Unknown Location
Present Day
O
skar Richter flinched at the sound of the buzzer. Only one dared disturb him at this time. He tapped his phone, silencing the whale songs he had been meditating to, then tapped another button unlocking the door with an audible click.
His butler, Gerhard, entered, appearing as flustered as he had ever seen him.
“What is it?”
“Sir, we might have a problem.”
Richter sat up, the concern in his longtime servant’s voice palpable. “What’s going on?”
“Remember you asked me to get your invitation to the Guggenheim gala to Hugo Peeters so that he could disrupt the party and make a political statement?”
Richter hated stupid questions. “Of course. It was only last week.”
“Well, there’s been a terrorist attack at the Guggenheim. It’s happening right now.”
Richter bolted upright in his chair. “What? Are you serious? Has anybody been hurt?”
“I’m not sure yet. There’s been reports of gunfire, though.”
Richter tapped a few keys and half a dozen news feeds replaced an underwater vista on his far wall. He scanned each one, shaking his head. “Are you sure? I’m not seeing anything.”
Gerhard held up his phone. “I saw it on Twitter.”
Richter’s shoulders relaxed and he leaned back, dismissing his man’s concerns with a flick of the wrist. “Twitter? You know ninety-percent of what’s on there is bullshit.”
“No, no, it’s true! Footage is starting to come out. Some girl is even live streaming it. It’s actually starting to trend. The news will probably catch up in an hour or so.” Gerhard thrust his phone in front of him and Richter gasped at what he saw.
“What does that idiot think he’s doing?”
Gerhard shrugged. “Ransom?”
“He said he was making a political statement.” He pulled out his burner phone and called who he thought until only moments ago was a man who was all talk.
