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# Chapter Nine: All lines meet

*“Dreams are messages from the deep.”–Anonymous.*

 

***Caelum, Himalayas***

***2022***

 

Three decades. One man had rallied up four of the most trained nuns the world had ever seen in over a millennia. Though deceased, Hans had impacted the girls with enough identity to carry on his vision…now theirs too.

The girls had grown a bond to one another ever since they came to the Monastery. Jamari bonded easily with each of them since she was already in Caelum before any of the others showed up.

They had their differences, and occasional petty squabbles, especially from Valda, since she was naturally care free at heart.

Among the four, Jamari and Valda were the ones who were cut to the heart the most after Hans' passing. Valda’s emotional state of mind was fractured for a while, as she never knew her father was head of a clandestine network like Caelum. The Bishop only told her fragments of what Caelum was about till they arrived at the Monastery.

According to the Bishop, her father had stated shortly before his passing, that she be brought into Caelum to find purpose. Valda still found it hard to believe her father was dead. But she put her mind to the cause, and did just fine.

Jamari wasn’t one to hold back emotions when they were due. She cried and sulked for days after coming back from New York to learn of her mentor’s passing. He was the closest person to a father she knew, and even gave her the affectionate qualities of a mother…as well as that of a father. Hans was a man beyond his time. To have died in a car explosion seemed to her like some kind of hoax.

Hans Schneider kept his private life, private. He had a way of being open with her yet still maintained an air of mystery. She never knew enough, regardless, she never felt distant from him.

With the Archpriest gone, Jamari was leader of the three, under the guidance and authority of the Bishop. Someone she never really knew well enough, given that he was hardly ever at Caelum. Yet she had honor for him despite that.

Jamari Archibald still carried Hans' vision, now entwined with hers…which then, became one.

Nakano had come a long way too, and though she still hadn’t found her sister, Akasuki. She knew that she would some day. Hans Schneider had changed her life after that day by the phone booth in uptown Tokyo. He had put her on the path of purpose. He had taken her in when she was caught between worlds, broken, and without a compass to guide her.

Ashanti Tanko felt numb. A year before Hans' death she had lost three of her most trusted allies at the time. Losing him shortly after, less than a year after arriving at Caelum, ripped a home in her heart. Ashanti was a strong hearted black woman, but even strong women needed support from the right people. Thankfully, she had Jamari, who she felt the closest too, Nakano, and Valda.

“I’m thinking we should have a name.” Ashanti suggested while they were having a briefing on an important world economic forum coming up.

“Yeah right, and matching tattoos while we’re at it.” Valda said, jokingly.

“Matching outfits too.” Nakano joined in on the wisecrack.

“You girls are mean!!” Jamari couldn’t help but laugh.

“Mean and right.” The Bishop replied, with a poker face. “You all represent a system whether you realize that or not.” He continued to say. “Come next week, the world will finally see a face behind the nuns. At least part of the world will.”

“What do you mean, part?” Jamari asked, out of curiosity.

“Only one of you will be seen by members of the forum. At Caelum, we do much of our work from the comfort of the shadows. To reveal all your identities would be catastrophic to the Caelum. Remember, the men who perpetrate chaos work better in the shadows. It’s our job to root them out from the shadows. Pluck them from the bloody roots.”

There was a pause as everyone in the room let the words of the Bishop sink in.

“I’m guessing you’ve already decided who reveals their identity.” Ashanti asked, wondering who it was.

“Miss Chihiro.” He said solemnly.

Nakano just nodded. As far she was concerned, she was completely yielded to the cause.

“Soft words have a way of breaking even the hardest of hearts.” The Bishop continued. “ And you, Nakano, have a way with words which is just what we need for the public right now. I wouldn’t ask, if it wasn’t a necessity.”

I understand what is required, and I accept.” Nakano replied with a warm smile. A lot had changed since 2011. She was still kind, mild, but among the four nuns, she was the most deadly.

 One thing the nuns had come to understand was that unpredictable power was lethal.

“One more thing.” The bishop said. “ Our sources tell us Klaus Gunter will be there.”

This caused a small stir among the ladies. Valda’s eyes widened, remembering their brief last encounter about seven years ago.

“We don’t know where he'll be precisely, but we do know the Canadian prime minister will be a target. Klaus has been trying to expand his empire to the Northern part of North America for reasons still unclear to us at the moment. Whatever it is, the prime minister must leave there alive. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.” They replied in unison.

“That’ll be all, ladies. This meeting is adjourned.” The Bishop was on his way out the meeting room, when he turned and said, “And by the way, you all get matching outfits, and Tattoos, and reserve bladed swords like Valda’s. Though Nakano wouldn’t need hers since the rest of you will take care of any threats that arise. Do I make myself clear?”

“Copy that, sir.” Ashanti replied.

“Roger that.” Came Valda’s and Nakano's reply in unison.

“Yes, sir. Arigato.” Jamari said in Japanese.

“Show off!” Valda said teasingly to Jamari.

 “You still haven’t given us a name.” Ashanti said to the Bishop, ignoring Valda and Nakano’s playful banter.

“Oh, but I have. Over the last few years I’ve seen you topple tyrant systems and shape economies, even the NFT world. All this from the shadows. I see no fitting name for you as a team than a name that depicts all these activities in two words.”

There was a pause as she nuns waited for their leader to give them a name.

“*Crypto Nuns.”* Were his only words.