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SNAFU Part 48

by Angharad

This is a work of fiction any resemblance to anyone alive or dead is unintentional.

*****

“I’m still trying to work out what is happening here,” John mused as we drove back to the office. “We have a renegade group of Yanks who are trying to kill their own President and start a crusade against the Muslims–is that about right?”

“It would be if you added that they are an occultist group of some expertise and power, and who seemed to know about me before I knew about them.”

“How would they do that?”

“I have one suggestion, but you won’t like it?”

“Hocus pocus stuff is it?”

“What if this was all preordained.”

“Like destiny?”

“Yes, that it’s no coincidence that I incarnated when I did, nor was it one when I was injured as a child stopping a normal puberty for a boy, and then the army mistake. Perhaps I did try to avoid my destiny and it didn’t work." I sat back overawed by what I’d just said.

“Which is?”

“To serve my Lady for all eternity.”

“What that Egyptian lioness thing?”

“John, please be respectful, she has saved your life at least once.”

“Oh okay, but probably only because she needed me to help you.”

“Probably, “I said glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

“Oh great, that makes me feel really good.”

I smirked and he slapped my shoulder. “Why do we have to have all this Egyptian stuff anyway, why not some good old British hoodoo instead.”

“Essentially, because this is a battle between good and evil; the evil being the worshippers of Set. The good guys, viz. us, are supporters of Horus, Osiris and Sekhmet who represents Ra–the warrior goddess, but then there were a few of them in Egypt, even Baast, the cat headed goddess could fight her corner.”

“So why weren’t you with her? Pussy cats about the place I could cope with, but those bloody great felines of yours...”

“Frighten you? C’mon we’re here.”

John paid the taxi and I ran over to my car and quickly scanned it. Nobody had touched it, or disturbed the energies of it. I imagined throwing a golden blanket over it then a black one, carefully marking where it was, because shortly no one would see it.

It wouldn’t become invisible like under Harry Potter’s cape, but no one would notice it, unless they wanted to park there and then they be aware there was a car there but no more than that. It’s an old trick, try it sometime, see if the traffic warden misses you? Just remember where you put it though because you might not find it otherwise.

We’d barely made the first cup of tea when Don phoned. He had a lead on some of the names of the aircraft group. I told him to be careful, I had some misgivings about him working on his own, he laughed and told me he’d be careful.

I phoned Andy Wilson in Oxford. “Do you know of any groups in the States who might be into Set, in a big way and I mean big?”

“Over there they have groups who study or follow any and everything. I believe some even follow Sekhmet.”

“Yes, very funny. I’m hunting a group who have designs on creating enough chaos to possibly cause huge war between the West and Islam.”

“There’s plenty of those on both sides, aren’t there and they don’t need magick just Kalashnikovs and Semtex.”

“The group I’m hunting would be very much into chaos magick, but using Set as their master.”

“Chaos magick is much more recent.”

“I know, but the Ancient Ones are not averse to using new ideas, if it achieves their aims.”

“I believe you’re sincere Jamie, and I’m aware you have something very special in your gift, but I honestly think you’re off beam with this Egyptian stuff.”

“Could you use what contacts you have, Dr Wilson, and just see if there’s anything, particularly in the Washington DC area.”

“Are you joking?”

“No, why?”

“Washington is full of occultists. Have you never read Dan Brown’s books?”

“Eh?”

He laughed loudly into the phone, “I take it you haven’t?”

“No, why–am I missing something?”

“Only a good yarn based on pure hokum.”

“I see,” actually I didn’t, but I wasn’t going to admit to it, “Would you try your contacts–I’m looking for a group powerful enough to create thought forms which can kill people.”

“That is pretty powerful, are you sure you want to get involved with those sort of people, Jamie, sounds rather dangerous for a young woman.”

“If I told you I was probably nearer six thousand years old, would that make a difference?”

“I should imagine your pension scheme has folded by now.”

“Probably, look will you help me?”

“If I can find a few minutes later, I might.”

“Andy, this is vitally important, they’re trying to kill the US President.”

“Oh yeah, the other day, a plane crashed into the embassy. But that wasn’t chaos magick, just some loony suicide bomber.”

“They set him up, believe me, I have evidence.”

There was silence on the end of the phone.

“Andy? Andy are you okay?”

“Sorry, yeah–I was just trying to get my head round the fact that Tom Curtis’ daughter is trying to catch foreign agents who dabble in spookery.”

“Well ignore your prejudices and speak to your contacts before the world as we know it comes to a very bloody end.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“How about, deadly serious?”

“Okay, I’ll make some calls.”

“Thank you.”

I left John making enquiries about any and all the leads we’d developed which weren’t many. I went off and sat on my own trying to get a feel for exactly who we were fighting. Most of the groups are harmless eccentrics who couldn’t call up a god or goddess if you gave them their personal phone numbers. They enjoy themselves and believe they’re unlocking the secrets of the past. Mostly they’re self deluding but do no harm, except to themselves–many are unbalanced to begin with, and it can tip them over the edge. I needed to find the name of the group who were powerful enough to do all they wanted and were clever enough to know how–add, psycho and megalomaniac enough as well, and you just about have the mix required.

I threw some pentagrams around the room and began to chant in a language I didn’t understand anymore, but could tap into. Sitting in a semi-lotus position, I tuned in to the energies of ancient Egypt and I hoped of my Lady.

Whilst my mind floated in the mists of time it began to hear names like they were whispered by the wind. One or two seemed to be repeated over and over. I tried to memorise them before I left the trance state I was in. Gettysburg, Arlington, Robert E Lee, Bastille, Naseby, Worcester.

“Jamie, are you alright?” called John’s voice from a distance.

“Oh my head is splitting,” I groaned, “but I know what’s going on.”

“There’s a Dr Wilson on the phone from Oxford, said you asked him to call you.”

“Oh did I?” I shook my head, “Of course, Andy Wilson, I’ll be straight out,” just as soon as I can get my legs to work again–I was so stiff. Looking at my watch, I’d been adrift for nearly three hours–there has to be an easier way to earn a living.

“Hello, Andy,” I hoped I spoke clearly down the phone.

“Right, I’ve got lectures in five minutes, write this down: Arlington Fallen Research Group, and Gettysburg Fallen Research Group–oh and there’s a funny lot who go under the Robert E Lee Restoration Society. They’re all occultists with a great deal of secrecy surrounding them and no one knows quite why?”

“Thanks Andy, that is a real help.”

“Is it? Good gracious, oh well if I’ve saved the prezzie, can they send the Congressional Medal over here, I hate flying.”

“How do you get to Egypt, then?”

“Yes but that’s pleasure not business.”

“I think the mention in despatches is probably all you’ll get, I’m trying to keep it all under wraps, these guys aren’t taking prisoners.”

“Oh shite–okay, ma’am, gotta go.” He rang off and I sat and drank the tea John so helpfully provided.

“Well?”

“I’m beginning to understand–and I think I know who these guys are.”

“Wow, give the lady a coconut.”

“No, they contain saturated fats. I prefer walnuts or hazel nuts.”

“What do you think you are a bloody squirrel?”

“You started it.”

I drank my tea and flirted with John–okay it’s against office policy but once this job is finished, that’s me, outta here, maybe I’ll go back to nursing or even think about doing a degree besides the nursing one. Egyptology? I could do, but it could get embarrassing if I found my previous body, couldn’t it?

“So, Miss Clever Clogs, how about explaining your understanding of what’s going on to this poor mortal, who hasn’t got a clue.

“It’s really very simple; at several times during the past millennia there have been major upheavals in various places, the English Civil War, the French Revolution, the American Civil War and even larger conflicts, crusades, World Wars I & II. These have been predicated by followers of Set.”

“Are you trying to tell me that World War Two was caused by some idiot Egyptian megalomaniac rather than some idiot Austrian megalomaniac?”

“Not quite, but nearly. Set has had followers for a very long time, several thousands of years and they have dedicated themselves and their resources to be close to their chosen one. So they can finance wars and political upheavals, massacres and other chaotic events such as Rwanda and probably the current Zimbabwean situation.”

“Oh c’mon, Jamie, that’s like saying the Devil is causing all this.”

“In Christian terms, he is.”

He started to laugh, “I thought you said you understood what was going on and you give me a fairytale. Admit it, you don’t know do you?”

“John, this isn’t fairytales, this is the countdown for a modern day Armageddon, if the West through Nato get drawn into a huge war around the Middle East, then the Russians or Chinese could get sucked in too and before we know it, World War Three is here and it could be the war to end all wars–if it goes, nuclear, biological or chemical.”

“If the Yanks nuke China, who’s going to make those little plastic things they put in cereal packets?” He frowned and pretended to be upset.

“Perhaps your question should be, who’s going to be able to grow enough cereal to make bread let alone toasted or puffed whatevers?”

“Convince me.”

“There will be two things that will happen to set it all off, then a number of minor ones. Firstly, they kill the US president–has to be seen as an attack by a mad Muslim, then someone like Syria or Iran attacks Israel. As the US gets ready to go to war, someone kills a high ranking Russian or Chinese politician and is linked to the current conflict–perhaps a Georgian kills the Russian president and war starts there. They escalate and before long you have big or superpowers up against each other and not fighting by proxy but directly. The world becomes unstable and chaos reigns. Set has achieved his goal.”

“But this used to happen before, and still does on a smaller scale.”

“It will always happen the scale is different because of the power groups involved, if you think Muslim, then there’s the middle east, Pakistan, Afghanistan and various other ‘stans up into Asia and the old Soviet Bloc, then there’s bits of Africa like Ethiopia and Yemen. Only South America avoids it, and they too could get drawn in by the warring countries.”

“Okay, so you’ve half convinced me it could happen, except I would hope that many of the governments would see the folly of their actions.”

“Yeah? So why did they invade Iraq?”

“Don’t get me started on that one, I’ve lost too many friends out there.”

“But it happens, so don’t worry it still could. Plus the fact these guys have the ability to make apparent clones. You met the cloned Storey, he fooled you, he may have fooled his president as well. They have weapons most governments couldn’t stop or even understand. How would they stop Oliver? Would they believe me if I told them? It would be like a survivor of a skirmish in the English Civil War telling his commander that the enemy had attack helicopters. He wouldn’t be able to describe something he didn’t understand to somebody incapable of understanding him. Would he have the concept of machines? So flying machines would be the devil’s work or flying demons spouting death to all they met. How would you counter them–cannons and muskets wouldn’t stop a helicopter armed with gatling guns and rockets.”

“Okay, you’ve made your point. How do we stop them?”

“We don’t, I do.”
“I thought we were in this together?” John seemed hurt by my seeming dismissal of him.

“Look my handsome hunk, I seem to be the only one who recognises these guys for what they are, which is why they keep trying to kill me.”

“Are you the only one who can stop them?”

“If I incarnated now, why haven’t others, my Lady is all seeing, so why have I no help to do this?” I had been so rapt in my situation before that it hadn’t occurred to me I might need help of similar reincarnatees.

“How am I supposed to know? Perhaps she thinks you can handle it by yourself.”

“I’m pretty sure I can’t.”

“Well that’s where Don and I come in, just a couple of run of the mill super-heroes who happened across you.”

“Oh well, no worry then.” I looked serious then burst out laughing, still laughing I added, “The only reason we’re not crying is we don’t understand the seriousness of this situation. We could all be dead in a few weeks.”

“How do we stop it?”

“In two ways, we stop them killing the president, and hunt them down.”

“What do we do in the afternoon?” John remained facetious.

“This could take weeks if not years–but I have a feeling, it’s prophesised to happen soon.”

“By whom?”

“Set and his little friends.”

“John get Don back and the two of you find out what you can about these US occultist groups, I’m going to Oxford to see Dr Wilson.”

“What’s wrong with UCL?”

“Nothing it’s a fine university, but I have a feeling Andy Wilson is holding back on me.”

“He’s not one of them, is he?” asked John.

“He isn’t gay as far as I know.”

“No–one of the Set set?”

“Very good, I don’t think so, but I have been wrong before.”

“Be careful, Jamie, once this is all over I’d like to get to know you better, I mean really better.”

“That could be arranged.” I answered and my tummy flipped, I think I was in love with this man.

I drove back to Oxford leaving John to do as much research as he could about the US secret groups, this investigating was so tiring that I felt my eyes closing once or twice and I stopped at a motorway service area and had a walk, a wee and cup of coffee.

I wasn’t sure if it was tiredness or imagination, but I felt sure someone was watching me. I kept looking behind me but couldn’t see anyone particularly paying me attention. I stopped at the fuel area and shoved in a few litres of petrol, still scanning for my stalker–the feeling was getting stronger.

I saw no one in particular–well not until I was on the exit road leading out to the motorway and I spotted an articulated lorry hammering down behind me. Bearing in mind this is a mini, one of the original type not yer German rubbish, it looked very dangerous. I had a second or two to act and just before he would have hit me–probably into the middle of next week, and certainly into the path of fast moving traffic, I pulled off the road and behind the crash barrier. He caught the edge of the barrier and it caused the cab to do wheelies, the next moment it flipped on its side and she slid out across all three lanes. The noise of screaming metal as it scraped across the carriageways was awful but not as bad as the impacts with smashing metal and glass.

The police were on the scene in seconds, they told me to stay where I was. I told them I couldn’t.

“Look ‘ere, Miss, I’m the officer attending and you’ll do as I say.”

“I don’t think so, officer.”

“Then I’ll have to arrest you.”

“I don’t think so, officer.”

“You takin’ the piss, Miss,” he smirked at his rhyming skills.

I reached in to my bag and he stepped back. I flashed my identity at him, “That lorry tried to kill me.”

“In which case, we need you to make a statement.”

“Tough, I think you have enough to play with, watch me back will you, I have some wanna be murderers to intercept.”

“Well if they’re as bad as this one, you might just catch ‘em.”

“ ‘Ere, aren’t you that nurse woman.”

“Well you got half of it right, I’m a woman.”

“No the one with all the medals?”

“Probably not, they don’t use nurses in the SIS.”

“Can I see your ID again.”

I sighed and showed it to him again. “So the double zero isn’t just fiction then?”

“No, I am licensed to do whatever is necessary for the safety of the country.”

“You don’t look old enough to shoot someone, anyway, shouldn’t you be going home to do your homework?”

“Officer, get out of my way, you’re impeding a serious investigation affecting the security of this country and her allies.”

“Yeah sure, I’m still not sure that I should let you go.”

“I have a license to shoot people who get in the way of my mission.”

“Shooting a police officer is a serious offence, besides, I’ve got a vest on,” he smirked again.

“That wouldn’t save you, from this range I would guarantee at least six headshots if not a full mag. You’d be dead before your brains hit the ground, now get out of the way before I demonstrate it.”

“Threatening an officer is a serious offence, and I have it all on video.” He pointed to the mini cam on his vest.

Apart from pissing me off, his second mistake was looking into my eyes. He was last seen sitting on the bonnet of his car, without his clothes, just his hat still in place, singing, ‘Nee naw, nee naw, I’m a police car, nee naw.’ Or at least that was all I could see in my rearview mirror as I managed to drive through the carnage and continue my journey. I put in a call to the office telling them to throw a bucket of cold water over him and he’d wake up, but I wanted to know about the driver of the truck–I’m sure he was ‘possessed’ and instructed to kill me. They would probably decide he was asleep if he survived the accident, which was unlikely.