The Return of the Watchers (Armageddon Rising Book 1) (8 page)

              Dorian looked puzzled. “Ah, isn’t the park closed now? It’s after seven.”                                                                                                                                            “The monument is a popular tourist spot, so people will still be congregated there. I wanted a public place; I just don’t trust him,” she said, as if they were venturing to a back alley drug deal.                                          They went outside together where a limo was waiting. The driver was holding the door open for them and they got inside. Dorian looked over at Yuki.                                                                                                                              “Ok, I’m not exactly sure how the process of share transfer works, but I’m not giving him anything until I have confirmation,” he said.               Dorian’s thoughts were swimming in a sea of scenarios. What if Dantanian backed out of his deal? What if something went wrong, and of course, how was he going to explain all this to Yuki?                                           “We have several bodyguards to ensure our safety. They’re in the vehicle behind us and another one is in the front seat next to our driver as well. I’ll have my father on the phone and he will verify with his lawyers and executives that the transfer of the shares has gone through. You still have some explaining to do,” she said with a glare at him. They made eye contact and he looked down.                                                                                                   “Of course, but right now we need to get this over with.  Afterwards, I’ll fill you in on the details.”                                                                      They pulled into the parking lot of the memorial, which was mostly devoid of cars with the exception of what looked like a limousine and several large SUVs parked over to the far right. The sun was making its descent and there was a slight breeze outside.                                                         Yuki’s limousine and bodyguards pulled up in an empty spot with the front of the car pointed towards the exit in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Her guards got out first and surveyed the situation, then signaled for Yuki to get out. Dorian followed after Yuki and they made their way with the sample over to the limousine that Theodore Dantanian was getting out of. Before Dantanian could get a word out of his mouth, Dorian made his demands.                                                                                                   “First, before I hand this over to you, you’re going to transfer the shares over to the Sukekuni family. You can have one of your assistants check the vial if you need assurance,” Dorian said.                                                        Dantanian had a slight grin on his face. “That won’t be necessary; I'm quite certain it’s genuine.” He nodded to someone in his limousine; it was unclear who it was, as the glass was too dark to see through.                             “Miss Yuki, I think you will find that the share transfer is complete,” he said coolly.                                                                                                   Yuki had her father on the phone for confirmation. “We have the shares, Yuki, everything is in order, you have done well,” he said, over the distant shout of excitement from her sister in the background.                             “Is everything good, Yuki?” Dorian asked.                                                      
   “Yes, my father confirms the transfer.”                                                         He handed the cooler over to Dantanian. “Here, take it. I don’t ever want to have to see you again. I'm not sure what you are planning to do with it, but you obviously want it real bad. Let me give you some advice. There are some things in this world that should just be left alone.”                             At that moment he began to feel very strange inside, as if a terrible evil was emanating from Dantanian’s limousine, closing around him with a sense of death and foreboding.                                                                                    “Wise words, Dr. Lystad. Allow me to add some of my own. You may think I have gone to great lengths for something that can be easily attained, but I assure you, you have no idea the lengths I will go to if I find that this is what we've been searching for. So tell whoever this belongs to that they should enjoy their freedom while they can,” Dantanian said with an evil look.

              Dorian felt his face go red. Did Dantanian know his secret, or was that just a reference to something else?                                                                       “Well, if we are finished here, we will be leaving now,” Yuki interjected. Her bodyguards were looking intently at their surroundings              Dorian didn’t say anything.
He was
turning towards their ride when his senses started picking up something else-- the sensation he had felt when the muggers attacked was returning. He could feel the electrical impulses coming from everyone around him; their heartbeats and their movements. There was something different about the occupant of the limousine,  and about the man walking a dog at the far end of the parking lot. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The dog walker appeared normal, with long, brown hair, an olive complexion, and a scruffy shaven face, but Dorian sensed a different energy emanating from him. At that moment the man dropped the leash, turned, and within a second had run almost 150 feet up to Dantanian, who was still holding the cooler, and had snatched it out of his hands. The stranger then looked over to Dorian.               “Run!” he shouted. Dorian and Yuki both looked astonished, as did the bodyguards, but not Dantanian. In fact, he appeared as if he was fully expecting it.                                                                                                                               “I was wondering when you were going make your move,” he said nonchalantly to the stranger. “You were the thief who took the last sample. Looks like someone has something to hide. No matter. My master will deal with you,” he said, stepping back.                                                                       The stranger smashed the Styrofoam container.
He
grabbed the sample with his hand and it began to boil. The door to the limousine Dantanian came in opened. The stranger turned to Dorian and Yuki once more.                                                                                                                                             “What are you waiting for? Get out of here!”                                           An ethereal voice pierced Dorian's head and he felt a horrible sense of doom and dread come over him, as if he were losing his grip on reality. Yuki, dazed herself, shook him, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards their car. Her bodyguards, trembling in fear, drew their weapons and started to back up towards their vehicles, unsure of what they were witnessing, or what to do.                                                                                                   The tall figure got out of Dantanian’s limo. She was wearing a long coat that seemed almost alive as it wrapped tightly around her body, leaving nothing exposed. It was some type of translucent material that shimmered with different colors, like one of those undersea creatures that live in the deep. Her face was radiant and her skin had an amber glow to it, both terrifying and beautiful. Her eyes were bright, as if illuminated from behind, and
where there should
have been hair atop her head, she had strands of lime-green peridot stone, sparkling like chrysolite.

              A bright light surrounded her hand and suddenly the hand transformed itself into a claw, glowing like molten metal.                                           The stranger holding the vial
observed  her
display of power with a stern expression, as if preparing himself for a confrontation.               Dorian’s heart was moving much faster and he felt a despair and doom like he had never felt before.                                                                                     Dorian and Yuki jumped into their limo and both shouted to the driver to get them out of there, leaving the stranger to deal with the extraterrestrial-looking woman.                                                                                     “Did you see her face? What the hell was that? She looked like some kind of alien. What in the name of all that is holy is going on here?” Dorian asked. Yuki didn’t answer. She was still in a bit of shock, wondering if it was some sort of hallucination.                                                         As Dorian and Yuki's limo sped away, several stragglers leaving the memorial witnessed the confrontation between the woman and the dog-walker, who had himself produced a weapon made of light seemingly out of nowhere. It appeared to be himself-- a blade that was part of his forearm, glowing like molten metal similar to his opponent's claw.                             “I am Onoskelis,” the woman proclaimed, her voice sounding as ten speaking in unison with slightly different tones, producing a harmonious effect. The words were uttered in an unknown language which  seemed to be laced with a spell. The stranger was able to understand and withstand it.                                                                                                                               “Your Ka isn’t going to work on me!” he yelled. As soon as the words left his mouth she was upon him, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and lifting him off the ground. His concentration broke, causing his weapon to disappear; both of his hands were on her one arm, desperately trying to get her to let go. She moved his head near hers.               “I sense Gavri'el in you. I don’t care if you’re his offspring, if you get in my way I’ll destroy you!”                                                                                     The stranger managed to break her grasp and jumped back, surprising his attacker. There were more onlookers that had gathered in the parking lot wondering what was going on and a few of them appeared to be making phone calls.                                                                                    “Master, we need to go. We can get another sample from him later,” Dantanian said confidently. She flashed an angry look and got in the limousine. The stranger glared at the two of them and ran off quickly in the direction Dorian was traveling. Sirens could be heard approaching the area from the distance. 

                 Dorian and Yuki drove about ten miles from the harbor, not saying anything until the car pulled into the parking lot of a diner.                                           The bodyguards traveling behind them pulled alongside their car, got out and went to the parked limo.                                                                                     “Okay, what just happened there?” Yuki demanded.                                          “I have no idea; one minute I’m giving him the box, the next I’m in a
Star Trek
episode. Who or what was that? I’m beginning to wonder if this is some kind of caught on camera thing going on, but I can’t fathom how. No special effect I’ve ever seen looked
that
real.”                                          “I was thinking the same thing the first time Dantanian was telling me about this fantastic blood sample. What is the story behind the super blood? Is everything true? Where did you get it? What is it? What is going on?”                                                                                                                                             Dorian grimaced, then took a big breath and let it out.                             “Okay, this probably isn’t going to come as much of a shock after what we’ve just experienced, but here goes. The blood I gave him does seem to have some unusual qualities.”                                                                       “Such as?”                                                                                                                 “So far, I know of no pathogen that can negatively affect it. The immunology is quite remarkable. It seems to have a chromosomal anomaly, as well as no shortening of telomeres over time. I have the full genome at home; I just finished sequencing it and compiling the data, but haven’t had a chance to do a comparative analysis. My computer's running a program for that as we speak. That’s pretty much it.”                                           “You left out one big detail. Where did it come from?”                             Dorian decided he might as well get this all out in the open. “The sample belongs to me.”
                                                                                                 
Yuki looked confused. “I know it was yours. Are you saying that the test tube had your blood in it? That you-” She stopped herself and paused for a moment, pondering his proclamation.                                                         “I suppose that makes sense; I see,” she mused aloud, piecing together the clues that supported his statement. There was the fact that the man beside her who was forty nine years old barely looked twenty five. She remembered him responding to one of his colleagues who questioned his youthful appearance. “Must be in the genes” was something she'd heard him say several times before. She also recalled the incident when everyone in the lab and most of the building had caught a bad case of the flu when one of the researchers using live virus didn’t follow proper handling protocol. Everyone was sick except Dorian. It still didn’t seem possible to her.                                                                                                                 “Yuki, I know this may be hard to believe, but I need you to forget about this and go back to Michigan, for your sake and the sake of everyone you know.”                                                                                                                “It’s too late for that, I’m already involved!” she shouted. “Look what happened to my family. They’ll be coming after you now, I’m sure of it! If what you say is true, your blood is worth more than I could imagine, just considering your immune system.”