“Thank you,” Aiden gushed, taking her hands in his. “Thank you so very much.”
Dr. Timoko smiled. “I’m glad to see the love between the two of you is so strong. I can see it in your eyes.” She raised his hands to her lips. “This will work, Aiden. You will see her again.”
“You will,” Key echoed, standing. “Let’s commence Mission Retrieval.”
“That’s dry,” Rooke said, his nose wrinkling in distaste. “What about Mission Impossible Retrieval.”
“Because that’s a real morale booster, moron,” Tahir cracked.
“We will split into two teams,” Key said, pushing on. “Aiden, Jon, and I will retrieve the stone. Tahir and Rooke will team up with Shemhazi. Shemhazi knows this place very well and I’m sure those connections will come in handy as you search for a vessel for Jin.”
George nodded in agreement. “I think I already know a contact.” He grabbed his jacket and slipped his newsboy on. “Tahir, Rooke, you ready?”
They both threw half-hearted salutes.
“Koke…”
“Later. Much, much later,” she said without looking up at him. George accepted the dismissal with a solemn nod. And just like they entered, they left, racing off towards the entrance.
Key looked over at his team of two humans and shook his head. Wasn’t the first time he’d worked with a less than stellar team. He remembered his first junta out of MATE and shuddered. “Alright, you two. We’re leaving as well.”
“To where exactly?” Aiden asked.
“Long Island.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX
New York PresbytHakimu Lower Manhattan Hospital
New York, New York
Charlie rubbed her eyes as she glanced down at MCAT book balanced on her legs. She was beginning to hate the book. Math was a strong suit of hers, she wouldn’t have made it through nursing school if that wasn’t the case, and so she was able to get through the physical science portions with breezing ease. This writing sample portion was going to drive her to drink.
“After a careful reading of this article, the focus is found to be…”
Charlie’s lip curled. She didn’t know. They talked about thirty different things in a stinking passage. She slammed the book closed. “I’m never getting into med school,” she mumbled.
A head poked its way into the staff break room. “Never say never.”
“Oh, hi, Reggie.”
“Hi, cupcake,” he answered, smiling. Reginald’s smile stalled and the corners of his lips dropped when he saw what she had in her lap. “What did I tell you? You read the book, don’t let the book read you! You’ve had your head in it since your first shift. Your brain is probably scrambled right now.”
Charlie placed the book on her head thinking that she could master what she didn’t know by energy waves or osmosis. “The test is tomorrow. If I don’t pass it, then that means I have to wait until next year to take it. Which means being trapped in this stupid city for another year.” She glanced over at him. “I told you about my ex-boyfriend, right?”
Reginald nodded, his silky long hair brushing his shoulder.
“He was involved in some really messy stuff and now he’s gone missing and…I just have this feeling someone is going to come looking for me. Someone attacked me on the street outside of his warehouse a few months back and I’ve been scared shitless ever since. I can’t even get to sleep without popping meds some nights. If I get into school, then I can leave. Get an apartment, work part-time at a hospital there. Start over.” Like I’ve had to do before.
Reginald grabbed the book out of her lap and looked at the cover. “Where’s the school again?”
“Pomona.”
Reginald pulled a face. “Pomona, California? You’re moving all the way to California? The California? Like home of Levar Burton, California?”
Charlie had no idea who the hell Levar Burton was. “I’d feel safer in California.”
“Yeah, that is important.” He took the book and chucked it across the room. It landed near the lockers with a thud. “Now I’ll have to sit beside Redd during the employee seminars and her breath smells perpetually like Feta cheese.” Reginald's shoulders fell. “I know this because you’re going to pass this test tomorrow and you’re going to going to pass it without trying to cram everything from that book into your brain tonight.”
Charlie glanced at the book, wanting nothing else but to pick it back up. She felt Reginald’s calloused fingers on her chin pulling her face away from it. “You’ve got this. You should be getting some sleep! What time do you get out of this place?”
She glanced at the clock. It was just after noon. “Ten minutes,” she sighed with relief. “I’m going to sleep as if it’s my religion.”
“Yes! Take your ass home, get in the bed and don’t get out of it! Pass this test! I’ll need a place to stay for Comic-con,” he said with a grin.
“That’s in San Diego. A three hours ride.”
“Oh,” Reginald shrugged. “Still closer than forty!”
CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN
Charlie stepped into the warm late summer afternoon, her hand automatically rising to shield her eyes. It was bright outside, the sunlight more blinding than the steady vapid white inside of the hospital. She looked across the street to the parking deck where her compact Fiat was waiting for her. She hesitated for a second, thinking that maybe she should take Reginald‘s advice, go home and rest but...she couldn’t do that. Everything hinged on tomorrow. Everything.
So instead of crossing the street, she took a left down Gold, heading towards the Henry Birnbaum Library, one of the many connected to Pace University. Although she was not and had never been a student there, her
friend Sommar was and Sommar let her borrow a spare student ID card. She wouldn’t say they were twins exactly and if the guard took a second glance he would figure out her ruse–Sommar’s height was listed as 4’10” while Charlie was a good 5’4” and Sommar was a rich russet while Charlie was tawny, warm, and dark. Not twins at all. But it hadn’t failed her yet, it wasn’t going to fail her now.
The sidewalk was busy and loud, fragrant of the city she’d grown accustomed too. She tugged her book bag closer to her after someone shoulder checked her in a rush to get around a group of tourist who paused to gawk at the hospital entrance like it was the only one in existence.
She didn’t dislike New York, but she didn’t love it either. It reminded her of how congested and busy Bangkok had been. Bangkok didn’t hold fond memories. In hindsight, moving to Seoul hadn’t been the wisest of choices either if she was looking for breathing room. Yet, her move to Seoul had allowed her to meet Shen and through him, it paved the way for her bachelors. That led her here where she had the opportunity to attend medical school.
No matter how terrible her experiences, Bangkok, Seoul and New York had opened so many doors for her. Doors to escape things. Destines. Purpose. Glancing at the hustle and bustle of the city passing her by, she would miss it… just a little.
She was approaching the crosswalk when her phone rang. Charlie pulled the thin phone out of her backpack, the embarrassingly cute cover with its charms and ornate fixtures staring back at her, and glanced at the screen.
Z – Do Not Answer
“What does he want?” she grumbled, sliding the phone back.
“For you to answer. I get the warm and fuzzies knowing you’re ignoring my calls, Chuck.”
Her lids slid close and with a resigned groan, she took a step back from the crosswalk. She cut her eyes to the left where her past was standing, leaning against the light post with a slanted smile cutting across his copper, sun-kissed face. “I thought we had an agreement, Zicon.”
Not much had changed about him. Still tall, still had the same hair, still wore his jeans snugly on his long gangly legs. Even the way he stuffed his hands in his pockets, as if he was entitled to whatever he was going to ask, was the same, which wasn’t all that comforting.
“We do,” he said winking. “Yo
u said not to call you unless I’m dying.”
Charlie glanced him up and down. “You look mighty alive.”
“I am alive. And, the important part is I can stay alive in compliance with our deal! If you help me, you’ll keep Imane from killing me! See! I could die. That counts.”
Charlie snorted. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly. And that’s what you are, a fly buzzing around my head.” She offered him a bored look and turned to walk off, intent on getting her studying done and not letting anything interrupt that, least of all Shen’s former right-hand man. He grabbed her arm, stopping her from crossing the street.
“This is serious, Chuck. It’s about Shen,” he divulged, his voice just loud enough for her and only her to hear. It was enough to stop her in her tracks.
“You found him?”
Zicon’s lip curled in obvious distaste. “Not looking for him. But…” he paused, glanced around and took a step closer to her. “Look, this will take thirty minutes top. Then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Charlie frowned. Exhaling through her teeth, she made a sharp left instead of going forward towards Birnbaum, speed walking down the sidewalk until she reached a walkway at the back of New York PresbytHakimu that offered a few stone seats and a row of wooden benches. She spotted one at the very end and hoped Zicon kept up because she wasn’t going back to get him.
She plopped down and he plopped down beside her, a little winded. She pulled a protein bar out of her backpack, ripped the packaging off and took a bite. “Thirty minutes,” she mumbled around granola and chocolate.
Zicon nodded and balanced his elbows on his knees, his hands pressed together in prayer as if he would need it to tell her whatever he needed to tell her. “This is about Shen…”
“You’ve said that already.”
“So you know his hit on Jin Amaris failed.”
She nodded. “More useless information, Z.”
“Well…” his eyes flashed to hers then back down to the bricks. “Shen has gotten himself involved with some…weird people. And we, Imane and I, have gotten ourselves involved with some other weird people. I mean really weird people, Chuck, like I can’t even tell you what kind of weird because you won’t believe me and if you don’t believe me, you’ll walk off.”
Charlie took another bite. “I’m used to weird people.”
“Not this kind of weird. So in order to continue to protect Jin Amaris and to stop Shen and the people he’s with…I, uh,” he hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “We need…”
“Spit it out, Zicon. You’ve got,” she looked down at her Audemars, a watch Shen had purchased for her, “twenty-eight minutes left.”
“We need a body.” To be fair, he delivered the line with the confidence people have when they deliver news…say…about water polo. “Preferably someone who doesn’t want it anymore. If…that’s such a thing.”
Charlie’s chewing slowed.
“You’ve got access to a hospital and we thought that maybe…you would know someone or could get us access? Maybe to the psyche ward or vegetable patch?”
“A…vegetable patch.”
“Yeah, a place where they keep comatose patients but not like someone newly comatose? Someone without a chance. Or even someone suicidal or–”
Charlie chucked the rest of her protein bar into the trashcan, stood and began to walk off. “Get some help, Zicon. Mental help. They have pills for this type of shit.”
She heard his heavy boots following her and tried to speed up. “I know what I’m saying sounds crazy, Charlie, but I’m telling the truth! I need your help!” he called after her.
Charlie spun on him. “I’m not stupid. You need someone like that because you need their identification. A social security card, a new name. The same bullshit as always. I thought you’d left this life alone, Zicon! Didn’t he hurt us enough? Didn’t that life hurt us enough? I called PC’s mother last month. She still cries every single day! How can we forget that?” She pushed her hair back to distract herself from wanting to cry as well. “I don’t have time for this. I have a test to prepare for and I’m not up for being connected to your mess.”
Zicon reached for her again. He looked serious, as serious as Zicon could manage to fix his face. It was a hard thing for him to do and that meant he was actually serious. “It’s not that and if you don’t help, Jin Amaris dies. Like dies, dies. I know you don’t know who Aiden is. You may have never met her mother or her father but I have and I’ve had to deal with the guilt of what I’ve done every day. Now I have a chance to help her. I know you don’t want her blood on your hands, Chuck. Especially if Shen is the one who tries to kill her again.”
Charlie’s face felt hot with a flurry of emotions–anger, shame, empathy. She’d seen how Shen could ruin a life. He’d almost ruined hers only she was able to escape him before his love turned to anger. She remembered pleading with him to not go through with his revenge plot. She remembered leaving him because of it.
Zicon was right. She didn’t know Jin, but she didn’t want the woman to die.
She stomped her foot and made a shrill noise of frustration before trudging back to the bench. She waited for Zicon to sit down before leaning back against the bench. “Explain to me slowly, and exactly, and in full detail. I want to know everything. I won’t help you until I do.”
Zicon snorted, skeptical sounding. “Sure, but I’m warning you now. It’s much crazier than you’ve ever experienced.”
“You’d be surprised,” she murmured.
Okay,” Zicon tried. “Angels.”
Charlie rubbed at her eyes. “You’re in luck, then. Sleep deprivation makes me more receptive to nonsense.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT
“Read it again.”
Aiden lowered his phone, his copy of the scripture on the screen. “The entire thing?” he asked, his eyes cutting to the front seat with annoyance.
“Yes! The entire thing! We can’t sit in this car all day. We’re getting nowhere!” Key whined.
Aiden fell back into the back seat with a thud. He’d read the damn thing three times and three times it had led them to the wrong place. He didn’t think anything was changing about that anytime soon.
“Read, Aiden.”
He made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat before raising the phone and scrolling to the top of the scripture. “Give thanks to the LORD,” he intoned, his voice void of emotion, “for he is good; his gracious love is eternal.”
Aiden continued to mule through reading the scripture, the words
lowing out as if his mouth was on autopilot. He wasn’t even sure if this clue was helpful. Maybe in her anger, Dr. Timoko had led them astray. He would if he was in her position. Especially after learning what he’d learned about her, about Aria Jinni, and about Caeli, this supposed sanctuary for Fallens who had been charged with keeping humans safe. To him, it sounded like they were just like any other society, where their benevolence was shrouded and misused to serve only themselves.
It was unfortunate but he was unconcerned. He had another goal. Sitting in a car on a side street just outside of a factory, reciting scripture as if this was Sunday school wasn’t going to do the job. But he had no other option, no other way.
“I called on the LORD in my distress; the LORD answered me openly. The LORD is with me. I will not be afraid. What can people do to me?”
“Wait,” Jon said suddenly, his seat reclined so far back he was practically in the back seat. He pulled the lever and the chair shot up with a clank of shifting gears. “Wait, wait, wait. I’ve heard that before.”
“Yeah. I’ve read it three times already, Jon,” Aiden said derisively. “Keep up.”
“No, moron. I’ve heard it somewhere else.” He began tapping on the dashboard as his eyes darted left and right. Aiden was pretty sure he was tapping out “Don’t Stop Believing” which was pretty inspirational at the moment. His hands stopped and he slapped the dash. “Shit. I’ve got it. I’ve got it! I understand how
this is a clue.” He snatched Aiden’s phone out of his hand. “My mother, she’s Jewish, right? Well, she used to drag me to these ceremonies and although I don’t speak a lick of Hebrew sometimes they would recite scriptures I could understand.”
“That’s how religious ceremonies work, Jon,” Key drawled.
“Will you two shut the hell up? I’m thinking!” Jon dragged his finger up the screen, scrolling down the scripture. “Psalms 118:5. What’s today?”
“It’s September 10th,” Key provided.
“Holy shit,” he laughed. “Ho-lee-shit, Batman! Rosh Hashanah–The Feast of Trumpets. Today is the Jewish New Year.”
Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “Okay?”
“Tashlikh is an atonement ceremony performed on the Jewish New Year. It is always, always performed over a large body of water. Dr. Timoko sent us to Long Island because she knew we would be around water. She just didn’t know where. Listen.” Jon proceeded to read verses five through nine. “It’s definitely what they recite during Tashlikh.”
“So we are still looking for a specific body of water? I don’t know if you know but Long Island is an island.” Aiden said, leaning on the console between Key and Jon. ”How do we find it?”
Jon opened his mouth and closed it. “I don’t know.”
“This is good, though. We know that there are actually clues within the scripture. Here,” Key said looking down at his own phone. “Psalm 118:22 talks about the cornerstone. So the stone is near a large body of water.”
“Which one,” Aiden stressed again. “Long Island is an–”
“Island. Yes, we heard you,” Jon said.
“Most of the scripture doesn’t talk much about locations. I mean there is mention of a gate and some tents but…” Aiden paused. “What about this? It’s not a location per say but…”
A Third of the Moon and the Stars Struck Page 44
