“So where does that leave us now?” Drew queried, hoping to bring warmth back to his veins.
“Dred’s pupils have not only continued, but have escalated the gruesome nature of their attacks. The atrocities of World War II had Luzveyn Dred’s fingerprints all over it. My friend and mentor believed World War II was another attempt by Luzveyn Dred to breach our dimension. To this day, I maintain it was the collective morality of the allies that defeated the forces of evil. Again unable to break through to our dimension, Luzveyn Dred succeeded in introducing horrific images to our minds of blitzkrieg, mass genocide, and the atomic bomb.”
“Yes,” Lopez said, “That is consistent with my colleague’s findings. Trace elements of the Spatium Quartus expand in the brains of the tortured. The more fearful they become, the more active the infection grows in their brains.”
Alfonso stared at him with obvious curiosity. “Tell me more about—”
“Mommy, look!” Alexis’ voice pierced the air. She was fixated on an image that dominated the screen.
“Baby, what are you watching?” Nadia rose from the table and headed into the front room. The concern in her voice drew the attention of the men.
“Mommy, that’s one of the men from my dreams. Sometimes he’s a boy and doesn’t have that mustache.”
The TV displayed a black and white video of Adolf Hitler.
- Chapter Nineteen -
Stanley headed south. He was wondering if the assassin’s failure would affect his prospects with the Master.
“Don’t worry about following her. I planted a tracking device under her bumper before I broke the window.”
At least the idiot had done something right. Now he fiddled with a GPS system. Stanley did everything he could to avoid looking at the grotesque face.
“Did you say ‘her’? A girl was following us?”
The Bulgarian grunted, the machine in his good hand beeped twice, and a rectangular display illuminated.
“Yes, a blonde fucking cunt.”
“Your wrist—”
“It’s broken.” He said it as a normal person might speak of a hangnail. “The bitch will pay.”
Unlike the revenge-minded assassin in his passenger’s seat, Stanley’s mind revved like a Ferrari engine. The implications of recent developments intrigued but frustrated him. In addition to possessing a unique ability to locate and secure the medallions for his Master, Stanley’s subconscious could predict potential outcomes of developing situations and devise the best way to manipulate them in his favor. Many considered him Luzveyn Dred’s top man.
Stanley had been nine years old when Luzveyn Dred first transported him to the Spatium Quartus. The thick blanket of haze in the Riverside, California sky that afternoon provided no respite from the heat and humidity. His arch nemesis, Frank Crawford, pummeled him in the playground for no reason other than, that morning, Stanley had won the spelling bee—something Frank was accustomed to winning, prior to Stanley’s family moving into that school district.
There must have been something in his dreams that attracted Luzveyn Dred. Perhaps the Master sensed the regular abuse he received at school and in the neighborhood for being labeled a “nerd.” But whatever the reason, Luzveyn Dred took him under his protective wing.
The Spatium Quartus became Stanley’s place of immunity from the teasing and ridicule of the waking world. He enjoyed learning to lucid dream. He used the skill to sharpen his intellect. He could study both in his dream world as well as in his waking hours.
Dred also showed him how to link to the dreams of others. Not long afterwards, after repeated visits from Stanley, bully Frank Crawford had to leave school. The following fall, rumor had it that over the summer vacation he had first been sent to a private institution, and then, when no progress on his condition had been made, to a state mental hospital for juveniles. Frank Crawford was never sane again; Stanley had gotten the last laugh.
Many years later, it was with great joy that Stanley greeted news from his Master. He had been chosen to be of service in Luzveyn Dred’s plan to merge the Spatium Quartus with the waking dimension. Once in power, his Master would make Stanley a leader of vast enterprises.
“There is but one drawback and it will test your faith,” Luzveyn Dred warned.
“Whatever it is, Master, I shall endure it for You.” Stanley shifted his weight from one side to the other. A mere teenager at the time, he felt unworthy before the powerful presence of Luzveyn Dred.
Dred smiled and scrutinized him. “You will be prevented from coming back to the Spatium Quartus.”
The words hit him harder than any bully’s fist.
“But Master, why?”
Dred’s serpentine tail swirled in a circle, and then stuck out straight behind Him. His shadowy body elongated and His face glided toward Stanley as though He was about to divulge an intimate secret.
“Stanley, a long, time ago, in your world’s frame of reference, I created medallions containing elements of the Spatium Quartus.”
Luzveyn Dred clapped and they were transported to a three-dimensional scene above a mountain. Below, small towns were scattered throughout the countryside and along a vast sea. Stanley squinted and realized there were horse-drawn carriages on the roads.
“These are ancient Roman times, Stanley—when I was young,” his Master said. “A disciple of mine, a gladiator named Spartacus led a slave revolt with my help. I created and gave to him a medallion made of the Spatium Quartus. A possessor of the Spatium Quartus in your world wields much power. However, the process of creation drained me of energy.”
Luzveyn Dred peered at Stanley who wondered if he appeared as confused to his Master as he felt.
“Stanley, let me explain with an example. At one time in your world, it was thought that coral was merely a rock formation. Recently, it has been found to be a living entity. Much is true with the Spatium Quartus. It is a dimension, yet it lives in both conjunction and conflict with me.” The mountain scene dissolved and they were back in the Spatium Quartus.
“Did you create it, Master?”
“No, no, child.”
“Who did?”
It was the first time that Stanley ever saw Luzveyn Dred at a loss for words. It was as though His master knew the answer but didn’t want to express it to His servant. After a moment, He spoke.
“The Spatium Quartus was created as a form of a punishment by the weak, by those jealous of me. It was created to keep me here. That is why it is so important for me to escape and to exact revenge.”
“I understand,” Stanley said quickly even though it wasn’t entirely true. “What happened with Spartacus, Master?”
“I created a multitude of lesser medallions in the hope that they would help his slave army found a kingdom. Once enough power had been established in your world, I would have been able to enter and rule. Imagine an earth with no Caesars, no Christ, no Christianity, and no religion of any kind. There would be no need for boundaries, borders or kingdoms.”
Stanley said nothing but smiled at the thought.
“Spartacus failed me. Out of fear, he sent his son away with the medallion, thinking it would protect the boy. Then foolishly, Spartacus tried to defeat the Roman armies without it. He and his army were destroyed. The lesser medallions were scattered. Now they pose a threat.”
“A threat?”
Luzveyn Dred moved closer. “Do not worry, my child. In your world, the medallions provide those in possession of them physical powers. When I created them, I never expected people to return with medallions to the Spatium Quartus. However, there are those who are using them in this dimension to bend the rules and to interfere with my current plans.”
“Like using kryptonite against Superman?”
Luzveyn Dred said nothing.
Stanley felt stupid and small next to his Master but a threat to Luzveyn Dred was a threat to him; he would die to destroy those who would harm his Master. “I am honored to be a part of your plan,” he said. “What
task would you have me do?”
“I want you to find the medallions, gather them. We no longer need medallions to connect to your world. After Spartacus, I learned not to give your people something tangible, something that could be lost. I implant particles of the Spatium Quartus directly inside them. When enough of this dimension is created in your world and activated by strong emotion, your world will be indelibly fused with the Spatium Quartus.”
Nearby, wayward dreamers, plucked from their fantasies, could be heard; but their screams of anguish faded as his Master’s voice promised a glorious future.
“Since the medallions still wield power in your world, an organization I have in place there will utilize them to gain power and elevate the emotional level, the readiness of your people. Most of the medallions are in the hands of ignorant fools, very few of whom even have an inkling of the medallions’ power. Even those people will part with them for financial gain.”
“So, I’ll buy them?”
“Yes. They will sell them to you, many for next to nothing.”
“But how will I find them, Master?”
Luzveyn Dred wrapped His arm around him. “With a portion of me internalized in you, Stanley, you shall feel the medallions.”
“Shall I look for the Spartacus medallion first, Master?”
Dred’s eyes opened wide. “No, Stanley, stay clear of that medallion, the gold medallion. With me internalized, you would be in possession of too much of the Spatium Quartus and would be transported here. When the time is right, that medallion shall bring me the one who shall draw the world into the Spatium Quartus, to help me fuse them.”
Then, as one of Dred’s creatures approached, the Master instructed how to make contact with the Sogno di Guerra. The creature grabbed Stanley and pinned his arms back.
“Master?”
“This shall only hurt a little, my child.”
Luzveyn Dred’s shadowy hand penetrated Stanley’s chest. The pain had been unbearable. Stanley had passed out.
*****
Stanley bolted straight up in the driver’s seat of the Lexus. All the pieces of the day’s events fell into place, like the mental completion of a Rubik’s cube. The girl had no idea that the assassin had been coming. How could she have known? She had been trailing him to the airport.
How many times has she followed me there?
No wonder his shipped medallions had stopped reaching the Sogno di Guerra. This girl was apparently intercepting them.
But who is she with, and how much do they know?
When the last medallion had not made it to Italy, Stanley had taken advantage of his neighbor’s plans for vacation. A few nights earlier, from his condo a floor below, Stanley had dream linked with the Russian woman, Nadia. Posing as her father, he passed the medallion to her in the dream, and then manipulated her to sleepwalk and hide it in the luggage.
Tapusscar had neglected his responsibility at the Naples airport, and had not managed to steal the luggage, nor locate the medallion afterwards.
Tonight, once Drew and Nadia fell asleep, Stanley would again link with her and retrieve it. Then, they, the girl who had followed them and whoever else was watching him, would be left to the assassin. He informed Tapusscar of his plan.
They pulled up a block away from where the GPS tracker indicated the blonde girl had parked. Above her car, a forty foot Canary Island date palm reached for the night sky, its majestic fronds looking like an explosion of fireworks.
“She’s going into my condominium building,” Stanley said after spotting her dart through the glass doors of the lobby.
The assassin looked as dumbfounded as Stanley felt. Now exposed, was she there to break into his place? Was she lying in wait for him, hoping to exact revenge? Or, what if Drew and Nadia had somehow connected with her, confused about the medallion’s origin? Could she be securing the precious medallion for her own purposes? Stanley’s mind spun calculating all of the possibilities.
“Then this is where the couple lives, too?” the assassin asked. “The medallion couriers?”
Stanley nodded. “Change of plans. We wait.”
“Why do we waste time?”
“Because. I want to observe and see how this situation develops.”
“That is ridiculous,” the assassin said. “I will go in and get the medallion.”
Stanley could feel his face burning hot.
“Listen to me, you big, stupid-—” he trembled from the release of pent up anger and frustration, “idiot! You will do as I tell you, or I will see to it that the Master rips your testicles out through your throat!”
Stanley didn’t know what to expect. He was bluffing. However, it was a calculated risk; even with a broken hand, the Bulgarian assassin could easily rip him to shreds, but would he chance disappointing the Master twice in one week?
Tapusscar shrugged. “Okay, we wait.”
- Chapter Twenty -
A musical rap-a-tap-tap of knocks sounded at Lopez’s condo door. It was soon followed by the shick-ping of a key slamming into, then turning the lock. All but Lopez tensed at the intrusion.
For a moment, Kat looked around as though she had somehow walked into the wrong unit. Then, seeing Lopez in the dining room, she smiled weakly, nodded at him, and signaled to the other room.
Before their voices faded inside the surveillance room, Drew heard her admit, “Dude, I got made.”
Lopez paused in the doorway before entering.
“By him?”
Having censored Alexis’s television content, Nadia returned to the table with the remote.
“So, how did one of the medallions get in our luggage?” she asked Alfonso.
“Figuring that out is one of the reasons I came here,” he said. “Another was to make sure that you learned the truth of the medallions and were protected. I wish I had known of your little girl, I’d have brought a spare. Still, we have five medallions for the six of us.”
“Wait a second,” Drew said, doing the math. “How did you know we brought back two medallions with us?”
Alfonso smiled. “Airport security cameras are a wonderful thing. When you removed them from your pocket to pass through the metal detector, I could tell you had two medallions. I assumed one came from Padre Gennaro.”
“You knew him, the priest?” Drew asked. “Was he working with you?”
“Yes, and yes. He was a very dear friend.”
“I’m sorry for leaving him—I just freaked out.”
“You were put through a lot of trauma in a very short time. Under the circumstances,” Alfonso said, “your reaction was justified.”
Drew felt in his pocket for the medallion he had gotten from the priest. He removed and laid the silver piece down in front of him on the table.
Alfonso frowned. “Did Padre Gennaro say anything to you before he died? Did he reveal anything about the identity of his killer?”
A block away, two toots from a car horn sounded, perhaps an impatient lover summoning his date. Just outside the window, a family of wrens rustled in the chaparral to weather the chill of the February night. Somewhere off in the distance, a train whistle blared as commuters rushed home to their loved ones –- yet, the sounds of everyday life continuing onward seemed inappropriate as the gravity of the situation was becoming evident.
“No,” Drew said fidgeting. “At least, I don’t think so—he told me, ‘protect your family.’”
It felt awkward to lie about the priest’s dying words but Nadia had been through too much. He’d tell the old man the truth as soon as Nadia was out of earshot.
Alfonso’s face looked pensive at the news. The handcuffs rattled as he squirmed in his seat. “Speaking of which, we should make sure that this lovely lady,” he motioned to Nadia, “has a medallion with her at all times.”
Based on what he’d learned, Drew agreed and handed her the medallion from the table.
“Will it work if I put it in my pocket?” she asked.
“Yes, but make sure you
keep it with you, especially when you sleep.”
She smiled at the old man. “Don’t worry, I will.”
As though he could not keep a secret any longer, Alfonso blurted out, “Padre Gennaro linked to your dream, Drew.”
“I remember that. That was really him?”
“Yes. The day he was killed, he had planned on meeting you to explain the truth about the medallions, Spatium Quartus, and Luzveyn Dred. The system that he and I developed was designed to test the individuals we came across who possessed medallions—to see if they were worthy of the calling, and if they were up to the task of fighting for the cause.”
“What exactly is that cause?” Drew asked, not certain he really wanted the answer.
“The cause,” Lopez interjected, having returned from the other room, “is to defeat Luzveyn Dred once and for all.”
He moved around the table to unshackle the old man. With a couple metal-on-metal clicks, Alfonso was free. He rubbed the area around his left wrist.
“Mr. Simone,” Lopez continued, “I overheard what you said about the priest. I’ve been conducting rescue operations for decades. Your friend’s reputation was legendary. Many of the people I rescued talked about him. I heard that he sometimes took on Dred’s henchmen and saved people without even resorting to violence.”
“Yes, we’d heard about you from some of those we saved,” Alfonso said excitedly. “We’d hear stories of a Hispanic man who could fight off a dozen beasts at a time, and who could even change his physical appearance in the Spatium Quartus. That was something only Padre Gennaro had learned to do. We always wondered if we’d ever discover your true identity.”
Lopez offered only a modest shrug.
Alfonso continued. “In any case, you are correct. Between you, and Padre Gennaro, thousands of souls were saved. However, the mission must be to defeat Luzveyn Dred rather than minimize his inflicted damage.”
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