The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 50

It didn't take long for their miracle to arrive.

The three of them tired of waiting in the car, and decided to go back to their rooms. It was nearly six o'clock, and between the flight, the driving, and the stress of tracking Dharma, they were exhausted.

But soon after they arrived at the hotel, Daniel's cell phone rang. A man in a hushed voice whispered that he had an important message and to keep the phone lines clear for the next 30 minutes. He said he couldn't talk now, and to not return the call. That was all.

So, Daniel waited. It had been 20 minutes since that phone call. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling and praying to God to send him a miracle.

Petra joined the two men in their room as they waited for the phone to ring. She sat nervously at a small desk, every so often glancing at Daniel.

Vincent paced nervously, sometimes speculating on what the message could mean.

"Did you at least write the number down?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. It's on the caller ID. But he said not to call him."

Petra looked over at Daniel, "Do you think it's your brother?"

"It definitely wasn't Eric. Although it was a Baltimore area code."

"It could be one of your brother's friends or colleagues," Vincent speculated. "Maybe Eric sent someone to help?"

Daniel nodded. It was possible, but Eric didn't mention anything when they spoke earlier. However, the secret nature of the call did remind him of his brother.

"We could sure use his help," Daniel said. "If we don't get some sort of lead soon, we may need to storm in there."

Daniel's phone rang.

"It's the same number."

He quickly opened the phone, "Hello?"

"Is this Daniel Sheppard?" the man said. He sounded much more sure of himself, speaking clearly and at a normal volume.

"Yes. Who is this?"

He hesitated for a bit, as if nervous about answering that question, and then said, "This is Jason Heller."

Daniel's eyes opened wide.

"What did he say?" Vincent asked.

Before Daniel could answer the question, Heller added, "Don't panic. I know you probably don't trust me because I work for Tom Cavanaugh. I don't exactly blame you. But I've had a change of heart. I want to help."

"Change of heart?" Daniel asked skeptically. "What do you mean?"

"That's not important," he said. "You can be suspicious of me if you want, but your questioning will just waste our time. Your friend Dharma, she changed my mind. Is that good enough for you, or do you want to question me further?"

Daniel's eyes darted back and forth as he considered that question. Certainly, if anyone could have that effect, Dharma could. However, he didn't completely trust anyone in Cavanaugh's group.

At Daniel's hesitation, Heller added, "Look. I saw you today—I spotted you when I was driving the car. I don't know how you found us, and frankly I don't care. But if I didn't want to help, I wouldn't be calling you now."

Daniel's heart pounded in his chest and he felt his hands begin to sweat. Somehow, Heller spotted them.

"Okay," Daniel conceded with a swallow. "I believe you. You said you want to help—what do you mean?"

He heard Heller shifting the phone around, "I don't have much time. I told them I was going to the car to get a magazine I left in there. We met today with some people from our organization. They questioned Dharma pretty hard, thinking to upset or disrupt her various philosophies, looking for weakness and flaws. Needless to say, she gave them fits. The bottom line of all this is that they are planning on killing her. Our leader, Tyler Darcie, gave the order this afternoon, and we are planning to carry it out tomorrow."

"Oh, my God," Daniel said in horror.

"I can't sit by and let that happen," Heller said. "They've put me in charge of watching Dharma. I have a daughter myself. I've just...grown rather fond of her, and...anyway—so here is what I'm proposing. Tomorrow morning, while they're busy, I am going to sneak away with her. I'll meet you somewhere discreet and turn her over to you."

"Will that be safe?" he asked. "I mean, won't they just fly back to Baltimore and shoot us all? Not to mention you?"

"It doesn't work that way," Heller explained, talking quickly now. "The Chaos Wave has secondary protocols it follows when it can't silence someone. They don't want to risk too much exposure. Operating in secrecy is equally as important as carrying out the agenda. What they'll probably do is regroup and then try to undermine Osiris preemptively through the media, or else launch propaganda attacks making you seem like a foolish cult. Don't get me wrong, Dharma's life will still be in danger, but if you can get her away safely, they'll back off—at least for now."

Daniel was elated, "Okay, so where do we meet? What do we do?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'll text you with a time and place. Reply with only the letter 'k' to my message, so I know you received it. But don't call or message me in any other way."

"Got it," Daniel said. "What about you? Will you be safe?"

Heller spat out a short laugh, "No. They'll want to kill me for sure. Don't worry. I have a plan. Worry about Dharma. If you can't get her away, then this will all be for nothing."

"Okay. I understand."

"One more thing," Heller said. "And then I have to go. Don't come around here, around the hotel. If you're spotted, Cavanaugh won't risk being away from the girl at all, and I'll never get a chance to escape with her."

"Okay," Daniel said. "We won't do anything until tomorrow."

"Good. See you then."

Heller abruptly hung up.

Daniel looked at his friends.

"What?" Vincent asked desperately. "What was all of that?"

"That was Jason Heller," he explained. "From Cavanaugh's group. He wants to help Dharma escape. He said he had a change of heart after having been around her."

Vincent looked skeptical, "Do you believe him?"

"I think so," Daniel said. "He mentioned he had a daughter, too, but I think the real reason is that he realizes that she's special. Besides, he saw us today. He knew we were following him, but he didn't ask how we tracked them down. If this were some sort of trick on their part, he would have asked about that."

Vincent asked, "Well, what does he propose?"

"He doesn't think he can safely get away until tomorrow morning. So he's going to send a time and place to my phone tomorrow, and we have to meet him at that place, at that time."

"That's excellent."

Petra looked concerned though, "I heard you say, 'Oh my God,' what was that about?"

Daniel swallowed, "The reason for this sense of urgency on his part is that they have orders to kill Dharma. He thinks Cavanaugh will carry out the order tomorrow sometime. So he has this one chance to deliver her to us."

She nodded and then sighed, looking at Vincent, "Vincent is right, this is good news. We'll pick her up tomorrow."

Vincent breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I suggest we celebrate with a nice dinner--my treat. Then we can rest up for our big day tomorrow."

"Amen, brother,"Daniel said, clapping him on the shoulder.