The Harvester (22 page)

A
s soon as we got back from Japan, I made sure that I was the one who escorted Charon to the After, which for him will be Heaven. Him and I slowly walk down one of the many hallways within the Agency. Why slowly? Well, it may sound cheesy, or a bit feminine, but we want that extra time together before we won’t see each other for quite a while.

We’ve been really good friends for many years and we will miss each other. Just because we’re Harvesters doesn’t mean we don’t have feelings.

“You’re going to be missed, Charon,” I tell him.

“Not by the Agency that’s for sure,” he retorts.

“Forget about them. I’m talking about me. I’ve never had a friend like you before,” I say.

“And you never will. I’m too bizarre and different,” he states.

I let out a chuckle. “That’s for damn sure.”

Now we’re both laughing.

“Man, you and I have been through some sick, twisted, adventurous shit in our day, huh?” he asks me.

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”

“I’m definitely going to miss earth,” he says.

“I know you will. The porn, right?” I jokingly ask.

We laugh again as we stop at a set of tall, wide doors. A slight vibrating sound can be heard from the other side. I open the doors for Charon, and he enters. I follow him into the massive room with five Harvester Techs who manage the first Hole that leads to Heaven. Three large star-gate-type spheres, twenty feet high, make loud vibrating sounds and look like massive water globules. We walk on the pathway which leads to the first Hole and stop a foot away from it.

Charon places a hand on my shoulder with a big smile.

“Well, my good friend, what a long, strange trip it has been, right?” he asks.

Charon loves the group Grateful Dead, and from time to time, he’ll use some of Jerry Garcia’s lyrics for everyday vocabulary.

I smile and nod at him. “Yes, it has. Yes, it has.” “Want me to escort you to the other side?” I ask him.

“Nah. I got it from here. I only ask you to do one thing for me,” he says.

“What’s that?”

“Take that bastard Vega out for good, damn it,” he says.

I can’t help but to smile and nod at him. “You got it.”

“See you on the flip side, Harv,” he states.

We shake hands, and then, he steps into the Hole while singing a Grateful Dead song and disappears. I stand there for a few seconds and stare into the Hole. Many memories of Charon and me run rampant in my mind. If anyone misses him the most, it would be me. I bid you farewell, fellow Harvester.

T
wo months later in Djinn’s applied sciences laboratory, he shows me some of his new contraptions. Some who don’t know wonder how he comes up with so many new, brilliant inventions. The truth of the matter is, yes, he’s a genius, but he received some help. In his natural life, he knew everything about science, all genres. Not to mention, he was a talented engineer in several fields and made quite a name for himself all over the world. When he died, he decided to go to the After, and the judgment was for him to go to Heaven. In Heaven, you discover all there is to discover. You find out all the inner mysteries of the world.

Later, the Underworld began discovering new techniques and were surpassing the Agency’s abilities. This could not be allowed, or they’d win the war. This made the Agency think they needed someone who can do amazing things in the same areas Djinn did. When they thought of him, the Agency made a deal with Heaven and talked Djinn into joining our team. It didn’t take much convincing. He jumped at the chance. He was eager to go back to work. Thus began his career as the Agency’s head of the Applied Sciences Department. Since it’s against Agency rules to create abominations such as Vega’s mixed creatures, Djinn created something to combat them.

He directs me to a chair, and I sit. From off the nearby table, he grabs a syringe filled with a glowing green substance. He has already explained to me what it will do for me, but I don’t believe it until I see it.

He injects the syringe and empties the fluid into my vein. I immediately feel an incredible surge of warmth just like he said I would. Okay, now I’m beginning to believe a bit. If it’s true, I’m not going to like the next part. A few seconds later, my skin changes to a glowing, fiery green color, and it is painful. It burns so bad that smoke emanates from my body. I can’t help but to grimace and yell in pain. And then, just like that, the pain stops, and my skin is back to normal. I look up at a smiling Djinn.

“Do it,” I instruct him.

He turns around and picks up a battleaxe. He excitedly raises it above his head, pauses a moment, and then brings it down with intensity right at my arm. I squint a bit out of anticipation. The battleaxe hits my arm and gets bent to the side when it hits my arm. My arm isn’t injured. It doesn’t even have a mark on it.

“That’s amazing, Djinn.”

“No. It would be amazing if it lasted longer than thirty minutes per day. But I’ll figure it out.”

“It will still prove to be very helpful for all Harvesters, Djinn. Great job.”

“I appreciate any compliment from you, Harv. Thanks.”

“Who knows about your new concoction?” I ask him.

“Just you. Why?”

“Keep it that way for now,” I tell him. “We still don’t know who the spy and which Head is the traitor.”

“Good point. Whad’ya suggest?” he asks me.

“I’ll be the one who decides which Harvesters get to use your new invention. Make it into a pill by days end and try to get rid of pain, skin changing color, and smoke shit okay,” I tell him.

“You got it, Harv,” he remarks.

“Make as much as you can and hide all of it,” I instruct him.

A
few hours later, I meet with Mr. Herald at the Agency’s firing range. I practice with a new, powerful weapon that Djinn recently created. In between shots, we talk business. I fire a few times and hit the target every time.

“Not bad, Harv.”

“Listen, Gerald. We got very close to capturing, maybe even killing Vega. You know I want him bad. Tell me you have something, anything on a possible location.” I fire a few more times.

“One of our two spies’ cover in the Underworld was blown recently, as you know. But we just got word from our third one based out of Rome, Italy, just a short while ago transmitted some interesting Intel I’ve been dying to tell you.”

“Great. And?” I ask with a bit of enthusiasm. And yet I still remain pessimistic due to many past experiences with the Underworld. They may have turned our own spy to join them, a double spy. They’re very persuasive.

“As you know, Rome has miles of catacombs, right?”

“Right. So?”

“Our spy is a hundred percent sure that Vega has been hiding out in them and only coming to surface every so often. He uses his White Door too.”

“Looks like I’m going to Rome, Gerald.”

“Not so fast, Harv. The Heads are setting up a meeting to discuss what is the best avenue of attack. We don’t want another Mariana Trench situation, do we? No offense.”

I’m shocked to hear this from him. “We still don’t know which Head is the traitor. Having a joint meeting on this topic would be counterproductive, disastrous even.”

“Sorry, Harv. It has already been voted and decided by us to have this meeting. My hands are tied.”

I unload my whole clip on the target out of frustration. Mr. Herald knows I’m upset.

“I’m sorry, Harv. But you of all people know how the Agency works.”

I dump my clip out of my gun. “Yeah. To a fault.”

I walk off with a huff and leave him behind thinking about my last comment I’m sure.

“I want you to go to DC to monitor a certain senator who out of the blue is now lobbying against the Agency. We have our suspicions.”

I stop in my place. “Because of the Mariana Trench mission, and you really want me of all people to be assigned to this?” I ask with a condescending tone.

“Considering he has a lot of power and money to bolster that power? Yeah. I need you to do this. Gather some sort of dirt on him,” he tells me. “Anyone trying to gain more power to shut us down, yeah, I want you on the case.”

I nod at him. “I want a three Harvester crew, and I know you know who I want. If you want this done properly, just let me do what I do best, okay?”

“You got it, Harv. Kelly Marie and Dorian, correct?”

“Do you really have to ask? When do we leave?”

“One hour. Be prepared for the unexpected.”

“I always do. You should know that by now, Gerald.”