"One of our tanks has managed to retreat across the E22 bridge span, sir," the aide said. "He... he is reporting that our units have come under attack from unknown forces, and most of their vehicles have been immobilized."

  Chazov was apoplectic. It was an effort just to speak. "Immobilized? How?"

  "They don't know, sir! I am unable to contact our forward units."

  Borodin had made his way towards the windowsill and stared upwards into the night sky. The column of light seemed to come from some sort of a large shape hidden in the clouds above. There's something up there, but what could it be?

  Chazov moved closer to the radio operators until he was standing right next to his aide. "Order any troops in range to pull back. Now!"

  The general's aide nodded nervously and began relaying the commands to any unit still in contact with them.

  Borodin walked up to one of the radio operators. "Can you get through to the Air Force?"

  The young radioman first turned towards the general, who nodded his head, before looking back up at Borodin. "Yes, sir."

  "Order all available air units into the area and intercept the source of that light," Borodin said tersely.

  The young man turned to glance at the general once more.

  Borodin grabbed the young soldier's collar. "Stop looking at him and do as I say!"

  "You can take orders from the major," Chazov said wearily.

  As the radioman began relaying the order, Chazov walked up to Borodin, as the latter had made his way back to be near the window. "The next time you have a suggestion, you are to tell it to me first."

  "There is no time," Borodin said. "Whatever that light is, it's killing your troops."

  "What? How do you know this?"

  "I... just know."

  Chazov was stunned. "What... what do you suggest now?"

  "Do you have any artillery?"

  "Of course I do!"

  "Get those units into position and have them fire on all the anarchist positions within the city."

  Chazov blinked rapidly in astonishment. "You cannot mean what you say."

  "I do mean it," Borodin said softly.

  "There... there must be another way."

  "You must do this, General, or the entire city will be lost."

  "But, all those people... my men. They're still Russians."

  "Get this done now!"

  33 Arizona

  JEFF'S VOLKSWAGEN SPUTTERED to a halt along the residential street. Midmorning in Phoenix was bright and sunny, and they had been on the road since before dawn. With their mobile phone services no longer working due to being out of range from their local California telecom providers, Jeff had to buy a folding map and ask for directions on how to get to the suburb of Sundance. After driving around back and forth for nearly an hour, Jeff was confident he’d finally found the right place.

  Piper looked up from the map she had unfolded in her lap. "The street sign says W Papago Street, so this has to be it."

  Jeff let out a deep breath as he took his hands off the steering wheel. "All these houses look the same."

  Piper nodded. "Yeah, that's probably why we got lost a few times."

  Jeff shifted gears and drove the car forward for another twenty meters before stopping in front of a beige colored house. "No mailboxes out in the street, but I think that's the one," he said, pointing towards the front door.

  Piper said nothing. She had called her Uncle Gus from the motel the night before, and he told her she was welcome to stay in his house at Buckeye while her legal details were still being sorted out. Even though she knew this would be the end of the line, Piper felt bittersweet about it, for she now had to say goodbye to Jeff.

  He turned off the engine and turned to look at her. "Hey, it looks like you made it safe and sound. You're home now."

  There were tears in her eyes when she returned his stare. "Oh Jeff, I don't want to leave you. Everything you've done for me, I-I can never pay you back."

  Jeff leaned sideways and hugged her. "It's okay. I'm just over at the next state. If you could find a way to get your uncle to fix the car that we left behind, maybe you could still drive west and visit me once in awhile for a change."

  She started sobbing on his shoulder. "Why do we have to split up like this?"

  "It's just temporary. I'll be graduating next year, and then we could really think about our future."

  "I-I don't even know how to transfer from my other school over to where I am now."

  "Just ask your uncle. I'm sure he can help with that."

  Wiping her tears with her jacket, she locked eyes with him once more before planting a kiss on his lips. "Will you call me as soon as you get back home, please?"

  "I promise. You're my girlfriend, now and forever."

  A part of her wanted to stay with him and just go back to California, but her mind was telling her it really wouldn't work. Neither of them were legal adults, and time was the enemy. She would have to grin and bear it for now. This is the guy I want to marry, she thought.

  He ran his hand along the side of her head. "If only the world wasn't so messed up right now."

  "Yeah, it's complicated, isn't it? I always wondered how my mom and daddy juggled all those responsibilities. I guess now I have a lot of growing up to do."

  Jeff kissed her again. "Don't worry about that for now. Just finish school and get your diploma. We'll call each other every now and then."

  She gave a gentle squeeze to his arm. "Promise me we'll see each other again."

  "After all we've been through you still have to ask? Come on, Piper!"

  "Promise me."

  He smiled. "Okay, I promise."

  Returning his smile, she kissed him one more time before grabbing the small bag from the backseat and opening the car door. "I love you. Please call me when you get back, okay."

  "I told you I would, didn't I?"

  Piper kept her smile up as she got out of the car and started moving towards the front door of the house. When she heard the Volkswagen's engine start up, she turned around and gave a final wave. Jeff blew her a kiss before driving off.

  Holding her breath, she stood just outside the front door and rang the doorbell.

  A tanned woman in shorts and a summer blouse answered the door. "Hi, Piper. Come on in."

  Piper's lips trembled as she gave the other woman a hug. "Hi, Aunt Lynn. I'm so sorry for having to come over here."

  Lynn remained unemotional while patting the teenage girl on the back. "It's alright. Let's get you inside."

  The carpeted interior led directly into the living room. Her uncle Gus wore shorts and a t-shirt while watching TV on the couch. He stood up the moment Piper got inside and walked over towards her, extending his arm. "Piper, glad you made it. Why don't you come sit down with me and let's have a little talk."

  Lynn began making her way towards the kitchen. "I've made a batch of lemonade."

  Piper sat down on the left side of the couch, placing her small bag in between her legs. "Where's Jake and Madison?"

  Gus sat at the opposite end of the sofa. "Both your cousins are at school."

  "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot."

  Lynn made her way over and placed a glass of juice on the coffee table in front of them. "Gus doesn't like lemonade, so this is all yours."

  "Thanks, Aunt Lynn," Piper said as she picked up the ice cold glass. Just as she was about to place the drink to her lips, she felt a sudden buzzing noise coming from her inner ear. No, she thought. Shut up already. I made it, I'm, safe. Go away!

  Shutting her eyes, she focused hard to clear her mind. She had remembered that her brother's ghostly voice would always try to enter her thoughts this way, and it took all of her concentration to mentally deafen herself. After a few seconds, the buzzing stopped, and she opened her eyes again.

  Gus eyed her suspiciously. "Are you okay?"

  Piper nodded while sipping at the sweet, tart lemonade. "Yes. I'm so sorry, but I've been getting a lot of headaches lately."

  Lynn remained standing beside her as she continued to observe her niece. "Well, the guest bedroom is all made up, so if you need to rest, I'll show it to you."

  "I'm okay for now, thanks."

  As Lynn moved back to the kitchen area, Gus placed a hand on Piper's forearm. "Sorry to hear about your parents. Your dad and me go way back, and I didn't get the chance to even head over to Los Angeles for their funeral."

  "It's okay, Uncle Gus," Piper said softly. "The arrangements haven't been made yet. I don't know how to do them."

  Gus nodded. "Well then, I guess we can try and set something up from here. Leave it to me."

  "Thanks."

  "You told me over the phone that you think someone is after you?"

  She took another sip from the glass before setting it down on the coffee table. The lemonade was much too sweet for her taste, but she didn't want to appear rude to them. "Yeah, first it was those crazies who tried to shoot me, then it was these fake CPS people who came to the house and tried to drug me."

  "Really? How did that happen again?"

  "Yes, Uncle Gus. I'm not lying. When the police brought me back home to my parents' house, two people showed up. They flashed IDs and—"

  "If they flashed IDs then maybe they're really CPS, right?"

  "No, they weren't. When I started to disbelieve what they were saying, one of them tried to grab hold of me and another tried to jab me with one of those injector needles."

  Gus looked away and said nothing.

  Piper bit her lip. "You don't believe me, do you?"

  He locked eyes with her once more and smiled. "Of course I believe you. You're our beloved niece, and you always get the benefit of the doubt."

  Piper smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Gus. I thought you'd be at work today or something."

  "Oh, I'm on call right now, but since I don't have to be in the office, then I can just watch the news at home. Lots of UFO stuff everywhere and—"

  Piper was listening to him until her mind suddenly went blank, and she could barely keep her eyes open. She tried to stand up, but her legs felt too weak.

  Gus's face swam in front of her eyes. His voice seemed unnaturally slow. "Are you okay?"

  She tried to smile and tell them she was fine, but her lips felt rubbery, and she couldn't even move her jaw. Her eyelids felt like anvils, and it took a supreme effort not to close them.

  Piper could barely feel Gus's arms as he propped her up and began dragging her along the carpeted floor. "Looks like you're dead tired. Here, let me get you into the bedroom so you can rest for bit."

  She could no longer fight it off, and promptly closed her eyes, right before falling into a deep sleep.

  WHEN PIPER SLOWLY REOPENED her eyes, all she could see was the ceiling and the flush mount of the light. The veil of sleep was still in the corners of her vision, and it made everything hazy and indistinct. She could barely feel the tingling in her limbs; it seemed like her body was in a fugue state, unable to move or react to anything.

  Her uncle's face appeared to loom over her. Gus's eyes were looking sideways, just beyond her frame of vision. "We did what you asked. Are you sure she'll be alright?"

  Another face suddenly showed up. Piper wasn't exactly sure who it was, but the smiling man looking down at her seemed awfully familiar. Even his voice seemed to belong to someone she had encountered lately. "Don't worry, Mr. Torres. Your wife put just the right amount into the drink. She'll be fine when we get her back into our facilities."

  Piper tried to frown, but she could barely squeeze her lips together. He looks and sounds totally familiar, who is he?

  Her uncle looked down at her with a mix of nervousness and concern. "Can't we just formally adopt her? She is my niece, after all."

  "We have to sort out her legal documentations first," the smiling man said. "And when she attacked our personnel when we tried to visit her in her parents' house, it was an obvious sign of mental instability. I'm glad you called us, and now we can rectify all this."

  Piper's eyes widened slightly. Oh my god. He's one of the two who came to the house and tried to take me away! No, somebody help me! Please!

  Gus's voice still carried a trace of doubt. "But what we did to her, it just seems so dirty and underhanded."

  "Don't feel guilty," the man said. "She is prone to fits of violence when confronted by the truth. This was the safest way to bring her back into our custody."

  Her uncle didn't sound convinced, but there was a clear tone of resignation in his voice. "Alright, I guess this isn't my problem anymore. Please take good care of her."

  "We will. We'll update you when her condition normalizes and perhaps arrange a visitation. The State of California is in your debt."

  Gus loomed closer to her. "Piper, they told me you probably won't remember this, but if you do, then I just wanted to say I'm sorry. They said I was breaking the law if I didn't turn you over to them. Really sorry about this and I hope you'll understand."

  Piper wanted to sob, but the feeling of drowsiness had returned, and now Morpheus the god of sleep and dreams was calling out to her once more. She wanted to say something, but could only manage a brief exhale of air.

  Her uncle soon moved away from her fading vision, and all she could see now was the smiling man. Her last thoughts had a sense of partial fulfillment as she even remembered his name: Daniel Greene.

  34 London

  LOCATED NEAR ONE OF the many other gentlemen's clubs along Westminster's St James district, Barrington's happened to be the most exclusive and secretive of them all. The club's private membership numbered less than a hundred, and women were still not allowed to join. First established in the early nineteenth century, only the most influential in British society were ever afforded the chance to become members, and even the staff had to go through an intensive background check, and their descendants formed a bond of loyalty with the association that stretched back for generations.

  After passing through the cloakroom and nodding at the sentry, Thorne made his way through the adjoining corridor and down the stairs to the locker rooms. It was late afternoon, and he felt like taking an alleviating steam bath in the club's sauna room before heading off to dinner with his wife.

  Placing his clothes into his personal locker, he took a quick shower before wrapping a towel around his waist and padded along barefoot on the tile floor, reaching the frosted glass entryway to the adjoining sauna room. After stepping inside and closing the door behind him, he quickly realized he wasn't alone. There was another man sitting at the far alcove, his face obscured by the heavy steam in the air.

  Thorne instantly tensed up. He was unarmed, but his decades of training in combat jujitsu still gave him a sense of confidence, and he instinctively got into a fighting stance while his right hand reached over to the towel covering his genitals, ready to whip it off and use it as either a shield or a weapon.

  The other man's voice was instantly familiar to him. "Oh, knock off the song and dance routine, Alasdair. If I had wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."

  Thorne straightened his posture as he recognized the MI6 chief "And a good afternoon to you too, Colin. I'm certain this isn't a coincidence, even though we're both members who enjoys a refreshing steam bath every now and then."

  Colin Tillinghast used another towel to ruffle his sweat stained white hair. "I've been sitting here for an extraordinary length of time, so let's cut the small talk, shall we? You killed Denikin the moment I left the lodge, didn't you?"

  Thorne sat down at the opposite bench. There was no point in denying it. "He tipped my hand."

  "Our old friends the Russians are scrambling to know his whereabouts. If they find out he died here it would spell trouble for my officers who are out in the field."

  Thorne had begun to sweat, and he leaned back and sighed. "Don't worry, we've tracked Denikin's movements ever since he made it into the UK. He had his own ways of evading exposure, and even the FSB didn't know he was here."

  "The other members of the Cabal want answers, Alasdair. You cannot just eliminate one of us without approval from either the majority or the Others. You know the protocols."

  Thorne reopened his eyes and stared back at the other man. "You mean you desire an answer. Denikin wanted to team up with me and eliminate you as a rival."

  "I'm touched that you of all people would want to protect me, Alasdair. Is it because we're both English?"

  He let the sarcastic insult slide. "Denikin had plans of his own. Even if I did go along with him, he would have eventually taken care of me as well."

  "Mordrake isn't happy that you didn't consult with the others in the Cabal first."

  "I could care less what he thinks."

  "You'd better. Mordrake has a special relationship with the Others."

  "He's an abomination," Thorne said tersely.

  "I'd be very careful uttering those words if he's around, Alasdair. I've seen him... do things you wouldn't believe."

  "Let's face it, Colin, you were planning to get rid of Denikin yourself. I actually did you a favor."

  "That you did, but you also placed the lives of my people in danger."

  "I told you, the Russians won't find out."

  "And if they do? What then? We may both be members of the Cabal, but I still need to look out for my organization," Colin said. "I could easily leak out information that it was an MI5 operation and make a deal with Denikin's successor."

  "I have footage of you being in the same location as Denikin was. MI6 will not come out of this unscathed if you attempt to pin this on me."

  Colin nodded. "So we are at an impasse once again."

  Thorne knew that the other man wanted to keep MI6 intact, and use it as a bulwark to consolidate his power when the ascension would finally begin. He had the same plans for his own organization. "Let's come to an arrangement. I will not make any moves against you or your people for the time being, and you shall do likewise."

  "You are really an arrogant man, Alasdair. You speak for MI5 as if you are its director-general, but we both know you're well below that position."

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30