by JC Ryan
After convincing Daniel that the different circumstances would mitigate the danger that had taken lives in the first expedition, and showing him the list of volunteers that wanted to return, Summers obtained Daniel’s cautious support. He almost lost it again when JR applied for the position of expedition director. Daniel objected; he had almost lost his brother to the Antarctic and didn’t want to risk him again. However, a talk with Sarah and Rebecca had changed Daniel’s mind, and once Daniel agreed, it was settled.
It was almost the last straw, though, when Sinclair O’Reilly, the Foundation’s linguist and a dear friend of the Rosslers, decided he wanted to go as well. O’Reilly had to be approaching seventy. There was no way that Charles was going to agree to risking his life in the harsh conditions of Antarctica outside the hidden valley. He had to admit, though, that Sinclair had an underhanded way of getting his way, even when it wasn’t in his own best interest. He appealed to the patriarch of the Rossler clan, Nicholas, Daniel’s grandfather. And Nicholas didn’t see any reason why a healthy and hale young man of only sixty-eight shouldn’t go to Antarctica if he wanted to. After all, they now had pleasure tours there, and plenty of septuagenarians went on them. In fact, Nicholas was thinking of taking Bess, his wife, on one, and they were both in their eighties. Charles was outgunned, but at least he’d be able to limit Sinclair’s presence to phase three of his plan.
Chapter 3 – They MUST go before we go
Summers hastily left the boardroom after JR dropped his bombshell, all too aware that he had failed in his leadership capacity on the previous expedition, in no small part thanks to the damned OS. It wasn’t a particularly graceful departure, as he’d hurriedly deferred to Daniel to answer the question, and stated that he had work to do and nothing to add to the discussion at hand. Daniel and Rebecca stared at his retreating back and then turned their attention back to JR, who hadn’t uttered another word yet.
“JR, please clarify your question,” Daniel said in a calm and quiet tone, though his thoughts were anything but calm. Rebecca had cautioned the family to keep conversations as low-key as possible to avoid a trigger reaction when speaking of stressful subjects with JR, and the last place that needed to happen was here in front of the Board.
“It’s pretty clear isn’t it? Those bastards have dogged you from the minute you started investigating the mysteries of the Great Pyramid, and they almost killed our entire expedition. There must be something in that valley that they want, or think they want. We’ve seen time and again that they will stop at nothing to get what they want or keep others from getting what they don’t want people to have. There’s no sense in putting on another expedition until we’ve wiped them out. I’ve been thinking about it.”
Daniel was stunned at the vehemence in JR’s voice, as well as at having been blindsided by this now, in front of the full board of directors. “And you’re just now bringing it to my attention?” he asked, more frost than he intended in his voice. A quick glance at Rebecca revealed that she was shaking her head slightly, while staring at him with evident intent. Okay, he needed to tone it down.
“Sorry, JR, you just caught me by surprise. Please, give us your thoughts.”
“Okay,” JR said, standing and sauntering to the mic beside his brother. He reached over and pulled it toward him and six inches higher, effectively making Daniel relinquish it. Rebecca glowed with pride as her man cut an impressive figure at the head of the room. He was doing fine, no sign of agitation.
“Is there anyone here who is not aware that my sister-in-law was kidnapped and other members of my brother’s circle of investigators killed or threatened by a secret society known as the Orion Society?” He paused, looking around the extensive conference table, almost twenty-four feet long. Seeing no one raise a hand, he continued. “Let me remind you, then, just how dangerous these people are. They first revealed their interest in the Pyramid Code by killing my sister-in-law’s former professor, Mark Simms. They then held our grandparents hostage, killed Sarah’s boss, Professor Barry, and kidnapped Sarah herself. When my brother rescued her, they killed their own operatives to keep them from talking to the police, and finally made a desperate attempt to kill Daniel and all of his colleagues as they fled for protection. Finally, they killed a CIA informant who had been one of them, along with his protectors. In all, a minimum of ten people dead, and who knows how many others of their own? They are heartless and without mercy. You may not have heard the details of how they concealed their crimes, decapitating and mutilating their victims by removing their fingers so that they couldn’t be identified.
“You also know by now that our expedition was ambushed inside the valley we found by operatives from the same group. They were aided and abetted by a member of our expedition who was there as a spy and subsequently killed herself while in custody. Another spy in our group was killed by the squad that attacked us, but not before she may have been instrumental in the death of our expedition director, Paul LeClerc. I believe, though I can’t prove it, that the avalanche that trapped us inside the cave was not a natural event. At least four members of our expedition were murdered by them, maybe more. If we hadn’t stopped them, you could add five more to that. The only other members of our expedition who survived but whose whereabouts at the time were unaccounted for was Mikhail Maxhulin, the explosives expert, who is now missing, and Bart, our expedition cook, who has never been found.””
Everyone around the table understood what he had not said; that he had single-handedly taken out the squad sent to murder them, thereby saving what was left of the expedition. A gasp went up from some quarters of the table, including the member from Russia and Daniel, who looked questioningly at JR.
“Roosky was outside, tasked with getting us out in the event of a rock fall or anything else. What better person to instead bring the mountain down on us and trap us inside?” JR answered Daniel’s unspoken question.
A speculative expression stole over Daniel’s face. He had invited Maxhulin to the memorial service, all expenses paid, but the man had declined. Was this the reason? He turned his attention back to the table as the member from Russia pounded a fist on the table and stood.
“Do you accuse my country of sabotage and attempted murder?”
“No, sir,” was JR’s calm reply. “I accuse a citizen of your country of being an Orion Society tool. Can you assure me that no citizen of your country is or has ever been an employee of the OS? If so, it will be the only country we know of that has been free of the vermin. Based on just the interaction of these criminals with my family and our expedition, how can we believe they haven’t done similar damage to other research projects over the years? What murders might they have committed, what thefts of priceless knowledge or artifacts? I have it on the authority of our head of security, my sister-in-law’s uncle, Luke Clarke, that they’ve put a price on our heads, all the survivors of the expedition. And the highest of all is on my head. I propose to return the favor.” A predatory grin accompanied his last statement.
Shocked silence greeted that challenge, but JR noted that Rebecca’s eyes were shining. He smiled faintly at her.
“This is not the time for infighting, ladies and gentlemen. We have seen first-hand how extensive the criminal enterprises of this organization are, how they have tried time and time again to steal or prevent wide dissemination of information that does not fit with their plans for total domination of world finances. We’ve seen that they are violent, morally bankrupt and utterly ruthless. All I’m suggesting is that the absolute necessity of clearing them out take place before we go back to Antarctica. After that we can again attempt to discover whatever it is that they didn’t want us to know. We can’t safely go on this expedition until they are completely and utterly destroyed. If we do, we’re just inviting trouble and death along with us again. So I say, they must go before we go.”
A smattering of applause began, soon swelling to a sound tribute, with most members getting to their feet in a standing ovation. JR g
lanced at his brother, still standing beside him, and then at Rebecca, the only people in the room whose opinions mattered one whit to him. Both were applauding enthusiastically, and his Becca’s eyes were moist.
After that, the vote on the funding of the expedition was an overwhelming yea, as the Board almost casually dispatched that agenda item and turned to an added one. Then and there, they drafted a resolution to be presented to the governments of their various countries calling for a rapid and concerted effort to eradicate the Orion Society for good. Unaware of the widespread tentacles of power that the OS had in financial institutions, multi-national corporations, big oil and big pharma conclaves, not to mention national security and military organizations worldwide, they demanded that each government place their secret services and military might under the orders of the CIA for the effort. It was a noble gesture, though one that was ill-conceived because no one really understood the OS, what it stood for, or how powerful it was. But, they would learn soon enough.
Chapter 4 – We demand
Daniel, true to his reputation as the eternal diplomat and persuader, considered carefully to whom he should present his copy of the resolution first. It was worded rather strongly, the influence of the more bombastic of the Board members. If he presented it directly to President Harper, it could be bad for their friendship. On the other hand, if he gave it to anyone else, he’d better be prepared to explain why to Harper when he did learn of it. Then the answer came to him, but before he implemented his plan, he should talk to Sarah about it. He picked up the phone.
“Sweetheart, it’s me,” he said when she answered.
“I thought it might be. How’d the Board meeting go?”
“It went great until JR stuck his oar in. Then what was supposed to be an easy meeting to take care of a few formalities turned into a declaration of war. But, I’m glad he spoke up. He brought up something that no one else had given much thought.”
“Really? What was that?”
“He wants the OS wiped out before they go to Antarctica again. Says there’s no point in going if they just show up again, with more troops this time.”
“Oh, my gosh, Daniel, he’s right!”
“Yeah, I know. The Board took it up right then, drafted a resolution to present to their various governments. It’s kind of strong.”
“Well good!”
“No, wait, you don’t understand. Here, let me read it to you. ‘We, the Board of Directors of the Rossler Foundation demand that the governments of the free world immediately and without reservation take all steps necessary to apprehend and detain every member and employee of the criminal organization known as The Orion Society on charges of murder and attempted murder, as well as any other civil or criminal charges that are warranted as a result of investigation. Our goal is to eliminate all traces of this organization to ensure the safety of peaceful citizens everywhere. We further demand that the organization’s financial interests and other projects be exposed as they become known, and every effort be made to make reparations to all governments, organizations and individuals or their families who have been harmed by the activities of the Orion Society. Let it be known that if governments will not eradicate this threat, the Rossler Foundation stands ready to do so.’ How do you like them apples?” he finished, whimsically.
“Wow! You couldn’t veto that last sentence?”
“I tried. They overruled me.”
“Let’s just hope the governments respond. I’m not sure we’re big enough to go after the OS, based on what we’ve learned of them in the past.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t have a clue how we could do it if governments can’t or won’t. It will take the cooperation of at least several of the major Western countries. But that’s not the worst part.”
“Are you serious? What could be worse?”
“It’s on me to present this to Nigel Harper.”
‘Daniel, absolutely not! He’d consider it the worst insult, a demand like that. In fact, I can think of several countries who are likely to turn on us for this. How could you let this happen?”
“Sweetheart, you know that there are rules governing the foundation. We have to abide by them like everyone else. Even with our extra votes, I couldn’t stop this. Our only hope, and this is why I called you, is to see what Luke can do.”
“Oh, no, not again! Aunt Sally was glad to let him help save me when I was kidnapped, but you know she wants him to retire for good, even from the consulting work. What am I going to tell her?”
“That your husband may have his head on the chopping block if Luke can’t see a way to do this right?”
“Great. She has to make a choice between her husband and mine? I don’t like it Daniel. But, I can see your point. So I’m going to have to say talk to Uncle Luke about it, see what he says. If he’s all in, I guess he’ll help us deal with Aunt Sally.”
“Sweetheart, you’re the best. I’ll give them a call, see if we can take them out to dinner. I’m sure you don’t feel like cooking. How’s Nick?”
“Nicky’s fine,” Sarah answered sweetly, knowing the diminutive of the baby’s name would annoy Daniel just enough to let him know that she wasn’t pleased. “I don’t mind cooking. Tell them to come to the house. I don’t think we should discuss something like that in public.”
“Okay, thanks, sweetheart. I’ll bet getting to play with Nick will soothe Sally’s ruffled feathers.”
“You’d better hope,” she laughed.
Later that evening, around a meal that Sarah lovingly prepared with her own hands despite the financial ability to hire help, Luke listened carefully as Daniel laid out the problem. Sarah nervously glanced at Sally from time to time, but so far she hadn’t posed an objection. Her attention was focused solely on her great-nephew, which probably explained it.
“So you see, Luke, I’m between a rock and a hard place. I can’t just lay this on him, and I can’t let it go much longer before letting him know. I’m sure the delegates are even now preparing to talk to their own governments. Letting Harper hear it through the grapevine would be even worse than just springing it on him.”
Luke seemed to be in deep thought, so it was Sally who asked the obvious question. “What do you want Luke to do about it? Daniel, it isn’t his responsibility, it’s yours.”
“I know, Sally, but I was hoping Luke would have some ideas that would help me do it the right way. A way that will gain cooperation instead of resistance. The Board didn’t leave me much room to hedge my language.”
“I say we just ask for a meeting with Harper and give him an apology first, then hand it to him,” Sally answered.
“Would it really be that easy?” Daniel asked, taking Sally’s suggestion seriously.
“There’s some merit in it, but maybe I can soften the edges a bit,” said Luke. “The head of the CIA is still a friend of mine, even though I’ve all but retired. Let me give him a call. Maybe if you go in with reinforcements, the wrath will at least be spread out a little.”
“Well, I guess he can’t yell ‘off with his head’ in any case,” Daniel chuckled. “But I’ll be glad of reinforcements.”
~~~
In the end it turned out to be a little easier than Daniel had expected, because he got help from two quarters. First, Luke’s CIA contact was all for it, and agreed to back him up in any meeting with the President. Daniel and Sarah both thought it would be best for him to go to Washington in person, rather than calling with this news, and he was on a plane that very day. The second was a stroke of luck. With perfect timing, the Israeli prime minister called as President Harper was seating Daniel in the Oval Office.
Daniel knew from Harper’s side of the conversation and his widening eyes that the cat was out of the bag, but instead of blowing up, Harper quietly answered that he thought someone was there to talk to him about it right now, and he’d get back to his caller.
Daniel sat straighter in his chair as Harper replaced the receiver into the ornate old-fashioned crad
le of the telephone on his desk. “Well, let’s hear this infamous demand. Is it as bad as my colleague from Israel said?” Harper’s eye shifted from Daniel to his CIA Director with a spark of humor. “I see you brought a bodyguard. It must be bad indeed.”
It served to put Daniel at ease as he answered in kind. “It’s a freaking insult, sir, but I agree with the sentiment if not with the wording.” With that, he handed over the heavy cream-colored letterhead of the Rossler Foundation, with the demand printed in an ornate font. Harper read it, his eyes flashing dangerously as he read the word ‘demand’ aloud. Seconds later, he looked up.
“And this has gone to the head of state of every country represented on your Board?” he asked. The mild response disarmed Daniel completely, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, sir. The delegates were instructed to present it to the heads of their respective countries within forty-eight hours of returning home. I would imagine that there could be some who haven’t received it yet, but they will soon.”
“Very well. Since you’ve brought the right man for the job with you, let’s get the show on the road. Director Lewis, tell me how you propose to comply with this, er, demand.”
“Gladly, Mr. President. Before we make a move of any kind, we’re going to have to clean house ourselves. Ever since the Rosslers put themselves in the hands of the Mossad rather than us, we’ve been working to root out any remaining Orion Society moles in the Agency. I have reason to believe that our job isn’t finished, but I intend to flush out the rest of them using this campaign as bait. I hope you don’t mind that I don’t go into detail regarding that plan with a civilian present, sir. No offense, Mr. Rossler.”
