Nirvana Effect (35 page)

James nodded.  He wasn’t convinced, but would act like he was.

“So now I don’t know where Callista is bec
ause you’re sitting in this car,
”
said Edward.

“What’s your plan?” James asked.

“Find Callista.  Get off this island.”

“Aren’t you a member of some order
of priests
or something?  Couldn’t your church help you?”

Edward hesitated again.  “Dr. Seacrest, this may or may not be a surprise to you, but that option is not open to me, if you know what I mean.”

Paydirt.  At least he’s an honest crook.  If it were me I wouldn’t tell the truth.  As a matter of fact, I
won’t
.

“I do,” said James. 

The reached another hilltop.  James could see
Lisbaad
through the hole that used to be his windshield.

“You don’t mind if I bail when we get home?” asked James.

“I don’t mind.  Wouldn’t advise it, though,” said Edward.

“Do elaborate.”

“Thing is, unless you’re getting off this island, they’ll get you again.”

“What makes you so sure?” asked James.

Edward shrugged.  “Educated guess.”

“On your word as a priest?”

“For whatever that’s worth,” said Edward.

I’m starting to like this guy. 

“I want to get off this island, anyway,” said James.  “But I think I’ll need some help in that department.”

“
You help me find Cali, I’ll do what I can to help you
.”

“Who?”
asked James.

“Callista, sorry.”

“What makes you think I’ll be so helpful?”

“You’re a crook,” said Edward.  “Crooks are always helpful.”

James just stared at the priest for a moment.  He couldn’t help but laugh.  “It takes one to know one, Edward.  Takes one to know one.”  He laughed again.

Edward shrugged.

Edward and James reached the neighborhood. 
Edward had never seen it in the daylight
.

The street was a jumble of houses.  Obviously foreigners of many different backgrounds and nationalities occupied this small t
erritory carved out of the edge
of
Lisbaad
. 
It had no rhyme or reason
.  Edward was sure
the words “building
” and
“
code” had never been uttered together on the island
. 
Still, this neighborhood
comprised
the “finest”
residences
of
Lisbaad
- meaning they weren’t
ancient
piles of firewood. 

Edward resisted the urge to barrel down the street, launch out of the car in yet another trance, kick down
Cali’s
door
, wipe out Onge by the cartload with his trance fighting,
and carry her
off into
the sunset
. 
Reality was a factor he could not ignore.  Physically, he was exhausted.  Trance or no trance, he could only direct his body to do what his body was already capable of.  With no sleep and after having
gone through
what amounted to a combination
marathon/boxing match
, he felt he could at any minute blink his eyes and wake up two days late
r.  The after pain only made it
worse. 

What was more, he had no exit strategy.  There was no plan once he reached Callista.  He hoped she had some ideas.
  Maybe this crook Seacrest could help.
 
He’d managed to subtly convince Seacrest that he was criminal; hopefully that would increase the doctor’s willingness to trust and help him.

Edward
had no idea what the Onge’s strength and position was inside
Lisbaad
,
or even
inside the neighborhood.  He didn’t even know if Cali was
home
. 
It was pointless
to risk death fighting a troop of hunter-killers only to not even find Cali. 
Stealth was his best option at the present.

“Is there a back road?” asked Edward. 

“There is behind my house.  Not behind Callista’s,” said Seacrest. 

Edward didn’t like Seacrest using her first name.

“Show me,” said Edward.  The doctor pointed the way.  Edward puttered the car
up the road, idling as much as possible
.  The roar of a Corvette engine
would
have been too much of a tip for whatever Onge were
stationed inside
the houses.  “Tell me when we’re a few houses away.”

“Stop, then,” said Seacrest.  “We already are.”

“Are they ho
me?” asked Edward, pointing to a nearby house
.

“No, not ‘
til 5:00 or so,”
answered the doctor.  Edward pulled up into the driveway.   He
parked and pulled out the key
.  “I wouldn’t run,” said the doctor.  Edward smiled at him. 

I know you wouldn’t.  I have the key.

“Not just because you have the key
,” said Seacrest
. 
“
As a matter of fact, a key wouldn’t be much of a barrier for me.  But I want off this island.  I really do.  And
Callista is a friend of mine.  I would
n’
t play a part in her coming to any harm.”

Edwa
rd’s tired mind couldn’t help but contemplate whether Seacrest had ever managed to
pick up Callista in his red ’95 Corvette.  He was suddenly very happy to see it riddled with shotgun pellets
. 

Edward acknowledged Seacrest with a nod as he stepped out of the car.  He kept the key in his pocket.
 
“Stay here, then, will you?  I’
m just going to go see what’s happening.  I’ll be back soon.” 

Edward’s
legs were killing him.  He’d never moved so much in his life.  H
is whole body was dragging
.
S
omehow Earth’s gravity had doubled overnight.  Again he fought the temptation to pop
another t-pill.  He only had forty-two
left.  Th
ey
might be the last forty-two he would see in a while.

Moreover, he felt he should be cautious.
He played with something he still did not even vaguely understand.  Its effects begged many questions.  In a way, he felt like the child who after
his
tenth time watching the thrilling adventure movie began to wonder how the film was shot.

In the minute alone as he crept from house to house, he finally had time to think. 
What’s Mahanta
’s next move?  Stop reacting and start ACTING.

And stop calling him Mahanta.  He’s Manassa through and through. 
He’s enemy
.

Mannass
a will protect the substance first and foremost.  He’ll guard the sap from me.
  That’s foremost on his mind.
  Probably he has all the plants mobile by now, without my knowledge.

Edward picked over the situation – the cars, the “lightn
ess”, what Manass
a told him about his plans.

He’ll make the big move soon.  Maybe tonight.  He won’t risk anything after our confrontation.  He’s got to assume I’m bringing in the Jesuits.  He can’t take any risks.

I’d
never bring the Jesuits into this.
 

Edward
looked at his chances.  Trance or no, his
gut betrayed him
. 
Ma
nass
a w
ill
win
.
  He would have to find some way to change that, but Mahanta had everything in his favor - the initiative, the resources,
his own personal army
. 

He toyed again with getting help from the Jesuits.  They
would
help him…
but there goes his freedom
…and who knew what General Pizo would do with the drug.

That was idiotic to ask Manassa to destroy the
substance.  There will be no tricking him, now
.  He knows what I intend. 
He can predict me
.
  Edward had always had a talent for berating himself with the brilliant clarity of his own hindsight.

He watched Cali’s house from the neighbor’s, but saw nothing amiss.
  No lights were on.

Edward crept back around to the other side of the house to spy on Dr. Seacrest’s domicile. 
It looked to be a combination between an Asian garden and a log cabin. 
No motion there, either.    No lights.

Think.  Think.  Think.
 
Something was bugging him
.  He wished he was in
trance. 
Something obvious. 
Damn it! 
Edward closed his eyes and breathed.  He forced t
he exhaustion out of his body.
  He forced his attention to the matter at hand.  Now that he’d done it in trance, he at least knew what the state felt like.  He could approximate it.

C
larity wavered in and out
of his consciousness
. 
As soon as he would turn his attention on the houses, the exhaustion would work back in on him
.  He pushed it out again.  He decided most firmly that it was gone. 
The houses
. 
The houses
.  The lights.  The lights were a subtle point in the daylight,
but they told him what he needed to know.

The
Sri Lankan posted at the heavy
iron gate of the Liang estate pulled his legs off the control board. 

Four cars
were
barreling
over the horizon, directly toward him
.  He pulled up his binoculars. 
They were a
mangy hodge-podge of vehicles - an SUV, two seda
ns and a Bug
all covered in mud and grime
.  He saw some dark
tri
besmen
leaning out
the windows of the vehicles.  One
native peered back at him with his own set of binoculars
.

The guard pulled his gun out its holster and radioed for help.

“I’ve got four unidentified vehicles coming at high speed to the gate.  Do you hear me?  Do you hear me?”  He was panicked.  They were closing the gap quickly.  In less than a minute they would be upon him.

The captain of security’s voice crackled back over the radio.  “Roger that.  We’re sounding the alert and manning up.  Hold your position.  Are they armed?”

The guard checked
his
binoculars again.

“Can’t tell.  Just see some guys leaning out of the windows.”

“What are they?” asked the captain over the radio receiver.  “Cartel, you think?”

“They look like natives, sir.  Almost look like blacks.”  He felt exposed.  It would take the security force a minute to get up
there
. 
Dozens
of Liang’s
soldiers
manned the estate
, all
armed to the teeth
, but they didn’t do
him
a bit of good
while they were
at the mansion.

He heard the telltale clicking noise of a gun behind his head.  He started to jerk around.

“Don’t move,” said an insistent voice in Tamil.  The cold metal against
the back of his
head reinforced the myst
erious assail
er’s words. 
How did he get in the gatehouse?

The cars were only a few hundred meters away.

“Open the gate
.  Now.”  It was a young voice.
  The gatekeeper did not move.
  “Now!”
  He tripped forward as the metal was shoved violently into his head.

The gatekeeper fumbled with the controls. 
His vision was blurry from the blow. 
The cars kept flying towards the gate.  Finally,
he got the gate to start opening
.  “Thank you.  Now step away.”

The cars did
n’t even slow down for the gate to fully open.  The first zipped
through the gate, scraping both of its sides on the iron and knocking off its side mirrors.  The other cars were following.