“Thank you. Why are you helping me?” she asked.
“Because you’re a human being, not a slave, or some sick person’s trophy. I couldn’t live with myself,”
“Will you help me find out why this is happening to me? Please. I don’t have any money, so I can’t pay you,”
“Don’t worry; you don’t have to pay me. The only thing, though, is that I’m planning on doing one last drop off, and leaving these systems behind…forever. If you want, I can drop you off somewhere. I have a few secret bases you can choose to live on for as long as you like. They have food materializers, so you would never go hungry. I’m not going back to Rockfield for a long time. I have a ship at a few of my bases that you can use when you’re ready to go back. Once they find out you’re not in the obelisk, they’re going to come looking for you…and me. You can stay in my room until you decide where you want to go. I’ll sleep in my lounge or in my flight room. There’s a kitchen on the floor below. You can make yourself at home. I won’t bother you. If you need anything, just let me know. In the meantime, I will see if I can get you some answers. I have a few connections, so maybe I can find out who wants you,” the space pirate told her.
“Thank you. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. I’m scared. The thought is making me sick. I have no idea why this was done to me. Do you think they know I’m free?” she asked.
“No, and no one will know until it is too late. Don’t worry, Jaime, you’re safe here, I won’t let anyone take you, all right,” Jesse reassured her.
“All right, do you mind if I lay down? I’m not feeling so well. This is a little too much to handle,”
“Of course you can. Just take the lift back down, and you can stay in my room. There is a lock on the door if you want to use it. I’ll understand, it would probably help you rest better,” Jesse said, trying to make her feel as safe as possible. She simply nodded and smiled. She turned around, made her way to his room, and locked the door.
Jesse felt good about what he was doing for her. He felt as if he were finally doing a good deed. She was ten times more beautiful unfrozen, he thought. Jesse knew he would have to concentrate on his last two jobs. He would make his fist drop off, and act as normal as possible. As for the obelisk, he would have to close it up to make it look as if it hadn’t been opened. He wasn’t sure how he would pull it off, but he knew he would have to pull it off. The pirate was tempted to pop a couple of pills, but decided to hold off so that he could think more clearly.
“Ah, shit,” he says, realizing what he had gotten himself into.
Chapter 6
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."
William Shakespeare
In the State of Washington D.C., where the corporate buildings of the UPG resided, which was where the historic White House of the United States of America was once standing. The neighboring area of where the White House was located, had been turned into a colossal corporate park, to better accommodate the vast international government. A tall cement wall, resembling that of the Great Wall of China, protected the park, which was two miles in length. The ten entrances were heavily guarded by the military. The civilians referred to it as a small city, since it was so grandiose. Some civilians even called it the New Vatican. The UPG’s Headquarters consisted of a grouping of twenty tall silver skyscrapers spread out in a distance of a mile. The twenty skyscrapers each had different departments, ranging from sciences to espionage. Each building had a number on it, from one to twenty. The twenty buildings were grouped in a large circle with Building One in the center. The president’s office was in Building One. His highly secured mansion was half a mile away, which had a secret tunnel connecting from his home to his building. Each of the one hundred and ninety three Council members of the UPG Council, and their families, had their own private estates on the grounds. Many of the staff, who worked in the twenty skyscrapers, lived in apartment buildings located close to the main buildings.
Some of the Council members also governed a space station, a moon, or planet. In conjunction with the fourteen recorded space stations, the president had three additional space stations secretly built, so they weren’t know to some of the Council members. The head of the entire UPG Council was the president, the one man who was literally in charge of everyone. President Anthony Gray was an evil, power hungry man, who cared only for his own wealth. While sitting in his dark, miserable office, President Gray went over his credit accounts on his laptop computer. His office was on the top floor of Building One. The inside of his office resembled an old library, or reading room, with stacks of ancient books on rows and rows of red oak books shelves, reaching to his ceiling. President Gray had only one window in his office, which he had covered up with a thick drape. He preferred the dark. His personal assistant sat patiently ten feet away in a brown leather chair.
President Gray’s phone rang. He pressed the speakerphone button. “Yes?”
“Sir, you have a call on line one. It’s Mr. Toad, sir,” his secretary, Sandy, reported.
“Put him through,” he said. President Gray clasped his hands together and leaned into his desk. His face, as usual, was completely expressionless. President Gray was the type of man who showed little or no emotions, except when angry. A deep, heavy breathing came over the speaker.
“Where is my package, Gray?” the voice crackled. Mr. Toad’s voice was deep and demonic, sounding like a dragon’s voice, if they existed, and could talk.
“It will be there soon, Mr. Toad. It is en route as we speak,” President Gray explained.
“I grow weary of waiting. The package is very important to me,” the deep, slow voice explained. President Gray could hear sounds of whips cracking, and faint screams in the background. The president’s assistant pulled at his collar, wondering who was being tortured.
“I know, Mr. Toad. I promise you that it will be in your possession very soon,” President Gray tried to reassure him. A man in the background began to yell for help.
“Silence him,” Mr. Toad yelled to someone who was with him. To the president’s surprise, all he heard in the background was someone’s neck breaking, and then the man pleaded no more.
“I need an exact date,” demanded Mr. Toad.
“Done, I will get that information for you shortly. Call me tomorrow,”
“Don’t disappoint me; I have done many things for your government,” warned Mr. Toad.
“When will you transfer over the two billion?”
“When I receive what you have promised me.”
“I won’t fail you,” said President Gray, coolly.
“What about Luis?” asked the demonic sounding voice.
“I have taken care of everything,”
“I hope so, Gray…for your sake,” voiced Mr. Toad, then he cut the line.
Mr. Gray turned to his assistant and ordered, “I want you to contact Luis and have him give you a date on when Mr. Toad can expect his package,”
“Luis says it would take the White Skull four weeks to reach the Trading Post,” explained his assistant.
“Fine, but I need an exact date to give Mr. Toad. So contact him, and then inform me of the date as soon as you find out, all right?”
“Yes, Mr. President,” his assistant responded. After receiving his orders, the man, who Jesse said looked like Lurch, left the president’s office. His real name was Alexander Lutz. Alexander left the intensely secure Building One and took a transport to his starship, which rested on the government spaceport. After receiving clearance, he quickly ascended into space, en route to Elijah’s massive asteroid fortress. Alexander knew that Luis was staying with Elijah for a few days as his guest. Alexander used the chance to visit Elijah, instead of just contacting Luis.
Before reaching Elijah’s fortress, he informed him that he would arrive in four hours. Lurch used his secret codes for one of the star portals to reach Elijah’s base faster. Otherwise, the trip would have taken two days. Elijah and A
lexander had been close friends for many years. They met in Africa, when Elijah was a political leader. Alexander was hired as Elijah’s bodyguard. When Elijah was kicked out of Africa, Alexander followed him. The two of them started off in the black market, eventually taking it over completely. Elijah rose in power, and Alexander decided he would rather be a paid assassin for the president. His job entailed many more tasks that just assassinating people. He felt as though he had become nothing more than a glorified coffee boy. Alexander didn’t mind working for the president, it was just that he wasn’t sure if he could trust him. He knew many of the president’s dirty secrets, but one secret has caused him to distrust the president. Alexander kept the knowledge to himself, and the president had no idea that he knew. The last of the great, honorable president’s had been Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, almost three hundred years ago. Since then, the entire elected president’s had been even more corrupt. When the UPG was founded, the presidents were given entirely too much power, and eventually led back to the complete degeneration of the government.
As Alexander approached Elijah’s asteroid, he marveled at the size of his base. It was larger than the Rockfield Space Station, and was a tad smaller than the Kobia Space Station, the largest station to exist. To Alexander, it looked more like a small moon. The base was constructed completely inside of an asteroid that Elijah had gutted out. After passing a few dozen starships, which guarded the asteroid, Alexander flew through a tunnel in the front of the asteroid. He followed the passage, until he reached a large hanger bay, filled with dozens of parked starships. After landing, he walked to an elevator, where three of Elijah’s men were waiting to escort him. The elevator ride lasted ten minutes; just to reach what Elijah called his Grand Hall. The elevator opened, revealing a large waiting area. The waiting area was magnificent, decorated in an ancient Roman design. The floor was cut from the most expensive black marble with white swirls. Black leather couches were placed around the room, as well as large gold columns that touched the ceiling. Thousands of white sparkling diamonds decorated the two tall doors, which led to Elijah’s Hall.
Twelve colossal, muscular, black men guarded the diamond covered entrance. They each held a large curved sword that rested on their massive shoulders, with the sharp end of the blade facing out. The man who was guiding Alexander instructed the guards to open the doors. As the doors opened, a sweet fragrance lightly spread through the waiting room, hitting Alexander in the face.
The first thing Alexander noticed when he entered was the smile on Elijah’s face. He was sitting on a large white thrown, with swirls of gold and diamonds in the design. Large circular beds were placed around the entire room, which were occupied with many gorgeous women of different nationalities; all dressed in multicolored silk harem outfits. At least some of them were dressed, the rest were completely naked. Feeding Elijah was a beautiful, voluptuous naked woman, with long, curly blonde hair, and freckles all over her perfect body. An equally beautiful Asian woman was massaging his shoulders, also naked. Alexander had a special fetish for Asian women. Before Alexander had reached Elijah, Elijah noticed the dazed look in his eyes. Elijah knew of his passion for Asian women, and smiled at his friend again. Although her body was perfect, her face was even more magnificent. Pong Ling had an extremely cute and innocent face, with freckles running across her nose. Her hair was long, straight, black, and silky. She had tan skin, and was a little more curvaceous than the average Asian woman. Alexander took notice of the teardrop Pong Ling had tattooed under her left eye.
Elijah was a dark-skinned, handsome, bald, African male. He was wearing a white cloth vest, lined in gold thread, with his muscular arms exposed. His pants were also made of white cloth, with the same design as his vest. The entire floor was black marble, like the waiting room. Gold columns were also placed around the large room.
“My white brother, what do I owe the honor of your long awaited visit?” Elijah said with a deep, pleasant African accent.
“I know it’s been a long time, I’m sorry. The president keeps me busy, you know. It’s good to see you,” said Alexander, glancing back and forth, from Elijah to the Asian woman, and from the Asian woman back to Elijah. Elijah thought that maybe his friend was watching a ping pong match, with Elijah representing the ping, and Pong representing the pong. Elijah smiled at his own little mental joke.
“It’s good to see you too. Would you like something to drink?” asked Elijah.
“Everclear,” requested Alexander. Elijah smiled and shook his head, almost forgetting his old friend’s favorite drink. Elijah simply snapped his fingers, causing a beautiful woman to jump into action. Alexander was jealous of the life his comrade led.
One of the women walked over to Alexander and removed his suit jacket. Elijah motioned for Alexander to sit on a couch that was nearby. Within seconds, the woman came back with his drink. After taking a couple of sips, he continued to talk.
“Thank you, brother, I have forgotten how nice it is to be here. I’m always stuck with the president, in his dark, musty office. I swear, sometimes I forget I work for the president, and think that I work in a funeral home. I will have to make up many more excuses to visit you,” Alexander expressed, wishing it were possible.
“Yes, I remember what it is like to live the life of a politician, stuffy, boring men in suits, talking about changing the world, and filling their very deep pockets. I am so glad I turned to a life of crime. What makes me laugh is that when I was a political leader, I was one hundred percent honest, and now look at me. Look at me; I am the most powerful man in the solar system. Even the president over every planet, moon, and space station comes to me for help,” Elijah explained, as he laughed out loud, and slaps his own muscular chest.
“Anyway, never mind any of that shit. You are welcome anytime, my white brother, you know that. I wish you would come back more often,” Elijah confessed.
“You and me both…you and me both. Listen, I hate to get off of the subject, but who the hell is that amazing Asian woman?” Alexander had been dying to ask ever since he had seen her.
“Ah, I was wondering when you were going to ask me. Her name is Pong Ling, and she is half Chinese and half Filipino,” Elijah said, as he grabbed Pong and pulled her in close, kissing her sensual neck.
“She came into my service last year, and I have found that I cannot live without her. Pong has become my most beloved gem of my whole collection. I swear, Alexander, I have never owned a woman like her. Would you like to sample her tonight?” Elijah asked, already knowing the answer. Alexander smiles, “Need you ask? Of course, but, first, I need to discuss something with you. President Gray wants me to find out the exact date that the White Skull will deliver the obelisk,”
When the mention of the White Skulls’ name came up, Pong Ling’s eyes widened with curiosity. As the men continued their conversation, Pong Ling’s look of curiosity had turned to concern. Before anyone noticed, she switched her facial expression back to looking emotionless.
“I thought it was only going to take four weeks?” asked Elijah.
“Yes, but, Mr. Toad is demanding an exact date. As evil and tough as the president is, I can tell Mr. Toad makes him nervous,” explained Alexander.
“Who is this Mr. Toad, anyhow? No one seems to know who he is, except the president. Do you know anything?”
“No, I know almost every dirty secret the president has, except something in his past that he is keeping from me, and the identity of Mr. Toad. I do know that this Mr. Toad, whoever he is, has had dealings with the last few presidents. They have some sort of arrangement with him. They send people to him, who never returns,” Alexander says.
“Between you and me, I’ve had a few of my spies try to find out who he is, and they haven’t been able to come up with anything. I don’t like that. Oh, well, there is nothing we can do about it tonight. So, do you want to have Luis find out about an exact date?” asked Elijah.
“Yes, I heard you have him here as your guest. I wanted to k
now if you could have him contact Kincaid to get a date, and to make sure the obelisk is unharmed, so I can report back to the president. I just have to make sure that the contents in the obelisk are in perfect condition. If anything goes wrong, then Mr. Toad will be very unhappy. If that happens, the president says it could be devastating for the UPG. I’m not really sure what that means, but I’m sure it won’t be good,” said Alexander.
“No problem, I will summon Luis first thing in the morning. You will stay the night; I will not take no for an answer.”
“I would be delighted,” Alexander said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, my friend, I will find out everything tomorrow. I also have a lot riding on this deal. It took a lot of money to get that woman safely frozen. I had to pay Tommy Two Fingers a lot of money. It was his last job for me. I gave him a little extra, since he was retiring. He pulled through for me. I’ve heard the UPG had a close watch on him. Apparently, he got drunk after the job and told an unreliable friend what he did,” said Elijah.
“Yes, we know. He will be retiring permanently, as soon as I do a few other things for the president,”
“Oh well, at least he won’t have to work anymore.” Both men laughed at Elijah’s cruel joke.
“Does Luis suspect anything?” asked Alexander.
“Luis has no idea what’s in store for him. It is a shame, too. He is like a dog I once had, obedient and loyal. Oh well, there are plenty more like him out there. Do you have any idea what they are going to do with him?” Elijah asked.
“No. All I know is that you are to tell him to go to the coordinates I gave you to wait for his imaginary contact. Then, he is to never return. The president hasn’t told me why they were interested in him,”
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