SuperNOVA - Chapter One: "Headline News" | Teen Ink

SuperNOVA - Chapter One: "Headline News"

July 8, 2010
By Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day


“I loved you, you know.” I told her, struggling to find my voice. The cold steel of a pistol pressed to the back of my skull was nothing new to me, but this time things were different. Things had finally become personal.

“I know you did,” she said as she lowered the handgun. “I’m sorry things have to end this way.” She cocked the gun and brought it back into position. I closed my, preparing for the inevitable.

And that’s where the memory ends. When the bomb went off seconds later, the scene in the apartment building came to a fiery end. In a bizarre twist of fate, the woman and I were the only two survivors. According to the nurses, my name is John Lange. I take their word for it, because I can’t remember anything about my old life, except for those brief moments before the explosion.

It’s a curious thing, to your reflection in a mirror for the first time in your life. I don’t know who I expected to see staring back, but the man in the mirror wasn’t him. My black hair was cropped short in a military grade haircut, and my skin wasn’t pale, but it wasn’t tan either. My arms were covered in scars that had long since faded away, but the faint lines could still be traced. Most striking of all was my eye color, so pale blue that they appeared grey. I’d never seen anyone else with eyes this shade, and I studied them silently for a long time. The look they cast on others could only be described as war-ravaged, a desperate longing to escape a lifetime of suffering.

But curiously…I was happy. After all, I’d been given a fresh start. I had the rest of my life ahead of me, and there was an entire world out there to re-discover.

They say I am a private investigator, operating in New York. Or I was, at least, before my last case took a turn for the worse and I ended up in the care of Project NOVA. The woman was…is…Fiona Callahan, my ex-wife.

It took me two months to come out of the coma, and I was damn lucky to be alive. My memory was hardly a small price to pay, but it seemed the higher ups at the Project preferred me this way. In their eyes, I was the perfect operative; a blank slate to train, a blank slate who owed them his life. Poor Fiona hadn’t yet regained consciousness, but I hadn’t given up hope.

I couldn’t explain it, the strange sympathy and attachment I felt to a woman like Fiona. I mean, physically, she was beautiful. Her hair was a deep red, which she kept just past shoulder length and straightened. I couldn’t remember ever looking her in the eye, but some how I knew her eyes were a bright green.
How Fiona had ever married a guy like me, I’ll never know. No, what I didn’t understand about my attraction to Fiona was that my only memory of her had been an attempted homicide. The closest thing I could attribute my feelings for Fiona to would be the deluded idea of love at first sight. Obviously, I had once been in love with this woman, and without the memories of whatever happened to drive us apart, I had nothing to hinder the same head over heels feelings we once shared. As a result, I visited her room in the hospital wing every day, just before I hit the bar with my partner, Morty. The doctors said her condition was improving, but I couldn’t tell.

“How’s the wife?” Morty asked as I took my usual place next to him at the bar, which was located on Project NOVA’s grounds. The Project spared no expense when it came to the luxury of its operatives.

“Ex-wife,” I reminded him. “She’s doing well, I suppose. As well as someone who’s comatose can do. But it won’t be long before she’s joining us for field missions.”

“We’ll see,” he replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked curiously. Samuel “Morty” Mortimer was my only friend, but even he was a mystery. He had been with the Project for two years already. He rarely talked of his personal life, only once slipping up to mention he had a wife back home. He had gotten even more flustered when I asked him where home was, as if it would even make a difference.

“All I’m saying, John, is that we don’t know what she’ll be like when and if she awakes. She’s been in a coma for six months now.” Morty said as he took a sip of his drink. I followed suit, enjoying the refreshing taste of whatever concoction Morty had ordered for me.

“Alright, you win. What’s on the agenda tomorrow, Mort?” It was pointless to ask, considering the next day was a Saturday, which is a big deal when it comes to the Project.

“Another civilian mission, and after that I think we’ve earned some R&R on lazy Sunday.” Morty had this tendency to use phrases like ‘lazy Sunday’, which he claimed was a reference to something that I wouldn’t understand. Either way, Sundays were the closest any operatives got to a normal day.

In normal cases, it can take months to fully adjust to Project NOVA’s way of life. That was never the case for me, considering I had no life to leave behind. Black suits and white ties every day, limited to no internet access or contact with the outside world, and military grade hair cuts were the ingredients to a normal life for me.

Yes, I was still mostly in the dark about what the Project actually did. Their purpose, along with whatever role I played in it, was on a need to know basis. Apparently, I didn’t need to know.

“Mr. Lange?” I turned around to see Doctor Rovin holding a file with my name on it in his hands. Rovin, who was only a couple of years older than me, was one of the higher-ups in the Project. I don’t know a lot about him, but it’s a safe bet that Rovin wasn’t a medical doctor. I’d never seen him in the hospital wing any of the times I’d visited Fiona, that’s for sure.

Rovin wore glasses; I wasn’t quite sure I believed he needed them. His silvery-grey hair clashed with his otherwise youthful appearance, and he had a reputation among Project NOVA operatives to be the constant bearer of bad news.

“Hey, Doc,” I said cautiously, unsure as to what ill news he could have for someone like me. “What’s going on?”

“Well, John…do you mind if I call you John?” Without waiting for an answer, Rovin opened the folder he was holding and skimmed it as he continued. “It appears we’ve had a change in scheduling for you and Mr. Mortimer. Tomorrow you will be joining Mr. Westfield on a high profile mission in Manhattan. An important Presidential candidate will be doing the keynote speech at the International Economic Summit and it will be your squad’s duty to ensure everything goes according to plan.”

“And what is this ‘plan’, exactly?”

“Let’s just say that we’ll make the headline of Sunday’s paper,” Rovin laughed in an unsettling way. He began to stride down the hallway, still laughing.


The author's comments:
The first chapter in a series of short vignettes chronicling the aftermath of a private investigator's deadliest case.

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This article has 16 comments.


on Mar. 9 2011 at 7:44 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING:

 

If you have arrived here as part of a feedback exchange or because I commented on your work, PLEASE go to the novels section and find the newer (more complete) version of SuperNOVA, it's on the front page.


on Mar. 9 2011 at 7:43 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

Thanks for commenting, please check out the rest of the novel in the Novels seciton.

on Mar. 9 2011 at 6:06 pm
pheebz88 BRONZE, Concord, New Hampshire
2 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart

It was very good!  I think that this story is really good and that it has a lot of potential!  Great job!  I love the suspense and all of the mystery...very good plot line!

on Feb. 3 2011 at 5:43 am
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

No problem! Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it! Please check out the updated version in the novels section!

on Feb. 3 2011 at 5:42 am
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it :D

The draft that's online was definitely written with the intention of a visual component, which is ultimately where I'd like to take it after I complete the manuscript.

Be sure to check out the updated version in the novels section!


on Feb. 2 2011 at 8:03 pm
Romanticish SILVER, Irving, Texas
9 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?
-Alfred lord tennyson

thank you soo much for commenting on my novel, and when i read yours i was just awe struck, you are, like the others say an amazing writer xD i also would like to see this on tv, and on by bookshelf. lol.

on Feb. 2 2011 at 7:38 pm
DifferentTeen PLATINUM, Seaford, Delaware
32 articles 2 photos 329 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There’s no such thing as true love, just spurts of insanity—falling over and over again, thinking that won’t happen to me"

As the others have clearly stated, you are a great writer when it comes to suspense! It's not something that would intrest me in reading, but its a wonderful story, and I'd like it better on TV. I like how you started with a major detail, leaving your readers clueless, but as you explained the story more, it all tied together. Really good job, your an excellent writer!!

on Feb. 2 2011 at 1:54 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

It is always great to be compared to the legendary Christopher Nolan, he's a huge influence on me and I'm glad it shows.

 

When you check out the rest be sure to check it out in the novels section where it is on the front page.


on Feb. 2 2011 at 1:54 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. Please check out the updated version in the novels section.

on Feb. 2 2011 at 8:45 am
danninikkiirish BRONZE, Hamilton, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Amazing read! I would love to have this among my huge bookshelf.

The suspense is amazing!


on Feb. 1 2011 at 6:17 pm
nikiterzz BRONZE, Miami, Florida
2 articles 2 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat, 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'" -Lewis Carrol

This is great! It reminds me of the movie Memento, I don't know if you've seen it.

I love the suspense, and I was hooked from the beginning. I'll definitely check out the rest of the novel when I get the chance.


on Jan. 30 2011 at 7:31 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

Thanks, please check out the full version of SuperNOVA in the novels section.

Rozaa SILVER said...
on Jan. 30 2011 at 6:21 pm
Rozaa SILVER, San Marcos, California
5 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
I love it when my fingers are entwined in yours, and the tingly sensation i got when you touched me. It made me feel so safe so loved; so totally bouned to you. forver. And i still am even though you left me.

I like it. Its suspensful.I can see it being on tv.

on Jan. 30 2011 at 3:56 pm
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

Awesome, please check it out in the novels section, parts have been slightly extended, reworked, and it's all in one place!

on Jan. 30 2011 at 3:45 pm
Animefairy GOLD, Deep River, Connecticut
18 articles 1 photo 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." -Walt Disney

I love the beginning, it took me right in. I can see the story line becoming a T.V show or a movie. It's brillant and creative.

I'm going to read more. I am into the 'investigation' types, not sooo much into romance that seems to get repeated. I like things keeping me at the edge of my seat and watching out for the least expected.

;)


on Jan. 30 2011 at 11:27 am
Timekeeper DIAMOND, Cary, North Carolina
62 articles 0 photos 569 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk'?, and I say 'No that's trendy'!"- Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day

SuperNOVA is available in full on the front page of the Novels Section! Please read/rate/comment there!