Crowns and Cabals

by Dina Rae

  Jaxie was stunning, but never had a serious boyfriend. Her list of real friends was invisible. A few work acquaintances and Aysa were the extent of her social life. I once asked Aysa if Jaxie was adopted. The question made her laugh, but I also saw pain. She told me that Jaxie was a designer baby. I never knew the details, but Aysa told me about the cleft palate she was born with. Her parents did not want to risk any defects with their second child.

  Jaxie just turned thirty-six years old. Aysa would have been forty-one. I loved her like a sister. She was all that I had left. The sibling bond was the extent of our relationship, and I was sure that Jaxie felt the same way. I missed her.

  I needed to hear Jaxie’s voice. I longed to tell her about the heist. Most of all, I required her approval. I dialed one of her disposable phone numbers and she picked up on the first ring. She told me she had to change locations. I waited an hour for her to call me back. The extra steps aggravated me, but her cautionary phone procedures were necessary.

  I rambled on about Chad, Marta, Dylan, and Jun. “Yes, the group just naturally fell in place. First Chad, and then the others. Our first target was Malcolm Ellis. He was in charge of Love’s Field Airport. Marta picked him for a lot of reasons, but her main reason was about a pilot program he initiated. The airport security team was forced to get tested for an organ donor policy. Security reasons, or so they were told. Her friend was forced into giving away her kidney. She at first refused, but was thrown in jail. After a month, she willingly let the Dallas hospital take it out. No one would even tell her who it went to. I can only imagine it was for someone of importance.”

  “What? Not only are we slaves, but spare parts for these inner circle bastards. Good pick, Raph. Tell Marta that I approve. So what did you do to him?”

  “Well, first of all, we sent his wife photos of him and another woman. Who knows if she even cared? Then we slashed his tires while he was at a restaurant with other city officials. I know, high school kid shit. Don’t laugh, now! I can hear it.” Jaxie let out a belly laugh and then regained her composure. “Hey, this was our first act of vengeance. Anyway, we stole every piece of jewelry, coin, watch, and whatever looked valuable in the house. That was worth a whole twenty units. But we did get a hold of his computer. My computer genius quickly figured out the head of the airport’s security password. By the way, it was 123password. Please, I hear you laughing again. Let me finish. My genius then installed kiddie porn pics in Malcolm’s network account. Marta made a complaint about how he is in office all of the time with the door locked. Poof! He was fired.”

  Jaxie couldn’t remain quiet. After she finished howling, she then said, “How did you meet this computer genius?”

  “Well, he’s the poor man’s version of you, of course. Let’s just say that I love Chinese food and he’s an excellent cook. Anyway, our first job didn’t change a damn thing. Another asshole took his place a few weeks later and the testing continued.”

  “It changed everything! You got your feet wet. I admire every detail. What imagination! Where did you get the kiddie porn?”

  “Dark web. Jun can hook you up if you want to use it.”

  “Good to know. Tell me more. We’re secure. My phone has a special sensor inside of it that blinks in case someone else is listening. So far, so good.”

  “Marta wasted no time in picking the next one as well. This time she had a bone to pick with Choices Clinic, an abortion chain. Her target was very personal. The clinics were owned by Charles Mankowitz. One of his clinics talked her into an abortion a year ago, right when she got to Dallas after the war. Her boyfriend in Los Angeles was dead. Having a baby after World War III…Anyway, she had it done. A few months ago she went to the doctor for a check-up. She found out that she could no longer have a child because of the sloppy hacked up job they did. We bombed two of clinics with pipe bombs and leveled them to the ground, of course taking everything that we could steal first.”

  “Wow, a pro-life statement?”

  “That’s what the media called it. The only religious sect that’s left in Dallas was blamed.”

  “Dallas still has churches? Boston got rid of every church, temple, synagogue, mosque, all of it.”

  “Dallas recently did as well. There is one church left. It’s called Inter-faithism. I have no idea what their views on abortion are. Maybe they will also be disbanded. One of my recruits went there a few times. He’s a bit of a zealot. Anyway, he didn’t like it.”

  “Don’t blame him there. So did you make any money off of the clinic?” Jaxie asked.

  “Before we blew the place up, we took several boxes of files and all of the laptops, some medical equipment. Jun fenced some of the shit, and we got a big payday. Ten thousand units! Probably chump change to you. But more importantly, we looked through the files and discovered several patients got abortions after thirty weeks. Instead of abortion invoices or insurance paperwork in the files, we found paycheck stubs. Women were getting themselves pregnant and then getting paid to have an abortion. Seems as if the clinic was buying unborn babies and then selling off their parts.”

  “That’s sick! But weren’t clinics doing that before the war? I mean, maybe even before we were born?”

  “Yes, but the news never reported much about it. Many people were not aware. Chad blogged about it and uploaded some of the documents. No worries, his blog was untraceable thanks to Jun. Of course it was shut down two weeks later, but with forty thousand hits! This time we made a difference, Jax. There are people out there looking for us, for leaders to rescue them. Selling unborn baby parts! It stirred up some anger even though it has been going for decades. You know, it’s been so long since I liked myself. I am doing something real and good. You’ve tapped into the remnants of America with this movement.”

  “Sounds like you tapped in as well. So, just the two jobs?”

  “Actually, the abortion clinic brought us our next victim, Allison Paisano. She was one of the major vendors or buyers of aborted baby parts. She is also a rich doctor. Again, my blogger blogged about it with uploaded proof, and again he was shut down a few weeks later. A handful of strangers who must have read the article threw rocks in her windows for days. Anyway, we robbed her house and hit the jackpot. My crew took half of the proceeds and we invested the other half into the next job. Now our next job is quite a story. Everything went down last Friday. The mother lode of loot. I’ll share that story with you over a beer. But someone died, and I don’t even feel guilty about it. Am I losing my soul? If I am, then why do I feel so alive? This idea of yours saved me. You have no idea how many times I thought of…”

  “Raph, you lived at my home. You think I didn’t notice how desperately you wanted to die? As miserable as I was, I still wanted to live.”

  “Thank you, Jax. I promise not try to kill or hurt myself anymore. My allegiance belongs to you from now on until the bitter end.” I must have sounded weak to her, but I wanted to be as transparent as possible. There was an awkward moment of silence. I finally broke it and said, “I’m doing all of the talking, now how about you?”

  “Well, we are still very much at war, only now it’s more of a revolution or a civil war. We’ve indirectly been responsible for death too, but that’s the price we must pay. I don’t feel guilty, just more motivated and angry. We will probably die too. I hope what we are doing will at least plant a seed for the next generation, and then some. Like you said, we are not alone. When you told me I had started a movement, it made me rethink everything and up the stakes. I already told a couple of colleagues in Atlanta. Then I told some more in Dallas and then Phoenix about how we could use our jobs as a means to change everything. They wanted in, just like you. My Phoenix contact has already created some chaos. He told me about a school for mentally impaired children that had randomly closed. All of the children were missing. My Phoenix recruit and some of his friends retaliated against the school by throwing a nail bomb in the owner’s office while he was there! He died instantly.”

 
“Did they hold him responsible?”

  “He was at the very least complicit in their so-called disappearance. Those kids are not missing, they are dead. The same thing happened here, except to the elderly who were living in nursing homes. Is that part of New World Order? Annihilate everyone who is deemed as useless to the government?”

  “Yes. It’s also an element of population control.”

  “Then we counter with our own brand of population control. Let’s eliminate the number of Peacekeepers and elites! We could actually take America back, the way it was. If we can get the masses behind us, well, strength in numbers! Raph, did you know that one of our jobs made television? Free publicity!”

  “Yeah? That’s one way to look at it. Our handiwork was also on television. But the news spun it to their favor, as they always do.”

  “Don’t give up! There will be a slip. I can feel the dissention in the air. We have so much more to accomplish. Raph, we got to have that beer.”

  “For sure, but you’ve successfully avoided telling me the details of your antics. I need something small, just a snippet of what is making you so giddy.”

  “I’ll leave you with this-some of Boston’s Peacekeepers might have an empty armory. Good luck, Raph. Stay out of trouble.”

  “Wait…When will we have those beers?”

  “Very soon, Raph. I miss her. I miss my parents too, but she was my best friend, my only friend. This is for her, Raph.”

  “Yes, it is. It’s for our unborn son. It’s for all of us who have lost and who will keep on losing unless someone takes a stand. Thank you, Jaxie, for giving me a purpose.”

  That was the end of the conversation. Jaxie’s feverish attitude recharged me. An arsenal… Damn! She was already twenty steps ahead of me. What was her next goal? Building an army? All I had was some gold, a small fortune, and an ancient crown. This wasn’t a competition, yet I felt inferior. Maybe we needed to take on more risks. Or maybe Jaxie was completely insane. Aysa loved her so much, but expressed concern about Jaxie’s mental state more than once. Maybe I should have taken my units and gold and headed for South America. I guess that was no longer an option. Peacekeepers grew faster than cancer in every surviving city left on the globe. No place was safe or free unless you belonged to the inner circle.

  My gang didn’t know about Jaxie. With the death of Louisa Alvarado fresh on everyone’s mind, maybe it was time to be honest. I needed to tell them that we were part of a fanatical zealot’s plot to overthrow the New World Order. What would they think? I wasn’t sure what I thought anymore. The last time I had a chance to think was in the tunnels of George’s farm where I almost blew my brains out.

  My mind drifted away from Jaxie and onto my new crown. I sat in my extra bedroom on the dirty beige carpeting with crown in hand. The piece was mesmerizing. I stroked the odd jewels loosely set in the band. Another professor’s input could get me on the right track. I thought of taking a picture of it, and then asking Harper across the hall. Picture folders might be automatically synced with my Fogle account. Jaxie said they were building a database like mankind had never seen before. Too risky.

  I still had Jun’s drawing. That would have to do. Now all I needed was a way to bring up ancient crowns with Harper Bensen without looking too suspicious. Harper was an extremely knowledgeable resource and currently the only one in my circle of friends who could help. I pegged her as insecure, kind, and trustworthy. If she didn’t want to get involve, she wouldn’t rat me out or would she? This could be a huge mistake, but Monday I would make my move anyway.

  I didn’t talk to anyone for the rest of the weekend. Lying low was part of the routine that had been established. Alberta probably had a world class private investigator on the case. Hopefully, this wouldn’t hinder Jun from unloading the loot. I had no clue who the next target would be. It was now Chad’s turn. He had yet to name a name. His faith made me nervous. Would he pick something in the religious crackpot category? His former affiliation with Inter-Faithism worried me.

  As an atheist, I never philosophized with Chad about religion or God. He tried to explain it, but I had no interest. From what I remembered, Inter-Faithism took all of the common parts of major religions and discarded anything that might be divisive. The goal was to co-exist. Clashing dogma was left outside of the door. The Inter-Faith church was the only church allowed in Texas. It sounded more like cult than a faith. I hoped Chad wasn’t lying about quitting the parish.

  Monday morning I arrived at work two hours earlier than expected. Harper was already there. She sat at her desk with her eyes glued to her computer screen. I walked in with my thermos of coffee and offered her a cup.

  “Oh, thanks,” she said. “How was your weekend?”

  “Boring. And yours?”

  She told me about some great deals she encountered at the opening of a new grocery store a few blocks away. I added more small talk and found an opening.

  “Harper, do you teach modern history or ancient world history?” I already knew the answer.

  “Ancient. You know, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria. Supposedly where it all began, the world as we know it. Our history books are shrinking.” Her blue eyes darted to the camera. The last comment was not meant to be spoken.

  “History, like journalism, is no longer needed and respected. Soon, the college will drop the courses for young adults to study. You know we are doomed.” I smiled and she blushed. It was somewhat of a save from the obvious-history was rewritten for the next generation. We were always performing for the classroom cameras. “I always wanted to go to those places. Greece as well.”

  “Raphael, I didn’t know that about you. A sense of adventure,” Harper said. Her facial expression looked nostalgic. “I used to travel all of the time when I was young. Archeology was my minor. I went on a dig in Israel for an entire semester. After I received my master’s degree, I spent years as part of a crew for several digs throughout the Middle East. Eventually, I wrote my doctorate on the experience. Doesn’t matter now. The only thing that matters is technology, pharmaceuticals, and food.”

  I smiled and then asked, “You find anything?” Harper nodded. “Museum worthy?”

  “No.” She chuckled at thought. “Just pottery shards, pieces of broken tools, nothing too exciting. We didn’t find the Holy Grail or Solomon’s treasures or Lucifer’s gemstones…”

  “I heard of the first two, but what are Lucifer’s gemstones?”

  “It’s silly, probably a myth. Before Lucifer was cast down from Eden, he received a garment of jewels from God. The fall from Heaven caused the jewels to come loose. Many archeologists believe these jewels may have landed somewhere in Iraq or Iran.”

  “What kinds of jewels?” I asked.

  “Turquoise, carnelian, jasper, lazuli, emerald, beryl…there’s more. Anyway, we never found them nor the Ark of the Covenant nor the Holy Grail. Just shards of pottery. Maybe that’s why no one has a use for ancient history.” She paused and pulled her blonde hair away from her face. With a look of melancholy, she said, “It was the happiest time of my life. You know, right before everything changed. Before a third of us were eliminated.”

  Harper revealed too much. I read her easier than a children’s book. Tears welled up in her ocean blue eyes. I looked at her with my face away from the camera, nodding in agreement. She blotted her face with a tissue, and we chatted some more. I steered the conversation towards artifacts.

  “Harper, do you have any books about ancient civilizations? I am especially interested in the ruling class. You know, a now and then type of comparison between world kings for a class lecture.”

  She smiled and walked over to the far bookcase in the corner of the room. It filled half of a wall from floor to ceiling. “These are all of mine. I divided them by years. The earliest empires start at the bottom shelf and then medieval Europe, Holy Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire are at the top. That’s as far in time as I ever get in my classes. Borrow what you like. The rolling ladder is over there.�
� She pointed to the other corner of the room.

  There were at least two hundred books in the bookcase, maybe three hundred. I had no idea where to start. “Can you direct me to the first rulers?”

  Harper’s eyebrows raised. My questions must have seemed important instead of trivial. She continued to play along, intrigued. After a long pause, she finally answered, “The first known civilization that we know of is in Anatolia, Turkey. But we don’t know much. Gobleki Tepe. It’s an archeological site dating back somewhere from nine thousand to eleven thousand BC. There was a city with pillars and rooms, but that’s all we really know for sure. The Mesopotamian Empire gets credit for being the first among most historians.”

  I scratched my chin, doubting if this was relevant to my crown. “I heard of that one. Was there a ruling class? You know, kings? Queens?”

  “Yes. The country had rulers as well as a loose system of law and order. The empire officially dates back to thirty-five hundred BC, although some argue that date actually starts much earlier. Here are some books on their culture. And here are more books on artifacts found within the Middle East during that time period. Another one worth studying is the Egyptian Empire. That one sprang up somewhere around 3000BC. Is this enough to get you started?” Harper asked as she handed me another stack of books.

  I didn’t like how Harper was giving me an overview of ancient civilizations. The cameras were rolling and who knew who was listening to our conversation. I felt exposed. My sudden interest might cause red flags.

  I touched Harper’s shoulder as she perused through the shelves and then tilted my head towards the camera which was pointed towards her desk. We were technically out of sight, but the camera also picked up sound. She studied my worried brown eyes. I must have looked like a madman. Without talking, she handed me another stack of books.