Ages in Oblivion Thrown: Book One of the Sleep Trilogy (15 page)

The effect was striking, the girl beautiful.
Ordinarily, he’d have changed gears right into pursuit mode. Now,
Dmitry found he was ignoring the girl in favor of business.
Somehow, unconsciously he’d already promised himself that he
wouldn’t do anything that could hurt Maeve. The thought surprised
him a little. The devilish girl led them to their destination with
disinterested politeness, and with barely a blink of an eye, was
gone.

He looked around Mrs. Han’s parlor,
soaking in the atmosphere of floor mosaics, glossed wall panels,
and tapestries. Mrs. Han appeared from nowhere, standing in
diminutive regality as though she had been expecting them. A wave
of her small hand ushered them into a sitting room. It was a large,
atrium style room, allowing a view of the hallway and lobby
outside. Other people were in varied degrees of costume and makeup.
There was the show tonight, a production of
Faust
, which explained the air of wickedness
amongst the players.

“
What can I do for you, honored
guests?” The old woman spoke in a measured tone, while gauze and
veil fluttered in the background.

“
Well, first you can tell me where to
get tickets.” He threw a thumb in the direction of the actors.
“Then you can tell me who your new friends are.”

“
I have new arrivals all the time.
Perhaps if you were a little more specific, Major?”

“
Okay, if you want to play it like
that, the ones that we watched come into your place last night.
Look Mrs. Han, we turn a blind eye to most of what goes on here,
mostly because you help a lot of people. This might be
different.”

“
I can tell you some small thing about
them, perhaps. They did come seeking…aid.”

“
You must know that I wouldn’t come
asking questions if I thought it was as simple as two refugees
looking for asylum. We’ve not gotten any indications from your end
that you need help.”

“
Perhaps it is merely that they are a
special case.” The old woman was plainly going to root herself down
and not allow him to dislodge her.

“
Mrs. Han, I’m simply trying to do my
job. I know that I don’t have to remind you of what happens to
people who harbor criminals.” He leaned in close to her, and took
her tiny, birdlike hand in his much larger one. He was startled at
its warmth, but then, who knew what secrets, never mind power, lay
in it. His grasp of it did not lessen. “Surely you have heard about
the things going on around here.” He watched her
hopefully.

She smiled, and patted her free hand on his
cheek. He knew it was useless. The others with him snickered
softly, relishing the sight of the charm machine being halted dead
in his tracks.

“
You needn’t worry. I do admire your
concern and tenacity, but as you say, I have not yet sought help.”
Her dark eyes seared through the space between them, leaving him
with a distinct impression of what she had been as a young woman.
She was a woman of s sort he recognized.

“
Not yet. I wonder what you might mean
by that. However, there is also a matter of some individuals whose
welfare we are seeing to. I guess you could say that we’re giving
them asylum as well.” He took a breath, glanced at his team, and
dismissed them. They filed out of the room wordlessly. “Don’t
misunderstand me. We, as in the Colonel and myself, have to pay
attention to certain facts. Right now, that fact is that someone on
our station has been in communication with a group back on Earth
that we’d rather not see visiting our station…ever.” At last, her
smile faded into a mien of calm concern.

“I assure you, Major, that the two
guests who you seek have no ill intentions. A very old and
close…acquaintance of mine referred them. You must believe me when
I say that I have some personal experience with this group to which
you refer. My aim has always been to help those who oppose them.”
She watched Dmitry pointedly, willing him to understand. To her
relief, he nodded, and made to take his leave.

“You say you help people…perhaps we may be
calling on you for assistance soon.”

“Major, if I may, please?” She took his hand,
gently. “In life, we are always called upon to make difficult
decisions. You seem to be at that point; I would suggest patience
and careful consideration.” He took his hand back quietly and
rejoined his team in the theater lobby.

It was difficult to tell what Mrs.
Han knew and where her loyalties might truly lie. His gut told him
that he could trust her, in spite of the reputation she carried.
There was nothing else to do but continue to proceed with caution.
He could only hope that Hawke’s last messages, in and outbound,
would shed a bit more light on what had gone wrong.

On their way out, a young man
barreled through the front door. A traffic jam ensued, nearly
taking Dmitry off his feet in the process. He grabbed the heedless
stranger’s shoulders to keep him from caroming off his own body. At
the same time, he had the strangest sensation that they shared some
unknown common ground.

A tattered book wasn’t as lucky;
it skittered across the floor, shedding loose papers behind it. Dem
went to assist in its retrieval. The other man cut him off,
scooping up everything in one sweeping movement.

“
Thanks, I’m good though. And lucky
for both of us, I’m secure enough in my manhood to not be bothered
by you feeling me up.” He was grinning, while Dem recognized at the
same time a dangerous light in the man’s frank stare.

“
Sure, no problem. Maybe just try
walking with your head up next time.” A quick turn on the heel of
that remark left him with the last word, and a growing feeling of
discomfort. He was put ill at ease by whatever it was that he
sensed in the other man. There was something in that exchange, a
ghost of an emotion. Dmitry didn’t like those sorts of feelings at
all.

۞
Earth – Peru

The rainforest hummed the quiet joy of
renewal, reveling in an afternoon rain, as a lone figure bounded up
a familiar path to a place he had once called home.

“
Grandfather, are you out here?” Kun
rousted himself from a meditation to hear the footsteps of his only
grandson. This was a sound he had anticipated for some time. It had
been difficult to see him go, and know that he could not stop the
boy. In his role as grandfather, Kun had never pushed, the way he
would have as a father or teacher. He had merely waited, and opened
his arms when he knew he should. Now was one of those
times.

“
Tea?” Not,
where have you been all this time, and don’t think I’ve
missed hearing about your questionable associates
. In
the face of unconditional love, Boko’s fears receded, while his
grandfather prepared tea in the traditional way.

“
Yes, please.” Boko sat and watched
silently for several minutes. “It took me a while to decide to come
here, but I had to think it through.”

Kun merely smiled and allowed silence to
float like the tea leaves in their liquid. He handed his grandson
the delicate cup, continuing his role as patient elder. Boko stared
into his cup, wishing he could read the leaves as they floated,
instead of waiting until the cup was drained.

“
I want to come back to the jungle. I
can’t take the city anymore.”

“
Are you certain that it is only the
city and not those who inhabit it?” Kun’s voice drifted evenly over
to his grandson. The young man looked up sharply. So the old one
knew everything.

“
What should I do, grandfather?”
Despair, fear, and exhaustion were written sharply across his
features.

“
Wait, as I have done, but also help
me, Boko. I need you to continue to be the person you have been
with your associates for a short while longer.”

“
I just don’t want you to be ashamed
of me, grandfather. My life doesn’t make sense anymore, and I
want…I need your help.” He hung his head, feeling the specter of
Robert Warden hovering nearby, like the shadow of death. Kun placed
a hand on Boko’s head, the man who was a boy only yesterday, and
felt the power of the evil that was trying to keep its hold on
him.

“
I have nothing but love in my heart
for you. But you have to help us right the wrongs that you have
seen.” Kun smiled, and Boko felt as though he was a child again.
Hope flooded like adrenaline through his body, expelling deep
exhaustion. He looked at his grandfather, absorbing his energy of
calm.

“
What do you need me to
do?”

“
Boko, this is a matter of some
importance. It will not be easy, and it will not be safe.” He stood
and lengthened to his full height, dusky ash-colored robes
billowing out behind. “Come with me and I will tell you the story.
It is time for you to know.” He walked out of the gazebo just as
the showering sky ceased to issue forth any more water. Soon, the
sun would be back.

After a short walk, Boko found himself
following his grandfather into what appeared to be a cave. It very
quickly revealed itself to be of manmade origin, well lit and,
surprisingly, full of delicate computer instruments. Books lined
the entirety of the cylindrical wall, except for the interruption
of several monitor screens, which displayed satellite imagery.

Kun walked to a section of the bookshelves,
removed a thick, atlas sized specimen, and placed it on a large,
polished stone reading table. He opened it to a page and indicated
a section with an outstretched finger. Boko found himself sitting,
enthralled with the tale unfurling from the slashes and strokes of
ink.

Nearly two hours passed while Boko’s head
bobbed up and down, soaking in the full meaning and impact of a
testimonial that was in direct opposition to everything that Robert
Warden had ever told him. He felt deflated, the blinding light of
truth still sending an involuntary twitch through his
again-fatigued frame.

The story was incredibly
mind-boggling. He could not deny its legitimacy, however. All the
salient facts lined up, but moreover, there were too many other
pieces of evidence. Grandfather had piles of fragile photographs,
firsthand testimony…no one could possibly fabricate all of this.
Beyond that, he
wanted
to
have faith in the right cause this time.

In the distance, as if in accordance with
the mood of the moment, temple bells sounded a call…to battle, or
to justice? He stood, feeling a renewed inner strength, as though
he’d been through a cleansing. The perception of languor fell off
him, discarded like an old skin.

Grandfather Kun was laboring over some sort
of data input terminal, peering at the monitor while he worked.
Boko saw the Nimitz pop up on the screen, not failing to notice the
significantly raised eyebrow cast in his direction.

“
Is that what I think it is?” A simple
nod asserted that it was. He walked over to the monitor and gazed
at the terrible grace of the structure.

“
You will see, Boko that you must help
to break the circle of destruction that was begun so long
ago.”

“
How can I let go of the things I have
been a part of? I’m so afraid, grandfather, I’ve been haunted by
myself for too long.”

“
Perhaps my two students will be able
to help you answer some of your questions.” Before he could
respond, the face of a young woman solidified out of a
static-ridden connection. She nodded deferentially to Master Kun,
noting his company in the background of her screen.

“
I see he came around. As you
predicted.” There was an edge to her voice, though, as she looked
Boko over.

“
What have you , Julieta? Have you
seen them yet?”

“
No. Unfortunately, we came aboard the
station just as there was some sort of crisis going on. It seems
that one of your grandson’s associates killed herself.”

“
The doctor? But she was supposed
to….” All eyes turned to Boko expectantly. Julieta’s face deepened
into a frown.

“
This is going to complicate things.
Not to mention the fact that Wallace literally ran into the
station’s executive officer. I think they may try to bring us in
for questioning.” She felt a growing sense of unease…or maybe just
indigestion.

“
You wish to lie low, is that
it?”

“
I think for a day or so, we’ll try to
blend into the scenery, yes. I don’t want to be skulking around
with their security battalion trailing behind us. I’ll let you know
as soon as we make contact. Welcome home, Boko.” With that, she was
gone, except for the faint impression of a smile. It was strange to
be amongst people who trusted one another.

“
How were you so certain I would come
back?”

“
We share blood, young man, and that
is all I ever need to have to hope.” With that, Kun walked out into
late afternoon’s sunlight, seeming to his grandson a great deal
younger than he had remembered.

۞
The Nimitz

The next morning, Maeve was at loose ends.
It was getting a little tiresome that the only question she seemed
to have in her days was what to eat, and when to work out.
Naturally, she was avoiding the elephant in the room, but there was
no reason to turn around and face it.

Facing it would mean having to look back at
her own mistakes. That and the circumstances that had led her,
ultimately, to the Nimitz. What was it that was there, lingering in
the dark corners of her mind? The blood, floating in the obsidian
and amber of space had brought everything rushing back. She’d been
successful in driving it back down, but it was getting more and
more difficult to manage.