On Wednesday Chris, his father and the Labrones were rushing to get ready to return to Sharp Manor. They made it to the air port at nine am as they have to be there an hour before their flight. They are eating breakfast at an overpriced McDonald’s that does business in the airport, though it's probably cheaper then the other overpriced places at the Airport cafeteria. Chris caught up with Cole some more and stayed away from his father.
He is still thinking about Luminare who Ric will find out more about. Chris has decided that he is not going to just drop it like Cole asked. He is done eating and picks up a book when his phone rings. Chris answers the phone after checking it, it's Jason, “Hi Jason, You called just in time, we still have twenty minutes before boarding.”
“Good I timed it perfectly. Ric has been up all night trying to find information on Francois Luminare with no luck. Though he did discover some strange things. The date Luminare and his daughter vanished is around the same time that your father's show started a more erratic schedule. Now there does not seem to be any real connection but I believe there is something.”
“Give me a second Jason.” Chris Stands up and tells his father that he is going to walk and talk with his friend. He waits until he is about fifty feet from his father, Cole, and Alfred before speaking again. “Why didn't Ric call?”
“After calling me he passed out. Like I said he has been working all night.”
“Hey Jason I found a letter in my jacket last night. I think it was planted at some point yesterday. I have not read it yet and I have not told my father. It might be important though. Now since we got our tickets at the last minute and this is a day before thanks giving flight I have a seat by myself. I plan to read the note without my father or even Cole knowing about it.”
“But Cole is a friend, you told me you could always trust Cole.”
“I know.” Chris says calmly, “I can't help but shake the feeling that they all know something I don't. Even Cole is hiding something from me. If they won't tell me what's going on I will figure it out on my own.” Chris is passing by a clock and sees that twelve minutes has passed. “Hey Jason I should get back to my father. I will be shutting off my phone on the plane. I will call you when I get off.” Jason turns around to return to the rest of his party, “Tell Ric not to bother calling me. I will contact him when I get off the plane as well.”
Chris turns off his phone as he returns to his father, Alfred and Cole. “You got back just in time son.” Valmont says as he stands, “We should get to the gate for our flight, who knows when they will call for us to get on.
So the four of them head to the entrance gate for their plane. At nine forty five the attendant calls for people to enter the plane and be seated. Chris ended up in a seat in couch near the back, far enough away from Cole so that he can see his friends head and that’s it. His father and Alfred have first class tickets as that was all that was left so he does not have to worry about seeing them at all. It will only be a three hour flight to get to the air port in Albuquerque New Mexico.
Chris waits until the plane has taken off and then has settled down in the air before he opens the note. He looks at the envelope and first thing he notices is the hand writing is very sloppy and rushed. He can read it clearly but it looks like it was rushed. 'For Christian Sharp only, let no one else see this.' “Interesting.” Chris says to himself as he opens the letter. He then starts reading it.
'Christian Sharp by this point in time you realize that your life is in danger and you may feel that something strange is going on. You might be trying to figure out what is happening and why. I would advise against this. I fear you will not listen to some note left by a stranger. Though I will say that it is in your best interest to heed this warning, trust no one. Do not let anyone in Sharp manor know what you are trying to do, as anyone in the manor's staff could be compromised.
Your father is being watched closely. He is a target for forces he does not completely understand. Valmont Sharp has made his family a target because of his foolishness and your life is in more danger now that you are living with him. His enemies will use you as leverage if they are given the chance. Members of the Sharp staff are already spies for the enemy. Chances are they don't even know they are spies.
I can't tell you much about the enemy. I will say that you are on the right track, continue searching the as you are now and don't give up. However the one responsible for your mother's death is a low man on the totem pole. He is someone trying to make a name for himself. Stopping him will just send stronger enemies after you and your father, yet leaving him alone will make him more of a threat. Ether way you are going to have trouble, more trouble form here on. You can’t trust your father, not Alfred not even your close friend Cole. Any of them could work for the enemy. Well not your father Valmont he just does not realize how ignorant to the truth he is.
Toss this letter out when you finish, do not let anyone see this.'
Chris rereads the letter three more times before he feels satisfied with what he read and has memorized a bit. He then takes out a magazine from behind the seat in front of him and then hid the note inside. Sure the mystery writer said for no one to see the letter but Chris figures if some random person reads the note days or even weeks later that won't be a problem.
The rest of the flight occurs with no real strange incidents, well besides the feeling by Chris that he is being watched. He looks for someone staring at him with a blank look in their eyes but finds no one that matches the way Sam or Mr. McCannon looked.
In first class Valmont and Alfred got two seats right next to each other, it helps when your rich and famous even booked flights can open up four seats for you. Of course Valmont compensated the four people well for their tickets. Some people were more then happy to take cash rather then spend the next four days with the in laws. Valmont Sharp gave them the perfect excuse. He made sure to buy two tickets in first class as he has to discuss something away from his son.
“So you contacted Luminare and asked him what we should do about Chris.” This was one of Alfred's jobs from the night before. “What did my silent partner say?”
“He agrees that it might be best if Chris is let in on your secret. His life will be in grave danger when he comes to live with you and to keep him in the dark, to make him ignorant to that danger will not be a smart thing. It's weird though I expected Luminare to be against it. He has the most to lose here.”
“I know, that bargain I set up with him three years ago was mostly for his benefit. It's fine that demons and monsters target me as I'm relatively useless. Just a thorn in the side, but Francois Luminare he is the one doing real good. I would still be an ignorant hack who did not realize he was dealing with forces I still don't completely understand.”
“We were both fools Val, how were we suppose to know that our original backers were an ancient cult using the thoughts of the masses for brainwashing.” Alfred is talking about the The Forbidden Word, the first show where the Sharp Monster Hunting Experience stopped working with the Knowledge Foundation and instead partnered up with Hidden Truths Organization which consisted of Sharp, Luminare, Labrone, Jocasta and a few other trusted sources.
“We still don't know who we are dealing with even after working with Luminare for three years. It It seems that every time we do some good things get worse for us in the long run. Now there is this mysterious group that's trying to stop me. We still know nothing about them.” Valmont folds his hands, “Gabriel Tarque is the first real lead we got.”
Alfred nods, indeed if the others made a mistake it was Gabriel Tarque, who is best described as an egocentric blowhard. “I think our enemies are going with an irony factor here, pitting you against Tarque. After all the two of you are very much alike..”
Valmont Sharp scoffs at this, “I am nothing like Tarque.”
“Both of you are showmen who use the supernatural and forces that the average man does not understand to wow and impress people to make money. You were just on a far higher
plane then Tarque. Your acts were exaggerate, they were impressive displays of creativity.”
“I also made it clear what I was doing was fake, that I was an entertainer not a scam artist. That is where I am different from voodoo priests like Tarque or Gipsy fortune tellers, I never pawned my fakery off as the real deal.”
“True but does that make what we did any better?” Alfred since learning the truth has really regretted the years he spent helping people stay ignorant. “Besides what I mean is that like you Tarque started off as a fake. He was a con man who used the supernatural to make a quick buck. Now it seems Tarque has real powers. The question is how he got them.”
“Okay you got me.” Valmont opens up the small file on Tarque that Wayte faxed over to him Monday night. “Tarque does not seem to stay at one place for very long. He was always a traveling fraud and it seems since he got banned from my show he seems to have vanished altogether. Now that he resurfaced he suddenly had real powers.” Val shows Alfred two pictures of Tarque, “What did Yosif say about that staff with the skull markings and that red swirling orb in the second picture?”
“From what he can tell it is a real voodoo staff an ancient source of power, he is searching for it's name as we speak, may already have an answer when we get to the manor. It is safe to say that is the source of his powers. According to Yosif and his network of sources he has found around thirty cases of missing people all who have recently came in contact with the new Tarque.”
Valmont Sighs, so much explanation and so many questions but no answers. “Why do I have a bad feeling that something is waiting for us.”
“That's the life we live Val. It's the life you signed us on to when Luminare came to you for assistance.” Alfred responded.
“You could have left then.”
“Almost did but where would you be without me? We started this show together and I will be there until the end.
Gabriel Tarque has already reached his new shop in Albern New Mexico, he has left a day earlier then the Sharps, skipping the funeral and leaving Rast for that job. He has a shop set up in Albern after receiving orders from the Power Broker. The place he rented is pretty small and while some of the merchandise has already gotten there before him but he does not plan to open the shop until December. He has only shown up here for two reasons, first he rented the apartment above his shop and second he is expecting special merchandise to arrive.
Tarque hears a loud humming from the small sack on his belt and opens it, the blue crystal is glowing very brightly, the Power Broker is about to contact him. “Is the back door unlocked?”
“Of course it is.”
“Go check the door, in about five minutes you will have a guest, bring the wolf bane doll because even in human form he is wild. His former intelligence has been replaced by primal rage.”
Holding the crystal in his hand and the voodoo doll in the other Tarque walks to the back door and looks out the window near it. There is a man standing outside, he is wearing the tatters of a straight jacket, his hair is messed up and he has not shaved in days. He looks around with wild eyes looking like he is ready to strike at anything. Tarque slowly opens the door and the man grabs at the small hole and forces it open all the way. Tarque falls to the ground and the man jumps over him “GRRrrrrraaaahhhHHH.” The man tries to form words but just makes animalistic sounds come out.
Tarque grasps at the voodoo doll, “Back Thanatos back.” The man takes a step back and calms down. Tarque is not sure if it actually was the doll or if it was hearing his name. “Vargas Thanatos the werewolf of Glacier Pass I presume?”
Vargas simply nods. His mind has regressed to the point where he no longer remembers how to speak, sometimes he can't even remember who he use to be. “Vargas get into the cage.” The Power Broker commands from the glowing crystal. The voice resonates a command that the regressed man has no choice but to follow.
“I see why they has intrusted him in my care. I did not realize his lycanthropy had regressed him so much. Does it always do that?”
“No he is a rare case, most of the time most of their human intelligence remains and controls them even in wolf form. Vargas is one of the unlucky ones. All he knows is that Sharp made him this way. In his twisted mind he believes the only way he can regain his sanity is to get his revenge on Sharp.”
“Do they plan on granting him that request? I mean he probably does not remember making it anymore.” Tarque has only worked with these people for nearly a year and yet he knows they will break any deal they can by finding any loophole. Which is why he won't give them a reason to betray him.
“Rather he does or not is up to him and you. We have already told you what must be done and how you must do it. No needless slaughter, which is why we are using you. You hate that sort of thing. Succeed again and you will be rewarded again. Fail us and well just look at Vargas to see what the price of failure is.” The Crystal then stops glowing and the blue color slightly darkens. Tarque pockets it.
“The price of failure huh.” Tarque looks at Vargas from inside his cage, the man's calm demeanor has already faded and he claws at the bars with his fist reaching for Tarque, “So your mental degradation has nothing to do with Lycanthropy? I better not fail.” Vargas just stares at Tarque without saying anything.
Chapter Twelve
Valmont Sharp: Monster Hunter Page 12