Ed Sutter's 3-Book Box Set, page 26
The rodent-like one was not happy with me, I could tell. He pulled a shiny automatic pistol from somewhere under his shirt. Fortunately, he fumbled it a bit trying to use it with his left hand. I guess he used to be a rightie before I came along. Before he could make the adjustment, I grabbed his left hand and the pistol in both of my hands, smothering the hammer and pinning his finger in the trigger guard. That’s why, when I turned the hand and gun over and hit him with a hammer hand behind his elbow, I think a couple of his fingers snapped as well. An unexpected side benefit, I guess. The gun dropped to the floor, mercifully not going off in the process.
I pushed Ratboy through the door with a boot to the butt to hurry him along. He was airborne for a little way before I had closed and locked the door.
I turned to my sister. “Are you okay?”
She got up, holding her face; she was going to have a bad black eye soon, but other than that, she looked all right. I told her, “Go call 911. I’ll keep an eye out here to make sure that Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber don’t come back and try again.”
Amazingly, my sister did exactly what I suggested. Hey! It can happen!
THE PLOT THICKENS
Two days later, I got to speak to the police again. I certainly had no desire to make this a habit. It was just after lunch at the Magic Shop when the police arrived. Let me tell you, this is great for digestion. In fact, it’s so good, I almost shit myself.
The first uniformed officer, a Chandler policeman who was accompanied by a state trooper and Megan’s boss, Professor Michael Cox, asked, “May I speak to the owner, young man? We have a warrant to search the premises.”
“Sure,” I agreed readily. “I’ll get him.”
At that moment, Zack came from the office. “Can we help you, officers?”
The DPS officer said, “Mister Zacharias Torres, we have a warrant for a Native American artifact that we understand you are keeping unlawfully.”
Zack looked puzzled. I’m sure he had figured out what this was all about instantly, but the Academy would have been impressed if they’d seen his performance. “Artifact? We have quite a few artifacts on display here, Officer. Some are from India, some from Egypt, some from ancient Sumeria. Can you describe the artifact please?” He shook his head in bewilderment. “I am unaware of any illegally obtained artifacts here.”
Just then, the bells over the door rang, and Megan came in. “Hi, Doctor Cox! What are you doing here?”
Cox looked sternly at her, while Megan remained her beautiful, cheerful, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth self. He said, “We’ve come to confiscate the Native American statue you stole from the site in Navajo country.”
She looked pleasantly puzzled. “But that wasn’t stolen. I just brought it here for further study, and so pothunters wouldn’t get to it once the site was reported.”
He snorted. “Pothunters indeed! I believe that you planned to sell it on the black market. I am appropriating it for proper study.”
She cocked her head at him, as though studying a rare and mildly repulsive new species of cockroach. “But I turned in the paperwork on the artifact to you a week ago. It’s probably on your desk.” She turned to the two policemen. “His desk is very cluttered—all important papers, I’m sure. My report is most likely buried under ten other reports.”
The two officers, who could probably smell a rat, looked at the most likely source of the smell, Cox.
He replied, trying to present a strong, man-of-action front, “Why didn’t you turn in the report immediately?”
With the gentle tone of an adult speaking to a clueless child, she said, “It was the weekend. I was working on my own time.”
I saw the statie roll his eyes. Megan was making her boss look like a total moron.
Megan turned to Zack. “Mister Torres, where is that rather large statue we brought back from the new dig site?” She turned back to the cops. “Zack is quite knowledgeable regarding archaeological sites. He was with me when we made that big find in Mexico last year.”
The Chandler police officer, whose name tag read “Burton”, replied, “Wow! You mean that you’re that Doctor Lee? I should have recognized you from the National Geographic special on the Discovery Channel! That was amazing what you did in Mexico!”
Megan nodded modestly. I thought I could hear Doctor Cox’s teeth grinding together.
Megan replied, “Why yes, Officer Burton. That special certainly got the word out about our Mexico dig. You may not realize it, but both Zack and Alec here were down there with me. Their help was invaluable. That’s why I took them with me up into Northern Arizona. They have good eyes for archaeological clues.”
More teeth grinding from Cox.
Megan wasn’t about to give him a chance to recover or to look less like a fool for that matter. “You gentlemen are welcome to take the statue over to ASU, if you like, but I warn you. It’s quite heavy.”
The DPS guy, whose nametag read “Matthews”, said, “So where is this thing, anyway?”
Zack smiled and said, “Right this way, Officers.”
I was totally expecting him to take them into the vault in the basement, but he just went to the loading dock in the back of the store. There, under a tarpaulin, was the Defender Mark Nine, once more in his ancient statue guise. I should have known that Zack wouldn’t give up his other artifacts so easily. For that matter, was it just luck that Horus was upstairs? For some reason, I doubted it.
Officer Matthews tentatively pushed on the chest of the statue. It didn’t move. He pushed harder. It still didn’t budge. I remembered how hard it had been to move initially.
Matthews turned around and asked Cox, “So how were you planning to move this thing? It’s heavier than hell, and it’s way too big for either squad car.”
Cox opened his mouth and said, “Uh…”
Another fine education gone to waste!
Megan said, “Oh, we can move it to the lab. I was figuring on doing so this weekend anyway. Zack has access to a truck and dollies. And after all, we did get it here from the Four Corners area.”
Burton turned back to Cox. “That okay with you, Mister Cox?” I noticed that he deliberately didn’t use “Doctor” or “Professor”.
Cox noticed, too, and his mouth thinned a bit. Tough luck, dork!
He replied, “I guess that will have to do. Doctor Lee, I want to see you in my office Monday morning!”
With that, he turned and stomped out. The compressor on the door kept it from slamming. Where’s the drama there?
I heard Matthews mutter, “Asshole.”
Burton said to Megan and Zack, “Cool. As long as you can get the statue over to the university sometime soon, I’m sure we’re good.” He went over and shook Megan’s hand. “Doctor Lee, it was really great meeting you.”
As the two walked to the door, I heard Burton tell Matthews, “I didn’t realize how hot she really was!”
Once everyone was gone, Zack and Megan burst out laughing.
I said, “What’s so funny? I get that your boss came off looking like a total doofus, but we’re going to lose Horus. How can we study his capabilities if he’s in the lab at ASU?”
Megan wiped tears from her eyes and replied, “I knew that Cox was up to something, so I took steps to make sure we were all covered. There’s no way we could have kept Horus a secret forever, anyway, so I figured that the second best place for him would be the lab at school. That way, I’ll still have access to him, and we can figure out a way to continue our experiments.”
Zack added, “Not only that, but Cox’s credibility is going to be lower than whale shit with the cops. That means that if he accuses us of anything else, they’re going to be very skeptical.”
“It still just doesn’t seem right somehow,” I said.
Zack smiled and said, “It’s not, and he is an ass, but this was the best compromise plan we could come up with.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “Come on. I’m going to need your help in getting him loaded in the truck.”
I was going to miss having the Defender Mark Nine around. I thought.
I turned away, but then I remembered something that had been bugging me. “Megan, how is it that nobody has ever heard of this Aedan? How can it not be in the historical records?”
She nodded and replied, “That is a very good question, but it doesn’t have a simple answer. For one thing, the name may have changed over the centuries. Remember that the most ancient records were oral histories. There’s considerable evidence that ancient stories from the Bible and the Greek poet, Homer, changed considerably before they were finally written down.”
Zack added, “And don’t forget book burnings. Today, those are mostly ritualistic, but in the ancient times, even into the Renaissance, if you destroyed a book, it and its contents were likely gone forever. It wasn’t unusual for there to be only one copy of a book in the world.”
Megan took up the narrative from there. “Yes, whole libraries have been destroyed. This was particularly poignant in the libraries of Alexandria and Constantinople. There were books in those collections that we only know about because of references in other books. The original books themselves are gone.”
I didn’t get it. I love books and consider them valuable. “Why would anybody burn down a library?”
Zack said, “In the case of Alexandria, some Roman soldiers got carried away in the course of sacking the city after the war with Cleopatra. In the case of Constantinople, the invading Turks destroyed what they considered the literature of the decadent Christians.”
“Unfortunately,” continued Megan, “they also destroyed many other non-Christian books; books that can never be replaced.”
Zack added, “And let us not forget all the books that the Church has suppressed or destroyed over the years.”
I thought about this for a moment, and then gave my judgment. “Well, that totally sucks!”
“Amen to that,” agreed Zack.
* * * *
Later that evening, I went with Jeremy over to his dojo again. When we came in the front door, I saw Sensei O’Donnel standing next to the front desk. Jeez! In that black gi, he looked like he was two axe handles across the shoulders! He also had a powerful presence that said, “I’m confident that I could kick your sorry ass, but I’m too polite to do it. Now.”
Girding my loins, so to speak, I approached the big guy. “Hi, Sensei O’Donnel,” I said. “I hope it’s no problem, but Jeremy wanted me to come by with him again. I know I’m not signed up for any classes, but would it be all right if I just worked out for a while? I have a feeling it would be good to sharpen my skills a bit with all that’s been going on.”
O’Donnel had a ready smile, and he said, “Sure. If this gets to be a habit, I’ll have to charge you, though. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the paying students.” He looked at me more closely. “So, have you had any trouble recently? You don’t look banged up.”
I smiled. “Actually, it’s the other guys who got banged up this time, but I like to play it safe.” On a quieter note, I added, “My dad’s back in town, and some gangbangers came to the house looking for him. I don’t think they’ll be back real soon, but they might have friends.”
O’Donnel nodded. “I totally get it. I’m afraid people haven’t changed much over the ages. That’s why we’re still studying martial arts that originated thousands of years ago. Even in the most ancient of civilizations, fighting methods were taught and recorded.”
I got this odd idea. What the heck? It couldn’t hurt. “Mister O’Donnel, speaking of ancient civilizations, have you ever heard of a place called Aedan?”
The big man’s face suddenly went very still. He said, “I might have. What is it in relation to? If you can put it into context, maybe I can help you out.”
I shrugged. “Oh, I’ve been working with an archaeologist, Doctor Megan Lee, from over at ASU. I went on a dig with her, and we found an ancient artifact, and the name Aedan came up. Some of the clues made it seem like it might have something to do with Atlantis.”
I thought he’d laugh at that, but if anything he became more interested. “What sort of artifact?”
Here was the part where I cleverly shade the truth. “Oh, it’s a big metal statue. It might have been called a Defender or something like that. If you can come up with anything, Doctor Lee would really appreciate it. She’s been coming up dry on this Aedan place.”
He nodded seriously and replied, “I happen to know a guy who knows an awful lot about ancient civilizations. I’ll give him a call.”
I asked, “So, is he another archaeologist, like Doctor Lee?”
Lucky O’Donnel smiled enigmatically. “Not exactly.”
REACTIONS
“It looks like a large asteroid is accelerating away from the Asteroid Belt and heading our way,” said Lepescu.
Kelly looked over at the big screen. “I’m guessing it’s coming from the objects?”
“Looks that way,” was the reply.
“Not good.”
He gave a brief chuckle. “I’ll go along with that. I think this pretty much confirms that the objects are representative of some form of intelligent life.”
She nodded, even though he wasn’t looking in her direction. “And not a very friendly form of life, either. How big is this asteroid?”
“About one hundred miles in diameter, and it’s definitely being aimed at us.”
“And we have no real defenses against something that big?”
“Not really.”
“Definitely not good,” she replied.
* * * *
A pleasant female voice answered on the third ring. “Lifelong Enterprises. May I ask who’s calling?”
“May I speak to Ed Martin please? Tell him it’s Lucky O’Donnel.”
The woman replied, “Of course, Mister O’Donnel. Let me see if Mister Martin is available.” Her voice was replaced by the sounds of light jazz.
He waited for about five minutes before the owner of the voice returned. “I’m sorry, Mister O’Donnel. Mister Martin is out of the office at this moment. Can I have him call you back?”
“Absolutely.” He gave her his name again, spelling it out for her, and his office phone number.
“Is there any message, Mister O’Donnel?”
“Tell him someone has been asking about Aedan and that I would like his expert opinion on the subject.”
“Was that Eden?”
He replied, “No. Aedan. A E D A N.” Although I sometimes wonder if the two stories are about the same place, he thought.
“Very well, Mister O’Donnel. I’ll see that he gets the message as soon as he returns.”
* * * *
“Lucky O’Donnel?”
The phone had been on speaker when the call came in. Now, O’Donnel picked it up and switched it over. “Ed, I take it you got my message?”
“Yes. I gather someone was inquiring after Aedan. What do they know?”
Knowing that Ed couldn’t see him, Lucky shook his head, anyway. “They just asked if I’d ever heard anything about it. The kid who told me said that an archaeologist friend of his had found a metal statue and somehow the name of Aedan came up.”
Lucky could hear the intentness of Ed’s voice even over the phone. Ed asked, “A large metal statue? Is that all the information they have?”
“Not quite. The kid said something about it being called a Defender. Does that mean anything to you?”
The line was silent for long seconds. Finally, Lucky said, “Ed, are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m still here. I was trying to remember. If this statue is what I think it is, it could be very dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
Ed replied, “I’m not sure. If it really is a Defender, it’s a lot more than just a statue. It could be a weapon such as this modern world has never seen.”
“A weapon? What kind of weapon?”
“Lucky, I’m catching the next plane out of here. I’ll be in Phoenix as soon as possible. I need to see this ‘statue’ before I can make any judgment.”
“Okay. Give me a call when you’re getting in range, and I’ll come pick you up at Sky Harbor.”
“Will do. A Defender!” Ed Martin hung up.
What the hell is a Defender? wondered Lucky O’Donnel.
* * * *
I got a call on the phone at work, which was unusual, but the call was even more unusual.
“Hey, Alec, this is Jeremy.”
“Dude. What’s up?”
“You remember my sensei, Mister O’Donnel?” he asked.
“Well, duh. Of course I do. Does he need my advice on how to run the dojo?”
Jeremy chuckled. “Not exactly. He said that you asked him about some archaeological thing, right? Well, he called a guy, some friend of his, and now they both want to meet your favorite archaeologist, Doctor Lee. Can you set something like that up?”
“Sure. When’s a good time?” I asked.
“I guess as soon as possible. This dude flew in from New York or somewhere.”
“Okey-dokey. I’ll talk to Zack and Megan and see when they can see this guy. I’ll call back as soon as I talk to them.”
“Cool! See ya’!”
I went back to the office, where I knew Zack was working on the month’s end books.
“Zack,” I said, “my friend Jeremy just called. Apparently, his karate teacher, you remember that ex-Marine I told you about, wants to meet with Megan. I asked him if he’d ever heard of Aedan, and I guess he knew a guy who does. Do you want to call her?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, “No. I think what I’d like to do is have a meeting with both of these guys, Megan, myself, you, and Marina. Tell him we’ll meet them for dinner at Macayo’s down on Dobson and Baseline at about seven o’clock this evening, if that’s not too early.”
“Okey-dokey,” I replied. “I’ll call them back. I take it you’re going to call Doctor Lee?”
