“Yes,” the old man almost hissed. “I know about his other resources.”
“Tell the Board that I approve of the fostering of a ceasefire; a clear American victory would not be in the Consortium’s interests. After all, they spent decades and a nearly incalculable amount of treasure engineering the Sovereignty War; it would be for nothing if they cannot control its outcome.” the old man said, “But I want no action taken against the Popes at this time. I don’t care if Carter kills them, but the Consortium is to leave them alone.”
Roderick nodded again. “Yes, Sir,”
“Sir, if I may?” Roderick asked tentatively.
“Yes,” the old man said.
“Some members of the Board are considering taking direct action against Jeremiah Hicks in order to silence his opposition to a ceasefire; despite the fact that the actuaries and seers both agree that no such action is necessary,” Roderick said. “The failure of both the actuaries and the seers to detect the allied invasion force has shaken the Board’s confidence in the accuracy of their projections. Some Board members feel the need to be more proactive.”
“So?” the old man asked.
Roderick found the will to meet the old man’s gaze for the first time. “I took the liberty of tasking the actuaries and seers with making some updated predictions concerning Douglas Carter’s future behavior if Jeremiah Hicks’ moderating influence on him should be removed.”
“And,” the old man pressed.
“Those new projections are, quite frankly, alarming,” Roderick said. “Without Hicks’ mentoring, Carter would manifest a degree of ruthlessness and resolve that would have otherwise unthinkable to him. The death of his wife will galvanize Carter’s future determination to oppose the Consortium plans for the United States. It will also erode his once ironclad moral and ethical objections to taking lives for reasons of personal malice. To avenge his wife, Carter will almost certainly kill Richard and Arthur Pope, and possibly even other prominent American political figures as well. Imagine what he will be capable of if he is also deprived of his surrogate father?”
The old man nodded. “The Board sees their plan for a corporate world government collapsing as the WCA crumbles. They know that if they cannot broker a ceasefire that the old nations will reassert their sovereignty and rebuild independent financial systems. Sooner or later the nations would demand the surrender of the corporate exclusion zones and that would be the end of the Consortium. They see silencing Hicks as a guarantee that the United States will accept the ceasefire proposal.”
“Of course, Sir,” Roderick said. “However, the projections make it clear that removing Hick’s influence on Carter will make him to a truly unrelenting, indomitable, and ruthless threat to the Consortium’s plans. In fact, the Oracle predicts that without Hicks to ameliorate Carter’s wrath, there is a three point two percent probability that Carter can bring down the Consortium and set back the agenda of the Thirteen Families for years. Eliminating Hicks could be disastrous for all concerned.”
The old man stopped circling; he passed his eyes appraisingly over Roderick. “Inform the Board that I forbid any action against Jeremiah Hicks,” he said. “As for Carter; I want you to personally look into his background. I want to know about his ancestry; his lineage.”
“But Sir,” Roderick said; “we already have extremely detailed files on Carter; compiling them was necessary for the Oracle system to make projections concerning him.”
“Yes,” the old man said. “But those files only trace his ancestry back for a few generations. I want you to trace his lineage as far back as you possibly can. I’ll arrange for you to have unlimited access to all Consortium’s records and investigative resources; my private family library will be available to as well. You are relieved of all other responsibilities while performing this task.”
“Yes, of course, Sir,” Roderick said. “Is there anything, specifically, that I should be looking for in my research?”
The old man shook his head. “No, compile your report as thoroughly as you can; spare no detail. I will know what I’m looking for when I see it.”
“Very well, Sir,” Roderick said.
The old man sat at his desk and returned to his writing. “There is a reason Carter constantly appears as a factor in the projections of the most importance,” the old man said. “Carter is on the verge of becoming a great man. Greatness follows blood. Trace his bloodline and you find the source if his greatness there.”
Roderick found that his curiosity compelled him to ask what he knew was a dangerous question. “Sir, do you believe that Carter may be related to the one of the thirteen bloodlines?”
The old man looked up from his writing. “It is possible,” both impressed and annoyed at the young man’s audacity.
Roderick curiosity was uncontrollable. “Is that not considered to be impossible given that Carter possesses the paragene? No one that has been confirmed to be related to the bloodlines has ever been found to have the paragene?”
“It is theoretically impossible,” the old man agreed. “Theories, however, are often proven wrong. Do as you have been told; and speak of it to know one but me.”
“A paranormal that is part of the thirteen bloodlines could change everything,” Roderick observed.
“Indeed it could,” the old man agreed.
The Fate Of Nations: F.I.R.E. Team Alpha: Book One Page 33
