The Lost Twins chapter 53 -Epilogue- Athens Greece

Ten hours later, Athena, Apollo and Artemis stepped through the entrance of the Olympos Head Quarter at the Gemini Boulevard, Athens, Greece. As soon as they entered the spacious and opulent lobby, both of the twins stopped and craned their necks to gaze up in the ceiling three stories up and then they were looking to and from to take in all the things to be seen. None of them had been here before and Athena waited patiently while they admired the large Atlantis Fountain with its glass naiads and extraordinary water art, all lit by multi-coloured led lamps.
"Our brother Hephaestos designed that one," Athena said when Artemis and Apollo had 'ah'-ed and 'oh'-ed enough. "He's the inventor of the family. And the quartermaster. And a lot of other things."
"He's around?" Apollo asked.
"Yeah, I'd love to see him," Artemis added as she held out her hand, letting slight sprays of water bouncing off the palm.

"Sure thing, he lives here in Athens," Athena assured. "And I bet he's as curious of you as you are of him. I'm certain all family members who can make it will show up here tonight, to see their new siblings or nephew/niece or whatever you are to them. This lot is very much of a curious and social gang, something you'll soon learn. And they're also appreciative of good adventures, so I imagine they're going to love to hear our story too. How we defeated Chermount and his minions."
"Sure thing," Apollo said. "And I imagine, you have to tell, Artemis, since you're the actor and narrator."

"I'll do it," Artemis nodded her head before she sprinted off to look at something else that caught her eyes. It was a wildlife display featuring gracing unicorns.
"They are trying to restore those beings, using genetics," Athena explained while she stepped up next to her sister.
"Here at the Olympos?"
"Yes - well at a subsidiary in the UK. The Specimen Group Ltd. Earlier they've mostly been involved in restoring extinct birds and fishes, but this is their first try at a mammal and a larger, more complicated specimen."

"Unicorns," Apollo exclaimed. "Well, call me impressed! However their horns are so much smaller than in art." With his left hand he indicated the four inch long protruding horn on the nearest equine.
"They never were larger," Athena explained. "For sure, artists have always been exaggerating things, to create a lager impact. And I guess with an extinct animal it became a lot easier. No one never really knew what they looked like for real."
"So how come they know it now?" Apollo asked.
"Because of the old genes they found and cloned," Athena said. "Demeter can tell you more, she's a biologist."
"Like in the Jurassic part," Apollo again.
"That film was insane," Athena replied. "But apparently the biologists at The Specimen Group got some ideas from that fairytale."

"Why exactly were the unicorns extinct anyway?" Artemis wanted to know.
"Because of their horns," Athena replied. "They were believed to be potency enhancing. Old style Viagra. So the poor gracers were hunted down for their horns until they finally vanished some 800 years into modern era."
"Men and their things," Artemis huffed lightly and Apollo made a face and showed her playfully and she pushed him back with a playful grin.

"Twins," Athena cut them off as they began to banter. "You know these things don't go anywhere, you can look at them later. Now dad is waiting eagerly for us." With those words she marched off to an elevator coach which was just opening up to let out a sole man with a briefcase. As soon as he was gone Athena stepped inside and pressed the button to keep the doors open until her sister and brother were inside. Then she hit the button to floor 56, where Zeus' office was located.

"I have to admit, this encounter makes me nervous," Artemis was saying as the elevator started to ascend. She glanced at herself in the mirror, smoothing her already perfect hair and glancing at an imaginary speck in her face. Apollo laughed at her fuzzing.
"It's not a date, you know."
"Still, I want to make a good impression. And dates I'm comfy with. This feels more like an audition, and I'm always nervous before auditions."
"Don't be," Athena assured. "In this case you don't have to."

Moments later the three of them were stepping out of the elevator, Athena saying hello to Mirelda, the secretary who affirmed with a generous smile that they could just step right in to the office of Zeus. And their father, as it turned out, was not alone, standing with him over by the panoramic window was a long-legged and graceful woman in a pencil-gray Dolce & Gabbana dress-suite that clung to her lithe and slender body almost as if it was painted upon her. Beneath it she wore an indigo blouse and a three row pearl collier encircled her swan-like neck. With her long ginger-coloured hair and classic looks, she was beautiful even by enhanced standards. In spite of being in her early sixties, there were no traces of age yet marring her elegant face.

"Mother," Artemis exclaimed as her eyes turned into saucers.
"Misi, darling!" Leto Coeus returned and dropped her briefcase to the floor before she took two or three long steps to meet her daughter, and they were soon embracing each other, while laughing out loud and then crying.

Meanwhile Athena watched Apollo move up to their father and holding out a hand in a professional manner, however Zeus was having none of it. Instead he was reaching out with his arms, enfolding his oldest son in a generous hug. Apollo appeared a bit stiff and awkward during the first seconds, but he soon warmed to Zeus' joviality. Moments later Zeus and Leto exchanged twin while Athena looked on with a smile upon her face. Then finally, she got the chance to shake hands with Leto and finally embrace her father.

As they all were gathering in the sofa suite, Zeus was welcoming them in words as well and then Athena took her chance to cut in.
"Leto Coeus, I'm very pleased to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you, the mystery and evasive spy queen. Things told both by your children and others."
"And I'm pleased to meet you too," the elegant woman was answering. "You're not exactly without a reputation either, Athena Olympias."
"I thought it an excellent idea inviting Leto here and now, when I learned that all of you were coming," Zeus said. "Especially since Hera has jetted off to New York to take care of some problems within the United Nations."
"And I cannot wait to hear your story either," Leto smiled. "Undoubtedly it's amazing."

At the same time there was a silent knock on the doors and upon Zeus' response it opened up and a petite woman in a starched, white uniform entered, pushing a trolley with refreshments. Tea, coffee, mineral water and small food laden on two trays. With skilled hands the servant balanced them off the trolley and down on the low table, where she began pouring beverages and arranging plates and cutlery. She was very swift and elegant in her moves and soon she was done and out the door with her trolley again.

Then, as soon as everyone had grabbed what they wanted, Artemis began the story of their adventure from the point where Athena approached her in Rome, in that back alley outside the Dolorada theatre. And while the actress did most of the narration with excellence, Apollo and Athena cut in now and then to add or clarify some detail.

It took them two hours, perhaps a bit more to go over the whole story, in spite of omitting details like the infighting between the 'Ndrangheta and the Camorra, the ogres at Jasmin Manor and how Ao had disappeared from them in Ukraine. Leto had looked devastated when learning that Artemis had been shot in Kiev and Zeus had wanted more details about the Unicorn business. Things Athena and the others had no idea about, so Zeus had made some scribbling in his note book, no doubt he was going to delegate a thorough research of that company quite soon after this sitting was over with.

"That Eugene Chermount sounds like the model A1 sociopath," Leto said when the narration was over. "I'm glad he was finally put down."
"Yes," Apollo said. "How come I keep running into this kind of enhanced people all the time? The nut-cases, I mean."
"That's some kind of an unfortunate side-effect," Zeus said and looked grave. "A notable portion of the earliest enhanced were intelligent and powerful enough but something was askew with their emotional abilities. They suffered from what can politely be described as moral instabilities. Like lack of self-restraints and the failure to understand other people's sentiments and suffering. Psychopaths and sociopaths in other words. Typhon's name always comes up when these people are mentioned, and in the beginning they were more or less as easy to spot as that old bastard. We found them when they killed and destroyed, and they were taken down and we made sure that they did not reproduce, if we could help it."

"Later there have been others. Harder to ascertain but no less perilous. These have been treacherous people who have been scheming more or less in the dark, using others as their tools for wet work. Finding assassins and other criminals isn't hard after all. Thus they have been able to fly under the radar for quite some time. The line Eugene Chermount originated from is just one example. I found that his father Batiste Chermount was a member of the Illuminati Brotherhood. Regrettably there are most definitely more of that ilk out there, people we'll have to keep a vigilant eye open for, because an enhanced madman is always more precarious than an insane regular. They can turn up everywhere after all."
"Even among us?" Athena felt herself pale.
"I have to admit that, yes," Zeus said with a sombre expression. "Not even our own set of genes are a hundred percent safe. Poor Ao Pallas was the proof of that."

"What do we do about it?" Artemis asked. "I want to have children one day, and I don't want them to grow up to become Chermounts. Or even Aos. Because regardless of her being my little sister, I found her creepy. I'm sorry for that," she suddenly looked teary-eyed.
"Honey," Leto laid her arm around her daughter, while Zeus went on.
"I cannot comfort you and say it's not going to happen to you, dear. Because then I would be lying. Fact is we cannot know. Not for the time being at least - perhaps in the future. The only thing we can do now is keeping an eye upon our children and take good care of them. Embrace them in a warm and loving environment to somewhat dampen what disturbances there might be. And work with what we know about these side effects."

"Ao wasn't bad," Athena defended her late sister. "She wasn't all there, I admit that. A loner with a quirky and insensitive mind and problems with her impulse control and her sense for right and wrong. But she tried her best. She wanted so hard to be good. To help. And in the end..." she stopped and shook her head, blinking back tears.
"Yes, she gave her life," Apollo said and reached for Athena's hand. "That was noble of her. And I hear what you're saying, Athena. Still it doesn't change the fact that she wasn't mentally healthy. It was a sad fate. The poor girl was doubtlessly suffering a lot, when she found that she could never fit in. Although it's hard to know what went on in her mind. I tried to get a grip on that several times during the short time we got together, but I was always slipping. It was like skating on thin ice, and beneath that was a deep bottomless unknown where the shadows would consume anyone if they took plunge in."

"We cannot be a hundred percent sure that there would be no more like Ao among us. Or worse," Zeus said. "Not until we know what causes that side effect in the process of genetic engineering. That's a risk we have to take. And we'll have to prepare for it if we really want our kind to live on and not be a parenthesis in the history of mankind."
   
"Father, now it's your turn," Apollo interjected and put down his empty coffee cup.
"My turn what?" Zeus raised a brow.
"Athena told us about your proposal, about that circle of twelve plans you are putting together. And that you are offering me and Artemis seats in your organization."
"Oh, yes, that is true!"

"Well, before I can accept," Apollo began. "And I assume that goes for Artemis as well, I wish to know a few things. Most of all what this organization really is about. I've studied it now over the last few days since I learned about your proposition, but I wish to know quite a bit more. For instance what's behind this outer layer that everyone sees. This business and research corporation with unicorns in the foyer and large add boards for the ESA space program. Is it true that you are really running the world from behind here?"

"As a matter of fact, it's far from that easy," Zeus admitted. "Mankind has always told stories about a secret society pulling all the strings in the dark. Now, that's a construction which would never work, since the world is far too large and diverse to be controlled that way. There's too many elements thrown into the equation to make such a governing body effective. Which those who have tried earlier have soon learned, very often the hard way. What we can do is affect certain elected leaders, use economic and political pressure to change the direction of certain events in the direction we wish. But we cannot act as secret dictators, simply because there's no way to acquire that kind of power over all those aspects of society that would be needed. There are too many people with too many disparate devices and desires out there to manage such a thing. Too much money and too many guns. But we are trying to steer the world through the worse obstacles and strive for some kind of order. Like stopping madmen like Eugene Chermount for instance."

"This organization called Olympos is the outer shell, just as you've figured out, son. It's the part financing everything beneath. A large part of its immense profits is sent down in the layers beneath, the organizations within the organization. The ones that does the real job."
"To make a better world?" Artemis asked.
"Yes," Zeus smiled. "Or rather hindering it from tipping askew totally very often."
"That sounds like a good idea. But for what...?"

Apollo was interrupted by a knock on the door and then a coffee coloured man entered the room. He was about seven feet two and resembled a bulldog, with a barrel chest and bulging biceps. He had a notable scar running down his left cheek, marrowing an otherwise handsome face and his jet black hair stood upright in a brush cut. The man didn't have an atom of fat on him, and it occurred to Athena that in a showdown between him and a tank, the tank would lose. The man's name was Argos Panoptes, she recalled. He was the head over security at the Olympos Organization, and nicknamed 'The Hundred-eyed' because he always seemed to perceive and to know everything about everyone – and then some.

"Zeus," Argos Panoptes greeted his superior before nodding to all the others. "The Italian issue has been dealt with the way you wished. All traces of any involvement by the Olympos organization or any of its owners, members, employers or other associates have been removed from the Unicorn business by now. As have all the research when it comes to enhanced beings. The police have been coerced in one way or another to forget what they should not remember and data has been gently hacked and erased."
"And the scientist, professor Jerzy Deivoron?" Zeus asked.
"Nobody will listen to a madman," Argos smirked. Then he faced the others in the group. "And these are the illustrious twins, I take it. Apollo and Artemis! Nice to meet you!" he added as the twins stood to shake his hand.

"My, you're even larger than The Enforcer," Artemis said in awe as she felt her hand disappear in Argos' enormous fist.
"You mean Madelena Giacobi's little minion?" Argos guessed. "Alias Roberto Zanini. Born in Palermo in 1990 as the second son of Ethiopian immigrants. Former Italian boxing champion who went into crime when his career died due to use of illegal substances and with that his dream of becoming the new Muhammed Ali."

Artemis oh-ed, impressed with Argos' knowledge and then the latter turned to the older woman and his face got the look of a little boy looking at his birthday table.
"And you, milady," he held out a hand. "You must be the everything but illustrious Leto Coeus. The legendary hidden one. The mystery spy queen and leader of the SIS. The grand old dame who even my organization failed to get a picture of."
"That should be me, yes," Leto smiled gently as she shook hand with the security head.
"Too bad we cannot sit down and trade collegial stories," Argos lamented. "But I bet your secrets are as prudently guarded as I ward mine."
"Of course," came Leto's laconian reply.

***

Clouds glowed rose and carnelian as the sun sank behind the multitude of rooftops of Athens, and a flock of birds etched black silhouettes against the sky. Another day was coming to an end and Athena yawned and stretched, the lack of sleep over the last few nights beginning to raise its claim.
"So you're in?" Athena smiled as she faced her little sister.
"Yes we are," Artemis confirmed. "Both Apollo and I. Zeus is lovely, I would never consider letting him down. I've missed him for so many years, and I'm happy to finally meet him. Besides it sounds like an exciting thing to do. And you? Off to another adventure?"

"No way?" Athena laughed. "No, I'm going back to the Azores to sleep for a week. And then there's my own work, which I have neglected for quite some time."
"And I bet we'll soon get our hands full of new adventures here in Greece," Apollo said and raised his glass of scotch towards his sisters.
"Fair enough," Artemis said and leaned back in her chair, a wide smile flashing across her lovely face.

*** THE END ***

Stay tuned for the next installment - the King of Thieves, soon to appear here.