Seeing a large table with papers and maps strewn over it, I walked towards it and looked at what I was really getting myself into. There were three rolling bulletin boards with names and faces, maps from all over the world on display. However, when I looked at the table and saw many faces I knew and a few I didn’t, I looked at the stranger. “What the fuck is all this?”
“That my new recruit is who we are going to keep an eye on,” he said, walking over to me, holding a hot cup of coffee in his hands. “The Golden Skulls, you know. The Valentinetti Family, you’ve just recently met. Which reminds me, nice shot with Jekyll. Though if you ask me, he got off easy. Those over there, you know from your time in the Corps.”
“Who the fuck are those people?” I asked, pointing to the bulletin boards. Several faces were familiar to me. Some I knew personally. What the fuck did Reaper get me into?
The man grinned. “To use words you are familiar with. Those are dead souls walking.”
“I’m only here to get the team to safety. The rest you can deal with.”
“I think you will change your mind when I fill you in. In fact, when I’m finished, you will be begging me to kill them all.”
“Why do you care about all of them? Who the fuck are you?”
“My name is Gideon St. James. I also go by the name Guardian.”
I didn’t move.
I didn’t even blink.
I knew that name.
Heard it many times, even seen his work. The man was a legend. If I thought I was good at what I did, this man made me look like a two-time chump with a bee-bee-gun. The Guardian was an international mercenary who worked for no one. His exploits were known far and wide and the man never missed. Ever. No one knew who he was or if he was a man. Many governments had him on their most wanted list. There were actual task forces dedicated to finding him and killing him. But he left no trace. Nothing. Not even DNA.
The man was a ghost.
So, standing before him, I didn’t need to ask why I was singled out. The folder in my hand was enough. I had something he wanted. Needed. Too bad for him, I left my past behind me, wanting nothing to do with it. I had my own demons I had to contend with, now, to find and kill. So why bring me in now? Or was there some other reason for me being here?
“You don’t need me for this. Why am I really here?”
“Because I need your help.”
“Why me?”
“Because you are the only person who knows what Ascari looks like.”
And just like that, I knew this wasn’t just about what happened seven years ago. Bingo. Fuck! I really hated when Reaper was right. That mother fucker had a gut feeling and fuck it all to hell if he wasn’t right. Schooling my face, I took a seat and asked, “What is really going on?”
Gideon pulled out a chair and sat before he said, “The trafficking ring your club is trying to bring down. The baby farm, the Valentinetti’s are trying to wipe out, the shit that went down in Afghanistan seven years ago, the government fucking you and the team, it’s all intertwined. They all work for a group of individuals called the Society. Their main objective is to control the world through war, famine and currency. The war in Afghanistan wasn’t to help the Afghan people like the federal government said. They needed a stronghold in that country because that’s where the world’s largest poppy fields are. The Gulf War wasn’t about saving the Saudis from Hussein. It was to control the world’s largest oil fields. The current situation in the US isn’t about keeping people safe. It is about population control. Mainly controlling what the population sees while our government goes about their business. There are things in motion right now that will change the face of humanity forever if they succeed. Everything you thought you knew about the country you live in, the world, throw it out. What I am about to tell you is the truth.”
“I’m listening.”
Over the next several hours, I listened to the Guardian explain everything he knew, witnessed, helped to create. It was a veritable shit soup and when he finished, I asked, “If you knew all this, why didn’t you stop them? Why not go to the press?”
The man chuckled. “You mean the federally run broadcast networks that only spout the propaganda the government gives them?”
“Okay, but there are other ways to get the word out.”
“You mean the internet. Jesus Corporal, haven’t you been listening? The internet is controlled by the powers that be. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, all those social apps the world uses are shit. Do you honestly believe that those Community Standards are actually real people reading what is posted? It’s a computer-generated algorithm that the NSA and the CIA concocted to look for certain words. When users use the wrong word, their profile is flagged forever. They are put on a watch list and monitored indefinitely. Those text messages you send. Those are filed in a database and will be used against you if necessary. Nothing is private anymore. The moment a person agrees to any terms or conditions, they might as well be singing their lives away. In some cases, people who speak out, they disappear. I can name several high-profile people who tried to speak out against them, only to have them end up dead weeks later from suicide. The fucking population is so ignorant of what is really going on. Those who have half a fucking brain know this shit doesn’t add up and those people are labeled as a conspiracy theorists. They are vilified on the net and in the media. Nobody wants to believe the crazy shit they spout because if it is real, that means they fell for the biggest fucking con in the world and no one likes to be made a fool.”
“That may be, but the American public is funny about being lied to.”
“This isn’t just about Americans. This is about the whole fucking world and who controls everything. The world is a big place, but it’s getting smaller by the day. The Society knows this and they have implemented protocols to ensure that when they make their move, only the chosen will survive.”
“And how do you plan on stopping them if they are as big as you say?”
“I can’t stop them. Not by myself, but with your help I can make their lives miserable and maybe if I can get enough people on board, this world might have a chance.”
“And that’s where I come in?”