by W B Dineen
CHAPTER 51
Before anyone has a chance to say anything, there’s a knocking sound on the ceiling above us. My dad hurriedly takes his arm and chest bands off and runs underneath the retracted staircase. He grabs a long pole and uses it to tap a rhythmic beat on the hatch leading to the outside. The door opens, and a man descends the steps as they unfold.
I look at my dad, Niko, and Jake for clues as to whether we should hide or not, but all three appear to be relaxed. Once I get a look at the stranger who comes down the stairs, panic the size of a football lodges in my throat. It’s none other than the man who held a gun on the innkeeper at the B&B.
He’s wearing the same clothes he had on last night. His hair is mussed and graying at the temples, and his eyes crinkle in what now look like laugh lines, but a few hours ago looked quite malevolent.
I instinctively look around for something to throw at him when he catches my eye. “Kate, I’m sorry about last night. I was coming to talk to you, but the owner of the inn pulled a gun on me. I was trying to convince her I wasn’t the enemy when you came in.”
I feel an adrenaline surge and my body starts to shake in response. “I don’t think she was likely to believe you with a pistol stuck to her side. Also, you’re a lying sack of crap. If you’d come to talk, like you said, why did you trash my room? And while we’re on the subject, who in the hell are you?!”
Theo steps forward. “Kate, Beth, this is Tony. He’s our handler.” To Tony he says, “We haven’t told them anything yet, but they heard the lie detector questions, so they obviously have a lot of questions.”
The intruder nods his head, but the look on his face suggests he’s doing some fast thinking. To me, he says, “I’m not the one who ransacked your room. When I got there, someone else had already been there. The inn-keeper must have assumed it was me, because she came after me with a gun.”
My dad looks perplexed. “So, they’ve found us again. It makes me wonder how safe we are here.”
Tony shakes his head. “I don’t think you should plan on staying for long. But first, I think your wife and daughter need some answers.”
Theo sighs heavily. “I was hoping we could keep them from the whole story.”
My mom has had enough and demands, “What is going on?” Then to my dad she adds, “And why do you need a handler? And what do you mean you’re working for the government? I thought you were running from them!”
Nikolay takes off his arm and chest bands quietly before approaching Tony. He hugs the younger man and offers, “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
My dad pushes all of us toward a table and chairs in the corner. Once we’re settled, he looks at Tony. “It’s in your hands now. Be careful what you tell them.”
Tony opens a cup of coffee sitting on the table and takes a big gulp. “Theo, we’re past the point of no return on this one.” Then he turns to me and my mom. I’m briefly startled by how good looking he is, almost like Cary Grant in his middle years.
He takes another swig of coffee before sitting down. “Kate, Bethanie, I know you want answers and truthfully, I think you deserve them. In good conscience though, I can’t give them to you unless you’re aware of the full gravity of having that knowledge.”
I blow out a lung-full of air and rub my eyes. “Are we likely to see our old lives again the way things stand now?”
He shakes his head.
“Will knowing more put us in greater danger?”
This time he shrugs his shoulders. “It might, but it will probably allow you to be more aware of possible threats, so it’s probably a wash.” Then he adds, “But if we proceed you’ll learn things that will change your core belief system and upset how you view the status quo. That’s definite. The question you have to ask yourself is if you want to hold on to some of your idealism or not.”
My mom steps forward. “I lost that a long time ago, and right now I want to know everything you know. I want to find out what was gained by my family being torn apart.”
Tony forces a smile. “God forbid you ever know as much as I do, Bethanie. No person should be burdened with that amount of information.” Then he looks at me expectantly. “Kate, what do you want to do?”
I think back to the time Jake asked if I wanted to walk away from the truth about my dad and I opted out. If I’d walked, I’d be back in my safe life with the same questions that have plagued me since I was eight. But I didn’t, and there’s no going back now. From my current vantage point, I don’t have a choice but to ask for additional information. After all, how much more can my life possibly change? I nod my head for him to continue.
“It’s going to sound completely unreal to you, as it did to me, and everyone else who first hears it, but if you’re sure …”
CHAPTER 52
I’m both eager and terrified to hear whatever Tony is about to say. I want answers, but I don’t necessarily need my world to be rocked any more than it already is. Yet the thought of an unknown enemy is not acceptable. If I have to keep running, isn’t it better to know who I’m running from?
Tony finishes his coffee before asking, “Kate, Bethanie, what do you know about secret societies?”
I wrack my brain to come up with something. “Well, there’s the Priory of Scion in the Davinci Code and the Knights Templar in The Name of the Rose.” My mind goes right to movies.
The laughter in Tony’s eyes is unmistakable. “Secret societies have always been a big hit in the literary and theatrical worlds. They provide drama, love of conspiracy, intrigue—all the great elements needed to enthrall an audience.”
My mom adds, “There are the Freemasons, too. My grandfather was a Freemason. Heck, I think George Washington was a Freemason.”
Tony leans back in his seat and folds his hands on his lap. “The origin of the Freemasons is thought to go as far back as biblical times.” He nods his head. “It’s safe to say mankind has always had a penchant for secrecy, yes?”
We’re a captivated audience. “There were the Knights of the Golden Circle, the Hashashins, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, on and on it goes. But in modern times we have the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission. These are societies comprised of royalty, politicians, industrial and financial giants, academia, and even media—all the necessary components to control and persuade. They exist to manipulate. They choose presidents and heads of state, steer commerce, and not only win wars, but create them, when it’s deemed necessary.”
I’m on the edge of my seat while Tony’s talking. “What’s interesting is that both of these groups, while secret in origin, are quite well-known by name around the world.” He smiles engagingly. “After all, what fun is it being the wealthiest, most connected, and most elite, if you don’t broadcast how special you are? It’s the ultimate cool kid’s game.”
“Politicians from all parties belong to these groups. They shake hands, plot stratagems, toast their successes, share ideas, and behave in a very friendly manner. Then they leave the hallowed halls of their meetings and act like enemies for the world. They fight with and belittle one another in the public eye in order to manipulate belief by creating a dramatic story concocted for the populace. Why do they do this? Why create a false front?”
Neither my mom nor I have an answer, so he proceeds, “Because it isn’t your business how they choose to run the world. Governments host elections and bring forth candidates who promise change and vow to lead better than the elected officials who came before, but it’s all smoke and mirrors, a theatrical production to keep you entertained and engaged while they go about the real business of world-domination—distracting with one hand, while the other goes unwatched.”
I interrupt, “I’m having a hard time believing that’s true, Tony. I mean what about democracy and freedom? The way you talk, they aren’t even real. Are those just figments of our imagination?”
“The basis of democracy and freedom are very real, but once achieved there has to be more. It isn’t human nature to sit back and be sat
isfied with what we have. Once we reach one benchmark, we set another and so on. And that’s where the ultimate corruption of power takes place.”
My mom interjects, “I don’t agree. I was very happy in my life when my girls were little, and my husband was home every night. I didn’t think there was more. I thought I’d won the jackpot.”
“No offense, Bethanie, but who are you? You’re not a politician, a billionaire, or a royal by birth. To them, you’re nothing. You’re a tiny speck of dust. That’s how they view most of the world. They rule, and you get to be ruled. That’s how the game is set up.”
I shake my head vigorously. “Bullshit! We elect our officials. We have power in our voice, in our persuasion. We have the ability to sway elections because elections are run by the people.”
Tony shrugs his shoulders. “Do you know the people tallying the votes?” At the look of horror on my face, he continues, “In 1954 the rules changed. Our government began keeping secrets they were never meant to keep. To hide what they knew, they had to create shadow governments and black-op groups. In 1954 our world split down the middle and became two worlds. And every second, every minute, every year that’s passed since, has created a chasm so deep and vast, these two worlds might as well be on different planets. What you know, and what the reality is, don’t resemble each other in the least.”
I can’t wrap my head around what he’s saying. “Where do you fit in with all of this?” I demand.
“I’m part of a group that’s so deep within our government we’re not even considered black-ops, we’re considered silver-black. There are so few of us, and we’re so far undercover only those of us involved even know we exist.”
I want to know more about their silver-black op, but I’m compelled to ask, “So who’s our enemy?”
Tony stands and paces a few steps before saying, “Surprisingly, our enemy isn’t who you might think it is. It’s neither the Bilderberg Group nor the Trilateral Commission. It’s a handful of people who operate within those groups, but who have also broken off to create their own society. They are the wealthiest, most knowledgeable, and most dangerous people on the planet. They call themselves the Trēdecim, or thirteen.”
My mom inquires, “If they’re so secret, how do you know they exist?”
Tony confesses, “Because my father is one of them and for the last ten years he’s been grooming me to take his place.”
I shriek, “Holy shit! Are you kidding? If that’s true, why would we ever trust you?”
Theo intervenes, “Because I say he can be trusted.”
Tony smiles warmly at my dad. “When I first started, I was as driven and hungry for power as my father to control the pawns in the game. After all, it’s what I was raised for, what I was bred for.”
“What happened to make you change your mind?” I demand.
“We’ll get to that soon enough, but for now, suffice it to say, my mind has been changed forever.”
“How did you get involved with my dad and Niko, or should I say, how did they get involved with you?”
“We met at a Bilderberg convention in 1985. I was there with my father.”
My mom fields this one. “Theo, what is he talking about? How in the world were you part of such a group without my knowing about it?”
My dad takes my mom’s hand and quietly explains, “Niko and I were brought into the group by a fellow scientist. He was reaching a point in his life where he wanted to live out his days quietly. He wasn’t sure which of us to recommend as his replacement, so he suggested us both. Katie was only a couple of months old at the time. I told you I was going to an astrophysics convention in New York.” She nods her head confirming the memory. “Well, I did go to New York—Rye Brook, New York, to be exact.”
“Have you been a member all these years?” I demand.
“We haven’t gone to a meeting since 1993 when we ran.”
“What about you, Tony? Do you still go to the meetings?” Everything this man is telling us is sending up red flags that he isn’t to be trusted, yet I want to know more.
“I go to all the meetings, but I merely attend to keep myself apprised of their machinations. What they don’t know, and I do, is that there’s a new ruler in town, the Trēdecim.”
CHAPTER 53
My mind has officially been blown. In a million years I would have never believed any of what Tony said, not that I’m certain how much I believe now, but the damning proof is that my father has been on the run for twenty-five years, and now my mom and I are caught up in it, as well. People don’t disappear like that unless their lives are in jeopardy.
My dad and Niko figured out how to create an enormous amount of antimatter in a very small space. Their weapon has the capability of changing the world as we know it. If any country, or group for that matter, controlled exclusive knowledge to this technology, then by default they would be the rulers of the world. As in, “You don’t like us? Boom! You don’t exist anymore.”
“Dad, do you think anyone else has figured out how you and Niko made your weapon?”
“It would be pretty egotistical to assume they haven’t, though we’re hopeful they haven’t had the amount of funding we did. We’re guessing it’s only been theoretical for them at this point.”
“Where did your funding come from?”
Tony plays with his empty coffee cup. “Money has been skimmed off the top of our national budget for decades. It also regularly disappears from other governmental funds. What we received was a very small portion of that amount, but it was a fortune by anyone’s standards.”
My mom interjects, “Like the gold and silver that was stolen from the WTC?”
Tony smiles. “Exactly. Whoever took that money may have very well used it for their own black-op fund.”
I interject, “So you really do think 9/11 was a distraction to steal those metals?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “That could be part of it. While we’d like to know definitively why the weapon was used, the more pressing need is to discover where it is today, so we can keep it from being used again.”
I ask, “Has it been used since then?”
My dad answers, “We think so. At first, we didn’t know where, but in 2012, a tiny island between New Caledonia and Australia vanished. It’d previously been photographed on Google Maps, but when researchers went looking for it, it wasn’t there. The ocean floor measured fourteen hundred feet at the location, so it didn’t simply fall below sea level. That was our first news of a large land mass disappearing.”
I shake my head like I’m trying to find a place for this information to land. “Have other things gone missing?”
Nikolay answers, “Stories pop up here and there of other islands that have vanished, but those are usually explained away by seismic activity in the oceans. An entire peak of one of the Andes mountain range was reduced by one third of its original height, which was also discovered by satellite imagery. There was little debris, so we assume it’s the work of our weapon.”
Tony clears his throat before saying, “So, the answer to your question is yes. It appears the antimatter weapon has been used, but so far, always in very remote and uninhabited locations that would not be readily noticed. We only noticed because we’ve been actively looking.”
“What about the Trēdecim? Do you think they have it?” my mom asks.
Tony shakes his head. “No, because I’ve been tasked by them to find the weapon. They’re making sure my funding is unlimited to do so. Once I bring it to them, I take my father’s place as one of the elite and he steps down.”
“You aren’t really planning on giving it to them, are you?” I demand.
“I’m not. And we’ve set up a failsafe, so your father and Nikolay know I won’t turn on our operation.”
“What failsafe is that?” I ask.
“That isn’t your concern at this time.”
I look at my dad, who adds, “I’ve trusted Tony with my life for a very long time. If his motivation i
sn’t what he claims, I would have known long before now, because I’d be dead.”
“So, everything you’ve told me and Mom about what you’re doing is a load of crap. I mean, you’ve never had any intention of going to the CIA or NSA with any findings about 9/11 have you? Which means you’ve never thought you could get your lives back. What about us? Where do we stand in all of this?”
My dad sighs and replies, “We’ve woven our story in such a way hoping to extricate you from this mess. We’ve told half-truths as a means to an end, to protect you. What you’re hearing now is the whole truth.”
Tony interjects, “Our current mission is to find the weapon and keep it out of the hands of the Trēdecim. We’re relatively sure the information we need is somewhere at Caltech and that’s why we need to focus our efforts there.”
CHAPTER 54
I want to know how two scientists at Caltech were able to solve the problem of creating large amounts of antimatter—and in a small space no less—when this seems a problem no one else on the planet has managed to solve.
So, I ask them pointblank. Theo looks at Tony for confirmation that it’s okay to answer the question and when he gets it, announces, “A handful of scientists have contracts with the government to perform reverse engineering on certain technology not created on this planet.”
It’s like I’m in a Peanuts cartoon because all I hear is Charlie Brown’s teacher: “Mwa mwa mwa mwamwa.” At least I hope that’s what he’s saying ’cause if it’s not, he’s talking alien technology here of which I know a lot about from the movies. You know, the movies? The ones written by screenwriters based on science fiction books that aren’t real?!
I’m sure the look on my face says it all. And in case it doesn’t, let me translate. My look clearly asks, “Whatchoo talking about, Willis?” It suggests, “I think you’ve rounded the final bend on your road to insanity.” It may also warn, “My head is going to explode if you take this conversation off planet and into other worlds.”