THE LIGHT WE LOST: a gripping thriller

by Valera Titov

  The driver got back behind the wheel and the yellow cab sped off to continue its trip to the final destination. What gave Adam peace of mind was that he knew that Glory and the twins plus the original artefact would soon be on their way to Mars on a space ship. Little did he know that the artefact was in the possession of the US government and that Glory was hard at work inside a laboratory in Chile, trying to find out the destination of the artefacts so that she could get some American help to assist Adam.

  Throughout the remainder of the trip to the drop off point eight miles south of where the artefacts were, Adam could not help but keep an eye out of the back window of the yellow taxi cab. In the same manner, the driver could not stop from looking into the vehicle rearview mirror. Paranoia had set in!

  The yellow cab reached its final stopping point near a market place.

  “Eras valiente (you are brave),” said the driver.

  “Nadie viene aqui sin un arma (nobody comes here without a gun).”

  Adam claimed his luggage from the boot of the vehicle and paid the taxi driver, who sped away in the yellow car.

  He made his way through the market place so that it wouldn’t be so obvious that a ‘foreign woman’ was searching for something of major value next to the Amazon river.

  Glory’s high heel shoes had eaten into the flesh at the back of both of his feet near the Achilles tendon areas and he removed them and started to walk barefoot around the market place.

  He also knew that the chances of him needing to run would becoming greater by the hour and it was bad enough trying to run wearing a yellow summer dress, let along wearing high heel shoes.

  Visitors were always welcomed in the market place. It created a great opportunity for stall holders to up their prices as they took chances against the people who didn’t understand their pricing.

  Suddenly a US$30 flower vase would become a US$130 item. Yes, foreigners were always good for the industry.

  Adam glanced back without making it to obvious that he wasn’t in the area just to buy memorabilia.

  His eyes caught sight of a figure moving for cover. It seemed that he had attracted another stalker. The slightest of glances, gave Adam the impression that the man could be another Russian. The Bratva were not the type of crime organisation group who gave up on something. They believed in getting the job done at all costs.

  Adam disappeared into a side shop which sold women’s clothing. He spotted a purple dress and took it off the rack. Then he went into a small change room area and tried it on. He placed Glory’s yellow summer dress on to a plastic doll that displayed dresses in the shop window.

  The tactic was clear. The Bratva representative seemed to have worked out that he was wearing a yellow dress. Before he could finish his thought, two shots ripped through the glass window of the shop and into the chest of the doll that was dressed in Glory’s outfit.

  People screamed, others fled and two men close by tried to tackle the gunman who kneed and punched his way to freedom. The shooter saw the yellow dress lying flat on the floor in the window area and did not have a chance to realize that Adam was not in it. He sprinted away with several of the local men in pursuit.

  Adam watched from inside the shop as the business manager and assistant tried to work out what had just happened on their premises.

  Adam paid for the purple dress and went over to the yellow garment. He subtly removed the identity card of Alexi Volkov and the cab drop off point address from the seam of the dress, before heading off.

  Five minutes later, he heard loud cheering in the market place.

  The blood-covered deceased body of the second Bratva man was being held up high by a group of men who had chased him down. In using his limited understanding of the Spanish language, it seemed that the man had tried to jump from the top story of one building to another and had misjudged the gap. He fell a good fifty feet, impaling himself on a spiked security fence.

  Adam wasn’t in a position to find out the identity of the man, but judging by what was left of the face of the person, he was definitely a Russian.

  The archaeologist continued with his journey. He needed to move at speed before the next uninvited guest arrived. If only the Bratva knew that he didn’t have the artefact on him. Perhaps they did know that and wanted to kidnap him to force him to lead them to the place where the other artefacts were being kept.

  Adam also knew that it was only a matter of time before the Americans arrived with their search party. They also knew that he was the key to finding the treasured artefacts that could save the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Life in far-away places

  Back in Chile, Glory Falcon and the FBI men were becoming addicted to Café Don Pablo Colombian Supremo. The coffee was just what was needed to revive their minds and spirits, in the knowledge that they could be at the Atacama desert for quite some time.

  Elena Hayek spent the best part of two hours in assisting Glory to set up the world’s largest telescope, built at a cost of around US$1.3 billion.

  The 138 feet primary mirror element was something out of this world that made this piece of equipment into a class of its own. Glory felt that if she zoomed in enough, she might even be able to see the time on Adam Kennedy’s wristwatch over in Leticia.

  Elena was very patient in helping Glory, who had a great understanding of telescopic equipment.

  “She is a beautiful piece, isn’t she?” remarked Elena, as she patted the huge mainframe of the telescope.

  Glory nodded and took in a sip of coffee.

  “I think I might end up with caffeine poisoning if I stay here too long,” joked Glory.

  Elena pushed her fringe away from her face.

  “The brand that you are enjoying was Professor Goic’s favourite,” said Elena, as she wiped a potential tear from her right eye.

  Glory moved around the telescope to comfort the Professor’s former assistant.

  “The Professor was really special to you, wasn’t he,” said Glory, as she placed her arm around Elena.

  “Is it that easy to tell?” questioned Elena.

  “The Professor was nothing short of being a genius. He knew things about this telescope, Planet X and the solar system that the world will only know in fifty years’ time. He was a man with an understanding way beyond 2018. He knew too much and that is why…”

  Glory did her best to read Elena’s mind.

  “Elena, you believe that the Professor’s car going over the Paranal cliff was not an accident, don’t you?”

  Elena stared at Glory with tears in her eyes.

  “It’s not about believing, Ms Glory, I am so sure of it,” she remarked.

  “The Professor never used to let people worry him but in the six weeks leading up to his accident, he had been receiving death threats. He briefly mentioned it to me, but as I say, he wasn’t the type of man to take such things seriously.”

  Glory was stunned.

  “Why would anyone want to eliminate the Professor unless…”Glory stopped in mid-sentence as the answer to her question went through her mind.

  “Elena, the Professor worked out where the artefacts are in Leticia, didn’t he?” she asked.

  Elena nodded and began to sob.

  “I am not sure how an outside person found out, Ms Glory, but it seems clear that another group of people are at work here,” explained Elena.

  “These people will stop at nothing to get their hands on the artefacts. Also, they are not American or Colombian.”

  “How do you know?” asked Glory.

  Ëlena sighed.

  “There were two or three occasions that I answered the Professor office phone when he was in meetings and the man and each time the caller was the same man, who spoke in an aggressive tone.”

  “From which country do you think he was?” questioned Glory.

  “He was definitely Russian or from that part of the world,” replied Elena.

  G
lory was stunned. Would the Russian government be on a mission to two-time the Carmichael administration to get their hands on the artefacts?

  Or was there a Russian criminal organisation that had some knowledge and were working on their own to get to the artefacts first, before the US and Russian governments did?

  Either way, if what Elena had said is true, and it most likely was the case, then Adam Kennedy could be in serious trouble out there on his own in Leticia. This was even more reason for Glory to work closely with the US government to make sure that the American team on the ground got to Adam as quickly as possible to support him against the bad guys.

  The downside was what would happen if any of the FBI men or women were on the take in terms of kickbacks from the bad people? Glory had learnt in her short life that every person has their price – money talks, unfortunately.

  “Ms Glory, I am sorry if I upset you, it’s just that the Professor and I were very close,” said Elena, as she squeezed a tissue to try and find a dry spot to wipe the last of the tears from her eyes.

  “You loved the Professor, didn’t you?” remarked Glory and then wished that she didn’t.

  Ëlena produced a slight smile.

  “The Professor and I were good for each other over six years,” said the Colombian.

  “I know that there was quite a huge age gap between us, but when one is in love, age doesn’t matter.”

  Elena turned towards the telescope. She clearly felt that she had spoken enough about the Professor and the ‘third force’.

  “Let’s get back to work,” said Glory.

  The ladies spent the best part of another two hours going through all of the telescope’s settings and then came the fun part for Glory.

  She looked through the telescope into the solar system and it was as if the planets were about one hundred yards away from her nose.

  The telescope was something else! Well it should be based on its cost.

  She took a close look at Planet Mars and could see buildings! Yes, they were definitely buildings with artwork on them. Glory zoomed in even further. The artwork was definitely some type of logo. Then she understood and identified the logos as those of the US government.

  Next Glory checked the Moon. Again, using the telescope to not even its maximum, she could see buildings with the US logo painted on it.

  Glory was aware of the theory that Russia wanted to annex the North Pole after melting the ice and was in the process of building submarine nuclear-powered boats. Also, there was the view that the Russians have put military satellites into orbit to destroy US communication satellites.

  Like Mars, the Moon could only be accessed by the US, Japan and China. US President John Carmichael III had the FBI hard at work in not only keeping an eye on the Russians but also checking out a scenario in which the Russians were alleged to have put viruses into the US computer systems in 2017.

  All-right, so those were the Strongholds of the solar system, she thought. Was it possible for the human race to survive in Strongholds underwater?

  Glory zoomed in on the Arctic ocean and debris on the water surface immediately located building structures under the sea. The US government had certainly done its homework and been busy in finding ways and means of building structured that could survive severe radiation.

  Now for the main reason that she was in Chile. She needed to try and identify the exact location where the rest of the artefacts were near Leticia.

  Suddenly a horrible thought went through Glory’s mind. Could any of the persons around her in Chile be informers to the ‘third force’?

  Elena was sitting with heaps of information on Planet X and the artefacts thanks to her deceased lover in the form of the Professor. She said that the Professor had discovered the exact location of the artefacts but somehow the ‘third force’ had been made aware that he had the knowledge. How would the bad people have known? There was only one way! How innocent was Elena Hayek after all? She was totally honest, or she was playing the role of the grieving lover to perfection – the type of acting that could win her an Academy Award!

  Glory wasn’t sure which role Elena was playing but she wasn’t in a position to adopt the innocent until proven guilty’ approach. She needed to be careful about what she said to the Professor’s former assistant. A good man and his car had gone over the mountain cliff, quite possibly with outside help. Glory need to watch her back. She didn’t want to put her life at risk. Already, the chase was on to find Adam.

  With Elena out of the laboratory room, she zoomed the telescope in on Leticia, Brazil. She could see ants walking on the ground. No, they weren’t ants! These were people, real people. There were hundreds or thousands or them. She thought for a moment to look to see if she could identify Adam but that would take a few hours or days. The chance of seeing the father of her twins was quite remote even when using the world’s most powerful telescope. Also, there was the chance that Adam was well disguised.

  Glory heard the laboratory door open and she immediately pressed the ‘cancel’ button on the telescope. She also ensured that the location that she was zooming in on was deleted from the machine’s memory.

  She really didn’t need people inside the building working against her.

  “Are you handling the telescope, Ms Glory?” said Elena, as she entered the room with another two mugs filled with coffee.

  Glory chose her words carefully.

  She would only tell Elena what the assistant already knew and not divulge any new information. If Elena was being honest with her, she would apologize after the mission had been completed but right now she could take any risks as the stakes were just too high.

  “This is such a fine piece of equipment, Elena,” said Glory with a smile.

  Elena smiled back.

  “I am really glad that you came through to try out the telescope,” commented the Colombian lady.

  “Planetology is so misunderstood. There could be so many life-forms out there that we just don’t know about.”

  Glory suddenly realized how much she missed her children. What she wouldn’t have given just to hold the twins at this moment!

  She knew that wherever they were, they would be safe though. Her religious beliefs told her that her children would be safe otherwise she would not have been sent on this journey.

  Right now she needed to track down those artefacts, but she couldn’t work on that if Elena was present in the laboratory with her. She needed to be alone.

  “You look tired, Elena, perhaps you should go get some sleep,” said Glory.

  Ï am sure that I will be fine in working the telescope and if I need any help I can send one of the FBI guys to give you a shout.”

  Elena appreciated the offer.

  Alright, Ms Glory, as I said this search could take a few days, weeks or months, so I will see you a bit later. Shout if you need any help.”

  Elena Hayek turned and left the laboratory and shut the door behind her.

  Glory returned her focus to the task at hand.

  She zoomed the telescope in on Leticia and moved the co-ordinates in order to find the Amazon river area.

  Everything there seemed quiet. She could not see the ant-like people that she had seen when her focus had been on Leticia central.

  How was she going to find the exact location of the treasure? The answer was – with great difficulty!

  Glory spent the next four hours staring through the telescopic lens in hope of seeing either Adam or some sort of sign that would indicate to her that she was close to discovering the exact location of the artefacts.

  Just when she was about to call it a day and go get some shut-eye, a bright light from the destination hit the telescope, forcing her to pull away from it.

  It was similar to the brightness that had thrown her to the floor a few months earlier when she had been working on the same project inside the planetology laboratory at the University of Chicago. Then again she had a similar experience on Prom Night.

  It
was almost like the bright light was a sign directed only at her. She believed it was meant for her. She was close to finding the location of the artefacts and Adam too!

  Chapter Twenty

  Chaos in the desert

  Glory Falcon stood up from her seat next to the telescope as if to exclaim her joy at the latest finding with regard to the bright light which would lead her to the artefacts.

  However her legs gave in beneath her and she fell to the ground. Outside the laboratory door things weren’t going to well with the FBI men either. Some were complaining of dizziness while others were falling asleep.

  Team leader Matt Michaels realized the problem and opened the laboratory door only to find Glory lying in an unconscious state on the floor.

  “Phil!” shouted Matt to colleague Phil Rawson, who was one of the few FBI men who was still able to remain on his feet.

  “Help me here!”

  Together they helped Glory to a seated position.

  “Boss, what is happening?” asked FBI agent Fred Courtney as he made it to the laboratory door.

  Matt began to lay down the orders.

  “Somebody has poisoned our team and it can only be that they put something into the coffee,” said the team leader.

  “Find Elena Hayek. Then check all entrances and exits to the building. Make sure nobody gets in or out!”

  Ï am on it, boss,” said Fred, as he turned and headed off to muster as many of the FBI agents who were able to assist.

  Five minutes later, Fred was back.

  “Boss, there is no sign of Elena Hayek. Her office has been emptied and her accommodation too. Whether it is her work or someone working with her, they are professionals and know what they are doing.”

  Fred went on.

  “The gate security guys tell me that nobody has come in or out through the entrance there and our aircraft team who are still at the plane, never saw anyone or any vehicle leave either.”

  Agent Evans Balfour, who had a medical background, was busy attending to Glory.

  “She will be fine in an hour or so, boss,” he said to Matt.