“Where did you hide it, my old friend?” He asked the wind and then pulled out an ancient map.
The map, scribbled onto a roughly cut piece of sheepskin flipped at the edges in the breeze. There was little writing on it, but something slowly appeared as he held the key over it. The surface gained more definition as red marks appeared. The coastline formed, and then mountains and a path.
“This is older than the cities here. But I don’t need to know where the cities are, just where this is.” He held the map up and established the orientation so that it matched. With a small smile, he saw that the dot was directly ahead of him.
“Sir?” The driver was now halfway up the hill, nervously waiting for his master to answer.
“What is it?”
“Should I drive you somewhere?”
Nova smiled, “Yes. Take me into Trelleborg. I wish to explore the city.”
“I will take you anywhere, my lord. But tell me what you wish to see. I can help locate anything.”
Nova walked beyond the man, back toward the limo. “You cannot tell me where to find the Eye of Fenrir, but that is okay.”
“I can try.” The man stated, desperate to please his master.
“Just drive.” Nova got into the car and waited while his driver hurried to please him by jumping back into the driver's seat and heading back toward town.
Chase stepped out of the BADGE shuttle that rested on top of the Stockholm HQ. A team of agents managed the landing pad, preparing to move the shuttle to a safe location. Gar stepped out next, which always drew some surprise by people who had never seen a walking statue in person. He smiled at them and then joined Chase.
Lieutenant Bonnie met them on the roof. “Welcome to Stockholm, Chase, Gar.”
Chase shook her hand. “Glad to be here. Wish this was just a vacation trip.”
“BADGE agents never really get to have vacations, do we?” Bonnie said and then led them to a stairwell.
Chase and Gar followed as she asked, “Do you have any further information for us?”
Bonnie pressed her security badge into a panel, and the door opened to the main operations center. “A few additional details that might help, though they mostly just raise further questions and concerns.”
“Like what?” Gar asked.
Bonnie pointed at one of her people at a computer and he put a video on the monitor, which was a quarter the size of the one on the station. Footage showed a man, nicely dressed, appearing out of nowhere. The screen flickered, and the next thing was him walking away.
“Who was that?” Chase asked.
“That’s what I’d like to know. His hat covered his face enough that we couldn’t get an ID. His clothing was all expensive, but unremarkable in any specifics.”
“What do you mean, expensive?” Chase asked.
Bonnie looked back at her agent. The young man put a still image from the footage on the screen and small windows opened that showed information, each with prices and names. “We have a Brioni suit with hat, Neiman Marcus leather gloves, Louis Vuitton Manhattan Richelie Shoes, and that is what our visuals could determine. You’re looking at over twenty thousand dollars in apparel. Not something you see everyday just walking around.”
Gar said, “Lady Echidna wore expensive clothing and so did her army.”
Chase looked at the screen. “But her henchmen weren’t this well dressed. This is opulent to the point of decadent. I’d say we have someone special to her, someone important.”
Bonnie asked, “Do you think this is Director Nova?”
“Look, he is using a cane. Nova uses one for special occasions.” Gar pointed at the screen.
The agent said, “We couldn’t get a maker on the cane, so no info there.”
“Doesn’t matter. Gar’s right. It’s a strong hint that this is Nova. But...what was he doing here? Why did he come and leave without a trace?”
“He didn’t. We do have something else.” Bonnie said.
Chase asked, “What is it?”
Bonnie walked over to the wall and pressed a button, revealing the code pad. She put in a code and then used a key to open a small door. “This is a highly secret, secure vault we use for extremely sensitive materials. When this place was first built, Director Nova insisted that we put one object in here and never let it out without his personal permission. A special key, which we have no idea what it was connected to. It was ancient and the only time I ever saw it, I couldn’t tell why it was so dangerous or important.”
“If he asked for to be this secure, there was a reason.”
“Whatever the reason, it’s gone. It’s the only item in this entire facility that is gone. We’ve checked everything ten times over. Nothing else is missing. And, we don’t have any computer files that he couldn’t obtain on the station or other locations. That was his only objective. However, something was left in the vault.”
“What, he left something?” Chase walked closer to see what Bonnie was pointing at.
Gar frowned. “A pebble?”
Chase leaned in and looked at it. “It’s not just a rock, it’s smooth and has something etched on the surface. Have you taken it out and examined it?”
“Not yet. We wanted to show you before we did that. I was worried it would do something to us.”
Chase looked back at Gar. “I know someone who can probably handle it without being hurt.”
Gar got the hint and walked over to the vault. He carefully picked up the small stone and held it in his hand for a moment. Nothing happened. The agent rushed over with a small scanning device and checked it several ways.
“I’m getting nothing. This is just a piece of granite, polished and etched. Nothing more.”
Bonnie looked at it in Gar’s hand. “What’s on the surface?”
The agent looked at his scanner. “It’s an ancient Nordic etching. The computer is having a hard time identifying it. Wait... I have something. I think this is an ancient symbol for Fenrir.”
Chase frowned. “Fenrir, the mythological dog from Nordic religion?”
Bonnie nodded, “Yes. It is said to be destined to swallow the sun at the end of time. But what on earth is this doing in the vault? Who left it?”
The agent scanned the stone again. “No fingerprints, DNA traces, or anything else to identify who left it.”
Chase asked, “Did anyone get into this vault prior to the discovery of the missing map?”
“No. That vault is under constant surveillance. Except for the twelve minute blackout of all data and memory, no one has gotten into that vault in two years. And since the blackout, I only opened it just thirty minutes ago when we found that stone and the missing map.”
“Then... Nova left this?” Chase walked around, pondering this. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he leave this? Some sort of joke from Lady Echidna, a ploy to get us to be confused?”
Bonnie said, “Maybe he’s just teasing us, toying with us. Like a criminal who leaves a card behind to thumb their nose at the police.”
“That’s not like him.” Chase said, “But, then again, burglary is not like Nova either.”
Gar said, “He might be trying to help us?” He handed the stone to Chase.
“I doubt that.” Bonnie said, “With all the information we have, he is as mind-controlled as all her other soldiers. This lady Echidna wouldn’t let him...”
Chase’s eye’s widened, and she gasped, “Maybe he is trying to help us.”
“Chase?” Gar leaned in.
She looked up at him. “I sense... a memory. Something is buried in this object. My powers are connecting to it. I’ve never felt something like this before. It’s... strange. Very old. The only thing I know for certain, this memory is from Nova. He’s trying to show me something.”
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