Chapter Thirty - Moon

Chapter Thirty

Moon

          Having super hearing has its advantages. The Defender heard the S.W.A.T. team coming way before they got into position. He managed to get Misty, her daughters, and Joe out of the house via the back door to a neighbor's house safely carrying a walkie-talkie with very strict instructions not to call him at all. After becoming invisible, he went outside and watched as the S.W.A.T. teams made their way up and around the house, setting up positions in strategic locations. He then noticed something alarming. Most of the special operatives had heat-sensitive goggles on. He didn't know if his invisibility was truly invisible to everything or if he would be seen. Too late to do anything about it now, he was already outside. He would have to move slow enough to keep them busy, yet fast enough to elude capture.

         He attempted to listen to their conversations. They weren't talking. It must have been radio silence knowing he could hear their communication. He did hear, however, the tapping of keys. They were communicating via typing information. He would need to get one. If the heat-sensitive goggles worked, no one had them turned on, as no alarms had been raised while the Defender moved carefully around the yard to find an isolated operative, he noticed all the operatives could see at least one to two other operatives. Meaning if the Defender took one out, someone would instantly notice and call an alarm. So much for that idea.

          A soft sound began to fill the air. The Defender knew the sound but couldn't recall it at first. After the sound grew a little louder, he recognized the sound from when he was a soldier. Wuppa-wuppa-wuppa in the far-off distance. Too faint for normal hearing. It seemed to not grow any louder. He wondered why the helicopters were staying at a distance. Maybe they were waiting to see if the S.W.A.T. teams could capture him. So far, no one was moving, just getting into place and waiting.

         The Defender took a chance and walked in front of the Operatives hiding in the bushes, behind trees, or laying in the grass. If any saw him while invisible, none of them let on. He was going to go into the house via the garage. He noticed there had been a camera placed in the doorway of the garage facing the entrance to the house hiding behind a couple of boxes that were not there previously.

          He was just going to unplug the camera but then had an unusual idea. He knew he had a third eye, and it could do things he couldn't do normally even with his enhanced powers. Could his third eye reprogram the camera? He first began to relax. He then began to close his two eyes and then attempted to see the camera with the third eye. He pictured his eye-opening and make the camera pause from taking pictures. He felt the bean flow from his eye, engulf the camera, and quickly take the camera apart piece by piece and then put it back together. After this was completed, the third eye closed. The Defender went and looked at the camera. He noticed the camera had new settings: All Off, All Delete, All Pause, All Terminate. Interesting settings. For now, he turned the dial to All Pause and brought the device with him.

          He did manage to get back into the house, turned visible, and went room to room looking for traps or devices. As he checked the bathroom, in the mirror, he caught a glimpse of his shoulder and, saw a black speck. He managed to reach for it and pull it off and look at it closely. From what he could tell, it was a tracking device someone had placed on him.

          Not someone. Lieutenant Urad. That little weasel. The Defender will have to give him a thank-you talk after this is over. He did not want Misty, the girls, or Joe ever mixed up in this and now they are. Oh, yes, he will, have a little chat with Urad. He took the tracking device and flushed it.

         After the house was secure, the Defender used his third eye to make the walkie-talkie untraceable. After he is finished, he contacted Misty. "Hello, are you there? Don't use names, just respond to the questions asked."

         "Don't worry about me. Make sure you are taking care of yourself. Keeping the party going here and members busy and occupied. Nothing happening yet. Got to go. Keep this near you call if anything at all happens at your end or seems unusual."

         Turning back invisible, the Defender goes back outside. The first thing he noticed is the helicopter noise was fading, even with his super hearing. The S.W.A.T. members are still present and hiding. He is not certain what, if anything, they were waiting for. He debated turning visible to see what would happen but quickly decided against that. He wanted to have them leave on their own accord, thinking this was the wrong place.

         He remembers the old boat house and docks where Joe kept his boat and where he took his showers. He immediately flew toward the docks and turned visible and began to get attention. He even called the police via pay phone to report a sighting of a giant gray man flying about.

         His walkie talkie beeped. He answered it. "Hello?"

         "Not sure where you are at. The police left in a hurry. They all appear to be gone. We are staying put, though, until you give us all clear."

         Within minutes after the message, Mathew heard sirens. He landed on the shore and waited for the police to arrive.

         He didn't have to wait long. Soon the S.W.A.T. team plus four squad cars pulled up plus two Canine Units. It surprised Matthew was the helicopter wasn't present.

         From one of the squad cars came Lieutenant Urad. "So, this is where you hide out during the day. It is quite spacious. You tried giving us the run-around by landing in a crowded neighborhood, but we had our eye on you the whole time. You couldn't hide from us for long. I even traced you to the lake you stay at. I put a tracer on you and we followed you to Lake Isp near the Water Treatment Plant. Now that we know where you stay, we can keep tabs on you.

         "What can I say, you got me. Too bad you can get to my real base, though."

         "Why? Where's that? Who said I can't get to it?"

         "It is too far away for you, though you can see it."

         "If I can see, I can get to it. I will have my team there within the next hour to prove you wrong. Where is it?"

         "If I tell you, will you leave me alone? Your word on it."

         "Sure. You tell me your base of operations and I will leave you alone. I will turn you back over to the captain. My word on it."

         "O.K., deal then. Look up."
         Lieutenant Urad looks up. I don't see anything. Clouds. The moon. No mountains. No aircraft. Nothing.

         "My base of operations is on the Moon. Its where I go when I am not busy or need recharging. Where do you think I get my gray coloring from?"

          "The Moon? How. . .what. . impossible. . . coloring?" Matthew watched Lieutenant Urad sputter for a few moments before he began to fly straight up toward the moon until he was out of sight then turned invisible and went to Misty's house.


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