Rock tapped his foot on a crumbling part of the curb just a few feet inside a dark alleyway. On either side of him, looming up six or seven stories were broken down warehouses, long since used in this dying industrial sector of the city. This is the place Vitori Delega agreed to meet him, once night fell, and he pledged to bring Anna with him.
Their conversation on the phone was brief but to the point. The trade was to be straight forward, the copies for the woman was how the old man put it. Rock had agreed. He made it a priority to arrive on the location early to make sure nothing would be a surprise. He also made a conscious decision not bring any part of the rose with him. There was a chance that Delega would show with dozens of men and if Rock had the copies he would be caught with no leverage with which to complete the exchange.
He smiled when he thought of Sayla as his only reinforcements. A girl he once trusted, then condemned and now was conflicted about her role in the entire situation. She kept quiet since they arrived and lingered next to her bike, ready to break away if it came to that. She waited fifteen yards behind him, blending in the shadows. She was his only means of escape if this turned into a set up.
She had opened up to him during the afternoon. He learned about what her entire roll in the organization had been, how much they knew about him and Anna and the Delega Group. It was astonishing how she came to be his apprentice, pulling the right strings and paying the right individuals made accomplishing such a task very easy. A few recommendations from people he considered trustworthy and Rock was asking for her by name. It frightened him at how he could be manipulated so easily.
She also continued to apologize but insisted she had stopped communicating with the organization and Michael and Malcolm shortly after they arrived on Oak Island. Rock still didn’t know if he believed her, but she did save his life and was the only individual here, helping him once again.
He stuck his head out into the street. It didn’t feel like anybody was even alive in this part of the city. The streetlights were lit up but nothing moved. There were no cars, or people, just an occasional stray cat darting across the open areas to slink back into shadows. The wind even fell quiet. It was slightly disturbing. This was a place you could kill someone and nobody would find out for days. Perhaps that’s why this spot was chosen. But Delega couldn’t kill him, not until he possessed what he wanted and the only person who knew where that was, was Rock himself. And he wouldn’t say a thing except a simple lie that if he didn’t get back or check in within two hours, then the information would be sent off to an unknown party. Nobody could refute it and so they’d have to believe it or at least respect the possibility. In that way, he’d be safe. He thought.
Rock ducked back into the alleyway and leaned up against the wall.
“They’re late,” Sayla said.
“Of course, he wants me to wait on him. It’s a stupid power play tactic that only works with skittish individuals. I don’t give a shit that he’s late, just that he shows up with Anna. I want to see her safe and then we can discuss an exchange.”
“You’re really going to give it all away after everything you’ve been through. Don’t you think that something else should be done with the information? I mean you hold the fate of billions of people. You’re just going to pass that off.”
Rock sighed. “We don’t know that. There’s a good chance this is a great archaeological find and that’s it and their interpretations of the event to come could be completely allegorical in nature. The rose might mean absolutely nothing except to be a potential learning tool.”
“You really believe that.”
“I don’t have the facts so what I believe is incomplete, your superiors and Delega probably know far more about this than I do and they certainly believe it. That’s the scary part. But I don’t know, we had too little time to look at the rose and these pages. Truthfully, I am more of the mind that nothing is going to happen.”
“But,” Sayla started.
“But, Sayla, let me finish. But the possibility that what they say is truth, even if it is very small makes me wonder if giving in is the right thing to do. I want Anna back and safe, I want you safe, I want Benji back and safe and I want myself out so I can reflect and grieve for what happened to our friends. I always sought the truth, I thought that was most important, but it’s not. I made some big mistakes in the past months and right now, I’m worried about making another.”
Sayla stepped from the shadows. “I’ve made mistakes too, but I don’t know if giving the copies and rose away is the best thing to do simply because it’s the easiest road. Maybe you should ask Anna what she thinks when you see her.”
“I think I will,” he said.
In the distance Rock heard the sound of an engine. “Move back,” he motioned to her, “conceal yourself.” She did as he instructed and melted into the darkness. Rock took a couple of steps away and came to stand in the middle of the alleyway.
A car pulled in and came to a stop, sending its head lamps flooding over him. Rock shielded his eyes from the high beams but held his ground. The engine shut off and the lights went dark. It took his eyes a moment to adjust back to the dimness of the alleyway. Only one streetlamp splashed minimal light to where he stood.
The back door opened and a man emerged. Rock couldn’t see who it was. Then another person followed him. The front doors opened and two more men exited the vehicle. The two in the front stood motionless, silhouetted against the lighter backdrop that was the main street into this area. The other two started coming closer.
Then he recognized Anna.
The dim light fell over her face and his heart leapt to see her safe and uninjured. She looked good, for being captive. There were no bruises, nor a black eye, she seemed to be walking without any limp or obvious pain. It was difficult for him to keep from running to her.
Next to her, stood Vitori Delega. His face was wrinkled and scarred but other than that Rock could see the resemblances to his son. The facial structure, small nose and thin lips, he would have looked exactly like Seth a few decades ago. Rock knew it was a waste of time to try and speak with Seth but he held more hope for this man, his eyes spoke of less rash decision-making.
Vitori Delega held Anna by the arm and was whispering into her ear. Rock couldn’t quite make out the words. When he was done, he looked across to meet his eyes.
“Rock Tilton, I’m glad you escaped our little battle today.”
“It seems you found safety as well,” he said.
Vitori waved his hand and the other two men stepped forward and pointed guns in his direction. Rock was expecting this and didn’t flinch at the movement. They wouldn’t touch him until they knew where his copies were located.
Anna gasped at the sight. “Put those down,” she said. “He’s safe, nobody is here with him. This isn’t a set-up.” She started waving her hands.
Vitori shushed her with a squeeze. “She’s not going to go anywhere Rock, unless you do exactly as told.” One of the men moved closer and put his gun to Anna’s head. Her eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t expecting this. She believed this was going to be simple. “I want the copies you have and I want them right now. She dies unless I get them.”
“I don’t have them on me,” Rock replied. “You know as well as I, those copies are my only leverage, I wasn’t going to bring them.”
“But you know where they are. Tell me and I’ll have somebody pick them up or we can get it from you through other means.”
“I don’t think so. If I don’t check in within the hour, the copies will be given to another party with instructions to be delivered to the Keepers of the Rose. And at the moment, the copies are with another person, on the move, I couldn’t tell you where they were even if I wanted to. So maybe we should restart our conversation. My first question to you, what’s the end game here, I need to know that before I judge if this trade truly is fair.”
&n
bsp; “End game?”
“Plan for the rose, what’s the result of me handing over the information.”
“Simple. My plan all along is the most fair. I believe this knowledge was laid out in such a way that the givers of it intended each individual culture to be allowed the areas on their land so they could preserve themselves and their ways. I intend to give each country its so-called safe zones once the rose has been deciphered. And that information will be given only to that countries leaders and no other. In that way, each peoples can continue, the way it was meant to be. That’s the only reason for leaving clues in each blossoming culture at that time period and the reason it was given in their native language or rituals. The rose was never supposed to exist. Nobody was supposed to know it all. And if they do, we’ll lose countless amounts of cultural diversity and information. One group will move forward but as nature has taught us, diversity is good, a single group moving forward will eventually kill mankind.”
“You raise some points,” Rock said. “How can I believe your word?”
“Because this is what I believe. My men shot my only son today. I don’t know if he lives and I barely escaped that place. This is what I have tried to accomplish my whole life. The keepers of the rose are selfish, I was once one of them. They’re beliefs are cultish and primitive and if they are the only ones to gain the information then our future is also bleak. I am the only right choice.”
Rock looked over to Anna and saw her tight lipped and silent. He looked back to Vitori Delega. “If you would have originally come and tried to convince me through talk and argument, you may have won me over. But the approach with violence, the guns, holding Anna hostage, I don’t really know how I can believe everything you preach. Anna,” he held her eyes. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice soft in the night air. “This is bigger than us. I agree that his vision does sound like the right way of doing things but I have a gun at my head. My question would be, what if all the countries stay the same and move forward like we are now. We’re on the verge of war in every part of the globe and could wipe ourselves out over a simple communication error. Maybe one unified presence moving on would be best. I don’t know. That’s not something I can answer.”
“Are you ok,” Rock asked.
“I’ve been treated fine,” she said. “I had a feeling but I truly didn’t know I was a hostage until recently.” She looked over at Delega who didn’t return the gaze.
“I noticed.” Rock shifted his weight and then decided they had lingered long enough. Anna was safe, but he wasn’t going to get her back now, he knew that much. And he didn’t even know how to approach a trade at this point, the mechanics of that would take some thought.
“I need to think on this. Keep her close and don’t so much as touch her,” he said. “I’ll have an answer for you in the morning.”
“In the morning,” Vitori repeated. “We don’t have much time so I’ll expect the morning, but tomorrow is it. This is all done by tomorrow. If it isn’t and you drag this out, Anna will know just how slowly time can pass.” He yanked her back towards the car.
“Do what is right Rock, don’t worry about me,” she called back before being stuffed into the car. The high beams came on again and blinded Rock as the vehicle backed out and rolled away.
Sayla came up to him from the shadows, “they may have somebody watching us.”
“I’m sure you can lose them, “ Rock said. Sayla smiled.
“What are you going to do,” she asked as he took out a cell phone and hovered his finger over the call button. “Who are you calling?”
Rock hesitated a moment before answering, then lowered his head not even believing what he was about to do. He hit the button and held the phone to his ear. He stared Sayla in the eyes. Someone picked up on the other side and Rock swallowed.
“Hi Michael, I’m ready to talk.”
Chapter 43
Florida, August 2012