Black Harvest

CHAPTER SIXTY-NIINE

This time when Nick saw the armored Cadillac waiting he simply got in when the driver held the door for him. The same back seat. The same luxury. The same black glass partition down the middle. The car moved silently into Washington traffic. The overhead halo lights cast a soft glow on the black leather interior.

"You've been busy." Adam's electronic voice came through the speaker grill.

"You could say that. How much do you know?"

"All of it. Well done."

"Who are you?"

"Think of me as an interested party."

"Interested in what?"

"In making sure AEON doesn't succeed."

"AEON?"

"The group behind Dansinger."

"So there is an organization."

"There definitely is an organization."

"Who are they?"

"A group of powerful men. AEON has been in existence for a long time. Their goal is control."

"Control?"

"Of everything. World domination."

"You're not going to start talking about the Illuminati or secret Masons are you?"

Laughter from the speaker. It sounded bizarre with the electronic distortion. "No, of course not. Those are convenient distractions to divert attention from the truth. But AEON is real. They mean business. You remember that little band of Nazis you broke up?"

"That was AEON?"

"One tentacle of it. They are not pleased with you and Harker and the others."

Nick leaned back in the leather. He waited. The car rolled through the streets, quiet, soft.

"Did they kill Dansinger?"

"Yes. He screwed up. Your raid in Texas told them he was exposed. They couldn't let him live. His public execution sends a message to everyone in their organization."

"What are they planning to do?"

"About Dansinger? Nothing. It's done."

"I meant now that their plan has been stopped."

"Their plan never stops. They simply move past failures to something else. When we know more I'll contact you."

"Who are they?"

"Their leader is Malcolm Foxworth."

"The media guy? With the newspapers?

"Yes. They are international. Dansinger was the newest addition to their ruling council. One of two Americans. They will replace him."

"Who's the other American?"

"We don't know. He may be highly placed in the Pentagon. We know they are embedded there, but we don't know if one of the council is directly involved."

"Jesus."

"Anatoly Orgorov is another member of the leadership council. The Russian Foreign Minister."

Nick thought about that. Harker was not going to be thrilled when he told her about this conversation.

"Henri Maupassant is the Minister of Finance in France. He has been part of the council for the last ten years."

"Maupassant? He's a key player in the European debt crisis."

"Exactly. You begin to see, I think."

Nick did. "Who are the others?"

"We're not sure of their identities. There is someone in Brazil, China, Japan. Germany. Possibly India. That is the leadership. The structure is a pyramid, with Foxworth at the top, the council below him. Below them is another layer of perhaps a hundred. Below them, thousands. We don't know how many."

The Cadillac moved like a silent omen through the unseen streets of Washington.

"What have they done in the past?"

"AEON worked carefully with Hitler to groom him for his role. He was a pawn, though he didn't know it. The assassination of Kennedy was engineered by them and we got Vietnam. They were quite active in the 60s. Napoleon received their backing. They arranged the death of the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. They sank the Lusitania. Need I go on?""

"That's hard to believe."

"Of course it is. They count on that. Circumstances can be arranged, things made to appear different than they are. Look at how Rice covered up the events about Senator Greenwood."

"Are you saying Rice is part of this?"

"No. He is not. I merely bring it up as an example. Leaders and governments often conceal unpleasant truths from the public. Sometimes there's a legitimate reason. When there isn't, they make one up. In the case of something as public and high profile as the Kennedy affair, people who might actually upset things are eliminated. Others are labeled as misguided or as conspiracy nuts. There are plenty of those. It works quite well to deflect attention from the truth. Especially in our digital age."

The car slowed and rolled to a stop.

"Why have you told me this? What do you expect me to do?"

"What you and the Project do so well. You are uniquely positioned to stop AEON. We will help in every way we can. I advise you to be careful. They are certain to respond."

"We can't just go after someone like Foxworth or the Russian Foreign Minister. Jesus, Adam."

"You'll find a way."

The door opened.

"Who are you?" Nick asked again. There was no answer.

Nick got out and watched the car drive away. The street was deserted. He was suddenly cold, aware that he was alone. He didn't like the feeling. It felt as though the night was full of eyes. Sometimes it seemed like everyone was watching him. CIA. The Russians. Adam, whoever the hell he was. Maybe AEON. AEON raised the stakes beyond anything he'd run into before. If Adam was telling the truth.

He didn't like feeling alone.

He thought about what Selena had said about Megan. A ghost between them. It was almost nine years since she'd died. Nine years of living with a ghost.

He took out his wallet, took out the picture of Megan he kept there. The picture was creased and faded. It was just a picture, its only value the memories it stirred. Looking at it, he realized he felt nothing. No, that wasn't right. It was something, but it was distant, a memory of a memory. It wasn't Megan.

Everyone ends up in the same place.

He was still here. Selena was here. Megan was gone. He'd thought he'd gotten past it. He'd thought he'd let her go, but he hadn't. Selena was right about Megan. She was right about a lot of things.

He could have a ghost or he could have her. What kind of choice was that?

He'd told her he was afraid she'd be killed. Thinking about it, he felt that he was on the edge of something, some recognition he didn't want to see, some feeling he didn't want to have. It was true, what he'd said to her, but it wasn't that simple.

She loves me.

His mind opened a door.

It's her pain I'm afraid of, not mine.

I'm the one I think will get killed.

I don't want to hurt her.

I really do love her.

The realization was a physical blow to his chest. He'd been pushing away the deeper fear of his own death. Of causing her the kind of pain he'd felt when he lost Megan. It sent a shiver over his body, rippled down his spine. Selena had got past the barriers. It was too late to throw up the wall again.

He couldn't stop doing what he did to try and keep them both safe. Not after what Adam had told him. Now there was another, darker enemy.

AEON.

Now that I know, I can tell her. She'll understand.

He took out his phone and called her.