The drive was made in total silence.
At the airport, the women climbed out and clustered together. Charles said the pilot would find them and escort them to the plane. They waited.
The voice, when it came, startled all of them. “Hurry,” was all he said. The women ran across the darkened tarmac. They were halfway up the portable stairway when they all turned as a voice came out of the darkness.
“Jack! Oh, Jack!”
“Harry! You came!”
“Hurry, hurry, girls,” Myra said. “You can canoodle onboard. Nice to see you, Jack. You, too, Harry.”
Murphy and Grady yipped their pleasure as they leaped up the stairs.
Five minutes later, the sleek silver Gulfstream lifted off into the dark night.
Their destination: a monastery on top of a mountain in Barcelona, Spain.
Epilogue
A monastery atop a mountain in Barcelona, Spain, one month later
Charles Martin looked around his new kitchen. He was preparing a celebratory dinner for his beloved ladies. As yet he hadn’t told them it was a celebratory dinner. He was saving that to go along with the dessert.
They were chattering, the settling-in period was now over. The month-long adjustment period was a prologue now and they were restless. He could see that restlessness in their faces. Understandably so. He himself was chomping at the bit to get back into the swing of things. They wanted to know what, if anything, was coming next. Well, he was just the one to tell them. He looked over at Myra and smiled. She wiggled her eyebrows and winked at him. He felt himself flush. Myra had such power over him. He continued to watch her smile as her hands went to the pearls he’d had restrung one week after her arrival.
Brash and blunt as always, Kathryn Lucas poked a finger in Charles’s direction. “You know something, don’t you? Come on, Charles, don’t make us wait. At least give us a hint, a clue to sink our teeth into. For starters, who are all those people out there in the compound that came up on the cable car? What are all those buildings that are being constructed going to be used for?”
“All in good time, my dear,” Charles said.
Kathryn pretended to pout but it didn’t last. It was hard for all of them to be anything but happy on this beautiful mountaintop with the golden sunshine bathing them in its glow. The wildflowers that looked like rainbows, the sea down below, in this fortress where they were safer than they’d ever been.
“Charles, it’s two hours till dinner. Let’s go to the war room and talk,” Nikki said. “It’s cruel to keep us in suspense like this.”
Charles laughed. He knew this was going to happen. He gave in gracefully, and said, “Where are the boys?”
“Perfecting their tennis game.” Nikki laughed. “Neither one of them has taken a vacation, a true vacation in over ten years. They’re living it up these days.”
“You better call them if you want them at our meeting.”
Kathryn opened the kitchen door and said to Murphy, “Go get Jack and Harry.”
Both dogs raced off. Jack was always good for a treat and Harry was an expert belly rubber.
“Gentlemen, follow us,” Charles said as he led the way out of the kitchen, down a corridor to a massive mahogany door with a steel insert. The heavy door opened at a touch of a finger, moved soundlessly, and then closed just as soundlessly when the last man walked through. Jack was the last man.
The air here in this part of the catacombs was damp but not unpleasant. The stone steps were dry, the air quality normal. The area was well lighted.
This was the first time the sisters had been down here. Even though they’d begged and pleaded, Charles had been adamant. All he would say was, “When it’s ready, you will be the first people to see the room.” Excitement was at an all-time high.
Harry Wong looked at Jack, who shrugged. This was a first for both of them, too. His glance seemed to say…When in Rome…
Another massive set of doors opened. Kathryn was at the front of the line behind Charles. First she gasped. “Holy shit! We’re home, girls! Look! This is just what we left in Pinewood!” The others brushed past her, their eyes wide and incredulous. Myra and Annie smiled from ear to ear. Harry and Jack looked like they were in shock.
“Welcome to Barcelona, ladies and gentlemen. Please, take your seats.”
“So this is what you’ve been doing for the past year and a half,” Alexis said, looking around at the room.
“It’s different in the sense that the equipment has been updated. There’s nothing we can’t do here. Before we get down to business, I’d like to update all of you on what’s happening back in the States. For starters, you’re all fugitives. The authorities aren’t quite sure what to call Jack and Harry. That appears to be an ongoing situation. The rest of you, myself included, are fugitives with a price on our heads.”
“How much? How much?” Kathryn demanded.
“Ten million each. I think that’s just for publicity purposes, and to sell more papers and magazines. It’s unclear who would pay that much money to catch you all. Regardless, there is a price.”
“Well, damn!” Kathryn said.
“Judge Easter, who we can never thank enough, is fine. She’s not been tied to us in any way. Miss Fox is fine also. Mr. Michael Lyons and his associates are in prison. There are no precise details. The press and the government are keeping all that information close to their vests. At some point there will be a trial. Then again, there might not be a trial if the men get snuffed out while incarcerated, which is what I think the authorities are hoping for. Needless to say, Hollywood is making no comment. This is where I have to ask Yoko if she feels she’s been avenged. Yoko?”
“Yes. My mother can now rest in peace. I, too, am content with the resolution. I wish to thank all of you for helping me.”
Charles stepped down from the bank of computers to approach the table. He stood behind Myra, one hand on her shoulder, the other hand holding a batch of papers. He looked around, delaying the moment as long as he could until Nikki literally screeched at him. “What, Charles?”
“I have here in my hand a stack of invitations.”
The women all groaned. Jack and Harry looked at one another and shrugged.
“Ladies, ladies, these are not invitations to some tea party we are going to RSVP to. These are invitations requesting your services. They’re from all over the world. I might add there is even one here from my own government. For money, ladies!”
“Hired guns?” Jack asked.
“Hired minds,” Charles said.
“Are we going to do it?” Isabelle asked.
“That’s up to all of you. But…If you vote to do this, you must train. You’ve got to be fit, at the top of your game. You’ve all made a start by learning the language of this country. You will be learning other languages as well. In short, ladies and gentlemen, you are going back to school for one full year. Commando school. Those buildings being constructed outdoors are going to be your training quarters.”
“Oh, my God!” Alexis said. “Do I have to learn to climb a rope and roll around in the mud and jump through tires? I saw that in a movie.”
Charles smiled. “The answer is yes! If you vote to continue, I will respond to all these invitations and put our new clients on a wait list. How say you all?”
No one stopped to think or weigh Charles’s words. Nine hands shot in the air.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me be the first to welcome you to Hide and Seek, and our next mission. One year from today. Welcome aboard!”
Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2007 by Fern Michaels. Published by arrangement with Severn House Publishers, Lt
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