Time: Present Day

Location: HereAfter

"Come Carter Cheval, you need to be back in Rome!" Teacher chided.

"But I've just come from there!"

"Perhaps you shouldn't have . . . "

"Why, what's happening?"

"You'll see, it's alright it hasn't happened, yet. You have a another decision to make Carter Cheval, a decision that affects you greatly. A very great lesson to learn if you are to become what you are destined to become. One of the very few decisions a being can make that really affects the All. Hurry, Carter Cheval for I hope you have learned - Time waits for no man . , . or spirit."

They took up their usual corner in Graz's office, the one that least affected the video surveillance cameras. When Carter asked Teacher why they always went to that corner Teacher gave a sigh. "We are all made of the same matter, the same star stuff as you once put it. Remember Carter? Well that star stuff can interact with other star stuff, disrupt gravity, electrical fields, radio and tv signals, telephones, particularly good at interfering with electrical signals.

As a spirit you can learn to control these things, control your influence, even use them to communicate with the living. It works particularly well on earth for some reason. You haven't learnt to control it yet, so I'm putting us, you in particular in this corner to minimise your impact on that." Teacher pointed to the camera on the ceiling about a metre above where they were floating. "We don't want to raise any undue suspicions, we might miss something."

"We can miss something?"

"Of course Carter Cheval, you can't be everywhere, have you learned nothing? Only God can be everywhere, and you my Dear Carter, are not God, at least not yet."

That was the first time Teacher hadn't used his surname as well, before it used to irritate him, now he kind of missed it, strange. Maybe he was growing on him, Teacher laughed. Oops...Forgot he could read my mind.

"Come right in Peter," Graz said into the security intercom. A minute later Carter's dad joined them. "What's happened Petros?"

"We have a problem, maybe a big problem. We are getting a visit from the media, Amanda, Amelia's twin sister rang me. She was checking up to see how much her mother told me I think. She made out that she was ringing to let me know about her mother's accident. She reckons the only thing her Mum told her about her visiting me was that I was shocked to learn for the first time, that Amelia was dead."

"And you suspect she's lying? That she knows much more than she is letting on?"

"Yes, but not only that, she is sending someone to me, a so called friend, who happens to be the front person for a current affairs tv show in Australia."

"What do they want with you?" Graz puzzled.

"Don't know for sure, sounds like a fishing expedition to me."

"Why didn't you refuse? Make some excuse, you're busy, or your boss won't allow it."

"They know something Graz. I'm not sure how much, but I intend to find out, thought I'd warn you."

"You know you don't need my permission any more. You're on your own. You have your own instrument now, Anton is yours. It's up to you what you do with him now. I'm passing him on to you just as Andre was handed over to me."

"So it was you who killed my Amelia. Why did you do that."

"No, not me Petros, that was Enrico's work. A few years before he handed him over to me. Enrico explained to me that he had invested a lot of time and effort into your early training and he wasn't prepared to risk having to start again. When he heard from his spies in Singapore that Amelia had booked a flight back to Australia, not only that she was bringing back the baby, and flying direct to Melbourne, instead of home to Sydney. He panicked, he was sure she was going to track you down, and thought that you would feel guilty about the baby, offer to marry her and dump the priesthood. So he got me to arrange for Dan to bring you to Rome, and then for good measure got Andre to deal with Amelia with Special Treatment. We decided not to tell you. We didn't even tell Dan till it was done. We thought you wouldn't understand, would be against it, and judging by your reaction all these years later Enruco was right."

"You had no right . . ."

"Peter, it was a long time ago, look how far we've come. You now know what we did doesn't matter anyway does it. Protecting the Secrets was paramount, arranging for a continuation of that was all that mattered. And all that matters now is that we deal with the situation at hand swiftly and decisively. Do you want me to arrange for Andre to deal with Amanda? She will continue to be a threat to us. You must realise that!"

"No, you won't do anything to Amanda. I won't have it. She's the only link left to the Peter I used to be, to the good Peter. She wanted to make me happy with Amelia, she, more than anyone is innocent in all this mess. Nothing is to happen to her, no matter what, am I clear? I'll deal with the other girl from the media, Layla I think her name is."

"Anton is amazing, you've got a good one there. He warned me after Carter's funeral that Carter's girlfriend might prove to be a problem, funny her name was Layla, looks like Anton was right."

"You knew didn't you?" Peter asked accusingly.

"Knew what?"

"When you asked me to arrange things, things that Dan needed fixing back in Australia. You knew you were getting me to sign all their death warrants. Including my own son's death warrant, you bastard."

"What the hell are you talking about."

"Carter, Carter Cheval, was my son! He was Amelia's baby not Amanda's."

"No, no, you're wrong Petros, the baby's name was Peter and it was adopted out at birth. Enrico showed me the adoption papers, said I had to keep track of this baby. He was adopted by a childless couple in Cannes."

"No, Monique lied about a lot of things but I could tell she wasn't lying about that. She told me when Amelia died, they cancelled that adoption.

Little Peter was adopted, by Amanda, she wanted to keep the baby, and she did. They all pretended that the baby belonged to her future husband, Roger from a past relationship, and they officially adopted it and she renamed it Carter. You had me kill my own son."

"Petros, I swear I didn't know, Enrico never told me, sometimes we feel we have to do that, lie even to each other, to keep the secrets safe, and anyway it doesn't matter, nothing matters except that."

"It still does to me."

"Soon you'll see, soon it won't."

"I doubt it, but I'll give you the benefit of that doubt, this time, but lie to me again, get me to do something horrendous like that again, and your secrets will no longer be safe. Is that clear Graz, and that includes Amanda, if she should meet with an unfortunate accident, then . . . "

"Don't worry I get it Petros, I feel bad about this too. This is exactly what I told you about. The mistakes and misjudgment that has crept into Enrico's work of late. That's why I had to convince His Holiness to replace him now, before he brings us all undone. Let's hope he hasn't done that already. Now tell me how you propose to fix the media problem, not another accident I hope. There have been too many now, people will be suspicious."

Peter looked at Graz with a hint of obvious distain in his voice said, "I've already arranged things with Anton. I asked his advice too. He is good. When I spoke to this Layla to arrange our meeting she told me she was due to be in Syria on Friday, so she is coming here Wednesday. They are scheduled to interview a Muslim freedom fighter in Syria on their way back to Paris. They will be in a war zone, sometimes there is collateral damage in a war zone. Anton is on his way there now. He will set himself up early and arrange for the purchase of a high powered sniper rifle. They won't be returning to Paris or Australia except in military body bags."

"You never cease to amaze me my dear Petros, a well thought out plan."

"My name's Peter." Carter and Teacher watched as Peter turned on his heels, the guards outside flinched as he passed and slammed the soundproof door shut.

As soon as Peter left Graz picked up the white phone, "I need to speak to His Holiness. It is urgent, it's about Enrico."

He dialled another number listed under SPECTRE Europe, Andre answered.

Andre, it's Graz, yeah it's been a while, no, no he is going well. I've handed him over to Peter now. Remember that job at the disco all those years ago, yes the photo, remember she had a twin sister, yes that's right you had to tag her with dye to make sure you got the right girl, yes you do remember. I don't know why twins insist on dressing the same either, well I hate to tell you this but that photo has surfaced again. Yes the other twin has it on her phone, not sure who she's shared it with other than her mother but, maybe her whole family. No not the police, not yet anyway. Can you speak to Anton about it, or do you want to handle it yourself? Okay, I'll leave it up to you, but if Peter asks I had nothing to do with it, okay?

This conversation never happened, clear, what did I say? . . . good. Bye Andre nice not talking to you.

He got up and left Carter and Teacher floating alone in the room.

"They're going to kill Layla, and maybe Amanda too, I have to stop them."

"Do you, Carter Cheval? Do you really? I thought that's what you wanted, to have Layla back, all to yourself. Unless, that is, she no longer wants you, such a quandary. Let them kill her and take her for yourself, or, save her life, only for her to spend it with your best friend. Which shall it be Carter Cheval? Selfishness or self sacrifice. For Layla . . . Death or Life. Pain and Suffering or Ecstasy and Happiness. It's your choice Carter Cheval, choose wisely, the fate of your world lies in the balance.

Chapter 61 - Decisions Decisions.

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