“What should we do Colt? Maya asked.
“Put the box back into the vault for now Father Ruiz.”
“As you wish,” the monk replied with a bow and picked up the box.
“What then?” the ever impatient Loni asked.
“Then the first thing we are going to do is visit Father Hector’s grave site and pay our respects.”
Chapter Four
The cemetery was located outside the back entrance of the Salesian compound. Just outside the perimeter. Father Ruiz led the way. Banyon noticed that the burial area was fairly large and very old. They passed through a rusting gate and into a city of headstones, monuments, and mausoleums. The ground was divided into neat but narrow dirt rows with several bushes pushing up around the fenced in cemetery. The grass was neatly cut. Large trees lined the perimeter.
“This cemetery dates back to the seventeen hundreds,” Father Ruiz explained. “Father Hector is buried near the back.”
As they came around a tall mausoleum, Colton Banyon spied a short man in a dark suit standing in front of Father Hector’s grave. He looked like he was waiting for someone.
“Who’s that man?” Loni asked as she pointed.
“I don’t know,” the perplexed monk explained. “He showed up a couple of hours ago and hasn’t moved from that spot.”
Banyon’s senses suddenly became alarmed. He was sure it was no accident that the man was there. He was waiting for Colton Banyon.
As the eight people drew near the gravesite, the man turned his head, but only his head, and stared at them. He slowly raised his arm, pointed his finger at Colton Banyon and beckoned him over. It was clear he wanted only Banyon to come. The gesture was given like an order rather than a request.
“You guys stay here,” Banyon said. “But watch out for trouble — he may not be alone.”
Banyon casually strolled over to where the man was positioned and they both stood facing the grave. Many things were racing through Banyon’s mind. Who is this guy? What does he want? I’m sure that this is not a friendly visit.
They stood in silence for a few seconds with neither of them speaking. Banyon observed the man through the corner of his eye. He was only about five foot and six inches tall and weighed less than 150 pounds. He looked to be around fifty years old. He had jet-black slicked-down hair and dark eyes. His skin was dark like he lived in a desert, but Banyon was sure the man didn’t work outdoors. He had the facial features of a predator bird. The skin on his face was taut exposing high cheek bones. His nose resembled a beak.
He wore an expensive Giorgio Armani suit, Dingman crocodile loafers which went for around twelve hundred dollars a pair, and a custom tailored sky blue shirt with a contrasting tie. His outfit was worth more than most Ecuadorians made in a year.
“My name is Ahmad Fasi,” he spoke in perfect English. “And I know your name is Colton Banyon,” he added.
“Have we met before?” Banyon asked coolly.
“We have not,” he replied frankly as he studied his manicured nails. “We will only meet one more time as well.”
“Oh,” Banyon replied. “And when will that be?”
“It will be when you deliver me the Orion weapons in your possession,” Ahmad Fasi responded. “This evening to be exact.”
Banyon read the statement as a threat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Banyon faked. “You must be kidding.”
“I do not kid,” the man said forcefully. “And I do not bargain either.”
Banyon suddenly realized that Mr. Fasi was a control freak and was not used to people not accommodating him. He expected Banyon to quake in his boots and hand over the powerful weapons.
“I don’t bargain either,” Banyon responded through gritted teeth and quickly changed the subject. “How did you hear of Father Hector’s death?”
“I was sent an email by a Father Bartholomew. He said in the email that you had something for me. I assumed it is all the weapons,” the man replied.
“And why would you assume that?” Banyon asked as he faked a laugh.
“Father Hector was the head of The Society of Orion in Ecuador. Now that he is gone the weapons belong to the society. I’m here to collect them,” Ahmad Fasi explained matter-of-factly. “Father Hector did not leave me any other directions. I’m sure you know where they are.”
“So you assume I have them,” Banyon completed the thought.
“That is correct. So hand them over,” Fasi ordered.
“So are you one of the heads of the society then?” Banyon inquired. “I know there are five other chapters. Where are you located?”
“I’d rather not say,” Fasi responded dismissively. “My location is secret as are the other chapters.”
“Yet, Father Bartholomew was able to send you a message,” Banyon said sarcastically.
“Father Hector and I knew each other from our annual meetings in Jerusalem each February,” Fasi responded. “He had my email address.”
“What if I wanted to attend your meeting this year?” Banyon asked.
“Impossible,” Ahmad Fasi exploded. “It is a closed society, no one can just join and you’ll not have any weapons to protect.”
“But, what if I had several of the Orion weapons and the Orion Codex,” Banyon stated and watched the reaction.
Surprise registered on the face of the Arab. After a few seconds he responded. He suddenly turned more solicitous. “Why don’t we dine together this evening, at the café in the hotel? I’m staying at the Hotel Casa del Aguila. It’s a lovely converted mansion.”
“I’ll be there at eight o’clock,” Banyon responded.
“Please bring the Codex and the weapons,” Fasi said as an order. Or else, Banyon thought.
Without waiting for an answer, the well-dressed Arab turned on his heels and headed out the rear entrance to the cemetery. There a sleek black Mercedes waited for him. He got into the back and the car sped away.
***
As soon as Ahmad Fasi left, Father Ruiz and the team came rushing over.
“What was that all about?” Maya asked.
“Trouble,” Banyon responded. “But I’m not sure how much yet.”
“What did he want?” Mandy chimed in.
“He wants Loni and me to have dinner with him tonight,” Banyon responded.
“What?” Loni gasped. “I have nothing to wear!”
“But first I need to talk to Father Bartholomew and the other monks privately and then I need to go to the bathroom,” Banyon said.
Chapter Five
The conversation with Father Bartholomew started out just as Banyon expected. They met privately. The portly monk filled the entire chair across from him in the office. As usual, Father Bartholomew was very nervous. Sweat bubbled up on his bald noggin. He dabbed at it with a cloth. His beady eyes shifted back and forth. He looked like he expected to be put in front of a firing squad at any minute.
By now, Banyon realized that Father Hector had set another devious plan in motion just before his death. He wanted Colton Banyon to do something before he would be allowed to go to the Tayos caves. But Banyon didn’t know what. He was sure the other monks held clues. He wondered if the old monk had called the authorities and reported seeing dead men in the jungle so the roads would be closed for a few days. It was the type of flair the monk was capable of doing.
“I’m sorry for the loss of your brother,” Banyon opened with sympathy. Father Bartholomew’s brother had been the head of the supremacy movement in Ecuador and was killed in the jungle. Banyon’s team was responsible.
“Don’t be,” the monk answered. “He deserved to die.”
Banyon thought it was a rather strong statement from a Catholic monk. “It is still hard to lose a brother,” he countered.
“I’m actually relieved he is gone,” the monk responded. “He was nothing but an uncontrollable savage beast. Now that he is gone, the foreign Germans in town are leaving by the droves and the government is stabilized. The
people of Ecuador will benefit from his death. In fact, we have recovered all the land they had taken. New people now occupy them.”
“What about your brother’s compound?” Banyon asked.
“We have also collected all the guns and explosives they left there. We wanted them off the streets. The compound is being turned into a support center for battered women.”
“What did you do with the weapons?”
“They are hidden in the basement of the mission,” the red faced monk replied.
“Okay, I understand,” Banyon offered then changed topics. “Why did you send a message to Ahmad Fasi?”
“Who?” Father Bartholomew questioned as a furrow developed on his brow.
“You sent it the day after Father Hector died, that Ahmad Fasi,” Banyon said strongly.
“Oh, you must mean one of the people which Father Hector asked me to notify when he died,” the monk said as he pointed his finger in the air. “He gave me a list during our private discussion.”
“You said a list,” Banyon quickly responded. “Do you still have it?”
“Of course,” the monk nodded. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a sheet of paper. He handed it to Colton Banyon. “I handled all of his messages. He wasn’t very computer literate you know.”
The list had twelve email addresses written in ink. Below it was the message that Father Hector had written for Father Bartholomew to send with it. Banyon studied the paper. It didn’t tell him anything.
“Do you know who these people are?” Banyon asked as he scratched his head.
“Well, ten of them anyway,” he replied. “Their responses are on the computer. I can show you if you like,” the monk offered and pointed. “The computer is right over there.”
It took the monk only a few seconds to call up the emails. Banyon read each one, but discovered they were all to relatives.
“But what about the two people that didn’t respond? Can you tell me who they are?”
“Well, kind of,” the monk responded. “I did an IP search to make sure that the emails went through.”
“And?”
“One went to a lawyer in Chicago at a firm called Dewey & Beatem,” Father Bartholomew announced. I had written him before on behalf of Father Hector.”
Banyon was stunned. Dewey & Beatem was his firm. He and the Forever Ours team owned it. He then remembered that there was a tie to Father Hector. It was Edgar the ferret. What does this mean?
“The other IP address belongs to a business. It is called ‘Finders, Inc’. Anyone there could access the email.”
“Where is the company located?” Banyon stammered as he struggled to understand what he had just heard.
“It’s in Morocco,” Father Bartholomew replied.
That’s our man Ahmad Fasi, Banyon thought as he rapped the desk.
***
The conversation with the next two monks went much quicker. Father Thomas revealed that he was the monk appointed to take Banyon to the secret room and view the treasures. He explained that he was told to stack specific items in one pile for Banyon to study. The monk said he had done that. He also revealed that Father Hector told him Colton Banyon would decide what to do with the items. That was all he had to offer.
Father Michael gave Banyon a sealed envelope. He said Father Hector told him Colton Banyon would understand what it contained.
The last of the four monks, Father George, provided a little bit of explanation for Father Hectors devious plan.
“Father Hector was, of course, deeply religious,” Father George started. “But he had a fascination about something which opposed his religious beliefs.”
“I don’t understand,” Banyon replied.
“You see, the Tayos caves have more than valuable artifacts hidden inside,” the monk responded. “Have you ever heard of the ‘Metal Library’?”
“I can’t say that I have,” Banyon responded curiously.
“They were discovered in 1969 and are part of the Tayos cave system. A section of the caves are squared off like rooms. The rock is smooth and precisely honed. Located in one of the rooms there are metal shelves. On those shelves are many metal tablets with an unknown writing on them.”
“Wow,” Banyon yelped as he pushed back his chair.
“As difficult as it is to understand,” the monk continued, “Father Hector was sure the tablets were some sort of record, maybe a travelogue, or a catalogue.”
“By aliens,” Banyon hissed.
“Yes,” Father George responded and nodded his head. “Father Hector didn’t want you to go looking for the library until the country was stabilized.”
“Because someone would try to capitalize the find,” Banyon completed the thought.
“Or worse,” the monk said. “What if the tablets contained more weapons or formulas or even an attack plan?”
***
After Father George left the room, Banyon opened the envelope given to him by Father Michael. It contained several news articles all clipped from a local newspaper. The articles covered topics from around the world. There were more than twenty of them. The first article noted that a huge diamond deposit was discovered in Angola where no one believed such an amount was possible. The second news clipping announced the finding of a new species of dinosaur on land a wealthy businessman has just bought.
By the time Banyon reached the fifth article he realized that all the news flashes had one thing in common. They were all “miracles”. Banyon suddenly remembered Father Hector had said The Society of Orion had become corrupt and many of the weapons were being used for a “miracle for hire” business to bring in revenue for the local society.
But it was the twentieth article that made Banyon sit up straight in his chair. The article announced that a Moroccan company was planning a visit to the Ecuadorian jungles to search for the Tayos caves. The date for them to begin was two days from now. A picture of the President of the company was included. It was Ahmad Fasi.
Chapter Six
Colton Banyon sat at the desk and tried to put all the clues together. But after five minutes, Loni disrupted him by flinging open the door. She blew into the office like she owned the room.
“Colt, I’ve found a dress to wear tonight. Isn’t that wonderful,” she gushed.
“That’s great,” Banyon replied with very little enthusiasm. “Now come over here and help me figure out what all this means,” he said.
At that very moment, Steve, Mandy, and Maya burst into the room. They didn’t look happy.
“We went and checked out the hotel as requested, Colt,” Steve said. “Our man has two suites. One is for him and the other contains six rough looking Arab guys according to the front desk.”
“I broke into the room by picking the lock,” Mandy quickly added. “They all have guns. It looks like they intend to get the Orion weapons one way or another.”
“I left a bug under the coffee table,” Maya added excitedly, “just like we discussed. The men have not returned to the room yet, so we have nothing to report.”
“And where are Carol and Kenny?” Banyon asked.
“They stayed in the hotel to watch,” Steve explained.
“What about the dining room?” Banyon casually asked.
“You are right,” Mandy responded. “Fasi has booked the entire restaurant for the night. According to the concierge only four tables will be used. I’m guessing that he will have his men at tables around where you sit.”
“He definitely will be trying to pressure us into giving him the weapons,” Banyon said absently.
“Well, we will be there ready to help stop him,” Steve replied in a determined voice.
“We need to be careful. I’m sure he will have at least one of the Orion weapons to protect himself as well,” Banyon told everyone.
“Then we should bring some as well,” Loni said.
“But, I’m morally against using the weapons,” Banyon said shaking his head. “They are to be protected not used.”
“And how can we protect them if someone else is using them?” Maya complained. “We need to fight fire with fire.”
“Let’s deal with that later,” Banyon suggested. “Right now we need to figure out what Father Hector expects from us. We have a bunch of clues, but no answers.”
***
Banyon recapped what he knew so far. He explained his belief that Father Hector gave each of the monks a part of the puzzle to protect them and to prevent them from understanding what had to be done. Much of it was against their religion.
“So,” Loni attempted to restate what they knew. “Father Hector believed aliens have put some kind of record in the Tayos caves. He doesn’t want anyone but us to find them. Correct?”
“It sounds that way,” Maya replied.
“He also wants us to make some kind of a decision about some of the artifacts,” Mandy said. “Maybe they are alien too.”
“Good assumption,” Steve noted.
“Finally, he wants us to take the Orion weapons from here and to grab the weapons that Ahmad Fasi has as well,” Maya offered.
“I think that pretty much sums it up,” Banyon agreed.
“What do you want to work on first?” Loni asked.
Chapter Seven
“Okay,” Banyon said. “The first thing we need to do is see what’s in the box Father Hector left for me.”
Banyon got up from the desk and opened the safe using the combination that Father Hector had given him. He took the box and placed it on the desk. Everyone crowded around as he broke the seal and opened it.
Inside were seven weapons and a note. He knew that Loni had the Shield weapon and the Call weapon in the satchel she wore from their first visit into the jungle. Maya also wore a satchel with the Orion Codex inside.
The seven weapons represented the total remaining inventory of the Ecuadorian society. Banyon looked at each one as he took them from the box. Maya announced what each one did.
“We have the Renew weapon that the monk used to heal Mandy’s broken arm. The Covers weapon which has been used to cloak things. The Climate weapon, it produces tornados. The Zeus weapon which controls lightning and also the Water-Wall which Father Hector said can produce a tidal wave.”
The Society of Orion Book Five: The Tayos Caves (Colton Banyon Mystery 18) Page 2