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It hadn’t taken Ho long to decide how to plan the physical part of the rescue of Mother Lode and his hapless sojourners. Max and Katrina would monitor the base communication at the Diamond Head Estate and Luke, if he returned soon enough. They were all out in the field now, so to speak, and now was the time to do the cannon assault on the pulsar. Because Moose and Annie knew the local Golden Circle already and had the Bangkok police with their Drug Task helicopters in place, they would take the Thom Muen Temple location. Their two helicopters had enough fuel and cargo capacity to evac the eight men. Prior to settling in on the UNESCO site, Annie would alert Mr. Wolfe and make any political arrangements necessary. Their team would pick up the hydrogen cannon at the jungle Black Clad camp then fly to the Red Army border and repossess the loaned FEMA, by stealth, if needed. The Thai Drug Enforcement would grease that problem, maybe with some product, if necessary. One of the US DEA agents had already flown home commercially with Chloe, in tow. He was to see her personally to the Estate in Hawaii. Getting her out of the country commercially was only possible, if she was in custody, the DEA manufactured expedition, a criminal bio, and a Five-O warrant.
The second team, the Christmas Island group, would be headed by Ho and Lonnie. They would use Yuto’s big AH60, his corporate pilot and one scientist to help Ho with the guns. Naturally, Yuto would accompany them, because of the negotiations needed to acquire the FEMA at the Perth science Expo. Also, Yuto and his pilot were familiar with Aussie customs, and particulars in the Indian Ocean. Ho never shared his other, obvious reason for taking Yuto with them, it was a trust issue—they would be able to keep an eye on him, just as they had since capturing him. Yuto was hoping to return to the Marshalls and stop at his old stomping ground, Bikini. Ho said he was too old for bikinis and Christmas was more his style, now. The third team worried Ho a bit, mostly because he didn’t know the participants well enough. Samson and his boys, Thane and Trey, would fly the vintage Huey to the Marshall Islands. If Hack, or Smokey surfaced, they would join the third group. The two FEMA’s at Tanaka R&D would be used in the Huey. It was Samson’s first trip farther away than Hong Kong or the Philippines. He was excited and apprehensive at the same time because of the potential problems with his forty-five-year-old AWOL status. Hi-tech communication equipment was secured to keep the three teams in contact with Diamond Head base and each other. Seconds mattered. This was a hairy operation but Ho had engineered a three-prong final day in the Caribbean. The Mariachi Miracle was born on the day Xolotl died. The quarterback instinct burned—it was a matter of each team mate doing his job.
He was sure the future would use the things they discovered through the mariachi stone and the Mer-ka-ba to provide global sustainable energy. The hotel meeting ended with good feelings, a hope for the future and prayer for success in the pulsar anomaly.
“It is imperative the six guns work in tandem at the triangulation landing spots. There is where the energy grid is centered and at its greatest strength. Yuto will give instruction on the aiming, firing and potential harm of his hydrogen fibrillation unit. The vortices can be arrested momentarily. Good luck, guys...we’ll talk when we are all in place, locked and loaded, with a clear escape plan. I know this seems crazy but Luke, Max and Kat have all seen these men, so let’s find a way to free them.” A cheer went around the room. It was akin to every pre-game ‘rah-rah’ Ho had experienced. He knew the plan would have flaws and people would have to think on the run.
Yuto had the FEMA from his helicopter set up and proceeded to explain the battery system, the firing exposure and the anticipated danger. At one point, he spun it toward Ho. The room went deathly quiet.
“I have resented American intrusion into my company fee structures and I just realized it was me who caused all this to happen right now. If I had left the Mariachi generators alone and not tried a hostile takeover of MJD, rescuing their friends would not be part of my plan today. Ho pointed this very cannon at my head. I was afraid of my own invention, afraid that my own greed would get me killed, instead I crapped my pants.” The group laughed nervously, not knowing where the CEO was going with his speech. “I have learned a lot about myself and my techniques from this remarkable couple. I still can’t breathe through my nose.”
The group of company reps and rescue personnel were grinning. The story had got around that Makaewalani had kicked his ass and all his goons. “On a personal note, my one regret is my only heir, Jade, has chosen to take a path of resistance and crime, instead of joining us in securing the future of the world. It is a sorrow I am condemned to carry to my grave.” Yuto stopped as his voice quivered. After a moment he regained his composure and continued.
“I and my grandson were the intrusion. I want whoever is on these hydrogen agitators to be careful of the field of fire. This is an extremely dangerous wave buster. I will give expert instruction to the operators after we end the meeting. Suffice it to say, I am excited to help with this rescue and to understand what caused it. My dream of global power service is possible with this merger, and I look forward to a successful operation and a joyous rendezvous in Hawaii, in the near future. Sayonara, friends.” He bowed, a classic example of contrition, manners and age combined. Ho and Lonnie applauded with all the rest. Each of them, wishing they had been a little more charitable with the old gentleman but he did have it coming.
The next day a taxi pulled into the circle drive of the Hawaii estate. A man got out and paid the cab driver, who opened the back door and assisted a girl. It was Chloe. Katrina was peeking out the foyer window and wondered what she was doing back and alone. She stalked into the mansion, pissed, refusing to say anything and stomped off to her room.
Katrina walked out to the taxi and asked the man what was happening. “Why did you bring her here?”
“I was instructed by Victor Valasquez and her brother to escort her, in person, directly to your door. She knows she is under house arrest, until they get here to decide if her crimes are legally punishable. She was in Thailand illegally and, I suspect, this is a form of deportation. I don’t know if you are aware but she married as a minor and her husband is on the run for several crimes. Here is my number. You can call me, if anyone attempts to take her. I’m working with Five-O to capture him if he comes to the island. We were tipped he might, let me know if you hear anything. I plan to leave her in your hands, is that too much?”
“Probably, I have plenty of other worries but I will have her watch over my baby, she might like that. Uh, did any of you find out about my husband, Luke Jensen, or know of his whereabouts. He’s missing.”
“Haven’t heard about anybody named Lucas,” the detective answered.
Katrina decided to talk to Chloe, girl to girl and get her over the funk she was in but the baby came first, always, forever. A mother in the house with little children was usually the busiest person in the town. At least the two-year-old was at grandmas. While Maddie ate, Katrina called the kahuna.
“I really need you over here, Max. It’s been a full day and a little bit more since Ho sent out the three teams. We have to be ready, are you busy?”
“Always busy, dear, but never too busy for you. Besides, I am as curious as a litter of kittens about this energy anomaly. I really hope Ho and the rest can shut down the vile vortices. I’ll be right over,” The Kahuna of Diamond Head replied. He knew Kat was in over her head, as were they all. Katrina took the sleeping child into Chloe, who didn’t want to help anyone.
“I hate Ho’s damn guts. We should have called Mom but we’re married and we have rights. Ho arrested my husband then pretended to arrest me. They took me through security at Vientiane in hand cuffs, as a frickin’ crook, all because we didn’t ask his high and mighty ass if it was OK to marry.” Chloe had been burning up the whole way to Hawaii and somebody had to let her dump on them. Katrina figured she had made life crazy for enough people, it might as well be her.
“I know you are mad, honey. I’ve spent half my life being mad at Ho for something. He can be abrasive but it’s because he loves us. Luke is gone looking for your mom, who went looking for you. Ho is mad that Smokey, your mom, Luke and everybody else are out of his control. He is trying to put together teams to rescue a bunch of men. This is a big distraction to him.”
“Besides, he’s a control freak ass,” interrupted Chloe, “and now they have Interpol and Five-O trying to catch Jade. He got away from them, he’s way smart, smarter than Ho and his cop buddies. I promise, Katrina, you would like Jade, you really would, it’s just circumstances and Ho being God, making it all screwed up for us.” She was as bitter as teenagers can get when things are never their fault, never.
“I know, Chloe, time will settle all this. If you love Jade, this will work out, just give everybody time to adjust but what I need is for you to watch Maddie, please.” Chloe was not in the mood to watch kids and it was evident on her face. “Puhleese, I’ve got to find Lucas—think if it were Jade you were trying to locate—I’d help you. There is only me here and Max; but we have to co-ordinate everybody all over the world, it seems. I’ll love you forever and do something really special, please.” Thinking about trying to help Jade escape, put things into a relatable context and she relented.
“OK, Kat, but promise you’ll help get the family OK with Jade, help me and I got yer back. Go run the computer and SKYPE.” Chloe almost smiled. Relieved, Kat ran for the conference room and found Max there, with radio, computers and maps ready.
“Tucker called, they are in Ojinaga, Mex-Tex border, ” he said. They will call the minute they get somewhere in Asia or the Pacific.” Kahuna Max looked worried. “We are going to need faith for this deal, Katrina. Every bit of awareness I have is jangled. I feel as if it’s not right, it’s too soon or something.”
Before she could comment, her computer chat line dinged. It was Ho.
Moose and Annie are set at the Thai temple, we just got in from Perth and are sitting on a ridge at Christmas, where all the towers are. There is a copper wire dangling from one of the towers. I can tell it is jerry-rigged. This must be the right spot, looks as something Mother Lode would do. There is evidence of people camping here...cans, fruit peelin’s and stuff. Any word from Hack?
She typed in No, Max is here, we haven’t heard from the Eniwetok Island team yet.
A note came back, Let me know when Samson and sons are landed and in contact.
“Max, have you thought this through any more. It has to be in relation to legend, or prophecy and astronomy. It’s magnetic, right?” asked Katrina.
“Yes, we’ve pretty well concluded it is galactic influenced. The whole Black Mariachi was based on a constellation.”
“Well, Luke figured it was tied into the poles being reversed and I think that might be right but he has never tried to see if something in the stars could be causing this. He told me this pulsar beam energy is connected to all the planets. Is there something out there having six points, or maybe eight, or looks the same as the Mer-ka-ba? It seems the mariachi stone works with this energy.” She slipped the stone Smokey had given to Renie into the loose panel, once again. “We need to find out how the mariachi stone and this artifact are connected. There is something sympathetic with them, they resonate together, I think.
“You are right, dear. The Mer-ka-ba energy model is in almost everything. I have wondered if the old Greek astrology has any influence. In the earliest records, mythology claims the war between the Olympus gods and the Titans resulted in the Titans being subdued and condemned to servitude. Atlas and his brother Prometheus were dealt with by Zeus. Atlas was a sturdy fellow and he was compelled to hold up the heavens on his shoulders, his brother was chained and eagles fed on his liver each day; by night he healed, only to be tortured anew.”
“That stuff is from the devil, Max. Mythology is just a pile of decadent, immoral explanation for creation. It’s a counterfeit of truth,” retorted Katrina.
“Let me finish. The 11th ordeal or task of Hercules was to pick some golden apples from the Garden of Hesperides; this garden was tended by the seven daughters of Atlas, condemned for eternity by Zeus. Only Atlas would be allowed to pick the apples, which granted immortality. Because Hera didn’t trust the girls, who loved their father, she added the dragon Ladon, to guard the tree. This terrible serpent stood in the way of Hercules’ task. Hercules learned from Prometheus, who he freed from eternal torment, Atlas could get the apples but his task of holding the heavens could not be terminated. The legend is Hercules held the world on his shoulders for a while, enabling Atlas to talk his girls into letting him pick the eternal fruit.”
Katrina exploded, “Oh, good grief, we can’t listen to Greek gobbledy-gook. This is bogus crap.”
The kahuna smiled, “And in the beginning, God placed a tree in Eden and in the garden was a tree, guarded by a serpent. Eve knew the fruit was desirous, above all other fruit, and she was beguiled by the serpent to taste it, in spite of being commanded that she not partake.” Katrina stared at him for a minute. “You see where I am going with this? Bible legends are still legends and mythology may have elements of truth, may I continue?”
“OK, so Christianity and Mormonism are not unique. What does all this have to do with the Mer-ka-ba?” argued Katrina, a little taken back but mostly anxious about Luke and the rest of their friends.
“Imagine that the responsibility Atlas had was to hold the magnetic cohesion of all the stars together, holding the heavens symbolically. His seven daughters were placed in the sky by Zeus, to weep for their father. The Pleiades star cluster has proven, through ages of history, to have tremendous effects on water, crop cycles, rain, earthquakes and drought. I believe the legends of the star group, Hesperides and the star group Pleiades, are both accurate. Atlas had more daughters by other women. I bring this up because these two-star groups of seven girls and a parent are the eight points of galactic importance.” Katrina didn’t know it but she was staring, open mouthed.
“My dear, you just asked, what constellations could have a Mer-ka-ba-like influence on electrical magnetics; those are two of them.” Max continued. “Luke and Ho discovered the stabilizing influence of the Ursa Major, we now have decided, Luke and I, working on map energy, the triangle in the Caribbean and the triangle in the South Pacific-Indian Ocean area are the six points of this energy design; a design repeated in the helix of nearly everything affected by energy, everything crystal based—us, the earth, the pyramids and the galaxy. Remember the Mayan Interdimensional Star diagram Luke figured out. There is a shared relationship between earth, sun, Pleiades, Sirius, Arcturus and Antares and, I guess, Draco the Dragon—the Hesperides cluster. It is all held together by magnetic and electric balance. It is incredibly strong and fast. It works on a huge scale, as does the bio-electrical systems of our own bodies, our nervous system and our thoughts. This kinetic force is what I term pulsar beam energy, it is these energy vortices that have malfunctioned because of elemental mineral overloads. Your friends are swept around by this force and the rest of the company is heading into that and we don’t understand it but the ancient cultures did. That is why their myths and legends may hold a key to understanding. There is really nothing new that wasn’t old first. All creation is the result of thought and design. If we think with it, we become powerful. It is no wonder the cartographers chose Atlas for a map company. Think of the Titan Atlas merely as a conduit or elastic band holding planetary motion. Now, we call it electromagnetic force and gravity. You are welcome for the two-minute class on history, myth, science, religion, and astronomy. Man has torn it into sections and dogma but it is just one thing—energy, matter, and design.”
“Thanks, I guess. How does knowing your two-minute theology lesson help us know these FEMA guns will really fibrillate your...pulsar...uh, force thing?” asked the frustrated student.
“Just the evidence that they already did shut it down—at the Golden Circle generator, twice.”
“But this is bigger, at a lot of places. What will it do, exactly?” persisted Katrina.
“I don’t know the capabilities of the hydrogen cannon. I don’t think it will hurt anyone unless trained directly on them. It will disrupt the molecular structure enough to jam or break up the synthesis of wave pattern,” guessed Max. “It is possible the guns could be overpowered but, if Ho and the man that invented the things think they are strong enough, we have to trust that.
You call it faith. Luke and his missionary companion delighted me with trying to share the faith—they called it ‘the pure and absolute knowledge of something unseen”. That is just about everything, including many things for which we use our five senses. Love and trust, Katrina, are synonyms for faith, the condition that lets a kid jump off a table, expecting you to catch...”
“Not the same thing.”
“Exactly the same...we expect it, without fear, nothing wavering, and that is the faith Luke tried to teach me a few years ago. It’s led us this far. We can’t see it or touch it but it is there.”
Katrina almost reverted to bad Kat. “Don’t try to lecture me about faith. I have studied The Lectures on Faith; faith is about religious belief, not this.”
“Everything is about faith, your next breath, Chloe taking care of Maddie, or your mother feeding your son, Ho finding his friend Mother Lode or God holding Lucas in his hand.” The kahuna stared at Katrina, as the realization washed over her he was telling her a real truth, the man who didn’t believe their religion was schooling her about faith. Then he lowered the boom on her. “Refute this, if you dare, faith and doubt cannot exist in the heart or mind at the same time.” He took her gently by the shoulders and drew her to his chest. Whispering into her hair, Max continued, “Let go and let God remove your doubts, young lady, and, with faith, let’s help do this. Do not frustrate this moment with anxiety about Luke or your children.” He then surprised her by kissing her forehead, directly on the third eye and kept his lips pressed there for almost a minute. She didn’t dare say a word, struggle in protest or anything. As he pulled away, the most remarkable calm and clarity settled on her. She knew he was in tune with some great power, a power about which she had only dreamed and talked.
The moment was interrupted by a computer bell. A picture of Mother Lode’s scruffy face and unkempt appearance loomed on the huge monitor in the conference room.
“I’m standing at the site you called Eniwetok,” Wade Tucker announced.