“Of course.”
“I will only imply it to be her fate, from which she will infer the worst possible outcome based upon my past threats, and superior knowledge of this Universe.”
“Been reading the dictionary, and books on English grammar again?”
“Yes, and you noticed. Aren’t you proud of me? I am making an effort here. Mostly for you, but also because I want someone else to like me too.”
“Yes, you are trying very hard, Hecate, and I both notice and appreciate it. I really do. But if you are nice to most humans, they will be nice in return. And they will like you too.”
“You believe that? A lot of humans aren’t very nice at all.”
“Well, I like you and I know Misti, Kendra and Beata like you. That’s a start.”
“Yeah, but they don’t trust me. I’m not sure you do either.”
“You’re promising to kill me. You do see the irony, correct?”
“I see something I wish wasn’t so, but you have misused he word ‘irony’ there. Look it up.”
“Alright, Miss Hecate, the beautiful, young, and hot English teacher at the private boarding school. All the boys just love you. A ‘hands on’ fantasy.”
“What does that mean?”
“That’s an advanced lesson for another day. But right now, we need to talk. I need to deal with Musso and soon. You are correct; we both have a lot to gain from me training more with you.”
“And whoring less? That too?”
“Jealous?”
“May-be.”
***
There was a hastily called meeting with Hecate, and the military types from both the human, and Gens leaderships. Cindy and Rod were involved by phone, as were the Gens in residence in Germany, and the Gens back in Paraiso.
“We believe we have found Federico, and are now just finalizing, and confirming what we think we know. We will strike as soon as we have confirmation of his presence and understand his security system. Then we attack in force. The objective is to capture and bring him to Dietschberg alive for interrogation.”
Rod said, “Then what? Kill or turn over to the authorities.”
“He and his family will be put to death.”
“Who decides that, brother?”
“I do. As King and Manti, the Chosen One, and Chosen of Chosen, it’s my decision and mine alone. The purpose of this call isn’t to ask your approval; it is to ask for your help. If you believe in me and my responsibility to our family, my commitment to the three races, and to the survival of this planet, you will help. If you wish to argue the morality or legality of my decision, leave now.”
Rod, likely supported by Kendra and many of the Gens leadership, didn’t accept Adam’s assertions.
“I think this is revenge and you desire to avoid the harder road.”
“Which is?”
“Justice meted out by legal authorities.”
“And how many years would that take brother? I love you, but we would all be dead, an entire planet, by the time that happened. You forget our tight time frames.”
“Keep them confined, then.”
“Illegal and impractical; interesting that you ignore your own moral and legal code when convenient.”
“Same old Adam. Twenty-twenty perfect vision for your own excuses for even worse illegal behavior.”
“And you, brother, too willing to believe the lies you are told; too wedded to governments who grant you a license to kill. And you never question the why or genesis of those decisions. You just follow orders blindly. I do not.”
“I maintain order even when to do so is abhorrent. The world is safer and fairer with me and my superiors; you are a murderer. At least I’m not; my hands are clean.”
“Because the CIA says so? You murdered two nuns in Guatemala. Did you know that? Their crime: posting leaflets decrying foreign involvement supporting a ruthless dictatorship bought off by a fruit company. Your handiwork, not mine. I’ve killed drug lords, terrorist and psychopaths. Murderers who were after all of us in the family. I have killed, but you are the murderer. Not me. Ask your wife. She knows too.”
Rod looked at Cindy.
“He’s right. What we’ve done is monstrous. I only knew afterward, but Adam is right. His kills were justified; ours were merely sanctified; legal. That’s why I quit. You did not.”
“And this now? Killing a man in cold blood, and innocent family members. Kendra opposes this as does the Gens leadership.”
Adam said, “Hardly even close. Again, your wife knows the truth. You ignore it.”
“Liar.”
“No, not at all. Federico heads an organization that has sought to encourage either the Black Shirts or the Collective to first fight each other to obliteration, then attack humanity. Why? To cause a conflagration that would destroy the Gens, and the Nobilus, entirely at the hands of a threatened humanity. That threat doesn’t exist, and I have no doubt that revelation, though tricky and dangerous, could still be accomplished peacefully and with minimum bloodshed. That plan is what Bitsie, Hannah, Vera and others are working on, and what Cia, Eene and Akira are trying to help with. The Gens Germania, and the Eighty-One, are living proof that mankind and Gens can co-exist peacefully, and if that’s possible, it’s also possible that, that I can fulfill my mission to save the planet.”
“What’s this got to do with Musso and his family?”
“They want to sabotage my work. They want war; they don’t care about or know about the bigger picture or what’s at stake. He wants to make the Vatican a part of his plan for all-out war; but the Vatican recently found him out. They’re now on our side; they have known the Gens present no threat; have for over two thousand years. The Mussos must die; they cannot be given a voice to spread their bitter lies; their organization, which is a clear and present danger to us all, must be dismantled; it starts at the top.”
Rod just looked away. “You knew this Cindy?”
“I did.”
“Yet you said nothing to me?”
“I did. You wouldn’t listen. You shut me out; I had no choice. I’m sorry, but this project is greater than you, or I, and even the girls. If Adam fails, we all die. You can take part or stay behind. I am with Adam. I’m so sorry.”
Rod left the call, angry with his wife and brother.
Hecate said, gratuitously. “The problem is you accepting these two as family; they are not. They will let you down, have let you down. They will second guess you just like all your unfaithful wives, grudging and committed to small egotistical matters, engendered by small minds and petty concerns. Selfish and unable to get beyond their own myopic view of the own self-importance.”
“But, at least we’re not committed to killing the man we love,” said Cindy. “How do you answer that, Hecate?”
“I am commanded by the Creator to do this task, and if I fail, you will all die. I wouldn’t harm Adam now that I have learned about him, but even he has accepted his fate, whether at my hand or another’s, in order to save ungrateful whores like you. You think so small, so little beyond your own meaningless existence; your anger manufactured because you fail to get your way. You don’t deserve him; I do however. I understand his burden and his angst. You tiny ants are but drones without understanding of all that he suffers for you. You are all unworthy, and hardly qualify as family. Maybe I’m not either, but am far closer to its meaning than you.”
Cindy corrected her. “Family are those people who love and protect you. Even you could be in our family if you weren’t so cruel and self-absorbed with your own self-importance. Honestly, you’re worse than Saldana who will one day prove her treachery when she feels she’s in danger; and I never liked or trusted her either. So, you have that in common, sister. You aren’t here to help us; you’re here to destroy Adam and his work. Even this latest gambit feigning help with Musso is likely a trap. Don’t act so high and mighty; you’ve not proven anything other than hate, arrogance and evil. You do the evil you can, just because you can. At least
others do what they do because they believe in their cause, or are just plain sick. What’s your excuse?”
“I need no excuse to act. And I will act as I promised, my commitment being to the one they call Adam St. James. Not because of you, but because of him. I will forgo intervention is his attempts at success, but am duty bound to do as I am commanded, not because I take pleasure in it, but because he loves all who inhabit this planet more than he loves ruling it or destroying it. He will gladly sacrifice his life to his goals while all you do is complain. If it were within my power, I would vaporize all of you just to remove you as a distraction. But he loves you all; I have no idea why. Be warned; hurt him as you have done in the past, and I will kill you all and take my chances at whatever punishment is mine to endure. I’m not sure the Creator will care; however, Adam will. If you wish to help, stay. If not, your services are not needed.”
Adam said, “Thank you Hecate. I would never speak to my family in that way, but I’m glad you did. She’s right. Stay or leave as you wish. But never challenge my decisions or authority again. If you don’t understand, that’s too bad. Stay in Paraiso, safe and sound, and leave the grown-up work to the grown-ups. I am sorry to say this, but it applies to my Gens family too. Feel free to have your codes and moral beliefs; just not where I am concerned. If you cannot abide me or my decisions, I’ll understand. Go back to the Black Forest, and stay out of the Village, and Diestchberg. When the Lady Cia has finished inspecting the populace, the men and women taking part will be put to death; those who are innocent will be banished from the territory of the Gens Germania. I wish no future generations of malcontents poisoning our people. Were I not tempered by Akira, I would kill them all. Count your blessings, and either remain in my service or leave. I care not.”
***
For those of mixed-race families, like Octavio and Bella, Helena and Normie as well as the town of Dietschberg and Paraiso, the news of the rift traveled fast. Octavio’s family experience was typical, though not an example of what happened with all such couples. Many families split; the Gens either moving out to a new location in Paraiso or returning to the Village. Humans went to back Dietschberg or Nabataea or farmed in rural Paraiso far from the City. The Black Shirts sided with Adam; most of the military did too; their loyalty was to the Manti. Agreeing with Adam as a prerequisite to obeying his orders wasn’t required.
Bella was angry, and threatened discord and separation if Octavio carried out his plan to capture, incarcerate and murder Federico. Octavio for his part thought Bella’s memory selective, arrogant and foolish. As the decibels and vitriol ramped up, so did the accusations and cruel words. When Bella arrived at the “you’ll never see your kids again” point, Octavio huddled with the girls, and said his farewells. He would see them again, he said, but didn’t know when. Their mother was breaking bond, and he wasn’t legally able to visit. He would always love them, and in his mind, they were his daughters, but if this decision was what their Mom wanted, there was nothing he could do about it. He had a picture of them, which he would kiss every night to remember his girls and keep them close in his heart. Then he walked past Bella and, as he left, said,” You only care only about yourself, not this family. The kids are not chess pieces to move around the board. I should’ve kept the girls and sent you back to Paulo. It’s where you belong. Maybe it’s not too late for you to leave. Take your sister with you.”
Chapter 21
Octavio arrived in Granada a day ahead of the scheduled breach, and assault on the Villa. Alana had hacked into various government agencies to get approvals for various items being brought into the country, including a med evac jet for emergency medical services, scheduled to land at a nearby Granada airport. Their plane wouldn’t land there, but just 2.3 kilometers from Musso’s Villa in an open meadow. Octavio had brought the nanite materials for the airstrip job as “chemical compounds, non-toxic”. Alana had obtained a permit, just in case Octavio was stopped near the meadow. Once he set it up, his next task was to identify two police units assigned to night watch duty in the district where all the rich folk lived in the nearby community. He would replace the patrolmen with three ex-military cousins, the Paz brothers and a cousin from the Grand Canyon firefight, all from Seattle,
Hecate’s plan called for Octavio, and his cousins to hijack two police cars, and wait just outside the Villa to prevent neighbors and bystanders from lingering. Due to the distance between homes, this was unlikely, but Hecate’s plan, was somewhat detailed in covering many foreseen contingencies. Each patrol car had two uniformed cops, but if they failed to check in with the police station at any point, suspicion would be raised. Spanish speakers needed to be in those patrol cars to answer calls.
Octavio had obtained authentic police uniforms, and authentic looking sidearms and badges back in Paraiso. He was also given a special gun, like a pellet gun, to shoot a single pellet of gas to disable the local cops on patrol. The four would be placed in a nanotech structure that would collapse in three hours. Before then, it would incarcerate the cops, who would be knocked out anyway. The structure had airholes but was substantially soundproof. It contained water and food if they needed it along with an LED light with a note saying they would be out in three hours’ time. Don’t panic, their patrol cars would be parked nearby, and no harm was intended.
Octavio put a device on the car to track it, but Alana said, as a backup, that she could locate them through the tracker device the police used to trace the whereabouts of the two units. Hecate recommended hacking into the police system and altering the location during the raid to a location on the far side of their patrol area. Alana discussed this with Cindy, and that plan was approved.
The assault itself was slightly more complicated. The Villa grounds were large, and had been reconfigured. There was a smaller area, also walled and gated, within the larger grounds with two layers of human and canine coverage areas independently secured. The entrances and walls were electrified, and had state of the art iron bars, and magnetic locks with failsafe backup electricity provided by multiple redundant systems. Video was everywhere. The internal system was air gapped, but one system sat phone connected to police and private security.
Inside the compound, there were dogs and at least a dozen armed security guards in each secure area. Thermal imaging detected at least six more guards inside the Villa, along with Musso. Musso spent most of his day sleeping in his bedroom, or watching TV in the living room, working in his study, and beneath the Villa in his cells and Lab. The lab was detached from the Villa itself, so it was hard to get a precise reading on the Lab layout. Hecate suggested an improvement to some satellite and land-based tech to penetrate the Lab layout. They did and found a half-dozen images of stationary thermal images of women, probably guest captives, in small rooms adjacent to the Lab. The Lab also seemed to contain a “safe room” as did the upstairs living room.
Musso habitually walked on the grounds each day with guards all around him. The spies, Octavio and his men, as well as the ladies in Paraiso using satellite technology, watched him for two days. He appeared to take his walk between work breaks but, on the days they watched him, he went once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. But he always ended his day in his Study, then took dinner. Afterwards, he went into the living room to read until about ten o’clock, then went to his Lab for a few hours, then returned to the residence, and retired to bed.
He was accompanied by multiple guards at all times.
On the day of the assault, six men more men arrived by van with large metal lockers and entered the Villa immediately. Alana, who had been monitoring, advised Cindy. She didn’t think it would change a thing but informed everyone including Hecate.
The assault was to take place in simultaneous attacks with the arrival of special ops teams from the US commanded by Octavio and Cindy. The locks on the outer front gate would be incinerated using a new military high intensity phosphorus compound. Multiple bomblets filled with knock-out gas would saturate the compound,
and put dogs, and exterior guards to sleep. Unless the Villa had the highest-grade ventilation filtration system, they too would get gassed through the ventilation, and air conditioning system ducts. But to assure sleep for the inhabitants, there would be shots of high penetration nanotech projectiles sent through ever window in the Villa structure.
After passing through the inner gate, the front door would be breached and Musso captured, unconscious after breathing the gas. He would be placed on a stretcher, then onto a gurney, and into a waiting ambulance borrowed for the occasion.
They would then enter the Lab, and rescue whoever was there, if anyone. The assault would begin as soon as Musso arrived in the living room after dinner, or earlier, if possible, in his Study. Both rooms fronted the driveway entrance. The assault teams would use special ladders to have a four-sided view of Villa windows while a special team would watch the Lab entrance.
Once Musso was in their hands, the ambulance would go to the portable airstrip, place Musso in a special sealed container, then depart for Amman, Jordan. From Jordan, planes would be switched out, one heading to Kenya, the other to Switzerland, and finally on to Germany. They assault teams now included Tar and his men in reserve, some in natural state and some in human form. Natural state Gens couldn’t be seen visually or detected by the locals.
From the Villa, heading toward downtown Granada, the ambulance would make a hard left at the first intersecting street, then another hard left on a main road leading out of town. At a ‘T’ intersection, the ambulance, now led and followed by the two stolen police cars, would go straight to a dirt access road that would eventually lead to the meadow, and nanotech airstrip. They would be wheels up in minutes with only two of the team members remaining behind to drive the police cars back to where the police were being held. They would take their rental car, and head straight for the airport and land in North Africa. There a jet would meet them where they would be back in Kenya by morning.
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