Chapter Eight
Alice slowly stirred in her bed to the sounds of birds chirping just outside of her open bedroom terrace door. She took in the aroma of the salt air, letting it soothe her as she stretched her arm across to the other side of the bed -
She sat up with a start, realizing that Ben was not with her. She sighed while shaking her head, realization flooding her senses in the early morning.
She was not home in her own bed in Los Angeles. Instead, she was alone in a bed in a foreign land, on the other side of the world.
Sighing again, she swung her legs out of the bed and stood. Reaching for one of Ben's t-shirts she had packed, she slid it on as she walked out onto the terrace.
Sophie was sitting at a small table typing away on her hacktop. She looked up as Alice approached and smiled. "Good morning," she said. "You want some coffee?"
"Please." Alice stared out at the ocean as Sophie reached for a decorative pot in front of her. She closed her eyes as she inhaled the air once again.
"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"
Alice opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at Sophie. "If you overlook the fact that Sybil Griffiths is down the hall, then yes. It is beautiful." She sat down at the table and picked up the coffee mug Sophie had placed there.
"Speaking of Sybil, you two were talking for hours last night." Sophie closed down her computer. "I waited up as long as I could but jet lag finally got me. Did she give you anything useful?"
"Oh yes." Alice took a sip of her coffee. "It turns out that it's not her husband, but rather her brother-in-law. Her husband's twin brother."
Sophie's mouth fell open. "You're joking."
"I wish. According to Sybil, he is the worst of the worst. Everything despicable Margot and Rhys has ever done pales in comparison to him. And they wouldn't know what to do because they don't know they even have an uncle. Sybil and her husband shielded them from him while they were growing up."
Alice saw the doubt on Sophie's face as she sipped her coffee. "I know, I know. Should we trust her? A part of me says no, but I saw one thing on her face that I really never saw on Margot or Rhys'."
"What's that?"
Alice rose from her seat and looked out from the terrace. She took another sip of her coffee before responding.
"Fear."
#
Sophie and Alice made their way downstairs to find Tilda waiting for them in the foyer. She wore a pink sundress with an oversized hat tucked underneath her arm. "Ladies. Good morning," she said, waving them towards the back doors. "Refé and Anji prepared a nice little spread for everyone out on the gazebo. Your associate is already outside."
Sophie gave her a smile of thanks as Alice looked upstairs. "Where are Tessa and Sybil?"
"I'm heading up to check on those two now." Tilda laughed as she stepped past them to the stairs. She stopped at the foot and turned around. "Knowing Tessa, she probably kept her grandmother up all night wrangling stories out of her about the firm or her mother and uncle and how those brats were back in the day. Don't you worry. I'll send her along shortly."
Tilda kept a smile on her face as Alice and Sophie made their way to the back doors. It quickly disappeared when she sprinted upstairs and down a side hall to one of two bedroom doors facing each other. She frowned as she noted the door to her left was slightly ajar. "Sybil, are you decent?" she asked, pushing it open and stepping. "Your guests are already downstairs getting -"
The sight before her brought her to silence and a stop. Tessa sat on the edge of the bed, sadly looking up at her.
#
The Hammer gave Alice a quizzical look. "So, our primary mission is complete. What do we do now?"
Alice gave a buttered croissant in her hand a bite and set it down on the plate in front of her. "I really don't think running a con will work anymore. We have to find this Oliver Griffiths and turn him over to the proper authorities."
"But everything hinges on turning Rhys over. Not his uncle." Sophie looked over at Alice. "It will take a lot to convince Special Agent Diaz that he's a bigger fish."
"Then we need to do what we are trained to do. Investigate," countered Alice. "I want you in your laptop and plugged into Interpol, Scotland Yard, MI6, Russian Bratva, Anonymous, anything that has any information on Oliver Griffiths."
Sophie nodded. "Lot of territory to cover. Do you have some sort of starting point?"
"Turkey." Alice noticed Tilda walked outside onto the terrace followed closely by Tessa. Instead of joining them, they appeared to engage in a heated conversation. "Sybil said he lost his eye there while he was holed up in prison.
Tilda and Tessa walked up onto the gazebo. "Hi," said Alice. "Did you sleep well? Where's your grandmother?"
"Gone." Tessa tossed Alice a letter. "She wrote this letter and left sometime in the middle of the night. Took her hidden henchmen as well. Did you scare her off?"
"Of course not. If she's scared of anyone now, it's her brother-in-law."
Tessa gave her a questioning look as Alice opened the letter and scanned its contents. "Brother-in-law?"
Alice smiled. "This seems to be the year where new members of your family come out of the woodwork. The man in Los Angeles isn't your grandfather. He is her brother-in-law. Your late grandfather's twin brother. He … he's a threat."
"If Oliver Griffiths is back, I'd say he is." Tilda poured herself a cup of coffee from a pot at the side bar. "Sybil shot him the day before she gave birth to Margot. He never forgave her for that."
Alice felt a sense of uneasiness. She swallowed it down and held up the letter. "This says that the Griffiths owned a small apartment in Italy, Tilda. Know anything about that?"
"It was originally a vacation spot when Sybil and Trevor were starting out." Tilda reached behind the bar and pulled a flask from a shelf. She unscrewed the top and poured the contents into her coffee. "I know the kids didn't have access to it. They may not even know of it, but it may be possible that he did."
Alice nodded. "I think it's time we start heading in the direction of home anyway. Can you get us there?"
"Of course." Tilda smiled. "Sybil left instructions for me to help you in any way I can. Only thing I ask is for a little … discretion once we hit the States."
Alice's eyes narrowed. "Discretion?"
"Let's just say that I prefer to avoid any … law enforcement entanglements. But I'll help in any way I can, of course."
Alice smiled.
"Of course."
#
Valerie walked out into AVI's lobby and gave Ethan a smile and handshake. "Ethan."
"Hi, Val. Sorry for the late call but I come bearing gifts. A bit of news to share with you and Ben. Is he around?"
"I'll take you to him. I need to see what's going on anyway." She gestured to the elevator and they stepped inside. Val pressed the button for the sub basement levels and the doors closed.
Ethan began speaking. "Is Alice alright?"
"She sent me a text saying they landed in the Maldives yesterday morning at six our time. Non-extradition country. We didn't want to risk any information being leaked so we decided beforehand that she would pass any information only to me. And she's not alone. Tessa, Sophie, and our newest associate from our security group went with her."
Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to face her. "Well, I'm glad she's safe and sound, but it's strange how my plane made it to the Maldives without my pilot."
Val looked over at him. "Wait, what?"
"A New York hospital called and told me that he was knocked unconscious at JFK the other day. I spoke to him a hour ago. He said it was a … a little old lady." He shook his head. "He's fine and out of the hospital getting ready to check into a five-star hotel until he's well enough to travel."
Val placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I'm sorry about your pilot, but I think what had happened was a cutout was used. After all, Sybil knows we all have an axe to grind with her. She was so secretive preparing for Alice to fly to wherever she was anyway." She smiled. "If something really bad had happened, Alice would have told me."
Ethan sighed as the car came to a stop. "Okay. As long as you know Alice is fine, I guess I'll make my pilot happy by treating him to a few days at the Waldorf."
"And flying him back first class?"
They both laughed as they stepped off the elevator. "Hey, where are we going?" queried Ethan.
"A few buildings over. Ben and a few others we have helping us are holed up in a building attached to this block."
"Wow. A bit Ocean's Eleven, huh?"
Valerie nodded. "We didn't want everyone coming in and out of AVI throughout the day. And the FBI controls the parking garage for everyone's protection. By the way. Agent Diaz has no idea that Alice is out of the country, so keep that on the DL."
"Gotcha."
#
Ben paced in front of the dry erase board. "So Rhys is thinking the same thing pretty much everyone else is. That Trevor Griffiths is alive."
Troy nodded. He sat at the table eating a breakfast sandwich. "I didn't think it was possible to spook him. He told me how he reacted when you two thought your FBI informant status was compromised. I don't think that compared to how he was when Reggie showed him the picture."
Ben sighed and looked over at Danny. "Any word from Aldrick Shive?"
"No. I asked Agent Shawn and a few from our security wing to start looking. I'm trying to plug this guy into our facial recognition software?"
"And? Anything?"
Danny looked down at his laptop. "Let's just say it would be faster if Sophie was here. I'm sorry, Ben. I'll get it figured out."
"I know you will, Danny. I have faith." Ben looked behind him at the door opening and Valerie entered followed by -
"Ethan." He stared at the developer and Alice's ex-fiancé for several seconds before he felt Troy and Danny's eyes on him. He hastily crossed over and shook Ethan's hand. "It's great to see you."
"Ben." If Ethan noticed the tension, he did not show it. "Valerie wanted to show me your new headquarters set up here."
Both men belatedly realized their hands were still clasped. They laughed and disengaged as Valerie stepped past to walk over to Danny. Ben offered Ethan one of the seats at the table.
"I never got a chance to thank you for flying me and my family out of the city two months ago," he said, sitting down beside them. "You placed yourself at a lot of risk that day. It won't be forgotten."
"Ben, you saved me from a corrupted employee in my company and a few years in prison. Consider us even." He gestured to Val. "Between me and Valerie, we know Alice and her group are safe and sound. That's the main thing. The next thing is to keep them safe."
"Well, the leader of one of the crime families in L.A. is looking for a man who is believed to be the founder of the Kensington Firm. A man who should be dead." Ben pointed at the picture of the man from the park. "He's throwing a wrench in our con to bring Rhys down."
"The saving grace is that Rhys is completely besides himself because he thinks this man is his father, Trevor Griffiths," said Troy. "But he was said to have died in 2002."
"Guys, I have Alice," said Val. She spun the laptop around to face Ben and Ethan showing an image of Alice on the screen. Ben noticed she was wearing one of his t-shirts on the screen.
"What time is it over there?" queried Ethan.
Ben looked at his watch. "They're twelve hours ahead, and it's nearly 10 PM here, so it's nearly 10 AM over there." He looked at the screen and smiled.
"You okay?"
Alice smiled back. "I'm fine. We're all fine. I don't have a lot of time but I have a lot to tell you guys."
Ethan leaned in close. "Like how my plane made it to the other side of the planet without my pilot?"
"Ethan." Alice grinned sheepishly. "Well, that in itself is another story. Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Ethan glanced over at Ben. "A few days of spa treatments and that should cause some amnesia for what happened at JFK."
Alice nodded. "Well, I spoke to Sybil at great lengths yesterday and showed her the video."
"So it's her husband after all?" queried Val.
Alice shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He is but yet another member of the Griffiths-Bishop bloodline. Oliver William Griffiths. Trevor's twin brother and the uncle Margot and Rhys doesn't know about."
The silence in the small office was overwhelming. "Twin brother? I never had a clue," whispered Ben.
"According to Sybil, the Griffiths boys never got along," stated Alice. "Sybil shot him the day before she gave birth to Margot. That was one of the last times she ever saw him."
Alice held up several sheets of paper showing internet news clippings. "Sophie couldn't find anything in terms of a rap sheet on him with Interpol, but Anonymous sent back a dark web file listing a series of hits taking place all throughout the U.K. and Russia starting in the early 1980's. For almost two decades he went by the moniker, "The Older." Possibly a play on the fact that he's the oldest by seven minutes."
"Wow." Troy listened with rapt attention from the other side of the table, behind the laptop. "The Older. Something I never heard about."
Alice made a show of glancing up as if hearing a noise offscreen. "Who is that?"
"Our human hard drive is processing information," replied Ben. "Anything else useful?"
"Only that Margot and Rhys does not have what it takes to deal with him," said Alice. "Trevor Griffiths saw a dark side in his brother, which was why he never brought him into the firm or meet his children."
"Then we have to assume that the firm is what he's after. His birthright." Ben leaned in closed. "When are you coming home?"
"We're leaving Humhumalé in about a hour but first we're stopping in Italy. The Griffiths own an apartment there. Might worth checking out to see if we can find more information on Oliver."
Ben shook his head. "I don't like it, Al. If he is like you say -"
Alice smirked. "You know with me on the other side of the planet, if I put my mind to something, I'm going to do it, right?"
Ben gave her a rueful smile. "It was worth a shot."
Alice smiled back. "Sophie has a ton of other information to piece together so we're going to do that on the plane ride to Italy."
"Allie." Ethan leaned into the camera. "Who is piloting my plane? Travis said some older woman knocked him out. And by older, I mean the same age as his grandmother."
Alice grimaced. "Yeah, about her. She's Sybil Griffiths' oldest friend and a founding member of the firm. Don't worry. She won't hurt a fly."
"Al, she knocked out my pilot and had him hog-tied in a maintenance locker."
Before she could reply, her attention was diverted offscreen. She looked over to the side for several seconds and nodded. "I have to go. Our car will be here in twenty minutes to take us to the airport."
Ben nodded. "You be careful."
Alice nodded and held her hand against the screen. Ben did the same and held it there for several seconds until the screen went to black.
#
With suitcase in hand, Alice descended the stairs to find Sophie awaiting her at the bottom with a grim expression on her face. "Sophie? What's wrong?"
Sophie held out a folded piece of paper. "Anonymous sent me another file. Several recent, low level hits took place throughout Germany. Several media outlets identified "The Older" as the culprit."
Alice set her suitcase down and took the paper. "Anything we missed?"
Sophie pursed her lips. "You could say that."
Alice carefully scanned the paper, her eyes widening with the passing of every second. Finally she sighed and balled the paper up in her hands.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Sophie nodded. "Three children. Two daughters and son. Mother was an American. Her status is unknown."
"The children?"
"Anastasia, the oldest, is in her late thirties and is vigilantly following in her family's footsteps as an all around classic Griffiths hellion. The middle child, Katherine, is wanted for a list of crimes in several countries across the U.K. and Africa."
"And the son?"
Sophie smiled. "He may be the black sheep of the family. Christian is a Rhodes scholar. Currently studying in Venice. No record that I can find."
Alice brightened. "And the apartment is where in Italy?"
"Venice."
Alice smiled.
"This just keeps getting better and better."
#
Aldrick Shive finished his martini and slid the glass away from him. "Kayla, let me get a shot of Patroń Silver. Chilled, and I'll settle up with you."
The brunette nodded and began preparing the concoction as Shive fished a hundred dollar bill from a stack of cash secured in a platinum money clip. He laid the money on the bar beside his phone just as it vibrated for attention. He looked at the name on the screen and picked it up to answer.
"What do you have, Tony?"
"We haven't been able to track this guy down at all, but I think I got something. One of the guys called and said he might have been spotted at that new club downtown. Trendy spot. I think the name is Jade."
Shive frowned. He glanced out of the window to his right at the crowded scene across the street. A line of people waited behind a velvet rope barrier outside a brightly lit three-story building.
"Jade? I'm practically looking at the place right now. How long ago was this?"
"Twenty minutes, a half hour."
The bartender slid a shot glass in front of him and picked up the money. Shive ignored it all as he continued to stare outside. "Get a couple of guys and meet me there in ten minutes. We need to find this guy."
Shive disconnected the call up at the bartender as she set a fresh martini in front of him. He reached for the shot and downed the contents. "Kayla, I didn't order this," he said, indicating the martini.
The bartender pointed behind Shive into the restaurant area. "British guy ordered it for you. Tall, handsome, patch over his left eye."
Shive fought to contain his surprise. He slowly looked over his left shoulder and saw his quarry sitting in a booth in the far corner facing him. He smiled and held up a glass of beer in a toast.
Shive returned the smile and held up his martini in a return gesture. He hesitated for a second before rising to his feet and walking over to the table. "Thank you for the drink. I was actually getting ready to leave. I'm meeting several of my friends at another spot."
The man chuckled as he slid around the booth until he was at the end. "Oh, please, Mr. Shive. Let's drop the act. You have been scouring the city for hours looking for me. I found it hard to take a minute for myself in the loo." He took a sip of his beer and set the glass down before gesturing for Shive to take a seat. "Anyway. Here I am, good lad. Sit. Sit."
Shive glanced around the restaurant area and noted it was empty, save a blonde waitress in the corner rolling silverware at a table next to a passageway leading to a back entrance. He slid into the booth at the other end the man indicated. "You can make this very easy on yourself by coming with me. No one will do you any harm. You have my word."
The man smiled as he reached inside his jacket. Shive tensed until he pulled out a telephone and thumbed it on. "I'm sure that's the case now, Aldrick. You left your weapon in your car. Meanwhile, your man Gunner … he tried to convince me otherwise."
He slid the phone over to Shive. Shive picked it, stunned at the sight of one of his men sitting in his car. A stream of blood oozed from his temple.
The man held his empty glass in the air. The waitress at the table saw the move and rose to walk out to the bar. "And then there was Davis. That bloke, he was huge! Took some work to bring him down. Cole, Jones - my word, it was a productive day today!"
Shive tossed the phone on the table. "I guess the easy way is out then."
The man waited until the waitress arrived with a fresh pint of beer for him and departed with his empty glass. "Dear boy, it was out the second I set foot in this God forsaken country. But it's not your fault. I wanted to meet with you personally so that we can possibly make some sort of deal."
Shive leaned forward slightly. "Deal?"
"Yes. A deal. You see, I am in need of a few trained individuals to help me with a bit of work here in the city."
In spite of himself, Shive could feel his interest piqued. "What kind of work?"
The man slid over into the booth until he was back in the middle where he originally sat and leaned in close. "The kind of work that will get you everything you could ever want. Revenge against the Griffiths for the brutal, senseless murder of your brother."
"If I bring you in, I'm a step closer to that," said Shive. "Why do I want to start over?"
"Because deep down inside, you want to see the Kensington Firm destroyed forever," the man said. His tone took a soft, but menacing turn. "I want the very same thing."
Shive stared into the man's good eye for a handful of heartbeats before he smiled and finally took a drink of his martini. "Maybe you haven't heard of me. I'm not like my younger brother. I'm not like my father. They're both where they are now because they didn't look over their shoulder or around the corner."
He pushed the martini glass away and slid to his feet. "I said I would bring you in with your head attached," he muttered as he jabbed a finger at the man. "Touch another one of my associates again and I'll make sure I will be the last thing you see before I pluck your good eye out with a screwdriver."
He turned for the rear exit, nearly bumping into the blonde waitress as she stepped out of a sideroom. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said as he pulled out two hundred dollar bills and held them between two fingers. "Could you make sure the gentlemen's tab is taken care of? I need to make a phone call."
Instead of accepting the money, the woman jabbed something sharp in the side of Shive's neck. The motion was so quick that he only felt a small prick against his skin. His hand went up to his neck. "What the hell?"
The woman simply smiled as she held up a syringe in his rapidly spinning vision. "I think you should be dropping to the floor right about …"
The money slowly fluttered to the floor as Shive suddenly fell to his knees, crawling weakly for purchase against the wall. He managed to grab the waitress' apron, but she easily slapped it away. He raised his chin to stare up at the woman with a blank look in his eyes before crumpling to the floor in a heap, unconscious.
The waitress lowered herself to a crouch and checked Shive's pupils and his pulse for several seconds before picking up the money lying a foot away. She looked at the bills in mock disgust, aware of footsteps coming to a halt behind her.
"Two hundred dollars," she said, glancing up over her shoulder. "Like this would even begin to pay for your tab. You had him thinking you put in some kind of work today, didn't you? I'm tired of you doing that. You made him think you did all that work when instead you've been drinking since this morning!"
Oliver Griffiths burped as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "I said it was a productive day, Anastasia dear. I just didn't say who was productive."
He pushed himself off the wall with a grunt and reached down to help his daughter up. "Right. Let's get this poor bloke in the car and get me to the pad so I get some sleep. We got a big day tomorrow."
Anastasia Griffiths gave her father a wicked smile.
"Right you are, Father. I just love family reunions."
#
