Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,78

mean somehow the Fates had been identified and two of them eliminated.

"Get in here!"

Her assistant flew into the office. "Ma'am?"

"Execute Ground Zero, immediately."

"Of course, ma'am. I'll contact New York and divert the plane back here to retrieve you."

"No. Not yet. I have time. Let them deliver her before they come back for me." She would go to her safe place in New York City and leave the US from there, but Pilar was unfinished business.

"Of course, ma'am." The little man hurried from the room.

She watched his door shut and sighed. Too bad the last step of Ground Zero was his death. He was a loyal little curmudgeon. But there could be no one and nothing to implicate her. Her office building in New York would be cleared out, the offices vacated, and all personnel would be eliminated. The corporations would receive her resignations, but the legitimate business would continue and, as a stockholder under another name, she would continue to amass her fortune.

Watching the water, she sighed. She would disappear and reemerge in another country, as another person. She'd purchased a rather large private island in the Maldives which was untraceable to her. Unfortunately, the humidity and heat of the tropical location, her primary fall back location, wasn’t any better than Florida. A few years of relaxation before she began to rebuild the Fates would be in order. There would be changes this time.

It was unacceptable that Two and Three would have the same influence and power as One. One should reign without the continued irritation of the lesser women. Yes, there was much work to do. Unfortunately, there was little to be salvaged as far as political connections. There was work to be done behind the scenes to ensure the people she had in place remained loyal and committed. Money made the world go around, and as Three had been removed from the picture, and presumably, Two also, she'd have access to their accounts as well.

One narrowed her eyes as she focused on a runner on the beach. She depressed the intercom. "I need to speak with the insurance broker."

"At once, ma'am."

Two and Three had implemented insurance policies, as had she, still she needed to verify with the... adjuster that Two and Three's policies were going to be fulfilled. After all, if she didn't have to track down who killed them, all the better.

Chapter 24

"Operator Two-Seven-Four. Stand by, Sunset Operative Six. I'm transferring you to Alpha."

Alpha? What in the hell..."The line is secure." The operator spoke in the same damn voice. She had to be AI. Cutting edge intelligence.

"Alpha online."

"Operator Two-Seven-Four is clear."

Alpha growled, "Authenticate Lipton."

"Iced tea." Tempest rolled his eyes when Travis shot him a weird look and snorted a laugh. Sometimes he wished he could go back and re-write his authentication codes. Whoever made them up was obviously stuck on a tea theme.

"Status?"

"Target confirmed and mission complete. Sierra team acquired the products required. In addition, I have some intel."

"Go on."

"There is a computer hard drive. The owner believed it had information about our organization. Apparently, there are a few levels of encryption still remaining, but they are close to accessing the drive."

There was complete silence before Alpha muttered, "Fantastic. I thought this shit was done."

"Obviously not." He had no idea what shit his old boss was talking about, but the implication was the ordeal wasn't finished. "Additionally, both targets indicated the existence of an insurance policy. Fifty million US dollars for the successful termination of their murderer."

"Indeed?"

"Inquire about the name, Akuma."

"I will."

"Anything else?"

"The one who remains is suspected to have a bunker. The target’s words were, 'She won’t die alone.'"

"Wonderful, we still have eyes on her. Any collateral damage?"

"Sierra team encountered two."

"And from you?"

"No." He didn't do collateral damage. He wasn't Raven. When he killed more than one, it was on direct orders. Like Tahiti.

Alpha was silent for a moment. "Do you still have tabs on your... ah, on your woman?" Alpha chuckled at his own lack of words.

"I can locate her." He glanced at the men across from him. The aircraft was on final approach. He'd ping her location as soon as he could power up his computer and get a secure link. Unlike the satellite phone he was currently using, his computer did not have built-in encryption. There was a secure network at his safe house, and he could access one on Smoke's ship if it was still in port.

"Find her and make sure she's okay."

"That was my intent all along."

"Yeah, well sometimes men are