Anaz-Voohri Read Free Page A

US, and Ashley was one of them.
    When the doorbell rang, Zack saw no LAPD cop, but four men in black suits, white shirts and sunglasses. They flashed FBI badges and three of them rudely pushed their way inside the house, taking pictures.
    The fourth agent, who seemed to be in charge, introduced himself as Tolek Michalski. He invited Zack to take a seat on the living room couch. He set a small recorder on the coffee table, opened his jacket and eased himself into an armchair. “For the record, state your name, age, occupation.”
      “My name is Zack Duncan. I’m eighteen, working on a Masters at Berkeley and baby-sitting for my parents during summer break.”
    The agent frowned. “A Masters at your age?”
    Zack half-smiled at the man’s surprise. He was used to such reaction. “Investigative journalism. Love the stuff.”
    The agent shook his head. “Where are your parents?”
      “On a news assignment in Guatemala.”
      “Reporters? Have they been told?”
      “Not yet.”
      “Tell me what you know.”
    Zack steeled himself for the emotional assault of the difficult memories, but he wasn’t going to wimp out. “Some alien creature took her. I saw it all happen,” he declared boldly, then described the scene to the best of his recollection.
    Listening, the agent seemed absorbed in the task of cleaning his sunglasses with a white handkerchief. “Was the perpetrator male or female?”
      “I couldn’t tell for sure. It was freaking tall with a shimmering cape and floating in a beam of light.”
    The agent didn’t flinch. “Could you describe him or her?”
    Zack tried to remember all the details. “Tall, no hair, pale, almost translucent skin, some kind of electronics showing through the skull with blinking lights inside. One hand had only four fingers. Very long fingers...”
      “Any weapon?”
      “Some kind of zapper. He did zap me, and I passed out. Boy, it hurt.”
      “Can you describe that zapper?”
      “About the size of a cell phone. It shot like a strike of lightning, but no thunder, just a sizzle... Felt like an electric shock. Took me out cold. I woke up this morning on the floor with a mega-headache.”
      “Anything more?”
      “Yes." Zack realized he’d registered many details in his mind. “Some kind of vibration throughout the house, and the power was out in the whole neighborhood.”
      “What else?”
      “That’s all I can remember.”
    Michalski turned off the recorder and slipped it into the pocket of his black jacket. “You are very shaken by the event. Obviously what you think you saw never happened." He flashed a fake smile. “You watch too much television. You need some rest and maybe some medications for your overactive mind.”
    Zack couldn’t stand the attitude. Why didn’t they believe him? “I don’t need drugs, and I didn’t make it up. It was real.”
    The man in black offered a condescending smile. “It’s amazing what the mind can cook up to avoid facing a frightening truth." The FBI agent motioned to one of his men to recall the others then faced Zack. “We believe it is a covert terrorist attack. Be assured that we are doing everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice." He stood up then asked, “Do you have a picture of your sister? Something recent.”
    Zack went to the shelf and pulled out photo albums. He had to brace himself against the smiling face of his baby sister. He selected a photograph taken on her last birthday just a few weeks ago and handed it to the FBI agent. “How are you going to rescue Ashley?" Zack doubted they could do anything at all but had to ask. “What can you possibly do if you don’t even believe me when I tell the truth?”
    Agent Michalski pocketed the picture then closed his jacket slowly, as if giving himself time to think. “At this point, we are still investigating. We’ll let you know." He signaled the other agents, now standing around the living room, to follow him