5 DAYS BEFORE THE OPERATION
2 days passed after the attack on the hotel and I still have nothing about that person's whereabouts.
"How is it that a person has no location or personal information, even entering the databases of this country's registrar office and others, not a single clue is found that this person even existed"
No person can fail to leave some trace of minimal existence, but not even with biometric recognition from cameras throughout the country do they find a single clue.
We've already started the search on other continents, to see if there's any clue in intelligence records of their agents or some coincidence of some case that doesn't match. It's the best thing about having many favors pending and people infiltrated in government agencies.
Favors are collected, but who says I can't keep collecting. Being in debt to me is not simply out of obligation, it's out of desire, and people already know what I want which is why they support me.
Agencies from other countries manipulate the information they have about their agents to show that everyone has normal lives, but at least they have data that those people exist, only they change their identities to show us a supposed dream normal life.
But here's the problem. About this person nothing whatsoever is known.
It's as if...
The only answer is that Heiss was never born; in other words, Heiss is a person not born and not identified in this world, not even known in his own country.
I'm also wavering about why he has such a.... strange name.
There's no way...., damn it!.
If this person was never born, it would be the same with his name. Heiss is just a nickname or alias. I had hope by having his face on the cameras but that it doesn't match either already proved the point of being a fake person.
Although I didn't notice any signs of a mask it's better not to rule it out.
Those names are used in the United States and France, but it's more common to see it as a surname. So it wouldn't make sense if he were a person from this country, still, there's nothing in biometric data that shows any appearance anywhere in the world.
One of my rules is not to give importance to secondary events, and I normally avoid them. But this case has me thinking about something else, for some reason his eyes keep appearing when I close mine; I think about that and the benefits, but something that keeps recurring is his past.
If the void is the same, the conditions must have been extreme just like mine to awaken it, phenomena like us should only have been born from the devil's cradle.
However, the void is autonomous and self-learning, it should already be camouflaged since its mere aura should have scared the receptionist at those moments just as I witnessed it.
Could it be that I imagined things, or didn't I pay enough attention?
"Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts miss, I have new news"
"Something had to appear, tell me what they found"
"Well it's a bit strange the events, we were informed that a girl was found injured near the explosion, according to what we know she left intensive care a short while ago without the doctors' authorization; but here's what's strange"
"No matter how much we search for her to give us her testimony of things, the police block us or restrict our access to her house or nearby space, saying they've already taken care of the investigation. The only thing we could find was her name"
Thinking in detail it should only be an external influence.
"It must just be the daughter of some wealthy parents who want to protect their daughter from the criminals who did all this. Acts of terrorism against wealthy families in that area are more common than one would think, what's interesting about that?"
Let's say she saw something in the explosion or from those who were there, still, she would only tell me information about their clothing or address, and that's if she even saw where they were headed. In short, what she knows should be equal to or of lesser importance than what I know.
That of course only changes, if she knows something about whoever is nicknamed Heiss or about those who blew up the building, if not, she won't have my slightest interest.
"Well according to that day's reservations, it turns out that girl had been in a cafeteria room that was located on the same third floor of the same hotel. And as you should know, the entire third floor was separated because of that person"
"So he didn't separate the entire place out of caution or space, but did so out of prevention"
In short
"Because he would meet with her"
"that's right miss"
Turning around I looked toward the window that showed the warm streets of Medellín.
"Now the question is why?, and who is the girl?"
If I can find out some information about what he does and what he's involved in perhaps I can determine how useful he could be.
"That's not all, according to what they reported to me; a street dweller says he saw a person jumping with another person embracing them from the third floor seconds before the explosion. According to the account some guys looked out the window and after checking went down and took him while he was unconscious, the person who had saved him managed to hide after the man spoke to him, probably that was the girl"
The person who saved her must be the girl who is in the hospital right now. But...
"there's something I don't understand, how did that person jump from a third floor and survive?, and even more with the weight of another person, at minimum his organs should have burst along with broken bones"
No matter the resistance there's always a price for the impact.
"Well it turns out she didn't fall to the ground at first, but landed on top of a garbage bin"
"Well that could explain a bit"
"Yes miss, apparently he jumped and fell backwards onto a container with the lid on. Anyone who falls from that height onto a flat object with a surface covered in iron; can be considered fortunate not to have some fracture or contusion of greater degree, but with another person it's a different story"
What Nile means, is that for a trained person it's quite difficult to come out unscathed from that height without at least having a broken leg; but the fact that he fell with a greater weight and cushioned it on his back is admirable. And more so because of the fact that he warned that person and made them hide.
Anyone would just think about saving themselves. Either this person is very special to him or someone of great importance to someone else.
There are trained people who can withstand pain or even in a moment of adrenaline, can do actions that defy the limits of their bodies.
Like with the void.
"Hmmm, every time it gives more to think about.... well and what more information do you have about the girl"
"there's not much information available, since somehow they managed to cover up the information in her papers when she was admitted. But the clues point to that girl or her family, being the owner of one of the largest construction and infrastructure companies in this country. Although of course it's just a suspicion"
Concrete Builders S.A.S is one of the largest companies in this country, not to mention the international connection it can have to put several in a bind if it wants; they don't only rely on the power they have, they also take care of buying their own competitors and thus improve themselves. If they have enough connections they can make it as if they hadn't been somewhere and erase every clue with a phone call.
I know all this because I've also had to do business with them, however...
"what happened to the boy after the fall?, what's his whereabouts?"
"the cameras show two black vans leaving the scene, 3 minutes after the explosion, but there's still no idea what route they took, since the highway cameras show no trace of them. In short, the route was already planned"
In other countries it would be easy to rule out where they're heading and where they're not, but Colombia is a place where routes and detours abound in towns and cities, because of its terrain and geography that make an escape easy, even in a city like Medellín.
"Send the boys to check and rule out routes, I want news as soon as possible, and while we're at it we'll hunt down the same people who took him"
"As you wish, but are you sure about making such a scandal, your brother may end up intervening if he finds out"
"The information is confidential and will have high discretion, I don't want his nose in this matter"
"Yes miss, but if I may ask. What's so interesting about that boy"
Turning around and looking directly at Nile I say
"....Today you question more than usual, I thought you had left that bad habit"
"Forgive me, it wasn't my intention to bother you. If you'll excuse me I'll withdraw then"
Rolling my eyes I stop him.
"You're a blackmailer; well if you want to know why so much attention toward him it's because he has the same talent that I do, or well that's what I saw"
"Then he has..."
A slight pause remains as he looks me in the eyes.
"Exactly, and for someone like him, an investment of this size is necessary, that's why this attention I have for him"
"if it is as you see it miss, then it will be as you wish"
I don't make mistakes, nor do I speculate; in fact everything I've done these 5 days has been distant from my behavior.
I wonder if what I've been searching for in him hasn't been out of simple whim or if it's truly to fulfill my objectives.
My mind resonates, and makes the drastic decision.
"Miss Kalika, your sister has arrived"
"Tell her I'll join her in 10 minutes"
The count on the clock has already begun.
***
Few times have I had the opportunity and joy to see Miss Kalika with a smile, but even fewer are the times I see her angry, and her combination can form an abomination that results in twisted pain and satisfaction.
A smile superimposed with the eyes of the void that so characterize her.
Few times could I understand her about what she meant about the void itself, only once did I understand it when I saw her in action and after a conversation with her adoptive grandfather. He used to say "Talent is something born from those who can guide others, its development and adaptation to reality is guided by their strength of will; it is in this way that we can create a genius"
He didn't speak for fun and only gave me orders until the young lady turned 12; but if something made it clear to me besides that comment about talent was:
"When a talent loses its motivation or strength of will is when there's potential to become a monster or even a demon, but it's only a slight edge, as fragile as a thread"
Geniuses might not be so exclusive to this world, but there could definitely be hundreds throughout the world. Monsters are barely in the dozens and demons can be counted on one's fingers, catalogued as demons born from mankind's contempt and hatred.
Cases counted throughout history as tyrants without crowns, examples of these in world wars or genocides by will or scales of lesser magnitude being the masters of manipulation and corruption by their own pain.
It doesn't matter if it's from east to west, in every country such monsters have been recorded.
Not all are geniuses as everyone believes they are, they don't have to be clever, just stand out in something that others don't.
"Diversity is amazing right!", she used to tell me.
"But tell me Nile, that was the name my granddaughter gave you wasn't it?", I answered her yes.
"What would happen if we could calculate the result"
In my mind I didn't know how to respond, after all, only a genius or an abomination could come out, the two with different talents, beyond that there was no room.
"Of course for you it's something unseen and not well understood, but that will be your job"
His words were wisdom, but senseless before what had not been experienced.
"Here's your clue, since I notice your face of confusion; it is said that genius is one floor above madness, and the same happens with the monster surpassing the genius. But the truth is that, although each one is the development of the other, it is only an incomplete or secondary development"
My eyes began to focus and opened at such an idea spoken by that man
"The path traced by development and classified by humanity is not complete, it is the flaw or incomplete part that makes a different human not be born"
He wasn't referring to a perfect human, he spoke of one who had the faculties of others without falling into their errors. It would seem that one would approach the development of one, but the truth is that something like that doesn't exist, what he is insinuating is someone who connects with all as development surpassing them without touching that imposed social perfection, the question is how?.
"The path of change is perfection, but the idea is not something perfect, that's not even possible; a human that contains the good and bad of humanity and that can be used by will and through will"
I concluded with words that in my view only the tone could describe the seriousness of the subject.
"The truth is I don't know if something like that is altogether possible, I only know that there's a possibility it could be the hope or destruction of this world, for those reasons I'm not the only one looking for it Nile, you must do it well, your time limit will be the girl's 18th birthday, if not, you will die"
Those were the last words he gave me, that was a little over 17 years ago. Miss Kalika will turn 18 this year and I'm finally beginning to understand what that old man was saying. Perhaps she is the change of a bad generation that drags the world to its end.
***
"Nile, bring my inquisitors from Elend"
Pulling Nile from his thoughts what he heard shook him.
"But miss, the 7 are still on the incursion through Kazakhstan searching for a clue of one of the districts"
"That's the mission I gave them 3 months ago, if they haven't completed the task it means it's impossible to find that place"
During the massacre called Le Vide Rouge, governments around the world issued hunting orders for those responsible for these groups, and although an international effort was made to search for their arrests, very little has been achieved in these 2 years.
"It was an order dictated by the high-ranking members of the family, to inspect, nothing was found so I don't care, besides we're talking about my elite team, I won't waste more of their time, they're my children and that's why I know they'll be more useful here"
"What orders would you like me to assign them?"
"Tell Caleb to leave part of his men in Japan to await instructions, and come with the rest to this side of the pond, inform him that preparations are complete, that soon we'll start hunting each one of the family, but before that come and do a search for me"
"Do you want me to look for the boy?"
Kalika didn't know if it had anything to do with the attack from 2 days ago or if it was a separate event, but it's better to face it head-on now before it can blow up in your face.
"Yes, while we attend to family matters. Go and inform my sister she can come in, better to finish now than later"
"As you wish"