The Prometheus Effect (21 page)

“
Joshua, I'm calling you because your line was on a list of recently dialled numbers...it's very important that you tell me your full name and what you do before I can carry on with this conversation.”

Joshua was more than intrigued and despite his best intentions to remain steadfast, he did not see why it would hurt to play the game.

“
OK...this all seems highly irregular and normally I wouldn’t reveal personal details over the phone to a complete stranger who sounds like someone from a Hitchcock movie but...my names Joshua Regan and I’m a journalist.”

Another silence ensued and Joshua wondered if this was a wind up.

“
Thank you for being honest with me Joshua. Please understand that I want to be more honest with you but under the circumstances I cannot. I want to know what circumstances took place in order for a you to receive a phone call from Florida, USA on November second this year?”

Joshua furrowed his brow.

“
Florida? I have relations there, my half sister and her family.”

“
What is her name?”

This was all getting rather creepy and Joshua was starting to feel his stomach tighten.

“
Listen mate, this isn’t funny, if some things happened to Jill I want to know about it right now!”

There was yet another painful silence, longer than the others.

“
Can I can confirm that Jill Niemechek is your half sister?”

“
Yes. What's happened for God's sake?”

“
I cannot tell you...I must be very brief, they are monitoring phone calls and have very little time.”

Joshua's heart began to race, there were sinister overtones that he did not like but he had the forethought to start jotting notes down on his pad next to the telephone base.

“
OK, go on.”

“
You received a phone call on the second, tell me what it was about?”

“
Err...it was Paul, Jill's husband which was I guess a little unusual in itself as we don't really talk a lot, maybe the odd internet chat and Christmas card...”

“
Go on...”

“
Well, I could tell he was a bit stressed, he works for NASA, he's a clever guy. He made some small talk and then made a big thing about sending me a Christmas present this year which like I said is kind of unusual. You see, I don't know Jill very well, she moved to the States when we were barely out of school, I've only ever met Paul once and that was at least ten years ago when I went on a holiday to Florida with my ex...”

The caller interrupted Joshua in full flow, his voice agitated.

“
OK, thanks Joshua, your being a great help to me but I tell you what I need you to do. I need to know what Paul sent you?
”

“
Err...nothing. I never got anything.”

“
Aww, come on man, this is important!”

“
No, really, I haven’t received any international post. I mean I guess it's conceivable that it was in the mail when the shit hit the fan and it's still in some sorting office somewhere?”

“
Joshua, are you listening to me because what I’m about to tell you is important. Go to the mail office and find the parcel. Don't go to work, don't take a bath and don't stop to chat to your neighbour, go to the mail office right now and find that parcel. I'll call you at the same time tomorrow on this number. I can't tell you how important it is that you find that fucking parcel. The life of your sister depends on it and my life also. This is not some kind of a joke or prank call, go now and find the parcel.”

The line went dead and the familiar beeps that indicated that the call had ended rang out from the phone handset which was shaking in Joshua's hand. At that precise moment, a large shadow was cast over Joshua's living room and the red sun was blotted out by a large square box van pulling up outside. Joshua ran his fingers through his dark hair, his head shook from side to side as he tried to calculate his next actions. Pacing out to the hall way, he had already began to speak as he opened the door to the bulky figure which stood ready to knock on his front door.

“
Jesus, I'm so sorry guys, something really important has come up and I'm going to have to...” Joshua stopped in his tracks when he realised the van was not the large green removal truck he had ordered but the bright red hue of Royal Mail vehicle.

“
Oh, err...sorry about this but obviously post has been delayed and it's taken us a couple of weeks to sort this lot out.” The postman clutched a handful of parcels and letters bound by thick red elastic bands. Joshua carefully took the load, his hands visibly shaking causing the driver to look at him suspiciously.

“
Thanks.” Joshua said breathing in and out deeply.

“
Yeah, no bother.” The postman said as he turned away raising his eyebrows.

Joshua slowly walked back into his living room and snapped the feeble elastic band with his impatient fingers. Letters including the usual advertising detritus fell to the carpet revealing one larger parcel of note as the familiar Airmail sticker was seen to be stuck to its face. Joshua sat in the centre of his empty room and studied the exterior of the flat, rectangular package, took a gulp of air then carefully began to tear the brown paper.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Joshua had slept poorly that night. Not only was his bed in pieces waiting for the removal van the day before, but the anxiety of waiting for the phone to once again ring was playing on his mind. After unwrapping the parcel, he had tried to call back the number of the unknown caller but it rang unanswered. More disturbingly, when Joshua consulted his Filofax, he realised that the number was in fact Jill's land-line from her home in Orlando. The ambiguous nature of the package was a mystery in itself and Joshua spent many hours studying it in great detail, wondering what possible meaning it had.

Half past ten came and went, the caller was late. Joshua hoped that this was not some crazy wind up but how could it be? The caller was far to sincere and sinister to have been false. Joshua just hoped that nothing untoward had happened to him as it was clear that he was in some peril by the urgency displayed in his voice. When the shattering of the silence came, Joshua picked up the handset before the end of the first ring. He almost dropped the shiny plastic phone as the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

“
Hello?”

Joshua's voice was wobbly and he cough after his greeting trying to compose himself.

“
Hello Joshua, did you retrieve the parcel?”

The callers voice was smooth and calm which helped Joshua a little.

“
Yes. Yes, I did, I have it here.”

“
That's real good Joshua, thank you. Now, tell me what it is.”

“
OK. Well, it's a book, some old poetry book by Shelley. It's pretty ancient, the cover is falling to pieces, I think it must have been printed in the fifties looking at the state of it.”

Joshua thumbed through the thin volume which he had studied carefully and read cover to cover the night before.

“
A book, that's interesting. Anything else?”

The American seemed underwhelmed with the discovery.

“
No, nothing else in the package, not even a note to go with it. I've been taking a look at the book and there are some things which are kind of unusual.”

“
Go on.”

“
Well first of all, I'm not really into poetry. Novels yes, a bit of classic literature but poetry? No. So I guess it's kind of odd that Paul should send me something like this. Secondly, there are paragraphs that have been underlined in pencil.”

“
That's more interesting, can you read them out to me?”

“
Look, before we do this, can you let me know what's going on yet? I don't know who you are and it's really disturbing that you know Jill and are calling me from her house?”

“
Joshua, I'm not calling from her house and no, I cannot tell you what is going on yet. You're a journalist right? What do you do? Sports? Local newspaper?”

“
No, I’m an investigative journalist working for one of the top Fleet Street dailies.”

“
Really? That's doubly interesting. Seems to me someone in trouble might call on you for help at some point, you're obviously a guy in a position of influence?”

“
I guess so, maybe not so much now, the government have complete control over what we publish right now.”

“
OK, well I guess that's to be expected. Now, Joshua, if you don't mind, let's get back to the quotations highlighted in the text.”

“
OK. I don't see the relevance, if they are some kind of a message then it's pretty cryptic.”

“
Thank you, now if you don't mind read the first passage.”

Joshua could tell the caller was getting a little cranky and so he opened the page which had its corner turned over to mark the place and began to read in his best Queen's English.

“
By such dread words from Earth to Heaven, my still realm was never riven, when its wound was closed, there stood darkness o'er the day like blood
.”

Joshua felt pretty daft reading the lines, it was as if he were back at school once again reading in front of the class. A silence greeted the prose and the caller could almost be heard to be scribbling down the lines as he recalled them.

“
OK Joshua, well read. Now, is there another one?”

Joshua chuckled at the callers dry sense of humour as he flicked to the next section.

“
Suddenly fierce confusion fell from heaven among them. There was strife, deceit, and fear. Tyrants rushed in, and did divide the spoils.
This was the shadow of the truth I saw.”

Again there was a period of quiet and Joshua could hear the caller cough hoarsely, he did not sound in the best of health.

“
Do you have any idea what it means?” Joshua asked with optimism.

“
I mean I’ve been going over and over the words in my head all night. 'Darkness over the day, like blood'. That's pretty current wouldn’t you say? The second paragraph talks about 'fear and confusion from the heavens, deceit and fear. Tyrants rushing in to divide the spoils' etcetera, all very profound stuff!”

The phone line was quiet, it was almost as if Joshua could hear the caller thinking things over in his head. Since Joshua was not in possession of the facts, he could only guess what relevance this had to anything.

“
OK Joshua. That's brilliant work. It's starting to make some kind of sense to me but like you said it's kind of cryptic for Paul. It's not his usual style although he was a clever bastard.”

Joshua was also clever and quickly picked up on the callers use of the past tense.

“
What do you mean, 'was'? Is Paul alright?”

“
Joshua, as I said to you yesterday, I don't have a lot of time, I know it's harsh on you to leave you so cold and I promise I will contact you again and explain everything, but firstly I have to find a secure method of communication and that's gonna be hard. Just one more thing. What's the name of the poetry book?”

Joshua was intensely frustrated with the callers game. He could sense something was terribly wrong but he did believe the American when he said he would put him straight. Trust was something in short supply in the current climate.

“
OK. I accept that things are difficult for you. Let me help though, maybe there is something I can do from here, I have contacts.”