Lilly and Karthik both stared at each other.
"Hi, Mr. Ford," Piper said panting.
Karthik seized her arm and steered her away. "What are you doing here? " He whispered, his teeth clenched in frustration.
"Helping ... " she snapped.
"No, you're not! This is dangerous."
Piper pulled her hand from Karthik's grasp. "Stop acting like my dad!" This time, she clenched her teeth.
Karthik didn't know how to react to it. He twitched his lips and finally said, "You know. This is the reason we never dated again."
"Good afternoon, Mr Ford! " Piper cried, cheerfully, ignoring Karthik.
"Good Afternoon, Pipes," Mr Ford called back. "You guys are about in time."
"What do you mean?" Piper said, walking toward Lilly. Karthik sullenly walked behind her.
"Dad is going to give a speech in a few minutes," Sara said.
Mr. Ford nodded. "Hurry up, " he started to the entrance gate. Everyone followed him.
As they walked, Karthik noticed that there was one more new person with them, other than Lilly. A handsome guy, walking beside Sara.
"Who are you? " he asked, fretfully. He was not in good a mood.
"Oh, He is Alex Muffin. My boyfriend. " Sara answered for him.
"She means her 'NEW' boyfriend. " Piper commented, and snickered.
Everyone laughed but Sara.
15
Shaikh Ali Hula Osman, Brand Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, finished his speech and was greeted with a thunderous applause from the audience.
He waved his hands, thanking the audience, collected his papers from the podium, and slowly climbed off the stage.
A woman wearing a black glistening dress, came on the stage, clapping her hands, and brandishing her pearl white teeth.
She stood in front of the podium and said. "That was really a beautiful speech ... now," She gave an involuntary sigh. Her voice echoed around the hall. "I would like to invite our next guest, who is also one of the organizers of this Summit. The CEO and the owner of PharmaGen, Mr. Daniel Harrison Ford."
Karthik enthusiastically clapped. "I'm wondering whether he has prepared a speech? " he asked Sara.
They all were sitting around the circular table, very close to the main stage. There were six chairs around the table, of which the chair between Sara and Karthik was now vacant as Mr. Ford had already left to give the speech.
"Yes, he has been practicing the speech in front of the mirror, " Sara said, drinking the wine from the glass goblet.
"Look... He is coming on the stage," Piper said, clapping her hands.
Mr. Ford walked across the stage, waving his free hand at the audience. He was holding few papers in his other hand. He stood in front of the podium, shuffled the papers, and cleared his voice.
"Thank you, Stacy, for that warm introduction," He said, gesturing at the woman in the glittering black dress. His voice boomed from the speakers around the oval hall.
"I've ..." he paused as if considering something, and said, "been eagerly waiting for this event ... " He went silent, brooding. He shook his head, collected his papers, and started walking away from the podium.
"What's wrong?" Piper muttered. Everyone started murmuring, their voices echoed in the hall.
Stacy, who was hosting the event, stopped Mr. Ford on the stage and whispered something in his ears. He whispered something back to her. She nodded and started toward the podium.
She grabbed the mic and said, "I am really sorry. Mr. Ford is not feeling good enough to give the speech. Now let's invite our next guest ... who is also one of the organizers of this summit. The owner of Tesla Chemicals, Mr. LUKE TESLA!"
Mr. Ford slid next to Karthik, muttering to himself, shaking his head.
"Are you okay, sir?" Karthik asked him.
Mr. Ford smiled. "Everything is fine, Karthik," he replied.
But Karthik knew better; it was a clear lie. Something was surely wrong. Or why would have Mr. Ford refused to give his speech, which he has been preparing for weeks.
Something is definitely bothering him, Karthik thought.
The man at the podium was one of the most famous venture capitalists in Australia, a legend in Biological investment. Luke Tesla was known for his striking good looks and his trademark, heartwarming smile. He was a young-looking fifty-four and sedulously cultivated his reputation as a capitalist with a duty. That designation had carried him through a succession of ruthless business deals.
But in this room, Karthik knew, Luke's reputation for tough deal-making would be foremost in everyone's mind. He knew that Luke Tesla was a first class son of a bitch.
"We've reached the point where we can almost call ourselves gods. Those ailing-people need us and they know it. They need healthy genes, they need technology. We're their hope. We're where the real future began!"
That drew huge applause. Mr. Ford shifted his bulk in his seat. The audience was applauding, even though they knew that this bastard would blow their company to pieces in a second if it suited him.
"Of course, we face obstacles to our progress. Some people however good their intentions are they think they choose to stand in the way of human betterment. They don't want the paralyzed to walk, the cancer patient to thrive, the sick child to live and play and grow into an old man. These people have their reasons for objecting. Religious, ethical, or even 'practical."
More thunderous applause. Karthik glanced at the Mr. Ford, who was checking his phone. Karthik knew, not only he but everyone, that how much Mr. Ford hated Luke Tesla. They both hated each other.
"The progress cannot be stopped!" At that, Luke threw both hands up in the air, waving to the audience as applause filled the room. He almost acts like a candidate, Karthik thought. Is that what Luke was aiming for? The guy certainly had enough money to get elected. Being rich was essential in Australian politics these days.
"Progress is our mission," Luke cried "Progress to vanquish disease! Progress to halt aging, banish dementia, extend life! A life free of disease, decay, pain, and fear! The great dream of humanity made real at last! Let's make this world... cancer free. Let's make this world death free! "
The crowd suddenly rose to its feet, giving Luke a standing ovation, and for moment Karthik saw Mr. Ford standing but he abruptly sat back in his chair and started playing with his cell phone.
After all the speeches ended, the circular tables were removed. Music was played. And the rich, exotic food was served.
"Do you see any suspicious guy?" Lilly asked Karthik.
Karthik glanced around him. All he managed to see was hundreds of men and women standing around, drinking wine and eating exotic foods. "Er- No," he finally said.
Mr. Ford was talking with a CEO of a chemotherapy company. Piper was standing beside him. The sky outside was getting darker.
The CEO shook his hand with Mr. Ford and left. They all chatted for a few minutes and Karthik spotted Luke Tesla pushing his way toward them.
The music changed.
"Good evening Daniel ..." Luke said, showing all his thirty-two teeth. He offered his hand. Mr. Ford reluctantly shook it.
"Evening, " Mr. Ford grunted.
He let go of Mr. Ford's hand and held out his hand to Sara. She stretched out her hand. Luke kissed her hand. Karthik heard Mr. Ford grunting in anger.
"I'm very sorry to hear that Dr. Alex bill went missing yesterday," Luke said.
Mr. Ford nodded.
Luke was about to say something, but someone called him. He waved back to the guy. "Gotta go," he said and soon disappeared in the crowd.
"Thank God. " Mr. Ford sighed. He glared at Sara. "How can you allow that filthy man to kiss your hand? " He grumbled.
Sara stared back at him, clearly shocked.
Lilly's cell phone rang. "Excuse me." She muttered and started walking to the corner.
Sara was still staring at her dad. Tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Without saying anything, she marched to the exit door.
"You are not going to smoke here!" Mr. Ford called. But she was already exiting the hall.
"This was not her fault," Piper said, calmly. She shot a nervous glance at Karthik.
"Maybe, I should talk with her," Alex muttered and started for the exit.
Awkward silence drew around. Piper and Karthik kept nervously glancing at Mr. Ford, who was drinking wine and booze like a pig.
Lilly returned. She pushed her Cellphone in her purse and motioned Piper and Karthik to follow her.
After they were away from crowd, Lilly said, "My partner just contacted me."
"What did he say?" Karthik asked.
Lilly glanced around, making sure that no one was eavesdropping on them."There was a fourth scientist who worked on the project Outlander. He went underground when he realized that his fellow scientists were getting abducted."
“What is his name?” Piper asked.
“Dr. Sharif,” Lilly said.
“Oh, him,” Piper said.
“You know him?” Lilly asked.
“I’ve heard a lot about him from Dr. Alex Bill.”
"Where is he hiding?" Karthik asked quickly.
"Egypt ..." Lilly whispered.
16
Alex Muffin glanced back over his shoulder, as his feet moved toward the exit; no one was interested in him; Mr Ford stood alone, completely focusing on his vine. Those two women and his attorney were nowhere to be seen. This was the perfect time to execute his plan. But he'll first have to pursue Daniel Ford to the washroom.
He glanced around, and spotted a waiter, carrying a plate cluttered with wine glasses.
He called the waiter and slipped one thousand Australian dollar bill in his hand, and whispered something in the waiter's ear.
The waiter grunted and showed him his two fingers. Alex reluctantly pulled out another thousand dollar bill and slapped it in the Waiter's hand. The waiter smiled—
***
"So, we are going to search for him in Egypt? " Piper asked Lilly and beamed at Karthik. Karthik knew that she always wanted to visit Egypt. It was her dream holiday destination. But the work made it impossible for her even to leave Sydney for a few hours. Forget about leaving Sydney. She could hardly spend her time in strolling around the park.
"We are going to go in Egypt!" Piper repeated.
"Only me," Lilly said. "I don't want to put you guys in more trouble."
Yeah, right. We better stay out of this mess, Karthik thought. He had no intention of killing anyone, again. Not even a bad guy.
"We are already in trouble! " Piper snapped. "They've got my file! They've got Dr Alex Bill..." She was now getting agitated.
"Listen. I'm sorry." Lilly said, "This is my mission."
"And they've got my life's work! " Piper said firmly.
Lilly stared at Piper with her brooding eyes and finally said. "Okay ... But we'll need a private plane. If you can arrange a private plane then you can join us."
What? Did she just say, okay? Karthik thought.
"Don't worry about that, " Piper said. She pushed her way through the crowd. Lilly and Karthik followed her.
"What's she up to? " Lilly asked Karthik.
"Beats me." Karthik shrugged.
After a few seconds, they found Piper talking with Mr Ford. He nodded and pulled out the cellphone and made a call. He talked for a few minutes, and hung up the call and said something to Piper. She smiled and thanked him.
"What's up? " Karthik said, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I just asked Mr Ford whether can he lend us one of his private jets." Piper Shrugged.
"What did he say?" Lilly asked nervously.
"He called one of his pilots. And told me that a plane will be waiting for us... on tomorrow morning. "
"God job, Piper," Lilly said, gently slapping on Piper's back.
"Now, keep your promise." Piper said.
Lilly's face went white. "O-Okay!"
"That means we are going to Egypt? " Karthik muttered, aghast.
Piper nodded.
"Great!" He cried, staring at the ceiling.
"Is that normal? " Lilly whispered to Piper.
"Absolutely normal. " Piper whispered back.
They heard a loud Clatter.
They all stared toward the source of commotion, and found Mr Ford cleaning his vine smeared coat with the tissue paper. A waiter on his heels was picking up the broken glass; Alex Muffin was helping him.
"I'm so sorry, sir." The waiter kept repeating, as he picked up the glass pieces.
"It's okay, son." Mr Ford said, calmly.
"Sir, you'll need to wash it." Alex suggested. "Let me help you..." He eased out the coat from Mr Ford's shoulder. And carrying it, he headed to the washroom. Mr Ford followed him, rubbing his so-called white shirt(drenched with pink stain) with the tissue paper.
***
Alex Muffin slowly opened the flush lid. There was a plastic bag, submerged in the water. He pulled the bag and flushed the water. The water went down, gurgling loudly. He slowly tore the plastic bag, and stared at the gun inside it, after checking the gun for three times he tucked it behind his belt.
He opened the door and saw Mr. Ford still cleaning his shirt. The water churned in the basin. But there was one more man with them. Alex waited. And the man left. He checked outside and found that the corridor was empty.
"What's wrong, son?" Mr. Ford asked him.
"Nothing, sir." He said smiling and pulled out his gun.
***
"What's taking them so much time? " Lilly muttered, nervously, glancing at her wrist watch. Five minutes had passed. Still, there was no sign of Mr. Ford or Alex Muffin.
"Karthik, maybe you should go and check," Piper said.
"I'm on it." Karthik said and bolted to the washroom. Soon he found himself jogging through a gloomy Corridor. He spotted a chef and asked him: where was the washroom? The chef told him the directions.
Karthik turned around a corner and ran into Alex muffin.
"Oh." Karthik grunted, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Where is Mr Ford?" He asked Alex Muffin, still rubbing his shoulder.
"He is in the washroom ..." Alex Muffin replied. "... Upset stomach." He added.
"Where are you going?" Karthik asked.
"Me... S-SARA called me," Alex stammered. "Excuse me," and he trotted out of sight.
That's weird, Karthik thought.
Karthik grabbed the doorknob, and pushed open the washroom door, and gasped in terror.
He felt like his legs no longer could support his weight. His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to burst out. He staggered and dropped beside Mr. Ford's body.
Mr. Ford's white shirt was now engraved with three red dots. Mr. Ford moaned as the blood oozed out from the wounds.
"Stay still," Karthik instructed.
"K-car... T... Hik." Mr. Ford choked.
"Shh, sir. Don't move." Karthik felt like crying. But tried his best to control his tears and the panic. He suddenly got up to his feet and pressed the microphone in his ear with his finger and said, "Lilly? "
"Yes, Kart—"
"Tell Piper to call an ambulance. Mr. Ford has been shot."
"What—"
"And stop Alex Muffin from leaving the hall. "
"What do you mean? "
"He is the assassin."
Lilly followed the exit sign and found herself staring at a profoundly vast parking lot.
The parking lot was gloomy because of very few light bulbs to illuminate the huge area. It was filled with the variety of cars and bikes. Sedans, Two-seaters, station wagons, SUV, sports bikes, mopeds, scooters, and god knows what else.
She moved her right hand toward her waist for the gun, and it came to her that she wasn't carrying a gun. Slowly she bowed and edged her way across the parking lot. Somewhere a light flickered. She crept from one row of cars to another. She had faced this kind of challenges before; fighting with a criminal in a parking lot was not something new to her. She had done it many time
s. The only difference was that this time she did not have her weapon.
But her opponent did.
She hurried and hid behind a red SUV, and peered through the window at the other side. Nothing. She sat down on the floor and exhaled. Maybe he ran away. Maybe she was slow to act. Maybe... she caught something moving in the side mirror of the SUV. The movement was very faint. But was enough for her trained eyes. She quickly rolled away from the SUV. The gun hissed, the side mirror of SUV exploded.
Alex Muffin came out of the darkness, holding the gun in front of him. Lilly skirted around the car and concealed herself on the other side of the SUV.
"I know you are behind it," Alex Muffin said, taking small and calculative steps toward Lilly. She just took a deep and breath and peeked below the car. She saw him strolling toward her. Now, he was standing so close to the SUV that she could see his faint, dark reflection in the window of the car before her. She knew that he could also see her reflection in it.
An idea came into her mind. She quickly tied her both hand's fingers into each other and pretended that she was holding a gun. The trick worked. He saw that she was holding something in the reflection.
"Come out and drop your weapon, and I won't do you any harm," He said.
"Or you can drop your weapon and move your hands behind your head, and I'll promise that you'll live long enough to see your grandchildren grow—in case an unlucky girl marries you.” She taunted.
His nervous face turned blank. Then came rage, and blood throbbed in his temples. "You bitch!" He spat and charged, firing wildly at her. Glass exploded.
She didn't fall back. Instead sticking close to the ground, she dashed at him. She grabbed his hand in which he held the gun and thrust it upwards, then she dug her knee into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and raised her knee and planted in his chin. He fell back and rolled on the floor, grimacing. The gun also fell out of his hand. She plunged at the gun, hoisted it up and aimed at his leg and fired. But only air and the sound of click came out of it. The damn gun was empty.
Alex quickly got to his feet and ran. She also ran behind him. Luckily, she was a good runner. He realized that she was closing in, and started taking longer strides.
Border of the sun Page 7
