THE LIGHT WE LOST: a gripping thriller

by Valera Titov

  “What the…yeah, I understand, well actually I don’t… all-right, I will update the President.”

  Shaun ended the call and turned to face John Carmichael III.

  “Sir, some more bad news, I’m afraid,” he said.

  “I seems that some people or someone has infiltrated our computer systems. Planet X’s path can no longer be monitored and to make it worse, all of our back-up systems have gone down.

  “What do you mean, Shaun?” asked the President.

  “Sir, someone has infected our systems with viruses,” explained the space program advisor.

  “That is almost impossible to do as our anti-virus programs are the best in the world. The only way I can think of is if some evil person or persons managed to log into one of our satellites and managed to take our systems down using our outer space vehicles.”

  While the President and Shaun Kelly continued with their merry discussion about how the world’s most sophisticated software programs had just been infected with viruses, Floyd’s mind was drifting elsewhere.

  When the FBI team in Leticia had smacked Adam Kennedy over the head to kidnap him, did they bother to check his backpack? Were they one hundred percent sure that Adam did not have any artefacts in his luggage? The mission was to kidnap Adam Kennedy to keep him safe from the Russian government and the Bratva but sometimes, in the heat of an investigation, there are some oversights.

  Floyd excused himself from the President’s office meeting. He had just earned the praise of his leader after being on the receiving end of a roasting a few days earlier. The last thing that he wanted was to go back to Step 01. Deep down inside, he was hoping and praying that his team on the ground in Leticia had not let him down. He needed to speak to his FBI team on the secret island.

  …………………

  Adam Kennedy was waiting for the right time to show Falcon the biggest surprise of them all. He reached for his backpack and was about to make Glory’s day when there was a knock on the bedroom door in the safe house on the island.

  “Good afternoon, Agent Riley, is it tea time?” questioned Adam to the tall FBI man who must have been in his late-twenties.

  The agent smiled at Glory.

  “I bring you good news, Ms Falcon,” he said.

  Glory grinned.

  “Believe me, Agent Riley, we can do with some good news,” she replied.

  The agent stepped aside and signaled to someone outside the door to make their entrance.

  Glory’s heart skipped a beat. The agent had said that this was good news but he might not have understood the dynamics. Who was about to enter the room? Was it her husband Alan Falcon?

  Adam Kennedy also lost his power of speech for a few seconds when he caught sight of their three visitors.

  “Ms Falcon!” screamed an excited Joey Lawrence, as she carried in Adam Jnr and Rachel, one on each arm.

  Tears began to flow down Glory’s face.

  “Joey, I thought that you had been transported to either the Moon or Mars Strongholds,” said the planetology graduate as she ran forward from her bed to hug and kiss her children.

  Joey introduced herself to Adam.

  “You must be Mr Kennedy, I have heard a lot about you,” said the housekeeper.

  The archeologist smiled.

  “”You can call me Adam,” he said.

  The housekeeper giggled. She could immediately see just how much Adam Jnr resembled his father. Adam took Adam Jnr from Glory.

  How good it felt to hold his son for the very first time.

  Then he kissed the boy on the forehead and passed him back to his mother so that he could give some attention to Rachel.

  Glory turned to Agent Riley.

  “Thank you, Agent, and what a super surprise it is,” she said with a smile.

  The agent left the room and shut the door behind him.

  Joey smiled at Adam Kennedy.

  “I was so worried when I heard that two FBI men had been killed on a mission in the Amazon,” she said.

  “I understood that you went down there on your previous mission and understood it to be quite dangerous so I wasn’t surprised when I heard the news report.”

  Adam nodded.

  “Quite dangerous is an understatement,” he said.

  “As for the area and the hospitality, let’s just say that it is not quite Florida.”

  Joey laughed.

  “I can just bet,” she said.

  “So how did you too get here?”

  Adam and Glory looked at each other.

  “We got kidnapped,” answered Glory.

  “By the bad guys?” asked the housekeeper.

  “No, by the US government’s FBI who worked out that the Russian Bratva were wanting to silence us once and for all,” explained Glory.

  Joey was dying to ask the burning question about the whereabouts of Alan Falcon, but had to bite her lip with Adam in the room. Even if she had asked the question, neither Adam nor Glory would have been in a position to answer her.

  Adam went over to lock the bedroom door. Then he put the index finger of his right hand over his lips to tell Glory and Joey to keep quiet.

  From his backpack, he produced something that was wrapped in cloth. Glory tried to pick the object up from him, but it weighed quite a bit.

  “My God, Adam, tell me this is not what I think it is?” she questioned.

  Glory tried to unwrap the object, but Adam stopped her.

  “I managed to learn quite a bit from the FBI agents who kidnapped me,” said Adam.

  “They thought that I was in an unconscious state while they discussed matters on the aircraft on the way here, but I managed to take in as much as I could.”

  Glory was puzzled.

  “Where did you manage to hide the artefact?” she asked.

  Joey gasped.

  “Is that one of the artefacts that half the world is searching for?” she questioned, staring at the object.

  Again, Adam put his index finger over his lips as if to tell Joey to quieten down.

  “How did you hide it from the FBI?” asked Glory.

  “I hid it in my underwear,” said Adam.

  “You did what?” said Glory with a grin.

  “Yeah, I hid it in my underwear,” Adam confirmed.

  “When I found this single artefact in the Amazon, I had a feeling that I was being followed, so I went down a side alley and hid the artefact in my underwear. The Bratva must have been close to taking me out but fortunately, the FBI got to me first.”

  “So, do you want to hear the rest of the story?” asked Adam.

  Glory and Joey leaned closer towards him as they sat on her bed while the twins played with the archeologist’s empty backpack.

  “Tell us, honey, and then I will tell you what I learnt at the Paranal Mountains before I got taken out by the FBI,” said an excited Glory.

  Chapter Twenty four

  Alan gets roasted on prime time TV

  Alan Falcon had enough on his mind let alone having to do an exclusive space program interview on hard-hitting CNN talk show ‘New Day’ with non-nonsense interviewer Royston Lyall.

  Royston had recently conducted an interview with former US President Mike Pence, who was second in command to Donald Trump, and some of the answers from the Republican caused a flood of angry calls to the CNN phone lines, as well as aggressive messages placed on the broadcaster’s social media platforms.

  In his mid-forties, Royston had the plum job that every TV anchor dreamed of. In baseball terms, the interviewer was the bat and Alan Falcon was the ball that was about to be hit out of Yankee Stadium.

  Alan sat in silence as the make-up artist powered his face before sending him to the studio. He straightened his grey tie and headed on to the television set.

  There he was in all his splendor… Royston Lyall. Alan did think that the TV man looked a bit thinner in real life than on the screen in his home. TV cameras have the ability to distort the size of people’s body frames a
nd noses a bit.

  Royston greeted his guest and one of the production men ushered Alan to the hot-seat next to Royston – the one that Mike Pence was so pleased to get out of a few nights earlier.

  Soon the TV production assistant started counting down and the program went live, with Alan trying to look as calm as he could.

  Royston welcomed the viewers and his guest to the show.

  “Alan, a lot has appeared in the media about Planet X and its imminent threat to earth,” said the interviewer.

  “How imminent is imminent?”

  Phew, thought Alan, that question is an easy one or is Royston just trying to warm him up for the major onslaught later on?

  “The space office has known about Planet X for quite some time but just how far off it is from reaching earth is a tricky question due to the difference in readings that we receive from our data capturing division,” said Alan.

  “This is because Planet X or another force seems to have the ability to feed false information about its whereabouts.”

  Alan had dodged that bullet quite well. He didn’t want to tell the truth and say that the Russians were infecting the US computers with viruses since he had no tangible proof of this at the moment, even though he was almost one hundred percent sure in his mind that this was the case.

  “Alan, this leads to the question regarding radiation,” quipped Royston.

  “News reports have stated that the US government assigned the FBI to visit Leticia in Chile in an attempt to lay their hands on some artefacts that contain important elements for the making of space suits that can stand against major radiation. Two FBI agents have been killed in their quest to find the artefacts which draws the conclusion that the Americans are not the only ones searching for the artefacts.”

  Alan gulped. He understood that he had been called in to speak about the space program to Mars and here he was having to defend the artefacts battle between the US, Russia and Bratva.

  “Royston, I have read exactly what you have, but the quest to find the artefacts is not a part of my business day,” countered Alan.

  “My focus is on the construction of the space ships which would take millions of people to the US-controlled Strongholds on the Moon and in Mars, so as to safeguard these people incase Planet X does strike into Planet Earth. Yes, we do need to produce millions of space suits from the artefacts as you have mentioned in order to withstand radiation, but I have not been involved in the search for the artefacts in Chile. Perhaps you should ask the FBI that question, if you don’t mind.”

  Royston looked taken aback. He wasn’t used to being semi-reprimanded on his own show.

  “Can you confirm then that the Russians are focusing on the North Pole, in an order to break the ice, using nuclear submarines?” asked Royston, who explained that human life could escape from the radiation by existing under water.

  “That is a fact, but from a radiation perspective, I am sure that the Russians would be as keen to find the artefacts as we are,” answered Alan.

  Royston turned his attention away from Alan for a moment and looked at Camera 02.

  “CNN can confirm that the US President and his inner ring staff are in a place of safety, at a separate location to the Vice President, based on the potential threat of Planet X.”

  Then came the question that Alan dreaded but with Royston being the interviewer, he knew that it was coming his way.

  “Business Times newspaper reports that you have a major shareholding in the construction of Strongholds and underwater cities, as well as in the spaceship construction,” said Royston with a smile.

  Alan did not answer immediately as he expected Royston to continue with his comment which seemed more like a question.

  Eventually, Royston’ on-air pause was so long that Alan knew that he had to answer.

  Oh how Alan would have loved to use his favorite work hours phrase of ‘this is just a business, nothing personal, gentlemen’ but now was not the time.

  Some people saw Alan Falcon as a businessman while others saw him as an entrepreneur. The difference between the two is that a businessman takes calculated risks while an entrepreneur is more wide in his dealings and prepared to take risks. Today the entrepreneur is investing in dental equipment and tomorrow in oil.

  “I have devoted much of my business life to the space program and yes, I am an investor in various projects on this front,” began Alan.

  “I do it in the interest of the human race.”

  “Do you believe that should Planet X crash into Planet Earth tonight, many lives could have been saved if the US government had not curtailed the space program and its budget a few years back?” asked Royston.

  Adam gulped. The real answer was ýes’ but the US government was technically his employers and it would not be a great career move to bad mouth the US leadership on prime time television.

  Alan decided to go into politician mode.

  “Look, Royston, in the normal world, our wonderful country has far more needs than spending millions of dollars on the solar system projects, but unfortunately, we are dealing with an extreme situation here that could impact on human life as we know it if we cannot manage the radiation threat from Planet X,” said Alan.

  Royston hadn’t got his direct answer from Alan so he pressed further.

  “So you are saying that if the US government had not stopped the space program project and limited the budget a few years back, the Strongholds and spaceships would have been produced in mass and quite probably at a higher level by now?”

  Alan began to shift uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t like the question but this was live prime time television and he had to answer it. At this moment, he knew exactly how Mike Pence felt a few nights earlier when he was being grilled by Royston Lyall.

  “Royston, I am not here to start a public war with the US government who I work with on a daily basis,” said Alan in a stern voice with his eyes beginning to rage in the direction of the interviewer.

  “But you do agree that by stopping the space program a few years ago, the US government could well be responsible for the loss of millions of lives if Planet X does strike the earth?”

  Alan pushed his hands down on his chair and wanted to stand up but knew that he couldn’t walk out of the interview on the US’s No 1 hard-hitting talk show.

  “I’d rather not comment on that question as I am not a politician,” said Alan, hoping that Royston would drop the question and move on.

  Royston did exactly that.

  “Then there is the issue of planetology graduate Ms Glory Falcon, your wife, who is working closely with the US President in a bid to track down the artefacts via telescope,” commented Royston.

  Again Adam gulped. How did CNN find out about these things when they were supposed to be highly confidential?

  What was Royston going to ask him next? Was he going to ask about Adam Kennedy and why he was the father of Glory’s twins? How low could Royston go?

  “Look, Royston, my wife has been consulting to the President but I have no knowledge of her business dealings there,” said Alan.

  Royston wasn’t buying into the answer.

  “We believe that a third force, presumably the Russians, tried to poison your wife at the Paranal Mountain recently, where she was based in using the world’s largest telescope in a bid to try and track down the artefacts?” asked Royston.

  The only saving grace for Alan at the moment was the fact that Royston did not seem to know about Adam Kennedy or his missions to the Amazon to find the artefacts.

  “Is it a conflict of interest that Ms Glory Falcon, your wife, is working with the President to find the artefacts, which will help her husband to cash in on millions of US dollars in the building of the Strongholds where people will live happily ever after in wearing the spacesuits made from the artefact material?” asked Royston.

  Alan felt like a boxer who was stuck in a corner and was being pounded into submission. If he could have had a swing towards R
oyston’s solar plexus at this moment, he would have, but he needed to remain professional on live television.

  “Why do you ask me a question if you seemingly know the answer already?” asked Alan, whose knuckles were starting to turn white from the force that he was placing on them against the arm rests of the chair.

  “Look, Alan, as a responsible journalist, I am just asking the question that the people have a right to an answer too,” went on Royston.

  “Now I will ask the question again. Is it a conflict of interest in business terms that your wife is working with the US President to find information on the whereabouts of the artefacts? All this while her husband, which is you, will benefit financially from the information which will assist in the creation for space suits to withstand radiation in the Strongholds which you have a percentage share in.”

  At that point, the TV production assistant informed Royston in his ear piece that the show would go to a commercial break and Alan was saved from answering for the moment anyway.

  Alan would have loved to give Royston a piece of his mind during the commercial break but he was fearful of whether the sound would actually go out to the nation or not so he wasn’t prepared to take that chance.

  “It’s back live on ‘New Day’ with your host Royston Lyall, who is getting down to the nitty gritty elements of the space program and my studio guest is space program guru Alan Falcon,” said Royston as the program went live again after the commercial break.

  “Look, Royston,” butted in Alan without even being asked another question.

  “My wife Glory was approached by the US President to assist with the finding of the artefacts via telescope,” said Alan.

  “Note that the US President approached her, she did not approach him, so I certainly don’t see her position in this saga as a conflict of interest.”

  Royston grinned.

  “Well, we can leave that opinion to the public to decide,” said the interviewer.

  “One last question before we wrap up this edition of ‘New Day’,” said Royston.

  “My producers are telling me that prior to your marriage to Glory Falcon, she was romantically involved with a Mr Adam Kennedy who was assigned by the US President and protected by the FBI to find the artefacts in the Amazon. Do you have any business dealings with Mr Kennedy?”