“That was one of the reasons we cut the umbilical cord to the king of England. We declared that the creator had given us certain unalienable rights, such as liberty and the pursuit of happiness and a good dose of self-governance.”
Alicia lowered her voice. “These secretive billionaires decide who will run for the heads of state offices around the world. They own huge industrial and high tech companies, providing them the power to set wages. They ignore or bend governance regulatory laws because they have politicians who write the soft laws in favor of the polluting and often abusing business paradigms these companies create. To spin a public relations campaign for their hidden agendas, they have majority stakes in global news media companies. Meaning they can twist politics, economic news and events to sway the public to follow their way of thinking.”
“If you own the media, you can create artificial events that stoke fear in the hearts of the people…essentially wearing them down like a fighter trapped in a corner and getting hit repeatedly in the head. Do you have leads — names of people suspected to belong to this group?”
“Jonathon Carlson and Alexander Van Airedale are two suspected to belong to the group or have ties to it. Carlson is CEO of Integrated Security Corporation. Van Airedale heads UDT, a multinational company that does contract work around the globe, anything from roads, bridges, pipelines to power plants. His company is believed to have been associated with the German giant, Siemens, when they were caught and fined a record one-point-two-billion dollars for bribery schemes.”
“That’s quite a toll to pay for violation of international securities laws.”
Alicia shook her head. “They didn’t think they’d get caught. It’s the same mindset that fueled the greed on Wall Street with the banks. With billions to be won or lost, these ruthless people plan ahead for years, setting strategy and people in place.”
“Maybe John Kennedy Junior would not have fit in their plans.”
“Maybe.”
“If General Patton was assassinated and, if JFK Junior, his wife and sister-in-law were all murdered…are the incidents related? We know a lot of this began with the Nazi buildup through the end of the war and into the Nuremberg Trials. James Tower believes David Marcus’s death could have been in retaliation to his involvement in the trials. Industry tycoons like Fritz Thyssen played a role in financing Hitler’s rise. They had ties to American investment firms and banks that could launder Nazi money. The European Union evolved from the economic rebirth of Germany. Philippe Fournier learned of the players at that meeting in Strasbourg, Germany, when the Red House proposal was revealed. James Tower called it a one-hundred-year plan. If it began in 1933, it won’t be too long before they may achieve their goals.”
“How can they be stopped?” Alicia pushed her plate away.
“If someone can find a way to expose them, these thirteen might fall like the Berlin Wall fell years ago…brought down by the people. But it won’t be easy.”
“What do we do next?”
“We go to an ancient cathedral in France.”
“If you’re suggesting Chartres, what exactly are we searching for?”
“Maybe the tunic worn by Mary, Jesus’ mother at the time of his birth, and possibly the spear that entered his body at the time of his death.”
SEVENTY-THREE
The dead woman’s phone came to life in Marcus’s pocket with a soft buzzing. He stopped eating, his eyes meeting Alicia. He reached in his pocket, retrieving Taheera’s phone. “Alicia, I have to take this call.” He pressed the receive button. “This is Paul Marcus.”
“Mr. Marcus, I have spoken with my superiors. We are in a position to negotiate with you.” The man’s voice was even, unruffled. “What we don’t know is whether the Myrtus worm has infected our operating systems. If it hasn’t infiltrated our structures, how can we prevent it from happening? If someone has managed to penetrate security, is the worm in a sleeping stage? If it is, what can we do to prevent it from attacking?”
“Are all your enrichment plants on the same mainframe system?”
“No.”
“Which plant do you feel may be the most vulnerable?”
“Let me answer that question by simply saying that our facility at Natanz is where our top priority lies at the moment.”
“I’ll need defense firewall schematics of the plant’s operating systems. Deliver it to me on a hard drive. I’ll look under the hood for you. If I see something suspect, I’ll try to find out what it can or might do…and if possible, I’ll kill the worm.”
“How do we know that we can trust you?”
“You don’t, not any more than I can trust you. But at this point, two American lives — innocent lives are in the balance. A dead worm is a good trade for two lives.”
“Meet me tonight at the Le Square Trousseau Café at one Rue Antoine Vollon. Be there at seven o’clock. One thing, Mr. Marcus, I will be watched just like we’re watching you and the woman at the café where you two sit.”
Marcus moved his eyes without turning his head. The man continued. “If we feel there is a hint of surveillance, there is no deal…except you will then meet a fate that is very much worse than death. The woman will watch your death before it is her time, and we will kill the two you want released.”
“Listen to me. If there’s surveillance, I won’t know it; and it’ll be because the French government thinks I’m a suspect in the assassination of the Israeli prime minister. So your people can just deal with that since you probably caused this shit.”
“At this point, Mr. Marcus, I will ignore your condescending remarks.”
“I’ll be at the restaurant, and tomorrow I want to see your president call a news conference to announce the release of Brandi and Adam. Are we clear?”
“We will release one person first. The other shall be freed after you deliver your part of the contract.” The connection ended. Marcus looked at his watch: six hours remained before 7:00 p.m.
Alicia leaned closer to Marcus and lowered her voice. “Paul, who was that? What did he say to you?”
“I don’t know his real name. He’s Iranian. I’m meeting him tonight.”
“Why?”
“To do some work.”
“What kind of work?”
“To see if I can spot and kill something called Myrtus. It’s a covert malware worm that may be eating a hole into the operating system of Iran’s nuclear program. Israel, or maybe, we planted it there. I don’t know.”
“Paul, you’re not a field operative! If you’re caught and convicted of spying, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. You can’t risk that. The CIA suspects you’re working for Iran. This is all they need.”
“I’m not spying! I’m not compromising any U.S. interests or secrets—”
“You’d be helping Iran develop its nuclear program and that’s—”
“That’s what? I’m not going to help them develop their nuclear capacities. Look, Washington has stopped negotiating with Iran to free Brandi and Adam. It’s a damn international draw. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard will convict them of spying and sentence them to life or worse. You asked me to help you, to help them. Secretary Hanover’s efforts have died on the vine, and now Brandi and Adam will face an Iranian tribunal.”
Alicia’s eyes welled. “What can you do?”
“Run a diagnostics coding on the system that operates the Iranian nuclear facility at their Natanz plant. The Myrtus worm, if it’s in their system, should be able to digitally fingerprint any computer that it can infiltrate. By fingerprint, I mean it can differentiate the machines it weaves through, looking for the machine it will eventually destroy. When it finds that specific computer, the worm will lie dormant until a pre-programmed series of events occur within the computer. Then it will attack it with such strength it can destroy entire centrifuges.”