Page 25 of The Phoenix (Spy Girl 6)
“On what?”
“Where did you and Malcolm suddenly fly to when Peter, Viktor, and me were in Iraq?”
“Didn’t my wife tell you?” he asks.
“She said it was work-related, but she didn’t say where you went.”
“Do you think I have something to do with this group of ten because I’m a trustee?” he asks, finally putting the pieces together.
“We were attacked by a private military group. They weren’t kidnappers. They were there for us. We used my father’s code to tour all the secret research facilities. Did we see something we shouldn’t have?”
His eyes search mine. “And you think Malcolm and I could have had something to do with the attack on our own sons?”
“The timing of your trip seemed suspect. I tried to track your flight, but you’ve hidden the tail number online.”
He leans back in his chair, takes his phone out of his breast pocket, and opens an app. “This shows the tracking for both of our planes.” He puts in Malcolm’s tail number and then a passcode. It pulls up a list of flights. “What day was it?”
“July 6th.”
He hands me the phone. “London to Dubai and back.”
“What about yours?”
He cocks his head. “Tricky, just like your father.” He shows me his tail number, which flew from Paris to London and sat idle until his return a few minutes after the other bird touched down.
“So, that means, someone with a research facility—many of whom are board members on my father’s company—were worried we saw something we shouldn’t have.”
“And you’re in danger?”
“I don’t know honestly. All I know is life was a whole lot less complicated before I found out I was Huntley Von Allister. And I have no idea who to trust.”
Aleksandr taps his chin with his finger and thinks for a long moment before pointing at me. “Corporate espionage is a real threat in any business that creates new ideas, which would be the case of all of the companies with research and development located in the Sphere. Its remote location is one of the benefits. Maybe a researcher panicked and assumed a corporate threat.”
“We introduced ourselves and told them why we were there.”
“Still, you got in without going through the proper protocol. They all should have reported it.”
“You have research and development there. Did your team?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but then again, my son was there on a planned trip. They knew you were coming. I told them to show you the innovative propulsion system for the vessels they were working on.”
“And they did. They were excited to meet Viktor.”
“I know.” He smiles proudly. “They told me so.”
“Did you tell him so?” I ask.
“No.” He grins at me. “I will though.”
“Good. But imagine for a moment that we had come in completely unannounced. Would you have sent a team to kill us?”
“Uh, no.” He nervously taps his foot on the floor as he looks across the room, straight at Harrison McClellan.
And, before I know it, he’s on his feet, moving in McClellan’s direction, who just stepped outside.
Halfway there, Malcolm steps in front of him, realizing his friend is upset. They talk and then both calmly follow McClellan out the door.
I attempt to follow them but am stopped by Allie’s brother-in-law, who wants to dance with me.
When I finally get outside, Intrepid is standing next to Aleksandr and Malcolm on the rocky cliff where Ari and Allie said their vows earlier.
“Where’s McClellan?” I ask.
They all nod toward the sea.
“There were harsh words spoken between Mr. McClellan and these two gentlemen,” Intrepid says, pointing at Malcolm and Aleksandr.
“What were you doing out here?” I ask him.
“Smoking a cigar,” he replies.
I walk to the edge of the cliff, but it’s too dark to see anything.
“What happened?”
“He was drunk and fell,” Intrepid says.
“What really happened?”
“I told him I knew he was responsible for the attack on my son in Iraq,” Aleksandr says.
“And then what?”
“He said they’d never forgive him and launched himself off the edge.”
“Merde,” I curse.
Interesting that he said the same thing as Dupree before he died. I desperately need to find out who they are.
I sneak back into the reception before anyone notices I was outside. I’m sure the authorities will be arriving soon.
Once inside, I check every single man in the room, including Sergey Olander and Zayn Kipling, who I believe are the other two Echelon members.
But none of them are wearing their rings.
MISSION:DAY SEVEN
A group of four men are gathered in a salon on Zayn Kipling’s yacht, which is anchored just off the coast of France. It’s not a place they would normally have a meeting of The Echelon, but the vessel has a high-tech countersurveillance system that will suit their purposes for today.
“Our group has dwindled down to practically nothing,” Sergey Olander states. “Especially with the death of Harrison.”
“Is that something we should be concerned with?” Zayn Kipling asks. “What if it wasn’t an accident?”
“There were three witnesses who saw him fall off the cliff,” the leader, Maximillian Olivier, says. “And you saw Harrison earlier. He had been fighting with his wife, who went to her hotel room alone because he was being drunk and obnoxious.”
“The police didn’t suspect foul play. Besides, neither Malcolm nor Aleksandr would lie about something like that,” Olander says. “Malcolm seemed very upset. He’s a good man.”
“I’m glad you think so, Sergey,” Maximillian Olivier says. “After the event, I’d like to present him with McClellan’s ring since he did not have a male heir.”
“What about the other rings?” Zayn Kipling inquires.
“If the king of Montrovia survives, he will receive Lorenzo the Magnificent’s original ring. Ares Von Allister’s will naturally pass to his son, Aristotle. Once we obtain Dupree’s ring, I’d like it to go to Aleksandr Nikolaevich. Since both he and Malcolm were close friends of Ares, I believe they would strive to honor his vision in the future. When we reacquire the tenth ring from the museum, we will take nominations for that spot, and you all know that Hillford’s ring has been bestowed upon Royston Bessemer.”
“Who was an idiot and wore it to the wedding. Didn’t McClellan tell him it was only to be worn during meetings?” Sergey asks.
“I told him such at the reception,” Maximillian says. “He apologized profusely. Said McClellan never told him and that he was trying to honor the memory of Ares at his son’s wedding.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” Sergey says. “Really, we probably all should have worn them.”
“Why didn’t Royston join us today?” Zayn asks.
“While we are confident in our choice,” Maximillian says, “we felt it best not to read him in completely on our plan just yet. We only painted broad strokes.”
“He’s on a jet with Huntley Von Allister, headed to Montrovia, as we speak,” Rutherford Elingston adds.
“At least he will be easy to find should the current president not meet our needs,” Maximillian jokes.
“Is an assassination plan for the president and the vice president of the United States in place?” Zayn wonders.
“Of course,” Rutherford states. “Our military man in Montrovia will take care of President Spear personally, and we have an asset on the vice president’s staff in Washington.”
“The military man’s original plan also included the death of Lorenzo Vallenta,” Zayn says. “That doesn’t really seem fair to me since this whole thing was started by his ancestor.”
“Although Ares Von Allister wanted the Val
lenta bloodline to become the world’s royal family, it’s not a priority as far as I’m concerned. Besides, we have more pressing issues to discuss,” Maximillian says, trying to keep the men on track.
They are all leaders who are brilliant in their fields and worth a whole lot of money, but it’s not their money that matters anymore. It’s the treasure Hillford hid in the desert that does. It is the treasury upon which Arcadia will be founded.
“Let’s get back to the reason for our meeting. I’m pleased to announce that all the pieces are in place and our goal for the perfect world lies in the palm of our hands. People at the Olympics will become ill over the next twenty-four hours. Over the next forty-eight hours, as spectators of the opening ceremonies return home, the virus will spread to the rest of the world.”
“Explain how the virus works again,” Sergey says.
Maximillian smiles. He finds it remarkable how their plan has evolved.
Just seven years ago, they were going to use a less reliable supply of poisoned grain from McClellan’s company combined with a coup of Montrovia, featuring Alessandro Vallenta. That was, until the brilliant discovery of a new deadly disease by a scientist who worked for one of Dupree’s companies, a research firm known as PureGen that does nothing but attempt to create diseases that could be used in warfare.
“Since Dupree isn’t here to explain the science behind it all, I’ll give you the layman’s version as I understand it. The opening ceremonies to kick off the Olympics are being held during the day so as to allow the queen to throw a ball immediately following it. Embedded in the smoke of the daytime fireworks are two airborne viruses that will present as one. The first has flu-like symptoms—a scratchy throat, swollen lymph nodes, low-grade fever, and a unique lacy rash. This virus will spread like wildfire, as there is no incubation period. People will get sick within a few hours of exposure. The people who will die are those who actually attended the opening ceremonies and were directly exposed to the scientist’s disease.”
“Won’t doctors figure that out?” Zayn wonders.
“They won’t have time. This is what they will know,” Maximillian explains. “The sick are coming in masses and presenting flu-like symptoms, and shortly after, they develop the telltale rash. Those who have the rash, including extremely healthy athletes, are dying. They will assume that everyone who gets the rash will then also die. That’s why the timing of all this is crucial.”
