Eye in the Sky Bk 02: Artifact Ch. 05

Eye in the Sky bk II: Artifact, ch 5

By blackrandl1958

Thanks to my team. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. SBrooks103x also gives me a pre-post read. My editors are Girlinthemoon, Hale1 and GeorgeAnderson. I thank you all.

Molly and Bertrand decided to stay at Baxter House for at least a couple of days and see what they could discover about the Baphomet statue. They took it into the fruit trees left from the former plantation, experimented with fish at the lagoon and tried to use it on one another. The Templar stories of cords touching the idol and conferring power to anyone who wore them intrigued them. They made an experiment using strips of elastic bandages and Oliver agreed to wear one.

He was very embarrassed to discover that they wanted to do sperm counts on him before wearing the bandages and after. He absolutely refused until Kane took him aside. She led him to her bedroom and soon returned with the sample. They sent it off by boat to a clinic in Nassau and he began to wear the arm band. After three days they tested him again and when the tests returned they discovered that his counts had more than doubled.

Molly made a small incision on his forearm and the next day it had vanished without a trace. He attempted some measure of control and discovered that he could quell an argument between Ben and Bannon by concentrating on calmness and serenity. He repeated the process on Molly and Bertrand when they began to argue about whether the statue was from the time of the crusades or a later French construction.

He induced Kane to a state of writhing horniness by becoming aroused himself and discovered that Bannon was also extremely aroused when she went naked into Ben's room. He quickly concentrated on ice water and cold winds and both girls settled down. He took off the arm band and refused to wear it again. He told the two researchers what had happened.

"What if I get angry? Is everyone in the house going to start fighting one another? This thing is dangerous. We need to get rid of it."

The two scientists disagreed strenuously. The destruction of ancient historical artifacts was fundamentally against their sense of ethics.

"What if we just kept the book and got rid of the statue?" he asked.

"Oliver, you're talking about destroying something that existed and formed a major part of the story of man since before the dawn of history. No one knows how old that head is," Molly told him.

"Yes, but it's creepy and it's soaked in the blood of all that history and it's dangerous. Let's suppose that the US Government gets their hands on it. That's the best possible scenario. The president covers up the fact that she has it. She uses it and wins the next election. The next thing you know there will be a new amendment repealing the 22nd amendment so she can have a third term. All of a sudden congress is rubber stamping all her decisions and the Supreme Court decided it's all constitutional. This thing scares me to death. It's dangerous in any hands, and suicidal if it gets in the hands of an ambitious man."

"You're wrong, Oliver," Kane walked into the room. "It's not dangerous in any hands."

"Why not? Is there any politician in the world you trust with that kind of power?"

"I'm not the cyanic you are," she said. "I don't know any, but somewhere out there is a politician with ethics. But it isn't dangerous in any hands. It's not dangerous in our hands."

"You're wrong, Kane. What happens when one of you does something that makes me mad? It makes you all mad. When I get sad, are you all going to throw yourselves off the balcony? If I'm hungry or excited you all get like that too. It's very dangerous."

"Where's your arm band, baby?"

"I took the thing off. I don't want it around me."

"Exactly! That's what I'm talking about. It's safe with you. None of us want to use it. It's locked up in a box. I think it's helping us. Look at you, you're fitter than ever. My hair has grown two inches in two months. Look at Ben and Bannon. They're maturing before our eyes. Bertrand is working out with us. Did you work out before?"

"Hardly; I don't know what's come over me. I feel better than I have in years."

"Things have been happening to me too," Molly told them. "I don't want to talk about it. The point is, this thing is not evil. What would happen if it were put in a hospital somewhere? What if a farmer owned it? What's its range? How much power does it have?"

Ben and Bannon had come in and were sitting and listening. "What I want to know is where it came from and how it works," Bannon said. "What are your ideas? Is it some kind of holy thing? Is it alien technology? Is magic real?

"I'm leaning toward the first option," Bertrand said. "It first shows up in Hebrew history. What if it really is something like the Ark of the Covenant that God gave his people to allow them to survive as a tiny nation among all their hostile and powerful enemies?"

"I'm not even sure I believe in God," Molly told him. "The idea isn't rational. I've never seen any way to prove or disprove the existence of Gods. There's no science that has any authority on the subject."

"Maybe this is the proof," Ben told her. "Do you believe in aliens or magic?"

"No, I believe in science. I believe that if we were properly equipped and educated we could find out how it works. Technology always looks like magic to the ignorant."

"So you think it's a piece of technology?" Bertrand said.

"Yes, but we don't understand how it works."

"You're contradicting yourself," Bannon told her.

"How am I doing that?"

Bannon stood up and paced the room, lost in thought for a moment. She went and sat on Oliver's lap and curled up.

"If it's technology, where did it come from? Technology demands technicians to build it. There is no known technology that can explain its existence or its effects. We're back to God, aliens or magic."

Molly thought for a moment. "You're right, Bannon. You're a very smart girl. I'm arguing in a circle. I have no explanation. The only way out for me is to posit a highly technical civilization before recorded history. There is absolutely no evidence of that. I can't argue for it. Okay, I give up. Let's suppose it's God. Can we understand how it works?"

"Not here," Bertrand said. "We don't have the equipment or the skills. There is no property known to man that can have all these effects. The only thing that would explain it is some sort of radiation or field that causes the phenomenon. If there is such a thing we've never discovered it and wouldn't know how to test for it if it existed."

"Could it be duplicated?" Ben asked.

"I don't see how," Molly replied. "You would have to discover how it works first. There is evidently some sort of duplication going on with the cords. What would happen if two people with cords fought?"

"Likely they would cancel each other out," Bertrand said. "Do you want to do an experiment?"

"Yes," Molly said at the same time Oliver said, "No."

Oliver laughed. "We'll drop the two of you on Goat Cay with a couple of arm bands and let you fight it out. But seriously, I think it's too dangerous. What if the thing amplifies the effect and you kill each other. I'm not doing it and I don't want anyone else to. You're all adults and you can make up your own minds, but Kane, Bannon, Ben; I don't want you to do it. I love you too much to risk something happening to you."

"Of course we won't do it," Bannon buried her face in his chest. "We would never do something you thought was dangerous."

"I'm not doing it either," Bertrand said. "Oliver makes too much sense. So the question is, what are we going to do with it?"

"Destroy it," Oliver said. "Either we make armbands for everyone in the world or we make sure no one gets their hands on it."

"I would like to test it," Molly said. "I don't see any way to do that without Nazi's in suits taking it away from us."

"Let's think about it for a few days," Kane suggested. "We don't have to decide right away. How long do you think we have?"

"It depends on how lucky DARPA gets. They might search here first or they might search hundreds of Islands before they get to us. Weeks, if the first scenario plays out, many months if they don't get lucky," Oliver told them. "What I want to know is how to destroy the thing."

"Could we melt it?" Ben asked.

"With what? We might use the welding equipment. It depends on what it's made of. Will the melted remains still have the same properties? I think there's a possibility that we haven't thought about. What if it isn't from God? What if it's from the other end of the spectrum?"

"You mean the devil?" Kane asked.

"Yes, I guess I do mean that. What if it's evil and it's corrupting us?"

"Well, you were already corrupt when I met you," she told him. "You've certainly corrupted me since I've known you and Ben and Bannon are getting pretty corrupt, too. We only need to go outside some night and see Molly and Bertrand dancing around a fire naked to complete the picture."

The whole group collapsed in laughter and Bertrand finally managed to gasp, "I'm afraid it's too late for me. I've wanted to dance around a fire naked with Molly for years. I've just never managed to get her clothes off."

"Don't get your hopes up you old goat," she laughed. "I'm incorruptible. But seriously, Oliver, you took the arm band off. You could have had us dancing around a fire if you were being corrupted. I don't think it would corrupt anyone that wasn't already corrupt."

"What would it do to Nazi's in suits?" Bertrand asked.

"Whatever they wanted it to, probably," she said. "When Oliver was lusting after Kane it made her feel like that, too. It had the same effect on Bannon, and I'll confess to a few lecherous thoughts myself."

"That was you?" Kane exclaimed. "I was so horny I thought I was going to go crazy and then it went away. You are so nasty, Oliver."

"Me too," Bannon said. "I found myself going down the hall to Ben's room naked. I know I didn't want to do that on my own. Well, maybe the naked part, but not all the other stuff I wanted to do." She blushed furiously.

Oliver was very embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I was thinking about Kane maybe sleeping with me that night and I just seemed to get carried away. I stopped it as soon as I realized what was going on."

"I think you were very chivalrous and showed great restraint," Molly told him. "I'm proud of you, Oliver."

"Me too," Bannon kissed his cheek and snuggled back in.

"I'm not," Ben said. "I want to see what would have happened."

Kane punched him. "You're as bad as he is. You've definitely corrupted him, Oliver."

"Yes, yes; now if you're all done criticizing my character how will we get rid of the statue?"

"We could drop it in the ocean," Bannon suggested.

"It would have to be somewhere they couldn't get to it," Kane said. "It would have to be somewhere really deep because we have to assume that they'll question us and find out where we put it."

"I don't like the thought of that either," Oliver said. "We're in a big jam. They won't be gentle. Jesus, I wish we'd never found it."

Bannon began to cry. "I'm scared, Oliver. What are we going to do? I'm so sorry we went in that cave. It was my idea."

"Bannon, this is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, honey. I didn't mean that it's your fault or Ben's fault. It's nobody's fault. Well, it's somebody's fault. It's the fault of all the power hungry bastards in the world that can't wait to get their greasy fingers in someone's brain and work them like puppets. I have an idea, honey, now stop crying. I'll do my best to work this out. I've gotten my characters in some pretty sticky jams and got them out before."

She hugged him tightly and wiggled her way closer. "I know you will. Kane always takes care of me and Ben is very smart, too. We'll find a way."

After bedtime, Oliver lay awake for an hour trying to formulate some scheme in his head based on the idea that had come to him. His bedroom door opened and Kane ran across the floor and climbed in bed with him.

"I didn't want to be alone," she whispered.

He pulled her across and folded her close. They kissed and she lay with her cheek on his chest. A few minutes later, the door opened again and Bannon peeked in.

"Kane, are you awake?"

"Yes, baby; what is it?"

"I went to your room because I wanted to sleep with you. You weren't there so I thought you might be here. I'm scared and lonely."

"Come here, baby, you can sleep with us," Kane told her.

She crawled in and occupied a similar position on the other side of Oliver. She rested her cheek on his chest and he lay on his back with an arm around each girl.

"Were you going to make love?" she asked.

"I don't know; maybe," Kane said. "It isn't important. We can make love another night. You just relax and hold Oliver. You're safe here."

"I'm going to sleep now," she said. "Thank you for letting me stay."

Oliver rested with the two white gold manes covering him and returned to his planning. His idea germinated and he fell asleep with at least a glimmer of hope.

*****

He spent the morning on the satellite phone on the balcony and when he finally got off the phone, he rounded up the crew.

"We have visitors coming," he told them. "They're flying here and we need to get the runway cleared so they can land. We need to clear off all the brush and debris and see about patching the holes. Everyone is going to work today on that. They'll be here tomorrow and we want to be ready for them."

"Who is coming?" Ben asked.

"Well, I've hired a military force from a security firm in Brazil. There are going to be fifteen of them. They're going to protect this island."

"How do you know any mercenaries?" Kane asked him.

"I trained with them for three months for my fourth book."

"Jesus, Dad, I had no idea."

"You didn't need to know. Anyway these are some bad-ass guys."

"Where are you going to put them," Molly asked. "I know you have a huge house, but 15?"

"We're not going to be here. They can stay in Baxter House. Anyone who tries to come in here is going to be in for a nasty surprise. Hopefully, they won't find out we're not here and they'll give up. It would take an army to invade this place."

"Where are we going to be?" Bannon asked.

"On The Nimbus. We're going to take the statue with us and put out to sea. We may be gone for months or even years. We may sail to a very deep place and dump it in. We'll be very difficult to find. If things work out like I hope, we'll be able to come back soon. If not, we're better off as a needle in a haystack than a sitting duck."

"You've got a devious plan in that convoluted brain of yours," Kane accused him.

"Yes I do, but I don't want to get your hopes up. They may not be able to help us. If they can, they may not want to get involved. It turns out they were already aware of the situation but didn't know where to find us."

"Who are you talking about?" Molly said.

"I'm not going to tell you yet," he said. "If she can help us and she's willing, you'll be in on it. Just trust me."

They worked hard all day clearing away the brush and grass that had grown up in cracks and holes in the runway. Even the crew of The Nimbus turned to with a will. Ben and Oliver mixed cement and patched potholes. As the sun was setting, Oliver declared that he was satisfied.

They ate dinner and went to bed exhausted. In the morning they packed for an extended voyage and shuttled their things to The Nimbus. By the time they got their gear and supplies on board a plane was circling the island; it landed and men dressed in black fatigues boiled out. They unloaded mounds of equipment and Oliver gave them the golf cart and the ATV's. They moved into the house and grounds and set up their stations.

The sun was beginning to set again when Bannon caught the sound of jet engines. Soon the others were able to hear it as well and they walked up to the hangar and watched as a Learjet 45XR landed and taxied to a stop. Oliver hooked it to the service vehicle and towed it into the hanger as the whine of the engines died.

The cabin door opened and steps swung out and touched the ground. A huge young man with a mop of curly brown hair emerged. He was wearing shorts and a bro tank, and he turned and helped a small young woman down the steps. She had long blonde hair and the largest deep brown eyes Bannon had ever seen. She was beautiful, Bannon decided. She had on jeans and a USC t-shirt. An older man with a shaved head emerged and finally another slightly built young man with flaming red hair, worn very long came down the steps.

Oliver stepped forward to greet them. He introduced them to the group. "This mountain is Lawson Sloan, and this beautiful young lady is. . ."

"I know who she is," Ben interrupted. "She's Sawyer Rawlins. I saw you on TV a couple of years ago and I've seen you a couple of times since. You went lots of places with the last President."

Sawyer stepped forward and hugged them one at a time as did Lawson.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to introduce you to Sawyer and this is Mike Bishop. I don't believe I know this young man."

"This is my brother, Marcus," Sawyer said.

"Pleasure to meet you, Marcus," Oliver shook his hand. "I'm Oliver Brennan and this is my son Ben. This is Kane and Bannon Ardrey and these two are Dr. Molly Knowles and Dr. Bertrand Adams. Let's walk down to the boat and get comfortable, then we'll talk.

He and Lawson carried the suitcases to The Nimbus and they settled into the round white sofa. Monique and Elizabeth took drink orders. Everyone decided on beer except Ben and Bannon, who had juice.

Lawson started the conversation by telling them that they knew about the artifact and that DARPA was very eager to get their hands on it. What they didn't know was where it was and where Oliver lived.

"We're about to tell you something that only five people in the world know about," Lawson told them. "It will be easier if you allow us to show you. You are going to feel a little disoriented and startled. I'll explain after you are all on track.

Oliver's shoes felt very tight on his feet. This was very surprising to him since he was wearing flip-flops but he decided to stand up and take them off. He noticed that everyone else except the four that had arrived on the Lear were also removing their shoes. There was a series of yelps and they all danced as their bare feet contacted the deck and he felt a small electric shock run through his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Bertrand exclaimed. They all took their seats again.

"I made you all think your shoes were too tight and Marcus shocked you a little." She laughed and threw back her hair. "I hope you aren't too startled. I can read and manipulate minds. I've been able to do it for a while. Marcus can't do that, but he can manipulate electricity." A lightning bolt crashed outside the windows. "Stop showing off, Marcus."

He grinned ruefully. "Sorry, sis, I just wanted to make sure they believe you."

Bannon jumped up and hugged Sawyer. "That's exactly what our statue can do. Do you have a statue, Sawyer? Well it doesn't make lightning."

"No, we got this ability from the experiments that were done on us. If you saw me on TV you know about them."

"I didn't realize they were successful," Molly said.

"No one does except the last President, and now you," Sawyer told her. "Tell me about the statue."

"Can't you just read our minds and find out?" Ben asked.

"Yes, do you want me to?"

"Yeah, I think that would be cool," he said.

"I don't read the minds of people without their permission unless I think they're a danger to me or someone I love. I do keep an eye on the secret police agencies. That's how I knew you found something. If I don't know where someone is it's very difficult to read them. Do I have your permission, Ben?"