The Lives of Tao Read Online Free PDF

something in his sleep. Tao temporarily lost control and almost fell over. Muttering under his breath, Tao picked up the phone again. “My apologies, Keeper, he is being uncooperative.”
    There was a pause on the other end. “What if we sent you help to push the host along? There are a few unallocated agents recovering from combat. I can assign one to you.”
    Tao hated receiving help with the training. He preferred to mold new hosts to his own exacting standards. However, under these circumstances, he had little choice in the matter. “Who is available?”
    “Haewon’s second year. Eva’s fifth. Baji’s fourth. Vou’s ninth.”
    “Baji’s fourth, is it Dania’s daughter?” he asked.
    “I thought you would select her. She is in the Philippines right now. I will have her transferred over.”
    “Yes, perfect. Thank you, Keeper.”
    “Of course, Tao. Be safe, you were always one of our best.”
    Roen twisted in his sleep and dropped the phone again. This time, Tao lost his balance and fell over. Near the end of his strength, he gave up and left the body where it lay. The mission, compounded with the strain of a new host, had pushed him to his limits.
    Tao needed to rest. For the next few days he would observe his host. Then at the right time, he would introduce himself to Roen Tan, though in reality, there was never a good time for these sorts of introductions.
    Usually, he would spend months observing before making contact. But there was much to do and little time to do it. Roen’s life was now in Tao’s safekeeping. The Keeper had made the consequences perfectly clear. Tao did not intend to lose a second host in such a short period of time. As he retired for the night, he couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead. Chances were he might have lost a generation staying in this host. But what if this Roen Tan could be another Edward, Zhu, or Temujin?

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    THE HUNT
     
    Sean Diamont studied his smartphone, tapping his foot to the beeps of the elevator as it raced up Willis Tower. While everyone else watched the changing numbers like lemmings, he didn’t bother. He knew exactly when to get off. To him, every moment in life was part of a chess game. One that he played four steps ahead of everyone else. Events could be measured in patterns and sequences. By recognizing and understanding how and when things happened, Sean found that he could live life very efficiently, exactly how Chiyva wished.
    Sean first learned the will of his Holy One when Chiyva found him in the jungles of Vietnam. Back then, he was an undisciplined, delinquent youth whom his parents had shipped off to the army. He was so difficult to train that he was almost dishonorably discharged during boot camp. No one expected Sean to return from the war alive.
    Chiyva found the eighteen year-old soldier during an intense firefight that left his platoon dead and Sean captured by the enemy. At first, the boy thought himself mad from captivity when his Holy One first spoke. Then, after many months, he realized God had sent an angel to watch over him. Chiyva taught him how to survive the prison camp, how to read the patterns in the guards’ patrols, and how to probe for weaknesses in the prison. Together, they hatched an escape plan. Sean wandered in the jungle for three weeks, surviving off the land, until he eventually made his way to friendly forces. Sean never questioned the Genjix again. He led the rescue party back to the prison camp and received a Congressional Medal of Honor, making him a war hero.
    Once back in the States, Sean later obtained a law degree from Northwestern University. He was now a managing partner at one of the largest law firms in the country. Not bad for a young rebel who almost didn’t finish high school.
    The elevator beeped for the fifty-fourth time and without waiting, Sean exited just as the doors opened. His eyes never left his smartphone as he walked five steps forward, twelve to the left through the glass