Fear of the Fathers: The Reiki Man Trilogy

by Dominic C. James

  “Fucking hell!” shouted Oggi from the back. “Are you trying to fucking kill me or what?”

  “So,” said Stratton, ignoring Oggi’s moans. “You were saying that the monks brought you up. How did that come about?”

  “When we were very young – I was probably four or five, Tali a year younger – a great flood hit our village. It was only a tiny village with five families living in five little huts. We were used to the monsoons of course, but this particular year was like no other – the rains came down as if the devil himself had unleashed it. Whereas before we were safe from the flooding, this time it came right up the valley. It happened overnight and we were totally unprepared.” He turned to Stratton. “Do stop me if I am going on too much, please. People say I am too much of a talker.”

  “Not at all,” said Stratton. “I’m interested. I like details. Please go on.”

  “Anyway, where was I…The first thing I knew was the water hitting my face as I slept. It was running right through the hut at a couple of feet, and it was still rising. I jumped out of my bed and ran over to wake Tali who was still asleep. Then my father appeared at the door. He told us to clear out of the hut and get to higher ground. He told us that our mother was unwell and that he would have to carry her. We wanted to stay with him, but he urged us to go on and find safety. He said we were too small to survive much longer. And he was right, because by now the water was up to our chests.

  “I lead Tali out, and almost immediately we were hit by a rush of water. It took our little legs away and we were swept up in the current. As I splashed around in the dark my hands hit something on the surface – it was a log from one of the huts. I reached out and clung to it with my free arm, the other still holding on to Tali. I don’t remember much after that, just that I prayed and held on to the log and my brother so tightly I almost passed out.

  “In the end that is what I must have done, because the next thing it was morning and I woke up on the bank of a strange river. Tali was next to me, huddled in my arms. We got to our feet and started shouting for help, but there was no answer. We were lost and alone and Tali started to cry. I also wanted to cry, but the knowledge that I must look after Tali made me strong. I hugged him and told him everything would be alright.

  “We wandered through the jungle, hopeful of finding a familiar clearing or stream. But the longer we walked, the more hopeless it became. I realized that we were nowhere near our home and that we were lost to the world. Eventually, so tired and hungry we could drop, we slumped down against a tree and passed out again.

  “The next time I woke, a man was standing over me with his hand on my head. He was dressed in a long white robe, and his long dark hair flowed down his back. He told me not to be afraid. His voice was such that I believed him. He picked up Tali, who was still unconscious, and I followed him through the jungle to his home.

  “He was a monk and he lived in what he called a ‘temple’ with three other monks. The ‘temple’ was no more than a large hut really. There were no carvings or statues, just four plain rooms. He took Tali to one of these rooms and laid him down on a bed. He then stood over him and moved his hands slowly up and down his body, holding them just above his skin. Within half an hour Tali was up and about, his weariness gone. We were washed and fed and given beds for the night.

  “The next morning one of the monks left the temple to search for our parents. He returned two weeks later with bad news. He said that the entire village had been wiped out and that we were the only two known survivors. From then on they took it upon themselves to care for us.”

  “Wow,” said Stratton. “That’s some story. I can’t imagine how frightened you must have been.”

  “We were for a while, but children are very hardy. We adapted well to the situation.”

  “I thought the monks would have tried to find you a new family,” said Stratton. “Did you not have any relatives?”

  “Not that we knew of. The monks said that we had been sent to them by the universe and that it was their responsibility to care for us. I feel extremely fortunate that they found us. We learnt more from them than we could possibly have done in our little village. We were taught to read and write, and we were taught other languages.”

  “Yes,” said Stratton. “Your English is excellent.”

  “Thank you,” said Jimi. “They also taught us mathematics and sciences. By the time we headed for the outside world we were probably the most educated young men in Kerala state.”

  “How much contact with the outside world did you have when you were growing up?” asked Stratton.

  “Not much,” said Jimi. “We would perhaps travel out once a year. But you have to remember that the temple was right in the middle of unforgiving jungle. It was almost a hundred miles to the nearest settlement. It was not a journey to take on lightly.”

  “Is the jungle still unforgiving?”

  “Yes,” said Jimi. “It is a difficult journey. It might be wise to leave the lady in an hotel.”

  “I don’t think she’d appreciate that,” said Stratton. “I’m certainly not going to tell her.”

  “As you wish,” shrugged Jimi. “But I warn you now – this jungle is not for the faint-hearted.”

  Chapter 107

  After nearly two weeks of determined exercise Kamal felt he was finally ready to leave the cottage. He was a long way from full fitness, but he was able to walk about without assistance and it was no longer a labour to eat and breathe. Marvo was unhappy with the situation and wanted him to stay on for at least one more week, but Kamal had made his mind up and nothing was going to stop him.

  “She already has a two week start on me,” he said to Marvo over breakfast. “I cannot leave it any longer. Although I fear it might already be too late.”

  “Well it’s your life,” said Marvo. “I just hope it works out for you.”

  “Did you get me the address?” asked Kamal.

  Marvo grabbed a slip of paper off the worktop. “Yeah, I got it for you,” he said, handing it across.

  “Thank you,” said Kamal. “Just add it to my bill.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Marvo. “The guy owed me a favour anyway. I just hope it helps you out.”

  “It will. That is where she will go, I am sure of it. I can only hope that she has not made a move yet.”

  Marvo sighed. “I don’t know Kamal. I don’t like this at all. You’ll be better off getting on a plane and living happily ever after back in India. You know me – I’m the last person to give up on somebody, but all that’s going to happen here is you being dragged down with her. Ask yourself – is it really worth it?”

  “Three weeks ago I would have said definitely not. But I have changed since then. I have been appointed to look after this girl, and I must see the job through to the end – whatever that end may be.”

  “Well, I’ve made my point,” said Marvo. “It’s obvious you’re going to carry on whatever I say. So I’ll just say good luck. And remember – you’re welcome back here anytime, whatever the circumstance. If you need help just say the word.”

  Kamal smiled and bowed his head in respect. “Thank you my friend. I hope we will meet again under better circumstances.”

  Chapter 108

  Patricia Stone twitched and snuffled her nose and brow yet again to try and get a view of where she was. The blindfold, however, was not for moving, and she resigned herself to more long hours of sensory deprivation. She was taped fast to a chair. Both her hands and legs were bound impossibly tight, and her mouth was filled with material. She had tried rocking the chair off its legs, but it was set to the floor. She had no idea how long she’d been there.

  Her main concern was not for herself but for her daughter. She hadn’t seen or heard anything of her since kissing her goodnight. All she knew was that the mad woman had tied, gagged, and blindfolded her in the bedroom and carried her downstairs to the basement. Since then she had been sitting in the soundless dark, unaware of anything but her own body.


  Eventually she heard the basement door open and light footsteps coming down the wooden stairs. There was a rip of tape followed by a low whimper.

  “Mummy!” sobbed the voice. “Where’s my mummy?”

  “Drink!” the mad woman commanded.

  What followed was a series of cries and wails interspersed with blunt orders to drink. Patricia was so overwhelmed with joy at the sound of her daughter’s voice that it hardly seemed to matter she was being bullied.

  When Patricia’s turn came, the first thing she did was to comfort Jenny. “It’s alright sweetheart, Mummy’s here,” she said. “Just be brave and everything will be fine.”

  “Shut it!” Annie shouted. “Just drink the water.”

  Patricia sipped and then glugged as Annie put the bottle to her mouth. Until then she hadn’t realized how dehydrated she was. The bottle was taken away all too soon.

  “More!” Patricia gasped.

  “That’s plenty for now,” Annie said, coldly. “You’re not going to die. Well, not yet anyway.”

  “What do you want!?” screamed Patricia. “What do you want from us!?”

  The only answer she received was the material being shoved back into her mouth and taped in. The footsteps went back up the stairs and the door shut. Patricia prayed that her husband would come home soon.

  Chapter 109

  The drive took over six hours. By the time they reached their destination night was falling, and everybody was tired and stiff and hungry. Stratton got out of the jeep and paced around, enjoying the freedom to stretch his limbs and clear his head of the constant drone of the engine.

  They had come to a halt outside a large wooden hut that backed onto thick jungle. A glorious scent of spices wafted from within inducing a mass salivation.

  “Something smells good,” said Stratton to Jimi.

  “Yes. I thought that we should all have one last decent meal before we head into the jungle. Our friend Massa has been here doing the cooking.”

  The hut was one room with a stove in the middle and mattresses spread round the perimeter. Next to the stove was a rustic table with eight chairs. A diesel generator provided ample lighting. Jimi explained that it was the last hospitable place before the expanse of uncharted territory that lay before them. He used it as a base camp when taking tourists on mini-safaris into the shallow jungle.

  Massa was an imposing sort with broad shoulders and a huge girth. He had a fat friendly face with a light, neatly-trimmed beard. As they walked in he was stooped over a cooking pot, tasting his curry with a wooden spoon.

  “Good evening,” he said cheerily, turning to greet the guests. “I hope you are all hungry.”

  “I’ll say,” said Oggi, his stomach having returned to some sort of normality. “It smells terrific.”

  They dumped their packs on separate mattresses and sat down at the table. Jimi went to the fridge in the corner and brought everyone out a beer. “Enjoy it,” he said. “Because for the next two weeks it’s going to be water, water, and more water.”

  Massa dished up bowls of curried chicken and passed them down. They helped themselves from a mound of chapattis in the centre of the table.

  “This is unbelievable,” said Jennings. “Better than any curry I’ve had before.”

  “Of course,” said Jimi. “You are in India now, not London. This is the real thing.”

  Stratton began by eating ravenously, but halfway through the meal, without warning, he cramped up and doubled over holding his stomach.

  “Are you okay?” asked Jimi. “I hope the food hasn’t disagreed with you.”

  “No, the food’s great,” said Stratton, getting out of his seat. “I just need some fresh air.” He walked slowly out of the hut.

  “What was that all about?” asked Jennings. “Is he alright?”

  “He’s been like that for a couple of weeks now,” said Oggi. “Cramping up at odd moments. His energy flow switching on and off. Hasn’t he mentioned it?”

  “Yeah, he did once. Well, he said something about losing his power. But I didn’t take too much notice of it because he said it was probably only temporary.”

  “It may very well be,” said Oggi. “But it’s been going on long enough for my liking.”

  Once Stella had eaten her fill she followed Stratton outside. She found him sitting down on a thick log ten yards from the hut, his head bowed in thought. Titan lay at his feet. The air was moist with heat and filled with the sound of insects.

  “I thought I’d come and see how you were,” she said, parking herself next to him on the makeshift bench.

  He looked up and smiled, his face lit by the glow from the hut. “Thanks,” he said. “But you needn’t have bothered. I just needed some air.”

  “So you say. But I think there’s something really wrong with you. You haven’t been yourself at all. We’ve hardly seen you for the last couple of weeks. Come on, you can talk to me.”

  “There’s really nothing to tell,” he said gently, holding her hand in his. “There’s just a lot of stuff I have to figure out for myself. Whatever’s happening, it’s my problem, there’s nothing you or anyone else can do for me.”

  “It’s easy for you to say, but it won’t stop me worrying. I love you Stratton – I can’t help but worry about you.”

  He squeezed her hand tenderly. “I know,” he said. “But you’ve got to try and take a step back. We’ve got a long way to go yet and everybody needs to have their wits about them. Once we enter the jungle you’re going to have to leave sentiment behind.”

  “Is the wildlife that dangerous then?” she asked.

  “Yes, it is dangerous, but it’s not my main concern. I’m more worried about human beings than anything else.”

  “But hardly anyone knows we’re here do they?” said Stella.

  “Enough people know,” said Stratton. “I can’t trust anyone fully apart from you guys, and maybe Cronin. That’s why I brought you along Stella – because I trust you and you can handle yourself. I don’t know what’s going to happen once we hit the jungle, but I can almost guarantee that somewhere along the line someone is going to try and get their hands on the box. We’ve just got to be ready. So I’m asking you, please stop worrying about me and concentrate on the job in hand.”

  “No problem,” she said, straightening herself up. “But just remember I’m here for you.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate it.” He got up and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go back inside and join the others. I feel a lot better now, and I could do with another helping of that fantastic curry.”

  Chapter 110

  The Prime Minister walked out of No.10 with his head held high. He smiled and waved at the gathering of pressmen and paparazzi, and made a few choice comments that neither denied nor confirmed their suspicions. Stone and Davis whisked him along to the car, pushing aside any media stragglers that dared to get in their way.

  A story had broken that morning suggesting that a leadership challenge was being mounted by one of Jonathan Ayres’ own cabinet. The newsmen were claiming that Brian Carrick, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was plotting to overthrow his friend and mentor. Ayres had been attempting to get hold of Carrick for the last hour, but with no success.

  Once inside the car Ayres breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to his phone, dialling Carrick’s mobile number one more time. Yet again it went straight to voicemail, and yet again he left a polite but urgent message.

  “He’s still not answering then?” said Mrs Ayres.

  “No, he’s bloody well not. I can’t believe this – not after all that’s happened in the last few weeks. I mean, what a time to stick the knife in! After all I’ve done for him as well. What a bloody Judas!”

  “Calm down darling,” she said. “You don’t know for sure that anything’s going on yet.”

  “Of course I do,” said Ayres. “If there wasn’t any substance to it he would have phoned me as soon as the story broke. It’s been near
ly an hour and a half now, and he still hasn’t returned any of my calls. I just don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. I mean, it’s not like I’m unpopular with the public. We’re not losing voters left, right and centre. Are we?”

  “No, you’re not sweetheart. If anything I’d say you were more popular than ever. I reckon the public has real sympathy for you. But you always knew what Brian was like. He’s ambitious, and right now he doesn’t see a friend that needs support – he sees a Prime Minister weakened by circumstance and ready for the slaying. Even you must admit that your decision making hasn’t been that great lately.”

  Ayres sighed. “I guess it hasn’t,” he said. “But that doesn’t give Brian the right to attempt some cack-handed coup d’état. I gave him the Chancellor’s job to crush rebellions against me, not instigate them.” Just then his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and answered. “Hello Brian…”

  After a couple of minutes, during which he sat and listened with the occasional “I see” thrown in, he put the phone down.

  “Well?” said his wife. “What’s going on?”

  “He’s calling for a leadership election. He says that the cabinet are right behind him.”

  “What!? Why?”

  “He says that they can no longer put up with a part-time leader. He says that my mind is no longer fully on the job and that the country needs someone strong to see it through what he calls ‘difficult economic times’. Basically they don’t think I’m up to the job anymore.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What I always do,” said Ayres. “Stand and fight ‘til the battle’s won.”

  Stone and Davis gave each other a raised eyebrow. Then Stone’s mobile started to ring. He picked up and listened in silence, his face growing visibly whiter by the second. He rang off and stared into space.

  Chapter 111

  Beneath a dark green roof smattered with specks of blue Jennings hacked his way through the dense undergrowth watching for movement. Although Jimi had insisted that any snake would be scared away by the tramp of their heavy feet, Jennings was still wary. It wasn’t as if he’d ever even encountered one before, but he’d seen enough movies to know they were sneaky and slimy and deadly. So, whatever Jimi’s protestations, he was going to be on guard at all times – well, when he wasn’t scanning the trees for giant spiders.