James Acton 01 - The Protocol (32 page)

“Thank you, miss, we will if we have time,” said Reading, cutting off the speech. He rolled up the window and waved to the old lady who slowly made her way around the front of the car. “You should visit the new church too, it has some beautiful relics inside!” Reading smiled and waved again as she moved to the next occupied car and repeated her speech. He tossed the pamphlet into the backseat where Laura was dozing on Acton’s shoulder.
I’ll bet those two will be bumpin’ uglies before this day is through.
Reading laughed out loud and the two backseat passengers woke out of their stupor.

“What?” asked Acton. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, sorry. Just a mental image.”

“What’s this?” asked Laura as she saw the flyer that had landed beside her on the seat.

“Oh, just some old lady handing out tourist flyers.”

“Did you look at it?”

“No, I….” Reading reached back and grabbed it from Laura’s hands. He opened it up and saw a map of the new cathedral with an X marked in one of the confessionals and a time. Reading looked at his watch.
Five minutes from now.
“Shite!”

He put the car in reverse, then squealed out of the parking lot, gunning the engine toward the cathedral spires just down the road. It whined for a moment before it finally took off.
Definitely not a Porsche.

“What’s going on?” asked Acton.

“Just trying to keep an appointment.” Reading guided the car through traffic and three minutes later was at the church. They all jumped out and ran inside. Reading raced down the center aisle trying to remember the order of the sign he was supposed to do, as it had been at least ten years since he had set foot in a church.
Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet, Watch!
Elated, he ran up to the altar, did a quick sign then ran toward the confessional marked on the map.

Acton and Laura followed behind him, still confused. When they reached the confessional Reading looked at his watch. “We’re on time,” he said breathlessly. “Okay, Professor, this is your show.” He opened the door to the confessional and waved Acton in.

Acton was still puzzled, but when Reading pushed him, he realized this must be where the Triarii wanted to meet them. Reading closed the door behind him. Acton looked around and knelt down. The window separating the two halves of the confessional opened, revealing a screen. He could barely make out who was on the other side.

“Blessed are those who confess their sins,” said the deep voice. “Confess your sins to God and all shall be forgiven.”

Acton shifted awkwardly, suddenly not sure if he was in the right place. “Umm, sorry, Father, but I’m not Catholic so I’ve never done this before.”

“If you are not Catholic, my son, then I cannot pardon your sins, however I can still listen,” replied the voice. Acton was at a loss as to what to say. Finally he decided to hell with it.
Well, maybe not hell.

“Are you from the Triarii?”

“And what if I were?”

“Then I have something for you.”

“Then leave it for me and I will take it.”

“I’ll need proof before I leave it.”

“Very well.” Acton heard shuffling on the other side as the priest held a wrist up to the screen to show him the Triarii tattoo. “Is this enough proof for you, my son?”

“Yes it is. Tell me one more thing though before I leave.”

“Of course.”

“Are you really a priest?”

“Of course I am,” replied the voice. “It would be sacrilege to pretend to be a priest in the house of God.”

“But I thought you guys believed in the ancient Roman gods?”

There was a deep chuckle on the other side of the partition. “We all have to believe in something, but we do not all have to believe in the same thing.” With that, he closed the screen. Acton placed the bag in the corner and opened the door to the confessional. He stepped out and walked toward Reading and Laura waiting a few paces away.

“What happened?” asked Laura.

“The priest was Triarii, he told me to leave the skull there so I did.”

“You just left it there?” said Reading, clearly not pleased. He walked to the confessional and opened the door. Acton’s bag was gone. Reading shook his head. “How can we be sure it was the Triarii?”

“He showed me his tattoo. And besides, there was something in his voice that just made me believe him.” Acton jumped as his Blackberry vibrated. Smiling sheepishly at the others, he answered it.

“Hello?”

“Thank you for returning the item,” said the voice. Acton motioned to the others to move closer as he put it on speaker.

“You’re welcome. How can we be sure this is over?”

“Have you not listened to the news this morning?”

“No, we haven’t had time. Why, what happened?”

“Your President is dead,” replied the voice. “You will have no one else after you.”

“The President is dead?” Acton was stunned. “How?”

“We had an agent on the inside that followed his orders, even though it resulted in his death,” replied the voice. “Thank you, Professor Acton, the Triarii are in your debt.” The line went dead.

“It’s over,” Acton breathed, still not sure whether or not to believe it.

“It’s over!” exclaimed Laura excitedly as she jumped up and down and gave Reading a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then hugged Acton and kissed him on the cheek too.

“It’s over!” he shouted at the ceiling, the immense pressure of the past week lifting off his shoulders. He looked down at Laura who was still in his arms. Their eyes met and he leaned in slowly, still uncertain. When he saw her close her eyes, he bent down and kissed her. All of the day’s events melted away as they lost themselves in each other’s embrace. Acton’s heart pounded in excitement instead of the near constant fear he had felt for days.

Laura’s knees almost gave out as she enjoyed the excitement of a first kiss. She hadn’t felt this way since she was a schoolgirl. The butterflies in her stomach made her both nervous and excited at once. She hoped the feeling would never end.

Reading watched the two of them for a moment then looked around. “Ah, kids, we’re in a church.” There was no response. “I’ll be in the car.” Reading walked away shaking his head and smiling. His phone vibrated with a text message:

“STATE DEPARTMENT AGENTS STILL WAITING IN YOUR OFFICE.”

He laughed.

London, England

Several members of the Crime Scene Unit were sifting through the wreckage of the helicopter, searching for the body of the pilot, when one of them came across a charred metal box. Reaching down, he carefully opened it. Inside was a skull made of crystal. He closed the box then casually walked over to his vehicle. Another man approached him and they both climbed in the back.

Inside, the man opened the case and carefully handed the skull to the other, who placed it into a bag and exited the vehicle. The investigator closed the case and returned to where he had found it. As he bent over to put it back on the ground his watch slipped down his wrist, revealing the Triarii tattoo.

Paris, France

Henri swept the hallway in front of the storage room, then swiped his pass and backed into the room, pulling his cart behind him. Reaching under the cart, he pulled out a package then casually strolled to the last row of shelves. Opening the package, he carefully unwrapped its contents. He switched the fake skull with the real one from his cart and resealed the box, placing it on the shelf. Then, wrapping up the fake, he put it under his cart, exited the room, and continued to push his cart down the hallway, whistling.

The Himalayas, Nepal

Chen pushed open the large doors of the temple and entered the main hallway. He quietly approached his master and knelt beside him.

“You have returned, my son,” said the Lama.

“Yes, Master.”

“And your destiny?”

“It has been fulfilled.”

“Very good. Let us pray.”

A sense of peace and serenity swept over his body at the completion of his task.

Salem, Virginia

Madely and Johnson knocked on the door of the cute Victorian style house. They heard rustling inside then footsteps as the occupant crossed the hardwood floors to the door. The locks unlatched and the door opened.

“Ahh, my shadows!” the old lady said. “Please, come in.” She motioned for them to come in then closed the door behind them.

“Ma’am,” said Madely holding out a carefully wrapped package. “It is with great pleasure that I return this to you.”

“Everything is fine now?” she asked as she took the package.

“Yes, ma’am, everything is fine.”

“That’s good,” said the little old lady. “Now, you must join me for tea.”

“Of course, ma’am,” said Madely, smiling.

Meanwhile, in the desert of Saudi Arabia, Faisal awoke to find the skull back on its shelf, and praised Allah. In Moscow, Alexander returned the skull to its cold, dark hiding place, while in Beijing, Huang again switched the skulls in his President’s office. And in the desert of southern Texas, Leroy awoke to find his safe opened yet again, but with his precious skull returned. He fell to his knees and thanked the Crystal gods.

EPILOGUE

It had been six months since Acton had fled the camp. As he surveyed it now he could hardly believe what he saw. It was a bustle of activity as new students continued the work of his previous class. His cabin still stood where it had always been, and new tents created a circle around the center of the camp. The gridlines had been laid out again and excavation continued, this time with twice as many people.

Laura squeezed his hand. He looked at her and smiled, then leaned in to kiss her. He had her to thank for this as she was the one funding the new excavation. At first when she suggested it as a way of finding closure, he had thought she was crazy, but after mulling it over for several weeks, he had decided to take her up on her offer on the condition she accompany him. “That was always my intention, my dear,” she had said.

Now, with students from both his university and hers, they were continuing the work abruptly cut off months before. A cross stood at the site where the previous students had been massacred and although he didn’t know who did it, each morning fresh flowers were placed there in remembrance. He occasionally still wept over the losses suffered, but since he had arrived here a couple of days earlier, his spirits had lifted. He knew this is what his students would have wanted.

The chaos that had ensued after the death of the President and the resulting congressional investigation that had linked him to the murders and the events in London had caused an international uproar. It had also meant the press hounded him and Laura. They had refused all interviews, but had to testify in both Washington and London. Neither made any mention of the skull or the Triarii. They simply denied any knowledge of why they had been targeted by a madman.

Of course, conspiracy theories had abounded, and websites around the world speculated on what truly happened, but eventually the press tired of it and moved on to their romantic relationship. This was another reason they had decided returning to the Andes might be a good idea.

And the Triarii? They hadn’t heard a word from them since.

And for that they were eternally grateful.

THE END

Thank You!

Thank you for choosing and reading my book. If you enjoyed it, I would be grateful if you could write a review and post it on Amazon.com and / or Amazon.co.uk.

James Acton returns in Brass Monkey, now available everywhere.

About the Author

J. Robert Kennedy wrote his first story when he was five.

Everyone in it died.

Things didn't get much better from there. After horrifying his teachers in creative writing classes he took an extended hiatus, returning to writing on a whim, haunted by the image of a woman standing in tall grass, the blades streaming through her fingers. The result was a short story,
Does It Matter?
, written in a single evening.