The
By
Beth Kauffman
Admiral Harriman Nelson sat at his desk at the
Nelson Institute of Marine Research, thoroughly engrossed in a report he was
reading when a deafening boom of thunder rocked the building he sat in,
followed quickly by a brilliant flash of lighting that lit the interior of his
office. Rising, he went to the row of windows on the far side of his office and
peered out at the wicked weather on the other side, shaking his head in
concern. Clouds skittered across the darkening sky as a huge storm blew in from
the ocean; lightning illuminating the threatening clouds in brilliant colors.
Far below, wind whipped the crashing waves of the Pacific into white tipped
froth while sand blew past his window, carrying bits of debris with it. Tonight
was not a good night to be out and about and he frowned as he pondered the
evening ahead with dismay. Perhaps there was still a way to get out of it.
Maybe if he…
A loud knock on the door to his office broke his
concentration and he called, "Come," brusquely as he headed back to
his desk and sat down.
The door opened to reveal his secretary, Angie
Wood, dressed in an outlandish outfit of black, frilly material that went to
just below her knees. A headpiece sporting sequins with a black feather
sticking out of it and a long necklace of pearls completed her outfit.
"Miss Wood, that outfit is...very
interesting," he said to his smiling secretary.
"Why thank, you, sir! I have your costume all
ready to go," she said with a sweet smile.
"I...uh...look…costumes and this whole
Halloween stuff just isn't my thing," he said with an uncomfortable look.
"Admiral, you know this is important to your
sister. I mean the First Annual NIMR Halloween Party for Underprivileged Kids?
That's big stuff!"
"Yes well, it's a rather pretentious name for
a Halloween party if you ask me. Why did Edith think that was an acceptable
name anyway? And First Annual? That implies there will be a second and a…"
"You're changing the subject, sir."
"Yes I was, Angie," he sighed.
"Trying to at least. I was actually thinking that if I have to go to this,
I would go as a...oh I don't know...a four-star admiral?" he said with a
twitch of his lips.
"That's not a costume, Admiral. That's your
job. A costume is something you don't see everyday, such as ghosts or skeletons
or aliens or…"
"I thought you said things I don't see every
day?" he said with a smug smile as he leaned back in his chair.
"All right, things normal people
don't see every day," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Point taken, but just who at this party,
other than my employees, is going to know the uniform is my normal attire and
not a costume?"
"That's really not the point. Besides, a
uniform might scare some of the kids."
"A uniform would scare them but not a ghost
or a skeleton? I think you're reaching."
"Perhaps," she sighed heavily.
"Anyway, there's a great costume all set for you right outside the door.
Edith picked it out herself. I can go..."
"No, no, no," he said waving his hands
in the air. "I don't want to know what Edith thought would make a good
costume. Look, I'll go to this party but I refuse to wear a costume. I will
however change from my uniform to slacks and a pullover. Does that meet with
your approval?"
"No. But if that's the best you can do I
guess we will have to accept it."
"You mean Edith will have to accept it,"
he said with a smile.
"Something like that, yes. She's going to be
pretty disappointed if you don't wear it," she said, trying one more time
to guilt him in to wearing, what she thought was a good, if unconventional,
costume and one she would have liked to see him in.
When he didn't budge, she sighed heavily and
pasted a sad look on her face. "All right. Disappoint your only sibling.
And me. We'll get over it. I suppose. Someday."
"You know, you're very good at that,
Angie," Nelson said with a chuckle.
"At what, sir?" she asked innocently.
"You know at what…the whole guilt
thing."
"Did I do it well enough?" she asked
hopefully.
"Even you aren't good enough to get
me to wear whatever is hanging out there."
Shaking her head sadly, she began to head for the
door. "Well, I need to get to the
"Yes, Angie I will be there in approximately
an hour. I just have to finish this report, make some notes and change. I'll be
there in time to watch the parade of ghosts, zombies and aliens. All right?
"All right. Just don't be late. I'll send
someone back here to drag you to the party if I have to."
"When am I ever late?" he asked with an
innocent look.
"When are you...every time you get caught up
in some project or reading an interesting...
His laughter stopped her tirade when she realized
he was teasing her.
"I will be there, Angie. Tell Edith
I'll be there. OK?"
"OK. In an hour."
"In an hour. Ish," he added with a smirk
which earned him a frown from his secretary.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Edith wanted me to give
you the phone number of the
"Hmm, what she means is call her and she'll
send someone to drag me there," he said with a grimace.
Angie laughed quietly and shook her head.
"Probably. I guess I should get moving. I'll see you there in…"
Another loud clap of thunder interrupted her at
that moment and shook the building causing Angie to jump. "I was hoping
the storm would wait until we were all done," she said with a frown.
"It's supposed to get nasty tonight."
"Why don't I call someone to drive you
over," Nelson said reaching for the phone. "I'd feel better if you
weren't driving over there by yourself in this storm."
"That's not necessary, Admiral! Really! I'll
be fine. We had bigger storms than this back home and I lived."
"Are you sure? It's supposed to be a pretty
bad storm," he said in obvious concern. "I can drive you there myself
I suppose, if you can wait a few minutes. I just need to…"
Noticing his frown, she shook her head. "No,
no, I know you want to get that report done tonight. And if you do, you'll have
a lot more fun than if you sit around thinking that it didn't get done,"
she said with a knowing smile.
Nelson laughed loudly and leaned back in his
chair. "You have this uncanny knack for understanding me, Miss Wood. All
right, go on your own but if you have any problems…"
"I'll call. It's only a few minutes away,
sir!"
"Yes, well, leave the door open on your way
out so I can hear if your phone rings."
"Yes sir," she said. "An hour,
Admiral! Remember."
"I have an alarm set, Angie. Stop
worrying!"
Shaking his head, he watched his secretary leave
the office and smiled as he heard her humming as she gathered her things. Just
as he'd looked back down to the report on his desk, another clap of thunder
boomed and he rose from his chair to walk to the windows once more. As he
watched the storm blow in, he was overcome by a sense of melancholy as he
remembered last Halloween and what he had lost. A storm much like this one had
hit costing him more than he wanted to think about and his heart ached at the
memory. It was hard to believe it had been a year. He stared out the window
with unseeing eyes for a time as he remembered what had happened and felt once
again the guilt, anger and sadness rise up in him.
Closing his eyes, he lowered his head and
struggled to push the images, the thoughts, from his mind, and finally managed
to tear himself away from the dark turn his thoughts had taken. It did no good
to remember. The past was the past. As he walked back to his desk, he sat down,
trying once more to read through the report he had been attempting to read for
the past three hours.
2.
A shrill alarm on his desk alerted Nelson that his
time was up way too soon. He'd finally gotten through the report and had made a
few notes on the piece he would go over tomorrow. Stretching the kinks from his
back, he rose and went out into the outer office, intending to grab a quick cup
of coffee, when he was startled to see a pirate sitting in a chair by Angie's desk.
"Hey, Admiral!" the pirate said.
"Miss Angie said I was to wait for you and make sure you got to the party
all right."
Nelson's breathing began to resume at a more
normal rate as he recognized the pirate. "That's not necessary, Kowalski.
As you can see, I'm just about ready," he said as he poured himself a cup
of cold coffee, grimacing as the bitter brew hit his tongue.
"But sir…where's your costume? The kids are
gonna all be dressed up. Don't you want to…?"
"I most certainly do not want to be found
wearing a costume, Ski. I will change, but not into a costume," he said
gruffly, getting tired of the whole issue of costumes. "And you do not
need to wait for me."
"But…I was told…to…"
"You were told to make sure I got there on
time?"
"Uh…yes sir."
"By my sister or Angie?"
"Well…uh…both sir," he said meekly.
Nelson shook his head. "I am capable
to getting places all by myself, am I not, Ski?" he asked as he placed the
coffee cup back down on the table, knowing Angie would take care of it in the
morning.
"Well, sure sir! I just
think…they…you…uh…"
"Relax, Kowalski. I'm only going to be a few
more minutes. Why don't you head out? Tell Edith I'll be there shortly. All
right?"
Not wanting to tick his boss off any further,
Kowalski nodded. "Of course. I'll…uh…head out," he said just as a
tremendous crack of thunder shook the building and the lights flickered.
"Sure is a great night for a storm, isn't it, Admiral? Just adds to the
creepiness!"
"Yes, it does I suppose. I just hope there
are no problems because of it. Don't want to lose power in a room full of kids.
Might make the creepiness a little too real," he said as he ran a hand over
his suddenly chilled arms.
"You all right, sir?"
"What? Oh, yes I'm fine. I…just got a chill.
That's all."
"If you say so, sir. I'll head out now I
guess," he said as he watched Nelson in concern for a moment, then grabbed
his sword and buckled it on."
"I'll see you at the party shortly,"
Nelson said distractedly, looking about the outer office nervously as a feeling
of anxiety enveloped him.
"Don't go. Stay here."
"What did you say, Kowalski?" Nelson
asked, turning back to the seaman.
"Uh…I didn't say anything, sir."
"You didn't…I guess I'm hearing things,"
Nelson laughed uneasily,as he rubbed a hand along the side of his head.
"Could have sworn…"
"Could have sworn what, sir?"
"Oh…nothing, Ski. Nothing. Just the wind I
guess. You head on out. Tell Edith I'll be there shortly."
"Yes sir. Sir…uh…are you sure you're all
right? You kind of look…funny."
Nelson turned back to the young seaman and laughed
at his concern. "I'm fine, Kowalski!" he said slapping him on the
back. "Just got to thinking abut something. You go on."
"If you're sure, I'll head out then,
sir," Kowalski said hesitantly as he headed for the door, turning back in
time to see Nelson rub his arms again as he gazed about the office frowning.
Shrugging, Kowalski headed down the hall, anxious to get to the party on time.
Feeling as though someone was standing behind him,
Nelson turned quickly, but wasn't fast enough to see a shadow disappear into
his office. Shaking himself mentally, he began to head back into his office
when he saw the costume his sister had thought he would wear draped over a
chair in the waiting room and he walked over to it.
Holding it up, he smiled at the way his sister's
mind worked when he saw the outfit-black pants, black shirt, black boots, black
hat, black cape, and a sword- staring back at him. "Zorro? She thought I
would go as Zorro?" he said as he made an indelicate sound with his mouth
and shook his head. He lay the outfit back down and turned away, heading to his
office to change but kept hearing Angie's words echo in his mind. Edith would
be disappointed in him if he didn't wear the thing. And he hated disappointing
his sister. Stopping, he put his hands on his hips and raised his eyes to the
roof, grimacing as guilt assaulted him. Turning his gaze to the black outfit once
more, he stalked back to it; cast a slightly more interested look at it as he
held it up and sighed heavily. "I know I'm going to regret this," he
said as he headed into his office.
3.
A short time later, Nelson emerged, dressed in the
Zorro costume his sister had chosen for him and walked to a nearby mirror,
trying to see how bad the outfit looked on him. After holding the mask up and
putting the hat on, he cocked his head in speculation, then shrugged. What
could it hurt to wear it? "What it could hurt is my reputation," he
answered himself. "But, I don't have time to change again, so…I guess
tonight I am Zorro," he said forlornly, grabbing the sword and shaking his
head at his sister's cockamamie ideas. "Maybe no one will know it's me if
I wear the mask."
Shutting off the lights and closing and locking
the door behind him, he flinched as the building was shaken by another
tremendous clap of thunder. The lights in the hall flickered then went out
completely.
"Oh great. That's just great," he said
in anger as he tried to find his way down the pitch-dark hall.
"Don't go, Harry."
"What? Who's there?" he asked the
darkness. He stayed still for a moment, as he listened hard, shivering as a
breeze wafted over him, unsettling him further. "Come out! It's not
funny." When he heard nothing more, he muttered darkly to himself about
losing it and started off again, startled when the lights sputtered back on
again.
"Yes, excellent night for a Halloween party,"
he said sourly as he hurried down the stairs, deciding getting caught in the
elevator in a black out was not on his list of things he wanted to encounter
tonight. Unseen, a black mist followed him down the stairs.
Reaching the ground floor quickly, he headed to
his car parked a short distance away, the shapeless shadow following closely.
Opening the door hastily, he launched himself inside, trying to avoid being
drenched in the downpour of rain that had just started and managed to get his
cape stuck. Swearing, he opened the door and pulled the drenched cape inside.
"Had to wear the damn thing didn't you?" he said to himself.
"Had to make Edith happy, didn't you?"
He snorted as he knew that of course he had to
make Edith happy. She was his baby sister and he had taken it upon himself when
she was first born to always be there for her, a task he had not always lived
up to with his dreams and life's work. Over the years she'd grown into a
beautiful young woman and he was as proud of her as their parents would have
been had they lived to see her reach her adulthood.
"Well, let's see about getting to the
festivities on time," he said as he headed down the road, stopping at the
guardhouse.
"Heading out for the night, Admiral?"
the guard, Ben Buckley said with a salute.
"Yes. Yes I am, Ben."
"Tonight's Miss Edith's big Halloween party,
isn't it?" the guard asked.
"Yes. She's been planning this for
months."
"Well, I'm betting she did a bang up job and
those kids are gonna have the time of their lives. You too, sir! That's a great
costume by the way. A pirate would have been a better choice though. Don'tcha
think?"
"Trust me, Ben I did not choose the outfit.
This was my sister's idea, although I have to agree with you on the pirate
idea. I'd better get moving or I won't hear the end of it from Edith if I'm
late."
"You have a good night, sir!" he said as
he opened the security gate and waited until Nelson had passed through before
closing it again.
With a wave, Nelson sped down the road, driving
for a few minutes before entering the outskirts of town. Turning, he began
driving down the streets, headed for the
Stopping at a stop sign, he startled in alarm when
a fist pounded on his car window. Turning his head, he gasped as he saw a
skeleton and a clown staring back at him and he heard yells. He was about to
unlock the door when he felt an icy touch on his arm and thought he heard a voice
say, "Don't open it, Harry. Don't stop. Go!" He turned to
look beside him uneasily but when he saw nothing next to him, he turned back to
unlock the door. Before he could open it though, it was wrenched from him and
two pairs of hands pulled him from the car. A fist connected quickly with his
jaw and something smashed into the side of his head before he could react.
Dazed momentarily, he struggled against the pair landing a few good punches and
smiling in satisfaction as one of his attackers fell at his feet. A hand pulled
him about before he could turn to his other attacker and the last thing he saw
was a knife before excruciating pain tore through him and blackness claimed
him.
4.
"Well, where is my big brother?" Edith
Nelson, dressed as a fairy princess, asked crossly to the young seaman.
"He was just about to get ready when I left.
I swear. He said he would be leaving a few minutes after I did," Kowalski
said quickly. "He told me not to wait."
"Edith? What's wrong," a voice from
behind her said.
Turning, she saw Lee Crane dressed as a sheriff
complete with chaps and a ten gallon hat, coming towards her, concern on his
face. Close on his heels was Chief Francis Sharkey dressed as Popeye.
"My big brother is late! That's what wrong.
Angie made him promise to be here on time. He promised me he would be
here on time. But, he isn't," she said irritably.
"Calm down, Edith! I'll just call his office.
He probably got sidetracked," Lee said smiling, knowing how easily Admiral
Nelson could lose track of time when he was absorbed in something. Finding a
phone nearby, he quickly dialed his boss's number. Several rings later, he put
the phone down and turned to her. "Well, he didn't answer so he's probably
already on his way. Now let's get this party started. The help is getting
anxious to get to work," he said soothingly.
"Yes, all right. But he had better show up
soon and with a good excuse," she said as she stomped away, her long dress
flowing behind her.
Crane, Sharkey and Kowalski followed behind her.
"Skipper? Do you want me to go look for him? I mean, he might have had car
trouble or something. Or he could have gotten caught up in something and didn't
hear the phone," Kowalski asked.
"I could go with him, sir," Sharkey
said. "Won't take long to run back the way he would have driven."
"No, let's give it a few more minutes before
we go launching a search and rescue operation. You know how he is about people
worrying about him," he said with a smile. "If he isn't here in a
half hour, we'll send out the cavalry."
"Cavalry, sir? That's not very navy,"
Kowalski said with a frown.
Crane laughed heartily. "You know what I
mean. Now come on. Some of the kids are beginning to arrive from the
Center!"
The next half hour went by quickly as more and
more kids, dressed as ghosts, zombies and an assortment of fairy princesses and
firefighters, arrived for the party. With each passing minute, Crane's anxiety
grew until he finally listened to the voice inside his head that had been
screaming to him that something had happened to the admiral and he called the
Institute again. No answer at the admiral's office again had him calling the
guard station.
"Ben? It's Lee Crane! I'm looking for the
admiral. Has he left yet?"
"Hey, Skipper! Sure the admiral left here
over an hour ago! Said he couldn't be late! Why? Didn't he get there yet?"
"No. No he hasn't. Was he driving his
car?"
"Yes, sir. Same as always."
"All right, Ben. Thanks."
"Anything I can do?" he asked in
anxiety.
"Um…not right now. I'm going to call the
police. See if there have been any accidents reported. If I can think of
anything, I'll call you back," he said brusquely.
Grabbing a nearby phone book, Crane searched for
the phone number for the
From across the room filled with happy kids
enjoying the party, Angie Wood's eyes lit on the scowling face of Lee Crane and
she frowned. Glancing about the room quickly, she realized her boss hadn't
shown up yet and concern flared in her. Smiling at the kids that pranced and
played games about her, she made her way slowly to Crane's side, pausing when
she saw Kowalski and Sharkey appear by his side followed by Chip Morton dressed
in a chef's outfit. The men leaned close to each other as Crane talked quietly
to them, worry marking their faces.
"What's going on?" Angie asked when she
had finally navigated the room. "Where's the admiral?"
"Yes, I'd like to know that, also," said
a voice behind her.
Turning she saw Edith Nelson, a scowl gracing her
elegant features, standing behind her.
Lee sighed heavily as he knew he couldn't keep the
admiral's disappearance from them.
"We don't know where he is right now. I'm
sure he just got caught up in something and he'll be here shortly. Why don't
you go back to the kids?" he said, hoping it placated them.
"What do you mean you don't know where he is?
Has someone called him at his office again?" Edith asked brusquely.
"Yes. I did. He isn't answering."
"And?" she said as a shiver filled her
at his words and tone.
"And I'm sure he'll be here shortly. Let's
get back to…"
"Lee, you know my brother may lose track of
time when he finds something of interest, but he knew this was important to me.
He wouldn't be this late unless something had happened. Did you call the gate?
Did he leave yet?"
Knowing his boss's sister was just as relentless
as her brother in her quest for answers, he sighed and said softly, "He
left over an hour ago, Edith. And before you ask, I called the police and there
have been no major accidents and none involving the admiral."
"Then where is he?" she asked quietly as
she looked at each of them in turn, knowing they didn't have any more answers
than she did and her heart dropped.
5.
Admiral Harriman Nelson felt himself floating
somewhere between being awake and being asleep, and he wondered where he was
and why he was so wet and cold. He shifted his position slightly and gasped as
he felt fire flare through his side, surprising him with the intensity of it.
Slowly, he reached a shaking hand out to the source of the pain and felt
wetness. Further probing found a hole in his side that apparently was bleeding
quite freely. What the hell had happened to him? And where was he? He tried to
sit up and groaned as pain tore through his side and his head.
When the pain had eased to a manageable level, he
inched his way slowly into a sitting position, trying hard to see through the
waves of pain and dizziness that overcame him at the movement. Nothing but
darkness greeted his eyes and he tried using his hands to assess where he was.
Feeling about him he thought he felt bits of what felt like broken glass and
pieces of paper scattered about him and his confusion mounted as he tried hard
to remember what had happened and where he could be. All he could tell for sure
was he wasn't in his office. The scent of the sea mixed with the fresh scent of
falling rain and some chemical smell wafted through the space he was in and his
perplexity doubled.
"Near the ocean. Somewhere…That's very
helpful. Why can't I remember what happened? And that smell…I know I know what
it is, but what?" he asked aloud, surprising himself at the echo he heard
as his words bounced off walls. "Apparently I'm inside…a room? Closet?
Jail? Cell? Why can't I remember?" he asked as he rubbed his throbbing
head.
He shivered as blood pooled underneath him and he
knew he needed to try to stop the bleeding. Feeling something tugging at his
throat, he reached a hand up, surprised to find something tied there. Further
exploring told him he had a cape wrapped about his neck.
"What the hell am I doing wearing a
cape?" Grabbing it, he took it from his neck and tied it tightly around
his stomach, gasping in pain as he cinched it tighter over the wound in his
side. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, waiting for the throbbing in
his side to ebb enough for him to think.
After a few minutes trying to control the pain and
the hold it had on him, he tried to remember what had happened, but the last
thing he could recall was being in his office reading. Obviously, there was
more to his evening that he wasn't remembering, especially considering he
definitely was not wearing his uniform. The pounding in his head told him it
might be a contributing factor to his memory loss.
A crack of thunder startled him for a moment and
he remembered the horrific storm he had watched from his office. How long ago
was that? Maybe he'd been in an accident, but that didn't seem right. He
struggled to remember the last thing he had done. He'd been standing by the
window watching the storm and…and remembering last Halloween…
"Oh, James," he whispered. "I'm
sorry. I should have gone with you. I shouldn't have canceled on you." He
laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, remembering.
A storm, much like this one, had taken the life of
one of his oldest friends. James Ian O'Malley had been his friend from the
first time they had met in the private school they both attended in
Getting together had become a hit or miss thing as
the two were often separated by one, if not more than one, continent. But James
and his wife Elise had moved to the west coast just two years ago to be where
the winters were warmer as well as to be closer to their children who had moved
west and started their own families after graduating college. As close in
proximity as they were, Harry still found it hard to meet up with his childhood
friend: something he regretted still a year later.
Ever the sailor, James had bought a sailboat from
a man in
"I'm sorry, James. I wish things were
different."
A burst of wind tore through the room he was in,
knocking over something large nearby and bringing Nelson back from his well of
guilt and to his predicament.
"Need to figure out where I am. Get
help," he said to the empty room.
Deciding he needed a better vantage point from
wherever he was seated, he attempted to pull himself to his feet, immediately
regretting his decision as waves of pain, dizziness and nausea wafted over him.
Pushing back against the wall, he levered himself up to his feet gradually and
rested for a moment as he waited for the pain and dizziness to ease. Opening
his eyes wider, he was surprised at how dark it was wherever he was.
A crack of deafening thunder echoed about the room
followed by a brilliant burst of lightning that lit the room briefly. For a
split second, Nelson could make out shapes in the space about him and tried
walking, promptly running into a large object. Looking down he made out the
shape of a desk or a long counter.
"A store? Am I in a store? An office? Maybe
there's a phone nearby," he said to himself as he began to search the top
of the counter, finally finding what felt like a phone cord. He pulled it
towards him and smiled as the phone followed.
"Phone number…I need to call someone. I…need
to…to…." Dizziness flowed over him and he collapsed onto the floor, the
phone landing beside him with its dial tone mocking him in his unconsciousness.
6.
"All right. The police have been informed of
the admiral's disappearance," Lee Crane said to the group of Seaview's
crew that had volunteered to help at the party. "They have a description
of his car and will be on the look out for it. ONI and the FBI have both been
alerted. So far there's no Intel that the admiral may have been the target of
an abduction attempt but we're still waiting for more word. SBPD is sending
someone here to help us in our search. They should be here soon. In the
meantime, I want all of you to scour the route he would have taken to get here.
Use your radios to keep in contact with us. Find him!" he said anxiously.
The group of grim faced, costumed men nodded and took off, breaking up into
smaller groups to search.
Lee turned to look over his shoulder at the party
that still raged inside. Edith and Angie walked about the groups of prancing
partygoers, doing their best to pretend everything was fine while he knew their
insides were twisted in fear.
"What do we do, Lee?" Chip
asked.
"Wait," he said curtly. "This may
all be a mistake and he just had car trouble. Maybe he took a different route.
Hell, I don't know, Chip," he said running a hand through his hair.
"I left the number here for the FBI, ONI and police to call if there's any
word."
"I sure hate waiting," Chip said
quietly.
"Yeah, me too."
7.
Nelson jumped as a loud clap of thunder shook
whatever place he was in as a gust of wind rattled the walls of his prison.
Happy to find he had regained consciousness, but not pleased about the pain
that tore through him, he tried hard to remember what he had been doing before
darkness claimed him. "What was I doing? I…I was looking for something.
But what?"
Several seconds passed before the answer came to
him. "A phone," he whispered. "I was…looking for a phone. Where
is it?" he asked the darkness as he felt around his body and the floor,
relieved when his hand connected with the desired object.
"Who…who do I call? I don't remember where I
was going. The Institute…I should call the Institute. They…no…wait…party…something
about a party. Why can't I think? Edith's party…Angie gave me a number! Yes,
that's right. She said something about call if…if I was late. Well, I'm
late," he mumbled. "At least I think I am."
Fumbling in his pants pocket, he managed to
produce a slip of paper that had a number written on it. Struggling hard to
read the numbers in the darkness that surrounded him, he held the paper to the
little bit of light that came from a nearby window and waited until the room
was lit by a bright flash of lightning, then cursed as the numbers blurred
before his eyes. Several more flashes of lightning finally gave him the numbers
on the paper and he dialed them, relieved the phone had a dial tone.
"Hello! Santa Barbara Recreation
Center!" a crisp voice answered.
"I…I need to speak to Lee Crane," he
whispered.
"Admiral? Admiral is that you?" the
voice asked in obvious concern.
"Who…who is this?"
"It's Angie! Sir, where are you? We've been
worried about you!"
"I…I…don't know where I am, Angie. I need to
talk to Lee."
He fought to stay conscious as he heard her ask
someone to find Lee but found it a monumental task as the fire in his side
burned and his head throbbed in beat to his heart. At least he had a heartbeat,
he thought wryly.
"Admiral? Admiral, are you there? What's
wrong?" Angie asked anxiously when she came back on the line.
"I don't know, Angie. I seem to be
hurt."
"You're hurt? How badly," she asked in
alarm.
"Angie, what's wrong?" he heard Lee say
on the other end.
Gratefully he heard Angie telling Lee what he had
told her, which wasn't much.
"Admiral, what happened? Where are you?"
Lee's concerned voice practically shouted as he took the phone from Angie.
"I'm hurt, Lee. Don't know how badly."
"Where? Where are you hurt?"
"My side…there's blood. A lot of blood. And
my head's pounding…I can't think straight."
"Were you in an accident?" he asked as
fear consumed him at the pain-filled tone of Nelson's voice.
"No…no I don't think so."
"All right. Tell me where you are. I'll come
for you."
"I…don't know…where I am, Lee. I woke up in
some room. I'm wet. And cold. It's dark. I…I managed to find a phone."
"Did someone take you, sir? Admiral? Were you
abducted?"
"I don't know. I can't remember what
happened."
"Can you walk to a window? Are you tied
up?"
"I'm…not tied. Walking may be a problem
though," he said as he gathered the strength to try standing again. In the
background he heard Lee talking to someone telling them to put the call on a
speakerphone and to find Chip. Good. He was sure the two of them together would
find him, somehow.
Nelson pushed himself slowly into a sitting
position, trying to ignore the pain that lanced through him and the dizziness
that seemed a permanent part of him now. He grabbed hold of the top of the
counter and pulled himself up, gasping in agony. Slowly, he straightened until
he was standing, wobbling, but standing. From this vantage point he made out a
faint light coming from his right and he angled for it, pulling the phone with him.
Finally he stumbled to a window and leaned heavily
on the wall, peering out. "I can't see anything, Lee. It looks like…an
alley or…or a side street. There are low buildings across from me. They…they
might be stores…I don't know. There's nothing that gives me a clue where I am.
There's no traffic that I can see," he said as lightning flashed, its
light not aiding the injured man in figuring out where he was.
"Can you see any street signs or store
signs?" Lee asked anxiously.
"Everything's blurry. There's nothing to tell
me where I am. Just…just that I can smell the…the ocean. And some chemical
smell. I know that's not helpful," he said weakly.
"It's all right. We'll find you," Lee
said as his insides twisted in fear, wondering if he was lying to the man.
"Did you stop anywhere on the way to the party or did you go straight from
the Institute?"
He thought hard but everything was shrouded in
mist. He tried to push it away and to remember.
"I...don't think I stopped anywhere, Lee.
But…I…I don't know. I can't remember what happened. Why can't I remember?"
he whispered.
"Are you hurt anywhere else but your
side?"
"My head…my head hurts. I…I'm dizzy, too.
I've got a knot on the side of my head and my jaw hurts," he said as he
fingered the side of his head."
"All right, Admiral we'll find you. Can you
walk outside?"
"Don't…know where the door is," he
whispered hoarsely.
"Try. If you can find a street sign, we can
find you."
"I'm trying, Lee," he said as he
searched with his eyes for a door.
"Lee, the SBPD is here," Chip said
softly, pointing to a trim woman of about thirty with flame red hair pulled
back into a pony tail. "This is Detective Chris Powers,"
"Detective Powers," Lee said
acknowledging her presence briefly. "Are you the only one they sent?"
"It's a bad night out, Captain. Most of the
SBPD is out on calls. I have an APB out on Admiral Nelson however," she
said curtly.
"We have Admiral Nelson on the phone right
now but he doesn't know where he is," Lee said quietly.
"What do you mean he doesn't know where he
is?" Powers asked.
"I mean he's been hurt and doesn't know where
he is," Lee said tightly as he tried to carry on a conversation with the
detective and listen for the admiral at the same time.
"How badly is he hurt?" Chip asked
concern in his voice.
"I don't know. He said he was bleeding from
his side, his head hurt and he was dizzy. He must have hit his head
somehow."
"Or someone hit it for him," Powers said
with a scowl. "There have been a lot of reports of robberies and assaults
with this storm. We're stretched pretty thin."
Lee's heart clenched at Powers' words. "He
found a phone but can't find a way out of wherever he is."
"Was he kidnapped?" Chip asked his voice
quiet.
"He doesn't think so, Chip. He isn't tied up
at least."
"Lucky he found a phone. If he can keep the
line open we can trace the call and find out his location," Powers said.
"I'll call HQ and get someone down here to trace this call."
"Tell them to hurry. We may be running out of
time," Lee said softly, fear filling him at his words.
Lee turned back to the phone, hoping the admiral
would be able to hear him and was alarmed when he heard a loud crash and a deep
moan of pain.
"Admiral? What happened? Are you all right?
Admiral!" he shouted into the phone.
On the other end, Nelson fought hard to remain
conscious as the waves of pain flowed through him. He pulled the phone to him
and tried to speak. Finally, he managed to whisper, "I…I'm sorry, Lee.
I…can't…find my way…my way out. So tired…I…"
"It's all right, Admiral. We have a plan. The
Santa Barbara Police are here. They're going to trace this call. Don't hang up.
OK? Keep talking and we'll find you," Lee said hurriedly.
"I'll try, Lee."
"Ask him if he can remember anything…anything
that might tell us what happened to him," Powers said to Lee.
"Admiral…"
"I heard, Lee. I can't remember much. I left
the office and…I remember talking to Ben at the gate…then driving. Wind was
bad. It was wet. Then…"
The group waited for Nelson to continue.
"Then? Then what, Admiral?" Lee asked softly.
"Must have hit my head pretty good."
"I know you're in pain, sir but…"
"No, I mean…the next thing I remember is
a…clown. And…and a…a skeleton."
"A clown and a skeleton? Are you sure?"
"No, Lee I'm…not sure of… of anything. I have
an image…of the clown…skeleton in my window. I might be dreaming it all…for all
I know," Nelson said, his voice rapidly weakening.
"All right. Can you think of anything else?
Admiral? Admiral!" he said louder when Nelson didn't respond.
"Sorry, Lee…I'm…so tired…can't stay awake…I'm
sorry. Tell Edith…I…I'm sorry…sorry I ruined her night."
At that the phone was wrenched from Lee's hands
and Edith Nelson in full command mode, began to issue orders to her brother.
"You listen to me Harry Nelson! You did not ruin my night! What will
ruin my night is if you…if you give up. Do you hear me? You don't give up!
We'll find you. Just be alive for us to find. All right?" she asked in a
softer tone, her voice breaking slightly.
On the other end they were surprised to hear a
weak chuckle and then, "Yes ma'am. I…I'll be here. On the
floor…waiting…waiting for…"
"Admiral? Admiral? Are you there?" Lee
called but Nelson didn't answer and the fear inside them all exploded.
"Can you still trace the call even though he isn't talking?"
"Yes, as long as the line is open, we can.
Here are the techs now. We'll have a trace going in just a few minutes. Hang
on," she said as she turned to the newest members of the SBPD to arrive.
Crane began to pace, anxiety filling him as he
knew that each second Nelson wasn't found was another step closer to him
bleeding out. A gentle hand on his arm had him starting in fear for a moment
until he saw Angie staring at him in concern. He looked behind her and saw the
party room was emptying of children and he looked down at her in surprise.
"The families knew something was wrong. They
cleaned up and headed the children home. He'll be all right, Lee," she
said in a tone that told him she was asking him, not telling him.
"Yeah…he'll be all right. He's the
admiral," he said decisively as he watched the techs hook the phone up and
the trace began.
Agonizing minutes went by as the equipment zeroed
in on the admiral's location. Lee wrapped one arm around Edith and one around
Angie and drew them close. "He'll be all right. You know he will," he
said soothingly to them.
"Do I?" Edith asked. "How many
times can he outwit death? So many times I've waited to see if he would live or
die. Someday it's going to be the last. Maybe this is the night he doesn't come
home."
"You can't think like that. Don't give up on
him."
"I'm sorry I just…," what she was about
to say died in her throat as an explosion was heard outside and the lights
flickered briefly before going out entirely.
"Damn it!" one of the techs exclaimed
angrily. "We lost him!"
"What?" Lee yelled. "How? You said
as long as the line stayed open, we could trace him!"
"The phones are down, Captain," Powers
said bleakly. "Danton, check outside. See what that explosion was. Get
some lights in here," she ordered.
Before long, candles flickered in the slight
breeze that wafted through the Center as Lee Crane paced back and forth in the
dim room, worry filling him. How were they going to find him now? The thought
of them not getting to Nelson in time sent waves of grief through him. Not
having his friend around any longer wasn't a possibility he wanted to consider.
"Detective, a transformer blew just up the
street," Danton said as he ran back into the room. "Power crews are
being sent out but the storm has made a mess of most of this area of town. The
explosion took out phone lines also."
"Even if we get the phones back up we won't
be able to trace him that way-the line's been disconnected," one of the
phone techs said.
"Then what do we do?" a quiet voice
asked.
Lee turned and stared in consternation at the fear
that filled Edith Nelson's face, then turned back to Powers. "What do
we do?"
"Danton, were you able to narrow down the
area we're looking at?" she asked the tech.
"Yeah. Somewhat," he said.
"Show us where this area is," Powers
said tautly as she laid a map of the area on a table.
"The approximate area is here," he said
as he marked off the section on the map.
"Chip, contact the men we have out searching
by radio. Tell them to converge on this area. Assign each group a section on
this grid," he said pointing to the marked area. "The only thing the
admiral could tell us was he was inside a building off an alley or a side
street. We'll join them soon."
Chip grabbed a radio and peered down at the map
quickly assigning sections to the groups that were out searching.
"One other thing, Captain," Powers said.
"The storm did a lot of damage on this side of town. All our units are
busy with accidents or fires. There's even been a building collapse. Not many
units, if any, including ambulances, are available right now."
"So what you're saying is, even if we locate
him there won't be an ambulance to get him to a hospital?"
"We could contact the Institute and have
someone call Jamie. We could take the admiral to Med Bay if there are no
ambulances available," Angie said.
"Already taken care of," said a voice
behind them. The group turned to see Dr. Will Jamieson, dressed as a doctor,
walk through the door with two of the Institute's Med Bay corpsmen on his
heels.
"Jamie? How…?"
"Sharkey called me and told me the admiral
was missing. I left the party I was at, grabbed Danny and Jake here and came
over. You know where he is?"
"No. We had him on a phone and were tracing
the call but we lost the trace when the phone lines went down. They managed to
narrow down the area but we don't know where he is for sure."
"Well, we're wasting time standing around
here," Jamie said. "Let's head out and find him!"
"Jamie, you take the ambulance and troll the
streets in this area," he said pointing to a section that hadn't been
assigned yet. "Edith, you and Angie go with Jamie. Keep an eye out for
anything that looks unusual."
Edith and Angie left with Jamie and the corpsmen
in the Institute ambulance while Lee and Chip went off by themselves, confident
the other members of the crew that were out knew what to do. They had to find
him. There was no other option.
8.
Wind whipped the building Harriman Nelson lay
unconscious in. A chill breeze blew through as a shadow advanced on the
comatose admiral, coalescing into the shape of a man.
"Oh Harry. What's happened to you? Beaten and
stabbed. You didn't learn a thing from our jaunts into Boston all those years
ago, did you?"
Nelson shook himself as he felt a whisper on his
face as if a spider web had landed on him and he ineffectually tried to brush
it away. Thunder crashed and the night was split with a brilliant flash of
lightning while wind threatened to tear the building he was in apart.
"Wake up, Harry. They're coming for
you," he heard as a chill hand descended on his arm, its iciness filling
him unexpectedly with peace.
"Who…who is it?" he managed to whisper
as his eyes struggled to focus on the ethereal figure leaning over him.
"You can't give up. You have to live! One of
us has to take care of Elise and…well, it can't be me."
Nelson's eyes began to focus on the figure before
him and he recoiled. "James? What…how…you're dead."
"Yes, yes I am old friend. But you aren't.
And you aren't fighting hard enough to stay alive. You need to try
harder."
"It's not possible…you died…last year."
"Yeah. Stupid storm. I'm glad you didn't come
with me, Harry. I'm so glad. I know you feel guilty, but don't. There wasn't a
thing you could have done. It happened so fast."
"I…should have come. It…would have been the
last…last time. I didn't know…"
"But you'd be dead, too and I wouldn't want
that. No one would want that. Too many people care about you, Harry. I tried to
warn you in your office and the car not to go out but you didn't hear me."
"Edith…it was important to her."
"You always had a soft spot for her, didn't
you? From the first time you laid eyes on your baby sister you were her
slave."
"She's…all I have left."
"Of your blood family, yes. But you have so
many other people in your life that need you. People that are as close to you
as family."
"I…I know. But…why…why are you here?
How?"
"Tonight it's been a year since I passed.
I've seen how you've been there for Elise and the kids. Just as I knew you
would. It's the kind of man you are. I chose well all those years ago when we
first became friends."
"Elise…the kids…they…miss you," he said
weakly.
"I know. I know. Tell them…tell them I'm all
right now. Will you? I have to go soon. My time here is up. I need to cross
over tonight. Tell them for me."
"I…if I can…I will…but…but I'm
so…so…tired…" Nelson mumbled as he fought the rising darkness.
"Stay awake, Harry! Please! Your crew, your
friends, your family all need you. They'll be here soon."
"Who…who will…?"
"You know who. Lee and Chip and your men are
coming! You knew they would."
"I…yes… I…I know…"
"Ah. Harry! Wake up! You can't die! They're
so close! If you die now, Lee will feel the same guilt you're feeling at what
happened last year! Harry!"
But Nelson's eyes slid closed and the figure
leaning over him fragmented into wisps of blackness and swirled about the room
in agitation before leaving the broken figure on the floor.
9.
The Seaview men had divided up into
groups to search the area their admiral was lying injured and possibly dying
in. Street after street was checked, buildings, if unlocked, entered and
searched but nothing was found of one Harriman Nelson.
"Lee, we've been down all the streets on our
grid. He's not here."
"He has to be, Chip! If he isn't then
we…we've lost him," he said in anguish.
"What do we do? Where do we look?" Chip
asked, his voice betraying the worry he shared with Lee.
"I don't know, Chip. Maybe the trace was
wrong."
"If it was and we're looking in the wrong
area…"
"I know, Chip," he said quietly, knowing
it could cost the admiral his life. "I know." Suddenly he felt a
chill pass through him and he shivered.
"You all right?" Chip asked quietly.
"Yeah, just felt like a cold breeze blew
right through me," Lee said as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms,
uneasily looking about at the darkened streets.
Since their search had begun, no one had been seen
walking the streets of the almost deserted town as the storm continued to rage
about them, drenching them in a cold rain. If they were cold and wet, then they
could only assume Admiral Nelson, wherever he was, was just as cold, if not
colder, as the blood loss would only compound the problem.
"Let's head down this street again,"
Chip said gesturing to a street they had checked not more than a half hour ago.
"We've been down that way. Nothing down there
is open. Everything's locked tight."
"Well, let's try again. Then head back up
that way," Chip said, pointing up a slight hill.
"We could go off the search grid," Lee
said thoughtfully as a black wisp hovered over him. "I get the distinct
feeling we should go down this street here," he said distractedly looking
at a small, dark street to his left.
"Down that way?" Chip asked pointing to
a pitch black street fronted by rows of warehouses and stores. "It's not
in the area they said the trace covered but it might have been…" he
stopped what he was about to say as he saw a black shadow appear, then slowly
disappear into a doorway a few feet from them.
"Tell me you saw that," Lee said
quietly.
"I…I saw it. But what was it?" Chip
said.
"I don't know. Smoke maybe?"
"Yeah, smoke. Just smoke," Chip
whispered nervously, trying to forget that tonight was Halloween.
"Come on, it can't hurt to try down here
quickly. We have to find the admiral soon," Lee said tightly, as he headed
for the doorway he saw the shadow smoke disappear into, the door hanging open
and blowing in the ferocious wind. "We need to check inside this building.
Now."
They entered quickly, Crane shining a light about
the interior frantically until they saw a still form on the floor by a broken
window and the Seaview officers raced to him.
"Admiral?" Lee called as he and Chip
knelt by the side of Nelson, his heart in his throat as he reached a hand to
his neck, praying hard. He let out a deep sigh as he felt a pulse beat weakly
beneath his fingers. "He's alive. Pulse is weak though. We need to put
pressure on this wound," he said firmly as he examined the injury in the
light of the flashlight Chip held, his stomach dropping at the amount of blood
he saw there.
A low moan had Crane and Morton looking down in fear.
Nelson's eyes flickered, then slowly opened, looking about him as if he didn't
know where he was.
"James? Where…?" His gaze settled on the
worried faces hovering above him and a crooked smile broke his lips. "I…I
knew…you two would find me," he whispered. "I knew it…he…knew it,
too," he said before passing out again.
"He who?" Chip asked. "And who is
James?"
"I…I don't know. He's warm. Maybe he's
delirious," Lee said as he felt Nelson's forehead.
"I'll radio Jamie and give him our
location," Chip said as he grabbed the radio and called Jamieson quickly,
filling him in on their location and the admiral's injuries.
"Stay with us, Admiral," Lee said in a
soft tone as he kept one hand on Nelson's wrist and one hand pressing on the
wound, begging the man to keep living. "Don't go. You can't die. Please!
Fight!"
"Lee? That black shadow thing…was it
real?" Chip asked quietly.
"I…I don't know, Chip. We both saw it. And if
we hadn't seen it…"
"What?"
"If we hadn't seen it, would we have come
down here? Would we have found the admiral?" he asked, looking at Chip in
question.
"Are you saying it led us here?" Chip
asked incredulously.
"I…I don't know. We've seen a lot of things
we can't explain in the past few years. Maybe…maybe something led us here. I
don't know."
"Do we…you know…talk about it?"
Lee laughed lightly. "We can't explain it,
can we? Who'd believe us?"
"He might," Chip said gesturing to
Nelson. "Who knows what happened to him. He thought someone was here…this
James person."
Crane was silent for a minute as he thought about
what Chip had said. "Maybe," he said remembering last year and the
accident that had taken the life of Nelson's good friend. "Remember last
Halloween? That boating accident?"
"Yeah. We almost lost the admiral that night.
If he'd gone on that trip…wait…you think it was that James he thought
was here?"
"I don't know what to think. For right now,
I'm just glad we found him. Hopefully in time," Lee said as he stared down
at Nelson, willing him to live.
The silence in the room was broken a few minutes
later by the sound of the Institute ambulance arriving. Crane rose quickly as
Jamie and his team ran in and allowed the medical team access to Nelson.
Looking up, he saw Chip moving towards two figures
who entered the room on the heels of the team and saw him stop a few feet away
and envelop Angie and Edith, their faces masks of fear, in his arms as he kept
them from coming too near.
"How bad is it, Jamie?" Lee asked after
Jamie had made a cursory examination.
"Not good. He's lost a lot of blood and he's
got a pretty good fever going. We need to get him to a hospital. I need to
start an IV, get some fluids and some antibiotics in him before we move him
though."
Lee sensed someone beside him and turned to see
Edith, tears flowing down her cheeks, staring at her brother in fear then a
small smile graced her lips. "He wore it," she whispered.
Looking down at his friend, he smiled too when he
noticed what was left of the costume the man had been persuaded to wear.
Angie came up beside Edith and hugged her tightly.
"You're the only one he would have done it for," she said softly as
she laid her head on Edith's and hugged her tighter, her tears mingling with
Edith's.
10.
Softness was the first thing Harriman Nelson became
aware of as he struggled back to consciousness. The hardness of the floor he
had lain on had been replaced by a soft surface and he pondered that fact for
awhile until he realized the pain that had become his constant companion was
dulled, and he sighed in relief.
"Harry?" a soft voice by his side
whispered just as he had decided to slip back into the warm, softness and sleep
some more. A gentle squeeze on his hand forced him to decide against that act
as he felt the pressure increase and heard the anxiety in the simple call.
He ordered his eyes to open and briefly they
obeyed, long enough to glimpse his baby sister sitting by his side, a look of
fear mixed with hope and tinged with tiredness on her face.
"Edith?" he managed to croak.
"What…where am I?"
"Easy, big brother. I'll tell you all you
need to know," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder as she stood over
him. "You're in Med Bay at the Institute. You were stabbed and beaten a
few days ago. You've been running a pretty good fever but you're finally
responding to the antibiotics. There's a nice hole in your side and you have a
pretty good concussion but Jamie says you'll be all right. You just need lots
of rest."
"I…I remember bits and pieces," he said
as his brow furrowed in thought. "It was dark…there was pain…and
cold…then…then Lee was there."
"And he still is," Edith said with a
smile as she looked over her shoulder. "We never left your side. Chip and
Angie are here somewhere, also."
"Admiral," Lee said as Nelson's eyes
struggled to focus on the smiling face hovering over Edith's shoulder.
"When you don't want to go to a party you'll do anything to get out of it,
won't you, sir?" he asked smiling.
"Party? The Halloween party! I missed the
charity party?" he asked.
"It's all right, Harry. I forgive you,"
Edith said with a slight catch in her voice and a light touch on his brow.
"Next year though I'm not letting you out of my sight the whole day."
Her brother's slight smile filled her with
happiness and relief. "Deal," he said as his strength began to wane.
"But…what happened to me?"
"Simply put…you were carjacked by a clown and
a skeleton," Lee said briefly as he seated himself on Nelson's bed.
Nelson stared at Lee in confusion. "Want to
explain that?"
Lee laughed lightly; the worry of the past few
days was fading as he knew his friend and boss would recover fully. In time.
"Two men dressed in costumes-a skeleton and a clown-robbed a liquor store.
Their car died so they started running. You'd apparently stopped for a stop
sign when they ran up to you, dragged you out of the car and you three started
fighting. Somehow you ended up stabbed in the side.
Confusion marked Nelson's face as he struggled to
remember. "I don't remember that. How did I get…wherever I was?" he
asked as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
"They said they broke into a photocopy store
and dragged you into it so no one would see you. They took the time to ransack
the place and rob it before stealing your car."
"Photocopy store? Yes, the…the chemical
smell…that explains the smell. I remember that for some reason but I couldn't
place what it was. Wish I could have."
"Well, with the concussion you have, it's
surprising you were as aware as you were. They hit you pretty hard," Lee
said in anger.
"How do you know all this?" Nelson whispered
as he felt himself being pulled away.
"Los Angeles PD found them shortly after we
found you. They used your car for another robbery. This time they didn't manage
to get away. They won't be out of jail any time soon," Lee said harshly,
anger filling him at the knowledge of what they had done and what they had
almost done.
"I just keep thinking of you being in that
place all alone, cold, wet and hurt," Edith said as tears threatened to
pour from her eyes again.
"Alone…" Nelson whispered, his brow
furrowed in thought. "Yes…alone." The knowledge he hadn't been truly
alone was something he would keep to himself. "Thank you, James,"
he thought to himself, smiling when he heard a soft, "You're welcome,
old friend. Take care."
Lee looked down at Nelson, noticing the smile and
wondered about it. Could there have been someone there with him or had they all
imagined something that hadn't happened? Was it just something the spirit of
Halloween had instilled in them? Maybe when he was stronger, he would ask the
admiral. It would make for an interesting conversation.
"You just never know, do you?" Nelson
said as a lopsided smile graced his lips.
"Know? Know what, Admiral?" Lee asked in
confusion as he leaned closer to Nelson who was rapidly losing his battle to
stay conscious.
"All the times…people have tried to kill
me…and it's…it's two thugs who had no idea who I was that…came close to doing a
good job of it," he said weakly, finally giving in to the welcoming pull
of sleep as his eyes slid closed.
"No, you just never know," Edith said as
she leaned over her sleeping brother and placed a soft kiss on his forehead,
relief that he had come back to her again filling her. "You just never
know."
THE END
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