Location: The Kalapana family summer home.
Ailanian Standard Time: 2300 Hours.
“The enemy that once only used words…has now used weapons. Massive, deadly force has been utilized on Ailana by some Immoral, terrorist group. We have had problems and disagreements with our counter-culture before…but now…they have gone too far…and because of that…one of Ailana’s great daughters…is dead.”
His Aunt Ulu’s eulogy of Kara rang in Moke’s head as he sat on the cool sand, looking at the pitch blackness of the moonless night sky that sat over an unlit ocean. Looking into the darkness over the water was like looking into a void in one’s soul. He felt the blackness engulfing him, he felt it drowning him.
Moke hadn’t moved in hours, he didn’t want to. Behind him, about ten meters away, Audrey stood by waiting, trying as hard as she could to be a supportive friend. He knew she was there, and he purposely ignored her. In a way he liked the silent company, but he also wished she would leave. He felt ashamed, vulnerable, and weak.
Kara’s funeral had been a contemporary one and even though the flower arrangements were made in a traditional Kupano manner, there were no Kupano songs, no spirit honoring dances, and no traditional prayers. Moke had rejected his native religion and even though she had been a woman of the modern day, he was sure that his sister had been disappointed in him because of that decision.
Moke didn’t have the time to make the funeral arrangements. He let some of his relatives take care of those details. His family members had quarreled amongst themselves, wondering if such a high profile funeral would be better off in the public eye if the inclusion of traditional Ailanian culture was kept to a minimum.
“Those traditions and superstitions offer nothing but spectacle now. We are not savages anymore, Captain. We Kalapanas are descendants of royalty and must remain, looked up to.” His Aunt Ulu had said.
Moke made sure of one thing though. He made sure his mother was heavily medicated during the service, which took place in a large, non-denominational temple just outside of Polynea. The temple was ambiguous. Its structure was composed of sweeping walls, blue stained glass windows and large marble pillars. Thousands came to mourn the loss of an Ailanian princess.
Moke thought of the irony in it all while he stood in that oblique temple. He had been wearing a long, black coat and a pair of dark sunglasses to hide his weeping eyes. Kara would have wanted a very traditional funeral. Ailana’s Moralists would have been pleased to know that someone had changed her mind for her.
The media had been there. Cameras showed hundreds of pro-traditional activists weeping while wearing traditional costumes. These people sat in the back, while the people of government, who knew Kara’s family, sat in the front, wearing modern clothes and haircuts. Moke thought of that as ironic too - beings that there was currently a sharp division between Ailanians who demanded the modern world, and those who wished to retain, or return to a simpler, more traditional way of life. The contrast was fitting.
When the news cameras were pointed at Moke’s mother, millions of Ailanians watching from home, saw an old woman in a black dress and veiled hat, who had two young, female attendants with her, who helped her walk to her seat. She never cried once, she probably had no real clear idea of what was going on. Moke had spent that afternoon with her, held her hand, and let her mourn a bit. He then made sure her care-takers put her on a regular schedule of tranquilizers and anti-depressants. Moke knew these medications had allowed her to leave the mental institution and he knew that she would never allow anyone to put her back into any hospital ever again.
Moke cursed himself, “I’m making her take chemicals that will keep her from experiencing a much needed catharsis. But the emotions that she keeps inside her are like sleeping dragons, they could kill her…and I am running out of family.”
Five days had passed since what was left of Kara was cremated and laid to rest in a botanical cemetery just outside of the Sacred House Reservation, right beside the remains of her father.
“Moke,” He remembered how his mother said to him in a shallow, chattering voice. “I want to go there…I want to be…right there.” He winced as he remembered how she had pointed at the ground where they were burying the ashes. Moke felt the urge to weep, but swallowed it. Thinking of the funeral made him feel the blackness, and it made him realize that the hole in his soul was getting deeper.
Audrey sighed to herself as she looked at the back of Moke’s head. She had been standing right where the grass of the neatly manicured lawn, met the fine, white sand of the beach. Audrey often thought of the beach as being the color of a string of pearls. She often thought the sand felt like silk as it ran through her hands. But right now, Audrey was at a loss for words. Her thoughts were confused and jumbled, and she knew that if she was going to speak, she would have to choose her words very carefully. She went over the possible combinations of words in her mind for a few minutes and took long, deep breaths.
“Moke…there was nothing you could do…it’s not your fault.” Audrey thought to herself as her heartbeat was speeding up. “Oh Moke Kalapana…what is it about you? You are pompous. You are arrogant. You are stubborn. You are ill-tempered. And sometimes, you are downright mean. But there is just something about you that makes me weak. What is it that makes me want to go to the ends of the world for you? Why do I find myself worshipping the ground you walk on….and then cursing myself for it? Sometimes I wonder where my loyalty comes from…and I wonder if it will ever stop. Am I crazy? Why do I keep doing this?”
“So…Agent Winters,” Moke’s voice suddenly broke her concentration. “Do you have something you would like to tell me?”
“I’d think I’d better sit down first,” Audrey said dryly.
“Pull up some sand,” Moke said sarcastically.
Audrey felt just enough anger to make her feel temporarily unsympathetic. She narrowed her eyes, and frowned a bit. “I want to express my deepest sympathies…but Moke, I have to get to the point…we’re in a lot of trouble…”
“I know, Audrey…Malia talked to me this morning,” Moke’s voice was soft, but confident. “She told me about the charges that Wram Karamotzain wants to draw me up on.”
“Moke,” Audrey paused because she realized that her voice was trembling a bit. But her confidence quickly returned when she saw the moon coming out from behind a large, dark cloud. “I think we can beat them.”
“Of course we can…even if we can’t convict Glik and Semnor of anything ever again, we still have evidence that bribes, money laundering and extortion is occurring within the Ailanian government.” Moke realized that he needed to act in a more respectable manner. He tried to keep his emotions, which stemmed from his rage and his chauvinist upbringing, in check. “We have strong case going for us…but unfortunately, we have a minor problem at the moment…we have to get busy and start covering up the facts that would lead anyone to believe the accusations that we have been allowing mercenaries and terrorists to operate on this planet. We have bodies piling up all over Polynea. We need explanations as to why these street gangs are going to war. Things have gotten to out of hand lately. The CIA will surely be blamed for all this chaos that is happening. We need to start taking measures…that will ensure that the blame…stays off our backs for a little longer.”
“Moke,” Audrey said softly, her voice sounded more feminine. “I know you believe that we have a chance…that’s why I am willing to put my own neck out on the chopping block…”
“Audrey, I can’t ask you to do that…these charges, might actually stick…you could be severely penalized…please, Audrey, don’t forget what I told you a year ago…if you need to turn me in…and tell them what they want to hear in order to save yourself…don’t feel bad about it…just do it.”
“Moke,” Audrey said with a firm compassion. “I believe in the CIA’s new mission. We are supposed to be an agency that protects the people of this planet, and that includes protecting them from under-handed dealings that have been known to occur within the Ailanian government…I believe we have done a good job in doing that so far.”
“Audrey, the CIA is what the government wishes it to be.” Moke said in a soft, gloomy tone. “Wram Karamotzain is putting this pressure on us, because he wants us to prove that there was some sort of voter fraud involved in the election that Klunka lost. We really should be following that track…and he is also demanding that we find out who was responsible for that bombing at the stadium. We are now obligated to fight the sources of this chaos…we have to at least make it look as if we are not opposing the High Senate’s demands anymore…we need to find the members of The Evil.”
“Moke we’re working around the clock trying to find those people…but we can’t start investigating the voter fraud. If we do that, we will become counter-productive…we stand a chance of invalidating some of our case evidence because of conflict of interest problems…”
“Audrey, I said we’d make it LOOK as if we are not opposing their demands,” Moke smiled and sounded friendly. “We will proceed as we have originally planned, but proceed with caution. Christ, Audrey…you work for me…and I’m probably the guiltiest liar that has ever worked for the Ailanian government…”
“What do you mean by that?” Audrey asked in polite but demanding manner.
He chuckled light-heartedly and Audrey felt trapped. She didn’t want to talk about this right now.
She decided to change the subject. “Moke, Captain Harris will be here soon. Do we have enough targets now to justify the mission?”
Moke sighed. “Operation Shade will proceed as planned…even though I don’t like it…even though…I don’t approve of it.”
Audrey tried to smile as she listened to him. Moke felt a heavy feeling in his gut. “Things are different now Audrey. We have a whole new set of priorities to face. We have to catch, The Evil…I think they have broken into factions now, or maybe have formed sleeper cells. I really don’t know, but I know Jacob had given his co-conspirators orders to use violence as a solution. However, based on those phone calls Jack was getting, I believe there must be faction who refused to engage in violent activities. They must have broken away from the main group after Jacob gave his order to set that bomb off at the stadium…we’ll find those people…we’ll put pressure on them. We’ll make their minds numb if need be and crush their very souls if we have to…one of them will tell me who was responsible for my sister’s death.”
“Moke…what I meant was…” Audrey stammered as she found herself becoming worried. “Since Captain Harris will be here soon, I suggest you try to plan a way to make your peace with him…”
Moke turned a bit sour as he said, “Please, Agent Winters…let’s don’t talk about that…”
“No damn it!” Audrey whispered in a harsh voice, “Moke…I want to know what is going on. I want to know what is making you act this way…please tell me about your friend…why are you so afraid of him?”
“Go home, Audrey,” Moke’s soft voice pierced her like an arrow from the darkness. Audrey felt a bit stunned as she saw Moke stand up and brush the sand from his pants. The moon was at his back. His face was completely covered in shadows.
Feeling like she had crossed the line, Audrey stammered, “But…sir…” She bit her lip and thought to herself, “Why do I have this feeling that you are keeping something from me?”
“We’re going to have a long day tomorrow.” He said softly, sadly. He felt like a man on the edge of defeat as he thought, “there are things I cannot tell you, Audrey…my plan need to be kept secret for now…”
She saw the darkness around him as he began walking toward his mother’s house. Audrey felt her fingernails digging into her palms as she made her hands into tight, angry fists. Things were looking as bleak as they could possibly get.