Kind of a Big Deal

Secretary of Defense Adam Perrington stepped out of his limousine to survey the damage. Where once was a small, woodsy town was now a barren wasteland.

“It looks like a bomb went off, sir,” said Adam’s assistant, James.

Adam nodded. “It certainly does, but the real question is why would a bomb go off here?” He said, adjusting his glasses over his green eyes. The damage was very substantial, but Adam strolled through it as a tourist strolls through a lovely foreign field.

“Terrorists?” James offered, trying to keep up with the leader.

“Likely, but this is like no terrorist group I’ve ever seen.” Adam bent down over the remains of a pizza parlor. It seemed to have been crushed, but from the top to the bottom, as if a boulder fell on top of it.

Adam had never made a trip to Midtown before, so he had never seen the small town in it’s glory. To his left was a home, probably a family of four, eager for the afternoon to come. Why destroy everything?

The answer came quickly to Adam’s trained mind. To leave no witnesses. But, by doing this, they were calling attention to the situation. It must have been made in haste. This bombing could not have been planned.

“Over here, sir,” called one of the secret service men Adam had brought in to investigate. Adam walked over, taking in every sight along the way, committing it to his memory.

The man had been hunched over something, a claw. A remarkably large claw. The entire length of it was the size of Adam himself. “Interesting,” He noted, bending down to examine it closely.

It was long, with powerful muscle along it. It had been severed at what would have been the shoulder, and leaked blue blood. Coming down from the shoulder was a forearm, and that itself was attached to a four-pronged hand, each ‘finger’ had a long nail, sharp enough to slice.

For all intents and purposes, it appeared to be a dinosaur claw.

“Could it be…dinosaurs, sir?” Asked the service operative.

Adam chuckled to himself in amusement. “No, of course not. Dinosaurs do not exist. This is likely little more than a prank, but take it in anyway to be studied. I want the results quickly.”

“Sir.” The man radioed in a request, it would be wrapped up and ready to study within the hour.

Adam looked up from the claw as his phone rang. “Perrington,” He said into the receiver.

“Sir, we searched through all our files, and found nothing out of the ordinary about Midtown, Massachusetts.”

“Except…” Adam prompted. They wouldn’t call him to tell him everything was normal.

“Well, sir, except for a small signal that was sent out today, hours ago, and yesterday.”

Adam narrowed his eyes, and turned away from the others. “Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner?” A signal? A bomb detonator?

“Well, we figured it was merely a glitch in the system-“

“I helped create and implement that system,” Adam interrupted quickly. “There are no glitches.”

“Right. Well, either way, the signal only came up on our most general of sensors, whenever we tried to zero in on its source, we couldn’t find it. That means it’s a glitch, or a signal that we can’t identify.”

“And, this signal went off first yesterday, and today hours ago, before the attacks.”

“Before, or during. We can’t be sure, because we are unsure of the time of this attack. However there is one other strange thing about this signal.”

“I’m listening,” Adam replied impatiently

“Well, the source of the signal originated from Midtown Mass, but where the signal ended, where it was received, is unknown.”

“What do you mean? A signal tends to have a beginning and an end.”

“Yes, they do. But this mystery signal is sent like a radio tower’s, going out in all directions. It had an immeasurable range too.”

“Did it…” Adam stated back, in deep thought.

“Yes, sir. We are still looking into it, not sure if it relates to what you have on your hands over there though.”

“Of course. Keep me posted. Don’t leave any details unchecked. Even the most insignificant detail may be the key to this puzzle.” Adam flipped the phone shut, and walked through the people silently.

‘A signal, originating from here,’ Adam thought. ‘If this was a normal case, the signal could likely be a remote detonator of some sort. But, with all types of remote signals, we can zero in on it and locate the type. This signal we cannot do that. A new type of remote detonator? Highly unlikely, the United States is at the forefront of technology. We would know about a new type of detonator.

‘So, then what could it be?’ A thought struck him. ‘What if the signal was some kind of distress signal? One that called people towards it. One that could bring them in, so to speak. If that was the case, then it would need no exact end point. Maybe these attackers weren’t trying to destroy this town. Maybe they were after whatever the source of the signal was…’

Adam glanced around the wreckage of the town. ‘Since the signal had no end point, it could possibly be picked up by someone other than its intended target. In fact, that was very likely. Also, if it wasn’t a bomb…then…A battle? A battle could have occurred here, for whatever the source of the signal was. Damn, I’m good.’

“Oh, Mr. Perrington!” Came a female voice, one Adam didn’t recognize.

“Yes, how can I help you?” He replied with all the courtesy in the world, even though this woman interrupted his thought process.

“My name is Dawn Creek, channel eight news-“

‘I thought they held back all reporters…’ Adam thought, but none of the anger he felt showed in his perfectly composed face. His features revealed nothing.

“-and we would like to have an official word from you, the government.”

Adam nodded politely, and saw the eager cameraman behind Dawn. His gaze turned straight to the camera, where he spoke in a perfect television voice. “Of course. The American Government is currently putting a good amount of time and resources into investigating the tragic events that occurred here. We are working diligently to find out who is responsible for such an attack.” His mouth curled into a perfect smile. He should go into acting.

“Any comments on the reports of a group of dragon attackers?” Dawn asked.

Adam blinked. For the first time in many years, he didn’t have a quick response. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear? Channel eight news had an exclusive interview with the two survivors of this attack. I was unaware that-“

Adam’s gaze hid his intense anger. “Survivors?”

Dawn nodded eagerly. “Yes, survivors. They are two individuals, a man and a woman, oddly dressed, but say they survived. In an interview, conducted by myself, they talked about great dragons attacking this town. Is it fantasy come true?”

Adam’s mind was moving faster than ever, but his voice was calm and collect as he smiled at the camera. “My personal opinion on that statement is that the individuals are under a lot of trauma from the attack. Especially being so quickly hounded by reporters eager for a statement.”

Dawn’s face lost its color.

“I think that we can rule out the fantastical here, Ms. Creek, but I would like to talk to these survivors just the same. Where may I find them?”

The survivors were walking away from Dawn’s news van, and they looked quite eager to do so.

“Excuse me!” Adam called, hurrying over to the two. “Excuse me!”

The girl walked a few more steps before realizing the statement was directed at them. She spoke in a girlish voice, almost unnaturally so. “Yes?”

“Are you two the survivors of the alleged attack?” Adam asked, as casually as he could, and looking them over. How oddly dressed they were. The man had long, unnaturally red hair with flowing robes and a dark expression. She was harder to read, with purple hair and eyes that showed knowledge and a dangerous strength. Adam had to be careful.

The girl nodded. “Yes, we are.” A glance to her partner, the male.

“And who are you?” He asked, in a gravelly tone, one that gave him a sharp look from the girl.

“Oh, how rude of me,” replied Adam with a light tone, “My name is Adam Perrington, I’m the United States Secretary of Defense. For someone like me, you get used to people knowing who you are. It’s quite refreshing to see some folks who don’t recognize me.” He laughed lightly at his own joke, one he used whenever this situation came. Hopefully to shake these two up.

The girl laughed with him, but it felt forced. “My name is Melissa, and this is my boyfriend Ryan. He kept me safe when those dragons attacked the town.” The man nodded.

“Of course, of course. Pleasure to meet you both.” Adam removed a notepad from his pocket. “Now, that is what I would like to discuss. The dragon attacks.” He glanced around. The van was parked behind some rubble, and an intact wall was to the right. The reporter was behind it. “Maybe we should go somewhere a bit…private?”

The girl made a hand motion. “This is fine.” The wall crumbled, and Adam noticed the reporter walk away. Coincidence? There was no such thing.

“Of course. I apologize for being so rude. Now, could you please talk to me about those dragons you witnessed?”

The girl’s expression turn to pure fear. ‘A bit overdramatic?’ Thought Adam.

“They attacked us! Just came out of nowhere, and-and Ryan was able to protect me, for the most part!” She said, clinging to Ryan’s arm.

Adam nodded, making notes. “Uh-huh. Can you be a little more specific? You are quite vague here.”

Melissa glanced to the ground. Some gentle prodding was in order.

“Maybe you can start with their descriptions?” added Adam, as he saw that she wasn’t going to talk too easily. Made sense, after being thought such an ordeal.

“They were…uh….big, with sharp teeth and wings. A yellow one nearly crushed me!” She looked to Ryan, who nodded.

“Yes, well, you are aware, of course that dragons do not exist? Are you sure of what you saw?”

Melissa stamped her foot with childish pout. “I know what I saw. Ryan, he doesn’t believe me!”

Ryan looked up, and glared at Adam. “Dragons are the only way to explain the attack. There’s no way it was nothing else.”

‘Says the group dressed like a circus.’ Adam thought to himself. “I do have another question, why are you dressed the way you are?”

“Dressed like what?” Melissa gave a sudden outburst. “Isn’t this the land of the free? I can dress how I like, right?”

“Yes, but it is still strange.”

“Strange? Are you making fun of my clothing?”

“Not by any means. I’m just curious as to what you suspiciously dressed people were doing here in Midtown before the attack.”

“Me?!” Melissa continued her tirade of rage. “You’re calling me suspicious!? You really don’t know how to treat your people here do you?!” She clung to her boyfriend, who put his arm around her.

“Miss, I am merely trying to piece together a puzzle that I think you have become a part of, that’s all. You certainly aren’t helping your case by avoiding my question.” Adam had to give her credit, she was good. She was doing a very nice job of distraction. It’s been a while since Adam had to use his wits.

She blinked at him. “…what was the question?”

It took most of Adam’s being to resist smacking his forehead, but he held back. “Why are you two in Midtown?”

“Oh! We were just passing through, wrong place, wrong time.” She giggled. “I feel responsible though for this, being the sole survivor.” She met his gaze. “But that’s silly right?”

“Yes, it is,” replied Adam curtly, “you are not responsible for this mess.” Or are you? “What were your full names again?”

Melissa gave the slightest pause. “Melissa Akita, and he is Ryan Moore.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“It’s standard procedure to fill out a witness report when filling witness statements,” replied Adam, writing down their names. He felt they were lying; he needed something to latch onto though. This was it.

“What is this witness report? I don’t feel safe giving out personal information…” Melissa said.

“Right, well, nothing terribly personal. Name, address and phone number.” Adam said, seeing that Ryan didn’t talk much. When he did, it wasn’t a lot of information.

Melissa frowned. “We’re in between. It’s complicated.”

A nice lie. But a lie nonetheless. If he pressed for more details…

“I simply need an address where something can be mailed to.”

“We don’t have one. We are living out of our car at the moment.”

Her gaze wasn’t meeting his as much. He had them now! “A car? Interesting then. I apologize, I wasn’t aware of the situation. License plate, then?”

“Oh.” The girl glanced to Ryan. “What was your plate number again, Ryan?”

He suddenly became alert. Adam held back a grin. They were hiding something.

“It’s …er-“

“Eaten by one of the dragons!” Melissa said eagerly. “One of the dragons ate the car.”

Adam blinked. It took a lot to make this man speechless, but they just did. He laughed a little. What a story. What a completely unbelievable story. Yet, there was no way he could prove it false. Not without some time. And, what would it prove, exactly? They knew how to talk themselves out of something.

“Is something wrong?” Melissa asked.

“No, no,” said Adam, recovering himself. He had one last question. Always did. Something else to ask. “Do you have any idea why the dragons might have attacked such a quiet, peaceful town?”

“Maybe there was something they wanted here.” Melissa’s eyes flashed with a knowledge that was undeniable. She seemed to catch herself. “Maybe some kind of dragon artifact! That would be cool right!?”

Adam nodded, smiling to himself. “Yes, cool indeed. Thank you very much. Here is my card.” He took a card from his pocket and passed it to them. “If you need me for anything at all, give me a call. I assume you lost your cell phones as well.” He said, before turning away from them.

‘This may not seem like a fruitful operation,’ Adam thought to himself, ‘but I have learned a lot. For one, those two are liars. Plain and simple. What they were really doing here, though, I cannot be sure as long as their story sticks. But, I have plenty of time to piece together this puzzle. I’m sure this isn’t the last I will see of these dragons.’

Adjusting his glasses, Adam walked back to his limousine.