. Finally on some local news, there was another drive by shooting last night at the city of Vallejo due to an increasing crime rate. This time it was a nine year old boy who was the son of a gang member that was gunned down as retaliation for last week's gang violence, the fa.....".

         Suddenly, the ICU doors opened as a female nurse approaches Samantha telling her that she can now be with Grey but letting her know in advance that Grey would not be alert most of the time due to the sedating effects of his IV medications, and if awake, won't be able to verbally communicate due to his tracheostomy which was inserted by the paramedics during the scene of the accident.  He was also intubated and was attached to a ventilator that helps him breath which also prevents him from verbalizing his needs. Samantha nervously nodded in anticipation. After Samantha was escorted towards Grey's location, Samantha quickly sits by Grey's bed as she gently holds his hand. Grey was unconscious with multiple abrasions and cuts all over his face. His head was covered with a white bandage to cover the hole in his skull, the head dressing had some light stains of blood on it, he had a blanket covering his waist down to his feet. There were several monitors attached above his bed which automatically senses his hearts rhythm and pace and other vital signs and statistics which beeped from time to time. He also had Intravenous tubings attached to his arms delivering the much needed IV fluids he needed. As the minutes turns to hours, Samantha keeps vigil feeling teary eyed from time to time,  she kisses Grey's bruised hand and whispers her love and devotion to him in the hope that maybe he could still somehow hear her even in his unconscious state.

       The next few days were exhausting for Samantha, between guiding Betsy in her executive decision making to attending hours of video conferences with the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to visiting Grey at the hospital every afternoon after spending time at CURE Corp. She would spend anywhere from six to eight hours by Grey's side and would usually get home by one in the morning. While spending time with Grey, Samantha would also call Chase who was still recovering at the Naval hospital in San Diego. They would talk every other day for about a few hours. The few precious moments that made Samantha's heart glad was knowing that Chase was recovering steadily as each day passed. Samantha had detailed the extent of Grey's horrific injuries to Chase and even confiding in him her true feelings for Grey, admitting to Chase that she still loves Grey. Chase on the other hand, with utmost sincerity gave Samantha his genuine support and even expressed the sadness he felt for Grey's devastating life changing predicament. Hearing Samantha cry from time to time over the phone overwhelmed Chase so much to the point that he wished that there was some way he could change places with Grey in order to prevent Samantha's heart from breaking. Chase always tells Samantha that he'll always be around for her and that he'll always love her even if they remain just friends forever.

      After another two days, Grey starts to regain consciousness, but because of his tracheostomy and still intubated, he is unable to verbally communicate, he would often stare at Samantha's face as tears would start to flow out of his eyes. He was at a loss and unable to understand why he couldn't move his arms and legs. Samantha and his doctors would often try and explain the details of his accident but he would just look away, still confused from the short term memory loss he sustained from the accident.

     After a whole week had passed, Grey's surgical team finally decided to operate on him with Samantha and Dr. Peters approval. The surgeons were able to implant rods and pins in order to repair Grey's fractured right femur and left tibia. They also repaired the torn tendon on Grey's right shoulder and for his fractured skull, the surgeon's had to do a surgical procedure called, "Titanium Cranioplasty", where they placed a custom made titanium plate over the hole in Grey's skull. The surgery lasted for twenty hours but was successful without any major complications.

    In the proceeding days that followed, Grey became more aware of his surroundings. After being taken off the ventilator, he was still unable to talk due to the tracheostomy which is a tube surgically inserted just under his adam's apple and into his trachea to create an airway for breathing. His inability to verbally communicate brought more frustration and apprehension to him due to the lack of control he had due to his paralysis.

    Grey's road to recovery was tough for him and for Samantha. After Grey's tracheostomy was removed, he was finally able to speak. Grey's first complaint was why he could not move. The nurses and doctors would often explain the extent of his paralysis but Grey would just often look away and shut them out. He was still in complete denial about his paralysis.

   During the times that he'd be sleeping, he would always dream that he was normal again. He would dream about camping trips with his friends, going on short hikes on state parks and jogging by the beach. But as soon as he wakes up, he starts hearing the continuous irritating weird electronic sounds coming from his bedside monitors and as he stares at the ceiling, he starts to helplessly realize the extent of his new state of living. He specially hated the times when the nurses had to clean him after he soils the bed which made him embarrassed, angry and helpless.

       Falling into a state of depression, he would make it a point to sleep during the daytime shutting out Samantha, his medical staff and other visitors and would purposely be awake at night when it was dark and quiet. The only thing that gave him a sense of comfort was  listening to soothing relaxing music coming from his television at night. He would often be awake from the hours of eleven PM until three AM, often trying to remember and relieve the moments that led up to his car accident. He would often cry when he realizes that he would never get to be normal again.

     The few times that Samantha was able to get Grey's attention, she would always voice out her love and support for him but was only met with Grey's indifference. There even were times when Grey's frustration would turn into anger which ended up being directed towards Samantha. Grey was angry at himself, at Samantha and angry at the whole world. Even though Samantha consulted with different doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists, it did not do much help for Samantha to make a connection with Grey. There were times when Grey would wake up angry and crying, unable to accept and adjust to his new predicament in life.

     As more days had passed, Grey started hallucinating from the effects of the IV Morphine he was taking for pain control which the doctors quickly changed into IV Dilaudid. He also developed pneumonia which gave him breathing problems but was quickly treated with IV antibiotics. Through Grey's ordeal, Samantha never left his side, always patient, caring and loving until a day came when Grey's anger and frustrations had finally taken a toll on Samantha. Feeling weary both physically, mentally and emotionally, Samantha was not able to absorb Grey's verbal assault towards her and had to abruptly leave him with tears in her eyes.

    On the days that followed, Ritchie and Dr. Peters took turns visiting him, but Grey was just as bitter and angry at his disposition in life. Dr. Peters waited for a time for Grey's anger to diminish, and after a few more days had passed, Dr. Peters was finally able to find an opportunity to communicate effectively with Grey in order to give him hope. Dr. Peters tells Grey about two possible ways on how to make him normal or as close to normal as possible. He explains that his first plan was to introduce Grey to Dr. John Kane or who's popularly known as "Dr. Kinesis". Dr. Peters explains that before he started researching cancer's cure, he used to work with Dr. Kane on ways to treat paralysis, but when his wife got metastatic cancer, Dr. Peters switched to cancer research instead and abandoned Dr. Kane to finish the research in finding a cure for paralysis by himself. "And at present", Dr. Peters explains, " Dr. Kane has finally perfected a serum that has a chance to connect two severed spinal nerves together". Grey listens with interest as Dr. Peters explains on, "I've already spoken to John Kane and asked for his help in trying his drug on you....".

               Dr. Peters pauses, then pulls up a chair and sits on it beside Grey's bed, "Now our second option is far more difficult to attain. As a collector of mysterious artifacts, like the piece of titanium metal which belonged to Lancelot's armor which I purchased at an auction, I've also heard of a legend about a, "Holy Flask", which has the capacity to heal any kind of disease, injury or ailment known to man. The legend actually starts in the Bible, on the book of Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 to 54. The Legend goes that right after Christ died on the cross, there was a sudden earthquake that occurred, the curtain inside the Jewish temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, rocks split and tombs broke open....". Grey suddenly sneers saying, "That's starting to sound like an episode from that old movie, "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark...Doc?!....".

           Dr. Peters quickly held out his hand showing a "stop" sign as he says, "Now wait a minute son, hear me out first....". Grey sighs as he patiently listens as Dr. Peters continues, "And when the centurion and those who were close to him felt the earthquake and all that happened, they became terrified but were convinced that they had crucified the Son of God...". Dr. Peters crosses his legs and leans back on the chair as he see's Grey becoming more interested as he continues on saying, " Then, the centurion closest to the cross, took out his flask and poured out all the wine in it, he then slowly walked towards the cross and placed the empty flask right by the shin of Christ to catch the dripping blood from the lifeless body of Christ. After some time, the centurion added water to dilute Christ's blood inside the flask and used this to heal hundreds of sick people by placing a drop of Christ's diluted blood on top of a sick person's tongue. There were rumors that said that complete healing was instantaneous. And as time went on, they kept on diluting the contents of the flask over and over again to be able to keep on healing the sick. Unfortunately the legend also says that as the contents of the flask became more diluted, the effectiveness to cure also started to fade....". Dr. Peters stands up as he places his hands inside his pocket as he says, "And as far as I know, the Vatican has the "Holy Flask" within their possession. And maybe, just maybe....It's still has the power to heal you of your paralysis. I will schedule a flight in the next few days to meet with the Pope in Rome to ask for the "Holy Flask", as Dr. Peters smiles.

          Grey looking cynical asks, "And what makes you think that the Pope will just hand you this "Holy Flask?..". Dr. Peters snickers as he asks, "Didn't Sam tell you, we just recently cured him of his stage three liver cancer....".


            (Macrostrength Industries, Main Office, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California)


        It was nine in the morning when John Layer summoned Dr. Marcos into his office. "We're on thin ice, Dr. Marcos....It's been over a month since the Protector incident in North Korea happened and FBI agents are still going through our computer files looking for incriminating evidences to pin us down!....". Dr. Marcos wrings his hands as he stands nervously saying, "Don't worry Mr. Layer, I made sure that all evidence of a sabotage on the Protector will fall on Dr. Spain. Even though the Feds are trying to find ways to partially blame us for partial knowledge of illegal use of nuclear power to the Protector, I was able to delete all incriminating evidences against us and I diverted all the blame towards Dr. Spain, we just need to keep denying that we had any prior knowledge of using nuclear energy to power the Protector. Fortunately, only Dr. Spain and General Morris so far had been arrested. Admiral Rivera does suspect that we were behind the sabotage and he just assigned one of his most trusted Generals, "General Cheung", to be Pentagon's new military liaison to Macrostrength....". John Layer grabs a cigarette and lights it up as he inhales it's noxious fumes and blows it at Dr. Marcos face making him cough.

      John Layer rubs both hands as he asks, "So what's the best thing to do?...". Dr. Marcos sits across his boss while rubbing his chin then says, "First, we need to divert suspicion away from us by pouring our total support in the success of Captain Brassman, while the Protector technology is still  top secret, we need to slowly start leaking this technology out to the press in a subtle way. We need to make sure that the public discovers Captain Brassman as the Protector's one and only pilot making him the first ever American super hero. Doing this will prevent the Pentagon from over ruling us and assigning a colored pilot like Major Powers to pilot the Protector instead. If that happens that the first ever American super hero is a black man, we'll never get to succeed in making more money from future manufacturing of this Protector technology...".

    John Layer swivels in his chair looking at the ceiling as he says, "You're absolutely right doctor, I have the exact same views as you do.....so, doing this will be like shooting two birds with one stone...". The two men starts to laugh loudly when suddenly John Layer's demeanor quickly turns sour as he pounds his fist on his desk, "What about Samantha Peters?!...I want her to suffer!....Do you know that because of her, two more states had followed California's lead in illegalizing smoking and the sales of cigarettes, I'm loosing money left and right!...I want her to suffer doctor Marcos!...". Dr. Marcos stammers as he pleads for patience, saying, "But sir, we are on the hot seat, Macrostrength is being closely scrutinized by the Pentagon and the whole intelligence community and because of this I think it's best to lay off any plans to assassinate Captain Brassman for now.....For now, let's focus our energy on our newly acquired company, "Vionix", with it's technology in smart computerized bionic limbs, we can create a new super assassin with great strength and with super powers. We can then use this super assassin in killing Samantha's father, Dr. Peters....". The two men started to laugh loudly again at the birth of their new sinister plan. (End of Chapter)


     


       

   

Chapter 17: WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE

         It was Thursday morning at six am when Samantha's phone starts to ring, having had a sleepless night from worrying about Chase and her painful break up with Grey, she finally fell asleep around 3 am, three hours later. "Hello...", Samantha answers the phone still barely awake, "Who's this?....". A man's voice responds on the other line, "Hey Sam!, this is Garfield, I know it's early but I just got to tell you that Chase left the hospital against medical advice three hours ago, to do a top secret mission for the military. The guy just had his surgery 48 hours ago and could barely walk and I personally don't think he's qualified to do this mission. I strongly feel that his life's at stake, maybe you can give him a call and discourage him from doing this mission....". Samantha now fully awake with her pulse rate quickening responds, "Ok, got it.....I'll try calling him on his cell phone, but just in case I can't get a hold of him, call me if you get any updates on him, thanks...". Samantha hangs up the phone and quickly dials Chase's phone number, which quickly switches over to voice mail. Samantha then leaves a detailed message asking Chase not to continue his mission, even pleading to him, though unaware that Chase had left his personal cell phone at home and was driving on his way to Travis Air Force base which was an hour away from San Francisco. After calling Chase's phone three times, Samantha finally gives up and gets ready for her eight am flight to Area 51 in Nevada to talk to the scientists in charge of monitoring and operating, "Einstein's Time Machine".

        In the meantime, it was seven am when Sirha Uhlo and Zhiad Marwan's flight had finally landed at  San Francisco International Airport. Still disguised as women passengers, Sirha and Zhiad were making their way through Customs inspection, Zhiad was terribly worried because Sirha's make up was running, with his mascara melting down to his cheeks which made him look like the rock star, "Alice Cooper". Sirha looking depressed was still upset about disrespecting his great grand father for calling him, "Obama Bin Ladin", Zhiad tries to console him, telling him that he was just probably tired and had a bad case of jet lag. "Cursed that Obama! why does he even have a name similar to my great grandfather Osama....." Sirha says in between sobs, "I hope his soul rotts in hell!....I'm just glad that Obama does not have the same name as my great grand uncle Saddam Hussein!....", suddenly Zhiad's eyes got bigger as he lifts up a finger to correct his master, but quickly decides that it was just better to stay silent for now.

         Meanwhile at the airport's arrival waiting area, there were two thugs who worked for the mob boss Richard Sambrolini who was paid by the terrorists to pick up Sirha and Zhiad and to drive them to their terrorist hideout in the city of San Francisco. Romy and Ruben were both in their late 40's and were ex convicts with a long criminal history of working for the mob. As they were waiting, Romy was holding up a cardboard sign with Sirha and Zhiad's names. They did not write the terrorists last names because they were aware that these two terrorists were in the FBI's most wanted list, "Are you sure you got the right flight number?...", Romy asks. Ruben looks around at the busy terminal as he says, "Of course I'm sure....They should be easy to spot.....They're probably dressed like Saudi Arabian sheiks or somethin', with a lot of cash in hand, I bet....", as they both sneer. Ruben quickly pulls out a picture of Sirha and Zhiad standing side by side together wearing their white tunics and white turbans on their heads, they were both smiling and were  both showing  a "thumbs up" gesture. "They should be here by now, their plane already landed twenty minutes ago....", Ruben says as Romy glances at the pretty women walking by.

           After another five minutes of waiting, they see Sirha and Zhiad who were disguised and dressed as women, descend from the escalator 40 feet away from them. Ruben gets excited as he says, "Romy, check out those two babes.....they look hot!....". Romy's eyes gets bigger as he responds, "I'll take the tall slender  blonde, and you can have the short voluptuous brunette....". Ruben rubs his hands together as he says, "It's a deal!....".

           After getting off the escalator, Sirha and Zhiad, looks around feeling lost, as people were passing  them by on their way to their respective flights. Scanning around and not knowing what to do,  "Are you sure someone's gonna pick us up Zhiad?...", Sirha asks with a worried look on his face. Besides his worry, he was also irritated from constant itching under his armpits, upper chest and upper back from the appearance of scattered eczema due to an allergic reaction he got from wearing a laced bra. Seeing his master scratch frequently, Zhiad reassuringly says, "Relax Master....We paid Richard Sambrolini a lot of money to supply us with his thugs, they'll be here...And Mr. Sambrolini also promised to deliver our nuclear bomb to our San Francisco hideout with no questions asked". Sirha nods then suddenly scoffs at Zhiad saying, "I still can't believe you forgot our briefcase in New York which had $20,000.00 cash, and instead you brought a spare make up kit....What is wrong with you?!...". Zhiad sighs, trying to contain his frustration then says, "But Master, what are we gonna do with the money if we get caught in New York's airport terminal anyway?....At that time, bringing an extra make up kit was the most sensible thing to do so that we don't blow our disguise.....". Zhiad glances at his Master and says, "Ahh!...look at your make up, it's a mess!....Let me clean your mascara and do a light touch up!...", Zhiad rolls out a red lipstick and tries to smear it on Sirha's lips but Sirha quickly starts pushing him away. As they struggled and  wrestled each other  for a few seconds, civilians who were passing them by looked annoyed at their childish behavior. Finally giving up his struggle to apply more make up on his master's face, Zhiad reassures his master saying, "Don't worry Master, I still have $50.00 loose change with me....After we get picked up by our chauffeur, we'll ask him to drive us to a local thrift store, and there you can buy men's clothes if you want to.....". Sirha looking dismayed stares at his minion and asks, "And what about you, aren't you gonna change?....". Zhiad looks down at his dress then responds, "Well, if I can find a slightly used knee length blue floral dress that looks good on me, then I'll go for it....". Zhiad smiles in anticipation.

          Sirha looks out and see's Ruben and Romy 35 feet away from them holding a sign with their names printed on it. "Look Zhiad, there's our chauffeurs.....They have a sign with our names on it....". But before Sirha could rush to meet their chauffeurs, Zhiad quickly grabs his arm and pulls him back saying, "Wait Master, this could be a trap....they might be agents of Homeland Security or the FBI....". Sirha thinks for a moment then says, "You're right Zhiad, maybe the authorities know we're here. But how can we know whether they're with the mob or FBI agents?....". Zhiad quickly opens up his make up kit and looks at his reflection from a small round mirror then starts powdering his nose, "This is were my special training as a highly trained terrorist comes in Master....You better stand back.....", Zhiad says, while trying to impress Sirha, "Just follow my lead....".

           As Sirha and Zhiad starts walking towards Romy and Ruben, The two thug's excited faces quickly turns sour, "Arghh!...", Romy grunts, "These women looks hideous!....", Ruben says. Glancing off and on at Sirha and Zhiad who were both smiling as they were walking towards the two thugs. Romy whispers saying, "Look at that tall blonde, she looks like something out of that movie called, "The Night Of The Living Dead", as they both chuckle. Ruben blurts out saying, "The short brunette ain't that bad.....except for her pot belly, she's got nice muscular arms and legs.....Looks like Miss Piggy on steroids!....", they both chuckle even louder. Romy then stares at Sirha who was closing in and says, "Ooooh!, the blonde's even smiling, she's got a missing front tooth....", Ruben quipps saying, "Just look at the gap between her front teeth, it's so wide that you can probably look down her throat from here....", they both chuckle once again.

       When Ruben and Romy finally realizes that Sirha and Zhiad were approaching them, they both got nervous and started to panic. "What are we gonna do, they're coming towards us?!...", Romy asks. Ruben looking frantic says, "I don't know, you think of something!...". As soon as they were all within an arm's length of each other, Zhiads says. "Hello, boys....Do you both come here often?....". Romy stutters, then nervously says, "Yo no habla English....por pabor Senora....". Sirha looking puzzled asks Zhiad, "What did he say?...". Zhiad taps his lips with a finger,  thinks for a few moments then shrugs his shoulders saying, "I don't know Master, I think he's speaking German.....". Zhiad stares at the cardboard sign then blinks a few times and with a seductive smile asks, "So are you boys here to pick us up?.....". The two thugs looked panic stricken as they answer saying, "Sorry Miss, but we're not into orgies....Actually we're both Eunuchs"...". Zhiad smiles saying, "Master, I think they're both one of a kind....". Sirha rolls his eyes then scowls at his minion saying, "You fool, he mean't "Eunuch" not "Unique"...". Sirha noticing that their appearance made the two thugs very uncomfortable finally decides to confess their true identities as he explains saying, "Actually, we're really both men dressing up as women, and we just really need a ride?....If you want we'll even give you our last $50.00". Romy suddenly drops the cardboard sign out of sheer fear as the two thugs starts backing away while Ruben nervously says, "Sorry Miss, we're not really into gay sex.....If you're that desperate, try calling 1-800-Gigolo...". Then in a split second, the two thugs were off running as fast as they could, as if they just saw a ghost. Sirha lifts his arms up in the air then sighs in frustration asking, "Now, what are we to do?!....". Zhiad thinks for a moment then asks, "Did he say 1-800 or 1-900-Gigolo...".

 (Macrostrength Industries Main Office, Treasure Island, San Francisco California, 10 am)

       Dr. Marcos had just arrived for a top secret meeting with CEO John Layer. After entering Mr. Layer's office, "What took you so long?!...", John Layer yells while inhaling smoke from his cigarette, "You better have everything planned perfectly this time....I don't want any mistakes, you hear?!...". Dr. Marcos shuddered as he grasps the thick binders he was carrying as cold beads of sweat starts forming on his forehead, "I..I..I understand Mr. Layer, I believe that this time our pla..pla..plan will be flawless...worked on it all night...sir...". John Layer reclines in his seat blowing more smoke towards Dr. Marcos which made the doctor cough a few times as he started detailing his plans on how they'll sabotage and kill Captain Chase Brassman during this mission. "First, I did what you told me to do Mr. Layer, I bribed General Morris with the $200,000.00 and he accepted it. He said that he'll make sure to make Captain Brassman's mission a "Suicide Mission". He's the highest Pentagon official present in Mission Control and no one can challenge his authority, not even Dr. Spain....".

             John Layer shows a sinister smile as he drums his fingers on his desk waiting for Dr. Marcos to continue reporting. "I was also able to switch the nuclear reactor fuel, taking out the "Thorium" that is more safer and produces less radioactive waste, and replaced it with "Uranium" which is a much more unstable, explosive and emits greater radioactive waste that can kill more people on a much larger scale than "Thorium".....which means that once we sabotage the Protector's nuclear reactor, not only will Captain Brassman die from radiation exposure, but he'll also inadvertently kill hundreds of thousands of innocent North Korean citizens making him a villain,  who also will be remembered in history as a mass murderer...". John Layer laughs loudly as he starts to enjoy the presentation. "Continue on doctor, I really like what I'm hearing...". Dr. Marcos starts pacing the floor with his hands inside his pockets feeling a gradual sense of confidence as he continues detailing his plans, "Now to sabotage the Protector's "Compact Nuclear Reactor Power Pack" I've secretly attached some explosives that will detonate the core reactor's robust containment compartment...just press the F1 key on your computer keyboard sir and an explosion will occur.....Next, I am aware that Dr. Spain had built in five emergency cooling systems that will keep the reactor's core temperature at 280 degrees celsius in case of an explosion, so our aim is to sabotage all five emergency cooling systems so that the reactor's core temperature rises, and once the temperature reaches 1,300 degrees celsius which will be hot enough to melt the uranium fuel rods, a nuclear meltdown will occur and penetrate through the three barriers of the compartment containment system, and once the melted uranium goes through the last barrier then radiation exposure will kill Captain Brassman and the hundreds of  thousands of North Koreans near him. But not only that,  the melted uranium will also produce hydrogen and steam inside the Protector's nuclear power pack which will create so much pressure that if it's not released will lead to an explosion also killing Captain Brassman and a quarter of North Korea's population....the explosion will be much greater than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic blasts...sir..".

        John Layer applauds loudly as Dr. Marcos takes a bow smiling at his boss. "Bravo...bravo...Dr. Marcos, I think you're not as dumb as I thought you were after all. Now, one last thing....I want you to inform North Korea's high command that the United States will be sending a "Manned Aerial Vehicle" to destroy their Central Nuclear Missile Command in Pyongyang, that way, they'll be aware and will be waiting to ambush the Protector once it passes through the North Korean airspace....Make sure that no one can trace your call!...". Dr. Marcos nods excitedly as John Layer asks once more, "Where is Captain Brassman right now?....". Dr. Marcos thinks for a minute then answers, "He's in an Air Force C-130 cargo plane heading towards South Korea for final preparations and debriefing, maybe about five hours away from Seoul...". John Layer quickly stands up and slams his hands on the table demanding, "I don't want him getting any help or final preparations!...Damn it!...tell General Morris to order him to fly off the plane and start his mission now, the more we keep him on the edge the better our chances will be in succeeding to rid him from this planet!....". Dr. Marcos feeling nervous once more replies, "Yes sir, I'll inform General Morris right away and inform North Korea about the Protector's top secret mission....". After Dr. Marcos leaves the office, John Layer lifts his feet up on his desk sneering as he lights up another cigarette.

        (Area 51: Top Secret US Air Force Installation, Southern portion of Nevada, 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas)

           Samantha's lear jet had just landed fifteen minutes ago, as Samantha with her four secret service agents and some of Admiral Rivera's military team together with CIA agent Lawrence Villes were being escorted by six US military policemen inside a two story building. They were to meet the scientists responsible for maintaining and operating the "ETM", or "Einstein's Time Machine". Unfortunately, Admiral Rivera had been called to attend high level military talks with NATO military leaders and could not join them.          During the flight to Area 51, Samantha tried desperately to contact Admiral Rivera due to Chase's dangerous mission, but the best she was able to do was to leave a message with Admiral Rivera's secretary asking him to call Samantha ASAP. Admiral Rivera's military team who were able to join Samantha were, Ensign Wright, Masterchief Cardenas and Captain O'bland.

          Samantha, with her bodyguards and the four men with her were ushered inside the building's main lobby, they were quickly met by two scientists wearing white lab coats. Dr. Kelvin Wang and Dr. Matthew Flores. Dr. Wang is an experimental physicist and Dr. Flores is an astrophysicist who both worked under the leadership of Dr. Jameson Edwards who is a theoretical physicist and holds a Phd in world history. After the introductions were done, Dr. Wang orders Samantha's four bodyguards to stay behind since they were not given authorization to proceed to other sensitive and secret areas of the facility.

        As the whole group proceeded to walk towards the lobby's main elevator area,  they all entered inside the elevator and as the doors closed, Ensign Wright quickly asks, "So is it true, you guys keep an alien flying saucer here?...", as he nervously smiles. Dr. Flores turns to him saying, "Yeah, do you guys wanna see it?....the President did grant you full clearance..." Everyone glanced at each other in silent anticipation like little children waiting for a surprise. Dr. Wang pressed the number five on the elevator's control panel which brought them down five levels below the surface. After they got out of the elevator, they had to pass through  five sets of security doors that were each guarded by military guards. As they were walking through security checks, Dr. Flores starts explaining the high level of security enforcement that surrounds the facility. "Area 51 is protected by radar stations, ", Dr. Flores says, "and any unauthorized personnel are quickly removed from the area. Even military pilots who are training within Area 51's air space are given disciplinary action....". After they passed through the last security door, they arrived at a well lighted place which the two scientists referred to as the, "Forbidden Area". The place was as wide as a basketball gymnasium with high ceilings. In the center of the place was a huge shiny silver colored metallic flying saucer. It was about thirty feet in diameter and was floating in the air twenty feet above the ground. Samantha and her companions were shocked and stunned at what they were seeing.

       There were over a hundred scientists wearing white lab coats and engineers wearing blue lab coats who were busy walking around the floating UFO, they were performing tasks and readings, each holding a computerized tablet for analyzing and entering data. They were walking all around and under the space alien ship. Steam intermittently vented out from under the ship, and on the side of the space ship was a semi circular hatch which was wide enough for humans to enter in and out. From inside the space ship's entrance emanated a combination of blinking red, yellow and blue lights, and from the ships doorway was a metallic silvery colored ladder where scientists climbed in and out of.

       As they all stood in awe of their first ever UFO experience, Masterchief Cardenas says, "So it is true, there really is a genuine alien space ship...". Samantha and her companions then notices that the two scientists were snickering behind them as Dr. Wang bursts laughing then says, "Yeah, there is, but this one's a fake....". Samantha and her companions suddenly looked confused as Dr. Flores says grinning, "This space ship you're looking at is a decoy.....we keep the real UFO someplace else....You see, because we keep "Einstein's Time Machine", five levels below us here a secret, we use this fake UFO here to justify the need to have maximum security in, around and under Area 51. We let the civilian population think that what we're protecting is this fake alien space ship, but the real reason for the tight security is to protect the time machine...".

          Dr. Wang continues explaining as he says, "What we're really doing is providing security to the "ETM" or "Einstein's Time Machine"....We're giving the public a false sense of perception. We want to make them think that it's the UFO that we're protecting and not the "ETM"....It's really just a clever game of deception....". Ensign Wright loudly asks, "But what about that technology we're looking at right now, that space ship is floating above the ground on it's own...the steam, the blinking lights from within the ship....all those scientists and engineers working around it?....". Dr. Wang chuckles then grabs a bull horn as he announces through it saying, "Ok everyone, you can go back to your work places now....". Suddenly all the people working in and around the space ship starts taking off their lab coats as they started joking around while they walked towards the nearest exits. Dr. Wang explains saying, "All these people were just role playing, some of them are security guards, office clerks, cafeteria workers, house keeping and maintenance workers..." Samantha and her group were all disappointed looking dismayed as Dr. Flores continues explaining, "Actually, the space ship is made of recycled thin aluminum sheet metal and is suspended by thin metal wires, If you come closer, you'll see the wires holding the fake UFO up to the ceiling....The steam coming off the ship are from fog machines, the same one's used during rock concerts. The different blinking lights flashing from inside the ship are disco lights, which I think are the original ones they installed from the 1970's, when disco dancing became a craze.....".

         Dr. Wang sigh's wiping of a smile, as he tries to minimize the foolishness of their deception, "This are all just fake props, "Dr. Wang reiterates, "It's all a role playing game, we do this in case an intruder gets through our security, which is really impossible....but you can never say never...". As the tour continued, Samantha and her companions stayed silent, glancing at each other feeling sheepish. Finally, after another elevator ride five levels below, they entered into a futuristic looking capsule that was as big as a mini van. The capsule was attached to tracks that was similar to a subway station. After a minute, they were on the move at an excess of over 100 miles per hour. Large multiple gates automatically opened and closed with timed precision as they passed through them.

       After reaching their final destination, they all entered a large chamber which was as spacious as a movie theater. There they saw three rows of computer terminals which were all operated by personnel wearing headsets. The place looked like NASA's mission control. After standing for a few seconds, they were approached by an African American man who was wearing a white lab coat, "Welcome", he says as he shakes everyone's hands....I know your trip here was somewhat tedious, but consider yourself lucky....you don't have to do this everyday....,Oh, by the way, I am Dr. James Edwards, but you can all call me "James"....". The head scientist then stared at Samantha as he says, "Miss Peters, you someday will be a very important figure in sustaining world peace and will have the power to prevent nuclear wars between nations....I'm glad that the President gave you this opportunity to understand this technology that Albert Einstein has developed and how it affects just not you, but all of us living in this planet....So let's all go to our small auditorium so I may enlighten  your minds and satisfy all your curiosities....".

    (Friday: 3 am, Korean time, 800 miles from the North Korean Coastline)

          "Captain Brassman, we're ready to start our pre flight diagnostic checks....", Chase answers back from his helmet's comlink as he replies, "Mission Control, isn't it a little to late for that?!.....I'm already flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet at a speed of 955 miles an hour, what else can go wrong at this time?...". The aerospace engineers, scientists and flight technicians who were all assembled at Macrostrength's Mission Control at Treasure Island's hanger bay 1 in San Francisco, were all listening to Captain Brassman's response as they were focusing on their individual computers while they were keeping track of the Protector's telemetry readings. "Chase, how are you doing, my friend...", Garfield asks. Chase wincing  silently in pain says, "Just not a hundred percent I guess, didn't get to eat my candy bar, and my back is kind'a bothering me.....By the way, what's with this IV saline lock on my right forearm anyway?....". Flight Surgeon Sherry Jonick responds, "That's so we can give you a shot of intravenous morphine, just in case your lumbar incision becomes too painful and intolerable....What's your pain level right now, from one to ten, ten being excruciating?". Chase still feeling weak responds, "Zero pain doctor!....", Chase lied, not wanting to show any signs of vulnerability.

            After a few seconds, he looks around at the dark moonless sky as he say's, "Nice time to be flying, it's pretty peaceful and quiet out here, calm seas and the only thing I can hear is the wind, I don't even feel any turbulence anymore....". Garfield grins as he says, "Don't let your surroundings fool you, things can change at a turn of a dime.....". Dr. Nick Castle who was Dr. Spain's second in command calls out saying, "Ok Captain Brassman, our engineers, technicians and scientists are all about done with your suit's diagnostics,... look  at the holographic text messages below your visor, are there any computer reports of damage?....". Chase glances at the bottom of his visor then replies, "Yeah, SAM's reporting that she detects a foreign and unidentified power source....". Dr. Spain who was the over all team leader of Mission Control replies, "That's  expected, your computer's referring to the nuclear energy your suit is using from the nuclear reactor that's in your compact power pack that you're carrying in your back, we actually had to take out the jet pack just to fit the reactor in....Unfortunately, we don't have a link between your suit's central computer system and your nuclear power source.....there was no time to upload it's nuclear safety protocols....". Chase suddenly felt a mild surge of worry and concern but quickly brushed it off. Garfield tried to change the topic to a more positive mood as he asks, "Hey Chase, all the people here at Mission Control are all puzzled why you're still using text messages when communicating with your computer's Artificial Intelligence, computer voice activation response is available you know....". Chase smiles as he answers saying, "I named my computer's artificial intelligence "SAM" to remind me of Samantha Peters every time I'm in this suit, and to hear a voice different from hers would sound....you know....just artificial..". There were indistinct chuckles from the mission control personnel.

             Dr. Orugah of Guidance then reports, "Ok, you're now 630 miles away from North Korea's coastline and 930 miles away from your target....", Dr. Spain looks at his wrist watch which showed it being close to 12 noon in San Francisco, he then stares at John Layers hangar bay office which was in a second story structure,  fifty yards away from where he was standing, knowing that John Layer and Dr. Marcos who had video and audio monitors were watching and listening to everything that was happening . Dr. Spain then glances at General Morris, feeling a sense of controlled anger and displeasure for ordering the Protector to fly out of the plane with no preparations. Dr. Spain quickly shakes off his disgust as he speaks to Chase on his comlink saying, "Captain Brassman, I'm sorry we didn't have time to familiarize you with the Protector Type C, but let me give you a quick run down....Because your power source is now from a compact nuclear reactor system, you won't have to worry about running out of fuel or energy.....Your force shield is at 500%, this is a substantial improvement from using solar and electrical energy to power your suit, although we've managed to keep those two sources of energy as back up power sources just in case something bad happens with your nuclear reactor.....Keep your primary shield on at all times and don't worry about using your offensive weapons, we don't want to expose your nuclear power source to any kind of damage from enemy fire power....Just think of the "2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that happened in Japan".

            Dr. Spain glances at Dr. Raul Eterna who leads weapons as he says, "Captain Brassman, on your belt are four explosive devices that looks like cell phones.....Once you reach North Korea's Central Nuclear Missile Command in Pyongyang, you have to penetrate inside their building and locate their "Control and Command" facility, just place all four explosives anywhere near their computer systems at a distance of  twenty yards apart, we will be the ones to arm them via remote control, and we'll give you two minutes to make your escape. Chase feels around his belt then answers, "Got it!...".

          Meanwhile, back in Area 51, Samantha and her companions were escorted inside a small auditorium where they took their seats together with Dr. Wang and Dr. Flores. Dr. Edwards stepped up on a small stage and stood behind a podium with a microphone attached to it. Being able to project his voice to his audience loud enough, he pushed the microphone aside, away from his face as he started speaking.

         "Let me start by telling you a short history of Albert Einstein's life before I tell you more about the time machine that he built...", Dr. Edwards explains as he rests his hands on top of the podium gently, "Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Germany.....He was a scientist who was a believer in God....A pacifist who hated war but would  be involved indirectly in war, at around fifteen or sixteen years of age, he was already thinking of the essence and theory of the speed of light.....As a young adult, he worked at a patent office in Switzerland, and it was around 1905 that he wrote his thesis on "Special Relativity". He  changed how people think of the universe, one of his theories was about the relationship of time and space which revolutionized how the world saw the universe. In his twenty's, he was already pondering about the theory of time travel, after receiving the Nobel prize for his work on photoelectric effect, he started to focus his research on time travel by researching the notion of the existence of wormholes. A wormhole is a shortcut through space and time, it's like a tunnel that connects two different periods of time and space. From his research on wormholes, he started to design how to build a time machine. Out of all his papers that he published, it's his paper on how to construct a time machine that was the only one that he kept to himself.

           After arriving in America in the 1930's, due to his hatred for the Nazis, he continued his secret research on time travel. But in 1939, when he found out that Germany was now closer to creating a nuclear bomb, Einstein knew that the destruction of the whole of humanity was now possible. The first thing he did was to write a letter to President Roosevelt suggesting to him that America should work on creating nuclear weapons to combat the Nazi's nuclear arms ambition. With the knowledge that in the future, nuclear arms will  proliferate which will eventually lead to nuclear wars between nations and the end of human life on earth, this gave him a deep sense of guilt, he specially despised the fact that his famous formula, "E=MC squared", would be used as the basis for nuclear fission which will lead to the creation of nuclear bombs.  He also detested the public image he got, being called "The Father of the Atomic Bomb".

           Feeling a deep sense of obligation, he knew that there was no way to prevent nuclear wars between  nations  in the future, but maybe it was possible to undo nuclear wars by using a time machine. In a secret meeting with President Roosevelt, he explained to the President that the best way to combat a nuclear attack was not to prevent it, but to undo it. He said that he wants to build  a time machine to send messages back in time, to warn and inform the government in the past when, where and how to stop a nuclear attack from happening, thus changing the course of time and preserving the fate of the human race. it was a way to undo nuclear wars.

         President Roosevelt was intrigued and took Albert Einstein off the "Manhattan Project", so he could secretly work on building his time machine. To prevent suspicion from the press, the government released a spin coverage informing the public that Einstein was not qualified to work on the "Manhattan Project", because he was German and was a security threat. This gave Einstein a way to work on developing his time machine without being hounded by the press or the public.

        We are not clear on when the time machine was completed...We think that it was just before we dropped the atomic bombs on "Hiroshima" and "Nagasaki". The government found an old letter from Einstein addressed to President Truman, asking the President to use the time machine for the first time, to send a message to the past, asking to cancel the atomic bomb attacks on Japan. It's also rumored that President Truman decided not to reverse the atomic bomb droppings on "Hiroshima", and "Nagasaki", telling Einstein that the atomic bomb blasts in Japan will serve as an example, warning and a deterrent to all nations of future generations to show the destructive, lethal nature of nuclear weapons, also to instill fear to all world leaders making them think before they release nuclear weapons...".

        Dr. Edwards clears his throat as he continues his presentation to his audience, "Now let me tell you about  "Wormholes" and "Time Travel", but before I go there let me first explain what the public knows about Einstein's publicized research on "Wormholes".....Albert Einstein's "General Relativity" laws makes it possible for wormholes to be a reality. At around 1930, Albert Einstein and his physicist friend Nathan Rosen came up with the mathematical equation for creating a wormhole. Their math equation was eventually known as the "Einstein-Rosen Bridge", it was a hypothetical formula of how a "Wormhole" can be created by connecting different parts of space and time....A wormhole is a tool for travelling through space and time, it's like a subway station, and the train is the message that gets carried from the present to the past or from the past to the future. The problem with "Wormholes" are they are very unpredictable and unstable, they can collapse right away...".

       Dr. Edwards glances at his audience briefly then continues saying, "In order to stabilize a "Wormhole" and keep it from collapsing, the use of "Negative Matter" is needed, which works just like how a building's columns hold up a ceiling , preventing it from collapsing to the floor. Or in medicine, how doctors use a stent to keep blood flowing through an artery. Albert Einstein was able to accomplish two things that he kept secret and is still unknown to our world's scientific community. The first was that he was able to open up a "Wormhole", and the second amazing thing he accomplished was discovering "Exotic Matter", which emits "Negative Energy",  which is needed to stabilize and keep a "Wormhole" open and traversable at all times.".

      Dr. Edwards starts to pace the floor placing his hands behind his back as he says, "Therefore, the "ETM" is not really a time machine but more of a "Wormhole Stabilizing Machine". It generates the right amount of "Negative Energy" that gets emitted from the "Exotic Matter" and spreads it evenly across the inner surface of a "Wormhole" to prevent it from collapsing. The good thing about Einstein's invention is that the "ETM" is impossible to duplicate or replicate. In order to duplicate the machine, it first needs to be turned off and opened, and in turning it off, the "Exotic Matter" will be hindered from emitting it's negative energy which will result in the collapse and disappearance of the wormhole. We're not even sure whether the exotic matter will remain in the "ETM" or be swallowed up by the wormhole as it collapses....". Dr. Edwards sighs then gently taps his knuckle on the podium as he says, "Ok, now are there any questions from our dear guests?....".

     Samantha raises her hand as Dr. Edwards points to her, "You said that the purpose of the "ETM" is to undo a nuclear holocaust, but what about the possibility of decreasing it's occurrence...". Dr. Edwards looked puzzled at Samantha's question as she explains, "What I mean is, how about sending a message to the past to the right leaders that can sustain world peace and encourage them to run for office, for example, send a message to the late Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to run for President in the year 2016....with her extensive knowledge and experience in having deep diplomatic relations with nations around the world, she would be the  person who could prevent nuclear wars between nations and can enhance world peace,  which will eventually lead to less use of the "ETM"....I can only imagine that just like any machine the less you use the "ETM" the less chance it breaks down, the longer you can extend it's life...".

     Dr. Wang interjects saying, "So it's like preventive medicine, like getting a flu vaccine which is cheaper than taking the risk of acquiring the flu which will lead to having to see a doctor which is time consuming, buying antibiotics which can be costly and loosing salary income from lost man hours from being away from work....". Samantha nods saying, "Exactly....". Dr. Edwards shook his head saying, "Your idea has merits Miss Peters, but unfortunately, the decision to send messages to the past rests on our "Time Changers". Captain O'bland blurts out asking, "Time Changers?!..."

     Dr. Flores decides to address the question saying, "Time Changers are composed of a representative from each branch of the government. For the Executive, it's the President, for the Judicial it's one of the US Supreme Court Judges and for the Legislative, it's either a US senator or congressman....the selection is done by us scientists here at the ETM lab, and is kept with utmost secrecy. So in order to send a message to the past, two out of the three "Time Changers" have to give a "Yes" vote. That is why, when the late President Richard Nixon wanted to undo the "Watergate", scandal by sending a message to himself in the past, the two other "Time Changers", voted "No", which eventually resulted in his resignation from the Presidency of the United States....".

     Masterchief Cardenas asks, "What about John F. Kennedy's assassination, how come you guys did not warn him of it when you had sent a message to the past informing his administration of the Cuban Missile Holocaust which they were able to reverse?....". Dr. Flores answers, saying "Due to our inability to identify the true perpetrators of his assassination, it was risky to send him a warning, knowing that his eventual murderers could actually be part of his administration together with their collaborators in the intelligence community. We were afraid that if our message fell into the wrong hands that they'll not only assassinate President Kennedy but also come after the "ETM".....and having the "ETM" in the wrong hands could be disastrous to the fate of mankind....".

          Meanwhile, near the North Korean coastline, "Captain Brassman, you're crossing over North Korean airspace, decrease your altitude to 12,000 feet", Dr. Guzman of Control announces, "and lower your speed down to 700 knots, Dr. Hali-lee of "Wings" is sensing some instability to your left wing's aileron, we just hope it's nothing too serious, over and out...". Chase glances to his left staring at his left wing, when all of a sudden, red dots starts to appear on his visor's holographic radar system. "Do you guys see that?...", Chase quickly asks, "We've got multiple bogey's 4,000 yards and closing, twelve o'clock high, altitude 10,000 feet", Dr. Orugah of Guidance reports, "Looks like North Korean jet fighters with a mixture of "UAV's"...".      
          In less than a minute, more enemy jet fighters starts appearing in the Protector's radar. "Mission Control, I've got more bogeys, from my left, right and behind me....looks like someone informed them that I was paying them a visit....". Suddenly a missile hits the Protector head on as he tumbles through the skies, "I'm hit!...I'm hit!....". Garfield nervously stands up from his seat asking, "Are you Ok, Chase?!....". Chase grimaces then say's, "I'm Ok, the blast didn't hurt, my shield's holding up great,  but I must have twisted my back, pain's a little worse now....Why didn't SAM pick up that missile on her radar?....". Dr. Forteza of Defense answers, "It's got to be a stealth missile they're using!....". Flight Surgeon Dr. Jonick asks, "What's your pain level Captain Brassman?!, I need to know!....", but there was no answer. "Looks like an ambush!...", Garfield whispers to himself.

           "Captain Brassman, continue on with your mission", General Morris announces through his comlink, "Destroy all enemy aircraft that gets in your way!...". As the Protector continues it's heading towards it's intended target, the amount of enemy aircraft in flight between him and North Korea's missile command doubles to about forty war planes. In less than a minute, the aerial dogfight starts. Enemy aircrafts starts attacking by shooting their guns at the Protector. Chase flinches for a second then starts zig zagging through the air. The Protector starts by grabbing an enemy aircraft, as it breaks off one of it's wings, then zooms through the skies, it reverses course as it slams into another aircraft.

           The aerospace engineers, rocket scientists and flight technicians were all astonished at the power, speed and agility of the Protector. They were impressed that most of the Protector's telemetry readings were close to perfect without any signs of major damage to the Protector. With the Protector's force shield at 500%, he was invincible. By the time the other enemy jets and UAV's had arrived on the scene, there were close to 150 enemy aircrafts that the Protector was battling against. Chase glances at his visor's holographic radar and see's hundreds of red dots moving around which looked like an army of ants feasting on a dead fly. "BOOM!..", the Protector blocks a missile with his arms as it explodes right in front of him.

         The Protector then quickly banks sharply and grabs an enemy jet fighter by it's tail as he jostles with it in the air, the Protector then punches a hole in it's fuselage, pushing it away as the enemy jet spins out of control. With no time to waste,  SAM's radar warning light flashes as the Protector spins around and punches a UAV as it blows up in front of him. Even though the Protector was outnumbered 200 to one, Chase still made sure to give the North Korean pilots a chance to bail out before he obliterates the enemy aircrafts, being well aware that these pilots were just doing their jobs and had families to go home to.

         After fifteen minutes of aerial dogfighting, the Protector was able to incapacitate 24 more enemy jets and 42 more UAV's. As the Protector darts across the sky trying to reach his intended target, enemy aircrafts kept on shooting their guns and missiles at him as he eludes them by rolling, banking, diving and spiraling away from enemy fire. But just when Chase thought that he had the upper hand, John Layer decides that it was time to sabotage the Protector's compact nuclear reactor power pack. And as soon as the Protector rams into an enemy jet fighter, John Layer in his office simultaneously presses the F1 key on his computer which detonates the explosive device inside the Protector's,  "Reactor Containment Compartment". Chase felt a sudden jolt on his upper back which was as if he got hit by a baseball. Unsure of what happened, the Protector stops and hovers in the air as he starts to evade multiple missiles and gun fire that buzzed by him. "Mission Control, what's going on?!....", Chase asks.

        There was sudden chaos in Macrostrength's Mission Control as Dr. Cueto who supervises the nuclear reactor readings shouts, "Dr. Spain, our nuclear reactor containment compartment just exploded!...". Dr. Spain quickly runs towards Dr. Cueto's computer station as he orders, "Stop the reactor now....activate the control rods!...quickly!..". And as the nuclear reactor stops operating, Dr. Spain follows up his order saying, "Turn on the Emergency back up generator, let's switch from nuclear power to electric power....We can't use solar power yet at this time......". And as the Protector's source of energy switches from nuclear to electric power, Chase quickly feels the decrease in strength and power of his exoskeletal suit. Dr. Castle who was the second in command quickly announces to Chase that the Protector's nuclear reactor was severely damaged probably from the collision the Protector had with an enemy aircraft, not knowing that it was sabotaged by John Layer.

        As the engineers, scientists and technicians at Mission Control were trying to regain control of the Protector's damaged nuclear reactor, enemy fire was increasing as more enemy aircrafts were reaching the battle zone. The Protector cris crosses with lightning speed as he was about 200 miles away from the enemy's Central Nuclear Missile Base, but this time, as more missiles and gun fire hits him, his main power and shield strength starts to drastically decrease. "Boom...Boom", the Protector gets hit with two successive missiles as he tumbles through the skies once more, "Ahh!", Chase groans in pain as the missile hit causes his lower back incision to open up as blood starts to ooze out. Chase was stunned feeling dizzy and unable to focus on piloting the Protector, "Pain, ten!...", Chase yells out as Flight Surgeon Jonick picks up on the hurting pilot as she orders one of the SPIDERRS to give Chase a four milligram IV morphine shot through his IV saline lock. "That's to take the edge off Captain Brassman...".

          Meanwhile, back at Area 51, "In the next decade, we will be anticipating nuclear wars by different nations which were told to us by our future government in the year 2286...", Dr. Edwards explains, "And you Miss Peters will be crucial in preventing these nuclear holocausts from happening. It's not enough that you are able to offer cancer cures to leaders of nations, it's also important for you to become a US Senator to be able to use some political leverage during future diplomatic peace negotiations....". Dr. Edwards glances over towards CIA agent Lawrence Villes then says, "In the very near future, your close friend Chase Brassman will become America's first ever real superhero, and by marrying him, his popularity as a superhero will catapult you straight into a US senate seat...". CIA agent Villes continues saying, "The whole intelligence community is aware about your, "On again, off again", relationship with Grey, and we all know about his addiction to pornography and his sex tape that's circulating out in the world wide web.....And if you decide to marry Grey, with all his negative attributes, you won't stand a chance of becoming a US Senator someday which could increase the risk of nuclear wars between nations and the eventual end of civilization as we know it....".

           Samantha felt down cast, as she looked down towards her feet. She finally realizes one of the reasons why she and Grey can't and won't get married in the future. Noticing her dejected demeanor, Dr. Edwards says, "We're not telling you who to marry Miss Peters, we're just telling you what will happen in the future, depending on the decisions you make about your personal life.....In the future, you did choose to marry Captain Chase Brassman, nobody forced you....The best thing is to take one day at a time and let events in your life unfold as time passes by...". Feeling emotional, Samantha blurts out saying, "Just wish my mom's here, this is a time when I need her advice the most....".

          Dr. Edwards sighs as he stares at Samantha's sad facial expression as he says, "Well there's a good chance she will be, didn't your dad tell you?...", Samantha looked up with a puzzled look saying, "Huh?!...". Dr. Edwards excitedly explains to Samantha that Dr. Peters had made a deal with the "Time Changers", to invest twenty billion dollars of his money to research and develop a "Large Hadron Collider", below the Nevada desert which will have the same effect as the "ETM", and in return, the "Time Changers", will let Dr. Peters use the "ETM" to send a message to his earlier self in the past, informing himself to be vigilant about his wife's health. The plan is for his earlier self to monitor, diagnose, catch and treat the cancer sickness thereby saving her life....Which will automatically bring Samantha's mother into existence....". Dr. Edwards thought that this information would excite Samantha but it just made Samantha more upset, unaware that her dad made this decision without talking to her about it first, "What about the cancer cure that dad invented", Samantha pondered, "If  mom lives and never gets cancer, would dad still research  cancer's cure?...". The thought of bringing her mom back to life suddenly opened a new can of worms in her mind as she looks up at the doctor asking, "Didn't you say that the primary directive of the "ETM" is to reverse nuclear holocausts, then how could this be?....".

         Dr. Edwards explains that the decision was above him and it was the "Time Changers", who approved this deal. Their reasoning was that the money Dr. Peters was investing in the creation of a "Large Hadron Collider", which they hope will be a newer type of time machine still does fall under the guidelines of their prime directive which will be to reverse nuclear holocausts. Then before Samantha could ask another question, her cell phone rings and seeing that it was Garfield calling, she answers it quickly, "Hey! what's up, any news from Chase?!....". Garfield's voice sounded erratic as he tells Samantha that Chase is in grave danger and might not make it through his mission, he then tells Samantha that it is imperative that she gets a hold of Admiral Rivera and that they proceed to Macrostrength's Mission Control ASAP. Samantha quickly hangs up the phone and calls the Admirals phone but there was no answer. As everyone was watching Samantha panic, CIA Villes quickly makes a phone call ordering some of his CIA agents to go to the Admiral's meeting place and to physically take him and drive him to Macrostrength's Mission Control.

         Meanwhile, back near North Korea's coastline, the Protector dodges one, then a second missile and as he spirals in the air gets hit by a third missile as he tumbles across the sky, Macrostrength engineers, scientists and technicians were in total chaos and totally disorganized from the barrage of bombardments the Protector was absorbing. "Dr. Spain, the reactor meltdown has now penetrated through the second barrier of the reactor containment compartment, if it goes through the third one, the radiation will kill Captain Brassman...", Dr. Spain nods as he turns towards another engineer, "The last missile hit to the Protector's left elbow caused damage to the left rotary hydraulic actuator and a loosening of the left elbow joint's torque...". Dr. Spain yells asking, "Whats our main power and primary shield readings?!....". An engineer answers saying, "Main electrical power at 84% and shields holding steady at 94% doctor....". Chase yells while dodging more enemy fire, "Can I get another shot of morphine?!...". Flight surgeon Jonick responds, "I'm ordering one of the SPIDERRS to give you another four milligrams right now!...". Then another scientist yells "Doctor Spain, reactor temperature is starting to increase again, it's up to 876 degrees celcius, it seems that our second emergency reactor safety system has been damaged, the solar power generator has stopped spraying coolant inside the reactor, we also have some steam and hydrogen buildup which can lead to an explosion if we don't vent it out!...". Dr. Spain wipes off sweat beads from his forehead as he says, "Activate the reactor's third emergency safety system, lets hope that our "Electric Steam Condenser" has not been damaged and can lower the reactor's temp. And there's nothing we can do with the gas buildup right now, the only way to release this gas pressure is by turning off the Protector's shield....and we can't do that while he's under attack!....".

              And as the Protector was being challenged by hundreds of enemy jet fighters and UAV's from all direction, Dr. Spain requests General Morris to order the Protector to attempt an escape. General Morris curses at Dr. Spain telling him that the Protector needs to complete his mission or die trying. Then after a few more hits to the Protector, the attack temporarily ceases as all aircrafts starts pulling away leaving the Protector hovering in the air. "What's happening?...", Chase asks. Everyone at Mission Control watches as all enemy aircrafts starts to fly around the Protector in a clockwise direction. "They're encircling you, Chase....remember the "Battle of Bighorn?"....Custer's last stand?...". Chase gasps as he says, "Now I know how General Custer must have felt just before he and his men got slaughtered...". Everyone in Mission Control were now dismayed and angry at General Morris for ordering Chase to continue what appears to be a suicide mission.

           And as the Protector was watching the hundreds of planes flying around him, one of the Mission Control satellite technicians reports saying, "Dr. Spain, North Korean military forces are all gathering around their Central Nuclear Missile Command, they've just moved artillery, tanks, surface to air missile systems and  have drawn up their battle lines to defend against the Protector....they also have around fifty attack helicopters circling around the nuclear missile facility. "This is hopeless!...", Garfield shouts as General Morris ignores Major Powers comment. He then orders the Protector to advance towards North Korea's heavily guarded missile facility. Chase feeling battered and bruised takes a deep breath but before charging towards his final destination says, "Can someone just please let Sam Peters know that I love her very much?....".

            There was complete radio silence for a few seconds, then suddenly everybody  hears Samantha's voice on their comlink say, "I'm here Chase and nothing's gonna happen to you!...". And before General Morris could figure out what was happening, out from the shadows of the hanger bay came out Admiral Rivera saying, "I've heard and seen enough!....", as everyone looks his way. Admiral Rivera then approaches General Morris saying, "General Morris, I'm relieving you of your command as chief liason and charging you with high treason for using nuclear energy without proper authorization from me, the President of the United States and the Federal and State nuclear regulatory agencies. Admiral Rivera then asks two of his military guards to take General Morris to the nearest military base and to throw him in the brig. "I'm here Chase, Samantha yells as she speaks through a clear communication connection from her lear jet to Macrostrength's Mission Control.

          In the meantime,  John Layer cringes in anger as he see's Admiral Rivera take over Mission Control, Dr. Marcos reassures him that, it is too late for the Protector to make it out alive, reminding Mr. Layer that US forces are not allowed to enter North Korea's 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone to rescue the Protector. John Layer then smiles and realizes that America does respect a nations sovereignty not like Nazi Germany who invaded Poland, Russian government who invaded Crimea and Communist China who invaded islands of the Philippines that were within the Philippines 200 mile exclusive economic zone.

        "Dr. Spain, I'm giving you full control of this mission, "Admiral Rivera announces, "What's the status of the Protector and what's the best course of action for us to take?...". Dr. Spain, wipes the sweat off his forehead as he starts giving details of the mission, "Admiral, the Protector's situation is dire, our biggest problem right now is the Protector's nuclear reactor meltdown, if this meltdown penetrates through the third and last core compartment containment system, we will have a massive radiation leak, Captain Brassman and hundreds of thousands of North Koreans will die from radiation exposure, we need to ask the North Korean government to let the Protector escape before a quarter of their citizens perish from radiation exposure....". Admiral Rivera briefly closes his eyes and massages his temples then says, "We can't let them know that the Protector is nuclear powered, they'll think that we just sent a "Nuclear Suicide Bomber", to destroy their country....it will lead to an all out nuclear war doctor....". Dr. Spain speaks nervously saying, "We need to do something soon, all of our five emergency cooling systems except for our third one are all malfunctioning, which does not surprise me, given the fact that there were no field tests done to these systems before they were installed in the Protector's compact nuclear power pack.....The temperature inside the core is gradually increasing, it's at 978 degrees celcius right now and once it reaches 1,300 degrees, the core's meltdown will penetrate through the last core containment barrier which will release radiation waste and hydrogen gas and steam which can lead to an explosion as strong as an atomic bomb.

        "Solutions?!....", Admiral Rivera yells around asking for ideas from all the engineers, scientists and technicians sitting by their computer stations, "The only way we can prevent a nuclear catastrophe is by going under water", a nuclear engineer suggests, " we can cool the core compartment by filling it with sea water, that's what they did to the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan, then once the Protector is under water, we can shut down it's primary shields and vent out the gas buildup which will decrease the pressure inside the reactor preventing a nuclear explosion....". Dr. Spain nods then adds, "Fill the compartment with nitrogen gas first, we don't want the hydrogen buildup in the compartment system mixing with oxygen from the atmosphere, it will lead to an instant explosion....".

        Meanwhile, as Chase hovers in the air  watching the hundreds of enemy jet fighters and UAV's flying around him, the order was quickly given for him to escape and head towards the ocean and dive under the sea. In an instant, the Protector darts across the sky with his arms fully stretched out and his fists pointing towards the horizon. Fast moving enemy aircrafts were in quick pursuit, shooting their guns and firing their missiles aimed at the Protector. He "zooms" through the skies rolling and dodging most enemy fire but was hit a few times, "Ahh!...", Chase grunts as another missile hits his upper back, but this time, Chase just bites his lower lip as he grimaces refusing to ask for any intravenous pain medication. "Dr. Spain, main power is down to 79%", a technician reports, "force shields at 82% and dropping", Dr. Spain nods then hears another technician say, "We've got multiple damages, the posterior sacroiliac pulse generator just got fried and the clavicular pulse micro controller was smashed from that missile hit!....this could eventually lead to a systematic sensory malfunction", Dr. Spain remains calm and collect ignoring the non essential damage reports, with the knowledge that the SPIDERRS can repair them at a later time, as he focuses more on the Protector's ability to successfully evade and escape his pursuers. "Doctor, I'm sensing damage to the right femoral arterial servo valves, loss of function to the right lower exoskeletal limb hydraulic actuator is imminent!....". Dr. Spain calmly responds saying, "It's ok, as long as we are up flying, I'm more concerned with our central hydraulic systems, someone give me a status report!....".  An aerospace engineer shows a thumbs up saying, "We've got normal readings from the mid sternal hydraulic drives doctor!...".

           After five minutes of twisting and turning in a desperate attempt to evade enemy missiles and gunfire, the Protector finally reaches the ocean and quickly dives under the sea as the North Korean military starts to deploy multiple mini-submarines and deep sea divers in an attempt to locate the Protector for capture, dead or alive.

          At a depth of 3,000 feet, the Protector was able to find refuge inside an underwater cave. He was about twenty five miles from the North Korean coast as hundreds of enemy scuba divers and mini submarines started patrolling the area in a search and destroy mission trying to locate the Protector. After a short rest, Chase turns off his primary shield  as cold water quickly rushes and penetrates into his flight suit which makes Chase shiver, "How are you doing there buddy?...", Garfield asks, "I'm freezing...can you guys make this quick so I can activate my primary shields again?...". Dr. Spain replies, "We're venting out  radioactive gas build up from your reactor's power pack as I speak, this will prevent a dangerous explosion, unfortunately, this radioactive waste is detrimental to sea life... At the same time, we're starting to inject sea water into your nuclear reactor's containment vessel which is now starting to lower it's core's temperature to a safe level...".  After a few minutes, Chase was given the go ahead signal to activate his primary shields again which drained out the freezing water inside his suit. While all of the personnel at Mission control were evaluating the Protector's general condition, Samantha takes the time to encourage Chase, and even though she felt torn between her feelings for Chase and Grey, she tells Chase to stay strong and not to give up, even  promising him of a wonderful life that they'll be sharing together in the future. As hurt and weak as Chase was, Samantha's words invigorates Chase as his will to survive is re-energized.

        Dr. Spain suddenly yells, "Ok, everybody, give me a full status and damage report...". Flight Surgeon Jonick starts saying, "Captain Brassman's surgically operated lumbar incision had ruptured, I'm having one of the SPIDERRS  due a wet to dry dressing for now, he's starting to show signs of systemic infection, he's got elevated WBC's, got fever and chills and continued pain to the site. I've started him on some IV antibiotics and IV fluids for rehydration and we'll manage his pain as best we can, but the thing he really needs is to rest....". Dr. Spain nods as a robotics engineer takes his turn to report saying, "We've got multiple exoskeletal damage, starting with a short circuit to the right thoracic sensori neural drive. This could decrease the flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic pump...". Dr. Spain thinks for a few seconds then suggests, "Try resetting hydraulic flow by bypassing the upper abdominal pressure regulator, then let me know if the readings improve...". another engineer reports saying, "We've got readings of decreasing power to the left lower exoskeletal limb, I'm having the other SPIDERRS check it for a left arterial pressure control hose impingement and we need to scan it for a hydraulic fluid leak...". Dr. Spain leans forward on a computer station as he nods in approval. "Ok people!, I need suggestions on how we can get Captain Brassman back home safely....". There were indistinct murmurs from all of the Macrostrength personnel.

         After about thirty minutes, while enemy divers and mini submarines were scouring the area in search for the Protector, Dr. Spain and his staff of scientists, engineers and technicians together with the support of Admiral Rivera and Samantha had finally reached the only decision they could come up with. Their plan was to have the Protector blast out into space then detach himself from the compact nuclear reactor power pack that was attached to his back. This will prevent any chance of further radiation exposure to the environment and to the people of North Korea. Even though they had tons of calculations, system checks and repairs that needed to be made, they knew that time was of the essence. Their goal was for the Protector to release it's nuclear power pack when in space then attempt to reach the International space station. But their main dilemma was whether the Protector's rocket boosters and main propulsion systems were powerful enough, unsure whether there was enough energy and fuel for the Protector to travel 3,000 miles in order to reach the space station. They were also aware that with every minute that they waste, was more energy and fuel that was being spent which could prevent the Protector from succeeding, which added more pressure into acting on their decision sooner than later.

          "The best we can do right now is to save energy", Dr. Castle suggests, "by turning off most of his sensory, motor and robotic systems except for "Navigation", "Rocket Systems" and "Life Support"....We can increase his chance of reaching the space station....We do need to activate the suits "Depressurization system", to keep Captain Brassman safe from the hazards of space....there's about 6,000 tons of space debris and satellite shrapnel orbiting the earth...". Dr. Spain asks, "Will his life support hold?...". An aerospace engineer responds, "He's got two hours worth of breathable oxygen, the whole trip should be about 45 minutes, he won't run out of air...".

          But before Dr. Spain finalizes his decision for the Protector to escape by blasting off into space, he calls Admiral Rivera into a secret meeting. Walking outside the hangar bay, Dr. Spain confides to Admiral Rivera the possibility of a mole within their midst. From the time that the Protector was ambushed to Dr. Spain's recent discovery of their computer's analysis showing melted uranium and not thorium that was present in the Protector's nuclear power pack compartment. Dr. Spain explains that someone switched the nuclear fuel from "Thorium", which was a more stable and a safer nuclear fuel into "Uranium" which was more  dangerously  hazardous, unstable and volatile. Dr. Spain then tells Admiral Rivera that there was only two people who could have switched the nuclear fuel cells and that was either Dr. Castle, his second in command or Dr. Marcos, his supervisor. Dr. Spain and Admiral Rivera then devises a plan on how to get the Protector to safety with the knowledge of a mole in their midst.

          Meanwhile, in John Layer's office, Dr. Marcos was starting to feel increased stress due to the frustration his boss was feeling, "What are we gonna do now?!....I was expecting Brassman to be dead by now so that I can see the look on Samantha Peters face!....". Dr. Marcos typing in his computer answers, "He'll be dead soon Mr Layer, I promise....I'm sending an e-mail right now to the North Korean high command of the exact location where the Protector is hiding under water, I'm also informing them of Dr. Spain's plan of having the Protector blast off into space to detach itself from his compact nuclear power pack and to reach the safety of the International space station.....I'm sending the North Korean military the Protector's flight plans and the flight path he will take so that the North Korean jet fighters can intercept the Protector and shoot it down...". John Layer lights up a cigarette and inhales it's smoke as he asks, "How do I know your plan will work this time?!....". Dr. Marcos grins then says, "Well sir, from Mission Control's calculations, they won't have enough power and fuel for the Protector to reach the space station which is about 3,000 miles away.....their only last option is to turn off the Protector's primary shields in order to transfer that energy into their rocket boosters for the Protector to reach the space station. But once the Protector blasts off without the protection of it's force shields, all the North Korean enemy jets will be waiting to shoot him down....". John Layer blows smoke towards Dr. Marcos face making the doctor cough as he says, "This better work for your own good, doctor!....".

         "Dr. Spain, sonar shows enemy submarines and deep sea divers heading towards the Protector's location", a sonar technician says, " I think they know the Protector's hideout...". Dr. Spain and Admiral Rivera eerily glances at each other knowing that all their computer data, and plans were all being seen and heard by Dr. Marcos who they suspect is the mole in their operation. Dr. Spain asks, "How far are they, and how much time do we have?....". The sonar technician replies, "they're about 300 yards and closing, about 15 minutes away....". Dr. Spain looks to another aerospace engineer and says, "Contact NASA and inform them of our flight plan, tell them to have their mission control sync in with ours, once the Protector's in space, they have to guide the Protector's path perfectly towards the international space station, any miscalculations and we'll loose Captain Brassman in space....". The engineer nods as a radar technician takes his turn to report, "Admiral Rivera, the Seventh Fleet is closing in, led by our US Navy Carrier, the "Barack Obama", they're within 400 miles off the North Korean coast....".  Admiral Rivera nods as he and Dr. Spain glances at each other hoping that their secret plan to mislead the mole in their midst will lead to Captain Brassman's escape to safety.

         Dr. Spain then announces loudly, "Ok, ladies and gentlemen, enemy divers and subs are closing in, we need to get the Protector launched into space, Ok, turn off shields and transfer all remaining power into the rocket boosters, this should give the Protector enough power to reach the space station...." Dr. Castle speaks into his comlink, "Captain Brassman, are you ready for take off?....". The Protector stands up from a sitting position then heads towards the under water cave's entrance as Chase grimaces in pain then say's, "Ready as can ever be....". Suddenly, the Protector's primary shields turns off as cold water surges through Captain Brassman's flight suit, as he once again starts to shiver from the freezing sea water. Dr. Spain says, "Captain Brassman, we've set your flight path straight to the space station, but once you reach the ionosphere, NASA's Mission Control engineers and rocket scientists will take over in assisting you when to detach yourself from the  compact nuclear reactor power pack and they will direct you towards the international space station....". Chase crosses his fingers, sighs deeply then say's, "Got it!...".

       And just before they start the countdown for the Protector's launch into space, Admiral Rivera had an aerospace engineer tap into a US space satellite as it takes photos of hundreds of North Korean jet fighters flying around the Protector's flight path to space. They were all within an altitude of 30,000 to 40,000 feet waiting to ambush the Protector. As Admiral Rivera see's the concentration of enemy aircrafts waiting to shoot down the defenseless Protector, Admiral Rivera and Dr. Spain glances and nods at each giving the "go ahead" signal to go forward with their secret plan. After a ten second countdown, the Protector initiates his launch, Chase starts to feel his rocket boosters hum with energy, and after a second, a burst from his rocket boosters shoots him upwards towards the water's surface leaving a trail of bubbles behind him, and after a few seconds, he blasts off from sea, flying vertically. Dr. Spain quickly yells into his comlink, "Captain Brassman!, switch to auto pilot now!....". Chase was suddenly surprised as he quickly orders SAM to activate his "Auto pilot" system, and in a split second, the Protector banks into a different direction and flies horizontally towards a pre determined set of coordinates which leads him towards the US Navy carrier "Barack Obama". Everyone in Mission Control was shocked specially John Layer and Dr. Marcos who were fooled into believing that the Protector was flying towards space where it's path was filled with North Korean fighter jets that were all waiting to ambush the Protector.

          After the Protector lands safely on the flight deck of the carrier, "Barack Obama", Navy sailors wearing radiation deterrent suits, detaches the Protector's compact nuclear power pack and secures it in a radiation proof alloy box for proper nuclear waste disposal. In the meantime, John Layer screams with utmost hate and fury then quickly grabs the computer monitor in order to throw it at Dr. Marcos face but when he pulled on it, it would not budge. John Layer did not realize that Dr. Marcos had the computer monitor bolted down to the table, to prevent John Layer from using it as a projectile against him if their plans to kill Captain Brassman fails. And before John Layer realizes this fact, Dr. Marcos was long gone, running for his life.
(End of Chapter)