Unfaithful

Chapter 5: “History” Lessons and Erin Evans

Elladan was walking past the area called ‘Old New York’. At least, the non-destroyed section of Old New York. The buildings here still stood tall, though they were shabbier and more worn than they had been at the start of the 21st century. What transpired at the start of the 21st century was what had set off a chain of events that the people are still mourning and paying for. The destruction of the twin towers was only the beginning of the long and terrible years that would follow. Those long and terrible years turned into a war, now known as ‘The Great War of Power’.

On September 11, 2001, two monumental buildings of Old New York were destroyed and the Pentagon was attacked, all at the hands of terrorists. This was followed by a mission in Afghanistan, and was then followed by a war in Iraq in 2003. By the end of 2003, the world thought the terror of the new millennium was over. How very wrong they were... Between 2003 and 2010, the years were peaceful but tense. There was no blood spilt between nations, no wars, and no bearing of arms. What the public was aware about was the political heat in between nations and alliances. First there were the Americans vs. the Middle East and the Americans vs. North Korea. There were many threats of war and bombing, but nothing resulted.

Then, the political battle became stronger. The battle for superpower heated up. By 2015, the world knew that it was North America against the Russian Federation. No one is quite certain what sparked this all. At the end of the 20th century and very early in the 21st century, Russia and America were quite friendly and respectful to each other. However, between politics, sports, and different opinions from the two powerful nations, the disagreements and hostility between them grew. The first thing that came into action was the war of words.

With every single president that dwelled in the White House and every single president that came into power in Russia, the battle continued. The words and threats were succeeded from the former president to the next, to the next…

Ten solid years--- from 2021 until 2031, those years became known as ‘The Great War of Power’. From the beginning, the two sides began seeking alliances and powerful allies. The United States found allies in Canada and Mexico. Eventually, they became known as ‘The North American Alliance’. That bridge of friendship still exists today. The Russian Federation created an alliance with France, and many other European nations. The first few years, Great Britain chose to remain neutral and support neither side. But when they were bombed and attacked by several Middle Eastern and Asian countries, The North American Alliance offered support and protection. Less than a week after the attack, Britain had announced their official alliance to the North Americans.

Exactly what kind of damage had been inflicted during those ten harsh years? Just imagine this: Almost half of New York gone, Detroit completely in ruins, White House and parts of Washington bombed, biological attack on North-eastern United States and Ontario, Canada, half of Vancouver destroyed, burnt crops in the prairies of Canada, cities in Russia in ruins, destroyed sections of Paris, polluted beaches in Europe, and diseases spreading relentlessly everywhere. And that is just to begin with. Even the countries and areas that were not directly involved in The Great War of Power were greatly affected. Economies and businesses collapsed… and the population depleted by millions.

The war was eventually brought to an end. The last large attacks took place on American and Russian soils. Nuclear bombs were aimed at several large metropolitan cities of the United States. But the plan was changed and diverted for some ‘undisclosed reason to the public’. Apparently, something malfunctioned (which turned out to be quite fortunate) in the systems and plans, and the nuclear bombs that were aimed at LA, New York, Chicago, and Washington were diverted to the sparsely populated and desert lands of the United States. Even so, the damage was severe enough. Phoenix, Arizona was hit, as were several states in the central area of the U.S. Jenson, the president at that time, was killed during the attack because he happened to be visiting Phoenix. The radioactivity caused diseases such as leukemia to spread rapidly like wildfire. The North American Alliance retaliated by unleashing nuclear weapons on Russia and France. Those countries too, like North America, experienced similar consequences.

Fortunately, the new leaders that rose after the attack heeded the cries of their people and decided that enough was enough. Enough lives had been lost, enough land and pride had been destroyed, and enough people had been poisoned by hate. On August 11, 2031, the presidents of the United States and Russian Federation came forward and signed a treaty and agreement of peace between the two nations. While each still blamed the other, we all came to the final decision that there would be no more wars or weapons unleashed against each other. Many years later, the experts came to the conclusion that the enemy was neither the United States nor the Russian Federation--- but rather ourselves.

The damages and aftermaths were severe. After all the papers were signed, all the politics taken care of, all the costs and damages accessed, there came the rebuilding. From 2035, after four years of diligent paper signing and organization, until 2045, were ‘The Years of Rebuilding’. In a way, it was like a country starting all over again. Cities and buildings had to be built again, crops were grown once more, and the people needed healing. Thus came the great era of scientists and doctors. New cures and vaccines, more developed technologies, and new discoveries and medicines had been progressing rapidly since the beginning of the 21st century. The world needed every bit of knowledge and intelligence they had to repair the civilizations that had been damaged through greed and hatred.

Even today, in 2050, the world is still recovering from past wounds. The lands that were touched by nuclear weapons are now called, ‘The Unreachable Lands’. No one is permitted or even dares to go anywhere near those fields of radioactivity. Even the sleek supersonic aircrafts dare not fly over the poisoned lands and must fly around such areas. Scientists say the land glows an ominous and eerie shade of light at nighttime.

It became a habit for everyone to check the weather channel first thing when they wake up so they know the forecasts of air quality. There is hardly a single person who doesn’t listen to the broadcasts about air quality. When the weatherman says the air of that certain area is touched by radioactivity that day, everyone heeds the warning and wears facemasks that day. There are even days called the ‘Off Days’, when the people would not be allowed to leave their house due to the danger of radioactivity in the air that day under the order of the law. No one is to disobey and leave his or her shelter without permission on those days under the threat of severe punishment. In the beginning, Off Days were more frequent. Now, there was only an Off Day once every so often.

The remaining elves were also greatly affected during The Great War of Power. The diseases and radioactivity may not affect them, but many friends and kin were separated by political boundaries. Many of the elves also perished during the bombing and attacks. A few elves were suspicious that Gandalf had something to do with the change of course of the nuclear bombs aimed for the large American cities--- which was a ‘mistake’ that could have very well saved tens of millions of lives and the future of a country. Somehow during those perilous years, Gandalf managed to keep in contact with the Peredhil family and always warn them of dangers ahead of time. About a few years after The Years of Rebuilding began, Gandalf stopped contacting them.

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Dirt collected on the black, leather, hiking boots of Elladan. Even decades after the area had been severely bombed; the ruins were never completely cleaned out. Gravel was picked up by the cold November wind and flew several feet before falling back down to the ground. People often coughed and wheezed when they walked by this area of Old New York.

There was an insistent beeping noise. Elladan glanced down at his messenger-cell phone device. Reinhardt had sent him a message. ‘Agent Evans and Hopkins will be twenty minutes late.’ The former Lord of Imladris (Author’s Note: After Elrond departed west, someone must have been in charge of Rivendell. I am assuming that Elladan was the eldest son and therefore he must have ruled after his father.) shrugged and entered the bar. He sat down at a table and watched the news.

“…The Atlanta Thrashers are playing phenomenally and they are leading the NHL’s overall standings!” said the sportscaster enthusiastically. “That concludes our sports news. Back to you, Desiree.”

The screen showed an attractive young woman who was the news broadcaster. “Thank you, Ed. We will now return to the top stories of the hour. The man who was hospitalized earlier this week turned out to have been traveling too close to the Unreachable Lands. He was contaminated by the radioactivity. Doctors under heavy protection are now treating him under quarantine. The security to ensure that no citizen’s life is to be endangered by going near the Unreachable Lands has been increased…”

There was another beep from Elladan’s messenger device. ‘Agent Evans and Hopkins have just entered the door.’

Elladan casually turned around in his seat. And sure enough, he saw the senior CIA member, Hopkins walk through the door, accompanied by a tall woman wearing a visor, Agent Evans. They walked over to Elladan’s table. Hopkins shook his hand.

“We meet again, Eric,” he greeted the elf.

Elladan smiled. “Good to see you too, Mr. Hopkins.”

“Thank you,” said Hopkins. He turned towards the girl. “This is your new co-worker and partner.”

“I’ve heard,” said Elladan, glancing at the tall woman Hopkins had gestured vaguely at.

Agent Evans smiled. She held out a hand.

“I watched you play basketball, Eric,” said Evans, shaking his hand. “You’re amazingly talented! I think I will enjoy working with you.”

“Oh,” said Elladan, slightly surprised. “I guess you know me already. I’ll just reintroduce myself anyway. Eric Parker, Agent Evans.”

“It’s Erin,” Evans said quickly. “The name is Erin Evans but call me Erin.”

She sat down in the seat opposite of Elladan.

“Phew! It’s hot in here,” she grinned, taking her visor off.

He blinked. Elladan was momentarily speechless, almost disbelieving what he was seeing in front of him. He hadn’t been able to have a good look at her face until now. Evans’s raven black hair was tried neatly into a ponytail. Her face was fair and bright and her hazel eyes were shining vibrantly. She looked like a friendly but stubborn person… scarily reminding Elladan of someone else he once knew very well.

“Is something wrong?” asked Evans in a concerned voice.

“I- I…” stuttered Elladan. He shook his head. “Ex- excuse me, what’s your name again?”

Evans rolled her eyes but grinned. “Erin Evans, dope head!”

Oh Ilúvatar! Definitely like someone Elladan once knew.

“Hello? Eric?” she tried to get his attention. “Eric!” She snapped her fingers.

Elladan blinked. “Excuse me. I- I’m sorry. I just temporarily… hallucinated,” he said lamely. He got up from his seat. “Excuse me for a moment, there’s something I need to do. I’ll be right back.”

His strides were swift but he heard Evans’ comment as he left. “Tell me Hopkins, is Parker always that air headed?” In spite of himself, Elladan felt the desire to laugh at her comment.

He exited the bar quickly and leaned against a nearby bus station booth. There was someone he needed to contact: Elrond. It was Saturday; his father must be at home.

“Home of Dr. Ethan Parker, Chicago, Illinois,” he said quickly into his cell phone.

The phone made a few ‘thinking’ noises before an answering machine’s voice answered.

“Dr. Parker is not available at this moment. Please leave a message.”

“Is Samantha Parker available?” asked Elladan.

“No, she isn’t,” replied the answering machine.

“Can you tell me how I can reach them?”

“Please state your name.”

“Eric Parker,” said Elladan hurriedly.

The ‘thinking’ noises emitted again and this time, it was a person who answered.

“This is Aiglin Research Institute,” answered the voice. “Oh, hello Eric.”

Elladan wanted to groan. “Hello, Celebdacil,” he said in a relatively calm voice.

Celebdacil was an elf employed by Elrond, mainly to work as a clerk or secretary. Celebdacil was a former elf of Lórien, born in the second age. Elladan had only mingled with him a few times and was already in Celebdacil’s bad books along with his brother, Elrohir. The only few times Elladan had ever spoken to Celebdacil was always concerning money, therefore earning him the impression as a spoiled brat. What Celebdacil didn’t know was that Elladan and his brother had always let Elrond take care of finance and the money they made (though the responsibility was thrust upon Elrond mostly due to laziness on behalf of the twins). Of course, the compensation and money the twins made were kept in separate accounts from Elrond’s but Celebdacil knew nothing about that. His impression was that Elladan and Elrohir were dependant brats always asking their parents for money.

“How much money is it this time?” sighed Celebdacil. The last time Elladan had called, he had asked for a usually large sum of money. Elladan could almost see Celebdacil shake his head. “Elladan, the money your parents make are through hard work…” The former Lórien elf went on for some time before Elladan finally cut him off.

“I need to speak with my father,” he said abruptly.

“Lord Elrond has granted me permission to give you whatever amount of money you demand, any time you ask,” Celebdacil said grudgingly, clearing disagreeing with the elf-lord’s decision.

“This is not a money matter,” said Elladan exasperated. “Get my father on the phone right now!”

“I am sorry Elladan but your father is currently attending a very important meeting and I do not wish to interrupt.”

“Well guess what? I’ve just made the call for you,” said Elladan snappishly, losing all patience. “Just tell him that his son needs to speak with him.”

“Fine!” snapped Celebdacil. Before being put on hold, Elladan thought he heard Celebdacil mutter something that sounded distinctly like “spoiled brat”.

After a pause, Celebdacil was back. His voice was smug, “I’m sorry, Elladan, but your father cannot spare time from his meeting to speak to you.”

Elladan vented air through his nostrils. “Well tell him he either answers the damn phone or I’m not coming home for Christmas!”

Celebdacil made an angry noise. “As you wish,” said Celebdacil in a forced calm voice.

The next time the phone was picked up it was Elrond who answered.

“What is it?” asked Elrond, his voice impatient. “What could be so important, Elladan?”

“You’re going to want to hear this, Father,” said Elladan quickly. “I just met that new CIA agent, Erin Evans. You are not going to believe this Father, but… I- I think she’s… she’s Arwen.” He finally blurted out.

There was a moment of silence when time seemed to have stopped.

“Father?” Elladan asked tentatively.

There was a long pause before Elrond answered. “What makes you believe she is Arwen?” He said the name cautiously.

“Her appearance, her aura, everything!” exclaimed Elladan. “Her hair is the exact shade as mine and her face could be mistaken for Arwen’s! But her eyes are different… they’re green.”

“I thought I had gone crazy!” he continued. “But Evans could have been a mirror image of my sister! There are a few obvious differences but the resemblance is too close to be a coincidence. Not in any of the other descendants of Estel and Arwen have I ever met someone who is so similar in appearance!”

“How do you know?” asked Elrond flatly.

Elladan paused to think about the question.

“I just know,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t lie about this, Father. This is too important. But I just know there is something of Arwen inside Erin… It’s like how I always knew when my sister would be approaching me--- there was no logical explanation, I just knew it was Arwen.”

“I don’t doubt your judgment,” said Elrond, meaning it as a halfway apology. Between Aidan Ellis, the prophecy from the mirror of Galadriel and the painful remembrance of his daughter, he was not in the best of moods.

“I- I don’t think I can talk to her,” said Elladan.

“Go back inside, Elladan,” said Elrond firmly. “Don’t fluster her or pester her with questions. Talk to her just like you’re having an ordinary conversation.”

When there was silence on the other end, Elrond sighed. “I know it’s hard, but try to calm down and just let her talk. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, I think so,” said Elladan doubtfully.

“Okay… I’ll talk to you soon?”

“Yeah. Later, Ada.”

“Good-luck Elladan.”

When Elladan returned, he only hesitated for only half a second before opening the door and sitting down at the table again.

“Sorry about that,” apologized Elladan. “I had to make an important phone call.”

Erin looked at him skeptically but didn’t comment.

He gestured vaguely at her. “Well, uh…” he racked his brain for something to say. “Let’s get to know each other! I mean… we’re going to be working together aren’t we?”

Erin frowned slightly at how uncomfortable Elladan seemed. But it didn’t bother her too much; a lot of males were flustered when they were in her presence. She grinned.

“Well, what do you want to know?” asked Erin.

“I know your name and that’s about it,” Elladan said lightly. “So… where’re you from?”

“Los Angeles,” replied Erin. “You go to university there---”

She said it the same time when Elladan commented, “I go to university there.”

They laughed and at once felt more at ease.

“So, Erin, know any other agents?”

“Well now, I know you, and Mr. Hopkins here of course,” she gestured to the middle-aged man at their table. “I’ve known Mr. Hopkins for a long time. He was a friend and co-worker of my father.” Elladan noticed how she winced slightly at the mention of her father. “I know Reinhardt--- he’s the one who hired me. Oh, and I’ve met Davenport already!”

“You’ve met the executive director?” asked Elladan.

“Yeah,” replied Erin. “Liam Davenport isn’t it?”

“Did you find Davenport interesting?” grinned Elladan. “He’s got a really odd personality, doesn’t he? His mood changes so quickly--- and never get him angry unless you have earplugs on you! He’s happy and cheerful one second and he’s all stormy the next. I don’t think he likes me very much!”

Erin laughed a sound that was so familiar to Elladan. “I’m in his good books, Eric. Unlike you, I think Davenport actually likes me.”

“I wouldn’t be on it,” said Elladan. He snorted. “Davenport can turn the switch in a second.”

Erin shook her head. “What do you have against him?” she rolled her eyes. “He’s nice to me… And Davenport’s pretty handsome too…”

“Handsome?” asked Elladan, staring at Erin skeptically. “Isn’t he a little too old for you? He’s forty something isn’t he?”

“Thirty-nine,” corrected Erin immediately.

Elladan just grinned again. “Keeping a track of that aren’t you?”

“Eric!” she protested. She swatted at him.

“Just kidding, girl!” laughed Elladan, trying to fend himself off.

Maybe he could talk to her after all…

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Author’s Note: Believe it or not, in the beginning, I was going to have one of the twins dead. I wanted to have Elladan choose the fate of mortals and then later died as a man. Then I realized I couldn’t bare killing one of them! Heehee, so that plan was officially aborted! How was the “history” lesson in this chapter? I put the word history in “quotations” because it’s not really the history for us, but rather the future. Remember, I do not predict prophecies and I know nothing about the future and very little concerning politics! So please spare me the axe when it came to creating a world of terror in this story. I have absolutely nothing against North Americans, Russians, the French, the British, Asians, and Middle Easterners. Don’t sue me! I just needed a little drama and dilemma is this story.

Thanks to Kelly, my beta-reader.

PLEASE REVIEW!

References to the Lord of the Rings (i.e. characters, places, events, etc.) are Copyrighted © Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. Original characters, plots, and events are Copyrighted © 2003 Alexis Delaflote, all rights reserved.