Unity and Destiny Pt. 06

"Too complicated," Esther agreed. "What do we lose by calling them? I can watch for federal agents swooping in on us or whatever. This seems like a really convoluted way to go about that sort of thing. If it's fishy, we'll just throw away the phone afterwards, like you say."

Esther called the number, but Javier made her promise to change her voice up. She could do that, sort of, by attempting to reproduce someone else's vocal cadence or accent. Nicola was the one who was terrifyingly good at imitating others, but for whatever reason she didn't like to do it.

After a short wait, she said the phone number. Just enough different from her usual voice. Javier didn't really know if the FBI had voice analyzers or whatever like on TV, but he figured it couldn't hurt.

* * *

They let the others know what they'd done, while they waited for a call back. After an hour they got a somewhat annoyed e-mail from Selena telling them to be careful, and to come back before they made any more decisions.

Esther was getting up to look for food in Jacob's fridge when the cellular phone rang.

"Remember to change your voice again," Javier said, and she nodded nervously. Of course she remembered.

"Hello?"

There was a pause.

"Is this the apprentice?" The voice was a woman's. Clear American English but an odd delivery. She might not be a native speaker.

"Yes."

There was another pause. "I am going to ask you something. Answer as quickly as you can. Tell me all the integers larger than one that satisfy two to the n plus one over n squared is an integer."

Esther blinked. A math problem. Not trivial, though not very difficult either. But the woman had stumbled over it, as though reading something unfamiliar. Esther checked her reasoning and then answered after a few seconds.

"Three. That is the only solution."

"Please explain how you can show that."

She began the proof, but after a few seconds she was interrupted.

"All right," the woman said. "Here are some geographic coordinates. Can you be there at noon tomorrow? I will be nearby."

The woman read out the coordinates, which suggested a place at most an hour or two from Las Vegas. She would have to look at a map to be sure.

"Yes, I can meet you there," she said. "May I bring friends with me?"

The woman paused a long time, though Esther heard her breathing. When she spoke again, she sounded far less confident.

"Yes. A few. Only ones you trust with your life, who could make the meeting safer. Only if you feel you can make them inconspicuous. I will see you tomorrow."

Esther hung up the phone, and then relayed the conversation to Javier.

"Wait," he said when she finished. "Keep going. How did you show three was the only solution?"

She went slowly, but she could see she'd lost him pretty soon. She started again, with a more verbose proof, but he shook his head.

"You might be able to get me through that on paper," he said. "Eventually. Esther, you have no sense anymore what a difficult problem is, if you ever did. She didn't just pick that one off someone's high school math homework, did she?"

"No," she said slowly. "You're right. And it's much harder to write a good problem than to solve it. This was a decent problem. I'm nearly positive the woman on the phone didn't write it. Probably she looked it up, or someone gave it to her. I think she only listened to enough of my proof to believe I knew what I was talking about."

"So she came prepared," he said. "She knew Abuela's apprentice was a math genius. Probably she'd have asked Abuela something different. Who could possibly know that about you, and so few other details? And that last comment, about making your friends inconspicuous. Could she possibly know that you can hide yourself from other Changed?"

"I have no idea," said Esther. "Maybe she was being purposely obscure. In case anyone else read the mail, or listened in on the call. Maybe she only meant she doesn't want it to look like an important meeting."

"Those are good points," said Javier, and Esther smiled at his praise. She could be devious too, whatever Selena thought.

"Obviously you intend to go," he said. She realized she'd done it again, making the decision herself without talking to the others. But she knew she needed to go. Whatever this was, it didn't feel like a trap. That woman had been quietly desperate.

"Yes," she said. "But we'll go back. I suspect everyone will want to come along."

* * *

Everyone did want to come along, even Raj. But Javier convinced him that they should leave someone behind, and Raj accepted his role easily enough.

"I won't pretend I could provide much in a crisis," he said. "That getaway drive in Oregon was already more daring than anything I expected in my life. But I'll stay with Jacob, if you don't mind. Easier to contact me, easier for me to get something done if needed."

Noon the next day was a tight schedule, something they'd already discussed. Perhaps it really was that urgent. Or perhaps the woman didn't want to give them extra time to prepare. Selena said it would be a bit faster in the plane, but five was one more than her plane held, and in any case they could split up the driving so they'd all get enough sleep.

Javier had been to Las Vegas once, back in high school, on a depressingly sedate trip with Mamá and one of her friends from work, someone he'd suspected Mamá was dating for a while. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious. In any case, they'd done a few touristy things, avoided the big casinos, and seen a pretty boring show.

This time, they weren't even going quite as far as Las Vegas. The coordinates were in the empty north end of Red Rock Canyon park, which was why they'd decided on the truck. It was the kind of place to pick if you were paranoid about watchers, or wanted to kill someone without witnesses. He hadn't mentioned that possibility, of course, but he knew some of the others were thinking it. Selena had taken along her handgun, accepting the long stare that Esther gave her.

"Be very careful," Kat had e-mailed. "Grace and I are really worried about this. It doesn't add up. I wish we could come along. Take care of Esther, and yourself."

* * *

Esther was able to sleep in the car, to her surprise. When she awoke she felt the comforting presence of her friends surrounding her. Javier's arm around her, her head buried against his shoulder. Nothing had happened during the night, at least nothing that her low level of awareness had marked as important. Raj was still asleep on Jacob's couch in Reno.

It was past sunrise, and they were less than two hours from their destination. The park's high peaks rose to the south of them, while the bone-dry basin spotted with tumbleweed and sagebrush reminded Esther unpleasantly of her feverish drive through Nevada and Utah last summer. Selena said it had been an unusually dry winter here, despite the snow farther north in the Sierras. Las Vegas was barely eighty miles distant, but nothing about the landscape suggested its presence yet.

Nicola was driving, and she noticed Esther awake. "You sense anything yet?" she asked quietly.

Esther shook her head. "No one's there. We can stop anywhere that looks good."

They didn't want to arrive hours early, which might spook whoever was meeting them. Instead, they'd agreed to stop and let Esther watch from a distance until it was time. An hour later, Nicola pulled off the highway, driving on a rough track towards a rock formation that would hide them from the road and give them shade for a while.

"OK," she said. "I guess we wait now."

They got out to stretch. Even the air reminded Esther unpleasantly of the Utah canyon. The alkaline tang to the soil. The landscape had a stark beauty, but Esther doubted she'd ever entirely appreciate it.

The hours passed, and Esther kept checking. She didn't intend to exhaust herself, but it would be easy enough to sense a car at the designated spot. Some vehicles drove past, but no one stopped. They ate a quiet meal, silence only broken by distant traffic and the occasional plane. Finally, it was time for them to go.

"Either she's on her way, or she got there even earlier and parked somewhere else," said Javier. But she could tell he was uncomfortable. There were more scenarios than that, ones the others didn't want to mention out loud.

The side road was well-paved, and cut high into the mountains of the park. They passed by creosote bush and the odd shapes that Selena identified as Joshua trees. The southern part of the park was named for its brilliant rocks, like the area around the Utah canyon. Esther could see them if she looked that far in otherspace. But at this end of the park, the mountains were less showy, with pine forest nestled among drab grey rock faces.

The road got some use, from hikers and people camping up high. Less in the winter, Selena had said. But the meeting spot was right off the main road, and it soon became clear there was no one waiting for them.

Selena pulled into the broad gravel area off the road, stopping the car. It was two minutes before noon.

"Wait," Esther said. "There's something sticking out from under that rock."

Nicola jumped out and retrieved what proved to be a note. It contained instructions for finding the actual meeting spot, a few miles farther on. It was the same handwriting as before.

"What a goose chase," Nicola said. "You sense anything up there?"

"A parked car," she said. "No people."

"Well, let's go get the next clue, then," said Javier with a smile. But he was even more nervous now.

The next spot was actually a decent gravel road, which turned sharply ahead around a set of boulders. The car was parked just off the highway.

"I think it's a rental car," Esther said after a moment. "I can see some documents in the glove compartment. Nothing with a name, though."

"Could she have walked up the road? Or driven in another car?" Javier asked.

"Let me look," Esther said.

She already knew there wasn't anyone nearby. But that wasn't quite true. They didn't know who the woman was, and there was reason to guess she had Changes. Esther looked much more carefully into otherspace. And in under a minute, she found them. It was two people. She could sense enough to tell they were not physically dangerous.

"One or both of them is extremely good at hiding," she said. "They are some distance around that bend, behind some trees. I don't believe they are any danger to us."

"But they hid from you," Selena said. "That can't be easy at all."

"I wasn't looking with all my effort," Esther said, feeling defensive. "I wanted to make sure I was sharp for the meeting."

"It doesn't matter," said Javier. "Let's go meet them."

They rounded the turn, after which the road straightened, rising slowly into the rocky forest. As Esther walked the others crowded around her, as though protecting her with their bodies. But she had a growing suspicion that it was utterly misplaced.

Sure enough, as they approached a woman stepped out from the trees. Japanese, perhaps sixty. Extremely nervous. And behind her was a much older man, stooped, leaning against her. His hand and one side of his face were badly scarred. Old burn wounds.

Esther started to cry.

* * *

Javier and the others realized who it was just after Esther did. Javier's gut unclenched. This was a powerful man, of course. But he might have saved the entire world, all on his own. His heart was with Esther. This man needed their help, and of course they would give it.

The others still looked uneasy, but Selena hadn't reached for her weapon. And now the man moved forward unsteadily, shaking off the woman's help.

"I didn't realize how young you were," he said to Esther, in flawless English. "Do not cry. I'm afraid to say there's no time. Come and sit with me on my log, and I will tell you everything I can. But you must be vigilant for both of us."

"Were you followed?" the woman asked tensely. "Can you sense such things? Are you concealing yourselves from others?"

"We were not followed," Esther said. "I would have detected that. And yes, I am concealing us all, though I believe I am no better at that than you."

"My uncle, you mean," said the woman as they moved towards the sitting place. "I have no such talents. Apologies. My name is Tomiko Nakahara, and this is my great-uncle, Asuka Tanaka."

"Esther Thompson," she said. Javier and the others began to introduce themselves, attempting to copy Tomiko's bow. Mr. Tanaka sat down carefully, hardly seeming to notice the exchange.

"You are modest about your talents," he said. "I did not believe any could find me when I was concentrating so intensely. I expected to send Tomiko out to greet you."

"Yes, I suppose I am skilled in such detection," Esther said.

Mr. Tanaka seemed to have lost his train of thought. "Uncle," Tomiko said urgently. "The book."

"Ah," he said, fishing in his jacket pocket. He handed her a leather notebook. Javier peered over Esther's shoulder. Inside was a dense series of numbers, obviously a code.

"These are my observations," he said. "The most important things I can remember. I was a fool not to write it all before, when my memory was intact. Always waiting, always afraid. I waited too long. I am so sorry, Ms. Thompson. This is the best I can do."

"Do not be sorry," Esther said, looking shocked. "You acted when none else did. You are a hero, Tanaka-sensei."

"No," said Mr. Tanaka. "But that is very kind of you. I have forgotten something. Oh, yes, the code. Do you speak Hungarian?"

Javier nearly laughed in surprise, but Esther answered immediately.

"No," she said. "I have no great skill in languages, but an excellent memory. I could translate word-for-word easily enough, if that is sufficient. Is the cipher a Hungarian book?"

Mr. Tanaka nodded. "You are quick, as I thought. I do not have a physical copy, but it is still stuck in my memory. There are strange islands of clarity like that."

He gave the name of a book that meant nothing to Javier, but Esther nodded.

"It should not an uncommon book, if you find a good enough library," he said. "In English the title would be 'Candles Burn Until the End'. And translating word-for-word is also what I did. I was writing the cipher for an English speaker. You, or your teacher."

"I'm afraid she is dead," Esther said. "A year and a half ago."

"Ah," he said. "Then I'm sorry, though I suspected as much. I would like to have met her. I should have met her, all those years ago. Perhaps everything would have been different, then. But I was so afraid. Always afraid."

"Uncle," said Tomiko with discomfort. "You should talk about the things you told me to remind you about. The dangers."

He nodded. "Yes, of course. There are people chasing me, I am sure. They would fall into two main categories: those angry for what I did, and those who suspect what I may know and cannot tolerate that. As you might imagine, the second type are ultimately far more dangerous. But there are more of the first. I cannot spend much time with you, because that will endanger you from both varieties."

"We can protect you," Esther said quickly. "It's the least we can do for what you did."

"No," he said. "I refuse to allow that. You are young and astonishingly powerful, while my time is reaching its end. The world needs you, Ms. Thompson. What I have handed you is the best help I can muster. As I said, I waited too long. Someone struck back, you see, mere moments after I accomplished that horrible sending. They took much of my memory and almost all of my hearing. I am a beetle now, crouching in my shell, not even knowing which way to run. Tomiko is the one who has managed all that for me. I was not even fully conscious for days."

"Whom do you suspect in the attack?" Selena asked.

He glanced at her, then nodded. "I must focus. I cannot remember enough of the attack to be helpful, but there are not many candidates, as Gupta and Lau were already dead. I think it was probably the Mexican. I have long thought him the most dangerous of all, but I have never understood the game he is playing. And until recently it has been far subtler than that, so subtle I've thought I might be finding patterns where there are none. But something has changed, because there are dangerous individuals loose now, ones I believe to be acting on the Mexican's orders. And the Mexican would surely have had the strength for that attack."

Javier's heart was pounding. Mr. Tanaka knew so much. Who were Gupta and Lau, and how had they died? It was vital they find out everything they could, even if his memory was poor. Esther was right: they had to protect this man.

"The Mexican," said Esther slowly. "Do you know anything more about him? I sensed him, I think, or the place where he should be. He hides astonishingly well."

"You could sense that much, without the Ear?" Mr. Tanaka said in astonishment. "The Mexican is subtler than any other. Do not even focus in that direction unless you are absolutely convinced of your concealment. But then, you are already a master yourself. Even before my disability, I don't recall hearing you for months, and only snatches before then. Aside from a few occasions."

"That's how you knew about me," Esther said. "The few times I completely exposed myself. Especially against Franklin."

"Yes," he said. "I saw enough of you then to know that you were the one the world needs now. The one willing to face the worst dangers squarely while others play their provincial games, and the rest of us cower."

"Do you think others know of her?" Selena asked. Tomiko nodded. It was a good question.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "Apart from your friends, I don't think so. Or at least they have no idea what you are capable of. I was extremely sensitive, you see, and I had the Ear. I do not believe any in the world could have matched my sustained listening."

"The Ear," Esther started, but Selena interrupted.

"First, the Mexican," she prompted. "What more do you know? A name, a place? Anything?"

"I wrote this down in the book," he said. "I suspect the attack stole important knowledge, as with many other topics. But Tomiko says I even told her a few times about the Mexican, and I have tried never to burden her with my knowledge. I know practically nothing of him, except that he has been playing this game a very, very long time. Since before I was born, I'm sure. But the Mexican is not just my name for him. It's a title, one I've occasionally heard on others' lips. This man is extraordinarily powerful in the ordinary world as well as our insubstantial one. Connected deeply to the government, and sitting in the center of the most powerful criminal enterprises."

"Shit," Javier blurted. "He runs a cartel?"

"All the cartels, I'm afraid," said Mr. Tanaka. "Not directly, of course. But that is what I believe. Even the wars among them are orchestrated at some level, mostly unknown to the participants. Again, this is only my strong suspicion. If I ever had solid evidence, it has disappeared with my memories."

Javier's knees turned to jello, and he crouched down, trying to think clearly. It was a conspiracy on a scale beyond any he'd conceived. But then, so were the Black Christmas attacks. No wonder Mr. Tanaka was terrified. Javier could only imagine what other horrible secrets were in that book.

Esther was asking him about the Ear again.

"You would call it an ancient place," he said. "On one of the small islands between Kyushu and Okinawa. Before I moved there, after coming back from America, I do not think it had been used for many decades. I believe that over time ancient places become attuned to their usage, but each one seems to have its unique characteristics. Or perhaps that too is a result of usage over immense times. The Ear is like an exquisite collecting dish for one like us. I always suspected it could be used in the opposite way, but I never—"