Chapter 28

Mike, Chuck, and Angela were still at our table, looking rather unconcerned, so I wasn’t, either, after just a brief second of panic.

“I have two quick stops to make here in the room, before we meet up with Tess. Girls, if you’d please wait here, I’d appreciate it.”

Chuck was quickly up and following me, but remained behind me at a respectful distance as I walked over to the table with karate boy. I bowed to his principal, saying in Japanese, “Please forgive me, but I wish to offer my congratulations to your warrior. May I have your permission to do so?”

“You speak our language well for being one so obviously not from Japan.”

“I thank you for that honor. I find that being underestimated and considered a barbarian by others is often to my advantage.”

That made him laugh. He then said, “You are treating a criminal with honor and respect.”

“I am treating a foe that I defeated in combat with the honor and respect he deserves for the attempt, even when he knew he had no chance to win. There is no loss of honor for attempting to do something even when you have no way to succeed, because of the impossibility of the task that had been given to you by your master. There is only loss of honor when you fail to even try.”

The man looked at me for several seconds. I met his gaze the whole time. Finally, he nodded. “We are equals in this field, that of business. I acknowledge that you are the superior on the field of combat. I would find much honor in discussing opportunities with you at a later date. My man will give you all the information you need to contact me, then. You have my permission.”

I bowed to him again, then turned to the winner of the sword. “My name is Cal Lewis. I have permission to offer my congratulations to you on winning your prize.”

“My name is Oshiro Kamatari. I accept your congratulations, and offer you my own, on your own victory.”

“I accept with honor, Kamatari-san. May I also offer my reverence to your prize?”

“You may.” He stood up, then picked the sword up, one hand on the hilt, one hand on the sheath. He held it out in front of him, his palms open. I stood up, then bowed, low, allowing my forehead to touch the sheath.

From inside the sword, I heard, “You are both samurai. I feel that. It is my honor to be known to you, to both of you.”

I straightened up. Kamatari was looking at the sword with awe. “The two of you deserve each other, Kamatari-san.” I bowed to him again, then to his principal. “Thank you for the honor.”

“Wait!” I stopped. Kamatari moved the sword to his left hand, then held his right hand out to me. I took it, then he held my hand and brought the sword out, over our clasped palms. I put my other hand on the sheath, next to his. “If you need us, we shall be there for you.”

“I understand and thank you for the honor.”

We broke the clasp and I let go of his sword. He remained standing until I was several steps away from his table. It was easy to spot my next destination, as nearly all of the men in that area were wearing turbans.

Surprising me, none of the guards stopped me from approaching.

In Arabic, I said, “Greetings, sons of the sand and greetings to the House of Al Saud. I apologize, but I do not believe I will be available for a long meeting this evening.”

“I completely understand, my young friend. You are involved deeply within the game. Sometimes it is not our choosing as to when we play, nor even upon which side we are playing. At the same time, some rivalries may require someone from outside who was not even a participant to break a stalemate.”

I nodded. “Sometimes it is the person who is attempting to teach a lesson that is the one that needs to learn. There are many paths to wisdom. Some painful, some pleasurable. I suspect that more than one player today learned a great wisdom, the same wisdom, in the game.”

He leaned back in his chair, a smile upon his face. “What wisdom is that?”

“Don’t fuck with me or mine.”

His eyes widened, then he began laughing so loud that he almost drowned out the music. Then he stood up. “I am Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince of the House of Al Saud, brother to the King of the House of Al Saud. You and yours are considered friends of the House of Al Saud, and I would be deeply honored if you would address me as Nayef.”

“I am California Lewis, of the Hutchinson Salthawks. I consider you and yours to be friends of me and mine, and I would be deeply honored if you would address me as Cal.”

“It shall be done, Cal. While I understand you have additional duties to perform tonight, some of which pertain to the game, while others are for pleasure, I would be honored if you would meet me here for breakfast tomorrow morning at, say, nine?”

“Nayef, your wish is my command.” I bowed to him, with a grin on my face to show him that I was acting this way as a friend and not a subject.

“Oh, we are going to have such a fun and fine collaboration, my young friend. Go, now, and be with the ladies.” He clasped my shoulders, nodding his head in approval with a huge smile, and then sat down after letting go.

I stepped back from him, then went with Chuck back to our table.

“Shall we go collect Tess and Serena, and perhaps go to another room here in the hotel, where we can have a private discussion?”

“Before we do that, Mister Lewis, I need to ask you a question. Privately.”

“No, you don’t, Chuck. I’ve done some research, since I’ve seen what the Messenger from Above can do. I’ve figured out how he does it, and it requires a certain mindset, similar to the training that I told you my grandfather had given me. I proved it with Elroy, in Hutchinson, at the cemetery. There’s a soul inside that sword. I think, with proper training, that others can do this. I know I’ve been trying to teach it to my ladies, with varying amounts of success.”

Jennifer nodded. “I’m not nearly as good at it as Beth, Eve, or Dora. Margie and Marcia are almost at that point, I think. And, of course, there’s Helen. I think she’s almost better than Cal.”

Chuck closed his eyes, wincing almost like he was in pain. Finally, he gave a little shake and opened his eyes again. He put a smile on his face, then. “Any time you’re ready, Sir.”

Mike’s eyes were dancing with laughter.

I held my hands out for each of the ladies. They stood, then each took one of my arms and we walked over to where Tess and Serena were sitting. “Tess, Serena, would you care to move to someplace quieter?”

“Yes, we would, Cal. Thank you,” Tess said.

Serena just picked her purse up and followed her mother. I allowed them to lead us out. The protector with them was the same one that’d been with Hannah on the golf course. He kept glancing back at Hannah, with an amused smile on his face.

Tess led us out, around the hallway, then up a flight of stairs. There was a sports bar on the second floor, with half a dozen televisions on in it. There were two guys sitting at the bar, on stools, with beers in front of them, watching a football game. Tess led us deep into the bar, to a corner booth, well away from the bar itself.

The bartender came over. “Folks, thanks for coming in, but ... this isn’t part of your event. Due to state law, I’ll need to see some ID to make sure everyone is old enough to legally be in here.”

“No, you won’t,” Mike said, loud enough to be heard over the televisions. “This entire hotel is part of our event. They’re all either yellow or blue badge. Exempt. They can have whatever they want. None of the rest of us will be drinking anything alcoholic, we’re on duty. Which means that your two ‘customers’ can go ahead and take their water and leave now, rather than doing any testing. This is more important than that.”

One of the guys that was sipping from a brown beer bottle turned and looked at Mike. “We promise, no testing, not of your groups. We actually are watching the game, just waiting for things downstairs to spill over to up here like they tend to do.”

Mike nodded. “Ice waters for us, and whatever everyone else wants, of course.”

The bartender quickly nodded, realizing he’d been caught. “Certainly. Ladies?”

Tess and Serena both ordered strawberry daiquiris. Jennifer ordered sweet tea.

Hannah looked at her when Jennifer did that, then nodded and looked at me. “I’d like a slow comfortable double screw on the beach.”

I thought Serena was going to come over the table, her face turned red. I winked at Hannah with the eye away from Serena. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I saw they have all the ingredients on the back wall when we walked in. As for me, I believe I also saw a bottle of Glenlivet back there. Three fingers, one rock, please.”

“Very good, Sir.” He left to get everything.

“Blame Elroy, Jennifer. He and Harry showed me how to appreciate good whiskey.”

“I’m not mad at him. I just wish I could join the two of you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m doing this as a last hurrah,” Hannah said. “Hopefully, you and I will share a condition before too long.”

“Hannah Mary Rothschild, stop this silliness now! Damn it, I’m your mother! What do you think your father is going to say when he hears about this?”

“Mother, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I truly don’t care what the great Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild thinks about what I do. It was all four of your idea, Grandfather, Father, and both of you, to set me up for Cal to fall for me. Sorry, I’ve fallen for him, instead.”

Hannah’s voice was a little loud, and carried. The two men at the bar both stood up, and pulled something out of their pockets. Mike was instantly on alert, but it was earplugs that they took out and put in. The bartender turned the volume up on the television set with the game on, then brought our drinks over.

“I’ll be on that end of the bar, with ear plugs in as well.”

Mike nodded his thanks.

Tess calmly looked at Serena. “You may as well calm down. Certainly this is not the scenario that we envisioned. However, since the minor detail that we are all seated at the same table and enjoying a simple discussion means that perhaps an agreement can be reached that is satisfactory to all parties involved.”

I could tell that Serena wasn’t faking any of this, not from her blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. “Mother, this is still my daughter we’re talking about here. I wasn’t that thrilled with the plan in the first place. Politely, there’s a reason why we marry like we do, instead of ... whoring ourselves out.”

“I know there is, Dear. You’re the daughter of the Baronet of Bathurst, your grandfather was the 5^th Earl of Rosslyn. When my Victor dies ... and with his heart, that could be tomorrow, or it may not be for ten years ... you will become Lady Rothschild, because Jacob will become the 4^th Baron Rothschild. However, keep in mind that one thing we cannot control is emotions. Remember, my Victor’s assistant during the war, Teresa, ended up spending so many years with my own grandmother’s brother, Richard.”

I had taken a couple of sips of my whiskey while they talked. Harry was right for this whiskey; a single ice cube.

I sat my glass down, slightly harder than needed, which made them both look at me. “From the sounds of things, the jokes that we tend to make in America regarding people from Arkansas and Kentucky have absolutely nothing on your family tree. And by that, I’m referring to the joke that how could a modern crime lab tell who did something wrong in Kentucky? They can’t, because they all have the same DNA.”

Tess smiled sadly. “Yes, we do seem to have that quality, don’t we? Of course, in our case, there’s a specific reason for it, not due to the hillbilly reason of only having family around for recreational sex.”

I took another, larger sip of the whiskey. “Well, since humans are also animals, I’m going to make a guess that you weren’t quite doing the old Hitler thing, trying to breed a better human being. Instead, you’re trying to breed someone who has a set of specific characteristics, based upon the original stock that goes back ... what, close to a thousand years? Maybe even longer than that?”

“Grandmother, I told you, didn’t I? You weren’t at the table, Mother. Last night, you both praised Cal for his intelligence. He’s used that intelligence to figure out what your plan regarding me, regarding us, is. He may not have all of the specifics, such as our time limit figured out, but...”

I held up my hand. “No, I’ve got that figured out. I don’t particularly know why you have that ... oh, wait ... of course. Now it’s simple. I must tell Harry that he was right, sometimes a little alcohol does lubricate the thinking process.”

Tess looked at me with disbelief on her face. “Really? You’ve figured things out?”

“Certainly. Your plans have been massively upset by the arrival of the Messenger from Above. Otherwise, you’d have been perfectly happy that, even if within two years, you didn’t have someone viable, you’d simply wait until the next time that Halley’s Comet comes around. Now, with him here, you have to have someone ready, regardless of whether he’s totally part of the family or not, to gain...” I paused, then nodded. “Of course. To gain whatever powers that Shiva, as the Messenger has called him, left that still reside within the comet.”

Absolutely all of the anger that Serena had in her was gone, instantly. Instead, her face turned white, with fear.

“Involuntary reactions tend to be the best ones. Tess, you served in the war, intelligence services, if I remember correctly. You learned how to control yourself. It’s rather obvious that Serena never did.”

I was only complimenting Tess on her facial expression, or lack thereof. Her pulse rate had shot up as well. I tipped my head to the side. “Ah, at least you learned to control some things. I understand that when playing poker that what you’ve just had happen, which is your pulse rate has skyrocketed and is now visible in your neck, is called a ‘tell’.”

Her hand reached for her neck, pulling her scarf up.

I took another sip of my whiskey, then leaned back in the booth. “As you said, danger and opportunity. The only problem is, you thought I was the one who was in danger, while giving you the opportunity. Rather unsettling to find things completely reversed, isn’t it? Especially after so many, many centuries.”

Tess finally seemed to get her composure back. “How old are you? Really?”

I laughed. “Wrong track for the trolley.”

That made Jennifer laugh, at the inside joke.

“Sorry, Tess, not only am I legally sixteen years old, but while there was a slight ... adjustment ... made to my age, it was only a few months. Oh, younger, Hannah, so you don’t have to worry too much about robbing the cradle, like Jennifer has done.” Jennifer smacked me slightly on the arm. “My actual seventeenth birthday would have been a few days before I met Elroy for the first time. Due to circumstances, it was easier to make me a little younger, is all.”

Serena finally seemed to regain some of her composure. “We read that your memory is incredible. Surely that’s not all there is to it, is it?”

“Of course not. But it doesn’t hurt. I’m certain you own a set of encyclopedias or two along with numerous reference books, especially on horses, right?” Serena nodded. “Now, go with me on this, because typically in your case, with your wealth, you’d simply tell someone what you want done, and they’d take care of it for you.”

“Let’s say you want to build a new stable, but you remember hearing that the building codes may have changed last year, possibly even something to do with heating and cooling. But you’re not sure. So, you go to your reference books, take one down, look up the references. You start to sketch the plan out, and while you’re doing so, you realize that you’re not sure about soil drainage conditions, so you have to stop, go do more research on those. You following me so far?”

“Of course, but I don’t see...”

I held up a finger. “Now, you’re also wanting a certain look for this stable, but you’re not sure exactly how far to space the rafters, or for that matter, whether wood or steel is the way to go. So you have to do more research. What annoys you is that you know that you did all of this research a couple of years ago, when you put a stable in at another location, but there was too much stuff to remember, and you want to make sure that everything is perfect.”

“Now, let’s apply the same situation to me. I want to build a factory in Kansas. I’ve been to the library and read everything there regarding building codes, heating systems, cooling systems, dirt work for construction, drainage, wind loads due to tornadoes, power requirements ... you name it, I’ve read it because I’m a page at a glance reader with a perfect memory. Hold a book out in front of me, I may as well be taking pictures of each page of the book and storing them in my brain. Flip the page, click, click, and I’m on to the next page.”

“A perfect memory in and of itself is great, but there’s a problem. Tess, what is that?”

“Indexing and actually being able to use the information you have effectively,” she said, nodding her head. “You can do that, can’t you? That’s what you were talking about with football and golf, before. You have enough control over your body that you could take the information you have read and apply it. You have the instant ability to read a green, to know exactly how hard to putt the ball. You can look at the wind blowing the leaves on the trees, and instantly know the wind speed, the direction, and how that will affect the way your ball travels.”

Tess shook her head. “You’ve read, I’m certain, all of the books on hand-to-hand combat that exist. If you’re good enough ... and with your ability to read, I have no doubt about it in the least, now ... you can look at an opponent, see his muscles, know what he’s going to do because you’ve synthesized all of that information and are able to draw upon it, allowing you to block or strike someone at will.”

Then her eyes got wide. “You said you’ve also read hundreds of books on political science. That means...” Her voice trailed off in realization.

“That means that once I got over the initial shock ... congratulations on that one, by the way. You actually succeeded for ... almost half an hour, I think ... then it was simply figure out what my response needed to be. The problem was, there are such a variety of responses, that it took me a good three minutes to determine which would be the appropriate one, and then not only how to implement it, but to do so with minimal casualties on either side. You see ... or perhaps you don’t, but I believe Hannah does ... I do truly love each and every one of my ladies.”

“That meant I had to make sure what Hannah was like as a real person. I’m certain you know the name of my legal guardian and his wife. For my own edification, I’d like you to tell me their names, Tess,” I said.

“Harold Watson. His wife’s name is Emily. She’s his second wife. His first wife, Elspeth, died from injuries received during a tornado outbreak several years ago. He’s been alone, raising his daughter, Elizabeth, ever since then. He was listed as your sole surviving relative; your second cousin.”

“Anything else about them you’d care to share with me?”

“Harold and Emily both went to Hutchinson High School. Their wedding ceremony was the public event this year for Reno County, Kansas, being held between football games. His daughter, Elizabeth, was your first girlfriend, with two of her friends, Dora Menendez, and Eve Patrick, who is Jennifer’s daughter, quickly joining you. Is there something specific that you’re wondering if we know?”

“Not from the perspective you’re thinking, no. Because there’s one thing that you’ll never find in a newspaper article, and that’s whether I trust someone or not, and if I do, to what extent do I trust them.”

Slowly, Tess said, “I would presume more so than ... any of us would trust someone that, just because we’re related, we hadn’t had a close relationship with before.”

I smiled. “As I told Emily just this past weekend, if she’d been a perfect bitch, it would have been much more difficult to simply hand her the reins for taking care of everything in Kansas that I have going on. Because I needed someone to do that, while we’re in California. If she truly needs my advice, then I’m simply a phone call, or at worst, a quick jet flight, away. But otherwise, she’s pretty much going to run everything for a few years.”

Now Serena looked confused, shaking her head. “I don’t understand. I get that you’ll let this Emily run things. But you’re at a standstill. Her father, Allen, will run the Siemens plant, making wind turbines. Her husband, Harold, will run the Ice-X plant. You’ve the contractor ... I believe his name is Rogers ... building out the houses and commercial properties. Gates and Lerner will run their own properties, of course.” She brought her hands up, puzzled.

“That’s why you’re vulnerable. You’re out of options. Our plan...” She stopped, then looked at Tess. “With your permission?”

“Since it appears that it is quite unimportant what our plan is, or was, I see no reason you cannot share it. Or I will, if you feel compromised due to Hannah being present.”

Serena shook her head. “No, I’m fine now, I believe. I will state that I truly feared for my life a few moments ago, something I’m not used to feeling. As I was saying, our plan was for Hannah to get you to open up and be encouraging for you when you failed, both on the golf course and in the physical combat challenge. Then, you would see her, and us, as a friendly ear, one you could come to for advice and assistance, due to the physical limitations of your actual properties in Kansas.”

“That’s why I’m shocked when you say you’ll allow Emily Watson to handle things. What is there to handle? The Siemens plant has years’ worth of back-orders, ones they’ll never be able to fill without assistance. The same with your Ice-X facility. We’re here to be able to help you with that, provide financial assistance, help you secure land and to help manage things for you, so that you can continue your education. In return ... well, we would groom you. Hopefully when the time comes ... and you’re correct, regarding Halley’s Comet ... you would be mentally prepared to ... I do need your help,” she said, nodding to Tess.

“Mentally prepared to meet, as that alien intruder calls him, Shiva. He has been seeking someone here for centuries, someone worthy. Our family has known of this for over six hundred years. We’re not the only ones, of course. There are others who remember, who know. He will grant someone worthy his powers, his abilities. Then they will rule the world, just as he did. That’s what we want for you.”

“And, of course, with your new powers and abilities, you would be in a position to reward those who helped you. A new world government, under your control. A new world order, with us helping you. As someone who did work in military intelligence, I have difficulty sometimes using the phrase, ‘according to legend,’ but as David would tell you, it was in the records of the CIA as well. So, ‘according to legend,’ the one who is changed by Shiva is not just mentally changed by him, but also physically changed, into his image, as it were. We interpret this to mean, in terms of modern science, that his DNA is modified so that genetically, those changes will be able to be passed on, to your children. Through Hannah.”

While they’d been talking, I’d finished my glass of whiskey. I held up my hand for another, which the bartender quickly brought over, and then hurried off.

I took another sip, while the silence grew around the table. Then I put my glass down. “Serena, Tess, what does Hannah want to do with her life?”

Serena frowned. “What does Hannah want to do? She’ll be going to Oxford. Then we have a position set up for her with the BBC, so she can learn about that. Then she can use that knowledge in making documentaries and films, of course.”

I shook my head. “That didn’t answer the question. I asked, what does SHE want to do with her life, not what have you planned out for her to do with her life?”

“Oh, you mean the writing thing. She’ll be able to use that with film making, of course, which will be useful to the family. Much more so that being a simple wordsmith.”

I was simply shaking my head. “That sounds like quite the nurturing family.” I took a large swallow of the whiskey, downing most of the glass at once.

Tess simply smiled at me. “While we realize that it may not be exactly what Hannah would like to do with her life, people in our position rarely have that choice. That’s ... well, to be quite blunt ... why we were having her become close to you.”

I’d finished off the whiskey, and ordered another. “You know, when Harry and Elroy taught me about whiskey, they didn’t mention how good it can make you feel. No ... no wonder Earl and Elroy like to sit and drink several asses ... glasses.” I blinked rapidly, then took a sip of the new glass I’d been brought.

Hannah frowned a little. “Would you care for a sip, Hannah?”

“No, I can smell it from here, thank you. Are you sure that it’s okay for you to drink like this? I can’t imagine you’ve had this experience before.” She snorted. “I wish I hadn’t.”

“That’s okay, Hannah, dear. Now, where were I? Oh, where was I? It doesn’t matter a lot, Hannah. Your mother and step-grandmother think I’m inebriated now. They think that I’m going to let slip that their plan has more holes in it than the golf course, because they are so wrong about my position that it’s almost not funny. You know I’m from Kansas, and we’ve got pigs there. Pigs have litters with lots of little piglets. And the smallest one is known as the runt. You know why? Because he’s not getting enough milk to grow up to be big and strong. Why doesn’t he get enough milk? Because the other piglets push him to the side, to the very end. So he gets stuck with the teat that produces the least milk.”

“Yep, he’s sucking the hind teat. He’s getting the short end of the stick, if you haven’t otherwise heard our American expression.” I drank half the glass of whiskey in one swig. “Good stuff. Jennifer, dear, please make sure we have this in our home, since I’m not old enough to buy it. Stupid laws. And ole Tess and Serena over there, they’re sucking the hind teat, and they don’t even know it.” I chuckled a little.

“I trust Emily because you’re operating on information that’s so old, it’s ready for the retirement home. We start construction on January 2^nd on a second Siemens factory, and on an Ice-X production facility that will be three times the capacity of the one we have now. George knows. Mike’s in charge of security for all of it, which means no one gets to mess with any of it, and live.” I grinned, then. “So, that’s my good plan for taking over the world. Oh, not all of it, of course. You’ve been playing around with money power, controlling banks and such. Amateurs.”

That put shocked looks on more faces than just Tess and Serena. All of our security got that look as well. I appeared to be bobbing and weaving a little, so I could see the looks on everyone’s face. The only two that didn’t look shocked were Jennifer and Hannah. The two of them had long ago slipped a hand under the table, apparently to play with my leg. They weren’t doing that. Their hands were touching, and they were tapping Morse code to each other.

“You’re talking about political power.” I laughed dismissively. “That’s great. I can run the world government. Hell, that’s been my goal all along, anyway. But I’m not going to get there through political crap. That’s what I told Brad. You can find anything in the political science books. One will tell you this system works, another will tell the first book is full of shit, and this is what works. I’ve read hundreds of them, and they’re all wrong. You know why? I’ll tell you why! It’s not science! It’s all political opinion! You’re doing science, you can measure the results, and you can repeat them. Again and again! I can take a one liter flask of pure water, put a one gram cube of sodium metal in it, and I can tell you exactly how much hydrogen gas it will generate, as well as exactly how many degrees the temperature of the water will change. Each and every TIME!

“You’re amateurs, messing around with things you don’t understand, throwing something at a wall and hoping it’ll stick. You told me that yourselves last night, didn’t you? Huh, didn’t you? You’ve got no clue. I do. And that’s how I’ll take over the world.” I closed my eyes, then opened them again. I picked my glass of whiskey up, draining the rest of it. “Oh, I don’t think they warned me about this part of the experience.”

Jennifer smiled. “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt a long time ago. Ladies, I think that our after dinner conversation has come to an end. Hannah, I know you’d said some things earlier, but if you’d prefer to change your mind in light of ... circumstances ... I’m sure that it’ll be fine.”

I was sitting with my head mostly on my chest, my eyes seeming to be glazed over. I could see Serena and Tess both look at each other. This was the key moment I was waiting for, to see how things would end up going with Hannah.