Being Prepared................

I usually get up between 7 and 8 each morning. Oh sure, sometimes I have to get up earlier for an appointment and sometimes I do like to sleep in, but usually I'm up between 7 and 8. And I prefer to do it on my own. This morning, I was still in bed, semi-awake, when I was startled by a loud, annoying sound. There was nothing I could see from my bedroom window, but from the living room I could see a guy demolishing a set of steps to the dentists office across the street - with a jackhammer. I was not happy.

After getting dressed - and finishing my morning routine - I left my apartment and headed for my car. As I warmed it up, I could see the guy just jackhammering away across the street.

I drove down a couple of blocks, then did a u-turn. No one else was around. I lowered my passenger side window as I headed back up the block.

Still no one around. Just the guy with the jackhammer, drilling away. I got closer.

I slowed as I got closer.

Point, press, Flash.

I saw him start to slump over as I reached the corner and turned right. I could still hear the jackhammer. I headed to the Main Library.

Yesterday, I received a news release for a Donate Life Month Ceremony to be held on Wednesday at JFK Memorial Hospital in Edison, and I wanted to print out a copy.

(Digression...April is Donate Life Month and, as a recent volunteer with The Sharing Network, I had helped in setting up this event. The mayors of both Edison and Woodbridge, where I live, will be issuing a joint Proclamation and raising the Donate Life flag in front of the hospital. I was asked to attend as a representative of the recipient community)

When I got to the library, and pulled into the back lot facing the back of the high school, I noticed an older man leaning against the car next to where I parked.

I went inside, signed out a computer with Internet access, and printed out the news release. When I got back to my car, I noticed that the old man was still beside his car. I lowered my window and backed out so that he was on my side. It was still early and this back lot was empty except for the 2 of us.

There was no one around. There were no cars passing by.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove out of the lot, circling the library, and wound up on St. George's Avenue. I decided to drive over to JFK Hospital and check it out.

It only took about 15 minutes to get there, and I turned right up the drive towards the Main Entrance. The ceremony would be held at the flagpole just outside.The only problem I could see was that the parking situation was terrible. I drove around the complex for another 15 minutes or so without finding a single space. I did notice a sign for valet parking at a cost of only $2.00.

Not having anything else to do, I kept circling the complex and finally found a parking spot behind one of the out buildings. I parked and started walking towards the Main Entrance but realized  that this was just way too far to be walking and decided to come over really early on Wednesday and if I couldn't find a spot, opt for valet parking.

As I turned back, I noticed an electrician's truck parked to my left. The driver was just climbing into the back and had both doors open. I started looking around. There were a number of people walking around, but they looked like they were focused on where they were going. And it was a bright, sunny day. I held the Flasher down by my leg.

I passed close by the back of the truck, looking around as I did. No one was looking towards me and the driver had his back to me.

Point, press, Flash.

I got back in my car and headed home. I'd scouted out the area I would be in on Wednesday.

I was prepared.

Inconveniences................

When you're a little kid, you have no real sense of time. It's generalized. Meal times, bath times, bed times - they're controlled by your parents. Summer time, winter time, inside or outside playtime - those are controlled by the weather. Either way, it's out of your control and all you know is that every day is as long as it needs to be.

Then you go to school. And they teach you how to tell time. And you realize that your life is more regimented then you knew. All those times your parents controlled are based on the clock.

That's when you begin to grow up.

And you go through school...and you get a job....maybe you get married and have children....and you think there aren't enough hours in the day. And you look forward to that time that you can finally retire and have all that free time to do whatever you want.

It doesn't always work that way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had that potential carcinoma removed last week. It was right below my left eye, close to my nose. For a couple of days, I had a bandage covering it. Now, it's just a huge scab that I apply anti-bacterial cream to twice a day. Since I wear glasses, it's partly hidden, but I have to admit that I'm self-conscious about it and imagine it to be larger then it is

Add that to the fact that I'd spent a lot of time last month doing some volunteer work, only to have it go to waste (or so I imagine) and you might be able to imagine my aggravation. I'd incurred some expenses, and a great deal of inconvenience, and I was itching to do something.

Today, with the sun shining brightly for the first time in a few days, I got in the car and headed for Monmouth County. A nice day for a drive and oldies on the radio. The first place I stopped was a library in Hazlet.

There's a parking lot that it shares with the Municipal Building, but there's also another lot around to the side to handle the overflow. (The library doesn't actually get any overflow, but the Municipal Building contains the Police Department and the local court, so a couple of times a week they do). I drove into the overflow lot first. It's hidden from the main road by a stand of trees, and faces the back of a small office building on the next street. I saw an older man on the connecting path to the library. I pulled into a nearby spot and waited. There were only 3 other cars there. The old man approached one to my left and opened his trunk. I backed out.

I backed up far enough so that he was between my car and the office building, lowering my window as I did.

Point, press, Flash.

He slumped forward, hidden by the open trunk, and I drove away.

I headed for Middletown, and the library there.

I usually only check out the sale books in the main room, but I decided to wander through the stacks. (For those of you who don't know library vernacular, "the stacks" is how we refer to the rows and rows of books). That's when I saw the young man.

It was pretty empty in the library, but I decided against an Event here. I was pretty far back in the building and I didn't want to take the chance of anyone stumbling on him while I was still in there. I went back to my car and drove away.

As I headed back, on the spur of the moment, I turned off and headed for Sayreville. They have a library there that I haven't been to in a while.

There was some construction going on, but they were open. I wondered around for a minute or two and then I saw her. She was sitting in a chair by one of the windows on the far side, reading a book.

I passed her and walked around through the nearby stacks. No one was in this area. I came up on her from behind again.

Point, press, Flash.

She sagged forward and I proceeded towards the front of the library.

I left, got in my car, and sat there for a while. No one came running out. No police or ambulance came in.

I drove away.

For now, I could forgive the inconveniences.

Parks and.................

I have this friend who reads a lot of those self help books. You know, the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" kind of thing. To me, if you don't sweat the small stuff they turn into big stuff and then it may be too late. It's better to get them when they're small enough to manage. Of course, there are the one's that are out of your control.

I've heard from the dermatologist and the biopsy on the sample he took from my face is 98% OK, but that 2% could be a carcinoma. That was always a possibility due to the imuno-suppressants I take, but I didn't think it likely. So now, I have to go back next week and have it scraped and cauterized. You see, this is a small thing that I had to sweat, or it might've turn into something bigger.

I needed to do something to take my mind off of it. I took a ride to Merrill Park. I parked in the first lot I came to, and lowered the windows, just wanting to breathe in the warm morning air and eat a breakfast bar. That's when I saw the park worker on his little mini-truck.

I got out, and followed behind as he rode along, cleaning up the area. I had the Flasher out by my side but it didn't look like I was going to get a chance. Then , off to the side amongst the trees, I saw the old man. He was dressed in layers of heavy clothing, and I remembered seeing him pedaling his bike up the hill as I entered the park.

I turned away from the park worker, and angled toward the old man. He was isolated, probably on purpose. And there was no one else within sight. I moved to the right, and circled back around towards him.

I came up behind him.

He never turned around. He was focused on whatever he was doing. I approached as quietly as I could, looking around constantly to make sure there was no one else about.

Point, press, Flash.

He sagged over the table as I passed by on my way back to my car.

I thought about the other parks I'd staged Events in over the last year or so and decided to visit the ones near by. I was in Avenel, and decided to head to Roosevelt Park in Edison.

Being out early on a weekday has an advantage. Most of the other park visitors are older people, and they are usually focused on their walking, jogging, or whatever. I parked and walked around. There were a few possibilities, but the geographics didn't work. Until I saw this guy walking towards me

We were on the far side of the lake and I had just passed a copse of trees, but he was heading towards them. I stopped, pretending to stretch and catch my breath, and he walked past me. He was wearing headphones, so he'd never hear me coming up behind him.

I turned and followed, checking around me constantly. There were walkers on the other side of the lake, but no one near by. I narrowed the gap as we approached the trees.

Point, press, Flash.

I moved on, back to the parking lot and got into my car.

Two down, one to go. Alvin Williams Memorial Park in Sewaren.

It took about 20 minutes to get there, so it was close to 10 AM by the time I parked. There were people wandering the paths, jogging, dog-walking, whatever. Still, it was early enough to provide some opportunities. I got out and headed towards the path along side the bay. I decided to sit on one of the benches and see if anyone would pass by, rather then wander around. It didn't take long. I saw him coming from the left.

He was moving along at a good clip,and I fell in behind him, waiting for my chance. Again, I got lucky. The section by the refinery was coming up and it tends to be overgrown, partly - I think - to keep the ugly building hidden. I closed in.

Point, press, Flash.

I finished the circuit and got back in my car.

There's no place like a park for a little recreation.

Side Effects...............

Because of the transplant, I take a whole bunch of pills. Most of them in the morning, and the rest around supper time. The prescription ones, obviously, deal with my heart. They control blood pressure, cholesterol, and rejection. By and large, I have no problem with any of them, except Cellcept.

Cellcept is an anti-rejection medicine. And it has an unpleasant side effect on my digestive system from time to time. The first time it happened, I was hospitalized for a week, and they wound up lowering the dose. It's one of those lesser-of-two-evils situations, since the anti-rejection benefit outweighs the personal discomfort.

But these anti-rejection meds have to also be viewed as immuno-suppressants. Basically, they suppress my immune system so it's natural reaction to attack anything invasive - like my new heart - doesn't kick in. One of the things my cardiologist's office has told me to do is to see a Dermatologist because I am now more susceptible to skin cancers. In fact, 70% of transplant recipients gets some form of skin cancer within 20 years of the operation.

I'd been putting it off, but I finally made an appointment and saw a Dermatologist this past Monday. I wasn't expecting anything other then a quick exam and maybe a recommendation for a moisturizer. What I got was a needle in the face, a slice taken out, and a laser cauterization. Apparently, the doctor didn't like something and decided to take a sample and send it out to be tested. Not having heard anything by yesterday, I called and found out it takes 1 to 2 weeks to get the results back.

 Now, I was frustrated. Not that I was particularly worried about it. I knew the chances, and I knew that whatever it was can be taken care of. I just didn't think it should take that long to test something that small.

And it dawned on me that there'd been not contact from Doyle, or the Delaware subject, Gordon, even though I'd staged that Event a couple of weeks ago.

Like I said, frustrated.

This morning, I went for a drive. I wasn't going anywhere in particular, but I wanted to do something to relieve the frustration. It was overcast, and raining on and off, so there weren't a lot of people out. But I did come up behind a mailman taking some stuff out of the back of his van.

I was tempted, but the problem here was that the area was wide open, and I was pretty sure he'd see me if I were to pull over and since he'd be going up to the front of people's houses, I didn't want to take any chances.

I drove on. But I was definitely itching.

I headed up Route 27, but changed my mind and pulled into the WalMart shopping area to turn back. Driving around the back, there was this guy looking at something in his engine. I slowed down.

The Flasher was in my hand, and I lowered the driver's side window. I checked all my mirrors. There was no one else around. I came up along side him.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove past. In my side view mirror, I could see him slumped into the engine, propped there like he was still standing.

I drove back to Metuchen. The sky started to clear. I was feeling better.

I decided to stop at the library, so I turned onto School Street and parked. That's when I noticed this old man walking on the other side of the street. I got out and crossed over. I wound up following behind him.

He walked just passed the library, and turned right, between the library and the next door dentist's office. There's a small pathway there. It's not used very often.

I followed him in, looking around all the time. No one. Nothing. And he never turned around.

Point, press, Flash.

I turned around quickly, retracing my steps, and went into the library. I spent about 20 minutes inside. When I came out, there was no activity. Everything was normal. I got into my car and drove home.

I was feeling good.

There are side effects to all sorts of things.

Like Riding a Bicycle.................

I've realized lately that a lot has changed since I had the transplant. I don't mean physically, that goes without saying. I mean mentally. I've changed the way I look at things. How I approach them. Take, for example, decisions.

I used to procrastinate more.

When I was working, that worked out more often then not. By not making quick decisions, I was able to gather more information and let my subconscious process it. I'm not saying I always made the right choice, but it felt right at the time.

There's nothing wrong with a quick decision, of course. Especially if you already have enough information to make it. In fact, I saved the Firm a 60 million dollar client by making a quick decision on how to change the presentation of certain data. Still.............

It's been a little more then 2 weeks since I last spoke to Doyle. A little more then 2 weeks since he'd asked me back in. I'd hesitated at first. After all, I'd spent the last few months not indulging, trying to get back to normal. And yet..when Doyle made the proposal...I ultimately took it.

Why?

I could use the "He's a bad guy and we need to catch him, so thet need me to stage an Event or two to draw him out" excuse, but after a few days of letting it swim around in my subconscious I know the real answer.

I missed it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This past week we had some really great days, weather-wise. Mid-week, we actually hit the 60's. I decided to drive around in Avenel, since it was the site of my initial Events. I wound up yesterday in Merrill Park, walking the track early, looking for a potential Event. I was getting..itchy. And then I saw him..

There were only a few people out, and the man in blue was all by himself, wearing headphones, and oblivious to what was going on around him. I let him pass, and fell in behind him. We followed the track for about 15 minutes, and I started checking the area for other people. Things seemed to be going my way. As we rounded the far bend, I saw that we were heading in the direction of the parking lot where I'd left my car.

Damn! There were people there who hadn't been there when I'd pulled in. I slowed, and watched as about 4 or 5 people started out onto the track around the man in blue.

This wasn't going to work. I went back into the lot, got into my car, and drove off. Frustrated.

I drove around for about 15 minutes, and finally pulled into a parking lot for a local FoodTown, which was on a slight hill. I sat there in my car, my head back and my eyes closed, trying to calm down. After about 10 minutes or so, I looked up and saw that some woman had pulled in beside me and was staring at me. Thinking that maybe she was concerned, I smiled and waved at her.

No reaction. She just kept looking in my direction.

I took a deep breathe, and thought about what I'd been doing, and why I was in this particular parking lot. I looked around as I did so.

No one around. Nothing moving. I looked over at the woman again. She was still looking in my direction.

Point, press, Flash.

She slumped over. I started my car and drove away.

For better or worse, I'm committed now.

Arc 7

New Year, Old Business...........

The holiday season has been over for about a week now. I think it went well. The weather was warmer then normal, there wasn't any snow, and I didn't have to travel out of state. All things that I consider pluses. Add to this the fact that I didn't have to hassle with returning anything, and I figure that I came out ahead this year.

For the last week the weather has been more seasonal - colder, and down-right frigid at times. Add in the record wind gusts and the constantly overcast skies, and I could understand how people can get depressed at this time of year. In fact, there were some news reports of a study that the 3rd Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. I've gone out every day but not for long, preferring to stay indoors.

Today, though still windy, dawned bright and sunny. I'd texted with my daughter, and we'd agreed to meet for lunch so I would grab a quick breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, and maybe hit up a library or two. I decided to drive over to Barnes & Nobles, since I'd gotten a couple of gift cards on Christmas. There were very few people browsing around when I got there.

I didn't have anything specific in mind, so I started in the Discount Book section on the first floor. I spotted a biography of Lincoln and remembering that there was a book out about him being a vampire hunter, I went over to one of the store's computers to see if it was in paperback, and in stock. That's when I first noticed the woman in the brown coat.

I thought she had been glancing in my direction, but she then seemed to get a phone message and walked away. I found the book I was looking for was in stock, and took the escalator to the 2nd floor, and walked over to the Fiction section - stopping first in the Graphic Novels section in case there was something there that caught my eye. Nothing. On to Fiction.

I turned into the aisle where the book would be, and there was the woman in the brown coat. She held a book in her hands, and was looking at her phone again. She put the phone in her pocket and without turning towards me showed me an ID Card from DHS that she held behind the book.
"Keep looking for your book, Mr. O'Neill. Agent Doyle sent me. I'm going to walk by you now, and slip a phone into your jacket pocket. Don't react. Keep looking for your book, or pick one out and look through it. Don't leave for about ten minutes. Agent Doyle will call you on the new phone around 2:00."

She brushed passed me and left. I waited the ten minutes, thumbing through the pages of the Lincoln book but not really reading it, then I left. I resisted the urge to look at the phone till I was back in my car. I checked it out for a while, but I had lunch plans, and drove away.

I got home around 1:00, made some tea, put the TV on, and read the paper while I was waiting. Doyle called at ten to two.
"Hi, Denny. How're you doing?"
"I'm good, Doyle, as I'm sure you know. How're you, and what's with all this cloak-and-dagger stuff?"
"Precautions, Denny. I've spent the last month working with our shrinks and we've come up with a theory and a plan to deal with the Delaware subject."
"You mean Del?"
"Yeah, but his real name is Art Gordon, no middle..."
"Wait a minute..wait.. A. G. are his initials? Craig said you didn't know what those letters stood for?"
"Need to know, Denny. Sorry. I didn't want you getting suspicious of anyone you ran into with those initials. Craig was following my orders. Okay?"

I thought about it for a minute or two, but frankly couldn't find any real reason to be upset about it.

"Yeah, OK, go on with what you were saying."
 His name is Art Gordon, no middle initial. He was born with a heart condition, so he spent a lot of time indoors and studied a lot. Mostly mechanics and electronics. Has a PHD and holds several patents. Your typical, quiet guy next door."
"You mean, as in "..he was such a quiet guy."?"
"HA..Yeah. Like that. He was working for the University of Delaware when he had a seizure and wound up in the hospital needing a transplant. That's where we stepped in."
"I'm familiar with the process."
"Right. Anyway, you know that Mr. Jones pushed for him, and it turned out that he's a psychopath, Being a mechanical genius, he's also managed to block our tracking signal and seems to be one step ahead of us. With me so far?"

I said that I was. Doyle took his time, gathering his thoughts, I guessed.

"One of our shrinks has come up with a new theory. She believes that Gordon sent you that newspaper message because he wants your approval. She thinks that he looks up to you as being the first and he wants to impress you. But you haven't been active in months, so he's following you. Watching you to see when you'll do something. And, she thinks that's why he let you see him last month. So you know that he's out there and he's waiting on you."
"Is that why you passed this new phone to me? Because he's watching me?"
"Yes. We didn't want to take any chances with him. He might also be monitoring your calls and texts, and we know he can check you mail"
"Should I be worried?"
"I don't think so. Honestly, if he wanted to do something, he would have already. Our shrink thinks he admires you, but hates us. Whatever."
I paused, and let that sink in.

"So what's the plan?"
"The plan is for you to get back in the game. We believe that he's waiting to approach you until after you stage an Event. He'll follow you until then, and so will we. 24/7. When he makes a move, so do we. Mr. Jones wants this situation taken care of ASAP, and has approved any and all costs associated with it."

"I don't know, Doyle. I haven't done anything in months.I'm not sure that I want to."
"Denny. We need you to do this. He's still out there, and he's still working. Somehow, he's following you, and still able to stage Events in Philadelphia and upstate New Jersey. We need to stop him...I need to stop him."

I thought about it, but what else could I do?

"Alright, I'm in. I know he needs to be stopped. I just don't know where or when I'll do anything."
"That's all I can ask, Denny. If you want to contact me, use this phone. It also has a built in tracker to back up your implant, just in case he gets in contact and blocks your signal too."

He paused.

"We have your back, Denny. Don't worry about it, OK?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Thanks, Denny. I'll let you think about it, and I'll be in touch."

He hung up.

Looks like I was back, again.

Children Laughing, People Passing.........

You know how, sometimes, you wake up in the middle of the night and it's dark, and quiet, and for a moment you're disoriented - you don't know where you are. This has happened to me - several times - recently. And in those brief moments - that uncertainty - I think that I'm still in the hospital, before the operation, and that the last 3 years were all a dream. Then I roll over and see the redly glowing, digital time display on the cable box. And I can breathe again. And go back to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't easy, at first, but I've kept myself in check this past month. This is not to say that I haven't been aggravated, haven't been tempted to use the Flasher. But I had resolved to control that impulse before my last meeting with Craig and I've held myself to it. There were so many instances...

- the drivers who cut me off, the speeders, and the too-slows;
- the shoppers who pushed me aside, or hit me with their carts, or didn't have their money ready;
- the people arguing too loudly on their cell phones, treating their waiters/waitresses badly, or just thinking they're better then everyone else.

I might have followed them - before - but not now. Now, I'm trying to let things go. Not hold them in. Not let them get to me. Not pay so much attention to individual people. It hasn't been easy, especially now that the Christmas season has started.

The weather has been kind of strange lately. It's been unseasonably warm until the last few days, and the damp rainy days we've had haven't helped to bring on the festive mood. But, I do what I can.

I like the Holidays... partly. It annoys me that the music and ads start earlier and earlier each year. But I can usually get that Christmasy feeling when shopping for presents (though I try to never go to the malls or big-box stores on weekends because of the crowds).

I got almost all of my shopping done early, so I'm only looking for one more thing, just not sure of what it will be. Today, I figured to check out the Menlo Park Mall early and got there just after the anchor stores opened, but before the smaller ones did. I figured on wandering through, window-shopping. It was not crowded.

The mall walkers were out, of course, and the employees for the smaller stores were arriving, or eating breakfast in the Food Court. There were some shoppers, and quite a few mothers with their kids in strollers - all dressed up for a picture with Santa.

I walked along the lower level first I was even enjoying the subtle sounds of the piped in carols. There was no pushing, no screaming, (the calm before the storm). I took one of the escalators up to the second level passing by the entrance to Macy's, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone walk by.

There was no real reason to notice him, and yet...there was............ something. I stopped outside of Old Navy, and tried to figure it out. What was it?

Then it hit me...the jacket! I'd seen the jacket before. More probably, I'd seen the guy wearing that jacket before...and recently. But where? I couldn't remember.

I turned back. He wasn't in sight but the escalator was close by. I went to the railing and looked down. At the bottom of the escalator, I could see him looking up as if searching for someone. He was wearing a baseball cap now, but I could tell he stopped searching when he spotted me. He saluted in my direction, then spun around and walked out of view.

I started after him but I knew I'd never catch him. There was an exit to a parking lot, an entrance to the Macy's, and several smaller shops down there. He could've gone anywhere.

I reached the First Floor, but he was gone.

Why did I recognize the jacket? Who was he?

Why was he at the mall? And, why had he acknowledged me?

I had the questions, but no answers.

I mulled it over as I headed back to where I parked my car. The way I saw it, there were only two possible answers.
1. I'm over-reacting, possibly a bit paranoid. But I'm sure that I've seen that jacket before, and why did he salute in my direction? Or..........
2. It was Del. He's following me for some reason - again.
Either way, I needed to contact Doyle. I'd call the number I had as soon as I got into my car and had some privacy.

That turned out to be unnecessary.

 Doyle was standing by my car when I got there. We shook hands.
"I was just about to call you."
"Are you OK?"
"Sure..Why wouldn't I be?"
"The Tracker on our Delaware subject popped back up about 1/2 an hour ago showing that he was here in the Mall. A quick check also showed that you were here too, and in close proximity. Did anyone speak to you..approach you in any way?"
"No. But there was someone and that was why I was going to contact you." I told him what had happened. I told him about the jacket. He asked what the guy looked like, and I told him what I could.

He rubbed his face with his hand. He looked tired.

"Was it him?... Del?... The guy I saw?"
He was quiet for a minute or two, then nodded his head slowly. "Sounds like it may have been, given the circumstances."
"Why?..Why is he doing this?..."
"We don't know...He's playing us...He's got some kind of agenda but we can't figure it out. I'm sorry, Denny, we just don't know."
"So you think he's, what, using me to rub your nose in it? He's laughing at you, and he wants you to know it? Is that it?"

Doyle ran his fingers through his hair and paced back and forth. He was trying to control himself.

"Maybe, Denny, but I'm getting sick of it." He paused, and rolled his neck, "We're gonna get him." He said softly. "We're gonna get him if it's the last thing I do." His eyes were hard.

His phone went off, but he ignored it.
"I'll be in touch, Denny. As soon as I work out a few things, I'll be in touch."
He turned quickly and walked away, pulling out his phone.

I stood there staring after him, long after he'd gotten into his SUV and drove away.