Sam's Reality: Cape Canaveral, Florida - Kennedy Space Center

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Leeroy wasn't too sure how the night guard at the Kennedy Space Center had acquired Sam's name. He assumed it was the Internet - everything's the Internet's fault these days - but he couldn't be too sure, as the guy looked to be about sixty and the type who wouldn't touch a computer to save his life.

"They're freakin' out the dogs," he said in a Southern accent. "And we ain't been able to photograph 'em, either." He pointed to the large behemoth of metal that could be seen a few miles in the distance. "They're always there."

It was, Leeroy recognized, launch pad 39-B. Jeimu had launched from there not even a year ago.

Why freaks were hanging out around launchpads, Leeroy wasn't certain. He turned to Sam and asked quietly, "What d'you make of all this, eh?"

Comments

[i_salted_dean]

Her eyes were thoughtful as she idly shrugged the shoulder that she'd fallen out of bed onto the night before, God wasn't telling her anything yet, and she wasn't seeing anything either.

"How do you know there's more than one?"

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"We seen two different places gettin' weirded out the same time," the man said. "One dog fall over an' die, the other went postal and went fer his handler."

Leeroy pursed his lips. "Could be an overall effect o' one, but I doubt that."

[i_salted_dean]

"Any marks on the dead one? Have you ever seen any other signs?" She glanced at Rob as he bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"We didn't see none right away, but after awhile it was like someone cut 'im up." The guard shrugged. "We left to go get gloves and a bag t' get rid of the body properly and sent to a vet... and then..." He shrugged again. "It was weird. Nobody else coulda been there."

[i_salted_dean]

"Any marks on walls? Any creepy feelings? Any unexplained howls in the night?"

"Ho@#$%&%$#...." Rob clued into what she was talking about.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"Some weird stuff on th' launch pad..."

The guard looked like he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

[i_salted_dean]

"Anything we can see?" she asked, a little impatiently.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"It's like someone took scrap metal and made somethin' with it. Then attached it to the launch pad." He opened up the file folder he'd been carrying and produced a grainy black and white photo.

Reinforcement bars, like the kind used when building concrete structures, were arranged haphazardly in a weird sigil-like pattern.

"There's no construction projects within ten miles of here," the guard said. "An' ain't nobody been around. We had to scrub the last launch to take one just like it down. Then after the launch it came back."

[i_salted_dean]

"Oh @#$%&%$!" she growled, then looked up. "We need to get over there. And we'll need freedom to walk around the whole complex."

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"We can't-" The guard gasped as Leeroy stepped forward, a dangerous glint in his eyes and a gun in his hand.

"You will," he said, slipping back into a soldier's persona. Just like Sal, his accent disappeared when he meant business. "Get us all the documents we need, or this isn't going to stop."

"I - uh - yes," the guard said, reaching into his file folder again. "You'll need to come with me to the processing office, but it shouldn't take long."

[i_salted_dean]

Sam put a hand on her husband's, though her dark eyes were also boring into the guard. "What did you call us for if you didn't expect to let us in?"

Rob was watching something fly overhead and chortling silently to himself over what his parental figures were doing.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

The guard looked sheepish. "I - oh never mind. Come on, and I will get you maximum clearance. Just uh, say you're from the CIA or something."

[i_salted_dean]

"We're a special extermination squad." She reached over and took Leeroy's hand as she followed the guard, then cowkicked backward and silenced Rob's snickering.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"That won't do," Leeroy said with a grin. "It makes us sound like we're only around to kill bugs. Not menacin' 'tall."

[i_salted_dean]

-Rawr.- She loomed at him as they walked, a twinkle in her eyes.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"Hey, it's better to have them fear us. They'll listen that way."

[i_salted_dean]

-I kind of like the element of mystery, myself.- She took out a pair of shades and put them on, then gave him a slight, cheeky grin.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Leeroy just shook his head and they walked in silence until they reached the office where the guard started hauling out document after document.

"Okay," he said. "When I give you clearance there are still some rules to adhere to..."

Thirty minutes' worth of reading later, he handed Leeroy a pen.

And Leeroy looked at Sam. "This do fer you?"

[i_salted_dean]

"Just a minute." She looked at the guard evenly. "We've got conditions too."

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"Such as?"

The guard was smiling, but he wasn't happy.

[i_salted_dean]

"Who ever works with us has to listen. If we get someone trying to throw rank in a crisis situation there could be fatalities," she said. "And no talking about anything that happens here."

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

A sigh, and the guard nodded. "Fair enough."

Leeroy looked at Sam. "Ain't gonna be that simple," he breathed in an undertone.

[i_salted_dean]

-It never is,- she thought grimly. -If it were any other place or any other kind of situation I'd just leave. But those things are breeding.-

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

"Alright, now that we're all on th' same page..." Leeroy picked up the pen and signed.

"We need to get yer ID's, so just go stand over there by the camera," the guard said.

Rolling his eyes, Leeroy did so.

[i_salted_dean]

Sam turned her head toward a flicker of movement at the window, then narrowed her eyes and felt with her senses. Catching nothing unusual, she turned back to watch Leeroy and think funny things at him.