by Valera Titov
“I really hope so, Agent Rawson, he is a good man and I don’t want anything evil to happen to him. He only has the US and its people at heart.”
Phil nodded.
“Ms Falcon, what is that instrument over there?” he asked, pointing towards a smaller telescopic lens to Glory’s right.
She took the bait and headed over to pick up the lens, turning her back on Phil Rawson.
In a flash he moved in to carry out his orders.
“Oh this… it’s a …”
She wasn’t able to finish the sentence as Phil placed his handkerchief with chloroform on it, over her mouth and nose.
Glory tried her best to break free from the FBI agent but he was just too powerful and within a few seconds, she felt her senses starting to leave her as she fell to the floor.
Phil picked Glory’s body up and put her over his shoulder before heading to the door.
“All done, boss,” he said to Matt Michaels.
“You are a scholar and gentleman,” responded Matt.
“Now let’s get to the plane and then to the island.”
With Glory’s unconscious body strapped safely into her seat onboard the plane, Matt Michaels made his way to the flight-deck and relayed the latest news to headquarters on Angel Island.
He then returned to the main cabin of the aircraft and sat down. Matt was a strong man who could handle blood and guts easily but he still couldn’t shake off the loss of his two colleagues, Mark Shuttleworth and Glen McKenzie.
If the team leader had opted to go on the advance party trip to the Amazon instead of to the world’s largest telescope with Glory Falcon, it could have been him that was now inside the body-bag.
Life can be unfair, he thought, as he strapped himself into his seat as the plane prepared for take-off.
Chapter Twenty two
Saved to Paradise
Adam Kennedy held the back of his head with his right hand as he started to return to a state of consciousness. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his left hand as he tried to get a sense of double vision out of his mind.
He looked at his wristwatch. It was 11h34 but he had no clue as to what day it was.
“Adam,” said a familiar voice.
“the archeologist looked across the room from where the voice had come from.
“Glory?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s me,” she confirmed.
Adam tried to sit upright in the bed that he had found himself in. He managed to see a window with sunlight beams streaming through it. He was also able to spot a tree with peaches on it, outside the window. Immediately he knew that he wasn’t in the Amazon anymore.
“I am going with my gut feel but I sense that I am nowhere near Leticia?” he said more as a question than a statement.
Glory giggled.
“I am not sure where we are but I know that we are safe,” said the mother of Adam’s twins.
Adam tried to stand up from the bed, but progress was slow. Whoever had walloped him over the back of his head had done a pretty good job. Of course, he didn’t know that he had been injected with a sleeping dosage too.
“Who is holding us prisoner?” he asked as his eyes flashed around the well-furnished room.
“We are not being held prisoners,” explained Glory.
“We are on an island somewhere and the FBI is protecting us from harm. It seems that is why we were kidnapped from our locations.”
Adam did not understand.
“Who was trying to harm us, Glory, the Russian military or the Bratva?”
Glory shook her head. She found it strange that Adam knew about the Bratva. The planetology graduate had overheard the FBI agents mentioning between themselves that Elena Hayek was a member of the Bratva, hence her need to escape from the Paranal Mountains with as much information as she was able to collect from Glory.
“So you had a run in with the Bratva too?” suspected Glory.
Adam puffed out his cheeks.
“They are a charming bunch,” he said sarcastically.
“I had to escape from one of their goons wearing your summer dress. It was the only way that I could avoid being identified, but still, they seemed to latch on to me, so I had to change dresses at a local store in Leticia. I just made it to safety.”
Glory grinned.
“Don’t feel bad, that Elena bitch poisoned the FBI agents and me so that she could escape,” she remarked.
“So back to business, did you find the artefacts?”
Adam shook his head which was still aching from the blow to the back of it the night before.
“That is a negative, Ma’am,” he said in military style.
“I was close to the spot where I found the first one that is in the possession of the US government, but in a way I am glad that I didn’t find the others as the Russian military or the Bratva would have taken them all by now.”
Glory stood up from her bed and walked over to a refreshment stand where she poured orange juice into two glasses and handed one over to Adam.
“You are not trying to poison me, are you?” he teased.
“Adam, do you think that I would…”
“I thought you may be Elena Hayek II,” said the archeologist with a wink.
Glory sat down on Adam’s bed and ran her right hand over his face, while she clutched on to her glass of orange juice with her left.
Despite the stress and physical abuse of the past twenty four hours, Adam looked as handsome, if not more, than she had remembered him to be.
“How are the twins?” he asked.
Glory gulped.
She had really tried to make contact with her housekeeper Joey Lawrence, but had no luck in getting hold of her and presumed that Adam Jnr and Rachel were with the housekeeper in one of the US-controlled Strongholds that would see them safe from radiation if Planet X or any other form of danger were to strike Planet Earth.
“We need to compare notes,” said Glory.
“How safe is it here to talk about this stuff?” asked Adam, as he looked around the room for any form of listening-in devices which may have been put in place by the FBI agents.
“I think we are safe and the FBI are on our side,” remarked Glory.
“Goodness knows, they are the only ones that we can trust right now that the Russian military and the Bratva are more interested in the artefacts and potentially our blood.”
Adam nodded.
“You are right on that front,” he said.
Glory put down her glass of orange juice on a side table next to the bed.
“Have you heard of the term "ASTROBELLUMSS"? she asked.
Adam shook his head.
“I am the archeologist, you are the planetology guru, remember?” he teased.
Glory went on.
“Basically the term is a Latin word. Astronaut plus Bellum, the word meaning ‘War’, is equal to ‘Military Astronaut.”
Adam was doing his best to think straight.
“I am doing my best to follow you on this, but I think whoever belted me over the head yesterday, may have knocked what was left of my brain cells out of my ears,” he said, as he rubbed the back of his head.
Glory teased him.
“I thought you live by the philosophy that çowboys don’t cry’?” she asked.
“Yeah, I also believe that only the good die young, so I will be around for quite some time,” he replied and they both burst out laughing.
The Glory went into serious mode.
“Remember now that only the US, Japan and China can access the Strongholds of the Moon and Mars,” said Glory.
“While the Russians focus on breaking the ice on the North Pole,” chipped in Adam.
Glory nodded.
“Nothing has changed on that front, Adam, but now back to the Moon and Mars. There is something called the ‘United Military Solar System’ known as the UMSS’. It is the US vs the Kremlin.”
“Are you suggesting that the Russians may have Astrobellumss o
f their own to try and wrestle control of the Moon and Mars from the UMSS?” asked the archeologist.
Glory giggled.
“Anything is possible,” she said, and the retracted her statement.
“Unless of course, the relationship between former US President Donald Trump and the Russian leadership is still rosy behind the back of current US leader John Carmichael III. Maybe Trump can do the US people a favor after-all by doing a peace-plan with the Kremlin.”
Adam stared at the mother of his children. She also seemed more beautiful than ever in the heat of strategic battle.
“So, Einstein, what you are telling me is whoever finds the artefacts first will stand a good chance of taking over the world as their people will survive thanks to the space suits made from the artefacts material?” questioned Adam.
Glory clapped her hands.
“You are not just a pretty face, are you?” she teased.
“I am certain that the Russian government is working hand in hand with the Bratva on this campaign,” said Adam.
“This is a matter of survival life and death.”
At that point there was a knock on the bedroom door and soon it opened. Bureau boss Floyd Patterson stood in the doorway and entered without any real form of invitation from either Glory or Adam.
“Mr Kennedy and Ms Falcon, I hope that you are enjoying the US government’s hospitality on the island here,” he commented.
“Where are we?” asked Adam.
“That is not important right now,” carried on the agent.
“I think that you both need to reconsider your standing if you are indeed withholding any form of information from us. Yesterday in Leticia, two of our top FBI agents were killed close to the vicinity where Mr Kennedy was… um…. kidnapped by our agents. Please understand that you were both brought to the island for your own personal safety. Had we left you on your posts for much longer, you could both have been in body-bags by now.”
“Do you think that the Bratva have put hits out on both of us?” asked Glory.
“Ms Falcon, I am not paid to think but to know and yeah, both of you were due to be executed if we didn’t remove you from the positions that you were in,” said Floyd.
“Why would they do that, apart from the fact that they are savage gangsters?” questioned Adam.
Floyd slanted his head to the left and then straightened it again.
“According to our intelligence reports, the Bratva believe two things. One, that Mr Kennedy knows where the artefacts are hidden and Two, that Mr Kennedy may have removed more than one of the artefacts from the Amazon on his first trip there.”
Glory gulped.
“The second part of their speculation is not true,” she said.
Floyd sniggered.
“I know that but the Bratva don’t,” he said.
“So where does that leave me?” asked Glory.
“Knowledge is power, Ms Falcon, as a clever planetology graduate, you should know that,” said the bureau chief.
“Anyone who stands in the way of the Bratva or holds more knowledge than they do, should be eliminated. It is one of their business principles, and, wow, how their business has thrived built on that philosophy over the years.”
Glory’s eyes stretched to the limit.
“Was Elena due back to finish me off in the Paranal Mountains?” asked the planetology graduate.
Floyd shook his head.
“Ms Falcon, Elena Hayek’s body was found about five miles from the laboratory where you were based in the Paranal Mountains,” explained Floyd.
“Like my two now deceased agents, her eyes were missing from her face.”
Glory placed her hands over her face.
“Let me guess, she was taken out for not finishing me off?”
Floyd nodded.
“That could have been my fate if your men did not get me out of the Paranal?” asked Glory.
Again, the agent nodded.
“It could also have been my fate if the FBI did not remove me from the Amazon?” asked Adam rhetorically.
Floyd nodded for the third time.
“It is a cruel world out there,” commented the agent.
Adam and Glory stared at each other. They had clearly been at death’s door without knowing it. Someone up in the heavens had saved them, and that someone clearly has had a purpose for their lives since the day that they were born.
Glory was fuming with herself that she had not asked the agent about the whereabouts of her twins. What type of mother was she that the safety of her twins was not foremost in her mind but rather that of the human race?
She knew that the FBI Bureau chief checked on their wellbeing every three hours or so and the matter of her children’s safety was now top of mind for when Floyd Patterson made his next visit.
It was almost like Adam and Glory were brain-washed into the Strongholds strategy. One thing both were grateful about, was the swift work of the FBI to save their lives.
Even though Glory was now with Adam, the love of her life, she had been left to wonder about the wellbeing of her legal husband, Alan Falcon, of space program fame. Where was he? Her gutfeel told her that the question would soon be answered too.
Chapter Twenty three
Trouble brewing on Angel Island
US President John Carmichael III sat deep in thought behind his office desk at his temporary place of safety on Angel Island.
Like most of the role-players in this intriguing drama concerning Planet X and the future of mankind on earth, his mind was starting to play tricks on him.
For quite a while now, the US leader had been wondering if a double deal was not going on behind his back. His predecessor Donald Trump had built a good political relationship with Russian No 1 Vladimir Putin, but John Carmichael III’s dealing with the Russians were quite on the same level. They seemed to disagree on more than they agreed upon.
Is there such a thing as an honest Russian, thought the US President, but then he remembered that he should not stereo-type people. How many times in his career did he hear people ask if there is such a thing as an honest politician?
Space program advisor Shaun Kelly knocked on the office door and entered upon permission from the US No 1.
“Get me Patterson,” snapped the US leader.
“I will, Sir, but I thought you said that you don’t want to see FBI Bureau Chief Patterson’s face again and..”
“I know what I said, just get him here,” retorted the politician.
Five minutes passed before Floyd Patterson made his way in the President’s temporary office.
“You wanted to see me, Sir?” asked Floyd, dressed in his traditional black suit, although he had discarded of the tie due to the hot and humid conditions on the island.
“Firstly, I need to give credit where credit is due,” began John Carmichael III.
“Congratulations on getting Adam Kennedy and Glory Falcon out of Chile and to a place of safety.”
Floyd wanted to smile but first had to check that he was hearing things correctly. A few days earlier, the President had lambasted him for allowing Adam to slip through the fingers of the FBI on two occasions. Now the FBI man was being praised by the US leader. Was John Carmichael III becoming soft or losing his mind, thought Floyd.
“Thank you, Sir, but it was really a team effort with our men on the ground,” said the bureau boss.
The President looked away from Floyd for a moment.
“Has anyone from our side been in touch with the families of agents Shuttleworth and McKenzie?” asked the President.
Floyd wiped his forehead with his handkerchief before responding.
“We have informed the next of kin of the deceased FBI agents and the respective wives are in bad shape emotionally, as you can imagine,” responded the bureau boss.
John Carmichael III shook his head.
“Such a tragic loss of life,” he muttered.
“More so is the way in which their lives were taken,” sa
id Floyd.
“No man should be put through that traumatic experience.”
The President was fully aware that Floy was referring to the fact that the bodies of the deceased FBI men were found minus their eyes, which had seeming been cut out of their faces.
“I pray that the Bratva cut the eyes out after the men had been killed,” said John Carmichael III who suddenly felt sick in his stomach.
“I doubt that, Sir,” quipped Floyd.
“The Bratva are evil bastards, excuse my language. They don’t care about anything except the final objective and the FBI and in fact all Americans are standing in the way of them reaching their goal.”
The President nodded.
“That is why it is pointless for me to speak to the Russian President as I am totally convinced that the Kremlin are working hand-in-hand with the Bratva,” said John Carmichael III.
The President turned to Shaun Kelly who was still in the room.
“How is the transportation of people to the Moon and Mars Strongholds coming along?” asked John Carmichael III.
“Slow but sure, Sir,” said Shaun.
“Our space office is doing its best, but there is no speedy solution to transporting people to the Strongholds. We just don’t have enough spaceships to move the process at speed. If we…”
The space advisor stopped on his comment. What he really wanted to say was that if the White House had not closed down the bulk of the space program a few years earlier and suspended the majority of the budget, the program in terms of spaceships and transportation would be quite far down the road by now.
John Carmichael III did not ask Shaun to complete his sentence as the leader’s mind was too pre-occupied with other thoughts.
“Agent Patterson, do you think that Adam Kennedy has hidden some more artefacts from us and if so why would he do this?” asked the President.
“I don’t think so, Sir, but I can’t be certain,” replied Floyd.
“Well I need you to be certain,” snapped the US leader.
“Let me go double check, Sir,” said Floyd, but before he could leave the President’s office, Shaun Kelly’s mobile phone rang, with one of his colleagues relaying some disturbing news.