Once, a Long Time Ago

by Kendra G. Johnson

  “What is it, Gabrielle?”

  “I’m just taking a moment to count my richest blessings.”

  Moira gave her a knowing smile. She too had known loneliness and the pain of loss. She joined with Mrs. Gage in surveying the active room. Despite her fear for Kenann, she was having the time of her life and jumped back into the middle of the fray.

  “We have got to find a way to get near enough to those kids to help them if things get rough.”

  “Any ideas on how to do that?” This came from Judy.

  Everyone had an idea and the noise level rose again. They could not be assured any of their offered actions would not make things worse, so they retired for the night in indecision. They could only hope that further observation would lend them an opportunity to connect with the captives. Blade had remained uncharacteristically quiet during the vociferous exchange.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Kenann jerked her head up. She had been in a half dreaming state with her head still resting on Danny Mac’s chest when she felt him stir. He opened his eyes and looked at her for what seemed a long time. She waited for him to speak. She began to fear his drug induced sleep had produced some amnesia when he croaked, “Are you an angel?”

  But then he grinned at her with that smile that had formerly won him many a female conquest. She smacked him on the arm.

  “It’s not funny. You had me worried sick.”

  “My apologies.”

  “Are you okay? Can you move?’

  “Well, let’s see.” He raised himself up on one arm and tried to swing his legs into a sitting position. He pitched forward and falling into Kenann’s arms, they both fell back onto the floor. He used that devastating smile on her again. He grabbed her by the arms and flipped her over so that she was lying on top of him.

  “Danny Mac will you quit fooling around. Are you feeling alright?”

  “How do I feel to you?”

  “I think that drug Pierre used on you has made you simple.”

  But she couldn’t resist taking her time sliding off him to stand. She took satisfaction in hearing the soft moan that escaped him. She stood up and extending her hand, helped him to stand as well. He grabbed the robe lying across the foot of the bed. It matched the one Kenann had donned from the closet. He made a thorough check of the room. By this time Kenann recognized a sweep for bugging devices and left him to it. He gave her a thumbs up, so she proceeded to explain her recent course of action.

  “Your behavior is most unbecoming for the high priest of Princess Inanna.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve been busy while you lay around snoozing.”

  “Apparently.”

  “I decided to go on the defensive. I presented myself to Pierre as the reincarnated Goddess and then issued a few edicts. He bowed and scraped and if I can keep this up it could be very useful to our situation.”

  “So, what did you tell him about me?”

  “You are my high priest.” She smiled

  Danny Mac looked down to the general area of his speedo and said, “Did you hear that? Isn’t she the greatest?”

  Kenann wrinkled her nose. “Man, I always heard guys were obsessed with their,” she paused and waved her hand toward his midsection. “But I didn’t know they actually talked to it.”

  Danny Mac threw back his head and laughed exuberantly. He then reached into his speedo and produced the small listening device. Holding it up, he continued to grin.

  Kenann rolled her eyes.

  * * *

  Pierre knocked on their door deferentially. Kenann bade him entrance. He assured her that Daniel would have no lasting effects from his sedation and apologized profusely about his actions. Had he known Daniel’s identity, he would never have taken such a course of action. He asked them to join him for a meal. Kenann said they would prefer to dine in their rooms at present, but she would send for him later to discuss their future. She dismissed him perfunctorily and he bowed as he went out the door.

  Kenann turned her regal gaze to Danny Mac, who laughed.

  “You’re good, girl. You are good.”

  Angelo entered the villa by way of the service door and found a couple of the bodyguards entertaining themselves with a game of poker. They reached for their weapons when they heard the door open but relaxed when they recognized him. He showed them his parcels and they waved him on through to the main part of the house. Before he left them, they asked if he knew what game Pierre and Katerina were playing. His response was vulgar and sarcastic and was met with bawdy laughter. He followed their directions to the rooms where Danny and Kenann were being housed. He walked in unannounced hoping to catch them off guard but found them sitting together talking quietly. They simply looked up when he entered.

  Cool as usual, Angelo thought. He tossed the parcels onto the bed, closed the door and leaned back against it, folding his arms across his chest.

  “You are in a precarious position, I fear.”

  “How so?” Danny Mac queried.

  “Pierre has shut Katerina out. He wants the little lion to himself and he has plans for her in 3 days. She has to present a convincing portrayal of this ancient goddess and there is some vital information I need to give you.”

  “Why are you helping us?”

  “I’ve been ordered to help you. Don’t take it personally. And in case you harbor any doubts, I’ll kill you both if you try to escape from this villa. Are we clear?’

  “Pretty clear.” Danny Mac smiled.

  “Angelo,” Kenann asked softly, “What do I need to know?”

  Angelo willed himself to maintain his firm countenance even though he felt himself soften when he turned to her.

  “There is a ceremony called the Night of the Lion. It occurs every 500 years in this society and involves a human sacrifice. Katerina was convinced she was to stand beside Pierre on the dais and be recognized as his successor, but things are off balance now. The situation is extremely volatile. And if it erupts it will have deadly consequences”

  “I know firsthand that Pierre’s nuts, Angelo, but what makes you think he’s so dangerous?” Kenann asked.

  “You still do not understand, do you? This organization that Katerina has been able to infiltrate, is more powerful than you can imagine. You have heard of the Knights Templar? This goes back 4000 years before that. It began in Sumeria in the cradle of civilization. If its own legend can be believed, it was instrumental in the rise and fall of Babylon, the Greeks, the Romans - even Hitler’s Third Reich. Many world events are controlled by them and their web of influence at this very moment. That is what makes them so powerful. They work behind the scenes. Their agenda is their own. They are a network of office workers, housekeeping staff, generals and world leaders and their loyalty is to no one or nothing but the Society. It has been passed down through the millennia. Each generation is given the charge to control history and amass more power toward some unknown end.”

  Angelo stopped and shook his head.

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you pull this off. There are scrolls. They will instruct you in the ceremony. See if you can get Pierre to show them to you.”

  “Kenann may have tipped the balance of power in our favor. She ‘revealed’ herself to Pierre as Inanna while I was knocked out. He is so awestruck. He practically quivers around her.” Angelo turned back to her with a look of increased respect.

  “She also has established me as her high priest which gives me an edge as well.”

  Angelo threw back his head and laughed. He spoke in Arabic, “Danny Boy, I swear, if you do not claim this woman I shall.”

  Danny did not want to break the tenuous thread of congeniality, so he answered jovially in Arabic, “I think I have finally met my match in this little one, Angelo.”

  “Indeed, indeed.”

  “Hey boys, English please.”

  Angelo smiled at her. “You have done well. Katerina will not thank you, but she will be pleased. Get the scrolls and wait t
o hear from us.” He made to leave and turned back to them.

  “Do not try to escape.” But this time it held the air of a plea.

  * * *

  Angelo left the villa, walked down the steps to the coastline and threw stones in the lapping waves of the Mediterranean. He was reminded of his childhood along the Black Sea. Those were carefree days for the most part. He knew now that they were also hard times, but he didn’t know it then. He parents had shielded him and tried to give him a good life. He sat down on a rock outcropping and looked out over the horizon. Ships in the distance were coming and going. He contemplated the path he had taken and for the first time, felt the dark emptiness in the center of his soul.

  * * *

  Katerina paced her apartment trying to figure a way to turn the things around. It was all that stupid girl’s fault. No matter how this turned out, she was going down. Katerina was going to relish killing her with her own hands. Danny Boy would come around eventually. She would wear down his passing fancy with religion and return him to their own brand of worship, the kind that involved lust and every kind of carnal pleasure. She had been intoxicated by his powerful passion and at one time had resented the hold he exerted over her. She had spent years trying to forget him but now she had him back.

  She had seen and experienced that dark side of him and she longed to drink from that cup again.

  * * *

  The next morning found everyone at their posts. Jake and Moira were ensconced in the hotel lobby with an eye out for Katerina. Mrs. Gage, Judy and Blade were once again watching the seaside villa behind the tinted windows of the limousine. Judy and Mrs. Gage were arguing their own views as to how to get into the villa when Blade bolted from the car. Before either woman could react, he was dashing down the hill toward the villa. Judy suddenly realized what he intended and clambered out after him. Despite her disguise of spike heels and short skirt, she ran at full speed calling out to Blade to stop.

  Andy’s attention was drawn to this activity as he sat in the back of a utility van parked along the street. Wasn’t that the kid playing in the street yesterday? She was calling him Blade. Blade? Wait a minute! He looked closely at the woman running down the sidewalk beside the van.

  “Oh, there is NO way!”

  With lightning speed, he jerked open the side door on the van, snatched Judy around the waist and pulled her in on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs. One of Andy’s men reached over them and pulled the door closed behind them.

  Judy fought with fierce determination and was satisfied to hear a deep grunt of pain when her elbow connected with her assailant’s midsection. When Andy could speak again, he grabbed her forearms from behind, “Judy, quit fighting me!”

  She went still as a stone. Before he could speak again, the black barrel of a Glock appeared behind the left ear of the van driver and a voice drawled very slowly.

  “Release my friend and you won’t find your brains on the windscreen.”

  “Mrs. Gage?” Judy was incredulous.

  “Yes, dear. If you are unencumbered, open the door and come stand behind me.”

  “But Mrs. Gage, its Andy.”

  “Oh my, I was afraid of that. Well, I guess the jig is up, as they say. If I put away my gun can we discuss our situation rationally?”

  “Crime-in-Italy, as opposed to a shootout? Just get in the van and tell me what in the name of common sense is going on!”

  Judy scrambled off Andy’s lap, hurriedly tugging her skirt down over her hips. Mrs. Gage climbed in and sat beside Judy on the bench seat along the wall of the van. She squeezed Judy’s hand and looked across at Andy who returned her gaze with a forbidding frown. The other man sat at a communication center along the back of the van. The driver continued to keep a vigilant observation of the villa in front of them. He seemed nonplussed by just having a gun pressed into his skull. The man at the communication controls tugged off the head set and handed it to Andy.

  “You’d better listen to this, Boss.”

  Danny Mac heard several raised voices coming from the foyer below. He walked out onto the balcony and looked down to see Pierre’s men surrounding a small boy in ragged clothing. He gripped the railing to steady himself when the child looked up and met his gaze.

  The men were discussing their good fortune at having the lamb walk right up to the door and present itself. One man passed a note to another who threw back his head in laughter.

  “A deaf and dumb lamb in the bargain!”

  Danny Mac barked the order in Arabic, “Bring the boy to me.”

  The men looked up and sneered. They began calling insults when Pierre appeared and silencing them with an oath, telling them to do as Danny said. The men exchanged looks and shoved Blade toward the stairs. The boy turned back and grabbed the grimy note out of the man’s hand and ran up the stairs. Danny showed no emotion but austerely pointed toward the room where Kenann stood waiting. She too maintained a stoic countenance as Danny Mac led the boy solemnly inside and she closed the door.

  Kenann dropped to her knees in front of Blade.

  “Are you alright?”

  He nodded and looked wide eyed at Danny Mac who realized the boy thought he was angry. Danny Mac smiled and pulled Blade into a fierce hug.

  “How in the world did you get all the way here, kid? No. Never mind. Mrs. Gage, right?’“

  “Yep, she is totally awesome.”

  “Apparently.” Danny Mac’s eyes met Kenann’s over the boy’s head.

  “How did you talk them into letting you come along on this harebrained scheme in the first place?”

  Blade told them the whole story.

  “Mrs. Gage was really steamed and then she hugged me a lot. Jake told her I could help since I have dark skin. She called my mom and squared it with her. I don’t have to be back home until school starts.”

  Danny Mac squeezed the boy’s shoulder involuntarily. He hoped to God that he was alive when school started.

  * * *

  “Jake is here too?” Andy practically screamed it.

  “Now Andy, there is no need to become upset.”

  “Upset? You haven’t seen upset. I am going to bundle up your little band of misguided mental misfits and ship you back to Memphis where you belong.”

  “You cannot do that.”

  Andy merely arched an eyebrow.

  “All right, maybe you can. But be reasonable. We could be of assistance. Blade is already on the inside.”

  “Yeah and scheduled to be the next human sacrifice. Great job, Mrs. Gage.”

  “But you must admit we have been able to learn a great deal in a short period of time without the benefit of electronics.”

  “No, you have other methods,” he said sending a pointed glance at Judy who dropped her eyes.

  Mrs. Gage hurried to draw the attention back to herself. “Moira was able to infiltrate Katerina’s apartments yesterday and learn a great deal.”

  “Who in the world is Moira?”

  Mrs. Gage felt a trifle chagrined when she offered, “Kenann’s grandmother.”

  Andy dropped his forehead into his hands. “Carter is going to eat my liver.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  They sat staring at each other around the conversation pit in Mrs. Gage’s drawing room. Andy’s two deputies, Johnson and Whitaker, stood like Presidential secret service by the door – ramrod straight, hands clasped in front of their bodies. This might be the ladies place, but no one was going anywhere ‘til the Boss said so.

  Andy was taking secret delight in seeing Jake look so sheepish. He had hung his head when he arrived at their hastily convened meeting at Mrs. Gage’s villa.

  “I’m sorry son. She’s a strong woman. She would have come with or without me. I figured if I tagged along, I could at least keep an eye on her.”

  Andy looked at Jake’s dyed hair and raised an eyebrow. Jake burst out laughing.

  “Like I said, son, she is a force to be reckoned with.”

  “I’m begi
nning to understand that.”

  Before they convened, Mrs. Gage had taken Jake aside and asked him to speak to Andy and explain without divulging any confidences that Judy played her deception as a request from them. She was concerned at Judy’s behavior since Andy had discovered them. She reminded him how fragile Judy was since she had revealed her trauma to them only hours before they came on this misadventure. He had agreed readily and felt now was as good a time as any.

  “Son, I need to explain something to you before we join the others. Judy is, well, delicate.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Son, you listen up and listen up good.”

  Andy’s spine snapped to attention involuntarily. Force of habit.

  Jake continued, “You don’t know all there is to know here, so watch your attitude. Judy has carried some things on her heart that a person shouldn’t have to carry, so you treat her gently and with kind care or you will have me to deal with. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Andy turned and walked to the fireplace. He willed himself to ignore his feelings where Judy was concerned. He promised himself plenty of time to explore all of that when this was over. He turned and was suddenly swamped with affection for the expectant faces looking up at him. These brave souls, who had struck out to help their friends, filled him with a longing to be counted as one of them. He mentally shook this off and got down to business.

  “Blade is in good hands for the time being. Danny and Kenann have him with them. Kenann has begun playing the part of Princess Inanna with Danny as her High Priest. But this you have already learned by your own counter intelligence.”

  He tipped his head to Mrs. Gage in salute. She acknowledged the accolade with a slight nod of her head in return. He was also declaring defeat. For better or for worse these folks were in.