Page 13 of The Society (Spy Girl 3)
I look at my wrist, seeing the new Cartier watch but knowing it's not quite the same as my father's. Then the realization that he probably wasn't my biological father makes me sad, driving me into the room. I need to discover everything I can about Ares and his former life.
I take a few steps into what appears to be a poker room. There's a large humidor on one wall and a well-stocked bar on the other. The room doesn't look the least bit menacing.
"Speaking of an old boys' club," I say with a laugh, looking around.
"Yes, well, my wife won't allow me to smoke in the house, so this is our compromise room," Malcolm explains. "It's fully sealed, soundproof, and has its own ventilation system."
"And enough pleasures to keep us happy for a very long time." Aleksandr chuckles.
"I feel so stealth in here," I joke. "Are we going to play poker?"
"No, but if you don't mind, we might like to enjoy a cigar while we tell you about The Society."
"I don't mind," I reply.
They go directly to the humidor and spend about five minutes choosing the right cigar before pairing it with the right scotch. I study them carefully, sensing their camaraderie and wondering if Ari and I would have been a part of their world had Ares wanted to raise us.
When they join me in the leather-couch-filled sitting area, Malcolm says, "For just a moment, you looked sad. Tell me why."
"You seem to have such a wonderful friendship, and I was thinking about how, if Ares had claimed us as his children from the start, my life would have been so different. I know it's not nice to talk ill of the dead, but it kind of makes me hate him."
"As I told you, your father was a brilliant man, but he was not without his idiosyncrasies. I will admit though, we were very shocked to learn he had children. He always said he didn't want them. He was worried about our future world. Worried about overpopulation. Said he didn't want to contribute to it."
"I guess that explains it then. He never wanted us."
"I sort of assumed he never knew about you--until I saw your birth certificates. It's obvious, based on your names alone, that he did."
"I would hate him, too," Aleksandr says, surprising me. "I can't imagine a situation that makes it okay to abandon your children."
"I have a question. Something has been eating at me since Ari and I discovered that we are twins. Do you think Ares was the kind of man who was capable of lying to my mother and telling her that Ari had died?"
Both men look shocked I would even suggest such a thing, but Aleksandr starts nodding his head.
"I mean, I know he ended up getting military contracts and stuff, and I'm sure I'm making a ridiculously huge assumption, but I know that my mother didn't give him up. I know that she always mourned for him. And I just can't fathom any other reason to explain the situation. Did either of you know Ari's adoptive father? He was a four-star general who worked at the Pentagon. General Bradford."
"Paul Bradford?" Malcolm says slowly, like he just realized something. But then he recovers. "I'm afraid I didn't have the pleasure, but his reputation preceded him."
The men share a glance, and I sense that they most certainly have heard of him and something possibly just clicked regardless of what they say.
Malcolm rubs his hand across his forehead, looking distressed.
"What?" I ask.
"This is going to sound crazy to you, but your father could be irrational at times, especially when he wanted something."
Aleksandr shakes his head at Malcolm, seeming to indicate that he shouldn't tell me whatever he is about to.
"No," Malcolm insists. "It all makes sense now."
"What does?"
"Why you and your brother were separated. I believe that Ares lied, told your mother her son had died, and offered him to Paul Bradford as a bribe."
"Aside from the moral questions, why did he do that? What did he want?"
"Have you ever heard of the echelon?"
"Are we talking about the Medici family again?"
They nod.
"The echelon was what they considered the top tier of their society. Or is it more than that?" I ask.
"As you know, the Medici family were bankers and had great wealth. Many of today's royal families have Medici in their bloodlines because way back then Lorenzo the Magnificent wanted stability in the region, in the world. The Renaissance was a time of peace, and Medici wanted it to continue, but not everyone agreed with him, so he formed The Society. A group from the upper echelon of society whose goal was to control the world without politics interfering."
"And The Society you belong to today, does it have the same goal?"
"One thing you will learn about the very wealthy is most manage to increase their holdings regardless of where they are from because their investments, particularly in this day and age, are rarely tied to one country. Our members are upper echelon, and we strive to bring stability to the world as a whole. A noble cause, we believe."
"I agree that is a good thing, but how do you bring stability exactly?"
"Let's just say that, when you bring together those with power, influence, and money, it's easier to make good things happen."
"Good things for its members or good things for the world?" I ask. "In other words, does The Society want to control the world?"
"The world as a whole is what we strive for. And I wouldn't say control. I would say the goal is to gently guide it."
"Where does my father and the general fit in?"
"In 1997, military operations were taking place in Iraq, as was the rebuilding after the first Gulf War. One of your father's ideas was something called TerraSphere." Malcolm takes a puff of his cigar.
"I've heard of the Terra Project. Is that similar?"
"Yes, and no. Where did you hear of it?"
"Lorenzo's cousin, Clarice, told us all about it during Race Week in Montrovia. We were drinking champagne, and I wasn't listening that closely, but I do remember Peter and Lorenzo discussing it with her later. It had something to do with going back to bartering instead of using currency. She mentioned everyone working together for the greater good and having equal access to resources. The way she put it sounded great, except we know from history that socialism doesn't work."
"Your father's TerraSphere was simply a specific design for a new type of city. A city that uses solar, water, and wind energy rather than depleting our natural resources--one that is environmentally green."
"How does this all relate to General Bradford?"
"General Bradford was instrumental in the rebuilding process. As you can imagine, it was quite an expensive undertaking. Your father wanted to put his plan in motion. He was earning a lot of money but had to get government funding in order to finance the development of the project. Bradford was against it. He believed in acting on concrete information, not something that sounded good on paper. And even with Ares's connections to the upper echelon in The Society, no one in the military was going to allow it unless Bradford approved, and he was a man with a reputation above reproach."
"In other words, he couldn't be bought?"
"Exactly. But he and his wife were childless. I remember Ares mentioning it. In fact, his exact words were, 'Unless I want to steal a baby boy for that bastard, this deal will never happen.'"
"Were you involved in the deal? Why did he tell you about it?"
"Aside from the fact that we were friends and often d
iscussed business, he wanted my company to do the actual construction of the project."
"Do you remember when Viktor was born?" Aleksandr asks Malcolm. He's been quiet up until now. "He suggested offering him up to the general. At the time, I thought he was just joking."
"It makes sense now--why the general had a sudden change of heart," Malcolm says. "I figured Ares had finally offered him so much money that he couldn't refuse. I never would have agreed to--" He shakes his head, and then he leans over and pats my hand. "I'm sorry, Huntley."
I get up, pour myself a scotch, and quickly down it. "I used to wish I had met Ares Von Allister. Now, I'm glad I didn't. I hate him."
If I didn't know before whether I could trust Malcolm Prescott and Aleksandr Nikolaevich, I absolutely do now. The look of utter disgust on their faces over what Ares did mimics my own.
"And then, after that, he got to build TerraSphere?" I ask.
"Not right away. We didn't start construction for nearly ten years. Ares kept tweaking the plans, wanting it to be perfect. Even then, it wasn't. We had to make numerous corrections on the fly. Despite the general's reservations, it turned out to be quite the success.
"Normally, when you build such a project, you are shipping in parts and equipment from around the world. For the most part, the materials used were readily available locally. All we had to do was add the technology, and, boom, it's a new way to live.
"I'm sending Peter there to see it this summer. He's not thrilled, but I'm making him go. It's about time he learns what this business he will inherit entails. Would you like to go with him? The facility is owned by a subsidiary company that was a joint venture between our three companies. And, since you've inherited massive amounts of stock in each, you have a vested interest."
"Do you have any photos? I'm having a hard time envisioning it," I say, dread forming in the pit of my stomach.
"Of course," he says, setting his cigar in an ashtray and taking out his phone. He scrolls through numerous photos. "Before I show you this, I should tell you, the project is top secret. Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"We built it out in the middle of nowhere in order to see if it truly was self-sufficient. We don't want word getting out or anyone trying to copy the design, so we just haven't broadcast it."
"When was it finally completed?" I ask, thinking it must be fairly new.
"Six or seven years ago, I guess," Malcolm says.
