David Golemon: Ripper

“I take it you and your computer friend broke into their system to uncover these?” the president asked with a frown while gesturing to the reports on the large-screen monitor.

“Yes, sir, that’s what Europa and I do.”

Niles nodded his head, thankful that Pete stood up for himself and Europa against the snide remark of his friend the president.

“What is not listed in the professor’s journal but can be found in the police archive reports is the fact that among the horrifying wounds received by these women in the tainted autopsy reports, each of the prostitutes listed as murdered had been pregnant at the time of her death. The real reports state that the two-to-three-month-old embryos had been cut from the wombs of these ladies. The massacre of the women that ensued afterword was to cover up the fact of the missing embryos.”

“Wait Dr. Golding. Are you saying that Jack the Ripper was responsible for this?” asked the president.

“No, not the Jack the Ripper that has been presented to the world by the London constabulary, Mr. President, but Professor Lawrence Jackson Ambrose, the real Jack the Ripper or, if you like, the real Jekyll and Hyde. He murdered these women while under the influence of small doses of Perdition’s Fire so he could break the laws of man and science with a clear conscience. He collected the fetuses to be used in an experiment that should not have been possible at the time, but one that Europa has uncovered evidence of — the stem cell research that led to gaining strength, growth, and intelligence, all to be used as an additive to the food eaten by members of the British armed forces. That is exactly what he was hired to do. Make supersoldiers for Her Majesty’s government. Not crazed beasts as we saw here at the complex, but coldly calculating men with superior fighting strength and intelligence. That’s with small doses.”

Everyone was stunned to silence as Pete went through his gathered evidence, from Queen Victoria’s letters ordering the hiring of Ambrose and the purchase of his advanced theory, to the cover-up that ensued. Even the photo analysis of the advanced equipment used by Ambrose to create a genetic monster for the ages, as they themselves had recently been witness to, was fully documented. The experts say Ambrose was a genius and a hundred years ahead of his time.

“He was the first true geneticist,” Virginia commented.

“Let’s skip to the point Dr. Golding. Do you and your outlaw computer know who sent in these mercenarys?” the president asked Pete, turning to Niles directly.

“No. But we will find out who assisted them over here; I damn well guarantee that,” Niles said, almost challenging his old friend to deny his efforts in that regard. “I lost twenty-two men and women in this attack, and I will find the people responsible. Do you agree?”

The president nodded his head.

“Thank you.”

With that the Event Group began in earnest to continue on with its work. Only now all 656 members of Department 5656 had the added incentive of finding out who the Americans were who assisted in the traitorous act of attacking their home.

Jack stood next to his mother as the coffin was slowly lowered into the grave. The colonel was happy that Sarah and his mother Cally had hit it off so well and in such a trying time as this. Jack wondered if maybe one day his mother would have another daughter to help with her sorrow of losing Lynn.

As Jack watched, he knew that his sister’s murder was not as random as the police made it out to be. Like the president, he never believed in coincidence. He had a gut feeling she had died because of him in some way. He felt responsible.

Cally Collins reached out and took Jack’s arm, reaching over with her other hand to take Sarah’s on the opposite side. Together they strode over to where a very sore and weak Jason Ryan, alongside Will Mendenhall, Gloria Bannister, Virginia Pollock, Alice Hamilton, and finally, Captain Carl Everett, stood waiting for them.

Jack saw Niles on his crutches with Pete Golding and Charlie Hindershot Ellenshaw III standing next to him. They were all dressed in their best black suits and looked as out of place as ever. Collins excused himself as Everett and Sarah joined him while Alice went to speak with Cally.

Jack faced the director of Department 5656 who only nodded his head and reached inside his jacket pocket, bringing out a piece of paper and handing it to Collins.

“Colonel, what would you like me to do with that?”

Jack looked down at the resignation letter and handed it back to Niles.

“Process it, I’m done,” he said as Sarah placed her arm through his.

“Jack,” Ellenshaw said, no longer the goof he was a few years back when Collins had joined the Group, “tear it up. You need us, and we sure as hell need you.”

“Sorry, Doc, but—”

“Colonel, listen to what Niles has to say, will you?” Pete Golding asked.

Collins took a deep breath and dipped his chin in surrender. Niles was going to say what he wanted to say.

“The FBI recovered the vehicles used by the assault forces in Las Vegas. They found very little with the exception of these,” Niles said handing over two sheets of paper to Collins.

“Recognize those, Colonel?” Pete asked for Niles as Jack studied the papers.

“They’re privately generated satellite target tracking reports. No company name though.”

“The tracking target, Jack, was you. Evidently that was how this Smith character tracked you to Nellis. You must have been tagged by those maniacs in Mexico during the rescue that night,” Niles finished.

Collins shook his head, barely controlling his anger over the fact that he had been bugged and hadn’t even suspected it. He started to give the tracking reports back when Niles pushed them away and gestured for Collins to look at the reports again.

“Jack, the reports are time and security stamped by a government agency that accepted them. The code is listed as one belonging to the CIA.”

Collins was stunned, but not quite as much as the others that were standing there listening.

“Someone at the CIA passed this information on to Smith and his assault team,” Sarah said, her own anger at the obvious betrayal showing in her voice.

Compton watched Collins for the longest time as Jack continued to look at the two tracking reports with their computer-generated time stamps on their faces. Niles swallowed and got the colonel’s attention.

“Jack, you have many duties at the Group, and if you would stay with the department and continue as the head of security, I swear to you that whenever you’re free, I’ll give you carte blanche to use any means at the Group’s disposal to find your sister’s killer. And I don’t mean to bring whoever it is to justice. You do it your way, and I’ll back you 100 %. Everyone here will. Just use all of your skills and find them.”

Collins swallowed hard. He looked at Jason, Will, Virginia, Niles, Pete, and finally Charlie Ellenshaw. He smiled and glanced at Everett, who just nodded his head. But it was Sarah who reached out and took the resignation form from Compton’s hand and tore into two, allowing the pieces to fall to the grass.

“Alright,” Jack said as he took in not just his colleagues but his friends. “But on one condition,” Collins said with his jaw set firmly. “Because justice has to start somewhere, and I think I know just where it does.”

On a small rise overlooking the cemetery, Hiram Vickers stood next to Director of Operations Samuel Peachtree.

“Imagine my stunned silence when I learned from the president himself that the brother of Lynn Simpson was a war hero and a favorite of the commander in chief?”