 
# **CONTENTS**

Other Books

Author's Note

Title Page

Chapter One - Negotiations

Chapter Two - Preparation

Chapter Three - Tanzania

Chapter Four - Abducted

Chapter Five - Cairo

Chapter Six - Navigation

Chapter Seven - Renegade

Chapter Eight - Basilica

Chapter Nine - Chronotaxidi

Chapter Ten - Adulterated

Chapter Eleven - Coordination

Chapter Twelve - Salvation

Chapter Thirteen - Surveillance

Chapter Fourteen - Meadows

Chapter Fifteen - Murder

Chapter Sixteen - Stalemate

Chapter Seventeen - Yvonne

Chapter Eighteen - Eureka

Chapter Nineteen - Termination

Chapter Twenty - Epilogue

About the Author
**Adriel Chevalier Book Series**

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False Antichrist - 2016

The Gold of Ophir - 2018

Noah's Portal - 2019

Zanzibar - 2020

The Precinct Murders - 2020
**To the Reader**

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The intimate encounters in this episode often left me speechless. The barrier of language does not permit adequate explanation of the experiences that I enjoyed during this project. I have done my best to convey what I could with words, but until one walks the golden highway naked and unashamed, it cannot be fully comprehended. My hope is that you all share the same.

I had to change names and locations to protect the anonymity of others, and any similarities to persons living or dead are merely a coincidence.

All my love,

Adriel

THE GOLD OF OPHIR

Adriel Jacques Chevalier

Copyright © 2018 Adriel Jacques Chevalier

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9780463939796

# **CHAPTER ONE**

# **_NEGOTIATIONS_**

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"There's no way I'm signing that nondisclosure agreement, Eddie. It's ludicrous. Have you lost your mind?"

Eddie pushed the damned thing closer to me across my kitchen table. "Adriel, don't be ridiculous. I'm negotiating eight figures each for us to do this mission."

"You know I'm not lured by the money. In fact, I'm really skeptical that they would be willing to offer that kind of compensation. Do you have any idea what you are getting us into?"

"Yeah, I do! We have a chance to go down in history as the guys who saved this country financially."

"Oh my god! Eddie, in the past you have accused me of being idealistic and an unrealistic dreamer, but now I'm doubting your sanity. First of all, there's no way I'm signing that nondisclosure agreement. No one has ever found this place that they are talking about. How in world do you think I can find it?"

"Well, if anyone knows where to find it, my best bet is that you can."

"I seriously doubt that. Besides, this agreement prohibits me from even telling Evelyn what I'm doing. She's not going to agree to let me get involved in anything that she doesn't know about."

"Really, Adriel? You sure kept her in the dark last time when we moved to Orlando to prevent a devastating global catastrophe."

"You can't possibly compare this sham to what we did before. It wasn't my idea to do it in the first place. I didn't have a choice."

"That's not true. You always have a choice, and you know it, Adriel. I'll admit that choosing not to do it would have resulted in turning this world upside down, but if you hadn't done it, my guess is that someone else was waiting in the wings to step in."

"There's no way to know that. Besides, being called by the Creator of the universe to save this world is a far cry from what you want me to do. You know darn well that I hate the idea of getting involved in the economy of this nation. Actually, it's the entire global economy. If I did find this place, can you imagine the trouble it would cause? There's no way we can do this."

"That's interesting, you just as much as admitted that you can find this place. Otherwise, you wouldn't be concerned for the outcome." Eddie pushed the agreement even closer to me.

"Damn it, Eddie! Stop pushing that infernal thing toward me. I'm not signing it! It's too restrictive."

"Well, if you had gone with me to D. C., you could have negotiated a different agreement with the delegates of the U. S. Treasury, but instead you left it all to me because you are afraid of flying."

"Afraid? You know I can't stand the motion of an airplane. I stopped flying over a decade ago. You know what happened to me. I don't ever want to fly again. I can't believe that you did sign that agreement. In fact, you've already violated it by disclosing it to me."

Eddie jumped up from the table and started to pace the kitchen. "That's because I never dreamed that you would resist signing it. We'll never have to work another day in our lives. Come on, Adriel! Chances like this are extremely rare. What's the big deal? So you might have to fly across the world. So what? We'll be fixed for life with this kind of money."

"First of all, I like what I do for a living, and I don't care if I have to do it till the day I die. Secondly, you know I don't trust anyone. You're talking about the feds. Do you really want to get into bed with these guys? They'll own us."

Eddie gave a long, deep sigh and stood behind his chair holding the back with both hands. "You know, Adriel, I really hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but you need to understand something." I hated it when Eddie gave me that look. It reminded me of a physician getting ready to tell me that I had cancer. "They know what we did."

I snapped to attention. "What do you mean they know what we did?"

"They know everything, Adriel. They know that it was you who communicated with the leaders in India and Pakistan and the President of the United States. They believe that you can still read minds and transfer thoughts to others."

I nearly swallowed my tongue. "But you explained to them that I can't do that anymore, right?"

"Actually, I didn't. I was afraid that I would lose my edge in the negotiations."

"Oh, Eddie! What have you done? How much did you tell them?"

"They knew everything. They knew where we were staying in Orlando. They knew it was my software that controlled the email message packaging. They had copies of every email that you sent to both India and Pakistan, not to mention the U. S. officials."

At this point I was nearly in tears. "Are we in some kind of trouble now?"

Eddie smiled and shook his head. "To tell you the truth, I think they're kind of afraid of you." Eddie started to chuckle. "But don't get too complacent. They don't want to take 'no' for an answer. We can renegotiate this agreement, but you need to understand that we're not getting out of this."

"I need some time, Eddie. I really need to discuss this with Evelyn when she gets home. I can't believe this is happening. I really don't want to travel half way around the world. I know it's no big deal for you. You travel all the time, but it's a big deal to me. I can't bear the thought of being so far away from Evelyn."

"So, bring her along."

"What? Can you imagine Evelyn tagging along on something like this? She would constantly be worried, and there's no way I would put her in that kind of danger. Have you considered what would happen if anyone knew what we were doing? If we did find this place, we'd be killed immediately, and whoever killed us would step in for the gold."

"We're going to be protected by the U. S. government. What are you so worried about? Relax, Adriel."

"You can't be serious! First of all, we're talking about quadrillions in pure gold, maybe more. When money is involved, you can't trust anyone. Once they got what they wanted, we would be toast."

"I really don't think they want to kill the goose who laid the golden egg, Adriel. You're far too valuable to them. Besides, they want us to fly under the radar as much as possible. There are only five people who even know about this mission. Well, six counting you."

"What are you going to tell Angela? This could take months, if not years."

"We're not there yet. I have no idea how long this will take, or if you and I will be in the same place at the same time."

"Whoa! I'm not doing this on my own. In fact, I'm not sure that I'm doing this at all! I don't think you know what we're up against. Its cliche to talk about King Solomon's mines. It's the gold of Ophir in the land of Havilah. Most historians don't have a clue where this place is. They base it off of the rivers that ran out of the land of Eden, but they don't take into account the splitting of the continents or the great deluge that covered the earth. We actually got to see that, you know."

"So, you do remember before we ever got to this earth, even though you can't read minds anymore."

"Sure I do. I didn't lose my memory, just my ability to read minds and interject thoughts in others. I still remember our lives before we came here."

"And you just mentioned the split of the continents and the flood. My guess is that you might really know where this place is. You just to need to recall what happened back then."

"You're giving me too much credit, Eddie. We didn't watch everything that was happening on earth. We were still conversing with one another and talking about our chance to come here and live."

"But there's a chance that you could locate this place, right, Adriel?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I honestly don't know."

"OK, how much time do we have before Evelyn gets home? I'd really like to tell you the benefits of finding this place and what they intend to do with it."

"She's getting her hair done. I think she said that the hairdresser is coloring it today, so we may still have about an hour left."

"Great! All they really want is for us to locate the gold, whatever that means. Once they have the location, we're out of the picture. They will make all of the arrangements necessary to mine the gold and ship it to the U. S. Their goal is to go back onto the gold standard, eliminate the national debt and abolish all federal income tax. They think that there will be enough to fund the rejuvenation of the entire infrastructure across the nation and buy back the real estate held by foreign countries. It will economically put the U. S. in the driver's seat for the global economy."

I tilted my head and closed one eye. "Seriously? Do you really believe all that? Have you considered the ramifications of our country having that kind of power? I still think it's incredibly dangerous to put that much money into the hands of politicians. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. What we did before was a great service to this world. In fact, more so than anyone really knows. All they knew was that we avoided a nuclear war by exposing a coup in Pakistan. What they don't know is about the false antichrist who was behind the entire operation, who, by the way, is still at large. I never forget that. This mission doesn't ultimately help the world. In fact, I'm afraid that it will destroy it to some degree. I know you say that they won't take 'no' for an answer, but I don't see how we can agree to this. In fact, if they back me into a corner I'm liable to agree and fail purposely just to avoid this catastrophe."

"Failure isn't an option. We have to deliver to get paid."

"Yeah, I don't care about the money, Eddie. You already know that."

"But I do! You may want to work the rest of your life, but I'd like to travel with Angela while we're still young enough to enjoy it. I'm ten years behind you, and I sill have another ten to be eligible for retirement. I hate to ask, but would you do this for me?"

"I can't believe you're talking like this. Since when did you get so greedy? You were never like this before."

"I was alone, Adriel. I've never been married. I don't have children. For the first time in my life I have someone to look forward to doing things with, and I want to enjoy it. Is that so bad?"

"You should know as well as anyone else that it doesn't take money to enjoy the best things in life. Is Angela really that materialistic? After all, I really don't know her that well, and I can't read her mind anymore. You two have been together for less than a year. She doesn't even know about this opportunity. What makes you think she would want this?"

"It's just something that I want to do for her."

"I'm not buying it. I can't read your mind anymore, which at this point I wish I could. You're not coming clean to me about something, and it's frankly none of my business. I think this is a terrible mistake. Maybe we can convince the feds that these mines really don't exist."

"But you think that they do, don't you?"

"I actually do."

"So, do you want to lie to the federal government?"

"Damn it, Eddie! I feel like I'm in a straight jacket. This isn't fair."

"Well, life isn't fair, Adriel. You know that. You can kick and scream all you want, but somehow we have to do this. I think there's a reasonable amount of wiggle room in this nondisclosure agreement. We may need to include Evelyn and Angela and have them sign it as well, but I'm not flying solo this next time. You have to come to D. C. with me and represent yourself." Eddie pointed his finger in my face. "And we're not driving! You're flying with me, so I don't want to hear any excuses."

My heart sank. I had the worst feeling of dread that I had experienced since our last harrowing mission. Perhaps I was naive to think that it was all over, especially since the feds knew what we had done. Granted, they were grateful for our intervention, but they have unrealistic expectations about what I can do. It's just a matter of time before they realize that I have little to offer. Maybe that's good. I don't know. The truth is, I'm afraid that I can actually find this place. I mean, I know relatively where it is, but I'm certainly not going to admit that to Eddie right now. I'm hoping we can quickly get this over with and go on with our lives, but I have the sneaking suspicion that it just won't be that simple. One thing is for sure, nothing will ever be the same, whether I succeed or fail.

"One more thing before your wife gets home, Adriel. I'm going to call my contact at the U. S. Treasury and let him know that we have reservations with the nondisclosure agreement. I'll also tell him that we are willing to come to D. C. to renegotiate and get some questions answered. I guess at this point it won't hurt for you to tell Evelyn about this. You haven't signed anything. Just, please don't get me into hot water over this. Make sure that she tells no one!" I was in a stupor. "Adriel! Did you hear what I just said?"

I shook myself back to awareness. "Sure! Of course I did. You don't want me to get you into any trouble over the disclosure. I get it. I'll talk to Evelyn when she gets home and let you know how it goes."

Eddie grinned. "I can just hear her now, 'Oh that damned Eddie! What has he gotten you into now?'"

"Actually, Eddie, I expect far worse than that."

I walked him to the front door and watched as he got into his car. A gentle rain was falling, and the leaves on the Japanese maple tree in front of the porch were starting to mature. It was still fairly cool out due to the reluctance of spring to fully set in. I stepped outside as he backed his car out of the driveway, and I sat down on the porch swing. I gave a little shiver, but it wasn't the brisk air that caused it. I wasn't sure how I would explain all of this to Evelyn. We had enjoyed a couple of months of normal life since my last adventure, and we were both grateful that it was over.

I remembered her tears when she realized that I could no longer read her mind. The ability that I had been given to accomplish my task was removed, and she was so relieved and happy to have me back the way I was. Well, sort of. I still have the memories of everything, and I still remember our existence before we came to this earth. I remember reading all of those minds and the twisted, painful frustrations that so many of the people suffered. I was glad that I couldn't see that ugliness anymore. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

As I sat there trying to construct my explanation to Evelyn about what I had just learned from Eddie, an intrusive thought made me shudder. Did the feds know about my invasion into that darkened house at the end of the tunnel? My memory of that night had completely returned. Luckily, Eddie never asked me again about that time that I went exploring in the tunnel in Orlando and stumbled onto the blind woman in that house whom I encountered on one of my explorations. Eddie had flown home for Thanksgiving, and I was alone, bored, and terribly curious about the garage that sat at the end of one of the tunnel corridors. I'm wishing now that I had never entered that garage. I didn't know that it was in the basement of another house that was owned by the same people who owned the mansion where Eddie and I were staying. Although I could read minds, I couldn't detect all that someone knew. I could only read current thoughts, and whenever Eddie was in contact with the vacationing home owners where we stayed, they never had a thought about their blind daughter living in that house. Most of all, I felt terrible about frightening that poor young lady. I had exited the house so quickly and ran so fast down that corridor that when I looked back to see if anyone might be following, I ran smack into the wall of the intersecting corridor. I lost my memory, and I couldn't recall what had transpired over the last couple of weeks. It took several months for my memory to completely return, and along with it, the embarrassment of my stupidity over being so curious. Oh, I hope the feds haven't figured that out, but they probably have. A police report was filed. I know that for sure, and Evelyn flew to Orlando to take me to the hospital. That was the link that established that I was in Orlando, which is where they had traced the origination of the emails.

That raised another question. When did the feds figure out it was Eddie and me who perpetrated the investigation into the coup in Pakistan? They had hired him to find whoever was sending emails to the President and the eastern prime ministers because of his software package that he had intended to market to the government years before. He had published a website to introduce the software into the marketplace to see if there was any interest. The government technical staff that was assigned to find us recognized the similarities in the design, but Eddie never finished the software package. He had gotten sidetracked and shelved it until I asked for his help with the emails that I needed to be untraceable. I know when they hired him they had suspicions, but they didn't really think that it was Eddie behind the software that enabled me to communicate incognito. My guess is that they finally made the link between the hospital visit in Orlando when Evelyn took me in for my concussion. Evelyn was right, it was only a matter of time before they connected the dots with me being in Orlando and Eddie being my friend. As relieved as I am that I can no longer read minds, it would surely come in handy right now.

I heard the low growl of Evelyn's Nissan Maxima and looked up as she was pulling into the driveway. I felt so unprepared. I knew she would be upset and there was no way to sugar coat this situation. It was going to be painful no matter what. I took a few really deep breaths before I stood up and went back inside. I heard the overhead garage door going down as she entered the laundry room through the service door. She was in a good mood, and I dreaded spoiling it for her.

"What do you think?" Evelyn twirled around for me to appreciate her hair.

"Frankly, it looks the same to me."

"Oh, don't be silly. Amber trimmed the ends and covered up the grey roots and gave it some highlight."

Evelyn's hair was light blonde to begin with, and I didn't see the advantage of covering any grey. I rather liked the platinum look, but kept my mouth shut about such things. Instead, I decided to step closer to feign interest by analyzing it closely. "My goodness, she sure does a good job. Your hair looks fantastic."

Evelyn smiled, kissed my cheek, and headed into the bedroom with a couple of shopping bags. She obviously had stopped somewhere on her way home. That wasn't unusual because getting her hair done often spurred her desire to shop. Once again, I was really hating to bring her down. I decided that there was no hurry to explain my dilemma and decided to let her revel in her good spirits for at least a few hours. I needed to fix dinner, and I decided to let her choose whatever she wanted to eat this evening. Naturally, I was going to ply her with a few glasses of wine during and after dinner to soften her spirits. This was a real gamble because the effects of the alcohol could send her in two very different directions. I was taking a chance here.

I didn't waste any time. I chose a great Pinot Noir from Oregon, which I knew she really enjoyed. As I pulled the cork, I heard her call from the bedroom, "Did Eddie stop by to talk to you this afternoon? You mentioned that he was supposed to come over."

I walked into the bedroom with her glass of wine as she was pulling her sweatshirt over her head. I always appreciated her pink sweats that she wore around the house. She looked so beautiful, and I couldn't stop thinking about how much in love with her I was. My heart was sinking as I tried to determine when to explain all of this. It had to be tonight. I handed her the glass of wine, and she took a sip. "Oh, thank you, dear. I really love this wine. This is the one from Oregon, isn't it?"

"You have a distinguishing palate my dear." I was using my sophisticated tone to amuse Evelyn. She gave me a sideways glance and a grin as she headed for the kitchen. I trailed along behind her and fetched my glass of wine.

We sat down on the back porch in our rocking chairs when she started to ask about Eddie. She hadn't seen Eddie since he and Angela had come over for dinner the night that Eddie introduced her to Evelyn. Since then, she had expected to hear of a wedding announcement, but I rather doubted that would happen. She didn't know Eddie the way that I did, and he wasn't a traditionalist in the least. Evelyn had a Catholic background, and things were fairly black and white to her. "So, are Eddie and Angela tying the knot soon?"

"I think Eddie prefers not getting string involved with Angela." I was trying to keep things light, but I could feel myself being sucked into the funnel. I wasn't going to be able to put this off. Maybe I could wait until her second glass of wine, but certainly no longer. I tried to change the subject. "So what would you like for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I really don't care. Why don't you choose?"

"Are you in the mood for steak, chicken, or fish?"

"Certainly not fish. How about grilling a steak?"

"Sounds good and simple. I'll steam some broccoli to go along with it." Evelyn and I had started following a low carb diet. She sometimes complained, but as I told her, she could eat whatever she wanted every fourth day. Today was not a carb day. Evelyn was in great shape. She exercised everyday at work and kept herself slim and trim. I appreciated her diligence in that department. She would never allow me to be present when she weighed herself, but I estimated her at about 110 pounds. No matter, she always looked great to me.

I jumped up to busy myself in the kitchen. That would give the wine more time, but dinner would be ready in half an hour. As I went out to light the grill, Evelyn was attending to the many plants on our back porch. She felt the leaves to determine if they needed water. Apparently all was well because she didn't make a move for the watering can. I kept my eye on her as much as possible to determine when I could refill her wine glass. She was drinking slower than I had hoped, but it really didn't take much to get her relaxed.

As I was washing the broccoli, Evelyn sauntered into the kitchen and stood behind me to give me a loving hug. I could tell that the wine was doing its trick. I turned to kiss her and hold her for a minute. I then reached over, snagged the wine bottle, and refilled her glass. She smiled, raised her glass, and kissed me. The stage was set. The question was whether to start the conversation during dinner or after. I would play it by ear.

The coals in the grill were glowing white and ready for the steaks. I coated two ribeye steaks with Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and took them outside. The cooking grid was nice and hot, and the steaks sizzled as I dropped them onto the grill. I headed back inside to microwave the broccoli for a few minutes and returned to the steaks. I turned them a little to create crosswise grill marks and waited another minute. I then flipped them to repeat the same on the other side. Evelyn and I liked our steaks very rare with a cold center, so it didn't take long to have this dinner on the table where we sat on the back porch ready to discuss the day's events and enjoy our meal.

She was nearly finished with her second glass of wine, and I poured her another half glass. The conversation was light, and I really can't recall what she talked about because all I could think of was how to introduce this bad news. Apparently, my mood was far too transparent, as Evelyn put her fork down, looked me in the eye, and said, "What's troubling you? You haven't heard a word I've said for the last five minutes."

I felt a lump in my throat. The moment of truth had arrived. "Evelyn, I have some disturbing news, and I wanted to hold off telling you as long as I could tonight because I didn't want to spoil your mood."

"Adriel, you need to tell me because whatever this is, it's going to disrupt our evening if you go on like this. It's about Eddie, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. There's something that I have been keeping to myself because I hoped that it would go away without incident. However, I'm afraid that it can't be avoided. Do you remember when Eddie and Angela came over for dinner, and Eddie and I came out here to the back porch to talk while you and Angela cleared the dinner table?"

"I think so. That was before dessert, right?"

"Yes, it was. Eddie pulled a letter from his jacket that he had received from the U. S. government about a lucrative proposal that they wanted him to consider."

"That sounds pretty positive, Adriel. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that they want him and me to locate a particular gold mine. Now before you say anything, you need to know that they have connected all the dots, and they know about everything that Eddie and I did with India and Pakistan."

Evelyn pushed her plate forward and stood up. I could see the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, and my heart was breaking. "Our lives are going to be turned upside down again, aren't they?" The tears spilled down her cheeks.

I immediately jumped up and held her tightly. I whispered softly, "I'm afraid so." I held her for several minutes as she and I silently wept. I knew the memories of my last ordeal were streaming through her head. The last thing I wanted to do was put her through another stressful experience, and I knew that it would last a very long time. There would be no consoling her. I didn't even mention the compensation that was being negotiated because she wouldn't agree to suffer this for a billion dollars. Evelyn excused herself to go to the bathroom, and I put our leftover meals into containers to store in the fridge. I had hoped to get through dinner before disappointing her, but I couldn't hide my consternation long enough. I contemplated opening another bottle of wine. I walked into the bedroom and found her lying on her side in bed. "Sweetie, why don't I open a second bottle of wine, and we go back out to the porch to discuss this. There are a lot of details that you need to know, and we really can't afford to waste much time." Evelyn was silent. I walked around the bed to face her, and tears were still streaming from her eyes. I grabbed a tissue and began to gently wipe them from her face.

She took the tissue from my hand and sat up. "I suppose you're right. I need some time to prepare, but I know that I won't get it. Open that wine, and we'll get started." Evelyn was putting on her stoic face as she stood and walked out of the bedroom. Her emotional explosion hadn't happened yet, but I knew it was coming. She was going to start blaming everyone and ranting about how stupid we were to disclose Orlando as the origination for the emails. Yes, it was Eddie who naively had pointed the feds to Orlando because they already suspicioned that's where the emails originated. I had forgotten to tell him that Evelyn had taken me to the hospital that day before he returned from his Thanksgiving holiday. When I had told Evelyn, she exploded and said that we were being too careless and not communicating properly. Eddie traveled a lot, and flights to Orlando weren't nearly as suspicious as me having a hospital visit there. Besides, Eddie wasn't even in Orlando when some of the more important emails were made. Again, I was assuming that's how the feds figured it out. I could be wrong.

When I walked into the kitchen, Evelyn wasn't in sight. I figured she had already taken a seat on the back porch, so I opened a bottle of Merlot and headed out to join her. She was rocking vigorously in her chair, which I knew to be a sign of great stress for her. I handed her a full glass of wine. There was no more sipping. She took three gulps and set the glass on the side table. This was going to be a long night.

I began. "From what Eddie explained, it appears that the U. S. Treasury department wants us to locate a gold mine that no one has ever been able to find. It's supposedly the origin of the gold used by King Solomon of Israel, and it's rumored that there is an incredible lode to be found there. No one really knows for sure. So far, seekers have looked in the wrong places mostly due to other articles that were supposedly brought from the same region. They don't seem to take into account that the earth and surrounding geography and resources have changed considerably since that time." Evelyn remained silent and continued rocking in her chair. I could see that she was thinking intently. I continued. "Once Eddie and I locate the mine, our task is complete. According to Eddie they are willing to pay us eight figures each. I know that's ambiguous, but when you consider that the lowest of that amount is ten million dollars, it's a considerable sum." Still no response from Evelyn, not even a glimmer. "Eddie seems confident that if this mine exists that I can find it. The problem is..."

Evelyn turned her chair toward me and glared with her penetrating eyes, stopping me in mid-sentence. I was a little frightened that she showed no signs of inebriation, but distinct clarity instead. "You want to do this, don't you? We've been married for almost thirty-five years, and the only reservation you have is that you don't want to put me through another ordeal. If it weren't for me, you'd jump at this chance, wouldn't you?"

I closed my eyes. Evelyn knew me better than I knew myself. I had been deluding myself into thinking that I didn't want to do this, but given my knowledge and former studies, not to mention the abilities that I had received from the Creator, I was certainly most likely to succeed. I couldn't deny it. "You may be right, Evelyn. It is the chance of a lifetime, and if I didn't try, I would probably wonder what would have happened if I did. I just can't do this to you. Besides, it's going to require me to travel abroad, and that in itself is very distasteful. I really dread that aspect, not to mention that this is a very dangerous mission."

"I don't want you to do it. I have to be honest. I don't want to lose you due to an impulse of greed that is perpetrated by our government. I know you, and I know you can't stand the premise on which this proposal is built. It goes against everything you believe. Besides that, you haven't been called by God to do this. It's the greed of mankind that is fueling this preposterous endeavor. How could you possibly agree to this?"

"I'm not sure. Everything happens for a reason. The fact that it appears that I can't just refuse is a definite concern for me. It also just might be part of the plan that the Creator has for me. I really don't know."

"Well, you really didn't know the last time you got involved in one of these schemes. You weren't sure what was happening for quite a while. What will they do if you refuse?"

"I really don't know the answer. Eddie said that they weren't willing to take 'no' for an answer. I'm sure he is negotiating an astronomical figure for our compensation, but does it really matter? It's not about the money. Oh sure, I'm intrigued that they think I can find this place, and you know I like a challenge. I just don't like the danger that comes with it. By the way, we can't mention this to anyone. Do you understand?"

"What do you take me for? Of course we can't mention this to anyone, whether you do it or not. First of all, I doubt that anyone would believe it, but I certainly wouldn't want anyone to hear about it. Where do things stand right now? I really don't trust Eddie to represent you in any way. You can't let that happen."

"I know that. He is contacting the Treasury Department to set up a meeting so that I can sit down with everyone and renegotiate the nondisclosure agreement."

"Nondisclosure? You failed to mention a contract. Has it really gone that far?"

"I'm afraid so. Eddie brought the contract over today, and I refused to sign it. It's far too restrictive to the point that I wouldn't have been able to tell even you."

"Well, that cat is out of the bag." For the first time, Evelyn giggled.

"Yeah, Eddie is concerned about me telling you. He doesn't want to get into any trouble over the disclosure."

"Oh, that damned Eddie! He's always concerned about himself."

Evelyn gave me a quizzical look as I burst into laughter. "He said that you would say something like that."

"Of course he did. He knows full well that he never has your best interests at heart. I still feel like strangling him over leaving you alone in Orlando. He expected for you to miss your family holiday, but by damn he wouldn't miss his own."

"Let's not get started on that. We still have a lot to discuss. He even mentioned me bringing you along on this mission."

"What?! That's preposterous! I'm not taking my valuable vacation time to do something this crazy. He's out of his mind."

"I already told him that I wouldn't want you in that kind of danger."

"This all sounds too crazy, Adriel. I have so many questions. We need to write all of this down so that you don't forget what to ask. When are you supposed to meet with these people?"

"I have no idea. Eddie is going to contact them."

"You call Eddie right now and tell him not to set any meetings without your consent. We need time to prepare."

"I agree." We paused while Evelyn filled her wine glass. I gave Eddie a quick call and explained that I needed to be involved in setting up the meeting with the feds. I had to have time to build a list of questions for them to answer before I could begin to consider this. He wanted to know how Evelyn was taking it, but I refused to discuss that with him. I cut the conversation short so that Evelyn and I could continue.

Evelyn returned to her chair and was in sipping mode once again. "Adriel, this all sounds like a bad dream. I'm hoping that I will wake up, and it will be morning, and all of this will just go away."

"I hear you. I wish the same. Let's get ready for bed because if we open another bottle of wine, we will be sleeping in our clothes."

"How true," Evelyn admitted. We retired to the bathroom to change into our pajamas and brush our teeth. We decided to stay in the bedroom to finish our wine. If we fell asleep, at least we would wake up in the right place. Evelyn settled in with a pen, paper, and her glass of wine. I think she enjoyed making lists. "You need to negotiate a specific contract to solidify your responsibilities, job description, compensation, timeframe, what the government will provide, etc."

"Evelyn, I think you will probably have a better idea than I do as to what should be asked. Keep writing, and we can review it later." I was already feeling sleepy, and I was exhausted from the consternation of telling her about this. I started drifting off. Every time I opened my eyes, she was feverishly writing on her pad of paper. I smiled. It felt good to have such a wonderful advocate in my corner looking out for me.

I awoke long before dawn. I looked over and saw that Evelyn had fallen asleep with her glasses on. Her pad of paper was lying on top of her, and the pen was abandoned in the bed. Her empty wine glass was sitting on her night stand, and her light was still on. I slipped out of bed, carefully removed her glasses, grabbed the pen, paper pad, and wine glass, turned off her light, and headed for the kitchen. I was trying to clear my head and make sense out of our new reality. I was beginning to question the idea of reality. It was so subjective that it disturbed me. I rinsed out the wine glasses and put them into the dishwasher. It was still very early, but I decided to start a pot of coffee. I plopped down on the living room couch as the coffee brewed.

Once again, I was wondering where the Creator was in all of this. How could I possibly be put into this position without his approval of it being the best opportunity for my life? I had experienced so much in the last year. If I learned one thing, it was that the Creator never allowed anything in my life that didn't have the potential of being what is best for me. Could I prove that? Of course not, but I had learned to live by faith in that premise. So where was my faith in this new predicament? Why did this seem so inevitable? Would it really matter if I accepted or refused? Would the Creator use either circumstance for my good? As much as I thought that I had learned up to this point in my life, I realized that I still had a lot more to learn. There is a reason that we don't have all of the answers before having to make a life altering decision. It's because we are expected to live by faith, and that does not settle well with the logic pattern of this world. I had to remember that my fear of the danger, or my distaste for flying in an airplane, or my separation from Evelyn were merely my worldly concerns that fought against my opportunity for faith. Then again, those who live by faith appear to be terribly deluded and out of touch with reality. So which was I? Did it really matter?

I often viewed myself as a mere paintbrush in the hand of the Great Artist. He could do with me as he pleased. It wasn't my agenda that mattered, but his will for my life. If I am the paintbrush, then where does my free will come into place? Obviously, it had to do with me allowing him to do as he pleased with me to accomplish his will. I wouldn't deny that, but should we succumb to every strong wind that blows, assuming that is the will of our Creator to follow? Once again, living by faith does not produce concrete proof or direction. I realized that my decision would not be backed with logic or merit. If I chose a faith based direction, it would seem insane to those who don't know the secret of living by faith. I finally had my answer.

The coffee had finished brewing. I filled my cup and reached for the stevia. I had given up using creamer in the last few months, and surprisingly my arthritis improved. I sat back down on the couch to further contemplate my direction. One thing was for sure. I wasn't signing any documents. The nondisclosure did nothing but jeopardize my own welfare. I certainly had no intention of disclosing anything simply because that would not be in my best interests. I didn't care about the compensation. If I am supposed to pursue this endeavor, it will transpire according to the will of the Creator. I wanted no strings attached. I decided to call Eddie in the morning and explain it all to him. Evelyn would be terribly disappointed that I was not going to use her list to negotiate anything. This world became what it is because men took control rather than submit to the direction and will of the Creator. What we never realized was that we truly were not in control. It was an illusion and self deception. The problem lay within the attitude of the heart and the unwillingness to be that paintbrush in the hand of the Creator. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it with total trust in my Creator and not worry about the outcome. I knew this was going to be unpleasant, but we're called to do whatever he wills, and this life is not the prize to be attained, but the means of exercising our faith to achieve the eternal reward, but not according to what most men think. The concept of heaven and hell had been grossly misconstrued. I knew it couldn't be what so many say that it is.

I decided to return to bed and rest until Evelyn had slept to her heart's content. It was Sunday morning, and she could sleep in. As I lay there sorting through my thoughts, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber. I awoke to the sound of the toilet flushing. Evelyn was up, but I wasn't willing to open my eyes yet. I felt her quietly slip back into bed, and I rolled close to her to hold her tightly. She rubbed my arm and kissed me. She gently whispered, "Let's wait until the sun comes up."

Evelyn and I had opted to have brunch at a cafe in a nearby village that we enjoyed. I didn't care for restaurants, but I could tolerate breakfast food in a restaurant more than most other fare. I always had a difficult time deciding between lochs, bagel, and cream cheese or the Eggs Benedict. One thing was for sure, we were each having two or three of their wonderful cappuccinos. I hadn't yet told Evelyn about my plans. We had enjoyed a great morning together and shared a long shower before coming to the restaurant. I certainly didn't want to spoil her mood. Admittedly, there was a selfish aspect involved, but there was no urgency in disclosing my intentions with this new mission opportunity. After we had our fill of coffee and brunch, Evelyn wanted to peruse the village shops after making a stop in the restroom. I agreed. We had no plans for the day, and she always enjoyed looking at all of the knick knacks and art that were on display. Luckily, we never bought anything because I was never a fan of all those trinkets. Our home was filled with my own paintings, so we never considered hanging anything else on our walls.

Much to my pleasure, once we got home Evelyn decided that we should return to the bedroom to rest a while. So we did. We both awoke to the doorbell ringing. I grabbed my robe and headed to the front door. It was Eddie. "Eddie! What in the world are you doing here?" I was further surprised to see Angela standing behind him. "My goodness! Why didn't you call to let me know you were coming?"

"I did, Adriel, about an hour ago. Didn't you get my message?" Eddie looked me up and down. "Well, apparently not. How about you get dressed while we wait in the living room?"

"Excellent idea," I agreed. As I returned to the bedroom, Evelyn was pulling on her sweat pants. I could tell by her body language that she was perturbed. "Calm down, dear. I had no idea that he was coming over today. He said he sent a message an hour ago, and sure enough, here it is on my phone. We must have been sleeping again." Evelyn didn't say a word. She ran her fingers through her hair and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

Eddie wasn't a coffee drinker, so I offered him a bottle of water. Angela, on the other hand, was quite a coffee drinker, and Evelyn was pouring her a cup when I suggested to Eddie that we step outside to talk. Rather, he wanted all four of us to discuss the matter at hand. I got really uncomfortable at this point because I still had not told Evelyn about my decision as to how I was going to handle this. I was a little disturbed until I remembered that everything happens for a reason. I just wished I had more time with Evelyn to discuss it before disclosing it to Eddie. I knew this would set her off, and I didn't want her to explode in front of them. "Eddie, could you please excuse Evelyn and me for a minute? There's something that I need to tell her before we get started."

"Sure, Adriel, no problem."

I took Evelyn by the elbow and led her back to the bedroom. She was a little confused as I closed the door and turned to her. "Sweetie, I need to tell you something that I should have mentioned much earlier today."

"Oh no! Now what?" Evelyn's worried face returned.

"I am taking a very different direction than what we discussed last night."

"Why am I not surprised?" Evelyn was shaking her head.

"I'll explain the reasoning behind it all later after they're gone, but for now I need you to go along with me and just listen. I'm so sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but I had no idea they were coming over today." Evelyn rolled her eyes and agreed to keep silent.

We returned to the living room and shared a seat on the piano bench facing Eddie and Angela. "So, what brings you two here? I assume you want to discuss our direction with this new opportunity."

Eddie began, "Absolutely. I have told Angela everything that the U. S. Treasury discussed with me, and I also tried to explain the pitfalls to agreeing to do this."

"Interesting," I interjected. "And you think you know what those pitfalls are?"

"Well, I obviously don't know all of them, but I know this is a dangerous endeavor, and we need to be protected as much as possible. You mentioned that you had a list of questions, and I think we should pool our resources to complement the list before we present it to the feds."

I glanced over at Evelyn. "Actually, I have changed my mind on this. I'll agree to find the mine, but I won't sign any papers."

Eddie just stared at me. He was usually never at a loss for words. He blinked a few times and then stammered. "You, you, you what? What do you mean that you aren't signing anything? We have a nondisclosure and a proposal to accept. The feds aren't going to proceed without signed documents to cover their asses."

"Well, if they want to cover their asses, they can kiss mine," I countered. I could hear Evelyn giggle softly.

"Adriel, I don't think you understand. This is a business agreement. This isn't the type of thing that you just shake hands on and assume that everyone is going to do what is expected. There's a considerable amount of money involved here."

"I realize all that, Eddie, but I don't care about the money. I know you do. You can sign your life away if that's what you really want, but that's not what I intend to do. This will be pro bono on my part." Evelyn turned to me with widened eyes. I reached over and patted her on the knee as a reminder to keep silent.

"Adriel, this is ridiculous. This will never work. There's no way they will agree to such a thing."

"Well, they can take it or leave it. I can assist in finding the mine, but I won't spend any of my own resources to do it. I will also need to work while I am helping them, so I will need Internet access wherever I am. If I don't expect to be rewarded, I certainly do expect for them to meet my needs. Otherwise, I will return home, and they will be on their own."

"Well, I'm flabbergasted. I really don't know what to say at this point." Eddie didn't notice the smile on Angela's face. I then realized that Evelyn and Angela were smiling at one other. Eddie put his hands on his knees and pushed himself into a standing position. He was shaking his head, and his mouth was open, but no words were coming out. He looked over at Angela and extended his hand. She stood as she grabbed his hand, and he finally spoke. "I really don't know where to go from here, Adriel. I guess I'll be in touch after I talk to the feds. I suppose this means that you have no intention of going to D. C. with me."

"You are correct. I have nothing to negotiate. If they can't meet my needs at any point then I will discontinue to help them. It's really quite simple."

"Actually, it's not quite that simple. I'll let you know what they say." Eddie escorted Angela to the door. Evelyn and I followed. Eddie never said another word. We watched him back his car out of the drive and then returned to the kitchen. We each poured another cup of coffee and headed to the back porch to talk.

Evelyn gave me one of her looks that said, "I hope you really know what you're doing."

I sat in my rocker and positioned myself to start explaining. "Wow, honey! You must really think I'm crazy that this point."

"Oh, Adriel, we passed that point many years ago. There's no amount of money that would get me to agree to this horrible assignment, but doing it for free? Where did that come from?"

"I was up early this morning thinking about all of the components involved in this dilemma. The compensation they are offering is a worldly carrot to entice me to do the job. Any onlooker would assume that I took the assignment for the money. If I'm supposed to be an example to all as to how we should live by faith, I cannot accept the money. The Creator promised to take care of me, and as much as I may find it unpleasant, he will also supply what I need to be able to fly across the world, confront any danger, and guide me according to his will. We may talk about living by faith, but if we don't put it to practice, it's useless."

"I understand that, Adriel, but shouldn't you be compensated for this as you are for your job? After all, this is just another contract, but not according to your vocation."

"Exactly! It's not according to my vocation. It's according to certain gifts and opportunities that were freely given to me. I have freely received, and I should freely give. The resources that I need to use were not gained through worldly means, they were granted to me by the Creator. There's no way I can accept compensation. I do expect to have my expenses paid because that is their cost of doing business."

"Business, exactly! Just like Eddie explained, this is a business contract. This is nothing like what you did when you had to stop the world crisis."

"It may not seem so to you, but the more I thought about it, I realized that the means in which this was presented to me made no difference. The Creator can call us in any way he sees fit. If he is using the federal government, then I see no difference in that than I do in starting to read people's minds, which is how it started last time. If he isn't calling me to do this, it will go nowhere."

"I understand your convictions, Adriel, but I don't always agree with them. Do you really think they will go along with you on this?"

"It doesn't matter. If the Creator has a reason for me to do this, it will happen no matter what. I just need to be true to my faith. Otherwise, I can't be certain that the direction I take will be the right one. At least I did learn that from my last experience."

"Well, now I feel far worse than I did yesterday. At least yesterday I had some consolation of financial freedom, but now it's nothing but dread."

"That is quite a worldly perspective, Evelyn. The joy of living by faith brings peace, joy, comfort, patience, understanding, love, forgiveness, compassion, gentleness, meekness, kindness and encouragement. I don't need their money. My faith will transcend anything that the money will buy. Don't get too wrapped up in this three-dimensional world. It will one day pass away, and if you sacrifice your opportunity to exercise faith by entertaining worldly distractions, you can't get that back."

"I believe what you are saying is true, but it's hard not to accept the money."

"It's all a choice Evelyn. Love and faith are both choices that we must make to serve others. In fact, true love emanates from faith. Another thing I realized this morning is that what appears to be the situation is based on our perspective. I am quite certain that the true reality of this is far different from what we are thinking. If I remove the obstacles that would skew my perspective and just approach this all by faith, I have a better opportunity to see this for what it really is. I certainly don't trust the feds, especially knowing the things I learned from my last endeavor. I have to trust the Creator to reveal to me what I need to know, and I must be careful not to be encumbered with greed or any other worldly diversions."

"Oh, Adriel, I can't believe you are going to do this."

"Do what? We don't even know what it really is yet. Take it one day at a time, my dear."

I encouraged Evelyn to put the whole matter out of her mind. The ball was in Eddie's court, and we didn't need to anticipate or be concerned about anything. I didn't want to disrupt our lives over things that were out of our control. Living by faith takes the worry and consternation out of life. You begin to realize that you have no control over anything but your own free will. The Creator is in control, and deluding ourselves into thinking otherwise robs us of our peace of mind. I had to continually remind myself that I'm the paintbrush, not the Great Artist of Life.

Eddie finally called on Wednesday morning. Normally, Eddie went into the office on Wednesdays, but today he was working from home as he did the other days of the week. "Hey, Adriel, I talked with one of the government contacts on the phone yesterday and briefly explained that you would help find the place in question, but you didn't want any business involvement. I left it at that, and he said that he would get back with me about how they wanted to proceed. He asked if you were willing to travel, and I told him you were, but you wanted to be reimbursed for all expenses."

"Hold on! I don't want to be reimbursed. I want them to pay all expenses, and I don't want to be charged for compensation so that I have to pay income tax on it."

"See? This is why you need to sign a contract."

"I'm not signing anything. I'm not buying any plane tickets or other transportation or lodging expenses. I don't need a contract. Either they provide everything free of charge, or I won't go. If you wanted me to do you a favor that involved traveling, I wouldn't expect to sign a contract with you. This is no different."

"Oh, this is very different. This is serious business."

"From your perspective it is. All they want is my help in locating the mine."

"Stop! You can't say that over the phone. Didn't you read the nondisclosure agreement? You're not prepared for this."

"OK, I made a mistake by naming the 'place in question.' Sorry, at least I didn't violate a signed agreement. Just let me know what they decide. If they really want me to do this, I will have to do a little research and also see if I can recall anything from my prescendant days before I came to this earth."

"You make things so unnecessarily difficult sometimes, Adriel."

"That's your perspective. Just let me know."

I returned to my work and put the matter out of my mind. I had to admit that I was a little curious as to how the feds would handle this. I chuckled when I thought about Eddie saying he thought they were a little afraid of me. I'm the last person in this world that anyone should be afraid of. I enjoyed my work, and it was a great diversion to keep my mind from returning to this unpleasant prospect. I had two projects that I was working, and they both needed to be done by Monday. I realized that I may have to work a few hours on the weekend to complete them, but that wasn't a concern. I was a contractor and got paid by the hour, so I was always compensated for my work. Evelyn, on the other hand, was a salaried employee. She often acted like an hourly worker because she kept such close track of her time. That always amused me. As mid-afternoon approached, I set my mind on dinner. Today was a carb day, so I was fixing one of Evelyn's favorites, spaghetti and meatballs with a tomato wine sauce. I needed to bake a loaf of bread so that I could toast it with garlic. I would also serve a tossed salad. Oh yes, and a bottle of Chianti to accompany the meal would be essential for Evelyn.

Evelyn drove into the garage around 5:15. Dinner was ready, and I opened the wine as she went into the bedroom to change her clothes. I had everything ready for us to eat on the back porch. Evelyn always enjoyed the plants and flowers out there when we ate. She would sometimes get distracted to examine a new sprout or bloom from time to time. As she was sprinkling Parmesan on her spaghetti, I told her that Eddie had called. "So, what did he have to say? You know, I've done a pretty good job of not thinking about all of this."

"That's great! I'm glad that you haven't been worried. He misspoke to the feds about me being reimbursed for expenses." Evelyn nearly choked. "He did what?" Her mouth was full of spaghetti while she was trying to choke out the words.

I laughed. "He told them I wanted to be reimbursed for any expenses, and I explained that I didn't want to foot the bill for anything. They had to provide all transportation and lodging. He proceeded to tell me that's why I needed a contract. I told him it was nonsense, basically. There's really no news on the matter. He still needs to hear back from them. I'm hoping they will find another asset to help them. This may come to nothing after all."

"Well, I certainly hope so. You're right that it's nothing to get upset about. God, I love this garlic bread!" Evelyn was munching away. I filled her wine glass as I was finishing my spaghetti.

We spent a pleasant evening together and walked around the yard looking at the spring flowers that had popped up during the week. She always enjoyed seeing the progress of our perennials each day. It was still a bit chilly, so she didn't want to spend much time outside. We settled in to watch the evening news and then turned to our favorite programs. Life was stable and seemed somewhat normal. I remembered when I felt this way several months ago before our lives got turned upside down. I had an eerie feeling that this could be the calm before the storm. How right I was.

# **CHAPTER TWO**

# **_PREPARATION_**

****

****

Two weeks had passed since I had heard from Eddie. We hadn't been meeting every Wednesday for quite some time. Now that he was with Angela, I rarely saw him. Evelyn was very pleased about that. She didn't trust Eddie and thought that he really was not the best friend for me to have. Then again, Evelyn is a little possessive, but I rather enjoyed that, especially when she had a few glasses of wine and got more aggressive. We were appreciating the predictability of our lives until one Thursday morning when Eddie finally gave me a call. "Well, Adriel, the feds have finally made a decision concerning your involvement."

"Oh, really? I'm all ears."

"I don't like the way this is developing, Adriel. You've really put me in a bad situation here, and I don't appreciate it. I think you're being selfish and unreasonable, and you need to consider my feelings as well."

"It sounds like you have reservations with what they are proposing. I expected that."

"You're damn right I have reservations. They want to make me totally responsible for all of your actions. I don't think that's fair."

"Does that mean that you don't trust me? What exactly does that mean that you're responsible for my actions? If I commit a crime, then do you go to jail? I don't get it."

"It sure feels that way. If you violate a contract stipulation, they are holding me responsible as though I did it. That means you need to read and understand all agreements and comply even if you don't sign them."

"That sure sounds reasonable to me. If you're getting over ten million dollars, then I think that responsibility is feasible."

"It's a little worse than that. They are making me responsible for your success. If you don't find the location, they aren't going to pay me. Plus, they are giving me an expense allowance, and all of your expenses have to come out of my budget."

"I'm not sure what you are so upset about. What exactly is your responsibility? I'm the one who has to find the location. Just what exactly are you supposed to do?"

Eddie shouted, "Babysit you, I suppose!"

I burst into laughter. "You can be my personal concierge and porter." I was pouring gasoline on this fire because I couldn't stop laughing. Eddie hung up the telephone. I continued laughing for several minutes before the sobering realization set in that this was really going to happen. I needed to prepare.

Once again, I hated to break this news to Evelyn. Telling her that this was a likelihood didn't offer much. I had no idea what that meant. The last time that I took responsibility for what I thought I needed to do, I caused a lot of turmoil by acting too hastily instead of waiting for direction. I never needed to move to Orlando. I didn't need to receive emails. In retrospect, I should have waited to receive all of the capabilities that were necessary for me to accomplish the task. One thing I did appreciate was not feeling the urgency to act in fear of a world disaster. Finding this mine wasn't the ticking time bomb that I had experienced when Pakistan and India were at odds. I had no clue as to the coup that was taking place in Pakistan, nor did I know about the viruses that had been developed to take control of the entire world. I didn't know about the fallen overseers or who was behind the entire operation. That was all revealed at the right time. This time I wasn't going to get ahead of myself. Eddie had mentioned no deadlines. Naturally, I wanted to finish this mission as quickly as possible. I didn't want to assume that I needed to be on the other side of the world. After all that I have learned so far, I might just as well be able to find this gold mine from the comfort of my own bed if the Creator so desires. So, what can I tell Evelyn? I really don't know anything, except that Eddie is upset that the feds are holding him responsible for me. Evelyn will get a real kick out of that. On the other hand, when it involves Eddie she really doesn't see much amusement like I do.

Evelyn had a hard day at work. She was extremely frustrated when she came in, and I tried to console her as she changed clothes from work. My affection and advances perturbed her, so I left her alone and went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of wine. I hoped that it would relax her and not send her into an explosive tirade over her workday. I returned to the bedroom with her wine. She apologized for being so cold to me and gave me a kiss as I handed her the glass. I told her that dinner could wait for a while and asked her to join me on the back porch to tell me about her day. Having the same profession was an advantage to comprehending the frustrations of work. I could empathize with all that she suffered because it was very common for me as well. We just didn't react to the challenges in the same manner. That didn't prevent me from understanding. One thing I had learned over the years was not to offer any advice. Listen, be attentive and understanding, and don't try to solve any problems. I had decided to go the extra mile and give her a foot massage as well. This began to make her suspicious, and she questioned, "What's going on? You're not usually this attentive before dinner. Is there something I need to know?"

"Well, there's not much to say, really. Eddie called in frustration to tell me that the feds are making him responsible for all of my actions, and he will suffer the consequences if I violate any contract stipulations. I found that to be a bit humorous."

"So this thing is on for sure?"

"It looks that way. Eddie is going to be compensated only if I deliver. He's really perturbed with me right now because I asked what his responsibility was, and he said it was to babysit me. I burst into laughter, and he hung up on me."

"Oh, that is funny, but when is all this supposed to start?"

"Well, I don't know what 'this' is yet. As I got to thinking about it, I realized that I really don't know what this mission entails. I could possibly not have to travel anywhere. It all depends on what the Creator has in store for me."

"Oh, I hope that's true."

"Anything is possible, but I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet. This may not be a telecommuting situation. I don't know if I have to physically lead a team of scientists to the location or just what is expected at this point. However, it certainly appears that I'm on the hook to do something. I figured I would retrace my memory of creation and some of the events that took place hundreds of thousands of years ago and see if I can recall anything worthwhile."

"I still can't believe that you can remember all that. That must be incredible, Adriel."

"It truly is. It's not like remembering our lives here because a lot of that depends on the brain. This memory is from the soul, and things are a lot clearer and easier to evaluate. I have a general sense of where this gold mine might be, but I'm concerned about the exact location. In addition, I don't know how big this mine is and whether it runs broad or deep."

"But you're reasonably certain that it does exist, right?"

"Of course I am. I'm not making any sudden moves or hasty decisions though. I'd rather wait to see if the Creator points me in the right direction. I definitely don't want to make the same mistakes that I made last time."

"I don't blame you, Adriel, but I'm sure you will make new ones."

I chuckled, "That's for sure!"

Another week had passed, and I hadn't heard anything from Eddie since he hung up the phone on me. I was getting rather curious, but I didn't want to contact him. No news was good news for me. In the meantime, I was trying to remember anything about a gold mine from the point of creation onward. The problem was that in our predescended state gold held no more significance to us than rock. We had no sense of monetary value or preciousness or scarcity. None of that meant anything, so I was having a difficult time recalling anything about such a place. Even the descriptions of geography were sketchy. None of us were familiar with the names of rivers. I could trace the geography of the surroundings for the first man who descended into the earthly plane. It was lush and green, and there were four rivers that split to the south of it. One of the rivers encompassed the land of Havilah according to the writings. The difficult thing is that there was a considerable amount of seismic activity with earthquakes and exploding volcanoes that divided Pangaea into the separate continents and islands. That's when things really got skewed. I was trying to remember the shifting of the land at that time because I did remember the violent reactions that took place. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers as described in the writings were not in the same place originally as they are today. In fact, I don't think they are even the same rivers. Eden was in what is now Africa, and as the land split, it also shifted and turned so that the rivers were expanded to the point that they no longer existed. They actually turned into gulfs and seas. If my memory serves me correctly, Havilah should have ended up somewhere in southeastern Africa around the border of Tanzania and Mozambique. Then again, it might have drifted with Madagascar, which is a likely possibility. This really becomes a needle in a haystack since the area could easily encompass 40,000 square miles. There's no way the feds would entertain such a vague direction. I'm afraid that my memory will be insufficient to pinpoint the mine. If I were supposed to find this place, then someone was going to have to show me.

This wasn't like before when I knew that I was called to intervene in a world crisis. I had a definite goal at that time. This time the federal government wanted me to find something that I'm not even sure that I'm supposed to find. If the Creator wants me to find it, then he is going to have to show me, but in this case I could be waiting for the rest of my life if it isn't supposed to happen. This was a very different dilemma, indeed. There's no way the feds are going to accept that explanation. In addition, they think I can do things that I really can't do. They will view my reluctance and inability as noncompliance. I'm not sure what Eddie might suffer for that. I was obviously getting ahead of myself. I needed to wait and see if I received any direction.

Two days later I received direction, but certainly not what I was expecting. I got a call from Eddie, who was being detained in Arlington, Virginia. "Adriel, I am to be your director in this mission to find the location. The U. S. Treasury is holding me in Arlington so that they can monitor our situation. I'm not allowed to leave until we complete this." Eddie's voice was shaky, and I was becoming alarmed. I knew well that our conversation was being recorded. I also suspicioned that I was now being watched. Good lord, they are holding Eddie hostage to control me. "You need to write down the number I am about to give you, so get a pen and paper. Don't just put this into your phone. It's an account number that you will be using to purchase anything you need to execute this mission. Please listen carefully, Adriel. This is no joke. Let me know when you are ready for the number."

My heart sank. I went into the kitchen and found a pen and paper. "OK, Eddie, I'm ready for the number."

When Evelyn got home that evening, I had lots to tell. I gave her time to unwind after dinner and to look around the yard. She had a good day, so I was relieved because what I had to tell her was somewhat alarming. I was very attentive to her as we walked around looking at the new sprouts that were emerging from our soil. It truly was a beautiful sight. I could tell by her demeanor that she suspicioned something and was bracing herself for bad news. I figured that was a good thing because she would never dream what I was about to disclose. She lingered in the back yard, and I suspected it was merely a procrastination of learning what I might tell her. Finally, she decided to come inside and asked if I minded if we opened a bottle of wine. I hadn't served any for dinner, mainly because I didn't want to put her emotions on edge. I agreed and chose one with a lower alcohol content. After I handed her the glass of wine, she instinctively strolled out to the back porch in expectation of bad news. I had decided not to drink any alcohol. I entered the back porch and smiled at her as she was sipping from her glass. She looked forlorn as I sat down in my rocker. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Evelyn, our lives are about to change drastically." She continued to sip her wine with both hands and looked so pitiful. "I have a lot to explain. Eddie called me today, and he is being held in Arlington, Virginia as the director of our mission to find the gold mine. He's not allowed to leave until we are successful. I know that raises a lot of questions for which I do not have answers. Just bear with me." Evelyn continued to be silent. "He gave me a number and a password that I am to use for all purchases for whatever I need. No matter where I go, the number will be honored as long as I key in the password on the key pad. If I wanted a Lamborghini, I could purchase it with this number. There are no exceptions or limits. I have one week to buy anything that I think I might need for my mission. It's up to me to decide what that is, and no questions will be asked." Evelyn was continuing to drink her wine, but I noticed a slight trembling in her right hand. "Eddie had me call a representative who is assigned to my needs. Her name is Annette. She works only for me, and she explained everything. On Tuesday morning of next week I am supposed to make a call to someone who has been assigned as my travel assistant. I won't need to book any transportation for any destination. All of that will be taken care of no matter where or when I need to travel. They will send a car to take me to the airport, and a private jet will be deployed to take me anywhere in the world that I need to go. I will never be out of Internet service. It will be provided no matter where I go. I have a number for you to call if you need anything at all. It is a dedicated line for your benefit only. If the water heater goes out while I am gone, you call this number. If you get into a car accident, you call this number. No matter what happens, no matter what you need, you call this number. You don't dial 911 or any other number, only this one, so keep it in a safe place and not on your phone." Evelyn was now shaking so badly that she had to put her wine glass on the coffee table. I went over, took her hand, and held her as we sat on the couch together. She was shivering. "I know that this is a shock, but you will be in good hands. You will have more protection and provision than the President of the United States. Seriously, if you need groceries, they will be provided. If you wake up in the middle of the night with a craving for a sandwich from a deli in Manhattan, it will arrive as soon as physically possible. It's that ridiculous, Evelyn. There are no limits."

Evelyn was shaking and looked up at me with such sadness. "Will I be able to go to work?"

"You can go anywhere you want. You will be accompanied by protective services no matter where you go, but you basically have no restrictions. You can get into any restaurant anywhere in the world without waiting. If you wanted a table at Tour D'Argent in Paris, it's yours. If you wanted front row seats at any event, whether it is Broadway or the Super Bowl, it will be provided. Please get the idea that you have absolute access to anything with no restrictions. I know this sounds impossible, but they guarantee it. In fact, I think they rather enjoy blowing your mind by filling the most absurd requests. At least that's the way it sounded when I spoke with Annette today. I don't know how long this will take, but if you wanted a new wing added to the house, it's yours. By the way, the same travel provisions that I have apply to you as well. You can have breakfast in Madrid, lunch in Manhattan, and dinner in San Francisco. They are serious about this."

"I need to lie down." Evelyn lay on her side on the couch shivering uncontrollably. I threw an afghan over her to help her keep warm.

"Listen, dear, if you are afraid of being alone here, you can come with me. That truly is an option. I think you need to consider it. They will clear everything with your employer. There's no limit to what you can do, so give it some thought. You have no restrictions. You could literally get away with murder."

Evelyn lay on the couch and continued to shiver in silence. Maybe I dumped too much on her too quickly. I wasn't sure how to explain all of this. I think Annette did a far better job of instilling confidence in me concerning the program. Her goal was to make us as comfortable as possible. She was even aware of my reluctance to fly and assured me that they could take care of it. I had the option of sleeping through all flights with an intravenous drug to keep me out while I was in the air. I sat with Evelyn for about half an hour until she drifted off to sleep. The emotional exhaustion was too much for her. It will take some time for all of this to sink in. I have had a few hours to think about it, and I still have not fully comprehended what it all means. The feds are removing all obstacles no matter the cost. Now the pressure is on, and I'm not sure how I am going to deliver the gold mine.

The sense of urgency and the pressure to deliver the goods were merely worldly distractions. Last time, I didn't understand the role that faith played in my responsibility. I always thought that faith was applied in whatever action I took. I thought that it was my responsibility to act, but I found that simply was not true. The only time that faith should be applied is in the choice to trust the Creator to use us as he sees fit. The true responsibility for the outcome and the process lies only with him. As I thought back to my previous experiences, I remembered the vivid dream that I had about performing a water ballet with that beautiful woman. We were part of a group that was dancing in a cool, clear pool of water with a soft, sandy bottom. We were all naked, and it was so natural. Everyone had a partner of the opposite sex. There was no shame or possessiveness, just love, acceptance, and an incredible cooperation among us that created a beautiful dance that was the most exquisite work of art. At the end of the dance, we all departed, each with our own mate. My beautiful companion led me through a soft, lush, tropical forest as we headed for our home. She stopped, pulled me close, and our bodies melded. A silver umbilicus ran from my navel to hers. When she kissed me, I experienced the greatest euphoria I had ever encountered. She looked at me with her penetrating eyes of love, and I recognized her. The bliss that was captivating me was from my Creator. Our relationship was defined by the most intimate love, and the greatest love between a man and his mate was so pale in comparison. Although I am inclined to refer to my Creator as 'she,' I think it confuses most people.

Gender really meant nothing in light of the relationship. There really is no gender, just as it was before we came to this earth. As humans, we are influenced by our hormones and preferences. It saddens me that some people are so critical of others for their choices. Our responsibility is to love and not judge. Self righteous people seem to have a need to degrade others, and they use the most disgusting of all tools to do it. They seem oblivious to the fact that the same means that they use to condemn others also condemns them of their own actions. These people will always be among us. Our responsibility is to love and encourage one another to seek Truth. The aspect of heterosexuality is the fact that it has the potential of producing offspring. To be fruitful and multiply has been so misunderstood by many. The only true fruit that we can produce from our loving relationship with our Creator is the fruit of faith. He, or she, has made everything on this earthly plane to be based on faith. It seems to escape us so easily, yet it is the central point behind our responsibility to increase the Creator's investment that was initially bestowed upon us. These basic truths were the ones that I had to remember as I went forward from here. I had to act in faith and not succumb to the worldly pressure that I knew would be thrust upon me.

I let Evelyn sleep for forty-five minutes. We had much to discuss, and I didn't want to waste valuable time, which was limited due to our responsibilities to our daily jobs. I knew this was difficult for her, but just how difficult I was soon to learn. I went out to the back porch and gently caressed her arm. She began to stir, and I softly whispered in her ear, "Evelyn, dear, you need to wake up. We have a lot to talk about, and I need your input."

Evelyn opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She was no longer shaking, but lying quite still. Her eyes turned to me, but her head remained stationary. A tear began to form in her right eye. I wiped it with my finger and helped her sit up on the couch. As I held her, I felt the internal trembling in her core. She looked me in the eye and said, "I know I'm going to lose you. If you do this, it will cost you your life. You will be leaving me all alone in this world." Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

I reached over and grabbed a tissue. As she took it from me, I tried to encourage her. "Evelyn, you don't know that. We need to trust the Lord."

"No, Adriel, I do know that. I'm telling you, you won't make it back from this mission."

I felt a sudden chill. Where was this idea coming from? Was it another worldly deterrent to my faith? Was it really true, and this was my last rodeo? Is it time for me to exit this world? I had no clue as to the answer, but did it really matter? It broke my heart to think of leaving Evelyn all alone. Out of everything that I had to do, that would be the most difficult. "Evelyn, this is where we need to apply our faith in the situation. We have no guarantees of anything. If we did, it wouldn't be accomplished by faith. We both need to approach this in the same manner. As much as I hope that you aren't left alone, I believe that our Creator will take care of you, but I'm not accepting that I'm going to die on this mission, and neither should you."

There were so many things that I didn't have the chance to tell Evelyn yet. I had spent over an hour on the phone with my government contact, Annette. I spent the next two hours explaining to Evelyn that Annette would field any questions and remove any obstacles that I encountered in my endeavor. My travel assistant was assigned to accompany me anywhere and everywhere. She was responsible for scheduling everything concerning transportation. Apparently, the feds anticipated a considerable responsibility in supplying me with my needs because I had two representatives so far to assist me. If you counted the contact for Evelyn, that made three. I wasn't sure what Eddie's responsibility was, but my guess is that it had to do with relaying pertinent information to the feds concerning my progress. Annette explained that Evelyn and I would be receiving cell phones that would be active from anywhere in the world. The government had a dedicated cell service that could be accessed even from the deep, dark jungles of the Congo. All communication was satellite driven from anywhere on the planet. I would never be out of touch with Evelyn or anyone else whom I needed to contact. I encouraged Evelyn to go shopping with me to try out the new account number and password. I really didn't care what we bought, I just wanted to test the number to see how it worked. I asked her to think of the most obscure place that we could test the number. She promised to give it some thought. In the two hour interval that I explained what I knew so far, Evelyn was able to calm down and join in the conversation. She wasn't back to normal yet, but she had made a lot of progress. It was getting late, so I suggested that we get ready for bed and settle in. I asked her to take tomorrow off work, and she agreed to call in sick.

I awoke fairly early and didn't expect Evelyn up for another two hours. I started a yeast dough for cinnamon rolls and cut up some fruit to make a salad. Once the dough had risen, I worked in some stevia and cinnamon and rolled it out flat on a wooden board. I then rolled the dough into a loaf and cut the individual rolls. The oven was up to temperature so I popped the tray of rolls in for a fifteen minute bake. I then turned to make a pot of coffee. After the rolls finished baking, I set them on the counter to cool and poured myself a cup of coffee. I went to check on Evelyn. She was beginning to stir, so I sat down on her side of the bed to see if she was ready to wake up. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times and smiled. That was a good sign. "So, did you sleep well?"

Evelyn took a deep breath and stretched. "Actually, I did. I don't think I woke up once during the night."

"Good! I have coffee and breakfast ready."

"Oh, that sounds perfect." Evelyn threw the covers off and pulled me down to kiss me. "Let's go have breakfast and try out your new magical number today." She sounded uncharacteristically positive, and I was somewhat relieved. My guess was that she was in the denial stage at this point, but I wasn't going to challenge anything.

After breakfast and a shower, Evelyn suggested that we go back to the nearby village and visit the jeweler. I was surprised that she suggested something so impractical, but I was willing to do anything she wanted. We stopped at a cafe for more coffee to wait for the jewelry shop to open for the day. The sun was shining and warm, which competed with the cool breeze. We had decided to dress in layers so that we could acclimate to the rising temperature of the day. It was a good thing because when we exited the cafe I needed to remove my sweatshirt, which I tied around my waist. As we entered the jewelry store, the tinkling of a little bell sounded, and the proprietor emerged through a doorway at the back behind the counter.

"Good morning, folks! What can I help you with today?" He was a pleasant man, who appeared to be in his late forties. He had short cropped dark hair, which was beginning to thin on top. His stature was short, and his belly protruded over his belt causing his tie to stop short of his last shirt button. His jacket was a bit tight in the shoulders, so I ventured to guess that he had recently gained a considerable amount of weight.

Evelyn strolled over to one of the counters that contained some really huge diamonds. I began to understand what she was scheming. "Could I please see this ring, second from my left at the front of the showcase?" I saw his eyes light up at her request. She had chosen the largest diamond in sight. This was getting more amusing by the minute. The man produced the ring and handed it to Evelyn. Evelyn's hands were dainty, and the ring easily slipped onto her finger as it was at least two sizes too large for her. She clasped her fingers together tightly to keep the ring from slipping as she held it up to look at it. She then shook her head and asked, "Do you have anything larger?"

The man was nearly giddy with excitement and replied, "Well, yes, I do, but the stone has not yet been mounted on a shank. Would you care to see it?"

"Certainly, and I would like to see your recommendation for mounting it." As he went back through the rear doorway, Evelyn turned to me and grinned.

I just shook my head and smiled. "Anything you want, my dear."

The man returned with an enormous diamond, which he was carrying on a silk pillow. This amused me all the more. He handed Evelyn a pair of gloves to wear as she examined the ring. I nearly laughed aloud because I knew this was just another sales maneuver to enhance the value of the ring. Evelyn carefully turned the stone in the light and examined it closely. She then faced the man and asked, "Don't you have anything larger than this?"

I could see him gulp before responding. "Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do have another one in my safe, but it's not a diamond that I would recommend for a ring. It's too large for that. It would need to be accompanied by a brooch or necklace."

"That's the one I want to see," Evelyn exclaimed with delight.

The man took the diamond from Evelyn and hurried once again into the back of the store. During the few minutes that transpired before his return, Evelyn stood against the showcase gliding her bottom from side to side across the front of the glass as she coquettishly smiled at me. I just smiled back, and neither of us spoke a word. When the man appeared at the back of the showroom with the largest diamond that he had available, he requested that we come to the back to view it. I noticed a trickle of sweat spilling from his left sideburn. As he was presenting the stone to Evelyn, I saw him glance toward the front door a couple of times. I discreetly glanced over my shoulder at the door and saw a police officer stationed outside. This just got better and better. My countenance was obviously affected when I saw the diamond because the man looked at me while nodding his head and smiling. My late father was a jeweler, so none of this was unfamiliar to me. I estimated the diamond to be over twelve karats. It was by far the largest I had ever seen. Evelyn asked the price of the stone. When he responded, I caught my breath as I started to laugh. He gave me a quick glance, but immediately returned his attention to Evelyn.

Evelyn gave the top of the counter a gentle smack and replied, "I'll take it!"

I could see a bit of confusion and unbelief on his face when he asked, "Will this be cash or charge?"

That's when I stepped in. "That's a good question. I have an account number for you to enter for the purchase. It will require a password from me, so I will need a keypad."

"No problem, sir, I'm ready for the number when you are."

I gave him the sixteen digit number, and he pushed the keypad toward me for the password. I made the entry, and in a few seconds he looked up at me in awe. "Well, Mr?"

"Chevalier."

"Well, Mr. Chevalier, I appreciate your business. The transaction has been accepted. Please let me retrieve the case for the diamond, and I'll get this packaged for you. Now, if you want this mounted, please don't hesitate to call or come back in. I realize that often stones of this size are investments, and many people don't want to risk taking them out in public, but if you do decide to display this stone, I would be delighted to assist."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," I graciously responded. He disappeared once again into the back, and Evelyn turned to me. I just giggled a little, but she wasn't amused by the experience. I saw slight disappointment and fear in her eyes along with the sparkle of a small tear. I knew then that she had hoped the transaction would be a failure. She now owned a diamond that was well into the six figure price range, and no questions were asked. The proprietor returned with the boxed ring and handed it to Evelyn along with the receipt. She snatched the box and stormed toward the front of the store.

I quickly followed and called to her, "Honey, where are you going?"

As she opened the door to leave, she exclaimed, "I'm going to buy myself a goddamned Jaguar!" I looked back at the wide-eyed proprietor and shrugged my shoulders.

What a day it had been, and it was quite a whirlwind. I was exhausted. As much as I enjoyed Evelyn's Nissan, it had now been replaced with the latest F-TYPE convertible Jaguar. Evelyn carried the mixture of ten dresses and gowns into the bedroom. I had no idea she knew so much about Paris originals in evening wear. I was in a daze, and as she was changing into one of her gowns, she instructed me to dress as well. Apparently we were going to Chez Excellence for a late dinner. I tried to discourage her. "Honey, we haven't made reservations. That place is booked over a month in advance."

"Get Annette on the phone and tell her we need a table at 9:00 tonight." A monster had been born.

"OK, give me a minute!" I called Annette and told her what Evelyn was planning. She assured me that the restaurant would be expecting us. Evelyn walked into the living room where I had just gotten off the phone. She looked stunning. She was wearing a sleek, royal blue silk evening gown. Naturally, she had accessorized and had the purse and shoes to match, not to mention more jewelry. I was speechless. As many times as I had been shopping with her, I had never seen her choose clothing so quickly. Normally, she would try on every dress in the shop but not today. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted. I guess gravitating toward the most expensive selections made shopping much simpler.

I slipped into a black suit with dark blue pin stripes. Evelyn made me change my shirt from the dark blue one that I chose to a white Oxford. She also selected my tie, since I couldn't seem to do that to her satisfaction either. She straightened my tie and brushed the shoulders of my jacket. After inspecting my appearance, she agreed to let me drive us to the restaurant in her new Jaguar. As I pulled out of the driveway, a gripping fear took hold that she would somehow get me to smash into a police car just to see Annette get me out of it unscathed. I know that's ridiculous, but I didn't know what to expect from her at this point. She didn't act depressed or scared, but rather pissed off at the world. I wasn't sure how to handle her, or if I even could.

As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the maitre d' who somehow knew who we were. He escorted us to an exclusive table that sat on a dais overlooking the city seventeen stories below. No other patrons were in sight because the table was the only one in an exquisite, elegant room that was adorned in French decor. We were immediately attended by a young, handsome waiter. Two other attendants appeared to pamper us for the evening. One attendant stood in the shadows and was readily available to fill water and wine glasses. Another cleared dishes and offered to meet whatever needs we had. He also replaced various candles and fresh flowers at our table as each course was served. In addition, our waiter was exclusive to us and had no other tables. The sommelier had brought several samples of the choicest wine for us to taste to help choose our selections for the evening. Each and every attendant had a tantalizing accent, as French was his first language. The menu had no prices because I was sure that it ranged from extremely expensive to ridiculous. This certainly wasn't my style, but if this is what Evelyn needed to accept our situation, I was willing to endure. I just hoped that she didn't intend to make this our normal way of life. Dinner was indescribable. We each enjoyed oysters on the half shell for an appetizer. Evelyn accompanied her oysters with an order of Beluga Sturgeon Caviar. Her entrée choice was pheasant under glass, and I ordered the pressed duck. She insisted on the Bittersweet Chocolate Torte for dessert with an accompaniment of Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac. I enjoyed the Raspberry Tart with Pistachio Crush. We ended up drinking so much alcohol that we were chauffeured home in a stretch limousine as a valet followed in the Jaguar. It was well after midnight, and I had dozed off during the limo ride on the way home. Evelyn seemed preoccupied, and I was hoping she wasn't planning another day of opulence. It seemed so strange not to pay for anything or tip anyone. I felt remiss, but I knew that these fine folks were being handsomely compensated, and I needn't worry about it.

I was far too exhausted to confront Evelyn when we got home. We changed into our pajamas, brushed our teeth, and passed out on the bed. Morning arrived all too soon, and I reached for the ibuprofen that I kept on my nightstand. My mouth was like cotton, so I guzzled a full half liter bottle of water in seconds. I looked over, and Evelyn was still snoring lightly. I rolled out of bed and started the shower where I stood for five minutes as cool water washed over my head and down my face and shoulders. I can't live like this! She needed to accept the situation and not keep challenging and abusing it. I finished showering, toweled off, threw on some sweats, and headed into the kitchen to start the coffee. The sun was just starting to rise. The ibuprofen was beginning to take effect because the pounding in my head was now bearable. I opened the door on the back porch and stepped outside onto the deck. The cool spring air helped to clear my head and refresh me as I waited for the coffee to finish brewing. The air was so crisp and clear, and I loved the way that it smelled just before dawn. My thirst had returned, so I decided to sip more water before pouring a cup of coffee. I wasn't hungry, and I certainly didn't feel like cooking. After finishing half of the bottle of water, I poured myself a cup of steaming coffee. I made it extra strong, so I was anticipating a good kick from it.

When I returned to the bedroom, I could hear that Evelyn was in the shower. I strolled into the bathroom and asked if she wanted me to pour her coffee yet. She consented, and I headed back out to the kitchen. I fixed her coffee with creamer and took it to her in the bathroom where she was toweling off from her shower. She dropped her towel and started sipping the coffee. I hung her towel on the rack and told her that we needed to talk. She readily agreed. I had her meet me on the back porch after she finished dressing. As she stepped into the room, she began, "Before you say anything, I know that I was unbearable yesterday, and I'm really sorry. I guess I needed to test these people before I could accept all the things that you have been telling me. I promise to be good today, but I want you know that I have decided that I do want to go with you. If something awful really does happen to you, I want to be there."

"OK, I'm glad to hear that. It does sound like we will be in good hands. I need to let Annette know that you intend to accompany me. I'd rather do that as soon as possible, so I'll call her now." I walked into the kitchen as I dialed Annette's number. She answered immediately. I explained that Evelyn wanted to travel with me wherever I went. Annette then set up a meeting for her and my travel assistant to come to the house to give Evelyn and me an orientation. She agreed to have Evelyn join me if she still wanted to do so after our orientation. I relayed the information to Evelyn and told her that Annette and my travel assistant, Joey, were coming over on Friday night at 8:00 to meet with us. Evelyn was surprised because I was supposed to contact my travel assistant when I was ready to leave, but now my representatives were coming to the house. I had no explanation. That's just what Annette told me. I guess it had to do with meeting Evelyn before we left in case she changed her mind.

Life went back to normal until Friday night. I had recovered from the exhausting day that Evelyn dragged me through, and I felt rested for our meeting with Annette and Joey. Evelyn and I were relaxing on the back porch after dinner until our meeting. Promptly at 8:00 our doorbell rang. I opened the door, and Annette introduced herself. I had noticed her delightful French accent during our phone conversations. She appeared to be in her late twenties with short dark hair cut in a wedge with bangs. Her hair outlined her face. She had strikingly beautiful features with bright blue eyes. She was petite and dressed very professionally in a black skirt, black jacket, and white blouse, which was adorned with a blue scarf. My travel assistant, Joey, trailed in behind Annette. I estimated her to be in her mid-thirties. She turned out to be a drop dead gorgeous redhead with emerald green eyes from Hungary. She wore a tight, short, maroon wool skirt with a low cut sleeveless top. Her athletic figure was so voluptuous that I caught Evelyn eyeing her up and down. I was hoping that Joey didn't notice. Evelyn wasn't smiling. I invited the ladies into the living room to get comfortable so that we could get acquainted. Evelyn's demeanor was becoming embarrassing, and I started the conversation. "Well, as you know, Evelyn has decided to join me on this little adventure. Annette, you had mentioned that if she wanted to come along, it was perfectly acceptable."

Annette immediately responded, "Oh, absolutely. We just need to cover a few things to be sure that you know what to expect. I'll explain the protocol and how operations will be handled. Then I'll turn it over to Joey so that she can detail how the travel process works."

"Great," I responded, looking at Evelyn with a smile. Still no smile from her.

Annette began, "As I'm explaining everything, please feel free to interrupt if either of you have any questions. I'd rather answer them while they are fresh in your mind. You principally have three contacts, Mr. Chevalier."

"Oh, please call me Adriel." Evelyn gave me a deadpan side glance.

"OK, Adriel, you principally have three contacts, your colleague, Eddie; your travel assistant, Joey; and myself. Eddie will be your advisor, liaison, and director. What that means is that if the bureau has any directives or mandates, they will be communicated to you via Eddie. You will also report to him any setbacks, progress, or any other information related to the project itself. Joey will handle all of your transportation needs. She will never leave your side."

Evelyn interrupted, "Now when you say Joey will never leave Adriel's side, just exactly what does that mean?"

"It means that Adriel will never be alone. She will be ready at all times to transport him anywhere he needs to go."

"Where will she be when he is in the shower?"

I gave Evelyn an astonished look. I knew I had to be turning seven shades of red. I leaned over to Evelyn and whispered, "Evelyn, please!"

Joey showed no reaction. Annette smiled and replied, "Joey will be within earshot."

"That's rather ambiguous," Evelyn snapped.

"Mrs. Chevalier, I realize that this is difficult for you, and privacy is important to all of us. However, as much as we don't like to invade anyone's life, we do what is necessary to minimize mistakes. We respect your privacy, but please understand that we will hear everything you say and know everything you do. As Adriel's wife, this will be difficult for you, but it's absolutely necessary. This is one of the reasons that we are here tonight. If you decide to come along, you have to know what to expect. May I continue?"

"Of course." Evelyn crossed her arms.

"I have a question, Annette."

"Sure, Adriel, what is it?"

"If I need to move to another location, am I supposed to contact Eddie to let him know where I intend to go?"

"That's a good question, and the answer is no, you don't. Joey handles all of your travel needs, and your whereabouts are known to everyone monitoring your mission. Eddie only needs to know if your mission is impacted in any way."

"OK, thanks. I have another question. Where will Evelyn be while I am working on this mission?"

"That's another good question, Adriel. Mrs. Chevalier will be isolated from you while you are active. She is free to go and do as she pleases, but she will have a protective escort. She just can't be with you when you are engaged in any activity that pertains to your mission. If your mission requires twenty-four hour operations, she will not be allowed to see you or talk to you until the process breaks and there is a time of recess. Does that make sense to you?"

"I think so. So, she will only be available to me in my leisure time, correct?"

"That is another way to put it, yes."

Evelyn was now starting to tap her foot, and I reached over to place my hand on her knee to get her to stop. I could tell she was fuming inside. "Please continue," I offered.

"My role in your mission is to supply you with anything that you want or need, whether it is mission related or not. You have carte blanche, and no questions will be asked."

Evelyn piped up, "What if he wants something illegal?"

Annette smiled. "I'm not sure what you are asking, but there is no such thing as illegal when it pertains to Adriel's wishes. I know that sounds bizarre, but nothing he does or requests will be considered illegal. Now that may conjure up some distasteful thoughts, but there is no judgment here. He can have anything he wants."

At this point my head began to spin, and all I could think about was what I had said to Eddie about absolute power corrupts absolutely. Never in my life did I think I would be faced with such a situation.

Evelyn was back to her foot tapping and spoke up once again, "Does that same service apply to me as well?"

"Absolutely, unless it violates a mission directive. For instance, if Adriel is engaged in a mission process, you can't demand to see him. Any type of request would be ignored."

"What if I wanted to dance on stage at the Moulin Rouge in Paris?"

Annette giggled, "That could positively be arranged."

I leaned over to Evelyn once again, and insisted, "Evelyn, please stop this!"

Annette smiled. "Adriel, please relax. Mrs. Chevalier is not acting out of character as a wife. We're very accustomed to this. Do either of you have any more questions?"

I responded before Evelyn could start another embarrassing episode. "Which agency do you and Joey work for? I know the contract was through the Treasury Department."

"Actually, Joey and I work for an independent consulting agency. We are contracted with the Central Intelligence Agency at this time. Joey was a dedicated agent to the CIA several years ago, but they downsized, and we hired her with our firm. We have all of the necessary clearances with the federal government. Any other questions?"

"No, I don't think so." I was hoping Evelyn would keep silent.

"I'm going to turn the conversation over to Joey if you have no other questions for me."

"No, I don't think we do at this point." I was eager to get this meeting over. Evelyn glared at me.

Joey, who had shown no emotion whatsoever up to this point, began to explain. "Adriel, we are going to become very close in a working relationship. There is often a tendency for an untrained operative, such as yourself, to begin to share personal things and expect friendly responses. I urge you to refrain from any attempt to share anything personal with me. I know at this point you don't intend to share such information, but when we are in the field, especially confronting danger, you will feel that you need this type of interaction. It's perfectly normal, but I'm forewarning you. I won't respond if you do. It doesn't mean that I don't care about you, but if your communication does not pertain to travel it will fall on deaf ears in my case. I think it's best that I explain some of my background. I was diagnosed with Emotional Detachment Disorder in my early teen years. My parents died in an automobile crash when I was twelve."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I interjected.

Joey continued with no response. "I was assigned to a foster home, and after a few years my foster parents became very concerned about my lack of reaction to several incidents. I was taken to a mental health clinic, and several tests were conducted that confirmed my diagnosis. At the age of eighteen, I was contacted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency for possible employment. I accepted, and I received rigorous training to become a CIA operative. I have been in active service since my twenty-first birthday, and about six years ago, as Annette mentioned, I was outsourced to the company that we work for now. The reason that I am explaining all of this is so that you will understand if I seem detached. My principal responsibility is to get you where you need to go as safely as possible."

"Thank you. I understand that. I'm curious. What if I am threatened in any way? Do you come to my defense?"

"I appreciate that question, Adriel, and the answer is yes, I do. I am highly trained, and part of my responsibility for your transportation is to get you to where you need to go safely, whatever it takes."

I jokingly asked, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

Joey replied without emotion, "Whatever it takes."

There was a long pause before Joey continued. "Adriel, since you and I will be traveling together very closely, whenever we are in public, we will be portrayed as husband and wife."

Evelyn immediately responded, "Aren't you a bit young to be construed as his wife?"

"Absolutely not, Mrs. Chevalier; I have performed similar operations with much older men than Adriel. Besides, your husband looks at least ten years younger than his age. I have no doubt that we can appear genuine. This is for his safety. We aren't sure what we will encounter, and we'd prefer to appear as tourists whenever we are in sight. Once the operation is underway, we will wear matching wedding bands."

"But I don't wear a ring," I protested.

"You will while we are working. I won't have time to train you properly, but just follow my lead, and you should be fine."

There was another long pause. Annette then asked, "Do either of you have any more questions?"

I was quick to reply. "I don't think so at this time, but I'm sure we will once Evelyn and I have a chance to discuss all of this."

"Of course, we expect that. Please feel free to call me at any time day or night, and I will be happy to answer your questions. If I don't hear from you by Monday, I will get in touch to be sure that Mrs. Chevalier is planning to come along. There is a lot to prepare. Now, before I leave I want to give you each a cell phone. Memorize one another's number, and don't get these phones mixed up. As I explained to you before, Adriel, they will work anywhere, even in the basement at the Pentagon. Please don't use these phones to call anyone but your mission contact personnel, which are Eddie, Joey, and myself. No matter what, we will handle all of your needs."

Evelyn snidely interjected, "Even a pizza order?"

"Yes, Mrs. Chevalier, even a pizza order, or pheasant under glass, whichever you prefer."

I walked Annette and Joey to the front door and ushered them out to the front porch. They both shook my hand, but Evelyn stayed in the living room. I watched them get into their car and back out of the drive. I was dreading what awaited me inside. When I returned to the living room, Evelyn was still sitting in her same spot tapping her foot. She was seething, and I needed to try to talk some sense into her. "Evelyn..."

She stopped me short. "I hate this! I can't believe you're going along with it. Your new companion would make a Playboy Playmate envious." She started a ridiculous imitation of Annette, "Oh, Adriel, anything you want you can have, even Joey."

"Evelyn, don't be ridiculous. She never said that, and it's absurd. I think you have seen too many James Bond movies. You heard Joey, she warned me against sharing anything personal."

"Oh, I'm sure that was for my benefit. I don't trust either of them."

"You don't have to trust them, but do you trust me?" Evelyn glared at me. She didn't have to say a word. "That was years ago, and we're not going to rehash that. As much as I dislike this situation, it's obvious that they own us. As long as I cooperate, things will go smoothly, but these people can make or break us. I don't want any trouble. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I would appreciate you coming along, but I don't want to have to fight your insecurity. We need to work together." Evelyn sat rigid, fuming in silence, tapping her foot. "Well, you heard Annette, you have the weekend to make up your mind if you are going. I really hope you do because I would miss you terribly." She shot me a dubious look. I retired to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was going to be a cold night inside. I settled into bed and retrieved my new cell phone. I looked at the list of contacts, and I had four on display. Evelyn's phone, Eddie, Annette, and Joey.

I decided to dial Eddie's number. He answered on the first ring. "Adriel, how did the meeting with Annette go?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. Evelyn got really upset, especially after meeting Joey. Where are you?"

"Adriel, I'm not allowed to discuss personal matters, only mission critical items. When are you going to start your assignment?"

"I really don't know, Eddie. I'm waiting for Evelyn to decide if she's coming along or not. We have the weekend to decide. Annette is going to call me on Monday for an answer. I don't know how long it will take to accommodate us, so I would imagine that I would start when they are ready for us."

"Adriel, the feds move incredibly fast. If Annette is calling you on Monday, my guess is you will start Monday."

"Do you really think so? She said there was a lot to consider if Evelyn decided to join me."

"Yeah, that actually means nothing in perspective of the mission. Accommodating Evelyn is just a side matter. My guess is you have three more nights in your own bed. I wouldn't count on any more than that. We need to clear the line. Your phone is constantly monitored, and there's nothing mission critical to discuss." Eddie hung up.

Wow, no "goodbye," "over and out," "see you later," "kiss my ass," just a dead line. This seemed like a terribly bad dream. I remembered feeling the same way the last time I had a mission to accomplish. I lay in the dark thinking about that time when it was just Eddie and me. We didn't answer to anyone. Instead, I was groping in the dark, and at one point Eddie lost confidence in me. I never knew exactly what to do until the last minute. I didn't like that aspect of things then, and now that I was answering to the feds it just added an additional pressure because they expected results. My head was starting to pound. I reached over and grabbed the ibuprofen bottle from my nightstand. Damn! It was empty. Evelyn must have taken the last one. She often used things up without letting me know, and I had no extra bottles in the house. I'm not going to the store at this hour, that's for sure.

I remembered my new cell phone. I snatched the phone from my nightstand and dialed Annette. She answered on the first ring. "Adriel, what can I do for you?"

"Hi, Annette. I'm out of ibuprofen."

"Is that all you need, just ibuprofen?"

"Yeah, I just realized that Evelyn had taken the last of it without telling me."

My doorbell rang. I jumped up and answered the door. Joey was standing on my porch in a black, skin tight jumpsuit with her red hair tied back in a pony tail. She was captivating, and I nearly couldn't breathe at the sight of her. She extended her hand to give me a bottle of ibuprofen. I was stunned. I still had Annette on the phone. "Adriel?"

I stammered back as I watched Joey disappear into the night, "Uh, yes?"

"You're welcome." Annette hung up. I guess no one on this mission was going to say, 'goodbye.' I stood at the front door dumbstruck over what just happened. Luckily, the doorbell didn't arouse Evelyn. She must be in the upstairs guest room asleep. I wandered back to bed trying to understand how Annette relayed the information to Joey, who was obviously camped out near my doorstep, and how Joey could produce a bottle of ibuprofen that fast. This became more and more like a dream. I have had dreams this vivid before and felt sure they were real, only to wake up in the morning and realize they weren't. I was really beginning to wonder.

I awoke in darkness and glanced at the clock. It was 6:00 AM. I slept longer than I anticipated. Evelyn wasn't with me, so I supposed that she was still in bed upstairs. I made a quick stop in the bathroom before wandering out to the kitchen to make coffee. Much to my surprise, I smelled a fresh pot of coffee as I entered the kitchen. I poured a cup, stirred in some stevia, and headed for the back porch. Evelyn was sitting in her rocker sipping her coffee. "So, you must have slept in the upstairs guest room."

"I did. I wasn't sure how much sleep I would get, and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, that was kind, I guess. So, how did you sleep?"

"On my back, mostly."

"Very funny. Did you sleep well?"

"I got a few hours."

"Look, I know you're upset, and I really don't blame you. I don't know what else to do with this situation. Have you decided if you are going to come along, or not?"

"Oh, I gave it a lot of thought last night. I thought about not going, and then I wasn't sure how I would handle being here alone. The more I thought about it, the less I wanted you to be alone with Joey and me never around. I decided I had better come along, and the more I thought about coming along, the more I decided that if they could hear everything we said and knew everything we did that I would really give them something to talk about."

"Evelyn, this is childish. Actually, I think they already hear everything we say, so just be aware. I really want you to go, but I need for you to be supportive. This is a major task, and I'm not sure I'm up to it. I don't even know where to start. According to Eddie, he thinks it starts Monday, so please prepare yourself. I hope that we will be traveling together, but I forgot to ask that."

"So, call Annette right now and ask."

"I think this is more of a question for Joey." I was afraid to tell Evelyn about the ibuprofen last night. It would most likely set her off if she knew that Joey was that close. I retrieved my cell phone from the bedroom and called Joey's number. She answered on the first ring. Why was I not surprised? "Hi, Joey, I have a question."

"What is it, Adriel?"

"When I travel, will Evelyn be traveling with me or separately?"

"That depends on the reason for travel. If we are relocating, then yes, she will travel with us. If you are traversing due to mission operations, then no, she will not. It's the same protocol that we described about Evelyn not being with you when you are engaged in operations. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, thank you." Joey hung up the phone. I turned to Evelyn and relayed Joey's response. I then asked if she was ready for me to tell Annette about her decision to come along. She agreed. I dialed Annette. I don't think I even heard the phone ring. "Hi, Annette, Evelyn has decided to come along."

"I'll make the necessary arrangements. Please call Joey Monday morning and tell her where you need to go to start the operation. Make sure you are already packed and ready to go. Travel light. You can buy whatever you need as you go. Just be sure to always have your cell phone with you. It's all you will really need. Do you have any questions?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so." I heard the customary click on my phone, and the conversation was terminated. I turned to Evelyn. "Looks like we leave Monday."

"Monday?! Where are we going?"

"Apparently, wherever I tell them."

# **CHAPTER THREE**

# **_TANZANIA_**

****

****

I couldn't sleep. The weekend had been two days of denial for both Evelyn and me. It was 4:00 AM, Monday morning, and I felt like a man standing before a firing squad. Just get this over with, damn it! Stop torturing me! I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Joey. I was accustomed to the immediate answer and abrupt termination of our calls. "Adriel!"

"I'm ready, Joey. Let's go!"

"Destination?"

"Mtwara, Tanzania," I answered as I broke into a sweat.

My doorbell rang. I shook my head. I waltzed over to the front door and swung it wide open. Joey marched in wearing her black jump suit, revealing every muscular curve in her body. Once again, I was breathless. I was glad that Evelyn was still asleep and didn't witness my reaction to Joey's appearance. I needed to temper myself. Joey scanned the foyer. "No baggage?"

"Actually, I need to wake Evelyn. I think she hasn't finished packing."

Joey bolted into the house, and before I could take a step she had Evelyn in the foyer rubbing her eyes to try to awaken. "Mrs. Chevalier, do you have a bag?"

Evelyn made a queer face and looked around. "A what? What's going on?"

Joey looked at me with an impatient disgust. "A bag, Mrs. Chevalier! We're leaving!"

I put my arm around Evelyn and coaxed her to the car. I had realized that packing was moot. We would buy the best of what we needed. Evelyn was still in her pajamas. We eased into the limousine with Joey and left the house behind. Joey was feverishly texting on her phone. After a few minutes, she looked up and explained, "We are making a quick stop at a clinic not far from here. You both will be vaccinated for hepatitis A and B, rabies, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria and measles."

"Actually, we may have already had some of those," I offered.

Joey shortly replied, "No matter! They will analyze your blood with a titer test and determine what you need. You need to be vaccinated." She returned to her feverish texting.

Evelyn was still trying to sleep in my arms. I gently tried to wake her. "Evelyn, you need to wake up."

She opened one eye and looked around. "Where are we? Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming. We are going to get vaccinated for our trip to Tanzania."

"Tanzania?!" Evelyn was now wide awake. "Where are my clothes?" Evelyn was looking left and right in the seat of the limousine.

"We're buying new clothes, don't worry. Just relax because we have a long trip ahead of us."

"Adriel! What about the house?"

Joey looked up from her phone to answer, "Your house is in good hands. All will be cared for as long as you are away. Nothing to worry about. We have your employers covered as well." She immediately returned to her phone.

Before long, we swung into a parking lot, and two men in black suits opened the limousine doors. Evelyn and I were escorted into the clinic, and nurses were hurriedly attending to us with needles, syringes, cotton, bandages and equipment that I didn't recognize. It was a whirlwind. I felt a pin prick, and staff members were hurrying about. It wasn't even five o'clock in the morning, and somehow this clinic was in full swing. It was obvious that we were the only patients. A doctor came in to explain to us about the prescription that we would be taking for malaria. The lab was intently working to get the results from our titer tests. After about an hour, two nurses hurriedly entered the room. One attended to Evelyn and one to me. We were vaccinated in just a few minutes, and the next thing I knew we were heading back to the limo. The two men in dark suits closed the doors, and off we went.

Joey never looked up from her phone. I could see that we were approaching the airport, but we took a side road instead of the main one that led to the departure area. The limousine swung hard to the right, and as I looked around I could see that we were on a tarmac. We rolled up to a small two engine jet, and my heart sank. This was my worst nightmare. Once again, the limo doors swung open, and this time Joey took me by the arm and walked me to the plane. She led me up the stairs and into a seat next to an intravenous unit. She took me by both shoulders and looked me straight into the eye. Her nose was nearly touching mine, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I saw a nurse behind her and felt my shirt sleeve being pulled up. Joey touched her nose to mine and whispered, "Sweet dreams."

It seemed as though no time had passed. I awoke on a gurney that was being wheeled quickly over a bumpy surface. I tried to look around, but I was surrounded by people. Joey was holding my left hand. I felt myself being lifted, and the next think I knew I was in what appeared to be a corporate board room. It wasn't until then that I realized I had been strapped down because someone was removing the straps, and Joey was pulling me up to sit sideways on the gurney. She asked if I was all right to walk, and I thought that I was. She led me to a very comfortable seat and gave me a bottled water. I saw Evelyn being ushered through another door that led somewhere else. I had no idea where I was. All of a sudden I heard the roar of jet engines and began to realize that I was on another airplane, only much larger.

Joey took a seat next to me, and pulled me close. "Adriel, this will be a smooth flight, and I don't want you to be alarmed. We have a lot to do, so bear with me. I will be videoconferencing you in with some of our scientists. You won't be able to see their faces, but they have some questions for you. The conference starts in half an hour. Can I get you anything? I mean absolutely anything!"

"I'd certainly like a corned beef sandwich with Swiss cheese from Weiss delicatessen." I gave Joey a stupid smile.

She looked down to text on her phone. Within two minutes, a waiter in a white jacket delivered the corned beef sandwich to me with a dill pickle. "What would you like to drink with your sandwich, Mr. Chevalier," he graciously asked.

"I'll have a Monon porter, if you please."

"Right away!"

Within one minute I had the porter sitting next to my plate and an icy mug to go with it. I just sat there looking at the sandwich and the beer. This seemed so impossible. I peeled back the bun to look at the corned beef. It certainly looked authentic to me. Weiss had the best corned beef sandwiches I had ever tasted. I took one bite, and I was convinced. I wasn't a fan of having beer for breakfast, but the experience was one of a lifetime, and I had to take advantage of it. Joey never left my side. She had leaned into me as I ate, and I kept glancing over wondering why she was so close. She finally put her phone down as I was finishing the sandwich, and she held my arm closely. This was all beginning to confuse me.

My plate was removed by another servant in a white coat, and Joey put her lips next to my ear to whisper, "The conference is about to start." All of a sudden, the large screen at the back of the room lit up, and three men were sitting at a table. Each face was blurred so that I couldn't recognize anyone. I could see that they were discussing something, but there was no sound. Joey squeezed my arm, and the audio was activated.

One of the scientists began to speak, "Mr. Chevalier, it's a pleasure to meet you. We are going to make this meeting very brief. We are curious about a few things and would appreciate you answering a few questions."

"Certainly," I agreed.

"You are embarking for Mtwara, Tanzania. We are curious to know why you chose that destination. From our research it appears that the mine should exist somewhere along the Arabian coast."

"Gentlemen, I know that is a common mistake that some scientists have made, but when the earth split from one solid mass into the various continents and islands, they not only separated, but they rotated as well. This rotation has escaped their notice, and as a result the expected location was too far north."

Although the faces were blurred, I could see the scientists looking at one another. One of them spoke, "Mr. Chevalier, upon what evidence do you base your conclusion?"

I was now faced with a very uncomfortable situation. One of the last things I ever wanted was for the feds to know that I could remember events before I came to this earth. I was afraid that at one point they would want to dissect my brain to determine how I was different. I know that sounds ridiculous, but my fears were usually very irrational. I decided to fess up, "Personal experience. I witnessed it."

There was more glancing toward one another, and another spoke, "Thank you, Mr. Chevalier." The screen then went black again.

Joey spun my chair to face her and put her hands on my knees. She looked me straight in the eye. "Adriel, I need to brief you on today's program. This will only take a few minutes. I will be happy to answer any of your questions, but please save them for after I finish."

"OK," I agreed.

"For the next several days our schedule will be sporadic. I encourage you to sleep when you can. Not only will we be on the other side of the world, but we will be working with teams who are engaged in twenty-four operations. You may be called upon at any hour for direction and interrogation."

I nodded, "I understand." I began to recall my situation several months ago when I had to communicate with the leaders in South Asia. My days and nights were often upside down. Now, here I was less than a year later in a similar situation, but this time I would be on location. I certainly never suspected something like this would ever happen.

"Our next destination is King Fahd Air Base in Saudi Arabia. You are now on United States Air Force Two. When we land, we will be transferred to an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea via helicopter. Once again, we will be putting you under prior to transport. Do you suffer sea sickness?" Joey attended to her phone.

"Uh, no, I haven't in the past. I was on a cruise ship about twenty years ago in a terrible storm being tossed about in the Caribbean, but it never bothered me."

Joey looked up from her phone. "Good! The carrier will sail south and anchor offshore from Mtwara, Tanzania. We're hoping that you won't need to disembark, but it is possible. We may need for you to go ashore to help pinpoint the area based on what you know. I don't want to alarm you, but this could involve putting you in a helicopter to help you find the area. If this should happen, we have drugs that can help take your anxiety away and still allow you to think clearly, so bear with us. We have a team of geologists who will be conducting tests and research to detect the mines. The government of Tanzania is cooperating with the understanding that our geologists are suspecting considerable future seismic activity in their area. We have also contacted the officials in Mozambique with the same intent. This will give us the opportunity to obtain permission to drill and blast as needed without raising too much suspicion."

This just felt too much like the game we used to play at birthday parties when I was a kid called Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We would get blindfolded and handed a paper tail with a thumb tack to try to place the tail on a hanging picture of a donkey as closely to his ass as possible. I just needed to find this donkey's ass. I was never any good at that game, so my confidence level was extremely low. I guess this gave me a better opportunity to exercise my faith. The problem I faced was that I had no idea if finding this mine was within the will of the Creator. Whatever so called faith I applied could be moot. As often as I had been in situations to perform without all of the answers within the past year, it never got any easier. I still had the same anxious feeling of consternation and wondered if I were wasting my time, and in this case, everyone else's.

Joey's hands were still holding my legs at the knees. Every time she emphasized a word, she would squeeze my legs. Her touch was electrifying, and I was having a difficult time concentrating on what she was saying because she was so extremely sensual. This didn't equate with what she had told us during our orientation. Joey had portrayed herself as an emotionless operative who didn't tolerate sharing personal feelings. Yet, here she was maintaining close bodily contact with me at all times with an affectionate touch. Maybe Evelyn was right that Joey merely said those things for her benefit. I was beginning to sweat. I dearly love my wife, but this woman was the most irresistible siren I had ever encountered. I think she began to realize that I had drifted from attending to her briefing. She abruptly stopped, "Adriel, what's the matter?" Her voice was now a slight whisper. She discreetly bowed her head as she continued to look at me and briefly put her finger to her lips to signal my silence. It appeared that she was now attending to her phone, but as I looked into her lap I saw that she was writing on a small pad of paper. "Meet me in the restroom." After she saw that I read the note, she tore it from the pad, wadded it into a small ball and put it into her mouth as she feigned a cough. She soon arose from her chair, unclipped her microphone and laid it on the conference table. She walked to the other side of the room and left through a doorway on the right. Dear God, what had I gotten myself into? My heart was racing, and I wasn't sure what to do at this point.

I took a drink from my water bottle and looked around. No one was in sight, and I had no idea how may people were on the airplane. I knew that I was being watched at all times. Maybe that's why she wanted to meet in the bathroom. Could that be the only place that we were out of sight? I mechanically arose from my chair and started toward the doorway where she had disappeared. The bathroom was very close, the first door on the left in the hallway. I took a deep breath before I opened the door. I had no idea what I might find inside. Joey was sitting on the counter and once again gestured for me to keep silent. She held out her hand to draw me close. She pulled me in tightly between her legs and locked her ankles behind me. She hugged me closely as she softly whispered in my ear. "This is the only place that they won't hear me, but I need to whisper everything very quietly." She smelled divine, and I melted in her arms. "Adriel, I know that you are confused. I can see that in your eyes. Do you trust me?"

I nodded my head as her hair tickled my nose. I whispered as softly as I could, "I'm confused by your physical attentiveness. You warned me not to get personal with you, but you act like you're coming on to me." Did I really just say that?

She continued in her soft whisper. "I understand. I told you not to share anything personal because I would not respond. The reason is that I don't have that ability, and I didn't want you to be put into a vulnerable emotional situation where I could not reciprocate. You have no training, and I know what to expect. You're not like anyone else I have met. I trust that you can keep a secret."

I nodded again. My lips were touching her neck, and I was beginning to feel dizzy. Her skin was the softest I had ever felt. I closed my eyes, wishing that this encounter would soon end. I wanted so much to get back to Evelyn.

Joey began her explanation so faintly that I had to concentrate to understand each word. "You are my asset, and I have the responsibility of caring for you in every way that I possibly can. Do you understand that?" I nodded. "We are constantly being watched and our conversation is monitored. I only have a few seconds to explain this. We need to maintain close physical contact without suspicion so that I can whisper things to you without detection in order to protect you. Just trust me because I don't have time to explain it all. I am going back to the conference table. Meet me there after a few minutes." Joey gently pushed me away and jumped down from the counter. She looked intently into my eyes and then disappeared through the door.

I was confused. I was hoping that my briefing would soon be over, and I could go be with Evelyn. I had no idea what time it was back home, and I wasn't sure if time was relevant. We must be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I had no idea. I looked at my phone, but I didn't know what time zone it reflected. I couldn't tell Evelyn what I just heard. She wouldn't want me out of her sight, but as long as I was engaged in operations, Evelyn couldn't be present, and Joey would be all over me. As though I didn't have enough problems with finding this mine. I now had to resist the irresistible woman. I felt that I was lingering too long in the bathroom. I washed my hands thoroughly. I hadn't used the facility, but I just felt dirty.

I returned to the conference table, and as usual Joey was attending to her phone. She looked up without expression. I had never seen her smile. At this point, I wasn't sure she was capable. She arose from her chair and instructed, "Come with me. We'll finish the briefing later." My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid she could hear it. Where was she taking me? I was excited, frightened, confused and apprehensive. She hurried me down a corridor as she held me by the hand. She was strong and determined. We stopped at a door, which I was praying didn't lead to her quarters. She swung the door open, and Evelyn was sitting at a small table eating something. She pushed me inside and closed the door, leaving us alone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Evelyn could tell by my countenance that I was disturbed. She looked at me, chewing her meal and didn't speak. I just stood there feeling guilty. The longer I stood, the guiltier I appeared. I shook it off and smiled, "So what are you eating? Is this breakfast or lunch? By the way, do you happen know what time it is?" I was stammering, and Evelyn knew these signs full well.

"I'm not sure we can define our meals any longer, Adriel. Someone came in and asked what I would like to eat. I asked for quail and scrambled eggs. I think I'm about done trying to stump these people. I thought about ordering giraffe, but I really don't think that would be a problem for them."

I chuckled nervously, "You're probably right. I had a corned beef sandwich from Weiss delicatessen."

"Oh! I wish I had thought of that!" Evelyn cut another piece of quail and stuffed it into her mouth.

There is a big difference between honesty and full disclosure. I didn't like to lie to Evelyn, but I knew far better than to disclose everything to her. My only problem was what she might find out later. That was something I wasn't very good at determining. "Joey was just briefing me on the mission. She didn't get to finish, but apparently decided to bring me to you for a break."

Evelyn continued to chew, "You're acting guilty. Did you kiss her?"

"Good heavens, Evelyn! Of course not! She told me that we would be landing in Saudi Arabia and then transferred to an aircraft carrier. The carrier would then sail us off the coast of Tanzania."

Evelyn put her fork down, sat back in her chair, and gave me a wide eyed look. "Are you serious?"

"That's what she told me. We're aboard Air Force Two right now."

"No wonder this place is so luxurious."

I looked around the room, and it truly was an exquisite suite. I leaped into the air and landed sideways on the bed. It received my body slam without a bounce. "Wow! This bed is amazing!"

Evelyn dropped her left shoulder strap and smiled. "Want to find out just how amazing it is?"

I awoke to Joey shaking my shoulder and whispering, "Adriel, wake up. We need to continue. Meet me in the conference room."

I was startled and grabbed the top of the sheet. I indignantly protested in a whisper, "Good lord, Joey, I'm not dressed!"

She just shook her head with a contemptuous look as though it were irrelevant. "In the conference room, now!"

Joey departed, and Evelyn slightly stirred as I slipped out of bed. I hurriedly dressed and headed for the conference room. Joey had a cup of coffee awaiting me with a canister of stevia. These folks obviously knew me well. I had no idea if it was day or night. There were no windows in any of the rooms that I had entered. I asked Joey what time zone we were in. She shrugged her shoulders without looking up from her phone. "Do you ever sleep?" I was curious. She acted as though I said nothing. I stirred a spoonful of stevia into my coffee and took a sip. Wow! Where did this coffee come from? It was fantastic! I knew that none of my superficial questions would be answered.

Joey rolled her chair close to mine and grabbed me by the upper arm in her customary manner. She leaned her head into mine and softly spoke. "We will be landing in an hour. Trunks of clothing are being loaded onto the aircraft carrier for you and Mrs. Chevalier. We learned your sizes and styles from your wardrobe at home." I suddenly felt violated. "All personal effects and toiletries will be awaiting you as well. I don't know how long we will be aboard the carrier. That mostly depends on our success in this operation. Since the records show that the mines were accessible via ships, we should be able to use the carrier to relocate wherever necessary." Joey attended to her phone again. "It appears that we will be putting you under before we leave the plane. You should awaken on the carrier in your own quarters with your wife."

I caught a glimpse of Joey's phone and happened to see one of her text messages. I couldn't make out what it said. It appeared to be in a foreign language. "What language are you texting in? I don't recognize it."

Joey looked up with a perturbed expression and gave a sigh. "All communication is in a secret language. Part of our training is to learn the language in text and speech. It's a cryptic language that is incredibly difficult to decipher because there are so many ways to say the same thing. Does that satisfy your idle curiosity?"

"It does." After all, I considered my question to be mission related. She did answer it, but it seemed to annoy her. If she had no emotion, did she ever get angry? I was determined to find out.

After about half an hour she invited me to take a stroll to the clinic. I assumed that was where I would be put under an anesthetic. I just sat in my chair, blithely ignoring her. She insisted that I follow her. Again, I did not respond. I was awaiting a forceful coercion, perhaps with a side dish of anger. She was behind me, and I couldn't see her face. She asked a third time, and still I did not respond. The next thing I knew, she was in my lap with her lips full upon mine. She reached inside my shirt and began to stroke my chest. I struggled to stand up, but she had me in her power. It was one of those moments when you go from "Don't! Stop!" to "Don't stop!" When she let me up for air, I was gasping and shaking.

"Don't test me again, Adriel. You just might like it too much." Joey stood up and extended her hand. I was no match for this woman in any category. I obediently took her hand and followed like a whipped puppy. Deeper and deeper with so much to hide, and we hadn't even started the search for the mine. What would I have done if Evelyn decided not to come along? I was so glad to have her with me, but what if she happened to catch Joey in action? I was on needles and pins.

I awoke in a state room with Evelyn looking down at me, stroking my hair. She smiled when I opened my eyes. "You missed all the fun. We got to take a helicopter ride over the Red Sea and land on this aircraft carrier. We're on the USS Gerald R. Ford." Evelyn continued to stroke my hair. "Can you believe this is happening?"

I sat straight up in my bunk. "This makes no sense. Joey told me that they had contacted the governments of Tanzania and Mozambique with the intent of performing a geologic study for expected seismic activity in the near future. Why in the world would an aircraft carrier be deployed for a geologic mission?"

"I don't know. Maybe Tanzania and Mozambique aren't aware of the carrier. Does it really matter?"

"Something just doesn't add up. This appears to be a military mission, not a geologic study, nor a search for a gold mine. I don't like the way this is developing."

"I think you're making too much out of this. Maybe this is the easiest way to get us around the area without suspicion."

"Maybe you're right, but I have a bad feeling." All of a sudden, I remembered that everything I said and did was known to the feds. I needed to keep my ideas either to myself or a very slight whisper.

Joey waltzed into our quarters, "We need to go to the Captains In-port Cabin for a discussion."

"Don't you ever knock?" I shook my head in annoyance.

Joey just gave me another contemptuous look and extended her hand. Evelyn raised her eyebrows. Joey took my hand, and I just shook my head to Evelyn as I was practically dragged out the door. I was whisked through corridors and stairways. This ship was incredible at nearly thirteen billion dollars worth of military vessel. When Joey and I entered the room, we were greeted by three officers in battle fatigues. I looked around in amazement. The beautiful hickory table was surrounded by twelve comfortable chairs, five on each side and one on each end. A photograph of the esteemed president was hanging on the wall between two frosted portholes that provided a considerable amount of daylight. Inlaid cabinets where adorned with vases and glass. This certainly didn't look like the room of a ship. It was elegant. Each officer was standing behind a chair on the far side of the table, and Joey escorted me to my seat. The officers then sat after I did. Joey sat closely to my right, but didn't hug me as she had before. One of the chief officers passed out folders that appeared to contain mostly maps. Although we each had our own folder, Joey continually glanced at the contents of my folder and compared it to hers. I assumed they were all the same, but she was intently scrutinizing them. I thought that it was odd that none of the officers seemed to acknowledge Joey, except for passing her a folder.

"Mr. Chevalier," the chief officer began, "we have several maps of the surrounding area that includes the border of Tanzania and Mozambique. In your previous meeting with the geologists, you mentioned that you had first hand knowledge of the mine's location."

"Well, that was a long time ago, and I wasn't tracking the shifting of the mine. I just remember where the gold was supposedly located and remembered how the land split and rotated." I fully expected looks of incredulity at this point, but no one appeared to be affected by my statement. I was somewhat relieved and then very alarmed. I continued. "The problem is that when all of this was happening I had no knowledge of the gold. There is a possibility that it was split into multiple locations, and one of them could even be the island of Madagascar." One of the officers gave a glance to the others.

"So how do you know there was gold at all, Mr. Chevalier?"

"Well, the same way that you expect there was, through the writings of the Old Testament."

More glances among the officers. "Is that your only source of information for the existence of the gold mine?"

"Yes, it is. Do you have other early documents that refer to the gold?"

"Mr. Chevalier, our sources are top secret. We don't answer questions; we ask them."

I felt a little foolish at this point, but decided to remain silent. All of a sudden, Joey grabbed one of my maps and placed it directly next to her corresponding map. She was intently glancing back and forth from one to the other. The officers continued to ignore her. I had no idea what was going through her mind. I then began to wonder if these officers thought that I could read minds due to my last mission capabilities. I had no idea what they knew. I felt vulnerable, lacking, oblivious, uninformed, and didn't see how I could possibly help these people. Joey then reached over below the table and squeezed my right thigh. I gave a little jump, and one of the officers briefly glanced up at me. I just smiled and adjusted myself in my chair.

The officers were deliberating amongst themselves in a hushed fashion. I tried to be polite and not strain to listen to what they were discussing. Joey was still studying the maps. The chief officer finally spoke. "Mr. Chevalier we need for you to go in to Mtwara and see if anything strikes you as familiar. We will send you and your travel companion to the Mtwara port via one of our boats. You will depart at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning."

I glanced at my phone. It appeared that I had eighteen hours till departure. I planned to get as much sleep as I could beforehand. The officers shook my hand, and Joey and I departed with our folders of maps. I was a little confused why we didn't discuss the maps, but maybe they were to help jog my memory. I really wasn't sure. Joey was once again guiding me by my hand back to my state room. All of a sudden, she stopped and grabbed me in a close hug. She put her lips to my left ear and softly whispered, "I wish you and I had a secret language that no one else knew." She kissed my neck, and off we went again to my state room. What the hell did that mean?

Joey left me at the door to my room and disappeared down the corridor. As I entered, Evelyn was pulling dozens of outfits from the trunk that had been delivered with her new clothing. I was surprised that she was pleased with the selections. I glanced over to see my trunk sitting next to the bed. I decided now was as good a time as any to see what clothes awaited me. I rummaged through the array of shirts and pants and shorts. As I was checking out my new wardrobe, I explained to Evelyn that I had to go into port tomorrow morning to see if anything looked familiar. I still wasn't sure what that meant, but I never knew what to expect. Who knows? Maybe I'll get some direction while I am there. Evelyn decided to put on one of her fashion shows for me. I glanced around the room looking for possible cameras. I was really uncomfortable about our exposed lifestyle.

Our meals were always served in our quarters. Evelyn had ordered our dinner. We were having a Tuscan veal dish accompanied by bucatelli pasta with red sauce and a loaf of Italian bread. She also ordered a bottle of Chianti, and we were having tiramisu for dessert with cappuccino. What? No lion or ostrich? I guess she had given up trying to stump the feds with her order. Dinner was really delicious. I wondered if the sailors on board ate this well. We finished the wine, and about a half hour later a service man came to remove our dishes. We had a refrigerator with water and various drink selections.

We sat in bed reviewing our daily activities. Evelyn sipped her water and looked over at me. "Joey seems to like you."

"She's a mystery. I'll tell you that. She always acts like she wants to tell me something that she can't."

Evelyn gave a coquettish smile. "Maybe she's in love with you."

"I don't think that's possible, Evelyn. She's not like that. She's more like a programmed robot."

"Well, I'll admit that she sure looks perfect. You couldn't engineer a better body and face than she has." Evelyn studied my countenance for a response.

"I'm at a loss, as usual." I was changing the subject. "I have no idea where this mine is, and they are sending me into town to see what I can determine. It's like standing on a corner in the sunshine waiting to be struck by lightning. This makes no sense, but as I look back over the last year, so much of what I experienced didn't make sense at the time. I guess I'll find out tomorrow."

We talked for another hour before we started getting sleepy. We showered, got ready for bed, and turned out the lights. I had some strange dream about a rabbit trying to talk to me and get me to follow him. Along with everything else, it didn't make sense. The next morning, we ordered breakfast. It had been so long since I had lochs, onion, bagel and cream cheese with capers that I just couldn't resist. I stuffed my mouth with the sandwich and slurped that wonderful coffee along with it. The culinary aspect of this trip alone was worth it. Evelyn had some sort of cinnamon French toast that smelled delicious. I was tempted to steal some of her bacon, but I was sufficiently stuffed from my own breakfast. Joey came through the door and held out her hand. My heart nearly skipped a beat. Joey was wearing white short shorts with a dark blue halter top and open blouse, and she was barefoot. Evelyn shrugged her left shoulder and smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and took Joey's hand.

Joey grasped my upper right arm with both hands and held me closely as she led me to the awaiting boat. She was uncharacteristically silent as she clung to me. We were ushered into the boat by two seamen who accompanied us to the port of Mtwara. Joey handed me an identification badge attached to a lanyard to go around my neck and a wedding band to put on my left hand. We both disembarked at the wharf, and the seamen stayed with the boat. Joey held my arm once again and led me through the streets. She acted like she knew where she was going, and I asked, "Have you ever been here before?" She made no response.

It was a warm, humid day, and the salty sea air was invigorating. I kept looking around circumspectly at the wharf, colorful buildings, palm trees, and local residents as Joey practically dragged me through the streets. As we entered the market area, we slowed our pace, and Joey released her grip on my arm but continued to hold my hand. "Adriel, does anything look familiar to you?"

"Not at all! I'm not sure what I'm supposed to recognize, but nothing appears familiar. What am I supposed to be looking for?" Joey didn't respond. She just looked around in all directions as though she expected to see something familiar. She started pulling me and quickened our pace down a road toward a beach. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and a few fluffy cumulus clouds. She pulled me toward the water, and we started walking the beach as she continued to look all around. Suddenly, we stopped and turned to look out toward the water. It was so peaceful. I was surprised that not many people were around. I instinctively slipped my arm around her waist. She reached inside her shorts and turned off her microphone.

I was startled half out of my wits by a man who had approached and asked if I spoke English. He was white with a slight accent. I wasn't sure of his nationality, but he seemed very friendly. Joey hadn't been startled. I assumed that she had seen him approaching. She continued to hold my hand. "Perhaps you could help me," he began as he pulled a paper from his pocket. Presently, a breeze took the paper from his hand and blew it to the ground on the other side of Joey. "Oh, please be a dear and grab that paper for me. It's important."

As Joey bent down, she released my hand, twirled, and in one fluid motion kicked the stranger below his jaw with her bare foot. I heard a loud cracking noise, and the man fell to the ground. I was in shock. "Joey! You broke his jaw! I heard it crack. He's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up. What in the world are you doing?"

Joey explained as she knelt by the stranger. "I didn't break his jaw, Adriel. I snapped his neck. He's not waking up, ever." She peeled open the fingers of his right hand to reveal a syringe. She looked up at me with the syringe in her hand. "One more second and you, my friend, would have been the one lying here dead on the beach." My blood ran as cold as ice. What the hell was going on? Joey rolled the stranger over to check for any identification. She nodded her head. "I figured as much. No ID. " Joey took three steps to retrieve the man's paper from the surf. It appeared to be blank. She quickly stuffed it into her shorts and turned to me. "We need to get out of here, now!"

Joey turned on her microphone, grabbed my hand once again, and we started running back to the boat. She ran like a gazelle in her bare feet, and I was huffing and puffing to keep up with her as she pulled me along. We didn't stop running until the wharf was in sight. We slowed to a fast walk, and she pulled me close. About a hundred meters from our boat she stopped and locked me in a warm embrace. She whispered very softly in my ear, "Don't you tell anyone about this, not even your wife!"

"What?! You've got to be kidding me!" She put her finger to my lips to silence my protest. How was I going to keep this a secret? Joey then kissed me for the second time full on my lips, but this time it was different. I nearly swooned. She insisted in her faint whisper, "No one! Do you understand me?" I blinked, and tears rolled down my cheeks. I nodded in assent. "When we get back, you need to call Eddie and tell him you didn't recognize a thing, and don't mention anything else!"

Joey and I were ushered back into the boat. I needed some time alone. I never got any. I was either with Joey, who was usually all over me, or I was with Evelyn, and I was all over her. I never had time to think. I just experienced one of the top five harrowing ordeals of my life, and I needed to process it. To make matters worse, Joey had made me promise not to tell anyone, not even Evelyn. This meant more secrets from my wife that only Joey and I shared. I was fully aware of the emotional effect that this would have on me. Joey was well trained, and I was certain that she knew how this would affect me as well. Who was the stranger on the beach, and how did Joey recognize that he intended to kill me? The better question was why did he intend to kill me. My head was spinning, and I had no one in whom to confide. At least, during my last mission I could get Eddie's input. Now I wasn't allowed to tell him about this. I could only communicate mission critical information.

As usual, Joey led me by my hand through the corridors and down the stairs to my room. She dropped me off at my door and disappeared. I slowly entered the room in a funk. Evelyn looked up as she was painting her toenails on the bed. She put the cap on the polish and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Adriel? What's the matter?"

I just stood in the middle of the room looking and feeling pathetic. I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. Evelyn carefully walked over and held me as she asked, "What happened, dear?"

I just shook my head without a word. I couldn't tell her anything. I held her tightly and wept. Finally, I was able to choke out the words, "I love you."

Evelyn grabbed me by my upper arms and looked me in the eye. I kept looking at the floor. "Adriel? Can you talk to me?" I just shook my head. "Can you be honest with me if I ask you a question that isn't related to your mission?" I sobbed as I nodded. "Please tell me the truth. Did you have sex with Joey?" I vigorously shook my head. Evelyn held me tightly. "It's OK. Whatever this is, we can get through it."

I needed to lie down. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. What had become of my life? I went from being in control to nose diving in a tail spin. Where was faith? What was I to do? My life is in danger. I'm exhausted from taking care of my insecure wife's physical needs. God forbid that I don't perform, and she suspicions that I am expending all of my energy on my travel companion. I'm captive on this ship, and I have to constantly ward off the advances of Joey, whom I really have no idea what's in her mind. The government expects me to deliver something that I don't have a clue how to do. Oh yes, and I can have whatever I want, except that what I want is to get out of this horrid situation. I guess I can't have whatever I want. I never dreamed that my life could ever get this complicated. When I began to finally gain some self awareness, I realized that I was lying in a fetal position on the bed and panting like a bitch in labor with puppies. Who am I?

I awoke in darkness. I was still in my day clothes. My mouth felt like I had been sucking on a dill pickle. My stomach was empty. I had slept through dinner. Evelyn was lightly snoring on her side of the bed. I sat up and tried to clear my head. I felt as though I suffered a hangover, but hadn't had any alcohol. I felt angry. I knew that the root of anger was due to feeling out of control, and that was certainly how I felt tonight. I was tired of being dragged around and made to sit here and go there. It was time for me to take control. I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Annette.

As always, first ring, "Yes, Adriel."

"I want a plate of angel hair pasta with veal meatballs and a tomato wine sauce accompanied by garlic bread and a Greek salad in my room in fifteen minutes. I also want two bottles of Chianti Classico Superiore."

There was a short pause. "Adriel, please be reasonable. I need about forty-five minutes to fill that order. Be patient!" I heard the customary click and decided to go take a shower.

I heard a knock on my door. I checked my phone to see that it had been thirty-seven minutes since Annette ended our call. I opened the door, and the attendant wheeled in a cart with everything that I ordered. It was superb. They never ceased to amaze me. The bottles of wine had been uncorked, but the corks had been stuffed into the bottles so that I could easily remove them by hand. There was service for two, as usual. I took one of the crystal wine glasses and filled it with the delectable fruit of the vine. I buried my nose in the glass and inhaled deeply. Evelyn stirred and stretched as the aroma of veal and tomato wafted through the air. I picked up the bowl of freshly grated Parmesan and covered my pasta and sauce. It was divine.

I was now on my second bottle of wine and picked up my phone. I dialed Annette. "I want an eighteen year old female Japanese masseuse in my room within the hour." This time I was the one who initiated the final click to end the call.

Evelyn stretched and looked around. "Do I smell tomato sauce?"

"You sure do. By the way, I just ordered a massage for you. I think you'll really enjoy this." I smiled, raised my wine glass, and had another sip.

When I had awakened for the day, I could hear Evelyn in the shower. I grabbed my phone to check the time. It was later than I anticipated. Evelyn emerged from the bathroom as she dried her hair with a towel. "So, can you tell me what had you so upset last night?"

"Actually, I can't discuss mission operations. Just suffice it to say that this is far more dangerous than I ever anticipated. I can't give you any details. Right now, I'm trying to deal with some considerable anger, and I'm not sure what to do." Just then Joey entered our room. I snapped at her. "Can't you ever knock?"

"I'll wait outside while you get dressed, but I need for you to come with me." I quickly dressed in shorts and a tee shirt and stepped out of our room. Joey was waiting outside and grabbed my hand. I sternly pulled away. She playfully and gently tossed me to the floor and put her mouth next to my ear to whisper, "Stop resisting me. I'm trying to protect you. I need to be able to get close to you without them being able to hear what I'm saying or suspecting anything. Come with me."

Joey pulled me up from the floor, and we made several turns and descended a stairway to an isolated hallway on the fourth deck. Joey pushed me up against the wall and embraced me tightly. "I can't keep turning my microphone off. I'm taking a calculated risk. You are in grave danger. Things aren't what they seem. I can't explain it all now, and I don't know if I will ever get the chance. You need to trust me. Your life depends on it."

Once again, I was melting in her arms. I nodded as my nose rubbed her neck. She squeezed me tightly and released her embrace. She caressed my right cheek and then led me into a mess hall. She chose the table farthest from anyone else. Once we were seated, she began, "Well, since our visit to Mtwara was uneventful, and you didn't recognize anything, we're moving further down the coast."

I realized that Joey was merely performing for whomever was listening. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to recognize, Joey. I've never been here before."

"But you told the scientists that you saw how everything shifted and settled. They are expecting that you will notice something familiar." Joey reached over and squeezed my hand. She wanted me to play along.

"I see. I hadn't thought of it in that perspective. Moving down the coast might be a good idea. I'm really not sure how I'm going to recognize this place, but you never know."

"We will be staying overnight as husband and wife at the Karibu Palma Hotel in Palma tomorrow. I hope you like octopus because I hear that they have some of the best."

"Wait a minute! Why are we spending the night on land? I don't understand."

Joey squeezed my hand again. "The idea is to give you more time on land to acclimate and recognize areas. The director thinks that you need more exposure to the physical aspect of the area."

"The director? Are you talking about Eddie?"

"Yes, of course, and by the way, you didn't report our trip into Mtwara to him."

I slumped back in my chair. "You're right. I totally forgot." What the hell is Eddie doing? Physical aspect, indeed! He knows Evelyn will be furious. It's not like him to stir up trouble, but he is upset with me over the way that all of this transpired. Eddie isn't a vindictive person, so maybe he really believes that I will be able to locate something. It's probably a good thing that I can't discuss this with him because I'm certain it would end in an argument.

Joey shrugged it off. "Well, no matter. Our trip was uneventful, so there's not much to report." She raised her eyebrows. I nodded. "We're pulling anchor soon, so you need to go prepare your wife. Hopefully she understands. You should pack a bag for at least three nights. I'm not sure how long this will take, and you need to be prepared. I'll come by to get you after breakfast tomorrow."

"Three nights?" I was fuming and once again, out of control.

Once I got back to our room and told Evelyn that I would possibly be gone for three nights, she was pacing the room and silently steaming. I thought she was about to explode, especially when I had told her this was Eddie's idea. I tried Joey's technique of holding her close and whispering in her ear, but she pushed me away. "Evelyn, I don't like this any more than you do, but maybe Eddie's right. Maybe I will recognize something, and we can get this whole nightmare over with." Evelyn just glared at me. I could tell she was keeping silent because she knew that we were under surveillance. "Relax. I'm sure we'll have separate beds. It's just for appearances." Evelyn was seething. I couldn't tell Evelyn that my life was in danger and that Joey was trying to protect me. I felt helpless and out of control as usual. I cajoled her for over an hour before she would let me get close enough to whisper. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Joey is trying to protect me. We need to follow her lead."

Evelyn shot me a look that said, "Really? How stupid do you think I am?" Evelyn finally spoke, "So help me, if she comes through that door, I think I'll strangle her."

I winced. "She's highly trained, Evelyn. I wouldn't try that if I were you."

An overnight bag was delivered to our room by an attendant, and I started packing everything that I would need for a three night stay. Evelyn remained furious, and I couldn't blame her. I would probably act worse than she was if the tables were turned. I think what really bothered her the most was that I wasn't supposed to tell her anything about mission related events, which meant I couldn't tell her any details about the time that I would be gone.

I was nervous the next morning as I anticipated Joey's entrance into our room. She always came in without knocking or notifying us. We had just finished breakfast, and Evelyn was on edge, so I encouraged her to busy herself in the bathroom while I awaited Joey to come for me. I heard a knock on the door. I was pleased that Joey had enough consideration to knock before entering. She peeked into the room to see if Evelyn was in sight. I smiled and shook my head. "Wait here!" I went into the bathroom to tell Evelyn goodbye. She was trying her best to be civil to me. I kissed her and gave her a tight hug and told her that I loved her.

Minutes later, Joey and I were speeding off in another boat toward the mainland. I had my fake wedding ring and my identification. My bag was next to me in my seat, and Joey was clinging to my right arm. As the salty air blew our hair back, she laid her head on my shoulder. I felt doomed. We pulled up to a small dock, and some military personnel escorted us to the edge of town. We were about one kilometer from the hotel, and Joey customarily had me by the hand as we strolled down the road. She clung to me as I checked us into the hotel. All was going very smoothly. We went to our room and unpacked our bags. We decided to have dinner at Porto Seguro, which was nothing special. We walked around, but realized that it wasn't safe and headed back to our hotel.

Joey clung to me the whole time, playing the devoted wife. I was getting accustomed to her closeness, and I could tell that she was putting on a show for whomever our audience was. She would occasionally clinch my arm when she made a statement, which told me that she was playing the part. At one point, she removed her microphone, set it on the table, and pulled me close. The sun was setting, and she whispered, "It's time for bed. I'll go into the bathroom to change; you can change here." She grabbed her bag and disappeared through the door. I quickly changed into my pajamas and slipped into bed. I turned out the light, but there was a faint light from outside that allowed me to see the room. Joey slipped into bed, and my heart nearly skipped a beat. She was wearing a white negligee. My heart started pounding like a jackhammer. Joey took my hand and placed it on her stomach. Much to my relief, she was wearing a skin tight flesh colored body suit. She rolled over and whispered very softly in my ear. "Start moving and squeaking the bed." Joey began moving back and forth, and I joined her. She then started calling out, "Oh, Adriel! I love you so much. Do it! Do it!" I nearly burst into laughter. She may have been an incredibly trained operative for the CIA at one time, but she was certainly no actress. We began our little charade, and it became apparent to me that this young lady had no clue. I seriously doubted that she had ever had sex in her life, and I started to realize that she was completely oblivious about the effects that all of her attention had on me. I was so relieved that what I had feared would be an irresistible temptation for me turned out to be one of the more amusing experiences that I had. After a couple of minutes she stopped and held me tightly. She gently whispered in my ear, "Act like you are asleep, but whatever you do, don't move."

I lay in the darkness for several minutes and made a slight snoring sound. Joey had me by the hand, and I felt her squeeze to see if I was awake. I squeezed back. I continued my act for at least half an hour and started wondering if anything would happen. Every once in a while, she would squeeze my hand again, and I would reciprocate. At one point, I started to doze off, but Joey gently shook me to keep me awake. All of a sudden, she put her hand over my mouth and whispered, "Don't move." I hadn't heard anything, so I was curious. She slipped off the edge of the bed without a sound. Several seconds passed, and I heard a faint click at the door. Several more seconds passed, and I noticed that the door was very slowly starting to open. My heart started pounding again, but for a different reason this time. I saw a black shadow slowly stepping through the door. As soon as he cleared the threshold, I heard a sound like an air gun and smelled gun powder. The next sound was a loud thud as the intruder hit the floor. I heard Joey whisper, "Don't move, Adriel!" Another minute of silence passed, and I could hear the intruder being dragged back outside the door. At first, I thought Joey was pulling him outside, but then I saw her negligee float across the room in the faint light like a specter. The door was still ajar. I saw her gently and silently close the door.

She returned to me with a slight whisper. "Get dressed as quickly and quietly as you can. I'll guard the door." In one motion, she pulled the negligee from her body. I quickly dressed in the darkness, and Joey took my hand. "Leave your bag and things. It looks like we won't need them." She led me to the door and peeked outside, looking both directions. "We're not leaving just yet. Sit quietly, and I'll let you know when to go."

I couldn't take it anymore. I whispered softly, "Joey, who's trying to kill me?"

She reached over in the darkness and grabbed my leg. She squeezed and leaned into me. "I'm not really sure, but it's worse than I originally thought. You need to keep quiet." After about five minutes, she pulled me up from the bed, and we quickly left the hotel in the dark of the night. We were practically running as she pulled me through back alleys to avoid the main roads. All of a sudden, she stopped, pulled her microphone from her waistband and smashed it on the ground. She no longer whispered, "Damn it, Adriel! Is there really a gold mine?"

I looked down at her smashed microphone in horror. "Why did you do that?"

She grabbed me by my shoulders, and insisted, "Is there really a gold mine?"

"I think so. Isn't that why we're here?"

Joey released my arms and started walking in circles. "I'm going to take some heat over this microphone. I already had to answer questions about turning it off at the beach. I'll tell them I fell and it got smashed, but I can't protect you if I have to constantly be heard by them."

"By whom? Who is listening, and why can't you talk to me?"

# **CHAPTER FOUR**

# **_ABDUCTED_**

****

****

My phone rang as Joey was pacing in circles in the alley. She looked up at me as I pulled the phone from my pocket. It was 2:00 AM, and Eddie was calling me. "Hey, Mr. Director, what's up?"

"Adriel, why are you not at the hotel?"

"I might have a lead on something here, but it's too early to tell. Why are you calling me?"

"We noticed that Joey's mike went dead, and we were concerned."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry about that. I tripped, and when she went to catch me, the unit fell on the ground, and I ended up stepping on it when I was catching my balance. It doesn't look too good."

"So you guys are all right?"

"Oh, sure! Actually, you've kind of set me off track here. I need to concentrate. We're fine. I'll let you know if anything turns up. I may need to switch locations, but Joey will handle that. I'll call you if there is any progress." I hung up the phone. Joey actually smiled. I walked over and gave her a big hug and kissed her. "We have a lot of work to do."

Joey and I sat down in the alley and talked until the sun started to rise. She wanted to know all about my previous mission, and I explained as much as I could in the time we had. I told her about my ability to read minds and transfer thoughts to people and how I interjected the memory portion as well. She thought that was amusing. I explained that I no longer had those capabilities, but I trusted in the Creator to supply all of my needs, and he would guide me. She didn't believe in a supreme being or creator, and the concept of faith was foreign to her.

She asked me what it was like to love someone. I told her that love is not an emotion, but rather a choice. I explained that she had the ability to love, even though she had Emotional Detachment Disorder. She said that she felt nothing when we kissed, and I understood that. I asked if she cared what happened to me, and she admitted that she did. I told her that it was love that caused her to care. She thought it was more of a responsibility, and we left it at that for the time being. She fascinated me, and not just because she was the most desirable woman I had ever met. She was a cold hearted killer, but I saw such an innocence in her that it amazed me. She asked about Evelyn's jealousy and what that felt like. I made no progress trying to explain it to her because she never had felt threatened in a relationship before. She had never been in an intimate relationship with anyone, so it was all too foreign for her. I was tempted to ask if she had ever experienced coitus, but I was apprehensive about knowing her answer. I was afraid that I would feel anger if I knew that anyone ever took advantage of this angel, so I committed to ignorance.

For hours we had skirted the issue at hand. Finally, we began to discuss how she got involved in this current mission. She and Annette had worked closely for years. They had several government contracts in the past and various private body guard contracts as well. Her initial involvement in this mission was purely to transport me from location to location, but Annette had told her that the federal government had an ulterior motive for the contract because they had given up on finding the mine many years ago. It wasn't just the mine that interested them, but how I was going to find it. She didn't know any more details than that; however, Annette warned her that if there was a chance of me finding the gold mine, there would most likely be attempts on my life because of the impact that it would have on the global economy if the United States obtained that much gold. It was Annette who warned her of the possible impending dangers in Mtwara and Palma. What Annette didn't know was if the two attempts were from the same source. What confused me was how anyone would know where I was. Joey explained how hard it is to keep an operation secret. There are too many ways to get information.

Joey eventually admitted that she didn't want me to find the gold mine, but that she would protect me at all costs. She didn't believe there was such a mine, but after two assassins were sent to stop me, she became suspicious. She too was concerned for the impact that it would have if I led our government to the gold. I had to admit that I held the same sentiments. She then asked why I had agreed to do it. I told her that they didn't want to take 'no' for an answer. When I started to bring the Creator into the explanation, she began drawing blanks.

She couldn't understand how I could possibly get direction from an entity that no one had ever seen. Trying to explain faith has no logic. They are diametrically opposed to one another. I began to understand that it was impossible to convey the premise of faith to someone who tried to understand with her brain. The brain will resist the concept of faith because it wants to make us believe that it is the most important aspect of who we are. In reality, it's our ageless soul that is important, and it's the only aspect of us that can accept and choose faith. Joey was blinded to her spiritual, faithless bankruptcy. I knew that no words would suffice to open her eyes. I was now hoping that somehow she would get the chance to see faith in action during this mission, but I still wasn't sure if the Creator truly wanted me to find this mine. Then again, I had just learned that it wasn't the mine that interested the government as much as it was my method for finding it. It's just that my method wouldn't work if it was not meant to be. This was such a familiar situation of not knowing what I thought I needed to know. It was time to exercise faith.

I was really sleepy by now, and I told Joey that I needed to rest. I asked if we could go back to the ship, but she was reluctant. Joey needed to make a quick call to Annette and walked out of earshot from me. After several minutes, she hung up the phone and approached me. "Adriel, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"I need to kidnap you, Adriel."

I laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"I am taking you against your will to another location. Please follow me." Joey grabbed my hand.

I pulled away in protest, "Where are you taking me?"

"The less you know, the better, in case we get caught."

"Hold on! Caught by whom? Are we running from someone?"

Joey pulled me close in another embrace. "Do you trust me?"

"What choice do I have? If I'm being kidnapped, it appears that I don't have much of an alternative."

"Precisely, so don't make this difficult, Adriel."

"Wait a minute! Are we taking Evelyn too?"

"No. Evelyn will be in good hands. Please give me your cell phone." I just stared at her. She gently threw me to the ground and took the phone from my pocket.

"I'm supposed to keep that on me at all times," I reminded.

"Not now, you're not. Now follow me." I planted my feet and resisted. Joey grabbed me and held me tightly, kissing my neck. She whispered, "Adriel, you have no idea just how persuasive I can be. Are you going to be a good boy?" Once again, I was melting and consensually nodded. She released her embrace and led me by the hand down several streets to a beach. As I was practically being dragged along, I began reassessing my evaluation of Joey and no longer thought of her as an angel. I had no idea what she was capable of doing, and I frankly didn't want to find out.

She sat me down on the sand and began texting on her phone. I looked up and begged, "Can I at least call Evelyn?" She ignored me and kept texting. The sun had not yet cleared the eastern horizon, and I was watching the burning glow at the distant edge of the water as I anticipated the bright red ball to emerge. The shallow waves were wafting onto the sand, and I took a deep breath of the salty air to fill my lungs. I wanted to sleep, but I didn't want to lie in the dirty sand. I watched the birds gather their breakfast from the shallow surf and gazed at the distant fishing boats. There was a slight breeze, and the air was humid and warm. I was wishing I had a cup of coffee at this point, but I no longer had my phone, and I had no way of making requests. Joey was a few meters behind me as I sat on the beach.

After several minutes, I felt her scoot in behind me in the sand and put her arms around me. She laid her head on my shoulder and tenderly spoke. "Adriel, I choose to control you with pleasure rather than pain. Everything will go smoothly if you will cooperate with me one hundred percent. We can't afford any resistance from you because we are dealing with some very dangerous people, and the slightest hesitation on your part could cost us both our lives. I know that you are confused, but I can't explain everything right now because I am not sure myself where this will lead. Annette is sending a boat for us. If we get apprehended at any point, you need to tell them that you were looking for the gold mine, and I kidnapped you because that is exactly what is happening at this point. Do you understand?"

"Not, really," I confessed, "but I'll cooperate with you. I don't think I have much of choice, and I certainly don't want to get us killed."

Joey gently bit my ear lobe and whispered, "Good! I will explain more later when I think it's safe."

As strangely as it seemed, I felt safe in her arms. I kept thinking of Evelyn and when I could see her again. I began to wonder what she would think if she heard I was kidnapped. Would she think that I just ran off with Joey? I certainly hoped not. Surely Evelyn knew me better than that. Joey continued to hold me from behind as we sat watching the sun rise. The sunlight danced on the water and caused bright sparkles like exploding diamonds in the waves as the red orb rose higher and higher. I lost track of time. I dozed off a few times in her arms. The air was beginning to warm considerably, and Joey squeezed me tightly. She then pointed to a large yacht in the distance that was approaching from the south. She stood, brushed the sand from her jumpsuit, and held out her hand. The yacht anchored offshore, and a small motor boat approached to shuttle us to our awaiting vessel.

The pilot of the motor boat was a beautiful young woman with long, straight, dark hair. She wore a blue bikini and helped to usher Joey and myself aboard and fitted us with life jackets. She then handed Joey two GPS blocker pouches to house our cell phones. Joey turned off our phones and slid them into the pouches. Once the phones were securely blocked, our pilot, who I later learned was named Janelle, spun the boat around and sped toward the yacht. The blast of morning air and spray from the water felt invigorating. Janelle cut the motor as she swung sideways next to the yacht. Joey led the way up the ladder to the first deck. Janelle temporarily secured the motor boat to the yacht and followed closely behind me up the ladder. As I stepped onto the deck, I was greeted by the captain, Ms. Adams, who wore a uniform that included a blouse, jacket and skirt, all in white, with shoes to match. She also wore a stylish cap and a navy blue tie. The jacket had navy blue epaulets and was embroidered with gold thread which displayed the words, "Aphrodite MONACO." I soon learned that was the name of our yacht, which flew the Monegasque flag. Captain Adams appeared to be around forty years of age and maintained a very sophisticated demeanor as she introduced me to her crew, which to my surprise was entirely female. I looked around, and Joey was nowhere in sight.

The First Officer, Constance, wore a less formal uniform, also white, but had no hat nor shoes. In fact, I noticed that the only crew member with footwear was the captain. Constance was followed by the Second Officer, Victoria, who was dressed very casually in a halter top and shorts. She had a beautiful smile with large, white teeth. The rest of the crew was even more casual and appeared to be on vacation rather than members of a yacht crew. There was Alice, the engineer; Julie, the chef; and three deck hands, Gloria, Yvonne, and Madeleine. Two stewardesses were onboard as well, Ester, and my personal attendant, Phyllis. I saw several others milling about who did not get introduced. I supposed that they were additional staff to help control the physical functioning of the vessel. Captain Adams appeared to be the eldest of all. The entire crew was composed of absolutely beautiful young women. I just giggled to myself thinking how many times I had thought of the James Bond movies that I had seen. I supposed that if I were to be kidnapped, this was probably the least unpleasant way for it to happen.

Captain Adams handed me off to the First Mate, Constance, to give me a tour of the eighty meter yacht. All of the rails and surfaces were squeaky clean. It was a beautiful vessel with a top speed of thirty knots. It contained three decks, which included a bar, gymnasium, movie theater, and three luxurious guest bedrooms with showers. Constance could see that I was exhausted and led me to Phyllis. Phyllis took me by the hand and escorted me to my quarters. There was a stack of fresh clothing including, bathing attire, pajamas, casual wear, and semi formal items as well. She excused herself, and I hurriedly took a shower, donned some pajamas, and slept soundly for many hours.

When I awoke, it was dark outside. There was a faint glow from the recessed perimeter of the ceiling to provide enough light to navigate the room. I felt warmth next to me and looked over to see Joey's nude body lying beside me on the bed. My heart took a customary leap, and I scooted off the bed. Her figure was incomprehensible. I glanced around for a clock, but I saw none. I quickly exited my cabin and went out on deck. There was no moon, and the sky was very black. I assumed that a significant cloud cover darkened the sky because I saw no stars. It felt eerie to be on the water at night like this. Ester was on deck and immediately joined me. "Can I get you anything, Mr. Chevalier?"

Ester was a very pleasant young lady with wavy blonde hair that hung past her shoulders. She was short and petite, and I couldn't imagine that she weighed even one hundred pounds. "Actually, I would appreciate a cup of coffee. Thank you."

Ester retreated and returned with a steaming cup of coffee with creamer and various sweeteners. I rummaged through the selection and chose a packet of stevia. I prepared the coffee and found a deck chair. "Would you care for some company, Mr. Chevalier?"

I wasn't sure if I wanted her sticking around, but the thought of being alone on the dark deck in the middle of the night didn't sound very inviting either. "Sure, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I don't mind. I'm here to take care of you and Mrs. Chevalier. Did you sleep well? You were so tired when you boarded."

I felt such a sense of relief. "Is Mrs. Chevalier onboard? Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Where is she?"

Ester gave me a puzzled look. "Isn't she in your cabin, Mr. Chevalier?"

My heart sank even lower than it was before. She must be referring to Joey. "Oh, no she's not my wife."

Ester's eyes widened, and she gave me a dubious look. "You both are wearing matching wedding bands, and we have your passports. Are you feeling all right?"

"May I please see those passports, Ester? I don't remember bringing mine aboard."

"Of course! We have them in the office. Mrs. Chevalier gave them to us while you were taking a tour of the yacht." Ester led me to the office and opened a file cabinet drawer. She removed a folder and found the two passports inside. She handed me the documents, and I perused them very carefully. Apparently, Joey had my passport with her the whole time. It certainly looked genuine. Hers looked just as genuine, and the name shown along with her picture was Joann Elizabeth Chevalier. "Oh, and here's your marriage license as well," Ester offered as she pulled a paper from the folder. I snatched it from her hand and looked it over. Apparently, according to this document Joey and I had been married for three years. The license appeared to have been issued in the county of my current residence.

I looked down at Ester and smiled. "I'm so sorry. I think I was just so exhausted that it's taking me several minutes to wake up and gather myself. I apologize for the confusion."

"Oh, that's no problem, Mr. Chevalier. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"As a matter of fact there is. Could you please tell me who chartered this yacht and what is our destination?"

"Of course. I have a copy of the manifest over here." Ester rummaged through a stack of papers and produced the information for our voyage.

I studied the manifest and saw that Joey and I were the only passengers. Apparently, we were docking in Suez on Friday morning, the twenty-fourth. "What day of the week is this, Ester? I have lost all track of time."

"Right now it is 3:34 AM on Tuesday morning."

"Great! Thank you! Also, it shows that Whaling Consultant Services, Incorporated booked this charter. Do you have any idea who that is?"

"Not at all, Mr. Chevalier. I'm not involved in the booking process."

"I understand. Could I please have another cup of coffee while I wait here?"

"Oh, sure, Mr. Chevalier." Ester took my cup and disappeared. I feverishly began looking through all of the papers that lay on the desk. I saw nothing suspicious. At first, I had assumed that this crew was part of Annette's organization. At this point, I wasn't sure if that was true. It could be a front, or it could be a legitimate cruise company. Either Ester was a tremendous actress, or she really thought that Joey and I were husband and wife. It would be days before we reached our destination, and I didn't want to raise any suspicions with the crew members. I decided to play along within reason. Why were we heading to Suez? It was time to interrogate Joey.

I returned to my cabin and pulled the sheet over Joey's body. She stretched and looked up at me as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Adriel, are you up already? Why don't you come back to bed?"

"No, I'm not coming back to bed. What the hell is going on? The crew thinks you are my wife. I have seen our passports and marriage license, and why are we headed for Suez?"

Joey scooted up in bed exposing her top half. I pulled the sheet over her again, and pleaded, "Will you please stay covered up? I'm a married man, and you aren't my wife."

Joey took a deep breath and took hold of the sheet. "I'm sorry, Adriel. I honestly don't think of these things. I never feel shame, guilt, inhibition or desire. I often forget that others do. It just seems senseless to me to cover myself up, especially when we are alone. No one can see us at this point."

"Well, out of consideration for me I would appreciate you keeping yourself covered when you are around me. Would you please get dressed? I have a lot of questions."

Joey gave a long sigh. "Hand me that robe over there." She slipped the robe on, but not very discreetly. I stood and turned away. "Adriel, you really don't want to know what is going on because it could jeopardize your position later, and I don't want you imprisoned for treason. You shouldn't take any responsibility for what is happening. I will be explaining some essential points in the next few days, but I want to make sure that we are safe on this yacht."

"So, are we now running from the federal government? They have Evelyn. Are you ransoming me or something?"

"No, it's not for ransom. It's partially to protect you. It was just a matter of time before we both ended up getting killed if we kept following the government's plan."

"Why didn't you let me report the attempts to kill me? Maybe the government would have changed their tactic or beefed up security."

"That's not how this works. You are completely expendable to them. In fact, they ultimately benefit from you getting killed."

"Why is that? I thought they wanted to find this gold mine or figure out how I went about it."

"Yes, but they will glean whatever information they can. If you die, the company that Annette and I work with won't get paid for this mission, and if you think your friend is making a lot of money from this, you wouldn't believe what they offered us."

"How do you know what they offered? I thought you were just an agent."

"You are correct; I am an agent, and I don't trust anyone. I know far more about this assignment than my company thinks I do. Even Annette doesn't know what I know. We are trying to keep you alive because we can't afford to fail on this project. Too much money is at stake. You are my asset, as I told you. I'm doing the best I can to protect you, but in order to effectively do that, I need to know more. I have a contact in Cairo. His name is David Allen. He's a physicist, and I need for you to have a talk with him. David does not work for us or the government. I became acquainted with him in connection with another mission that I cannot discuss. He's doing me a professional courtesy by meeting with us. He's also somewhat curious about you, but I'll let him explain that. Now, let's go back to bed. I don't want our days and nights mixed up. You need to rest." Joey removed her robe and tossed it across the room.

I wandered back out on deck and found Ester. "Ester, would it be all right if I slept in one of the other cabins? My wife is snoring so loudly that I can't sleep."

Ester gave a little giggle. "Oh, certainly, Mr. Chevalier. Let me get the key, and I'll show you to the room."

I awoke to a knock at the door. I had been sleeping soundly. "Mr. Chevalier? It's Phyllis. Your wife is asking for you. May I come in?"

"Uh, sure, Phyllis!"

Phyllis slipped into the room. She was followed by a cute stewardess who presented a tray with coffee and stevia. They were learning my preferences. "Mrs. Chevalier seemed a little perturbed, just to warn you," Phyllis began with a smile. "She was concerned that you were sleeping too late, and wondered why you were in a separate cabin. She asked that I come get you. Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, I slept fine. She snores, you know, very annoying," I explained as I shook my head and made a face.

Phyllis just smiled and knowingly nodded. "There are plenty of towels, and I brought you some clothes in case you want to shower here. She wanted you to have breakfast with her on deck in an hour."

"Oh, thank you, Phyllis! Actually, I do prefer to shower here. I appreciate that. Please tell her I will meet her on deck in forty-five minutes."

This could be easier than I thought. I could convince the crew that Joey and I weren't getting along and just sleep in this cabin the next three nights. I sipped my coffee and continued to clear my head. I had gotten a few more hours of sleep and felt rather refreshed. I put the empty cup back onto the tray and headed for the shower. As I toweled off, I sorted through the selection of clothing that Phyllis had brought. There were ample toiletries available, so I decided to shave before getting dressed. I chose white, lightweight cotton shorts and a maroon tee shirt for the day. As I made my way to the deck, I was worrying about Evelyn. I wondered what she had been told and if I would ever see her again. I had no idea what was really happening. In the movies, you usually have the good guys and the bad guys. Sometimes it's hard to tell who is who, but in this reality, I was beginning to think there were no good guys. I realized that I needed to play along with the ones who would profit from keeping me alive, but it was difficult to do under the circumstances. I didn't like pretending to be Joey's husband.

The sea air was invigorating. It was warm and pleasant with a solid cloud cover. There was no rain, but it was considerably humid. As I strolled toward our breakfast table, Joey arose and held out her hands. She was smiling and looked incredibly inviting. No one was going to believe we were fighting. She wore a tiny, yellow bikini with a sheer white coverup. It wasn't what I would consider breakfast attire, but we were on vacation, so I would imagine anything goes. I smiled back, and she drew me in for a long, sensual kiss. I glanced over at the awaiting attendants as she released me, and they all had large grins on their faces. I smiled back, and one of the stewardesses seated me at the table. As the stewardess poured my coffee, I shook my napkin and placed it on my lap. Before sipping my coffee, I asked, "So, dear, did you sleep well?" I grinned and took a sip of coffee.

"No, I didn't. I missed you! So, after breakfast, I want to spend the entire morning in our bed." She smiled and sipped her coffee.

I smiled and shook my head. "OK, dear, whatever you say." It was going to be a long three days.

"I took the liberty of ordering for us, since you decided to sleep so late. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure it will be fine." Just then, one of the stewardesses brought me a plate with a huge Belgian waffle laced with cinnamon and nutmeg seated on a slab of Black Forest ham. Two poached eggs with butter were nestled in beside the waffle, and a stack of bacon was placed on the table. Pure maple syrup and freshly whipped cream were offered to accompany my breakfast. I had to admit, Joey did a great job ordering our meal. I enjoyed every tantalizing bite. I deliberately ate very slowly and drank six cups of coffee. Joey was being very patient and waited until I had finished every bite.

She stood, took me by the hand and invited, "Let's go have some fun." I smiled at the grinning crew, and we headed for our cabin. Joey pulled me inside and closed the door. "Look, I know this is unpleasant for you."

I stopped her short, "No this isn't unpleasant, and that's the problem. You may have Emotional Detachment Disorder, but I don't. I love my wife, and I can't take this silly charade that you insist we play."

"Adriel, I asked you to trust me. You have no idea what will happen to this crew if certain people find out you were on this yacht. They will be interrogated in the most disgusting ways that you can never imagine, and then they will be executed. So, if you have any compassion for these women, I suggest you stop your childish nonsense. They need to believe that we're just another married couple having a sensational vacation. If you give them any reason to suspicion anything, and they talk to the wrong person, it will go very badly for them and probably us. This is the last time that I insist that you cooperate because if you can't pretend to be my loving husband, I will turn this into something real that will convince anyone. Do you understand?"

I bit my lip. "Yes, I do understand. Please bear with me."

"OK, we have a lot to discuss. So, if you go sleeping in another room, I'm not going to have the time I need to get you up to speed. We have three days at sea, which may not be enough time to get you briefed on what you need to know. Right now, I need for you to start making sex noises."

"What the hell is a sex noise?"

"I don't know. Whatever you people say or do when you make sex. You need to convince the crew that's what we are doing."

I started laughing. "Make sex? What are you talking about? It's usually referred to as 'have sex' or 'make love.' My god, Joey, it's like talking to a twelve year old! Have you ever done it before?"

"Once, but I didn't see the point. I didn't feel anything, and it seemed stupid to me. It was about three years ago when Annette and I were on assignment together. We shared a room, and she wanted me to try it. She seemed to like it a lot, but I didn't get anything out of it."

I stammered, "So, you, you, you did this with Annette?"

"Yeah, that was the only time. She wanted me to try again, but I didn't want to."

"OK, I'm trying to understand something here. You just threatened me that you would turn this into something real if I didn't cooperate, but you don't know what real is, do you?"

"I don't have to. Do you want to test me?"

"Nope! We're good!" I jumped up and paced the room, rubbing my palms together. "OK, let's get started with those sex noises." I walked around making some of the most embarrassing and ridiculous grunts and screams. If anyone was within earshot, I was sure they wouldn't have any problem thinking we were going at it. Joey patiently waited for forty-five minutes as I endured the most disgusting display of noises that I have ever offered in my life. At one point, she even took my example and threw in a few of her own. I was finally exhausted and sat down on the bed. I just looked at Joey and asked, "Was it good for you?" This woman didn't even have a sense of humor.

Joey pushed me down on my back and jumped on top of me, pinning me to the bed. She bent down and sucked on my upper neck for a few seconds before letting me up. I was horrified. I sprang out of bed and ran to the mirror. "Oh my god! I haven't had one of these since high school! Are you insane? If Evelyn sees this, she will be furious!"

"Relax, Adriel. It's just part of convincing this crew that we are a loving couple. Besides, I rather doubt that your wife will leave you over something so trivial. Come, sit down. We have a lot to discuss." I rubbed my neck and guardedly sat on the edge of the bed. She patted the bed next to her. "Lie down. This is going to take a while." I lay on my back next to her with my hands crossed over my chest. "David Allen is conducting a covert study in Egypt. I don't understand all of the aspects of it, but Annette thinks his research is pertinent to your mission. His study was initially funded by the United States Treasury Department, but after several years they dropped him due to his lack of progress. He is now supported by someone in the private sector, but I can't divulge his identity. His focus has been on spatial concepts. He will explain all of that to you when you meet. Right now we are off the grid. Only Annette knows where we are and where we are going. Her fear is that the intelligence community will deduce that we are going to talk with David at some point, so we need to be very careful. She has contacted David and explained our situation. This puts him in grave danger, but you could be the link that he has been seeking for the past several years."

"I don't understand. I'm not a physicist. I don't see how I have anything to do with his research. I'm not even sure what spatial concepts are, but I'm just an ordinary guy from the Midwest. I'm a software engineer, and it doesn't sound like he would be interested in my talents. What link does he expect to find?"

"Adriel, you are not an ordinary guy, or the federal government would not have contracted you to find the mine."

"But I'm not on contract, Eddie is."

"And that ties you intimately with this project. Please listen. As long as we are off the grid, and the intelligence community does not know where we are, we have time to satisfy all of the requirements of the contracts that pertain to this endeavor. Annette and I want you alive. The government wants to know how you find the mine, and they want the gold too. If they get the gold, Eddie gets paid. If Annette and I keep you alive, we get paid. Our hope is that David Allen can equip you with what you will need to find the gold mine. You are the first hope that he has had in over two years. He's willing to risk his life for his work because if you can do what he thinks you can do, it will revolutionize science far beyond what anyone ever dreamed."

"This just doesn't make sense to me. I really don't think I have anything to offer."

"Let David explain this to you, and I think you might change your mind. In the meantime, we need to travel together as a vacationing couple and blend in without suspicion. Annette booked this yacht because there are no network cameras aboard. No one can see what happens on this boat. When we disembark in Suez, we need to be extremely careful not to be detected by surveillance cameras. We both will be wearing hats, which is reasonable due to the sunshine. Before we disembark, I will be receiving some inserts that we will put in our mouths next to our gums along our cheek line and lower lip. These will help change the contour of our faces to deter the face recognition software from locating us. Every camera connected to the Internet across the world has most likely been tapped by the intelligence community to recognize our faces. We want to minimize that possibility as much as we reasonably can. Another unique identifier of which most people are unaware is the way that we walk or run. It's like a fingerprint. No two people have the same walking and running movements, and once recorded they can be recognized on camera wherever they are. I have been clinging to you to help skew your balance and movements while the government has been recording your gait. I couldn't possibly tell you all of this at the time. I know it confused you, but I do everything for a reason."

"Really? Then why did you kiss me?"

Joey gave a long sigh. "Kissing you would give an onlooker the impression that we were intimately involved. That would justify me clinging to you. It also captivated you to get you to play along with some emotion on your part. I may not feel emotion, but I understand a little of how it works."

"So, your sole intent was to manipulate me?"

"Yes, I couldn't explain what was happening. I knew in order to keep you safe I had to be able to circumvent their processes as much as possible without telling you. Are you upset?"

"No, actually, I'm relieved. I wish you could have explained all of this before. I'm much more willing to go along with you now that I understand. You had me so confused. I was afraid that you were going to seduce me."

Joey gave me a puzzled look. "I'll never understand emotion. It just makes no sense."

Joey and I spent the next three hours experimenting with tissue by stuffing it into our mouths next to our gums to alter the contour of our faces. We were trying to ascertain the best placement, but the tissue was uncomfortable and started shredding in our mouths. She called Phyllis to order several packs of chewing gum. I laughed as we sat and chewed countless pieces of gum to create inserts for our mouths. My biggest complaint was that the gum was not sugar free, and I didn't relish the thought of stuffing sugar next to my teeth for hours. We did have some success in determining the size and placement of the wads of gum in our mouths. Joey studied my profile and facing appearances to judge whether she thought the process would work. As she drew close to check my face, she put her cheek on mine and softly rubbed back and forth. Even though I knew she felt nothing, I still couldn't help feeling the thrill of her touch and silky soft skin. She kissed my cheek and looked me in the eye. "I want you to stop shaving."

"What? Why?"

"Because I want you to grow a beard. I think with the implants and a beard we have a better chance of avoiding detection. We're going be wearing loose clothing as well, and we need to cover our extremities. We both have distinct body contours, and I don't want cameras picking that up. We need to take every precaution possible. Let's break and eat something light. Then we can nap for a couple of hours before we go work out in the gym."

"Really? We're going to work out on vacation?"

"Absolutely! You need to get on the treadmill for at least an hour. I've been running with you, and you need more endurance. Remember, the more fit you are, the better chance you have to escape from your enemy."

Joey and I enjoyed some fresh fruit and cheese on deck, and then we retired to our room for a reasonable nap. The gym was great, and I was amazed at the shape Joey was in and how much weight she could lift. She started her workout on the treadmill with an incline. She had me get on the one next to her. I glanced over periodically so that I could see how fast she was going. She maintained a six-minute per mile pace for over forty-five minutes, and she never got winded. Running next to her was an inspiration. Her body was so perfect. She was muscular and well toned, but not in a grotesque way like a body builder. Her body was curvaceous, voluptuous, and sensual, and she was perfectly proportioned. She was truly the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. She was a goddess among women.

We showered after our workouts, and I was trying to get used to us seeing one another naked. All was well, but I could never explain this to Evelyn. At least I trusted Joey at this point, and I felt safe with her in so many ways. I remembered Evelyn's question about where Joey would be when I was in the shower. At the time, I thought Evelyn was being ridiculous, but she often had an intuition about her that was uncanny.

We dressed for dinner and headed for the dining area on deck. It was a beautiful evening, and I felt badly that I was sharing this experience with another woman and not Evelyn. She would really have enjoyed this. As always, Joey looked ravishing. She wore a loose white gown that flapped in the evening breeze. It was fairly low cut, and she obviously wore no undergarments. I chose my customary shorts and tee shirt. We were seated for dinner, and the chef, Julie, brought us a bottle of Tattinger's Comptes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs. I wasn't a big fan of sparkling wine, but it was admittedly good. The more Joey played her part, the worse I felt that Evelyn was not with me. We toasted, kissed, and she caressed me throughout dinner. I had to keep telling myself that she felt absolutely nothing. Joey had ordered a stuffed lobster. It looked fantastic. I opted for the Oysters Rockefeller. As usual, the food was amazing. We had two very good wine selections for dinner. One was a rich Merlot, and the other was a buttery Chardonnay. Joey ordered a Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac for me, and I nearly burst into tears. It was the same cognac that Evelyn ordered at dessert when we dined at Chez Excellence. I was at my limit. I didn't know how much more I could take. I kept trying to pretend that I was an actor in a movie, and I needed to hold it together.

Immediately after our last course, I feigned a headache and asked to retire to our room. Joey seemed a little puzzled, but she eagerly accompanied me. Once we got into our cabin I broke down. "Adriel, what is the matter?"

"I miss my wife! I haven't seen her in almost a week. I don't know how she is doing, and I feel awful that I'm here with you instead of her."

"I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. I thought you would enjoy this trip. I know Annette tried to make things as pleasant as possible for you. Is there anything that I can do?"

"How long do we have to live like this?"

"Listen, Adriel. I have a lot more to tell you. We still have a couple of days left before we reach Suez. Maybe by the time we arrive you will feel better knowing more what to expect. Then again, maybe not. I don't know. I can't relate to your emotions. I wish I could let you call your wife, but I can't. I can't even call Annette. We have a voice mailbox that we can access to leave each other messages. No one knows about it, not even our employer. It's archaic, but it works well in these situations. Either of us can leave a message in the mailbox, and we can retrieve it by dialing the number for the mailbox and entering a passcode. In fact, I need to call the number tomorrow to get Annette's instructions for when we arrive in Cairo. That will give me a day to brief you and practice a few behavior patterns with you. I can see that you are exhausted. Why don't we get ready for bed, and I'll explain more to you until you get sleepy?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my eyes. "Do you ever cry?"

Joey thought for a while. "Sure, I have cried when I have been in intense pain."

"But you can't understand why I have been crying this evening, can you?"

"Well, I assume that you're in intense pain. It's just a pain that I have never felt. Go get ready for bed, and I'll go leave a message for Annette in the voice mailbox to see if there's any way that we can get you in contact with your wife. I'm not making any promises, but if there is a way, I'm sure Annette can do it."

"What phone are you going to use?"

"I'll use the ship's phone, and I always communicate in the secret language. No one but Annette will be able to understand. It's perfectly safe."

I decided to shower while Joey was out making her phone call. I never felt clean anymore, and I assumed that it was my guilt that made me feel this way. I found some long silk pajamas and finished preparing myself for what I hoped would be a good night's sleep, but I rather doubted it. I was lying on my back in bed when Joey returned. She had a very serious look on her face as she headed into the bathroom to prepare for the night. I called to her, "Is everything all right?"

"I'll be out in a few minutes. I have something to tell you." I hoped that we could get back to our mission and that all was well. I was desperate to see Evelyn, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Several minutes later, Joey emerged from the bathroom in her sleepwear and slipped into bed. "I had a message from Annette in my voicemail. Our phones had been tracked to the beach in Palma, and they now believe that we are either dead or abducted. Annette is having Evelyn removed from the ship and taken to a secure location. She can't stay aboard if you aren't coming back. Don't worry; we will take good care of her. One of our agents, an ex-Marine, has been assigned to retrieve her and transport her to one of our facilities. We're hoping to isolate her so that Annette can explain to her what we are doing. I'm not sure where this leaves your friend, Eddie, because it appears that the mission has been derailed. They won't do anything until they either get confirmation about us or enough time passes that they assume that we have been terminated. I left a message for Annette and asked if there was any way that Evelyn could meet up with us in Cairo. I doubt that she will agree to that because the intelligence community will be trying to track Evelyn to find you. I'll see what she says when I access the mailbox tomorrow."

My concern was growing by the second. "This doesn't sound good to me. It appears that we are getting in deeper and deeper."

"Have some confidence. Annette and I have dealt with far worse situations than this. We know what we're doing. We have full confidence in Bopper, our ex-Marine, to protect Evelyn."

I chuckled, "Bopper, like in Black Ops."

In an instant, Joey was on top of me with her hand on my throat. "Look at me! Tell me the truth. Has your ability to read minds returned?" Joey was glaring into my eyes.

"No! What's gotten into you?"

"How do you know about BOPS?"

"I worked with them on the Pakistan coup. They were the ones who were assigned to take down the perpetrators. They infiltrated Islamabad and were the agents used to execute the arrests."

"You never told me they were involved. Why didn't you mention them before?"

"There's a lot I didn't mention. That's a level of detail that I didn't consider to be important. You're hurting my neck!"

Joey released her grip on my throat but remained on top of me. "What do you know about them?"

"I know a lot. I was inside their heads during the operation. I could hear what they were thinking, and I know about their capabilities and training. I know some of their missions. I couldn't help but know these things. I could read minds. What's the big deal?"

"Do Evelyn and Eddie know about them?"

"Of course they do. They were with me when the whole arrest took place. They got a play by play detail as it all happened."

"All three of you are as good as dead. The government planned to eliminate you all along, and they are using us to blame. No wonder they offered us so much money. They had no intention of paying. This is far worse than I imagined." Joey jumped up and slipped on her robe. "I'm going back to the phone to let Annette know what is going on. This changes a lot." Joey made a quick exit.

Evelyn was right. This was the end of the line for me. What she didn't realize is that it didn't matter what I chose to do. Not only that, but it included her and Eddie. How could I have been so naive? All I could think about was the embarrassing episode in that darkened house with the blind girl, and whether the government knew about it. I had forgotten the important things that I knew that would make them want to eliminate me. I had dragged Eddie and Evelyn into a lethal situation. How could I be so stupid? More and more questions began swimming in my head. I was hoping Joey would answer some of them. She seldom divulged information that wasn't absolutely necessary. Joey quietly slipped back into our room. She removed her robe and slid under the covers next to me.

I turned to face her. "If you think that the government intended to eliminate me all along, then do you think they are the ones who made the attempts to kill me?"

"No, that wouldn't make sense. They want to learn something from you. When they think they have all that they are going to get, you will be disposed. Otherwise, you would have been long gone."

"Why didn't the assassins just sniper me from afar? We were standing alone on a beach at Mtwara. They could have easily shot me from a distance."

"That would have drawn too much attention. He would rather it looked like you died of natural causes. Whoever he was, he assumed that I was your wife. That's the way I intended it. He never would have approached if he knew that I was an agent. The less threatening I appear, the closer my enemy gets. I use every advantage I have. I have found that most men are easily manipulated."

"What about the second attempt at Palma? You shot him with a silencer."

"What? No, I didn't. I don't carry a gun."

"I heard the shot and smelled gun powder."

"Not from me you didn't. Someone shot him at close range from behind. Then he was dragged outside and removed."

"I thought you killed him."

"It wasn't me. I have no idea who took him out. One more step into the room, and I would have snapped his neck, but I never got the chance."

"Then that means someone else out there wants to keep me alive, but who?"

"That's a good question. It could have been a government operative. They do want to know how you intend to find this mine. However, I doubt that it was the government because they hired me to protect you. They tracked our phones, but I doubt they would have us tailed. I just hope we weren't followed to the beach. If anyone saw us board this yacht, then they are giving you and me a chance to find the gold mine. Otherwise, we would have been apprehended by now. I think the only thing keeping you alive at this point is the fact that they anticipate you finding that mine. I was hoping that we could do this by staying off the grid, but if they know we are aboard this yacht, that's going to make it far more difficult."

"So, how does that change our plan?"

"Well, so far it doesn't. I'm going to continue in the same direction until I hear otherwise from Annette. I have told her everything up to this point. Let's see how she handles this. She's the most intelligent person I have ever met. I learned to trust her many years ago."

"She's fairly young. Isn't she in her twenties?"

Joey gave me a look. "No, she's my age. Do you really think she looks that young?"

"I only met her once, but yeah, I thought she was in her twenties."

Joey just shook her head. "Tomorrow we are going to work through a few body mechanics. We have some practicing to do. Let's get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow morning we'll fake some more sex and get started." Joey turned out the light.

It took me a couple of hours to finally fall asleep. I awoke in darkness, as usual, and headed for the bathroom. It was early Wednesday morning, and as I sat there I wondered what David Allen could possibly tell me that would make a difference. Maybe he had a lead on the gold mine, and together we could determine its location. Something didn't add up. Joey seemed fairly confident that he and I would make a good team. I finished in the bathroom and went back to bed. I felt an awkward closeness to Joey. I rolled over and held her in my arms. She squirmed a bit and nestled into me. I missed Evelyn. I missed our intimacy. I felt vulnerable. I thought Joey was asleep, but she took my hand and kissed it. "Go back to sleep," she whispered.

I awoke at early dawn. I looked around, and Joey wasn't in bed. I wandered into the bathroom, and she wasn't there either. I took advantage of the time alone to take a quick shower. As I was drying off, I looked in the mirror and remembered that Joey had told me not to shave. I didn't like to feel hair on my face, but I knew it was just temporary. I decided to at least shave my neck. I was just finishing when Joey entered the bathroom. "Oh, good! You're up. I got a message from Annette." Joey hopped up on the counter as I was brushing my teeth. I was wearing my bath towel, and I had it tucked in at my waist. "Oh good, you're letting your beard grow. Well, everything from Annette sounded positive. Bopper has Evelyn, and he is sneaking her into Cairo. Be patient because it's not as easy as it sounds. I need to brief you on our arrival and what to expect. Let's wait until after breakfast to get started."

I agreed, and after I finished in the bathroom, we conducted our disgusting vocal act for about twenty minutes. Joey participated much more this time, and I got to laughing so hard that I had to bury my face in a pillow to keep from being heard. We headed for breakfast on deck, and it was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and a slight breeze. I couldn't wait to get some coffee in me. I lost track of the number of cups I drank. I was in a great mood, hoping to see Evelyn again soon. As always, the food was fantastic. I was fairly wired from the caffeine when we returned to our room. Joey had me walk across the room about five times as she studied my movements from the front, back, and side. She pulled a square rubber pad out of her bag that was about two inches wide and taped it to my left heel. Once again, she had me parade back and forth. She shifted the pad from my left heel to my right heel and had me repeat the walk. She then informed me that my right leg was slightly longer than my left, and I needed to wear the pad on the right. It would alter my walk enough that she didn't think the recognition software would identify me if I were seen on camera.

After practicing the walk several more times, Joey decided that we needed to revisit the gym. We changed clothes and went down for a great workout. I enjoyed working out with her. She made it a lot of fun, and she was a good trainer and encourager. We spent an hour on the treadmill, and she said that she already saw improvement in my performance. She offered to be my spotter as I lifted some weights. It was somewhat embarrassing that she could actually lift more weight than I could. We both worked up a good sweat and retired to the shower. I was getting more used to having her around. We dressed in some comfortable clothes and lay back down on the bed for her to explain more to me about our transfer in Cairo.

"I did my best to impress Annette that you need to be with Evelyn. She will do everything she can to make that happen. Our main goal is to keep you safe, so just realize that whatever we do, it's for your safety." I understood. I was just grateful that they were trying to bring Evelyn and me back together. "Our scheduled arrival in Suez will be around 9:00 AM Friday. We are docking about two miles offshore. Annette is sending a courier who will be providing our costumes, facial implants, the lift for your heel, and new documents. We aren't going through customs in Suez. We will be provided with new passports that are already stamped for Egypt. Our visas, marriage license, and any other documentation that she sends will contain our new names. She decided that since you are an untrained operative, your first name will be Ariel. It's close enough to your real name that you will more readily respond to it. It is a common Jewish name, so your last name is Cohen. I am Joann Cohen. We're going to practice how you should respond to questions concerning our relationship and history. We will also cover some cultural aspects that you will need to incorporate into your behavior. You need to memorize all of this quickly and carefully because I have seen the slightest error cost someone his life. Welcome to the covert world of espionage."

"This sounds intense. I hope I can pull this off."

"Well, if not, it's the last thing you will ever do."

We spent the next few hours going over our names, our history, personal stories of how we met, and amusing circumstances. She started drilling me with questions about where I went to school, friends that I knew, my parents, childhood memories, and personal preferences. She kept repeating over and over. Every time she heard a discrepancy, she would get in my face and drill me even harder. We kept smoothing the edges as she badgered me faster and faster with countless questions until my responses were immediate. She was trying to convince me that I was Ariel Cohen, born in Tel Aviv and migrated to the United States as a child. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and I attended Hillel Academy. She thought that my knowledge of the Old Testament would be an added plus and encouraged me to discuss it whenever appropriate. By dinner, I was exhausted and hungry. She warned me not to become too complacent. Although it appeared that I was making great progress, she had seen so many freeze up when it came time to play for real. We had a lot more practice to do. My driving motivation was fueled by my desire to see Evelyn. I was so excited at the prospect of holding her in my arms again. We changed our clothes and headed for dinner on deck.

I was now in a much better mood. We ordered oysters on the half shell with champagne. We laughed and talked and put on such a convincing show. After the champagne was empty, we ordered a hearty Cabernet and sipped it with our Chateaubriand for two. We emptied the Cabernet and shifted to a strong Merlot. I was getting rather tipsy, and Joey was so convincing in her act that I became enthralled with her. I pulled her close and kissed her, caressing her tongue with mine. When I ended the kiss, she touched my nose and whispered, "You're naughty." I wanted another brandy after dinner with dessert, but Joey encouraged me to have coffee. I consented, and we shared a wonderful raspberry chocolate torte together. After dinner, Joey held me close as we retreated back to the cabin. She helped me undress, and I pulled her on top of me on the bed. "Ariel Cohen, you need to watch yourself. I don't want you doing something that you will regret. Do you hear me?"

I smiled. "But you would do something that I would regret, wouldn't you?"

"I'll do anything you want, but you have to live with yourself. You've had too much to drink, and in the morning you will wish you hadn't. I'll make you a deal. If you still want me in the morning, our little show for the crew will be real. Do you agree to that?"

I felt foolish. "You're absolutely right. I have had too much to drink, and I miss my wife. I'm so sorry that I even thought of using you like that. It's embarrassing."

"It's OK. You'll be with Evelyn soon, and you can both make sex together." I laughed. Maybe Joey did have a sense of humor.

My head was pounding when I awoke. I felt miserable, and I was glad that Joey talked some sense into me last night. I would never have forgiven myself. I could hear her in the shower, and I got up to use the bathroom. She heard the toilet flush and told me that there was ibuprofen on the night stand. I thanked her and took a couple. She emerged from the bathroom in her robe and encouraged me to get ready for breakfast. I stood in the shower and let cool water run down my face as I tried to shake off my hangover. As I finished getting ready, I examined my short beard in the mirror. It had a lot more grey than I anticipated. I guess that could be expected.

After breakfast, we spent several more hours of practicing my new persona. She was relentless in her interrogations, and every time I made a mistake she would intensify the questioning. I wanted to take a break, but she wouldn't let me. Finally, she ceased the drill, and we changed clothes for the gym. She drove me hard. I told her I was afraid I would have a heart attack. She pushed me on and on to the point of exhaustion. I was too tired to shower. I passed out on the bed. She allowed me to sleep for forty-five minutes and then woke me to get into the shower. She gave me ten minutes to finish so that we could start another practice session. By dinner, I was convinced that I was Ariel Cohen, and she was my wife, Joann.

# **CHAPTER FIVE**

# **_CAIRO_**

****

****

I awoke refreshed. Joey insisted that we abstain from alcohol the entire day before. She swore that it had nothing to do with my behavior the previous night, but rather wanted us to be fresh with clear heads for our transfer into Cairo. Today was going to be significant, and I had high hopes of seeing Evelyn soon. We had enjoyed a wonderful breakfast on deck, and we were now anchored off the coast of Egypt near Suez awaiting our courier. It was another beautiful day, and the sea was bright blue as the sun sparkled on the caps that sprang up across the water. We sat on the deck sipping coffee and discussing our plans for the day. Most of our conversation was for the crew. We were departing today, and we wanted to leave them convinced that we were husband and wife on an adventurous vacation.

Finally, a cabin cruiser pulled alongside our yacht, and a young woman was received on deck by the First Mate, Constance. She escorted the courier over to our table. I stood to shake her hand as she introduced herself as Jennifer Hawkins. She had a bag hanging from her shoulder and a satchel in her hand that she placed on the deck beside the table. A stewardess approached to take Jennifer's order, which to my surprise was a Mimosa. Jennifer and Joey were already acquainted. Jennifer was employed by the same company, and they had worked closely together in the past. We made small talk as Jennifer sipped her Mimosa until the crew members were out of earshot.

Jennifer discreetly removed documents from the satchel for Joey and me to review. One by one she drew them out, and each was returned before producing the next. After we were acquainted with the contents of the satchel, Jennifer handed the bag to Joey and explained that everything else we needed was inside. She encouraged us to change into the clothing provided and utilize all of the other accessories as soon as she departed because a water taxi was coming to take us ashore very soon. We were to keep our documents with us at all times. We arose from the table, shook hands once again, and Jennifer strolled across the deck to board her cabin cruiser. I felt apprehensive as Joey and I prepared to leave the yacht. I then realized how safe I had felt when we were at sea, but now that we were going ashore, I was dreading what might await. I had no idea.

Once we got to the room, Joey helped me with all of the paraphernalia, and we got dressed. She finished adjusting the dark wig that Jennifer brought, and then we did another quick interrogation process to be sure that I was in character. Joey pulled me close and kissed me. "Be a good husband, Ariel Cohen," she encouraged. I smiled and held her tightly. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was Phyllis, and our water taxi had arrived. I gulped and took Joey's hand. We emerged from our cabin as Mr. And Mrs. Ariel Cohen and climbed into the water taxi with our bags. The taxi sped off toward the mainland and bounced up and down over the waves as we held on tightly. Within twenty minutes, we pulled up to a dock, and the pilot threw a rope to a deck hand who tied it securely before we stepped out. I looked around, and I couldn't believe that I was standing on an Egyptian dock with the Gulf of Suez at my back.

We had disembarked at Port Tawfiq. Joey and I awaited our escort at the dock. Within a few minutes, we were approached by a dark skinned man who had been expecting us. He seated us in his limousine, and we headed for Cairo. My heart was pounding, and I didn't know what to expect next. Joey sensed my apprehension and rubbed my leg. We were speeding down a desert highway. There were hills and mountains around us. I looked back over my shoulder out the window, and a trail of dust furled behind us. I could see the city ahead of us getting closer and closer. After several minutes, we crossed the Nile River, and I could see the pyramids of Giza in the distance. It was surreal as we wound our way through streets past parks and schools. We had traded the invigorating salt sea air for the stench of a crowded city. I felt frustrated that much of what I saw was in a language that I could not understand. When I could read minds, this was never a problem because language could not create a barrier since I could detect the thoughts of others. Now, I felt that I was at a terrible disadvantage.

Our limousine pulled in front of a stucco building. The driver got out and opened our doors. He pulled our bags from the trunk and left them on the curb. He made a slight bow to Joey, got back into the limousine and sped away. We hoisted our bags onto our shoulders and headed toward the entrance. Joey took me by the arm and led me up the three steps to the front door. She freely entered and called out, "David?"

"Back here, dear!" I detected an English accent.

She pulled me through the hallway to a large sitting room. It was adorned with several tapestries, statues, palm trees, and other tropical plants that provided vivid color. The furniture was fine leather that sat upon Persian rugs on top of the amber Spanish tile. David was seated on a couch sipping tea. He put his cup on a side table and immediately rose to greet me with a handshake. He was a devastatingly handsome man around seventy years old. His tanned skin was youthful and smooth and beautifully contrasted with his grey hair. He was well groomed and had chiseled features with burning, steel blue eyes. He was wearing a white cotton shirt and pants to match. His bronze feet were bare, and his slender frame stood at least six feet tall. Joey introduced us. "David, this is the gentleman that Annette told you about, Adriel Chevalier." After shaking my hand, he immediately turned to Joey and smartly planted a kiss full on her lips. I felt a stab in my heart, and I was taken aback at my apparent jealousy.

After unlocking his lips from Joey, he turned to me. "Chevalier, huh? You're obviously French."

"I have French ancestry, but I'm American."

"Well, I won't hold those two strikes against you."

Just then, I heard the front door close. As I turned toward the hallway, I saw Annette enter the room. Close behind was Evelyn. I shouted and ran to her. I hugged her tightly and kissed her over and over. Tears ran down our faces, and it felt so good to be in her arms again.

David readily abandoned Joey and walked toward us. "Say, Chevalier! Are you going to introduce me to this lovely young lady?"

"Yes! This is my wife, Evelyn." I presented her to David and explained, "Evelyn, this is David Allen. He's a physicist that I will be working with on a project."

Evelyn held out her hand, and David pulled it to his mouth and gave it an elegant kiss. Evelyn broke into a wide smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Allen."

"Oh, please, Evelyn, we only use first names here. Call me David." He then turned to me. "You Frenchies always did have good taste in women. She's marvelous!"

Joey then requested, "David, may I use your bedroom to change out of this horrid costume?"

"Of course you can, my dear! My bedroom is your bedroom, as always. You never need to ask." Joey strolled away down another hallway. "So, have you two been to a costume party?" He put his hands on his hips and looked me up and down. "And who are you supposed to be?"

I hated to answer. "I'm her Jewish husband, Ariel Cohen."

"Oh good god!" David put the back of his right hand to his forehead. "Annie, I thought you said this chap was intelligent."

Annette smiled. "Well, he is in his own way."

"Well, if you're going to be Joey's husband, then perhaps Evelyn can be my wife." David put his arm around Evelyn and pulled her close.

I protested, "Annette what in the world have you gotten me into?"

"Relax, Adriel. David is always like this. You need to get used to it because you two are going to be working closely."

David turned to Annette. "You know, Annie, if you ever decide to go straight I want you to look me up."

Annette slapped David on his ass. "Yeah, if that ever happens, then we won't have anything in common."

David led Evelyn over to the couch and pulled her down next to him. Evelyn appeared comfortable in his arm. "So, how long have you two been married?"

I spoke up immediately, "Thirty-five years this fall."

"Really," David exclaimed, "thirty-five years of happy marriage; now that's rare."

Evelyn chimed in, "Well, the last seven have been happy."

David pulled her in tightly. "Well, then it's a shame I didn't meet you eight years ago."

I was getting perturbed. "You know, David, that's really inappropriate."

"Inappropriate? Annie told me that you just spent a week with Joey masquerading as her husband on a yacht. Believe me, I know Joey better than you do, and I would call you inappropriate."

"It was five days, and I didn't have a choice."

"Yes, of course you didn't. Most men would give up their right testicle to be in that position." David then looked down at Evelyn. "You know, I would love to give you a tour of Cairo and the surrounding area."

Annette stepped in. "Sorry, David, she can't be roaming around in public. We need to keep her under wraps. We have some undesirables looking for both of them."

"Ah! Too bad! Evelyn, when we get this nasty little ordeal settled, I would be happy to fly you here and give you that tour."

Evelyn looked up at him as her head was nestled in his left armpit. "That would really be nice. Thank you!"

David grinned as he kicked his crossed leg up and down like a dog wagging its tail. I wanted to change out of my ridiculous costume as well, but I was afraid to leave Evelyn alone with this letch. Joey then emerged wearing a short, red crop top and a pair of white short shorts. David glanced over and exclaimed, "Good god, Joey, are you cold? I haven't seen you cover up like that in a long time." I was sure that he was trying to put ideas in Evelyn's head. Joey ignored him and sat down next to Annette.

I was getting tired of the perpetual flirting. I turned to Annette to ask, "Annette, I thought coming to see David was a dangerous move. Joey seemed to think that the government might assume that I would come here."

"Well, Adriel, that is a long story. David, why don't you break out some wine, and we can talk about this."

David shook his head. "You know, Annie, I'm so comfortable next to my new friend right now, I'd appreciate you grabbing a few bottles from the cellar."

Annette jumped up and disappeared down a stairway. I noticed that David was holding Evelyn's hand. He still had that ridiculous grin on his face. I really wanted to change and decided that Evelyn should come with me. "Evelyn, I'd like to talk with you while I change out of this outfit. I haven't seen you for almost a week." I picked up my bag and held out my hand.

David released Evelyn's hand. "Go talk to him. I'll be waiting right here for you when you get back. Third door on the left down that hall, Adriel."

Evelyn stood but didn't take my hand. She followed me down the hallway to the bedroom. The room was dimly lit and cluttered with small statues and artifacts. Ancient art hung on the walls, and it appeared to be more of a museum than a bedroom. The ceiling above the king size bed held a huge mirror, and parachute silk was draped on three sides of the overhanging bed frame. The headboard was a massive ebony work of art with a footboard to match. It was eerie and elegant at the same time. I began removing my costume along with my facial implants. Evelyn approached. "Good heavens, what is that?"

"Oh, they are implants to change the contour of my face to inhibit facial recognition software from detecting me."

"That's a relief," Evelyn quipped. "I thought you were having some allergic reaction, and what's with the beard?"

"Joey thought it would help disguise me. It's annoying."

Evelyn stroked my cheek. "I rather like it."

"Really? It's a little scratchy."

"It will be better when it grows and softens." Evelyn turned to examine some of the artifacts on the bureau.

I continued changing my clothes. "You know, I can't believe you are entertaining this British cad."

Evelyn turned to me. "Why? Because he's devilishly handsome, intelligent, charming, and absolutely crazy about me?"

"Good lord, Evelyn, you're acting like some star struck school girl. I haven't seen you in almost a week. I was terribly worried about you."

"Really?! Tell me, Adriel, did you sleep with Joey?"

"Well, I didn't have sex with her, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh, but you did sleep in the same bed with her."

"Well, sometimes we did for appearances."

"Mmm hmm, and did you kiss her?"

"Well, on occasion we kissed in front of the yacht crew."

"And did your tongue ever touch hers?"

"It might have once."

"I see. Did you shower together?"

"Never!"

"Did you see one another naked?"

"Well, that was inevitable. Honestly, Evelyn, I don't think we should engage in this inquisition. I really missed you, and I told Joey on several occasions that I wished it were you with me instead of her. She suffers Emotional Detachment Disorder. She had no desire to be with me."

"Oh, she'd fuck you in a heartbeat! It's not her desire that concerns me, Adriel. I get left alone on an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, and you go galavanting off with the most desirable woman I have ever seen. What was I supposed to think? And, by the way, it turns out to be a little worse than I imagined."

"It was all a show, Evelyn. I tried to resist; believe me, I did, but she threatened to turn it into something real if I didn't go along."

"Now how was she going to do that if you were so resistant? Please explain."

"She can be very persuasive."

"I'm sure she can. So can David Allen." Evelyn headed for the door.

"Evelyn, please, I didn't want any of this. We need to have a good night together."

Evelyn turned to face me. "Well, we haven't discussed sleeping arrangements yet."

"Are you serious? I need you, Evelyn."

"Yeah, we'll see." Evelyn walked through the door. I hurried to finish changing into my shorts and tee shirt. I didn't want her to be around David for a single moment without me.

When I returned to the room, David was handing Evelyn a glass of red wine. He took her by the hand and seated her next to him on the couch again, slipping his arm behind her neck. He looked over at me as I approached and invited, "Adriel, why don't you sit next to your wife?" I felt a sense of relief as I walked over to Evelyn. "Oh no, mate, your wife over there!" David motioned toward Joey.

Joey patted the seat next to her on her left. I sulked over and sat down. I turned to her left ear and quietly whispered, "Please tell me he's safe." Joey made no response. Evelyn glared at Joey and put her hand on David's knee. He readily put his hand on top of hers.

Everyone had settled in with the wine, and Annette began her explanation. "Normally, I wouldn't discuss these topics in such a mixed group, and there are things that I cannot divulge right now, but we are all basically in this together at this point. There have been two attempts on Adriel so far." I could see the alarm in Evelyn's face, and she withdrew her hand from David's knee. "Joey neutralized the first attempt to assassinate Adriel," Evelyn took a big gulp of her wine, "and the second attempt was deterred by an unknown assassin. We have no way of knowing at this time if the two attempts were related. It appears that we are dealing with several groups from various countries who are apparently aware of our project. From what we have gathered so far, there are those who wish to abduct Adriel and employ him for their own purposes, and there are those who wish to eliminate him completely. Intelligence sources have targeted a Russian group that seeks to abduct him and force him to find the gold mine. Please understand that nothing is simple in this realm of espionage. Information is sold as a commodity across the board, and we are aware that certain unidentified individuals exist in our intelligence community who readily sell this information to the highest bidder, and in this case, to several conflicting groups. There are multiple interests and factions that war against one another constantly, and they cannot necessarily be tied to any one government. Some are, and some are not. We haven't established a good picture of what is happening at this point, but we do know that several interested groups are seeking Adriel at this time. David, you are basically an unknown entity. The only group that can relate you to this process is our government because of your involvement in past projects. However, that link is terribly weak since they are unaware of your latest research. I have done some lobbying on Adriel's behalf in D. C. this week, and there is a wide spectrum of attitudes toward him at this time. For example, the Secretary of Defense views Adriel as a dangerous liability, but the Secretary of the Treasury considers him to be a tremendous asset. I have a considerable amount of experience dealing with the various branches and departments of the United States, and if it's one thing that I have learned, it's that if I can reduce matters to the common denominator of finance, I can usually persuade whomever I need. Originally, I had a concern that the Department of Defense might want to eliminate Adriel, and I was suspicious that we had been offered such a lucrative contract to keep him safe as he searches for the mine. One of the stipulations of the contract is that if Adriel is terminated, our company does not get paid. Their main concern is that Adriel knows more about some of the government operations than any single person on this earth. Knowledge in our government is compartmentalized to help prevent leaks that could compromise operations from a global perspective. Due to Adriel's capabilities in the past, he had access to unlimited information that no one else possesses."

I interrupted, "So, right now you don't think that our government is trying to get me eliminated? Because Joey thought that due to my knowledge of certain things, that I won't mention right now, I had a death sentence." I saw Evelyn pour another glass of wine and noticed her shaking.

"I can't be sure of anything, Adriel. I'm dealing with probabilities right now. That's why I went to Washington. I needed to talk to various people who know about you to gauge their reactions and persuade them to calm down. You haven't discussed your knowledge with anyone so far, and believe me, they have been investigating you and interrogating people who know you. Another attribute in your favor is that you don't seek riches. They know that you aren't motivated by money, and that is a major plus for you. I wanted to accentuate the fact that you have no motive for disclosing anything, but their major concern is that if you get captured, you could be forced to talk." Joey looked over at me with a solemn face. Annette pulled a very tiny box from her bag and handed it to me. "Adriel, I want you to keep this box on you at all times. In the unlikely event that your capture is imminent, I want you to open this box and put the pill in your mouth." Evelyn burst into tears and ran over to me.

I examined the box. "Is this cyanide?"

"Yes, it is, and trust me when I tell you that if you fail to take it, and you get captured, you will regret it for the rest of your short and painful life."

Evelyn had knelt on the floor with her head in my lap, sobbing uncontrollably. Joey and David simultaneously stood and walked to the far side of the room to begin a discussion out of earshot. I opened the spring loaded lid of the box to glance at the pill and then let it snap shut. I slipped the box into my pocket. Evelyn looked up at Annette with tears streaming down her face. "Do you have one for me?"

"Mrs. Chevalier, Adriel knows far more than you know that he does. No one is worried about what you know." Annette was right. There was so much more that I knew that I never told anyone. I knew how dangerous it could be to have this knowledge, but they probably assume I know more than I do. I don't know. I certainly know enough to jeopardize national security, and I guess that's all that matters. Annette continued, "The only thing that has kept you free up until now is that there are very few people who actually know your identity. Besides the people in this room, every one of them is either in the Department of Defense or the Department of the Treasury. We hope to keep it that way."

Joey and David approached me together. Their faces were serious as they looked down at me with Evelyn's head in my lap. They both reached into their pockets and produced matching boxes to the one that I had just received. David spoke somberly, "Welcome to the club, mate."

I looked over at Annette and asked, "What about Eddie?"

"Eddie is a topic that I cannot discuss right now. He has been put into dormant status on this project at this time. That's all I can tell you." Annette stood and reached for another wine bottle. As she poured a fresh glass, she suggested that we order some falafels and hummus as a snack. It sounded good to me, and I was getting rather hungry by this point. Evelyn's appetite had disappeared with the emotional stress that she was suffering. David suggested that she lie down in the guest room for a while. We had a lot to discuss. Annette had placed an order for delivery that would arrive in half an hour. She then descended to the wine cellar to select a few more bottles. David and I sat on the couch together to discuss tomorrow's schedule. He wanted to start before dawn to begin my orientation and an understanding of what I already knew. He was planning a morning exercise for me that he warned would be the strangest thing I had ever experienced in my life. I told him I rather doubted that, but he assured me it would top anything I could possibly have experienced up this point. The food finally arrived, and I went into the guest room to check on Evelyn. She was feeling better and thought she could eat something.

Annette was unpacking the order in the dining area. In addition to the falafels and hummus, she had ordered Kebda Iskandarani, which looked like a hoagie, but made with liver. We also had Aisha Baladi, a type of pita bread, along with Baba Ghanoush. For dessert, she had chosen Basbousa, a sweetened cake with honey, lemon, and coconut. Annette made a pot of Turkish coffee to enjoy with the confection. Everything was absolutely delicious. I began to wonder if food outside the United States tasted better because it seemed exotic, or whether it truly was such a higher quality. No matter the reason, it was utterly fantastic.

We retired back to the sitting room for more wine and discussion. David relented on his flirtatious advances toward Evelyn due to her sensitive emotions. Evelyn and I sat alone next to one another on one couch, Annette and Joey were together on another, and David sat cross-legged in a chair. The wine loosened everyone up for conversation, and David started telling stories of the past. "The first time I met Joey was when Annette had been assigned to protect me from being abducted due my energy experiments that I was conducting in Giza. This was about seven years ago when I started making some advancements in the understanding of possible uses for the pyramids. Joey came here to live with me for about six months as my bodyguard. One night, three men jimmied the lock on the front door. Joey somehow knew they were at the door. She told me not to make a sound. I followed her into the room here, and she waited right over there beside the hallway. It was very dark, and I could barely see her on the other side of the room. Just as they had cleared the hallway into this room, she took all three of them out in two seconds, and that's no exaggeration. She can move faster than you can see." Joey looked over at Annette. "She's the most incredible woman I have ever met. Adriel, did you know that she can speak seven languages fluently besides English?" I shook my head. "So anyway, Joey was here for about a week when she started sunbathing nude in my courtyard. Annette had explained about Joey's emotional disorder and forbade me to engage her sexually."

Annette objected, "David!"

"Oh, Annie, loosen up for once! Sometimes I think your underwear is too tight." David put his fingers to his lips. "Oh, wait a minute, I forgot, you don't wear any. Anyway, Joey used to sunbathe nude out there in the courtyard, and I was wound up tighter than a piano wire. Finally, Annette sent over three blonde Swedish girls for me to let off steam. I tell you, it was the best five months of my life."

Annette stood up. "OK, David, that's it; you're done! You've had too much to drink. Come on, you're going to bed." She walked over to David and pulled him from the chair. He was fairly wobbly, and Annette helped him down the hall to his room. Joey sat expressionless in her chair.

Evelyn rubbed my leg and looked into my eyes. "I love you," she whispered.

I smiled and whispered back, "I love you too!"

Annette returned to the room. "Sorry about that, but David tends to be a loose cannon. He can get very philosophical or very raunchy. He's fairly unpredictable. I'm sorry to say that you need to change into your costumes again. I will be taking Evelyn with me to a safe-house. Adriel, you and Joey will continue to travel as husband and wife, and I will send a car for you in about half an hour." Annette reached into her bag. "Here are your new cell phones for now. The numbers you need are already in the contact list. Joey, I will text you the directions to the safe-house after your driver lets you out about a half mile away. We will all be together tonight, but Adriel, you and Evelyn will be alone together in your own room. Joey, however, will be in the next room within earshot. Did David tell you when he wanted to get started tomorrow?"

"He said he wanted to start before dawn."

"OK, we'll get you and Joey back here about a half hour before dawn. Evelyn, you will be staying with me. It will give us a chance to talk because I need to explain several things to you. Let's get going so they can change before the car comes to pick them up." Annette escorted Evelyn out the door, and Joey and I headed for the guest room to change into our costumes. Joey helped me with the facial implants and inspected me closely while she made adjustments to her satisfaction. We finished changing and gathered our bags.

Just as we were headed for the front door, Joey stopped and turned to me. "I'm sorry that Evelyn is upset with you."

"It's not your fault, Joey. I probably didn't handle things very well."

"It makes me glad that I can't feel emotion. It appears to cause more pain than pleasure."

Our car arrived, and we were driven a few miles to another location. I had no idea where I was, but Joey seemed to know the area well. After all, she had lived here for several months when she was a bodyguard for David. She led me into a cafe, and we ordered some coffee. We sat at a table for a few minutes, and Joey's phone buzzed. She read the instructions to the safe-house, and we left the cafe. She held my arm as we slowly walked along the street. "We don't want to walk too fast. Just act like we are taking a leisurely stroll together. It attracts less attention."

About forty-five minutes later we entered an apartment building and took an elevator to the fifth floor. Joey led me to number 542, and we walked through the door. "Where have you been?" Evelyn came rushing over.

"We took our time walking to avoid attention," I explained. "Relax." Evelyn led me to our room, and I changed out of my costume. Joey walked into our room and asked for me to meet her in the bathroom. I could see Evelyn's anger rising. "Evelyn, come with me," I invited.

Evelyn and I crowded into the small bathroom with Joey as she was washing out her facial implants in the sink. "Adriel, I need to show you how to disinfect your implants. You need to do this every night with this solution." She handed me a bottle that looked like mouthwash. "Annette has brought several more costumes for us to use. Each one is as hideous as the next." Evelyn actually giggled, but her giggle quickly subsided when Joey rubbed her cheek against mine. "Your beard is getting softer; that's good." Joey gathered her things and left the bathroom.

I turned to Evelyn to explain. "She honestly doesn't know any better, Evelyn. She is not only numb to emotion, she doesn't understand how it affects others either."

"I don't care. I have a hard time watching a young, beautiful woman show you any kind of affection."

"That's what you need to understand, it's not affection. She's unable to feel anything like that." I finished washing my implants and put them into the small case that Jennifer had provided.

Evelyn and I went back to our room and closed the door. She turned around and secured the lock before taking me by the hand. She pulled me down on the bed and started kissing me profusely. She appeared to want to make up for lost time. I was elated. Afterward, as she lay in my arms, she turned to me. "I'm sorry I get upset with you. We lead such quiet and isolated lives that I forget how crazy and dangerous this world is."

"I know. Some of the things that we find appalling are just everyday life for some people. It's a very different perspective. I'm really sorry too. I probably should have handled my situation better than I did."

"Probably," Evelyn agreed.

We got ready for bed, and I anticipated a good night's sleep. I was exhausted. I awoke to Joey gently shaking my shoulder. Her lips were next to my ear whispering, "Adriel, wake up. We need to get ready to go."

My eyes felt like they were glued shut. I wasn't ready to awaken for the day, nor was I ready to leave Evelyn's side. "Not yet, Joey, please let me sleep."

Joey pulled the sheet from me, and took my arm. She was trying not to arouse Evelyn. The next thing I knew, I was being carried over her shoulder out of the room. She deposited me into a chair in the living area. I blinked a few times and looked up. "Come on, we need to get dressed. We're leaving in half an hour. Go take a quick shower." She pulled me from the chair by my arm and pushed me toward the bathroom. After I had showered and dressed, Joey was fussing over me, trying to help with my costume and implants. She inspected me one last time. "We need to leave because we are being picked up at the same location where we were left last night. We have a half mile to traverse, so let's get going."

This time it wasn't a leisurely walk. She practically dragged me in the dark down the street toward the cafe where we had coffee last evening. We arrived without a moment to spare. The car pulled to the curb, and we jumped in with our bags for the ride to David's residence. Our limousine came to a screeching halt at David's address, and he trippingly descended the steps to our car and scooted in next to me. He looked over with a big smile. "Change of plans, I'm afraid. We're heading for the pyramids in Giza, and we don't have a moment to spare." Our limo sped off toward Giza in the dark. David had a small, hard case sitting on his lap. We sat in silence as we sped down the Faiyum Desert Road to the west of the three pyramids of Giza. We pulled off on a side road, and David commanded the driver, "Alim, stop the car!" David hopped out and held out his hand for Joey. He pulled us both off the road toward the pyramids. "Follow me, quickly!" We scaled a short wall and jogged toward the pyramids, stopping about five hundred meters west of the towering stone structures. The sun was beginning to break the horizon.

David knelt in the sand and opened his case. "Is that a sextant," I asked.

"Yes, but it's a special sextant that I developed with one of my mechanical engineers. It has a specific purpose. Give me a minute. I need to locate something, and it takes a bit of calculation." After about three minutes David turned to me and explained, "Listen very carefully, Adriel. This is extremely important. In about two minutes, I need for you to embrace me and don't let go until this experience is over. I am going to take one step, and just like dancing, you need to follow my lead." David then turned to Joey. "Adriel and I are going to step aside for a few seconds, Joey, and I don't want you to be alarmed. So, please don't move during this exercise." David checked his sextant once again and then put it back into the case. "Brace yourself, Adriel. Come put your arms around me." I stepped next to David and placed my arms around him. "Tighter, Adriel! Embrace me!" I squeezed tighter and watched his face as he scanned the area between us and the pyramids. "Over here!" We stepped toward a blurry pattern that looked like heat waves. "Take courage, mate!" David stepped, but I couldn't ascertain if it was forward, backward, up, down. I felt disoriented. I followed, and all at once our surroundings appeared to be in a kaleidoscope. Our world became so multifaceted that I was lost in a potpourri of endless directions of indescribable sights, sounds, and colors. I could see the pyramids, and thousands of other things that I had never seen before. There were hundreds of people all around us. I heard David say, "Hold on!" His voice echoed as though it were in the distance. He held me tightly, and I could feel his heart pounding. As I looked down, I could see my silver umbilicus streaming from my abdomen. David shouted, "Follow me!" He took a step that was completely opposite of the one that brought us into this strange realm. We were back. Joey had an astonished look on her face.

I looked at David and yelled, "What was that?"

David grabbed his case and started running toward the road. "We need to get out of here!" Joey and I ran along behind him back to the limousine. Once we were seated in the limo, he held his finger to his mouth for us to be silent. No one said a word as we rode back to his residence. David was right. It was the strangest experience that I ever had in my life. After we returned to David's place, he encouraged Joey and me to change into something more comfortable because we had a long day ahead of us. I hated our costumes, and the facial implants were uncomfortable. I knew how necessary it was to alter our appearances. Annette had emphasized that we were being sought by many groups who had access to cameras all over the world, and that our physical attributes had been parameterized into the tracing software to locate us. My beard was becoming less annoying to me as it got longer, and I kept it neatly trimmed. I was surprised how much warmer it was on my face even at this short length.

Joey and I returned to the sitting room where David had cups of tea awaiting us with some scones and marmalade. "Get comfortable, Adriel, we have a lot to discuss. After we finish our tea, I'll explain what you just experienced, and then I need to get an understanding of your knowledge level." I had met David the philanderer, and now I was getting acquainted with David the physicist. He was outrageous at both ends of the spectrum. David was very organized. He was a wonderful communicator and kept Joey and me informed concerning the structure of our day ahead. He had outlined specific goals and topics. Lunch was scheduled at 2:00 PM, which would be ordered remotely by Annette. She had a much better grasp on cuisine than David, and he never bothered with such mundane activities. David collected our dishes and took them to the kitchen. He then returned with bottles of water, and we settled in for our discussion.

David began, "Several years ago, I was contracted by the United States government to study various aspects of the pyramids at Giza. However, due to the inability to satisfy the government's requirements concerning the agreement, they terminated my contract. Unfortunately for them, they gave up too soon. A well known benefactor, who wishes to remain anonymous, had heard about my research and the fact that I had been dropped by the U. S. He approached me with an offer to continue my study but from a slightly different perspective. There have been many theories concerning the pyramids over the years, and much of what has been discovered was never disclosed to the public. In fact, in these latter years, access to the pyramids and many of the hieroglyphs has been sealed off from any possible observation. I foresaw this maneuver by the Egyptian government long before it happened, and I was able to secretly photograph much of the writing to an extensive degree. Early observations surmised that the pyramids were used as tombs for the pharaohs, but further research ascertained that it wasn't so. Another theoretical aspect is the ability of the pyramids to generate a considerable amount of electric power. There have also been theories about the alignment of constellations and stars with the air passages, but due to the wobble of the earth's axis, it has been difficult to understand the correlation. Some have proposed a relationship between the pyramid placement and the constellation of Orion. None of these ideas concerning the attributes of the pyramids of Giza is without merit, but about two years ago, I stumbled onto something extraordinary."

David took another bite of scone before he continued his discourse. Joey had made a pot of coffee, and brought be a cup.

After our short intermission, David continued. "If the alignment of stars with the pyramids had any significance, then there had to be an aspect of the pyramids that only existed periodically for temporary periods of time. Electrical power was a constant, so that couldn't be it. I kept studying the hieroglyphs, and I noticed that there were specific representations of concepts that nobody had yet been able to determine. One of the words that was so puzzling was 'aku.' It's antithetical representative was 'aki.' For years they were considered to be spiritual aspects that pertained to the soul and the afterlife. However, from a scientific perspective it all sounded like nonsense to me. The Egyptian civilization that erected the pyramids was extremely advanced, as can be evidenced by the impressive engineering and mechanical accomplishments that we have observed in the cutting and placement of the stones. They were a highly intelligent and scientific culture, and the notion that they were dabbling in metaphysical tenets never made any sense to me. Poor assumptions lead to dead ends, and that is where I saw most scientists end their research. Now, allow me to back up a bit. About thirty years ago, I had conducted a study concerning the vile vortices on this earth. A vile vortex is an area that exhibits unusual behavioral attributes that mostly consist of the disappearance of humans and objects. The most famous of these is the Bermuda Triangle. There were twelve recognized vortices that were mathematically identified around the world. A pattern of ten staggered areas above and below the equator, along with one at the North Pole and one at the South Pole were considered to exist and contain various abnormal attributes. I began to realize that the expected placement of these vortices wasn't entirely accurate. One reason was due to the fact that our earth is not a perfect orb. There were variations that mathematicians did not consider. In addition, these areas were not constant, but shifted due to influences of electromagnetism variations caused by the sun. Some scientists did not believe that these areas truly existed because they didn't exhibit strange behavior on a consistent basis. When I began to realize that there were conditions that periodically and temporarily existed that caused these areas to exhibit the behavioral differences, I started looking for the reasons and whether there was any predictability to the occurrences. I don't want to get bogged down in the details, but let's focus on the accounts of the disappearance of airplanes in the Bermuda triangle." David turned his focus on Joey. "Joey, did you witness the disappearance of Adriel and myself at Giza this morning?" Joey quietly nodded. "You see, Adriel, Joey was unable to perceive us, even though we were standing right next to her because we turned in a direction that she could not comprehend. We stepped into another dimension that was higher than this three-dimensional world. We stepped aku to enter and aki to exit."

I was connecting at this point. "I have had some limited experience with upward dimensions. I once saw another being who was in an upward dimension. I was able to see him and see around him. It was a strange experience, but not nearly as strange as the one this morning."

"Yes, because instead of seeing into that dimension, as you did before, you now entered that dimension. Your experience will reduce the time needed to get you up to speed with what we are doing. So, you understand the dimensional concepts of the first, second, and third dimensional qualities."

"Of course I do."

"Now, since you are aware of the dimensional limitations, I will explain the problem at hand. Consider that we have two-dimensional people that can only perceive of a flat surface. They go back and forth, left and right, but have no concept of up and down. Now, let's suppose that one of those two dimensional worlds is the coffee table in front of us. Another is the floor below, and still others that correspond to the ceiling and the walls around us. The people who live on these two-dimensional surfaces are totally unaware of the other two-dimensional worlds all around them because they cannot perceive up and down from their world, which would be required for them to see the other two-dimensional worlds. Do you follow me?"

"Yes, of course."

"When we stepped into the fourth dimension this morning, you were able to see other three-dimensional worlds of which you were previously unaware. The only way that you can navigate to those worlds is through the fourth dimension. It's the same as if someone from the coffee table world needed to navigate to the east wall world, he would have to enter the third dimension to traverse the space from the coffee table to the wall."

"OK, I follow you."

"Good! My theory is that the airplanes that disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle navigated to another three-dimensional world via the fourth dimension and couldn't find their way back. That's simple enough, but let me confound the issue a bit."

I interjected, "So, those airplanes that entered another three-dimensional world from our world might have been perceived as aliens from another planet."

"Precisely! Instead of being from the same three-dimensional universe, they entered from an entirely different three-dimensional realm, but let's move on from there. It gets more complicated. Let's take these two-dimensional people and put them on a wide ribbon. The ribbon creates a circle that is attached together at the other end, making it a continuous band. The two-dimensional people traverse the ribbon, and as they do, they move through the third dimension with no knowledge of doing so. It's like sailing around the world. Wherever you go, it appears to be a flat surface, but in reality you are traversing a globe. Now, let's take that ribbon and collapse the circle so that the ribbon is folded flat against itself. The two-dimensional people are totally unaware of the change because their two-dimensional world hasn't changed from their perspective. It's still the same size, but the relationship of the ribbon in the third dimension has changed. Now that the ribbon is flattened against itself, suppose we cut a hole through both sides. What happens if those people happen go through the hole?"

"Well, they would end up taking a short cut to another part of their own world."

"Good! You're following well. So, they moved through the third dimension to the other side of their world via the hole in the ribbon. Some would perceive it as time travel because instead of traversing the ribbon to get to the other side, they immediately passed through in an instant, in a small fraction of the time. So, instead of leaving their two-dimensional world via the third dimension to a different two-dimensional world, they merely navigated to another part of their own world. I know this sounds confusing, but this is significant. Here is what I need for you to do. I need for you to navigate via the fourth dimension to another part of this world without getting lost in another three-dimensional world. Does that make sense to you?"

"I understand the concept, but how am I supposed to do that?"

"That's what I need for you to figure out. I must warn you that I have lost three assistants already in the past two years who never returned. I need to explain those failures to you."

"Wait a minute! Before you explain the failures, why do you need for me to navigate to another part of this world? Can't I just use conventional methods?"

"Let me give you another example. Look at the coffee table world. Imagine that there is a circle of string lying on the table that creates a wall to keep people in that realm from going through. In order to circumvent that wall, they could jump over the string, but that would necessitate them entering the three-dimensional world to do so. In like manner, there are places on this earth that you cannot get to by conventional means. I need for you to jump over those walls, so to speak, to get to your destination."

I slumped back on the couch and took a deep breath. "And just where might this location be?"

"We're getting ahead of ourselves. We have a long way to go yet. Let's get back to the failures and the three missing assistants. We were extremely naive in our first attempt. We had the strange notion that tying a rope to the assistant would allow her to find her way back to our three-dimensional world. What we did not count on was the disassociation of the rope into the fourth dimension. It was attached from a three-dimensional perspective, but you couldn't follow its continuity into the fourth dimension. When she didn't return, I tried to follow to find her, but there was no way. I even held the rope and stepped into the portal, but as you experienced, it's so multifaceted that the rope became meaningless. We then realized that three-dimensional concepts were foolish to apply to an upward dimension. The second assistant was trained to enter and leave the portal many times, just as we did today. Our intention was to familiarize him with the surroundings with the hope that he would learn as one learns a neighborhood. It became frustrating because every day he entered, the surroundings looked different. It was like walking out your front door, and each day that you did you were in a different part of the city. One day, he got too adventuresome and never returned. I lost my third assistant about six months ago. I had trained her to enter and leave the portal as I did my second assistant. I strictly warned her not to try to navigate, but always to step back into our dimension. We practiced aku/aki over and over. She was very successful on numerous occasions. We documented her experiences as she described everything that she saw on each visit. She began to lengthen her stay. At first, it was only a few seconds. She graduated to minutes, then to an hour. One day, I was awaiting her return, and the portal shifted. My theory was that an electromagnetic impulse from the sun caused the portal to close early. As with the others, I never saw her again."

"David, if I may say so, this doesn't sound too promising. What makes you think I can navigate the fourth dimension?"

"Annie tells me that you were once able to read minds. How did you bloody well fancy to pull that one off?"

"It was certainly through no volition of my own. It was a gift given to me by my Creator."

David jumped up from the couch. "Oh, good god! Don't tell me you're a creationist! The next thing I know you'll be wanting to dunk me in water and save my soul!"

"Don't worry, those types of people won't have anything to do with me. I'm not like that at all, but I do believe in a Creator."

"That's superstitious and non-scientific, Adriel! I can't work with that."

"Where do you think all of these dimensions came from, David?"

"You tell me where your creator came from, and I'll give you the same answer. What the bloody hell was Annie thinking?" David pulled his phone from his pocket and stormed off toward the kitchen. I could hear him yelling and arguing, and I supposed that it was with Annette.

I looked over at Joey. As usual, she was expressionless. I walked over and sat next to her. "I guess this isn't going too well." She didn't respond. "There's something I can't figure out. Why isn't Annette concerned that she will be followed by someone in order to find me?"

Joey turned to face me. "There's a lot you don't know, Adriel. It's not for you to be concerned. Our job is to protect you, and we know how to do that very well."

David returned to the room fuming. He plopped down on the couch and mumbled something about bridling horses together. "I think Annie has lost her mind, but she's right. You're probably the last chance I have. I understand that you have a working knowledge of the Greek language."

"That is correct," I confessed.

"How's your Latin and Hebrew?"

"Fairly nonexistent, I'm afraid."

"Well, we have our work cut out for us because it's imperative that you know all three languages well because where I'm sending you, English won't be of much use. We'll begin your studies tomorrow. Latin is constructed much the same as Greek, so the grammar should be easy for you. Hebrew is a simple language, and I should hope that you can master it in a couple of weeks."

"David, if you already know the languages, why don't you just navigate with me to wherever we are going?"

"It's too risky. You're more expendable than I am. I'm the only one who knows how to find the portal. Once I realized that the Egyptians used the star alignment with the pyramids, I began to look for the reason. I ran reverse calculations for Orion to understand the correlation between the three stars and the three pyramids. I used variables to account for the shifting of the earth's axis. It took a while before I determined that the location was west of the pyramids and that the time was near sunrise. I spent thousands of hours perfecting the calculations. Once I was reasonably sure that I was on the right track, I had an engineer help me design a sextant. Of course, he was never aware of what I was doing with it. No one would believe that I had found a portal to another dimension. The sextant that I own now is the sixth of its kind. It took several attempts to get it accurate, but I can now find the portal with a reasonable degree of predictability."

We broke for lunch, which was delivered to us just before 2:00 PM. As always, the food was great. We all shared a bottle of wine with our meal, and afterward David announced that it was siesta time, and he disappeared into his bedroom. Joey led me to the couch, and I fell asleep in her arms. I had a recurring dream about a rabbit who was trying to talk to me and get me to follow him. It still made no sense. When I awoke, Joey was holding me tightly. I couldn't believe how safe I felt in her arms. I turned my head to see if she was awake. Her eyes were open, and I whispered, "Did you sleep?" She shook her head. I sat up on the couch and stretched. The nap did me some good, and I felt refreshed. Joey pulled me close and held me next to her in silence for about fifteen minutes. David finally wandered back into the room and asked if we would like some Turkish coffee. We both agreed that it would help get us restarted.

I initiated the afternoon conversation. "David, I'm not getting the connection between this fourth dimensional portal and the gold of Ophir that I am expected to find."

"That's because I hold most of the puzzle pieces. Your contribution, if you can do this, is essential, but it's a small part of the big picture. The government contract that I originally had was to find the gold of Ophir, as you call it. Unfortunately, I didn't make much progress due to using conventional means to locate the mine, which is a common mistake made by many. Some assumed that the mine had never been located since the time of King Solomon, but when one begins to review history to determine where great wealth was found, suspicions begin to arise. Are you aware of the Knights Templar?"

"Of course I am. They worked with the Crusades to help capture Jerusalem from the Muslims."

"That's true, but their main function wasn't military, it was financial. They graduated from an impoverished group to a position of great wealth. Their wealth was assumed to be from donations and favoritism, but it was obtained too quickly to be attributed to such means. They were called the Order of Solomon's Temple because they were granted a headquarters in a wing of the palace on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which they had conquered and taken from the Muslims. It was believed to be sitting on the same location as Solomon's Temple. So, they were known as the Templars. What isn't normally told is that the Templar Knights had excavated and found something significant buried beneath the temple floor. All Templars were bound to secrecy concerning what was found, and their wealth increased soon afterward."

"So, do you believe that they found the gold there?"

"Not at all, because when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, he plundered all things of value. Nearly one hundred years later when Jerusalem was restored, the gold was already gone. I believe they found the key to the gold. However, they didn't appear to travel far to find it. I suspicion that the gold is retrievable via a portal that existed on the rock where Abraham supposedly was to sacrifice his son, Isaac. That is where the temple was believed to have been built. I find it difficult to believe that all of that gold was shipped over sea and transported to Jerusalem. Rather, I think it came in the back door, but no one was about to disclose its real origin, so records showed that it had been shipped."

"That's a lot of supposition on your part, David."

"Perhaps, but based on what I have discovered so far, it seems to make more sense. The Templars became rich too quickly, and if they had traveled to a mine, someone would know about it. They definitely had a secret to keep because initiates who joined were sworn to keep the secret. Now, I have saved the best for last, and here's where you come in, Adriel. It is recorded that King Solomon became rich because he sought wisdom rather than riches. The Templars took a vow of poverty, but they somehow became rich even though they were not seeking it. Annie seems to think that because you refused the compensation from the government, and money does not motivate you, there is a likely possibility that the keeper of the mine will lead you to it." David sat back on the couch and spread his arms out to rest on the top of the cushions. He grinned and studied my face.

"And just who is this keeper of the mine, David?"

"I don't rightly know. It doesn't matter. To you it may be your creator, and to me it may be someone who lives in the fourth dimension. I don't think labels are important here. I think what matters are the patterns of history."

"So, David, where do we go from here?"

"You have a lot of studying to do. I have the appropriate textbooks, and I'll guide you through the Latin and Hebrew. I suggest that you tackle the Latin first, and once you feel confident with that, we'll start the Hebrew. Your first Latin lesson will begin tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM. We'll have lots of strong coffee and a hearty breakfast beforehand, so get here early. I think we've covered enough for today. I'll call my driver to take you back to the safe-house."

# **CHAPTER SIX**

# **_NAVIGATION_**

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****

Breakfast was interesting to say the least. We had Tahini Foul with some fava bean falafels to accompany our eggs, which had been fried in ghee. It was tasty, but different. David was a tea drinker, but Joey and I were making a second pot of coffee. She remained as close as my own shadow, and she smelled delightful. She was acting very playful today, and she often made me laugh with her antics. In spite of the fun, there was a sadness because she was stealing my heart. I continually reminded myself that she felt nothing.

David had me sit at the dining room table as he spread the textbooks out alongside paper and pen. He began his initial instruction concerning the Latin grammar, and I readily saw the similarities with Greek. I was familiar with declensions, verb conjugation, mood, voice, and other language mechanics. It truly was more of a difference in alphabet and vocabulary. David was a great teacher, and he accentuated the cognates between English and the Latin origin of words. He was flamboyant and made learning fun. The most interesting aspect of learning a language was that it taught me how differently people think. Language forms our thoughts, but I had long since learned not to think in a language, but in feeling, sight and concept because I didn't like the limitations that verbal weaknesses imposed on my understanding. Joey sat close by my side for much of the morning, but as David and I transitioned our conversation into a scientific realm, she migrated to the couch.

David was curious about my ancient memory of creation and the souls that I had met in my prior existence. He had a difficult time excusing it as a delusion because I was able to know various things about people that I could never have known otherwise. However, that was assuming that I really did know those things. We discussed my previous experience at length, and David disagreed with me about my perception of my former state before I descended.

"Adriel, you stated that you were in another dimension watching the creation of the universe, but that just isn't possible. Had you been in the fourth dimension, you would have seen far more three-dimensional universes, but you claim that you only saw this universe. You stepped through the portal yesterday morning, and what you saw was totally foreign to you. I would say that you are either deluded, or you were never in an upward dimension prior to yesterday."

"I understand your premise, David. It does make sense, and as I sit here and recall my experiences, I do have to admit that it was nothing like what I saw yesterday. It's likely that I was mistaken in what realm I perceived everything. The focus was on this three-dimensional universe with none other in sight. I understand the concept of the fourth dimension, and I cannot disagree that from my previous vantage point I saw no other universes. However, yesterday's experience proved to me that they do exist. On the other hand, Eddie and I did see someone else in another dimension. It was as if a door had been opened that we could see through which we had never seen before."

"Adriel, your account of that experience makes perfect sense. You caught a glimpse of someone that was opaque, yet you could see around him. That is a key aspect of extra-dimensional perception. We can see in directions that confound our understanding of our lower dimension. I don't doubt that you saw into the fourth dimension, but I seriously doubt that you were ever in that dimension before yesterday. Beyond that, I'm having a difficult time dealing with your apparent delusion of actually knowing this creator that you describe. Tell me, what does he look like?"

"That's a good question. He, or she as I have come to relate, is always represented to me in some type of realistic dream or vision. It is either in the form of a man or a woman, and the intimacy of the relationship is intense, far beyond what I have experienced in this world. The entire concept of the Creator is enshrouded in the premise of faith. Without faith, one cannot begin to comprehend who he or she is."

"You see, mate, that's where you and I part ways. I am a scientist, and faith gets me nowhere. I may have a hypothesis, hope, or an expectation, but faith is never a part of what I do. To me, faith becomes the nonsensical wild card that people play to explain the inexplicable. I go beyond that to look for the scientific explanation, and I usually find it. Faith will get you lost in that portal, Adriel, but science will show us how to navigate it."

"I disagree, David. I have no hope of navigating that portal without faith."

"Look Adriel, I don't have any friends. I have colleagues, but no friends because I find that most people in this world are idiots." I giggled because Eddie and I determined that long ago. We always said that ninety-seven percent of the population was idiotic. "I like you, and for the first time in decades I think that you just might have the qualities that I would seek in a friend. That means that for more than one reason I don't want to lose you in that portal, but that's exactly what will happen if you don't change your method."

"Just because you can't comprehend my method doesn't make it invalid. The U. S. government is interested in my method for finding this gold mine. They didn't seem too impressed with your method."

"Good god, Adriel, they have no idea what I have found at this point! Of course they weren't impressed with my previous method. Have you told them how you intend to find the mine?"

"Of course not, but they seem to have faith in me."

"They don't have faith, Adriel, they have an expectation."

"But that's what faith is, David, it's the expectation of something for which you hope. It's the evidence of what is unseen."

"Good god, we're getting bloody nowhere!" David jumped up from his chair and headed to the kitchen. I could hear him boiling water for more tea. I focused my attention on the Latin textbooks. After about half an hour, David returned and slipped a paper on top of the textbook that I was reading. "Here is a list of Latin vocabulary that I need for you to memorize. It's an abbreviated list of connotative words that will be necessary in the environment where I am sending you. Just as you have a limited Greek vocabulary that pertains to the New Testament, this vocabulary is the bare necessity for what you will need."

I looked up from my chair. "You still haven't told me where you are sending me."

"The less you know, the better. When you prove to me that you can navigate this three-dimensional world, I'll let you know what the plan is." I perused the list. It was categorized by verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs in alphabetical order. I studied the list for about an hour before David sat down at the table. "Annie is sending lunch over soon. Then we will break for siesta. We only have about another hour after that because she wants you and Joey to go to one of their facilities for a workout. Sounds like a bloody waste of time to me, but she insists." David leaned in and whispered, "There's something that I need to tell you." David turned to Joey with a wide grin. "Joey, dear, why don't you go out into the courtyard to soak up some sun rays for a while?" Joey sat on the couch expressionless and made no response.

I intervened, "Joey, I need to discuss something in private with David. Could you give us a few minutes, please?" Joey got up from the couch and headed toward the bathroom.

"Good god, Adriel, now that she's married to you, she bloody well ignores me. I hope you appreciate what you have there."

"It's not like that, David."

"Not like what? I've known her for years, and I've never seen her show anyone attention the way she does you."

"It's just an act. She's supposed to be my wife, so she stays in character."

"An act, eh? Well, she certainly has me fooled. She acts like a zombie when Evelyn is around, but when you are alone with her, she can't keep her hands off you."

"That's not true; she's been sitting on the couch this whole time."

"Well enough, let's see how she acts during siesta. Look, mate, there are two things in this world I know, physics and women. I'll make you a solemn promise. If you bollox things with Evelyn, I'll snatch her up so fast you'll think she got lost in that portal."

"Joey knows how I feel about Evelyn. She's just keeping me in tune with my character, that's all. Besides, this is none of your concern. We have a job to do."

"That we do, mate."

"So what don't you want Joey to hear?"

"I know Joey and how she operates. She's going to have a difficult time letting you go into that portal without her because she takes her job very seriously, and she can't protect you while you are in there. I have been struggling with the idea of sending her with you, but I need to talk to Annie first. I'm still working out the details of how I want to attach you to one another so that separation is impossible. I may need to conduct a few experiments with you first."

Lunch arrived, and I gathered the books and papers to stack them on a corner of the table. I dearly loved falafels and hummus. I could make an entire meal of them only. David brought a bottle of Viognier from the cellar. We had a wonderful lunch with some light conversation. As David and I discussed what we hoped to accomplish in our remaining hour, Joey stood behind my chair and rubbed my chest. David raised his eyebrows and looked over his glasses at me. I turned to look up at Joey, and she commented, "Your workouts are beginning to show, Adriel. Keep up the good work." She patted my chest and sat down in the chair next to me.

After David cleared the dishes, we broke for siesta. Joey took me by the hand and pulled me down on the couch in her arms. I squirmed to pull away, but she held me tightly. She whispered in my ear, "Don't you trust me?"

"Sometimes I think I do, but you never cease to confuse me."

"Trust me, Adriel. If we get arrested and interrogated, I want you to remember these moments." She gently kissed my left ear.

I awoke to Joey squeezing me tightly. "Time to get up," she whispered. I stretched and looked around. I could hear the street noises outside, but all was still where we lay on the couch together. I sat up and took a deep breath. I had quite a nap and felt refreshed. Joey got up to go to the bathroom. I roamed around the room studying some of the artifacts and tropical plants that adorned the area. It held such an ancient ambience. It seemed strange to be in a place that had been developed so many thousands of years ago. David strolled in from the hallway rubbing his eyes. He took a seat on a couch and invited me to join him. Joey returned and sat opposite David and me.

I turned to David. "David, the thing that concerns me the most out of all that you have explained so far is the shifting or disappearance of the portal that caused you to lose your last assistant. That appears to be an uncontrollable fatal flaw in your plan. Even if I do learn to navigate the fourth dimension, how could you possibly prevent me from getting lost when the portal shifts or closes?"

"That's a good question, Adriel. My hypothesis is that if you navigate in this three-dimensional world, it shouldn't matter. Remember the example of the two-dimensional people on the ribbon?"

"Sure I do."

"Well, imagine that one of those people navigated through the hole in the ribbon to the other side, and then the hole closed up. He would just be in another part of his own world without the ability to return through the hole."

"So that means that I could get stuck in another part of this world without making my way back here."

"In essence that is true, but we have a lot of experimenting to do first. We're not even close to solving that problem yet. Learning from past mistakes has been essential. I just cannot afford to make another serious error. I feel certain that this is my last chance. Can you imagine how science will be revolutionized if we can learn to navigate the fourth dimension? And not only navigate, but transport objects as well. It boggles my mind." David became so animated and excited as he talked about the science.

"Yeah, well I don't want to end up on Mars without a way to return."

"That is exactly why we need to hone your navigational skills to the most precise degree. We need to incorporate some navigational practice sessions along with your language studies. We'll try an exercise tomorrow morning in Giza."

I had a haunting idea that I wasn't ready to discuss with David because I was afraid that it would injure his ego, and I wouldn't be able to get an objective response out of him. He had spent so many years locating this one portal. He knew that others existed, but he had concentrated on just this one. What if a portal wasn't necessary to navigate? If one could enter the fourth dimension from any point on earth and navigate to any other location, the portal wouldn't be essential. If the two-dimensional people on his proverbial ribbon learned to navigate above and around the edge of the ribbon, a hole in the ribbon wouldn't be exclusive for extra-dimensional travel. From my perspective, the portal merely gave us evidence that entering the fourth dimension was possible. I had a hard time believing that it was a limitation. I certainly wasn't ready for that conversation with David just yet. I was contemplating the use of aku/aki in the placement of the stones on the pyramids. One thing that I had not yet observed due to being overwhelmed by what I saw in the fourth dimension was the aspect of gravity. Was gravity just a three-dimensional law of physics? I decided to focus on that tomorrow morning when we entered again.

Joey pushed me really hard at the gym. I couldn't understand the need to work out so hard. She was relentless. The gym was hidden beneath a dry cleaner that was a front for the company that employed Annette and Joey. We showered after our workout, and I could barely move to towel myself. I drudgingly donned my costume to return to the safe-house. I actually fell asleep in the limo ride to the cafe where we were dropped. She pulled me into the cafe and we ordered some espresso. As usual, she was engaged in a text conversation. I assumed that it was with Annette, but at this point I really didn't care. I just wanted to get back to my bed and collapse. She put her phone in her bag and reached over to squeeze my hand. I had come to realize that this was a sign to play along. I smiled and caressed her cheek. She smiled back to acknowledge that I understood. She leaned into me, and whispered, "Finish your coffee; we need to go." We took our leisurely stroll through the streets, but not directly to the safe-house. On a few occasions we stopped and talked about the weather as she discreetly scanned the area. It took an hour and a half to get to the apartment before she was convinced that we weren't being followed.

Once we were safely inside, I went to my room and changed clothes. Evelyn came into the room and locked the door. Oh, good lord, Evelyn, not now. I'm exhausted. I was afraid to refuse because I had been with Joey all day. Evelyn turned to me. "Adriel, I'm miserable! Annette won't let me go anywhere. I'm a prisoner here. I asked about the time she said I could dance at the Moulin Rouge, and she told me that was before there were attempts on your life. If I hadn't come along, I could go anywhere I wanted, but now that I'm with you, I can't be seen. She has been putting hats on me and keeping me from surveillance cameras. We have ducked in and out of here, and I'm getting cabin fever. How long is this going to go on?"

"I don't know, dear."

"I asked if I could be disguised like you are so that I could get out, but she said that it was too risky. She said that you had to be able to navigate, and they had put all of their resources toward disguising you and allowing you to go where you needed. She said something about you being trained. What kind of training did you get, and when did that happen?"

"It happened on the yacht. I know you think it was all fun and games, but believe me it wasn't. I can't disclose anything because it's mission related. Right now, I'm exhausted. Joey pushed me way too hard at the gym today, and I need to rest."

"She takes good care of you, doesn't she?" Evelyn had a surrendering look in her eye.

"Actually, she does. I really appreciate her, but sometimes it's difficult to keep it all straight. I need to take a nap before dinner. Order whatever you like. Annette will make it happen."

An hour later, Evelyn woke me and offered some ibuprofen with a glass of water. I gulped the tablets and sat up. I ached so badly. I took a deep breath and forced myself up from the bed. Evelyn had ordered cheese burgers and french fries. I just smiled to see some familiar food. The sandwiches were loaded with onion, pickle, tomato, lettuce and a mayonnaise sauce. They were excellent. Evelyn and I were enjoying our dinner while Annette and Joey stood facing one another and made certain motions slowly. It appeared that they were working on some sort of body mechanics.

As Evelyn and I were sharing some sparkling water, Annette pulled a bottle of French vodka from her bag. She took out two small glasses, and she and Joey started exchanging shots. It appeared that they were turning it into a contest to see who could last the longest. My money was on Joey, as I was sure she had at least twenty more pounds of body weight. After about half an hour, I began to realize that this wasn't a playful contest. Annette had a breathalyzer, and the two women were monitoring their blood alcohol levels as they drank. This was really an exercise in tolerance because they had to be able to handle large amounts of liquor in the field and continue to perform. The bottle was empty within the hour, and Annette pulled a second bottle from her bag. Evelyn gave me a worried look, and I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't very comfortable that my bodyguard was getting blasted. They were about half way through the second bottle when Annette checked Joey's blood alcohol level for the third time. She then instructed Evelyn and me to stand side by side about one shoulder width apart. She had us extend our arms straight in front of us with our palms outward. Annette stepped in next to Evelyn and took the same stance. Joey took one hop, twirled, and within less than two seconds hit each of our six outstretched palms smartly with her bare feet. She arched backward in midair and performed a one handed walkover to land on her feet again. Evelyn was in wide eyed astonishment. I, on the other hand, had seen Joey in real action, just not with three quarters of a bottle of vodka in her.

The next morning, Joey and I were once again with David west of the pyramids in Giza. He was diligently working with his sextant to locate the portal. We repositioned about fifty meters from where we started, and David was now looking for his visual identification of the portal. I saw it about ten paces to my left. Again, it appeared as a wavy pattern just like a thermal fuzziness between us and the pyramids. David had me embrace him as I had before, and I stepped with him through the portal, aku. As before, the world changed into a magnificent kaleidoscope of sounds and colors and shapes. It was more than I could comprehend. I followed his step back, aki. "Again," David shouted. We stepped aku, and I saw the same sights. "Aki!" We returned. He repeated the same exercise five more times. I noticed the alarm on Joey's face as she saw us disappear and reappear seven times. David then instructed, "Now, Adriel, you guide the step. Aku!" I took the step, and we were transferred through the portal once more. "Aki!" I stepped again, and we returned. "Again!" I practiced stepping aku/aki six more times. "Enough, Adriel, I think you have the motions mastered. Now, I'm going to try something risky, but necessary. I want you to step aku/aki one more time, only by yourself." I felt the gripping fear as I anticipated being in that realm alone. I took a deep breath and stepped aku. My heart was racing, and I began to be overwhelmed by all that I saw. I had to concentrate, and I forced myself to step aki. I was back.

"David! I almost didn't make it back! I was nearly overcome in there alone."

"You mean out there alone, Adriel. You stepped out, not in. Don't get that confused. You need to learn how to navigate, but that's enough for today."

As we walked toward the limousine which was parked beside the road, we saw a flashing light. My heart took a leap when I realized that a police car was parked behind the limo, and our driver, Alim, was being questioned by an officer. Joey was listening intently as we approached, and she held my arm tightly. Alim and the officer were speaking in Arabic, and I couldn't understand a word. Joey, however, was fluent and understood the conversation. The officer turned to us and addressed us in English. He asked what we were doing off the road. David showed him the sextant and explained that he was conducting an experiment. The officer asked for pertinent licenses, but David explained that he wasn't conducting a formal study. He wanted to try out his sextant to measure the pyramids. The officer started asking about Joey and me, and he wanted to see our papers. Joey reached into her bag and produced the necessary documents. He asked our purpose for visiting Egypt and how long we intended to stay. Joey did most of the talking, but I answered all questions pertaining to myself. It didn't appear to be serious, so I was beginning to calm down. He asked us to move on and returned to his car.

David gave a sigh of relief. "We're going to have to be more careful in the future. If anyone sees someone disappear, there will be real trouble. At least we made significant progress today. Congratulations, Adriel, on your ability to step aku/aki by yourself. I'm very encouraged at this point."

"David, every time we entered, the surroundings always looked the same. I thought that you said they changed every time."

"Actually, they do change from day to day. If you enter tomorrow, you won't see the same things that you saw today."

When we returned to David's residence, I spent a couple of hours studying the Latin vocabulary. Joey sat in a chair next to me with her head on my shoulder. I was intrigued by her endurance to stay in the same position for so long. David was absent for over an hour. He finally emerged, shaking his head at the sight of Joey nestled into my neck. "Come with me, I want to show you something." I arose from my chair to follow, and Joey trailed behind me. David had been reviewing hundreds of photographs that he had taken inside the pyramids many years ago. He set one of the photographs in front of me. "What does this look like to you?"

I studied the picture for a minute. It was taken in one of the chambers of the Great Pyramid and appeared to be a picture engraved on the wall of a man and a woman. "Well, it's clearly a man and a woman," I surmised.

"And what exactly are they doing," David asked.

I looked more closely. "Oh my! It appears that they are engaged in coitus."

"Precisely! And what do you see around them?"

I took another look. "I see the moon and what appears to be stars."

"Do you see anything familiar among the stars?" David handed me a magnifying glass.

I perused the photograph for a few seconds with the glass, and then I saw it. "That clearly appears to be Orion's Belt beneath the moon."

"That it is, mate. For years scientists misconstrued this engraving as an indication that the Egyptians believed in a sex life after death. Orion was considered to be the gateway into the afterlife. However, after all these years of study and discovery, I believe that it means something quite different. I think Orion symbolizes the entrance into the fourth dimension."

I was curious. "So where does the sexual aspect come into play?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a hypothesis. Do you remember what I discussed in private with you yesterday?"

"I do," I admitted.

"Well, tomorrow morning I intend to do a little experiment."

I was feeling very uncomfortable at this point. "I hope you're not suggesting..."

David interrupted, "Oh, good god, no, mate! I need to give it some more thought, but I have an idea. I'll show you in the morning." I gave a sigh of relief. I had halfway expected David to suggest that Joey and I engage in sexual union as we entered the portal.

Our daily routine was providing some structure and predictability for me. We began our day at the pyramids followed by an interesting breakfast. I would conduct my language studies with my lovely shadow. David and I would engage in more conversation concerning physics and philosophy, and then we would break for lunch and siesta and end the afternoon with more language exercises. I was finally getting comfortable with Latin, and it was now time for me to begin my Hebrew studies. David encouraged me that once I conquered the alphabet and the right to left direction of sentences, I would consider it all downhill from there. Hebrew is a simpler language, and unlike other active languages, hasn't changed much since ancient times. He did warn that the dots above and below the letters helped with vowel sounds and were like training wheels on a bicycle. In the real world, there would be no dots, and I would be expected to recognize the text without those crutches.

Being in the fourth dimension imposed great challenges. There was no concept of up or down, left or right. Direction became exponential, and trying to retain the concept of aki in that environment was difficult. It felt like I was gripping a trapeze bar sixty feet above the ground, and all the while my hands were slipping. It was frightening at its best. I had tried to analyze any presence of gravity, but just keeping aki in my head was difficult enough. If you can imagine jumping out of an airplane and plummeting toward the earth with a locked parachute strapped to your back and a key in your pocket to unlock that parachute as you sail through the air toward your doom, you can begin to feel the consternation of making sure that I returned via aki. It was no wonder to me that David had lost three assistants. I only hoped he wouldn't lose a fourth.

I sometimes wondered about his lost assistants. Did they starve to death in another realm? Were they basking in the Tahitian sun? Had they become aliens in another world? None of these questions could be answered, and I didn't want to find out first hand. I had always been intrigued by the silver umbilicus that I saw attached to my abdomen. I never really knew what it was. I just knew that somehow it tied my soul to my physical body. I knew that if it broke, my physical body would be dead, and my soul would be released. I remembered the descended souls that we watched on this earth for thousands of years. When they expired, their souls were ushered into an upward dimension that we could not see. I wondered if the fourth dimension was where they went. I really had no clue because I didn't really know how many upward dimensions existed. The fourth was mind boggling enough for me. I couldn't begin to imagine anything beyond that. When concept becomes reality, it is far more difficult to comprehend.

David's experiment with the coital aspect of his photograph proved to be successful. Instead of a sexual union, he entertained a particular physical relationship in regard to extra-dimensional travel that was more tasteful to me than the ancient portrayal on the wall of the Great Pyramid. He began by having me make a few steps alone aku/aki. He and Joey witnessed my disappearance and reappearance to and from this realm. He then took a sanitizing solution to clean his hands and had me open my mouth. I had to solemnly promise not to bite down when I entered the portal. By now, I was becoming a little more accustomed to the experience, and I promised to control my bite. He then put his fingers into my mouth and had me close my lips tightly. I was instructed to step aku, but this time he was not embracing me. As I did, he was transported through the portal as well. I felt an intense tingling in my mouth as we stood just inside the portal. David gave a little jerk, and I could tell by his facial expression that he felt the intense tingling as well. We spent several seconds looking independently in different directions. We had a lot more physical freedom by not being in an embrace. All at once, David stepped aki, and I effortlessly followed with him. The physical union of our bodies allowed only one of us to navigate instead of stepping in unison. I asked what would happen if we were joined in the fourth dimension, and one of us stepped aku while the other stepped aki. He strictly warned me not to step aku in the fourth dimension because he had no idea where I would land. He suspicioned that one of his assistants unthinkingly did just that.

Next, he took the sanitizing solution and cleaned Joey's hands. He had Joey put her fingers into my mouth. The three-dimensional aspect of that union alone was electrifying. He had me step aku, and as Joey and I entered the portal I felt an orgasmic rush that consumed me. My head was spinning, and I feared that I might lose consciousness. Joey wrapped her free arm around my waist and pulled me tightly against her body, burying her head into my neck. I was struggling to concentrate and finally was able to step aki. David had a concerned look on his face, and I saw his relief as he witnessed our return. I pulled Joey's hand from my mouth and held her by her shoulders. Tears were streaming down her face. She threw her arms around me, buried her head into my neck and sobbed. Joey and I had experienced the most exhilarating sensation together that cannot be described in words nor comparison.

That experience was the first time that I ever saw any real evidence of emotion from Joey. It did wear off, and she appeared to return to her unemotional state, but it was a nagging concern for me. I really didn't want to navigate that realm with her. It seemed far too dangerous to me. I refused to try the experiment with her again. David was very disappointed, but I convinced him that it was too risky and that he could easily lose us both. I still had not discussed my former idea with him about navigating without the portal. One of the frustrating aspects of my life was that I was never alone. Either Joey or Evelyn was always by my side. Evelyn seldom let me shower alone anymore, and Joey clung to me whenever Evelyn wasn't around. I needed some time to think and experiment on my own, but I had little hope that would happen. I still wasn't convinced that I would find the least bit of success in any of this. I hadn't received any direction, and David left little to no opportunity for faith in our exercises.

Although we had discovered several interesting characteristics of the portal, I didn't think we were making much progress concerning the navigational aspects. We hadn't ventured beyond the aku step outside of our world. David was correct that our surroundings did appear different from day to day. I wasn't seeing any benefit from stepping aku. If the ancients had any purpose for the portal, I would expect to find some evidence either in picture or writing. The sexual representation in the photo that David had presented to me made sense. After experiencing the sensation that I had with Joey's hand in my mouth, I couldn't imagine what a sexual union would produce in that realm. I couldn't accept that the portal was only used as a sensory tool. There had to be a navigational aspect that I was missing. My experience with Joey was far different from the one I had with David, but then again, anything I ever experienced with Joey was sensational. I needed a baseline test. I was toying with the idea of using Evelyn, but couldn't bear the thought of endangering her in any way.

I had decided to ask David if I could review all of his photographs. He put his hands on his hips and chuckled a bit. He then led me into the basement past the wine cellar to a room lined with shelves. They were loaded with hundreds of volumes of photographs that he had collected for over two decades. There were countless thousands of photos of hieroglyphs and sculpted pictures taken from pyramids all over the area and other ancient structures. He admitted that there was a considerable amount of redundancy as they were all catalogued and grouped by different categories. There were volumes by ancient structure. Some were grouped by the type of subject. Others were identified by connotative aspects. It was overwhelming, but I didn't see any other alternative at this point. I didn't understand hieroglyphics, so I skirted the photos of writings. I went through volume after volume, seeking an understanding of what the portal might have meant to the Egyptians. If it were so important, I would expect more evidence. I spent hours and hours poring through volume after volume. I kept a vigilant eye toward any representation of Orion or the moon. There were precious few photos that I thought could offer any clues. I saw depictions of the stars and the sun, but no definite images of Orion. I finally found one of a naked man and woman standing side by side holding hands with the moon beneath their feet and Orion above their heads. It was the only other picture that seemed related to the one that David had shown me. David had forgotten that such a photo even existed. He was entertaining thoughts of Joey and I entering the portal naked and holding hands. I refused any such notion. The premise seemed far too infantile to me. It had to possess a greater significance.

I had decided to discuss my day with Evelyn before we went to sleep tonight. Although I wasn't supposed to share mission critical information with her, I decided that if she were willing, I could make her part of the mission itself. She would then become an agent, and we could share the responsibility of finding the mine together. I realized that it would jeopardize her safety, and the thought of Joey's body entwined with mine on the couch during siesta presented a serious problem. I wondered if Joey would act that way around Evelyn, but I was afraid to find out. Evelyn couldn't stand the sight of Joey even touching me. She would lose her mind to see how Joey treated me when she wasn't around. Plus, Joey and I now shared a euphoric bond that I could never explain to Evelyn. The more thought I gave it, the less willing I was to involve Evelyn. Still, I had a theory, but I couldn't test it without a considerable risk, and I had too much to lose. I still had the nagging threat that if Evelyn threw in the towel on our marriage, David would whisk her away to parts unknown. I was on thin ice, and summer was coming.

David wanted Evelyn, and he wouldn't give two shakes if my marriage were in jeopardy. Joey was emotionally oblivious to my situation, and she wouldn't dare let me out of her sight because she was protecting me. Evelyn was insanely jealous of Joey and was barely hanging on knowing that Joey never left my side. There was only one person to whom I could explain my dilemma. I went into the bathroom, locked the door, and dialed Annette's number. I could hear it ring in the living area. "Annette, I have a problem that I don't know how to solve, and I need to speak with you at length without David, Evelyn, or Joey present."

"No problem, Adriel, I'll tell Evelyn and Joey that I need to speak with you in private. Meet me in my bedroom as soon as you're ready."

I finished in the bathroom and headed for Annette's room. She closed and locked the door behind me. "What's the problem, Adriel?"

"David and I have discovered a possible lead to the navigation of the portal via some photos that he took many years ago. They are engraved depictions of an Egyptian man and woman who are obviously sexually active with one another, and they are exhibited with the moon and constellation of Orion. David believes that the astral connotation is not attributed to the afterlife as some have thought, but instead pertains to the fourth-dimensional portal that he has located. We performed an experiment with Joey and I entering the portal, and there was a severe emotional reaction. I got very disoriented, and I was afraid that I couldn't make it back through the portal. I have since refused to try the experiment again with Joey. I am toying with the idea of having Evelyn enter the portal with me, since she is my wife because there may be a significance in the relationship aspect of navigating the dimension. There are two problems with getting Evelyn involved. First, it will jeopardize her safety, and secondly, I'm afraid for her to see Joey and me in the field together because Joey and I are very close."

Annette thought for a minute before speaking. "I need to ask you something, and you need to be completely honest with me."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Are you in love with Joey?"

"Goodness no! I'm in love with Evelyn. That's part of the problem. I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with Evelyn because of Joey's attention."

"Let me rephrase the question. I know that you love Evelyn, but are you in love with Joey?"

"Of course not! I already explained that. Why do you keep asking me?"

"Are you telling me that you can't love your wife on one hand and be in love with Joey on the other?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. They are diametrically opposed to one another."

Annette thought for another moment. "What if you had a sexual relationship with Joey and entered the portal with her?"

"I see two problems there. First, I wouldn't do that to Evelyn. Secondly, I don't think the photographs that I found at David's are really about sex. I think they are about the marriage relationship itself. If my suspicions are correct, then two people who are merely sexually active with one another won't be sufficient to navigate in the portal. It requires the closest bond between a man and a woman, and that bond is marriage. Evelyn fulfills all of those requirements, both physically and relationally. I need a way to test it without interference from Joey."

"Well, Adriel, I certainly didn't anticipate this." Annette gave a sigh and stood up. "There's a lot you don't know, Adriel, and it's best that you don't. I can't deny your request, so in order to perform your experiment I will need to escort Evelyn to the site of the portal. You two should not travel together anymore. It's too dangerous. You need to discuss this with David because it's really up to him. If he thinks it's a viable experiment, then I will bring Evelyn to the site when David is ready, and I will bring her back here when you are done."

"What if my theory is correct, and I need Evelyn to navigate the portal?"

"Unfortunately, that raises another problem. We need to be able to send Joey with you, but first let's see if your theory is correct."

The next day I explained to David that I thought we needed to conduct an experiment with Evelyn and me entering the portal together as husband and wife. If my theory was correct, I should be able to ascertain if there was any validity to the relational aspect within the portal. He was reluctant at first, but the more we discussed the possibilities, the more compliant he was with my plan. I told him that I would discuss the possibility with Evelyn in the evening because it was ultimately up to her if she wanted to participate. On one hand, I was hoping that my theory was correct, but on the other, I was concerned with how I would ever navigate with Evelyn and have Joey tag along. One step at a time.

Joey and I returned later than usual to the apartment due to working out at the gym. Evelyn was acting very insecure, and I needed to get her alone to explain my plan to her. I took her into our room as I changed out of my costume. I explained to her about the photographs that David had in his cellar and how I thought they pertained to a husband and wife relationship. It took over an hour to describe the portal and the history that led to its discovery. Evelyn's head was spinning, and I hated to dump all of this on her at once, but I needed to know if there was any validity to my hypothesis. All it required from her was to follow Annette to the sight, stand in for an experiment, and then come back to the apartment. It required no action on her part. I did explain with as much detail as I could what the experience within the portal was like, and that it would be by far the weirdest thing she had ever encountered. I wanted to minimize her exposure as much as possible. I told her she could keep her eyes closed if she wanted, but I wasn't sure that eyelids would hide the extra-dimensional characteristics. As much experience as I did have within the portal, there was so much I still didn't know. Evelyn agreed to do it, but I was afraid it was more from boredom than furthering science. She was dying to get out of the apartment and see the pyramids.

The next morning after breakfast, I had a discussion with David about entering the portal with Evelyn. He had given my theory a lot of thought, and he agreed with me that it was feasible, and Evelyn was the perfect candidate to accompany me. However, he was concerned that having five people in that area at the necessary hour might draw too much attention. He needed to obtain the proper permit from the Ministry of the Interior. The permit should easily be granted because we weren't altering anything, but merely observing and making calculations concerning the pyramids of Giza from afar. He estimated five days to obtain the permit. As I studied that morning, David left to make the appropriate application. I was getting annoyed with Joey because she insisted on holding me while I studied. I asked her to go rest on the couch several times before she let me loose. My Hebrew studies were progressing well, and David was correct that it was a simple language. I needed to get used to the connotative aspect of verb tense, but it wasn't difficult. I continued to review the Latin along with the Hebrew, and I thought that I would be ready in about a week. David had some extensive tests that he reserved for me to prove if I were ready. My confidence was building by the day.

My routine held steady for the next three days. It was breakfast, discussion, study, lunch, siesta, Joey, workouts, dinner, Evelyn, sleep, costumes, limo rides. David had obtained the permit for our experiment in Giza, and he was nearly giddy with anticipation. My apprehension was building as we drove to Giza before dawn. Joey was holding me closely in the back of the limo. No one said a word. Alim pulled off on the side street, and David, Joey, and I hopped the short wall to head across the sand toward the pyramids. David took his sextant out of the case and began making adjustments. Joey held my arm tightly. David started his calculations, and after a few minutes he began texting on his phone. He looked up and announced, "They are almost here, and once Evelyn arrives we need to execute this experiment as quickly as possible." I saw the headlights of a car in the distance. The car stopped, and I could see two people emerge and hop over the wall. I tried to pull away from Joey, but she held my hand securely. As Annette and Evelyn approached, I could see Evelyn staring at Joey's hand that held mine. I could sense her ire the closer she got.

David began directing everyone as though we were practicing for a stage play. He took Annette by the shoulders and placed her in position. He then directed Joey to stand next to Annette. He had Evelyn take my hand as he stood in front of us. "Adriel, can you see the portal?"

"Yes, I can. It's behind you about three meters."

"Good! Lead Evelyn through the portal and come right back." I could feel David's excitement as I led Evelyn over to the portal.

Evelyn began to resist as she nervously asked, "Good lord, Adriel, what is that?"

"It's the portal, dear. Just relax, and whatever you do, don't let loose of my hand." I waved my hand into the fuzzy portal to show Evelyn that it was benign. I looked over at her and gazed into her eyes. "Are you ready?" She nodded. "Brace yourself!"

I stepped aku. My astonishment was far greater than Evelyn's. We both looked around in wonderment. There was no kaleidoscope of shape, color, and sound. It was totally silent. There weren't hundreds of people milling about. No one was in sight. I had no fear with a gripping, desperate attempt to remember how to step aki. It was serene. We were standing on a golden highway that stretched in both directions as far as we could see. There were trees with blossoms that looked like precious stones and sparkled in the bright light. I saw no sun or moon or stars. We couldn't ascertain what the source of light was, but it was exceedingly bright. We could still faintly see the pyramids and our colleagues standing in the sand. Evelyn grasped my upper arm. "This isn't what you described to me, Adriel."

"No, it is not," I admitted. "Evelyn, we have hit the mother lode. My theory was correct." I turned to her and looked deeply into her eyes. "Tell no one what you have seen here. Just say that it was the most incredible experience that you have ever had, and that you can't explain it."

"Well, that's very true," Evelyn conceded.

"Do you smell something?" I was sniffing the air.

Evelyn gave a few whiffs. "Faintly, it smells sort of like gardenia."

"Listen, we can't let them know what we experienced here, and we need to conduct more experiments. This has raised more questions for me. Evelyn, this is the first sign of progress to me, and I think the Creator is going to show me where to go from here. Now, hold on, we're going to step back into our world."

I stepped aki, and the serenity turned to chaos. Joey leaped forward and grabbed me in a tight embrace. Evelyn jerked on Joey's right arm. "Get your hands off my husband!" Annette pulled Joey off of me and held her tightly. David grabbed a hold of Evelyn, and I pulled her from David into my arms.

David then snatched the sextant case from the sand and exclaimed, "We have to get out of here!" He began running toward our limousine. Annette dragged Evelyn off toward their awaiting car, while Joey and I ran closely after David. Once we were seated in the limo, Joey grabbed me and pulled me close, burying her head in my neck. I looked over at David in bewilderment, and he held his forefinger to his lips to keep me silent. Joey was practically climbing on top of me, as I was trying to understand what had just happened. It took Joey a solid hour to regain her composure and return to her abnormal self. David and I stood in the dining area assessing the event. He had never experienced anything like that before. "Adriel, I'm not sure what to make of this. When you and Evelyn stepped into the portal, there was an overwhelming sense of loss, like an emotional vacuum. I think we all felt it. This has never happened before."

"Actually, David, it appeared to happen to Joey when she entered the portal with me. She had a severe emotional reaction that lasted about an hour. Do you remember her crying after we stepped back out of the portal?"

"Truthfully, Adriel, I think I missed that. I was standing behind her, and quite frankly I think she always shows you an exceeding level of attention."

I glanced over at Joey. She appeared to be napping on the couch which was very unusual outside of siesta. David insisted on learning what I had experienced inside the portal with Evelyn. I explained that I wanted to defer my assessment until after a few more experiments with Evelyn. I did give him some encouragement that I thought we were onto something significantly positive, but I needed more time to determine what it was. In reality, I was anxiously awaiting my evening with Evelyn because I needed to discuss several things with her behind our locked door. Countless ideas were swimming in my head, and I needed to get her onboard if I were to continue with her.

Joey and I had another exhausting workout. This gave me a good excuse to spend more time in my room with Evelyn due to my apparent fatigue. I entered the room and locked the door. Evelyn was sitting on the bed, and she was obviously very upset. "I can't do this, Adriel! So help me God, if I had a knife on me this morning, I would have plunged it into Joey's heart without hesitation."

"I know. David explained the severe emotional reaction that everyone felt when we disappeared and reappeared. We don't know what caused it, but you all experienced it. I never felt any different, so I can't relate to it. There are a lot of factors here that I don't understand, but I don't want to get distracted. You and I have a reasonable chance of navigating that portal, but I have a lot of other ideas as well. I could exhaust you with the explanations, but I would rather conduct various experiments and just explain each one as we try some different things. I need for you to keep this all a secret because if things go the way I hope they go, I don't want anyone to know what we are doing. You also need to calm down because Joey is just a minor distraction to you right now. We have a much greater challenge ahead."

"Yeah, well I'd like to choke that minor distraction right now."

"Evelyn, you need to trust me. I'm not getting involved with her. If you let that get to you, we won't make the progress we need. So, if she holds my hand, or hugs me, or kisses my cheek, don't worry. If my ultimate theory proves to be true, we might escape this whole mess far more easily than I ever thought possible. However, we have a long way to go before I can prove that, and it will require some significant risk. I will warn you, if I'm wrong about this, we could get lost forever out there."

"I don't care. As long as I'm with you, and Joey is nowhere around, we can get lost anywhere as far as I'm concerned."

I smiled. "That wasn't exactly the motivation I was hoping for, but it'll do." Evelyn tackled me onto the bed. She became very passionate and very vocal as she often did when she was marking her territory.

David had decided to wait one more day to try another experiment with Evelyn. He felt that everyone's emotions were far too volatile, and we needed another day to recuperate. If I could keep Evelyn subdued, I believed that I had a good chance of making significant progress. Evelyn was the only person I could trust in this entire mission because she was the only one who truly loved me. Everyone else was motivated by money, and that would only hinder my progress. I remembered what David said about the keeper of the mine, and that I may be the only one who would be allowed to find it. Just then, an idea struck me. What if the heightened emotional stress at the portal was a deterrent for those who could not rise above it and live by faith? Perhaps faith did trump science in this arena because I could see how the entire mission could unravel due to emotional tension. If Evelyn had been affected to the degree that she described, then it made perfect sense to me. Evelyn was the last person in this world that I would suspect of murder under any circumstance, but yesterday she would have killed Joey in an instant. Joey was normally oblivious to emotion, but the effects of the portal turned her into an emotional mess that rivaled a spurned teenage girl. There appeared to be a truly inherent deterrent by the portal to resist anyone from successfully navigating unless they had a solid relationship with a spouse who was willing to journey with him. Evelyn and I had a very close relationship, but Joey was the fly in the ointment. Evelyn had to overcome her fear and disdain of Joey if we were going to be allowed to succeed. We needed to talk because I couldn't afford another setback.

That night I spent a considerable amount of time explaining to Evelyn that I thought the portal was resisting. I described the attributes that I believed were necessary to successfully navigate, and it was going to require Evelyn to have a good standing with Joey. If she couldn't forgive and understand Joey's position, then I feared that the danger we faced in the portal would be multiplied. We couldn't change Joey's behavior, but we could control our own thoughts and actions. I needed for Evelyn to rise above her contention with Joey. I wasn't sure she would. Once again, I was not in control. We all have free will, and even the Creator does not interfere in that arena. We were scheduled for another experiment before dawn tomorrow. I encouraged Evelyn to get a good night's sleep and settle her heart toward Joey.

I was more nervous than usual the next morning. I wanted so much to advance in my endeavor, but I had no idea which direction this would take. Once again, David, Joey, and I were traipsing across the sand toward the stone pyramids. I kept looking back to see if Annette and Evelyn had arrived. Joey was clinging to me as usual. David performed his magic with his sextant, and we shifted position about one hundred meters. I continued to look around, and Joey laid her head on my shoulder. This wasn't going to go well. David had located the portal and sent a text. Several minutes later, I saw Annette and Evelyn approaching in the distance. Joey still had her head on my shoulder. I was hoping that Evelyn remembered what I said about the portal resisting. I studied Evelyn's face as she and Annette came closer. She looked stoic and determined as she walked over and took my free hand. Annette removed Joey from my shoulder, and I breathed a sigh of relief. David ushered Evelyn and me over to the portal. I looked over at her and smiled. "Ready?" Evelyn smiled back and nodded, and for the second time in our lives together we stepped aku.

My experience up to this point had been witnessing a different environment inside the portal each day that I had visited. However, as Evelyn and I stood side by side after stepping aku, what we saw was totally reminiscent of our experience forty-eight hours ago. The golden highway stretched out in both directions. I looked back at our crew that was still standing in the sand and awaiting our return. I turned to Evelyn and asked, "Are you ready for an adventure?" She smiled, hugged my right arm, and eagerly nodded. I slid my left foot forward about three inches and looked around. Much to my surprise, the pyramids were now much further in the distance. I announced to Evelyn, "I think this concludes today's experiment." She gave me a puzzled look as I stepped aki.

Evelyn spun her head around trying to gain a perspective of our surroundings. "Adriel, what are the pyramids doing way over there?"

I smiled. "I think I'm learning to navigate," I explained.

"But we didn't go anywhere. How did we navigate?"

"I slid my foot a few inches, and it had a magnified effect on our relationship to the three-dimensional world. So far, my theories are proving to be correct. Unfortunately, I now have to admit to David that I am learning to navigate because we are going to have to walk back to where they are. I would imagine they are all very worried by now because we haven't returned."

I looked around and saw that we were standing near a Marriott hotel. I estimated that we were about one and a half kilometers from our original point. Evelyn and I started jogging southward in the direction where I thought everyone was waiting. I led Evelyn to the right, which was to the west of the pyramids. The sun was just beginning to give some light to our surroundings, and we could see Annette, Joey and David standing together talking in the distance. I yelled as loudly as I could and started waving my arms. "Over here!"

I saw David look over and break into a run. We ran toward one another and swung each other in a celebratory embrace. We were laughing and crying at the same time. David began jumping up and down, "You've done it, mate! You've done it!" Evelyn caught up with us, and I could see Annette struggling to hold Joey back from me. Finally, Joey broke free, ran, and grabbed me. We all ended up in a group hug, jumping up and down. David suggested that we go back to his place and celebrate. I couldn't help but be amazed at the stark difference between everyone's behavior today compared to two days prior. David didn't want us lingering any longer. Annette and Evelyn headed toward their car, while Joey, David, and I walked back to retrieve his sextant. We all met at David's for another interesting breakfast.

Evelyn and I sat together on one couch sipping our coffee. Annette and Joey were enjoying their coffee on another couch, and David had his cup of tea as he sat cross legged in a chair. It reminded me of the night that David got a little drunk and loose lipped. I was hoping for a better experience. David put his cup on a side table and smacked his hands together. "By damn, Annie, you were right about Adriel!" David was shaking his forefinger at Annette. "I'll admit, I had my doubts, but you were right." Annette just smiled and nodded. Evelyn rubbed my leg and proudly smiled at me. I really couldn't take credit for this. Once again, I felt as though I were just a paintbrush in this whole artistic work that the Creator was doing. I would wait to share that later with Evelyn. David rubbed his palms together and carefully enunciated every word, "I have been patient through breakfast, but now I want to know how you did it, Adriel." David leaned forward in his chair.

I was at a serious crossroads at this point. I knew the next step would be to get Joey to navigate with us, but I had to prevent that. I wasn't prepared, so I decided to sidestep the explanation. "David, as I said before, I need more experiments to test my hypotheses. What you witnessed today was the slightest of experiments. To describe how I traveled over a kilometer isn't the issue. This is incredibly dangerous, and I need to run some tests with Evelyn in the portal to gain a better understanding. I'm just thankful that we didn't end up in the Nile River. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." David still thought that Evelyn and I saw what he had seen in the portal. We were keeping it a secret at this point because I was afraid of what might happen if David realized the stability and serenity that existed in the portal while Evelyn was by my side. I was just scratching the surface. I needed to conduct some experiments alone with Evelyn, but that would require a drastic move on our part. I needed more practice. "Let's go out again tomorrow morning so that I can try some more navigation with Evelyn. We're still in our infancy stage right now."

"By damn, Adriel, you just might bloody well end up on Mars if you aren't careful. I hope you know what you're doing."

"That's why I need more practice. Be patient. Tell me, David, how did you learn to step aku and aki?"

Annette turned her head and gave David a stern look. David hung his head and then looked up at me. "Well, mate, that's a story that I cannot tell."

# **CHAPTER SEVEN**

# **_RENEGADE_**

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****

Evelyn and I were poised to start our third journey into the portal. I had devised a battery of tests that I wanted to perform. Many would be in rapid succession. It was a disturbing experience for our crew, as Evelyn and I would disappear and reappear instantaneously many times in their sight. My main concern was that I was taking calculated risks with these experiments, and one fatal flaw would bring it all to an end. It felt much like being five stories up in a burning building and deciding whether to jump or stay. We needed to jump, but it could cost us our lives. I held Evelyn's hand and stepped aku. We were standing on the golden highway. I announced that we were going to release our hands from one another. We did, and immediately we were standing back in our world in front of the portal. Before anyone could respond, I took Evelyn's hand again and stepped aku. I looked down on the golden highway, and slid one foot about two inches to the left. The external scenery changed, but I could still see the pyramids a little further away. I released Evelyn's hand, and we were standing in front of the portal again. I immediately grabbed her hand and stepped aku. I took my left foot and rotated it a couple of inches. We were now looking down on the pyramids from about fifty meters above. I released Evelyn's hand, and we consistently returned to the portal in our world.

Our crew was now somewhat agitated, and I asked for David's sextant. He bewilderingly handed me the case, and I heard his objection as I grabbed Evelyn's hand and stepped aku. I was holding the sextant. I placed the sextant on the highway and released Evelyn's hand. We returned again. David started screaming about the missing sextant, and Evelyn and I journeyed through the portal the next second. The sextant was sitting on the highway where I had left it. I picked up the case and stepped aki. I turned to David, presented him the sextant, and saw the immediate relief on his face. He grasped the case and held it tightly in his arms as he gave me an injured look. I smiled and told everyone that I needed some time to process what we had discovered, and our two groups disbanded.

Once we got to David's residence, he released a barrage of questions on me more rapidly than I would have been able to answer even if I intended to do so. I put him off and explained that it was much too early to make any determinations about what I had discovered so far. I didn't want to assume much, and I needed to conduct a second battery of tests in a couple of days. He resented being at my mercy and sulked like a child most of the day. Joey characteristically stuck to me like glue as I finished my last Hebrew lesson. Tomorrow was testing day. I had kept abreast of my Latin and Hebrew vocabulary, and I felt confident that I had a sufficient knowledge of both languages that rivaled my Greek abilities. I was showing evidence of primitive navigational acumen in the fourth dimension, and I was wondering when David was going to disclose my destination.

I had determined that I could take objects with me, leave them, and retrieve them later. I was toying with the idea of a test like a trail of breadcrumbs on the golden highway. If I could leave markers on the highway that corresponded to geographical locations on this earth, I might be able to leave a type of map on the road to navigate and find my way back to the pyramids. I also wanted to test gravitational aspects of the fourth dimension. This was more of a curiosity than a navigational endeavor. The fourth dimension was not only beautiful and serene, but it felt very comfortable. Everything there seemed effortless, and I wondered what a twenty pound weight would feel like in that environment. I didn't discuss my ideas with David, and I could tell that he was feeling somewhat abandoned and out of control with his project. I confided candidly with Evelyn, but no one else. I had learned to trust only her.

Evelyn seemed much more confident and in control the past few days. I hadn't seen any mood swings or anger. She was somewhat reticent, but not alarmingly so. She was kind, understanding, and affectionate, but not with the agenda that she had before. She wasn't acting like she needed to prove anything to Joey. I surmised that she was gaining security in the fact that she and I were experiencing this amazing adventure together, and no one else could interfere. We were playing our cards very close to our vest because I was sure that if our crew knew how things really were, they would try to usurp their authority and find a way to dispose of us. I intended to keep them afraid of the portal. Besides, none of them were married, and I didn't see how they could possibly discover what Evelyn and I were hiding.

Finally, it was language testing day. I had no idea that it would be so extensive. I was not allowed to refer to text or notes. All had to be answered from my memory. There were some grammar and vocabulary questions, but it was mostly translations from Latin and Hebrew into English. It took me six hours to complete the test. I did get to take breaks for meals and siesta. I found it amusing that we never skipped a meal or missed a siesta time. They were staples in our daily routine. I had to admit, amongst all the chaos in my life it was comforting to rely on these stable aspects of my day. I had managed to finish the test by the normal end of our study time. David was going to grade the test during the evening hours. Joey and I packed up to leave and stopped off at the gym.

That evening, I reviewed my plans with Evelyn that I intended for the next morning. I had brought a twenty pound free weight from the gym with me that I was going to use to test the gravitational aspects. No one ever questioned what I did because they had no real understanding of the fourth dimension. I had a small notepad of paper and a pen to create little notes to leave on the highway that would help us recognize points of interest along the way and allow us to return to our origination point. The one essential aspect of fourth dimensional travel that I was yet to discover was how to step aki at another geographical location on this earth and then somehow return aku to the golden highway. That was a risk which I was not yet ready to take.

We all assembled west of the pyramids in the morning. The time shifted from day to day. We had to rely on David to perform his calculations in order to locate the portal in time and space. I began to wonder if leaving markers along the golden highway would be of any use. Would they hold their same geographical representation from day to day, or would they shift as the portal did? We were now ready for our second round of tests. I picked up the twenty pound weight with my left hand and grabbed Evelyn's hand with my right. We stepped out of this world. I chuckled and yelled, "Catch," as I threw the weight above our heads.

Evelyn frantically grabbed for the falling weight to snatch it out of the air. "How much did you say this weighs?" Evelyn was astonished.

"In our world it weighs twenty pounds, but here it feels like a feather weight. Keep hold of my hand and jump up and down."

Evelyn bent her knees to jump and thrust upward with her legs. Her feet never left the ground. I was puzzled. I took a risk and tried the same exercise. My feet wouldn't leave the ground either. "Evelyn, gravity and inertia don't work the same in the fourth dimension. I'm not sure why, but they don't. We aren't floating away, but I don't feel heavy. I wish we had a weight scale with us, but I feel certain that it wouldn't measure our earthly weight."

Evelyn giggled. "I might like it here more than I thought." I just smiled. Evelyn wasn't the least bit overweight, but she was a typical woman in that regard.

"You know, I had entertained the idea that the Egyptians used this method to build the pyramids. With our technology that we possess today, we could not reproduce the pyramids with the same geometrical perfection as they did thousands of years ago. If those stones had been mobilized in this dimension, they could easily have transported and positioned them into place with pinpoint accuracy. One thing puzzles me about the twenty pound weight. I was able to throw it into the air, and it acted as though it succumbed to gravity and inertia, but when you caught the weight, it didn't appear to have the same properties. Evelyn, toss the weight a few feet in front of us on the highway." Evelyn lobbed the dumbbell outward. It fell as it would have on earth, but when it hit the highway, it didn't bounce. It appeared to stick motionlessly to the golden surface. I was learning a lot about this newly discovered environment, but none of my experiments appeared to help in my quest to navigate our world.

I pulled the notepad from my pocket and handed it to Evelyn. It was time to go exploring. I scribbled "start" on a sheet of paper, tore it from the pad, and placed it directly under my left foot. We had to maintain our grip on one another's hand to remain here, so she became my right hand as I utilized my left. I looked around. There was never an indication of wind or even a slight breeze here. I turned to Evelyn and instructed, "Blow in my face!" Evelyn took a deep breath and blew toward me. I felt no movement of air. We were still breathing, but our breath was not transferred through the space of this atmosphere. This was a most unusual environment. I was then confident that my notes wouldn't blow away. I scribbled the number "two" on another note, took one step and placed it under my left foot. We scanned our surroundings of the three-dimensional world. We saw nothing but water. I couldn't determine if we were in the Mediterranean or another large body of water. There was no way to know. I scribbled "three" on another paper and took a step, placing the note under my left foot again. We looked circumspectly. There were mountains and trees and a stream cascading over rocks. I had no clue what continent this was. My exercise seemed hopeless. I looked at Evelyn and shook my head. "Let's go back." We took the two steps back to my first note. I had to position my foot in exactly the same location as I had when I entered. It took a while to get our surroundings to match, and I stepped aki.

Our crew was all over us with a display of relief. They thought that we had gotten lost in the portal. I asked how long we were out there, and David said that it had been forty-seven minutes. I didn't see how it could possibly have been that long. They sensed my disappointment with my experiment, but nobody questioned me at the time. Joey was extra attentive on our ride back to David's place. I dismissed it as the effects of the portal on the awaiting crew. I was getting used to her pseudo affection for me, and it didn't influence me as it had before. I kept thinking of the experiments and the challenges, and I felt like I was standing in front of a brick wall. I wasn't making any real progress. David perceived my detachment as I was thinking of what my next move should be. I didn't want to discuss my consternation with him because the less he knew, the better. After breakfast, I spent the morning reviewing vocabulary and translating more sentences from Hebrew to English until it was time for lunch.

Just before siesta, David explained that he thought it was time for Joey to accompany Evelyn and me into the portal. If we were going to learn how to navigate, we needed to do it with Joey. I did my best to push back on his suggestion, but I couldn't produce a viable argument against it. Joey insisted on holding me face to face during our nap time. I didn't feel sleepy and spent the entire time thinking of how we could introduce Joey into the portal. I certainly didn't want her fingers in my mouth with Evelyn by my side. I wasn't sure at this point if that was even necessary. David made certain assumptions about the fourth dimension that were probably not true. Just because some of them worked didn't make them essential. If I held Joey with my left hand, then I wouldn't have a free hand if I needed it. I guess we just needed to run some tests with Joey to see what would work. However, my biggest concern was what Joey would say when she saw the golden highway. That was a cat that I didn't want to let out of the bag.

As I lay on the couch, pressed against her body, I caressed her hair. I truly loved Joey, not in a sensual way, but as a close friend. I cared for her, and I felt close to her. Her disorder was a comfort to me because it was often the only way that I could resist the thought of her wanting me. I was amused how much that affected my feelings. Knowing that she didn't feel emotion helped to disarm the affection that she poured out on me all day long. I still didn't want Evelyn to know how close Joey was to me. Evelyn had made great strides in accepting Joey, and I didn't want her to regress.

I explained to Evelyn that night that David wanted Joey to accompany us through the portal. Evelyn wasn't nearly as concerned as I was. Her main question was how we would be able to bring her along. I had never told Evelyn about how Joey and I did it before, and I wasn't willing to attempt that method again. I suggested that Joey hold Evelyn's hand as we stepped aku and see what happened. Evelyn agreed, and then we got ready for bed. It took me hours to fall asleep because I couldn't help but think what David would do if he found out that I had been keeping valuable information from him. Once that level of trust diminished, I wouldn't have the freedom I needed to do what I had been planning all along.

The moment of truth had arrived. Joey, Evelyn, and I stood before the portal. Evelyn was holding hands between Joey and me. I took the famous step toward the portal, and we went nowhere. David impatiently approached, took Joey's hand from Evelyn, walked her to my left side, and put her hand in mine. I stepped again, and there we were on the golden highway. I looked over at Evelyn, and all at once I heard Joey cry out, "Adriel, don't leave me! Please come back!" I turned to Joey, and she was on her knees crying uncontrollably. She called out my name over and over. I tried to talk to her as I held her hand, but she didn't respond.

Evelyn stepped around and tried to get Joey's attention, but to no avail. Evelyn looked soulfully into my eyes, "Adriel, do something! She's being tortured." I was at a loss. Evelyn stooped down as she continued to hold my hand and rubbed Joey's back to try to comfort her. Several things happened in that instant. Immediately, hundreds of people became visible to us wearing white robes. I felt an electric shock from Evelyn's palm to mine, and Evelyn had a faint white glow all around her. The people that we saw were men and women holding hands, two by two, and walking on the golden highway. They appeared to be husband and wife as Evelyn and I. A man and woman crossed the highway toward us. They wore exceedingly white robes. Their head, hands, and feet were bare. They had no hair whatsoever, not even eyebrows. Evelyn stood and faced them as they approached. All the while, Joey was crying and screaming out my name. They never spoke a word. The man took the palm of his right hand and gently placed it against Evelyn's left cheek. I saw her eyes widen and change in an indescribable manner. The man and woman then took our wrists and pulled our hands apart. Instantaneously, we were standing in our world facing the portal, and Joey was on her knees sobbing. I pulled her up and held her tightly as she cried on my shoulder. She frantically began kissing my neck, lips, eyes, forehead, cheeks, and ears. Evelyn stood behind her rubbing her back in a loving and empathetic way. There was no anger or jealousy. David and Annette watched in astonishment. No one said a word.

David allowed no conversation until we reached his residence. Joey was still crying and clinging to me. "Why did you leave me there, Adriel?"

"Joey, we didn't leave you. We tried to talk to you, but you couldn't hear us. Evelyn stooped down to comfort you, but you seemed to be unaware. Joey, I would never leave you like that." And then the words came out of my mouth. "I love you." David was startled and looked up at me. Joey kept kissing me on the mouth incessantly, and I grabbed her shoulders to push her back. "Joey, please stop. I don't know what has gotten into you. The portal is causing you severe emotional reactions, and you obviously don't know how to handle it. Calm down. I love you as a close friend. You mean a lot to me, but you have to stop with all the kissing." I turned to David. "It's obvious that we can't take her into the portal, David. She's an emotional mess, and she was terrified. She couldn't even detect that Evelyn and I were with her."

"Look, mate, taking Joey is not negotiable." David was dusting off some of his artifacts with a soft cloth. "She has to go with you because where I am sending you is quite dangerous. You have to figure out a way that she can go along. It's just that simple."

"How can I take her with me when she can't recognize that I am by her side? How could she possibly protect me?"

"She saw you when you returned. You'll have to find a way to get her from point to point. Once she gets back in our dimension she should be fine. Granted, we need to work on the emotional part, but with practice I think she'll be able to handle it."

I didn't think I could take another heart wrenching experience like that. I couldn't bear to see her in such pain. I felt so powerless to help her. I had never seen Joey react to emotion like that, and she wasn't accustomed to those feelings. Besides, I wanted to work alone with Evelyn. I didn't need the extra baggage, and I really couldn't see how she could protect us. If my expectations were valid, I shouldn't need anyone but the Creator to protect me. Then again, I wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't using Joey as a provision. Every time we made an advancement, we were presented with a new challenge. I was eager to talk with Evelyn this evening because I had no idea what happened inside the portal when that man touched Evelyn's cheek.

It took Joey about an hour to regain her composure. She clung to me throughout the afternoon, but that was normal. I asked David where it was that he wanted me to go with my knowledge of the languages. He was reluctant to disclose the location. He said that he needed evidence that I could successfully navigate this world. Until then, he didn't see how we could begin the operation. I suspicioned that he might want me to go beneath of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. He thought it was likely that the Knights Templar had found something there, but by now it would be gone, so that didn't really make a lot of sense to me. I couldn't make any plans or determine my next step until I talked with Evelyn. No one was aware of what happened in the portal, not even Joey. That was a relief because I had been concerned with her seeing the golden highway. I didn't understand the significance of seeing all of those people and the man who crossed the highway to touch Evelyn. He never looked at me or Joey. His entire focus had been on Evelyn.

When we got back to the safe-house that evening, I went into the bedroom to change out of my costume. As usual, Evelyn came in and locked the door. She closely whispered in my ear, "There is so much that I need to tell you that if we stayed up all night, I don't think we would have enough time. Let's turn in early after dinner. I will tell you as much as I can before we fall asleep." I nodded in agreement. I couldn't imagine what she had to say that would be so voluminous. The man had touched her cheek. It was only for a second. Joey was unusually quiet during dinner. Annette was asking what happened in the portal that upset her so much. Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, and I didn't have any explanations. According to Joey, we had abandoned her in the kaleidoscope of shapes, colors, and sounds. I assured Annette that it was not so.

Evelyn and I retired early for the evening to our room. She lay close behind me on the bed and whispered everything to me. "That man that touched my cheek imparted some sort of knowledge to me. I'm not sure how to explain it all. There are so many facets. We're not interpreting things correctly. David has made certain assumptions, and we have built upon those ideas, but the foundation is wrong. We were never going to be able to map locations in this three-dimensional world, even if we took a lifetime to do so."

I whispered over my right shoulder to her, "Who do you think that man was?"

"I have no idea. That really didn't seem important. I should probably begin with aku/aki. Those are the simplest primitive steps that anyone can take into that realm. There are countless steps with directions that we cannot comprehend. Aku/aki are opposite directions that correspond to the first letter of an ancient alphabet. Every step and its opposite direction corresponds to another letter of that alphabet. All steps are two syllable words. The ones that you and I would consider forward and backward end with 'u' and 'i,' respectively. After aku/aki is beu/bei, geu/gei, deu/dei, etc."

I interjected, "So, how do you think David learned aku/aki?"

"Well, you can't deduce such a thing or derive it from writings. Someone has to show you, either by example or imparting knowledge as the man did to me this morning."

"Wait a minute," I whispered. "You mean to tell me that you know how to step in all of these countless directions?"

"I do, but there's a catch. I'm not able to navigate by myself. I have to show you how to make the step as my husband, and you will transport us where we need to go."

I was confused. "Go where?"

"Anywhere. He showed me how. I can get you to any place on this earth."

"But how can I step into the third dimension and step back out into the fourth dimension from there?"

"First of all, it's not the fourth dimension, but that's irrelevant for travel. I don't have time to explain all of that. There are so many steps and directions that take you different places. I would need to show you, but yes, you can step from any place on this earth."

"So the portal is just a crutch to get one in and out of that dimension, right?"

"It's a starting point for aku/aki. Once you have been enlightened through revelation, you can basically go anywhere."

"So, are you saying that you have that enlightenment?"

"I do, Adriel. I need to show you the next chance we get."

"David said that we have to take Joey with us. Is that possible?"

"Yes, it's possible, but it's inhumane. It's kind of like having a two-seater automobile, and the only way to take someone along is to tie a rope around her waist to your bumper. You saw what happened to Joey this morning."

"Will it always be that way for her?"

"Worse, actually because we didn't move from our original location. She didn't experience any travel whatsoever. So, in step with my analogy, we didn't even move the car yet. She was just tied to the bumper."

"Oh, Evelyn! I don't think I could take another episode like this morning. It was heartbreaking."

"I agree. I felt so sorry for her, but there's nothing we can do to comfort her."

"David thought that she would be all right once we stepped back into our world. Is that true?"

"Well, yes, that is true, but I'm not sure what shape she will be in by the time we get to our destination. She has Emotional Detachment Disorder, and for some reason she's suffering incredible emotional stress from the experience. I don't understand that part, and I don't want to turn her into some sort of mental vegetable. There's another catch. Once we navigated and pulled her into another part of this world, we wouldn't be able to step her back to the golden highway without a portal. She would be stuck wherever we dropped her."

"What are we going to do, Evelyn?"

"The only way that she can navigate with us would be to marry a man whom she loved who would be willing to come along."

"I can readily see that would be David, but if such a thing happened, it would fairly well seal our death warrant. There's no way we can let them navigate that world. It's far too dangerous."

"I agree, so let's not offer that alternative. Besides, even if they did get married and try it, unless they received enlightenment, they would only step aku/aki as we have been doing."

"Yeah, but what makes you think they wouldn't get enlightened?"

"Because the marriage would be a sham. Their intention would only be to navigate that realm. I doubt that it would really work unless they were truly in love and would marry anyway."

"So, what should we do next?"

"I need to show you some steps. We should probably start working through the alphabet with the opposites. There are variations with each letter, but I don't want to overwhelm you."

"Why didn't the man enlighten me with the knowledge so that I would know how to make these steps?"

Evelyn chuckled. "For the same reason that you can't have a baby by yourself. That's just how this works. In order for me to show you the steps, it will be necessary to bind our bare feet together from toes to ankle. It's the only way that you will be able to make the correct movements. You have to be as compliant as a paint brush, or it won't work."

"So which feet should we bind?"

"It has to be our right feet, which means that I should stand behind you. You let me direct the step, and we will navigate wherever we need to go."

"I certainly don't want us to bind ourselves together in front of everyone. They will get suspicious if we keep doing that."

"That's true. However, I need to warn you of one of the many dangers of the golden highway. Remember how we were there with our last experiment that seemed to last about three minutes? When we got back, David said that we had been gone for forty-seven minutes. There is no absolute correlation of time between the golden highway and our world. Once we are on it, we need to bind our feet and navigate as soon as possible to another part of this world."

"What about the couples that we saw strolling up and down the highway?"

"That is another issue entirely. They were navigating time, but that's not our goal."

"You mean that they were involved in time travel?"

"Adriel, this gets terribly complicated, but I don't want you to lose focus. You need to find this gold mine. The less everyone knows, the better. You need to get some rope long enough to bind our feet together."

"I'll ask Annette to get us a thin rope about three feet long. That should do it."

"Remember, there's no way that we can take Joey with us. I agree with you that I don't want to see her suffer like that ever again."

"I'll convince David that you and I need time to run several more experiments. The problem is that he won't disclose where he wants me to go until it's time for me to go. That means that we would have to take Joey at that time."

"It's too bad that you can't read minds anymore, but sometimes I think that's a good thing." I wasn't sure what Evelyn meant by the second part of that statement, but I wasn't asking for clarification.

Evelyn spent the rest of our waking hours discussing some of the steps and where we might want to start. I asked if we could navigate to where Eddie was being held, and she assured me that we could. We could choose destinations by identifying people or places as long as the places truly existed, and the people were alive. Trying to navigate to Benjamin Franklin would not take me to his grave site in Philadelphia. This sounded like a great possibility to find missing persons, but I rather doubted that after this mission we would still be allowed to retain this ability. We also could not navigate to the gold because that was an element, not a location. She then explained the idea of parking. Parking was a safety precaution that allowed us to assess our destination before stepping into it. Otherwise, we could knock someone across the room by blindly entering. It was a vantage point of observation without actually being in the room.

I kept relating her concepts to dimensions, but she objected. "Adriel, if you perceive this from a physics perspective, it will prevent you from seeing the reality of it. You don't think of the first, second, or third dimensions when you move in this world. Besides, you exist in all dimensions at the same time. You shouldn't think of yourself as a three-dimensional being. We are now in all dimensions. You may not be able to perceive it, but neither can you perceive beyond our bedroom wall. It doesn't mean that you are in another dimension; it just means that your view is being obstructed. Navigating this realm is nothing more than changing your ability to perceive. Learn to walk in it without trying to analyze it."

Just before we went to sleep, Evelyn had an idea about handling Joey, but it would require putting a considerable amount of trust in her. I was reluctant to trust anyone at this point and told her I would think about it. Evelyn kissed me goodnight and noted, "Adriel, do you realize that if it weren't for Joey and her incredible physical attributes, I wouldn't have come with you on this mission?" I pondered that fact for a moment. What appeared to be an alarming situation actually brought about an essential circumstance. I wouldn't have been able to do this without Evelyn. The Creator was at work before my eyes, and I failed to see it. I wasn't exercising faith. What else was I missing?

The next morning, Evelyn brought a bag with some clothing that she wanted to take along on our next journey. I had no idea what to expect. Annette had secured a three foot length rope for us, and it too was in Evelyn's bag. When David heard about the rope, he was alarmed and told me that trying to use it as a tether would be a mistake. He reminded me of his first lost assistant. I assured him that it was for testing purposes, and that it was perfectly safe. Everyone agreed to leave Joey out of the experiments for the time being. Evelyn appeared to be exceedingly confident, and I was hoping that the others didn't notice.

We held hands and stepped aku. Time was of the essence. Evelyn reached down and pulled off her right shoe with one hand and had me do the same. She placed her bare foot next to mine and released my hand. We were connected at the foot, and she had me take the rope and securely bind our feet from toe to ankle as she put our shoes into her bag. I was working as fast as I could, trying to ignore all of the couples who were strolling down the golden highway. "Stand still, and in no way should you resist my step." My heart was racing, and I felt like I had just boarded a roller coaster beyond the opportunity to back out. Evelyn tried to take a step and insisted, "Adriel, stop resisting me! You have to remain completely passive." I tried to relax, but I was apprehensive. She tried again, but apparently I was preventing us from stepping. Evelyn was behind me, and she pulled me tightly against her body. "Do you want to see Eddie?" I nodded. "Then relax and think about Eddie." She waited a few seconds and then stepped. We were parked in the room where Eddie lay sleeping on a bunk. We scanned the room, and he was alone. Evelyn positioned us about six feet from where he lay and stepped us into the room.

I whispered, "Eddie."

Eddie gave a start and jumped from his bed to face Evelyn and me. "Adriel! Evelyn! How did you two get in here? Did you find the gold already?" Eddie was so excited and anticipated having this horrible ordeal behind us. I hated to break the news to him that we hadn't even gotten off to a good start. He then looked down at our bound feet. "What's the matter with your feet?"

Evelyn sat down in a chair as I untied the rope. "Eddie, I wanted to check on you to see if you were all right."

"No, I'm not all right! I have been worried about you. I was told that you were abducted, and I am to wait for further instruction, but so far I have heard nothing. How did you get into this room? There's a guard outside at the door."

"We didn't come through that door, Eddie," Evelyn explained as she rubbed her foot. "There are doors that you don't know about."

"Then get me out of here, Adriel! I'm a prisoner, and I need to get back to work."

"Relax, Eddie. The feds have cleared everything with our employers. I don't have time to explain it all right now. I just wanted to check on you and let you know that we are all right. The only way that I can get you out of here is to find the gold. By the way, you can't let anyone know that we were here."

"Take me through that door that Evelyn just mentioned."

Evelyn stepped forward. "We can't, Eddie. It doesn't work that way." Evelyn turned to me. "Adriel, we need to go now. We have to get back."

Eddie stammered, "Back where? Where did you come from? Please, take me with you."

Evelyn smiled. "Eddie, do you love Angela?"

"I think so. What does that have to do with this?"

"You need to seriously consider marrying her. Adriel, we need to go," Evelyn insisted. I tied our feet together once again, and Evelyn instructed Eddie to turn his back. Once she was sure that he couldn't see us, we disappeared.

Evelyn decided that we had done enough practice for the day, and that I needed to talk to Joey about her plan. I was still apprehensive. We returned to the portal entrance where our crew was waiting. David said that we had been gone for seventeen minutes. He asked about the rope that was now back in Evelyn's bag, and I told him that Evelyn and I wanted to make sure that we didn't dislocate from one another. He seemed satisfied, and we all departed to our regular locations. I was going to wait until siesta to talk to Joey. After breakfast, David impatiently wanted details of the experiments that Evelyn and I were conducting. I tried to give him encouragement without disclosing the truth about what we had discovered. We still had a long way to go. I tried to get him to disclose my destination, but he continued to refuse. He wanted proof of navigation. I had a great idea that I would discuss with Evelyn.

Joey pulled me down on the couch for siesta, and I held her tightly from behind. I wanted to be able to whisper in her ear to let her know Evelyn's plan. "Joey, can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Joey turned over and kissed me. "Adriel, you can trust me with anything."

"Can you keep a secret from David and Annette?"

"I have kept many secrets in my life, even from David and Annette."

"Well, this secret is important, and it's mission related. I need to be able to trust you. We are in a lot of danger."

Joey took a more serious tone. "Adriel, if you are in danger, you need to tell me. My responsibility is to keep you safe, no matter the cost. Don't worry about David and Annette. Please tell me."

"The other day when we took you into the portal, you couldn't see what Evelyn and I could see. You thought that we had abandoned you, but we hadn't. David is insisting that we take you with us when we navigate, but there are limitations that we cannot overcome. Once we take you somewhere, we can't bring you back. We need for you to work with us to deceive Annette and David into thinking that you are coming with us when you really aren't."

"I don't understand. How can you make it look like I'm coming with you?"

"Evelyn and I can drop you off at another location close by and then come back to you. It would be like the experiment that Evelyn and I did that took us to the other side of the pyramids. We can then walk back to the others, and they will think you were with us the whole time."

"Adriel, I can't do that. I need to stay with you to protect you."

"Joey, that's impossible, and David won't cooperate unless he thinks that you are with me."

"There's a reason for that, Adriel. You shouldn't travel without me."

"Joey, we need for you to work with us on this. I can't take you from place to place."

"Adriel, there has to be a way. You need to find it. Here is where you need to trust me." Joey turned back over and held my left arm tightly against her chest. "We need to sleep because we are going to have a good workout at the gym tonight."

Why were Annette, David, and Joey so convinced that I would be harmed if Joey didn't accompany me at all times? It seemed to me that if Evelyn and I could appear and disappear from places, we could circumvent any danger. Then again, they didn't know that we had that ability, and I was apprehensive about letting them know. However, I needed to prove to David that I could navigate. More dilemmas and questions, but few answers. How was I going to be able to take Joey with me? Evelyn said that it couldn't be done unless she married someone for love, but Joey was incapable of that. It appeared to be another case of the immovable object against the irresistible force.

That night, I discussed with Evelyn the idea of navigating to David's place, taking something of significant size that we couldn't possibly have smuggled out of there, and then presenting it to him when we returned through the portal. That would convince him that we could navigate. If he insisted that Joey accompany us after that, we could drop her off somewhere and be on our way. Evelyn liked the idea except for Joey. She hadn't agreed to our plan, and we ran a risk of her telling Annette and David if she thought that we were ditching her. It was essential to get Joey onboard. Evelyn suggested that we take one step at a time. She liked the idea of taking something from David's place and decided that is exactly what we should do in the morning. He had a potted palm planted in a copper urn that I thought would be perfect. It was heavy, bulky, and unique. It satisfied all of my criteria.

Evelyn and I were ready to enter the portal that next morning. She had her bag with everything she thought we would need. We held hands and stepped aku in sight of our audience. Once again, I wrapped the rope around our bare feet as quickly as possible and put my thoughts on David's residence. I tried to remain as passive as possible. On Evelyn's second attempt, we were parked just outside David's living area. My heart started racing as we observed three men searching David's rooms. We were still out of their sight, but we could see everything that they were doing. They were talking to one another, but it didn't sound like Arabic. I thought it could be Russian, but I wasn't sure. Evelyn was the first to notice that they were armed with pistols. We were off the golden highway, so there was no pressure to move quickly. The men finally gathered in the living area and put their guns beside them on the couches where they sat. They were apparently awaiting our return.

"Evelyn, what are we going to do? We can't get that potted palm without them seeing us, and if I return here later with David and Joey, they are going to kill someone."

"Obviously, we can't go into the room, Adriel. We have to warn everyone."

"What if they don't believe us? We still don't have proof that we can navigate, and if they come back here, it will be disastrous."

"What if we went back, explained the situation to Joey and brought her back here?"

"Oh, Evelyn! The idea of dragging her through the portal and then dropping her off here with these armed men sounds horrible! She'll be an emotional mess, and then she will have to deal these thugs. I don't see how that will work."

"Did you ever think she could perform with nearly a bottle of vodka in her?"

"Well, no, but this is a little different."

"Are you sure? Do you have a better suggestion?"

I couldn't think of a better plan, and we needed to get back to the others. I could possibly take Joey aside while Evelyn talked with David and Annette. I just hoped that Joey wouldn't alert the others when she heard about the armed men. It was a chance that I had to take. We decided that Evelyn would give David and Annette some song and dance about taking Joey along while I privately explained the situation to Joey. She just needed to brace herself for the trip. It was easy to get Joey off to the side. Evelyn stood talking to David and Annette.

"Joey, remember what I said about being in danger?"

Joey had a serious look on her face. "Of course I do. What's the problem?"

"Evelyn and I just went to David's residence. Now, you need to keep that a secret. There are three armed men waiting to ambush us when we get to David's. She's explaining to David that we want to take you on a navigational test inside the portal. We were thinking of taking you to David's so that you could get rid of the armed men. The problem is that you will experience the severe emotional reaction in the portal, and we don't want that to affect your abilities."

"Adriel, the last time I was there I thought that you had left me. If I know that isn't so, I can hold on until you get me to David's place."

"OK, but just remember, once we drop you off we can't get you out of there."

"That's all right. I can handle myself."

"That means that I will have to explain to David that I left you at his place to prove that we could navigate. You can text us when the coast is clear."

"I can do that, Adriel." Joey removed her shoes.

"Remember, Joey. I love you, and I would never leave you in the portal. It will take a couple of minutes to get you where you need to go, so please be patient and don't panic."

"I trust you, Adriel. I'll be fine."

I stood between Evelyn and Joey holding hands and stepped aku. Joey stiffened like a post. Evelyn had to tie our feet together as I held Joey's hand. Joey had her eyes closed, and I could tell that she was desperately trying to maintain control. Once Evelyn secured our feet, she took the step to David's place. We were parked outside the living area, and Joey grabbed hold of me and started with the rapid succession of kissing. I saw a tear form in Evelyn's eye, and she faced the opposite direction to avoid seeing Joey's emotion. I buried my head in Joey's neck to try to avoid her lips. I held her tightly for several minutes and could feel her begin to regain her composure. I whispered to Evelyn, who was biting her lip with tears streaming down her face. "Evelyn, we've got to get Joey calmed down so that we can step her into the room." Evelyn was now looking at the ceiling as she tried to manage her emotions. Apparently, I was the only one not emotionally affected by the portal experience. I took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. Joey's gasping was subsiding, and I asked Evelyn if she could take Joey from me. Evelyn pulled Joey into her arms and stroked the back of her head as I securely held her hand. I turned my attention to the men seated on the couch. They were patiently waiting for us to return. Evelyn was trying to get Joey to look her in the eye and talk to her. Joey was still somewhat disoriented, and I was getting apprehensive. We couldn't get Joey back to the golden highway, and we couldn't leave her parked. If I let loose of her hand, she could be lost forever.

Finally, Evelyn was able to get Joey to respond. Evelyn pointed to the men on the couch, and Joey began to study the situation. Evelyn explained, "Joey, we can drop you off anywhere, but once we do, we can't get you out. Adriel and I will leave as soon as we get you situated." Joey nodded. "Just let me know where you want to go." Joey scanned the area and asked to be placed in David's bedroom. Evelyn and I locked eyes, and I nodded. Evelyn stepped, and we were in David's room. I released Joey's hand, and Evelyn stepped back into the parked position. We waited for a few minutes. Joey was listening to the men converse. It appeared that she could understand them. Suddenly, Joey removed all of her clothes. Evelyn turned to me. "What the hell is she doing?"

"I think she's taking every advantage she has available. If her being naked will cause these men to hesitate for a split second, she has a better chance of taking them out."

"Oh Adriel, we need to get back, but I have to see this." I nodded in agreement.

Joey was very poised and walked like a runway model. She was completely naked with nothing in her hand. She walked into the midst of the men rubbing her eyes as though she had just awakened. The men didn't hear her approach and grabbed for their guns as they were startled, and then we saw it. Her appearance had captivated the men for more than a second, and that was all she needed. She managed to get close enough to take the two men out on her left and right, spun, and finished the one in the middle. All three lay motionless on the floor. She collected the three guns and retreated to the bedroom for her clothes. Evelyn shook her head in disbelief, and we returned to the portal.

Annette and David were frantic when we returned without Joey. Evelyn let me do the talking, and I calmed them down telling them that we had left Joey at David's place to prove that we could navigate. Annette immediately dialed Joey's number. Joey answered and assured her that she was fine and waiting for us at David's. Annette hung up the phone and gave me a scornful look. "You need to clear these things with us before you go making decisions on your own. Now Joey isn't here to protect you. We need to get out here as soon as possible." Annette grabbed Evelyn's hand and took her back to their car. David gave me a disappointed look, and we headed for our limo. I had expected a little more excitement about the ability to navigate, but all they could think about was the fact that for the first time since I left home, Joey wasn't with me.

Once David and I had entered the living area, I scanned the room. Joey's methods were clean. There was never any blood. I had no idea what she had done with the bodies. She seemed pleasant and in a good mood. She had made a pot of coffee for us and a cup of tea for David. David gave her a suspicious look as Joey sat next to me on the couch. "Joey, dear, how did you contrive to allow Adriel to leave you behind while he and Evelyn returned to the portal?" His voice was stern, and he was trying to control his anger. Joey had never disobeyed a directive, and David was wondering how she could allow such a thing to happen.

I intervened. "It was my fault, actually. Evelyn and I dropped her off, and Joey didn't have any recourse. Before she knew it, we were back at the portal. All is well; we're back together again." I could tell that I hadn't alleviated David's suspicions. He kept staring at Joey. I decided to change the subject. "So, this should prove to you that we can navigate. I need to know where you want me to go."

David turned to me, and I could see that he was shaking from anger. "Before I disclose the location, I have a task for you. I need for you to bring me something. If you can do that, then I will let you know your first destination. I'll let you know in the morning what I want you to retrieve." David arose from the couch and disappeared down the hallway toward his bedroom.

Joey and I finished our coffee and snuggled together on the couch. I whispered over my shoulder, "Evelyn and I watched you in action."

Joey gave me a squeeze from behind and kissed my neck. "You're safe for the moment, Adriel."

"Why are David and Annette so upset? I thought they would be pleased that I can navigate."

"As I have told you before, there's a lot you don't know. They think you are taking unnecessary risks, and they don't want you to jeopardize the project. We can't do that again. I noticed that you didn't tell them about the men. I think that is a mistake. You should tell them the truth, Adriel. They need to know. Someone has found you, and there will be others. David may be in danger, and he needs to know that."

"I'm afraid that it will lead to too many questions, and I don't want them to know certain things. Besides, these people aren't after David. They want me."

"I promised you that I would keep your secret, and nothing will get me to talk. So, don't worry. I may not agree with you, but you can trust me."

"I appreciate that, Joey." I lay there with Joey thinking about how Evelyn and I were going to accomplish our task and have Joey with us at the same time. It seemed so impossible. I couldn't leave Joey outside of our world. She would either end up lost or standing back in front of the portal. I couldn't take her to a location because I couldn't get her back to the golden highway. How was I going to travel with Joey and get the object that David wanted? I drifted off to sleep in Joey's arms.

I had a third dream about a rabbit that wanted me to follow him. This time I heard what he said. "Next time." I awoke to Joey stroking my hair. I took her left hand that held me tightly and put it to my mouth, giving it a gentle kiss. She softly kissed my neck. This was such a strange relationship.

That evening, I explained our new dilemma to Evelyn. She thought that if I could learn the task a day ahead of time that we could navigate from our room the night before and leave it on the golden highway for the next morning. I reminded her of the twenty pound weight that we never saw again. She admitted that leaving anything in that realm was risky. I told her that Joey was willing to keep our secret. Maybe we could drop Joey off behind David and Annette out of sight, perform our task, and return to Joey. We could then walk up on them and make them think Joey had been with us the whole time.

Evelyn shook her head. "Adriel, we're getting into some major deception at this point. I think this is a mistake. The more we deceive, the more we will have to cover up, and at some point we're going to make a terrible error."

"What should I do? Should I explain that we can't take Joey along? They will have us searching for a solution until doomsday. I just want to get this over with, but I can't afford to disclose too much. I don't trust them."

"Well, neither do I, but what are we going to do?"

"Seriously, Evelyn, I'm afraid that if they think we can't do this and finally give up, they will kill us." Evelyn didn't say another word. She sat for several minutes in silence.

Finally Evelyn spoke. "Adriel, I think we need to stop. We don't need any more tests. We can get to any place on this earth. You are holding all of the cards. You have already proven that we can navigate. You can refuse to cooperate at this point until they are willing to go along with you. They won't kill us because they would lose a chance to find the gold. They can't force us to do the impossible. They need to understand that we are unable to take Joey beyond the first location. You have to explain that to them, but don't explain why. Then we can see where they go from there."

"You know, Evelyn, it wouldn't surprise me if they were grooming another married couple to try to navigate. Once they did that, they wouldn't need us anymore."

"I rather doubt that, Adriel. They seem to think you are the golden child. I doubt that they would want to try this without you."

"I hope you're right, Evelyn." I thought for a few minutes. "You know, Evelyn, I'm damned tired of these costumes. I'm not wearing one anymore. I'm going to go shave. This beard is driving me crazy too." I left the room to dispose of my facial hair. When I returned, I further explained. "I don't need limo rides. You and I can navigate to where we need to go. I don't need the portal any longer. In fact, I'm not sure I even need David at this point. I don't know where he wants me to go, but he could be wrong about that too." Evelyn looked at me with widened eyes. She turned and started packing her bag. "What are you doing," I asked.

"We're getting the hell out of here!"

# **CHAPTER EIGHT**

# **_BASILICA_**

****

****

"Where are we going?" I was tossing articles into my bag to keep up with Evelyn.

Evelyn looked up as she continued her stuffing. "Anywhere we want to go, Adriel. For years I have wanted to travel, but you wouldn't fly. We can kiss in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on the Trocadero. We can stroll on the Great Wall of China. We can gaze at the world from the top of Mount Everest. We can make love at the foot of La Jaconde at 2:00 AM."

"Slow down there, Evelyn. Annette and Joey will be looking for us along with the feds and all of the sinister people who either want to kill or abduct me. I don't think globe trotting is a wise move right now."

"Don't be silly. We can pop over to fifth avenue in New York to do some shopping with your magic account number. Then we can scoot over to Boston to draw nine thousand dollars in cash from any federal reserve bank. Before anyone can pinpoint us, we can hop over to Paris and stroll on the Seine. We can drink German beer in Munich and watch a bullfight in Barcelona. This is the chance of a lifetime."

"Well, thirty years ago I might have found those prospects to be exciting, but I have a job to do. I need to find that gold mine."

"Adriel, what do you think our chances are of getting out of this mess alive?"

"Honestly? I'd say about fifty, fifty."

"Exactly! Let's take a little vacation to enjoy a few things, and then we'll find your stupid gold mine." Evelyn stuffed the last of her clothes into her bag and zipped it shut. "Come on, finish packing, we're leaving."

It was becoming glaringly obvious how important it was for Evelyn and me to agree. Neither of us could go anywhere via the golden highway without the total cooperation of the other. This wasn't a matter of choosing a couch together for the living room. I remembered times past when that proved to be a major contention. Now, we were faced with life depending choices, and it was going to require Evelyn and me to have a single mind on where and when we were going to travel. Being obstinate would get us nowhere. We needed to negotiate reasonable terms, but having sex in the Louvre in the middle of the night just sounded preposterous to me. Evelyn was suffering from cabin fever and jealousy of Joey. I didn't want either of those influences to affect her decisions, but how could they not? I may have to ride this storm out before I could make any progress on finding the mine.

I felt like I was opening Pandora's Box. "So, what's our first destination?"

Evelyn stepped toward me and pulled me in at the waist. "Where would you like to take me, my dear?"

I thought for a few moments. I once had a dream of taking Evelyn to Paris. I wanted to sit and have coffee at the Luxembourg Gardens and stroll around, hand in hand, enjoying the atmosphere. We both loved gardens, and it seemed like a great place to start. I suggested that we stop in Avignon to use my account number to acquire some euros so that we could pay cash in places that we decided to spend some time. Evelyn thought it was a delightful idea, and we began binding our bare feet together. I was still trying to get used to the nuance of movement that Evelyn directed. It was difficult to relinquish complete control of my foot, but I was improving.

My French was rusty, and I was never fluent, but I could get around. I had once painted a picture of the Venus aux Hirondelles in Avignon from a photograph that I had found on the Internet, and I desperately wanted to see it in person. Evelyn targeted the statue that sat in the Rocher des Doms. The Rhone River was just to the north. She navigated us onto the golden highway and then to the vicinity of our destination. We parked to look around and found a spot behind some trees to make our entrance. We pulled our shoes from our bags and put our rope away. Evelyn and I strolled around the pond. We could see the Pope's Palace just over the trees. She smiled up at me as she clung to my arm. I was so glad that it was Evelyn on my arm and not Joey. We found a small cafe in the park near the statue, but I had not yet purchased any euros. I didn't want to use my account number until we were ready to leave because I knew they would locate me within minutes.

I marveled at the beauty of the statue as it spewed water from its fountain. It was exquisite, and as Evelyn and I took a seat in the cool of the late afternoon, it felt surreal as though it were all a dream. A slight fishy smell wafted through the air as the fountain disturbed the water. We watched a stately swan swim near the edge of the pond near our bench. Evelyn pulled me close and put her head on my shoulder. I hadn't seen her this content in weeks.

It was time to find a bank. I knew enough French to ask where the bank was, but I doubted that I could understand the answer. Luckily, most shop owners spoke English, so we were able to locate Banque Palatine on Rue de la Balance a few blocks away. As Evelyn suggested, we bought nine thousand dollars worth of euros using my account number. I wondered if they would eventually deactivate the number, but if they did, they wouldn't be able to trace my whereabouts. We split the money and each stuffed half in our bags. Evelyn then decided that it was time to shop. She found a beautiful red dress with shoes to match. We purchased a dark blue suit, some shirts, and black shoes for me. I realized that she had her own agenda and wanted us to be ready to enjoy our time in Paris in case we needed to dress up. Evelyn always had a particular gleam in her eye when she spent money. I reminded her that we were continually being exposed to cameras and needed to move on. Evelyn liked the seclusion of the park, and we retraced our steps to find a location to make our exit. I was curious how long it would take the authorities to swarm this area to find us. It wasn't worth wasting our time. We sat behind some bushes and pulled off our shoes. The next destination was the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.

We parked and looked around. There were lots of people, but plenty of places to make our secret entry. We chose a spot and sat to put our shoes on. I was startled by a statue as I looked up. It was a miniature of the Statue of Liberty. As Evelyn and I walked around to the front, we saw a name engraved on the base, A. Bartholdi, who was the sculptor. I was able to translate most of the plaque that stood next to the statue. I had seen the full sized statue in the harbor in New York, and this miniature provided much more detail as we could view it closely. Our adventure continued. We found a cafe on the grounds and bought two cappuccinos. We strolled the park and sipped our coffee. Paris was in full spring bloom, and it was breathtaking. I remembered what Joey told me about the Internet cameras that were everywhere, and I warned Evelyn that we shouldn't linger too long in any one place. She definitely wanted to visit the Louvre. I thought that it was way too risky, but she insisted that somehow we had to go there. We debated whether to walk or take the golden highway. The latter was obviously the safer route. We nonchalantly strolled behind a bush and within twenty seconds disappeared into parking position. In between every parking position was a single step onto the golden highway and then off to our next destination. We were getting much better at stepping into the beyond.

We navigated to the Louvre and parked. It was packed with visitors. The only place that we could find to reasonably enter was a janitor's closet. We were concerned that we might be seen exiting the closet, and we didn't want to draw attention. The museum was scheduled to close in half an hour, and Evelyn thought it might be more fun to wait until then. I informed her that they had a sophisticated security system, and we couldn't get very far. We would also need to cover our heads and faces due to the cameras. Evelyn was giggling. It reminded her of one of our favorite Audrey Hepburn movies. She was rummaging through her bag to find a hat and a scarf to cover herself when we entered. This was insane! She had me look through my bag for some things that could disguise my appearance. I didn't have a hat or a scarf, and I tried to talk her out of the idea. She reached into my bag and pulled out some underwear briefs. She pulled the underwear over my head and situated it so that I could see out of the leg openings. "You've got to be kidding me!" I pulled the briefs from my head and stuffed them back into my bag. Evelyn gave me a very disappointed look. "OK, OK!" I pulled the underwear over my head, and we waited for the patrons to vacate the museum.

Once everything had died down, we entered our worldly realm into a hallway and used our bound feet to take two paces. An alarm sounded, and we stepped into parking position again. Within thirty seconds, five security guards entered the area and began a search. Evelyn was giggling uncontrollably. I was less amused. After about twenty minutes, the guards dispersed. Evelyn tugged on my arm. "Let's take that painting off the wall over there, the one with the ship on it."

"Have you lost your mind?" Evelyn pulled out a pair of gloves. My god! What else did she have in her bag? She prodded me to step with her into the gallery next to the target. She quickly raised the painting from its hanger and gently placed it on the floor. This time, overhead security doors closed as the alarms went off, and we were trapped, but not entirely. We stepped into parking position again, and now there were about thirty guards that flooded the area. The painting was left for forensic investigators, and the search never ended. I was growing impatient, but Evelyn was having the time of her life. I convinced myself that out of all the things she could have chosen to do, this was probably the most amusing. She wanted to see the video recordings of us in the gallery, especially with me wearing underwear on my head, but I coaxed her into getting some chocolate at Angelina's not far from here.

Angelina's was one the places that I had researched years ago when I had wanted to take Evelyn to Paris. We both loved chocolate, and this place was supposed to be incredible. We changed into something more suitable and took our steps necessary to navigate to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the place was closed. We decided to return in the morning. All this excitement had exhausted me, and I wanted to sleep. We found an empty room at the Hotel Ritz in Place Vendome down the street, but we didn't bother to register. I didn't want us to be traced and was fairly certain that no one would know we were there. It was one of the more luxurious rooms, and we enjoyed all of the amenities except for room service. I was beginning to feel much like a criminal.

The next morning, I convinced Evelyn that we needed to check in on our crew who were likely in turmoil by now. I wanted to use Joey as the target, and we navigated into parking position. Joey was sitting on one of David's couches. She was staring straight ahead and didn't move a muscle. We could hear Annette and David arguing in the kitchen. All of a sudden, Joey looked right at me. I grabbed Evelyn's arm, but she insisted that Joey could neither see nor hear us. It was just a coincidence. We moved to the kitchen for a better position. Annette and David were seated at the table.

"It's not Joey's fault, David. She's doing everything that she was instructed to do."

"Really? She's supposed to keep Adriel with her at all times."

"That was out of her control. They dropped her off and left. She couldn't step back into that dimension."

"Well, she's probably gotten Evelyn so upset with the attention that she shows Adriel that Evelyn probably coerced him to leave."

"Stop trying to blame this on Joey! It's probably your advances toward Evelyn that got him to run."

"What do you expect out of me, Annie? You know me. Evelyn is beautiful inside and out. I would give my right arm to have her." I shook my head and looked over at Evelyn. She was smiling and had a twinkle in her eye. I rolled my eyes and returned to the conversation. "Besides, if the bloke can't take care of his wife, he doesn't deserve her."

"Damn it, David! Can you for once put your personal feelings aside for the sake of a project? I'm going to have to answer some questions in sixteen hours, and I don't know what to say."

"Do we need to call them in?"

"What can they do at this point? Adriel is already gone. You should have told him where you wanted him to go. This is our last chance, and we can't afford to lose him."

David smacked the table with his right palm. "I tell you, Annie, he's hiding something from me. His answers are vague, and he sidesteps most of my questions."

"This isn't your project, David. Remember, you were called in to help, but your giant ego keeps getting in the way. If we do get him back, you need to send him where he needs to go and stop playing this silly control game that you have going."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"We have traces of them in France, in Avignon and possibly Paris. They cashed several thousand dollars in euros, so it appears that they plan to stay in Europe. We have reason to believe that they pulled some crazy antics at the Louvre last night." Annette shook her head and smiled.

"Well, I would suppose that your people are looking for them in Paris. You should be able to find them."

"No, David, we can't. They can vaporize in an instant. We can't even get close. They're too smart to allow us to have enough time to get them at a disadvantage. Our only hope is that he will turn up at some point to get Eddie out of impound. He probably knows by now that the only way to do that is to find the gold mine."

"So, do you plan to let him live after this project is finished?"

"Are you kidding? Have you lost your mind? We're going to continue protecting him until the day of his natural death. He's far too valuable to us. Look what he has already done."

"Do you think he has regained the ability to read minds?"

"Absolutely not! There's no way he would have run if he could read our minds. I don't know what he's thinking, but something has him scared. If the undesirables get him, we're through. There's no way we could recover from that."

"You bloody well better hope they don't. He wouldn't know one if he saw one, and without Joey it's just a matter of time."

"Look, David, from now on I don't want you around Adriel or Evelyn without me being present. You do what I say, and that's that! Do you understand me?"

"Oh, Annie, I love it when you get serious."

Annette leaned over and put her face next to David's. "David, I mean it! Do you understand me?"

David shook his head and stood up. "Oh, yes, I bloody well understand you, Annie." He then stormed off down the hallway.

I looked over at Evelyn. "I wonder who 'they' are." Evelyn gave me a quizzical look. "David asked if they should call 'them' in. Annette said it was too late. I wonder who they are referring to." Evelyn just shook her head.

I was getting hungry and suggested that we try Angelina's for breakfast. Evelyn agreed, and off we went back to our room at the Hotel Ritz in Paris where we had left our bags. I didn't like the risk of leaving our belongings, but I figured that if anyone did rent the room, we could easily retrieve them without being noticed. We decided to leave them in the room again, but this time Evelyn wanted to walk to Angelina's. I rolled up the rope and stuck it into my pocket. It was a short jaunt down Rue de Castiglione and a turn onto Rue de Rivoli to get there. I was nervous to be seen on the street, but we were making a short time of it. When we got to Angelina's, Evelyn wanted to stop into the Librairie Galignani next door to look around. My apprehension was growing by the second. She seemed oblivious to the fact that our faces were on camera from the many vantage points along the streets. I was now wishing that Joey had come with us.

Evelyn was finally satisfied, and we entered Angelina's. The walls were a creamy white with crown molding and woodwork accentuated with a dark gold contrast The white and grey marble table tops helped to brighten the dimly lit room that had a wine colored carpet with fleur-de-lis designs. The chairs were upholstered with a dark brown leather which was beaded onto the oak frames. We ended up waiting fifteen minutes for a table and chose our order as we waited. I hated the fact that I felt we needed to rush this experience, but I knew it wasn't safe. We each ordered the Mont-Blanc with a cup of hot chocolate. It was sinfully decadent, and we wanted more but decided that we would come back another time. It was a beautiful day, and Evelyn wanted to lie on the grass on the Champs de Mars and gaze up at the Eiffel Tower. I was concerned that we already had too much exposure and remembered what David had said about not recognizing the undesirables.

Two suspicious looking men entered and stood at the front. Evelyn's back was facing the door. "Take off your shoe!" Evelyn look confused. "Take off your shoe now! There are two men scanning the area, and they don't look friendly." Evelyn slipped off her right shoe as I took the rope from my pocket. "Leave a hundred euros on the table while I tie our feet together."

"Adriel, people are starting to stare."

"I can't help it, we have to get out of here."

"We can't just disappear in front of all these people."

"I assure you that we can, and we must. They are headed this way. We need to step, now!"

Evelyn stood and parked us just outside next to our table. The two men came running and started looking under the table. Several patrons at the surrounding tables stood in shock. Two waiters hurried over to see what was the problem. The men then dashed into the back to look around. I looked over at Evelyn. "That was really close. We need to stop this excursion and get back to work." Evelyn shook her head. "Take us back to the hotel, we can talk there."

We parked and scanned the room. It appeared that it was still vacant. Evelyn and I showered and retired to the bed to discuss our plans. The room was elegant. The walls were white with gold trim, and a beautiful room sized Persian rug outlined the parquet floor. The flowered upholstery was accompanied by white tufted pillows, and a shaded chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling. Matching wall lamps were mounted on either side of the bed and a lamp of gold and white sat on the dark green marble table top that jutted out from the wall. There was a huge picture window that ran from the floor to nearly the top of the nine foot ceiling and flooded the room with natural light. The draperies matched the upholstered furniture, and sheer white curtains covered the window. Original paintings adorned the walls, and the inlaid woodwork on the doors was exquisite.

Evelyn objected to my suggestion to return to our crew and continue our search for the gold mine. "Adriel, by now they know that if they can separate us, we will be powerless to navigate. Our principal strength is in our ability to navigate, and we shouldn't relinquish that."

I gave it some thought, and I had to agree with Evelyn. My concern was our safety. "That is true, Evelyn, but we can't keep traveling like this. Every minute that we are observed in public is a terrible risk. We could pop in and out to eat, sleep, and shower as long as we don't leave any traceable aspects of ourselves like cell phones or camera exposure. I have an idea. We can communicate with our team using notes that we leave at David's. Although it's not necessary for them to communicate likewise to us, we will let them believe that and retrieve directives from them via notes as well. What choice do they have?"

"I agree, Adriel. We have to stay in control. Let's craft a note to explain our terms and find out where David wants us to go."

"Excellent idea!" I found a pen and paper in one of the tables.

Evelyn spent the next two hours outlining our explanation while I dozed on the bed. When I awoke, she was still working on the wording for our communication to our team. A tear trickled from my left eye, and I was glad that I was turned away from Evelyn. I was missing Joey, and I didn't want Evelyn to know. As often as I had resisted her hugs and kisses, I was now missing them terribly. It disappointed me that I felt this way because I loved Evelyn with all my heart. I tried to put Joey out of my mind and had Evelyn read the note to me.

"OK, here is what I have so far. David and Annette, we have decided that the best way to proceed is to communicate with you through notes. We are safe, and we have developed a safe method of travel, so there is no need for concern. We have perfected our navigational skills through practice, and we are ready to go wherever you direct. We will report our findings to you as we experience progress. Please leave your notes on David's coffee table, and we will do the same. We are ready to get started."

"And that took you two hours?"

"I have changed it about sixteen times. Originally it was a lot longer, but I thought that I was getting carried away."

"You, carried away? Since when?" I laughed as Evelyn punched my arm. I encouraged her to put the note away. We had enough business for the day, and it was time for some recreation.

That night we felt like cat burglars as we left the note on David's coffee table. Evelyn seemed overjoyed in our ability to navigate. We decided to sleep in our own bed tonight and parked outside our bedroom. Our house was unoccupied, but we could see that the grass had been mowed, and the house was very clean. We wanted to be careful not to leave telltale signs that we were there in case we decided to return. We locked the bedroom door and got the best sleep that we had in three weeks. It felt great to romp among our own sheets after we awoke. We laughed and rolled around until I fell off the bed. We decided to make coffee since it appeared that no one was around. It was very early at our house because we were still on European time. We kept our feet bare, and I carried the rope with me at all times. We had honed our preparation time to five seconds from the first wrap of the rope until we stepped out into parking position. We washed out our coffee cups, bagged the coffee grounds to take with us, and did a final check on the house. All was in order, and we decided to navigate to David's place.

Joey was in her normal position, motionless and appearing catatonic. David was in his usual state of frustration, and Annette was being rational. "David, these are the terms that we need to work with. I am no more comfortable than you are about them roaming around out there without Joey. We are going to have to come to some compromise on that because we both know what is going to happen if they continue this way. I took a lot of heat from my company last night because this contract is unusually lucrative, and they are very concerned that Adriel is out of sight."

"I suppose you blamed the whole thing on me," David whined as he was repositioning one of his artifacts.

"Actually, they don't even know that you are involved. When I had Joey remove Adriel from the Department of Defense and bring him here to you, I told no one what we were doing because at this stage I'm not sure who I can trust. Apparently, nobody has made a connection between you and this project, or we would have had some indication by now."

"Are you really going to go along with this ridiculous idea of passing notes?"

"What choice do I have? For the time being, this is how we have to communicate, but at some point, hopefully sooner than later, we can get him back here where he will be safe."

"Why don't you just tell him the truth, Annie? We need to stop all of this nonsense."

"You know I can't do that right now. Maybe after he finds the gold mine, but right now I'm afraid that it would have a negative effect on the project."

"It would certainly get him to come back. In the beginning, you seemed awfully confident that you could keep him around."

"Well, I underestimated him. I was sure that he would fall in love with Joey."

"And that's your fault for using someone who doesn't understand or feel emotion. She's practically a robot."

"Tell me, David, you saw them together. I was with Evelyn. Did Joey show Adriel the proper level of attention?" David was sulking silently. "Well, did she?"

"Good god, yes," David snapped. "She was all over him with her hugging and kissing and caressing and spooning. She did everything but have sex with him during siesta. It drove me crazy. She never treated me or anyone else that way."

"She never had that directive before. She's the most effective agent that we have by far."

"You're right, Annie, you underestimated him. Most men would have crumbled long ago. So, now what?"

"I need to give it some thought. We need for him to come back. Let's see if we can get him to talk face to face. Hand me some paper."

I looked over at Evelyn. She was fuming. I had forgotten that Evelyn was totally unaware of Joey's attention that she lavished on me. Evelyn turned to me. She was seething and shaking as tears welled in her eyes. "Evelyn, you heard David. I didn't crack. Now's not the time to be upset. We need to work together here. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to cause you any more resentment toward Joey than you already had. In fact, it was necessary for you to get over that in order to be enlightened." Evelyn was glaring at me. "Calm down, Sweetie. Everything is OK."

"You will never, and I mean never, be alone with that woman again without me! Do you understand? I'm not going to put up with this!"

"Evelyn, I agree. I don't want to be alone with her. I mean, everything was fine. I pushed her away many times, and I didn't encourage her. I love you, Evelyn. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you like that." Evelyn continued to glare at me. My track record was flawed, but I had learned a lot over the years, and I was determined not to fail her. I couldn't admit how much I enjoyed Joey's attention. I knew it was wrong. I felt bad that I missed her, but it wasn't just the physical attention. I had come to love Joey. I cared about her, but I didn't disagree with Evelyn's response. I would lose my mind if I were her, and the tables were turned. My heart was aching, but not nearly as badly as Evelyn's. We had a serious job to do, and it required our complete compliance. I needed to give her some time.

She wanted to return to the hotel room. We decided that it would be too risky to stay another night, so we chose another hotel near the Eiffel Tower. Evelyn held a high level of romanticism for the tower, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to overcome her present anger. I was concerned that she might lose her enlightenment if she harbored unforgiveness in her heart. I certainly doubted that I would be able to rise above her circumstances if I were her. I was doing all that I could to placate her, but it was like pulling a nail out of a piece of wood. The hole was still there. I promised that we would go in search of a Croque Madame for breakfast. We were devising ways of popping in and out of this world that made it virtually impossible for someone to catch us, or so we thought.

I held her tightly that evening and whispered in her ear, "I'll do anything to make this up to you."

Evelyn pulled my arm from her waist. "Go to sleep! I'd rather hear you snore than talk right now."

I awoke in the wee hours of the morning. We wanted to retrieve Annette's note from the coffee table when our crew was most likely sleeping. It was dark, and I could see the lights flashing on the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. We had chosen a hotel near the Champs Elysses, Hotel Plaza Athenee. The more expensive rooms were usually available, and we enjoyed the elegant ambience of opulence. I eased out of bed to let Evelyn sleep a little longer. I opened the door to the balcony and stepped out to gaze at the tower. The flower boxes off the balcony were loaded with red begonias. The air smelled fresh and sweet, and I could detect the faint aroma of yeasty bread baking nearby. I was longing for a great French croissant and a wonderful cup of coffee. I contemplated our situation as I enjoyed the early morning breeze. We had the ability to go anywhere and do virtually anything, but nothing really appealed to me. I just wanted to find this gold mine and get back to my everyday life. I was trying to accept the fact that I could never return to what I had before. Things would never be the same. I thought of our grown children, Charles and Maggie. We hadn't told them that we wouldn't be home, but they lived on opposite coasts from us, and we rarely heard from them due to their busy lives. I had hoped to complete this mission and get back before we needed to explain anything, but before long we were going to have to contact them. I just didn't know what to say. They were already suspicious of my last absence because I couldn't tell them what I had been doing. This was far more dangerous, and I hoped that our actions hadn't put them in any jeopardy, but there was nothing I could do. I had to trust our Creator and have faith that whatever happened, it was for our best.

A light came on in the room behind me, and I knew that Evelyn was awake. I stepped inside and closed the French doors to the balcony. Evelyn was in the shower, and I decided to join her to save time. It was the most solitary shower that we had ever shared. I understood. She continued her reticence as she dressed for the day. I was at a loss for words. I bound our bare right feet, and we stepped, touched the golden highway, and parked in David's living area. We scanned the room and saw Annette's note on the table. Evelyn guided us into the room, snatched the note, and before I knew it, we were back at our hotel room. The magical aspect of our transport was becoming commonplace to me. Traversing continents was no different from walking to the bathroom for me now. The universe had become exceeding small from my perspective. I hadn't asked to visit Saturn or Neptune, but I knew that we could park anywhere. I just didn't see the point.

Evelyn sat to read the note in silence. I patiently waited for her to share it. "OK, listen to this. Dear Adriel and Evelyn, whatever it is that has you concerned, please know that we are here to protect you. There is much that I cannot tell you, but it is for your own good. We are requesting a face to face meeting with you to discuss how we should proceed. It is imperative that Joey accompany you, so please be prepared to share your thoughts. Annette."

"Well, it looks like the ball is in our court. I guess we need to set up a meeting with them."

"They can't be trusted, Adriel. I don't want them to see how we navigate, so we need to somehow stay covered up so that they can't see our feet bound together. I won't risk meeting without the ability to leave in an instant."

"OK, we can cover ourselves with a blanket or something so that they can't see our lower bodies. That's reasonable. Do you want to write the note to set up the meeting?"

"Sure, I'll do that, but I will only meet under one condition."

"And what's that?"

"That you say absolutely nothing. I want to do all of the talking."

"That's preposterous! I'm the principal agent."

"Yeah, and I don't trust you. I'm perfectly capable of handling our negotiations, but you have been compromised by your feelings for Joey. I'm not angry with Joey because she was just following orders. I'm upset with Annette because she disregarded our marriage, but I'm mostly angry with you for putting up with it all."

I wasn't going to challenge Evelyn because further discussion would only incriminate me. "OK, I'll do it your way."

Evelyn wrote the note to outline our requirements for meeting with the team. They were all to sit on the couch facing the entrance hallway. We were going to appear around 10:00 AM, and they were to remain seated during our entire meeting. We dropped off the note before dawn and then went in search for the Croque Madame that I had promised Evelyn.

The Croque Monsieur was a signature sandwich of the French. It was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich smothered in béchamel sauce. The Croque Madame had a fried egg added to the top. We found a place that served the sandwich using a croissant. This satisfied both our tastes, and we sat outside at a table with steaming cups of coffee to enjoy our breakfast sandwiches. The streets were coming alive with cars and pedestrians, and the delicious smell of food drifted down the streets. It was Paris on a delightful, sunny, spring morning, and the trees were all abloom. It was picturesque, and I took a mental snapshot to commit to memory that I could recall in the future to remind myself of the more pleasant times that we spent in Paris.

A divine breakfast in the city of love softened Evelyn's spirits, and we returned to the hotel for an intimate interlude. Evelyn wanted to be sure that we were both satisfied physically before being tried mentally. I appreciated her way of thinking. I was truly sorry that I had upset her so much, but I had forgotten how exhilarating angry sex can be, even if the anger is only one-sided. As we lay in bed, Evelyn rolled over and propped her head on her hand. "You know, Adriel, I thought of a way that we can take Joey along that would satisfy Annette. It would require a little deception, but it is possible."

"I thought we couldn't step her back to the golden highway once we dropped her off."

"That's true, unless we drop her at a portal. There are dozens of portals all over the earth. We can target the nearest portal, drop her off, go do whatever we have to do, and come back to get her. Annette and David won't know that she wasn't with us the whole time, as long as Joey can keep it a secret."

"Well, we know that Joey can keep a secret. What it appears that she cannot do is disobey a directive, and that's where our problem will be. She won't agree to it."

"She won't have a choice. We can drop her off against her will, but not without her knowledge. Do you really think that she will tell them that she was hanging out at a portal the whole time?"

"I don't know, Evelyn. We need to get her alone to talk to her."

"That's easy. We'll have them meet us in Giza. She can stand in front of the portal, we can grab her and take her to another one nearby to talk."

"You make it sound so easy. You do realize that she will be all over me once we step back into this world."

"I know, but I'll be there, and you better behave yourself."

Evelyn glanced over at a clock and scooted from the bed. It was time to get ready for our meeting. We decided to shower together again, and this time it was far more pleasant. We dressed, bound our feet, and wrapped a large towel around our knees to conceal our legs below. We double stepped and were parked in David's living area. The three were seated on the couch. Annette and David were conversing, and Joey was sitting silently as usual. We positioned ourselves across the room and stepped in. Annette and David jerked to attention as we startled them with our appearance. We sat together at the same time on the couch opposite our crew.

David and Annette glanced at our lower extremities in unison, but never inquired about the towel. Evelyn began the conversation. "We're here to discuss how this project will be conducted. We have decided that we can take Joey with us, but it will need to be according to our direction. We can pick her up at the portal in Giza and bring her back after each mission." I was impressed that Evelyn was learning the terminology. "We can schedule periodic meetings like this one if you think it is necessary. We do need a way to report our findings. I will leave that up to you."

Annette didn't respond immediately. She studied Evelyn's face. "Would either of you like a cup of coffee or tea, perhaps?"

Evelyn snapped back, "No, we're fine. Let's take care of business."

Annette nodded. "Adriel?" I shook my head. "Well then, my only stipulation was that Joey accompany you for protection, and you appear to have satisfied that. I think we should proceed at your level of comfort. You obviously have reservations with us, or you would not have disappeared on us and required such a strict meeting protocol. I prefer that you relax, but that is entirely up to you. Our job is to protect you. I do want to apologize for David's behavior, both for his forwardness toward you, Evelyn, and his desire to control the project. I assure you that neither of those actions will persist." Annette looked over at David, who nodded in assent.

Evelyn leaned forward slightly. "Is that all that you want to apologize for?"

Annette took a deep breath and sighed. "Evelyn, I understand that you are upset, and I don't blame you. There is a lot that you don't know, but please realize that we are doing the best that we can to protect you. I'll admit that my plan backfired. I wanted to keep Adriel safe without having to disclose things that would ultimately be harmful to him. I will admit that I used Joey to try to lock him in emotionally so that he would be close to her to protect him."

"I guess you didn't realize how much you would need me. That was a terrible mistake."

"Yes, Evelyn, I admitted that I made a mistake. I'm very sorry that I upset you. However, you must realize that your marriage is your and Adriel's responsibility, not mine. My responsibility is to protect him at all costs."

"Well, you have to realize by now that you should include me in that protection because Adriel can't do this on his own." I poked Evelyn in the side. She was disclosing too much.

"I'll make a note of that, Evelyn. I think at this point David needs to tell you where you need to go, and what you should be seeking. David?"

David leaned forward and clasped his hands. "Your first destination will be the papal archives in the bowels of the Vatican, adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy. You will be looking for documents pertaining to the Knights Templar. The documents should be recorded in Latin. However, the findings of the Templars are likely to be written in Hebrew, which is your ultimate goal. We need to know what they found at the temple site in Jerusalem. Now, I will warn you that the archived documents are housed in drawers that are locked behind gated fencing. I'm assuming that won't be a problem for you." David raised his eyebrows.

Evelyn responded, "Not at all."

"Good! Let us know when you would like to start, and we can have Joey ready to go with you. Do you have any questions?"

I looked at Evelyn and shook my head. Evelyn and I stood up, and she responded, "No, I think we have everything we need. We'll be in touch." We then disappeared from their sight, but stayed parked to listen to their conversation.

David shook his head and stood. "Annie, I hope you know what you're doing." He turned and walked into the kitchen to start a cup of tea. Annette and Joey sat on the couch in silence, staring blindly ahead. We stayed a few more minutes, but there was no more to learn from their conversation.

About an hour later, Evelyn turned her attention to lunch as we lay in bed back in our hotel room. She rolled over and suggested, "Let's eat lunch at Le Jules Verne in the tower."

"Seriously? It's probably completely booked."

"Not if we just show up at a table and request service." Evelyn giggled. "Let's just navigate to a restroom and sit down at a vacant table."

I shook my head at the things that amused Evelyn. We finally had an occasion to don our more formal clothing that we had purchased in Avignon. Her plan ultimately worked. There seemed to be a bit of confusion with some of the wait staff, but we eventually got to order and enjoy a sumptuous lunch with a decent view of the city over four hundred feet in the air. Greasing the palms of the waiter and maitre d' with several hundred euros didn't hurt our cause. She chose the marinated salmon, and I had the seared lamb. We selected a great Bordeaux wine and had a relaxing early afternoon. Evelyn laughed when I showed her the bill.

It appeared that our hotel room was still vacant, and we relaxed to digest our lunch and discuss our plan of attack to take Joey and then journey to the papal archives. Evelyn intended to leave a note instructing Annette to have Joey at the portal in Giza during the early morning, day after tomorrow when the portal was accessible. Fortunately, I learned that Evelyn didn't need a sextant and would know the window of time that the portal was available. We would be waiting to snatch Joey and take her to a safe portal at another location to drop her off and explain our plan. Then we would hop over to Rome and search the archives. Evelyn always made things sound simpler than they really were. It would be over twenty-four hours before we transported Joey, but I was already apprehensive about her predictable reaction. We would need to get her calmed down before we allowed her to be alone at the portal. That was usually about an hour. I had no idea how long it would take in the archives, but Evelyn warned me that time was limited due to the shifting portal where Joey would be waiting. She explained that it was like dropping something into the ocean and coming back later to get it. It could drift while we were gone, and she didn't want us to wait until the portal drifted too far because we would have to walk Joey to wherever it was. To make matters worse, it may not even still be available at that time.

This was not an unfamiliar situation for me. I had an undetermined amount of time to go find a needle in a haystack that I didn't know how to recognize and hope that I didn't get caught in the process. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I didn't have to follow that exact plan. We had over twenty-four hours to go search the archives before we ever picked up Joey. I convinced Evelyn that we needed to park outside the archives to scope the place out to assess security, accessibility, and familiarize ourselves with the layout. Parking was always safe. At least it appeared that way. We never really spent much time in that position, and this new venture would definitely be the longest. We dressed in comfortable clothing and bound our bare right feet.

Parking was a convenient way to look around. It didn't provide quite the clarity of actually being there, but gave a hazier view of the surroundings. Colors and shapes were faded and one couldn't perceive fine detail as easily. However, it was a great way to analyze your destination before committing to an entrance. We traversed several hallways. It was overwhelming with over fifty miles of shelving to cover. I had no idea where to start. We searched for a catalog, but realized that it wouldn't contain the article we wanted. Evelyn surmised that something as secretive as our target wouldn't be in an area with much else. We passed through several walls and discovered many rooms that were not accessible to researchers. It became obvious as we continued that some of the more important contents were housed separately from others. Identification was somewhat problematic because over half the descriptions were in Italian. I began to deduce that our target would not be catalogued in Italian, but rather Latin. The Italian language did not exist as it does today during the time of the Templars, so Latin would naturally have been the chosen language of the time. This helped to narrow our search. We narrowed it even further by analyzing the rooms that we visited. We were looking for one of the most ancient of all. We spent hours with no idea where to look next. We were beginning to think that we had exhausted all of the rooms, and then Evelyn suggested that we go deeper. Downward we traveled and found more rooms beneath that were far older than the ones that we had been searching.

We found articles in so many languages. I couldn't identify them all. I supposed that some were Arabic, Aramaic, possibly Chinese, and the apparent Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. I had no idea what the dates were for these documents, and most could not be handled due to their frailty. We stepped into the rooms that had obviously not been entered for many years. The air was dank, and it was very dark. We used lighting from our temporary cell phones that we had purchased earlier. I was searching for an article that I wasn't sure existed to give me information on a mine that I wasn't sure existed. This all seemed so hopeless. Our current calendar wasn't adopted until the sixteenth century. Trying to ascertain time periods was impossible. I felt that there was a gap in time with all of the articles that we observed in the archives. There were more recent items from the past few hundred years, and there were very ancient items, but there seemed as though something in the middle was missing. I couldn't really put my finger on it.

I finally gave up, and we returned to our hotel room. I wasn't getting any direction. David's hunch was unfounded. I was beginning to think we were on a wild goose chase. Evelyn thought that I shouldn't be following David's direction, but instead follow my own intuition. It was often difficult for me to focus because I could spend months exploring the archives and reading the material that was contained on the miles of shelves down there. I found it all so intriguing. I didn't relish the idea of working our way down the African coast to randomly check for any possible gold. That seemed like a fruitless venture. I was eager to find the gold and bring this nightmare to an end, but I appeared to be no closer to my goal than the day that I started. The only significant progress that we had made was in our ability to navigate, but what good was that when we didn't know where to go? I knew I was missing something significant and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Evelyn fell asleep on the bed next to me, and I lay on my back staring at the ceiling. I felt as though I were in limbo and had no further plan. We were scheduled to pick Joey up tomorrow morning, but I had no idea where to take her or what to do. I didn't want to continue this charade much longer. I dozed off and began dreaming. Once again, I saw a rabbit that wanted me to follow. He hopped over to a hole, and I looked inside. I saw nothing. I looked over to him. His nose was twitching, and he said, "Not here." He then hopped over to a second hole and stood on the other side of it. I got down on my knees and looked into the hole. Then he pushed me in. I awoke with a start.

Later that morning, I told Evelyn about the recurring dream and how it had progressed. Evelyn didn't put much stock in dreams the way that I did. I always looked for clues in anything that I could find available. There had to be a significance with the two holes. I had never seen them before in the other dreams. Each dream portrayed the rabbit trying to get me to follow him. In the dream before last, I heard him say, "Next time." The recent dream contained the two holes that the other dreams did not. Perhaps that was what the rabbit was referring to about the next time. Something had changed, but what? I didn't feel that I was any closer to my objective, but the rabbit dream had progressed. I must have been missing something. Evelyn began asking questions to help me analyze the dream. "What do the holes represent?"

"I have no idea, Evelyn. They weren't in the previous dreams."

"Yes, I know, but what does a hole represent to you by itself?"

"Well, it's dark, mysterious, unknown, underground."

"Adriel! Are you not connecting the dots?"

"Oh my god, Evelyn! We were just there! We spent hours in a dark, mysterious, unknown, underground place. How could I have missed that?"

"Exactly, but the rabbit told you that it wasn't the first hole. What does the second hole represent?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's a cave or something."

"Did the holes look different from one another in the dream?"

"No, actually, they looked identical."

"Then I doubt that the second hole is a cave. It must be a second archive somewhere."

I smacked my forehead. "Of course! The seat of the Roman Catholic Church was moved from Rome to Avignon in the early fourteenth century. It didn't completely return to Rome until the early fifteenth century. I studied that aspect many years ago when I was delving into biblical prophecy concerning eschatology. Do you remember the palace that I pointed out when we went to see the fountain in Avignon?"

"Oh, yes, I do. I wanted to go there to see it, but I knew that we couldn't take the risk."

"Well, you're going to get your wish. That's our next destination."

I had no idea if we would find anything in the Pope's Palace in Avignon, but it felt good to have some direction even if it produced nothing. Hope has an interesting way of affecting our attitude. It certainly gave the dream some reasonable meaning. Now that Evelyn and I had some direction, we began deciding where we would take Joey to drop her off. Evelyn had some options for portals. The two closest were one in southwest France inside a cave, and the other below the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The French cave sounded safer to me. I asked her to take me to the cave. As it turned out, it was closed to the public due to the deterioration of cave drawings that had been found about eighty years ago. Black mold was growing on the walls, and I didn't want to leave Joey in such a place. Evelyn suggested the portal at Stonehenge. It seemed like a long way to transport Joey, but Evelyn reminded me that it was just a couple of steps. Once again, I requested a visit, and there we were among the huge stones in a prehistoric area that held a particular mystique that sparked intrigue. I looked around at the peaceful atmosphere. It seemed like a much more suitable place to leave Joey while Evelyn and I explored in Avignon. I didn't like the idea of leaving Joey, but I knew that it was necessary.

Early the following morning, we were parked by the pyramids in Giza awaiting our crew. I was trying to understand exactly what realm we were in when we parked. We weren't on the golden highway, and we weren't in the three-dimensional everyday world. So, where were we? I could see our world in a shady fashion, but we weren't visible to others. In the past, I would have related it to a dimensional aspect, but Evelyn insisted that it wasn't really accurate. She told me that I overanalyzed things, and I should just accept it the way that it is. Evelyn began to explain that when the others arrived we would need to step onto the golden highway, remove the rope, put on our shoes, hold hands, and then I was to step aki. The time finally arrived, and we did just that to appear at the portal. I took Joey's hand, and it felt electrifying. She gave my hand a couple of affectionate squeezes, and I stepped aku. Evelyn pulled off her shoe and mine and placed our bare feet together so that we could release hands. I held onto Joey, who was stiffened with eyes closed. Evelyn bound us together and stepped. We were back at Stonehenge before dawn, and Joey was sobbing and kissing and caressing me in a desperate fashion. Evelyn was trying her best to endure and eventually turned away. My heart melted as I held Joey tightly. This was terribly wrong. I pulled my lips from hers and buried my head on her shoulder. She was gasping and clutching, and Evelyn finally came over to take her from me. It took several minutes to transfer Joey from my arms to Evelyn's. I couldn't do this anymore. It was tearing my heart in two. I sat down in the grass and sobbed. Evelyn was trying to talk to Joey as I gazed at the megalithic structures in the distance. My absence from Joey caused matters to worsen. I needed to find that mine and bring this all to an end.

It had been ninety minutes since we had arrived at Stonehenge. Evelyn was still trying to calm Joey who kept reaching for me. Evelyn encouraged Joey to keep focused with eye contact. Joey's eyes were glazed and she was faintly moaning. Evelyn held her and stroked her hair. I began pacing in front of them. "Evelyn, we can't do this anymore. It's getting worse. We can't take her back to the highway."

"Adriel, we are in England. We can't just leave her here." Evelyn kissed Joey's temple and started rocking her back and forth in her arms.

"What the hell is causing this reaction? She never acts this way unless she gets on the highway. I don't understand."

"I have no clue, Adriel. Maybe it has something to do with her emotional condition. It's as though all of the emotions that she has repressed come flooding out when she touches the highway."

"It's taking longer to get her stabilized. She can't protect us in this state of mind, and I'm afraid to leave her here while we search the palace."

Evelyn silently thought for several minutes as she continued to hold Joey. The sun was beginning to rise, and I could see the wavy portal several meters from us toward the stone pillars. I scooted in next to Evelyn and laid my head on Joey's shoulder. It felt so good to be touching them both at the same time. Evelyn wrapped her left arm around me, and the three of us sat in a warm embrace for several minutes as Evelyn continued to think. I felt loved and protected like a small child in a mother's arms. Joey took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She turned her head and gave Evelyn a kiss on her lips. Evelyn blinked a couple of times in surprise and squeezed Joey tightly. This was one of the more bizarre moments in my life.

Evelyn leaned in and faintly whispered in my ear. "Adriel, could you please take a little walk while I talk privately with Joey?"

I nodded and stood. I lovingly looked down on them for a moment and traipsed off through the grass toward the monument. It was much colder than I had realized. The stones were marvelous. Imagining how the ancient residents hoisted the cross stones atop the pillars was puzzling. I smiled as I looked back toward the portal, realizing that these stones must have been put in place much the same way as the stones of the pyramids. I fully expected that every amazing feat of ancient construction that baffled us was probably near a portal. I began jogging around the perimeter of the area to try to generate more body heat. I was wishing that I had brought warmer clothing. Evelyn had a bag with her that she carried over her shoulder. I wondered if there might be something in it that could keep me warm. I walked back toward them across the grass, but when Evelyn saw me she shook her head, and I understood that they needed more time. I resumed my jogging to keep warm.

Evelyn and Joey had talked for over an hour. Joey seemed to be back to normal, and I was concerned that we had not been able to conduct our mission. However, Joey's welfare was far more important to me. Evelyn finally waved me over, and I huddled in next to her. I could tell that Joey and Evelyn had a much closer bond. During their conversation, Joey had urged Evelyn to come back and share with the others what we had found. She assured her that we could trust them, and that they had no ill intentions toward us. We were a team working toward the same goal, and my present danger was far greater than we knew. She also wanted us to disclose the incident with the three men that were waiting at David's while we were in Giza. I looked at Evelyn, and she nodded. I thought that it was risky to trust them, but we were spending too much time and effort remaining aloof.

After another hour, we decided that we would all go back to David's and sit down with the others to have a talk. It sounded reasonable, but I had no idea what I was about to learn. It was like jumping out of an airplane. There is no going back. The portal had shifted about one hundred meters by now, and we walked over with Joey to position ourselves. I tied Evelyn's foot to mine as Joey watched with a puzzled look. Evelyn had not revealed how we navigate, but everyone was soon to learn. I took Joey's hand and made the step. Evelyn took over once we were on the golden highway, and in an instant we were parked at David's. Joey was shaking and clinging to me. Evelyn was careful not to expose Joey to the highway any longer than necessary. All was clear, and we stepped into the room. Joey continued to cling to me with her head buried into my chest. Evelyn nodded in approval. At least Joey wasn't smothering me with kisses this time. It appeared that the longer she was exposed to the highway, the worse her reaction was. She returned to normal in about twenty minutes, and we sat on the couch as Joey called Annette.

Annette and David arrived within half an hour, and we settled in for a candid chat. It took two hours to clear the air and explain what Evelyn and I had found. Annette decided that we should celebrate our reunion with a few bottles of wine from the cellar. She cubed some goat cheese with some pita bread and hummus, and we all enjoyed a light snack. The wine loosened everyone up for a great conversation. David was ecstatic to learn what we had found concerning navigation and the extent of our capabilities. We explained in detail the experiences of Joey's severe emotional reaction to the golden highway. I was still a bit uncomfortable disclosing everything, but I didn't want to hinder our progress any more than I already had. Annette and David were very disappointed when I explained the limitations of taking Joey with us. I questioned our need for her when we were on a mission, but realized that we needed her with us the rest of the time. Annette and David gave one another knowing glances, and I knew that they weren't telling us everything. We could take her from portal to portal, but not from any other locations. There was no way that Evelyn and I could limit ourselves to portal travel due to the geographic limitations.

David rolled his eyes but didn't comment when I told everyone about my recurring dream. I wanted to explore the archives in Avignon, but I had no assurance that I would find anything. David admitted that it was feasible that documents had been taken from Rome to Avignon during the papal relocation. However, he surmised that they would have taken everything back to Rome. I contended that after one hundred years they may not have known all of the documents that had been relocated. I was the only one who held any stock in my dream. We no longer needed the portal, and David was relieved that our exposure in Giza would be eliminated. Evelyn and I weren't limited as to location or timeframe. We could travel at any time to anywhere.

Joey reached over and squeezed my hand. I remembered that she wanted me to disclose the ordeal with the three armed men. When I told them about the incident, Annette got very concerned. It meant that someone had made a connection between David and our current project. No other incidents had occurred, but the intruders never returned to their source. Annette asked Joey what she had done with the bodies. Joey had broken their backs and dislocated their limbs to stuff them into large bags, and then she carried them individually to a dumpster several doors down. The trash had already been picked up, and by now they were at some garbage dump.

This led to a discussion that I never expected. Annette went to the cellar for more wine. She made sure that we all had full glasses, and then she began her explanation. "Adriel, Evelyn, you should probably know by now that there is no way that you can return to your former lives." Evelyn and I looked at one another. "Adriel, my company wants to bring you on as an agent due to your incredible capabilities."

"Whoa," I objected. "Annette, just because we can navigate today does not mean that after all of this is over we will still be able. I was able to read minds during my last mission, but that capability left as soon as my mission was complete."

"We are aware of that, Adriel. However, you have attributes that are unequalled, not to mention that others are seeking you as well. It's the only way that we can keep you safe, and we want you working for us, not someone else. Your alternative isn't promising."

I looked over at Evelyn, and she posed a question. "Will we be given new identities?"

"Absolutely. You can still visit your children, and we will be sure that you can celebrate holidays together. However, it won't be at your homes. We will provide transportation and a place for you all to meet. You will all be provided with protection and services."

"What's the compensation," I asked.

"We don't operate that way. All of your needs will be met, and you will have a lifestyle beyond your wildest dreams, if you haven't figured that out already. I can explain how that works later. I would ask you both to think about it, but it would be insane for you to refuse."

I looked into Evelyn's eyes, and she turned to Annette, "We'll do it!"

# **CHAPTER NINE**

# **_CHRONOTAXIDI_**

****

****

We were back at the safe-house again with Annette and Joey. Evelyn and I had retired to our room after dinner. She wanted to discuss her conversation with Joey at Stonehenge. "I'm not sure what to make of Joey. I've never met anyone so devoid of emotion and moral values. Her emotional disorder is alarming. In ways, she seems incredibly naive."

"I know what you mean, Evelyn. I thought the same thing about her the first time she and I had a lengthy conversation. She seemed so innocent, but soon afterward I decided that she wasn't. She kept me guessing the whole time."

"I felt the same way. She wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was a mission directive, but then she kills instantly without hesitation or regard. I guess it's good that she doesn't experience jealousy or anger. She could be far more dangerous than she is."

"I have had the same thoughts."

"I asked her if she had sex with you."

"Oh, Evelyn! You didn't!"

"I wanted to hear it from her. She told me that she would do anything that you wanted. I explained to her that you and I are married, and that would be wrong. She couldn't understand why I would object if it brought you pleasure. It seemed to her that if I loved you, I would want you to enjoy her. She has no understanding of morals. She doesn't comprehend love, jealousy, hate, fear or guilt. I think that's what makes her such a good agent. She will do anything she is told without any resistance."

"I hope they don't expect the same thing from me."

"I doubt that, Adriel. I think they know you better than that. I asked her how she felt when she came out of the portal and why she was so emotional. She said that she couldn't understand what was happening to her. I asked her what she did to you to try to get you to fall in love with her."

"Evelyn, please! Why did you ask her that?"

"I needed to know what she did. I can't believe that you would let her do all of that."

"I know you don't understand, but I really couldn't stop her. It was just easier to let her have her way. I was afraid of how far she would go if I resisted. She's scary."

"I'm trying to understand that. I asked her if she enjoyed what she did with you. She said that she liked her bare skin touching yours. She said that she likes the feel of mink against her bare skin the same way. I asked if there was any difference between touching mink and touching your skin. She said that she enjoyed both the same. I asked her if she ever got sexually aroused. She didn't know what that meant. She knew the concept, but not the feeling. She explained about a time when Annette had talked her into having sex, but she didn't get anything out of it. I asked if she liked to kiss you, and then she kissed me on the mouth and asked if I liked it. I had to admit that I did, and then she said that she liked kissing you too. I asked her if she loved you. She said that she didn't understand what love is. I asked her if she would kill you if she ever received that directive for a project. She said, 'Of course.' You need to realize that her affection for you is empty. Adriel, I want you to be very careful. If you fall in love with her, it could affect your judgment. She's like a cobra. She's deadly." I sat staring at the floor. I couldn't believe that we were having this conversation. "She's not going to do any of that to you anymore because her directive has changed. Apparently, Annette is afraid that if you know too much you will do the wrong thing and get killed. That's why she was trying to hook you in emotionally to Joey so that you would always want her with you. Adriel, I know you have feelings for Joey, but you need to come to your senses. She's incredibly dangerous." I nodded in acknowledgement. I had nothing to say. "I want you to know that I'm trying to get past all of this. I suggest that you do the same." Evelyn and I got ready for bed. We were scheduled to visit the Pope's Palace in Avignon early in the morning.

We arose long before dawn. Our bags stayed in the room because we were always just a few short steps away from anything that we needed. We navigated to the Pope's Palace in Avignon and parked. We traversed the palace in parking position to gain familiarity with the layout. We assumed that the archive would be hidden underground, but we stopped in the Departmental Archives of Vaucluse. Most of it housed volumes of church history, recorded judicial events, and legal documents. We doubted that it held anything of the value that we were seeking. We journeyed downward. The palace was seated on the rock of Doms, which was considered to be impregnable. However, we were discovering that long ago there was a tunnel that led into the ancient rock, probably before anything had ever been built upon it. The small rooms that we found appeared to be far older than anything that we had encountered at the Vatican. They were roughly hewn and eerie and caused a foreboding effect on both Evelyn and me. Countless ancient scrolls were stacked along the walls. I didn't want to disturb them for fear of destroying them. I tried to ascertain what they might hold as I studied the pile with my cell phone light. It was impossible to tell. These scrolls would have to be opened in a controlled environment over a period of time to prevent them from crumbling. They had obviously been here for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Evelyn and I continued our search, but we found nothing that fit the description that David had given me. We decided to return.

We stepped our way back to the safe-house to shower and get ready for the rest of our day. It was still early, and we were all scheduled to meet at David's for breakfast. I was hungry for bacon, but I would settle for hummus. We all found seats in the living area with our coffee after breakfast to discuss the morning's excursion. Joey no longer sat with Annette, but stuck to me like a shadow. She didn't hang on me or caress or kiss me, but she did sit very close up against me. I glanced over at Evelyn, who seemed to be fine with the arrangement.

I started my account of the morning. "As you all know, Evelyn and I visited the papal palace in Avignon early this morning. We were able to locate underground tunnels into ancient rooms. One of the rooms contained hundreds of scrolls that appeared very fragile. I didn't want to disturb them for fear of destroying them. I had no way of telling what they were."

David began questioning. "Adriel, do you have any idea what the material of the scrolls is?"

"I'm no expert in this matter, David, but it appeared that it could be papyrus."

"I'm assuming the environment in the underground room was damp and cool."

"Yes, and very eerie as well."

David smiled. "Eerie won't preserve the scroll, but the other factors will. So, do you think that they are far too fragile to view?"

"They appeared that way, but once again, I'm no expert."

"I hope it's not too much to ask, but can you two go get me one of the scrolls right now?"

I looked over at Evelyn, and she nodded her head. "I guess we can. There is certainly no one down there and probably hasn't been for hundreds of years."

Evelyn and I removed our shoes. I pulled the rope from my pocket that I kept with me at all times. In less than two minutes, we had returned with one of the scrolls that lay on top of the heap. I gently handed it to David.

He held the scroll in the palms of his hands and began to examine it. "You are correct, Adriel. It would be impossible to unwrap the scroll. It would just crumble. We would need to pass it through a 3D scanner to segment the scroll and virtually unwrap it to see what's inside. The computer model detects denser parts of each wrap and produces a simulated view of the writing. Do all the scrolls look just like this one?"

"Some are larger, some smaller, but yes, they all appear to be fragile just like this one."

"How many of these did you say there were?"

"I would estimate hundreds. They are piled up along the wall over knee high and about ten feet long."

David continued examining the scroll. "I have a colleague who could virtually unwrap this to determine its contents, but he would want to know where we found it. I don't want to alert anyone to what we are doing, so that won't be an option at this point. If there are hundreds of these scrolls, I doubt that any of them are going to do us much good. We're looking for something a little more unique. Are there any rooms that you haven't searched?"

"I can't be sure. We should probably take another look around." I didn't want to refer to my dream at this point because no one thought that it had significance. However, it was the only hope that I had that I would find something in Avignon.

"Well, Adriel, it appears that you and Evelyn can search the area at any time since no one is around. I'd say the sooner, the better. Why don't you two take another look now, and if you don't find anything, we can plan our next course."

Evelyn and I prepared ourselves, waved goodbye, and disappeared back to Avignon. This was a very unpleasant task. I half expected to be frightened by a skeleton in one of the rooms, but luckily that never happened. Some of the small rooms were empty. Others had some sort of debris on the floor. I assumed that it was deteriorated scroll material. We looked high and low and couldn't find anything else of any interest. I was disappointed. I felt sure that I would find something. I then began to suspicion that we were looking in the wrong place. We expanded our search outward, but we found no other rooms. We went through the palace again in parking mode and still found nothing of interest. I was losing confidence in my dream. Evelyn and I searched for hours. We were getting hungry and decided to return to David's. I was sorry to report our failure.

David was craving fish and chips, so Annette found a place that could deliver five orders for us. Evelyn wanted a beer, but David was not a fan of the brew, so we broke out several bottles of white wine to go with our fish. After our meal, we all gathered into the living area once again. Joey continually made body contact with me. When we were standing, she had her hip touching mine. If we sat, she had her whole leg touching me. I saw Evelyn glance at her a couple of times, but she never objected. David was suggesting that we return to the archives at the Vatican. I wasn't sure where we should look next. We thought that we had searched all of the ancient rooms, but we could go back and check again. I didn't really know what I was supposed to recognize. David thought that it should be a scroll that was found around 1100 AD, but the date of the scroll would be about 1000 BC. I had no idea how to determine such a thing. All he had was a hunch because of the suspicious newfound wealth of the Knights Templar. I thought that was a lot flimsier than my dream, but I kept silent.

We continued our search of the Vatican archives, and I got sidetracked by some of the manuscripts that I found which appeared to be copies of parts of the New Testament writings in Greek. The letters were all strewn together without spacing or punctuation, which made the translation somewhat difficult. I had enough experience that I could segment the words and understand the text. These weren't complete manuscripts, but excerpts that had been found. They were abbreviated and didn't contain the entire story that our translations had. There were thousands of them lying about in one of the lower rooms. Many were redundant and were mostly likely copies of others that had been pieced together to make a more congruent story. I perused the documents for hours until Evelyn finally told me that I was losing focus on our project. I had to agree. I was like a kid in a candy store with all of this material.

After several more hours, I was beginning to think that the needle wasn't in this haystack. I wasn't sure if the needle existed at all. We decided to take a break, and Evelyn wanted to see if we could crash La Tour D'argent in Paris. It was one of the most exclusive restaurants in the world, and I didn't think that our scheme to steal a table would work there as easily at it did at Le Jules Vernes. Besides, it was always risky to step outside our protective crew into the public eye. However, it was difficult for me to resist Evelyn's desires, especially since she had been so upset with me lately. Everyone was still at David's, so we could step back to the safe-house, change into more formal clothing, and make our entrance to La Tour D'argent on the left bank across from Notre Dame. We still had several thousand euros, so the expense wasn't an obstacle. I could now use my account number, but I knew that I would get scolded if Annette realized that Evelyn and I had been gallivanting.

Evelyn and I showered and changed into our formal attire. She was so excited as we stepped into position and parked at La Tour D'argent. We found the restrooms and waited until all was clear. We entered, unbound our feet, and slipped our shoes on as quickly as possible to prevent getting caught. I left the restroom first, and Evelyn followed close behind. We found a dining area with a few occupied tables and then took a seat at one of the tables across the room. Evelyn was giggling and thought our intrusion was exciting. Waiters were attending to the other tables, and I hoped that someone would notice us before we had to ask for service. Evelyn was coaxing me to approach a waiter after about half an hour. I was still reluctant and told her to be patient. She said that she had to use the restroom and wandered off to the one that we had chosen for entry. After a few more minutes, the maitre d' came over to our table and began questioning our reservation. He asked my name, but I informed him that we weren't on the list. I pulled out a wad of cash and began to offer him some, but he readily refused and asked for me to follow him. I told him that my wife was in the restroom, and he said that she would meet me in the lobby. I arose and followed him.

I took a seat in the lobby and tried calling Evelyn on her cell phone. It went to voicemail, and I left her a message. After about ten minutes, I approached the maitre d' and told him that I needed to search for my wife. He asked what she was wearing. I told him that she was in a bright red evening gown. He sent one of the female staff to go look for her. I was getting impatient, and after a short while the lady who had searched for Evelyn approached the maitre d' and spoke. They conversed in French, and I couldn't make out a word of it. The maitre d' walked over and said that my wife was not on the premises. I became indignant and demanded that I go look for her. He denied my access and threatened to call the police. He then asked me to leave the restaurant. I exited the front door and stood on the street as I called Evelyn's cell number the second time. Still, there was no answer. I was now frantic. I dialed Annette, and she readily answered, "Who is this?"

"Annette, it's me, Adriel."

"Adriel?! What phone are you using?"

"It's a prepaid phone that Evelyn and I bought."

"Where the hell are you, Adriel?"

"I'm at La Tour D'argent, and Evelyn is missing."

"What are you doing in Paris? When did you last see her?"

"Evelyn wanted to crash the restaurant. She went to the restroom and never returned."

"Damn it, Adriel! I warned you against this sort of thing. I could have gotten you both reservations at the restaurant if you would have just asked. You're in a lot of danger right now. Where are you standing?"

"I'm right outside the restaurant."

"OK, do you see the bridge toward Notre Dame? It's called Pont de la Tournelle."

"Sure, I see it. Do you know Paris?"

"I lived there for two years on assignment. Stop asking silly questions. We don't have time. Get across that bridge as fast as you can and enter Notre Dame. Find the first person you see who works there, and ask for Father Pierre Faustier. He works for us. Tell him everything, and he will hide you."

"But what about Evelyn?"

"One thing at a time, Adriel. We have to get you safe. Run! Now!" Annette hung up.

I ran across the bridge and through the front doors of Notre Dame. I looked left and right for someone who worked there. I finally saw a man in a clerical collar and quickly approached. I told him that I needed to see Father Pierre Faustier and that it was urgent. He had me follow him to a small room behind the main gallery to wait. I was shaking and wondering where Evelyn was. After several minutes, Father Faustier entered and introduced himself. I was talking so fast that he had me slow down and start again. I was in tears as I explained what Evelyn and I had done and that she disappeared after going to the restroom. He took me by the shoulders and tried to get me to calm down. I was sobbing and collapsed in a chair. Faustier called for an attendant to sit with me and assured me that everything would be all right. I tried calling Evelyn's number again, but still got no answer.

My phone rang, and I desperately answered without checking the number. My heart sank to hear Annette's voice. "Adriel, Father Faustier just called me. You will be safe with him. You do whatever he tells you. I am sending Joey to come get you."

"I can't leave without Evelyn. We need to find her, Annette!"

"Adriel, we already have people looking for her. We found you both on camera, so we know what she is wearing. I have been in contact with the maitre d' at La Tour, Villeneuve; he is a personal friend of mine. You both have done a very stupid thing. We are conducting a computerized digital search that is reviewing all of the cameras in the third, fifth, and eleventh arrondissements with Evelyn's features. We saw her enter the restroom, but we never saw her leave. Our agents are searching the restaurant as we speak. There is nothing that you can do, and any more exposure for you is not an option. Father Faustier is going to transport you to the airport, and Joey will pick you up in our jet. Sorry, but no IV this time. You fly awake. We'll get Evelyn back to you as soon as we find her. I have to go now."

I felt empty. I had lost the love of my life. I would never forgive myself if any harm befell Evelyn. I didn't see how I could go on. I never should have agreed to her crazy scheme, but she got so thrilled with these escapades that it was difficult to resist. We broke a cardinal rule by her going to the restroom alone. I should have followed her. We knew better than to get separated, but she wanted me to find a waiter for our table. I never dreamed that this would happen. Faustier offered me a sedative to relax my nerves. I uncharacteristically accepted. I didn't know how I was going to be able to deal with this. What would I tell our children? So many thoughts flooded my mind. Faustier led me to a cot in another room to lie down and rest due to my emotional exhaustion. The sedative was taking affect, and I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to Faustier gently shaking my shoulder. It was dark, and he explained that it was time to go to the airport. There was still no news about Evelyn. We walked through the cathedral and wound our way to a rear entrance where a panel truck awaited. I stepped into the back and strapped into the seat that was mounted toward the front. Faustier closed the door, and I patiently waited as I rode to Charles de Gaulle Airport. I was in a stupor and hoping that it was all a nightmare. The truck finally arrived at our destination, and the door opened. Joey was waiting with an extended hand. I unbuckled and took her hand as I stepped out of the truck. We were on a tarmac, and the plane was about twenty meters away. She put her arm around me and led me up the stairs into the small jet. The door closed, and she seated me next to her and buckled me in. She held me as we taxied over to the runway for takeoff. She kissed my cheek and whispered, "You're safe now." I remembered Evelyn's statement about Joey being a cobra. Just how safe was I?

Once we were at cruising altitude, Joey led me to a bunk in the back of the plane and pulled me down to lie with her. It was reminiscent of our siestas together, but I was feeling badly about Evelyn, and I knew that she wouldn't approve. I tried to pull away and get up, but Joey insisted that I stay. She pulled me back down and explained. "I can't let you out of my sight anymore. We are doing everything together, sleeping, showering, dressing, using the bathroom. Annette won't let us be apart for a second."

"Evelyn will never put up with that, Joey."

"Evelyn has no choice. This isn't arbitrary. You both made a terrible mistake, and we're not going to let that happen again. She will have to deal with it. Let's try to get some rest before we land. Truthfully, Adriel, I haven't had a decent sleep since our last siesta together. I need to hold you." I couldn't determine if my guilt was greater than my remorse. I felt like my heart was going to stop beating. Joey held me tightly as I lay there sobbing. Periodically she would kiss my neck, and I didn't know if it made be feel better or worse. I did manage to doze off again. The sleep gave me a break from my emotional pain. I awoke after our landing, and a limousine awaited on the tarmac. Joey put her arm around my shoulder to lead me to the car.

She never stopped holding me, caressing me, and giving me little kisses. I looked over at her and asked, "I thought that you weren't going to do this anymore. Why are you kissing me?"

Joey pulled me in tightly. "Because I need to give you comfort. I studied human behavior in training, and you need the physical contact in this situation."

I objected. "Joey, physical contact and comfort only works if it is heartfelt and genuine. Otherwise, it's a sterile gesture."

She looked straight ahead and replied, "We'll see."

We pulled in front of David's residence, and Joey took me inside. David and Annette were seated on the couch facing us as we entered. Six full, open bottles of wine were sitting on the coffee table along with four glasses. David began pouring the wine as we entered. Joey never let loose of my hand. She pulled me over to the table, we each retrieved a glass of wine, and then we sat together on the facing couch. Annette was the first to speak. "Let's enjoy our first glass of wine, and then we'll get started." I was impatient and wanted to talk about Evelyn, but Annette encouraged me to be patient and enjoy some wine first. I was beginning to wonder if Annette hadn't kidnapped Evelyn and was now poisoning me. I didn't trust anyone but Evelyn. I studied the wine for a few seconds, and Annette came over to sit next to me. She rubbed my back, "Adriel, I realize the crazy thoughts that you're going to have in this situation. We have a lot of experience in these matters. I know it's hard, but you can trust us. We're on your side. We're doing all we can to find Evelyn, but I want you to relax and in a few minutes I'll explain what we know so far." Joey pulled me in tightly by my left arm and put her head on my shoulder. I was beginning to feel as though I were at Evelyn's funeral wake.

I took a sip of my wine. "I know you're probably upset with us right now. Evelyn gets such a kick out of crashing restaurants." Annette motioned for me to be quiet and enjoy the wine. I slugged down the entire glass and offered, "OK, now we can get started. I'm done with my first glass of wine."

Annette raised her eyebrows in surprise, and David arose to pour me another glass. Annette began, "Well, Adriel, we are aware that this is all new to you. You are now an agent of ours, so I won't sugar coat anything like I would with an outsider."

"Wait a minute! How am I an agent? I didn't sign anything."

Annette smiled. "None of us have. That's not how our organization works. You don't get paychecks or pay taxes. You don't have insurance or retirement. We take care of all of your expenses for the rest of your life and your spouse's life, but we'll explain all of that later. There is a much more pressing issue. We have a missing agent, and we take that very seriously. Normally, we can locate a person within an hour if they are on the move. We haven't had any trace of Evelyn since she entered the restroom. I need to ask you some questions, and you need to be completely honest with me if you expect to see Evelyn again. Is that understood?"

"Yes, completely."

"First of all, is there anything that you have found that you haven't disclosed to us?"

"Not at all! We went on another search today, but all I found were manuscripts that were part of the New Testament. We found nothing remotely resembling what David described."

"Have either of you talked with anyone or gone anywhere besides La Tour?"

"We stopped at the safe-house to change clothes and went straight to the restaurant. I never talked with anyone until Evelyn was missing."

"Does Evelyn have the capability to navigate without you?"

"No, at least not to my knowledge, but I don't think she would ever keep that a secret from me."

"Well, so you think. She might want to spy on you and Joey without you knowing that she can. Look, Adriel, I know that you have a hard time trusting us, but we have a hard time trusting you two as well. Incidentally, we have more reason for suspicion than you do. We have been diligent to protect you, but you ran from us and withheld essential information. We don't know what to expect out of you. You're too deceptive. I won't lie to you, but I will admit that there are things that you are better off not knowing at this time. That is for your safety, and I will disclose things at the proper time. Your antics have impacted a very important project, and the people that we work for are not as understanding and kind as we are. We are professionals, and our management doesn't cater to childish behavior. I'm doing the best I can at damage control right now, and as influential as I may be, I have my limits. So, right now I want you to explain in great detail all of the conversations that you have had with Evelyn today and everything that happened."

I spent hours recounting all that I could remember about the last twenty-four hours. I told the stories over and over. I answered scores of questions and filled in things that I had forgotten. We reviewed everything to the point that I think the other three could have told the story with as much detail as I could. The six bottles of wine were empty, and the sun was beginning to rise. Annette asked if anyone was hungry. Everyone decided that a light breakfast was in order, followed by a long nap. Joey informed me that we were going to the gym for a thorough workout later that afternoon. It had been far too many days since I had decent exercise. I was grieving the loss of my wife, and I didn't feel like working out. Joey explained that it wasn't my choice. To make matters even worse, Annette had brought my costume with her.

I hated conventional travel, especially in this ridiculous outfit. Joey worked me extremely hard at the gym. I was now emotionally and physically exhausted. When we returned to the safe-house, she took me into the bathroom and ordered me to get into the shower. I resisted because I knew that Evelyn would be furious. "Adriel, either get into the shower, or I will strip you down and wash you myself. It's your choice." This was the scary aspect of Joey that I tried to explain to Evelyn. This certainly wasn't the first time that Joey saw me shower, but I still wasn't used to it. After I stepped out, she got in and took her shower. We toweled off and got ready for bed. I had at least convinced her to wear pajamas.

We finally settled into bed for the night, and she insisted on holding me as she had done so many times during siesta. I was really hoping that Evelyn couldn't park in the room without me because I would never recover from this. I was sleeping soundly when Joey shook me. She needed to go to the bathroom, and she asked if I needed to go. I told her that I didn't and wanted to go back to sleep. She dragged me out of bed into the bathroom while I waited for her to pee. She encouraged me to try myself so that we didn't have to get up again. Morning finally arrived, and I stretched to prepare my body to get up. Joey awoke, and we ended up in the shower again. It was more toilet time, shaving, applying lotion, and all of the other bodily maintenance together that one usually does in the privacy of his own home. We went into the bedroom to get dressed in our costumes and prepared to take our walk to the cafe where we would catch our limousine.

I wasn't sure what we were going to do now that I didn't have the ability to navigate. We finally arrived at David's. Annette was heavily engaged in the effort to find Evelyn, but after twenty-four hours the chances of finding someone diminished greatly. I could tell that she didn't want to give me bad news, but she promised to be candid with me. Her agents had practically taken the restroom apart where Evelyn disappeared. She had never seen anything like it. She was more and more convinced that Evelyn navigated without me. Nothing else made sense. I couldn't imagine that Evelyn would keep something like that from me. It just made no sense to me. Annette spent the morning interrogating me after breakfast. I answered a barrage of questions concerning Evelyn's habits, childhood, quirks, our marriage, her peeves, and countless other aspects which I wasn't sure how to answer. Joey held my left arm and had her head on my shoulder most of the time. David appeared to be annoyed and busied himself in the kitchen. We broke for a light lunch and siesta. Annette slept on the couch facing Joey and me.

I was so worried about Evelyn that I couldn't sleep. I wept silently as my heart continued to break. In the beginning, Evelyn was so sure that I was going to lose my life over this mission, and now it was she who was missing without a clue. It felt good to be held by Joey. It gave me a sense of comfort, even though I knew that there was no feeling or emotion behind it. Still, she was doing it because she knew that someone in my circumstance needed it. I hoped that Evelyn would understand. Joey kissed my neck, and I knew that she was awake. I turned to face her. "Joey, what are we going to do now that I can't navigate?"

"I'm sure this is temporary, Adriel. We need to concentrate on Evelyn right now. Annette and I have been through this many times. Our agents are the best, and I have complete confidence in them. We'll find her." Joey then kissed me on the lips and held me tightly. I wanted Evelyn so badly that I ached.

After everyone awoke from siesta, we reconvened in the living area to get a status update from the search team. The surveillance footage was revisited, and no one had come out of the restroom after Evelyn went in. They did see the female employee enter who searched for Evelyn when I was in the lobby. She exited the restroom within thirty seconds. No on else was seen going in or out before I called Annette. They were convinced that Evelyn was not taken from the restaurant. They returned to search further, but they were running out of options. I sat between Annette and Joey as Annette rubbed my back. "I'm so sorry, Adriel. This is very puzzling for me. This might be the most bizarre disappearance that I have ever seen." I now had Joey's head on my left shoulder and Annette's head on my right shoulder. Tears continued to stream down my face. Annette suggested a diversion and asked what I would like to do. I really couldn't think of anything that would take my mind off of my present despair. They both stayed close to me until we decided to return to the safe-house. I was such an emotional mess that Annette didn't want me to be seen in public. She tried to talk me into getting a hold of myself to make the walk from the cafe to the safe-house. They had reasons for the protocols that they followed, and they never wanted to deviate, unless it was an emergency.

I finally pulled it together, and Joey and I returned via our normal route while Annette departed as though she were accompanying Evelyn. When we settled in, Annette asked what I would like to eat. I didn't have much of an appetite and told her she could order whatever she wanted. Joey stood behind me and started to massage my shoulders. Her hands were incredibly strong. I was startled by a knock at the door. Annette motioned for us to be quiet. She silently approached the door and asked, "Who is it?"

We heard the reply, "Annette, it's Evelyn."

Annette opened the door, and I jumped up from my chair and darted toward the door. Joey tackled me to the floor and held me. Annette instructed Evelyn to go sit on the couch on the far side of the room. Annette then pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "I need a female medical examiner for an AWOL Agent Test ASAP. You know my location." Annette hung up the phone and walked over to where I lay on the floor. "Adriel, I need for you to control yourself. You can't go near Evelyn until she has been examined, so I need for you to cooperate. Otherwise, Joey will use whatever force necessary to subdue you. Do you understand?" I nodded my head. "OK, Joey is going to let you up now. We're going to wait for the medical examiner. She should be here within half an hour." Annette encouraged us all to wait quietly. Evelyn sat silently on the couch. I could tell that she had been crying, and I was dying inside wanting to know what had happened to her. The medical examiner finally arrived and walked Evelyn into the bedroom.

I asked Annette, "What is the examination for?"

"It's protocol, Adriel. Whenever an agent goes missing for any period of time, the agency requires a thorough examination. I've never had one, but I hear they aren't pleasant. We use same sex examiners because it is a very invasive examination of all body cavities, and fluids including urine, blood, sweat, and saliva. Her entire body will be searched for any bruising, abrasions, or other possible injuries. It takes about an hour to two hours, depending on what they find. Lab tests will be conducted for all fluids with DNA analysis as well. They also check for any drugs, endorphins, dopamine, and other indications of repeated orgasm."

"Orgasms? Whatever for?"

"We have seen extreme cases of abducted female agents who have been influenced by intensely heightened sexual gratification. It has proven to be an effective brainwashing technique, but usually requires a couple of weeks. It's now standard testing for any AWOL female agent. Depending on what the examiner finds, we may need to isolate her for about twenty-four hours until we have all of the test results. I know this is emotionally difficult, but you will eventually get to be with her."

I was dumbfounded wondering what kind of a world we were now living in. I couldn't bear the thought of someone abusing Evelyn. I was so glad to have her back, but I desperately wanted to know if she was all right. After about forty-five minutes, the medical examiner emerged from the room to speak with Annette. She had the examiner address me since I was Evelyn's husband. "Mr. Chevalier, I am Doctor Alvarez. I have done a thorough examination of your wife's body. It doesn't appear that she was abused in any way or contains any harmful apparatus. We still need to get lab results for a conclusive analysis, but I'm going to clear her for public introduction. We aren't going to isolate her. You can go talk with her now. I thanked the doctor and hurried into the bedroom.

Evelyn was putting on her pajamas. I frantically asked, "Where have you been? What happened to you?"

Evelyn looked beyond me, and I turned to see Joey within inches. "Can you please give my wife and me some time to talk in private?" I was frustrated.

Evelyn extended her hand to Joey. Joey stepped around me and embraced Evelyn. Evelyn gratefully whispered, "Thank you for taking care of my husband. Please keep him safe."

Joey kissed Evelyn on the lips and responded, "I will. I promise."

Evelyn released Joey and pulled me toward her. "Do everything Joey tells you. She's doing her best to keep you alive."

"Evelyn, where have you been?"

"Adriel, I can't explain it all to you right now, but you need to trust Annette and Joey. I'll tell you what I can later, but for now I'd like to rest."

"I understand that, but can I lie here with you?"

"Of course you can." I glanced over at Joey hoping that she would leave. Evelyn took both my hands and looked into my eyes. "Joey stays. Never allow yourself to be out of her sight."

I couldn't believe my ears. I lay on the bed holding Evelyn from behind, and Joey held me from behind. I thought I was losing my mind. My wife went missing for over twenty-four hours. She won't tell me where she has been. She insists that Joey stays with me at all times. I'm lying on the bed holding my wife and being held by another woman, and I thought the experience at Stonehenge was bizarre. I didn't know what to expect next. Evelyn awoke after about an hour and wanted to talk with Annette in private. My curiosity was overwhelming, but Evelyn wouldn't tell me where she had been or what she had been doing. She assured me that no one hurt her, and she was fine. She kept urging me to trust Annette and Joey.

It was getting late, and none of us had eaten. We decided to order dinner and discuss our plans for the coming day. Annette preferred that we have a vegetarian meal since it was so late. We all agreed, and enjoyed fava beans with rice, eggplant, pita, and hummus. Annette pulled a bottle of white wine from her bag that she had taken from David's. We shared the wine and sat on the couch to talk about our next steps. I still couldn't understand why Joey had to be with me constantly, but Evelyn encouraged that it was necessary. I wasn't comprehending how Evelyn could allow Joey to be with me when I showered, but she insisted. Annette and Evelyn discussed a new protocol for our travel. Since Joey could not come with us, Evelyn and I had to either stay parked or only step into areas for short periods where no other people were present. I began to realize that Annette and Evelyn had an understanding of something that they were keeping from me.

Evelyn was different. She wasn't resentful or jealous. Instead, she seemed compliant and grateful. I saw a sadness in her eyes when she looked at me as though I were terminally ill. She was more affectionate and understanding. Her attitude toward Joey had changed greatly. She once told me that Joey was a cobra, and now she was putting all of her trust in Joey to keep me safe. I had no idea what happened to Evelyn, but whatever it was, it changed her perspective in ways that I couldn't comprehend. The playful, mischievous Evelyn who giggled at the prospect of crashing a restaurant had given way to this serious, somber agent who wanted to play by the book. Someone had shaken her to the core, but who?

Evelyn looked to me for our direction concerning the next steps that we should take. I decided that we should look beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome to see if anything might be hidden here. I was grabbing at straws at this point. I had no anticipation of finding anything, but I was running out of places to look. I had no other direction, and I seriously doubted that David's suspicions of the Templar's discovery were of any value. We could get started at any hour, but Annette encouraged us all to get as much sleep as we could after suffering such a long and stressful day.

I slept rather soundly with Evelyn in my arms, except for the trip to the bathroom that I had to take with Joey in the middle of the night. We tried not to disturb Evelyn, who didn't stir at all. The next morning was uncomfortable as Joey and I had to shower together while Evelyn sat on the toilet awaiting her turn. The shower was too small for three people, and I wasn't allowed out of Joey's touch. I had to stick around in the bathroom waiting for Joey to finish getting ready while Evelyn went to get dressed. My frustration was growing by the hour.

Since Evelyn and I could travel from anywhere, we decided not to make the trip to David's. We could meet Joey and Annette there later, but we couldn't come out of parking position until Joey arrived. Evelyn and I made our usual travel preparations and stepped into parking position at St. Peter's Basilica. I felt such a relief to be rid of Joey and alone with Evelyn. I tried to hug her, but soon came to a new realization that while we were in parking mode, not only did the material world seem faded and distant, our bodies also lacked a tangibility that prevented me from effectively hugging her. My frustration mounted. We then ventured beneath into the necropolis in search of whatever. I felt that I was wasting my time. We traversed rooms with bones and writings that spurred no particular interest. I wanted to steal away with Evelyn to a place where we could be intimate, but she warned me that it was too dangerous without Joey. That made no sense to me, especially after we had been in hotel rooms with ample privacy. We could step anywhere in the world. Evelyn made me stick to protocol, and we eventually ended up back at David's with nothing to report. Once again, I was standing in front of a proverbial brick wall with no direction.

I still couldn't get used to the fact that I was never out of Joey's sight, and Evelyn was perfectly fine with the arrangement. We all settled into bed that night in our usual configuration. I wanted a more intimate time with Evelyn, but that was out of the question. I lay awake for at least two hours before I finally drifted off into a familiar dream. My rabbit was back. As before, he led me to a hole. I bent down to look in and saw nothing. I looked at the rabbit. His nose twitched, and he said, "Not here." He then hopped off to another hole. I followed and stooped down to look into the darkened hole in the ground. He pushed me in, but this time I didn't awaken. I looked around and saw a huge stack of carrots. The rabbit grabbed one from the top of the heap and took a bite. He threw the remainder of the carrot at me. I dodged as it hit the dirt wall. He took another carrot from the pile and repeated the same behavior. One by one, he took carrots from the pile, bit into them, and threw them at me. He had gotten about half way through the pile of carrots when I noticed that there was a carrot of gold among the others. He saw me look at the golden carrot and snatched it from the pile. He hopped out of the hole and disappeared.

That next morning I kept the dream to myself. I was quiet during breakfast as I pondered the meaning of the carrots. I was trying to understand why the rabbit threw them at me after taking a bite. I assumed that he was testing them, and they weren't passing his expectations, but why throw them at me? He only threw the ones at me that he didn't want, but he took the golden carrot and hopped away. It just didn't make any sense to me. The analogy of a carrot usually meant something that was used to lure someone but could never be attained. It was the carrot hanging in front of a donkey to get him to step forward, but when he did the carrot moved out further. I could relate to the fact that I sought something that caused me to continue searching, but I never was able to find it. However, the dream contained hundreds of carrots, not just one. I wasn't searching for hundreds of things. I only sought one thing, which I assumed must be the golden carrot. Who was the rabbit supposed to be? I had obviously gone beyond desperation at this point as I delved into the dream in extreme detail. I was still unwilling to share it with anyone. My only suggested course was to return to Avignon.

No one gave me any opposition. They were all looking to me to find the gold mine. Evelyn's demeanor had changed significantly as well. She no longer seemed to want to control things. She was subservient to Annette and wouldn't agree to deviate from her direction. I turned my attention to the dream and had an idea. I directed Evelyn to prepare for navigation to the archive in Avignon. We traversed to the room with the fragile scrolls, and I suggested that we enter the room from our parked position. Oddly, Evelyn looked circumspectly as if she expected to see someone. After a few seconds, she impatiently insisted, "Hurry, Adriel. We shouldn't stay here."

I was somewhat surprised. "Evelyn, no one has been here for centuries. I think we're safe."

"No, Adriel, we're not. Let's go!"

"Not yet! I have a theory that I want to test." We approached the stack of scrolls, and I retrieved one from the top. I hated to destroy a historical relic, but I threw the scroll at the stone wall, and it disintegrated into dusty fragments.

"Adriel, what are you doing?" Evelyn was shocked.

I grabbed another scroll and threw it at the wall with the same result. I started grabbing scrolls as fast as I could to smash them against the wall as Evelyn scooted behind me and tried to shield herself from the flying fragments. I became concerned that we didn't have masks to protect our lungs from the debris that was accumulating in the air, and I encouraged her to cover her nose and mouth with her shirt. She thought that I had lost my mind. My frenzy continued until finally it was revealed. I had my golden carrot. I needed a place to examine my treasure, but Evelyn wouldn't allow me to navigate anywhere without Joey. I either had to leave it here or take it to David's.

I knew that what I held in my hand was significant, but how significant was beyond my wildest dreams. I couldn't leave it behind and clutched my prize as we stepped our way back to David's place. We arrived in the living area, and I placed it on the couch as Evelyn unbound our feet. Joey was at my side in an instant, while Annette was having a conversation with David in the kitchen. Once they realized that we had returned, they wandered in to join us. I was excited, but when David caught sight of the item that I held in my hand he became ecstatic. He started jumping around and shouting. He couldn't believe his eyes. He warned me not to try to open it and asked me to bring it into the kitchen. I laid it on the table, and we all stared at it. Among the hundreds of fragile papyrus scrolls that were stacked along the wall lay a single scroll of leather that was far different from all the rest. David started boiling water, and I assumed he was making a cup of tea, but he explained that we needed steam to help the leather relax. It had been preserved in the midst of the papyrus scrolls, but we needed to elevate the humidity in order to unroll it.

He was very familiar with ancient leather scrolls because the Egyptians had often used leather for their writings. However, from what I could already see, the text was written in Greek. We spent the next three hours steaming the scroll and gently prying it open as it softened. With each turning of the scroll, I was deciphering the Greek writing that was exposed. We all livened into celebration when I recognized the name Judas Maccabaeus. Could this be the Jewish priest who was the leader of the Maccabean revolt to overthrow the tyrannical reign of the Seleucids, who lived in the region of Turkey? As more of the text was revealed, I saw that it was an appended message written in Koine Greek, which was the universal language of the day since Alexander the Great. Alexander had imposed the Greek language and culture on the world that he conquered, and that is why the writings for hundreds of years were recorded in Greek, including much of the New Testament. This would give us a reasonable date for the scroll, but it was long after what David expected to find because this writing would have been around 160 BC.

David continued to apply the steam, and the leather complied. We made more turns, and I was now viewing Greek text from another author. I was reading from back to front, and the author hadn't revealed himself. However, it appeared that whoever this was had captured this document as booty from a significant military victory. So far, it appeared that Judas Maccabaeus had taken this from someone who had taken the scroll from another. Somehow, it ended up in the archive in Avignon, and it was now on David's table. Although this didn't appear to be significant concerning the gold mine, it was certainly a valuable historical treasure. David's excitement was mounting because if this had been captured by Judas Maccabaeus, the most likely way that it ended up in the archives was due to the Crusades, which linked with the Knights Templar. I had to admit, it sounded feasible.

Suddenly, my heart leaped as I was able to identify the author of the second text. It was written by Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid leader who overtook Israel around 165 BC. He desecrated the temple and performed horrific acts against the Jewish people. It was the Maccabean revolt that delivered Israel one year later, and the reason that the Jewish nation celebrates Hanukkah to this very day. Antiochus waged war with the Ptolemies in Egypt, and during one of his invasions, he had stolen this scroll from one of the pyramids. His text was boasting of his victory. Apparently, he had the scroll in Jerusalem at the time that the Maccabean revolt occurred, and Judas Maccabaeus somehow captured it from Antiochus. This was an incredibly significant document, but we were yet to find what was hidden in the original text because what we were viewing was written on the other side of the leather at the end. More hours were spent steaming and gently opening the scroll. We were finally able to view some of the original scroll text, and not to David's surprise it was written in hieroglyphics.

Then something peculiar happened. As David continued to apply steam and work with the scroll, everyone was engrossed in the details. Joey was on the opposite side of the table from me, and Evelyn took her by the shoulders to walk her over to my side. Joey made a quick apology to Evelyn and then put her arm around me to hold me close. I saw Annette mouth the words "Thank you" to Evelyn. It wasn't like Evelyn to keep secrets from me, but I was definitely being kept in the dark about something. I knew it was futile to ask, so I decided to observe as much as possible to see if I could get any clues.

It was early evening, and everyone was getting hungry. We were all rather tired of dealing with the scroll, and although we were excited, we decided to tackle the solution to the puzzle in the morning. Annette and David descended to the cellar to choose the wine for the evening. I was exhausted and dozed off in Joey's arms for a few minutes. Evelyn rested against my shoulder. After a few glasses of wine we all settled on roasted leg of lamb and risotto with fava beans and okra. We sat and talked as we awaited our dinner to arrive. David needed to retrieve his hieroglyphic texts from the cellar. It had been years since he had done any translating. I still had a considerable amount of Greek to translate from the back of the scroll. Antiochus was a megalomaniac, and his writing was verbose. Dinner was fantastic. We were all tired and inebriated and decided to spend the night at David's. I retired to the guest room and like three spoons, I held Evelyn, and Joey held me.

I awoke early and decided to get started on the Greek translation for the writing on the backside of the scroll. Joey tried to coax me into staying in bed, but I was too excited. She grudgingly followed me into the kitchen and made coffee for us. I was getting irritated because she wouldn't let me out of her touch while she prepared the coffee, and I wanted to get started. Finally, I gently pulled the scroll apart and found a pen and paper. My first step was to segment the letters into words and gain an understanding of the sentence structure. Greek, unlike English, allowed a considerable creativity in word placement within a sentence. Writers were easier to identify due to their style of sentence structure and vocabulary. Antiochus was very familiar with the language and used some classic Greek construction and vocabulary, some of which I was not familiar. I needed to wait for David to arise to ask if he had any Greek dictionaries.

Apparently, Evelyn had smelled the coffee brewing and sauntered into the kitchen looking for a cup. I retrieved one from the cupboard and poured her coffee. I pulled her close and buried my face into her disheveled hair, kissing the top of her head. We needed time together alone, but I knew that wouldn't happen. She asked what I had determined so far in the text. I was encouraged that I had recognized something about gold, but needed a Greek dictionary to understand the rest. David would be elated to hear what I had found, but he was still fast asleep. Joey started rubbing my chest and telling me that we needed another good workout. I glanced over at Evelyn who appeared to be unaffected by Joey's attention. She sipped her coffee and perused the scroll. I stepped over to explain some of the text that I recognized. As Evelyn and I were looking at the writings, Annette entered the kitchen for some coffee. She had already showered, fixed her hair, and looked like a professional model. She was a beautiful young woman, and I still had a difficult time believing that she was anywhere near Joey's age.

Annette focused on ordering breakfast as we all sat in the living area enjoying our coffee and conversation. David finally awoke when breakfast was on its way. I hadn't cooked in weeks. This was so odd for me to have all of my meals catered. Admittedly, the food was excellent, but I missed milling around in the kitchen. I sat there wondering if this was going to be my new lifestyle as an agent. I certainly hoped not. I asked David if he owned any Greek dictionaries. He affirmed and trotted off to the basement to retrieve a couple. When he returned, he dropped the dictionaries into my lap and went into the kitchen to fix a cup of tea.

As everyone was engaged in mundane conversation, I opened one of the dictionaries in search of a word that I found in one of the phrases, chronotaxidi. I could't find the exact word, but I broke it down and tried to affix meaning within the context of the rest of the sentence. I had forgotten some specifics and went into the kitchen to familiarize myself with the phrase. This was getting rather exciting. It appeared that Antiochus had referred to something about being time to travel the way to the gold. I called to David, and he joined me in the kitchen as we hovered over the scroll. He grabbed his hieroglyphic dictionary, and we flipped the scroll over to view the Egyptian side. David estimated that the scroll was most likely copied from previous manuscripts several times. He doubted that this was the original document because it didn't appear to be old enough to match the writing.

David started translating. There was a considerable amount of text, and this endeavor was obviously going to take hours. I needed a shower and fresh clothes, but I knew what I would have to endure. I couldn't travel to the safe-house for more clothes without towing Joey along with us, and that was impossible without a portal. I decided to remain as I was. After another hour, Evelyn wanted to get freshened up, so we decided to make the laborious limo ride back to the safe-house, shower, and pack some extra clothes. As always, Joey shadowed me during the entire operation. We finally returned to David's, and it was nearly lunch time which I knew would be followed by siesta.

Evelyn explained to Annette that she needed to contact our children. Our phones had been monitored by the agency, and no calls from our children had come in. Annette arranged an untraceable communication for Evelyn to call Charles and Maggie to catch up. Annette also disclosed the fact that our children were being watched and protected without their knowledge. The agency had logs on the travel and whereabouts of our family at all times. I was amazed at their capabilities, and I couldn't wait to learn the extent of what they could do. Annette had explained to Evelyn and me during one of our many conversations that we would need to go through extensive training as agents. We had to learn several languages, self defense, anatomy, medicine, poisons, antidotes, protocols, and scores of other areas necessary to perform in the field.

Lunch arrived, and David had found references to the gold within the text. He concurred that it spoke of being time to travel to the gold, but so far he hadn't learned how that was supposed to be accomplished. We had a wonderful lunch, and I expected David and myself to engage in more translation, but as consistent as the sunrise we all broke for siesta. This never ceased to amaze me, but I had to admit that taking a nap after lunch was delightful. I was sandwiched between two beautiful women who lavished me with affection as I slept soundly in their arms. I awoke to Joey kissing the back of my neck. I reached down and squeezed her leg. I wanted to get up and not disturb Evelyn. I tried to pull my arm from behind Evelyn's back, and she stirred. Joey helped me get up, and we covered Evelyn with a blanket.

Joey followed me into the kitchen. David had been awake for some time and he was frustrated that he couldn't find any direction to the gold. I had a considerable amount of experience in translating and realized that often when one tries to decipher a meaning, preconceived notions lead him down the wrong path. If I were to see the words "he went off," I would need more context within the sentence. Would it mean that he walked away, or would it mean that he burst into a rage? Furthermore, even the context of the sentence can be ambiguous. In translating the New Testament, I have found blatant errors due to the translator's doctrinal background. In the face of ambiguity, you must translate the text in as many possible ways that it can be done without violating vocabulary or grammar. There was no denying the fact that David and I were looking for a gold mine, and that anticipation could most likely lead us to an erroneous conclusion.

Evelyn walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. I asked David to flip the scroll over because I needed to take another look at the writing of Antiochus. David busied himself making another cup of tea as I analyzed the writing. I started writing possible translations of the sentence. Suddenly, chills ran down my spine and out my arms. I looked up at Evelyn, who was reading what I had written. I then started writing the phrase that was most likely the true translation, "time traveling on the golden way." Evelyn gave a start when she saw the words and looked up at me in astonishment. This wasn't about a gold mine.

# **CHAPTER TEN**

# **_ADULTERATED_**

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One of the things that fascinated me about quantum physics was the fact that certain aspects did not appear as constants. For example, a photon can appear as a particle or a wave of energy. It all depends on your perspective. I believed that space and time were somehow synonymous. You can't have one without the other. Space incurs the opportunity for movement, and movement necessitates time. I was struggling to comprehend the aspect of traveling on the golden highway. Evelyn and I had the ability to traverse infinite distances of space in a couple of steps, one of which had to be onto the golden highway. Our shortcuts had effectively resulted in time travel due to virtually eliminating the time that it took to travel to other locations. She had told me that the couples who were walking the highway were traversing time. I was now suspicious if Evelyn had been enlightened concerning time travel but failed to tell me. It obviously wouldn't be the only secret that she kept from me. I then realized that the most disconcerting annoyance that I suffered wasn't the frustration of not knowing where to find the gold mine. It wasn't the incessant touch of Joey and the invasion of my privacy. Rather, it was that I now feared that I couldn't trust Evelyn to tell me the truth. That isolated me in a way that I had never experienced before. I felt distant from her for the first time.

I needed to interrogate Evelyn concerning the golden highway. I felt that our relationship was somewhat strained at this point because I couldn't discuss personal matters with her without Joey hearing everything. Since my former mission to prevent global nuclear war, I had come to realize that we are never alone. Before we came to this earth, we were able to observe those who had descended. We awaited our turn to come here, and when we did we forgot our former existence. The comfort of solitude is imagined by the fact that we cannot see all of those individuals who can see us. It merely appears that we are alone. I always explained it as being in another dimension, but since Evelyn had been enlightened, she rebutted that it was not a dimensional concept. If she is correct, then the premise on which David's entire realm of expertise is founded becomes a sham. It amused me to think that we can create an entire field of study based on something that may not truly exist. Was this the same dilemma as the perception of the photon? Did things appear dimensional from one perspective but not from another? Apparently they did. Evelyn would say that I was overanalyzing everything. I am a thinker, and she is a doer. Maybe that's what makes us such a good team. I didn't want to talk to Evelyn in the presence of the others. I couldn't prevent Joey from hearing, but I could ask her to keep it all secret. She seemed to have no problem with that as long as it didn't violate a mission directive. I decided to wait until we were all in bed for the night before I asked her about the possibility of time travel.

Evelyn had created a livable situation with our sleeping arrangements. She had Joey use a separate bed sheet so that Evelyn and I could be under our own sheet, and Joey could sleep in another. She still had bodily contact with me, but only outside of our sheet. We settled in for the night, and I turned to Joey. "Joey, I need to discuss something with Evelyn, and I want you to keep this to yourself." Joey nodded and patted me on my leg. I turned to Evelyn. "Tell me what you know about time travel. You said that the couples that we saw walking were traveling through time."

"Well, until now I didn't think that was relevant to our project, and I'm still not sure that it is."

"You're not answering my question. What do you know about time travel?"

"I know that it's incredibly dangerous."

"That's what David told me about navigating until you got enlightened. Do you know how to traverse time?"

Evelyn sighed. "Knowing how to travel time isn't the issue. It's the result of doing so. When we go from one place to another, we can always get back to where we were. If we spend too much time on the golden highway, we never know how much time is affected here." I was uncomfortable with Evelyn mentioning the golden highway. I had been careful to keep this from Joey and the others. They still thought we saw what Joey saw when we took her through the portal. "Tell me, Adriel, what day are you going to die?"

"Well, I obviously have no idea."

"And why do you think that is?"

"I imagine that if I knew what day I was going to die, it could affect my decisions and the way that I live today. I may even try to prevent it."

"That's true. We aren't supposed to know. Time travel introduces more problems than it solves. Besides, what use is it in finding the gold mine?"

"I suppose that we could travel back to the time of King Solomon and learn where the mine is."

"Adriel, you can't go back in time. Otherwise, you could alter events and the course of things that have already happened, and that's not possible."

"And how do you know that?"

Evelyn didn't answer. She pulled me on top of her and began gently kissing me. She then turned to Joey, "Joey, would you please turn the other direction?" Joey switched to her other side facing away from us. Evelyn began removing her pajamas. She tugged at mine, and before I knew it we were engaged in a sweet, intimate encounter that exploded into a crescendo of delight for us both. After a few minutes, she initiated another, and another, and another. It was a long overdue rendezvous that we both desperately needed.

We awoke the next morning and found our pajamas in the bed. Joey was so accustomed to seeing us both naked that I wondered what the point was of getting dressed. We were supposed to meet at David's after breakfast to discuss any further findings from the hieroglyphic translation. We all showered and returned to the bedroom to get dressed. Evelyn pulled her shirt over her head and sat on the edge of the bed. Joey had already finished dressing and asked Evelyn if she would do a favor for her. Evelyn readily complied, "Sure, what do you want?"

"I would like for you to take me to the portal and then bring me straight here to do the sex with Adriel." Evelyn swung hard toward Joey's face, but Joey's lightning reflexes caught Evelyn's wrist in midair. "I will take that as a 'no.'"

Evelyn wrenched her wrist from Joey's grasp and swore to me, "We will never make love in front of her again." She stomped out of the room, slamming the door.

My mouth was agape. "Have you lost your mind? Do you know what you have done?"

Joey looked puzzled. "I don't understand. I just wanted to know what it felt like to be human for an hour and experience what you two do."

"Joey, that is just wrong! I'm sure that David would be happy to accommodate you if you want to experience sex."

"No, I have seen him do the sex. He is cruel. You are gentle and kind."

"Oh, dear god, you are impossible!" I arose to find Evelyn, and my shadow followed.

Evelyn was sitting on the couch holding her knees. I sat down beside her with Joey pressed up against my left leg. "Evelyn, she doesn't know any better. She was just curious to know what it felt like to be human." I turned to Joey. "You owe Evelyn an apology."

Joey leaned over to look at Evelyn and readily responded, "I apologize, Evelyn. I didn't mean to upset you."

Evelyn was indignant. "Do you still not understand that married people aren't supposed to have sex with anyone but their spouses?"

Joey objected, "But married people do it all the time. I have seen them. They don't just do it with their spouses."

Evelyn moved over to Joey's other side. "You can't be that naive, Joey. I don't care what other people do; Adriel and I don't have sex with other people. What you just asked was terribly offensive!"

"I thought you liked me and maybe we were friends. I just wanted to feel what you feel. I guess I was wrong."

Evelyn gave a long sigh and looked at me. I turned to Joey to explain, "Joey, it's really difficult for Evelyn and me to understand what it's like to have no emotion or moral value. We know that you don't experience guilt, shame, love, hate, fear, depression, or any other emotion like we do. However, we don't know what it's like to think without emotion. Some of the things that you do and say just seem outrageous to us. I know you don't see it, but you have to understand that we don't know how to relate to you. It's not that we don't like you." I turned to Evelyn. "Sweetie, I think we're going to have to accept the fact that she has no clue when it comes to anything emotional. Getting upset isn't going to accomplish anything."

Evelyn gave me a sheepish look and turned to Joey. "Joey, I'm sorry that I tried to hit you. That's what emotion does sometimes. It acts before we can think."

Joey shook her head. "Most of the time when I see people's emotions it seems like it's so unpleasant, like right now. When I saw you two together last night, you looked like you enjoyed yourselves and cared about each other. That's the emotion that I want to experience."

Evelyn patted Joey's leg and leaned into her face, "Sorry, Joey, ain't gonna happen!"

That entire morning at David's, I contemplated the mystery that lay tangled beneath that beautiful goddess of a woman who was pressed up against me. It was difficult for me to detach my own feelings from her constant display of affection. I continually reminded myself that she felt nothing. I wondered how often we receive the attention of others based solely upon our own expectations without truly realizing their intent. I was convinced that we did it all the time. Joey had no faith in a Creator. Her only faith lay within the capabilities of the agency. She consistently followed the directives that she was given. She had no other moral code. If I were to explain the golden rule to her, she would think that she followed it. If someone were to kill her relative due to a directive from the agency, she would agree. If she had a husband, and he wanted to sleep with another, she wouldn't object. I was now trying to understand the correlation between emotion and our moral conduct. Some were motivated by guilt. Others were motivated by love. We understood the aspect of morals because of our own emotions and empathy toward others. Treat others the way that you want to be treated, but in Joey's case, I didn't think that cardinal rule would work.

We are constantly affected by our perceptions, most of which are erroneous. We have loving relationships with others and carry an image of them in our minds that usually is inaccurate. Sometimes it endears us to them, and sometimes it alienates us. Regardless of the outcome, it is most likely a fallacy. I don't think our perception of others is of any value. Our responsibility is to love others without expecting anything in return. It doesn't require our understanding of their actions or intentions. Love is definitely a choice, just as Joey has chosen to trust in the agency. I knew that my love for others could be construed as indifference. There were times in the past that I stepped away from people because I realized that it was in their best interest. It didn't mean that I didn't love them. I recognized that I wasn't good for everyone. I had some unorthodox beliefs and incredible experiences. Not many people can handle that.

The one refreshing aspect that I appreciated in Joey was that she was not judgmental. She never looked down on another person or had anything bad to say. She didn't want to experience sex with David because she had seen him be cruel. It wasn't a judgment, she just didn't want to participate. Were people judgmental because of emotion? Of course they were. They were insecure and wanted a way to feel better about themselves. Rather than come to terms with who they really were and submit to the Creator, they chose to compare themselves to others whom they found easy to condemn. We should never compare ourselves with others, only to the Creator. We will always be lacking, but that should encourage us to live by faith in his will, character, and nature. Seeking those aspects has been my life's quest, but now I'm searching for some ridiculous gold mine.

I was considered the best candidate to find the mine due to my apathy toward riches. However, I was now an agent of an organization that was motivated by nothing else. Would that negate my unselfish attributes? They certainly didn't think so. I wasn't so sure. I still didn't feel that I was any closer to finding the gold mine, and with each passing day I doubted all the more that it existed. I still had told no one about my dream, not even Evelyn. It obviously had led me to the leather scroll. David now wanted me to look through the rest of the pile in case there was another. I seriously doubted that there was. Evelyn and I returned to Avignon, but this time she made me promise not to smash any more scrolls. I took my time removing the scrolls and stacking them on the other side of the tiny room as Evelyn kept coaxing me to hurry. I was trying to understand the significance of the one that we found. It obviously pertained to time travel, but Evelyn seemed to be resistant to the idea. Our search for another leather scroll was fruitless, and we returned to David's.

I felt that Evelyn and I were now unequally yoked. She was fearful of something that she was unwilling to share with me. Apparently, Annette and Joey had the same awareness, but I was being kept in the dark. Evelyn was sidestepping the issue of time travel, and there was no way that I could accomplish it without her. I was still waiting for David to finish his translation of the scroll. Perhaps that would shed some light on what my next step should be. We had finished lunch and settled down for our siesta. I couldn't fall asleep and lay there revisiting everything that had happened up to this point. I felt sorry for Eddie, who was held hostage without the freedom to travel. I couldn't imagine what that was like for him. I wished that he could be here right now so that I could bounce some ideas off of him, but that wouldn't be possible. I wasn't allowed to travel anymore without Joey unless I was parked or made very brief visits to remote places. I desperately wanted to be alone for just five minutes. I had never experienced this kind of intrusion in my life. Even newborn babies have more time alone than I do right now. Joey's warm breath on my neck was annoying me, so I shifted positions.

Apparently, I had finally fallen asleep in Joey's arms because we were the last to arise from siesta. David was checking his translation while Annette fixed him a cup of tea. Evelyn was making the rest of us a pot of coffee, which emitted an inviting aroma that made Joey and me jump up to fix a cup. Lately, Joey had been holding onto my waistband to keep me close. I found this particularly irritating because I usually wore shorts with an elastic waist. She sometimes grabbed my shirt, and that was equally annoying. I fully expected her to produce a pair of handcuffs at one point. Annette sensed my frustration and walked around the table toward me. She rubbed my back and explained, "We have to protect our package, Adriel. Hang in there. It won't always be this way."

David wasn't fully confident of his translation, but he was ready to share what he had so far. He had translated the text onto a large notepad. "The two shall become one. He is the right, and she is the left. Together they shall clap and embrace. Together they shall tie and untie, bind and loose. They shall play the flute and the lyre as one. They shall step together and move as one. As he moves, so she moves. As she moves, so he moves. She thinks as he thinks, and no division shall separate them. Their eyes shall be upon one another, and their touch shall be as the heart with the lungs. One cannot without the other, and together they shall accomplish all things, the when and the where. They shall go to and fro, and their knowledge will increase. They shall walk the sands of time and the expanse of the heavens together. They shall meld in sweet union and enjoy the honey that drips from their loins. They will create, and it will not be destroyed. They shall build, and it will not be torn down. They shall see and do as one. They will walk time upon the golden way, and they shall know all things. Nothing shall be hidden from their sight, and nothing shall be impossible for them."

Evelyn and I looked up from the notepad and stared into one another's eyes. We had seen the couples strolling on the golden highway. I assumed that this text was about them. I knew that the writing was far more profound than I could comprehend in one reading. I thought that Evelyn and I had a good relationship, but it was nothing compared to what I just read. I really couldn't understand the idea of the same movements. Evelyn and I had our differences, but all couples do. It was difficult to get a mental picture of the described relationship. It was as though they had lost their own identities. In ways, it didn't sound healthy or even possible to me. Joey was hugging me tightly with her head on my shoulder. I felt defeated before I could even begin. If Evelyn and I were expected to accomplish such a union, it would be impossible with Joey hanging on me constantly. In addition, I was now struggling with trust issues because I knew that Evelyn and the others were keeping something from me. For the first time since we started, I felt like giving up.

I walked back to the couch and plopped down. Joey was still clinging to me, and Evelyn brought me a cup of coffee. I thanked her and sat to contemplate my situation. I just wanted to go home and be done with this entire project. I wanted to go back to my everyday life. I enjoyed my life, but ever since this nightmare started I was in perpetual consternation. My life was threatened. My marriage was threatened. I had lost any freedom that I once had, and I was expected to produce something that I now doubted even existed. I began to fall into a depression. Siesta was over, but I just wanted to sleep. It was the only escape that I had left.

Joey was oblivious to what I was experiencing, but Evelyn readily detected the signs. She came and sat next to me with her coffee. She was silent for a few minutes, and then she turned to me. "I know you're frustrated, Adriel. I have to admit, after reading that text I feel a little defeated myself."

"Evelyn, there's no way we can accomplish this." I motioned to Joey with my eyes. "Besides, it sounds like we would have to lose our individuality. It makes no sense."

Evelyn held out her left hand. "Put your right hand next to mine." I held out my right hand next to her left. "They are opposites, but have great similarities. They have similar functions, and together they can do a lot if they have the same goals. I think differences are necessary when they help accomplish the same goals, but when they go in different directions they cause problems. The text spoke of differences. Left and right accomplishing common tasks, tying and untying, binding and loosening. You are male, and I am female. We have children. The differences have accomplished great things."

"I understand that, but the oneness of movement sounds unrealistic, especially with my ball and chain."

Evelyn smiled. "I know that it's difficult to have Joey attached to you constantly. I have had to deal with a lot of emotion because I know that this is necessary at this point. Joey likes you." Joey squeezed me tightly. "She doesn't understand boundaries, but I'll help her. You need to accept her presence as well. I think she's here for more than one reason. We need to accomplish this with her by our side. One of the ways in which I cope is that I view her as a four-year-old girl. It makes it easier for me, and it's probably more accurate than if I view her as an adult. Whenever someone faces the impossible, what do you tell them?"

I gave long sigh. "I tell them to accomplish it by faith."

"So when did you start trying to do this all on your own? When did you stop being the paintbrush in the hand of the Creator that you tell everyone about?"

"You're right. I lost track of my own faith. I guess if you and I are supposed to become like the description in the translation, we will only accomplish it by faith."

"That's right. So, don't feel defeated. We have a lot to do." Evelyn patted me on the leg and stood to go fill her coffee cup. I failed to mention the obstacle of mistrust that I felt for her. I knew that she wouldn't tell me where she had been when she went missing, and I would only get more frustrated. I still didn't see how this was going to work.

David brought his tea into the living area and sat in his chair to talk. "You know, mate, I'm a bit confused as to how this all relates to a bloody gold mine. This all appears to be a lesson about marriage that transcends the limits of time. That appears to contradict the idea of 'till death do you part.' This scroll seems to pertain only to you and Evelyn, since you are the only married couple on this team. Surely, this is more than a marriage lesson. What do you make to it?"

"I don't know, David. I suppose there are many ways in which this can be interpreted. Perhaps the reference to a man and woman is just an analogy. Maybe it has to do with the fact that each of us needs to have a singleness of mind and not live in a contradictory fashion. I think it's one of those mysteries that cannot be solved by analysis, but only realized through a revelation."

David nodded. "Ah, but revealed by whom? If we can't deduce the meaning, then what good does it do? If revelation is the answer, we didn't need the scroll."

"Unless the scroll causes us to seek the revelation. The only reason we are looking for a gold mine is because someone is convinced that it exists. Perhaps the scroll is the clue to a waiting revelation. I really don't know, and with each passing day I care less and less." I stood to get another cup of coffee.

My depression deepened. It all seemed so senseless and hopeless. The events that I had experienced led me no closer to finding a gold mine. I was reticent throughout the rest of the afternoon. The others discussed the possibility of the meaning behind the scroll. Joey and I sat closely in silence. I slipped my arm around her waist and rested my head on her shoulder. I closed my eyes and started to drift off into a nonsensical dream. I awoke to Evelyn shaking my upper arm. It was time to go back to the safe-house for the night, and we departed.

I felt exhausted and listless. We finished dinner and were sipping the last of our wine. Evelyn sat on the couch talking with Annette, and I wanted to go to bed. Joey and I wandered off to the bathroom to get ready. I ended up falling asleep before Evelyn joined us. I felt a stern tug on my right arm, and I assumed it was time for Joey to pee. "Joey, please let me sleep. Stop pulling on me!" As I awakened further, I felt Joey's legs wrap around my waist and experienced a jolting movement like I was tied to a jackhammer. I opened my eyes to see Joey rapidly punching the arm that held me. The intruder released his grip on me, and Joey grabbed me around my chest. Evelyn had been startled to attention and turned on a light. I saw no one in the room. Joey pulled me from the bed and against the wall as she continued to embrace me. She scanned left and right. Nobody was in the room except for Evelyn, Joey and me. I shouted, "What was that?"

Evelyn ran to get Annette, and within a few seconds all four of us were in our bedroom. Annette quickly searched the room, and it appeared to be clear. Annette looked up with a concerned look on her face. "We've been located. We will have to move from here. Quickly gather your things and get packed. I'll notify our relocation team." Annette hurried out of the room.

I tried to release Joey's embrace, but she wouldn't budge. "What just happened?"

Evelyn stepped around the bed and approached. "Adriel, I hope you can appreciate how close Joey needs to be to you. You were nearly taken."

"Taken by whom?" I was starting to panic.

Evelyn explained, "I don't know who did this, but we have been expecting it for some time."

"OK, you need to tell me what is going on. How do you know about this? Why does no one tell me anything?" I was getting more frustrated by the second.

Joey kissed my neck and gently whispered, "Calm down, Adriel. You're safe now. I have you." She continued gently kissing my neck and holding me tightly while Evelyn took our bags from the closet and started packing for both of us.

About half an hour later, a limousine arrived. We all piled into the back of the limo, and Annette dialed a number from her cell phone. She began talking in another language, and I couldn't understand any of the conversation. Annette ended the call and put her phone in her bag. She sat silently looking forward. Evelyn and I looked at one another wondering where we were going. My guess was that we would end up at the airport, but no one said a word. Silence was often an uncomfortable thing to break, and I was unwilling to try.

I sat in the limo wondering what had happened to me that no one would explain. Who had tried to take me, and how did they expect to do that? Annette searched the room. No one else was there. I definitely saw the arm that was pulling on me, and I saw Joey punching the arm. I didn't see a face. The arm released me and disappeared. If it were someone who could travel like Evelyn and me, I didn't understand how they could remove me. We could take Joey through a portal and drop her off anywhere, but we couldn't take her back without taking her to another portal. This was terribly confusing. Someone must have the ability to snatch others from anywhere. That prospect alone was terrifying. If that were true, who had that ability, and where did they want to take me? I found myself clinging to Joey tighter and tighter as I contemplated these ideas. She reciprocated with a few kisses to my cheek and patted my leg. Evelyn said that they had been expecting this, but how could they know? No wonder she didn't mind Joey holding onto me at all times.

I was right. We had arrived at Cairo International Airport in about twenty minutes. As usual, we pulled onto a tarmac, and I spotted the private jet. I was hoping that I could lie down in the bed in the back again. That seemed to help me endure the motion of the plane. We had to buckle into seats for takeoff, but after we were at a safe altitude, Joey took me to the back of the plane to lie down. Evelyn stayed seated and talked with Annette. I began thinking of what Evelyn had told me about being able to navigate to places and people. I wondered if we could navigate to someone in an airplane, or if the speed of the plane would affect our ability. This started me thinking more of the aspect of time, speed, and space. I would love to test these theories, but I knew that no one was going to indulge my curiosity.

Joey was holding me tightly around the waist, and I was no longer irritated with her closeness. I now felt that the closer she was, the better. I turned to face her and asked, "Do you know where we are going?"

"Sure, we're headed for one of Annette's residences."

"One of her residences? How many does she own?"

"Agents don't actually own anything. We choose where we would like to live, and the agency secures a place for us. Annette has six places around the world."

"Which one are we going to now?"

"We're going to her place in Cannes, France."

"How many residences do you have, Joey?"

"I don't have any. Right now, you are my residence." She kissed the corner of my mouth.

Evelyn came back to lie down with us. "Adriel, I'm not sure how Annette thinks she can hide us. Whoever came for you knew where to find you. I'm not so sure that running and hiding will prevent them from finding you again. Do you remember when you could read people's minds? As long as you could identify them by either name or title or someone else's thoughts, you could locate them to read their minds."

"Yes, that's the way it worked. There had to be some identifiable characteristic. I couldn't locate someone suspicioned of anything. If someone robbed a bank, I couldn't just identify the bank robber. That was too nonspecific. I needed an identity."

"What if the person who tried to take you finally identified who you are? If he had the same capability of locating someone, then no matter where you go, he could find you." Joey tightened her grip on me.

"I see what you are saying. If that's true, I need Joey attached to me at all times. I was beginning to think that this mine didn't exist, but obviously someone is trying to prevent me from finding it."

Evelyn interrupted, "Or they want you to find it for them. Either way, you are in danger. We need to find this mine as soon as we can."

"Then you all need to stop keeping me in the dark. I need to know what's going on, and I need full disclosure because without it I don't see how I can effectively proceed."

Evelyn sighed. "I know you're right, but there's a reason that you don't know. Let me go talk to Annette."

I turned over to face Joey. "Do you know what they are hiding?"

Joey just gazed into my eyes. She then pulled me close. "I will keep you safe."

I could hear Annette and Evelyn arguing in the front seats. After several minutes, Evelyn came back to join us again. "Annette is unwilling to reveal anything. I disagree with her, but she said there's a lot that I don't know either. She's afraid that it will jeopardize you even further."

"I don't see how being informed is going to jeopardize me. It seems like it would be just the opposite. Let me go talk to her."

Joey grabbed my arm and wouldn't let me up. "Not now, Adriel. Wait until we have been at Annette's place for a while. She'll be more receptive then. She's missing her lover." Evelyn looked over to me with raised eyebrows. I just shrugged and smiled.

We approached from the Mediterranean and landed at Mandelieu Airport. A limousine awaited our arrival, and we were all escorted to the awaiting car just a few meters from the plane. The limo sped off toward Annette's residence which was actually at a luxury resort that I'm not allowed to disclose. Let me just say that it is located on a peninsula off of Boulevard Marechal Juin. It's breathtaking. The limo took us right to her door. Evelyn was excited that Annette had a pool, and she was eager to go for a swim. We entered with our bags and set them on the floor as Annette went to search for Gina.

Gina was a beautiful, young, dark haired beauty from Italy. Her dark eyes were captivating, and her slender frame was toned and slightly larger than Annette's. Gina spoke Italian and French but very little English. She and Annette locked in a sensual embrace and kissed for nearly a full minute before Annette introduced us all. Annette asked us to help ourselves to the wine, and Joey entered the kitchen to grab a few bottles as Annette led her lover by the hand to the bedroom. As Evelyn, Joey, and I enjoyed our wine, we were serenaded by moans, panting, and screams that bellowed from the bedroom.

Evelyn looked over at me and smiled. I knew that she was ready to engage in a similar escapade with me as well, but I glanced over at Joey. Evelyn sat down by Joey's side and asked, "Are you wishing that you could enjoy what Annette is enjoying right now?"

Joey gave Evelyn a confused look. "It sounds like they are hurting one another." I laughed as Evelyn explained. "No, they are making love. Those are screams of pleasure."

Joey looked puzzled. "But you don't sound like that when you are with Adriel."

"That's because when others are around, we don't want them to hear us. When we are alone, we make a lot more noise." I was intrigued as Evelyn was explaining sex to Joey as though she were about ten years old. Joey appeared to be a lot more naive than I imagined.

After about thirty minutes, Annette emerged naked from the bedroom with her hair slicked back and her body glistening with sweat. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine as though we weren't there. She disappeared into the bedroom, and about fifteen minutes later the serenade began again. Evelyn resumed her explanation of female sexuality to Joey as I walked out to the pool with my glass of wine. I never knew what to expect next, but I was fairly sure what tonight would bring for me.

The grounds were absolutely fabulous. A high, thick hedge ran the circumference of the pool area. Palm trees and tropical shrubs accentuated the other foliage that offered an array of bright colored leaves and flowers. It was a very private setting. I scanned the area to determine if any neighbors could see the pool, but it was pleasingly secluded. I could smell the salt air from the Mediterranean, and it reminded me of my time on the yacht with Joey. I could smell the aroma of food wafting through the air, and I was getting hungry. Annette and Gina finally emerged from the bedroom and ordered dinner for us all.

We were on the French Riviera, and it took a while for me to get accustomed to Annette and Gina being naked the entire time. At first, they took several breaks to the bedroom during the day and often stayed for over an hour at a time, but eventually they didn't bother to retire to the bedroom and enjoyed each other wherever and whenever they pleased. I was wondering how long it had been since Annette had seen Gina, but I was guessing that it had been quite a while. Annette's frequent sexual exploits with Gina made Evelyn far more amorous, and she was getting much better than I was at ignoring Joey's presence.

Gina was in charge of the food and alcohol orders. Deliveries arrived around 6:00 AM, noon, and 6:00 PM. It was a constant smorgasbord of alcohol and various kinds of cuisine. Breakfast offered several types of fruit, mostly tropical, and a variety of cheeses with prosciutto. Croissants were plentiful, and a huge urn of coffee was more than enough for the five of us. Lunch was usually fresh vegetables, wines, seafood of all sorts, baguette, and various sauces that I found particularly tantalizing. Dinner was mostly roasted meat with rice or pasta, vegetables, and more wine.

We didn't have meal times or siesta anymore. All was available to eat, drink, make love, swim, sleep, sunbathe, or whatever we wanted at any time of day or night. I began to feel as though I were in pagan Rome. Joey was concerned that we were getting too soft, and she wanted to take me running on the beach. Annette refused because she didn't want me out in public where I could be seen. Joey finally engaged me in some one-on-one resistance training with her to keep my body toned. Evelyn was getting her exercise in the pool as Joey and I were training, and I got distracted because Evelyn was now topless as well.

Joey devised a game for her and me to play. She would put a toothpick in my mouth with about one inch extended beyond my lips. I was to try to prevent her from taking the toothpick by blocking her with my hands, and she would try to take it from my mouth without touching my face. I got a point for every time she touched my face, and she got a point for every time that she took the toothpick without touching me. We played each game to twenty-one points. Her hands were so fast that I could barely see them move. The most I ever scored was three points in a game.

By the third day, we were all sunbathing nude at the pool and making love anyplace at anytime. I was so used to Joey's hand on my shoulder that it was no more distracting than performing in front of a house cat. I think Evelyn found Joey's presence exciting because she was achieving double digits on a daily basis. Joey never reacted to anything. She was the same whether Evelyn and I were in an amorous encounter or I was brushing my teeth. It made no difference to her. Evelyn and I were rubbing each other down with olive oil and soaking up the piercing Riviera sun. We were getting rather dark and thoroughly enjoying our new lifestyle.

Evelyn asked me to retrieve a lobster tail for her and fill her glass with sparkling white wine. Joey and I scooted a dozen raw oysters on the half shell from the ice onto a plate and filled our glasses. She snagged some of the baby octopus for herself and topped them with one of the sauces. There was so much food, and much of it went to waste. What we couldn't eat was removed by the porter when the carts and trays arrived for the next meal. There were so many selections of cuisine, and I wanted to try them all, but one bite of each was about all I could manage. Wines and aperitifs were plentiful, and Annette kept a fully stocked bar. Gina kept us entertained with so many different types of drinks that she concocted.

I felt like we were losing focus and wondered how long this carnal indulgence was going to last. I feared that many more days of this would cause me to never want to return to normal life. Annette explained to me during one of our many wine breaks that we needed to enjoy ourselves for a few more days, and then we would discuss a plan. Evelyn and I took every opportunity that we could to enjoy one another with complete abandonment. I was amazed at how free we felt to do whatever we wanted regardless of the presence of the others. Besides, they too were indulging without discretion. Our familiarity with one another was creating a special bond.

I saw Gina questioning Annette and could tell from her glances that she was asking about Joey and why she was so close to me. Annette was explaining the situation to her as Gina nodded. Joey and Annette spoke to Gina in Italian and often translated for Gina when she didn't know the appropriate English word to use. We were all laughing, drinking, eating, swimming, and enjoying our mates. Evelyn felt sorry for Joey, but she always seemed content. It had been several days since any of us had worn a stitch of clothing. The weather was delightful and comfortably warm as we sat around the pool.

Annette planted herself on the deck chair next to Evelyn and poured Evelyn more wine. She scooted in closer and started a conversation. "So, Evelyn, are you still angry with me?"

Evelyn smiled. "No, I'm not angry with you. I'm having a great time, and thank you for being so gracious to share your place with us. This is amazing!"

"I know. I just love it here. I try to get back here at least once a quarter or more often when I can. We stay very busy, and it's often difficult to find the time. I thought this was a great opportunity for us all to take a fun break."

"Oh, it has been fun all right. I never dreamed that I could live like this."

Annette smiled. "You should know that you and Adriel are the only people besides Joey that I would bring here. I know that I can trust you. I don't like sharing Gina with anyone, and you would be surprised what some people ask of me. I'm very comfortable with you both, and that just never happens in my business."

Listen, Annette, I was really upset with you when I found out that you were trying to hook Adriel emotionally with Joey, but I understand a lot better now."

Annette giggled. "I'm glad you understand. I hope you know that I chose Joey very carefully. There are other agents that I could have used, but they don't have EDD like Joey does. Her emotional detachment was a safeguard for Adriel's sake."

"Yes, I realize that now, especially since we have been here. It feels good to be so free. I have had some great conversations with Joey, and I feel that we are getting really close to one another."

"That's great, but don't forget, she doesn't feel emotion. So, be careful because she can't reciprocate your feelings."

"Yes, that is hard to remember sometimes."

Joey was pressed up against me, and put her hand on my cheek to turn my head toward her as she whispered, "Adriel, now is the time to ask Annette what you want to know." Joey kissed my cheek to hide the fact that she spoke to me.

I sat up to make eye contact with Annette. "Annette, we need to talk about what Evelyn has been keeping from me."

Annette looked at me for a moment before responding. "Adriel, I know that you want to know the mystery behind all of this, but I really can't tell you right now. When you find the gold mine, I will tell you everything. I promise."

"Well, can Evelyn at least tell me where she was when she went missing?"

Annette looked over at Evelyn and put her hand on Evelyn's hand and gave a squeeze. "Evelyn, what do you think? Do you think that Adriel should know where you were?"

Evelyn closed her eyes, and I saw a tear form in the right corner. Evelyn blinked twice as the tear spilled down her cheek. "Adriel, can we put this off till later? I don't want to lose you, and I think your curiosity isn't worth the risk."

I glanced at Annette and Evelyn. "I'm not sure what that even means."

Annette spoke. "It means that we don't think that satisfying your curiosity is in your best interests at this point. Find the gold mine, and we'll tell you everything."

I sank back into my deck chair. Joey put her right leg over me and rubbed my chest as she put her lips next to my ear to whisper, "Listen to them, Adriel. I agree." Evelyn reached over and pushed Joey's leg off of me.

People often seemed to have a very narrow understanding of adultery. They believed that it was merely sex with someone other than a marriage partner. However, that is only a very small part of it. Adultery is anything that takes one's proper focus off of a spouse. It could be a job, a hobby, or another person. It's a condition of the heart. I was somewhat injured by the fact that Evelyn was unwilling to share with me what had happened to her. It was a harrowing experience for me, and I had no idea what she had endured during that time. I couldn't understand how it could be in my best interests to keep me in the dark about something that seemed so important to all of them. I had a right to know, and their secrecy was alienating me in ways that I wasn't sure how to overcome. In spite of the sexual freedom and intimacy that Evelyn and I had experienced this week, there was a wedge between us that I feared would prohibit me from advancing to the level necessary to find the gold mine.

After dinner arrived that evening, Annette made an announcement that tomorrow we were going back to work. She encouraged us to indulge ourselves as much as we wanted because our Riviera holiday was coming to an end for now. She did, however, promise to bring us back at the earliest opportunity. We all made the best of every remaining minute and agreed to sleep in until around noon.

The next morning, it felt strange and uncomfortable to wear clothing again. Gina poured everyone coffee as we gathered into the living area and sat on the couches. We discussed the scroll that David had translated, and Annette asked if Evelyn and I had given the translation any more thought. Annette had made copies for everyone and passed them around. I jumped up to snag another croissant from the food table and filled my coffee cup. Having Joey by my side gave me the opportunity to employ an extra pair of hands when I needed them, and I handed her some fruit to share as well. We returned to the couch, and I explained to everyone what I had told David about needing a revelation. I didn't think that we could ascertain from the scroll what we needed to know, but the scroll indicated that we should search for a corroborating enlightenment.

Annette was curious how I thought such a revelation would come about and where we should start looking. I was still reluctant to discuss my dreams and the issue of faith because no one seemed interested or capable of understanding the concepts. I merely suggested that Evelyn and I do some more experimenting. This appeared to make everyone considerably nervous due to our last experience at the safe-house, which turned out not to be that safe. I didn't want to disclose the golden highway, but I believed that we were safe there. The only aspect about the highway that made me nervous was the passing of time. I was perturbed because I suspicioned that Evelyn was hiding valuable information from me that might aid in my assessment of what we should do next.

Later that evening as Gina was trimming my hair, Annette received a call from David. He was excited and wanted us to return as soon as possible. He thought that he might have discovered something from the scroll text, but it would require us to be at the portal in Giza. When Annette shared David's conversation, Evelyn and I looked at one another. David had made so many assumptions about so many things that turned out to be false. I will never forget the fiasco of Joey's fingers in my mouth, which wasn't necessary at all. I hated the idea of getting back on the plane to return to an area that I knew wasn't safe. Evelyn reminded me that it was only a couple of steps away. It amused me that I had soon forgotten how easy it was for us to travel. Evelyn and I agreed to meet David at the portal, but Annette vetoed that idea because Joey couldn't accompany me. It appeared that we were both forgetful. I blamed it on our incredible week of pleasure.

Annette didn't want to waste any time and called the relocation team. We weren't returning to the same apartment. The alternative wasn't as close to David's, but if we traveled tonight, we could possibly meet him at Giza before dawn. Annette confirmed with David, and he agreed to be there waiting for us. We all slept on our flight over the Mediterranean. Although we traveled in style, I hated every second of it. It was airplanes and limousines. I didn't know how Annette lived like this. It was nothing for her to travel half way around the world. I dreaded that aspect of being an agent, but it didn't appear that I had much of a choice. The agency was demanding, but they spared no expense for our comfort.

We pulled off the road at Giza at our usual place, and we all hopped over the short wall to make our way toward the portal that stood between us and the pyramids. My head was pounding. I hadn't gotten enough sleep, and the flight had caused my sinuses to start aching. I asked Evelyn for some ibuprofen, but she didn't have any. Luckily, Annette had some in her bag. We trudged across the sand toward the silhouette that stood in the distance. David's sextant was lying in the case at his feet. He looked more gaunt than usual, and I wondered if he had eaten since we left. The air was cooler than what we enjoyed on the Riviera. My mind kept wandering back to that wonderful last week of decadent pleasure. I was having a difficult time engaging in work again.

David was very excited and eager to direct our experiment. He faced Evelyn and me with the portal at his back. He had us hold hands as we had done in our earlier experiments. He had a wide grin and asked, "Adriel, why are you holding Evelyn's left hand?"

"Because I am left handed, and I want my left hand free to use."

"That sounds perfectly logical, mate, but according to the scroll the man is to be the right hand, and the woman is to be the left. You need to switch places with Evelyn." I released Evelyn's left hand and moved to her right. We clasped hands again. "Ah, perfect!" David stepped out of the way.

I turned to David, "So, what do you expect to happen?"

"I have no idea. I just wanted to test this according to the description in the scroll. You two need to step into the portal and see if anything is different."

I looked at Evelyn and shrugged my shoulders. I didn't want to stay on the golden highway for very long. I was nervous about the passage of time because we still didn't understand the correlation of the variance when we lingered there. I stepped aku. Evelyn and I readily noticed a difference. There was a strong breeze blowing, whereas before it had been dead calm. I gave Evelyn a puzzled look. We saw the other couples walking the golden highway as we had before, but this time I noticed that the man was always on the right and the woman on the left.

I turned to Evelyn, "Remember when we took Joey here for the first time, and that man came and touched you on the cheek?"

"Of course I do. How could I forget?"

"He pulled our hands apart, and we exited back to the portal in our realm. I always thought he did that to get us out of here, but now I'm beginning to think that he was giving us a clue that we were holding the wrong hands together."

"I suppose that's possible, but he didn't tell me that. I would think that he would disclose that to me."

"Perhaps, unless he had limitations. He enlightened you about traveling, but did you learn anything else?"

"Sure I did. He told me..." Evelyn stopped in mid sentence.

She had spotted the same couple walking toward us from across the highway. I looked up and focused on the woman, who had chiseled features and wore a very white robe that flapped in the breeze. Like the man who touched Evelyn, she had no hair whatsoever. Her eyes were large and slanted as though she might have been part Oriental. She was a beautiful woman and appeared to be in her forties. She stood in front of me, gazing into my eyes and touched my right cheek with her left hand. I felt a jolt like electricity rush through my body, and I received her thoughts as she explained what she wanted me to know.

I awoke on David's couch. Joey was holding me tightly from behind. Evelyn and Annette were both kneeling in front of me, and Evelyn was gently dabbing my forehead with a cold, moist cloth. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and tried to sit up. Joey held me down with her and kissed me behind the ear. "Lie still for a while, Adriel."

Evelyn looked into both my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine! I would like to sit up though." Joey released her grip on me, and I sat up on the couch. "What happened?"

Evelyn explained, "You fainted, and I had to step aki to get us out of the portal. Joey carried you to the car, and we brought you here to David's. I wanted to take you to a hospital, but Annette refused. Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yes, I feel fine. Why did I faint?"

"I don't know. That woman touched your cheek, and after a few seconds you collapsed. When I looked up, she was gone."

"Actually, my arms and legs are kind of tingling."

Evelyn looked over at Annette, "We need to get him to a hospital."

Annette shook her head. "We have our own medical staff." Annette pulled out her phone and walked across the room to call someone. She returned after a minute. "We have someone on the way. He should be here in about fifteen minutes." Annette knelt down again in front of me. "You should lie down again, Adriel." She took me by the shoulders and placed me back into Joey's awaiting arms. She ran her fingers through my hair a few times and kissed my cheek. This seemed unusual for Annette. I didn't know if it was because she was concerned for my health, or if it was due to the closeness that we had at her residence in Cannes.

The medical examiner arrived and took my vitals. He asked the obvious questions about my activity, sleep, and diet. He looked at my eyes and had me stand and walk. He found nothing out of the ordinary. I explained that my arms and legs were still tingling, and he wanted me to go to one of their facilities for further testing. I was reluctant, but Evelyn and Annette both insisted, and I spent the afternoon being poked, pricked, and scanned.

Other than my cholesterol being a little high, the tests produced no reasons for alarm. We had returned to David's for dinner, wine, and conversation. Evelyn recounted our experience in the portal, and normally I would have prevented the level of detail that she was providing. However, at this point I really wasn't concerned with what she could tell everyone. She was surprised that she could step us both aki out of the portal because in the past it had been I who had done the portal stepping when we held hands. However, it didn't surprise me in the least, especially now that we were holding the appropriate hands. I laughed to myself as I realized that tying our feet together was unnecessary. If I had held her right hand instead of her left, she could have done all of the stepping by herself.

Everyone was concerned that I had remained quiet during much of the discussion. I assured them that I was feeling fine. I still felt the tingling in my limbs, but none of the medical staff seemed able to explain why I was feeling this. I assumed that it must be something to do with the woman who touched my cheek, but I didn't elaborate. Those of us who had traveled needed to catch up on sleep, so we decided to make the trip to the new safe-house to get some rest and reconvene tomorrow.

I dozed off during the forty-five minute ride to our hideout. We finally arrived, and Joey practically carried me inside. I assured her that I was fine. We decided on the rooms that we would occupy and got ready for bed. Evelyn and I were too tired to make love and decided to wait until morning. Now that we were alone with Joey, and Evelyn wasn't as concerned for my health, she asked if I received any enlightenment from the woman when she touched my cheek like she had received from the man on the golden highway. I smiled and looked over at her. "You have no idea."

# **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

# **_COORDINATION_**

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Things are never as easy as they seem. We need two eyes to perceive distance. That's why special glasses are issued at theaters to view 3-D movies. The movie is filmed with overlapping exposures that correspond to our two eyes. The glasses are engineered to show only one lens perspective to each eye in order to create the depth perception that we have in reality. That is also what makes certain trick photography so entertaining. One can position a subject at the proper angle to make it look like someone is holding the moon in his hand. Of course, it doesn't look that way in real life because we can perceive three-dimensional depth; however, photographs are two-dimensional giving the ability to appear as though objects are closer or farther than they really are.

Have you ever closed one eye and tried to grasp an object? It is often difficult if you aren't familiar with its distance. That's the reason that many high utility wires have balls on them. It's so airplane pilots can readily detect the distance of the wire. The wire has a horizontal two-dimensional aspect, which makes it terribly difficult to ascertain just how far away it really is. The ball provides the three-dimensional aid to detect the distance.

I know that Evelyn has said that our challenge isn't a matter of dimension, but I beg to differ to some degree. I'm now facing a similar challenge that the high utility wire presents when it has no balls. I'm skirting the obvious joke here to explain a serious problem. Let's suppose that you and your partner are holding long swords. You each must cover one eye with a patch and then approach one another face to face. You have one chance to extend your swords and make them touch at the tip. Good luck! I'm obviously speaking of an intersection of two things that are needed in order to pinpoint a target. Those two things are "where" and "when."

This concept has led some to erroneously believe that time is the fourth dimension. First, let me assure you that it is not. However, what has led them to this fallacy is the fact that space and time have definite coordinates. We count on these coordinates at all times. Just ask an air traffic controller, or try crossing the street without considering the "when" with the "where." You definitely don't want to be in the same place as a moving car. Just how do you determine when to cross the street? Obviously, it is when you can be sure that a car will not cross your path at the same time. Time and space are the tips of the swords that need to be brought together by two people who do not singularly possess the perspective to successfully do so.

By now, you realize that Evelyn knows the "where," because she can navigate us to any place that we need to go. As you may have guessed, I now know how to navigate the "when." The difficult challenge that I face is coordinating the two so that we can be in the right place at the right time. That may not appear difficult to you, but you have to consider that we are two people with two perceptions, and like the one-eyed swordsmen, trying to coordinate our travel presents great challenges.

Here's another exercise to illustrate. Tie a square not. It's simple, right? It takes about two seconds. Now try to tie the square knot using your right hand while your partner uses his left. It takes a little longer. Now try tying the knot with your two feet. Next, try tying the knot with your right foot and the other person's left foot. Evelyn was able to take us to the garden in Avignon, but we didn't land in the exact spot where I expected. She didn't know that. What she perceived as a success, I might have viewed as a failure. Had we been of one mind, it would have produced a different result.

Let's go back to the analogy of crossing the street. Suppose that you are in a wheel chair, and you need to cross a busy street. Your only way to get across is to be pushed by a blind man. Your succinct communication is necessary, and any mistakes could easily cost you your lives. Perhaps now you can understand my challenge. Let me add just one more hitch. Whenever Evelyn and I are traveling in a car, and she is navigating, nine times out of ten we will get lost.

Evelyn was exasperated. "So, are you telling me that if we had just held hands with you on the right then we wouldn't have had to bind our feet together?"

"That is correct. You had to control my foot to make the step because you were not on my left. The incorrect positioning of our relationship to one another impeded us from navigating properly. I was on the left, so it depended on my step, but I didn't have the knowledge. Had you been on my left, you could easily have navigated us wherever we needed to go."

Evelyn snapped, "I wonder what else there is that we don't know."

"I have no idea. This didn't come with an instruction manual."

"So, now what should we do? Do you want to explain all of this to the others?"

"I don't think it really matters. However, they do need to understand that we have to do some experiments to find out how to use this new knowledge."

"Adriel, you know they won't let us do that without Joey." Joey tightened her arm around my waist.

"I know, but at this point we need to evaluate everything that we think we know. We have been wrong about so many things, and we need to understand what complications there were due to us not standing in the correct position. For instance, is it now possible to take Joey with us?"

"Adriel, you know I can't get Joey back onto the golden highway without a portal."

"Well, maybe you can't, but perhaps we can. We need to run some tests. Finish getting dressed, and we can have a talk with Annette over breakfast."

It had been nearly two weeks since we had falafels and hummus, and I was looking forward to enjoying them with some pita bread and Turkish coffee. Annette ordered some fresh fruit as well. I didn't like to talk with my mouth full, but I had a lot to say, and I couldn't resist the delicious breakfast. I had explained briefly what our new challenges were, and Annette became exceedingly concerned for my welfare. "Adriel, multiple attempts have been made to either kill or kidnap you. Now that you have this new knowledge, it makes you far more valuable. I'm concerned that your danger has greatly increased. From what you have explained, it appears that Evelyn is in equal danger. Joey can protect you both, but Evelyn needs to stay close to her as well."

I looked over at Evelyn and smiled. "Well, it looks like you can't go to the bathroom alone anymore either." Evelyn appeared to be deep in thought. I turned my attention to Annette. "Look, Annette, I need to know just how serious this danger is. You have all been keeping something from me. I was nearly snatched during my sleep a couple of weeks ago. Who is trying to take me?"

Annette poured another cup of coffee. "We're not sure, Adriel. We're not even sure of their capabilities. All I can tell you at this point is that someone warned us about the danger that you are in. There are details that I shouldn't tell you right now. Once you locate the gold mine, the immediate danger will cease. Then we can explain it all. Your knowledge can possibly cause you to make the wrong decision, and that could be fatal. We're going back to David's place this morning to review the scroll translation and see if we can make more sense of it. Evelyn, I want you to stay as close to Joey as Adriel does. We can't take any chances."

"So, when were you warned about my danger?"

Annette sighed. "It was before we ever contacted you. I can get into a lot of trouble with the agency for telling you. Believe me, I would love to tell you everything, but I'm not allowed. Frankly, I have already told too much, and I would appreciate you all keeping this conversation a close secret."

That last statement opened countless questions in my mind, but I knew better than to ask. We finished breakfast and changed into our costumes that we still had to wear in public. I was hoping that we could soon be rid of these and travel like normal people. I contemplated the possibilities as we rode to David's residence. Now that Evelyn and I knew how to position ourselves, we may be capable of a lot more than we knew. However, the only way to determine anything was by experiment, and that required a plan. I was concerned that any plan I devised would be terribly deficient in learning our real capabilities. I was glad that we were revisiting the scroll. It may give me some clues on what tests we needed to perform.

We settled in at David's with the translation of the scroll as Annette made a pot of coffee. We each had our own copy and decided to review it line by line. David had revisited his translated text, and from the best of his knowledge it was accurate. Annette delivered our coffees, and we started our review.

I read the first two sentences. "The two shall become one. He is the right, and she is the left." I acknowledged David's contribution. "Thanks to David, we now understand the importance of having me stand on the right. I think the two becoming one refers to a unified mind that controls the right and the left." Everyone agreed. I continued with the next sentence. "Together they shall clap and embrace."

Evelyn interjected, "And that's something that we need to try when we are on the golden highway. It will be interesting to see what happens if we clap and then embrace."

Annette added, "But we need to make sure that Joey can go with you. I think that's one of the first tests that we should perform." Evelyn was working on a prioritized list.

I continued. "OK, this next part is more of a mystery. 'Together they shall tie and untie, bind and loose.' I'm not sure what tying and binding is referring to, as well as the next line about the flute and the lyre. We can make a note, but I really don't know what to do with those."

David chuckled, "Well, I have a ukulele, but not a flute or a lyre."

"I don't know. Maybe it just means that we are to function as one person. That thought seems to be supported by the next few lines. 'They shall step together and move as one. As he moves, so she moves. As she moves, so he moves. She thinks as he thinks, and no division shall separate them.'"

Evelyn interjected, "Adriel, that almost sounds like us binding our feet together and stepping as one together."

"That's true, but thanks to David we discovered that binding our feet wasn't necessary when I stood on the right." We decided to move on.

Evelyn focused on the next line. "I wonder if there is significance in us looking into each other's eyes. It says, 'Their eyes shall be upon one another, and their touch shall be as the heart with the lungs. One cannot without the other, and together they shall accomplish all things, the when and the where.'"

I agreed. "That's a good point, Evelyn. My main concern was in having us coordinate with one another. We have to intersect the 'when' and the 'where' somehow. Maybe looking at one another helps us do that." Evelyn wrote more notes.

Annette read the next two lines. "'They shall go to and fro, and their knowledge will increase.' That appears to already have happened to you both. You have been able to navigate, and you both have received a significant amount of knowledge. It also looks like you are ready for the next line, 'They shall walk the sands of time and the expanse of the heavens together.'"

David looked over his glasses at us. "I'm curious what the next line means. It sounds sexual to me. 'They shall meld in sweet union and enjoy the honey that drips from their loins.'" Annette looked over at Evelyn and smiled. David knew nothing of our carnal week together at Annette's place. I was now considering making love on the highway, but I wasn't sure how we could get that done with all of the couples walking along.

I finished the text. "'They will create, and it will not be destroyed. They shall build, and it will not be torn down. They shall see and do as one. They will walk time upon the golden way, and they shall know all things. Nothing shall be hidden from their sight, and nothing shall be impossible for them.' I really don't understand all of that. It sounds incredible, but I'm not sure what it means that nothing shall be impossible."

Annette replied, "I guess we will just have to find out. We have a lot of work to do. Let's enjoy the rest of our day, and tomorrow we can get started back at the portal in Giza."

Annette ordered lunch and descended into the wine cellar to make a few selections. Evelyn was rubbing my leg, and I knew that she wanted to go back to the apartment so that we could be alone together. Of course, alone meant with Joey, but we were very accustomed to that by now. After lunch, I took Annette aside and convinced her that we should leave early.

The next morning, we met at Giza and our first priority was to run some tests with Joey. Evelyn and I were prepared for the emotional backlash. I stood on the right with Evelyn on my left. Joey clasped Evelyn's hand, and we stepped aku. As usual, Joey stiffened and closed her eyes. Evelyn immediately stepped aki. I held Joey for ten minutes as she suffered her emotional upheaval. Evelyn was used to the caressing and kissing that Joey lavished on me during these episodes, and she stood behind her trying to comfort her.

Joey finally calmed down enough for us to run our second test with her. This time Joey stood on my right and took my hand. Evelyn stepped aku, and looked over at Joey. Joey looked around in wide eyed amazement. "Where are we?"

I looked over at Evelyn and then back to Joey. "Do you see the highway?"

Joey readily responded, "Oh, yes, I see the highway, but who are these people?" I asked Evelyn to step aki, and we were back at the portal entrance. Joey showed no adverse reactions. After a brief explanation of our success and relieving Joey's curiosity, we decided to try another experiment. Evelyn thought that we should take Joey back to Stonehenge, but instead of using the portal we should try to navigate without it. If we failed, we could always use the portal to transport her back here.

Joey held my hand tightly, and after two steps we were parked about one hundred meters from the megalithic stones. Once we were sure that no one would see us appear, we came out of parking position. Joey was normal, and Evelyn and I laughed with relief. We then apologized to Joey for the pain that we had put her through due to our ignorance. She thought nothing of it. She said that she had experienced far worse on many other projects. Now came the true test. The portal was about fifty meters away, and Evelyn made the step called beu without a portal. We were back on the golden highway, and Joey was safely at my side holding onto my right hand. Evelyn looked up at me with a tear in her eye and smiled. Two more steps, and we were back at Giza. This was a monumental breakthrough. Finally, we needed no more portals.

David was greatly relieved that we no longer needed to come to Giza. He was always nervous about the authorities and questions that might be asked. I took one last look at the pyramids as we hopped over the short wall to get into our awaiting limo. It had been quite an experience, but I was glad that we were moving on. I just had no idea what that meant. We returned to David's to celebrate and assimilate the success. This opened a world of opportunity, and Annette was ecstatic with relief that Joey could now accompany us wherever we went.

David seemed somewhat despondent as Annette opened ten bottles of wine. She had selected a wonderful variety, and we all started enjoying each as we nibbled on some leftover cheese that she found in the kitchen. I seemed to be the only one who noticed David's demeanor. "David, is something bothering you about our experiment?"

David gave his head a shake as though he was clearing his head. "Oh, mate, for the first time as long as I can remember I am feeling a pang in my heart at the thought of you leaving me." I gave David a questioning look. "Certainly you know, Adriel, that my work on this project is done."

I really hadn't given it much thought, but David was right. I knew that the pang wasn't for me, but for Evelyn. She walked over and sat next to David. She gave him a kiss. "Now, you behave yourself. I want to leave here on good terms." She patted his leg and came back to Joey and me.

David took a deep breath. "Take good care of her for me, mate. Otherwise, she knows where to find me." I promised David that I would.

I asked Annette where we should go next. Our physical location could be anywhere, since Evelyn, Joey, and I could travel from anywhere to anywhere. I was secretly hoping for Annette's place in Cannes, but I was reasonably certain that we wouldn't get any work done. Annette called the relocation team from the kitchen and returned after a few minutes. "Evelyn, Adriel, are you ready to return?"

My heart leaped as I thought of going back to Cannes. "We sure are," I exclaimed.

"Great! We should be at your house the day after tomorrow." Evelyn and I looked at one another in surprise. We were finally going home.

The traveling was painful. I had wanted to navigate with Evelyn and Joey, but Annette wouldn't allow it. Many details of our capabilities were kept very secret, and the agency would wonder how we got back to our house without conventional travel. Jet lag was the least of the bothersome aspects. I hated flying. The good thing was that we didn't need to endure airport security. All travel was through the agency. We never needed to have our passports stamped or go through customs. We were constantly under the radar. We arrived at our house in the middle of the night. Evelyn joked about the fact that our house was cleaner than when we left. Everything had been cared for in the best way. However, the next morning Evelyn saw it before I did. Annette had slept in our guest room. Joey, Evelyn, and I had showered together and went into the kitchen to make coffee. Evelyn opened the kitchen blinds and turned to me with her mouth open. She pointed to the front lawn. A realtor's sign was sitting in the front yard.

I turned to Annette. "Our house is for sale?"

Annette cleared her throat. "Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that. We have a lot to discuss about your service to the agency. It's imperative that we give you new identities and remove you from your former circle of friends and acquaintances."

Evelyn objected, "But our children grew up in this house. What in the world are we going to tell them?"

"I know this is difficult. These transitions often are, but we have a protocol that makes this all much easier. Your family will be informed and instructed how they should respond to all questions. Luckily, your children don't live close, or it would have a much greater impact on them. We really don't need to disrupt their lives."

"What about our jobs? Where are we going to live?"

"Calm down, Evelyn. Your jobs with your employers are terminating. The agency will supply everything you need. You can live anywhere in the world that you want. For the sake of your children, I suggest that you don't live too closely to them. Otherwise, if you need to relocate for any reason it could impact them much more."

I waved my hands back and forth. "OK, wait a minute here. What if we change our minds? As you mentioned before, once we find the gold mine, the threat to our lives will end."

"The immediate threat will end, but essentially you will need protection for the rest of your life. One of the reasons that we have to change your identity is to hide you from the undesirables who want to force you into their service. Changing your mind isn't a reasonable option at this point. We need to hide you. There is no way that you can go back to your former life. You wouldn't last three days."

Evelyn started to walk across the room, but Joey grabbed her shoulder reminding Evelyn not to stray from her. I began contemplating my original decision not to sign a disclosure agreement. I didn't realize at the time how moot that really was. I never dreamed that we would lose our home and have to move. I sat in bewilderment trying to understand what my life was going to be. I liked my vocation. I didn't really want to be an agent. I wanted a normal life, but that appeared to be impossible at this point. My nightmares just got worse and worse. I turned to Annette. "What about Eddie? What's going to happen to him?"

Annette sat on the couch. "If you find the gold mine, Eddie will be compensated accordingly. You will disappear from his life, and you will be expected not to contact him. If you violate that order, it will put Eddie's freedom in jeopardy. If you don't find the gold mine, Eddie will be released when the project is closed. That could take quite some time. He will go back to his former life, and his job will be waiting for him."

"So, you're saying that either way I will never see Eddie again. Is that right?"

"That is correct. That goes for all friends, distant relatives, and acquaintances as well. Only your children will know about you, and that will be limited for their protection. We will cover all of this at your orientation. However, we will not disrupt this project. Our intention was to put you through orientation and training after you find the gold mine. There is a grieving process most agents suffer during transition. We will show you how to effectively deal with that and successfully get through it."

I thought for a moment. "Tell me, Annette, that first meeting that we had in this house, did you know then that I would become an agent?"

I noticed a tear form in Annette's right eye. She collected herself. "Actually, Adriel, I expected that you would be assassinated." Evelyn grabbed my leg, and Joey tightened her grip around my waist. "You have no idea how relieved I am that you have made it this far, and I don't mean because of the financial compensation. Once I can disclose everything, you will understand, but for now I need for you bear with me." Annette's tears were now on her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I have never gotten this emotionally involved in a project." Annette took a tissue from her bag and dabbed her eyes. She then excused herself to go to the bathroom. Joey put her head on my shoulder. I looked over at Evelyn, and she was silently weeping. Annette returned from the bathroom as she continued to dab her eyes. "Luckily, I had us removed from all agency surveillance due to the sensitive nature of this project. Ever since the incident in Mozambique, I had our surveillance discontinued because I suspected a possible security leak. Otherwise, if they knew that I was emotionally involved they would remove me from this assignment immediately. You should probably know that we can't work together in the future."

We all sat in silence for several minutes. I began planning our next steps. Evelyn and I needed to coordinate times and places. I had an obvious starting point that should be fairly simple. However, my real targets seemed impossible. Coordinating the where and the when required pinpoint accuracy. History was vague and much of it wasn't even factual. I had no idea how we would successfully navigate my intended time and place to find the gold mine. I shared with the others what I thought our first experiment should be. Evelyn and I could establish a definite period in history at a place with the accuracy that we required. We were going to visit our wedding day.

We stood in the living area holding hands. Evelyn was on my left, and Joey was on my right. Our destination was Buenavista Church on 16th Street on June 18, 1983 at 10:45 AM. We should be taking our vows about then. I instructed Evelyn to step us onto the golden highway. The breeze on the highway was blowing from our left to our right. I led Evelyn and Joey down the highway against the direction of the breeze. I had to position us on the highway in the relative time period. This was somewhat difficult due to accommodating the ever changing passage of time and the exact time of the location of our destination. I began to realize that pinpointing time was far more difficult than targeting a location. Locations were stationary relative to this earth, but time was constantly on the move. I positioned us in the relative time period of the day. I then had Evelyn park us into position at the church. We were too late. Evelyn stepped us back to the highway, and I made an adjustment. We parked again, and this time we saw Evelyn walking down the aisle.

My heart melted, and I began to cry. Evelyn looked so beautiful. I couldn't wipe my eyes because I was holding hands. The tears fell from my face, and I squeezed Evelyn's hand. I couldn't believe how young we looked. Evelyn was wiping her eyes with her left hand. She reached over and wiped my cheeks as well. Evelyn leaned into me as she observed, "The groom is always on the right." After a few moments, I instructed Evelyn to take us out of parking position. She made the step, and we went nowhere. I asked her to try again. We couldn't get out of parking position. Was it impossible to actually enter the past physically, or was it because we would have duplicated ourselves in the same place at the same time? I had Evelyn step us back to our living area at home. I was relieved that returning did not require me to position us in our present time. Evelyn explained about the returning step called gei that brought us to our origination point.

I wanted some time to recover from my emotional experience. We needed to run some more tests to see if we could actually enter the past, or if we could only park there. If we could enter, then it could be possible to alter the past, and Evelyn once said that we couldn't do that. I had another idea. We lined up again as we held hands. This time I wanted to target Annette's residence in Cannes the week before we arrived there. It was still fresh in our minds, and it seemed fairly simple. Evelyn stepped us onto the golden highway. We took a very short walk against the breeze, and I had Evelyn park us by the pool at Annette's. I then asked her to take us out of parking position. She was unable to physically step us into the past. Evelyn looked over at me with a horrified look. I hadn't noticed Gina making love to another woman at the pool.

My heart sank. I looked at Evelyn. "I wish I hadn't seen this. What are we going to do?" I looked over at Joey. She was watching Gina as well. "Joey, do you know who that woman is with Gina?"

Joey nodded. "It's Annette's director at the agency."

"Does Annette know about this? She mentioned to Evelyn that she didn't like sharing Gina."

Joey shook her head. "I'm sure that she doesn't. Should we tell her?"

"I think we have to tell her."

Traveling the past was too emotionally taxing for me. Annette had been with Gina for three years. They had met during one of Annette's projects that took her to Rome. They fell in love, and when Annette decided to take the residence in Cannes she decided to have Gina live there with her. Gina wasn't an agent. She had done some modeling in Italy, but her career hadn't really taken off. Annette's job was demanding, and she was often gone for two or three months at a time. I wondered if she suspicioned that Gina wasn't faithful.

We returned, and everyone was silent as I tried to determine how I was going to break the news to Annette. Annette was on her phone in the kitchen. I didn't think that beating around the bush was a good idea, so I decided to just come out and tell her. I waited until she ended her call. "Annette, could you come sit down on the couch with me? I need to talk with you."

"Sure, Adriel, but I can't tell you what you want to know, so please don't ask."

"It's not that, Annette. I don't know a good way to tell you this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. You know that our last destination was your residence in Cannes, and we targeted the week before we all arrived there."

"Yes, how did it go? Were you able to get there?"

"We were, and we stumbled onto something very alarming."

Annette raised her right palm to me. "I know what you're going to say. I'm sorry you saw that."

"So, you know that Gina is seeing someone else."

Tears began to form again in Annette's eyes. "It started about a year ago. I really don't want to go into the details. I usually try to convince myself that it isn't still going on, but I can tell. I know that she gets lonely."

"Do you know who she's seeing?"

"I don't want to know. I'm afraid of what I might do if I knew who it was, so please don't tell me if you do know."

"I understand, Annette. I care about you, and I thought you should know."

"I appreciate that, Adriel. Now, let's change the subject." She dabbed her eyes again. Evelyn positioned herself next to Annette and gave her a hug.

I thought that our next experiment should be to try navigating into the future to see if we could come out of parking position. Evelyn adamantly refused. She said that she couldn't bear to see what might be in our future, and she didn't think it was of any value to our project. I wasn't convinced. The scroll mentioned walking the highway and knowing all things. I knew that I couldn't do this alone, and it would require Evelyn's full cooperation. I was now at a loss at to how to proceed.

I was faced with more needles in haystacks. If I tried to target the time of King Solomon to trace the gold mine, I would have to know precisely when he lived. History wasn't that accurate. It could take years to find the right time period. This all seemed so impossible, but the scroll said that nothing shall be impossible. I obviously had a lot to learn. There had to be a way to precisely target time and space. Before Evelyn's enlightenment, we were able to move on the golden highway and change our location on this earth. It was trial and error. We moved to the other side of the pyramids from the portal and thought that we had learned to navigate. However, after her enlightenment she could step us to any location without searching.

Evelyn reviewed her notes. She wanted to try clapping and embracing on the highway, but I didn't know how that would be possible with me holding Joey's hand. The scroll spoke of one man and one woman, not two women. Joey presented a problem with travel that the scroll didn't address. I was now suspicioning if we were unable to come out of parking position in the past because of having Joey with us. There were so many variables, and I didn't want to assume too much. However, at this point Evelyn was as insistent as Annette that we not travel without Joey. I began to wonder if Joey and I could bind our feet together instead of holding hands just as Evelyn and I had done, but Joey objected to this method because much of her fighting ability was with her feet. This led me back to the idea of Joey putting her fingers in my mouth. I hadn't told Evelyn about this experiment, but I felt that now would be the time.

Evelyn agreed to perform a test with Joey's fingers in my mouth instead of holding her hand. I held Evelyn's right hand while Joey stood in front of me and placed her four fingers into my mouth. My heart started racing. Evelyn stepped us to the golden highway, and I convulsed in an indescribably intense pleasure. Evelyn stepped us back into our living area at home, and I grabbed Joey and started passionately fondling and kissing her in desperation. Evelyn tried to pull me off of her, but Joey held me tightly as I clung to her. It took nearly ten minutes for me to gain control. I now realized that such a reaction was due to violating the appropriate procedures. I was convinced that we wouldn't be able to take Joey along if we were to accomplish anything worthwhile.

Annette had told me that someone had warned her of a fatal mistake that I could make. She didn't elaborate, and I knew that my questions wouldn't be answered. I wondered if that was the reason that Evelyn didn't want to see the future. I was now pondering whether the future could be altered. Isn't that why we try to prevent certain things from happening? We make choices according to our free will. I realize that we can't control everything, but we do have to pay the consequences of living with the outcome of our decisions. I thought knowing the possible future could help me make better decisions. I just didn't know if it were the possible future or the inevitable future. Apparently, everyone thought that Joey could circumvent the mistake that they assumed I would make.

Every time that we appeared to make progress, a new obstacle was put in our path. I didn't like the idea of proceeding by trial and error. It could be costly, and when I revisited the events that we had experienced, the progress that we had made was not by trial. I needed to convince Annette and Evelyn that we should leave Joey behind as we stepped onto the golden highway. After all, what danger could there be if we stayed there and didn't navigate? We could clap, embrace, and do whatever we thought the scroll described. I just hoped that leaving Joey wasn't the fatal mistake that everyone feared.

We were back in the Midwestern United States, and it felt good to fire up the charcoal grill again. We had four thick, juicy steaks to sear over the hot coals. Annette and Evelyn were making a salad, and the potatoes were in the oven. As much as I enjoyed the eastern cuisine, I was elated to be having beef for dinner. Joey stirred the sautéed mushrooms to accompany our steaks as I opened four bottles of red wine. We were trying not to get into each other's way as we remained physically close to one another, which was a challenge. It was a beautiful evening, and we decided to enjoy dinner on our secluded deck in the back yard. Our flowers were in full bloom, and I was amazed at the color they provided. I realized that the agency had planted annuals for us. I turned to Annette, "I can't believe the care that our place has received while we were gone."

"We didn't want anyone to suspicion that you had disappeared. We take great measures to be sure that everything appears normal."

"Joey told me that you have six residences. The one in Cannes is fantastic. Where are the others?"

Annette looked across at Joey with a disapproving glare. "I'm not sure how Joey knows this. We don't disclose our residences, Adriel. Taking you to Cannes was a violation of protocol, but we all needed a break, and I wanted to be with Gina. Plus, I trust you and Evelyn. Hopefully, I won't be reprimanded. I am often granted leniency more than most, but I think my director favors me." Evelyn and I glanced at one another as Joey squeezed my leg below the table. "When you choose your residence, only the agency will know. I will have no idea where you live."

I thought now was as good as any to address my concerns for navigation. "Annette, Evelyn and I have been experimenting, and from what I can determine so far we need to try some things on the highway without Joey." Evelyn's head jerked to face me.

Annette put her fork down and looked me in the eye. "Adriel, we can't afford to make mistakes. Why do you need to experiment without Joey?"

"The scroll speaks of a man and a woman. It mentions no one else. I think we are impaired by the accompaniment of another person. We need to try the clapping and embracing, and having Joey along does not permit us to do that."

Annette turned to Evelyn, "What do you think, Evelyn?"

Evelyn squirmed a bit. "Well, I have to agree with Adriel, and the highway does appear to be safe so far."

"But are you willing to risk that at the expense that we could incur?"

"I don't know. I need to think about it."

"I'm inclined to leave this up to you both, but I want you to know that I think it's a mistake. I'm not supposed to interfere with your project, but I am supposed to keep you safe. It's not always easy to do both. Do you mind if we open another bottle of wine?" We all agreed.

That night in bed, we discussed the idea of leaving Joey behind as we experimented on the golden highway. Evelyn asked Joey's opinion. Joey held both our hands. "I have to follow your direction. You haven't been trained yet, but as agents we are evaluated on successes and failures. There are rewards and consequences for both. I have never had a mission failure. That's partly why I am still alive due to the danger of my assignments. Mistakes would most likely cost me my life. If you leave without me, I can't protect you. If anything happens to you, it will be considered a failure on my part. So, in my opinion you should not go anywhere without me."

I spent the next morning trying to convince Evelyn that we had no other recourse. Taking Joey along would just impede our progress. We had done all that we could do with her by our side. We now needed to try things without her, and if we saw any danger we could return in one step. Evelyn still would not disclose what she knew, and she feared what might happen if we left Joey behind.

It was late afternoon before Evelyn reluctantly agreed to try a test without Joey. We gathered in the living area, and Evelyn stepped us onto the golden highway. Couples were walking hand in hand. A slight breeze was blowing. I encouraged Evelyn to try clapping with me. We made a few practice moves to be sure that we were coordinating the same target. One, two, three, clap! As soon as I heard the smack of our palms colliding, I saw a couple walking toward us from the other side of the highway. It was the same man and woman who had approached Evelyn and me before when they touched our faces. They were holding hands. He was on the right, and she was on the left. They both stood before us within two feet. They didn't speak. They just stood quietly as though they expected us to do something. Evelyn then put her left hand over my right shoulder to pull me into an embrace. She kissed me. She then turned back to face the other couple. They made no move, nor spoke a word.

I had no clue what they wanted. I extended my right hand toward the woman. She grasped it with her left. Evelyn saw what I did and extended her left hand toward the man, but instead of taking her hand he held out a flute. Evelyn took the flute. He then handed me a lyre, and I released the woman's hand to receive it. I felt that we were finally making some progress. Evelyn tried playing the flute as I strummed the lyre. It produced the worst cacophony that I had ever heard. The man and the woman shook their heads. We stopped playing. They stood in front of us and stared into our eyes. I suggested to Evelyn that we switch instruments and try again. It was worse than the first attempt. Again, the couple shook their heads. I didn't know what to do next. I instructed Evelyn to put her instrument down, and I did the same.

I had Evelyn step us back to our home. We were bewildered. The clapping had brought the other couple. Evelyn had embraced me, but nothing happened. We were unable to play the instruments, and the man and woman appeared to disapprove. We talked about what we had experienced so far. When Evelyn was on the right, the man had come to her and touched her cheek. When I was on the right, the woman had come to me and touched my cheek. When Joey was with us, we couldn't clap, and when we did clap without her the man and woman approached us together. I didn't know if taking the woman's hand caused the man to hand us the instruments, but it appeared that they wouldn't do anything without us initiating something. Progress was again coupled with confusion.

We discussed our experience with Annette and Joey. Annette was very concerned about us interacting with someone else without Joey's protection. I explained that the other couple appeared to be there to help, but they didn't offer any information. I didn't see them as a threat. We did get introduced to the flute and the lyre. These were not just figurative statements. However, we have yet to learn how to use them. We apparently need more training or enlightenment, but we weren't sure how to obtain it. Annette suggested that we ask the couple on the highway what we should do, but speech wasn't a mode of communication in that realm. Everything was conveyed by thought, but they weren't telling us anything.

I read the translated text again and had an idea. It spoke of tying and binding. Before we were positioned correctly with me on the right, Evelyn and I had bound our right feet together so that she could control my step. That was only necessary because I was on the left. What if we bound her right foot with my left to free our hands? Then we could truly embrace. I had kept the rope from our former days. Evelyn and I stepped onto the golden highway barefooted. She used her left hand to aid my right as we bound our feet together. Even though our hands were now free, we clapped with her left and my right. The couple approached once again. As before, they handed us the instruments. We tried unsuccessfully to play, and the couple shook their heads once again. We set the instruments at our feet and decided to embrace. I took Evelyn in my arms, and the instruments began to play a sweet song. The couple nodded. Finally, we had made progress. Evelyn and I gazed into one another's eyes. I could hear the man in my head as he asked the questions, "What flaw must be corrected? What offense must be mended? What ignorance must be resolved? What weakness must be strengthened?" I turned to him to ask about the gold mine, but the man and woman were both gone.

Evelyn and I returned. It was time for more discussion. As usual, we made progress that created several more questions. I emphasized the fact that we could not have experienced these things with Joey by our side. Annette thought that we were treading on thin ice. She was hoping that once we learned how to do what was needed, we could take Joey along with us. When I explained about the questions that the man had posed to me, Annette started to cry. We moved over to the couch so that Evelyn could sit and hold her.

I couldn't understand what caused her to start crying. "Annette, what's the matter?"

She answered between sobs. "What if he was talking about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"He mentioned flaws, weakness, ignorance, and offense. What if he's talking about my relationship with Gina? She's obviously my weakness. Our relationship is flawed because she's seeing someone else, which is offensive to me. I'm choosing to remain ignorant about who her other lover is." Evelyn held her tightly and looked up at Joey and me. "Maybe you and Evelyn are supposed to go spy on her and tell me what is going on. I probably need to confront her, but I don't want to lose her." Annette sobbed harder.

"Honestly, Annette, I don't think that Evelyn and I should go spying. Maybe you and Gina need to talk." Annette's face was buried in her hands. Evelyn looked at me and shook her head. I realized that if Annette found out who Gina was with, there could be insurmountable trouble, but was ignorance and tolerance the best way to deal with it? "I'm sorry that these questions upset you, but I think they pertain to all of us. At any rate, they certainly don't seem to have anything to do with a gold mine. When I turned to the man to ask about the mine, they had both disappeared."

Annette began to collect herself. "Honestly, I don't know what it is about you two that makes me so emotional. I have never been affected like this in my life." I was beginning to wonder if the golden highway was having residual effects on our crew. Evelyn gave Annette one last squeeze before getting up. I then suspicioned that the physical closeness that Evelyn, Joey, and I were maintaining may have made Annette feel left out. I encouraged Evelyn to stay close to Annette. This amused me because now all four of us were together in close contact. Regardless, I felt that Annette needed the physical comfort.

It appeared that our next assignment was to analyze the four questions and determine what our answers would be. I decided to make a group discussion out of it. "I think we should put our heads together and address each of these questions to understand their purpose." Everyone agreed, but Annette insisted that we discuss it over a few bottles of wine. She truly was a lovely, captivating French lady, and I adored her. We poured our wine, and I posed the first question. "What flaw must be corrected?" So many things came to mind and suggestions were abundant. I encouraged everyone to prioritize because the question was in the singular, flaw, not flaws. "If we could only correct one flaw, what would it be?" Our group was in silent thought for a few minutes.

Evelyn was the first to speak. "I guess if I wanted to correct one flaw it would be to overcome selfishness."

"That's a good suggestion, but give me an example."

"Well, sometimes I'm more concerned with my wants and needs before those of others."

"Again, do you have an example?"

"Well, I guess the most recent example that I can think of is when I tried to hit Joey when she asked to be with you. Instead of trying to understand her feelings and discuss it, I flew into a rage because I chose my feelings over hers. It was much better when we later had a discussion. I should have done that from the start."

"OK, that makes sense." I turned to Joey, "Joey, what do think would be the most important flaw to correct?"

"That's easy. I would want to correct my emotional disorder. Maybe then, I could understand everyone much better. So much of what I see and hear doesn't make sense to me."

I chuckled. "I can appreciate that. How about you, Annette?"

"Well, you haven't really seen me at my worst, especially since I have been so emotional lately. I can be a cold hearted bitch. That's partly what makes me a good agent. I'll admit, I'm arrogant too, but I'm damn good at what I do. The problem is that I'm not so sure I would want to correct that flaw. It often serves me well."

"I understand that, so pick another flaw that you would want to correct."

"Well, I guess I would have to agree with Evelyn. I can be very selfish, as a lover, as a friend. Working for the agency has spoiled me in many ways. I can have anything or anyone that I want. Although I try not to abuse that kind of power, I have sometimes taken advantage of other people for my own pleasure. I have moments of weakness that I keep very secret." I saw Evelyn's eyebrows raise. "What about you, Adriel? Tell us what your principal flaw is."

"Well, I'd say that I'm rather contemptuous. I believe that ninety-seven percent of the people in this world are idiots."

Annette interrupted. "I'd say that you're an optimist." Evelyn giggled.

"That may be so. I guess it's all relative. I doubt that I would ever change my stance on that. Let's see. Other than that, I guess I'd say that I'm rather undisciplined. Joey practically has to drag me to the gym to workout. I never wanted to leave the lifestyle in Cannes. Yeah, I probably need to be more disciplined."

"The agency will take care of that. They put so many demands on us that it's often difficult to keep up with our responsibilities. Although they let us have whatever we want, they require a tremendous amount from us. They own us."

"That leads us to our next question. What offense must be mended? Remember, prioritize and select the most important." Several silent minutes passed.

Joey began, "I don't usually know when I have offended someone. You have told me Evelyn has been offended by me, and I have seen her get upset. I suppose that any offense I have caused her should be mended."

Evelyn interjected. "Oh, Joey, I have come to know you and love you. There's no offense. It has already been mended by you and me."

"Then I don't know what offenses there are. I usually do what I have to do, and I don't get offended by others. I kill people. I suppose that can be offensive, but it's part of my job, and I have to do it. Do I ever offend you, Annette?"

Annette smiled. "No, Joey, you don't. In fact, there isn't another agent I would rather work with. My obvious answer about offenses would be Gina's unfaithfulness. The problem is that I really can't blame her. If I were in her position, I would probably be unfaithful as well. I imagine that's why I don't confront her. It would be hypocritical. It wouldn't bother me so much if she were just my lover, but she's my mate, like Adriel and Evelyn."

I was curious, "So, have you never been unfaithful to Gina?"

"Well, that's another thing. Actually, I have, but it was just a one nighter. It's not like I took another lover. To be honest, there have been more than one. I told you that I could be selfish. I'll admit that I do have a double standard."

"So, do you think this offense can be mended?"

Annette gave me a very serious look. "Adriel, that's why I don't want to know who it is. I could have them removed so easily, and I don't want to do that outside of agency business, but I might." Evelyn shuddered.

I turned my focus to Evelyn. "So, Evelyn, I'm almost afraid to ask what your number one offense is."

"Well, up until now I would have said that it was Eddie, but I'm more offended by the people who want to kill you."

"Actually, these answers raise more questions. Are we supposed to figure out who offended us the most, or are we to understand how we have offended others? I'm really not sure because the most important offense I can think of is Evelyn keeping a secret from me."

Annette stepped in. "Adriel, that's not her fault. It's for your own protection, and I asked her to keep quiet until we finish this project. Pick another offense."

"OK, then I guess the offense is on your part. I feel like I'm being kept in the dark when it could help me."

"Overruled! Next question."

"The next question is, 'What ignorance must be resolved?'"

Evelyn spoke immediately. "I think the obvious answer for you and me is that we need to resolve our ignorance as to how we should proceed with this project." I agreed.

Joey chimed in. "And I need to resolve my ignorance about other people's feelings."

Annette followed. "I guess I need to know who's fucking my girl!"

"OK! I don't know if we're getting anywhere with this, but last question. What weakness must be strengthened?"

Joey spoke up. "I'd say it's your abs, Adriel." Everyone laughed. Joey rarely made jokes, but then I wasn't sure if it were meant that way.

Annette shook her head. "Gina is obviously my weakness."

Evelyn thought hers was chocolate, and Joey admitted that she wasn't aware of any. They all turned to me, but there was no way that I could be honest. "I think Joey's right; it's my abs."

I lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling as Evelyn lightly snored. I didn't know what to make of the questions. The entire exercise seemed to be fruitless. I needed time to think. I often used to take long walks in the dead of night to clear my head and ponder various things. I couldn't imagine hauling Joey and Evelyn along with me. It would defeat the purpose because I needed the solitude. My frustration seemed to run in cycles, and this was one of my frustrating moments. I couldn't remember the last time that I had any privacy. I wasn't sure if Joey ever slept because every time I was awake she was attentive. Even now, she was lightly rubbing my chest, and she kissed my cheek. I turned my head toward her and kissed her lips. They were soft and sweet. She kissed me back. I gently licked her lips, and she licked mine. My heart was racing as our tongues caressed and teased. She would do anything that I wanted. I had to agree with Evelyn and Annette. Everyone was ignorant that my flaw was selfishness because I was indulging my weakness, which was my greatest offense.

# **CHAPTER TWELVE**

# **_SALVATION_**

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It was just before dawn when Annette came into our room and crawled into bed between Evelyn and me. She had never done this before. She put her arm around Evelyn and buried her face in Evelyn's neck. I thought maybe I was dreaming. Joey had me pulled tightly against her from behind. I watched Annette kiss Evelyn's cheek, and Evelyn stirred. This appeared to be a potentially dangerous fork in the road that I never anticipated. I whispered softly, "Annette." She made no response. I repeated, but again she didn't seem to notice. I started to giggle because it appeared that she was still asleep. Apparently, Annette was sleepwalking. I found this too amusing. I turned my head to kiss Joey. She reciprocated, and I whispered, "I think Annette is sleepwalking." Joey nodded her head. "Have you ever seen her do this before?" Joey shook her head. Annette slipped her hand beneath Evelyn's pajamas.

Evelyn's forehead wrinkled. "Not now, Adriel, I want to sleep."

I had my hand clasped over my mouth to muffle my laughter. Evelyn would be furious if she knew that I allowed this to continue, but I was curious to see how far it would go. Annette's hand went deeper, and Evelyn started to moan. I needed to disarm the situation. I have read that it's not good to wake a sleepwalker. I was afraid to awaken Evelyn because if she caught Annette's hand down her pants she would be outraged. I turned to Joey. "What should I do?"

Joey gave me a puzzled look and whispered, "About what?" This made me want to laugh even harder. I decided to take Annette's hand and redirect it. I pulled on her forearm, and Evelyn began to stir. Annette rolled toward me, put her arm around me, and threw her leg over me.

Just then, Evelyn sat up in bed and looked over. "Adriel! What the hell are you doing?" I was sandwiched between two beautiful, naked women and crying with laughter.

Annette raised her head and squinted as she looked around. "Adriel, what are you doing?"

Evelyn pulled Annette off of me in a fury. I started explaining as fast as I could that Annette had been sleepwalking. Luckily, Joey was my witness, and it took ten minutes to get everyone to calm down. I couldn't stop laughing. However, it really was a serious issue because Annette was emotionally distraught over her predicament with Gina.

It was time for coffee and a discussion. Evelyn refused to let Annette's situation go on any longer. She encouraged her to confront Gina, but I knew that it was an impossible reconciliation. I seriously doubted that Annette's director was going to back off. Annette feared that she might have her adversary terminated, but in this case I considered that approach to be an unlikely solution. In my estimation, Annette's only recourse was to end her relationship with Gina, and she didn't want that. The first hurdle was to convince Annette that she needed to know who her rival was. Annette objected, and Evelyn patiently tried to convince her that she needed to know.

What happened next nearly floored me. Evelyn offered to take Annette to Cannes via the golden highway so that she could confront Gina immediately. I couldn't believe my ears. That meant that Joey would have to stay behind, but Evelyn said that it would only take a few seconds to make the trip. We could drop Annette off and come right back. I had never really considered transporting people, but given our current capabilities it was certainly possible. Annette could call us when she wanted to return. My head was spinning.

We could only transport one person at a time. This made me think of the logic problem where you had to figure out how to transport three things across a river in a small boat without losing any of them. You could only take one at a time. There was a bag of grain, a chicken, and a fox. If you took the grain across, the fox would eat the chicken when you left. If you took the fox across, the chicken would eat the grain. Obviously, you had to take the chicken across and leave the fox with the grain. However, if you took the grain across and went back for the fox, the chicken would eat the grain. If you took the fox across and went back for the grain, the fox would eat the chicken. The only solution was to first take the chicken across and go back to get the grain. Once you took the grain across, you then took the chicken back across the river and picked up the fox. You then took the fox across the river to leave with the grain, and then you went back to get the chicken.

We still had not arrived at the moment of truth because Annette was refusing to learn the identity of Gina's lover. Evelyn didn't want any more sleepwalking encounters, and she insisted that Annette face the facts. Joey was oblivious to the problem, so she was no help. I teamed up with Evelyn to convince Annette that she needed to know. Finally, she reluctantly consented. I was elected to disclose Gina's lover. Evelyn sat next to Annette holding her in her arms. I knelt in front of Annette and held her hands as I told her that Joey recognized Annette's director. Annette heaved forward and convulsed, sobbing uncontrollably. A half hour passed with Evelyn rocking, holding, caressing, and comforting Annette. I supplied a large box of tissues until Annette's eyes were empty. She was sobbing, but no tears remained. Evelyn continued to cry with her.

We patiently waited until Annette was finally composed enough to talk. She wanted us to take her to Cannes to confront Gina. Joey tugged on my arm and pulled me close in protest. I explained that we would be gone for just a few seconds to take Annette to Cannes. Once we were finally able to calm Annette and convince Joey that it was for a brief moment, we prepared to transport Annette. Evelyn stood on my left, and Annette was on my right. It felt strange to hold Annette's hand instead of Joey's. Joey stood in front of us with a blank stare. I hated to leave her behind, but we would be right back. Evelyn stepped us onto the golden highway. Annette grabbed my arm as she panicked. I assured her that all was well. We went into parking mode at Annette's residence. Gina appeared to be alone in the shower. We stepped out of parking mode into the bedroom next to the shower to deposit Annette.

We then stepped back to the golden highway and parked in our living area. We didn't see Joey. We moved through the house to find her. We visited every room on all floors. Joey was nowhere to be found. Evelyn looked at me in bewilderment. "Did we traverse time?"

"I don't think so." I could see the clock in the kitchen. The time appeared to be correct. We took another look around. The box of tissues was on the coffee table in the living area where we had left them. Evelyn said that it was too dangerous to enter without Joey, so we returned to Cannes and parked in the bedroom.

Annette was yelling at Gina. She had pulled her out of the shower and thrown her onto the bed. Gina was crying and covered her face with her hands. Annette was straddled on top of her. Annette grabbed Gina's wrists and pinned them to the bed. She put her face nose to nose with Gina and started to speak but broke down crying instead. Annette released Gina's wrists and slid downward to bury her face in Gina's pelvis. I had never witnessed breakup sex before. It was wild, passionate, angry, and exciting. Gina was moaning with delight. All at once, she began to scream. Evelyn tugged on my arm. "Adriel, she's hurting Gina! She's biting her! We have to stop her!" Evelyn stepped us into the room. I grabbed Annette around the waist and pulled her from Gina. She gave me an insane look of wild eyed rage. She was shaking and heaving. I knew that she could take me down in an instant, and I begged her to control herself. Blood was dripping from her mouth. This was the first time that Annette terrified me. She spat a piece of bloody flesh onto the floor and stomped it with her foot.

Evelyn was tending to Gina, who was rolling back and forth on the bed with her hands clasped over her genitals. Blood was all over the bed. Evelyn ran into the bathroom to grab a clean towel for Gina to press against her wound. She looked around for a phone and was finally able to get Gina's phone and passcode to call the resort office. She requested an ambulance, and we waited. I was still holding Annette, who was yet to calm down. I was afraid that she might attack Gina again. I began talking to her in a soothing tone and escorted her out of the room. She broke down crying, and I held her tightly.

Ten minutes passed before we heard the ambulance siren. Annette looked up at me. "You have to get me out of here." I called to Evelyn, and we lined up to remove Annette and return to our living area. We entered, and still Joey was nowhere to be found. We led Annette to the shower and took her clothes to put them in the laundry. She didn't want us out of her sight without Joey around, so we waited for her to wash off the blood before we went to the laundry room together.

Evelyn was still horrified by what she witnessed and began to cry. Annette admitted that we had saved Gina's life. She thanked us for stopping her because death would have been too good for Gina. She could now live with her brutal circumcision for the rest of her life. I remembered Annette's initial assessment of her greatest flaw. I thought cold hearted bitch was an understatement. However, we had greater problems than Gina's mutilation.

Joey was missing. Annette was a trained assassin, but she admitted that she didn't nearly have the skills of Joey. She clung to me just as Joey had done. Evelyn was now terrified of Annette, but we were inseparable at this point. Annette didn't have emotional detachment disorder, and I was fearful not knowing what to expect from her. Her emotions were volatile due to the incident with Gina, and I was concerned about what direction she might take. We had made a bad decision due to the sleepwalking incident, and I didn't know how we would recover. It appeared to exacerbate Annette's condition rather than resolve it. She had admitted that she had taken advantage of people in the past. She was a voracious lover. We had witnessed that many times. In addition to the capabilities of the agency, she could now have us take her to anyone at any time no matter where they might be. This could give her the perfect alibi in a criminal act. My mind was racing with possibilities, but I couldn't discuss anything with Evelyn now that Annette was my new appendage.

I had developed a trust with Joey. I knew that she would keep my secrets. I enjoyed our intimate sessions of bliss, and I knew that she wasn't emotionally involved. It was like eating as much candy as I wanted without the concern of gaining weight. I was worried that Annette would come to know me too well, and I was fearful to make love to Evelyn with Annette being so close. Joey was aloof, but Annette was excitable, not to mention dangerous. Before this incident, I had come to love her, but my love was lacking because I now feared her, and I wanted to get away from her.

Evelyn and I decided to go back in time to see what happened to Joey. Annette was more reluctant to let us out of her sight, and she insisted that she come with us. We stepped onto the golden highway, and Annette tightened her grip on my hand. We faced into the oncoming breeze, and I made a short stride. Evelyn parked us into our living area, but we saw no one. We stepped back to the highway, and I made another small adjustment. This time, we saw Annette sobbing on the couch with me at her feet and Evelyn sitting beside her. Joey was sitting behind me and holding me around my waist. We decided not to make any more adjustments and sit here to wait. We watched as the sequence progressed. It was finally time for Evelyn, Annette, and me to make the trip to Cannes. Joey was standing in front of us. I noticed that she had her hand on my waist. Evelyn stepped, and we disappeared. Within seconds, Joey vanished from sight. Evelyn and I looked at one another in horror. She stepped us back into our living area in the present time.

Evelyn was shaking. I started pacing back and forth, but Annette stopped me because she didn't want to do the same. Evelyn was sitting on the couch hugging her stomach and rocking back and forth. "What happened to Joey? She just disappeared."

I was clueless. "I have no idea. I didn't see anyone else. When I had that incident at the safe-house, I saw an arm trying to pull me. I saw nothing that could have removed Joey, unless it was out of our sight."

Annette was pensive. "We never figured on anything like this. I wonder if someone is removing your protection. If so, they will have to remove me as well."

Joey was dangerous, but not scary. Annette was both. Things had quickly spun out of control. It was obvious that someone was thinning the herd. I had to agree that it was dangerous to be alone. I turned to Evelyn. "Do you think that Joey is in the same place that you were when you disappeared?"

Annette gave Evelyn a stern look. Evelyn looked submissive. "I don't know, maybe. If so, she should return before long."

Annette countered, "I rather doubt that this is the same thing. Joey knows everything that she needs to know. She was removed because she was your protection." Annette was deep in thought for several minutes. "Unfortunately, we have created a mess. If Gina is smart, she will say that she didn't recognize her attacker. I think she knows what will happen if she doesn't. Our larger problem is Joey. I have to report her missing to the agency right away. This will flag our project with two missing agents within a short period of time. They may want to remove me from this project according to protocol, but given the nature of our danger I don't think that's feasible. The problem is that the agency doesn't know the details of our project because it is in a special status. Frankly, I have never conducted a special project before, but I know that I can justify remaining in control because we are dealing with highly classified issues. The fewer people who know about our project, the better. This is by far the most lucrative contract that we have, which is good and bad. The first thing we have to do is find another place to live. Whoever took Joey knows that we're here."

I had an idea. "Evelyn, your knowledge of navigation not only takes us to places, but you can take us to people as well. Let's locate Joey and see what is happening." Evelyn looked over at Annette for approval. Annette agreed that we should try to find Joey. She wanted to avoid reporting her missing if possible. We lined up once again in our living area, and Evelyn made the step. We were back on the golden highway, but she was unable to locate Joey.

Evelyn looked up at me. "Something is terribly wrong. I should be able to find her no matter where she is unless..." A look of shock overtook Evelyn. "Oh, Adriel! She may be dead."

It felt as though a knife pierced my heart. I couldn't bear the thought of losing Joey. "Take us home!" I collapsed on the couch. I felt as though my heart would stop beating. This had become the worst day of my life. I was wishing that we could go back in time and do it over. If Annette hadn't been sleepwalking, none of these tragic events would have happened. I knew that everything happened for a reason, but at this stage of the game I was so far removed from faith that all I felt was despair. My tears were falling onto the couch like rain. Annette lay next to me holding me tightly against her. I missed Joey all the more because as much as Annette may try, she could never take Joey's place.

Annette pulled her phone from her pocket and made a call. She always spoke in another language, so I could never know what she was saying. Annette ended the call and remained quiet for several minutes. Her head was resting on my upper arm as I lay on the couch. "If Gina had been with anyone outside the agency, it would have been so simple. I now have to work for a woman whom I hate with a passion. No wonder she was so lenient with me. She was humiliating me the whole time. I have never been in this position. She could make my life a living hell. I resent being at the mercy of someone whom I would love to kill." Annette sat up. "We're going completely off the grid. I have an agent who is delivering a Vanish Packet to us within the hour as a personal favor. The agency will not know where we are or what we are doing. With our navigation capabilities, it will be impossible to find us."

I was afraid to ask if this was mission related, or if Annette were hiding from everyone for personal reasons. Evelyn and I remained silent as we waited. A delivery truck parked out front, and a uniformed man came to the door. We followed Annette to the door and received the package that she had been awaiting. I was curious what a Vanish Packet was. I assumed that it contained fake identification and the cell phone pouches that prevented GPS detection. Much to my surprise, it was hundreds of thousands of dollars in unmarked bills. Annette started rummaging through the cash and separating it by denominations. We arranged the bundles of cash on the floor and started counting. There was a total of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars arrayed on the floor of our living area. Annette started stacking the cash back into the box. Evelyn pulled me up by my left hand and announced, "We'll be back in a few minutes." The next thing I knew, we were on the golden highway without Annette.

"Oh, my god! What are you doing?"

"I'm taking us to a place where we can talk. I have been waiting for a moment that she wasn't holding on to you." Evelyn took a step, and we were surrounded by trees in a lush forest.

"Where are we?"

"We're in a forest in Oregon. There are no cameras here and no one to bother us. We can go anywhere in a moment, and I have a suspicion that we can travel time but only within limitations. We'll discuss that later. Adriel, things are completely out of control. Annette is crazy. We can't spend another minute around that woman."

"Oh, I agree, but I think I'm more afraid of her than you are. Evelyn, we can't work with these people. They have no morals or conscience. They kill, fuck, and take whoever and whatever they want with no repercussions. They literally get away with murder. Our lives are destroyed. We'll never be able to hide from them, and they expect us to join them. Can you imagine how angry Annette is by now?"

"It doesn't matter. It made no sense for us to remain subject to her with our capabilities. We can move from place to place undetected. We don't need her."

"But we don't have Joey anymore either. Who is going to protect us?"

"OK, I need to tell you something. This may sound crazy, but given the things that we have experienced lately, I don't think that you'll have a difficult time believing this. I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but under the current circumstances that have developed on this day from hell, I think it's time that you knew. Annette doesn't know how much I learned while I was gone."

"Are you finally going to tell me where you were? It's about time!"

"It's not the where that matters, but the who. I think it's best if I start from the beginning, which is what Annette doesn't know that I know. What we have been doing on the golden highway has been done since the beginning of time. There are very few people who know how to do this because it requires someone to seek it. It's like walking the beach unaware that a fortune in treasure is buried just beneath you in the sand. You can spend your life walking that beach and never know about the treasure. However, if someone told you it was buried on the beach, you might go digging everywhere until you found it. Few people believe that such a thing exists, so they never go looking. The only reason that we found it was because David introduced us to the portal. Someone had to do the same for him. His problem was that he didn't qualify for the prerequisite of being a married couple, which you discovered from the stone engravings and hieroglyphics in Egypt."

"I don't see what this has to do with your disappearance. We knew all that."

"Be patient. There is a lot to explain. There are many people who want to find this gold mine, but for one reason or another they have been unable to do it. Many have died trying. Others have gotten lost along the way. You have no idea how badly I wanted to tell you some of this, but Annette put a gag order on me. The federal government never figured out that it was you who prevented the coup in Pakistan."

"Then how do they know? Eddie said they knew everything. Was he lying?"

"No, he wasn't. Someone told one of the directors at the agency."

"Who was that? How did they know?"

"I don't know all the details, but someone who was traversing the golden highway stumbled onto you at one point. What apparently interested him in you was your ability to read minds and interject thoughts, which is how you accomplished the overthrow of the coup. That's something that he didn't see everyday. It marked you as a person of interest. He is the one who contacted the director at the agency and gave all the details of what you did. The agency had a request for proposal from the federal government for a bid on a contract. They used that RFP to disclose just enough information to attract the right attention. That's how the agency secured a different contract for a new project, which was to find the gold mine."

"I don't understand. Why would someone who was traversing the highway be interested in the gold mine?"

"That's interesting. I asked him the same question."

"Wait a minute! How do you know this person?"

"Because he is the one who took me from La Tour in Paris."

"I'm confused. How could he do that? I thought it required a married couple."

"It does. His wife is with him. You and I have the ability to snatch someone onto the golden highway. That's another thing we didn't know."

"So is that what happened to me at the safe-house when Joey saved me?"

"I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I know that we can't snatch someone if he is connected to another person. It could be that he was trying to pull you away from Joey in order to take you. I really don't know what happened or who that was, but if it weren't for Joey you would be gone. We're getting off track. It gets even more interesting and very alarming. You have probably realized that we can't trust anyone, not even this person that I'm describing. Everyone has his selfish interests. There aren't many people who travel the golden highway, but there are even fewer who have no financial ambition. It turns out that you are a rare commodity because they think that due to your apathy toward riches you are most likely to find the mine. You are just a tool to them, and they want you to be successful. The problem is that everyone hopes to find the mine by using you. He chose the agency due to their success rate and influence. Now, here's the interesting part. He has traveled time forward and backward. The reason that Annette and Joey have been so concerned is that you are on a collision course, and they wanted to prevent that."

"Wait a minute! If this man can see the future, then he knows whether I will find the mine or not. This doesn't make sense to me."

"The future isn't carved in stone. We have the ability to alter the course with each decision that we make. The foreseeable future is constantly changing. Here's something that you didn't tell me. The night that Annette and Joey came to our house for the first time, I was upset. I slept in the guest room. You never told me that you called Annette and asked for ibuprofen."

"No, I didn't because I didn't want you to get upset that Joey was so close. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Didn't you find it odd that she supplied your request so quickly? Also, the food that we ordered after we left home that seemed so impossible to provide, yet you got a corned beef sandwich, and I got quail. It seemed almost magical. They were told ahead of time what we wanted. It was part of the foreseeable future."

"But I don't understand why we had to go to Tanzania and Mozambique."

"That was your idea. Everyone was trusting you, and they still do. The possible future kept changing. It was David's idea to use the portal to find clues to the mine. We have been following that track ever since. However, we shouldn't assume that it's necessary. You are in constant danger, and each of the versions of the future have pointed to you being taken. That's why Joey has stuck so close to you. I was jealous of her and resistant to her clinging to you, but after this man explained to me about the danger that you are in I realized how necessary she was. However, we no longer have that protection. I don't know how many people are after you, nor do I know what their capabilities are."

"Can you contact this man and find out what the foreseeable future is?"

"That's one of the reasons that Annette and Joey didn't want you to know about this. Looking into the future is what caused you to make mistakes and get taken. You were safer not knowing about it."

"So, why didn't they just explain that to me?"

"That was another one of the future scenarios. You didn't listen and got taken anyway. It was decided that keeping you in the dark was the safest thing to do. So, whatever you do, do not try to see the future. We should probably continue exploring the highway to clap, embrace, and go on from there."

I took a deep breath. "Have you forgotten the four questions that were posed to us?"

"Oh, wow, I actually did forget. We never made any real progress with that, did we? That was just last night, and it seems like over a week ago."

"I wish there was a way that we could just get out of all of this. I want to go back to my old life, but I know that's not possible. It sounds like looking at the future is too dangerous. Besides, it sounds exhausting. I have a different idea. My capabilities with my last project with the coup in Pakistan gave me an advantage that virtually made me untouchable. I knew what everyone was thinking, and that made it impossible for them to hide anything from me. I eventually had the ability to interject thoughts and memories into their consciousness, and that gave me a means to guide them. What I didn't know was that someone was watching me."

"So, what's your idea?"

"We're going to begin watching everyone else, starting with the couple who took you from La Tour."

I was still hoping for Joey to return. I didn't want to confess to Evelyn my indulgence with Joey, but I knew that I couldn't progress much on the highway without it because I was beginning to think that the four questions pertained to my secret. Like Evelyn said, I may not need the highway to find the gold mine. I could, however, use her navigational skills to gather a tremendous amount of information. The only frustrating obstacle that I now faced was a language barrier. Much of the communication that I hoped to learn was most likely not in English. I needed Joey more than I thought. I asked Evelyn to try to locate Joey once more. We stepped onto the golden highway, and she took the step to lead us to Joey. My heart leaped to see her in our bedroom where we were in parking mode. She was undergoing an examination. Evelyn informed me that this was the AWOL agent exam. We knew the protocol. Annette would not have approached Joey yet, not until the examination was complete and she had been cleared. I winced as I watched the cavity searches. I looked over at Evelyn with a painful face. She nodded with raised eyebrows in affirmation. My plan was to wait until the examiner left the room to talk to Annette and then snatch Joey from our bedroom.

I looked over at Evelyn. "Why couldn't you locate her before?"

Evelyn shrugged. "I don't know. We'll have to ask where she was. It looks like the examiner is finishing. She's completing the paperwork, and Joey is getting dressed. As soon as she is alone, we'll try to take her."

The examiner tucked the paperwork into her folder and turned to leave the room. Joey was right behind her. We stepped into the room behind Joey. I was reluctant to touch her without her knowing I was there. She had lightning reflexes, and I didn't want my trachea broken. I whispered, "Joey." She spun her head, and I held out my right hand. She shook her head, and I quickly grabbed her arm. Evelyn stepped us onto the highway and back to the woods in Oregon. Joey wasn't resisting, and I was relieved. She looked around as Evelyn explained where we were.

I couldn't wait. "Joey, where have you been?"

Joey looked back and forth to Evelyn and then to me. "I know what Annette did to Gina. I saw her. I saw you too."

"How did you do that? Where were you?"

"I was taken by the same man and woman who took you, Evelyn. They took me to the golden road just like you did. They knew what Annette was going to do. They had me watch. They took me back to the road and told me that our project was in danger because of Annette. He said that we couldn't afford what was about to happen. He also told me about taking you in Paris. Who are these people?"

Evelyn glanced over to me. "The man is the one who contacted your agency to help them get your contract to find the gold mine. He knows how to travel and look at the future. He's the one who told you about what Adriel was going to do and that he was in danger. Did you not meet him before?"

"No, I have never seen this man or woman before. We got all of our directives from the agency."

I interjected. "Who at the agency gives the directives?"

"Annette's director is the one in charge of the project. She gives all of the directives, including my latest assignment."

"And what is your latest assignment?"

"I have to dispose of Annette." Evelyn put her hands over her face.

"Joey, how did you get that directive? Haven't you been with that couple the whole time?"

"Yes, they took me to Alexis, Annette's director. They told her what Annette did, and she gave me the directive to dispose of Annette."

"Let me make sure I understand. Just what exactly does dispose mean in this case?"

"I will kill her and destroy her body so that nothing remains."

I still couldn't get used to Joey talking about murder as though she were merely taking out the trash. "Is there any way to avoid killing her?"

"That would be a violation of an agency directive. They would send an agent to dispose of me."

"When do you have to do this?"

"I need to do it now. You have to take me back to Annette."

If Evelyn and I took Joey to Annette, we would be an accessory to murder. This is exactly the kind of situation that we wanted to avoid. There was no way that I could work for this agency. "We can't do that right now, Joey. We have a mission to accomplish, and we need your help. As Annette once said, you can't interfere with my project. It's an agency directive." Evelyn looked over at me in surprise.

Joey looked at Evelyn and me. "You're right. I can't do that. What do you need for me to do?"

Evelyn gave a sigh of relief. We were buying a little time. I may not be able to save Annette, but I was hoping not to participate in her murder in any way. We had a lot to do, and I believed that I could keep Joey busy for a very long time. We had a considerable amount of spying ahead of us. "First and foremost, we need your protection. Secondly, we need your language skills. Before we explain, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

We found a great seafood restaurant in San Francisco. I always kept my account number on me as well as the rope that Evelyn and I had once used. I never knew when I would need them. We had a wonderful meal and discussed the events that had transpired during the day. It was getting late, and we were all exhausted. We decided to spend the night at a hotel on Lombard Street. We shopped for a few necessities and settled in at the hotel to continue our discussions. The most interesting thing that I learned was that the person who initiated this project was also monitoring it by viewing the foreseeable future. It appeared that when an event happened that would take us on a course that was unsuccessful, he would step in to correct it.

I learned that Evelyn was taken because she was resisting Joey's involvement to protect me, and eventually this would have led to me being abducted. I remembered that she had wanted Joey close to me ever since this man had taken her from La Tour. He had convinced Evelyn that Joey was essential to my protection because he had seen the future. By seeing the future, he knew the perfect opportunity to snatch her. He also foresaw Annette's jealous rage and her attack on Gina. Joey explained to us over dinner that he knew Annette was going to use us to run from Alexis. This would have derailed the project. He took Joey to Alexis and disclosed Annette's defection. Joey now had the directive to dispose of Annette which would get the project back on track. Evelyn had tried to ascertain the exact time that she was unable to find Joey. She thought perhaps it was because Joey was on the golden highway at the time.

I was trying to understand the implications of seeing the future. It appeared to be like navigating a ship. He was constantly correcting our heading by watching the future as the destination. Another interesting aspect was that I was just a tool in this operation. Everyone seemed to think that due to my disinterest in riches that I was the most likely candidate to succeed. David had mentioned that King Solomon did not seek riches but wisdom instead. As a result, he was granted riches as well. The Templars took a vow of poverty, but they ended up as a rich organization. David thought that it was due to them finding the gold mine. Apparently, others were following this same logic. There may also be other failures to find the mine due to greed of which I was unaware.

As I continued to ponder this horrific day, I realized that it all hinged on Annette's sleepwalking. As I said before, everything happens for a reason. I now know about the man who is monitoring our project. My first goal is to find out more about him. The frightening aspect to this is that he can foresee the future, which means that he could see everything I am about to do. However, I also knew that realistically he couldn't monitor every aspect of my decisions or actions. His focus and goal was whether I would find the gold mine. I doubted that he cared about anything else. Only when my course took me in the wrong direction would he try to step in to correct it. I also knew that he was limited in his control. So far, he had taken Evelyn and Joey to correct our course. Even then, he had to find the opportune time in the future to do so. I wondered if this man ever slept.

This event had changed my perspective. My life is based on faith and hope. Lately, I had very little of either upon which to draw. I was working with people who didn't believe in the Creator. They were selfish, ambitious, ruthless, and greedy. Someone who could see the future was watching me to help me be successful. It meant that not only does a gold mine exist, but also that I am likely to find it. I had been doubting either of those prospects lately, but now I had new hope. I considered what Evelyn said about me looking into the future and somehow getting careless to the point that I was abducted. I could imagine how that might happen. Even now, just knowing that someone is helping to correct my path made me a bit cavalier concerning my responsibility. If I made a mistake, he would swoop in to correct it. I had to be careful not to rely on this overseer. I certainly needed to know more about him.

Annette had been our facilitator. She contacted the travel team, ordered food, handled the agency communication, provided lodging, and aided in our protection. I had appreciated her, but she snapped emotionally. This could never happen to Joey. I knew Joey wasn't safe, but I felt safe with her in many ways. It felt good to have her clinging to me once again. What seemed like endless days had only been a few hours without her. Evelyn, Joey, and I could do everything that Annette had done except for the agency communication. I had learned so far that every agent only knows his immediate supervisor. Joey had no management capacity within the agency. She was an assassin, nothing more. She was always used for protection and annihilation, and because she worked for so many people, she knew far more agents, supervisors, and directors than anyone else in the agency. She was heavily used as the perfect killing machine, and yet I felt safe in her arms.

I knew that Annette would run with her Vanish Packet. She knew how to disappear, but she also knew that we could find her in an instant. I didn't want to participate in her demise. She may scare me, but I still cared for her. I was certain that at some point we would be expected to find her. My only hope to save Annette was to overturn the directive to dispose of her. That seemed more important to me than a gold mine. In the past, I had leveraged my abilities in an unsavory manner with the prime ministers in Pakistan and India that bordered on blackmail. I knew better than to try do deal with the agency using any leverage in my position. I was their best hope of finding the gold mine, but I shouldn't use that to try to strong arm them. They would wait until the project was complete and then do whatever they wanted. I suspicioned that Alexis had ordered Annette's termination due to her brutal treatment of Gina. Annette was a good agent. This was a personal matter.

Joey had no understanding of emotion, so I couldn't rely on her to explain the relational dynamics between Alexis, Gina, and Annette. I was trying to establish my priorities. I couldn't approach Alexis. She would demand an explanation of why Annette was still breathing. I couldn't approach Annette because Joey would kill her instantly. It was the fox, the chicken, and the grain all over again. Gina was the chicken. I had to go to her first. Although Gina's English was somewhat broken, Evelyn and I had gotten to know her fairly well during our week together. She was very sweet and kind. I needed to know about her relationship with Alexis. Perhaps if I understood the situation better, I could determine a good way to approach Alexis.

I asked Joey who Alexis reported to within the agency, but she had never met him. There were no organizational charts, which prevented anyone from knowing who was in the upward chain of command. Evelyn was making a list of priorities and goals. I had her add our surveillance of Alexis to the list. I wanted to know more about the agency, and we had the capability to learn more than anyone else due to our unique spying advantage while in parking mode. I may not be able to read minds anymore, but I could sit in a room with anyone and remain out of sight.

Joey was always willing to help, and she never gave me any resistance unless I did something contrary to an agency directive. She wouldn't let me prevent Annette's assassination, but she wouldn't stop me from prolonging it for the sake of the project. This gave me another idea, but I first needed to gain more information. Her language skills were invaluable. I learned that she knew Arabic, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Swahili, and obviously Hungarian and English. This was more than David thought she knew. In addition, she spoke the agency language as well. We reviewed our list of tasks, and Gina was first on the list. We decided to begin in the morning after we had gotten plenty of rest. I was glad that I didn't have to spend a single night away from Joey.

I knew that we were going to be upside down with our daylight hours again. We took our time getting started for the day. We had made a quick check on Gina to find her location. Gina was convalescing in Tivoli, a small town just outside of Rome. She was staying at her mother's house. We would have to wait for an opportune time to approach her when she was alone. We decided to make the trip to Tivoli and find a place to stay. We found a hotel overlooking the Aniene River. Italy was absolutely beautiful. I hated traveling, but if we still had this capability after the project was complete I certainly wanted to see more of this gorgeous country. We checked back on Gina and decided to wait until early morning to visit her in her room. Changing time zones so drastically was always a challenge. Evelyn enjoyed her sleep, and it was often difficult to get her up, but I knew better than to leave her alone.

We all arose before dawn and showered. I wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Gina, but I knew that we wouldn't find enough time to discuss everything. My goal was to meet her this morning and schedule some time to talk. My only concern is that she might not want to see us. We stepped onto the highway and parked in her room. All was quiet and dark. Gina was sleeping. We stepped into the room, and Evelyn knelt down beside her bed to gently wake her. Gina opened her eyes and recoiled with alarm. Joey stepped in to speak to her in Italian and assure her that all was well and that we were concerned about her. She quickly calmed down, and Joey translated for us. We scheduled to meet later in the day when we could talk at length. Evelyn stroked Gina's hair and kissed her cheek. I bent to kiss her hand before we left. We stepped out of her room so that she didn't see us disappear into thin air.

Our appetites were returning, so we had Joey ask the desk clerk at our hotel where we could eat breakfast. He suggested Bar ai Portici di Stefano Nostriani on Via Vincenzo Pacifici because it opened early. I was savoring the coffee with a croissant and pancetta. I still had not forgotten the ubiquitous cameras that held our images as we traveled. I reminded everyone that we needed to be cautious and not spend too much time in one place. If someone were monitoring those cameras and saw us in San Francisco and then in Tivoli within minutes, they would have a hard time justifying that we were the same people. Still, I was nervous. I would never forget the close call at Angelina's in Paris.

We traveled well together. We were getting rather adept at holding on to one another in public quite naturally without notice. I think the only double takes that we received were due to me having two beautiful women on my arms, not to mention that I had a perpetual smile on my face. We returned to our room to make more plans as we awaited our appointment with Gina. I wanted a good understanding of how Alexis became Gina's lover and what knowledge Gina might have gained via pillow talk. Knowledge was power, and I needed a considerable amount to accomplish my goals.

The time finally arrived for our meeting with Gina. We parked behind her villa out of sight and walked to the front door. She had told her mother that she was expecting us. We were escorted into a sitting room, and Gina joined us with a tray of coffee and pastries. She told her mother that we needed some privacy to discuss matters considering Annette. Her mother threw a hand in the air and starting ranting in Italian as she left the room. I looked over at Joey, and she shook her head. I was glad to have the pastries because my mouth was watering due to the magnificent aroma of tomato sauce simmering in the kitchen. Evelyn gave me a side glance as I took a third pastry from the tray.

Gina understood more English than she spoke. She enjoyed watching movies in English, so translating was mostly for our benefit since we didn't understand a word of Italian. Our first priority was to learn how Gina was doing physically and emotionally. Her prognosis was saddening. Annette was familiar with Gina's anatomy and had effectually disabled her. Gina was damaged, both physically and emotionally. She loved Annette, and what I was about to learn made my heart ache for Gina all the more. Gina had met Alexis when Annette had chosen the residence in Cannes. The agency secured the residences for their agents, and it was according to protocol for the immediate supervisor to review the premises for clearance purposes. Alexis knew that Gina was going to be living there. She waited until Annette was on assignment before visiting Gina alone. At first, they had coffee or dinner together on occasion whenever Alexis was in the area. Alexis had asked Gina to keep their meetings secret due to agency business. Gina suspicioned nothing of her visits and thought Alexis was just being kind. A little over a year ago, Alexis made a pass at Gina. Alexis had made it clear during her time with Gina that Annette's wellbeing and career rested in her hands. Gina was afraid to resist. Alexis promised special treatment for Annette if Gina would be completely submissive.

I asked her to describe Alexis to me. Alexis was a large framed, middle aged woman. She was strong, athletic, and had pleasant features. She was a dominatrix and enjoyed inflicting mild torture on Gina for her own gratification. She would make Gina describe her lovemaking with Annette as she inflicted pain. I asked her to spare me the details. I wanted to know if Alexis ever spoke of agency business and who her supervisor was. Gina heard her speak of different events, but didn't know any details or identities of anyone involved. She did know that Alexis had an office in Washington, D. C. She often complained about her husband. I asked about the complaints. She said that it was mostly sexual, and that Gina provided what her husband did not. I asked how often Alexis came to visit. I was surprised to hear that Alexis usually came weekly and stayed for two to three days. She apparently spent a lot of time traveling, but with the agency it was far simpler. I knew that she had her own jet and never had to suffer airport security or customs. She could fly directly from D. C. to Cannes and back. This was obviously an important sexual relationship for her.

Gina feared what Alexis might do. I didn't want her to know about the directive to dispose of Annette, and I had asked Joey not to disclose it. She never wanted to see Alexis again, but she was afraid that Alexis would demand it. Gina hadn't entered her affair with Alexis due to selfishness. Instead, she wanted to protect Annette, but Annette had attacked her in an irreparable way. Her story brought tears to my eyes. Alexis certainly didn't appear to be someone with whom I could reason. Her affair with Gina had been interrupted, and as important as it appeared to be to her I rather doubted that she would back off of Annette. It seemed that my only recourse would be to go above Alexis' head.

I asked if Gina could possibly forgive Annette for what she had done to her. She broke down weeping for a minute as we tried to comfort her. She looked up with her tear soaked face and told us that she had already forgiven her, and she wanted to see Annette. I didn't know what to say. Joey stared at me with no emotion. Evelyn bent down to kiss Gina and tell her that it was too soon. It was time for us to leave, but we promised to come back another time.

Even if I were successful in reversing the order to assassinate Anette, I wasn't sure that I could prevent Annette from killing Alexis. The hatred was so great between them both that I doubted I could disarm it. Forgiveness wasn't in their vocabulary, and I couldn't imagine a reasonable solution. My next step was to spy on Alexis and see what I could learn. We checked out of the hotel at Tivoli and stepped our way to Washington, D. C. We found a hotel near the White House at the corner of H and 16th. It really wasn't necessary to stay close to our destination, but it helped us orient ourselves to the surroundings. It just seemed weird to walk out the door in Italy and into a door in D. C. It also put us in the same time zone. No one within the agency was searching for me, so I assumed that using my account number was safe. I wasn't accountable to anyone. They knew that I wanted to find this gold mine as much as they did but for different reasons.

Eddie was across the river. I thought of him often, but I knew that Evelyn wouldn't want to take the time to visit him. She didn't hate Eddie, but she certainly wasn't his greatest fan. She blamed him for getting us into this mess, but I was fairly certain that it would have happened anyway. Whoever initiated this project wasn't going to let me refuse. He was also on my list of surveillance.

We waited until evening to step our way onto the golden highway and locate Alexis. I was hoping to catch her at home and see what her relationship was with her husband. Our timing was terrible, or so it seemed. We caught her in a hotel room with a man who was obviously not her husband. She was wearing black leather and whipping him with a black braided flogger. I couldn't help but laugh, but Evelyn was disgusted. Joey, of course, was oblivious as usual. She never found any behavior unacceptable. I wondered if this was a material fact that Alexis wouldn't want her husband to know. Evelyn wanted to leave, but I needed more information. We stuck around to see if we could identify the man.

Alexis was a scary woman. She was taller than I was and probably outweighed me by twenty pounds. She didn't appear overweight, but she was solid like a linebacker. I certainly wouldn't want to piss her off. I winced as I observed her cruelty. I couldn't imagine how this man was enjoying it, but from what I could determine he apparently did. I assumed that he wasn't married because she was leaving some serious marks on his body. We waited for them to finish. By that time, Evelyn was nearly nauseous, and it was very late. We stepped back to the hotel to give her time to get home. We found her later at her residence in Georgetown. She was alone, and from what we could determine from the observable surroundings no man lived here. I was wondering if she were divorced or merely lied to Gina about being married. Regardless, I saw no advantage to anything that we had learned.

Surveillance required a significant amount of time and paid few dividends. I began to think that we were wasting valuable time. I couldn't see any manageable way to overturn the directive to dispose of Annette. Evelyn couldn't step us to whomever supervised Alexis. She didn't have a positive identity, and merely having the uncertain position wasn't adequate. Waiting around to learn his identity wasn't worth our time because even then I wasn't sure that approaching this person would be of benefit.

We turned our sights onto the man who had taken Evelyn and Joey. I was concerned that if he spent the majority of his time on the golden highway we may not be able to locate him. I was still trying to understand how this newfound world operated. I had no idea where this man lived or who he was. I wondered how long he had been traveling like this and how he happened to stumble on to me. He may have foreseen the cataclysmic event that was about to happen on this earth and wondered why it never took place. I was able to disarm the coup in Pakistan. What now had me perturbed was that he found me. Had it not been for that unfortunate circumstance, Evelyn and I would still be enjoying our normal lives at home right now. I know everything happens for a reason. I just hoped that I would soon discover what it was.

I convinced Evelyn that we should get a good night's sleep before we tried to locate our mystery man. I had no idea what we might stumble onto, and I didn't want to suffer a sleep deficit. We stepped back to the hotel and got some solid rest before checking out the next morning. We decided to wait until after breakfast to start our journey. Afterward, we found a secluded spot to exit this terrestrial world and step onto the golden highway. I asked Evelyn to locate our subject, but she was unable. This frustrated me because I had no backup plan. We had slept late, eaten breakfast, and now we had nothing left to do. I decided to visit Alexis again to see if we could learn anything else. This time, she was in her office and on the phone. We listened.

It was difficult to ascertain anything worthwhile from the one-sided conversation. I asked Evelyn if she could take me to the person on the other end of the line. She successfully navigated us to the other person on the phone. We were at the Pentagon, and from the uniform that he was wearing he appeared to be a colonel. I wondered if he was one of the few people at the Department of Defense who knew my identity as Annette had once mentioned. I had nearly forgotten that Annette had run interference for me while Joey and I had disappeared on the yacht. She mentioned that the contacts at the Department of Defense were uncomfortable with much of what I knew.

We continued to listen, and I started to suspicion that he was the one who gave Alexis her directives. I had a risky idea, but it was worth a chance. I wanted to enter the room and have a conversation with him which would most likely disclose our capabilities for travel. If they were nervous about me now, I could't imagine what this might cause. We positioned ourselves behind his back so that he wouldn't see us enter the room. Evelyn asked if I were sure that I really wanted to do this. I broke into a sweat. Circumventing security clearance at the Pentagon made me very nervous, but if things got out of control we could just disappear.

I could tell that the phone conversation was about to end, so I had Evelyn step us into the room out of his sight. As soon as he hung up the phone, I gently addressed him. "Sir?"

He spun around. "Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?" He reached for the phone again.

I rapidly began to explain, "Sir, if you just give me one minute to explain myself, this will all make sense. Please, put the phone down and give me a minute. It's about the gold mine that we're searching for."

He wrinkled his brow and gave me a dubious look as he put the phone back. "You're that fellow that we were looking for a few months back, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid I am, and I have run into a bit of trouble that you may be able to help me with." He looked at Joey and Evelyn. "These are my essential travel teammates. I don't have time to explain right now. I know that you just ended a conversation with Alexis."

"So, you really do have extra special powers like they told me. Who are you?"

"Once again, I really don't have time to explain. I have a dilemma, and I'm hoping that you can help. Alexis just put an assassination order out on one of my essential teammates, who isn't with us today. She did it because of a personal issue that isn't project related. I'm hoping that you can reverse that order because I need that agent to help me find the gold mine." Joey tugged on my arm, and I motioned for her to keep quiet.

The colonel sat in his chair and turned toward us. "Let me get this straight. You're the agent looking for the gold mine, and you're telling me that Alexis put a hit on one of your agents. How do I not know about this?"

"Well, sir, like I mentioned, I think that order is personal, not agency business. I'd like to spare you the details."

The colonel interrupted, "No, no, no, please give me the details." He motioned with his fingers.

I looked over at Evelyn, and she gave me an uncomfortable glance. "I hate to air someone's dirty laundry, but Alexis has been having an affair with our agent's mate. Our agent found out, and she attacked her mate, which angered Alexis."

"And just what is this agent's name, pray tell?"

"Her name is Annette."

"Annette?! Are you talking about Annette Marceau?"

I looked over at Joey, and she nodded. I was embarrassed that I never learned Annette's last name. "That is correct, sir."

"Are you saying that Alexis put out an order to assassinate Annette Marceau? I find that impossible to believe. Who do you think you are coming in here and accusing Alexis?"

"Sir, with all due respect, the assassin who received the order is standing right here." I motioned toward Joey.

The colonel looked Joey up and down as he arose from his chair. His face changed from anger to incredulity. He retreated behind his chair. "I know who you are. You're the Angel of Death."

I looked over at Joey as she admitted. "That's one name that agents have given me." Joey's presence was obviously making the colonel nervous.

I asked again. "Can you help us to reverse that order?" The colonel was staring at Joey. "Sir?"

The colonel stammered, "Oh, of course. Let me get Alexis on the phone right now." He grabbed his phone and dialed her number. "Alexis, I'm overturning an assassination order that you issued on Annette Marceau. I want you in my office in one hour. I don't want any excuses. Get over here!" He hung up the phone and turned to Joey. "The order has been rescinded. Carry on."

Now came the most difficult point. We had to leave, and I was hesitant to ask the colonel to turn his back, especially since he was so uncomfortable with Joey. I had Evelyn make the step, and we disappeared.

# **CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

# **_SURVEILLANCE_**

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****

It appeared that the agency was more like a secret society than a company. Agents could be from any walk of life or vocation. Apparently, not all agents were dedicated solely to the agency but had other employment. I had just encountered an army colonel who obviously held a managing position within the agency. I was confused how this organization functioned. They appeared to be very effective, and yet there seemed to be such a disjointed structure. There were small groups of interconnected agents that were coordinated by supervisors who remained somewhat aloof. I was intrigued by the seemingly endless supply of resources, and I was curious how the finances were managed. I had carte blanche with my expenditures. There appeared to be no budgeting or concerns with extravagant spending. This puzzled me.

Regardless of how this agency functioned, I was relieved that the order to dispose of Annette had been revoked. We could now locate her and set her mind at ease. However, I still needed to disarm the bitter hatred between Annette and Alexis. I wasn't sure what the colonel was going to say to Alexis, but she was being called in for an account. I was hoping that Alexis would get reassigned, but I needed to have a plan in case that didn't happen. Gina wanted to see Annette, and I thought that was a great place to start. I didn't want to leave Joey behind ever again, so it would require Annette to travel to Tivoli via an agency jet. That wasn't a problem, but I hoped to see Gina again and give her the good news. I just hoped that Annette had cooled down and could be civil toward Gina. I didn't know what to expect.

I didn't want to waste any time. I asked Evelyn to step us onto the golden highway to find Annette. The challenge with navigating by someone's identity was that when you found them you had to figure out where you were. Navigating location was simple, but we were now parked in a room with Annette, and I had no idea where we were. We stepped into the room. I could hear the soothing sound of the surf outside. We were on the coast somewhere. Annette was sitting on a couch drinking a glass of wine. From the look of the empty bottles, this wasn't her first glass. She saw us step into the room, and her face filled with gloom. I saw the tears collect in her eyes as she put her glass on the table. She looked as though she were facing a firing squad. "I know why you're here. I've been expecting you."

I knew she thought that Joey was going to kill her. "I doubt that you do, Annette. We're here to bring you back in. There was an order to dispose of you, but we got that overturned."

Annett'e speech was slurred. "No, you didn't. You can't overturn a disposal order. Just get this over with."

Evelyn let loose of my hand and walked toward Annette. "Annette, no one is going to harm you. We went to the colonel, and he removed the order."

Annette had stood up and was weaving. I had seen her drink nearly a bottle of vodka before and wondered how much wine she had drunk. "What colonel? I don't know any colonel. You're making this up." Tears were now falling from her eyes.

I began to realize that Annette didn't know who Alexis reported to within the agency. "Annette, the colonel is the agent above Alexis. We found him and told him about the order that Alexis put out on you. He didn't believe me until I introduced him to Joey." By now, Evelyn had reached Annette and had taken her in her arms. Annette was looking over Evelyn's shoulder at Joey, who remained silent and emotionless the whole time. "We have a lot to discuss, but we need for you to sober up before we do. Have you eaten?" Annette frowned and shook her head as the tears fell from her eyes onto Evelyn's shoulder.

Evelyn helped Annette sit back down on the couch and held her while I tried to make plans for our lunch. I decided to go into the kitchen and make a pot of coffee. This was the farthest from Evelyn that I had been in a long time. I hoped that she was safe clinging to Annette. After I got the coffee started, I checked my phone for our location. We were in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Joey was holding me around the waist, and I turned to face her as I searched for a caterer who could bring our lunch. We decided on fish and chips which reminded me of David. I wondered what he was doing right now. Joey helped me serve the coffee to Evelyn and Annette, and we went back to get our own cups. Once we returned to the kitchen, I couldn't resist pulling her close and kissing her long and deeply. I melted, and although she reciprocated I knew there was no emotion on her part. We took our coffee cups and returned to Evelyn and Annette on the couch.

Evelyn had explained to Annette what we had been doing. She also told her that Gina wanted to see her. Annette couldn't stop crying. I was relieved that she was grieving over Gina and mortified by what she had done. She vowed to care for Gina the rest of her life. I encouraged her not to make any decisions or voice any commitments until she was sober. We had a long way to go. Annette was terribly inebriated, and I kept coaxing her to drink water as she sipped her coffee. I was eager to return to Gina and let her know that Annette was remorseful over their incident in Cannes. She needed the encouragement. I remembered her mother's reaction when Gina mentioned Annette. I hoped that somehow all could be forgiven, but the emotional and moral lines were very blurry among these folks. I never knew what to expect.

My thoughts turned to our mystery man and what he might do now that we had saved Annette. He had perpetrated the assassination order, and I wondered if Annette really had to die in order for us to be successful. I hoped not. She may terrify me, but I cared deeply for her. Everyone associated with the agency seemed to have a low regard for human life. So much drama and distraction had occurred, and we were no closer to finding this gold mine than when we started. However, if we were on the wrong track I supposed that the man monitoring this operation would intervene. I had much to learn.

I continued to push the bottled water on Annette until our lunch arrived. I had traded places with Evelyn and held her as she intermittently sipped water and coffee. I thought that it was important that she felt acceptance from both of us. She was convinced that she was going to die, and I wanted to assure her that all was well. I was hoping that the food would help to sober her. Evelyn prepared a plate for her, and once we got Annette started we fixed our own plates. Lunch was terrific, except that the caterer had not provided any ketchup for the fried potatoes. This was a disappointment as I loved to smother my potatoes with it. However, there were malt vinegar and tartar sauce to accompany the fish and an excellent slaw.

Annette was showing improvement, and I kept insisting that she drink more water. She was making her second visit to the bathroom, and I wanted to keep the good fluids flowing. Evelyn took the rest of the unopened wine bottles and put them out of sight in the kitchen. I felt that we were getting careless by allowing Evelyn to venture too far from us, but I was taking advantage of every moment with Joey. I needed to settle down. I think the emotional situation was triggering my desire for her affection even though I knew that it wasn't genuine.

When Annette returned, we discussed the possibility of her visiting Gina. I warned her about Gina's mother. We wanted to visit Gina first to be sure that having Annette come to Tivoli was acceptable. Annette was still weeping intermittently, and we continued to comfort her. We decided to spend the night, and as much as we would liked to have enjoyed some wine we thought it best to stick with water for Annette's sake. I was relieved to find a king size bed in her room because I thought that we should all sleep together. Evelyn and I had both kissed Annette's lips and dried her tears. It took hours, but she was finally convinced that she wasn't going to die today. We all got into bed, and as strange as it was, Joey held me, I held Evelyn, and Evelyn held Annette. I had to admit that it felt good to be back together again and not encounter scary Annette anymore. She was meek, docile, repentant, and affectionate. This was the Annette that I had come to love.

The next morning, we decided to order breakfast after showering. Evelyn had some ibuprofen in her bag to give to Annette. We sipped our coffee as we awaited breakfast to arrive. Evelyn began to explain to Annette all that she knew from the mystery man who had taken her from La Tour in Paris. Annette was surprised at some of the things that she learned. She was also surprised that he had taken Joey and knew what Annette was going to do. She had always been nervous about some unknown person who could see our future. However, I felt like we were finally making some progress by sharing information so that everyone was on the same page. Annette had never met the man. All of her information had come from a project dossier that she had received from Alexis. She was instructed to destroy the documents once she had read them.

Annette was also nervous that I knew about the aspect of seeing the future. She had strict orders to keep that information a secret, but it wasn't Annette who let that cat out of the bag. Normally, she would have been upset with Evelyn, but at this point I think she was grateful that we intervened on her behalf to prevent her demise. I just hoped that everyone would maintain this degree of cooperation. Breakfast arrived, and I was impressed that my Eggs Benedict was nice and hot. We made a second pot of coffee and discussed our next move.

Our first project task was to locate our mystery man, but I wanted to get things cleared up with Gina as soon as possible. We decided to let Annette get some more rest while the three of us stepped our way to Tivoli and spoke with Gina. Our mode of travel was now so common to me that I took it for granted. We arrived at Gina's residence unannounced. Gina's mother answered, and Joey translated for us. Luckily, Gina was resting and was able to receive visitors. Her mother apologized for not having something for us to eat, but she managed to bake some pastry while we were there to serve with espresso.

We were eager to share with Gina about Annette's regrets for what she had done. Gina was elated to hear that Annette wanted to get back together and care for her. I asked about Gina's mother, and she promised that she would deal with her before Annette arrived. Gina's mother politely interrupted to offer more espresso. I was delighted, but I knew that Evelyn was concerned about me having so much caffeine in a short period. Nevertheless, I enjoyed another demitasse of steaming coffee. I asked Gina if she had heard from Alexis, but thankfully she had not. I was tempted to locate Alexis, but we had more important things to do.

We returned to Annette. I was glad that she was still off the grid. We were the only ones who knew where she was. The colonel apparently knew who Annette was, even though she didn't know him. He also seemed to be impressed with her as an agent because he was surprised that Alexis would put a disposal order out on her. I wasn't overly concerned that Alexis would interfere any further, but I wasn't sure about Annette's feelings toward Alexis. I certainly didn't want any more trouble, but I also didn't want to bring up the subject of Alexis to Annette. I wished that we could take Annette with us to do our surveillance, but I would never leave Joey behind again.

Evelyn and I had not been trained yet as agents, so we didn't know what the protocol was concerning disposal orders. I asked Annette if she were able to request a disposal order, and she assured me that she could but not on someone up the chain from her. She also told me her order would have to be approved by her director. This confused me because the colonel was unaware of the order by Alexis which means that she violated protocol. I asked what the penalty for protocol violation was, and Annette explained that it was determined by an agent's director. Now I really wanted to visit Alexis, but I was afraid of getting sidetracked.

The cottage in Provincetown was pleasant and quaint. I enjoyed the beach and the surf, so we decided to stay there. It appeared to be safe, and Annette was using cash for everything. I liked being off the grid. It just felt that much safer, but I knew that our mystery man could find us if he wanted. He was the loose end in this whole operation that not only concerned Annette but me as well. I had learned not to trust anyone. Unfortunately, this included Evelyn at this point which may be another reason that I flirted with the Angel of Death. Joey was likely feared by more than the colonel. She was infamous for her abilities. I liked her nickname. It was appropriate.

Annette had decided not to use agency resources to travel. She was remaining off the grid and traveling commercially. She made her reservations to fly to Rome and visit Gina. I was amused as she sorted through her many passports that held a variety of names. Some were agency issued, but some she had personally ordered to use in case she needed to hide. She made her selection and packed her bags. She was taking a limousine from Provincetown to Boston and flying directly to Rome. Her itinerary was for ten days. I asked if she wanted us to meet her in Tivoli. She said that she would be in touch. After she determined that her future was safe, she would eventually transfer Gina back to Cannes. I wondered how Gina would react emotionally to returning there, but I didn't say anything. In addition, Alexis was still on my list of things to do.

I began contemplating my mystery man. He had stumbled onto me during my last mission to take down the coup in Pakistan. At least that's what he told Evelyn. I was curious how he did that. She said that he was traversing the future when he found me. I was suspicious. Something didn't make sense. I was using my ability to read minds and transfer thoughts. Nobody knew who I was. My identity was unknown, so how could this man possibly find me? Even if he foresaw a cataclysmic event that later was avoided, I didn't understand how he could have identified me as the deterrent. Supposing that all he said were true, it appeared that he was using the agency to find the gold mine. He had given them enough information about me to leak to the federal government to get their attention and create a project to find the gold mine. That made no sense to me. If he wanted the gold, then why did he involve the federal government? They weren't going to give him the gold. They didn't even know about him. Alexis obviously knew him and was involved in securing the contract with the government. The government was informed of my identity and contacted Eddie. The U. S. Treasury was to get the gold from the mine. The agency was to get the compensation for keeping me safe. There was a double-cross somewhere waiting to happen.

The only reason that he would involve the feds was because they would have enough money to hire the agency to keep me safe. He couldn't execute this operation on his own. This appeared to be some sort of a confidence scam. The government expected for me to find the gold mine for them, but in reality this mystery man was waiting for me to find it for him. Once he saw the future that led to me finding the mine, he would most likely dispose of me and take the gold. The government and the agency would be unaware of its whereabouts, and they would terminate the project after my murder. Sweat was beginning to drip down my left sideburn. If my suspicions were correct, I was yet to find the right path to the gold mine because once I did it would be the end of me. All of a sudden, my blood ran cold and shivers went down my spine and out my arms. He had convinced the agency to keep me in the dark about his ability to see the future. He said that it was for my safety, but in reality it was because he knew that I would figure out his plan. His mistake was telling Evelyn about it, but if he didn't she would have continued to resist Joey's closeness to me, and I would have gotten abducted. What compounded that mistake was not preventing Annette from attacking Gina. That's what upset Evelyn so badly that caused her to tell me. Apparently, he couldn't stop Annette. My guess was because the events were already in motion that caused it, and it was too late for him to intervene. On the other hand, he may have intended to dispose of Annette all along, and this was his opportunity. We all needed to have a discussion.

Annette's limousine was due in an hour. My concern for her safety now increased exponentially. I gathered everyone to the couch to discuss what I feared was happening. If my suspicions were correct, Annette's life was still in danger. Either this man was afraid that Annette was going to interfere with my progress, or he was afraid that she was going to realize the truth. I tried to dissuade Annette from leaving, but she wouldn't listen. She desperately wanted to see Gina. I decided to step up our plan to find our mystery man. Both Evelyn and Joey had met him, so finding him shouldn't be a problem unless he were on the golden highway. Even then, we wouldn't stop trying. He had to come up for air sometime.

I didn't want to waste any time. I lined us up and had Evelyn step us onto the golden highway. Next, I had her find our mystery man. To my delight, we were successful. He was asleep, and it was very dark. We quietly came out of parking mode. He was in bed, and I couldn't see him well. I turned my back to access my phone to see where we were. Much to my alarm, we were in Kabul, Afghanistan. I had a bad feeling about this. There was a nine and a half hour difference with our time in Cape Cod. I decided to step back to the cottage and wait for six more hours to try again.

I knew that I was still alive partially due to this man's involvement. I also suspicioned that my time was limited due to this same man. I was afraid of what he might do if he saw the future where I just walked away from this project. I had come to realize by now that was not going to be an option, although that's exactly what I wanted to do. Once again, I didn't see how I was going to be successful and get out of this alive. I knew that Alexis was familiar with him, but I didn't know if anyone else knew he existed except for Annette, Evelyn, Joey, and myself. It became obvious that all five of us were going to be annihilated once he knew where the gold mine was. Removing him would be a simple solution, but I wasn't going to be involved in someone's murder. Then again, he's probably counting on that. I needed to learn more about him, but that would have to wait until he was up for the day.

We returned just in time to hug and kiss Annette goodbye. We wished her luck and offered to help in any way that we could. I hated to see her go. I was terribly concerned for her safety. Faith was scarce these days. Although I believed that everything happened for the good somehow, it would be a long time before I ever saw what the good was. My heart ached for Annette and Gina. How I wished that the horrible incident in Cannes never happened, but if it didn't I wouldn't know what I know now. Was this the good? It appeared to be incredibly expensive if it were. Certainly, there was more to come. Right now, I just wanted to sit next to Evelyn and be held by Joey. I felt an emptiness that only they could fill. I didn't like where my life was these days, but I didn't see an alternative.

It appeared that our days and nights were going upside down again, so I encouraged them to take a nap with me. I didn't want to be fighting sleep as we followed our mystery man wherever he went. We lay on the bed in our usual positions. Evelyn began to lightly snore. Joey slipped her hand beneath my shirt and pressed on my chest to pull me close. She gently whispered, "Go to sleep." I smiled as I was being comforted by the Angel of Death while she protected me during my slumber. I awoke after two hours. Joey kissed my neck. It was reminiscent of our days of siesta. I had come out of a dream, but it was fading quickly from my memory. I wanted to hold onto it, but it was too elusive. I stretched, and Evelyn stirred. I decided to wait until Evelyn was ready to get up. She pulled her shirt off over her head. She had a different plan.

Evelyn and I were extremely comfortable with Joey. There's nothing that we couldn't do with her holding onto us. Annette once asked if I were in love with Joey. I had told her that I loved Evelyn and that it would be impossible for me to be in love with Joey. I said that they were mutually exclusive. I was revisiting my statement. I loved Joey, and I greatly enjoyed our blissful moments. I never sought to make love to her, but I never wanted her to leave my side. I took advantage of her disorder. Her directive was to do whatever I wanted. I suspicioned that if she did have emotion that she wouldn't be nearly as compliant with my advances. I felt safe knowing that she felt nothing. I knew that my indulgence was wrong, but I couldn't stop. It was overwhelming. She was devastatingly attractive and continually clung to me. I started thinking about the four questions again. I knew that was going to come into play sooner than later.

Evelyn and I managed to while away two more hours and worked up a sweat. We decided to shower, eat, and get ready for our tour of surveillance. Evelyn was in the mood for burgers, and this time I made sure that we had plenty of ketchup available for our fries. She also wanted a beer, but I suggested that we not ingest any alcohol. We needed to remain as sharp as possible. We cleaned up the mess from our meal and prepared for our navigation.

We lined up once again to make the step onto the golden highway and navigated to our target. He was on the telephone. Unfortunately, Joey did not know Pashto or Dari, the two main languages of Afghanistan. I had no idea what he was speaking, but Joey couldn't understand any of it. We were parked in the room where he was standing, and he turned in our direction. My heart took a leap. I knew this man. I was retracing my memory of where I had seen him before. My heart was pounding, and I began to sweat. I instructed Evelyn to get us back to the cottage.

"Adriel, what is the matter? We finally get a chance to watch this guy, and you decide to come back here?"

"Evelyn, this is far worse than I ever imagined. I was trying to remember where I saw this man before. In reality, I had never actually seen him. Do you remember the scary man that I used to refer to as the black hole? He was the only one that I could never read his mind. That's why I called him the black hole. He was a total mystery. He was the mastermind behind the coup in Pakistan."

"You mean the only who got away when the Black Ops arrested the coup members?" Joey snapped her head in attention to Evelyn.

"Yes, I had been trying to pay attention to be sure that the operation unfolded as directed, and during the sequence of events I failed to notice his escape because I couldn't read his mind. I think this is the same man."

"I remember what you said about him. He's pure evil."

"That's an understatement. I'm not sure what we're going to do. If this is the same man, and he walks the golden highway, we have real problems."

My plan had been to incarcerate this man during the raid on the coup in Pakistan. They had developed a virus that they intended to distribute which would have given them the ability to control the government in Pakistan and leverage India to control the world via the secret technology that I had disclosed. I had encountered some ruthless and frightening individuals during my mission, and this man was by far the worst. He was in control of the entire operation. I suspected that he wouldn't be able to organize another coup within ten years. His organization had infiltrated every major government in the world including the United States. A purge operation expelled or arrested most of them. I chronicled these events from a diary that I kept and published under the title _False Antichrist_. I had hoped that this threat of a world crisis had been averted and that I could get back to my everyday life. However, if he got his hands on the gold from this mine he could possibly rebuild very quickly with that level of resources. The irony that I was trying to comprehend is that he was using his major opponent to secure the finances. Somehow, he identified me and now wanted to use me to accomplish his original task by finding the gold mine. I had no proof, but I was reasonably certain this was what he was planning. If so, the only reason that I'm still alive is because he is convinced that I can find the gold.

I often felt that my life was like circling the inside of a funnel. Around and around I went, but as I went deeper my options diminished until I finally found the exit. It appeared that I was making no progress to find the mine. That's probably why I was still alive. My priorities had now changed. Instead of finding the mine, I now wanted to know how to stop the perpetrator from succeeding in his plan for world domination. Everyone involved was blinded by the expectation of securing the fortunes that I was supposed to find. I seriously doubted that I could get the appropriate attention from the government to come to my aid to stop this man. The staff that I had dealt with to prevent the coup never knew who I was. I was afraid to disclose myself because anonymity was my greatest defense. However, my fear had been what they might do with me if they knew who I was. That was rather moot at this point because the agency now had me. My fears had become a reality.

Everything was beginning to make more sense. When Eddie approached me to sign the nondisclosure agreement for this project, I thought that he was overwhelmed by an opportunity to make millions of dollars. What was dawning on me was that the Creator, who called me to avert the world crisis the last time, still had me on the hook to complete the task. I merely thought that it was over, but it wasn't. The principal threat to the world was still at large. My job wasn't done. That premise gave me new hope because if I were correct then the Creator would guide me as he had done before. My faith was renewing, and my perspective was improving. In spite of the hopeless appearance of circumstances, I knew that I would somehow prevail. I just wished that he would tell me beforehand, but he never does. That's why it is called faith.

I explained my detailed hypothesis to Evelyn. She agreed that it all made perfect sense. However, Joey interjected. "Adriel, if you are certain that this man is threatening your mission, my directive is to eliminate him. This isn't the monumental problem that you think it is." I took a step back. All of the puzzle pieces fit, but I didn't like the picture that they portrayed. Was I certain enough about this man's identity that I would allow Joey to take him out? Admittedly, I was not. I didn't want to participate in anyone's death, especially if it weren't necessary. Joey's offer made me rethink things. There was an avenue that we had not traversed. I needed to deal with the four questions, and if my fear was correct I would have to confess my indulgence with Joey. However, I wasn't one hundred percent certain that the questions pertained to my secret either. Besides, I wasn't ready.

The four questions may pertain to things more relevant to the project. What flaw must be corrected? The flaw may be my mystery man and his intention to steal the gold. What offense must be mended? The offense could be Annette's attack on Gina. What ignorance must be resolved? This could have been the secret about the future that everyone was keeping from me. What weakness must be strengthened? It might refer to my lack of faith in the Creator concerning this project. Nothing was clear, and I wasn't risking angering Evelyn only to find out that I was wrong about the meaning to the questions. Perhaps it was time to visit the golden highway and clap again, but this time I was taking Joey along. I know she objected to me binding our feet together, but I would insist. Perhaps if we bound them on the highway she would agree. Evelyn and I would have our feet bound, so she would have both hands free while I held onto Joey. Once our feet were all attached, we would all have free hands. It was worth a try.

Evelyn, Joey, and I discussed the idea of binding our feet on the highway and clapping to see if the other couple would approach us. Joey agreed to cooperate as long as we were on the golden highway. We all believed that we were safe there from any adversaries. I was eager to get started, so we lined up and stepped onto the highway barefooted. Evelyn and Joey tied Evelyn's right foot to my left foot. Evelyn then released my hand for her to tie my right foot to Joey's left foot. Evelyn clapped her left hand to my right hand. We waited. No one approached. I tried clapping by myself. Then Evelyn tried clapping. We even had Joey clap. As a last resort, Evelyn clapped her left hand with Joey's right. Still, no one was coming toward us. I assumed it was because we had Joey with us. I refused to try it without her. There was no way I would risk losing her again, not even for a minute. We returned to the cottage.

Annette was en route to Rome. Evelyn retrieved the hidden wine bottles, and we started drinking. The three of us were laughing and frolicking. I was clinging to Joey, but Evelyn didn't seem to mind. We decided to order dinner. Evelyn wanted lobster, and I wanted clam chowder. Joey never had any preferences and always seemed to enjoy whatever everyone else was eating. I was trying to occupy my mind with these two playful women because deep down I was terribly disappointed that our exercise had been a failure. I wasn't sure what to do next, but that would wait until morning. We emptied the six wine bottles and got ready for bed.

Evelyn argued that our navigation was not dimensional, but I suspected that she really didn't understand the concept of dimension. She stepped in a direction that was very different from what one does to navigate this world. She had countless steps that went in different directions to take us where we needed to go. I was contemplating the aspect of the golden highway. No matter where we went, it always started there whether we were navigating space or time. Everyone had discouraged me from seeing the future, but I was beginning to think that I needed to start there. The highway appeared to be a hub of the space time continuum. Obviously, everything had to originate from the highway. It was an interesting place. The gold on the highway had a transparency to it, and you could see depth in it somewhat like golden glass. The surroundings were astonishingly beautiful. Colors were vivid and plentiful. The atmosphere was ideal, and it had a sweet smell of gardenia. It provided the ideal escape from this world of greed, lust, envy, strife, anger, selfishness, jealousy, doubt, and fear. It was the perfect environment.

David had suggested that other worlds could be accessed from the portal. If that were true, then the golden highway must have been the first thing that was created. Perhaps that was the reference to the heavens in the account of creation. Many people didn't believe that the writings should be taken literally, but after I was enlightened to prepare for my last mission to avert a world crisis, I remembered watching the creation of this world. That aspect gave me reference to the fact that we existed prior to the earth. Evelyn said that I overanalyzed everything, and that may be true. However, I found it beneficial to have some sort of paradigm of what I experienced. It may not be accurate, but it helped me function. I wanted to do some exploring on the highway. As dangerous as it had been portrayed by David, I think it's one of the safest places to be. I had noted that Evelyn couldn't locate Joey during her disappearance, and we surmised that it was due to her being on the golden highway at the time. If that were true, and no one could locate us while we were there, then it seemed to be an even safer place. The disparity of time duration between this world and the highway was the only issue, and we needed some experience in controlling that.

The prior evening with six bottles of wine caused us to get a late start for the day. Evelyn was rummaging through her bag for some ibuprofen to share with me. Joey, on the other hand, was fresh as a daisy. She hardly noticed the alcohol consumption. Once we had accomplished our daily mundane tasks of bodily maintenance, we lined up to go exploring. We held hands and stepped onto the highway. Going into the breeze appeared to take us back in time, so we decided to walk the same direction as the breeze. After walking for a while, we decided to target Annette to see what she was doing. The disorienting aspect of locating people had been not knowing where we were when we found them. The enhanced aggravation of traversing time was not knowing when we were. Luckily, we recognized the surroundings where we found Annette. She and Gina were at the residence in Cannes. The question now was at what time in the future we had landed. We couldn't come out of parking position, so I couldn't ask them what the date was.

Evelyn was the first to notice that Annette's hair was considerably longer and pulled back into a ponytail. We reasoned that it was at least a year into the future. I was pleased to see Annette with Gina and all seemed to be going well. Annette was still alive, and that was a major relief. Joey was interpreting for us as they conversed in French. There was no mention of the project or any work aspect at all. They were planning a trip to Australia at some future time, but it didn't appear that a date had been set. Joey listened for over half an hour, but there wasn't any useful information. I wondered if we could locate ourselves in the future. We stepped back to the golden highway, but Evelyn had no clue how to find us because we were on the golden highway. It appeared to be impossible. We tried finding our mystery man, but that too was a failure. I asked Evelyn to locate Alexis. She took the step, and much to my surprise we were parked inside a prison cell where Alexis sat on a bunk in a bright orange uniform.

I was tempted to visit our children, Charles and Maggie, but Evelyn refused. She was afraid to know their futures and didn't want to take the risk. We decided that Eddie would be the next target. Evelyn took the step to find Eddie. He and Angela were at home, but where? The house was tremendous. We couldn't come out of parking mode, but I could see a large body of water out back. It was either a really large lake or an ocean. There were three floors and a basement. It was somewhat reminiscent of the house that Eddie and I had occupied in Orlando when we were communicating with Pakistan and India on my last mission. It appeared that Eddie had come into a large sum of money. Evelyn and I looked at one another with raised eyebrows.

We stepped back to the cottage to analyze our experience. We weren't sure how far into the future we had gone. Annette and Gina didn't appear much older, but it was at least a year from now. They were doing well. Alexis was in prison, but we had no idea why. This didn't tell us much. Eddie, on the other hand, seemed to be doing very well. Our assumption was that he got paid for our current project. If that were true, then the foreseeable future was one of success, and I wondered if our mystery man had realized that. Then again, navigating the future was very cryptic and tedious from our experience. Seeing Eddie living in luxury didn't tell me where the mine was. I was now suspicious if our mystery man was poking around in the future as we were rather than being able to target certain timeframes. When Evelyn and I visited our wedding day, it was much easier because time past was solidified. Time future was soft due to the fact that it could be altered by present day events. I knew the day of our wedding, but I would have no clue as to the day that I found the gold mine. I was trying to understand how to utilize these new tools.

The breeze on the highway apparently signified the passing of time. When Evelyn and I had conducted our navigational experiments back at Giza, we estimated that about three minutes had passed, but when we returned David said that we had been gone over forty minutes. My assumption was that the breeze, which we hadn't yet detected at that time, was causing time to pass us by of which we were unaware. I didn't know if the breeze was constant, or whether it was stronger or weaker at different times. The navigation of time seemed more like an art than a science. However, Evelyn's ability to navigate space was more of a science due to her knowledge. I had wondered before if I were missing another enlightenment that would help me pinpoint timeframes more accurately. I didn't want to possess an inferior ability compared to my mystery man, but he obviously had more experience than we did. He also didn't have Joey tagging along.

I was disappointed that Joey was incapable of understanding the language of our mystery man. She had explained to me that she was a regional agent and a global assassin. Projects that were based in countries where the native language was not in her repertoire would not employ her for protection. However, as an assassin she could operate anywhere. Our mystery man was an unforeseen entity. We could request another agent with the language skills, but then we would have to leave Joey behind to transport the other agent, and that just wasn't going to happen. Another disappointment was that we couldn't seem to locate ourselves in the future. We had successfully found ourselves in the past. I wasn't sure what the problem was. Then again, I was nervous with Evelyn seeing the foreseeable future about us. I certainly didn't want to be caught at the wrong time.

I had an idea to target Annette again but in a more recent time. If we couldn't target ourselves, we may be able to target an intersection of ourselves with another person. If our assumptions were correct, then the project would be complete within a year or so. We needed to go back to the highway and position ourselves in the not so distant future to navigate to Annette again. Evelyn stepped us onto the highway, and we walked with the breeze but not as far as before. Evelyn then stepped in the direction of Annette. We were parked in a room where Annette was tied to some sort of a whipping post. She was naked, and Alexis had a long, thin rubber hose. This was no pleasure venture. Alexis would strike hard, and Annette would scream. Alexis let the pain take its course before striking again to increase the torture. Alexis was working Annette from her shoulders to her knees. We couldn't tolerate more than two minutes of the scene that horrified us. We stepped back to the cottage. Evelyn sat and shook as tears ran down her face. My heart was wrenching. I wasn't sure how, but we needed to prevent that possible future from happening.

We had enough future travel for the day. Evelyn decided that wine wouldn't be enough, so she navigated us to a liquor store to buy two bottles of bourbon. It was mid afternoon, and I wanted to order some food before we got plastered on whiskey. Evelyn was more upset than I knew. She poured a glass before I was able to find a caterer. I looked over at Joey, and she gave a slight shake of her head. She may not be able to feel emotion, but she sometimes recognizes when others are hurting. She put her hand on mine to stop me from discouraging Evelyn. Joey put her arm around Evelyn. This was the closest display of personal emotion that I had ever witnessed from Joey. It appeared that she was learning how to respond.

I decided to text Annette to see how things were going with Gina. I was hoping to coordinate with her so that I could warn her of the future event that we had just witnessed. I wasn't sure how far into the future that was, but our current course was leading down that road. Our food arrived, and I still had not gotten a response from Annette. I had ordered three racks of ribs with fries and slaw. I wanted to get some fat into Evelyn before she soaked up too much of the alcohol. She was already well on her way. I tried to get her to drink some water, but she pushed it away. Evelyn and Annette had established a better relationship during our time in Cannes. I knew that Annette was attracted to Evelyn, but that never concerned me. She would flirt with Evelyn from time to time, but it was all in fun. Evelyn seemed oblivious to it. One time, Annette locked Evelyn in a full kiss that caused Evelyn and Gina to break into laughter. Granted, we had a few bottles of empty wine behind us. That was another reason that the sleepwalking incident was so amusing to me.

Evelyn was sufficiently inebriated, so I carried her to the bedroom. Joey and I got her ready for bed. I wasn't ready to turn in for the night, but I couldn't leave Evelyn alone. Joey pulled me to the kitchen for a few seconds to grab two bottles of wine and some glasses. Neither of us had drunk any of the whiskey. Evelyn lightly snored as Joey and I talked and enjoyed the wine. We were considering our next steps that we should take to learn more about the future. We had just finished our second bottle of wine, and Joey took my glass from me and put it on the nightstand. She pulled me close and put her forehead on mine as she gazed into my eyes. My heart started to race. Joey wanted to play.

Annette responded to my text during the night. Things were going well with Gina. I had let her know that I needed to discuss something important. She was sticking with her original itinerary, so she wouldn't be back for over a week. We could discuss the possible future events then. Meanwhile, Evelyn, Joey, and I needed to do some more experimenting with navigating the future. I knew that Evelyn wouldn't want to target Annette again, but Joey and I thought that was our best bet. Evelyn had slept very soundly all night. Joey and I plied her with coffee and ibuprofen to get her started that morning. It was sometimes difficult to remain physically connected with everyone, especially if one of us was incapacitated, but we managed.

We convinced Evelyn after breakfast that we should try another stab at the future with Annette. Evelyn was very emotional, and it was difficult for her to see people suffer whom she loved. I could rely on Joey to be objective without emotion, so I leaned more toward her judgment. We targeted Annette once again as we headed a little further into the future. We were back at Annette's residence in Cannes. Gina was sunning herself by the pool while Joey swam laps. Annette was sitting with her arm around Evelyn as Evelyn sobbed into a tissue. I was nowhere to be found. This greatly upset Evelyn, but I coaxed her to stay and listen. We needed to learn all that we could about our present course. There wasn't much exchange in conversation. Annette was being supportive as Evelyn grieved. The scene was alarming, but it was impossible to learn what happened because no one was discussing the events. It was just consolation over my absence. We finally searched through the residence to see if I were inside. We couldn't locate the future me, so we decided to go backward a little and locate Annette again.

Time was difficult to gauge on the golden highway. I made relative steps to try to target timeframes, but I had no idea exactly when we were arriving. I adjusted us backward somewhat, and Evelyn stepped us toward Annette. Once again, we found Annette in Cannes with Gina. Evelyn was now swimming laps in the pool, but we could not locate Joey or me. Evelyn wasn't upset, so that was a relief. I wondered where Joey and I could be, so we searched the residence but we were obviously absent. Evelyn emerged from the pool, and Annette began to towel her off. She led Evelyn to a deck chair and started rubbing her with oil. Annette became amorous toward Evelyn and started making advances. I looked over at Gina, but she appeared to be asleep. Things progressed between Annette and Evelyn to such an uncomfortable point that our current Evelyn stepped us back to the cottage.

I was a little upset that Evelyn interrupted our surveillance. She didn't want to see where things went, but I was more concerned about the status of the project, not whether Evelyn and Annette were playing around. Where were Joey and I during this interlude? Joey was there later, but I wasn't. Analyzing the future was difficult because all we got were snippets of events, none of which included my presence. If our mystery man navigated future events in the same way, then he was targeting a timeframe that would show whether or not I found the gold mine. We had possibly found such an event with Eddie and Angela living in the lavish house, but that was no guarantee.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Instead of poking around blindly into the future and trying to analyze brief moments, I could set a future marker. I decided to get everyone to agree that if I found the gold mine, we would put up a conspicuous red flag at Annette's pool. We made a commitment that as soon as I found the mine whoever was first available would go to Cannes and put out a red flag at Annette's pool. I decided to text the instructions to Annette as well so that she would be aware of the plan. She responded in about fifteen minutes that she agreed. It was time for another test. This time, instead of targeting Annette we would target her residence in Cannes. We stepped onto the highway, and I positioned us into the future possibly farther than we had yet been. Evelyn stepped us to Annette's pool in Cannes. My idea was a success. At the shallow end of the pool stood a red flag on a pole that was anchored near the edge. I broke into laughter. We decided to look around. Evelyn and Annette were in the bedroom, and Evelyn became very agitated as she saw herself with Annette. I tried to calm her down. Gina wasn't around, nor were Joey and I. We couldn't target Joey or myself to see where we were. I asked Evelyn to close her eyes. I wasn't ready to leave just yet.

I was ready to camp out for hours in parking mode to see if anyone came home later. Evelyn and Annette were definitely having an affair. We could deal with that later. More importantly, I needed to know where Joey and I were. I was frustrated that I couldn't ascertain the calendar date. We couldn't come out of parking mode, and our cell phones didn't contain the future date because we couldn't enter the future. Nobody read newspapers anymore, so there were no telltale signs of chronology. Seeing the red flag without seeing me didn't give me any assurances that I was still alive in the future. I couldn't help the fact that Evelyn was terribly embarrassed. I was just glad that the future didn't show me involved with Joey. I was afraid to go back to the highway and try an adjustment because I was never sure how much further into the future I went. We waited.

Evelyn was in tears and refused to watch the affair. However, Joey and I observed to see if we could learn anything. I was shocked at Evelyn's involvement because Annette was a demanding lover. Joey, of course, thought nothing of it. Evelyn and Annette had settled in for the night. I was assuming that Gina nor I would be showing up soon. They drifted off to sleep, and I decided that we should go back to the highway and push a little further into the future. Evelyn was reticent at this point, but she cooperated with our excursion. I adjusted us a little further, and Evelyn stepped us back to Annette. I gave a sigh of relief to see myself with Annette and Joey. This time Evelyn was nowhere in sight, and I had no idea where we were.

We decided to listen to the conversation between Annette and myself. We were disagreeing about something, but it wasn't serious. It involved another project. This led me to believe that according to our current path I was going to be successful and not get killed in the process. However, I knew that could change with any decision or deviation from our current course. I had another idea, but I wasn't going to share it until Annette returned. I wanted Annette to watch over Evelyn while Joey and I tried some experiments together. Evelyn navigated us by location of a person or place, and I navigated according to time. I would need a portal, but I was wondering if Joey and I could make progress without Evelyn. I was secretly hoping that Joey could learn to navigate, but I rather doubted that would happen. It was worth a try. Having three people on the highway might be preventing our progress, but I was still unwilling to leave Joey. She was my protector.

We came back to the cottage, and I wanted to discuss the affair with Annette. However, Evelyn didn't want to talk about it. She was embarrassed and said that she didn't see how anything like that could happen. She wanted to drop the matter. I understood, but I didn't think ignoring it was a good idea. The other disconcerting aspect of the future depictions was that Evelyn and I were not together with Annette at the times that we observed. I didn't know if this were just a fluke, or if there might be a problem between us. Perhaps it was because of the affair. I had no idea.

I wasn't sure what to do next until Annette returned. We had targeted Eddie, Alexis, and Annette in the future. We hadn't tried to locate David, but he was no longer a member of our crew. Although, I thought perhaps we should give it a try. Annette would be another week in Tivoli, and I didn't like wasting time. I still felt a little tinge of jealousy when Evelyn admitted that she would like to see David again. I wasn't threatened by Annette because I never thought that Evelyn was inclined toward women. Nevertheless, we made the appropriate navigation to visit David in the future. Future travel was emotionally draining for Evelyn. We found David lying in a hospital bed with tubes going into his nose and mouth. He looked emaciated. It was obvious that he wasn't going to last much longer. He was unconscious, and the monitors were recording his vitals. There was nothing for us to do, so we came back to the cottage. Evelyn found the bottle of bourbon.

Joey poured herself a tall glass of straight bourbon as I cringed. I didn't care for bourbon and decided to look for another bottle of wine. Joey and I had drunk the last of it, so I decided to find a caterer who owned a license to deliver alcohol with food. We had a great Italian meal delivered in an hour with four bottles of Chianti. Evelyn was fairly wobbly after dinner and wanted to make love, but I knew that it was just an emotional backlash from seeing herself with Annette. I gently resisted her advances until she fell asleep. This gave me an opportunity to discuss my plan with Joey. I wanted to see if she and I could make progress on the golden highway together. This would require a portal, but I was reluctant to return to Giza because of David. Evelyn was too emotional for me to expose her to his advances. I wondered where we might find another portal to visit. I was now reconsidering my plan because of Evelyn. Besides, it was a shot in the dark.

I still had not resolved the four questions, nor was I able to get the other couple on the golden highway to return to us. I had to admit that the apparent problem was keeping Joey with us, but that appeared to be essential. Joey held me as I lay on my back pondering my predicament. The prescribed model for golden highway travel was a husband and wife, one man and one woman. I decided that the safest thing to do was to have Annette watch over Joey as Evelyn and I tried again. It made me nervous, but not as nervous as exposing Evelyn to David.

I hated having time on my hands, but we had a week to kill before Annette returned. I had a surprise for Evelyn. There had been one place that she always wanted to go, but we never made it there. I stopped flying before we ever got a chance. When she awoke, I was going to suggest that the three of us go have a great time. I had my account number, so we had unlimited funds. I asked Joey if she had ever been there. It was a stupid question. There weren't many major cities that she hadn't spent a significant time in due to project work. I could only imagine that she left dead bodies behind. I was curious and asked her what was the easiest way to kill someone. She said it was boredom. We had nothing to fear. We were going to Las Vegas.

# **CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

# **_MEADOWS_**

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Las Vegas is Spanish for the meadows. In 1829, a Mexican trader encountered a grassland in that area that he called the meadows or Las Vegas. It had long since become Sin City, which translates to many as just plain fun. I was concerned that Evelyn was experiencing too many hangovers these days. She was having a difficult time coping emotionally, and I wanted to divert her mind for a time while we had some fun. The first order of business was to buy me a tuxedo and get the girls outfitted with some really chic gowns. You're probably wondering how we were going to accomplish that since we had to stay connected. I had never witnessed one man and two women enter a dressing room together in a department store. I had suggested that we step into a store after hours and pick out our attire and then return in the morning to purchase it. Evelyn said that I lacked imagination. I liked her idea better. We were heading to Paris to have our clothes made. I kept forgetting that money was no object.

It's amazing how people treat you when you appear to have untold fortunes at your disposal. We entered Camp de Luca on rue de la Paix promptly at eight thirty in the morning. Joey negotiated our deal in French to commandeer one of their best tailors. He took my measurements, and we picked the style of tuxedo that appealed to us all. Joey explained that this was a rush order, and we would need it by the next morning. We paid a handsome retainer to ensure that this was top priority. Next, we stopped in at Chanel on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré to pick gowns. Once again, Joey negotiated our service. Karl Lagerfeld was the head creative director of Chanel. Evelyn fell in love with a red gown from the Couture collection. I had to insist on a black, backless gown for Joey with a slit that ran up the skirt to her waist. She never wore underwear anyway, and I thought this was the perfect dress to show off her unbelievable curves. Evelyn picked out three more gowns and insisted on four more for Joey. Naturally, we had to accessorize with shoes, purses, jewelry, glasses, and undergarments for Evelyn. It ended up as a two day power shopping trip, and I was already exhausted.

It was fun to see Evelyn so excited. She searched hotel rooms online and booked the Charlemagne Suite at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel for our stay. Naturally, we had to step into the room to take a personal tour before she made her final decision. It obviously met her approval. I had a couple of entertaining ideas for Evelyn which would give us the opportunity to exercise our navigational skills. We packed our bags, dressed for the occasion, and stepped into a hotel restroom that was available. We would navigate back to the cottage to retrieve our bags once we had secured the room. Evelyn checked us in, and we got settled. She was too excited to eat, so I escorted her to a roulette table. I instructed her not to play but just observe for a while.

Once we were familiar with the table and the game, I escorted the ladies back to our room for a little experiment. We intended to visit the same table in the near future, so I explained how we would set our marker. We would take our place at the table, and after we got situated Joey would step behind me. Once Joey was in place, we would start with straight up bets only with $20,000 on one number. The odds paid out thirty-five to one, so I was planning on buying only $40,000 worth of chips. It was time for our experiment. I had Evelyn step us onto the highway, and I made a slight adjustment into the future. Evelyn then put is into parking mode at the roulette table. We didn't see ourselves at the table, so we waited and listened to the conversations. Based on what I expected, we hadn't yet arrived. We stayed in parking mode and watched the players. After a few minutes, we saw Evelyn, Joey, and myself stroll up to the table. Once we had gained a position, Joey stepped behind me. As we observed in parking mode, I had Evelyn note the next seven winning numbers. She was ecstatic to see us win every time. That was because we were going back down to the table in the present time and play the same numbers.

Evelyn stepped us back to the room, and we went down to buy the chips. We meandered over to the table and found our position. Joey stepped behind me, and I started placing the bets. After seven consecutive wins, we ended our play. We tipped the croupier $100,000. I had Joey keep track of all of the waitresses who served our entire table. We tipped them each $20,000. We took the remainder of our winnings and left the table. All eyes were on our little group as we walked away with $4,700,000. We were accompanied by a security guard as we went to cash in the winnings. Once our transaction was complete, we were met by casino executives who invited us to have cocktails and appetizers in one of their suites. Our croupier was there as well. They had just taken a hit for over four million dollars, and they were curious how we could be so lucky. As I sat on a couch with Evelyn and Joey trying to remain calm, cool, and collected, I was hoping that the myriad of casino cameras were not accessible via the Internet. We had enough exposure already, but Evelyn, Joey, and I were in formation and refused to deviate in case we needed to disappear into thin air.

We were all carrying fake identification. Evelyn was very cool that I was Ariel Cohen, and Joey was posing as my wife. We already had that story solidified into my head, so we thought it was the safest idea. The casino executives were very cordial and offered us free rooms in the future and endless perks to get us to return. They wanted a chance to win their money back, and I played along even though we had no intention of returning. We were just having fun, and the money was going to the bank account number that I used. The casino had our tax identification which was also bogus. I was already thinking about how I would explain this to Annette. She knew how to handle everything.

After about an hour, they encouraged us to return to the tables and enjoy ourselves. We still had $20,000 in our original chip pool and decided to regroup in our suite. This time we were going to make an even bigger impression, although we would be winning less money. Evelyn took us into parking mode into the casino once again, and we chose a prominent blackjack table. Our plan was to enter the game and call every card that would be dealt to us. I had Evelyn take notes after we saw ourselves receiving our first deal. After seven hands, we left the table with all of our winnings. As usual, we never lost. Once Evelyn got us back to our room, we needed to memorize the cards. I noticed the smile on Joey's face and asked what amused her so. As it turned out, she has an eidetic memory and knew every card that was played. I wish she had mentioned that earlier.

We left our suite and headed for the casino. We found our seat at the table and placed the maximum $10,000 bet with every hand. Joey called every card out loud before it was dealt to me. This brought a security team to the table to observe. After three hands, we had a large crowd that had gathered around us. No trickery or foul play was detected, and they allowed us to continue. As I was collecting the winnings from the sixth hand, a voice behind me sent chills down my spine. "My, how you have disappointed me. I hope this hasn't lessened your chances of finding a certain gold mine." I spun about to see who was talking to me, but there were so many faces in the crowd that pressed us, and I didn't recognize any of them. Joey and Evelyn were by my sides, and neither of them seemed to have noticed the voice. I was flustered, and we left after the seventh hand.

As we walked through the casino, Joey leaned into me and whispered, "We're being followed." We headed down a hotel hallway and entered a stairway. Once we were out of sight from everyone, we stepped onto the highway and back to our room. Now that we were alone, I shared my experience with the voice that I heard at the blackjack table. Evelyn thought perhaps it was my conscience, but I knew that I had heard an audible voice. I was aware that this excursion had inherent risks because we needed to remain obscure, but part of the fun was in raising everyone's attention with our inexplicable luck at the tables. What if this was what our mystery man was talking about when he said that I shouldn't look at the future? What if his warning was real, and I was wrong about him? I was beginning to panic. Just then, there was a knock at our door.

The three of us continued to hold hands, and we had Joey answer the door. A bellhop handed her a note, and she appropriated a tip for him on our bill. She closed the door and opened the note. Someone was inviting us to dinner at Americana on Regatta Drive at 7:00 PM this evening. The name Mr. Smith provided no clues, and I had no idea if this were casino related or if we just had a curious fan who was interested in our methods. The note contained a telephone number, and I decided to have Joey handle the call. Joey had done an excellent job of reducing her Hungarian accent, but I could always detect just a slight deviation in her pronunciation. Mr. Smith remained ambiguous over the phone and offered to send a car for us this evening. Joey declined and explained that we would provide our own transportation. We would be delighted to attend.

I was apprehensive as Joey had accepted the invitation without consulting me. She explained that it was a public place, and if anyone meant us any harm he would have handled it very differently. She had considerable experience in this arena, and I had learned to trust her judgment. I still felt apprehensive. I believed everything happened for a reason, but I wasn't convinced that meeting with Mr. Smith was such a great idea. I had to admit that it appeared we weren't making much progress to find the gold mine, and if I didn't meet with this mysterious host I would always wonder what the purpose was.

We spent the next few hours in our room discussing the possibilities. I was amused as gifts began to be delivered from various people. We had an array of flower arrangements, tickets to events, champagne, fine liquor, and even jewelry for the women. We had made quite an impression on several admirers who obviously were interested in our methods. I was concerned that so many people had learned our room number. There were precious few secrets in Vegas. Everyone could be bought for a price. Joey was a seasoned operative and found a listening device among one of the flower arrangements. We took all of the gift items into the bathroom, closed the door, and ceased to answer to anyone. We finally arrived at the decision to step into the future to the Americana restaurant to gain some foresight into our evening.

Americana is a delightful restaurant located in Desert Shores beside a lake that provided an excellent ambience. It was about ten miles from our hotel, but we weren't intending conventional travel methods. We scouted around in parking mode for available places to make our entry later in the evening. After we had gained a comfortable familiarity with the layout, we decided to return to the golden highway and make an adjustment into the future. After five attempts to locate ourselves, we finally gave up. We had even checked a clock and date at the restaurant to be sure that we had the right future timeframe. This greatly concerned me. It appeared that for some reason we never made it to the restaurant, but then again I couldn't be sure. This was an art not a science for us at this point. I was getting more apprehensive by the moment.

Evelyn suggested that we take a side trip to our house to grab a suit for me because a tuxedo was too formal for our evening. Clothing was the last thing on my mind, but she had a point. The ladies had appropriate attire, so they were all set. After retrieving a suit from my closet, we returned to the hotel room to await our time of departure for dinner. I was nervous as we stepped onto the golden highway to make our way toward the restaurant. We went into parking mode and found an obscure entry point near the lake where no one would notice us appearing. We made the stroll toward the restaurant, and Joey was stroking my arm to calm me. The restaurant manager was awaiting our arrival and recognized us as we approached. He escorted us to a private room where two men were standing beside an elegantly set table. We were all in formation and ready to disappear in an instant.

The two men attempted to seat us at the table, but we refused the intended arrangement and chose to stay connected as we took seats next to one another. I had learned from experience that Evelyn could step us back to the golden highway even in a sitting position. We continued to hold hands. Joey was still trying to calm me discreetly. We were offered drinks as we awaited our host. Evelyn and Joey had a glass of white wine, but I chose water to keep a clear head. As I sipped my water, I realized that we had failed to locate ourselves in the future here because we didn't know about this private room. I felt at an incredible disadvantage without foreknowledge of this dinner.

After a few minutes, our host finally arrived. He apologized profusely for being late, but he had just flown in from New York and was unexpectedly delayed. He was a handsome man in his forties, very fit, and wore a tailored dark blue suit. His appearance was impeccable. His dark hair was slicked straight back, and he had chiseled features with a pointed nose and olive colored skin. After a few gracious pleasantries, he introduced himself as a businessman and entrepreneur. One of his ventures included a large share of holdings in the Paris Las Vegas Casino. I gave a sigh of relief as I realized that his interest was purely due to our winnings. However, I was wrong.

Mr. Smith was one of our host's personal attendants. Our host was named Avarro. I never knew if that was his first or last name. Avarro had a warm finger bowl delivered for each of us with a slice of lemon floating in it. Although this was usually offered after some meal courses, he explained that we would be eating off menu for the evening and that every course would be eaten with our fingers. This would give us the opportunity to cleanse our fingertips prior to handling our food. No utensils were provided. Finger bowls were to be offered prior to each course and at the end of the meal. I was intrigued. Apparently soup wasn't one of our courses. At least that was my hope. Our first course was an array of appetizers that included raw blue fin tuna on top of a white truffle paste seated on a tiny crust. There was Almas Caviar, Lobster Frittata, Yubari King Melon with Densuke Black Watermelon, and Kopi Luwak Coffee. Our host explained that we could never find this assortment in any one place on earth, and the price of the appetizers alone ran into the tens of thousands of dollars. He was obviously trying to impress us. I could tell that Evelyn was really enjoying herself. My apprehension had not subsided. The assortment of entrees and desserts were comparable to the appetizers, and the prices soared even higher.

I was beginning to wonder when our business discussion was going to start. Avarro talked about so many different subjects. He regaled us with stories of his business ventures and travels around the world. He asked very little about us and enjoyed talking about his many exploits that he had experienced in his lifetime. However, he never disclosed anything about his earlier days or where he lived. He wasn't the type of man of whom you asked questions. You just listened intently. He was obviously accustomed to getting whatever he wanted. Dessert was finally brought to our table, and Evelyn was finishing her fourth alcoholic drink. I was concerned that she might get too impaired to step us out of here if we needed. We all ordered coffee, and Avarro settled back in his chair to discuss our business.

"Mr. Cohen," Avarro began. I could tell by the right sided grin he knew that was not my real name. "Some believe that knowledge is power. Others believe that money is power. I have come to understand that it's a generous combination of both. I have also discovered that there is a third and equally important factor, and that is obscurity, a lesson that you have apparently yet to learn. One will not find me on a shareholders list or a board member roster, nor will anyone locate me via a Google search. When one enters the world of power, he soon realizes that it's a fiercely competitive world. It becomes difficult for one to compete with those whom he does not know. You have no idea who I am, but I know precisely who you are. That puts you at a terrible disadvantage." I was beginning to squirm in my chair, and Joey was rubbing my leg. "I'm not concerned about your winnings at the tables. As infrequently as these things happen, they do happen, and our statisticians account for that. However, as fate may have it, our worlds have unexpectedly intersected. One of the reasons that I have been so successful in my endeavors is that I don't tolerate incompetence. Many will attest that I am an unforgiving man. I readily admit that with no apology, and yet here you sit before me." My heart was pounding, and Joey slipped her hand around my waist. It appeared that Evelyn wasn't breathing. She was motionless with a look of shock.

I tried to maintain my composure. "I'm not sure I follow, Mr. Avarro."

"It's Avarro, and I think that you do follow. You see, I take business very seriously. I realize that you may have a different approach, but I can guarantee you that it doesn't produce the proper results that I am expecting. Due to the circumstances, I am going to do something I have never done before. I am giving you ample warning. You need to finish the task at hand. Otherwise, I will find someone else who can." Avarro dipped his hands completely into the finger bowl and dried them with his towel. He then rose from his chair, threw the towel onto the table, and left the room. The two attendants came to clear the table, and the three of us left the restaurant.

When we returned to our hotel room, we found that the bill had been left in our room. It was paid in full, and we were considered to be checked out. We gathered our clothing and exited back to the cottage in Cape Cod. Evelyn and I were in shock. I wasn't sure how to proceed. We decided to await Annette and discuss the events with her and get her opinion. Joey was always cool and collected. She grabbed a bottle of bourbon and a glass. We followed her lead. We sat and sipped bourbon as we recounted the events of the day. Our vacation had unexpectedly come to an abrupt end. We needed to get back on track. I just didn't know what that track was.

I didn't believe in fate. Our encounter with Avarro was no happenstance. I had no idea if he were connected to our mystery man, or if he was another interested party who was part of the competition. He apparently thought that I worked for him, and he didn't strike me as a man who made mistakes. He had the power to remove me. From what I had been told, the agency had secured a contract with the federal government to protect me while I searched for the gold mine. Avarro could be in the upper echelon of the agency. However, I doubted that his involvement in our project was that removed. He would be one who had his sights on the gold. Whoever he was, he was displeased with me, and that metaphorical gesture with the finger bowl and the towel gave me no little concern.

Joey had been correct about her prediction of my emotions during our initial conversation in our living room. She warned me that I would be likely to share personal emotions during times of stress and that she could not reciprocate. I found that when my life was threatened, I just wanted to curl up in her arms, caress her, kiss her, and give myself to her. The bourbon was removing my inhibitions, and I was indulging with Joey as Evelyn fell asleep on the couch. Although she couldn't reciprocate emotionally, Joey was keeping pace, and I was afraid that I would spin out of control. I begged her not to let me go too far. She didn't answer. It excited me that she was a killing machine, my Angel of Death, and I wanted to make love to her knowing how dangerous she was. Luckily, Evelyn started to awaken, and I backed off. Joey pulled her sweat pants on and ran her fingers through her hair before Evelyn noticed. I pulled her in and gave her one last kiss. She gently sucked my tongue and whispered, "Almost."

Joey's lack of emotion always confounded me. She had no expectations, but she could respond in such a sensual manner that it often appeared she was emotionally engaged. I knew she wasn't, and I had to keep reminding myself of that fact. However, I did know that she enjoyed our play time. I just knew that it was similar to how I enjoyed chocolate. She was aware enough to know that Evelyn wouldn't approve, but she felt no moral apprehension or that she was being unfair to Evelyn. She just didn't want to upset her. It would be like me sneaking a piece of candy if I were on a diet. It helped me when I reminded myself that Joey wasn't in love with me, but it was difficult to know that she would do anything that I wanted. Even an engaged lover seldom offered that. I was inching closer and closer, and it frightened me because I knew that once I got a taste of Joey it would be like mainlining heroin, nearly impossible to stop.

We all got ready for bed and settled down for the night. As I lay between Evelyn and Joey, I wondered if Avarro and our mystery man were connected. I rather doubted it due to the fact that Avarro obviously had ample resources to fund the project, but our mystery man had utilized the federal government. Perhaps it was for more than just the finances. He could have been relying on the military ability to cross borders and gain access to various areas more readily. Annette had hidden me after the incident in Mozambique. She suspected a mole who was divulging information to our adversaries. As far as I knew, the federal government still considered me to be kidnapped until we appeared in the colonel's office. I was now wondering what they were thinking. Eddie was being detained in Arlington. He wasn't going to be released until I delivered the gold mine. As badly as I felt that Eddie was being held captive, I had to admit that he brought it on himself. The future that showed me finding the gold mine wasn't a surety. It was a possibility under the current circumstances. It also depended on us placing the red flag at Annette's pool in order for me to determine the future when I saw it. That also didn't guarantee that we didn't place it there in the future even if I didn't find the mine. It was impossible to be certain of anything. Paradigms, expectations, beliefs, hopes, dreams, philosophies, and even faith gave no guarantees. Life can't be lived with guarantees. It wasn't designed that way. I was trying to accomplish my task according to worldly expectations, and I was being blinded by trying to protect myself. One must learn the importance of being a willing sacrifice to accomplish anything worthwhile. I wasn't there yet. I would die for my children; I would die for my wife and possibly my friends, but not for some stupid gold mine. I had to remind myself that this project couldn't really be about the gold. It was far more important than that. If my suspicions were correct about our mystery man, then it really had to do with him continuing his plan for world domination. It's the only scenario that made sense.

My limitations were frustrating. Joey couldn't understand the language of our mystery man. Evelyn and I couldn't safely navigate without Joey. Joey's presence on the golden highway appeared to debilitate us in some fashion. I lacked the enlightenment to accurately navigate the future. I didn't know who the players were in this serious game of deceit and greed. To make matters worse, I had fallen in love with my Angel of Death. It appeared that I was digging a deeper hole day by day that would be nearly impossible to escape. I was days, if not hours, away from diving into a sexual affair with Joey. I was on a slippery slope and couldn't gain my footing, and she wasn't going to stop me. I had fought for weeks against my feelings for her, but I was eventually losing ground. I had been frustrated with Evelyn, but she finally told me what she had been hiding. However, that didn't change how I felt about Joey. I knew there was no future in a relationship with Joey, and I really didn't want that. I kept telling myself that it wasn't a real relationship. I was fantasizing, and I needed to face reality.

I was shocked to see the future with Evelyn and Annette. I couldn't imagine how that potential reality could possibly come to be. Evelyn had been mortified by seeing her affair with Annette, and she decided to close her eyes before witnessing the intensity of the physical relationship. It's a good thing she did. I know Evelyn, and what I saw was definitely out of character for her. Annette was not only demanding, but she also had a demeaning side to her when it came to making love. She expected certain indulgences from her lovers that required complete abandonment. Annette sometimes scared me. I wasn't entirely sure that she was purely homosexual. She had done some things to me in Cannes that I found suspicious if she weren't interested in men, but I didn't make an issue of it. She also had whispered requests for certain favors that I found shocking. As usual, it was after several bottles of wine. I never discussed it with Evelyn.

Annette wasn't due back for a few days. Again, I hated to have time on my hands, but we got cut short in Vegas. Avarro wasn't going to put up with my antics any longer. I didn't know how much time he was giving me, and I didn't know how to proceed with the discovery of the gold mine. I pulled my little pill box from my pocket. I had kept it with me since the day that Annette had given it to me. Only in Cannes was it not within reach, mostly because we hadn't been wearing any clothing. I pushed the top of the box open and viewed the pill. It was a white tablet with an indentation through the middle, as though someone would want to cut it in half. I guess that made it easier for sharing with a suicide companion. I was careful not to handle it. I didn't want to take any chances of getting cyanide into my body. I snapped the box shut and pushed it back into my pocket. I wondered what the moment would be like when I knew that I had to use it. Would I recognize that moment? Would I be able to do it when the time arrived? Annette had warned me that my fate would be far more unpleasant if I didn't, and it would end up with the same result. What had become of my life?

I loved Evelyn, and I loved Joey, but I wanted some time alone. My only semblance of that was when they were sleeping, but Joey always seemed to be awake when I was. She may have her eyes closed, but as soon as I made a move she always put her arm around me. I turned my head to look at her angelic face. It was hard to believe that she had killed so many times and was feared by many. She was so beautiful and looked pure and innocent. I was sure that those attributes made her more effective in her directives. She could gain a level of trust. She was treacherous. I just hoped that the irony of life didn't one day bring her to end mine. I reached over and pulled a few hairs from the side of her mouth. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. I knew that look. She wanted me to kiss her, and I didn't disappoint. I had taught her well. Her sensuality was breathtaking. She got more aggressive and wanted to take it to the next level, but I took hold of her hand and discouraged her. Evelyn might awaken at any moment. I whispered a word of caution in her ear and continued to enjoy her lips and tongue. I was eagerly waiting for Evelyn because I knew that she would be wanting.

I had gotten Joey to settle down again and continued to contemplate the events that led to where we are now. I found it interesting that our mystery man obviously traveled the golden highway. Was it just coincidence that Annette had led me to David who was experimenting with the portal? I hadn't yet made that connection. There was a great disparity of knowledge between our mystery man and David concerning the portal and the golden highway. David had spent a couple of years without reasonable progress and had lost three assistants. Our mystery man didn't want me to know about him or the ability to see the future. Annette somehow thought that David's experiments could be useful to me concerning geographical navigation. David certainly had no clue about time travel. This intersection intrigued me. Was it just coincidence?

What began to concern me the most was that my perspective had changed. In the past, I would have recognized the direction and provision of the Creator, but I was now questioning if it were coincidence. I never believed in coincidence. What had happened to me? Had I been tainted by worldly thinking with the decadence of exotic food, alcohol, sex, and excitement? There was no denying that my lustful desires were out of control. I could have anything that I wanted, and as much as I tried to convince myself that I wasn't affected by that, I had definite signs that I was. In the beginning, I had hoped that I could be a good influence on Joey to show her what it was like to live by faith, but instead I had become her secret lover with reservations that were quickly melting. Evelyn began to stir, and I didn't wait for her advances. I frantically tore at her pajamas and engaged her in a rousing undulation that sent her grasping the sheets and moaning with delight as Joey watched. She was learning, and I knew that she was taking mental notes.

It was a two coffee pot morning as we finished our breakfast. I wanted to discuss the possibilities with Evelyn and Joey. I questioned if my safety were really as endangered as our mystery man had led everyone to believe. I thought perhaps that Evelyn and I should try navigating without Joey again once Annette returned and could stay with her. I didn't want to risk losing her, and I doubted that I was really in that much danger, especially on the golden highway. Joey reminded me that someone had tried to take me from the safe-house, and we hadn't gotten careless since then. I acknowledged that, but I still thought that Evelyn and I could make progress on the highway. I knew that Joey didn't want me away from her touch.

It took me half the day to convince Annette to fly back early. We had a lot to do, and although I was glad that she and Gina were patching their relationship I was concerned that my allotted time was running out. Joey kept trying to convince me that I shouldn't leave her behind. She was getting physically aggressive with me, and I was concerned that Evelyn would get suspicious. I asked her to back off as discreetly as I could without Evelyn noticing. We occupied our time with eating, drinking, and talking until Annette returned. When she arrived, she appeared to be fresh and ready for business. We all sat in the living area of the cottage and discussed our plan to leave Joey with Annette as Evelyn and I tried again to clap on the golden highway. If I didn't know any better, I would have imagined that Joey was getting a bit jealous, but I knew that couldn't be the case. Rather, she had a directive to protect me, and the fact that I was going to be out of her reach presented a real problem for her. Annette had to explain to her that it was only for a brief moment. We would return soon. I saw the look in Joey's eye, and it pierced my heart. I silently mouthed the words, "I love you," when only she could see me. I looked back over my shoulder at her as Evelyn stepped us onto the highway.

The breeze was blowing from our left to our right as usual. Evelyn and I made our practice moves with our free hands, one, two, three, clap. The couple from the golden highway were approaching from the other side. We embraced, and we heard the music from the flute and the lyre although we did not see them. I was awaiting the four questions. I had many answers, but I had no idea if they were the correct ones. Rather, the couple reached forward with their clasped hands and placed them on top of ours. In one motion, the man pulled Evelyn's hand from mine into his, and the woman did the same with me. Evelyn was now attached to the man, and I was attached to the woman. The man led Evelyn down the golden highway into the breeze, and the woman had me lead her the other direction with the breeze. After a short while, I looked over my shoulder, and Evelyn was nowhere in sight.

My companion was serene and confident. She was obviously very familiar with the highway. However, it was essential that I lead her. As we walked, she began to disclose things to me as we passed. It reminded me of walking through a neighborhood while a resident explained different events and places related to our surroundings. She was drawing correlations of our everyday world to the world of the future. Our perception of future events as being fluid was an illusion. If one considered the common practices of the present, such as taking out the trash, he realized that certain predictable things happened at specific times. The trash cans went to the curb full, but later in the day they returned empty. The future provided similar aspects. The problem was that when we viewed the future, we expected the trash cans to be either full or empty without regard to the changing aspects that were common and that should be expected.

I was trying to comprehend the analogy. The future that I originally saw in Cannes did not contain a red flag by the pool. After I committed everyone to placing the flag there if I found the gold mine, the flag then appeared in the future. I later doubted that it really signified if I had found the gold mine or not because we could have placed the flag for some unknown reason even if I weren't successful. My companion was revealing my tendency to overcomplicate everything. I assumed that Evelyn was being tutored on past events, since they had walked in the opposite direction. We had been walking for hours, and I became concerned for Joey and what she might be suffering with me being absent for so long. After a considerable amount of time of walking and learning, my companion stopped. She posed a question in my mind, "What do you want to know?"

I responded, "Do I find the gold mine?"

"That's up to you to find out," she explained. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know who my mystery man is."

"That's up to you to find out. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know how to navigate the future."

"That's up to you to find out. What do you want to know?"

I was realizing that she had more important things to reveal that transcended time. "I want to know who I am." She smiled and touched my cheek, and then it happened.

Evelyn and I were standing on the golden highway. The breeze was blowing from our right to our left. Suddenly, a man holding hands with two women appeared on the other side of the highway. The woman on the man's left was kneeling and crying out. The other woman stepped over to try to comfort her. Evelyn and I began walking toward them. We stopped directly in front of them. When the standing woman looked over, I placed my left hand against her right cheek. Evelyn and I then pulled her hand apart from the man, and they disappeared.

I awoke in darkness. I heard the faint, soft snoring sound of Evelyn's slumber, but I knew from the perfume that it was Annette's naked, svelte body pressed up against my front as Joey held me from the back. I reached over to follow Annette's arm and learned that she had her hand on Evelyn's breast. I enjoyed Annette's firm, toned body and decided to follow her manner and held her breast as well. I lay in the dark contemplating what I had learned. Although there is an appropriation of the right and left hand, they are made in like image. We were made in the image of the Creator. Our tendency is to make distinction. The concept of sin is what distinguishes us from our Creator. However, his intention was to remove the distinction so that we could recognize ourselves as being part of him as the left hand and right hand are part of one another. Up and down, east and west are opposites that are relevant aspects due to perception. As one travels eastward, what was once east becomes west the further one goes. As one rises, what was once up becomes down. In a mirror, the right hand becomes the left hand and vice versa. We distinguish tall and short, light and dark, good and bad, hot and cold, all of which appear to be relative aspects. In our distinction, we lose the purpose of the wholeness of one. My question became, "Does the unity of oneness create a loneliness that we fear?" We separate one another by race, nationality, ethnicity, politics, religion, and a myriad of endless distinctions. In so doing, we also create cliques and exclusive groups to which we belong that give us a sense of camaraderie. At one time, man had one language, and that was confounded to cause him to separate from others. Since that time, we have continued to add to those distinctions with the seemingly impossible ability to recognize the oneness that truly exists. It was written that nothing shall be impossible for them. It was imperative to remove all distinction in order to achieve the impossible. How then does it matter that the man is on the right, and the woman is on the left? How does one rise above that appropriation to attain to the oneness? The rules seem to dictate distinction, but the success lies in the ability to recognize unity. I was wondering if the rules could be broken or if they were merely the order of things that shouldn't distract us. Concentrating on the rules had blurred my vision of the project. I knew what to do, but I didn't know how to do it.

Joey caressed me, and I advanced on Annette. Annette turned and climbed on top of me. This was the last thing I expected. I had assumed that my unfaithfulness to Evelyn would have been with Joey, but Annette was taking full advantage of my morning condition. I couldn't believe what was happening. She was incredible, and I was terrified. She was silent and discreet, but very physical. She kissed and caressed me, and I felt that I was being devoured. She bit, nibbled, and licked as though it were three women ravishing me. I had never experienced anything like it before. We culminated in a crescendo that soaked the bed and left us both heaving with satisfaction as she lay on top kissing me and begging for my tongue. I was hoping that I was dreaming, but I knew I wasn't. Evelyn was still sleeping soundly. Once we had recovered from the aftermath, Annette turned to embrace Evelyn and grasped her breast once again. Joey pulled me in close to her naked body as though nothing had happened.

I could tell by Annette's looks and smiles during breakfast that I had not been the victim of a sleepwalking incident. We had unlocked a very dangerous door, and I wanted to lock it back. However, I knew Annette wouldn't let that happen. I was trying to remember what had happened after our experience on the highway. Evelyn apparently had no recollection of it, and I asked Joey and Annette what happened after we had stepped out of this world. They said that we had returned after a few seconds with nothing to report. I was dumbfounded. I didn't see how this could possibly be. I remembered walking with my companion for hours and seeing the trio on the other side of the highway, but the last thing I remembered was waking with Joey and Annette. It made no sense to me. I knew it was late when we had stepped onto the highway, but I didn't recall returning. Had I finally lost my mind? To make matters worse, I was evidently having an affair with Annette, and that scared me more than anything. How I just wanted to wake up and realize this was all a bad dream.

Later that morning, Evelyn and I had decided to try another excursion to the golden highway. As usual, Joey appeared to be apprehensive, but Annette had her arm around her as we stepped out of this world. Once again, the breeze was blowing from our right to our left. I looked across the highway, and a man and woman were standing on the other side attempting to clap. As they did, we approached and stood about two feet in front of them. The woman put her left hand around the man and embraced him. She kissed him and turned back to face us. The man extended his right hand toward Evelyn, and she grasped it with her left. The woman then extended her hand toward me, and I handed her a flute. She took the instrument, and I handed the man a lyre. They unsuccessfully attempted to play the instruments, but that was not what they were supposed to do. They exchanged instruments and made another attempt. Once again, they could not play. Evelyn and I shook our heads, and the couple put down the instruments and disappeared.

Once again, I awoke in darkness. The four of us were holding one another in sequence. I was sandwiched between Joey and Annette. I followed Annette's arm once again, and she held Evelyn's breast. Joey reached downward and began her stimulation. She pulled me on top of her and positioned me as she worked me thoroughly between her thighs and pushed me in. Her muscle structure was phenomenal, and I exploded with delight. Annette nor Evelyn stirred, but Joey didn't stop. She kept ravaging me over and over until I was completely exhausted. I was now sexually involved with both Annette and Joey with no hope of escape. Evelyn seemed oblivious to the sordid affairs as we all showered together and ordered breakfast. I was dumbfounded. As before, I had no recollection of returning from the golden highway. It was practically the same experience, only this time I was with Joey instead of Annette. Everyone was acting normal as we made a second pot of coffee and settled in on the couch to discuss our plan for the day. Evelyn and I decided to visit the golden highway again.

Evelyn and I stood on the golden highway with the breeze blowing from our right. A couple was standing on the opposite side with their bare feet bound together and clapping their hands. We approached, and I handed them the flute and lyre. Once again, they attempted to play the instruments, but we shook our heads. They laid the instruments at their feet and embraced. The flute and lyre began to play a sweet song. Evelyn and I nodded. I then posed four questions to them and was immediately transported back to the woman on the highway as though I had awakened from a dream. She removed her hand from my cheek and asked, "So, who are you?" I looked around in astonishment. We were still on the golden highway somewhere in the future realm. My first reaction was relief that I hadn't actually been with Annette and Joey, but I understood that under the circumstances I would have done it.

The woman was gazing into my eyes. I finally answered her. "I am you." She smiled. I was finally removing the distinction between her and me. I had perceived her as having the knowledge that I needed, but I realized that knowledge wasn't the answer to my problems. It wasn't a matter of knowing. It was a matter of being, and whether I lived or died during this project I would never stop being who I am. I was chosen for this project because of who I am and not what I know. I had spent this entire time seeking knowledge, and I wasn't any closer to finding the gold mine. I had allowed myself to get tangled in a dangerous situation with Annette and Joey. I saw the future, and it was inevitable that I would fail Evelyn if I continued on this path. It was time for me to review the text that David translated from the hieroglyphic scroll.

I released her hand, and I was immediately transported back to the cottage. Annette and Joey were nearly frantic, but Evelyn was trying to console and encourage them. They both rushed over and embraced me tightly. Evelyn strolled over with a wide grin and stood before me. "It all makes perfect sense now, doesn't it?" I nodded in assent as I stood there enjoying the attention from Annette and Joey. Annette put her hand behind my head and forced my lips to hers. I thought that her tongue would reach my tonsils. This was so out of character for her, and I remembered the incidents in Cannes and the vivid experience that I had when the woman was touching my cheek. I pulled away from Annette, and I didn't think that Evelyn realized what she had done.

I asked how long we had been gone, and Joey said that it had been fourteen minutes. It seemed impossible, but I knew that the correlation of time between our world and the golden highway was unpredictable. Annette kept clinging to me. Something was amiss, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. I wanted to review David's translation. I kept a copy with me at all times and went to the bedroom to retrieve it from my bag. Evelyn was explaining her experience to Annette when Joey and I returned to the living area. I listened as she explained that the other couple on the highway was actually the counterpart of her and myself. This made no sense to either Annette or Joey. I'll admit that I was still trying to comprehend it.

I began to explain about the breeze that existed on the golden highway and how it signified the passing of time. Walking into the breeze took one back in time, while walking with the breeze took one into the future. The breeze had always approached from our left when we stepped onto the golden highway. Evelyn, who stood on my left, had been taken by her male counterpart into the breeze going back in time. I was standing on the right and led my female counterpart with the breeze stepping us into the future. Evelyn and I agreed that the puzzle pieces appeared to be falling into place. I suggested that we review the translation and read it aloud.

"The two shall become one. He is the right, and she is the left. Together they shall clap and embrace. Together they shall tie and untie, bind and loose. They shall play the flute and the lyre as one. They shall step together and move as one. As he moves, so she moves. As she moves, so he moves. She thinks as he thinks, and no division shall separate them. Their eyes shall be upon one another, and their touch shall be as the heart with the lungs. One cannot without the other, and together they shall accomplish all things, the when and the where. They shall go to and fro, and their knowledge will increase. They shall walk the sands of time and the expanse of the heavens together. They shall meld in sweet union and enjoy the honey that drips from their loins. They will create, and it will not be destroyed. They shall build, and it will not be torn down. They shall see and do as one. They will walk time upon the golden way, and they shall know all things. Nothing shall be hidden from their sight, and nothing shall be impossible for them."

We had originally appropriated these verses as pertaining to a husband and a wife. Although we agreed that they were rightly applied to a married couple, the deeper meaning lie within the fact that we are all multifaceted, and it pertained to the individual as well. We are made in the image of our Creator, and consist of a body, soul, and spirit. What we often fail to realize is that most of the time we are not in compliance with all of the facets of our makeup. I had been fragmented by my experiences, desires, and fears. My body wanted to do things with Joey and Annette that I really didn't want to do. Conflict within ourselves creates problems and division within our souls. I needed to stop the contention of the physical against the spiritual and be who I really wanted to be. Once I had stop fragmenting myself and complied with the verses within myself as an individual, I would be able to accomplish my task. It truly was a matter of being and not just knowing.

None of this made any sense to Joey and Annette. They had no moral compass and always did whatever they desired. They could have anything they wanted and never questioned their appetites or consequences. I could see that Evelyn was beginning to realize Annette's affection and attention toward me. The vision about Annette had greatly concerned me, and I was beginning to think it was a stern warning of what was likely to happen. It just made no sense. Annette had originally appeared to be purely homosexual, but on occasion I had noticed her sexual desire toward me. However, it wasn't consistent. Then again, I have a tendency to overanalyze everything.

We agreed to order dinner and enjoy the evening together. Annette told us that she had contacted the agency while she was at Gina's. Since the disposal order on her had been revoked, she decided that she should engage once more with the agency and proceed with our project. Interestingly, no one seemed to notice that she had disappeared. She had avoided Alexis and dealt with members of the relocation team who learned that she was near Rome and needed to travel to Provincetown. Special projects did not have the visibility to the agency that most projects had, so it was easier to keep things secret. She then explained that she had been summoned to a meeting with Alexis in D. C. This greatly alarmed me because I knew of the bitter hatred they shared for one another. Surprisingly, at this point Annette appeared to have dealt very positively with her resentment. I assumed that the colonel had ordered Alexis to patch things up with Annette in order to smooth the operations for the project. Annette didn't mention who summoned her. She was scheduled to be picked up by an agency jet at the Provincetown Municipal Airport late tomorrow morning. This was making me increasingly uncomfortable. Dinner arrived, and we began discussing whether we should move to another location. I was desperately afraid to return to Cannes. It would prove to be devastating to Evelyn and me as husband and wife. We decided to remain in Cape Cod for the time being and await Annette's return from her meeting.

That night in bed, things became more alarming and stranger still. Instead of our usual sequence of spooning, Annette had switched places with Joey in bed and held me from behind. Evelyn and I were the only ones who wore pajamas, and Annette kept pulling at mine to get me to take them off. I was getting frightened and irritated and turned my head to whisper for her to stop. She took my hand and tried to place it between her legs, but I pulled away. I told Joey that I needed to use the bathroom, and we scooted out of bed. I explained to Joey in the bathroom what Annette was doing. She suggested that she lie down between Annette and me. I appreciated her understanding. We returned to bed, and Joey kept Annette under control.

Showering the next morning was very uncomfortable as Annette insisted on joining us. My fear of Annette was returning, and I was glad that she would soon be leaving for at least a day. I was reluctant to discuss this with Evelyn, but I knew it was the only way that I could stop Annette's nonsense. I decided to wait until she was gone. We all enjoyed a wonderful breakfast together, and I kept myself sandwiched between Evelyn and Joey all morning. The limo arrived, and Annette gave us all kisses before she walked out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Annette hadn't gotten her bag into the trunk of the limo before I turned to Evelyn. "Have you noticed a difference in Annette since she got back?"

Joey, as always, was silent. Evelyn responded, "Well, now that you ask, yes, I have. I thought maybe it was just me, but she seemed to cling to you more than usual. Is that what you noticed?"

"I really don't want to elaborate, but Annette has done a few things on occasion that really concern me, especially lately. She's getting very forward toward me and making me very uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I love Annette dearly, but sometimes she scares me."

Joey took me by the hand and led me to the couch. "Adriel, don't worry. Annette is fine. I'm sorry that she is making you uncomfortable, but I will talk with her when she returns. She cares for you, I'm sure. I'll let her know that you don't appreciate all the attention."

"Joey, I appreciate that, but I think we should all discuss it together. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but I want to get things back to the way that they were."

Evelyn wanted to discuss our next steps in navigating the golden highway. Unfortunately, none of our plans included Joey, and I could tell that she was alarmed. I began to negotiate with her that our presence on the golden highway had appeared to be safe so far, and I wasn't planning any excursions into any other realm without her. I needed to complete some personal work and then conduct more experiments. Unfortunately, I feared that the best way to make that progress was to confess to Evelyn what I had been doing with Joey. I wasn't there yet. This was reminiscent of the four questions that were posed to me by the man on the golden highway. I hadn't been willing to reveal to Evelyn what I was feeling for Joey. I still thought that if I could sidestep that issue I could alleviate a lot of pain.

I didn't want to conduct any experiments without Annette being present to stay with Joey while we were away. There's no way I would risk losing her again. Joey engaged me in some strength training exercises that involved us wrestling together on the floor. Evelyn laughed as Joey was able to easily overpower me. It was somewhat embarrassing, but contact with Joey was always a pleasure. We spent our time talking, laughing, ordering dinner, drinking, and sharing stories from the past. I was curious about Joey's previous missions, but she wasn't allowed to share any of it with me. I asked about assassinations that she had accomplished, but Evelyn got upset with me. Joey assured us that she could not discuss any former projects. After a few bottles of wine and conversation that led late into the night, we all retired for the evening. I was so relieved to have Joey on one side and Evelyn on the other. Evelyn fell asleep, and I turned to Joey who was ready to play.

# **CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

# **_MURDER_**

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****

I was sleeping soundly when Joey shook me. It took a while to get me to awaken enough to understand that something serious had happened. Once Joey had my attention, she shook Evelyn and gently coaxed her to awaken to gather in the living area. She had some grave news and wanted to make a pot of coffee. I looked at my phone, and it was 3:00 AM. I couldn't imagine what needed our attention at this hour. Joey never showed emotion, so I could never detect the seriousness about anything that she was going to explain. After the coffee was ready, she poured us each a cup and had us sit on the couch in the living area.

She began her discourse. "First, I want to apologize that I have Emotional Detachment Disorder. I realize that what I am about to tell you will affect you in ways that I cannot understand. However, also know that I am here for you, and we will proceed together as a team." Evelyn and I looked at one another with great concern.

Evelyn blurted, "Has something happened to our children?"

Joey readily dispelled that idea. "No, no, no, nothing that severe, Annette has been murdered." Evelyn gasped, and I broke into tears. "I received a call from the colonel who explained that he is now in charge of our project. Alexis shot Annette to death in her office and willingly surrendered. The colonel will appoint another agent to facilitate our project."

Evelyn was speechless, and I was numb. I felt so badly about what I had said concerning Annette. I would gladly let her have her way with me if that would get her back. I felt foolish and petty. My heart was breaking, and the last encounter I had with Annette showed my resistance and rejection. I couldn't stop sobbing. Evelyn was taking it much better than I was. My mind was racing. The vision that I had of making love to Anette, the future incident of Annette with Evelyn in bed, the future that I had seen with Annette in Cannes with Joey and Evelyn, it all could never be. None of this was making any sense. My head was spinning, and I was now doubting everything that I once believed. Surely, this too was a bad dream. However, it certainly was not.

Joey was trying her best to comfort me. Evelyn was in a stupor, and I was distraught. I hated the fact that I didn't enjoy Annette's last kiss. All of my shortcomings concerning Annette were flooding into my mind. I felt like a fool. I just wanted to hold her again, kiss her, and tell her that I loved her. I searched for the bottle of bourbon, but apparently it had been depleted long ago. Joey encouraged me not to drink alcohol. She held me and kissed me. Evelyn didn't seem to notice. I was entwined with Joey on the couch as Evelyn sat and stared into space. As I lay there with Joey, I thought back to the future incident where we saw Alexis imprisoned. I never took the time to understand why. I felt so remiss and somewhat responsible for Annette's murder. I was so confused about the conflicting future events that we had seen.

As crazy as Annette seemed at times, she was always the stability in our project. I had no idea who would be assigned to our project management, but I knew that no matter who it was, that person could never measure up to Annette in my eyes. I began to mourn for Gina. I wondered if she knew what had happened. As I kissed Joey, I whispered into her ear that we needed to visit Gina and break the news to her. Joey adamantly insisted that we go nowhere until further instruction from the agency. She held me tightly as I continued to sob.

Evelyn finally looked over to Joey and me. "Nothing makes sense anymore. Let's go back to bed." We followed her into the bedroom, got undressed, and snuggled together as a trio. Evelyn and I made love over and over and over again. Our emotions were on edge, and the repeated orgasms helped to soothe our emotions. Had Joey been emotionally distraught, I think Evelyn would have pulled her into our lovemaking as well, but she didn't. We all fell asleep and awakened in the early evening.

Evelyn was upset when Joey explained that there would be no funeral. Agents were ghosts in society, and no family members or friends virtually existed. As agents, we understood that one's demise was never recognized publicly. Evelyn was indignant that someone with Annette's talents wouldn't be eulogized. She asked about her burial place, and Joey responded that she would be cremated and her ashes scattered wherever Annette had designated in her will. Apparently, the wheels of espionage slowed for no one. We were to await our new leader.

I asked when Alexis would go to trial, but Joey explained that the judicial system did not apply to the agency. Alexis would be handled according to her immediate supervisor's discretion. From what the colonel had told her, Alexis would be transferred to a maximum security prison for the rest of her life. I found this very alarming because that gave a supervisor unfair power over his subordinates. Joey explained that the decisions had to approved by upward command. For example, if Alexis imposed an unjust situation on Annette, the colonel and everyone above him would have to approve. Evelyn had readily agreed to become an agent, but we had a lot to learn concerning the agency. I know that Annette had explained that our alternative wasn't as promising, but I was beginning to doubt that, since we lost our rights as citizens of the United States.

I hated sitting idle. If we couldn't leave Joey behind with Annette, we could take her with us to spy on our mystery man or Avarro to see if we could learn anything. Moreover, we could spy on Gina to see if she had been informed. However, Joey insisted that we go nowhere and sit tightly to await Annette's replacement. This was not negotiable. As much as I loved Joey, she did scare me when she became this strict. I knew that it was futile to confront her beyond this point. I noticed that Joey wasn't allowing Evelyn and I to have exclusive contact. In fact, she now didn't want Evelyn to touch me. She had to remain between us both. My guess was that she didn't want us to disappear from her onto the golden highway. What she didn't realize is that I would never do that at this point because I wouldn't risk losing her again.

The cottage at Cape Code had been rented by Annette using the cash that she received in her Vanish Packet. We still had another week left on the rental, so I suggested that we decide on another place to stay that was agency approved. This made perfect sense to Joey, and she contacted the relocation service. Normally, agents were located within a reasonable distance of the majority of project activity. However, in our case we could travel from and to anywhere. We couldn't really disclose that fact, so in order to adhere with guidelines Joey chose a place closer to where the gold mine was suspected to exist. After a thirty minute negotiation on the phone with our relocation team, Joey turned to us and explained that we would be staying at Palissandre Cote Ouest Resort & SPA in Madagascar. Joey expected that French and English should be adequate to communicate. I hoped to improve my broken French capabilities.

About the time that we were deciding on what to order for lunch, the colonel contacted Joey and discussed Annette's replacement. Unfortunately, no reasonable candidates existed. This was a special high priority project, and the detail disclosure was privy to very few within the agency. He wasn't comfortable allowing another agent in on the project, so he decided to put Joey in Annette's place. I was somewhat disappointed, not because I thought that Joey was inadequate. She could handle every part of the operation, but without Annette we had no one to stay with Joey while Evelyn and I researched and experimented on the golden highway. This was a major setback.

I asked Joey what would happen to Annette's residences. She explained that when an agent terminates they are usually relinquished unless a will existed. Annette had a will, and Joey knew that she wanted the residence in Cannes to go to Gina. The agency would maintain the residence for Gina, and she could will it to whomever she wished when she passed. Agents and their families were well taken care of by the agency. It didn't matter that Annette and Gina were not formally family. Family in the eyes of the agency was whomever the agent chose.

Mentioning Gina jogged my memory, and now that Joey was in charge of our project I asked if we could visit Gina. Joey refused. I didn't understand, and she explained that it wasn't agency business. I reminded her that visiting Gina in Italy wasn't agency business either, but we did it. She didn't have a reasonable response, but she still refused. I began to get the feeling that Joey was hiding something. It didn't take much to make me suspicious of people, and in this new game of espionage I was reluctant to trust anyone.

Joey changed the subject to Madagascar. The relocation team was sending a jet to transport us to our new location. However, Joey preferred that we take the golden highway. I readily agreed, and she canceled our transportation. Our reservations at the resort in Madagascar were effective in two days, so we had some time to go exploring. Joey seemed nervous about us traveling the golden highway and made us promise that we would adhere only to the destinations that she approved. I could tell by Evelyn's countenance that she also thought this was somewhat suspicious, but we both agreed.

I wanted to visit Avarro and see if we could learn anything about his connection to our project. We lined up in the living area, and Evelyn stepped us onto the highway and then to Avarro. Once again, it was challenging to determine where we were. We were in parking mode, so our phones did not work to disclose the location. He was negotiating a business deal, and Joey understood as it was being discussed in French. However, we didn't appear to be in France. I asked what they were negotiating, but Joey was reluctant to disclose the conversation. She said that it was illegal, and she knew that Evelyn would find it incredibly offensive. She learned nothing of his involvement in our project. He apparently had so many irons in the fire that it was another needle in a haystack.

Next, we tried to locate our mystery man who traveled the golden highway, but we were unsuccessful after several attempts. We surrendered to the fact that spying on targets was not the direction that we should take. I was still uncomfortable to leave Joey behind, and at this point I knew that she wouldn't allow it. I just didn't see how we could progress having her by our side. We needed the interaction of our counterparts on the golden highway. It appeared that Evelyn would traverse the past, and I would step into the future. I was still uncertain as to whether that is what we should do, but I had no other ideas. We needed time to experiment.

Joey ceased her play with me since Annette had been murdered. She seemed much more serious and somber. She was no longer kissing and caressing me. She appeared to be preoccupied and was careful to remain between Evelyn and me. She now slept with her back to me and didn't respond to my caresses. I was relieved and disappointed. I continued to try to convince her that Evelyn and I needed to experiment on the golden highway without her. I assured her that we would not leave the highway, and all experiments were to be done there. She was nervous about us traveling anywhere or to anyone. She still did not trust us. I finally accused her of interfering with our mission, and that was a direct violation of a project directive. She finally complied, although reluctantly. I wanted to hug her, but her demeanor had changed so much that I decided it wasn't best. I was beginning to think that her added responsibility had changed her focus. She didn't seem as confident as usual.

As my head was clearing concerning Annette's murder, I remembered that our mystery man was the one originally responsible for the disposal order on Annette. We were able to overturn the order, but then Alexis sacrificed her freedom by killing Annette. I was beginning to wonder if our mystery man were still behind her execution. I couldn't imagine the necessity of taking Annette off our team. We now all had the knowledge of the mystery man's visits and what he had told everyone about the danger of me looking into the future. There must be a missing link somewhere that involved Annette. I doubted that jealousy and rage were behind Annette's murder. I decided that it was time for Evelyn and me to have a little visit into the recent past to witness Annette's meeting with Alexis. Evelyn was reluctant due to the emotional stress, but I encouraged her that we needed to be stoic and learn what we could.

I announced to Joey what our intentions were, and she adamantly protested by saying that it wasn't project related. This was the first time that I had seen Joey frustrated. She didn't want us to go poking around in the future, nor did she want us to visit Annette's meeting with Alexis. She sat on the couch between Evelyn and me and held our hands. After several minutes of silence, Joey turned to me. "I need to be able to trust you implicitly. I want to disclose something, but I'm very apprehensive. It could have a terrible outcome if you misuse the information that I have."

I assured Joey, "What makes you think you can't trust us? I can't imagine what it is that you have to share, but I would never jeopardize any of us or the project."

"It's not that I think you would purposely do it, it's just that you might make a fatal mistake with what I have to say. However, if I don't disclose this to you, I don't know how we will ever be able to proceed."

"Well, it sounds like you don't have much of a choice. How do you want us to handle this?"

"I want you to pretend that I never told you this, and I don't want you snooping around due to what I am about to disclose." I leaned over to Evelyn, and we both agreed not to react. Joey squeezed our hands tightly and shook them. "Annette is still alive."

Evelyn and I were visibly shocked. "Alive," I exclaimed. "You told us that Alexis murdered her. Why would you do that?"

"Everyone must believe that Annette is dead."

"I don't understand. If there's no body, then how would anyone think that Annette was dead?"

"That's just it, there is a body. I'm about to let you in on a well kept secret that no one knows other than Annette and myself. Even the agency and Gina are unaware of this. This is why I had to prevent you from going anywhere or traversing time. The one who was murdered by Alexis was Yvette, Anette's identical twin sister."

My head was reeling. "Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that the Anette who was with us last was really Yvette?"

"That's correct. I wanted to tell you, but Annette swore me to secrecy. You were getting suspicious because Yvette was very attracted to you, and she was making advances. Yvette is heterosexual, and she wanted you. I knew that when Annette returned, the advances would stop."

"So why was Yvette here instead of Annette? I don't understand."

"Annette used Yvette to allow her to be in two places at the same time. They had both alternated during Annette's training. Yvette knew everything that Annette did and had the same capabilities. The only difference between them was their sexual preferences. Even I had a difficult time telling them apart. Annette didn't want to leave Gina in Italy just yet. You kept insisting that she cut her visit short and return. In addition, Annette had been called to a meeting with Alexis, and she wasn't mentally prepared to meet with her, so she sent Yvette. This was a common practice."

"So, tell me something. Was Yvette ever in Cannes with us that week we spent at Annette's?"

"Yes, she was for one afternoon. Annette needed to duck out for a short while, and she called Yvette in to take her place briefly. She didn't want to explain the reason for her absence."

"That explains the strange behavior. It was Yvette making advances toward me, not Annette. That also explains what I had seen in the future. No wonder you didn't want us to explore again. We would have found out that Annette was still alive."

"Yes, now you know, but you can't tell anyone, nor can you make any moves that would signify that you believe Annette is still alive."

Evelyn pulled Joey's attention. "Will we see Annette again?"

"You will now at some point. She will have to understand that you both now know her secret because you couldn't proceed without finding out anyway. This puts a tremendous responsibility on your shoulders, and you need to get trained as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we can't start your training until we finish this project." Joey continued, "Evelyn, remember when you asked why Annette wasn't concerned that the feds would follow her in Cairo while she was hiding you?"

"Oh, yeah, I do remember that it seemed odd that Annette wasn't under surveillance."

"She was. It's just that she had baited them with Yvette. They followed Yvette closely while she took them on a wild goose chase. Annette had many tricks that she used with Yvette."

I felt such a relief that Annette was still alive, but my heart ached for Annette due to her sister's murder. Everything made so much more sense now that I knew Annette was still alive. I was now wondering how many times I had seen Yvette and thought that she was Annette. I was relieved to know that what happened in Cannes that concerned me so much was really Yvette. She was a very aggressive woman and had no more scruples than her sister. I would still never reveal what she had requested or done to me. Knowing would benefit no one.

Evelyn wanted to make a cup of tea, and as we followed her to the kitchen Joey pulled me close and whispered, "I don't like keeping secrets from you." I gave her a quick kiss as we stepped into the kitchen behind Evelyn. I was hoping she was back. We settled onto the couch in the living area to make our new plans. Joey was hoping that we could transport Annette to Madagascar to join us. We would have to coordinate with Annette so that Joey was alone only for a brief moment. The problem that I had with that is last time she disappeared we were gone for about thirty seconds. Joey still needed to contact Annette to let her know that we were now aware of the truth concerning her twin and that we were relocating. I felt much better that Annette could now sit with Joey while Evelyn and I went exploring.

Whoever planned Annette's murder now thought that she was gone. I was curious what we might find concerning the motive. Annette obviously knew something. I just wondered if she were aware of what it was that caused someone to want to kill her. Then again, I was assuming that rage and jealousy were not the motives. What began to haunt me was the concern that if the mystery man were behind the murder, he might eventually learn that Annette was still alive if he found her via the golden highway. If he targeted us and found Annette, it could be disastrous. I doubted that he would now try to target a dead person. It appeared to me that Annette might be the one to wear the disguises from now on. At any rate, we needed to find who was behind it all, otherwise Annette could be hiding for the rest of her life.

Joey left Annette a message via their secret voice mailbox. Annette regularly checked for messages, so Joey expected to get a response within the next few hours. We decided to order something to eat while we awaited Annette's response. I was wondering how she was handling her sister's death. I asked Joey who told Annette about Yvette's murder. Unfortunately, she was afraid that Annette did not yet know. No one would have contacted her thinking that she was dead. Joey included the news in her voicemail. Evelyn and I thought that was a cold and devastating way for Annette to learn of her sibling's demise. Joey had no clue why.

We had eaten so much fish and Italian food lately that Evelyn was in the mood for Chinese. Evelyn couldn't make up her mind what entree she wanted, so Joey ordered the whole menu. Needless to say, we had enough Chinese food to last for several days, but I knew most would be thrown out. Not only did Evelyn not appreciate leftover food, we were leaving tomorrow. It was a veritable smorgasbord, so I ended up having a bite of everything. Of course we washed it all down with four bottles of white wine. Joey finally loosened up and returned to her playful self. It was good to have her back. Even Evelyn appreciated the more relaxed Joey. Still, she had no clue.

It was time for Joey to check the mailbox. She said that Annette was crying during her message. I felt so badly for her. Annette was going to stay with Gina for another two days and concentrate on changing her appearance. She was going to dye her hair, get some hair extensions, and put on a few pounds, which should be easy due to Gina's mother's great Italian cooking. I wasn't sure how much weight she could gain in two days. I knew she scarcely weighed one hundred pounds. She promised to coordinate with us via the voice mailbox to have Evelyn and I pick her up at Gina's to take her to Madagascar. She said that she also wanted to apologize in person for Yvette's behavior toward me. Apparently, Joey had mentioned some of Yvette's antics with me. They only knew a fraction of it, but I didn't think an apology was necessary. Evelyn may disagree.

We traveled very lightly these days due to being able to step anywhere in the world to retrieve what we needed. We gathered what few belongings that we wanted to take with us to Madagascar. We normally purchased the items that we needed wherever we went. It was finally time to leave the cottage at Cape Cod and travel to the resort. We were moving ahead eight hours on the clock with one step. One cannot imagine the impact of jet lag with immediate transfer into such varied timezones. We all lined up, and Evelyn made the step onto the golden highway. In a few seconds, we were parked outside the resort looking for a discreet place of entry. There were several, so we took our pick and entered the resort. Joey checked us in, and we headed for our room.

Joey insisted that we get in a good workout to wear ourselves out for the evening so that we could go to sleep easier in the earlier timezone. I was always impressed that the agency had provisions all over the world to accommodate its agents. I was still curious how this organization operated. She led us to a gym, and Joey worked me hard. I kept reminding her that I wasn't as young as she was, but she was relentless. After we all showered together, we decided that it was time to eat. We had skipped breakfast with the intention of increasing our appetites to shift our eating schedule to our new time. Joey found an advertisement for an entertaining event that was scheduled for the evening which included dinner. It was a pagan African review with half naked performers juggling swords and fire with exotic dancing. Evelyn was intrigued, so we purchased three tickets to the event.

The show was breathtaking and kept me on the edge of my seat. Men and women wore only small loin cloths. Their skin was black as night and shined with oil. Batons of fire were twirled and thrown back and forth along with super sharp swords. All of this was choreographed with dancing and gymnastics while keeping the flaming and sharp objects in the air. The tribal music and drums pulsated as each dance was executed. It was stupendous. I leaned into Joey and asked if she were able to perform any of those feats. She nonchalantly nodded. The finale consisted of totally naked dancers with body makeup that provided a macabre display. It was the dance of death. The fluid movements and incredible feats of strength were as elegant and impressive as any ballet I had ever seen.

We were exhausted as we returned to our room. However, the show had excited and aroused Evelyn who insisted on our own intimate performance that lasted for two hours before we finally dozed off. We were in usual formation, and I felt Joey kissing the back of my neck during the night. I turned toward her and held her until morning. We awoke later than anticipated, but that was to be expected during our adjustment period. We forced ourselves to go shower and search for breakfast. After we ate, Joey was going to check the voice mailbox to see if Annette had left any instructions.

There had not been any more attempts to kidnap or harm me since the incident at the safe-house in Cairo. We left little to no opportunity for anyone to approach me without Joey being near to protect me. I wondered if we were constantly being watched or if anyone was still intending to get me. We couldn't take any risks. I had become so accustomed to Joey holding me that she was like another appendage to my body, a delightful one at that. I was eager to do some exploring into the future, the very thing that I was warned not to do. However, from what I had experienced so far, it appeared that was the only way that I was going to learn what I needed to know. I kept telling myself that it wasn't a matter of knowledge, but of being who I am. I still couldn't quite comprehend that lesson.

Joey began to relate Annette's message and told us that we were to pick her up at 8:00 AM our time tomorrow morning. Joey explained that Annette was very upset, and she had much to discuss with us. She had no clue that Yvette would be in danger, or she would never have sent her. I could understand that there were a lot of issues that needed to be addressed. Annette was no longer off the grid with the agency, but we now had to hide her. The changing daily challenges with our situation were often difficult to keep straight.

My thoughts turned to Eddie. He was out of service with the project at this time. I still felt badly that he was being held hostage until I found the gold mine. I wondered what Angela was thinking at this point. I was hoping that they were letting Eddie explain his situation to her. Joey knew no details concerning Eddie. I couldn't imagine his consternation over being a prisoner this whole time. I wanted to visit him again, but Joey said that it was too risky. We needed to concentrate on finding the gold mine.

I began to contemplate what my highway counterpart had revealed to me about being who I am. So, who am I? I was chosen for this project because of who I am. I'm not a seeker of riches. I apply faith in my endeavors. However, I was disappointed that I was being unfaithful to Evelyn in my heart. I was human, and Joey was the most beautiful and attractive woman that I had ever seen. From head to foot she was a model of perfection. She was unique, dangerous, exciting, and totally compliant with my personal wishes. I could rationalize that most men would not have held out as long as I have, but I learned long ago not to compare myself to others. That relative scale could always be manipulated into a self serving analysis with the wrong perspective.

I had told personnel in the Department of Defense that Madagascar was a possible location for the gold mine. I contemplated the irony of relocating us onto the island and whether I might find it here. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to recognize its location. I certainly wasn't going into the mining business to find out. The location would have to be revealed to me somehow, but I had no clue as to how that was supposed to happen. I kept returning to the possibility of finding it in the past or the future, but the more I did, the more I analyzed myself out of the notion that those methods would work. I was truly my own worst enemy.

Evelyn and I were looking forward to retrieving Annette from Italy. I knew that we would need at least a day to discuss her ordeal and console her before we talked business. I couldn't imagine what she was experiencing. Alexis had defiled her lover, and now she had murdered her sister. I knew Annette enough to understand that her hatred for Alexis had intensified beyond my comprehension. I had thought that it was odd when Annette appeared to be taking things well enough to meet with Alexis. It truly was out of character for her to relinquish her anger. It now made more sense after I knew that it was really Yvette who was attending the meeting.

We had experienced so many setbacks in our project. As usual, I was no closer to finding the gold mine than when I started. Each new hope that appeared on the horizon was like the proverbial carrot that enticed me to pursue it. In reality, we had gotten nowhere. Sure, we had learned a lot, and our experiences were phenomenal, if not unbelievable. The greatest enlightenment that I had received was about my own character. If this were purely a matter of being who I needed to be, I was certainly disappointing myself. I looked over at Joey, and my heart swelled with desire. I was doomed, and I was afraid that if the decision were left to me to break it off with her, I would never be able to do it before it destroyed me. My only hope was that I could leave her with Annette to explore our opportunities with our counterparts in hope of finding the gold mine. Although, I feared that once this project was over, we would be obligated as agents to continue with other projects. I had no idea if that would include Joey or not.

We all spent a pleasant evening together and discussed Annette's situation. We weren't sure what to expect, but we did know Annette well enough to consider a few possibilities. The more wine that we drank, the crazier our ideas became. We finally ended up laughing at most of them and decided it was time to retire for the night. For the first time in quite a while, I slept the entire night. I was getting accustomed to the time change and felt refreshed and ready for the day. Evelyn wasn't adjusting as quickly as I was, and it was difficult to get her to rise and shower with us.

Eight o'clock arrived more quickly than I anticipated, and Evelyn and I joined hands to retrieve Annette. Joey was facing us, and I was extremely nervous to leave her behind. Joey had explained to Annette that we would appear, take her hand, and disappear in one second. The entire trip took us six seconds, one for each step. Joey was still facing us when we returned, and I gave a sigh of relief. Evelyn grabbed Annette in a tight embrace and wept with her. The next few hours were so emotional for the three of us, and Joey kept us supplied with tissues.

Annette shared countless stories about Yvette and how she and Annette had worked their duality into various projects. It was intriguing and entertaining. Their contradictory sexual preferences had never been an issue before because Annette had never put Yvette into a similar situation as ours. Annette had never become so personally involved with anyone on a project as she had done with us, so the opportunity never arose. For some reason, Yvette seemed to be obsessed with me. Annette thought that it may have been a father issue, which didn't flatter me due to my age. At any rate, Annette apologized, but I assured her that all was well. It had just confused me, and I left it at that.

Finally, Annette's grief shifted to intense anger. She was begging us to take her to Alexis so that she could break her neck. I promised her that was not an option. Regardless of the pain that Alexis had caused, we were not going to participate in taking her life. I began to reason with Annette. "Annette, I think I may have a much better familiarity with death than you do." I explained what I remembered before descending to this earth. I had watched countless souls transition from this world to the next, and I assured her that it was always a relief. "Killing Alexis will only release her from this painful terrestrial world. Why end her life when you can continue to torture her?" Evelyn shot me a surprised glance. Apparently, I had a dark side too. "I have an idea that may not satisfy your retaliation, but it will definitely torture her mentally."

Annette agreed to listen, and I spent the next half hour explaining my plan which had been inspired by the pagan African show that we had seen a couple of nights ago. "We should pull a Robert Marley from Charles Dickens on her." Annette gave me a confused look. "Remember when Scrooge was visited by his dead partner, Robert Marley? Marley showed up and frightened Scrooge about his demise and fate afterward. He painted a very bleak picture of the eternity that awaited Scrooge. However, it would require leaving Joey alone for a few minutes. That's the only part that makes me nervous."

Everyone was curious to hear the details. We would address the challenges later. I continued. "The last act of the African show had all of the characters naked with body makeup. It was a very bizarre and macabre act that they had perfected. I'm proposing that we do something similar to create a very believable display of a tortured afterlife. Alexis has never met Evelyn or me, so accompanying you would appear that we were just tortured souls in the afterlife who accompanied you on your visit. We can get chains or other props to use to spin into an alarming story for Alexis and frighten her out of her wits. We would appear in her cell, you could give your monologue, and we would then disappear into thin air."

Annette countered, "But what would prevent her from thinking that she just dreamed or imagined it like Scrooge did?"

"Well, we could throw human excrement at her which would remain after we were gone. We could also work it into the story line as well. In addition, my guess is that she will scream, and we can allow ourselves to be seen by others who would corroborate her story. If we put our heads together, I think we can develop something extremely frightening."

Evelyn was appalled and disgusted, but Annette was willing to do anything to make Alexis miserable. We spent the next couple of hours working on the monologue that Annette would deliver to Alexis. Evelyn sat on the sidelines. None of this made sense to Joey who never suffered from fear, so she was no help in the planning process. I found it entertaining, and it gave Annette a way to channel her anger without the intention of murder. Annette was also encouraged by my suggestion that we could make subsequent visits to Alexis from time to time if we ever found that she was getting too complacent. I was more devious that I had realized. The more I learned about myself, the more alarmed I became.

I finally convinced Evelyn to cooperate with Annette to help her deal with her anger. Evelyn didn't like the idea of traveling naked, but I reasoned that people in hell would not be clothed. We would put on body makeup to simulate sores and other disgusting signs of pain and misery. I had Annette purchase a long, heavy chain so that we could drape it over our shoulders. She also purchased wigs and other accessories. We experimented with several aspects of our disguise until Annette and I agreed that it was as detestable as it could get. Finally, Annette defecated into a container to take along and throw at Alexis at the appropriate interlude.

Evelyn was impatient to get the whole escapade over. We lined up with Annette on my right and stepped our way to Alexis in her prison cell. Alexis screamed in shock and horror as she backed against the wall. Annette slowly stepped toward her shaking her chain and exclaimed, "You wretched soul! I will torment you in hell for all eternity for murdering me. I will strip the skin from your immortal body and rub salt and acid on your putrid flesh. You will never escape, and the pain that I will inflict on you will never end. You will eat my excrement for your food." At this point, Annette flung the feces into the face of Alexis. Her screams drew a couple of guards to her door, and we made sure that they saw us. As they opened the cell door, we disappeared into thin air and parked ourselves to watch what transpired. The guards frantically looked around the cell and demanded to know what Alexis had done. Alexis was trembling violently, and they dragged her away. We didn't bother to follow. I promised Annette that we would make another visit at a later time.

Once we returned, Evelyn couldn't get into the shower fast enough. The three of us washed the paint from our bodies as Joey stood nearby. I couldn't stop laughing, and Evelyn couldn't stop complaining. Annette was still fuming and planning a much worse visit for the future. I only wished that I could take her by myself, but that wouldn't be possible. I doubted that we could get Evelyn to agree to cooperate again, but we would try. Joey just kept shaking her head. "I will never understand human emotion. I just don't get it."

Evelyn called to Joey from the shower as she scrubbed her face, "Don't worry, Joey, I don't understand this either!" We took turns scrubbing the paint off each other's backs. After we inspected each other to be sure that we had removed all the paint, we grabbed our towels, dried our bodies, and gathered in the living area to decide what to order for dinner. Evelyn had no appetite due to the whole feces flinging incident, so the rest of us chose the meal. After four bottles of wine between us, we finally got Evelyn to calm down and relax.

Annette hugged Evelyn and thanked her for participating. She kissed Evelyn several times on her lips, and I began to think of the future event that depicted Evelyn and Annette as lovers. That night, Annette asked if she could sleep between Evelyn and me because she needed our bodily contact for comfort. The nightmare memory returned to me as I was now sandwiched between Joey and Annette. My concern grew by the minute, even though I had assumed that Yvette was the subject of my prior disturbing vision. Annette may profess to be purely homosexual, but she aroused me considerably. Was my counterpart on the highway showing me the future that could be or the future that would be? There was no way that I could just walk away. By necessity, we stayed in close bodily contact. Once I heard Annette's breathing signify that she was asleep, I followed her right arm toward her hand. Sure enough, she was holding Evelyn's right breast.

Morning arrived, and I was glad that Evelyn and I were planning to experiment on the golden highway together without Joey. After we showered and ate breakfast, we all discussed the plan to try contacting our counterparts on the highway to see if we could explore the past and the future. One of the interesting aspects of this was that Evelyn had a tendency to worry about the future while I was more reflective of the past. However, she was venturing into the past as I explored the future. At least, that was our plan. I realized that often things do not unfold as expected.

As before, Evelyn and I stepped onto the golden highway, clapped, embraced as the music played, and our counterparts approached from the other side of the highway. We extended our clasped hands, and they exchanged their hands with ours. Evelyn and I then departed in different directions as she walked into the breeze, and I led the other woman with the breeze. We walked in silence as I contemplated that this woman was the female counterpart to me. Evelyn, as my wife, was considered to be my other half, but in this realm I found that the focus was on the individual. Evelyn was with the male counterpart of herself. I then realized that the couples that we saw walking the golden highway were not separate individuals, but instead the counterparts of a single soul. That shocking revelation then explained how our mystery man navigated the highway. He had no other female soul with him. Instead, what Joey perceived was the female counterpart that he had with him.

This led to another interesting possibility that I could navigate this highway without Evelyn. So far, it seemed that we needed to step onto the golden highway, clap, and embrace to draw our counterparts to us. However, as I recalled our previous experiences, we had made many assumptions concerning our golden highway travels that simply were not true. We found ways of doing things in a feeble manner, but it wasn't the way in which we were supposed to navigate. I turned to my counterpart and asked, "Can we explore the past?"

She put her left hand against my right cheek, smiled, and replied, "Nothing is impossible for you."

This coincided with the verses on the hieroglyphic scroll. "I want to visit King Solomon and understand how his gold mines were accessed."

She smiled again. "Then it shall be so, but I must lead because you do not know the way." I agreed, and we stepped off to the other side of the golden highway. I was a little nervous as we journeyed further and further away from the highway. I had no idea where we were going. I had supposed that we would have switched directions on the highway to visit the past, but now I was exploring a realm that was totally foreign to me. Trees and shrubs sparkled with precious stones and diamonds. The landscape was breathtaking, and the walk was like no other I had ever taken. She periodically looked up at me and smiled as she observed my wonder.

We walked for what seemed like an hour, and I could see a great wall in the distance which was exceedingly high. I couldn't imagine how anyone could ever get over the wall. As we approached, I saw a huge gate that glowed like a giant pearl. The handiwork was intricate and beautiful. I could have spent hours studying the designs and craftsmanship. It was a magnificent work of art. The gate was attended by a group of men. They stepped forward as we approached, and she spoke to them in a language that I could not understand. She appeared to be arguing with them, and they glanced over at me several times.

It appeared that they had come to an agreement, and she turned to me. "They will not let you in, but they are going to get Solomon and bring him to you."

"What?! Are you telling me that I will be speaking to Solomon himself?"

"That is what you asked, isn't it? You said that you wanted to visit Solomon."

"I thought that I would see him in the form of an historical event. I had no idea that he was available for a meeting." I was flabbergasted.

"Be patient. We must wait here. It may take a while to find him. I will have to translate for you because he does not speak your language, and you have yet to learn how to converse in this realm."

We waited for quite some time. I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten about us. I had nearly convinced myself that I was dreaming until I saw a stately man approaching wearing regal robes. His hair was long and curly and flowed into his beard. His skin was dark with eyes of coal to match. His face was filled with confidence and knowledge. His demeanor was that of a sage of wisdom. I couldn't imagine that there was anything that he did not know. I had never met anyone like him. His presence was intimidating. He stopped a few short feet in front of me and studied my face. My counterpart had to translate as he spoke, and the conversation proceeded as follows.

"Why do you disturb me," he asked.

"My apologies, dear king, but it wasn't my intention to disturb you."

"I am not your king. Do not address me as such. What do you want?"

"I'm totally unprepared for this conversation. However, I have been entrusted to find your gold mines. I have no personal interest in them, but I work for others who do."

He continued to study my face. "You are wasting my time."

"Once again, I apologize to you. Does this mean that you won't disclose the location of your gold mines?"

"You are a foolish man. Those who have read the chronicles concerning my kingdom have grossly misinterpreted the writings. The ignorance and greed of mankind has caused them to overlook the truth. However, I will gladly teach you the location of my gold." I was shocked and excited. It appeared that I had finally found the answer to the question that I had been seeking for so long. We sat on the grass that was soft as silk. He continued to study my face. I still couldn't believe that I wasn't dreaming. Was I really speaking with this ancient man whose fame was being the richest man in the world at his time? "Why do men seek gold," he asked.

"I suppose that they assume it brings them independence via wealth. I'm not one of them, so I cannot speak on their behalf."

"There is no such thing as independence. They err in their thinking. The gold they seek will enslave them, and they will be dependent on it without the strength to forsake it."

"I understand that. Is that what you experienced?"

"I did not. I never sought the gold, nor did I ever depend on the worldly metal that enslaved so many men. One must be free from the chains that your world tries to use to bind you. Only then can you experience the things that I did. I explored humanity to its extent. The futility of life became overwhelming. Consumption of what the world offered led to emptiness. A man's end was no different regardless of what he experienced on the earth. All eventually walked the way of the grave, and did it really matter what they had consumed? I wasn't as shortsighted as my writings would appear. I used many metaphors to convey wisdom to men who sought it. However, I was led to keep things in parables and proverbs to protect the truth and preserve if for those who truly sought it. If you do not seek the gold, then why are you here? Why not leave the task to the men who want it?"

"The men who want the gold think that because I am not interested in riches I will have a better chance of finding it. You didn't ask for riches, but you received them. Another man thinks that a group called the Templars found your gold even though they had taken a vow of poverty. They are using my disinterest in the gold because they believe that there is a keeper of the mine who will grant it to me."

Solomon broke into laughter. "Vanity of vanities," he exclaimed. "What's the most precious thing that you own?"

"That's an easy answer. I would say that it's my faith."

"Your faith in what?"

"My faith in the will, nature, and character of my Creator."

"Are you willing to trade that for the gold?"

"Of course not! I have no interest in the gold."

"Oh, but you do, or you wouldn't be here asking me these things."

"I have refused any compensation for my services. I want no share of your gold. They are holding my friend prisoner until I find it. Otherwise, I would stop this ridiculous hunt for treasure. Please tell me where it is so that I can end this terrible search."

"Do not be foolish. Nothing worthwhile has no price. This will cost you more than you can afford perhaps."

"So, what did it cost you?" I felt uncomfortable being this bold toward him, but I was becoming frustrated.

He stared deeply into my eyes. "It cost me my faith." He then stood, and I knew that he intended to depart.

I arose from the grass and asked, "Will you disclose the location of your gold? You said that you would."

I could see that he was offended as he looked down at me. "I do not lie, and I keep my promises. You need to count the cost to determine if this is what you really want. If you are willing to relinquish your most precious possession, I will see to it that you find the gold. However, do not return here. It won't be necessary." He turned his back and walked away.

I turned to look at my counterpart, but as I did I awoke between Joey and Annette. Joey was beginning to advance on me, and I remembered the last time that I had been with my highway companion I awoke in bed between Joey and Annette. I was convinced that I was experiencing another vision because I had no recollection of returning from the highway. This seemed like a devious trick to play on me, and I was getting perturbed. I grabbed Joey's hand and commanded her to stop. Once Joey backed off, Annette turned to me and began kissing me profusely. I pushed her away from me, jumped out of bed, and ran from the bedroom.

Immediately, I was back on the golden highway gazing into the eyes of my counterpart as she held my right cheek in her left hand. I pulled her hand away from my face. "None of this was real, was it?"

She smiled. "What is reality? Is it in the things that we do, or is it in the things that we would do?"

"I thought that I could trust you to help me find the gold mine, but I don't think I can trust you at all!"

"You shouldn't trust me."

"So, you just play dirty tricks on me for your amusement. Is that it?"

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you play dirty tricks on yourself?"

"I just want to find this gold mine and be done here." I was growing impatient.

"You heard Solomon. You will find it if you're willing to pay the price."

"He wasn't real. He was just a vision that you imposed on me."

"Again, I ask you. What is reality?"

I pulled away from her, and I was immediately transported back to the living area with Joey and Annette. Evelyn was nowhere to be seen. I panicked. Joey and Annette consoled me by explaining that last time Evelyn was the first to return. They encouraged me to be patient. They detected my consternation from my visit to the golden highway and began to ask. I suggested that we wait for Evelyn so that I didn't have to tell the story twice.

Evelyn finally appeared, and she was relieved to see that I was already present. I threw my arms around her, and we all took a seat on the couch. I was so frustrated that I didn't know where to begin. I told them about the vision, but I conveniently left out the bedroom sequence as I had before. It was embarrassing, and I knew it would be offensive to Evelyn. I felt betrayed, and I was giving up. I announced that I did not think that I could find the gold mine. I wanted to resign.

Evelyn asked, "So, you don't think it's worth the price?"

"No, I don't. This project is proving too costly to me on so many levels. I just want to go home."

Annette scooted in between Evelyn and me and started to rub my back. "Adriel, I know you're frustrated, but you are fully aware that you can't just go home. Whatever this may cost, I think you need to continue. So far, it has cost me my sister, among other things, and I'm not willing to give up."

"Annette, I don't know where to turn next. We have tried so many things, and nothing is working. I'm out of ideas."

"Maybe you just need a break. Would you like to take a week's sabbatical in Cannes?"

"No, no, no, I don't think that's wise. I feel like I have fallen in love with all of you, and I'm very confused right now." I looked over at Evelyn. This came as no surprise to her.

She shifted places with Annette and spoke softly. "Adriel, I know this has been hard for you. It has been hard for me too. I have known how you felt about Joey for quite some time now. It's understandable, but once we finish this project we can move on."

"It's hard to explain, Evelyn. I love being with you all. Sometimes I think that my subconscious won't let me find the gold mine because then we would part company. At first, I was frustrated that we all had to remain so close, but now I thrive on it. There's more. I have been keeping something from you all." I finally broke down and told them about the bedroom visions that I had experienced. I also explained that I thought that it was probably Yvette in the vision.

Annette shed a few tears when I mentioned Yvette. She dried her eyes, and moved in next to me again. "Thanks for sharing this, Adriel. I love you dearly, but rest assured, I'm not going to jump your bones." Evelyn let out a laugh. Joey was silent as she usually was when we discussed emotion. I felt somewhat relieved that I had told them about the visions. However, I was still keeping my involvement with Joey a secret. I doubted that Evelyn knew to what extent we had been playing together.

I asked Evelyn about her experience on the golden highway. She had been very patient to listen to my story. She began to explain. "Well, my counterpart led me into the breeze as we slowly regressed in time. He showed me the sequence of what we had experienced from the present to the past." Evelyn gave me a solemn look. "Believe me, it has been very enlightening." I felt a lump in my throat as she continued. "At first, I had a difficult time accepting some of the things that I saw, and I wondered if I could trust it. We continued to regress clear up to the point that Eddie came to visit that day with the nondisclosure agreement. We had paused there, but I wanted to go on. I wanted to see what led to the beginning of this project." Evelyn then turned toward Annette. "Annette, have you ever met Edmond Brewer?"

Annette shook her head. "No, I haven't, at least not in person."

"I had been told by our mystery man, who snatched me from La Tour in Paris, that he had personally approached Alexis to create a Request for Proposal to the United States Treasury Department that would leak enough information to arouse their suspicion about Adriel so that they could create another project to find the gold mine and employ Adriel to do so. He said that he had stumbled across Adriel during his last mission by traversing the golden highway." Evelyn turned to me. "However, he lied. Adriel, you were suspicious as to how someone could just stumble onto you. You were virtually undetectable."

"That's true, it did sound incredible when you explained it to me."

"Well, it wasn't so. This man didn't contact Alexis until the agency had already secured the contract for this project with the Treasury Department."

I interjected, "So, if he didn't stumble onto me before, how did he know that I was the one who had led the mission to prevent the coup in Pakistan?"

"That's just it, he didn't. It was the Treasury Department that explained to Alexis who you were."

"Wait a minute! If the mystery man didn't tell them who I was, then who did?"

"It was your pal and confidant, Edmond Brewer,"

"Are you serious? Eddie did this?"

"I'm afraid so, Adriel. I followed the past prior to our dinner with Eddie and Angela at our house. Remember, Eddie had a contract with the federal government to try to locate the perpetrators of the emails that you were sending during your mission to prevent the coup. After that contract ended, they contacted Eddie for a subsequent task. He traveled to Washington, D. C. and met with the Department of Defense where he leaked the information about you."

"I don't understand. Why would Eddie do that?"

"He saw an opportunity for a lucrative contract, so he disclosed your identity and assured them that he could get you to help them."

"Help them do what?"

"Whatever they needed. The director at the Defense Department knew of a project that had been shelved by the Treasury Department several years earlier. They had searched for the gold mine a long time ago. Once Eddie had boasted about your capabilities, they decided to pursue the search once again with you at the helm."

"I'm getting confused. Where does the mystery man fit into all of this? If he isn't the one who stumbled onto me and disclosed my identity, then how did he find out about me?"

"Do you remember when the federal government started the purge process to eliminate all of the members of the coup who were stationed around the world?"

"Yes, of course I do. I was the one who tipped them off about the infiltration of the coup operatives into the world governments."

"Well, they didn't detect them all. There's still an operative within the Treasury Department who alerted the mystery man. By the way, you were correct about his identity. He is the same man who orchestrated the coup. I shuddered to think that he is the one who abducted me from La Tour." I slumped back onto the couch. I was speechless.

# **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

# **_STALEMATE_**

****

****

"I'm no closer to finding this gold mine than the day that I started. I'm not getting anywhere. I was betrayed by my best friend and forced into this impossible situation. I'm done."

"Adriel, I know you're frustrated, but you can't just give up. That's not an option, and please don't let my sister's death be in vain."

"Annette, Yvette wasn't murdered because of this project. Alexis meant to murder you, and I'm not convinced that it had anything to do with this. You attacked Gina, and she retaliated."

"You don't know that, Adriel. I do think it's mission related. You can't just walk away from this. Please find this gold mine so that I can rest assured that it wasn't all for nothing."

Annette was now in tears, and my heart was breaking. I reluctantly conceded. "All right, let's reconvene in the living area, and we can discuss possible options."

Joey and I got out of bed to shower, but Evelyn stayed with Annette. I had noticed that Annette was clinging to Evelyn lately and sleeping in between us. She appeared to be pushing me off to Joey, and Evelyn wasn't resisting. I was weary of this whole arrangement. I just wanted to go back to my former life. I enjoyed my life. I was very content, and I enjoyed my profession. I have been miserable ever since this whole ordeal started, and from the way that things progressed it looked like I could never return. I didn't want to be an agent, and I wasn't being very successful on this project. I couldn't get Avarro and our mystery man out of my head. The mystery man had been positively identified by Evelyn as the orchestrator of the coup in Pakistan. This now made more sense to me because I rather doubted that I had been called to find a gold mine but stop this perpetrator instead. I was well aware of his plans to dominate the world, and I knew from last time that he was certainly capable.

Eddie could rot in Arlington as far as I was concerned. I never dreamed that he would ever do such a thing. Somewhere along the line, he became greedy. He was never like that before, but he had mentioned that he wanted to travel with Angela. I wondered how much she influenced him. I somehow doubted that Angela was that devious. I knew her well enough to know that she had a good heart. Although, I do believe she is a bit materialistic. My guess is Eddie wanted to impress and please her. I'm sure he thought that I would just step in and find this gold mine, but he was wrong. I'm fairly convinced that finding the mine isn't what I'm really supposed to be doing. What are the chances that I would stumble onto this mystery man again? He was the one behind the entire world crisis, and he was the only major player who escaped the arrests. The problem that I am facing now is that no one on my team is going to focus on this mystery man because he isn't the project goal.

Joey and I got dressed and met Evelyn and Annette in the living area. I had noticed that since Annette returned we had gotten considerably lax about staying connected. Joey was always careful to keep a hold on me, but Evelyn had been drifting away from us and staying close to Annette. I also noticed that Evelyn was beginning to reciprocate Annette's affection. I knew where this was all headed because I had seen the future. Joey and I filled our coffee cups and met the others in the living area. I was ready to give up on the project, but Annette insisted that we continue. So, I let her do the majority of the talking.

"Adriel, I understand how frustrated you are. You say you are no closer to finding the gold mine than when you started, but I disagree. You have made considerable progress in navigating this world. I know there have been setbacks, and most of those were my fault. I apologize for that, but I will do anything that you want if you will just continue to find this mine. You said that you were concerned that you subconsciously did not want to find the gold mine because then it would mean that we would part company. I can't promise that we won't be assigned to different projects in the future, but as much as it is in my power I will try to keep us all together. It's the best I can do. I have never grown so attached to anyone as I have to both of you, and I don't want us to separate either. I know how fond you are of Joey. Her assignments usually consist of short term assassin projects or bodyguard assignments that can last for months. Again, no promises, but I may be able to assign her to you as your personal bodyguard. However, on second thought, Joey is under my command at this time. I am officially assigning her to you as your personal bodyguard for the rest of your life. That directive will stand until I or someone above me in the agency overturns it."

I glanced over to Evelyn who made no indication of resistance. "I appreciate that, Annette, but I'm not so sure that having you do that would be in my best interests. I'm torn by conflicting desires. What I really want is to get back to my life with Evelyn. I can't take this lifestyle much longer."

"That's because you haven't been through your agent training. You will learn how to adjust in a healthy manner. I know how hard this is, but the trainers will show you how to succeed as an agent. You need to give it a chance before you quit."

"You see, I'm not so sure that finding the gold mine is what I'm really supposed to do. Evelyn has positively identified our mystery man as the leader of the coup in Pakistan. My suspicions were correct. He intends to watch me to find out where the gold mine is and then eliminate me before I can tell anyone. He wants to fund his operation to continue his quest to control the world."

"How sure are you that this is his plan?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. I know what his interests are, and he plans to steal the gold."

"Well, then that settles it." Annette turned to Joey. "Joey, your immediate directive is to eliminate this man."

"Whoa! Wait a minute, Annette. I don't want to get anyone killed. I can't participate in that."

"You don't have a choice, Adriel. It's my order, and you can't overturn it. In fact, you have to comply. Otherwise, you will be interfering with a project, and believe me, you don't want to suffer those repercussions. You and Evelyn need to take Joey and locate this man today."

"But you aren't with the agency anymore. They think you are dead." I felt a bit calloused in my accusation, but I didn't see how she had the right to make the order.

"What the agency thinks is irrelevant. The fact is that I'm still alive and in charge of this project. Once we get this untangled, I will contact the agency to continue, but for now I'm still in control. Besides, you have no idea how we operate. You haven't been trained yet, so don't try to tell me about agency business."

I felt like I had just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. How long would it be before I would kill, fuck, and take anything I wanted without a second thought? I was inching my way closer to the edge of a moral cliff, and I didn't see any way out of it. Evelyn was agreeing with Annette that we needed to eliminate this man. I knew that she wanted to protect me. He appeared to be the only known obstacle to my success in finding the gold mine. It all sounded too simple. They didn't know this man the way that I did. I remembered him from my last mission to prevent nuclear war. This man was evil personified.

We wasted no time. Evelyn, Joey, and I clasped hands. Evelyn made the step to the golden highway. She tried stepping toward our mystery man, but we went nowhere. We returned. Annette suggested that we try every hour around the clock until we located him. He had to sleep sometime. I argued that we did too, but she demanded that we continue until we were successful. I suddenly remembered why we shouldn't kill him. My blood ran cold, and I had to insist that we discontinue. I had to explain to everyone and remind Evelyn why he needed to be incarcerated and not eliminated.

This man had organized a coup in Pakistan that utilized two different viruses. The first virus that was introduced and used around the world to varying degrees caused a person to lose good judgment by attacking the frontal lobe of the brain. It had no other symptoms and was extremely difficult to detect. An antidote had been developed by the virus engineers that was used by his team of coup members in order to escape the effects of the virus. It was an airborne infectious disease that was initially released on the leaders of India to impair their judgment. He had aggravated a situation between Pakistan and India in hope of spawning a nuclear war.

The second virus caused symptoms similar to early onset Alzheimer's disease. It mentally incapacitated victims to the point that they could no longer function in society. This virus had been developed and was ready for worldwide distribution when I stepped in and prevented it. It's a long story that I chronicled in a diary and published named _False Antichrist._ However, the more alarming aspect to this threat was the fact that it had been instigated by unearthly powers which were using evil men as puppets to destroy mankind. There was an interesting fact concerning these entities that I used against them. It was imperative to imprison the men responsible who had been used by these forces because killing them would have released the spirits to find others to execute their plan. Keeping them locked up would also imprison these entities within the men whom they had possessed. There were seven principal spiritual entities, but only six of them were captured and incarcerated. Our mystery man is the one who escaped. I explained to everyone how we couldn't just eliminate this man to prevent the plan of world domination. It would merely move to another unknown person.

Needless to say, I was met with a fierce opposition by Annette. "Adriel, do not insult my intelligence. I have been in this business for a long time, and I can assure you that we don't deal with spirits, just undesirable people. You may need to live with a paradigm where people are controlled by some supernatural means, but I don't. This man has to be eliminated, and that's that."

We lined up again hand in hand, and Evelyn stepped us onto the golden highway. I was hoping that she would be unsuccessful in finding our mystery man, but unfortunately we located him. It took only a few seconds. Evelyn stepped us into the room, Joey approached him as swift as an eagle, and he was done. I felt numb. I had now participated in a murder which I knew was the wrong thing to do. We had released something far more terrible into the world than anyone knew. It may have delayed the plan to destroy mankind, but it certainly didn't alleviate it.

I sat in a stupor on the couch. I was becoming like the other agents. My depression was overwhelming, and I began to blame Eddie and Annette for my situation. My depression turned to anger. I was tired of the arrangements that we had. Annette was advancing on Evelyn, and she wasn't resisting. I fully intended to make love to Joey tonight for as long and hard as I could. I didn't care who knew. My life appeared to be circling the drain. I was giving up. It's Eddie's fault for getting me into this. If he had kept his mouth shut, none of this would have happened. I would still have my happy life with Evelyn, but now none of that was possible.

Annette ordered two bottles of Wild Turkey to celebrate our progress. I certainly didn't want to celebrate a man's murder, but I did intend to drink my share of the whiskey. Annette ordered dinner, and we ate and drank until I finally passed out. Apparently, Joey carried me to bed because I woke up in the early morning hours with a pounding headache. She handed me some ibuprofen after I raised my aching head. I thanked her, gulped the capsules, and went right back to sleep.

When I awoke, Evelyn and Annette were already out of bed. I rolled over and kissed Joey, but I was in no mood to make love. She encouraged me to brush my teeth because my breath was atrocious. I apologized, and we headed for the bathroom to get prepared for the day. I ate a huge breakfast and drank six cups of coffee. I was finally beginning to feel somewhat normal by mid-morning, and we discussed our plan to continue. Evelyn was very distant from me, and I surmised it was because she had delved into the past and had seen me with Joey. However, Joey and I still had never had sex together. Ironically, I had more of a sexual encounter with Yvette than Joey, but luckily Evelyn seemed to have overlooked that in her excursion through the past events.

Annette suggested that Evelyn and I go back to the golden highway to contact our counterparts and proceed from there. We had no better ideas, so Evelyn and I grasped hands, stepped onto the golden highway, clapped, embraced, and nothing happened. We tried the sequence again, but no one appeared. There was no music, and there was no sign of our counterparts anywhere. I looked over at Evelyn. "It looks like we may have made a terrible mistake by murdering our mystery man."

Evelyn shot me an angry look. "You don't know that. We should try again later." She stepped us back to the resort in Madagascar where a heated debate began between Evelyn, Annette, and me. Joey, as usual, had nothing to say.

"You were supposed to follow my lead in this project. I told you that we shouldn't eliminate this man, but none of you listened. Annette, you took matters into your own hands against my wishes. Now we can't seem to conjure up our counterparts, and my guess it's because we did something that we shouldn't have done."

Evelyn supported Annette. "Maybe the golden highway isn't the means that we should use to find the gold mine. The only reason we have been following this avenue is because of David. He's the one who thought that you could find the location by using the portal, but so far we haven't been able to find it that way."

Annette agreed. "Maybe you need to go back to your original plan to find the gold mine. I thought David might hold the key to help you find it, but Evelyn's right. Maybe we need to find it another way."

Annette sat with her arm around Evelyn. The mutual admiration that they shared for one another was beginning to nauseate me, and I decided to go for a walk knowing that Joey would follow. However, Joey wouldn't let me leave the resort unit. I tried to pull away, but she gave me a look that let me know she would use force to stop me. I walked over and plopped down on the couch. I was frustrated. "We need a diversion. Annette, can we still take a sabbatical in Cannes at your place?"

"Adriel, I don't think a vacation in Cannes is what you need right now. I'm sorry that things have gotten so far out of control. When is the last time that you and Evelyn made love?"

"Probably too long because I don't remember." I looked over at Evelyn. Her arms were crossed, and she didn't seem open to the idea, especially since Joey had to be at my side.

Annette nodded to Joey, and Joey took us by the hands and led us to the bedroom. She closed the door and made us get into bed. She made us undress and embrace. This was such a strange experience to have Joey orchestrate our lovemaking, but after about half an hour Evelyn and I were fully engaged. We spent the next ninety minutes taking out our frustrations in a sexual frenzy. I had to admit that it did make a difference in my attitude.

Annette was patiently waiting on the couch with two bottles of open wine to greet us. Our group was now much more in tune, and we discussed our possible avenues to proceed. However, I was reticent and somewhat aloof during the conversation as I contemplated the fact that I could no longer intervene concerning our mystery man. The chance to incarcerate him was lost, and I now wondered why I was involved in this project. Was his elimination what was truly intended? Had I botched the mission to catch him? As usual, I was clueless.

I revisited the dreams that I had about the rabbit who led me to the holes in the ground. I had located the scroll because of those dreams. We had learned to navigate the golden highway, and many of the verses on the scroll had now made sense. If I weren't supposed to find this gold mine via the golden highway, then why would I have had those dreams? Everything seemed to lead toward my counterpart on the highway, but now for some reason she appeared to be unaccessible. I was missing something. Had I lost my chances of ever seeing her again? Could I reach a point of no return? Was there an irreconcilable aspect to my actions that locked me out of my success? I had trusted in my Creator to guide me, but he was characteristically silent. I was used to that. Otherwise, faith would not be the means by which all of this was to be accomplished. Where was my faith? I felt betrayed, held captive, exploited, tempted to my limits, and completely in the dark as to what I should do.

When I again became aware of our group discussion, Annette was holding Evelyn, and Joey was holding me. I had been resisting the aspects of my situation that caused my consternation. It had been like kicking a brick wall. So many times I wanted to escape by myself, but I couldn't possibly get away from Joey. I wanted to go home and get back to my former life. I spent so much energy trying to shrug off my situation that I hadn't really concentrated on the project goal. As much as I was perturbed by my circumstances, I felt safe in Joey's arms. It was comforting and exciting. It was like being protected by a fierce tiger who might just eat you at any moment. I giggled at the thought, and Joey kissed my cheek.

My crew put no stock in faith or in my dreams. They needed a workable plan to follow. Somehow I needed to break from their clutches and pursue this endeavor on my own terms. However, this wasn't going to be physically possible, but it could be mentally or spiritually possible. I withdrew from their discussion. It wasn't long before Annette noticed that I had resigned. "Adriel, what do you think our next step should be?"

"I need to wait for direction through enlightenment."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that I wait until I receive an understanding of what to do."

"So, who is going to give you that understanding?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"So, you plan to do nothing at this point?"

"I didn't say that. I plan to wait. The last time I did that I found the scroll. Maybe there's more to learn by another means."

"No, you found the scroll by looking, not waiting." I hadn't told them of my subsequent dreams about the rabbit. Trying to explain would be futile, so I decided to keep it a secret. "I think you and Evelyn should try to contact your counterparts again."

"Fine," I conceded. I stood up and extended my hand toward Evelyn. She took my hand, and we disappeared to the golden highway. I looked over at her and requested, "Please take me home."

"What?! We can't do that. Let's clap and embrace."

"No, please take me home for a few minutes. I need to be home for a while." Evelyn sighed and took the step. We were parked in our living room, but everything was different. It took a few seconds to realize that our home had been sold to someone else. We were in shock and stepped back to the golden highway. I exclaimed, "Oh my god, we have no home!"

Evelyn appeared to be in shock. "Adriel, there's no going back at this point. What are we going to tell the kids?"

Evelyn stepped us back to the resort, and I confronted Annette. "How is it that you didn't tell us that you sold our house?" I was furious.

"Actually, I didn't know that it already sold. I haven't been in touch with that team for a while."

"How could you do that without our permission?"

"Once again, you haven't been through your agent training. I basically own you at this point, but not to worry. I won't take advantage of you the way some sponsors do. Believe me, I have seen some revolting situations in my day, and I would never do that to either of you."

"I don't understand. We didn't sign anything. How can you legally sell our house? You don't have power of attorney."

"You have no rights as a citizen of the United States. The agency owns you, and since I brought you in, I'm your sponsor. I can literally do anything with you that I want. However, my goal is to make you as happy as I can under the circumstances of your service to the agency."

"So, was Alexis your sponsor?"

"Thankfully, no, she was not. My sponsor was a dear gentleman whom I met many years ago. He has since died in service to the agency. Alexis was my supervisor. I have no idea who your supervisor will be. I'm hoping that it will be me, but I have yet to work that out."

Joey was holding me close and rubbing my back. "What other surprises do you have for us? What are we going to tell our children?"

"I'm sure you will think you have many other surprises, but it's just agency business. Your children are being guarded and monitored. So far, they don't suspect anything, but if we detect that they do we will send an orientation team to meet with them."

Evelyn stepped forward. "Can't we just call them and explain?"

"Not at this point, Evelyn. Bear with me. Once we complete this project, things will get a lot easier for you from a coping standpoint. However, if this project lingers much longer we will execute a contingency plan and onboard you sooner. Right now, you just need to concentrate on finding this gold mine. However, I need to determine the reason behind my sister's murder. We may need to make another visit to Alexis, but this time it will be to scare her into talking."

This endeavor seemed a lot more fun than looking for the gold mine. I engaged Annette in a planning session to create a monologue to get Alexis to spill whatever she knew. I promised Evelyn that we wouldn't be throwing excrement, but we would need to put on more makeup. I conceded that we could wear minimal ragged clothing instead of traveling naked this time. She reluctantly agreed because she was eager to get Annette back on track with the agency. She desperately wanted to contact our children to explain our situation.

After about an hour, Annette had finalized our plan. We spent the next hour putting on our makeup and costumes. Once we had completed our hideous appearance, Evelyn stepped us onto the golden highway and then stepped us into the cell with Alexis in parking mode. She was in a different place than where we visited the first time. It appeared that she was being held in solitary confinement. We stepped into the room. As usual, she screamed and cowered in the corner. Annette began her discourse. "I'm not here to hurt you at this point. You have only one way of escaping your fate with me. You must be willing to admit everything to me, and if you lie I will strip your skin from your flesh right here in this cell." Annette was holding a sharp knife as a prop.

Alexis cried out, "Please, have mercy on me."

Annette demanded, "The truth! Tell all!"

"Annette, please, I'll tell you everything. I leveraged my position over you to start an affair with Gina. I was jealous of you, your beauty, reputation as an agent, and lifestyle. You had everything I wanted. I admit that I was selfish and took advantage of you." Alexis was trembling as she pressed herself into the corner. "I was a double agent. I worked for a man with another agency that had infiltrated governments around the world. His intention was to fund his agency with the gold from the mine. Your attack on Gina gave us the opportunity to eliminate you and make it look like a crime of passion. It was his idea to dispose of you. I was just following his orders; I swear."

Annette raised the knife above her head, and Alexis screamed. Evelyn then stepped us back to the resort. Luckily, the marble shower had plenty of room for the four of us to gather in it together. Joey helped scrub us down and remove the makeup from our bodies. Once we had cleaned ourselves from the body paint, we gathered in the living area for another discussion. Annette began, "Well, I think Alexis was telling the truth. I think the agent that she described was probably your mystery man from the apparent similarities in description of his intentions." I agreed. "Since he is dead, and she is incarcerated, it appears that the threat to my life has passed. I need to contact her supervisor and explain the situation so that I can engage in the agency again."

I loved Annette, and I appreciated having her around, but admittedly she did cost us a considerable amount of time in diversion from our project. She wanted us to take her to the colonel since we had already met him. She could then explain all of the circumstances and hopefully take the place of Alexis within the agency. That would put her over several agents, but she explained that she would be in a better position to control what happened to Evelyn and me. Her main concern was what he might intend to do with us when he realized our capabilities for travel. I explained that he had already seen us disappear into thin air. Once Annette realized that fact, she assured us that they already had future plans for us.

We decided to visit the colonel late tomorrow afternoon since we were eight hours ahead on the clock. Annette ordered dinner and more wine. We discussed some options for our visit. Once again, I was nervous to leave Joey behind, so we agreed to drop Annette off with the colonel and return immediately. Annette could text us when she was ready for us to retrieve her. We did some role playing where I pretended to be the colonel so that Annette could practice answers to a variety of questions and attitudes that he might have. As usual, after several bottles of wine we were getting rather silly and happy. We stayed up later than usual and retired after midnight. I took full advantage of being sandwiched between Joey and Annette. Joey and I kissed and caressed until we both fell asleep.

We arose earlier than expected and got ready for breakfast. We reviewed our plans for the day and refined Annette's answers to possible questions that she might need to answer. We ended up taking a nap after lunch to be refreshed. I was apprehensive as we prepared to escort Annette to the colonel. Our plan was to drop her off and return as soon as possible. Evelyn held my left hand, and I took Annette with my right. We stepped onto the golden highway together and found him in his office as before. We observed in parking mode for several seconds and then made a discreet entry into the room. We obviously startled him, but he smiled when he realized who we were. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Chevalier. I see that you left the Angel of Death behind this time."

"That's true. We brought Annette because she has much to explain to you."

The colonel furrowed his brow. "Annette? Alexis shot her to death."

The colonel had never met Annette face to face. He only knew of her reputation as an agent. Annette stepped forward to explain, and I announced that we needed to leave. The colonel held up his hand and asked us to stay for a few minutes. I was growing more concerned to leave Joey alone. We impatiently waited as Annette explained the circumstances and the confession that she had received from Alexis. The colonel was confused at first and then amused at our capabilities. I once again tried to graciously step out, but he detained us a second time. Annette was leveraging her knowledge and experience to influence the colonel into giving her the open position that Alexis once had. He challenged her with a few questions, and after several more minutes he agreed to instate Annette to replace Alexis.

The colonel then turned to Evelyn and me. "I have been doing some research into you both since your last visit. You're the one who was responsible for the emails and the organization of troops to take down the coup in Pakistan."

"That is correct," I admitted.

"You must have had quite a laugh that we hired your partner on contract to find you. He made a lot of money and violated the contract objective. He's being held captive here in the basement of the Pentagon."

"I realize that, sir, and yes we did find it amusing, but I had nothing to do with that."

"Oh, we know that. We're the ones getting the last laugh. However, if you don't find this gold mine, I assure you that we will prosecute Mr. Brewer to the fullest extent of the law."

"Well, sir, after what I have learned about him lately I'd say that he deserves it."

"Go find that gold mine, Chevalier, and after you do I want you back here to explain several things to me."

"Yes, sir. We'll do that." I grabbed Annette's hand, and we stepped back to the resort in Madagascar.

We entered parking mode back at the resort. Evelyn screamed, and I gasped in horror. Joey was lying in a pool of blood behind the couch. We stepped into the room, and Annette went to work on Joey immediately performing CPR. Joey had been shot in the upper left thigh. Annette quickly removed her belt and asked me to tie off Joey's leg as high as I could. She continued to administer CPR until she located a heartbeat. Joey was faintly reviving as Annette called the agency medical team. They would need to send a helicopter to retrieve Joey and take her to a hospital.

We had been so concerned with Joey's condition that we failed to notice two dead men lying on the floor on the other side of the couch. Annette verified that their necks had been snapped, a likely sign that Joey took them out as they shot her. I kept trying to engage Joey in conversation to keep her focused as we awaited the helicopter. It seemed like hours, but it took only fifteen minutes for them to arrive. I kissed her several times as they brought the gurney in the door. Just as they got to her I whispered in her ear, "Don't you die on me. I love you." She was barely conscious.

I wasn't cut out for this sort of life. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. Evelyn was in shock. Annette was busy tending to the two dead men lying on the floor. She retrieved a flat cloth packet from her bag that had a Velcro seal. She pulled the packet open and retrieved two syringes. I asked what she was doing. She explained that it was a standard issue forensics kit that every agent carried. She was extracting blood from the dead bodies to send to the agency labs for identification. The agency kept a DNA database of everyone that they could collect samples. She wanted to see if we had these two men in our databases. They were obviously assassins as they carried absolutely no identifying items.

Annette called for a courier from her phone and then turned to Evelyn and me. "We have to get you out of here. Someone knows where we are, and this is another attempt on your life. I need to interrogate Joey once she has been revived to find out what happened."

"Joey was in really bad shape, Annette. She had lost a lot of blood. I'm afraid that she may not make it."

"Oh, Adriel, you have a lot to learn about the agency. Believe me, they had her blood on board and started a transfusion immediately once she got to the helicopter. They can even perform surgery on board if they need. You would be amazed at our capabilities and preparatory work. Once Joey relocated you to this island, the agency put all of the standard backup personnel and equipment in place. You will learn all about that later during your training. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that we have at our disposal that it would amaze you. Joey is going to be just fine."

I turned to the two corpses lying on the floor. "What are we going to do with these bodies?"

"We will leave them for our exit team. Once the courier arrives, I will hand off these blood vials, and we will be on our way. It's time to go undercover again. I'm still suspicious about the agency. I'm not convinced that we don't have a leak somewhere. I still have plenty of cash from the Vanish Packet, so we will be hidden from their sight. Adriel, if you hadn't taken me to see the colonel, you would most likely be dead right now. If they were able to shoot Joey, they certainly would have killed you."

Evelyn hadn't said a word. Her lower lip was trembling, and she was clinging tightly to me. She started mumbling. "I want to go home, but we have no home. We have nowhere to go." I held her close and stroked her hair. "It's just a matter of time, Adriel. They're going to kill you. I knew it before this whole thing started."

"Calm down, Evelyn. I have an idea, but we need to relocate first."

I felt like someone had cut off my left arm. I was so used to Joey clinging to me that I felt I had lost a principal body part. The emotional deficit was somewhat greater. I felt like I couldn't breathe without her, but I kept it all to myself. I desperately wanted to go to her. "Annette, do you have any idea when Joey might rejoin us?"

Annette gave me a look of understanding. "Be patient. We'll pull her back in as soon as possible. Once I'm sure that she is stable, we'll steal her from the medical unit. They have no idea what we can do, so it should be easy. I just want to be sure that she will be all right to travel with you."

"Annette, maybe they didn't intend to kill me. Maybe they wanted to take Joey out in order to kidnap me. I'm worth more to them alive than dead."

"That's possible, but believe me, there are people out there who want you dead for more than one reason. Either way, we need to take every precaution that we can."

The courier arrived, and Annette gave her the vials of blood. She then turned to us and asked where we would like to relocate. I had enjoyed our visit to Italy and suggested that we go there. Annette did some research to choose a place and instructed Evelyn to take us to the heel of the boot of Italy to a place called Villa Bellissima. There were no cameras, and it was in a remote location on the Adriatic Sea.

The house resembled a small stone castle. It was obviously several hundred years old. There was no heating or air conditioning. The available fireplaces were swept clean and showed no signs of use. I imagined that it seldom got cold enough here to need them. There were five rooms for rent, but we were the only guests. It appeared to be in the middle of nowhere and provided a great escape from the mundane rat race of the world. Annette had plenty of cash, much of which we exchanged for local currency. She paid the elderly owners handsomely to rent the entire house because we didn't want anyone else around. What the place lacked in modern amenities, it compensated by providing an elegant, ancient atmosphere with tapestries, solid wood furniture, quilts, blankets, linens and draperies of the finest quality. It was beautifully adorned with several ancient artifacts which were reminiscent of David's residence.

Fabulous breakfasts were provided, and a small car was available to drive to the nearest town to markets and restaurants. We quickly established a discreet routine to purchase our provisions, most of which consisted of alcohol and various cheeses. The surrounding landscape was breathtaking. Italy was truly the most beautiful country in the world. It was such a relief to take early morning walks, even though I had to wait for Annette's consent and availability. She was now clinging to me somewhat like Joey did, but not to the same extent. She was becoming more and more convinced that I was not going to be snatched out of thin air, but she wasn't going to be careless about it.

Our sleeping arrangements were strangely close to a threesome. I would make love to Evelyn from behind as she held Annette. Evelyn was inching closer and closer to a sexual relationship with Annette, and I suspicioned that it had already begun as I slept. This was now the longest time that I had been away from Joey, and I missed her terribly. We made a couple of visits to her in parking mode to see how she was doing. She was still recovering and receiving liquids via an intravenous tube. I was hoping that we could get her out of there in the next couple of days, but even if we did she couldn't protect me in the same capacity that she had been. Although, I didn't care much about the protection. I missed her velvety soft, sweet smelling flesh and the taste of her luscious lips.

As we enjoyed our days together, we reviewed our project over and over. Annette was certain that there was a mole in the agency. Two attempts on my life had occurred in Africa, and Annette diverted our location to Cairo to meet with David. The federal government thought that I was kidnapped, and they had followed Yvette to several places while Annette transported Evelyn to Cairo. Annette had contacted the relocation team to charter the yacht from Mozambique to Suez. The agency was very secretive as I had learned. Relocation teams kept all whereabouts top secret from any other agents. Even Alexis had no idea where we were.

The attempt to take me from the safe-house in Cairo had been from someone who walked the golden highway. It didn't make sense that our mystery man had tried to kidnap me, but we knew of no other person who traversed the golden highway. Joey had kept me close ever since, but now I was somewhat exposed. Annette was a good bodyguard, but not nearly the level as Joey. Joey had eliminated three men of Russian nationality at David's residence. Only the relocation team knew where we were. Once again, we suffered an attack in Madagascar, and the relocation team was the only entity who could trace us to that location. We still needed to interrogate Joey about the attack.

Annette was convinced that the agency relocation team was the source. We were now off the grid completely. No one knew where we were, and Annette had taken great care to choose a place devoid of cameras. It was a very remote location, and we were enjoying some freedom. Several small peninsulas jutted out into the sea within walking distance. No one was anywhere to be seen. We could enjoy the beach and sunbathe in the nude. It was reminiscent of our week in Cannes. The weather was incredible, and we carried several bottles of wine with us to the beach every day which we purchased from a neighboring vineyard. Joey wasn't around, and Evelyn and I were making love twice a day at the beach and once each night. My concern was growing because Annette was now involved in our lovemaking by offering Evelyn additional stimulation.

One day, Evelyn and Annette fell asleep on the beach. I promised to stay awake to prevent them from burning in the intense Adriatic sun. I sat on my blanket as I watched ships pass by miles in the distance. I enjoyed the penetrating warmth of the sunshine. A movement to my right caught my eye. It appeared to be a woman about one hundred meters away near the tip of the peninsula. She was wading barefoot in the surf and held the hem of her white robe to prevent it from getting wet. I wondered who she might be and where she was staying. I continued to watch. She strolled up onto the sand and looked my direction. We stared at each other for about a minute, and she motioned to me to come to her. I grabbed a towel to wrap around myself and stood up. She was continuing to wave me over.

The sand was very hot, so I followed the surf in her direction. I watched her as the breeze blew against her white robe. The closer I got, the more familiar she appeared to me. I began to recognize her. She was a beautiful woman in her forties with absolutely no hair. She was my counterpart from the golden highway, but what was she doing here? Neither of us spoke until I was standing before her face to face. She smiled and extended her right hand. I didn't reciprocate. I just stood and stared into her eyes. She quickly snatched my towel before I could react, and I stepped back. She stepped forward and dropped her robe. She was completely naked and not a single hair existed on her entire body. She extended her hand once again and commanded, "Take my hand. I have something to show you."

"The last time I was with you, you told me that I couldn't trust you."

"No, I did not. I said that you shouldn't trust me."

"OK, I shouldn't trust you. Then why would I take your hand?"

"Taking my hand does not require that you trust me."

"Of course it does."

"No, it means that you trust someone greater than I am, someone who has your best interests at heart."

"I don't think that you are in my best interests."

"That's not for you to decide. Have you given up on your faith?"

"You deceived me. I have no faith in you. I want no part of you."

"You don't have a choice. You can't leave me. Don't you remember who I am?"

"I thought that you were me, but I don't think I would betray myself as you have done."

"But you already have. How do you think I betrayed you?"

"You showed me visions that weren't true. You allowed me to see what I wanted to see, not what was the truth."

"And why is it that you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Concentrating on the things that you want rather than the truth."

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just human."

"Is that what you want to be, just human?"

I looked away. "No, I don't want to be just human."

"Then take my hand."

"Where are we going, and why are we naked?"

"It's time you and I came to an understanding. We need to experience the closest intimacy possible. Take my hand; you won't regret it."

I looked back in the direction of Evelyn and Annette. "I promised my companions that I would watch over them while they slept in the sun. I can't leave."

She then spread my towel out on the sand and lay down in an inviting pose. "Then make love to me right here on your towel."

"No! I'm leaving." As I began to turn away, she extended her hand for me to help her up. I unthinkingly grabbed her hand to pull her up from the towel, and we immediately were transported to the golden highway.

I tried to pull away, but she warned me, "Do not release my hand! You have never been in this situation before, and if you disconnect from me, your fate will be unpredictable. Until now, you have entered the golden highway with your wife, but this time you are with me. This is a very different situation, so whatever you do, you must cling to me."

"Take me back," I shouted. "Why are you doing this?"

She faced me and pulled me close. She looked up, rose up on her toes, and kissed me. She put her right hand behind my neck and pulled me in, kissing me over and over. I wanted to resist, but she was breaking down my defenses. She continued to pursue me and pulled me down to the golden surface. She climbed on top of me and manipulated me until we were engaged in full coitus. This had to be a dream. I must have fallen asleep on the beach while I was watching over Evelyn and Annette. We were all going to be burned to a crisp in the sun if I did awaken myself. I kept trying to wake up, but she rode me harder and harder until I finally succumbed to her sensuality. In unison, we shared a blissful explosion of delight that lasted nearly half a minute. As it subsided, she collapsed on top of me as she kissed me over and over. It had resulted in one of the most intense and satisfying sexual experiences that I ever had. This had to be the most realistic dream ever.

"I have to get back," I pleaded.

"Do you love me?"

"I don't even know you."

"But, do you love me?"

"I don't think so."

"Do you feel guilty about making love to me?"

"Strangely, I do not."

"Do you know why?"

"I have no idea."

"It's because you are reconciling with yourself. Never forget who I am."

"I don't see how you could be me. Like I said, I don't know you. I think I'm dreaming again. I need to get back to my wife and friend. I need to wake up."

She pulled me up from the golden surface. "I need to show you something, but you have to lead me into the future along with the breeze."

"No, I really need to go. I don't need to see another false vision. I'm done with that."

"I can show you the future. Don't you want to see what happens to you?"

"I can't trust you. I wouldn't believe what I saw anyway."

"You can trust me, but I'm not the one you should trust. I need to show you something."

She was too persistent. I began to reason that it would probably be more expedient to comply than try to convince her to let me go. "OK, but this really needs to be quick. I have to get back."

She extended her left hand in a gesture for me to lead the way. I began walking her with the breeze as we traveled into the future. She kept clinging to me and hugging me as we walked. It reminded me so much of Joey that I began to think I was dreaming to compensate for her absence. We were still naked, and I saw no other couples on the highway. There were subtle differences that I attributed to the fact that this was all a dream, and I had fallen asleep on the beach. Normally, I could awaken myself during a lucid dream such as this, but so far I hadn't been able. This was taking longer than I thought, and I started to protest once again. She said that we were almost there.

She stopped and pulled me into a warm embrace. I felt that she was stalling, and I was growing more impatient. She looked up at me and smiled. She stepped us into parking mode, and we were surrounded by huge veins of gold that ran in wide, shiny ribbons through quartz laden granite walls. "Where are we," I demanded.

"We're standing in one of the richest mines of gold in the entire world." She looked around with a smile on her face as she held me close. She looked up at me and whispered, "I love you."

"But where is this gold located? Where on earth are we?" I began to wonder. Could this dream be my enlightenment? Could I trust what I was seeing? "Take me upward to the surface of the earth."

"But I thought that you had to get back to your companions?"

"I do, but let me see where this place is." She led me upward in parking mode until we reached the surface. The terrain was mountainous and I could see considerable vegetation below. We were overlooking a large body of water. As I looked across the horizon, I asked, "Where is this place?"

"You know as much as I do. This is the future. We need to get you back to Italy."

I awoke on my towel in the sand where she had left it. I jumped up, grabbed my towel, and ran toward Evelyn and Annette. They were both awake, and Evelyn was perturbed that I had left them alone on the beach. Annette warned me about straying too far away from them. I apologized and explained that I thought I had fallen asleep. I told them about the vision that I had. Neither of them thought that it had much significance until Evelyn mentioned the blood stains on my genitals. There was a significant amount of blood, and she examined me to see if I had been cut on the rocks somehow, but no cuts or abrasions were present. Annette insisted on taking a sample of the blood for future analysis.

We went back to our room, and Annette collected as much of the dried blood that she could between two glass slides to keep in an air tight container. Evelyn was growing more impatient as she interrogated me about this woman who seduced me on the beach. I explained that it wasn't on the beach, but on the golden highway instead. I told her that it was my counterpart on the golden highway, but she wasn't believing me. She accused me of having intercourse with a menstruating woman, but I assured her that wasn't the case. Annette explained that once we were able to get the samples to the lab they could determine if it were menstrual or hymen related. Regardless, Evelyn was terribly upset and wanted to have me tested for sexually transmitted diseases. She refused to be intimate until I was cleared.

Annette didn't want to alert a medical team because we would then have to give up our location. I certainly didn't want to be dry docked indefinitely and reasoned that we could have me tested and then find another location. Annette was more sympathetic than Evelyn, and she decided that we should step to Washington, D. C. via the golden highway and have me tested at an agency clinic. She could also give them the blood samples to analyze the DNA and the source of the blood. This was a minor setback, but apparently what I had experienced wasn't as much of a dream as I originally thought. Maybe I really had seen the gold.

We were six hours ahead of D. C. on the clock. We wasted no time, and Evelyn stepped us to the clinic. Annette ushered us inside to check in and spoke with a woman at the desk. We were immediately led to an examination room. Annette explained that we all had to stay together. Since this was an agency clinic, she was able to control much of our visit. An examiner took samples of blood, urine, and saliva. He also took the blood sample slides from Annette.

We then went to a waiting room where we spent about two hours planning our next move. Evelyn didn't offer much to the conversation. She was obviously still very upset with me. The lab results were finally reported, and the examiner came out to speak with us. I had no signs of any sexually transmitted diseases. The blood sample from the slide was not mine, and it was not menstrual blood. However, the strangest aspect of the DNA analysis was that it was close enough to mine to possibly be from an identical twin. There was no match in the agency database.

We returned to the resort and retired for the evening. Evelyn was remaining distant from me even though I had been cleared by the medical team. This somewhat frustrated me, but I knew that I needed to give her more time. After all, my story was somewhat bizarre, and I had telltale signs of having sex with another woman. We arose just before breakfast and showered. Evelyn was reticent as we sat down for breakfast. She was in desperate need of caffeine. The espresso was delightful, and this morning we had poached eggs with prosciutto and polenta covered with a cheesy béchamel.

We spent another wonderful, sunny day at the beach. We were all getting darker in the sun than we had in Cannes. It was such a relaxing time. We would snooze, drink more wine and eat some cheese, frolic in the gentle surf, and while away the late morning and afternoon as we soaked up more sun. The wine was fantastic. It had no sulfites in it to retard the fermentation process. It was all natural and had an exquisite flavor. In addition, it was very inexpensive, so we were drinking it like water. Normally, expense wasn't an issue, but we kept mindful of the limited funds from the Vanish Packet.

That night, Evelyn resisted my advances. Although I somewhat understood, it frustrated me as she held Annette through the night. I awakened to Joey kissing my neck. I ran my fingers across her smooth, soft skin and gently kissed her neck and lips. I wanted to make love to her. Suddenly, I remembered that Joey was in the hospital. I opened my eyes, and my female counterpart was reaching down to stimulate me. I thought I must be dreaming again. "What are you doing here," I whispered. I didn't want to awaken Evelyn or Annette.

She kissed me over and over. "Make love to me, Adriel."

I pushed her hand away. "Have you lost your mind? How did you get in here?"

"You know how I got here. Take my hand and come with me."

I looked over at Evelyn and Annette as they were entwined in a naked embrace. I grabbed my counterpart's hand, and immediately we were on the golden highway. "I don't even know your name."

"What do you want to call me?"

"Just tell me what your name is."

"My name is whatever you want it to be. If you were a woman, what name would you choose?"

"I always liked the name Yvonne."

"Then that's my name. You can call me Yvonne."

"Am I dreaming again?"

"No, you've never been dreaming with me. You have seen some visions of the future and events that you conjured up on your own, but you have never been asleep."

"What are you doing? Why did you come into my room?"

"I want us to make love again."

"My wife is already upset about what we did. I can't keep seeing you like this. It has to stop. Why are you coming around all of a sudden? I don't understand. We had to go to the golden highway, clap, and embrace before you would show up. I'm confused."

"I could never get to you before. You always had Joey holding on to you. Now that she's gone, I can get to you. Lie down with me."

"Wait a minute! Are you telling me that you would have been visiting me all along if it weren't for Joey?"

"Well, not the whole time, but ever since you realized who I am. I have been waiting for the opportunity. By the way, I don't want you to make love to Joey."

"What makes you think that I want Joey?"

"I've been watching you. You have been very close to having sex with her. I would have been very upset if you did."

"Are you jealous of Joey?"

"That's impossible; please promise me that you won't make love to her."

"What about Evelyn? Can I make love to her?"

"Of course you can. She's your wife."

"So how can you justify wanting to make love to me? This doesn't make sense."

"Evelyn is closer to you than Joey because she is your wife. I'm closer to you than Evelyn because I am you."

"This is insane. They tested your blood. You aren't me. You're like a sister to me or something."

"They have no idea who I am, but you do."

"Are you going to show me where the gold mine is?"

"We'll look for it together. Right now I want you to make love to me." She pulled me to the golden surface as before. She climbed on top of me, and our interlude was very similar to our first. Once again, I was heaving with delight and trying to catch my breath. This was most incredible. She teased my tongue with hers and demanded, "Do you love me?"

She reminded me of some lovesick, obsessed school girl. She was a little frightening, and I didn't want to upset her. "Of course I love you." I had no idea what I was doing.

She tried to initiate another session, but I was too satisfied. We stood up together, and she announced, "We have visited the gold mine in the future."

"Yes, I know, but where is it?"

"Is that all you have to ask me? Think about it."

"Well, the gold mine obviously exists. If we can find out where it is, I can get this project completed."

"You're not as smart as I thought you were."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have a nasty tendency to overlook the obvious, Adriel."

"Really? Because what's obvious to me right now is that I have lost my mind. I'm delusional and out of touch with reality. I'm in some make believe world having sex with myself and giving myself a female name. I'm probably really strapped down to a bed somewhere in a mental ward and drugged completely out of consciousness."

Yvonne looked up at me and giggled. "Do you really think that?"

"I'm really not sure."

Yvonne gave me a tight hug. "You need some time to think about it. I'll come back for you tomorrow night. Oh, and one more thing, don't get Joey out of the hospital too soon. Also, I wouldn't go telling Evelyn any more about me if I were you, which I am. I guarantee you that she won't understand."

# **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

# **_YVONNE_**

****

****

After Evelyn, Annette, and I had showered the next morning, we headed down to breakfast. I always looked forward to the wonderful meals that our hosts provided. As we were finishing and sipping our last cups of espresso, Annette suggested that we retrieve Joey from the hospital.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Annette. She needs more time to heal. Besides, she won't be able to protect me until she regains full mobility, and I think she has a better chance of that in the hospital."

Annette gave Evelyn a puzzled look. Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "Adriel, you have been wanting to bring Joey back since the day that she went into the hospital. I don't understand."

"I care about Joey, and I want the best for her. I think we need to give her a few more days to heal, that's all."

"Whatever you say, Adriel. They may be ready to release her by then."

Annette suggested that Evelyn and I return to the golden highway to see if we could locate our counterparts. I objected and suggested that we try other means to find the gold mine. "But you said that your counterpart showed you the gold mine. Why wouldn't you want to go back and look for it?"

"I said that she showed me a gold mine. She said it was the richest mine in the world. Whether it was the gold mine that I have been assigned to find, I'm not sure. Besides, I thought that I was dreaming."

Evelyn shot me an angry look. "Except for the blood you brought back with you. So help me, Adriel, if I find another woman on the beach you will have a lot of explaining to do."

"Evelyn, you have seen my counterpart from the golden highway. She is very distinct. If you saw her again, you would recognize her. I swear there is no other woman."

"Your story doesn't make sense, Adriel, and I don't believe you."

"Adriel, I think you and Evelyn should still try using the golden highway. I don't see what harm there could be."

I finally conceded, and we headed back to our room for another attempt. I was getting concerned about Evelyn seeing Yvonne again and what she might say or do. I was hoping that we would be unsuccessful. We held hands, stepped onto the golden highway, clapped, embraced, and again nothing happened. I gave a sigh of relief. "It looks like we're going to have to find another way," I suggested. Evelyn didn't say a word, and we returned to Annette. We weren't making any progress and gathered our things to take to the beach.

Evelyn wasn't about to take a nap in the sand. She kept vigilant and scanned the shoreline. I knew that she was looking for another woman. Yvonne said that she would come back tonight, so I was reasonably certain that she wouldn't show up again today. I tried to engage Evelyn in some sensual play, but she refused. Annette patted Evelyn's arm. "Evelyn, do you mind if Adriel and I take a short walk along the shore? We'll stay within sight." Evelyn consented, and Annette took me by the hand. She led me into the water about knee deep and turned to me. "Adriel, you can tell me the truth. Who did you have sex with down here? I promise this will stay between you and me."

"Annette, I told you the truth. I thought that I was dreaming. Had it not been for the blood on me, I would have sworn it was a dream."

"Could someone possibly have drugged you?"

"No, I don't see how. You both fell asleep, and I was watching ships in the distance. That's when I noticed her in the surf over there about a hundred meters. She waved me over, so I grabbed my towel and went over to her."

"But why would you leave us alone? You know better than to wander off toward a stranger."

"That's a good question. I'm not sure. I didn't feel threatened; I remember that. I was curious because we hadn't seen anyone else around. I wondered where she was staying."

"But she could have been an assassin. Surely, you knew that."

"I'll admit that right now that sounds reasonable, but when I saw her I never thought of any of those things. She didn't seem to pose a threat."

"Assassins never do, Adriel. You will learn to recognize them."

"But she wasn't an assassin, Annette. She was my counterpart from the highway."

"I know that you believe that, Adriel, but how could you have had someone else's blood on you? It doesn't make sense."

"Annette, I'm telling you all that I know." Actually, I wasn't, but there was no way I was going to disclose the fact that Yvonne promised to visit me again tonight.

"I'm curious, Adriel. Ever since your encounter with this woman, you haven't mentioned wanting to go get Joey. What's going on?"

"Joey's not going to be able to get around. I doubt that she can even make the trek to the beach. I think it would just frustrate her if we brought her here."

Annette gave me a look of suspicion. "You're not telling me something. That's OK, it will eventually come out." She took my hand and led me back to Evelyn.

I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about Yvonne. I had so many questions. Nothing made sense to me. Where did she come from? If she were truly my female counterpart, how did she have a separate body and blood? Up to this point, I had assumed that she was some sort of psychological counterpart to me, but we truly had engaged in sexual intercourse. I didn't know if the golden highway had made the experience so intense or if it was because of who she was. I had so much to ask her. I tried to nap on the beach so that I could be awake for her tonight, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. For the first time in so long I hadn't even given Joey one thought.

We drove to a neighboring village for dinner that evening. Once we returned to our room, I opened three more bottles of wine. My hope was to ply the women with as much alcohol as possible in hope that they would sleep soundly for my night with Yvonne. I pretended to drink more than I did and discreetly poured my glass into theirs without their notice. Annette kept giving me suspicious glances behind Evelyn's back. Evelyn was the first to go to sleep, and I carried her to bed. I knew that Annette could drink far more than I could. I tried to remain nonchalant and kept the conversation light.

Annette gave me another suspicious look. "You're up to something, Mr. Chevalier." I just smiled and shook my head.

It was finally getting very late, and I suggested that we retire for the night. Annette decided to sleep between Evelyn and me. I tried to remain disconnected from her in case Yvonne showed up, but Annette kept a hold on me. I had hoped to remain above suspicion, but I had failed. Every time I tried to shift to get away from Annette, she would draw closer and hold me tighter. I knew that she suspicioned that I would sneak out. I lay awake for over an hour until finally I drifted off to sleep.

I felt a gentle nudge on my arm. Yvonne was kneeling beside the bed with her face next to mine. She whispered very softly, "Adriel, wake up." I put my finger to my lips to signal her to be quiet. I motioned with my head in Annette's direction. Yvonne nodded. She put her lips next to my ear. "Take my hand." I slowly slipped my hand into hers, and we disappeared together to the golden highway. She immediately stepped us onto the beach where Evelyn, Annette, and I spent our days. She spread her robe onto the sand in the same spot where we put our blanket. She pulled me down on top of her, and we made love on the beach in the very spot that Evelyn and I had done days before.

I learned that it wasn't the golden highway that made the experience so amazing. She wanted to make love all night, but I wanted to talk. We negotiated an agreement that I would provide her with eight orgasms and then we would talk. She was so sensual and enthralled with our lovemaking. She clung to me and moaned with delight over and over again. When she was finally sated, I collapsed next to her on her robe. I propped my head on my hand as she snuggled close to me. It was a starry night, and we enjoyed the soothing sounds of the surf.

"None of this makes any sense," I began. "How could you be me? You have a separate body, separate blood, separate thoughts. Who are you, really?"

She leaned over and gave me another sensuous kiss. "Oh, really, Adriel, you overanalyze everything."

"That's what Evelyn tells me."

"I know, and she's right. Don't you enjoy making love to me?"

"Of course I do. I have never experienced anything like it."

"Do you love me?"

"Actually, I do love you."

"Then why do you need so many answers? You don't question the food that you eat. You put it into your mouth, chew, and swallow. However, if you analyzed it closely enough you would see all of the microorganisms and tiny insects that you can't remove. In fact, if you scrutinized your food enough, I dare say that you wouldn't eat anything. People climb onto rollercoasters without regard to what kind of metal that is used or the mechanics behind the track and cars. The more they knew, the less they would enjoy. You have to learn to live and not understand every little detail." She pulled me on top of her again.

"But I want to know who you are. You can't be me."

"That's not true. Make love to me again. The more we enjoy each other, the more healing you will accomplish."

"Healing from what? You make no sense."

"You have spent so many years fragmenting yourself. I have waited so long to make love to you. I gave you my virginity, and now all you want to do is talk. If I answer your questions, will you please stop asking and just enjoy me?"

"That sounds fair enough to me. So, please explain how you can be me when you have a separate body and DNA."

"Honestly, Adriel, sometimes you really disappoint me. You keep trying to understand all of this by viewing it from your worldly perspective. The blood samples that you took and the analysis that was done was all from the perspective of your material world. Where did you first become aware of me?"

"On the golden highway, of course."

"So, please explain that environment to me. Where is it?"

"I assume it's in another dimension."

"And what does that mean? Is it just another direction that others are unaware? If you don't understand that environment, then how do you expect me to answer your questions? It's like trying to explain physics to a small child. Did you really think that all you were composed of was the body that you inhabit?"

"Well, of course not. I'm a body, soul, and a spirit."

"Adriel, you don't even know what that means. I have existed with you from the beginning."

"So, are you part of the Creator?"

"Heavens no! I'm part of you. How many times do I have to tell you that? You are sitting on a gold mine, and you don't even know it. Do you have any idea of the small percentage of people who ever find the golden highway?" I shook my head. "Well, it's damn few! Out of the few who find the golden highway, how many do you think ever find their counterparts?" I shook my head once again. "Much fewer, Adriel, and the infinitesimal few who ever recognize who their counterparts are and have the privilege to make love to them is practically nonexistent. What we have is so extremely rare, and you just want to talk about it. We're wasting valuable time. Make love to me."

"But wait! How is it that I can make love to you, but you don't want me to make love to Joey?"

"You can't be serious! Do you have any idea what having sex with Joey will do to you? It will drive a wedge between you and Evelyn. It will cause a self condemnation that will fragment you even further and send you in the opposite direction than where I am taking you. You seem so excited that Joey is willing to do anything with you. Well, so am I. You can do anything to me that you want, and I will do anything to you that you want. The big difference between Joey and me in that regard is that I will actually enjoy it. I love you, and I love making love to you. She can't do that. Why do you think you find her so attractive?"

"Have you seen her? She's perfection."

"Adriel, she's not the only woman on earth with those attributes. Have you no clue about the spark that ignites the fire? It's not Joey's physical attributes that excite you. It's the fact that you are a fragmented soul who needs healing. If you stick with me, you won't want Joey. I can lead you to internal healing; she can't."

"I don't understand how having sex with you can heal me."

"You don't have to understand it; that's my point. Just enjoy it, and you will see how it will change you."

"But what about Evelyn?"

"What about her?"

"Can I make love to her?"

"Of course you can, silly. She's your wife. It will mend your relationship with her in a similar fashion that making love to me will mend yourself."

"None of this still makes any sense to me."

"Again, Adriel, you don't have to understand it. You are in an extremely rare situation that you desperately need to take advantage of. Very few people understand the purpose behind making love. If they did, they would never be unfaithful to their spouse."

"But how is making love to you not being unfaithful?"

Yvonne rolled her eyes. "Because I am you. When you make love to Evelyn, I make love to Evelyn, but please don't ever tell her that. In fact, you shouldn't tell anyone about me. If you can't understand this, how could anyone else?"

"Do you think that Evelyn has sex with her counterpart?"

"That's none of our business, but she should."

"Do you have sex with her counterpart?"

"Yes, every time you make love to Evelyn, but in a very different way from what I do with you. I have to get you back soon, so stop talking and make love to me."

We spent the next hour and a half enjoying one another. I should spare the details of all that we did, but she became very adventurous. I was exhausted, and I hoped that I could sleep late. She stepped me to the golden highway and back to my bed beside Annette. She gave me one last long, sensuous kiss and then disappeared. I rolled over to see Annette staring at me. "I knew you were up to something." Annette grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the bathroom. She was careful not to awaken Evelyn. "Who the hell is that," she demanded.

"She's my counterpart from the golden highway."

"Have you lost your mind?" Annette was seething. "You are spending time with a woman whom we have not vetted. Do you have any idea the danger that you have brought upon us all?"

"She's not of this world. I don't know how you could possibly vet her."

"My god, Adriel, I can't put up with this insubordination. You are not to see her again until I can clear her. Do you understand me?"

"Annette, she comes to me and takes me at her will. This isn't my doing."

"From now on, I'm holding onto you the same as Joey did. Get into the shower. I need to wash you off. I can smell her on you. I don't believe this!"

Annette angrily scrubbed me down, toweled me off, and marched me back to bed. She sandwiched me between Evelyn and herself and waited for Evelyn to awaken for the day. I felt like a child who had been put in a time out. As I lay there, I wondered when I would ever see Yvonne again. Annette was now intending to prevent my meeting with Yvonne in the same manner that Joey had done. However, Annette didn't have the same attentiveness and awareness as Joey. Joey never seemed to sleep, although I knew that she did. If I so much as raised my head, Joey responded.

The wine had done its trick, and Evelyn didn't awaken until after sunrise. Annette was careful to keep the previous night a secret, and we all showered together quickly to be in time for breakfast. Annette insisted that we retrieve Joey and that she could convalesce with us. I had to stay with her and help her get around as needed. I knew perfectly well that Annette intended to have Joey stand guard over me. I would soon be back in my former predicament. I needed more time with Yvonne, and I knew it. We were scheduled to pick Joey up tomorrow. She was being released, so we wouldn't have to steal her away.

We grabbed our wine and snacks and headed for the beach. Annette was now watching me like a hawk as was Evelyn. I decided to relax in the sunshine and turn from brown to black. Evelyn was still resisting me, and Annette was shooting me glances of disgust behind Evelyn's back. I began to ponder the recent past events. Yvonne said that I was sitting on a gold mine. Solomon had promised that I would find the mine, but it would cost me my faith. Were they talking about the same gold mine? Was that just my imagination? Did I create the vision of Solomon? Yvonne said that I deceived myself. She showed me a vein of gold in a mountain, but when I asked where it was she told me that I was asking the wrong question. All of this was so confusing, and I wasn't sure how much of it was real. Annette saw Yvonne. She had to be real. Yvonne knew what Evelyn had said to me about overanalyzing everything. If Yvonne were truly me somehow, then maybe she can read my thoughts. I began thinking that I wanted to see her again as soon as possible, but I didn't know how. I wondered if she could communicate with me.

I looked over at Evelyn. She was sitting up with her arms around her knees looking along the shore. She was intent on finding the woman who had seduced me. Annette was on the other side of me, and she kept a constant grip on me. I noticed Evelyn glance at her grasp a few times. I knew she was wondering why Annette was more attentive to my safety. My thoughts went back to Yvonne. She said that she would help me find the gold mine, but all that seemed to interest her was a sex marathon with me. She seemed insatiable. How much was going to be enough? She was right about one thing. She had certainly diverted my attention from Joey. Suddenly, I remembered that it was Yvonne who showed me the vision of having sex with Joey and Annette. I had forgotten to ask her why she did that. My guess is that she was trying to warn me about what was going to happen. In retrospect, I think the vision of Annette was really Yvette, and if I hadn't resisted her she definitely would have seduced me.

My mind turned to the four questions that I had never answered. When the man on the golden highway had posed the questions, I had not yet realized that he was Evelyn's counterpart. The questions did pertain to me and my relationship to Evelyn after all. I had been keeping my playtime with Joey a secret. Yvonne wanted me to stay away from Joey because involvement with Joey would fragment me further. Yvonne also said that making love with her would heal me. I certainly didn't understand it, but I had to admit that I felt more balanced and in control of myself since I had been with Yvonne. It was clear that Yvonne was far more interested in my healing and well-being than finding the gold mine.

I wanted to take a stroll along the beach, but Evelyn decided to remain on the blanket. Annette agreed to accompany me. We stayed within sight of Evelyn as we leisurely walked along the shore. Annette took this opportunity to talk with me about Yvonne. "Adriel, I'm sorry if I seemed harsh with you last night. You haven't been trained, and you made a cardinal mistake by going off with that woman alone. You think she's your counterpart from the golden highway, but I can't trust your judgment especially since you are having a sexual affair with her."

"It's not an affair, Annette. She's part of me."

"Adriel, please stop with the nonsense. You were a mess last night. I had to clean you up, or Evelyn would have noticed and been furious. I really don't care that you are sexually involved with someone, but it can't be someone that I don't know. Why didn't you just have sex with Joey? It would have been a lot simpler."

"It's hard to explain, Annette. Even I don't understand it enough to be able to accurately convey what she told me. I think she's my ticket to the gold mine, but if you prevent her from seeing me she won't get the chance to show me."

"If she's from the golden highway, then what is she doing here?"

"I don't know. What am I doing there? I would suppose if I can travel there, she can travel here."

"It doesn't make sense, Adriel. If she wants to see you, then why doesn't she come to you and Evelyn when you clap and embrace?"

"I didn't ask her. Please let me see her tonight, and I will ask her whatever you want."

"You know I can't do that. If you really think that she might be able to show you where the gold mine is, then let me come with you. I have been nervous enough about you and Evelyn going to the golden highway alone, but now that this has happened I'm going to have to impose some rules."

"I don't think she will come to get me if you keep a hold on me."

"Can you contact her?"

"I have no idea how. I think she can read my thoughts, so the best I can do is try to send her a thought that I want you to come along tonight."

"Oh, Adriel, this is against my better judgment, and I wouldn't do this for anyone else, but if she's willing to let me come along then we'll go together."

"Thank you, but no matter what happens we can't tell Evelyn."

"I agree, but I want Joey to stay with Evelyn, so we should wait until tomorrow night. We need to pick Joey up later tonight, and I don't want her first night here to be as a babysitter for Evelyn."

We returned to the blanket to join Evelyn. She didn't say a word and seemed rather aloof. I tried to engage her in conversation a few times until she became very irritated. "Adriel, I have a lot to deal with. For the longest time I have been trying to prepare myself for your inevitable affair with Joey, but instead you go and have sex with a complete stranger. I don't even know who you are anymore."

"That's not what happened, Evelyn. I wouldn't do that."

"But you did! I don't care if you thought she was your counterpart. You still engaged in sexual intercourse with someone else."

"No, that's not really true."

Evelyn jumped up from the blanket. "Adriel, there's proof. Stop trying to deny the facts that have already been established." Evelyn began to storm off toward the resort. Annette quickly chased her and made her return.

Annette sat us side by side and faced us on the blanket. "OK, you two, I would normally let you both work this out between you, but this is getting a little weird even for me. We're starting to come apart at the seams. Evelyn, I'm going to encourage you to believe Adriel at this point. I have known him long enough to believe that he wouldn't be unfaithful to you with a stranger. I know the evidence looks incriminating, but it is circumstantial. Adriel, did you have sex with another woman?"

"No, I did not."

"OK, I'm going to choose to believe you until I can prove otherwise. Just because we don't understand the facts doesn't mean that we should jump to conclusions. Can you work with that, Evelyn?"

Evelyn gave a long sigh. "I want to, but it's really difficult."

"All right, we need to pick Joey up later tonight. Let's have a good evening together, get Joey, and enjoy a good night's sleep. We'll have a lot to deal with once we get her back."

Evelyn did try her best to accept my explanation. She even consented to be intimate with me before we went to retrieve Joey. Our experience together was different for me. It seemed to hold more of an emotional significance than usual. I wondered if it might be due to Yvonne's influence on me. We showered and had a cup of coffee before Evelyn and I stepped our way to the hospital in Madagascar.

Joey greeted us with a smile. She was on crutches, but doing much better than the last time we saw her. We found a discreet exit point and stepped her to the resort in Italy. Annette had alerted the owners that we had another guest. They gladly agreed to accommodate her for breakfast, and we spent the next morning catching up with one another. Annette had several questions for Joey about the assassins who attacked her in Madagascar. They had entered when she was in the bathroom. When she returned to the living area, they surprised one another. The second one shot her while she was in midair just before she broke his neck. Evelyn and I learned that it wasn't the worst that she had ever been wounded.

Annette insisted that Evelyn and I try to contact our counterparts again. I realized that this was just a ploy to get Joey alone to explain things to her without Evelyn's knowledge. I played along, and we stepped to the golden highway. As usual, we were unsuccessful in contacting our counterparts. I wanted to give Annette more time to talk with Joey, so I suggested that we step into the future to see if we could learn anything helpful. We couldn't target ourselves in this manner, but we could choose someone else who might intersect with us. We chose to find Annette, and I walked us with the breeze for several minutes. I decided that we had traveled far enough, and Evelyn stepped us toward the future Annette into parking position.

We were astonished to see Charles and Maggie, our children, standing with a group of people. Evelyn was crying and dabbing her eyes with a tissue as she stood with Annette. To our horror, we saw a closed casket in the background, and I was nowhere to be seen. Evelyn burst into tears and fell to her knees. I needed to get her out of here. I pulled her up and had her step us to the beach to talk. She collapsed in the sand and continued to sob. I tried for several minutes to console her, but she was nearly hysterical. "Oh, Adriel! I knew it! I knew it! You're going to be killed."

"Evelyn, calm down. We saw a possible future, that's all. It isn't carved in stone."

"No, Adriel, I have had this foreboding since the beginning. I can't do this! You have to get out of this assignment, please."

"Evelyn, you know that isn't possible."

"How far into the future were we?"

"I don't know. Yvonne would probably know."

"Who the hell is Yvonne?" Evelyn looked up at me with her tear soaked face.

I stammered, "Oh, did I say Yvonne? I meant Yvette. She has passed from this world, so I imagine that she can see the future." It was a lame recovery attempt.

"You've never mentioned departed souls seeing the future before. Where did that come from?"

"I think I'm just upset, that's all. Forget what I said. Come on, we shouldn't be out here on the beach alone. We need to go back to the resort. Step us back to the golden highway, and we can all discuss it when we get back to Annette and Joey."

I helped Evelyn up from the sand, and we returned to the others. Annette came running over when she saw Evelyn's emotional state. "What happened?"

"We couldn't contact our counterparts, so we tried finding you in the future. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a future possibility of my funeral."

Annette held Evelyn in her arms and kissed her over and over. Evelyn continued to sob uncontrollably. I sat down next to Joey, and she put her arms around me. When she looked into my eyes, I knew that she had several questions to ask me. I nodded my head, gave her a quick kiss and hugged her. It felt so good to be back in her arms, but not the way that I had enjoyed her before. I truly loved Joey, and my affection that I felt for her was genuine and pure. Annette sat and rocked Evelyn in her arms until she began to calm down.

It was time to change Joey's bandage, and I removed the tape and gauze to inspect the wound. She was healing nicely. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit the bone. The softer tissue was mending rapidly, and she had aspirations of us working out together in a few days. I humored her even though I doubted that she would be able. I suggested that we break out some wine, and everyone heartily agreed. We still had some cheese from the day before, so we snacked and drank until mid-afternoon. We decided to forego the beach today and spend the afternoon catching up with Joey. As evening approached, Annette suggested that she and Evelyn drive into the village to get something for dinner. This would give me time with Joey to find out what Annette had told her.

Annette led Evelyn to the small car, and Joey held me closely on the couch. I told her that I had missed her greatly, and it was good to be back in her arms. She kissed me, and our tongues met. I diverted our attention to her conversation with Annette.

"So, did Annette fill you in on what's been happening?"

"Yes, she said that you were seeing some strange woman who appeared on the beach. Apparently, Evelyn is really upset."

"Well, that's the way that it appears, but in reality it's much different than it sounds. I think this woman can show me where the gold mine is."

"I hope that's true, Adriel. So, you and Annette are going to meet with this woman tonight."

"Well, that was our intention, but we haven't worked out the details."

"Annette told me that I was supposed to stay with Evelyn tonight while she slept, and you both were going to the beach to look for the woman."

"Really? We haven't discussed that, but I'm glad that she is willing to let me see Yvonne again." Joey gave me a confused look. "Oh, the woman's name is Yvonne."

"So, you have been having sex with this other woman according to Annette."

"It's really hard to explain, Joey, but that's probably the best explanation that anyone could understand."

"She must be some woman to cause you to be unfaithful to Evelyn."

"Actually, I haven't been unfaithful to Evelyn. Like I said, it's hard to explain." Joey pulled her top off over her head and began to remove my shirt. I had forgotten how incredible her body was. "Joey, wait. We shouldn't do this. Put your shirt back on."

"Are you in love with this other woman?"

"Yes, you could say that. I love you too, Joey, but in a different way."

She slipped her shirt back on. "I understand. I mean, I can't relate to what you feel, but I can accept it."

We continued to discuss the plans for the night. She understood Annette's apprehension concerning Yvonne, but she was trusting me to find the gold mine according to my methods. When Evelyn and Annette came in with our dinner, I saw Annette lock eyes with Joey, and Joey gently shook her head. Annette seemed pleased, and she unpacked our dinner as I opened four bottles of wine. It appeared that we were all intent on getting Evelyn to retire for the night as soon as possible. We ate, drank, and talked. The wine was a success, and we all got ready for bed. Luckily, Evelyn was sleepy enough not to notice the different sleeping sequence. Annette held me, I held Joey, and Joey held Evelyn.

It wasn't long before Evelyn was lightly snoring. Annette slipped out of bed and pulled a tee shirt over her naked body. I was wearing pajama bottoms. She held out her hand and pulled me out of bed. We signaled to Joey as we left to head for the beach. The night was somewhat calm and warm. The stars shone brightly, and there was no moon. It was so dark, and we had to be careful as we traversed the rocks toward the beach. Fortunately, we were very accustomed to the path that we took each day. Annette was carrying two blankets that we could spread out to wait for Yvonne. I wasn't sure that she would show.

We lay on the blankets in the sand and admired the stars. Annette removed her shirt and let the gentle breeze pass over her naked body. Annette was a very provocative woman, and I was relieved that it was Annette and not Yvette who was with me. Over an hour had passed, and I was beginning to think that Yvonne would not appear. Annette encouraged me to wait because she was prepared to spend the entire night on the beach. I started getting sleepy and lay back on the blanket. Annette scooted over and nestled her head against my left shoulder. She too was beginning to fall asleep.

I felt her head against my right shoulder, and I thought that Annette had changed sides during the night. I opened my eyes and saw Yvonne's naked body lying next to me on the blanket. I turned toward her, and she smiled as she kissed me and pulled me on top of her. Annette started to stir and looked over. She was startled and sat up on the blanket. Yvonne lay beneath me and looked deeply into Annette's eyes. Annette appeared to be spellbound, and after a minute she silently dragged her blanket about ten meters away in the sand and sat vigilantly as Yvonne began to caress me.

I had made love to Evelyn in front of Annette countless times in Cannes, but this was very different. I kept looking over at her, but Yvonne continually pulled my head toward her and gently worked me into arousal. I finally forgot about Annette, and Yvonne and I were writhing and moaning together in sensual bliss that was even greater than what we had experienced before. She arched her back and moaned with delight time after time. "Pace yourself," she encouraged me, "I want this to last all night." The incredible sensation that I felt course through my body and reach the end of my extremities was indescribable. Our saliva, sweat, tears, and blood mingled together. I heaved with delight five times over the hours that we spent undulating on the blanket in the sand. Her ability to sustain my arousal was phenomenal. I glanced over at Annette whose attention was riveted on my union with Yvonne. Finally, after hours of indulging ourselves in every way imaginable we both exploded in a crescendo of ecstasy that shook the earth beneath us. We lay together on the blanket in a tight embrace as we caught our breath.

After a few minutes, Yvonne motioned for Annette to join us. Annette dragged her blanket over next to ours and took a seat. She pulled her shirt from the sand, shook it off, and laid it next to her. Annette was speechless. She sat staring at Yvonne until she finally spoke. "That was the most beautiful and incredible act of love that I have ever seen."

Yvonne reached over and took Annette's right hand. "The healing of a soul is a most wonderful delight to behold. Tell me, Annette, would you consider Adriel to be unfaithful to Evelyn?"

Annette shook her head. "Oh, my goodness, no! That was indescribable."

"Yes, I agree, and if you tried to describe it to someone they would misconstrue it as an unfaithfulness."

Annette looked down toward her blanket. "Yes, I suppose they would. Believe me, I didn't understand. I'm so sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I hope that you no longer feel that I need to be vetted."

"Oh, no, no, not at all. I had no idea when Adriel told me about you. By the way, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Yvonne chuckled. "Actually, Annette, you met me the night that you came to Adriel's house. You just didn't recognize me."

Annette slowly shook her head. "Honestly, I don't understand this idea of a counterpart. So, are you saying that you are Adriel?"

"Yes, I am. However, I am the part of Adriel that resides in another realm. Think of me as being another body part to Adriel. That's probably the best that I can describe it."

"Are you mortal? I mean, can you die like we do?"

Yvonne chuckled again. "I assure you that I can, just as much as Adriel can."

"Well, if you died, would Adriel die?"

"Yes, Annette, obviously he would die because he is me. I know this is difficult for you, but we don't have time to answer all of your questions."

"I am so sorry. I was beginning to think that Adriel had lost his mind. Of course, at this point I'm beginning to wonder about myself. So, do I have a counterpart in your realm?"

"Yes, everyone does. It's like asking if everyone has a heart. The difficulty is in the fact that most people are unaware of their counterparts."

"So, is my counterpart a man?"

"In my realm there is no concept of gender. You accept us as you're reciprocal. Whether you view us as male or female is entirely up to you."

"OK, I'm confused. I can see your body, and you obviously have a wonderful female physique."

"That's because Adriel is heterosexual and perceives me as a woman. Therefore, my physical attributes comply with his perception."

"So then, my counterpart might appear to be a female, is that correct?"

"That's entirely up to you, Annette."

Suddenly, Annette came to a realization. "Adriel, that photograph that you found at David's that showed the husband and wife having sex underneath Orion wasn't a married couple at all."

Yvonne smiled at Annette. "I could sit here for days trying to satisfy your idle curiosities, but we have serious business."

"Oh, right! I'm sorry. Adriel mentioned that you might be able to find the gold mine."

"We're getting a little ahead of ourselves." Yvonne turned to me. "Adriel, why did you go exploring the future without me?"

"Well, I was stalling with Evelyn because I thought that Annette needed more time to talk to Joey about you."

"You really shouldn't be on the golden highway without me anymore. You have capabilities with me that you cannot have with Evelyn, but I'm not going to explain all of that right now. Rather, you need to realize that finding this gold mine will cost you your life." Annette put her right hand over her heart.

"Well, we did see my apparent funeral in the future, but I explained to Evelyn that it was just a possible future. She said that she had a premonition from the start that I would be killed because of this project."

"All premonitions and dreams come from your counterpart. We are able to see the past, present, and future."

"So, it was you who gave me the dream about the rabbit."

"Yes, once you fall asleep, and your nervous system reverses direction, I can introduce components of dreams, but you are the one who attaches the symbols. I wanted you to find the scroll. I was desperate to link up to you, and you didn't disappoint me. Concerning the future that you saw, you are correct that it is a possible future, but realize that if you pursue the gold mine it will ultimately lead to your death. The question is whether you agree to that."

"Are you deceiving me again?"

"Adriel, I have never deceived you, nor can I. You are the one who has been untrue to yourself. Stop denying this. You need to make a decision."

I sat in silence for about a minute. Finally, I asked Yvonne, "What would you do?"

"Adriel, I'm not the decision maker. That is one of the inherent differences between us. You can act against my will, but I cannot act against your will. The reason that you suffered so much fragmentation was due to acting contrary to my will, which has your best interests at heart. This has to be your choice."

"So, if I choose to find the gold mine, then how will I die?"

"I can't disclose that for more than one reason. You have to choose, but take your time. There is so much to consider, your wife, children, friends, future."

"I never wanted to do this project in the first place, so dying for this cause seems foolish."

"I understand. However, if you don't find the gold mine then Eddie will face a serious prison sentence."

"That's Eddie's problem. He's the one who got us into this mess!"

"Adriel, how did Eddie get involved with your last project?"

"Well, I asked him to accompany me to Orlando."

"Did he want to do that?"

"Not really, but I couldn't very well do it on my own."

"And when the federal government called him in to find the person behind the emails to the dignitaries of the world, what did he do?"

"He took the contract and lead them on a wild goose chase."

"So, instead of doing that he could have complied with the contract and exposed you. The fact that he protected you got him into this predicament."

"No, the fact that he did expose me later because he was greedy is what got him into this predicament."

"Let me get this straight, Adriel. Are you blaming Eddie for your circumstances?" I sat and pondered for a while. Did the Creator put me into this situation, or was I blaming Eddie? This was the nasty fork in the road to my faith. Yvonne continued, "Adriel, there is a reason that I'm telling you this in front of Annette. If you choose not to disclose the gold mine, you will be convicted for noncompliance with a project. Isn't that correct, Annette?" Annette closed her eyes and grimaced. She then nodded her head in assent. "And, what will be his sentence, Annette?"

"Most likely he will be sentenced equally as Eddie is. It would be my responsibility, but I would have to comply with directives from the colonel." Annette turned to me. "Adriel, I'm so sorry, but she's right."

"So, my choices are death or imprisonment?" Yvonne was silent and stared into my eyes. "I need some time to think. When do you need a decision?"

"Take your time. You'll know when it's right."

Annette interjected, "How do you know where the gold mine is, Yvonne?"

"Since the day that Adriel accepted the assignment, I have been searching for the mine. However, the one that is known as King Solomon's mine has been depleted. I then began to search for other possibilities, and due to the capabilities of the golden highway I eventually found a vein of gold in a mountain that dwarfed any other known gold mine." I remembered that I was told I was chosen for this project because of who I was. I had no idea that the 'who' in question was really Yvonne, but no one knew that.

Yvonne pushed Annette onto her back on the blanket and climbed on top of her. Their naked flesh met from their toes to their foreheads. Yvonne kissed Annette long and deep as Annette swooned. I was speechless. I had no idea what might happen. When Yvonne released Annette's lips she softly whispered, "No matter what happens, you take good care of our boy. Do you understand?" Annette nodded in assent as she wept. Tears streamed from her eyes and down the sides of her head as they soaked her hair. Yvonne lay on top of Annette for a few more minutes as she gazed into her eyes. Finally, she said, "I want to indulge Adriel once more before you go. You can lie right here." Annette nodded again. Yvonne climbed on top of me and began vigorously pumping me and talking dirty in the exact manner that Annette had done with Gina in Cannes. In fact, her actions and frenzy were identical to Annette's style of making love. She ravaged me over and over. She had me do things to her that Annette demanded from her lovers. It was frightening, sensual, exciting, and extremely gratifying. We exploded in delight together, and she rolled over onto her back, pulling me on top of her. She turned her head to Annette. "Bring him back here to me tomorrow night."

Yvonne and I arose from the blanket, and she led me to the edge of the surf to rinse me off. She gave me one long last kiss before she departed down the shore. I stared at her until she was out of sight. I returned to Annette who was still in a daze. I tried to shake the sand out of my pajama bottoms, but it was useless. We would have to return to the resort naked. I sat down on the blanket next to Annette. Neither of us spoke for several minutes. Finally, Annette looked over. "What are you going to do, Adriel?"

"I don't know yet. I need some time. I'm not convinced that death or imprisonment are my only two options. We should probably get back." We shook our blankets the best that we could and wrapped ourselves in them. We agreed to shower together when we returned and hoped that Evelyn was still asleep. After we dried off, we slipped quietly back into bed. This time, Annette held Evelyn, I held Annette, and Joey held me. We had about an hour until dawn. I needed to sleep and hoped that I could nap on the beach. I figured that I would have to piggy back Joey over the rocks to our place in the sand.

Morning rolled around way too soon. Annette and I were facing one another. We shook our heads at one another, and she gave me a quick kiss. "Adriel, be a dear, and pipe the coffee right into my veins." We begrudgingly rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Many would have thought it to be a strange sight if they followed us around. There was nothing that we didn't do together comfortably. We hurriedly got prepared for the day and descended the stone stairway to the dining room. We had crusty bread to dip into Chianti with steaming cups of espresso. Italian sausages and hard boiled eggs were smothered in the most delightful Hollandaise sauce. We ate our fill, packed for the beach, and I got a decent workout acting as a mule for Joey.

Evelyn and Annette carted as many wine bottles to the beach as they could carry. We spread out our blankets, stripped, and sprawled in the bright sunshine. I began to break a sweat on our secluded Italian beach and opened two bottles of red wine. I filled our glasses, and we toasted in jest as the four musketeers. Evelyn gave me a perturbed glance as I rubbed Joey's body with olive oil at her request. I then climbed on top of Evelyn to give her my undivided attention. After about an hour, Annette signaled to me, and I invited Evelyn to splash in the surf with me. Annette needed to coordinate with Joey for our rendezvous with Yvonne again tonight.

I was still uncertain what I should do about the predicament that Yvonne had described. She said that she couldn't deceive me, and that I was responsible for that. I now had the chance to deliver the richest gold mine in the world, and I wondered how I was supposed to die. I began to think that I needed to get Joey back to full capacity before I took any action whatsoever. Besides, the beach was fantastic, and I wanted to enjoy as much as I possibly could. My thoughts kept focusing on Yvonne. I couldn't wait to meet with her tonight. I was curious why she had such a close physical contact with Annette and then mimicked her in our lovemaking. She had to be sending her some kind of message, but I was afraid to know what that might be. I kept glancing at Annette and Joey until their conversation appeared to die down. I needed to get Annette alone with me to discuss our plans for the night. I still needed to nap because I was feeling the effects of my sleep deficit.

I led Evelyn back to our blanket and lay down to soak up more sunshine. I dozed off a couple of times before Annette stood over me blocking my sunshine. She held out her hand to pull me up onto the sand. Evelyn glanced up. "You two are awfully chummy these days."

Annette tossed her hair back and smiled. "I'm going to steal your husband for a while." She pulled me toward the surf as Evelyn kept her eyes glued on us. Annette continued to hold my hand as we both looked out over the Adriatic. "So, are you any closer to a decision?"

"I have been giving it some thought. I'm not sure that I believe that there are only two outcomes to my fate."

"I believe that is called denial, Adriel." Annette looked over at me and smiled.

"I believe it is called optimism, Annette. Yvonne has impressive capabilities, that's for sure, but I doubt that she is infallible."

"Regardless, Adriel, there's no way to know for sure. I think she wants you to make a decision based on the worst case scenario. I would do the same, if I were her."

"Nevertheless, I want Joey back to her full capability before I make any moves."

"Oh, I don't blame you. I could spend another several weeks on this beach, especially if Yvonne is going to be here."

I turned to Annette. "Just what did happen last night with you and her?"

Annette looked away. "What do you mean?"

"She climbed on top of you. Why do you think she did that?"

"She wants me to protect you. I think she knows how much I care about you."

"Is that what you got from it? What about that kiss?"

"My god, Adriel, don't tell me you're jealous!"

"Actually, I'm not, but if she is part of me, I'd like to know what is going on."

"Then you need to ask her."

"You want to make love to her, don't you?" Annette was silent as she looked the other way down the beach. I reached over and pulled her chin toward me. Tears were streaming down her face. I looked back at Evelyn as she intently stared in our direction. "Evelyn's getting suspicious, so we need to go back. I assume our plan is the same as last night." Annette wiped her tears and nodded. She continued to hold my hand as we returned to our blankets. Evelyn glared at us.

After about a minute had passed, Evelyn grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the surf. "What the fuck is going on between you and Annette? Do I need to be concerned about her too?" Evelyn was fuming.

"Good heavens, no! She's upset about the future that we saw, that's all. She doesn't want to discuss it in front of you and upset you."

"Well, you explained that you weren't going to find this stupid gold mine, didn't you?"

"It's not that simple, Evelyn. If I refuse, I could be subject to a prison sentence for noncompliance with a project."

"That's ridiculous! They can't force you to sacrifice your life over this."

"No, they can't force me to sacrifice my life, but they can prosecute me."

"My god, Adriel, what did you tell her?"

"I told her I would think about it. Look, there's no rush, and I want Joey to fully recuperate, so let's just enjoy each other and the beach while we can. Live for the day, and for god's sake, don't worry about Annette and me. She truly is purely homosexual, so relax!"

"How do you expect me to relax with this hanging over our heads?"

"Well, regardless of what happens, it isn't happening today. Come on, I want to nap in the sun. We'll sort this out another day." I led Evelyn back to the blanket, and Annette gave me a wide eyed look. I just shook my head.

I awoke to the sound of sea gulls squawking and the gentle sound of the surf. Joey had covered up because she hadn't been conditioned to the penetrating sunshine yet. Evelyn was sitting up beside me, and I tried to pull her on top of me. She resisted, and I saw the tears falling from her cheeks. Annette was gently snoring on her blanket. I scooted in behind Evelyn and held her in my arms. She wept even harder. I contemplated my situation. Refusal would definitely result in a prison sentence. However, I wasn't convinced that finding the mine would lead to my death. Yvonne wasn't disclosing how I would die, and I doubted that she would show me the future. Travel on the golden highway appeared to be over because Yvonne said that she knew where the gold mine was located. My decision now seemed obvious.

# **CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

# **_EUREKA_**

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If you're standing in a fifth floor window of a burning building, you have two choices, jump or stay. If you stay, you are certain to burn up, but if you jump there is a small chance that you just might live. I didn't relish the thought of being locked in a federal prison for an untold number of years. I was going to tell Yvonne tonight that I had tentatively decided to disclose the gold mine, but only after Joey was able to fully protect me. It was getting late in the afternoon, and I packed Joey on my back as we headed to the resort. I was still suffering from a lack of sleep, and I knew that after dinner and our customary bottles of wine I would be crashing early.

Annette wanted to cram us all into the small car that the resort owners provided, but I objected due to Joey's condition. As before, Annette and Evelyn headed into the village to secure our dinner and get more bottles of wine. I changed Joey's bandage again and was pleased with her healing progress. She invited me to lie with her on the couch, and she held me as we talked about my decision to disclose the gold mine. I explained that I wanted her in top condition before we proceeded. She had lost valuable workout time, and I realized that it would take weeks to get her rehabilitated. That was no disappointment to me. I was enjoying life to its fullest, and I hoped that I would have nightly visits from Yvonne. Our healing process was incredible, and I never wanted it to end.

Joey kept pulling at my shirt and wanted some play time. I negotiated with her for a few minutes, and we agreed on an acceptable level of activity. I knew that I would probably be answering to Yvonne tonight as it was difficult to stay within our intended boundaries. Playtime with Joey was like jumping from a diving board with the intent to fall only half way to the water. It was nearly impossible. I couldn't stop. This was the closest that Joey and I had ever come, and I was seconds away from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Suddenly, we heard the car pull up in front of the resort, and Joey and I quickly pulled our clothes back on. I was panting heavily and close to exploding when Annette and Evelyn entered with our dinner. Evelyn went back to the car to get the wine, and Annette's eyes locked with mine. I knew I looked incredibly guilty, and I turned away. Joey, on the other hand, was totally in control.

When we opened the wine, my heart was still pounding like a jackhammer, but I did my best to conceal it. Annette kept giving me incriminating glances throughout the evening, and I was beginning to be overwhelmed with shame. I thought that I had made significant progress with Yvonne, but once Joey was reintroduced into the picture I fell like a ton of bricks. I felt hopeless. What was I thinking? How long did I think I could last in this situation? I had to be sure that Joey and I were never left alone again. I realized that it was inevitable, and I needed to do what I could to prevent it.

We finally retired for the evening, and I was somewhat dreading facing Yvonne. Once Evelyn had drifted off to sleep, Annette grasped my hand and pulled me from the bed. She shoved the blankets into my chest and pulled me toward the beach. I could tell that she was upset. She kept silent until we reached the beach and spread the blankets. Annette demanded, "Did you do what I think you did?"

I gave a long sigh. "Almost, I'm afraid. It's a good thing you got back when you did."

"I would give you the spanking of your life, if I didn't think that you'd enjoy it so much. Damn it, Adriel! You need to control yourself. Normally, I wouldn't give a thought about you screwing Joey, but after what I have seen you better behave yourself."

"I know! Don't leave me alone with her anymore. She enjoys our playtime, and I can't resist her."

"She has a long way to go to get back into shape. I'll make sure that you aren't left alone with her, and I don't want you sleeping next to her anymore. I don't want you rubbing her down with oil at the beach or scrubbing her back in the shower. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes, I do. I agree wholeheartedly."

"My god, Adriel, sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting a child." Annette pushed me down on my blanket. "Let's take a nap until Yvonne gets here."

Annette snuggled in close to me and threw her left leg over me. Normally, Annette and I weren't this close, but I didn't mind. We were both so exhausted that we were asleep in minutes. I awoke to Yvonne pulling my clothes off. She began her stimulation as I faintly moaned. Annette was still sleeping by my side. Yvonne slid in beside me on the blanket and looked into my eyes. "Is there something that you want to tell me?"

My eyes welled with tears. "I'm so sorry, Yvonne. I can't seem to help myself when it comes to Joey."

"Adriel, Joey will destroy you. She won't stop you either. Once you start, you won't be able to quit. You will lose Evelyn. You need to understand something, Adriel. If you have sex with Joey, I won't be back. You will be beyond my ability to heal you. You need me to find the gold mine, but I swear to you that I won't return. Don't you dare see this as an opportunity to get out of your contract to find the gold mine. I know how you think. If you understood the gravity behind the little games that you play with her, you would stop immediately. You can fool Annette. You can fool Evelyn. You can even fool yourself, but you cannot and will not fool me. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

I shamefully nodded. "Are we going to make love?"

"That's a silly question, Adriel. Lie back, and I will take it from here." Yvonne made slow, sweet love to me as Annette lightly snored by our side. It was different, but lovely as ever. She gently whispered, "I know about your decision. I also know about your conversation with Annette. Remember, Adriel, nothing is hidden from me." She continued to work me over and over. "I love you, Adriel. Be true to me." I held her tightly as tears fell from my eyes. The melding of our bodies in sweet union overwhelmed me with love and unconditional acceptance. It seemed like hours had passed, and I never wanted our encounter to end. I felt totally surrendered and under her power. She gently whispered, "I'm going to give you something that Joey cannot possibly physically do. Brace yourself." She went to work on me, and I convulsed in rapturous delight over and over and over again. I wasn't sure that my heart could take much more, but she kept on relentlessly pleasuring me beyond anything that I thought possible.

One of my screams of pleasure awakened Annette. She looked over in horror as Yvonne drove me on through realms of ecstasy. Annette screamed, "What are you doing to him?" Yvonne didn't stop. I was nearly ready to beg for mercy, but the pleasure was too wonderful to resist. I was exhausted and continued to moan as she withdrew. Annette was trembling and lay in a fetal position. I rolled back and forth holding my genitals as I continued to moan with the residual sensation.

Yvonne stood beside me on the blanket. "Meet me here again tomorrow night. I will leave you to deal with Annette." Yvonne then disappeared into the darkness.

I scooted over to Annette as I held myself. She grasped a hold of me and buried her face in my neck as she continued to tremble. It took us several minutes to regain our composure. Annette was sobbing. "Oh, Adriel, what was she doing to you?"

"I have no idea. Would you please check to see if I'm still in tact?" Annette scooted down to inspect me. I could feel her tears falling on my upper thighs.

Once she finished, she snuggled in next to me on the blanket. "Everything looks OK. I've never seen anything like that in my life. It was horrifying. Are you all right?"

"I think so. That was far beyond anything that I have ever experienced."

"I don't want to get up, Adriel. Will you hold me?" I pulled Annette in tightly, and we snuggled together on the blanket. We were both asleep within a few minutes. I awoke to Annette shaking my shoulder. "Wake up, Adriel. There is light in the eastern sky. The sun will be up soon. If Evelyn sees us, we will have a lot of explaining to do." We jumped up, grabbed our blankets, and scurried back to the resort.

When we returned, Joey and Evelyn were in the shower. We joined them, and Evelyn asked where we had been. Annette explained that she and I were making plans and didn't want to wake them. Her explanation seemed to satisfy Evelyn, and we all prepared to go down to breakfast. Conversation was light and mundane at the table. Annette gave me a couple of discreet wide eyed looks and shook her head as we finished our espresso. I knew that she couldn't wait to get to the beach and take me aside.

Once we had settled into the sand with our blankets, snacks, wine, and oil, Annette wanted to talk with me in private. Evelyn understood and lay back to soak up more sun. As soon as we were out of earshot, Annette began, "Adriel, I can't think of one person in this world whom I am afraid of, except for Yvonne. She scares the hell out of me. Are you all right? I don't ever want to see something like that again. It was frightening."

"Well, I have no idea what that looked like from your perspective, but the pleasure that she provided was out of this world. As intense as it was, and I wasn't sure I would live through it, I'm kind of looking forward to it again."

"You can come down here by yourself. I'm staying in bed tonight."

"Oh, please, Annette, you can't do that to me. I don't want to come down here alone. Come with me. I'll ask her not to scare you." I nudged Annette and smiled.

"Very funny, Adriel. Seriously, I'd rather not experience that again."

"I doubt that she will go to that extreme again. I don't think that my heart could take it. Besides, we need to talk to her about the gold mine."

"All right, I'll come with you, but I'm not falling asleep down here tonight. That was horrifying to wake up to that."

"Let's go back and try to get some sleep." We held hands as we walked back to our blankets. For the first time in many days, Evelyn wasn't watching me like a hawk. Annette and I caught up on some much needed sleep. Luckily, Evelyn could fall asleep in minutes at any time of day. Joey watched over us to be sure that we didn't burn in the sun, but by now we were so dark that I doubted that could happen. I awoke to Annette scolding Joey for drinking three bottles of wine while we slept. One thing that Annette could never endure was a wine shortage. We ended up leaving the beach a little earlier than usual so that she could go buy more wine and pick up some dinner for tonight. Evelyn offered to go with her, but she insisted on going alone. I understood and appreciated it.

The night progressed as usual. Annette and I slipped out of bed, grabbed our blankets, and headed for the beach. She clung to me the entire way, and we huddled together on our blankets. We had regained enough sleep to stay awake tonight. We talked and enjoyed the stars together as we listened to the surf gently wafting onto the sand. About an hour and a half passed, and we saw a figure approaching from the south. We knew it was Yvonne, and we patiently waited as she meandered her way along the shore toward us. She strolled up and sat down on my blanket. "I'm sorry that I scared you, Annette. You don't need to fear me." Annette silently nodded and hugged me closer. Yvonne turned to me. "You want to talk about the gold mine. I think it's time that I showed you where it is. However, you don't have your phone with you, and I need for you to bring it along to gather the location and GPS coordinates."

"Do you want me to go get it now?"

"Actually, I thought perhaps Annette could go back and get it while you and I spent some time together." Annette jumped up. I knew that she was afraid that Yvonne was going to attack me again. Yvonne looked up at Annette. "Take your time, Annette. We'll be here dealing with unfinished business." Annette wasted no time disappearing toward the resort. Yvonne removed her robe and advanced on me. Annette was gone for quite some time. I was thoroughly enjoying my time with Yvonne, and she was careful not to engage in anything frightening in case Annette might return unnoticed.

Yvonne and I ended our session as usual with an overwhelming finish. We sat and talked as we waited for Annette. I was beginning to think that she had fallen asleep, but we saw her silhouette approaching from the resort. She slowly and carefully descended the rocks. I knew that she was apprehensive. I called to her to let her know that everything was all right. She handed me my phone, and Yvonne looked up at her. "You should go get some sleep, Annette. My time with Adriel will be considerable. I'll have him back in bed by sunrise." Annette said nothing and quickly departed. I reached for my pajama bottoms, but Yvonne pulled me away. "There's no need for them. They will just get in my way. Take my right hand."

I slipped my hand into hers, and we were transported to the golden highway. I had my phone in my right hand, and she walked me with the breeze a few steps. She explained that we needed to explore the dimensions of the gold deposit. She had located it, but had not found the end of the rivers of gold that were hidden below in the rock. It was a strange experience to traverse the rock below in parking mode. I had never done such a thing with Evelyn. The closest we had come was exploring for subterranean rooms in Avignon. I was amazed at how much gold there was in this deposit, and I wondered why no one had ever found it. Once we had located the end of the deposit, we surfaced for me to check my phone's GPS coordinates. However, when I realized where we were I gasped. "Yvonne, this can't be right," I exclaimed.

"Oh, I assure you that it is. Listen, you cannot record the GPS coordinates, so you will have to memorize them. It is imperative that no one can learn the location of this mine without depending on you." I thought of Joey's eidetic memory and wished I could rely on it. We went over the coordinates time after time until I thought that I could recite them in my sleep. We had found four corners that encompassed ninety-five percent of the gold deposit. It had taken hours, but she had walked us slightly into the future. She understood the time correlation on the golden highway and knew that we needed more time than the night allowed. She then asked for my phone, which she dropped into a cavern below the gold deposit. "You can't bring it back with you. It's traceable."

Before I knew it, I was back in bed beside Annette. She turned and opened her eyes. "Are you all right," she asked.

"I'm fine," I whispered. "She kept my phone. I had to memorize the coordinates of the gold deposit. She warned me not to disclose them to anyone."

"Is she coming back tomorrow night?"

"I don't know. She didn't say, but if she does she knows where to find me."

Annette kissed me on my lips and pulled the sheet over me. "Get some rest," she encouraged. She put her left arm around me and pulled me close.

Annette and I had formed a much closer bond in the last few days. She was like a very close sister to me. I thought about times past when she had frightened me so much, but I realized they were times of extreme emotion and desperation. Annette had a lot of wonderful attributes. I was hoping that we had a good future together.

I awoke to Joey pulling Annette and me apart. She didn't want Evelyn to see us entwined beneath the sheet, especially in my morning condition. Annette moaned and rolled over, and Joey pulled me in next to her. I thought the new arrangement was far more dangerous, and I tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let me. I was relying on the fact that we were all together, and nothing was going to escalate beyond my control. I soon dozed off again in Joey's arms.

When I awoke the next morning, I was holding Evelyn from behind. I gave a sigh of relief, and I was ready to start the day. Joey offered to shower with me, but I declined and woke Evelyn. Annette finally began to stir, and we all started our daily routine. I was uncertain how much information I should share, but I thought everyone needed to know that the gold had been located. I still wanted Joey in top condition before we proceeded any further. I didn't know if Yvonne would come and instruct me, or if I had to figure it out on my own. I assumed the latter.

After breakfast, we gathered our things for the beach. We had much to discuss. I took Joey's hand, and she navigated the rocks on her own two feet. She was improving, and I knew that she would be diligent to regain her capabilities. I had let everyone know at breakfast that there had been a major breakthrough. Everyone was eager to discuss the situation and our plans to proceed. It had been a long journey, and there was much ahead of us. I could hardly believe that my goal had been reached. However, there was a major concern in how I was to disclose the facts. My life was on the line, and I knew it.

We spread out our blankets, stripped off our clothes, rubbed down with oil, opened six bottles of wine, and sat down facing one another for a discussion. Annette filled everyone's glass even though it wasn't even noon. I could see that this was going to be a fun day regardless of the gravity of my situation. Yvonne had warned me not to disclose the location of the gold deposit. Everyone appreciated not knowing the location because we were aware that various groups existed who would torture anyone to get the information. We could implicitly trust one another, and we weren't in any hurry to disclose our progress.

Evelyn had been unaware of my visits with Yvonne and Annette. I was delicately trying to explain some of the events that led to my knowledge of the coordinates. I was obviously omitting my healing sessions with Yvonne. There's no way she could understand without being there. I could tell that she was somewhat hurt and disappointed that she hadn't been instrumental in finding the gold, but I assured her that she was. I could never have met Yvonne without Evelyn. At least, that's the way it appeared anyway. I knew that there was so much about that realm that I had yet to discover.

Annette was a great help in consoling Evelyn about Yvonne. She assured Evelyn that Yvonne was no one to be jealous of, and that she truly was a part of me. She also encouraged Evelyn that trying to explain it was much more difficult and confusing than experiencing it. She promised to watch over me in case we had any more late night visits. Again, I could see the injury to Evelyn's feelings that she had been left out. Thankfully, she only knew a fragment of what had happened.

Annette was giddy with excitement because her agency was going to be awarded the compensation for keeping me safe until the gold was found. Agents weren't motivated by money because the agency provided anything that they wanted. It gave agents the lifestyle that they desired without the concerns of managing their finances. I was beginning to see the wisdom in their operation. However, Annette would be recognized for the significant accomplishment on this project, and it would skyrocket her career within the agency. Her hope was to keep our closely knit team intact.

Annette began to outline the danger to my life. As mentioned, there were groups who would torture me to get the coordinates to the gold. There were others who would murder me before I could disclose the coordinates. No matter what the motives or goals were, it ultimately ended in my demise. She painted a grim picture of my future, and Evelyn was getting very uneasy as Annette's lips grew looser with more wine. I stepped in to divert the conversation to establish a plan to disclose the coordinates of the gold.

Yvonne warned me not to record the coordinates, but instead memorize them to keep them safe. I wasn't sure how we were going to relay the information, but I was sure that I didn't want to do it in person. We had plenty of time to decide how we would complete the project. Joey needed several weeks to convalesce and rebuild her abilities. We broke to sprawl in the sun, and I exercised Joey's left leg as she lay on her back. Evelyn eventually pulled me down to enjoy some intimacy, and we dozed off in the sun for a while.

When I awoke, Evelyn and Annette were still sleeping. Joey was sitting next to me watching the ships pass in the distance. She lay down, scooted in close, and kissed me. There were times when I felt in control when I was with her, but there were also times when I felt an overwhelming desire to make love to her. I was trying to understand the differences. It didn't matter how much sex I had experienced, so it wasn't the need to engage in intercourse. I remembered Yvonne's warning. She said that if I succumbed to the desires for Joey that I would be beyond her ability to heal me. I wasn't sure what that meant, but she also said that she wouldn't be back, and that concerned me more than anything. I kept that thought in the forefront of my mind as Joey licked my lips. Finally, Evelyn stirred, and Joey rolled over on her back.

Annette sat up, squinted, looked around for the bag with our snacks, and started pulling out bread and cheese and pouring more wine. Within minutes, we were engaged in eating, drinking, and discussing our evening together. Joey was devising an exercise plan for her and me. I was concerned because it was requiring more time for me to be with her, possibly alone. Evelyn appeared to be handling things well, but I knew that she was doing her best to hide her consternation over my safety.

Annette began to voice her growing concern over the fact that I was the only one who held the coordinates to the gold. She was concerned that if something happened to me between now and when Joey had fully recuperated, the project would be a failure. She suggested putting the coordinates into an agency lockbox where they would be safe and require two digital keys for access. I thought that sounded like a good way to pass the coordinates at the appropriate time, but I also knew that as long as I was the only one who knew where the gold was, it would ensure everyone's diligence to keep me safe. I wasn't going to violate Yvonne's instructions, so I declined Annette's proposal.

Our day had progressed as usual. Joey and I were to begin an exercise regimen tomorrow. I lay between Annette and Evelyn on my back in bed as I reviewed my current situation. My frustration over finding the gold had been resolved. However, it was replaced with my concern with waiting for Joey's recovery and the means by which I would transfer the information. Annette had mentioned the agency lockbox. The boxes were virtually indestructible and impenetrable. A sophisticated software algorithm was used with two digital keys to unlock the box. I was impossible to hack. However, I was awaiting Yvonne's instructions. I was uncomfortable making decisions on my own. She may be me, but she knows a lot of things that I do not.

Everyone had drifted off to sleep. I suddenly became aware of Yvonne standing next to the bed. I hadn't seen her arrive, and I wondered how long she had been there. She held out her hand. I had to scoot down off the end of the bed in order not to disturb anyone. Yvonne was naked and stripped off my pajamas. I took her hand, and we departed to the golden highway. She asked where I wanted to go. I told her it didn't matter. Suddenly, we were in bed between Annette and Evelyn, and Yvonne was on top of me. She smiled down at me. My answer had been foolish. It did matter. My world was exceeding small at this point. I had no home nor anywhere to go. I suggested that we go back to the beach. We grabbed a blanket and departed.

Yvonne pulled me down to the blanket. "We have a lot to discuss, but first we need to deal with your healing." I wasn't sure how much healing for my life was going to be necessary, but I certainly didn't object. After a couple of hours, she rolled over on her back and pulled me in close. "We have a lot to talk about. First, you need to take Evelyn with you to find a red flag to place it at Annette's pool in Cannes. It's important that you do this."

"Oh, I had totally forgotten about that."

"I know, but it's important. Certain things must happen that affect the future. Your life is in serious danger. It's probably a good thing that you are unaware. However, there are important things that you need to understand. I will do the best that I can to prolong your life, but I am very limited. Most of what I can do is make you aware of things that would likely get you killed sooner. Our immediate goal is to keep you alive long enough to deliver the coordinates to the appropriate contact."

"I assumed that Annette would handle that."

"That may or may not be true. It depends on what happens between now and then. The major problem that you are facing at the moment is that you can't trust anyone."

"I understand that. We are lying low until Joey recuperates, and then we will proceed cautiously."

"No, you don't understand. Let's start with Joey. She would fuck you and ruin your life without a second thought. She would assassinate you if she had the agency directive. She's like a programmed robot who is dedicated only to the agency. She has no moral or emotional principles. She cannot understand your pain, fear, jealousy, love, anger, or any other emotion that you might want to share or receive consolation. Her only dedication to you is due to the project assignment that she received from the agency. She will indulge you like a piece of candy and throw you away like the wrapper. You mean nothing more to her than that."

"That's probably true," I admitted.

"Oh, Adriel, that's not a probably; that's a definitely. Next, let's consider Annette. Her main goal is to be successful on this project. She will do whatever it takes to comply with the project directive to keep you safe until the gold is located. Once the location of the gold deposit has been disclosed, her protection for you comes to an end. Her life, career, and future will continue without you. You may think that she wants to keep you all together, but I can guarantee you she only says that to string you along. She's holding a carrot to keep you on track, nothing more. So, be very careful to keep those coordinates to yourself with no possibility of anyone learning them."

I gave a long sigh. "I'm sure you're right."

"I'm glad that you can see that. Now, let's talk about Evelyn. She will do anything to save you for herself. She cares nothing about the project, Annette, or Joey. Her undivided focus is keeping you by her side. She doesn't want you disclosing the coordinates, ever. She knows that when you do, your life won't be worth a plug nickel. She has her best interests at heart, not yours. Only when your best interests coincide with hers, is she ever on your side. You cannot trust anyone on your team to be objective because they all have their own interests."

"I think that you may be a little harsh toward Evelyn."

"I'm being truthful, Adriel. There is something very important that you need to understand, and it's going to be extremely difficult for you in the near future if you don't. I am the only person whom you can trust in this project. Never forget that. There are some really difficult times ahead of you, and you are going to need to trust me completely. Your life depends on it."

"You told me that finding the gold would cost me my life. So, what does it matter?"

"Adriel, there are things worse than death. You need to trust me, and me only."

I awoke before everyone else. What a night! Yvonne was demanding my undying devotion of trust to her alone. I thought it was odd that she never mentioned the Creator. I had always put my trust in him, or at least I intended to trust him. Her healing sessions were changing me. I could see that. However, it wasn't monumental but subtle. There was something suspicious about her. I remembered the time when Evelyn had been taken and had to endure the medical examination when she returned. Annette had explained to me about a brainwashing technique that was used to control enemy agents. It was induced by extreme sexual pleasure. I wondered if I were suffering such a thing. Yet what I enjoyed with Yvonne couldn't really be construed as sex. It's just the only explanation that fits, but it's wrong. This was something out of this world. I realized that she knew exactly what I was thinking right now. I knew that she heard every conversation that I had. She knew me completely. She said that I could fool myself, but not her. She appeared to have many of the attributes of the Creator, but she adamantly denied that she was part of him. I needed a more objective opinion.

That day at the beach I decided to pull Annette to the side to have a conversation about Yvonne. It was much easier these days to have a private conversation with her. I'm sure that Evelyn thought we were talking about the gold and how to deal with our objectives. I grabbed a blanket and invited her to lie with me close to the surf. Naturally, Annette snagged three bottles of wine and some bread to take along. Evelyn had dozed off on her blanket, and I turned to Annette. "I'm having a difficult time dealing with the concept of Yvonne."

"Who isn't, Adriel?" Annette offered me a hunk of bread and a glass of wine.

"You've met her. What do you think about her?"

"She's one scary bitch; I'll tell you that, but she's attractive and provocative. If I didn't know who she was, I'd jump on her in a heartbeat."

"But do you really think she is who she says she is? My perspective is very subjective. She knows everything that I think. She's aware of our conversation right now. I just wondered what you thought about her. You're the only one who has met her."

Annette sighed and thought for a moment. "Well, she's definitely not of this world. The other night you had me check you down there to see if you were still all right. The strange thing is that I don't think she was really doing anything to your genitals. I know that sounds strange, but I can't describe what I saw. It was almost as though she had your internal organs out or something. I know she didn't, but I can't describe it in words. She depicted herself as one of your body parts. That makes sense from what I have seen, but it doesn't make sense when you think of it in the terms of this world. I don't think we can understand it."

"Do you think that I should trust her?"

"Honestly, Adriel, I don't see what choice you have. She showed you where the gold is located. She seems to give good advice to you to keep you safe. Maybe you should have Joey meet her to see what she thinks."

"She strictly warned me about Joey. I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Actually, that may be a better idea than you think. Observe how they interact. It might be enlightening."

"You may be right." Evelyn was still napping. Joey was watching me, as usual. I waved her over to us. She hopped up and strolled across the sand. I could see that she was getting around much better. She slid in next to me and put her arm around me.

Annette began to explain. "Joey, as Adriel's personal bodyguard I want you to meet someone to get your opinion. She's the woman that Adriel has been seeing at night. He's not sure if he can trust her." Joey nodded and hugged me tightly. Annette turned to me. "Adriel, do you think you'll be all right to come down here tonight alone with Joey?" I smiled and nodded. I knew that I would behave myself if there was a chance that Yvonne would show.

Joey and I began our workout routine at the beach. We located several rocks of different sizes to use as free weights. We had created a veritable gymnasium on the sand. It was fun to work through the routines with Joey. Some of our activities were very similar to the ones that we employed in Cannes. There were a few times that I was afraid that I might hurt her leg, but she assured me that I needed to apply the pressure. We played the game where she picked a grass shoot from my mouth without touching me. I had to block or dodge her. I got a point if she touched me, and she got a point for every time she successfully grabbed the grass without touching me. Each game was played until one of us reached twenty-one. The best score I ever had in Cannes was three, but today I had gotten up to eleven points. I knew it wasn't my improved skill, but it was her need to regain her abilities. She wanted to stay at the beach with me after Annette and Evelyn went back to the resort, but I didn't trust us together, so we left with them.

Annette wanted company as she went into the village to buy our dinner. I was afraid to be alone with Joey, so I went with her. We were in a remote place in Italy, and no one spoke English. Annette was very comfortable speaking Italian. After all, her lover was Italian, and she knew several languages as well. I could pick out a few passing words, but that was the best I could do. We decided on a seafood soup that was absolutely delectable. It had several kinds of shellfish and squid in it. We also bought some linguini with a clam sauce, bread, wine, and four salads. As we drove back to the resort, I wondered what the interaction was between Joey and Evelyn. They were never alone together in a waking state. Joey wasn't really a conversationalist. I giggled to myself because she sometimes seemed like a piece of furniture with no expression or emotion. Evelyn wasn't particularly talkative either. I imagined that they probably didn't exchange a single word in our absence.

However, I got a surprise when we returned. Joey was showing Evelyn some basic self defense techniques. Evelyn was enjoying the game that Joey was playing where Evelyn would do her best to hit Joey, but Joey would dodge or block her. It was fun to watch, and I knew that it was part of Joey's rehabilitation. Joey may have slowed down a bit since her injury, but she was still as fast as lightning. We shared dinner and enjoyed several more bottles of wine. The nearby vineyard was wonderful. The wines weren't nearly as strong as the commercial exports which was fortunate. Otherwise, we would have been plastered the whole time.

Night had fallen, and I was waiting for Evelyn to fall asleep. I was apprehensive about taking Joey to the beach to meet Yvonne. I wasn't sure that she would meet with us. She definitely knew our intentions. She knew everything, which means she knew about my apprehensions concerning her. Evelyn began to lightly snore. Joey and I slipped out of bed and snagged a blanket. We carefully descended the rocks in the dark and spread the blanket in our usual spot. Joey liked to sit and hold me from behind. It reminded me of our time on the beach in Mozambique when we awaited the yacht that Annette had chartered for us. As always, I felt so safe in her arms.

Joey spotted Yvonne approaching. I started to get up, but Joey held me tightly. I relaxed in her arms as Yvonne walked up to our blanket. Joey let loose, and we stood to face Yvonne. Joey looked into Yvonne's eyes and then over at me. She looked back to Yvonne and then over at me. She appeared to be confused. Yvonne stepped forward and embraced Joey. She put her forehead and nose against Joey's and gazed into her eyes. She then tilted her head slightly and began kissing Joey very sensually. Their tongues teased one another, and Yvonne kissed and gently sucked Joey's lips and tongue. After about a minute, Yvonne took a step back. "Who am I, Joey?"

Without hesitation, Joey replied, "You're Adriel."

Yvonne then turned to me and smiled. "Adriel, there is something exciting that I'm very tempted to do. However, it's not in your best interests. The reason that I am telling you this is because you should realize that I have temptations too. The difference is that I can plainly see the ramifications to my actions, but many times you cannot. Therefore, at this point in time, I will refrain, but I will look for an opportunity to accomplish what I want." I didn't know what Yvonne meant by her statement, but my head was swimming with possibilities, and I knew that she was aware of what I was thinking. "What you don't realize is that Joey is experiencing something far different from what you may think she is. For one thing, she sees me very differently than Annette does because Joey has an emotional disorder. You are trying to gain a perspective of me from three different vantage points. Each of them is tremendously diverse. It's amusingly like the three blind men who wanted to understand what an elephant was. One touched the leg and said that it was like a tree. Another touched the tail and said it was like a rope. The third touched the trunk and said it was like a hose. My temptation is to show you something that I should not show you right now."

Yvonne dropped her robe to the ground. Joey took a deep breath, looked her up and down, and took a step back. Yvonne approached me and pulled my clothes off. In seconds, we were engaged in another healing session on the blanket while Joey intently observed. Joey was lying next to me on the blanket and had her hand on my back. It seemed like hours passed before Yvonne was willing to let me go. The end was as sensational as ever. Yvonne stood, put her robe back on, and walked away. I was still trying to recover from the extreme pleasure. I looked over at Joey. She seemed to exhibit a slight level of shock. "That's nothing like what you do with Evelyn." I was now wondering what it was that Annette and Joey saw. It was the tree, the rope, and the hose.

Joey stripped off her clothes and pulled me on top of her. I objected, "Joey, what are you doing?"

"Please, do to me what Yvonne does to you." Joey held me tightly.

"I can't. I don't know how. I just know how to make love."

"No, I don't want that. I want what you do with Yvonne."

"Joey, I really don't know what that is. We really need to get back to the others."

Joey released me in an instant. Yvonne was standing over us. I didn't know what to say. We hadn't done anything. I started to defend myself, but Yvonne motioned for me to be quiet. She dropped her robe and sat facing Joey and me on the blanket. This was the closest thing to fear that I had ever seen on Joey's face. Yvonne extended her hands. We all held hands together. Still Yvonne did not speak. For the first time ever, I saw a tear form in Joey's right eye. Yvonne pulled her close and kissed the tear. Joey's eyes flooded. I couldn't believe my eyes. Joey wept as she hung her head. I never thought such a thing was possible. Yvonne looked deeply into my eyes with empathy. I couldn't understand what was happening.

As Joey wept, Yvonne began to explain. "This isn't what I meant when I said that I wanted to show you something, but it is related. Joey has a dire need for healing, but her disorder has prevented her from connecting to the healing process. Her emotions are like a very dry sponge. It doesn't soften immediately when you submerge it in water. I had to return to save you. What I did to Joey was unfair, but it was inevitable. You are the one who brought her here. She so desperately needs what she witnessed between us. She would have continued to demand healing, but all you could have done was make love to her. That would have caused her more harm and you as well."

Yvonne pulled Joey into her arms. Joey sobbed as her head was nestled into Yvonne's neck. I had seen Joey's emotional response to the exposure of the portal, but this was very different. The portal caused extreme passion, but what I was observing was a pain and sadness. Yvonne stroked Joey's hair as she continued to weep. Joey must have cried for at least half an hour before she began to settle. Yvonne was kissing and caressing Joey the entire time. She pulled Joey down onto the blanket and kissed her lips over and over. Joey responded, and Yvonne climbed on top of her. Tears were still streaming from Joey's eyes. Yvonne gently promised, "Joey, I can't give you the healing that you need, but I know who can. Please be patient because as your friend I will make sure that you have every opportunity." Joey nodded her head.

Yvonne then sat up and looked over to me. "I have so much to teach you, and now that this has happened we will need to escalate your learning. You have complicated things by bringing Joey here to me, but that's all right. We will deal with it. It's not a serious problem. However, you have now made your relationship with Joey much more difficult. You need me, Adriel. Control yourself." Yvonne donned her robe and walked away. I sat with Joey in my arms as she dried her eyes. She kissed me several times, but this was different from our play time. She was expressing true emotion. I was beginning to understand Yvonne's statement. It was time to get back to the others.

The next day at the beach, I was trying to determine how to explain to Annette what had happened to Joey. I decided to let Joey explain it from her perspective. We waited until Evelyn fell asleep in the sunshine and pulled a blanket a few meters away. We kept our voices down so that we didn't disturb Evelyn. As Joey began her explanation to Annette, she sat behind me and wrapped her arms around me. I could see the mounting concern on Annette's face as Joey caressed me and recounted the incident from last night. Joey was periodically kissing my neck and cheek as she continued her story.

Annette was now alarmed. "Joey, let loose of Adriel."

Joey protested, "But why?"

I was dumbfounded. Never in a million years would Joey ever question a direction from Annette. Joey was showing an opposition due to something that she wanted. This had never been a characteristic that I had seen before. Annette demanded, "I said let loose of him!" Annette grabbed Joey's arm and pulled hard. Joey broke free and held me tighter.

I had to intervene. "OK, let's take a deep breath here. Something obviously has changed, but let's not overreact."

Annette was fuming. "You don't get it, Adriel. If Joey is starting to have emotions, it's going to change everything. One of the principal reasons I chose her was because of her disorder."

"I understand that, but this could be much like the portal experience. It could be temporary, you know. We're at a dangerous juncture in this project, and we can't afford to suffer dissension."

"Oh, yeah, let's see what Evelyn thinks when she sees this."

My shoulders fell. "You're right. This does change a lot. Yvonne mentioned that it had complicated things by taking Joey to meet her. She said that she had a lot to teach me."

Annette admitted, "OK, that's my fault. It was my idea for Joey to meet Yvonne. I never dreamed that it would have an impact like this on her. I don't get it. I don't see how Yvonne could affect Joey's disorder."

Joey was clutching me like a frightened child holding a Teddy bear. "Yvonne said that it had something to do with Joey witnessing the healing process. She said that you and Joey saw her very differently. She used an analogy of three blind men trying to understand what an elephant was." Annette gave me a confused look, and I explained the story.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do, Adriel. You need to contact Yvonne to see if there's any way to get Joey back to normal."

"I think you mean abnormal, but I understand."

"Adriel, this isn't like just having Joey become like everyone else. It's like giving a drink to an alcoholic. Joey doesn't know how to resist or deal with emotion. She has no experience in that realm. Her emotional maturity is going to be infantile."

I could feel Joey's pulse and breathing increase, and I knew that she was getting angry. I asked Annette to give us a few minutes alone. Annette shook her head in disgust and returned to Evelyn's blanket. Annette was right. We couldn't afford the possible volatile reactions from an emotional Joey. I had Joey express what she was feeling. I explained to her that emotions can often feel overwhelming, but we always have the ability to choose. She immediately brought up my inability to resist her the night that we had been left alone. Touché! I was a bad example of control. I promised that I would speak with Yvonne tonight to see what we could do. She insisted on coming with me. I thought that was a terrible idea, but there was no way I could stop her.

I was hoping that we could get through the afternoon and evening without alarming Evelyn. There was a distinct difference in the way that Joey was treating me, and Evelyn would notice in an instant. Luckily, Joey had been quiet and distant from Evelyn during the morning. It was a bit unusual, but not alarmingly so. My fear was that Joey was now feeling jealousy toward Evelyn, and I had no idea how to deal with it. To make matters worse, Joey was going to want more time with me, and when Evelyn learned how things had changed, it would be impossible. I realized that it was all due to what Joey witnessed between Yvonne and me. It wasn't the physical attraction. It was the misappropriation of her feelings due to her need for healing. Joey couldn't interpret what she was feeling. Perhaps Yvonne could somehow help her understand.

I asked Joey if I could speak with Annette alone, but she objected. I wasn't used to this. I motioned for Annette to come back over. She sat down, and I explained that we were going back to talk with Yvonne tonight. Annette had another idea. "You know, Adriel, at first I didn't think that it was a good idea for Evelyn to know too much about Yvonne, but after seeing you two together it might not be a bad idea to have Evelyn come along."

"Actually, Annette, I don't think I could do that. I think having others with me has been a problem. The healing process is very personal, and I think having others around complicates everything. I'd like to meet with Yvonne by myself, but Joey is insistent on coming with me."

Annette sighed. "Really, Adriel, I'd rather that you didn't go out alone. Joey is here to protect you. I just hope that it won't make matters worse." She turned to Joey. "I apologize if I upset you, Joey. Your emotions are new for me too." I nudged Joey, and she acknowledged Annette's apology. We returned to where Evelyn was sleeping.

I wasn't sure how to handle the evening. I didn't want Evelyn near Joey and me, and I didn't want to be alone with Joey. One thing was for sure, this new dilemma had taken my mind off of my problems with the gold. Annette suggested that Joey and I go into the village to buy our dinner. I knew how to get there, and Joey spoke the language. I figured that it would get us away from Evelyn, and we would be less likely to do something that we shouldn't if we were going to get dinner.

However, a new problem presented itself. I had driven about thirty meters when I realized that I had forgotten to bring any money. I stopped the car and ran back to get some euros from Annette. Unfortunately, I walked in on Annette and Evelyn in a very compromising situation. Evelyn burst into tears, and Annette started to apologize. My life seemed so upside down. I ignored Annette's explanation and asked her for the money. I left without another word. I knew this was coming, but I thought it was further down the road. I didn't tell Joey what I saw. Joey asked if I was upset with her, but I assured her that I wasn't. At least it had relieved my consternation over Evelyn seeing Joey's attentiveness to me. Everyone was unusually silent during dinner. Here we were, nearing the end of the project, and everything seemed to be falling apart.

After dinner, it had occurred to me that I had forgotten about placing the red flag at Annette's pool in Cannes. I explained that Evelyn and I needed to hop over to Annette's and put a flag by the pool. However, I needed to find a red flag first. This turned out to be far simpler than it sounded. Joey insisted on coming along. We stepped onto the golden highway, popped over to a hardware store in our home town, purchased a red flag, stepped over to Annette's residence in Cannes, secured the flag, and we were back all within the span of twenty minutes. Our capabilities were incredible.

Evelyn wanted to get me alone to talk, but it was nearly impossible with Joey. I couldn't get used to her newly found emotions. I hadn't realized how convenient it was with her disorder. It was getting to be more than I could bear. I had the secret coordinates to the gold, which I needed to figure out when and how to disclose. I also had a death sentence due to my compliance to find the gold. My wife was having an affair with one of my good friends. I had an emotionally retarded killing machine clinging to me. My golden highway counterpart was invading my life with inexplicable experiences that no one could understand, not even myself. If there were ever a time that I wished I would wake up from this bad dream, it was now. However, I knew it was no dream.

I was exhausted. I wanted to go to sleep. Joey clung to me as I got ready for bed and collapsed onto the sheets. Evelyn and Annette soon joined us. The tension in the air was thick, but I wanted to sleep to escape. I finally awoke just before dawn. I looked around. I was between Joey and Evelyn. I hadn't gone down to the beach, and Yvonne had not come to visit me. I wondered if I had done something to cause her to stay away. She said that she had a lot to teach me. I definitely felt like I needed a lot of healing. Evelyn opened her eyes and gave me a soulful look. She reached for me, but Joey pulled me in close. I shook my head to let Evelyn know that's not what I wanted. I was beginning to despair.

# **CHAPTER NINETEEN**

# **_TERMINATION_**

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Evelyn and I needed to talk in private, but Joey wasn't allowing us to be alone together. It was impossible to remove Joey's grip on me. She had become obsessively possessive of me since her emotions had been invoked. She wasn't even allowing me to sleep next to Evelyn anymore. Joey wasn't hiding her affection toward me, and I knew that she was taunting Evelyn with the some of the things that she would do. I could tell by Evelyn's actions that she had resigned to the fact that I was going to end up with Joey. I knew that she was embarrassed and remorseful for her involvement with Annette. I wanted to give her encouragement and let her know that I wanted to work things out with her. So far, I hadn't had the chance. Joey was making sure of that.

It had been four days since I had seen Yvonne. I was wondering what had happened to keep her away. I still had not succumbed to Joey's advances. I didn't want to risk losing Yvonne either. She said that she had much to teach me and that she needed to escalate my learning, but she hadn't returned. Annette was sheepish toward me since I had caught her with Evelyn. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her either because Joey was basically keeping me all to herself. She wouldn't let Evelyn or Annette shower with us anymore, and she kept a tight rein on me at the beach as well. We were all afraid of her. Her abilities were returning quickly, and everyone knew that she could snap a neck in a split second. No one wanted to upset her because we weren't sure of what she might do when provoked. Therefore, we were walking on eggshells around her.

She was getting aggressive, and I explained to her that Yvonne had promised to help her get the opportunity for healing. However, if we engaged in sexual intercourse Yvonne assured me that she wouldn't return. This helped keep Joey somewhat at bay, but she insisted on me performing certain tasks to please her. These expectations continued from morning until night. As hurt as I was to learn of Evelyn's affair, I felt sorry for her because Joey was rubbing her nose in our relationship. To add to the frustration, I needed to discuss with Annette how we were going to disclose the coordinates to the gold deposit, but Joey wasn't allowing that either. Something had to give.

In spite of the tension and discord that our group was suffering, we all continued to eat together. I announced during dinner that I intended to go to the beach during the night to see if Yvonne would come to me. Everyone knew that meant that Joey would accompany me. As apprehensive as I was to leave Evelyn and Annette alone in bed, I didn't have any other ideas. I was at the mercy of Yvonne, and I needed some answers. As bedtime approached, I decided to grab two bottles of wine, a blanket, and head to the beach.

Joey held me tightly as we descended the rocks to the sand below. We spread the blanket and opened the wine. Joey advanced on me, and we were engaged in an intimate interlude that included everything except coitus. What interested me the most was the fact that in the past I would have been overwhelmed with passion. However, since her emotions had been activated I was more fearful than aroused. This helped me greatly in my control to resist. Joey was growing frustrated because I was avoiding penetration. I knew I was going to lose the battle. In the nick of time, Yvonne appeared.

She startled Joey, who scooted behind me and held me tightly. Yvonne removed her robe and sat on the blanket. She reached for me, but Joey blocked her hand. Yvonne moved closer, and Joey became more aggressive. I was getting concerned because I was fairly sure that Joey was unaware that if she killed Yvonne I would die. Yvonne scooted back a couple of feet out of reach. I could feel Joey's heart racing, and I knew that she was getting upset.

Yvonne very calmly addressed Joey. "Joey, I know that you want to experience what you saw between Adriel and me. I know that your new emotions are very difficult for you to interpret. I came here tonight to give you a chance for healing, but I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?"

Joey didn't answer. I turned my head and kissed her. "Joey, you can trust her." Joey retained her tight grip on me.

Yvonne continued. "Right now you are expecting Adriel to give you what you want and need, but Adriel is unable to do that. I know that you expect his lovemaking to fulfill you, but I also know that as many times as he has pleasured you, you still feel the same needs. I am here to give you what you really need. Please take my hand." I could feel Joey's grip relax. I encouraged her again to trust Yvonne. Joey reached out and grasped Yvonne's extended left hand. "You need to release Adriel now, Joey." Joey was resistant.

I encouraged, "It's all right, Joey. I'm staying right here."

Joey released her grip on me, and Yvonne led her to move about a foot from me. Once Joey had broken contact with me, they both disappeared. I was shocked. I had no idea that Yvonne had that capability. I knew that as my counterpart she could escort me, but I didn't know that she could take anyone else. I waited as minutes passed. I walked the shore to see if I could locate them. It was dark and quiet except for the gentle sound of the surf. I hadn't been alone for quite some time. It felt so strange and frightening but wonderful. Hours passed, and I had no idea when they might return. I decided to go back to the resort.

I was afraid of what I might see when I entered the bedroom, but Evelyn and Annette were asleep. Annette awoke as I climbed into bed. She squinted and looked around. Joey wasn't clinging to me, and she sat up in shock. "Where's Joey?"

"Yvonne took her."

"What?! How is that possible? What do you mean Yvonne took her? Did they go for a walk?"

"No, she disappeared with her. I assume they are on the golden highway."

"Did you know that she could do that?"

"I had no clue. I was as surprised as you are."

"Are they coming back?"

"She didn't say. I waited around alone on the beach for over an hour before I came back here. They have been gone for a while."

Annette shook Evelyn. "Evelyn wake up! Joey is gone."

Evelyn looked around and tried to collect herself. "What?" Evelyn looked at me and noticed that I was alone. She shot up in bed. "Joey's gone?"

"Yes, Yvonne took her," I explained.

The three of us reveled in a few moments of relief, and then Annette said, "You and Evelyn need to talk. I'm going to start some coffee. Take your time. I'll be on the couch." Annette scooted off the bed and left the room.

Evelyn jumped into my arms and we both wept as we held one another. "Oh, Adriel, I am so, so, so sorry. Let me explain."

I interrupted, "Before you do, just let me say that I forgive you, and I want us to work things out."

Evelyn kissed me over and over as we wept together. "Adriel what you saw was the only time I have ever done anything with Annette. I swear. My emotions were on edge, and I knew that you and Joey were having an affair. Annette was missing Gina. It was the perfect storm."

"Evelyn, we can discuss all of that later. Joey's condition has made it impossible. I don't know if or when she will be back, but I need to take full advantage of the time that I have. I need to coordinate with Annette to send the gold deposit coordinates to the Treasury Department. We're running out of time." Evelyn pulled me down onto the bed and begged to make love. She was emotionally distraught, and I knew how much she needed the intimacy. It was one of our most fantastic encounters ever due to the extreme emotion that we both felt. Annette told us to take our time, and we did.

I needed to clear the air with Annette and determine how we would transfer the information for the coordinates. I wished that we knew how much time we had, but I had no clue. We emerged from the bedroom and met Annette on the couch. Annette was patiently waiting as she sipped her coffee. I poured coffee for Evelyn and me, and we took a seat next to Annette.

Annette began to gush with apology. "Adriel, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

I stopped Annette. "Look, I knew this was coming, so it wasn't a complete shock. I'd rather that we dealt with all of this later because right now we need to take advantage of our opportunity to disclose the coordinates of the gold deposit. I had been waiting for Joey to recover, but since her emotions have entered the picture I need to move as quickly as possible. How long will it take to get a lockbox?"

"I can have one ready within half an hour. We can use the golden highway to go get it. Just make sure that you don't close the box. They will give me one digital key, and the other will be sent by courier to whomever I designate. Once you write down the coordinates, we can put them in the box and seal it."

"Well, I guess this is it. We should send the other key to the contact at the Treasury Department. I don't know who that is, but I'm sure you can find out."

"I know who is supposed to receive it. I don't know when Joey will be back, but once I make the phone call for the lockbox we will need to relocate. They can trace me, and I don't trust anyone at this point."

"I can't believe that it's happening like this. It isn't what I had pictured. Let's choose our next location before you call for the lockbox."

Evelyn, Annette, and I began to contemplate where we might go from here. I wanted someplace warm with sunshine. They both agreed. Annette expressed a concern for possibly leaving Joey behind, but I knew that Yvonne could find me no matter where I was. Annette began to search for another location in the South Pacific while Evelyn and I discussed our future. I was hoping that Joey would get the healing that Yvonne promised and that she wouldn't be so obsessed with me. I explained to Evelyn that Joey and I had not actually had intercourse. She found it hard to believe, but she was finally relieved.

I remembered what Yvonne said about not trusting anyone but her. I wondered if I were doing the right thing. If Joey returned before I could dispatch the coordinates, she would prevent me if she monopolized me. I couldn't take that chance. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure that it would work. I would need to see Yvonne in the next few hours. I had no idea if that would happen. I knew that once the coordinates were put into the lockbox that whoever held the key would be the one in control. I had to make sure that was me. Otherwise, my life was over.

It took Annette an hour to complete the research for our new location. The sun was beginning to rise, and I feared that Joey would walk through the door at any moment. I made sure that Evelyn stayed close in order to step us onto the highway in case Joey returned. It's the only way that I could escape her. Annette called for the lockbox. The agency departments were open around the clock. Evelyn and I needed to step Annette over to Washington, D. C. to the agency technology center to sign it out. It could only be released to a registered agent. They would be ready for us in fifteen minutes. She had one of the digital keys designated for the contact at the Treasury Department. We took the remainder of our time to let the owners of the resort know that we were vacating.

It was time to retrieve the lockbox. I asked Annette where our new location would be. She hadn't successfully found a place without cameras, so she booked another yacht from the same company that she had done for Joey and me to travel to Egypt. She made sure that it was a different crew. The yacht was waiting off shore in Sydney Australia. She explained that we would meet them there. Annette had secured a water taxi that we would catch at a wharf in Sydney. We couldn't just appear on the yacht.

We reviewed our plans one more time. The sequence was essential. Annette would send an emergency text to the contact at the Treasury Department who was designated to receive the GPS coordinates of the gold deposit. Evelyn and I would transport Annette to the technology center in D. C. She would retrieve the lockbox and the second key. We could then enter parking mode and I would write down the coordinates and put them into the lockbox and seal it. We had to wait until our contact had received the primary key by courier. I asked why we didn't just take both keys, but Annette explained that it was standard protocol that the two keys were never in the same place except to open the lockbox at the designated time. He should receive the key within half an hour. Once he had the key, we would step to his location, and Annette would insert her key into the lockbox. She would keep her key at all times. Once our contact had inserted his key and opened the lockbox, Annette would await his acknowledgement of the contents. She would then leave his office immediately, and we would transport to the water taxi in Sydney.

It was time to leave. My secret concern was that I needed to get the second digital key from Annette somehow. I wasn't sure how I would do that, but I would look for the opportunity. I grabbed a paper and pen before we took Annette to the technology center. We parked and then entered a restroom. Annette went into the office and signed for the lockbox. Annette returned to the restroom, and we stepped into parking mode. I had Evelyn with my left hand and Annette with my right. We needed to come out of parking mode for me to write the coordinates. Evelyn chose a remote location in a forest. They turned their backs as I wrote the coordinates to the gold deposit. I placed the paper into the lockbox and sealed it. We decided to take a breather and review our next steps. We had to wait for our contact to get to his office. It was three o'clock in the morning in D. C.

I broke into a sweat as I handed the lockbox to Annette. The coordinates were now available apart from my memory, and I knew that my protection had come to an end. Annette held one key, and the contact at the Treasury Department would soon have the other. I was no longer needed. Yvonne warned me about this, but I had progressed without her direction. Annette tucked the lockbox under her right arm and pulled me in closely with her left. She kissed me long and hard on my lips. She looked intently into my eyes and gently spoke. "Thank you, Adriel. You have completed your portion of the project." I wasn't sure what to expect next. I could see the apprehension on Evelyn's face. Annette still needed for us to take her to the contact at the Treasury Department. She couldn't eliminate us just yet.

Annette explained, "I need for our contact to see you, Adriel. We will be on camera when we meet with him, and it will establish that you were still alive when the coordinates were delivered. This is essential for the agency to receive compensation." Evelyn and I exchanged puzzled looks. It was the first that we had heard of me being seen by the contact. I had concerns that we might be apprehended, but Evelyn and I weren't going to break our grip on one another. She could transport us to the golden highway in the blink of an eye. I could feel Evelyn's strong, rapid pulse in her fingers as we stepped into parking mode to check the surroundings in the office of our contact. He appeared to be alone, so we entered just outside his office door in order that he didn't see us appear out of thin air.

Annette startled our contact as she pushed his office door open unannounced. He immediately spied the lockbox beneath Annette's right arm. He didn't speak a word as we approached his desk. Annette placed the lockbox in front of him, and we took a step backwards. Evelyn wasn't breathing. I squeezed her hand a couple of times. He took his key and inserted it into the primary key slot. Annette quickly stepped forward, inserted her key, and opened the lockbox. She immediately pulled her key out and slipped it into her pocket before she stepped back to take my hand. He reached into the lockbox and removed the coordinates. We watched as he checked the location of the gold deposit. His brow furled. He looked up and exclaimed, "Is this your idea of a joke?"

Neither Evelyn nor Annette had any idea what he meant. However, I did. "No, sir, this is not a joke. I assure you that those coordinates are the perimeters to the largest gold deposit in this world."

He threw the paper back into the lockbox. "I'm not accepting this!" Annette stepped forward as quickly as a cat and closed the lockbox. She then pulled us from his office as he picked up his phone. Annette instructed Evelyn to take us to Sydney immediately. We didn't speak a word to one another. In seconds, we were in parking mode in Sydney, Australia. Annette directed Evelyn to the wharf where the water taxi would be waiting. We discreetly came out of parking mode and secured the transportation to the yacht. We pulled beside the waiting vessel and boarded. It was early morning on the next day. I could never keep track of what day or time it was when we bounced all over the world.

We met with the captain and crew as I had done before in the Red Sea. Annette requested that we all stay in the same cabin. The crew was very accommodating and no one seemed surprised that we were all sleeping together. This was a very discreet cruise line, and I could only imagine what they were accustomed to seeing. This yacht was larger than the one that Joey and I enjoyed. Breakfast was to be served in a half an hour. We went to our cabin and showered. We brought no clothing or personal items along, but we knew that we could secretly secure anything we needed via the golden highway in minutes.

Breakfast was fantastic, but we were all exhausted emotionally and wanted to nap. We returned to our cabin to snooze for a while. We had a lot to discuss. The coordinates had now been delivered, and I was eager to hear what Annette still needed to do concerning the agency business with the contract. I was ever mindful of the digital key that she had put into her bag. We all snuggled together and promptly went to sleep. We awakened in time for lunch. None of us were very hungry, but we did enjoy what we could of the sumptuous meal that our chef provided. As usual, we enjoyed several bottles of wine while we discussed our next steps.

Evelyn and Annette wanted to know why our contact was so disturbed when he saw the coordinates to the gold deposit. I was very discreet and explained that there were some inherent challenges, but that wasn't my problem. I had delivered the coordinates. I was done. My personal bodyguard was now AWOL, and I wasn't sure where to go from here. Annette was apprehensive about contacting the agency. She still believed that someone was undermining us from within, and she didn't want to disclose our location. She was also uncomfortable about just cutting me loose into the world. I hadn't been trained yet, and she knew that it was a matter of a short time before I would be apprehended by someone. Her initial plan was to leave me with Joey while she completed the project with the agency. However, Joey couldn't be trusted emotionally at this point. Besides, she was nowhere to be found.

We decided to go back to the cabin and enjoy an intimate time together. It was my idea to pull Annette into our lovemaking. We spent the next two hours pleasuring one another with complete abandon. It was one of the most bizarre sexual experiences of my life. Annette was starving for satisfaction, and I helped Evelyn please her over and over until she was fully satisfied. Evelyn and I enjoyed one another as Annette lent a hand in our pleasure. It was decadent and exciting. We fell asleep together again for a short time to recuperate.

After we awoke, we decided to go out to the sun deck because we were missing our tanning rays. It was a private deck on the yacht where we could lie naked in the sun just as we had done on the beach in Italy. The salty air and the sunshine were exhilarating. We laughed, talked, drank, and kissed as we lay together soaking up the sunshine. I never knew what lurked around the corner. My life was full of surprises, and this new relationship was one that I had never seen on the horizon.

We finally decided that we needed to shower before dinner and returned to our cabin. There were three bottles of complimentary champagne open with glasses awaiting us when we entered the room. It was a perfect time to toast our success, and we filled our glasses. Annette gave the toast, and we sat and sipped our bubbly libation as we continued to laugh and talk. Suddenly, Evelyn slumped in her chair. Annette and I jumped up and began to attend to her. My head was spinning, and I felt like I was about to pass out. Annette looked over at me with alarm and exclaimed, "Adriel, we've been drugged!" I saw Annette collapse as my head hit the floor.

Evelyn dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she sat before the agency review board. "That is the last time that I ever saw my husband." Annette was corroborating her story as she sat next to Evelyn with her arm around her.

One of the interrogators continued, "What happened after you awakened from your drugged state?"

"When I awoke, Annette was shaking me and trying to revive me. I was so groggy, but she got me into a chair and gave me some water. She was still trying to clear her head as well. We noticed that the yacht was not moving. The champagne bottles and glasses were gone. Adriel was nowhere to be found."

Annette interjected, "That's when we went to find the crew, but the yacht appeared to be empty. We began a systematic search and finally found everyone bound and gagged in the cargo hold. According to the captain, they had been boarded by pirates. They wore hooded masks and had automatic assault weapons. Everyone was instructed to go below where they were bound and gagged. One of the crew members thought that the pirates might have been speaking Farsi to one another."

"Was anything missing other than the champagne and Mr. Chevalier?"

"According to the captain, it appeared that several of the provisions had been taken and some petty cash. Evelyn's bag and my bag were also missing along with the digital lockbox key."

"So, neither of you saw anyone the whole time?"

"No, sir, we had been drugged, and we were unconscious during the entire incident."

Evelyn and Annette were escorted from the conference room to wait in the hall. The review board deliberated for about half an hour before they called them back into the room.

The chairman addressed Evelyn. "Mrs. Chevalier, according to your testimony and our investigation we are treating this incident as a kidnapping. When Mr. Chevalier is returned, he will undergo the standard medical exam, and we will keep him for observation and debriefing. We want to extend our deepest sympathy toward you in this matter and also our undying gratitude. You and your husband are responsible for the single greatest project in our history. We have several items of closure ahead of us, but we hope to have it all completed within a month. Agent Marceau has informed us that you have agreed to join the agency."

Evelyn interrupted. "Excuse me, but I have changed my mind. I don't want to continue as an agent."

"And we will honor your request. Since you do not want to become an agent, we will extend agent family benefits to you. These benefits have no contingency and go into immediate effect. You will be financially supported by the agency with no limits for the rest of your life."

"Thank you, sir, I appreciate that, but what I really want is my house back. My children grew up in that house, and the agency sold it out from under us."

"My apology, Mrs. Chevalier. We promise to secure the residence for you. My understanding is that all of your belongings are in storage and will be restored as well. We need about two weeks to complete the transaction. Please know that whatever you want at any time, we are able to provide."

"I want my husband back."

"I understand that, Mrs. Chevalier, and our agents are currently doing everything that they can to find him."

Annette invited Evelyn to stay with her at her residence in Cannes. Evelyn was reluctant due to the memories that she had of Adriel there. However, with a little coaxing Annette convinced her to visit for a few weeks until her house had been returned to her. Annette secured two tickets from Dulles International to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. She booked a second flight for them to Cannes for two days later. Annette knew how Evelyn liked to shop, and there was no place in this world like Paris for a world class shopper. However, it brought her many more memories of Adriel due the time that they had hidden from the agency. She had always enjoyed giving Adriel a fashion show when she returned from shopping. It all seemed so pointless now. Annette was doing her best to help Evelyn escape her despondency, but she was losing ground.

Evelyn and Annette caught the flight to Cannes. Gina was still with her mother in Italy. Evelyn wouldn't let Annette remove the red flag from the pool even though it caused Evelyn to cry every time she saw it. Evelyn was hoping that Adriel would return, but with each passing day she had less hope. She had succumbed to Annette's affection, and they were indulging one another regularly. They spent their days at the pool drinking wine and enjoying the bountiful smorgasbord that was delivered every morning. They swam for hours and stayed in great physical shape.

Evelyn and Annette had reviewed the possibilities a hundred times. No one at the agency knew that they were aboard the yacht. That ruled out the possibility that someone had disclosed their location. They had been drugged with the champagne that was left in their cabin, but none of the crew was aware that it had been delivered. It was highly unlikely that a pirate had come aboard without notice. They doubted that it was a coincidence between the drugging and the pirates. The crew members were interrogated extensively by agency personnel. It was believed that their testimony was accurate. They didn't have much to tell. They had been held in the cargo area the whole time.

They hadn't seen any signs of Joey or Yvonne. It was possible that they were somehow behind the drugging and kidnapping. However, Adriel had been gone for so long that he would most likely be held against his will. It was doubtful that Yvonne would keep him that long. Evelyn feared that crazy Joey might have taken him captive, but they didn't understand how such a thing could happen without Yvonne's help. The agency was fervently searching for Adriel, and so far they had no clue as to his whereabouts. Evelyn doubted that he could exist for long periods on the golden highway. She thought that he may be held captive and hidden somewhere. Annette didn't want to express her concerns for his welfare if he were taken by Iranians. If Farsi was the language that they spoke, then he might well be in Iran somewhere.

There wasn't a country in the world that wouldn't want the gold in that deposit which Adriel had found. The possibilities for suspects to his kidnapping were endless. He knew the coordinates to the gold deposit. The only other person with that knowledge was the contact at the Treasury Department, and she doubted that he was divulging any information. That put his life in danger as well, but precious few knew about the transfer of the coordinates. In fact, it was possible that no one outside the agency knew that the coordinates had been delivered. The pirates had taken anything of value from the yacht. She doubted that they knew the purpose of the digital key card. She shuddered to think that Adriel may have been tortured to tell everything that he knew. She wondered if he had taken the cyanide pill. However, he was drugged and wouldn't have had the chance.

There was so much that she didn't want to discuss with Evelyn. Evelyn was an emotional wreck as it was. She was still trying to recover from telling her children that their father was missing. She also disclosed the fact that the agency was watching over them. It was rare that Evelyn didn't have a tissue in her hand when she wasn't swimming in the pool. Annette was trying to divert her attention as much as possible. They still had hope, but it was diminishing by the day.

Annette was still curious about the location of the gold deposit. Adriel apparently understood the reaction from the contact who saw the coordinates. He said that he wasn't going to accept it. The agency had not finished with the business of the contract. She wasn't sure what affect his rejection of the coordinates might have. At least she had established Adriel's well-being at the time of the delivery. Her responsibility in the project had been completed. It would take a few months for everything to settle before she expected to be awarded credit for the project. She didn't want to accept another assignment until then. She hoped that her responsibilities would change, and that she would be able to get out of the field. She had grown attached to Evelyn and Adriel, and that had never happened to her before. She thought that it was time to move into a management position.

Evelyn was eager to get her house back. She didn't want to become an agent. She fully intended to return to work and create the same life that she had before the project began. She couldn't travel the golden highway without Adriel. She wanted to be as normal as possible, even though she might have to be alone. The agency had committed to take care of her financially the rest of her life. That did provide a relief to some degree. However, she knew she would trade that provision in a heartbeat if it meant that she could have Adriel back. She thought about her conversation with Adriel when he had explained that he had not had intercourse with Joey. He wanted to work things out, and he was willing to forgive her for her involvement with Annette. The more she thought of his willingness to rebuild their marriage, the more despair she felt as he never returned.

No one had seen or heard from Joey since she disappeared from the beach with Yvonne. The last time that they had seen her, she wouldn't release her grip on Adriel. She had been obsessed with him and physically aggressive toward him to satisfy herself. Adriel said that Yvonne had promised her healing. No one really knew what that meant, but she had never returned. The agency had put her in AWOL status along with Adriel. The tentacles of the agency were extensive. It was extremely difficult to hide from them for long periods of time. When Evelyn had escaped their search, she had been on the golden highway. The time correlation difference between the golden highway and our world left her missing for less than two days. Annette believed that Adriel was either being held underground, or he was dead.

Annette had fallen in love with Evelyn during the week that Adriel had spent with them in Cannes. She had tried to deny it several times, but she knew that she was going to make a play for Evelyn at some point. She still loved Gina, and she intended to move Gina back to Cannes in the near future. Evelyn wanted to return to her home in the midwestern United States. Annette was excited about having lovers on different continents. She wondered what she might do if Adriel returned. She had enjoyed his invitation to make love with them. However, Annette wasn't into threesomes with a man. Nevertheless, she was hopeful for Adriel's return.

Nothing really made sense. Evelyn was frustrated and wanted closure. She preferred that Adriel returned, but she hated having her hope dragged out with each passing day. If he were truly gone, she wanted the confirmation. Being in limbo was tearing her apart. She rarely smiled anymore, and the wine seemed to aggravate her grief. She continually recounted stories of Adriel to Annette who always patiently listened. It helped her to talk about him. Each day was a burden of grief. There were some days that Evelyn wouldn't even get out of bed. Annette kept her supplied with wine and let her sleep during those periods of intense depression.

Finally, Evelyn had been notified by the agency that her home had been recovered. The movers were restoring her belongings, and she could move back in at any time. Annette didn't want to leave Evelyn alone and insisted on coming to the states with her. Annette booked their flights, and within the week they had settled into Evelyn's house. That caused another wave of emotion for Evelyn to endure. Adriel's footprints were everywhere. He had done much of the home improvements, and some of the gardens were his handiwork as well. She couldn't turn in any direction without bursting into tears at the memories of him and the children. She was beginning to think that she had made a terrible mistake in coming back to the same house.

Annette was encouraging Evelyn to create new, pleasant memories of her surroundings. It would take time, but she could replace her painful recollections with more recent, positive ones. Annette promised to stay with her for as long as she needed. She kept Evelyn sexually engaged because she knew the importance of the increased levels of endorphins and dopamine in her bloodstream. It was going to take time, but Annette was more than willing to invest.

The kitchen had fallen into dormancy. Adriel had done most of the cooking, but now Evelyn refused to cook. It was too painful for her. Annette never cooked, so they had all of their meals catered. It had been so long since Evelyn had tasted Adriel's cooking. She missed some of the strange dishes that he would concoct. He was always experimenting in the kitchen. It was usually delicious, but there was the occasional disaster that left them laughing through the meal.

Then one day it came. Annette received a phone call from the agency that they were sending an agency jet to pick her up the next day. They had something that they wanted her to review. Annette closed her eyes. Perhaps this could be the closure that Evelyn was seeking. She walked into the bedroom to let Evelyn know that she needed to go to D. C. tomorrow for agency business.

Evelyn anxiously inquired, "It's about Adriel, isn't it?"

"I really don't know, Evelyn. They didn't say, but I'm guessing that it is."

"I'm going with you," Evelyn demanded.

"I'm sorry, but you can't. You declined the offer to become an agent, and they are sending an agency jet to pick me up. You aren't allowed to come. This is agency business."

"That doesn't make sense. If it's about Adriel, I should know."

"I'm not sure that it is, but whatever it is I will tell you all that they will allow. I'm leaving early in the morning, but I'll be back before bedtime."

Evelyn consumed twice the amount of wine as usual and fell asleep early in the evening. Annette was dreading what she might have to review. She knew that it was a digital file of some sort that the agency had received. They weren't willing to say more. Annette tucked Evelyn into bed and packed for her trip. She didn't need much, but she always took enough to spend the night just in case. She returned to the living room and poured another glass of wine. A tear fell from her eye. She had been hopeful for Adriel's return, especially for Evelyn's sake. She had been living in denial as well, and she knew what the next stages of grief were that awaited.

Another tear fell, and she thought about the first time that she had met Adriel. She was now sitting where he had sat with Evelyn that night. She never dreamed that she would become so attached to both of them. She also never dreamed that Joey would ever start experiencing emotions. So much had changed. She had lost her twin sister during the project, and no one knew to what extent that had affected her. Annette and Yvette were extremely close. They shared everything. They were in close contact at all times and needed to be the same person in two bodies. She let out a brief laugh. Yvette was crazy about Adriel. Given the chance, she probably would have tried to steal him from Evelyn. However, Annette knew just how disastrous that would be. It would be like introducing fire to gasoline. Adriel always said that everything happened for a reason. Maybe he was right. Annette rinsed out her wine glass and put it into the dishwasher before she got ready for bed.

The next morning, Annette kissed Evelyn and walked out to the limousine. Evelyn had begged to go with her. It wasn't possible, and it wasn't in her best interests either. Annette felt a sense of dread as she reclined in the agency jet. The attendant brought her a glass of champagne, and she sipped it slowly as she contemplated what might await her in D. C. It was far worse than anything that she would imagine. It would become apparent that Annette had feelings for Adriel. That was unbecoming of an agent, but she really didn't care.

She was ushered into a room with several other agents. They explained that the agency had received a digital file in the mail on an external drive. Technical analysts had reviewed the file, and their analysis concluded that the recording was genuine and had not been altered. This was a video recording of an assassination. The video was not very high quality, but it was extremely graphic. A fingerprint had been found on the digital device that was delivered. It matched the fingerprint of a criminal that they had in their files from many years ago. He was Iranian. Annette's heart sank. The digital footprint for the metadata on the file appeared to originate from a camera that was typically available in Iran. Additionally, when the camera began recording it was being set on a tripod. It provided a brief view from a window overlooking a mosque. Research confirmed that the mosque was located in Tehran.

Annette had been called in as a final measure to identify if the victim of the assassination was truly Adriel Chevalier. They couldn't prove that the video was not genuine. After explaining what she was about to see, they played the video on the conference screen. The recording showed Adriel sitting in a chair holding a sign in front of him in the Farsi language. It stated that he was an infidel who had aided their enemies in an offensive attack against their government. It actually made no sense, but what transpired caused Annette to gasp in shock. An assassin in a black hood grabbed Adriel by his hair and slit through his throat to sever his head. Blood gushed forth, and the assassin held his head in midair as his body fell forward. The camera focused on his body as the assassin poured an accelerant on it and lit it on fire. The assassin then threw the head into the fire. The video ended.

Annette was visibly shaken and asked to go to the restroom. It truly was Adriel. She regained her composure and returned to the room for questioning. She affirmed that it was definitely Adriel Chevalier who was murdered in the video. She asked if she could disclose Mr. Chevalier's death to his spouse. They consented as long as she didn't disclose any particulars. Annette asked about the project and whether they had received payment from the Treasury Department. She was informed that negotiations were ongoing, and they would let her know if they needed her.

Annette's head was spinning. She dreaded telling Evelyn, but she knew that it would give her closure. Annette couldn't get the horrible image out of her mind. Adriel's expression when the knife slit through his throat was heart wrenching. It was a nightmare that she would never shake. She had seen a lot in her day, but never to someone who meant so much to her. She took full advantage of the champagne aboard the jet on her return. She texted Evelyn when she landed.

Evelyn was waiting for Annette when she returned. Annette walked in the front door, embraced Evelyn, and burst into tears. They stood in the foyer wailing together as Annette nodded her head in affirmation. It was nearly an hour before either of them could speak. Annette explained that she could not disclose any of the details, but it had been confirmed that Adriel was dead. Evelyn asked about his body, but Annette said that she didn't think that his body would be available. She refused to give Evelyn any details, even though she desperately begged.

"I knew it! I knew it! I told Adriel before he ever accepted the project that it would be the end of his life. He wouldn't listen." Annette held Evelyn and continued to kiss her repeatedly. Evelyn remembered Yvette's murder and the explanation that the agency did not support funerals. Evelyn insisted that Adriel have a proper funeral, and Annette agreed to help any way that she could. Evelyn recalled the future event that she and Adriel had experienced on the golden highway. It was a scene depicting his funeral. She still needed to contact the children, and she was dreading being the bearer of such bad news. Annette sat and consoled Evelyn until she finally worked up the courage to make the calls.

Two weeks had passed since Adriel's funeral. Evelyn was to return to her job as a software analyst the week after next. The agency had secured her former position. There was seemingly nothing that they could not do. However, they couldn't bring Adriel back. Annette would never disclose what she had seen in that video. She even had a few nightmares about it. The project still had problems, and Annette was hoping for closure in that arena as well.

One day, she received a call from the colonel at the agency. Annette feared that he was giving her another assignment. However, it was just as disturbing. The agency needed for Annette and Evelyn to attend an arbitration meeting to testify concerning the completion of the responsibilities in the contract. Annette knew how sensitive Evelyn was these days, and she hated to break the news to her. The meeting was in three days, and Annette wanted Evelyn to have time to emotionally prepare.

Annette booked two seats on a flight to Washington, D. C. on an agency jet. She then poured a snifter of brandy and sipped it as she watched the gentle rain drip from the Japanese maple in front of the porch. A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought about the week in Cannes that everyone had shared before things went so badly. Everyone was happy back then, carefree, naked, unashamed, and totally self indulgent. She was glad to have the memory. She strolled into the living room and remembered her first meeting with Evelyn and Adriel. She laughed as the tears rolled from her eyes, thinking of how jealous Evelyn was that evening. She never dreamed that they would become as close as they were now.

Annette opened a bottle of Merlot for Evelyn. She hated to ask her to make the trip to D. C. She hoped that Evelyn wouldn't have to share her story, but nevertheless, she needed to attend. Annette slowly strolled down the hallway to the bedroom to present the wine to Evelyn. She engaged in small talk until Evelyn had consumed about half the glass of wine, and then she broke the news.

Evelyn was confused. "Why do I need to go to D. C?"

"They want you present as a potential witness in the arbitration. I know this is difficult, Evelyn. I'm going to be there as well. Depending on how much resistance the Treasury Department gives, we may need to testify."

"I can't believe it. Are you saying that I need to go to D. C. to testify in order for Eddie to get his money?"

"It's more than that, Evelyn. We need to establish the success of the contract prior to Adriel's demise in order for the agency to get paid. I'm so sorry. I know you want to get this behind you."

Tears were falling from Evelyn's eyes. "I really do, but it's going to take a very long time. I miss him so much."

Annette sat with her arms around Evelyn. "I know you do. We both do. I loved him too. We lost two very special people."

Evelyn collected herself and started to browse through her closet to pack for the trip. She was using any opportunity to keep herself occupied so that she didn't dwell solely upon her grief. Annette grabbed a suitcase and began to pack as well. She had kept herself devoid of any other project assignments until all of the loose ends were tied with the project. They both tearfully filled their bags and embraced at intervals.

The trip to D. C. was dismal. It was rainy, cold, depressing, and the weather coincided with their mood. Evelyn was trying to mentally prepare herself to see Eddie face to face again. She wanted to tear him limb from limb. She blamed him for Adriel's murder, and she couldn't believe that she was going to this meeting to support him. She wanted so badly to have a few drinks, but it was imperative that she stay sober to testify. Annette was very supportive and led Evelyn through the airport and into the limousine to arrive at the legal office for arbitration.

As they gathered in the room, Evelyn looked around to see if Eddie had already arrived. She recognized a familiar face and strolled over. As he looked up, his face lit up, and he extended his hand. "Ah, Mrs. Chevalier, it is always a pleasure. I'm sincerely sorry to hear about your husband."

Evelyn took his hand. "Thank you, Avarro. I appreciate that. I'm surprised to see you here. Are you here to testify?"

Avarro gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, goodness no, I have a doctorate in jurisprudence and a license to practice in the District of Columbia. I'm here to represent my client, who happens to be my second cousin, Mr. Edmond Brewer."

Evelyn's eyes grew wide with surprise. "You're Eddie's attorney?"

"Yes, that is correct. Unfortunately, he won't be joining us today. I'm sure that you have his condolences."

Evelyn bit her tongue and remained civil as everyone was directed to take a seat. As the arbitration team was conducting introductions, Evelyn whispered to Annette concerning Avarro and the dinner that they had in Las Vegas. The principal speakers were an attorney from the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury and Avarro. The major contention was the fact that the government had no proof that gold existed at the coordinates that were supplied by Adriel. They were refusing payment to Eddie and the agency until proof that the deliverable was accurate.

The team reviewed the wording of the contract. Avarro contended that no provision was made for the seeker of the gold mine to produce the gold, only its location. The Treasury Department pointed out that there was no corroborating evidence that the project had been completed. Blindly providing coordinates did not constitute success. Avarro reviewed the contract line by line to point out that there was no burden of proof upon the agency or Edmond Brewer that the coordinates were genuine. If the Treasury Department couldn't prove that the coordinates were erroneous, they should be obligated to pay. The difficulty lie within the inability of the federal government to access the ore at the location. Avarro demanded that payment was due because it was not his client's responsibility to access the gold.

Evelyn was growing increasingly irritated because everyone was referring to Eddie as though he had produced the coordinates of the gold deposit. Annette was trying to calm Evelyn and explained that Adriel had refused to be named in the contract. This was a legal matter that had no reference to Adriel. Everyone was well aware to whom the credit belonged. Evelyn's irritation gave way to the shock that came from Avarro's next statement.

"Gentlemen, rest assured that my client is willing to take this matter to litigation in the federal court. Based upon the contract stipulations, I believe he will win. However, in order to expedite this matter, my client is willing to settle for seventy-eight million dollars. Otherwise, he will be forced to exercise his right to the entire ninety-six million dollars stipulated in the contract."

Evelyn nearly came out of her seat. Eddie stood to make seventy-eight million for betraying Adriel and forcing him into the project that ultimately took his life. She was shaking and tears were streaming from her eyes. Annette quickly escorted her from the office in search of a restroom. Evelyn exploded into a rage as Annette supported her. "I'm not going back in there. I wouldn't testify on Eddie's behalf if my life depended on it. I'm going home."

# **CHAPTER TWENTY**

# **_EPILOGUE_**

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David sat in his chair sipping his tea as he kicked his crossed leg. His bronze foot bobbed up and down, and his white cotton shirt and pants made his tan look darker than it really was. He stared Joey in the eye. He placed his cup on the table to his right and cleared his throat. "So, Adriel Chevalier is dead."

"He is indeed."

"And where might I find his grieving widow?" David looked over his glasses with raised eyebrows as he ran his left hand through his silver hair.

"She's with Annette, and Annette won't let you get anywhere near Evelyn."

"Oh, come now, Annie is Evelyn's keeper? Perhaps Evelyn would welcome my company at this juncture." David grinned.

"Nothing is being decided by Evelyn at this point. She is too distraught."

"Another good reason that I should comfort her."

"David, that's not going to happen."

"So, tell me, what are you doing here?"

"The federal government is going to need your help accessing the gold deposit."

"That's preposterous! Why in the world would they need my help?"

"There's an insurmountable complication with the location of the gold deposit."

"Really, and just where is this gold deposit?"

"It isn't being disclosed yet. At this point, there is only one other person who knows the location. He's with the United States Department of the Treasury. The coordinates of the gold are being held in an agency lockbox which requires two digital keys. He has one of the keys."

"And who, might I ask, has the other?"

"That's classified information that I cannot divulge."

"So, what does the Treasury Department think that I can do for them?"

"Actually, they don't know about you. I wanted to come here first to see if you were willing to participate. Trust me, this could be quite the adventure."

"Oh, it sounds bloody intriguing, all right, but I don't understand how I could help them."

"You are the only reasonable person who can employ the necessary means to access the gold." David looked confused. "You are the one who discovered the portal that led to travel on the golden highway."

"Yes, but I have never traversed that highway, and from what I have been led to believe I cannot do that."

"You don't have to traverse the golden highway. They just need to think that you can. I will be the one to execute the mission to access the gold. I need to make sure that they think it's you and not me."

Joey was characteristically silent the whole time. David exclaimed, "Good god, Adriel! How long do you think that you can keep up this charade?"

"I'm hoping forever. We can't get started until everyone is convinced that I am dead. Evelyn is under close surveillance. I hated to put her through this, but it was the only way that I could escape being assassinated." Joey reached over and put her hand on my left leg.

"So, Evelyn has no idea that you are still alive?"

"No, she doesn't, and neither does Annette." I looked over at Joey. "The only people who know I am still alive are in this room. I took a great risk coming here, David, and I hope that I can trust you."

"Damn it, Adriel, you are the closest person I have ever had to being a friend. Of course you can trust me, but tell me, how in the bloody hell did you pull off your own death?"

Joey and I smiled at one another. "My little angel here is full of surprises. She has allies on both sides of many fences in this world. I learned that she was never exclusive with the agency. She has built a sizable fortune by contracting her services all around the globe. She called in some favors from a group of Iranians whom she instructed to rob the yacht that Evelyn, Annette, and I had chartered after the coordinates of the gold deposit had been delivered. However, Joey drugged us and took me before the Iranians boarded the yacht. Joey and I later created a video of my beheading. We actually filmed it in Tehran. She was the masked assassin. She has some impressive skills in producing convincing digital footage. The camera was carefully angled so that the actual position of my body wasn't disclosed. My head was resting on a fake body. We used bagged animal blood and sponges to create the appearance of my throat being slit. Due to the lighting and the black shroud that I was wearing, it looked like she held my head in midair. She's a genius. She doused the fake body with kerosene and burned it. She then took a fake head and threw it into the fire. It was impressively convincing."

"Tell me, mate, how long do you plan to torture Evelyn like this?"

"We will have to wait until everything settles down, and everyone believes that I am truly dead. I don't know how long that will take. We know that some people are still searching for me."

"So, where are you and Joey hiding out during this deception?"

"Believe me, David, the less you know, the better." Joey and I arose from the couch. "We appreciate your cooperation. It's a relief to know that we can count on you." Joey clasped my left hand, and we disappeared.
About the Author

Adriel Jacques Chevalier descended from a French family that migrated to the Netherlands before immigrating to the United States. His ancestors were jewelers and watchmakers for many generations. However, Adriel was never adept with handling the delicate parts of tiny machinery. Instead, he turned his interests to the software industry that was just becoming popular early in his adult life. He found that logic and problem solving better suited his skills, and he excelled in his field.

Adriel's elder sister had taught him to read and write at the age of three. Due to boredom suffered from structured learning, he sought to educate himself from his youth. He spent decades studying ancient history and various writings, mostly Christian and Judaic literature. Some of his studies he opted to conduct in the pre-translated, original language to gain a clearer understanding.

Always frustrated with the structure and politics of organized religion, he sought relationships according to the instruction of the Messiah, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst." Adriel recognized that the Messiah's name was synonymous with his authority, which is Truth, and that any group larger than three brought annoying problems.

Adriel and his fellows departed from the mainstream teaching of the established religions and embarked on a journey that led them on a quest for intrinsic Truth. Through many enlightening revelations and miraculous experiences, Adriel came to recognize that much of what is taught today concerning the Creator and his anointed one is rubbish. He forsook the erroneous cliches, rhetoric, and discrepancies of the religious culture and embraced Truth, which is available to any man, anywhere, at any time.

Although it was contrary to Adriel's belief system to share his findings in a rhetorical document, in his later years, he decided to envelop them into a work of fiction to be enjoyed by others. 
