Apocalypse

16

‘Gentlemen, welcome.’

Dennis Aubrey stood unobtrusively to one side of the private breakfast room that Joaquin Abell had hired, and watched as he spoke to the men of substance before them. Behind Joaquin was a suspended silver screen, and behind his guests, a projector. To Aubrey’s surprise, four heavy-set men in suits stood like guards around the edge of the room. Aubrey was unused to being in such company, and equally uncomfortable being under armed guard, something that Joaquin had neglected to mention before they had entered the hotel.

All of the seven seated dignitaries before them looked entirely at home in their opulent surroundings. Champagne bottles worth more than some cars lay in buckets of sparkling ice, and the bright sunlight from outside was shielded by glowing opaque blinds.

‘Thank you all for taking the time to come here,’ Joaquin said. ‘You may wonder why I’ve asked for this breakfast meeting so urgently, but I know that within just a few minutes you will all understand, as well as appreciating the need for absolute security.’

Joaquin paced up and down slowly as he spoke, his movements giving rhythm to his words.

‘All of you wield immense control over the lives of the people that you govern,’ he said, and selected a member of his audience with receding red hair. ‘Congressman Ryan Goldberg, you’ve served Congress for over twenty years and your word is considered your bond. Mr. Murtaugh,’ he went on, indicating an elderly man, ‘you own and operate one of the largest news networks in the continental United States, providing 24-hour coverage to millions of homes.’ Joaquin turned to another, middle-aged man who wore a Stetson and sunglasses. ‘Mr. Reed, you are the Executive Officer of one of our largest oil companies, providing fuel for our modern world.’ One of the men watching was a widely respected statesman, a face known to millions of Floridians. ‘Governor MacKenzie, the people of Florida look to you to represent them, and follow you respectfully.’

Joaquin paused, as though thinking. Aubrey knew it was a theatrical flourish. Joaquin Abell was never lost for words.

‘Yet despite your combined wealth and influence there is one thing that none of you can control. Time. Like the rest of the world you are held captive by what you know in the here and now.’ Joaquin smiled at them. ‘I, however, am liberated by the knowledge of tomorrow. And it is this that I wish to share with you this morning.’

Aubrey frowned as he watched, caught unaware by Joaquin’s astonishing claim.

Joaquin glanced across at him and, as previously instructed, Aubrey pressed a button on the remote control he held in his hand. The projector flickered into life and the screen behind Joaquin lit up. Almost immediately, Aubrey recognized the face of news anchor Juliette Parker as she appeared on the screen — the iconic face of one of Robert Murtaugh’s best-known employees. But there was no sound to the image and it flickered strangely, as though Parker’s studio had been filmed through a rippling heat haze. Brief flares of static leapt across the image as Parker silently mouthed her lines. Aubrey caught a few words from her lips: earthquake; sudden; casualties.

Suddenly, the image changed to one of a devastated shoreline, upturned boats and vehicles scattered across roads buckled by the immense seismic might of a churning tectonic plate. Aubrey watched the silently flickering images of stricken survivors afloat amidst vast swathes of floodwater filled with the detritus of smashed buildings. A tsunami, he realized, sweeping vulnerable human life before its wrath across a land devastated beyond all recognition.

‘This,’ Joaquin said as the images played, ‘is a sadly common event on our planet, and one which we have never been able to predict. Until now.’

Reed stood from his chair, removing his Stetson and rubbing his head in confusion.

‘What are you jabbering about, Joaquin? That quake happened yesterday in Puerto Rico. Either get to the point or I’m outta here, goddamn your hide.’

Joaquin grinned and gestured to the screen.

‘This news report is the point,’ he replied, and looked at Murtaugh. ‘Isn’t it, Robert?’

The old man squinted at the screen as though confused, and then slowly his rheumy eyes began to widen as his jaw fell. The scrolling text on the bottom of the screen pinpointed the scenes of destruction at the town of Puerto Plata, on the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Congressman Goldberg stood up out of his chair. ‘There hasn’t been an earthquake in the Dominican Republic,’ he uttered. ‘I haven’t seen anything on the news about it.’

‘The anchor, Juliette, is on vacation at the moment,’ Murtaugh murmured.

Joaquin let the realization of what the men were seeing begin to dawn upon them, and as though on perfect cue, after the appalling scenes of destruction and loss, the news anchor smiled brightly and the image changed to the weather forecast. At the bottom of the screen, clearly displayed, was the date. June 28.

‘That’s not possible,’ Reed stammered as he whipped his sunglasses off to reveal surprisingly bright blue eyes. ‘That’s this afternoon!’ He whirled to point at Robert Murtaugh. ‘This is some kind of set-up. You must have pre-recorded the broadcast.’

Murtaugh, with some effort, struggled up out of his seat to face the Texan.

‘I can assure you, Harry, that I have done no such thing.’ The media tycoon turned his gaze upon Joaquin Abell. ‘But I also believe this to be some kind of pointless joke. I have better things to do, the first of which will be to fire Juliette when I get back to New York.’

Joaquin shook his head.

‘I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,’ he said. ‘She’ll be the face of the disaster when it hits, seen more than any other anchor on television throughout the world. That’s exposure you cannot afford to lose.’

‘Bullshit!’ Murtaugh spat. ‘You can no more look into the future than I can look up my own ass.’ His wrinkled features twisted into a grin. ‘Perhaps, Joaquin, this is the result of you spending too much time looking up yours.’

Laughter rippled across the guests as they began standing and gathering their jackets. Dennis Aubrey looked across at Joaquin in surprise, but the younger man grinned happily for a moment before speaking.

‘Perhaps, Robert, you should pay more attention to what I have to show you. It would be such a shame if your wife were to find out just how many times you’ve fucked her sister over the years.’

Aubrey flinched at Joaquin’s sudden and unexpected profanity. Every one of the guests fell motionless, as though frozen in time. Slowly, Murtaugh broke his chains of disbelief and turned to face Joaquin.

‘What in the name of God are you talking about?’

Aubrey felt a pinch of concern as Joaquin’s smile twisted cruelly. He produced a remote control of his own and aimed it at the projector. The news image behind him flickered to another broadcast, another anchor for a rival station speaking silently. Behind her were images of Robert Murtaugh, and the scrolling text revealed his lover’s admission of an affair with the tycoon. Aubrey picked up more words from her silent lips: affair; sordid; decades-long; divorce.

Joaquin watched as the rest of the guests stared in fascination at the screen, and all at once Aubrey realized that he had them right where he wanted them. Despite himself, he felt a quiver of excitement.

‘What I’m talking about,’ Joaquin snapped, ‘is tomorrow’s news. It would appear that your lover will soon have an attack of regret and spill everything to the entire world. Just imagine, Robert, how much that will hurt your family. And if that’s not enough, just imagine how much your soon-to-be ex-wife is going to hurt your wallet when she drags you through the courts. I’m no fortune-teller but my guess is that she’ll take you to the cleaners, and there’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it unless you sit your ass back in that chair and listen to what I have to say.’

The guests exchanged wary glances. Robert Murtaugh eased himself back down into his chair. Joaquin watched as the rest of the guests followed the old man’s lead, and he waited until they were all watching him attentively before he spoke again.

‘I know about all of you,’ he said. ‘I know that all of you have something to hide, and that’s why you are here today — because I have seen the future and I know that all of you are about to see your worlds collapse around you. You’re about to be on the news for all the wrong reasons, gentlemen.’

Governor MacKenzie remained standing.

‘This is a set-up,’ he murmured, eyeing Joaquin. ‘He could have found out about the affair any number of ways and paid for that video to be shot. It could even be an innocent report with the scroll altered to say anything he wants it to.’

Twenty pairs of eyes looked expectantly at Joaquin, who raised an eyebrow.

‘Is that a chance you’re willing to take, Governor?’ Joaquin asked rhetorically. ‘If so, then you risk losing both your office and the respect of the people, something that has taken you years to achieve.’

‘Something,’ the governor replied, ‘that wouldn’t crumble overnight because of your bizarre little experiment here.’

‘Unless,’ Joaquin countered, ‘it were revealed, as it will be, that you too have dipped your fingers in the dirty little pie of corruption. You lost the vote for the governorship of Florida, didn’t you James, but it was so much easier to bribe officials into altering the new digital voting machines to guarantee your victory than it was to force a recount of ticker tapes.’

The governor’s expression collapsed, the brutal simplicity of Joaquin’s accusation catching him unawares.

‘That’s ridiculous!’ he uttered. ‘I have never done any such thing!’

‘Yes you have,’ Joaquin assured him, ‘and a whistle-blower within the company that builds and maintains the voting machines will reveal all to the media in just a few days’ time.’

Congressman Goldberg, his face trembling with indignation, jabbed a finger to point at Joaquin.

‘You have no right to do this! No matter how you’ve achieved it, this is an invasion of privacy!’

‘No it’s not,’ Joaquin replied, ‘because it hasn’t happened yet. I take it, Congressman, that after years of voting for laws that stigmatize gay and lesbian marriages, you’ll be concerned that the world will soon learn of your own homosexual encounters with escort agencies in Washington DC?’

Goldberg almost gagged as his skin flushed a pallid red, but he said nothing. Joaquin looked across the faces of the men seated before him, before settling on Reed, who was now hiding once again beneath his hat.

‘Or you, Harry.’

‘Don’t you even think about it, you sniveling little shit,’ Reed hissed.

‘I’ve already thought about it,’ Joaquin smiled, ‘and I have seen it, and believe me, it’s not going to turn out pretty for you. Remember that famous story of how you started your empire by building a single pump in Texan soil with your own hands? Trust me, it’ll take a lot less than the thirty years you then spent building up your company to lose it all when it’s revealed that you didn’t build the pump after all, preferring instead to unload a shotgun into the owner’s face after a bar-room brawl and take over his operation.’

Reed lurched out of his seat toward Joaquin, but instantly the four bodyguards materialized from their discreet positions around the room, weapons drawn. Reed glared at them.

‘Sit down, Harry,’ Joaquin said. ‘You of all people know what a terrible mess it makes when somebody’s head gets blown off, right?’

Reed sank back into his chair, his gaze still fixed on the guards. Robert Murtaugh spoke up when the rest of the men remained silent.

‘What do you want from us?’

Joaquin theatrically searched the ceiling above them as though for inspiration, before replying. He’s enjoying this, thought Aubrey.

‘By now, it’s obvious to you all that I have asked you here because I know what will happen to you all in the near future. I selected you based on your imminent vulnerability, to allow me a certain amount of leverage, lest your dirty little secrets get out to the wider public. However, I also have the means to allow all of you to avert disaster. Just as I know what will happen, I also know something of how it will happen, and I am willing to share with you the means to prevent disaster from shattering your privileged little lives.’

Harry Reed’s eyes narrowed. ‘In return for what, exactly?’

Joaquin smiled again.

‘Your undivided support. It is my intention to change the face of our world and I shall do it first by generosity and then by guile. Our world is a dangerous place, and we must ensure that American superiority over both our enemies and our allies remains secure.’

‘I thought you were all for charity,’ Murtaugh sneered. ‘Didn’t you want to save Africa last year?’

‘I did, and I still do,’ Joaquin said, ‘but not at the expense of our own country. Charity starts at home, my mother used to say. I see no sense in shoring up another nation only for it to become more powerful than our own. We help them, but on our own terms by ensuring that they remain subservient to the United States.’

‘And how, exactly, are you intending to go about this little scheme of yours?’

Aubrey felt a shiver of concern at the speed of Joaquin’s apparent mood swings, and the audacity of his claims. Joaquin was all charm again, now that he had gained the complete attention he so obviously craved.

‘Simple. At the next presidential primary we will all be backing Governor James MacKenzie, who will run for the office of the president of the United States.’

The men looked at each other quizzically before MacKenzie stood up.

‘If it’s power that you want, why don’t you become the president?’

Joaquin laughed and waved the governor off with one hand. ‘Do you have any idea how many hours the president has to work? The paperwork they have to deal with? The stress? Most of them age by a decade in their first term. The hell with that. You can do the donkey work, James.’ Joaquin’s cheery smile turned cold. ‘But you’ll be working for me, as will your entire administration. From my position as a silent partner, shall we say, I will be able to shape this great nation using a force no man on earth has ever wielded before: the power of presentiment, the ability to look into the future and act upon what I see.’ Joaquin looked down at his guests and smiled with supreme confidence. ‘I, alone, will be invincible.’

The guests exchanged looks of incredulity before Murtaugh spoke again.

‘I don’t know whether to believe you or not, Abell, so before we go any further I want to know that you can prevent any of us from falling. You say you can see into the future and that you want our help? Prove it.’

Joaquin surveyed the guests with a serious expression, and then nodded.

‘That, gentlemen, has been my intention all along. I will show you this afternoon, aboard my yacht, the Event Horizon. I take it that all of you will be able to make space in your diaries?’

One of the gathered men, a property developer named Benjamin Tyler, stood up from the group.

‘No, I won’t,’ he muttered. ‘I don’t care what you’ve got on these guys, there’s nothing for me to fear from you, Joaquin. I haven’t slept with anyone other than my wife, I haven’t cheated anybody, lied to people or swindled anyone out of money. So what the hell am I doing here?’

Joaquin sighed and his face fell as he looked at Tyler.

‘You’re not here because you’ve muddied your reputation, Benjamin. You’re here because you have only months to live, and I’m hoping that I can help you.’ Tyler’s anger dissipated as he stared at Joaquin, who spoke softly. ‘I will show you at the yacht. Be there at three o’clock, please.’