Divine Deception: The Will Traveller Chronicals (29 page)

By now, both
Sharon and I were easily recognised in Stonebridge, so, I decided
to do a little looking around on the mainland. Sharon would only
tell me that there were ‘Lots of little fishing villages along the
coast’ and ‘Several railway shipping terminals for hundreds of
kilometres to the North’. She had her mind elsewhere. “Who brings
what to be shipped to where Sharon?” I asked the clearly aroused
woman.

“Darned if I know
Robert” She replied throatily. We were comfortable and alone in my
T.T.V. cabin that night. “The trains deliver containers; there are
three grades, perishable, fragile and general” She continued “We
trans-ship the perishables immediately and whatever space is left
we send the rest” She said

Then Sharon rolled
over and lay her naked body on mine

“Frankly Robert
only two things interest me” She said softly.

“And what might
they be Sharon?” I asked, grinning broadly.

“Electronics and
sex” Her voice husky replied. Why hadn’t I known? The next morning,
well rested after a good dose of Sharon’s sleeping pills, as I
called her unquenchable cravings, we planned the day, over
breakfast in the town hall.

“Well there are
fishing and farming villages all the way up the line I think”
Supervisor Blarty replied when Sharon asked “Then there would be
cloth and oils, and that would surely account for the general
category” He added, then scratched his head, puzzled.

“But the fragile
has got me stumped, were there many?” He asked

“Seemed like there
was a few every week or so” Sharon replied “That wasn’t my function
Ken” There was a chill in her voice.

“Er, no, of course
not Miss Sharon” Ken Blarty apologised. She knew how to make men
feel uncomfortable this one. I was to take off, under my own power,
after breakfast, and return by the following evening. Privately,
Sharon and I had arranged to meet that night, on the roof of Port
Rualé’s administration building, where Elton had died. Then, after
donning the clothes she would bring, we would attend a party. I was
to be incognito, as a job officer from Centropolis. Just before I
was to take off, Sharon came and put her lips to my ear.

“I do know
something about the valuable freight” She whispered “I just didn’t
want them to know I knew about that stuff” She added. As I went to
ask why, she smiled “Politics my dear Lord Robert, you would never
understand” I think I was glad about that.

“So, what is it
that you know?” I asked, pretending to become annoyed at her
habitual deviousness. She picked that up and dutifully got back
into line.

“They were much
smaller than the smallest perishables, because we could fit more of
them into the same space. They all came from terminal twenty
something, and they were all consigned to Centropolis, I think for
the Supreme House” Sharon told me and was about to step back, but I
held her now shirted shoulder firmly.

“Can’t you
remember exactly which terminal?” I pressed her.

“They came from
terminals in the twenties, four or five different ones, you know 23
to 28” She replied, looking concerned now.

“Alright, alright”
I snapped impatiently. Right away I wished I hadn’t. Instead of
wilting, Sharon looked down sadly at my hand.

“I serve you as
best I can in every way Lord Robert” She told me.

“I’m sorry Sharon”
I said, so only she could hear ‘I’ll make it up to you tonight
o.k.?” I promised and her beautiful face beamed once again. My take
off from the Town Hall balcony drew “oohs” and “aahs” and much
applause, so I made a point of going several hundred metres
straight up, before heading North. From up there I was all but
invisible to the naked eye below, but I could see some of what I’d
been told about.

It was like a
small scale model. I decided to follow the railway line, which was
quite far inland, only coming to the coast to link with what had to
be seafood processing plants. I knew there were fishing villages on
the coast, what I wanted to know was, what went on between
terminals twenty and twenty nine? I saw no trains on the narrow
gauge tracks, but often had to fly around mountains that the
railway just tunnelled through. I didn’t want to go through them,
in case a train came from the other way! Though I had only seen
five or six terminals so far, when I flew down to check one, it was
clearly marked Terminal 15! That didn’t make sense until I’d
checked the next three, sure enough they were 16, 17, 18, 19, then
I flew around a tunnelled mountain, a bit larger than any before,
and the next terminal was 24! There were terminals in the
tunnels.

After terminal 25,
there was another, even larger tunnelled mountain, and the next
exposed terminal was 30. So, the answer to the mystery of the
‘valuable’ containers was inside one or both of these last two
mountains. Hovering over the entrance tunnel marked terminal 30, I
saw no one, nor heard anything, so I lowered myself to the ground.
The stonework, the track works, all the man made things around me
spoke of quality design and construction. As soon as I entered the
tunnel, the whole place lit up. Powerful spotlights caught me, like
a rabbit in a car’s headlights. I couldn’t see a thing, but it
would be hard not to see me my flame red kaftan.

“Who is that? Why
do you not have a security pass?” A metallic voice asked. In my
best booming voice I replied

“I do not need a
pass to enter my own terminals” There was a few seconds silence and
I could sense people moving around behind the lights. A voice
laughed.

“State your
business impostor” It ordered, adding “If Lord Robert was to honour
us with his presence, we would have been told”. A half dozen hand
held lights moved towards me slowly. I ‘switched on’ the golden
glow and rose to float two metres above the ground.

“Since when do we
of the Supreme Family have to announce our travel plans to terminal
staff?” I demanded to know, as I’m sure Elton or Edmond would have.
Within seconds the spotlights went off, as did the torches, and, in
the still ample light, I saw that there were three men and two
women.

They were on their
hands and knees, faces to the ground. There were various mumbled
apologies coming from the five of them. I faded my golden glow,
came gently to the ground just in front of them and said to them
quietly, in a voice more like my own “Enough, enough. You are right
to challenge those who might impersonate me, though they may have
trouble proving they are me” I laughed and they obediently but
nervously laughed with me, faces still to the ground. “Alright now,
stand up and let’s have a look at you” I ordered gently. They got
up, dusted off their smart uniforms and looked shyly at me. Three
clean cut thirty year old men and two women in their twenties, all
wearing military uniforms, bearing the Supreme House insignia. They
stood there looking sheepishly at me, waiting for me to say
something.

“What do you ship
from here?” I asked them, getting to the point.

“Uh we don’t Lord
Robert” Stammered one of the men “We’re just here to protect those
who do Sire” He added. It was only then that I noticed the very
lethal Supreme House Guard weapons which the men had strung across
their backs.

“I need some
information” I told them “Terminal 29 is nearest right?” They all
nodded. “Take me to the terminal management” I ordered quietly. The
two women provided the escort for me, while the men stayed on
station. That was the Senior Officer’s idea and she now drove the
golf buggy vehicle that we were in. It was not unlike those at
Supreme House, but not nearly as comfortable.

We drove through
kilometers of paved and walled tunnels.

“This is the
nearest one?” I asked the Chief Guard.

“Yes Lord Robert”
She answered simply.

“How far to 28
then?” I queried my guard and her escort.

“About ten
kilometres Sire” She answered dutifully.

“And all of that
is underground right?” I confirmed with her.

“Yes Sire” The
woman replied, getting more and more curious at my questions.
Terminal 29 was a two story block house cut into and out of the
stone, in the middle of a stadium sized cave. There were no
windows, only double doors facing the tracks and a heavy duty
crane. A platform alongside the track connected to the building,
via a series of hand railed steps. I followed the ladies, enjoying
the view they provided as they walked ahead of me. When we reached
the top, the double doors burst open and a forty year old, much
be-medalled General officer type stood there, with two much younger
uniformed men. All three held the Supreme House Guards’ lethal
machine guns at the ready, pointed at me!

“Colonel Rudd” The
lady officer began “This really is Lord Robert sir…” But she was
cut off.

“I don’t care who
he is, I have my orders direct from Supreme House” The arrogance
and smugness were sickening.

“And what are
those orders Colonel?” I asked politely.

“Shoot on site” He
snarled back at me, then the three of them fired a ten shot burst
each. That would have, at that point blank range, damn near cut any
of my siblings in half.

I looked down at
the thirty spent bullets, I, quite literally, had not felt a thing,
but they were flattened like they’d hit a wall. Then I slowly
looked up at three now-terrified soldiers.

“Lord Robert I
tried to” The Guard Chief began, but I cut her off.

“I know, and this
lot would have been wise to listen to you, before committing an act
for which the punishment is death” My voice was enough to scare the
pompous and arrogant Colonel to death. I flipped him upside down a
metre in the air, all his pockets emptied and some of the medals
fell off. The two women could barely suppress their smiles. “I will
know of these orders” I demanded of the hapless Colonel Rudd.

He was already
bright red and gasping heavily. I put him back on his feet and he
fell to his knees.

“Lord Robert” He
gasped “Forgive me” He begged shamelessly “She told me you’d gone
renegade, killed Lord Peter and Lady Margaret and were sending
magician look-a-likes, to take over all the Supreme Family’s
assets.” The man spluttered.

“Lady Ursula?”I
asked, he nodded, barely able to speak with fear.

“Well that’s just
three more lies she’s told you Colonel” I told him “I will waive
your sentences, because you were tricked, but I now insist on your
absolute oath of loyalty, to me above all others” I demanded. I got
it from all five of them without hesitation. Later, sitting in his
bunker like office, the Colonel, much recovered and now subjective,
listened, as I briefly told him what had happened out there in the
now New World.

The Colonel tried
to understand, but a lifetime of absolute belief and conditioning
made it nearly impossible for him to do so.

“So you will lead
a force to conquer Supreme House and become the Supreme One” He
asked, his awe growing. I played along.

“That’s why I must
know everything that relies on the Supreme House for its survival”
I explained. That made sense to him “Why is a man of your rank down
here?” I asked “What business is done in this mountain that needs
four terminals to ship it” I queried.

“Lord Robert” The
Colonel looked up at me “I mean no disrespect Sire, but how is it
that you don’t know these things?” He asked, and there was just a
hint of suspicion in his still servile voice.

“I do not intend
to explain beyond saying Lady Ursula has been engaging in many
activities that none of us knew about” I answered the Colonel “It
is she who killed my Brother and Sister and she plans to kill the
Supreme One, after she has killed me” I told the shocked Colonel
“So I have no choice but to stop her”.

“You do not intend
to harm the Supreme One?” He asked, sounding genuinely
concerned.

“No Colonel” I
replied patronisingly “He is very old and very feeble. My time will
come soon enough, but Lady Ursula must be stopped. Now, tell me
all” I demanded. Satisfied, he began by explaining this whole
mountain was rich in veins of the highest grade gold, the base of
this planet’s currency.

It was mined in
tunnels that riddled the whole area, loaded into open truck
carriages at terminals 27, 28 and 29, and then taken to terminal
26, where it was smelted into bricks in a factory over our heads,
and loaded into fairly small containers, for shipment to Port
Rualé. I had discovered the Supreme Family’s bank! I figured that
was also what was happening in that other mountain, which had
terminals 20 to 23 inside it. But, when I asked the Colonel about
that, he just looked at me bewildered.

“Sire, there is so
much industry in the mountains through which this railroad runs” He
told me “I know only of that for which I am responsible Sire” He
reported, now the most dutiful soldier.

“Very good
Colonel” I told him “I’ll go see for myself. I want no one told of
my visit, no-one at all, understand?” I commanded.

“Perfectly Lord
Robert and it shall be so” He answered, saluting.

I flew back out of
that place alone, adding proof of my ‘divinity’.

Terminal 25 and 24
were clearly for grain loading, with huge drums from which the
containers were filled, sitting both sides of the open air track. I
now stood at the entrance to the rail tunnel which led to terminal
23. I entered cautiously, fully expecting a blinding lightshow any
moment. Walking slowly, peering into the dimly lit tunnel ahead, I
noticed that the pavement was no where near as smooth as Gold
Mountain, as I had named it. This was a far rougher passageway,
though the walls and roof seemed much the same. The chatter of
fairly high pitched male voices warned me I was about to arrive
somewhere. Suddenly, the tunnel turned into a cave, about half as
big as 29. There was no blockhouse, just run down huts and a
platform about shoulder high.