Ethan did not expect Seavers to reveal anything about those assisting him in his mission to destroy every last scrap of evidence of Stanley Meyer’s device, but he did want to see the Kentucky man’s reaction to his question. Seavers’ eyes narrowed as conflict raged behind them, the desire to share his woes warring with his need to remain silent.
‘You’d be surprised at the influence I’m able to generate,’ Seavers replied. ‘The buck stops here, Mr Warner, and so does your offer. You either take the twenty million now, or you leave this office with nothing.’
Ethan leaned back in his chair for a long moment, purposefully drawing the moment out. He had to admit, even to himself, that the temptation to take the offer right there and then was almost overwhelming. Twenty million bucks. He wouldn’t have to work another day in his life. He could buy the boat he had always wanted, moor it outside a property on Lake Michigan that he had often dreamed of and while his days away in solitude and comfort, free of the constant financial worries that it seemed plagued every single person in the Western world.
Stay the course Ethan, people’s lives are depending upon it.
Ethan made to get out of his chair and he realised that his legs were resisting him, as though every fibre of his being was screaming at him to take the offer and simply walk away from the Defense Intelligence Agency. The hell with them, they had never paid much anyway.
Ethan gripped the seat rests more tightly and pushed himself up onto his feet.
‘You and I both know that’s not true,’ Ethan said, trying not to let his voice croak. ‘There’s somebody else behind this, somebody powerful, and believe me they’ll drop you like a rock should news of this device get out.’
Ethan looked down expectantly Lopez and her dark eyes shot to his in desperation. He could see that she was struggling with the dilemma that she faced, just as he was, and it was almost out of embarrassment it seemed that she clambered to her feet and stood by his side.
‘You’re making a mistake,’ Huck Seavers said, ‘probably the biggest of your lives.’
Ethan shook his head.
‘No Huck, you are,’ he replied. ‘We know what Stanley Meyer invented and we also know that he intended to give it away to the world. But even if he does, even if he hands it out to the world for free, you and I both know that the spirit of humanity is far stronger than the greed of the powerful few. Stanley Meyer will be sent money from every corner of the world by people who have never met him, simply for saving them thousands of dollars a year on their energy bills. If every person in America only offered him a dollar he’d be on his way to his first half billion.’ Ethan smiled as he warmed to his theme, that of a man who had invented a device that could save the planet and yet still put that planet ahead of his own financial security. ‘Your twenty million bucks is nothing compared to what Stanley Meyer will soon be worth, so I’ll be throwing my lot in with him thanks.’
Ethan turned his back on Huck and made for the door, discreetly reaching out for the corner of Lopez’s jacket to tug her along with him. She almost stumbled as she was pulled towards the door, and Ethan could feel the exasperation radiating out from her like a force field as he opened the door.
Ethan barely had time to react as Amber Ryan blasted past them, evidently having listened to the entire conversation from the other side of the door.
‘Bastard!’ she screamed.
Ethan managed to catch hold of Amber’s collar. She fought to break free as Huck approached them.
‘I haven’t done anything to your father!’ he snapped.
Amber yanked herself free from Ethan’s grip, took a single stride and swung a punch that connected with the coal man’s jaw with a sharp crack that made even Lopez wince. Huck Seavers span to one side and crashed down onto the long table, one hand flying instinctively to his injured jaw.
‘You’re a murderer!’ Amber screeched, loudly enough for her voice to carry through the open door and into the building beyond. ‘You’re paying people off and killing those who don’t agree to a deal!’
Assim Khan and his men rushed into the room and grabbed hold of Amber before she could strike Seavers again. She writhed in their grip as they manhandled her away from the CEO, who regained his feet and rubbed his jaw.
‘Show these people out of the building,’ he growled, his skin reddening.
Assim and his men obeyed and turned, in time to see an attractive woman with long auburn hair hurry into the room and stare at Huck in amazement.
‘What’s going on here? Who are these people?’
Before Huck could reply, Amber spat in her direction.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself, marrying a black — hearted murderer like him!’
Lopez took Amber’s shoulder and directed her out of the door. ‘Let’s just get out of here, okay?’
As Lopez led Amber outside, Ethan cast Huck a last glance.
‘You’re playing a dangerous game Huck, and the only winners are the people you’re answering to. They’ll crush you, believe me.’
Huck did not reply as Ethan turned and left the room.
XIV
‘I told you to stay in the car!’
Amber shrugged Ethan off as they walked through the foyer. ‘Gee I’m sorry, dad.’
‘Huck knows you’re here,’ Lopez warned her. ‘He knows who you are.’
‘We need to get out of here, fast,’ Ethan agreed.
‘What’s he going to do?’ Amber challenged them. ‘Shoot me?’
‘You’re the one accusing him of murder,’ Lopez shot back. ‘Maybe you should have thought of that before you hit him?’
As they stepped out of the foyer, a chaotic melody of shouting drifted to them on the hot desert wind.
‘What’s going on?’
Ethan scanned the road and saw ranks of demonstrators waving placards and shouting in an Arabic dialect he could not understand. Many were chanting and punching the air as they marched, dark eyes above dark beards blazing with outrage, pink mouths agape as they vented their anger.
‘Islamists,’ Assim Khan suggested. They will be crushed, as they always are. Stay close to us.’
The phalanx of guards moved closer around Ethan, Lopez and Amber as they moved down the steps of the building toward the main street. Ethan noted that the guards were now walking with their hands on the butts of their side — arms, not drawing the weapons but ensuring that they could be used at a moment’s notice.
Ethan saw Assim push a finger to his ear, listening intently to a series of instructions and then nod as he replied, but the noise of the protesters meant that Ethan could not tell what he was saying.
‘This way,’ Assim said finally.
Hordes of Saudis surged and swayed en masse before them, banners flying in the hot wind, deep voices soaring in a communion of protest, eyes bright and fierce. Ethan stopped just outside the main entrance of the compound and stared at the vast and imposing sea of faces before him.
Police armed with masks, riot shields and short, hard looking sticks loitered in loose formations around the fringes of the crowd, eyes flicking nervously across their renegade charges. Riot vehicles were idling nearby armed with water cannon, watching as the crowd chanted and pointed and accused, and already they had started to notice the foreigners amid the protective ring of Saudi guards as they approached the vehicles alongside the gates.
‘Stay tight,’ Ethan whispered harshly to Lopez. ‘This could get rough.’
From the centre of the crowd rose a terrifying sight, one that sent a spasm of concern lurching through Ethan’s bowels. A crude effigy of the American flag drenched with gasoline and oil was hoisted into the air and in an instant engulfed within a writhing coil of flame. A gust of bellowed cheers erupted from the crowd as the burning flag sent a billowing pall of smoke into the blue sky.