When the Commander found out that Allison left, he insisted that Coon start seeing the staff psychologist, Dr. Wendy Walsworth. Coon had been seeing her every Tuesday for almost a year now. At first their conversations had been really awkward but, eventually, they moved beyond Wendy’s probing questions about Coon’s sex life and his relationship with his parents to discussions around personal empowerment, dreams and the true nature of love.
Just two days ago Wendy suggested that Coon sell his house and move to the country, to manifest his dream of owning a small piece of land and finally moving on from his marriage.
“If you stay in that house, you’ll always be reminded about how your wife cheated on you. It’ll take you a lot longer to move on from the marriage and on to the rest of your life.”
“But I’m not ready to. Where am I going to live? I can’t afford to buy a house in the city. Besides I hate moving. Packing and unpacking boxes is the last thing I want to do right now.”
“Moving is about allowing the space for new things to come into your life. You’d be surprised at how much you are closing yourself off from right now. I know it’s difficult for you. But I really want to see you bringing new people and new experiences into your life. It’s time to move on Brad.”
“Allison agreed to give me the house in our divorce agreement. I fought long and hard for that. So I’m not going to give it up so easily. It’s a great house, you should come over for dinner sometime and see for yourself.”
“I’m sure it is a nice house. Unfortunately, I can’t date my patients, unless I want to lose my job. Now lets focus on building some tools for you to create the life you really want. Divorce is always portrayed in such a negative lens. We want to shift that and see this as an opportunity for you to start really living your life fully. So, for next week I want you to come to our session with two lists. The first is a list of things you want to move on from. The second is a list of things you want to consciously bring into your life.”
Maybe I should add moving to Wakefield onto my list. That would make Wendy happy.
Coon turned his un-marked cruiser onto the small lane. There was a compact car parked at the end of the driveway. The house seemed empty, but there were a few lights on. Coon checked the clock to make sure it wasn’t too late.
It’s only 11pm. Let’s make sure I’ve got the right place first before I go waking anybody up.
He ran the plate number on the car through the system. Surprised at the results, he flipped through his notebook to double check his notes.
Look’s like I’ve found Paul Saya. Maybe there is more to this story after all.
Coon took out his Smith and Wesson and checked the clip, just to be on the safe side.
Hopefully I don’t have to use this tonight. That’ll complicate my holiday plans. First thing is first. I’m going to talk to this guy and feel it out. If I need to, I’ll file a report and get a team onto this right away and they can figure out the details while I’m lying on a beach in Mexico.
After knocking on the door a few times without an answer, Coon decided to call it a night and got back into his car. Just as he started the car, his cell phone rang.
“Coon here.”
“Have you located our suspect Detective?”
“No.” Coon recognized the woman’s voice as Felisa. “Do you ever sleep?”
“No time for sleep Detective. We have a serious case to solve here. What’s your update?”
“I’m on location. The address you gave me checks out but nobody is home. I can confirm a connection with the museum where your suspect was last spotted.”
“Go on.”
“One of the Curators at the museum, Dr. Susan Hasser, her assistant’s car is parked in the driveway here.”
“I’ve never trusted the Hasser family. I’m not surprised she’s in on this.”
“I’m not ready to jump to conclusions yet. But I do want to talk with the young man. Unfortunately nobody is answering the door.”
“I want you to stay in location Detective. Wait it out. They have to be there. Be careful of our suspect. He is dangerous so use all caution when approaching.”
“You want me to stake this place out?” Coon was surprised at what the woman on the other side of the world was asking him to do. “You’re kidding right? I haven’t been on a stakeout since I entered the force almost twenty years ago. We don’t really do that anymore. Besides, It’s kind of cold and I didn’t come prepared with coffee and doughnuts.”
“I don’t care Detective. If you value your job you’ll follow my orders.” The line went dead.
It appears like I don’t have a choice in the matter.
Coon took the keys out the ignition, zipped his coat up and picked up the radio.
“Detective Coon here. I’ve got a code 5 in Wakefield.”
“Do you need back-up?” The dispatcher’s voice crackled through the static.
“No. But some coffee would be nice.”
“10-4 Coon. Radio for back-up if required.”
Coon placed the radio back on the dash.
It’s going to be a long night. I might as well start working on those lists for Wendy.
He reclined the front seat to make himself more comfortable and took out his notebook and pen and started writing.
Chapter 30
“I’m concerned our plan is out of control.” The small man looked across the table at his colleague. “Karl you said that George and Iyash were onto Raven. Now there is a girl in trouble.”
“Bes, we’ve been over this time and time again.” The man sitting across from Bes was absent mindedly stroking his long beard. “Our plan is foolproof. Consider how long we’ve been working on it.”
“Some of us have been working on it longer than others.” The woman sitting next to Bes crossed her arms. “No offense Karl, but I agree with Bes. We need to consider our alternate plan. Things have become too risky.”
“We need to give it a little more time Guanyin.” The man with the beard was starting to get animated. “We’re so close.”
“I’ll remind you that you are the newest member to the council Karl. While we needed your socio-financial expertise and great insights into the power of collectivities, Guanyin and Bes have been working on this plan for a long time.”
“Then you should not give up so easily,” replied Karl. “In my opinion it is inherently flawed logic to consider changing the plan at this point. We all know It’s only through struggle that change occurs. Call it pain, suffering, whatever you want. At the end of the day – or world, for that matter – we will only change after we go through this struggle Ever since I’ve joined this council, we’ve done nothing but struggle with executing this plan, which is perfect. It means we’re finally getting somewhere.”
“Sometimes we struggle against all the wrong things” said the man sitting next to Karl, who was fidgeting with the collar of his plain brown robe. “Overcoming the self is sometimes the hardest struggle towards transformation.”
“Where’s Huhanpu?” Guanyin motioned to the empty seat, the sleeves or her long flowing white gown dancing through the air.
“He had some business with his brother to take care of. He sends his regrets,” replied the man in the brown robe, who was now shuffling some papers in front of him.
“So what’s on the agenda then Francis.”
Bes was starting to feel impatient. He had a busy day ahead of him fending off Marduk’s attempts to create more darkness and despair amongst the humans. Lately figuring out a plan to mitigate the effects of the engineered swine flu epidemic and the increase in mental disease was keeping Bes awake at night.
The closer they got to the day of the alignment, the more serious and real the epidemics were, including the wars over oil. But it was the threat of a serious nuclear attack that had Bes working overtime. The council knew that Marduk had been planning this for a long time.
“First we need to talk about the girl.” Francis pulled a single piec
e of paper from the pile in front of him. “Maeve. She’s quite special.”
“Why were we not told about her earlier?” Guanyin didn’t like surprises.
“She was a bit of a wildcard. Marduk is turning out to be harder to pin down than we originally thought.”
“So the plan is to bait Marduk with the girl?” Karl was enthusiastic about the idea. “It’s a great idea. Even the most powerful men will fall to a beautiful, intelligent woman. Human history is full of such cases.”
“I don’t like it,” added Guanyin. “She’s too special and precious to be treated in such a fashion.”
“Well, it gets complicated.” Francis pulled another piece of paper out of the pile in front of him. “There’s some old history between the girl and Raven.”
“Is it serious?” asked Bes.
“There’s an old blood debt between them,” answered Francis. “She knows nothing about it. In fact, she knows nothing about her family.”
“Curious. So do we keep her ignorant or do we facilitate a family reunion?” Karl liked to ask these kinds of rhetorical questions. “I think we should keep her ignorant. It works in our interest. If she knows too much it will be more difficult for us to get her to do what’s required. I don’t need to remind any of you that we are running out of time.”
“What about the two humans?” Bes especially didn’t like the young man. He found him to be too rash, which ultimately translated into danger. “Where do they fit into this? What was George thinking when he invited them along. I thought we gave those two explicit instructions to keep human contact to a minimum.”
“The humans are harmless,” replied Guanyin. “George was just being kind and compassionate. He also saw their usefulness. The woman knows more than she lets on and the boy is very spirited, which will come in handy.”
“Remember that the humans are supposed to be active participants in the shift. Marduk understands this. Look at what he has been able to accomplish in the last hundred years. Cultivating the collective consciousness of humans around the world for his own diabolical means. They are choosing to participate in his evil plan without even knowing it!”
Francis looked exasperated by the whole situation.
“So where does this girl Maeve fit into our plan?” Bes still couldn’t understand why Francis considered her a wild-card. Especially if they weren’t going to bait Marduk with her.
Francis took another sheet of paper out of his pile. “Raven’s attempt was foiled. Unfortunately, Iyash has disappeared with Raven.”
“What?” the three other council members couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
“That wasn’t part of the plan,” said Bes.
“That screws everything up,” added Karl.
“There’s a reason for everything,” assured Guanyin.
“Well hopefully Guanyin is correct,” replied Francis, “and we can move forward with the plan.”
There was a knock on the door leading into the secret chamber where the Council was meeting.
The air was thick with energy and a deep silence came over the group. Before any of the council members could reply, the door opened and George walked into the large, beautiful circular room.
Behind him were Paul, Susan and Maeve, their eyes wide in disbelief.
Chapter 31
“What the hell are you bringing me? I want the girl, not this old man. He’s useless to me.” Marduk was not pleased with what Raven was delivering to him. “Hopefully you did better with the artifacts.”
Raven tossed his black bag onto Marduk’s desk.
“You’ll find the last two artifacts in here.”
“What about the girl? I want that girl. Without her these artifacts mean nothing to me.” Marduk peered intensely at black bag lying on his desk. “You said you could deliver. Do I need to find somebody else who can successfully complete a task I assign to them.”
Raven remained calm in the face of Marduk’s reprimand.
“I ran into some unforeseen difficulties. The information you gave me was not entirely accurate.”
“Impossible. My information is always accurate. It comes from a very reliable source.”
“How do you account for this than.” Raven gestured at Iyash. “You told me that the old man here and his sidekick had no idea about the girl. Just as I was about to secure her, they show up and my well-laid plan fell to pieces. Good thing I can think on my toes or I’d be up in front of their bloody council on charges of theft and terrorism.”
“We’re onto you Marduk. You still have time to change your mind.” Iyash couldn’t retain his thoughts anymore. “The council of the light would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you and discuss options for collaboration.”
“If I wanted to collaborate with your pathetic little council old man I would’ve done so years ago.” Marduk now directed his anger at Iyash. “You know as well as I that humanity has chosen the dark path. They’ve accepted their fate as slaves to their fear and insecurity. They will continue to look to me for the information and resources they believe they need to survive. People do not want to have to think for themselves. They want to be looked after by an omniscient benefactor who they can rely on to cure all their ills and provide them with the necessary thrills to make their short, futile lives interesting.”
“But there is still time to change. We can all work together to shift this consciousness in a good way that will not only benefit everybody but the earth as a whole living organism.”
“Look at your own people old man,” spat Marduk. “The elders have fallen asleep. They no longer want to hold the light, it’s too much work and responsibility to keep those ceremonies alive and maintain the energy in those old sacred places. The young ones are hungry for information and direction and have chosen the path I’ve offered them. It’s easy and accessible. They want instant gratification, not the hard work associated with maintaining traditions that are no longer relevant to this era of digital media and hyper-realities.”
“You’re wrong Marduk.” Iyash wasn’t willing to give in so easily. “All over the world people have suffered the onslaught of cultural genocide, racism and the challenges of adapting to the fast pace of this shifting consciousness. We are survivors. Your residential schools, government bureaucracy, resource developments and other attempts to make our traditions irrelevant are not effective. We will continue to persevere and flourish and work together in the spirit of love and light to heal each other and to heal this earth.”
“Tell that to all those drunk, strung-out people on the streets, in the casinos and in the ghettos you call home.” Marduk laughed. “I offer them an easy way out of their petty lives. They know they’ll never make an impact or be successful so why try. Resistance is futile old man.” Marduk opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a shiny black dagger. “Now I’ll do you a favor. Hold him Raven.”
Raven grabbed Iyash by the arms as Marduk got up slowly from his chair, the dagger clutched tightly in his hand.
“This dagger was forged deep in the heart of a black hole. It sucks the life out of all and returns it to the deep dark void where we all began. You’ve had a long life old man. Now It’s time to make room for the new generation.” Marduk sunk the dagger deep into Iyash’s chest and then pulled it out rapidly. “Safe journey.”
“Your anger, hate and greed will not succeed. “Iyash let out one long, last breath. “The council will not let you win. Love is the most powerful force in the universe.”
Raven let go of Iyash’s body as it collapsed to the floor. There was no blood, just a lifeless corpse.
“Was that really necessary?”
“Shut up or you’ll be next.” Marduk placed the dagger on top of his desk. “Now get me the girl. And be quick about it.”
“But they’re onto me. Those faerie body-guards aren’t going to let me within a hundred mile radius of her.”
“You’ll figure it out.” Marduk turned to face the window. The sun’s weak light
did little to warm up the cold morning of the shortest day of the year. “We’re running out of time. I’m relying on you to deliver. Don’t screw this up or you’ll end up with the same fate as that old man there.”
“I’ll do my best.” Raven wasn’t intimidated by Marduk’s threats.
“You better do better than that’,” hissed Marduk. “Now go do your job and don’t return until you have the girl.”
Chapter 32
Raven left Marduk’s office a bit shaken, passing Shelly, the office assistant, without even a glance as he made his way down to the ground floor of the Amar-Uutu Inc. office tower and out into the cold morning air.
They didn’t tell me that killing the old man was part of the plan. I don’t think I would have agreed to it otherwise. I should have dropped him off somewhere in the mountains on the way here for safe keeping.
He was still shocked that Marduk had acted so impulsively against Iyash.
Maybe Iyash was right after all. I’m starting to think that I’m going about this in all the wrong ways. I’m not sure I trust him with the girl, but I don’t have much of a choice. I can’t believe I’ve gotten myself messed up in all this after everything I promised to myself last time the shit really hit the fan. Is it really worth it this time?
Raven was starting to feel the effects of the journey to see Marduk. He’d been working non-stop for the last four days, traveling all across the world.
I could use a stiff drink of whiskey and a quick nap. It’d help me think. I need to figure out how I’m going to get myself out of this situation.
He made his way down the street, which was already humming with traffic, and towards the Park, which extended for miles in all directions.
Unfortunately I don’t have time for even one drink. I’ve got to get back to Wakefield as soon as I can. I think it’s time to talk to those bloody faeries, if they don’t kill me first. I blame all this on Matholwich. He could have chosen someone other than Brânwen to fall in love with. I wouldn’t be in such a precarious position right now.
Raven found his way into the park. There was a light dusting of snow laying on top of the hard frozen ground. People were out, all bundled up against the cold December wind, determinedly walking through the park to their various destinations.