by J. M. LeDuc
In the room she saw, she was seated at a table loaded with pills and cocaine. She hadn’t taken anything stronger than an aspirin in thirty years, yet she was immediately drawn to the drugs. While looking at the drugs, the shadow descended on the table. Even a temporary numbness from this pain was better than nothing. She cut a line from the coke and was about to snort it when the shadow disappeared and the lights in the room came on. The pain disappeared. She dropped the straw and stared at her reflection in the coke covered mirror when she heard a sinister, vile laugh. She’d heard it before. It was no demon…it was her father.
Chloe squeezed Maddie’s hand for support. Even her closest friends knew very little about her past. She related that in her vision, she had seen herself in the orphanage where she lived until she was eight. For her, the pain she felt was for every child who had ever been left behind.
She saw her parents walk into the orphanage the day they adopted her. The memory filled her heart with love, but it was short-lived. The shadow entered the orphanage with her parents. Instead of them picking her up and kissing her, like she remembered, they walked past her and bestowed their affection on another girl. In her vision, she was left behind.
She looked away, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. A grown woman looked back. A grown woman who had neither experienced a parent’s love nor had the opportunity to attend school. A grown woman who never met the love of her life. Pain of rejection and loneliness overwhelmed her. She felt as though she would lose her mind. As she stood on a bridge, preparing to jump, the shadow vanished and the lights in the room came on.
Tears rolled freely down the faces of everyone. They looked at Joan, the last to speak. She broke down, crying, every time she tried to talk. She looked to Brent for help.
He winked and nodded, reassuring her that she would be all right.
Joan closed her eyes, offered a silent prayer, then began. She was in a bedroom and she saw the vision of her stepfather. He stood over her bed, a look of disgust on his face. The shadow was with him. He yelled at her to stop crying and called her a stupid, little whore. He told her that she should be happy he would lower himself to touch her. She was nine.
She saw herself at age fifteen. The pain of having lost her mother two days earlier on 9-11 numbed her mind. Her heart was hardened and her soul was empty.
She was standing over her stepfather’s bed staring down at him. Earlier that evening, he’d tried to rape her, but was so drunk he couldn’t perform. Instead, he took out his aggressions by beating her until she was unconscious. A bruised, bleeding Joan stood over her tormentor. In her right hand she held a carving knife. On the bedroom wall, she saw the shadow. Her heart filled with hate. She brought the knife down, feeling it slice into his chest and puncturing his heart. She stabbed repeatedly until she had no strength left.
“With each cut,” Joan said, “I could feel the pain as if I were being stabbed. I fell to my knees and cried until there were no more tears.” She took a deep breath and a sip of water before she continued.
“When I looked up it wasn’t my stepfather on that bed, it was—I’m not sure because the lights came on in the room, but I think it was me!”
Brent stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders in a supportive gesture. Joan burst into tears again and held onto him for dear life.
“Why was she able to follow through with the act in her vision while the rest of us couldn’t?” Chloe asked. “We were all stopped short of what we’d intended to do.”
Joan looked up at Brent. She wiped the tears from her face. Her makeup smeared.
It’s okay. Tell them,” he said.
Huffing with emotion, Joan continued, “Because it’s true. I killed that monster. I’d do it again if everything was the same! He raped me from the time I was nine until I was fifteen.”
“Oh, my God,” Chloe gasped, bring her hands to her mouth.
“He got what he deserved,” Maddie said. Her hands were clenched in fists.
“What happened after that, Joan?” Chloe asked.
Brent lifted Joan’s head and kissed her forehead. “If you want, I’ll finish the story,”
She nodded and buried her head in his chest.
“The squad was on assignment in Turkey when Joan’s story came over the wire.”
“Over the wire? Over the military wire?” Maddie said.
Brent nodded. “Joan’s mother was military. Monica was a top administrator at the Pentagon and the liaison for the Phantom Squad. After my encounter with the Butcher, I convalesced at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Monica made it a point to stop by every day to check on me. It was because of her I was able to recover as well as I did.
“Sometimes, she’d just sit in the room and not say a word. Most of the time, she read passages from the Bible. She seemed to have a knack for knowing when to sit quietly and when I’d be open to the Word. Back then the last thing I wanted was anything to do with God. If it hadn’t been for Monica—I don’t want to think where I might be right now.”
Brent let go of Joan and walked to where Seven was sitting. “After I was released on August 30, 2001, I flew back to Turkey to rejoin the squad and to tell them I resigned. Twelve days later, 9-11 happened.
“That afternoon, I received word that Monica was one of the fallen heroes at the Pentagon. Two days later, we heard about the incident involving Joan. She’d been through enough, more than anyone should ever have to go through in a thousand lifetimes, so I pulled some strings, called in some favors and made sure the story never hit the airwaves. Seven and I flew back to Virginia where the government suits were…”
“Suits, pfff,” Seven interjected “‘A-holes’ is more like it.”
“Yeah, that’s another way to describe them,” Brent said.
“Why did you think of them like that?” Maddie asked. “They’re not much different than the Alliance.”
“Well,” Brent said, “let’s just say they were interrogating Joan as if she were a criminal and not a victim. An hour after we saw how she was being treated, she was placed in my custody and put on a plane to Palm Cove. At the same time, the agents who conducted the interrogation were on another plane, with Seven, on their way to their new post in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to protect the pipeline. And that’s where they remain stationed today.
“I enrolled Joan in St. Augustana’s Boarding School for Girls and she stayed under my guardianship until she was eighteen. After graduation, she moved into her own apartment and accepted a position as my secretary and official pain-in-the-ass. The rest is history.”
Joan’s eyes started to well up again. Chloe handed her a tissue. “It’s okay to cry, sweetie,” Maddie said. “No one blames you for anything that happened. Believe me, no one knows better than me what you went through. Just let it out.”
Joan smiled. “I’m not crying because I’m sad. These are happy tears. I’m so blessed to have great friends like you, people who love me for me.”
Brent took his seat and looked around the table. “It’s been an emotional day for all of us, but I need you to stay focused a little longer. Joan, are you up to working this afternoon?”
“The busier, the better. What would you like me to do?”
“I need—we need you to send an encrypted message. Don’t use SIA encryption, use the Endowment code. Send it to Zachary O’Neil at 721 Piedmont in Arlington, Virginia. Let him and his wife know of their expected guest. They don’t need to know her identity, just tell them when she’ll arrive and when to have her at the airstrip. Inform him that the Ambassador will be in contact later today with details.
“Then send a second message to Q, a pilot in the Endowment network. Give him the coordinates for the airfield, with landing and takeoff times. Emphasize there is to be no deviation from the schedule. If no one is there when he is to take off, he is to return home.”
“One question,” Joan said.
&
nbsp; Brent knew what it would be. “You’ll find the encryption code in the safe inside Endowment headquarters, behind the wall in the library. I don’t want anyone to see you leave here or arrive there, so use the tunnel. As soon as you complete the messages, report back to me immediately. Understood?”
“Understood. And thank you, everyone.”
As soon as Joan left the room, Brent said, “We need to play the audio again.”
“Are you nuts?” Chloe said. “Haven’t we all suffered enough for one day?”
“Just a small portion…and we’ll leave the lights on. There shouldn’t be any visions this time. I’d like you and Maddie to listen carefully since both of you have extensive backgrounds in linguistics. I’m particularly interested in the syntax, not so much the delivery or intention of the words. Try to decipher the root language. Chloe, cue the audio right where McFarland’s voice changes.”
“Why there?”
“That’s where he stops the sing-songy tone and becomes succinct in his delivery. It’s only about forty seconds.”
Chloe isolated the portion and cued a repeating loop and played the audio.
“Stop the recording,” Brent said. “Well? Anybody? Anything?”
“There’s a latent undertone of a language, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s speaking actual words.”
“You’re right, Maddie,” Chloe said. “Somewhere in that mess is a foundation of Latin, or possibly a dialect corresponding to Roman subculture.”
“What do you mean, Chloe?” Brent asked.
“Yeah, keep it simple for us country boys,” Seven added, smiling.
Chloe tapped her pen, gathering her thoughts. “Back in the days of the Roman Empire, other cultures spoke a variation that was similar to Latin, yet there were variants within the words that made it different. It’s possible it could have been a predecessor of the language. I can’t be sure, but I think it may be a dialect of ancient Aramaic, a language that preceded Latin.”
“How ancient?” Brent asked.
“I need more time to study it, but if I were to hazard a guess, I suspect it was spoken around the time of Christ.”
Brent pushed the inter-office intercom, “Joan, are you there?”
“No, I quit,” she answered in a sarcastic tone.
Everyone smiled. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, sweetie. Chloe is going to email you a small portion of the audio. Burn it onto a disc and get a copy to both her and Maddie and burn a copy of the entire video onto a DVD and bring it to me after you get back from the tunnel.”
“Anything else?”
“Stay on the line for a minute, I have something I want everyone to hear. We’ve experienced a lot here today, none of which we can take lightly. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again or that it won’t get worse before this mission is complete. With the director’s permission…”
Maddie interrupted, “I have complete trust and faith in you, Brent, so whatever you’re getting at, you have my permission.”
“…so with her permission, I would like to offer any or all of you an official paid leave of absence until this situation is over.”
“SIA,” Maddie said, “has a new office opening in Paris, and I know they would love the assistance from someone at the Headquarters Administration Board.”
“Before you answer,” Brent said, “please think this through completely. Remember how this, whatever it is, made you feel today. I’m not sure how safe or sane any of us will be if this goes on for weeks or months.”
Joan’s voice broke through the short-lived silence. They didn’t hear the fragile voice they’d heard earlier. This was the voice of the defiant young woman they’d all come to know; the five-foot spitfire with pink and green hair, with tattoos and eyebrow piercings. The same woman who showed up at a White House reception wearing black fishnet stockings and a miniskirt. The same woman who kept the President of the United States spellbound with her intelligence and wit. A person they all loved and respected.
“If you’re done with your little soliloquy of sympathy, I have work to do. Oh, and if that wasn’t clear enough, hear this: no demonic entity or son of The Dark One is going to scare me away. Not so long as I have the protection of the Son of God, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on my side. Now, is there anything else?”
“No,” Brent said, smiling ear-to-ear. “I’m to assume the rest of you feel the same?” Going around the table, they each confirmed his assumption. “That pretty much does it, then.”
“What about you, Brent?” Maddie asked. “You’re the one he’s after. It’s personal for him when it comes to you. If anyone has reason to be reassigned, it’s you.”
Chloe silently prayed that Brent would take Maddie’s offer, but she knew her husband.
“God put us here for a reason, and I plan on staying here till the end. I do have one request. Actually, it’s an order. Since there are no recruits training at this time, we are all to stay at the B&B until further notice. We’ll reassign living space when Charlotte Dupree arrives in a couple of days. Anyone have a problem with that?”
Brent looked at each of his team members before continuing. “Seven, meet with Fitzpatrick and Jefferson and bring them up-to-date on the situation. Until further notice, they’re on need-to-know status. Let’s keep the visions out of our conversations. I expect everyone to be at the Inn at 1900 hours. From this moment on, all travel in Palm Cove will take place through the tunnel. Any questions? I don’t think…”
“I have a question,” Chloe said. “I don’t want to harp on what we all saw, but why did everyone see a shadow in the room?”
“I’m no expert,” Brent said, “but I think it was a satanic entity.”
“A what?” Seven asked.
Brent thought for a moment, then added, “The shadow represented Satan’s presence in our visions. When it arrived, things started going bad. When it left, things went back to normal. Does that make sense?”
“It makes more sense than any explanation I could give,” Seven said.
Brent waited for anyone else to respond. When they didn’t, he asked if they had any further questions. No one spoke.
He stood and announced, “Joan, you are now dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Seven, you have your orders. Stop by Joan’s office on your way and pick up a copy of the video to show the boys. Chloe, do the same, and pick up the audio disc. It would be great if you had information on language origin when we meet at the Inn this evening. Maddie, Madame Director, I’m sure there are specifics you would like to discuss as they pertain to agent deployment and the tracking of this monster.”
Maddie was always grateful when Brent showed respect for her official identity, especially considering their dubious beginning.
“Thank you, Colonel,” she responded. “Everyone has their orders, so you’re dismissed. We’re all to meet at Fisherman’s Point Inn at 1900 hours. Bring enough supplies with you to last a week. Colonel, I’ll see you in my office in one hour.”
CHAPTER 6
Chloe clutched Brent’s hand as they made their way back to his office. Once inside, she locked the door, turned and wrapped her arms around her husband, hugging him as hard as she could.
“I’m so sorry for everything you went through,” she said tenderly. “When I think of those days, I question God. It doesn’t make sense that He’d allow you to suffer the way you did.”
Brent lifted Chloe’s head, lightly stroked her cheeks and looked deep into her jade-green eyes.
“You are so beautiful. I wouldn’t know that beauty, or your love, if God hadn’t allowed the past to happen. If it hadn’t been for my injuries, I’d never have left the squad and moved back to Palm Cove. I never would have reaffirmed my faith, and I never would have…” Brent took a breath, and kissed Chloe gently on the mouth “…met you.”
He ca
refully wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “The way I see it, God knew exactly what He was doing.”
Chloe leaned her head on Brent’s chest. “But why this? Why now? Everything was perfect.”
“And it still is. It’s God’s love for us, and our love for each other, that makes it perfect. That hasn’t changed. The Bible says that Satan attacks in times of peace, when our guard is down. Well, he miscalculated this time. The Bible also says that God will not keep us from the storm, but He will protect us while we go through it. It’s that protection I’m counting on.” With conviction, he added, “We’ll be fine.”Chloe kissed Brent passionately and ran her fingers through his long brown hair. “I suppose you’re going to have to cut all your hair off again, like you do when you’re on a squad mission.”
“Not this time. McFarland will be looking for the person he last saw. I don’t plan to wear a target. The hair stays. And, if you play your cards right, I might even let you dye it.”
“Pink and green?” Chloe said, smiling.
They both laughed.
“That reminds me,” she added, “I’d better get to Joan’s office and pick up the disc.”
“And I need to prepare for my meeting with Maddie,” Brent said. Pausing for a moment, he said, “When you go home, do me a favor…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pack your stuff. I know.”
“Well, that, too. What I was about to say before I was interrupted…”
“You’re such a wise ass,” Chloe said as she playfully hip bumped him.
“And you love it, but, this is serious. When you get home, tell Lucille just enough so that she’ll come with you,” Brent said. “I’ll feel much better knowing she’s safe.”
“We’re a family. Wherever we go, she goes. She’ll be there.”
