A big smile was plastered across Marena’s face.
“I have an idea who can help you.”
“Uh, hello, army of one,” Luke replied.
“Not this time, big brother. Time is critical. Things will go much faster if you have a partner.”
“Well, who? And don’t tell me that guy,” Lucas replied, tilting his head toward Cutty.
Marena frowned. “No, but I’ll let you know as soon as I have the plans confirmed.”
“They’d better not slow me down.” He gave Frank a final glare before leaving.
“I’m sorry about that. I know this isn’t what you need after being shot at earlier.”
“Are you kidding? It’s because of all of you that I’m alive right now. Besides, I deserve their animosity. Yours, too.”
She sat down. “I’ll need to get more intel from you later about who Lucas will be meeting in London. I don’t want any more surprises, Frank.”
He nodded and then struggled to sit up. “Oh, there’s one more thing. In the container with the emylanoroc, you’ll find three vials of medicine. For Coulter. They won’t cure him, but they will help slow down the poison’s progression.”
Opening the case, Marena’s fingers slid over the glass tubes. “Oh, Frank,” she said in surprise. Her eyes misted over with tears. She dabbed at them with her shirt sleeve. “Thank you.” Squeezing his hand, she got up to let him rest.
When she found Coulter, he was sitting in one of the window seats staring at the horizon.
Marena sat down next to him. “Guess what? Frank gave us three doses of something that will help slow Silent Night’s progress. Of course, it’s not the cure, but at least that helps us manage the symptoms quicker.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Your facial expression says otherwise.”
“All the brains in the world, and yet no common sense whatsoever,” Coulter said wearily. “He’s going to be a danger to everyone on this mission.”
“No, he’s not. When we land in DC, I’ll call Alejandro and make arrangements to get him someplace safe.” When Coulter didn’t respond, Marena touched his leg. “Colt, I need you to calm down,” she instructed. “Stress is not good for you. The last thing I need is you agitated and this poison coursing through your veins even faster.”
“I’m calm,” he replied. “And that’s a nice plan, but you should know that if at any time I feel like Cutty’s double-crossed us or put you in harm’s way, I promise you I’ll put a bullet in his head.”
“I second that motion,” Lucas replied, coming up behind them.
“There’s one more thing,” she told Coulter, ignoring his threat. “There’s been a change in plans.”
“Good grief, now what?” Coulter muttered.
“We’ll need more emylanoroc, and it’s in London.”
Coulter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course it is.”
“We’re going to split up. You and I will take the DC facility while Lucas rendezvouses with Alexa King to get it.”
“She’d better know how to handle herself. And don’t forget the fifty grand,” Lucas said sweetly.
She gave him an exasperated look before turning back to Coulter. “That’s how much it’ll cost us to get it.”
“Rena, I don’t have access to that much cash, not this fast. I’d have to contact Liam and—”
“We already have it. Alejandro is going to wire it to Alexa in London. She’ll have it by the time Lucas arrives.”
“Are you sure? That’s a ridiculous amount of money.”
“Yes, I’m sure. We don’t have time to haggle over the price, Coulter. We have to take things as they come. We’ll worry about the rest after you’re cured.”
Glancing out the window, Coulter was thoughtful. “There are so many moving parts to this, Marena. I don’t know if this is even going to work.”
“Yes, it will,” she said with conviction.
He stared at her. “How do you know?”
She laced her fingers with his. “Because it has to.”
Joseph Brinkley was heading to his car when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he quickly answered it.
“Bad news, sir,” Falconi said. “Our contact at Beecham can’t create a new encryption and decryption key for Silent Night.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t,” Falconi clarified. “The vials created can be activated only by the asymmetric encryption algorithm created with it. No other key will work. Plus, there are no additional vials. We have all the Silent Night there is—period.”
Brinkley’s anger skyrocketed. “Is he certain?”
“Yes, sir. If we don’t find the key that Colonel McKendrick stole, we’re going to be looking at the most expensive, nonlethal paperweights in the world.”
“We did not come this far to fail,” Brinkley yelled into the phone. “As long as the auction can happen as scheduled, I don’t care about the minute details.”
“Minute details? Joe, Silent Night is dead in the water without that key. It’s not a matter of ‘it would be nice to have.’ It’s just liquid in a vial without it. If we had some paraffin wax, it could be a lamp,” Falconi said sarcastically.
“I don’t need you being part of the problem,” Brinkley snapped. “We need solutions. We move forward as planned and continue to track down McKendrick.”
“If you say so.”
“Yes, I do. We’ll get those codes before the auction, and no one will be the wiser.”
“One more thing,” Falconi added. “Our new client has requested that we push our meeting tonight to eleven o’clock. He has a business meeting he needs to attend first. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can handle the meeting myself and—.”
“No,” Brinkley said quickly. “I am at all initial meetings, Derek. You know that.”
“Understood. I’ll alert his assistant that the time change is acceptable.”
“Thank you. And, after we get Silent Night, Derek, see to it that our scientist is properly chastised for his sudden change in our agreement.”
“I’ll see to it personally, Mr. Brinkley.”
“Good.”
Derek hung up the phone and turned his attention to the laptop on his desk.
“He’ll be there as scheduled, Señor Palacios.”
“Excelente, Falconi. Thus far, you’ve kept your end of our bargain, and I intend to do the same. Once Brinkley is dead, and you have taken over all his business holdings, we can talk about further advancements on a more global stage.”
“Thank you, señor. I appreciate your trust in me.”
“My trust is earned, Falconi. Continue moving me closer to my end goal, and you can enjoy the promise of a long, healthy life.”
Brinkley was all smiles as he got into his Range Rover. He threw his briefcase onto the seat next to him and called his wife on his cell phone. Then, after letting her know that he would be late coming home, he hung up and placed his phone in his cupholder.
He was about to put his key in the ignition when someone grabbed him around his neck and placed something over his mouth. He struggled with his unseen attacker as he was forcefully pulled toward the back seat. His leg hit the horn several times to draw attention to his situation, but it was too late. As the drug he had inhaled began to take effect, Brinkley could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. As darkness surrounded him, the last thing that came to mind was Silent Night.
“I’m not waiting indefinitely for him to wake up.”
Two men stood side by side in a darkened, windowless room. The only light was hanging over one of the two wooden chairs in the room. Their captive was tied to the seat with two thick leather straps, one across his chest and the other at his shins. He was wearing dress slacks, a disheveled dress shirt, and a tie.
A roll of duct tape sat on the floor by his feet along with his suit jacket.
“It’s only been twenty minutes.”
One man gazed at his watch and then back to the unconscious man. “I think he needs some incentive.”
His partner nodded. “What do you suggest?”
“Hand me that knife.”
Brinkley’s eyes popped open, but something was over his eyes, keeping him in the dark. He attempted to speak, but it was unintelligible because of the gag in his mouth. Livid, he tugged fiercely against the rope binding him to the chair.
“Look at that. He was awake, after all. I told you he merely needed some motivation.”
“That you did.”
A man reached out and yanked the blindfold off Brinkley’s head. The sudden movement stood his already messy hair on end.
Brinkley blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light. Finally, when he saw the two men standing in front of him, his eyes practically bugged out of his head. Several times, he attempted to speak, but it was useless.
Cole Everett leaned over and peered into Brinkley’s confused face. “How’s it going, partner? Now, I bet you’re sitting here wondering what’s going on, aren’t you?”
Brinkley struggled for a moment but then stilled and nodded.
“Come on now, Joe. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, the answer would present itself.”
The two men waited for a few seconds, staring intently at Brinkley. Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“No?” Cole asked. “Hmm. That’s too bad.”
The other man reared back and hit Brinkley in the face. The force of the blow sent him and his chair reeling to the floor like a tree being chopped down. The back of Brinkley’s head connected with the concrete floor, causing him to let out a loud moan. His body shook from the effort of trying to escape the restraints.
General Dash bent down and tilted his head to the side to look their prisoner in the face. His mouth curled upward into a smirk. “Did that jog your memory?”
Cole reached over and hoisted the chair upright. Instantly, Brinkley struggled, trying to break free.
“I don’t think that will work,” Terry offered. “Cole tied you up pretty good. Now, are you going to answer, or are we going to kick it up a notch?” He leaned in. “Personally, it doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I’m going to get the answers I want. Now, how long that takes and how painful it will be is completely up to you.”
“So, Joe, are you ready to tell us about Silent Night?” Cole asked.
Recognition darted across his face for a few seconds before a blank expression replaced it.
This time, Terry delivered a front kick to Brinkley’s chest. He fell backward and connected with the floor a second time. He closed his eyes and grimaced with pain.
“Still don’t know what we mean?” Cole squatted down so that he wasn’t towering over Brinkley. “One of the perks of having a partner is getting to know that person over the years. You develop a rapport with them, learn how they operate and what makes them tick. And not just what their likes or dislikes are, but other, more personal details that they don’t share with people.” He leaned over until they were eye to eye. “Like what they’re afraid of.”
This time, when they set him back upright, his expression was apprehensive. His gaze darted around the room before settling back on Cole. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he tried again to loosen the slack on the rope binding his hands.
Brinkley moved his head around to prevent Terry from placing the blindfold back on, but it was in vain. His muffled tone grew angry now that he couldn’t see.
“Your mind must be working overtime trying to guess what’s coming next,” Terry chuckled. “Don’t worry, Joe, we won’t keep you in suspense.”
Sauntering across the room, Marena’s father returned with a large sack. He untied the knot at the opening and sat it on Brinkley’s lap. Brinkley jumped upon contact, but eventually, he settled down. It took a few moments for the first snake to make its way out of the bag.
Cole and General Dash watched as it slowly exited the bag. But then, meeting no resistance, it cautiously journeyed up Brinkley’s arm. When he realized what was in his lap, Brinkley almost turned the chair over himself, trying to get away from the serpent.
They removed his blindfold so that he could see what was coming. Brinkley was practically hysterical by the time the fifth snake was out of the bag. Terry removed his gag. Brinkley gulped in the air. “Get these things off me!” he roared. “Get them off!”
“Not a chance. There are plenty more where these came from to ensure you stay motivated to tell us the truth.”