The story of 6: Part 2

[Revised: December 10, 2009]

6 was brilliant, she had everyone in the Lobby under her control. She was known to have control over Sealfy, on occasion. She was well respected and loved by all of Professor Karros’s cliental. She believed in his vision because she believed in the power of entertainment. The power to captivate the soul and change the mood of even the hardens of criminals. It has been 3 months, to date, since any one has heard her name.

Janelle Cosgrave was 6 feet tall, well-shaped, easy on the eyes, outgoing, perky, and as happy as a dove. Janelle loved her job, loved the adventure and the mystery behind her the Professor – her boss. Janelle enjoyed her work. She found pride in all that she did. If it was a financial report, it was done in such elegance and breeze that any investor would instantly see ‘the truth’ and come onboard. This was her skillset that made her the best of the best, cream of the crop candidate for anything.

It was 4:30 at night when 3 men in uniform waltz in the door and searched for the Professor.

“Excuse me, miss.” One of the corporals speaks out.

“What can I do for you?” was the perky response from Janelle, the current Lobby Assistant.

“I’m looking for the Shadow Man.” Janelle looks at him in curiosity. “Professor Karros, it’s a matter of national security. It’s a code black.”

“A code black…, hmm.” Janelle moves over to a console and types a few keys on her touch screen. A little message pops up, she enters a password. Suddenly the little touch screen goes blank and the security lights begin flashing. The lobby’s security doors fall to section it off, and the Professor scurries into the scene.

“Sir, I have a message from Home Land Security. It requires your signature.” The corporal walks over to Professor Karros, and he signs the paper. The Professor takes the black folder and opens it. Seconds later, the black folder is slammed shut as fear and deep concern take over the Professors joyful appearance.

“L. A., my office.” Professor Karros begins to move towards his office in a jog, “Greg I need you to go find Jarred and tell him to get his force ready. I will also need you to get one of the blue bags from Jarred and make arrangements to fly in the CMO from vacation.”

Greg came out from the Chief Medical Officers office, “Are you sure?”

The Professor responds, “to the Tunnel. The Shadow Cometh […]”





Janelle sat in the front of the main conference room at the Bermuda Triangle Facility, EGT Bermuda One. The conference room was filled with the big shots, VIPs from the United States Armed Forces, including several notable Generals. The room itself was made of entirely clear glass and was 600 feet below sea level creating a fantastic view of water life. The room was just outside the main structure of Bermuda One and was connected by a small hallway. To the left of the room, from where Janelle was sitting was a door that led to a spiral staircase which took you into the small hallway which brought you back into the main structure.

This was Janelle’s first and last time in the Bermuda Triangle facility. She knew the Professor had secrets, but she could not have fathomed this.

The room hushed as L. A. adjusted her seat and pulled out a black folder. She was going to address the crowd. Professor Karros would be absent as he was already in a secret meeting with the President of the United States and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Janelle knew he would be there for the better part of the day.

“As according to the Shadow Man Proclamation, I hereby bring this meeting to order under the jurisdictions there of.” She would have made a joke right about now, but this meeting needed was carried out under strict guidelines of the Shadow Man Proclamation. She would not have any other way.

“I’m here to brief you all on an individual known as ‘The Shadow.’ The shadow is biological marvel, contains over 200,000 thousand unique characteristics all over his body. We call them ‘black heads,’ they allow The Shadow to mimic any persons shadow and leach on to that person. Thus so far as we know, there is no defense against him. The Shadow has not been seen in over centuries, so tracking him down may prove impossible.”

The display behind Janelle was having difficulty keeping up with her voice, because she was skipping over points and missing cues. She was so frantic and nervous that she could kill herself, if she drank coffee. She stuck with tea. She took a sip of the ‘warm stuff’ that the replicator called tea, and continued.

“As far as we know, he does not have any genetic alterations that would make him, as an individual, be a threat to national security directly.” Remembering to be specific, or else she could be arrested for ‘faulty information’ as according to the Shadow Man Proclamation. She continues, “What we do believe that poses a gigantic threat to national security and abroad, is the stolen invention we call a Universal Parallax Translator. The UPT was stolen from EGT Warehouse, 6b, 13 days ago and could be configured to obliterate 1/3 of the North American Content. This explosion could cost massive casualties, in the millions.”

“Amongst other applications, the UPT could become a single tool used to guide the world leaders in giving control of their governments over to The Shadow. If configured correctly the UPT could decimate an entire universe. At the very least this technology is forbidden for use, under section 12 of the Shadow Man Proclamation, ‘Article of Forbidden Technologies’. Reason behind this technology’s inclusion in the ‘Article of Forbidden Technologies’ is due to an incident that threaten the stability of and the population of New York state.”

She paused to take another drink, herd some coughs and expected to hear snoring. She heard no snoring, so she continued. “Because of all that has happened in the past, the mandate is to seek The Shadow, arrest him, and bring the UPT and any derivatives back into custody of the Professor where it will be placed in the Vault. Questions?”

The crowd began to wake up and the Question and Answering session began. Janelle disliked the Q&A sessions especially with this kind of crowd, they would ask questions that she would not be prepared for or would not like to answer.

“Mam,” spoke a General.

“Janelle,” she smiles in the direction of the General. “Please call me, Janelle. Go on.”

“Janelle, how can we be certain that the UPT will be safe in the ‘Vault?’”

“The Vault, as you may or may not know, is heavily guarded and protected at EGT Headquarters. I can assure you, no one has gone into the Vault that has not been authorized in over a year.” She took a seat, after standing to give her little speech.

“With all due respect,” a marine blurs out. L. A. braces for impact, because she knows when someone says ‘with all due respect’ they are about to bruise your ego or complain about your tactics. “What makes you so sure you can take care of it, when you have not done such a good job of it so far?”

A few men voiced their agreement.

“I assure you it is in accordance with the Shadow Man Proclamation, which you’re Commander and Chief signed and the Congress rectified.”

“Well maybe it’s time we relook that decision.” Another General was stirring unrest.

“Gentlemen,” the crowd gets quiet. “Unless you want to be tried for treason, I suggest you stop this pointless babel.”

The crowd silences and withdraws their concern.