Soft music by Vivaldi came from the living room and was heard through the closed bathroom door and his cat, Gustavius, stretched out like an accordion on the bathroom floor. He reflected on the past few days and all that happened. The briefings last week with Backmann and the nervousness before he left. His first official mission had on paper been a simple affair but the famous Murphy's Law had shown its ugly face. The preparations, the mission, the fight against Raddick, Eric. Everything tumbled around in his brain. Their mission was seemingly simple, recovering the famous Skydisc stolen from its museum near Nebra in Germany.
The Skydisc from Nebra was found in the late 90's in Germany by two men, Henry Westphal and Mario Renner. Henry and Mario had been out with a metal detector and shovels to look for treasures in the mountains near Saxony-Anhalt as they had heard rumors.
They did not have any permission for it and knew that all they found would need to be handed over to the authorities. Everything else would be regarded as theft. They were out looking when they hit the jackpot. The metal detector had given a response, and they had loosened the ground with the shovels, and from the earth they pulled one of the most remarkable findings in modern times. An antique bronze disk that weighed a little more than two kilograms and had inlays of gold. The disc was affected by verdigris and was a beautiful shimmering green. The gold inlays were amazing and appeared to show full and half-moon, solstices and a number of stars in the sky. The use of the disc was unknown, but it was assumed that it was used in different astronomical contexts.
Henry and Mario had sold it already the day after for thirty-one thousand D-mark to a shady dealer in Cologne. The dealer sold it to someone else and the disc changed hands several times the following years, each buyer shadier than the next. For each sale it became more and more expensive and finally the price was over a million D-mark. After tips from the public the police had found out that there had been found a valuable, archaeological artifact that was not reported to the authorities, and two years after, the police conducted an operation that recaptured the disc to its rightful owner, the museum in Saxony-Anhalt. The disc had been there while the debate about its authenticity continued. Most researchers agreed that it was genuine but there were a few who thought the disc was a forgery.
In the fall of 2041 it had been stolen from the museum. The police investigation almost immediately got stuck, and although the police and Interpol had collaborated globally with police forces all over the world, the disc had been missing from the Earth's surface over a number of years. Through contacts, however, the director of the museum in Saxony-Anhalt had come in contact with the Amber Group and Nicholas Backmann. In silence, the museum’s director had hired them to locate the disk and to recover it a second time. After hard work they had managed to trace the thieves to Greenland.
It had become the Group's newest member Jonathan who, together with a more experienced agent, Eric Stolt, that got the mission to recover the disc. Fury and sorrow welled up inside him when he saw in his mind Eric's dead, blank eyes staring at him. He closed his eyes and let the pills spread its soothing effect on his aching muscles.
*
Tabula Rasa, Madagascar.
2048-12-26
The doors slid open on the side of the helicopter and Malin rose to step outside. After the flight and the trip her were legs unsteady and she wobbled when her feet touched the platform and she sat down on the edge of the cockpit.
She saw no one who met them. An overwhelming scent of greenery met her but also something else, a faint, sour smell she could not recognize. A relatively strong wind ruffled her hair. Strong, penetrating sunlight embraced her so intensely that she had to hold on to one of the door frames to keep the balance. She squinted, trying to focus when she heard Denver's concerned voice behind her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Yes, I’m okay. It’s just a little bright.” She lied.
Ever since she was young she had had episodes of migraine that could make her so bad that she had to lay for hours in bed without being able to do anything. Denver put his hand on her shoulder and his touch was calming. She was not sure how much the tension came from her migraine or their experience before, after all, it had not been more than ten minutes ago that they escaped death. She smiled.
“It's ok. It’ll pass.”
A troubled look slid over Denver's eyes and he let go of her shoulder. They got out of the helicopter and continued to unload their gear. It took them less than three minutes to unload their luggage and equipment. It was Malin who stood for the interviews and Denver for the technical part with cameras and anything else they needed.
They went through that nothing had disappeared during the trip and Malin happily concluded that they had got everything with them. She quizzically looked around, she had expected that someone would be there to receive them. She went over the details in her head to remember if she had overseen something.
She glanced up and the beautiful sky above them was something else than the heavy grey clouds she saw more and more of back home from her apartment in New York. The rain clouds had several times in the last few years contained toxin levels that exceeded the limits set by the global authorities. When it was at its worst, you could not go out, but had to stay indoors. A sting of jealousy that her city was not surrounded by the same beautiful sky as here came over her. But on the other hand, New York did not have problems with giant oil tankers that sank. You cannot get everything. She shrugged and deeply inhaled the air and tried to identify the source of the weak, sour undertones in the air but was interrupted by a wheezing noise.
Two elevator doors on the platform slid open and a short, stocky man with glasses stepped out closely followed by two guards and came directly towards them. The man walked with surprisingly quick steps as he was clearly overweight, and stood in contrast to the two guards who followed him as both appeared to be physical perfect specimens. He approached them and bowed deeply. Malin could see how a beginning crescent on the man's head was in vain covered with thin, combed hair.
“Bonjour, welcome to Tabula Rasa, Ms. Malin. My name is Derek Lamm and I will be your guide while you're with us" he paused," but we do not have to be so formal, you can call me Derek. "
His voice was half an octave higher than she had expected, and his heavy French accent made her smile involuntarily. On Derek's stretched out hand a thick gold ring glimmered in the sunlight.
“Thank you Derek. It's nice to meet you. My name is Malin Persson and this is Denver Mikkelsen, my colleague on Life.”
They shook hands. Derek gestured to the two men behind him to take care of Malin's and Denver's luggage. The two men moved like one, and without a word they lifted up all the luggage in sight. Denver who was a strong man was surprised when one of the men lifted a bag full of camera equipment weighing over thirty kilograms with an arm without a shred of effort and gently hanging over his shoulder. Lamm had continued talking, but Malin had barely heard a word of what he said when she fascinated saw how the two men brought all the bags.
“Is everything ok, Ms. Persson?” Lamm`s voice sounded concerned.
Malin blinked.
“Yes, I was surprised that your men managed to bring all of our luggage?”
Lamm looked endearingly against her and laughed.
“Don’t worry. They have no problem with physical effort.”
Lamm took an arm each of Malin and Denver and began walking toward the elevator as he continued.
“You are so welcome here and I know that Mr. Vendrick will be very happy to meet you.”
Malin smiled involuntarily. She had not expected anyone like Derek Lamm and she glanced over his head toward Denver, who seemed just as surprised. Lamm's arms barely reached over the waists of them and Malin thought that the whole thing must have looked comical as they were led by the short man. They entered the elevator, and Lamm made a sign to one of the men who they were with. The doors slid together and they went down. Denver turned around a
nd looked at the two men who stood silent in the elevator. Lamm smiled while he studied Denver.
“Yes it's true. They are very strong. I'm so used to them that I don’t notice such things anymore. Many of those who work here at Tabula Rasa have talents that are beyond the ordinary. You’ll see more during your guided tour here later.” He gestured with his arm that they should follow him.
“This way, dear friends.”
Malin followed Derek while she winked at Denver. The silver-colored doors of the elevator slid shut behind them with a snake-like hiss. The silence that surrounded them made for a moment that Malin lost the orientation.
“We have really been looking forward to your visit here. There is so much that the world has misunderstood about our work here and I know that Mr. Vendrick would like to correct it.”
“Yes, we are also looking forward to it. When is it scheduled for us to meet John?”
A dark shadow glided unnoticeable over Derek's eyes and he looked straight at Denver and said with emphasis.
“Mr. Vendrick, is a busy man and you will meet him when Mr. Vendrick have time.”
Derek continued to look straight at Denver that shifted uneasily.
“I apologize; it was not my intention to insult anyone.”
After a few seconds Derek's face softened and a wide smile spread over his face.
“Don’t worry, dear friend. It was me who overreacted. We all have the utmost respect and reverence for Mr. Vendrick and as such we should address him Mr. Vendrick.”
“Of course. It was entirely my fault. "
Derek smiled broadly and gestured that they would follow him.
“This way, dear friends. Your apartment is a quite near and is among the best we have for our guests.” His smile stretched from cheek to cheek.
Malin and Denver followed Derek and close behind them the two men followed with all the equipment.
“So, Mr. Lamm. How long have you worked here at Tabula Rasa?”
“I've been here for almost twelve years. I was fortunate to come here as one of the first. From the beginning we were only a couple of thousand, and then of course Tabula Rasa was not as developed as it is now. But already then, I saw the potential of what Mr. Vendrick was trying to accomplish here. Now we are just over one million souls here and have the highest valuation of all mega complexes that are listed on the world's stock exchanges.”
Malin nodded.
“Yes, I heard that. It’s impressive, both in terms of value and that you have managed to grow so much. How do you manage to produce enough energy to maintain a population of so many?”
Derek chuckled.
“We are far ahead in the development and on some fronts we are further ahead than all the other mega-complexes.” He made a sweeping movement.
“Here everything is not about quantity but instead of quality which you will discover during your stay here. Tabula Rasa is humanity's last hope, and to achieve what we set out to do, we need people with high potentials rather than a bunch of mediocre people.”
“Mediocre? What do you mean by that? Do you think that people who are not here are inferior?”
“Interpret it however you want. Compared to the quality of the people here at Tabula Rasa it is inevitable that the future of humanity will be shaped here as it is here we have the resources and the capacity to take humanity's next step.”
Malin's voice was soft, she caressed the emerald ring on her finger, touched it lightly with her thumb and smiled.
“What do you mean by the next step of humanity?”
Derek Lamm smiled a radiant smile.
“That, my dear friends, is something that I know Mr. Vendrick will tell you more about.”
*
Godthab, Greenland
2048-12-26
In the quiet stillness that surrounded him, the sound was surprisingly loud. Jonathan had not been in the bath for a long time when he heard the faint click of the front door. He stiffened and opened his eyes. Small droplets of moisture glided lazily down on the bathroom mirror.
Silently he pulled down a towel, wrapped it around his hips and got out of the bathtub as quietly as possible. Gustavius did not move and observed him curiously. Jonathan tip-toed to the old wooden door and stood behind it and listened. A couple of seconds passed. Weak steps were heard against the floor in the second room. The bathroom door slowly opened and a dark-haired woman carefully stepped in. The woman's high heels clicked gently against the hard tile floor. Jonathan lunged forward. The woman noticed the movement behind her a second too late, unable to pull her head away fast enough, and Jonathan's arm slid beneath it while his other arm locked the woman's head in a firm grip. The woman twitched and moaned.
“No, Jonathan, wait.”
Instinct took over. He spun her around and glimpsed her face in the bathroom mirror between drops of moisture. The woman's hands struggled against his arms and her nails dug into his skin. It burned in the wound on his arm. A split second later he relaxed and smiled. It was Marie L'angi, his direct supervisor.
“No need to knock anymore?” He held her throat hard but released the pressure when he realized it was her.
His grip loosened and she gently rubbed her throat.
“You're sharp. That's not a way to welcome ones boss, is it?” Her voice was hoarse and her eyes flashed. Her breathing was strained and her eyes drilled into him. Jonathan took a step back and gave her some space.
“Sorry. You could’ve actually said that you would come instead of sneak in like a cat.”
He smiled and pulled up the towel that slipped down over his hips. He looked at her. She looked amazing. The short hair was cut in a page. Her tall cheekbones and sharp, sensual traits framed a beautiful face. Her dark eyes pierced him.
“Sure but I thought I would surprise you. It was apparently a bad idea.” Her voice was more acidic now that the shock had subsided.
“Don’t get angry now. I said I’m sorry.”
The initial shock had waned and she rubbed her arm.
“Yes. It was probably also my fault. I should have said something.”
He walked closer and put his arms around her and pulled her to him.
“I've missed you.”
His eyes gleamed. The heat between them was immediate. The spark between them had been strong from the first second they saw each other. She was the older, more experienced. He the younger, more impatient.
“I have missed you too.”
Her eyes were big and soft but still hesitant. Her gaze slid down against his arm and gasped.
“You're hurt; why didn’t you say anything?”
Jonathan looked down to his arm and saw that a thin streak of blood ran from the wound down to the elbow, he shrugged.
“Don’t worry, it barely doesn’t feel anything really.”
Marie rolled her eyes and took some paper from the toilet roll and began to wipe away the blood from his arm. When she was relatively satisfied with her work, she nodded to herself.
“There were three things I was going to talk to you about.”
He took a step back and sat down on the bathtub's edge.
“What kind of things would that be?”
Her body language became more professional.
“The first is your stop here. You know that the debriefing shall take place directly after the mission. No exceptions. We went through it before the mission started and it’s not more than four days ago. Backmann is more than a little pissed that you took the liberty of making a small stop instead of going directly to headquarters.”
Her eyes were authoritative and attempted to transmit severity. He met her gaze.
“Sure, I understand. But now it's my first mission. The battle with Raddick took its toll you know.”
She sighed.
“Knew you would say something like that. But this was the first and last time you did something like this, once more and you’re out. Whether you think you are immune or not.”
Jonathan nodded brie
fly.
“Got it.”
She glanced over to the sink and the opened pill jar that stood there, Oxycodone. Jonathan saw that she saw it, but she said nothing, instead she turned around and walked out into the living room. He walked into the adjacent bedroom and opened the closet. Marie could see Jonathan as he slowly began to get dressed. She walked up to the window and looked toward the street below. At this time there was not much traffic. A couple of older people went with bags in their hands, probably on their way home to make supper. A light rain had begun to fall and colored the asphalt dark and the light drops drummed rhythmically against the windowsill. On the news the past few days they had informed that the pollution levels in the precipitation that might come was below the limit and no curfew was in force.
“The second is John Vendrick. We intercepted a communication two days ago.”
Jonathan put a leg in the jeans.
“Between?”
“Between two technicians who worked at their communications department and it was about one of their satellites.”
He pulled a thick, knitted white sweater over his head.
“Which one?”
“Atlas.”
He wrinkled his forehead and made an effort to remember.
“Is not it the one who has to do with long-distance surveillance?”
“Yes it is.”
“I remember I read a memo about it. It was developed in the 2040s and was launched a couple of years ago, I think. A real badass. I think it was even armed. Some sort of laser cannon to destroy any meteorites that would come in its way.”
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