“Your what?” Ethan asked.
“Big long book,” Blayne responded. “You know, those things you don’t read many of.”
“Bitch,” Ethan said in mock fury.
“Hardly the first time I’ve been calledthatin my life,” Blayne shot back.
The two spent the rest of the ride to Blayne’s apartment in easy conversation.
* * * *
Dr. Hennigan
Dr. Hennigan got off the phone before she rapped on her mother’s office door.
“Enter,” an authoritative voice said from within, followed by a beeping sound letting Dr. Hennigan know the door had been unlocked.
She opened it and walked inside. The vice-chair of The Foundation was on the phone with someone. Deborah Hennigan had a hawk-like nose and a gaze that could chill anyone to their core. Of course, Deborah was Dr. Hennigan’s mother.
“Yes, Senator. I look forward to receiving your report,” Deborah said before hanging up the phone.
Dr. Hennigan had been in this office countless times over the years, but it always reminded her of a queen sitting upon her throne. The north wall of the office was filled with a bank of television monitors that captured live feeds from television stations worldwide.
From her experience, Dr. Hennigan knew those channels could just as quickly capture feeds from the various internal cameras stationed throughout the facility.
“How are you doing this afternoon, Mother?” Dr. Hennigan asked.
“I’m fine, Philippa. What news have you for me?”
Dr. Hennigan noticed her mother hadn’t asked about her. Dr. Hennigan learned long ago she had no mother when Deborah Hennigan sat in this room. Deborah could be the doting mother when they were at her estate outside Santa Fe, but in this compound, she was not her mother. Here, she was the vice-chair. And while Dr. Hennigan technically controlled the day-to-day operations of The Mesa Juamenes Complex, just called ‘The Complex’ by most who worked for The Foundation, Deborah Hennigan oversaw all operations worldwide while Dr. Hennigan’s grandmother oversaw The Foundation overall. Three generations of women controlled the outcomes of elections, coups, the media and many other vital parts of society—all cloaked in The Foundation’s mystery.
Many people had heard of The Foundation. Some had even learned to fear it. But only those few hand-picked women who survived their intense training could learn its secrets. Dr. Hennigan wasn’t a fan of death, and she never took joy in watching others suffer and die, but she knew death was necessary for progress.
“We believe the target was not liquidated in the Peregrine explosion. We’re not sure if other forces are at play or if it was absolute dumb luck at this point. We are still investigating.”
“So, you’re telling me The Foundation sanctioned the extra-liquidation of two-hundred-eighty-five people and managed to miss the one target?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“That wasn’t actually a question, dear.”
The way her mother stressed the word “dear” was like a slap to the face. Although her mother would never come out and express her fury, let alone show it, using a familiar term while she was working was virtually unheard of.
Well, two can play that game, Dr. Hennigan thought to herself.“Vice-Chair,” she started. The only reaction she got from her mother was the slight arch of a single thin eyebrow. “We are trying to find out what happened. Our agents on the ground were kept out of the loop about the target’s non-appearance on the plane. The plan was already in motion, and a communication blackout had commenced. There was no way to stop once it was in motion.”
“You followed procedures to the letter?”
Dr. Hennigan knew the question was less of a question and more of a statement. If her team hadn’t followed procedures to the letter, her team would have been liquidated. And although she knew it would be hard for her mother and grandmother, Dr. Hennigan never took it for granted that she could find herself taken out.
“Of course. The plan proceeded flawlessly. There was an unknown element, and we’re still trying to find out what happened.”
“I will expect a full internal audit of this fiasco.”
“Of course.”
“I’m assigning Ms. Brighton to oversee the audit.”
Fuck!“Understandable.”
