This was the last of the tables and benches Amy had to set up for the night. She put her head close to the ground to admire her work. She’d been assigned the task of set up for tonight. placing things like tables, benches, and grills all over the open space of the park. It was actually kind of cute, like setting up a huge playset in her backyard. In fact, the park in Allentown was roughly the same size as her backyard. It wasn’t quite as big as, say Central Park in New York City, but it was still very expansive. Once she made sure that the table and benches were placed properly, Amy stood up and dusted off her hands. Today she wore a white top with The Rolling Stones logo on it, a pair of jeans with rolled up cuffs that ended right at her calves, and sandals.

Amy walked across the park, and over to Mike, a construction worker who was supervising the set up. “Tables and benches are all set up, Mike.” she told him. “Anything else.”

Mike looked over his check list. “Just one last thing. See those crates over there? They’ve got all the fireworks in ‘em. I need you to carry them over to the control booth and the guys in charge will take care of the set up.” he instructed. “Oh, and see that big metal container? It’s full of water in case you get thirsty.”

“Thanks Mike,” Amy said.

The giant “water bottle” was a huge metal cylinder, not unlike something you’d expect to see on a petroleum truck. At the very tip it had a screw that, when twisted, would open up the top of the container. The container itself was about forty feet long, making it look like a Smart Water bottle, very long and very thin, especially in Amy’s hand. She unscrewed the cap and took a few sips. It was cold, and tasted refreshing. Mmmmmm, I was getting pretty thirsty anyway.

Then she put the lid back on her bottle, and picked up the crates containing the fireworks. People were already starting to show up and set up their picnic blankets, and grab seats, so Amy had to step carefully. Just as she was maneuvering around a couple of kids playing, Amy noticed a family she’d been keeping an eye out for. Two steps was all it took to bring Amy in front of the Lyons family.

Daniel Lyons was a tall, lean, and tough looking man, much like his son. His features, weathered as they were, were still sharp and strong. He still looked every bit the soldier he used to be, aside from the slight limp in his leg. This evening he wore a plaid button shirt with the sleeves rolled up, good jeans, and sneakers. Next to him, his wife Jennifer was unrolling the picnic blanket, while their daughter Katelyn helped. When Amy approached, they each stopped what they were doing to look up and wave. Amy made sure it was all clear behind her, before kneeling down in front of them. She’d grown quite close to the whole family, ever since Ben spoke out for her sake last year.

“Hey guys, I’m so glad you could make it.” she said with a smile.

“We couldn’t miss out on this. Especially not after we heard that you were supervising the whole thing.” Jennifer Lyons told her.

Amy snorted softly. “Please. I’m only doing set up.”

Dan waved a dismissive hand. “Bah, that’s just what they’re telling you. They’d rather you don’t know you’re in charge of the whole thing.”

“What? Are they afraid I’d demand that all of the fireworks be in the shape of hearts?” she asked with a grin.

“I like that idea!” little Katelyn said. “There should be giant hearts all over the sky for everyone to see.”

Amy giggled. “Ok Katelyn, I’ll see if I can do anything about that.”

“Yay! Thank you Amy,” Katelyn exclaimed as she ran up and hugged Amy’s knee as best as her tiny arms could.

Amy laughed at the sight, then looked around. “Is Ben coming?”

Jennifer chuckled. “Oh he’s on his way. He just wanted to arrive separately.”

“He’s trying to look all nice for you,” Katelyn whispered as loudly as she could. Amy smiled at her again.

“What’s that you got there anyway, Amy?” Dan Lyons asked.

Amy looked at her hand confused for a second, before she recalled what she had been doing a few moments ago. “Oh that’s right, I’ve got to deliver these. It was great getting to see you guys again. I’ll stop by later before the fireworks go off.”

The family waved again as Amy stood up. “It was nice seeing you too Amy. Please, stop by anytime you want.” Jennifer told her as she walked away.

Amy gave them one last wave good bye, then turned her attention back to watching her steps. Man, she thought as she took another sip of her water. I can’t wait to see these things go off.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

Every instinct in Ben’s body was screaming at him to jump out of the van. But he knew that, if he did try to run, he’d be taken down and thrown back inside. On top of that, he had no idea how to properly jump out of a moving vehicle without breaking any part of his body. Most likely he’d just hurt himself and then be thrown back inside. So, if escape wasn’t an option, yet, then he might as well learn what he could from Betty.

“So,” he spoke as calmly as he could manage, which was a freaking miracle. “Who are you really?”

Betty raised an eyebrow as his question, though her face remained equally calm. “Who do you think I am?”

“I asked you first,” he shot back.

“True,” she answered. “But you’re not really in a position to take charge of the conversation, are you?”

“Also true.” Ben agreed.

Betty smiled at him. It wasn’t an evil or condescending smile. Actually, it looked genuine. “Just tell me what Patrick has told you about me. Then I’ll tell you the actual truth.” She said actual as if Patrick had been lying about what he had told Ben and his friends. So many more questions were popping back up. But, maybe this was his chance to gain a few more answers. Then he could finally look at both sides and make his choice on who to trust.

“He told me that you work for an international corporation called Yosen International. He said that you’re trying to recruit Amy for plans that may be illegal.” Ben confessed. “And he told me you’re a terrorist.”

Betty’s smile grew wider with every sentence. By the time Ben came to the part about her being a terrorist, she was practically suffocating with laughter. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “I knew he’d make up some kind of weird story but this? Seriously Pat?”

Ben just watched her suspiciously, not quit sure what to make of her reaction. “That’s what he told me. Now what are you going to tell me to believe?”

“Fair enough,” Betty told him as her laughter subsided. “You do have reasons to be suspicious, both Patrick and I have only told you half truths. I don’t work for any corporation called- What was it? Yosen International? In fact I’m pretty sure he made that one up entirely.”

Ben said nothing.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I really am a college student at UC, only I’m not here to write a paper on Amy.”

“So what are you here for?” Bn asked.

“I was asked to come here to keep tabs on Pat Davis since, before going to work for EtherealTech, he used to be my favorite high school teacher.”

Ben thought about that, he seemed to recall Patrick making a comment when he spoke with Amy about having once been a teacher. So that was one truth confirmed by both sides, a small truth, but it was a start.

“I don’t suppose you have any proof that you’re who you say you are?” Ben asked.

“As a matter of fact,” Betty countered, reaching into the bag at her side. “I brought my student records with me. Take a look.” She handed the folder to Ben, who looked through it. Sure enough, there were enrollment papers inside and records of every class she’s taken. Betty was a science major, having taken mostly chemistry and biology related classes. Turns out, she wasn’t a senior either, according to her file, she had only just finished her first year. That means she wasn’t any older than Ben himself was.

“Ok,” Ben said when he was satisfied. “I believe you. But why did you have to be brought here to keep tabs on your old teacher? What does Patrick want?”

Betty sighed. “Patrick is . . . ambitious to say the least, and he’s had a troubled past. The FBI believe that he may have been involved in drug trafficking. The only problem is, if he ever was, he got out before they could find any tangible evidence against him. Some time around my junior year of high school he quit being a teacher and went to work for EtherealTech.”

“So EtherealTech really is interested in Amy? What do they want from her? And why were you brought in to stop him?” he asked.

“EtherealTech does want to study Amy, maybe even have her work for them. As far as I know that could be true. Patrick, on the other hand, has his own goals. And they are very illegal.” Betty told him seriously.

“How do you know?”

“Because the FBI never stopped tracking the people Patrick used to make drugs for.” she answered. “About a few months ago, they got reports from men on the inside that Patrick had been calling up some old contacts of his. He never said much, but he did mention a planned visit to Allentown, as well as Amy Jackson’s name.”

“So . . . the people driving this van right now are FBI?” Ben asked, a little wide eyed.

Betty grinned slightly. “Well, not all of them.”

Then, from the passengers seat at the front of the van, a figure stood up, and walked towards them. He had to keep his head down because of his height, he was a few inches taller than Ben himself was. His dark hair showed only the slightest touches of grey at the roots, and his skin was evenly tan. He wore jeans, a T-shirt with a tiger like design printed on it, and boots. The last time Ben had seen him, however, he’d been wearing a military uniform.

“Captain Thompson!” Ben exclaimed.

“I thought I told you the last time we met that you can call me Howard,” The Captain said with a smile, as he extended his hand. “It’s good to see you again Ben. How’s college treating you?”

Ben shook hands with the man. His hands were strong and calloused from years of hard work and training. “Uh . . . It’s been great. What are you doing here?”

Howard sat down on the bench next to Betty, directly across from Ben. “I’m not technically here on any official military business. But the FBI called me in when they learned about my history with you and your dad. Thought it might help you decide who’s really telling the truth.”

Betty looked back to Ben. “Believe me now?”

Ben nodded without hesitation. Ben’s father, Daniel, used to serve in the military with Howard, before he rose to the rank of Captain. When they were stationed overseas sixteen years ago, Dan saved Howard’s life by pushing him out of the way of a grenade, badly injuring his left leg in the process. Ever since then Howard and Dan have been eternal friends. If Ben’s own dad thought that Howard was a solid guy and a friend, then Ben didn’t even need to consider whether or not to trust him.

“Alright, I believe you. Now what can I do to help?” he asked.

Howard chuckled. “That’s twice now you’ve been willing to throw yourself into an unknown situation, for this girl. Dan did right by you.”

Ben smiled a little. “I like to think of it as he didn’t teach me any smarter methods.”

Betty smiled as well. “Well I think it’s sweet of you. And you can help us by first telling us everything Pat’s said to you since you first met him.”

So, starting from the very beginning, Ben told Betty and Howard everything he knew about Patrick. He told them about how Patrick tracked him down at his own job at the movies, to the conversation Ben listened into between him and Amy, to Patrick showing up at his house with his fabricated story, to finally Ben’s earlier visit to him that day.

Howard considered everything Ben told him. “Hmmm, it sounds like he’s gone through a lot of effort to convince you to stay away from Amy.”

“He said that, since the three of us are so close to her, we have a lot of influence with Amy.” Ben explained, finally starting to understand. “He made it seem like that would be bad for you guys. Patrick was probably telling the truth, only instead of it being bad for you, it would have made his job harder. So he created this whole story, not only to get me, Mark, and Johnny on his side, but to scare us.”

Howard nodded as he came to the same conclusion. “He’s creative, I’ll give him that.”

Betty, who’d been sitting quietly as she pondered something, finally perked up. “Wait, you said that your talk was interrupted when some lab guy told Pat about a shipment of something that arrived. What did you say it was again?”

Ben racked his brain for a second, he’d just said what it was two seconds ago. Finally it came to him. “Lysergic acid,” Ben told her.

Betty’s eyes grew wide. “Where’s Amy right now? Is she still at the park?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s there to help set up. And then we were all supposed to meet up and hang out.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed. Then Betty walked up to the driver of the van as quickly as she could. “You need to get us to the park as fast as you possibly can! Don’t even stop for red lights!”

“What’s going on?” Howard asked as the van picked up speed.

Betty turned back to look at both men. “I figured out what Patrick’s plan is. He’s going to have Amy cause some kind of catastrophe, and then get the town to hand custody of her over to EtherealTech.”

“How!?” Ben exclaimed.

“Lysergic acid is one of the main ingredients of the hallucinogenic LSD,” Betty told him. “He’s going to drug Amy!”

********************************************************************************************************************************

The driver got them all to the park in under three minutes. So many people were already at the cookout that the streets were mostly empty. Once they made it, none of them even wasted a second over parking. Ben, Betty, and Howard all just ran straight out of the van, while the driver parked, and headed towards the entrance of the park. Johnny and Mark were waiting there as Ben had called them during the drive there. As soon as they saw Ben running besides Betty, they both jumped to their feet.

“What’s going on?” Johnny asked.

“Where’s Amy? Have you seen her?” Ben asked.

“She’s over on the other side of the park. We just showed up so we haven’t talked to her yet.” Mark explained. “Why?”

“Patrick lied to us,” Ben said as quickly as he could. “We need to get to Amy now!”

Before Johnny or Mark could ask another question Ben took off at a run towards where he saw Amy sitting. He couldn’t sprint all out, as there were too many people in his way. Ben quickly found himself having to dodge picnickers left and right. He barely managed to stop himself from running headlong into a group of children playing on the ground. But, before he could move around them, a hand grabbed his shoulder in an iron like grip. Ben turned around to see his father looking at him like he was a bat out of hell.

“Ben where’s the fire?” he asked.

“I can’t explain, I have to go save Amy. He’ll explain everything.” Ben said, pointing in another direction.

Daniel looked over and his eyes grew wide. “Howard?”

Daniel’s old military buddy ran up to him, a grim look in his eye. “We’ve got another situation Dan. I’ll explain, Ben you keep going.”

Ben nodded once, then took off running once again, with Johnny, Mark, and Betty right by his side. Amy for her part didn’t seem to notice any of them approaching, she seemed to be thinking something over as she gazed at her giant water bottle.

“Amy!” Ben called out as they finally made it to where she was sitting. “Amy!”

Amy looked up from the metal water bottle, then turned her head to see who it was that called her. Amy’s gaze passed over them several times before she finally remembered to look down for her friends. She giggled. “Sorry. Sometimes I forget how tiny you all are.”

Ben swallowed a lump that formed in his throat as soon as Amy faced them.

“Ben?” Mark whispered. “What’s wrong with Amy?”

Amy’s pupils, were noticeably dilated, which could only mean one thing. They were too late.