Project Firestar - Nicole Y (ready player one ebook TXT) 📗

Autumn stood solemnly at the window, clutching a fresh mug of coffee with both hands, the steam and aroma was rising from the rim. She stared out the window into the bleak afternoon, the fine mist of rain dimming her vision of the empty street outside. After so many sleepless nights the coffee was no longer helping. She was exhausted with worry and anxiety at the loss of her best friend nearly two weeks before. "Were going to find her, You know that right?" Jane announced as she looked up from her laptop. Jane's efforts had been aimed at putting her skills as an investigative reporter for a local network affiliate to the test for the last two weeks but she was coming up dry. She had exhausted all of her resources and was getting frustrated. But Jane wasn't the type to give up easily, especially when it was something she really wanted. "I know we will, I just hope it's soon." Autumn replied sadly.
They heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it" Jane said. When she opened the door there stood Kim. The third member of their entourage. Her clothes wet from the rain. "You going to let me in anytime today, "It's wet out here." Kim stressed coldly. "look who it is Autumn, The smartass has finally arrived." Jane responded with a smile. Autumn turned and looked at Kim and Jane and said. I'm going to get cleaned up and I'll come back and make us some lunch." Autumn walked down the hall to her bedroom to change her clothes. She looked over at her bed wishing she could fall a sleep and for all of this to be a bad dream. While she was looking at her bed Autumn saw her journal laying there. She had only recently started writing in a journal last year after Sarah had given it to her for her 25th birthday. She picked the book up and flipped through the pages, and began reading entries from a few months ago. Jan 26 2011. Last month something strange happened to me, I don't know how to explain it, I was setting on the sofa and I had this Flash of Kim, Jane and Sarah. They had gone out of town for the weekend and on there way back they had ran out of gas.
The vision had ended abruptly when the phone rang. It was Kim, and before she could tell me what happened. I said "you should have filled up before you left." She didn't understand how I knew so I told her that it was dejavu. That was the first time I had a vision, But they continued.
The last one I got was of Sarah being abducted. If I had trusted my vision or myself Sarah would be here hanging out with us right now and she would be safe. "Knock, Knock"
Kim said through the bedroom door. "Some guy named Ben just called Jane about a lead on Sarah, he wants us to meet him at bar downtown called Dirty Aces." When the girls went into the living room Jane told them that she had called Shaun to let him know what's going. And that he wanted them to wait for him before they went into the bar.
They got in the car and headed downtown. "Shaun said for us to wait to go in the bar till he got there and he sounded pretty serious so, I am guessing this isn't the nicest place in town." Jane mentioned.
As they were driving to the bar all Autumn could think about was finding Sarah. I hope we find her tonight, she thought. But if we don't I need to tell Jane and Kim about my vision no matter what they might think. Autumn wasn't worried about telling Jane, it was Kim she was really worried about.
Jane was more minded when it came to the supernatural more so than Kim was. I remember when I told her I thought my apartment was haunted, she laughed at me like it was the craziest thing she had ever heard.
"This is it." Kim said as the pulled into the driveway. "Do you see Shaun's car?" Jane asked. "Yeah there he is." Autumn replied.
Detective Shaun Bryant pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Dirty Ace and spotted Kim's Honda. At least the girls had listened to him and had stayed in the car, he thought. He parked and got out to walk over to them and stopped for a minute to cast a judicious eye at the building. Kim and Jane both watched him as he strode across the lot toward them. Jane was staring because he was the love of her life and because she thought he was sexy as hell. Kim was staring because for the moment she wanted to be Jane.
His six-foot frame was lean and muscular with moderately broad shoulders and chest. He had a strong jaw line and piercing cobalt eyes. His thick chestnut hair had been kept high and tight ever since he passed the detective's exam. Since he had become a detective, he had taken to dressing well. Often in nice charcoal suits with dark blue pressed button down shirts and the occasional silk tie and most people mistook him for some sort of executive rather than a lieutenant with the Travis County homicide division in Austin, Texas.
He had an infectious friendly demeanor and every time he flashed his boyish smile Jane would smile too. Autumn had once pointed it out to her, and Jane had said "I can't help it, no matter what I try, I just can't stop myself, Half the time I don't even realize that I am standing there like a grinning idiot with that goofy look on my face, Every time I see him he makes my body weak and I'm stricken with stupidity." Kim laughed "Oh don't blame that on him, You've always been stricken with stupidity." Even Autumn chuckled at the sarcastic observation. Kim could be a bitch when she wanted to but she made Autumn laugh and that was one of the things she liked about Kim. Though they would never admit it Jane and Autumn envied Kim's often surly view of the world and her scathing directness.
Kim didn't usually beat around the bush with people and Autumn found something comforting in that cold simplicity. But in the long run it made Kim a little too abrasive for most people. Kim didn't have many friends outside of their dysfunctional little group.
It would seem that Autumn, Jane and Sarah were the only girls in town who could tolerate her for more ten minuets at a time. When Shaun reached the car, he leaned into the passenger side window and give Jane a kiss. His faint cologne drifted over to the drive's side and Kim drank it in silently and thinking to herself "mm! Yummy!""Hey good looking" Jane said after Shaun kissed her. "I'm going to go in there and check it out, I'll come and get you when I think it's safe." Shaun said to the girls.
Shaun went into the bar. There were twelve people in the bar including the bartender. "Hey bar keep" Shaun said as he raised his hand up to the bartender to get his attention, The man behind the bar turned toward the sound of Shaun's voice and smiled. "What can I do for you?" the man asked.
As Shaun approached the bar, he noticed a fading USMC tattoo on the man's left shoulder. He could make out the date underneath tattoo. 67-68, just above the ink was a pack of luckies rolled in old school fashion into the sleeve of the man's white t shirt. Shaun clocked him to be about 58 or 59, Shaun handed the bartender a photograph of Sarah and asked.
"Have you seen this girl before?" "No, I'm sorry never seen her, why do you ask, did something happen to her?" the bartender responded. "She went missing two weeks ago." Shaun revealed. "I think the man you are looking for is sitting right over there." The bartender nodded in the direction of a lone figure sitting at the far end of the bar. "That would be Ben" John announced. He's a bit of a loner, but I am sure he doesn't know anything." Shaun glanced down the bar for a quick look and said "What makes you so sure?" "I know pretty much everything that goes on around here, I don't get the high end clientele around here as you can see, so if there is anything shady happening within fifty miles of this place I hear about it." "He's not playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean." John replied.
"No, I don't know what you mean, why don't you clear it up for me." Shaun asked. "Well he's always going on about UFO'S and what not. The guy thinks we are being taken over by Aliens, And he really believes it I shit you not." John endeavored to look serious.
Shaun sighed, "Alright, thanks for the heads up." Shaun turned to the bartender and asked "What does he drink?" Shaun nodded at the man setting at the end of the bar. "He drinks whiskey, straight up." John said In the dim light of the bar Shaun couldn't see the man's face very well. But as he approached the man the harsh reality of the man's life came into clear focus. From the parts of his face that weren't covered with dirt and wildly overgrown facial hair.
Shaun was amazed to see that he couldn't have been over twenty- seven or twenty-eight years old. But it had obviously been a long and hard twenty-eight years. His hair was long and disheveled and Shaun thought it would likely be blond if the guy washed it.
His beard made him look like a mountain man and his clothes were well worn. To all outward appearance this guy looked like a derelict or homeless man, but when he looked up Shaun was taken by surprise. Deep in the nest of fur surrounding his face were two ice blue eyes, piercing and intense. He had only seen one other person with those eyes in his life. Autumn, his eyes were exactly like Autumn's.
Shaun approached the man casually. He knew nothing about this guy except for the mindless prattle the bartender had filled his ear with. And he knew that carp would be unreliable at best. His name and his preferred poison was about the only information he was willing to take at face value at this point. He pulled out a stool and said "O.K. if sit here?" Shaun asked. The young man eyed him with caution before speaking. "It's a free country, if you believe your government."
Shaun smiled as he slide the whiskey over to him. "You don't?" Shaun responded. The man gave a short laugh and said "Lets just say I know better." But the mans humor faded and he looked at Shaun and asked, "Something I can do for you detective?"
Shaun didn't see any reason to play games or waste time denying identity. He kept telling himself that keeping things casual was the only way to go for now. "Is it that obvious." Shaun answered. "It is to me." the man looked around at a bar full of patrons drowning their various sorrows and said "I don't know about everyone else, and even if they knew they probably don't give a shit."
Shaun didn't put his hand out, but thought an intro was prudent. This guy was