Finding North (51 page)

“
The
conspirators . . .” Alex started.

“
The Black
Skeletons?”

“
That’s the name we’re
using for the group of individuals behind all of this,” Alex said.
“They seem to have believed that I was on to what they were
doing.”

“
Why?”

“
Thanks to the General, it
is commonly thought that I can translate Linear A, the language
they use to interact with each other,” Alex said. “When we started
looking into sunflower fields and bees, they thought we’d figured
out what they were doing. But actually, Jesse found this weird book
about old churches in that bookstore in Paris. I found one on
beekeeping. We were tracking what was in the books.”

“
French Intelligence
apologized again,” the Admiral said.

“
Good to know,” Alex said.
“I’m just glad they’re not apologizing for someone’s
murder.”

“
Indeed,” the Admiral
said. “What about this Dex Zeno character? Your trip to northern
New York?”

“
Again, a coincidence,”
Alex said. “We found some maps that belonged to my grandfather,
Rebecca’s father. They had a symbol on them that Raz had seen
before. His old NYPD partner was connected to the other side of the
Black Skeleton.”

“
The white skeleton?” the
Admiral asked.

“
They call themselves
the
‘Ambitum Rosa’
,” Alex said. “The compass rose.”

“
After the symbol on the
map,” the Admiral said.

“
Yes,” Alex said. “They
are families dedicated to thwarting those who use the natural bust
cycles of the world to enhance the destruction of the
world.”

“
What do they call them?”
the Admiral asked.

“
According to Dex, they
don’t have a name,” Alex said. “He says they move like a fog or
cloud, infiltrate existing groups, and use the groups’ natural lust
for power and wealth to get them to destroy the world. Giving them
a name only focuses on the specific group they’ve co-opted to their
purpose.”

“
What happens to the
group?” the Admiral asked.

“
The group is destroyed —
think Third Reich — and those who whipped it into a fervor slip
away to start over somewhere else.” Alex shrugged. “The group fades
to memory while these Black Skeletons soak up the power and wealth.
This is what history tells us.”

“
And now?”

“
According to Dex and
the
Ambitum Rosa
,
we are due for another round,” Alex said.

“
What do you think?” the
Admiral asked.

“
I don’t really know,
sir,” Alex said. “I find the entire thing . . .
ridiculous. If I wasn’t smack dab in the center of it, I’d think I
was crazy. I wonder about my sanity often. But when I listen to Dex
lay out the facts, and I reflect on my own findings and experience,
I can’t help but think that we need to be prepared.”

“
Or go after these Black
Skeletons?”

“
If that’s possible,” Alex
said. “We’ve been told there is an archive. The
Ambitum Rosa
have never heard of it.
This archive gives details on who is behind all of this and why.
It’s my belief that pursuing the location of this archive is
crucial.”

“
Or?” the Admiral
asked.

“
Be prepared to fight them
where we live.”

“
You think it will happen
on US soil?” the Admiral asked.

“
Where did the people in
the ancient pueblos go? What happened to the great societies at
Tenochtitlan?”

“
Well,
Cortes . . .” the Admiral started.

“
Moctezuma was at the
height of his power when Cortes came. He ruled over five
million
people in
Central and South America,” Alex said. “The Aztec nation was
enormous, wealthy, and prosperous. By the 1500s, Tenochtitlan was
the largest city in the world, with close to three hundred thousand
inhabitants. Five hundred years later, the descendants of that
great nation sneak across our border and feel fortunate to be able
to pick fruit for five dollars a day.”

The Admiral raised his
eyebrows and looked at Alex. She gave him a slight nod.

“
That’s what this is
about,” Alex said. “Why would the great nation of America be any
different than the Aztecs?”

“
We have
vaccines?”

Alex smiled.

“
I get your point,” the
Admiral said.

“
Sir, how is Howard
Gordon?” Alex asked. “I’ve stayed away for his . . .
safety.”

“
Oh, Howard,” the Admiral
smiled. “We stopped by to see him when we got into town. He was in
bed reading a story to a toddler while a baby slept in the crib
nearby. Grandchildren. His wife was in the kitchen baking cookies
with a few older grandchildren.”

“
Sounds
wonderful.”

“
He was happy,” the
Admiral said. “He’s in great pain, but healing. The doctors are
hopeful.”

“
Will he retire?” Alex
asked.

“
He’s adamant that he will
not retire his post until you have seen this mission all the way
through,” the Admiral said. “That’s what he told me.”

“
Does he know about all of
this?” Alex asked.

“
Like myself, I think he’s
always known,” the Admiral said. “We knew something was going on
when your team was murdered. We spent hours arguing over it when
you were flying back to the States. While none of us could have
expected . . . this, nothing you say comes as a huge
surprise. It’s a little . . . odd, but not a
surprise.”

Alex nodded.

“
I’ve been informed that
you moved out of Buckley,” the Admiral said.

“
If they can reach me
there . . .” Alex nodded.

“
Will you stay at the
Federal building?” the Admiral asked.

“
We’re looking at office
space in downtown Denver or possibly out by the airport,” Alex
said. “In our own space, we can lock it down so only people we know
and trust are admitted.”

“
Plus, you’ll never be
kicked out,” the Admiral said.

“
Yes, sir.”

“
About
that . . .”

Alex watched the emotion
work across the Admiral’s face.

“
There’s nothing you could
have done, sir,” Alex said. “I never would have thought that I was
vulnerable on base. Never. But there I was, stuck under my own
conference table, fighting for my life with a plastic spoon, after
my Colonel was shot and my guest murdered. If The Monk hadn’t been
there, I would be dead. Period.”

The Admiral turned to face
Alex on the couch.

“
Getting kicked off base
and in the manner it was done . . .” Alex nodded.
“That was just icing on the cake. If we are to continue, we need a
more secure location.”

“
I’m sorry I was used as a
weapon to hurt you,” the Admiral said. “You must believe that there
was nothing I could have done differently.”

“
You didn’t have to call
the cab,” Alex smiled. “Or give me money to get home or a
phone.”

The Admiral gave her a
fatherly smile.

“
What are you going to do
with The Monk?” the Admiral asked.

“
He’s staying with us for
a while,” Alex said. “He’s . . . mentally shaken.
Zutterberg was his only living relative — and his friend. Ethan
feels like he killed Zutterberg by bringing him to Buckley. He
needs time to breathe.”

“
Where is he now?” the
Admiral asked.

“
Hiking the Colorado
Trail,” Alex said.

“
In the snow?” the Admiral
asked.

“
He is The Monk, sir,”
Alex said. “We see him every week for a supply drop. We have eyes
on him at all times via the team at Peterson. The space and
solitude seem to be helping.”

“
The Major General has
approved his loan to the US Army,” the Admiral said. “He said you
made a strong case for the loan.”

“
He needs time,” Alex
said. “Not vacation time. Time to grieve in the air and space of
the world. He can get that here, with our support.”

“
And when he’s
ready?”

“
We’ll absorb him into our
team,” Alex said. “If that’s what he wants. He may want to
retire.”

“
And you think he’s
reliable?” the Admiral asked.

“
Why?”

“
There’s a theory that The
Monk set the entire thing up,” the Admiral said. “Paid the driver.
Brought Zutterberg to Buckley to get the deed done and you out of
Buckley.”

“
Could be,” Alex
shrugged.

“
You’re not going to
defend him?” the Admiral asked.

“
I’m at a place in my life
when I’m open to anything,” Alex said. “But I’d be surprised if
Ethan was behind anything.”

“
Why?” the Admiral
asked.

“
Planning’s not his
strength,” Alex said. “I’d trust him in any firefight. But
planning? He usually has no idea what day it is, let alone be able
to create some elaborate scheme. That’s why we bring him food every
week. He can’t plan for what he needs one week to the next. But who
knows?”

“
You’re growing up,” the
Admiral said.

“
I’m scared,” Alex
said.

The Admiral nodded at the
simple honesty of her statement.

“
The Senator and Haemon
Jasper?” the Admiral asked.

“
The Senator gave us the
name of the person he told about the vault,” Alex said.

“
Dead,” the Admiral
said.

“
That’s correct,” Alex
said. “The Senator outlined the money transfer, who approached him,
and the entire deal. He was very forthcoming. Of course, everyone
is dead. He believes that if he wasn’t in prison, he’d be dead,
too. So he’s oddly grateful to Samantha.”

“
Cretin,” the Admiral
said. “And Haemon Jasper?”

“
He believes he is near
the center of what we’re calling the Black Skeleton,” Alex said.
“He may even be a mastermind of the entire thing. Helen was able to
convince him that she would do his bidding. So now we wait to see
what he wants.”

“
Helen is incredibly
brave,” the Admiral said.

“
It’s always the little
people who change the tide of the war,” Alex said.

“
Tolkien?”

“
My father, the General,
sir,” Alex said. “It’s never great armies or brilliant strategists
who win wars. It’s little people doing miniscule things that bring
about a change in the tide of war. Never underestimate the power of
individuals doing the right thing at exactly the right
moment.”

Alex gave him a soft
smile.

“
Troy’s son, Hector James,
told me, ‘It only takes one person to stop a freight train, but
only when they have help.’” Alex nodded. “It’s kind of the same
thing.”

“
The little people and
their miniscule actions are the help?” the Admiral
asked.

“
Yes, sir.” Alex
nodded.

The Admiral gave her a
thoughtful look.

“
The boy’s going to be a
General?” the Admiral asked.

“
A baker,” Alex said. “Or
a pirate. Depending on the day.”

The Admiral smiled. He
glanced at Alex.

“
Your
father . . .” the Admiral said. “He really is a
great man.”

“
Right now, he’s a pain in
my ass.”

“
The half-birthday party
was his idea?” the Admiral asked.

“
Of course, it
was!”

The Admiral laughed at her
indignation, and she smiled.

“
I saw your report about
John and the Afghan,” the Admiral said. “That was well
done.”

Alex nodded.

“
His children — two boys
and three girls — are coming in a couple weeks,” Alex said. “They
will go camping, learn to fish, stuff like that. They plan to work
at the bakery to learn how that type of commerce works. They want
to see UFOs, so we’ll probably head out to the San Luis Valley and
watch the drone base.”

The Admiral
laughed.

“
Cian is hoping to learn
how to cook
roht
,
Afghan sweet bread, and
bolani
, their unleavened bread. You
remember
bolani
?”

“
Those pumpkin and potato
turnover quesadilla things you used to bring me?” the Admiral
asked. “Fabulous.”

“
Cian wants to add them to
the bakery,” Alex said. “Colin’s hoping to learn how to make the
bread while they’re here.”

“
How long are the children
staying?” the Admiral asked.

“
Couple weeks,” Alex said.
“Honestly, I think the Afghan is hoping Joseph’s Alex will fall for
one of his girls. Certainly, he’s pretty enamored with
Alex.”

The Admiral smiled and
then scowled.