“Oh?” Lao said, his thin frame overshadowed by the black leather back of the chair. He crossed his arms and looked at all of them.

“What’s there to worry about?” General Romsky said, laughing and sitting back, relaxed. His carefree and arrogant demeanor irritated Ranjit. He had been an adviser to the King of Russia and maybe this had gone to his head. All that mattered very little to Ranjit. He smirked at Romsky. The Russian general went on. “We have the people right where we want them.”

“How can you say that?” Ranjit asked.

“Yeah,” Hopkinson said, supporting Ranjit. “We work for the people.” His thick skinned face seemed sickened and tired.

“Really?” said Romsky. “You think so?” He glanced at the others and at the Japanese man sitting silently, his eyes closed and shoulders slack. “What about you?” He snapped his fingers. “Hey Nakashima.”

Michio remained still, breathing in and out. George Hopkinson got up and walked to the window. He saw John’s limo parked across the street. “He’s here.” He turned around and went back to sit. “They’re on their way.”

They straightened themselves up and Michio opened his eyes. Romsky sighed, looking at Ranjit and George across the table. Michio and Lao sat respectively left and right of Sergei. “Well,” Michio who had been listening all the while to their conversations said, “None of it matters.” His voice remained soft. “We’re here to discuss the coming war, so politics is of no concern to us.”

“How can it not be?” Ranjit said, finishing his last sip of coffee. “We’re now following a fascist—”

“Gentlemen,” said John, as the large double doors opened and he entered with Richard by his side. The Generals stood up and John smiled. “It’s good to see all of you, my friends. Please,” he sat down and Richard went to sit at the other end of the table, “sit down.” One of the guards outside went to the coffee machine and prepared seven cups. As he left the room and tightly shut the doors, John continued. “Now, I want to make this quick and simple. We have roughly eight hours to get things in order. I’m going split us into two groups. I have already told Kurt about my plans for the air strikes, and he should have already briefed his boys about it. The first priority will be to rescue Alex and get the Rebels. This mission will be led by Richard and me. Now, I also want you and you,” he pointed to Hopkinson and Romsky, “to lead a ground attack in England.” John pressed a button near the right corner of his side of the table. The wood opened up and revealed a large keyboard. He pressed a button and a thick white curtain closed the window in front of him, throwing the room into darkness. Behind him, above the entrance, a robotic levitating projector dispersed a large ray of light onto the curtain. The coordinates Daniel had sent John shone on it. It showed a map and the coordinates lay near the west coast of England. All eyes were on it. “As you can see, whatever is there isn’t on the mainland of Europe, but it’s close to the British coastline. So I want you two to go down there and hold off any reinforcements.”

“How many will we have?” Romsky asked, studying the map.

“About two thousand units each. Is that enough?”

“More than enough for me,” said George.

“Wait till I call for you, which won’t take more than five minutes after I am on the Earth. The transport tankers will keep you near the atmosphere and you’ll be taken down within minutes.”

The two Generals nodded.

“Now, like I said,” John said, “Richard will be with me commanding an aggregate of five hundred men, if needed.”

“I doubt it,” Richard said, turning around in his chair to look at John. “Our main objective will be to get Alex and the Rebels out of there safely first.”

“Right,” John said, “That’s why you’ll make sure they do. Once they’re secured, we will have to stop Daniel and whoever else will be after him from getting off the Earth. Now the second part of the mission: the Vatican, you know we failed the first time. But that won’t happen again, now will it?” The three remaining Generals shook their heads and John continued, “The main objective will be to get inside, collect all the information we can, and then sabotage the library.”

“That’s going to take a lot of time,” Lao said, “There must billions of files in there.”

“Two of you have to watch over the other while he gets the files. Who wants to go in?”

“I will,” Singh said.

“Alright. Then, you two will be allotted seven hundred and fifty men each and you, General Singh, four hundred men. Is that fine?”

“Definitely,” they confirmed.

“Good. Get your men ready and meet me at the main Hangar at 1700 hrs. This meeting’s adjourned.”

Another half hour to go. This wasn’t a good sign at all, as Alex was still struggling with his meditation. What was going on here? It was as if everything he had gained had been lost in a second. He felt so confident and so sure. Perhaps he became overconfident. “Alex!” He was in the lotus posture with his eyes closed and his face strained. He tried too hard, even now. What was he supposed to get from this meditation in any case? Nikolas hadn’t given him any instructions.

“Alex!” The voice distracted him even more. “Alex, listen to me!” It was Nikolas. “Listen to what I have to say.”

“Alright.”

“I didn’t want to risk the trouble of people overhearing us, even if we were safe. You know what I mean.”

“Right,” Alex thought. “So this was all just a ploy.”

“Exactly. You can’t ever be too safe. Now listen. You have to do something for us. John’s coming in a few more hours. We are sending some energy to you.”

“Is that really possible? At such a distance?”

“Judging by all that has happened Alex, it shouldn’t be such a surprise to you. Now, once you get this surge, you’ll feel a sensation in your spine.”

“I know; I’ve felt it before during meditation.”

“No, this will be far worse. It’s not pleasant. In fact, it can be dangerous.”

“That’s good to know,” Alex said sardonically.

“The pain will make you want to move, but you must not. There will be a sensation like fire in your spine. If you bend at all, it will flow out and destroy you. You have to stay totally still and wait until it goes away. But, wait until I tell you to. In that time, your body will be as hot as glowing metal. Your spirit will see into the future and you will achieve immense power. After that you will learn many things, things that will be needed for the short-term future. You’ll be able to fight like a master swordsman; you’ll be able to use energy at your will, with just a flash of thought.”

“But how long does it last?”

“The calculation is a little complex. After you get the energy, you have to be still for at least an hour and you will gain about a hundred and twenty years worth of knowledge and skill.”

“Okay, and how long does the process last?”

“Six hours.”

There was a pause, “So that meditation for three hours was completely useless?”

“No! I have been trying to create a clear, undisturbed channel between you and me mentally, and you had to meditate to clear your mind. So should we begin?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Daniel and Erik stepped out onto the balcony of Daniel’s office. A light shower of rain started to fall. Daniel pushed a button near the threshold and a window swiped down and joined with the lock on the railing of the balcony.

“That really sounds like a good idea. But will it work?”

“Of course it will. Howe knows us, thanks to the stupid actions and word of the Rebels in the previous war.”

“So you really think this will be the catalyst for war?” Erik said, looking into Daniel’s gray eyes, which turned crimson at this remark.

“If not this, what? If not now, when?”

“Alright,” Erik sighed. He looked out at the violent sea as the waves collided with one another and the rain pitter-pattered on the window with an increased force. “What of the other cities? Shouldn’t we warn them about the attack? We have to protect them.”