by R. E. Rowe
“Trafalgar Square.”
“Right. I’m parked right outside,” the taxi driver says. He leads me out of the airport to a classic black London taxi with a boxy frame and large windows and opens the door for me.
Before long, the taxi driver is maneuvering through the busy London streets like a Formula One driver. After an intense thirty-minute drive, we arrive at a column towering high into the sky with large sculpted lions at each of the four corners of the column’s large base. At the very top, is a statue of a man wearing an old-fashioned British military hat and holding a sword.
“Here we are mate, Trafalgar Square.”
The taxi driver slams on the brakes causing me to do a face plant into the clear plastic separation window.
I give him my remaining cash and he leaves me standing on the curb.
The warm, stagnate air smells part car exhaust and part pigeon poop. Sightseers fill the square taking photographs and looking over tourist maps. Businessmen and women pass through the square in a hurry. Traffic even packs the bustling streets around the square.
Horns honking. Brakes screeching.
I decide to sit down on a fountain’s cement edge to locate the exact location of the fixed green dot displayed on the device. “Where to now?”
Honesti answers first. “The location is an office building two blocks away on Regent Street, fifth floor.”
“Which direction?”
“To your right,” Bouncer says.
I walk with the crowd along the busy London street.
“Take a left at the next street,” Honesti says. “Then twenty steps, it’ll be on your right.”
I tally the steps, but stop counting and keep walking when I see two teenagers wearing dark sunglasses and long black leather coats. They’re standing in front of an old building with large double doors.
Hustling past them, I blend in with a group of tourists and hide my face.
I focus on the two and concentrate. Sit down.
The two guys look around suspiciously as if they heard me, but don’t see me.
Followers. They must be wearing bracelets. I continue on to the next block in the middle of the group of tourists.
My thoughts shift to Mom. I’m here. Please hang on. I turn around and start back with another group of tourists, focusing on the two guys. I feel my face heat up as my concentration deepens. Here goes nothing. I snap my fingers on my free hand and cup the spark it generates. I focus and feel the spark expand to the size of a baseball as I continue walking.
When I approach the followers guarding the door, people near me notice the energy ball sparking in my hand. I project my thoughts all around me. Nothing to see. Move along!
The people completely ignore me and keep walking.
“Warning, Reizo,” Honesti says. “I am detecting—oh my, you’re generating the energy again?”
“Yeah.”
I imagine the glob of energy growing beyond my grip and wrapping around me like a shield blanket. My intensity continues to grow. I widen my stride until I’m directly in front of the two teenaged boys in long coats. They can’t see my shield, but suddenly notice a second energy glob that I’ve formed in my other hand.
Their eyes go wide, but it’s too late. I point the palm of my hand at the teen on the left, sending a burst of energy into his chest. Then I aim at the other guy, sending another surge into his torso. The impact sounds like thunder claps, instantly jolting my target backwards into the wall. Both guys end up face down on the sidewalk in front of the building’s two doors.
People walking on the street stop and watch me search the coats of the two teens. One yells out for someone to stop me. I quickly realize the gathering group of onlookers could pose an additional threat. I extend my thoughts to include everyone watching me.
Keep walking. Everything is fine. The crowd breaks up and continues down the sidewalk.
I prop each kid into a sitting position against the wall.
“Where to now?” I whisper to myself.
“Through the front doors,” Bouncer says.
“Elevator at the end of the hallway straight ahead, and then to the right,” Honesti adds.
Focusing on the invisible energy field buzzing around me, I feel stronger and more determined.
Three security guards run towards me as I enter the building. This is crazy. I’d expected adults to be guarding the place, but it seems Dennis has an army of teenager followers on his side.
I crouch to one knee, moving both arms together in a giant bear-hug-sweeping motion towards the security guards. I need to find Mom.
Waves of energy radiate from both arms as if I’d created a tsunami of power. The impact hits the three guys hard, throwing everyone against the wall.
“Impressive, Reiz,” Honesti says. “That was a new move.”
I locate the elevator and press the up button. When the door opens, another teen in a black coat greets me with a wild-eyed smile. In an instant, he throws an energy burst at me.
Time slows as the burst of energy inches toward me.
I close my eyes and remember my lessons with Bree. I redirect the energy coming at me into the roof.
The energy burst ricochets off the ceiling of the elevator and explodes back into the security guard’s chest, sending him flying out into the hallway.
“Fifth floor,” Bouncer says.
I press the button. The elevator doors close and it jerks upward.
“I’m speechless,” Honesti says. “I have no idea how you are doing those things.”
“Guess he’s a badass after all,” Bouncer grumbles. “Go figure.”
I grin. I’m just getting started.
When the stops and the doors open, I pull out the red stop button, holding the elevator in place, and then carefully enter the hallway, expecting to be greeted by more of Dennis’s army.
The hallway is empty.
“Where now?” I ask.
“To your right. Last door at the end of the hallway,” Honesti says.
“A group of followers are waiting behind that door, dude,” Bouncer says.
“Be careful,” Honesti says.
I decide to try something else new. I imagine a spark of energy growing larger and stronger. I make the bear hug motion again. This time, I imagine I’m directing a raging river of waves in front of me. I extend my arms, and then clap my hands together, releasing the blast. An intense gust of wind rushes through the hallway with the waves of energy, and I hear loud explosions. Screams. The sounds of pain and destruction echo off the walls around the corner. An instant later, there is only silence.
I jog down the hallway and peer around the corner. Ten guys lie motionless, sprawled out across the floor.
“Wow,” Honesti says.
“Good going,” Bouncer says.
“Where to next?” I ask.
“Door just in front of you,” Honesti says.
“Right.” I release a quick energy blast at the door, causing it to explode backwards.
Oh, crap.
Bree is tied to a leather office chair in front of workbenches loaded with electronics. Curtis stands behind her with his hand around her neck. Her eyes go wide when she sees me. Bree’s face has cuts and bruises on it, and her lip is swollen. She looks like hell, and I don’t see Mom or Mack anywhere.
Bastards.
My anger level goes up ten notches. Where is Mom! I need to keep my head if I’m going to find her, so I force myself to stay calm.
“Let Bree go, Curtis,” I say. “What have you done with my mom?”
“Oh close your trap,” Curtis replies. The jerk’s eyes bulge with wild intensity. “Or my cutie pie ex-girlfriend dies right here, right now.”
“Where's my mom!” I shout.
Curtis squeezes Bree’s throat tighter.
“Okay, okay!” I yell. “Bree? Are you okay?” Think, Reiz, think! I need a plan and quick.
“Yeah, fine,” she says. “I’m looking forward to kicking his punk ass.” The s
tress on Bree’s face tells me she’s obviously in pain.
“Like that will ever happen,” Curtis says with a smirk.
Curtis tightens his grip and Bree gags. But she manages to force herself to speak. “Kill the jerk!”
“Shut the hell up!” Curtis shouts at her, and then turns to me. “Kneel down on the floor with your hands behind your head, tough guy.”
I scowl at him.
“Do it now . . . or she dies and you’ll never learn where Dennis has taken your mommy,” he says.
Damn him.
“Don’t trust—” Bree manages to say before Curtis squeezes her neck harder. She coughs violently.
“On your knees!” Curtis demands.
“Where’s my mom?” I shout back as I slowly kneel down.
Curtis snickers. “Did you seriously think Zeke would wait around for you here?” He laughs. “Zeke and Dennis have been tight every lifetime. They’ve been secretly planning this for five centuries. Besides, they’re busy preparing the nukes.”
I feel my face turn red-hot. My heart sinks when Curtis chokes Bree again.
“Looks like you’re too late,” Curtis says, laughing louder.
Bree breaks free of his grip. “Go to hell, you freak!” She winces. “I hate you.”
Curtis slaps her.
That’s it—enough. It’s time for Curtis’s little horror show to end.
Everything slows down as my head begins to vibrate.
Just as Curtis starts to slap Bree again, I focus on calm. My face becomes extremely hot. The vibration between my ears buzzes louder with more intensity. I focus on directing all my energy to a single spot on Curtis’s chest and concentrate a beam of energy on that target.
“Be careful,” Honesti says. “Energy level is reaching . . . correction—exceeding—critical...”
I release all the energy at once at the spot on Curtis’s chest. The wave of energy turns solid when it hits him and continues through his chest until it explodes into the back wall. Then the energy changes back into a wave and swirls round Curtis. It envelops his entire body as if he’s wrapped from head to toe in a rope made of light.
Curtis screams, looking down at the hole in his chest. The energy rope is pulled into the hole with a grotesque sucking sound that quickly increases to a screech as if the world’s largest vacuum was sucking up a heavy rope.
Desperately grabbing at the hole in his chest as if he could plug it, Curtis shuffles and stumbles around the room. But the white spot on his chest triples in size while the vacuum-sucking sound screeches louder.
Disgusting bastard. I stay focused on the single point on his chest.
Suddenly, Curtis’s head begins to lengthen and stretch until the white spot in his chest sucks him inside, his body completely disappearing inside the spot. The white blotch hovers in the air like a smoke ring from an old smelly cigar.
After a moment, an incredible burst of air rushes to the spot with a thunderclap that knocks me to the ground.
Then silence. Curtis is gone.
I pick myself up and run to Bree, freeing her from the ropes.
I move her hair away from her face. “Can you stand?”
She nods. “Thank you. I’d lost hope. How’d you get your bracelet back?”
“I didn’t.” I help her up and hold her close. “Have you seen my mom?”
She shakes her head. “I overhead Curtis say a guy named Zeke took her and Mack. I don’t know where they went.”
“Reizo!” Honesti shouts. “Take our device out of your backpack.”
“What?” I shout back.
Bree looks at me with a frown. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. The voices in my head want to tell me something.”
“About what?” she asks.
“Come on.” I grab Bree’s hand.
We shuffle into the hallway and stop directly in front of the elevator without getting in it. I remove the device from my backpack, press the screen, and set it on the floor. Holograms of Honesti and Bouncer float above the device.
“Richard is standing by,” Honesti says with her arms crossed. “Take his call.”
“Bree, this is Honesti.” I point at Bouncer. He flexes both arms before I can speak. I shake my head. “And he’s Bouncer.”
“Wow! That’s amazing,” Bree says. “You’re Reizo’s reckoners?”
They both nod.
“Nice,” Bree says. “I’ve never seen reckoners as holograms before here on Earth. Interesting.”
A hologram image of Richard in a gray suit and dark sunglasses appears, hovering near Honesti and Bouncer.
“Nicely done, Reizo,” Richard says, he removes the sunglasses.
Bree and I look at each other.
“As you can see,” I say to Richard. “Bree is safe. But where the hell is my mom?”
Richard's face tightens. “I should have an update on that in a minute. First, let me inform you of what’s transpired. Unfortunately, the news here is not good. I’m afraid a bomb like the one you deactivated on the island outside of Malta blew up near the Greek Island of Santorini.”
“A bomb exploded?” I ask.
“I’m afraid so,” Richard says.
“It killed Carmina and her companion,” Bree adds, lowering her head.
Richard continues. “I'm afraid tens of thousands are feared dead. Heavy damage has been reported and radiation is being tracked. The Greek government has begun mass evacuations. We believe there are other explosive devices still out there with similar features.”
“What do you mean by ‘features’?” I ask.
“The bombs not only generate a nuclear explosion, they also set off a high intensity electro-magnetic radiation pulse,” Richard says. “The pulse generates damaging current and voltage surges that will destroy anything with electronics that’s inside the bomb’s kill zone. The surge will terminate all electronics within one hundred miles. Additionally, nuclear material is scattered over a large area.”
“What about people?” Bree asks.
“Those closest to the epicenter were vaporized. And the detonation essentially fried all electronics beyond that. Santorini’s power infrastructure will need to be rebuilt once the radiation is cleaned up. But that will take decades.”
“Is Dennis trying to send humanity back to the Stone Age?” Bree asks.
“Apparently,” Richard says. “Anything relying on electronics at the time of the detonation will be destroyed. Airplanes. Cars. Trains. We’ve detected similar radiation signatures on two ships. One is headed to South Korea and another much larger cargo ship to the east coast of the United States. We’ve also confirmed Mack is on the larger ship.”
“Is it named Alaric I by chance?” Bree asks.
“Yes,” Richard says. “How’d you know?”
“It was Carmina’s floating base,” she replies. “Massive firepower too.”
My worry turns to panic. He hasn’t mentioned my main concern. “Where is my mom?”
“Of course. I understand you’re worried.” Richard clears his throat. “My sources are telling me they believe she is with Mack on the cargo ship headed to the US. Nevertheless, we’ve been unable to confirm. I wish we knew more.”
My stomach tightens.
A loud click suddenly radiates from the device’s speaker.
“Well, Rush...” Dennis’s voice sounds strained. “It appears you have become more of a problem than I’d calculated—”
“Listen, jerk!” I shout at the speaker on the metal box. “If you hurt—”
“You fool!’ Dennis shouts louder. “She’s my insurance policy. But that policy is about to expire.” Bree’s eyes go wide.
“Mess with her and you’re dead. Do you feel me?”
“Nice one,” Bouncer’s hologram whispers.
“Silence!” Dennis shouts with a growling vibrato. “You’ve become an obstacle, Rush, and I don’t like obstacles. Here’s a warning for you...”
I’m about to scream back at him wh
en Bree grabs my arm and mouths, “Let him speak.”
“The US Navy just attempted to sink my ship heading to Korea. Big mistake. Those actions caused one of the liberators onboard to be detonated. All thanks to you. Your actions to try to stop me have only prompted me to start sooner. The result will be the same. Millions of souls sent back beyond the ether. Interfere again and you can say good-bye to Mommy, Rush.”
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“General’s rules were outdated. Carmina’s new rules would have been fantasy. I will purify the Earth and start over...” He stops and speaks more loudly. “Get near my ship and I guarantee your mother is dead. So give it up. You can’t win. Stay away and I’ll give you your mommy back.”
The line goes dead.
“Richard?” Bree asks. “Did you hear that too?”
“Yes, one moment,” Richard said. A minute passes before he continues. “I just verified that what Dennis said is, um, unfortunately true. A nuclear bomb detonated. Heavy damage has resulted and we expect large numbers of casualties.”
Honesti’s hologram looks as if she might cry.
I tighten both fists. “Look, I can’t just sit and wait. I need to rescue my mom! I don’t give a shit about what he just said. We all know he’s a liar. He’s going to kill her either way.”
“Give me some time to investigate,” Richard says. “Remember, this line is compromised. I will send you a coded message with instructions.”
Richard’s hologram disappears.
A 3-D image of the massive converted cargo ship hovers above the device’s display. Alaric I is painted along its side.
“Here is what used to be Carmina’ ship,” Honesti says.
“I verified the boat is headed to the US—” Bouncer begins.
“Standby,” Honesti says. “I received Richard’s coded message. Translating. Okay, got it. Here it is . . . A US aircraft carrier is in the region. You’ll fly to it and transfer to a stealth Black Hawk. And Bree, Richard has given you an order to proceed to the medical facility for treatment—”
“Hell no!” Bree shouts. “Get a couple of medics onboard the transport to patch me up. I’ll be fine. I’m going with Reizo.”
“As you wish,” Honesti says.
Bouncer smiles and gives me a thumbs-up. Bree winks.