A Deep Thing

by A. K. Smith

  “My family has been following The Collective for over 150 years. My great-great-grandfather crossed paths with members of The Collective in 1865.” He walked over to a flat surface and swiped it. It was the latest technology; the screen appeared on a regular tabletop. A picture filled the screen. A black-and-white photo of a shirtless man, a man who looked familiar to Kendall, standing in the jungle with two men, both in hats, white shirts, and light pants. “This is my great-grandfather, the original Conrad Nathaniel.” He pointed to a handsome man not much older than himself with a serious look on his face. The resemblance to the man standing beside her, was evident, same cheekbones and eyes.

  She had not seen this particular photograph. It was not part of the files in the briefcase. Her heart thumping, she asked, “Who are the other men?”

  He pointed to the other Caucasian in the photo. “This is one of the first Navy SEALs, Jonathan Stadium. And this,” Conrad pointed to the shirtless man, “this is a man we had in this lab two years ago.”

  Her eyebrows scrunched together. “What do you mean you had him in this lab, his body? Is he buried here?”

  He leaned back against the table. “No, unfortunately he is not buried here. Although my grandfather would have liked that. He was very much alive when he was here. From all accounts and records from my great-great-grandfather, my great-grandfather, and my grandfather, he was approximately 175 years old.”

  He was watching her intently, waiting for her reaction. “One hundred seventy-five years old?” She took in a sharp breath.

  He stepped away and started pulling up documents on the computer. Dates flashed on the screen, from the 1860s up to the 1960s, blood tests and medical reports.

  “Yes, it’s hard to believe isn’t it? My grandfather was twenty-five years old when he met this man. His name is Tobias. He was conducting a study at the time, sort of in conjunction with the government. Researching native tribes in different cultures, comparing overall health and longevity, investigating which cultures were more susceptible to diseases. What he discovered, in one expedition near Central America, were the remains of a community of men and women whose ages were between 160 and 190 years old. It became my grandfather’s quest to determine why this group of people could live so long. Tobias had a discernible mark, on his collarbone near his right arm. A birthmark almost resembling a circle, with four short straight marks underneath it and dots around the outside.” He produced another black-and-white photo on the screen, an enlarged picture of the birthmark.

  She had seen this mark before. She stared wide-eyed at the image, her breath quickened. “So what happened to Tobias?”

  He tilted his head. “Don’t you know?”

  She shrugged. “Why would I know?”

  “I brought you down here, Kendall.” His voice tightened. “I am sharing my most sacred place with you, and you can return the favor by confiding in me.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I know nothing about a man named Tobias.”

  His face darkened, the silence stretched out. “I thought we agreed no more secrets.”

  “I have never heard of Tobias or had knowledge of anyone living until they were 175 years old. I don’t know what you think I know, but not this.” She gestured with her hands, a trait she had tried hard to get rid of as an instructor, it reappeared when she was nervous.

  He brought Tim’s photograph up on the screen; a picture of him standing on the sand with a black wet suit pulled down halfway. Taken from a distance, Tim was not aware of the photo being snapped. He pointed to Tim. “He knew all about it. In fact, of all the research projects The Collective was involved in, Tim was the lead on Tobias. Oh yes, Tim knew more about Tobias than my grandfather did.”

  “Well, he never discussed it with me; he never even told me he belonged to a government organization.”

  “But you know now, don’t you, Kendall. He may not have told you anything when he was alive, but he left you something. You know all about Tim being involved in The Collective. What did he leave you, what else is in the briefcase?”

  She froze, her heart thumping against her skin, her breath quickened. “How do you know about the briefcase? From Steve Crawford?”

  He moved closer to her. She flinched. “It doesn’t really matter how we know, what matters is working together.” His eyes grew large and he squared his shoulder. “We will pay you more money than you ever dreamed of, if you will help us. Help us find this cure, this bacterium. It could save millions of lives, it could cure cancer, it could change our age expectancy to double what it is now.”

  He paused. “The government,” he paused again and went on, “if they find it, they will never let the American people have it. They are so worried about Social Security, economic distress, another recession, hierarchy of classes, the one percent getting hold of it…oh, they have a thousand reasons, but one thing I know—they will never let it be used to its full potential. We can change all that. We can save lives.”

  He put his hand over hers. “I believe your husband found the answer and I think The Collective terminated him because of it.”

  She moved and turned her face away steadying her breathing. “I need to sit down.”

  The laboratory was quiet except for her shallow breathing. Her face flushed, her hands sweaty and shaking.

  Chapter 48

  Scout met Lily at the Palapa bar, a wooden structure built on a pier overlooking the turquoise sea. Shiny silver fish swam underneath the deck, accompanied by a school of spotted eagle rays. One of nature’s greatest canvas became the backdrop for Scout’s new office. Lily with her lap top, set up shop facing a gorgeous view. If Kendall was right and his office was bugged, he would take no chances.

  He extracted a notebook and opened to a checklist. “Were you able to secure the Lamanai tourist excursion?”

  Lily was stirring a piña colada with her long colorful fingernails. They were blue today with gold sparkly flames at the tip. “Si, for two, the excursion to see a ruin in Belize and howler monkeys, lots and lots of howler monkeys. You land in a sugarcane field.” Lily smiled. “It sounds romantico.”

  Scout did not look up from his notebook. “I just need it booked for one, just Kendall. And the boats—everything is secure with Jorge?”

  “Yes,” Lily answered. Thank goodness for Lily. She arranged a forty-foot Boston Whaler for the excursion. Jorge, the captain, was a childhood friend of hers and she assured Scout, she trusted this family friend who knew the sea and reefs backwards.

  Scout, busy keeping up with his dive jobs and making the arrangements for the trip, was anxious for Kendall to arrive. Lately, he found himself analytical and looking over his shoulder, a change from the free spirit attitude he usually portrayed. He had always been aware of his surroundings, of strangers around him, but in the past several days, he inspected everything and everyone with a cautious eye.

  With the help of Tony at the Palapa Bar, he gathered and stored provisions for the big trip, strategically away from the dive shop. He was taking no chances.

  If he could only talk to Kendall, perhaps his anxiety would be a little less. He decided to write her a letter instead. Not an e-mail or a text message but an old-fashioned snail mail letter.

  Dear Kendall,

  I’m writing this letter to let you know how sorry I am. It was wrong of me not to take you to the place your husband wanted you and Ryder to see. It was wrong of me to keep this from you. I have no idea what all this is about, but what I do know, is things happen so people can cross each other’s paths. I wouldn’t trade the days of our last trip spent with you for anything. I will make it up to you this trip; we will find the place your husband wanted his son to see. That I promise. I know how important it is to you. And I have to let you know you are very important to me. I think of our short time together constantly. It replays in my mind and in my dreams. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I don’t want to live a life full of regret. I don’t want to hide the way my heart feels. I
’ve done that too much in the past, so I wanted to let you know how special you are. Kendall, you light up the jungle when you’re around. You elevate my heart and I am a better man to have met you. I hope we get to know each other.

  Scout

  He folded the letter in thirds and drew in a long breath. He couldn’t send it yet, but he sealed it in an envelope and asked Lily to keep it somewhere safe. He would give it to Kendall after the trip.

  Chapter 49

  Steve was waiting outside Kendall’s house when she pulled into the driveway. She hesitated and then opened her car door.

  Steve’s large strides brought him to the driver’s side before she could step out. In a demanding voice he asked, “Were you just with Conrad Nathaniel?”

  She forced a smile as she stood. “Nice to see you too…Steve, what are you doing here?”

  He grabbed her shoulders. “Kendall, you cannot trust the Nathaniel family. What did you tell him?”

  She stepped back, away from him. “Steve, Conrad Nathaniel is the keynote speaker at our Commencement ceremony and what we discuss has no relevance to you.” She proceeded toward the door, car keys out and pointed at the lock. Harvey was jumping at the door.

  His hand squeezed her arm. “I need to speak with you but we cannot talk in there.”

  “Why? Why can’t we speak in there, Steve?” His face was easy to read. Nausea settled in her stomach. “So the government bugged my house? For how long, Steve? And my phone? My office? How long did you know this?” She grinded her teeth and opened the door. Harvey jumped, his outstretched paws reached her shoulder trying to hug her. “Hi Harvey, I know you’ve been here all day, let’s take a walk.” She stepped inside the house and grabbed his leash, ignoring Steve.

  She headed toward the path through the woods, with Steve a few steps behind.

  “We aren’t the only ones listening to you,” he said. “We have a trace on your phone. Someone else has a bug in your house. I tried to find it, but couldn’t, it must be hidden well.”

  She kept walking. Trying to control her emotions. “How do you know somebody has a bug in my house?”

  He was silent, while Harvey was taking care of business behind a nearby bush. “It’s Conrad Nathaniel’s people. They’re very dangerous, watching every move you make. They believe you know something that Tim discovered before his death. At the college, I saw you get out of his car, please tell me you didn’t discuss anything with him.”

  “I don’t have anything to tell him, Steve, I don’t know what you all are talking about, and you’re certainly the last person I would trust to inform me whether somebody is dangerous.”

  “I know Conrad Nathaniel is bad.” Steve paused, then added, “I know because he offered me money to find out what Tim was working on. He offered me money, a lot of money, to go against the government, to be a traitor, follow Tim and spy on him.” Steve inhaled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I said yes in the beginning, it was just one job and then I would be settled for the rest of my life. I could leave the East Coast and move to a warm green island. Live a simple life…” He crossed his arms over his chest. “But then I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t betray Tim. It was right before the trip to the Blue Hole, if I had taken the job I would have followed Tim, maybe I could have prevented something. I can’t stop thinking about it. Nathaniel is not to be trusted.”

  She tensed her shoulders, her voice rising as she spoke. “Prevented something? What do you mean prevented something, are you saying the government killed Tim? You told me it was an accident.”

  His eyes widened and his eyebrows arched downward. His voice softened. “No, Kendall, not the government, Conrad Nathaniel’s people…I thought maybe they figured out what he had discovered and they killed him so he wouldn’t tell the government.”

  Harvey sat down in front of Kendall’s feet, making a barrier, aware of tension in the air. Steve continued, “But if they are still asking you questions and bugging your house, then maybe they haven’t figured it out.”

  Color drained from her face. She stumbled over to sit on a tree stump. “What is it they are trying to figure out? I don’t understand.”

  “It’s like I told you, Kendall, they’re looking for a bacterium, a plant, something that makes humans live longer, be free of sicknesses, it’s partial immortality…but for Conrad Nathaniel’s people, it’s all about money. It’s about greed. Can you imagine with an ingredient like that, what drugs they could put on the market and sell to the highest bidder? It won’t be about saving the world, or helping those in need. No, if they find it, it will change the world forever and not in a good way. It will create a species of wealthy humans who will control the world, basically because they will be here the longest—and only because they can afford it.”

  He continued, his breath quickened, “The people of Mexico know something like this exists somewhere, they know the USA is searching for a mineral in their land and in Central America. The cartels, drug wars,” Steve laughed an ominous laugh. “Everybody thinks it’s all about the drugs crossing the border, cocaine, heroin or meth. We make movies about it, we splatter cartel warnings all over the front page of the newspaper, we have 24/7 news reports. That’s just on the surface, that’s what the government wants everyone to believe. What it’s really about, is a battle to see who can find this resource first. The Mexican government wants the United States to stay out of their country, and stop investigating their land. They might not know exactly what it is, but they know the United States wants it. They want to find it first, figure out what we want so bad. Can you see it now? It would make Mexico the number one country in the world.” Steve shook his head. “The Nathaniels? The Nathaniel family is the one that told the cartels. Anyone who thinks working with the cartels would lead to a favorable result for the world is not on the right planet. You have to be in agreement with that?”

  She tugged Harvey between her knees and rested her head on his. Squatting on the ground, she took deep breaths to control her emotions. The silence stretched out for several minutes.

  She stood up, and clenched her fists. “I wish I never heard of The Collective, I wish Tim just left the Navy SEALs and stayed a bar owner. But whatever Tim discovered, he didn’t tell me, Steve. You need to fix this. As Tim’s best friend, you need to tell them I know nothing, everyone needs to leave me alone. I just want to go on, live my life, try to move on the best I can without the love of my life.” She marched back through the woods toward her house. “I need to get away from all of this.”

  He caught up. “Then let me see what’s in the briefcase, Kendall. Show me everything and I will make this right.”

  She kept walking. Steve followed a few paces behind. When she entered the line of trees separating the woods from her yard, she stopped.

  “I give you the briefcase and this is over for me?”

  Steve nodded. “Yes, Kendall, give it all to me, then they will leave you alone. You can tell Nathaniel that you gave a briefcase of Tim’s to me, and we can take you out of the picture. It will be between the government and them.”

  Silence. Breathing hard, her eyes squinted shut. “Okay, I will give you the briefcase,” she said at last, “on one condition, get me out of this. I don’t want to be involved in any way.”

  He let out a sigh. “Done.”

  “I don’t have it at the house, but, I will get it. Meet me here Friday night after Commencement, and I will give it to you then.”

  “You’re making the right choice Kendall.”

  “I hope so. I don’t know what the right choice is. But, I just want to be done with this. See you Friday.”

  Catching her breath, she leaned against the closed door. Her suspicions confirmed; her phone and house…definitely bugged. She checked each window and door making sure they were locked, Harvey followed close on her heels.

  The ring tone of her phone broke the silence. Dr. A. “Hi, what are you doing at this late hour?” She grimaced, she shouldn’t be asking him questio
ns on the phone. “Hey, would you mind if we talked in the morning? It’s been a long day for me and I just need to go take a hot shower and go to bed.” She cringed again, knowing someone was listening. Did they have video? Again, she wanted to throw up.

  “Sure, Kendall, no problem. There is something I would like to talk to you about, could we meet for coffee before you go in to work?”

  “She responded slowly, “how about our park bench at seven a.m.?”

  “Sounds great,” the Professor said. “I’ll bring the coffee. And Kendall? Get some sleep. Good night.”

  Chapter 50

  He’s the only one I can trust. Kendall rushed across the quad to meet Andrew. He was sitting on the bench with two Starbucks coffees. He stood up and gave her a hug. She held onto his shoulders a little bit longer than usual.

  “Everything okay, Kendall?” He patted the seat beside him holding out the coffee.

  “I don’t know how to answer that question,” she gave a half smile, “but I guess I could tell you, because you’re the only person I trust. I think I need to get away from all of this.”

  He rubbed his temple with his left hand and he drew in a long breath. He exhaled and turned slowly facing her, his shoulders slumped. “Yes, I agree, maybe you do need to get away from all of this. Go. Go somewhere far away, forget about it, put it behind you.”

  His voice. Something was off. She met his eyes. “What’s wrong? Something’s changed, I can hear it in your voice. What is it?”

  He looked away, extended his hand, then looked down at the ground. “Kendall, this is bigger than us. I think you need to step back, step away from all of this.”

  She lowered her voice. “What happened, Andrew? Did something happen?”

  Dr. Andrew Lunardini was silent, almost as if he wasn’t listening. She knew intuitively something happened to drain the excitement and adrenaline from him.