Anaz-Voohri (32 page)

“So what’s your gripe against Carrick?" Zack finally asked of Archer.

“I wish there were only one." Archer cradled his drink and leaned back against the tan leather seat. “I think he is a very ambitious, very dangerous man.”

“Amen to that,” Dylan chimed in.

Zack wanted to know more and chose to play the Devil’s Advocate. “He’s doing his job, isn’t he?”

“He’s overzealous…" Archer searched for words. “Some would say obsessed with this hybrid hunt.”

Zack shrugged. “That’s nothing new, but you have specific reasons to hate him?”

Archer closed his fist and spit the words. “The son-of-a-bitch traced an old girlfriend of mine, and had her executed.”

The realization that Carrick could be so bold confirmed Zack’s fears. He took a sip of the smooth alcohol before asking, “When did that happen? Why?”

“He labeled her as a hybrid." Archer twirled the scotch in his glass. “I can swear to God that she never had any dealings with the Anaz-voohri.”

Zack needed to understand Carrick’s motives. “Was she really a hybrid?”

“Unfortunately for her, the DNA test came back inconclusive, so we’ll never know for sure." Archer sighed as he stared down at his glass.
“To think that she was identified in my own lab, no less.
I didn’t know it was her. Carrick used a fake name on the sample. When I found out, I tried to warn her but she didn’t answer my call. So I rushed to her place... too late.”

“She was dead?" Zack understood Archer’s grief.

“Not just dead." Archer glanced up and winced. “She’d been tortured horribly.”

“That really sucks, man." Dylan downed his drink and poured another. “No wonder you hate the guy’s guts.”

“That’s not all…" Archer hesitated, looking around, as if expecting someone to spy on them at twenty-five thousand feet. “I think he had something to do with Janine Grant’s death, and he is right now consoling the daughter after ordering the mother’s murder. The man is a monster.”

Zack had no problem believing Archer’s story. “And what happened between you and President Grant for him to cast you out? Why does he hate you so much? Weren’t you close friends at one time?”

“Our families were close." Archer gazed at Zack and Dylan, as if wondering how much to tell them. “When his daughter Tierney was fifteen, she had a big crush on me. I ignored it, so she started flirting with Carrick in hopes to make me jealous. But she was just a kid, a pretty girl, but a kid.”

Zack remembered Carrick coming back from Washington, telling him the Senator’s daughter was flirting with him. “She never really liked him?" Zack took comfort in that knowledge.

“I don’t think so." Archer’s voice was barely audible over the soft whirr of the jets. He cleared his throat. “A few days later, she hit on me and kissed me smack on the mouth. I was so shocked, I didn’t react fast enough, and her father walked in on us before I could get her off me." Archer glanced up, checking the effect of his words. “Grant banned me from his house, forbade me to see Tierney, and I can’t blame him. As a father, I would have done the exact same thing.”

“Wow! That’s heavy, man!" Dylan’s black gaze glittered with sunset gold.

Archer rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But seeing Carrick pulling the wool over Tierney’s eyes and planning to marry her for political reasons makes me sick." He sighed. “To me, she is still a child, and I wish I could protect her from that creep.”

“I hear you." Since it was the hour of truth, Zack couldn’t think of a better time to ask Dylan. “Did you ever come across hybrids,
who
had nothing to do with the Anaz-voohri?”

Dylan flashed a devilish grin.
“Yep.”

Zack knew it.
“Me, too.
What do you do in that case?”

“I ignore them, man. They’re innocent!" Dylan gazed into his empty glass. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”

“Glad to hear you say it, though." Zack raised his drink in a toast. “I’ve been doing the same thing all along.”

Dylan chuckled nervously.
“Sweet!”

“Wait a minute." Archer seemed deeply disturbed. “If not all hybrids are guilty of aiding the Anaz-voohri, then the DNA test doesn’t prove anything.”

“I agree." Zack definitely liked Archer’s reasoning. “Because people are different doesn’t make them evil.”

Archer slammed his glass on the low table. “We have to stop these senseless killings.”

“Good luck explaining that to Carrick." Zack shook his head. “Something tells me he doesn’t want to hear it. I’m afraid he just doesn’t care.”

Dylan lost his smile. “I don’t think anyone can stop him. As the head of ORION, whatever he says goes.”

“We have to find a way." Zack feared Tia’s life might be in danger. “How can we make sure he doesn’t abuse his power?”

Archer stared at Zack and Dylan in turn. “I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while, and I have an idea, but you may not like it.”

“Shoot,” Dylan blurted out.

Zack only nodded, steeling himself. Whatever the solution offered, something told him it wouldn’t be easy.

Leaning forward, Archer lowered his voice. “After I landed that huge contract with the Global Government for the Lemnian Armor, my company went public and soared financially. I find myself owning an ungodly amount of money."

Dylan whistled.

Archer offered an apologetic smile. “Haepheon Technologies is on autopilot and I don’t need to be here as much. I could just retire and spend the rest of my days enjoying my fortune, but something tells me I can do better. Besides, I’m still too young to retire.”

Zack kept his voice low despite the total privacy. “What do you propose?”

“Just think." Archer leaned back and crossed his legs. “What would it take to keep ORION in check, to exert enough pressure to make them watch their steps?”

“Show up before they do on every hybrid call?" Zack’s mind started to race. “That would require gathering intelligence, spies,
a
small army with lots of muscle... State of the art weaponry... swat teams... choppers...”

Archer nodded. “Keep going... The latest body armor, a secret base of operations...”

The picture took form in Zack’s mind. “Are you serious? You have a lot to lose by organizing a private militia against the global government.”

“Much better than a militia."
Archer seemed to enjoy sharing his concept. “I’m talking ultra secret organization, highly trained secret agents, possibly even super-soldiers... I’m talking about enrolling sympathetic hybrids, the works.”

“This is huge..." Dylan’s dark eyes lit up. “But I like where this is going.”

“Don’t be so gung ho about it." Zack chuckled. He did appreciate Dylan’s enthusiasm. “You might regret your words in the morning. This constitutes high treason. We could lose our heads if we are caught, literally.”

Archer reclined his seat further. “Not if we keep one step ahead of ORION at all times.”

“Why not just get rid of Carrick?" Dylan’s words came out slightly slurred.

Archer scoffed. “Can you imagine the kind of investigation we’d have to deal with? If Carrick was murdered or disappeared, ORION wouldn’t give up until they found out who was responsible. We’d all end up dead.

“Forget I said that." Dylan’s face registered awe, and maybe a hint of fear.

“Would we still be working for ORION?" Zack realized that working against ORION while remaining close to Carrick would require skills and courage.

“Only for a while."
Archer smiled. “Then we could plant other moles inside, or tap their computer network to get information. All we need is the right people to do the job." Archer stared at his two friends. “What do you think?”

“Money makes men brave." Zack wondered how he could leave ORION without arousing suspicion. But his conscience showed him the way. Between a schizophrenic killer and a compassionate, intelligent man, he didn’t hesitate. “I’m with you. I can’t stand working for this madman any longer.”

“If Zack is in, then I’m in, too." Dylan slammed his glass, spilling a little.

“That’s good." Archer winked. “Otherwise I’d have to kill you both.”

Dylan’s smile vanished.

Just then, the fasten seatbelts sign chimed and blinked.

“We are over La Guardia." Archer straightened his seat and buckled up. “I know exactly the kind of place we need for our base of operations.
 
If you have time right now, I’d love to show it to you.”

Night had fallen during the short flight and the plane landed smoothly. A white truck brought the pneumatic stairs with clear-view cover and fit them over the open hatch. When Zack stepped out and climbed down the stairs, Archer’s limo waited on the tarmac.

The three friends remained quiet during the ride into the city, and Zack thought about the enormity of what he was about to do. Go against the establishment? Betray Carrick and ORION? No, Carrick himself had betrayed Zack and many others, and Zack was following the only righteous path, even if it meant going underground.

The limo dropped them off at the Haepheon Technologies glass tower, where Archer lived in a penthouse on the rooftop. The labs and offices were closed for the night, but the guard in the lobby recognized Archer and let the three men in.

Once in the elevator, Archer, ignoring the panel, punched a code on his epad and the elevator went down.

“Underground?" Zack noticed the elevator panel mentioned no level below the lobby.

Archer offered an enigmatic smile. “You’ll see.”

The elevator door opened on a blank metal wall. When Archer punched another code on his epad, the steel wall moved aside, exposing a dark cavernous room. One more remote command flooded the underground space with fluorescent light.

Archer stepped out of the elevator. “I call it the bunker. It’s undetectable and entirely shielded by the newest technology." The voice echoed through the empty space.

“Wow!" Dylan followed hesitantly.

Zack thought this very large space had real possibilities. “Why don’t you use it for the business?”

“Initially it was built as a vault for storing cash and secret archives, but electronic banking and electronic files made it obsolete." Archer walked further inside. “The lack of windows would be too depressing for the staff. Natural light makes for healthier working conditions.”

Zack’s military training took over as his mind adjusted to the idea. “Who else knows about this place? Are there any other exits?”

“No one knows about it but me and now the two of you. And yes, there are very discreet and secure exits, on some underground back alleys that communicate with abandoned subway tunnels, and other sewage and maintenance tunnels. It’s like Swiss cheese underneath the city.”

“Awesome! What do we do next?" Dylan danced on the smooth concrete floor.

“Let’s go to the penthouse and talk about the specifics." Archer stepped into the elevator, followed by Zack and Dylan. He pressed keys on his epad, closing the door,
then
he pressed the top floor button on the elevator pad.

Excited about the possibilities, Zack couldn’t believe things were going that fast. Archer must have been thinking about this for months.
Smart man.
“We’ll need computers, too.”

“But first, we have to recruit the right people,” Archer said over the whoosh of the super fast lift. “And I can get the best experts money can buy.”

Zack almost choked. “You want to go through an official agency?”

“Not exactly.
But the right ad, in the right magazine could bring us the people we want.”

The door opened on a lavish penthouse duplex with Italian marble floors, Greek statues, and double story cathedral windows. Outside on the roof, garden lights enhanced flower beds and shrubbery. Reflections danced on the surface of a swimming pool with a Jaccuzzi at the far end.

Dylan whistled. “Nice pad. Looks like a Greek temple.”

“Thanks." Archer indicated the burgundy leather couch in the sunken living-room.
“Chivas anyone?”

Zack smiled. He’d recovered from his drink on the plane, but the crazy night ahead might require a little push.
“Why not?”

Dylan nodded. “Keep them coming.”

“So what magazine should we target?" Zack still wasn’t sure about using a magazine ad.

Dylan sat down.
“Lots of guys in the military read
Soldier of Fortune.
”

Archer brought a bottle of Chivas and three crystal goblets. “That’s one, but there are many similar publications." He started pouring.

“So what should the ad say?" Zack couldn’t believe he was doing this. “I’m creating an anti-government militia. I pay better than them, come work for me?”

“Maybe something a little more subtle."
Archer set the bottle on the table and took a leather chair facing the couch.
“Something that would not alert Carrick’s watchdogs.”

“You mean use a code?" Dylan frowned. “How’d that work?”

“Codes are not reliable and Carrick’s men know them all." Archer took a sip. “We need unusual soldiers, smart and educated, who can think for themselves, question authority, and read between the lines. I suggest we encrypt the message with Greek Mythology.”