The Harvester (23 page)

D
orian, Kelly Marie and myself meet at Mount Rushmore at the height of the tourism day to fit in and not be spotted by any possible Underworlders. I don’t wear my typical Harvester uniform in which I always sport. I wear the boring and typical tourist type clothing to fit in and so does Kelly Marie and Dorian.

“This won’t be our typical job, guys,” I tell them.

“You know what our mission is, so you know what to expect,” I say.

“So Senator Munley, huh?” Kelly Marie points out. “He used to be for the Agency and what it stands for. Why the abrupt change?”

She has a very good point. Why now all of a sudden? I have a pretty good idea who has gotten to him. Maybe Vega has already found some dirt on him and is blackmailing him in order to use him at his will. If that is true, we need to find some even worse dirt on him to get him to stop his crusade against the Agency and maybe even get him to speak highly of us. It’s not a Harvesting job, but this may prove to be more difficult than I had anticipated.

“You have a good point, Kelly Marie. And the answer most likely is what?”

“Vega,” they say at the same time.

“Exactly. By the time we get to DC, we need to come up with a rather elaborate plan. You want to do some sightseeing here or go to—”

“DC,” they say at the same time again.

We arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport later that night. Djinn made our weapons out of a special material that cannot be detected by anything human made, so we were able to fool the authorities. The hustle and bustle of the incredibly busy airport begins to annoy me. People rudely bumping into each other, annoyed airport employees, happy couples reuniting, the cornucopia of stenches, people suffering from jetlag, lost luggage, overeager security, and holy shit, there’s the Messenger. I stop Kelly Marie and Dorian and usher them to a safe spot out of his view.

“The Messenger is right over there. Don’t look,” I instruct.

“Do you think he knows we’re here?” Dorian asks.

“I’m not sure. Let’s hold back and see if he’s waiting for someone.”

Dorian and Kelly Marie cautiously peer over and spot out the Messenger standing by gate 13.

“He’s definitely waiting for somebody,” Kelly Marie states with confidence. “And I have a feeling who it might be.”

We closely observe the Messenger. Passengers begin to pile out of the tunnel to gate 13 from a plane that came from Los Angeles. And there he is.

“Yup. I knew it. The senator himself,” Kelly Marie boasts.

Damn, she’s an incredible woman.

“Senator Munley meeting with the Messenger? Now it’s official. He’s in bed with the Underworld,” Dorian makes the obvious stated.

“It goes without saying, but our surveillance starts now. Let’s move.”

The Messenger leads the Senator, late forties, slicked back hair, well-dressed, towards the baggage claim. We tail them, but at a safe distance. We know the Messenger has a keen sense of smell for Harvesters. I start to wonder why the Underworld has any interest whatsoever with Senator Munley. There’s any number of other people who could aid them better than he can. So, why him? We must find out.

The Senator came from Los Angeles where I know the Underworld has a huge assemblage of Underworlders. So, that would make sense. It would’ve been more profound if he flew in from Italy. Then, we’d really have something. Why L.A.?

To be honest, I’d rather be in Rome tracking Vega, but Mr. Herald seems to think that this is more important now, and he’s my boss, so I’m here in our country’s capitol.

We patiently wait as Senator Munley gathers his luggage. Obviously, he’s not the one in charge here because if he was the Messenger would’ve gathered his luggage for him. But no. This is a telltale sign to be noted. We carefully follow them toward the exit and I notice the Messenger is giving the Senator some sort of instructions.

With all the cornucopia of noises, my keen sense of hearing can’t pickup any of their conversation. We have our rental vehicle ready and parked right outside, so we’ll be ready to tail ’em right away. It wasn’t planned that we’d run into them, but it works in our favor so I say let’s use it to our advantage.

The Messenger escorts the senator toward one of the many exits. People he walks by can’t help but to stare at the Messenger due to his enormous size and tough demeanor.

Harvesters know how to perfectly tail someone, so we slowly follow them as they walk out the exit. The crowds of travelers storm inside, and we momentarily lose sight of them. We pick up our pace and exit. They come up on our radar again when we spot them entering a white limousine.

We turn and walk the other direction and head for our rental car down a ways. By the time we get in, the limousine drives pass us.

I always drive on these type missions, so I pull away from the curb and stay a safe distance behind them in the opposite lane.

“So we stick to the plan, Harvey?” Dorian asks me.

“We’ll try, but plans can change in a moment’s notice. You two know that better than anyone.”

“Hopefully, we can get to the DC Agency safe house to get all our gear before something goes down,” Kelly Marie comments.

“True dat,” for some reason Dorian says.

“True dat? Really?” Kelly Marie asks with a giggle.

Dorian shrugs his shoulders. “It’s what the kids are saying nowadays.”

Moments later and we follow the limousine turning to Dulles Toll Road, which leads toward Interstate 495. Once on the interstate, it’ll be easier to tail ’em because there will be much more vehicles to mask us.

“I’ve never been to DC,” Kelly Marie states.

“The last time I was here was when I took my daughter, Anastasia, on the typical DC touristy tour. She loved all that DC had to offer. We had a great time, and every time she smiled or giggled, it just made me feel so good inside. Now this place just makes me feel angry.”

Kelly Marie places her hand on my shoulder with a very caring expression and sadness in her eyes.

“I can’t imagine, Harvey. Again, I’m sorry for your loss. Anastasia was a great Harvester, and I can only imagine how wonderful of a daughter she was. I only worked with her once, but she seemed amazing.”

I stare into Kelly Marie’s beautiful, Caribbean ocean-blue eyes and try to give her a look that says “I’m interested in you.” And I guess it works because she genuinely smiles and nods a bit at me. I think this might truly be going somewhere between us other than just a Harvester crew member. I can’t think about that now or it will cloud my vision and distort my decision-making skills.

We’ll dwell on it later on downtime though, that’s for sure.

The limousine turns onto Interstate 495 and speeds up, making me have to speed up as well. I know what we’re all thinking: Where the hell are they going and why? I begin to itch for the battle. Like a junkie, it has been a while since my last fix, and I’m starting to get the tremors for it. Will DC bring my fix? I’m hoping so. But the ultimate fix to my itch is in Italy, and I so desperately would like to be there on the Hunt. But I digress.

The limousine continues to head south on the traffic-ridden Interstate 495 and they exit onto Interstate 66. They only stay on it for a short while when they exit and take a street that leads to a tall, massive church. They park curbside and exit the limousine. We park up the block and observe them walk into the Falls Church near the Metro Station.

“A church?” Kelly Marie confusedly asks.

“I have a sneaky notion that this is going to become heated very quick,” Dorian remarks.

I don’t say anything. I just ponder the possibilities of why a church. They look to me for some sort of input, but I’m not ready yet. This scenario actually boggles me.

“Maybe the senator wanted to make a quick stop to confess,” Kelly Marie jokingly says and this makes me laugh a bit. I love her sense of humor.

“Possibly, Kelly Marie. But highly unlikely. Something in there they want, need, or will utilize to their advantage. I assure you,” I inform them.

“We’re going in, aren’t we?” Dorian asks as if he already knows the answer.

I give him a look that lets him know, “Duh.”

We exit the vehicle and stealthily maneuver toward the backside of the church. We search for an entrance that’ll allow us to secretly enter and not get caught by anybody.

The element of surprise is crucial here. Kelly Marie waves us over to a door one level down some stairs. We quietly descend to the single door. Dorian pulls out his lock-picking kit and goes to work on the door. He’s able to unlock it within twenty seconds.

“Good work, Dorian,” I tell him.

It’s always productive to compliment your crew members to boost confidence and to show you appreciate their services. And I truly do. But when they screw things up, I’m even quicker to let them know in order to rectify the situation as quickly as possible so nobody gets sent to the After before they want to. It’s a sound procedure and has worked a high percentage of the time. It doesn’t matter if your Alive or a Dead One, everyone likes to be told when they have done a good job and you appreciate them. However, it takes a special person to take criticism and listen to it and grow because of it without taking offense.

I slowly open the door and peer in to see there’s nobody to be seen. Just as I thought the scenario would be.

However, if this is an Underworlder locale, where are their security? I have a feeling we’ll find out soon enough.

We’re only a crew of three. Who knows how many Vega has here? This church is mammoth. I have my doubts, but I know we’re a formidable crew, one to not be trifled with, no doubt. I have no questions of our joint abilities. But this is a foreign location, and once again, we don’t know the layout, so we must proceed with extreme caution.

“This reminds me of the cave all over again, guys,” I tell them. “And we all know how that turned out, right?”

“So with that said, there’ll most likely be a hidden doorway of some sort which will lead to where they are,” Dorian comments.

“Maybe they know we’re on to them, and this is some sort of trap. It wouldn’t be the first time,” Kelly Marie replies.

These are the kind of things to think about in order to stay a successful Harvester, or you’ll end up in the After before you wish to. You must think of every angle your enemy will be thinking in order to destroy you and your plight will be easier.

We sneakily move into the church and observe our surroundings with a close eye. No Underworlders to be found. Nobody at all, for that matter. No type of security camera surveillance neither. Now my suspicions begin to rise. Why isn’t there anyone at all? Is this a complete Underworld front to lure us into a trap for the final time?

We move slowly to the back of this large, well-decorated yet gaudy church. Kelly Marie checks the confessional booths, nothing. I find descending stairs, and I wave the others over.

“Dorian, you stay here. Kelly Marie, you come with me.”

We quietly descend the stairs, anticipating something will definitely be on the other side of the lower door that we will most definitely have to combat. Both of our guns are raised and poised for action. We reach the door, and I put my ear to it hopefully to hear something with my keen sense of hearing. However, nothing. I check the doorknob, and it’s unlocked. I nod at Kelly Marie. I turn the doorknob ever so gently and slowly open it. I peek through the slightly ajar door. Nobody is in the room. I open the door all the way and we enter.

“Look for anything that seems out of place,” I instruct Kelly Marie.

We scour every inch of what appears to be a priest’s office.

Kelly Marie kicks over a desk trashcan out of frustration. “We saw them come in here! Where are they?”

“Keep your composure and be quiet, Kelly Marie,” I say to her.

She takes several deep breaths and nods at me.

“Let’s get back topside and check the rest of the church,” I comment. “We’ve overlooked something.”

I take point and move up the stairs where I see Dorian still at his position like a good Harvester should do: obey commands given to you by the head Harvester on the Hunt.

But he’s a well-trained, seasoned, decorated soldier from the World War II era, so it’s expected by me. We make it to the top.