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CHAPTER TWO

  michaela666 12:02:43 AM: got your message. what’s the alert?

  morningstar68 12:02:46 AM: He’s arrived. as predicted.

  michaela666 12:03:02 AM: is he contained?

  morningstar68 12:03:30 AM: for the moment.

  michaela666 12:04:14 AM: good. your job is to keep him there, then. what about the vessel? is she ready to perform her part of the ritual?

  morningstar68 12:05:04: I had hoped to give her a bit more time. but she can be ready. soon. what’s our next move?

  michaela666 12:05:54: for now? We wait. don’t let him out of your sight. and prepare the vessel.

  My mother furrowed her brow in concern. “Like terrorists?” she asked Jason.

  Jason shook his head. “Like Freemasons,” he said. “But with guns.”

  “Freemasons?” I asked. I’d read up on this stuff. I thought it was very interesting. I’d read my copy of The Da Vinci Code so many times it was falling apart. “Why do they want you?” I asked, wide eyed.

  “They’re crazy,” he said. He looked at my father again. “Like I said, I don’t want to put your family in danger.”

  “We should go to the authorities,” said my dad.

  “No,” said Jason. “Trust me. The police can’t do anything about this. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “You can’t expect us to let you go back out there,” said my mother.

  “Where are your parents?” asked my dad.

  “Dead,” said Jason. “I guess. I never knew them. The people who are chasing me killed the man who raised me. That’s when I started running. It was, I don’t know, maybe four months ago.”

  “And you’ve been on the run ever since?” asked my mother. “That’s horrible. Jason, you have to stay with us.”

  She turned to my dad. “Daniel, we can’t let him leave.”

  My dad considered. “Listen, son, if you’re in trouble with the law, you can tell us. We can help.”

  “They are actually pretty good about that stuff,” said Nick.

  “I’m not in trouble with the law,” said Jason. “I swear.”

  I believed him.

  “Why are these people after you?” asked my father.

  “They think I’m something I’m not,” said Jason. “It’s complicated. It’s not important.”

  “I just don’t know,” said my dad. “I can’t really believe that there are—”

  “Dad,” I interrupted, “do I have to go and get a dollar bill and point out all the Masonic imagery on it again?”

  “No, Zaza, that’s okay,” said my dad. He considered. “Well, Jason, you’re not going anywhere tonight. You’ll sleep here. Tomorrow, we’ll talk more. We can get this sorted out.”