Assassin (The Billionaire Series) (5 page)

Tom listened as the whispering and the sound of paper
shuffling stopped. He stepped back expecting the door to open but nothing
happened. There was just complete silence. Just as he thought his father had
found another way out of the study, he heard a dull thud followed by a loud
metallic click. Soon after, the study door opened.

“Hi, Tom, what’s up?” asked Donald casually, as though the
last two minutes had never happened.

“Hmmm, nothing,” said Tom as he strained to see past his
father.

“Hi Saki,” he said as he saw Saki sitting on the study’s sofa.

 
“Oh hi Tom, how
are you?” responded Saki a little more nervously.

“Good thanks, just wondering whether you two will be joining
us for dinner? It’ll be our last meal together before the Christmas hols you
know.”

“Of course, we were just finishing off a few bits and pieces,
we’ll be down in a second.”

“OK,” replied Tom gloomily. He wasn’t used to being kept in
the dark and he was now sure something was going on. He made his way back down
to the kitchen.

As he walked in, four expectant faces looked beyond him and
their smiles faded.

“Didn’t you find them?” asked Rachel.

“Yes I did,” replied Tom.

“And?” asked Lela.

“They’ll be down soon.”

“Well that’s just not good enough,” said Lela whose voice rose
as her anger stirred. She had hardly seen her father in a month and the least
he could do was spend some quality time with them before they left for school.

“Are they in the study?”

“Yes,” said Tom as he was barged out of the way by a now very
angry Lela.

“I’ll get them,” she said as she stormed off.

“I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes,” mumbled Kisho.

“We know better than to upset our little Lela,” said Kano.

“Yep, she’s quite scary when she gets going,” said Kisho.

“Well that’s because Mum taught her everything she knows,”
mumbled Tom under his breath. Kano and Kisho stifled a laugh as Rachel glowered
at Tom.

“What was that Tom?” she snapped.

“Nothing, nothing at all Mum,” replied a sheepish Tom.

Two minutes later and escorted by a triumphant Lela, Donald
and Saki were marched into the kitchen.

“Hi guys,” said Donald as he took his seat.

“Well at last,” said Rachel. “We can start our meal. What have
you two been up to?”

“Just finalising the plans for the Africa trip,” replied
Donald innocently.

Tom almost choked on his drink. He had never seen his father
lie so nonchalantly to his mother. It was nonetheless a very clever lie. Donald
had organised a week away from the business to help support Rachel in her
contribution towards eradicating unnecessary child deaths in impoverished
African states. Rachel was so pleased with his support that she didn’t query any
of his plans.

“Oh, good. Everything OK?” she asked nervously.

“Of course! We leave tomorrow night, as planned.”

“Anyway, tonight’s about Tom and Lela, not us. Back to school
tomorrow, I can’t believe the holidays are over so soon!” said Donald.

“I know, it feels like just last week that we were on our way
home but it was ten weeks ago, it’s unbelievable!” said Tom.

“I only wish term time went by as fast as holiday time,” said
Lela who had now calmed down.

“If we could crack that, we’d make a lot of money,” joked
Donald.

It was midnight before they realised the time. The evening,
after its shaky start, had been great fun. The old Donald and Saki were back,
laughing and joking as the family reminisced about Tom and Lela’s first year at
The Academy. Nobody mentioned the events that had marred their first two weeks
at school. It was not that they didn’t want to discuss the kidnapping of
Donald, Rachel and Saki, or the fact that Tom and Lela narrowly escaped the
clutches of terrorists who were attempting to prevent Donald from completing a
deal which would make him the richest man in the world. They didn’t discuss it
because it was just not appropriate the night before they went back to school.

“I think perhaps it’s time for bed guys,” said Donald looking
at his watch.

“Aw, can’t we stay up just a little longer,” pleaded Tom. This
was the first quality time they had spent together the whole summer.

“No, come on it’s after twelve and we’ve got an early start.”

“Please, Donald, just another half hour,” tried Lela in her
most pleading tone.

“No, Donald’s right. Time for bed,” butted in Saki as he saw
Donald begin to soften. Her mother had definitely left her mark on Lela,
Tylanni would always get what she wanted and Saki was now used to Lela’s wily
ways.

Five minutes later, after their goodnights, Tom and Lela made
their way to their rooms.

“I’d forgotten how much fun Dad and Saki could be,” said Tom.

“Yeah, I’ve really missed them, it’s good to have them back.”

“Me too but I’ve got a funny feeling they’ll be back to their
strange behaviour tomorrow.”

“Do you have
any
idea what’s wrong?” asked Lela.

“None whatsoever and I’m starting to get worried. I wish
school was starting in another couple of weeks. I’d like to have been around to
try and find out what’s going on. Anyway, we need to get some sleep. Goodnight
Lela.”

“Goodnight,” replied Lela as she made her way back to the
Lodge.

Tom’s prediction was nearly right. As he and Lela made their
way to bed, Donald and Saki were already on their way back to the study. They had
waited only two minutes before reverting to their strange behaviour.

Chapter 8

‘Frantic’ would not begin to describe the scene at the Kennedy
Estate the next morning as everybody rushed to get ready for their respective
trips. Luggage littered the helipad as Rachel ensured everybody was prepared
for every eventuality. Finally and with twice the amount of luggage needed,
they took off and made their way to the airport.

The helicopters landed at the Alba hangar which housed Alba
One and Tom One. As Rachel and Lela ensured everybody’s suitcases were sent to
the correct plane, the others made their way into the hangar and towards the
office to meet the pilots. The office was bustling with activity as the
maintenance crew and aircraft crew finalised the flight details for each plane.
Alba One’s flight plan was more complex, particularly as it would be landing at
a number of airports which had never witnessed nor accommodated the new Airbus
A380, the largest commercial airliner. Donald had toyed with the idea of
borrowing his old 747 for the trip but Tom had told him not to be so
ridiculous, as long as a runway could accommodate a 747, it could accommodate
the new A380.

“Dad, where are the pilots for Tom One?”

Donald looked around. “Oh I’m sure they’re here somewhere.
Maybe they’re checking over the charts for the flight.”

“They can’t be, the charts are all lying here and haven’t been
touched.”

“Jim?” said Donald , addressing the pilot for the A380.

“Yes Sir?”

“Have you seen the pilots for the G550?”

“No, I haven’t. What time were they due?”

“They should’ve been here by now. We’re all leaving at the
same time,” said Donald checking his watch.

“Oh,” said Jim.

“We’ll go and see if we can find them,” offered Kano and
Kisho, disappearing out of the office.

Tom began looking over the charts as he waited for the pilots
to appear. They had plenty of time. In fact, they had a couple of days to
spare. Donald had suggested they leave early and have the week-end to
acclimatise before starting school on the Monday. Tom thought it was just some
BS so that they would all leave at the same time. In this way, their parents
wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving for their African adventure the day before
he and Lela were due to go back to school.

Kano came back into the office.

“It’s Ok, we found the pilot, he was already in the aircraft.”

As Kano stepped aside, a pilot dressed in full uniform
appeared in the doorway with his head tipped forward, obscuring his face behind
the rim of his cap. As he entered the room, his head lifted to reveal a smiling
Kisho.

 
“Stop fooling
around, Kisho, where’s the pilot?” Tom wasn’t in the mood for jokes and looked
in the main hangar for any sign of the real flight crew.

“I’m the pilot,” replied Kisho proudly.

“Don’t be silly, you fly helicopters, not jets,” dismissed
Tom.

“No, I
am
the
pilot,” replied Kisho indignantly. “I’ve been learning to fly one of those for
quite a while now,” he added, motioning to the G550.

“Really? …Wicked!!” said Tom excitedly. “So where’s the
co-pilot?”

Nobody replied and after a nod from Donald, Kisho produced
another jacket and cap from behind the door and handed them to Tom. Tom just
looked at them bewildered.

“Take them, you’ll need them to be co-pilot,” said Donald.

“But I can’t be, I’m not 17, it’s not allowed,” replied Tom.

“Let’s just say I have a few friends who made it possible,”
explained Donald as he produced Tom’s new flying licence.

“Cool!!!” shouted Tom as he took the jacket and cap, trying
them on immediately.

Chapter 9

The phone buzzed and was answered before the end of the first
ring.

“Yes,” answered Beaumont.

“We’ve just received confirmation that they’ve taken off. We
have their flight plans but we’ll track them as well just to make sure there
are no last minute changes.”

“Excellent. How’s everything else?”

“Lets just say Equatorial Guinea is not the easiest place to
work in. The Guinean President, Benga, is a certifiable madman and control
freak. He wants to know everything we’re doing, every second of the day.”

“I’ll have a word with him and remind him who’s boss. He rules
at our pleasure. You won’t have any more problems with him. Anything else?”

“No, everything is on schedule. The ‘accident’ will happen
tonight as planned and we’re just finishing the paintwork on the borrowed Migs.”

“Excellent and remember, failure is not an option.”

“I’m well aware of that, you don’t need to keep reminding me,”
irritation crept into the Commander’s voice. He had only recently been
transferred to work with this ‘younger man’. The Commander was unaware of
Beaumont’s identity, he was just a voice from whom he took orders. Previously
he had worked for The Chairman, known to him only as ‘the boss’, but he had
been asked to move over to Beaumont and take a number of his best men with him
for a short secondment. He was naturally disappointed with this apparent
demotion but an order was an order. The boss had noted his disappointment and
emphasised it was only because he was so good at his job that he was being
transferred. He needed his best commanders for a very special operation being
run by the ‘younger man’.

The Commander’s name was Smith and like every member of the
Committee’s small and ultra secret army, his name was a pseudonym. All previous
names, backgrounds and records were permanently erased on selection to this
very special force. It was a truly multi-national force. Recruiters scoured the
world to select the best candidates. Each candidate was observed for a period
of time and only once the recruiters were truly convinced that they were right
for the secret army, would the recruitment process begin. The process could
take anything up to a year, with various tasks and tests being carried out on
the individual. Only when they proved their complete and total allegiance, could
an offer be made. The offer, of course, made no reference to The Committee. In
fact, as far as each member of the secret army knew, they were still employed
by their own country’s armed forces, only at a higher level. They all thought
they had joined a top secret multi-national force which operated beyond the
limits within which their governments could legally operate. Their training
conditioned them to believe that the most obscure tasks had global
repercussions and although they may seem bizarre, they were all designed to
protect the national security of their own countries, if not directly,
indirectly. With these beliefs, the soldiers carried out the most heinous
crimes - assassinations, torture, bombings and many other horrors without
question. Of course, one of the criteria for selection was a propensity for
violence. They had found over the years that this made for a much more obedient
soldier. However, the ultimate criterion was that there was no turning back.
The real identity of each member of the secret army ceased to exist after their
enlistment. Accidents were arranged, bodies and records were swapped to ensure
their histories did not follow them.
 

There were over a thousand members of the secret army
stationed across the world, trained to perfection and armed with the latest and
most deadly weapons. Had it not been top secret, it would have been the most
talked about army in the world, overshadowing even the SAS and the Seals. The
Committee’s recruiters ensured they got the cream of the crop, only their
rejects would be available to those ‘lesser’ units.
 

 
“Apologies, it’s
just that we’ve got a lot riding on this,” recovered Beaumont.

“I understand, don’t worry, my men and I won’t let you down,”
said Smith.

“Is there anything else I can do?” asked Beaumont.

“No, everything’s in place, please just make the call to the
Guinean President and get him off our backs so we can get on with our work.”