The Days of Tao Read online

  Cameron tilted his head and gave it a hard look. “Well, the human guy is throwing an overhand right but you can’t generate a lot of power from that angle. He’s also trying to knee his opponent in between the front legs but I’m pretty sure a centaur’s groin is in between the hind legs. Not to mention he’s trying to knee the guy while throwing that punch at the same time. While we’re at it, his standing support leg is bent, which will only contribute to a loss of power and balance.” He pointed at the man’s right leg twisted around the centaur’s right foreleg. “I have no idea what the heck is going on over there.”

  I did not expect this conversation to move in this direction but not a bad analysis.

  “I feel a C-minus in my near future. Now that I’m looking at it closer, these guys have muscles where muscles don’t belong. It’s like the ancient Greeks invented the first comic book superheroes.”

  You should take your grades more seriously. Jill will make your life miserable if you don’t get them up.

  “Why does it matter? When I graduate in a year, I’m just going to become an agent. Command won’t care what my grades are when they hire me. My mom’s the Keeper and I’m a host. You’re my nepotism by Quasing, Tao.”

  Your mother will, and you do realize that when you become an agent, she becomes your boss.

  “Oof. I didn’t think about that.”

  Cameron continued walking down the row of marble columns, looking at each carving taken down from the metopes and laid out for the exhibit. “Man, these guys really hated centaurs back then.”

  Cameron was currently wandering the Parthenon in Athens with his study abroad class. Originally, he was supposed to have spent the summer before graduation completing his training as a Prophus operative, but after he received a couple of poor grades at Oxford, his mother felt the need to punish him.

  At first, he was crushed. Being a full-status Prophus operative was the only goal he had ever had, from the first moment Tao spoke with him. However, after spending over a month in Greece, he was glad for this punishment. He had lived his childhood as an alien fugitive in the United States and his adolescence guarded in the United Kingdom due to his status as a host and the son of a high-ranking Prophus. This was the first summer he was spending on his own where he had complete freedom. He did not have to worry about what he was or who his parents were.

  He loved it.

  Well, not totally on his own. Tao was always with him. His eyes wandered to Emily and Seth strolling down the other side of the exhibit. Emily Curran and Seth Fishman were the children of Prophus operatives. Emily’s mother reported directly to Jill, while both of Seth’s parents worked as analysts with Roen and the IXTF.

  The two of them were the first to befriend a shy sixteen-yearold who had just moved from the United States to Glasgow, where many Prophus operatives with families that didn’t want to live in Greenland lived. The three of them became close friends, then classmates at Oxford. Now, they were getting ready to graduate and join the family business, although Cameron was the only one who was becoming an operative.

  Seth planned on following in his parents’ footsteps as an analyst, which was the perfect career choice for him. He was incredibly meticulous and organized, had a way of breaking things down to see the small picture, and was a natural leader of projects, if not people. Seth and Tao were the only reason Cameron ever passed any of his biology and chemistry classes. The sciences were just not in his cards, much to his Quasing’s chagrin.

  Emily, on the other hand, was the care-free daughter of a Prophus liaison to MI6, and had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She was planning to work for the Prophus as a chef, medic, chaplain, or something. Her mind changed depending on the season. Right now, she wanted to become a fashion designer for them. Cameron had never realized the Prophus had a need for one until she pointed out the amount of customization and detail that went into tailoring operatives’ uniforms.

  Both of his friends noticed him looking their way. Emily cheerfully waved with both hands, while Seth rubbed his belly and pretended to put something in his mouth. Cameron checked the time and held up three fingers and mouthed the word ‘gyros?’ silently. Seth nodded in agreement while Emily pumped two elbows in affirmation.

  The study abroad group was a collection of thirty students from all over the world. Cameron had met them only a few weeks ago, but had already become good friends with most of the class, mostly due to his more extroverted friend Emily. He was going to be sad when the summer ended. At least he would have fond memories, which was more than what he could say for most of his childhood summers. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone except for Tao, but he was pretty sure this experience was more fulfilling than whatever training his dad had in store for him.

  Do not be so sure of that. Roen wanted to teach you how to fly a helicopter.

  “Didn’t dad crash three helicopters?”

  One of them was not his fault.

  To Cameron’s surprise, his Quasing had very little to say about the Greeks. Cameron had assumed that since Greece was the center of civilization for over a thousand years, that Tao would have a trove of stories to tell.

  I spent thousands of years working within the Mesopotamian Empire. By the time the Greeks rose to power, I was burned out and frankly bored. Besides, there was so many of us in that region, if you threw a rock, you were bound to hit a host. That was when I decided to explore other lands.

  “Is that why you weren’t enthusiastic about coming here this summer?”

  Basically. Once you spend three thousand years in the same place, you are pretty much done with it forever.

  Cameron totally understood where Tao was coming from. After a few hours here, it was pretty clear that there was only so much ancient ruins a twenty-one year old could handle. As the morning wore on, Cameron and his class became restless and the field trip degenerated into goofing off, gossiping, and taking pictures of each other as opposed to actual relics.

  Right now, he was sitting on the grass chatting with Negin Heidari, an Iranian he had a small crush on, and Yang Shi, a wealthy exchange student from China. The Prophus had flagged Yang when they ran the background check on him. It seemed his family’s companies had business relationships with Genjix interests. Regardless of Tao’s natural bias, Cameron had taken an instant liking to the quiet and stoic heir to a manufacturing conglomerate. The kid loved Shakespeare, basketball, and was a prodigy with the viola.

  Negin had come from the opposite corner of the world. Where Yang was a scion from a powerful politically-connected family, Negin hailed from a poor rural village in Iran. Her talent for the written word had been obvious from an early age, and she had earned a scholarship for poetry. Now, whenever she strung words together, regardless of the language, it quieted a room. Cameron also just found her incredibly sincere and a pleasant person to talk to.

  At this moment, they were just three students from different parts of the world sitting on a grassy knoll relaxing under the warm rays of the sun while a cool breeze blew in from the Mediterranean. Cameron was telling an admittedly stupid joke about being a few members short of forming a United Nations Security Council. Yang humored him with a chuckle, but Negin openly laughed. Cameron blushed.

  You have always had a thing for potential enemy spies.

  “She’s not a spy, Tao.”

  She is not a Genjix vessel. That is all we have been able to confirm. That stung. Of course Tao was referring to Alexandra Mengsk, the Russian-girl-turned-Genjix-Adonis-Vessel who had betrayed him and broken his heart. No, she had not betrayed him, she had played him from the beginning. Cameron hadn’t seen or heard from her for over five years, but his mind still wandered to her once in a while. Was she even still alive? How was she doing? Was she now some bad-ass crazy Genjix superspy? He wouldn’t put it past her. Mostly, he never to wanted find out, although a part of him desperately hoped they crossed paths again.

  Cut it out. You are making me nauseous.

  “Don’t you wa
nt to know what happened to her?” Yes, so I can run her through with a sword and burn Tabs up into

  a crisp.

  “And you call me barbaric.”

  Seth and Emily found him a few minutes later. By now, most of the other students had also congregated on the hill. Professor Eliades, the head of their program, could be heard calling everyone in and corralling the stragglers together.

  “Hey guys,” Emily said, plopping herself down between Cameron and Negin. She nudged Cameron mischievously. “What are you up to?”

  “Hello, my dearest friend,” Negin said, putting her arms around Emily’s shoulder and hugging her.

  Seth knelt down on his other side and whispered in Cameron’s ear. “Emily and I have a bet with Annelie and Marilyn. You have four more weeks for us to win a kabob dinner. Don’t disappoint, Cam.”

  Cameron’s cheeks began to burn.

  “Come on, let’s lunch.” Emily grabbed both Cameron and Negin by the elbow and pulled them to their feet. “Back to campus and then that gyros joint next to the beach?”

  “Sounds like a—”

  His phone beeped.

  Cameron took it out of his bag and checked the message. He frowned at the code in the text. This was unexpected. He casually surveyed his surroundings before slinking off to the side behind a column. Once alone, he took the battery out of the phone and replaced it with another he had stashed in a side pocket of his backpack. He called the number back.

  “Twenty-four-hour wake-up service. We wake up to wake you up. Can I help you?”

  “Identification Tao. Binary code one, one, zero, zero, one, zero, one, one, zero, zero, zero, one.”

  “Voice recognition and binary code matches Cameron Tan. Please stand by.”

  A moment later, another voice clicked over. “Agent Tan, priority activation. You are to rendezvous with a contact at the Perseus’s Prick at the corner of Zinonos and Geraniou. Subject: age fifty-one, dark hair, dark suit, 1.8 meters height. Pass phrase…”

  Cameron was so surprised he stopped listening. It had been a while since he was last activated. He had difficulties keeping his grades up while going on assignments, so his parents had put the hammer down on new jobs until he improved. His blood raced as the voice on the other line continued providing instructions. He really should be listening, but Tao would catch everything. Right now, he was too stunned to process the information.

  “Do you have any questions, Agent Tan?” the voice asked when he was finished.

  Cameron said the first thing that came to mind. “Um, does my mom know about this?”

  What, really? First job you get in over a year and this is what you say? Baji will never let me live this down.

  “The Keeper will be updated on your current status. Unfortunately, you are our only asset on the ground at the moment.” The voice on the other line sounded resigned. Cameron could only imagine what Jill was going to do once she found out that they had activated her son without notifying her. Especially while he was in school. The last time this happened, Roen had taken him on a hunt in Norway to raid a Genjix surveillance outpost, or a guy’s night out, as he described it, and she went ballistic.

  “Are there any resources I can use, a safe house, cache of weapons, contacts, anything? I don’t even have a gun.”

  Seth appeared from around the column. “Come on, Cam, we’re taking a picture. Oh.” Cameron held up a finger. Seth pointed at the watch on his wrist and disappeared again.

  Cameron hunched back over the phone. “I have to go.”

  “Good luck, Agent Tan.”

  After the call ended, Cameron stood there for a few seconds to process everything. This would be his first solo mission. In in the past, he had always worked either with his dad or with a team of agents. There was no safety net, and it terrified him. Just a little. Maybe more than just a little.

  Well, you have me, although I think we should look at it more like this is my assignment and I have you as an asset. Besides, this is probably a cake job. Command is not going to throw you to the lions first time out on your own.

  For a second, a familiar image flashed into Cameron’s head of several Christians being thrown into a Roman pit filled with lions.

  “Tao! ”

  Sorry, I could not resist.

  “You’re not inspiring confidence here.”

  You can do this, Cameron. You have intelligence, competence, and

  experience on your side.

  “You’re right. I can handle this job on my own. I got this,” he huffed as he tried to make himself believe those words. I was referring to me.

  “Again, not helping. Did you get everything?”

  I did.

  “Good because I wasn’t paying attention.”

  I know.

  “Great, let’s go.”

  Cameron rejoined the other students just as the class was snapping a group photo. He wasn’t sure how he was going to pull this off, since his presence would likely be missed. This specific program had a curfew, and Professor Eliades ran a pretty tight ship. Several students had gotten busted sneaking out at night to go bar hopping. “I hope I can finish this job quickly and get back before anyone notices.”

  Get your head right for the upcoming mission. The rest of this is just window dressing. You are a Prophus agent first.

  “I’m also a college student.”

  Emily fell in beside him. “Is everything all right, Cameron?

  You look distracted.”

  He leaned into her. “Hey, I have to go check up on something.

  Can you cover for me?”

  “What do you mean you have to go? Go where?”

  “Prophus business. It won’t take long, I think.”

  Emily looked around to see if anyone was close by. She hissed, “Cameron, you can’t just go. If Eliades notices you’re missing, she’ll call the cops, or worse, your mom.”

  “Just tell them I don’t feel good and went to bed early.”

  “Fine, Cam.” She threw her arms around him and squeezed. “Be careful.” Then she went to grab Seth, and together, they walked to the front of the group. Emily looked back at him one last time before getting the professor’s attention and distracting her. Cameron slowed his gait until he was last in the group, and then he ducked into a side alley just as they turned the corner. He took out his phone and pulled up a map.

  “All right, Tao, let’s get our spy on.”

  The Mission

  Omonia Square was a dump. Cameron kept his head down to avoid eye contact as he passed through crowds of vagrants, drug dealers and thugs lounging in the streets. Sketchy storefronts, crowded alleys and heaps of trash littered the landscape. The lights emanating from burning oil drums dotting the blocks cast long shadows that seem to dance against the walls. The air of danger seemed to linger everywhere.

  Cameron subconsciously brushed his hand to his back pocket to make sure his wallet was still there. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

  Were you expecting your contact to meet you at the Four Seasons? “That would have been nice.”

  You have gotten soft over the last few years, Cameron. Ever since you moved to the United Kingdom, life has been too easy. You have forgotten what it is like to live life on the edge.

  Cameron grunted. “I lived my entire childhood as a fugitive, Tao. A kid doesn’t forget stuff like that. It’s etched into my brain for life.”

  He proceeded across a narrow side street, past a shadylooking corner bathhouse and down a set of broken stairs into a bar called Perseus’s Prick. Cameron felt the hairs on his neck rise as he entered a long, thin room that had just enough space for a bar counter on one side and a row of small tables on the other.

  The bar was crowded, but surprisingly quiet. The patrons here were older, grizzled, and every single one of them eyed him up and down, wondering what a fish-out-of-water like him was doing here. He must not have invited much thought, because after a cursory glance, most just showed their backs and promptly f
orgot he existed. There was a constant buzz of low chatter and whispers, as if everyone here was muttering at the same time.

  Cameron squeezed into a spot at the counter at one end of the bar. It was the only seat available, and the guy next to him reluctantly offered the room only after Cameron nudged him aside with an elbow. He ordered a glass of ouzo and took a sip, doing his best to not make a face. Personally, he thought the traditional Greek drink tasted like awful licorice, but he had learned from his dad to always embrace local cuisine. Cameron sat at the counter for the next ten minutes, pretending to sip and stare at his drink while he surveyed the rest of the bar.

  “Who’s the contact?”

  Man, fifties, suit.

  Cameron swirled the ouzo in its glass. “That’s all we got?

  Half the guys in this bar fit that description.”

  So find the right one. Come on, get moving.

  Cameron picked up his drink and began scoping the joint, his eyes darting left and right as he passed, hoping to not attract unwanted attention while making contact with the right man in his fifties.

  Wearing a suit.

  “Thanks.”

  So far, he had nothing. Most patrons were huddled in small groups, glaring at him warily if he got too close. All who were alone looked as if they preferred it that way. Nobody looked like he wanted to talk to him. Maybe it was just the way he looked.

  Taking that a little personally, no?

  “How the hell are we supposed to find the right guy?” I have been too lax with your education. You are one of the most

  skilled fighters I have ever trained but you suck as a secret agent. There is a lot more to being an operative than just combat. In fact, fighting will be the smallest part of your work.

  “I’m sorry, Tao, but secret agent wasn’t a major at university.” No one told you to become a History major. In fact, your parents, all three of us, told you to study something useful. You might as well study Music Theory.

  “God, now you sound like mom. Those who do not learn history are doomed—”

  Why do you need to study history at all when you have me? I lived through just about everything.