Tabula Rasa

by Filip Forsberg

  She nodded.

  “Yes, that’s the one. And that's also all we know about it.”

  He took a comb and began combing his blond hair, some unruly curls were doing their best to fight back.

  “What was the communication about?”

  She smiled at him when his curls fought back. They won and Jonathan gave up.

  “It was encrypted. We are working on to decipher it but it takes time. The cryptology department is putting all their resources on it, but it takes time.” She dragged the words a little.

  He threw his comb on the bed.

  “How much longer?”

  “At least one more day, maybe two. It depends if they have any luck with it.”

  “Ok.” He said, “And the third?”

  “This.”

  She pulled him towards her. His body was taught and strong. He did not have a lot of muscles but the agility in his body made him look like a panther when he walked. She had met him almost three months ago. When they met, he was hard and focused on his studies with a focus that bordered on mania. He studied at Lund University when she saw him in the corridor. Jonathan was studying astrophysics. She had been there in another matter and when she left her meeting, she had stumbled in the stairs and Jonathan had caught her when she fell.

  She had been deeply embarrassed but he had pretended like nothing but instead they had started talking and standing there for ten minutes. He had asked if they would go and have a cup of coffee in the cafeteria but she had declined. After all, he was only twenty-four years old, she was closer to forty. But two days later he called and she had never found out how he got her number. They had gone out a couple of times and she had been hesitant so it would not develop into anything deeper but the chemistry had been too good. They had become lovers and she had experienced a passion that eclipsed everything else.

  “What are you thinking?”

  She smiled.

  “That night in Madrid. Remember the grumpy waiter at the restaurant?” Her hands stroked his hard shoulders.

  Her touch was warm, sensual and his body reacted.

  “Yes, he was strange. It must have been a bad day for him.”

  “He probably didn’t get anything in the morning.”

  She winked at him.

  “Probably. You actually perform better when you get a little in the morning.”

  “Then we'll make sure you can perform well today, right?”

  She pulled him towards her.

  * * *

  They laid together, tightly entwined in bed. He groaned when she touched the damaged parts of his body. Her soft kisses took away some of the pain, and her body took away the rest. She stopped for a moment. Thoughts swirled through her head. She wanted. He wanted. That's all. That was all that was needed. For now. Afterwards she would regret. Almost certainly.

  His lips pressed against hers and his hot body lay beneath her. She sat astride over him. Let him imbibe her femininity. His admiring gaze danced over her body. Her nipples stiffened, he took them in his mouth. She shivered with pleasure. She knew it was stupid that they continued with their love affair. Chance had wanted Jonathan to be recruited to the Amber Group where Marie was already working. It had been one of that strange coincidences that life sometimes came up with. She looked down at him where he lay under her, and in her inside fought the urge for him with her professionalism. After a while his body tensed and they climaxed together. Sweat ran off both of them lying in bed, the warm sheets spun between them. She knew that Jonathan both been married and had had children, despite his young age, but sadly he and his wife had lost their child and the grief had doomed their marriage. He did not talk much about it; she could count on one hand how many times he opened up about what had happened.

  “You're absolutely amazing.” She mumbled.

  His tendinous forearm stroked her over her back.

  “You’re not that bad yourself.”

  He groaned slightly when the pain in the body made itself felt again. Marie turned her face up against Jonathan.

  “Do you have a lot of pain?”

  Jonathan shook his head slowly.

  “Don’t worry. Nothing like a couple of days of good sleep and good food can’t fix.”

  “Is that all that is needed?”

  “Not all maybe.”

  She let her fingers slide down his chest.

  “Raddick was hard on you?” Her eyes were soft.

  “Yes, he was a tough one.”

  “You seem to be thoughtful. What are you thinking about?”

  Jonathan closed his eyes.

  “There’s something that bother me with that mission.”

  She wrinkled her nose.

  “Raddick.” He said shortly.

  She put her head on the side.

  “What's up with Raddick?”

  He made a smacking sound with his lips.

  “I've been thinking about this ever since I got home and something is not right”, he paused, “I mean, Raddick was a hardened killer. A dangerous type. What would he do with an antique like the Skydisc? It makes no sense.”

  She thought for a few seconds.

  “Maybe he liked it so much that he had to get it?”

  Jonathan made a grimace.

  “Funny.”

  Marie laughed.

  “Do not be so grumpy. It does not suit you.”

  He tried again.

  “But think about it. What would he use it for? It does not connect. The Skydisc from Nebra is indeed valuable and it was good that we managed to get it back, but I still don’t understand why Raddick and his cronies stole it.”

  She bent down and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  “He must have been hired in that case by someone. That's the only explanation.”

  “Yes, it must be. It sounds strange to me that a mercenary killer turns antique thief.”

  “Yes, that sounds strange.”

  “And how could he be so damn strong? When I was fighting against him it was like he was made of stone.”

  She leaned forward, smiled at him and showed two perfect rows of teeth.

  “A little jealous or what?”

  He put his hand on her back and pushed easily.

  “No, not at all. It is not like that. But I mean it. When I hit him with punches that would’ve floored a normal man, he seemed unaffected. It was just like whatever I did, meant nothing to him.”

  Marie nodded to herself while her hands continued to caress Jonathan's chest.

  “I do not know so much about how badly injured Raddick is but I know we can do something about your injuries.”

  The pain from the broken ribs resurfaced.

  “How?”

  She looked him in the eyes.

  “A surprise.”

  She got up and went to the bag she had brought with her. She opened it and took out a gold-colored syringe. Jonathan looked curiously at her.

  “What’s that?”

  She smiled.

  “Something amazing. It is a synthetic drug that accelerates the healing process. Small intelligent robots in microscopic size. They find their way to where the damage is and repair it. After an hour or two, you are like new. "She paused," But then, only if you want to.”

  He smiled at her and she sat down beside him.

  “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  “No side effects?”

  Marie shook her head.

  “No. Just make sure you don’t get a similar injection the next month. It takes about thirty days for them to pass through your system. And if you mix injections it can be a problem, big problems.”

  Jonathan listened and nodded.

  “I'm ready.”

  Marie took a sterile cotton ball and wiped the top of Jonathan's arm. The chilly cotton ball made him shiver. She smiled at him. She held up the gold-colored syringe against the lamp in the ceiling and tapped on it with her fingers a couple of times. Marie nodded to herself. The syringe looked ok. She grabbed
the arm from below, aiming toward an artery and put the needle into it. After a few seconds, she pulled the needle out again and quickly put on a small patch. Heat spread in Jonathan's arm where the syringe went in. It spread up through the shoulder and down through his chest. He blinked a couple of times.

  “How does it feel?” Marie asked.

  Jonathan blinked again.

  “Warm.” He paused for a few seconds before he continued, “It feels warm.”

  Marie put her hand on his chest.

  “Good, that means they are active. Right now they are flowing through your body to analyze where to start. They make a compilation of your injury and prioritize them. Just remember, do not mix injections. Do you promise?”

  He chuckled.

  “Maybe you could’ve given me the syringe before we made love?”

  Her eyes gleamed.

  “I thought you were quite enjoyable even though you're hurt.”

  He smiled at her and closed his eyes.

  “You were pretty lovely yourself”, his voice became sluggish and a wave of fatigue poured over him.

  Before she could answer, Marie saw how his eyes were drooping and his breathing became deeper and slower. She nodded to herself. She looked at Jonathan who fell asleep. She gently laid down beside him and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  She woke up with a twitch and the body heat from Jonathan calmed her. The smell of him was close, a weak mixture of man and something undefined that she enjoyed. She shook her head, trying to bring clarity to her thoughts. She had been wrestling with her feelings in the last days for Jonathan and their future but now she had decided. Their relationship must end. Now that he started with the Amber group and she was his supervisor, they could not continue. The Amber group had a stated policy that relationships between managers and employees were not allowed. As she lay beside him and agonizing before the conversation, Jonathan woke up and turned around and smiled at her.

  “Hey, good looking.”

  She stretched and placed her hands on his legs, braced herself and squeezed.

  “You know that this cannot continue, right?”

  Jonathan glanced at her.

  “Why not? We have some fun at work. Have you never done anything like this before?”

  She got up on her elbows and with half played and half genuine indignation.

  “No never! What do you think about me?”

  He smiled broadly and blinked.

  “Only good things, believe me.”

  Now she was serious, the immediate desire had been satisfied and she was in control, it was time to say what she had come to understand in the last few days. It wasn’t easy, but their relationship could not continue.

  “This was the last time; it won’t work anymore. I can’t risk anything now. Not when I’ve come so far. These months have been amazing but we cannot continue. I'm your supervisor, and now that you are working with the Amber Group, we must have a professional relationship. It has to be like this. Backmann will not allow it. It will end with both of us being fired.”

  Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, it wasn’t long this fun lasted.”

  “No, I know. I feel terrible but it really doesn’t work.”

  “Ok, I understand.”

  She stared at him. She was glad that he responded as he did and did not make a scene, at the same time she was offended with the fact that it seemed so simple. With one smooth move, Jonathan rolled over to the other side of the bed and stood up. He reached for his clothes. He could feel her gaze on his back, burning. If she were to play hard to get, it was no problem. It was a game they both could play. He smiled to himself. Marie glared at Jonathan's back and said with an angrier voice than she wanted to.

  “Good, then that's done. Get to Paris and talk to Backmann. He’d like to talk to you.”

  *

  The jungle, Costa Rica.

  2048-12-27

  The ordinary sometimes conceals the amazing. Near the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua lies the Cordillera de Guanacaste mountain range. It stretches more than a hundred kilometers along the northern part of Costa Rica and lies like a big dragon with its nose pointing down to the southeast.

  The highest point is the Miravelles volcano, which rises just over two thousand meters above sea level. Lush rain forests cover the slopes and the temperatures at these altitudes are not as aggressive as further down.

  Doctor Lisa King sat on a wobbly plastic chair in front of her computer in the worn tent and listened to the sound of the jungle outside. Faint noises of cicadas and crickets echoed rhythmically. The stomped earth floor was relatively smooth, but the table and the computer wobbled regularly. She was in the process of recording an introduction to the scientific report which was her responsibility in the excavation they were now running. She adjusted her headset so that it did not press so hard against her ears, closed her eyes and then continued her dictation while the words softly slid forward on the screen in front of her.

  “During the 1930s, the American company United Fruit Company was in Costa Rica and cleared areas for creating banana plantations. United Fruit controlled huge areas of Central America and had a constant need for new areas to expand their business. In the international market, United Fruit fought against many other companies, but in some parts of the world, the company was so big and had basically developed a monopoly in that area.

  After a short time of planning, heavy machinery and thousands of people went into the area and started clearing all vegetation. Pretty soon they came across the first stone ball, and there were more, and each one weighed several tons, that later would know as Costa Rica`s famous stone balls. Nobody knew where they came from or who had made them. Some speculated that they had been placed there by aliens, others that they had been made by the native population that had placed them there for reasons that had been lost in time.”

  The chair wobbled and Lisa instinctively grabbed a hold of the table. She looked at the screen and read through the piece and nodded with satisfaction. She continued.

  “At the start during the work to clear the way for a road, the stone balls were pushed aside by bulldozers, but as time went by a rumor arose that they were full of gold and precious stones. Several enterprising men in the clearing patrols simply began to drill holes in them and stuffed the holes with explosives.

  Loud explosions ripped through the silence and when the dust had settled the men investigated the destroyed balls. But no treasures were to be found and the only thing that all the explosives achieved was to destroy copious amounts of these mysterious stone balls. As the years went by, the stone balls achieved mythical status in Costa Rica and a museum opened for the purpose of preserving them and seeking to find and protect as many of them as possible. Many of them had already been moved from their original locations, and since no one had notes of where they were found, no one could reconstruct their original positions.”

  She silenced, read through the text and nodded to herself.

  * * *

  Lisa was just over forty years old and was an archeologist with specialization in the Central American culture. This mission was a joint effort that was partly was sponsored by herself and partly by the Amber Group. She had previously worked with Backmann and those missions had been successful.

  But yesterday, Backmann had called with some unusual information. He had recounted a couple of strange stories that were about shining spheres that had been seen under two completely different archaeological excavations that occurred on separated continents.

  At first she thought that Backmann was joking with her but he had assured that was not the case. Backmann had asked her to keep a look out if she discovered something similar during her excavation. She had not understood what it would be but she had promised.

  Ever since she was a student at the university, she had been fascinated by Costa Rica's mysterious stone balls and, in the last year, managed to scrape together enough money to fund a research mission
in Costa Rica where she could investigate their origin and purpose. It was a relatively hard struggle, but for Lisa that made the challenge even more attractive. And to work in such a dramatic landscape as this was really great, she looked up at the great volcano Miravelles in the background.

  Lisa got up from the desk and left the humid heat in the tent behind her and walked up to the entrance to the cave system they had explored in recent days. She put her hand on the cold stone wall and it dripped of moisture and the cold from it penetrated into her hand. The path in front of her led slightly downhill and she squinted at the pitch-black opening. Darkness. Not only darkness but a compact abyssal darkness like a black hole devouring all incoming light. The opening in front of her was no bigger than she could just enter without ducking.

  She was not very tall, barely over one and seventy centimeters but she was agile as a cat. Her long blond hair was put in a tight knot and the powerful fabric in her overall snuggly fit her body and emphasized her well-trained contours. The heavy hiking boots she had on had a good grip on the rocky, uneven ground.

  It was colder than she anticipated. Barely twelve degrees as the thermometer had shown half an hour ago in the camp. She stared into the opening. Cold air poured out of it like a dragon with ice in its breath. Her exhalation air formed small veils of smoke that rose and disappeared.

  Lisa had been on site in the area for eight days and this cave seemed to be the most promising so far. She and her team had investigated more than seven tunnels in what appears to be a larger system of tunnels in recent days. Four of them had led more than a hundred meters into the mountain, two of them had led more than three hundred meters, but not in one of the tunnels had they found what they were after.

  “Lisa, are you ok?" The voice behind her was dark and deep.

  She turned around.

  “Yes, Tim. Everything’s fine. Just looking into the dragon's mouth to see if he has our treasure.”

  Tim Pedersen smiled. His white teeth flashed and at that moment Lisa thought Tim reminded her of an actor she had forgotten the name of. The actor had been in many blockbusters in the nineties. She smiled. It did not matter what his name was, it was still the voice that was Tim's distinctive feature. It had that deep tone that women all over the world loved. It was lucky she had met him. Otherwise someone else would have taken him from her. And she was tired of waiting. Tired of sitting on the sidelines and putting all her effort into her work. Kevin Costner! That’s who it was. She laughed.