THE LAST ARK

CHAPTER 32: NAME OF THE REAPER

Templar Tunnels, Acre T h ree Days Before Temple Ceremony

“Why didn’t you tell me Jenn was in Jerusalem?” Derek shouts at Jester. He learned of her arrival via a random WITNESS readout that he confi rmed with Jack. Derek can’t imagine a reason that would pull Jenn out of Washington so soon aft er Adam’s death. Jack wouldn’t say. Raging guilt over not being there boils over into a fl ash of anger. “Whoa, like, bark down, man,” Jester snaps. “I dug up the dealio with your reaper. Did you piss off a dude name McGregor at the Solar Temple?” “I asked you to look aft er Jenn,” he complains, ignoring the other problem. “No, no, no, we’re not doing the Dr. Phil thing. I told you before, like, I’m not stalking your new girlfriend while you’re out roaming the globe looking for the Digi-witch,” Jester defends himself. “Like I’ve got bigger problems, you know. I’m a little stressed right now.” Jester looks over the edge, like he’s snorted too much coke, except he never does drugs. His eyes are wide and blinking, sweat beads on his shaved scalp, and he’s doing that tapping thing with his fingers again. A brilliant mind, and an autistic savant, Jester suffers from chronic acute anxiety. Yelling at him will only make it worse. “Yeah, OK, fine. I’m sorry for yelling. I’ll deal with Jenn on my own,” Derek offers, still upset. He takes a deep breath to calm down. Jester paces in a large circle, tapping his scalp sporadically. “What are you gonna do about your girlfriend?” Jester questions. “And, and your reaper?” “Nothing,” he replies. “I pinged Jack to confirm Jenn’s here, but apparently, she doesn’t want to see me. She hooked up with an old Navy buddy who now works for the Secret Service, some guy named Geoff Rhodes.” “Rhodes, Rhodes,” Jester repeats. “Hey, wasn’t he the guy from Annapolis? Whoa, dude, like, I don’t know much about women, but you should check this guy out,” Jester ponders. “Hey, does she still jog?” Adam Scott once mentioned an unfortunate incident at Annapolis, a lover in the ranks—strictly forbidden. That neither of them got expelled suggests Adam intervened. “For the record, you know nothing about women. If you’re suggesting that I surprise Jenn when she doesn’t want to see me, then forget it. I have to let her go.” He tells himself as much as Jester. “Yeah, right. Now, who’s clueless,” Jester retorts. “OK, Romeo, what about the reaper?” “I think I lost him at the monastery,” Derek replies, hoping that he’s right. T he name doesn’t ring a bell, but the Solar Temple raises major alarms. “How long do you think your luck will hold out?” Jester prods. “Long enough to get SLVIA home,” he replies. “Listen, forget my shadow. Focus on the AI malfunctions. They’re not random. You need to get inside the NIA or CISA. Find out what angle they’re missing. Putin has an endgame. He’s enraged over his economy and Ukraine. He wants to retaliate. Cyber is his highest impact, lowest risk option. You know it and I know it. We need to get ahead of it. I’ll head home as soon as Nelson checks out the SNO app.” Derek ends the call. News of both McGregor and Jenn hits him harder than he’s willing to admit to Jester. Knowing that a Solar Temple assassin tracked him down sends a bolt of existential panic through his entire system. Someone hired a pro, not just any pro, but a fanatical assassination cult pro, and that never ends well. He can only think of one man with enough influence over the Solar Temple to order a murder: Praeceptor. It’s the news of Jenn with an old boyfriend that sends him into a mild depression. In the back of his mind, he always thought that they would work things out. Perhaps he was foolish to think they could bridge the gap. Reality slaps back at his delusion with a sharp sting. Instantly deflated, even the excitement over finding the second scroll, or SLVIA, feels hollow. Derek suddenly wants to wrap up and go home, but he made a promise, and he needs to wait for Nelson. He needs to stop chasing delusions, and get his head back in the game before it’s too late.