Authors: Lindsay McKenna
“Because of what we’ve learned from this experience, Robert and I are going to change how we work with all our charities,” Dilara picked up her eel-skin briefcase, opening it on her lap and handing over a small manual to Lia. “I know we talked to you about it when we first flew into San Jose, at the hotel. It was an idea we had, but it was just that. Now, we’ve moved on it and it’s real. While you’re here with us, I would like to use not only your military background, but your four years at our Home School at La Fortuna. Robert has put this together with some of the best military strategists in the U.S. He’s also worked with high officials from the CIA.” She patted the manual. “This is top secret, for your eyes only, Lia. I want you to go through it, page by page, and make comments as you see fit. This manual is an amalgam of the best military minds in the world, but now, we need people in the trenches, like you, to look at it. Think outside the box, and once you’re done, let me know. We’ll then convene in our boardroom with Robert, and discuss any changes or ideas you might have to improve on what’s already there. Okay?”
Stunned, Lia nodded, placing her hands over the bright red cover of the manual. “What is this, anyway? A game plan? A working concept?”
Dilara sat back, her mouth pursed. “We as a family have concluded that in today’s environment, threats are escalating on every continent where we have a charity. Therefore, they’ll need us to provide security so they can survive and thrive. In response to today’s growing threat environment, Robert created Artemis as an internal Delos Charity security company we can call on at a moment’s notice.” She pointed at the manual. “You know that Tal, Matt and Alexa, our children, are all in the military.”
Lia nodded. “Yes, I was aware that Tal is a Marine Corps captain who heads up a sniper group at Bagram presently. Alexa is a captain in the U.S. Air Force and flies an A-10 in Afghanistan, and Matt is a Delta Force operator out of Bagram. Is that correct?”
“Correct. We are asking our children to come home, to leave the military so they can run Artemis Security. I want Tal, the oldest, to become CEO. Matt has a lot of experience in KNR, kidnapping and ransom. We want him to head up that department. Alexa wants to head up the Women’s Division. Each of them has a world of experience in the military, and has a wide network of people they can work with. Robert’s brothers, John and Pete Culver, are working with us, too. John is an admiral in the U.S. Navy, so that gives us access to that force if necessary. Pete is a Marine Corps general, and can bring Marines into a situation, if approved by the State Department.”
Lia’s eyes widened. “Wow,” she murmured, “you’re setting up a clandestine security operation under the umbrella of Delos. And while you’re creating a security corporation within Delos, you’ll still have the U.S. military available, too?”
Holding up her hands, Dilara said, “In a word, yes, but Robert is working with John and Pete, plus many other Pentagon high level contacts, to bring this together and make it work. The State Department recognizes that all non-government charitable organizations are under attack globally. They understand the need for what we’re creating and are willing to underwrite what we’re doing for political reasons. This country cannot be seen sending in troops to a charity under siege. But we can use black ops, paid civilian security operators and stealth, quietly moving behind-the-scenes to get to that charity and give its people and buildings protection. There are many other countries who are looking to what we’re doing, wanting to use it as a template if it works. We’re going to have a lot of eyes watching what we do and whether we’re successful at it or not.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Lia said. “You’ve more or less done that with Medina down in Costa Rica.”
She grimaced. “Yes, but let me tell you, we learned a lot from that experience. Robert had to scramble to get Army help, and if he hadn’t had the respect, clout and power he does within the military, he couldn’t have done it. I told him that if we’d had our own security teams of men and women who were once military, we could have inserted our own team into that situation faster and more efficiently. Robert agreed with me, which is what got us both thinking about creating Artemis Security.”
“And your children would be perfect fit for it,” Lia said, her excitement rising. “They all have at least six or seven years of combat experience, don’t they?”
“Correct.” Dilara sighed. “I must tell you, Lia, as a mother I’m so happy that our children are on board with this. Tal and Alexa can hand in their commission and quit at any time. Matt can’t get free until next March when his present enlistment runs out. But it’s going to take us nine months to a year to put this concept on the ground. There’s so much to it, and that’s why I wanted your eyes on it. You know what it’s like to be in a charity overseas. Costa Rica is usually very safe, the best in South or Central America, but they still have issues that could jeopardize people at our charities down there. If that’s the case there is no country where we have a Delos charity that can be considered completely is safe. We must do something about this now.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “And to have to lose Maria and Sophia to Medina just breaks my heart.”
Lia reached out and touched her arm as Dilara wiped her eyes. “If we’d had Artemis Security online, if we’d been receiving weekly reports on the political environment surrounding each charity location, we would have known where there might be issues.”
“And what would you have done if I had written such a report on Medina?” Lia wondered.
“Artemis Security would have looked at the situation, talked to you, talked to the government involved, and then assessed the threat level. They could have sent down a security contractor or more than one to protect all of you. We could have alerted the government. If they wanted to get involved, we would have coordinated something with them. If not, then we’d go in with a handpicked individual or team to keep our charity and our people safe. We recognize that not every government has a military or the money, manpower or guts to respond to a threat situation to one of our charities. By creating Artemis Security, we can.”
“This is quite a paradigm shift for a charity,” Lia said, holding Dilara’s gaze. She saw the concern in her boss’ eyes, knew that her love for people was always at the forefront of everything she did. Her heart swelled with pride knowing that she worked with Delos Charities.
“Unfortunately,” Dilara sighed, “yes, it is. But our world has changed, I’m sorry to say. It’s not the world you and I grew up in. Especially me, since I’m in my forties,” and she smiled a little. “I grew up in a safe world, Lia. There were no school shootings, no mass murders of innocent people, no beheadings, and no terrorism. If we are to continue to help those who need us, we must protect our property, our volunteers and paid staff. We can’t leave them open the way you, Maria and Sophia were left vulnerable so that Medina could kill. I will go to my grave with their deaths on my conscience, and I never want this to happen again. Delos is about hope for a brighter future for the people who come through our doors. That’s why our charity logo is a rising sun. It’s about hope, giving people who are in the dark, a way out, a way to a better life. We’re here to provide them medical help, education and give them help in agriculture so they can grow better, bigger crops for their people.”
“I understand,” Lia whispered, deeply affected by Dilara’s passionate words. She was one of the wealthiest women in the world, but to Lia, Dilara was not the socialite the entertainment magazines touted. They didn’t really know this Turkish-Greek woman with a heart as big as the world. Lia had often heard her say during charity meetings, “money isn’t something we can’t take with us once we die.” Their money, billions, would be placed into Delos Charities. Dilara was a fierce advocate that education was the only tool that would lift people out of poverty and give them a chance for a decent life, free from starvation.
Lia loved working in home schools and had, in her four years, seen the children of La Fortuna blossom with the education Delos provided them. The world was a better place because these children were being educated. Education bred understanding, not fear or kept people imprisoned in darkness. And Dilara, in Lia’s mind, was a torch of hope in this broken world. She was a rising sun of hope for those who had so little.
“I’ll read this and make notes,” Lia promised, eager to dig in and help.
“Good. I’m really relying on you, Lia, because you’ve spent time in our Home School program. I want to find someone in our Farm Foundation area and our Safe House charities to read the manual, too.” She gave Lia a proud look. “You were my choice for the Home School portion.”
Blushing, Lia said, “I’m sure there are other teachers who are certified, who can do better than I can.”
“No, that’s not true,” Dilara said. “For four years, you have run the Home School charity in La Fortuna in every way but classroom teaching. You know about the building, the plumbing, electrical, the water, as well as coordinating the lesson plans, getting supplies ordered and to the classrooms. You do all the logistics, Lia. A teacher teaches. What you do? You’re like a manager who oversees the entire operation from beginning to end.
You really are the right person to be reading this manual. And you are especially valuable to us because of the managerial position you held at La Fortuna. No, you can give us a full overview on this operation, whereas a teacher could not. Does that make sense to you now?” Dilara gave her a reassuring smile.
Lia felt tears threaten to overtake her. “Y-yes, it does. I guess I never saw myself in that capacity. All I wanted to do was help serve, and make those kids’ lives better.”
“Well, you have and you do,” Dilara patted her hand. “But I have one more thing I must speak to you about.”
“What?” Lia hoped it wasn’t anything bad. She’d seen enough of that to last a lifetime.
“Robert and I are already starting to hire key staff for Artemis Security. Among them, we’re reaching out to key individuals from our charities, and hiring them to come and work here, with us. Robert has had a real estate company buy a huge farm just outside Alexandria that we’re going to convert into Artemis Security. It’s going to take nine months to convert the three-story farmhouse into a major security operation. We’ve created three key departments based on the charities’ outreach programs: Safe House, Home School and Farm Foundation.”
She halted, and then gripped Lia’s hand. “I very much want to hire you to run the Home School Department, Lia. You’re perfect for the position. You not only have experience and management knowledge, but you also have a military background. We’re trying to hire managers with military experience because Artemis is ultimately about security and protecting our people out in the field. That needs key people with a military background so they can make good decisions based upon their knowledge. You make sound decisions with such a multi-career background already.
I can promise that you’ll have your own office, as many assistants as you need, and you’ll run that department. You’ll answer to Tal, Matt, Alexa, as well as, Robert and me. The department managers are the top tier in Artemis and you will be one of them. You will help create policy to be carried out in the field. This is a job for someone who loves educating children, who’s fierce about it. And you are, Lia. I can promise you a very handsome salary. You will be helping Delos move into the twenty-first century with Artemis. We are going to transform our global charity to keep our people safe. What do you say?”
L
ia had discovered
that late June in Alexandria, Virginia was absolutely beautiful. She was at the old farmhouse outside the bustling, busy town, ensconced in her new office on the fifth floor. It was Monday and she was working on a manual to be sent to all Home School Delos charities in South and Central America.
Outside her bulletproof window was a huge green pasture surrounded by a freshly painted white fence. The farmhouse had been converted into Artemis Security, but from the outside, if someone drove along the narrow, two-lane asphalt road, looked like a farmhouse from the mid-1850s.
Inside, however, it was a very different story. Lia could hear the carpenters, the drywall people, the electricians and the construction workers humming throughout the three-story above ground structure. They were also adding two floors beneath the building. They’d prepared her office first because she was the only employee on site so far. Tomorrow, three women would be in the newly painted HR, Human Resources, office on the first floor. Lia was on the top floor, where all the managers would eventually be located.
Even though she was excited about her new job, Lia’s heart and mind were never far from Cav. Since being shuttled out of Costa Rica a week ago, he’d contacted her once. They had chatted via webcam so he could let her know he was okay. He’d been back in San José after taking down Medina, and reported that he and the team of Delta Force operators were going back into the northern highlands to begin dismantling the huge cocaine network Medina had put together.
Lia had tried to keep their conversation light, feeling the pressure on Cav. It wasn’t that he tried to hide anything from her, but the camera showed the tension at the corners of his mouth and eyes. She knew how dangerous his mission was going to be.
Medina’s soldiers were stationed at every farm with the latest weapons, with orders to protect the farms and keep the cocaine flowing for distribution. All she could hope was that Cav’s years of experience would keep him safe.
On her desk were a landline phone, satellite phone, desktop computer, and a radio connected to the men and women directing the building of Artemis. When her sat phone buzzed, she frowned, then looked at the number. It was Cav! She picked it up eagerly. “Cav? Are you all right?” Lia tried to keep the worry out of her voice.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to let you know that Dilara is ordering me up to see her. She’s going to offer me a job and I’ll potentially be working at Artemis Security. I don’t know the details yet, and I’ve got an appointment to speak to her about next Monday. We’re just about finished mopping up Medina’s operation here, and she wants me to put in for a job with their new security company. Could you use some company at your condo Friday evening?”