The shield of 10000 years

Part Two

Who wants to find themselves

'I knew they were trouble. I felt it in my urine.'

Confused, the muscleman looks first at one of his mates, then at the other.

'Me too, boss,' says a guy who obviously had watched too many He-Man movies in his teens. The other just shrugs helplessly and grips his assault rifle tighter, even if there's nothing to shoot at.

Receiving no support from his followers, the man of the hour, because he is in charge here, he thinks bitterly, looks round the small square again. Perhaps he has overlooked something, he muses hopefully, after all it is still early and he has never been an early riser. But no, unfortunately it's the same as it was 15 seconds ago.

They are at the meeting point -the assembly point for the ecotourists from Ontario or Alanya, he never listens too closely at briefings. The escort is there as well, their three vehicles plus the eco-scrap from the southerners, which has been patched up again.

But there's nothing to be seen of the Awarians, apart from a slight blond boy.

---

Joseph

The evening before.

All in dress uniforms, outside the hotel. Only the old man seems to have suffered a collapse and is on his way to the hospital, which is not surprising given the stress of the last days.

His friends have wished him a speedy recovery and are pleased that the hospital has such a good reputation.

And that it is located in the city centre.

---

'You'll be fine,' said the nice doctor, smiling at him encouragingly. The nurses were also so kind to him, and the drivers were almost as funny as those at the ARK.

'Thank you very much, Doctor,' the old man had replied weakly. 'I hope I'll be well again in the morning. We have to make our way home. I think we'll be picked up at eight. I'm not from here, you know, and the stay is only until tomorrow.'

'I've already been told that,' says the doctor helpfully. 'I've already organised everything. Bureaucracy or not, you are a medical emergency and therefore fall within my area of responsibility. We'll have to observe you for at least another day. Don't worry, you don't have to go anywhere until tomorrow evening.' The doctor touches his arm in a friendly manner.

'That's very kind of you, Doctor. Thank you very much,' the patient replies hopefully.

---

Sras

'That's a wonderful story,' says the Cambodian woman with a laugh as she heads for the nearest pub arm in arm with the magistrate. 'I didn't think civil servants had such a sense of humour.'

Both have left the banquet early, before the Muuze. Apparently our contact was right, and this person does have more power than he was given credit for, Sras thinks, still looking amused.

'Well, I haven't been a civil servant for long. I come from the guild of craftsmen. So I don't really like talking that much. We prefer to use our hands,' he says, smiling ambiguously, which craftsmen don't really seem to be good at.

'That sounds excellent,' she says, dodging an attempted kiss so slowly that it almost looks real, while at the same time suppressing the reflex within her to return the proof of love with a gentle uppercut.

'Is that how it works here in Cologne? So fast?' she grumbles, even raising her voice accusingly.

'It's carnival, my dear,' he says with a laugh. 'Of course it's like this.'

She smiles shyly, which is about the hardest thing she has had to master this evening, but apparently it works. 'Surely you have private chambers where a lady is allowed to indulge in lust and still maintain her dignity?' Now she looks conspiratorial.

'I have a flat. Even with a view of Cologne Cathedral!'

She smiles gratefully and blows a gentle kiss on his artisan cheek. ' Really? That's wonderful!'

---

'Control centre, this is escort one. We have a problem.'

The boss waits for confirmation. His people have searched the hotel and found no sign of them.

The receptionist and the few maids -actually on their payroll and their eyes and ears -were no help either. Apparently no one from the banquet yesterday had returned to their rooms. Except for the boy, who stands smiling in the square with a bag over his shoulder, lonely and forlorn.

'Our visitors are gone.'

'What do you mean, gone?' a callous voice echoes from the radio.

Does this snooty secretary from the police station, who turned him down at the last carnival have to be on duty today? At least he is one of the few people who can even show off an original BMW with petrol.

'Not at the place we chose. They should leave today.'

'We know,' replies the bored voice and he imagines her almost simultaneously painting her nails and laughing at her LB.

'Are you talking about everyone?'

'No, there's one left,' he replies.

'Well, that's something. Question him. And everyone present.'

'We've already done that.'

'Then do it again.' The voice again, but this time faster, more uncompromising. 'We'll notify all units and hospitals. If our esteemed guests have been the victims of a crime, it will put our city in a bad light.'

And you too. Unspoken threats are the worst.

'Understood. We'll search the immediate area. We check the cameras and all means of transport. We'll find them. They are just a few grain eaters.'

'They've slipped through your fingers,' she reminds him coolly. 'And if nothing has been done to them, their disappearance can only mean one thing.'

Yes, he thinks, suddenly wide awake. Espionage.

---

When and the parcel

Yesterday again.

The joy seemed genuine, the diplomat remembers as he walks alongside When down a narrow alley. He himself is completely lost, but his brother seems to know where their destination is.

The magistrate -surrounded by a few other representatives of various guilds who had remained after the gun smoke had cleared -had thanked them profusely, repeatedly pointing at the three jute sacks that had been placed in the centre of the rectangular table formation.

And there really are three, the diplomat thinks, and remembers Sras's appreciative look when she realised that When actually had the presence of mind to get the bag out of the trunk before her kamikaze ride.

Well, at least now I know how to impress you, he thinks and a queasy feeling creeps over him.

'We would like to thank our guests from Awaria for their support. The fact that they have come all this way proves their loyalty and willingness to cooperate with us. The fact that they are willing to share their technology has shown us that even in these times, trust and friendship still count. Even on the big stage.' The magistrate smiled and raised his glass. 'We, too, hope to achieve the same level of peace, prosperity and progress in the not too distant future as has happened in the land of our friends.'

The brothers and sisters now also were beaming at their counterparts and raised their glasses. He saw genuine affection everywhere, really genuine, the diplomat realised, and he seriously wondered whether he might have only dreamed about the secrecy an hour ago.

He looked around and decided that he has done the people of Cologne wrong. The hall is nothing special and probably doesn't even have a history, unlike most of the buildings in this ancient city, but it is intact. And clean. Candles -probably in short supply here -have been set up. Even servants are there, bringing various dishes, even if the portions are rather tiny. Even the officials seem to be a little higher up the ladder, at least the third or fourth Princes´ Guard.

While the main actors got dressed up for the grand finale, Latour thought to himself and toasted to the magistrate appreciatively.

---

Then everything happened quickly.

He had already lost sight of Sras before the pastries and the medic was called to an emergency that had occurred near the hall. They missed the Halven Hahn, which the skillful chefs were actually able to make from pea extract. We really are blazing a trail of vegetarianism across Germany, thought the diplomat with a smile.

All who remained were the two Weithosen, who had somehow managed to get their stereotypical drinks, for which the diplomat naturally had nothing but the greatest respect. They had spent the whole evening with their escort, so that neither friend nor foe would be able to stand tomorrow. He himself had had a nice chat with the remaining grandees.

Then When had arrived, and something strange had happened to the diplomat.

Latour could hardly remember, so pleased was he suddenly to see him, and so nice did he suddenly find this party and all these wonderful, wonderful people.

He would have liked to stay, but When had just smiled at all of them, excused them both, walked out through the main entrance and left behind only people who found the world around them just so peaceful. And so wonder-, wonder-, wonderful.

---

There seems to be no end to the dark alley. Disguised and hooded figures walk past them. Some sway to match their pirate outfits, others still walk as proudly as their knight's armour demands of them, or still as weightily as their police officer...