by E L Russell
Everyone laughed softly as the waiters reappeared and smartly deposited small plates of salad designed to accompany the main course.
When they returned to the shadows, Meret continued. “As you know one of the congressman died during the President’s State of the Union speech. When he collapsed, my heart stopped until I realized he showed no classical symptoms of poisoning and I felt sorry for him.”
Debby said, “I heard he died of a heart attack.”
Meret shook her head. “Truth be known, Whipple was the was the leader of the hawks and an extreme conservative, didn’t believe in vaccination. How ironic the SKV did.”
Everyone laughed and Meret nodded taking a serving spoon full of the veal Marsala.
“Debby may have heard this from Henri. “Thanks to him, we had been able to download a huge amount of data in the form of emails, transcripts, and offshore deposits from Katya’s servers. While monitoring communication he had set up setup in her upscale Hong Kong apartment, Henri noticed that someone was using her system on a regulator basis to watch porn and cricket. We sent a team there to investigate and guess who we found?”
“That weasel Dr. Subash Sen. Am I right?” Poppy’s sneer spoke of her feelings for the man.
“You got it. And get this. He had moved in and didn’t seem to be know or care what had happened to Katya. He’s currently being held for interrogation in the in the same complex that houses her.”
The wait staff delivered a tray of sweets that ends a traditional Italian meal and the three ordered Americanos.
When alone again, Meret said, “To sum it up, Katya and Subash will spend the rest of eternity in some dark facility in some forgotten corner of the world. Surviving members of PSI Corps will probably get at least twenty-five to fifty in Federal Prison. The best news is, thanks to Dr. Nancy Buchanan, she successfully de-programmed Granger and he is currently living in a Zalea apartment under CIA protection.
Debby smiled a huge grin of contentment and then froze. “Dr. Buchanan could do that for Henri, too, right?”
“Yes, Debby. You just have to convince him it is in his best interest. Nancy is giving Jack Strake a similar treatment and he will spend his twenty-five years or so as a guest of the federal system.
“I’ll convince Henri. It may just take time.”
“And your CIA plans?” Poppy said as a prompt.
“Ah. I can tell you, I was sorely tempted, but I will not be accepting Director Davies’ generous offer to lead a new Biological Terrorist Division within the CIA. Instead, I have accepted my grandfather Elias’ proposal to establish yet another successful consulting company within our family empire.” She lifted her arms in praise. “Poppy and I go corporate.”
The three toasted with their coffee cups. Another waiter set a chair and coffee at a fourth place at the table before walking away.
“Are we expecting someone?” Poppy?” asked rhetorically.
A figure slipped out of the darkness.
“ Henri. ”Debby squealed and jumped from the table to hug him.
“You have three months before university classes begin,” Meret said to the couple.
She put an envelope on Henri’s empty plate. “The two of you can get reacquainted anywhere in the world that suits you, immediately after you both spend two weeks with Dr. Buchanan.”
Poppy tapped an empty water glass with her butter knife. “Attention all. One more thing from Grandfather Elias. “She handed Meret a small envelope. “He requests you read this to us. I would guess that by now you realize he set all of this up.”
Meret’s brows raised and she opened a thin piece of typed paper.
Dear Meret, while looking for anything I could do to ensure your new company is profitable and secure, I found myself at a significant disadvantage giving you advice on profit. However, from the experiences you have had in such a short time, I felt the need to provide more security to you and your staff, so the family trust is funding an enhanced security division to protect your interests. As usual, I enjoy having some authority on hiring key, non-scientific, personal. I have made inquiries to two men to head your new security division. Both have agreed. Your top man will be former Special Agent Granger Hawking. He agrees with me that his chief assistant will be former Marine, Staff Sergeant Luke Stelling. You remember his daughter, Ginny? They have moved to Houston and she starts school at St. Anthony’s this fall.
I could not be prouder of you for all that you have done. - E.M.
She covered her mouth with one hand and laughed. “He added a handwritten note.”
* * *
Since you do not need it, now that your company is very successful, perhaps you should consider investing your trust in something more conservative and secure?”
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