The Blood Eagle in the Big Easy (36 page)

Several of the files contained land deeds all across the nation. Gregory and Agent Anderson were working in conjunction with other field offices to search and seize these properties. As the reports rolled in most were abandoned warehouses but there were a few interesting blips on the radar. Several small tech firms received much of their startup capital from a shell corporation, sufficiently hiding Smith’s involvement. It made me wonder where he had gotten the money but that answer could wait until we ended this nasty little affair. Once that was over we could focus on finding out what these firms were developing and tracing back the money trail to finally put an end to the ‘Church of Fenrir’.

An alert sounded letting me know that a file was currently available on the cloud drive. Opening the drive I saw that Gregory had marked the file urgent. After reading it I understood why. It was the final paperwork on a piece of property on Michoud Blvd. in New Orleans East, that they finalized just two weeks before Helena’s murder. Several attached photos revealed two large cement slabs which had at one time been the site of an apartment complex. There was also a festering cesspool that used to be an olympic size swimming pool and two tennis courts that nature was quickly reclaiming.

The likelihood of finding Smith at the bottom of the pool was more than we could hope for. His car had been found in the East so I suppose it wasn’t that much of a stretch to think he could still be in the area. There was something out in the East that made seemed to make him feel safe and it would be in our best interest to find out what it was, if for no other reason than to ruin that particular fantasy of his. A soft rap came as Kira pushed her head through the opening as she slowly pushed the door fully open. 

“Come.” I said waving her in.

She was quickly followed by Nicholas as he whispered his objection to being dragged into my office like this. She sternly ignored him until he became frustrated and waved one of his plate sized hands in my direction. “Fine, you start the conversation off since he’s your father!”

Kira gave him dirty look before taking a seat leaving Nicholas to pace a few moments longer. Shifting my weight again as I tried to make myself comfortable I waited for the show to begin. They obviously had something important on their minds but Nicholas wasn’t exactly in the mood to share just yet and was clearly unhappy Kira had overrode his objections.

“I took your advice the other day and ran a few tests on the two of us before the lab got blown to bits.” Pushing her tablet across the desk to me she pointed at it. “As you can see you were right, we have the same growths in our ear canals and at the base of our retinas as you.”

Looking at the image on the screen closely I was able to discern that they were both ‘gifted’ with the genetic enhancements. Nicholas looked as if someone had run over his favorite pet as he wrung his hands nervously while pacing the length of the office. Now that it was no longer a fantasy Kira was much more somber that she had when she discovered I was Comus.  “It would appear that you both have concerns...” Kind of a silly thing to say but how else was I supposed to start this conversation? “Is there anything either of you would like to talk about?”

Kira leaned across my desk taking the tablet and reexamining the MRI. “Can you please explain to Nicholas how it is possible that we both have these ‘enhancements’?”

Pushing my chair back I stood as I joined Nicholas in traversing the room forcing Kira to follow. “I’m sure you understand it was just a matter of genetics with you.” Stopping suddenly Kira nearly ran into me as we both looked at Nicholas. “As for our friend here, well it would seem that Gullveig found a way to cheat the system.”

“With the implants?” Kira asked to help the conversation along. “But she hadn’t counted on there being triplets.”

Nodding my approval. “That’s my best guess.”

“So I’m a ‘one off’ or test tube baby, is what you’re saying?” Nicholas growled.

“Well that’s hard to say with any certainty but essentially yes.” Thinking about how to best proceed I thought of Mir. Concentrating I called out for him. A few seconds later he appeared a few feet away giving me a quick bow as both Kira and Nicholas jumped in surprise. “Well now that’s promising!”

Mir’s face turned to stone as he studied the two of them.

“Who the hell is that?” Kira demanded as she and Nicholas took a few steps back.

Nicholas however was curious as he took a wide path around the man. “Something about him seems familiar.” Looking back at me and then to Mir. “Have we met before?”

Putting a reassuring hand on Kira’s shoulder I nodded to Mir who still hadn’t moved. “This my dear is Mir.” Bowing slightly I gave Mir a proud smile. “Mir this is my daughter Kira and that young man next to you is Nicholas.”

The office door slammed shut as Mir began to transform his image, returning to the size I had first encountered. Silence reigned throughout the room until he finally saw fit to break it as his voice rumbled through the air like a shockwave. “Interesting.” He took a tentative step towards Kira with warmth and tenderness flooding his normally granitelike features. “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Lady Kira.”

Kira trembled beside me, transfixed by the man before us, before she gave a slight curtsy. “Pleased to make your acquaintance Master Mir.”

The two of them stared at each other for several moments longer before Mir bowed low and started circling the room.

Trying to explain things to them I grasped for the words. “Our good friend Mir is a part of someone in the royal family called the Allfather and he manages the ‘Organic Dynamic Intelligence Nexus’ (O.D.I.N.) enhancements that we have been blessed with.”

Both Kira and Nicholas were intrigued at the mention of the O.D.I.N. finally having a name for the potential that resided within their bodies. Mir seemed content studying the situation instead of helping, so I marched on clumsily doing my best to make them understand. Trying to find a starting point I reminded Kira of the clear blue stone I had kept under lock and key, and I tried to explain that it was much like the ‘bone’ Nicholas had encountered. Neither one was what they appeared to be. Both were representations of what they had once been and made up entirely of billions of nanites. The man before us wasn’t actually a physical being no matter what our sense might tell us. Since we were all a part of the Nexus he was able to appear to us whenever he wished.

Nicholas eyed Mir curiously. “So he isn’t real?”

“Flesh and blood, he is not but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he isn’t real.”

Nicholas approached Mir as he studied him carefully. “He sort of looks familiar but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Kira continued to study our guest at a distance before suddenly looking back at me. “He looks a little like you.”

She was stretching things a bit far in my opinion but I wasn’t about to divert their attention at the moment. “I don’t see it but that isn’t the point. The point is Mir is an important resource that we can use.”

Kira turned to me questioningly. “How so?”

“Mir is sentient...” He could feel free to jump in at any moment now and save me a lot of trouble but he seemed content to just stare at us while he paced around the room. He stopped suddenly as his image wavered slightly, then faded away. Running my hand down my face in disbelief I stalked back to my seat. “It would appear that our sentient hologram has left the building.”

“I’m lost here. Anyone care to fill me in?” Nicholas threw up his hands in defeat.

“The two of you should have similar abilities to mine.” My head hurt as I tried to explain the basics. “I can only guess that the two of you have nanites which will prevent you from aging, allow you to access data networks with thought, and possibly even have similar shielding technology as I do.”

As it dawned on Kira about the possibilities she was both overjoyed at the prospects of a very interesting future yet frightened at the reality. The corner of her left eye twitched as it always did whenever she got nervous. She gave me one of those pitiful sad looks as a tear ran down her cheek. “All I need to do is grow another three and a half feet and then I would really be ten feet tall and bulletproof.” It was meant to be a joke to lighten the situation but it just sounded sad and hollow. Plopping herself into the nearest chair she mumbled to herself weakly. “It was supposed to be cool...”

My heart ached for her as the reality of who we were rolled over her like a freight train. “I’m so sorry honey... I didn’t know.” If you’ve ever hurt your child's feelings without intending to, multiply that times a thousand and you would start to know how I felt just now. Nothing I could say would ever make up for the innocence she had lost here today. As a parent I had failed miserably by not preparing her for this possibility.

Nicholas seemed to understand as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Both of them were now burdened with the curse and the blessing of being a part of a very unique family. “Where do we go from here?” He asked.

Exhausted I nearly collapsed into my chair. “First we have to deal with the fourth member of our wayward little family here.”

“Four of us?” Kira looked around the room as she made a show of counting the three of us. “I only count three. How do you get four?”

Nicholas’s face sunk as he spoke. “You’re missing my sister.”

Kira’s confusion suddenly faded to be replaced once more with the heaviness of what had to be done. “Oh, her...”

“What are we going to do about my dear little sister?”

“We only have the one choice.” My voice felt weak as the words left my mouth. “Gullveig destroyed the person your sister could have been moments after her birth.” Nicholas stared at the floor, his shoulders slumped as the world weighed heavily upon him. “I know it isn’t fair that you lost a brother and will soon lose a sister so shortly after discovering them.”

Nicholas’s face sunk, yet he remained resolved. “It has to be done.”

He was right. It was something that had to be done yet it was hard to accept, especially in one so young. Without warning the electric storm shutters stuttered as they slowly rolled closed. The lights dimmed slightly while hundreds of thousands of runes sprung to life coursing along the walls, ceiling and floor like tiny rivers. It took me a moment to realize that the runes appeared to be a giant living circuit pulsing and humming to a distant rhythm that felt like home.

Mir appeared once again in the center of the room wearing the living armor I had first met him in as he slowly advanced on the three of us. My shields instinctively wrapped themselves around me and I watched as shields enveloped Kira and Nicholas. Their bodies tensed at first not realizing what was happening to them, and they fell back leaving me to face Mir’s imminent arrival.

He cocked his head to one side as a ragged smile chiseled itself across his granit features. “Good.”

Stepping forward to challenge him I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as lightning arced between my hands as the smell of ozone filled the air. “You can stop there!” I commanded.

Mir’s helm sprung to life covering his face as he rushed me. Forcing the energy through my right hand I caught him fully in the chest, throwing him across the room and pinning him to the wall with a loud crash. Slowly forcing himself forward he peeled himself from the wall he as he pushed his will against my own. Rocking back I firmly planted my feet to stop from being toppled and discarded. Kira was first to come to my aid as she saw me struggling against Mir’s might. Blue flames danced in my daughters eyes as her body glowed a bluish-green. Cupping her hands and slowly pushing forward I heard the howl of hurricane force winds as they slammed into Mir, sending him sprawling across the room, slamming him against the far wall. Yet he wasn’t finished with us as he forced himself to his feet once more and fought his way through the swirling winds while covered in shining currents of power. Nicholas growled as he stepped forward, his eyes alight with the same fire I saw in Kira. He poured white hot fire across the void at Mir who suddenly vanished and the room returned to normal. The three of us fell to our knees, panting from the exertion. My body felt like it was on fire as it screamed its objection to me loud and clear.

“This is your idea of useful?” Kira panted.

She had a point. If he came at us again in the near future we were spent and death would soon follow. Rolling over and leaning back against my desk I wiped the sweat from my brow. “I don’t understand what happened to him.”

“Nothing happened to me.” Mir’s voice boomed through the office as I rolled to my feet to see him sitting in my chair, or at least appeared to be sitting there. “I just had to be sure we were alone before we went any further.”

“Alone?” Kira growled as her eyes glowed.

Mir stood slowly as his armor morphed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. “Be calm child and I’ll explain.” Kira grimaced as she looked at me. “While you inherited your gifts rightfully your friend here is an anomaly.” Mir waved at Nicholas who looked more than a little offended at the comment but remained quiet. “I had to make sure that his sibling couldn’t hear us.”

It dawned on me then that he was afraid Gullveig might be able to spy on us through Nicholas. “And?”

Mir shook his head sadly. “Her code is so corrupted that she isn’t even on the same wavelength as we are.”

“But she will have similar abilities won’t she?” Nicholas asked.