Chapter 18: Sydney, April 2040

"Veuve Clicquot. Cheap, but drinkable." Pierre said with a smug smile and raised the champagne glass.

"Well, cheers I guess" I replied and took a sip from my glass.

We were at Randwick Racecourse, Spending some time gambling. Pierre was in a great mood.

"The politicians. They crawl at my feet. They all fear and respect the wealth that I hold." Pierre stated.

"How is it going with Mexico?" I asked.

"I am visiting Mexico next week to discuss my ownership request for the Prensa de la Muerte dam. Jesus Ortega and his army stand ready. If President Santander refuses my request, she'll have a Civil War on her hands." Pierre revealed.

The PA system announced that the next race was on, and a few minutes later, horse number 8 'Happy Slapper', had won the race.

"I told you that Happy Slapper was a certain win!" Pierre exclaimed."

"Easy to say when you rig the race." I sniped.

Pierre wasn't affected by my claims of cheating. Instead, he replied. "I play to win. You should learn from me."

"I don't care enough about horse racing to rig the races," I replied dismissively.

"Very well. When people lose, they always claim to not care. But we both know that isn't true." Pierre mocked.

I didn't reply. Instead, I skolled my champagne and I picked up another one from a nearby waiter's tray.

"I met with your lovechild, Sabina, yesterday," Pierre said

I already knew about this since Simona, and I kept Sabina under supervision. But I didn't want to reveal this knowledge, so I replied. "Oh, really? What was the occasion?"

"Sabina booked one of the VIP 'Meet and Greet packages with World Economic Forum. I had to give her ten minutes of my time for a neat $250,000." Pierre replied.

"I doubt you need the money," I said.

"I don't. But charging a premium for meetings is the best way to keep unworthy people away from me." Pierre replied.

I nodded, had another sip of my champagne, and replied. "So, what did Sabina want?"

"Well, she pretended to seek my help with her ocean clean-up project," Pierre replied.

"What do you think she wanted?" I asked.

"Well, it's evident that she wanted to use some of her famed 'empath' abilities on me. She tried to hug me. What a joke." Pierre scoffed.

I thought about Pierre statement. It was unlikely that Sabina was an ally of Pierre since he told me about their meeting. So, most likely, her sponsorship of Jesus Ortega was a mistake. But why hadn't Sabina's empath abilities worked on Pierre? Could the monocle be the key to blocking her abilities? I decided to find out. "Pierre. Did you wear the monocle during your meeting with Sabina?"

Pierre gave me a disapproving look and replied. "Bah. What kind of question is that? Of course, I did. I rarely take it off."

I decided to change the subject. "So, who is winning the next race?" I asked.

Pierre shook his head and replied. "I don't know. But I know that 'Sphinx' will win race number 8. And like I said. I only play to win."

I picked up my phone and placed a large bet on Sphinx. There was nothing wrong with winning free money on rigged races, after all.

Pierre tapped on my shoulder and gave me a serious look. "Martin. You're running out of time. Szymon Yehuda is coming on Wednesday. Either you have the primordial Zeto Crystal by then, or I'll authorise Szymon to take it by force. Do we have an understanding?" Pierre threatened.

I nodded without saying anything.

"Excellent. I bid you a momentous day at the races. I have many other dignitaries to meet with today. Farewell and good luck with your quest." Pierre said and walked off.

I realised that I needed to act, so I called Simona, and I headed over to the computer lab, which I had hired for her.

***

Simona was blasting techno on her headphones and didn't notice me when I approached her. I walked up to and lifted off her headphones to catch her attention.

"Hey, don't kill my rhythm," Simona shouted.

"Hey, you are lucky I am not planning to kill something else. You need to pay attention!" I urged.

"Bah, if you were someone else, I'd be long gone. I saw you on the video feed." Simona replied.

I sighed. Dealing with the rebellious 21-year-old Simona was a daunting task, but she was damn good at her job, so it was worth it.

"Simona, we need to make a move." Have you managed to figure out the passcode to Sabina's safe from your video feed?" I asked.

"Yes. I am fairly certain that the code is 22-03-2850." Simona replied.

"I need full certainty. I can't break into Sabina's house to get stuck at the safe." I scoffed.

"Well, the video doesn't show the display, but I made an educated guess. Look at the video and see for yourself."

Simona turned on the video, and I followed Sabina's finger movements when she entered the code. It looked like 22-03-2850.

I consulted my monocle, and I realised what a fool I had been. 'Estimated passkey 22-03-2850. Be advised, Sabina might be using a key panel where digits swap places.'

"Do you have a second video of Sabina opening the safe?" I asked

"Why?" Simona asked.

"Because it might be a display where the digits swap places between uses," I replied.

"That's the only video I have. We'll have to wait until the next time Sabina opens the safe to confirm." Simona replied.

"I can't fucking wait. I am in deep shit and I need to get in there now!" I shouted.

Simona gave me a puzzled look and replied. "What's wrong, old man?"

I took a deep breath and replied. "Pierre has run out of patience. He told me that Szymon Yehuda will come and use violence if we haven't got the Zeto Crystal by Tuesday.

"Thanks for telling me. I am booking my flights for Monday night." Simona replied.

"Very helpful!" I whinged.

"Okay, I guess we'll break in once Sabina leaves. I can't hack the biometric lock to the house, but I have an idea." Simona said.

"What's your suggestion?" I asked.

"I have computer-generated a 3D model of Sabina's eyeball. The model should have an exact copy of her iris. This replica will trick the eye scanner at the door. If we 3D print a copy, that should do the trick." Simona explained.

"Excellent. Things like this are the reason I brought you along. Finish the glass eyeball and I am good to go." I replied, leaned back into the chair, and fell asleep.

***

I woke up a few hours later, as Simona held a very lifelike glass eyeball next to my face.

"Sobered up now?" Simona teased.

I thought of objecting to Simona's statement, but I realised that I stunk of alcohol.

"Yes. Any news? I asked.

"No. Sabina seems completely absorbed by whatever she is doing. She hasn't left that chair for many hours, not even drinking water or going to the bathroom."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"I checked the videos. It seems that Sabina had an argument with Alex yesterday. He took off and flew to Brisbane."

"That makes the house more accessible. See if you can find a drone via the darknet. We need to verify that Sabina is in the room. She might have found a way to outsmart you, Simona." I speculated.

Simona made an angry grimace towards me. Clearly, she didn't like my suggestion that there existed smarter people than her in the world.

"Okay boss, I have ordered the drone now. We'll have it first thing in the morning." Simona said.

"Excellent. Let's eat and then get some sleep. Not much use sitting at a computer staring at someone sitting by a computer." I replied.

"Okay. I'll set my phone to alert me if anything changes in the room." Simona replied and we left the computer lab for well-needed food and rest.

***

It was Monday morning, and noontime was approaching. Sabina had been sitting there for over 72 hours straight and I had no idea what she was doing. We had used the drones to confirm her presence in the room, but we couldn't figure out what she was doing or how she did it.

I was dozing off looking at Sabina when I noticed a change. Sabina had collapsed to the floor. As Alex, still wasn't in the house, this was the opportunity to get in and grab the crystal.

"It is time to move. Turn off the cameras in the house before we go in." I instructed Simona, and we got to our car. We parked close to Sabina's South Coogee mansion and I used Simona replica eyeball to get into the house. We hurried upstairs where I found Sabina cold and unconscious. I walked over to the safe and much to my relief, I entered the correct passcode.

I took out the primordial Zeto Crystal. This was it. Now I needed, to go to Indonesia, pick up Pachamama's Veil from Elaine, and then wrap the Crystal in the Veil and throw it into an active volcano. That should charge the primordial Zeto Crystal. Possessing such a powerful artefact, I could deal with Pierre and all the other dickheads that were pushing me around.

But then what? What would I do with the Zeto Crystal? How would I stop the apocalypse? I held the crystal in my hand, and I looked at Sabina. 'Sabina is dead.' My monocle displayed, and I had no reason, to question it.

"We can't do anything for her now. Let's go!" Simona urged.

I froze for a second, and then I had an epiphany. I had to save Sabina. She was the future. She was the Chosen One and the only one who could save us.

"No, I need to save Sabina," I said, and I rubbed the Zeto Crystal along Sabina's cheek.

The power from the Zeto Crystal revived Sabina, and I could hear her breathing.

I walked over to the safe and put the Crystal back. Then I kneeled next to Sabina and whispered. "You're dying Sabina. The Crystal will revive you. Once it has revived you, make sure to drink plenty of water and head straight to bed."

Then I got up, and I left the room. Simona ran after me. "What are you doing, Martin? Have you lost your mind?"

"I am helping Sabina save the Future. It's going to get messy. I recommend that you leave Australia and hide for a while." I stated.

"You are fucking insane. What was the point of all this then?" Simona argued.

"It helped me figuring out what I needed to do!" I stated.

Simona shook her head and hurried out, before she left, I shouted. "Simona!"

Simona turned around and looked at me.

"Thank you for all the help. I hope we'll still be friends when this is over." I replied.

Simona didn't reply. I could hear movement from upstairs, and I rushed to leave the house before Sabina saw me.

***

"Your time is up. Szymon has landed in Sydney, and his group will deal with Sabina and recover the Crystal." Pierre said over the hologram phone.

"Fuck you, Pierre!" I screamed back.

"Vladimir will have a lot of fun with you. Not even death will save you!" Pierre roared and hung up the phone.

'I could have handled that better,' I thought, and I contacted Sabina. I didn't know how she would react to hearing from me, but this forced my hand. A legion of cold-blooded killers wanted to kill us and then resurrect us to torture us. Under such circumstances, one can only fight, and getting Sabina to join me was the only way to go.

'Okay, I'll see you at Barangaroo Wharf in one hour.' Sabina responded via encrypted messaging.

I holstered my pistols and my bulletproof vest under my suit. I took off my monocle and hid it in my pocket. I needed to win Sabina's trust before revealing what I was. Only then would we stand a chance.

***

I saw Sabina as she was waiting for me at Barangaroo Wharf. I felt worried, but I hoped that the location would deter Szymon and his operatives from attacking us.

I walked up, Sabina and spoke. "Thank you for seeing me, Sabina!"

"It's the least I could do. You saved my life, and you helped me escape Israel. I thought you were dead. What happened?"

"I survived. The gunshot wounds were not life-threatening, and I faced only minor charges. I suppose they never found the bodies." I replied.

Having said this, I bit myself in the tongue. Why had I lied to Sabina? She if anyone would believe in my true story.

Sabina gave me a sceptical look and spoke. "So, why have you waited until now to visit me?"

"I saw you in a dream. You were dying, and the Zeto Crystal saved you. I knew that I had to come to Sydney and see you." I replied.

More lies. Goddammit, why was it so hard to speak the truth. What exactly hindered me? I was sweating profusely and the fear of my death and subsequent torture haunted me and prevented me from thinking straight.

"Okay. My mother, Ellen, would like to thank you for saving my life. She is sitting over there." Sabina said.

Fuck. Why was Ellen here as well? Would Ellen recognise me from 20 years ago? Probably not, but it was still a complication, and I didn't want her to come into harm's way.

"Is that blonde woman in the red jacket your mother?" I slurred.

"Yes, have the two of you met before?" Sabina asked

'You could put it that way,' I thought, but I didn't have the time to say it, as there was an interruption.

"We finally meet, miss Hines. Or should I say, Miss Keila Eisenstein?"

I turned around. It was Szymon Yehuda with a group of Mossad agents.

"Ben Yehuda, is that you?" Sabina asked in amazement.

"No, I am Szymon Yehuda. Ben is dead. Martin Al-Sham betrayed us and murdered my dear brother." Szymon replied.

"Wow. Exactly the man I have been waiting to meet!" Sabina taunted.

"Of that, I am certain!" Szymon mocked.

After a few seconds of tense silence and Szymon spoke again. "I am not here to avenge my brother. I am here to take back the crystal that you stole from us. Give me the crystal, and you might get out of this alive." Szymon taunted.

"Do you mean this crystal?" Sabina asked.

"Yes, give it to me, Sabina!" Szymon said with his eyes glowing with greed and bloodlust.

"Not unless you tell me how you intend to use it." Sabina teased.

Szymon couldn't resist the urge to brag about his genocidal 'divine plan'. Sabina listened attentively, and when Szymon dropped his guard, she slammed him in the face with the Zeto Crystal. Then she backflipped into the water, while the other Mossad agent shot after her.

I knew that I needed to act. I jumped backwards, and I landed with my back on the ground. I ignored the pain, and I swiftly inserted the monocle with my left hand while pulling out my pistol with my right hand. I activated combat mode, and I headshotted the Mossad agents. I got up and walked over to Szymon who was still fazed from Sabina's mighty blow. "Fuck you, Szymon!" I said and fired off my remaining bullets into his ugly face.

I turned my monocle to avoid confrontation mode. 'Option not available.' I sighed. I could hear multiple police sirens in the background. I entered combat mode, and I was about to fight my way out when something knocked me unconscious.