THE SWORD AND SICKLE

CHAPTER ONE: HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

THE SWORD AND SICKLE

PART TWO

CHAPTER ONE

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

FBI Chief Detective Paul Wescott, who was on the other end, only heard a garble, but understood the sound as that of his wife.

Clint heard the Chief say, "It is all clear, you can skip that room." Clint closed his phone and said to Levi. "Sorry we bothered you, we will be on our way."

As they closed the door, John checked the room off his list and said, "They are a nice old couple; weren't they? I feel sorry we scared them so badly."

"Yeah, they must be in their nineties, if a day. I thought the old man was going to have a heart attack."

Meanwhile, the Chief Detective said to his wife, "That is fine, dear. Yes, I will stop and get milk on the way home. It is going to be late. We are very busy here."

Then his wife said, "It is okay, Honey. I found a fresh gallon. Forget I called."

He wondered how his wife knew this secure number. He looked down at his phone and realized he was on his personal phone. "Huh," he thought, "I could have sworn I was in the secure cell."

Laida turned to Levi and said, "It is so easy to confuse them and to think we were once like them."

"When I first created the humans on the fifth planet, Apollo, they were such a brilliant but savage people. I knew then that I must save the remnants before they turned their world to rubble. I sent the humans to the planet Mars, so they would live in peace. In peace, they lived, but were poor gardeners, consuming their entire planet's resources, and leaving it barren. I tried again by saving their DNA and started over in this world. I adjusted their DNA and started the process from stage-one, and when I chose which form of humanoid to increase I toiled over them at every turn, even going as far as to make myself one of them many times over, and I am optimistic for this harvest; I glean the very best and destroy the others."

―――――

Director James Morgan sat in his office and pondered what he should do next. They had swept the city with a systematic dragnet that found no Levi and only a few small fish in the pond. Perhaps he had left the city completely. How could they find a man so powerful, so mysterious, without superpowers of their own? Still, he had his orders to find him at all costs, and that was exactly what he would do. He scrutinized the reports posted on the computer when he noticed an oddity. Chief Detective Wescott reported that his wife had called him while he thought he was on a secure phone with his agents. Director Morgan picked up the phone to call the Chief Detective, who was one of his very best detectives, and he knew he only reported things he found significant.

The Chief Detective heard his phone ringing. The bulky man answered and saw it was the Director calling. "Hello, Director. How is the investigation going? Have you found the Jacksons?"

"No, Chief, that is why I am calling you. I reviewed your report with curiosity about you receiving a call from your wife this morning during the investigation. Why did you add this detail to your report?"

"Sir, it was just odd. Louise never calls me to ask me to get milk. The grocery store is just around the block, and then when she checked the refrigerator, she found a fresh gallon. Now, I am not sure if it means anything. But I could have sworn she called me on my secure number. When I looked down, I saw my personal phone in my hands. So, I pressed recall on my phone, and I got my buddy, Will. I checked my recent calls, and her number was not on the list for today. You know how I hate it when I can't figure something out, so I added it to my report. I am sure it is nothing, and I am positive my wife is not involved; still, it is worth noting."