Richter’s Compound
Morocco
R
ichter glanced up from his laptop as Gerhard entered. “Are they here?”
“No, sir. They should be here in about thirty minutes. I just wanted to let you know that our dummy social media accounts are being taken down at an extraordinary rate. Somehow, the social media providers have been able to identify almost all of them.”
Richter leaned back, overwhelmed by a sinking feeling at the news of years of hard, expensive work wiped away. “How is that possible? They’ve never been able to do that before.”
“They must be getting help.”
Richter cursed. “It has to be the CIA. They’ve always been out to get me.”
“It could be.”
“How does this affect us?”
“It will hurt our cause until we can recreate the accounts and rebuild everything. These were cultivated over years, so had legitimate-looking history that allowed us to push the causes we wanted more effectively.”
Richter pursed his lips, staring at the news playing on the far wall. “Let’s wait, but as soon as this is all settled, start recreating them again. We’re going to have a huge injection of funds that we can use to further our cause without having to worry about hiding the fact the money has been coming from me. This will allow us to take things to the next level.” He switched focus. “Has our buyer landed yet?”
“No. I’ve been informed he will be at least two hours late due to a delay at his end that was unavoidable.”
Richter sighed heavily. “What sort of delay?”
“I didn’t ask as I didn’t expect the truth would be forthcoming.”
Richter chuckled. “You’re probably right. Okay, when the professors arrive, bring the Bible to me. I want to see this abomination for myself.”
Gerhard stared at the floor, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Umm, is that wise, sir?”
Richter eyed him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, sir, on occasion your…shall we say passion,
has gotten the better of you. Can we risk that happening again? You might destroy the item in a rage, thus losing the payout of two-hundred-million Euros.”
He regarded his butler for a moment, at first angered at the notion. He finally shook his head. “Perhaps you’re right. Put it in the viewing room when it arrives, and I’ll see it for the first time along with everyone else. And put the professors under guard. I’ll want them to authenticate the Bible to the buyer.”
“Very well.”
“Are our men ready for trouble?”
Gerhard bowed slightly. “They always are, sir. No need to worry, the compound is as secure as it has ever been.”
“Are we at full strength again?”
“Yes, sir, that flu bug has run its course. We have all twelve of Mr. Kriel’s men healthy. He’s put everyone on duty for the duration of this event.”
“Good. I want this transaction to go as smoothly and as quickly as possible. The sooner that atrocity is far away from me and the money is in my account, the better. Oh, and make sure the staff are locked down while the buyer is here. I don’t want any undue attention drawn to this evening’s transaction.”
“Yes, sir.”
He closed his burning eyes. “I can’t wait for this day to be over so I can start to atone for the sin of profiting off the death of so many innocent creatures.”
