The 5th Amulet

by SJ Hailey

  ‘Do you lack confidence in my ability?’

  ‘No not at all, you have shown yourself to be a valuable asset over many years, if not a costly one.’

  ‘Well if you want the best, you have to pay for it sir. The reason I know the bandits will be blamed is because I hired them.’

  ‘Excellent, now I have a complete change in plan for you.’

  The General was unused to a contract being changed, he had a degree of flexibility built in, but never complete change, ‘Really sir?’

  ‘I want you to locate the device, this complex and destroy it completely.’

  This was not a situation The General had allowed for, he presumed that the American’s would want to control it, and his plan rested on that presumption. ‘But sir, I thought the directive on space defence would mean you would wish to procure it?’

  ‘The 2006 Space directive states, underneath all the legal B.S. they had to put in, that we will not allow anyone else to have the upper hand in space. Anything that we presume to threaten our satellites or assets will be taken out.’

  ‘But surely something like this...’

  ‘Like what! You don’t know exactly what you have. From the rough outline you have supplied me, it’s proximity to an unstable set of countries and other interested parties are too much of a risk!’

  The General remained calm, checking how much latitude this order had, like many others, ‘And if I am not able to destroy it?’

  ‘Then General I will have F16’s from Manta Air Base drop all the ordinance they have on it! Get it done or else these contracts I have for you will be going elsewhere, are we clear?’

  ‘I understand sir, but I think..’

  ‘I think, you obey General! I am the Under Secretary for International Defence for Christ’s sake, what I say goes!’

  The General was still rattled after the call disconnected, his assessment of Arthur Jarrett was flawed. Something had changed his approach, caused this rapid change in direction. He had known him for years, could predict his behaviour allowing him to manipulate situations to his advantage. The General had failed to notice Colonel Briggs entering The General had always told him they had no secrets and he could come and go as he pleased, until now.

  Jarrett had tried to control his outburst, but he was sure the agent outside the door had heard his rant, but comfortable that his professionalism and discretion was total. Uncotto’s speech had been well received in the United Nations, and his spirited hopes for his country and their future within the international community were faultless. Jarrett knew that this was not what The Consortium wanted, they required someone more malleable, and this was a problem. He had received a note handed to him as he left, the conference room looking over Hudson River, and it was as expected. He received the call within five minutes of the note, barely getting to a secure room, just up from the delegates lounge.

  His phone vibrating discreetly, his heart rate increased and the skin on his hands prickled. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Hello Mr Jarrett.’

  ‘Don’t use my name?’

  ‘Please don’t be concerned, these phone calls are secure, we designed them for an intelligence agency, you can speak freely.’

  ‘Well if I can speak freely, what the hell is going on?’

  ‘Not that freely Mr Jarrett. We need to meet to discuss options. I suggest your New York office.’

  ‘I will see you there.’

  Jarrett was sweating, the situation was worsening, and his influence and control of it had slipped.

  Briggs remained in the office at ease. He waited until The General acknowledged his presence, ‘Yes Nathan, what can I do for you?’

  ‘Vincent, can I ask why Mr Enzi is here, and taking weapons from the armoury?’

  ‘He is performing a task for me, and requires supplies why?’

  ‘Because I was not made aware of his requirements, or departure information, as Head of Operations I felt this was unusual.’

  ‘Nathan, we have been friends for what? Twenty years? And have I ever misled or deceived you?’ Briggs knew this to be a lie.

  ‘So trust me when I tell you this is better for both of us.’

  Nathan knew better than to argue, but he always had a backup plan, Vincent had taught him that. For the past few weeks he had been monitoring calls from certain numbers on The General’s private line. As all calls were routed through the communications centre on the island, he could access the call routing of anyone, including The General. He was fully aware of the dealings with Chui Enzi, Laurent and now the Under Secretary for International Defence, Arthur Cody Jarrett. He had worked hard with Protection Incorporated and Unit Zero 3, what had begun as a shell corporation had become a successful legitimate business in its own right.

  Nathan Briggs was concerned that The General’s power trip and underhand dealings were jeopardising his work. Briggs loved his job, loved being able to complete his missions, often denied in the US Army by rules of engagement and political changes. His concerns with the chemical and biological weapons that The General had acquired used and sold unnerved him. He was not going to allow the years of time, money and blood invested to be wasted.

  The General gave Nathan the opportunity he needed, ‘Nathan I will be leaving in the next few hours, to oversee the task I set Mr Enzi. To keep you in the loop, can you get me two boats for inshore work, close combat weapons for twenty men, and supplies for one day in the jungle.’

  ‘And when this is ready do you require notification?’

  ‘No, I will leave via my hanger, with Laurent. I will see you when I return in twenty four hours.’

  Nathan left the office, content that with The General gone, he could acquire control of Protection Incorporated, and dismantle Unit Zero 3.

  Enzi had gone down to the armoury, a large concrete and steel reinforced bunker, deep underground. He had been given a list by Mastasson that he handed to the Quartermaster. After a brief verification call the Quartermaster began loading the supply lift with the weapons, telling Enzi to mark them off the list. Within quarter of an hour the efficient Quartermaster sent the fully loaded supply lift up, past the large blast barrier that prevented a bomb getting down the shaft into the armoury. Enzi was waiting for the passenger lift, when a blonde man met him, ‘Mr Enzi, I am Colonel Briggs, The General has sent me to assist you.’

  Enzi joined him inside the elevator, ‘How are you going to assist me?’

  ‘Well with equipment, and I was informed you were hiring locals for a job? But I think that experienced trained men would be helpful.’

  ‘They would but the General told me that only local men were required, I already have plenty.’

  ‘I convinced him otherwise.’

  ‘Well The General does like to be thorough.’

  ‘That he does Mr Enzi, that he does.’

  The doors closed taking Enzi and Briggs up to the assembly area, Briggs left to supervise loading the gear, ‘The inshore boats are in the covered dock, they are already loaded and on route to your rendezvous. The seaplane will take you and these men there in due course with your additional weapons.’

  ‘Are you not coming Colonel Briggs?’

  ‘No I have to get one more member of the team; I will see you at the dock.’

  Enzi left in the waiting jeep, the covered dock was about half a kilometre away, secured from prying eyes, below the seaplane ramp. Briggs went over to the guardhouse on the far side, near the hangers. Private Thorpe was immaculate his uniform pristine and pressed as expected, his comrade Eddie Wragg was shoddy by comparison. He greeted the Colonel, not speaking, waiting to be addressed.

  ‘At ease Private, grab your gear, I have a job for you.’

  ‘But Sir, The General put me on guard duty for punishment, one week sir.’

  Briggs lied ‘I am aware of that Private but a mission has arisen which requires your talents.’

  ‘Well sir if you are here, then The General must have approved it.’

  ‘Get your gear
and follow me Private.’

  Thorpe dutifully followed, leaving Eddie Wragg to his sandwich, some in him, the rest on his shirt.

  Enzi was at the dock watching his weapons being loaded, he was joined by four of The General’s soldiers who silently got aboard and stowed their gear, awaiting the arrival of Colonel Briggs.

  Briggs had informed Thorpe of his mission on the journey down, he did not share it with anyone else. The four soldiers aboard were raw recruits, barely out of their training, wanabees having been rejected by the US Army for various reasons; they had been recruited for Unit Zero 3. Briggs did not like this approach, he felt it undermined the true soldiers in his command. The four men were eager, but smart, obeying The General’s instruction not to salute an officer. He nodded his appreciation for their volunteering, ‘Gentlemen, this is Sergeant Thorpe, he will be your commanding officer, follow his lead.’ Thorpe was surprised at his sudden promotion, but did not question it.

  ‘Mr Enzi, this is all I can spare, Sergeant Thorpe here is a most capable sniper, use him well.’

  ‘Thank you Colonel Briggs I will see you on my successful return.’

  ‘Where’s your associates Mr Smith and Mr Jones?’

  ‘Smith is dead, shot by Archer Mathias, Jones has gone ahead to recruit some additional men, as instructed, we will pick them up later.’

  ‘Well that is good news, so you will all be on this mission?’

  Briggs nodded to Thorpe. They both understood that Mr Enzi and his associates would never return.

  TWENTY SEVEN

  Jacob and Archer took their gear to the Global Surveyor, placing it between the two sets of wings. Katherine was using a jack to lower the large sensor array from the underside of the body. Archer moved over to assist her.

  ‘Thanks Archer, this can be a little cumbersome on your own, Debra normally helps me.’

  ‘Well she’s not here, I am. Where do you want me?’

  ‘Now there’s an offer, but just steady the jack for now.’

  With a smile that had been absent for a while, Archer obliged, within minutes the array was back over in the storage container, locked up.

  ‘Katherine, where are we going to put our gear, and sit?’

  ‘Look Archer, it’s simple, you wear all your gear, I load up what I can in the space behind the cockpit, normally I have my kit there.’

  ‘And this will get us there?’

  ‘You have no faith in my choice of transportation?’

  ‘Believe me, compared to what I have travelled on in the past few days, this is sturdy.’

  ‘Well I will take that as a compliment, I think?’

  Archer climbed into the Global Surveyor, Katherine passing his gear to him, Jacob moving the remainder to her. Jacob and Archer suited up, checking oxygen masks, helmets and weapons. As they clambered aboard, they appeared more like plastic faceless robots than people, all their human features obscured. Katherine closed the hatch, and started her engines. The grass runway they had been using was not ideal, but with their light load it was not too much of a strain for the landing gear. The Global Surveyor climbed over the patchy clouds of the coast, heading north-west, Katherine setting all its navigation software to run the entire route autonomously. When the aircraft reached eighteen thousand feet, she unbuckled herself and joined Archer and Jacob sitting in the back. Archer‘s mask was flapping by his neck, the cabin currently pressurised, ‘Katherine who is flying the plane?’

  Katherine smirked, ‘No one is Archer, that’s the point?’

  ‘Sorry did I miss something?’

  ‘The plane will fly itself to Panama, then loop back and return to base, all as planned.’

  As Katherine spoke her headset broadcast the expected enquiry from Ecuador air traffic control, their transponder showing their identity on radar, ‘Global Surveyor, please adjust your course, you are entering restricted airspace.’ Katherine flicked the transmission to speaker for the benefit of her passengers. The response came from Debra, back on the Arcadia, ‘Ecuador air traffic, this is Arcadia, Elements Institute research vessel. The Global Surveyor has a navigational fault, and we are attempting to resolve.’

  ‘Sorry Arcadia, why is the pilot not responding?’

  ‘The plane has no pilot, it is a survey aircraft with autonomous control, it has a software fault and took off independently, we are trying to get it to turn around now.’

  ‘Arcadia, if aircraft is perceived as a threat it will be shot down, is that clear?’

  ‘Yes sir, it should steer clear of any restricted airspace.’

  Right on cue the aircraft executed a fifteen degree left turn, taking it away from the Colombian/Ecuador border area.

  ‘Well you could not have planned that better Katherine.’

  ‘Arcadia, aircraft is proceeding towards Panamanian airspace. We will inform them of your issue. Out.’

  ‘See if you want a job doing properly, ask a woman. Anita always said that.’

  The smile that was on Archer’s face disappeared, mentioning his mother in his father’s presence hit a nerve. Katherine was direct, ‘Look you two, Anita is dead, it is no one’s fault, sort out this feud or I will throw both of you out of this plane without your chutes!’

  Both men were stunned by the unusual outburst from Katherine, but both knew she was right. Jacob turned to Archer, ‘Son, there is something I’ve not told you, about your mother.’

  Archer reluctantly responded, ‘Really, what?’

  The excuse that Archer expected was not forthcoming, instead the response left him silent, ‘Well son, she did not die alone, I was there.’

  ‘But you said, the Institute said, you were in the Arctic?’

  ‘And if any investigation had occurred, that would have been supported.’

  ‘Why would there be an investigation Dad?’

  Jacob paused, looked directly at his only remaining son, ‘Archer, your mother. Well, your mother did not die from the cancer alone, I helped her.’

  Archer did not break the stare, ‘You killed my mother?’

  ‘No son, it wasn’t like that, she asked me to, you should have seen her.’

  Katherine butted in, ‘I found her, I was there, perhaps you have forgotten.’

  It had been the previous fall when she has last visited. Katherine landed the helicopter on the outskirts of the ranch; she knew that any closer would worry the horses. The house was about a mile up the road, so she said hello to the ranch hands, and borrowed a quad bike to take the trail to where she used to call home.

  It had been a few months since she had last been here, the trees now in full leaf, echoing the wind moving through them. The summer breeze flowed up from the valley below. She turned to look out, over towards the mountains, hardly another soul between the house and the horizon. She liked the isolation, and Anita’s family had owned land here for more than a century.

  She walked up the wooden steps on to the porch, a wicker chair, old dog basket next to it. The owner long since buried with the other pets under the beech tree. Even though she had been brought up there, she still knocked, out of respect. The expected holler from Anita did not return her knock, she tried again. Now she was concerned, the horseshoe on the door showed that Anita was in. When she was out riding, she turned it over in a U shape, to catch luck while I am out. Whenever she returned she would turn it over, and tell anyone she was emptying the luck onto my porch.

  Katherine tried the door, and cautiously entered, no music was playing, and no cooking smells that may have distracted Anita from her approach. Katherine knew that Anita had terminal cancer, and had been diagnosed some months before. The reason for her visit was she had a break in work, and it had been some months since she had seen her friend, she missed her. With no one showing in the lounge or kitchen, Katherine moved towards the bedroom, smelling Aloe Vera, which she knew Anita did not use, strange but Katherine dismissed it.

  She pushed open the bedroom door and she saw her, lying still on the bed.

 
‘Anita, it’s Katherine.’

  No response. Was she sound asleep? Katherine tried to rouse Anita, no response. Fearing the worst, she felt for a pulse on her neck, and found none, but Anita was still warm.

  Katherine sat on the bed, just looking at her old friend, wondering why she had died alone, when so many people cared about her. She picked up the phone by the bed, and dialled the local sheriff, he answered and Katherine told him what she had found.

  ‘Do you know where Jacob is?’

  ‘He left word that he was going to the Arctic two weeks ago, Anita knew. He gave me a number to contact him at, should I need to.’

  ‘You better call him. I will wait here.’

  Katherine stayed until the circus of Police and coroner had finished, confirming heart failure as cause of death. There was no inquest, no autopsy, the local doctor confirmed cause of death. Anita had many friends who cared for her as much in death as life.

  Katherine called Archer’s base to give them the news, and a message was sent to Jacob on his ship. They all met at the funeral a week later. She had dealt with death; caused many deaths during her career, but nothing had ever affected her like this.

  Archer was stunned by his father’s revelation, ‘so you lied to protect me?’

  ‘Yes you could not deny what you did not know. Your mother wanted it that way; I have a message from her I have been keeping for you. Do you want to see it?’

  ‘Yes Dad that would be good, but later, when this is finished.’

  ‘Okay, so we’re okay?’

  ‘Yeah, we’re fine, just wished you had explained before. You never give me enough credit.’

  ‘I wish I had, I didn’t think you would talk to me because of it.’

  ‘And yet I didn’t talk to you because you did not tell me. See how wrong you can be?’

  ‘Yeah sorry Archer, I should have trusted you.’

  Katherine had been listening, while putting on her kit, ‘So the smell in the house that day, the Aloe, that was you?’

  ‘Yes, sorry I had to deceive everyone.’