Chapter 79
The thick fog that rolled over the grass and around the trees in a particular clearing in the woods on Eden’s edge was disturbed by a large brown-skinned man wearing a baseball cap pulled down low over his brow, protecting his identity from distant eyes. The man knelt to investigate a patch of mushrooms growing on the side of a massive elder oak tree that dominated the area. He thought he had spied a glint of metal reflecting the moonlight; hopefully, a clue to the death of his old friend. He picked up the remnant of steel the size of a nickel and stood up, straightening his back. Curious. It looked like the tip of a broken blade. Running his thumb along the jagged edge of an apparent break, Weapon Spectre considered using his meta ability to divine more information. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind and soul to connect with the shard’s past, but there was no answer to his call. Weapon Spectre had never attempted to use his powers on a mere piece of a weapon before, so he figured he either needed to reforge the entire blade, or its heretofore wielder was still counted amongst the living.
He walked over to the stream that trickled past the oak grove and dipped the small metal shard into the gentle current, washing away the dried mud from its surface. The chirping of the crickets and hooting of the owls harmonized with the sounds of wind and water rushing, creating a familiar symphony of the forest after dark. It was a symphony he had grown oh so used to from his years of living off the grid; from traveling through the backwoods of Russia, through the mountains of New Zealand, through the volcanic wastelands of Iceland, and even through the forboding tundra of Antarctica. Each terrain had its own soundtrack, but they all had the same thing in common: an absence of human contamination.
“Hello, stranger,” Ariella greeted her Agent 11 as she stepped out of the bark of the giant oak at the site of Eclipse’s death. “How’d your mission turn out? Is this a homecoming or a hiatus?”
“Hold up,” he stood, looked around, and pulled a small device from one of the utility pockets in the bandolier that crisscrossed his torso under a tactical jacket. He clicked the device twice and then put up a finger to stall Ariella for just another minute as he flipped a small switch to activate a module on the gauntlet he wore on his left hand. He raised the gauntlet above his head, and a pulse of energy shot from his palm and dissipated into the air.
Ariella looked at him with sarcastic pity. “You know you could have just asked if it was safe to speak freely, Tom. Aside from what you and I are carrying on our persons, I don't sense anything man-made for over a mile. We are safe from eavesdropping ears and prying eyes.”
“Well, then. Bully for you and your little tricks of nature. As for my most recent mission, it ain’t goin’ great.” He approached his handler and sat down on a fallen log to make himself comfortable for their debrief. “Obviously, Sarah was the easiest to find. She wanted to stay off The Council’s radar but was happy and eager to send her daughter to help us. How is Athena working out, by the way?”
“Great! She is taking the kid under her wing. At first, I thought she would help most as a sort of bodyguard for him within The Spire, but Joel has been quite adept at making friends who seem willing to look out for him. So, instead, I’ve tasked her with training him to use his powers more effectively while maintaining his secret. I’ve found it harder than expected to get private time.”
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“Well, that’s good. As for the bigger picture, we can count on The Diplomat to back us once we have secured Eclipse’s seat for our side of the ledger. The news isn’t so good when it comes to the rest of the previous ’yes’ votes. Aurora is still missing, but I’ve run down a lot of the apparently false rumors. Next step is to see if there is anything to the whispers that she and Glacia are somewhere in Canada or Alaska... If either of those two psychos are still alive, that is. Solarized is still recharging up there, “ he pointed into space, “I know he’s not technically on The Council anymore, but I think we can both agree it would be nice to have his muscle on our side of the fight, even if he has no actual vote with which to show his support.” He sighed. The nearly decade-long operation had been wearing on him for a while now. “You know, even if that kid wins and The Show doesn’t pull some crap to keep him out of our elite little club, we’re still two votes short of the tie that would allow you to act as tiebreaker.”
“True.” She thought about how The Show had defected the last time The Council held a vote, thereby rejecting Eclipse’s world-changing proposal and sending those who had voted “yes” underground. “But there are some unknowns now with Aurora, Flint, and Glacia. Time may have shifted everyone’s priorities. We simply don’t know what could potentially happen.”
“I don’t think it would be smart to call a vote without knowing the outcome. Hell, I don’t think we can convince our people to return in the first place if we can’t guarantee a victory.” In fact, Weapon Spectre knew that they couldn’t.
“We just need a tie. And if that fails, there may be some way we can finish what Eclipse started even without approval.”
That was a shocking proposition. Even though Weapon Spectre knew they were safe from observation, he looked around frantically to ensure that the coast was clear. “Sentry! That sounds a whole lot like treason. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you suggest anything so heretical. Or outright mutinous.”
Ariella nodded sorrowfully and fed a tiny chunk of french fry from her pocket to a similarly tiny field mouse perched on her right shoulder. “Things change.”
As she spoke the words, Weapon Spectre knew they both felt similar, if not identical, thoughts. Standing on the same grass that had absorbed the lifeblood of their friend and idol, he couldn’t help but appreciate the grim reality of her response. Things had indeed changed. It was as if the world he was once helping to shape, a world of opportunity, safety, and equality, had been turned on its head during the decade of his exile.
He slowly got off the log and began pacing around the clearing, thumbing the small piece of metal he had found nestled in the mushrooms and grass before Ariella had arrived, thinking about what may have happened that night a few months ago. Why had Eclipse been here in the woods that night? What was important about the timing of the murder? Who might have joined him that night? Were they invited, or did they surprise him? Of all these questions, he was sure that Ariella could answer one. “Why was Eclipse specifically here that night? Every time I have tried to ask you, you change the subject, which tells me you know something.”
Ariella avoided making eye contact and ran her fingers through her hair, sadness in her expression, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I don’t know for sure. I have my suspicions, but they need to remain private for now. I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But, if I’m wrong, just speaking my theory could open Pandora’s box and cause even more problems for us.”
“And if you’re right?” Weapon Spectre understood her rationale for withholding, as frustrating as it was for him. His faith in her was absolute. He appreciated when something was on a “need to know” and trusted that Ariella would clue him in if she needed him to know. He thought about everything they had already set in motion and how all of the dominoes would have to fall perfectly for them to succeed. There was one domino, though, that he was eager to place in line. He smiled, sniggered, and shook his head, “What do you think about me maybe retaking my seat and joining our good friends on The Council?”
Ariella smiled. “Great minds… I was just thinking that same thing. And when will they be made aware of this new development?”
“You know, I still need to tend to one or two small things before I make it official. But I think by the end of the week, the world will be made aware that The Armory is finally back in Eden.”