The Discovery(Chapter 2)

Nicholas, like everyone else on campus, never needed to be in this particular supply closet. It was used only for storage items that were outdated or no longer needed. For some reason, the college never threw the older materials (such as dry-erase boards, outdated desks, and broken electronics) out with the rest of the trash. Nicholas never understood the policy, but he never complained. He was not required to clean it and he would use it on occasion to lock himself away from the world to think and pray.

With the news that Jason had given him earlier, Nicholas went straight to this forsaken janitor’s closet and locked the door. He needed to be alone to contemplate his next step. He had made so many mistakes over the years. He was tired and old from trying to protect Jason from the consequences of an old man’s mistakes. After everything that he had done and accomplished, Jason was still in danger.

Jason, God bless his heart, was so gentle and compassionate that Nicholas had to be strong from here on out. He was determined to be an anchor for Jason during the coming trials. Nicholas sat on an old wooden crate and looked up at the dark ceiling.

“What have I done to you my dear boy?” Nicholas’s soul was feeling the helpless despair that comes from the stress of trying to accomplish a larger-than-life task on your own. There were so many secrets in this man-made, mortal society. Nicholas couldn’t have hoped to protect Jason from all of life’s horrible truths. But he had hoped to spare him the worst of the secrets.

The look of unkempt pride in Jason’s eyes when he talked about giving blood was one of the signs of his young innocence. Jason’s love for his fellow man went beyond his own body. He would give all of his blood if he thought it would save only one person. Jason had turned into such a wonderful, kind young man.

Nicholas had tried to be there for as much of Jason’s growth as possible. Always trying to lead him in the right direction. He had grown to love Jason like his very own son. He had always wanted to tell Jason about the secret that flowed within his young, idealistic veins.

Jason was special in more ways than anyone else knew. His blood contained secrets of the divine that could be used against those Christians here on Earth if it were ever discovered. Nicholas had given up everything that he ever knew to be near Jason as long as he could. He sacrificed his own personal hopes and expectations to keep Jason safe from the enemy of the One.

Nicholas felt as though he had failed.

Nicholas thought of the words that Jesus had said while on the cross: “Father, Father. Why have thou forsaken me?” Nicholas could understand that feeling now. There was so much work to be done. That should have already been done.

Nicholas had only one hope for Jason during this trial. He hoped that Jason would not have to give up his life for the weakness of Nicholas’s own soul. He knew that God had long ago wiped Nicholas’s slate clean of all wrongdoing. No matter how much or how long Nicholas thought about that, he could never lift the guilt of seeing what his actions could do to those who were close to him.

Jason would most likely suffer in the coming times. Nicholas felt responsible for every ounce of pain that Jason would endure. He only hoped that his failure would not cost Jason his life at such a young age. He feared that Jason’s death would inevitably be his fault.

“Why? Why must the innocent suffer for my indiscretions?” Nicholas was shouting at the dark ceiling now with his fists clenched. “Why couldn’t you just accept my life as a sacrifice for my own sins?” Tears began to fall from Nicholas’s eyes and roll down his cheeks. His tone became softer and more pleading. “Please! Don’t let him fall, please.” Nicholas was answered by dark, still, silence.

Nicholas went to his knees and buried his face in his hands. The only comfort that he had was that Jason had a promise of life beyond the suffering he would bear here. Nicholas couldn’t, and didn’t try, to stop the tears from flowing.

The moment that the Red Cross sent Jason’s blood to the lab for processing, Jason’s information became stored in a central server that housed all information on countless American’s who had donated blood. Jason’s blood went through the same test that all blood went through to determine if there were any impurities within the fluid before being distributed to hospitals.

Jason’s blood received a red marker from the tests, which meant that the blood needed to be sent to the Center of Disease Control for further testing. The amounts of possible impurities that the first test results showed were above normal and therefore made Jason’s blood a higher risk than most. With this designation, the blood was then put at the head of the CDC’s testing list.

During the CDC’s testing procedures, Jason’s blood was again marked as red, or unusable. The test results were inconclusive on all counts. Jason’s blood contained structures beyond what current science understood.

The CDC requested Jason’s personal information from the Red Cross databanks and applied it then on their server. Under ‘status’ were the words ‘Locate and Quarantine.’ This information was then sent to most government organizations and police stations within Jason’s home state.

Unknown to those government agencies whose concern is network security, and CDC resources, there were other visitors on these servers. There were those who had the knowledge to crack into these encrypted servers and keep an eye out for certain information. When Jason Hulbert’s blood became red-tagged, these unseen observers decided to look into the matter further.

There were many ways to receive information in this modern era.

In a white-walled room in the basement level of a plain looking building, a lone man’s attention was drawn by a simple orange blink. He turned from the monitor he was looking at and focused on the orange blip. It was a windows application that had begun operating but had not yet been viewed. He quickly held Alt and used the tab key to switch to the new application. In the glow of several monitors, the man’s face changed from mere curiosity to a deeply interested look.

The hack that he had left undone at his previous machine was forgotten. It did not matter if he left the hack unfinished. He was so good that no one even knew that his screen name was Simeon. He held a large amount of personal accomplishment ove not being known to the general public.

He had first heard that name as a child. His parents often forced him to go to church as a punishment. He often dozed off or daydreamed. But that one time he had paid attention, mostly out of curiosity, he heard the name Simeon. It had a sort of spectacular ring to it that was easy to miss. In that way the name was just like him.

Most hackers used the challenge of a tough hack to gain prestige. Simeon had never wanted prestige. He simply enjoyed the thrill of knowing things that he was never meant to know. He was hired out to whoever could afford to put up with his weird, eccentric habits. Only those who were serious enough to have discovered his hacking alias hired him. Simeon would not fool with any hack that was not worth his particular talents.

His clients were mainly political groups who wished to discredit another politician or terrorists who were using the information to end lives. Those who currently had taken responsibility for Simeon were unclear about their motives. Which suited Simeon just fine. He didn’t care what the information was used for. He just hacked.

Simeon examined the information that the application was showing him. He examined it one more time to make sure that he had seen it correctly. There was no way on Earth that it would be this easy! He turned back to his previous computer and began another hack. This hack was to the Red Cross main server. He verified what his programs were telling him. This was what his employers were looking for. He picked up the phone and dialed the upstairs number.

The man who answered Simeon’s call was named Logan. He was the second in charge of the Company and the current project. It was he who had hired Simeon to find the necessary information. Logan was ruthless in his job. He was able to get what he needed without feeling guilty for the tasks he had to do in the process. He was very thorough.

“Why hello Simeon. I hope you have good news for me.” Logan’s voice was deep and throaty. He had the ability to frighten people with his voice alone. For those who were not intimidated by his voice were then subjugated to his looks.

From a teenage feeling of inferiority years earlier, Logan began bodybuilding. He had kept to an extremely strict routine ever since. His broad shoulders and thick arms were intimidating to those who were the object of his rage. He kept his jet-black hair cut close to his scalp to give the extra air of malice.

The most disturbing attribute of Logan’s appearance was his eyes. Logan often wore dark sunglasses around his colleagues to keep from disturbing them from their objectives. When looking into Logan’s eyes, people got the impression that there was more going on in Logan’s mind than anyone knew. It was almost as though there was more than one person in Logan’s head and they were all fighting for dominance. No one had been able to look into Logan’s eyes for more than a few minutes before becoming unable to think clearly.

Simeon was no different from anyone else. Just the act of talking to Logan over the phone was enough to disquiet Simeon. “I believe that I found what you were looking for... uh... sir. I can send the link up to your terminal if that’s... if it’s better for you.” Simeon was perspiring freely now. He was afraid of what could happen to him if Logan decided that Simeon wasn’t showing the proper amount of respect.

“Yes Simeon, that would be quite convenient. Are you certain of this data?”

“I’ve cross checked with all of my sources and even went to the original server that contained the data. It’s all checked out... uh... as best as I can... uh... tell sir.” Simeon’s voice was threatening to crack. He took a deep breath and tried to gain control over his voice.

“Good Simeon. If this is as accurate as you say, then you shall be rewarded greatly.”

Logan had the habit of using a person’s name repeatedly when speaking to them. Simeon got the feeling that his superior was trying to keep straight who he was talking to at that moment. That last comment assured Simeon that he could count on a big bonus if he had done well. But there was also a threat of what would happen if he were wasting Logan’s time.

“Thank you sir. I hope that everything is in order.”

Logan’s voice went even deeper. “I hope it is in order as well Simeon. If you’re wrong, then there will have to be punishment. Continue your work and let me know if you find anything else.”
Logan hung up the phone and left Simeon to his own musings.

Logan waited patiently for the Simeon’s data to be transferred to his desktop. He had been waiting patiently for some months now and was hoping to finally be allowed to act. If the blood tested positive in the right areas, Logan would have something to take to his superior. He did not expect a reward for his labors. The rewards would come much later after implementation of the Project.

Logan’s superior, Christopher Brookten, was much less frightening then Logan in the physical sense. While Brookten was smaller in form and shape than his subordinate, he was more able to take control of larger situations. Every ounce of equipment was being funded through Christopher’s business transactions. He seemed to have a talent for hostile takeovers. If it could be said that Logan was talented at frightening small groups of workers, then Brookten was talented at frightening governments.

The information popped up on Logan’s screen. He quickly glanced through the material looking for specific notes. While he had given Simeon several criteria to look for, there was only one thing that Logan and his chief wanted. The blood had to be incredibly contaminated with a foreign virus.

The Company had been researching viruses and blood contaminants for many years. They had more information than any hospital or disease control organization. Even though they had made breakthroughs that could change the way mankind looks at viruses, they shared none of the information. After all, the research was to be used for terrorist activity and not for saving lives.

The blood that had been flagged was marked as “contaminated with unknown agents.” This was more promising than anything else they had gone through or discovered. While there was no way to know if this was what they were wanting, it was worth a serious look.

He put in the right requests to the right people and managed to arrange for a sample of the blood to be sent to the Company’s testing area. In a few hours, the contaminated blood would be tested for the proper chemical agents. He would wait until then to notify Mr. Brookten.

There were very few men alive who could have searched the entire world for one small red flag. Only Simeon was able to accomplish this task without leaving a trace. Logan would make it a point to personally congratulate Simeon on his find. He had once again proved to be useful.
Logan brought up the file on the person to whom the blood came from. He immediately noticed a problem that would cause difficulties in the retrieval of the specimen. Local law enforcement had been alerted to this person’s condition and was told to detain him or her. Logan made the decision to get to the sample before the police could steal it. If the blood turned out to be useless, he would just eliminate the source.

He picked up the phone and dialed the lead mercenary under the Company’s employ. He had worked with this young man many times in the past and could trust him to do what was necessary. However, just to break the monotony of office work, Logan would go with him on this run.

The mercenary leader answered in his normal, military style salutation. “Yes sir!”

“I have a job for you if you don’t mind. You shouldn’t have to get your hands to dirty on this one.” Logan remembered the bloodshed from former missions.

“Of course sir! We’re always ready.”

“This is a simple detainment. We need a sample from the field and the police have been told to do the same.”

“We can get the subject before the police even arrive on the scene sir!”

“Good. Oh, and I’ll be joining you on this one. I could use the fun.”

“Of course sir! We welcome your help as always. What is the subjects name?”

Logan looked back at the file on his computer and found the name. “His name is Hulbert. Jason Hulbert.”