Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
09:47 GMT+1 (08:47 GMT June 27th)
10 Downing Street, London
United Kingdom
The British Prime Minister was seated at her desk, as was customary at that time in the morning, when her office door was all but taken off its hinges as three of her security officers burst through.
"What the devil!" she exclaimed.
"There has been a nuclear detonation in Mali, ma'am," her principle security officer explained. "We're taking you to Pindar, ma'am."
Pindar was the Government military citadel buried deep below London, deeper than even the deepest tube lines. It would take a multi-megaton nuclear warhead to dig the bunker out of the ground. The Prime Minister found herself rushed from her office and thrust down into the depths of the Number 10 basements. All across London, other members of the Government were being spirited away from the surface and sent deep underground. Across the United Kingdom other organisations, including the Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ), went into high gear. Every nuclear-capable British military unit went on alert and the Quick Reaction Alert aircraft were scrambled from around the United Kingdom along with the ready warships. In Scotland, HMS VICTORIOUS was ordered to sea at her earliest convenience with her partial load of Trident nuclear-tipped inter-continental ballistic missiles which she had been unloading at the Royal Navy Armaments Depot (RNAD) COULPORT prior to heading for a refit.
Her sister submarine, HMS VENGEANCE, was already at sea, somewhere below the North Atlantic and she was being notified to increase her readiness for a possible nuclear launch order.
03:59 GMT-5 (08:59 GMT June 27th)
Andrews Air Force Base
Washington D.C.
United States of America
The giant aircraft thundered down the almost three-kilometre long runway as it raced for safety.
The modified Boeing 747 – designated a VC-25 by the United States Air Force – bore the tail number 29000 and that morning it carried the decidedly dishevelled and confused President of the United States of America. The President (and her family) had been shaken awake to shouts from the Secret Service detail and then whisked out of the White House onto the Sea King helicopter known as Marine One and thence to Air Force One at Andrews. Apart from small pieces of information the President was still unsure what was going on and would have to await a briefing which was being rapidly assembled in the conference room aboard the capacious aircraft.
The United States Navy lieutenant commander carrying the nuclear football was conspicuously present as he sat in his seat just three feet from where the President sat.
02:20 GMT-7 (09:20 GMT June 27th)
Oak Pass Road
A loud alarm was shrilling and Erika was jerked from her slumber.
Annoyed, Erika reached for her cell phone and she stabbed at the screen to unlock the device. It was a call from Marty, she realised.
"Marty?"
"Hello, Erika," Marty replied, somewhat soberly. "Sorry to awaken you, but I have bad news."
"Just what I need," Erika scowled as she swung her legs out from under the duvet.
"There has been a nuclear detonation, half an hour ago, in Mali where we have been operating."
"Shit!" a very awake Erika responded.
"It destroyed an Axis facility and . . . Joshua was lost in the detonation."
Erika said nothing for several moments as her mind processed the information.
"Holy shit . . . Chloe!"
"She's not taking it well," Marty advised Erika.
"I can believe it – shit, that sucks . . . is everybody else...?"
"We're waiting for the teams to arrive and then we get the hell out of Mali."
"What's happening next?" Erika asked quietly.
"We're heading for a safe place where we can figure things out – this is a major escalation."
"Tell me about it! Is there anything we can do?"
"Stay on top of that bastard, Mannheim," Marty ordered. "He's a part of this – he needs to go down hard."
"Oh, we're staying on top of him, don't you worry."
"Goodnight, Erika."
"Night, Marty – stay safe."
The connection dropped and Erika just sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes before she felt an arm wrap around her middle.
"A problem?" a voice asked out of the darkness.
"Some friends of mine are in trouble and one was just killed, thirty minutes ago."
"Oh, Erika," Katrina said. "What was it? A car crash?"
"Nuclear explosion."
"You what?!" Katrina exclaimed. "Ground burst or air burst?"
"You what?" Erika echoed.
"The nuclear explosion."
"No idea. Why?"
"It is technically possible to survive a ground burst, but an air burst is something else."
"I forgot, you attended UCLA."
"I double-majored in physics and aerospace engineering so nuclear detonations are something I know about, honey."
"I can't sleep..."
"Coffee?" Katrina asked as she slipped past Erika and stood up.
"You'd better put some clothes on," Erika grinned. "There be boys here."
Katrina laughed as she reached for her dress.
A few hours later...
06:31 GMT-7 (13:31 GMT June 27th)
Oak Pass Road
Kieran Brennan had learnt never to be surprised by anything he saw at his new home.
It could be one (or both) of the twins streaking naked to the pool, or it could be his friend, James, making out with his girlfriend, Maddie. Therefore, as the youth passed through the living room on the way to the kitchen, he barely glanced at the couch which appeared occupied. But his curiosity won out and he turned to study the scene, expecting to find James and Maddie entwinned on the...
"Holy shit!" he muttered to himself as he identified two sets of shapely legs extending out from beneath a blanket.
The boy's eyes followed the legs up to where they vanished beneath the blanket. His eyes moved swiftly up the blanket before they finally settled on a substantial breast, however, no matter how much he willed the blanket to shift, the more interesting tips of the breasts were hidden. The breasts belonged to a stunning woman with copper red hair which flowed across said breasts. A pair of bare arms were wrapped around the woman. Those arms, Kieran noticed, belonged to Erika – another woman who he deemed 'stunning'. Kieran peered over to see if he could see Erika's own assets, only they were hidden.
"You trying to see my boobs, Kieran?" Erika muttered as she opened her eyes.
"Yes . . . NO!"
Erika chuckled as Kieran blushed.
..._...
Kieran was joined in the kitchen by Erika and the stunning woman.
"Kieran, this is Katrina. Katrina, this is Kieran Brennan."
"Hello, Kieran, I have heard some nice things about you," Katrina said.
"Thanks," Kieran mumbled. "Coffee?"
"Please."
"Kieran enjoyed studying your breasts, Kat," Erika teased, grinning as Kieran blushed bright red.
"Don't tease the boy, Erika!" Katrina said pointedly.
Erika smiled at Kieran as she accepted the mug of coffee the embarrassed boy handed over to her. The smiles soon vanished as Erika switched on the kitchen TV.
"...the nuclear mushroom cloud was visible for almost fifty miles and the sound of the devastating explosion was heard in the surrounding countries of Algeria, Niger, Burkino Faso, and Mauritania. At this time, it is not known how a nuclear weapon came to be in Mali, a country which does not have a declared nuclear arsenal. The section of the Sahara Desert where the explosion occurred is not considered to be populated and no physical structures are believed to exist in that area of the desert. There have been several unconfirmed reports of heavy military action in the area which may or may not have had something to do with the nuclear detonation. Reports that Air Force One was launched in the early hours of this morning with the President aboard have been reported as 'unconfirmed' by White House sources as has the launch of the so-called 'doomsday plane', the E-4 NEACP with the Vice-President aboard. In related news, it was reported that armed unmanned aerial vehicles have been operating from the airfield at the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, returning with all weapons expended. A British Government spokesman has been reported as saying, 'I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of said drones...'"
Kieran could see Erika's dark expression and he figured that the explosion must have had something to do with the Fusion operation in that part of the world.
08:05 GMT-7 (15:05 GMT June 27th)
Bella Oceana
It was a new day and Rosa was intent on making the most of it.
She needed to head into the city to scout out what remained of Dieter's organisation. However, to do that, she would need help, and she could not use Evans – he was purposely occupied driving Cara to D-JAK where Rosa knew that her daughter should be safe, despite the proximity to the 'scene' which had once been her safehouse. Rosa had put a lot of thought into whom she might call to drive her into the city and just one person seemed to fit the bill as being innocuous and unknown. She had called Erika the day before to see if she was available to drive her – Erika had said yes. As far as Rosa was concerned, Erika enjoyed keeping out of the limelight which suited Rosa just fine. Right on time, the large Corvette screeched to a halt at the curb.
"Hi, Erika," Rosa said in greeting as she climbed into the passenger seat of the Corvette.
"Still a little sore?" Erika commented as Rosa grimaced.
"Just a little," Rosa responded automatically.
"You should have those dressings changed on a regular basis to prevent any complications," Erika advised.
"Dressings?" Rosa responded innocently as she did her best to counter Erika.
"You have dressings on your wounds – I should know, I helped put them there."
Rosa instantly went on guard.
"Relax!" Erika said with a friendly grin. "Us masked vigilantes need to stick together for our own protection. I'm Mist and it's good to finally meet Carnivora in the flesh, so to speak."
Rosa's face went very pale as all blood suddenly drained away. Rosa never noticed the motorcycle which had been parked at the curb some fifty yards up the street and which pulled out to follow them when Erika moved off. For several minutes neither woman said a word as they headed down Bienveneda Avenue. It was only after they were heading east on West Sunset Boulevard that Rosa spoke.
"How long...?"
"Have we known?"
Rosa nodded.
"Only since your mask was removed at the safehouse – we burnt the place down to cover your tracks, by the way."
"Thanks," Rosa said, honestly glad that her secret was safe. "Why are you helping me?"
"Your daughter."
"Cara?"
"Your daughter needs a mother who is not behind bars. But there is a price."
Rosa grimaced.
"I figured that."
"It's an easy price which I think you are going to want to pay."
"Go on."
"We want you to assist us in taking down Dieter Mannheim."
Rosa hesitated for about a tenth of a second before she responded, sealing her fate.
"It's a deal, Mist."
Mist grinned at the slam dunk.
09:22 GMT-7 (16:22 GMT June 27th)
D-JAK:LA
Cara was keeping her head down and punching a bag in a distant corner of the establishment.
Maddie had arrived with James and Chrissy, then immediately gone looking for Cara. Maddie was surprised to find her friend hiding.
"What are you doing back here?" Maddie asked.
"I've got a lot to think about," Cara said evenly.
"Understandable."
"I found out the other night that my mother is a – I don't really know what she is. I also found out that my best friend is – what exactly are you, Maddie?"
"Fair question," Maddie responded. "I cannot respond to that right now but I promise that I am going to do what I can to answer."
"That was a total waste of a sentence."
"Look, Cara, I'm sorry all this happened, I really am."
"Would your team have killed my mother?"
"I can't talk about it, Cara, period!"
"Looks like every fucker's keeping secrets from me!" Cara growled as she stormed off.
"Hi, Cara," Chrissy offered only to leap out of the way of the angry youngster.
Maddie simply shrugged as she began to exercise.
..._...
Mollie Hendricks had opened up the dojang as was usual, but while her own two children were having fun – actually, young Ben was teasing and annoying his big sister, Kristen – Cara had arrived under a dark cloud.
Indeed, Cara had barely noticed Mollie and the girl had vanished to change and then spar in a far corner of the facility alone, ignoring her friends. Mollie had never seen Cara so angry, her face full of so much confusion. Then for Maddie to arrive and for the pair to argue – that was not normal behaviour for two girls who were normally as thick as thieves and completely inseparable. Kristen had also noticed that her friend was staying away from her, and Mollie had seen the despondent expression on her daughter's face as she had sparred with her brother several yards away from Cara. To be honest, it had not been the best of days for Mollie either. She had arrived at D-JAK to find that the street above was cordoned off by the Los Angeles Police Department while there was the stench of burning from an obviously destroyed building, most of which was hidden behind hastily erected hoardings. Mollie had heard rumours of bodies scattered across the street and of vigilantes fighting armed men. Los Angeles was heading down a very slippery slope, Mollie considered, what with armour-clad vigilantes causing mayhem and massed fights breaking out around the city.
Mollie was not a major fan of the vigilantes who had arrived in the city to act as judge, jury, and where necessary, executioner. Mollie believed in due process and the Fusion vigilantes apparently did not – or rather they believed in their own due process, deciding who should die and when without apparent conscious thought. That week had been the bloodiest for some time and Mollie was generally worried for the safety of her two children who had little sense of the danger which surrounded them on almost a daily basis. Mind you, in just a few short months, the pair of them had learnt to look after themselves. As Mollie watched, brother and sister smoothly moved around the mat, kicking out and punching towards one another. Both took the sparring very seriously to a point where they could both completely miss everything going on around them as they focussed on their movements as they both strove to reach their next belt.
The sparring had brought brother and sister together in a way that Mollie could never have expected. Yes, they fought like cats and dogs, just as all siblings did, but there was an underlying respect for each other which had not been there before, not to mention a certain level of competitiveness which kept them both moving ever onward and upward.
11:08 GMT-7 (18:08 GMT June 27th)
Main Street
The brunette with short cropped hair was tall and strode confidently towards the LAPD officer guarding the entrance into the crime scene.
The man ran his eyes over the smart figure-hugging pale blue trouser suit and the curves easily visible beneath the white blouse. Indeed, his thoughts were nowhere near his tasking and when the woman waved an identity folder bearing a gold badge in his direction, he simply waved the woman through the checkpoint. Miranda Frost was an expert at blending into any surroundings and she could pass as an American or a Brit while being fluent in French and German with Spanish as a fourth language while she worked on her fifth language – Russian. A British national by birth, she had declared the United States Oath of Allegiance and had thus taken on the mantel of an American citizen. However, she was a master of disguise and legally retained the citizenship of both countries – albeit under different but similar aliases. Currently under another alias, 'Special Agent Melanie Brown' was investigating the previous evening's crime scene, ostensibly for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but actually she was working for her real boss. Her unofficial job title declared her to be a subversive operations agent. When a potential acquisition met a roadblock, Frost would clear that blockage – using whatever method she deemed fit: poison, explosives, a creative car crash perhaps. The woman slipped a smartphone out of an interior pocket of her jacket and she dialled a number from memory.
"Renke."
"I am at the scene."
With that, the call was dropped.
..._...
Frost was on a mission.
She had been tasked with identifying exactly what had transpired over the past few days and she was to ascertain who was targeting the organisation and then terminate that individual. A key target to be identified was that individual who wore the mask of Carnivora, however, it was unknown if Carnivora was working alone or if she was simply following the instructions of a higher power as the ill-fated Tornado had been. Frost had never liked Kimberley Seymour, despite them both having been recruited by Renke at about the same time. Kimberley had chosen to hide herself away pretending to be some kind of vigilante assassin. Frost while often out in the open preferred to remain anonymous by keeping to the shadows and using her alias as the mask. Kimberley had been skilled, and her abilities would be missed within the Panther Brigade. However, she had made too many mistakes and Renke had not been happy with the masked persona of Tornado nor her antics which had accomplished little for the cause. Frost had never felt threatened by her colleague, but she had found the need to ensure that she was always one step ahead.
Frost stared down at the simple numbered piece of plastic which marked where Tornado had died. Her trained eyes identified signs of a fight despite the burnt surroundings. Someone had gotten the better of Tornado; had it been that Carnivora or had it been one of those masked Fusion vigilantes who had been present at the scene? Unfortunately, there had been no survivors to tell any tales which was maddening, but it allowed Frost to do what she did best as she rebuilt the scene in her mind. The couch . . . someone had lain their before everything had gone bad. The lock on the back door had been blasted open – that indicated desperation to gain entry, which meant what? Anything which did not make immediate sense was filed away in Frost's mind for later analysis once she had all the facts available to her. There was a lot wrong with the destroyed commercial unit – was it a safehouse? If so, for whom?
After making mental notes of the crime scene, Frost chose to depart before she attracted any attention to her presence.
..._...
The next destination for the investigator was a coffee shop so that she could digest her notes.
As she strolled up the street, leaving the police cordon behind, she paused outside a building to look back at the burnt out building, but then something caught her eye. It was a martial arts studio which seemed to be very busy with upwards of fourteen people busily exercising and sparring. A martial arts expert herself, Frost studied the skills and she was impressed, but then a face leapt out at her – Cara Müller was punching a bag with gusto towards the rear of the facility. The girl was the daughter of Dieter Mannheim's right-hand woman, Rosa Müller. She had heard the youngster had been learning to defend herself with Dieter's blessings – in fact, the man himself had been at the opening of the dojang some months previously. As Frost looked around, she spied a black Mercedes S-Class parked up at the curb, a young man at the wheel wearing dark sunglasses. Frost was aware of the young man who had come into the favour of Rosa Müller some weeks previously. There was something suspicious about the so-called Robert Evans but Frost could not see it, so she had filed away that little inconsistency some weeks previously for a later time when further information was available. However, she now had further information and it was becoming fairly clear there could be something unhand going on in the Müller camp.
But Frost would have to be very certain of her facts before she accused Rosa Müller of anything. If she was wrong, she would die, simple as that. Everyone knew that Rosa could kill with little thought and had done many times over the years both before and during her time with Dieter Mannheim. There was also an unconfirmed rumour that the pair had fucked many years before after a particularly difficult mission – Frost did not believe a word of that one but under the current circumstances . . . how old was Cara Müller and who was her father? So far, her recent investigations had produced many more questions than answers which experience told her meant that she was on the right track.
Frost continued on and she decided to skip the coffee shop and head directly back to her hotel.
11:35 GMT-7 (18:25 GMT June 27th)
D-JAK:LA
The two women had returned from their sightseeing tour which had taken in Dieter's current home at the marina and one or two other places.
Erika saw the black Mercedes S-Class parked up and she knew that Cara was present at D-JAK. As Erika understood it, Cara had awoken that morning in a particularly volatile mood and had pretty much ignored her mother until she had left for D-JAK after breakfast.
"Your driver never seems to come in," Erika commented as they parked up.
"He likes to keep himself to himself," Rosa replied.
"I can believe that," Erika commented, knowing exactly why the young man refused to set foot within D-JAK:LA – Erika assumed that he wanted to live.
Erika turned into the small parking lot at the rear of D-JAK:LA and then into her parking spot where the two women climbed out of the Corvette and they both headed inside the building where they found that Cara's mood had not improved. The girl was working out a lot of frustration on a punchbag putting everything that she had into each and every punch. Rosa could see that nobody was even in the same part of the building as her daughter, even Kristen and Maddie who were sparring together, were in the opposite corner to Cara. Under any other circumstance it could be seen as comical, but Rosa knew otherwise. She turned to Erika.
"I don't know what to do – I can't lose her."
"As I said, we are going to help you through this," Erika said quietly. "You and Cara."
Rosa smiled weakly before she headed over to see her daughter.
"What do you want, mother?"
Rosa flinched – she had never heard her daughter talk to her like that.
"You're angry and you have every right to be."
"What else are you hiding from me, mother?"
Rosa knew that there was so much which Cara needed to know, but Cara was not ready for any of it, nor was Rosa ready to delve into her past life.
"Everything I have done has been for our protection, honey."
"That's a fucking crap excuse!"
"Now, Cara..."
"Don't you lecture me!" Cara yelled. "You lost that right last night, mother! I have been deceived: my mother, my best friend. Has any part of my life been real? Is my life just a lie?"
Erika was not happy. At any moment, Cara might blurt something out and there were too many ears about as classes were still underway. She ran over and spoke to Rosa.
"Take Cara to the boat I told you about – we'll be a few minutes behind. Cara, will you go with your mother, please?"
Cara glared at Erika for a moment but then she relented slightly and she nodded. Cara then stormed away to gather her kit. Rosa nodded at Erika and headed outside to where Evans was waiting.
"Ma'am?"
"When Cara arrives, take us to the Marina Del Rey boatyard."
"Yes, ma'am."
'Evans' had noticed that Cara was in a stormy mood that morning, but he had simply put it off to the girl's difficult age. However, his boss appeared decidedly unhappy about something and then Cara appeared, her mood even stormier than before. The girl slammed the rear door and then almost wrenched the seatbelt from its mounting as she pulled it across her body and clipped it into place. The astute youth also noticed that Cara never once looked at her mother.
Something was afoot; was the endgame approaching?
12:45 GMT-7 (19:45 GMT June 27th)
Marina Del Rey
Leo Shepherd watched as Cara reluctantly followed her mother out of the Mercedes and then he scowled as he laid eyes on the twins.
He was glad of the dark windows on the Mercedes as he knew that they would tear him apart the very moment they laid eyes upon him. He knew that they had changed – sort of – and that they were now fighting for good and others as opposed to fighting for themselves and only themselves. He could tell that both were guarding Rosa and Cara as they were led down a gangway onto a floating dock which ran horizontally to the concrete dock twenty feet away. Leo then saw Erika and the girl, Maddie, following Rosa and Cara down the gangway onto the dock. All six then vanished aboard a magnificent eighty-foot yacht which lay alongside the floating dock. One of the twins – Sky – reappeared after checking out the interior of the yacht and she remained above deck moving onto the bow where she sat, ostensibly enjoying the sun, but Leo knew better from the girl's demeanour. He knew everything about the twins – even how to tell the difference between them – as he had known them for over five years of their lives and he had trained the obnoxious pair.
Inside the yacht, Cara was stunned by the opulent interior – even Dieter's yacht, while luxurious, was not quite as fancy. After a few minutes, Erika turned to Maddie.
"Maddie, could you take Cara below, please – you both stink and need a shower."
Cara and Maddie both scowled but Cara allowed Maddie to lead her forward and then down a curving companionway to the lower deck where they headed aft into the main stateroom.
"Cool!" Cara muttered.
The shower attached to the bathroom of the main stateroom was enormous and both girls stripped off and sat enjoying the warm water for several minutes before Cara spoke.
"I know you had no choice about lying to me – you had to keep your secret. If it were not for your secret, then I would be dead right now as would my mother. I still feel betrayed, but not by you, Maddie."
"I hated not being able to tell you my secret – even my brother doesn't know," Maddie replied.
"I know that you did not have to reveal your secret to me, either. The fact that you did, showed that you trust me. Thank you for trusting me."
"I don't have many friends," Maddie said. "But you are my best friend out of all of them – you and Kristen."
"Does anybody else know your secret?"
"No."
"Mist – that has to be Erika. Venom and Bane – Chrissy and Sky. Paradox . . . James? He has the hots for you, doesn't he?"
Maddie felt herself blushing.
"I can neither confirm..."
"Okay, I know," Cara grinned. "I have to admit, it's one hell of a secret, but I promise not to reveal anything to anyone – but it will be hard."
"We trust you, Cara," Maddie grinned back. "Friends?"
"You're my best friend and I would never want to give that up – not ever."
"You two gonna fuck, or are you both done?" Chrissy called out from the other side of the glazed door leading to the shower.
Cara giggled as Maddie scowled.
..._...
In the main salon, Cara and Maddie found Rosa and Erika sitting on one side of an L-shaped couch which faced the stern of the vessel via a glazed folding door which was currently closed.
Erika smiled at the two girls and waved them to take a seat on the other leg of the couch. Maddie noticed that Chrissy remained on her feet, pacing around the salon as she peered out of the tinted glazing to port, starboard, and aft, a compact Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine held in her hands.
"Cara," Erika began, "I see that you and Maddie have made up."
"Yes," Cara replied simply.
"You and your mother have been let in on a secret which if divulged to the wrong person could get people killed. Our anonymity is what keeps us all alive, including your mother. We wear masks, primarily to protect ourselves, but also to protect everyone we care about. As you may have figured out, I am Mist, and Maddie is, as you know, Crypto. Chrissy there, is Venom and her sister, Sky, is Bane. They are here to protect us while we talk. This yacht, Pacific Vigilante, belongs to a friend and is secure, so we can talk freely. However, anything we talk about aboard here should never be mentioned without permission from me, understood?"
"Yes, Erika."
"I am sorry that you had to find out about your mother in such a shocking manner," Erika continued. "I am mad that Maddie put herself at risk and was forced to reveal her secret identity to you. However, she acted to protect you despite breaking a hundred rules set in place to protect those of us who partake in vigilante activities. On the positive side, we wanted to figure out the identity of Carnivora, and we have. Cara, we live in an imperfect world full of bad people who take pleasure in hurting others."
"I was one of those people," Rosa said. "But I had a cause which I believed gave me the right to kill as required. I cannot say that I am proud of what I have done, but in most cases, the death of one person served to protect the lives of many others who I cared about. That is not an excuse, Cara, but it is the truth. Many years ago, I found that I had a talent for taking lives, and I made a good living from it, but now I only kill when I absolutely have to kill. Yes, I am the one they seek for the Bluffs Murders, however, those men had it coming for what they intended to do to those two girls. I have talents, and I wanted to put them to good use – I also needed to see if I still had the skills required to take down Dieter Mannheim."
"Why are you taking Uncle Dieter down?" Cara asked.
"Right now, that man is a few hundred yards across the water, cowering in a hotel suite. He is wounded, but alive," Rosa responded. "Most of the killings were at his behest – I was his go to person for when someone had to be removed. I was paid handsomely for my skills. It was a job I enjoyed, but then I moved out of that work and worked directly for Dieter."
"I understand that Dieter has three children," Erika commented.
"Evil bastards!" Rosa growled.
"I've never liked Otto or Wanda, but I do get on with Hahn," Cara stated.
"When Dieter dies, Otto will inherit the Tomahawk Group when he turns twenty-one. He is currently seventeen and Anton Renke will run the group in the interim – a very bad situation," Rosa advised. "Otto has no idea about what his father does beyond the legal aspects, but Dieter had planned to let him into some of the secrets, such as Panther, when he turned eighteen next year."
"So, no valid heir to the estate who can be trusted not to continue their father's legacy," Erika pointed out.
"Not quite," Rosa said before hesitating. "Dieter has a fourth child, a daughter."
"Oh?" Erika said, a little surprised, then she looked at Cara and Rosa nodded. "Oh."
Cara looked at her mother.
"No – my father... He died."
"The reason I had you dye your hair was to ensure that Dieter could never consider that you might be his. If he ever found out, he would either take you . . . or kill you. I could not take the risk."
Cara looked horrified.
Two hours later...
15:30 GMT-7 (22:30 GMT June 27th)
Marina Del Rey
It was the final test and if she had miscalculated, she would be dead very soon – or worse.
Rosa Müller stepped out of the elevator and onto the sixth floor and she turned towards the penthouse. A beast of a man stepped out of the shadows and prevented her from taking another step. Rosa kept in character as she berated the man.
"Get out of my way, you useless thug!" she growled as she shoved the man to one side.
The 'thug' growled back but otherwise he allowed Rosa to pass. He knew better than to cross swords with Rosa Müller – those who had were often never seen again . . . or so the stories went. Rosa strode down the corridor before she paused outside the penthouse where two more apes stood post either side of the door. Both had witnessed their colleague being shoved aside and one of the men jumped forward to open the door for Rosa who simply waved her left hand in a vague thank you.
"Hello, boss."
"Rosa!" Dieter exclaimed, a broad smile on his face. "Thank goodness. I had thought the worst."
"I had things to do, and my own injuries to treat. You are safe here but I would recommend that you leave Los Angeles as soon as possible."
"Napa?"
"That would be a good place for you – the place is highly defensible and a death sentence to anyone who tries to assault the place."
"I agree," Anton Renke chipped in. "Gunther and I were talking about that – he has his men preparing the defences as we speak."
"Okay, I will fly up there tomorrow morning – I'll take Otto with me," Dieter said. "Rosa, will you take Wanda and Hahn? I assume that you are going underground with Cara."
"Yes, I am leaving the country tomorrow morning as well. I will take Wanda and Hahn with me."
"Where are you heading?" Renke asked.
"Europe."
"Look after them, Rosa," Dieter said. "They are my life."
"I will look after them, Dieter; you know that I will," Rosa responded. "Once everything is concluded, we will meet again and enjoy the new world order."
"Indeed," Dieter chuckled. "It won't be long now."
"As long as you are safe, that is what is important," Rosa commented, pandering to Dieter's vast ego before she went to work on Renke's even bigger ego. "Anton and Gunther are the best and they will make sure that you come to no harm."
Renke grinned and nodded to Rosa.
"I will let you know by the usual means that we are safely arrived in Napa," Renke responded.
Rosa grinned as she turned to leave and strode confidently out of the suite, knowing that her greatest secret was safe. With Tornado dead, there was nobody to inform Dieter about who she really was and how she was going all out to take down the corrupt organisation which Dieter and his cronies ran. However, despite things having gone so badly wrong, she had somehow found that she had better friends than she could ever have thought possible.
Now, more than ever, she knew that she was doing the right thing, and that one day, she would prevail.
Later that night...
22:10 GMT-7 (05:10 GMT June 28th)
Central Los Angeles
Miranda Frost sat in a comfortable chair and she stared up at the wall of her hotel room which was liberally covered in post-it notes and photographs.
The past few hours had been spent eating, drinking, and examining her notes from the day. The solution was up there, she knew. As she scanned the scattered items on the wall, her eyes kept coming back to select post-it notes. Those bore names: 'Rosa Müller', 'Cara Müller', 'Carnivora', 'Cara (father?)'. Her mind kept telling her that she had something incredible right there before her, but no matter how she rearranged the facts, the facts eluded her. She grabbed her pad and a pen, then took a pull from a beer bottle before she began to write. She doodled for several minutes before she then found herself with something incredible, only the facts seemed to match. Could it be possible, she asked herself? What could she do with the information? It was there in black and white: Dieter Mannheim was very probably the father of Cara Müller, and Rosa Müller was very probably Carnivora. If so, Rosa Müller was out to harm Dieter Mannheim – why, she did not care.
If she was wrong, she would die. The only thing to do was to capture Rosa Müller and question her – no easy task as Frost knew full well Rosa's skills and not to mention the wrath of Dieter Mannheim should she be wrong. However, if she was right, then she could inherit Rosa's coveted position. She had to keep her discovery secret until she had the truth confirmed.
Frost made several phone calls in preparation for the following day and then she downed the remainder of the beer and headed for the bathroom.