Chapter 2: Searching

Dimitri Ivanov was currently vacationing in the Caribbean. He was traveling to every island in the Bahamas. However, his real reason was to find the cay on which Project Calista was created. A few days after his arrival, on the pretense of wanting to spend time in the wilderness, Dimitri began a systematic search of the unpopulated cays in The Bahamas.

Several lifeboats landed ashore of a small cay. Standing in the stern of the lead boat was none other than Dimitri Ivanov. Stepping onto the beach, he looked around him in distaste. Waving a hand at the vegetation behind him he gave orders to the company of soldiers that had come in the other boats.

''Fan out. Search every inch of this cay. If anyone finds anything of interest, they are to report to me immediately.''

Meanwhile, other guards started setting up tents for scientists, their equipment and Dimitri. The young fisherman who had been hired to guide Dimitri into the cays stepped up timidly. He wasn't more than twenty, and he was afraid.

He had heard many tales about Dimitri, his kindness and generosity. So when Dimitri had approached him to be guided into the cays, he had leaped at the opportunity, anticipating a handsome reward. But the guards and the guns frightened him. Clearly something illegal was going down. To his way of thinking, it was better to stay far away from this kind of operation.

''Ex-excuse me, Mister, but I-I wanna leave.  I-If you'd gimme my m-money, I-I'll get you a-a next g-guide, a-and I c-can send h-him h-here." Dimitri turned to the young fisherman, who stepped backwards under his penetrating gaze.

''Yes, I forgot about you,'' He stroked his chin and looked into the sky. ''You could be a problem.'' The fisherman suddenly noticed that he was quite clearly outnumbered and surrounded. ''A p-problem, sir?'' Dimitri waved his hand. ''Take him.'' Two guards stepped out of the shadows and seized the fisherman's arms. He struggled, but to no avail.

He was clearly outmatched. ''Don't kill him. He still must navigate our return trip. Keep him under surveillance. Ascertain that he has no means of communication or escape.'' The fisherman was dragged away screaming, begging and pleading for mercy. Ivanov turned and strode away. He sighed. It had only been four cays that they had searched, and there were over 700 in The Bahamas. He was tired, though he didn't look it. 

A few weeks later, a commotion arose on the far side of the camp. A bedraggled soldier came running towards the camp shouting, ''Mayday! Mayday! Help!'' Instantly the camp exploded into a flurry of action. The soldiers abandoned their stations and surrounded two tents in the center of camp. That was where Dimitri, the fisherman, and all of the scientific equipment were located.

The circle parted momentarily to allow passage for the running soldier then reassumed its position. The guards stood, guns at the ready, alert for the slightest movement. The soldier burst into the tent and collapsed, panting. Dimitri towered over him.

''Well? Did you find anything? And where is the remainder of your squad?'' It was obvious that the man had experienced an unearthly terror. He knelt there, gasping, when he felt the touch of a gun to his forehead. There is something unmistakable about the touch of a gun. Not just the coldness of the steel, but also the whisper of death that accompanies it. Dimitri tightened his grip on the trigger. ''I have no patience for this. I will not ask again.''

The soldier flinched, although he was used to scenes like this. He had seen Dimitri literally peel the skin off of a soldier's back for bumping into him. Taking a deep breath, he replied,

''I don't know where my entire squad is. We had covered most of the island, so we started heading in a northeasterly direction. After three day's journey, we found an underground cave. I stayed outside to scout while the others went inside. They had found something and were returning, when they started screaming. One of them threw me what they had found, and I fled here. Something pursued me the whole way. And that's all that happened."

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