Gabriel picked up the photographs. “And sometimes, the threat is exaggerated or even false. Here in California, the Evergreen Foundation made fourteen children disappear. But they are alive-and safe-and their story will validate my message. Of course there are real terrorists, and we should defend ourselves against their attacks. But the anthrax incident in Tokyo, the bombings in Paris, and the poisoned food in Australia are events deliberately created to establish a permanent system of control. Look behind the curtain and ask yourself: who really benefits from these changes?

“Some of us have had enough of fear and manipulation. In the next few days, we will appear in the chambers of power and in the street. Join us. Stand with us. Who speaks for freedom? It’s your choice.”

43

Priest switched off the video camera. Gabriel’s face disappeared from the monitor, and few seconds later a message appeared on the screen. Video statement received and recorded. Quality good. I’ll attach the key and send out immediately. My body is captive, but my spirit flies. The Nighthawk.

The Traveler sighed and pressed his hands against his eyes.

“You okay, Gabe?”

“I don’t feel like talking to people. Call Simon Lumbroso and tell him to activate the groups.”

“Good idea. Then we should find some place to hide.”

“No. We need to find my brother.” Gabriel got up from the desk. “Boone said that he was staying at the El Dorado Hotel.”

Priest called Simon as they got back in the car and head north to the beach area. The Traveler was quiet and slumped against the door. He stared out the windshield as patches of street lights glided across this face.

“What are you going to do when you meet your brother?”

“Michael will see what happened as a setback, but he won’t give up. The half gods of the Fifth Realm have changed the way he views reality.”

“Do you want me to kill him?”

The Traveler looked surprised. “You really have become a Harlequin.”

“He wants to destroy you, Gabriel. It’s my obligation to keep you alive.”

“I’m the one who needs to deal with Michael. He’s my brother. We’re connected to each other.”

The mobile phone rang, and Priest slipped on an ear piece. Simon was calling from Rome. “Tell the Traveler that his message has gone public.”

Like a wave gaining size and power, Gabriel’s speech began to appear on computers all over the world. Priest knew that it was all because of a complicated package of programming code that that could replicate itself and spread to other machines, but he found it easier to see the Revelation Worm as a creature hiding on the bottom of a river. The Traveler’s speech only needed to be sent to one computer. Within seconds, the programming key activated the hidden worm. While the speech was being copied multiple times, the worm’s command function took over the computer’s video play capability. Then it was in control, and it insisted that Gabriel’s speech appear on the monitor screen. After the speech was broadcast, the individual worm withered and died, but the key continued to spread through the Internet.

Simon called several more times as Gabriel’s two-level strategy started to unfold. The middle class citizens involved in the Resistance were sending out the first of what would be thousands of emails to journalists and elected officials. They demanded an investigation into the Evergreen Foundation and challenged the new laws against personal freedom.

These citizens were what Gabriel had called the “Voice in the Forum,” but the “Voice in the Street” was also getting organized. It was early morning in Europe. Small groups of Free Runners hurried through streets of a half-dozen cities, putting up posters and spraying graffiti. Who’s in charge? Listen to the Traveler! Defend your freedom before it disappears!

Priest turned on the car radio and found a news station. When the announcer came on, it sounded like he had just run down a hallway to the microphone.

“They’re alive! The children are alive! A few minutes ago, the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Department announced that the fourteen missing children have been found at an abandoned mining operation near Rosemond. Four dead adults were found at the site and law enforcement personnel are attempting to-”

Gabriel leaned forward and switched off the radio.

“Don’t you want to hear what happened?”

“It’s already in the past.”

“What are you talking about? This is going to change everything.”