Allan wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened, but he had no time to think about it. An alarm sounded as the dust began to settle. Allan realized that there was a large opening in the far wall facing the street. He could hear shouts from the guards coming in his direction, and he made a split-second decision. He leapt through the opening just as the prongs from a Taser barely missed him. He took off at a sprint, unsure of his direction.
I have to find her.
Chapter Twenty Three: National Security
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare a son; and Cain didst teach his posterity to loathe and despise the people of Seth. And after this manner didst the generations of men begin to populate the earth…
– Methuselah 10:5 –
Detective Parker felt nervous as she knocked on Chief Herbert’s door. She didn’t know why he had requested her to come to his office, but he didn’t sound very happy. The comments Detective Brown had made yesterday were looming ominously in the back of her mind.
“Come in!” he bellowed.
As she opened the door, Chief Herbert stood to greet her. He looked quite upset.
“Close the door and sit down.” he instructed.
She nodded and obeyed.
“I’m assuming you heard about the jailbreak last night.” he queried.
“Yes, of course.” she nodded, “I saw the report on the late-night news broadcast. They haven’t released any names of the fugitives yet.”
“There was only one.” he paused and steeled his gaze, “I’ve been investigating the incident. It has come to my attention that you visited our suspect Allan Young last night.”
Her face flushed, “Yes…”
“Why did you break protocol?” he demanded an answer, “His attorney must be present for every visit, or else we risk our evidence getting thrown out of court!”
“I’m sorry…”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it.” he seethed as he held out his hand, “I’m putting you on probation. Give me your badge.”
“Please, Chief!” she pleaded, “Just hear me out first!”
“Fine.” he retracted his hand, “Enlighten me.”
“I wasn’t there to question him about the murder. My visit was completely unrelated.” she explained, “I was trying to understand a phenomenon. I wanted to get my facts straight before I presented the information to you.”
“Is that why you visited him in civilian attire while you were off duty?”
“Exactly, Chief.” she nodded, “I just needed some clarification from him.”
“And what exactly were you trying to clarify?” he raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“Have you read my report from yesterday?”
“I read the cliff notes, yes.” he acknowledged, “Did you get a DNA match for the blood found in his home?”
“Well...” she hesitated, “Yes and no. I ran the scan with the LET machine and it seems the blood belongs to a woman by the name of Lillian Thatcher who has been living with him for several years. At least, that’s what the machine originally indicated.”
A disconcerted look fell across his face, “What do you mean?”
“Well... before I got a chance to print the data, the machine malfunctioned.” she explained, “Now it seems Lillian Thatcher never existed, and instead her profile has been replaced as Jamie Davenport from Tallahassee Florida.”
The Chief’s eyes suddenly narrowed, “Who else knows of this?”
“Just my partner.”
“What exactly did you say to Mr. Young?” he insisted.
“Not much. Visiting hours were almost over.” she advised, “But I confirmed that Lillian Thatcher was indeed a real person.”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in stress, “Did you upset him?”
She looked sheepish, “I think I might have, yes.”
“Allan is our escaped fugitive.” he stated bluntly as he returned her gaze.
“What?!” she stammered.
“Within an hour after your visit, he used some type of explosive device to escape.” he sighed heavily, “So I need to know, what exactly did you say to him? And did you give him anything?”
“Are you suggesting I helped him escape?” she looked appalled, “I did no such thing!”
He stared at her for several minutes as he deciphered her reaction.
“I believe you.” he grimaced, “But I’m still placing you on probation.”
Her shoulders slumped, “But what about the woman? Don’t you find it odd that one minute her profile says her name is Lillian, and then the next minute it completely changes?”
“That’s no longer your concern.” he insisted, “Turn in your badge. You’re off the case.”
“Shouldn’t I at least brief someone about my findings?” she pleaded, “I think we should at least consider the woman as a possible suspect in the Jason Bridger case!”
“No.” he stated flatly, “And you are not to speak of this to anyone.”
“I don’t understand.” she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, “Her first profile indicated that she’s the Vice President of MGE, which would mean she probably had sufficient access to change her profile information. Why would she do that?”
“You are making this very difficult.” he lowered his voice, “You are a good detective. Please, just drop it.”
“Chief,” she begged, “just give me a little bit of wiggle room, and I’ll make sure I get to the bottom of this.”
“You leave me no choice. This is a matter of national security.” he sighed, “I’m amending my decision. Turn in your badge. I’m suspending you from duty until further notice.”
Later that morning she lay on her bed in shock. In a matter of a few short minutes her title had been stripped from her despite the many years it had taken to achieve. No longer was her identity Detective Parker of the Chicago South Precinct, but simply Brittany Parker. As she lay there with tears streaming down each side of her face, she realized she was having an identity crisis.
What did I do?
The whole scenario still felt absurd. Usually the only time an officer received a suspension was for insubordinate or dangerous behavior, such as accidentally killing an innocent bystander. All she had done was bring up the fact that there had been an anomaly with the LET machine.
Upon her arrival at home, she immediately performed several old-school skip tracing techniques to try to find information about Lillian Thatcher. It appeared though that she had been entirely erased from existence. She was unable to locate a social media profile, could not find any news articles about her, and she wasn’t listed anywhere in the directory for Motif Global Encryption, Inc. (MGE). It almost appeared as if Lillian was a fictitious character from her imagination.
Determined however to prove that she wasn’t crazy, she continued the search by looking up social media profiles for colleagues listed in MGE’s directory. She spent an hour looking through old photographs, when suddenly she stumbled across an old Christmas party photograph.
Found you!
Lillian stood in the photo mingling among her colleagues with Allan by her side. The photograph was three years old. She printed it off and placed the photo and its source information into a manila folder. She determined that she would continue her investigation, even if it meant she had to go at it alone.
As she laid there feeling sorry for herself, her phone began to ring. Looking at the screen, it was her recently reassigned partner Detective Brown.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Detective…” she stuttered and then corrected herself, “err, I mean Brittany?”
“Yes?”
“I just heard the news.” her voice was depressed, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right.” she lied, “I’ll cope.”
“You told him about the LET malfunction, didn’t you?” she whispered into the receiver.
“Yes, I did…”
“I told you to leave it alone!” she spoke
indignantly, “Now look what’s happened!”
“I know.” Brittany winced. “You were right. You don’t have to rub it in.”
“Listen,” she whispered again, “I’m not supposed to be talking to you, so I’ll be brief. You need to see Doug Carlton, the other officer that was suspended for the same reason. He’s living in Stony Island. I’ll text you the address in a few minutes.”
“What good will that do?” she scoffed, “I’d rather not rub dirt into his wound too.”
“Believe me, you’ll be glad you spoke with him.” she whispered, “I gotta go. Good luck to you!”
Chapter Twenty Four: Hunting Season
And the Nephilim didst stir up a great many contentions insomuch that they were continually at war with the armies of men. And God fortified the armies of men, that their boundaries didst remain intact…
– Methuselah 10:6 –
“WHAT?!” Timur roared at the priest who had been the bearer of bad news, “How could she have possibly escaped?!”
The young priest lowered his eyes, “Methinks she had help, my lord.”
“What kind of help?” he seethed.
The young priest then kneeled down before him, subjecting himself unto death, and then spoke hesitantly, “Your highness… the woman didst not escape alone…” he stammered, “…we also cannot find… we cannot locate…”
“Spit it out!”
“…High Priest Abner…”
Timur stared incredulously at the pitiful man for several seconds as he collected his thoughts. What the young priest had suggested was utter blasphemy. To suggest that Abner had any involvement in the disappearance of Lily was absurd.
“How dare you suggest such blasphemy!” he shrieked, “Abner is my most loyal subject!”
“Forgive me, my lord.” he bowed and shivered in terror.
Timur’s mind flashed back to his argument with Abner the night earlier. He remembered vividly how insistent Abner was in returning her to Earth, and then how quickly it was when he immediately surrendered the argument. It was becoming clear now. Abner’s senile fear of disease meant he would stop at nothing to protect these people, even if it meant stabbing his closest friend in the back.
“No…” he muttered as the realization struck him, “he wouldn’t dare!”
His anger mounted tremendously, and in a sudden roar of inhuman rage the entire room erupted in a flash of sickly green light. He then bolted forward toward the archway leading into the next chamber, kicking aside the steaming pile of ash that only moments before knelt the young priest.
There were seven other priests in the adjoining room who were terrified when they saw Timur approaching. They were older and wiser, and had been the same who had assigned their younger colleague to deliver Timur their unfortunate message. But when they saw Timur charging toward them in that instant, all of their so-called ‘wisdom’ flew out the window. They scattered like rabbits in the presence of a wolf and several screamed in terror.
“HALT!” Timur’s booming voice echoed through the chamber.
Only four obeyed the command. They stood at attention, and watched in horror as Timur raised one arm to draw power from the blazing morning sun and another toward their retreating comrades. From his outstretched arm, a beam of the sickly green light shot from the knuckles of his closed fist. In three bright blasts, their fellow comrades had been incinerated on contact.
He then aimed toward the four who remained, “Do you DARE defy me too?!”
They all shook their heads and spoke in unison, “No, your holiness.”
He stood motionless for several minutes, and then finally lowered his arms. He studied their trembling frames for a long minute.
“Assemble the Creed.” he commanded.
“Yes, my lord.” they all spoke in unison and continued to stand at attention.
“I said GO!” he shrieked.
They all jumped at his voice and scrambled in different directions. Timur rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance.
What a bunch of idiots.
The great chamber was filled to capacity with his most loyal subjects. All of the creed members who had travelled with him from Earth were assembled closest to the altar, wearing their black cloaks with hoods drawn. Surrounding them clothed similarly in black robes were the Priests Timur had ‘anointed’ who had once been villagers from different parts of the Land of Enoch. A very visible gap was maintained between the two groups, indicating that the Priests were clearly terrified of the Creed members.
Timur climbed on the Altar, and their attention became riveted.
“We have conquered all of the villages in the surrounding lands, and we have trampled the rebels under our feet.” he boasted as a murmur of approval swept through the room, “But yet, there still remains a threat to our kingdom. A man from Earth has come to challenge my position as your rightful King.”
Another murmur erupted through the room as they whispered to each other anxiously.
“I enslaved his female companion in an effort to lure him here to my temple.” he continued, “My plans have been thwarted however by one of our own. Our High Priest has betrayed me, and has helped the woman escape.”
A roar of disapproval echoed through the room as the news came on shocked ears.
“Three of your comrades met death by brimstone and ashes today.” he threatened, “Dare any of you defy me as well?”
In unison they all chanted, “No Master.”
The words echoed through the chamber. Timur felt a sense of pride as he looked around the room full of his loyal followers.
“Prepare yourselves,” he advised, “for war will be upon us shortly. I had expected the man to come to the temple by now, but he has not. I fear he is gathering the rest of the rebels together to make war with us.”
There was a general hum of acknowledgement.
“If you find him, bring him to me alive.” he instructed, “He has powers like unto mine, but he is a coward. Don’t be afraid of him, but seize him and bring him to me.”
Their words echoed in unison again, “Yes Master.”
“Furthermore, I will take nine with me to find High Priest Abner and the woman.”
His Creed members were eager to join him, so he selected several of his most loyal companions.
“Disperse!” he commanded to the rest in the room, “And I empower you to kill anyone who gets in your way.”
They all bowed in unison, and slowly began to empty the chamber.
“Prepare the Beasts.” he spoke to his two selected Creed members. “It’s time to go hunting.”
Chapter Twenty Five: City of the Ancients
And all the land of earth didst consist of one large mass. The greater kingdom of Seth ruled the north, whilst the lesser kingdom of Cain ruled the south. And it came to pass that the posterity of the kingdom of Seth became a slothful and wicked generation…
– Methuselah 10:7 –
“There you are!” Allan stared at the filthy vagrant sleeping in the alleyway, “John, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“Allan...” he spoke groggily as he woke from his late-afternoon nap, “where have you been?”
His face was pale and he looked haggard and panicked, “I... I was in jail.”
John stood and brushed himself off, “I told you not to meddle. What were you charged with?”
Allan’s eyes darted back and forth nervously as he whispered, “First degree murder.”
John stared at him for a moment and then stated matter-of-factly, “You’ve never killed anyone in your entire life.”
“Get out of my head!”
“I’m sorry!” he stammered, “I just had to make sure. Who do they suspect you of killing?”
“An old friend of mine.” his voice was shaky, “I think Timur did it, but the police won’t listen to me.”
“What exactly did you tell them?”
“The truth, of course.” Allan stated flatly.
John cringed, “
And how exactly did you describe your miraculous healing event?”
“How did you know about that?”
John raised an eyebrow and narrowed his gaze.
“Oh...” Allan acknowledged, “that’s right. There’s no keeping secrets from you, is there?”
John shook his head, “Every Seraph has a unique gift to complement their powers.”
“Wait...” Allan stammered, “are you saying that you are one of these Seraphim too?”
“I was one once, yes.” he quickly changed the subject, “Why did they release you from custody?”
“They didn’t…” Allan’s eyes nervously darted toward the street again, “I kind of… broke out.”
“This isn’t good.” John shook his head, “Your powers erupted again, didn’t they?”
Allan nodded.
“Clearly something upset you.” he sighed, “You must learn to control your emotions before you will be able to control your powers.”
“He took…” Allan moaned as the tears began to flow again, “he took Lily.”
“Lily…” John stared into his eyes again, “Lily… ah, your fiancée. I see…”
Allan immediately averted his gaze, “What… what should I do?”
“Tell me what happened, exactly.”
“An officer came to visit me last night.” he explained, “She told me that there were signs of a struggle at my house, and they found…” Allan choked on the words, “They found… they found a lot of Lily’s blood in the front room.”
“And you suspect it was Timur who did this?”
“I spent all day walking along the underside of the boardwalk trying to find that drain, but I couldn’t find it!” Allan spoke frantically, “That’s the only place I can think of where he might have taken her.”
John nodded in deep thought, “There’s another entrance.”
Allan’s eyes lit up, “Where?”
“It’s actually downstairs in that building.” he pointed to the building to the right of them, “Let’s move quickly before you’re spotted.”
Conquest: Rise of the Fifth Horseman (The Fifth Horseman Series Book 1) Page 10