by R J Johnson
Alex grimaced, and considered their plan. If he was being honest, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Get to Maui and find out where these stones came from. The second I get a handle on whatever Scott’s up to, we’ll join you guys. This was supposed to be my vacation after all,” Alex said. He’d meant that last part as a joke, but all it did was serve to remind him just what they were up against.
“I’ll get us a cab and book some flights,” Emily said, taking out the new smartphone Alex’s contact had provided. “You sure these things are clean?”
Alex nodded, “He’s more worried about spending that money than who we are. His whole business model is based on his customers getting away clean. If he says you can use that phone, you can use that phone.”
“Then I’m gonna give our new credit cards a try and book the next flight to Maui,” she announced. She stood and walked a few yards away, furiously typing on the new iPhone.
“She’s going to be okay,” Alex said. He managed to make his voice sound a lot more hopeful than he felt.
“Is that for me?” Christina asked skeptically, “Or you?”
Alex almost snapped. He was tired, hungry, and had been beaten up more times than he could count over the last few days. Christina’s nagging was the final straw.
“Look!” he spun, furiously taking out his anger on her. “Over the last few days, I’ve been shot, stabbed, thrown off a cliff, set on fire, nearly torn apart and watched my father die. Let’s not forget that the only reason I’ve so far survived this stupid surreal adventure is because of this stupid piece of shit,” he waved the stone in Christina’s face. “Now my best friend has betrayed me, I got Emily’s fiancé killed and I’ve ruined her life yet again. This was not supposed to happen. None of it.”
He’d built up such a head of steam, he hadn’t realized he was shouting by the end of it. Thankfully, Emily had moved far enough away that she didn’t hear his tirade. Christina didn’t respond. She just watched him, her brown eyes filled with sadness and pity.
“Are you done?” she asked finally.
Alex felt the anger suddenly leave his body and he slumped forward. She leaned in and grabbed him tightly hugging him close.
He didn’t say anything, he didn’t return the hug, he just sat there, accepting her love and comfort and feeling for the first time in a while that the whole world wasn’t lying on his shoulders alone.
“Get that out of your system?” she asked softly. He nodded.
“Good,” she said, sitting up, her voice becoming clear. “’Cause we’ve got work to do. Don’t worry about Emily. I’ll take care of her. I went to U of H for some college prep and my old professor is in charge of the project. We’ll be in and out without anyone knowing we’re even there. Afterward, we’ll kick back and drink some beers on a beautiful beach, far from Kline and your insane life.”
Christina glanced back at Emily who was furiously negotiating with the ticket agent on the other end of the line and back at Alex.
“We’ll be fine. Go get your friend back. Keep him from going nuts like Maxwell did. You’ll need Scott’s help against that billionaire.”
Emily finished up the phone call and began walking back to them. Alex looked at Christina and smiled, “Thanks.”
Christina punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Just concentrate on saving the world. I’ll take care of Emily. She’ll need you after this is all through.”
“Provided we’re all still here,” he said grimly thinking of Siobhan’s warning. Her description of Earth after the gamma ray burst hit didn’t make it sound like a nice place to be.
Emily approached, holding the smartphone in her hand, a proud expression on her face, “Two first-class tickets to Maui leaving in a half an hour. No flags on the credit card or our fake names either.”
Alex grunted, “Bout time we had ourselves a lucky break.” He stood up from the bench and raised his hand hailing a cab. He only hoped that this wasn’t their last. They’d need a lot more than just one favor from fate.
Because, by the way the last few days had gone, if they wanted to survive, they were gonna need a whole bucket full.
Chapter Thirteen
Lorelei stared at the stone sitting on the cheap folding table in her motel room. It was a comfortable enough place to rest her head to be sure, but there wasn’t a lot in the way of amenities. The shower was cold, the internet service questionable and there wasn’t a mini bar - three mortal sins that Lorelei would normally be complaining about.
However, Lorelei wasn’t thinking about the lack of available liquor in her room. Instead she was transfixed by the stone sitting on the table in front of her. All she could do was go over the strange experience she’d had in the cave. Going through all her notes, she’d so far found nothing that matched anything she found in the chamber. All that was supposed to be there was a simple treasure chest. Nothing she’d read in her research of the local lore sounded anything like that strange crystal chamber.
But there was nothing. She remained in the dark, both literally and figuratively. The sun had set a few hours ago. Days were shorter this far above the equator. However, at this time of year, it would be back up within a few hours. Not that she could tell. The whole time she’d been here the sky had retained that slight tinge of twilight red no matter what time it was.
She sat there and looked at the stone on the table and thought about what the chamber had said. It told him it was up to her to choose its power. But what did that mean? Did it mean literal power? Like electricity? Or was it something more?
She shook her head. It was nuts. Then again, the whole experience had left her questioning her sanity and whether or not she’d suffered a concussion during the fall.
Lorelei reached a hand out to the stone and was about to pick it up when her phone rang. Distracted, she didn’t look at the display and picked up immediately thinking it was Johan.
“My love,” she said distracted, “I didn’t think I would hear from you yet.”
“Is this Ms. Lorelei Decklund?” The voice coming over the line was crisp and professional.
Johan snapped to attention, “I’m sorry, who’s this?”
“Ms. Decklund, my name is Garrison Walsh. I’m the local liaison with MARS Security Corp here in Germany, I’m calling about your husband, Johan.”
Lorelei felt her blood run cold.
“What’s happened to my husband?” she asked, gripping the phone tightly.
“That’s just it ma’am, we don’t know,” Garrison said.
Lorelei shot up out of her chair and began to pace frantically across her small motel room.
“What? What’s happened?” Lorelei repeated.
“Details are sparse at the moment, but we’ve received reports that his operation was accosted by local militants.”
She paused, feeling the panic rise up in her throat. “Is he alive?”
“Ma’am, that’s what they pay us for,” Garrison replied. “It’d be best if you could come to Berlin. We can provide transportation if you need. It’s included in our company’s policy.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Lorelei said hurriedly. She changed hands holding her iPhone and began to furiously pack throwing her belongings haphazardly into her suitcase. The stone lay gleaming on the table as she hurriedly threw things in. “I’m in Iceland, I don’t know if that’s a problem.”
“We’ll have a private flight booked for you out of Reykjavik,” the voice said. She could hear snapping on the other end of the line and she assumed the man’s lackeys were running about looking to fulfill the order. “From there, you can meet our people in London who will escort you to our offices here.”
“Thank you,” Lorelei said. She finished packing, snapping the clasps shut.
“Good, we’ll see you in a few hours,” Garrison said. “In the meantime, we’ll do what we can to find more information on your husband’s disappearance.”
Lorelei didn’t bother responding, as she hung up the phone. She was of a single mind. Find her husband and get him safely home. She was so distracted by her husband’s kidnapping that she nearly forgot to grab the prize from the cavern behind Skógafoss. Just as she was about to leave the room, she noticed something flash out of the corner of her eye. It was the stone and she grabbed it, sticking it into her jeans pocket.
She opened the door, flying out of it as he ran down the corridor and to his car. For some reason, she thought of her parents talking about why they named her. Lorelei was an enormous rock on the Rhine. Because of this, Johan had always called her his rock. Always there for him when he needed her most.
And this would be no different. She’d move mountains to save him.
Even if it killed her.
Chapter Fourteen
Johan woke, his head pounding. He could taste the blood in his mouth and instantly knew he was in trouble. Around him, three more of his men were tied up, all of whom were either bloody, or unconscious. He swallowed painfully, choking back the horror of seeing his friends, bleeding and dying there in front of him.
He felt the rhythmic moving of a truck as it drove down the poorly maintained road. He raised his head to try and look out the wooden slats to where they were headed, but was quickly struck by one of his guards.
He cowered, and attempted to steal glances at the men who’d kidnapped him and his friends. They were laughing and joking in a dialect of Kurdish he spoke. So far, they hadn’t said much on the subject of what they were doing with him.
The truck slowed as it approached a compound located on the side of a steep hill. Three men jumped out of the cab of the truck and waved to the guards in the back to bring Johan and the rest off the truck they were being transported in.
Two of his captured friends were slumped over, their heads bleeding when one of the gunman moved to pull him off the truck. One man slipped, and fell off the truck, landing painfully on the ground. The rest of the militants began laughing at his friend’s predicament.
Johan recognized the man as one of the people who worked the heavy loader, helping to bring in the raw materials they used to build the pipeline. He hadn’t known the man personally, but his name was… Hoffman. That was it, that was the man’s name.
He moved to help his employee up, but before he had the chance, one of the gunmen lift up his pistol, and shoot his employee in the head, killing him instantly.
Johan screamed in rage, and the four gunman swiveled around, holding their rifles up at him, ready to kill him if he moved a muscle. He got control of his emotions and raised his hands up in surrender. They watched for a moment, waiting to see if he’d try something. When he didn’t move, they motioned with their rifles for him to get off the truck.
He stared at the scrawny militants who’d killed his friend. They stared back at him, daring him to make a move. Johan wondered, for a moment, about how far he’d get.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to consider the idea long when another one of the militants slammed the butt of his rifle into the back of his head.
Stars erupted in Johan’s vision and he collapsed to the ground, woozy from the blow to his head.
“This one has some fight in him!” Johan heard a voice say from a distance. His talent for languages had been one of his biggest qualifications for the job. For once, he wished he was ignorant on the many ways his kidnappers were debating killing him with. “Just kill him and be done with it!”
“We kill him now, we don’t get paid,” the other militant said in Kurdish.
“You should kill me now,” Johan replied quickly in their native language. “Because if you don’t, I guarantee you’ll be dead before sunrise.”
The man standing next to him, looked surprised at the white man speaking their language. He pulled the action back on his rifle and Johan closed his eyes, readying himself for whatever came next.
The man in charge stepped forward and pulled the rifle away.
“No, the buyer demanded one with fight. He is perfect.”
The militant’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded his assent, lowering the rifle.
They grabbed him, dragging him across the dusty road, throwing Johan unceremoniously into the back of a truck. Johan smacked his head against the wall of the bed and saw stars for the third time. He fell to his back, staring up into the blue skies above.
Before he had a chance to recover, the militants pulled another heavy bag around his face, blocking his sight just before gunfire erupted behind him. The screams confirmed his worst fears – they were killing his friends.
He slumped back, defeated, and wondered when it would be his turn to die.
Chapter Fifteen
The taxi pulled up to Lindbergh Field as Alex, Emily and Christina stepped out. Ever since watching her fiancé die, Emily had wanted nothing more than to get away from Alex and those stupid stones.
But now as they pulled up to the airport, she felt her stomach churning. She wasn’t having second thoughts necessarily, but, she’d come to count on having Alex nearby, ready to save the day. Now, as she stepped out of the cab, clutching the small backpack that held everything she had left in the world, she wasn’t so sure flying to Maui was the right thing to do.
Emily didn’t like the idea of abandoning Alex. If she was being honest with herself, she still loved him – after everything they’d gone through, that much was clear. But after nearly dying four separate times in the last seventy-two hours, she was ready to get off Alex’s ride.
Her former lover leaned into the cab, “Give me a sec, will ya? I’m just dropping them off.”
The cabbie nodded and waved to the meter. Alex tossed a hundred on the seat next to him and turned back to Emily.
“You sure about this plan of yours?” Alex asked her. “It’s not too late to stay here, safe with my stones.”
“Those stones are more trouble than they’re worth,” Emily replied crossly. Alex knew she didn’t really mean it. She was still upset and had every right to be.
“We’ll be fine,” Christina added. “Just get Scott back in his right mind. We’ll send you a text if we find anything.”
“Good,” Alex said. Strange, he felt relieved that Emily would be far from him. He’d brought her nothing but trouble so far. Maybe some distance was what they needed.
Suddenly, Emily moved close, awkwardly hugging him. He was surprised by the gesture at first, but quickly leaned into it. She clutched him tightly, like a drowning woman hanging on for rescue before letting go. She stared in his eyes.
“Don’t you let those stones take over,” she implored him. “You’re so much stronger than what these things are doing to people. Don’t forget what it means to have that kind of power. Don’t forget what your father would do with that power.”
Alex swallowed and looked back at her crystal blue eyes. He felt the magnetic pull they had on him and he pulled her back in for a tight hug. It didn’t matter how long it’d been or how they left things. She would forever be the love of his life.
Even if she didn’t feel the same anymore.
Christina cleared her throat, “I hate to do this, but our flight’s taking off soon.”
Alex didn’t let go, not at first. But, he was forced to when he felt Emily release her hug. He reluctantly did too and they stepped back from each other, looking sad.
“Stay safe out there,” he said.
“You too,” Emily said.
She lingered for a moment, her hand sliding slowly out of his as she gradually moved into the airport. Christina hefted her backpack and turned, looking impatiently in the terminal.
A local police officer walked up and tapped the cab driver’s window telling him he needed to move along. Collier’s tirade through downtown San Diego and up at San Ellijo had left a lot of frayed nerves, so security at the airport was on high alert. San Diego’s finest weren’t about to let anything else happen on their watch.
The cabbie honked, letting Alex know
that he needed to move. Emily released his hand and turned, walking with purpose toward Christina who was standing at the sliding entrance doors.
Alex turned back to the cab, hoping she didn’t see the tear threatening to escape. It was hard enough saying good bye again, he didn’t need to make it any harder.
For her part, Emily allowed the tears to fly freely down her cheeks. Christina reached out a hand to comfort her, but she pulled away. She didn’t need comfort right now. She wanted her old life back.
Her whole life, she’d been searching for evidence of alien life out in the stars above. Now, after being confronted with actual evidence of that fact, she wasn’t so sure it was worth it. Answering that question had come at a high price. Far higher than she’d ever expected.
Emily weaved through the crowd in the terminal ignoring their protests as she headed for the check-in counter. The flustered brunette standing behind the counter looked up from her typing and gave a wan smile. It was nearing the end of her shift and she just wanted to go home.
“May I help you?” the ticket agent’s voice sounded a lot more engaged than she likely felt. After working a double and dealing with dozens of customers put out by the terrorism in downtown and North County, she was at the end of her rope.
“We purchased two tickets online for Maui…” Christina began.
“Ooh… girl’s weekend…” the agent said, sounding jealous.
“Actually we’re going there to search for proof of alien life and prevent a star from going supernova, cooking everything and everyone you’ve known or loved in a horrible death,” Emily interjected.
The agent’s plastic smile grew thin until Christina slapped her friend in horror, “Emily! Knock it off, leave this poor girl alone. Saying something like that will get us on the TSA’s radar.”
Christina shot her friend a look and turned back to the ticket agent, flashing her smile, “She’s joking… Our girl’s weekend started early this morning with complimentary mimosas in the limousine.”