Unknown 9 by Layton Green (each kindness read aloud txt) 📕

“His agenda? Ensuring a device that could change the world or lead to a superweapon stays out of the Ascendants’ hands? Some things are worth fighting for, Cal.”

“At the cost of someone you love? We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”

“I suppose we will.”

She thought Cal was being naïve, stubborn, and wrong-headed. Sometimes the ends did justify the means. Of course they did.

Didn’t they?

Just as important to Andie was that she held no one—Dr. Corwin included—to a perfect standard. That was asking for disappointment. Everyone had flaws. She felt as if she had far more than most, so who was she to judge?

If Dr. Corwin’s Achilles’ heel was an overactive sense of global justice, then she could live with that.

“I just want to make sure you’re seeing clearly,” he said. “There’re two lives at stake here, you know.”

“Fair enough. We should be honest with each other.”

Cal took another sip and cradled the cup between his palms. “Have you made any progress?”

“It’s so frustrating. I can’t figure out how the double helix fits in. What does the structure of a DNA molecule have to do with two concepts developed far earlier in time, and halfway across the world? I feel like we need to consult a biologist.”

“I’m not sure we do. This smacks of symbology to me rather than science.”

“And you’re basing that opinion on what, exactly?”

He shrugged. “I’ve done enough research on the codes and methods of communication of secret societies to have a feel for these things.”

She put a hand to her temple. “Yeah, except those are usually bogus and amateurish. The Leap Year Society is real and powerful, and Dr. Corwin is one of the world’s most respected physicists.”

“Actually, most secret societies are not bogus or amateurish,” Cal said. “I’m not talking about the modern Freemasons or some group of rich douchebags that brings underage girls to mansions. Throughout history, some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential scientists, philosophers, politicians, artists, physicians—you name it—have gathered in secret for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, sure, it was to escape domestic life and get their naughty on. But often it was to advance the spread of knowledge that the ruling authority at the time—church or state—didn’t approve of. It’s no different today. They’re out there, both good and bad. They’re in the corridors of power and the boardrooms of global corporations. On private billionaire islands and yachts in the middle of the Pacific. Lurking in the deep web and hidden in plain sight.”

“I’m not a true believer like you are,” Andie said, “and I never will be. But I have to admit at least one of them exists.”

“The LYS not only exists, but I have a feeling it might be the granddaddy of them all. But first things first.” He leaned over the Star Phone to study the image. “So far the gist of the puzzle seems to be illumination of lost, hidden or rarely known historical knowledge from a variety of cultures. I don’t think we’re looking for some esoteric biological clue we need a PhD to unravel—I think we’re looking for a connection among these three concepts that’s just beneath the surface.”

“Such as?”

“You’re the genius, not me.”

“I’m not a genius, Cal. I know some, but I’m not one.”

“Compared to me, you are. I couldn’t get through college calculus. Anyway, let’s do some searching and keep the big picture in mind.”

Andie pressed her lips together. “Okay. And it’s a valid point.”

She returned to the computer and, with Cal looking over her shoulder, veered away from a deep dive into scientific research to focus on more subjective disciplines. Philosophy. Semiotics. Numerology.

“Check this out,” she said after an hour of searching. “The om symbol is often associated with the number three. Birth and life and death. Body, soul, and spirit. The earth, the heavens, and the underworld. The Holy Trinity. Think about the image on the Star Phone: Zero is a number. Three is a number. But that still leaves the double helix as the odd one out.

Cal laced his fingers behind his head. “You’re reaching, and I’m not a fan of numerology. With a little imagination, you can find hidden numbers in anything and everything.”

“Great. I’ve gone left of the conspiracy theorist. But, yeah, it doesn’t feel right to me either.”

She picked up the Star Phone and paced the room. An om within a zero within a strand of DNA. Moving inside to out, the symbols progressed from ancient to modern times.

What if that was a clue in itself?

She set the device down and returned to the computer.

“What is it?” Cal asked.

She held up a finger and started scouring the web for mentions of a double helix or DNA in India. Soon after, she sucked in a breath and thrust her palms to the desk. Cal hurried to her side, giving her a whiff of coffee breath. On the screen in front of her, Andie was looking at a globe on the front page of an organization called the Kolkata Science Institute.

The globe was the emblem of the institute, and in the center of the gold-and-blue sphere, placed side by side, were three distinct images.

A zero, an om symbol, and a double helix.

Cal whooped. “Three-pointer and the foul!”

“Listen to this description: ‘The KSI is dedicated to integrated research that fosters communication and breaks down barriers among traditional disciplines.”’

“Exactly the kind of thing we’re looking for,” Cal said. “Plus the India angle. It’s got to be it.”

Just to be sure, before they flew halfway around the world, she kept researching the same angle, broadening her search to countries and institutes on six continents.

Nowhere else did the symbols converge.

Convinced they had found the trail again, Andie ran a hand through her hair and pushed to her feet. They had no time to spare. When she entered the hall, she spotted the pilot puttering around in the kitchen.

“You look like something’s on your mind,” he said.

“How soon can we leave?”

“Maybe you could tell me where we’re going?”

“Kolkata. Can