Roskov book 14, p.26
Roskov, Book 14, page 26
‘If I live that long, and don’t get shot dead by our taxpayer-funded police officers. As to our common ground … I would have approached you after I had a few nursing homes open, and then discussed what we could do together.
‘And if you had been difficult to deal with, as many suggested, I would have bought drugs from Italy or Asia, as planned.’
‘Us, difficult to deal with?’ the main man repeated. ‘We’re big soft teddy bears … so long as we get what we want.’
They smiled.
‘And I have public opinion on my side, and could turn eighty percent of the population against you in a day.’
They lost their smiles and shifted uneasily in their seats as they got the message.
Meeting concluded, people stood chatting for ten minutes, and we finally bid them farewell. Back at the hotel we collected bags, checked those bags, and checked out, apologising to the hotel staff, but we would get a refund.
Back at the offices, and Anders would report the details of the meeting to the consortium via his special group email.
In my office was a note, from Belfast, and they had four translators for me, older men that had worked in France for decades in construction, but were also from Derry originally. I would recruit them straight away and send them to Corsica.
There was also a note from my secretary, and test subject Gloria Mascal was now at the hotel with Michelle.
Gloria called at 10pm, my mobile number. And I again felt the odd tingle.
‘How did you get my mobile number?’ I asked.
‘From Michelle, sorry, I told her it was urgent.’
‘Are you sick?’ I worried.
‘Not worse, no, actually I’m much better. I drank some of the water and felt dizzy, then a rush, and it’s like Lucozade and cocaine. And I started walking.’
My brow pleated. ‘Dizzy … then a rush?’ I asked.
‘Yes. But I wanted to drink some after a sleep and … the room was dark and … when I touched the bottle it glowed.’
My eyes widened. ‘Oh fuck. I’m sending security men to you at the hotel.’
‘Security men? Why?’
‘Because you’re now in danger, and in need of some guidance as well.’
‘Danger? Why am I in danger?’
‘What did you do when you left school?’ I asked.
‘I went to Oxford, read politics and history. Why?’
‘What did you want to do with your life, exactly?’ I pressed.
‘I … wanted to go into politics someday, fix the country. Why?’
‘Shit. What about after university?’
‘I … worked for my uncle, an intern, he was a Government Minister. Why?’
‘Have you had strange dreams, recurring dreams, same images?’
‘Well ... sometimes, yes, one in particular.’
‘Describe it!’
‘I’m a hand maid to a lady, two men on horseback with us, a hot dusty country.’
An image flashed up. ‘Lucille.’
She gasped. ‘How … how the hell did you know that name?’
‘Are you sat down?’
‘Yes.’
‘Anyone with you?’
‘No.’
‘No one saw the water glowing?’
‘No. Are you going to start making some sense?’
‘You were reincarnated.’
After a long pause came, ‘Reincarnated? By God? To suffer a life in a wheelchair? I don’t think so.’
‘Reincarnated people are just mere mortals, they get sick and die, they get head colds, and for the most part they suffer a great deal, but they show their true character as they suffer. They get judged and then … then they get borne again.’
‘That man in the First World War…’
‘Me, and I remember it all, and … I have a grandson from a woman I made pregnant in 1916, we meet when we can. Have you seen a statue of an angel in your dreams?’
‘Oh my god! Yes, a white statue, sour face, not man nor woman.’
‘He works with me, name of Lazahroz, not Lazarus.’
‘He … an angel … works with you?’
‘I’ll fly to Corsica tomorrow, and between now and then … please try not to sound crazy to anyone, go chat to my parents if you need some reassurance.’
‘I need a lot of bloody reassurance!’
‘Call reception, ask them to call my parents. And I’m sending a priest to you.’
‘A priest? What the hell do I need a priest for, last rites?’
‘A chat. He was also reincarnated, and he found out recently. Don’t go anywhere.’ I cut the call, called Ross Daniels, and he would have men dispatched in minutes.
Next call was O’Donno, who knew where Perez was staying and he would escort Perez to Gloria.
Fifteen minutes later and my father called. ‘We’re with the young lady in the wheelchair, and she’s a bit shaken up.’
‘She just found out that she was reincarnated.’
‘Bloody hell. Enough to shock anyone, yes.’
‘There’s a priest I know, he’s on the way, he speaks English and he was also reincarnated, now on my team. Make him a cup of tea and let him chat to Gloria.’
‘Wait … two security men are here, Kudulov.’
‘Tell them from me to close-bodyguard Gloria, to stay inside reception later, when you leave.’
‘I’ll tell them now.’
‘I’ll be down there tomorrow.’
‘Ah, good, you can see what we bought for you – the old houses.’
‘That would be great, yeah.’
I called Trish at home, and she would check the flights, for myself, Bonza, Bill and Ted.
Bonza arrived back at the house a minute later. I sat him with Bill and Ted, Pat and Dingle in their hotel already, police outside. ‘I met a Conservative politician on the comedy show, and his sister has M.E., so I sent her to Corsica to try the water.
‘She just called, and … I’ve dispatched security to her and Perez to see her, because when she touches the bottled spring water … the water glows.’
They jumped up.
‘She’s one of us?’ Ted gasped.
‘No random find!’ Bill insisted. ‘You were meant to find her.’
‘From which campaign is she?’ Bonza puzzled.
‘She might not have even met us before,’ I told them. They nodded at each other. ‘We’ll meet her tomorrow. And the water … it makes her dizzy then gives her a rush. She’s now walking again.’
‘Fuck, it fixes her legs,’ Ted let out, looks exchanged.
Bonza noted, ‘If one of us was injured, it would help us.’
‘Seems that way. Go pack a bag.’ I packed my own bag, but with more items than for a ten minute stopover, Bill and Ted rushing to their hotel, which was not far anyhow.
Trish called back, four tickets for an early flight booked, so we all set off to bed early, alarm clocks set. I called Rolf and updated him, shocking him, then spoke to the twins about work, and house designs in Mandoch Valley – not shocking them.
They put Gabrielle on, a ten-minute chat about work and life, and it was great to just make small talk with her.
Perez called as I was dozing off. ‘I have spoken with Gloria, and she now accepts what has happened to her a little better, but is shaken.’
‘Thanks for helping.’
‘The least I can do. And I met your parents, and they spent time with her. She will sleep soon.’
‘I’ll be there tomorrow, you can go back to where you stay, or go disco dancing.’
He laughed. ‘A quiet night I hope, no disco dancing. Oh, when she touches the water it glows, and when I touch it the water also glows.’
‘Something we need to try and avoid, being seen near the water at night, people will think we’re vampires.’
At 5am we were on the M1 south in the rain, Pat and Dingle grumbling about the early hour – and about the rain, and we beat the traffic to Heathrow, but there was no handy Traffic Jam device in the van. I would have to get them one.
A long four hours later, the lads having folded their arms and slept some of the way, we landed in Corsica after changing in Paris, the leg down from Paris being full, many looks sent my way by curious passengers, a few smiles noted.
The police met us off the plane, and we were soon speeding down the highway to my hotel in winter sunshine, a glimpse at the huge magnolia warehouse and the new building work outside of it.
At the hotel, I noticed two smartly-dressed Kudulov Security men, Michelle immediately asking about the men, a few gentle complaints detected.
‘We had a threat against the British politician, and his family, and his sister is Gloria. Just a precaution.’
‘Oh.’ She did not look happy. ‘And the late night priest she needed?’
‘Secret wedding plans,’ I suggested, which left Michelle looking very puzzled.
Leaving Bonza, Bill and Ted to get some late breakfast – because they were complaining, I found Gloria in her allotted room.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw her, a slight tingle felt, and for some reason I wanted to get my cock out there and then. She was a very attractive woman, short black hair, a nice figure, maybe 5’5” tall, and it was hard to think that she had been stuck in a wheelchair for years.
She also seemed very familiar.
I took her for a stroll down to the pool bar, and I had to resist the urge to hold her hand as we walked, a fine day today for strolling, a few guests sat about. I even saw a group of men on the golf putting greens.
Sat away from others, I asked, ‘How are you adjusting?’
‘Do I … get a choice, about being reincarnated? Is there an opt-out clause?’
‘You can walk away and lead your own life, yes, but you may still get the dreams and visions. Nothing will happen if you quit, you’ll go on, and when you die … you stay dead.’
‘And you were reincarnated many times?’
‘Yes, I fought in the Crusades.’
‘The relics you found here…’
‘For the most part I left them here centuries ago, more recently pretending to have a map.’
‘Oh. And this water?’
‘Is Holy Water it seems, and it gives reincarnated people a boost.’
‘And the Vatican? These priests?’
‘Know everything but stay quiet.’
‘They seemed to follow your orders, not Vatican orders. They spoke about you with reverence.’
‘They know who and what I am. I fought in the Crusades, lived ten lifetimes, but The Pope … he’s just an ordinary man.’
‘Always knew there was something very odd about you.’ She glanced at the pool boys, those boys now dressed sensibly for a winter here.
‘You can walk away, or you can do some good for the world.’
She studied me. ‘How … exactly, do I do some good for the world?’
‘You assist me, in my various projects. A job with a good salary.’
‘I’m stuck in a bloody wheelchair!’
‘The water will give you a boost, but I don’t know if it will cure you. I, on the other hand, could cure you … if allowed.’
‘Cure me? Allowed by who?’
‘The power of an angel works through me. He … would not let me help my own daughter, because that would have been selfish.’
‘You have a daughter?’
‘She was fifty-six when she died recently, a daughter from a past life union.’
‘Fifty-six. My god, this is so fucking weird.’
‘You’ll adjust. And you must have done something worthy in the past to be here, to have been born again. Does the name … Katerina Mary of Aras sound familiar?’
‘It does.’
‘Richard of Charmaine?’
She adopted a deep frown. ‘It does.’
‘You may have been with us during the Crusades.’
She studied the distant ocean. Finally, she turned her head. ‘I … was angry at God, for putting me in a wheelchair, and I … wanted to take my own life. I doubt that an angel would want to cure me.’
‘He’s a bit more practical than that. And we can try.’
‘Try?’
‘Let’s go for a walk.’ I stood. ‘Do you …walk without pain?’
‘Hardly any pain left, and I drank like four pints of the water last night, was up peeing all night.’
‘Don’t worry if I touch you up, it’s necessary to diagnose you.’
She fought away her grin. ‘You buy me dinner first, mister.’
I led her down to the beach in glorious winter sunshine, an elderly couple seen strolling at the water’s edge, and we ducked into the concrete shelter, no one here, the new shop closed for now.
Sat on a metal chair at a table for two, I placed a hand on her head and one on her upper chest. ‘Sit still, don’t talk.’
‘Not much of a touch-up,’ she quietly complained.
‘Which part of don’t talk did you not understand?’
I closed my eyes and tried to remember what I had done with Jenny, and I could soon see her skeletal outline, a beating heart – which was getting faster, and I imagined something in the cells being wrong, the production of ATP for energy.
Then there they were, small blue dots floating about in dark arteries. I imagined them all flying away and gone, and they all came together in one place before they vanished.
Opening my eyes, I told her. ‘Jog down the beach.’
‘Jog? Are you mad?’
‘Try it.’
She stood after a few seconds, tested her legs, and jogged the length of the concrete structure. A few squats, a huge smile, and she ran screaming down the sand to the water’s edge like a six-year-old girl on holiday.
Running back up, she hugged me, a hell of a tingle shooting through me, my cock stiffening. ‘There’s no pain, none at all!’
‘So now you owe me, some assistance when called upon.’
‘The old lady said that.’
‘Who … said … what?’ I puzzled.
‘As I boarded the plane, a white-haired old lady said: assistance will come when called upon. I thought she meant the flight attendants.’
‘That was Katerina Mary, sending you off on the journey, the rest of your life kind of journey. So it means that you have a role to play, an important role.’
‘The baby in Italy?’
‘Is her, reborn, and highly telepathic.’
‘I saw the movie, and … it was so improbable, but when you got the baby I wet myself and burst into tears then fainted. I felt … connected to the baby somehow.’
‘You are connected. Now come meet the team.’ I led her up, and now she would have to appear sick some of the time. And she would have cut down on the jogging in daylight.
Nearing the villa, I realised that we were holding hands. I looked down at the coupled hands, frowned, and then caught her grin. I let go. ‘Sorry.’
‘Felt kind of natural.’
In the restaurant, I found my three lads keenly stuffing their faces, and we joined them. Quietly, I began, ‘Gloria is now on the team, I cured her of M.E. as well, so I don’t know if the water would have done that alone.’
I gestured towards Bonza. ‘Bonza was with me during the Crusades, and Bill and Ted are Interpol bodyguards, but the golden cross glows for them.’
‘Golden cross?’ she puzzled.
‘We found a gold cross next to the spring, and it glows when one of us is near it.’
‘So, if you were reborn, and you work with an angel, how come you shag so many pretty girls?’ she whispered, Bonza, Bill and Ted laughing loudly.
‘What you know of the Bible is mostly crap; God is not about praying in church, he’s about doing things practically. You don’t need to go to church or pray or anything like that.
‘You can drink booze and swear and have sex out of wedlock, what matters is that you fix things, political things.’
‘I fancy running for Parliament.’
‘Do it, it may be what you were meant to do,’ I encouraged. ‘But you’re still quite young.’
‘I’m twenty-six. And these past few years I felt like I was fifty. But at least I studied a great deal, read a hell of a lot of books on politics.’
‘Smart, not just pretty,’ I told Bonza.
‘That rules me out then,’ he sighed.
I faced Gloria. ‘I can get you a salary, and something to do before you decide on a future in Parliament.’
‘People will ask questions, about my sudden miraculous recovery. Then they will think I was faking it all these years.’
‘Tell them that the water helps, but that you still have bad days, stiff in the mornings, but that you’re now exercising when the pain allows, and that the exercise is helping.
‘And tell them that you drank the water for many days first before you noticed any effect, and then just a lessening of the pain. And don’t go near the damn water with people around.’
I faced Bonza. ‘Test some water later, at night, see if it glows when you hold it.’
‘Only tried it in daylight, wouldn’t have noticed,’ Bonza noted.
A local carer stepped in with Michelle. I apologised to the lady, who had applied to work at our nursing homes, told her that she will still be paid and sent her off, Michelle again puzzled. I would have to cancel the doctor as well.
After our very late breakfast we all jumped into the vans, Kudulov Security with us as well, and with my parents leading the way we visited an old house on a hill above the airport, a great view for any future residents – provided that they had good eyesight.
The ground around here was littered with light brown rocks and very unsuitable for farming, some green grass growing in places, many small green trees now flourishing due to the winter rains. Above us sat the distant grey mountains.
Down from the vans, my father began, ‘We’ll dig a pool, an infinity pool, and terraces at the back, and we’ll landscape the land – which is quite big.’
I glanced at the old house. ‘And the structure?’
‘Solid, but we’ll gut it; inside will be modern, outside will look old.’
‘Great view, a few planes seen landing though. How much was it?’
‘Just under two hundred thousand Euro, because of the land size – it has about six acres of orchard at the back.’
