“You wound me,cherie.”He puts a hand to his chest. “We are colleagues now.” Looking at thewindow, he beams happily. “Ah. We are about to land, and I will transfer you to the helicopter with utmost delicacy.”
Aaaand, another damned blindfold. Afther the helicopter, I'm put in a jeep.
The windows are open and I can smell the sharp fresh air and we’re back in the Atlas Mountains, I’m sure of it. He’s really taking me back to the scene of the crime, so to speak?
The air changes, dropping abruptly in temperature, more dank, and moist. I hear doors clang open with a metallic screech and as they close behind us, it’s stale, filtered air. Are we underground?
Hugo’s moist hand takes mine and helps me from the jeep. “You may take off your blindfold.”
Ripping it off, I squint painfully for a few moments before the black spots disappear from my vision and I can handle the light.
We’re in an enormous hall, the ceiling soaring up above us, the floor is a mosaic of granite and marble tiles and, as is Hugo’s taste, the furniture is dripping with gold leaf and lavish fabrics.
“Not the castle, then,” I say dryly. Looking up, up and then up some more, my heart sinks. It’s rock, with huge steel girders supporting the most likely thousands of tons of mountain above us.
There’s a huge Dubois family crest over the steel doors and the overhead lights make it glow sullenly like the Eye of Sauron.
That’s fitting.
“I must admit, I nearly gave it away that first night at dinner,” he says, “when you called my sweet little castle a villain’s lair. This!” He spreads his arms wide,“Thisis a lair!Bienvenue dans la grotte des chauves-souris -”
“No. Nae. Uh-uh. Ye canna call it the Bat Cave, Hugo!” Am I delirious? My biggest problem is the eejit supervillain name he wants to bestow on this monstrosity?
“No?” His arms drop.
“No,” I say firmly. “We must think of something else. Something special to ye. First, I would like to bandage the gash ye left on my leg and then perhaps a tour?” I force myself to smile. “I’m certain there are stories to be told here.”
Lucas. Love. I know ye will find me.
Lucas…
Marabout Badis sends his guards out to do the footwork, traveling through the villages near the castle, which is deserted. “They will not stand out, the way your people would,” he says kindly. “Even with your skills at stealth, I’m certain the locals have been ordered to look for visitors.”
We do learn there’s a few guards watching over what is left of the valuables at the castle, but the labs were cleared out down to the last test tube and Dubois is not in residence.
“Could he have moved on to another castle, then?” Duncan’s listening to the latest reports with a frown.
“Too obvious.” I shake my head. “They’re easily scanned by satellites and drones. We’re missing something.”
“What’s our next step?” Wallace is flicking his zippo lighter on and off.
“We keep searching,” Ryan says, moving from one monitor to the other, following the drones’ progress.
“In the meantime,” I add, “we’re going to keep Dubois busy. There’s a certain Albanian Mafia that just discovered who poisoned twenty-five of their best men. The Australian Minister of Health is demanding answers about a botched shipment of weight loss drugs, a massive one where the coolant failed, and the Semaglutides were destroyed. I’m sure ye can guess who manufactures the drugs.”
“Shite,” Wallace whistles softly. “Ye think the Albanians are howling for blood? Try three million overweight Aussies. They’ll have his head on a pike.”
“That’s just Friday and Saturday,” Michael says, nursing his drink. “Next week, we’re breaking into his labs in France and Denmark and stealing his developmental drugs. Most of them were taken from other companies, anyway.”
“Why am I guessing that your father will be offering to sell these formulas back to the original manufacturers for a hefty price?” I say dryly.
“Well, wearestill Mafia,” Michael smiles maliciously.
Day Three…
My Cat is alive, I know this.
I must find her before she finishes that antidote. Dubois’ reactions to our booby-traps and public relations nightmares are becoming increasingly erratic. There’s no guarantee he’ll be in the right state of mind to keep her alive after he gets what he wants.
