A Matter of Degrees

by Alex Marcoux

  Jessie took another couple of steps. Why was it so challenging? Beads of sweat trickled from her temples. Her heart pounded rapidly. Why had her body betrayed her? Somehow it had given up on her. Her legs trembled. She stumbled toward the bench, where she toppled to her knees.

  Now only inches from the bench, Jessie propped herself up using the furniture. Exhausted, she turned around and collapsed onto the bench, now facing her aide. She gasped. Taylor stood before her. It had been Taylor helping her.

  “Am I dreaming?” Jessie whispered.

  Taylor didn’t say a thing.

  “Please tell me all this is a bad dream.”

  There was noticeable sadness in Jessie’s eyes. “I need the answers to a couple of questions,” Taylor’s voice was shaky. “Who was with you that day in the cabin?”

  “What cabin?”

  “The one in the Catskills, when you told me you were in love with someone else.”

  Tears formed in Jessie’s eyes. “I told you that? I’m sorry, Taylor. I wish I could tell you…but I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know what’s happened to me. I woke up this morning in a mental hospital. I was told that I tried to kill myself, and Alison told me a couple hours ago that you and I broke up.” Jessie sobbed. “The last thing I remember was sitting in a church at Steve’s funeral, wishing that I had asked you to be with me.”

  “But that was—”

  “I know—over a year ago! Honestly, look at me! I woke up today with a year missing from my life. I’ve grayed. My body’s a disaster. My hair is cut. I don’t have a clue what happened.”

  “Don’t you remember the French Riviera at Thanksgiving?”

  Jessie nodded no.

  “Our weekend at the Hudson Hotel?”

  “No.”

  Taylor was stunned. She hadn’t expected this.

  “Taylor, if I hurt you in any way,” said Jessie, her face damp with tears, “I’m terribly sorry. Please forgive me.”

  “That day, after I left the cabin, I returned fifteen minutes later. You weren’t there. I poked around a bit. A sliding glass door was shattered, the glass was still on the floor…None of this rings a bell?”

  Jessie shook her head.

  Taylor sat beside her on the bench. “Jessie, the cabin belonged to Brennan Keller. Does that name sound familiar?”

  “No. Who’s he?”

  “What led me to the cabin that day was a driver’s license I found in your bag.” Taylor withdrew something from her pocket. She handed Jessie the ID.

  Jessie recognized Steve’s picture, and tears formed in her eyes. She couldn’t believe he was gone. The name Brennan Keller got her attention. She wiped her eyes. “Steve was Brennan Keller?” she whispered in disbelief.

  “There’s more,” Taylor handed Jessie another ID.

  It was an employee ID of Brennan Keller at The Empire. “My God!” she whispered. “This guy looks like me.”

  “Jess, look closer.”

  Jessie spotted her scar on Brennan’s cheek. She gasped. “I was Brennan Keller?”

  Taylor knew Jessie wasn’t lying. She truly didn’t remember what had happened. The last four months had been a living nightmare for Taylor. First losing Jessie, then the private investigator report, believing she was dead, and now this. There was confusion in Jessie’s eyes and Taylor realized that she would never have closure in this matter.

  Instead, she found the woman she so desperately loved trapped in a world of anguish. The unknown that had obsessed Taylor since January now haunted Jessie.

  “Jess?” Taylor’s voice was soft. “The last few months have been very difficult for me. Losing you! Worrying about you! Wondering what happened to you! Can you leave what’s happened to you in your past?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Can you move forward and leave behind last year?”

  “Why would you ask that?”

  Taylor reached for Jessie’s hand. She was surprised at how rough it was. “Because I can’t do it anymore! I’ve spent so much time wondering what happened. I’ll never have answers, and I need to move on. If you can let this rest, Jess, come back to me.”

  “You’re asking me to throw away a year of my life?”

  “I’m asking you to let it go and move on.”

  “You know I would move a mountain to be with you.”

  “But, can you let this go?”

  Jessie’s head felt like it could explode. In one day she had learned that she lost Taylor, and now had the opportunity to reunite. The thought of having her back was more that she could imagine. But, could she let go what had happened? Why would she ever disguise herself as a man and work for a newspaper? What did she do for them? Why was her brother using an alias? What was the truth behind her suicide attempt?

  Jessie’s eyes met Taylor’s. “I don’t know if I can let this go.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The road from the hospital was hilly and winding. Rachel and Kek sat silently in the backseat of the limo while Jacob maneuvered the twisting road. It didn’t take long for the snaky roads to intensify the agent’s nausea. He braked as he steered around a sharp turn, veering to the side of the road.

  “Are you okay?” Rachel asked.

  “Excuse me, sir,” he said to Kek. He threw wide the door, rushed from the car, darting into some evergreens. A couple minutes later Jacob emerged from the trees.

  As he approached, Rachel noticed the green hue to his complexion. “He doesn’t look well,” she said, “not well at all.”

  Jacob settled in the car. “I apologize, sir.”

  “Would you like me to drive?” Rachel asked Kek.

  Before Kek had a chance to respond, Jacob started the ignition. “That won’t be necessary.” He pulled away from the curb, but didn’t drive fifty feet before he swung back to the road’s edge. This time he didn’t make it more than six feet before he lost it.

  “This is silly,” Rachel said. “The man is sick as a dog. Let me drive.”

  Kek glanced at his bodyguard throwing up. “Okay.”

  Rachel emerged from the limo. Jacob wiped his lips with a kerchief and stood. Perspiration had formed on his brow. “I’ll drive, Jacob.”

  This time, the man didn’t argue. He moved into the front passenger seat. “I apologize, sir. I must have picked up something. I’ll call in for a replacement, sir.”

  Rachel sat behind the wheel. It had been months since she had driven. She started down the winding mountainous road.

  Jacob ended a telephone exchange. “A new man will replace me at the airport.”

  Moments later, Rachel glanced at Jacob after maneuvering a series of zigzag turns. His eyes were closed. “Let me know if I need to stop,” she said.

  After twenty minutes of surging hills, they reached the highway. They were north of Los Angeles County and headed south along the coast. At times the road was winding and hugged the coastline, offering breathtaking views of the Pacific. During those times, Rachel noticed that Jacob’s eyes were tightly shut.

  While driving, Rachel called to mind the events over the past couple years: her initial research into secret societies, her friendship with Steve, West, and Jessie. Then, her reunion with her father and learning the truth about humankind’s creation crept into her space. She shook her head, trying to banish the memories.

  The past four months had been difficult. She watched Kek systematically wipe out Jessie’s memories. To earn his trust, she demonstrated an innate interest in power. Then she waited patiently for Jessie’s safe return to her life. Now that she was out of harm’s way, things would be different. For Kek, today marked the beginning of a new sovereignty, which included Rachel. For Rachel, today represented transformation.

  She peeked at Jacob. His eyes were shut. His reaction to the tainted coffee on the plane that morning was predictable. For over two months she had planned this tactic, ever since she had the good fortune to steal the influenza vial. Kek had bio
genetically manipulated the virus, creating a mutant strain. He intended to introduce it to the public in the fall. With great luck, she had harbored a tiny vial for over two months. She waited for the perfect moment, the moment that Jessie had been freed. This was it.

  Rachel cruised, heading toward the bridge that crossed a bay. It was one of the most beautiful coastline views, and just seemed fitting. As she approached the incline to the bridge, she forcefully depressed the accelerator.

  The increase in velocity got Kek’s attention. “Rachel, don’t you think you’re going too fast?”

  Rachel caught sight of her father’s eyes in the reflection of the rearview mirror. She smiled broadly at him, and then floored it. The engine surged.

  “Rachel?” Kek’s voice roared. “Jacob, stop her!”

  Jacob opened his eyes weakly. Everything was blurry. He sensed the car was going too fast. He lunged out at her.

  With one hand on the steering wheel, and her eyes on approaching cars, she lashed back at Jacob, squarely slugging his nose with the back of her hand. He slumped over, protecting the fractured snout.

  “Pull over. Now!” Kek demanded.

  Rachel peered at her father’s reflection. “No, Daddy,” she smiled. “I’m not going along for this ride.” With both hands she sharply turned the steering wheel. The car swerved. It collided with a guardrail at such a high speed that the car jumped the rail, projecting itself airborne over the inlet below.

  Kek had lived centuries in isolation to protect his longevity. Although, he was Annunaki, he was mortal. Like any human, his life could be taken. Rachel knew that if she killed Kek, Whitman would hunt her until her dying day. Her life, as well as Jacob’s life, seemed to be a small price for destroying him and stopping the karmic cycle from recurring.

  Without a seatbelt, Jacob smashed against Rachel’s shoulder. As the vehicle nosedived, his head crashed into the windshield, blood splattering over the dashboard.

  Kek’s eyes, wide with disbelief, stared at the looming water. Then his eyes met hers in the reflection of the rear-view mirror. He had underestimated her. A memory of her youth flashed through his head.

  He studied the chessboard then moved his pawn into place.

  “Why would you sacrifice your pawn, Daddy?”

  “Pawns are dispensable. You use them to further the king’s purpose.”

  In those seconds before he plunged into the water, he realized that he should have moved his king. She had learned well.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  I never would have challenged Jessica Mercer’s ability to tell a good story. Beyond Paradise and Deceptions were, in this reviewer’s opinion, among the finest suspense thrillers ever written. I waited anxiously for Ms. Mercer’s newest release, The Royal Secret.

  The Royal Secret is told through the eyes of Mercer’s protagonist, Rachel Evans. Evans, a newspaper reporter, attempts to topple an empire of evil politicians that control the world. Driven by her soul’s purpose, she uncovers the royal secret that has been hidden since humankind’s creation. In a fight against time, Evans exposes secret societies’ control of the world, and reveals the royal secret—little green men, determined to suppress mankind’s spirituality, run the world!

  Is Mercer’s book believable? Hardly!

  Entertaining? Absolutely! Imaginative? To say the least! This genre-bending thriller is full of surprises. Mercer didn’t let me down, and she certainly won’t disappoint you.

  Meet her this Friday night, 7:30, at the Tattered Cover.

  Tucked away in a cubbyhole of the Tattered Cover bookstore, Jessie finished reading The Denver Post’s review of The Royal Secret. Most of the early reviews had been favorable. Tonight was her first appearance for the new book.

  Normally, Jessie discussed the genesis of a book when she made appearances. But how could she share what inspired The Royal Secret? How could she explain that she had lost a year of her life? Lost her brother? Almost lost the woman she loved? How could she explain that she lost something special that year, and she wasn’t even sure what it was? How could she explain that the only way to purge the mystery from her soul was to create another one—The Royal Secret? Jessie had promised Taylor that she would unleash the past. Unknown to her, the past echoed in her writing.

  From where she sat hidden, the pulse of people gathering for her appearance brought her attention to the time. It was seven twenty-five p.m.

  * * *

  Almost two hours later, Jessie was still signing copies of her new book. The long line had dwindled to an attractive brunette in her late thirties.

  “Would you like it personalized, or just signed?” Jessie always gave them the option.

  “Personalized,” the woman said.

  “And your name?”

  “Dalila.”

  “Dalila? That’s unusual. D-A-L?”

  “I-L-A,” she finished.

  Occasionally, Jessie would perceive intuitive insights when signing her books. She would jot them in the book, and sign it. Many times she was unaware of the channeled writing. This was one of those times.

  To Dalila,

  Keeper of the Royal Secret!

  Blessings,

  Jessica Mercer

  “So, how did you come up with such a farfetched idea for a book—I mean, aliens running our government?”

  Jessie smiled, and offered her calculated response to the question. “How else could we explain the baffling behavior of the previous administration?” She handed the woman her book.

  As the woman took it, Jessie noticed the unusual mark on her wrist. “Is that a tattoo?” Jessie asked.

  “No. It’s a birthmark,” she said.

  Jessie looked closer. “It looks like an ankh!”

  The woman smiled. “Yes. I’ve heard that before.”

  Afterword

  There is more information available today regarding Sumer—the first ancient civilization—than the ancient empires of Rome, Greece, or Egypt. This is largely due to the Sumerian clay tablets that have survived for 6,000 years. Sumer was an advanced society and the founders of many systems we use today, such as writing, taxation, medical science, laws, cosmology, timekeeping, zodiac gods, spherical astronomy, and much more.

  In 1945, the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library expanded the Christian catalogues beyond the traditional gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John to include the gospel of Mary Magdalene.

  Freemasonry is a male secret society that connects modern secret groups to those in ancient Egypt. The group’s quest is to search for light. The Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree is the last degree of Freemasonry (that we know of). Numerous presidents and global and corporate leaders have been, and still are, members of this group.

  The group does take blood oaths to protect the royal secret.

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