Commandeered (Mercury Black Authority Book 2)

by Finian Blake

  “Adam’s one requirement was that I put my personal touches on the flat.” Sarah led her into the bedroom. The bedroom curtains were missing, the bed was different and the rest of the furniture was different. Terri walked into the bath she recognized Susan’s linens. She knew the effort that everybody put into the change.

  “The 'Old Men' helped me swap things out. They really do love you, but I do not understand why you call them the ‘Old Men’. They are not that old.”

  Terri laughed out loud, “It is a term of affection not a reflection on their age. They were called that by the recruits that they trained. I would put their abilities up against anybody. You have to realize that the recruits were around twenty. The ‘Old Men’ run at six AM if you care to join them.” Terri looked around the flat. The change represented a superhuman effort. “You are going to need to do some shopping and I would love to help. I do know some nice shops to try.” Sarah was touched by Terri’s gesture.

  “Thank you, I would love to have your help. What time do the 'Old Men' finish running?”

  “They are done around eight unless they are challenged. We can leave whenever you are ready there is no rush.”

  Sarah joined the men for a work out. Adam dropped out to walk with Terri. Sarah pushed hard to challenge the 'Old Men'. She was out of her routine by almost two weeks. They gave her a good natured ribbing about where her cramps were inviting her to the afternoon training session. She claimed Terri about nine AM and they hit the shops. Frank drove them in the Bentley to make sure Terri followed doctor’s orders. They completely restocked the kitchen before noon and returned about one PM. Terri pulled up in front of the studio Adam, Frank, Susan, Lynn, and Suki were waiting for them. Everything that they purchased went up quickly with Terri only needing to walk up the stairs while everybody carried the purchases to the apartment.

  Susan broke the party mood, “We have all of the board members here. There is one piece of business that will need to be addressed.” Adam choked at the call knowing what Susan was going to say.

  “Liz’s share needs to be settled since she had no next of kin. Does anybody have anything to say?” Everybody was surprised to hear Terri speak so quickly.

  Terri started out first, “Her share should go with the studio. She was given it because she was running the studio. Liz did not earn any of it.” Susan was shocked at Terri’s cold statement. Sarah knew that something was out of the norm. Terri made the statement so forcefully that nobody said anything else.

  “Alright it has been recommended that Liz’s share go with the studio. All of those in favor say aye.” Terri voted Aye and everybody else remained silent. Everybody opposed say nay. There was only silence in the room.

  “We have one aye, no nay and five abstained. The motion carries. Lynn, handle the details. The meeting is adjourned.” Terri stood up and walked down the stairs while everybody stood around and congratulated Sarah.

  Lynn went to Sarah and whispered in her ear.

  “Terri just gave you seven hundred fifty thousand pounds.”

  Terri’s hand just touched the door when she heard the scream and the footsteps run down the stairs. Sarah ran after her and gave her a hug. The embrace caused Terri considerable pain and Sarah released right away.

  “You cannot do this. It is too much.”

  “You are with us now. Either you are accepted or you are not. I want nothing to do with the money so it is yours. It was meant to go with the studio.”

  Adam heard the last part of the conversation. “She means it. Lynn will handle the transfer.”

  “Why didn’t you vote with me?” Terri asked with an edge to her voice.

  “When you spoke up, it became your call and everybody decided to back you whatever you decided.”

  8.

  THE MAIN EVENT

  It was time to prepare for the mission. Adam wanted Frank to make a kit to repel boarders in case of a pirate attack in the red sea. It was no secret that the pirates were a serious problem. They had become extremely aggressive in the red sea. Marc was an experienced smuggler and more than likely had a plan, but Adam was not going to take any chances.

  “Frank, I want maximum fire power with us on the Patna. Pick out your best equipment and I want all of the ‘Old Men’. I will cover all of the expenses.

  “We need to break out the RPG 7 and 12, AK 74s with three power scopes, the Dragunov rifles with the starlight scopes and a selection of hand grenades.”

  “I will leave the arrangements up to you. Pick the crew and equipment to your specifications. We leave in four days can you cover that time line?”

  “Everybody that I want to take with me is here and all of the equipment I need is at my fingertips. I can be ready tonight.”

  Adam had two more calls to make one which he truly dreaded. He had to call Jeff and let him know about Liz. He wanted to get Jeff to drop everything, make the ID photos on the Patna and fly back to the Inn to finish the process. Adam had to be honest with him about what happened with Liz and his next call would be to Sean to insure the cargo for the two 747’s. Adam had to wait until six PM to catch both of them at nine AM in Los Angles. These were not sensitive numbers so he could make the calls from the secure line that Susan installed in the security center. Promptly at six, Adam dialed Jeff’s number. Jeff picked up the phone.

  “Jeff, I need you for some field work. Could you fly out in two days and join us on our trip to the pickup point to start the ID photos?”

  “Liz should be able to do that easily.” Adam’s heart went cold. This was the moment that he was dreading.

  “Liz died two days ago. She tried to kill Terri and was killed herself.” There was silence on the other end of the phone.

  “Bullshit,” Jeff could not believe his ears.

  “Liz was a sleeper fooling us all. I had to do the job, and it broke my heart.” Adam lied about the last point. He did not want to dump the dirty work on anybody else, since he would have done it if Anna had not beaten him to the punch.

  “I need to think about this one. I loved Liz as much as I loved Terri. Call me back in an hour and I will give you my answer.”

  “I am sorry that it had to be over the phone, but I could not wait until you got out here before I told you. It would not have been fair to you. If you turn me down, I will understand.”

  Jeff hung the phone up and started to think. Adam had been up front with him. The time at the Inn with Liz was one of his fondest memories. Adam would not bullshit him about Liz trying to kill Terri, and Adam was up front about killing Liz. He knew that Adam loved Liz too, and that he would only kill a woman in extreme circumstance. All of these thoughts swirled in his head.

  The next call went much smoother. Adam dialed Sean’s number.

  “Sean, what have you been able to line up for me?”

  “We rounded up one hundred and fifty thousand pounds of humanitarian supplies from the Material Disposal Depot and other sources. It went out the door at two dollars a pound. We have three field hospitals, four field kitchens, electrical generators, numerous cots, and other types of bedding. I was also able to obtain a large supply of medicines, including antibiotics. After hitting every clothing manufacturer in the west, I filled the rest of your order with shoes and clothing. I know that it can get cold there so I included a large number of coats and sweaters. The total tab is six hundred thousand dollars. The two 747s will cost you four hundred thousand for the week.” Adam had underestimated Sean’s talents.

  “I allowed two million for your task. Your commission went up to four hundred thousand dollars. I am going to need you and Jeff to settle several people into their new identities, since I will not be able to do it personally.”

  “Adam, have Jeff give me the information. The extra commission should cover the tab.”

  “Sean, there are eight hundred thousand dollars left in the account. Pull your commission out when you have finished. I will close the account in twelve months. You may set your own commission.” Adam was n
ot worried about Sean having full trust in him. Both planes would leave Ontario in two days.

  Adam called Jeff back. He could tell Jeff was still upset. “I hate to ask you this but have you come to a decision?”

  “I decided to do it.”

  “I know that it must have been a difficult thing to do.” Adam could say no more.

  “The price will be fifty thousand for each identity and one hundred thousand for the field work.” Jeff decided to vent his grief on the price.

  “I am going to need twelve complete work ups and I will go two hundred thousand for the field work. If things go well, I will declare a two hundred thousand dollar bonus. That will round things up to a million even. I will put six hundred thousand in your account when I hang up. Sean will handle your travel arrangements and settle them into their identities. Jeff I deeply appreciate your sorrow, and I wish that I could have brought you the news in another manner.” Jeff hung up without comment. The only reason that he accepted was his prior relationship with Adam.

  Adam took a ride into Birmingham for his next call. He rented a hotel room calling Tony’s number. Tony made it a point to remain by the phone because this was going to be a monster deal.

  “This is Adam. Go to another phone and call me back at this number.” He gave Tony the number of the hotel. Tony called back in ten minutes.

  “I could not take a chance that they found your number.” Adam dove right into business. “The payment will be six thousand kilos of pure arriving in ten days. I want to wholesale the whole thing. I will call you back tomorrow for a number.” Adam outlined his plan for bringing it into the country. Tony agreed and hung up. The whole call lasted less than a minute. Adam’s phone calls were done for the day and he was able to return the Knoll around eight thirty.

  When he walked back in the house, Terri was curled up in the love seat having a glass of wine with Sarah. They were discussing Sarah’s history. Terri acknowledged Adam’s presence with a nod and returned her attention to Sarah. Adam took the dismissal in stride, moving to the shower turning up the water as hot as it would go. He closed his eyes and put his hands on the wall letting the water relax him. He felt a pair of hands gently soaping him. Adam opened his eyes and found Sarah in the shower with him while Terri was standing outside keeping dry.

  “I have to keep the dressing dry for two more days.” When they were ready to dry, Terri tossed them their towels. The three of them crawled into bed. Sarah opened a bottle of wine and started to pour it over Terri’s mound with Adam chasing every drop.

  “This is what I meant when I said he drank from my cup.”

  When the bottle was halfway gone Terri started to pour it over Sarah. Adam chased the droplets. When the bottle was gone the three of them kissed every inch of each other’s body. Adam could tell that the healing was under way. When he reached Terri’s foot, he noticed the toe ring that Liz had slipped over Terri’s toe. He tried to slip it off with Terri gently kicking away his efforts.

  “Do not take it off. I will never forget. I still do not hate her. I have to believe that there was some love there.” She did not elaborate, so he acceded to her wishes. He was only interested in whatever would help her heal.

  “I have to agree that the pregnancy changed me, but this contract has changed you. You are out of control. How many people have you killed this month, twenty five maybe more? You went from killing certified bad guys to killing our own. Liz may have deserved to die, but that was something that we should have worked out. I know that you are committed, but the killing has to stop. You were not like this when we got married. If you stop the killing we can work on this.”

  “I am buried in this contract.”

  “Finish the contract. I want your word that this is the last one if we are going to stay together.”

  “We had rock solid proof on everyone,” Adam protested. “They were on film and we had the ledgers. I was protecting everyone here, especially you.”

  “I will protect myself if need be,” Terri stormed. “You took their money too.”

  “They were beyond using it and we deserved compensation. I do not like killing, but I will do what I have to do protecting those that I love. All of those that I killed were killers also.”

  “What about Liz!”

  “She tried to kill you and she killed our baby.” He felt her stiffen.

  “This needs to stop.”

  “I agree with you. Hopefully this will be the end of it. I do not like what is happening any more than you do. This will be my last job.” Adam left the bedroom leaving Sarah and Terri alone. Sarah put her arms around Terri and held her in silence. They both fell asleep holding each other. When Terri stirred Sarah whispered in her ear.

  “You know that he would only kill to protect you and those he loves. I have never seen a man love a woman more, nor have I ever met a man with a code of honor as strange as his, but you are his ultimate love.”

  “He sure loved you,” Terri snapped.

  “He loves everyone here. You love everyone here too. Do you think that another man would let you openly love as many people as you do?”

  Terri had to admit that she shared beds with women and men without Adam getting jealous. Nothing about their relationship was the standard boy and girl story. Susan and Lynn were both carrying his child and she approved of it. She had sex with whoever she pleased without comment from him and Adam did the same. Very little matched what should happen in a marriage. Terri was lying in her bed listening to the advice of a woman she just shared her husband with. Terri thought back to the first time she had sex with Adam. He killed somebody that tried to rape and kill her. She remembered that her lust went off the scale because of his actions. The question was had he changed or had she changed.

  “I need to think this out.” She kissed Sarah tenderly and Sarah kissed her back with passion. Sarah probed her with caution remembering her surgery.

  Adam walked down the Knoll looking for Susan. His thoughts ran over the last thirty days. Killing had become too easy. He thought of it as a protective response and he derived no pleasure from it, feeling no remorse. Most of all, Adam regretted Liz. He did not do it or order it done. He would have and Anna acted because she knew he would never do it and the others were a threat to those he loved. ‘Mooney’ warned him long ago about the dangers of acting outside of business. He took this advice with the utmost respect. He loved Terri, and did not want to lose her. In this strange world, where was the line? He needed to finish the contract and then he could sort things out. He saw Susan coming out of Founder’s cottage and calling to her tried to talk her into going back inside.

  “Gregory is tied up and Anna has just taken over his entertainment, so we will need to talk somewhere else.”

  “I wanted to set up a fuel stop for Everywhere Air in Manchester and Trabzon. Jeff is coming in and going to the field with us. If this works out he can do the identities while the Patna is in route to Karachi and we will take our refugees on a cruise. We can deliver the papers to the plane while it is fueling, and all of our clients can go directly to the US. I have to agree with you that we need to keep this business away from the Inn.”

  “I was going to say yes to your request even though I thought it was a bad idea,” Susan’s face showed relief. The fuel stop is an excellent move. How long is the ship going to be in transit?”

  “I was planning five days. We can do the pictures on the Patna while we are loading and Jeff can fly back to do the processing at the studio with Sarah assisting him.”

  “Thank you, the Inn is our dream and I want to keep the nasty business away from here. Lynn and I were discussing keeping our business to being a straight high end resort. The guests can screw as much as they want, but we will not provide any entertainment.”

  “That might be a good idea.” Adam was happy to receive that news. The Inn could be a going concern with out that part of the operation. Susan let the full time girls keep all of their money anyway. Adam hurried back up the hill to th
e house. Sarah and Terri were in the kitchen fixing dinner with Terri seeming much more relaxed.

  “Finish your business, and we will work something out. I love you and that is the long and short of it. I would still like you to stop the killing.”

  “I just need some cooperation,” Adam sighed.

  “What would that be?”

  “I would like people to stop trying to kill you.”

  “I would like that too.” Terri remembered their first real bond. “Sarah has a special friend that needs a set of papers. In return she will do us a special favor.”

  “I have a friend that is especially good at photography that would love to come to the UK.” Sarah said hesitating for just a second unsure of how it would sound. “She will have a baby for Terri in exchange for papers.”

  “You have called her?” Adam was worried about security.

  “No, I have not but she will do as I say. Do you trust me?”

  “If Terri trusts you, it is good enough for me.” Adam would follow Terri’s play all the way.

  “Good, she is particularly talented with photography, and I could use her in the studio.”

  “I would bring her over on your word too.”

  Sarah patted Adam on the cheek. “She will be good for both of us.”

  Adam wanted to step out of the middle, “Why don’t you talk directly to Susan? The Inn is hers and I am just an investor.”

  Adam felt that there was something else in the mix. He did need to ask a favor.