“Don’t talk like that, you hear?” Sam stopped him with conviction. “I just told you. We both know what the Order is like. They are a bunch of sore losers, Kasper, and their ways are immature in nature. They are bullies, and you of all people should know that.”
Kasper shook his head hopelessly, his movements retarded by sorrow, as Sam stuffed the glass into his hand and said, “Drink. You have to calm your nerves. Listen, how soon can you get to Russia?”
“Wh-what?” Kasper asked. “I have to find my girl. Fuck the train and the delegates. For all I care they can all perish as long as I can find Olga.”
Sam sighed. Had Kasper been in the privacy of his home, Sam would have slapped him like an obstinate brat. “Look at me, Dr. Jacobs,” he sneered, too tired to baby the physicist anymore. Kasper looked at Sam through bloodshot eyes. “Where do you think they took her? Where do you think they want to lure you to? Think! Think, for God’s sake!”
“You know the answer, don’t you?” Kasper guessed. “I know what you think. I am so fucking smart and I cannot figure it out, but Sam, I cannot think straight right now. Right now, I just need someone to think for me so that I can get some direction.”
Sam knew what that felt like. He had been in such an emotional state before, when nobody offered him any answers. This was his chance to help Kasper Jacobs find his way. “I am almost one hundred percent sure that they are taking her on the Siberian train with the delegates, Kasper.”
“Why would they do that? They have the experiment to concentrate on,” Kasper retorted.
“Don’t you see?” Sam explained. “Everyone on that train is a threat. Those elite passengers are the decision makers in atomic power research and proliferation. Countries that have veto powers only, have you noticed? The Atomic Energy Agency representative are also an obstacle to the Black Sun, because they regulate the management of nuclear energy suppliers.”
“That is a lot of political jabber, Sam,” Kasper moaned, downing his Jack. “Just tell me the basics, because I am sloshed already.”
“Olga will be on the Valkyrie, because they want you to come and look for her. If you do not rescue her, Kasper,” Sam whispered, but his tone was foreboding, “she will die with all the delegates on that fucking train! From what I know of the Order, they already have people in place to replace the deceased officials, transferring the control of the authoritarian states to the Order of the Black Sun under the guise of a shift in political monopoly. And it will all be legal!”
Kasper panted like a dog in the desert. No matter how many drinks he took, he remained devastated and thirsty. Inadvertently, he had become a key player in a game he never intended to become part of.
“I can get on a plane tonight,” he told Sam. Impressed, Sam patted Kasper on the back.
“Good man!” he said. “Now I am going to send this to Purdue on a secure e-mail. Asking him to cease work on the equation might be a bit optimistic, but at least with your testimony and the data on this hard drive, he can see for himself what is really going on. Hopefully he will understand that he is the puppet of his enemies.
“What if it gets intercepted?” Kasper speculated. “When I tried to call him my call was taken by some woman who obviously never gave him the message.”
“Jane?” Sam asked. “Was it during office hours?”
“No, after hours,” Kasper revealed. “Why?”
“Fuck me,” Sam gasped, remembering the bitchy nurse and her attitude problem, especially with Sam giving Purdue the equation. “You could be correct, Kasper. Oh my God, you could be dead on about that, come to think of it.”
Right there, Sam decided to also send the information to Ms. Noble at the Edinburgh Post, just in case Purdue’s e-mail server had been compromised.
“I am not going home, Sam,” Kasper remarked.
“Aye, you cannot go back. They might be watching or waiting,” Sam agreed. “Book in here and tomorrow, all three of us will embark on the rescue mission for Olga. Who knows, at the same time we may as well implicate Tuft and McFadden to the world and wipe them from the board just for fucking with us.”
24
Wrichtishousis Tears
Purdue woke, in part reliving the agony of an operation. His throat felt like sandpaper and his head weighed a ton. From his curtains, a sliver of daylight filtered through and hit him between the eyes. Stumbling out of bed naked, he suddenly vaguely recalled a passionate night with Lilith Hurst, but he pushed it aside to concentrate on the wretched daylight he needed to rid his poor eyes of.
When he covered the light with the drapes, he turned to find the young beauty still asleep on the other side of his bed. No sooner had he seen her there, when Charles knocked softly. Purdue opened the door.
“Good afternoon, sir,” he said.
“Morning Charles,” Purdue snorted, holding his head. He felt a draft, and only then realized that he was starkers in front of the help. But it was too late to matter now, so he pretended that nothing was awkward between him and Charles. His butler, ever the professional, ignored the fact as well.
“May I have a word, sir?” Charles asked. “Of course, as soon as you are ready.”
Purdue nodded, but was surprised to see Lillian in the background, looking quite concerned as well. Quickly, Purdue’s hands shot to his crotch. Charles seemed to peer into the room at the sleeping Lilith and whispered to his master, “Sir, please do not let on to Miss Hurst that you and I have something to discuss.”
“Why? What is going on?” Purdue whispered. He could feel that something was amiss in his house this morning, and the mystery of it begged to be exposed.
“David,” a sensual groan came from the soft darkness of his bedroom. “Come back to bed.”
“Sir, I implore you,” Charles tried to reiterate quickly, but Purdue closed the door in his face. Glum and mildly angry, Charles stared at Lillian, who matched his emotion. She said nothing, but he knew that she felt exactly the same. Without a word, the butler and the housekeeper descended the stairs to the kitchen where they would discuss the next step in their employ under David Purdue.
Getting security involved was an obvious support for their claim, but until Purdue could unglue himself from the malicious seductress, they could not state their case. During the night, when the alarm went off, Charles was designated as the liaison for the household until Purdue was coherent again. The security company was just waiting for word from him, and they would call in to show Purdue the footage of the attempted sabotage. Whether it was just bad wiring was highly unlikely, considering Purdue’s rigid maintenance of his technology, and Charles intended to make that clear.
Upstairs, Purdue was having another roll in the hay with his new toy.
“Shall we sabotage that?” Lillian jested.
“I would love to, Lillian, but unfortunately I really like my job,” Charles sighed. “Can I make you a cup of tea?”
“That would be lovely, my dear,” she groaned, seating herself by the small modest kitchen table. “What are we going to do if he marries her?”
Charles almost dropped the porcelain cups at the thought. His lips quivered silently. Lillian had never seen him like that before. The epitome of composure and self-control was suddenly rendered anxious. Charles glared out the window, his eyes finding solace in the thick greenery of the grand gardens of Wrichtishousis.
“We cannot let that happen,” he replied sincerely.
“Maybe we should get Dr. Gould to come over and remind him what he is actually after,” Lillian suggested. “Besides, Nina will kick Lilith’s a…”
“Now, you wanted to see me?” Purdue’s words suddenly froze Lillian’s blood. She swung round to find her boss standing in the doorway. He looked like hell, but he was cogent.