Red Serpent: The Falsifier (23 page)

“The coming months may bring many hardships and angst. But now is the time for us to stand up, unite and face those challenges as we always have. I know there has been talk of rations. That doesn’t mean that we will starve. Look at it as a sacrifice for life and freedom. With courage we will be victorious and attain our independence!”

The crowds cheered again and a great thunderous applause shook the streets of the Square. He went on:

“After this ceremony, I will hold a meeting with five of our best generals. Already I have spoken to Kurt J. Lord and we have decided on the basic strategy for the Rescue. These five generals are Generals Ranjit Singh, Lao Chang, George Hopkinson, Sergei Romsky, and Michio Nakashima. Mind you, the diversity of the group is of symbolic significance.

“I know that the vampires believe they know our weaknesses, one of which is indeed a shameful and scarring one in our history. That weakness is racial prejudice. But we have learned from our mistakes and have come together in brotherhood, especially during times of war, when the vampires invaded. Let’s take this war as a test of our solidarity and our resolve; let’s show history that regardless of the past, we have conquered ourselves and we have learned!” Again, the people cheered. John smiled and stood silent, looking around him, as everyone behind him clapped.

“I want to conclude by saying thank you to the Supreme Justices, Senators, Officials, Vice-Chancellor Bacon, and to you all, the people that really matter. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to succeed and to make a difference, and thank you for your trust, faith and belief in me and my actions. God bless.” With that, he waved, smiled and took a solemn bow, to which the crowd became rapturous, shouting and applauding loudly.

The Rebels contemplated the situation coming in the next ten hours as the light of the sun glimmered into Nikolas’s living room through the large glass balcony window.

“There’s no way we’ll be able to get these off!” Liam said, feeling the cold metallic restraint belt around his neck. It beeped and whirred when he touched it. Like all the others’ restraint belts, this one had three sensors: one that monitored the temperature of the one wearing it, another that monitored the heartbeat and blood pressure and a third to make sure no foreign tampering could unlock it.

“Well, we can, but we would be electrocuted,” Gavin said, resting his head on the sofa. Nikolas stood outside the balcony window, observing the sea.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” Quentin said, thoughtfully sipping some migra-based coffee. “We’ll have to find the main generator room to unlock them.”

“Not necessarily,” Nikolas said. He turned to look at them. “We need to be very cautious until John comes here. We have to act like we hate him now. One of us will have to communicate with him telepathically.”

“How do we even know we’ll be there for the negotiations?” Joqetu asked, sitting on the sofa and browsing through the daily news headlines. They were full of stories about the Falsifier or the Rebels turning sides.

“I’ll be there...hopefully,” Nikolas said. He shook his head, “With any luck that meditation will work for him.”

Davik asked, “You mean you’re presiding over his meditation?”

“Not at this point.” Nikolas grabbed a wooden chair from the dining table adjacent to the hallway and dragged it over to sit by them.

“But you can’t do that,” Davik said, “It’s dangerous.”

“We’re talking about Alex here. He’s much more powerful than anything.”

“But aren’t you defying many laws?” asked Efarius.

“Alex will be able to handle it,” Nikolas said

“Remember the stories of the old ones, the Ancients,” Efarius said, looking deep into Nikolas’s eyes. “Even the Ancients who involved themselves or gave energy during meditation were very cautious, after one of them had his soul dissolved.”

“That was different,” said Nikolas, shaking his head. He sighed, “Look. All I want to know is if you are all with me.” He tried to read their faces. There was a long moment of silence and they nodded slowly. “Good. Let’s begin.”

The Council Room, located on the fourth floor of the Regnum Central Headquarters had now become the War Room. In appearance it was like an oversized boardroom. Its spacious windows covered up an entire wall of the room and let in a lot of sunlight. The light shone on the forty-five foot long oak table that stood in the center of the room. There were ten chairs on each side of the table and another one on each end. The five generals waited for the Supreme Leader and the Vice-Chancellor.

“So what do you think?” said Ranjit Singh, a Sikh general standing by the panoramic window and looking out. He stood six feet five inches tall, towering over the others who stood in his shadow. He walked to the coffeemaker and pressed a button. He scratched his beard and sighed. “I don’t like the look of it.”

“The look of what, Ranjit?” a Chinese man asked, sitting and rocking on the chair.

“You know, Lao,” Ranjit said, taking his cup and walking towards the table, “This whole scheme.”

“Oh?” Lao said, his thin frame overshadowed by the black leather back of the chair. He crossed his arms and looked at all of them.

“What’s there to worry about?” General Romsky said, laughing and sitting back, relaxed. His carefree and arrogant demeanor irritated Ranjit. He had been an adviser to the King of Russia and maybe this had gone to his head. All that mattered very little to Ranjit. He smirked at Romsky. The Russian general went on. “We have the people right where we want them.”

“How can you say that?” Ranjit asked.

“Yeah,” Hopkinson said, supporting Ranjit. “We work for the people.” His thick skinned face seemed sickened and tired.

“Really?” said Romsky. “You think so?” He glanced at the others and at the Japanese man sitting silently, his eyes closed and shoulders slack. “What about you?” He snapped his fingers. “Hey Nakashima.”

Michio remained still, breathing in and out. George Hopkinson got up and walked to the window. He saw John’s limo parked across the street. “He’s here.” He turned around and went back to sit. “They’re on their way.”

They straightened themselves up and Michio opened his eyes. Romsky sighed, looking at Ranjit and George across the table. Michio and Lao sat respectively left and right of Sergei. “Well,” Michio who had been listening all the while to their conversations said, “None of it matters.” His voice remained soft. “We’re here to discuss the coming war, so politics is of no concern to us.”

“How can it not be?” Ranjit said, finishing his last sip of coffee. “We’re now following a fascist—”

“Gentlemen,” said John, as the large double doors opened and he entered with Richard by his side. The Generals stood up and John smiled. “It’s good to see all of you, my friends. Please,” he sat down and Richard went to sit at the other end of the table, “sit down.” One of the guards outside went to the coffee machine and prepared seven cups. As he left the room and tightly shut the doors, John continued. “Now, I want to make this quick and simple. We have roughly eight hours to get things in order. I’m going split us into two groups. I have already told Kurt about my plans for the air strikes, and he should have already briefed his boys about it. The first priority will be to rescue Alex and get the Rebels. This mission will be led by Richard and me. Now, I also want you and you,” he pointed to Hopkinson and Romsky, “to lead a ground attack in England.” John pressed a button near the right corner of his side of the table. The wood opened up and revealed a large keyboard. He pressed a button and a thick white curtain closed the window in front of him, throwing the room into darkness. Behind him, above the entrance, a robotic levitating projector dispersed a large ray of light onto the curtain. The coordinates Daniel had sent John shone on it. It showed a map and the coordinates lay near the west coast of England. All eyes were on it. “As you can see, whatever is there isn’t on the mainland of Europe, but it’s close to the British coastline. So I want you two to go down there and hold off any reinforcements.”

“How many will we have?” Romsky asked, studying the map.

“About two thousand units each. Is that enough?”

“More than enough for me,” said George.

“Wait till I call for you, which won’t take more than five minutes after I am on the Earth. The transport tankers will keep you near the atmosphere and you’ll be taken down within minutes.”

The two Generals nodded.

“Now, like I said,” John said, “Richard will be with me commanding an aggregate of five hundred men, if needed.”

“I doubt it,” Richard said, turning around in his chair to look at John. “Our main objective will be to get Alex and the Rebels out of there safely first.”

“Right,” John said, “That’s why you’ll make sure they do. Once they’re secured, we will have to stop Daniel and whoever else will be after him from getting off the Earth. Now the second part of the mission: the Vatican, you know we failed the first time. But that won’t happen again, now will it?” The three remaining Generals shook their heads and John continued, “The main objective will be to get inside, collect all the information we can, and then sabotage the library.”

“That’s going to take a lot of time,” Lao said, “There must billions of files in there.”

“Two of you have to watch over the other while he gets the files. Who wants to go in?”

“I will,” Singh said.

“Alright. Then, you two will be allotted seven hundred and fifty men each and you, General Singh, four hundred men. Is that fine?”

“Definitely,” they confirmed.

“Good. Get your men ready and meet me at the main Hangar at 1700 hrs. This meeting’s adjourned.”

Another half hour to go. This wasn’t a good sign at all, as Alex was still struggling with his meditation. What was going on here? It was as if everything he had gained had been lost in a second. He felt so confident and so sure. Perhaps he became overconfident. “Alex!” He was in the lotus posture with his eyes closed and his face strained. He tried too hard, even now. What was he supposed to get from this meditation in any case? Nikolas hadn’t given him any instructions.

“Alex!” The voice distracted him even more. “Alex, listen to me!” It was Nikolas. “Listen to what I have to say.”

“Alright.”

“I didn’t want to risk the trouble of people overhearing us, even if we were safe. You know what I mean.”

“Right,” Alex thought. “So this was all just a ploy.”

“Exactly. You can’t ever be too safe. Now listen. You have to do something for us. John’s coming in a few more hours. We are sending some energy to you.”

“Is that really possible? At such a distance?”

“Judging by all that has happened Alex, it shouldn’t be such a surprise to you. Now, once you get this surge, you’ll feel a sensation in your spine.”

“I know; I’ve felt it before during meditation.”

“No, this will be far worse. It’s not pleasant. In fact, it can be dangerous.”

“That’s good to know,” Alex said sardonically.

“The pain will make you want to move, but you must not. There will be a sensation like fire in your spine. If you bend at all, it will flow out and destroy you. You have to stay totally still and wait until it goes away. But, wait until I tell you to. In that time, your body will be as hot as glowing metal. Your spirit will see into the future and you will achieve immense power. After that you will learn many things, things that will be needed for the short-term future. You’ll be able to fight like a master swordsman; you’ll be able to use energy at your will, with just a flash of thought.”

“But how long does it last?”

“The calculation is a little complex. After you get the energy, you have to be still for at least an hour and you will gain about a hundred and twenty years worth of knowledge and skill.”

“Okay, and how long does the process last?”

“Six hours.”

There was a pause, “So that meditation for three hours was completely useless?”

“No! I have been trying to create a clear, undisturbed channel between you and me mentally, and you had to meditate to clear your mind. So should we begin?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Daniel and Erik stepped out onto the balcony of Daniel’s office. A light shower of rain started to fall. Daniel pushed a button near the threshold and a window swiped down and joined with the lock on the railing of the balcony.

“That really sounds like a good idea. But will it work?”

“Of course it will. Howe knows us, thanks to the stupid actions and word of the Rebels in the previous war.”

“So you really think this will be the catalyst for war?” Erik said, looking into Daniel’s gray eyes, which turned crimson at this remark.

“If not this, what? If not now, when?”

“Alright,” Erik sighed. He looked out at the violent sea as the waves collided with one another and the rain pitter-pattered on the window with an increased force. “What of the other cities? Shouldn’t we warn them about the attack? We have to protect them.”

“If you must, go ahead and warn them,” said Daniel. “After they see our powerful ships in space, they won’t dare come here. They’re weak and pathetic. They don’t learn from their mistakes and they’re too stupid to suspect a plot.”

“Don’t be so sure, Daniel. That’s exactly why I’m telling you about extra protection. They might not learn from their mistakes but you shouldn’t underestimate them like that.”

“Look at them now!” Daniel said. “They’re nothing.”

“You’re missing the point here. They’ve planned everything, I’m sure of that. Despite the clauses, you and I both know they’ve been preparing for another war since the creation of the Regnum. They’re pissed off after all we’ve done, and this is their opportunity to vent out their anger and their first strike will be their strongest. That’s why we have to take caution.”

Daniel gazed at Erik with some intimidation. “Alright,” he said a little malevolently, “If you say so, but I still think it’ll be a waste of time and men.”

Erik shrugged, and walked to the door, ready to leave. “Only time will tell.”

Nikolas focused on the energy emanating from his body. A few minutes passed before he heard its hum. “Wait,” Efarius said. “Are you sure about this? Think about it, just once more.”