Ladyfish (13 page)

“Can I offer you a drink?”

“Thank you, Masood, but I will decline your generous offer. I have other matters I must attend this evening.”

“Of course. Shall we?” He indicated the seats and they sat down. “You have good news for me?”

“I do.” Sterling opened his briefcase and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “My people have managed to create the toxic bacteria that we discussed. We have been calling it Balor, as you know. This information indicates its lethality and predictions for its effects in non fatal cases.” He handed them to Masood, who looked at them briefly before passing them to another man.

“This is Dr. Shikhar. He will understand this information far better than I could possibly hope to.”

“Of course.” Sterling smiled.

“While we wait for him to verify the information, perhaps you would indulge me in some information.”

“Of course.”

“Tell me how this works?”

“Well, my scientist has managed to develop a technique to incorporate toxins into a relatively harmless bacterium.”

“Can this be any toxin?”

“In theory, but we have been working with botulism as you requested.”

“And what have your results shown?”

“As you know, using botulism as a weapon is limited, as the bacterium doesn’t make the host contagious. By incorporating it into this harmless little stomach bug, I’ve managed to do just that.”

“You have made botulism contagious?”

“Well, my scientists have.”

“And it is effective?”

“Very.”

“We are amongst friends here; please tell me a little more about this Balor bug you have developed.”

“Our tests show that the numbers are extremely impressive. Infection rate in the non-vaccinated group is one hundred percent. Mortality rate in the untreated is over ninety percent, and those infected survivors are debilitated to the extent that constant care is required. Our estimate for contagion spread is dependent on the method and geographical location of initial dispersal, but even our most conservative estimates establish global distribution within a month.”

“This is excellent news, my friend. Now tell me, William, how is your family? Your daughter, is she well?”

“Very, Masood. She is holidaying in America at the moment. She was instrumental in the development of the bacterium, and I have rewarded her with a holiday before she returns to announce her upcoming wedding and continue working on other projects for me.”

“An exceptional young woman then?”

“Absolutely. I am very proud.” William found it curious that the man was asking after his daughter and wondered why.

“As you should be. I understand she is very beautiful too. Brains and beauty. You are a lucky man, William.”

The thinly veiled threat became clear, and William knew he couldn’t leave it unchallenged. He didn’t care if Masood did anything to Daniela for her sake. No, his pride alone could not withstand the slight. “As are you, my friend. You have many sons. I am sure that they will be exceptional too. Strong boys you can be proud of.”

Masood inclined his glass in silent acknowledgment of the stalemate, and when the doctor returned and whispered into Masood’s ear, he watched William as he listened.

“Excellent, William. I am assured that this is everything you have promised. Now we must talk numbers.” He reached into the folds of his robe and withdrew a sheet of paper, then handed it to Sterling. William unfolded the page and scanned the figure.

“I have invested significant resources on this product, Masood, as I am sure you can appreciate. As a businessman, I appreciate that you must try to achieve the best deal possible, and so must I. This is not adequate recompense for my investment.” He placed the paper on the small table next to his chair.

“William, I would have been insulted had you accepted the number on that page.” He smiled, a plastic smile that barely twitched the corners of his mouth.

“Double it.”

“That would be unacceptable for me. Perhaps we can meet in the middle, as you Brits say.”

“That would be acceptable. Delivery will be to the New York address you gave me earlier. I will contact you with the exact date in due course.”

He stood, shook Masood’s hand, and left. Smiling, he fiddled with the change in his pocket.

“What time is your flight?” Finn dropped an armful of clothes next to Pete’s suitcase.

“Not until ten. If we leave for the airport at six, we should be fine and miss the worst of the traffic.”

“Okay.” She folded a pair of shorts and stuffed them into his case. “I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since I left you in this room. It feels like it was just yesterday that we got here.”

“I know, three weeks and the time has just flown!” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.

“Are you all packed?”

“Nearly, I just need to finish in the bathroom. I can’t forget to steal stuff. The concierge will look down on me if I don’t.”

She laughed sadly at him. “Who told you that?”

“The concierge. He was the guy helping out behind the bar on the first day we were here.”

“Ahh, the waiter with the tan.”

“And no bikini lines.”

“Really?”

Pete nodded emphatically.

“You dog!”

“Woof.” He chuckled genuinely this time as she pushed him toward the bathroom. “So the diving’s going well?”

“Yeah. I’m loving it. It seems pretty natural too.”

“And Oz? You’re still getting on okay with her?”

“Yeah, fine. Really good actually. She’s a good teacher, and so far I really enjoy working with her. Plus, she’ll do almost anything I want if I let her drive my car. Why are you asking?”

“Just checking you’re still okay with everything. When we were helping you move in with Mrs. Richmond, I thought I picked up a few vibes between you two.”

“Pete, stop. She’s my friend and my teacher. That’s it. We get on well; that’s all. I thought you liked her?”

“I did. I do. I mean, she’s great fun to be around. It’s just that she’s the kind of girl you have a lot of fun with. The kind of girl you climb out of the window to go and see. You’re the kind of girl you take home to meet Mum and Dad. Do you know what I mean?”

“She’s been around the block once or twice, while I’m all sweet and respectable.”

“Exactly. She isn’t the kind of person you should be relying on.”

“How would you describe yourself, Pete? Take home to Mum and Dad or climb out the window for?”

“I’m definitely a climb out the—” Realizing what she was implying, he sighed and stopped talking.

“I can look after myself. I might be innocent, but I’m not naïve. She has been friendly, supportive, and willing to be my friend. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. I just worry about you.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “I know. Thank you for caring enough to worry, but you know we have to let go now, don’t you?”

He squeezed her harder. “I know. I don’t have to like it though. I feel like I’m leaving part of myself here.”

“You are. Definitely. The best part of yourself.” She felt him chuckling against her. “But I am too. We’d make each other miserable if we tried to make a life together. Turkey basting aside, we’d start to resent having to keep so much of our lives a secret. We’d end up hating each other.”

“I could never hate you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. And so do you.”

“Pete, I love you, and I want to keep it that way. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I really don’t want to lose you. You’re the only person I know for sure ever loved me. I need to keep that in my heart. I don’t ever want you to hate me.” The tears welled in her throat making it difficult for her to speak. “I couldn’t stand for you to hate me.”

“So you push me away instead.”

“Pete, you agreed with me that this was the best way.” She grabbed his hand. “Has anything changed? Have you suddenly decided that the concierge was just a bit of fun and that you want to be with me for the rest of your life? Would I make you happy? Satisfied? Marriage is about more than sex, I know, but you can’t tell me you’d be happy watching porn and jerking off for the rest of your life!”

“Finn!”

“Well, you know my dad would insist on a prenup, so what do you think would happen?”

“I know. But you don’t need to be so crude.” He lifted his hands to her face and wiped away the tears that slipped slowly down her cheeks.

Finn snorted. “Since when did you become a prude? You’re the one who told me what jerking off was!”

“Yes, but we know I’m a slut with a dirty mouth. You, however…”

“Yeah, I know. Sweet and innocent.” She patted his back and started to move away. “I think I might have to do something about this reputation of mine. If diving doesn’t work out, maybe I should be a streetwalker.” She stuck her hand on her hip and cocked it to one side taking on the exaggerated gait straight out of
Pretty Woman
, desperate to take her mind off the sense of loss already invading her heart. “What do you think? I’ll get some high-heeled boots and strut my stuff.”

“You in heels? You’d break your neck before you got to the first car, baby.”

She straightened up. “Gee, thanks. You’re just jealous.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. I just thought I’d say it and see what came to mind.”

“Nutter.”

“I know.”

“So should we go and grab something to eat before we go to the airport?”

“Sure, what do you fancy? Besides the concierge?”

Pete stuck his tongue out at her. “Spoilsport. Do you feel like Italian?”

“Yup, I can go for a pizza.” She hoisted Pete’s rucksack onto her shoulder as he lifted the towing handle on his case. She grabbed the key card as they got to the door, and they waited in silence for the lift. Memories of their shared past bombarded her during the short ride to the pizzeria, only the sound of the engine and the occasional horn filling the silence.

They made short work of ordering pizzas and Cokes when they got into the restaurant, and Finn smirked at Pete as he watched the waiter walk away.

“How’s the stitching?”

“Huh?”

“On his bum? You seemed to be examining the stitching very closely.” She handed him a napkin. “Just wipe your chin.”

“Cheeky mare.”

“Yeah, yeah. So tell me the plan for when you land back?”

“Let’s see. Night flight back home; tomorrow I’ll be sleeping. I have a meeting set up for Monday with John Pritchard. He’s setting up that unit I was telling you about to run through financial crimes and needs an IT expert.” She tried to ignore the way he avoided her eyes whenever he talked about Pritchard and the new job. She knew there was more to his story than he was telling her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Hacker?”

“To assist him with software development and stuff like that. It’s all pretty hush-hush so it shouldn’t get back to your dad until it’s a done deal.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“Yeah, it’s more what I thought I’d be doing. Using my cyber skills to catch the bad guys, not make them richer.” He realized too late what he had said. “Sorry, Finn.”

“So you see yourself as some sort of computer Robin Hood?”

“Yep, always did like those men in tights.”

“Pete, tell me the truth. What’s going on with this Pritchard guy? Every time you talk about him, you’re all vague and I know you’re hiding something. Please just tell me what it is.”

Pete twisted his napkin around his fingers. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“What are you talking about?”

“John Pritchard works for MI6.”

“Wow. You’re going to be a spy?” Finn grinned and took a sip of her drink.

“I guess.”

“Didn’t you say he approached you?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t realize your reputation was that good.”

“It’s not. He approached me because I have inside knowledge of one of their investigations.”

“Pete, please don’t tell me you’ve been doing anything illegal.”

“Not knowingly. I got involved with something, and before I knew what was going on, I was too far in.”

“I don’t understand. You’re talking in riddles.”

“He’s investigating Sterling Enterprises.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m serious.”

“Why are they investigating my dad’s company? What do they think is going on there? What do you think is going on there?”

“I know there’s a lot going on.”

“Don’t be so obtuse. Just spit it out. What do they think is going on in my dad’s company? I mean that thing is his life, how they can think something is going on under his nose—” The realization hit her like a sledgehammer. She gasped and covered her mouth, trying to hold the words back.

“Finn, I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know anything for certain for a long time. I just had suspicions. Heard rumors. That kind of thing. I couldn’t tell you those kinds of thing. He’s still your dad, whatever kind of bastard he is.”

“It’s not suspicion or rumor now, is it?”

“No.”

“So tell me. I think I deserve to know. He is my father after all.”

“Finn—”

“Tell me!” Her heart thundered in her chest as she tried to calm her breathing. “Please, Pete, tell me what you know.”

“I know that Sterling Enterprises is laundering money. Huge amounts of money.”

“From what?”

“That I don’t know. I swear.”

“Carry on.”

“There has to be more to it, because MI6 wouldn’t be investigating if it was just money laundering, but I swear I don’t know anything else.”

“So why do they want you, if you don’t know anything?”

“I designed the company’s computer systems. I have files of evidence proving the money laundering, and I said I would testify that your dad knows this is happening.”

“You’re sure he knows?”

“Yes. I found e-mails from him to Jack about it. I’ll give all this to Pritchard when I meet him on Monday.”

“Then what? Are they going to arrest my dad?” The thought crossed her mind that it would ensure that he left her alone, and that with him out of the picture maybe she could return to her work, to finish her research with the E. coli bacteria protocols. She didn’t find the thought appealing. She knew she would miss Florida and the diving too much already. More than that, she knew she would miss Oz, and she didn’t want to lose the fledgling connection she could feel developing between them. The idea of her dad actually doing something illegal didn’t surprise her as much as she thought it should, nor did the prospect of him going to prison upset her. Her only concerns were the unanswered questions, which suddenly seemed endless.