Ready for our first date?” Greg asked sweetly. Trish rolled their eyes.

“Geez, did we ever get things ass-backwards,” she cracked. Greg took the precaution of slipping on a Bluetooth headset.

“What’s that for Greg?” Trish asked him.

“Just insurance in case I speak aloud to you. With this,” he indicated the earpiece, “people will think I’m on my cell phone and not crazy.”

“What a good idea,” Trish remarked.

They put on his coat and hat and got on the snowmobile for the drive across the frozen Shebeshekong Channel to where Greg’s truck waited.

It was an hour’s drive by snowmobile from Greg's house, across the channel to get to the private landing he maintained near the small community of Snug Harbour. Although they could have flown it in fifteen minutes, they decided to keep as low a profile as possible. During the trip, Greg gave Trish advice about dealing with others.

“Trish, it’s not about your interpersonal skills, it’s just that you’ve never dealt with average people before. Honestly, how many people have you actually encountered in your life?”

“You know very well that I’ve only met you and my Daddy,” she countered sharply. Greg slipped into a Sean Connery imitation,

“Extraordinary gentlemen, indeed.” He felt her chuckle and start to relax slightly.

“Not bad for a dated reference, but you’ll improve with practice,” Trish quipped.

“Anyhow,” he continued, “most people are less tolerant of the strange and unusual then people like your dad. Their minds are not alive like yours and they tend to treat anything new and different with fear and suspicion. You’ve watched the newsfeeds and seen the web. It’s a very rare person that can open his or her eyes and see reality like you and I see it,” Greg finished.

"That’s really sad, how can people stand to live like that?” asked Trish.

“Most people don’t even realize that they’re like that,” Greg posited. “It’s a learned behaviour unfortunately, and although a few are shaking off their fear, many more cling to it desperately because it’s familiar. Fear was the root of my depression for many years,” he mused.

“No Greg, you’re wrong,” she countered. “The root of your depression was biochemical in nature but somehow you managed to cure yourself. Fear was merely a symptom of that imbalance. The bugs have cleared up the lesions left behind, by the way.” Greg considered this before continuing.

“All I’m trying to say Dear, is that most of the people we meet today and in the future will be nice as individuals, but could revert to a mob mentality if they felt threatened. I’m not trying to frighten you, I’m just making sure you understand why we have to be so cautious. I was odd enough for these people before you entered my life. I was even called the ‘local mad scientist’ by some folks around here because of my researches in alternative energy.”

He cackled maniacally, “Lies, all lies. I was never mad, just ticked off,” Greg cleared his throat, “Today you’re going to encounter some nice people who’ve most likely never heard of neural interfaces, nanomechs or seen people fly without a plane before. A lot of them have very good home computers but only use the systems’ most basic capabilities. So, I think it’s safe to say the concept of artificial intelligence is strictly ‘Hollywood’ to them.”

Greg paused as he concentrated on guiding the snowmobile onto the frozen surface of the channel. He did a quick survey of the ice surface for cracks and heaves to avoid, and then continued,

“Trish I’d say that as long as we’re friendly and non-threatening, there won’t be any problems.”

“Well, as you’ve said, we’re supposed to be a super spy. Let’s go blend into the background. This can be our first stealth training mission,” Trish said earnestly. Greg thought for a moment,

“Sound’s like a very good plan. I was thinking we could go to the Log Cabin restaurant for an early supper after we take a stroll along James Street and window shop for a while. After supper we go over to the mall on Parry Sound Drive to see a movie and lay in some supplies, keeping a low profile and being casual all the way.”

Trish thought about that and agreed. They chatted for a while about how their abilities could be used for the good of the world and before they realized it, they were pulling up beside Greg’s Land Rover. He locked up the snowmobile, started the truck and let it warm up. Greg felt Trish looking intently at his vehicle.

“What?” he prompted.

“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking that it seems a little odd that you drive such a large truck and run a research lab like the AERI,” she commented.

“Well, for places like the Georgian Bay area in winter, you need snowmobiles and four wheel drive vehicles to get around. I do have these two running with some improvements,” Greg explained, “and here’s the clever part: the truck is a hybrid system that I came up with. Its fuel cells and regenerative braking system supply the truck with an electrical drive up to 80 kilometres an hour, and then the low emission ethanol engine takes over for speeds above 80. I have the transmission geared so the electrical motor has easily as much torque as the internal combustion engine does. My design was just adopted for use in Canada because it uses 85% less fossil fuel than any other hybrid currently in production. The snowmobile runs on an ethanol engine as well.”

“Wow, I’m impressed, and here I thought you were just a pretty face,” she chirped. He smiled and then looked over to the right.

“Head’s up, company coming,” he announced.

“Who is it Greg?” Trish was concerned.

“Just the local representatives of the Ontario Provincial Police checking up on me,” he said easily. “I’m guessing it was a good idea to come into town today.”

“You’re right again my genius,” Trish quipped and paused. “Hey, if you can manage to get any flesh-to-flesh contact, like a handshake, will you do it? I’ll explain why later. Gotta go now, love you!” Greg turned to face the truck driving towards him. It pulled to a stop and the cops got out as Greg walked over to meet them.

“How do, Doc? Long time no see,” the Sergeant greeted him with a crooked grin.

“Yeah Don, it has been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been really busy I guess,” Greg countered with an easy smile.

“Oh yeah, I was reading about your ‘wonder car’ yonder in Popular Mechanics. Slick as snot!” Don Gauld pointed toward the Land Rover. “I hear the town council was discussing a party or something for you. The kid and I were just gonna cross the channel to see if you were all right but it looks like you are,” Don grinned. “Saved us a trip. Headed to town?”

“Yeah Don,” Greg smiled at his friend, “I’ve got to pick up some groceries and thought I’d grab some dinner at the Log Cabin tonight, maybe catch a flick. You know, take a little break from being a hermit.” Greg smiled and extended his hand. Don took it and gave it a firm pump. A slight tingle ran up Greg’s arm, but the Sergeant didn’t even appear to notice. The officers walked toward their truck and while his partner got into the vehicle, Don turned back towards Greg.

“Hey Doc! What’d you think about these superheroes? Pretty weird shit, huh?”

Greg stiffened slightly but forced a grin.

“Aw c’mon Gauld, don’t be a goof! Do you really buy that tabloid crap? Oh, what, did you see one or something?” Greg needled the big man.

“Nah, but I heard there were a bunch of them up Sudbury way last December. Some big dustup with the smelting companies or sumthin’. Me, I’m not sure what to think, but still, it’s pretty cool to have real live superheroes,” the Sergeant grinned like a kid, waved, got into the truck and drove off.

“Friend of yours?” Greg was slightly startled when Trish spoke.

“Who, Don? Yeah, we buy comics at the same store, Middle Earth,” he smiled at this recollection. “I run into him from time to time. What was that shock I got when I shook his hand?”

“We just sampled his DNA and fingerprints. Our scanners took care of it automatically,” Trish explained. “We can imitate him anytime now that he’s in our files. But you felt tense when you were talking to him, why were you concerned about him? He seems like a nice enough person.”

“Just a little jumpy, I guess,” he rolled his shoulders and head to relieve the pent up tension. “Then he mentioned superheroes and I thought he knew about us. Sure, he’s nice, but that’s because he doesn’t suspect me of anything, and apparently, the town seems to have claimed me as a local hero,” Greg snorted. “Second only to Bobby Orr I guess, nevertheless you have to remember, he’s the local law and representative of the provincial government around here. It’s his job to be more suspicious than the average person.”

They got into Greg’s truck, fastened the seat belt and drove off. The access road to his landing hadn’t been ploughed out as he’d expected, but it wasn’t anything the truck couldn’t handle. They picked up Highway 559 by Killbear Provincial Park and drove toward Highway 69. They exited at Centennial Drive and came into the town of Parry Sound. Finding a parking spot near James Street on Seguin Street, they got out of the Rover. Greg glanced at his watch out of habit and saw it was 12:30pm.

“Your watch is slow,” she noted.

“It’s not bad for a cheap quartz,” Greg said. “Besides, we have to put on a show of normalcy for the locals, be seen around town and such. I should go to my bank and get my accounts checked and updated.” They turned and walked across the street to the branch Greg used for personal visits. There was a small crowd waiting in line, but not too many for lunchtime on a winter’s day. As he walked past the ATMs, he felt his right hand brushing the casing and their systems tapping the network. With a smile on his face, he opened the main door to the bank and was immediately spotted by one of the other patrons.

“Hey! It’s the Doc!” The staff and locals gathered around him shaking his hand and talking all at once.

“Hey, congratulations!”

“That truck is great!”

“Good work!”

“…buying one.”

“Did you know they’re putting your name up on a sign by the Highway?”

“I just read somewhere that they’re going to do refits…”

And so on for about 5 minutes with Greg’s arm tingling almost constantly as they sampled the crowd. When things finally calmed down a little and Greg had caught his breath, he went to the teller and asked for his book to be updated. The girl glanced up at him and smiled warmly.

“So Doc, you must be keeping busy, usually you drop in every couple of months.” Greg looked at her nametag and winked,

“Yeah Angie, its real hush-hush stuff, much better than the car. I’d tell you about it, but…”

“Yeah, I know, ‘but then you’d have to kill me’ sure, ha-ha-ha, you use the same old joke every time you come in,” Angie grinned. “Here’s your book, can I help you with anything else?”

“Well, if you could check my account and bump up the card limit that would be lovely,” he glanced absently at his bank book. “I seem to have come into some money that needs to be spent.” Angie smiled winningly at him,

“Oh, poor you, a private island and a big pile of money! Boo hoo!” she said sarcastically. “Doc, you need to spend some more time in town. I know of lotsa girls who’d love to hook you.”

“And that, Angie, is why I live on the island,” he smiled back. “If I had a lady friend, I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have a pile of money.” There hadn’t been this much attention paid to him the last time he’d been in town.

“Oh pooh Doc,” Angie made a moue. “OK, you have a 6,000 dollar daily limit on the card now but if you need more, just give me a call. Here’s my card. Um, Doc? No offence intended but a lot of people here in town weren’t too sure about your lab on the island when you first came here. They thought you were a kook or mad scientist or something. I just want to say, it’s nice to know you’re trying to help the planet over there at the… what do you call it… area?”

“AERI, I call it the AERI, like an eagles nest. I was never a mad scientist,” Greg paused. “I knew one once, people died… not nice. I knew a nutty Professor too. Well, thanks for your help and your kind words Angie.” As Greg left, he overheard Angie speaking to a co-worker.

“He’s a really nice guy, and not too bad to look at either. It’s a pity he’s not looking.”

“Yeah, and he’s rich too,” the other woman responded. When Greg turned Angie’s card over in his hand he saw there that were two other numbers on it marked home and cell. He could barely suppress his amusement until he got outside the bank. Local Hero, pfah! If they only knew, Greg thought to himself. Trish piped up,

“Well that was fun. Do you think those girls could have been any more forward with you?”

“What’s this Sport? Jealousy?” Greg was astonished.

“Well, you are mine, you know! Just like I’m yours. Anyway, those girls have nothing on me and you know it,” she retorted. Greg laughed and reassured her,

“I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else Love, and you know it too. I guess that’s the reason I’ve been alone so long, I was waiting for Ms. Perfect to come along. I’m glad I waited.”

“Well OK, then…” Trish sounded mollified and that made Greg feel better.

They walked up James, looking in the shops and just enjoying each other’s company. Occasionally, someone would greet Greg or stop to talk, so they just made a nice afternoon of it. It was a little shy of 4:00pm when Greg had an idea.

“Trish? Don’t take this the wrong way, but is it possible to give me about 20 minutes of privacy?”

“I think we can still do that,” she replied, “but when the bugs finish the brain work it probably won’t be possible. I’ll just stop monitoring the optic and aural nerves and come back in 20 minutes, OK?”

“That’ll be great, Trish. No peeking though. See ya soon,” he smiled.

“Try to survive without me, OK Stud? Mwah!”

There was a slight hum in his ears and Greg immediately knew he was alone; alone for the first time in about 6 months. It was a feeling he had grown unused to and it surprised him. He shook his head and got on with his task. He had spotted the jewellery store as they were walking and it had given him this idea. Now he walked towards the shop and entered. The jeweller looked up and smiled.

“Good afternoon Sir, how may I be of assistance today?”

“I’m looking for a ring that either a man or woman could wear,” Greg began, “with a sort of weave design maybe in white and yellow gold. Do you have anything like that?”

“Why yes Sir, we have a lovely solitaire set in a platinum and yellow gold band for 1,200 dollars, would you like to see it?” the gentleman offered. Greg winced slightly at the price but reminded himself that he apparently had much more money than he needed. He smiled at the man.

“I’d love to see it.”

“Certainly Sir,” the jeweller gestured. “If you’ll come this way please.” The jeweller opened a case and took out a ring that looked like a wedding band and an engagement ring had been merged. It was the perfect ring for Greg’s plan.

“May I try it on?” Greg asked enthusiastically.

“Of course Sir, right or left hand?”

“Left, my fiancée is coming to town soon and I wanted to surprise her with these.” Greg was startled by his own answer. The ring fit nearly perfectly and would need only minor resizing. Well, that could wait he thought as he admired it on his hand.

“I really like it, what size is that?”

“This one is 16.5 millimetres,” the jeweller responded. “And your fiancée’s ring size?”

“I think it’s about 14.5 or 15,” Greg was unsure because he’d never really seen Trish’s hand.

“Well in that case, I’d suggest taking the 15 because it can be resized as needed. Would you like to take them now?” the gentleman asked.

“Yes please.” Greg had a sudden inspiration, “Do you have a ring box that both will sit side-by-side in?”

“I don’t believe that will be a problem Sir, how would you like to pay for this?”

“Debit please.” Greg handed his card to the jeweller who took it to the cash register. As the gentleman busied himself with the transaction, Greg thought about what he was doing.

I really hope Trish likes this, the ring is amazing, almost like a physical manifestation of our bond. She’s given me so much, I just wanna give her something back. He glanced at a display by the jeweller and saw a necklace of two-tone gold mesh hanging there. He cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, I’d like that necklace as well. It’s sort of a late Christmas present,” he said as he pointed toward it.

“Another excellent choice Sir,” the jeweller noted. “Just one moment while I add up the total for you… there we go. That will be 2,650 dollars and I’ll eat the taxes.” Greg took the Debit pad and entered his pin, the system approved quickly and the jeweller handed him a black velvet bag with his purchases inside. As he took the receipt the man said,

“I’ve taken the liberty of giving you a free resizing certificate for your fiancée’s ring Sir, and may I be amongst the first to offer my congratulations, Doctor Howard.” Whoops, this would be all over town soon enough. Greg hadn’t realized he’d been recognized, but oh well, this was one-step closer to a cover story for Trish.

“Thank you so much Sir, you’ve been most helpful, I’ll be sure to send the future Mrs. to see ya soon. Oh dear, I’d better run, I’m late. Have a good day.”

Greg stashed the package in an inside pocket of his parka, walked out of the shop and down the street. He glanced at his watch and saw that his timing had been nearly perfect. He headed back toward the truck and was halfway there when he heard a slight hum in his ears again. He smiled, he really had missed Trish’s.

“Hi big guy,” Trish greeted him warmly. “Did you have fun while I was gone? I missed you lots.”

“Well, you probably would have been bored,” Greg lied smoothly. “I missed you too, so I won’t ask you to go away anymore, OK?”

“OK! Can we eat something soon? We’re really hungry and missed lunch,” she begged playfully.

“You walking appetite. You read my mind, let’s go,” Greg smiled indulgently.

“Not yet, but not for lack of trying, what are you hiding?” Trish probed. Greg simply smirked as they got in the truck and drove towards Oastler Park Road and the restaurant.

It was a little after 5:00pm when they parked the Rover and walked in. The host looked up,.

“Good evening, a table for one, Sir?” he asked.

“That will be fine, over by a window, if you can,” Greg replied.

“Certainly Sir, follow me please.” The host seated them at the table and made to remove the other place setting.

"No, it’s alright, you can leave them there,” Greg instructed. “Could you bring me a bottle of 1998 Baco Noir, Pelham Estates please? It’s a happy day for me.”

“Very good Sir, your waiter will be along shortly with the wine. Here’s your menu.” The host quickly walked off to greet a couple at the front of the restaurant and left Greg to study the menu.

“Well Trish, what would you like to try? This is our first date after all,” Greg inquired sotto voce.

“You’re a really funny man Greg Howard,” she said gently, “do you know that? You’re a gentleman, a romantic, a man of action, and yet you’re still truly embarrassed by all this attention, aren’t you?” Greg blushed slightly.

“I guess I am Trish, this is all very new to me.”

“Well, I think it’s cute. Let’s see what looks good,” she concluded. The waiter arrived with the wine and poured for Greg.

“Good evening and welcome to the…” the waiter recognized him. “Hey! Doctor Howard! Nice to see you again, that car thing of yours rocks!”

“Thanks… Scott, isn’t it?” Greg smiled slightly. “I felt all cooped up on the island and decided to celebrate a little, and since I needed groceries as well… two birds and all that.”

“Cool! You know, I’m saving up for a conversion on my car with your gizmo. I really hate paying the crazy gas prices around here and the planet isn’t getting any cleaner on it’s own,” Scott trailed off. “Um, so, have you decided on your order or would you like to hear tonight’s specials?”

“It’s OK Scott,” Greg stopped him. “I’ve decided to start with the Escargot Portabelle, the Warm Tomato & Feta Salad and the Lobster Tails.” The waiter looked impressed.

“Excellent choices Doctor,” he was all business again. “I’ll be along shortly with your appetizer.” Scott turned and walked in the direction of the kitchen. Greg picked up his wineglass and took a sip. It was, in his opinion, one of the best vintages for this particular wine.

“Here’s to us, Tricia.”

“To us,” she echoed. “You really seem to know your food. Dinner sounds like it will be lovely.” Greg closed their eyes and reached into his coat pocket.

“Hey! I can’t see… just what are you up to?” Trish sounded slightly aggrieved.

“Behave! And no peeking!” he shushed her. He opened the ring box first and positioned it in front of them before opening their eyes.

“Surprise!” he announced as he felt Trish inhale sharply.

“Oh my… Greg, they’re beautiful, I love them, but why?” She was flabbergasted.

“Every bride deserves a ring Dearest,” he smiled gently, “and just in case we can’t wear them openly…” he snapped open the necklace box. “Ta-da!” he hummed.

“Oh, oh, you sneaky rat! I’m gonna cry,” her voice quavered.

“Well, you’d better wait till we’re alone Love.” He was ecstatic that she liked his surprise. “We can have a cry and a cuddle later, look the food’s coming.”

“God, I love you so much Greg. Don’t you ever forget it,” she gushed.

“I love you too Trish, shhhh for now.”

The waiter brought the appetizer and the salad together and set them on the table along with a basket of warm bread. The restaurant was starting to get busy now and he hurried off to serve another table. Greg put the jewellery away and started to eat while Trish simply enjoyed the flavours and the warm feeling of being loved. It was a little after 7:00pm as they were lingering over coffee and cheesecake when Trish spoke up,

“Darling, I wish I could get you a gift.”

“Hey best girl, you’ve given me my life back and granted just about every wish that I could think of. You’re my genie, there’s nothing more you have to do for me. Your father blessed me when he sent you to me and I’ll never stop thanking the universe for that,” he returned.

“But I’ve never given anything just from me to you. I’m sorry…” she sounded sad.

“Don’t you ever think that, do you hear me Tricia?” he said comfortingly. “You gave me your greatest gift, you gave me your love. I can’t think of anything else that you ever need give to me.” He heard her sniffle and felt her tears stinging his eyes.

“I-I’ll never stop thanking creation for you Greg. I’m so happy to be with you now,” there was a catch in her voice.

“Yes Love, try to hold your tears back for now. We’ll get on the road in a few minutes and then you can cry happy, OK?” he smiled gently.

“Anything for you, Darling, but I may surprise you yet,” she said.

Trish thought silently for a while, I know that I can find a gift for him somehow, but I’ll have to do it before he can hear my thoughts. Every now and then, I feel a flash of regret from him. Maybe I can help him get over that and try to make sure that he’s as happy as he’s made me.

Greg finished their coffee and signalled for the cheque. He sighed gustily and accepted the folder from the waiter.

“I’ll pay by debit, if that’s OK, Scott,” he instructed.

“No problem, Doc. I have a wireless pad here.” Greg handed the waiter his card and taking the machine, entered his pin on the keypad. He took the receipt and made sure the 15 percent tip he had entered was on it. Everything looked all right, so he stood, shook Scott’s hand and put on his coat.

“Thank you for excellent service as always Scott. Please give my compliments to the kitchen crew, OK?” Greg was pleased.

“Sure thing Sir, it’s been a pleasure having you with us again. Hope to see you again soon,” the young man replied.

“I won’t wait another 6 months until next time. See you,” he said as he headed for the door. Greg left the restaurant and went
to his vehicle. He settled in and started the engine.

“OK Trish, we’re all alone now, you can let it out if you want.” There was a slight pause and Trish spoke quietly,

“Greg? Are you sad about anything? I don’t want you to be sad about anything… ever. You’d tell me if you were unhappy at all, wouldn’t you?” Trish coaxed him. He sighed as he pulled out onto the road and headed towards the mall at the north end of town. He was silent for about 10 kilometres before responding. He hit the steering wheel with his fist,

“Damn! I’ve been trying so hard to keep my only regret buried, so you wouldn’t be sad Trish. How much of it is leaking through?” he asked bitterly.

“I just get sort of a feeling now and then, and sometimes when you’re asleep,” she offered.

“I’ve been having dreams now and then,” he interjected.

“I know.”

“I… what?” he was stunned.

“I said ‘I know’. It doesn’t happen that often and then only when you’re really tired,” she continued.

“What doesn’t happen very often?” he pressed. She sighed,

“Greg do you remember the day you first learned to fly? You had fallen asleep quickly and while I was familiarizing myself with our nervous system, all of a sudden, I was standing in the yard in the sunlight. You were standing across from me… just looking at me. I had a physical body… I ran to you… you held me and kissed me. Then suddenly I was looking at myself through your eyes and…”

“…and you faded like smoke and drifted away,” he finished for her. “I’ve had that dream a few times now but I didn’t know you were there with me. I’m sorry…” his voice was choked and his tears started to flow.

“No Greg, never any sorrow, please,” Trish soothed. “I know that you want to hold me. I want you to hold me again, like you did that night when I was scared and angry. We are closer than any lovers in history, but the irony is that we can’t touch the way other lovers do. Somehow, we’ll overcome this, I know we will.” Her tears mingled with his and spilled over their cheeks. There were no more words. There was no need for words. They were together and they would find a way.

They skipped the movie and after a subdued shopping trip, they finished loading the truck and headed back to the landing. Every now and again, he would glance in the rear-view mirror and could imagine seeing her looking back at him. It made Greg smile faintly and feel good. Once or twice, they tried talking at the same time and would burst out laughing. They arrived at the landing shortly and pulled up to the snowmobile. Greg shut off the truck.

“What are you thinking about Greg?” she gently asked.

“You mostly, Dear Heart. I think I figured out why I could handle all of that attention today,” he smiled.

“Oh?” she queried.

“I knew I was never alone,” he paused, “even when you were tuned out earlier. It gave me a confidence I’ve never really known before.”

“I think I understand what you mean, Greg,” she concurred.

Maybe you do Trish,” Greg mused. “I don’t know. All that I do know is my self-doubts have disappeared. Just knowing that someone who truly understands me is always with me,” he shook his head. “Does that make any sense to you?”

“I think so, sort of. I was terrified when I left Daddy, I felt like I was being sent away from everything that I knew to a great unknown,” she ventured. “When I woke up the second time, after the bonding I mean, I knew I was safe and home for good. It’s very difficult to put into words, but I think you were close when you called me your Other. We are two halves of a whole. You complete me, I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true. You’re my strength, you have wisdom I don’t have and now I see I need that wisdom more than ever,” she trailed off mistily.

“It sounds like you do understand. This is something I’ve been missing all of my life,” his eyes stung slightly. They sat in the truck for a moment or two longer, then Greg got out and opened the hatch. His eyes had adjusted automatically to the darkness and he could see as clearly as if it were day. He walked over to a lump of snow and pulled a tarp covered ski-trailer out. Hooking it up to the snowmobile, he loaded it up with the groceries they’d bought, closed and locked the truck and tied the tarp down over the trailer. They were lost in their own thoughts as they sped across the ice back to Regatta Bay.

They were almost back to the house when they heard a booming noise in the sky. Greg pulled to a stop and killed the engine and lights. The trees were thick overhead so he crept towards a natural clearing just a hundred or so metres forward of the snowmobile. For some reason something felt very wrong. When he got to the tree line, he saw there were several men and women in arctic camouflage walking through the trees and around the clearing. They were all heavily armed and clearly dangerous. He worked his way slowly and quietly back to the snowmobile, threw his parka and jacket over it and then covered everything up with snow. He did his best to disguise his tracks and then rose silently into the air. He sub-vocalized his intentions to Trish,

I think we’d better warm up all the systems here,” he murmured.

“I agree. Standby. Good work by the way,” she responded crisply. All of a sudden, Greg felt amazingly good all over. They’d never had everything on all at the same time, just one or two subsystems as he learned the controls. Trish spoke again,

“I’m going to blur our features, just in case, OK?”

“Copy that. I’ll focus on trying to get the communications traffic and tap any network traffic as well. We’ll stay up here for now,” Greg acknowledged. He concentrated and felt the radio waves around him. There was a moment of random gibberish and then he decoded the scrambling.

“…opy, unit seven, investigate the noise with extreme caution.”

“Roger, Base.”

“Unit ten reports the house is lit, but empty. Signs of recent inhabitancy, over.”

“All units, we have reports of the subject on the mainland as recently as one point five, I say again, 1.5 hours ago. Units one and two to investigate, over.”

Greg switched to the proximity radar on the heads-up display and saw several contacts approaching the snowmobile. He gently floated to the east of his position and deliberately dumped snow from a heavily laden pine branch. It slid to the ground with a muffled crash.

“Hey Morelli, did you hear that?” one of the figures asked.

“Yeah, it came from over there, c’mon,” the other responded. Once the group headed towards where Greg had dumped the snow, he took up a position over the snowmobile.

“Unit seven to Base, nothing here but snow and more snow.”

“Copy that unit seven, return to assigned patrol area, over.”

The targets on his radar receded, so Greg switched to the large area radar to size up the situation. His brain reeled. There were well over 40 distinct targets around his house and at least two helicopters on the ground in the two adjacent clearings. He heard the booming noise again and picked up two fast moving objects flying overhead. Trish kicked in the database and he had aircraft IDs on both the planes and the copters in seconds. He frowned.

“They have two Chinook class copters and two Lockheed F37 Jet Strike Fighters,” he noted.

“Special forces, then,” she replied.

“Great, heavily armed children. Suggestions?” Greg fumed.

“Standby…”

“Copy.”

“Lowering thermal profile to ambient temperature, beginning electronic countermeasures. Remove your clothes and stow them in that tree,” Trish ordered. Greg did as she instructed.

“Initiating stealth mode, camouflage on full,” she continued. “Full defensive measures online. I have deactivated vocal subroutines.”

“…?”

“Don’t worry, just push your thoughts. We may not be fully linked yet, but we’ll manage,” she said. He nodded and initiated forward motion at 10 kilometres per hour. His night vision was fully active as he sought out the command post. Hovering directly over it, he had an idea and pushed it through to Trish.

“You want a data tap?” she asked. “Yes?” Greg nodded. The data from the mobile base started flowing through him. There was nothing but negative reports, which puzzled him. Why hadn’t the house network been examined? Trish noticed his confusion.

“I took the liberty of camouflaging the house data with simple day to day routine data traffic, dummy plans and equations. No evidence of our activities or of my existence remains, except in our protected inboard storage.” The communications chatter started up again.

“All units, return to base, I say again return to base.” There was a flurry of acknowledgement from the teams.

“Units one and two are to return to rendezvous point Charlie for pick-up.”

“Unit one, copy.”

“Unit two, copy.”

“Sky sweep return to base.”

“Roger Command, RTB.”

Greg watched his radar as the jets peeled off and headed west towards Michigan, then turned his attention to the ground pounders. They were dragging what looked like pine boughs behind them and erasing their trails. To the untrained eye it would pass. The mobile command post was packed and loaded by the time the last unit converged on it. Then he heard a security squeal come through on the comms.

“Recon One, status report.”

“This is Recon One, over.”

“What’s your Sit. Rep.?”

“Negative on AERI, the flying man that was reported must have been one of the Sudbury sightings, over.”

“Affirmative. Command says RTB, I say again RTB.”

“Copy, ETA 35 minutes, out.”

When the last of the soldiers boarded the copter, it took off in a welter of snow. The second craft followed a moment later and wheeled to a westerly flight path. The first flew east towards Killbear. Trish and Greg waited 10 more minutes and then flew to where they had ditched their clothing and the disguised snowmobile. He landed and dressed silently. It started to snow gently so there would soon be no trace of their visitors. Trish reported to him,

“Vocal subroutines reactivated, all countermeasures deactivating. That was incredible Darling! You were just magnificent!” Trish gushed. Greg cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, we were magnificent! What a team! They had no idea we were even around, did they?” he cheered.

“Nope, as far as they knew, we were still in town,” she giggled. “You know Mr. Bond, I’d almost think you’d done this before. That notion to dump the decoy snow was inspired.”

“Shucks Ma’am, twern’t nothin’,” he tipped an imaginary hat. “I just didn’t want one of those thugs finding your ring. Let’s go home and have a cup of tea. I assume I’m freezing.” Greg got the machine uncovered and they drove back to the house.

To Be Continued