by SJ Hailey
‘Better take him with us.’
‘Go on then Dad, you pick him up.’
‘I pull rank on you son, and I am over fifty, so hoist him up.’
‘I dunno, no talking for months and now it’s, pick up that body Archer.’
Jacob laughed at his son’s feigned displeasure and selected the only floor available on the lift control panel. The mirrored box moved silently upwards, ‘What no cheesy music? Surprising.’
Jacob chuckled, but quickly stopped as the lift slowed approached The General’s office, levelling his gun at the door. Archer unceremoniously dumped the guard’s body on the floor and drew his gun just as the lift doors opened.
Katherine knew that the shy Texan girl routine from the guardhouse would not work, so she played it straight, ‘Yes Colonel, just arrived. I was looking for the flight office.’
‘It’s over there the blue door.’
‘Thank you sir.’
‘You are a pilot? I don’t remember seeing your face before?’
‘Well ma Daddy said I had a very forgettable face.’
The Colonel smiled, removing his sunglasses, ‘I think your father was mistaken.’
Katherine genuinely blushed, ‘Well thank you sir.’
She saluted and turned towards the flight office, letting out a breath.
‘Excuse me miss.’
The booming voice echoing in the hanger filled her with dread. She tried to remain calm putting her game face on, and turning back towards the colonel, ‘Yes sir.’
He was looking at her rucksack, ‘you forgot your kit.’ Katherine scurried over to the Colonel retrieving her bag carefully to ensure the weapons within did not bang together. He noticed her badge, ‘you any relation to Private Wragg?’
She had checked her name tag in the reflection from his sunglasses, ‘Yes sir he is my younger brother.’
‘Well I know were the good genetics went to.’
Smiling as she turned and headed quickly for the office.
The General’s office was unexpectedly empty, the set of double doors on the right closed shut, the other door on the left made a click. Jacob moved around, getting behind the single door, while Archer secured the double doors with a security tie. With a flushing noise they both realised the unmarked door in the room was a private bathroom, and they knew who the occupant would be. Archer moved directly in front of the door, standing about eight feet away, his gun levelled at the polished mahogany.
The door opened The General with his head down, adjusting his shirt took two paces forward and then saw Archer. Without hesitation he lunged forward and was stopped by Jacob’s commanding voice, ‘Hold it!’
Mastasson stopped and turned, ignoring Archer and addressing Jacob, ‘My old friend, so still trying to save the world? Or just practising your breaking and entering skills?’
‘Bit of both Vincent.’
‘It has been so long since anyone called me that.’
Mastasson was moving across towards his desk as he spoke, Jacob moved along getting ahead of him.
‘I would rather you sit in the chair near Archer.’
Mastasson backed off and sat down, Archer securing him to the chair. Jacob moved behind the desk, and looked underneath the innocent leather inlaid top. Under the sill was a panic button and loaded pistol.
‘Nice surprise Vincent, still as paranoid as always?’
Mastasson was obviously annoyed at anyone getting the jump on him, ‘yes Jacob, but apparently not enough to stop you.’
‘Well you know how tenacious I can be.’
‘I do, but I thought you were dead?’
‘Oh that cave-in caused by Laurent? No I think he exaggerated his claims, as usual.’
‘Yes he has a habit of that, but I am sure he will not in his limited future.’
‘Have you killed him?’
‘Not yet, but I am sure my tolerance will wane.’
Jacob sat down in the comfortable leather high back chair, placing his gun on the desk, Mastasson was visibly peeved at the intrusion. Jacob sat forward smiling, ‘So where have you put the fifth amulet Vincent?’
From Mastasson’s face Jacob knew he had hit a nerve, revealing something only just discovered by his captive. Archer was not sure what Jacob was doing, and pulled a face behind Mastasson.
‘Vincent we have known about it for some time, had you not stolen it from the museum warehouse in Washington we would have it in South America by now anyway.’ A lie, but Jacob wanted to rile Mastasson.
‘I am sure you did not know until I took it Jacob. I was always three steps ahead of you.’
‘Yes sometimes, I mean faking your own death that was a good one.’
‘I bet you never suspected I was alive.’
‘I suspected you of many things Vincent, like killing your wife.’
Mastasson was sweating now, his restricted arms causing marks on his shirt. Jacob pushed, ‘When I looked at the timeline of your ‘death’ I noticed that your wife died two months before.’
‘Yes tragic accident, I was heartbroken.’
‘Don’t lie to me Vincent, you hardly ever saw her, you married for her father’s money and influence.’
‘True Jacob but I did not kill her.’
‘No? So she dies in a car accident, the insurance and whole estate goes to you and then you die two months later.’
‘Well that is a simplified summary but yes, although you did miss out that her lover was murdered in his apartment by a burglar.’
‘Let me guess Vincent, that was you?’
‘Certainly was, unlike your dutiful wife, mine occupied herself with a string of lovers. When I came back from Iraq, after almost eleven months away, she had taken a lover.’
‘You ever heard of divorce? Or could you not bear to part with all that money?’
‘That money was my investment fund for this, when I died I left it to a shell company as a charitable donation.’
Jacob got all the pieces, ‘So you kill your wife, change your will and then send the money to yourself after your death.’
‘Yes and no one ever discovered the truth. Only four people in the world know who I really am.’
‘And when you die again, no one will notice.’
Jacob picked up his handgun and moved towards Mastasson, ‘I don’t have much time, where is your safe Vincent?’
Mastasson remained silent, but his eyes flickered to a picture on the wall, a careless micro-expression. Jacob moved over to the painting, while Archer pushed the barrel of his handgun into Mastasson’s neck to remind him who was in charge. Checking the painting for hidden alarms on the rear then removing it carefully, behind was a large safe with a fingerprint and retinal scanner next to it. Mastasson was cursing now and then began to smile, ‘Well Jacob very good, but that safe opens with retinal scan, fingerprint ID and voice activation.’
‘That is okay Vincent, because you are going to open it for us.’
Mastasson began to laugh, ‘And why do you think I would do that? You don’t even know what is in it?’
‘I know General, you have the amulets, no way you would want anyone else near them, or knowing about them.’
Archer stuck a needle into Mastasson’s neck, ‘this cocktail will make you more co-operative.’
‘I knew I should have had Enzi kill you earlier.’
Archer removed the syringe and threw it into the bin, returning and crouching in front of Mastasson.
‘Yes that’s right Archer, I sent you because I thought your sense of duty would ensure you gave all the information I needed on Uncotto and if he became a nuisance you would dispose of him.’
‘And so you sent Khan to check on me?’
‘No he was an unexpected surprise. I presume he came to see you.’
‘And you had Enzi torture and kill him because?’
The drugs were working now, and Mastasson was becoming more compliant and truthful, ‘I had someone in my organisation spying on me, someone high up and Khan was
working for him. I had Enzi attempt to discover his source, but his clumsy men killed Khan too quickly.’
‘And me, why did he take me?’
Jacob was surprised, ‘he took you? And did what?’
Mastasson smiled again, ‘I had Enzi torture him to see what Khan had given him, and what he knew, but he escaped.’
‘Yes I did General, and I have all the information Khan had. The spy you never found.’
Jacob stopped him, Archer objecting, ‘he is not going to live to tell.’
‘Yes he is son, I, we, are not going to kill him. Any thug can murder, we are beyond that. We get what we need and we leave him.’
Archer was annoyed but understood his father’s point; he did not have to demean himself with revenge.
‘Oh go on Archer, kill me, please.’
‘Vincent, where are the amulets? Are they all here in the safe?’
‘Yes, all four, but the documents are in my helicopter with Laurent, we were going back to the complex.’
‘Why are you going back, you have them all?’
‘That is not true Jacob, you know there is one left, and I want to see what they do.’
‘Well how can you gain access to the complex?’
‘I have sent two boats with men already, and Enzi is following and meeting them taking to seaplane to the rendezvous point off La Tola.’
Jacob was concerned by this revelation, he had not bargained for Enzi and Mastasson returning so quickly. He looked at Archer who also expressed concern, but did not say anything in front of Mastasson, even in his drugged state he would remember the conversation.
‘Get him up, but keep a tight grip on him.’
Archer cut one of the ties on Mastasson’s arm held it tight, then released the other arm. The General was surprisingly co-operative. Archer led him over to the safe on the wall, supported his weight, and instructed him to open it. The system confirmed eye recognition, and fingerprint, which included checking for a pulse. Then simple voice ID given with a prompt from the gun in Mastasson’s temple.
Archer pulled The General back and Jacob retrieved the contents of the safe, four amulets, also within the safe was cash, jewels and bearer bonds.
‘Nice retirement fund you have here Vincent.’
‘Help yourself Jacob, you have everything else.’
‘I am only reclaiming what is mine, this would fund a lot of research but the way you obtained it would taint anything it came into contact with.’
Archer secured Mastasson to a chair with multiple security ties. He took the guard from the lift, placing him in front of the double doors, using more ties to restrain him, blocking access.
Mastasson taunted Archer, ‘so still a lap dog eh Archer? Still doing as you are told.’
Archer lashed out hitting Mastasson in the jaw with a punch that came from his shoulder, knocking him over onto the floor, still attached to his chair.
‘That is for Khan, General.’ He applied duct tape to Mastasson’s bleeding mouth and left him.
Jacob had placed all the amulets into containers and secured them in his rucksack. He checked the monitor linked to the room outside, the assistant was not at her desk.
Jacob closed the safe and set the room back as it was, except for the two hostages on the floor, he wanted any discovery of the safe opening to remain secret until they could escape.
‘Call the flight office, give Katherine our travel plans.’
Archer rang from Mastasson’s phone to the flight office, getting the extension number from the list on the desk. Mastasson’s computer was still turned on, and Archer called Jacob over, a mischievous glint in his eye, ‘Want to go phishing?’
Katherine had drawn attention when she entered the flight office, the duty officer and clerk both silent upon her approach. Katherine had always been surprised by how men could stop thinking rationally when an attractive woman was present.
‘Hi, I am waiting for some orders from The General’s office.’
The duty officer checked his email, ‘nothing here, what was your name? I can call up to the General’s office.’
He lifted the phone but Katherine stopped him, ‘no! Don’t bother him, I am sure it will come through, I suppose I can spend some time with you.’
‘Yes you can.’ The clerk was a little more obvious and slightly greasy in appearance. Katherine sat on the chair, upright with her knees close together, giving any indication she was not interested.
Jacob had sent all the emails he needed to from Mastasson’s computer and loaded some files onto a pen drive he had found in the desk. Archer nodded, ‘Better than killing him.’
Then a new mail arrived, surprising Jacob, ‘Oh dear.’
‘What Dad?’
‘It would appear that we have two problems now?’
Katherine was getting nervous, five minutes had passed since she entered the room and he two men were getting impatient at her presence.
‘Are you sure I cannot call The General for you?’
The Duty officer’s computer beeped the corporate mail delivery tone; a relief to Katherine.
‘Here it is, you get, oh, you get any aircraft you select and it must be ready to fly now.’
‘That’s right, can you get the CV22 Osprey out for me please, a private mission for The General.’
The men knew not to question what the aircraft were used for, and the email had come direct from The General’s office. Within ten minutes Katherine was entering through the tailgate of the Osprey transport.
It appeared like a plane, a squared off body, with a large glass front screen like a helicopter for maximum visibility, the tail section was split with two vertical tail sections on the rear ailerons looking like an H shape. On the wing tips were the engine nacelles, capped with two large three bladed props thirty-eight feet in diameter. They appeared disproportionate to the body, like a child had designed them too big. The engines could be tilted to allow the plane to take off vertically then move to horizontal flight, a highly versatile aircraft.
She wondered how The General had got his hands on one, considering they were at least ninety million dollars each. The CV22 was the Air Force version, and production aircraft were only delivered in fall 2006. Still she was not qualified on the aircraft, but had to make it look good. The aircraft needed two pilots and two flight engineers, but it appeared the General had modified the controls to allow two crew. She hoped the automated systems could cope.
Jacob and Archer had taken the elevator back down to the private hangar, snapping the key card off in the lock discreetly disabling it. Jacob had wiped Mastasson’s computer hard drive, and downloaded a virus from the internet which had bypassed his firewalls, and was now beginning to eat his internal network, a gift from Eli Rothwell. Father and son moved through the hangar into an access tunnel linking up to the main complex on the other side of the hill. Carved from the rock, unlined, it was damp and many creatures had decided to make their homes in the shelter of the cool dark. The blast door on the other side was slightly open, careless housekeeping by the residents, but it was an advantage to the uninvited. The hangar had plenty of aircraft, which one was Katherine in? Archer had sent instructions, but knew she could send no reply; they would have to just see if she had the machine outside yet.
The CV22 Osprey had been towed to a landing pad, only fifty-seven feet in length, with a wingspan of eighty four feet she looked odd shaped compared to conventional aircraft, but Katherine liked unconventional. She was already fully fuelled the small tractor strained with its substantial load. Katherine knew that with a full fuel load, and only three people, she could easily reach the Ecuador jungle and refuel on her own airstrip, might even get back before her Global Surveyor. She began pre-flight checks, her headset informing her that the seaplane had already departed and that all other aircraft were to be fuelled and leave the island in the next few hours, a tap on her shoulder almost stopped her heart.
‘Hi Katherine, where you going?’
She t
urned around and smacked her assailant on the head hard, ‘Archer! I nearly died then! Who would fly you out then huh?’
Archer staunched laughter was only matched by the broad smile upon Jacob’s face at her reaction, ‘How about we close up the back before you get any other uninvited passengers.’
Katherine flicked a switch on the console, and the rear door flap began to whine shut.
‘This bird armed?’
‘No Archer transport only, she has sensor systems to defend and distract but they have retro fitted a 50 cal mount at the back. The gun is stowed in the rear compartment.’
‘So why did you pick her?’
‘Because she can take off like a helicopter and fly like a turbo prop plane, low and fast. She does burn through oil, so wherever we are going, I will have to do some running repairs.’
Archer did not continue questioning her choice. Katherine had completed the pre-flight and started the two Rolls Royce Allison engines, the slow hum increasing in volume by the second as they came online. She secured her borrowed helmet and instructed Jacob what actions to take from the pilot’s seat. Archer was sitting in one of the flight engineers’ chairs, ‘If anything turns red or beeps I should tell you right?’
Katherine laughed, ‘Very technical Archer, but if anything looks like it is changing rapidly, you holler, okay?’
‘Yes Ma’am.’
‘Oh, so you can get him to do stuff, but to me it is just, do I have to Dad?’
‘Well Jacob, fifteen years older and nothing changed.’
‘True Katherine, so true.’
They were relaxed even though they were in hostile territory, still aware they had to beat Enzi back to camp. Jacob had cheekily emailed the Arcadia from Mastasson’s computer, but was not sure if they had received his warning about Enzi.
‘When we are away, I need to radio Arcadia and warn them about Enzi.’
Katherine turned on her headset ready, and got the shouting of the Duty Officer straight away, he appeared to have been shouting for some time, as he was going hoarse.
‘It appears our flight is a problem.’
Then the soldiers surrounded the aircraft, weapons trained upon the cockpit.
