| |
*
A BLACK SUV with tinted windows was waiting for them at Washington Dulles International Airport. A woman in her late forties welcomed them inside a cabin with fine leather seats. A beautiful smile glowed on her dark skin, a contrast to her white pantsuit, which perfectly fit her small frame. Sun rays peeked through the car windows and made everyone’s black agate rings sparkle.
“Grand Master. Eric. Welcome. As you may have already guessed, I’m Norchelle Williams, the Washington Master. And this is Toby Sharp, my right-hand man,” she said, indicating the skinny man with light brown hair and small round glasses who was sitting beside her.
“Master Williams,” Ganni DePaul started, “may I call you Norchelle? Alright. Norchelle, as you know, there is a biological attack going on globally. And my grandchildren are at the center of this. And that’s one of your agent’s fault. Can you explain how you let this happen?” Ganni asked, voice cold.
“Let me explain it to you,” Norchelle said calmly.
“You’d better. You sent a double agent into the heart of my organization. You sent me Dr. Duclan Davis, and I trusted him. I trusted you. I opened the doors of the House of the Rose to him. With your help, he entered the most sacred place in the House: a place where only I am allowed to enter. And it was with your help that he kidnapped my granddaughter,” the Grand Master hissed.
“You are right,” Norchelle responded sedately. “I admit my failure, and I apologize. I was shocked when I learned what happened. I utterly trusted Duclan, and I can’t understand what triggered his actions. I was sure I knew him well. I have worked with him on many occasions. I would trust him with my life. Besides that, he was a member of our team that was investigating the chain of mysterious deaths around the world.”
She spoke calmly and slowly, carefully choosing her words. “But I need to inform you of another sad incident. Dr. Akio Sato...” She took a deep breath. “Dr. Akio Sato was found dead a few hours ago.”
“What? What happened to him?” Ganni’s voice was softer now.
“Who’s Dr. Aito Sato?” Eric interrupted.
“He was a great scientist and an outstanding member of Washington Rose, as we call our branch. He was Duclan’s mentor in both science and the Order,” replied Toby.
“Dr. Sato always spoke highly of Duclan and never questioned his tactics. They had a very strong bond and great respect for each other. Nevertheless, due to the recent events, I can’t help but suspect that Duclan has something to with his mentor’s death.” The corners of Norchelle’s lips curled down.
The SUV was moving fast along Dulles Access Rd under the bright morning sun. Noticing the divider between the driver’s seat and the passengers’ cabin, Eric felt uncomfortable at the fact that he could not see who was behind the wheel. Normally, he should feel comfortable, knowing that Norchelle trusted her driver, but had already been proven that her instincts were wrong in Duclan’s case.
“How did Dr. Sato die?” inquired Eric.
“He was found with his throat slit last night at his residence. According to the coroner, the estimated time of death was around six in the evening,” Norchelle replied.
“It was around the time the news of the biological attack in Macedonia broke,” added Toby.
“Duclan was still with us in Malta when Dr. Sato was killed,” the Master clarified.
“That gives him an alibi, but it doesn’t rule out the possibility that he interfered,” said Norchelle.
“What makes you say that?” the Master asked.
“Because I talked to Akio just before he died.” Norchelle’s voice cracked. “He called me yesterday afternoon, around six o’clock, the estimated time of his death. He was whispering, and his voice was quivering. He only said a few words before the phone line went dead.”
“What did he say?” Eric’s voice sounded on edge.
“He said, ‘If anything happens to me, Duclan is—’ and then silence. I think Akio wasn’t alone when he called me. He sounded like he’d snuck away to make the call, and then he was caught. I suspect that his death came soon after his call,” Norchelle stated.
“So, it appears,” the Master agreed. “Norchelle, you said you trusted Duclan. However, I want you to think. Was there anything in Duclan’s behavior lately that seemed suspicious?”
“No, nothing all. I’m positive.” She moved her head from side to side.
“But he kidnapped Floriana. He came to the House of the Rose and kidnapped my granddaughter. He must have had a motive,” said the Master. Norchelle and Toby nodded in gloomy agreement.
“He abducted Floriana and delivered her to the hands of a terrorist group that has been unleashing a series of biological attacks internationally. Does that make any sense to you?” Eric clenched his jaw.
“It partially does, actually.” Norchelle paused for a moment to observe the surprise on their faces. “Duclan was working undercover in a secret society that calls themselves ‘Empire,’ the English translation for the German word Kaiserreich. For the last six months, he was my mole. He gave me valuable information on them, but it appears he kept some secrets to himself. He gained their trust, and he monitored every biological attack the Empire has unleashed in the last three months. He even managed to stop a few of them, in Egypt and Mongolia. But in Romania and Uzbekistan, there was little he could do; he arrived too late. He had to move carefully and let them believe he was just another scientist who believed in their cause and wanted to contribute. He tried to keep a low profile and not draw any attention. It was essential for us that he wasn’t exposed. It took us so long to get an agent to penetrate their organization, even though their existence has been known to us for decades.”
“Norchelle is right.” The Master nodded. “We have been aware of their existence since the end of World War II. But all signs led us to believe that their organization was decaying, already almost vanished entirely. You can’t imagine how shocked I was to know that my believed-to-be-dead daughter-in-law was very much alive and working for them...and that she has now given both my grandchildren to them.”
***
GANNI DE PAUL LOOKED through the window down at the reflection of the sun on the waters of the Potomac River as the black SUV sped across Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. He hadn’t only failed as Grand Master of the Order; he had also failed years ago as a father and now as a grandfather. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting, he thought. A woman he thought dead for the last ten years, the wife of his late son and mother of his beloved grandchildren, was alive and working against all the Order of the Black Rose had advocated and fought for since its establishment centuries ago. And she was there, under his nose, apparently living in a society secret to everyone but the Order. How did she manage to stay invisible for all those years? And how did she convince Vittor to leave everything behind and join her? Why did she choose not to reveal herself to Floriana and instead sent Duclan to forcibly take her daughter with him to the States? And, most importantly, why did she decide to make her move now?