by Jillian Dodd
ETB-1-15R-37-43-48R-53-57
BTE-23-34-63-12R-34-44/30R-65-24-19-2
ETB-32R-40R/52-57-64R-3-5-33-61/7-23R-58R-38R-47-58(2)-62R/32R-55E
“She left you a code. Have you deciphered it?” I ask Ares.
“No. And trust me; I tried everything, including quantum computing, to break the code. I had no idea what the numbers were referring to.” He gives us a shake of the head and a grin. “Until just now.”
“It’s the letter she left in the safety deposit box,” I say suddenly, picking it up off the table. “Everything in it is true, except for one paragraph, isn’t it? She knew, if I brought you the photos, you’d ask to see the letter.”
I get a proud fatherly smile. “I believe you’re right. Shall we see what it says?”
“Yes! Do you have a sheet of paper?”
Ares takes a lined piece of notebook paper out of the nearby desk and hands it to me. I draw a table, making two columns to use for the order of the words from both beginning to end and end to beginning. After that, I add each word in the false paragraph to the chart in numerical order.
“Okay, so the first line says ETB, meaning end to beginning or backward. The first number is one, which corresponds with the word alone. Write down the letter A,” I tell Ari, ripping off the bottom of the sheet of paper and handing it to him along with a pen. “Next is fifteen-R.”
Ari is sitting next to me, leaning over my shoulder. “The word is together, but what does the R stand for?”
“Reverse,” I say, having done codes like this many times for fun with my mom. “That means the next letter is an R. Then, we have thirty-seven, which is a C; forty-three, which is another A; forty-eight reverse, which would be a D; fifty-three, which is an I; and fifty-seven, which is an A.”
“It spells ARCADIA,” Ari says, sucking in his breath. “She actually did leave a clue. Do you think we’ll learn their plan finally?”
“I sure hope so,” all four of us say in unison.
“All right, next word is beginning to end, so we start with number twenty-three, which is the word pregnant, so a P. Then, we have thirty-four, which is an O; sixty-three, which is an I; twelve reverse, so an S; another thirty-four, so O; and forty-four, which is an N. There’s a slash, so a new word starts. Thirty reverse is a G; sixty-five is an R; twenty-four is an A; nineteen an I; and two is an N.”
“POISON GRAIN,” Ari reads incredulously. “That’s what you thought, Huntley. You were right!”
“But we still don’t know how they are going to use poisoned grain to kill so many people. It seems like an impossible task.”
“Maybe the next line will tell us how,” our grandfather says hopefully.
“Okay, so this one is end to beginning and has four slashes, so four words.” I quickly decipher the letters. “M and then Y. New word: W, then A, then R, another R, an I, an O, and another R. New word: F, then O, then R, then G, then I, a V, and an E. Last word: M and then E.”
“MY WARRIOR, FORGIVE ME,” Ares says, covering his face with his hand, visibly breaking down.
And I can’t help but wonder if he will ever truly be able to forgive her for what she did.
I move to sit next to him, putting my arm around his back. “I’m sorry she did this to you.”
“And I’m sorry for what I did to you, Huntley. Your training. It was not what I would have wanted for you had I known.”
“What would you have done differently?” I ask sincerely.
“I’ve thought a lot about that the past six months. On one hand, I’m thankful for the skills you learned and knowing that they have prepared you for this war. On the other hand, I feel like you missed so much … love. We trained you not to have emotional attachment. To survive on your own. That’s not what I would have wanted for my daughter.”
“How did you find Ari?”
“Your mother included your birth certificates and Aristotle’s adoption papers. Finding him was quite easy. I learned his father had passed and that he was currently a brilliant military cadet student. Through old contacts, I got him sent to train with the CIA. Since I knew things were starting in Montrovia again, I wanted the two of you to be able to work together. I was planning on telling you the truth until we learned of the planned assassination of Prince Lorenzo while his father was dying. I thought, if I put you both out under your true identities in plain sight, then maybe you’d figure it out. So, I faked my death, and the rest, you know.” He chuckles. “Although I’m really a little surprised, Huntley, that you didn’t figure I was behind all of this on the day you were at my lab. The V over the A in the Von Allister Industries logo so clearly forms a black X.”
“I’m glad you sent us to protect Lorenzo,” I reply.
“I didn’t know you would fall in love with him, but that is a rather pleasant surprise. Had things been different, you would have met at a much younger age and, well, who knows? I’m sure you have more questions, but we must get back to the mission at hand. As you have already determined based off your mother’s clues, they are going to poison food to cause an extinction event to create Arcadia, and we must figure out how to stop it.”
“Who is going to cause this extinction event?” Ari asks.
“The Echelon,” Ares and I reply simultaneously.
“What’s that?” he asks.
“While you answer that question for him, I need to go make a phone call.”
“Any chance I can finally get that hug?” my grandfather asks, standing up when I do.
I give him a nod, agreeing, and he holds me for a very long time. Upon releasing me, he gives Ari a bear hug while Blake wraps his arm around me.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” he says.
“You killed all my school friends, didn’t you?”
“Two former students did. They had to, sweetie. Your friend M was obsessed with the tabloids. As soon as she saw that you were on the cover, she tried to call them to get interviewed as someone who had known you then. She told the other students. I would have preferred they joined our fight, but at that point, Ares knew that you were his daughter. He couldn’t risk the truth coming out. We did it to protect you, and I will continue to work with Ares until we finish this.”
I swallow a lump in my throat. The emotional side of me is upset they killed them. The girl who was taught to survive on her own understands completely. Either way, there’s nothing I can do about it now. Other than make their deaths mean something. And the only way I can do that is to stop The Echelon.
After we end our reunion, I ask Ares if I could use a secure phone to call Montrovia.
“Of course,” he says, leading me into a room lined with steel and probably all sorts of countersurveillance devices.
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” I ask.
“I try,” he says. “Text Lorenzo and be sure, if you are going to confide in him, that he is on a secure line.”
“I will. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you when I was younger, but with everything I’ve been through since I left Blackwood, I’m sure glad you let your father train me.”
“It’s not the life I would have wanted for my daughter, but in spite of everything, you have been truly incredible. And the way you handled yourself at the VA board meeting—yes, I secretly watched it—I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much pride.”
It’s then that I launch myself into my father’s arms and allow myself to cry.
And I think they are mostly happy tears. Because I’m not alone in this world anymore.
“You should have told us,” I tell him when I regain control. “From the beginning.”
“Yes, I should have,” Ares says, “but I knew you wouldn’t believe me. You would have thought you were being manipulated. I needed you to discover the truth about your mother yourself. I know how devastated I was when I read the truth.”
“Do you hate her?”
“I could never hate your mother. Ever. And she probably knew that. Knew she coul
d get away with it. Although we met briefly when you were younger, I first got to know you when you were ten. I liked you right away. You were so smart. Your mother didn’t let us spend much time together. She said she didn’t want you to have any emotional attachments. I realize now why she said that to me.”
“You put my life in danger. I’ve been through things you don’t know about.”
“I’ve learned most of them, as you saw in the video game I created for you. Originally, it was simply to train you, but then I decided to monetize it. Running the school proved to be quite expensive.”
“I have a lot more questions,” I say.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he replies. “I promise to answer them all after you make your call. I think I’ll go whip us up some breakfast.”
He steps out of the room. I send Lorenzo a quick text, and he responds right away, letting me know he’s in a secure location and I can call him.
“Thank you for having the forethought to send my brother here,” I say when he answers. “It was exactly what I needed.”
“When you left, you had an unsettling mix of emotions. Was your hunch correct?”
“Yes. I just called to tell you I’m okay, and all is good.”
“What was good,” he counters, “was the kiss we shared before you left.”
A grin spreads across my face. “To use one of your words, I didn’t think it was just good; it was quite exquisite.”
“I’m visiting the Olympic sites on Tuesday. Will you be here to join me?”
“Yes, I will. The only issue I’m worried about is that the press will see us together.”
“I have been concerned about that as well. And I’ve come up with a plan. Bring Daniel with you. We were all friends before the engagements. I think it will be good for the press to see that we all still are.”
“You want to take Lizzie and Daniel with us to tour the facilities?”
“No, my sweet. I need you alone for that, but if we are seen together in social situations, it won’t seem unusual for me to invite you alone to view something that was your father’s design.”
“You are a little devious. I like it.”
“And I love you, my darling. Until then—”
“You’ll keep tracking me?” I tease.
“As long as you will allow me to by wearing my words of love around your neck.”
“That will be for as long as I’m alive.”
“I do hope that is for a very long time. I have many plans for us.”
“As do others,” I say, knowing I need to get back to work and ending the call after telling him good-bye.
I find a hustle of activity going on in the kitchen. Blake has a towel thrown over his shoulder and is standing in front of a professional gas range, cooking up a bunch of scrambled eggs. Ari seems to be manning the toaster, adding more English muffins to the machine and buttering the ones he just took out. Ares is cutting up banana pieces while his father is stirring pancake mix.
I stop for a moment and take in the scene. Looking from the outside in, you’d think we were all a happy family, prepping to dine together.
And I will admit, I kind of like the look.
“What can I do to help?” I say, making my way around the island.
“Rummage around in the pantry behind the antique barn door over there and see if you can find some chocolate chips. This is the first breakfast I’ve ever had with my children. It has to be just right.”
I do as I was told, searching through a very well-stocked pantry. “Have you been living here this whole time?” I ask Ares.
“Yes, the three of us have been roughing it here. I have to say, I got accustomed to having my staff on call, and I miss it.”
“It’s a good thing I’m still a good cook,” Blake says amicably. “Or he would have starved.”
“Hey, I can hold my own,” Grandfather says. He turns toward Ari and me and says, “I’m a sandwich connoisseur. I make lunch every day.”
“And I miss my chef’s salmon and spinach salad with homemade lemon poppy seed dressing,” Ares teases.
When the dining table is piled high with food, we all gather around, quickly sitting down and filling up our plates.
“The chocolate chip pancakes and bacon are delicious,” I comment. “While we eat, would it be okay if I asked a few questions?”
“Of course,” Ares says.
“Why did you become a recluse? And, if you have your ring, why don’t you take the treasure? Without the treasure, they wouldn’t have the funds to start their new world, right?”
“Money wouldn’t be an issue if most of the population was gone,” Ares answers. “And I gave them my ring a couple of weeks after your mother was killed. It was all my fault.”
“Because you asked her to investigate why Alessandro tried to kill King Giovanni?”
Ares looks surprised. “I didn’t know you remembered.”
“I don’t. My mom told me that we were going on a treasure hunt of sorts and looking for answers. But I remember that we went on a tour of the castle in Montrovia. And I had a dream that she was down on her knees, digging there. I went to the same spot, dug up some flowers, and found the dollar bill with Alessandro as the king of Arcadia. It was just like the dollar we’d found in Ophelia’s belongings. It just had his picture on it instead.”
“Yes. I sent it to her, so she could try to figure out what the plot against Montrovia was. As you know, I was in The Echelon. A secret organization that dates back to Lorenzo the Magnificent’s time. I shared with the group my plan for both the TerraSphere and the idea of creating a perfect world. It became their goal. Of course, I was thrilled, as they made it sound like we were working toward a noble cause. That we would gently guide the world. After the attempted murder by his own brother, Giovanni went looking for answers. He found the bill hidden in an old book in Alessandro’s study then sent it to me.”
“I don’t understand why Alessandro was in The Echelon and not the eldest son, Giovanni.”
“That didn’t sit well with me either. It was part of a long tradition. When I saw the dollar with Arcadia on it, I surmised that the group was trying to make it happen as opposed to a gentle nudge. It’s also when I gave them back the ring and became a recluse. I needed them to think I wasn’t a threat. Men who can talk don’t typically leave The Echelon alive.”
“Are Malcolm and Aleksandr a part of it?”
“I don’t know. That’s another reason I left. There were two empty seats, and I got the impression that Hillford was courting them both. I was worried, if I were there, it would sway the group.”
“Are Ari and I your Trojan horses?”
“What do you mean?” Ares asks.
“You delivered us to their doorstep, and they invited us in.”
Ares lets out a chuckle. “I suppose you are, but I didn’t think of it that way. I just needed you in their world, so you could meet Lorenzo.”
“Causing you to fake your death, so your long-lost children could be found,” Ari adds.
“Yes,” he acknowledges. “That’s the brilliance with all of this. DNA tests prove that you are my children because you are. My friends have openly embraced you. You’ve met Echelon and Society members during the social events that you have attended since your first mission.”
“Speaking of The Society,” Ari says, “are they good or bad?”
“Overall, they are exactly what they are. A secret group with good intentions for people with a lot of money or status. But they are also the chosen few.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the population control measures are exacted, Society members will be certain to survive. They will be given instructions and will retreat to their vaults.”
“Does that mean we can just wait for The Society’s instructions and react then?” Ari asks.
“We’re talking about a population reduction event that will leave us with only seven percent of what we have. I fear, by the time they notify
the group, it will be too late to stop.”
“And why didn’t they tell you of their plan?”
“Because I think Hillford wanted to see it happen in his lifetime. He had already moved The Echelon’s great treasure to Iraq. And, quite honestly, what he did was diabolically brilliant. Regardless, it’s all my fault. It was my idea. I had learned at a Bill Gates conference about the plight of our environment and population issue. That’s what I do. I see a problem, and I set out to solve it. They decided they wanted to take matters into their own hands and started talking about owning the world—literally. How we needed a reset button that didn’t involve nuclear war. The Great Culling.”
“And then things started happening around the world. Marcelo’s suspicious death and Giovanni’s strange illness, the threat to Lorenzo,” Blake says. “Not to mention, the takeover of the Strait of Malacca and the port in Tartus. The nuclear bombs they stole. The death of the chairman of the International Financial Committee and his replacement with Rutherford Elingston.”
“I like Rut,” I say. “Is he a bad guy?”
“I’ve always liked him, too,” Ares replies. “But, yes, he is part of the group. That means they not only control the world’s banks through Rut’s family holdings, but also the financial markets.”
“I think I need to tell you about what happened when I was at Dupree’s house.”
“You told me that he was going to kill you but shot himself instead,” my grandfather says.
“He said a lot more than that. The first thing he asked me was if I could keep a secret like my father. He told me the nuclear bombs were only for a sleight of hand and that I had my father’s fearless curiosity. I actually had him talking and was going to overtake him, steal his gun, and shoot his two remaining men, but when his hand flashed in front of my face, I saw the emerald ring go by. The same ring that my mother and I’d looked at together at the museum. It threw me off guard a little. I asked if it was Lorenzo the Magnificent’s personal crest. That was when he asked me if I recognized the ring and told me you had one just like it, Ares. He said it was his own fault. That they—which I now assume is The Echelon—said it would work without the devices but that he’d insisted on a backup plan. He said, when the world goes kaboom, you can quickly get governments’ attention.”