Arielle Immortal Awakening (31 page)

The scientists both thanked Sebastian and Nathan profusely, then headed to their rooms. Sebastian, pleased with the outcome of the first part of the plan, thanked Nathan for his help and went to bed, but not before trying to call Arielle one more time. This time a man’s voice answered her phone.

“Hello!”

“Can I speak to Arielle, please?”

“Is this Sebastian?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Hi Sebastian, this is Paul. We all went to see a film the other night and she must have dropped her phone in my car. I just found it.”

“Hello, Paul, could you please let her know that I’ve been trying to call?”

“Certainly,” Paul replied. “Talk to you later,”

“Later,” Sebastian echoed. He hung up with a frown on his face. Why was Arielle spending so much time with Paul? He could neither understand nor explain the strange feeling that made him ache, needing to hear her voice. She was his life, and he couldn’t stand the idea of another man spending any time with her. His face was stressed. He wanted to see her, to talk to her, to make sure she still loved him. He tried to close his eyes and conjure the image of her face but that only made him ache worse. He had never experienced this feeling before. It was new to him, and he didn’t like it.

He exhaled deeply and tried to pull himself together. He knew he couldn’t afford to have these feelings when he was dealing with a matter of life and death. He tried to use his immortal powers to suppress his personal feelings, only to find out that he didn’t possess the power to do that. He was stunned to realize that the feeling taking him over was jealousy. He couldn’t stand the idea of Arielle being away from him, especially with another man. He got into bed and lay there with his eyes wide open. He could see the image of her face in front of his eyes, and it made the ache even stronger.

If he could cry he would, but instead he pinched the tip of his nose and clenched his fists into two hard balls. If he had touched anything at that moment it would have been crushed, so intense was his frustration. For a long time he remained like that, tense and wide awake, filled with emotional pain. Finally he felt into an uneasy, fitful state of sleep.

The next morning, Mark called asked for Sebastian and Nathan to meet him in the lobby. “I need to talk to you before this afternoon’s meeting,” he explained.

Sebastian called Nathan. “Mark sounds eager to meet with us this morning,” he said. They arrived at the lobby at 10:30, where they found Mark pacing back and forth, looking anxious. Tony was standing nearby, staring out the lobby door.

“Good morning,” they both said simultaneously as Sebastian and Nathan approached. Mark could hardly wait to speak and he went right to the point.

“I received a strange call early this morning from my boss Dylan Jamison. Ryan Mansfield the head of British intelligence here in Abuja, contacted him to discuss some excitement that took place last night on the south side of town. Dylan called me early this morning and told me that the two of you were involved,” Mark said. He stopped and gave them a quizzical look.

“Yes, quite right, I gave your name as well as Dylan’s name to the British intelligence agent.” Sebastian said. “I had left my phone in the hotel, so I was unable to call you.”

“What happened?” Mark asked looking a bit confused.

“Nathan and I decided to go out for a drink last night. We got into an argument over some girls with five guys who were completely inebriated,” Sebastian explained. “We got into a fist fight and they lost. The women helped them to their car and were yelling at them about how angry Alexie was going to be, and that they needed to get back to the prisoners. We had a feeling that they were talking about the person we’re meeting today at the museum so we followed them and they led us to a location that seemed to be heavily guarded.”

“Amazing!” Tony said.

“There was a public phone to call for help, but we couldn’t remember your number. So we called the Embassy and they were there within a few minutes. We explained why we were there. We told them we thought our scientists might be trapped as prisoners inside, and that we needed their help to get them out safely. We were advised that they had been after this group for a very long time. Within a few minutes they had rescued Dr. Swanson and Dr. Walker. They are upstairs in their rooms safe and sound,” Sebastian said.

“I just can’t believe this!” Mark said. He looked dazed.

“Well, I asked him to call you and ask you about today’s operation, since this is your investigation,” Sebastian added. Mark seemed pleased with his last statement, and smiled.

“I’m glad your men are safe,” he said. “And I told Ryan, the head of intelligence, to meet us at the museum at 1:30.”

“Perfect!” Sebastian said.

“I hope we can get the documents back,” Nathan added, suppressing a grin.

Sebastian and Nathan returned to their rooms, relieved that this awkward hurdle had been overcome. As soon as he was in his room Sebastian sat on the bed and called Troy, who picked up on the second ring.

“Hello, old man, how is everything going?”

“Hello, Sebastian. Fine here, is everything okay with you?”

“Yes, everything is working out just fine,” Sebastian said. “I’ll tell you all about it when we see each other. But I haven’t been able to reach Arielle for several days. Is she all right?”

“Yes, she’s fine, I actually just saw her about an hour ago at the pub. She said something about losing her phone.”

“Yes, I found out this morning that Paul has it. She dropped it in his car when you all went out,” Sebastian said.

“Oh! Good to know. I’m sure Paul will let her know. Don’t worry; I’m keeping an eye on her. She is missing you terribly. I just wish she would stop talking about you every time we are all together.”

Sebastian smiled with pleasure to hear these words, and he could feel his spirits lifting. “You don’t know how good that makes me feel,” he said. “I was getting pretty anxious, not being able to talk to her.”

“She’s fine! I’ll let her know you called. Be safe and let me know how it goes.”

“Thanks, Troy. I’ll see you soon.” Sebastian put the phone down. He was relieved and happy to know that Arielle was thinking of him, and that she was having fun with her friends, too.

Next he called Nathan and they both went downstairs to wait for Mark and Tony to arrive. Around 1:00 they all flagged a taxi and left the hotel, headed for the museum. There they met Ryan Mansfield and two agents who were with him at the entrance. Mark and Ryan spoke in low voices for a few minutes as Sebastian and Nathan walked around, blending in with the visitors that were buzzing around the various rooms. Though they pretended to be following Mark and Tony’s lead, they were using all of their immortal powers, keen to any information they might glean in the minds of the visitors that might prove useful to them.

As the hour drew closer, Tony became visibly more anxious and began rubbing his hands together incessantly. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Nathan’s eyes were taking in and analyzing every person’s moves while they pretended to be carefully studying the artifacts. At 1:53 the tension in the room was almost unbearable. Just then Sebastian noticed two very well-dressed men with light brown hair and very light complexions standing in a corner, looking at a museum map. But he noticed that their eyes kept checking the entrance every few seconds.

One man had a briefcase in his hand and a newspaper under his arm.

The second man was holding a map. He had a camera strap draped around his neck like a tourist.

Sebastian exchanged looks with Nathan and their lips moved in such a way that no one could hear what they were saying. Then Nathan walked to the left of the men and Sebastian stood on the right. Before long they saw the same stocky man they had seen at the restaurant the night before standing at the entrance to the room, holding the briefcase. He stopped, just as he had the night before, took a careful look around, and when his gaze fell on the two men in the corner, he moved towards them. There were handshakes and low conversation between them. No one but Sebastian and Nathan would be able to understand what was being said, but to them it was perfectly clear. Mark, Tony, and Ryan were also watching the men carefully. Mark leaned over and whispered something to Tony. Sebastian and Nathan exchanged a look and both smiled, having heard Mark’s words. “Make sure those two don’t get hurt,” was what he had muttered, referring to Nathan and Sebastian.

Suddenly the two men swapped briefcases, and exchanged a few words in an awkward, coded language. But both Sebastian and Nathan clearly understood that Alexie was not the key man in the operation. The man with the fake briefcase was the key man. He was now giving Alexie instructions about their next move, which was to get the prisoners to the airport in time for the flight the next morning. They shook hands and Alexie walked out the door carrying the fake briefcase, followed by Ryan and the other two British policemen. Their plan was to arrest him outside, inconspicuously, avoiding harm to any innocent people. The two other men remained in the museum, pretending to look at and discuss the art objects while carrying the real documents and files from one room to another. Sebastian and Nathan waited by the exit along with Mark and Tony while keeping a sharp eye on the men.

After a few minutes, Ryan walked back inside and leaned over to Mark. “He has been arrested without incident,” he said. “He’s on his way now to join the others.” Twenty more minutes passed. Then, finally, the two men in possession of the briefcase made their way toward the exit. As soon as they stepped outside, the briefcase was in Sebastian’s hands. Nathan was holding both men by the throat and they were unable to move. Ryan’s agents were shocked, but they hurriedly slapped handcuffs on the two men, who were utterly astonished with the outcome.

Nobody in the museum had observed the arrest. It had taken place so quickly and so quietly that no one saw anything at all. Ryan ordered his officers to put the prisoners in the car and take them away, and then he turned to Sebastian.

“Sebastian, that was some kind of move,” he said. “In fact, I don’t think I ever even saw you or Nathan move. How’d you get those guys?”

“Oh, you know—adrenaline,” Sebastian laughed, and added, “you didn’t do badly yourself.” They all laughed, Mark still shaking his head in amazement. He intuited that there was something different, something special about Nathan and Sebastian, but he couldn’t figure it out what it was. He was just happy that they were on the same side.

What a great relief! This was exactly the outcome Sebastian had fervently hoped for. The documents were back in his possession and the scientists were safe.

“Thanks, guys, for all the help,” said Ryan.

“Thank
you
for helping us get our scientists back to the hotel safely,” said Sebastian with a smile.

Chapter 23

W
ith Nathan’s assistance, Sebastian had managed to accomplish a major part of the task before him. However, there were still a few important items that needed to be taken care of. Now he needed to visit each of the company buildings worldwide and hold interviews with each employee individually. His purpose was to locate and eliminate all the enemy moles within the company. He didn’t want anything like this to ever happen again! He was determined to rid the company of impostors.

However, his thoughts were now a bit freer to turn to Arielle. How he wished he could return to England right now! He was extremely upset that this next step would keep him from getting home earlier, but he knew it was essential to the wellbeing of his company and the safety of his employees.

They left Nigeria the next morning and arrived in Auckland a day later. There they met with Jonathan Locklear, the head of operations.

“Jonathan,” Sebastian said, “Nathan and I need to walk through the building with you tomorrow and meet all the folks that work here. It is of the utmost importance that we talk with each one of them individually. We’ll be back to meet with you first thing in the morning.” They shook hands and Sebastian and Nathan went to get a hotel room. Once settled, Sebastian took a shower and got ready for bed. Then pressed Arielle’s number on his phone, and this time she answered on the second ring.

“Sebastian!” she cried, her voice full of excitement.

“I’ve been trying to call you, Arielle, but you never answer your phone. Paul answered it yesterday for you. I guess you haven’t missed me too much,” he said, his voice a bit forced.

“Oh, I know, Sebastian! I’m sorry, I dropped my phone in his car the other night when we all went out.”

“I don’t like you spending time with other guys,” Sebastian said tightly.

“Jealous, are you?” she chuckled.

“Yes, I’m jealous—of you. You’re mine, and I don’t want to share you with anyone else. Is that so wrong?”

“No, it’s not wrong, but you aren’t here most of the time and I need to spend time with my friends. But I love you, Sebastian, and nobody else. Why are you so worried?”

“Arielle, I’m planning to spend eternity with you, so anything that has to do with you is a major concern for me.”

“When are you coming home?” she said impatiently, wanting to change the subject.

“I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Oh, please, don’t be mad at me. I can’t wait to see you. When are you coming back?” she asked again, pleadingly.

“Oh, it’ll still be a while,” he said, dreading her reaction when he had to tell her that he was not going to be back for another month. How could he break such terrible news to her? “The situation has turned out to be quite serious for our company,” he said. “We could be losing millions of dollars even as we speak. I’m meeting with some of our executives tomorrow, and then we have to do some quick work throughout all our international locations. It’s going to take more time than I thought it would, baby,” he said, almost wincing as he anticipated her next question.

“How long will it be?” she asked.

“Well…probably about a month,” he said.

There was dead silence for a very long time.

“But that will be December!” she finally said. “That’s crazy! I’ll die without you for that long. Sebastian, I just can’t wait that long,” she said. “Can’t you come back here first?”

“That’s not how it works,” he said in a very low voice.

Again silence fell for another long moment.

“Arielle, are you there?” he asked, finally.

“Yes, I am here, but I’m not happy.”

“Arielle, I’m doing the very best I can with this situation. Please try to understand,” he said.

“I’m trying,” she said. “But I don’t think you know how hard it is for me to be away from you.”

“I feel the same way, baby,” he said, a huskiness in his voice. “How is school going?” he asked, trying to change the conversation.

“Oh, it’s fine, nothing exciting. A few tests and we’ll be getting ready for exams pretty soon.”

“How are your parents?”

“They’re fine, and they keep asking about you. They fell in love with you, too. But you know that,” she snorted.

Sebastian smiled at her remark and felt relieved that she seemed to be finding her way out of a snit. All he wanted to do was finish his work and get back to her. He loved her so much!

“Are you being safe?” she asked fretfully.

“Yes, all is well,” he said. “I should be able to wrap everything up and come home by the first week in December. I’m really sorry about this, Arielle. I didn’t know things were going to turn out this way. I ache for you, and when I think about you being sad, it makes me feel even worse.”

“I love you, Sebastian, I’ve missed you so much, and December seems so far away.”

“I know, but this is what I have to do. Miss me!” he whispered. Then he ended the call.

Early the next morning Sebastian and Nathan went to the laboratory to meet with Jonathan. The next few days were very busy. They met with each and every one of the employees and used their immortal powers to determine who had been involved in the conspiracy. In all, five people who worked at different stations in the same building had been conspiring against the company. Their names were put on a list to be arrested by the end of the day for conspiracy. For now, this location was clean, and anyone who would be hired from now on would be checked thoroughly by the London office. Jonathan was a very good and trustworthy employee, and Sebastian knew that his orders would be followed to the last detail. They got back to the hotel late and went right to sleep. The next day they flew to Sydney to do the same thing.

In Sydney they only found two spies, but Sebastian could see in their minds that there were other connections in other countries, and Nathan could see that they were planning more extortions and break-ins in the future. Clearly their work was not over.

“We have more than one spy in our labs, and we need to find out who they are and get rid of them,” Sebastian said as they sat discussing next steps in their hotel after a long day’s work. “We’ll have to do the same thing in all the other locations in every single country,” he said, sighing. “And I think it needs to be done
now
, before they have time to reorganize. I think we’d better get to Germany and start interviewing everyone there. I’ll call Jon and Pier to meet us there and help with the interviews.”

“When?” Nathan asked, rubbing his forehead wearily.

“I think we should start right now and finish all the locations as quickly as we can,” Sebastian said. “It will probably take until the first week in December. Is that okay with you?” He looked at his friend, thinking how lucky he was to have such an uncomplaining companion.

“Sure, no problem at all,” Nathan said.

Before going to bed, Sebastian decided to check in on Arielle. She picked up on the first ring and sounded very excited.

“Have you changed your mind? Are you coming home?” she cried when she saw that it was Sebastian calling.

“No, baby, please, don’t make me feel bad. You know I’m going to Berlin first. I’ll be calling you all the time. I’m getting pretty anxious being away from you this long.”

“Text me,” Arielle said. “It will be easier for me to leave my phone on vibrate. Then I can see your messages and reply even if I’m in class. I’ll make sure my phone is in my pocket at all times,” she said. “I miss you so!”

“Okay,” he agreed. “But I need to hear your voice, too. So I’ll try to call when I know you’re not in class. I love you, baby!”

“I love you too, Sebastian. Please be safe, and come home soon.”

“I’ll see you as soon as I can,” he promised.

“Wait… wait… Why are you ready to hang up?” she said. “I want to talk to you.”

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“No! There’s nothing wrong, but I’ve missed your voice. I just want to talk to you. Are you alone? Is someone there with you?”

“Now you are being ridiculous. There is no one here but me,” he said.

“Tell me, then, that you love only me.”

“Arielle, you’re my life and I love no one but you,” he said patiently. He smiled, satisfied with her questions. Sebastian knew that Auckland was 11 hours later than Brighton, and that it was 4:00 in the morning for Arielle.

“I know it’s very early in the morning there,” he added. “You should go back to sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go,” she answered. “I’m going out tomorrow evening to see a new film, with Gabrielle, Ian, Eva, Troy, and Paul. I’ll shut my phone off while we’re in there. Just in case you decide to call.”

“Arielle, I feel like you are spending way too much time with Paul,” Sebastian said. Even though he knew Arielle’s love was true, the situation still made him uncomfortable.

“He’s just a friend, Sebastian. Really.”

“Well, we’ll talk about that later.”

“Sebastian! Don’t hang up,” she said quickly again.

“What is it baby?”

“I have something very important to talk to you about when you get home,” she murmured thoughtfully.

“Oh, can’t you tell me now?”

“No, you have to be here.”

“Oh…now I am really intrigued. You sound eager,” he murmured.

“I am, I think it’s one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made. It makes me nervous,” she said without taking a breath.

“Arielle, it sounds serious. Are you sure we can’t talk about it over the phone?”

“No…no, you have to be here with me,” she purred, and felt her nerves scorching.

“Ohh!” he said, intrigued. “All right baby, I am anxious to hear it. I love you desperately, please miss me!” And the phone went dead.

He walked out of his room, totally preoccupied by Arielle’s last statement. It sounded pretty cryptic to him. He went down to the hotel lobby where he found Nathan. As usual, their exceptionally handsome looks attracted a good deal of attention, so they were not surprised to see heads turning wherever they went. They found a corner table in the garden and sat there to enjoy the quiet. Before long they were deep into their conversation when they heard female voices calling out to them.

“Sebastian! Nathan! What are you doing here?!”

They looked up, startled, and turned toward the voices in shock. They knew both of the women very well, but they pretended not to remember them.

“Sebastian, it’s me Julia, Julia Venhousen. We dated for a very long time, you can’t tell me that you forgotten me.”

As Sebastian was thinking about how to reply, the other girl spoke.

“Nathan, it’s me Paola, Paola Gordioni. Remember?” Nathan looked at her in confusion, as if he didn’t recall her.

“Julia, what are you doing here?” Sebastian finally managed to say.

“I live here, or I should say we both live here,” she said waving her arm between her and Paula. “We’ve lived here for the past 70 years. I still look great don’t I?”

“Yes, you still look beautiful,” Sebastian allowed.

“Sebastian, I’ve missed you. What happened to you? You disappeared without a word.”

“Well, we never had anything serious going,” Sebastian said. “I didn’t think there was a need for goodbyes.”

“I sure would like to start something serious right now,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling a coy smile. “You look just as delicious as you always did.” She looked at him as if he were a tasty meal she would love to consume. She turned to look at Paola, a crude grin on her face.

“I must say he is,” Paola agreed, “but so is Nathan. I remember how great he was in bed!” she said, snorting. They both laughed, making Sebastian and Nathan feel pretty uncomfortable.

“Come on, Sebastian, let’s go out and have some fun tonight,” Julia said. “I remember very well what a great dancer you were —
among other things,”
she added, laughing suggestively.

“I’m sorry, Julia. We have an early flight in the morning. Besides, I’m not available any longer.”

“Ohhhh! There is a lucky girl out there? I envy her,” she said with an exaggerated pout. “We were good together,” she added.

“That was centuries ago, Julia,” Sebastian said, standing up. “It was nice seeing you again, but we really do have to go. It was nice seeing you too, Paola.
Ciao!
”