Age of Men Read online

one and you can find almost anything online. Someone onboard Flight 19 probably uploaded a tweet or Facebook status before the gag order was granted and enforced.”

  Agent Smith looked at Jack a bit annoyed. He clearly had no idea what the government was capable of. They were able to sweep everything under the carpet successfully until now. Somehow someone managed to lift the rug and look at the hidden dust.

  “We are the government of the United States of America.” Agent Smith said, “You really think we didn’t think of that? Nothing got past us.”

  “Clearly something did.” Jack said, “Your secret got out. Either you were not as prepared as you would like to think or you have a mole in your own house.”

  The elevator doors opened to a boardroom where ten agents sat around the table all awaiting Agent Smith’s leadership. He entered the room with a confident stride which showed anyone who doubted that he was the one in control. The junior agent ran across the room and switched on the TV mounted to the wall on the other side of the boardroom.

  There was a news bulletin on channel 6 about the plane crash of the night before. The studio anchorwoman was reading the news from the teleprompter while a video insert was visible in the upper right corner of the screen. It showed video footage of survivors being pulled from the watery wreckage. Nobody around the boardroom table knew how the footage leaked.

  “What you are witnessing is the location where Sydney Airport used to be.” The anchorwoman said, “Details are sketchy at the moment, but it does appear that the continent of Australia has vanished from the face of the earth. There seem to be no survivors and no witnesses. Officials are tightlipped about what exactly happened; leaving public speculation open to some new kind of terrorist attack.”

  Agent Smith reached for the remote control that lay on the table and switched off the TV. Frustrated, he dropped the remote onto the table and turned to the junior agent.

  “Find out how this happened.” Agent Smith instructed, “I want to know who talked and put this entire operation at jeopardy.”

  The junior agent nodded and left the room. Agent Smith turned to the agents seated around the table; he could see from the perplexed expressions on their faces that they were highly concerned about the events that transpired and of what might happen next. He had to be the strong leader they were expecting. When he was appointed to lead the operation he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he was handpicked by his seniors because of his strong leadership skills.

  In all the confusion created by the news bulletin, he had completely forgotten to introduce Professor White to his team members.

  “This is Professor Jack White.” Agent Smith announced.

  Jack nodded and waved at everybody, but was a bit self-conscious – caused by the concerned faces that stared back at him. He was unsure what he had to contribute to the team. He wasn’t even sure he understood what was happening. Did the news bulletin get it right? Was this a new form of terrorism? Perhaps it was terrorists from a Middle Eastern country hell bent on revenge on western civilization?

  “Unexplained phenomena is his specialty.” Agent Smith said, “If anyone can come up with some answers as to what might have happened, he’s the man.”

  Agent Smith turned to Jack and said, “Please tell me you have something. We’ve hit a wall. There aren’t any pieces of evidence left that might point to terrorism, but to make sure we didn’t leave any resort untapped, we have specialists looking into the terrorism angle as well.”

  “It could be that this was an act of terrorism.” Jack said, “We don’t have all the facts yet. I’m not sure I will be much use to you.”

  Agent Smith was a bit disappointed in Jack; he was an award-winning professor with twenty thesis papers on the bizarre and unusual disappearances of people and now that the world needed him, all he could do was shrug his shoulders. It would take some motivation to get him on board. Agent Smith took Jack aside away from the prying eyes and ears of the rest of the agents.

  “You’re here at my request.” Agent Smith said hushed, “When I was seventeen years old my mother and I were on vacationing in a small fishing town called Neodis a few miles outside Orange County. It was the best vacation we had in years. Everything was perfect.”

  Agent Smith drifted off into his memories as he spoke, “We were driving back that Sunday afternoon. It was a nice summer’s day and we listened to the radio all the way. I remember my favorite song came on the radio, and then the car simply died a few feet from a bridge. It was an abandoned byway, so there weren’t many cars traveling on it. My mother decided to walk back to Neodis to get help. I watched my mother walk alongside the road and go underneath the bridge, but she didn’t come out the other side. It was as if the shadows cast by the bridge simply swallowed her whole. I ran over to the bridge, but there was no sign of her.”

  There was a moment of silence as Agent Smith thought back to that dreadful day. He snapped out of his dazed state.

  “I’ve read one of your thesis on unexplained disappearances.” Agent Smith said, “The one about my mother won you your first award.”

  “Martha Smith…” Jack said in thought, “I remember.”

  “I have an open mind.” Agent Smith said, “When someone you love disappears without a trace, your eyes open to a world of possibilities. My decision to get you on board was met by ridicule by my seniors, but I finally convinced them that we need to cover all possible avenues. Something like this has never happened before.”

  Jack could see that Agent Smith was being sincere and desperately wanted answers – answers he could possibly give them if he put his mind to it. He had to see it as an opportunity instead of something he should dread. He stood at the forefront of a history making event and could have his name embedded in history forever.

  “I have a few theories,” Jack reassured Agent Smith, “But none are sound. It’s all speculation at best for the time being.”

  “If you say aliens—” Agent Smith warned.

  “Aliens are unlikely.”

  Agent Smith’s eyes were like knives and pierced into Jack as he awaited answers. Jack glanced at the other agents around the table; they were unaware of the conversation, but were also waiting for directives. It felt like the walls were closing in on Jack and he loosened his collar a bit. He wasn’t used to working under pressure and the pressure was getting the better of him.

  “I need some air.” Jack gulped.

  Agent Smith led Jack out onto the boardroom patio and closed the sliding door behind them. Jack took a deep breath of fresh air; looking a bit calmer than before, but his head was running amuck with ideas; none of which really made sense. He didn’t want to let anyone down, but wasn’t sure what was happening.

  “I don’t think I can’t do this.” Jack sighed, “I don’t have any theories that hold up. This is beyond me. I still can’t comprehend the fact that an entire continent is now missing without a trace.”

  “You’re just stuck. It happens to the best of us.” Agent Smith said, “We caught you off guard. This whole thing caught everyone off guard. We are ready for terrorist attacks, suicide bombers, anything but this. At the moment, I just need to know whether this was an isolated incident, and if not, whether America is in danger. I have the utmost confidence in you.”

  “I’m not sure.” Jack said shaking his head, “An event of this scale has never happened. The closest thing I can think of that was on this scale is the last ice age which happened over 10,000 years ago. Maybe it was an isolated incident?”

  Jack stared out at the city that stretched out before him. He couldn’t imagine everything that he knew simply disappearing. He had to push himself to find answers. He had to think about his son. What if it wasn’t an isolated incident? What if this happened again? How would he protect his son? They had to find a way to stop whatever was happening.

  7

  Jack got home just after six that evening and though he was completely exhausted he knew that his work had just begun. The world was counting
on him to tell them what had happened to Australia and its people, but where to begin?

  Upon shutting the front door, his five year old son, Timmy, ran up to him and embraced him around the legs. Jack looked down at his boy and smiled; he knew he had to enjoy little moments like this one before his son is all grown up and embarrassed by him. Children grew up too fast in this fast paced world of ours and had little time for their parents once grown up.

  “Daddy!” Timmy exclaimed.

  “Hey my boy!” Jack greeted.

  He grabbed Timmy by the arms, pulled him up and carried him on his hip.

  “How was your day, my big boy?” Jack asked playfully.

  “It was great. The teacher gave me a golden star!”

  Jack gasped and asked, “She did? What for?”

  “It was for a drawing I did of you.”

  “A drawing of me? I’m honored to be in your drawings.”

  “Did you miss me?”

  “Of course.” Jack said and nodded, “I missed your silly face and I missed your silly smile.”

  Jack tickled Timmy who started giggling and fighting back as his second wife, Alicia, entered wearing an apron. She used to be a model in her younger years and still had most of her looks, though some of them were fading. She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and draped it across her left shoulder, crossed her arms and smiled at the two most important men in her life. Every day she thanked the Lord