It was amazing. Even at the late hour, people still congregated, waiting to watch the Walk of the Apostles. So he sat, watching them watch the clock. After a few minutes of sitting, legs extended and comfortably crossed at the ankle, he began to relax.
It wouldn’t be long now, he mused.
His eyelids suddenly felt heavy.
She should arrive any second.
His head began to bob.
He couldn’t wait to see her.
And as the Orloj struck two, and the apostles began to march, he fell asleep.
Chapter Nine
New Brunswick, New Jersey
“YES, MS. MORLEY, I did exactly as you instructed, but Mr. Zurn says that terminating his services is not an option. He says he wants to speak with you directly,” Meredith’s executive assistant Cynthia reported nervously.
“First of all, there is no ‘me’ to speak to. He is just trying to manipulate you. Second, the terms of Mr. Zurn’s employment are not his decision to make. He and his brother failed miserably and now they’re fired. It’s that simple. Thank him for his efforts, tell him he may keep the first installment as severance, and reiterate that we no longer require his assistance. After you’ve hung up, terminate the VoIP account so he can longer contact us. And just to be safe, reformat the hard drive on the notebook computer you’ve been using,” Meredith said.
“Umm, Ms. Morley, he didn’t call the VoIP number. He called the office directly. Mr. Zurn is holding on line one and he asked to speak to you by name.”
Meredith shifted her gaze to the Polycom phone on her desk. Her heartbeat quickened, falling into cadence with the rapidly blinking red LED light next to the line one button. Were she not battle-hardened, she would have gasped. Instead, she flashed Cynthia a glib smile and picked up the handset.
“Mr. Zurn, it seems your dossier needs to be updated. I had no idea you possessed such IT prowess.”
“No, no. I can’t take credit for this. Hacking is a form of art, and an artist I’m not. But the true measure of a man’s utility is not what he knows, but who he knows,” Raimond Zurn bantered.
“If you have such a vast talent pool to recruit from, then please explain to me how a man who is practically on his death bed, with no clothes, no money, and no resources not only outwits you, but also out-muscles you?”
“The intelligence you provided me with was wrong. He has clothes, and money. And he is far from on his deathbed. Foster is not a man to be underestimated. Your misrepresentation of the target’s capabilities is to blame for the failure in our first encounter.”
“Excuses are for amateurs. I hired you because of your reputation for discretion and efficiency. A wrestling match in the middle of Old Town Prague is hardly what I had in mind. Let’s cut through the bullshit, shall we? You had your chance, and you blew it. Your services are no longer required, Mr. Zurn.”
“Be careful not to confuse your world, with its lawyers and paper contracts, with mine. Our agreement was made in the underworld—think of it as a blood pact. You hired me, but you can’t fire me. I never agreed to any time limit. Bounty hunting is not child’s play; it is not paint by numbers. You will get your prize back, and you will pay the negotiated fee . . . in its entirety.”
Meredith swallowed, trying to maintain her composure. Zurn was willful, motivated, and nefarious. By circumventing her firewalls and piercing her veil of anonymity, he also demonstrated more prowess than she had given him credit for. She suspected that her personal safety would be at risk if she crossed him. Best to keep the viper’s fangs pointed at somebody else. She cleared her throat.
“Everybody deserves a second chance, I suppose. What do you intend to do now?”
“I need to broaden the search radius. Europe is not like it used to be. Foster will be able to travel easily between countries if he stays inside the European Union. Once he is on the move, I may have to hire additional resources, and that means more money.”
“Under no circumstance can he leave the Czech Republic. With every passing hour, with each mile of ground he covers, the probability of locating him plummets. Your failure left me no choice but to make the Czech government aware of certain details of the situation. Official efforts are underway to locate and quarantine Foster. The Czech national police and INTERPOL are now involved. Border checkpoints are being set up on all the major roads. If he tries to board a train or airplane out of the country, he’ll be detained,” she said.
“This complicates things considerably,” the bounty hunter said. “What if the Czechs apprehend Foster before I do?”
“Then you’ll need to orchestrate a kidnapping and take him back.”
“If he is placed in military quarantine, that will be impossible.”
“You’re the one who refuses to quit. So I suppose that makes it your problem.”
“No, Ms. Morley, it’s yours. We tried playing by your rules and things didn’t work out. From this point forward, we do business my way, using my methods.”
She felt a knot form in her stomach. Who the hell did Zurn think he was, dictating terms to her? He was working for her, not the other way around. “You listen to me—I want Foster alive and unharmed. That is nonnegotiable.”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me. The arrangement has changed. You’ll take Foster in whatever condition we deliver him. He’ll be alive, but that’s the only promise I’ll make,” Zurn snarled. “By the way, if you get any ideas about withholding payments or trying to cross me, well, let’s just say your dirty little secret will no longer be a secret. When the journalists at the BBC and CNN hear about this, they’ll jump at the chance to help. Just think, with the power of broadcast media, and an army of concerned European citizens helping, your precious Foster will be located in no time. Maybe you’ll even be interviewed on television.”
Her blood boiled. She loathed negotiating from a position of weakness; it was like jousting with a broken lance. Desperation begets weakness, and she had grown desperate.
“You are a persuasive man when you want to be, Zurn. When you find Foster, maybe you can try putting your persuasive powers to the test before clubbing him over the head. I think the end result would be better for all parties.”
“Nicht. Clubbing is much easier. Plus, none of the annoying American empty threats to listen to. Oh, and one more thing, from now on I deal directly with you. No more intermediaries.”
She resisted the urge to slam the phone down on the receiver. In hindsight, hiring the Zurn brothers was a terrible mistake. Partnering with unsavory actors of the underworld was a tricky business. In the devil’s bargain, the negotiated price is never the final price, and the final price is always more than you’re willing to pay. To level the playing field she needed divine intervention.
She checked her watch: 1:07 PM. A little early for scotch, but damn it, she needed a drink.
She walked over to the maple wood credenza opposite her desk, picked up a Baccarat rocks glass, and filled it one quarter full. Neat. Nicolora was a connoisseur of fine scotch, and it was he who she credited, and blamed, for indoctrinating her into this very expensive habit. She took a mouthful of the amber liquid; she let it linger on her tongue and wash over her palette before swallowing. The initial astringent bite of alcohol quickly subsided, giving way to fragrant waves of smoke, earth, and oak. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
She set the glass down and turned to leave.
It was time to pull the trigger.
Chapter Ten
Boston, Massachusetts
AJ FOLLOWED BRIGGS from his new lab, up a flight of stairs, and through a hallway until they reached a pair of floor-to-ceiling double doors. The doors were crafted from solid mahogany, and fitted with polished brass handles and hinges. Briggs placed his thumb on a steel plate next to one of the hinges; a green light flashed, and he pulled the rightmost door open.
Seated at the end of a long mahogany table was a man AJ knew could be none other than Robért Nicolora himself. The man was dressed in a dark, p
erfectly tailored suit. His hair was onyx, brushed with silver at the temples, and meticulously trimmed. His hands were folded, resting comfortably on the edge of the table. Like fictional characters brought to life, to his left sat the oaf in the Red Sox cap from the Public Garden. To his right, the siren in the flowing silk blouse. AJ blinked twice, doubting himself.
“Welcome, AJ, to the Founder’s Forum,” Nicolora said. “More importantly, welcome to The Think Tank.”
AJ wanted to answer; he should have answered. Instead he stood, stupefied by the scene in front of him. First, the bizarre recruitment by Briggs at BU. Now, a charade in the Public Garden revealed to him. Who were these people?
Briggs coughed politely. “AJ, this is Robért Nicolora,” Briggs said, nodding in the direction of the man seated at the head of the table. “He is one of the founders of this organization, and he is also the Principal Director.”
AJ took a breath and this time forced words from his mouth.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Nicolora,” he managed.
Nicolora smiled, amused. He then gestured to the man in the baseball hat, who produced AJ’s wallet from the pocket of his jacket and set it on the polished table. Nicolora picked up the leather bill-fold, and studied it a moment. “This belongs to you, I believe,” he said and then slid the wallet across the table to AJ.
AJ caught the wallet, tipped it in the air toward Nicolora in acknowledgment, and then sheepishly slipped it into his back pants pocket. It had been over an hour since he had been pick-pocketed in the Public Garden, and he hadn’t even noticed his wallet missing. He glanced at Briggs with both hope and doubt in his eyes, but Briggs’ face offered no safe harbor. He turned again to Nicolora. “Does this mean that I failed some sort of test?”
Stifled laughter filled the room. AJ’s face flamed red.
“No, certainly not. That was just Kalen’s way of saying hello.” Nicolora’s voice was soft, reassuring. “Kalen is an RS:Physical. And to my right is Albane Mesnil. Albane is an RS:Social. She will take over orientation duties for Briggs, now that the recruitment process is complete.”
“Nice to meet both of you, officially,” AJ said, and then added, “since I suppose the Public Garden doesn’t really count.”
His response earned him a grin from Kalen, but only a mute stare from Albane.
He looked back at Nicolora. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, but first, take a seat. This is not an oral exam, AJ.”
He slid into an open chair next to Briggs. “What do those titles mean? RS:Physical and RS:Social?”
“RS:Physical is our shorthand for a Physical Resource. Think of Kalen as a Navy SEAL, an illusionist, and a professional stuntman all rolled into one. RS:Social means Social Resource. What RS:Physicals do with their bodies, RS:Socials do with their minds. Albane is equal parts psychologist, linguist, actress, and human polygraph machine. In addition to Socials and Physicals, we have many other resources in the Tank: Coordinators, Legals, Medicals, Technicals, Chemicals, and the list goes on.”
“Oh, then if that’s the case, what am I? I mean, what Resource am I?”
Nicolora turned to Briggs.
“Jack, you’ve kept our young hire in the dark, I see. Like a mushroom,” he admonished playfully, and then turned back to AJ. “You are our newest RS:Bio, or Microbiology Resource. Of course, our expectations for you go way beyond the confines of microbiology.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think of yourself as a graduate student in a lab coat. Maybe even as a budding scientist. We don’t. Your achievements, your interests, and your natural skills are all elements of a picture you’ve painted in your mind—a mental self-portrait that your psyche has become quite comfortable with. The frame of that picture is a boundary. Subconsciously, it limits you. You don’t look outside the frame, because that’s just wall space, and the picture inside the frame is what is interesting to you. We don’t have these constraints. We’re going to extract the canvas from the frame, and we’re going to stretch it. We’re going to expose the edges, and start painting there too. If you let that happen, you may surprise yourself. Your self-portrait will change, become more vibrant, and more interesting. The boundaries you’ve set for yourself in your mind will suddenly be visible; they will become lines that you desire to cross.”
“What if I don’t change, or can’t change like you want me to?”
“Change is inevitable, AJ. To fight it is like carrying buckets of water back up a waterfall.”
“What, then, do you expect from me?”
“Nothing more than what you should expect from yourself. Nothing more than what we expect from every person employed in this organization. The Tank is a meritocracy. Put another way, we offer no tenure here. It is not academia. The more capable you prove yourself to be, the more responsibility and opportunity you will be given. The more meaningful your contribution to the team, the more meaningful your compensation will become. The day you stop making a meaningful contribution is the day you will find this facility closed to you.”
AJ nodded and tried to take it all in stride. Nicolora’s speech sounded more like a threat than a “welcome to the team” pep talk.
“Since you mention the facility,” AJ said, glancing behind him, “the front door of this building says The Nicolora Foundation, but you referred to this place as The Think Tank.” He looked around the room, inviting anyone to answer. “I had the impression from the local media that the Nicolora Foundation was a nonprofit trying to solve world hunger and stuff like that. From what I’ve seen today, it seems more like a covert office of the CIA. Am I being recruited by the CIA?”
“No. This is not the CIA. The intricacies of our organization will be made clear to you later,” Briggs said.
AJ did not want to look the fool again, but he was equally afraid this might be his only opportunity for straight talk with the Principal Director for a very long time.
“To be frank, sir, today has not been anything like what I expected. I assumed that I was being recruited for a biotech firm involved in hush-hush government contracts, but that does not appear to be the case. If you could humor me for a moment and tell me exactly what this company does, it would go a long way in calming my nerves.”
Nicolora laughed. “It’s very simple—we solve problems that others cannot. Every Think Tank employee is a specialized, highly trained expert in his or her field. Unlike most companies, where experts are tasked to work with like-minded individuals on a single project for months or even years, we operate differently. We have adopted a model where the ‘best-of-the-best’ are combined into cross-functional teams that exist only until the assignment is complete. When a job is done, the experts are reshuffled into new teams and assigned to different problems. Resources are maximized. Great minds are kept fresh.”
“I thought the Nicolora Foundation was a not-for-profit organization full of PhDs and social scientists working to solve the world’s social and environmental problems?”
“It is, and we are,” said Nicolora. “You are free to take a tour of the Foundation at anytime. The people working on Level 2 do commendable work. I would stack my Foundation up against the RAND Corporation or the Cato Institute any day of the week. But you weren’t recruited to work for the Foundation.”
“Okay, then who do I work for?”
“You work for me.”
AJ was tempted to speak, but held his tongue. The whole cloak-and-dagger routine was clearly a charade that everyone he’d met thus far seemed hell bent on playing. He felt like a kindergartner in a game of keep-away on the playground, except he was the poor oaf chasing a ball he would never be permitted to catch. It was pointless.
“I didn’t answer your question, did I?”
“With all due respect, no sir, you didn’t,” AJ replied. “Why all the secrecy? Why the James Bond gadget lab in the basement? Why run a business that you conceal from the world? This place seems more like a covert branch of the government than a thin
k tank.”
Nicolora clasped his hands together. He inhaled and stared at AJ with narrowed eyes. Then, he began.
“Throughout recorded history there have been many great leaders. Kings and queens, prophets and saints, chiefs and generals, presidents and prime ministers. Some leaders are benevolent, others not. Some are motivated by power, some by greed, some by doctrine, and others by righteousness. Some are celebrated, and many are despised. Regardless of the unique mark they leave on history, all leaders have one thing in common. They do not lead alone. Behind every leader stands a cast of advisors and confidants whose influence and counsel quietly shapes the world. These men and women are the unsung heroes of legend and lore, and these men and women are we.”
AJ pondered the power of Nicolora’s words.
“You see AJ, the notion of a think tank is nothing new. Think tanks have existed as long as governance itself. Oh, maybe not in name, but certainly in practice. What chief had not a council, what king no court, what president no cabinet? Through the millennia, we have been called mystics, wise men, advisors, mentors, counselors, and even apostles—whatever the name, our charter has remained unchanged: to provide information, options, and guidance to those who make the decisions that shape the lives of men. It is a daunting task. It is a duty that should fall only on the most worthy and capable of minds.”
“Still, why operate in secrecy?”
“Many reasons, but I’ll give you the top three. Because our services are primarily solicited by entities who demand secrecy. Because our embedded resources’ effectiveness is directly proportional to their anonymity. And most importantly, because our operation would be viewed as a terrible threat by some who maintain positions of power in government and industry.”
“And the field agents?”
“AJ. Don’t disappoint me by asking questions you should already know the answer to,” Nicolora chastised. “Why do you think we have resources trained to operate in the field?”
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