Page 5 of The Phoenix (Spy Girl 6)
“What was good,” he counters, “was the kiss we shared before you left.”
A grin spreads across my face. “To use one of your words, I didn’t think it was just good; it was quite exquisite.”
“I’m visiting the Olympic sites on Tuesday. Will you be here to join me?”
“Yes, I will. The only issue I’m worried about is that the press will see us together.”
“I have been concerned about that as well. And I’ve come up with a plan. Bring Daniel with you. We were all friends before the engagements. I think it will be good for the press to see that we all still are.”
“You want to take Lizzie and Daniel with us to tour the facilities?”
“No, my sweet. I need you alone for that, but if we are seen together in social situations, it won’t seem unusual for me to invite you alone to view something that was your father’s design.”
“You are a little devious. I like it.”
“And I love you, my darling. Until then—”
“You’ll keep tracking me?” I tease.
“As long as you will allow me to by wearing my words of love around your neck.”
“That will be for as long as I’m alive.”
“I do hope that is for a very long time. I have many plans for us.”
“As do others,” I say, knowing I need to get back to work and ending the call after telling him good-bye.
I find a hustle of activity going on in the kitchen. Blake has a towel thrown over his shoulder and is standing in front of a professional gas range, cooking up a bunch of scrambled eggs. Ari seems to be manning the toaster, adding more English muffins to the machine and buttering the ones he just took out. Ares is cutting up banana pieces while his father is stirring pancake mix.
I stop for a moment and take in the scene. Looking from the outside in, you’d think we were all a happy family, prepping to dine together.
And I will admit, I kind of like the look.
“What can I do to help?” I say, making my way around the island.
“Rummage around in the pantry behind the antique barn door over there and see if you can find some chocolate chips. This is the first breakfast I’ve ever had with my children. It has to be just right.”
I do as I was told, searching through a very well-stocked pantry. “Have you been living here this whole time?” I ask Ares.
“Yes, the three of us have been roughing it here. I have to say, I got accustomed to having my staff on call, and I miss it.”
“It’s a good thing I’m still a good cook,” Blake says amicably. “Or he would have starved.”
“Hey, I can hold my own,” Grandfather says. He turns toward Ari and me and says, “I’m a sandwich connoisseur. I make lunch every day.”
“And I miss my chef’s salmon and spinach salad with homemade lemon poppy seed dressing,” Ares teases.
When the dining table is piled high with food, we all gather around, quickly sitting down and filling up our plates.
“The chocolate chip pancakes and bacon are delicious,” I comment. “While we eat, would it be okay if I asked a few questions?”
“Of course,” Ares says.
“Why did you become a recluse? And, if you have your ring, why don’t you take the treasure? Without the treasure, they wouldn’t have the funds to start their new world, right?”
“Money wouldn’t be an issue if most of the population was gone,” Ares answers. “And I gave them my ring a couple of weeks after your mother was killed. It was all my fault.”
“Because you asked her to investigate why Alessandro tried to kill King Giovanni?”
Ares looks surprised. “I didn’t know you remembered.”
“I don’t. My mom told me that we were going on a treasure hunt of sorts and looking for answers. But I remember that we went on a tour of the castle in Montrovia. And I had a dream that she was down on her knees, digging there. I went to the same spot, dug up some flowers, and found the dollar bill with Alessandro as the king of Arcadia. It was just like the dollar we’d found in Ophelia’s belongings. It just had his picture on it instead.”
“Yes. I sent it to her, so she could try to figure out what the plot against Montrovia was. As you know, I was in The Echelon. A secret organization that dates back to Lorenzo the Magnificent’s time. I shared with the group my plan for both the TerraSphere and the idea of creating a perfect world. It became their goal. Of course, I was thrilled, as they made it sound like we were working toward a noble cause. That we would gently guide the world. After the attempted murder by his own brother, Giovanni went looking for answers. He found the bill hidden in an old book in Alessandro’s study then sent it to me.”
“I don’t understand why Alessandro was in The Echelon and not the eldest son, Giovanni.”
“That didn’t sit well with me either. It was part of a long tradition. When I saw the dollar with Arcadia on it, I surmised that the group was trying to make it happen as opposed to a gentle nudge. It’s also when I gave them back the ring and became a recluse. I needed them to think I wasn’t a threat. Men who can talk don’t typically leave The Echelon alive.”
“Are Malcolm and Aleksandr a part of it?”
“I don’t know. That’s another reason I left. There were two empty seats, and I got the impression that Hillford was courting them both. I was worried, if I were there, it would sway the group.”
“Are Ari and I your Trojan horses?”
“What do you mean?” Ares asks.
“You delivered us to their doorstep, and they invited us in.”
Ares lets out a chuckle. “I suppose you are, but I didn’t think of it that way. I just needed you in their world, so you could meet Lorenzo.”
“Causing you to fake your death, so your long-lost children could be found,” Ari adds.
“Yes,” he acknowledges. “That’s the brilliance with all of this. DNA tests prove that you are my children because you are. My friends have openly embraced you. You’ve met Echelon and Society members during the social events that you have attended since your first mission.”
“Speaking of The Society,” Ari says, “are they good or bad?”
“Overall, they are exactly what they are. A secret group with good intentions for people with a lot of money or status. But they are also the chosen few.”
“What do you mean?”
“When the population control measures are exacted, Society members will be certain to survive. They will be given instructions and will retreat to their vaults.”
“Does that mean we can just wait for The Society’s instructions and react then?” Ari asks.
“We’re talking about a population reduction event that will leave us with only seven percent of what we have. I fear, by the time they notify
the group, it will be too late to stop.”
“And why didn’t they tell you of their plan?”
“Because I think Hillford wanted to see it happen in his lifetime. He had already moved The Echelon’s great treasure to Iraq. And, quite honestly, what he did was diabolically brilliant. Regardless, it’s all my fault. It was my idea. I had learned at a Bill Gates conference about the plight of our environment and population issue. That’s what I do. I see a problem, and I set out to solve it. They decided they wanted to take matters into their own hands and started talking about owning the world—literally. How we needed a reset button that didn’t involve nuclear war. The Great Culling.”
“And then things started happening around the world. Marcelo’s suspicious death and Giovanni’s strange illness, the threat to Lorenzo,” Blake says. “Not to mention, the takeover of the Strait of Malacca and the port in Tartus. The nuclear bombs they stole. The death of the chairman of the International Financial Committee and his replacement with Rutherford Elingston.”
“I like Rut,” I say. “Is he a bad guy?”
“I’ve always liked him, too,” Ares replies. “But, yes, he is part of the group. That means they not only control the world’s banks through Rut’s family holdings, but also the financial markets.”
“I think I need to tell you about what happened when I was at Dupree’s house.”
“You told me that he was going to kill you but shot himself instead,” my grandfather says.
“He said a lot more than that. The first thing he asked me was if I could keep a secret like my father. He told me the nuclear bombs were only for a sleight of hand and that I had my father’s fearless curiosity. I actually had him talking and was going to overtake him, steal his gun, and shoot his two remaining men, but when his hand flashed in front of my face, I saw the emerald ring go by. The same ring that my mother and I’d looked at together at the museum. It threw me off guard a little. I asked if it was Lorenzo the Magnificent’s personal crest. That was when he asked me if I recognized the ring and told me you had one just like it, Ares. He said it was his own fault. That they—which I now assume is The Echelon—said it would work without the devices but that he’d insisted on a backup plan. He said, when the world goes kaboom, you can quickly get governments’ attention.”
