Ace
“Ace” Book Summary
( Want an entire book summary in here. I want the Literary Agent to feel like they read the whole book in about 1000 to 1500 words)
Chapter 1 New Orleans (Summary)
Arthur Ace Briggs drives down Bourbon Street, hoping it will be a calm night but not before seeing that the one villain that tops his books was walking on the streets freely. He had chased Nash down severally but with no luck even as he was called “Ace” by colleagues, the one who got things done quickly and easily, mostly with no help from anyone.
Briggs chases down Nash into Dungeon bar, without being caught by Nash where he attacks Nash and drags him away, without help for the first time. Nash was helpless as he had never been in the presence of anyone before.
As Briggs tries to move Nash, he gets a vision. Briggs had superpowers, one that gives him visions about things and the past and understanding about things that had happened that he was not present in.
The one word he heard in his head is “Kalfu”. The one name that many, if not everyone of New Orleans feared.
Chapter one goes deeper into the life of Arthur as an orphan and how he meets Father Turner who adopted him from childhood and helped him grow through school and through life generally. Arthur never knew his parents. Father Turner found him as a baby on the streets and brought him into the orphanage that he happened to be in charge of.
Arthur never got a stable home and Father Turner was forced to take him in and train him himself.
Arthur decides to go into detective school to become one and throughout his journey there, he realizes that he was being treated differently because something had made him different. Doctor Brea, the only female doctor in detective school, who never talked so much suddenly started asking him questions even when he did not want to answer. Arthur guessed it was as a result of a vaccination he got that other trainees did not get but moving on, he appreciated whoever had picked him for the powers.
Arthur made sure to hide it very well though he knew the soldiers were desperately looking forward to knowing if their plan about him worked but Briggs knew he had never been a lab rat and he would not be one. He hid it for years until he left the school to become a private investigator.
As soon as he was done with the training to become a private investigator, he left the school immediately to go back to Father Turner. He knew it was only Father Turner who would understand and might be the only one who could give him answers concerning the new powers he had. He was stronger than others and could endure stress more than any other person. He was also faster.
All these and Father Turner was still confused when he heard them. Arthur tried to show him and Father Turner only got more confused. Arthur tells him he can also see into minds and read minds. Father Turner asks him to explain better and that’s when Arthur holds his hands. He sees himself as a baby as Father Turner picks him up from the floor and the journey to the orphanage and the first few years after that.
Arthur dropped Father Turner’s hand like he had seen something. He turned to Father Turner to ask him a question.
Chapter 2 Crime Fighter (Summary)
It only took a few minutes after the attack of Ace on Nash before the word got out and to the ears of the captain in charge of the police and investigator activities of Bew Orleans. Ace planned to report what happened to the officers but instead got stuck in a conversation with his boss, the captain that kept telling him he did something wrong and had the wrong approach.
Back and Forth and Ace knew that captain Breaux was probably just in feelings in fear of what will happen because of who Nash was but it only got clearer to him after he returned home to father Turner who explained everything to him after Ace explained all that happened with the Captain.
The bartender in the bar when he hit Nash worked for his captain and was the one who informed him of what happened before Ace went in to make the report which was shocking because he was to remain unbiased as a captain.
Farther Turner explained what the Xavier community had to do with everything. What they did was to oversee the affairs of the Catholic community and anything else beyond or around that was not any of their business as long as they were doing what they were actually supposed to.
Father Turner and Ace kept talking and the name “Kalfu” came up which scared Father Turner as Ace did not know who Kalfu was before then. Kalfu was the man who was basically in charge of everything that was happening in New Orleans. Nothing they did could happen if it had not pass him first. Kalfu had powers and many other people got their powers from him. Ace knew his captain was affiliated to Kalfu in some ways and was the reason he was protecting the bartender and Nash that he should be against, strongly.
Father Turner advised Ace to stay safe because it could be that they were now watching him after all that happened earlier. It was very possible that kalfu already knew about it and was working towards it already. Ace was fierce but he feared this Kalfu man and it was enough when Father Turner asked him to switch safehouses just in case they already studied where he usually stayed.
The safehhouses were located in different parts of New Orleans and in strategic locations, they made them in such a way that was not obvious. The houses were only known by the Xavier community and some other people that were affiliated to the community.
Ace remembered that he always had no visions when he shook the hands of the captain and always thought it was because the man was pure but it seemed reverse was the case. He was probably too dirty for his superpowers to even comprehend.
Ace left for the safehouse but met someone else even in the new safehouse that Father Turner had directed him to. The young lady, one that he barely saw except her boss, Mr. Nova, was busy and he needed to pass an important information to the receiver.
Lexi waited for Ace to settle down before going on with the reason she was visiting. Mr Nova wanted Ace to work with him.
Chapter 3 Ace (Summary)
Ace decided to work for Mr. Nova and the first thing was to find Captain Breaux because of the news that was circulating that something strange was going to happen for him and through him in New Orleans. Lexi had not told Ace everything but she said it was one of the biggest things they had to do because Captain Breaux had something up his sleeves that many private investigators like Lexi and her boss were after because they had to really understand what was actually going on in their Land.
The journey to the designated area where they heard Captain Breaux was took a while but thanks to Alex, the motorbike that Ace was given, who found it easy to navigate and find his way even in places that it did not seem quite possible.
The trees in the forest they found themselves had almost stopped him from going on with investigating and finding out where Captain Breaux was and what he was actually doing in such a place except it was something they desperately wanted to keep from people because it didn’t make a lot of sense to go very far into the forest because of things like that.
Captain Breaux was detected but there was no way to get a view of what was actually going on, thanks to the trees that blocked the view of Ace and his partners. He had to climb a tree and from looking, he found the Captain lying on the ground with a man in a long, black robe hovering above him.
Alex immediately recognized who it was. Kalfu had spotted Ace on the tree as well. It became a race between Kalfu himself and Ace. Kalfu spotting him could mean a lot of things and could affect the trajectory of many other things.
Lexi urged him to get away from the tree and run. Ace wasted time but knew that he actually needed to get away. The look on the face of Kalfu after he saw him was enough to scare him regardless of how fearless he always was even in the face of issues such as that. Ace looked around but there was no solution. Running was the best way to cut it.
An aircraft came to their rescue but not before coming to the understanding that Kalfu sighting him meant he had to leave the private investigative life alone because Kalfu would find Jim and would not rest until he was sure he was wiped from the face of the earth, he has such powers.
Ace argued and disagreed for a while, especially after hearing that it was a machine that was going to choose his new life for him, a machine that someone built with their own hands.
Lexi assured him that it was the best decision he could take because that way, any human mind would not be able to comprehend where and what he was doing especially when he needed to be found.
Ace knew it was for the best and he had to accept the new trajectory of his life if he was going to keep himself safe for whatever was coming and to be able to deal with it perfectly.
EPILOGUE
“It is already a shame that New Orleans lost its best detective, and now I can see you will not accept my offer to be a police captain.” Superintendent Breaux told Ace. “You do have an ace up your sleeve.”
Ace had yet to learn why Superintendent Breaux stopped by Ace’s Full House art gallery. Ace was surprised when Breaux showed up to offer him a position as a police captain.
“You really scared me the last time you told me to turn in my badge and how dangerous the people I was messing with were.” Ace smiled to himself, knowing what that decision had done for him. “That week gave me time to get away and do what I enjoy. I thought it was luck when I found my first painting.” He smiled again. “Six art galleries later, I think I know this business,” Ace responded.
Ace had never known he had a good hand for art paintings, but thanks to Alex, who had scanned and come up with things he could do. Art? Ace never considered the art business until Alex put how many times Ace glanced at paintings and then put it into a statistic. Alex could count how often Ace glanced at art and gave the value based on an advanced appraisal algorithm. For most of the art that Ace glanced at, Alex would measure Ace’s vitals and see that the paintings that Ace enjoyed were mostly undervalued.
“I regret suspending you now.” Breaux and Ace laughed at the same time.
“Well, you are not doing yourself badly there, Breaux. I am sure we will be at many of the same parties.” Ace mentioned.
After all, he found out about Breaux, he had not imagined that they were going to be friends or imagined that they were going to be seated together in the same room to talk calmly with each other. But if Breaux did not identify Ace as the person at Twin Alley Plantation, a fake friendship would be an asset.
“Well, Ace, I will talk to you later,” Breaux said.
“Later, Chase,” Ace said.
They shook hands, and Ace still could not get a vision of Breaux “I am sure Doctor Kalfu has something to do with that.” Ace said to himself in more of a whisper, loud enough for only himself to hear.
Alex came over the intercom from aces glasses. “I did not detect any suspicion in Superintendent Breaux’s voice, Sir. It appears he was genuinely having a conversation.”
“Eleo Nova seems to think Doctor Kalfu working for Bernard Baits had something to do with the abilities I obtained in the military—specifically the vaccine I received in the first week.
Ironically the super soldier they wanted to produce would become a thorn in their side. Eleo says I am Frankenstein’s monster, but I guess I need to read that novel to understand it fully. But I get the gist.” He said, unsure if Alex was interested in the conversation.
While Ace was walking around his art gallery, admiring the paintings on display, He remembered one painting that used to be in the spot he stood in the gallery. When the original owner let Arthur Briggs put his painting on display, he remembered that his first painting was no accident.
Lexi Page had Xavier agents searching the globe for his first painting to buy. They needed to lightspeed Ace’s success so he would have time and alibis for crime fighting. Eleo Nova had some paintings stolen from an underground art collection in Argentina. The paintings were probably stolen by the Nazi party in the 30s and were thought to be lost forever. Hundreds of these lost treasures exist unknowingly and knowingly in people’s attics and basements worldwide. Somehow those paintings made their way to a Mom and Pop antique shop. Their son inherited the antique business but knew little about the inventory. So, it was very easy to stash four paintings and other paintings in the shop when the son was not there.
Ace walked into the shop and offered to buy all twelve paintings.
“Why all twelve?” The shop owner has asked. Ace wanted to avoid drawing attention to the four valuable paintings stashed amongst the others.
“I want to sell them to different art galleries. I need as many as I can afford.” The shop owner nodded and told him the price he was selling it for.
“It is going for 2500 dollars for all twelve.” The shop owner said.
Ace had disagreed. “I only have 1200 dollars. Deal or no deal?”
The shop owner sighed. He had never had anyone come to the shop who offered to buy at such high prices, so he did not mind, but he was still going to bargain. “You can pick five paintings for that.” The shop owner said.
“No. I will pick eight and nothing less than that.” Ace said. Deal! The owner said.
Alex had ensured he picked the four paintings that Eleo had stashed there.
“I was told the art gallery I should show the paintings to, knowing the owner would recognize the artist. The owner could not believe his eyes. Let’s just say he retired from the commission from selling the four paintings and sold me my first art gallery. I even returned and gave the kid that originally sold me the paintings a good part of the commission. I did not feel right using him that way.”
“The last painting I picked intrigued me and was not one of the four lost paintings. It was just a painting originally abandoned in the mom-and-Pop antique shop. It is the painting that I am looking at right now. It is a painting of crossroads in a beautiful field and looks to be the image of a faded man on the back left corner next to the dirt road.”
“Then there was a voice behind me, but it was calm, soothing, and did not startle me. In a slightly deep creole with a hint of an English accent, the voice had said a few things; ‘Everybody in a moment of their life has a choice to make, and the path they choose Greatly affects their life. You can sell that painting to me right now, and you will be guaranteed a life of extreme wealth and success.”
Ace looked at the bottom right-hand corner of the painting, and it said sold on the little red card. Ace did not even turn around and said, “I cannot sell it to you. This painting has already been sold.” Ace turned around and saw the back of Kalfu leaving his art gallery.
Ace reached over to the little red card that said sold, he turned it on round, and it read Marie Laveau.
THE END
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