Chapter 41Nathan left the airport and hailed a cab to World COMM"s main headquarters. He didn"t call Janet to tell her he was on his way because he figured the office phones were tapped. He was carrying a burner phone himself, he had left his regular cellphone at home. He used his years of military experience to avoid detection while he traveled. He had the company jet change flight plans mid-flight just to make sure he wouldn"t have agents waiting for him when he landed.
When he arrived at the front of the building he saw a grey van parked across the street. He asked the driver to circle the block. He was impressed by how thorough the government was being. Being the head of security he knew all of the ways in and out of the building. He went two streets down and got off at a bodega. The service tunnels of this bodega connected to ones under the World COMM building. This was and emergency escape route that was planned to be in case of a terrorist act or a hostage situation.
Nathan made his way into the bas.e.m.e.nt of the World COMM building and used his thumb print to access the private elevator. This elevator connected to a secret panel in Janet"s office. When the door opened Nathan found himself in a small room behind a faux wall in Janet"s office. Nathan put his ear to the wall because he could hear voices on the other side.
"Ms. Miller if you know what is good for you, you will start being more cooperative with us. We know that Mr. Daniels has used your company jet to travel outside of the country. Where did he go?" Nathan could tell it was the same female agent as before
(Silence)
BAM!! The female agent slammed her hand on Janet"s desk
"My patience is running out! If you don"t hand over Mr. Daniels whereabouts by this time tomorrow I will return with a warrant for your arrest."
"On what grounds?" Janet replies in a monotone.
"You are a global telecommunication company. I can say its on the grounds of national security. Ever since 9/11 everything seems to be able to fall under that nowadays. And you best believe I don"t need proof to get a judge to sign off on the warrant. Hahahahaha," the female agent said with smug satisfaction.
When Nathan heard the door close he waited a while to make sure the agents had boarded the elevator before coming out of the hidden room.
"You can come out now Nathan they have left." Janet said to the wall.
Nathan opened the faux wall surprised that Janet knew he was there.
"I had a silent alert system placed to ensure that the escape route wasn"t some psycho"s backdoor entry to my office late at night."
That was Janet. She always planned three to four steps ahead of everyone else, including him.
"Spill it. What have you gotten yourself into?" Janet asked looking at Nathan with a solemn expression.
"Our world is changing in a wonderous and miraculous way, but no one really knows. We need to get the truth out to the world before the governments of the world get wind of it. This is a crazy tale that a lot of people wont believe at first but when people and plants and animals start changing no one will be able to deny the truth. We have to get the truth out to the world before the governments try to control what the media knows and says."
"What has gotten into to Nathan? I"ve never seen you like this before. What could be so important that you would risk your career and maybe even your life? What exactly happened in the mountains?" Janet trusted Nathan with her life, but right now he really wasn"t making sense to her.
Nathan explained everything that Gorampa had told him about the history of the Sacred Abyss. He showed her the plants that he found near the Sacred Abyss and how they had changed. He showed her the new strength he had ever since he had begun cultivating by lifting her solid oak desk over head with one hand. Even with everything that Nathan had done he could still see that Janet was skeptical. Nathan knew that the only way for her to truly believe was if she had experienced it for herself. Nathan took out one of the fruits that Gorampa had asked him to pa.s.s on to Chen Zhen"s family. Gorampa had given him permission to take a couple for himself. The energy in these fruits was so potent that even he wasn"t able to eat more then two small bites before his dantian was full of energy. Since he received the fruits he had already broken through to the third level of body refinement.
"This fruit is from the world on the other side of the Sacred Abyss. It is full of spiritual energy. I can only give you a tiny piece to try because if I gave you more then that it would be harmful to you." Nathan gave her a piece about the size of a tic tac.
Janet looked at Nathan skeptically, she could see that Nathan was being honest with her. The things he just did and the plants he showed her were truly marvelous, but Janet just couldn"t bring herself to accept what she had just been told. Looking into Nathan eyes, Janet took that tiny piece and placed it in her mouth.
That tiny piece melted instantly and became a flood of energy that rushed down her throat. Janet gasped loudly as he never expected to feel so much energy rushing into her body from so tiny a piece of fruit. The energy flooded her body vitalized every cell in her being. Janet threw back her head and moaned uncontrollably due to the feeling. Her body began to make popping sounds as her bones strengthened themselves. Her heart and lungs grew stronger and her brain felt clearer. Her thoughts ran smoother than they ever did in her life. Janet looked at the fruit in Nathan"s hand with greed and fear mixed together. As much as she wanted nothing more than to swallow the rest of that fruit whole, she realized that the amount of energy in that fruit was enough to power a nuclear reactor.
As Janet fell back into her seat feeling tired from her body going through so many changes so quickly, she looked at herself in the mirror on her desk. The sight astonished her, she looked ten years younger! Her hair was glossy and vibrant, her eyes looked like to emerald orbs that seemed to glow. Feeling what she felt and seeing the changes to her own body, Janet that Nathan was telling the truth. All of it was true. If what the monk told Nathan was true then soon this would happen to the whole world.
Janet looked at Nathan and he just nodded his head. Janet was very intelligent, she would very easily be able to come to the same conclusions that Nathan did. Even though Janet may seem like a cold-hearted scheming individual, she was really a very kind-hearted caring person. It"s because she cared so much that she would always think of ways to protect the ones she loved. That to her meant out thinking the bad guys.
"OK. I will arrange everything. The story will play on tonight"s news. There will be no advance warning so there will not be anyway the story can be leaked before its time. What will you do know?" Janet asked still eyeing the fruit in Nathan"s hand.
"I still have somethings I need to take care of. When I"m done I"ll meet you at your house to discuss moving forward." Nathan placed the rest of the fruit on Janet"s desk then headed out the door. He needed to get to Chen Zhen"s family as soon as possible.
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Chen Zhen sat in his shack quietly after Gorampa left. He felt torn. He knew that it was right for him to stay to make sure Mei Ling and the kids made it to their new life. But part of him felt he was betraying his own family by not rushing back to them as soon as possible.
"I can feel the concern you have for your loved ones thru our bond. I hope you don"t mind if I say a few words, that might ease your mind some." Lou Tian spoke in a hushed tone.
"Sure. I can use a distraction from my own thoughts right now." Chen Zhen said with a heavy sigh.
"I still have family waiting for me to come home. They don"t know that I have pa.s.sed away in a sense. Until I come home they will be waiting patiently for me to return. You have the benefit that you are able to let your family know you are safe and you will return some day. When that comes you will not only be able to show them your undying love, but you will be strong enough to keep them safe. That is worth every day you miss with them. Because everyday your away, you are getting stronger. So that when you return, you can ensure that nothing will be able to separate you again. They have been your motivation to get stronger, don"t disappoint them. Continue to get stronger, for them." Lou Tian was sad because this is how he felt about his own family when he left them.
"Thank you, Lou Tian. I appreciate your words of encouragement. They mean more to me then you can ever know." After wiping a tear from his eye Chen Zhen sat up straight and prepared to cultivate.
"Now that the mushy stuff is out of the way let"s get you stronger. I"ll teach you how to advance to the liquid core stage!" Shanggu Feng said feeling excited to see Chen Zhen"s advancement.