Animal Protection Brigade Headquarters
Antwerp, Belgium
P
eeters sucked in a slow breath, steeling for the conversation ahead. He hated rich people. Detested them. But sometimes they served their purpose.
Like today.
He had reached out to their benefactor in the hopes he might give them one last chance, and the man had agreed to talk.
Talk.
It would be the first time they had ever done so, all previous communications via the Internet, and it had him nervous.
The phone rang and he answered it before his parents could. “Hello?”
“You wanted to discuss Bilbao?”
“Yes, sir. I believe a statement must be made.”
“I agree, but are you the people to make it? You’re not very effective. You’re too small. After all this time, nobody has heard of you.”
“But that’s what makes us perfect. The bigger organizations are too concerned about their reputations, and losing their funding. We don’t care. We’ll do whatever it takes, because our motivations are pure. We care about the animals, not the money.”
“You have a point. What do you need from me? Money?”
“No, money isn’t the key this time, though we’ll need some. I need something that only you can get because of who you are.”
There was a pause. “You have no idea who I am.”
“I know that. What I mean is that you’re one of them. The one-percenters. The ones with the real money and connections.”
“Go on.”
“I need an invitation.”
“An invitation? What are you talking about?”
“I need an invitation to the gala at the Guggenheim. It’s the only way we’ll be able to get in.”
“You can have mine.”
Peeters’ eyebrows rose. “You received one?”
“Of course I did. They send invitations to the Forbes list for all these things.” There was a burst of static. “You’re not planning anything crazy, are you? I don’t want my name associated with anything violent.”
“You don’t need to worry, and besides, perhaps you never received your invitation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, who knows you received it?”
“Only myself and my butler.”
Butler! How ridiculous!
“Good. Then just make sure he understands you never received it, then get it to me, and no one will be the wiser.”
A heavy sigh caused another burst of static. “You realize that if I do this, it changes the dynamic of our relationship.”
Peeters’ eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“My name is on that invitation. Once you have it, you’ll know who I am.”
Peeters scratched his chin, tilting his head. “I hadn’t thought of that. Does it really matter? There’s no way to connect you and me, is there? I mean, the way you’ve sent us money, there’s never been any type of trail, paper or electronic. All the world would ever know is that I somehow stole your invitation. If it traced back to you, you can just deny ever receiving it. Who are they going to believe? Me, a so-called animal rights activist, or you, a mega-rich gazillionaire?”
His benefactor said nothing for a few moments, then finally sighed. “Nothing too crazy?”
“Just a publicity stunt. But I can guarantee you that after we pull this off, not a person on the planet won’t know the name Animal Protection Brigade.”
