Away From the Dark (The Light #2)(103)

“So what the hell are the Shadows?” I asked, my brow furrowed in confusion.

“The Light outside of The Light,” Agent Brady explained. He was a young man, part of the small obscure team at Quantico on the special task force that investigated The Light. His knowledge was as profound as mine. Instead of living it, he’d infiltrated The Light through cyberspace, through the dark web. Admittedly I felt a pang of jealousy when I learned that he’d discovered so much without putting himself or those he cared about at risk.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon,” Brady went on. “When you were first sent in, we had no idea that there were even three campuses. We’d identified the Western Light, but not the Northern. Your final correspondence nearly two years ago confirmed its existence.”

I remembered making that call. I’d been living at the Northern Light for a time and felt the need to at least notify the FBI that the campus existed. I’d made that call from Bloomfield Hills on a burner. Thankfully, those cell towers weren’t monitored like the ones at the Northern Light or even the Western; there was too much cell activity to identify unknown users.

“It wasn’t until we started following the cyberactivity from the Northern Light that we were able to identify a connection out in the real world.”

“The dark,” I said mindlessly.

“Excuse me?” another young agent asked.

I looked up from the aerial photograph of the Bloomfield Hills mansion. “The real world, in The Light it’s referred to as the dark, the area beyond The Light.”

Adler had been right. It would take me weeks of debriefing to give up all the information I’d obtained, because some things, like the term the dark, seemed like common knowledge to me. The FBI had people to help scour my thoughts and memories. I was more concerned about the deprogramming. Obviously I was in need of that too.

“Yeah, we’ve heard that term. Well, the cybertrail led me to the dark . . .” Brady’s voice trailed away as he hit keys on a keyboard and a large screen came to life.

I pinched my brow and stifled a yawn. “Yes, I understand the term the Shadows, but who or what are they?”

The screen became a map of North America. The three campuses were identified.

Brady went on, “The cyberactivity has been the strongest and the easiest to identify from your campus. It’s the isolation. A lot of the activity was intercampus communication. At first that was difficult to intercept. The firewalls were commendable, hell, better than some used by our government. They were layered, even triple encrypted. We’d make it through one only to be stopped by another.”

“You’re saying The Light’s security was good.”

“I’m saying it was excellent. Only recently did we penetrate it enough to see the broadcasts of the meetings and sermons. By doing that we could pinpoint Gabriel’s location. We could tell if he was at Bloomfield Hills, which is where the majority of the broadcasts originated, the Western Light, or the Northern Light. We thought that most of the activity was intercampus, until we discovered this.” He hit a button and suddenly the United States and Canada lit up like a virtual Christmas tree. He zoomed out and lights lit all over the world.

“What is that?”

“Hits on the latest broadcast.”

“How?” I asked. “If the communication was solely between campuses?”

“Agent, welcome to the Shadows. There’s a highly encrypted website on the dark web that allows followers outside of the campuses to obtain access to the broadcasts. The last broadcast was short, sent fifteen minutes before the FBI touched down at the Northern Light, moments before the explosion in Bloomfield Heights.”

I couldn’t think about the explosion and concentrate. I had to be Agent Jacoby for a little while. “Do you have the broadcast? Did you see it?”

I gripped the table in front of me as Father Gabriel’s face covered the large screen and his voice filled the room. How many times had I watched his broadcasts? He looked exactly as he did when he delivered a sermon, not a hair out of place.

“Children of The Light, a very unfortunate chain of events has occurred. You will hear things and see images. Remember, my children, the dark is everywhere. While The Light may be temporarily dimmed, we know it cannot be extinguished. You, my children of the Shadows, must stay vigilant and keep the vision alive. You’ve been given enlightenment to discern the truths. Those who wish us harm are our enemies. You are the soldiers in this war. Though I may be unavailable for a time, know that time is irrelevant to our cause and mission. My power will be held by the one who would inherit the legacy, until it is mine again. I entrust it thereupon, but never give up, never accept the lies told in the dark. Know that The Light will forever shine.”

My knuckles blanched and the blood drained from my cheeks as the screen went black. “What the f*ck does that mean?”

Special Agent Adler had entered the room during the broadcast. “Jacoby,” he said, “there are a few bunks here. I suggest you get some sleep. We have a lot to discuss.”

I spun toward him. “It’s not gone? Three years, lives, Sara . . . all for nothing!”

“No,” he replied calmly. “It wasn’t all for nothing. The campuses were the main source of The Light’s revenue. They were a hotbed of illegal activities hiding behind the separation of church and state. You brought that down. You did it! Over a thousand people freed. That wasn’t for nothing.”