The Gypsy Queen: A Matt Preston Novel (Matt Preston Series Book 3)

by Paul Shadinger

  “Mr. Ilox, I don’t want this to sound like a threat, but if I don’t report back to Admiral Orchard, you’ll be arrested and taken to Gitmo. After you’ve been interrogated, you’ll be returned to your country.

  Ilox waved his hand as if to dismiss what I just told him. “It’s just Ilox, there is no mister. And I know all about Orchard and his desires regarding me. I know that. I know about the various governments that want me returned. What does Admiral Orchard have to do now with me being arrested and deported?”

  “I don’t know if you were aware of this, but Bill Richardson worked for Orchard and since you worked for Bill, you were indirectly working for Admiral Orchard. Anyway, I’m here to offer you a trade. This is a deal I think you may want to give some serious consideration. If you’ll provide me with the piece of information I need, the admiral will see that you’re given a green card, and any investigations are dropped.”

  The heavy-set man tented his fingers in front of his face, making it difficult to read his thoughts. Eventually he opened his hands and holding them in front of himself, Ilox asked me, “How do I know I can trust you? You come here telling me names I have heard, you’re making promises, saying all these wonderful things, but I have no way of knowing if you are who you say you are, or if these things are true. These papers don’t exactly tell me why I should trust you.” He waved his hand towards my creds. “What proof do you have to back up your claims of amnesty?”

  “Your point is well taken. We seem to be at a stalemate. Is there any way I can offer you some sort of assurance?”

  Ilox sat for several minutes staring at me. He smiled at me for the first time since I had arrived and he asked, “Where are you originally from Mr. Preston?”

  His question caught me off guard. Considering the tense nature of our conversation to this point, I wasn’t ready for such an intimate one. “I was born and raised in Seattle and I still live there today.”

  Then inspiration struck. As Ilox resumed his position of tenting his hands in front of his face, I was reminded of Mouse. Because Mouse’s knowledge of what’s happening both in Washington, and in the world, I thought if anybody would know Ilox, it would be Mouse. And it stood to reason if Ilox was as knowledgeable as Bill and Orchard said, he might know Mouse. “Actually, I have a good friend out in Seattle that you may know.” I told Ilox.

  For the second time since we’d been talking I saw Ilox alter the look on his face. I watched him raise the skin above his eyes which would have been his eyebrows. “Really? And who would this be?”

  “Even though the man is diminutive, his knowledge of people and events around the world are amazingly immense; if you get my drift.” From the look on his face, I could tell he knew who I was talking about.

  “Do you mean the man they call Mouse?” The sound in his voice indicated he doubted I knew Mouse. “You know Mouse?” The word ‘you’ being stressed. I nodded my head again. “If I call him right now, would he authenticate your claims?”

  I thought for a moment and sent out a small prayer to Mouse to please back me up. Ilox called out for one of his servants to bring him a phone. A guard brought a phone and when it arrived, Ilox said to the servant, “Dial 206-865-8383 for me.”

  “Stop!” I looked at Ilox and said, “I thought you said you knew Mouse. I know every one of his numbers and that’s not his.”

  Ilox smiled as he nodded his head. “Yes? Very good. And what number is correct?”

  “206-568-3838. You had the numbers mixed.”

  “Yes, I did. I wanted to see how well you really knew Mouse.” He turned to the guard and held out his hand, then listened for a moment. “Hello Steve.” He spoke a few words in a language I didn’t understand. He switched back to English and asked, “Do you know who this is?” I could hear buzzing coming from the phone. It dawned on me that Ilox must know Mouse very well to use his real name.

  “Steve, I have a person sitting here in front of that claims he’s a good friend of yours.” I could make out the word “Who?” Ilox said my name and the buzzing on the phone grew a lot louder. Ilox grunted from time to time, his eyes never leaving my face. Then he said, “That much? You feel that strongly about him?” I had no idea what Mouse was telling him, but from the look on Ilox’s face, it was looking good for my side. Finally, he said, “Just a minute,” and handed me the phone.

  “Mouse?” I asked.

  “Yes Matt, it’s me.” His voice rose a little in volume. “What the hell are you doing there anyway? No tell me later. Listen to me Matt, when you leave, I want you to call me from your car. Call me at once. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. You want me to call you when I leave.”

  “NO! Not when you leave, when you’re out of his compound. And I want you out of there in less than an hour. If you don’t call me within the hour, I’ll try and extract you. No more than an hour. Do you understand?”

  “One hour. Yes, Mouse, I understand.” I held out the phone to Ilox and he waved it off.

  “What was that about an hour?” Ilox asked after we were alone.

  I could see no reason not to tell him. “Mouse said that I was to leave within an hour of the end of this phone call, and if I don’t call him, he was going to start things on his end to try and have me extracted from your… ah… castle.”

  Ilox’s eyes widened. “You seem to know Mouse even better than you indicated. Mouse tells me he would trust you with his life. He seemed very adamant about your trustworthiness. We sat for a few minutes looking at one another. Eventually Ilox gave me a start as he let out a bark of laughter, clapped his hands together and then asked me, “What is it you wish to know?”

  “I’m looking for Melissa Herman and I understand you can help me.”

  His voice became wary. “Why are you looking for Melissa?”

  “Actually, I have several reasons. A friend of mine asked me to find her and when I started, it seemed to set off a lot of other things. Now I find that I’m not the only one looking for her.”

  “And your friend, what is his interest?”

  “They met at a computer conference in Orlando and while they were there they were… intimate. My friend was quite taken with her. He asked me to find her since he’s in the middle of releasing a new program that he developed.”

  “Okay. When you find her, what are your intentions?”

  “I want to tell her how my friend feels about her. I want to see if she’s interested in seeing him again. I also understand that she’s hiding from some people who think she is a danger to them. Admiral Orchard wants to offer her his protection.”

  “And as I understand it, your Admiral Apple is one of the people who is seeking her and wishes her harm!”

  I was surprised to hear that Ilox knew John well enough to know his middle name. The man seemed almost as knowledgeable as Mouse. I had the feeling I was walking on quicksand. “How do you know that?”

  “She told me. She also told me about your friend. By the way, what is your friend’s name?”

  “Ralph Jones.”

  I got a small smile for my answer. “Talking to Ralph is kind of what started things for her.”

  “Like what?”

  “I have no way of knowing how much you know, so in the interest of getting you out of here before your hour is up, I will tell you a few things. Melissa was working on a project she thought was a new game. A dummy corporation was set up and she was paid through them. After she met your friend and they spent the weekend together, she realized what she thought she was doing was completely wrong. Instead of a game, she was writing code for a software program which I am not at liberty to disclose—”

  I interrupted, “You mean the Black Hand concept? The program Silent Sentinel?”

  The look on the man’s face was priceless. I swear if I had dropped my pants and gone over to the pool and relieved myself he could not have looked any more st
unned.

  “You know about that?” I smiled. “Once she realized what she was doing, she disappeared. Jack Roberts is looking for her. She told me that Roberts was doing Orchard’s bidding. Orchard is after her because Roberts told him she was a threat.”

  “If that were true, how does MacDonald fit into all of this?” I asked.

  Ilox looked puzzled as he asked, “Who is MacDonald?”

  “General C. V. MacDonald. The story I got was its MacDonald who wants Melissa. MacDonald was the one who arranged for Jack Roberts to set up his program. Orchard is trying to find Melissa to protect her. MacDonald is the one who wants her dead. She knows too much about what Silent Sentinel actually is, and does, and the general wants her hushed up before it all gets out. And this brings us back to the point of me being here. I need to talk to Melissa. Can you arrange it or tell me where to find her?”

  Ilox closed his eyes and seemed to go to sleep. Finally I said his name aloud. He said, “Sorry, I was just trying to come up with a way for you to see her, and still keep her safe.”

  “Mr. Ilox, I mean her no harm. I promise you I will not harm Melissa nor will I try and force her to go with me. I just want to see her and chat with her. Will you help me do that?”

  Ilox picked up a pen, and I watched as he jotted down a number. He said, “Call me at this number in a couple of days. I should have something set up by then.”

  “May I ask you a question? It’s none of my business, but I was wondering.”

  “What?”

  “How is it you know Melissa Herman?”

  “Her father Isaac Herman and I go back to our childhood. We grew up in the same neighborhood and we were also in a training camp a long time ago. I knew Isaac before I even met Bill Richardson. I’m Melissa’s godfather.” That bore out what Johnny had told me and it made some sense.

  I thanked him for the information and stood up and headed for the door. Just as I was about to leave the room, Ilox called after me, “Mr. Preston, a moment please.” I turned back to face him. “If you don’t do what you promised me, I assure you I will find you. I will make you so sorry you will rue the day you were born. And that is not a threat Mr. Preston, that’s a promise. Melissa is my goddaughter and where I come from that is a very serious thing. I do not take that responsibility lightly. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir,” I said, and as quickly as possible I left the room. There was a guard waiting for me to escort me through the house. When I got to the front entrance I found my car had been turned around and it was running with the driver’s door open. I got in and drove to the gates and watched as the last massive gate slid aside to let me out. The guard motioned me forward and I drove away from one of the strangest encounters of my life. As soon as I was on the road I dialed Mouse’s number.

  He answered, “Matt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you in your car and out of Ilox’s compound?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a very lucky man. That man is not to be trusted. I’ve known him a long time and he’s very dangerous. The next time you want to see him, let me know first. Do you understand?”

  “Not completely, but I’ll do as you ask.”

  “Have you found the girl yet?” It didn’t surprise me to have Mouse ask me that. I explained I was supposed to call Ilox back later. He asked, “Would keep me informed of your progress with the Herman woman?” I told him I would and we ended the call.

  Since I felt like a stranger in a strange land, I didn’t want to hang around the area for the days I was waiting hear from Ilox. Nevertheless, I had to admit I was most curious what Ilox was going to come up with. Where was she that I needed to wait a few days to see her?

  It was time to fly home. I didn’t even have to check the schedule to see when the next flight left for Seattle.

  You know, having your own jet at your disposal was not a bad thing.

  Not a bad thing at all.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  As my plane taxied to the small terminal at the Boeing Field, I heard my cell phone ring. The call was from Gladys. “Hi babe. How ya doin?” I was happy to see her call and I greeted her warmly.

  The frosty voice on the phone asked. “Do you know who this is?”

  I was a bit stunned. “Gladys?” I asked with trepidation.

  “Oh goody! You do remember me!” Her voice still had not thawed.

  Sheepishly I responded, “I guess I haven’t called lately.”

  “Lately! Lately? No dear, you haven’t been calling me at all. What’s with this lately stuff?”

  “And you sound unhappy?” I added lamely.

  “Me? Why would I be unhappy when I don’t hear from you in like, forever!”

  I wondered what I was going to have to do to rectify this disaster. “Okay, what do I have to do to get out of the doghouse?”

  “Well, for starters, how about an apology?”

  I tried to make my voice as contrite as possible. “I really am sorry. I’ve been a really bad person. You have every right to be livid with me and if you will be so kind and forgive me just a little and let me cook dinner for you to show my unworthiness, I will then try explain what’s been going on in my miserable life while I grovel at your feet.”

  Her voice warmed. “I still need to hear a little more begging…”

  “Hey, I really am sorry. When I get through telling you my tale of woe, you’ll forgive me. Trust me. I may even be due a pat on the head along with a ‘poor Matt!’”

  “We’ll see! And when do I get this dinner?”

  “How about tomorrow evening? Say you come around to the apartment 5:30 or 6:00?”

  “Gee, isn’t that amazing? It was kind of what I had in mind.”

  “Then what’s with this busting my chops? I am sorry you feel neglected.”

  “I expect you to show me several times how much you missed me and help me over this feeling of being neglected.”

  My brain said, “Oh shit!,” but my mouth said, “I’m looking forward to seeing you, darling.”

  “Goodbye, dear.” I swear I heard her laughing as she hung up.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning was brisk and I was trying to encourage Bean to do her duty so I could return to my apartment and get a cup of coffee. About the time I thought I was going to freeze to death before she did her thing, my cell phone went off. I exclaimed warmly, “Senator. What an unexpected pleasure.”

  He laughed. “Oh, bullshit with the senator crap. Good morning Matt. Have you got a moment?”

  “For you I always have time. What do you need?”

  “I guess you might call this phone call a warning?”

  “A warning?” Now I was curious.

  “You know the diary we made copies of?”

  I had a bad feeling about this call. Albert continued, “We were looking for something else in the safe yesterday afternoon and we noticed that the small locked box the diary was in had been opened. When we took it out, all we found were a bunch of blank pages. Someone broke into my Seattle office, opened the safe and took the diary. What you didn’t know was I also had a copy of the diary here in my safe in Washington DC. After I heard about Seattle I had my secretary check the one in this safe, and it too is missing. I have no idea what it means, but I thought I should warn you.”

  “Did you call the two banks where the other two copies are stored to see if they’re still there?”

  “Yes, I did…” his voice trailed off

  “And?” I knew I didn’t want to hear his answer.

  “Both copies are missing. Somebody now has all of copies of the diary. But Silversmith had a brilliant idea when we were making copies and setting up the two banks.”

  “Oh?”

  “Considering what might be in that diary, we thought there was still going to be considerable ongoing in
terest. Knowing the people involved, and their abilities to get things done, in the off chance somehow all the diaries might be stolen, there’s another copy we never told you about.”

  At this point I was wondering just how many copies there were and how many people had read the damn thing.

  “I’m the only person who knows where that copy is stored.” I felt a little better hearing this, but not much.

  “Do you have any idea who did it?” I had my own ideas, but I was not about to share them with Albert.

  “No, I don’t. But I have a hunch a certain individual you worked for back in Nam may have a very good idea who took them, and that person may even have them now. I’m pulling out all the stops trying to find out. If a United States Senator can’t find out who’s breaking into safes and stealing things, something is wrong. I promise you, I will find out who did this.”

  “Thanks for the call, and if you don’t mind, please keep me informed.” I started to hang up and then had an idea. “Albert, are you still there?”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “Exactly who all knows about this rogue unauthorized copy?”

  “Just Richard and me. Why?”

  “I would advise both of you to be very careful. As you said, there’s still a lot of interest in it. I’ve had two people asking about it already. I don’t like how much interest they’re showing in getting their hands on a copy. I have no idea what’s in the diary, and I don’t want to know, but it makes me wonder what’s still so hot after all these years. For a lot of people’s sake, take care of it.”

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Yes. On purpose. Just be safe.”

  I started to hang up and I could hear him yelling at me not to. From his comment, I had the idea he knew something about CV, I had no idea what he knew, but I wasn’t ready to share any information at this time. I was unhappy to hear so many of the diaries were gone.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  For dinner with Gladys that evening, I pulled out all the stops. I cooked a couple of my best dishes. I did a wilted romaine lettuce salad with blue cheese crumbles, lightly covered with sunflower seeds, and my famous spaghetti with the best meatballs in the world. I also bought a really nice wine to help smooth the way. I was doing my best to get out of the doghouse with Gladys.