Part 3: Classified
Underneath the blazing desert sun, Lucy wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. She had six pairs of eyes trained onto her from her count, and another five pairs were focused on Eugene, including those of Agent Copeland. Each one of the agents were clad in a strikingly stereotypical black suit with with disgustingly cliche sunglasses, but as much as one part of Lucy would’ve loved to chuckle at the funerary cosplay that seemed to be happening at the ranch, she was sobered by the sight of each agent holding a hand into their jacket pockets, undoubtedly resting their fingers onto triggers should anything go awry. She knew that the stakes had just gone up one hundred fold, and could feel the danger like a static charge floating through the dry desert air.
“So, erm,” Eugene began as scratched his belly towards Agent Copeland. “I’m betting I already know why you fellas are here.” Despite the heavy presence, and no less than eleven men ready to riddle him with lead, Eugene somehow seemed to keep a cooling nonchalance. It was a hard turn from the man who’d just been white knuckling it back to the ranch when he saw the black trucks and vans scattered across his yard.
“You think so?” Snarked Copeland. He wore what seemed to Lucy to be a permanent sneer under his ginger mustache, trimmed neatly and in regulation beneath what could only be assumed to be ballistic grade aviators. He was an older man, late fifties if Lucy had to guess.
“Yeah.” Chirped Eugene. “You’re here because you want to know what Nrov-”
“Shut the fuck up Barclay!” Copeland ordered with the timbre and commanding bass of a practiced drill instructor. “Who the fuck is that?” Copeland barked again waving a hand towards Lucy.
“Oh she’s just company.” Eugene smirked.
“And since when do you have company you fucking moron? Has it occurred to you that your ‘company’ is a severe intelligence threat?”
“Oh, easy now.” Eugene cooed. “That’s just Lucy. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. Would you Lucy?” Both men turned towards Lucy now.
Damn it. He said he’d do all the talking. Lucy panicked to herself before scrounging up her words. “Um, I don’t. . . have any lines for this part, but, uh, no I’m harmless sir. Totally harmless.” She found herself punching her hands into her pockets as if she were trying to burrow a hole through the bottom.
“Now is not the time for silly little jokes, miss whoever you are. You know your chucklehead friend here just got you killed right?”
“Um, what?” Lucy croaked the words out as her throat ran dry at his threat.
“Whoa now. Let’s all calm down Cope, huh?” Eugene piped in, splaying his hands in front of him as though to ease the pressure down. “She doesn’t know anything about any of this alright?” Eugene leaned his head in to whisper to Copeland. “Head like an overcooked noodle this one, you know? You ain’t got to worry about her. I’ll deal with it.”
Copeland grit his teeth for a moment before huffing a breath through his nostrils. “She’s a risk, Eugene. You know this.”
“Yeah well why don’t we discuss it inside? I’ll get a cool glass of lemonade and get you those uh, ahem, files.”
Copeland turned towards the porch and began to saunter towards the house while Eugene turned to Lucy. He pointed a finger at her while mouthing the words ‘you joker’, and mimed himself giving a great belly laugh before furrowing his brows into a severe look and shooting her his middle finger. Eugene followed behind Copeland, scratching at this wrist as he went. Lucy stayed cemented in place by the Red Rocket. “You too little girl!” Called Copeland, spurring Lucy into a brisk walk behind Eugene. “I want you in my sight at all times!”
As she followed behind she spied Eugene’s left hand. It seemed to be spasming, fingers trilling and fluttering as he went along, and if She hadn't thought to look, she wouldn’t have noticed the slight waves of sand moving beneath their feet. She gave a curious look up to Eugene in front of her, maintaining his cavalierness in the wake of just getting her ‘killed’.
As they entered the house Lucy was shocked to see two more agents already inside, although to call them agents was Lucy fetching the closest word to label them. Each of them stretched to eight feet tall, their heads almost rubbing the popcorn ceiling when they walked. Their skin was smooth like sharks, their mouths a third wider than a normal persons would be, and their glasses were extra wide and wrapped around their heads, more like one continuous shade than two lenses.
“Have you finished the sweep in here?” Copeland asked as he stepped between the two tall agents. They each grunted simultaneously in reply. “Alright. Get out back then. I want to get back as soon as possible. Miss Priss here just landed us a hell of a lot more paperwork.” He waved a dismissing hand in `lucy’s direction. The tall agents grunted again as they moved towards the back door. Each of them had to stoop low to get through without hitting their heads on the frame.
“That’s not necessary Cope. I’ve got it right here.” Eugene said as he sauntered to the counter. He lifted up a peppergrinder and popped the top off before turning it over and shaking it into his hand. A glowing rock fell from the grinder and into Eugene’s palm.
“Nice to see that those plush federal checks we send are being invested in cutting edge security measures.” Chided Copeland as he stepped towards the counter.
“Would you believe me if I told you it was a clandestine, tactical peppergrinder designed by the CIA?”
“Shut the fuck up.” Copeland muttered as he shook his head and reached to take the gem from Eugene’s hand. “What I’m saying is that you really need to consider more secure hiding places for such sensitive goods,’ Copeland’s voice grew more quiet as he spoke, as if he didn’t want Lucy to hear, even though she couldn’t make any sense of what the hell was going on anyway. “and uh, any others in the future.” Copeland raised his eyebrows towards Eugene as he finished his sentence, and pocketed the glowing gem while Eugene nodded in reply.
“Oh I will certainly get it under control. You’ve got nothing to worry about Cope.” Smiled Eugene.
The back door swung open again to reveal the two tall, sharkskinned creatures crawling through the doorway. Their shades were off now and Lucy felt her breath catch in her throat as she caught a look at their eyes. Each eye was nearly twice the size of a human’s, but the pupils in each were half split from themselves, as if half-way to forming into two pupils in one eyes, but the irises weren’t round like humans either, but rather vertical and slim like cats.
“Find anything interesting boys?” Called Copeland as he turned from the counter. In unison both of the figures groaned as they twisted their heads back and forth to indicate no. Lucy’s skin crawled at their silent response.Their size, their weird skin, and quadrupled eye slits, all unnerved her nearly to the point of raw panic. “Well then,” Copeland turned towards Eugene again and gave a nod and a wink before rapping his knuckles across the counter. He turned his back again to face the figures. “You two go out and get everybody loaded up to head out. I’ll be right behind you. I’ve got to talk to this one here for a minute.” He said as he motioned towards Lucy, who was standing rigid by the sofa. The figures grunted and made their way towards the front door. Lucy could feel a numbness wash through her arm as they passed by. “Why don’t you take a seat, um, what was your name again?”
“Lucy.” She murmured.
“Right. Lucy. Yeah, you’re going to want to take a seat for this. I have a feeling you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you.” She took a tentative glance at Eugene, searching for any sign of assurance or safety from the only place she hoped she might find it in the moment, but Eugene only pressed his lips together in a sour face and nodded for her to sit.
“Now, Lucy,” Copeland began as they sat across from each other. “Eugene has vouched for you, which means a lot more than you might think considering the state of him and, uh, well this place. All you need to know is that my name is Agent Copeland and I represent a very secretive branch of the United States intelligence community.” Lucy shifted in her seat. She shivered at the intense discomfort of this entire situation. “Now, I realize you may have ended up here by accident. I put that together when we found your car. You’re a long way from home aren’t you?”
“Y-yes sir.” She replied.
“Well the fact of the matter is that no matter how innocent or harmless you may be, you’ve put yourself in one hell of a delicate situation, and it’s one I can’t just let you get away from.” Lucy's hands were now clawing into the couch cushions. This man was about to have her executed, and Eugene was just going to stand there and watch it happen. “We are going to have to kill you.” Explained Copeland.
“In a matter of speaking.” Chirped Eugene from behind the counter. “Jesus Cope, you’ve got to work on your wording.” Copeland grit his teeth and grinned as he noticed Lucy was only another pound of pressure from tearing holes in the seat cushions. His toying with the girl had her petrified. “‘Kill’ is a colloquial term for it. What you might better understand is if saod we are going to have to ‘disappear’ you.”
“So what, you’re gonna send me off to some black site? T-tell my family I died in a car crash or something like that?” Lucy jumbled and quivered as she spoke, her voice nearly breaking under the tension.
“Well, ordinarily, yes, but like I said, Eugene vouched for you. So, what I’m goin tto do instead is a little favor for you.” Lucy felt her head turn in anticipation. “From this day forward Lucinda Holt no longer exists or ever existed in any form of formal documentation. Your family will be informed that you are deceased, your remains unrecognizable and a closed casket funeral will be held for you. You are no longer a person in the eyes of this, or any other governmental organization. You will remain here with Eugene until a suitable relocation, identity, and history have been appointed to you and assigned and learned by you. Do you understand all of this so far?”
“I. . . I think so.”
“From now until your relocation you are labeled as an affiliate of the asset Eugene Barclay. You are not to move from this ranch, you are not to have any contact with anyone, and I mean anyone from your previous life. I cannot stress that enough. If you do contact anyone at all from here on, they will be killed, and I do mean that in the literal sense. Are you still following me?”
“Yes, sir.” The words were just washing over Lucy now. It was too surreal, too much. This wasn’t something that actually happened to people, but here she was getting the ultra-classified rundown on how she no longer existed from an actual man in black.
“Eugene will continue to function as an asset, and you will stay the hell out of the way. If all of this is understood, then everything will be just fine. Am I going to have any problems from you Lucinda?”
“No, sir. No problems.” Tears were welling up into her eyes as she answered out of numb reflex.
“Good.” Copeland straightened and stood from his seat. He adjusted his jacket and turned to face Eugene. “Eugene. I’ll be seeing you.”
“You know it.” Eugene answered. Copeland made his way out of the door, and both Lucy and Eugene stayed stuck in their positions while they listened to the fleet of vehicles drive up the dirt and tear out of the yard. Even after the vehicles were gone, they each sat in silence for several minutes before Eugene finally spoke up. “Well, I know that was lot, but uh, believe it or not, you actually got off really easy there.”
“Um,” Lucy struggled to find words as she fought to control her trembling hands and voice. “Are, are you fucking kidding me Eugene? You just cost me my life. My entire life because you couldn’t be bothered to just” The rage was building now in her tone, fear distilling itself into wrath as she regained herself. “Just help me get some fucking fuel!”
“Well hold on!” Shot back Eugene. “You’ve got to understand my predicament here!”
“You’re predicament? Give me fucking break, you could have helped me and you just chose not to!”
“No, no not at all what happened! Believe me sis, I would’ve loved to have gotten you out of here as soon as you stepped on my lot, and I’d love to explain but-”
“Tell me!” Barked Lucy. She was seething now.
“But Lucy, you heard the man I can’t-”
“Fuck that! If I’m going to bare the punishment then god damn it I’m going to earn it! Tell me everything right god damned now!”
Eugene slacked his shoulders and huffed an exasperated breath across the counter. “Fine. Fine! Fuck it!” he threw his hands up in there as he started stepping around the counter and made his way to the couch. He sat across from Lucy and leaned forward, resting hisk elbows onto his knees. “Here’s the deal. .”
