Misti said, “Adam has asked for you; he’s in big trouble and needs our help. I know you’re upset, but he needs you now. You can kick his ass later.”
“I’m furious with him; he broke his word and his oath to me. It wasn’t his decision to make alone. Not the first time, and, undoubtedly, not the last. But I’m ready; I’ve got my go bag. Where to?”
“Oregon. The cabin. And sweetie?”
“Yes, Misti.”
“You might want to hold up on the big D, if that’s what you’re contemplating. I don’t think you know everything. Not yet anyway. We’re at Landing Strip Alpha. Meet you there in an hour. Bring your guns.”
Alana falsified an emergency medical landing at the airport in Portland, so there would be no Customs or Immigration to hold them up. But the jet would need to leave as soon after debarking cargo and personnel as possible; Homeland Security was on the lookout for this trick and the permission would be granted barely minutes before the jet landed, not in Portland, but closer to the cabin.
The suggestion for a lock down of Paraiso was not a suggestion. Akira was given the responsibility to marshal the defenses of Nabataea and the City of Light, and to expect an attack on the colony. Alana was alerted that the DL Main might be attacked from multiple sources in the US, Great Britain, and Israel, and she should counter attack viciously, and with all the destructive force she could muster. This newly discovered attempt on Adam’s life was coordinated, and he would respond in kind; deaths would be met with deaths and he would amply demonstrate who was now in charge. Adam left instructions for Alana for escalating retribution, homicides of key figures in the cabal of conspirators, the Gens on various Collective Great Councils, and those in Paulo’s inner circle.
Misti suspected there would be a full-on attack on Paraiso, Germany, possibly the Eighty-One, and on Adam by global Gens forces, either independently or in coordination. Misti had it partly correct, but not entirely.
The attack was on Adam; only Adam. The entire weight of the opposition, including new players, was on Adam.
This was bad. Very bad.
***
They were wheels up and in the air for about a half hour when she made her presence known.
It was Hecate.
“I need to speak to all of you, then return to Adam.”
Misti said, “If you are here, is he safe alone back in Oregon?”
“He is. Liara is with him, and she is protecting him. No one can get anywhere close while she is there.”
“Why is she …?”
“No questions. I don’t have time for them. You must continue on the course you have set. Make haste. For now, I need to speak to you, Kendra Boles. I have messages.”
“What? What messages?”
“May I enter your mind?”
“There are no secrets from anyone here, so no. Tell us all and now.”
“These are private messages.”
“No, I said.”
“If your answer is no, then you cannot continue on with the rest of the group and I must leave you now. I say, for the last time, may I enter your mind?”
“You have my answer. And I will continue to Oregon with the group. I have come to protect Adam and nothing you can do to prevent me from doing that.”
“I’m sorry, Kendra Boles, but I can. You do not understand what faces us, not these dangers. We must be of one mind. I’m sorry, but you must leave now, and end your journey to Oregon.”
Kendra just disappeared.
Misti said, “Hecate, what have you done? Have you killed her?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She is now in London at the Loft. She has money and a place to live; she is safe and can do as she pleases. And she is now wealthy. But I do not have time to fuck with any of you. You must do as I say from now on or go home, wherever that may be. Your choice. But Adam is in danger and I cannot move him. Not now, and not for at least another week, perhaps longer.”
“Why?”
“He is undergoing a procedure. I will explain what it is later, but he is having his brain and mind … altered. I am doing this with Liara; the second part of the procedure requires lengthy uninterrupted healing. After we are done with the initial procedure and he is healing properly, Liara will move Adam to Paraiso. That can only be done after the healing begins. I am working as fast as I can, but it is delicate.”
“What changed? We need to know, so we are prepared.”
“The traitor Saldana Ri did more damage than we thought, and all of your enemies are alerted to you, your locations and your personnel. I tried to warn Adam, but he genuinely loved Saldana, and thought that she loved him. Her colors could change, but not her fundamental self. She betrayed him to save herself believing Adam would not survive the contest with Paulo. No doubt at the time, that’s how it looked. And it still may be so, but we cannot have spies. No doubt there are more who will seek to change sides; some may reside in Paraiso. For now, we must protect Adam until he can be moved. I cannot do what I must do nor can Liara, alone.”
“Then we will continue on as planned and will be there soon. Anything else?”
“No, but I must leave now, and I will share what has transpired with you Misti, if I may enter your mind. You may tell the others. May I?”
“Of course.”
Hecate entered Misti’s mind. When she left, Hecate said, “Your kids are adorable. They will make you very proud one day.”
***
Misti organized a video conference with the City of Light, so all could hear of the events they faced.
It began half way through the journey to Portland and included Kendra Boles. Kendra wanted to change her answer, but it was too late. She would be given another chance later if she wanted it, but Hecate wouldn’t waste time on selfish and childish humans who thought only of their own petty emotions. Too much was at stake and time was fleeting. This had taken a radical left turn, and the consequences were now too dire and too complex to be explained and understood in the regular way. They would receive mind implants when they arrived at the cabin, not before.
Everyone dangerous in the world was now looking for Adam St. James, and some had guessed where he might be, given the episode in Barrows Bay. Adam had moved his Seattle family to Oregon temporarily. Saldana Ri was to blame for giving up that information; but the damage was already done, and she was dead. Oregon was unknown to most, and remote enough to make an excellent hiding place. Forces martialed on both sides began planning their arrival in that rural part of the world. No one else would know they were there; outliers and survivalists would be eliminated, and small communities in close proximity to the cabin would be destroyed by the Gens and their allies.
Upon her return, as she scouted the surrounding area, Hecate had found hundreds of teams of humans alone, Gens and humans together, and Gens alone in the forests within two hundred miles of the cabin searching for something.
Or someone.
***
The video conference began on time. Hundreds were involved per Hecate’s instructions.
Misti began, “Thanks for attending this call. I know everyone is busy with their assignments, but Hecate asked me tell you what has happened so everyone understands the gravity of the situation and what they must do. I have been given the names of more traitors by Hecate, sourced directly from Liara the Creator. They will be rounded up and confined as the scum they are. They conspired with Saldana Ri and now with the Collective. They will be dealt with later.”
She paused, collecting her thoughts.
“The consequences of this conflict have greater implications than any of us ever conceived. But that only means that our lives on this planet can end in the same negative way for any number of reasons. The only way to prevent this outcome with the time left is for Adam to kill Paulo, and that task has now been shown to be much more difficult than previously assumed. Paulo is an extraordinary Gens, of previously unknown immense power, and has forces of the cosmos arrayed with him that want Adam to fail. Every outcom
e in which Adam fails to achieve success means we die. It is just that simple.”
Derek Nobilus, though now under watch, was listening on his TV feed in his quarters.
“Enzo and Paulo long ago were given new powers by renegade Immortals, which explains how he could, so quickly, rise from the pastoral backwater setting of Gensarii to become leader of the Collective, and why he didn’t seem to age. There was an explanation given by Paulo, but nobody knew it was false within the cabal of his leadership, so no one challenged him. Those who did were quietly eliminated.
“Saldana Ri slowed the process down with her Black Shirt Movement, but the Collective’s challenge was always to find the human with the DNA of all the races necessary to defeat Paulo. All Paulo had to do was just survive until Hecate came of age and kill Adam for him. But the Collective leadership couldn’t find Adam, though, in truth, they didn’t know who he really was. However, Paulo and Enzo knew the truth, just not how to find the human with the DNA or the Human who had the Library. The loss of the Library threatened the search for the human with the DNA because Paulo thought he was searching for two men, not one. Adam was both, as they say, hiding in plain sight, just not in America.”
Kendra Boles now understood what Hecate was doing and why. She cursed herself for being so stubborn and angry with Adam that she missed the big picture. Now she was in London in a gilded cage, hoping for a second chance. She would stay put, order in pizza and fruit juice with a chaser of vitamin water and wait for Hecate to come back to her. She wasn’t sure she would; Hecate seemed very single minded and unimpressed with fits of rage.
She tried calling the jet and Paraiso without luck. No one was answering, or no one was answering her.
***
Misti continued, “For Adam’s part, if he had just stayed where he was, without finding the Library, he might’ve gone unnoticed forever. That would have sealed the fate of the planet too. Actions, responses to actions and pure luck put these seemingly disconnected series of events and incidents on a direct collision course with Adam and this planet.
“Paulo out-gamed us, even though we could’ve taken him out, because we failed to recognize who he really was. Hecate failed to see this and so did Liara until only recently. Paulo knew just what to do with the information Saldana gave him; he set the world who wanted Adam dead on the path to find him and his new city, while Paulo watched and waited for the others to find Adam for him. Like the spider he was, he quietly sheltered in place, not seeking to attack in force, but to go after his prey in the dark. He didn’t move, use tech or do anything that could give him away. But we weren’t really looking for Paulo yet anyway.”
Misti paused.
“What Paulo failed to understand is that if he wins, the planet will die along with him. But he will never believe this because he has been given and promised so much by the renegade Immortals opposing Liara, that gave him everything, including primacy over the Collective, that he will not even see the real outcome until well after he wins. He thinks he will rule the planet, and maybe he will, but he will be here all by himself. That is, if his allies don’t destroy him as soon as Adam is dead. They have him in their corner and he cannot leave. He’s ignorant and his arrogant thinking and belief in the lies he has been told by those Immortals intent on using him will end badly for him.
“As the forces come after Adam and Paraiso, we must protect Adam, and defend our territory. In this, Liara will help. She realizes that she has made mistakes, underestimated her opponents, and been too lax in helping Adam along. She thought she had more time, but didn’t understand human behavior, thinking them petty and unworthy except for one. Now she knows otherwise. There is more to the story, but Hecate doesn’t know what it is yet. Hecate is focused on the present, one step at a time. She seeks only to protect and train Adam while destroying his enemies.
“If Adam wins, the real work starts. It includes Derek Nobilus and the Nobilus Maximus. Change is coming, as it must, and only when Adam’s work is complete can he and the world rest easy. And that applies to Hecate and Liara. She will help for now, but Hecate will still be made to kill Adam when the events he puts in motion begin. Adam will not have a long life. Perhaps a year after killing Paulo, perhaps less. His job is over when we begin to implement his plan.”
“That makes no sense,” said Cindy. “The plan may fail afterwards without Adam’s help.”
“Apparently Liara is not concerned with the success of the plan. Apparently, just showing other Immortals that She could restore what She intended is enough. Then, Her part is done. Her power is intact and we lower life forms will succeed or perish on our own.”
“And Hecate?”
“She will remain and do as she is told by Liara. All Liara has promised is that the planet may choose to save itself, or not. Just not with superhuman Adam and not with Hecate. Liara doesn’t live in an existence that we consider fair or moral. She deals in another reality. No one matters to Liara except Liara. We must matter to each other, or we serve no purpose for her. As Hecate has warned, she is the Creator, not God. She is not endowed with superior insight or burdened by wisdom. She is a blunt instrument, and we are merely the output of her handiwork. If we are defective, we will be tossed.”
Misti gathered herself up, thinking the weight of the world and hopelessness had just landed on her head. Nothing seemed worth all the trouble. She sensed renewed strength that somehow this would all work out; her babies would survive into a new world, and that Adam would escape his fate.
“We can only succeed if Adam succeeds and we still have a chance to prevail. So, buckle up and get back to work. The fate of the world, and ourselves are in our own hands. We’ll let you know what’s going on here if we can. With any luck we’ll be home with Adam in a few weeks. Get to work with Derek and the site with Normie. If Derek doesn’t want to cooperate, kill him. We will get his information some other way.”
Misti paused.
“Derek, if you’re listening right now, know this. Paulo is looking for you, and your folk. That’s why Enzo was being, so nice. Keeping track of you. Paulo plans to kill you ASAP. Never saw you fleeing after the London attack, so you got lucky. If you think I’m wrong, I can send you back to London. Let me know what you’d like to do. But you know I’m right. I hope you cooperate and stay. We could use your help.”
Derek knew she was right. It all made sense to him now. He would cooperate. He liked being alive and loved his people. Paulo would take his head quickly and just for fun. He decided the humans weren’t as bad as they seemed.
For now.
Chapter 29
The mood was somber aboard the plane, and in Paraiso. There was much to consider, and the weight of pessimism and gloom was heavy. While the truth was always best to know, it could either motivate or deter action. Misti believed they needed Adam back and talking as soon as it was possible. The people would need to see he hadn’t given up and was fighting for them; they would be sustained by his outlook and optimism. This was almost more important than any other factor.
He needed to live and get better.
Misti said, “Listen up folks. We require a plan.”
***
During the next hour, Kendra finally got through to Misti. “Please beg her to reconsider and let me come back. I’m sorry I wouldn’t listen, but I can help; if not in Oregon, then back in Paraiso. You must convince her.”
“I’ll talk to her as soon as I can; I doubt she wants you in London. The messages, or at least one of them, must’ve been from Adam. She wanted you to have them both. The other? I can only think Hecate or Liara. But I will do what I can as soon as I can. I promise.
***
Derek Nobilus said to those gathered in his quarters, “I will help and do anything I can. But first, I want to see a transformation and I want to do a mind link with you. I want to see if this is real or a ruse by the Human.”
Derek was in a light mood which Rod thought was good, but which Hannah knew was a cover.
Hannah said, “No chance, Mr. Nobilus. You, sir, are dangerous. If I go in your head, you might steal something, and we can’t have that, now can we? No, I think not. As far as transformation goes, we might be able to arrange that, but not before I confirm for certain that you intend to be helpful. If you aren’t being helpful, I will either kill you or send you back to London with a note to the Collective. They will probably want to debrief you somewhere and I don’t think they use any of their new wonder drugs. I think they’ll go ancient on your ass. Maybe Chinese, maybe Roman. What’s hard to know is the point at which they have all the info they need, and, after that, the torture becomes just a fun pastime. Know what I mean?”
She paused awaiting a response.
“If you cooperate, I can let you go back where you came from or stay here.”
“You are a cagey bird, aren’t you now?”
“I’ve just had a flash of insight. Why don’t you picture the perp in your mind who pushed the detonator killing that young girl in London while you were trying to kill Vera Capri? Let’s start there.”
Derek was no snitch, but no hero either, especially when it came to the Collective. He told Hannah the name of the perp, and Hannah ran it through the DL Main name recognition protocol in another room. Up popped a pic of the individual, and Hannah asked if the face on the printout was the guy they were looking for.
“Yes, that’s him.”
“OK then, that’s a start. Now Rod has some questions for you, and if you lie, you’ll go back to London. I suggest you tell the truth. But wait, oh shit, we can’t send you back to London to the Gens; they’ll know where you were and where we are. I guess that option is out, so I’ll turn you over to FBI Guy. He’s Gens, and he dresses like a guy on a TV show playing an FBI guy. Can’t vouch for the accuracy of the suit, tie or aviator’s glasses, but I will vouch that he’s a real monster when angered. And if you don’t cooperate, which means you are on the side of the Collective, then he will get very, very angry. Crazy monster angry. Mr. Fibi, please demonstrate. He likes the name Fibi ‘cause it sounds like FBI. Get it? Fibi?”
Resolution Page 54
