This is by no means finished, but I wanted to share it with my fellow UFO fans. Thanks!
Alec Freeman’s footfalls echoed down the bright corridor as he rounded the corner of S.H.A.D.O.’s central command hub. He’d forgotten a bit of paperwork at Keith Ford’s desk and meant to pick it up before finally heading home. The past sixteen hours had been particularly grueling after a string of UFOs managed to sneak past the interceptors, enter the atmosphere, and evade Sky One long enough to give everyone ulcers. With the day finally behind him he was eager to crawl between the sheets and expected to be asleep before his head touched the pillow.
Ford, ever a neat man, kept his station clean and Freeman found the survey maps immediately. He glanced at them disinterestedly, barely registering words as he touched a cigarette to his lips for the long walk to his car. Just once, he thought, I’d like to get out of here at a reasonable hour. Tucking the maps under his arm, he fished a lighter from his pocket and took a drag as the cigarette caught. As he turned to leave he noticed a sliver of light under Ed Straker’s office door. Odd, he thought, taking another pull from the cigarette. I’d assumed he’d left already.
The unmistakable smell of alcohol hit him as the doors opened at his approach; Freeman paused at the entry, trying to make sense of the scene before him.
Straker was seated, slumped over a mess of dossiers that spilled from his desk onto the floor, clutching a half empty glass in a white-knuckle grip. He apparently had heard the door open and sat up straight in alarm, jerking his head around to see Freeman lingering in the doorway. A look of panic passed behind his cool stare and settled into mild wariness.
“Easy,” Freeman began as he walked into the room, “it’s only me.”
Straker acknowledged him with a nod but otherwise said nothing. All their interactions over the past few days had been constrained, and despite Straker’s brusque assurances to the contrary, Freeman had a gut feeling he didn’t have the whole story. Seeing Straker partake in alcohol did little to alleviate his concerns, on the contrary it amplified them; the man made a point never to touch the stuff.
He glanced at the glass again and frowned. “All right, who died?”
Straker stared hard at the wall opposite him, unblinking. His fingers tensed around the glass.
“John,” he managed quietly. “John died.”
Freeman froze. John?
“The transport didn’t make it in time. It carried antibiotics...”
“Antibiotics?”
Freeman suddenly recalled the way Straker’s face paled upon hearing the transport had been used to find the downed UFO. He swallowed back sour bile rising in his throat as realization set in. He'd made the decision to divert the transport, they were his orders, on his call. His fault.
“For God’s sake, Ed, why didn’t you tell me that transport carried medication for your son? Had I known I never would have ordered it to change course!”
Freeman ran his free hand through his hair as he desperately paced the office, cigarette dangling forgotten in his other. He turned to pin Straker with a desperate, pleading look.
“You should have told me!”
“To what end, Alec? What could I have done? We can’t afford to waste any opportunity, any chance, to learn more about these alien invaders.”
“But your son—”
“You know as well as I do, the responsibility of this job! The sacrifices we agreed to when joining S.H.A.D.O.!”
A heavy fist slammed on the desk, startling them both. Freeman dropped his eyes to the floor and sighed. He rolled the cigarette between his thumb and finger, watching the ash fall onto the tile floor. Normally he would never have been so inconsiderate, but courtesy was the furthest thing from his mind.
“How can I perform my duties if I don’t know what’s going on?” he asked quietly.
