Chapter 9

Spencer follows the address on the paper Julie had given him. He is taken to a villa out in Greenwich, a suburb of London. After paying the cab the tab, he slips the cab driver a little more to forget about the fare. The driver is more than happy to forget.

The villa is an impressive sight. It has a beautifully maintained landscape and Spencer isn’t really sure he is at the right address—not until the door opens and a man walks out. “Mr. Reeds?” he asks with a thickly accented voice.

Spencer looks to the man wearing a butler uniform. “That is me.”

“Right this way then sir,” the butler says with a wave toward the open door.

Spencer walks in and it opens up into the largest room he has ever seen in a house. Julie sits at the opposite end playing a tune on the piano he immediately recognizes as the Nine Inch Nail song The Beginning of the End. He waits until she is finished and gives a small clap. He enjoyed the piece but after the day’s events he really isn’t much in the mood.

“I was afraid you had gotten lost,” she says looking up from the piano. “Did you manage to find our stalker?”

“As a matter of fact I didn’t,” he says lying solemnly. “But I did get somewhat of a profile. She was female and I do believe I recognized her from somewhere.”

“Do you think she part of the terrorist attack?”

“The attack on the True Group building?”

“The same,” Julie nods. “It has been all over the news this afternoon. A terrorist group called The New World Regime has taken credit for the attack today and the destruction of the True Solar facility in Russia amongst other attacks.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell,” he remarks looking upon her with suspicion.

“I imagine not,” she says ignoring his stare. “I’ve heard the name before but in reference to something else. But I cannot for the life of me remember what it was in reference to.”

“It’s definitely something worth looking into.”

“I figured you’d have thought that which is why I already have our flights booked.”

“You what?” Spencer asks shocked.

“We fly out tonight to Liverpool,” she says ignoring Spencer’s outburst. “The leader of The New World Regime is going to be there and it may help us stop the group and lead us to the bottom of True Group’s plot.”

“And to Sam,” Spencer adds.

“Of course Sam too,” she agrees.

Spencer keeps his feelings suppressed and his anger in check. It won’t do good to call Julie out on her true intentions just yet. So he changes the subject. “What did your tail provide?”

“Magnus’ bodyguards provided the cover he needed to escape. By the time I took care of his two goons he was gone.” She gives him a smile. “You may as well get some rest, the flight leaves in a couple of hours.” She turns back around to face the piano and starts to play a new tune.

Jonathan and Melissa touch down in Sydney Airport fully rested and ready for the next leg of their mission. As soon as their feet touch the tarmac they are met by two well-dressed men. They quickly notice the bulges from beneath the men’s jackets where their shoulder holsters sit.

“You are the two TDF agents sent here are you not?” one of the goons asks.

Neither agent is overly shocked to know that someone knows who they are. After the attack in Siberia things are already starting to become less shocking. “We are,” Jonathan answers stone faced.

“We would like you to come with us,” the same man says. He doesn’t show any form of a threatening tone other than his overly sized body. Both men look like professional body builders and have the overall bruiser look to them.

“You’re asking nicely?” Melissa asks with a hint of curiosity.

“Mr. Flosadottir doesn’t want to make a scene and would rather this meeting be one of mutual interest,” the second unspoken man jumps in to say.

“Lead the way then,” Jonathan replies. He gives his partner a quick smile then follows.

Samantha stands at the railing looking over the side of the oil platform into the frozen water below. The oil platform is serving no other purpose other than to hide what it purpose truly has. She smiles to herself at the thought. Typheryian had told her they were to rule over the humans and the humans could not resist because of the power of the Sura.

So why hide from them? She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder and the smile quickly fades. She hadn’t heard his approach or phasing in. Strange.

“What has you puzzled, my child?”

Typheryian. He always calls her his child. She is used to it, yet she cannot remember why. “I can’t remember my past except for these images that come to me in flashes. But I can for some reason remember you as if I had known you for my entire life.”

“That is because you have been destined to become what you are and your destiny is entwined with mine. In time your memories will return but just remember that is all in the past. You are no longer human and you must embrace what you are now.” Typheryian says it with such conviction that it hides any and all bias against her and Goji that are not Sura. He views her the same way. But even with her past, she is still very much needed, especially because of the life she carries inside her.

“Then what about this baby, my child? And who is the father?”

“As I have said, it does not matter. That child makes you more powerful than you can imagine. I will show you how to slow down the gestational process and you can spend millennia with the child. Together we will usher in a new world.”

A world without you. Sam suppresses the thought the moment it enters her mind. Typheryian surprised her every day with something new with his abilities and what he knows of her. It is too hard to find the thin line that separates the two. For all she knows, he can read minds too. The elder Goji smiles at her. It is a knowing smile, but if he is able to read her mind, she cannot be sure.

“At some point you will think it wise to turn on me because your power will become so great. But do not fail to realize the Ternion will always be united as one force, and if you succeed past us you will have to face the entire Sura, and not even an ancient can endure long against an entire race.” Samantha nods while averting her eyes. “Now you have some things to learn before the next phase.”

Agents Stone and Dupree are taken immediately from the airport by helicopter out to sea, where after a few minutes of flight, they land on the helipad of a super yacht called the Cephalopoda. Once they land, and before the rotors even begin to whine down, their escorts push the door open and climb out. They walk ahead to the edge of the platform where a set of stairs leads down to the deck and wait for the two agents to exit.

The yacht is an impressive sight. Melissa is the first to comment on the fact. “Now you see if you work hard enough you can have one of these.”

Jonathan looks at her and laughs. “Maybe if I became the owner of Microsoft.”

Melissa laughs. Their two escorts remain stoic and only turn in response once the two agents reach the edge of the platform. Jonathan and Melissa are lead into the giant ship, past a pool and into an expansive room filled with furniture, a bar, pool table and several other pieces of décor furniture and electronics.