by R J Johnson
The Old Man smiled, enjoying the activity. It really was the little things.
He heard the screaming and sighed. Unfortunately, it seemed the longer he was around, the less time there was for the little things.
He reached into his suit coat and pulled out an ancient looking timepiece. He checked it and nodded.
He stood, and waved his hand at the water in front of him. Slowly, the water began to froth and bubble until it was furiously churning as if it were white water rapids instead of a serene duck pond. Several passersby took notice of the water acting strangely and paused to try and figure out what was causing it.
The screaming got louder and louder. The Old Man closed his eyes, concentrating on the water in front of him.
A huge waterspout suddenly shot up from the middle, reaching hundreds of feet into the air. Just as that happened, a body falling incredibly fast hit the waterspout dead set in the middle.
The Old Man opened his eyes and smiled as he watched Alex’s head burst above the water, shouting in exhilaration. It was getting easier, but, that didn’t make the timing any less crucial. As it stood, he only had a few minutes before his next appointment.
Just as he was about to turn, he looked up and caught Alex staring at him. He cursed. Alex wasn’t supposed to see him so soon. This wasn’t supposed to happen. But what could he do? The universe apparently had other plans.
He caught Alex’s eye and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
And then just like that, the Old Man was gone, his business concluded.
Chapter Eighteen
Colonel Nathaniel Ash shouted in frustration and threw the radio mic down on the console. They’d come so close to catching Alex.
After nearly six months of believing Alex dead, Ash had given up the idea he’d ever see his young friend again. After the incident in Afghanistan, he’d been certain there was no way for him to survive the explosion. Alex had gone to great lengths to make his death look convincing.
The money had been one of the biggest coups of his career. Unfortunately he’d never seen a penny of it. He’d hidden it from his team as to guarantee their loyalty while he built his empire. He had been so close, and then Alex had gone and screwed it all up by taking his money.
Ash squeezed the bridge of his nose and thought long and hard about his next move. The stones and Alex were intertwined. He couldn’t believe his luck. How could the man responsible for his current lot in life be the same man who possessed one of the Twelve?
“Sir?” A young officer dashed up to him holding a piece of paper. “I think you’ll want to see this…”
Ash snatched the paper out of the young officer’s hands without thanks. He looked at it and thumbed through the pages nodding. It was a series of photos that clearly showed Alex and his former fiancé Emily – the same Emily who’d been kidnapped from the Allen Telescope Array the other day. Ash grunted. This was an interesting development.
The stones were something unlike the United States intelligence community had ever seen before. Powerful artifacts were supposed to be the stuff of fictional comic books and movies, not real life. But the evidence collected over the years by the NRO had led leaders deep within the intelligence community to believe they were out there. After being such a crucial asset over the years doing black bag off the books work for the agency, Ash was rewarded with his own division. He devoted that time retrieving the stones from targets who’d been identified by his agency over the years.
After the robbery, he’d been the only one who’d been able to return to his job at the NRO. Ash told his team it was so he could still have access to the intelligence they needed to complete their missions. In reality, he liked his life and wasn’t about to give it up just because he’d stolen a few billion dollars.
Besides, it wasn’t as if anyone missed the money. It had been written off as lost long ago. No one was looking for it.
Besides, once the NRO learned Kline held a stone, they’d begun tracking him in earnest. Unfortunately, the billionaire’s contacts and money made him an incredibly difficult target to pin down. But, the intelligence they had been able to gather had revealed so much more than they’d ever expected.
Ash had never really known if there really were aliens out in space. He figured alien encounters were the modern day version of people describing Angels. His entire life he’d dismissed UFO nuts as people who had too much time on their hands and were unable to discern their own confirmation bias. Abductions were simply people experiencing sleep paralysis. Nothing more, nothing less.
That is, until he was brought in on the Twelve Stones project. Now, his reality was rocked on a daily basis as he learned more and more about the powerful artifacts. The fact that Alex held one of them, was just another example of how the universe loved to tease him.
Turning his attention back to the photos, he scanned them for any indications of what they were doing at the airport.
“Did they get on a flight? We have any idea where they went?”
The young officer nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. “Yes sir. They’re on board flight 777 bound for Maui not less than ten minutes before McCray was spotted. I can get the tower call the plane back and have ‘em back on the deck in less than…”
“No!” Ash snapped. A plan was quickly forming in his head and the only way it’d work is if they thought they had gotten away clean. “You’re certain they got on that flight?”
The officer nodded, “TSA had them on camera every second they were in the terminal from curbside to the gate. They’re on that plane sir, I’d stake my reputation on it.”
Ash looked at the photo and made his decision. “Let them go. Get more people out on the tarmac to search for McCray. He can’t have gotten far.
“Sir?” The officer looked confused. “They’re obviously connected to the suspect. Don’t you want to…?”
“No. The women in the photo are irrelevant,” Ash said confidently. “I want San Diego shut down and a door to door search from downtown to Oceanside initiated to find Mr. McCray. Also, get my Learjet ready. I want to be wheels up in ten minutes.”
“Roger that sir.” The officer ran off to put Ash’s orders into action.
Ash turned back to the window overlooking the runway thinking out all the benefits of his plan. The whole world was panicking over the terrorist attacks in Southern California. It’d taken some time, but journalists were beginning to connect the explosions in Joshua Tree to the Allan Telescope Array kidnappings to the terrorism in San Diego. It wouldn’t be long before the whole story unraveled in front of everyone on primetime TV.
If he was going to succeed and steal the stones held by Alex then he needed to know everything he could about Emily, Alex and her Asian friend in the photo.
Ash turned and walked quickly out of the tower intent on his mission. If he played his cards right, he might be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Chuckling at his unintentional joke, he moved down the hallway toward his Learjet while typing on his phone. He had less than six hours if he wanted to get this right.
And there was no time to waste.
Chapter Nineteen
Scott thought long and hard about what he was about to do. He’d stolen the stone impulsively, but if he was going to find out what really happened with Molly, then he needed to approach this like any other project at JPL. With that in mind, he thought carefully about what he was going to do.
Most importantly, if he was going to protect Molly’s legacy, he’d need her special access keycard to the Auburn Industries server that still hidden inside his apartment. On it was a rotating algorithm key he could use to access the special projects archive. From there, he could delete anything they had left of her program. He used to have a similar one until Halprin had confiscated it after terminating his employment.
He spent the first fifteen minutes as a dog inspecting the lawn in front of his apartment complex. His landlord Sienna had come out and tried to shoo him away with a b
room, but he didn’t go far. He just stared at his landlord as the dog until she finally gave up threatening him.
After he was sure none of Kline’s goons were watching his place, Scott ducked under the fence, making a beeline for his apartment. Once there, he shifted back into his human form.
Next to him was the car he’d worked so hard for. The Mustang was something he had been incredibly proud of, but now, it was just another vehicle, and the pride he had in it seemed so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. He moved up the stairs to his apartment and approached the door. He frowned. He’d lost his keys somewhere over San Diego and didn’t have a spare.
He glanced down at the Shapeshifting stone in his hand and frowned, wondering if his idea would work. Scott closed his eyes and concentrated briefly. Feeling nothing happen, he sighed and began to rub his face. That’s when he yelped in surprise. There, where his index finger should be, was a pasty white version of his house key.
Disturbed by the image and forcing the urge to vomit back, he slid his shifted finger into the keyhole, shuddering as he felt the tumbler and locks settle around his transformed finger. Turning the lock, he was surprised to feel the tumblers give and the door swing open.
Withdrawing the key, he shifted it back into a normal finger. Grunting in surprised, he moved into his apartment, hoping he hadn’t been spotted by anyone.
Inside, he looked down at the chaos that had been left.
He stared at the chaos of clothing, books, video games and DVDs. He moved through the laundry strewn about the apartment heading into the hallway and toward his room. Spotting the bookcase with her photo, he moved to pick it up, smiling at the memory of the day.
He pulled the photo out of the frame and folded it in half, putting it in his pocket. He could print another one. They were up on the cloud, those photos would last forever.
Even if he didn’t.
He pawed through the bookcase, hoping to find what he was looking for. Running his fingers across the spines of the book, he found the one he was looking for and pulled it out from the rest. He smiled as he ran his fingers down the old cover. This had been the class where he first met Molly.
Scott shook it off. There were no time for memories like this. He was here on a mission. He continued rummaging through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He withdrew the keycard and stared at it, knowing what it meant. He was finally going to have his chance to confront Molly’s killers and make them pay for what they’d done.
He took one last look around his apartment and sighed. This was probably the last time he’d ever see his vintage poster collection again. And to think, up until a few days ago his prize collection had been the only thing he’d had to show for his life so far. Without Molly, all his other work had seemed… empty.
He walked out of the apartment, not caring that he might be headed to his death.
Chapter Twenty
The road they traveled on was rough and unpaved. Johan couldn’t possibly get any sleep, which was unfortunate, since he was exhausted. The itchy black hood around his head didn’t make it any easier as his breath had nowhere to go.
Finally, after a few hours of traveling down the road, the truck he was in rolled to a stop. Outside, he could hear the militant shouting to each other, telling someone to get ready for something.
Johan tensed up. This was it. If they were going to kill him –
Wait, why hadn’t they killed him? Johan wondered. He should be dead by now, why were they keeping him alive? He didn’t want to think about the implied part of that – what were they keeping him alive for?
The black hood was wrenched off his head and he was stunned by the bright light of the sun.
“This is the best of them?” the voice asked. It was in English, and for the first time, Johan felt his heart leap into his chest. Of course, this must have been the work of the security company his CEO had hired to keep the project safe. It was standard practice to pay off any ransoms to those kidnapped. After all, if the companies refused to pay, they’d probably find it difficult come recruiting season.
Johan peered up at the source of the voice, but was unable to discern any features.
“Water…” Johan managed to croak out. He was so thirsty. His throat felt like sandpaper and his mouth had that unpleasant swollen feeling. His body had even quit sweating long ago to conserve his limited resources.
The voice ignored the pleas from Johan as he continued to converse with the militants who’d captured him.
“You saw him. The man killed five of our people,” the militant said spitting on Johan’s feet. “Because of this, our price has doubled.”
The man didn’t say anything, and only reached down to Johan’s face, caressing the man’s jaw. Johan found himself too weak to resist and stayed silent, hoping, praying, that this man was his salvation.
“But what assurances do I have that what I’m buying will give me the challenge my employer seeks?” the man’s voice questioned once again.
The militant snatched up Johan’s hair, bringing him to his feet. He turned Johan’s face to show the man. Johan’s eyes went wide as he realized it was Ari, the man assigned to protect him by his company. He felt the relief flood through him. He was rescued, and likely about to be returned home. Thank God his company didn’t cheap out on his protection detail.
“You asked for a warrior. I delivered. Where is our money?” The militant snapped his fingers and a half-dozen AK-47s pointed at the man’s head.
Ari lazily looked behind him at the six scrawny militants and sighed. He smiled and snapped his fingers.
The militant looked at the man confused for a moment. The man shrugged as the militants began laughing at him.
That is, until their heads exploded from the sniper shots from three hundred yards away.
Four more shots rang out as the rest of the militants went down without knowing what even hit them. The last stood there, looking around, and nodded to the man in the pinstriped suit.
“Cold as ice, Ari,” the man said, stepping over the dead body of the militant below him.
“These people are animals,” Ari said disdainfully.
“Ari!” Johan said desperately. “What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!”
But instead of reaching down to untie his restraints, Ari ignored him and stepped toward the man who was wearing cargo pants, a vest and brown shirt. He removed the ornate cowboy had, and wiped his forehead. He stepped forward and hugged Ari.
“It’s good to see you again Ari,” the man said, clasping Ari by the arms.
“To be honest, I’d rather see the inside of the closest bar, Mr. Halprin,” Ari said. “I was hoping to get to business here sooner, rather than later.”
Halprin turned and looked down at Johan as if remembering why he’d come to the meeting in the first place.
“You had no trouble with him?”
“Some,” Ari admitted, refusing to look over at Johan. “He killed five of the fighters assigned to the destruction of the pipeline…”
The man’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, “Did you destroy it? Is it gone?”
Ari smiled, “They won’t be able to salvage a thing. I’ve been planting a series of charges over the last hundred miles of construction. There will be nothing left.”
The man nodded and clapped Ari on the back several times, “Good. I knew you were the man for the job!” He turned and pointed to Johan. “And this one?”
Ari turned, and looked Johan up and down. “He’ll do well enough. He was the foreman on the project. Seemed tough enough over the last few weeks.”
The man examined Johan closely, and he glared back at him.
“I’m afraid this may be my final hunt my friend.”
“So soon?” Ari asked, sounding disappointed. “I had hoped for another chance out on your Austrian ranch.”
“I’m afraid circumstances beyond my control have forced my hand. You’ve been a profitable partner over the years, and
I couldn’t have made the kind of money I have without you.”
“The profit… err… pleasure has been all mine Mr. Halprin,” Ari replied, bowing to the man.
Charles Halprin nodded toward the helicopter a few hundred feet away. “My team and I can give you a ride.” he said, clasping a hand on Ari’s back. “If this man is as clever as you claim he is, I may need help. Are you interested?”
A huge grin broke out over Ari’s face. He nodded. Charles Halprin crowed in excitement.
“Excellent my friend,” Charles said, clapping his hands together. “Then let’s get started.”
Ari nodded and grabbed Johan under the crook of his arm. From a distance, he saw four other mercenaries running toward the helicopter with their gear bags and long range rifles. They were likely the deadly backup this Halprin had used. Whatever this man had in mind for him, Johan thought, it probably wasn’t going to end well for him.
They threw him into the helicopter as the blades spun up. A few short moments later, they were airborne.
Chapter Twenty-One
Alex wasn’t sure what would happen when he fell from the airplane. He’d hoped that his healing stone would keep him from dying, but after falling so far, so fast, he wasn’t sure his stone would able to heal him quick enough. He hadn’t had to test it on something like falling from 5,000 feet in the air.
Fortunately, that hadn’t proven necessary as the pond he’d fallen into had been deep enough to keep him from becoming a smear on the ground. The waterspout he’d fallen into had made his landing even easier, even if he had no idea where it’d come from. He thought he saw a flash similar to the one that came from his own stones, but he dismissed it as a trick of the eyes.
Alex pulled himself out of the pond, crawling up onto the shore. He sat back, exhausted by the effort. A tiny six year old boy who had been watching him after seeing him fall from the sky silently offered Alex his towel.
