Into the Wind

Posted on Wed Aug 25th, 2021 @ 6:54am by Levi Rousseau

Mission: Episode 1: X-Odus
Location: Thailand, Chiang Mai province
Timeline: June 23, 1990

The lush mountains of Thailand spread as far north as the eye could see and a fertile valley to the south laid out a patchwork of fabric-like textures and colors nestled between the hillsides. The air up here was warm and the sweet scent of vegetation clung in the humidity. After two years here, Levi finally felt like he had a place where he belonged and, while not the most comfortable setting by any Western standard, he had grown quite fond of the people and accomodations.

When he arrived on this mountain, he was nothing like the monastery of Buddhist Monks that welcomed him in like family. That was no small feat and entirely coincidental that he befriended one of the younger monks, a man named Kraitos, shortly after he arrived in Bangkok. Kraitos understood without asking that Liam needed safe shelter and time to find his way.

There were times, especially early on, when the cultural and language barriers seemed insurmountable but Levi had no thoughts of leaving anytime soon. He had no desire to become a monk, but he was surprised that he'd grown accustomed to their daily work-life schedules and traditions in relatively quick fashion and several of them he'd befriended.

A solitary beat-up, old car wound its way upward from the valley on twisty mountain roads, kicking up a dust plume behind it. The car was familiar by now and Levi had given the driver the good-natured moniker of the 'mailman' because he had no idea what the Thai word was for the postal carrier. The mailman only made the trip to the temple a few times a month, he'd have a heavy basket half-full of letters and news from the outside world and he'd take some outgoing correspondence with him when he returned to the city. There was never any mail for the American -- nor did he have any outgoing letters -- because no one outside of the monastery knew Levi was here. So it was with complete shock that Kraitos handed Levi a letter addressed to 'Mr. L. Rousseau' with a return address in New York City.

Holding the envelope made his blood run cold and his fingers tremble. He excused himself from company and ripped it open on his way to his bunk. There was a corporate recruiting brochure with a sticky note inside that read, "Levi, we're building a wind farm off the east coast and I immediately thought you might be interested in a ground floor opportunity. We're doing great things, but could be better with you. -Jenna McGuire, recruiter"

At first it almost seemed like junk mail, but it was a hell of a long way for a job posting to just show up when not even his own mother knew where he was. Also, Jenna McGuire mentioned WIND FARM. It made him swallow hard. It was a subtle clue, but it was on purpose, he decided. Someone knew who he was, where he was, and what he was. "Time to move on," he decided.

He left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.

Once he'd hiked on foot far enough away from the monastery, he held his arms out and summoned an invisible force that pushed him upward until he was hovering above the tree canopy. He found flight hard to master and taxing, but there'd been little time for practice for this particular skill. He hoped for a few hours of air time before he'd have to stop for a rest. He knew he'd have to push himself for such a long trip to the country's busiest harbor in Bangkok. His plan was to head south toward the shipping lanes and then catch a cargo vessel headed somewhere, maybe Japan or Australia.

Just as he'd launched himself forward, a sharp pain in his leg caused him to stumble a bit in mid-air. He looked down through the dim moonlight and saw the tranquilizer dart protruding from his thigh just as he felt its effects hit and felt himself start to fall back downward.