Chapter 16
NATHAN PICKED UP the first DVD, slid it in the DVD drive, and hit enter. They watched the first one carefully. The man called Jorrit moved through his daily activities. Meetings with people that visited his office, making threats to several individuals on the phone, and discussing jobs with his hackers, but nothing related directly to IIRL or Arielle’s photos. With a sigh of frustration, Sebastian hit the eject button and the DVD popped out. He ran a hand over his face and picked up the second DVD. He repeated the steps.
“Patience,” he heard Troy whisper.
He nodded once and set his eyes on the screen. A man called Rainer and a couple of his sidekicks were visiting Jorrit’s office. The conversations were clear. Sebastian flinched. The discussions were centered on the importance of breaking into IIRL’s systems and the magnitude of the assignment. The words made Sebastian bring his fist down on the top of the table. He tried to not to show his fury. The very idea of it all made him livid.
When they brought up the extortion plan, Sebastian tensed, squeezing his eyes shut. He cursed inwardly. As the video rolled, they weren’t surprised to find out that the orders were coming from someone beyond the top man of the organization. Rainer appeared to be the second-in-command, reporting to the prime minister’s right hand man, Nikola. They made mental notes of Jorrit’s men involved in the scheme against Sebastian and his company.
“Hell, Sebastian. This is a big deal. This isn’t a simple extortion; this seems much bigger,” Troy whispered.
Sebastian kept his eyes on the video while talking to both Nathan and Troy in that fast immortal way that no human could understand. “Yes,” he said. “I’m afraid this is the same issue we had last year with the breaking into our main vault in London. This has everything to do with the theft of our designs and documentation, as well as the abductions of our scientists and the death of a couple of our security officers. This is how the Russian government has worked ever since the end of the Cold War. They have acknowledged their failure to promote the kind of economic revolution that would give Russia the chance to remain a major power. They are having a hard time overcoming their society of corruption and misuse. They want to rebuild their industries but not the honest way.
They are sending spies around the world to gather a range of information, such as data on high-penetration nuclear warhead research programs, where dangerous substances are hidden, and who is capable of working with these materials. These spies love to carry out espionage for Russia, because they are rewarded with fame, money, and jobs. Their getting ahold of our designs and the substances we use for our products would be disastrous. They’ll use them against every nation for their own personal gain and power.” Sebastian was silent as his mind whirled around all the things that had taken place last year.
“Now we have a better picture of the people involved, and we know who to go after,” Nathan said quietly.
The video kept rolling. All of a sudden, a telephone call got their full attention. It was a call between Jorrit and Rainer. Silence felt between them as Sebastian’s body stiffened, and his face went red with rage. Jorrit was updating Rainer about the surveillance on Arielle and the extortion envelope that was sent to Sebastian’s office the previous day. Sebastian could feel scorching fury emanating from his body as he practically pulverized his teeth.
Stony silence followed between the three immortals. Sebastian swore inwardly as a surge of rage poured through his veins. He released a suppressed breath and glanced at his friends’ equally hardened faces. “We now have the essential information we were looking for,” he hissed. “We have the names and details about which part of this dirty assignment each one has to carry out.”
Popping the DVD out of the computer, Sebastian rose to his feet. He was followed by Troy and Nathan. The two exchanged swift glances. They had seen Sebastian angry, but this was beyond simple fury. Sebastian was like a caged wild animal.
John was leaning against the edge of his desk, calmly stroking his chin and watching the immortals thoughtfully. When he saw them stand up, he pushed away from the desk and approached them. “I hope you found what you were looking for. We are keeping a close eye on their activities, and we’re getting near to taking down the whole operation.”
Sebastian nodded politely and shook his proffered hand. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
John’s face held a pleasant smile as he handed Sebastian business cards that included his and Dylan's mobile numbers. “Try and stay safe, and if you need anything while in Brussels, please call either one of us.”
“Thank you,” they said simultaneously and walked out. Despite his anger, Sebastian felt satisfied with the information they collected.
“Are we going back to the hotel?” Nathan asked as they stepped onto the sidewalk.
“Yes,” Sebastian replied.
They made their way down the busy street until they reached the car. It was later in the afternoon than when they had gone in, and the sun was slowly dipping behind the horizon bringing twilight. The sky was an amazing sight. They drove up to the hotel entrance and couldn’t help noticing how stunning the hotel looked at dusk when it was illuminated.
“Let’s go clean up, make some calls, and get back together in my room in a couple of hours. Is that okay with you?” Sebastian asked.
Troy and Nathan nodded in agreement and walked away. Sebastian closed the door behind him and fished the phone out of his pocket. Arielle didn’t pick up and anxiety took him over. He listened to her voice message telling him that she was unable to answer the phone. Where was she? Why couldn’t she pick up the phone? He specifically asked her to keep the phone on her. He snapped the phone shut, cursing under his breath. He threw it on the bed and took his shirt off. His mind wandered to unreasonable places and thoughts. In the five hundred plus years he had roamed the earth, he had never worried about anyone. He hadn’t had any emotional experiences as an immortal that distracted him from his course. Ever since he met Arielle, these unwanted human feelings had turned him into a complete emotional wreck. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard his mobile ping. He picked up anxiously.
The text was from Arielle. “Hi, baby. I’m in the cinema with Gabrielle, and I have the phone on vibrate. Is everything all right?”
He smiled. “I missed you, and I wanted to hear your voice,” he texted back.
“I miss you, too, but I can’t talk now. Call me later.”
He laughed. She amused him at every turn just by being real.
“It’ll cost you, remember that.” He was sure she knew where he was going with this remark. Her next text message made him burst out into happy laughter.
“I’m willing to pay as long as you accept credit cards.”
His arms ached for her. “You better not be watching the film with some other guy.”
“Actually, Gabby and I are sitting here with several boys around us. However, we have decided that after we have been loved by gorgeous immortals, these poor guys don’t stand a chance.”
Sebastian laughed out loud. His heart was filled with pleasure. “You do know that Troy and I could be there in no time at all? And if we did come, I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes,” he texted back while still laughing.
“If you’re trying to scare me, save it. I’m not afraid of you.” His cheeks hurt from grinning.
“I’ll call you later, baby. Be safe.”
“Call me anytime. It’ll not be easy to fall asleep without you,” Arielle texted, and Sebastian ran his thumb over the words with tenderness.
“Miss me,” was his last text message before he snapped the phone shut.
Laughter lingered in the air. Sebastian lay down for a few minutes. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to go back to be with Arielle tonight. He sat up to better focus on the issue at hand. He thought about the best way to handle this nightmare without anyone being able to touch Arielle. The thought of someone abducting her was unacceptable. The more he thought about these things the more
anxious he got, so he stood up and walked into the shower.
It wasn’t long before the guys were in his room ready to move on with the plan. A glass of salve was the perfect drink to put them in the right frame of mind and give them all the energy they would need tonight.
Sebastian gathered his thoughts. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “We’ll need to move fast and get out of there without incident. I’m sure they’ll only have a few scams working after midnight. We’ll disable them while we do our work. We’ll deliver disastrous viruses to their systems and destroy every capability they ever had to hack anybody. When we’re done, we’ll take their memory of us away. They’ll never remember a thing.”
“That should be easy enough,” said Troy.
Sebastian and Nathan nodded in agreement. “One more thing we need to remember. We have to move silently and unseen by Dylan’s group. We have to deactivate their equipment for a short period of time and put it back when we are finished. Nothing should be recorded or seen on their surveillance tapes. I’m sure we’ll be done before they have a chance to figure out that something isn’t right.” Sebastian spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Did you talk to Arielle?” Troy asked.
“Yes, why?”
“I couldn’t get Gabrielle to answer her phone.”
“Oh, they went to see a film, and I only talked to Arielle via text. She had the mobile on vibrate, because she knows how worried I get about her since I don’t know Annabel’s whereabouts.”
“I am glad to hear that. I’ll try to call her later.”
Nathan appeared lost in his thoughts. “What’s going on with you?” Troy asked him.
“Jasmine is still sick, and I want to go back home later tonight, so I can be there in case she needs me. I’ll be back in the morning before you guys are out of bed.”
“Yes, I think you should go and be with your wife,” Sebastian encouraged him. “I had the same thought, but since Arielle and Gabrielle are together, we are going to remain here until we’re done. In any case, this concept about flying with the airlines is only a cover for us.” They looked at each other and laughed quietly.
It was one o’clock in the morning when they left the hotel. Invisible to the naked eye, they moved fast as panthers seeking prey. The streets were poorly lit and extremely quiet. Only a few cars crossed their path. As they drew nearer to their destination, they noticed that the building was dark. There were a few dimly lit windows, and one of those windows was on the second floor where Jorrit’s office was located. They moved silently and with incredible speed, making it impossible to be seen by the human eye.
They entered the building and crossed the empty lobby, stopping in front of the fire escape door at the west wall. Nathan reached for the handle and turned. The door was locked. It took a soft pull with his immortal power, and he yanked it wide open. They climbed the dark staircase to the second floor. They stood in a dim hallway with several doors on either side assessing the situation. They proceeded towards Jorrit’s office and peeked inside carefully. His office was empty, and the window shades were pulled down. The room was dark, but for the light coming from next door.
John had disclosed the location of their surveillance equipment that they had placed secretly in Jorrit’s office. They moved quietly, and with no difficulty they disabled the camera, diminishing any chance of being detected by Dylan’s team. They roamed through every piece of paper in Jorrit’s files and desk drawers, looking for documentation on the extortion. The darkness in the room didn’t have an effect on their faultless vision. Sebastian thumbed through the papers on the top of his desk, and his eyes zeroed in on what it looked like a three page document. He picked it up and saw a cover letter with yesterday’s date. It was faxed to Rainer Heinrich in St. Petersburg. He flipped to the second page and went over it carefully. As his eyes moved down the page, an explicit curse escaped his lips.
“What is it?” Troy asked.
“Look at this!” He handed him the document as chills crept up his spine and rage filled every fiber of his body. Troy glanced at the page and let out a faint gasp. His brows shot straight up, shocked into stillness. It had a complete layout of every person in their group of friends with details about their homes, their age, their phone numbers, and private details about their lives. He passed the document to Nathan, who took a look at it and cursed with anger.
Sebastian took the document back and flipped to the fourth page to look at the names of the four guys that had been assigned to carry out the extortion and surveillance. Sebastian looked through Jorrit’s telephone directory and made a note of their address and their mobile numbers. Two of the guys assigned to do the surveillance and take the photos were scheduled to be in Brighton through the next week in Jorrit’s calendar.
“They all seem to live in Brussels,” Troy whispered.
“Yes, but two of them are in Brighton right now. They will not be back here until the end of next week. We will have to find them when we get back home,” Sebastian said.
“I think we should pay a visit to the two guys that live here tomorrow,” Troy said.
They all nodded in agreement. They left Jorrit’s office and quickly moved to the room next door. They took a quick survey of the room. They stared at a huge, windowless office full of multimillion-pound systems. Cables ran in every direction. They were connected to several large computers with huge screens, to audio and visual devices, and to electronic equipment. Six enormous monitors covered the walls. They did a quick scan of the room and located three security cameras, which they disabled in milliseconds.
There were two individuals in the room. Both men were staring at the computer screens in front of them, absorbed fully in their work and oblivious to the three men that stood in the middle of the room behind them. A second later, they were in chokeholds, unable to move and unable to see who was behind them. Sebastian and Nathan felt their bodies tremble in their hands, and they smiled at each other. They each bent down and suggested their captives not move. The sound of their voices drove terror through the men's bones.
The men stilled. Sebastian registered the look of surprise on their faces. He and Nathan gagged, blindfolded, and bound the men before they had a change to take a breath. They carried the subdued men to Jorrit’s office and left them on the floor. The immortals moved swiftly and systematically to each of the computers, accessing their systems with no difficulty at all. In just a few seconds, they went through hours of documentation that proved their involvement in crimes against IIRL and other companies. It appeared that the mafia had succeeded in delivering viruses to companies besides IIRL. Sebastian also found hours of surveillance of individuals and high officials in various countries.
They successfully destroyed every single file they found. They disabled every capability needed to continue illicit activities. Finishing within a few minutes, they quietly brought the two men back to their desks and took their memories of the last few minutes. The immortals then re-enabled Dylan’s cameras before disappearing practically into thin air.
Chapter 17
THEY WERE OUT in the street and on their way to the hotel by one-fifteen. The men laughed out loud as they speculated on the disarray and the confusion that would follow in that room. It was unlikely that those thugs would understand the disaster that hit their systems and the chaos that would follow.
“Complete success,” Sebastian whispered to himself. He felt satisfied. This had been the easiest part of their plan. They shook hands with Nathan and thanked him for his help before he left for London. Troy and Sebastian walked toward the hotel, chatting away about the next day.
“Nathan will be home in a few minutes, and I guess we could have done the same thing,” Sebastian said in a low voice.
“The girls will be fine, Sebastian; we are doing the right thing.” Troy smiled though he was sulking inside, knowing he didn’t like sleeping without Gabrielle.
“I agree with your last thought,” said Sebastian, chuckling
as he read Troy’s mind. They laughed and picked up the pace to get into the hotel quickly.
“How about waiting for Nathan to get here in the morning, and then we can start early with the address on top of the list?” Troy asked. “These guys seem to live very close, so it should be easy to locate them.”
Sebastian nodded. “These scum seem to be collecting real cons off the streets and using them for whatever dirty assignment they have. Our company and our friends are their targets now,” Sebastian said through clenched teeth.
“Just give me a call when Nathan gets in, and I’ll be ready to go. Right now, all I want to do is get into the room and call my girl. I know it’s one-thirty in the morning, but she better pick up.” A small chuckle escaped him.
Sebastian smiled and patted him on the back. “I’ll see you later.”
Troy walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner. Sebastian slid the key card into the electronic card reader and fished his mobile out of his pocket. He pressed Arielle’s number the moment the door closed behind him. On the second ring she picked up, and her soft voice sent a warm sensation throughout his body.
“Hey! Did you miss me?” The sound of her voice tore at his passion. He shut his eyes, unable to stop his mind from the flood of memories from their last encounter. “My arms ache for you.” His voice came out a soft whisper filled with desire.
“Mmm…I can better that statement.” Humor tainted her voice.
“Oh! How so?”
“My body aches for you, baby,” she purred and then laughed softly, making him miss her even more. He loved her laughter and the way her eyes lit up every time she looked at him.
“Mmm.” He pressed his lips together as ripples of desire made his skin quiver. He knew he would have to get off the phone soon if he was going to be able to make it through the night without her. “One more day and I’ll be home.” He struggled for control of his emotions. “How was the film?”
Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) Page 18
