Disclaimer: Much of the information on drugs was gleaned from Anthony Horowitz's book, Eagle Strike. It's not mine, I don't own it, so please don't sue, okay?

Here we go, chapter 7!! Ishandahalf, you think chapter 6 is bad? You ain't seen nothing yet…

Chapter VII


Pietro was speechless. This man couldn't be his father, he couldn't.
The man smiled. "It's true Pietro. I am your father."
Pietro shook his head. "It's not true," he whispered.
"Oh no?" The man's smile widened. "Do you remember your father Pietro?"
Pietro shook his head. He had been raised in an orphanage and had never known his parents.
"Your mother was Magda Maximoff, a Polish girl who I knew when I was growing up. I got drunk enough one night to spend the night with her just before I left for America. When I returned I was then less than thrilled to find out that I had two illegitimate children. I killed her to stop her ruining my good name and I put you in an orphanage under her name."
Pietro shook his head disgustedly. "You killed my mother, just because she made you look bad. Why didn't you kill me as well?"
"Why indeed? I toyed with the idea. But then I thought, you knew nothing of your mother. It would have been inhumane to kill you."
Pietro almost laughed out loud. Here was a man who was willing to kill a woman for bearing his illegitimate daughter, yet then spare his illegitimate son on the grounds that it would have been inhumane to kill him. "You definitely got a few screws loose, dad." Pietro said weakly.
The man laughed. "But where are my manners," he said suddenly. "My name is Erik Lensherr."
"CEO of Lensherr Industries?"
"Ah, I see you've heard of me. I am indeed founder and CEO of Lensherr Industries."
Lensherr industries was a multi-national company that developed hundreds of different things from washing machines to military equipment. Thanks to his company, Erik Lensherr was one of the top ten wealthiest men in the world.
"So what do you want with me all of a sudden? Kind of a strange family reunion isn't it?"
"I wanted to extend a proposition to you," Erik leaned towards Pietro. "I have acquired Mr. LeBeau's Gambit program for a very special purpose. Lensherr Industries newest product is the BlackViper computer, which the UN has purchased in an incredibly large amount for its new security system. It is protected by a completely unbreakable code, not even the best hacker in the world could break it. Nothing can beat it, except for the Gambit program."
"So you stole the program, kidnapping four people in the process, just to protect your program from hacking?"
Erik shook his head, almost benignly. "I will not only protect my program, but by tonight I intend to have helped protect the whole world."
"Oh, and how do you intend to do that?" Pietro loaded his voice with as much sarcasm as he could.
"I see you don't believe me. Well, let me explain." Erik got up and moved to his desk, which he sat behind. "I have sent messages to the ten most powerful crime lords in the world. They will arrive soon to bid on the Gambit program. Whoever owns it will make every other computer defence obsolete."
"I see, you'll save the world by giving a crime lord the most advanced computer hacking program, makes sense to me."
Erik shook his head, slight impatience breaking through his cool exterior. "Not quite Pietro. While the crime lords are bidding I am going to kill them."
Pietro was taken aback by the calmness and ease by which he informed him of his intent to murder ten people in cold blood.
"I then intend to use the Gambit program for one last great act, before I destroy it forever. Did you know that drugs are the greatest evil on this planet today? Drugs are causing more unhappiness and destruction than anything anywhere in the world. Drugs kill more people than war or terrorism. Did you know that drugs are the single biggest cause of crime in western society? There are kids out in the street taking heroin and cocaine, and they're stealing to support their habits. But they're not criminals: they're victims. It's the drugs that are to blame."
"You don't say?" Pietro feigned disinterest, but he was actually hanging on his father's every word.
"I'm not lying All my life I've been fighting drugs. I've done advertisements for the English government. I've spent millions building treatment centres." Pietro had heard of Erik Lensherr's lavishness in his fight against drugs.
"But now I've worked out how to end it. And that's where the Gambit program comes in. A world without drugs. Isn't that something to dream about Pietro? Isn't that worth a few sacrifices? Think about it! The end of the drug problem! And I can make it happen!" Lensherr's voice had risen to a fever pitch and Pietro could see an almost maniacal glint in his eye.
"How?" Pietro was almost afraid of the answer.
"It's easy. Governments won't do anything. The police won't do anything. No one can stop the dealers. So you have to go back to the supplies. You have to think where these drugs come from.
"Every year, hundreds and hundreds of tons of heroin come from Afghanistan - especially the provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand. Then there's Burma, with about one hundred thousand hectares of land used to produce opium and heroin. And don't forget Pakistan, manufacturing one hundred and fifty metric tons of opium a year, with refineries all throughout the Khyber region.
"There's Columbia, who's the leading supplier and distributor of cocaine, but it also supplies heroin and marijuana. It's business worth three billion dollars a year, Pietro. Eighty tons of cocaine every twelve months. Seven tons of heroin. A lot of it ends up on the streets of American cities. I've seen it. In high schools. A tidal wave of misery and crime.
"But that's only a small part of the picture. There are refineries in Albania. Mule trains in Thailand. Coca crops in Peru. Opium plantations in Egypt. Ephedrine, the chemical used in heroin production, is manufactured in China. One of the biggest drugs markets in the world can be found in Tashkent, in Uzbekistan.
"These are the principal sources of the world's drug problem. This is where all the trouble starts. These are my targets."
"Targets…" Pietro could barely bring himself to say the word.
"I am going to use the Gambit program to hack the United States National Security Agency's security systems. It will give me access to two and a half thousand nuclear missiles. These are American missiles on hair-trigger alert - meaning they can be launched at a moment's notice. When I override the NSA's system, it is my intention to fire thirty of these missiles at targets I have carefully chose around the globe."
Pietro didn't believe what he was hearing. How could this maniac be serious about firing nuclear missiles at innocent people?
"It is almost impossible to envision the devastation thirty one-hundred ton nuclear missiles exploding at the same time will cause. South and Central America, Asia, Africa… almost every continent will suffer. And there will be pain, Pietro, I am well aware of that.
"But I will have wiped out the poppy fields. The farms and the factories. The refineries, the trade routes, the markets. There will be no more drug suppliers because there will be no more drug supplies."
"M, millions will die," Pietro said, horrified.
"But millions more will be saved." Erik sounded like he was giving Pietro something especially great for Christmas. "By tomorrow morning, the world will be saved. It will be the start of a new age. Of an age where all humanity will come together and rejoice. It will be a beautiful age Pietro it will be my age. And that is exactly why I've brought you here. I want you to join me and herald in the new age, father and son."

Thank you for your reviews Ishandahalf, you're too kind. Hope you enjoy this chapter.