The Lost Power: VanOps, Book 1

by Avanti Centrae

  They walked up more stairs.

  Halfway up, they stopped to catch their breath.

  Then there were more stairs to ascend. The wind picked up and made the climb cooler, but also harder, as they had to fight against it.

  Will hated anything even remotely stair-like by the time they reached the top. Still surprising himself, he didn’t even care that they were in the clouds, thousands of meters in the air. He was just glad they had finished the climb.

  At the top, Nanda left them to relax in a wind-blown section of the monastery that was tourist oriented. Covered benches looked out over the valley and the volcano. A snack shop offered beverages and light food. A decorative set of six golden spires, looking like complex, giant Christmas ornaments, were set on pillars. Will marveled at how all the building material had been hauled up here. It seemed an unreal, daunting task. Yet, here it was, a fully functioning monastery on top of the world.

  Will’s breathing had almost returned to normal when Nanda appeared from a doorway and beckoned to them. “The master will see you now.”

  They followed Nanda single file through several doors, hallways, and small rooms. Eventually, they came to a ten-meter-square patio that held the pleasant, tinkling sound of a waterfall. A private sitting space was nestled in a corner, under a vine-covered pergola. The square patio was adjacent to a much larger space that held raised garden beds, benches, and potted trees. Will labeled that space as the Grand Garden and the secluded part of the patio as the Private Pergola.

  The wind here, in the private section, was buffeted by the surrounding buildings, so fans moved the air to keep it cool. An old monk, bald and wrinkled, sat under the shade in a meditative pose.

  The air smelled of jasmine, and Will could see the white-flowered plant growing up a trellis and across the pergola in several places. Other colorful plants that Will didn’t recognize added to the ambiance. Overall, the impression was one of peaceful serenity.

  Nanda motioned for them to move closer to the monk and sit down.

  Will hesitated, as the man’s eyes were closed, but Nanda was insistent and got them each settled on a cushion in a semicircle near the old man. Nanda sat down on the older monk’s left and also donned a closed-eyed pose.

  Will, Maddy, and Bear all looked at each other. Maddy shrugged. Will wondered if this were some other kind of test. Maddy closed her eyes, Bear followed suit, so Will did as well. He was tired after all.

  As soon as he closed his eyes, Will sensed something unusual. His body relaxed and his mind became quiet. He was aware of a bird singing, the air from the fan rustling the plants, the water burbling in the waterfall. Will detected a ripple of strength from the old monk.

  The beautiful moment stretched. And then the feeling passed.

  “Master Mohan welcomes you!” Nanda said. “His Burmese and Hindi are excellent but his English is poor so he has requested I translate for you. Please, just call him master.”

  Will opened his eyes and found that everyone else had done the same. The master put his palms together in a prayer position, inclined his head, and pressed his fingers to the tip of his nose. Without having a clue if this was proper etiquette or not, Will, Maddy, and Bear followed suit.

  “Please thank the master for seeing us. We appreciate his time and are grateful.”

  Maddy always knew what to say.

  Nanda translated, and the old man smiled and nodded at her, pleased. Will noticed the master’s brown eyes were alive with intellect and warmth.

  Then the monk spoke again to Nanda, who repeated in English. “The master would like to know why you are here. Please take your time and speak your truth.”

  Maddy looked at Bear and Will and they both motioned for her to begin. She looked up at the pergola’s ceiling vines for a long moment. “We have been told our ancestor Ramiro hid an object of great power. Men from Russia want this power, we think, to make war in the world. We wish to find the object before they do, so that we can stop a potential war and find the truth about our father’s death.”

  “There are those who would use the Power you seek for evil deeds. I have turned away those with that intention.” After Nanda translated, the old man nodded.

  The master looked at Will expectantly. Feeling nervous at the talk of evil deeds, Will wasn’t sure which part of the truth to share. “I, too, want peace in the world.”

  Even before the words were translated the old man was shaking his head. Nanda said, “He says you’re not fully truthful. You must tell the entire truth for him to help you.”

  Will felt like he’d been hit with a stun gun. How did he know that? It was part of the truth, but he also knew that, deep down, his real driver was justice for his father and Maria. Not revenge, per se. It was justice he sought. As an engineer, he didn’t believe in mystical powers. He closed his eyes. How best to communicate his thoughts?

  Will opened his eyes. “These Russian men killed my father and my wife, both of whom I loved with my entire being. I don’t know if there is power to be found but I want to know why my loved ones were killed and bring justice to those responsible.”

  The old monk nodded and smiled. Will felt heat in his cheeks and sipped some water. It was unnerving to have someone see your soul like that.

  They all looked at Bear, who was uncharacteristically flushed. Will had never seen Bear fidget before, but he did now. He took a drink of water. His eyes darted around the patio. A band of perspiration broke out on his forehead.

  Finally, he burst out, “I want to help Maddy succeed in this quest because I care for her. I want to keep her safe.”

  Will watched the reactions of everyone to this small outburst. Maddy colored and didn’t look at Bear further. The old monk shook his head from side to side and spoke in Nanda’s ear.

  “What else?” Nanda translated.

  Bear’s mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. He squirmed, held his breath, and his face turned bright red.

  Will’s curiosity was piqued. What else could there be? How did this master know their secrets? Bear clearly cared for Maddy, or was he faking that? Was there something Bear hadn’t told them? Maddy started to narrow her gaze at Bear, probably also wondering what was going on.

  The old monk just sat silently and watched.

  Bear stood and paced up and down the patio.

  What the hell was going on? Will could sense Maddy’s blood pressure rising, likely with all the same questions he had. Only she had seemed to like that kiss and so was more invested than he was.

  After several long minutes, Bear came back to the group. “Is there somewhere Maddy and I can talk? Alone?”

  Uh-oh. Will thought. This can’t be good.

  CHAPTER 65

  Popa Taungkalat Monastery, Myanmar, July 20, 5:35 p.m.:

  Maddy could feel the anger coming on as she followed Nanda and Bear to a doorway on the other side of the monastery’s large garden area. They sought privacy so that she and Bear could talk about whatever the master had flushed out of him.

  Bear had looked more uncomfortable under the old master’s scrutiny than she had ever seen a man look. Something was wrong here and she didn’t think she was going to like it.

  As they walked through the doorway, questions cascaded through her mind like a data dump on a computer screen.

  What does he have to hide?

  How is it that we’ve kissed once and now we have to ‘talk’ already?

  Her old suspicion resurfaced. Why did he come on this quest with us?

  Nanda dropped them at a table for two in a plain-looking dining hall. The sole distinguishing aspect of the place was that the floors gleamed with a brilliance she’d seen in expensive, high-end office buildings when she’d met clients to discuss software projects.

  Bear sat across from her and, when they were alone, tried to hold her hands.

  She pulled them away and got right to the point. “‘Fess up. What’s going on?”

  Bear’s face was a sickly green. “Marshall. M
addy. You have to believe me. I was going to tell you.”

  She leaned back and crossed her arms. “That is the wrong way to start a conversation.”

  “You’re right. Okay. I’ll tell you now.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I don’t know where to start.”

  She tried to keep her tone level, but it came out more sarcastic than she intended. “How about the beginning?” She was annoyed, after all, and it was starting to look as if she had a right to be.

  “All right. When my last tour with the marines was up a month or so ago, I was approached by an agency to become an undercover agent.” He paused and looked at her.

  Her heart beat faster as her mind raced in two directions at once. She could already see where this was going as it related to their quest and didn’t like what it implied on a personal note either.

  What the hell? And he meant to tell me?

  Her eyebrows shot up and a pit opened in her stomach. “An agency or ‘The Agency’?” Her voice sounded wooden and far away.

  “Yes, a department within the CIA, but more like a distant cousin with an open-minded, forward-looking focus. That’s where their name comes from, like in vanguard. It’s an ultra-deep black group within the Department of Extreme Threats called VanOps. Their charter is, um...” He paused, looking away. “Not conventional. They look for obscure or unusual threats. Ancient or futuristic. Things science can’t explain.”

  “Things such as arcane powers that the Russians might want?” Her tone was cold. Ice-cold.

  His eyes fell. “Uh, yeah.”

  “And you’re on the agency payroll?”

  “Um, not yet. Sort of. I mean, this whole mission, takin’ care of you and Will. It was a test. Like your test at Jerusalem.”

  “I don’t get it.” With every new revelation, her anger rose a notch higher and her voice dropped a level lower.

  “I’ve been a helicopter guy--gathered tactical intelligence, like enemy locations. But I’ve always wanted to do true undercover. Clandestine operations. This group, VanOps, it’s the future. Cutting-edge physics. Modern warfare. They only recruit the crème de la crème. I had a pretty good rap sheet with the marines, and you may remember my dad was a general before he died. They’re testin’ even me.”

  “Bullshit. I don’t know much about spying, but I think they’re playing you.”

  The dam burst and Bear’s voice broke. “They told me I couldn’t tell you. I wanted to tell you from the start. I almost did on the ship, and then Will interrupted us. Remember? Maddy, please.”

  She did remember he had started to say something, but she just looked away, too angry to speak.

  “And after we kissed. I hoped--anyway, I swore to myself that I would tell you. And I just haven’t had a chance.”

  She tried to yank her ponytail and it was missing. That infuriated her even further.

  “Maddy, I care about you. I always have and would have come along even if they hadn’t asked me to keep you safe. I thought it would be a lark. I had no idea the Russians would catch up to us. We can call in backup from VanOps if you want. I’ll likely not get the job, but maybe we need some extra firepower.”

  Now the words tumbled out of her mouth as she leaned toward him, hands balled into tight fists. “You’re assuming this is still a group effort. How on earth am I to trust you, Theodore Thorenson, when you’ve deceived both Will and me since you sat down next to us at the Fire Sign Café? I feel betrayed.”

  It took all the willpower she possessed not to upend the table on top of him, or throw it across the room.

  Bear looked down and grimaced.

  She pounded her closed hand on the tabletop. It jumped. “What else does VanOps have up their sleeve? And what the hell do they want with us? Did you stop and think about that for a minute? What is their angle? How did they know what we were up to anyway? At that point, nobody should have known where we were. How did they know to hook you up with us? To keep us safe? Really. Sell me some Florida swampland while you’re at it.”

  Bear didn’t back down at her anger. Instead, something shifted for him, and he went on the offensive, looking her in the eye, leaning forward, and holding the table down with his palms. “Maddy. I can see how you’re pissed off and that you feel betrayed. This is a big surprise and a lot of new information. But this group that’s tryin’ to help you is a bonafide government department. They’ve been funded in one way, shape, or form since the seventies when they studied psychic spies.”

  A part of Maddy liked that Bear could handle her anger, but she wasn’t done. “So what? They’re part of the CIA. Have you heard of waterboarding? Snowden? You want to be one of those guys that torture people? That spy on Americans through their TV’s and cell phones?”

  “Of course not, but did you know what you call torture was legal, and there were only three men waterboarded right after Nine/Eleven?”

  Maddy leaned back in her chair. “No, I didn’t know that. How do you know?”

  “The former CIA Director wrote a book.”

  Maddy’s tone was half sarcastic, half a question. “And you believe him?”

  “I believe there are two sides to every story. Intelligence is the key to keeping our country safe. More key than our armies, in my opinion. I believe I want to help keep America safe.”

  “By any means necessary?”

  “No. I know right from wrong.”

  “Seems it might get a little murky working undercover. Seems it already has.”

  “Think about this, Maddy. I gave VanOps my word to keep you safe and stay silent. Was wantin’ to keep you safe so wrong? And now that there might be some hope for us as a couple, my allegiance has shifted. I don’t want to be the undercover guy that can’t tell his significant other what is goin’ on. I believe in trust.”

  “What’s their position on that?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Haven’t gotten that far yet.”

  “Something to consider with the job offer, I would think.”

  “Yes, I agree.”

  She took a deep breath and the tide of her anger receded. He had made some fair points.

  He pressed. “What would you have done if you were me? If you had given your word and didn’t see any harm in doing so? Thought you were doin’ some old friends a favor even. A win-win.”

  “I need to think about that after I fully calm down. I learned a long time ago to not make decisions when I’m ticked off--I’ve always regretted them. So, let’s set aside, for the time being, the question of did you owe me the truth before now. Let’s go back to this department. What did you call them...VanOps? What do they want?”

  “They didn’t tell me.”

  “Okay. Got any guesses? You’ve had longer to mull this over than I have.”

  “My best guess is that they heard about these obelisks from somebody with loose lips in your rather large, extended family and want to make sure they don’t end up in the wrong hands. Like I said, the Russians have been knee-deep in obscure spy territory for decades. VanOps couldn’t have figured there was much of anythin’ real behind it, or they wouldn’t have sent a plebe like me.”

  “Could be.” She hesitated. “Makes sense. And makes me feel a little better as well.”

  “We can call them in if you want.”

  “Funny, Will and I were joking about calling in the CIA on the plane. But I don’t think so. No. My gut is not happy about how they’ve played this.”

  Bear’s broad shoulders relaxed a notch. “I can understand that.”

  “Have you reported in or anything when we weren’t looking?”

  “No, my orders were simply to keep you safe, stay quiet, and call when we all got back to the States. I imagine they’ll be fascinated by the obelisks, should they truly exist.”

  “Curious. Well, we’ve done well enough by ourselves so far, and if there’s that much power at stake, I’m thinking I may not want them in the hands of the government. Do I have your word that you’ll follow m
y lead on that? And that you’ll fill Will in and let us know before you call?”

  Bear nodded.

  She relaxed and shrugged to release built-up tension. Bear got up, came around the table, and started to rub her shoulders.

  “That feels good, but no. Hands off! You’ve given me too much to think about.” Her tone was light, though.

  “Rain check, Ms. Marshall?”

  Maddy felt torn. “Maybe.”

  “I’ll take it. Shall we rejoin the others? And how did the master know what I had up my sleeve?”

  “Yes, let’s go. Maybe we’ll find out.”

  CHAPTER 66

  6:15 p.m.:

  In the middle of the mountaintop monastery, Will endured a long fifteen minutes before Maddy and Bear returned to the Private Pergola from a doorway on the other side of the Grand Garden.

  The master had sat in a meditative pose with his eyes shut while Maddy and Bear were talking. Nanda was nowhere to be found, so Will also sat and tried to enjoy the early evening while wondering where the Russians were now and what secrets Maddy and Bear were discussing.

  By the time he was anxious enough to consider getting up to go find them, they strode back to the patio. Will could tell that Maddy’s anger had cooled. Bear looked wrung out, but a spring had returned to his step. Perhaps they’d kissed and made up.

  Will recalled a fight a few weeks ago that he and Maria had over his bonus. He’d splurged, bought his Rolex, and she was ticked off he’d spent so much money. They worked it out, and he enjoyed the make-up session. He seriously missed her right about now.

  As if on cue, when Bear and Maddy walked onto the patio, Nanda appeared from one of the other doorways. They all sat down on the cushions that faced the master.

  “What did you learn?” the master asked Maddy, through Nanda.

  Maddy looked at Bear. He nodded. She said, “Bear had made a commitment to others before we came on the quest. He has told me everything now.”