by Randy Dutton
“Their mission’s to sabotage current and legacy wells using a carbon-consuming anaerobic bacterium inserted during field inspections.”
“I’ve heard of the government’s well-inspection initiative,” Tom said nervously.
“These propagating microbes consume fossil fuels and excrete a cementitious residue that eventually will plug up the wells, rendering them useless.”
His eyes flared and locked onto hers. “Are you serious?!”
Her apologetic expression never wavered.
“Quite, but in the past couple weeks, unbeknownst to anyone else, I had the bacterium replaced with yeast. The net effect is that nothing bad will happen to the wells, at least not from my actions.... If they get access to the wells, the yeast won’t do anything.”
Pete put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Dad, I think we owe Anna a debt of gratitude.”
Tom leaned back in silence, contemplating this latest bombshell. “It would seem so, if what she’s said pans out.” His head cocked. “Anna, did you know about this Sell Alaska Bill?”
“Yes. Alexis Swanson’s involved.”
“Not surprised.” He looked at Anna now with compassion. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. Right now, I’ve got to make some phone calls. May I share this tip with other companies?”
She nodded grimly.
Tom smiled. “And yes, I’ll just say I heard it from a DHS acquaintance.” In a gesture of appreciation, he gently touched her shoulder, then left the porch.
“Anna?” Pete was seeing her in a new light.
“Yes, Pete?” She was emotionally drawn but looked up with expectant eyes.
“I love you, and I want to protect you, but I’m not sure I know how.”
“Well Pete, that makes two of us.”
“You’re like a female James Bond with all the gadgets, but without a country to support you.”
They were quiet for a moment.
Pete stood up and took her hand, “Come, let’s get you settled into a room upstairs.”
“I’ve got a room at the Wildwood Inn.”
“Then let’s go there,” he said reassuringly. Still holding her hand, he told his family they would be back later that night, and not to hold dinner.
Once at the Wildwood, they went straight to her room and immediately into each other’s arms.
Hours later Anna and Pete relaxed in the big soaker tub, a bottle of room-service Chardonnay nearby. His detached metal leg leaned against the tub.
Laying back in the tub Pete took a deep breath and asked a question that had been on his mind for some time. “Anna, does the loss of part of my leg bother you?”
From the opposite side of the tub, Anna opened her eyes, and with a warm smile, replied, “No, Pete, it doesn’t bother me. In fact, I think I love you more for how little its loss affects you. You’re not bitter about having lost a piece of yourself and you don’t cast the blame on others. That’s more than I could say about myself. You’ve never complained about the pain you must have gone through with the endo-exoprosthesis operations. Rather, you’ve proven to me you can adapt to adversity. With my background, trust me, that’s important! Your selflessness is one of the most attractive characteristics anyone can exhibit.”
She leaned forward and slid her body on top of his, her lips closed to his. Her voice was softer now. “Pete, you’re not only a hero to the men you saved…you’re my hero.”
She kissed him passionately.
“Having a supportive family helped a lot—”
She put a finger to his lips. “Darling...this is not the time to be talking.”
Dinner was at the elegant downstairs restaurant.
“Anna, I heard from our lawyers a few days ago that the painting suddenly showed up at the Maldives Museum. They sent me a copy of the picture and the note that came with it. The woman looks close, but it isn’t you.”
“It took a little doing, but the painting’s home…where it belongs.” She sighed, but wore a smile of satisfaction.
“Thank you, Darling. It makes me happy that you respect my advice.”
“And that yacht guy…he’s moved on to a better life...” she started, then saw his look of alarm, “…well funded, I might add, with Swanson’s money.”
His sudden anxiety melted into a broad smile. “You’re playing with me again.”
“I’m nothing if not playful, Honey. But I think you knew that.” Her foot rubbed up against his leg. “Whoops, wrong leg.” She chuckled.
“Pete...” she lingered for a moment. “I’ve read a file on you that showed you dating several women over the years, but it doesn’t explain why you never married. Enlighten me…please?”
“I guess I’ve always liked a challenge and most of the women I knew wanted to get married and have a simple life. You know, the 2.1 children, white picket fence thing?”
They both laughed.
“But I want more...a partner.... Someone who challenges me intellectually, even physically.”
“How about emotionally?”
“Well, you certainly do that!” He quieted a moment and leaned in, their eyes locking. “Look, this may seem really stupid for me to ask…”
She looked at him warily, then quickly glanced around to ensure no other restaurant patrons were listening in.
He leaned closer and said quietly, “Anna, I hardly know you, I should fear you, but…I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Anticipation lit her face and her lips were slightly parted.
“I want to marry you.” Getting out of his chair, he knelt on his titanium knee.
Her lips were quivering.
His hands reached out and took hers. In a very low voice, he asked, “Will you marry me, Anna Catherine Picard?”
Her eyes teared up, a smile appeared and then widened. “Yes, Pete, I will marry you…but not publicly. It must be quiet.”
He leaned forward and gave her a long kiss. His heart fluttered with such lightness that he felt he could fly.
They both paused as applause erupted from a couple tables to a scene they understood even if they didn’t hear the words.
He ordered a bottle of Champagne to celebrate.
It was nearly midnight when they arrived back at the house. Their arms were around each other as they strode toward the steps. Both were blissfully happy and a bit tipsy.
MacKenzie and Patrick stepped out from the porch. “Looks like big brother has returned. You two look happy.”
“Anna, meet MacKenzie and Patrick,” Pete said joyfully.
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting both of you,” Anna replied with a warm smile.
“Mac and Patrick…meet your future sister-in-law, Anna.”
Their expressions turned to awe.
“What? No 10 trials of Hercules first?” Mac’s eyes widen in amazement, then narrowed as she scanned Anna for flaws.
“No inquisition?” Patrick looked at Anna’s glow, and gave an approving wink at his older brother.
“I didn’t want to give you a chance to scare her away,” Pete joked.
“You told us nobody scares Anna,” Mac retorted.
Anna turned her head up at Pete and elbowed him playfully.
“Patrick, would you please grab her bags from the car?”
The couple walked arm-in-arm to the living room.
Patrick returned with a devilish smile soon after, having put the bags in Pete’s room. “So Anna, tell us how you two met. Pete won’t tell us anything.”
The couple looked at each other.
“Well—” Pete hesitated, unsure what to reveal, what to hide.
“Pete was doing some work for your dad and came to me,” Anna quickly recovered. “My boss is a big financier with an interest in energy.”
Pete nodded.
Neither Patrick nor MacKenzie believed them, but dropped it for the time being.
Pete stifled a yawn and stood. “Look, we’re pretty tired. We’ll see you at breakfast.” He held out his ha
nd to Anna, and hand-in-hand, they went upstairs, each with a wide grin.
Chapter 65
August 2, 0730 hours
Heyward Ranch, Denton, TX
It was another cloudless August morning. Hand in hand, Pete and Anna descended the stairs for breakfast.
The quiet of downstairs was beguiling, until they found the whole family sitting silently, all eyes on them. His parent’s faces were solemn, while his sisters and brother were bemused.
Pete smiled broadly. “Good morning…I think.”
He pulled a chair out for Anna, she nodded sweetly.
As far as Pete was concerned, he had never been happier and whatever the concerns of his family, Anna would come first.
“Good morning, everyone.... Breakfast looks delicious.” Anna wasn’t sure whether to play it cool, timid, or forceful. She had steeled herself this morning for anything.
“Good morning, Dear,” Irma said to break the ice. “We hear congratulations are in order. Might I ask when this happened?”
“Last night, Mom”—Pete jumped in—“and before you start challenging our judgment, you need to know more.”
They were all ears.
“First off, we’re both in love, and no we haven’t been together long, and yes, there’s many things about each other we’ve yet to find out.” He looked over at his dad. “There’s much more to tell that does involve you. And a decision will have to be made by all of you as well.”
Irma’s brow furrowed.
“We decided you first need to know some things about Anna that may unsettle you. Hell...I mean, sorry Mom...what she will tell you may scare you, and there is danger involved.”
Only his dad didn’t flinch.
“Anna. You wanted to do this.”
She nodded. “Folks, through Pete’s stories, I’ve come to love your family, and I do want to become a part of it, but you have to understand a little of my life story before you accept me or pass judgment.”
“Come on, Dear, we all have some issues,” Irma interrupted. “You two don’t need to be melodramatic–”
Tom put his hand on Irma’s and shook his head.
“Trust me, Mom,” Pete cut in. “This won’t seem over-blown when she’s done.... All of you need to make sure none of this leaves this room. You must promise her, and you must promise me, because a slip could cost one or both of us our lives.” He had his family’s undivided attention. “Anna, it’s all yours.”
Nesting a cup of coffee in her hands, seeing the swirls of cream making little clouds, helped her focus. “I was a military brat and an only child to an honorable Marine. My mom died in an boating accident when I was seven. Up until I was 15, I was happy, athletic, and outgoing.” A tear formed in her eye.
Pete’s hand lightly touched her hand.
MacKenzie’s eyes widened with empathy and she tightly gripped Patrick’s arm.
“I’ll spare you the gory details of what a young Marine violently did to me one night when my dad was deployed, but I turned cold, hard, and bitter. Even the back alley abortion was done in secret two months later. And because I never told him, my dad died four years later not knowing why his little girl had changed so dramatically.”
Paula and Mac were both biting their lips, their eyes damp.
Patrick and Tom appeared stoic.
“I excelled academically, maintaining straight A’s, even skipped my junior year, because I knew education was my ticket to going wherever I wanted, but I quit a normal social life, and pulled into my shell.
“My thoughts were dark, and I had no family to help, and”—she cleared her throat—“I had abandoned my friends. I…didn’t have a guardian angel.”
Anna looked at MacKenzie and saw her tearing up.
“I had one goal and that was vengeance. I started martial arts and eventually had the courage and skill to take revenge. And it felt good. In retrospect, probably too good. I’ve not relied on anyone else since. I buried my conscience and determined my own morality. I worked my way through UCLA, then Harvard Law School, and...”—she gripped Pete’s hand harder—“I’m not proud how I did that.”
She took a sip of orange juice. “Halfway through Harvard, I essentially was adopted, because of my moral ambivalence, by Alexis Swanson, as his protégé to be a…fixer.”
The women expressed confusion, but Patrick’s widening eyes revealed he knew what Anna meant.
“Officially I was an executive recruiter for Swanson, and I had it all – money, a dream villa, a luxurious lifestyle, the clothes, the jewels, the cars. I mixed with royalty, movie stars, and financial titans. But the cost was to keep morality out of my life and my work. I’ve had many acquaintances but few real friends. My allegiance was entirely to Swanson and his vision. Up until recently, that was fine. I did what needed to be done to continue the manipulation that he and his cohorts were perpetrating on the world. Listen to the news and their hands are all over it.”
She took a sip of juice. “I won’t go into specifics about my actions for your own safety and in case you ever have to testify or be questioned. I know things that a number people want to know and others would never want revealed. I’m a danger to some and endangered by others.”
She glanced at Pete. They had spent a couple hours the night before going into these details. He gave her an encouraging look, so she inhaled deeply and resumed. “Even before I met Pete my confidence was waning, but when Pete came to my villa a month ago…”
Irma gave Pete a scolding stare.
“It’s okay, Irma. Pete did what he thought best to help Tom. When he arrived, I...um...caught on to his Marine tactics and turned the tables on him.”
Paula and Mac chuckled and made faces at Pete.
“But we talked and connected in a way that I thought impossible. If ever there were soul mates”—Pete’s hand linked with hers—“I felt those couple days I had found mine.”
She took another sip and cleared her throat. “Pete became my guardian angel then, and though it took me a month to extricate myself from my own web, he has been with me all the way, if not physically, then spiritually. His love for me gave me strength, and some moral clarity. With him I have hope for the future.”
She looked around the table and saw sympathy, even from Tom, but especially from MacKenzie.
“Anna, if I may.” Pete squeezed her hand.
She smiled and leaned back in her chair.
“I asked Anna to marry me last night, and she said yes. It was the happiest moment of my life, but I had to promise her”—he looked at his mother’s slight smile—“it will be a private, not a public wedding.”
Irma nodded understanding.
“We want to get married here, no visitors, no press announcements, just those of us here and the kids. And we’d like to do it…in three days. That’s the time it takes to get a license. If it were entirely up to me, we’d have a minister here within the hour.”
He expected resistance, but none came.
Pete chuckled as they gathered around in congratulations. “I’ll take it that this is okay with everyone.”
Chapter 66
August 2, 0900 hours
Snath Genetics, South San Francisco
It was quiet that same morning at Snath Genetics, with many of its employees on vacation. Around mid-morning, Eric walked into Sven’s office with a wide grin. “Sven, it’s done. All the containers have been activated. It’s a fait accompli.”
Sven had been staring wistfully at a picture on his iPhone, but looked up and smiled in return. He said nervously, “Eric, get ready for the storm.... Bureaucracy hates revolution. What we’ve done is a game changer.”
“Because most thought they could control CO2 to accumulate wealth?”
“Yeah, and power. They didn’t know some of us had a different agenda – to set CO2 reduction on autopilot.”
Eric was grinning. “Think Swanson will feel double-crossed?”
“Yes...I do.” He glanced back at the image on the screen, then
back at Eric. “I think all the Agenda 21 financiers will feel we’ve crossed them. Their carbon credits will become worthless, their taxes unnecessary, their politicking meaningless. We’ve created a whole new carbon paradigm.”
“One might say we’ve Carbon Crossed them!” laughed Eric.
“That’s a good way of putting it.”
“By the way, what’s the picture that has you so distracted?”
“Oh, it’s someone I know.” He showed Eric the image he had surreptitiously taken of Anna at the Maldives.
Eric glanced at the photo. “Beautiful woman. Who is she?”
“Anna Picard.... Swanson’s recruiter. She hired me...and is very dangerous...someone you should avoid at all costs. You see her, run for the hills! Change your name, your location, and cover your tracks.” He flipped to a picture of Jared. “Him too. He’s as dangerous and much less subtle.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed. “Go back to the woman’s picture.”
Sven flipped to the prior picture.
“Would you print out a copy?”
“Sure.” Sven attached a cable to the printer, and the photo started emerging. “Why?”
“Something about her is familiar.” Eric pulled out some colored permanent markers from a drawer.
Sven looked at him questioningly.
Eric started drawing on the fresh photo and colored her hair black and with a fluffed out style, He took a highlighter and gave her yellow teeth that bent outward. He continued manipulating the photo.
Sven kept glancing at Eric’s increasing intensity and back at the photo.
With a gleam in his eye, Eric turned the photo for Sven. “Remind you of anybody?”
“No, not really. She’s rather homely now.”
“Think back 11 years ago. There was a temp at our old company...filled in at a number of positions over several months just before they...let you go.” He was grinning. “I give you Cornelia...something or other.”
Sven stared, then slowly nodded. “Yeah, now I remember.” His eyes widened. “That’s how Anna knew so much about me! How did you remember her?”
“I...uh...kind of thought she was attractive.” Eric said with embarrassment.
