Episode 34 Blackout (part 1/3) (Patreon)

Episode 34 Blackout

Jack Routh

He had escaped.

It still hurt when he moved, but he just wanted to see them. The doctors didn’t want him to leave, and he settled on spending the last few days looking for their familiar blue car through the small window. He couldn’t see their blue car, and so he settled on counting the ones that had the blue color on them, they were very rare, though.

He always asked about his mom and dad, but no one answered. The mean guard at his door told him they were with god now. He didn’t understand what the man meant, but he wanted to go to god if it meant his parents were there. They wouldn’t leave him here alone, would they? Maybe they forgot.

He nodded to himself. He’d find this god, and he was sure his parents were there. That night, he was able to escape. The bar to the window was loose, and he kept wiggling it until the rusted bar came loose from the walls. His hands hurt, but he didn’t care.

The night was cold, and the asphalt was rough on his bare feet, but he was finally free. He walked down the road, one step at a time. He didn’t know how long he was out walking, and he shivered most of the way from the cold, but the thought of finally seeing his parents spurned him on. He’d be hugging mum again, and dad would lift him up and toss him high up in their air.

He needed to have a word with this god, too. Why did he take his parents with him and leave him alone? 

“Holy Shit.” A large man in a thick jacket stared at him with wide eyes. “How did you get here?”

“Where… god?” He couldn’t speak clearly since his teeth kept chattering.

“Jesus, you’re like a popsicle.” The man wrapped his own jacket around him. “Let’s…. let’s get you back.”

“But… but… parents.” He shivered. He suddenly felt tired and sleepy, but another man slapped him awake. It hurt, and he glared at the man.

“We nearly fucked up.” The rude man shook his head. “Let’s get back to the facility.”

“They need to take a look at his feet.” The guard who gave him the jacket pointed at his legs and used his flashlight to take a closer look. He looked down, and saw his feet were bleeding. It looked like sharp stones and small pieces of glass were stuck to his soles. Strange, he didn’t even feel the pain.

He didn’t care. Why wouldn’t they bring him to see his parents? He wanted to leave. One of the doctors had arrived, and he looked annoyed. He felt a stinging sensation as the man abruptly slapped him on the cheek.

 Why was the man slapping him again? What did he do?

He woke up, and his hand reached up and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was about to slap his face.

“Jack!”

His vision cleared, and he realized Zoe was straddling him, worry etched on her face. He realized how tightly he was holding her wrist and quickly let go.

“Sorry. Bad dream.” He gently grabbed her arm and checked her wrists for any signs of damage.

“You didn’t hurt me.” Zoe gave him a small smile, and he knew it was her way of trying to comfort him. “But I felt like an iron clamp held my wrist, I can’t even pull away.”

He sighed in relief. The worst fear he had was accidentally hurting his wife.

“That must have been a bad dream.” Zoe snuggled back to his side. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t even know if it was real.” He replied. The memory was too vivid to be anything but a dream. To Zoe’s credit, she didn’t press him further and just hugged him harder. He absently stroked her back, as he continued to process what he had just seen and felt. He felt so helpless, lost, and alone in that dream. What struck him the most, though, was one thing. His parents.

That little boy really wanted to get them back, but it looked like they had already died, and no one bothered to tell his younger self. His upcoming meeting with Zoe’s father intrigued him even more. He was sure to press the man for questions. There was now a growing need to solve the mystery of his lost memories.

Zoe Andersen Routh

She had just submitted her leave request for Christmas break, but it felt like the city itself didn’t want her and Jack to leave.

First was the traffic. There was a noticeable increase in traffic in the city thanks to several unscheduled road repairs on sections of major thoroughfares, and that was thanks to a recent earthquake. It also damaged key electrical grids in the city, forcing the power company to rotate the power, leaving entire neighborhoods without power for hours at a time.

With the city’s grid strained to its limit, power interruptions became common. It was the first time since taking up the post of Captain in Mid-Wilshire that she saw off-duty cops hanging out at the station, thanks to its back-up generators, just to cool off or charge their electronic devices.

An unused conference room had even turned into a sort of daycare with nursing mothers and little children sleeping on the floor, enjoying the cool AC at night. Her senior officers were on top of the situation, though, and she signed off on the request to temporarily provide shelter to cops’ families without hesitation. She knew babies and toddlers were especially vulnerable to the hot, humid evenings. 

At her house, she barely felt the power interruptions. The system she and Jack invested in automatically kicked in, supplying power to their house without issue. She was proud of their work. She was thankful their AC was powerful since lately she had gotten a bit dizzy with the heat and humidity.

The solar panels had charged enough to completely fill the batteries, and they usually lasted until the next day, even with regular use. When the battery reached a critical point, her state-of-the-art generator would run automatically, providing electricity to the house and charging the batteries at the same time.

She was looking at her closet at the moment, thinking of what outfits she should bring when she felt a pair of hands grope her breasts. With the AC on full power, the house was colder, causing her nipples to harden, poking through her thin spaghetti top. Her husband simply couldn’t resist.

“Jack.” She briefly closed her eyes as she felt his fingers play with her hardened nubs. “I have to pack.”

She was still amazed by Jack’s fixation with her breasts, well, in every part of her body, actually. Her breasts were a pretty good size, but not big like those models seen on the TV shows. She once wondered if Jack would want her to get implants, but he had seen the look of disdain on his husband’s face when she once switched a channel to a show featuring such women.

They were just fat, and it sometimes made exercising difficult if she did not have the proper clothing with just the right amount of support. When it was hot, the sweat under her breasts was irritating, and she was self-conscious of the smell, but Jack loved her scent there and constantly reassured her that her tits were perfect. She had trouble listening to him speak clearly when he said that, since his mouth was busy with her nipple, lightly biting with his teeth and licking with his tongue.

 At home and in total privacy, he basically took her whenever he wanted, and that was often. Having a younger husband was great for sex, but it severely cut down time when it came to things like this. She was basically free use to him, but she also initiated sex whenever she felt the need for some romance.

Showers were fun with Jack, and her breasts and ass were cleaner than they had ever been with how much her husband enjoyed massaging them with soap. He always left a mess inside her, but that was easy to rinse, and she was already used to his cum inside her whenever she got to the station.

She felt the cool air caress her breasts as Jack lifted her top and started massaging her tits. She let him do what he wanted and focused back on making a mental list of what she wanted to pack for the trip, but it was getting difficult with how she started to feel aroused.

Screw it.

She turned around and kissed her husband, and things started heating up even more. Clothes were about to fly when she heard the doorbell ringing.

“Fuck.” She heard Jack mutter.

She smirked. She noticed early on in their relationship that she was better at controlling her impulses compared to her husband. “Go check out who is knocking at the gate.”

It was late, but their neighborhood was pretty safe.

“It’s Liz.” Jack reported and showed her the live feed from their CCTV on his phone. “I’m going to see what she wants.”

 What was she doing here? She started looking for her own phone and realized she must have covered it with the clothes she took out of the closet. She finally found it and saw that she had a couple of missed calls from her friend.

“Thank god.” Liz sighed in relief once she entered their home. “Air conditioning. The power was out for a couple of hours now.”

“Having trouble sleeping?” She asked. Liz looked like a mess, sweaty with strands of hair sticking to her face. Even at this distance, she could smell the smoke sticking to her friend’s clothes.

“You have no idea.” The actress replied. “My neighbors decided that it was the right time to cook some barbecue in their backyard. I had my windows open because of the heat. So when the wind shifted direction…”

“You can sleep here.” She offered. She remembered that Liz was still in the process of moving in and hadn’t gotten around to acquiring a backup generator and power supply.

“Thank you.” Liz beamed. “I really hate to impose, but I have a screen test tomorrow.”

“Say no more.” She replied and turned to her husband, and gave him a look.

“I’ll get some fresh sheets for the bed and pillows.” Jack answered and quickly headed to their main bedroom.

With a guest in the house, she knew their playful sex would be postponed for later. She brought out her luggage to the living room along with the clothes that she wanted to pack for the trip. Maybe Liz could help her with that since her friend shared her tastes in clothing.

“You’re doing what?” She wanted to laugh, but instead settled for exchanging amused looks with Liz. The actress had just showered and looked refreshed in comfortable-looking thin shorts and a sleeveless top.

“Star Wars.” Liz repeated.

“That’s incredible!” Jack looked excited. “What is it about?”

“It’s called Rogue One.” Her friend answered.

“You okay, love?” She turned to her husband when he started coughing.

“I’m fine, just surprised.” Jack replied. She noticed how excited he was as he turned to Liz once more. Was that a smile on his face? “Whose character are you playing?”

“I’m a rebel called Jynn Erso.” Liz grinned, apparently enjoying her husband’s enthusiasm. “Lead character too!”

“That’s great!” She replied. She was truly happy for her friend, and seeing how she was able to bounce back from that issue with her ex. Now she was getting big offers, not just one or two episode guest appearances on TV shows. “Congratulations Liz!”

She headed to the kitchen to prepare snacks, but when she returned, she found Jack and Liz in a deep discussion about her upcoming role. It looked like her husband was giving her a crash course on the history of Star Wars, the politics of this so-called Galactic Empire, whatever that was, and something called the Death Star. She wasn’t a big fan of the genre, but wasn’t that the space station Luke Skywalker blew up? She caught strange words as she prepared a late snack for the three of them, all the while hearing strange words from Jack, like Moffs and Khyber Crystals. What was the Tarkin Doctrine?

She took two bottles of beer. Lately, she didn't like their smell and preferred juices, smoothies, and milkshakes instead. Perhaps her acquaintance Sydney Fox was right all along about healthy living.

“Obviously, I’m signed an NDA, and I just told you what time period I’ll be in, but it’s as if you read the script already!” Liz laughed. “You’re really passionate about Star Wars.”

“And Star Trek.” She added, sitting down next to Jack. She let the two continue, and Liz even gave good suggestions on the outfits she was still undecided about to pack for her trip. Another hour passed, and she and Jack decided to turn in for the night.

“Don’t be too loud.” Liz gave her a wink.

Willem-Alexander of Orange-Nassau

“What have you found?” He asked his agents. They were inside a secured room deep underground in his estate. This section was completely secret, and it even had a hidden tunnel access so that visits like these went completely undetected.

 His family was asleep, resting peacefully in the family suite. Maxima remained silent about his strange behavior, and he knew she had already puzzled things out. To her credit, she waited patiently, confident that he would share his findings with her at the right time.

“We have his complete file, your Majesty.” His agent handed him a thick folder.

“Now is not the time for protocol.” He told the assembled men and women in front of him. If they kept using his title, they’d be down here all night.

He quickly opened it and started reviewing the information. What struck him first was the picture of Jack Routh. That strong jaw, that sharp nose, and finally, the eyes that were just like his late brother’s.

“What about a DNA analysis?” He asked. He needed to be sure before making a move.

“Unfortunately, we have been unable to obtain any.” A woman spoke. “And when we sent discreet inquiries, we realized he was under close scrutiny by several American agencies. FBI, their Homeland Security, and even the Intelligence Agency are monitoring his career.”

“What for?” He turned to the next page, and he started to review the young man’s file. His eyes grew wider and wider, and by the end, he realized his mouth had partially opened in shock.

“All of this is accurate?” He felt sick. The number of times this man had faced danger made him dizzy. Impressive, of course, but if this was true, and he was indeed his brother’s son…

“All verified, even that incident in Hawaii.” The woman answered.

“So, he’s married.” He smiled at that. The pretty woman in the photo was older, but it looked like she came from a military background. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her original surname before she changed it. “Andersen?”

“General Andersen’s youngest daughter.” The woman nodded.

“It’s suspicious.” His senior aide added. “Was she planted there to keep an eye on him?”

He realized he had crumpled the data sheet in his hand. He hated that name. Some rogue agency of theirs caused the unnecessary deaths of his brother and wife, along with their only son. His family’s retaliation was swift and brutal. From economic and political pressure, he demanded justice and made it clear to their state department what he wanted to happen. They cave in immediately.

General Andesen personally submitted the report and, more importantly, the evidence on dismantling the rogue agencies to him. He had also sent independent contractors to bear witness and record the execution of the operation, and he was satisfied… until now.

“Prioritize the DNA samples.” He ordered. He needed to be sure before he acted. “That should be done as soon as possible.”

“As you wish.”

“And I think it’s time for a state visit, don’t you think?” His mind raced through the possibilities. The G7 summit in Monaco was just around the corner, and he could easily join the European cultural delegation.

He was almost sure this man was his nephew, and must have watched the young man’s piano performance a dozen times by now, and even watched old tapes of his brother playing for their parents and extended family. He compared the two videos side by side, and was amazed at what he saw. Same mannerisms, the same smile on their face, and a strong resemblance. Anyone with just a glance could tell the two were related.

The DNA analysis was the key.

Norman Jangus

He didn’t know why his superiors were panicking. General Andersen even wanted a full team, the whole works, monitoring his Fairfax county home in Northern Virginia. Then he received the news and realized what had happened.

It looked like the old man was scared Routh would remember something and was taking precautions. Captain Andersen was just visiting her parents and decided to bring her new husband with her for the holidays, a first for her ever since she cut ties with her family and moved to LA. The man was truly paranoid, even if it was just his daughter and her new husband visiting him and his wife. It was a pity, he personally wanted to see the old man’s expression when Routh arrived, but another cell was already assigned to the task.

“Sir! We got a hit!” One of his techs announced with a panicked expression.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Routh’s file, someone accessed it.” His tech reported.

“Why didn’t we detect it?” He asked.

“Sir, they had proper security codes, even higher than mine and it came from the Pentagon.” He leaned forward, intrigued at what he heard. He thought the focus on Routh would blow over by Christmas.

Well, it wasn’t his problem if someone higher up decided to take a closer look. That was above his pay grade anyway and he had other matters to worry about. Several foreign agents were already in place in Monaco, and he needed to keep tabs on them ahead of the meeting of several heads of state and their delegations.

“Give him hell, Routh.” He whispered and headed back to his temporary office.