Leeward

by D. Edward Bradley

  “Next item. Thibald and Sörnsen has decided to create a Caribbean Regional Office in Jamestown. Trilby and I will run it together. While this is subject to ratification by the St. Barbe’s Parliament, the new government is naturally delighted.

  “Finally, our computer experts in Stockholm have decoded several files from the drive that Dougal recovered, and have confirmed the locations of six bases, probably similar to Norbase 2. We requested local security forces to raid two of them, including the one in Scotland. As expected, it had been abandoned. The house and the farmhouse were empty, and the satellite dish completely trashed. The other was in Austria, just across the border from Garmisch, and was obviously booby-trapped. In spite of extreme precautions, two of the investigating team were lost. And that’s everything I can think of.”

  “You’ve done an excellent job, Anna,” said the Judge. “Those of us who went to New York are fully satisfied that The Organization will be overcome in the near future. As far as we personally are concerned, the threat is off.” He appeared tired and worn, but Meg knew that he was happier than he had been for a long time.

  “So we can really get on with our lives?” asked Jon.

  “Definitely,” replied Anna. “In fact, Dougal is taking a month’s leave from his law firm to study computer forensics, and Kurt Gruber plans to set up his own business. But if anyone wants to continue working with the UN against The Organization, I’m sure you’ll be more than welcome.”

  “Meg and I are going to Jamaica in about a week,” said the Judge. “We both need a rest, and Bobbie requires proper schooling and lots of tender loving care.”

  “Jon and Cindy are going to run Leeward,” Meg added.

  Jon looked at Cindy and smiled. “Correction, we’re going to try and run it.”

  “And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll do something else.”

  Meg thought it must be obvious to everyone that she and the Judge were planning some sort of future together. She hoped it was obvious anyway, and decided that Jon at least would approve. She had tried to be especially friendly to Cindy, which wasn’t difficult. Meg wanted to make it quite clear she was happy about the two of them living together. She felt that Cindy was probably ideal for Jon.

  “You look thoughtful, Meg,” said the Judge as the waiter passed glasses of wine to the assembled friends. “What’s on your mind?”

  “The future. Our future,” was her reply.

  It was going to be a good Christmas.

  Friday, December 28, St. Barbe’s

  As was the custom, Meg and the Judge met for breakfast. The realization that they were on their own was somehow a surprise. Anna had returned to Stockholm on Boxing Day, and Trilby was back in Jamaica. Bobbie was with Jon and Cindy at Leeward. When Meg suggested that they should hire snorkeling gear and investigate a small patch of coral just off the beach, the Judge walked her to her room so she could change into a swimsuit. They glanced at each other as she unlocked her door, then Meg paused when she saw the look in the Judge’s eyes. She put her arm around his waist, and they both went into her room without speaking.

  Judge Winchester lifted her hand and kissed it tenderly. “Meg, I didn’t mean—”

  Meg put a finger across his lips then pulled him to her. The Judge sensed that the time had come to take the next step in their relationship, and gently slid the straps of her sundress from her shoulders. A few minutes later Meg pushed him away gently. “Let’s have a shower first.”

  Afterwards they dried each other, then Meg took the Judge’s hand and drew him down beside her on the bed.

  When it was over, Meg knew they would stay together at least for a while if not for always, and her last thought as she drifted off to sleep in his arms was to wonder why she had worried in the first place.

  Ten minutes later they were rudely awakened by the insistent ringing of the telephone.

  Meg yawned. “You’d better answer it.”

  The Judge reached for the receiver on the bedside table. “It’s Dougal. Sounds like something’s happened.”

  Meg understood little of the long conversation that followed. She could only hear what the Judge said, and Dougal did most of the talking.

  “I want to be in on this, Dougal,” said the Judge just before hanging up. “I’ll talk to Anna immediately and we’ll organize something.”

  “What was all that about?” Meg asked, cuddling up against him.

  “It looks as though we’re not quite out of the woods yet. Dougal found out there’s to be a meeting of Organization high-ups at the Hotel Janbath in New Delhi. It seems it was scheduled in a document on the hard drive he took from the London Headquarters.”

  Meg felt her stomach turn over. “When?” she asked.

  “Soon, Meg darling, too soon.”

  “And you want to go?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’m coming too.”

  The Judge decided not to argue with her. If she wanted to come, then so be it. He would make sure she was kept out of harm’s way.

  “Of course,” he replied. “But Dougal had a lot more than that to tell me, all arising from the hard drive. Apparently he’s been working on the files as well as Thibald and Sörnsen, and will send a fax today. In a nutshell, it appears The Organization is far from dead after all. It’s operating under additional security, but apparently with few constraints. There were even some names which identified Japanese, French, Moroccan and American nationals. There’ll be a few of these characters at the meeting, so if we can nab them all, it will be a big break.

  “Dougal also told me a few things about the way The Organization operates. It seems Headquarters is always being moved as we originally suspected. It’s centered around a bunch of computers controlled by signals bounced off commercially owned communications satellites. It appears that the London Headquarters had already been duplicated when Dougal and company broke in. In addition, there are military training camps in Morocco, the US, and Thailand. With a bit of luck we’ll have a crack at them, Meg, that’s assuming the UN takes some action at this meeting in India.”

  “Marvin, after India, I think we should leave the work to others, like Anna wants.” Meg rolled over on her back.

  Judge Winchester looked down at her. “Sure. No question about it.”

  “Then let’s hope the Organization really is finished.”

  “They have to be,” concluded the Judge. “If we take care of their training camps, and keep destroying their Headquarters, there’s nowhere for them to go.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  New Delhi, India

  The Judge and Meg were waiting near the elevator on the third floor of the Hotel Janbath, New Delhi. About twenty feet away, four Indian policemen were standing outside the closed door of a small conference room, pistols at the ready. On the other side of this room, another door opened into a hallway where four more policemen were standing. Anna and Trilby were just behind them.

  Judge Winchester saw the senior officer give a signal, and two of his men threw themselves against the door, easily ripping the lock out of the wooden frame. Meg and the Judge, who also carried pistols, ran quickly down the passage. There was much confusion inside as some of the occupants tried to get to the second door, but a moment later it too was smashed inwards, and their escape was cut off. The result was a lot of shouting in a cacophony of languages. Then one of the police officers mounted the small stage, and yelled for silence.

  “I regret to inform you that all present are under arrest for contravening the security regulations of the Republic of India. A bus is waiting to take you to Police Headquarters where you will be charged.”

  Meg and the Judge moved just inside the door, and waved to Anna across the room. She signaled thumbs up as the policemen directed the detainees to the exits. Meg noticed one of them looked distinctly American.

  “I’ll bet that’s the US Vice President’s proxy,” she whispered. “If you remember, Anna heard Larsen telling the Vice President not to come in per
son.”

  When all the prisoners had left, Anna approached Meg and the Judge. “I’m going to the Police Station. Follow on if you like. You may want to be in on what I hope is the final act.”

  “There’s no way we’d miss it,” the Judge replied.

  When Anna had gone, Meg looked round the room. “Well, Marvin, I guess with the people here, the St. Barbe’s crowd, Larsen, and Colbert, we’ve got most of the top brass in The Organization.” She indicated the screen for projecting slides at the back of the small stage. “It seems you’ve come full circle. I remember you said there was a map showing St. Barbe’s when you barged into the London meeting.”

  “It feels like it was in another lifetime.” Judge Winchester glanced down the room to where there was a projection booth with a plexiglass window. “I wonder if they planned to show any slides today? I think I’ll take a quick look before we go.”

  The Judge turned to walk down the aisle between the rows of chairs and the wall, and as he did so, Meg spotted movement in the projection booth. Suddenly a man appeared at the window, and she saw to her horror it was Stoker.

  “Marvin!” she yelled, but it was too late. Meg saw Stoker’s gun, and two loud shots rang out. Small holes starred the plexiglass, and the Judge stumbled and fell to the floor, crashing against a chair as he did so. Meg’s vision swam for a moment, but she was already bringing up her own weapon, holding it in both hands as she had once learned from Trilby. Stoker had no chance. She fired three deafening shots straight into his face, then silence and horror pressed in on her mind. The monster responsible for Peter’s death had taken the second man she loved. She flew to Marvin’s side. There seemed to be no blood. Perhaps, just perhaps, he might not be badly hurt.

  Then his eyes opened.

  “Meg . . .”

  “I’m here, my darling. Just rest. Where were you hit?”

  The Judge winced and eased himself to a sitting position. “I’m dizzy, but I think I’m okay.”

  Meg was frantic and held him fiercely.

  “Really, Meg, I’ll be all right. What happened?”

  “Stoker shot you! I could swear it!”

  “I must have caught a glimpse of the gun and thrown myself to the floor. I’ve bumped my head, that’s all.”

  Meg sat beside him and they clung to each other, completely oblivious of the corpse in the projection booth.

  “Let’s try that projector,” said the Judge after a while.

  He gingerly fingered a lump that had appeared on the side of his head, then with Meg’s help, he carefully got to his feet.

  Stoker’s remains looked sickening, but his body didn’t prevent the Judge from reaching over to the projector and switching it on. There was only one slide. It was a map of Russia.

  About The Author

  D. Edward Bradley’s fascination with foreign places comes naturally. Conceived in Nigeria, Bradley grew up in England and had an early career as a physicist in electron microscopy. After several years of research, he gained his post-graduate degrees from the University of Edinburgh in microbiology while satisfying his wanderlust by partaking in scientific expeditions around the globe. In 1974, Bradley immigrated to Canada and continued his research at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Since retiring in 1995, he has devoted his time to writing at his home in Kingston, Ontario.