The meeting was over for now at the United Nations gathering in Japan. World leaders put down their headphones and packed up their documents relating to the war in eastern Europe. Their staff shook hands and moved out. The enemy was gaining territory against the pseudo?Western alliance. Many casualties were being reported on both sides, including civilians.

  ‘Thanks for your help today,’ said the President of the United States, patting Ben Sharp on the back. ‘You were impressive, Ben. Good job.’ And the President kept walking.

  Ben was a new member of the US mediation team, and the President had gone out of his way to thank him. Ben had thoroughly humiliated the Russians and Chinese. His knowledge and ability in debate in any language had the ageing President joking and willing Ben Sharp to keep it up as he demolished any debate.

  ‘Anytime, Mr President,’ said Ben Sharp, watching the President being led away by a security team.

  ‘Oh, Mr President!’ called out Ben Sharp. ‘I was hoping—’

  ‘I can’t hear a word you’re saying,’ complained the President, shaking his head. ‘Come here!’ he demanded. The President leaned down to hear Ben Sharp, who spoke into his ear.

  ‘Have you considered a tactical nuclear strike, sir? Something to show them we mean business.’ The President pulled away and looked deeper into Ben Sharp’s eyes.

  ‘You bet I have,’ grinned the President.

  ‘Of course,’ smiled Ben Sharp. ‘Your restraint is to be admired, sir.’

  ‘Thanks, Ben,’ smiled the President, tapping him on the shoulder. ‘We’ll speak later.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ bowed Ben.

  ‘We’ll blow them up next week,’ laughed the President.

  ‘Of course we will, Mr President,’ laughed Ben Sharp, watching the President being led into one vehicle from a fleet of black SUVs.

  Ben Sharp packed up his documents into a briefcase, straightened his tie and made his way to the elevator with several other members of his team. Ben Sharp stepped out of the elevator and said goodnight to one of his fellow mediators, Noel Blair from England. Ben watched and waited for Noel to go into his room. He then unlocked his own door across the hall and went inside. Around the room were ten members of the Stranded.

  ‘I tell you, my children,’ said Ben Sharp, whose real name was Harden. ‘We are this close to a nuclear strike,’ he smiled in a crazed way, with his thumb and index finger an inch apart.

  ‘How can you be so sure, Harden?’ asked Ross eagerly.

  ‘I spoke to the President. He personally came to me. My power was like a magnet for the evil within his earthly soul,’ said Harden, throwing his suitcase to the floor.

  ‘They have accepted you, my love,’ hissed Juliet.

  ‘So far. And hopefully right into the depths of Fariddion. With millions of our Fariddion slaves,’ snarled Harden. ‘I’ll feed the President’s soul to the Guardian Owls of Fariddion myself.’

  ‘You’re doing well,’ added Poco, seated, his legs stretched out into the middle of the room. He was a giant.

  ‘So what is our next step?’ leered Ross.

  ‘Sabotage. We detonate a bomb at tomorrow’s meeting right before the President makes his speech. Just before that, we notify the Russian and Chinese delegates of a bomb hoax. They will look guilty after their lucky escape. Targeted retaliatory strikes into Moscow and Beijing will eventuate. Then we’re hours away from our goal.’

  The door suddenly unlocked and a cleaner entered the room by mistake. The scruffy middle?aged man looked from under the brim of his cap at the people in the room and quickly exited without hesitation.

  ‘Ross!’ pointed Harden. Ross reached the door in a second and looked out into the hall to see a glimpse of the door across the way being closed. Ross checked no one was looking. He placed his hand onto the door handle and with a quick jerk snapped off the handle and disintegrated the internal lock mechanism with a jab of his finger. On entering, Noel Blair stood from his chair and pulled a gun on the intruder.

  ‘Don’t move!’ instructed Blair. But as Blair looked away for one second to pick up his glasses from the table, the man vanished.

  Ross moved at superhuman speed, tracing the heat left by the man’s warm shoe prints, which led straight to a cleaner’s room. Ross broke the door open. The cleaner threw chemicals into his face. Ross watched the red liquid dribble down his black robe. The man begged for calm as Ross moved forward and broke his nose with a quick slap.

  Ross lifted his fist to strike a killer blow but was stopped only by Harden. Harden took the man’s face in his hand and stole any memory of him seeing the Stranded or being attacked by Ross.

  ‘We’ve drawn too much attention to ourselves already. Quick, we must materialise back to the room,’ instructed Harden to Ross. Harden walked to his door to open it on a flustered Noel Blair.

  ‘Leave!’ demanded Harden. And the Stranded vanished from his room.

  ‘Noel!’ said Harden. ‘What’s all the banging?’ A SWAT team poured out of the elevator and surrounded Blair.

  ‘He just vanished. Just like I told the Captain here on the phone,’ said Blair to Ben Sharp. He stepped back from Harden’s door and looked at the SWAT team Captain.

  ‘OK. Where is it broken again, sir?’ demanded the Captain. As Noel Blair turned about and pointed to his door, he was totally dumbfounded to see that his door handle was no longer broken.

  ‘But… but…’ stammered Blair in disbelief.

  ‘I don’t see any damage, sir,’ said the Captain as the team poured into his room.

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  ‘Neither do I,’ admitted Blair. ‘It was broken a minute ago!’ Blair didn’t try to explain anymore why his door handle was not damaged at all. He went silent.

  ‘Did you see or hear anything, sir?’ asked the Captain of Ben Sharp, standing just inside Blair’s room.

  ‘Ah… unfortunately not a peep,’ replied Ben Sharp coldly. ‘Sorry, Blair… it doesn’t look good, does it? It’s been a long day, Captain. Perhaps fatigue?’

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ mumbled Blair in a rage.

  An hour later, Noel Blair was led away and relieved from his position on the mediation team and fired by the head of MI5. Noel Blair’s future looked brighter.

  +

  ‘Maybe next time you shouldn’t let Ross deal with such matters Harden,’ hissed Juliet.

  ‘Perhaps…You could do better?’

  ‘Yes,’ she hissed.

  ‘Leave me,’ demanded Harden. ‘They’ll be monitoring the mediation team all night.’

  ‘Call when you are ready dear Harden,’ hissed Juliet, vanishing. Ben Sharp sat back in the comfortable brown leather chair and waited.

  ‘Living earth time always moves so quickly,’ complained Ben Sharp, dressed and waiting.

  Elvin and Karen observed Juliet leave the building. Juliet walked along the sidewalk as would any brave woman from the living earth at this time of night. It was cold with some sleet and a bitter breeze heading down the avenue. Juliet felt right at home.

  ‘Do you think we should have a little fun with our lady of the night?’ asked Elvin.

  ‘Oh sure…just park up a little ahead of her, and we’ll find out if she has a helpful spark in her body,’ said Karen.

  Elvin peeled a wild fish tail of rubber and swung the sleek car in an arc to stop against the gutter just ahead of an instantly annoyed Juliet.

  ‘Excuse me honey?’ said Karen, showing Juliet an unlit cigarette in her hand. ‘Do you have a light?’ she smiled brightly.

  ‘Here,’ hissed Juliet, throwing a fire ball at the car that engulfed the car in flames.

  ‘Light it on that!’ she laughed wickedly and moved on. Juliet turned to see the fireball accelerate into three sixties.

  ‘Losers,’ hissed Juliet, sniggering.

  She walked around the next corner taking a right at the lights. The bitter wind continued to blow into Juliet’s face as she watched a male dressed in black leather walking right towards her. She stopped and sneered, slightly interested in his leather outfit. They faced each other.

  A strange look came over Elvin’s face as he tried not to sneeze. Juliet looked surprised as his lip curled in a twitching motion..

  ‘Oh…nearly sneezed Mam,’ explained Elvin. ‘No wait…ah, ah, ah..CHOO!!’

  Juliet’s cape was blown completely off of her body to reveal a shriveled body in an oversized dark tatty tank top. Juliet raised her arm and threw a fireball at Elvin.

  He swerved to the right landing on his toes in a dramatic stance. It missed. A dumpster bin further ahead burst into flames.

  Juliet threw again. Elvin swerved to the left. Again, she missed. Again, Elvin struck a pose.

  ‘Hey, Jules honey,’ called Karen, approaching from behind. Juliet sent dozens of blue fire bullets straight at Karen who slapped them away in rapid succession with a look of boredom on her face.

  The last one Karen caught. She made a pitcher's stance and hurled it insanely fast at Juliet. It crashed into her stomach and sent Juliet cartwheeling along the sidewalk, and into a group of rubbish bins like a bowling ball.

  Juliet slowly began to focus and clambered to her feet. She screamed in utter fury. But they were already gone.

  +

  Harden snarled with anger at Juliet.

  ‘You fool. They weren’t from the living earth. They are Fariddions as sure as the Owls stand endless guard over its gate.’                       Harden’s memories of seeing many of his closest followers ripped to shreds and their energy consumed by the Guardian Owls, only brought on feelings of total respect for Fariddions worthy protectors.

  ‘But how?’ hissed Juliet, back in her black robe. ‘They never travel from Fariddion in living earth form.’

  ‘They do.’

  ‘They do?’ wondered Juliet.

  ‘Two hundred years ago. They interfered in the trajectory of an asteroid. It would have wiped out the living earth. They focused their entire energy onto it and sent it off to crash into the sun. That also caused problems. But they did interfere.

  ‘I see that now,’ explained Juliet, looking up and seeing parts of this event play out in ways within her thoughts.

  ‘Or perhaps they have loosened their restrictions,’ contemplated Harden. He realized something and paced the room. ‘If we could capture one of these car riders, we would have more power when we list our demands.’

  ‘Or they know of our plans,’ hissed Juliet.

  Harden looked out over the buildings of Kawasaki.

  ‘Then they will have to try and stop us. There is no going back from here my love,’ said Harden, forcefully pulling her into his arms and looking with pity into her white eyes.