Devlin Sub Rosa: Book Three of the Devlin Quatrology

by Jake Devlin

  “That's okay. Thanks. You know, I wrote him a letter when I was thirteen, asking him to marry me, never got anything back. But I still loved him … still do.”

  “Yeah, you've told me that a couple times. And you're welcome.”

  “Sure wish he were still alive; I'd love to hear him again.”

  “And watch him, I'd bet, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, Rosemary, so right.”

  “Bet he'd be way fat.”

  “Oh, Gordy, shut yo' mouf. He'd be gorgeous.”

  “Why, Potzz, your Biloxi is showing.”

  “Oops.”

  “Hey, Gordy, can I ask you a question? Oops; sorry, Potzz, Rosemary.”

  “No problem.”

  “Good timing.”

  “Sure, Bambi. What's the question?”

  “Know any place where I can learn Chinese?”

  “Chinese, the language?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why d'you wanna learn Chinese?”

  “Oh. We're adopting a Chinese baby, and when he starts to talk, I wanna be able to understand him.”

  “Okay. Lemme – wait. Seriously?”

  “Yeah, seriously. So d'ya know somewhere I can study it?”

  “Can't think of anyplace, Bambi. Sorry.”

  “Well, thanks anyway. Gotta run; I'm onstage at noon.”

  “Onstage?”

  “Yeah, Potzz, at the strip club up in Fort Myers.”

  “You're a stripper?”

  “Yeah, Rosemary. Lots of us girls come to this beach to relax; it's so much quieter than Fort Myers Beach.”

  “So true, Bambi.”

  “Thanks for trying to help, Gordy. See y'all later.”

  “Don't you mean 'all y'all'?”

  “What?”

  “That's the plural.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup. Right, Potzz?”

  “Yeah. 'Y'all' is singular, 'All y'all' is plural.”

  “She's the authority.”

  “Well, smack me upside the head 'n call me late for dinner.”

  “Learn something new every day, huh?”

  “Yeah, Gordy, at least I do. So see all y'all later.”

  “Before you run off, Bambi, I've got a question for you and for Potzz.”

  “Sure, Rosemary.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Okay, Potzz, you first. What do you think about using parsley in potato salad?”

  “Parsley?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don't think I've ever put it in. I usually flavor it with some sage.”

  “Sage?”

  “Yeah. I like the flavor, kind of lemony, minty and pungent. And I might put in a tiny pinch of thyme sometimes.”

  “Thyme? I've used that, but usually on fish, like gar.”

  “Gar? That's one funky fish; never liked it.”

  “Give it a try sometime, Potzz; you might like it.”

  “Maybe I will. Maybe.”

  “Okay. Bambi?”

  “I don't know; I guess parsley would be fine. I don't cook, so I'm not much help, I guess. Sorry.”

  “Wonder what it would taste like if you used all three.”

  “All three, Gordy?”

  “Yeah, Rosemary, sage, parsley and thyme.”

  “Eeww!”

  - 119 -

  August 28, 2014

  10:03 a.m. local time

  St. Tropez, France

  “Yup, much better, almost back to normal; thanks. Me, too. Yeah, just got back here a couple hours ago. Yeah, she's better, too. I think it was tougher on her than on me. All those months and she almost never left my side, only when Doc or the nurses pushed her out. And when I'd hear her crying at night and I couldn't hold her or comfort her, or even let her know I could hear her, I never felt more helpless in my life. But she never gave up hope, never.

  “And thank you for all the jokes you told me on the phone. Wish I coulda let you know, but I heard 'em all, and some of 'em were new to me, got me laughing out loud, but only in my brain. Loved the one about the blonde and the lottery. What? Oh, c'mon, Amber; I'm the one with Quarterheimer's. Okay. She lost her job and prayed to God to let her win the lottery, but she didn't. Then she said she'd lose her car and then her house when she prayed again, but didn't win, lost both of those, complained to God. Finally, He said, 'Patty Sue, meet me halfway. Buy a ticket.' Loved it. Too bad they didn't have a beta-endorphin sensor on me; it woulda buried the needle way up into the red, topped it right out.

  “Yup, so they say, and I agree; it is the best medicine – well, not quite the best; that antidote was important, too. And Pam's CPR, of course, saved my life, literally. And Doc Logan and – oh, Amber, take a look at Mercedes, Doc's physical therapist, see if she'd fit into the bodyguard biz, if you would. Full background. Under the radar, of course. Yup. Thanks.

  “Now, bring me up to date on everything since we last talked, if you would. Mm-hmm; okay. So they got him and how many others? Six? All upper level? And how many BGs? Eight, really? Any collaterals? Ah, great. Good for them; they've been busy little bees. Are they still in Syria? Oh, good. So Jill can play a man well enough to deceive those radical assholes. What? On their way out? Well, that's nine more out of that fight. Bravo. Maybe they're ready to come into the inner inner circle. You do? Good. When they get back from Halifax, let's set it up. Maybe on the new yacht. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we meet, after all that time in Bonita. Yeah.

  “What more on ISIS? Uh-huh. You did? Good. Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi? Four billion? Oh, bravo, Amber; that's great. That'll finance a lot of ops. Yeah, intercept and divert all you can; if you can bankrupt any of 'em, go ahead. Who cares? They deserve it. And if you can, take 'em out; that'll slow down the sex trafficking, too. Right. How about the oil? Yeah, the black market. Damn. How about the buyers? Right. Yeah, intercept those funds, too. Well, see what you and the teams can do, okay? Okay.

  “Any unfilled jobs? Good. I'm not ready to get back into action, but if you need me, I will. And I'll be a lot more careful with the 974 if I have to use it. No way I want to go through that again … or put Pam through it. Or you, right; sorry.

  “Yup, she's doing fine – well, at least she was coming right along before the – uh, the – the incident. I think she'll be ready to fill in when the time comes. I know, I know; not soon. We've got time. And you're sure you and Wes and Gordy are okay with that? Good.

  “Phil and Nadia and their teams having any luck on her seventh-floor guy? They did? Oh, shit! Got off quick enough? Ah, good. So none of 'em were compromised? Whew! Good. What? Oh, great idea. Maybe they'll find something in there. Oh, tell 'em to look in the Stasi records, too, not just KGB. Good; thanks. Keep 'em all on it; I'd love for Pam to get closure on that.

  “And the financials? All okay? Good. Yeah, I would. Send 'em over today, okay?

  “What else? Ah, you sent the email? With the changes we talked about? And to all the lists? Great. How about the demonstrations? Ah. Who's doing the transfers? Good. And the other part? Who? Ah, right; okay. Who did it? Wayne and Linda? Oh, they're good. Now we just wait and see what happens. Right.

  “Anything else I need to get up to speed on? Okay; good. I'll look it all over and get with you if I have questions or concerns. And if anything comes up, you know where to find me.

  “Oh, Amber, wait. One other thing. We found Dr. F's gizmo here when we got in, and it had – what? Really? Sonofabitch! All three of 'em? Oh, you bet I'll give 'em a talking to. And you were in on it, too? Why, Amber? It was in where? No, we didn't, but I'm gonna take a long look at those right now. You bet. By- – oh, how'd it get there? Ah; okay. Bye.”

  - 120 -

  August 28, 2014

  11:17 a.m. local time

  Undisclosed location

  “I think we found something, Amber – actually, Nadia did. It may not be a smoking gun, but it's something. Found it in the KGB files from 1970. Yeah, 1970. It was in Russian, of course, but Nadia saw it and did a quick
'Ah-ha!' Yeah, Moscow, so it's her first language. Right; of course you do. Sorry.

  “Anyhow, it was a reference to their 'kid' in the CIA, and that they must only refer to him as 'The Saint' from that point forward. I forget how it's pronounced in Russian, but that's the translation. Get it? Yup, right. Saint Nicholas.

  “Nadia and all the Russian linguists are combing through the rest of the documents trying to find any references to 'The Saint' in either language. Yup, absolutely. We've already gone through all we've got on that side, so if we can correlate anything, dates, promotions, his assignments, payments, information given, codes, anything at all, I'll let you know immediately.

  “Stasi? Of course we've got those, as well, and we've got the German team going through them, with a couple Russians beside 'em for backup.

  “One difficulty is that most of the files are on paper, not digital, so that – oops. Can you hold on for a minute?

  “Yeah, Phoebe, whatcha got?”

  “A correlation. Nadia told me to bring it right in.”

  “Good. Show me.”

  “A note in the KGB files from 1971 saying The Saint just got promoted, and it's a week after the Nick guy was moved into a new slot, with broader responsibilities.”

  “Did you hear that, Amber? Good.”

  “Julia and Emma found it, and now they're going through all of his promotion dates to narrow their search. So that should speed up the process.”

  “Bravo, Phoebe. Anything else?”

  “No, Phil, that's it for now.”

  “Okay; thank you – oh, Phoebe?”

  “Yes?”

  “Have you told the teams on the Stasi files about that?”

  “Not yet; I'll do that right now.”

  “Okay; good. Thank you.

  “You heard all that, Amber? Good. Yeah, I will, soon as I hear anything. Okay. Bye.”

  - 121 -

  August 28, 2014

  10:49 a.m. local time

  St. Tropez, France

  “Look. See, nothing inside. No innards, no guts, nothing. Just that hunk of lead welded to the bottom.”

  “So that's why it weighed so much.”

  “Yup.”

  “Just a mockup.”

  “Yup.”

  “But why?”

  “Here, read this.”

  “Instruction sheet?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay. 'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Barnett' – so they don't know our real names?”

  “Nope. They're not in the inner inner inner circle.”

  “Ah, right. Okay. 'This mockup is just to let you know that the 4D gizmo works; we have broken the one-year barrier, and we're close to breaking through two years. Dr. Ford is a true genius.' Parentheses, 'He insisted I put that in,' close parens. 'If ever you would like a real demonstration, we can do one either here in the lab,' parens, 'Thank you for building and funding this wonderful facility,' close parens, 'or anywhere you would like. The gizmo is fully portable. Sincerely, Greg and Julie and Dr. Ford, the true genius behind it all.' Parens, 'Same,' close parens.' Well, well, well.”

  “Check the postscript.”

  “Ah. 'P.S. The note attached to the mockup is not actually from the future. I wrote that today, August 21st, 2014. Greg.' Sonofagun.”

  “Yup.”

  “So how'd it get in here? This place is secure, right?”

  “Yup. Amber had Kirbey and Candi bring it in when they cleaned the place up yesterday.”

  “Kirbey? You mean Kimberly, don't you?”

  “Right; Kimberly. I always get those two confused.”

  “Well, they do look a lot alike.”

  “And they're both gay.”

  “Hmm. You know, Jake, maybe we oughta introduce 'em to each other.”

  “Uh, nah. Kimberly's got Candi and Kirbey's got – well, whoever she's with now.”

  “Oh, right; not a good idea. Forget I mentioned it.”

  “Mentioned what?”

  “Introdu- – oh, you!”

  “Ow! Easy on the old man, kiddo.”

  “Omigod. Sorry.”

  “Nah, just kidding, Pam; it's fine.”

  “Oh. Good.”

  “But I may need that arm massaged later.”

  “Happy to oblige, suh.”

  “Amber also sent the email while I was out.”

  “Email? What email?”

  “Oh, right; that was over a year ago. The one about the Response.”

  “Response? Oh, the one – ah, right, the one you sent back in 2011?”

  “Right. She updated it and sent it to the Bilderbuggers, Bohavian Grovians, all the One World Government control freaks, both the incrementalists and the shock troopers. And she picked a target for the demo and got that part done.”

  “Who was it?”

  “One of the Stonefellers. Plane crash over New York.”

  “When was that?”

  “June, just a couple months ago.”

  “Who did it?”

  “Wayne and Linda. They're getting good with that faux lightning generator.”

  - 122 -

  September 1, 2014

  7:27 a.m. local time

  Bonita Springs, Florida

  “Happy Labor Day, Gordy.”

  “And to you, Rosemary.”

  “Happy Labor Day, Gordy.”

  “And to you, Dallas.”

  “What a wonderful way to start the day.”

  “So true, Ro.”

  “Mm. I think I'm good for the week now.”

  “Really, Dallas?”

  “Just pulling your leg, Gordy.”

  “Uh, that's not my leg.”

  “Oh, right. Force of habit. Sorry.”

  “No need to apologize; it's fine.”

  “Oh, goodie.”

  “But if we're going to get parking spaces at the beach, we'd best be getting up and” –

  “Oh, one of us is up.”

  “Dallas!”

  “Sorry, Rosemary, couldn't resist.”

  “That's SCR for short.”

  “Right, Gordy. SCR. QH'd that.”

  “Well, whatever you two want to do, go ahead. I'm gonna get into the shower, have some breakfast and head for the beach.”

  “Okay, okay, Rosemary. I'll do the same.”

  “Count me in, too – uh-oh; I – yeah, I need to take this. You two go ahead.”

  “Okay, Gordy, but hurry up and get in there with us.”

  “Will do. Have fun.

  “Hello, Amber. Yeah. No, I'm awake. What's up? Yeah, I've been watching the news. Yeah, I know. They're barbarians. Okay. Yeah, sure, of course. Mm-hmm. Tomorrow? No problem; I can be there. Mm-hmm, uh-huh. Got it. Ten a.m., RSW, private terminal; yeah, I know it. The small jet? Yeah, fine. Want me to bring Janet, too? Oh, right; sorry, QH'd that. No, I won't tell her. Hm? No, no problem; I can come up with something for Rosemary. Yeah. Okay. Anything else? Okay. Hi to Gisele and the girls. Bye. Hmm.

  “Hi, girls.”

  “C'mon in, Gordy.”

  “Kind of a squeeze, but we can all fit.”

  “I like squeezing.”

  “I do, too.”

  “I can tell, Dallas.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Oh, Gordy, that's nice.”

  “Any time, Ro.”

  “Mm, mm, mm. Oh!”

  “Okay, Ro?”

  “Oh, yeah. Do that again.”

  “Okay.”

  “Ohh! Nice. Mm.”

  - 123 -

  September 3, 2014

  2:24 p.m. local time

  Aboard “Dilemma,” off St. Tropez, France

  “That was delicious, Jake. Best veal I've had in decades.”

  “Thanks, Gordy. Jean-Claude does a great job. You like the wine?”

  “Delicious.”

  “Good. From our vineyard in Avignon.”

  “We own it now?”

  “Yup. Bought it last year. Pam?”

  “Oh, yeah; delicious, nice nose, fruity but not to
o sweet.”

  “Amber?”

  “Mm-hmm. Perfect with the meal.”

  “Good; okay.

  “Now down to business. Gordy, thanks for getting over here on such short notice.”

  “No problem, Jake.”

  “Everything okay with Rosemary?”

  “Yeah; I told her I got called away for a book consult with an editor.”

  “She bought it?”

  “Yup.”

  “Good; okay.

  “First, I want to let you know that I'm almost fully recovered, and I've made it clear that if anyone uses the 974 stuff again – and I doubt anyone will -- but Doc Logan has an antidote, and it'll be available to anyone who wants to use that stuff. He's working on something to protect our people against accidents like I had, but he hasn't gotten there yet. So for now, the 974 will always have some of the antidote packaged with it.”

  “But that's only for our teams to use, not for sale to anyone else.”

  “Right, Amber. And when Doc Logan has the protectant, that'll go in the package, too.

  “Next, you all know Pam, and effective today, I'm splitting my role with her, and when I'm gone, she'll take over for me. I don't expect that to be any time soon, but in our business, survival is never assured. So from now on, you should take anything she says as if it came from me. I guess that'll mostly be for Amber, 'cause she's our middlewoman. You haven't had any communication with Pam since Bonita, Gordy, right?”

  “Never had any there, either, Jake.”

  “And I never had the chance to thank you for saving our lives on the beach.”

  “That was also Sharon and the Mimosas, Pam.”

  “I know, but you got the first shots off.”

  “I don't know, Pam; it seemed simultaneous to me.”

  “Whatever, Gordy. Take the credit she gives you.”

  “Okay, Jake. You're welcome, Pam.”

  “Good; okay.

  “Next, Pam, Amber has brought you up to speed on the latest stuff about Nick, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “One thing, Jake.”

  “What, Amber?”

  “I got word this morning that Phil and Nadia found a KGB file mentioning a 'patsy' that St. Nick had found. Might have been your husband, Pam. They're sending the file over along with a translation.”