Chapter 22 Agent Atworth's POV

I entered the directors office clutching the file that I had been given three hours ago. He indicated for me to take a seat.

“Well, what do you think?” He asked me.

“It's incredible.” I replied.

“What are your conclusions?” He prompted.

“That we may have an UE inhabiting a human body. The evidence is all circumstantial, but it is all pointing in that direction.” I suggested.

“Walk me through your thought processes, I will play devil's advocate.” He asked. It was one of those times I wondered if he was just giving me enough rope to hang myself.

“We have multiple accounts of the bus being delayed by four hours and plenty of subjects who all remember the same thing. Falling off the cliff and then waking up to find themselves unharmed, parked nearby. We have examined the probable site where this occurred and there is a clear path of destruction to the flora and fauna. No other evidence.”

“Could that have been from a previous accident?” He argued.

“If it was from anything previous, it should have been reported or the railing should either be damaged or show signs of being replaced. We would also expect some small evidence from a cleared site, like tyre marks, leaking fluids or bits of glass. We can be fairly sure that we have an UEI. This is not the first time this has happened and fits with similar occurrences, except for,” I had a quick check to get the names right, “Richard Leane and Dillan Trent.”

“What was different?”

“All previous UEI's have been benign. No one has been hurt or negatively effected in any way. In this case Richard and Dillan started behaving completely out of character. Dillan immediately emptied his bank accounts and sold his business to his girlfriend. He then proceeded to ski like an expert, when he had never skied before. He also started drinking copious amounts of alcohol and started taking drugs. He became aggressive and reckless which is not at all like his usual character. His girlfriend broke up with him and he managed to convince Amy and Peter Leane to put him up in their suite.”

“What do you think the purpose of that would be?”

“I think it was a set up for what happened next.” I replied honestly. “Richard who was a transitioning female to male transexual, reversed his course almost overnight. Started calling herself Sophia and hanging out with Jennifer Wakefield, Dillan's girlfriend. We spoke to Richard's Psychologist and he was convinced that Richard would never change his mind. He was a classic, almost textbook, case. There had never been any doubts and the only reason he had not been on testosterone or had any surgery was for age and legal reasons. As further evidence that Richard was not really Richard, there is video of Sophia swimming in a spa hotel. Richard could not swim.”

“OK, so they were behaving out of character, how do you conclude that Richard who now calls herself Sophia, is an Unidentified Entity?” He asked me.

“If I was to imagine that I was an UE impersonating a human, then I would need to get rid of anybody who knew me or disassociate myself from all of them. By getting Dillan to kill off her parents, perhaps knowing that she would be taken to the states by someone who didn't know her, she would achieve her goals. She could then be completely different to the original and no one would be the wiser.”

“What about Dillan attacking her as well?”

“Misdirection. She becomes a victim, which would garner sympathy. Notice he attacks her in a way that does not physically damage her.” I reply.

“What about the psychological trauma that the doctor at the hospital reported?” He asked me.

“I figure that could be more play acting, looking vulnerable so that others will look after her or it could be real, relating to an UE getting to grips with a human body. There is no solid evidence to any of this, so it is all a thought exercise.” I suggest.

“If you were in charge of the case what would you do next?” He was looking at me very seriously when he said that, so I knew my next words would be crucial if I wanted the case.

“Obviously this could be an incredible opportunity. To be able to finally communicate with a UE would be amazing. The possibilities are mouth watering. Their technology is so far in advance of ours, if we could convince Sophia to talk we could end up with a huge technical advantage over the other nations. Economically and militarily we could become unassailable. I see two possible approaches. Become friends with her and try and get her to co operate with us, or capture her and use stronger means to get her compliance. In order to work out which direction to take, I think we need more information to determine which way to go, at the same time we have to make sure no other nation gets their hands on her. I would suggest we try and get an undercover agent close to her and create a constant perimeter around her so she can't escape.”

“There is good news on that front. Sophia has just moved into General Hatwell's daughters house, better known as Eve. General Hatwell mainly works in intelligence and Eve, his daughter, has been a useful operative in her own right. Her music tours have given us the ability to gather and move information without suspicion. The case is yours. You have my permission to discuss this case with the General and between you come up with a plan that would be in our nation's interest.” The director told me.

Laura's POV

Something had clearly gone wrong with the therapy session. I found Gem cuddling a panic stricken Soph, while Eve was showing the Psychologist out. Soph looked so vulnerable. I don't think her eyes could get any bigger, she was hugging her knees and shaking. I went to the other side of her and hugged her. Seeing her like that really tugged on my heartstrings. I felt a need to love and protect her that was primal, practically written into my DNA.

Soph went for a little lie down in her bedroom while we had a council.

“What do you think went wrong?” I asked.

“He came highly recommended, specialising in female to male transitions.” Eve replied.

“I think we need someone to help her with her assault. I don't think her issues are about her gender. I also think we should be looking for a female practitioner.” Gem suggested.

“The Psychologist was a man? I don't think that was a good idea. Was he a big man?” I asked.

“Yes, he was huge.” Gem replied.

“She struggled when we had bodyguards during our shopping trip, that may have been enough to trigger her worries. How close was he to her? She was OK when they were at a distance, but started tensing up when they came close.” I mentioned.

“You're right.” Gem responded thoughtfully. “She sat some distance from him and I am guessing he approached her to talk.”

There was a period of quiet while we all digested that.

“That all sounds plausible and can be solved easily by finding a female therapist. The bigger question is, what about school?” Eve asked.

Which left a longer pause while we all considered it.

“What about your emotional technique Gem, have you tried that on her?” I asked. Gem had helped me with some of my emotional issues and I had found it really helped me.

“Yes, I have and she said she is a lot better than she was. She was frightened about just leaving the hospital before I did anything. In my experience, the emotional technique is great for taking the energy out of the emotion and sometimes that is enough in itself, but sometimes it can be about the beliefs that we form. After her attack, her mind has formed the belief that large men are dangerous and for no reason whatsoever could potentially assault her, because that is what happened. It is my belief that the more that doesn't happen the better she will feel and I have seen her calm herself down numerous times when she has begun to feel tense. If she goes to school and we all know there will be some large boys there, if they show her she has nothing to fear, their behaviour could help enormously with her anxiety. On the other hand, if even one large boy is physical with her, it could set her right back. I'm not sure what the right answer is. To be honest, I was hoping to ask the Psychologist today.” Gem responded.

“She can't start school until we know that it would be a good idea. None of us are professionals and that is what we need to guide us. I think you can still do the visit and tour tomorrow, Eve, and we can find another therapist in the meantime.” I said, trying to be firm and sort of put my foot down, even though, she was not my responsibility and I didn't have the right.