Commandos (18 page)

* * * *

It had already been two days since Levi had arrived at Tenerife. He realised he should be looking for Jo who was somewhere on the island, but he decided it was better to wait a while. Today, he had to climb Pico del Teida, the tallest mountain in former Spain. He felt weak. The time spent in the prison had drained him of his strength and he needed to regain his former physical shape. Sadly the gyms on the island were poorly equipped. He needed to resort to older ways of exercise and go climbing. When he stood on the peak, after the long and strenuous trek, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the cloudy sky above him. He longed to return to his shuttle.

Ignoring the low temperature biting at his skin, he remained there for some time, gathering strength. Neither the ocean nor deep space could ever give him this kind of priceless energy. He closed his eyes and began to breathe regularly, calming his pounding heart. Even the pain in his forearm which had awoken during the climb seemed to fade as he continued his meditation. He grabbed at his arm and rubbed it energetically. A section of it was artificial but he never told anyone about it. He’d had an accident years before, one he would much rather forget. He concealed the defect from everyone. A commodore needed to be even more fit than his commandos. His position demanded it and he was reluctant to show any sign of weakness. The army would likely discharge him had they found out about his surgery and he could not allow that. His service in the UN military was his whole life.

He pushed all these thoughts away and felt that his mind was beginning to unwind, gathering strength for the mission that lay ahead, its danger and nearly impossible difficulty. For how could one assassinate a psychopath commanding the loyalty of millions of people? How was a small group of commandos going to accomplish that?

He forced himself to shake off his doubts. Their group may be small, but they were all highly trained specialists, people prepared to deal with the very worst the world could ever throw against them. He realised that it was his job to keep their spirits up, not despair in vain. He needed to spur them on to do their best, to motivate them. He was the highest ranking officer in the group and they were bound to turn to him when in need.

* * * *
David stepped out of the prefecture building and accepted Victor’s invitation to his car.

“Now, will you tell me what this is all about?” David was getting slightly anxious and studied Victor’s expression closely.

“I’m a friend of Levi’s.”

“You have brightened.
“That too.”
“That too? growing stronger.
“The president ordered me to gather up all Levi’s commandos on Tenerife and inform you of your new assignment. Levi has all the details you need to know.”
“And how do I know you are who you say you are? It may all be just a childish prank for all I know.” David started to regain his natural scepticism.
“I bet you ran a search on me before you left the building, didn’t you?” Victor’s eyes were now piercing the commando.
“How’d you know that?”
“Well, I am a tracker.”
This kind of confession was enough to give anyone a stutter. David swallowed heavily and had to clear his throat before he could speak again.
“That explains why I found nothing on the database.”
“You’re going to have to take my word on this or you could ask me a question that only a friend of Levi’s would know the answer too. I don’t mind.”
“All right.” David paused for a moment. “If you want a message from him?” David’s face

I don’t understand.” His curiosity was me to believe you, tell me what Levi is wearing on a chain around his neck.”

An image of Jo flashed before Victor’s eyes for a second.
“The access codes to Jo’s memorial disc. Actually, that’s what he used to wear before they destroyed them in prison.”
“Levi was in prison?” This seemed to be a day of shocking news.
“Yes, but I’m sure he’d rather tell you about that himself. He’ll be waiting for you on the island.”
David looked at the architectonic documents in his hand. He got deeply involved in the city’s redevelopment and did not wish to leave Cairo just yet. On the other hand, he missed his friends and would really love to see them again. And there was of course the direct order from the president, hardly something a soldier could ignore.
“Okay, I’ll pack my stuff. I’ll meet you at the airport.”
Victor reached into his pocket and produced a plane ticket which he handed over to David.
“Unfortunately, you’ll be flying alone. I’m leaving for Japan in a few hours.” He looked at David and added, “To get Alec.”
“That moron!” David was shocked to find out Alec had also been selected for the mission.
A moment later both men burst out laughing. David had to admit that he was pleased to have met Victor, even though he did give him a bit of a startle at the beginning. After he got out of the car and the tracker sped off, the commando remained there for quite a while, thinking about all that he’d found out that day. He promised himself to return one day with his son. For the first time in his life he felt that he’d found a place he could honestly call home.

* * * * Kaminsky stepped into the laboratory and shouted a few commands to his assistants before descending to his secret command room. Alexander was supposed to be already waiting for him and his co-operators would join them in a few minutes. Unfortunately, nobody had shown up yet. Irritated by his son’s absence, Kaminsky started scratching himself all-over. Every time something didn’t go according to his plans, he was overwhelmed by one of his many compulsive behaviours.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Kaminsky yelled when Alexander burst in, dragging Laura behind him, bound, her clothes torn in several places. He clutched her in his arms, with his body strangely close to hers.

“Father, I caught her trying to escape!” He reached up to wipe away the sweat beading heavily on his forehead.
Laura could not hold back her tears. This had been her last, desperate attempt to free herself from these people. Kaminsky calmly walked up and reached out to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Laura, darling, why would you run away from your master, your saviour?”
His fist shot out without warning and hit her face with enough strength for Alexander standing behind her to lose his balance and stagger backwards.
“Lock her up in the back. She needs time to think things through,” Kaminsky ordered, and Alexander pushed the woman out of the room.
“Ungrateful wench!” The caliph vented his fury in the empty room rubbing painfully at his fist. It really had been a strong punch.
Several minutes later, the co-operators begun to turn up. Without a word, he waved them to their seats at the table. The room grew silent. Only Alexander was still absent. Kaminsky sat at the top of the table and waited patiently, planning new attacks, fuelling his own sense of mission, hoping to soon rid the world of capitalists.
When Alexander finally returned and took his seat at the table, his father got up and started pacing around the room, behind their backs.
“I’ve had enough of your clumsy attacks! While you’re destroying cities, the damned UN sits comfortably in their basses and laughs at us. It’s time to get rid of them once and for all. We’re going to launch an assault on the largest military bases, for now the ones on Earth.”
The men twitched uneasily. His newest plan surprised them. They were used to capturing civilian cities, placing explosives in public places, poisoning innocent people, but none of it involved attacking the military bases directly. They knew it would not be easy.
“We have to prepare. There can be no mistakes. It’s time to activate our best men and teach them how to conquer the world! No more will the United Nations spit in our faces. We will not be governed by this league of mediocrity. The poverty, sickness and war are all of their making. They are genetically incapable of ruling the world. Now it is our time to step up. We’re going to take over everything. That’s why my son, Alexander, will start a fire of black smoke tonight to symbolise our near victory, and you will all bathe in money and luxury!”
The men needed to hear no more. Wealth and power were the two things they desired most in this world, the only motivation they’d ever needed.

* * * *

The sun had already set, but Jo continued towards the fishing boats. She felt like sailing out with them that night. She’d spent many days aimlessly wandering around the island, trying to analyse the overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. She constantly got the feeling that she’d been in those places before, but she knew psychology well enough not to attribute any supernatural meaning to it. Déjà vu was nothing else than an echo of forgotten experiences. But if that was the case, it would mean she’d really already been here.

She also realised that she would have to experience some sort of a strong shock to force the memories back into her mind. Maybe her subconscious was trying to protect her from remembering something that had made her wipe her memory in the first place. She had been worrying about all this for weeks now and had slowly begun to give in to various fears she’d never felt before. She’d always believed that she was not easily scared, but now every deep shadow or rustle of leaves hastened her heartbeat. She was beginning to completely lose her self-esteem.

Whenever the fear took over, when the pain and sense of emptiness were too much to bear, she would always drop everything and drive her jeep to the beach, among the tall dunes where she’d found a perfect spot for meditation and to practice her relaxation techniques. There she could regain control over her shaken psyche and rebuild her selfconfidence. Afterwards she would feel rested and fall asleep immediately to dreams of happiness. Last night, in her dreams, she’d met Victor who had managed to find her in her seclusion. His imaginary presence had given her a strange sense of security.

When she reached the fishing boat, the crewmen greeted her with friendly smiles and handed her oilskins. Apparently it was going to rain soon and the wind was getting stronger.

The weather did not discourage Jo. Waves brushed against the sides of the boat as it slowly sailed away from the shore. Fuerteventura seemed to become so small that she felt as if she could close her hand around it if she wished to. Wind was blowing through her hair and the fishing boat began to lean more and more violently. The crewmen were almost all below deck seeking to hide from the intensifying rain and the ominous darkness of the clouds above, but despite all that, Jo continued to hold the tiny island in her hand. The fishermen called out to her, but she did not hear. Soaking wet and shivering, she ignored everything and everyone around her with her eyes fixed on the sea’s combers. In an instant, a wave of memories overwhelmed her. She remembered a secluded island. She saw Kaminsky’s face and herself drowning in the ocean. She trembled at the image of her own body, livid, carried off by the waves. She’d needed all the strength she could muster to make her way back to the surface and after making sure Kaminsky had already started rowing towards the shore, to swim to the nearest island.

At this moment she once more felt the cold and desperation of that fateful night. Before she could shake off the trauma, new images flooded her mind. She was sitting at a campfire, her head pounding with incomprehensible gibberish. It took her a while to understand a sensible sentence in the maddening mumble.
I must make a sacrifice for the good of mankind
. Her alleged death must have been a result of these words. After all this time, Jo eventually remembered everything about her past. She leant overboard and threw up, shocked by the gravity of the memories.

The rain stopped as she collapsed to the deck and snuggled into the ship’s railing. She was in shock, soaked and cold. Tears of helpless rage ran down her cheeks and it took her a while to realise that what she noticed in the distance was in fact a column of black smoke rising from a nearby island.
Smoke shall free the nations, smoke will point the way
. The memory of Kaminsky’s words struck her with almost physical force and she immediately realised that terrorists were about to attack once more. Soon. * * * *

Levi and David embraced each other when the latter arrived on Tenerife. After dinner, they sat in the Sun City base and Levi briefed his commando on their new assignment.

At first, David seemed slightly thrown off balance. He’d not expected it to be such a big deal. For at least two years the council had continuously searched the world for any trace of Kaminsky and were never able to locate him. They did have suspicions and some leads pointing to the caliph’s most likely hideouts, but never anything definitive. Before any decisions could be made, they needed to wait for Victor and the rest of the commandos. David listened attentively when Levi summarised his traumatic experiences of his exile and then he shared his newly discovered passion for urban planning with the commodore.

Hours passed slowly, as if their impatience had somehow halted the clock’s hands. David tried to find out more about Jo, Alec and Victor. As for Alec, he already felt dejected at the though of working with him again. As for Jo, Levi admitted that he had spent most of the morning trying to locate her on the island, so far without luck. They left the canteen and walked to the computer room, David suggesting a search of the databases for any clue that might point them to Jo’s whereabouts. Levi’s hopes were raised as the commando was one of the best computer specialists he’d ever met in his life.

Two hours later, David uneasily admitted that there was virtually no data on Jo in any of the systems he’d managed to access. He would not be able to do anything more using the hardware he had. He now remembered that while still in Cairo, he had managed to track down all the commandos except Jo. Desperate, they decided to split up and turn to more traditional methods – ask around.

Levi felt guilty as Victor was about to arrive with Alec any time now and they had nothing to show for the time they’d spent. He had promised his friend he would get Jo to the assembly place and brief her and Levi made a habit of always keeping his promises.

* * * *

Japan was a country that had always fascinated Victor, especially in his student years. He remembered winters when temperatures plummeted below minus fifty Celsius and beautiful times spent at one of the aikido schools in the north.