Something Deceived

  “Yes, I’m afraid she is,” said the General as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. “And you won’t like what I have to tell you next. Whiskey?”

  “No thanks,” said Ian.

  “Aaliyah’s assignment was to get close to you, find out what you know and how likely you were to join the Council. If you joined the others would follow. She was placed at that publishing agency with the sole purpose of getting you an interview based on one of your incomplete manuscripts.

  “Unfortunately, Mister Swardt showed up first, so Aaliyah made the best of a bad situation and decided to learn what she could about you from him on their date. That’s when she discovered there would be no getting close to you romantically as you had already met a girl and slept with her,”

  “Why would me having sex with Danny stop her?”

  “Mister Erasmus, we know you better than you think. Apart from the Doctor, Sarah was the only other woman you slept with. What, didn’t think we knew that?”

  “It’s not exactly public knowledge,” said Ian.

  “No, it isn’t, and it was difficult to determine if it was true or not. In any case, Aaliyah would not get close to you romantically but she could still find out what your views were if she dated Mister Swardt, which she did,”

  “And she fell for him?”

  “No, Mister Erasmus, this isn’t some Hollywood movie filled with clichés. This is real life. Aaliyah never loved him. She made all the right noises and all the right motions, but it was a lie.

  “Even her abduction was a lie. Connor and Abigail were supposed to make a scene and kidnap her so that the neighbours would call the police. Ed would try to find her, but he never would. We would make sure of it. Unfortunately, Ed showed up so Connor and Abigail improvised,”

  “Then the Oracle warned me about the Source and the Black Arrow,”

  “Yes, but he and the Council made the same mistake. They saw only what they wanted to see and believed Mister Swardt to be the Black Arrow,”

  “Ed is the Black Arrow,”

  “No, even that was a lie. Sure, he made the arrows, he had the blackouts and the black crystal seems to have some adverse effect on him compared to the red crystals on the Oracle, but he never fired those arrows at the people you saw killed with them. That was Aaliyah,”

  “Impossible,”

  “Ask your friend if he can remember firing the arrows at those you saw killed, he will not be able to answer you truthfully,”

  “He blacked-out, the crystal was in control,”

  “No, he was never there,”

            They sat in silence for a while as Ian tried to comprehend what he had just been told. Everything that they had been trying to do the past few weeks meant nothing now.

  “Then he did hear her,” said Ian, “And they no longer have a hold on us,”

  “No, in truth they never did,”

  “It’s still going to kill Ed when I tell him, though,”

            Devon made his way to the airports exit. He didn’t have a suitcase, just his carry-on luggage. Agents always travelled light. Before he made it to the doors, he was accosted by a bunch of burly looking men in black suits.

  “Special Agent Drotsky, if you would follow us,” said one of the men in a Texan accent.

  “Do I have a choice?” he said irritated.

            They led him to a black limousine parked outside. He was asked to get into the back, which he did, and two of the men got in on either side of him.

            It was dark inside the limo and it smelled of leather. Across from Devon and the two agents sat a young woman dressed in a black skirt and white blouse. She had wavy red hair and eyes that reminded Devon of someone, but he had no idea who.

  “Special Agent, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time,”

  “Eleven years is a long time to hold a grudge,” he said as he realised they were CIA.

  “For some, but the CIA never forgets. Besides, as I see it you should be thanking us, it could have been the FBI waiting for you,”

  “True. So, next stop Guan Tam?”

  “No, Special Agent, we’ve got a more useful place for you to go to. Somewhere your skills won’t be squandered,”

  “Oh goodie, Russia, I hear it’s piss cold there this time of the year,” said Devon.

            JR was chasing after the girl through the forest on the Stronghold grounds. He could see why they called her the Sapling. She was slender and lithe and moved among the trees as if they were her own. On occasion JR would lose sight of her and come to a halt, only to be descended on from above.

            It was a different kind of training that she offered, he not only had to fend her off with steel, but he had to be perceptive of his environment and his movements as well.

            After an hour of chasing her, and twenty minutes of trying to find her and suspecting an ambush, JR reached a lake. The water was peaceful and there were a few swans on its surface.

            He took a deep breath and walked to the shore where he found a bolder he would sit on. He sat staring at the water and the swans, placing the blade over his lap. That’s when he heard the footsteps, soft and muffled but he heard them.

            JR jumped to his feet and tried to find the source, he spun on the sport but saw nothing. Then he heard the Sapling whoop. JR turned around and saw the woman in her naked glory dive from one of the limbs of an oak tree into the cool water. He stood in amazement as she resurfaced with only her head and shoulders above the water.

  “Come join me,” she called, “I promise I won’t peek,” she added with a sly smile.

            JR smiled wide as he threw the blunted sword on the ground and started to disrobe.

  “Mister Secretary,” said the young red head as she led Devon into the motel room.

  “Special Agent Drotsky, pleasure to meet you,” said the aged man.

  “Secretary of Defense,” said Devon and he shook the man’s hand.

  “I’m not going to beat around the bush, Special Agent, there’s a reason I had you dragged from the airport. The United States of America needs your help,”

  “I’m not American,”

  “Oh, no, you’re not. Your South African, and an ex Agency agent at that,” the man’s knowledge of him made Devon uneasy. “You’ve met Agent Evelyn,” said the Secretary as he gestured at the red head. “She’ll be your handler while you’re off on assignment,”

  “And where exactly will I be going?” asked Devon as he looked at the red head. He now had a familiar name to go with the familiar eyes but he still could not place it.

  “Dubai, of course. America is at war, and the world is our battle ground,”

  “Funny,” said Devon, “I’ve always felt that’s how all governments saw it,”

  “Commander,” greeted the CNet platform as Ian entered the manse.

  “Where’s Ed?”

  “The sparing room,”

  “Thanks,” said Ian as he set his course.

  “I have an update on Stronghold Romulus,” said the robot as he followed Ian. “I have managed to imprint and flash the VI that Commander Edward left in control there. Once I had control, I was able to assess the damages and I’ve already dispatched some of my drones there to assist in repairs,”

  “I doubt Ed will be happy with you flashing his VI,”

  “It was inferior, if anything he should thank me,”

  “People don’t always see it that way, CNet, remember we’re emotional not rational,”

  “I will attempt to consider that in the future,” said CNet and the robot turned up a hallway while Ian continued onward.

            He found Ed firing some practice shots with a crossbow. Ian would rather not have told him what the General had revealed while Ed was armed but he had little choice. Luckily Ed was a chilled person, mostly.

  “So, what do you make of it?” Ian asked as he finished his account.