The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (35 page)

Jared was silent for a moment. He
pushed his chair back and without saying anything walked out of the room. Amy
wanted to cry, but she didn’t. Somewhere in the house she heard a cabinet open
and slam shut. Jared’s footsteps grew louder as he approached the dining room
again. He stood next to her and leaned forward until his nose almost touched
hers. She tried to avoid eye contact, but at this proximity, that was an
impossibility. ‘Is
this
what this whole charade is all about?’ he asked
and produced a small velvet box. With his thumb he flicked the lid off to
expose the diamond ring.

Amy’s heart sank. ‘Jared, I...’

‘Is
this
what you want?’ he
yelled. He stood up and towered over her. ‘
Is it?
’

She was on the verge of tears.

Jared slammed the box onto the
table. The ring bounced back and fell on the far side before sliding off.
‘There’s your stupid ring,’ he hissed. He didn’t allow her time to respond but
stormed from the room instead, grabbed his car keys from the living room table,
and sped off in the Vanquish.

*   
-    -    -    *

Sunday night. He was supposed to be
in Church with his fiancé, clapping to the music while worshipping his newfound
Saviour. But he wasn’t. Instead, Jared was at a pub at the corner of Lavender
and Sixth. The pub stayed open despite the fact that there were only four
regulars there that evening. Four regulars and Jared.

Shaun saw you...

Betrayed.

...kissing that woman!

Betrayed by his best friend.

Judas!

Jared shook his head. Why wouldn’t
everyone just leave him alone and allow him to live life the way he wanted to?
Why did everyone think they had the right to dictate what he should and
shouldn’t do? Was Natasha the only one capable of understanding him? He raised
his empty glass into the air and the bartender took it from him in exchange for
a filled one.

I’m going back to my parents’ place
for a while
,
Amy’s voice echoed in his thoughts.
Just until I can clear my head and you
can straighten yourself out.

When Jared returned home later that
evening, Amy was gone. She had left with most of her belongings. He spent the
next two evenings at the pub where he tried to clear his thoughts and
re-evaluate his situation. At the end of the first evening he stumbled from the
building, his thoughts jumbled together like the Gin and Tonic that he indulged
in. Jared had a sneaky suspicion that this evening would turn out more or less
the same.

Something on the television screen
in the corner of the pub made Jared look up. The word
Columbia
grabbed
his attention and he asked the bartender to turn up the volume.

‘The jail break took place last
night when seventy rebel troops engaged the prison guards with gunfire and
grenades. The twelve minute raid left nineteen guards dead and four inmates on
the run. One of the prisoners that escaped is believed to be Aaryan Omar, the
rebel leader of the Colombian Armed Forces.’

Jared rubbed his face. Was this
true? Could this really be happening? A sense of shock, fear, disbelief, and
pride overcame him all at once.

‘Shortly after the prison break,’
the newsreader continued, ‘the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá was destroyed when it was
attacked with heavy artillery. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack
yet, but the U.S. Government has reason to believe that the Colombian Armed
Forces might have been behind the attack. A rigorous investigation will be
launched into the Embassy attack, and plans to re-capture the rebel leader,
Aaryan Omar have already been set in motion.’

Jared sat up straight on the bar
stool. By signing one cheque, he managed to help create international news. He
was impressed with the efficiency in which the people that hosted the function
carried out their plans.

There’s another fund raiser on
Monday evening...

Tomorrow night.

This is a very important function.
The topic is of great importance.

Jared smiled. He couldn’t wait to
see what it was about. He liked the idea of creating history; influencing
events behind the scenes to make the headlines everyone reads about the next
day. The idea of that level of power intrigued him.

Promise me that you’ll be there.

‘I promished,’ he slurred and washed
down his Gin and Tonic. He motioned to the bartender that he wanted the bill,
and after paying, left the damp smell of stale beer and rotten egg yolk for the
fresh air of the outside world. He needed rest; he wanted to be fresh for
tomorrow’s function. This time though, he wouldn’t have to worry about Amy. She
was out of the picture for the time being. He was his own boss again and the
feeling was as liberating as the realization that he was one of the major key
players in something that happened a continent away. This was true power. Not
the kind where you asked a receptionist for a cup of coffee or fired someone
for not doing their job or even deciding which days to play golf and which ones
to use up in meetings. This was power beyond the scope of board rooms. This was
real power, and he wanted more of it.

* 
  -    -    -    *

 ‘Shaun?’

‘Yes?’

‘It’s Amy.’

‘Oh, hi there. How are things?’

‘Well...that’s why I’m calling.
Jared and I had a fight and I was wondering if we could talk...’

*   
-    -    -    *

Including Natasha, only six people
attended the function on Monday evening. Jared scanned the room, observing the
four men and his personal assistant. She wouldn’t participate in the events,
but would merely observe. The other men there didn’t seem to mind her presence.

‘You have been chosen for this
evening’s topic of interest,’ a man at the front said to Jared and the four men
next to him. No microphone was needed. ‘The five of you have each been singled
out and hand selected by the board of trustees.’

Singled out
, Jared thought.
Impressive
.

‘I’m sure that all of you have heard
or read about the recent earthquake near Australia.’

Everyone present nodded.

‘Although the loss of life is always
tragic, it is—in some cases—an unfortunate necessity.’

Jared glanced at Natasha. She smiled
at him and focussed her attention at the man standing in front of them. Jared
caught the hint and did the same.

‘For certain points to be driven
home, powerful examples need to be made. If not, we might as well pack up and
quit.’

What’s this guy talking about?
Jared wondered. He
figured that he would soon enough find out.

‘The quake, in a nutshell, was the
direct result of a satellite that has the capability of heating the Earth’s
ionosphere to such a degree that it changes shape,’ the man at the front
informed the group. ‘The accumulated energy is then transferred back to earth
in a nuclear-sized explosion. This particular explosion was aimed at underwater
fault lines near Australia and was meant to disrupt the fault plates enough to
cause an earthquake that met our exact pre-defined requirements. We wanted an
eight point six Richter Scale earthquake and we got it. The tidal waves, the
fires, the loss of life, was nature taking its course.’

‘The earthquake was intentional?’
one of the men at the front asked. Jared was glad that he didn’t have to ask
the question.

The man at the front nodded. ‘As far
as anyone knows, our satellite is a failsafe backup unit for digital television
networks. Only fifteen people on earth, and yes, this includes you, know about
its true nature. To date, it has been tested a few times with great success. No
one ever suspected any form of human involvement, and no one ever will.’

Everyone sat back in deep thought.
Jared gulped down his whiskey. It was immediately replaced. If what he heard
was true, this would indeed prove to be an interesting investment.

‘What’s the goal behind the quakes?’
a stocky man three seats to the right of Jared asked. ‘Why would we
want
to kill thousands of people?’

The man at the front smiled. ‘Think
about it,’ he said. ‘If other countries knew what you could do, they would bow
down on their knees and worship you. Ever wanted to run your own country? Ever
wanted to bring one of the super powers to its knees? Imagine the San Andreas
Fault dropping whole cities into the ocean. Imagine the power you could wield
with this device.’

Jared thought about countries like
Russia, China, and England, all bowing down to do his bidding.
Use Whyte
& Greene International for all your imports and exports or else!

‘The ultimate objective,’ the
speaker said, ‘is to unite the people of the world to a common goal. Every
person in every country is aware of the quake and involved with assistance and
relief on some level. Everyone is helping where they can with aid to those who
lost their homes and families during the floods. From super powers like the
United States and Europe to smaller players like South Africa and the rest of
the African continent, everyone’s involved. Everyone is speaking one common
language for one common cause.’

No one dared to say a word.

‘Why would we want everyone to
unite?’ Jared finally asked.

‘Ah, Mister Greene,’ the man said.
‘If all countries unite as one, if everyone falls under one banner as a Global
Village, the few men at the very top who rule this village will in essence,
rule the entire world.’

Jared nodded to indicate that he was
satisfied with the answer.

‘And this includes every one of you
in this room tonight, Mister Greene. You are one of those men.’

Jared raised his glass into the air
as a salute before gulping down the contents. He wondered who these people were
and just how deep this rabbit hole really went. Aaryan Omar’s escape certainly
proved a lot already. How many more things that happened on a daily basis did
these people have control over?

‘This, gentlemen, is just the tip of
the ice berg. There are so many more things that you could invest in; so many
more things that will help us accomplish our goals quicker and more
effectively. But for the time being, let us focus on this one weapon. We need
the capital to manufacture at least fifty of these bombs before we can be seen
as a threat. So I beg you, if you wish to see a better world tomorrow, invest
all you can today.’

Jared took out his cheque book and
opened it.

‘The minimum contribution will
commence at five hundred thousand dollars.’

What?
Jared paused for a moment. This was
certainly not minor league anymore. Would he ever be able to pluck the fruits
of his investment? Would all this world domination talk ever materialize? Jared
figured that only time would tell. Natasha stroked the back of his neck and in
the moment he wanted to give her everything he owned. She could write the
cheques for him. She could manage his funds. He just wanted to focus all his
attention on her and her alone.

‘Two million,’ she whispered into
his ear. Her breath felt warm against his skin.

Jared nodded. He filled out the
cheque for two million dollars. So be it. He was now officially a part of this
group. He was now playing in the major leagues. He could now destroy entire
countries with a mere phone call. He now had ultimate power.

*   
-    -    -    *

It was midnight when Amy awoke from
her nightmare. For a moment she wondered where she was. She called out to
Jared, but then realised that she was in her own room at her parents’ place.
She lay on her back, staring at the dark ceiling as her heartbeat returned to
normal. Regulating her breathing proved to be harder than she thought it would.
Each breath escaped with a gasp. She ran the back of her hand over her
forehead. It was wet with perspiration.

Shfffff!

She heard something move somewhere
in the room.

Amy lay still, her eyes rapidly
darting about as her heartbeat quickened again. She could see nothing but the
swallowing blackness of night.

Thud!

Amy sat upright and pressed her back
against the headboard. Someone was in the room! She could feel the presence of
the other person. She could hear the shuffling; sense the movement.

‘Hello?’

No one answered.

‘Mom?’

Something moved to her left;
something to her right.

Amy shrieked and reached out for the
bed lamp. Light instantly flushed out the darkness and she had to blink a few
times before her vision stabilized enough for her to focus on her surroundings.