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Chapter 16

Sage and Parker were deeply embroiled in the work of the researcher, and Sage was mentally preparing for what may be a conspiracy theory coming from Parker.

“I am wondering if this skin is from a person that was in one of the first military positions. Or maybe like militia or a PMC.”

Sage turned to train his voice directly on the phone. “Really?” said Sage sarcastically. “An ancient private military corporation?”

“The researcher said that the person was considered an apex predator. He mentioned that this person was kept at a distance and summoned during critical situations and wartime. Sounds like a PMC to me.”

“Hmm…”

“So you got this package at your door, and this drive was in the package…”

“Yeah.”

“In my experience, packages are only left at doors by three kinds of people: ones that we paid to deliver packages, people that dislike us and want us to step on a flaming package of—”

Sage interrupted, “Parker!”

Parker snickered but continued—now taking on a serious tone. “And those that wish to help us. Since the first file encrypted was not that hard to crack, I am going to say that someone is trying to help. Or maybe I am just a genius at breaking encryption,” said Parker as he again picked up a jovial tone.

“Okay. So how does this help us?”

“We have to find a connection.”

“To what?” asked Sage. “We have some random items.”

“That is what is bothering me.”

“Okay, talk to me. Tell me what’s on your mind,” said Sage.

Parker was uncharacteristically reticent. After a long pause, he slowly spoke, “Okay, you lose your mom, and no one knows anything. You lose your girl, and they hit walls. But now, we have this research.”

“Not tracking you, Parker…”

Parker, now switching the topic, added, “Just thinking out loud, bro… What if the translation is wrong?”

“Why would you think that?” asked a confused Sage.

“When we translate from language to language, the context is usually pretty accurate, but the words are not always accurate. Veni. Vidi. Vici…” Parker trailed off, sounding just a bit distracted.

“‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ Everyone knows this—especially military folks and students studying Latin,” added Sage. Sage was tapping the forceps on the edge of the glass bowl, creating a soft clank.

“Okay, so the translation is ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ That is how we translate it into English. How many people speak Latin these days?” Parker asked.

“Mostly clergy and college students, I imagine,” added Sage.

“Right. You ever play telephone?” Parker’s smile could be heard coming through the phone.

“Sure. It is where we are given a phrase to repeat to others. It can change over time and during the transport of the message.”

“My point exactly. We don’t know the context of the markings. We are unaware of the thought process of this tribe or even the thought process of the researcher. Remember that this will influence how we see and perceive things.”

“You are saying that the message on the drive is not the message?” Sage asked, trying to follow Parker’s train of thought.

“Oh, it’s the message,” replied Parker.

“Wait, what?”

“Translation, my man, translation,” Parker added with just a tinge of hubris. Parker leaned back in his chair.

“Okay, what did we miss?” questioned Sage.

“What if the researcher was right?”

“Then what’s the problem? Are you intentionally being cryptic?” asked Sage.

“What if the context was right, but the translation was incorrect?” said Parker.

Sage sucked in the sides of his mouth, gently bit the inside of his cheeks, and squinted. “How? Why would the translation be wrong but the context accurate? That seems backward.”

“The researcher said tribal executioner or apex predator,” said Parker.

“I heard that as well.”

“What if ‘apex’ meant ‘best’?” asked Parker.

“Okay, so best predator. So dude gets a stripe,” said Sage, trying not to sound sarcastic.

Parker quickly added, “And a fang.” They both chuckled at Parker’s comment.

“So he gets a stripe and a fang. What creatures have teeth like that?” asked Sage half leading and half questioning. “Definitely hunters, not prey.”

“Right,” added Parker. “If we looked at the fang to be, say, a symbol of a hunter…would the context change in this scenario?”

“So now we have a ‘best’ hunter. So what?” asked Sage.

“Who would be considered best hunters among us?” asked Parker.

“Us military guys,” Sage said confidently.

Parker laughed and snorted through his nose. “A bit self-serving, wouldn’t you say, bro?”

“Well, what are your thoughts?”

“Who among us can hunt, blend with the people, be feared, and can generally evade capture? Operates mostly at night?” questioned Parker.

“Sociopaths, psychopaths, serial killers…bread delivery drivers.”

“Sage, quit playing,” demanded Parker. “And when they are caught or captured—”

Having a moment of realization, Sage interjected, “They are ostracized, sent to prison, executed…”

“How scary would our military be if it utilized the tactics of serial killers?” asked Parker.

“This would instill fear in everyone, including the civilians. So are you saying this guy was a serial killer?”

“Probably one of the first.”

“Why not just kill him?”

“Wow, bro…you’re hard-core. I’m sure the tribe thought the executioner had his uses. A pocket serial killer on ‘lock’ at your beck and call—that had to make the chief feel powerful,” said Parker. There was a tone in Parker’s voice that let Sage know that Parker was onto something and he was not going to drop the topic quickly. So he had to be onboard with the journey. Sage did not consider either of them conspiracy theorists, but Parker was excited about this one.

“We established that the translation might be wrong. Let’s just go with that for a moment. That means that serial killers have been around for a long time. Well, we assumed that.” Sage began to slowly pace in his kitchen.

“And he gets a chevron…” inserted Parker.

“We see that things are not always what they seem, and we have had an exceptionally entertaining history lesson from our friendly neighborhood researcher. How is it that this helps us?” Sage added, now leaning with his forearms across the edge of his kitchen sink.

“The person that left you the flash drive—they said to stay focused and to stay safe. This means they probably know you are on to something; they want to help. They know that you are on a dangerous path, bro, but more importantly, they are watching you.”