End Game...part 1

This first journey of self-discovery and redemption began back on January 6, 2005 with my first post on this blog. I started this journey as a monster, the strange creation of circumstance, desperation and of an evil genius. I am ending this first journey more alive than I had been in a dozen years, and simply more...human.

It has taken the nearly unlimited compassion of a powerful group of strangers, the deaths of innocent bystanders, the manipulation of my deepest fears by the men who created me, the recovery of boundless love for family that I had thought had been lost to me, the exploration of a small part of the previously unknown worlds of Spirit, and the most surprising discovery of all-the discovery of my own Soul, to bring this first journey to near completion.

As the plans fell into place over the next several days for what I hoped to be the final confrontation with Drake Kampmann and his followers, I thought only of the possibility of seeing and saving Jasmine and Katherine, my daughter and my ex-wife. As I followed the arcane instructions given to me by the Professor on which accounts to use in which location as I spent oodles of money from the various secret accounts that Drake had apparently stashed awayover the years, I fervently hoped that the Tree had been right about the Convergence of seeing my daughter and her mother safely in the Everglades.

Doubts kept nagging at me, but I continued to make my way slowly towards Florida, stopping at almost every major city and a few minor ones along the way to donate large chunks of Drake’s money to desperately needy charities like soup kitchens, shelters for battered women, and orphanages.

Each of the donations was pretty similar, I would call Jim to let him know which town or city I was in, and he would tell me which bank branch to go to. I would go into the bank lobby and show the teller my credentials. After a number of deeply suspicious looks and some phone calls (usually to Ravyn Fyre, Cerrydwen, or Jim himself since the contact info for the accounts was changed by the Professor as needed) to verify the strange requests, I would take the cashier’s check that the teller prepared for me, already made out to the charity of choice, and go play benefactor to the charity. Almost always, the directors of the charities had been called in advance and were awaiting my arrival with teary eyes and grateful hugs as I presented them with certified checks of over ten thousand dollars each.

The size of the donations was very important, since any amount over $10,000 triggered all sorts of reporting procedures that the banks had to follow on those transactions, meaning that it would be all that much easier for the Bureau to track them down later and freeze or seize them.

By the time I had reached northern Florida over a week later, Drake must have figured out the patterns and moved or closed the remaining accounts, but by then we had donated over a million of his ill-gotten dollars, and flagged many millions more in accounts he wasn’t able to move or drain in time.

Luckily, this eventuality had been planned for, so I moved on to phase two of the plan, picking up speed and heading directly to the airport in Orlando to pick up some of my comrades-in-charitable-crime. It was with great gladness that I saw the Sisters of Shadow and Light as I waited for them in the baggage claim area.

Ravyn Fyre was radiant as ever, smiling as she spotted me, but that smile didn’t extend to her eyes, which had a hard, determined look to them that was more reminiscent of Cerrydwen. Her inner fires burned as bright and strong as ever, her Phoenix vigilant.

Cerrydwen looked relieved to be off of the plane, her dark glare and hard, angular jaw set in that perpetual frown that was so familiar to me now. Shadows seemed to gather around her as she walked, other passengers seemed to shiver as they slid out of her way without even realizing it.

We would meet with the others later at a different airport, after they completed their tasks.

Both Ravyn and Cerrydwen were travelling very light, one small carry-on bag for each, but there was a large military style duffel bag that needed to be collected and transported to the vehicle. My questions as to the contents were met with a smirk and a wink from Ravyn and a shrug from Cerrydwen. I grabbed the bag, actually feeling the weight contained inside, the straps were straining to stay intact as I hefted it to my shoulder.

We left for Miami in that same evening, with me driving the rental van that I had been using since New Orleans.