Hellfire

by Richard Turner

  He stuck his shovel in a snowbank, walked over to Yuri’s minivan, opened the trunk, and pulled out a heavy canvas bag. Quickly unzipping the bag, Cardinal grinned when he found what he was looking for. Using the car for cover, Cardinal dropped to one knee and brought up the Dragunov sniper rifle to his shoulder. Through the weapon’s optical sight, Cardinal could clearly see two men sitting in the car watching the cottage. Both men were smoking and taking turns with the binoculars.

  Cardinal lowered the rifle and dug around in the canvas bag for a loaded magazine. He found one, set it on the rifle, and smoothly pulled back on the charging lever, loading a round into the chamber. With his thumb, he made sure the safety was on. A second later, Cardinal brought up his weapon and looked back towards the car. He smiled when he saw one of the men smash his cell phone down on the dash and begin to berate his partner for some transgression. With the men still yelling at one another, the car pulled away and quickly disappeared from sight in the falling snow. Cardinal stood up from behind the minivan. He knew the men would be back.

  He had been so focussed on the car that he didn’t hear Sam walk up beside him. “I hope that you’re not going deer hunting without a licence,” said Sam dryly. “This may be the Russian countryside, but I bet they have laws out here, too.”

  “I saw a car on the road. It’s gone now, but there were two men it and they were watching the cottage.”

  “Are you sure? Perhaps they were lost and pulled over to check a map.”

  Cardinal shook his head. “They had binoculars with them. I saw them checking out the cottage.”

  “Damn. That can only mean one of two things. Either some of Yuri’s pals are looking for him or someone else is looking for us.”

  “Looks that way.”

  “What do you want to do?” asked Sam as she grabbed a 9mm pistol and loaded a magazine into it.

  “Staying out here isn’t an option. I say we load everyone up in the minivan and hightail it back to Saint Petersburg before our friends come back.”

  “Sounds good to me. What about Pasha? What if he doesn’t want to leave his home?”

  “I don’t know. If he stays, one thing is for sure: he won’t be alive in the morning,” replied Cardinal, grasping his rifle tight in his hands.

  Sam dashed back inside the house while Cardinal stayed outside and kept watch. She quickly passed on what had happened outside. Yuri translated for Pasha. With an angry look on his face, Pasha walked over to his telephone and tried to call the police, only to find that the police officer on the other end of the line sounded three sheets to the wind.

  Three minutes later, with everyone jammed into the minivan, Yuri hurriedly backed the automobile out onto the road. He spun the minivan’s wheel in his hands as he turned the vehicle in the direction of the main highway heading back to Saint Petersburg.

  Cardinal sat up front. He’d traded his sniper rifle for a compact AKS-74 carbine. He looked over at the passenger-side, rearview mirror and tried to see if they were being followed. With the snow coming down, it was hard to see anything that was not right behind them. By the time he spotted them, he knew it would be too late.

  20

  Superyacht Oceanus

  Gulf of Heraklion, Crete

  The gold-and-white, VIP helicopter slowly descended from the azure-blue sky, like a hawk coming in to land. Below, resting on the smooth, glass-like surface of the Mediterranean was the superyacht Oceanus. Built in Greece for Dimitri Kazan, a billionaire whose family owned and operated almost half the world’s supertankers, the Oceanus was the most expensive private yacht in the world. At over one hundred and seventy meters in length, the ship had two helipads, one fore and one aft. With nine decks and three swimming pools, the Oceanus could comfortably host twenty guests in the most opulent rooms imaginable. Sixty men and officers worked aboard the vessel, keeping it running in top shape. The ship’s chef, lured away from a high-end Paris restaurant to cook meals for the vessel’s many visitors, was reputed to make in excess of one million dollars a year.

  Smoothly landing on the aft helipad, the pilot quickly turned off the helicopter’s engines. The instant the blades stopped, a blue-uniformed sailor ran over and opened the passenger-side door.

  David Houston climbed out of the air-conditioned helicopter and felt the warm air coming off the sea. He looked around and smiled when he saw Dimitri Kazan standing on an oval-shaped deck just above the landing pad.

  Kazan was dressed in a cream-colored shirt and pants. With a drink in his hand, he looked like a man who didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Sir, if you’ll follow me,” the sailor said to Houston.

  With a nod of his head, Houston followed the young man off the helipad and out onto the ship’s wooden floor. Houston had dressed for the occasion, with his favorite pair of snakeskin cowboy boots, a large, brass belt buckle, and a new, white Stetson hat. Houston was playing up the fact that he, unlike any of the other guests already on board the Oceanus, came from Texas.

  “Ah, David, it is so good to see you again,” said Kazan with a wide smile as Houston joined him on deck.

  “It’s good to see you too, Dimitri,” replied Houston.

  Kazan handed Houston a glass of Scotch. “How long has it been since we were last together?”

  “It was two years ago in Scotland at Gavin’s castle. If I remember right, you got quite drunk on the last night there and made a play for Gavin’s young wife.”

  Kazan chuckled. “Yes, I was a bit of a buffoon that night wasn’t I?”

  “Yes, you were,” replied Houston before taking a long sip of his drink. “If I hadn’t been there, I’m sure he would have cut you in half with that sword he was chasing you with.”

  “Well, all seems to be forgiven as he is belowdecks, waiting for your arrival with all the others.”

  “Am I the last to arrive?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sorry about that,” said Houston sincerely. “I had a couple of things I wanted to tidy up before leaving home.”

  “David, you are always the last to arrive. Besides, this time you are only a couple of hours late. Come, let us join the others.”

  With that, Kazan led Houston deep into the interior of the Oceanus. To Houston, the brightly lit, ultramodern rooms and hallways reminded him of a spaceship, not a luxury boat. Together, they walked into a spacious room, with a large, tan-colored, crescent-shaped couch nestled against the far wall. Houston smiled when he saw his friends busily chatting with one another. They were the other ten members of the Plutus Society. Secretly formed in college, the twelve men and women in the room had kept in contact ever since. A couple of young Greek women in short skirts and tight, white shirts walked about the room, holding trays of drinks.

  “Glad you could make it, David,” called out a baldheaded man with a thick Scottish brogue.

  “You don’t have that sword with you, Gavin?” asked Houston.

  “No, I don’t, nor do I have my wife either,” replied Gavin. “I got rid of her the day after you all left my place. If old Dimitri could catch her eye, she wasn’t worth keeping.”

  Houston smiled back at his friend. That would make wife number six in just over twenty years. He must have incredibly airtight prenup agreements and one sharp lawyer, thought Houston.

  Gavin Dearan’s company owned and operated more oil rigs in the North Sea than the next two companies combined. His wealth was conservatively estimated to be in the region of twenty-five billion dollars.

  A slender Asian woman with long, black hair and a beautiful face dressed in a tight, green dress walked over and then gently slipped her arm under Houston’s right arm. “It’s good to see you again, David.”

  “You too, Reika,” replied Houston.

  Reika Ito was the sole owner of Japan’s largest computer- and software-manufacturing company. Having recently diversified her holdings, Reika’s personal wealth was a closely guarded secret, but Houston knew it to be somewhere north of forty billion dollars.r />
  Everyone in the room had by good fortune or hard work had become a multi-billionaire by the time they turned thirty years of age. Aside from oil and computer technology, some had made their fortunes manufacturing arms for the world’s never-ending conflicts, while others’ money came from shipping, the aviation industry, or real estate.

  “As your host, I would ask that you all take a seat and we can proceed with tonight’s agenda,” announced Kazan.

  Houston and Reika took a seat at one end of the massive sofa.

  Kazan waited for the serving girls to leave the room. The instant the door closed, all of the glass windows frosted over. A dull humming sound filled the room, only to fade away a couple of seconds later.

  “Nothing to be alarmed about,” announced Kazan. “It’s just the latest in anti-surveillance technology. An electronic wall has been established around the room. There isn’t a device anywhere in the world that can penetrate the shield. You can all talk freely without the threat of anyone hearing a single word that will be spoken here today.”

  Houston stood up. “Very well, I’ll begin as I was the one who asked for this meeting to take place. Ever since we formed this informal group of ours back in 1971, we have always understood that in order for our companies to remain wealthy there has to be a balance between supply and demand. Currently, the world’s population is more than seven billion and is expected to rise to over nine billion by 2050. We all know that there are a finite number of resources out there for all of those people to consume. Whether it is food, water, oil, arable land or whatever, the way the world is consuming these resources, we are headed for a global catastrophe unless something drastic is done about it.”

  “David, we have discussed this issue at every meeting we have ever had,” said a man with thinning gray hair, gold-rimmed glasses and a strong French accent. “Many of us, myself included, have spent countless millions helping aid organizations educate the Third World about birth control, yet the populations of many of those countries continue to grow at an alarming rate.”

  A German woman, dressed in a dark business suit, with a long, slender face and silver-gray hair, joined the conversation. “I have lobbied hard with the Green Party in several countries to try and bring in more eco-friendly legislation. My people have also helped many power companies in Europe adopt newer and more sustainable means of generating power.”

  “Don’t push too hard, Heike,” said Houston. “We need people to keep buying our products or we’ll all become penniless.”

  The last remark elicited a good laugh from the people in the room.

  “I know you are all doing your best and are to be commended for your efforts. However, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves; our efforts to influence human behaviour across the globe have all failed miserably. It’s like a sickness; people everywhere want to live beyond their means, and they don’t care about the consequences. That is for another generation to worry about.”

  A portly Chinese businessman sitting next to Kazan said, “This is no longer just a first-world problem. Pollution has become a real problem in my country. In our rush to modernize, we have become the world’s largest polluter. It is estimated that China’s population will grow to one and a half billion people by 2050 while our ability to produce food will shrink by thirty-seven percent, placing a huge strain on our economy.”

  “Agree or disagree with the global-warming theorist, none of us can deny that man has drastically changed the world in the past century and not always for the good,” pointed out an African-American man with a thick Boston accent.

  “Folks, if something far-reaching isn’t done, I’m afraid that the world will soon reach a point of no return,” said Houston. “If things don’t change, we stand to lose all that we have and I, for one, happen to like my life just the way it is. You have all worked hard to build a legacy that you can pass on to your children. Do you want to lose it all? I know I don’t, not when we have the means to stop the madness.”

  “What are you driving at, David?” asked Gavin.

  “In order for the world to be able to support the population it has over the long term, something has to give,” replied Houston bluntly.

  “Go on,” said Gavin.

  “According to many studies out there, in order to stave off the looming ecological disaster the Earth needs to shed one-third of its current population, and not over time. No, it must happen now!’”

  Kazan leaned forward and looked over at Houston. “David, are you telling us that two billion people need to die in order for us to maintain our current wealth?”

  “Yes, and it’s two-point-two billion, to be precise,” said Houston.

  “My God, are you sure of that figure?” asked Heike, visibly shocked at the pronouncement.

  “Heike, the figures have been checked and double-checked. One-third of the population must go,” replied Houston.

  A heavyset Nigerian man in a silver-gray suit stood up and turned to face Houston. “David, please. There has to be another way. Perhaps Heike is correct,” he said with a nod of his head to the German woman sitting across from him. “If we were to further diversify our corporations and become world leaders in renewable energy, we might be able to stave off this catastrophe and still make a fortune in the process.”

  Houston shook his head. “Shofu, perhaps green technologies are the future for all of us. However, to be blunt, the patient is dying. If we cut off a limb, he’ll live. However, if we don’t, he’ll die, and our grandchildren will live in a world racked by famine, disease and war as the countries of the world compete for an ever-shrinking pool of resources.”

  “David, why do you care? You don’t even have children,” countered Gavin.

  “That is true. I chose not to have a family. However, my brother’s son is my CEO and heir. I want him and his family to continue to live in a healthy and prosperous world.”

  Kazan said, “Say we accept your premise that one-third of the world’s population must go. What exactly are you proposing?”

  Houston walked to the center of the room so he could look directly into the faces of his friends. “Folks, I have been quietly recruiting likeminded people to our cause for decades. However, they are unaware of the people who make up this little group of ours. As far as they are concerned, their participation begins and ends with me. I have managed to entice a fair number of politicians, high-ranking military officers, business leaders, environmentalists, and even several media personalities into working for me. They are all highly committed individuals; some do it for altruistic means, others for monetary or personal reasons. About a year ago, I came across some information that, if true, was the answer to our prayers. Since that time, I have been cashing in favors with these people in order to determine the validity of the information that I had obtained.”

  Shofu raised his hand. “I’m sorry, David, you’re losing me. What information have you obtained?”

  “I’m sorry, for now that will have to remain my secret,” responded Houston. “Suffice it to say, I have already implemented my plan to reduce the world’s population by one-third.”

  “Are you mad?” uttered Heike, growing visibly agitated. “You should have spoken with us before you went ahead with your plan. I won’t be a party to genocide.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Heike, but I couldn’t sit around and wait for the approval of my friends. For forty years, we have met and discussed this issue until we were blue in the face. Someone needed to act if we are to save the world.”

  Gavin looked down at his half-drunk glass of Scotch and then with a heavy sigh he said, “What have you done, David?”

  “I did what needed to be done. For obvious security reasons, I’m not going to divulge my plans to you at this time,” replied Houston. “If any one of you were to talk with the authorities, please understand that it would be unfortunate for you and your family. And don’t think that I won’t know if you do. Some of the most trusted people in your inner circles are re
ally some of my people.”

  An angry murmur ran through the room.

  “Please, my friends don’t think that I am some kind of heartless monster. I am doing this for the good of the planet. As we have known each other for over forty years, I am asking all of you to get your affairs in order. When the time is right, I will contact you all with the details of when and where to meet.”

  “And what if we refuse?” said Heike defiantly.

  “Then you, your children and their children will most likely be dead before the end of the month,” replied Houston coldly.

  Heike grew pale. She turned her eyes to the floor.

  Houston knew that Heike, like all the others, would bend to his will.

  Houston smiled triumphantly. He picked up his drink and looked out over his business colleagues. “One last thing before I head back to Texas for a fundraiser, and this is not open to negotiation when you arrive at the secret location. I want you all to bring with you legally binding documents, giving me fifty percent of all your companies’ stock.”

  21

  Road to Saint Petersburg

  Russia

  “I can’t see a damn thing,” moaned Cardinal, trying his best to see out of the snow-covered windshield.

  “For God’s sake, Yuri, please slow down,” said Sam from the back of the minivan.

  Yuri reluctantly took his foot off the accelerator.

  Outside, a blizzard was whipping snow like an impenetrable white blanket across the road. Visibility had dropped to mere meters. The wipers on the minivan were fighting a losing battle to keep the windshield clear.

  “I’m still not getting any reception on my phone,” said Jen as she turned it in her hand. It still didn’t show any bars.

  “It’s okay, everyone,” said Yuri. “I have driven in worse.”

  “So have I, back home in Canada,” added Cardinal, “but I wasn’t speeding and driving down the middle of the road, either.”