Shots
are fired. BANG-BANG! Magazines are loaded. CLUCK-CHUCK! Bullets whiz past
John's face. WOOSH! All of sudden, a shot is fired at the heart of the
sentinel-in-charge. The sentinel falls, and to everyone's astonishment, there
was James - lying languidly on the carpet. John fell to his feet.
It all
started on the 29th of February, the year 2050. Or might have - as that is what
John was told. Mr. Reynold Silverstein, his father, was the sole mastermind
behind the creation of the 43rd sector of the Swiss Intelligence, which came
into being on this very day, and its sole purpose - assist the intelligence by
developing molecular - level weapons. Everyone knew it wasn't possible without
Mr. Reynold - the molecule - level engineering aficionado, who had also been a
part of the team that was hired to eradicate cancer from the world. John never
doubted the fact that his father was a genius, but always remained baffled at
the memory of his father - the last he saw his father was in the headquarters
of the 43rd sector - whose location remains unknown. Everyone assumed that his
father was since bereft of life, and so did John - he felt it would make sense
if he'd agree with the rest of the world.
James,
or James Cookson to be more precise, was an orphan until he was adopted by Mr.
Reynold, and is John Silverstein's only friend - a friend than a brother. James
was older than John, and showed a peculiar interest in detectives, but never
tried any of their ways of deducing facts from minor clues. On the other hand,
John was more of an athlete and a science specialist than a mystery solver, and
was never amazed by such cases - until one was discovered in their garage -
destined to change their lives forever.
That
day was a miserable one for John, who got into a fight with his neighbors, who
regarded James as 'adopted'. Though this was true, John wasn't ready to accept
the fact, and pulled out his bone - zapper* and zapped one of the neighbor’s
bones till they froze in place. James wasn't present at the scene, and would
have certainly saved the day. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and the police
were on their way the second John was reported. John, who hasn't experienced
such situations before, hopped on his hover - board** and unleashed all of the
charge it had to get home as soon as possible.
He
broke opened the garage door and rushed inside. The police were already at his
house, and were scanning the house. He knew the garage would keep him from the
scanner's reach, but he had a feeling that he never experienced earlier - John
Silverstein was scared.
The
footsteps were closing in. John forgot everything that moment - even that the
garage could be accessed by the police. He panicked, and walked around looking
for a better place to hide. There was a cupboard, which remained untouched
since a couple of decades, and the door shouldn't have opened - with all the
rust and corrosion on the hinges. But it did, when John forced it open to
enter, and he did. He waited there for a minute, until the men in duty left. As
he got down, he caught glimpse of a very old bag that was a left in the
cupboard to rot away. In it were a few documents, perfectly preserved in a
plastic folder. Suddenly, a faint voice called his name. John panicked like
never before.
The
faint voice was of James, as it turns out to be, who had come across the
incident quite late. John run to him with all the might he had. James almost
slapped him for what he did, but something more interesting caught his
attention - the documents John was carrying. He snatched them and read them
with great curiosity, discretion, and all such qualities usually a detective's
possession.
The
first page said, 'date of creation, see a calendar'. The rest of the pages were
empty. John read it now, and jumped in excitement- he knew what the note was
talking about, and he knew the date - the 29th of February, 2050. They wandered
why they had to look in a calendar, until James came up with a fact - a fact
that is going to change their lives thereafter.
What
could the note have wanted to say? As they submerged in deep thought, James
sprang up with glee, having solved the mystery - James said that the date never
existed, as the 29th of February would only appear in a leap year, but 2050
isn't one. What could this imply? John was filled with horror and melancholy at
that thought - that the 43rd sector never came into being - and his father was
not who he thought was.
The
last time John saw his father was in the headquarters of the 43rd,
which is now proven to never have existed. Then where could that place have
been? The answer: safe and sound with the Swiss Intelligence. But there was one
problem - the police were looking for him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*a
futuristic self - defense weapon
**a
developed version of the skate board that can hover on the ground.
