It had been a week in a half since Michael had escaped Sing Sing. However, no one from The Wave had heard from him and Marie hadn't been able to connect with him on a telepathic level. Aissa wasn't sure if he had escaped at all. Her doubt and anxiety built daily. Nyrraw had suggested that Michael was purposefully quiet and undetectable to negate any effort by The Sephiren to recapture him. But the silence was getting under all of their skin and The Sephiren was unusually silent as well. There was no APB out for Michael nor mention of his escape on any local or national television networks, which was odd according to Obadias and Aissa because The Sephiren notoriously used law enforcement to detain individuals that were a threat to the veil.
Asante and Chelo were tasked with the continued search of all social media and television networks for anything related to Michael. This morning all of the stations were abuzz with the new presidential candidate that replaced a senator who had to step down because of an infidelity scandal. Asante was about to change the channel when the new candidate came from behind a curtain and stepped up to the podium.
Her pulse started to race and sweat formed on her forehead as Chelo and the room disappeared from her view. Although he had traded his scruffy brown suit for a black one, there was no denying it. The presidential candidate was Mr. Douglas from the police station all those many years ago.
"What's wrong, Asante?"
Asante tried to speak, but she was having some type of post-traumatic episode. "It's, it's, it's...But, it's?"
"It's what, Asante?" Chelo urged her to answer. Asante continued to try, but nothing intelligible would come out of her mouth. "Aissa!" Chelo screamed out. A moment later, Aissa ran into the media room where she found Asante with a look of fear and confusion on her face and Chelo who wiped her brow.
"What is it, what's going on?" Aissa asked. Asante still too overwhelmed to speak, pointed at the television. Aissa stood still in her tracks. Douglas. A moment later.
"There they are. They are making their move." Chelo looked to Aissa for answers.
"It's The Sephiren. They are taking up a new strategy, more control, more visibility," Aissa concluded. Then she knelt down to face her sister. "Asante, breathe deeply. We knew The Sephiren would seek to deepen their dominance over the population. More and more individuals are no longer accepting their reality. That combined with you, me, and Daddy in the wind, they are operating out of fear which means they will ultimately meet their demise. Let's not forget, they are afraid of you, the possibility of you being The Aurora is why you were monitored all this time, you can bring an end to their existence. I know it's upsetting to see him, but we must move forward with our purpose." This calmed Asante a bit, but she was still anxious about her role in "our" purpose.
"So do you think I am The Aurora?"
"I think it's a very real possibility"
Asante decided to call out the elephant in the room. "We don't know if our father is alive or dead. And although Marie has transcribed the contents of Mommy's notebook, without him we are just as lost as we were before!" She nearly yelled at Aissa.
"Please have hope, we have you, Asante!" Aissa rebutted. Asante could feel a lump in her throat rise as she thought of her response.
"Who am I? I accidentally performed a miracle? I don't know how I'm doing any of this. I can barely wrap my mind around the possibility of what you all can do yet I've seen it with my own eyes." She shook her head as she looked at the floor.
Chelo then stepped forward and interjected. "You will learn. Be patient with yourself. We will help you see for yourself what we hope for you and all of humanity. Living in The Now, being in The Now, no longer chained by the pains of your past, nor the anxieties of your future."
"You make it sound so easy." She sniffled and continued to look at the ground.
"It's not easy, but it is as natural as breathing, and when you truly find your still breath you will find The Now and all that flows through it." He touched her chin gently and lifted Asante's head so that their eyes could meet. She smiled at him and all was well for the moment.
"So, when do we start?" Asante asked.
"We start now," Aissa and Chelo said in unison. "There's no time but The Now."
* * *
Brennan looked around the opulent sitting room as he had done many times before. However, today he was uneasy in a way that was new to him. Today he couldn't shake the memory of Asante as she was subdued by Carmichael, the guards, and himself not ten feet from where he now sat. He also had newly found misgivings about Farraday and Fairchild. It was as if he were a pawn in a larger battle for Asante. But, he hadn't seen his role until it was too late.
When he had reached the Mayacamas Mountains, the only people he found at The Wave headquarters were a part of The Sephiren. They had been there for at least two hours scouring it for clues as to how The Wave knew they were coming and where they might be headed. Which now Brennan was turning over in his mind, how had The Sephiren found out their location? He knew that Schmidt, because of her own interests in getting her hands on the notebook, hadn't given them up. This only left him. Which means Farraday and Fairchild had been monitoring him without his knowledge.
Today they had called him here to Maple Street to give him his new orders. But he was no one's puppet and he was determined to not be played again. Fairchild and Farraday entered the room and disrupted his train of thought.
"Oh, silly, silly Brennan, did you think you could have Asante all to yourself? Run off into paradise, or some cliché shit like that?" Fairchild started. Farraday smirked to herself and searched Brennan's face for a response. Brennan determined to not give anything up at this point, starred coldly back.
"The real question at this juncture is should you be trusted or discarded?"
Brennan opened his mouth to speak and Fairchild grasped at the air in a motion as if he were catching a bug. Brennan found his vocal cords had been affected by Fairchild's action.
"It was a rhetorical question, we weren't looking for an answer here. It seems your little girlfriend has chosen a side. She and her clan of misfits have aided in Michael, our greatest asset in keeping order in this madness, escape.
"As you know they somehow obtained a copy of Stella's notebook. However, we don't believe Michael and Asante have reunited as of yet. We don't know precisely what the notebook contains, but we know it contains the schematics for a weapon that could potentially destroy what we have known as reality since pretty much the dawn of civilization. Michael must not, under any circumstance, reach The Wave or be reunited with his daughters."
Fairchild began to squeeze his fist tightly and as he did, Brennan felt as if all the air in his lungs was being squeezed out of his body, he couldn't breathe.
"Do you understand the implications of what I'm telling you?"
Brennan did his best to nod his head yes. As he did, Fairchild opened his hand as if to release him. Brennan could feel the rush of air fill up his lungs. He gasped and took several deep breaths bringing life back into his body.
"But how do I intercept him? He's too smart to be found on grid. He could literally be anywhere. Not to mention, uh-hum," he coughed. "We don't know the location of Asante or any other Wave member. It literally is picking a needle out of a haystack."
"Not with the quantum computer. Schmidt should be able to assist." Farraday added dryly.
Not surprised, Brennan shot back, "You don't think she's going to give up any more information unless she is incentivized, do you?"
"Carmichael will assist you in that," at which point Carmichael entered the room. Then Farraday added, "We've decided that Carmichael will also accompany you from now until you find Michael. Just in case you were thinking of trying to betray us again, he will 'incentivize' you to stay on course."
* * *
Chelo and Asante had been hiking the mountains behind the Eslan Institute for an hour and a half. Asante wasn't sure what hiking had to do with The Now, but she was eager to find out.
They were climbing toward a peak and Chelo said, "Pay attention to your breath"
The only thing Asante knew about her breath at this moment was that she was out of it.
"A little further," Chelo encouraged.
Asante thought of herself as a fit person, but her thighs were on fire as she reached the little clearing at the peak of a mountain. She closed her eyes momentarily to prevent sweat from getting in them.
Suddenly, Chelo was at her side and whispered into her ear, "Keep your eyes closed, what do you hear?"
Asante replied with, "Nothing"
"Ok, let's start with your breath. I want you to concentrate on it, feel and imagine the air enter and fill your lungs. Feel your diaphragm expand and contract as you blow the air out again."
At first, Asante noticed nothing, then she could hear her and feel her breath in her body. Next, she could hear a hawk in the distance calling out. "I hear a hawk somewhere," She whispered.
"Good. Now open your eyes and let The Now in."
As she did, she noticed the sky and the clouds moving subtly, she could feel a gentle breeze against her skin, the leaves on the trees were vibrant and she could hear them dance in the wind, and the rolling mountains were majestic. The more connected she became with her breath, the more connected she became with all that she encountered. Her thoughts began to dissipate as her awareness of her body and everything she encountered rose from the depths of her consciousness. The Now. She looked at Chelo and she felt even more drawn to him than just a moment before.
"I'm here. I am present," she affirmed.
"What do you want to do?" He asked, smiling down at her and sharing in this wonderful moment.
"What I've wanted to do since I met you." She pulled him closer to her body by grabbing him by his belt buckle. He took her into his arms and they kissed in the reality of their love. A moment later they laid down and consummated their connection on top of the world.
* * *
"Douglas will win the election next month and we will be in a position to set The War in motion immediately. Our contacts are in place and are waiting for your command." Fairchild oozed as he shook the martini in the tumbler that he was making for himself and Farraday.
"Brennan will lead us to Asante, Aissa, and Michael but the question is the timeline. The likelihood of all three of their deaths occurring simultaneously will take a precise tactical schematic. We can't take the chance of leaving one of them alive because that one could galvanize The Wave to be a formative advisory in this war." Fairchild continued as he handed Farraday her drink.
"It doesn't matter, either way, as long as we kill Asante, there will be no hope."
"So, you do believe she's The Aurora?"
"Not necessarily but I'm not willing to take a chance at this point. If they believe it, we destroy their faith when we destroy her."