Mammon (27 page)

‘I HAVE NO
doubt that Malcolm is in the company of a high demon.' Diana looked around the conference room, where a mix of reactions met her stare.

Lucius nodded. ‘It would seem so.'

Marcus threw him an angry look. ‘There is no proof of that.'

‘From what Joe tells us, Mammon Jones is desperate to open a rift. Now we find that Malcolm has developed that ability and has since disappeared. It doesn't take much intelligence to piece this together!'

‘Sarah hasn't picked up on any rift activity,' Agatha said.

Diana ran her fingers through her hair. ‘No, but the one time we do may well be the one time that the world as we know it changes. We can't leave it too late!'

‘Don't be melodramatic,' Marcus said.

Grace scowled. ‘She's not. This is real.'

Marcus leaned back in his chair and settled a cold stare on Grace. She met his eyes for a few seconds and then turned her attention to Diana. Her heart pounded. Ivan rested his hand on her knee underneath the table. She could almost hear his voice:
Be calm, little one.

‘If we can prove that Mammon Jones is a legitimate target, other
sarsareh
orders will join us and provide support. He could be anywhere – we need our networks to help track him down.' Diana looked to her right. ‘Sarah, you and Seth do the research. Find out what you can about any alleged criminal activities – not just on his part, but concerning those in his employ. I need answers by this afternoon. Get to work.' The team filtered out of the room. Diana stood up and looked at Lucius. ‘Shall we?'

Marcus reached out and held Lucius's arm. ‘Diana, I need a private word with my brother.'

Diana gave Lucius an enquiring look.

Lucius nodded. ‘Go on. I'll meet you in the office.'

‘Right.' She closed the door behind her. ‘Ivan!' She hurried along the corridor to catch up; he, Grace and Joe were almost at the recreation room.

Grace looked at her aunt. ‘What is it?'

‘An administrative matter, dear. You and Joe go on ahead. Ivan will be with you in a moment.'

‘Oh. Okay.' Grace shot a quick look at Ivan before following Joe down the corridor. Diana waited until they disappeared into the recreation room.

‘About my niece.' She gave him a critical stare.

‘Yes?' Ivan's face was open, his posture relaxed.

‘Are you serious about her?'

‘Yes. I am.'

‘I have concerns.' Diana folded her arms and glanced around. ‘About your relationship.' She held up her hand. ‘Don't get me wrong: you're probably the one man here that I would want to see her with. You're honest, honourable and trustworthy.'

‘Thank you.'

‘But you're her commanding officer.' She began a slow walk towards the recreation room. ‘Do you think that you might find it hard to treat her as a soldier?'

Ivan fell into step next to her. ‘I have given this much thought, Diana. I am not going to give Grace any leeway as my subordinate. I have spoken with her already, and she understands this. I want her to be able to defend herself and be a good, strong fighter.'

‘Right. Well, if that is true, I'm prepared to give this relationship my blessing. You do understand that I am standing in for her parents. She's young, impressionable and vulnerable.'

‘I know.' A swell of protectiveness filled Ivan. ‘And although I will train her to the best of my ability, remember this: nobody will hurt her while I'm alive, Diana.'

‘I'm going to hold you to that.' But Diana nursed a secret, relieved smile as she headed towards the office.

* * *

IN THE CONFERENCE
room, Lucius edged away from his brother's grip. ‘What is it?'

‘We're not going to send Joe on this mission.'

Lucius scowled. ‘You can't be serious!'

‘We need him for more important work.'

‘I hate to break this to you, Marcus, but this mission is probably the most important thing Joe will ever do.'

Marcus drew a deep breath and fixed his eyes on Lucius. ‘You are not going to send him, and that's my final word.'

Lucius stared at him for a few seconds. ‘Is that right?' Shaking his head, he stood up and walked out of the room.

* * *

SARAH RAN DOWN
the corridor, a computer tablet wedged under her arm. She knocked once on the office door and burst in. Lucius was sitting opposite Diana. Both wore tense expressions.

‘I've looked into Jones's history.'

Diana looked over. ‘And?'

Sarah chewed her lip. ‘Mammon Jones is as clean as a whistle. No criminal record; no allegations against him personally.'

‘Oh. Well, that's no help, then.'

‘But, plenty of people working under him have been implicated in a range of crimes, including drug-trafficking in South America and Asia, and people-smuggling. There have been rumours of involvement in Eastern European slave trading and illegal arms sales in Africa.' Sarah rolled her eyes. ‘Of course, none of this can be proven. Nobody's ever been able to lay charges. Jones must have the best lawyers in the universe. He even sued a police department for making allegations against one of his company directors.'

‘Any word on Mr Jones's whereabouts?'

Sarah's face fell. ‘We can't seem to track him. He's not on his yacht, or in his apartment in the City. They are the only residences he owns here.'

‘Well, the only ones registered under his name,' said Lucius.

‘There's been no sign that he's left Border City,' Sarah added. ‘His plane is still at the airport.'

‘He does have a huge jet,' Lucius said. ‘Enough to carry hundreds of demons.'

Sarah coughed. ‘What do you want me to do now, Diana?'

‘You and Seth meet with Ivan, Joe and Grace. They're in the rec room. Now that we've got some idea that he's still here, and you might be able to provide some intelligence to help them.'

She gave Sarah an encouraging nod. ‘Dismissed.'

Diana watched the girl close the door and then looked back at Lucius. ‘You were saying?'

He took a deep breath and set his jaw. ‘I realise now that I haven't shown the leadership that you all deserve.'

Diana raised her eyebrows. ‘Quitting?'

‘It's time I set an example. Not just with my bad habits, but with how things are run here. This is a military facility, after all.'

‘May I speak freely?'

‘Of course.'

‘Your brother runs this place, not you.'

Lucius met her gaze, but with a self-conscious glint in his eyes. ‘That's a fair comment. But as of today, that changes. We're going to take back control. Marcus has kept too much information from us.'

Diana nodded. ‘I've always been curious about the identity of our benefactors.'

‘As have I. Not to mention the reason why he needs so many guards up there.'

‘It was easy to turn a blind eye, or even to justify it,' said Diana. ‘Given the nature of the inmate population.'

‘He doesn't want me to send Joe on the mission.'

‘That's absurd! Why on Earth?'

‘Apparently there are more important jobs in line for Joe.' Lucius stood up. ‘I don't know about you, but I am tired of being kept ignorant. I am going to confront my brother and acquire the information we need. I'm also going to bring the majority of his guard back to active service here.'

Diana raised her eyebrows. ‘He won't like that.'

‘We have bigger problems than him to worry about. We need as much manpower as possible if we're going to take down Mammon Jones.'

‘Really, we're going to need some outside help.' Diana picked up the phone. She began to dial but then stopped and gave Lucius an enquiring look. ‘Shall I?'

Lucius nodded. ‘Do it.' He stood up. ‘I will meet with you all when I come back from speaking with my brother.'

Diana pressed the phone to her ear. ‘Hello, Jorge? We have a problem, and we need your assistance.'

* * *

IVAN LOOKED UP
as Sarah walked in. ‘Any news?'

‘If it could be proven, Jones is actually a world-class criminal who gets his lackeys to carry out his evil deeds.'

‘That doesn't come as a surprise.'

Ivan looked between Sarah and Seth. ‘So we haven't had any luck in tracking his whereabouts?'

Seth shook his head. ‘It's like he's disappeared into the Earth. We need to find a way to seek him out. Combing the city street by street, if we have to.'

‘We don't have enough people for that,' Ivan said.

‘Diana is going to organise some back-up from other
sarsareh,
' said Sarah.

‘They may not come until we have a definite target. We need to find out where he's hiding.' Ivan sat back, frustrated. ‘All the plans in the world don't count if we cannot identify his location!' Sarah pulled out her phone and started surfing news channels.

Diana walked in. ‘Any progress?' She sat down and looked around the group. ‘Where's Joe?'

Sarah looked up from her phone. ‘He went to see Marcus.'

‘What? Why?'

‘Joe didn't say.'

Diana frowned. ‘Well, Lucius is on his way up there, so we'll find out soon.' She glanced at Ivan. ‘The good news is he's going to bring back some of the guards to help us with this job.'

Seth snorted. ‘Good luck with that.' He threw down a piece of paper and sat back, arms folded.

Diana's voice was calm. ‘What do you mean?'

He gave her a flat stare. ‘Marcus won't let go of his guards.'

Diana sat up in her chair and gave him a hard look. ‘Yes, he will.'

‘Nope.' Smiling, Seth shook his head. ‘Lucius won't be able to persuade him. He doesn't have the guts.'

‘He's your commanding officer and you will show him respect.'

‘Diana –'

‘I mean it, Seth!'

He flinched. Diana never raised her voice. He took a sharp breath. ‘I'm sorry. It's just . . . Ivan leads us more than Lucius does.'

‘Regardless, it is not your place to question or criticise him like that.'

‘Okay, okay! I'm sorry.'

‘Right.' Breathing deeply, Diana pressed her palms together. ‘What are you all thinking?'

Grace raised her hand. ‘I was about to suggest that I might be able to help. I could search for Malcolm – or even the high demon himself. I don't know if any of you can do it, except for you, Sarah. Maybe. I mean, I've only done it once, but I could try . . . we could practise.' She gave Sarah an enquiring look.

‘What are you talking about?' Diana said.

‘I think that I can leave my body.'

‘You're kidding!' said Sarah. She looked down at her hands. ‘Wow. I've never . . .'

Diana looked shocked. ‘Since when?'

‘My first day of training,' said Grace. She glanced at Ivan. ‘When I got tasered. Like I said, I've only done it once. I probably would need some practise.'

Seth leaned back in his chair and stared at Grace. ‘So, you're suggesting you leave your body and search through the spirit world for . . . what, exactly?'

‘A sign. A signal.' She cast a look around the group, hoping for support.

Ivan shook his head. ‘No. It sounds dangerous.'

‘I agree,' Diana said. ‘I will not allow that.'

Grace shrugged. An embarrassed blush filled her cheeks. ‘At least I've got an idea! What do you all suggest?' She looked around the group; silence ensued.

Diana clasped her fingers. ‘I've requested back-up from another outfit. When we put our surveillance resources together, we should be able to find a way to track Jones down.'

Seth frowned. ‘You don't sound sure about that.'

Diana put on a brave smile. ‘We will remain positive.'

* * *

‘DO YOU THINK
the boy will agree to assist us?' the Frenchman asked.

Marcus nodded – an emphatic bob of his head. ‘Yes, of course. He is aching for power; I've seen it in his eyes.' He looked over to the door as it creaked open, Joe peered in.

‘Ah, here you are! Come in, come in! Thanks for taking the time to get here. I'd like to introduce you to Monsieur Chevalier.'

Joe slid into the chair opposite Marcus. A small man with thin hair was sitting in the other visitor's chair. The man leaned over with a broad smile. Joe couldn't help but stare at the coffee stains on his teeth. ‘It is a great honour to meet you, Joe.'

Joe reached over and shook his hand. ‘Hi.'

‘Please, call me Jacques.'

Joe peered around the room – a guard stood in each corner. Even in here they were armed. ‘What's this about?'

Marcus gave Joe a calculating stare. ‘It's time for you to start using your gift properly, Joe. You're a mercenary now.'