04 The Edge of Darkness (6 page)

ELEVEN

EUGENE SIMPSON PACKED the last piece of luggage into the trunk. He closed the lid of the ebony Mercedes and used his coat sleeve to polish off his fingerprints. He wanted everything to look perfect. His boss was a real stickler for details and hated to ride in a car that was the least bit dirty.

Simpson had a primo job as driver for Shane Barrington, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. It paid extremely well and he did not want to lose it. He snapped to attention and opened the door when Barrington came down from his penthouse.

The huge athletic frame of his boss was imposing, to say the least. That, along with his high cheekbones, thin lips, and flint-gray eyes
sent chills down Simpson’s spine. He knew that his employer did not appreciate small talk and had zero tolerance for weakness of any kind.

“Where would you like to go, Mr. Barrington?”

“To the airport, Eugene.”

A half hour later, Simpson parked the Mercedes next to a Gulfstream IV jet owned by Barrington Communications. He unloaded the luggage and put it on board.

“Eugene, I’ll be back on Thursday. I don’t know what time. Call the airport for our time of arrival.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be here.”

Simpson let out a long sigh as he watched the Gulfstream taxi down the runway and take off.

The flight to Zurich gave Barrington time to think. Maybe too much time. His mind began to drift back to Stephanie. He hadn’t thought that he would miss her as much as he did. He laid his head back on the leather seat, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. But sleep would not come.

Instead, he kept reliving that day. His assistant Melissa had come running into his office.

“Mr. Barrington, Mr. Barrington, did you see the latest news flash?”

“What are you talking about, Melissa?”

“Look, I’ll turn on the news.
”

“This is Mark Hadley reporting for BNN. I am standing outside of the apartment building of Stephanie Kovacs, a former investigative reporter for Barrington Communications and Network News. Our information is sketchy at this time, but initial reports indicate that her throat was slit early this morning by an unknown assailant.”

Barrington gritted his teeth. He knew it was Talon that had killed her, and that the order came from the Seven. His stomach tightened with raw hatred and a longing for revenge. But just how would he be able to do it?

He was jarred back to reality when the plane hit some turbulence.

The Seven were so powerful that Barrington wasn’t sure if he could ever avenge Stephanie’s death. But he desperately longed to see all seven of them with their throats slit, to watch them die in the same way they had murdered Stephanie.

The twisting mountain road into the Alps was wet with a fresh ram. The gray and overcast sky mirrored Barrington’s mood.

Why do they always have to send that creepy, sallow-skinned chauffeur without a tongue to pick me up? Oh well, at least I don’t have to listen to some idle chatter
.

The closer he got to the castle, the more apprehensive he felt.

Come on, Barrington. Get it together. Never let your opponent know that you are afraid. Remember what General Patton said:
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

As the limousine rounded one of the turns, Barrington saw the castle in the distance. Ever since he had first laid eyes on the castle, he thought it looked like an evil gargoyle, a cancer growing on the mountainside.

The closer they came, the more he could see of the massive granite walls holding up spiked turrets. Candlelight danced behind several of the ancient leaded windows.

This would be the perfect place to film a horror movie
.

The chauffeur opened the giant wrought-iron door of the castle and Barrington crossed the large entry hall. The flickering light of a dozen torches lit up the hallway that led to a large steel door.

As Barrington approached, the door made a hissing sound and opened, allowing him to step into the elevator. Once inside, it hissed shut. The elevator automatically began its descent into the deep recesses of the castle.

Next stop, hell
, he thought.

The doors hissed open and Barrington stepped into the medieval gloom that was the meeting place for the Seven. As his eyes adjusted to the dim lights he could see the familiar chair he always sat in. It was ornately carved with gargoyles on the arms. A light shone down upon it.

There’s the hot seat
.

His eyes shifted to the table that was about twenty feet in front of the chair. It was covered with a bloodred cloth that hung down to the floor. Seated behind it were seven high-backed carved chairs and the silhouettes of the seven members waiting for him.

“It’s good to see you are punctual, Mr. Barrington. Last time you were late,” said John Bartholomew. “Did you have a pleasant trip?”

Barrington wanted to throw up. None of them cared about his welfare. They were just using him.

“Of course,” he said with a forced grin on his face. “Always a pleasure to be with you again.”

Two can play at this game
, he thought.

“We’re glad you feel that way. Today we want to discuss with you a very important project. We want your media organizations to promote an up-and-coming individual by the name of Constantine De La Rosa.”

“Who? I’ve never heard of him before.”

“He is a very religious man who will unify the various religions of the world.”

That will be the day
, Barrington thought.

“Underneath your chair is the first of many announcements to come. We want you to print it in your magazines, talk about it on the radio, and produce special television programs about him. We want to introduce him to the entire world and we feel the best way is through your media companies.”

Barrington reached under his chair and picked up a manila envelope containing a news release.

Dr. De La Rosa has also announced that the Religious Harmony Institute will be establishing Harmony Centers on every continent. Also planned are Youth Harmony Programs for children eighteen years of age and younger. Along with the Harmony Centers, the University of Unity will begin operation within a year. This school is intended to attract students from around the globe who want to dedicate their lives to world unity.

Dr. De La Rosa is also suggesting that each nation adopt a new national holiday. It will be called World Unity Day. A second holiday to consider would be World Year of Thanksgiving. For further information, please contact the Religious Harmony Institute at the following address: 18 Unity Boulevard, Rome, Italy, or visit our website at
www.religiousharmony.com
.

TWELVE

MURPHY ENTERED the Out West Steak House at 6:00
P.M.
He was looking around for Levi when the hostess came up.

“May I help you, sir? Would you like a table?”

“Yes, a table for two. I’m meeting a friend.”

“Your name?”

“Murphy.”

As she jotted his name down on the wait list, Murphy saw Abrams waving from the other side of the restaurant.

“Excuse me. I see that my friend has already arrived.”

The hostess smiled and nodded and proceeded to cross off his name from her list.

As Murphy approached the table, the six-foot-five Israeli greeted
him with a big grin and a warm embrace. “It’s great to see you, Michael,” he said as they sat down.

“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you, Levi.” He tapped his temple. “There’s hardly any scar at all from the bullet.”

“No, I was very fortunate. They told me later that you saved my life.”

“You know what that means? According to Asian tradition, you now become my servant for the rest of your life.”

They both laughed.

“Michael, help me out. I have no memory of what happened in the warehouse after I was shot. All I remember is waking up in the hospital at Et Taiyiba.”

Murphy’s mind quickly flashed back.

“Well, we were in the warehouse looking for Talon and his men. They started firing at us with handguns. Then one of Talon’s goons fired an RPG at the warehouse from a building across the street. The front of the building went up in flames, then you caught a bullet and it was lights out.”

“The last thing I remember was the fire.”

“I was in a different aisle, behind some boxes, pinned down by their gunfire. Un had crawled up to you and was checking for a pulse when a second RPG went off behind Un. His body protected you from the blast. He was killed instantly.”

Murphy paused as an expression of guilt and sadness crossed Levi’s face. This was his first true glimpse into the events of that day.

“He was a good friend.”

Murphy nodded. “There was nothing I could do for Uri. You were bloody but still breathing. By that time, the building was engulfed in flames. Talon and his men were gone, having taken us all for dead.”

Levi was listening intently, his eyes focused on Murphy.

“I dragged you over to where they had been firing from and found an escape tunnel. I pulled you into it, looped our belts together to create a rudimentary harness, and used it to slide you through the tunnel.”

“That must have been no easy task.”

“You’re no lightweight,” Murphy concurred. “Then there was an enormous explosion.”

“Explosion?”

“Yes. They must have wired the building to destroy any evidence or to discourage any pursuers. It collapsed part of the tunnel and pinned us both for a period of time. I was lucky to be able to dig us both out.”

“Were you injured?”

“Not badly. The claustrophobia was the worst part. The darkness, the dust … I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. I had no idea if the other end of the tunnel had collapsed, trapping us in between. All I could think about was getting you out.” That wasn’t quite true. Murphy had also realized at that moment how much he wanted to see Isis again. Levi looked at him expectantly and he continued. “After several hours we emerged into fresh air. Your bleeding had slowed, although you didn’t look so hot.” Murphy laughed. “I guess I wasn’t such a pretty sight either.”

“Where did the tunnel lead?”

“We emerged inside a building down the street. I looked out the window, back at the warehouse. It was a blackened, smoldering heap. Firefighters from Et Taiyiba were still in the street and were dousing hot spots with water. I couldn’t see any of the other members of your party. Un was dead, and Judah, Gabrielle, and Isaac were gone. I got the firefighters to call for an ambulance and I rode along with you to the hospital.”

“I don’t remember any of this.”

“At the hospital, they patched up some of my scrapes. The police came and started questioning me. That didn’t last long. Some Mossad agents took me away to another building and questioned me for a long time before letting me go. The next day I returned to the hospital to see how you were, but you were already gone, and no one had
any records that you had ever been there. I felt like I was in a spy movie.”

“You’re not far off. They took me to a special hospital that very few people in Israel know about. Once I recovered, I was sent to a safe house in South America, where I remained out of circulation for about sixty days until things quieted down. I just got back.”

“What about Judah, Gabrielle, and Isaac? What happened to them?”

Levi smiled. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

“That’s some gratitude for you,” Murphy said with a smirk. He could tell that he was getting into issues that Levi would not reveal. He let the matter drop.

Toward the end of dinner the conversation took another direction.

“Levi, I have another matter I could use your help on.”

Abrams smiled. “Well, since I’m your slave forever, how can I refuse?”

“I may have a lead on Methuselah. I found a fingerprint that might belong to him. I was wondering if you could check it out for me.”

“What about your friends at the FBI?”

“Actually, they have looked at it and came up with zilch.”

“What makes you think that I can?”

“Well, Levi, you have friends in high places. I just thought that it might be worth a try.”

“Sure, send it to me. We have access to lots of fingerprints. No guarantees, though.”

“I understand … but he’s got to make a slip someday.”