Shock Treatment

by Geoffrey Lyon

  “It means that you will have time with His Holiness himself,” Shivan explained, “You will get to speak with him. Perhaps, if he sees fit, he may decide to teach you. This is a great honor, Nova, and not everyone gets this privilege. It is very rare for someone to meet with His Holiness in their first year, let alone their first session.”

  “Oh,” Miriam gave a slight nod as she processed with Shivan had just said.

  “I’m so proud of you!” Shivan seemed to be delighted. “As one of my students, you are making such excellent and unprecedented progress. This is simply amazing. You should be proud of yourself. This is a great milestone in your journey and your development. When His Holiness himself takes an interest in you, it means you are special indeed!”

  “Yes, I’m really flattered. And honored,” Miriam finally found the words to say to play along.

  “Aren’t you glad you stayed? You see, His Holiness does indeed know what’s best. And we are right to trust in his judgement.”

  Miriam nodded. Shivan continued talking excitedly for a few minutes, covering details like protocol and dress, how to be behave and act in Pama’s presence, and various other rules. Miriam politely nodded through it all, and then walked out to the park in a daze. She was relieved that Shivan had not punished her. But she still wasn’t sure that they had not found out about her. What if this was all just a ruse to get her into the same room as Pama, and then they would drug her or kidnap her, or worse? She still felt that nagging anxiety and nervousness. And now, there was a timeline attached to it.

  “Nova!” It was Elizabeth. She had been walking along the flower path and now changed her route to walk on the grass towards Miriam. “I didn’t know you were going to be out here.”

  “Yes, I just needed some fresh air,” Miriam took a deep breath, contemplating whether to tell Elizabeth. And even if she did tell her, what would she say? She had no proof of Pama’s ill intentions.

  “Are you alright?” Elizabeth looked at Miriam with concern. “You look pale.”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” Miriam waved away her concern, “It was quite an intense meditation session. Sometimes it takes a lot of energy.”

  “Tell me about it. Those sessions are supposed to refresh and energize you, but sometimes I think I have more energy going in than I have coming out.”

  Miriam stuck her hands in her jeans pockets. The little package she had prepared was still there in her pocket. It seemed more urgent than ever that she should get this message out. Especially now. If Pama and Shivan were plotting something against her, she might not get another chance. Her life might well depend on it. Looking at Elizabeth, she made an impulse decision.

  “Hey,” she said, “How long is your break? Can we talk?”

  “I have some time,” Elizabeth replied, “Yes, sure. Want to go to the trail?”

  Miriam nodded. “Yes, let’s go.”

  When they were under the shade of the trees, well hidden and away from prying eyes and ears, Miriam confided in Elizabeth about what Shivan had just told her, that Pama wanted to meet with her. She also told her about what she had seen that night when Shivan and Pama had given instructions to Judge Williams.

  “THE Judge Williams?” Elizabeth asked, shocked.

  “You know him?”

  “Judge Morgan Williams is a federal judge,” Elizabeth said, “I had no idea he was here. How would I have no seen him?”

  “It would seem that he is not attending a retreat in the traditional sense. Perhaps he comes and goes more frequently.”

  “This is very disturbing,” Elizabeth was staring at the ground as they walked. “This is not at all what I thought 2F was.”

  They stopped. Miriam could see the dismay in Elizabeth’s face. She looked forlorn.

  “I’m so sorry, Elizabeth,” Miriam said, hugging her. “I know that is not what you wanted to hear.”

  Elizabeth wiped a tear and sniffed. “It’s alright. It’s better I know the truth. Actually, I feel kind of silly now. I’ve been here for years and they’ve had the wool over my eyes. You come and after a few weeks you discover all this. First my husband, then this 2F group. I must be really gullible, huh?”

  “No, no, not at all,” Miriam said earnestly, “My fiancee, Daniel, was here too. He didn’t know any of this. He only discovered it, I would guess, by accident. And they killed him for it. That’s why I am here, that’s why I came, to learn the truth. And to find out what was really going on. So that his death would not be meaningless.”

  “Daniel Chen? I remember him,” Elizabeth said. “I saw him at some of the sessions. He was a very dedicated student. Everything seemed normal when he left. I thought he had just returned with the group and they would be back at some point for further training.”

  “The whole group that was in that plane, all of them died,” Miriam said quietly. “Daniel tried to warn me, but they got to him before he could.”

  They stood together in silence, absorbing the gravity of the situation.

  Finally, Miriam asked her question. “I need to get a message to the outside. Is there any way?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I have a way.”

  Miriam dug into her pocket and grabbed the little package she had prepared. She took Elizabeth’s hand and placed the package in the palm of her hand.

  “It has to go to this person,” she said. “Agent Felicity Dawn. She can help.”

  “Alright,” said Elizabeth

  “Thank you!” Miriam said, feeling relieved. “Please hurry. I don’t know when this meeting with Pama is, or what they want from me. But I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have this out by early tomorrow morning.”

  The next few days were filled with anxiety for Miriam. She tried her best to remain aloof and and nonchalant, but with each passing hour it was becoming more and more difficult. She was especially nervous anytime Shivan was around. She felt like the summons could come at any moment, and then they would cart her off to see Pama and she would disappear from the world forever.

  She coped the only way she knew how - she put all her attention and focus on the immediate task at hand. Right now this meant attending the sessions, participating fully, and doing all the exercises. Many of the instructors noticed her efforts.

  “Well done,” one of them commented to her after class.

  “I’m glad to see you are applying yourself,” said another.

  “Excellent effort!”

  Miriam smiled and nodded, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. She just wanted to blend in, be part of the crowd, and not be noticed. Please don’t notice me, she thought, just ignore me. Pretend like I’m not here.

  She didn’t see Elizabeth after their meeting in the park. She wondered if Elizabeth had some secret way to leave the compound. Nobody seemed to even miss her. She knew better than to ask anyone. She didn’t want to raise any suspicions. So she quietly waited and passed the time, each minute ticking by painfully slowly.

  “Wherever you are, Elizabeth, I hope you get that message delivered. And please hurry.”

  Chapter 11

  Special Agent Felicity Dawn sat in her uncomfortable office chair and stared at the wall where she had pasted notes, photographs, and every news article she could find on 2F and their leader, the reclusive Ntanshi Pama. There were many threads in this investigation, but so far all she had was hunches. She had no concrete proof of anything other than the deaths of the nine passengers on that Learjet 75 aircraft. She had spoken with the three crew members and obtained their statements already. Captain Hawthorne was an experienced pilot with many decades of service and had performed admirably given the situation. However, it was poison that had killed the passengers. There was nothing the crew or the pilot could have done to save them.

  The poison had been in the food. Agent Dawn had traced the food suppliers back to the processing plants, but turned up nothing. It was possible that the food had been poisoned somewhere en route between the warehouse and t
he aircraft. She didn’t think it was the crew, they seemed to be genuinely shaken up about the whole incident.

  She knew that Ntanshi Pama was at the center of all this, but she had no evidence that linked back to him. She would need something solid in order to obtain a warrant. And until she had a warrant, she could not conduct a search of Pama’s residence or his cult.

  Then there was the reporter, Daniel Chen. He had contacted her about some vital information he had regarding 2F. He did not say what it was, only that it was very sensitive and it was critical that he meet with her to inform her of what he had learned. She had guessed that Daniel had discovered some sort of criminal enterprise. But she had not been able to get any details.

  Her phone buzzed. She usually kept the ringer off out of habit. She looked down at it on the desk, the screen showing “Private Number”

  “Dawn,” she said, picking up the phone.

  “Agent Dawn,” the voice on the phone was new, someone she didn’t recognize. A male voice, baritone. “There is some information that you do not have about your current case.”

  “Excuse me?” she blurted out, “Who is this?”

  “Your case on 2F, you are investigating the deaths of the passengers on the Learjet,” the voice continued. “I have some information that will aid you greatly in your investigation. I would like to share it with you.”

  “And you would do this, just out of the goodness of your heart, huh?”

  She put her finger on the button to hang up the call. But then the man said something that made her pause. “Daniel Chen was a reporter aboard the Learjet. If you are interested, please come to Benoit park at noon. There are some benches by the water pond. Please have a seat there.”

  “That’s in forty five minutes!” Dawn glanced at the clock on the wall.

  “Yes, please be prompt.”

  It was a clear day. There were several ducks in and around the pond, quacking loudly as they chased after the bread crumbs that visitors were offering them.

  Agent Dawn sat on a bench directly in front of the pond, staring down at the water. She was surrounded by families and children enjoying the weather, the park and the ducks. There was laughter amidst the quacking of the ducks.

  It was 12:14 PM. Dawn sighed and shook her head. It had been a waste of time. She stood up to leave, turned, and almost jumped. A man was standing directly in her path. Tall, broad shouldered and very well built. Short, cropped brown hair. Square jaw. It was Coffeeshop Bodyguard.

  “Agent Dawn,” he said. It was the same voice from the phone.

  “In the flesh,” she replied, a little annoyed, “You kept me waiting.”

  “Apologies for that,” he looked around, grimacing slightly, “Traffic at this hour gets bad.”

  “What is it you want to tell me?” she asked. “What do you know about Daniel Chen.”

  “I know quite a bit, actually,” he answered. “We should maybe go for a walk.”

  Dawn nodded and they began walking slowly along the path that skirted the edge of the park.

  “Why don’t you start by telling me who you are and what your name is,” said Dawn. “You already seem to know mine.”

  “I am Torqus,” he replied. “You won’t find me in any of your databases. I can only assure you that I’m one the good guys. Daniel contacted me about something he had discovered happening in the 2F cult.”

  “Criminal activity?”

  “Yes. He wanted to report it, but was too late.”

  “I can’t get a warrant without probable cause.”

  “That’s why I wanted to speak with you.”

  Torqus handed Dawn a manila envelope.

  “Daniel made recordings,” he explained, “Audio, video, photos. This is the evidence of the criminal activity that you are seeking.”

  Dawn looked at the envelope in her hands.

  “Why are you giving me this?” she didn’t completely trust Torqus.

  “I know Daniel was trying to meet with you, so he could give this to you directly. But he suspected that they might try to stop him. That’s why he had a backup. He was able to deliver this to me through a courier service before he boarded the flight where all the passengers were poisoned. This arrived to me after his death.”

  Dawn tilted her head to one side and looked at Torqus as if she was sizing him up.

  “CIA?” she asked.

  Torqus laughed and shook his head. “There’s no amount of money in the world for me to join that outfit,” he remarked.

  “Then who? Are you a foreign agent?”

  “No Ma’am,” he replied, “I’m as American as apple pie.”

  “But you won’t tell me who you are, who you work for.”

  “I’m something of an independent agent, you could say,” he said after a moment of thought. “That’s probably the best way to describe it.”

  “Best way to describe it,” Dawn echoed. She turned to leave. “I sure hope you’re right about this,” she held up the envelope.

  “Yes Ma’am,” he nodded. “It’s all in there.”

  “We’ll see,” she gave a faux salute and walked back to her car.

  “Hey Peru, I need you to look at something,” Dawn walked into Perumal’s office so abruptly that it startled him. He had been sitting with his feet up on his desk, eating popcorn and watching a Bollywood movie on his laptop. Startled, he almost fell out of his chair and the bag of popcorn went flying onto the floor.

  “Oh, now look what you’ve done,” he said, exasperated. “That was my lunch!”

  “No time to eat, I need to you pull out the data on this drive.”

  She handed him the envelope from Torqus. Peru opened it and deposited the contents onto his desk. It was a small, black USB drive. He looked expectantly at Dawn.

  “Encrypted?” he finally asked.

  She shrugged. “You tell me.”

  Peru sighed.

  “I’ll look into it,” he said.

  “It’s urgent,” Dawn pointed a finger at him as she walked out, “Let me know as soon as you have something.”

  “Sure, I’ll ping you,” Peru called after her, “Never mind about my lunch!”

  “Oh, and one more thing. Can you pull up the logs on calls to my phone? There was a private number, can you back trace and unmask the origin?”

  “Sure thing,” Peru nodded briefly as he got to work, swiping his laptop screen to dismiss the movie player with the Bollywood movie.

  Peru’s office was in the basement. Dawn had to wait until she was at ground level before the bars on her mobile phone started showing up again indicating that it was receiving a cellular signal. She dialed a number as she walked up the stairs to the second floor where her office was.

  After two rings, someone picked up.

  “Hey Phil,” said Dawn quickly, “I need a warrant. Probable cause. It has to be expedited.”

  Phil, on the other end of the line, asked a few questions about the details of the case and wrote down the information.

  “Should be no problem,” he finally said.

  “That’s great,” Dawn was about to hang up, but asked a last cursory question, “Oh by the way, who’s the presiding judge?”

  “Uh, yea let me see. Oh yes, it’s Judge Morgan Williams.”

  Chapter 12

  Miriam had decided pause her late night excursions. She hadn’t heard or seen Elizabeth in a few days, and something didn’t seem quite right. She thought it would be best to minimize her chances of being discovered, especially now. So she got into bed after lights out and tried to sleep.

  It was difficult at first. She kept tossing and turning and just couldn’t quite get comfortable. Finally she threw off the covers and just lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

  “Oh Daniel,” she whispered, “Why did you have to leave me?”

  She sobbed until exhaustion took over and she fell into a deep sleep.

  She didn’t know how long she had been asleep, or what time it was, but it was still dark when she wa
s woken up. Shivan was by her bedside, shaking her gently but urgently.

  “Wake up, Nova,” Shivan was saying in a desperate whisper, “Wake up. Wake up.”

  Miriam recoiled, pulling back and staring at Shivan.

  “What are you doing here?” she cried.

  Shivan attempted a smile to try to soothe Miriam, but in the darkness it looked like some grotesque grimace.