The Ultimate Sacrifice Pt. 04

I thought for a bit, "I may have a solution for that. Remember when I said I started reading minds, I heard everyone's. I wonder what seven billion thoughts sound like? If I could somehow filter out the thoughts of Anu's spies, maybe we would have a way to identify them."

Then another thought occurred to me, "Are his spies human or just look human?"

Poseidon responded, "They are from another system, but he picked them because they appear human."

I smile, "So there are differences in their physiology?"

"On the inside." Poseidon said smiling back.

"Then it shouldn't be difficult to identify them. The question is, what do we do with them? The conflict with Lilith happened so fast, I didn't have any time to collect any intel." I realized then, that I'm not that far removed from Bob Davis. I didn't know everything or how to resolve every issue. As enhanced as I am, I'm still not perfect.

I had something else on my mind, "One question that's always bothered me. Why is Anu so intent on destroying Earth? It's just one minuscule planet out of countless ones he has conquered. Isn't Anu's main antagonist Zeus and not the people of Earth? Even then, none of the people involved are still alive. They've been dead for centuries, with the exception of Perseus and Heracles."

Athena answered, "I would think the answer would be obvious. Anu knows how much Zeus loves Earth. Besides, that's where Zeus humiliated him and killed his grandson. Anu doesn't just want to kill Zeus, he wants him to suffer."

"Thus the reason he's going after Earth first, then the Olympus." I said almost to myself.

As the ship drew closer to Earth, I found a space that was quiet and started listening to all the humans below. At first it was just a mess of jumbled noise. I focused on key words, like "Annunnaki, Anu, conquest, etc." This filtering allowed me to start examining individuals and either eliminating them from our suspect list (remember, I use to be a cop) or add them to the list. Two things surprised me; one there were fewer suspects than I had imagined, maybe 100 at most. Secondly, two of the non humans were actually Annunnaki. I memorized the names of the spies and the Annunnaki. When we arrive at the cabin, I would have the Greys research each one. I was most interested in the Annunnaki.

Before we landed, I brought my companions up to speed, "The two Annunnaki appear to be Inanna and her twin brother Utu."

Josephine asked, "What is the Annunnaki goddess of love and the moon god doing on Earth? If Anu's intent is to destroy Earth, why risk their presence."

Athena responded, "They know about Heracles and Perseus. Perhaps they are there to ensure Anu's plan is not interrupted by them. Perhaps he is even willing to sacrifice them."

"When we arrive at the cabin, and we have a chance to debrief Heracles and Perseus, all of us need to agree on our next course of action".

My companions all nodded their understanding.

We landed our ship underneath the lake and greeted Bron and Thret. They examined me very closely, sometimes commenting on Aphrodite's handy work.

"Um...if y'all are finished gawking at me, I've got a list of 100 suspects I need full research on, please."

Bron sent a telegraphic thought for the group, "We apologize Hector of Troy. We did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable. We will begin the research immediately."

"Thank you Bron, and you didn't make me feel that uncomfortable. I've really missed you guys." I was genuinely glad to see them again.

Bron directed us to where we could find clothing more appropriate for our surroundings. Chitons and sandals weren't necessarily in fashion. Athena and Poseidon adjusted to a more human size. Then the four of us transported ourselves to the surface, at the entrance to the cabin. Heracles was sitting on the front porch. He stood, walked down the stairs and greeted Athena and Poseidon. Then he walked over and picked up Josephine and brought her into one of his famous bear hugs.

"I've missed my little sister so much." He then gently put her down and walked over to me. He was now only about three inches taller than me. He looked me over, walked behind me, examining every conceivable inch and finally stopped right in front of me.

"So is Bobby boy still in there or are you just some big, strong, smart asshole now?" He wasn't smiling. A brief thought entered my mind, "I'd rather fight the Annunnaki any day of the week than go mono y mono with Heracles."

I looked back just as intense, "You forgot immortal as well."

We stared at each other for a couple more seconds.

Then I smiled and said, "I missed you too Hank."

He smiled back and then gave me one of his bear hugs too. "It's great to see you again. I'd say I like the new threads, but in your case, I like the new bod!"

"Thanks big guy, I can't believe it's only been two months since we first met. I feel like I've known you all my life." I really had missed him, I hugged him back.

"Wow... Aphrodite did make you stronger." He said as we released each other.

We all went into the cabin and spent the rest of the day bringing Heracles up to speed about everything that had transpired.

At one point Athena asked Heracles where Perseus was. He said he was still in Europe, something about being in love. I thought that was rather curious, this was a pretty important time to be absent. If Anu was successful, Perseus wouldn't have to worry about love anymore.

Someone, I don't remember who, announced they were getting hungry. Well golly gee, even with a pending date with armageddon, ya gotta eat. Ok, maybe I was hungry too, smart ass came to the surface.

We all chipped in and created nothing short of a feast. Poseidon was actually a competent sous chef, and I never would have guessed, in a million years, Athena would be a grill master, but damned if she was. I made some good ole Texas chili (that means no beans y'all). We continued to discuss things as we ate. I could tell Athena, Poseidon, Heracles and Josephine were very close. The way they treated each other was just like any good, normal family, except they were far from normal. What humbled me was they treated me like family as well. I guess I was the adopted little brother.

After dinner Bron and Thret requested an urgent meeting. We met them in a conference room, in the operations center.

Bron addressed the group, "We've located Utu and Inanna. Utu is going by James Whitmore and works for the US Central Intelligence Agency. Inanna goes by the name of Marie Boutier and is dating Perseus. We believe Utu's job is to keep track of Heracles and Josephine. I will add Inanna is doing a much better job than Utu. Utu is not aware of the cabin and has been frantically looking for Heracles for about a year."

The room was silent. Heracles was the first to speak, "My great grandfather is boning an Annunaki? That's so wrong, on so many levels."

That got the room laughing and broke the tension that was in the air. The joke was lost on Bron and Thret.

Bron proceeded to account for the 100 or so spies of the Annunnaki. Many were occupying elected or other governmental positions throughout the world. Most non-elected positions were military or intelligence. A dozen were high up in influential corporations that had an impact on a global level. Inanna and Utu were supervising their activities as well as keeping an eye on any Olympians.

As I listened to Bron's presentation, another thought occurred to me. So I offered a different theory, "The presence of Inanna and Utu, plus the number of Annunnaki allies might suggest Anu doesn't intend to destroy the planet, but rather enslave it again."

Josephine asked, "He's been dead set on destroying Earth, why would he want to enslave it now?"

I knew this wouldn't be a popular theory, "Inanna and Utu may have convinced him that the planet's leadership is so corrupt that it can be manipulated to serve him. They have integrated key positions in global government and business, it wouldn't take much effort. What better way to humiliate Zeus than to make every human, on his precious Earth, Anu's slave."

The group discussed and debated the various possibilities and outcomes for the planet and its inhabitants. Bottom line, we didn't have a clue what Anu's true intentions were.

In the end Athena summed it all up, "We cannot allow Anu to enslave Earth anymore than we can stand for the destruction of the planet."

We all looked at the great goddess. Poseidon finally asked, "And what do you propose?"

She responded, "Well the first thing is to save Perseus."

To be continued...