Chapter 31

Chapter 30  (13+) Annie and Jack are dropped off. The Brotherhood visits a senator. #2040932 by Hyperiongate

Chapter 31

Lanier noted the caller I.D. before answering with “Yes, Sir.”

Colonel Lanier was not a man of masters. There were very few people anywhere that had the authority to tell him what he could and could not do. This lack of direction allowed him to wage his war on unexplained, yet threatening, phenomena without undue influence or bureaucratic hindrances. He did things that needed to be done; things that most people would just as soon be kept at arm’s length from. There was no “political correctness” to his assignment. Just the one job – Keep America Safe.

But he did have superiors, like the one on the telephone right now.

“Do you have him or not?” came the voice on the other end of the line.

“Suppose I do have him, are you certain you want to know?” Lanier responded.

“I’ll take that as a “yes.” Given that, here is what is going to happen. A man will be arriving at Nellis at 0900 hours. You are to turn your “subject” over to him. Your subject is to be subdued, physically. That is to say, I want him unconscious. Once the turnover is complete, your involvement with him is over. You still have your “artifact” to play with but I understand that it has lost some of its…luster. However, the subject known as JD11 shall fall off the end of your world, never again to be discussed. Am I being clear enough?”

“Understood,” came the colonel’s curt response.

Lanier hung up the telephone and immediately called up a file on his computer. Someone had pulled a very strong string and the colonel had an idea who; the Brotherhood. Everyone had strings that could be pulled with great effect…if the leverage was sufficient. He doubted very much that his superior had been directly contacted by them. It was more likely that he had been contacted by someone that was contacted by someone else. Somewhere along the line, the first string was pulled that eventually resulted in the call he’d just received. It was his job to know what made people do what they did. Understanding motivation and behavior allowed him to always stay one step ahead of the unexpected.

Now as he scrolled through the data on his “boss” Lanier was looking for a prime motivator. Who did the Brotherhood have their claws into with sufficient force as to allow someone to reach down and tap Colonel Lanier on the shoulder and say, “We’ll take it from here.”

After only a few minutes, he had his answer - Senator Haskell from Mississippi. He’d risen from obscurity over ten years ago and now sat as Co-Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. From there he had access to all the strings he would ever need.

Lanier sat looking at a non-disclosed Super PAC contributor list; one that supported every re-election Haskell had been though since he was first elected. There were hundreds of donors. A quick cross-check combined donors with common ownership and origin. The money came from all around the world with one common thread. All contributors had links to Americans for Success; a nice sounding front for the organization Lanier knew to be the Brotherhood.

So, Senator Hasskell worked for the Brotherhood and they wanted JD11.

The colonel sat back and considered his options. He could hand over JD11 and wipe his hands of the entire ordeal.

He sat quietly for a few minutes recalling his very recent experience with the young man.

They had stopped at the door to the cottage; JD11 not willing to go inside but urging the colonel to go in along.

The door opened to a one-room cabin, lit only by the small amount of light leaking in past the edges of ancient curtains hanging sloppily over the windows, one per wall.

There was no furniture save the dust-covered old wooden table and two chairs that sat in the middle of the room. An old man of so old he almost appeared mummified, sat on the far side of the table. He pulled back his hood which fell back across his neck is a cloud of dust. An outstretched arm tipped by an long gnarled finger, pointed to the other chair.

Lanier closed the door behind him. After taking a moment to get a feel for his situation, he walked forward and took the offered seat.

“Colonel Lanier…do you know who I am,” asked the man that was old beyond old.

“Yes,” said the colonel, “You are JD11…most precisely, you are the missing part of JD11.”

The old man nodded and let out a chuckle. His open mouth was a dark abyss, having lost of its teeth long, long ago.

“Ah, Colonel, my old friend. It is so nice to see you again.”

Lanier didn’t understand how he knew that was JD11 across the table from him. Nor did he know what “nice to see you again” meant. As far as he knew, this meeting was a first for both of them.

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage. Why don’t you bring me up to speed?” asked the colonel.

“Of course. Straight to the point as always,” said the old man. “First, don’t try to understand how what I am about to say can be true. Instead, listen to your intuition; something you are particularly adept at. If you do that, you will understand all that has happened…and all that must happen.”

“Let’s begin with this – you and I have met before; right here in this very room under nearly identical conditions. We have met countless times; each subtly different from the time before. You don’t remember any of those times because in this realm of existence, memory detracts from the experience of life. So we meet, we talk…and then you start to remember.”

Lanier shook off the tendency to think this was all nonsense from an old man. Never mind that he knew he was really sitting with JD11 at Nellis. The more he strove to believe, the more familiar things became. He could feel a familiarity with both the man and the cabin, although he had no specific memory of either.

“Why? Forget the “how.” Why are we meeting over and over again?” he asked.

“That’s the easiest of questions to answer,” said the old man. “You are here because at some point in your existence, you chose to be here. However, I know that is not what you are after. You want to know why you are here as it relates, not to the greater experience but how it relates to this moment. This is also another easy one. You are here to help JD11. You are here to help me deliver a message that must be delivered.”

“What message? Delivered to who? Why is this so important?”

“The message is not yours to know; at least not yet. As far as to who it is for, it is for all of mankind. And finally, it is important because failure to deliver it means that you and I will meet here again and again and again.”

“I don’t understand,” said Lanier.

“That is precisely why the message is important. No one understands and thus no one knows how to break the cycle that you are stuck in; a cycle that does not end well for mankind. It’s important because failure means the premature ending of all that is.”

“Are you saying the end of the Earth?” asked the colonel, feeling himself physically gearing up for a threat.

“The end of the Earth, almost certainly but that is insignificant. Imagine a book with and infinite number of chapters in it. Each, an adventure to be savored. You are stuck in the first part of the first chapter of that book. Without help, you will never get to turn the page; to see what is next. That is why the message is important. The message is from the Universe and it’s meant to help you turn the page.”

The colonel felt that he not only understood what was being said, but that he recalled being told this before.

“That is why we’ve been here before, right? We have failed over and over again. Each failure dooms us to start the book over again. Each time we learn a little something more that helps us push a little farther into the book; a little closer to delivering the message. That is why I’m here with you right now, isn’t it. You need to pass along some “lessons learned” so I don’t make the same mistakes as before.”

The old man nodded and then said, “I see you are starting to remember. Now, sit back and listen for I have quite a tale to tell. Pay close attention because any lesson not learned is a mistake waiting to be made again.”

With that, the old man began to talk.