Joseph insisted that he should accompany Donovan. His father firmly demanded that Joseph leave the war room to get the rest he needed. After a pause, Joseph decided to follow Donovan’s advice. He could get the rest he needed by going to Nxy’s residence. He left the room and headed to the exterior door. He was too tired to walk so he got in his father’s vehicle and drove across the compound to her living quarters.
Joseph thought of Nxy and considered the fact that she wasn’t a member of a clan like the majority of pawns. Once an operative reached a certain level in the hierarchy, he or she lived by different rules. An agent valuable to the organization could earn his or her own living quarters. Nxy’s living space was secluded from the others. Joseph could never figure out why her small residence was placed where it was on the compound. It used to be a groundskeeper’s living quarters but somehow Nxy had taken it over. Joseph figured she was given the small “house” as a reward for bringing in a lion’s share of the profits for the market.
He pulled the vehicle around to the back of the building, parked and stepped up to the back door. Nxy glanced out the window before opening the door for him to come inside. Joseph immediately entered and went straight to her bedroom. He fell asleep on her bed for a few hours. He awoke to find Nxy sleeping next to him. Joseph got up, went into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He was surprised when he saw his reflection. He decided to take a shower. When Joseph stepped out of the shower, he noticed Nxy had placed a razor on the sink. He took the hint and shaved. After cleaning up, he felt better than he had in days.
Joseph and Nxy briefly talked. He told her that he’d be staying with her most of the time after Dolores went to the lake with Sterling. He kissed her on the cheek and left.
Joseph decided to return to the compound to find out what had happened with his father. He drove the vehicle back and parked it in the original space. He made his way to the office area. He checked Donovan’s office but there was no sign of his father. Joseph sat down at his own desk to begin working on a combat readiness plan. An hour passed before he left his desk to check on his father. Joseph once again looked in Donovan’s office. Since the office was still dark, he rushed to the auction house. He went straight to the conference room and entered the code for the basement entrance. The lights remained dark and the door was sealed in the floor. Joseph decided the next course of action should be to head toward the information capitol to find Non.
When he walked in the door, he noticed that Non’s expression changed.
Non ran to the door and asked, “Where’s Donovan?”
“I thought he was with you.”
Non rushed to the information screen trying to access Donovan’s vital signs. No response. They waited and waited. Suddenly, in a small square at the bottom of the information screen, a blip appeared. Non dashed over and touched it. The whole screen filled with an image of Donovan’s information.
Non breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s fine but he has an elevated heart rate which tells me he may be in some kind of confrontation. Let’s get down to the changing rooms so you can suit up.”
Joseph said, “I tried, but the code wouldn’t let me in.”
Non frowned at that information. “I can get you in. No time to explain. Let’s go.”
They took off sprinting toward the auction house. Once they entered the building, the two men rushed down the hall to the conference room. Non went over to the keypad and entered a set of numbers. When the lights didn’t respond, he entered another set of numbers and pressed a key with a symbol. Finally the lights flickered and came on. Non smiled and entered the last set of numbers. The square in the floor dropped and slid open. Joseph was the first man down the stairs. Non followed Joseph into the changing room. He ordered Joseph to put on a specific armored suit stored in a cabinet.
Joseph immediately put it on. He turned to Non and asked, “Is this your suit? It’s a little too big.”
Non quickly walked over and fastened the leg straps with a metal buckle on the side. Then he did the same with the arms so that the body armor fit Joseph perfectly. He handed Joseph a game piece and turned on the oxygen tank. Non didn’t answer the question posed earlier. Instead he went over to the sub-basement keypad and entered in his code. The door automatically opened.
Joseph thought: It figures that Non has a code that I don’t have.
As the door opened, Non motioned for Joseph to go down the steps. As he walked down the stairs, the whole room was transformed to some strange planet that Joseph had never been to before. He walked off the last step and thought: Now where do I go from here? He looked around and cursed. All of the sudden Non’s image appeared in the upper right side of the helmet’s screen.
Joseph said, “I’ve never been here before. I have no idea where to locate my father.”
Non accessed the embedded camera in the visor that covered Joseph’s face and looked around at his surroundings. Non’s voice was audible in Joseph’s helmet. “You are on planet Najornsof.” He sighed. “This creates a problem for us but we can manage. I am going to connect to a tracking device on Donovan’s armor that will alert him to your presence. Stay where you are.” There was silence while Joseph waited.
Soon Non’s voice said, “He knows you are there and wants you to hurry to meet him.” Non gave Joseph directions on how to find Donovan.
Joseph ran in the heavy gear. He felt light as his adrenaline kicked in. He anticipated trouble and wasn’t sure what he would find once he reached his father. As Joseph approached a huge boulder, Non cautioned him to slow down. Joseph ignored Non’s advice, thinking he was in control of the situation. Without warning he crashed into a wall. His body made a concave impression in the stone wall as he sank to the ground.
Non laughed. “I told you to slow down. The suit is mine so it operates a little differently than the others.” Joseph made a face. Non continued, “It is built for speed and it obviously thinks you are me. You need to control it when you run. In other words resist the urge for speed. Each suit of body armor will take on the wearer’s characteristics once it gets to know the operator.”
Joseph snarled. “How do you turn it off?”
Non knew Joseph was having a mini tantrum. “You’re fine. Get up and locate the steel door to the right.”
Joseph rose to his feet and ran along the wall until he came to a steel door. Joseph asked, “Now what do I do? It doesn’t have a handle.” He pushed on the door.
Non said, “I should continue to let you push on the door just to see how far you get.” Joseph gave a sarcastic bark. Non resumed. “At the lower right side of the door you will see a cluster of white stones with the exception of one brown stone in the wall.” Joseph looked. Non continued the instructions: “Kick the brown stone. It will allow you to enter the contained atmospheric environment.”
Joseph growled, “Is this a joke after I just ran into the wall? Kick it, huh?” There was silence on the other end, so Joseph sighed and did as Non suggested. Once he kicked the stone, the door slowly opened.
Then Non said, “Go inside the village.”
Joseph swallowed. “A village.”
Non repeated, “A village.”
Joseph entered and the door closed behind him. Non asked him to scan the area. Joseph moved his head around slowly so Non could observe the area.
Joseph asked, “Where are my weapons?” Non placed a diagram on the screen that showed where the weapons were located within the armor.
Joseph asked, “The weapons are hidden?”
“Yes. With any luck you won’t need them.”
Joseph tried to access one by putting his hand where the weapon should be. It immediately appeared in his hand. He whistled.
Non said, “Time to get back to work and find Donovan.”
Joseph replaced the weapon and ran in the direction Non directed him to go. He kept walking until he had Donovan in his sight amongst the rioters. As Joseph headed toward his father, the people parted and made way for him to
stand beside Donovan. Joseph thought: They think I’m Non.
Non warned Joseph, “Whatever you do, do not speak.” Joseph received the message loud and clear. He listened while Donovan did all the talking.
One man screamed, “Non, what do you say to this?” Joseph nodded that he agreed with his father.
There was a rumble within the huge crowd. Donovan finished his speech and walked into the crowd. They moved out of the way. Joseph followed.
The people reached out to touch Donovan and Joseph as the two men walked by. The crowd began shouting, “Suzerain! Suzerain! Suzerain!”
When the two men passed through the doorway and arrived outside the wall, they continued to walk for a while. Donovan quickly ended the game. He thanked Joseph for coming as he walked to the dressing room to get out of his body armor.
Joseph said, “Non sent me in his armor.”
Donovan grunted. “I’m thankful for his quick thinking.”
Joseph hurried to another room to get out of Non’s armor. After a short while both men came out showered and dressed. Before leaving the room, Donovan placed the game pieces in a wall safe. He then walked to the screen and brought Non’s image up.
When Donovan saw that he had Non’s attention, he said, “Non, would you send a trusted soldier to the war room’s dressing area to have the body armor cleaned and put away in their cases? We’re on the way to see you now.” Non answered in the affirmative.
Father and son soon walked into the intelligence room where Non was busy manipulating the information board. Non smiled when he saw them enter the room. Donovan walked to the back of the room and entered the space where Non was working.
He shook Non’s hand, thanking him. “Quick thinking to send Joseph in your suit.”
“Joseph came to find you. He was ready to join you on your mission. Since I had to send him into an unknown environment, I knew I needed to guide him. My armor is the only one with the communication screen.”
Donovan began explaining to the two men what had happened once he arrived on Najornsof. “It wasn’t at all what I expected to find once I arrived. Their situation seems to change by the minute. They are quite unstable. I fear the inevitable will happen soon.”
Non agreed with him and then said, “I’ve been exploring different scenarios and the logical outcomes. It’s possible that stepping out of the way, allowing this instability to continue, might be to our advantage. It would be easier for us to swoop in after the devastation and pick up the pieces, rather than the alternative.”
Donovan entertained the thought. “It’s definitely something to consider. I’m willing to hear what you have to say.”
“Here are the probabilities as I see them up to this point in time…”
Chapter 46
Cynthia drove Charles home after school. Today was her day off from work so she accompanied him into Nana and Paw Paw’s house. Bev met them in the kitchen. She set cookies, fresh fruit and iced tea on the table. They began sharing stories about the past year of school as Molly and Jack walked through the doorway with Sophie. All that was left of the school year were the finals for each class.
Molly said, “We would have come sooner but I was working with Gretchen at the store. Todd stayed and helped restock everything. Even with his help it still took longer than we expected.”
Molly and Jack hugged Charles and Cynthia. They joined their children at the table. Sophie went to find Carson in the library.
A few minutes later Carson walked into the kitchen with his youngest granddaughter. They sat at the table and joined in the discussion. When the conversation lulled, Carson started entertaining the girls with magic tricks. Bev and Molly got up from the table and fixed a light meal for the family.
After the meal, Molly asked, “Dad, should we show Charles now or do you want to wait until later?”
Charles perked up. “Huh? Wait for what?” He looked at Carson and then at his mom.
Carson winked at Molly. Charles was curious now. His mother’s question had his complete attention.
Carson said, “Well, I don’t think we can wait now, even if we wanted to Molly.”
Cynthia and Sophie stopped what they were doing too. The adults had their attention as well.
Cynthia whined, “Why does Charlie get all the good stuff?”
Molly turned to her. “What makes you think he’s getting something good?” Cynthia shrugged.
Sophie giggled. “Yeah, maybe it’s a spanking!”
Bev said, “I can’t wait any longer. Let’s go see what it is.”
Carson held up his hands and said, “All right, all right, follow me.”
They followed him out the back door to the garage. Carson planned this part of the surprise earlier and had instructed Walter to have everything ready. They all stood outside the garage in the dim evening light. Carson disappeared inside the office and walked into the garage. He turned the light on inside. After a moment the garage door lifted to reveal a new car.
Charles couldn’t believe his eyes. He looked around and said, “Is this for me?”
Cynthia said, “Yes little brother, it’s for you so I can stop driving you around.”
Charles teased, “What, you have better things to do than drive me around?”
He thanked everyone. Charles walked around the muscle car then raised the hood. Charles noted it had a V8 engine. He couldn’t believe it. “I’ll take good care of her,” he whispered.
Carson said, “Charles.” He turned to look at Paw Paw. “Why don’t you sit in your car and look it over?”
Charles closed the hood. His eyes sparkled. “Okay.”
He opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. “I bet she purrs.” He ran his hand over the black dashboard. “She’s better than anything I could have ever imagined.”
His father asked, “Want to take her for a spin?”
Charles stepped out of the car and walked to the passenger’s side. “Sure!”
Carson handed Jack the keys. Jack commented, “I thought you were going to take him for a ride.”
Carson said, “No, you can have the honor.”
Jack smiled and gladly sat on the driver’s seat. He started the engine.
Cynthia and Sophie said in unison, “We’re next, we’re next!”
Jack slowly backed the automobile out of the garage. Charles waved to them as the car backed out of the driveway. Jack felt as though he was suddenly a teenager again as they went up, then down the street. When they pulled in the driveway, Jack stopped the car and the girls climbed into the back seat. They had a great time driving into town. Jack stopped to buy everyone a soda at the diner before they made a loop around town. Then their father drove them back to the farm.
Bev laughed as Sophie exclaimed, “Again Daddy, again!”
Jack said, “Now Sophie, we have to leave some gas for Charles to practice driving.”
Molly said, “Charles, I’ll take you to get your driver’s license on your birthday.”
“Thank you. I wish I could take the test tonight.”
Charles was overwhelmed with emotion looking at his new car. He couldn’t believe a whole year had gone by since his fifteenth birthday party. Life hadn’t been the same since. So many things were completely different. Now in less than two weeks he’d be having another birthday. Time seemed to be going rather fast. He had hit some bumps in the proverbial road of life, but for the most part he’d learned to maneuver and swerve when he needed to, in order to avoid the potholes.
Charles was quickly learning the politics of government. With Dimitrios’ recommendation, he was given more responsibility than any other in his position as a prime minister’s apprentice. With the school year nearly over, Charles knew he would have more studying and work to do in order to fulfill his obligations.
Jack started playfully rounding everyone up to go home. The girls hugged Charles.
Cynthia said, “Lucky,” in his ear and playfully tagged him on his arm.
Jack put his
arm around Sophie’s shoulder. Father and daughters walked to the driveway.
Molly stayed behind to talk to Charles about the big responsibility of owning a car, and what she and his dad expected of him. Then she hugged Charles and told him she was proud of what a fine young man he had become. His mother mentioned she had noticed a change in him lately that made her think he had magically grown up before her eyes. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Molly turned to her parents to start a conversation about coordinating Charles’ birthday party.
As the girls stood by their parent’s car waiting, Sophie begged Cynthia to take her somewhere special after the last day of school.
Cynthia said, “No.” Sophie whined to her dad.
Jack said, “Cynthia, part of the deal about having a car is that you take your sister places when we can’t.” Cynthia folded her arms and pouted.
Molly looked at Jack and knew he was ready to take the girls home. She waved to her parents and Charles. “Goodnight.”
They all said, “Goodnight,” as Jack drove down the driveway and turned toward their house. Cynthia followed in her car.
Once the family drove away, Bev, Carson and Charles went back to look at the new car. Charles sat in the driver’s seat and looked around the interior. He couldn’t believe this car was actually his first one. He was now more anxious than ever to get his driver’s license. He thanked his grandparents again. “I just can’t believe it. I won’t be able to sleep tonight thinking about it. I’m so excited.”
Carson said, “Oh, I bet you’ll sleep all right. You’ll be dreaming about driving around town.”
They walked to the house together. When they entered the kitchen, Charles told his grandparents goodnight. He raced upstairs and got ready for bed. Paw Paw was right, he dreamed of driving his new car.
Chapter 47
Nxy chose her outfit carefully before she dressed. She looked at herself in the mirror. Today’s choice was a cute hot pink leather outfit that was on the verge of getting snug. She had decided to be a blonde today with hot pink tips on her chin-length hair. She peered at her choice of contacts and chose a striking blue.
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