Charlotte Curtis turned her red MG into the familiar surrounds of the juvenile detention center, finding a parking space between a news van and a motorcycle.
Late again, she cursed, then quickened her pace from the car to the building, racing up the stairs as fast as her fitted navy suit and heels would allow. She pulled up at the security desk.
“Hello Charlotte, you know the drill … your bag and folder please,” the guard instructed as he ran a scanner over her body looking for metal objects.
“Hi Roger, I suppose you want my knife collection?”
“Yes thanks, but the escape kit is fine to take in.”
Charlotte laughed.
“You’re here to see Bradley Parnell?”
“I am.”
Roger shook his head.
“What is it?” Charlotte prompted him.
“Charlotte, that boy has had some terrible nightmares.”
“Really? How often?”
“Several times a night. He wakes himself up yelling, poor kid.”
“Do you know what about? Has he said anything?”
Roger paused. “Sometimes he will yell out words, you know, stop, no – once he called for his mother. Now that’s one messed up kid.”
“Mm, thanks Roger. He’ll be out by tomorrow. They always give the new kids a few days in remand to scare the hell out of them.” She gave him a wave and hurried down the hall to the counseling rooms, walking on her toes to reduce the echo on the tiles announcing “intruder” to the insiders.
Charlotte opened the door to room 7J. She glanced up at a flickering fluorescent light in the ceiling panel and shuddered at the sight of a huge spider web in prime position for moth catching. She did a quick scan of the room to ensure the owner wasn’t in sight, then dropped into a deep, red vinyl chair that groaned beneath her.
I know how you feel, she thought. Right, a ten-minute wait till they bring Brad.
She turned off her phone and sat back with a sigh.
An inscription carved into the timber table caught her eye. Jason loves Samantha. Jason’s probably long gone by now and has kids of his own, she thought. Samantha … Mitch’s colleague. I wonder what she’s like, Charlotte thought, surprising herself at the tinge of jealousy she felt. Ellen and Samantha. The only two girls Mitch has mentioned for a while, since that last one slept over … Lena, Leonie, Lana?
Ah, Lachlan. What are you doing, why are you calling me again?
Charlotte jumped as the door opened, bringing her back to reality. Security brought in a good-looking teenager in a regulation orange jumpsuit. She looked at her watch – she had exactly one hour.
“Ready, Lawrence?” Andrew Kenny asked.
“Fire away,” Lawrence sat down and joined the directors.
“OK, gentlemen,” Andrew began, “I have allocated each of you a Mastermind entrant and city. Your allocated team should already be on the ground and have started their project. It is your responsibility to be across their work. You will continue to manage your current portfolios as well as your new project and file a report via email every Friday by close of business U.K. time. An office has been booked in the capital city of each project for your exclusive use. As you may recall, the project does not always take place in the capital city, but for security purposes you will be located there. Any questions so far?”
Andrew looked around the room, seeing nods of understanding.
“Most of you were here five years ago for Mastermind-2, so you know the rules. You’re to meet with one team representative only throughout the project. Reinforce the deadlines and your expectations. The projects must be concluded by November 30. As soon as the project is completed, whether it succeeds or fails, you are to return to the U.K. office.”
Andrew read out the board members’ assignments, allocating directors to Paris, Munich and Monaco. He glanced at Daniel Reid with disdain.
I know you want Tokyo, Daniel. Bad luck.
He continued to read from the list. “Richard, Tokyo.” He suppressed a smile seeing Daniel’ disappointment. “Your contact is Seika Tajimo. Now there are two Mastermind entrants in the U.S. Michael, your entrant is based in Washington D.C. and your contact is Paul Asher. Daniel, you will share office space with Michael in D.C., your project is based in Nevada and your contact is Johan Booysen.”
Johan Booysen ran his hand through his gray hair, sweeping it back over to one side. He frowned at Nicholas Everett.
“We don’t have the luxury of time. You know the timeframe – if we don’t meet it, we forfeit.”
“We’ll meet it,” Nick said, shuffling papers into his black leather compendium. “It’s a little unpredictable because the locations for pick ups aren’t booked until a week out, but it’s manageable. You forget, I’ve done the route numerous times already.”
“Then do whatever it takes to get the roster tightened,” Johan ordered.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Nick snapped back. “They’ll be suspicious if I push for it.”
“We’re still on schedule, so don’t panic,” Maria Diaz assured him. “Daniel is not due here until next week. It will be refined by then.”
“It better be, we have no choice.”
“Remember, this is supposed to be fun,” Maria took his hand.
He pulled away from her.
“The fun is in the winning.”
Mitchell Parker hurried in, last to arrive at his own meeting.
“You look pissed, what’s up?” Samantha asked.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Mitch showed them the university lab booking form for the main lab.
“How did you get that?” J.J. asked.
“Good luck.”
“How old was she?” Ellen asked.
Mitch smiled. “Legal age. I had to get rid of Sam so I could smooth talk it out of her.”
“Yeah, nice to be dispensable,” Samantha punched his arm.
“Ouch!” Mitch rubbed it dramatically. “Check this out. The lab’s been booked for three months for a project called Aurum.”
“Aurum. The security guy told J.J. the same thing,” Ellen cut in. “That means gold.”
“It does,” Mitch agreed. “They’ve left a phone number that goes to a paging service and they’ve paid in cash, so there is no tracking them. Their signature is illegible …”
Mitch looked up as John walked into his office finishing his sentence, “And their cover is as good as ours; all of their details are dead ends.”
“We’re not meant to know what’s going on in that lab or, more to the point, what’s going on outside it,” Mitch concluded.
Charlotte raced up the front stairs to get out of the cold, opened the door and inhaled the scent of Thai food. She heard Mitch call a greeting from the kitchen. Passing through the lounge, she found him in his black suit pants and white business shirt, sleeves rolled up, and stirring a beef dish.
“Hi, did you get an early mark?”
“Hmm, for good behavior,” he snacked on a wedge of carrot from the stir-fry. “What were you smiling about?”
“When?” Charlotte asked.
“Just then, when you walked into the kitchen. In love again?”
Charlotte groaned. “No. Actually, it was so nice coming into the warmth that I was recalling when I first saw this house, fell in love with it and bought it on the spot. I remember the day that you came over to talk about renting, I spent hours cleaning and making it look pretty. You walked in and all you wanted to know was which room to put your one suitcase and a box in.”
Mitch grinned. “I’m not very territorial.”
“I noticed. Has Lachlan called yet?”
“No, Princess, but he will.”
She smirked at him. “Don’t give me a hard time.”
Mitch’s phone rang.
“Go and change, dinner’s ready,” he ordered, stabbing at the stir-fry with a wooden spoon.
She reached over and stole a mushroom, noticing Mitch continued to let his phone ring until she had left the room. Moments later she heard him yell: “Got to go, Charlie.”
“But …” Charlotte wandered out of her room and saw the front door closing behind him.