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  Sock It To Me

  Sock It To Me

  Midpoint

  About the Author

  When Benjamin Abrams is called in to participate in the investigation of what appears to be an inter-dimensional portal opening in the San Francisco Bay area, he never once considered to meet the man of his dreams and find the answer to a decades-long mystery.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Sock it To Me

  Copyright © 2017 Jo Tannah

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-1344-6

  Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

  Look for us online at:

  www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

  Smashwords Edition

  Sock it To Me

  By

  Jo Tannah

  Dedication

  Sock It To Me is a story I contributed to the Over The Rainbow Anthology which is no longer available. I’d always meant it as a free read for everyone to enjoy.

  Until we meet again on the other side of the rainbow. ~ Friends of Dorothy

  Sock It to Me

  Friday, 2:00 a.m.

  Benjamin hit the floor. Biting his lip, he groaned, blinking his eyes, wondering what had startled him from his sleep. Then he heard it again. A loud banging on his door echoed loudly through his small apartment. Cursing out loud, he crossed the ten steps required to reach the door and peered through the peephole. He took a step back in surprise. There were two men in black standing outside. He looked at the small clock on his desk and, seeing it was not even two in the morning, he cursed again. He looked into the hole again, and this time, saw that another man had joined the first two. They all wore dark sunglasses.

  Why the hell are the men in black here? Letting out a sigh, Benjamin unlocked the door and flung it open.

  “What do you want? You know what time it is?”

  “Doctor Abrams?” one of the men said. He was an attractive looking fellow, if he didn’t look so ridiculous in his get-up.

  “Yes, I’m Abrams. Again, what do you want?”

  “You need to come with us, sir.”

  “And you are?” Benjamin raised a brow at the agent.

  “Agent Carter, sir.”

  Benjamin peered at the man before shaking his head. “Seriously? Your name’s Agent Carter? Sorry, but Agent Carter is a woman and you are no female I’ve ever seen before.”

  Agent Carter’s face flushed in anger and he took a threatening step toward Benjamin, whose brow rose higher. The man behind Carter placed his hand on his partner’s shoulder and faced Benjamin.

  “Doctor, we don’t have time for this. Dr. Maxwell told us to tell you that you need to come in.”

  Benjamin stilled, and all thought of further provoking the G-men disappeared.

  “Give me ten minutes,” he said before slamming the door on their faces.

  Friday, 8:25 a.m.

  Benjamin looked at Dr. Martin Maxwell. The man had been his adviser for three years when he’d worked as Maxwell’s student assistant until he completed his doctorate.

  “Ben, we need your help.”

  Benjamin leaned back in his chair and looked at the ten men sitting at the table. It had taken six hours of traveling with the silent G-men to reach this facility. The vehicle drove through three well-guarded security perimeters before they’d finally asked him to get off the main road in the middle of nowhere. He’d stood there, looking around him when the ground beneath him suddenly trembled and shifted. He had a moment of panic not knowing what to do when the ground he stood on began to sink. Bracing his feet, he looked down and saw he was entering an underground structure. Hundreds of feet later, he was escorted into a conference room by two uniformed men where he was greeted by his former professor.

  “Dr. Maxwell, no one’s told me what’s going on. Exactly what kind of help do you want from me? My expertise is in dead languages.”

  “Doctor Abrams.” Benjamin looked at the man who spoke. He didn’t know him, but from the uniform, he was a general. The three stars on his collar was a dead giveaway.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard of the emergency evacuation of the San Francisco Bay area?”

  Benjamin frowned at the man. “I’m aware there was a chlorine gas leak last week, yes. What about it?”

  “There was no leak,” Maxwell said, a worried frown lowering over his thick brows.

  Ben looked at the man. “What was it then?”

  The general raised a hand and signaled to a major who’d been silently standing behind him. He aimed and clicked the remote in his hand and a screen descended from the ceiling. Benjamin watched as a shaky video taken by someone anonymous played out. At first, Benjamin didn’t know what he was looking at. All he could see was a dark sky and lightning illuminating heavy clouds. The intermittent flashes were curiously spaced seconds apart. Benjamin listened for the expected thunder that usually followed the display. When there was none and yet the lightning storm continued on, he looked at the general.

  “What am I looking at, and is the sound muted?”

  “The sound is up at one hundred percent. What you are looking at is a dimensional rift opening.”

  “Who says?”

  “I do,” Maxwell said.

  Benjamin didn’t turn to look at his former professor, but stood and went nearer the screen. “Is this live?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who’s taking this?”

  “We sent in a team and they’re feeding this from their cell phones.”

  Benjamin’s brow lifted. “Cell phones? Why not bring in better equipment?”

  “We did,” the Major said grimly, making Benjamin turn to him. “Once they entered the area none of them worked. We still don’t understand why it’s only cell phones and a scanner that are left working.”

  Benjamin turned to Maxwell. “How long has this been going on?”

  “Three days.”

  “May I ask why you need me there? You’re the expert on dimensional shifts.”

  “We received a message last night. Your name was on it. Written in hieroglyphics.”

  “Why me? I don’t even know anything.”

  “That’s what we’re about to find out,” the general said.

  Friday, 10:00 a.m.

  Benjamin looked around him, ignoring his six companions. He hitched his satchel over his shoulder and walked over to where an officious looking man was directing soldiers. At his approach, the man straightened and looked him up and down. Although his face remained impassive, Benjamin could see he was curious about what a civilian was doing there.

  “Colonel,” Benjamin said, extending his hand in greeting. “I’m Benjamin Abrams.”

  “Ah, yes. General O’Connell told me to expect you,” the man said, shaking Benjamin’s hand in greeting. “I’m Colonel Sands, let me tak
e you inside.”

  Benjamin looked at his companions. They were looking around them but made no move to follow him. Sands showed him into a make-shift tent a few feet away from where they’d met. “The general gave us specific instructions we are to assist you.”

  “Yes, thank you, Colonel.” Benjamin placed his satchel on a table as his eyes drifted to the bank of monitors showing the area where the lightning continued to flash silently. Two soldiers sat in front of the monitors. “Have there been any changes?”

  “None. The disturbance seems to be steadying to a single flash every thirty seconds.”

  Benjamin nodded his head as he continued to study the screens. Something caught his attention and he raised a hand to point at one of the monitors. “What’s that?”

  The colonel peered at the screen. One of the soldiers in charge of the display said something into a phone and the image Benjamin had been pointing at showed the camera zooming in. The image looked pixelated at best, but they all saw a figure walking out from a glowing portal toward the man who was holding the camera.

  “Where are your men located?” Benjamin asked, leaning forward to take a closer look at the figure.

  “They’re about a block away from that area. Soldier,” Sands turned to one of the controllers, “ask them what’s going on out there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Benjamin observed as the figure came closer. The figure was garbed in what appeared to be some sort of heavy, black material. The hood made it difficult to determine the features beneath it. He heard a voice calling for the creature to stop. Benjamin held his breath, not knowing what was going to happen next. The figure stopped moving but called out something in a strange language.

  “Sumerian? Why in the world is it speaking Sumerian?”

  Everyone turned to look at Benjamin in confusion. No one answered his question. They remained silent as the figure began to slowly raise its hands in the universal sign of surrender. To their surprise, it began to speak in broken English.

  “Peace. Me have message. Need deliver.” The voice was that of a man.

  Benjamin frowned as he pondered over what the soldier’s next move was going to be. “Colonel, ask the men to approach. Tell them to do so slowly, so as not to frighten him.”

  Sands gave the instructions, then the monitor showed whoever was holding the phone move closer to the figure that remained still. They all watched as two soldiers approached the man and pat him down, searching for weapons. A soldier holding a working scanner passed it over the man’s head and body. He turned and signaled the man was negative for weapons.

  Benjamin turned toward the colonel. “I’m going in.”

  Friday, 11:15 a.m.

  Benjamin entered the tent. Once inside, his eyes fell on the hooded figure sitting on a chair, hands on the table.

  “Hello, my name is Dr. Benjamin Abrams.”

  The robed figure raised his head then raised his hand to push the hood up and over his head to rest on his shoulders. Benjamin held his breath. The man had dark hair, was clean shaven and could easily be mistaken as human, were it not for his eyes. They were the most brilliant blue eyes Benjamin had ever seen in his life. They were incredibly luminous and currently staring at him intently. Around his neck was a thick, gold chain. Hanging from it, a huge crystal pendant shaped like a broadsword.

  “I am Jared,” the man said. His voice sounded smooth and deep, but there was a hesitance to it, like the man was translating what was in his head into English.

  “Hello, Jared,” Benjamin said, trying to sound relaxed. He pointed to a chair. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

  Jared dipped his head but didn’t say a word. He watched as Benjamin took a seat cocking his head to one side. “You are not afraid of me?”

  Benjamin smiled ruefully. “For some reason, the only thing I’m feeling is curiosity. May I know why you’re here?”

  “It is good you feel no threat. That was never our intention. We... hmm... apologize for the disturbance in your atmosphere. It always happens when we open a portal to a different dimension. From our experience, our presence is not always welcome, and many lives have been lost in the past due to misunderstandings.”

  “There are armed soldiers outside ready to shoot you, at the very least maim you, should you threaten us in any way.”

  “Of course, it is only to be expected,” Jared said. “When I volunteered for this assignment, I knew the risks involved.”

  “Your English seems to be improving,” Benjamin said.

  “Yes, and it will continue to do so. I thank my universal translator.”

  “Our scanners didn’t pick up its presence,” Benjamin said. He wondered what else their equipment was not detecting. “How’s that possible?”

  “It is organic, not metal. Our world is very poor on certain resources, particularly metals like your world has an abundance of.”

  “Organic? You’re saying it’s alive?”

  “Yes. Our translators willingly provide assistance when we have need of them. I volunteered to come here and Brina stepped up to the task and attached herself willingly to me. I am honored for her risking her life, but she said it is for the good of both our worlds.”

  Benjamin placed his elbows on the table and leaned his chin on his entwined fingers. “Let me understand this correctly. Your translator is a female?”

  “She is a female of her kind, yes.”

  “And she’s attached to you?”

  Jared nodded. “Let me show you.” He pulled on his collar and turned his head so Benjamin could see the back of his neck. “See? Brina is sending her greetings.”

  Benjamin struggled to contain his surprise. Stuck to Jared’s neck looked what appeared to be a transparent creature of about five inches long and an inch wide. It pulsed and glowed, and looked to be breathing. The creature, no—Brina, moved and Benjamin jerked back in surprise. She raised what appeared to be an eel-like head. She briefly undulated before lowering herself over Jared’s neck once more, then lay still.

  “My God, what is she?”

  “She is Brina. She is a translator, as I have already told you.”

  “Is she dangerous?”

  Jared shook his head. “No. The translator’s function is to make ease the communication between beings. They are revered for they are defenseless, yet are brave and never hesitate to risk their lives to help my people.”

  Benjamin took a deep breath, his thoughts in turmoil. The repercussions of Brina’s presence should the government get hold of her kind overwhelmed his mind. He had no choice, he had to protect both man and creature. His gaze met those of Jared’s. Silently and with quick, precise movements, he began to unbutton his shirt. Jared sat up straight in his chair, a look of alarm on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Benjamin raised a finger to his lips and shook his head. Jared seemed to understand and didn’t say a word. Still not saying anything, Benjamin pointed to the wire taped to his chest. The only reaction Jared showed was to stare at the contraction and purse his lips.

  Quietly, Benjamin disabled the microphone. Carefully, he laid the tiny microphone and slim wires over the table. Thinking quickly, he stood and began to pace on the uneven floor. But for his eyes following Benjamin’s movements, Jared sat unmoving on his chair.

  “We need to get the both of you out of here,” Benjamin finally said, his frown deepening as he continued to pace the floor. “If the government finds out about Brina, they will not hesitate to take her away from you. Should you attempt to stop them, they’ll kill you and use her for their own purpose. I need you to trust me. I can lead you safely out of here and back to your own world. Once you cross the portal, I need you to forget about Earth.”

  Jared shook his head. “No, I cannot do that. I need to relay a message to your people.”

  “They won’t listen. The politicians of my world are not open to change. Anything they don’t agree with they’ll destroy. They’ll kill you and Brina. Do you understand me?” Benjamin pointed to
the tent flaps. “The soldiers outside, they’re not there because they were instructed to do what I tell them to. They’ll shoot me if they find out I’m helping you escape.”

  To Benjamin’s astonishment, Jared only shook his head. “You do not understand. If I do not complete my mission, my world will be beholden to yours. Forever. I think that is a far greater risk. Also, Brina understands her value to your people. Do you think we have not studied your world? We both knew the risks involved. No, we have to talk to the leader of your government.”

  Benjamin looked at the determination in Jared’s eyes and knew there was nothing he could do to change his mind. God help him, he needed to make sure Jared and Brina survived this reckless mission of theirs. Even if he had to risk his own life to protect them.

  Friday 2:00 p.m.

  “Colonel Sands, can you join us please?” Benjamin spoke into the tiny microphone he’d removed earlier.

  “Are you all right, Doctor?”

  “Yes, everything’s perfectly fine, Colonel.”

  Standing in the middle of the small space, Benjamin watched as Sands stepped through the tent’s entrance and stop. He didn’t move further inside. He looked at Benjamin first, then at Jared. When he saw no threat to the situation he moved forward.

  “Colonel Sands, this is Jared,” Benjamin said.

  “Can he understand us?” Sands said to Benjamin while his gaze remained on Jared.

  “Yes, I can understand you perfectly, Colonel. May I offer you my greetings?”