Temple: A New Journey Begins
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Xia entered the darkened home of the man whose name appeared on the card. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but she soon started seeing more detail than when she first arrived. Along one wall were bookshelves crammed with books, some of them quite old. An old fashion clock ticked off the minutes. As her eyes continued to adjust she could see an antique roll-top desk pushed up against another wall. Several large sheets of paper could be seen. Xia was drawn to the desk. She glanced at the papers and saw they looked like maps. Xia glanced at the heading and her eyes became narrow and her brow creased in concentration.
'Why would the man be interested in that particular area,' she wondered.
Xia quickly scanned the room to make certain the man had not entered. She examined the map a little longer when a small area caught her attention. It showed what looked like a building. The label on it revealed that it was a monastery. The only monastery Xia had been aware of was the one her father Tan had been kicked out of by Caine years ago when she had been a child. Could this be the same one? Why would Jameson be interested in a burned out temple? Before Xia could examine the map further, a soft sound caught her attention. She looked up to see a very elderly gentleman standing in a doorway leading to the back of the house.
"It's not nice to snoop," the old man said in a craggy and clipped voice.
"I'm here to see Kyle? Jake sent me."
"What's this about?"
"Are you Kyle?" Xia asked surprised. She thought the man would have been much younger.
"That's me," the man replied, then sat down at the desk. "State your business. I'm a busy man."
"I may have a way to get rid of your problem."
"And what problem is that?"
"The priests."
Xia waited for the old man to respond, but he just turned to the maps on his desk and started flipping through them.
"I said I may have a way to get rid of the priests."
"I heard what you said, I'm not deaf," Kyle replied. "The priests aren't a threat to me."
"There is one priest who could be," Xia stated.
"And who would that be?"
"Caine." Xia observed the man's reaction. She noticed his back became more rigid, then suddenly relaxed.
"Caine's dead, and his son disappeared."
"I'm not talking about Peter Caine or his father."
"Who are you talking about, there can't be anyone else."
"I'm talking about Peter Caine's son."
The corner of Xia's mouth turned upward as she watched Kyle Jameson turned toward her, his face frozen in a scowl.
"Peter Caine had a brat?"
"He's not a kid any more, and he's also a priest. If he's anything like his father or grandfather he certainly will be trouble."
"So how do I get rid of him?"
"You know the four priests that died?" Xia began.
"Yeah, so?"
"They didn't die of natural causes." Xia didn't say anything more, waiting for the old man to respond.
"You mean to tell me they were murdered?"
Xia placed the tip of her right pinky's fingernail in her mouth. "A little trick I learned from another group of those so called priests, but their training shall we say is far different."
"That was your handy work? And you said you could get rid of Caine's son, by using this trick that you learned."
"Of course it's not going to come cheap. I may have eliminated those four priests, but Caine is going to be an entirely different story. Jake indicated you could make it worth my while."
Kyle looked down at the maps, pushing them off to the side and glancing down at the folder that contained a report that he received years ago, the very same report that old Vance Cavanaugh had guarded its secret for so many years.
"I'll have to get back to you on that. I'm sure we can agree on a price, but if the job isn't done right, there won't be any deal."
"You have my word, Mr. Jameson. By this time next week, Peter Caine's son will be dead and buried."
Continues with Part 17
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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