Without another word Annie moved out of the circle’s orbit and busied herself picking up around the great room, ignoring the others. Doug knew she was hurting. Hell, he was hurting.
“So, what about this third object?” Jennings said.
“Since it was stolen, I’m afraid that’s a wild card.”
“How do you know the other two are on their way here now?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I don’t care how complicated it is,” Doug said. “If you expect me to cooperate you have to tell me everything.”
Nadia sighed. “We think we know who has them. We think the objects are leading them here. You remember I said we’d been watching Shutzenberger?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’ve known the identity of all three scientists for years. We’ve been watching all of them since the Roswell debacle. And although we didn’t know about the objects until Shutzenberger passed his to Cobain a week ago, we put two and two together and came to some conclusions.”
“Are either of the other two scientists still alive?” Jennings said.
Nadia shook her head. “One was from Maine. His name was Albert Singer. He died of cancer almost twenty years ago. Looking back on everything we now believe he gave the object to his grandson just before he died. His name is Jason La Chance and he was twelve at the time.”
“Wouldn’t it have been risky giving that object to a kid?”
“The old man took a calculated risk. He trusted the kid. Turned out La Chance didn’t let him down. He’s a war hero, two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally, he arrived home from his final tour of duty on the day the pathogen struck.”
“Do you know if he survived the virus?”
“We’re not certain, but we believe there’s a good chance he did.”
“Interesting. So what’s the story with the second scientist?”
“His name was Joseph Peterson. He lived in St. Petersburg, Florida where he raised a granddaughter, Danielle Peterson. The granddaughter’s parents were killed in a plane crash in Nevada when she was a child, too young to remember them. She became a doctor, a cancer specialist and was treating her ailing grandfather when someone broke into his house and murdered him. According to police the place was turned upside down as if they were searching for something.”
“It was the object, wasn’t it?” Eli said.
“We think so. After more than sixty years in anonymity these objects have suddenly come to the attention of some very sinister people. We think the granddaughter found it after the police were finished with their investigation. The old man probably had it hidden very well. This was the day before the pathogen struck and she did some totally out of character stuff. She dumped her boyfriend—who, by the way, was found dead in a Boston hotel room—quit her job, closed up her apartment, drew all her money out of the bank and hit the road, heading west.
“We’re pretty sure that La Chance headed east because he mustered out of the army in Fort Hood, Texas and told the people there that he had decided to hitch home, which was Maine. The pathogen struck that night and everything got confused. We lost track of them both. We can only assume that they met up and are on their way here now.”
“That’s quite a stretch, isn’t it?” Laura said.
“We don’t think so. We think the objects brought them together. We’ve known about La Chance and Peterson since they were born. We’ve been waiting and watching to see what would happen.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jennings asked.
“We suspected the three scientists had a secret, and as it turned out, they did. But we weren’t the only ones keeping an eye on them. The government never trusted that they’d been completely honest after the Roswell incident so they kept tabs on them. Why do you think they let them live?”
“But what makes you think they met up and are on their way here?”
“Ariel told us. You remember what she said before Annie put her to bed? That others were coming. And you asked her how she knew that?”
“She said she made the arrangements,” Jennings replied. “But listen, she’s only four years old.”
“But you asked her when she made those arrangements.”
“And she said a couple of days ago.”
“Right. And you asked her how, and she said, ‘the same way I arranged for you to be here.’”
“Listen,” Jennings said. “I would have come here anyway.”
“True, but how do you know Dr. Randal and I would have?”
“Okay, so you’re saying she called you here?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“How?”
“We knew when it was time and we came. I can’t explain it any better than that. That child is extraordinary. She knows things. She has the power to make things happen. I think we should trust her.”
“She is extraordinary,” Eli said.
“By the way, those three scientists were under surveillance by more than factions of the U.S. Government,” Randal added.
“What others?” Annie asked, abandoning her kitchen duties and stepping closer to the table.
“Well, us for one,” Nadia said.
“You’ve already told us that. Who else?”
“I can’t say at this time, because we’re not totally sure.”
“Are you talking about my father?” Annie said. Everyone at the table could hear the tension in her voice.
Nadia gave Doug a look then quickly averted her eyes.
“It is him, isn’t it?’ Annie said.
Dr. Randal sighed. “We honestly don’t know, Annie. We suspect several groups. The Brotherhood has been following the trail of those three scientists since long before any of us were born, and in the process we’ve observed some strange traffic. In recent years we’ve managed to pick up some threads, but that’s all. Your father could be one of them. He’s very shrewd and would never reveal himself personally. As we said before, he dropped off the face of the earth. If he’s out there he’s insulated himself quite successfully.”
“Yeah, he’s good at that,” commented Doug.
“Okay,” Eli said. “If we assume that two of the objects are in friendly hands and on their way here, then what about the third object? You say this reporter, Johnny Cobain was murdered. That means someone else has it. Any idea who?”
“None. And the whole world went to shit before we could get a chance to investigate.”
“I think I might know who has it,” Jennings said and all eyes turned to him.
“What the hell?” Laura said with incredulity. “How could you possibly know anything about the third object? None of us knew anything about these objects until just now.” Laura stopped as a dawn of realization came over her face. “Oh my God,” she said. “On the way up here you said you had a time sensitive message for Doug and Annie from Spencer. It’s Spencer, isn’t it? Spencer’s got the third object. Why am I not surprised?”
Everyone was looking at Jennings in anticipation.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Nadia said. “Spencer’s had his hand in this a long time. The Project has been on the cutting edge of the Blue Light mystery for years.”
Wolf laughed. “Yeah, sure. Listen to me, people. He detonated a nuclear weapon on an inhabited island ten miles off Portland, Maine in an attempt to destroy it. He put tens of thousands of people at risk. He’s a nut job. He should not be allowed near Ariel or any of those objects.”
“I agree,” Doug said, looking at Jennings. “What did he tell you?”
“He said to get these guys out of Dodge as quickly as possible.” Jennings made a sweep with his arm taking in Laura, Wolf and Eli.
“Damn, he knew about the plague ahead of time?”
“He didn’t say that. He only said there was some serious shit happening in the world and that I should do it as quickly as possible.”
“He knew,” Doug said. “Christ!”
“Did he mention the object?” Nadia said.
“Not specifically, but he did tell me that he had something very important for Doug and Annie, and that he would deliver it to them personally. After hearing everything I’ve heard today, it makes sense that it would be the third object.”
“Nobody at this table trusts that bastard,” Doug said. “I certainly don’t. He tried to frame me for bringing down an airliner full of people. He hunted me like an animal. And it’s very likely he killed Shutzenberger, and now Cobain. He’s ruthless.”
“Yes, I know that, Doug, but listen, the government has had access to the Roswell stuff for more than sixty years. Think about it. Spencer works for a secret government organization that’s directly linked to that incident. He’s known about all this, including the Blue Light, for a very long time. If he does have that object and it’s somehow important to the future, we want him to bring it here.”
“He’s a murderer and I don’t trust his motives,” Doug said. “I agree with Danny. I would never trust him with Ariel.”
Eli said, “After what he did to me and Danny and the other kids in that orphanage who knows what he’ll do to Ariel.”
“He’ll never get near her,” Annie said, her voice filled with barely controlled rage.
“Let’s get something straight,” Jennings said. “I don’t trust him. You all know that. But we do need to find out what he’s up to. And if he has the third object we need to find a way to get it from him. Listen, Doug, if you remember correctly, he didn’t really want you. He tried to frame you for bringing down that plane because he wanted the object you were given by that priest.”
“Hold it,” Wolf said. “What object?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Doug said.
“Doug, you know you have to talk about it eventually,” Nadia said.
“Why? What possible difference could it make?”
“It saved your life. Maybe it even saved mine. It’s important in the final equation.”
“How do you know that?”
Nadia did not immediately answer Doug’s question. Those around the table could see that she was wrestling with some inner voice. “I’m not sure you’d believe me.”
“Try me,” Doug said.
“I think we should tell them,” Dr. Randal said. “They know everything else.”
Nadia left her seat and began pacing back and forth across the cave’s stone floor. Finally she stopped. “Eli, earlier you asked me if anyone actually knew what the Blue Light things were. Well, the answer to that is yes, we do know.”
“I’m listening.”
Nadia looked from face to face still unsure if she should go on. “Okay,” she said finally, “they’re wormholes. And that object is part of the key that unlocks them.”
The room went silent. Everyone was glancing back and forth between Nadia and Dr. Randal. Finally Eli said, “You mean like wormholes you can travel through space in?”
“Exactly, Eli,” Dr. Randal said. “Space and time.”
“Wow, this is really getting strange,” Wolf said.
Nadia went back to her chair and sat down, folded her hands together on the tabletop and sighed. “And it’s going to get even stranger,” she said.
Rick Jennings wasn’t one to get hysterical about things. For the most part he was a tough and levelheaded police detective who had seen more than his share of craziness in his time. Now he found he was barely able to control a laugh that seemed to be building in his diaphragm. It took every ounce of control he had to hold onto it.
“So,” he said, “these wormholes you speak of, are they the ones the little green men came through before they were shot down over Roswell?”
“We believe so,” Randal replied.
Jennings smiled without humor. “And where, may I ask did these wormholes come from?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Where are they now?”
“Everywhere.”
“Everywhere?”
“We believe they’re woven into the fabric of the universe. Most physicists now agree that they’ve been here since long before Earth existed, perhaps since the beginning of time. Until now their existence has been relatively secret. Now, thanks to our government everyone knows about them, although most people don’t actually know what they are.”
“So you’re saying that the Blue Light thingies are wormholes?” Eli said.
“Correct, Eli, the very things governments around the world conspired to destroy when they couldn’t figure out how to make them work. They are wormholes, transporters, if you like. But they are so much more than that. Most physicists believe they are a highly evolved organic species that has been around for billions of years. No one is sure whether they’re part of the natural universe or if they were built by some supremely advanced civilization eons ago. It doesn’t matter, they’re here and they serve a great purpose.”
“What purpose?” Laura asked.
“In a sense they are the watchdogs of the universe, highly intelligent and exceedingly empathetic. But don’t be fooled, they have the power to destroy worlds, if they deem it necessary.”
“So you’re saying these things are alive and intelligent?”
“Exactly. And they have the power to act with impunity.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Because they told us.”
“Wait a minute. They can speak?”
“Not like we speak. They use the universal language which is mathematics, but speak they do. Mankind has been studying them for more than a century. We studied them for years before we theorized what they were, and once we figured it out we studied them some more trying to get them to do something. When we didn’t succeed we thought that nuking them would get a reaction out of them. It did, but not the one we were expecting. It pissed them off. Following that debacle they spoke to us for the first time. They told us we were stupid and that we were running out of chances.”
“So what do they have to do with us and Ariel and these other three objects you’ve been talking about?” asked Laura.
“You can’t just step into one of these . . . wormholes and expect it to catapult you to the other side of the galaxy,” Randal replied. “Trust me, we’ve tried. Like a car you need a key, only in the case of these earthbound wormholes you need several keys all working in tandem. Whatever intelligence resides within the wormholes told us it was planned that way in order to prevent accidents or abuse. It also said that somewhere on Earth there was an interface where these keys fit.”
“Of course it didn’t tell you where that was,” Jennings said.
Randal shook his head.
“So that’s it?” Annie said. “These three objects will turn the wormholes on? Then what?”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Dr. Randal said avoiding Annie’s direct gaze.
“No, it’s never that simple, is it,” Annie said and Doug could see by the look in her eyes and the flush on her face that she was again becoming agitated. Like Doug, Annie was afraid that they were coming to the part that involved Ariel.
“Your father set this entire series of events into motion way back in another life and time, Annie,” Nadia said. “I believe you know the story.”
“Yes, I know the story only too well,” Annie said coldly. “It was told to me by a creature who shouldn’t have existed. My father made a deal with the devil.”
“No, Annie, that’s not true,” Dr. Randal replied. “That creature wasn’t your enemy. He was a facilitator, sent here to bring you and Doug together. It was pure chance that your father found that object. It could have been anyone else, but it was him. He was in the right place at the right time, or perhaps the wrong place at the wrong time—depending how you want to look at it—when he found a legendary object that had been missing for almost a thousand years. This facilitator, or collector, as you call him, made a bargain with your father, but unfortunately your father didn’t keep his end of the bargain. Over the years he let his
ambition get the better of him. But believe this, if your father had not found that object you would not exist and neither would Ariel. Maybe none of us would be here right now.”
“Hold it,” Wolf said. He was glancing between Annie and Dr. Randal. “Is this the object you and Doug were talking about a moment ago?”
“The one and only,” Jennings replied, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. “At the time it all seemed a little too farfetched for my tastes. Actually it still does.”
“You know about this?”
“Afraid I do.”
Doug smiled bitterly. “If I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t seen and heard and lived all that stuff myself I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
“So, what object are we talking about here?” Laura asked.
“An object I’ve had in my possession since a dying Jesuit priest gave it to me on the day of Annie’s mother’s funeral,” Doug said. “It saved my life.”
“How?”
“I can’t explain it.”
“But what is it?” Laura persisted.
Dr. Randal held up his hand for silence. The room stilled as all eyes turned to him. “It is the tip of an ancient spear,” Randal said. “Some refer to it as the holy lance. Others know it as Constantine’s lance. It is the broken off point of the weapon that pierced Christ’s side on the day he was crucified.”
The room erupted with incredulous banter. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Laura said. “What does this have to do with wormholes and space aliens?”
“Everything.” Randal replied.
“I thought that spear was in a museum in Austria,” Wolf said.
“There is one there, the entire spearhead, actually, but it’s a fake. Hitler stole it when he annexed Austria in 1938. From the moment of Hitler’s first encounter with it in the museum when he was a boy, it became the central pivot in his life and the very source of his ambitions to conquer the world. The Americans—General Patton, to be precise—recovered it when he took Berlin in 1945 and returned it to the museum. Believers from all over the world go there to worship, but it’s nothing special, just an ordinary Roman spear from the same period.”
Song of Ariel: A Blue Light Thriller (Book 2) (Blue Light Series) Page 20