Authors Note:
I don’t know whether the names of the Wraiths are Tolkien’s creations or not. I happened to find a site that outlined a history of them and used the names because it allowed me to distinguish them a little.
************
They were inside Saeran’s domain. After everything they had endured to reach this point, Aaron was not certain what he was expecting.
John Malcolm’s Monolith, with the exception of the watcher in the basement, was more or less a stock standard office building. It was a place of business for most part with only a few sections dedicated to the machinations of the former Valar outcast. With the exception of the watcher, the sentinels of his kingdom were men armed with guns and were conventional dangers that Aaron had been able to grasp easily. All Aaron had truly cared about when dealing with Malcolm was the fact that he had abducted Eve and Gandalf. Thanks to his humanity, he had sensed little of the danger beyond those mitigating facts. Only the elves had been truly aware of the innate evil that thrived in the glass tower of Malcolm’s kingdom while he remained blissfully oblivious.
Unfortunately this time, he was spared nothing.
From the moment they left the dark tunnels that led to Saeran’s domain and found the uneven walls of caverns being replaced by dungeon like corridors, Aaron could feel the evil in the place. John Malcolm may have been David Saeran’s master but it was clear that the dark lord once known as Sauron was far more dangerous than Morgoth could have ever been. Morgoth was a god and anticipated that everything would fall into place, using intimidation and power to bend others to his will because such was the way with deities. Sauron on the other hand used cunning and manipulation to achieve the same end. In Aaron’s opinion, he was far more dangerous than any god because he was the worst kind of enemy.
Sauron was the kind who learnt from his mistakes.
As soon as they reached a juncture of corridor where there was sufficient light to see what he was doing, Aaron forced the company to stop. Legolas, despite his stubborn elven bravado was seriously hurt. The lacerations on his skin were incidental but the cracked ribs were not. Aaron could tell by his laboured breathing that his injuries was more than just a matter of broken bones. Although elves and humans were two different species, physiologically, they bore remarkably similar characteristics. He was certain that genetic comparisons would explain why elves lived immortal lives when humans did not however, for most part, their organs, pulmonary and reproductive systems were more or less the same. It had to be or else elves and human would not be capable of breeding.
"I am able to continue," Legolas protested when Aaron was unable to tolerate seeing the elf attempting to push on as if nothing was wrong. "I am an elf and in better stead than you humans to endure pain."
"Oh give me a break," Aaron snapped when he grabbed the elf’s arm to keep him from moving. "I don’t have to have super elf hearing to know what a punctured lung sounds like, so sit your ass down so I can deal with it before you drop dead!"
"One hundred thousand years past and you still cluck like a hen!" Legolas hissed as he unwillingly acquiesced to Aaron’s demands. In truth, he had not the strength to stop the human. "In Caradhras - the hobbits were going to die of frostbite. In Moria, we were going to die of suffocation. In Lothlorien it was allergies! There is always something threatening life and limb with you!"
"I’m still having a look at your wounds," Aaron said sweetly, undaunted by the tirade.
"We do not have time for my injuries to delay us," Legolas insisted.
"Belt up and let him have a look at you," Bryan retorted, similarly annoyed by the elf’s attempt to be brave. There was nothing he hated more than a member of his team who refused to be helped.
Legolas looked at Haldir and spoke in elvish, "I could use your words of support. Tell them that they are worrying needlessly, we elves do not need such care,"
Haldir gave him a look and replied, "no, because I agree with the Elfstone."
"Hey I speak elvish too you know," Aaron said sarcastically.
"And I thank Morgoth for that everyday," Legolas returned just as acerbically.
"Look, we could all use a breather after what’s happened," Bryan replied, gazing not only at Legolas but also at Tory and Fred. "The rest of your stay here a minute, Eve and I are going to scout up ahead, see if anyone’s about. Saeran’s people will be looking for us once they know we’ve killed his little pet."
"Little?" Eve stared at him.
"Well think of it this way, it wasn’t a spider," he winked at her with a roguish smirk.
"Bite me, you limey bastard," Eve scowled.
"That’s Yorkshire bastard," Tory corrected her and smiled sweetly at Bryan.
"We will do as you ask Bryan," Gandalf spoke in an effort to send them along. "However, we cannot wait too long."
"I know," Bryan nodded in understanding, "but we’re almost to him. I don’t want us to fail jus short of reaching Saeran."
"Agreed," the old man replied, thinking the same thing.
*********
"How are we going to play this?" Eve asked as they reached the first corridor.
"Straight down the middle and kill anything before it gets a look at us," Bryan stated firmly, not meeting her gaze as he strode up the middle of the corridor.
"I can do that," Eve remarked with a little smile, falling into step next to him. Both of them were simultaneously checking their guns, a instinctual habit rather than of need since neither of them were novices and were armed and ready the moment they left the others.
"We won’t get too far ahead," Bryan continued speaking, grateful that Eve was deferring to his lead in this situation. "Don’t want us to get cut off from the others if we get into trouble."
Eve tended to agree even though she did not voice it. In truth, Bryan reminded her a great deal of the partner she had been assigned when she had first made detective. He was a fifteen-year veteran by the time she was forced to share a squad car with him and had cared less that she was a woman. Sex, race or color mattered little to him, the ability to learn and watch his back was more or less all he required of her and for the next four years, she had learnt well at his side. He knew everything there was to know about the street and what she thought she knew she had learnt at the Academy was worth jack shit when she was out on the street. Being his partner had taught her how to stay alive and Bryan’s no nonsense attitude reminded her a lot of Rick who had died in the line of duty.
Tory had not been exaggerating when she claimed the corridors were like a maze. It appeared that Saeran had added to the original construction of the castle, extending the dungeon like passageways with modern looking corridors that looked as if they belonged in an office building rather than an ancient Romanian castle. He and Eve prepared to investigate the rooms contained in this section because Tory was right, they did have the look of a research facility of some kind. After seeing what Saeran had been conjuring in terms of giant spiders and strange creatures called Uruk Hai, Bryan wanted no more surprises.
**********
Seated quietly by Tory’s side, Fred had drifted off to sleep against the woman’s lap as Aaron tended to Legolas’ injuries. Gandalf appeared to be in meditation, as if he were trying to tap into the thoughts of dark lord within this fortress, trying to discern what other machinations Saeran had set into motion in his efforts to destroy the world. Considering what the child had been through the past few hours, Tory did not see any reason to wake her as their situation reached a momentary interlude. Tory stroked her hair gently, trying not to smile as she heard Legolas arguing with Aaron regarding the quality of care he was receiving while Haldir had chosen sensibly to keep watch and stay beyond the range of their verbal sparing.
Suddenly, Fred opened her eyes and sat up straight. The child met Tory’s gaze and once more, the English barrister was rather taken by the mesmerizing beauty of the child’s brilliant blue eyes. However, this fascination lasted briefly because the expression on Fred’s face in the wake of her sudden rising was one of panic.
"What’s wrong darling?" Tory asked her gently, "did you have a bad dream?"
"Bryan," Fred stammered. "Bryan is in trouble."
"Bryan’s fine," Tory said, her chest tightening and noting that Gandalf had opened his eyes and was staring directly at them both while Aaron and Legolas’ argument was suddenly cut short. "He’ll be back soon."
"He’s in trouble," the child insisted, growing more fearful by the second. "They both are!"
"How do you know?" Tory found herself asking, having no experience with the child’s foresight the way Bryan had.
"I know," she looked at the adults around her enigmatically. "I always know when they are coming."
"They?" Aaron asked, "you mean Bryan and Eve?"
"No," Fred shook her head, her dark hair bouncing, "The bad men with the red eyes," she swallowed. "They’ve come. They’re here."
************
They came out of nowhere, almost as if they stepped out of the dark.
Considering what they were, it was not such a far-fetched idea. Bryan and Eve were ready to rejoin the others when they noticing the dimming of the lights in the corridor they were presently in. For an instant, it appeared as if the lights would vanish completely but then the illumination paused midway between darkness and light, casting tall shadows throughout the corridors. The casting of light and shadows obscured corners and junctures in the hallways, hiding what they were able to see clearly a moment ago.
Both remained still for a moment, assessing the situation in silence even as the shadows around them grew taller. Bryan cocked the shotgun in his hand and saw Eve doing the same. He met her gaze in wordless communication and indicated that they ought to retrace their steps down the hallway slowly but steadily. With equal silence, Eve agreed with this and they began to lay a stealthy retreat though both were poised to move faster if the situation changed, which they fully anticipated it would in a matter of seconds.
They had reached no further than the next corridor when the shadows began to take shape and out of the darkness, Bryan and Eve found themselves facing the Nine. If Tory were present, she would have been able to tell them that the wraiths had emerged from the very doorway that had inadvertently led her and Fred to the Uruk Hai gestation chamber. Their appearance were like the shadows given life and though they were still sunglasses despite the dim light, Bryan fancied he could see the crimson points of their eyes. The Nine spread out immediately upon seeing their human quarry, dispersing in some unspoken pattern of attack that Bryan supposed he and Eve would find out soon enough.
A powerful wall of bullets exploded out of the efficient Mini Uzi SMG sub machine guns they were carrying. The velocity of the projectiles chased Eve and Bryan out of the hallway as bullets dug into the concrete walls. Bryan could feel the shards of rock exploding across his back as he and Eve sprinted forward trying to escape the murderous hail. Upon reaching the safety of a corner wall, he swung around and returned fire but the shotgun was a short-range weapon.
After two shots that blew a good portion of the concrete from the wall near the wraith called Akhorahil, he switched immediately to something more effective. The handgun did not have the power of the shotgun but it was certainly more effective and he was an excellent shot. Gandalf was supposed to have blessed his weapons with some elvish spell that had sounded rather far-fetched to Bryan at the time. However, at this moment, he really needed to believe that this spell worked.
The bullet escaping the barrel of the Walter PPK slammed into the knee of the wraith in the lead. The creature hissed in pain as his leg buckled under him and clutched his knee. Bryan could see no evidence of blood but the fact that the Akhorahil had been hurt gave him incentive to continue. He immediately targeted the wraith once more, this time sending a more precise shot through the pasty mask on the creature’s face. The sunglasses perched on his face, fairly shattered as the projectile tore through it and Akhorahil fell backwards. Bryan had a sense that this was not enough to kill but hurting the wraith satisfied the MI6 agent immensely.
The others were advancing ahead as the air became charged with their rage. Bryan could see them staring at him in hatred, firing with more intensity until the barrage assaulting the wall he had taken refuge behind started to crumble. The edge of the cornerstone was being eroded away and the floor became littered with plaster and mortar. They were pushing forward with relentlessly, determined to overwhelm Bryan and Eve with ammunition. They were trying to close the distance and Bryan who had been well versed by Gandalf regarding what these creatures were capable of, knew that neither he nor Eve wanted to be there when they finally did.
"Come on!" Bryan turned to Eve as she lay down cover fire, ensuring that while he was cutting one of the wraiths to pieces, the creature’s companions did not do the same to him. She had been firing blindly at them, creating a shield of bullets around Bryan so he would not get himself killed. The spell that Gandalf had cast upon their weapons was certainly doing the trick. For once, the Nine were unable to shake off the bullets being fired at them even though Eve doubted that they were little more than a stopgap measure. Sauron had built his servants to withstand much and none of his creatures epitomized this more than the dreaded Nazgul. They shrank back from the path of bullets once they were aware that it could hurt them, giving Eve and Bryan some room to breathe and for that matter escape.
"Where are we going?" Eve asked, running after him as they left the sound of exploding gunfire behind them.
"I don’t know!" Bryan retorted and skidded to a halt when he turned the corner and saw two of the Nazgul advancing towards them. He retreated as they opened fire, barely escaping the path of the Uzi’s lethal spray. The adjacent wall caught the brunt of the gunfire, tearing through the mortar in an expansive pattern. Bryan almost stumbled into Eve who immediately pressed herself against the protection of the corridor wall. She dragged Bryan back to safety before firing at the Nazgul who were attempting to close them in on both sides.
"Thanks," Bryan said as he hurried back the way he came and saw that Nazgul were advancing in the other direction as well. It did not take him long to decide that they were being hemmed in on both sides.
"Bryan!" Eve called out to him as he was making this discovery. "I’m running out of ammo!"
"Me too," he replied, trying to be heard over the sound of gunfire. "They’re closing in on us, we have to get out of here."
"We’re going to have to go through them," Eve met his gaze.
"Yeah we do," he nodded, "you up for it?"
"I am if you are," she gave him a little smile.
"Okay," Bryan returned her smile with one of his own and took a deep breath, trying to think of what strategy if any they could employ. "Head shots both of them. It won’t kill them but it will give them a bloody headache to remember and it could distract them long enough for us to get past."
"Alright," Eve agreed since his plan was a good one despite the hint of desperation attached to it. "On the count of three?"
"I don’t think we have time," he admitted. "Just follow me and start shooting when I do," he said pulling away to the corner.
Bryan stepped out just as the two Nazgul who were known as Adunaphel and Hoarmurath paused to reload their Uzis with new magazines. With the amount of shells they had been firing, it was probably a sensible course during the lull in the shooting. This time, Bryan used the shotgun, firing one shot from the weapon that sent a spray of pellets into the body of the nearest Nazgul within reach. The wraith staggered backwards but remained on his feet. The blast would have killed a normal human being where he stood but the Nazgul merely reeled in pain. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Bryan took careful aim with the gun in his other hand and pulled the trigger. The projectile tore through the Nazgul’s forehead and while Bryan could see no blood, he could see the fissure in the mask as the bullet penetrated.
The other Nazgul prepared to return fire when suddenly; he too reacted to similar pain when Eve delivered her assault upon him. Her marksmanship was as exact as Bryan’s and both wraiths were adequately incapacitated by the time Bryan and Eve were hurrying past them. It was just as well because the other Nazgul had rounded the corner and was firing at them to halt their flight. The bullets tore after them as they rounded the corridor, with barely seconds to spare. Eve and Bryan found themselves at the head of another hallway. This one however, had a door was situated in the middle of it, secured by what appeared to be a card activated lock.
"This way," Bryan declared, confident that he would be able to breach it with the aid of his 45-caliber lock pick.
"Hurry!" Eve declared as he reached the door. She had her gun aimed and ready to shoot the first thing that rounded the corridor.
Bryan did not bother attempting to tackle the card panel and turned his shotgun against the lock. The blast from the weapon destroyed effectively the locking mechanism as well as a good portion of the wood surrounding the handle. With a forceful kick, the door swung open beneath Bryan’s boot just as Eve released a barrage of gunfire at the Nazgul turning the corner in pursuit. Two shots slammed into the torso of the wraith as Bryan paused at the doorway to cover her retreat.
"Get in there!" He ordered.
Eve nodded briefly and hurried past Bryan as he laid down cover of suppressing fire. Eve noted as she darted into the room that he was deploying single shots from his gun instead of rapid-fire discharges to cover her back. Unfortunately, this would not escape the notice of the Nazgul either. If they had any sense at all, they would realize that Bryan was shooting this way in an effort to conserve ammunition. Once inside the room, Bryan followed suit and shut the door behind him upon entry. The nature of his bypassing the locking mechanism made it impossible to keep anyone else out and even as he was entering, Eve was already clearing a nearby table of its contents so that she could use it to barricade the door.
"Help me!" She ordered as she pushed the heavy metal bench against the door. It was not much of an obstruction but it would help until they figured out what they were going to do next. Within seconds, they had pushed it up against the door, metal screeching against the tiled floor as they dragged it along.
"That won’t hold them for long," she met his gaze.
"If at all," Bryan remarked as the gunfire ceased for a moment. No doubt, the Nazgul had determined where they had gone and so no reason to continue shooting until they caught sight of their prey once more.
"Where are we anyway?" Eve asked off handedly as she turned her attention to the room she was in.
"Its some kind of laboratory," Bryan deduced quickly. Tory was right. There was some form of research being done here. He stared at the wide room with its white walls, tiled floors, its autoclaves, microwave equipment, centrifuges, steel benches and cryogenic storage refrigerators, Bryan came to the conclusion that it was in laboratories like this one that Saeran had created his new Uruk Hai army.
Eve walked to one of the refrigerators and opened the door to peer inside. A gust of cold vapor escaped the cabinet before clearing to reveal a number of test tubes sitting neatly in racks. The fluid inside them did not appear to be blood and she reached for the clipboard hanging in front of it. Bryan in the mean time was reinforcing their barricade with other pieces of heavy furniture. Unfortunately, the heavier equipment inside the room was bolted to the floor so he had to make do with benches and tables.
"Where’s Aaron when you need him," Eve grumbled as she studied the page which had some notes about UV sensitivity but she could not understand the rest of the jargon that was scrawled across it. Eve had never really paid attention to Aaron’s handwriting before but was grateful that he did not possess the illegibility suffered by most physicians. "This is important I’m sure of it but I can’t understand it."
"Let me take a look," Bryan offered, approaching her.
Staring at the clipboard after she handed it to him, he had to confess to the same confusion himself. "It says sample has been treated for UV sensitivity."
"I think we should let Aaron see this," Eve remarked tearing the page off the clipboard and storing it in her jacket.
"We can get out through there," Bryan pointed to an air vent that was large enough for them to crawl through.
His declaration coincided with a loud thud against the door. The tables and objects stacked against it shuddered at the impact. It was followed quickly by another, more insistent assault with both Bryan and Eve coming to the conclusion that the barricade would not hold for long under this bombardment.
"You get going!" He ordered her, gesturing towards the vent.
"What about you?" She looked at him, her jaw setting with the determination that she was not going anywhere without him.
"I’m leaving them a little surprise," Bryan offered her a devious smirk, "now go!"
Eve’s protest was cut short by another insistent thud against the door. She swore under her breath and obeyed as he went off in the opposite direction. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Bryan collecting cans of cleaning solvent she had cleared off one of the benches when she had used it to barricade the door. The MI6 agent was picking up as many as he could, until his arms were so filled with them he could barely hold his gun. Eve thought of asking him what he was doing but decided against it, since pausing to answer her would only cost them more time.
Turning back to the air vent, it took little more than a slight exertion of strength to pull the grate free of the opening. The recoil sent her stumbling a few steps but she recovered her balance almost instantly before throwing it aside. Inspecting the narrow tunnel that she and Bryan would have to traverse, Eve’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the stench that was emanating from it. Unfortunately, at the moment, it did not appear as if they had much of a choice in their means of escape. It was this way or not at all. The barricade of tables, chairs, and equipment that was holding the door close was shaking loose with each impact and would very soon collapse all together.
"Bryan!" Eve looked at him. "We need to go NOW!"
"I said get going!" He barked at her as he opened the door to the laboratory microwaves seated at the far corner of the room. No doubt these were used for the rapid heating of various solutions in the laboratory environment however on this occasion, Bryan had an altogether different purpose in mind. There were at least three microwaves in the place and Bryan intended to put each to good use, repeating the same process with each one as he moved along the bench where they were stored. The pounding behind him was coupled with more and more of the barricade giving way and he knew he had only a few seconds left to act. It was not long before he finished his plan of escape by activating the appliances after presetting the timer.
Eve was already crawling down the shaft when Bryan reached the vent. As he clambered through the opening, which his shoulders were barely able to clear, he could hear the sparks within the ovens cackling with threat. The aerosol cans of solvent he had left in ample quantities in each of the appliances were beginning to superheat already and would soon reach critical mass. With the kind of equipment that was contained in the room, autoclaves that utilized some form of gas for its pressurized sterilization systems not to mention the cryogenic refrigeration units would not react well to the explosion he was about to cause.
"Move faster!" Bryan shouted at Eve as she crawled down the grimy shaft.
"I’m moving as fast as I can!" She snapped back and hastened her pace, which was no easy thing in such cramped confines. Her arms and legs were aching but she forced herself to crawl faster because if this tunnel was hard on her, she could not imagine what it would be like for Bryan who was considerably bigger than she.
Bryan looked over his shoulder; not an easy proposition considering the space he had to work with. His head bumped against the steel conduit and he cursed under his breath. The opening of the vent was growing distant and the thudding had reached climax as the door burst open beyond his sight. The clatter of objects and furniture reached down the narrow chute, followed by gunfire as the Nazgul cleared their entry into the room with a barrage of bullets.
The shaft was now beyond the reach of the bright white lights within the room and as she moved ahead, Eve was gripped with this feeling of anxiety because she could not see ahead and there was very little room to maneuver if something went wrong. However, the urgency in Bryan’s voice forced her to keep moving and as the air became more dank, Eve prayed that he knew what he was doing.
************
The Nazgul lord entered the laboratory and scanned the room for their quarry. It did not take him long to find them gone. The room was in disarray but he found what he was seeking almost instantly. The open air vent stared at him like a gaping mouth and told him almost as succinctly as a spoken voice where the enemy had gone. He took a step towards it; intending to pursue them down that dark passage if needed in order to acquire them. The man Bryan had earned his especial hatred, interfering with their business with the Ringbearer one time too many. The Nazgul lord shivered inwardly at the kind of death he would deliver to the troublesome reincarnation of Gondor’s favorite son.
"They have gone down there," he told the others who were filling into the room, with a loud hiss.
"Something is happening," Akhorahil responded urgently. The former lord of Numenor, who had been just as ensnared by the Nine Rings of Power as the rest of his comrades, approached the oven that was sparking with growing intensity within the room.
"What do you mean?" The witch king looked at him with concern.
"Look," he gestured to the oven.
"The others are doing the same," Indur formerly of Mumakan, observed.
The witch king had but a moment to process this information before a shrill sound emanated in succession from the appliances…
***********
The explosion was so loud that it rocked the foundations of the castle. The trio of microwaves erupted simultaneously, expending heat and energy that quickly consumed the autoclaves and the refrigeration unit. The mixture of gases ignited spectacularly, blowing out walls and causing a rumble throughout the entire structure that could be felt from its loftiest heights to the very bowels of its construction. The heat blew apart doors and sent jets of flame down corridors and through vents. For a moment, it felt as if the earth was heaving in protest at the ground rumbled.
************
The sound of gunfire had echoed down the hallways as soon as the weapons were discharged and though Aaron’s first instinct was to charge to Eve and Bryan’s aid, a situation was developing with Legolas that could not wait. The elf was trying to hide it but his breathing was becoming more labored and Aaron knew he would not survive the next few hours unless Aaron did something now. Time was not only crucial for the continued existence of the world but also for his best friend.
"Legolas," Aaron met his gaze as he tried to ignore the sound of gunfire that was raging in the distance. "You are going to die unless you I treat you now."
"Obviously your training as a physician did not include a lesson in beside manner," Legolas grunted through a strained breath.
Aaron cracked a faint smile but there was no humor in it, "I have to lay it out for you because I need your permission to continue. This is something that should be done in a hospital with a chest tap but that’s impossible right now. All I can do is to remove the fluid from your lungs for the moment and keep doing it until I can get you into a hospital. You need surgery."
"What do you have to do?" Tory asked, joining her old friend because she could see the anxiety in his face.
"I have to perform a procedure called a thoracentesis," Aaron explained. "There’s fluid accumulating in his lungs because of the puncture. The procedure will stop him from drowning in it until we can get him to surgery. I can do with what anaesthetic I have but it has to be done now, before the bleeding gets worse."
"How long will you need?" Gandalf asked gravely.
"Half hour at the most," Aaron answered. "We can’t be interrupted."
"You will not be," Haldir said firmly. "Mithrandir and I will see to that."
"Good," Aaron nodded. "I think however, you ought to go find Bryan and Eve. Make sure they don’t lead Saeran’s entire Uruk army back here."
His motivation was not merely because of the procedure. The sound of gunfire and knowing that Eve was out there, on the receiving end of it frightened Aaron to no end, especially when he was unable to help her. Gandalf met his gaze knowingly and Aaron knew that he was hiding nothing from the astute old wizard. Fortunately, the Maia was too much of a friend to make mention of it.
"That is good precaution," he agreed turning to Haldir.
"Are you certain that it is wise for you to be alone while attempting this treatment?" Haldir asked reluctant to leave Legolas when the elf was in such a vulnerable condition.
"Its never wise to attempt this anywhere but in a hospital but that’s how its got to be," Aaron replied shortly. "The sooner I get started the better, now get going."
His demand coincided with a violent explosion of sound with intensity that was powerful enough to make the walls around them shudder and quake. The mortar holding the bricks together had shaken loose as trails of particles drifted from the roof above. The shockwave subsided a moment with everyone needing to hold onto something in order to ride out the blast. A gust of heat washed over them for a few seconds followed by the unmistakable stench of smoke.
"What on earth was that?" Tory exclaimed after the walls had stopped shuddering in protest over whatever cataclysm that had rocked the castle to its very foundations.
"It felt like an explosion," Aaron deduced quickly, perfectly aware of what a detonation sounded like after his adventures in the Malcolm Building. "I think Bryan and Eve have been busy," he remarked raising his eyes to Gandalf’s. "I think you better go find them."
Gandalf seemed to agree. "We will not be long," he stated before gesturing at Haldir for them to leave. "Take care old friend," he said to Legolas. "I do not wish to be last remaining member of the Fellowship on this earth."
"I survived a sea voyage with Haldir," Legolas offered a weak smile, "I will survive this."
Haldir rolled his eyes as Gandalf chuckled but the warmth between them was unmistakable and lingered even after the wizard and the elf departed to find their companions. Aaron watched them go and took a deep breath as he reached for his medical bag. It disturbed him to no end that his gun was also within easy reach. He prayed he did not have to use it because Legolas needed his undivided attention.
If the procedure did not work, it would not matter whether or not they stopped Saeran; Legolas would not live to see the dawn.
************
Bryan and Eve emerged from the air vent at another part of the complex and discovered that the little ‘surprise’ he had left for the Nazgul had caused significant damage to Saeran’s research complex. The corridors were quickly filling up with smoke and suddenly; the quiet and empty hallways were filled with Saeran’s researchers trying to make their escape. Most of them appeared to be exactly what they were, research staff with no idea or no compunction that what they were creating down here for their master was the blueprints for the extinction of the human species. However, as far as Bryan was concerned, scientists were often more concerned with the creation of a thing rather than the moral implications or the possible applications of their genius.
"We need to get back to the others," Bryan replied, confident that they had created sufficient chaos to ensure that their movements through the place could go about unnoticed.
"Yeah since we’ve completely trashed the place," Eve retorted and let Bryan led the way as he ran down the hallways, hurrying towards the older sections of the complex.
"I made a distraction didn’t I?" He gave her a look of wounded pride.
"Distraction and disaster are not the same thing," she returned as they hastened their pace and left behind Saeran’s fleeing human servants.
Suddenly out of the smoke, something grabbed Eve by the waist and picked her up with a powerful grip. She had barely enough time to react when she saw what look like a man running towards her holding a sword. Reacting instantly, she kicked out her foot, ensuring that it would plant itself in mid sternum when he was close enough and used the collision to propel herself backwards, taking her assailant with her. Both of them slammed into the opposite wall hard, with Eve’s attacker taking the brunt of the impact. As he was crushed between her and the wall, Eve slammed an elbow in his body and turned around to throw a road house punch against his jaw.
He uttered a low growl as Eve stepped forward, kneeing him in the groin and forcing him to double over in pain. Seeing where she had dropped her gun, Eve skidded to the floor in an effort to retrieve it. She turned around just as the other Uruk Hai had recovered and was closing in. Eve fired one shot and blew out the back of his head when the bullet tore through his forehead. Unlike the wraiths, the Uruks were not invulnerable and he dropped to the ground where he stood, blood and gray matter creating a pool of splatter behind him. His companion glared at Eve and bared his fangs in rage before coming at her again.
Eve raised her gun to fire, pulling the trigger as he closed the distance between them. However, the gun clicked impotently in her hand, the magazine having exhausted itself with the previous shot. The creature gloated at her and swipe the weapon out of her hand, certain that she would be incapable of defending herself without it. Eve saw the gun fly out of her grasp and turned to the Uruk Hai fearlessly. She ducked when he swung at her, moving lithely beyond the reach of his punch and pushing herself upright, inches away from him. Without giving him chance to attack, she threw her fist into his neck. Uruk Hai or not, the creature’s howl of pain was cut short as he dropped to his knees, clutching his throat in agony.
Eve threw a forward kick, her boot breaking a jaw as it connected with his face. A spurt of blood escaped his mouth and she smashed the ball of her heel into his face and heard something else shatter under her foot. When the Uruk landed on the ground, he was completely unconscious. She turned around and saw Bryan contending with the Uruks in the same manner. It was her first opportunity to view his fighting technique and realized at that moment that she had been very lucky indeed that he had not intended to hurt her during their first encounter. In a hand to hand fight, Eve doubted she would have escaped with her life.
His training as one of the SAS was markedly clear as he slammed an elbow into the throat of the Uruk Hai advancing behind him, dropping the creature to his knees as quickly as she had done earlier. However, Bryan was more extreme with putting down his opponent. As the Uruk clutched his throat gasping for air, Bryan grabbed his head and twisted hard in one sharp movement. Bone squelched like elastic snapping as the Uruk’s neck broke cleanly. The Uruk had barely hit the ground before Bryan turned around and delivered am equally deadly blow to the other advancing creature with a single strike of his palm. The Uruk felt down dead without further resistance as Bryan shattered the bridge of his nose, sending bone fragments though his brain in a barrage as deadly as any produced by a bullet.
"You alright?" Bryan looked at her with concern when he saw Eve staring at him.
"Yeah," she nodded thoughtfully before adding, "you really could have kicked my ass back in London couldn't you?"
Bryan thought for a moment before answering, "yes," he said with complete innocence.
"Bastard," Eve frowned turning around.
"Oh don’t say that luv," he grinned, slipping an arm around her shoulder. "After all we’ve been through together? You love me, all women do."
"God you’re full of it," Eve rolled her eyes but could not deny that the smile on his face was infectious. "I feel sorry for Tory because she does love you I think."
"Really?" He looked at her, all smugness and bluster evaporating into hopeful uncertainty; "you think so?"
"Yeah," Eve grinned evilly, liking to see him off balanced a little, "and if you’re really good, I’ll pass her a note after class."
"Bugger off," he retorted and regarded the handgun he had tucked in the back of his pants. Unfortunately, he had been forced to relinquish the shotgun during their journey through the vents and felt somewhat vulnerable without it. "How much ammo have you got left?"
"I’m out," she replied getting back to business. "What about you?"
"Three shells and that’s it."
"We better get back to Aaron and the others. They got the rest of the ammunition," Eve declared before she realized that Bryan had suddenly fallen silent.
"Hey, you listening to me?" She looked up and saw that he was quiet for good reason.
Making their way down the corridor through the smoke and shadows were at least a dozen, armed Uruks heading straight for them.
***********
Once his course was set, Green was surprised how easily a plan fell into place.
With the town behind him, thoughts of Elizabeth grew more distant even though the pain she had caused him had taken on a life of its own. For the first time in his life, he felt as if morality, strict army discipline or the twisted priority of politics, which often had little to do with soldiering, was not restraining him. He thought of some of the things he had been forced to swallow as a soldier through the years. Most had been motivated by the foolish belief that pacifism was man’s way of dealing with conflict in a civilized manner, when in truth it was the breeding ground of subjugation.
Even before he had become a soldier, he had watched Cuba fall to the communists and because the one effort that America had made to stop it had failed, Cuba was left to languish under the control of Castro. Allowing Castro to retain power had given the Russians leave to place their missiles ninety kilometers of the coast of the continental United States. Had they reacted then? Of course not, because peaceful solutions were found to deal with the situation when outright force was what was needed. His father had always told him that the way to deal with a bully was to give him a bloody nose and send him home crying, not politely ask him to withdraw by giving up pocket money or in this case, missiles in Turkey.
In Vietnam, the war in which he had been blooded. He saw friends and superior officers killed by the communists. They had turned Vietnam’s peaceful people into a hungry bunch of murderers who were willing to kill anyone in the name of their cause. They did not even have the decency for a straight out fight, instead hiding bombs in restaurants and hotels. It was a coward’s way of fighting and America had let them get away with it. The notion that America may have been partially responsible for the conflict in Vietnam did not even occur to Green as he drove a hundred miles out of town, towards the Launch Control Centers away from the support base. All that mattered to him was that the Communists had been allowed to have Vietnam despite the soldiers who died defending it.
The Launch Control Centers or LCC’s as they were called by those in the know, were manned by two men at all times. In the case of Minuteman ICBMs, they would have to remain at their posts in LCC for 24 hours shifts, where they would be conducting training exercise or trying to sleep in the 90 dB that could be heard when their equipment was operating at full capacity. Since he was their commanding officer, Green did not anticipate any difficulty gaining access. Snap inspections were not unheard of and since he was in charge of the whole missile program in this area, it was no exaggeration to say that his loyalty was beyond reproach.
Which in truth, it was not until now.
Green thought of Elizabeth and how she had driven to this and wondered how he could be undone so completely by a woman. Before he could question himself to deeply on that question, a sharp voice not completely his own, deep inside his head answered with a sharp and menacing hiss.
It was the communists!
Yes, Green remembered, it was the communists. They had turned Elizabeth against him. They had used her as their pawn and forced her to tell him lies under the pretext of love, making him a fool who loved her back. His heart ached in pain by the betrayal but the rage inside him did not burn as hot as when he thought about the people who had set the mechanism for his humiliation in motion. They wanted to know about America’s nuclear capability? Well, he could oblige them. If they wanted information about the Class LGM-30 Minuteman III ICBMs, he would give it to them and all the people who dared to call themselves communists.
First hand.
**************
At the very instant that Green was contemplating his vengeance, Major Andrei Nikolaevich had arrived at the missile alert facilities in Aleysk, the Russian equivalent of the LCC. Unlike its American counterpart, the facility was manned by not two men but rather three. During the early days of Russia’s new democracy, there had been questions raised regarding the security of the missiles, when some officers loyal to the old regime had shown definitive signs of instability. Though none of them had managed anything as catastrophic as a launch, the Russian government had sat up and paid attention to the possibility. The two-man system was abandoned to include a third and REACT (Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting) consoles were adopted in 1996 to ensure that accidents could be dealt with a modicum of affectability.
However, he was a respected commander and the men who sat in charge of the facility answered to him and on some level, could be considered friends. They trusted him. He had no wish to hurt them really but one thing that Andrei did understand though many might think him a monster for believing such things, was that in war, even friends had to be sacrificed for the greater good. During the Second World War, when Hitler had violated the Axis Pact by crossing into Russia with his troops, the Russian people had mounted perhaps one of the most magnificent defenses of any homeland in the history of the world.
Friends, family, even perfect strangers, threw themselves into the fray for the defense of the motherland because it was required. Land was ignited and whole towns were razed to the ground with the scorched earth defense they had mounted to ensure that the Germans fought for every inch of land they assumed to control. The Russians were often thought of badly because they considered six million dead Jews to be nothing in the face of the 20 million they had sacrificed to keep Russia from becoming another Nazi stronghold.
This would be no different. He had to sacrifice those men to achieve his victory against the enemy, to make Russia great. He would push her unwillingly into the last great war that would make his nation stronger than it had ever been. He thought of his wife, who waited for him to return to Moscow and hoped that she understood that what he did, he did for her as well as Russia. In the final analysis, Russia was all about her people and her people were strong.
He arrived at the missile alert facility some miles away from the Aleysk base. It was standard operational procedure that these centers were kept away from larger command bases in the event of an attack. It was still in the middle of the night, with the snowfall rising steadily and the wind cutting into his skin when he emerged from the jeep within the compound. Considering what it was that occurred here, the missile alert facility had the outward appearance of a small, listening post consisting of one single storied building and a soft HF antenna. Thanks to the snowfall, the hard HF and transmit antennas were concealed.
Andrei greeted the young man currently on duty at the support building during the twilight shift. The young lieutenant was alone at this hour of the night and had been captured by surprise by the sudden appearance of a major in what was obviously a surprise inspection. Still, inspections like these were not all that unusual. In recent years, they had gained some frequency and on some levels, quite beneficial to those who liked to think they were prepared for every contingency. Andrei greeted the young man and explained casually that he had been asked to do a surprise inspection of the launch control center. The lieutenant accepted this without question even though Andrei had produced some forged papers to make his lie more convincing. The boy offered no more than a cursory glance over the paperwork before promptly informing the men below that they were about to have company.
Lieutenant Dmitri Rastov keyed in the proper authorization code for the lifts to take the Major to the control center beneath the support building and turned around just in time to see a gun barrel staring back at him. He had no more than half a second to register this information before the gun fired its bullet soundlessly through the silencer fitting and ended any speculation whatsoever when the projectile tore apart his brain.
************
Unlike the United States and the Russian Federation, China’s entry into the nuclear arm’s race was slow. The state of China’s current nuclear program is a source of mystery to the western world, largely because China had sense enough to pay attention to the deployment of her competitors arsenal and kept its nuclear program under tight secrecy. Since satellite technology had progressed to such a state that it was easy for the enemy to detect silos from orbit, China had taken a different tact in how it built its facilities and its control centers. Instead of locating them in places where they could be easily detected, China’s silos were constructed underground, within vast tunnel systems carved out by engineers within mountain ranges.
From orbit, it was virtually impossible to discern the locale of these silos in their underground tunnel network and if anyone outside the PLA were ever allowed to witness it, they would be impressed to say the least. An enemy attempting to bomb one of these facilities would be hard pressed to destroy it even with a nuclear arsenal at their disposal. The missiles were kept so far underground that it would require a weapon with a yield of more than 500 megatons to even reach them. Thus when Xiang took the lift shaft to the control center after disposing of the staff manning the support command, it did so with some measure of nationalistic pride which an outsider would not consider undeserved.
A sliver of remorse surfaced within Xiang as he thought about the young men he had just killed, who had looked at him with admiration and respect because he was a decorated officer without reproach. He had all the correct paperwork and they had not thought twice about giving them access to the control center for the surprise inspection he was meant to be carrying out. He had ensured that the men he would soon kill had no suspicion that anything was amiss. The moment of silence as he journeyed into through the earth to his destiny gave Xiang time to consider the righteousness of his cause.
Cause? He snorted to himself. There was no cause. There was only vengeance.
The Americans had driven him to this. They had used Ming with her artful sexuality to compromise his standing. Two years, she had been his mistress and he had suspected nothing. He was career officer; not at all gullible having distinguished himself on the field of battle and off it, to be taken in so completely by a whore was more than his pride could stand. He thought of all the soft whispers, all the pleasure they had shared and felt his stomach hollow in disgust at the realization that it was all a ploy to loosen his tongue. He did not know how much he had told her about the nation’s missile defense system but even a few words was too much.
The PLA kept ironclad control over information regarding its nuclear program. When the Americans revealed that they were in possession of detailed information about Chinese missile deployment, the PLA would almost certainly know that someone in their missile staff had provided it to the enemy. It would only be a matter of time before his superiors traced that information back to him and at best, he would be court-martialed for his stupidity, and at worst he would be shot for treason. No matter how he played this out in his mind, Xiang knew that he was out of options and this most desperate of measures was the only way he could think of to keep his honor and take vengeance on those who had arbitrarily set out to destroy him.
The sudden stop of the lift jarred him out of his rampaging thoughts, which was just as well he decided as he stepped through the blast doors that were left open for him because the men within the control center trusted him. In the event of an attack, the blast doors would seal them inside the facility and would be virtually impregnable to any efforts to open it. In stepping past them, he was crossing the last obstacle that lay between sanity and what had to be.
"Colonel Li," the young captain snapped to a salute with a smile. "It is an honor to meet you Sir."
Next to him, a seasoned sargeant stood with the same attention though his salute was no less genuine.
A true soldier, Xiang thought to himself, careful never to address a superior officer unless first addressed. He was a good man and one that the PLA had too few of lately. It was a shame that Xiang had no choice in carrying out his next actions.
"At ease, gentlemen," Xiang said after he returned their salute.
They were in the process of relaxing when Xiang reached for his sidearm and promptly fired a bullet into each of them. They fell down dead where they stood, an expression of horror and surprise etched on their faces from the half instant they were given to realize that they were about to die. Blood oozed from the ruined flesh behind their skulls, a crimson pool expanding around their skulls across the floor. Xiang lowered himself to them, ignoring their dead eyes as he removed the launch keys hanging around their necks.
There was a strange sort of clarity in his mind as he went to the launch control console and sat down. Staring at the switches but not really seeing them, his mind seemed to be operating without his need to think. Suddenly, Ming and his career felt very far away. Only the purpose before him had any true meaning. Only it was pure. He stared at the keys in his hand for a few second, wondering whether his entire life had been building towards this moment or was it just a random quirk of fate that these were the cards he ought to be dealt. Xiang did not know for certain but then great men who found themselves in situations like this rarely did.
Sliding the first key into its slot, Xiang released a deep breath and uttered a line spoken by Caesar once a upon a time, that seemed very fitting for the occasion.
"The die is now cast."
*************
When the massive explosion beneath his castle shook the walls of his domain, Saeran could feel the agony of the Nine screaming through his psyche. Oh, he knew that they were not dead. He had not created them to die by something as mundane as fire. He was however, aware that they had failed in the execution of their orders and he was not happy about that at all. He supposed it was too much to expect them to fulfil one simple task and wondered how much of his failures in the past had to do with the incompetence of his minions.
Rising from his throne after the shockwave caused by the explosion had subsided, Saeran dusted the mortar that had shaken loose following the blast, from his clothes and regarded Irina who had sat by his side faithfully during his earlier meditation. He had better things to deal with at the moment than the intruders in his domain, especially when the influence he was wielding over the men in possession of his rings was reaching climax.
"It appears that I must deal with this myself," he said as he walked across the floor to the sword hanging ornately on the wall.
"Why not let the Nine or the Uruks deal with them?" She asked, concern for him showing him once more the more annoying aspects of her humanity.
"You know what they say," he replied with a smile as he took the sword from its place and held it firmly in his grip. He had searched a long time for this particular sword and since it had come in to his possession, it had remained on his wall, waiting for its time. Tonight, that wait would come to an end.
"What do they say?" She asked impatiently, wondering what was his fascination for that outdated piece of weaponry.
"If you want something done, do it yourself."
Tory Harding wondered at what point had her quiet, predictable existence become this nightmare where she would be lucky to survive the night.
Less than a week ago, the most hazardous thing she had to worry about was whether or not she should have that extra slice of desert with lunch. Since opening her door to Aaron Stone, Tory had been chased out of her house by phantom creatures, forced to travel across Europe and nearly been clawed to death by the army of monsters belonging to an insane dark lord. To top it all off, she was now preparing to play nurse while Aaron, admittedly the closest thing she had to a brother in this world, prepared to perform some surgical procedure on an elf in the bowels of a Romanian castle.
Tory wondered if she should have just shut the damn door.
It had not been long since Gandalf and Haldir had disappeared from the dark chamber they had taken refuge following their entry into the lower levels of David Saeran's mansion. For the time being, their presence had so far gone unnoticed but Tory was certain that this was largely due to the loud explosion that had rocked the structure a short time ago. An explosion, that Bryan and Eve had undoubtedly responsible. Her intuition regarding Bryan gave her the impression that he could be a walking disaster area if he set his mind to it. In any case, the commotion he and Eve were causing ensured that the attention of Saeran's agents were fixed solely on catch them instead of anyone else who might be hiding in their master's domain.
Still, she had no wish to see him play decoy because as capable as he was, she still feared for his life. Tory knew that she was being foolish, that Bryan was more adept at staying alive than she could possibly imagine but she could not help worrying about him nonetheless. It had been no more than a week since he had entered her life but Tory knew inwardly that she had been awaiting Bryan for a very long time. Tory was never a believer in fate or destiny but with a foresight she not explain, Tory knew that they had been cheated out of a life together once already. Now that she had found him again, Tory was not eager to lose Bryan.
Tory had known love before Bryan. When she met Stuart Farmer, she had loved him but inwardly, there was something inside her that could never yield to the gentle scholar she married, no matter how much she tried. There was always apart of her that held back, restrained by some unknown yearning she had never recognized until the moment, impulse had driven her to kiss Bryan for the first time. When her lips met his, it was as if the floodgates of her emotional core had been flung open and for the first time, she was lost in the tidal of feeling that he engendered it her.
It was vastly different from what she felt for Stuart, which was a safe sort of affection, devoid of any real fire. With Bryan, there was heat even when he was not in the room. It burned inside her relentlessly, stoking into being an emotion of all consuming passion that left her breathless. This and all the dreams that had plagued her of late convinced her that this time it had to be different. They were meant to have more than just one bittersweet moment together. She did not want to become that woman who had stood on the balcony overlooking the city of Gondor, sharing a brief interlude with Boromir that would leave her filled with regret for the rest of her life.
Tory did not wish to be the woman who had loved Boromir of Gondor and mourned him for the rest of her days.
**********
"Tory, keep that torch up, I need to see what I'm doing," Aaron's voice shattered Tory’s ruminations about Bryan and destiny, returning her to the moment where she was meant to be helping Aaron save Legolas Greenleaf's life.
The elven archer was unhappy to be the centre of so much attention but even in their poorly lit surroundings, there was no mistaking the pain he was trying hard to conceal from showing on his face. She had been holding the torch, providing Aaron with much needed light though she suspected it was still not enough. Their only source of light in this dark place was the battery-operated torch that left everything beyond the range of its concentration.
In truth, Aaron preferred a considerably more light when examining any patient but since that was impossible, was forced to make do with what he had. After pulling open Legolas’ tunic, he reached out for Tory and directed her at where he wanted the torch aimed. The light concentrated on Legolas’ chest allowed Aaron to see the true extent of Legolas’ injuries. Behind him, he heard Tory drawing a deep breath at the sight of the terrible bruising against Legolas’ ribs. Deep splotches of purple was a stark contrast against the archer's pale skin and seeing it made Aaron wonder how he could have tolerated the pain for so long.
"Tory, I'm going to need your help," Aaron said firmly as he reached for his doctor's bag and rifled through its contents.
"I'll do what I can," Tory replied earnestly and meant it. Anyone who was able to keep a brave face with that kind of injury demanded her undivided attention as well as admiration.
"I still believe you are over reacting," Legolas retorted, ignoring the fact that each gentle prod Aaron was making against his skin was producing a corresponding wince of pain across his face.
"You can cut the tough guy routine," Aaron replied shortly and prepared a needle full of anaesthetic so that he could begin the procedure. "Haldir's gone, so you don't have to behave like a two year old."
"Haldir has nothing to do with it," Legolas replied indignantly, "I simply do not need to be fussed over like an infant."
"Well you are behaving like one," Aaron responded; only half listening to him because he had more important matters to attend. "Hold onto this a minute," he said to Tory and handed her the needle filled with anaesthetic so that he could continue with the rest of his preparations for Legolas’ treatment.
After Tory had taken the needle from him, Aaron reached into his bag and produced a small bottle of alcohol. Soaking a piece of cotton wool with the clear fluid, he proceeded to sterilize the area around the ribcage where the needle would pierce the skin. Once again, Aaron frowned at where he was forced to perform such a procedure. This was hardly the fitting place to embark on such a procedure and wished he could get Legolas to a proper hospital where he would have access to X-ray machines and chest taps, unfortunately, as he had stated previously, he had little choice in the matter.
"What are you doing?" The elf asked with a mixture of fascination as well as trepidation when the alcohol made contact with his skin and began to evaporate almost instantly.
"I'm cleaning the area where I'm going to have to put the needle," Aaron explained, trying to leave out the details because he did not wish to cause Legolas any more anxiety, no matter how well the elf may think he could handle it. Even linebackers passed out a sight of needles.
"Needle?" Legolas looked at him.
Aaron did not answer him because explanation would only make Legolas more nervous and Aaron needed him still. Instead, the doctor continued with what he had to do.
The procedure in itself was simple, despite the nature of the symptoms it was meant to alleviate. Once the sterilization was completed, Aaron inserted the needle into the skin and anaesthetized the area in a matter of minutes. The initial penetration caused some discomfort but Legolas bore it well and every soon the numbing sensation would ensure he felt little else. Legolas’ breathing had become more strained and hearing it hastened Aaron’s' pace because the doctor knew the elf's condition was deteriorating unless the fluid was removed quickly from his lungs. Once the anaesthetic had done its work, Aaron inserted a large needle attached to a syringe through the chest wall and into the pleural space around Legolas' injured lung.
The elf had understandably turned his head away, wishing to see none of it and Tory could not blame him because she had no desire to see his blood drain into the syringe any more than he did. During that phase of the procedure, Tory ensured that Fred's gaze was fixed elsewhere because the child did not need to see this either. Still despite the fact that the procedure was not meant to take long, the time seemed to crawl and she could not even begin to imagine what Legolas was feeling during its execution. Fortunately, while the effects of the procedure were not immediate overt, Tory did notice after awhile the hoarseness of Legolas’ breathing easing slightly.
"This will have to do for now," Aaron announced after what seemed like an eternity of time.
"Is he going to be okay?" Fred asked, finally being allowed to face them now that Aaron had finished the treatment.
"It will take more than this to kill me, little one," Legolas muttered weakly but his pallor was still white and Tory could tell by the look in Aaron's eyes that the elf's condition was nowhere as improved, as Aaron would like.
"You'll be okay for now," Aaron said gazing at his best friend with a warm smile. "You still need a hospital but this should help you breathe a little better for the moment."
"I have every confidence in your ability, Aaron," Legolas met his eyes with sincere trust. "You have always seen to it that I live to breathe another day."
"Well I can't let you die," Aaron replied warmly, "who's going to get me out of trouble when I get into it?"
"That is for certain, I have often found it to be a full time occupation," Legolas agreed with a tired nod.
Aaron felt a surge of warmth for the elf who had been his friend for longer than he had been alive on this earth. While Aaron remembered nothing about Aragorn Elessar's life, he did know without hesitation or doubt that their relationship was more than friendship, deeper than brotherhood. There was something terrible comforting in knowing that no matter what happened in their lives; they would always travel the same road together. When Aaron had lost Stuart, he had thought he had lost a brother but in meeting Legolas, he had found one again.
Aaron had no intention of losing once more.
**************
There was a curious period of calm in the time that elapsed when Eve and Bryan caught sight of the Uruks who had suddenly appeared in the corridor before them. Neither side reacted except to gape at each other. The Uruks, obviously not the creatures that Tory had encountered in the gestation chamber, were clothed in dark fatigue and carried guns. Despite the dull illumination in the corridors, Bryan and Eve were able to get their first real look at the army of creatures Saeran would use to rule the world if his New Order became a reality.
Aside from their weapons and clothing, the Uruks appeared to be fearsome and formidable race. All of them towered over Bryan and the Englishman had always considered himself tall. Next to the Uruks, Bryan felt positively slender. However, it was not merely their height that made them so imposing. With their dark skins, misshapen heads and animal like teeth, they were menacing to look at and the manic gleam in their eyes revealed their savage natures. These creatures liked to kill and he had a feeling they were very good at it. When he had encountered the Uruks in the cavern where he had rescued Tory, they had seemed aggressive but manageable. Now as he faced a dozen of them, Bryan did not want to imagine what an army of them would look like.
For the moment however, these Uruks were dangerous enough and armed with Uzis, they were better prepared for a fight than either Bryan or Eve who had between them three bullets left in their guns. Hardly enough to survive when the momentary limbo between them came to an end. Bryan knew that when it did, he and Eve would be a great deal of trouble. What was worse, he could only think of one thing to do.
"RUN!" Bryan ordered sharply as he grabbed Eve by the shoulder and ran in the opposite direction.
Their hasty departure elicited a cry of anticipation and excitement from the Uruks who gave immediate chase, spurned on by baser instincts and plain savagery. If they were soldiers with any kind of discipline, the Uruks would have realised that a single burst from their guns would have cut him and Eve down before they could even cross the hallway. Fortunately, their actions gave Bryan and Eve precious time to escape, as well as kindle the hope that Bryan could outsmart them to stay one step ahead of them. They may have been given some education in the use of modern weapons but in truth the Uruks were little more than armed thugs who could be outsmarted by a smarter enemy.
However, the Uruks soon realised their mistake and opened fire with their weapons just as Eve and Bryan rounded the corridor. The adjacent wall was soon riddled in the bullet holes with concrete fragments flying through the air, intermingling with the smoke that was thickening from the fires created by the explosion earlier. The clouds of grey obscured their departure but also made it difficult for the duo to gain some perspective on where they were headed. At the moment, Bryan could think of nothing more than returning to Tory and others, not to mention the cache of ammunition that they had left there. The reconnaissance that he and Eve had undertaken to begin with had evolved into a skirmish that neither was prepared for and they could not continue unarmed.
"Where are we going?" Eve shouted as more gunfire exploded around them. She could also hear the Uruks’ footsteps pounding against the paved floor as they followed in pursuit, as if their blazing guns were not enough to announce their presence.
"Presumably back to the others," Bryan answered as he looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but thick smoke.
"I don’t think we’re going the right way," Eve declared.
Unfortunately, she was right. Bryan looked ahead and saw the smoke was becoming black instead of grey, indicating that they were nearing the source of the fire. However, it was not merely the smoke that lead him to believe this but also the heat being generated from the flames. It was becoming difficult to breathe but they could not turn back unless they wanted to be cut to pieces by the Uzis carried by the enemy. Eve felt Bryan’s hand around hers, ensuring that he did not lose her in the smoke. Something whizzed past her ear and she shuddered because she knew it was a bullet. However, no more came after it because the Uruks had stopped firing upon coming to the conclusion that their quarry would soon be driven out by the flames.
Bryan paused when the shooting had ceased. He stared ahead and saw through the swirling smoke that fire had consumed the upper corridor, having escaped through the partially demolished wall of the laboratory he had reduced to this chaos in their escape from the Nine. There was no way they could cross the distance without burning alive and as unpalatable as it seemed at the moment, it appeared they had no choice but to retreat. Retreat would almost certainly mean capture. Bryan hoped the Saeran had orders for them to be taken alive or else the surrender he and Eve had no choice but to make would end badly for both of them.
"Eve," Bryan met her gaze. Her eyes were watering because of the smoke but her expression indicated that she knew what he was going to say without his needing to speak the words.
"I know," Eve swallowed thickly and nodded in understanding, "we gave them a good run."
"They may want us alive," Bryan said for her benefit even though he was realistic about their chances. Saeran had no use for them and thus no reason to keep them alive.
"They may," she said with a faint smile but there was an inordinate sadness in her face that understood that they could be marching to their deaths. However, her chin set with determination and Bryan felt a surge of affection for this woman who had become a trusted ally.
"Alright," he drew a deep breath and almost choked on it because most of what entered his lungs was smoke. "Let’s do this."
Eve nodded somberly and followed him as Bryan retraced their steps back the way they came. He had placed his hands at the back of his head and gestured to Eve to do the same. Hopefully, these Uruks would understand the universal sign of surrender and act accordingly. However Bryan did not hold out much hope of this and prayed that their deaths would be quick. He did not mind torture but he could not stomach it if they inflicted it upon Eve. Even if they survived such an ordeal, Bryan would never be able to look Aaron in the eye again.
The smoke had thinned enough for their overture of surrender to be recognized by the Uruk Hai who immediately displayed their reaction at the enemy’s capture with loud growls of sneering triumph. Bryan saw Eve hardening her expression into stone, even though her eyes showed clearly her fear. He had a sense that she knew more about these creatures than he did and was more aware of what they were capable of. However, if they were expecting the Uruks to kill them outright, Bryan was rather surprised when the leader among them ordered his comrades to hold their fire.
Apparently, Saeran did want them alive.
The leader of the Uruk who was at least a head taller than Bryan came towards the MI6 agent as the others swarmed around them. He circled Bryan with a predatory gleam in his dark eyes before lashing out with the butt of the Uzi against Bryan’s side. An involuntary grunt of pain escaped him as Bryan landed on his knees from the blow. However, Bryan would give him no more satisfaction then that. Disappointed, the Uruk Hai leader continued his posturing in order to engender a more animated response by delivering another blow between Bryan’s shoulder blades, sending him to the floor on his hands.
"Stop it you son of a bitch!" Bryan heard Eve shout through a haze of pain.
Her outburst was followed by a sharp sound Bryan recognised immediately as knuckles striking flesh. The realisation snapped him to full alertness and he looked up just in time to see Eve hit the floor after being struck hard across the face. The power behind the Uruk Hai’s punch ensured that she would be unable to shirk it off as he had. Bryan saw the leader coming towards him, preparing to strike again when his anger at Eve’s treatment got the better of him. Kicking out his foot, he struck the advancing Uruk’s knee and dropped him to the ground. With lightning fast reflexes that gave the Uruk Hai little time to react, Bryan was on his feet and tearing the gun out of the leader’s hands before the others could collect themselves. Once he was armed, he jammed the barrel against the creature’s skull.
"GET BACK!" Bryan shouted as he yanked back the Uruk leader’s head and paid special address to the Uruk Hai inching nearer to Eve.
Bryan’s efforts gave new lease to Eve’s own instincts for survival and she recovered her senses quickly enough to give Bryan some assistance, despite the pain stinging at her cheek where she had been struck. Standing upright, she turned to the attacker whom had been forced to remain where he was because of Bryan’s threat and marched straight to him. Without saying a word, she planted her knee firmly in his groin and took his gun when he doubled over in pain.
"Nice work," Bryan gave her a smile of admiration, though their situation was nowhere safe yet.
"Thanks," Eve replied shortly, "you didn’t do too badly yourself."
"You’ll never get out of here alive!" The Uruk grunted, his voice was hoarse and almost like a growl.
"Belt up or you won’t make it out of this corridor alive," Bryan warned whilst dragging him to his feet. The Uruk still stood taller than him but the Uzi in Bryan’s hand was a great equalizer. Eve covered his back as Bryan forced him forward under the hateful glare of his comrades.
The rest of the Uruk Hai were snarling their protest at their leader being used as a hostage but they were even more enraged by the fact that the enemy was being allowed to escape. Bryan had this unsettling suspicion that they were even now debating whether or not their leader was worth the price of their quarry’s escape and could be willing to sacrifice him in order to recapture them. In either case, Bryan did not wish to remain long enough to find out what decision they reached.
"I don’t think they’re going to go for this," Eve said quietly, thinking the very same thing, her eyes fixed on them as she and Bryan ploughed their way through the creatures that were begrudgingly stepping aside for them.
"Me neither," Bryan agreed. "Let’s just get to the other side of the corridor," he replied. "After that we can lose him."
They made their way slowly through the tall, orcish warriors, noting the rising dissent amongst them with each step they took further away. The Uruk Hai leader was snarling angrily but was held impotent by the gun aimed at his head. Bryan could see the effects their departure was having upon the others. Their fingers were tightening around the triggers, their bodies poised to act, Bryan had been in enough tense situations to know that things were about to go hell.
And they were reaching critical with each step he and Eve took.
They neared the end of the corridor and a quick glance told Bryan that their way was clear. Bryan met Eve’s gaze and gave her the signal to run. The Uruks were disappearing out of sight but it would only take seconds to close the distance once the debate over the significance of their leader’s life was over. Eve raised the Uzi in readiness to fire when Bryan suddenly shoved the Uruk Hai leader away from him and turned to run.
"Now!" Bryan ordered as Eve released a hail of bullets from the weapon as the pursuing Uruks turned the corner. The deadly barrage forced them back and Bryan was halfway down the corridor when he halted and allowed Eve the chance to reach him. He covered her journey back to him in another hail of gunfire, giving them a precious few seconds of time where the Uruks were forced to take cover instead of closing the narrow gap between them. Once she was to him, they both hurried down the hallway, running as fast as they could as the enemy resumed their hunt once more.
Fortunately, this time the smoke was not so thick and the hallways did not appear wholly unfamiliar. He had some sense of where they were headed this time and turned another corner when suddenly; he saw Gandalf and Haldir in the corridor. The elf was already arming his bow when the first of the Uruk Hai became visible and with the skill Bryan was certain that no Olympic class archer could match, released his arrows with deadly accuracy.
The first three Uruks that rounded the corner died where they fell, creating stumbling blocks for those who followed. In the face of their confusion, Eve had halted and emptied another barrage of bullets at the advancing enemy. Their bodies were jerked spasmodically as the combination of bullets and arrows tore through their bodies. Bryan paused and added his fire to Eve and Haldir’s and suddenly the dozen Uruk Hai were reduced to three. The others had become corpses on the ground. Deciding that they would prefer better odds, the remaining Uruk Hai retreated for the moment but Bryan was certain they would be back in greater numbers.
"That was a timely bit of rescue," Bryan replied gratefully.
"I would hardly call that a rescue," Gandalf shrugged but appeared happy to see them nonetheless. "It appears to me that we merely gave you an opportunity to act."
"We came to find you," Haldir replied, eager to return to the others. He had not liked leaving Legolas even though it caused him no end of annoyance to know that he was terribly worried about the Prince’s welfare.
"What’s happened?" Bryan asked.
"It is Legolas," Gandalf answered, hiding his concern for the welfare of the archer. "His injury is far worse than previously thought. Aaron was forced to treat him immediately or risk letting him die."
"We better get back to him," Eve said automatically. "If anyone stumbles across him while he’s treating Legolas…"
"I know," Bryan stopped her from finishing the sentence and decided it was better not to waste any talking about it when they ought to be moving. "We better get back to them before they get into any more trouble."
After everything else that had transpired in the last hour, Bryan wanted to leave nothing to chance.
************
His quarry was close.
Saeran could sense her nearby and wondered if she could sense his approach. For years, he had amused himself by tormenting the child in her sleep but he could not deny the delicious pleasure of being able to see the fear in his eyes for himself was very satisfying indeed. As long as the soul of Frodo Baggins was within his reach, Saeran was determined to make this incarnation and every other that showed itself in the world throughout the ages, pay for what the hobbit had done. Fred was too young to understand that it would not end with her death, that he intended to pursue the soul of the Ringbearer until the end of the time.
For now however, he had business with one other who had earned his hatred just as deeply as the Ringbearer and for whom Saeran had waited just as long time to meet. Unlike Fredrica Bailey, there was no connection between them, no way for Saeran to torment as he had done to the child in her dreams. However, they were still bound together nonetheless. The sword in his hand saw to it.
The weapon which he carried as he made his way through the network of corridors beneath his domain had come to him in the summer of 1845 in Vienna. While Malcolm had cultivated his interests in America, Saeran had kept his eye firmly upon Europe and took especial pride in hindering anyway he could, the development of Austria and Germany, the nations built on the lands that had once been the kingdom of Gondor. In Austria, he had ensured the ascendancy of Clemens von Metternich to Chancellor, an extreme conservative who believed that the only way to ensure that the stability of the Austrian Empire was to suppress revolutionary ideas by any means possible. Of course Clemens was nowhere as gifted as Adolf Hitler, some eighty years later, but Saeran could only work with what clay was available.
The sword had been languishing in a Prussian museum, apparently found by an archaeologist who believed he had unearthed the tomb of an ancient warlord or nobleman somewhere in the southern wilderness. While the tomb and the body had been lost to erosion and weathering, the weapon had remained intact and the museum curator believed it was forged somewhere in the Dark Ages. Had radiocarbon dating been available in those days, the man would have discovered that the weapon was perhaps the oldest one of its kind in existence, that it dated back to the days when the Austrian Empire had been apart of Reunified Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.
Metternich had been more than happy to make the sword a gift when Saeran had inquired after it. The Chancellor was no fool. He knew the price of refusal. He had presented the weapon to Saeran as if he had made some magnanimous gift, not realising that if he had not, Saeran would have simply sent the Nine to retrieve anyway. The sword like the Ringbearer was something that he was determined to have in his possession, although he had never thought he would have ever have the good fortune of reuniting the weapon with its former master. However, fate had an odd sense of humour because the same man who had rid him of John Malcolm was also the master of the sword Anduril.
The sword, forged from the shards of Narsil, the blade that cut the ring from Sauron’s finger. His finger.
"Come with me," Saeran barked at the trio of Uruk Hai when he encountered them in the smoking corridor. The creatures obeyed without question, falling behind their master as he resumed his journey through the passage.
Smoke cleared out of Saeran’s way, bleeding past him in thin clouds of grey. Saeran’s course led him to the corridor blazing with fire thanks to the mischief of his trespassers. The Uruks behind him hesitated slightly as he neared the flames but Saeran did not pause in his advance. As he approached, a great gust of wind preceded him, sweeping through the narrow passage, with such force that the fire was extinguished like a flame being snuffed out on a candle. Within seconds, the tongues of orange had subsided, leaving only walls charred black. Tendrils of smoke hissed around him as Saeran strode through the blackened corridor, oblivious to the destruction because his mind was fixed upon on his prey. Nothing else mattered.
*********
"We must leave now," Legolas suddenly exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency.
The elf was still very weak but he was in better condition now than he was a short time ago, Aaron was happy to say. Although his breathing was still strained, it was nowhere as laboured as before which gave Aaron confidence that he would be able to go without medical treatment for a few more hours. The smoke that had filled the air had abated slightly and Aaron wondered if Saeran had some kind of sprinkler system the way Malcolm’s Monolith had. In any case, the doctor wanted to move Legolas somewhere else before setting out to find what had become of the others.
"Why?" Aaron asked automatically, having become so accustomed to Legolas’ elf senses that he no longer questioned it or its accuracy.
"He is coming," Legolas stated without hesitation or doubt. "The darkness I feel coming towards us can be none other. It is Sauron."
"Can you stand?" Aaron asked sliding his arm around Legolas’, not wishing to waste time by asking useless questions. If Legolas said that Sauron was coming, then Aaron believed him. "Tory, keep Fred close."
"I am," Tory answered clutching Fred’s hand to ensure the girl was close by. The little girl had fallen silent and the apprehension Tory could see reflected in her eyes told her that whatever it was Legolas was sensing, Fred could feel it too. Glancing down the passage leading to their refuge, Tory could see no evidence of anyone coming but as she had learnt since all this had began, nothing was what it appeared to be.
"I can move," Legolas said standing upright with some assistance from Aaron. He was in pain but they could not remain here, not when the threat he could sense was looming ever closer. "Give me my bow."
"You’re in no condition to shoot anyone," Aaron said automatically.
"Aaron, you do not understand," Legolas stared at him. "Morgoth did not know you but Sauron does. You are the heir of Isildur who cut the One Ring from his finger and it was you, Aragorn Elessar who lead the forces of man against Mordor in the War of the Ring. He hates you almost as much as he hates the Ringbearer."
Aaron shuddered a little, not because he was afraid of David Saeran but because he saw fear in Legolas’ eyes. In all the time he had known Legolas, Aaron had never seen him fear anything. His anxiety made Aaron reach for the gun he had forgotten about while he had been treating the elf.
"Alright," he conceded, reaching for the bow of Galadhrim and handing it back to its master. "Just do me a favor and take it easy. If this guy wants me, he’s going to get me because you can’t put an arrow into him until Bryan gets here."
Legolas met his gaze sharply and disbelief, "Aaron, he could kill you."
"Yeah but me dying won’t end our chances of saving the several billion people he’s going to kill if we don’t stop him with our plan," Aaron reminded, trying to sound brave even though he was not.
"I do not know whether I can sit by and watch him kill you," Legolas replied earnestly, real anguish on his face.
"Neither can I Aaron," Tory added her voice to the mix, understanding all too well the difficulty Legolas was feeling. "You have to protect yourself."
"We can’t do anything," Aaron repeated himself firmly, "not until Bryan gets here."
Legolas did not answer him. The elf had suddenly gone still and Aaron knew by the look in his eyes, that something had changed or someone had come.
"Its too late," Legolas confirmed his suspicions with a grave expression, "he is here."
Aaron turned around just as the shadow of David Saeran preceded his entry into the chamber by a fraction of a second. He raised his gun, fully prepared to empty the entire contents of his gun into the dark lord’s human body when he realized with utter despair that he could not. Killing David Saeran would effectively eliminate any chance they had of stopping the enemy from turning the world into a nuclear cinder.
"Shoot him!" Tory shouted as Saeran appeared before them in the flesh.
"I can’t!" Aaron hissed angrily, wishing he could, but to pull the trigger was to ensure what he had seen in Galadriel’s mirror would become a reality as surely as if he had launched the nuclear arsenal himself.
Legolas slumped against the wall he was standing; shaking in frustration because Aaron was right and it may well cost him his life because of it.
David Saeran did not seem surprised when he entered the small chamber and saw Aaron Stone pointing at gun at him but appeared unable to fire. In the light of the chamber, the dark lord seemed to cast larger than life shadows but then the Saeran was a favorite of the dark. He lived his life in it and relished the power given to him by the shadow world. In it, he was in his element and as he faced the enemies he had sought so long to destroy, he had never felt more grateful to feel its power running through his veins.
"Go ahead Aaron, shoot me," Saeran said with a knowing smile as the three Uruk Hai entered the room, taking up flanking positions next to their master.
"Don’t tempt me," Aaron returned in a low voice but whether or not Saeran knew it, his threat was an empty one.
"Temptation is at the heart of what I do, Aaron," Saeran replied smoothly before staring at Aaron with concentration.
"Aaron!" Tory cried out as she saw Aaron being flung backwards across the room by some unseen force.
Aaron was thrown hard against the wall, losing the grip on his gun as the back of his skull slapped against the stone and his entire body shuddered in pain at the forceful meeting of flesh and stone. There was no time to even utter a groan because it felt as if the wind had been knocked right out of his lungs upon impact. There no time for anything but the pain and before he knew it, he was falling to the to ground like a rag doll. Aaron landed on the floor hard, his head swimming with disorientation as he felt warm blood on the back of his head and in his mouth.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Legolas was not about to let the attack upon Aaron go unanswered and reacted with more speed that should have been possible for someone in his condition. Aaron had barely hit the wall before the elven archer was arming his bow and shooting an arrow, hardly caring that a lucky shot could possibly jeopardize their chances of thwarting Saeran’s dark plans for the world. All he could think of was that his friend was under attack and Saeran could easily kill them all without much effort. Unfortunately, this was proven all too true when the dark lord deflected the arrow with the sword in his possession, even one as skillfully delivered by the former prince of Mirkwood. The blade sliced the arrow in half before it could reach him, the pieces dropping harmlessly at his feet.
"I would have thought that a brat of Thranduil’s would be capable of providing me with more challenge than that," Saeran sneered as he regarded Legolas with derision.
"I am more than capable for the likes of you Sauron," Legolas returned coldly.
"You amuse me, the lot of you," Saeran shook his head in disgust as he swept his gaze over his supposed enemies. "You come here into my domain and think that I am unprepared for you? What sort of fool do you take me for? You may have succeeded against me once but not again. I have learnt from my past misfortunes and this time, it will be different, I promise you that."
With that, he turned to the Uruk Hai in attendance and gave them leave to proceed with a slight nod. The creatures promptly moved to restrain Legolas and Aaron who were in no condition to offer them any real resistance.
"Stop it!" Tory cried in protest out when she saw one of the Uruks slamming Legolas’ skull against the wall knocking the already weakened elf out cold. The Uruk caught him before he slid to the floor, while the other slammed the butt of his rifle into the back of Aaron’s head, putting him in a similar state of unconsciousness.
Saeran turned to her as if he had noticed Tory for the first time and as he cast his attention upon her, she suddenly wished she had remained silent. The scathing glare he cast in her direction was enough to wither away her courage into nothingness. Even though Tory had no memory of Middle Earth and knew nothing of Sauron, when she saw the cold flint of his eyes staring at her, she could almost see the dark creature that he was beneath the mask of flesh. Saeran’s gaze lingered on Tory briefly before he turned his attention to Fred who had started to cry at the sheer terror of being in the man’s power again. Without warning, Saeran swung his fist and struck Tory with a powerful blow that sent her sprawling.
"Tory!" Fred screamed as Tory fell boneless to the ground and did not move again.
"I told you," Saeran glowered, tearing Fred away from Tory’s side and forcing her to look at him, "We will be spending a great deal of time together. If you run from me again, I will kill them all. Do you understand?"
Fred stared at Saeran with wide eyes, brimming with tears. Through her sobs, she managed to stutter a response. "Yes," she answered.
"Good, I’m glad we understand each other," he said straightening up. Saeran started out of the room with Fred securely in his grasp before pausing briefly to look over his shoulder at the Uruks waiting for his command.
"Bring them," he ordered before disappearing into the shadows once again.
***********
The minute Bryan was faced with that empty space where his friends should have been, he knew that they had returned too late.
Eve seemed lost as she drifted into the confines of the dark chamber, illuminated by Gandalf’s staff. The policewoman lowered herself to Aaron’s open medical bag and ran her palm gently across the worn leather, almost as if she touching it would bring her closer to him somehow. Bryan saw the tough mask evaporate and in its place was pure vulnerable emotion. Eve was trying not to let her fears for Aaron get the better of her but the glistening pools of her sapphire eyes reflected nothing else.
Whatever had happened here to overcome their friends had transpired quickly. There was no scent of gunpowder in the air which meant Aaron and Tory probably never even got a round off at their attackers. The only sign of violence was the arrow on the floor, split in half by something very sharp, like a sword. Haldir was examining the pieces, his expression grave because he knew as well as Bryan that Legolas had tried to fight back and failed. Bryan’s own attention was fixed upon the dark spot on the ground. He kneeled down to examine and was unsurprised when he discovered what it was. He supposed there was some consolation in there being only a small amount of it though that offered him little comfort.
"Its blood isn’t it?" Eve asked, having seen enough crime scenes in her life to know what it looked like.
"Yeah," Bryan nodded somberly because he knew of ways to kill that did not require any blood being spilt.
"He has them," Haldir retorted with a heavy sigh. "This arrow was split in half by a sword and I seriously doubt that any of the Uruks had the skill to do this."
"It was not the Uruks," Gandalf said with equal gravity in his voice, "it was Sauron. This place reeks of his presence. He took part in the capture of our friends personally."
"We’ll expect us to go after them," Eve declared. "He knows we won’t leave without them."
"It will be a trap," Haldir said meeting Gandalf’s gaze. "Sauron will be waiting for us."
"We must proceed," Gandalf returned. "I have no wish to see any harm come to the others but we must press on. It is more than just their lives at stake."
"How can you say that?" Eve demanded, unwilling to sacrifice Aaron for anything.
"Because he’s right," Bryan said quietly. "We go on as Aaron planned."
"What?" Eve stared at him.
"We go on as planned because that’s the only chance we have of bloody well saving any of them!" He returned with just as much vehemence. "It doesn’t matter whether or not it is a trap! We need to reach Saeran before we can do anything! If it is a trap, he’ll need them alive as bait! He can’t kill them, not without Gandalf knowing, am I right?" Bryan glanced quickly at the Istar for confirmation.
"Bryan is correct," Gandalf nodded. "I would know."
"Eve," Bryan placed his hands on her shoulders, "we have to do it this way because we don’t have any other choice. Aaron’s plan is the only way we have to stop Saeran, even he would agree with this."
Eve closed her eyes as she wrestled with her emotions. He was right and she knew it but the thought of losing Aaron was like the light draining from her world, something she could not even begin to imagine. However, she had to pull herself together despite her fears of losing her. She had to because she would be no good to Aaron otherwise.
"Okay," she nodded slowly, composing herself a little better. "We’ll continue with Aaron’s plan."
"That’s my girl," Bryan said with a smile, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "I knew you wouldn’t let me down."
"Yeah, yeah," she retorted, not at all confident about their chances. "So, now that we’re decided what we’re going to do, you want to explain how we’re going to do it?"
"Well that’s easy enough," he shrugged meeting Gandalf’s gaze, "if he’s setting a trap for us. We shouldn’t disappoint him."
************
It was the sunrise that awoke Aaron Stone.
It peeked over the mountains, a crack of light against the range of the Carpathian Mountains, gaping at him through the open balcony doors, even though the sky around it was still bathed in darkness. It was still twilight but the dawn was rapidly approaching and as the light caught his eyes, Aaron felt reality returning to him with similar clarity. He could still taste the salt of blood in his mouth and the pain on the back of his skull had rescinded thankfully into a dull throb. However, for most part he was relatively in good condition.
The promise of impending sunrise had roused him from his unconscious state and with wakefulness came the realisation that he was laying against a cold, hard, floor. Blinking his eyes into focus, he saw the flat plain of a marble floor before him. Adjusting his vision to take in a wider scope of his surroundings, Aaron’s gaze soon reached Legolas who was lying flat on his back, in a similar state of slumber. He could tell by the rise and fall of the elf’s chest that Legolas still lived but his mind was soon crowded with thoughts regarding the fate of the others. Where were Tory and Fred?
"I’m glad to see you’re still with us Aaron," Saeran’s voice sliced through the dark.
Hearing Saeran caused Aaron’s adrenaline to rush through his veins and the doctor was suddenly alert, searching for the dark lord whose captive, he so obviously was. Even though the dawn was fast approaching the horizon, the room was still shrouded in amber light. Light fixtures resembling those found in nineteen century mansions, with ornate bronze holders and glass teardrops dangling like a mini-chandelier exuded enough illumination for Aaron to see his surroundings but not very clearly.
Apparently, David Saeran preferred the shadows.
Saeran himself was sitting at something that resembled a throne and Aaron found himself thinking that being a dark lord came with its own case of severe megalomania. Saeran was perched upon his throne, with Fred seated at one side of his feet while a dark haired beauty Aaron did not recognise sat at the other. Tory lay near Legolas, starting to reach consciousness, thanks to Saeran’s voice. The only reason Legolas was not the first among them to awake was because he was injured and Aaron prayed that the reason for his continued slumber was not because his condition was worsening beyond Aaron’s ability to treat.
"I am being rude," Saeran continued to speak but this time he was addressing the woman next to him. "I should introduce you two, professional people and all. Irina, meet Doctor Aaron Stone, formerly of the New York Psychiatric hospital before he became a wanted fugitive I believe."
"This is the man who brought down John Malcolm?" She responded after staring at him with great scrutiny, "I find that hard to believe."
"I find it hard to believe that you can sit there like his lap dog when he’s about to turn to bring down nuclear Armageddon," Aaron found himself saying in return.
"A god has the right to reshape the world as he sees fit," Irina replied as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
"He’s not a god," Aaron stated and saw that unflappable mask waver slightly as the deification of her lord and master was questioned. It dawned on him that she truly believed Saeran was some kind of god and found himself adding to test the depth of his theory, "he never was."
"He is a god!" She said sharply, rising to her feet.
"Calm yourself Irina," Saeran spoke automatically, somewhat amused by her reaction. "I am not a god but I am not quite a man either. It appears that we are none of us what we seem are we Aaron?"
"Well if you mean that you’re a Valar errand boy with delusions of grandeur, then I would have to agree," Aaron retorted, trying to distract himself from paying too much attention to the reverential treatment Saeran was affording the sword in his grasp.
"I cannot deny what I was but we both have our secrets don’t we Aaron? Or should I call you Aragorn?" Saeran met his gaze sharply.
"Aragorn?" Irina asked puzzled. "Who is Aragorn?"
"Aragorn Elessar," Saeran stood up and made his way towards Aaron, "King of Gondor, the hero of the War of the Ring, Thorongil to the people of Rohan, Strider to everyone else. The elves called you Estel I believe."
"That was another man," Aaron replied, feeling distinctly uncomfortable that Saeran could not see him as anything else.
"The soul does not change Aaron," Saeran said with surprising emotion in his voice as he paused in front of Aaron. "The shell of flesh and bone is transitory but the soul remains and while it breathes, the man whatever the age, remains the same. You are Aragorn Elessar, you look like him and judging by the way you dealt so masterfully with Melkor, you think as he did."
"I would have thought you wouldn’t be happy that I screwed things up for Malcolm," Aaron said unable to deny being taken back by Saeran’s complement.
"Why shouldn’t I be?" Saeran asked. "Do you have any idea how long I served that fool? All he knew how to do was tell everyone that he was a god and expect to be obeyed. If it weren’t for me and the demons he created at Angband, Feanor and the Noldor would have mounted his head on a pike for the theft of the Silmarils. Not that he was much use after he got his hands on it. All he would do is leave the work to me and gaze at the stupid thing like a child with a new toy. If there was Hallmark back in those days, the Valar would have got a thank you card from me for sending him to the Void."
"So I guess it really burned when he got brought back first," Aaron declared, prompting Saeran to keep talking. In truth, it was an effort to buy time because he had faith that Gandalf and Bryan were trying to reach them even as he was forced to sit here and endure this audience with Saeran who obviously wanted to gloat over his apparent victory. He had to believe or else, he Tory, Fred and Legolas was as good as dead.
"I mean who knew that crazy cultists could come up with a spell to raise him?" Aaron added.
"The spell was mine!" Saeran snapped angrily. "I was the greatest sorcerer of my time. Do you think after what happened to Melkor at the hands of the Valar that I wouldn’t take precautions to ensure that if anything similar happened to me that I would be able to escape? I created the spell of resurrection after Melkor was sent to the Void but it was not meant to be used to raise him, it was to be used for me. Imagine my surprise when I returned to the mortal coil and found myself serving my former master."
"I guess something got lost in the translation," Aaron said sarcastically.
"However, I have you to thank for riding me of him," Saeran answered with a smile as he raised the sword to Aaron’s neck. For a moment, the blade lingered between them, its sharp point resting against Aaron’s throat.
Aaron felt the cold steel biting into his skin but refused to show Saeran any fear. H would not give the bastard the satisfaction. He glanced sideways and saw that Legolas was awake and staring at him, uncertain of what to do. The elf’s pallor had become grey and Aaron knew that if he did not get help soon, he would die in this terrible place. In any case, Legolas was in no position to be of any help to him at this moment.
"If you want to show gratitude, you’re going to have to do better than that," Aaron said in a strained breath.
Saeran’s expression broke into a grin before he lowered the sword, "if nothing else Aaron, you have courage. It will be an absolute pleasure breaking you."
"It is pleasure torturing a little girl?" Tory asked, entering the conversation unexpectedly.
Both men turned their eyes to the barrister who was staring at them, a large bruise across her cheek where Saeran had struck her. Tory’s gaze shifted between them and Fred who was still seated at the foot of Saeran’s throne, too frightened to move after Saeran’s threat to kill those she loved if she made any effort to escape.
"The pleasure is that she will be a young woman one day," Saeran said turning to Tory as if her sudden entry into the conversation had not surprised him in the least. "As a child she will know fear, as a woman, the possibilities are endless. I will never be as grateful as the day I found out that Ringbearer was born into this time as a woman. The pleasure I will have from her utter and complete torment over the next sixty years may almost compensate me for the one hundred thousand years I spent trapped in the hell the Ringbearer sent me to when he destroyed my property!"
"You sick son of a bitch!" Aaron lashed out as the full implications of Saeran’s plans for Fred dawned upon him. His fist struck Saeran across the cheek but he victory was hollow because the next thing he knew, Tory was flying through the air, spinning in mid-flight before she hit the marble floor hard.
"You promised!" Fred screamed at Saeran. "You promised you wouldn’t hurt her if I didn’t run away!"
"I promised I wouldn’t kill her, I didn’t say anything about making her bleed a little," Saeran answered the child in a gentle voice. "In any case, you can blame Aaron for this."
"You bastard," Aaron spat angrily but could do no more than that because if he moved against Saeran again, Tory or even Legolas would pay for his crime.
"Sticks and stones Aaron," Saeran replied as he raised the sword to Aaron’s chest once more. "I suggest you save your strength until the others arrive. I am really looking forward to meeting Bryan Miller."
"I seriously doubt it," Aaron muttered under his breath, perfectly aware that when Bryan and Saeran met face to face, it would not be as amicable a meeting as this.
One of them would die.
If they were going to walk into the trap David Saeran had set for them, Bryan Miller was determined to return the favour with a surprise of his own.
After all the chaos created following the destruction of the laboratory in their bid to escape the Nine earlier, Bryan and Eve had ensured that the premises beneath Saeran's castle was more or less devoid of people except for the Uruk Hai who were hunting them. Despite Gandalf's desire to continue their journey to Saeran, Bryan had convinced the wizard to give him an hour while he took a detour to one of the unattended labs that had not been damaged by the explosion. Even Eve was a little confused by his request but Bryan's reasons for delaying their advance to Saeran was for a good reason.
It was more or less a foregone conclusion that Saeran was expecting them to rescue Aaron and the others. They were all realistic about that. However, Bryan was not averse to delivering a swift kick in Saeran's complacent hide if it meant that he could reach the others without endangering the lives of all his companions. Fortunately, the laboratory environment ensured that he would have all the supplies he needed and some of which he had discovered were an unexpected surprise. The nature of the research being undertaken on these premises saw the need for some rather unorthodox and volatile substances for testing that had ensured Bryan could still give David Saeran a surprise even if the man was expecting him.
During his time in the service one of his responsibilities had been in the area of munitions and demolition, which meant a working knowledge of explosives and their construction. Although he did not look it, Bryan had a strong background in chemistry during his academic years and one of the reasons he had been chosen for the duty was because of his natural aptitude for them. It had been a while since he had been called on to do what he was now undertaking within the abandoned laboratory with Eve’s assistance, but Bryan was surprised at how easily it had all come back to him. Meanwhile, Gandalf and Haldir watched with growing interest what he was doing, despite their eagerness to rescue the others.
They watched as Bryan and Eve worked diligently at the workbench, moving back and forth from the concoction they had been making for the last half hour. At first the elf had been contented to watch while the two humans put together the ingredients of their potion, which included water, salt and what appeared to some kind of washing soap. The care in which Bryan was taking as he handled the ingredients gave Haldir some idea that what the human was making was extremely dangerous and the beads of sweat running down Eve's brow as she helped him was similarly telling. What was more intriguing was that the entire thing had to be mixed in receptacle of water that contained ice as if keeping the temperature low was tantamount to the process.
Finally, Haldir could bear it no more and had to ask, "what are you making?"
"A whole lot of distraction," Eve remarked as she stepping back as she saw Bryan draining the acid water solution as gently as possible. After she took the step back she wondered why she bothered, the quantities that Bryan was handling would ensure that if it unexpectedly detonated, none of them would leave the room alive.
"That's it," Bryan said to Eve's utmost relief when he was finally done. "That should be enough to take out this entire floor."
The MI6 agent had stepped away from the contents of the large beaker, staring a moment at the solution as if sight alone could help him determine the stability of the substance he had created. In truth, he had intended to make some simple plastic explosives but the discovery of sulphuric acid for whatever reason a laboratory would need such dangerous chemicals, had set his mind hurtling towards a grander plan.
"What do you intend to do with it now?" Gandalf asked him. The wizard could sense the danger of the substance but was uncertain how it could be used to help them.
"Leave it the bloody hell alone and get out of here," Bryan replied, "I'm lucky I didn't kill us all playing with this but when it works, Saeran will definitely be caught off guard."
"Can we go now?" Eve asked, not wanting to be in the room with the stuff any longer than she had to be.
"Good idea," Bryan nodded and looked up at the others, "we should get a move on."
"We are just going to leave that here?" Haldir stared at him in confusion, unable to believe that was their course after the time spent producing the solution.
"We're certainly not taking it with us," Bryan said adding the finishing touch to the makeshift explosive. He had built the small device with a 9 volt battery from one of their torches, circuit board from a piece of equipment he had taken apart in the lab and his digital watch. Setting it quickly, he retreated from the bench a moment later and joined Eve, who was prompted the others out of the room, after he had retrieved his gun.
"I do not understand," Haldir shook his head in genuine confusion.
Bryan did not answer and continued the exodus out of the room. Haldir would have explanation enough when the time came and Bryan had no wish to begin an in depth explanation of modern explosive. Besides, he had a feeling it would only earn him another disapproving stare from the elf about the destructive nature of men. Considering that he had given them exactly twenty-five minutes to put suitable distance between themselves and this the contents of the beaker, he supposed Haldir was not far wrong.
Still, nitroglycerine was a great surprise.
************
In the wilderness of North Dakota, Walter Green ignored the flaring light on the panel that indicated that the telephone was ringing.
When he had first seized control of the LCC after the deaths of the two men left in charge of the underground bunker, the phone had rang constantly until Green's patience had worn away and he had activated the mute function to dull the noise. However, in place of the ringing he was now tormented by the constant pulsing of light as upper echelons of the military tried desperately to contact him. He knew what they wanted of course but he was unable to oblige him. They could not possibly understand what he was going through, the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the Chinese bastards who turned his love for Elizabeth into a spy room joke. They would try and tell him that he needed to be reasonable but Green did not want to be reasonable. He wanted to make them pay with a lesson that would never be forgotten.
Besides, he had work to do and if he stopped to answer the phone, he would not be able to finish it in time. While it was necessary to kill the two man crew that had be in command of the LCC when he had first arrived, Walter was painfully aware that it required both of them to conduct a launch. The keys he had liberated from there useless unless he was able to use them simultaneously. Fortunately, he knew this installation intimately and he had the skills necessary to run an effective bypass that would delay the response of the first key for approximately five seconds and give him enough time to reach the second so that both activations would coincide simultaneously.
It was time for the Chinese to receive his vengeance and with the arsenal that was now in his power; it would be a lasting lesson indeed.
**************
Dawn was fast approaching.
It had been distant earlier but now it was making it way over the mountains, fraying the blanket of twilight with more strands of light. He knew the coming of the new day meant very little in the scheme of things but if the world was doomed to descend into a new dark age then Aaron wanted to see the sun rise one last time before that terrible ending. He also knew that if the world were ignited by the cataclysm of nuclear fire, then it would also be the last sunrise for almost everyone else in the room. Considering the aftermath, Aaron was not entirely certain that was such a bad thing. He did not want to see the vision of Galadriel's mirror become a reality, no more than he wished to live knowing he had failed to prevent any of it.
David Saeran had retreated to his throne once more, taking up position like the dark entity he was. The woman Irina was watching them closely while Saeran's attention was elsewhere. The former Lord of Mordor appeared to be meditating and it took no clairvoyance on Aaron's part to know that he was communing with his agents in the real world, whispering words of malice that had turned them into his puppets, with no idea what they were doing. Aaron wondered if they were Saeran's permanently or would there be freedom once the terrible deed was done. He pitied them if that was the case because he could not imagine waking up from a nightmare where he was the monster.
"How are you doing?" Aaron asked, having crawled to Legolas since Saeran had forgotten him for the moment
"I am well," Legolas managed a weak reply but his pallor was turning grey and Aaron knew that his punctured lung was filling up with blood again. This time, a thoracentesis would not help him. Legolas needed a hospital.
"You are a terrible liar," Aaron pointed out with a smile before his expression sobered. "Try and hang on. The others are on their way, I know it."
"I hope so," Tory said in a low voice. When she had regained consciousness after Saeran's attack, she had been allowed to wait for the others since Saeran could not allow control over his pawns to waver for long periods. She was seated on the floor next to Legolas, hugging her knees beneath her chin as she kept watch over Fred, wishing she could do something to alleviate the terrible fear haunting the child's eyes.
"Poor kid is terrified out of her mind," Aaron remarked, following her gaze. He was not blind to the relationship the two had formed since Bryan had entrusted Fred to her care. Although Tory and Stuart had never spoken about children, Bryan knew she had wanted them. Fortunately, Tory was sensible enough to recognise that a child did not solve the problems of a troubled marriage and so motherhood was something that she had yet to experience. However, seeing her with Fred convinced Aaron that she would make a good parent when she was ready.
"If he hurts her…" Tory warned and the gleam of menace in her eyes was very reminiscent of the primeval she wolf protecting her cubs.
"It won't come to that," Aaron stated firmly because Tory needed to believe that.
Tory did not answer and Aaron supposed that there would be no assurance he could make that would rest her fears for the child, not until Fred was within reach again. He tried to focus on their present predicament and found that once again, his attention drifted to the sword that was leaning against Saeran's throne, catching the dawn in the smooth polish of its blade. There was something about it being at Saeran's side that disturbed him to no end, like a small thorn burrowing it way into the skin.
"It looks familiar does it not?" Legolas asked with a knowing smile.
"What?" Aaron replied not really listening.
"The sword," his old friend gestured towards the blade.
"I suppose," Aaron shrugged, feeling a little foolish that his mind lingered on a sword considering their dire situation at present.
"I can't imagine why he would need the thing," Tory remarked, "he was able to knock us both out without raising a hand and since his girlfriend is armed, it seems a little redundant."
"He does not wield it for protection," Legolas sighed. "He wields it as an insult to you Aaron."
Aaron did not speak for a moment because he was thinking deeply about the feelings engendered in him when he saw Saeran with the blade in his hands. Something inside him balked at the idea that so elegant a weapon should be in the possession of a dark lord and then there was the way Saeran had held it to his neck. Aaron had seen a flicker in the man’s eyes as if he was challenging more than just Aaron’s beliefs about himself and his life, as if there was something else that he had wanted Aaron to see. Now that Legolas had brought it up, Aaron understood what Saeran had been trying to do.
"It was once mine wasn’t it?"
"Yes, he wields Anduril, the sword of Aragorn Elessar. It was forged from the shards of Narsil, the blade that cut the One Ring from his finger. That is the sword of Aragorn’s kingship. It is your sword."
"When he’s ready," Aaron met their eyes, "he’s going to kill us with it."
Unfortunately, Legolas could say nothing to disagree with that assertion because Aaron was right.
"Then what’s he waiting for?" Tory hissed, she was never one who could play the waiting game for too long.
The answer for her question coincided with a burst of gunfire that made everyone in the room jump, everyone that is Saeran. He was still deep in meditation when the familiar rat-tat-tat of a gunfight penetrated the room beyond the doors and returned him from whatever psychic limbo he was currently manipulating. At the sound, Saeran raised his head and opened his eyes.
"That," Aaron said grimly. "He was waiting for that."
************
Time was pressing heavily against Bryan as they made their way up the spiral staircase, leaving behind at last the network of tunnels that they had lingered too long already. Their journey to the main heart of Saeran’s castle after leaving behind the laboratory had seen encounters with Uruk Hai that ended in a blaze of gunfire and arrows. The Uruks as Bryan had suspected were largely undisciplined thugs with guns and despite the danger of being outgunned, Bryan, Eve and Haldir were able to push through the obstacles intent on making their advance to Saeran as difficult as possible.
Bryan knew that their lives depended on getting out of the corridors as quickly as possible. Even now, the countdown he had set on the timer attached to the nitroglycerine bomb he and Eve had built was ticking away their margin of safety. It would not be long before the entire floor went up in a fiery explosion and while he was certain that would effectively destroy Saeran’s genetic projects once and for all, he was uncertain of what effect the detonation would have on the rest of the structure.
Thus he was actually relieved when they reached the staircase that Tory had mentioned taking earlier when she had first emerged from her hiding place to seek out Fred. Thoughts of how she was inadvertently brought here led quickly to his worries about how she fared in Saeran’s hand. After what the man had done to Fred and how callously he had killed the child’s parents, Bryan prayed that he did not make Tory pay for rescuing Fred from her prison. Earlier, he had asked Gandalf whether or not the wizard could tell if the others was still alive to reassure Eve about Aaron’s safety but in truth, he had needed a little reassurance.
Bryan was not a man who could admit easily that he was in love. He knew he cared for Tory and that when she had kissed him, that veneer of cynicism, bravado and all the layers he used to keep his emotions under tight control had been stripped away and exposed. He was not a romantic and he never would be but when her lips met his, he could very well believe what Frank used to say about there being someone for everyone because Bryan believed Tory was meant for him. Perhaps it was all this talk about reincarnation, about his being Boromir of Gondor, which he no longer bothered to deny, to himself or anyone else. Tory had felt warm and familiar and the emptiness he never knew was there was filled with her scent, her smile and he could not begin to imagine losing her.
Christ, she was definitely going to get him killed.
"There’s another staircase," Eve pointed out when they reached the top of the spiral staircase and saw that the hallway they found themselves was part of the original construction of the castle.
"Tory spoke of two," Haldir reminded as his gaze swept across the less expansive corridor and saw a door at the end of it. "Shall we investigate?"
"No," Gandalf shook his head. "There is no time and I sense that there is nothing here of use to us."
"He’s right," Bryan said as he strode towards the next staircase and gazed upwards. There was light emanating from the end of it and knew immediately, that was their ultimate destination. "Tory said she came through here when she got out of the boot of the car. It’s probably what passes for their basement."
"Well that’s handy to know," Eve remarked. "Considering our own car is hours away, we might need to make a quick exit when this is over."
Bryan was not listening because he was more intent on completing the last part of their plan, which was in all truth the riskiest part of it. However, time was of the essence, not only because of Saeran’s plans for the world but also because they needed to reach minimum safe distance from the blast about to tear through the place from below ground. Taking the first few steps up the staircase that would lead them closer to Saeran, Bryan made a cursory of examination of the path overhead before meeting the gaze of his companions.
"He wants us to come to him so there won’t be much be much trouble once we get above. If we do see any signs of trouble, we should make a fight of it. Give him the impression that we haven’t guessed it’s a trap. The bastard’s arrogant enough to think that so we might as well used it as much as we can. It will help to make our own surprise all the more effective."
"We understand," Haldir replied, his bow already armed and ready. Having seen Haldir use it, Bryan was not about to question its effectiveness in a fight. "Let us proceed," he said impatiently.
"Alright then, let’s do this," Bryan nodded and took the lead and scaled the spiral staircase quickly.
The corkscrew path of the staircase did not rise as high as when they had ascended from the corridor network but what distance it did put between them and the lower levels, gave Bryan some comfort. It did not take long for him to reach the top of the steps and the staircase emptied into the hallway of what appeared to be the main foyer of the castle. He emerged into the same room that Tory had done earlier, sweeping his gaze over the luxurious surroundings and wondered where the others were in this place. As of yet, there was no sign of Saeran but Gandalf had a strong sense of where the dark lord was so it would not be difficult to find him. At the moment, Bryan was more concerned on whether or not they would soon have company.
Scouting the immediate area, he turned back to the others and saw that they were approaching stealthily. Eve had taken the rear flank with Gandalf and Haldir in between. He was about to give the signal that all was clear when suddenly, an eruption of gunfire drove him against the wall. A curved line of bullet holes appeared in the wall above him and Bryan fired instinctively in the direction the barrage had come. One of Saeran’s human agents, the ones had accosted him at his apartment back in London was standing at the top of the sweeping staircase, firing at him through the ornate banister.
The bullets from Bryan’s gun ripped through the wooden banister, spraying the floor with splinters before the path of gunfire ran into the brick walls. The enemy was driven backwards by the barrage and Bryan emboldened by this retreat emerged from his refuge and continued to drive him further back up the staircase. By the time, Bryan reached the carpeted steps; the enemy had disappeared all together and for the moment at least, the way seemed clear.
"Come on," he gestured to the others as he saw them reach the foot of the steps. "It looks safe for now."
"I doubt that he is alone," Haldir remarked as the elf stepped onto the staircase, his eyes surveying their new surrounding with caution. "Not that I wish to sound like Legolas but I sense there is danger afoot and it is more than just prevalent as it has been since we entered Sauron’s domain but rather looming."
"Can you sense where he is Gandalf?" Eve asked the wizard as her eyes scanned the area.
"Oh yes," Gandalf nodded walking past her along the steps, leading up the sweeping staircase. The old man joined Bryan as they continued up the stairs, "he is waiting for us up there."
"Well we knew that," Bryan said not about to be discouraged by hearing again what they all already aware. He looked at their immediate surroundings and realized it would have been difficult to believe that they were about to face some ancient dark lord when the placed looked like a proper manor house, with expensive draperies and chandeliers. The network of corridors containing twisted genetic experiments, a cavern of giant spiders and unimaginable monsters seemed almost a lifetime away in comparison to where they were now.
Haldir paused in mid step. He could feel danger closing in on them. It felt like cold tendrils creeping up his shoulder and he turned slowly around.
"What is it?" Eve asked when she saw the expression on his face and her question halted the others in their steps as well.
"We are not alone," Haldir met her gaze and as he spoke those words, a door creaked abruptly open.
Emerging from the room where Saeran had enjoyed his audience with Fred, a number of armed men hurried through the doorway and halted at the foot of the steps, their guns trained on the intruders. They were armed with laser sights and as Haldir moved to fire, Eve who saw how many of them they were and knew that if a fire fight ensued while they were in this vulnerable position, not even Gandalf would walk away unscathed.
"No," she said moving to stop him as he prepared to shoot, "don’t."
Bryan would have done the same thing himself were he in arm’s reach of the march warden but coinciding with the enemy’s emergence from the lower room, was another body of armed men who paused at the top of the stairs and quickly took aim with their weapons. Crimson beans of light from their laser gun sights rested on Bryan’s chest in multiple points. He looked at Gandalf and saw the same on the old man’s chest though a gunshot would not be as nearly as fatal for the old man as it would be for the rest of them. His eyes touched Gandalf’s own briefly and saw the old man nod in understanding that this was how it had to be. They were almost at the end now and from here on, they would have to relinquish the control that had kept them alive this far.
It was hardest for Bryan who did not know how to surrender easily but this time, he would have to be the first one to lower his weapon. The turn of events was not unexpected. Bryan knew it was only a matter of time before Saeran sprung his trap and now that he had, now that they were caught in the kill zone, he had to follow it through no matter how unpalatable it was to him personally. He had told Eve that he needed her to be strong, that despite her fears for Aaron, they still had to follow the doctor’s plan. Now he needed the same resolve. He needed it because it was the only way he would see Fred and Tory again.
Bryan swallowed down the lump in his throat that was his ingrained need to resist, to fight to the death no matter what the cost, he wondered if they truly knew how damn difficult it was for him to yield. However, if he wanted to win, he would have to lose first.
Bryan turned slightly and saw Haldir and Eve looking to him for guidance in what they should do. It was one thing to talk of surrender but it was another thing entirely to do it. Eve and Haldir were very much like him in that respect and Bryan knew instinctively that if they could fight to the death, they would because it was not in their nature to give up either.
"Alright you bastards," Bryan said lowering his gun, a bitter taste in his mouth as the Uzi fell against the carpet, "we surrender."
**********
For once, everything was unfolding as it should.
Saeran emerged from his meditation and cast his gaze over his private sanctum and found immense pleasure in the knowledge that everything had fallen into place. Irina was keeping close watch upon his enemies with the gun in her hand and he derived a surge of warmth that felt somewhat alien inside him, knowing that if he asked, she would happily kill them just to show him her undying love. The Ringbearer in turn was far from happy but the child had not moved an inch from her place at his feet and Saeran was confident that while she believed that he would not harm any of her friends, she would remain obedient.
It would give him great satisfaction to see her face when she learnt the folly of that belief.
In the meantime, he was savoring deeply the sight of Aaron Stone, formerly Aragorn Elessar, coming to the terms with the fact that very soon his pet elf, the offspring of King Thranduil would reach the end of his long existence. He was uncertain of what he would do with Tory Harding but it seemed to him, that she might provide the emotional leverage he needed to keep Fred pliant. Perhaps he would keep her alive for a while once he had dealt with the others being marched to this room, even as the thought crossed his mind.
"We’re almost at the end Aaron," Saeran declared as he stepped off his throne and went to the doctor who was looking worriedly at the elf. "Soon, a new age will begin."
"It’s not over yet," Aaron returned once Saeran was standing over him, aware that the dark lord had a penchant for theatrics.
"Of course not," Saeran said smugly. "You’re expecting Olorin to pull a proverbial rabbit out of his hat."
Aaron did not reply and simply turned his gaze to Legolas and Tory, showing them with his eyes that hope was not lost and they still had one card to play, no matter how bleak things may appear at the moment.
"It’s not over until it’s over, you should know all about that," Aaron turned to Saeran with challenge in his eyes. "If I recall correctly, you amassed a great army the last time round. You had Middle earth reeling from war on two fronts. You should have won. You planned it long enough and yet you still ended up spending a hundred thousand years in the Void. I wonder what that is?"
Saeran stiffened at the reminder of his earlier failure, "I was not what I am now. This time, it will be different."
"Oh come on," Aaron stood up, feeling the need to do this face to face, even though it could get him killed but he had to keep Saeran from thinking too deeply of what alternative they had to stop him.
"From what I’ve been told, you being incorporeal had nothing to do with it. Your mind was still intact even if your body wasn’t. Maybe its simply because when the time came, you were outsmarted. You know what they say, wearing a Yankees cap don’t make you DiMaggio. So maybe calling yourself a dark lord doesn’t mean you’re good enough to play Melkor’s game."
Saeran was still holding Anduril in his hand and he raised it to Aaron’s neck quickly, holding the blade poised over his flesh. "Do not tempt me Aaron," Saeran said in a low voice. "You are nothing to me in the scheme of things, I could kill you now and it would make little difference to how my plans unfold. You would take caution how you address me."
"Temptation is at the heart of what I do too, Saeran," Aaron replied coldly. "If you kill me, I’ll be spared seeing the radioactive hell you’re going to turn the world into and I’m not afraid to die. The question is do you want to kill me and spoil your fun? What’s a great triumph without someone’s face to rub it in and who better to rub it into than Isildur’s heir, the man who beat you the last time?"
For a second, the room became as still as a tomb. Tory’s heart was pounding in her chest as she saw the stalemate between Aaron and David Saeran. Even Legolas who was drifting in and out of consciousness was fully alert, holding his strained breath in anticipation of the dark lord’s reaction.
"You must have been one hell of an analyst," Saeran said breaking the silence when he lowered the weapon from Aaron’s neck.
"You have no idea," Aaron returned, giving Saeran no sign that he was relieved to be still alive.
"You’re right, I don’t want to kill you just yet." Saeran said with a cocky smile, "I supposed I do have a little of the showman in me because I want you to see what I’m going to do this world. I want it be to be the very last thing that you ever see."
Suddenly, they heard the approach of footsteps nearing the door to the chamber. Saeran’s grin became wider as he glanced briefly at it and then at Aaron again. "It do believe your party has arrived," he said, still smirking.
Saeran bid his minions entry when the door knocked a split second later. As it widened, Aaron saw a number of Saeran’s men escorting Bryan, Gandalf, Haldir and Eve into the room. The circumstances of their arrival became painfully clear when Aaron saw the weapons belonging to Haldir, Legolas and Gandalf in the possession of the dark lord’s agents. Bryan and Eve were similarly disarmed and the only one who was allowed to carry anything at all was Gandalf. Apparently they did not believe his staff/walking still posed too much threat. For the first time since his capture, Aaron began to worry whether or not it was possible to carry out the plan he and Bryan devised when the MI6 agent was being brought into Saeran’s presence in this way.
However, seeing Eve again infused him with some sense of hope that despite the darkness of the hour, there was some light he could cling to. Eve's sapphire colored eyes touched his across the room and he saw her face brighten considerably at seeing that he was safe. No doubt, she was just as concerned for his well being as he had been about hers during their absence from each other. His gratitude at seeing her alive and unhurt was soon forgotten because he noticed something in her eyes that gave him reason to pause.
Though she appeared clearly unimpressed by their capture, he could tell by her body language that Eve poised to react. Her posture, the way she walked, all signaled a readiness to spring into action. She reminded him the way in which a jaguar pulled back on its haunches and prepared to pounce. In the last year, he had become acquainted with every aspect of her. He knew that she tossed her hair when she was particularly annoyed. He knew the wistful smile she wore when she decided that she loved him despite the fact that he was trying her patience and he knew the way she coped with dangerous situations and at this moment, Eve’s manner was telling him that something was happening.
Something that was not in the plan.
He shifted his gaze toward Bryan and saw that MI6 agent was in a similar state of preparation. Bryan shifted his gaze across the room in the fraction of a second, taking in the sight of everything with ruthless precision. Aaron knew that this was a trait common to hunters. Eve and Legolas were the same way. Aaron had no doubt that upon entering, Bryan had taken stock of everyone in the room and filed it away for future reference. The only time this methodical observation paused was when he laid his eyes upon Fred. Only then, did the tough mask waver and only briefly. Bryan's gaze rested on Fred and Tory in quick succession and then moved on.
Bryan's presence in the room inspired the first sign of life in Fred’s eyes since Saeran had captured them. The despair in her expressive eyes was replaced by a little smile and even though Bryan could do little more than return it with one of his own, Fred's demeanor seemed to undertake a remarkable transformation. Tory was a little more sedate in her reaction to his arrival, perhaps not wishing to compromise him by letting Saeran know that there was more between them than simple friendship. Considering the pleasure Saeran intended to derive from torturing his enemies, it was probably the most sensible course.
Once the doors were sealed and the prisoners were marched to Saeran, the dark lord emerged from his throne like a king receiving an audience. It was apparent to his captives that Saeran had been awaiting this moment for a long time and was relishing the illusion of his supposed victory. He stepped down from the raised platform, upon which the throne was situated, holding Anduril in his hand. Meanwhile Irina watched from her place, her lord and master savoured the encounter like a tasty morsel.
Aaron, Tory and Legolas were forced to join the others. Legolas was so weak by this point that he needed Aaron's support to stand, a burden that Haldir shared as soon as he was close enough. Aaron found Eve next to him and expressed his joy at being with her again, even under these circumstances, by entwining the fingers of his free through hers. Bryan would have done the same but like Tory, did not want to give Saeran any more power over them than necessary. His eyes softened but a moment when she met his gaze and it was more than enough for Tory to know how grateful he was to see her unhurt.
However, he soon returned his attention to Aaron. The doctor was watching him closely, trying to decide whether or not the plan they had conceived together was still achievable. Unfortunately, Bryan could offer him no assurance.
"Well Olorin," Saeran said pausing before Gandalf, "it has been a long time."
"Not long enough I am afraid," Gandalf returned shortly. "I had thought we were done with you."
"As it has happened on numerous occasions in the past," Saeran smiled, brandishing Anduril as it were a scepter of his power, "the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am back and this time, I have planned my offensive well."
"That may be," Gandalf returned, "but your offensives are usually flawed."
Saeran laughed shortly and remarked, "stubborn to the last. You were always so implacable in the Timeless Halls, I wonder why you took the form of flesh when you were suited to be an Ent. At least as a tree, you would have an excuse for being so inflexible."
"And you were always too free to bend to the will of Melkor. Even when you were Aule's servant, you were too eager to embrace the music of chaos."
"Means to an end old boy," Saeran replied shrugging off the insult and could not deny that in some part, Gandalf was right, "I suppose that it would be a redundant gesture to offer you the chance to join me?"
Gandalf stiffened, affronted by Saeran's audacity to even ask such a question of him. His blue eyes became dark like the sky that had been suddenly shadowed by clouds.
"I didn't think so," Saeran shrugged not waiting for an answer as he turned away and set his eyes upon Eve. Aaron tensed as the dark lord stared at his fiancée with altogether too much interest for his liking. There was an expression of curiosity and wonder on his face as he studied Eve closely that left Aaron bewildered as well as increasingly alarmed.
"Something I can do for you?" Eve stated in typical character because she was beginning to feel decidedly uncomfortable by his scrutiny.
"You do bear a striking resemblance to her," Saeran said with a quiet voice that could almost have harbored awe.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Eve returned, reminded of how Malcolm had taken an interest in her and was secretly afraid that Saeran might have the same predilections as his master. "I look like Arwen Evenstar."
"No actually," Saeran returned, his eyes still fixed upon her, enjoying in part her discomfiture but also by her startling resemblance to the lady in question. "I was thinking how much you resembled the lady Luthien."
"She is not Luthien," Gandalf stated quickly and firmly, remembering all too well how Luthien had driven Sauron from Tol Sirion during the First Age. In her day, the Evenstar was considered to be the image of Luthien, perhaps even the reincarnation of Melian's daughter. If Sauron saw her as such, he may wish to enact his vengeance of that humiliating defeat on Eve.
"Leave her alone," Aaron found himself saying before he could stop himself. If Saeran put one hand on Eve, not even the fate of the entire world was going to stop him from killing the son of a bitch.
Saeran's gaze lingered upon Eve a moment longer. His eyes were drained of his arrogance and he spoke to her with what was akin to thoughtful admiration. "I would have you sing for me again my lady but I sense that you are not her whose voice filled Tol Sirion with the only music I have ever wished to hear again."
He stepped away from her then and Eve could not deny that she was surprised by his words. For a minute, he had almost seemed sad by the fact that she was not Luthien, an emotion she did not credit a dark lord of being capable of possessing especially when it was not borne out of vengeance. Nevertheless, his departure relaxed not only Aaron and Bryan but also Eve herself. While Aaron had not bothered to hide his outrage at Saeran's interest in Eve, Bryan had managed it rather well though his reaction had the man attempted to harm the New York policewoman would have been no less incendiary.
"Bryan Miller," Saeran finally reached him and raised the sword to Bryan's chest, "you have caused me a great deal of trouble. Thanks to you, the Nine are at this moment somewhere in the shadow world, pulling their collectives selves back together after you blew them to pieces. You have been the wild card who has caused me to expended more resources than I cared to spare at this time. I should kill you now and rid myself of the trouble but I have a feeling the Nine will want that pleasure when they finally restore themselves to me."
"When you plan to destroy this world!" Haldir snapped, "what hindrance he has been to you would be worth its weight in gold."
"You are of no consequence to me," Saeran retorted, not even deigning to look at Haldir because his attention was still fixed on Bryan. "I have better things to do then to spar with one Galadriel's footmen."
Haldir opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a sharp look from Gandalf, who did not want to provoke the dark lord into acting hastily. At the moment, Saeran's tirade was serving them well but it could easily escalate if the Sauron lost his temper. Haldir frowned, not liking the fact that he had to submit but Gandalf seldom impressed himself so strongly unless it was needed and as Bryan had said earlier, they had to at least feign the illusion of defeat if not surrender.
"But I think I will kill you Bryan," Saeran continued speaking, unaware of he was in part playing into their hands. "I should have taken Caldwell's advice and done it when you refused to let go of your investigation into Black Serpent. However, I always had a weakness for you. You could have so easily been one of mine Bryan. Do you know that?"
Bryan glared back at him and said nothing. If Saeran expected a response, he was going to be disappointed.
"Oh you can try to hide it," Saeran goaded, "but you know its true. Boromir of Gondor was almost mine. I whispered in his ear, I told him that all he had to do was take the One Ring and he could have ruled Gondor as its king, not as a mere steward. He could save his people if he just killed the Ringbearer."
"He did not," Legolas hissed, the elf was so weak he could barely stand but he would not sit by and let Saeran drag his friend's name through the dirt. Boromir had died valiantly and they had all shed tears for him when he had passed. He would not allow Saeran taint Boromir's sacrifice with his venom. "You influenced him but briefly. In the end, he died with honour."
"Honour? Is that what you call it?" Saeran sneered derisively. "You were not there elf and I was, as much as I could be that is. He was ready to tear the Ringbearer apart with his blade, to steal the One Ring like a thief. If it was not for the fact that the hobbit had more spine than I gave him credit, Boromir would have become King of Gondor. The rest of your kind who had not already fled to Valinor like frightened children, would have joined the pyre of bones I would have built in every corner of Middle Earth to celebrate his coronation."
Bloody hell, Bryan thought to himself as he glanced at his watch and realised that it was time, did the bastard ever get tired of hearing himself speak?
Apparently not, because he turned to Bryan once more, "so tell me Son of Gondor, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Not much," Bryan surprised Saeran by finally responding. "Just two things really."
"Two things?"
Bryan nodded glancing at Fred and offered her a silent assurance that everything was going to be all right before facing Saeran again "Firstly, Boromir is dead and gone, his mistakes are not mine. If anything, I’m doing what he should have; I’m going to protect the Ringbearer. You will never get your hands on her and secondly," he directed this at Aaron, "hold on."
"Hold on?" Saeran asked with an arched brow
"Yeah," Bryan grinned as the entire building shuddered with a tremendous roar and everything went to complete hell. "It gets bumpy from here."
**********
The force of the explosion buckled the floor beneath them. There was no way to describe the sound that ripped through the air as the nitroglycerine did its worst, tearing the bowels of Saeran’s castle with devastating efficiency. It was like being in the center of a hurricane, where forces too great to be tamed, danced around them in fury. The polished floor of Saeran’s chamber lifted up in places, great fissures appearing through the marble. Around them, the structure of the building shuddered violently; support beams snapped and hit the floor, splitting the polished stone even further. There was smoke rushing through the cracks as mortar and brick, shook loose and shattered.
Bryan spun around as this confusion threw everyone off balance. The armed gunman whose weapon had been aimed at his back had been similarly disorientated and raised his hand to fire in a vain effort to stop the captive coming at him. Bryan had the advantage however, having planned how he was going to acquire a weapon the moment he became aware of who was standing where in the room. He pushed aside the outstretched arm and shoved the barrel of the gun away from him, before slamming his elbow in mid forearm and snapping the bone cleanly. Through the fallout of noise around them, the man scream was sharp and clear as Bryan took the Uzi from him and without pausing emptied an entire round of bullets into the other men present. The first recipient of this deadly hail of bullets had barely hit the debris-covered floor before Eve took his gun.
When she heard gunfire around her, Tory sprinted forward, her only concern at this time was reaching Fred. The child was clutching the base of Saeran’s chair, frightened by the destruction around her. Tory wasted no time because she saw Irina scrambling towards the little girl. Determined that Fred was going to be no one’s prisoner again, Tory slammed her body against the woman and sent her sprawling across the uneven floor. Irina tumbled over the edge of the platform as Tory hurried past her. The little girl bolted forward without hesitation into Tory’s outstretched arms.
"Come on," Tory said picking her up and racing away from the throne, which was now covered in dust. "Let’s find a shady spot and sit this out," she smiled warmly, planting a comforting kiss on the little girl’s fore head after her ordeal.
Aaron was also in the process of helping a friend to safety. With all the gunfire that was exploding around them, he helped Legolas to the far corner of the room. Haldir was presently introducing one of Saeran’s henchman to the finer points of elvish hand-to-hand combat. The source of his apparent instruction was the thug who had confiscated his and Legolas’ bows during their surrender. After sending the man to the floor with streak of blood across his face, Haldir took up his ancient weapon and began helping Bryan and Eve polish off the rest of Saeran’s thugs in the room.
Aaron looked over his shoulder and found David Saeran exactly where he had anticipated this moment would have him – facing Gandalf the Grey in battle.
"Your plans are about to come to ruin Sauron," Gandalf spoke though no one was capable of hearing his word in the cacophony of gunfire and fighting.
"This is a minor setback," Saeran replied, not about to admit defeat.
"Oh really?" Gandalf stared at him. "You and I were cut from the same cloth, I know you exert control over three who are not here. You cannot fight me and control them."
"You over estimate yourself considerably Olorin," Saeran replied, "I was able to command an army without a body, do you think you pose that much of a challenge?"
"Shall we find out?" Gandalf dared him.
"You are a fool Olorin," Saeran shook his head almost in disgust. "Even if my control wavers today, it changes nothing. There are new pawns to be used every day. When you and the Valar left man to his own, you allowed him to forget that there are powers in this world greater than he, that there is reason to fear the consequences of his actions. He has new gods now but they are silent and impotent. When it serves him, you should see the utter beauty of what cruelty he is capable of doing in the name of his god. It makes my Orcs appear positively tame. If I do not have my kingdom today, I will have it tomorrow because men make it so easy for me to take it. They cannot stop me, no one can."
"Do not be so certain that you are completely untouchable Sauron," Gandalf replied, unaffected by his posturing. "Thanks to you and the presence of your master in this world, my lord has been forced to re-evaluate his position regarding the fate of men. Against Manwe, even you are vulnerable."
"You are lying," Saeran hissed, refusing to believe him. "The Valar have been hiding like children for the past one hundred thousand years. If Iluvutar had a plan for man, the Valar's indifference has ensured that none of it came to pass. Manwe and the rest of those elitists are weak and complacent. The only thing they know how to do is keep a menagerie of pet elves. They would not know how to deal with men and their complexities, where else I do. You tell a good story old man but you have achieved nothing but shown me your desperation. All that will be accomplished today is that you; Olorin will end for all time. I will destroy you."
"You can try," Gandalf said sharply and thrust his staff at Saeran. The dark lord flew backwards into the wall, slamming so hard against the stone that his body left impression in the brick.
"DAVID!" Irina screamed as she watched her lover flung away.
Saeran groaned slightly as he lay against the wall, the indentation caused by the impact holding him in place. "Is that the best you can do Olorin?"
With that Gandalf found himself being flung upwards towards the ceiling. Still clutching his staff, he tried to brace himself for the impact but felt the air forced out of his lungs when he hit the stone hard. The wizard felt his vision blur as every bone in his body shuddered with pain. No sooner than he had felt that crushing agony, he was plummeting to the floor again. This time, he recovered himself enough to gain some control over his descent but it was still not enough to prevent a fresh bout of agony when he hit the floor again.
Saeran was on his feet preparing to attack again but this time, Gandalf was capable of defending himself. The throne behind the dark lord shifted precariously and Saeran turned around just in time to see it flying at him. Dropping to his feet, the bottom of the ornate chair missed him by a narrow margin. It shattered against the floor, sending fragments of wood in all direction. Jumping to his feet again, he faced Gandalf and this time the wizard felt himself spinning in mid air and hurtling towards the open balcony.
"Goodbye Olorin," Saeran called out after him as he flew uncontrollably towards the window.
"Don’t say your farewells just yet," Aaron suddenly appeared behind Saeran and swung the hilt of Anduril against the dark lord’s body. The ornate iron grip struck Saeran’s body hard and drove him to the floor, breaking his concentration enough so that Gandalf’s journey to his death was abruptly halted. Gandalf dropped like a stone and landed mere inches away from the open balcony doors.
Saeran uttered a little groan of pain but his mind was already preparing his retaliatory attack. Aaron’s feet were suddenly swept from under him when the dark lord stood up shakily. Aaron felt the back of his head hit the polished floor and reeled with disorientation from the pain. When his vision cleared as he saw Saeran standing over him, Anduril in his hand, raising the weapon in readiness to strike.
"I had planned to keep you alive but I suppose I will have to be content with your lady," Saeran said softly. "She really is a vision of Luthien and perhaps in time, she will sing for me."
"Like hell you will!" Aaron scrambled to his feet just as Saeran brought down the blade. He felt Anduril slash past him by the barest fraction and the blade cracked the floor with a loud clang of metal. Aaron kicked out his foot and planted it in Saeran’s knee, bringing the man down. Hopefully that would give Aaron enough time to get away. Aaron had not planned to fight Saeran but when he saw what the man was about to do to Gandalf, Aaron was throwing himself into their battle without second thought.
Meanwhile, Eve and Haldir were at the doorway, preventing any more of Saeran’s men from invading the room. The explosion had unhinged one of the doors and left an opening that was vulnerable to penetrated by more of Saeran’s men. Both were barricading the door with a wall of bullets and arrows. Haldir was had not only his own quiver slung over his shoulder but Legolas’ store as well. Eve was firing with two Uzis, her eyes squinting in reaction to deafening roar of discharging bullets that was escaping the barrel of the machine gun. Gandalf was still recuperating from the battle and knew that the only chance they had of stopping Saeran from destroying Arda in a inferno of destruction was if he stood up and went to face the lord of Mordor again.
Aaron had not taken more than a few steps when he felt the same force sweeping his legs from under him. He slammed onto the floor hard and felt more blood escaping from his earlier wounds. He tried to move but found himself being pulled across the floor towards Saeran. He tried to turn around but his efforts resulted in his being spun around again and this time he landed on his chest, feeling his ribs ache at the hard landing. He came to a halt at Saeran’s feet, too much in pain to be able to do anything but to lie there helplessly as he was pulled upright like a marionette with strings attached to skilled puppeteer.
"What were you thinking?" Saeran asked him as he dangled inches over the floor before Saeran. "Did you think that having Aragorn Elessar’s soul would make you equal to me? I could have killed you a dozen times over and considered it only a slight exertion. How dare you presume to think that because I am wearing this shell of flesh that I am one of you? I am nowhere that weak!"
Aaron could watch only helplessly as Saeran held him in his grip, preparing to plunge the sword into his body when suddenly, salvation came with a familiar Yorkshire accent.
"Let’s see about that, shall we?" Bryan stated as he slipped his arm across Saeran’s neck and enclosed the dark lord’s throat in a powerful neck lock.
"What is it this!" Saeran choked out indignantly, as Bryan dragged him backwards, away from Aaron.
Free of Saeran’s hold, Aaron tumbled to the floor, landing on his knees as he saw Bryan keeping a firm grip around Saeran’s throat, holding on for dear life. The enemy stumbled backwards and tried to slam Bryan into the wall in order to be free of the chokehold but the M16 agent was not about to relinquish his grip for anything. Aaron watched as both of them were hurtling towards the wall, with Bryan bearing the brunt of the impact. However, Bryan did not let go.
"Release me!" Saeran shouted, trying to exert his power to dislodge Bryan but the human would not yield. If anything, his efforts made Bryan more determined.
"Not a chance mate," Bryan grunted struggling to maintain his whole against Saeran’s own formidable strength. "Its safer where I am."
Suddenly, Bryan was hurtling across the room. Saeran became more determined to remove Bryan’s viselike grip from his throat and flung him clear across the chamber. Unfortunately, Saeran had not counted on the tenaciousness of the man in maintaining his grip because he was soon making the journey with Bryan. As they rushed towards the wall, Bryan’s eyes widened at the realization that Saeran intended for him to be point of impact. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the collision. However, shutting out the sight of what coming at him did little to lessen the pain. He felt a shoulder pop as he slammed against the stone, causing a pain so intense that Bryan almost cried out but sheer stubbornness kept him from he relinquishing his grip.
"LET ME GO!" Saeran screamed hoarsely as the pressure on his windpipe continued, turning the air in his lungs, stale, with no hope of replenishment.
"Like bloody hell, I will," Bryan retorted, feeling his eyes water from agony. He could feel bone grinding against bone as he moved his shoulder and the sensation was enough to induce a surge of nausea from someone with as strong sensibilities as he.
After slamming against the wall, both Bryan and Saeran dropped to the ground, landing hard on their sides. Bryan kept the pressure against Saeran’s throat, compelling the dark lord to fight for every breath of air. However, Saeran was strong and it was taking all of Bryan’s strength to keep maintain his chokehold. The former lord of Mordor struggled desperately against the strangulating arm across his throat and reacted violently, sending Bryan against the ceiling this time.
If he could not shake the human free, then he would break every bone in Bryan’s body until he was released. Once again, he became an unwilling passenger as Bryan was borne into the air once more. This time, Saeran intended to split his skull open against the stone ceiling and crush what was left of his body into pulp. Bryan saw what Saeran had planned for him and steeled himself for the impact but knew if he could not bear the brunt of it; he was going to die. Unfortunately, it made little difference whether or not he released Saeran to save himself.
Saeran would kill him the moment he was free.
From the floor of the chamber, Aaron saw Bryan speeding towards the ceiling and realised what Saeran intended. If Bryan did not release Saeran, he was going to be killed.
"Gandalf!" Aaron turned to the wizard who was on his feet now, recovering from the battering he had received at Saeran’s hand. "If he hits that wall, it will kill him."
"I know," Gandalf agreed and quickly raised his staff towards them two men.
Instead of colliding into the ceiling, Bryan found himself being dragged downwards. Fortunately, the angle of his descent was not steep and it appeared as if he was being brought to a gradual landing. Saeran was still struggling hard to be free of him but Bryan could sense a weakening in his efforts. No doubt, the dark lord would be finding it incredibly hard to breathe by now. As the floor rushed towards them both, Bryan braced himself for the rough landing and was rewarded for his efforts with a return to the ground that was not quite as fatal as he had feared. Both men were dragged across the debris covered floor and Bryan grit his teeth as shards of rock tore past the fabric of his jacket to break skin.
"Release me!" Saeran demanded again and it gave Bryan some measure of hope that his efforts were beginning to wear upon the ancient spirit because there was just a hint of desperation in his plea.
"Not a chance mate," Bryan hissed as he continued to pull his arm harder across Saeran's throat. He heart the man gasped as more of the remaining air in his lung was forced out.
They had no more come to a stop when suddenly; Bryan was being thrashed from side to side against the floor. Saeran was flogging his body against the polished marble surface, creating new pains across Bryan's body each time he landed. Bryan felt his injured shoulder flaring in agony; fell bruises forming on his back, felt ribs crack and fresh contusions on his skull when his head hit the floor. He knew he was bleeding, he could feel its warm beneath his hair. Saeran slammed his head backwards in a more physical effort to break free; his skull smashed against Bryan's nose and blood was soon running down the Englishman's face.
Aaron saw the terrible pounding that Bryan was taking and hoped that he could handle it. He watched as Bryan hung on to Saeran for dear life, like the rodeo rider who suddenly discovered that the bull he was riding was too much for him. The effect of the chokehold was starting to show on Saeran however. He was no longer using his powers to dislodge Bryan and was trying desperately to elbow him away. Aaron saw some of these strikes connect but Bryan was a man determined and took this blows without relenting. His determination to hold on no matter what proved to Aaron that Bryan was the only one who could do this.
Bryan was trained to kill. He knew how to prolong a death and he knew how to end it fast. The chokehold that was slowly suffocating David Saeran had to be applied very specifically. It could not be a typical strangulation, which was over very quickly. More than just the air passages had to be blocked, the carotid artery had to be damaged enough to prevent sufficient oxygen reaching the brain. Bryan was the only one of them who knew how to do this. As much as Aaron hated to see him enduring this terrible punishment by keeping the arm lock around Saeran's throat, Aaron also knew it was the only way they could end the threat of the dark lord.
He prayed that in forcing this upon Saeran, the lord of Mordor did not take Bryan with him.
**********
Xiang put down the telephone attached to the console bench behind which he was seated; feeling somewhat unsettled by the conversation he had concluded abruptly with his superiors.
He had been in the midst of completing the relay that would initiate the launch sequence despite the fact that it required more than one person to complete the task when the telephone had rung. He should have ignored it but the ringing grew more insistent and made it difficult for him to complete the work, so he had answered it. He soon discovered that the person on the other end of the line was General Tien, his immediate superior and a personal friend and mentor. Tien had been his commanding officer for many years and had been responsible for his posting the Luoning facility.
Of course Tien did not understand, even when Xiang tried to explain it to him. He had told his mentor how the Americans had paid his mistress Ming to trick him into revealing vital secrets about the installation. Secrets, that China had guarded fiercely ever since it began its nuclear program. Because of the Americans, he was no longer a decorated career officer with a bright future. They had turned him instead into a traitor who would most likely be shot once the truth about what he had done was known to all.
Tien tried desperately to convince him that it was all a mistake. Hours after the surveillance report regarding her telephone conversation had reached Beijing; Ming was arrested by local authorities and placed under heavy interrogation. During the sessions, she revealed that she did not at all work for the Americans, but rather for a secret terrorist organization that until now had been the subject of rumor and whispers. She was a creature of the Black Serpent, bought and paid for the span of nearly five years. Her infiltration into his life was so precise that even the powers that be understood that he was not at fault. He had nothing to fear from their retribution.
Xiang absorbed all this information with disbelief because he knew that Tien was desperate to keep him from launching the missiles. The old man would do anything to save the homeland and when Xiang hung up the phone in his ear, there was an instant where it would have been so easy to let Tien convince him that all was forgiven. Unfortunately, whether or not Tien was telling the truth, it made little difference now. His career was still in ruins because he had killed to arrive at this place in time. He had murdered his own people and now he was on the edge of the precipice looking down into a dark abyss from which there was no return.
It did not matter even if he believed Tien that the Americans were not responsible for the oblivion he now faced. He had to salvage what was left of his honor and if the only way to do it was to sacrifice millions, that was a small price to pay was it not? Xiang looked at the keys awaiting him in their respective slots on the control panel. One turn of each key and the world would know that he was China’s greatest patriot, a warrior who dared to sacrifice his life to make a bold exclamation of his nation’s power.
One turn of the key and everything would change, wouldn’t it?
For the first time since he had embarked upon this course, the tiny voice in his head telling him that this was the right thing to do was strangely silent and in its silence, Xiang began to feel doubt creeping in on him.
This was all for the best, wasn’t it?
***************
Bryan felt the wall against his back as Saeran slammed them both into it, using him as a shield against injury. The pain was all encompassing and he wanted nothing more than to release this tiger whose tail he was clinging to very precariously. However, he thought of everyone he cared about, the strange group whom had come to mean more to him in the past week than anyone else in his life these years, with the exception of Frank of course. He thought of Fred, the little girl who reminded him for the first time in too long, what it was like to care about someone else other than himself. He would not let Saeran hurt her. He would endure this agony for all time if necessary to see her free of this monster once and for all. Saeran had murdered her parents and ruined any chance Fred would ever have for a normal life and for that he would pay.
"Bryan," Saeran managed to speak, squeezing his voice past his blocked through in hoarse whisper. The dark lord paused in his struggles and Bryan took the moment to catch his breath. "Let me go." Saeran pleaded, "let me go and I will give you anything you want. You can sit at my right hand and rule at my side. I always had a place for you in my kingdom, you only need to release me to take it."
Bryan could feel the weakness in his body, could feel the lack of air beginning to suffocate more than just his lungs. Saeran's words were slurred, his brain was beginning to shut down by the lack of oxygen. It was almost done but all that black malevolence would not allow the dark lord to admit defeat, not without one last effort to save his life. However, Bryan had to respond to Saeran's efforts.
"There is something I want from you," Bryan said, aware that all eyes in the room were now fixed upon him.
"What is it?" Saeran chocked out a reply, his face was turning a shade purple.
"Fred's parents," Bryan said with a cold smile. "If you can bring them back to life, I might consider it."
Saeran let out a hoarse cry of rage and threw Bryan back into the wall once more, his movements becoming desperate and frantic. If Bryan had been able to look at his face, he would have realised that Saeran's eyes were rolling back into his skull that his gasps for air were reaching crescendo. He clawed desperately at Bryan's arm once more, nails digging into flesh in order to prise it loose but the grip was unrelenting.
"You think this will stop me!" Saeran croaked. "Kill me and I will free of this body, nothing more. Then what are you going to do? You think this pathetic effort is going to save the lives of your precious Ringbearer? When I am finished with her, you will be begging me to kill her just to stop her torment but not before I split your belly open!"
Bryan ignored him, knowing that Saeran's rage was borne out of desperation and futility. The dark lord was becoming weaker, the fight in him waning as his efforts to pound Bryan into the wall become less jarring, until he could barely move. When Saeran's knees buckled, Bryan almost tumbled to the floor with him but the MI6 agent managed to stay on his feet as Saeran became limp in his grip. A final croak escaped his mouth before he fell against the marble. Only when he had landed against the hard floor, his face almost violet with discolouration and saliva running down the corner of his lip, only then did Bryan finally release David Saeran.
Aaron and Gandalf raced forward as soon as Saeran was on the floor. Bryan staggered backwards, stopping only when he felt the wall behind his back and letting it support his weight as he slid down to the floor, exhausted. Around him the fighting had stopped. Smoke was rising through the fissures in the floor. Eve and Haldir were keeping watch at the door, to ensure they were not interrupted even though it appeared that Saeran's men were no longer attempting to help their master. Bryan could feel the heat against the floor and knew that the fire would soon reach them here. They had to leave and soon but not before they dealt with Saeran.
"Bryan!" Fred cried out, appearing from the corner where she and Tory had safely taken refuge.
The little girl ran into his arms before Bryan could warn her that he was hurt. However, the plain simple joy in her embrace forced the thought out of his mind and he held her tight, unable to believe how good it felt to know that she was safe. He looked up as he was holding Fred and saw Tory approach. There were tears in her eyes, tears of happiness that he had survived his ordeal with Saeran. She knelt down next to him as he held Fred, taking his hand in hers and squeezed tight.
"You look terrible," she said with a smile but her eyes were worried.
"I feel it too," he replied, reaching for his nose and wiping away the blood with his sleeve.
"Is he dead?" Tory asked, her gaze shifting her gaze to Aaron and Gandalf were looming over the still form of David Saeran.
"Yeah," Aaron nodded, meeting Bryan's gaze. "He's dead."
"Won't he escape his body?" Tory asked.
"Not if I can help it," Gandalf replied and for the first time, Tory noticed that Gandalf was not merely standing over Saeran but was concentrating hard. His bushy grey eyebrows were noted with focus as his eyes clamped shut. "He is yet to emerge from his shell but it will not be long."
"You have to hold him in there for at least eight minutes," Aaron said as the doctor searched the room for his medical bag. He had seen it with one of Saeran's men when they had brought Eve and the others in. No doubt, Eve had been forced to part with it when they had surrendered to the enemy. It did not take him long to spot the worn leather bad and at the sight of it, Aaron was up and running.
"Eight minutes?" Tory looked at Bryan in question as Aaron went to retrieve his bag.
"Eight minutes, no sooner or its all for nothing," Bryan sighed staring at Saeran.
Aaron returned to them with his medical bag and kneeled down next to Saeran. The doctor reached into the bag after opening it and produced a statoscope.
"What happens in eight minutes?" Tory had to ask.
"I resuscitate him," Aaron explained shortly as he pulled open Saeran's eyelids and examined his pupils in quick succession. "His left pupil is dilated," he commented to no one in particular as he exposed Saeran's bare chest and held the statoscope against his flesh. Aaron listened for a moment before meeting Bryan's gaze. "There's no pulse, he's dead."
"I'm glad to hear it," Bryan replied slackening his posture against the wall behind him, needing to rest. His shoulder ached and he was certain he was covered with bruises and cuts. "Now what?"
"Now we wait for eight minutes," Aaron replied and reached into his bag once more. "That should be more than enough time for irreversible brain damage. Hypoxia should have well and truly set in. He'll be in a vegetative state but that's what we want?"
"But he's telepathic," Tory declared trying to wrap her mind around what Aaron and Bryan had devised long before this moment. "If he's controlling those men…"
"He may be telepathic but he still has to use his neural receptors the way we do. Damage those and it doesn't matter how powerful he is, he won't be able to reach them. When I treated Gandalf, John Malcolm had placed some kind of mental block inside his mind that made sure Gandalf would never remember who he was. It was block I couldn't break and because of it, the Valar couldn't sense him. They couldn't sense his power because it was trapped inside a brain that could no longer project it. What we're doing here, is virtually the same thing. Saeran may be a powerful dark lord but if the body he is wearing is brain damaged, none of that power can escape him."
Suddenly, Gandalf gasped and everyone turned to the old man whose eyes were clamped shut. He was holding his staff in his hands so tightly that his knuckles were turning white from the exertion. Gandalf opened his eyes and uttered in a strained voice.
"It begins."
**************
There was a battle raging, one that none of those in the chamber of David Saeran could see with their eyes but had no doubt of its existence.
The elves could sense the stirring of great powers in their midst, could feel the slight tremors in the physical world of the battle taking place in a more incorporeal realm. It was a contest as old as time, of wills that had lived long before Ea had become a reality. In a place that none could see, Olorin, known throughout the ages, as the Grey Pilgrim, Mithrandir, Gandalf the Grey and more recently Moses, found himself facing perhaps the greatest test of his powers in his long existence. In that shadow realm where none save the Maiar and the Valar could see, Olorin pitted himself against the power of Sauron, chief agent of Melkor and former Lord of Mordor,
To those who lived their lives in their confinement of flesh, the battle was beyond physical world, beyond their ability to comprehend. Sheer will hurling itself against one another, a thrust and parry of power where the would did not bleed but diminished the whole nonetheless. It tore open the fabric of space and time, slashed to ribbons the fragile boundaries of the soul and the world, though unable to see the battle, sensed the destruction and groaned in protest.
"How long?" A distant voice asked.
"Six minutes," came the reply.
It felt like the echo from the bottom of a deep well and though Olorin could only acknowledge its existence in passing. His attention was too fixated on the task at hand.
"What is the point of all this?" Sauron's voice eclipsed all others in his hearing. "You cannot hold me here."
The form of Sauron was a great lidless eyes, breathed in flame. Olorin stared at the angry tongue of flame, burning with intensity and felt himself reeling at the power of the enemy. After a hundred thousand years, he had almost forgotten what it was like to see Sauron in this form. It seemed so much more potent that the bright orb of light that was he in this place
It had been a long time since Olorin had felt this freedom, since the days of before the Second Age when he had first been charged by Manwe to make the crossing from Valinor to Middle, so long since he had assumed the shape of Gandalf the Grey. Power surged through him as he had never felt it before and he knew that in its earthly confinement, he could never truly be all himself. And yet even as the thought crossed his mind, Olorin missed the simple joy of feeling air in one lungs, pf tasting fine wine and having to squint because the sun's rays were too bright for his eyes. These sensations he craved even now and knew he would miss if it were taken from him.
"I will hold you until the end of all if need be!" Olorin bellowed back as his form spread out wide, refusing to allow Sauron to escape him.
"Gandalf, can you hold him?" The voice spoke again "We're almost there!"
Olorin recognise the voice as being that of Aaron's and took courage from the assurance in that voice, hurtling more power at Sauron, driving him back into the darkness. The threshold was within sight, a more fragile layer than most knew that kept the physical world and the realms beyond it apart. If Sauron reached that barrier, he would escape the confines of his body and that would effectively end Aaron's efforts to trap the dark lord. Sauron roared indignantly as Olorin's strength forced him into retreat. The shock of being repelled so forcibly had stoked a fire of rage through the enemy.
"You do not have the power to defeat me!" Sauron shouted and in this place, his voice was like thunder. "Curunir knew his to be true! Why do you think he was willing to serve me?"
"Curunir was destroyed by his own arrogance!" Olorin replied, using his own anger to empower his attacks against Sauron. "It had little to do with you!"
"He was my pawn!" Sauron sneered triumphantly, "I used him by whispering to him in dark, of offering him possibilities that he could be more than just a servant of the Valar, that he could be master himself. It was so easy because he hated you so much!"
"You lie!" Olorin shouted in despair. For years, he believed that the study of evil had made Curunir vulnerable to its trappings. It was a terrible road of self destruction that Curunir had taken because of the One Ring. Curunir was always so confident in himself, he had simply miscalculated his vulnerability to Sauron's master ring. Yet, deep inside, he knew that there was some kernel of truth to Sauron's words that Curunir had envied him. From the debate as to who should be in charge of the order to Cirdan's gift of the Narya, the Red Ring or Fire, Curunir had reason to detest him.
Knowing that he had played some part in Curunir's destruction wounded him and gave Sauron the advantage. The dark lord attacked once again, spewing forth waves and waves of power at Olorin, until he was driven himself to the edge of the threshold. The breathing eyes was surging forward, fire and heat radiating in all directions. Olorin knew that if Sauron escaped, everyone he cared for, whose lives even now hung in the balance would die. Sauron would kill them and those he did not kill would suffer a far greater agony that death.
"Hold on Gandalf!" The voice pleaded through the distance, "just a little longer!"
"NO!" Olorin threw himself into the fray, using every pounce of strength he could muster to prevent Sauron from crossing that gulf. Their forms collided like exploding suns, with such brilliant intensity that there was no one corner of that realm that was not filled with the brilliance of their titanic struggle.
"You cannot stop me!" Sauron shouted as he was hurled back from the edge. "You are not strong enough! You were never strong enough!"
The flaming eye was advancing again, more black power flowing through its form, building into a burst of strength Olorin was uncertain he could withstand. It absorbed all other light around, nourishing itself, until the eye breathed in the fires of all darkness was all Olorin could see. It loomed over him, terrible and awesome, until he was nothing more than a speck in its presence. Olorin saw it and knew that he would end because he could not fight the thing before him.
Sauron spoke, his voice like thunder. "Let me pass or prepare to end for all time Olorin."
Olorin felt fear but he would not stand aside, he could not stand aside. If he died here, if his existence vanished into nothingness, he would go into the afterlife whatever it may be knowing that he had done so for the best of causes.
To save his friends.
"NO," Olorin shouted defiantly. "YOU WILL NOT PASS!"
Sauron reeled with fury and then exploded towards Olorin, preparing to obliterate the servant of Manwe. Olorin held himself firm, ready for the assault and whatever consequences came of it. He saw Sauron coming towards him, until it became his whole world, until nothing else could be seen but his impending death in the fires of that terrible, lidless eye. He could feel the heat against him, could feel the strands of his life being cut. It was a strange disconcerting sensation but there was also great clarity of knowing that one's future was no longer a mystery.
A loud scream of indignation tore through his consciousness and forced Olorin to cast his gaze upon Sauron. The eye was no longer advancing. In fact it was retreating. A force greater than Sauron was forcing the dark lord back into the darkness, pulling the boundary out of his reach forever. Sauron struggled hard against the tide but its power could not be denied and he was actually screaming to be free of the dark tendrils snaking over the crimson flames of his form. It was as if the shadows had risen up and were claiming vengeful spirit for his own, dragging him screaming into the black.
"NO!" Sauron howled in despair. "I will not go!"
Olorin stared for a moment, uncertain of what was happening. He had been prepared to die but it appeared that salvation had come from an unexpected quarter.
"I've given him 50 cc's of adrenaline!" The disembodied voice shouted excitedly.
"Olorin!" Sauron continued to scream as the black continued to swallow him whole, "you cannot do this! You cannot imprison me like this! I am the Lord of Mordor! I am one of you! The Void is better than this! OLORIN, HELP ME!"
"You chose Melkor's for yourself," Olorin found himself saying as he saw the terrible blackness engulfing the crimson flames, until only the slit of an iris could be seen through the dark, "now you must follow him into utter ruin."
And with that, the great eye of Sauron disappeared into oblivion.
***********
It felt like someone had emptied a bucket of cold water over him.
For an instant, Major Andrei Nikolaevich did not know where he was. He stared at his fingers, poised upon the activation key in readiness to begin the launch sequence that would send the entire complement of thirty Class 204 SS-18s ICBMs to multiple targets across the globe from the Aleysk base. Beijing, Shanghai, London, Paris, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Geneva, Berlin, Singapore and Sydney, the targets named themselves in his head like the memory of a bad dream that would not fade away with awakening. Every missile had been assigned a target and to his growing horror, Andrei realized how close he had come to launching all of them on an unsuspecting world.
A kaleidoscope of images swirled around his head as the memory of the past few hours returned to him with every terrible detail intact. Nothing was spared him as he saw himself embark upon a course that would have made him nothing less than the worst mass murderer in history and for the life of him, he could not understand why. There was some residue of being wronged left in his mind, a sense that he had been angry for something that should not have driven him to this present situation. He could deny resenting his banishment to the Aleysk base when he should have been in Moscow but Andrei was a soldier first and foremost. He knew and had always believed that no matter how much he disagreed with the present regime, his duty to his country came first, not any selfish desires provoked by ambition.
He loved his wife and his family who lived in Moscow and would suffer dearly for the crime he had almost committed. If his actions did not precipitate a full-scale nuclear strike from either the Americans or the Chinese and doomed his family to death, they would have suffered no better a fate at the hands of Russian authorities once his culpability was discovered. Tears ran down his face when he realized that he could have been responsible for the death of his wife whom he loved more than anything in the world. He had been willing to endure the Aleysk posting so that he could keep her in the manner to which she was accustomed.
In a daze, he removed his hand from the key and looked around him to see the bodies of the men he had killed for no good reason, simply because they stood between him and his insane goal to bring about nuclear Armageddon. He had murdered them. Men, he had served with, with whom he had shared coffee with in the mess, who had looked to him for leadership and guidance. He had killed them without even knowing why.
A sob threatened to escape him but Andrei was too proud for that. He stifled it with a thick swallow and then noticed the light flashing on the telephone near him. Blinking back the tears, he picked up the gun he had used to murder his comrades while at the same time answering the phone. Holding the receiver to his ear, he listened almost numb, as a superior demanded to know what he was doing and more importantly, why he was embarking upon this course to destroy the world.
"I don’t know," he answered vaguely, unable to say much else and it was the truth, he did not know. He did not know what madness had driven him to this moment, he wished he did because at least then he would know why this had happened to him.
"I am sorry," he said softly, no longer listening to the voice on the other end of the receiver as he reached into his pocket after cradling the gun on his lap. Removing his wallet, he flipped it open with one hand and saw his wife smiling back at him, her eyes filled with love. His own spilled with tears as he kept his gaze upon that picture taken some years before and reached for the gun once again. It was ironic that the only trace of comfort in this installation was came from the cold steel of a gun rather than the picture of his wife.
"Please tell Elena that I love her and I am sorry," he said blinking once more and causing an errant tear to roll down his cheek.
Then without another word, Major Andrei Nikolaevich of the Army of the Russian Federation promptly blew out his brains across the console.
*************
"I've got a pulse!" Aaron announced to everyone after the labours of his resuscitation efforts on David Saeran began to show fruit.
He had injected the man with an adrenaline needle and then went through the motions of CPR and every other procedure he could think of that would ensure that Saeran's heart started beating again. For a moment, Aaron had thought that they had left it too late, that Saeran was too far across the threshold to keep his death from becoming a permanent one but after minutes of using every skill at his disposal, he had managed to coax that elusive heartbeat out of Saeran's clinically dead heart.
"Gandalf!" Haldir said with concern when the old man collapsed to the floor next to them. Of all of them in present company, only Haldir had some sense of the titanic battle Gandalf had fought to keep Sauron contained within his human husk after his heart had stopped beating. The wizard fell on the floor, his body slack with exhaustion as Haldir went to his side.
"Is he alright?" Aaron asked, not able to leave Saeran just yet.
"Yes, yes," Haldir nodded as he made Gandalf comfortable," he is merely weary after his struggle with Sauron."
Gandalf was still coherent enough to speak and muttered softly, "Did it succeed?"
"He's breathing," Aaron answered meeting the old man's eyes briefly before examining Saeran once more. "His left pupil is still dilated. That's an indication of brain damage."
"How long will he stay like this?" Bryan asked as Aaron returned to his comatose patient. Saeran's eyes had opened during the resuscitation procedure in a purely reflective gesture but they saw nothing. Considering how this man had almost killed all of them and brought the world to a fiery end, his harmlessness was disconcerting.
"If he is an persistent vegetative state and depending on the severity of the brain damage, it’s hard to say. I'm hoping months at least, that way we can get him back to Valinor and the Valar can deal with him themselves," Aaron answered.
"Look this is all very well and good," Eve declared wrinkling her nose at the scent of thickening smoke. "But we need to get out of here. Leggy needs a hospital and this place is already going up like a roman candle."
"She's right," Aaron agreed while flinching at the use of her hated nickname Legolas, staring at Saeran's unconscious form and knew that he would need more sophisticated equipment. "I want Legolas in a hospital as soon as possible."
"What about Saeran's pawns?" Tory asked. "Can they still go through with his plans?"
"No," Gandalf shook his head, managing to sit up now without Haldir’s assistance. "Whatever hold Sauron had upon them is over. He can no more influence them than he can escape his prison."
"So he’s in there?" Tory asked, shuddering as she saw the catatonic expression on the dark lord’s face.
"For as long as we can keep him there," Aaron replied grimly.
"Well let’s get a move on then," Bryan said rising to his feet, eager to get out of this place. He had no more than straightened up when suddenly, a series of gunshots were heard and two bullets were pumped into his body.
"BRYAN!" Tory shouted in horror as she saw him go down.
The expression on his face was one of surprise as he slumped to the floor, a sickly patch of wet expanding across his chest through his clothes. His collapse preceded a sharp squeal of despair from Fred, who immediately scrambled to his side.
The shot had come from behind the raised platform where Saeran’s throne had been and standing there, with a gun in her hand, after everyone had forgotten her was Irina Sadko. The weapon was still trained on them and though Eve swung into action, targeting the woman with just as much ruthless efficiency as she had gunned down Bryan. Aaron, Haldir, Tory and Gandalf remained frozen for the moment, unwilling to act even though Aaron was fighting the compulsion to go to Bryan. While Irina might permit Tory to move without firing again, he doubted that she would grant him the same courtesy.
"Step away from him!" Irina ordered, waving the gun at Aaron. "You’re not taking him anywhere!"
"We’re not leaving him behind," Aaron replied, his jaw clenching because he really wanted to hurt her right this moment. "He goes back with us!"
"You have larger concerns then David at this moment," Irina hissed glancing at Bryan’s prone form. "I am a doctor as well and I know for a fact that you have an hour maybe less to get that English bastard to a hospital before he dies. A life for life Doctor Stone, you leave David here or you can let your friend bleed all over the floor."
"You will do nothing of the kind," Gandalf stepped forward hoping he could trick her. In truth, he was very weak after his battle with Sauron and a bluff was as much as he could manage.
"What will you?" Irina glared at him. "You think you have power enough to stop me from shooting, say her?" She aimed her gun at Fred, "after fighting David? The only reason you’re still alive if because your friends managed to trap him before he could finish you."
"You’d kill a little girl?" Tory asked, unable to believe how insane this woman was.
"She’s not a little girl," Irina hissed glaring at Fred. "She’s the Ringbearer and killing her is the least I could do for David. Now step away from him!" She shouted.
Aaron had no choice but to step away from Saeran, unwilling to risk Irina shooting Fred as callously as she had done to Bryan. He was thinking furiously as to how to resolve this situation since leaving Saeran here was not an option under any circumstances when suddenly an arrow sailed through the air and slammed into the woman’s wrist. Irina released an agonized scream as the shaft impaled her flesh, the gun falling harmlessly to the ground.
"I think not," Legolas Greenleaf said wearily, lowering the bow in his hand as he sunk to his knees.
"That was a most impressive shot," Haldir commented as he hurried towards the prince.
"Terrible actually," Legolas returned wincing in pain, "I was going to kill her."
************
Tory hurried towards Bryan as soon as Irina had been dealt with. Fred was at Bryan’s side, weeping, probably convinced that like her parents, Bryan was dead. Tory felt her insides hollow at the thought and when she saw the terrible wounds across his body, it took all her strength not to crumble completely. His clothes were saturated with blood and he was breathing hard, panting almost as he struggled to draw breath. He was not going to die, Tory told herself as she skidded to the floor next to him, refusing to accept it. Not now. Not after they had come so far together.
"Bryan!" Tory knelt down beside him and tried to remain composed. She pulled his head gently into her lap, not carrying that her clothes were becoming equally damp with his blood. He was starting to drift and the thought that he may never open his eyes again, filled Tory with cold fear.
"Stay with me Bryan," she ordered through gritted teeth, jarring him out of his near lapse into unconsciousness.
"I’m fine," his eyes fluttered open as Aaron reached them both and muttered in a barely audible voice, "its just a flesh wound."
Tory almost laughed but instead it escaped her as a sob, "how can you joke at a time like this?" She exclaimed in frustration, trying hard not to cry. "You always think you’re invincible but you’re not! You have people who care about you! People who love you!"
"I’m not dead yet," he raised his head weakly to look at her and then at Aaron who was going through the process of stabilizing him before he went into shock, "I’m just shot to bloody hell. It’s happened before you know?"
"Well its not all right!" she burst out, her effort at control wavering, "I love you, you twit! I love you and Fred loves you. We need you Bryan. We need you in one piece. So you keep your eyes open and stay with me."
"I really can’t go anywhere like this," he met her gaze with the barest hint of smirk across his face.
Well, Aaron thought silently as he worked to keep his friend alive, if Bryan did die, it would be utterly in character.
But somehow, Aaron did think he would. Irina Sadko had not lied when she claimed the wounds she inflicted upon him were not fatal. They were perilous indeed and without swift medical attention, he would die but Aaron was not about to let that happen. Bryan was too stubborn to shirk off the mortal coil without a fight and Galadriel’s riddle had been right about one thing.
After a hundred thousand years, Boromir of Gondor had finally found redemption.
When Bryan woke up and found a nun in his room, he had fears for the worst.
Fortunately, his awakening was reason enough for the diminutive creature with her wizened face and her pleasant smile was enough to send her scurrying out of the door. When she had gone, Bryan took the opportunity to examine his situation now that the cloud of grogginess over his senses had lifted and he was more aware of his surroundings. The room he was in was plain enough. Old brick and mortar, with a wooden cross hanging over the Spartan walls covered in thin whitewash paint and a perfectly serviceable bed, side table, cupboard and chair being the only furnishings. It was the kind of room to be found in some forgotten, impoverished corner of Romania, where anything more than what was needed was considered a luxury by the communists.
He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it; his shoulder was but a dull ache against the more prolific pain emblazoning across his chest. Lifting the covers, he saw the bandages across his chest and midriff concealing the bullet holes he could feel if not see. Fragments of memory returned to him as he considered his wounds and recalled how they had somehow made it to the basement where the black cars used by the Nine had been left so far unscathed for the fire. He remembered their battle through fire and smoke, trying to reach the garage and arrived there just ahead of an inferno. After that, his recollections became hazy. He remembered vaguely Tory and Aaron telling him he would be all right and the bright lights of a surgery theatre glaring above him.
His clothes were piled neatly on the chair but Bryan frowned knowing that a watch would not be among his possessions having sacrificed it when he had been forced to make a bomb. Frank wasn’t going to be happy about that, he frowned since the watch had been a birthday gift from his brother. He wondered where everyone was and hoped that they were in as sedate surroundings as he, though he had not been in a church, which this so obviously was, for many years. He did not mind not knowing where he was but how long he had been here concerned him. His injuries still felt fresh and his body ached with each effort to move so he could not have been here for very long.
Fortunately, he was spared more debate on this matter when the door swung open and Bryan saw Aaron stepping into the room. At seeing him awake, Aaron burst into a wide grin and Bryan could not deny seeing that the doctor was in a similar state of good health was also a relief. Although they had defeated Saeran, his injuries proved that enemies existed behind every corner and had a tendency to appear when you least expected them.
"You’re looking better," Aaron said pulling up the chair next to his bed.
"I don’t feel much better," Bryan grumbled as he tried to sit up and had to be helped by Aaron in the effort.
"I’m not surprised, you took two bullets, one of which missed your heart by a fraction and the other just about turned your intestines inside out," Aaron retorted.
"Aren’t you supposed to break the news to me gently?" He looked at Aaron.
"You’re a tough guy," Aaron smiled, "you can handle it."
"Where are Tory and Fred?" Bryan asked, feeling the need to see them both.
"I sent them into town with Eve and Haldir," he replied. "Tory hasn’t left your side in almost two days. I figured she needed the rest. Besides, we needed supplies."
"Where are we?" Bryan inquired, looking out the window and taking in the sight of the Carpathians in the distance. It was a nice day outside and Bryan could not deny that the blue sky and the tinge of warmth in the air was inviting.
"In a convent outside Catunele," Aaron answered. "It’s a small town about 16 miles north of Motru. I figured that this would be a better place to hide out in case anyone came looking for us. We stayed in Motru long enough for me to put you and Legolas back together. You were pretty much out of it when we moved you out of there. Fortunately, Gandalf used that Jedi mind trick of his to keep the Romanian hospital authorities from asking too many question."
"What about Saeran?" Bryan asked, his voice low.
"He’s here too," Aaron replied, thinking of the small room where David Saeran was languishing in his own private hell. "I conducted an Apnea test while we were at the hospital. I didn’t want to risk the chance of respiratory failure so I had a cannula inserted in his endotracheal tube. I had him on an EEG for 24 hours to make sure and I conducted an angiographic examination. He is suffering irreversible systemic metabolic."
"In English?" Bryan retorted sarcastically, since nothing Aaron made sense the last few minutes had made sense.
"Laymen," Aaron snorted, "he’s not going to be waking up soon."
"That I understand," he declared and then added. "The Romanian authorities didn’t question you doing all this?" Bryan stared at him, unable to imagine Aaron performing all this without notice.
"Well the fact that I took two bullets out of you and told them to put a chest tap in Legolas pretty much confirmed my credentials but Gandalf is just as persuasive with hospital personnel as he is with airline leasing agents," Aaron grinned.
"Wizards," Bryan shrugged before easing back into his bed, feeling drained and needed more sleep. "What about the woman who shot me?"
"Irina Sadko?" Aaron frowned thinking about Saeran’s lover. "We didn’t have time to take prisoners Bryan. You and Legolas needed to get to a hospital fast. We left her behind."
"Fair enough," Bryan nodded but inwardly, he sensed that they would cross paths with the lady again. Fortunately, that was an encounter for another time. "How’s the elf doing?"
"Oh he’s fine," Aaron answered, "he’s with Gandalf in what passes for the television room around here, watching Xena in the traditional Romanian, I really don’t know understand the fascination but then I’m a Baywatch man myself."
"She’s got a great pair of chakrams," Bryan retorted before allowing himself to drift back into the comforting arms of sleep, content that Aaron Stone had everything well in hand because he could use the rest.
He certainly earned it.
*************
Staring out the ornate French doors of her office balcony, Irina Sadko took in the sight of the magnificent forests of Branesti that lay beyond the borders of the sprawling mansion estate she was presently occupying. Unaware that she was sharing the view of the sky as Bryan Miller, Irina placed the teacup from she was sipping tea carefully onto the table. Her grip on the porcelain handle was somewhat shaky because she was unaccustomed to using her left hand for the task. Unfortunately, the thick bandage around her right wrist ensured that she would get accustomed to it for the time being.
Although David Saeran’s preferred residence was his castle in the foothills of Transylvania, he used the Branesti residence whenever he had business to conduct in Bucharest. Being the head of Malcolm Industries required the man to put on a public face and here, he could move about in the luxury expected of an international tycoon. While the castle had been his private domain where he was able to further his plans for his New Order, this had been where he had maintained the illusion of the successful businessman.
The destruction of the castle had unfortunately made the newspapers but Malcolm Industries public relation’s people, under Irina’s direction, had been quick to take charge of the situation before, citing the cause of the fire being a faulty boiler. As far as the world was concerned, David Saeran had been in the castle at the time of the accident but his injuries were minor and he was now convalescing at his estate in Bavaria. Irina had ensured that not even company’s board members were aware of Saeran’s abduction because to reveal the truth would be inviting interest by law enforcement agencies and all they would do is get in the way of what had to be done.
Due to the nature of Bryan Miller’s injuries, Irina knew that the enemy would have been forced to flee to Motru, the nearest place with a fully equipped hospital. Preliminary inquiries had revealed that two men were treated by an American doctor but after he had made use of their surgery had quickly discharged his patients and disappeared. None of the investigators were able to gain any clear indication of where Aaron Stone might have gone and Irina suspected the malaise of misinformation provided by hospital staff was most likely attributed to the wizard’s enchantments.
Meanwhile her contacts in the governments of the United States, China and the Russian Federation respectively, had managed to smuggle some information about the three men who wore Saeran’s rings. Walter Green had surrendered himself after murdering two of the launch crew at the North Dakota missile base. The powers that be attributed to his behaviour to a nervous breakdown caused by the death of his fiancée’ Elizabeth who had been found hours before, in her bathtub with her wrists slit open. Green’s fate was unknown but it was largely suspected that he had been sequestered somewhere in a military psychiatric hospital.
Xiang Li had also surrendered himself and was also similarly unavailable. Knowing the finality of the Chinese judicial system and particularly that of the military, Irina suspected that he was most likely in the same place as his mistress Ming. She had been killed under interrogation by an operative of Black Serpent who was more than happy to do the deed after Ming had revealed their existence to the Chinese authorities. Major Andrei Nikolaevich; too much the proud Russian had preferred suicide rather than surrendering himself to the authorities. Irina sensed that he had embarked upon this course to give his government some way to explain themselves out of the situation if it ever became public.
He was a man unafraid to die for the right cause. A Russian to the last.
When the door to her office creaked open, it felt as if the warmth generated by the sunlight outside the room had suddenly drained. Long shadows appeared in the room even though the clouds were light and nowhere in danger of overshadowing the sun. Still, the sudden shift in the room did not alarm Irina because it was a chill she had felt before. Easing into her chair, she waited for them to emerge into the room, one after the other. They appeared perfect copies of one another and no doubt were unhappy to see her sitting where their master should have been. However, she did not much care for their feelings at the moment because she was confident they would appreciate that at the moment, they needed her.
"So you finally decide to show yourselves," she said sarcastically, placing her palms together fingertip to fingertip, she held to her lips as she regarded them thoughtfully.
"You do not speak for our master," the leader of them, the one she knew was called the Witch King spoke in that chilling voice of his.
"Alright then," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, "go out there and find him yourself."
The Witch king stiffened in dislike and she could see the others trying to keep from looking at him and how he would react to her clear challenge.
"We cannot feel him," the Witch King said after a long pause.
"Of course you can’t!" she snapped sharply as she stood up. "You allowed Bryan Miller to catch you off guard like a bunch of Uruks fresh out of the byre! Considering David’s confidence in you, I must say that I am thoroughly disappointed. You allowed yourself to be sent to wherever it is you things come from while they came and trapped him inside his own body! You cannot feel him because he is encased in flesh. In the state he was in, he could be kept like that for the rest of his natural life and if he is taken across the Western Sea, then we will never get our hands on him again."
None of the wraiths said anything to dispute her harsh words and judging by the fact that they had remained silent, Irina was of the impression that they were ready to listen to her now. She lowered herself into her seat once more and looked into the reflection of herself in the Witch King’s dark glasses. "You will leave immediately and see to it that control of Malcolm Industries is turned over to me. I trust you are capable of persuading the members of the board to see thing my way?"
"Yes," the Witch King answered slowly. "It can be done."
"It will be done," Irina repeated herself firmly. "If you want my assistance to get David back I will need access to all the resources of Malcolm Industries. With any luck, we can get our hands on him before they leave Europe. If that is at all possible."
"It will be done," he replied.
"Good," Irina said easing back into her chair, "the second thing you will do is find out everything you can about Bryan Miller. We know Stone, McCaughley and Harding have no surviving family but I want to know whether that is the same for Miller."
The Witch King absorbed the instructions given to him by his master’s lover and fought the inclination to kill her himself but she was right, the Nine could not move about the world freely in search of their Lord. They needed a human agent to act for them and she wanted to find Sauron as much as they. They needed her and because they did, they would obey her.
For now.
*************
It had been a trying time for Section Supervisor Caldwell.
While the world had been completely unaware that it had been on the verge of nuclear annihilation, the same could not be said of the various intelligence communities across the globe that were always privy to the secrets hidden by their governments. In the wake of three senior high ranking officers in their respective nation’s nuclear program suddenly losing their minds and attempting to launch missiles, there was a flurry of activity originating in the mad scramble to find out how this was responsible and which one of them might have been responsible. The Chinese had begun asking questions about Black Serpent which in turn inspired the Russians and the Americans to do the same. Since the only field agent presently carrying out any investigation into the mysterious organisation was Bryan Miller, all those anxious voices were looking to him for answers.
The whereabouts of Bryan Miller was a mystery, which did not help the situation or Caldwell’s efforts to explain the absence of one of his own agents. Nor MI6 did not take kindly to intelligence operatives of Bryan’s calibre going missing even if it was due to an enforced leave Caldwell had forced him to take. The powers that be were also turning their attention to Caldwell and why the Black Serpent organisation was not taken seriously particularly since they had been on the verge of committing the greatest act of terrorism of all time.
Bryan had been right, it would have made the September 11th bombings of the World Trade Centre look like a walk in the park.
It had been more than a month since the destruction of David Saeran’s Romanian castle and though the press was claiming that Saeran was convalescing after sustaining minor injuries, in a private residence, Caldwell had a bad feeling that there was more afoot then previously suspected. Meanwhile, Bryan Miller’s whereabouts continued to be a mystery that Caldwell was finding increasingly hard to explain without further implicating the Black Serpent organisation which it had been his job to avoid for the past decades. He was not surprised when one of Saeran’s contacts sent him a message to wait in his office for a call from the man himself.
Glancing at his watch as he walked down the empty corridors of the Firm’s offices, it was a little after ten o’clock on Saturday night. He wished Saeran were not so inconvenient with his phone calls because he had the devil of a time explaining to his wife that he had to go to the office at this hour. Although when he was a field agent, it had been commonplace. Still, he had not been a field agent for many years and supposed age did make one complacent.
Reaching his office, he slid his security card into the computerised access panel and heard the familiar click of the door opening. Stepping inside the darkened room, he suspected nothing was a miss until he noticed the light from his computer monitor was on and quickly reached for the light switch.
"Good evening Sir," Bryan Miller greeted pleasantly, his legs stretched out on Caldwell’s desk as he leaned back in the supervisor’s chair.
"Bryan!" Caldwell exclaimed with genuine surprise. "How did you get in here?"
"You forgotten what I do for a living?" Bryan gave him a look but made no effort to remove himself from Caldwell’s chair.
"Where have you been? Its panic stations everywhere trying to find you! Do you have any idea what’s happened?"
"Let me venture a guess," Bryan said casually, "Black Serpent and David Saeran used three military officers to attempt launching nuclear strikes against each superpower? Sorry old boy, yesterday’s news."
It was at this point that Caldwell noticed that Bryan wearing dark gloves.
"You heard then?" Caldwell sad cautiously.
"Did I hear? Yes, I had some idea when I killed the bastard."
"Saeran is dead?" Caldwell returned, unable to hide his shock. "But he was going to call…" the realisation sunk in. "I see, that was your contact bringing me here?"
"Guilty," Bryan said with a cocky smirk. "You see I knew that if I told you that I wanted to meet you here alone, I had this sense you might have some trouble obliging me."
"Bryan," Caldwell’s voice shifted to friendly and disarming, "what’s all this then? You’re one of my boys. I’ve always looked out for you. You know that."
"I’m sure you did," Bryan’s eyes became hard points of flint. "But I’m here to tell you I’ve decided to take an extended leave from the service and I don’t want to have unexpected visitors dropping in on me."
"You know that I can be trusted," Caldwell said reassuringly.
"I do, I do," Bryan returned with more than a hint of condescension, "but just to make sure I’ve erased my file from records. As far as MI6 is concerned, I no longer exist."
"You can’t do that!" Caldwell exclaimed. "You don’t have the authority!"
"I don’t, that’s true," he returned calmly, "but you do. You really ought to change your password. I’m certain if I figured out that its Reggie after your pet spaniel, others will too."
"The information may be erased but I still know about you and Frank," Caldwell declared. "They could torture me. I wouldn’t give you up of course but there’s no guarantee."
"Yes, they could torture you couldn’t they?" Bryan said with a wholly sceptical tone to his voice. "But then again, they could just ask you."
"What do you mean?" The man tensed in response.
"Saeran told me about you Caldwell," Bryan stared at him. "Told me that you were bought and paid for by me. That you had advised him several times to have me done once and for all. Too bad he didn’t listen."
Caldwell’s features turned dark and stormy, aware that no argument was going to convince Bryan otherwise. "So what are you going to do now Bryan? I’ll have them come after you the minute you leave the building. If I don’t get you, I’ll get Frank. So what are you going to do, kill me?"
Bryan smiled faintly answered, "as a matter of fact, yes."
And with that, he pulled out the gun with the silencer hidden away and put a bullet squarely between Caldwell’s eyes.
The Section Supervisor was dead before he even touched the ground and as Bryan watched him fall, could not deny a tinge of regret that it had come to this, but only a tinge. When Bryan thought of all the agents in MI6 before him that had come too close to Black Serpent, all the informants who had been efficiently eliminated in order to maintain the secrets, Bryan knew that Caldwell was most likely responsible for all of it.
Nor did he have any doubt that Caldwell would have used Frank to get to him.
His brother who had more difficulty finding his reading glasses than he did the fossils in the ground had no place in Bryan’s stygian world. Fortunately, Bryan could be assured that Frank’s wife Miranda would know how to keep his younger brother safe. She had been his date but somehow hit it off with Frank, which Bryan did not mind really because he and Miranda were too much alike. They were both MI6 agents and Miranda had baggage of her own that was actually eased by her marriage to Frank. She had left the service to be with his brother and Bryan was confident that if anyone came looking to hurt Frank or the kids, Philip and Sammie, Miranda would tear their hearts out.
No, his regret was killing Caldwell was brief and by the time he stepped over the man’s body to depart the building, it had turned into indifference.
************
In the same way in which they had left England, they had returned to it in more or less the same manner.
Thanks to Gandalf, they were able to retrieve the plane waiting for them in Craiova and leave Romania once Bryan was well enough to fly. However, instead of taking the plane back to London, they had returned once again to Lochinver, the coastal Scottish town they had started out from. Fortunately, smuggling David Saeran out of Romania had been relatively easy since Malcolm Industries had made no public announcement that the tycoon was missing. In fact their propaganda machine claimed that he was convalescing in Bavaria, whatever that meant.
Lochinver was the perfect place for them to recuperate after their trials in Europe and after everything they had been through it was a rest they sorely needed. The return to some sense of normalcy was particularly good for Fred because Aaron was certain that after everything that the child had endured while in Saeran’s company, she was somewhat traumatised. He doubted that she had even allowed herself to grieve for her parents and the notion of returning the child to her grandparents was quickly discarded by both Tory and Bryan for obvious reasons but also for the very real danger that Saeran’s people may come after her even though he was gone. Besides, Aaron was certain that the best thing for Fred was for her to stay with the one person she believed could keep her safe and that was Bryan.
Bryan himself had come to accept the role of father in the child’s life though Aaron was certain he was still somewhat at a loss at the sudden change in his personal life. For a man who had believed that his career and a quick death was all he had to look forward to in his future, the presence of a woman who loved him and a child who adored him was quite a bit to take in. Thus, Aaron was not surprised when Bryan had claimed he needed to go to London shortly after arriving in Lochinver to take care of some unfinished business.
Tory had accepted his reasons for going without question and Aaron knew her well enough to know that she needed some time to absorb everything that had happened in her life since he had appeared on her doorstep. While Aaron was happy to see her find someone (though Bryan would not have been his first choice), he was also guilty about removing her from her safe, comfortable existence and thrusting her headfirst into a world where she was constantly in danger. Still, she had risen magnificently to the occasion and Aaron was inordinately proud of her. Wherever Stuart was, Aaron was certain his friend would approve.
While they waited for Bryan to return from London and prepared their own departure from the modern world back to Valinor, they had rented a chalet at a bed and breakfast called Caisteal Liath on the north side of Lochinver Bay, in the quaint community of Baddidarrach. It was a beautiful place with magnificent views of the Canisp, Suilven and other similarly breathtaking mountains. The elves in particular enjoyed the sojourn, though Aaron suspected it made them long for Valinor even more. Aaron could blame them for he was missing it himself and knew that to Eve it was home because Elrond, Celebrian and her brothers were waiting for her return.
Gandalf had spent most of his time watching over David Saeran and Aaron wondered if the Maia felt somewhat responsible for his errant brother who had lost his way so completely. In either case, Aaron was glad that Gandalf had assumed the duty because it made him uncomfortable somewhat to be in the company of the former dark lord of Mordor. As a physician sworn to do no harm, he was not entirely happy that he had been forced to do this to what was an essentially healthy human being. He was a doctor and it was not ethical for him to question the morality of the soul inhabiting the flesh. Such was a duty left to priests and philosophers. As a doctor, he had violated the most basic tenet of his profession and though it was for the greater good, a part of him would never feel entirely absolved of what he had done.
"How is she doing?" Aaron asked Tory when he joined his friends on the shore of the lovely pebble beach called White Shore that one had to reach after navigating the pristine Culag woods. His gaze moved to Fred who was, with Haldir’s help, attempting to send a kite shaped like a great bird, soaring into the sky with limited success.
"She’s good," Tory said with a smile as she was stretched out on the woollen blanket against the grassy area within sight of the beach. Fred was laughing as Haldir showed a softer side seldom seen with the child and for the first time since he had met the little girl, Aaron saw signs that maybe she would be able to put her ordeal with Saeran behind her.
"I think being in this place helps," Tory replied, taking a deep breath of the salt air as she saw a flock of gulls soaring overhead. "It would be a little like Cardiff, where’s she from."
"More than that," Legolas added, "this were lands that were once Eriador and this place resembles the Shire greatly. Perhaps the part of her that was Frodo Baggins is able to sense that."
"Oh I think its got to do with the fact that she’s not in a place where there are Ringwraiths, spiders, nameless things and god only knows what else is lurking in the dark," Eve replied, shuddering slightly when she remembered those enormous spiders with their blood red compound eyes.
"That could be it," Aaron nodded but in truth, it could be any or all of those reasons. Whatever the truth of it was, Fred was behaving like a normal little girl as Haldir flung the kite into the air and was unimpressed when it did not rise as loftily as he liked.
"He flies it like he shoots arrows."
"That’s mean," Eve looked at him. "He didn’t do too badly when we fighting Saeran."
"I suppose," Legolas frowned, truly hating the fact that the most he had been able to contribute to that fight was one arrow at a crucial moment. He admired as well as envied Haldir’s skill in helping Eve defeat Sauron’s men during the final battle.
"You’re just so jealous you had to sit out most of it," Aaron teased, guessing the truth accurately.
"I’m not jealous," Legolas muttered like a sulking jealous child, "if I were able I could have done just as well."
"Yes," Eve leaned over with an evil gleam in her eye, "but you weren’t."
Legolas stared at her for a moment before looking at Aaron, "you certain you want to marry this woman? As your, what did you call it, ‘best man’? As your best man it is my duty to protect you from all things, even her."
"Nah," Aaron said with a laugh, "I’ve already had sex with her. If I don’t marry her, Elrond’s going to hunt me down. He already looks at me like I’m some kind of improper letch."
"Aaron!" Tory exclaimed aghast as Eve rolled her eyes. "How do you put up with him?"
"Are you kidding?" Eve looked at her, "you’re dating a guy who knows how to make bombs with digital watches. The doc’s pretty tame in comparison."
"Hey!" Aaron exclaimed because that did not sound like a compliment.
"Don’t worry doc," she leaned over and kissed him affectionately, "I love you anyway."
"Gee, thanks," Aaron returned sarcastically.
"Actually, I am a little worried about going to this place with the elves," Tory confessed. "I mean I’m a London barrister for goodness sake, what am I going to do there?’
"Look," Aaron replied, having once experienced the same concerns himself. "I know it’s a big step but its for the best believe me and you don’t have to stay there forever, just until things calm down here a little."
"Besides," Legolas added, "during his battle with Sauron, I heard Gandalf speaking of Manwe and his reconsideration regarding the fate of men. I do believe that you should return with us Tory, not merely because it is safer you since the Nine still exist, but also you may have some part to play in what Manwe’s decision."
Tory wished her reservations could be easily brushed aside but even with the assurance of her friends, she could not deny that a doubt lingered in her mind. However, Valinor seemed like a wonderful place for a child and Tory supposed for Fred’s sake, she would give the place a chance. Besides, Aaron had convinced Bryan that it was wise for them to disappear for a time especially since the Nine had not been destroyed. In Valinor, they would be beyond the wraith’s reach and Tory was not about to let Bryan disappear out of her life especially when she had come so close to losing him in this whole affair.
"This object is obviously faulty," Haldir announced seriously when he came back with the kite. Beside him, Fred was trying not to smile.
"No it is not," Legolas crowed. "You do not know how to fly it properly."
"I suppose you do?" Haldir returned with a challenging tone in his voice. "You cannot even operate the remote."
"Come along Fred," Legolas said standing up, "we will show Haldir how it is done."
Fred giggled as she cast as she followed Legolas to the beach with Haldir following, insisting that the kite’s reason for not flying had to do with its construction and wind factors."
"You know what the sad thing is?" Aaron glanced at his two favourite women, "Fred’s the most mature one out of all three."
*************
Bryan arrived in Lochinver a few days later, after settling his affairs and ensuring that there was no way the Nine could trace him. Of course, there was always the possibility that Frank could be in danger but with no records of Bryan in existence, the search for his brother would be difficult. Being a member of MI6 had meant that his records came under the Official Secrets Act. Any organisation requesting information about him would have to go through them first and since he had erased those same records, finding him would be a difficult proposition indeed. In any case, he knew that so long as he remained in the modern world as Aaron called it, the Nine would never stop looking for him or Fred in order to use them to retrieve their master.
When he arrived in the small Scottish town, he found that his friends were closer to their departure than he had anticipated, though he had made certain that he came with his own supplies for making the journey to a strange, distant land for an undetermined amount of time. In truth, he should have been anxious about what awaited him across the sea but the honest truth was, the idealist, a component of himself that Bryan was surprised to find had not been quashed by years of cynicism, was eager to see this fairy tale world. Legolas spoke of a whole island of wonders and Bryan was actually looking forward to seeing it and exploring a new world that was not all about secrets and politics.
The only other thing he did do whilst in London was to contact Frank who apparently was not at all in Africa as he suspected but was somewhere in Asia about to embark upon a new project in northern Europe. Bryan did not ask him to elaborate because Frank tended to go on about his work as if given the opportunity. Still, Bryan loved him. He loved that Frank had such a precise and ordered mind and that there was a great deal of strength beneath his quiet exterior. Even though he was younger, Bryan never had to protect Frank because Frank always managed to work things out on his own. It was one of the reasons that he was certain that Frank would be alright when he was gone.
Bryan chose not to go into too much detail, telling Frank that it was probably best that he told anyone who asked that he had no brother. Frank was aware of what Bryan did for a living and knew that such a request was not made lightly. They had exchanged a few warm wishes to take care before Bryan hung up the phone, feeling saddened because he had no idea when he would see his brother again. Until Tory and Fred had entered his life, Frank was the only person in the world who had meant as much to him. Bryan would miss him.
Besides, Valinor was the kind of place Fred needed to recover after her experiences with Saeran. Bryan knew he was mellowing with age when it came to the little girl but as Caldwell had learnt rather tragically, his love for Fred and Tory had not dulled his edge. He arrived at the chalet and found Gandalf keeping his usual vigil on Saeran. Bryan had a feeling that until they reached Valinor and were able to relinquish charge of their prisoner, the wizard would not be at ease. Gandalf had told him the others were at the wharf preparing their ship, the Anemone, for its voyage. Considering that he had supplies himself, he supposed it would not be a bad idea to meet them down there. He did not want to wait to see Tory and Eve anyway.
Bryan had never seen the motor yacht the Anemone before but had to confess as he made his way towards the berth where it was presently docked, that it was an impressive vessel. It certainly appeared as if it had a sizeable cargo hold which was just as well because if he was forced to set sail without the dozen cases of Fullers beer he had in the boot of his car, there was going to be trouble.
"Did I miss anything?" Bryan asked when he saw Aaron picking up one of the boxes from the collection on the dock.
"Bout time you got here," Aaron declared, glad to see the Englishman had actually kept his word and come back. "Get one of those boxes, will you?"
"Sure," Bryan leaned down and picked one up, "what’s all this?"
"The girls have been to the store," Aaron said sarcastically. "Apparently the shopping in Valinor leaves something to be desired."
Bryan reached into the box he was carrying and picked up a set of DVDs and one box set. "Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Sharpe’s Rifles?"
"Its Tory’s," Aaron shook his head as he continued down the gangplank. "I think she likes the guy that’s in it."
Bryan took a look at the cover and raised a brow; "oh bugger, its bloody Sean Bean. He has the worst Yorkshire accent."
"You have a Yorkshire accent," Aaron pointed out.
"Yes, but I have an authentic Yorkshire accent," Bryan defended himself, "and sense enough not to wear trousers that cut off circulation."
"Well he doesn’t have pants in the first one and I think that’s why she likes it. Think of this way, you didn’t have to sit through the fourteen episodes of it."
Bryan was about to voice his sympathy when Tory emerged onto the deck and saw them both. Bryan felt himself filling with warm at the sight of her and was rather stunned by how much he missed her during their time apart. He had told himself that it was probably best that he took a moment to catch their breath but now as he saw her smiling at him, he knew he was just being bloody stupid.
"Well it’s about time you got back," Tory said leaning into capture his mouth in a kiss and once again Bryan felt as if he was sixteen again, snogging Trish Watkins in the back of the school, only better. He wondered if he would ever tire of the silky perfection of those lips and came to the abrupt realization that he was utterly in love.
In other words, completely bolloxed.
"I missed you. Did you take care of your business?" She asked unaware of the thoughts running through his head.
Bryan looked at her with an unfathomable expression and replied coolly, "more or less."
"Want to tell me about it?" She asked gently, sensing there was more to it than his simple explanation.
"Not really," he shrugged, "nothing to tell. Just handed in my resignation and that was that."
"They didn’t mind you just walking out?" Aaron looked at him, remembering all those movies about spies trying to escape the life without much success.
"I was very convincing," he said with a straight face before following them into the yacht.
************
"Bryan!" Fred exclaimed happily and ran into his arms after Bryan had relinquished the box of Tory’s essentials.
"Hello Fred," Bryan swept her, once again surprise by the violence of his emotions over seeing the child again. She certainly looked in better spirits than when he had left but supposed she was only barely seven years old and could be forgiven for being slightly traumatised by her treatment at David Saeran’s hands. "How have you been?"
"I saw seals and whales," she announced enthusiastically. "Haldir and Leggy showed me how to fly a kite though it didn’t go very high but that’s okay because I got to ride a pony and see a real big cow and then we went into the woods and Aaron got lost but we found him again." She said in one breath.
"You got lost?" Bryan looked over his shoulder at the doctor.
"Yeah," Eve remarked coming to greet Bryan, "ask him where."
"I don’t see why we need to keep relieving this," Aaron bit back with a scowl.
"On a walk guided by Rangers," Legolas sniggered obviously thinking this was a great joke of some kind.
"Why don’t you go fly a kite?" Aaron glared at him.
"I’m glad to see you were busy while I was gone," Bryan retorted before turning to Tory and asking quietly, "can I have a word?"
Tory gave him a strange look because the last time he had asked for a quiet word, he had sent her away with Fred. She did not believe he had the same intention in mind but it did concern her a little as she followed him out of the cabin and the others onto the deck. Outside, the midday activity on the wharf was reaching crescendo. People were moving back and forth across the pier, going about their business, enjoying the sunshine even though there was the typical chill of the highlands blowing through the light breeze.
"If this is about a train," Tory gave him a warning look, which drew a smile from him at the assumption.
"Nothing like that," he said sincerely, "Aaron thinks we’ll be underway within the next day or so."
"Yes, that’s right," she nodded, wondering what was then bombshell he was about to drop on her.
"It’s a long way we’re going, far away from anything we’ve ever known. I’m eager to see this place of theirs but I’m also a little nervous. Are you?"
Tory could not deny it and she wouldn’t because if there was one thing that had defined their relationship was the fact that she could see through him as clearly as he could see through her. He would know if she lied. "I am," she confessed. "Legolas says that there might be something in the wind that involves us but it still frightens me a little."
"That’s why I’m asking," he met her gaze, "you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I won’t force you to go if you’re not sure. I would hate to leave without you but I’d understand."
At that moment, she saw the veneer of blanket emotional concealment lowering from his eyes and behind that veil, Tory knew that he was afraid of her answer. He was afraid that she would take him up on his offer to be released and walk out of his life.
"I mean Fred and I could make do without you," he continued to speak, but his eyes lowered because he was uncomfortable with being seen so vulnerable. "We wouldn’t like it much. She’s as attached to you as she is to me and you know how I feel."
"How do you feel?" Tory asked, her lips pursed to keep from smiling.
"Well you know," he stammered, still unable to look her in the eye.
"No I don’t know," Tory insisted, enjoying his discomfiture immensely.
"You’re going to make me say it aren’t you?" He met her gaze finally, eyes narrowed.
"I said it!" she pointed out.
"But I was shot, bleeding, dying, you just said it so I wouldn’t slip away."
"If all I want to do was keep you from falling unconscious, I could have said something even more provocative, like fancy a shag or something!"
"That would have worked, you know."
"Bryan!" Tory exclaimed with frustration. The man was impossible!
"Alright," he gave up in exasperation, "I love you. There! You heard me say it! I love you and I don’t want you to go. If I’m going to sail of into this Never Neverland, I want to go with you or it won’t be the same."
"Now wasn’t that easy?" She crossed the space between them and linked her arms around his neck.
Bryan frowned but it was difficult to argue the point when she captured his mouth in a kiss and reminded him that some contests were worth losing, especially this one.
"I suppose," he muttered after she had parted from him.
"I love you Bryan," Tory said seriously. "I don’t know how I know, but I’ve been waiting a long time for you. I’m not going to lie that what’s waiting for us across the sea is daunting but I’m not about to let you go now that I found you. Not you or Fred."
"I had to ask…"
"I know," she kissed him gently again. "And I love you all the more for it but the choice was made long before either of us were ever born and I’m just fulfilling it."
"I’ll never understand it you know," he confessed, "this business of reincarnation and soul mates but I’m glad I found you too."
And with that it felt as if they had come full circle and everything was as it should have been at last.
*************
The journey to Valinor took almost two months but unlike the last return home, there was an underlying atmosphere of tension running through all of them at being so close in proximity to David Saeran’s comatose form. The dark lord remained in his limbo state, kept under tight scrutiny by both Gandalf and Aaron who ensured all the medical equipment attached to the man kept him harmless. Gandalf assured Aaron that if Sauron even to show even the slightest hint of stirring, the Maia would know first. However, that still did not alleviate Aaron’s discomfort at having the man so close. They were on a vessel in the middle of the ocean; it was hardly the place to combat David Saeran if he chose to awake.
Strangely enough, the only person who had little difficulty being in his company other than Gandalf was Fred. The child had kept her visits to the former Lord of Mordor a secret because she knew Bryan and Tory would not be happy about it. However, she was determined to see him nonetheless. While she was certain Gandalf knew of her visits because he was a great wizard like Professor Dumbledore and even Harry Potter could never hide anything from him. Still, Gandalf never made mention of it to her. Fred would enter the room at night, when everyone thought she was in bed and see the enemy lying on the bed, oblivious to everything including her presence.
Then Fred would close her eyes and go to sleep in the big chair because when she did, she could hear him.
She could hear Saeran or rather Sauron.
He was still there inside his head but only when she was near like this. Fred would visit him in his cage, peering through walls and walls of bars that surrounded him as he struggled helplessly in his prison. Sometimes he would curse at her and tell her all the terrible things he would do to her but Fred was not afraid. She was no longer afraid because she had experienced him in the reality and in the strange limbo where they could speak, his words no longer had any power over her. She would simply stare at him with a little smile, knowing that her presence would serve to make him angrier and his impotent threats were as sweet as the vengeance he had meant to exact from her. Fred would remain there for a time, listening to him rant and rave before withdrawing once again, leaving him with a parting farewell that was a sharp as any blade.
"Tomorrow," she would say and he would scream in despair and fury because he knew he would be there waiting.
He could go nowhere else.
***********
Valinor did not fail to disappoint when Bryan and Tory arrived on the shores of the Undying lands after entering the Bay of Eldamar. From the moment they had stepped on the island, they were swept up in a world beyond their reckoning. He was apparently known to the elves and though he had reconciled himself to the fact that he was once Boromir of Gondor, meeting people who only knew of his previous incarnation was rather daunting. With Legolas and Haldir, it had been easier to endure since he had formed a kinship with them. One did not go through what they did together without forging lasting friendships even if Legolas had extended it to him initially because of whom he had been.
An elven artist had committed to canvas images of the third age and Bryan saw for the first time the Fellowship that Legolas and Gandalf spoke so fondly about. He recognized Aragorn Elessar immediately, although it was difficult to identify the worn adventurer, with his long hair and unshaven face, with the man he knew as Aaron Stone. Gandalf and Legolas appeared the same. The dwarf Gimli, whom Legolas spoke of in quiet tones, brought a smile to Bryan’s face because he could imagine the man being quite the bruiser. He could not imagine two unlikelier companions but the grief he saw in Legolas eyes spoke differently.
It took some getting used to seeing Fred as Frodo Baggins. The Ringbearer who had destroyed the One Ring looked fragile even for a hobbit. Sad blue eyes that Bryan knew all too well stared at him and though the image reflected was unmistakably masculine and considerably older than the little girl whose life he had almost died to protect, there was no mistaking the connection. The dark hair, the blue eyes that seemed to capture light and even the delicately shaped features, all of it was Frodo Baggins but it was also Fred Bailey.
However it was not as much of surprise when he sighted the rest of the hobbits. For a minute he thought he was seeing things but he knew he wasn’t. It all fit in with Eve’s crazy theory about cosmic turntables and how fate seemed to throw the same people together. He supposed he was going to have to take Fred to see his nephews, one day since they were not strangers, at least not in this life. The final member of the Fellowship was the one he had delayed most seeing. However, curiosity got the better of him and Bryan found himself looking at the image of Boromir of Gondor.
The first thing that struck Bryan about Boromir, were his eyes. Physically, they were identical but Boromir seemed so tired. In all the years that Bryan had been in the service, he never thought he had ever been so worn down. Legolas had explained that Boromir had sacrificed almost all aspects of a life to defend his people and when Bryan looked into the man’s eyes he could well believe it. All he knew was war and the constant threat that Gondor would be attacked by the enemies in Mordor. Bryan wondered what it would be like to be weighted with that kind of responsibility and found that upon seeing the portrait, was able to understand his Middle Earth incarnation a little better.
Despite the emotional upheavals he endured, Valinor was still an amazing place and as they made their way to the city of Tirion where most of the Noldor elves lived, including Elrond, Legolas and Galadriel, the lady to whom Haldir had pledged his life to serve, Bryan could not help feeling completely overwhelmed. Fortunately, he had good friends who made the transition easier and he was never more grateful to Aaron than at that first few days in the enchanted land because the doctor had been in exactly the same predicament himself more than a year ago. Aaron was more than happy to explain things to both he and Tory while Fred, unsurprisingly accepted her new surroundings with the ease that came naturally with being a child.
At Tirion, Aaron and Eve returned to the house of Elrond whom Aaron had explained to be the father of Eve’s previous incarnation. He met her brothers Elladan and Elrohir and got on famously with the latter who had missed terribly the opportunity to go abroad and wanted to know all the news of the modern world. Bryan decided to introduce him to Yorkshire beer instead. Legolas and his wife Ariel, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, offered Bryan, Tory and Fred the hospitality of new home for as long as they liked. This was followed by the news that work would begin immediately on constructing a home for the Ringbearer and her guardians. Aside from the fact that children were rare and were therefore a delight to all elves, it appeared that they had not forgotten the service of Frodo Baggins to the fate of world in the Third Age.
For all time, the Ringbearer would have a place in Valinor.
In the meantime, Gandalf travelled to the other side of the island after the Valar’s judgement decreed that the David Saeran should be imprisoned in the halls of Mandos for the span of his mortal life, the termination of which would see a new sentence for his non-corporeal self. It was the first time a captive had been brought to Mandos since before the First Age. Melkor’s lieutenant, though not one of the outcast Valar, was no less dangerous. The Valar were reluctant to obliterate him as they had done so irrevocably to his master almost a year ago but neither were they going to allow him the opportunity to escape that Melkor had taken when they had dared to be merciful.
As long as he existed, Sauron would know imprisonment.
In the meantime, Elrond received the new of Eve’s wedding plans with great pleasure and for the excitement of their return home was replaced by the fanfare of a wedding. Although Aaron and Eve had wanted something simple, there was no way they were going to take the most important vows of their lives with any minimum of extravagance. Celebrian had firmly declared that they were going to get the wedding she deserved since she been absent for the nuptials of Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar in the Third Age and her patience was a well dry, waiting for either Elladan or Elrohir to wed.
Elrond’s efforts to intercede on their behalf were met with a stern glare before the lady returned to her planning.
********
The wedding when it finally came was a grand affair indeed. It appeared that just about everyone in Tirion was in attendance with people dancing in the streets, singing, drinking, although in Bryan’s opinion the quality of elven draughts were not that dissimilar from American beer and once again, was grateful that he had his own store. The couple were wedded in fairy tale splendour, with flower petals streaming through the air as they walked to what was the elvish equivalent of a wedding march. The ceremony seemed to involve a great feast celebrated by the bride and groom’s family and an exchange of rings.
Aaron appeared decidedly uncomfortable in the clothes he was given to wear but put up with it to please his new mother in law who had become quite insane in the weeks leading to the actual ceremony. Bryan did not envy him and no amount of cajoling by Legolas or Ariel, (Tory had good sense not to bother) would convince him to wear anything that looked remotely burgundy or came in a robe, to attend the festivities. Eve however looked nothing like the tough woman who had fought the Nine and Uruk Hai at his side on her wedding day. For the first time since he arrived in Valinor, he actually saw her resembling the Evenstar whose portrait hung in Elrond’s house. She was easily the most beautiful woman, elf or human that anyone had ever seen and when Aaron looked at her, it was obvious to everyone that he thought the same too.
************
"Well you’re married now," Bryan congratulated him after the formal part of the festivities was concluded. Guests were now free to move about and Aaron had taken a moment away from Eve who was surrounded by a gaggle of women including Ariel and Tory, to catch his breath after the heady events.
"Yeah," Aaron looked around at the faces gathered and said with a completely straight face, "we should have eloped."
"Your mother in-law would have disembowelled you before you even reached the door," Legolas remarked standing next to him.
"I know," Aaron nodded in agreement as she saw Celebrian presiding over the celebrations, trying to make everything perfect and thoroughly enjoying it at the same time.
"Fortunately," Elrohir grinned, "she will now leave us alone for a century or two before she feels it necessary to find harass us into finding a mate again. I am certain it is the wedding she likes more than either of us marrying."
"That’s women for you," Bryan laughed but he was enjoying this occasion a great deal more than he cared to admit. Who would have thought that he could be happy in an elven paradise?
Suddenly, Gandalf who had been talking to Elrond and Galadriel captured the attention of all the revellers when he stood up from his seat at the table and called for quiet. The rumble of merrymaking guests soon simmered into nothingness as everyone turned their gaze to the respected messenger of Manwe as well as one of their greatest heroes. Gandalf who was now dressed in white looked very much the herald of the Valar as his playful gaze made contact with Aaron and Eve in quick succession and began speaking in his usual commanding tone.
"It has been my privilege to be partially responsible for the presence of the celebrants of this happy occasion among us. Aaron and Eve have come to us from the world beyond, the world we left behind, having risked life and limb to banish the threat, twice now, of great evil. First in the form of Morgoth, where Aaron allowed me to return home and for which I will be eternally grateful and our most recent adventures in bringing Sauron to justice."
A low murmur of agreement and applause followed which made Aaron feel like disappearing into the ground and as he met Eve’s gaze, could see that she was similarly embarrassed by the flush of red across her cheeks.
"I wish your union all the happiness that can be afforded in this life and all others in the future. I have no doubt that you two will find each other whatever the age."
The round of enthusiastic applause forced Eve to join Aaron and he took her hand warmly as they listened to the rest of Gandalf’s toast.
"However, I speak not only on this occasion to present my best wishes for my friends but also because of duty. I am not alone in wishing to express myself on this joyous occasion."
He appeared to them a man in his late fifties, dignified in his appearance, a stature of greatness and beauty that could not be defined in any earthly sense. Aaron had thought him to be one of Elrond’s kin because he was treated with great respect and reverence. He reminded Aaron a little of Sean Connery but more regal in a way that could not be truly explained simply felt. It appeared only Galadriel was unsurprised by Gandalf’s statement while the others who now knew who he was, dropped their heads in reverence.
It took no feat of genius to realise that Gandalf’s master had decided to make a personal appearance at his wedding and as Aaron found himself staring at a living god, the Valar called Manwe, he understood why Saeran had been such an upstart. After seeing the real thing, Aaron would never again be duped by an impostor claiming to be a god or a demi-god for that matter.
"I offer you my fond greetings to you Aaron, bearer of the soul that was once Aragorn Elessar, the Elfstone and to you my dear," he gazed warmly at Eve, his voice was lyrical and very much a component of the Great Music. "Eve, who was once Arwen Evenstar, who proved so poignantly that love tolerates no barriers, not between elf nor humankind, life or death. It pleases me and mine greatly to know that you are now with your kin. For long years, I have seen your father’s sorrow and it is to the grace of Iluvutar that we at last know that the souls of men have their own immortality for you are now returned to us."
Aaron wondered if he was being presumptuous but he sensed that Manwe had not appeared at his wedding simply to offer a wedding toast, there was more to this appearance than met the eye.
"Your arrival in Valinor was the breaking of an oath made long ago that no man should step upon the shores of the Undying Land for yours was a fate not known to us when you passed and we feared interfering in Iluvutar’s plan for you. Of late, I think that perhaps we may have been hasty in this decision to leave man to his fate because like all of us, you are also his children and we, the Valar, would be remiss to care for one child while ignoring the other. Thus, from this day forth all of Iluvutar’s children will be welcome on this shores."
The statement was a shocking one because no one was certain of what it really meant. Fortunately, Manwe knew his audience and began to address the questions running furiously through the minds of all present.
"We will not be lowering the barrier that separates us from the world of men," Manwe said first and foremost, sensing that was the main point of concern. "We will remain as we have but should the men who learn of us choose to return to these lands, we will receive them. Long ago, the Enchanted Isles were built to protect us from Melkor but now that Melkor is no more and we exist in a different plane, there is no need for such protection and those lands can be used to build new cities if there are enough men in this realm to warrant it."
"This is big," Aaron whispered in Eve’s ear.
"No kidding," Eve answered in turn and fell silent again because Manwe was not finished.
"However, we have not forgotten the Eldar who have been our Children for many ages, who have given us joy and delight in their very presence here. Though many of you are happy and content to live as you always had, there is a danger in any race becoming too complacent in its existence. From the very beginning you have proved your ability to rise to any challenge, to defeat the evils of the Melkor and remain true to teachings we have instilled in you. You have graced us with starlight and we love you as we would love the children of our own bodies. As the Valar, we may go where we wish when we wish. The barrier separates our world from what lies beyond but we are not constrained by it. You however, are.
Many have been born since the last of you returned from Arda who know nothing else of the realm beyond and crave the challenges of their forebears. So we have chosen to allow the Eldar to sail once more the Straight Road, to journey once again to Arda if they will. We must do this for you to grow as a race. For we have learnt of late that there is more to living than simple existence, to go from one day to another without change. This was not Iluvutar’s plan and we will no longer perpetuate this circle of stagnancy. We sought to protect you but even children must grow and it is only for our own selfishness that we bind you here. Valinor will always be your home but to those of you who wish it, it is does not necessarily have to be your entire world."
Aaron swept his gaze at the faces present and saw that the reaction to this momentous decision was mixed. There was joy and fear, shock and excitement. He stared at Eve and knew that their life here was going to take on a whole new meaning and Bryan was wearing a smile on his face, no doubt imagining the effect of elves walking in the world again. Aaron doubted that the interaction would be overt at first because elves knew how to be discreet. However one day, mankind would be ready to see the starlight again and when he was, it would be the beginning of a new age.
An age of rediscovery.