Love and Beyond Part 3

by Nathan Colston

  His eyes went wide, excitement was in his voice as he said, “My god, my god, they are doing it, they are doing it, I’ll be damned, two more spins. Fuck me, fuck me, they did it.” He took several steps forward, a very anxious and serious look on his face. “Now walk through the stars. Okay, keep the rhythm yes, yes, yes.”

  Ivan walked up to him. “You sound like you having sex, man.”

  Cody kept his gaze on Gloria and Sam and he spat, “Shut up. Now the Descent from the Heavens, you are doing it. Yes, you are doing it. I’ll be damned, I’ll be damned, holy shit.”

  Gloria stopped. Cody looked down at the floor. He said low, “They almost had it, all they had to do was Touch the Earth. Gloria ended the dance when she stopped.”

  “Was it a hard move or something?” Bobby said, giving him a curious look

  Cody shook his head. “No, they did the hardest parts with the spins. To every dance in the library, there are several things that could happen. No one knows for sure because no one has ever done them. But it wouldn’t matter. Sam wasn’t her partner through the entire dance.”

  “Then why are you sad?” Bobby asked.

  “Because Dad was just as good as her. If she could do it, so could he. No one has ever completed a dance in the Dannarr in its entirety. That was only the first part, to allow the dead to see. She didn’t want to know if she could do it. Or so they say. The dances were rewritten a long time ago when the original library was lost or destroyed. To be honest, I don’t think the real truth about this curse or many of the events that have happened will ever be known. But the dance was said to have two parts,” Cody replied.

  Catrina gave him a hard look. “I didn’t know you knew so much.”

  “The more you know about dancing, the more dangerous it becomes. Ask any of the greats; they will tell you that. Sam was pushing her to go full out. He wasn’t good enough.”

  Gloria and Sam bowed to the dancers that were applauding to them. Sam said to Gloria, “That was one of your finest dances. Why did you stop?”

  “I didn’t want to see if I could or not. Sam, I am frightened about bonding with Clarence,” Gloria said in a low, sad voice.

  “The bond does not start the completion; it is only the next step. You knew what this meant before you started. Gloria, you are too close to bonding to stop. You won’t survive if you do not complete the bonding.”

  “Do we ever truly know, Sam? Do we truly ever survive?”

  Sam said in a concerned voice, “Survive, yes. No, we all think we know until we are faced with the reality. Life has a way of changing our minds, most of the time just when it is too late to do so.”

  Gloria sighed. “Sad to say, you are telling the truth.” She walked off stage and talked to Bobby and Nicole about the opening round. She found a place for them to warm up and they were the last group out on stage. As they were walking out, Gloria said, “If you get nervous, just focus on familiar faces: Cody, Catrina, Frances, Logan, Britney, and Ivan. Remember, it is only a dance. Have fun; no pressure in having fun.” Gloria watched with pride at Bobby and Nicole, Britney and Ivan, along with Cody and Catrina.

  Sam walked over. “Reminds you of the old days, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, it does, Sam. I used to look at Sabrina watching us dance. I would dance and wonder what she thought of us. I used to think that she only saw the mistakes that we made. But now I see that it was much more. The pride she must have felt.”

  Sam nodded. “Among other things, Gloria. Sabrina was a good woman and a great dancer. Forgive me for saying this, thank God Stanley took you away from dancing and her.” She looked at him and he said, “Never look back at that with any regret. He did what was best for the two of you. Gloria, you have got to quit holding on, child, he is gone. The dance to bring him back is impossible. Nine spins to start is only the beginning. Twelve turns lying on the floor with a man above you, you sitting up without touching. All of them not seeing your partner. That is only the first part. Unlike the other dances, it gets harder with every segment. Twelve of them, Gloria, not three, four, five, nine, but twelve.”

  “Sam, I know I can’t do that dance. I don’t know why I started it. I just closed my eyes and let the music move me,” she admitted. Changing the subject, she said, “They are beautiful, aren’t they?”

  Sam smiled and said, “All of them. But the most beautiful is the one I am standing next to.”

  Gloria grinned. “I have the most charming man in the building beside me.”

  “Gloria, you’ve been told all your life that you and Stanley are unexpected loves. The bonding between unexpected love is always brought out with extreme pain. It is the only bond that can happen if both are alive or if one is dead.” He looked at her and concern was edged on his face and laced in his voice. “You’re keeping things from me and I know it. You are fighting the bond, and everyone knows it. If you don’t bond with Clarence, something very bad is going to happen to you.” He spoke in a slow and low, demanding tone. “Let Him Go! Or You Are Going To Lose Everything Including Your Life! The living cannot hold on to the dead the way you are holding on to him. The dead will resent the living because they cannot walk seen among the world. Spirits are part of the supernatural realm, Gloria. Having one close by you invites other dangers and you know it. I am only trying to help you not hurt you.”

  She leaned next to him. “I know, Sam,” she said in a soft, understanding tone. Between dances, Gloria talked to Cody and Catrina, Bobby and Nicole. They made it to the preliminaries, then they made it to the semifinal round. Gloria walked back with them to do her interview. Sam told Britney and Ivan to come right back after the interview. He wanted to give them some instructions.

  It had been almost an hour since he had seen them. It was getting close to the time for them to dance when a security guard walked up to him. “Mr. Bluefield.”

  Sam turned. “Yes.”

  The security officer said, “Have you seen Britney Coleman or her partner?”

  Sam looked at his watch and said, “Fifty minutes ago, they went for an interview. They haven’t returned yet. They are supposed to be dancing in a few minutes. How much longer are the interviews?”

  “Sir, their interviews weren’t supposed to start until twenty minutes ago. That is why we are looking for them,” the security guard said nervously.

  Concern started to show in his voice. “What do you mean twenty minutes ago? The paper said nearly an hour ago. Have you checked the interview rooms?”

  The security officer nodded. “Yes, the reporters have been there the entire time.”

  “You don’t know where they are?” Sam said angrily.

  “So far, we are missing twenty-three dance couples,” the security guard said.

  Sam grabbed his phone. “I have private security coming backstage. Get in their way and they will kill you.”

  JD looked at his phone. He answered, “Yeah.”

  Sam’s voice was laced with concern. “JD, security just informed me that twenty-three dance couples are missing. Britney and Ivan are one of them. I am looking for Gloria, Bobby, Nicole, Cody, and Catrina. I hope you are as good as Britney said you are.”

  JD stood fast, and in a demanding, ordering tone, said, “Let’s move now. Ash, parking lot. No one gets out without being searched. Crown, security room. Dumas, with me.” They stood up fast because the tone in his voice was very serious.

  “What’s up, JD?” Ashley said as she scrambled to her feet.

  “Britney is missing; the others could possibly be missing. Work this.”

  Ashley’s look became serious and cold. “On it, JD.”

  They put on their Bluetooths and started walking. JD started backstage. A security officer tried to stop him but ended up on the floor. JD was looking at his phone. They came to a door that was locked. JD kicked it open.

  Crown sat down behind a desk and looked back a
t the men lying on the floor. He said, “Locking the place down, JD. All gates closing, all exterior doors locking. Searching security feeds. Many cameras off line on a hidden server.” He said with confused voice, “Locked in. Someone has hacked the system. Tracing hack.”

  JD ordered, “Unlock interior doors to section D 22 from my location.”

  “Done. JD, the cameras are down in that entire section. O-h shit, oh shit, they have found me. Damn, they are purging the system. Can’t stop this. Sending what I can to the clouds.”

  JD pulled a weapon, so did Dumas, and he kicked in a door. He stood looking at Britney’s dress and Ivan’s clothes. Everything they were wearing was taken off. He reached down and picked up her phone. As he stood, his eyes got cold, his tone even colder. “Dumas, start looking for a way to take people out this place. They had to be carried in something.”

  Dumas walked away without saying anything. JD said, low and threatening, “I found Britney’s and Ivan’s clothes and phones.” He reached down and picked up her wedding band He said, “Crown, get to the safe house here in Paris. Looks like we’re going to work, people.”

  A security officer came running in. He said, “What is the meaning of this?”

  JD pointed his gun at the man. “You fucking tell me. You got two minutes to get the names of everyone missing or I am going to blow your fucking brains out.” He pulled the hammer back on his pistol. “Time’s ticking.”

  A man of six feet walked up; the hair on his head was black. It draped down in front of his eyes. JD looked at him as he pulled out a cellphone. “We have a problem. Gloria is missing.” A pause. “On it.”

  He held out his phone. “Hold this; you will be contacted.”

  JD took the phone, and before he could say anything, the man was already at a full run. He was moving faster than he had ever seen a man run before. Less than three minutes later, Ashley called out, “The biggest panther I have ever seen is running by the guard shack now.”

  In Washington DC, an office agent walked into the director’s office to the N.S.A. He said, “Sir, we have a situation in France at the Paris safe house. It has been turned into a mission command office. Satellite feeds connected to Olympus and Atlantis.”

  Jacky looked up from his computer. “We don’t have any operations in France at the moment. Who is the operative?”

  “Not sure, sir. But they logged in under four agents. All of them have been discharged. Specialists Jake Coleman, Ashley Lawson, Crown Delaney, Dumas Verdi. So far, they have started background checks on a group of people. They hacked all of Paris’s cameras. They are looking for something or someone. We are getting feedback about a kidnapping from Paris police.” The agent said nervously, “Seems like government agents are being called in on this one. Details are sketchy at the moment, sir.”

  Jacky leaned back with a concerned look on his face. “That will be all. Shut my door behind you. The agent walked out. Jacky picked up the phone.

  Crown looked at the computer. “Incoming call, Washington. Looks like it is Paw.”

  JD nodded. “Been expecting that. Answer it.” Crown answered the phone; he put it on speaker.

  Jacky said, “Situation?”

  JD replied, “Fifty dancers went missing, several American citizens. I believe it is an attack on American entertainers traveling abroad, sir.”

  “Dancers. This almost sounds like this is personal since you are all officially retired,” Jacky said accusingly.

  Crown explained, “We were drafted in on this, sir. Being there were no operatives close. Your orders, sir.”

  Jacky shook his head. “I see. Send me a full report in twenty minutes. Make damn sure that national security is at risk here, lady and gentlemen.”

  JD barked out, “Affirmative, director.”

  “Working on bullshit report right now. Weapons grade plutonium found on dance tights. Good,” Dumas said.

  “Works for me,” JD commented with a serious tone.

  Ashley added, “Miniature detonator device found in bra. Nipple size.”

  Dumas looked at her. “You have got to be kidding.”

  Ashley smiled. “As much as you look at their breasts, I am not. You would think their nipples are remote detonators.”

  “God help them. Just send the damn report,” Jacky said with a concerned tone as he hung up the phone. Jacky looked at his phone. “How the four of you became the best is beyond me.” He picked up the phone and called the secretary of defense.

  JD said in a demanding tone, “Cut the bullshit.” He looked at the phones and said, “We have Britney, Ivan, Nicole, Bobby, and Gloria’s phones. Something tells me they are going to contact those phones. I want them linked as one. Trace every call. Hook Olympus up to them and wait. Find out who the fuck this guy is,” he said as he handed Crown the phone the man with black hair handed him.

  “What are you thinking?” Ashley asked, shifting her eyes towards him.

  “My guess is ransom. None of those people are worth any information.”

  “Unless they were fishing for us,” Crown suggested, searching for a reason.

  JD placed his hand on his chin and started tapping his lips with his finger. He said with a concentrated look on his face, “Then they would have only taken the ones closest to me. This was an inside job. Start looking into why the dance was changed from Switzerland to Paris. See who the big dogs are that made that call and why. Someone is on a payroll. That you can bet on.”

  Ashley said with a confused voice, “This don’t make any sense. These people, most don’t even have a parking ticket. Most of them come from money, but some do not. There are several like Ivan and Nicole and a few others.”

  JD shifted his eyes towards her. “Keep digging, Ashley. They didn’t take all the clothes off for nothing. Someone was tracking some of them. Why? Cover every angle, Ashley.”

  “But trackers can be detected,” Dumas said, looking back at him.

  “They didn’t have time to do a full check. The clothes were cut off. They were naked in less than a minute if they knew what they were doing,” JD said with a hopeful tone.

  Ashley nodded. “True. If there was something waiting to carry them in, they were taken from the room in less than two minutes. There were twelve trucks leaving out in the time frame we were given. All of them went to distribution centers. Hundreds of trucks came in and out during that time. They covered their tracks very well. We are dealing with pros here.”

  “Yeah, tell me something we don’t know,” JD said in a low voice.

  “They got my baby’s daddy; everyone involved in this gets killed,” Ashley said angrily. They all looked at her. Tears came to her eyes and she said, “I am coming for you, baby.” “The schedules were given out early in place where the cameras were active. Each of them were in the envelopes,” Crown said as he focused on the screen with intensity. “I will follow them. I will find the link to all of this, Ash. Don’t worry; we are getting these sons of bitches, and fuck their mothers when we do,” he said in an assurance. “Gotcha, you son of a bitch. Here are the schedules. They were swapped by this guy here. Running identification badge number now. Dumas, sending you a text. Go visit him.”

  Dumas stood and said, “My pleasure.” Looking at his phone, he walked out of the room.

  Chapter 28

  Out Of Control.

  Gloria was woken up by Britney shaking her and saying, “Wake up! Wake up.” Gloria looked around. She felt groggy. “Why are you naked?” She looked down and said, “Why am I naked. Did we?”

  Britney took her by the arm and started pulling her, helping her to get up. “No, we didn’t, and if we did, we didn’t do it alone,” Britney said with a confused tone

  Gloria started getting her bearings. “I see.” Catrina walked over with Nicole. A lot of the others started to get up and a voice came over an intercom in the room. The voice was muffl
ed and changed. It almost sounded computer-generated. It said, “Rules are simple; do what you are told when you are told to do so or we kill you. Try and escape, we kill you. We will tell you when to go to a door. You will know what door by the light over it. If we do not call you by name, all of you must go by the door. Ask questions, we beat you, maybe even kill you. Follow the rules, and you will not be harmed. Attack one of my people, we kill you and two others.” A light lit up on the wall. The voice said, “Inside, you will find clothes. Pick up the clothes with your name on it. Leave out of the room and get dressed.” They walked in and got the clothes and walked out. After they all were dressed, the voice said, “Everyone back up to the wall facing the doors.”

  They did as they were told. Gloria looked for her name, but it wasn’t on any pile. As the others were walking out, she grabbed a pile lying on the table and flowed the others. Once they were all dressed, a door opened up and five men walked out, four with guns, one with a camera. The man with the camera walked out and down the line, filming each of them. The filming was done, and Gloria heard Bobby in another room. “Britney, Nicole, Catrina.”

  Gloria screamed as loud as she could, “Bobby.”

  Two of the men walked over to Bobby. One went to hit him and he blocked it. Bobby hit him; the man fell down. The other went to hit Bobby with a gun. Bobby grabbed his arm, flipping him over. Then he stomped his head and threw the gun across the room. He said, “Fuck you and your rules. Take me to my wife now or pull the goddamn trigger.” His words were serious and he started walking towards the other men.

  They pointed their guns at him, but he didn’t stop or slow down. Several more men walked in. He kept walking. “My wife now,” he demanded. They took aim and he kept walking. A voice said, “Center door.” Bobby looked towards the door and changed directions.