The Tale of the Blood Diamond (15 page)

Aton’s voice rang out, lifting Xzion away from his thoughts.

“So, Mr. President, this is why we felt it was imperative to discuss this with you, face to face.”

Xzion shot Aton a glance, allowing the man to do all the talking with no interruption. Aton was of course polished in his performance. After all, it wasn’t every day that the president of the United States met with the inhabitants of other planets.

“So.” The President gingerly picked up a shimmering glass set by his left hand and put it to his lips. To his credit, he looked composed, albeit incredulous. “All of these abductions and murders are from a group called the Yuledrakes, you say?” he repeated, as if he didn’t believe the words coming out of Aton’s mouth.

“Yes.”

Just then, two agents from the Homeland Defense entered. One of them raised his hand.

“I’m sorry we are late. We were just told of the meeting.”

Everyone looked at the two in confusion, the president especially.

“There must be some misunderstanding. We don’t need you here,” the president announced calmly.

He looked at Aton, then at Xzion, then back at the two agents in the room. “’Excuse me,” The President whispered to his secretary of defense. The man bowed his head, nodded a couple of times then escorted the agents out of the room after whispering something in their ears. Upon his return, the president picked up his spiel.

“I apologize for the interruption. They were invited to attend, but due to the nature of this meeting, I do not think their presence is necessary.” The president leaned back in his seat and straightened his light blue tie that matched perfectly with a sky blue button down shirt and navy blue jacket. They sat gathered in the East Room of the White House. The president, vice president, the United States secretary of state, two agents and the United States secretary of defense huddled close together, their faces all wearing the same stern, rehearsed expression. The room was elegant, large and full of yellow and gold natural light. Never before had a Zarkstormian set foot in the White House. This private meeting was a monumental event. Back in 1967, the meeting took place on an army base; now, they sat there like revered guests. Funny how humans changed their tunes and wanted to unite when there was an imminent threat to their way of life.

“We know who the ‘XXX’ Killer is,” Aton offered.

Xzion swallowed and looked away as if he were going to be asked to perform a laser show after such a heavy announcement. The two Zarkstormian soldiers with them stood behind his seat in a protective posture, hovering over Xzion as if a fight were about to ensue.

“Is he a part of this pandemonium as well?” the president asked coolly. “There were some recent murders, but we weren’t sure if it was the same person. These slayings, from what I understand, were a bit different — all of the dismembering was focused on the ribcages of the victims and the bodies appeared drained of their blood.”

“Well, actually—”

“Wait, don’t even answer.” He put his hand up and grinned, but not one of merriment. “All I care about is stopping this. People are beginning to panic and I don’t know how much longer we can assure them that we have this under control.  Truth of the matter, we don’t.” He grimaced. “And that is the only reason I agreed to this meeting with you two. I understand you are…Zarkstormians.” The president paused, seemingly finding it hard to come to terms with this unusual situation. “According to our records, you,” he looked down at a pile of papers then back up at Xzion, “have lived in Baltimore for several years. This is disconcerting, to say the least. We had no idea and I’d like to get into why a Zarkstormian has been stationed here, but right now, we have more pressing issues.” He sighed and his shoulders slumped, as if a great weight had fallen upon him, and indeed, it had. “We are obviously under attack and with no means to determine who exactly our target is. I can’t get this stopped, no matter how I’ve tried.”

“I will admit to you, Mr. Riutulivite…I’m sorry if I’ve pronounced your last name wrong.”

“Just call me Aton.”

The president nodded. “Aton, I will admit to you that I’ve known of your existence since being sworn into the office. It is not something, however, that we can discuss with the American people. We’ve tried working with your people in the past, in the 1960’s, to be exact, but that proved to be deadly.” He threw up his hands, a worried smile on his face.

“Yes, you knew of us in 1963 but it was in 1967 that you caused my people the most harm after meeting with our president. You didn’t try to work with us at all, you tried to use us,” Xzion blurted.

“Your people, Mr. Khrome, killed
good
people in an effort to use us like blood banks. These were good citizens not just in
my
country, but all over the world. I am not condoning drug trafficking, but I cannot in good consciousness sit here and ignore the fact that certain people from your race have annihilated innocent bystanders and took laws into your own hands. Then one of your own went on a wild killing spree across the globe not in the too distant past. It wasn’t your right to kill anyone!” the president said through gritted teeth. He slammed his fist onto the table. “I understand you need to survive and have a drive to do such, but you cannot do this to the American people!” His eyes narrowed. “There is no way in hell I trust either of you and why should I?!”

“Because, Mr. President,” Xzion leaned forward, his brow raised, “you don’t have a choice.”

Aton immediately jumped in, trying to clean up whatever accident he believed his pupil had spilled all over the floor from his fancy-free words. “Uh, what Xzion is saying, Mr. President, is that we are not your enemy any longer. We don’t have a vested interest in controlling any parts of your population. That project is over. As a matter of fact, we have an interest in protecting and
serving
you. You see, there was a reason we brought up the ‘XXX Killer.’”

“He is a Zarkstormian.” The President shrugged. “We’ve already known that; that’s what I’ve been stating. Everyone who knows about your people is aware of this fact. It’s confidential information, but we knew.”

“Yes, I had a clear understanding that you were aware of that. However,” Aton ran his hand over his face, a pleasant smile pasted on it, “…what you did
not
know, is that he is sitting right here…right
now
.”

Suddenly, guns were drawn all over the room. The loud clicking sound of chambers echoed throughout and the humans’ fear-induced fast breathing became acute to Xzion’s ears. People that Xzion hadn’t seen with his naked eye, but knew were there, just hidden, appeared as if being birthed from the walls, their shiny black weapons pointed directly at the four Zarkstormians. None of them balked or demonstrated the slightest bit of a reaction. Xzion smiled, then burst into light laughter and clapped his hands as if the final act of a comedy was in play.

“I can’t imagine what you find so funny, Mr. Khrome,” the president barked. Fear laced his tone, and for a man who believed he may die in a second, he gave a brave face. Xzion found that admirable.

“I’m sorry.” Xzion couldn’t stop laughing, and this surprised him. He didn’t mean to do it, but he couldn’t help it. “It’s just…well, if your guys knew
anything
about me, they’d know those guns may as well be filled with water. Didn’t you all study anything about us before our visit? What kind of half-cocked research is going on here? You accept a meeting with Zarkstormians, and don’t look into the matter regarding your own defenses? You have two guys, fresh out of co-op programs, waltz into a top secret meeting as if there is a pep rally going on in here. Then you send them out, knowing you had exactly twenty-two American soldiers hidden behind those fugly curtains… The one crouched in the corner can come on out, too.” He pointed to them as a soldier emerged from the very location he’d declared.

“You just assume those M324s are going to do the job. I could have killed all of you in no time flat if this was about taking someone out! We are
here
to have a discussion, to come to an agreement, you understand?” Xzion looked back at the soldiers and shook his head in disbelief. “You should’ve called the FBI or CIA…they could’ve taught you. Actually, that probably
was
your source of information. Tsk tsk…” His tone turned serious, almost deadly as he spied the fools with their little toys.

“Lower your guns…” the president declared breathlessly.

“Now.” Xzion took the reins, tired of pussy-footing around. “What my mentor was trying to explain to you is that…” Smiling, he touched his chest earnestly as he leaned slightly forward, starring daggers into the president’s eyes, “I am the ‘XXX’ Killer. However, as you know, there has not been a drug-related crime of my doing for over a year and anything similar was a copycat’s work. I’m retired from that program and won’t be returning.”

The president listened intently, but didn’t offer a word. Xzion watched the man’s brows dip and a scowl form across his face. He knew he wouldn’t be winning any popularity contests anytime soon, but they had a much larger issue at hand.

“I brought him here,” Aton interrupted, “to bring this to your attention because you needed to understand how important this is to us. We are not here playing games or attempting to waste your time. He is now on your side.” Aton pointed sternly at Xzion. “And that is where you want him. Now…” He clasped his hands together. “We have factions that will be uniting and working with us on this venture. What I need is permission from you, Mr. President, to move forward.”

“Move forward how?” The president sighed and leaned back in his seat.

“I want to train your armies. I am going to give you first hand top Zarkstormian military classified information to help you save your country and, quite frankly, save the world. You will be responsible for contacting the world’s leaders after this meeting, since my meeting with the U.N. was denied. You must arrange the meeting we discussed having with your United Nations as soon as possible. I understand that just less than an hour ago, Russia was hit with a large kidnapping undertaking near one of their largest diamond mines. That is no coincidence. You not only have beings that are trying to take over your world and destroy the inhabitants, but the one in charge of such activities is addicted to a gem that you all see nothing more than a valuable commodity.”

“Diamonds?” the president asked in shock. “They are
ingesting
diamonds?”

“Yes. This practice has been going on for centuries; however, the Yuledrakes have become rather dependent upon it. Typically, beings such as ourselves do not obtain addictions, but the Yuledrakes’ physical deficiencies make them privy to such after-effects, including addictions, mood-swings, and the like. What you’ve seen these past few days is just a small taste of what the Yuledrakes have in store for you.”

“I find it rather ironic that you, Aton, sit before me and warn me of the dangers of another, after the devastation your people put the world through.”

“We, as Zarkstormians, were pleasant, compared to what they will do to you and your families, and despite what occurred, we wished humans no harm. Now, we can continue speaking of the null and void project you continuously bring up while more and more Americans perish in the streets from your new assailant, or we can focus on what I’m attempting to relay to you, thus, saving precious life and preparing you for the onslaught of their attacks.”

The president huffed, but remained quiet.

“Thank you. Now, as I was saying… They may appear harmless, but appearances are deceptive. Their leader, Jatorn, is a deceitful, conniving, unnecessarily violent and callous man. He has taken over other planets and his cruelty knows no boundaries.” Aton fastened his hands; his lips drooped in a frown.

“He will take what you have, kill all in his path, and work whoever survives to the bone. He will torture, play with and destroy at will. If he thinks it, he will order it, and have it done. The only reason why this hasn’t progressed even worse at this juncture is because of him.”

He snapped his fingers at Xzion, but his face was still turned towards the president who seemed to be studying him. The long silence went uninterrupted, for it was evident, the observations were needed. Xzion didn’t flinch. He sat there and stared back, as the roving eyes of many scanned him, several in a state of disbelief. 

“Why have you changed your mind? Why would you want to help us?” The secretary of defense questioned before the president could no doubt ask the same question.

“Because…” Xzion looked towards the ground, his heart swelled deep within. “Because we don’t need to go forth in that direction, due in part to one human being. Due to her, and what we created together, that gift blessed my people for the rest of their lives, and generations to come. That one human being gave me something I will spend the rest of my life trying to repay her for. She treated me with kindness, with love. She changed my entire life.

“After that experience, I saw your kind differently,” Xzion admitted. He paused. “I must reiterate what my mentor has stated. The Zarkstormians never intended to cause harm to Earth. I believe our history in your world proves that point to some extent. What happened, sir, is that you have groups, shall we say, that are not honest and forthcoming. Before you poke a finger at my people, please examine your own selves and the devastation you have caused your own kind. Matter of fact, none of you in here are of high moral fiber, according to your own beliefs, but there is a worse lot than you,” Xzion chastised.