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The next morning Magnus awakened from his single bed in the cheap rundown hotel room he had rented on the outskirts of Vegas. Carter snored while sleeping on the other narrow bed. Magnus shook him awake.
“We’d best get moving,” Magnus said.
Carter rolled over and slid his feet over the edge of the bed. “I could use a shower.”
“Be quick. We cannot afford to stay in one place for too long.”
“You think Grayson will find us out here?”
“You never know. He seems overly fond of using tracer chips. That’s why we abandoned the car and took a cab out here.” He had left the trunk slightly ajar so the two men could call out for help when they awoke. They were bruised badly from Magnus’ getaway, but nothing severe.
“Since it was a company car, you’re probably right.” Carter opened the bathroom door while holding his briefcase. “I can take a shower in a few minutes.”
Magnus nodded, sat on the edge of the bed, and used the remote to turn the small television on.
***
Carter turned on the shower. While waiting for the water to heat, he examined his face in the mirror. He wished he had a razor to remove the dark stubble on his face. As he leaned closer, a shadow stirred behind him in the mirror’s reflection.
Carter turned quickly and saw nothing.
He looked around with panic swelling inside of him. “Where are you? I know you’re here. I sense your presence. Show yourself, please?”
A sensation rushed through him like a surge of electricity. His eyes rolled back in his head. To keep from falling, he gripped the edge of the seat.
The alien’s voice echoed softly in his ears. “Kill Grayson. Stop him. If you don’t, Sylvia will die.”
Carter slowly lowered to his knees. Sweat beaded on his brow. After a few seconds passed, he no longer sensed her closeness. He wept. He had thought he was outside her reach, but she would never stop torturing him until he did what she wanted.
Once the shakiness left his legs and he could stand, he stepped into the shower. He thought about what the alien had said about Sylvia and recalled how lifeless she seemed being controlled by the chip. The alien was right. He needed to kill Grayson. It was the only way to save Sylvia, and he hoped by obeying he could rid his mind of the alien’s invasion.
***
Magnus sat watching the news when Carter stepped outside the small bathroom.
“I can’t believe this,” Magnus said.
“What?”
“California is handing over another hundred prisoners to Grayson for deployment to Mars.”
“Seriously?”
Magnus nodded. “Yeah. A committee met yesterday and granted Grayson custody. That makes nearly three hundred prisoners in the past few months, according to the news report. And that man right there . . . he’s the man we need to talk to.”
Senator Johnson’s image appeared on the screen. He was answering press questions as he walked past them.
“You think Senator Johnson would help us?” Carter asked.
Magnus shrugged. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to contact him. He needs to know how corrupt Grayson is.”
“He’s a politician. He probably knows what Grayson is doing. Besides, he’s probably as corrupt. Never have I seen an honest politician.”
“I know it’s a long shot, but I could testify against Grayson’s prison operation. Grayson might get charged and put in prison for what he’s been doing. My participation could get me pardoned or open up an investigation into arresting the men who framed me.”
Carter nodded. “You’ve never told me exactly what happened. Why did you end up in prison?”
Magnus chuckled. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My girlfriend’s cousin got messed up on meth from the neighborhood drug dealers. I wanted to help her, so I told her I’d find the scumbag that sold him the shit.”
Magnus turned off the television. “So I followed her cousin, but I had never thought him to be a member of a gang that pushed drugs.”
While he explained, his mind carried him back.
Magnus rode his motorcycle and followed his girlfriend’s cousin, Davis, as he drove his beat up hatchback. Davis turned and parked at a closed metal roll-down door at an old warehouse. Magnus rode on past and parked near some dumpsters.
Since Davis was wired all the time, Magnus thought he was getting more drugs, and that mistake changed everything.
Davis was a skinny black teen with ratty clothes. He rapped his fist against the door beside the rolled-down one. It opened a crack and then wider, allowing Davis to enter. The door closed quickly.
Magnus said, “I wanted to help him, but he was too deep. Too hooked. As I neared the warehouse, someone followed me.”
“What happened?”
Magnus closed his eyes, recalling the scenes clearly. He had hurried to the narrow alley toward the front door. He reached for the handle, but a gun pressed against the back of his head. Magnus raised his hands.
The man with the gun knocked in a code-rapping manner. When the door opened, the man pressed the gun into Magnus’ ribs, telling him to step inside. Magnus obeyed without hesitation.
Davis saw Magnus. “Why are you here, man?”
The gang leader looked from Magnus to Davis. “You know this man?”
Davis nodded. “Yeah, Tyler, he dates my cousin.”
Tyler frowned at Magnus. “Why you here, big man? You need a job? I sure could use some extra muscle.”
Magnus shook his head. “I don’t work with garbage and this cesspool could definitely benefit from a major cleanup.”
Someone struck him from behind with a blunt object and knocked him unconscious.
Magnus opened his eyes and glanced at Carter. “I was awakened by the police sometime later. Davis had been shot dead. The gun had my prints on it. Not to mention that a dozen bags of meth had been shoved into my pockets.”
“So they killed Davis and framed you?” Carter asked.
Magnus nodded. “Yeah.”
“So that’s why you want to go back to Texas?”
“Yep. I have to. Those men are the ones who need to be in prison. Well, actually, they deserve much worse than prison. But I won’t be satisfied until they receive what’s due to them.”
“And what about your girlfriend? What happened to her?”
“She believed the police report and all the bad press I had received. Ever since, she’s never had anything to do with me. She wouldn’t accept my phone calls from prison or even answer my emails. She’s moved on but I won’t completely until after these men are in prison. I owe her cousin that much.”
“That’s a good incentive,” Carter said. “I don’t blame you. In fact, it’s how I feel about Grayson, especially now that he has Sylvia. Maybe after you’ve gotten vengeance for Davis, your girl will have a new outlook.”
Magnus shook his head. “If she didn’t have enough faith in me to believe my innocence, I don’t need her.”
“So you think we should contact Senator Johnson?”
“I think it’s the best thing we can do at the moment.”
“How can we locate him?”
Magnus stood. “If we had a computer, we could find out the best way to contact him.”
“There was a computer in the lobby.”
“Might as well use it before we check out.”
Magnus waited for Carter to exit with the briefcase. Magnus slung the gym bag over his shoulder. “As soon as we get to a decent place to shop, I need to buy some nice clothes.”
Carter nodded. “I want to burn this alien head shirt.”
Inside the hotel lobby, Magnus sat in front of an old computer. He typed a search for Senator Johnson’s contact information and the cursor spun endlessly.
“This damn thing is nearly older than me,” Magnus said. Finally, the cursor stopped spinning and the information appeared in a long menu. He clicked on the top choice. “Ah, good. Look here. The senator is scheduled to speak at a luncheon in three hours. You think we could get there in time?”
Carter looked at the county map tacked on the wall, which pinpointed the best places for vacationers to see the local attractions. “There’s a small airport not far from here. We might be able to hire a pilot to get us there.”
“My cousin Benji flies a small commuter plane,” the desk clerk said.
Magnus and Carter turned.
“Can he get us to L.A. in less than two hours?” Magnus asked.
“Sure. You want me to call him?”
“If it’s not a problem.”
“No problem at all. My son could drive you to the airport, if you need transportation? I noticed that you had a taxi drop you off.”
Magnus smiled. “I’d pay you quite handsomely for your help.”
The man nodded. “Okay. Give me a few minutes.”