by David Archer
“I agree,” Noah said, “but I’m also going to install security at the Manor. I will not leave any of us vulnerable to an attack like that again.”
“Very good, sir,” Thomas said. “Shall we prepare the tea?”
Noah deliberately put a grin on his face. “I think tea would hit the spot, right about now.”
* * *
Jenny relieved the security guard and opened the door to her office, and that was when Paulson made his move. He had managed to pick the lock on the cell using a set of picks that had been concealed in the heel of his shoe, and was considering how to take out the security guard when he heard Jenny’s voice. He had ducked behind the door, and lunged at her as she stepped inside.
Since he hadn’t had a chance to grab a weapon, he simply threw his arms around her and bore her down to the floor, grabbing her hair and smashing her face into the floor as hard as he could. Jenny was stunned, and simply lay where she was as he got off of her and began frisking her for the knives he knew she had hidden somewhere in her clothing. He found one of the karambit daggers tucked into a back pocket, and struggled for a moment to release it from its sheath.
That moment, and the fact that the sheath used a clip that locked the knife into it, were the things that saved Jenny’s life. She regained enough of her senses to realize what was happening, and snap-rolled herself over, striking Paulson in the face with one foot as she did so. He fell onto his backside, and his eyes went wide when he saw that she snatched two more of the daggers from somewhere inside the dress jacket she was wearing.
Jenny swiped at his throat with one of them, but the man’s reflexes were incredible. He rolled backward and did a reverse somersault, coming up on his feet only a split-second later. Jenny spun and got onto her own feet, her face contorted with a grin as she saw him finally free the dagger from its sheath.
“I’ve done this too many times, girl,” Paulson said. “You cannot think yourself a match for me.”
“You think?” Jenny asked, her grin getting wider. “Well, why don’t you just come on and find out. This ain’t my first rodeo either, buddy.”
The two of them circled each other for a moment, each of them feinting occasionally. Paulson was careful to stay out of her reach, but he was considerably taller and had much longer arms. Jenny had to dance quite energetically to avoid his own attacks, but she was quickly learning how the man moved. The third time he lunged toward her, rather than moving away, she simply ducked under his arm and came up behind it, her own dagger slicing across his forearm just below the elbow.
She was impressed that he did not scream, but only spun away out of her reach before she could strike again. He glanced once at the wound and then transferred his dagger to the other hand, letting his wounded right arm dangle at his side.
“That was good,” he said. “You might be a challenge after all.”
“Really? Gee, thanks for the compliment. I’m still waiting for you to show me how good you’re supposed to be.”
“You won’t wait long,” Paulson said. He feinted toward the left as if he were about to run for the door, then hooked his right foot around the trash can that sat beside her desk and kicked it toward her face.
Jenny instinctively put up a hand to block it, and then realized her mistake. She had closed her eyes in reflex for just a second, but Paulson’s dagger tip scored a point as it cut through her pants on her left thigh. Like him, she only hissed once at the pain, then favored that leg as she moved to a more defensible position.
“Well, we could do this the easy way,” Paulson said. “There’s no way you could catch me now, so move away from the door and let me leave. That way, you get to keep yourself alive for another day.”
“Yeah,” Jenny said, “but that would mean you were still alive, too, and that just doesn’t fit with my plans for the evening. Come on, you chickenshit, you’re not afraid of a girl, are you?”
Paulson chuckled. He didn’t reply, but kept moving so that he was out of her reach. The two of them continued the deadly dance for more than a minute, but the blood loss from the cut on her thigh was beginning to leave Jenny feeling weak. She knew that shock was going to set in soon, and didn’t want to consider what might happen if she were to lose the ability to remain on her feet.
“One chance,” she said. “Drop the knife and go back in the cell, and I won’t kill you.”
This time, Paulson laughed aloud. “I don’t think you are in a position to make such a bargain,” he said. “I can see you faltering, so this isn’t going to last much longer.”
Jenny shrugged. “No, it won’t,” she said. “Just remember, I gave you a chance.”
Paulson lunged toward her, another fake attack, but for a split second his eyes were on her body rather than her face. At that exact moment, Jenny spun her daggers and let their rings slip off her fingers, then pulled back both arms and flung them forward again.
Paulson was still grinning when he felt the impacts, and it took another second for him to realize that both of her daggers had struck him in the chest. He looked down to see that they had each slid between ribs, and blood was flowing down his chest from his wound.
The one on the left had a steady flow, but the one on the right was pulsing, blood spurting for a second, then receding, only to spurt again. The tip of the blade had pierced an artery, and he knew it was a serious wound. No matter what he did, there was no hope that he was going to get away now, and the sudden reduction in blood pressure told him that consciousness was his for only a minute or so more.
“Neat trick,” he managed to say, and then his arms began to feel weak. He looked at the one holding the knife and saw it sagging, but that was when his legs began to tremble. “Good God,” he said. “You’ve actually beaten me.”
He sagged to his knees, both hands now resting on the floor. Jenny stayed where she was, watching him closely as the color drained out of his face. When he began struggling to breathe, she knew that his brain was demanding more oxygen from the little blood that was still reaching it, but then he pitched forward onto his face and lay still, his breathing ragged.
“Jenny to Neil,” she said into her subcom. “Baby? I think I need your help. Paulson tried to get away, and we cut each other up. If you don’t get here pretty soon, one of us might not survive.”
* * *
Thomas and the rest of the servants left the room and headed toward the kitchens, while Noah sat down with Sarah, Marco, Renée and Cody.
“You want to fill me in there, Boss?” Marco asked.
“Paulson had a squad of mercenaries lined out to attack the factory, but we were able to locate them and take them out before they got the chance. While I was questioning him, I found out he had a backup plan that involved taking all of you hostage. I had just figured it out when Sarah contacted me and told me what was happening.”
“May I assume Mr. Paulson has met with some form of justice?”
“Actually, he volunteered to help us take down the organization within the Senate that has been behind all of our recent troubles. I will be escorting him to Washington later tonight, so that he can testify before a special Senate committee tomorrow at noon.”
Sarah looked up at him. “You’re going yourself?” she asked.
“I need to,” Noah said. “I’m orchestrating this thing, so I need to be certain that it’s handled properly. Once this man has testified, it’s possible we could return to Neverland sometime in the near future.”
She looked at him. “But I like it here,” she said. “This is a good place to raise our baby, Noah.”
“And we probably will be here a lot, no matter what,” Noah said. “However, as we’ve seen today, no place is completely secure. I’m going to make every effort to ensure the safety of the Manor from now on, but the world is crazy enough that I doubt we can ever find a place that is perfectly safe. I’m going to do what I can to fix the problems back home, then we can decide the rest of it after I get back.”
“Okay,” s
he said with a resigned sigh. “You always do what’s best, so I have to trust you.”
“That’s all I can ask,” Noah said.
Noah’s face suddenly went blank as he heard his subcom coming to life.
“Neil to Noah,” he heard. “Noah, Paulson tried to escape, but Jenny caught him. He cut her pretty badly on the leg, but she managed to give as good as she got. Marco and I are taking them both to the hospital in Guildford now.”
“Go,” Noah said. “I’ll meet you there.”
He quickly explained to Sarah what was going on, then raced out the front door once more. He jumped into the Panther and fired it up, jammed the shifter into first gear and threw gravel as he roared out of the driveway. The road in front of the Manor led directly into Guildford, and it took him only fifteen minutes to get to the little local hospital.
While the local hospital wasn’t as well-equipped as the ones in London, its trauma center was as good as any in the UK. By the time Noah got inside, doctors were already working on Jenny’s leg, cleaning the wound thoroughly in preparation for surgery. An IV line was in her arm, letting blood flow into her veins to replace the copious amounts she had lost.
Jenny was conscious. She looked up at Noah with a grin, despite her face being so pale.
“I got stupid, Boss,” she said. “I actually thought the bastard was going to cooperate with us.”
“So did I,” Noah said. “But at least you kept him from getting away.”
“Yeah, I did.” She looked at him for a moment, then her grin turned into a wide smile. “And you know what? It felt so damn good. Let me get back on my feet, and I’m ready to go back to work, Boss.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Noah said. “For now, I need to see just how badly you damaged our star witness.”
TWENTY
The Gulfstream touched down at Dulles at just after nine thirty the following morning, and Noah, Marco, and Neil escorted Paulson off the plane. Noah wasn’t a bit surprised to find Mark McCullers and Team Aladdin waiting on the tarmac with several DHS agents. They were all loaded into a large van, and then the several vehicles made a convoy into Washington. The drive took the better part of an hour, and they arrived at twenty minutes after ten.
At the Capitol Building, they were taken in through a back entrance and led to a secure room, where a quick meal had been set up. They would be in with the subcommittee at lunchtime, so this was probably the only opportunity they were going to get to eat for the day. They all sat down and happily dug into the pot roast meals that had been prepared for them.
When they finished eating, they were escorted to the meeting room where the hearing was going to take place. A number of senators and congresspeople were there already, filling up the gallery, and Noah spotted Senator Andrews looking nervous in the front row, her eyes locked on Alex Paulson. The purpose of the meeting had been kept quiet, but the president had deliberately allowed a rumor to circulate indicating that it would result in identifying the truth behind the creation and eventual exposure of E & E. Everyone there was nervously waiting to see what information might come to light.
A man and a woman approached Noah and his group, introducing themselves as special attorneys from the Department of Justice. They had been instructed to meet with the witness, Paulson, to prepare for the hearing.
“I’m Richard Macy,” the man said, “and this is Charlotte Duncan. Mr. Paulson, I want to show you the list of questions we were told to ask and have you confirm that these are the appropriate questions.” He handed some stapled pages to Paulson, who began to look them over.
“These are correct,” Paulson said after a moment. “I would suggest adding a couple of questions on this point.” He pointed at one particular line on the papers, then huddled with the lawyers while they wrote in a couple of extra questions. A few minutes later he stated that it looked perfectly correct to him, and that he was ready to answer the questions when the time came.
At exactly noon, six senators were led into the room and took chairs behind the long bench upfront. A US Marshal was there to act as bailiff, and he called the room to order.
The man sitting in the middle chair behind the bench looked up at the crowd facing him. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “I am Senator Clarence Dunning, I will be chairing and moderating this hearing. To my left you see Senators Damon Marston and Rebecca Collier; to my right, we have Senators Marcus Jasper, Pauline Carver and Albert Levy. We will be listening to the testimony to be offered here today, and we may have some questions of our own.” He looked at the lawyers. “Mr. Macy? Are you ready to proceed?”
“We are, Senator Dunning,” Macy said.
“Very well, then. Can we have the witness sworn in, please?”
Macy and Duncan took Paulson to the table that stood in front of the bench, where the marshal held out a Bible.
“Place your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand,” he said. “Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before this committee will be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief?”
“I do so swear,” Paulson said. The marshal took the Bible away, and Paulson and the attorneys sat down at the table.
“Let us proceed,” Senator Dunning said.
Macy turned to Paulson. “Would you state your name and occupation for the record, please?”
Allison had coached Paulson for this part. “My name is Alexander Paulson,” he said. “I am an independent information broker based in the UK.”
“Independent information broker,” Macy repeated. “You are, in fact, a dealer in information that is often considered classified by various governments, am I correct?”
Paulson grinned. “That is how some people see it, yes.”
“And are you familiar with recent events in the United States concerning what appeared to be a government-sanctioned agency that was involved in assassination?”
Paulson nodded once. “I am.”
“How did you become familiar with those events?”
“Well, a great deal of it has been broadcast around the world through the news services, but I have also been approached by several different people who wanted to know what I could find out about the whole situation. I would add that some of those who approached me work for this government, but I was also approached by employees of other governments.”
“And can you tell the committee what it was these people who contacted you wanted you to find out?”
“Yes. I was asked to find out whether the agency was actually sanctioned by the full government or created by a rogue group within it, and I was also asked to find out if the current administration had actually redacted the group or simply relocated it elsewhere.”
“And were you successful in finding that information?”
“Oh, yes,” Paulson said with a grin. “I’m actually very good at what I do.”
“Regarding that first question you were asked, as to whether the agency was sanctioned by the government or not, would you tell this committee what you found?”
“After reviewing many sources of information,” Paulson said carefully, “I came to the conclusion that the organization known as E & E was in fact created by a former president in response to demands made by a small group within the government, for the express purpose of eliminating enemies of the United States, but with a secondary purpose of eliminating enemies of that group.”
The crowd erupted into loud whispers and a few outbursts, but Senator Dunning pounded his gavel and called them back to order. “Let me make it perfectly clear, ladies and gentlemen, that I will have no problem clearing this gallery if I continue to see such interruptions. You are professional men and women, and I expect you to act as such.” He glared at the crowd for a moment, then looked at Macy again. “Please continue, Mr. Macy.”
“Mr. Paulson, you just stated that the organization was created by a small group within this government. Can you identify the members of that group?”
“That’s a lie!” Andrews shouted suddenly. “That is an absolute lie!”
Dunning banged his gavel again. “Senator Andrews! You will be seated. Should it become necessary or advisable, you will have your opportunity to speak, but until then, you will remain silent in this hearing.”
Dunning nodded to Macy, who went on.
“Let’s go back to the second part of the question. You said you were asked to find out if the current administration had relocated the group somewhere else, so that they could continue their activities, is that correct?”
“It is correct.”
“And what were your findings in regard to that question?”
“I found that the current administration of this government was being portrayed as having control over the organization, but that was not the case. It was in fact Senator Andrews who arranged for them to be set up in another country. However, I also learned that the leadership of that organization had lost confidence in Senator Andrews’ ability to provide for and protect them, and had then decided to go out on their own. They relocated again, and began setting up an entirely new operation.”
Dunning glanced at Senator Andrews, whose face was pale. She was shaking her head from side to side, but he ignored her and returned his attention to the questioning before him.
“Setting up a new operation,” Macy repeated. “Can you elaborate on that, Mr. Paulson?”
“I can. I found that the leadership of the organization had decided to enter the private sector. They would continue to operate in the field of assassination, but would hire themselves out to the highest bidder.”
“And who was the leadership of that organization?”
“As I recall, it was a man by the name of Noah Wolf.”