The Society of Orion: The Orion Codex (6 page)

Chapter Fourteen

When they finally reached the school’s compound, they found the place devoid of people. It looked completely deserted. There were no cars in the overgrown parking lot and no lights on anywhere in the building that they could see. Carol pulled up to what looked like an entrance and Banyon got out with Steve. There was no button to press, but there was a huge bell hanging by the door.

“What the hell,” Steve said and shrugged his shoulders. He pulled the knocker. The bell’s ring was so loud Banyon was sure it could be heard throughout the whole valley.

Shortly a light came on and the door opened with a creak. A large man in a guard uniform stood in the middle of the opening. “What do you want?” he shouted aggressively in German.

Banyon could not speak German, but surmised that the guard asked what he wanted. He replied in English. “We have come to see Father Hector. It is urgent.”

“He doesn’t take visitors at night,” the guard replied in clear English. “Come back in the morning.”

“Please we have come all the way from Chicago,” Banyon answered. “He invited us.”

The guard glared at them for a few seconds and then said, “Wait here. I’ll find a monk. There is always one of them roaming around the compound at night.”

As he turned to leave, Steve asked, “How is it that you speak English?”

“I’m a retired New York City cop, that’s how,” the guard replied. “I retired down here because it is cheap to live. There are a couple of thousand ex-patriots in this city alone.” He left the door open and hurried up the hallway.

“I’ve heard that many people retire to South America,” Steve said to Banyon. “But I never met any before.”

“Many of them want to keep a low profile for various reasons,” Banyon replied as he waved over the rest of the people from the Hummer.

***

After a few minutes, a somewhat young monk appeared. He had a smile on his calm face.

“We didn’t expect you until tomorrow Mr. Banyon,” the monk said. “You didn’t announce your arrival time.”

“There is a reason for that. I’ll explain when we see Father Hector,” Banyon said.

“Very well, come this way, but be quiet. The children are asleep.”

The seven travelers were taken to an old small library in the middle of the school. The monk, who said his name was Ruiz, said the leader of the catholic mission would be along shortly. He didn’t offer any drinks or food and closed the door on the way out.

Loni and Maya immediately ran to the book shelves and began examining the books. “I’ll bet there are some interesting artifacts on these shelves,” Maya gushed. “This library is very old.”

“Yeah, and maybe a trap door or two,” Loni said excitedly. Carol and Kenny soon rushed over and joined them.

Mandy sat in a chair holding her wrist. She looked up at Banyon with red eyes as he approached.

“How is the wrist?” he asked tenderly.

“Hurts like hell, but Maya gave me a shot and now I feel all numb and woozy,” she replied.

“Maya, what did you give Mandy?” Banyon yelled out when he realized she was woozy from the medication.

“Just some morphine,” Maya shouted back without stopping her search. “She’ll be fine.”

“I just want you to know that you put up a great fight today,” Banyon said sincerely to the young girl. “I’m very proud of you.”

“Loni has been giving me lessons,” she replied weakly. This surprised Banyon as Loni had treated Mandy with disdain in the past.

***

“Whoopee, I’ve found something!” Loni broadcasted. Everyone turned their heads towards the back of the room where Loni stood on her tiptoes pulling on a book lodged on a high shelf. She tugged harder and the wall emitted a click. A panel popped open a few inches. She muscled the panel aside. It led to a dark stairway.

“Do you think this leads to the treasures?” Carol squealed excitedly.

“Of course,” a voice said from behind them. “It leads to a wine cellar. You may check it out if you like. Bring back a bottle for us to share. The wine is a local treasure.”

Banyon turned and found a short man in a monk’s brown tunic. He was very old with a wizened face and only wisps of white hair surrounding the bald crown on his head. He did have a full white beard. Behind him were three other monks who stood with their heads bowed and their hands clasped piously.

“You must be Father Hector,” Banyon said and stepped forward with his hand out to shake.

“And you must be Colton Banyon,” the monk replied. “I see you have brought Carol and Kenny Cole with you too. But who are these other people? I thought you would come alone.”

Banyon immediately introduced his team. When the old man reached Mandy, he noticed that she was in pain and holding her wrist.

“Will you allow me to heal it?” he asked her as he bent over the suffering woman.

“She needs to go to a hospital,” Loni barked loudly as she slid to Mandy’s side.

“This will only take a minute,” the old man replied. He stealthily put his left hand into a pocket of his tunic and gently put his other hand over Mandy’s wrist. He then chanted a few foreign sounding words. In a few seconds, a yellow aurora appeared around the wound. The pain in Mandy’s eyes disappeared when he withdrew his hand.

“It’ll be sore for a couple days, but the break is healed,” the monk said.

“How did you do that? Was it magic?” Mandy said with admiration as she rubbed her wrist.

“Hardly,” the old man replied. “It is a little trick I learned from the indigenous people in the jungle here. I simply told your mind to repair the damage quickly. The mind is very powerful. More
powerful
than you can imagine,” he said knowingly.

“Well, I’m very grateful,” Mandy replied.

“You learned it from Father Crespi,” Maya said accusingly.

“Really!” Loni shouted. “Do you expect us to believe that nonsense?”

“I have been a servant of the church for over sixty years, I have never told a lie,” Father Hector responded calmly.

“In any case,” Banyon broke in to the dispute. “We received a cryptic message from you to come here. So, what was that about?”

“Ah, right to the point,” Father Hector responded. “Mr. Banyon, you and I need to have a private discussion. If you would mind following me to my office we can talk there.”

Chapter Fifteen

Father Hector’s office was small and cluttered. Banyon noticed a computer system set up in a corner. The monk closed the door and sat down at his desk.

“You must have many questions,” he said as a preamble. “Ask away.”

“Are you the head of The Society of Orion?”

“In Ecuador anyway,” he responded immediately “And you are now the head of the new American chapter.” Banyon decided to not deny his statement. They both knew they were heads of the two chapters.

“Which of the weapons did you use to heal Mandy?” Banyon wanted to catch the monk off guard.

“It is called
Renew
,” the monk replied honestly. “It marshals the body’s own healing system and speeds it up a thousand fold.”

“So you do use the Orion weapons,” Banyon uttered. “I thought they were never to be used.”

“Only for good,” the monk said. “The society has a long history of using the weapons to help good people when we can. I know you are using at least one of them too,” he said knowingly.

“What!” Banyon said in shock.

“You have quite a reputation as an artifact finder Mr. Banyon,” Father Hector replied. “I’m sure you are not finding the treasures on your own. You also have been able to put things right in the world when you collect the weapons. Your actions are not haphazard.”

Banyon suddenly realized Father Hector didn’t know about Wolf, but assumed Banyon had been using an Orion weapon which allowed him to find things. He thought it best to agree. “I have had some help,” he admitted.

“Which is why I sent you the invitation,” the monk replied.

“Yes, that is very curious,” Banyon responded. “Who actually sent the message?”

“Father Bartholomew is our resident computer expert,” he said. “He sends all my messages.”

“Well, there is a problem there,” Banyon started. “It seems that Father Bartholomew is working with his brother, a Colonel Carl Walther and is stealing your artifacts including the Orion Codex,” Banyon said dramatically.

“Things are not what they appear,” the old man replied with a shy smile. “Father Bartholomew is a double agent. He is loyal to the church.”

“But…,” Banyon began, but was cut off.

“He
hates
his brother and what the man stands for. His brother has bullied him since he was little. He joined the church to change his life. His brother is one of the problems you need to deal with while you are here.”

“Are you saying you let him steal the artifacts?” Banyon asked with confusion.

“I have personally picked the items to take to his brother. They are only part of some Nazis’ collection.”

“But why’d you give him the Orion Codex then?”

“To make sure that you would come to help me.”

Chapter Sixteen

“Now I’m really confused,” Banyon admitted. “What is it that you expect of me?”

“There are several reasons why I wanted you here. I’ll explain,” the monk announced.

“Please do,” Banyon said as he sat back in the chair and folded his arms.

“First of all, my time is short. I am well over ninety years old, not eighty as the records say. I am the only member of the society here. When I die, I want you to take the weapons and protect them. Will you do that for me?”

“If you wish,” Banyon replied humbly. “But what about the other treasures secreted in a hidden room that I have heard about?”

“My four protégées know where the treasure room is located, but they know nothing about the Orion weapons. It has already been agreed that they will use those treasures to maintain the school.”

“I understand,” Banyon agreed. “But I’m not able to locate the room or you sometimes. Why is that?”

“That’s because I use the
Covers
weapon. It cloaks anything I need it to hide.” The monk reached into his tunic and pulled out a chain with a two-inch silver colored trinket on it.

“Makes sense,” Banyon nodded.

“Good,” Father Hector said. “When I die you will come here. The weapons are in a vault behind that wall,” he pointed. “I’ll show you how to access it later.”

“Okay,” Banyon said.

“The second reason for your visit is that I want you to take the Orion Codex back with you to America. I have been unable to fully understand it. Maybe you will have better luck. It contains information on all of the weapons and how to make them work. You understand why it needs to be kept safe, don’t you?” The monk asked reasonably.

“I do,” Banyon responded and nodded his head. “But are you telling me that you gave the codex to Carl Walther as motivation for me to help you?”

“Yes, exactly,” the monk said and pointed a bony finger at Banyon. “You will need to stop the Germans plans and put things right before it will be yours.”

“So you want me to stop the white supremacy threat. Is that correct?”

“I had to make sure you would do it,” Father Hector admitted. “They have become a serious problem in our country. Too many people have died because of them.”

“It seems I have no choice now,” Banyon uttered with a touch of frustration.

“Finally, I want you to find the lost Tayos caves and recover the treasures there. I want the Coles to get credit.”

“Why do this now?” Banyon questioned. “They have been hidden for a long time. And why do you want the Coles to get credit?”

“The Germans have learned about the treasures in the cave,” the old monk replied. “Everybody here does,” he said as he opened his arms expansively. “They intend to go after the treasures and use them to finance their sinister plan to take over the government. You need to stop them.”

“What makes you think that?” Banyon asked.

“We have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of blond Europeans in the city in the last few weeks. They will start their little war very soon.”

“Alright,” Banyon said and nodded his head. “But why give credit to the Coles?”

“Their father was a dear friend and the only other member of The Society of Orion here in Ecuador. Carl Walther had him killed because he uncovered Walther’s plot.”

“Oh!” Banyon said with surprise. “So Carl Walther has been working his plot for a long time, right?”

“Yes,” the old man answered. “There were others before him. And many people have died along the way. It is time to put a stop to him and his organization.”

“I understand what I need to do now,” Banyon said. “But there is one small problem.”

“What is that?”

“You lied,” Banyon replied furiously. “How can I trust you,” he said and flapped his arms. “You said that you learned the trick to heal Mandy from an indigenous person. But you actually learned it from Father Crespi, didn’t you? How do I know you aren’t helping the Germans?”

“I didn’t lie,” the monk responded calmly. “It was one of your people that said Father Crespi. I actually learned about the weapons from the former head of the society. He was another monk who had been raised in the jungles. He had taken over from a monk who had originally come from Europe many years before.”

“So Father Crespi was never head of the society?”

“I was already head of the society and mission when Father Crespi came here in 1956. He knew nothing about the weapons. I never trusted him, but he did good work for the people of Ecuador and collected many artifacts.”

Banyon knew Wolf would be checking on everything the monk said so he moved on. “How sympathetic was Father Crespi to the Germans’ cause?”

“On occasion, he supplied them with artifacts to raise money and sometimes went to their meetings. But Father Crespi’s focus was collecting artifacts and treasure. He comingled his findings with a collection which he brought over from Europe. He was kind of a showboat. He liked the attention he got from the media and other archeologists. He had a large ego for a Salesian monk.”

Banyon was now satisfied the monk was telling the truth. At least until Wolf told him otherwise.

“So do you have a plan to stop the Germans?”

“I leave that to you, but I can help,” the monk replied.

“It may take me a few days to come up with something,” Banyon replied.

“You and your friends can stay here. I’m afraid the accommodations will be Spartan, but they are clean and safe. We can only offer you a room with bunk beds, is that acceptable?”

“Thank you for the offer,” Banyon said.

“Well let’s head back to the others then,” Father Hector said happily.

“I need to make a bathroom break first,” Banyon replied.