Sabina's Pursuit of The Holy Grail
Chapter 14: Limping and incognito.

I woke up the following morning in the worn-down room, when there was a knock on my door. I opened the door, and in front of me was a handsome-looking woman around my age. She was slim, tall, and had a boyish haircut. She was dressed like a computer hacker, equipped with a cool-looking laptop, and headphones with loud music banging. She delivered my package and left without saying a word. I opened the package and I studied my delivery. I was grateful that I had found a dark webshop, which delivered the promised goods instead of scamming me or turning me over to the authorities. The package contained a set of clothes, a laptop, a cell phone, a fake ID, a prepaid credit card and a pair of sunglasses.

I put on the clothes and realised that it was second-hand clothes. The same applied for the phone and the laptop. But there wasn’t much to say about it. After all, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and I was happy that they had delivered my package at all. I checked the internet, to see how I could outsmart the security cameras that were located everywhere. Apparently, a hoodie and sunglasses were a good start. But since the security cameras also detected a person’s movement pattern, I needed a radical change to fool them.

I concluded that I had twisted my ankle the previous night, when I avoided Jakub’s bullet. If I sustained a slight injury on my shoulder, my walking pattern would unrecognisable by the AI. I wasn’t a fan of self-inflicted damage, but I realised that I was here on a mission, so I had no other choice. I slammed my shoulder into the wall, dropping to the floor in agony and pain. Hating what I would have to do next, I kicked the wall with my bare foot, causing my ankle to twist even more.

Once the pain had receded, I got up. I studied myself in the mirror. I realised that the pain had caused me to stand and walk differently, although not for the better! I put on my hoodie and my sunnies, and I went out to commence my search for the Zeto Crystal.

As I exited the room, I damned myself for my immoral cowardice the night before. By letting Jakub die, I also killed off the trail to the conspiracy that held Jerusalem’s inhabitants hostage. What if the conspiracy was somehow linked to the Zeto Crystal? I hadn’t thought about it in my agitated state the previous night, but now the question overwhelmed me with relentless force.

I realised that the moral dilemma was irrelevant now. I was here on a mission. My mission was to replace and cleanse the Zeto Crystal to make Earth a better place. I wasn’t here to save the lives of cold-blooded murderers who had tried to kill me.

But how would I replace the Zeto Crystal, and where would I begin my search? I realised that I had felt a tingling sensation at the Western Wall, before Yussuf and his suicide-homicidal plans had shattered the peace. But the Western Wall precinct was in a lockdown after the previous day’s terrorist attack. I decided to explore the remaining parts of the Old Town on foot, as it wasn’t very suitable for traversing in a driverless cab. It was painful walking on my rolled ankle, but it was the only way to cheat the automated AI cameras. I hoped that my injured state wouldn’t attract the attention of the local police.

I walked around in the local quarters for an hour, sensing that the Zeto Crystal was near, but not close enough for me to pinpoint its location. I froze as someone screamed at me from behind. “עצור, משטרה!” It meant nothing to me, as I don’t speak Hebrew. I turned around and much to my dismay, I was facing a police officer in combat gear.

“I don’t understand,” I said, as the police officer faced me.

“Take off your sunglasses and show me your ID!” the police officer stated with an assertive voice.

I froze for a moment. Then I angled myself away from the facial recognition security cameras, hoping that the police officer wouldn’t recognise me. After that, I took off my sunglasses and showed him my fake ID.

The police officer studied my fake ID and my face for a while. He nodded, forced a smile, and spoke. “Thank you, Miss Keila Eisenstein. Do you need medical assistance with your limp?”

I smiled back and replied. “No, it’s just a minor sporting injury. I should be fine in due time.”

“Very well, carry on then, civilian.” The police officer said and walked away from me.

I was relieved that I didn’t need to use my powers to get out of the situation. I was also comforted that there evidently wasn’t a warrant for my arrest. Otherwise, the police officer would have studied my ID more closely. I walked into a small alleyway and went into a small coffee shop. I ordered some peppermint tea, to calm my very tense nerves.