Chapter 37
10:13 a.m.
Undisclosed Location, Uganda
Calla stared ahead in silence as Allegra sped the four-wheel drive through uninhabited terrain. The sun scorched her arm as it rested on the window’s edge. Calla refused to think about the news report and Eva’s cunning tactics. Other preoccupations dogged her mind.
The ride sustained in strained silence as Calla’s mind tossed around unanswered questions she hoped Allegra could address. How had Allegra found her?
“Allegra, where’ve you been? I thought you were dead.”
Allegra tapped her pointed fingernails on the padded steering wheel, as if hunting for the best way to phrase her answer. “There’s so much I need to tell you but let’s wait until we get to the Cove.”
“To the Cove?”
The Jeep stopped by a large terrain overlooking a well-maintained, corn and banana plantation. A herd of giraffes lined the otherwise deserted land while a handful of water antelopes scurried raucously in the remote distance. Calla turned her head when sneering hyenas crossed the terrain with their young. “What is this place?”
Allegra sprang out of the Jeep and onto the sweltering, dusty earth. She found a smooth stone and aimed it high toward the center of the fifty-foot space.
She returned to the car and waited. Within seconds the car started a descent into the ground as if suspended on a natural elevator. At first Calla presumed it was another attack but Allegra’s calm face reassured her. The car descended further into the ground until it came to a sudden halt. For a moment or two the two women sat in the dark.
Without forewarning, sharp fluorescent lights flooded the view ahead of them with blinding force. Due to the number and variety of vehicles parked ahead of them Calla supposed the Cove to be a sizable underground garage. Yet nothing here resembled any garage she’d been in.
Bathed in white light the gleaming floors extended for what seemed like miles. Cars neatly lined the edges of the room, leading to what appeared to be a glass door. Allegra clambered out of the car and advanced toward two uniformed men walking toward them. Their white uniforms dazzled with a hint of silver in the glaring lights.
The first man greeted Allegra with a firm shake and a smile. “Do we have the manuscript?”
Allegra shook her head.
“The carbonados?”
“No.”
The men continued past her and gently helped Calla out of the car. The first man strapped Calla’s arm over his neck allowing her to hop alongside with him on her good foot. Both men wore short crew cuts, one blond and the other seemed to be from the Far East, possibly Korean.
At the end of the garage the Asian man pressed a button along the wall. “This injury will need immediate attention.”
His gentle conduct calmed Calla and she instantly relaxed with the two strangers helping her through the glass door.
They took the cut-glass elevator when it dipped down a long visible shaft. The elevator had no numbers, just various shapes of all forms and lights. She recognized a few of the symbols similar to those on the Deveron document. “What is this place?” she asked again.
No one responded.
Allegra threw her an exquisite, knowing smile and glared up in anticipation of arrival at their destination. “This is the Cove, a sort of headquarters. Actually we have a few littered across the continent. Each continent.”
Calla’s attention was captured. “Who is...we? Are they all underground?”
The men laughed casually as Allegra set a warm hand on Calla’s arm. “Not really. They are where we need them to be.”
The glass doors dragged open and they came out into a wide hallway. The floor glowered with bright shades, bearing resemblance to an office, with contemporary fittings of various shades of cream, pearl and white.
Calla gaped at the spectacular interiors. Even at several feet below ground they were inundated in natural light. How’s that possible? It was one of the most beautiful interiors she’d ever seen. Calla imagined the natural plants and vegetation displayed around the place benefited from the spectacular light, giving the rooms the only hint of color.
Allegra led the group down the corridor. “The Cove, or Coves if you include the others, are probably history’s best-kept secrets. This place has been here for years.”
Calla fired Allegra a bewildered glance and followed her leading. “Really?”
“Yes.”
They came to the end of the passageway. One of the men led them through a bustling workroom reminiscent of an industrious, design and development office. Several more uniformed people bustled behind electronic tablets that were at the cutting-edge of computing technology.
The room rang with modernity, the latest technology and several office accessories Calla had never seen. The computers and gadgets looked like they were at least fifteen years ahead of their time, putting to shame some of the developments in the R&D labs at ISTF and if she had to guess, the NSA and the Government Communications Headquarters put together.
They ambled past various cubicles with people of every race and tribe chatting in huddles.
Calla admired the ceiling, decorated with dazzling crystals. “Are those real?” she asked Allegra.
“Of course! They power this place. All the energy used to manage this place runs in those natural crystals. Those are similar to photonic crystals. Crystals have puzzled the world for years. We’ve actually learned to engineer them for industrial purposes. Crystals, rocks and minerals are at the heart of most of our exclusive capabilities.”
Calla wasn’t sure she understood. She anticipated a logical explanation at some point, although right now the view made for deep contemplation.
At the end of the main workspace stood a glass office. How long had it taken to perfect such an establishment? Years and lots of money. NASA’s workstations don’t hold a candle to the technology in this place!
The blond man pressed a square button, opening the door to another white office space. Seated at the desk was a tall snow-haired man sporting a distinguished goatee. His wide forehead and thin eyebrows furnished him with sophistication as he spoke with someone on what Calla could only imagine was an ultramodern wireless phone. It put the ISTF smartphone Mason had given her to shame.
His lean, elegant build and gray eyes that exuded wisdom and Calla turned when he saw them walk in and came around the desk. “Allegra. How’d it go?” asked the man. Though he spoke English Calla was surprised she couldn’t place the accent.
“We found her,” Allegra said. “Meet Calla Cress.”
The man shifted his eyes toward Calla narrowing them slightly. “Welcome. I’ve waited many years for this occasion.”
Calla examined him and quizzed him with her stare. “How so?”
The men helped her down onto the chaise lounge across from the white marble desk. She hoisted her bad ankle onto a waiting cushion at the end of the upholstered sofa. “Thank you, but who are you?”
The sedate man knelt on the floor beside Calla and examined her ankle. Despite his hands-on approach in assisting her he was the man in charge.
His eyes blazed with compassion and concern. “My name is Vortigern Aspel. Please lie back,” he instructed.
Allegra gave her a reassuring look. Calla obliged.
He examined her swollen ankle and laid a gentle hand on the clotting lesion on her jaw. His hands felt warm and exuded a faint medicinal aroma of angelica oil. The gentle massage eased some of the pain.
“This will give a boost to your immune and nervous system and will help you maintain mobile joints. If only we had the rocks. This would be such a simple procedure. Quicker recovery. But you’ll be fine.”
He rose steadily. “Calla, you’re the one everyone here has been waiting for. You alone are the person who can lead what is promised to be the world’s greatest enterprise.”
Calla cast Allegra a questioning look. “What enterprise? All I want is to find information on my family and now to help my friends. What’s left of them.”
Vortigern acknowledged the bewilderment. “Have you not noticed that you’re not like others? You possess instincts and knowledge that you don’t understand, nor know from where it stems?”
Calla felt herself shrivel at his comment. “I’m sure there’re others who follow suit.”
Vortigern rose and paced round her chair. “I understand. Have you also seen that when you use these abilities and physical strength they leave you in such a weak state such as now?”
Calla searched her thoughts. How could he know that?
Somehow she liked this man. He set her at ease in a fatherly sort-of way, reminding her so much of her Papa Cress. She slid along the seat setting her back upright. “I saw a specialist in Paris. He informed me that I probably have a genetic disorder. The other probability is that I was exposed to Polonium 210, probably contained in the two carbonados we found.”
Vortigern glared into her emerald eyes. “Hmm—”
Why was he so amused? She narrowed her eyes. “The doctor explained that the Polonium could have aggravated my genetic disorder and that’s why I have unusual strength followed by unbearable exhaustion, like now. I read the report myself.”
Vortigern tilted his head, studying her as Allegra approached the chaise longue, her movement barely perceptible. “Calla, I’ve known you a long time. I’m sorry I had to leave you when you needed me most but it was for everyone’s good.”
Allegra glimpsed over to Vortigern. “Perhaps there’s a simpler way to explain this, Vortigern. Shouldn’t we start with who Calla really is?” She glanced into Calla’s brooded eyes. “And most importantly, why you have memories and dreams that you can’t explain.”
Vortigern asked the two uniformed men to wait outside. Once they’d departed he drew a seat for himself and Allegra by the chaise longue.
He took a deep breath. “Calla Cress, your story started just before the first century.”
10:50 a.m.
Eva sped back to London, thudding the steering wheel with compulsion at every red light. “He’s hiding something.”
The highway bustled with London commuters on their way into the bustling metropolis. She turned on the radio for the traffic news. Just the usual Friday evening London traffic pickle.
Her phone rang. She scrambled to connect it to the in-car audio system.
“Yeah?”
“It’s Mark. Mason has canceled his meeting with you for this evening.”
“What? Why?”
“His secretary said he had to leave town urgently.”
Damn! Mason promised me some more information! This time she had bargained for the full classified files. Only a few pieces were missing regarding agent SILVER X3. Mason was the man to fill these gaps.
“Eva?”
She cursed under her breath. “Yes?”
Mark’s voice rang with concern. “She said to tell you that the deal is off.”
Eva slammed the phone down. The day’s investigation had brought her no closer to the answers. “Imbécile!”
She had kept her end of the bargain. Just that morning, after much persuasion, she’d gained her father’s trust and persuaded him to sign Mason’s deal. That had been a major step. She’d been a pawn. Mason had no more use for her. “Cochon!”
Blistering tears blurred her vision as she swerved off to the hard shoulder. She rammed her palm against the steering wheel. Ignoring the pain she lifted her head in determination. “Time I publish the second part of the story. Better me than the Guardian!”
She ignored the warning bells. The government, ISTF and even her father would probably not back the story. Eichel’s notes trickled with sizzling scandal she couldn’t ignore. The details she didn’t know she would fabricate.
What’s the worst that can happen? A lawsuit? She had a damn good lawyer. Her brother.
12:45 p.m.
The Cove
Undisclosed Location, Uganda
“Before we go into that we need to take care of your wounds. Follow me.”
Vortigern directed Calla to a section of the establishment that housed several rooms and closed offices. As they walked past each shut door Calla read the various names displayed on each door.
Analytical Astronomy…Civil Engineering…Military Economics…Practical Comparative Genetics…Practical Custodial Arts…Analytical Historical…Nanotechnology…Artificially Intelligent Business…Popular Clinical Science… Biomedical Paranatomy…
They stopped at a set of clear-glass, double doors. “We keep some supplies in here for emergencies. I may have something to ease some of that pain,” Vortigern said.
They settled into what looked like an infirmary. Two uniformed women helped her onto a medical examining table.
Allegra held Calla’s hand while Vortigern strapped her arm and leg bands. “This is just to keep you steady. Each one of us reacts differently to medication.”
Calla closed her eyes when she saw the medical instrument Vortigern held in his hand. “We call this a Cell fuser. You’ll be fine, Calla. We just need to inject some remedial serum into your muscles to give you strength.”
“What will it do?”
“The composition of your body is so complex that I’m not surprised your Paris doctor found what he thought was Polonium. You see, that was the closest thing he could probably compare it to. Your body is made up of so many components modern medicine cannot understand.”
“But why? Is that what’s harming my body?”
“At present, modern medicine cannot help you. You need something stronger.”
“What’s this serum?”
Vortigern smiled as he administered the medication. “Think of it as anabolic steroids without the side effects. About a thousand years ago some of our people, let’s call them operatives for now, began creating medicines when they realized that they needed stronger elements to modern drugs, yet harmless enough to be given to an infant.”
“Operatives?”
“Everything here in the Cove is an attempt to replicate a faultless world through science and technology. All the ingredients we use come from the Earth. We just need to be creative and know where to look.”
She didn’t follow but felt the murky liquid shoot through her veins, soothing her throbbing muscles. She reclined further and felt her limbs reinvigorate.
“Your muscles were built to sustain impact, go against gravity and self-defend. All from the research and technology engineered for generations in rooms like the ones down this corridor. But they’re not operating at full capacity.”
Calla felt lightheaded. “I could have told you that.”
They were beginning to communicate on mutual ground. Vortigern withdrew the injection. “What you need now is to train them.”
Calla thought for a moment. How was I able to plunge off seventy-two stories unharmed?”
His smile reassured her that she wasn’t eccentric but would she welcome what he would confess next? “Calla, several years ago operatives in our research and development labs engineered a special chip, which runs on energy much like that contained within the carbonados. That chip when implanted under skin reengineers the molecules within the epidermis and your central nervous system. When your body senses contact against gravity, the chip that acts much like a drug, reverses the natural physics of gravity. So in essence, giving you the ability to stay afloat, or in other words, fly.”
“ISTF has toyed with these kinds of experiments,” she said.
“Our operatives are light years ahead of ISTF in their research and engineering. They’ve been at it for many centuries.”
Calla stroked her forehead, glancing straight at him as she searched for plausible answers. “How do you know so much about me? How did I get this way? The chip for one. Was I forcibly injected with random test results? Was I a lab rat? That’s not even legal. Was I born this way?” Calla could feel the anger welling in her. She had to know. Though she understood the words he was saying there were so many missing pieces of logic to their conversation.
She knew he was telling the truth. The last several hours had tested her analytical intellect to the core. “What do my muscles do?”
Vortigern paced around her bed his hands behind his back. “Anything you want. And regarding the chip your father and mother had it injected in their bodies before you were born so you must have it in your genes.”
Calla gasped in shock. “Are you saying the chip enabled me to control movement at will?”
Vortigern nodded a knowing smile in agreement.
“Am I the only one with these muscles? These abilities?”
“Some of us have them, and some of us don’t. It all depends on each one’s mission. But until we have restored all power to the operatives using the carbonados we remain vulnerable.”
Calla was now fully alert. She examined Vortigern’s wise eyes as they soothed her emotions. “Why does Mason Laskfell want the Deveron so badly? And, how can he be stopped? He seems to have a telepathic ability that gets everyone around him jumping at his command.”
Vortigern placed gauzes on her wounds and bound them. “Mason isn’t what you think he is. He’s been preparing his strategies all his life. From what I gather he’s now well-equipped and allied.”
He unstrapped her hands and feet. “You reacted fine to the serum.”
Calla threw her legs over the side of the operating table. “Thank God.”
Allegra’s fearful look dwindled. “Calla, your nature is like that of a warrior, a defender and protector. It may not seem like it but Mason has feared you for some time. You’re the one person he knows can challenge him. He needs the energy in the carbonados. However, there’s one power that can defy Mason no matter how big a following he has.”
Calla perched herself on the edge of the table. “What’s that?”
Vortigern placed another plaster on her arm. “That’s the one thing that even I don’t know. But once we have the diamonds it will be up to you to find out.”
Calla managed a weak nod. If he hadn’t figured this entire thing out by now how could she?
Calla felt all the pain leave her body. She shot up with a spring as Allegra set an arm around Calla’s shoulders. “How do you feel?”
“All new again.”
They paced toward the door and an afterthought emerged. “What happened to my parents, Vortigern? Did you know them?”
He fell silent for a few moments. “I don’t know. We never found out what happened to them after the moment they left you at the orphanage.”
Allegra held the door open. “When your parents dropped you off at the orphanage we lost all trace of them and the Deveron Manuscript.”
Sensing Allegra’s hesitancy Calla perceived there was more to tell. Vortigern caught up with them and pulled Allegra to one side. For several minutes they exchanged hushed words.
Allegra leaned in toward Vortigern, her even voice commanding. “We need to tell her.”
“What do you need to tell me?” Calla asked as Allegra glanced away.
Vortigern was first to respond. “Calla, we sent several operatives back to the cliff to look for what’s left of your friends. They found nothing. I don’t think your friends made it.”
“There must be something! Jack fell in the open space above the falls.”
Sympathy swept over Allegra’s face. “I’m so sorry, Calla. Regardless of whether we find them or not you should know that you can’t rely on them any longer. You can’t be tied to these people and get emotionally entrapped.” Allegra averted Calla’s eyes. She lowered her face. “It’s always been this way.”
The sharpness of Allegra’s tone unnerved her, unimpressed by her words. “I don’t follow,” said Calla.
They didn’t believe the words they spoke, as if they’d been rehearsed several times. Calla’s mind rang bells of warning. “Why?”
Vortigern laid a hand over Calla’s shoulder. “We’re your family now. Let’s just leave it at that. We need to find the last carbonado before Mason does.”
Calla watched Allegra turn away, frustration rising to her cheeks. “I’ve known Jack and Nash a long time. And you, Vortigern, just for two minutes. Why should I believe you?” Her voice clogged with emotion. “They’re my closest friends. How can you judge them and tell me whom I can or can’t trust or get involved with?”
Vortigern ran a hand through his impeccably groomed hair. “Operatives can’t associate with non-operatives in such an intimate way. It has always led to disaster.”
Calla struggled with his authority and glanced away from Vortigern with calculated disdain. How could they cast off Jack and Nash, whose help and resourcefulness she’d relied on to get her as far as she had? She would have failed to find the first two carbonado diamonds without them. Her own flesh and blood had abandoned her, her parents. But, not Jack, not Nash.
Allegra interrupted the strained discussion. “First and foremost let’s find the third diamond. We can discuss this later.” She turned to Vortigern with a warning glance. “The only way Calla can put her friends’ memories to good rest is if she acquires the stone and gains confidence in who she is. It’ll be better for all of us.”
Vortigern retreated. “You’re right.”
They paced out of the room and turned down the brightly lit corridor.
“How can we find the next stone? We don’t have the manuscript, or the journal,” Calla said.
Vortigern directed them back through the main offices. “If only we could find the replica and Mila.”
“What replica?” Calla asked.
Allegra spoke first. “Your parents hid a replica of some sort. In case they ever lost the Deveron Manuscript. I think they gave it to a woman called Mila Rembrandt. She knows how to solve some of the riddles.”
Calla studied them both. How did they know this? She pulled out a wrapped item from the back pocket of her denims. “Does it look something like this?”
She held out a photograph.
“Where did you get this?” Vortigern said.
“It’s a photo that never leaves my sides. The only thing I know for sure came from my parents.”
She ripped open the lamination cover and drew out a thin folded paper. Unraveling it against the light it confirmed her inkling. A replica of three of the seven pages of the Deveron Manuscript.
“I never knew you had this,” Allegra said.
“I’ve always had it. Mama and Papa Cress gave me the laminated photo on my graduation day. I always knew there was a note inside but I never dared rip it open even though I knew it might have contained the answers I’ve sought for so long. I guess I wasn’t ready to face whatever it concealed. I’m beginning to realize I’ve feared the truth all my life yet I’ve always had it with me.”
“The truth never lies, Calla,” Allegra said.
She sighed deeply. “Anyway, Mama Cress said it was something to guide me through my adult life. I’m not really sure they knew what it was either. They received it from the orphanage.”
Vortigern took the photograph in his hands and studied the inscribed notes on the back. “These notes meticulously lay out the details of each pattern in your birthmark. It’s your family emblem. They mimic the Deveron lettering. But I wonder why your parents left you with this?” He handed it back to Calla. “Keep this well.”
“I always have. So the headmistress at Beacon Academy was right after all,” she said. “Who’s Mila, by the way? Where can we find her?”
“Someone your parents obviously trusted,” Allegra said. “She must know more about them and can help solve any last complexities about the Deveron. She most probably helped them write that journal.”
Calla thought for a minute. “I know where we can find the third diamond. The manuscript references King Solomon and resources. We foolishly trusted an ISTF recommended tour guide to get us there. We were looking for King Solomon’s mines and mistakenly assumed they would be in Africa. We were looking in the wrong place.” Her curator mind set in gear. “King Solomon’s treasures may not have been left in Africa.”
Vortigern’ eyes lit up. “How so? No place on earth could store the wealth of resources he had. They were left with the African Queen Sheba.”
“We’re not looking for his wealth. Not according to the Deveron. We want the carbonado.” She tilted her head with a smirk growing on her lips. Don’t tell me that’s why you planted this Cove here?”
Vortigern forced his operative brain to work. “As you can see this place needs someone like you.”
“Not so fast.” Calla turned to her hosts, her analytical mind churning through logic, riddles and recent happenings. “I’m sure a place like this would have an airplane, no? We’re gonna need it to get to Mila.”