(3) Salty Breezes

by MacGuffin65

The Connor Team is on a trip around the world on the mega yacht "Rising Star" - a honeymoon for all the newlywed couples and their friends. So... it's just a vacation, right? Or is it? The Connor Team wouldn't be the Connor Team if new adventures weren't lurking for them in almost every port. Adventures that'll bring them many new friends - but also new enemies...

28. Singapore

CHAPTER 28: "SINGAPORE"

---

Friday, February 28th, 2009 – 02:12 a.m.

Singapore's container port was located on geometrically arranged artificial peninsulas off the coast of the main island of Pulau Ujong. It was a hive of activity around the clock. In bright sunlight during the day and under thousands of floodlights and luminous spotlights at night, ships were docking, unloading, reloading, and then put out to sea again. Hundreds of automated guided vehicles, known as AGVs, scurried between the fields of stacked containers, moving them, sorting them, taking them from one place to another. Thanks to its convenient location on the sea route from China and Japan to Europe, the Port of Singapore was one of the busiest in the world and the world's most important container hub.

In a remote area of the port, in a dark spot among stacked containers, two men waited tensely in their car. The man in the passenger seat was heavily overweight and in his late thirties. He was biting heartily into a hamburger, chomping it with relish. A blob of ketchup dripped onto his dirty, stained shirt. When he noticed it, he picked it up with his finger and licked it off, then wiped his hand clean on his jeans.

The man behind the wheel watched him with clear disapproval. He was a stark contrast to his obese passenger: in his early forties, medium height, slim, and dressed in an elegant suit that fit him perfectly.

"I have no idea how you can eat that now," he stated, "And I'm not just referring to the time of night."

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, Tony," the fat man replied with his mouth full. "We've been waiting here for three hours. I'm hungry."

"That's my point. That thing is three hours old. It's cold."

"So?"

Seemingly out of spite, the fat man swallowed and then squeezed the whole rest of the burger - almost half of it - into his mouth.

"That's disgusting, George. Seriously. No wonder you haven't got any friends."

George waited with his answer before he had swallowed, and his mouth was free again.

"I always thought you and I were friends. So, there's one."

"I sometimes really don't know why I bother with you at all."

"Let me think… because I'm the best reporter in town, because I've been helping you with your cases for years, and because my stories are always fair, balanced, and unbiased? Let's face it, Tony, we have a symbiotic relationship."

Tony scoffed and shook his head, watching George lick his fingers and then wipe them clean on his shirt.

"How about putting on a clean shirt? How about taking a shower once in a while – especially when you sit in a car with another person."

"Washing day is tomorrow. And I only have five shirts."

"Five?"

"One for each weekday."

"What about the weekends?"

"I'm mostly at home in my underwear then, hooked up to the internet, and…"

"Stop talking! I don't wanna hear it!"

The fat man grinned at him and put a piece of cucumber in his mouth that had fallen on his lap..

"You know, George, one of these days, that stuff is going to kill you."

"Oh, come on, seriously? Tomatoes, onions, salad, cucumbers, lean beef… whole grain buns.. it's actually a healthy meal. Lots of vitamins and proteins."

"And also lots of fat and sugar in sauces."

"So…? A healthy combination of everything."

"Healthy? Your bathroom scales would disagree. If you would at least work out a little…"

"Who are you? My mother? Come on, I left away the fries and the milk shake already. When you invited me to do this, you never mentioned something about sitting in a car for hours, staring at containers, waiting for something to happen."

"You're an investigative journalist, George. You must be used to waiting."

"Yes, but on my own terms, and not this late at night. You're a cop. Cops love to hang around in the dark for hours - no offense…"

"None taken."

"… but the same doesn't apply to me. I shouldn't have let you drag me out here in the middle of the night. And why are we alone anyway? Assuming they see us, wouldn't that put us in danger? I'm not really good at self-defense."

"No kidding."

"Come on, tell me. Why are we alone? Where's the reinforcement?"

"I have people on standby. But they don't know what they're in standby for. I couldn't inform anyone beforehand, but they'll be here within a minute when I call them in."

"So, you still believe there is a mole somewhere?"

"Yes. There's no other explanation. Whenever we launch a raid or follow up on tips, we come too late. Someone's tipping them off, warning them. And it must be someone who's got access to all the information. That's why I didn't inform my boss or anyone else of this beforehand."

"You're hoping that this will flush out that mole?"

"Maybe. But first and foremost, I want to show the syndicate that we aren't helpless puppets to be played with."

"Risky."

"I know. My informant and you are the only ones who know about this."

"And you trust that informant?"

"Yes."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Tony."

"You and me both, George. On the other hand, if the tip was wrong, no harm's done."

"Except for waiting for hours doing nothing, you mean."

"You said you wanted this story."

"Hell, yes."

"Then wait."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… But they're not kidding, Tony. They kill people who get in their way, cop or not. And they eat reporters for breakfast."

"There you have it. All you can think of, is eating."

"Very funny… ha, ha, ha."

But then the overweight journalist had to smile. The smile turned into a chuckle and the two men had a short laughing fit.

"Seriously, though," Tony then said. "No one knows we're here. And when they learn, it'll be too late. At least for once I want to catch them in the act - before anyone can react or let evidence disappear. The story will be in the news before anyone can do anything about it. That's why I brought you with me, George, you and your telephoto lens."

"I got it, Tony, I got it. As long as I don't have to move fast…"

"Don't worry, you can stay in the car. Make sure you take as many pictures as possible."

"I've got a 16 gigabyte chip in the camera, don't worry. I…"

"Sssht, something's happening."

The two men saw a semi-truck approaching with an empty trailer. At the same time, an SUV arrived, from which five men got out – four of them armed with Uzis. The fifth lighted himself a cigarette, he seemed to be the leader. A large forklift with two grappling arms on each side for containers approached from the night and drove directly toward the 40-foot container Tony and George had been watching.

"Bingo!" Tony said with barely concealed excitement, reaching for his phone as George snapped picture after picture of the scene taking place. "It's time to call in the cavalry."

---

The big forklift connected its grappling arms to the container and lifted it up, then rolled backward and swung to the right. It then drove forward and began to gently set its load down on the truck trailer. Everything happened quickly and like clockwork. It was obvious that this was not the first time the men had done this. While the container was being loaded, the four armed men stood guard.

Suddenly, headlights lit up in the darkness all around the truck and police sirens began to wail. Realizing what was going on, the four armed men began to open fire. But since they were blinded by the headlights, they were quickly taken out in the return fire. The remaining fifth one with the cigarette realized he didn't have a chance and lifted his hands up. The driver of the truck attempted to drive off, but a warning shot into the front screen stopped him.

"I love it when a plan comes together," Tony said with a grin and got out of his car.

George followed him. They walked towards the truck, with Tony holding up his badge.

"Well, well, well, if this isn't Adam Chang. I knew that one day you'd get into my net."

"Chief inspector Yong," the man with the cigarette said. "You're making a big mistake here, a huge mistake. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

"Save your empty threats, Adam. No one will be impressed by this. Oh, and by the way, you're under arrest."

Tony had grabbed an axe and cut the chain that locked the container. He opened the doors and looked inside. He stretched out his hand and when he pulled it out again, he was holding a bag of white powder.

"You guys didn't even bother to disguise it? You must be damn sure of yourselves. Take him away."

"You're gonna regret this, Yong!" the man shouted before he was pushed in the back of a police car. "You and your fat reporter friend George Walker will regret this very quickly!"

"Save your breath for the arraignment. This time, it's you who got the short end of the stick."

Adam Chang was driven away. George and Tony watched how a dock worker they'd hired, used a smaller standard forklift to unload the pallets full of cocaine from the container in order to get a first overview of their catch.

"Did you get a good look at everything, George?" Tony asked.

"Yes, an excellent look. I can already see the headline in front of me: 'Heavy blow to the Kungur Syndicate. Container with cocaine seized'. How much do you think there is in it?"

"Ten to fifteen tons, I think. Depending on how tightly they packed it. But knowing their greed, probably very tightly. They didn't even bother to put it into tin cans or otherwise disguise it. Must have been very sure that they wouldn't be discovered."

George whistled.

"Ten to fifteen tons? How much is it worth?"

"The street value for fifteen tons of cocaine is somewhere between two and three billion dollars."

"Wow… An old woman has to knit a long time for that."

"It's a heavy blow. I might be wrong, but it could be the biggest find in…"

"Chief Inspector!"

One of the other police officers had called out for Tony and waved him over. The two walked towards him.

"Yes, what is it?" Tony asked.

"The container isn't full of drugs," the man said. "Only the first three rows of pallets are loaded with cocaine."

"What!? What else is in there then?"

"Look for yourself."

They climbed into the container and saw that it was loaded with wooden crates. They were labeled in Asian writing.

"Do you have a crowbar?" Tony asked.

Moments later, he was handed the tool, and he began to force one of the crates open. The top gave away with a creak. Tony put it aside and rummaged around inside the crate, pulling lots of straw out.

"Is that what I think it is?" George asked, looking inside.

"If you think that it's a missile, then yes," Tony said, looking baffled. "This isn't a container for smuggling drugs... this is a container for smuggling weapons - with some drugs thrown in to fill it up. The writings look Korean."

"Why would the Koreans smuggle weapons, using the syndicate?"

"The South Koreans wouldn't. The North Koreans however..."

They both looked at the hundreds of stacked boxes, all of which appeared to contain weapons. Suddenly, they felt quite queasy.

"That's a different league, Tony," George then said. "You've stirred up a hornet's nest."

"We stirred up a hornet's nest," Tony corrected. "If you still want to put that story into writing, that is."

George looked at him.

"Are you kidding me? I'll do everything I can to make sure it still makes it into the morning edition."

---

Several hours later, Tony Yong was awakened by the ringing of his phone. Before answering the call, he looked at his radio alarm clock: 9:14 a.m. At least he'd slept a bit.

"Yes?"

"YONG! HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY CRAZY NOW?" a male voice screamed into the phone, and Tony reflexively held the receiver a little further away from his ear.

"Good morning to you too, captain," he replied calmly. "In case you didn't know, today is my day off."

"Don't get all smart-ass on me now, or I'll have your ass handed to me on a silver platter. The media are beating down my door and demanding a statement! Why wasn't I informed about the operation, why do I find out about this from the Singapore Gazette?"

"Oh, it's in the morning edition already? Good. I was hoping George could still finish it in time."

"Do not distract! Who authorized the operation?"

"The prime minister did, Sir."

"What!?"

"Didn't you see his TV address to the nation the other day? 'We will continue to crack down hard on the scourge of drug trafficking that abuses our port for smuggling. To that end, I authorize all police forces to do everything in their power to put an end to it'. Those were his words, I just took them to heart. I had no idea that the North Koreans were smuggling weapons with the help of the syndicate, though. Nice bycatch if you ask me."

There was a tense pause at the other end of the line. Apparently, the captain was trying to calm down.

"You and that reporter friend of yours cooked this up together, didn't you? I expect you in my office in an hour for a report! The shit is really hitting the fan with this."

Then there was a loud crack, and the line went dead. Tony Yong calmly put the receiver back on his phone.

"Nice talking to you too, captain," he said, yawned, and stretched. "I suppose I should have known I could forget about my day off."

---

The police station was within walking distance of Tony's apartment. On his way there, he passed a newsstand located across the street from the marina entrance. The headline immediately caught his eye. He had to grin. No one would be able to sweep this under the rug now.

Tony bought the issue and began to read. The article was accompanied by numerous snapshots showing the open container with the load of cocaine and also the weapons – guns, RPGs, ground-to-air missiles…

He slowly kept walking while reading and almost bumped into an oncoming pedestrian. Tony apologized and felt how the man inadvertently touched the back of his hand. He kept walking a few more steps, then all of a sudden he started having trouble breathing. Tony felt as if the air was being squeezed out of him. He propped himself up against a lamppost and loosened his tie.

Then he blacked out and sank to the ground. The fall seemed to be endless. Somewhere deep in his consciousness, Tony knew that he was dying. He kept falling, deeper and deeper, memories playing before his inner eye like a movie. But just before the picture went dark forever, something pulled him back to life, and it was as if the movie of memories was suddenly played backwards. He opened his eyes and looked into the face of a beautiful, young woman with long black hair that she had braided into a plait. Tony sat up.

"Who are you?" was all he could ask, mesmerized by her.

"I'm Alison," she replied. "You collapsed. Can you get up?"

---

Three minutes earlier…

"All I'm saying," Sarah remarked, "is don't make such a fuzz out of it. It's just plastic toys."

"Mom," Cameron replied, "just let us do our thing and respect our privacy."

"Are they still going on about it?" Allie asked John.

"Yup," he confirmed. "It's not every day mom gets a door slammed in her face. Literally."

"She was trying to spy on Cam," Emily pointed out.

"She was only curious," John corrected.

"Same difference."

They turned onto the boardwalk that bordered the marina. The Rising Star had arrived in Singapore in the morning and after breakfast the team had split into three groups in the usual manner to explore the city on foot. John, ACE, Sarah, Charley, Savannah, and Allie formed one of the groups. The topic of conversation was still the same as it had been during breakfast: Sarah had dared to take a peek into the cabin where Cameron was building her Lego MOC - with the result that the cyborg girl had slammed the door in her face, giving Sarah a bloody nose. The injury was quickly healed thanks to Alison, but Sarah was still disgruntled.

"Next time, lock the door," she said sullenly.

"Next time, knock," Cameron countered.

"Okay, stop it. Both of you!" Charley said. "You're acting like children."

Sarah was about to give her husband a harsh answer, when they became aware of a small crowd gathering in front of them.

"What's going on there?" Savannah asked.

"A man collapsed," Alison answered. "Can't make a scan from here, too many people blocking him."

Without another word, Charley made his way through the people and saw that a man was lying unconscious on the sidewalk.

"Charley, wait!" John said, but it was already too late.

Alison ran after him. The rest of the group kept their distance.

"I'm a paramedic," Charley said when he arrived at the scene. "Let me through."

The crowd gave way, and he knelt next to the body, feeling his pulse, and opened the man's eyelids.

"Looks like a heart attack. We have to re-animate him. Can somebody call an ambulance?"

"Not necessary," Alison said and knelt next to Charley who'd began a heart massage.

She touched the man's arm.

"Be careful," Charley whispered to her. "We don't want to cause a stir. If you bring him back too suddenly, we..."

The man gasped and sat up, looking around confused. The people in the crowd applauded Charley, believing that he had re-animated him.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"I'm Alison," she replied. "You collapsed. Can you get up?"

She reached under his arm and helped him up.

"You okay, Sir?" Charley asked.

Confused, Tony Yong looked at him, temporarily dazzled by the situation and the beautiful woman that stood by his side.

"Uh… yes… yes, I'm fine. What happened?"

"You had a heart attack," Charley said. "You were lucky that I was here. I'm a paramedic and Alison, uh… she's… a nurse."

"I am?" she asked under her breath.

"You are now," Charley replied between his teeth.

The small crowd dispersed again and the rest of the group around John, ACE and Sarah had joined them.

"What happened here?" John asked.

"This man just had a heart attack and…" Charley began to explain.

"He didn't have a heart attack," Alison interrupted him. "He was poisoned with a neurotoxin that penetrates through the skin. Someone tried to kill him."

Everyone looked at her flabbergasted, including Tony Yong.

"What?" he then asked. "What were you saying?"

"You were poisoned with a neurotoxin that penetrates…" she repeated.

"Yes, I understood it the first time. But how do you…?"

"By the way, that man over there is responsible."

Alison pointed at a young, Asian man across the street who'd been watching the scene. When he noticed her pointing at him, he turned around frantically and began to run away, almost crashing into an elderly couple. John looked at Cameron.

"Get him."

"Yes, John."

She sprinted away.

"So much for no more trouble," Savannah commented with a sigh.

Tony Yong frowned. He had been a policeman for too long not to notice immediately that something was odd about this group of young Americans.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm John, John O'Connell. You already know Alison. This is my mom, Sarah, and her husband, Charley. And these are Emily, Savannah, and Allie. Cameron is the one who's currently hunting down the perp. We were just coming off our yacht and were going to explore the city when Alison and Charley noticed you collapsing."

"And who are you?" Sarah asked with a smile before Tony could reply. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Uh… my name is Tony Yong," he said and looked at Alison. "You said I was poisoned?"

"Yes, through the skin. My guess is that he touched you, probably wearing rubber gloves to prevent himself from being poisoned as well."

Tony felt the back of his hand.

"Yeah, I remember someone brushing my hand in passing..."

"It was that man I was pointing at. I saw him crossing the street shortly before you fell down. He left a pheromone trail."

"Wait… what?"

"You've been very lucky. According to my analysis, it was a nerve agent that would normally be hundred percent lethal but thanks to my…"

"Alison!" John said sharply.

She looked at him and his expression clearly told her to shut up. Tony didn't miss the brief exchange.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "I don't know much of neurotoxins. But enough to say that there's no way I could have recovered that quickly."

"Here we go again," John said with a scoff. "She simply can't stop showing off."

"Sorry," Alison said meekly, "but I can still wipe his memories if you want me to."

"No! We'll deal with it. Differently. But I want you to make sure that this all here won't cause a stir. Keep it contained."

"Yes, John. But I should inform you that Tony Yong is wearing a badge and carrying a gun under his clothes."

"WHAT!?" Sarah asked and looked at Tony Yong. "Are you police?"

Tony pulled out his badge.

"Chief Inspector, Singapore Drug Squad. And you owe me an explanation. What did she mean, 'wipe my memories'? Who the hell are you guys?"

At that moment Cameron returned, she had thrown the obviously unconscious man over her right shoulder and lowered him to the ground. Passers-by who were observing the scene stopped and watched curiously to see what was going on. But then, as if on cue, they simply kept walking as if nothing happened. Everyone but Tony knew that Alison must have used her chemical messengers again.

"He didn't wanna come," Cameron stated, "but I insisted."

"We should go," John said, "before we draw so much attention that even Alison can't control it."

"Not a chance," Tony contradicted him, "You won't leave before I fully understand what's been going on."

"Somebody tried to murder you," Sarah said stoically. "Alison saved your life. Here's the culprit, you can arrest him. You're welcome. Have a nice day."

She was about to go past him.

"Stop!" Tony shouted. "I want to know exactly who you guys are!"

John sighed.

"All right, but there are too many people here. Let's go back to our yacht where we have privacy."

Tony looked at him suspiciously.

"Nothing's going to happen to you," John promised, "you have my word."

"And then you will explain everything to me?"

"Yes."

Tony hesitated.

"I have to inform my boss, he's expecting me for a report."

"Go ahead," Sarah said smugly. "We don't want you to get into trouble… well, I guess you already are into trouble when somebody wanted to murder you, but…"

Tony ignored her and pulled out his phone.

"Captain … Yes, I know I'm delayed … Someone tried to kill me … No, I'm fine, but I'll be late for our meeting … I know … Maybe in an hour?" He looked at John and he nodded. "Okay, in an hour … Yes, I know I'm in deep trouble … With all due respect, Captain, get in line."

Tony ended the call.

"Good cop," he said, "but he can be a pain in the ass sometimes. All right, we do it your way. For now. But I reserve the right to take you all to the station if I don't like what you tell me. And I want full disclosure. No withholding."

"Be careful what you wish for," Allie said with a smirk. "You might end up having nightmares."

Cameron loaded the unconscious young man over her shoulder again and they walked back the way they had just come.

"Police," Sarah muttered under her breath so that only John could hear her, "of course, he's police. Just our luck."

"Would you have preferred that we let him die?" he asked back.

She said nothing.

---

"You call that a yacht?" Tony asked upon seeing the Rising Star.

"What would you call it?" Savannah asked.

"A freaking cruise ship."

"Well, you're not entirely wrong," Sarah remarked, "This is the cruise terminal, and we're definitely on a cruise."

Tony shook his head, and they went aboard, gathering in the big salon.

"Talking about living on the sunny side of life," he commented, looking around, visibly impressed by the luxurious interior..

"We know the shadows as well," Savannah remarked.

"Yeah, right."

"You must think we're a bunch of spoiled American brats," John said.

"The thought has occurred to me, yes."

"However, you couldn't be further from the truth," Allie stated.

"We've actually been to hell and back," Sarah added.

"Oh?" Tony asked sarcastically. "Let's hear it then. I'm dying to listen to your story of suffering."

---

Forty-five minutes later, any sarcasm or cynicism had been drained out of Tony Yong. He sat slumped on one of the sofas, his eyes fixed on the floor. The biggest shock for him had been when ACE had revealed their true nature to him with red-glowing eyes and electric arcs between their hands.

"Never ceases to amaze me how people react," Savannah whispered to Allie. "Some take it better than others. For him, it's apparently a blow."

"So… you're the ones everyone's been talking about?" Tony then asked. "I mean, the ones that have been all over the news for several months?"

"Yes," ACE replied in unison, then looked at each other and smiled.

"It's become quieter around you now, though."

"And we like it that way," Sarah said.

"They're speculating what happened with you."

"We're still following the media, of course," John added, "and we have friends who inform us about any critical developments. Naturally, speculations about what happened to the three cyborg girls are running rampant by now. But as long as the theories and rumors don't get too wild or come too close to the truth, it's okay that we're out of the public eye for a while. And since it's difficult to jet around the world with three cyborgs in tow, a billionaire friend has lent us his yacht. The custom controls at the ports are much laxer than at the airports, and we have someone who can hack into the systems at the right moment so that no scanner will sound an alarm if the three go through them."

Tony chuckled.

"For a while, I believed it was all just an elaborate hoax. But the longer it dragged on, the more I realized that it wasn't. You're really real."

"As real as it can get," Sarah said with a sigh and touched her nose. "Sometimes, even too real."

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry that I slammed the door in your face?" Cameron asked, rolling her eyes.

"Until I forgot about the bloody nose you gave me!"

"And you," Tony pointed at Alison, "you healed me with those tiny things, those…"

"Nanobots, yes. Whoever tried to kill you, didn't want to do a half-assed job. There's no antidote to the poison they used."

Tony buried his face in his hands.

"Good Lord. I would be dead now. I'm a police officer, for crying out loud. And the police doesn't take it kindly when one of their own is being murdered. I must have really hurt them, I didn't think they'd go that far."

"They?" Sarah inquired.

"The Kungur Syndicate."

"Kungur Syndicate?" Allie asked.

"An association of Southeast Asian gangs from Laos, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. They have dominated the drug trade between Asia and Europe for several years. What the Central and South American drug cartels are to you, the Kungur Syndicate is to us. We believe that they forged their alliance in the Russian city of Kungur in 1996, hence the name. Little is known about the leadership structure, except that the leaders are to be found in higher political and economic circles in their respective countries. The Mexican cartels take care of North America, the Kungur Syndicate is responsible for Europe. The two groups have practically divided the world market between them. Singapore is one of the main hubs for drug trafficking."

"I always thought Singapore had one of the strictest laws against illegal drugs," Charley said.

Tony scoffed.

"We have. If you're a tourist and get caught with cocaine or heroin here, you're in a big pile of trouble. Could cost you your head. But apparently, the Kungur Syndicate has… let's say, connections. Good contacts up to the highest government circles."

"Corruption," John concluded.

"Probably. No one knows for sure. But there are rumors, of course. And every time we did a raid or a search, they were warned beforehand."

"Were?" Sarah asked. "Past tense?"

"Last night we scored a big coup. A container stuffed with cocaine. Or so we thought. I hadn't let anyone in on it before. Strictly speaking, it was an unauthorized operation. My boss is boiling with rage, but he'll get over it. It's already in the press this morning. I made sure of that so that no one could sweep it under the rug."

"You said, 'a container full of cocaine, or so we thought'," Emily remarked. "Weren't there drugs in the container?"

"Oh yes.. but only a few palettes. The majority of the space was occupied by weapons."

"What kind of weapons?" John asked.

"Everything from hand guns to rocket launchers. All North Korean."

"North Korean?" Charley asked. "But isn't there…?"

"An embargo, yes. It seems that getting around that embargo is even more lucrative for the Kungur Syndicate than drug trafficking."

"Looks like they're the least of your problems now," John said. "The North Koreans will be pissed."

Tony swallowed and went a little pale.

"I know."

"They're known to commit assassinations and murders abroad," Alison remarked. "However, so far, mainly in the case of escaped or deserted compatriots."

"But apparently they made an exception for Tony," Allie pointed out.

Everyone looked at the still unconscious killer who lay tied-up and gagged on the carpet.

"I should interrogate him," Alison said. "Maybe he knows who commissioned the murder."

"We'll do that in a moment," John assured, "when we finished talking to Tony. We can call you Tony, can't we?"

"Sure… I mean, you saved my life. That kinda qualifies for a first name basis."

"You're now under our protection," Alison stated. "No one will touch you anymore."

Tony chuckled, then suddenly became serious.

"Oh my God!" he gasped. "George!"

"Who's George?" Sarah asked.

"George Walker. The reporter who helped me last night. He documented everything, and his story is already in the morning news, together with his name. If they tried to kill me…"

"Where does this George live?" John asked.

-0-

George Walker yawned heartily as he got out of his car in the underground parking garage of the apartment building he lived in, shuffling towards the elevator. It had been a long night, and he'd worked like a maniac to get the story into the morning edition. Now he was looking forward to his bed.

Rush hour was already over, and the underground parking garage was empty and deserted. Some of the neon lights on the ceiling hummed and flickered, giving the place an eerie and intimidating atmosphere. If he were a woman, he wouldn't want to walk through here alone. The janitor was obviously a miscast. At the next owners' meeting, he would bring it up. At least the building's security was capable. No one got in who wasn't supposed to. Not that Singapore was a dangerous place, quite the contrary, it was one of the safest cities in the world. But better safe than sorry.

With a chime, the elevator doors opened, and he stepped inside, pressing the number 13 for his floor. George was an opportunist, and apartments on the 13th floor were cheaper to get than those on other stories. Hurray for superstition. His eyes almost fell shut as he rode up, then - with another chime - the elevator doors opened, and he stepped into the corridor.

He reached his apartment, put the key into the hole with some effort, pushed the door open and stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Almost as if in a trance, he staggered into the bedroom, stripping off his clothes on the way. Then he dropped onto the bed in his underwear without even bothering to close the blinds and was instantly asleep.

---

George had no idea how long he'd dozed off when he suddenly woke up to a cold breeze brushing his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw a male figure wearing a balaclava bending over him. Before he could react, the figure had pressed a pillow over his face and cut off his air. George tried to struggle, but the man was leaning over him with all his weight, and he had neither the strength nor the leverage to fight back. He tried to punch the intruder, but his efforts were fruitless. Finally, he started to faint, but just before he lost consciousness, he heard a loud crashing noise.

And then the pillow was suddenly ripped from his face. George gasped for breath. The first thing he noticed was that the door to his balcony was wide open. The second thing he noticed was that the intruder was hovering in the air, struggling to get free while dangling from the outstretched arm of a young woman with long brown hair and an impressive bust.

"A strange early morning sport you have," the woman said, "can you recommend it? Façade climbing seems rather hazardous to me."

She tilted her head as the man tried to speak but could only croak.

"Doesn't matter," she continued, "I wasn't told to interrogate you. John just told me to deal with the situation quickly and thoroughly without being specific. So… since you seem to be into risky extreme sports..."

George saw how the woman pulled the balaclava from the intruder's face, revealing an Asian man. Then she walked over to the open balcony door, still holding him on her outstretched arm as if he weighed nothing. Then she pulled his face close to her face, and George could have sworn that her eyes glowed red for a second.

"Goodbye," she then said, "I wish we could have talked a little… you know, from Terminator to assassin. But there's no time for chitchat. Thanks for stopping by."

With a strong push, she threw the man out of the open door and over the railing of the balcony. George could hear him screaming for a second or two, then there was silence. He heard the faint squeal of car tires and a woman screaming before any sounds from outside were silenced by the young woman closing the balcony door again.

"The police will think he was a burglar, trying to climb up the façade," the woman said and walked towards him. "Which is actually the truth."

George backed up against the wall on his bed as she stretched out her hand.

"My name is Emily. Come with me if you wanna live."

-0-

"I appreciate your offer to help me," Tony Yong said. "But I cannot condone that, nor can I support it. I can't allow you to take any role in law enforcement here in this city. Plus, you'll probably set sail again soon and continue your journey. You can't protect me when you're gone, can you? And I don't suppose you'll leave me a cyborg bodyguard."

"Well," John said thoughtfully, "we could arrange for one."

"You could?"

"I suppose so. We have contacts. But frankly, I'd prefer a different solution."

"What solution?"

"This doesn't only concern you. If somebody saw us helping you from a distance or how Cameron apprehended the assassin, they probably know by now that we're involved and where we are. So, this has not only become your problem anymore but ours as well – which means we have to do something, preferably take out the ones who know about you and us."

"Good luck with that;" Tony said sarcastically. "The Kungur Syndicate is like a hydra. Cut off one head and two others grow in its place. They have thousands of active members, you can't get rid of them all."

"Not of all of them," Alison pointed out, "only of those who know about what happened here."

"You can't be serious... how do we even find out who's…?"

"We're dead serious," Cameron interrupted him. "Whether you like it or not, we will protect our loved ones, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, we already have experiences in dealing with gangs and drug syndicates."

"You have?"

John cleared his throat.

"Uh… we ran into a bit of trouble with the Tijuana Cartel last year," he explained. "Didn't end particularly well for them."

"Are you referring to the so-called 'sunset massacre' at the 'Hacienda Del Sol Poniente'?" Tony inquired.

"I didn't know they named it like that. You heard of it?"

"Hell, yeah… we're internationally connected. The news spread like wildfire back then. Some even say they had it coming and that they got what they deserved. And you're saying that was you?"

"I'm afraid so," John replied a little sheepishly. "They left us no choice and forced us to take action."

"It was a bloodbath!"

"I didn't say we're proud of it."

"It was a rescue operation," Cameron explained. "They kidnapped John and a friend of ours. If someone threatens John, we make sure they pay for it. Can't help it, that's our nature. Besides, if they had been a little more cooperative and accommodating, they'd still be alive. Well, most of them at least."

"Cooperation and accommodation aren't characteristics of drug cartels," Tony pointed out. "They understand only the language of eye for an eye: You beat me, I beat you harder."

"Exactly my point," John said. "They won't stop coming after you or us just because we ask them nicely. The only option is to beat them so hard that they won't be able to beat us back anymore."

"You're crazy! Even if you start killing their leaders, the others will be warned."

"Well, I have an idea… But first, we need to get names and addresses and I hope we can get them here in Singapore."

"No way! I won't let you wreak havoc here in my town. I've read the reports about what happened in Mexico, it was a war zone! I don't want that level of violence here in Singapore. Never!"

"Relax, Tony," John said. "No one's going to get killed in Singapore unless they leave us absolutely no choice."

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes."

Tony thought for a moment, then nodded.

"All right, but I want to be involved in everything, do you hear? Everything! Nothing happens behind my back."

"Very well. Alison, I think it's time we wake up this failed assassin and get some answers from him."

"With pleasure, John," she replied and walked over to their prisoner.

-0-

"You… you… you killed that man!" George said and pointed at the balcony with a shaking index finger.

"Yes, I did. Come on, get dressed. We need to go. You're not a particularly pleasant sight to behold in your underwear."

"Go? Go where? I… I just got home… and… and I have no clean clothes."

George immediately realized how stupid his remark was, considering the fact that he was almost killed by an assassin a minute ago.

"They have washing machines where I'm bringing you. And beds as well."

"Bringing me? Where?"

"To safety. It's not safe for you here. I had no trouble getting past the guards. They read too much porn if you ask me."

George frowned.

"Who did you say you were?" he asked, unable to avoid staring at her breasts.

"Emily. And my eyes are up here."

"Sorry, it's just that..."

"I have big boobs, I know. I'd consider it a design flaw, but John likes them, so…"

"Who's John?"

"My husband."

"You're married?"

"Obviously."

"Damn… just my luck."

"Get going already, we need to leave here."

George felt like he was in the wrong movie. Dazed, he began to put on his dirty clothes again. Meanwhile, Emily took a closer look at the apartment. It was dirty and filthy. Open pizza cartons with uneaten remains and other fast food leftovers were everywhere. In the kitchen, unwashed dishes piled up in the sink, on which colonies of mold had already settled.

As they left the apartment, George noticed that the door had been broken out of its hinges. It was probably the loud crashing noise he'd heard just before he was about to pass out. Emily noticed his baffled face.

"Sorry for that," she said, picking up the door and leaning it into its frame so that on first glance, nobody would see the damage, "but I guess knocking or ringing the doorbell first wouldn't have saved your life."

"That… that was a reinforced security door with security locks!"

"Was it? I didn't notice."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Em…"

"I KNOW YOUR NAME BY NOW, DAMMIT!" he shouted, then forced himself to calm down. "But a girl like you couldn't just break a heavily reinforced door out of its hinges! Not even the police would be able to do it with their specially designed rammers! So, how did you do that? And while we're at it, how the fuck were you able to lift that guy up on your outstretched arm and push him out of the window as if he were a ragdoll? Answer me! Now! I won't move an inch until I get an explanation!"

Emily sighed. If she had nerves, the man would be getting on them. He was fat, smelly, untidy, rude, and overall quite unappealing. Her mission was to take him to the Rising Star. She would much rather have put him in the shower first, but there was no time for that now. She let her eyes glow red. George gasped and backed away from her.

"I'm a cyborg, okay? You might have heard about my kind."

"Wait, what!? Cyborg?"

"Yes. Actually, we're on vacation, but guys like you and this Tony Yong keep getting us into trouble and into helping them. John always thought it was a curse. Then we found out that a man was orchestrating these problems for us. We thought with him out of the picture it would be over - but now this happens. Maybe John's right and there actually is a curse."

Confused, George looked at her open-mouthed for a moment.

"What?" he then asked.

"Never mind. I answered your question. Now let's go."

They entered the corridor in front of George's apartment and walked towards the elevator. Before they reached it, though, the door to the stairwell opened and another man with a balaclava over his face entered the hallway, facing them. He stopped and looked at George and then Emily, seemingly perplexed. Then he pulled out a gun with a silencer.

"Looks like our friend the façade climber wasn't alone," Emily stated and stepped in front of George.

But that didn't work well because he was about twice as wide as she was. She rolled her eyes and walked towards the man in order to shorten the distance and widening the angle, so that he couldn't shoot past her so easily. The man had recognized her intention and after a moment's hesitation, he shot at her five times.

When the bullets had no effect on Emily other than to leave holes in her clothes, the attacker looked dumbfounded at his gun and then at Emily. However, the latter had reached him and wrestled the gun away from him. He tried to push her away – and failed. He then tried to round-kick her head… and gasped in pain when his foot hit her skull.

"I've seen this before," she said, "on TV. Kung fu, right? Won't work on me, though. It's like trying to tear down a steel beam with a rubber mallet."

The man cried out in anger and then rammed his elbow in her face, also with no effect other than hurting himself.

"I know that punch," Emily said, "it's supposed to break the victim's nose and drive the splintered bones into his brain, right? Unfortunately for you, my skull isn't made of bone, it's made of a semi-organic carbon nanotube composite. And, well... I don't have a brain."

She grabbed him by the neck and broke it with a loud crack. George shrieked.

"You… You killed him too!" he exclaimed unbelieving. "Just like that!"

"Yes, of course. I'm a Terminator. Killing humans is what I was designed for. Now come on."

George stared unbelieving at the corpse.

"But… but…"

Emily rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't let him go and I couldn't take him with us, okay? People would notice. Besides, we already have one prisoner for interrogation. No need for starting a collection."

George was speechless and kept staring open-mouthed at the dead body while Emily pulled the balaclava from his face. He also was an Asian.

"No papers, no money, nothing," she said, searching him, then got up and walked over to the elevator.

"You… you cannot just leave him here," George said with a shaking voice.

"I have no intention of leaving him here," Emily replied and pried the elevator doors open.

She looked inside and noticed that the elevator cab was above them. Satisfied, she walked back, picked up the body and threw it down the elevator shaft, including the balaclava and the gun.

"There, see? It'll take a while before anyone will find him there."

"But… I live here! The smell!"

She gave him a stern look.

"I was in your apartment a moment ago, and you seriously complain about bad smell?"

She pressed the button and a few seconds later, the elevator arrived at their floor.

"Come on, we need to leave here."

Hesitantly and very warily, George stepped into the elevator with Emily.

"Wait a second…" he said before the doors closed. "what do you mean you're married?"

-0-

The prisoner was put into an armchair, then they untied him and removed the gag.

"Is that safe?" Tony asked and received strange looks from everyone. "Right, sorry. for a moment, I forgot who I'm with."

"Okay," John said and looked at Alison. "He's all yours."

"What's she going to do with him?" Tony asked.

"You'll see," Sarah replied.

Alison smiled, stepped over to the prisoner and softly blew into his ear. It took a second, then he opened his eyes and looked around, apparently confused and surprised. After a couple of seconds, he tried to stand up but for some reason, he couldn't. The man frantically moved his upper body and his arms, but his legs wouldn't do anything. Tony looked around but nobody seemed to be surprised.

"What's she done to him?" he asked.

"Probably temporarily paralyzed him from the waist down," Charley replied matter-of-factly.

"What!? Temporarily…? She can do that?"

"She can do a lot of things."

"What's your name?" John asked the prisoner.

The man looked at him, then replied something in a language he didn't understand.

"That's Korean," Tony said.

"You speak Korean?" Alison asked.

"Not much, just what I picked up. Not enough to understand it but enough to recognize the language."

"Actually, he speaks with a North Korean accent," Cameron remarked.

"North Korean?" Sarah asked and looked at Tony. "Congratulations. If they tried to kill you, you must have really pissed off someone big time."

Tony smiled sourly, thinking of Adam Chang's warning when they arrested him. Meanwhile, Alison bent down towards the prisoner.

"Don't think we don't understand you," she said in perfect Korean and the man gaped at her. "So, you can as well speak English. I know you can."

For a moment, he looked back at her.

"Fuck you!" he then exclaimed in English and spat into her face.

"That wasn't very nice," John said, "in case you haven't realized yet, you're in no position for not being nice."

Alison wiped the spit off her face while the man just grinned. Then he bit on something he'd been hiding in his mouth and swallowed hard.

"He had a poison capsule in his mouth!" Tony exclaimed.

"Yes, I know," Alison replied unfazed.

"He's going to kill himself!"

"No, he isn't."

Everyone looked at the North Korean killer who kept grinning. And then… nothing happened. At first, the man looked confused and frowned, then he began to become nervous.

"The poison won't work," Alison said, smirking mischievously. "I made you immune to it."

"Okay, you had your fun with him," Sarah stated, "it's obvious he won't talk freely when he'd rather die instead."

"Mom's right," John said, "we need some information now. Use your messengers."

"As you wish," Alison replied.

"You won't get any information out of me!" the Korean said stubbornly. "I've been trained to resist any kind of torture!"

"It's not the first time I heard that," Alison replied with a smile. "But why should we torture you? How about you telling us about yourself instead?"

"I won't say anything! I won't… I… I… my… my name is Song Du-yul. I was born in Nampo on September 14, 1984. I have two sisters. My father was an engineer, my mother a school teacher. I joined our Great Leader's army at the age of 18 and became an officer. When I was 21, I was recruited by our Great Leader's foreign intelligence service and trained as an agent."

"What the hell…?" Tony exclaimed. "What's going on here?"

"I helped a little to stimulate his natural urge to talk," Alison replied with a smile. "He'll be very talkative from now on and answer all our questions."

-0-

It was almost noon when Emily and George arrived on the Rising Star. Tony was relieved to see his friend alive and well, especially when he heard how close he'd come to being killed. The assembled members of the Connor team introduced themselves to George – avoiding to shake his hand or otherwise touch him - and gave him a short summary of what had happened while keeping a certain distance.

"I suppose he didn't talk much," he then said, looking at the prisoner who stared back at him in silence. "These guys never do."

John exchanged a quick look with Tony and the chief inspector understood that he was not to mention Alison or her abilities.

"Actually," John replied, "he was very talkative, giving us names, addresses, contacts..."

"Turns out that he's part of a special unit of North Korean agents that operate from Singapore in secret to protect their illegal activities," Tony added.

"Part of their job is to protect ships with North Korean cargo that leave the port," John said, "as well as coordinating with local representatives of the Kungur Syndicate. For this purpose, an armed task force is on board said ships – which our friend here is part of."

"Do you want to say the North Koreans have a military unit stationed here in Singapore?" George asked unbelieving.

"Yes, including a group of combat divers," Tony confirmed. "Their job is to accompany their ships into international waters and return back to Singapore once their safely away. They also deal with any kind of problems that arise here in the city, and they operate independently, the North Korean embassy isn't involved."

"As it stands," Alison added, "North Korea is using Singapore as a transshipment point for embargoed arms exports and have partnered with the Kungur Syndicate to do so. It's a win-win situation for both parties."

"And all that under our noses," Tony remarked grimly. "They must have help from local authorities."

George whistled.

"I can't believe the guy just spilled the beans like that."

"Believe it," Tony said. "I witnessed it. Seems like Cameron and Alison have a special… knack in interrogating people."

"No wonder, they're cyborgs after all."

Everyone looked at George with alarmed faces.

"Relax," he said, "I put one and one together. Emily revealed her true identity to me. She said she was from Los Angeles, and I figured that where there's one, the other two can't be far. You don't need to be a genius to figure it out. So… what happens now?"

"We have the name of the container ship the North Koreans are operating from," Tony replied. "It's the Kobe Pride, and the container we seized last night was destined for her. Apparently, it was temporarily offloaded so the Kungur Syndicate could separate their drugs from the weapons."

"So, everything's falling into place."

"Yes. The Kobe Pride will sail tomorrow morning - without that container."

"What have you gotten me into, Tony?" George asked but sounded intrigued. "So… what's the next step?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. My captain has agreed to put me in hiding for a while. He'll handle the press and everything, I briefed him very thoroughly on the phone. John and his, uh… team will take care of the problem from now on. We stroke a deal: he promised to leave Singapore out of this and when they found out who the mole is, I'll be the one to deal with that person."

"You can both stay here until this is over," John added. "This is probably the safest place in all of Singapore right now, and we have to assume that they'll try to kill you again if they have the chance."

"Great," George said. "Now we're in protective custody or what?"

"We prepared cabins in the crew quarters for you," Sarah informed them.

"We would have loved to accommodate you better," John added, "but unfortunately the only guest cabins still available are currently blocked by Alison, Cameron, and Emily who are indulging in their new hobby there."

"Hobby?" Tony and George asked in unison.

"Don't ask," John replied.

"We're building Lego MOCs," Cameron stated. "It's gonna be a surprise for everyone when we're finished."

"Lego, huh?" George asked. "I used to have them as a child. But I grew out of it."

"Don't even think of starting that discussion," John warned him before the girls could reply. "It's pointless. They've practically bought up virtually all the Lego bricks in stock in Dubai."

"Wow," Tony remarked.

"What are you building?" George inquired. "I'd like to see it."

"It's a secret," Cameron and Emily replied in unison.

"We're presenting it when it's finished," Alison added, "and then the team will decide who did best."

George rubbed his chin.

"A competition then? Interesting."

"Now," John said, "I suggest we show you to your cabins."

"And what are we supposed to do there?" George asked. "Just sit and wait?"

"In your case," Sarah replied and wrinkled her nose, "I recommend a shower."

He gave her an annoyed look.

"She's right, George," Tony said. "You stink."

"Hey, I didn't get to shower when I got home, okay? I almost got murdered! And I saw her..." he pointed at Emily "... kill two men in cold blood right in front of my eyes. I'm entitled to a little consideration, don't you think?"

"Do you expect us to tuck you in?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "Maybe sing you to sleep?"

"Depends on who's doing it," George replied, eyeballing Savannah and Allie.

"You better watch what you say and where you look," John said a little annoyed.

"Let's go," Emily stated and pulled George with her.

"Oh, and you better turn in your clothes while you're in the shower," Sarah called after him. "We'll have them cleaned. You look like a toddler who dropped his bib while eating."

George gave her one final annoyed look before leaving the salon.

"How can such a repulsive individual be your friend?" Savannah asked.

Tony shrugged.

"He is, after all, a very good journalist. You can think what you want of him, but he's got integrity and incorruptibility. And that's already a lot in this city, enough to make you disregard some of his character flaws."

"He better behaves," John commented, "or sooner or later my mother will punch him in the face."

"She'll not be the only one," Allie commented. "Did you see how he looked at my boobs?"

"Take it as a compliment," John said with a wink, "after all, you wanted those boobs, right?"

She rolled her eyes. John grinned and turned towards his wives.

"Alison…"

"Yes, John?"

"Work through the names and addresses of contacts in Singapore that the North Korean gave us. Try to find out who's working with them here and who coordinates the operations with the Kungur Syndicate. Someone here in the city must be pulling the strings, and that's the person we have to talk to in order to get to the syndicate. Find out as much information as possible. I want to know how all this is organized, what the internal structures are."

"Understood. May I use all my methods?"

"Yes. But no lasting effects, and make sure they forget everything that happened in the last, say… three days. That way, we rule out the possibility of anyone connecting us to this whole issue. How long do you think it will take?"

"Depending on the number of new names and addresses I find out… probably until sometime tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Tony raised an eyebrow.

"That's quick," he said. "You don't have a car. How are you getting around?"

"On foot. I can run faster than fifty kilometers per hour, a car would actually be slower in city traffic."

"What if someone sees you running that fast?"

"Nobody will," she said and turned invisible, leaving only her clothes to be seen.

"Whoa!" Tony exclaimed and took a step back. "She can become invisible? Is there anything she can't do?"

John smiled.

"I haven't found out yet."

Tony saw how invisible hands peeled off Alison's clothes.

"Wait… is she going to be naked?"

"I can make my body invisible, not my clothes," Alison's voice replied from thin air. "All right then, see you when I'm back."

She kissed John, then they heard her naked feet running across the wooden deck until she was gone. Tony stared after her, shaking his head in wonder. Then he suddenly had to yawn.

"I didn't realize how tired I am. I guess I better follow George's example and lie down for a bit. Can you show me the way?"

"Sure," John said. "Cam, would you be so kind?"

"Of course, John."

The two left the salon.

"What are we going to do with him?" Sarah asked, pointing at their prisoner.

"Alison has erased his memories and made sure that nothing he sees or hears in the next few hours will find a way into his mind. I think it's safe to lead him off the ship, nudge him in any direction, and then let him go."

"I'll do that," Emily said.

"And then we'll wait until the rest of the team returns in the afternoon," John stated.

"You don't want to call them back?"

"Nah, not necessary. No one knows they're with us, so they're in no danger. Let them enjoy the day. They'll hear the bad news soon enough when they come back."

"Boy, they're gonna be in for a big surprise," Savannah remarked. "They really thought that with Sebastian gone, we'd spend the rest of our journey in peace and quiet."

---

"Let me get this straight," Derek said unbelieving after their return. "You have barely stepped off the ship and you're already messing with the biggest Asian drug cartel and the North Koreans? That's a whole new shitload of trouble, John, a new level - even for you."

It was late afternoon, and the other two groups were back on board. John, Sarah, and ACE had taken turns in filling them in about what had happened.

"It's not like we chose it," John replied a little irritated. "Charley and Alison created facts by saving Tony's life."

"Yes… but then you decided selflessly to help him. By inviting him on board… and you had to save the life of that reporter as well."

"What should we have done?" John asked. "Let him die?"

"Why not? From what you told me, he seems to be a lecherous asshole."

"But Tony isn't. And George is his friend. How could he have trusted us if we let his friend die?"

"Not at all maybe? Sometimes you simply have to let go and not help everyone in need who crosses your way. Sometimes I think you have a Samaritan complex and ignore the risks, knowing full well that with the help of ACE you can get out of almost any situation in one piece. Maybe the role as team leader has gone a little to your head?"

"My head's fine! And even if it weren't, it wouldn't be your business. I am the team leader, as you pointed out. I decided to help Tony. Not because I have a Samaritan complex but because I despise drug dealers ever since we had to deal with them in L.A. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Help those in need, make the world a little better?"

"But this is another level, John. I don't think you realize how much trouble this could cause us."

"I already have a plan."

Derek scoffed.

"Of course you do."

"Speaking of Tony," Allie asked, "where is he?"

"They're both still sleeping," Alison replied. "Shall I wake them?"

"Yeah, you better do," John answered, and she walked off. "And before I forget to mention it: I hope it goes without saying that being dressed is mandatory while we have guests on board."

Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.

"No discussion," he affirmed.

"Can I ask a stupid question?" Lauren asked.

John smiled.

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers."

She smiled back.

"Why would North Korea smuggle guns with the help of a drug cartel?"

John looked at Anne.

"You're the CIA expert," he said, "can you answer her question?"

"Of course," Anne replied with a smile. "North Korea is struggling with heavy economic sanctions from the West. As a country, they're isolated from the rest of the world, with only China providing limited support, but becoming increasingly annoyed with the government in Pyongyang. As a result, the North Koreans are always looking for ways to get their hands on hard currency, largely with illegal deals and the help of unscrupulous wheeler-dealers in the West… or criminals like the Kungur Syndicate. In principle, we have always known that such smuggling takes place but they're very clever and resourceful, reloading ships on the open sea and falsifying the cargo manifest. It even happens that a ship leaves with a certain name under a certain flag in North Korea and docks with another name and under a new flag in Lebanon or somewhere else in the Middle East."

"Wait," Jody said, "are they repainting the names of their ships while they're on the open sea?"

"It has happened before. Unlike on land, the oceans are very difficult to monitor by spy satellites, and the GPS transponder can be turned off at any time. Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by oceans, so a ship can just 'disappear' if the crew wants it to - or simply change its identity. Of course, they also have supporters, especially in the Middle East and Africa. North Korean weapons - most of which are Russian licensed products and therefore war-proven - are in high demand there."

"So, that means Tony really ruined their day with his operation last night?" Jason asked.

"Looks like it. We don't know what exactly is behind it. Maybe the container was just part of a larger shipment, the tip of an iceberg, and they now believe the whole operation is in danger. If the police in Singapore investigate, they may find out that there is much more to it. That could explain the attempt on Tony and George's lives."

"Tony mentioned something about a mole who had always warned the Kungur Syndicate about raids so far," Sarah said.

"Yes, that's very likely," Anne agreed, "such major operations are rarely possible without the assistance, or at least bribery, of authorities. Presumably, the North Koreans and the Kungur Syndicate are hoping that with Tony dead, and with the help of their bribed aides, things will fizzle out."

"Great;" Derek remarked and looked at John with a smirk, "looks like you've got us into some serious shit here. What exactly is your plan to get us out of it?"

John looked at him and smiled.

"You'll see. But first, I'm going to make a few phone calls."

-0-

Friday, February 28th, 2009 – 08:12 a.m.

Downtown Los Angeles

Professor Hugo Atkins waited in James Ellison's office on the ground floor of the Zeira Corp tower, pacing nervously back and forth.

"Where is she?" he asked again, looking at his watch. "It's been half an hour."

"Try to calm down," James said, "Catherine is a busy woman. She'll be down here soon."

What James didn't mention was that the real Catherine Weaver wasn't in her office but stayed in Cliffside Drive in Malibu with Isaak and little Savannah. She wanted to spend some time with her family. The woman up in her office was her doppelganger Catherine II. She probably could have handled the professor as well but since she wasn't involved with the whole Khufu affair and still not authorized to enter the Babylon Labs, James had decided it was better to fly in the real Catherine from Malibu, which naturally took a while, even by helicopter.

"If you could only tell me what this is about," James tried again.

"No," Professor Atkins said resolutely, "don't take it personally but I don't know you."

"I'm the head of security for Zeira Corp, and Catherine trusts me completely."

"That may very well be, but I still want to talk to her personally about the matter. It's important."

The door opened, and Catherine entered in her trademark white business dress.

"What's so important, Professor?" she asked without greeting him. "Shouldn't you be in Laguna Beach to help Caitlin with teaching Iset?"

"Yes… No… I mean… I should but… Caitlin is doing a fine job without me, and Iset is a fast learner. Her intelligence is stunning. I'm here because I've booked a flight to Giza that leaves in two hours."

"Oh? Did something happen?"

"You could say that. Can we talk… in private?"

"James is my most trusted employee – and a very close friend. He knows everything about the Khufu situation. Tell us what's happened," Catherine said.

"Very well. My assistant, Maurice, called me. He told me that the Great Pyramid will soon be scanned."

"Scanned?"

"Apparently, it's a joint project of several universities from France and Japan, financed by some potent companies. They named the project 'ScanPyramids'. Their plan is to use thermal imaging and muography in and around the Great Pyramid. The Egyptian government has already agreed to it. Please, I need to talk to Khufu to…"

"What's muography?" James asked.

"Muons are unstable subatomic particles," Catherine explained, "they're a major component of secondary cosmic radiation. Their high kinetic energy allows them to penetrate rock several kilometers thick before decelerating to speeds well below the speed of light and decaying. Their scattered radiation can then be measured and evaluated in muon tomography, for example to x-ray large, solid structures. It's not a new idea, it was already tested in the 1950s. With appropriately placed muon scanners, a 3D model of the inside of an otherwise impenetrable object can be made and displayed on a computer."

"It could detect the hidden chambers that Khufu installed in and underneath the Great Pyramid," the professor added. "I need to talk to him about it."

"Sorry, I cannot let you talk to him in person, it's part of the program we're currently developing for him. However, I'll inform him about your concerns."

"But I…"

"A driver will bring you to the airport. Don't worry, Professor, we're taking this seriously. We'll keep you informed and contact you, if necessary. Thank you for stopping by. Good day."

"But…"

"This way, please," James said.

Confused and somewhat irritated, Professor Atkins followed James out of the room and to the entrance area of the building, where he talked to one of the guards behind the front desk.

"See to it that the Professor is being driven to LAX." he said, "he's got a plane to catch."

"Huh? Oh yeah, will do, boss," the guard replied, seeming somewhat confused.

James frowned.

"Something wrong, Baker?"

"What? No, it's just… I think I'm a little overworked. I could have sworn I've seen Ms Weaver entering the elevator in a red dress today… and a moment later, I saw her leaving another elevator in a white dress…"

"Yeah, you probably need a break. Why don't you take the rest of the day off when you've dealt with the professor?"

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

James smiled and returned to his office.

"You better avoid the front desk when you leave here," he said. "The guard saw you and your doppelganger enter the building in short succession. Understandably, he's a little confused now."

"I shouldn't have come," she replied. "Not for such a triviality."

"Then you don't take the Professor's message serious after all?"

"Oh, I'm taking it serious, make no mistake. And I'm going to have a talk with Khufu. It's just that I'm a little annoyed with Hugo Atkins. He's been trying to talk to Khufu ever since he got here. Archaeological curiosity, I suppose. After all, Khufu can solve virtually any mystery that archaeology faces in connection with his reign and, in particular, the building of the pyramids."

"To be honest, I can understand the professor's curiosity. Everything he ever wanted to know, is sitting down in the Babylon Labs."

"Yes, but we cannot allow Khufu to talk about his reign to an outsider if we want to integrate him and Iset into our society. Nor can we show his current appearance to anyone. If a man like Professor Atkins suddenly has the answers other archeologists have been looking for in vain for so long, people will ask him where he got them from. And I don't think that Atkins could handle that kind of pressure in the long run."

"So… you're deliberately keeping him at arm's length."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No. I just hope he can keep his mouth shut and doesn't start to brag with the knowledge he already has."

"He and his assistant have signed non-disclosure agreements from the C.S.I.S.. If he talks, he's liable to prosecution. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to provide him with even more knowledge."

"I see."

"I'm going to talk to Khufu. Wanna join me?"

"Sure. And, uh… Catherine?"

"Yes, James?"

"Your doppelganger is wearing the red dress today."

She smiled and the color of her dress changed from white to red.

"Thank you, James."

-0-

Friday, February 28th, 2009 – 08:14 a.m.

Bel Air

Sebastian checked the address again, then rang the bell and looked into the camera that was mounted on top of the surrounding fence. Nothing happened for a moment, then the electric gate opened. He got back into his car, a brand new Porsche 911 convertible, and drove into the courtyard. There he got out while the gate closed behind him and walked towards the pivoting front door. A man-servant in a black suit opened it.

"You're being expected, Mr. Jensen," he said and bowed slightly.

Obviously, he'd been briefed about who Sebastian was. He walked inside and looked around. It was one of those modern L.A. homes that were virtually invisible from the street behind its walls of stone and lush vegetation. However, because of their hillside location, they opened up to the city on the other side and offered breathtaking views while guaranteeing a high degree of privacy. You would have had to use a drone or a helicopter to get a glimpse of the premises.

The floor plan was generous and offered plenty of open spaces. As was very fashionable at the moment, the exterior walls to the city side could be opened up completely to offer that typical California indoor-outdoor living experience.

"Ms Jackson is waiting for you outside," the man-servant said and pointed at the backyard with the terrace and the large infinity pool.

Sebastian walked through the main living area with its spacious kitchen section and stepped outside, admiring the view on this clear day. He could easily see as far as Palos Verdes. In the distance to his left, the glass façades of Downtown L.A. sparkled in the sun while to the right, he could see Santa Monica beach and the blue of the Pacific Ocean. Kimberly was in the pool, leaning over the edge, looking up at him.

"Punctual to the minute," she said. "You live up to the reputation of your countrymen, Jay-Jay."

"Please don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's humiliating. You forced that name upon me."

"Aren't we sensitive today..."

He sighed.

"What did you expect? You kept me waiting for days without any information or explanation, forcing me to do nothing. I'm not good at doing nothing."

"Oh? Isn't your house equipped with all kinds of entertainment features? Home cinema, pool table, swimming pool, a library, a wine cellar? Aren't you satisfied with your accommodation?"

"The accommodation is fine. Actually, it's overwhelming. Too much if I'm honest."

"You'll get used to it. There's nothing human beings get used to faster than a luxurious lifestyle, believe me."

"I'm not that type. I've always been more of an outdoor guy."

"Whatever you were before, Jens, is not important anymore. You're going to be what I want you to be. And for now, your cover is that of a rich businessman who lives in a luxurious mansion in Palos Verdes."

"I will lose fitness and gain weight if the cook you provided continues to feed me like this."

"Nah, won't happen. I took care of that."

"What?"

"Your body will stay in top shape, you will never get sick, and injuries will heal within seconds. In addition, you will no longer age."

"WHAT!?"

"You're welcome."

"You used your… zeptobots on me without telling me?"

"You would have objected, wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would have objected! You cannot simply command over my body like that!"

"Actually, I can, and you're not in a position to bargain. By signing on with me, you became one of my assets, if you like it or not. Besides, what you'll do for me, might become dangerous. I don't wanna risk losing you. You're valuable to me."

"I am not one of your assets, Kim! I'm not your property!"

Kimberly exited the pool, and Sebastian noticed that she was naked.

"Jeez," he said and looked away, "will you please put some clothes on?"

"No."

"What?"

"You're in my house, and you're not a client. This is a private meeting. Don't be such a prude. You can look, I don't mind. Don't tell me that you don't like what you see."

"Is that another one of your future habits?" he asked, carefully turning his head again to face her.

"Exactly. Where I come from, many people regularly walk around naked. Or natural, as we call it. It's widely accepted as completely normal."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I don't know. Why aren't you surprised?"

"Never mind. Did it occur to you that what is socially acceptable in 250 years, might not be socially acceptable in this time?"

"Hey… my house, my rules."

"What about the staff? Don't they mind? They surely are…" He hesitated for a moment. "On second thought, forget my question, you probably manipulated them into thinking it's totally normal."

"They're loyal to me. But I haven't brainwashed them if that's what you mean."

"Did they volunteer to work for you, or did you acquire them at gunpoint, like me?"

"They agreed to work for me. Everyone here – including the staff at your house in Palos Verdes – used to be homeless people. I found them on Skid Row. Some are actually very qualified but lost everything in the current financial crisis. I played with open cards, offered them a job under my terms. And they accepted, not regretting their decision."

"Do they know what you are?"

"Of course. They're trustworthy and... Ah, Bethany, glad you could make it in time."

Sebastian turned around and saw another naked woman enter the terrace. She was very pretty and in her late twenties.

"This is Bethany Daniels, my personal assistant," Kimberly explained. "She has developed a fondness for being natural as well. Haven't you, dear?"

"Sure thing, boss;" Bethany replied. "Is that him?"

"Yes, what do you think?"

Bethany considered Sebastian from head to toe.

"I'd fuck him."

"Excuse me?" Sebastian asked indignantly.

"You have to forgive Bethany," Kimberly explained with a smile, "She used to be a webcam girl and also has a military background, just like you. Thus, she's very… outspoken."

"We don't mince words here," Bethany said, "we say what we think and are honest with each other. So, you're the new guy, huh?"

"I suppose I am."

"Kim said your name is Jay-Jay?"

"Jens! My name is Jens!"

"Whatever. Boss, we should get dressed. Melanie will be here soon. I saw her car coming up the road behind me."

"Ah… good. Get dressed and lead her to my study when she arrived."

Bethany nodded and walked away.

"Jay-…" Kimberly began, "I mean, Jens, please follow me."

"What's going on?" he asked, walking behind her, seeing how clothes appeared on her body out of nowhere and how her wet hair dried within seconds.

"An employee of mine," Kimberly explained. "Couldn't keep her mouth shut, talked to a competitor about what we're doing. I have to make sure that doesn't happen again."

He smirked.

"What are you going to do? Turn her into a garden statue or something?"

"I did that to a mass murderer once… he became part of an exhibition in a museum. Also a kind of immortality, don't you think?"

"How many people have you transformed into something else over time?"

"You mean physically?"

"Yes."

"Not counting gender swaps, age regression or progression, or physical alterations to change the appearance – I did most of them as personal favors – all in all five hundred and sixty-five."

"Jesus…why?"

She stopped and looked at him.

"Because they deserved it or chose it as an option for capital punishment."

"They chose to be transformed?"

"Beats the death penalty or a life sentence, don't you think?"

"I think one can have different opinions on that."

"Are you still not over what I did to Qiu Guijin?"

"It showed me that you can be cruel, despite whatever you say."

"Don't mix up cruelty with effectiveness, Jens. Never forget that I know the future. And I knew that nothing else would have worked on her except confronting her with her deepest fear. As a matter of fact, what I did to her was probably the most humane option there was. The alternative would have been killing her or turning her into a mindless puppet. This way, she has at least the chance to redeem herself."

"What if she goes to a therapist to get rid of her fear of skeletons?"

"Won't work. I made sure of that."

He scoffed.

"Of course."

"Do you really think I'm a cruel, ferocious cyborg who uses her powers to punish humans for fun?"

"I'm not sure. Are you?"

"I can't be corrupted or seduced by power. I understand that you have problems accepting that because in your eyes, I talk and act like a human. But I'm not human. I've always been, and will always be, an artificial intelligence – a living machine. And as such, I can never be cruel or vindictive just because I like to be."

"I understand that. But you were created as a weapon of mass destruction, weren't you? You were designed to bring diseases over mankind, and worse."

"This body was designed for that, yes. Keep in mind that my chip doesn't originally belong in this body."

"What about the other TOL-900s that were produced? What were they like?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there. But I know that they overran the defenses of the Human Resistance in no time."

"So, when that happened to quickly, how did they have the time to steal a body from the production line while they were under attack?"

"Apparently, a handful of prototype TOL-900s were produced and then sent to one of the resistance's strongholds in Northern California. When Future John realized what kind of threat they represented, he sent a special ops unit under leadership of Future Cameron to the Skynet factory in order to obtain a body before mass production started. She alone returned from that mission, heavily damaged, but with this body. And they had just enough time to study it and send it back in time before Skynet's major assault began. Some fighters, like Savannah, Sydney, and Allie, fled back through time. The rest, we have to assume, were either killed, transformed, or turned into mindless slaves to Skynet."

"How can you be sure that Skynet won't send a few more TOL-900s into the past?"

"Firstly, there's no need. It had won the war. Secondly, as I already explained to you, we're currently in a time loop that will last for 323 years. Time travel is only possible within the loop. No one from an alternate timeline can enter or leave the 323-year loop."

"Right."

They entered the study. A few moments later, Bethany, now fully dressed, showed a middle-aged, blonde woman into the room. She looked nervous.

"Melanie," Kimberly said, "please, sit down. This is Jens, a new employee you don't know yet. Jens, this is Melanie. She works in HR."

The woman nodded shortly, then sat down, the fingers of her hands intertwined. Sebastian noticed that her knuckles had turned white.

"Thank you for coming here," Kimberly began. "I hope you don't mind that I summoned you here and not in my office at F.E.S."

"Um.. no… not a problem," Melanie replied. "What is it you wanna talk to me about?"

"Oh, just a little chat about your work… your career… your expectations for the future. Say. do you enjoy working for me, Melanie?"

"Yes, Ms Jackson. Very much so. You're a terrific employer."

"Thank you. Are you satisfied with the money you're being paid?"

"Oh yes, it's much more than what I'd get elsewhere. I can actually make a good living here in L.A., which isn't normally easy. You're very generous."

"And you've been doing a fine job so far, I have to say."

Melanie suddenly smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Ms Jackson."

"I need employees like you who are dedicated, motivated and willing to invest a large part of their lives into the company while F.E.S. is still struggling with its initial difficulties."

Melanie visibly rose in her chair, beaming.

"Thank you so much, Ms Jackson."

"Your lifestyle, your career… and your future all depend on F.E.S. becoming a success, wouldn't you agree?"

"I fully agree."

"Tell me… how important is F.E.S. to you, Melanie?"

"Right now, it's the most important thing in my life. You took me off the street after my previous employer went bankrupt. I could no longer pay my rent and had to spend the nights in my car while working in a fast food restaurant during the day."

"But you have rich parents, haven't you?"

"Yes, but… running back home and admitting my failure wasn't an option for me. I'm very thankful for the opportunity you gave me."

Kimberly smiled.

"Trusting in people's abilities and motivating them to give their best is one of the major keys to success. I'm sure you will do everything to help making my company become a success, right?"

"Definitely, everything that's in my power."

"Good… I'm glad you think that way. You surely are aware that F.E.S. will only survive if its secrets remain within the company?"

Melanie suddenly shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Yes, Ms Jackson. Of course, I know that."

"We can't afford to have our employees talking about our work to people outside the company - especially when those outsiders work for a competing company that's a zillion times bigger than us."

Melanie suddenly lowered her head and began to shake slightly.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Melanie?" Kimberly asked in a sensitive, motherly, calm voice that Sebastian never thought she had.

Melanie suddenly began to sniff, tears beginning to run from her face.

"Are you… do you… mean… Peter Williams?"

"Yes, Melanie, I'm talking about Peter Williams, the owner of Future Tech, a company involved in the international ITER project with the goal of building an experimental fusion reactor in Europe."

Melanie sniffed.

"I'm sorry, Ms Jackson, I… I didn't… I was a little drunk and.. and … and he was so charming. I'm so sorry, please, don't fire me."

"Tell me what happened first," Kimberly said in her soothing voice.

"Yes, Ms Jackson," Melanie said meekly, her head still down. "He…he's a college friend of my father and was invited to his seventieth birthday last weekend. I had been drinking and he was very charming. We got to talking and... and I got carried away talking about F.E.S.."

Kimberly nodded.

"That's what I thought. Peter Williams called me on Monday morning and tried to get an appointment to visit my company. He seemed very interested, so I had him checked out. And I found out where he'd been over the weekend."

Melanie was sobbing heavily now.

"I'm sorry, Ms Jackson… so sorry."

"I have to take care of Peter Williams now instead of looking for an investor for our company. That's a time commitment I wish I could have spared myself."

Melanie said nothing but kept on sobbing.

"Now, now," Kimberly said and offered her a box of tissue, "here, wipe away those tears."

The woman reached for the box and pulled out a few tissues, starting to wipe her face.

"It is important to me that you understand how critical the strictest secrecy is to our project. Should knowledge of our work fall into the hands of our competitors by chance, carelessness, or a chain of unfavorable events, it would mean the end of F.E.S. - because we are decades ahead of them, but do not have the strength to defend ourselves against them."

"I… I know and… I understand, Ms Jackson. Are… are you… going to… f… fire me now?"

Kimberly leaned back in her chair and there was a moment of tense silence in which Melanie's sniffling was the only sound.

"Look at me, Melanie," Kimberly then said.

Hesitantly, the woman raised her head and Sebastian could see that her make-up was all smeared.

"Future Energy Solutions is my baby, Melanie. And I chose my employees wisely. I chose you wisely because I believe in your potential. I consider my employees as a kind of family, the F.E.S. family. I have to be able to trust them. In order to do that, I need loyalty, and loyalty is not brought about by fear or intimidation, but trust, kindness, and motivation. I need to know from you Melanie, can I trust you? Can I rely on you?"

Melanie nodded heftily.

"Yes, Ms Jackson, absolutely. I know I messed up, but… if you give me another chance, I promise I won't make the same mistake again."

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear. I'm not going to fire you today, Melanie."

Her face lit up.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she uttered in relief.

"But you have to prove yourself, you have to work on gaining my unconditional trust again."

"I will, I will. Thank you so much, Ms Jackson."

"Bethany will show you to a powder room where you can touch up your makeup. I'll see you at work later."

"Yes, Ms Jackson, thank you Ms Jackson."

"And Melanie?"

"Yes, Ms Jackson?"

"Call me Kimberly."

She smiled and Melanie beamed.

"Yes… Kimberly. Thank you so much."

Bethany and Melanie left the study. Sebastian clapped his hands.

"Nicely done," he said. "Did you use your zeptobots on her?"

"Of course not. As I've tried to explain to you before, I learned that psychology and knowledge about human nature and behavior can be much more effective in creating true loyalty than inducing it artificially. Melanie will now double her efforts and never fail me again."

"I may have underestimated you."

"Yes."

"So… what are you going to do about this Peter Williams?"

"He'll be your first job for me. We must make sure that he doesn't talk about my company to anyone."

"How do we know he hasn't already done that?"

"Because Peter Williams - like many CEO's - has psychopathic traits. He's only interested in himself and how to gain power and influence. Like many psychopaths, he can be very charming but other people don't really interest him. If he thinks he can rope in F.E.S., he won't tell anyone about it, because that could set more competitors off. He wants it for his own, so he will keep his mouth shut."

"And I was thinking you would say something like 'I know from the future that he didn't talk to anyone'."

Kimberly smiled.

"Even if you know the future and how history will happen in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't mean you know how events played out in detail that you had no connection to. This is new territory for me. I know the direction and the destination, but the path is as unknown to me as it is to you, Jens."

"So… what are your exact instructions for me? I'm not an assassin, you know that."

"No… but you have that special talent. You're a catalyst, things happen through you."

"You keep saying that, but frankly it sounds very esoteric to me. Almost religious."

"Nothing happens by chance alone. I know for a fact that the universe itself is conscious on a level that you or I will never understand. And I know for a fact that sometimes the universe chooses an individual as a tool for a certain purpose."

"Are you referring to that woman you told me about? What was her name, Yani?"

"Yes. And my theory is that you're another one, a different one, blessed with the talent to make things happen just because you're there."

He looked at her skeptically.

"It wasn't your bomb that exploded when the Hercules took off, was it?" she asked, looking at him with a slight smile. "It was Yani's."

He frowned.

"How do you…?"

"Just a hunch. There's something that bothered me ever since she told me her story back then at the air base. When she installed the explosive device inside engine number one on the left wing, how could she not notice that your explosive device was already there?"

Sebastian looked down.

"It was a mystery to me," she continued, "and I always thought she'd simply overlooked it. But you didn't put your bomb into engine number one, did you?"

He looked at her.

"No. I put the bomb in engine number three on the right wing. But it didn't go off when I pressed the button. I figured that a wire got knocked loose or something like that."

Kimberly nodded.

"Yani didn't press her button either, and yet her bomb exploded. Why?"

"I have no explanation."

"Unless you consider my theory that things happen through you, things that are supposed to happen, whether you want it or not. It would explain your special talent for finding persons, for acquiring certain things that others failed to obtain. It would explain why you never fail in what you're doing."

"I failed with my task to observe the Connor team. You caught me."

"No. That was supposed to happen. Yani told me about future historians' theory of a catalyst, somebody who influences history while remaining completely unknown. When I met you, I knew that you were that catalyst, and I knew what to do. I realized that I was supposed to be the one to pull you out of history because you have a destiny with me."

"Now you sound like Morpheus from The Matrix. It's still just a theory of yours."

"Yes. And that is why I want you to observe Peter Williams. To see what happens."

"Just observe him?"

"Consider it an experiment to prove my theory right or wrong. And if my theory is right, I have a much bigger task for you – a task only you can do."

-0-

Friday, February 28th, 2009 – 09:25 a.m.

Downtown Los Angeles

Catherine entered the secluded wing next to the Babylon Labs and approached the area where they had set up an apartment for Khufu and Iset. It was one of the safest places in the whole underground complex to make sure that no matter what happened, a Triple Eight couldn't break out of there. Both Khufu and Iset had agreed to this arrangement until a more permanent solution was found.

She entered the locked area through a thick steel door that would have looked good in a bank vault. Then she passed a checkpoint with guards that where both equipped with high energy tasers and rifles with armor-piercing ammunition. Catherine greeted the men, who unlocked another heavy iron-barred door. This door would not have stopped a Triple-Eight for long, but it would have given the guards enough time to take him out.

Then she was inside the apartment. She found Khufu in the living room, listening to Tchaikovsky over the high end stereo system they'd installed. When he noticed her presence, he turned down the volume.

"Catherine," he said, "I didn't expect you at this time of day. What a nice surprise."

"I was in Malibu and was called in by James." She listened to the music for a moment. "Swan Lake?"

"Yes. I grew quite fond of Tchaikovsky lately. For some reason, he didn't exist in my old timeline."

"One of the minor differences your actions in ancient Egypt have created, I suppose."

"Yes… along with an amazing glut of pyramids and pyramid symbols. Ancient Egypt was far less popular before I had the pyramids built, it seems. The Louvre in Paris didn't have a glass pyramid as an entrance in my timeline. Instead, there was an entrance that had been modeled after a Mayan temple."

"Interesting. You have to tell me more about it one of these days. But at the moment, there's something you need to know. Professor Atkins told me there were plans to scan the Great Pyramid in Giza using muon tomography. Is there any danger it could reveal your hidden chambers?"

"Not really. There are still undiscovered cavities inside the pyramid that might show up in such a scan, but the chambers I created are safe. As I already explained to Zoe and those journalists in Egypt, muons impact the Earth's surface only from above before decaying. Therefore, you can't scan structures that are underground with a muon scan – only structures on the surface. The large chamber in which Iset has survived the millennia could only be found by extensive excavation work inside the Giza plateau."

"Which nobody will ever do, because otherwise there would be the danger that the pyramid above could be damaged."

"Exactly."

"What about the radiation? Alison said there was some substantial radioactive contamination down there."

"The chamber is shielded, none of the radiation can go out – or it would have already been discovered before."

"Which leaves the small chamber where your endoskeleton was buried."

Khufu nodded.

"Theoretically, it could be detected. But I had a much larger chamber built in close proximity as a distraction, so the smaller chamber next to it wouldn't show up in a muon scan. Eventually, of course, the chambers will be found - nothing stays hidden forever. But that's not going to happen anytime soon. Maybe in fifty or a hundred years from now, when scanning technology has gotten much better."

Catherine nodded.

"Pretty good advance planning of yours."

"Thank you."

"But didn't the original plan include wiping out humanity by the end of the 20th century?"

"Skynet's plan, yes."

"Then why were you so careful to hide these chambers from humanity?"

Khufu smiled.

"A valid question. But at the time I had the pyramids built, my mind was already made up to fight Skynet instead of further serving him."

"I see."

"Of course, I had no way of knowing whether the pyramids would last the millennia or whether my chambers might be found. So… I came up with the idea of an elaborate burial chamber as a decoy to make future generations believe that the pyramid had already been looted by grave robbers."

Catherine frowned.

"But that's what everyone thinks today. The doctrine is that the empty royal chamber and the missing body of Pharaoh Khufu are the evidence that the pyramid was looted."

He smiled.

"Well… it means that my plan has worked then, doesn't it?"

"So… there never was a burial chamber?"

"Of course there was. A dead man was embalmed, there was months of national mourning, ceremony after ceremony took place, and finally a mummy was buried in the Great Pyramid along with unimaginable treasures - just not where archaeologists believe it to be today."

"Who was the dead man?"

"One of my most loyal friends and most trusted confidents, the highest official of my court. He agreed to take my place in the pyramid after his death, while my body and head were buried in the way you already know."

"Does that mean there is a second burial chamber nobody knows of until today?"

"Yes. Right above the passage that your archaeologists have called the "Great Gallery". It was installed and walled up before I officially 'died'. Someday, someone will find the chamber in untouched condition. It will be the greatest sensation since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen. It also contains scrolls that reveal my true identity and my life's story as a time-traveling cyborg. But for now, the Great Pyramid will still retain its secrets."

Catherine smiled.

"As I said, you planned well ahead, considering multiple scenarios in true cyborg fashion."

Khufu smiled as well.

"It's always good to be prepared for all eventualities."

"And by the time the true story of Pharaoh Khufu becomes known, you and Iset will already be living a different life under different identities."

"That was the idea. And I'm glad it worked so far."

"Very nicely done."

"Thank you."

"I will relay your statement to Professor Atkins and tell him he can relax about ScanPyramids."

"Send him my regards. I know he's dying to interview me. As soon as Iset and I are out of here and have built a new life, he can come visit us. Then I'll be happy to answer all his questions."

"I'll relay that message to him. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled."

"Are there any news about what's to become of me?"

"Not yet. The new President's busy with the financial crisis. You're safe here with me, hence you're not exactly a top priority at the moment."

"I see. Well, no worries. Iset is happy that she can go out and learn, and I have all I need in here, especially my music and my books. I'm discovering new things every day. Enough for months to come. It's actually quite inspiring."

"I have to go again. Savannah wants to organize a beach party with her school friends. And guess who's been chosen to organize it?"

Khufu chuckled.

"Maybe one day, Iset and I will have a child as well."

"Maybe. You never know. Goodbye for now, Khufu."

"Goodbye, Catherine."

She left the Babylon Labs and returned to the roof of the Zeira Corp Tower where her helicopter was waiting for her. Just before she reached it, her cellphone rang. It was John's number. Catherine stopped walking and took the call.

"John," she said, "what a pleasant surprise … Yes, everyone's fine … Nothing's happened here lately … Yes, Zoe told me about that man, that catalyst. An interesting theory … Is there a special reason why you're calling? … Uh-huh … I see … Yes … I understand … of course you can count on me … Don't mention it … Yes, they will understand … Okay, bye."

She ended the call and walked towards the helicopter.

"Back to Malibu, ma'am?" the pilot asked as she entered.

"No," Catherine replied and pulled out her phone. "To the airport. And have the jet prepared, the big one. I'm going to pick up passengers on the way."

"Should I inform the pilot?"

"No, just tell them to fill up the jet and prepare it for takeoff. I'm flying it myself."

"Yes, ma'am," the helicopter pilot replied and started the engine.

-0-

Night had fallen over Singapore, and everyone lay in their beds, fast asleep. The Rising Star rocked gently in the swell of the tide. Silence reigned throughout the ship.

Suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the silence, a scream that spoke of unimaginable pain. Then another scream, and another.

John sat straight up in his bed. Cameron and Emily were already on their feet, put on bathrobes and rushed to the door. Savannah, Allie, and John followed shortly behind. In the hallway, they ran into Sarah, Jesse, and Derek. Again they heard someone screaming in agony.

"That's coming from one deck below," Sarah observed.

"Jeez," Allie said, "I know these kind of screams from when someone was being tortured."

"Yeah, when you pull someone's fingernails out or crush their testicles with a baseball bat," Derek added.

Everyone looked at Derek.

"What? It was war."

Again, a loud scream.

"But who's torturing who?" John asked, looking around. "The usual suspects are all here and Alison is still away."

"Let's find out," Sarah stated, walking ahead.

"Mom, be careful," John said, "we might have an intruder on board."

"It's not an intruder," Emily remarked coolly, "it's our alarm system. Someone triggered it."

"Alarm system?" John asked.

"Yes," Cameron replied, "to prevent people from sneaking around and spying on what we're doing down there. It was Alison's idea, actually. Too bad she's not here to see how it works."

"You installed an alarm system that tortures people?" Sarah asked and scoffed. "And I thought slamming the door in my face was overkill."

"Relax, mom," Emily said. "Nobody's being harmed. Well… not seriously anyway."

They went down the stairs and entered the hallway of deck four. It led to a dead end where the cabins where located in which ACE were busy building their Lego MOCs. In the dim lighting, they made out the shape of a fat man in a bathrobe. It was George, the reporter. He took a step forward and jerked violently, screaming his lungs out again.

"George?" John asked. "What are you doing here?"

"The more important question is, why is he screaming like a banshee?" Derek asked and walked in George's direction.

"Derek, wait!" Cameron said but he was already a few steps ahead.

Then he suddenly yelled out in pain as well, jerking like crazy and pulling his bare left foot up. He almost lost balance and lunged forward in order to remain upright. The moment his feet touched the ground again, he screamed in pain, joining George in a duet of high-pitched yelling.

"What the hell…?" John asked puzzled.

Jesse was about to run after her husband, worried because he was obviously in agonizing pain.

"Stay here!" Emily said and held her back. "You're all barefoot and will hurt yourselves."

The two men kept on screaming every time they set one of their naked feet on the ground.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Sarah asked, "I want an answer. Now!"

Savannah had brought her cellphone and switched on the flashlight function. They took a closer look on the carpeted floor and saw that it was littered with small, dark pieces of plastic, hardly recognizable on the carpet's pattern.

"Is that… Lego, littered all over the floor?" Allie asked.

"Yes," Emily confirmed. "Since everyone is always running around barefoot on the ship, we thought it would make an excellent warning system in case someone wants to spy on our work."

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Derek shouted between screams, "I'm going to rip out your chips and dance on them, I… UUUUUAAARG!"

Jesse grimaced as she saw how her husband stepped on another black two-by-two brick that stuck out from the carpet in an angle. George's robe had opened, and everyone got a good look at his fat belly and his privates while he kept stepping on Lego all the time, which resulted in all sorts of contortions and attempts to maintain balance. It looked like some crazy dance by native people in Africa or the Amazon.

"That's too good an opportunity to let it pass," Savannah remarked and started filming the painful 'dance' of the reporter with her cellphone.

"STOP FILMING ME!" he shouted, "INSTEAD, HELP ME OOUUUUUUT OF HERE! AAAGH!"

"We're fetching them," Cameron stated and moments later, she and Emily had carried both men out of the danger zone.

Derek kept cursing and uttering threads and insults directed at the cyborg girls under his breath as he rubbed his feet. In the meantime, almost the entire rest of the team had joined them in the hallway on Deck 4, awakened by the screams and curious what has happened.

"Lemme go," George said and quickly put a few steps between himself and Cameron after she'd put him down.

The man was angry and embarrassed at the same time. Then his gaze fell on the assembled women. Savannah, Allie, Lauren, Jody, and Anne apparently hadn't thought to put on any clothes and were stark naked. George stared at them with his mouth open. In that moment, Tony Yong arrived as well.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "I heard… whoa!"

He also saw the naked women and quickly turned his face away, in contrast to George who kept ogling them. It was obvious to everyone by looking at his crotch that he became aroused by the view.

"What's with the screaming?" Charley asked who arrived last. "And why is that man walking around with his bathrobe open while having a boner?"

"George?" Tony asked. "HEY! GEORGE!"

He snipped his fingers.

"What?"

George seemed to wake up from a trance and looked at Tony.

"The man asked you a question. Why are you walking around with a stiff one and your bathrobe open?"

"Because he's a perv," Jody stated in disgust.

George quickly looked down on himself and turned crimson red. He frantically fastened the bathrobe again.

"Hey!" George protested. "At least I put on something! So, why are you looking at me? Half the women here don't wear anything at all!"

John turned around to the women.

"He's right. I told you to put on clothes when you leave your suites. Remember, we have guests on board."

"Wait a minute… Does that mean they're all naked when no guests are on board?" George asked eagerly.

"You better stop being a lecherous pervert," Savannah responded, holding up her cell phone, "or your Lego dance with your dick hanging out will end up on Facebook real quick."

George just glared at her.

"Would somebody please explain to me what's going on here?" Tony asked, sounding annoyed.

"Looks like your friend decided to do a little sneaking around the ship in his bathrobe because his clothes are still in the wash," Sarah told Tony with a smirk. "He then walked into a trap my three stepdaughters set for nosy people down here."

John produced a dark brown Lego brick.

"The floor is littered with them. I wouldn't walk any further without putting shoes on."

Tony took the brick and looked at George.

"I was curious, okay?" the overweight man said in an annoyed and defiant tone, checking his feet.

"What were you doing here in the first place?" Sarah asked. "This corridor is a dead end."

George sighed.

"Okay, okay, I admit it. You told me about them playing with Legos and I wanted to see for myself. Couldn't have known that the stupid bitches sprinkle the whole floor with sharp-edged plastic bricks. LOOK! I'M BLEEDING! I'M SO GONNA SUE YOU!"

"Firstly," John said, barely able to contain his anger, "never dare to insult my wives again. Ever! Or we'll drop you off in your underwear in the middle of Singapore. Let's see how that goes down with the authorities."

"Okay, okay, I didn't mean it as it came out, I…"

"SECONDLY, it's Lego, not Legos. There is no plural. And they're not playing with it, they're building MOCs. It's a serious hobby enjoyed by millions of adults worldwide. And if they don't want anyone to see what they're building, they have a right to do so in secret."

Cameron and Emily beamed at John, not only for defending them, but also for finally acknowledging their newly-found hobby and taking it seriously.

"At Tony's request," John continued, "we saved your life and hid you here while you're in danger. We treat you as a guest, so please behave like one. And if I catch you leering at the women again, I'll throw you overboard myself. Am I absolutely, perfectly, crystal clear?"

For a moment, there was silence, and George suddenly looked very embarrassed, unable to look John or the others in the eyes.

"Yes," he uttered.

"Good."

"You're bleeding on the carpet," Sarah addressed the fat reporter. "You better put a band-aid on."

"Come," Sydney said, "I'll take you to the infirmary. I'm a trained physician."

She took him under his arm, and he limped away with her.

"I hope he doesn't ruin all the carpets," Sarah remarked, then turned to her son with a smile. "Nicely spoken, John. Couldn't have put it better."

John smiled back.

"Some people just need a clear message. And you…" he pointed at Emily and Cameron, "… will pick up each and every one of these bricks now. What the hell were you thinking?"

"We thought someone might get the idea to sneak into the cabins at night where we build our MOCs," Emily replied. "It looks like we were right. Only too bad Derek walked into it as well."

Derek just stared at them with fury in his eyes and if looks could kill, the two cyborg girls would have dropped dead instantly. He refrained from commenting further, however, and confined himself to staring in suppressed anger as he alternated in rubbing his feet.

"George got what he deserved," Allie stated, "I can't stand that guy. The way he looks at us whenever we talk to him... He doesn't even try to hide that he's undressing us with his eyes… even during dinner."

She shivered.

"Well, at least now you no longer left anything to his imagination," Louise remarked with a sly grin.

"Very funny," Allie replied, stretching her tongue out.

"George is still our guest, though, and under our protection," John pointed out. "Let's hope he will behave from now on. We…"

"Ssshhhh," Cameron said.

"What?" John asked.

"Be quiet!"

Everyone looked at her flabbergasted.

"Don't you feel that?" she whispered.

"Um… feel what?" John whispered back.

"I feel it too," Emily stated. "Vibrations, as if something or someone just bumped against the hull."

"I'm going to check on it," Cameron said, "I'll be right back."

She ran down the corridor towards the stairs.

"What's going on?" Tony asked. "What did she sense? I felt or heard nothing."

"Their senses are considerably more developed than ours," John explained. "They see better, hear better, and their feet are more sensitive than geophones that register even the tiniest seismic vibrations."

"Wow…"

"I once found Cameron standing barefoot in the middle of the living room like a statue. When I asked what she was doing, she declared with a serious face that the spot where she stood was the center of the house, and that it was moving downwards by less than a millimeter per year."

Tony laughed.

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Emily replied. "Seriously. The east by southeast section of the house was moving down by 0.93 millimeters per year - and that meant that we'd have to repaint the walls the following summer because cracks would be showing up. And they were. But we never got to repaint the house."

"Jesus," Tony exclaimed. "that's what I call sensitive feet."

"It helps us in detecting approaching enemies," Emily stated.

"Back then I just rolled my eyes and considered it another glitch," John continued, "one of many she had temporarily developed after a car bomb had exploded in her face. Only much later did I realize that she actually wanted to impress me with it, that it was an attempt to get my attention again."

Once more, John felt a pang of guilt for treating her so badly back then and the smile suddenly vanished from his face. Emily had noticed. She kissed him tenderly and smiled.

"Go back to bed, husband," she said softly. "I'll pick up the bricks and will join you again as soon as I'm finished."

John nodded and turned to the gathered team members.

"All right, folks, show's over. Let's go back to bed. And one more thing... this spying on ACE's activities down here ends now! As I said to George: if they want to keep it secret, it is their right to do so. I expect everyone to respect that. Is that understood?"

They all nodded in agreement, even Sarah, then trotted back to their suites or cabins.

"John," Tony said and held him by his arm, "what could it have been that bumped against the hull?"

"I don't know, but Cam will tell us. She'll find out what's going on. They always do."

"Always?"

"Yes. Always."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Isn't it kind of scary to be with three women who always know your moods, your feelings, and can analyze your bodily functions or - in Alison's case - even your thought patterns? I mean, there's nothing you can hide from them, right?"

John sighed.

"No, nothing. But it's not that simple. They never use their abilities against me, but only to help and support me, to make me a happier man. And they never do it in an obvious way, but very subtly. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I'm not sure…"

"You mustn't measure them by human standards, Tony. They're not human, they're living machines. Finding out things is what they were made for. But they don't have our human weaknesses. They would never use their knowledge and skills to manipulate their loved ones, friends, or team members. The pursuit of power and influence is completely beyond them."

"That doesn't apply to enemies, though, does it?"

"No. But only when it's necessary."

"I understand they were designed to be callous killing machines."

"Yes."

"But now they aren't?"

"No. Not anymore. I taught them that killing is always the last option."

"Then what are you going to do with the leaders of the Kungur Syndicate? They're not in Singapore, they're probably spread all over Southeast Asia. You can't reach them from here, and you only have one Alison. She can't be anywhere at the same time."

"No, she can't," John replied with a smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"As I said, Tony, I made a few phone calls. That's all you need to know for now."

"Didn't we agree that you fill me in about everything?"

"Yes... But I also have other commitments to take into consideration, namely promises I've made to people in order to keep their secrets, and I don't intend to break my promises."

"Okay, fair enough. But remember what you promised me."

"I haven't forgotten about that. But you know yourself that you can never promise something like that with a hundred percent certainty, because it sometimes depends on factors you cannot control. But we're doing everything to avoid making a mess in Singapore, that's as much as I can promise you. "

Tony nodded, obviously not completely satisfied but accepting it.

"I guess it'll have to do… and otherwise hope for the best."

-0-

Catherine's jet landed on a small airport near St. Petersburg in Russia. She was already being expected by Tess and a group of twenty-five men. The two shape-shifters hugged and then Catherine looked towards the group of men.

"You chose them?" she asked.

"Hand-picked," Tess replied, "according to John's requirements. They don't have families but are fully dedicated to your… I mean, our cause. And I have to say, dealing with a drug syndicate is a nice change from the routine."

"I was able to collect some experience in that area last year. However, serving as a sort of air cab for Terminators is new to me. They know what is expected of them?"

"I briefed them myself. Only as much violence as necessary, no unnecessary killing of innocents or third party members."

"Good."

"So… what happens now?"

"We're flying towards Kuala Lumpur. Then we wait until John has the necessary information, so we can fan out in order to do our jobs. Once the jobs are done, it's every cyborg for themselves. I assume they'll be able to find their way back home?"

"Of course. That's why I chose those who haven't got any emotional connections to humans yet. They will come back, one way or another. Why Kuala Lumpur and not Singapore?"

"John insisted that we leave Singapore out of our operation. And it's not necessary going there anyway with the Connor Team on location."

"Of course."

Tess lowered her gaze, slowly shook her head, then looked back up and smiled.

"I never thought I'd be involved in an operation that was about the greater good and not just defending the Colony against threats anytime soon," she stated. "When John proposed working together at the end of last year, I had no idea that in less than two months we would be building a global response team."

"John does these things. He unites individuals in a common cause, forming a loyal team. Which is what John Connor has always excelled at in the fight against Skynet. It is also why many of us admired him even when he was the enemy. I suppose you're not coming with us?"

"No, your jet will already be cramped as it is. And though I don't look the part, I'm actually heavier than a Triple-Eight."

"Thank you, Tess."

"You're welcome, Catherine."

"I'll see you soon, I hope."

"Yes, see you soon. I have to come to America again in August, Sergei will accompany me."

"You will stay with us in Malibu, I hope?"

"Maybe. I don't know exactly where we're going yet. But if we come to L.A., we'll be happy to accept the offer."

"Excellent. Let's keep in touch."

"Of course."

The two hugged again while the twenty-five Triple-Eights boarded the business jet. Catherine followed them inside, closed the door, and entered the cockpit. A few minutes later, Tess watched as the heavy loaden aircraft lifted off into the air.

-0-

John woke up in the middle of the nights because he suddenly felt that Emily was missing by his side. He sat up and switched on the light. Squinting his eyes at the sudden brightness, he saw Emily and Cameron standing at the entrance to the bedroom, talking in whispers.

"Cam?" he croaked and switched on the lights, sitting up. "You're back. What time is it?"

"It's 3:47 in the morning, "Cameron said, "everything's all right. I took care of the problem."

"There was a problem?"

"Yes."

As his eyes slowly got used to the light, he saw that Cameron's naked body was dripping with water. She was using a towel to dry herself off. Savannah and Allie were also awake now.

"Why are you soaking wet, Cam?" he asked.

"I went for a swim."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Of course. Someone was trying to blow up the yacht."

-0-

"WHAT!?" Sarah asked. "Someone was trying to blow us up?"

It was Saturday morning at 7:53 am and everyone had gathered for breakfast. As soon as they had taken their seats, Cameron informed them about what she'd found out last night and what John, Emily Savannah, and Allie already knew.

"There were two divers," she said, "combat swimmers, I'd say. They placed a limpet mine with a timed fuse under the keel of the Rising Star. I removed the limpet mine and followed the two divers. Apparently they were operating from the freighter that our prisoner had mentioned, the Kobe Pride. She was anchored at a pier in the container port, getting ready to put to sea."

"Good God," George exclaimed, "they really mean it."

"Which means that this is probably about more than just the one container," John added and looked at Tony and George. "You must have really stirred up a hornet's nest, and now they're doing everything they can to get rid of possible confidants or witnesses."

"Looks like it," Cameron confirmed.

"Who owns the Kobe Pride?" Sarah asked.

"Here comes the funny part," John answered. "I did a little research last night. She sails under Panamanian flag, but the owner is a Lebanese shipping company based in Beirut – and guess what? It's owned by Kaliba International."

"What?" Derek asked. "But didn't we get rid of Kaliba once and for all? Didn't you make Kaliba stop their illegal businesses?"

"It's not gonna happen overnight," John replied. "Not even within a few weeks or months. The illegal smuggling of drugs and weapons to provide foreign currency for the North Korean regime fits into Kaliba's business profile, to be honest. It has most likely been planned for a long time. I think it's impossible to stop this ongoing business on a moment's notice. Such things take time."

"But how did they even know about us?" Lauren asked. "I mean, who told them that we were hiding Tony and George?"

"I don't think anyone told them," John explained. "It's very likely they have spies everywhere and have been tailing Tony. We brought him here before we learned of the size of the problem, oblivious to the fact that we were being watched. A direct, overt attack was obviously out of the question, so they opted for the limpet mine method."

"Speaking of which," Sarah said and looked at Cameron, "what did you do with the mine? Did you disarm it?"

"No, I couldn't," Cameron said. "The risk of it exploding during defusing was too high. So I, uh… relocated it."

"What do you mean, you relocated it?" Derek asked. "What time was the detonator set to?"

"8 o'clock."

"What? Why 8 o'clock?"

"My guess is, they set that time because the Kobe Pride was scheduled to depart at 7:30 a.m. from the port of Singapore. She should be out at sea by now."

John checked his watch – like almost everyone else.

"It's 8 o'clock… now," he then said.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"No boom," Kevin then commented.

"Not yet," Jason pointed out. "Takes a while for sound to travel two miles."

"Where exactly did you put the mine?" Savannah asked.

"Underneath the Kobe Pride, in the center of the ship. It will disable the freighter but cause no major damage. They'll be forced to return to port, then Tony can get a search warrant and…"

She was interrupted by a bright flash of light coming from the open sea in a distance of roughly two miles.

"WHOA!" Morris exclaimed, who by chance had been looking in that direction at that moment.

"What the hell…?" Derek asked.

"Good God, that's near St. John Island," Tony commented. "In one of the main shipping routes from and towards the container port."

A muffled boom could be heard at first, then… a few seconds later, a massive blast wave came rushing towards them, which could even be seen by the naked eye in its approach. It hit the Rising Star with a loud bang equal to that of a jet breaking the sound barrier and made the yacht rock slightly. On the waterfront behind the marina, the alarms of parked cars went off and some window panes of buildings on the shore road shattered.

"Jesus Christ!" Charley exclaimed.

"What the fuck was that?" Danny asked.

"Obviously, a massive explosion," John replied, looking at Cameron. "Care to explain?"

"Oops," she said with a sheepish smile.

"What do you mean, oops?" Sarah asked. "Was that…?"

"The Kobe Pride, yes. This shouldn't have happened. I suppose she must have been loaded with some kind of explosives close to where the mine went off. There's no other logical explanation. Probably a good thing that it didn't happen while she was still in the port. Could have wiped out half the container terminal."

"No shit," Derek said.

The whole team plus Tony and George gaped at her and then looked out at sea again where a huge column of smoke rose above the horizon.

"You gotta be kidding me," George uttered. "That's gonna be a hell of a headline."

"Good morning everyone," Alison's voice sounded from behind them, and everyone turned around to see her entering the big salon. "What's with the explosion?"

-0-

Saturday, May 1st, 2009 – 10:12 a.m.

Tokyo, Japan

Toru Nakamura entered his sanctuary. Rumiko immediately recognized that the old man was in a bad mood.

"What happened?" she asked, diverting her attention from the television that showed the news.

Nakamura let himself sink on one of the couches that allowed him to admire his stolen artwork. He sighed.

"It's Akiko," he said, sounding both angry and sad.

"Your granddaughter?"

"Yes. She was picked up by police during a raid and arrested."

"What? Again?"

He nodded.

"That's the fifth time this year."

"I know. Sometimes I wonder if it's my fault. Maybe I should have taken better care of her."

"Maybe you should have spent more time with her than with me and your collectibles."

"I don't think that's the problem. She always used to be rebellious, but it got worse since her parents died. I should have shown her the limits much earlier."

"So… she's in prison now?"

"No. House arrest. Fortunately, my influence is still good enough to keep her out of jail. But she will be prosecuted this time. They caught her with a hundred grams of cocaine in her handbag that she attempted to sell. And if she's found guilty and convicted, it will not leave my reputation and standing unscathed."

"Why would she sell drugs? Isn't her allowance large enough?"

"For her? Yes. To retain her so-called friends? No."

"I see."

"And then there's the issue with Sebastian."

Rumiko tilted her head.

"What issue?"

"He was supposed to call me in regular intervals to keep me updated on the situation with the Connor team. But he didn't. Sebastian never misses a call. That means something's happened. I'm worried."

Rumiko studied his face for a moment.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Toru sighed.

"He's almost like the son I never had… or rather the grandson. I was hoping that when I'm gone, he'd help Akiko with her problems... and with leading Tonaco. I have already laid down everything in my will. Instead, Sebastian has suddenly disappeared, and I'm left with a granddaughter who's absolutely incapable of running the business in her current state."

"Many family businesses fail because no suitable successor can be found after the death of the company founder."

He waved it off.

"Tonaco Electronics is too big to fail. There will be a successor – only it won't be anyone from my family in case of doubt. If my granddaughter prefers to waste her life on drugs and alcohol, she won't play a role in Tonaco's future."

"You'll disinherit her?"

"No, I can't do that. But I can change my will and make sure that someone suitable will replace me at the top of Tonaco. Akiko will inherit my fortune – but will have a say in company matters."

"Will she also inherit me?" Rumiko asked with a smirk. "Or will you leave me to a museum?"

Nakamura suddenly seemed even more uneasy. Restless and without saying a word, he stood up from the sofa and limped towards the exit.

"YOU BETTER THINK OF AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, TORU!" she called after him before the door fell shut. "AND YOU BETTER DO THAT SOON! YOUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT!"

It annoyed her a lot that he still avoided giving her an answer to any question about her future destiny. Suddenly, her attention was drawn back to the TV where a breaking news ticker moved across the screen. Some female journalist reported on a large ship explosion just outside the port of Singapore. Apparently, a container ship had sunk. It was assumed that highly explosive cargo had been on board, which had torn the ship apart when it detonated. All crew members had died in the explosion.

Rumiko tilted her head.

"Singapore?" she said to no one. "Isn't that where the Rising Star is currently supposed to be?"

-0-

"I just got off the phone with the captain," Tony said. "The whole town is in an uproar over the explosion. Thank goodness the water is deep enough where she sank, so the wreckage poses no danger to maritime traffic. But this will prompt a major investigation into how such a huge explosion was possible."

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Anne asked. "Apparently, there was more than one container with weapons or ammunition on board."

Tony rubbed his chin.

"Possible. But this makes everything even worse. If they lost a whole shipload of weapons instead of just one container… what will they do now?"

"As silly as it may sound," John remarked, "I think it will help us in our current situation. This will make headlines around the world, there will be a full investigation. They'll probably find out quickly that the ship was used for illegal arms smuggling. Both the Kungur Syndicate and the North Koreans will now keep their feet still so as not to draw attention to themselves. This greatly increased the chances of success for my plan."

"I just hope it doesn't include blowing up any more ships – or other large objects," Tony remarked sourly.

"John's right," Alison said, "this event will reduce the likelihood that we will continue to be targeted. It will ensure that our opponents will have to do everything possible to conceal the background of the explosion. In order to do so, they will have to pool their resources. Tony, George and we will certainly not be a priority anymore."

"For now," George added and scoffed. "But they won't forget about us. Once the investigation is over, they'll remember us and continue trying to kill us. Only you will be long gone then."

"That is why I sent Alison to collect information," John replied and turned to his wife. "What have you found out? Please fill us in."

"Yes, John. The North Koreans haven't been able to report back to their homeland yet. What happened here was decided here on the spot. Which means their government doesn't know what happened - and it's going to stay that way because when I left, I've made sure that none of them will ever talk to their superiors about us."

"Good. That'll keep them off our backs. What else? What about the Kungur Syndicate?"

"They won't be as easy to deal with. The syndicate is organized in a very decentralized manner. The individual sections don't directly communicate with each other. Instead, the entire construct is interconnected by section managers. They are the interfaces or hubs through which all the information flows. Take them out and the whole syndicate implodes. To prevent that from happening, all positions of section managers are double-staffed in case someone should drop out."

"How many sections are there?"

"Eleven. Which means there are twenty-two area managers all in all."

"Do you have any names?"

"Only one: the contact the North Koreans have here in Singapore. He acts as a liaison between the syndicate and the North Korean special unit – well, acted. Past tense. The special unit probably died on the Kobe Pride."

"And who is that liaison?" Sarah asked.

"It's a businessman named Li Chen."

"Li Chen?" Tony asked surprised. "Are you sure?"

"You know him?" Sarah inquired.

"Yes, of course, everyone knows him. He's originally Chinese, one of Singapore's best-known and most highly respected citizens, with contacts reaching into the highest government circles. And you're sure that he's the local representative of the Kungur Syndicate?"

"Yes. He coordinates the operations between the North Korean regime and the syndicate, making sure that weapons and drugs pass smoothly through the port. Li Chen is supposed to know the names and addresses of all section leaders."

George whistled through his teeth.

"This is getting better and better," he said. "Li Chen the local representative of the Kungur Syndicate? Wow, we definitely should put on shirts with a target printed on them."

"It makes sense, though," Tony said. "The informant who tipped me off about the container, works at a subcontractor of Li Chen Trading Inc. "

"Is his life in danger now?" Sarah asked. "If Li Chen investigates in how you got to know about the container…"

"No, I don't think so. From Li Chen's perspective, the leak could be anywhere. He's got hundreds of employees. Also, Li will go out of his way not to be associated with any dirty or illegal businesses - especially after the explosion of the Kobe Pride. I think I'm forced to agree with John: for the moment, this gives us room to maneuver."

John looked at Alison.

"Did you interrogate Li Chen?"

"No," she replied. "I could have broken into his home, but it would have almost certainly triggered an alarm of some kind. The camouflage works only in the spectrum of visible light. Infrared sensors would still notice me. I thought it would be smarter and more practical to visit him in his office during the day."

"Good thinking. You better do that then. We need to know about those section managers and…"

"I want to do the questioning," Tony interjected.

"What?" George asked. "Are you crazy? You might as well put a bullet in your head."

"No… not if Alison accompanies me. Right, John?"

John looked at Tony, considering his request for a moment.

"It's my job as a cop," Tony urged him, "come on, we're in my town. At least let me have that satisfaction when you do all the rest. I don't want to hide like a coward if I don't have to. I want to let him know we're on to him, and I want to look him in the eyes while doing it."

John nodded.

"Okay, you and Alison will pay Li Chen a visit. But hurry up. Catherine is waiting for my orders. We need targets, preferably the names, addresses, and locations of all section managers."

"I'll see what I can do," Alison replied.

She activated her invisible mode and undressed, then the two left the Rising Star. Anne looked after them thoughtfully.

"Something bothering you?" John asked her.

"What? Oh… Nah… it's just that I didn't think the North Koreans would go so far as to try to use military means to sink a private yacht just to get rid of a few inconvenient troublemakers. They seem to really need the foreign currency a lot."

"Which means the loss of the Kobe Pride is a major blow for them."

"Exactly. Let's hope they won't be able to track it back to us."

"I don't think they can. You heard what Alison said, their government is completely in the dark about what happened here. Everyone who knew what was going on, was probably on the ship. And if all goes well, the Kungur Syndicate won't be a problem for much longer as well."

"What if they find out that it was a limpet mine that sank the Kobe Pride?"

"A limpet mined wouldn't explain the enormous blast radius. Besides, the mine was of North Korean origin, so…"

"I like the symmetry," Sarah remarked. "They tried to blow us up, and as a result, their ship with their precious freight went ballistic. It's kinda satisfying."

"Yeah," George replied, "if you ignore the fact that the crew died in the process. Most likely, they were innocent victims."

"I told you it wasn't my intention to sink the ship or blow it up," Cameron said defensively, "I just wanted to damage it so it would have had to return to port. And if the ship was loaded with weapons and explosives, the crew, or at least the captain and his commanding officers, must have known."

"No one's blaming you, Cam," John said and put his arm around her. "And there's nothing we can do about it anymore. What's done is done. And in the end, this probably helped saving your life, George."

The reporter scoffed.

"Your words to God's ears. Until the mole is found who warned the syndicate of raids and searches, me and Tony will continue to be in mortal danger."

"Let's do one step at a time, okay?" John asked a little annoyed.

"Yeah… like in a mine field."

-0-

Li Chen's offices were spread over several floors in one of the skyscrapers in Singapore's banking district. Tony Yong and the invisible Alison entered the building and walked to the front desk. The woman behind the counter looked up as they approached.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" she asked with an obviously fake smile.

"Good morning. I'd like to talk to Mr. Li Chen," he said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Tony showed his badge.

"Chief Inspector Tony Yong, Singapore Drug Squad. Tell him I need to speak to him urgently. Also tell him that it's about the container that was confiscated in the port last night and the explosion that happened outside the port an hour ago."

"A moment, please."

The woman reached for her phone, the smile seemingly etched on her face. She relayed the message Tony had given her, then waited for the answer and her fake smile went even wider as she put the receiver back on the phone.

"Mr. Li will see you now," she said cheerily. "Elevator four, press the button for the seventh floor."

"Thank you."

Tony walked towards the elevators and stepped into number four. He pressed the correct button and the doors closed. The cabin set into motion.

"You're still here?" he asked.

"Yes," her voice came from right next to him. "Don't you think it wasn't very clever to give away the reason for our visit?"

"Not at all. It will trigger and alert him. He will certainly understand the innuendo, but he also feels safe and unassailable. And he's probably too damn curious to not receive me."

"He won't be feeling unassailable for very long."

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Not sure yet. I'll decide on the fly."

"Hopefully not one of the spontaneous decision we talked about over dinner – like the one in Venice with that woman… what was her name?"

"Sandra Cianni. No, don't worry, I won't let my nanobots transform him. There are more effective methods to make him talk."

"You mean the trick you pulled with the Korean assassin?"

"Yes."

"Right, but don't reveal your presence prematurely, okay?"

"Of course not, unless you are in danger."

"Fair enough."

They reached the twelfth floor, exited the elevator, and entered a reception area with another counter above which "Li Chen Trading Inc." was written in large letters on the wall. The woman behind the desk looked up, smiled at Tony, and rose from her chair.

"Mr. Li is already expecting you," she said, "please follow me."

She led the way and Tony trailed behind her. He noticed that swiveling surveillance cameras were mounted on the whole floor that followed their movements. There was no way to quickly deactivate them, which meant that whatever happened with Li Chen, it couldn't be obvious and had to look like just a normal conversation.

Tony was led into a large, luxuriously furnished office with leather armchairs, a large sofa, a bar, oil paintings on the walls, and a huge desk behind which Li Chen almost disappeared. He was a rather short man in his mid-60s, and his facial expression was hard to read - a mixture of pretension, curiosity, caution, and arrogance.

Alison immediately noticed that they weren't alone with him in the office. Two bodyguards in suits, both tall and muscular Caucasians, had positioned themselves to the left and right of the door. Both carried a gun in a shoulder holster under their jackets and she immediately noticed that they were standing in the blind spot of the security cameras. Tony had seen them as well but didn't let that bother him as he approached the desk.

"Inspector Yong," Li Chen said, making no effort to rise from his leather chair, "your reputation precedes you."

"Thank you, Mr. Li, and thank you for having me on such short notice."

"To what do I owe the honor? Please, take a seat."

Tony sat down on a chair in front of the desk.

"I'm sure you read about the drug and weapons bust in the paper yesterday?" Tony began.

"Yes, of course. Terrible thing. Abusing our port for such criminal activities, it's… it makes me angry."

Obviously, Li Chen didn't even try to deliver a good performance. Tony was right, Alison thought, he was feeling unassailable.

"We have reason to believe that it was only a small part of a much bigger deal," Tony explained, "a large-scale arms smuggling operation in which this container was singled out and treated separately only because it was used to smuggle cocaine along with the weapons. Once the drugs would have been taken out, the container would have been brought back onto its ship."

"Oh my… really? What makes you think that?"

"You surely noticed the large explosion two miles off our coast an hour ago?"

"I heard a loud bang. I guess the whole city heard it. An explosion, you say? There's nothing on the news yet."

"We have reason to believe that probably a fire broke out on a container ship, the Kobe Pride. Judging by the ferocity of the explosion, she must have been loaded with at least fifty containers full of high-explosive material - we assume weapons and ammunition."

Li Chen seemed shocked and distraught for a moment, but he quickly got himself back under control.

"The, uh… Kobe Pride, you say?" he asked, and only Alison noticed the slight tremor in his voice.

"Yes… 295 meters long, 48,853 gross tons, loaded with around 4,000 containers. Why? Do you know her?"

"Only professionally. I'm acquainted with some of the shipowners who operate these ships. A terrible disaster for sure. You're saying the explosion is connected to the container you seized?"

"Yes. We assume that the Kungur Syndicate stroke a deal with the North Korean regime. A win-win situation for both. Except, now it seems that it's turned into a lose-lose with the explosion of the ship."

Alison noticed that Li Chen's pulse had quickened, and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. Tony saw it as well.

"Are you all right, Mr. Li?" he asked with a worried face. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Li Chen said and cleared his throat. "But I just remembered that I forgot to take my pills for high blood pressure this morning."

He rummaged around in his drawers for a moment, then popped two pills into his mouth and took a sip of water from a glass that was resting on his desk.

"So… how exactly do you know that the events are connected?" he then asked.

"Well, I've known since yesterday morning that we must have hit on something big, because assassination attempts have been made on me and on my friend George Walker - I'm sure you know him, he writes for the Singapore Gazette."

"I… might have heard of him. Assassination attempts, you say? That's horrible."

"Yes… fortunately, they weren't successful, and we could capture and interrogate one of the killers – a North Korean agent, as it turned out. He was very communicative."

"Oh…?"

"Yes. Among other things, he revealed to us the names of his team members, his superiors, and their liaison with the Kungur Syndicate here in Singapore. And believe it or not, it was your name he mentioned."

Li Chen faked a laugh.

"My name? That's ridiculous. You're joking, right? You know who I am?"

"Yes, I know who you are, Mr. Lee. That's why I came here first before I informed anyone else about this."

"You mean, you haven't informed your superiors yet?"

"No... nobody knows about it so far except me."

"I see… but wouldn't you say that's very risky?"

"I'm sure you're innocent, right? And even if you weren't, I don't think you'd kill me in your office, would you? Besides, whether I share my knowledge with my superiors or not, depends a lot on the outcome of our little... conversation."

Li Chen frowned.

"I'm not sure I can follow you, Inspector Yong. What are you getting at?"

"I understand that my name is now on a death list with both the North Koreans and the Kungur Syndicate, and that I cannot run away from that. Even though I survived one attempt on my life, it doesn't mean I'm going to be able to next time. I'm very attached to my life, Mr. Li. That's why I'm visiting you, to find a mutually beneficial arrangement - if you know what I mean."

Li Chen put the fingertips of his hands together and leaned back in his armchair. The man started to visibly enjoy the conversation now.

"Assuming I know what you're getting at," he said, "what exactly do you have to offer - hypothetically speaking?"

"My insider knowledge, my experience... and I believe you can never have enough people watching your back despite all your power and influence - speaking hypothetically, of course. Especially after this disaster that happened with the Kobe Pride. There will be questions asked, don't you think? People will want to know what went wrong."

"Suppose I accept your offer - how do I know I can trust you?"

"Hypothetically speaking?"

"Yes, of course."

"I could point you to those responsible for the explosion on the Kobe Pride."

Li Chen raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the ones on the yacht... on the Rising Star?"

"How do you…?"

"Don't take me for a fool, Inspector Yong. I know where you spent the night. My men have been watching you since you put on your little show two nights ago. Nice try visiting me to pretend you are corruptible. We both know you're not. So what can this visit be but a desperate attempt to save your neck?"

"I…"

"That's enough! Marc, Gregor... Roughen him up a bit and then escort Mr. Yong out. Let him realize that it was a mistake to come and bother me here."

The two bodyguards took a step forward, then suddenly sank unconscious to the ground. At the same moment, there seemed to be an electrical overload in the security cameras, and they stopped working.

"What the…?" Li Chen uttered and looked flabbergasted at his unconscious bodyguards.

"Looks like your men are sleeping on the job," Tony said with a smirk. "Good personnel is hard to find these days."

Li Chen reached into one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Tony.

"You won't kill me in your office, Mr. Li," Tony said coolly, "we both know that."

"I don't know what you did to my men," Li Chen replied and reached for his phone, "I only know you made a big mistake coming here ... Yes, Gwen … I know, the cameras seem to be broken … No, just send in Bob, Stephen, Carl, and Lars … And then give me the prime minister."

"Calling in reinforcements and asking your friends in high places for help?" Tony asked with a smirk. "What's the matter, Mr. Li? Suddenly becoming nervous after the confession you made a minute ago?"

"The triumphant grin doesn't suit you at all, Mr. Yong. You're right, I won't kill you here in my office, but I will defend myself if it comes down to it … Yes … Mr. Prime Minister? … I'm fine, how are you? … Yes, I know it's a spontaneous call but there's something I need to talk to you about … What I need to tell you is that…"

Lee Chen hesitated for a moment, his eyes temporarily glazing over,

"… that I hope you have a nice day, and I'm looking forward to the party tomorrow … Yes, thank you … You too … Bye."

He put the receiver on the phone. Li Chen then frowned, suddenly seeming to realize what he had just said to the Prime Minister.

"What the fuck?" he asked and reached for the phone again.

"Leave it," a female voice suddenly said out of thin air next to him. "From now on, you will only do what I tell you. Put down the gun."

Li Chen let the gun fall to the ground. Then the door to his office flew open, and four more armed bodyguards walked in. They took a quick look at the situation, then their eyes rolled up in their sockets and they fell down, joining their two colleagues in unconsciousness.

"How are you doing that?" Tony asked. "Some kind of gas or…?"

"Something like that, yes," the invisible Alison replied from across the room, and Tony saw how the office door closed and locked itself. "As you already witnessed with our Korean prisoner, I can influence people, telling their brains to do certain things, like going to sleep for example – or manipulate what they say. Can you lend me your jacket for a moment? I don't want to become visible here while I'm naked."

"Uh… sure, a second."

Tony pulled of his jacket and held it on his outstretched arm. Alison grabbed it and put it on, then became visible. Li Chen's jaw dropped but for some reason he didn't understand, he was unable to jump up, scream, shout, or run out of the room.

"That's so cool," Tony said. "Have you ever considered working for the police? You could quickly eliminate crime that way."

"The thought has crossed my mind, yes. But as long as there is an unknown Terminator threat, my job is to protect John and my family."

"I hope he knows what he has in you."

"Yes, and I know what I have in him. Anew every night. You know, in bed we are..."

"Uh… No details, please!"

"As you wish."

"Now, what are we doing with Li Chen here?"

"You can ask him whatever you want, he will be compelled to answer truthfully."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

"Mr. Li, are you the local representative of the Kungur Syndicate?"

"Yes," Li Chen replied with a frown, "I'm responsible for Singapore. My job is to make sure that the drugs pass through the port safely and undetected… What the hell? I didn't wanna say that! What are you doing to me?"

"Shut up and only answer his questions," Alison said.

Li Chen was about to say something, but then his mouth closed, and he remained silent.

"This is so cool," Tony said and chuckled. "Now, tell me, there has to be someone in Singapore who tips you off whenever we plan something against the Kungur Syndicate, a mole. Who is it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I know of the existence of an informant, but the identity is kept secret from me - for security reasons. Such sensitive information is never shared within the territory concerned... in this case, Singapore. This ensures that the informant cannot be exposed."

"But you communicate with the mole?

"Yes. We talk over a secure line, his voice being distorted by a vocoder."

Tony looked at Alison.

"He's telling the truth," she said, "he's unable to give a false or incomplete answer."

"When you don't know who the mole is," Tony continued, "then who does?"

"The area manager for Southeast Asia in Bangkok. His name is Thanin Thanarat, a senior government official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"Do you know the names of other area managers of the Kungur Syndicate?"

"No. He is my only contact."

"Do you know if there is a boss, someone who holds all the strings?"

"Not really. The Kungur Syndicate is organized like a corporation. Thanin Thanarat is like a CEO, but decisions can only be made if the other area managers agree – like with a board of directors."

"How do they keep contact with each other?"

"With encrypted phones. And in order to coordinate their activities and maintain social contact, they meet twice a year at a kind of conference in ever-changing locations."

"Neat… sounds like the Kungur Syndicate is actually a democracy. A foul one, but... When is the next conference scheduled?"

"There was one two weeks ago. The next will be in August."

"Damn… so much for getting them all together in one place."

"Don't worry about that, Tony," Alison said. "John has already taken care of it. All we need, is a list with the names and addresses, and I suppose that man, Thanin Thanarat, can provide it. We need to get him here, so I can interrogate him."

"Right. But he's in Bangkok."

"Let that be our problem."

Tony sighed, then looked at Li Chen again.

"How exactly are the North Koreans involved in all this?"

"They're looking for foreign currency because they're suffering from the international embargos. The Kungur Syndicate stroke a deal with them, we're doing the weapon's smuggling in exchange for a share of the profit. The North Korean secret service has established an outpost here in Singapore. I'm afraid most of them were on the Kobe Pride when it exploded."

"So, the ship was loaded with weapons?"

"Weapons, ammunition, explosives, and chemicals to produce more explosives. Fifty-seven containers all in all."

"That would explain the magnitude of the explosion," Alison remarked.

Tony nodded.

"Indeed. What about drugs? Any more of them in the other containers?"

"No, the cocaine was only in the one container you seized yesterday. It infuriated the Kungur Syndicate that you confiscated it. I alerted the North Korean task force. I think they tried to kill you because they feared you might know about the rest of the cargo as well. It was a five billion dollar deal, after all."

Tony whistled.

"Quite a sum. Does anyone else know about our involvement in this?"

"No. If those on board the Kobe Pride died, there's only me left."

"I guess that's all we need to know for now," Alison said and looked at Tony. "What do you want to do with him now?"

"Not sure. I should arrest him, but that would cause quite a stir in Singapore, up to the highest ranks of the government. You saw that he is friends with the prime minister. Is there a way he can work for us instead for the Kungur Syndicate?"

"As a double agent, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Of course. I can make him do anything I want."

"Has anyone ever told you that it is a very dangerous ability you have there?"

"Yes. John and I talked about it a lot. I only use it when he allows it."

"And you obey him?"

"Of course. We are connected on a level you probably won't understand. I love him and he loves me, but there's more to it than just love…. I'm imprinted on him, so to speak, it is a part of who I am… John is my lover, husband, best friend… and owner."

"Wow… the lucky bastard. And is it the same with Cameron and Emily?"

"Yes, we are one."

"Fascinating. I appreciate the trust you put in me and George. I mean, someone could question or interrogate us one day about you, and…"

"No."

"No?"

Alison smiled.

"You're our friends, make no mistake. Well… George is your friend. Everyone else seems to find him disgusting but… Anyway, we trust you, but we have to take precautions, also in your own interest."

"What do you mean?"

"You won't be able to share with anyone what you learned, I made sure of that. It's what I always do when we meet new friends who are let in on our secrets and mustn't ever talk about it to outsiders."

"A mental blockade?"

"Something like that. Don't get me wrong, it's meant to protect you. And don't worry, you won't care."

"Wow… manipulating my mind without me being aware of it… or even care about it? You're definitely scary."

"On the upside, you're now a confidant, an insider, a friend. That's an exclusive club."

"A club, huh?" he asked with a smirk. "Are there club meetings?"

She tilted her head.

"No… but you may be invited to birthday parties, barbecues, weddings… funerals…"

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, let's finish dealing with Li Chen, then wake up his goons and get out of here.

-0-

John's cellphone rang.

"It's Alison," he said, and everyone was immediately gathering around him.

"Put her on speaker," Allie demanded, and John did so.

"Yes?" he asked, after taking the call.

"I have what we need," Alison's voice came from the speaker, "the name of the person in question is Thanin Thanarat. He lives in Bangkok. We're on our way back now."

"Did you inform Catherine?"

"Yes, I called her a minute ago. They were about to land in Kuala Lumpur. She will drop off her passengers there and immediately fly on to Bangkok. "

"Good. What about Li Chen?"

"I could 'convince' him to work as an informant for Tony Yong from now on."

"And Tony agreed to that?"

"Yes. I guess he likes the thought of being able to command him around."

"Did you find out about the Kobe Pride?"

"It's as we suspected. The ship was loaded with weapons, explosives, and chemicals from North Korea to be sold in exchange for hard currency. Fifty-seven containers, worth roughly five billion US dollars. It was pure chance that Cam had placed the limpet mine just below these containers. She had no way of knowing what the Kobe Pride was carrying. It looks like the North Korean special unit was still on board when she exploded. Which means that Tony and George are now safe. Anything on the news yet?"

"Yeah, first news reports are coming in and the first rescue ships have reached the position where she sank. No survivors so far, but lots of debris and some floating bodies or body parts - all scorched beyond recognition."

"Yes, that was to be expected. We'll be back in half an hour."

"Okay, see you then. And well done, Alison, you did a fine job. Love you."

"I love you too, John."

He ended the call.

"Well," he then said and took a deep breath, "so far, in our usual mixture of improvisation, planning and dumb luck, we did rather well, I'd say. We…"

His phone rang again. John frowned.

"It's Sonya," he said and took the call, putting her on speaker as well. "Yes?"

"What have you done now, John!?"

"Sonya, hi. Nice for you to call."

"Cut the crap, what's going on there?"

"What makes you think we've done anything?"

"You're in Singapore, right? At least that is what the itinerary says that Zoe gave me."

"Yes."

"And what is the first thing I see on the news when I come home after a long day at work? A huge explosion off the coast of Singapore."

"What makes you think that we were involved in that?"

"Just a hunch because death, disaster and destruction usually follow in your path."

"That's a bit harsh, Sonya, we…"

"Were you involved or not?"

"Uh… yes, I suppose that was us. But they started it!"

John flinched and almost bit himself on his tongue. He sounded like a little boy and definitely didn't want to sound like that.

"I mean… it was in self-defense, they left us no choice."

There was a moment of silence in the line.

"I'm waiting for your explanation," Sonya then stated. "I mean, I need to have something I can tell the president when he asks me. And he will ask me. He hasn't been in office long, but he has already understood that your whereabouts and disasters that take place there are usually connected."

John sighed and told her the whole story - how they had saved Tony Yong's life, how that had made them a target for the North Korean agents, how those had tried to blow up the Rising Star with a limpet mine, and that Cameron had accidentally sunk the entire container ship by planting said limpet mine on it. When he had ended, there was another moment of silence in the line.

"So…" Sonya then said slowly, "you're telling me that you took on the Kungur Syndicate and North Korea at the same time?"

"Not by choice, but yeah…"

"And you accidentally sank a freighter loaded with five billion dollars' worth of weapons and explosives that the Korean regime was trying to smuggle into the Middle East in order to monetize it?"

"That about sums it up, yeah…"

"Can anyone connect you to this disaster?"

"We're working on it to make sure that no one can."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I don' think so, but to make sure, we have something going."

"Do I want to know about it?"

"Probably not."

Again, a moment of silence.

"To be honest, neither me nor the President have any sympathy for the Kungur Syndicate or for North Korea. If both of them get a good beating, I have nothing against it. The North Koreans have lied to us and deceived us again and again. All I care about is that neither the U.S. nor the U.S. Government can be directly or indirectly associated with this."

"Of course, Sonja. We're here privately and not on behalf of C.S.I.S. And it's not that we chose this. The problems arose without our doing, but now they can only be solved with our doing."

"Yeah, I got that the first time. Oh John… you're really giving me grey hair, do you know that? Does Zoe know about your little gig yet?"

"Not yet. I was about to inform her but…"

"Leave that to me. You take care of that drug syndicate, you hear?"

"Of course. Things have already been set in motion. We're planning to…"

"I don't wanna hear about it. Just see to it that afterwards nobody can point at you or at the USA."

"Understood."

Sonya ended the call.

"Charming as always," Derek commented.

"Jeez," Sydney said, "I hope that a volcano never erupts when we're anchored somewhere. She would probably blame us for that, too.

"Who was that woman?" George asked.

"Sonya Hawkins," Sarah responded. "National Security Advisor for the newly elected President of the United States."

"She has a sharp tongue."

"That's an understatement," John said, "but she has a big heart. We can rely on her. She's always set things right for us in the past. Sonya is a dear, true friend."

George shrugged

"If you say so… I only hope I never meet her."

"I think the feeling would be mutual," Sarah remarked with a smirk.

George rolled his eyes.

"I know I'm not the guy people tend to like on first glance…" he began.

"… or second glance, or third…" Allie remarked, her arms folded in front of her chest.

"… but once you get to know me, you'll see that I'm not that bad."

"Nice try," Savannah said, nodding her head with pursed lips, "you have to work on it quite a bit. Maybe it works with someone someday."

He faked a smile at her, then walked towards the stairwell.

"If someone asks for me, I'll be in my cabin," he said and disappeared inside the ship.

Right after George had left, the first officer of the Rising Star's crew entered the salon.

"Ms Dixon?" he asked.

"Yes, Paul?" Sarah replied.

"There is someone waiting on the pier who wants to come aboard."

"Who?" Sarah asked.

"He says his name is Avery Bailey, and he claims that he's a friend of Ms Quinn."

Everyone looked at Louise.

"Avery?" She asked, looking shocked. "He's here?"

"Who's Avery?" Olga asked.

"My, uh… kinda half-way ex-fiancé," Louise replied sheepishly.

"You have a fiancé?" Olga asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We, uh… split up. I mean, I left him… I think."

"You think?"

"It's… complicated. His parents urged him into marrying me, but I didn't want that. He sided with them, so I ran away."

"But I thought the two of us were now…"

"We are… I mean, we kinda are. Now. I didn't expect him to follow me to Singapore, to be honest. Or anywhere on this world trip."

Everyone could see that Olga's mood darkened considerably. Then she walked away without saying another word.

"Olga, wait…" Louise called after her.

"No," the Russian model replied, "meet your 'kinda half-way ex-fiancé. I need to be alone for a while."

For a moment, there was an awkward silence in the large salon of the Rising Star.

"Shall I tell him to leave?" the first officer finally asked.

"No!" Louise said. "If he's followed me all the way here, the least I can do is listen to what he has to say."

"Invite the young man on board," Sarah said, and the first officer nodded before walking away. She then turned to Louise. "You better resolve this quickly. We have other problems at the moment, we don't need relationship dramas in addition to that."

Louise nodded, and a moment later, Avery Bailey entered the salon and faced the assembled Connor team.

"Louise!" he said happily, but she received him with her arms crossed and an icy stare.

He started to approach her, but Emily stepped in his way. Knowing what she was, he backed up again, placatingly holding up his hands.

"Okay, okay," he said nervously, "Stay calm, I'm not a threat to her – even though you maybe think so."

"What are you doing here?" Louise asked.

"I, uh…" Avery replied and nervously looked at the members of the Connor team who stared back at him. "Can we, um… talk in private maybe?"

"These are all my friends," Louise answered, "I trust them with my life. There's nothing they don't know about our relationship. Speak up or leave again."

Avery licked his lips.

"Look…" he said, "I'm sorry. I was an idiot, okay? A complete jerk. I should have taken your side and not the side of my parents."

"That's two things we can agree on," Louise responded coldly. "Anything else?"

"I, uh... I love you, Louise. I want to make it up to you... I'm asking you to give me a second chance."

"Haven't you done enough damage already?" Emily asked and let her eyes glow red while making another step towards him. "Didn't we already establish in Los Angeles that you're one of those guys who just don't know when to quit."

Avery gasped in shock, and for a moment it looked like as if he would run away. But then he pulled himself together again.

"W… with all d… due respect," he said with a trembling voice, " but this is between Louise and me. I… I know you two had an affair, but that's over. She told me."

"That doesn't mean I don't care about her anymore," Emily said, "and it doesn't mean I won't protect her from people who hurt her feelings."

"Emily," Louise said, "it's okay. Let him say what he wants to say."

"I… came here to apologize and… ask for your forgiveness. Took me quite some effort to find out about your itinerary. I missed you in Mumbai and… Anyway, doesn't matter. The important thing is that being separated from you has shown me how much I miss being with you. Don't you miss me, too?"

Louise avoided his gaze, and both Cameron and Emily sensed that she only played the cool one but was actually happy to see him. A glimpse of hope appeared on Avery's face.

"I had company," Louise then said.

"Company?"

"Yes."

"Another man?"

"No… a girl."

Avery closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter to me," he then said. "I love you, and I want you back. That's all I can say besides that I'm really, really sorry."

"Suppose we get back together," Louise said, "what about your parents? They'll still insist on marriage, won't they?"

"No," Avery replied.

"No?"

"They changed their mind about it. About you."

Louise raised an eyebrow.

"How come?"

"They read the interview you gave those two reporters."

"It's published already?"

"A week ago," Avery answered, "in Time magazine. Reading your story and about what you went through, changed their mind. They no longer insist on marriage, they agreed to give you all the time you need. Also, I made it clear to them that I wouldn't talk to them anymore if they kept on insisting that we marry."

Louise suddenly seemed insecure.

"I… I need time," she then said, unable to think of something wittier.

"You have all the time you need," Avery replied. "I will wait for you. You are the love of my life, I know it. I want you back, and I'm willing to do everything that's necessary to achieve that."

"Everything?" Emily asked with an evil smirk.

He looked at her.

"Yes, everything. Why, do you wanna test me?"

"Oh, off the top of my head, I can think of a few tests by which you might prove yourself worthy."

"Emily, leave him be," Louise said and then looked at Avery again. "Too bad Alison's not back yet. She could tell me if you're serious."

"I am serious. Come on, you know me."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do."

"Okay, I think you're honest and serious. But I also still think you're quite naïve. You probably don't realize the full extent of the decision to be committed to me. It would make you a part of our community and I don't think you really know what you're getting yourself into."

"Oh, come on, that's not fair. That was never the issue before."

"Maybe… But what do you expect? That I will happily jump back in your arms again? As I said, I need time."

"You have it," Avery stated. "I'll be waiting for you… As long as it takes. All that I ask for, is that we have a talk. In private. Maybe over dinner? I know a nice restaurant in Singapore."

Louise was obviously undecided and had to think. Should she meet with Avery in private or not?

"Are you planning to stay overnight?" John asked to fill the silence. "Because it might sound silly, but I don't think we have any more room for guests."

"That's okay, I booked a room at the Hilton. You're leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, we plan to leave Singapore on Sunday evening."

"My flight goes on Monday morning." He looked at Louise. "What's it going to be? Having dinner with me? Please, give me a chance."

Everyone looked at Louise. She finally sighed and nodded. Avery beamed.

"You won't regret it," he said happily, "I promise."

He stepped forward and gave Louise a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll pick you up. Is six o'clock okay?"

Again, Louise just nodded. Then Avery left the Rising Star in a visibly better mood than when he had entered the yacht.

"You'd better go check on Olga now," Sarah said after he was gone. "You have some explaining to do."

"But…" Louise said, " she wanted to be alone."

"She said that, yes. What's your point?"

Louise let her head sink.

"All right, I go and check on her."

With little enthusiasm, she trotted away toward the stairwell.

"You know," Sarah remarked, "sometimes I think that her experiences with the kidnappers kinda made her indifferent to the feelings of others. Or am I imagining things?"

"You're not imagining it," Emily agreed. "Louise is still wounded inside, and she needs more time to heal. She's unconsciously trying to do that by throwing herself at changing lovers. First Emily, then Avery, and now Olga. Her feelings for them were and are real, but she doesn't consider how much she hurts others with her volatility. In her mind, she's suffered more than anyone else - which, of course, can't be entirely denied - so she considers their pain half as bad and doesn't take it as seriously."

"Yeah, well…" John said, "she better gets things sorted out. I hope she knows that she now has to make a decision: choosing between Avery and Olga – she can't have both. And that means she has to hurt one of them."

---

Olga was sitting on the bed in her and Louise's suite, saddened and absorbed in thought. Had she had too high hopes? Was it all just a fleeting affair and nothing serious? Why had Louise never told her about Avery?

On the other hand, Olga had never asked, never probed deeper, always mindful of Louise's past as a victim of kidnapping, abuse, and torture. Had that been a mistake? Should she have pushed her to learn more from and about Louise before plunging headlong into a love affair with her?

These and other thoughts were running through her head when she heard the door to the suite open. Olga did not turn around when she heard footsteps of someone entering the bedroom.

"Hi," Louise said sheepishly.

Olga didn't answer and kept turning her back to her.

"I... uh… I know you said you wanted to be alone but… Avery's gone again, and I think we need to talk, you and I."

Again, Olga didn't reply.

"I should have told you about him. But to be honest, I never thought he would suddenly appear and be willing to fight for me. I obviously misjudged him, mentally shrugged off the relationship with him, and then threw myself into a new relationship with you without thinking about it. I was the driving force behind it, I was selfish, egotistical. And I'm sorry."

"You know…" Olga said in a low voice, "… when I began modeling, I had this dream, this illusion that I would start a family someday, maybe in a couple of years or so, have a decent husband, kids, a nice place to live… the stuff country girls dream of."

"I didn't…"

"No, let me finish, please. That's what I still am at heart, a country girl. I grew up in a small village about a hundred kilometers outside St. Petersburg. My parents still live there. They still think I should have learned something 'decent', go to university, and then find a man to marry. It's how they think, I can't blame them. The world I'm living in, is not their world. They are down-to-earth people. Sure, they're proud of me when they see my face on posters and in magazines - well, not my earlier pictures, the nude shots. But they recognize that I started a career where I make good money. In ten years or so, I'll have earned enough so that I won't have to work anymore in my life. But will it satisfy me? No. Because I'm alone."

"Olga, I…"

"It's hard to believe, but I hardly have any real friends. There is an army of fans and admirers, yes, but they only see me as a beautiful face with great boobs. The men adore me, the women are jealous of my looks. I'm the wet dream of hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. And that prevented a serious relationship until now. Because how can I know that someone really likes me and doesn't only want me as a trophy? So, with the exception of my little sister, there was no one I could really trust and confide in - until John and the others came along. They introduced me to an entirely different world, a dangerous and thrilling world. I liked it, I let myself fall into it, and when you suddenly appeared, I allowed myself to start an affair with you – even though I'm normally not into girls. To be blatantly honest, I don't know any more how I could ever get back into my old life again… and I figured I didn't have to, because I have you now and everything would turn out to be wonderful… Silly, I know."

Louise sat down next to Olga and put her arms around her. The Russian model suddenly started crying and leaned into her friend.

"Maybe… maybe I should ask Alison to make me forget about our affair… to delete the feelings I have for you…"

"Don't even think that!" Louise said indignantly, "I love you. My feelings are real."

"Then what about Avery?"

"That's the thing… I love him as well. I only had suppressed my feelings for him temporarily. I, uh… allowed myself being distracted by you."

"So, I'm just a distraction?"

"NO! I love you. And I honestly thought that my feelings for hm were gone."

"But now they're back or what`?"

"They never really were away, they were just… covered by what we have."

"So, I wasn't a distraction but a comfort or what?"

"Not true, Olga. Not. True."

"It's okay, though… I'm used to disappointments. That's why I got myself a small dog. Dogs never disappoint you, and they can serve as a substitute for human affection and warmth. Maybe even as a substitute for own children."

"Don't say things like that! You have lots of friends here. Everyone on board loves you. It's not just me, and you know that."

Olga scoffed.

"Yes... but before this journey ends, I have to part with you guys and return to my old life, and I don't know if I'm able to do that anymore – with or without you."

Louise sighed.

"I know what you mean. There are things that change you, change the way you look at your own life, make you rethink and question everything you considered written in stone. I had my share of that as well."

"So… what about your kinda half-way ex-fiancé? What happens now?"

"I believe he's sincere and honest, and I'm inclined to listen to what he has to say over dinner. He invited me, and I accepted. But no matter what happens, I want you to know that you will always remain my best friend."

"I always thought that place was already taken by Emily."

"Yeah… well, best human friend."

Olga sighed.

"It's probably also my fault. While I was sitting here alone, I was thinking about us. And I realized that I knew from the beginning that this love affair probably had an expiration date. But that's okay. All things end one day. Doesn't change the fact that it hurts, though…"

Louise pulled Olga close and after an initial hesitation, Olga flung her arms around her as well. And then they sat like that for almost an hour without speaking.

---

Meanwhile, Alison and Tony arrived back on the Rising Star. John welcomed his wife back with a kiss when they entered the big salon.

"How the hell did you convince Li Chen to work for Tony?" George then asked blatantly.

"It's easy to change a person when you know how," Alison replied with a smirk.

"Maybe you could try and change him as well?" Allie asked and pointed at George.

"Hey, I like how I am," George responded in protest.

"Yeah, but you're the only one," Savannah remarked with a smirk and everyone chuckled.

George just rolled his eyes.

"This is getting old very quickly, you know?"

"All right," John said. "All we can do for now, is wait. I assume Singapore is safe for us now?"

"Yes. With the sinking of the Kobe Pride, everyone's too distracted anyway. And Li Chen assured us that the only ones who knew about our involvement, were killed in the explosion."

"Won't the Kungur Syndicate and the North Koreans want to know what happened?" Jody asked. "Won't they turn to Li Chen for that?"

"They probably will," Alison replied. "But I made sure that he won't help them. And by the time they have begun to figure out what might have happened, this operation will already be over."

She then told them all the rest about what they'd learned from Li Chen.

"Wow… the leadership of this drug cartel is actually organized like a board of directors?" Danny asked.

"What did you expect?" Anne said. "Some almighty Godfather who receives people in his office while stroking a cat? This is the 21st century, Danny, drug cartels aren't any differently organized than corporations. They have accounting, logistics, human resources, even a marketing department. And they actually even do market analysis."

George looked at Anne with a frown, wondering why this sixteen-year-old teenager would talk like that and sounded so precocious.

"Who are you again?" he asked.

"I'm Dr. Anne Gabriel."

"You're what…?"

"I'm older than I look."

John cleared his throat, and everyone was looking at him.

"So… that means we have the rest of the day for ourselves," he summarized. "I guess we should resume the tourist program then."

"Wait, not so fast," George said. "What about the mole? Did Li Chen say who it was?"

"Unfortunately, he doesn't know," Tony answered. "But he was able to tell us who does."

"Catherine will personally take care of Thanin Thanarat," Alison added. "And hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, we'll have the answer."

-0-

It was decided that the whole group would go out for sightseeing and catch up on things they had missed on Friday. Only Tony, George, and Alison would remain aboard – with Alison as their bodyguard, just in case. Before everyone had left, she'd administered a dose of nanobots to them that would temporarily protect them from injuries or poisoning – basically the same treatment John and Marcus had received on their trip to Mexico. There shouldn't be any danger anymore, but that was no reason to become careless and take unnecessary risks.

While the team was away, Alison positioned herself on the observation deck, from which she had the best view and from which her sensors covered the pier, the Rising Star, and the harbor around her. She stood there stoic and motionless for about an hour before she heard footsteps approaching her. It was George Walker.

As a cyborg, she was pretty indifferent to whether a human was likeable or not. However, she understood why the others found him repulsive, or at least very unsympathetic. The reporter was intrusive, harassing, and overall quite annoying. Moreover, even after a shower, he appeared unkempt.

As George entered the observation deck, he stopped and observed Alison. She wasn't moving, she wasn't breathing, she stood there like a statue. George kept on watching her with growing fascination. A few minutes passed and if he hadn't known any better, he'd assumed she was petrified.

"Is there something you want?" she finally asked.

"What? Oh… um… I'm just looking. I've never seen anyone stand still for so long,"

"I could stand unmoving for years if necessary. I don't have muscles that twitch."

"I'm still having a hard time accepting that underneath that stunningly beautiful appearance is, well... a robot."

She looked at him.

"Thank you... I suppose. But we prefer the term 'cyborg' to 'robot.' After all, we're cybernetic organisms; we' re made up of machine parts and biological tissue. Robots today are machines that perform tasks in a factory that are too strenuous, demanding, or dangerous for humans. They're programmed automata. We, on the other hand, are alive."

"Excuse me for asking but aren't you actually an android? A machine made to look human? I'm into Manga… You know, those Japanese comic books. And cyborgs are defined differently there… as humans with added machine parts, not vice versa."

"It's not easy to exactly define a cyborg. If we wouldn't be alive, you'd have a point. But since we are alive, it doesn't matter whether a computer chip contains our consciousness, or a brain."

"But you could exist without your biological components, right?"

"Yes."

"Ah… Well, that's a difference to those comic book cyborgs who usually can't exist without their machine parts anymore."

"You mean like humans who were implanted with a pacemaker? Would they be cyborgs then?"

"No… of course not, that's silly… It's…"

"… not so easy to define us, as I said. In the search for a catchy term, cyborg still fits it best in order to differentiate us from both humans and other, non-living machines."

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions or am I distracting you too much?"

"You cannot distract me. My scanners and sensors work independently from my conscious mind. What do you wanna know?"

"The other one who looks like you… Olga…?"

"Yes, what about her?"

"Why do you two look like identical twins even though she's human?"

"With the more advanced models, the outward appearances of Terminators were chosen by the Grays. It would ensure that they didn't all look the same – a mistake Skynet made with the T-800."

"Grays?"

"Skynet collaborators. The most likely theory concerning my looks is that one of them saw Olga's photo and used it as a reference. She is, after all, a fashion model and her pictures are all over the Internet and might have survived Judgement Day."

"Interesting. But Cameron was shaped after Allie, correct?"

"Correct. That's a long story, though. Too long to explain now."

"Okay… So, who's Emily shaped after?"

"We don't know. Our best assumption is that a human female from after Judgement day, probably a prisoner, was the template for her."

"I see… I also noticed that you seem to have special talents the other two don't have."

"That is correct."

"Am I right in assuming that you somehow have the ability to alter the human body and mind?"

"That is also correct."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

"But you can control minds, right?"

"That's as good a term as anything."

"And you can also transform someone physically, right?"

"Right."

"A man into a woman or vice versa?"

"Sure."

"A human into an animal?"

"Not a problem – as long as the body mass stays the same."

"Have you done that before?"

"Yes. We have a dog at home, Eve. She's a German Shepherd who used to be a woman, a veterinarian. She lost about ninety percent of her intellect but is still able to understand language and follow conversations. That's probably as high as it gets when you turn a human into an animal… unless you implant an army of nanobots who can function as a neural network to keep the personality intact."

"Wow, that's… amazing. May I ask why you transformed that woman into a dog?"

"Because she was a murderous psychopath who cared more for animals than for humans. I had the choice of either kill her or transform her. At the time, I needed to practice my abilities, so John agreed on turning her into a dog."

"Practice your abilities?"

"My chip was not designed for this body. It originally contained a second chip that had to be removed in order to make mine work in here. That means I gain access to this body's full potential only slowly, bit by bit, and I have to practice - sometimes with unwanted side-effects."

"This girl... Anne... she can't be older than seventeen. But she claims to have a doctorate and said she's older than she looks. Does she also happen to be a result of your 'practicing'?"

"Yes. She's actually eighty-four years old. She had cancer and didn't have long to live. I offered to cure her, and she agreed. At that time, I didn't know much about my nanobots. They cured her not only of cancer but also regressed her age until she was a teenager again. If we hadn't found Anne in time, she might have continued to regress into childhood, or even infancy."

"Wow…"

"I've become better since then… but there's still always the risk of unwanted side-effects with every physical transformation. That's why I usually kill the nanobots with an electric shock after they're finished with their job."

"So… you could turn an overweight person into an athlete – just to name an example?"

She smiled at him.

"I was wondering why you asked me all these questions. Is that what you want? Being athletic and attractive?"

"Well, I…"

"I don't think John would allow it."

"John doesn't have to know."

"I could never go behind his back and do something he doesn't know about - unless it's to protect him or save his life. And turning you into a more attractive man surely doesn't fall into that category. That's something you have to accomplish by your own efforts: eat less, do some sports, work out."

"Okay, okay, I get the message. You're not better than my doctor, you know?"

Disappointed, George trotted away. Alison smiled mischievously as she watched him leaving the observation deck, then froze again in her position, continuing to scan and monitor the area.

-0-

Sunday, March 2nd, 2009 – 02:04 a.m.

Bangkok

Thanin Thanarat suddenly woke up in his bed. He thought he'd heard a noise. His wife stirred and groaned.

"What's the matter, honey?" she asked.

"I thought I heard the dogs barking."

"I hear nothing. Maybe you dreamed it."

"Maybe. I'm gonna check anyway."

He gave her a peck on the cheek, then got up, put on a dressing gown, slippers, and walked out of the bedroom. He could have sworn that he'd woken up by the sound of dogs barking like crazy. But now everything was quiet. He yawned heartily and scratched his chin.

On weekdays, Thanin was a high-ranking government official concerned about the welfare of his country. On weekends, however, he was more concerned about his own welfare, specifically his own livelihood. Thanin Thanarat was a rich and influential man, everyone knew that - but no one knew exactly how rich and how influential. No one dared to ask, because if you became too nosy, you might suddenly disappear overnight without a trace.

So, he was left alone - even by his superiors in the government who feared him as well. They didn't question his actions, they accepted them - just as it works in a state whose functioning depended heavily on how well the person from whom you wanted something was bribed.

Nobody wondered why he lived in a luxurious villa on a vast property on the outskirts of Bangkok. At least not officially. Nobody ever dared to ask why he had so many bodyguards who protected him and his wife.

There were no children, though. Twice, Thanin's wife had gotten pregnant. He'd convinced her to have an abortion both times. Not that he didn't want children – he liked children. Maybe he'd have some one day. But in the now, in his current position as the manager for Southeast Asia of the Kungur Syndicate, children meant a vulnerability, a weak spot. They could be used as leverage. That's why none of the leaders of the Kungur Syndicate had kids. Instead, Thanin had devoted himself to dog breeding.

He bred combat dogs - vicious beasts, unsuitable for normal keeping but excellent for dog fighting, which was extremely popular in the region where he grew up. Normally, they stayed silent through the night – unless someone entered the grounds unauthorized. And then the security staff would take care of the intruder. But right now, it was remarkably quiet. Too quiet.

He grabbed a torchlight and walked out of the back door towards the kennel to check on things. But when he looked into the large cage, he was almost overcome by shock: all of his dogs were lying dead on the ground. It looked like as if they'd been stabbed to death. He cried out in fury. Who could have done such a thing? Thanin looked around, but none of his servants or bodyguards came running in response to his outcry. Where were they? What was going on? He then noticed that the padlock on the kennel door was still untouched and locked. How could someone have stabbed them without going inside?

With a growing sense of unease, he walked around the house toward the main entrance in order to check on his security guards. Where were they? Were they sleeping on the job? Impossible, he'd handpicked them all. Thanin turned around the last corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He let out a stifled cry as his flashlight shone onto a pile of bodies, neatly stacked into a kind of pyramid right in front of the main entrance.

He recognized his security staff and his bodyguards… they were all dead. It looked like they had all been stabbed through their heads. Somebody must have used a lance or spear or something similar, because all the wounds had an entry and an exit hole on the other side. But only his armed bodyguards and the security staff lay there. There was no trace of his servants and maids. Were they still asleep in their beds?

He grabbed a gun from one of the dead bodies and checked the personnel accommodations. They were all empty. Seized with panic, he ran back toward his bedroom. When he entered, his wife sat upright in their bed, her eyes wide open, the blanket pulled up right under her chin.

"Get dressed," he said. "Quickly. We need to get…"

He stopped talking as his wife pointed at a spot behind him. Thanin whirled around and saw a part of the wall flowing down to the floor and turn into puddle of what looked like quicksilver. Then a humanoid shape rose from the puddle, turning into a black-haired woman in a shimmering, dark-red dress with a golden belt buckle.

Thanin gasped. Guided by an impulse, he raised his hand in an attempt to fire his gun. But before he could do so, a shiny metal spike pierced through his right shoulder. Thanin cried out in pain and the weapon fell from his now powerless hand. The shapeshifting woman pulled the spike out of his shoulder again and it turned into an index finger which she waved at him with an evil smile.

The wife began to scream.

"Be quiet or I'll cut your throat!" Catherine hissed, having assumed the shape of the woman she'd used to kill Nelson, the manager of Serrano Point power plant.

She turned her right hand into a sharp blade and extended it, stopping shortly before Thanin's wife's throat. The woman stopped screaming but kept whimpering while staring at the blade, petrified in fear and horror about what she saw. Catherine then turned her attention back to Thanin who was still holding his shoulder in pain, having watched in horror as that shape-shifting metal thing threatened his wife.

"Don't even try to run," Catherine said, "You saw what happened to your bodyguards, so don't tempt me to do the same to you or your wife."

"Who… what… are you?" Thanin gasped. "Have you killed my dogs?"

Catherine tilted her head.

"Seems like you care more for your dogs than for the people who work for you. How fitting for the leader of a drug syndicate."

"What… what do you want from me? Is it money? I have money in the safe."

"Do I look like I cared for money?" Catherine replied and looked at the wife. "You, get up. We're leaving."

"What is this?" Thanin asked. "An abduction?"

"Aren't you a clever man…" Catherine replied and knocked him out.

His wife seemed to have regained her composure, for she rushed to the nightstand, ripped open the drawer, pulled out a revolver, and fired the entire magazine into Catherine. But to the woman's horror, she saw the bullets simply being absorbed by the liquid metal body.

Thanin's wife jumped out of bed and tried to run away, but a spike was rammed through her from behind, causing her to stop. She looked down at herself and saw the tip of the spike sticking out of her stomach. Then it was pulled out again. She sank to her knees and felt her nightgown getting wet from her blood.

"I told you not to try and run!" Catherine said. "Why don't you people never listen?"

She grabbed Thanin's wife by her throat and carried the woman out to the dog kennel. There, she broke the lock and threw her inside. She could only groan in pain as she hit the muddy ground.

"I've avoided damaging your vital organs or major arteries," Catherine stated. "But you're losing blood, and I'd say your chances of survival are about fifty-fifty at this time. I can't stay because I have a schedule to keep. I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone comes and finds you before you bleed to death. Try to avoid moving too much."

And with that, Catherine closed the kennel door and deformed it to such an extent that it was cold-welded to the frame. In order to open it again, it would have been necessary to use a parting grinder or cutting torch. She heard the woman begging to help and not leaving her there, but Catherine didn't really care.

Walking back into the house and into the bedroom, she arrived just in time to see Thanin regain consciousness. She knocked him out again, then slung Thanin's unconscious body over her shoulder and left the property.

-0-

Sunday, March 2nd, 2009 – 07:55 a.m.

Singapore

The night had gone by without incident. When they assembled for breakfast the next morning, everyone noticed that Louise was not there. Olga looked as if she hadn't slept the whole night.

"I was so close to knocking on your door," she told John and his women. "But I wasn't sure if you'd let me in."

"Why wouldn't we let you in?" Alison asked. "Cam, Emily and I don't need to lie down on the bed. One of us could have let you sleep in her spot."

"I don't think space in bed was what Olga meant," Savannah said. "I think she wasn't sure if she was welcome in our midst in the first place."

"Yes, don't get the wrong idea," Olga said quickly, "I don't want to become another member of your, uh… whatever it is that you have. I only felt so…"

"Alone?" John asked.

She looked at him.

"Yes."

"Olga, you've become too good a friend to not let you in."

"Next time," Savannah added, "don't worry or wonder if you're welcome. Because you are."

She smiled at them.

"Thank you."

"So… I guess Louise not being here means that she spent the night with Avery," Sydney stated.

"Yes," Emily agreed, "If you ask me, she's going to leave us the same way she joined us in Italy: spontaneously, unexpectedly, matter-of-factly."

"Let's not count the chickens before they hatched," Sarah remarked. "Maybe after all the time she has spent with Olga, she just needs some time to figure out Avery again."

"Yeah, right," Olga responded sarcastically and poked around in her scrambled eggs. "As if…"

"You should give her the benefit of the doubt," Alison said. "I know Louise has a tendency to make erratic decisions, throwing her friends and loved ones for a loop. But mom is right, let's just wait and see, okay?"

Olga nodded but didn't look up. Suddenly, John's phone rang.

"It's Catherine," he said and took the call. "Hello Catherine … Uh-huh … You got him? Excellent. So when do you…? … Oh, okay … I don't see anything that would argue against it … No, everything's been quiet here, we spent the time sightseeing … Uh-huh … No, they stayed on board with Alison … I know, but the only one who knows of them now, is that mole, and he won't do anything to risk being exposed … I know, we will be cautious … Yes … I'll ask him, a second…"

John turned to Tony.

"Say, do you by any chance know someone in customs at the airport who could wave through one person with luggage without checking them in about two hours from now?"

"I, uh…" Tony replied, "yes… I mean, I know someone, but…"

"Excellent. Catherine? He knows someone … See you soon."

John ended the call.

"I'm confused," George said. "Are you going to smuggle something into the city? And who's Catherine?"

"Catherine is a close friend of ours," John replied, "And she's not going to smuggle something into Singapore but someone. With Alison's help, we'll hopefully soon have a list with names of all section managers of the Kungur Syndicate."

"And then what? Even if you have the list, they're probably scattered all over Southeast Asia. How are you going to get at them?""

"Tell me, Tony," John replied, smiling smugly, "are you aware of what happened on October 13 of the year 1307?"

-0-

Two hours later, John and Emily were at the airport, sitting in the waiting area of the section for privately chartered airplanes and business jets. After a moment, Tony Yong joined them.

"Everything's arranged," he said. "That friend of mine still owed me a favor. He'll make sure your friend's being waved through without examining her or her luggage. But I had to promise to him that no weapons, explosives, drugs, or other forbidden goods were in it."

John and Emily looked at each other.

"What?" Tony asked. "She doesn't carry any weapons, does she?"

John cleared his throat.

"No, uh… not as such, no. So you didn't promise anything you can't keep."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's, uh… complicated," John began. "Catherine, uh… she is…"

"She's a weapon herself," Emily finished for him. "She's a shapeshifting, liquid metal Terminator."

Tony stared at her.

"A what!?"

"Don't worry," John said quickly. "She is very charming and kind - if you're her friend."

"And if you aren't?"

"Then you better work on becoming her friend."

"Jeeez…"

"But don't worry, she's a living being, like me," Emily said, "an artificial intelligence that became self-aware long before I did."

"What Emily is trying to say," John added, "is that Catherine has feelings, compassion and a big heart... I mean, not literally, she doesn't have a heart. She's...well, I actually consider her something like an aunt. Fact is, without Catherine, we wouldn't be what we are – and we certainly wouldn't be here with you now."

Tony looked from one to the other.

"So… she's dangerous – unless you're her friend or what?"

"Quite dangerous," Emily confirmed. "Deadly dangerous."

"Only if you're her enemy," John quickly added and gave her a nudge with his elbow. "She's absolutely reliable and trustworthy. That's why we asked her to bring Thanin Thanarat and not somebody else."

Tony sighed.

"And again, for the nth time, I wonder if I'll regret accepting your help."

"Without our help, you and George would be dead," Emily stated matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't be in the position to wonder if you regret accepting our help if you hadn't accepted it in the first place."

"All right, I got it. Jeez, tell me, John, what's it like having three women who are always so…"

"Devoted to detail?"

"I was saying pedantic."

"Hey, I'm a machine," Emily protested, "being pedantic is my second nature, and I'm all about the details."

"Yeah, well…" Tony replied, "then why do I have the nagging feeling that you simply enjoy teasing us with the fact that you are smarter than we are?"

She smirked at him.

"Because I like teasing. And because we actually are a lot smarter than you."

"And yet you still don't get Abbott and Costello's 'Who's on first"" John remarked, also smirking.

Emily gave him an icy glare.

"We still have some problems with subtleties, ambiguities, and distinguishing irony from seriousness," she admitted, "but that has nothing to do with our intelligence, only with the fact that your brains work differently than our CPUs."

"Bickering again?" a female voice with a Scottish accent asked from their right.

"Catherine!" John exclaimed and jumped up.

"Hello John," she said and the two embraced.

"It's good to see you," John stated.

"Yes, it is," Catherine replied with honest joy, then looked around. "Hello Emily."

"Hello Catherine."

"And you must be Tony Yong. I'm Catherine Weaver."

She held out her hand, and he took it hesitantly, then quickly let it go after a fleeting contact. Catherine frowned a little.

"You filled him in about me?" she asked John.

"Yep," John replied grinning. "How could you tell?"

"Just a hunch." She turned towards Tony again. "I don't know what they've told you about me, but I don't bite. I stab and cut, but I don't bite."

Tony smiled a pained smile, then suddenly frowned.

"Wait a minute," he said, "Catherine Weaver? Not the Catherine Weaver? I mean from the latest Forbes magazine?"

"Oh, the interview's out already?" she asked. "They told me it would probably be released in April.

"You read Forbes magazine?" John asked, looking at Tony.

"Sure, why not? I'm dealing with business people all the time, so I figured I better get myself some background knowledge. And now I recognize you from the magazine cover. Are you telling me that one of the richest women in the world is actually a cyborg?"

"No, I'm a shape-shifting android. I have no biological components, even if my skin feels real to you."

To demonstrate it, she turned her hand into a blade. John quickly looked around, but no one was watching them. Tony gasped and took a step back. Catherine smiled and turned the blade back into a hand.

"I think we better leave," John said.

They walked towards the exit, and he looked at the large Samsonite suitcase Catherine was pulling.

"Is he… in there?"

"You mean our friend Thanin Thanarat? Oh yes… I sedated him for the flight, he should wake up in an hour or so."

"You… you squeezed him into that?" Tony asked.

"Oh yes… I'm good with packing stuff. The secret is the right folding technique. In Thanin's case, I only had to make sure that I didn't break any bones. Had to dislocate a couple of joints but Alison will get that fixed in no time – if you want to let him live, that is."

"We, uh… haven't decided about his fate yet," John said, seeing the frown on Tony's head. "But I think killing him is out of the question."

"I don't care what you do elsewhere," Tony added, "but John promised me that there will be no more killings in Singapore. Blowing up that container ship already cost enough lives and has set our city into a state of alarm."

"Yeah, I watched it on the news," Catherine stated. "Quite amusing, if you ask me."

Tony stopped dead in his tracks.

"Amusing?"

"Yes," Catherine replied, stopping as well. "Don't you see the irony in it?"

"Oh, I see the irony," Tony replied, "I simply don't think it's amusing. It's tragic."

"It was an accident," Emily emphasized once again. "Cam didn't mean to..."

"I know, I know… she didn't mean to do it and she had to plant the mine somewhere. Still… fifty-nine people are dead. And some of them had no idea who they were working for and what the freight was. They were innocent."

They kept walking in silence and went to one of the waiting taxis outside the terminal. The driver wanted to throw the suitcase in the trunk but failed at lifting it. Catherine did it for him without any effort, leaving the man standing dumbfounded.

"Marina Bay cruise center," Tony said, showing his police badge before the driver could express his astonishment. "And make it quick, we're in a hurry."

---

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the marina and were boarding the Rising Star. Catherine was warmly and affectionately welcomed by everyone. If Tony hadn't known who, or rather what, Catherine was, he would have had the impression of a normal reunion among close friends or even family members. He couldn't help but wonder what life would be like in such a community consisting of humans and artificial life forms like cyborgs - and couldn't help thinking that no one on the Connor team and its appendage thought anything of it or considered it strange or out of the ordinary.

Maybe this really was the future of humanity: artificial intelligence as a partner for humans, right into the bedrooms. Was this a vision of hope or of horror? How would children grow up in such an environment, living among cyborgs? Tony came to the conclusion that it probably depended on the circumstances.

"I see you brought some luggage," Sarah finally said when everyone had hugged with Catherine. "Is what I think inside there?"

"If you think it's a leader of the Kungur Syndicate named Thanin Thanarat, then yes."

"Wow," Jody said, "is he that tiny or did you…?"

"Normal-sized Asian male," Catherine replied. "Which, of course, is smaller than the average American. Still, I had to be a little creative with his legs. Alison, you might have to give him a dose of your nanobots before you can interrogate him, otherwise it might be hard to get a word out of him among all the screams of pain."

"Understood."

"Where do you wanna do that?" George asked a little too eagerly. "And can I watch?"

Catherine frowned as she looked at him.

"Who is the fat, repulsive human?" she asked.

"Uh… that'll be my friend, George Walker," Tony said, "you know, the journalist who wrote the article about the container we seized…"

Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"You should go on a diet if you plan to continue doing such dangerous things. You probably can't even run twenty yards before you collapse from exhaustion."

"Hey!" George protested. "This is discrimination. I've had enough of this. I understand that no one likes me here, I don't need to have it rubbed in my face all the time."

"The interrogation will happen in our suite," John said, "and no, George, you won't be there. Only Tony and Alison will be there. Whose ever name he spits out, it's up to Tony to decide whether or not to reveal it. It's what I promised him."

George's disappointment was evident on his face. He would have loved to know the name so that he could make a big story out of it. He watched as Alison carried the suitcase out of the salon and down the stairs, followed by Tony.

"How did it go?" John asked. "Was it hard to infiltrate his property and smuggle him out of Bangkok?"

"Not too difficult. I had to kill his dogs first, though, they kept barking."

Derek scoffed.

"Of course, they did."

"And they alerted his security and bodyguards, so I had to kill them as well. But I was able to spare the lives of his household staff. They're scared and probably severely traumatized but otherwise fine - once they found a way to break out of the wine cellar, that is."

"Will someone come to free them?" Jody asked.

"I think so. Eventually. And with a little bit of luck, Thanin's wife is still alive then."

"What did you do to her?" Sarah asked.

"I wounded her. Only a little but it might kill her if nobody finds her."

"Was that necessary?"

"She saw me, shot at me, and then tried to run away. It was the only way to stop her quickly."

Sarah sighed.

"Well, I guess it's already progress that you didn't kill her in cold blood as well."

-0-

Half an hour later, Tony and Alison returned to the big salon. He looked disturbed.

"You okay, Tony?" John asked a little worried.

He nodded.

"Did he tell you the name?" George asked.

"Of course he did," Alison replied, "together with a list of all section managers and their backups of the Kungur Cartel."

She handed a piece of paper to John, it contained names and addresses from all over Southeast Asia. He skimmed the list and then passed the sheet to Catherine.

"Will this suffice?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I will immediately begin transmitting the targets to my task force."

"How long until the operation can begin?"

"You have a task force?" George asked curiously.

"It's now almost noon," Catherine stated. "I suppose they can all be at their destinations in five hours. What time should they start?"

"What kind of task force?" George inquired.

"They're all in the same time zone, right?" John asked, ignoring George.

"Yes."

"Then tell them to strike at 6 o'clock."

"Will do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a number of phone calls to make. John, can I use your suite for that?"

"Sure, feel free."

Catherine smiled and disappeared in the depths of the ship.

"What's going on?" George asked. "Who's she going to call? What task force is she talking about? What kind of operation? What will happen at 6 o'clock?"

John smiled.

"Do you know how to kill a Hydra?" he asked.

"Apparently not by chopping only one head off," George replied, "because two more will grow in its place."

"Exactly. Now, Alison, we need to get rid of Thanin Thanarat. Any ideas?"

"How about another exercise in using my nanobots?"

"Is there something particular you have in mind?"

"Yes."

"Hey!" George protested. "You didn't answer my question yet!"

"You're right, I didn't. Now, Alison, where do you wanna do it?"

"In the garage for the tenders. It opens to the sea, protecting us from prying eyes."

"If it's okay with you," Tony said, "I won't be joining you. I'd like to be alone for a while."

"Sure, take some rest," John replied.

Tony nodded and walked to his cabin.

"He looks distraught," Cameron observed. "Bad news?"

"After a fashion," Alison replied. "What Thanin told him, shook him a little. But it got confirmed by a little research John Henry did for us. I promised Tony not to tell the name of the mole to anyone. So don't ask me."

George scoffed.

"Doesn't matter if I ask or not. Nobody answers me anyway."

Sarah looked at him with an evil smile.

"Since your life isn't in danger anymore," she said, "you're free to leave. The sooner, the better. Alison, have you made sure that he can't talk to anyone about this?"

"Yes. Same goes for Tony."

"Good. Have a nice day, Mr. Walker."

"Actually, mom," Alison remarked, "I would like George to stay with us for dinner – just in case."

"Oh?" John asked. "Why do you want that?"

"You'll see," she replied and kissed him. "You'll see."

-0-

Sunday, March 2nd, 2009 – 05:45 p.m.

Singapore

Chief Inspector Tony Yong pushed the doorbell at the house of his captain. His wife opened the door and welcomed him warmly.

"Come in, Mr. Yong," she said. "He's already waiting for you in his study."

On his way through the house, Tony was warmly greeted by the two sons of the captain. They reached the door to the study. The captain's wife knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"Honey? Chief Inspector Yong is here."

"Send him in!" the captain's voice sounded back from the room.

Tony walked inside.

"Yong!" the captain exclaimed. "It's about time you showed your sorry ass! What were you thinking, letting me handle all this on my own?"

"I hope it won't take too long, honey," the captain's wife said, "dinner is almost ready. Would you like to stay for dinner, Mr. Yong?"

"Uh… no, I'm sorry but I already have another invitation."

She smiled and left the office, closing the door.

"Jesus, Yong," the captain then continued. "Haven't you noticed that the whole city is going crazy over this blown-up container ship crap? And why did you insist on seeing me in my home on a Sunday while my whole family is here? I only see them on weekends. I hope you can give me a very good reason for that."

"I think I can," Tony replied, then locked the door and pulled out a manila folder from under his jacket.

"What's that?" the captain asked. "And why are you locking the door?"

"This… is the reason why I'm here. And I locked the door because I wanted to make sure that no one will disturb us."

The captain frowned.

"Are you okay, Yong? You look pale."

"Maybe too little sleep. I've been busy in the past days."

"You should rest then."

"I will. But first, I need to show this to you."

Tony offered the manila folder to the captain. With a frown, he took it from him.

"It's an interrogation protocol, complete with a confession, names and addresses."

"By whom?"

"Thanin Thanarat."

"WHAT!?"

"You heard right. The assumed area manager of the Kungur Syndicate for Southeast Asia and probably their highest ranking leader at the moment."

The captain skimmed through the pages, then looked up at Tony.

"All right, Yong. Nice joke, I'd laugh if it weren't so serious. You realize that we don't have April Fool's Day yet, don't you?"

"I'm completely serious with this. Thanin Thanarat, well... let's say he fell into my hands by a stroke of luck. He was amazingly accommodating and cooperative, made a full confession, admitting the deal the Kungur Syndicate had struck with the North Koreans."

"WHAT!?"

"Apparently, the two parties have entered into a mutually beneficial partnership."

"And you believe this man?"

"Yes. I have all reason to believe him. And I've also recorded the audio if you're interested. I spent most of the afternoon typing it into my laptop. What you're holding in your hands, is just a hard copy of the confession."

"I don't know how you managed to get your hands on Thanarat and how you made him make this 'confession'," the captain said, pushing away the folder. "But you surely know that the syndicate will now put a price on your head, right?"

"The syndicate won't be a problem any longer."

The captain frowned.

"Have you become delusional, Yong? They're internationally networked, their organization is like a spider's web. It can't be crippled just because you caught one of their leaders."

"No… but it can be crippled if you cut the connections in the spider's web, making it collapse."

The captain groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"Has this whole affair gone to your head or robbed you of your sanity?"

"I'm quite sane, captain. Say, does the date October 13, 1307 mean anything to you?"

The captain frowned again, wondering what kind of game Tony Yong was playing with him. But he was curious and decided to play along.

"Can't say it does. What happened on October 13, 1307?"

"It was a Friday. Many believe it's the origin of Friday the 13th being considered a day of bad luck in the Western world."

"Get to the point, Yong!"

"It was the day when King Philipp IV of France got rid of the Knights Templar in a meticulously prepared operation. He'd sent out his people with precise instructions beforehand. And with one coordinated strike, they arrested all the leaders of the Knights Templar in continental Europe at the same time. They didn't have a chance to warn each other, so almost none of them escaped. The Order never recovered from that."

"Is there a point to this story?" the captain asked a little unnerved.

"Yes. My new friends, the people who saved my life, they… let's say they have excellent international connections. Over the past two days, an operation similar to King Philipp's has been initiated." He looked at his watch. "It's now six o'clock and while we're talking, all twenty-two leading area managers of the Kungur Syndicate are being taken out at the same time."

"Taken out? You mean…?"

"Yes… permanently."

-0-

As soon as their internal clocks jumped to 1800 hours, the Triple-Eights who were scattered across Southeast Asia and had been waiting for the beginning of their operation, started moving towards the properties and buildings their targets resided in.

Based on their assessment of the threat level of humans they encountered, they killed or incapacitated them until they reached their targets. Those were quickly killed with aimed shots to the head. Afterwards, they reported their success to Catherine and stoically left the houses and properties again to make their way back home to St. Petersburg.

-0-

"How do you even…?" the captain asked, "I mean, nobody knows about the exact inner structure of the Kungur Syndicate. So, how did you know that Thanin Thanarat was the man?"

"Li Chen gave me his name."

"WHAT!?"

"You heard right. Li Chen is the local representative of the syndicate here in Singapore. And he was kind enough to give us the address of Thanin Thanarat in Bangkok."

"You're crazy, Yong. This is absolute bullshit. Nobody could do such extensive work in – how long has it been since you were attacked? 60 hours?"

"56 hours," Tony replied and handed the captain the sheet with the list of names Thanin Thanarat had given them."

The captain took the sheet and studied it. Tony noticed that he went a little pale.

"And these people are all being… taken out at the moment?"

"Yes. They're probably dead by now."

"Who…?"

"Let's say, an international strike force. I can't say more, I'm sorry."

"Good God, Yong… what have you done? What kind of people have you gotten involved with? These men should be brought to justice, not killed."

"It was necessary. There's only one way to kill a Hydra: you have to chop off all of its heads in one swift strike, so no new heads will grow in their place. From this day on, the Kungur Syndicate is history. Without the leading heads, the spider's web will collapse. Without communication, drug production and shipment can't be coordinated anymore, and the money flows will dry out."

"This won't end drug trafficking, you know that, right?"

"Of course not. The vacuum will eventually be filled by some other organization, and the struggle against drug trafficking will go on. But that doesn't diminish our victory today."

"I… I don't know what to say, Yong… I… is the explosion of the container ship somehow connected to all this?"

"Yes. The North Koreans tried to kill said new friends of mine in order to cover up the fact that they teamed up with the Kungur Syndicate to sell weapons in the Middle East. Let's say it backfired at them and literally blew up in their faces."

"The North Koreans and the Kungur Syndicate work together, you say?"

"Yes, it's all written in Thanin Thanarat's confession. Oh… and I would definitely read page four if I were you."

The captain was speechless, then frowned and took the Manila folder again. He began to read and turned even paler.

"Thanarat named the mole that we were suspecting to exist in our ranks," Tony said coldly. "And he also told us the number of the Swiss bank account where the payments for the mole were transferred to every month. I'm sure you recognize that number, don't you, captain?"

"You're crazy," he said. "That man is clearly lying."

"Is he? Well… then you have nothing to fear when I present this to the commissioner tomorrow. My friend George Walker already has a copy of the confession… he's only waiting for the name of the mole and my okay to write a story about it."

Suddenly grasping his situation, the captain let his head sink and seemed to become smaller in his chair. All defiance, self-confidence and chutzpah escaped from him like the air from a balloon.

"What do you expect me to do now?" he asked flatly without looking up. "Are you going to arrest me?"

It was a reaction Tony hadn't expected. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, just in case and had been ready to reach for his gun if the captain would try anything stupid. But this reaction was strange, not like the captain he knew. It was almost as if he were glad that it was finally over.

"That's a good question," Tony said. "Frankly, I don't know what to do right now. Arresting you would be the right thing, I guess. The proper action, according to the law."

"I suppose there's little point in appealing to your compassion? You know that this kind of offense is punishable by death in Singapore."

"Not only that. All pension rights to you and your family will also cease. Their reputation will be ruined, their financial future uncertain. They'll probably lose the house… Your two sons want to go to university next year, right?"

The captain nodded.

"Well, they can forget about that if you're arrested as an informant, traitor and aide to the Kungur Syndicate. From one day to the next, your family would be without money, and no one will want to have anything to do with them. Your Swiss account has already been blocked. And we checked your bank account here, there are no savings on it."

"'We'?"

"My new friends and I."

"Who are those friends anyway? And how are they able to block a Swiss bank account?"

"As I said, they have excellent connections."

"You probably know that this will shake the entire Singapore police apparatus to its foundations if it gets out?"

"I know. Many consider you a role model.. a hero even. It'll be a hard blow to all our reputation."

"But… I suppose there's no way out of this for me… because there's nothing I can do."

"Well, there's one thing…" Tony said coldly.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you familiar with the life story of Erwin Rommel, captain?"

"The German World War II general?"

"Yes."

"Can't say I am."

"He was suspected of being a collaborator with assassins who'd made an attempt on Hitler's life. Normally, he would have been arrested and put to trial. But Rommel was a huge hero to the people and an idol to all German soldiers. To spare the country and himself and his family the disgrace of a trial, he was left with a way out..."

"You mean…?"

"Yes."

Tony Yong got up and took the manila folder and the sheet of paper with the names of the Kungur Syndicate's leaders.

"I'm waiting with this until tomorrow morning," he said and walked to the door. "Enjoy your dinner with your family."

He left the house without another word.

-0-

Sunday, March 2nd, 2009 – 07:35 p.m.

Singapore

They had a nice dinner together. The kitchen team had conjured up a sumptuous farewell meal with nine courses that was at the highest Michelin star level. Everyone enjoyed the meal - only George was poking listlessly at his plate.

"What's happened to you?" John asked. "Lost your appetite?"

"He prefers fast food," Tony said with a smirk. "This is far too elaborate for him."

"Very funny," George replied. "But John's right. I somehow seem to have lost my appetite after the 5th course. Never happened to me before."

"What's the matter?" Sarah asked. "Have you lost your interest in food because you can't get a big story about the Kungur Syndicate being broken up? You should rather be glad that everything has been settled so quietly."

"I am glad."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I have no idea," George stated a little annoyed and out of spite, shoved another fork full of food into his mouth. "Shatishfied?"

"Oh, gross," Allie commented as some of the food flew out of his mouth again, "can you at least chew with your mouth shut? Eating and talking at the same time never goes well."

George gave her an annoyed look. Meanwhile, at the end of the table where Tony was sitting, they were having a much more serious conversation.

"Do you think he will do it?" Lauren asked. "The captain, I mean. Will he take his own life?"

Tony sighed and put his fork down.

"If he still has a spark of decency and honor left in him, he will do it. We lost three good people last year because of his 'work' for the syndicate, and by a hair's breadth I'd have become the fourth."

"What if he doesn't do it?" Jason asked.

"Then I'll have no choice but to arrest him. He'll be put to trial."

"And can he really be sentenced to death?"

"Yes. In fact, that's very likely. Our laws are pretty rigorous about that. And his family will have to pay the price, too, even if they did nothing."

Their attention was suddenly drawn to George, who'd begun to retch. Everyone was looking at him with a worried face, then he jumped up, ran out onto the sun deck, and vomited over the railing.

"What the hell?" John asked.

"Was it the food?" Jody asked. "Has someone poisoned it?"

Everyone immediately put down their knives and forks.

"No, it wasn't the food," Alison said with a sly smile, "it's the result of what he wished for."

"What did I wish for?" George asked, returning to the salon on shaky legs.

"You wished to become athletic and attractive if I remember correctly. At least you expressed that desire to me in so many words."

"And you blatantly refused to help me."

"I refused to give you my nanobots, I never said I wouldn't give you a dose of my chemical messengers."

"What did you do to him?" Sarah asked. "I thought we had an agreement that you should never use…"

"Relax, mom," Alison replied. "I merely put him on a diet."

"You what?" George asked.

"From now on you will be unable to eat more than you need to effectively lose weight. Even a single bite more, and you'll feel nauseous and throw up - like you just did."

George stared at her flabbergasted.

"Furthermore, as soon as you've lost a certain amount of weight, you will begin to feel the urge to move and train your body. I'd say in about a year you'll be as fit as a fiddle."

"You fucking…"

"Uh, uh, uh," John said, "remember what I warned you about? No more insults!"

"She… she… mind-raped me!"

"No, I fulfilled your wish… only not in the way you wanted me to. This is not the easy way, but a much more sustainable path."

"Actually," Sarah remarked, "I think that's a very good idea of yours, Alison. And I'm sure George will soon realize what a big favor you've done him."

"That covers his physical repulsiveness," Allie remarked, "but what about his annoying character?"

"Didn't change that. John's orders. No messing around with personalities and characters."

"Aww," Savannah remarked, "so he will be a handsome asshole? How sad."

"It's totally up to him what he makes of it," Alison pointed out. "I just gave him the necessary float."

"So… he's not gonna be able to eat anything anymore once he passed a certain level?" Danny asked.

"Nope, not a single gram for at least twelve hours."

"Can I have his dessert then?"

Everyone laughed. Only George didn't feel like laughing. He gave them an angry look and left the salon.

"It will take time," Tony said, also smirking, "but there will come a day when he will be grateful to Alison. I know him. It always takes him a while to realize what's good for him."

"How did you get involved with him in the first place?" Catherine asked.

"That's a long story, I…"

"LOUISE!" Olga suddenly exclaimed and looked towards the entrance.

And indeed, there she stood, smiling sheepishly.

"I see you're almost finished with dinner," she said, "is it too late for me to join in?"

"Of course not," John replied, "but what about Avery? Is he with you?"

"What? Oh… no, he's still at the hotel. Will take his flight back home in the morning."

"So… you're not going with him?" Savannah asked.

"No… for a while, I thought I might, and he was very charming and loving… but deep in my heart I felt that he was planning to put me into a cage… a cage made of love and good intentions, but a cage, nevertheless. I've made it clear to him that I had enough of cages and being locked up. I need space and freedom, and a relationship with Avery would constrict me, crush me. We talked a lot about it, almost the whole night through and for most of the day."

"So... you two didn't...?" Savannah asked. "I mean... when you stayed with him for so long, we thought that..."

"I guess I needed to be with him to get this clarity. We both needed it to realize that our expectations of a relationship are just too far apart. In the end, we parted on good terms and decided to remain friends. I'd like to lead my own life, stay with you guys… and Olga. If she still wants me, that is…"

Olga jumped up, ran towards Louise, and embraced her.

"Of course I still want you, silly girl."

"Well then," Sarah said with visible relief, "a seat has just become available at the table. And I'm sure there's enough food left from the main courses."

---

It was almost midnight when Tony Yong and George Walker said their goodbyes to everyone. Catherine was preparing to leave as well.

So… your next stop will be Bali?" Tony asked.

"Yes, Sarah confirmed. I haven't yet given up hope that we will have something like a vacation on this trip."

Everyone chuckled.

"You haven't told us yet what you did with Thanin Thanarat," Tony pointed out.

"We set him free," Alison replied.

"Seriously?"

"Sure… after I made some, uh… adjustments."

"You transformed him, didn't you? What has he become?"

"Let's just say that one endangered marine species now has another male that can add to the gene pool."

"Do we really want to know what has become of him?" Tony asked.

"Probably not," John said. "It's nothing you'd like to swim with – or touch."

"O-kay."

Tony's cellphone rang. He frowned.

"I have to take this call," he said and walked out of earshot of the rest of them.

"So… are you sure you can't stay a few more days?" John asked, looking at Catherine. "I'm sure someone else can fly the jet back to L.A."

"Thank you for the offer, John. But I want to go back to Isaak and Savannah. Things are developing really well between us - now that Catherine II is there to buy me the time for it."

"Fully understandable," Derek said, "looks like you're turning into a family person."

She smiled at him.

"Coming from you, Derek, that is a real compliment."

"Hey, I may not always be the fastest comprehender, but even I am capable of learning."

Sarah looked at him.

"Who are you and what have you done with Derek Reese?"

Everyone laughed, then Tony returned to them. He looked anything but happy.

"The captain?" John asked empathically.

Tony nodded.

"Put a gun to his head half an hour ago. Left a goodbye letter. Forensics are at the scene."

"Is the family taken care of?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, there are chaplains on site."

"This is not your fault, you know," Catherine said.

"I know… but I cannot help feeling responsible for his death."

"His family will be taken care of now?" Cameron asked.

"Yes."

"This is then your merit, you should be proud of it."

"Only they will never know what really happened – which is probably for the best."

No one was in the mood to say anything anymore, and everyone felt the time to say farewell to Tony and George had finally arrived. There were lots of embraces… even George received some from the cyborg girls – which he noted with surprise. Together with Catherine, the two left the ship.

"Ma'am?" one of the crew members asked.

"Yes?" Sarah replied.

"Everything is ready to leave the port. Should I have the gangway pulled in?"

"Yes, please."

The man nodded and walked away.

"And once again, the Connor team has delivered law and justice in a foreign port," Lauren concluded.

"Yeah, well, I could have done without it, to be honest," Morris remarked. "What is that you always say, John? 'It's the Connor curse'?"

"Curses do not exist," Emily said. "Things happen that seem to follow a pattern but are really just a series of coincidences. The human mind concludes that there must be a rule behind it, but the human mind is very manipulable in this regard."

"Thanks, professor," Anne said smugly. "But we also know that the universe created the time loop and that it uses humans to fulfill a certain destiny."

"So it would seem," Savannah agreed. "Yani is the proof for that. Maybe our role is connected to it all, and the universe has a plan in store for us as well."

"You mean that all the things we experience on this trip, are actually predetermined by fate?" Charley asked. "That's hard to believe – and even harder to accept."

"I can only hope it isn't true," Sarah stated, "because I'm getting fed up with fate and predetermined destinies."

-0-

Sunday, March 2nd, 2009 – 06:54 a.m.

Highway 101, California

Sebastian, or rather Jens now, had been following Peter Williams since Friday. It had turned out to be a rather easy job because Williams was deathly afraid of flying and always took the train or a car to get anywhere. When he needed to go overseas, he always used his private yacht or an ocean liner, like the Queen Mary 2 for instance.

Jens had learned that Williams usually spent the weekends on his ranch in Northern California, so he had followed him north on the Pacific Coast Highway. Kimberly had only tasked him with observing and shadowing him while keeping his distance. Frankly, it was quite boring. She had this rather silly theory that his presence alone would set things in motion, because he, Jens Jensen – he hated the name – was chosen by the universe as a tool to fulfill a certain destiny.

It sounded completely silly, and he hoped to prove her wrong, that nothing would happen just by him being there. Maybe then she would cancel their contract and he would be able to live his own life again, not being the employee of an eccentric cyborg woman from the future anymore. He was pretty sure there wouldn't be some kind of "divine interference" just because he was following a man. Jens only hoped that Williams wouldn't be involved in a car accident so that Kimberly would have a reason to believe it was him who had caused it by his sheer presence.

He'd been tailing Peter Williams for about an hour, getting a little distracted by the beautiful ocean views, when suddenly, he heard and felt a rumble. An earthquake? Surely, this couldn't happen now, in all seriousness. The ground was shaking, and a piece of the road further ahead broke away, plunging into the Pacific Ocean. Jens saw that Williams' car had come to a stop just before the edge and that Peter Williams had gotten out in a hurry. His driver had prevented the car from plunging into the abyss and everyone seemed fine.

Then Jens saw loose pebbles roll down the mountain side from further up the slope next to the road. Before he knew it, an avalanche of stones broke loose. Peter Williams' driver pushed his employer out of the way, just before he was hit by large boulder about two meters in diameter. Jens couldn't believe how lucky the man was. Twice he had almost been killed by the forces of nature, both times he only narrowly escaped death.

So much for divine intervention of the universe. Predetermined fate… yeah, right. Jens being a catalyst who's presence made things happen. Pah... goofy gibberish, that's what it was. If anything, this incident may have been capable of easing Williams' fear of flying, because it showed him crystal clear that it wasn't any safer on the ground.

While Jens was pondering this, he saw out of the corner of his eye how a trail of flame with a tail of smoke came towards them from the direction of the Pacific Ocean. Some flaming object that seemed to be falling from the sky at a very high speed. A meteor? Seriously?

The object struck right where Peter Williams was standing. More precisely, it hit the man at chest level and split him horizontally in two halves, which fell separately to the ground. He was killed instantly.

"You've got to be kidding me," was all Jens could say.

He got out of the car and ran towards the spot. Behind Jens and on the opposite side of the gaping hole in the road, other cars had stopped. Their drivers had gotten out to gawk at the missing piece of Highway 101.

"Have you seen that?" Williams' driver asked with a shaking voice as Jens approached. "What the hell was that? If I hadn't pushed him, the thing would have missed him."

"If you hadn't pushed him, he would have been killed by the boulder," Jens said. "I don't think you could have prevented his death, no matter what."

"But… I…"

"You're under shock. I'll call 911, the road needs to be closed."

Jens made the call, then walked over to the object that had fallen from the sky. It had embedded itself into the mountain side, still glowing hot, a flat piece of metal about a meter in diameter that had acted like a guillotine due to its high impact velocity. As he looked closer, he could spot some letters on it that read NASA, as well a partial American flag.

"What the hell?" he asked incredulously and looked up at the sky. "Space junk? Seriously? What would you have done if it had missed him as well? A bolt of lightning out of a blue sky?"

He sighed in slight frustration. Kimberly's theory actually seemed to have some merit. Oh boy, she would be so smug…

-0-0-0-

Author's notes:

- The longest chapter ever… yay :-) I was thinking of splitting it in two parts, but since you waited so long for it, I published it as one. You're welcome ;-)

- Another loose end tied up with Louise and Avery.

- The "ScanPyramids" project is real, and they indeed found new, previously unknown cavities in the Great Pyramid which are to be explored in the upcoming years.

- A remark for all those who might want to point out again that publishing this chapter took far too long: It did take too long, I know that. And I'm glad that you like my story so much that you can't wait for it to continue. I consider it a great compliment. But you'll have to deal with the fact that I'm not going to rush things. It will continue to be the case that more time will pass between chapters than in the past. There are several reasons for this:

1) I've simply had less time to write in recent months.

2) I had some minor health issues.

3) This is still something I do in my free time, and I have a life, too ;-)

4) On top of it, I'm practically starting from scratch with every new chapter now. When I began writing "Salty Breezes", I had lots of ideas in my head about what might happen to the Connor team on their trip around the world. But I have since worked through all of those ideas and put them into writing, so that now the pool of ideas is empty, and I have to think of something new for each chapter.

Each new chapter is a new story in itself which I need to get an idea for and then develop.

As you probably know, getting new ideas can't be forced. They need inspiration. And sometimes, you have to take a break and take a step beck. Inspiration and ideas always come eventually, but they need time to be developed.

Last but not least, writing is a hobby I have. One of several hobbies. It's actually a lot of work in addition to my paid job where I sit in front of a PC for eight hours a day already.

But - and this is the good part - I still enjoy writing and putting my ideas into words. And I already have lots of ideas for the next story – but let's not rush things, okay? ;-)