Sacred Flesh (14 page)

“Let’s get going on this now,” Glenn says.

The senior members having reached this agreement all recite the
Elite
oath and leave the master’s office now held by Glenn. Sitting in the chair behind the large desk Glenn stares at the far corner bookcase behind which lies the
Elite
wall safe. He begins twilling his thumbs, slowly at first then faster as his cell phone rings, quickly, almost frantically he reaches for it.

“Hello,” he says quietly and purposefully. “Yes, I know how bad you want it you don’t have to keep reminding me. Listen, don’t worry it won’t be much longer.”

“I will take this the second sample which you tested and proved to be ordinary human flesh back to the
Elite
headquarters and getting into the safe I’ll switch it with the third and possibly sacred sample,” The One Who Turns says having returned to their hotel room energized and ready to set the plan in motion.

“You’re right they’ll never know the difference and by taking the first sample too we can just give that one back to them and say it’s Sacred. They’ll think we’re giving them the second one, the one they are chasing me for,” Jim says.

“Perfect.”

“Are you sure you want to destroy the third sample? I mean what if it is His?” Jim asks.

“What
if
isn’t important, returning the
Elite
back to the true message of Christ is.”

“That sounds like a tall order,” Jim says.

“Not really, you see I believe it’s the senior members who are mostly responsible. The brotherhood themselves are mostly just followers. I’m thinking once exposed the brothers will demand a re-evaluation and a return to the true principles.”

“So you hope anyway,” Jim says.

“Once we destroy the third sample and with the first and second being meaningless the whole affair will be put to rest. Neither the
Elite
nor Rome will have anything to clone. There will be no son of Christ upon the Earth, no revenge, nothing. The senior members can be exposed for what they are: power hungry bastards! Then we can get back to the business of following the true message of Christ,” the One Who Turns says.

“But first,” Jim says.

“Yes, first I must switch the third.”

“Won’t they recognize you and want to know where you have been?”

“I’ve been on assignment.”

“What?”

“Officially they think I’m looking for you.”

“And so you found me, lucky you,” Jim says.

“Yes, but they know nothing of that, they will want to know why I haven’t been in touch with them but I can BS my way around that if I have to.”

“You have this planned out?” What if you don’t make it back?”

“I’ll make it. I have the code to get into the building. I’ll go at night, there may or may not be anyone up on the upper floor where Haggai’s office is.”

‘How sure of this are you?” Jim asks.

“It’ll be easy if no one is up on the floor. Once in the office it’s 1, 2, 3 to the safe, switch and back out down the stairs.”

“Sounds too easy,” Jim says.

“Like I said I can BS my way around any problems. I just need the second sample to switch with the third. You got it?”

“Yeah, here,” Jim hands over the small metal brown box, “Good luck.”

“Not luck my friend: faith,” he says smiling.

No one knows I’m here he thinks while looking at the large amount of dried blood on his hands. The bleeding finally stopped but how much did I lose? It looks like a lot. He never much cared for the sight of blood and now alone hiding in an abandoned van fighting for his life it’s all he can think of. The fact is I didn’t get too far, just down the alley from the building where we were being held captive. Surely, they will figure out that I must be hiding somewhere nearby then they will comb the area more closely. How will I get anywhere with a blooded red leg?

And this key, hidden away like that, it must have some value to someone for it to be hidden as such, but who? These thoughts come to him as his head begins to throb and his stomach begins to ache from nerves and lack of food. He wonders where she is? Did they kill her? His thoughts turn into a messy jumble as slowly everything before him begins to fade and he slumps over falling forward onto the floor of the dirty van.

“Where is this place?” she asks while being led into the dimly lit room void of windows.

“Somewhere you won’t be tempted to run off from, now there sit!” he pushes her down into the metal chair.

“No, please don’t, you don’t need to do this. I’m not a threat to you. Don’t do this,” she pleads as he handcuffs her arms and legs to the chair.

“You just stay still,” Clovis tells her.

“People know I’m missing. They’re going to come looking for me.”

“Gee whiz, we never thought of that,” he clamps the last handcuff. “Now keep quite I don’t need any trouble out of you.” He turns and walking out of the bare room clangs the grey metal door shut behind him. She winces as she hears the large bolt lock close.

Looking around she thinks “This is so medieval.” The bare cement floor, the metal chair in which she sits, a bare 40watt light bulb overhead just enough to keep her out of complete darkness “They’re going to kill me.” The thought races in faster and faster though she tries to eject it from her mind.

Where is he? What was in that cloth bundle? He couldn’t have gotten far. And actually no one knows where I am. They don’t have a clue where to start looking for me. She sits in the dim light alone and fearing for her life about to drift off into some state between sleep and nausea when suddenly she jolts back in the chair, her eyes bulge open upon hearing the lock being undone and the door slowly opening.

Oh no! This is it, she thinks to herself. This is how I’m going to die.

She stares straight ahead as the lone figure approaches through the darkness, coming closer its slim figure walks directly up to her and stops. Confused she squints her eyes attempting to focus. Then her jaw drops.

“Melody, is that
you
?”

“We can’t kill him in a public place, so have someone ready to follow him after the exchange. Wherever he’s hiding that’s where we’ll get him. Pay him as much as he wants we’re going to get the money back anyway. Okay, sounds good,” Glenn speaks into the phone while sitting behind his desk. “Logo, you know we’re getting close to impregnation, make sure everything, the woman etc. are all ready to go. Okay good.” He hangs up. Twisting his fingers he thinks of how happy he’ll be when this charade is over and he’s on a plane over the Atlantic never to return.

His cell phone rings, “Yes, everything’s fine the idiots know nothing. It should be clear sailing from here on out. I’ll meet you at the airport (JFK?) with the sample.”

As soon as he hangs up Cosward pops his head in the doorway. “Glenn, Haggai’s complaining, says he has the runs and needs his medicine.”

“So, go to his house and get it. Don’t let him get sick. We still have to try him for treason. But of course if he dies in his cell so be it,” he shrugs his shoulders.

“We have another problem. The man that escaped from downstairs, we still don’t know where he’s at.”

“He doesn’t know much isn’t that right?” Glenn asks.

“He only saw the parking lot and downstairs. We think he’s still in the area.”

“Okay, keep looking. What about the FBI agent?”

“We got her locked up downstairs.”

“Q&K her.” Glenn says.

“Question and Kill,” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“That’s another body to get rid of.”

“So what, we have to do what we have to do,” Glenn says.

“Okay, I’ll talk to her tonight then we’ll take her out to the country tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow or no, no, wait until we get Dunbar. We can kill them both at the same time, save a trip, we’re over budget this month on gas anyway.”

“Glenn you’re a genius,” Cosward says.

“Thanks,” he smiles.

Everything’s just like it’s always been, he thinks while slowly and quietly walking through Haggai’s office, its late everyone is gone. Reaching the wall-safe behind the bookcase he punches in the combination and swings open the door. There it is: a small brown metal box. Quickly, he switches them, identical except for their contents. He places the box with the third and potently sacred sample into his jacket pocket along with the first sample box too, (putting a note on the first so as not to mix it up with the third sample.) “There you go,” he says closing the safe door and replacing the bookcase. “The little clowns will never know and then after they are exposed for what they are I will come back and destroy this sample too.”

He turns and walks toward the door when suddenly he stops dead in his tracks as the door knob slowly begins to turn.

“
It is you Melody
. Get me out of here, please Melody come on we’re sisters.”

“It’s not that simple,” she says walking through the dim light toward the chair.

“Why are you here? Why are you doing this?”

“I have a chance to change the world, that doesn’t come along everyday.”

“These guys are criminals Mel don’t you see that. They’re killers. Who’s to say they won’t kill you after they’re done with you.”

“Nice try sis, but it ain’t going to work. You see we’re getting close to the time when I’ll begin carrying the son of Christ within my womb,” she says moving her hand over her abdomen, “Imagine that, how many people have a chance to do something like that? I’m going to be part of something big, bigger than your college degree or your badge. I’m going to help change the world!”

“Melody that’s load of crap, they don’t know if it’s His and they don’t even have the sample anyway!”

“So negative,” she says looking down and shaking her head.

“They’ve brain washed you, can’t you see that? Now get me out of here, get us both out of here. We can get you help Mel, everything will be okay if we just get out of here now.”

“Again, so negative.”

“Damn it Melody it’s just like when we were kids, you never want to listen to anyone.”

“Not a good time to bring up sore spots.”

“Mel, come on, please Mel,” she says pulling on the handcuffs.

“They’re going to talk to you soon. I just wanted to say goodbye,” she turns and walks toward the door, “Bye, Sis,” she says as the door clangs shut.

“Well, well it’s you.”

“Lily, what are you doing here?” He asks, taken back by how little she’s changed, still the short cropped jet black hair, the thin arms matching her pencil like legs, her skin dark, the product of many trips to the tanning booth in an attempt to stave off the advance of age, though her creeping crows feet give her away.

“After all this time and no contact, you never called,” she says.

“Lily,” he throws up his arms.

“How the tables turn in life, funny isn’t it?” She says with a slight smile.

“I don’t think so,” he says.

“The real question is what are
you
doing here? No, wait don’t answer that I already know.”

“You don’t know anything Lily now come on I don’t have time to play games.”

“Think you’re real clever don’t you. But you’re really not that hard to figure out.”

“Really?”

“You’re such a bad boy betraying your own order.”

“What?”

“That little box you came in here for,” she points toward his hand.

“It’s none of your business, how would you know about it anyway? What are you doing following me again?” he says.

“But it doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to the
Elite
you know, your brothers, the ones you’re screwing over by doing this.”

“I’m doing everyone a huge favor,” he states.

“Don’t you think they’ve been asking about you?”

“It hasn’t been that long.”

“Since you left the
Elite
or since you left me?”

“We were never really together Lily. Come on that was a long time ago, it was a Christmas party; we both had too much to drink. A night of wild sex doesn’t constitute a relationship, Lily we’ve been over this before,” he says.

“And yet not enough,” she says.

“Lily, I don’t have time for this I’ve got to get going,” he begins walking toward the door.

“Not so fast,” she pulls out a .45 revolver from her black purse. “Strip!”

“Lily, come on, this isn’t a game, think about what you’re doing,” he says.

“I want one more time, just once more before everything ends,” she says without emotion, pointing the gun straight at him.

Waking up was never so painful. He can barely open his eyes, the strangest of his surroundings competing with the dull pain in his leg for attention.