Chapter 45
Their eyes held. The Mastermind and the Scientist.
"Please don't think that you know me, Nathan Ford," Sonia initiated, "I'm well versed in your cat and mouse, Sherlock Holmes routine."
Nate's eyebrows arched. "I would never presume to know who you are or what motives you," he challenged, "but, I would imagine that it must have been hard seeing your father killed by Franco's forces while he was toasted and championed by the US and other countries throughout the world."
Sonia's eyes flashed for a moment. Her face hardened briefly before she forced composure.
She took a quick deep breath, "You are good, Nathan Ford. That information is not public knowledge. It doesn't exist anywhere."
"But the Nuns made sure that I excelled in math, history, and geography," Nate responded, "and you pissed off a computer genius. He has everything there is to have on you; I just filled in the blanks."
Sonia nodded and interlocked her fingers, "Yes, your criminal club." She used the term mockingly.
"You have a real hatred for rule breakers," Nate questioned, "I'm guessing your father was a stickler for rules too, right?"
Sonia didn't answer.
"And then this 'military bully' comes in, breaks every rule, takes over a country and the world applauds him." He stopped to gauge her reaction.
"It must have been very difficult. You must have felt so helpless."
He stopped again.
"I'm sure your father stood his ground…"
"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY FATHER," Sonia yelled, slamming her hands on her desk. "You have no right to talk about him. My father was a far better man than you by leaps and bounds."
The careful façade had cracked. Nate would use it to his advantage.
Sonia took a quick breath and smoothed the front of her blazer as she tried to settle herself, "I think I have been more than gracious at this intrusion but I will have to insist that you leave my office now."
"We can't do that Ms. Moreau," Sterling answered.
"You have no evidence that suggests I've been involved in any criminal activity."
"No but we have something that we, in the law enforcement game call, Probable Cause," Sterling countered.
"Well," Sonia looked pointedly at Sterling, "that would be all well and good if we were in the US. Probable Cause is not a European construct."
"Well," Sterling mocked, "the warrant was initiated in the US and seeing that I am and officer with Interpol and seeing that your 'alleged' crimes are a threat to global security, and seeing that the British have a splendid extradition treaty with the US, I believe it is all…um…how you say… well and good."
Sonia froze for a moment, her indifference holding. Then she sat back in her chair.
"Do you have any idea who controls your fate?" she began, "a gaggle of blood thirsty, incompetent, immoral, sycophants."
"Your point," Nate countered impatiently.
"One good man can make a difference," Sonia huffed before sitting back in her seat.
A light bulb went off in Nate's head.
"That's it," he turned to Sterling, "that's it."
He turned back to Sonia, "Is that what you're doing, you're creating your own 'good man' to change the world?"
Sonia remained quiet but Nate knew he'd finally figured it out.
"That's what this was all about, your father was a good man killed by an unjust one, who changed the course of a country's history. You see the only way to influence real change is to be one of these men… or, to control one of them."
"So you hire my team as a rouse," he continued, "You didn't want us for the job you initially hired us for. You wanted to divide, conquer, and utilize; everyone serving a purpose in your grand scheme. Put a man in the White House."
More of the plan unraveled in his thoughts as he spoke to her, "Oh and you would keep the other nations in line by having Domino at your disposal…" Nate shook his head at the simple, yet arrogant brilliance of her plan. He had to admit he was more than a little impressed. "You must have been planning this for a very, very long time."
"No," Sonia finally answered. Her voice soft but firm, "This was not what I wanted. I am a scientist. I wanted to save lives, build futures. But everywhere I turned people were using my work, my good work, for evil, destructive things and I realized how very powerless I really was."
She took a breath and gazed into the gloss of her desk, "I stood there and watched as they killed my father and I did nothing but soil myself. I never wanted to feel that powerless again… but every time I watched the news of some country being invaded, I thought of the children there who were forced to watch their parents die and I felt that powerless feeling again."
Nate was speechless.
"There are other ways you can make change happen," Sterling chastised.
"What," Sonia challenged, "by volunteering at a soup kitchen, by mentoring a child, by running for city council? What did you have in mind Mr. Sterling? Because those small acts mean nothing if the people who really make the decisions can be bought and sold wholesale by anyone with any agenda."
"So you make yourself Grand Emperor of the World?!" Nate chimed in.
Sonia exhaled an exasperated breath, "You may not agree with my methods Mr. Ford, but my end will justify my means."
"Why my team? What did you do to Parker?" Nate ground the words between his teeth.
"You and your team, came to my attention when you brought Damian Moreau to justice," she paused and looked pointedly at Nate, "He is my ex-husband's son. A deviant in his own right."
"I noticed the very particular skill set of your band of crooks and I realized that you could be useful. Repay your debt to society, so to speak."
Nate shook his head at her arrogance, "and what about Parker? What exactly did you do to her?"
"Ms. Parker, has merely been subject to some superficial behavior modification."
Nate's eye brows perked, "that's bull and you know it."
"I have no reason to lie Mr. Ford," Sonia countered with a slight spark of frustration, "Parker suffered serious psychological damage as a child. All that I've done is repurpose the rage and identity ambivalence that she suppresses. I removed the barriers that she uses to keep herself safe and unaffected. The Parker you are exposed to now is the Parker she would have been if her mind didn't have to put so much energy into being the carefree, childlike person you have come to know."
"Why," Nate asked genuinely curious, "why would you…."
Then the answer hit him like a lightning bolt and he was rendered silent by the implication of the realization.
He looked at Sonia and he swore he saw the shadow of a smile on her lips.
"Parker wasn't your target, she was your leverage," he breathed the words, "You knew he would do anything for her."
A sudden sickness twisted his stomach.
"What are you going to do to him?" Nate asked a sense of immediate dread running over him and making him cold.
Sonia didn't answer.
Nate stepped to her desk and towered over her menacingly, "what have you done to him?"
Sonia looked up at him unflinching, nearly gloating. "He was chosen because he was the least corrupt of you all. He was the purest- if there is such a thing. It is an honor not bestowed lightly."
Nate's face crumpled in derision, "You are crazy."
"Perhaps," Sonia leaned back into her chair, "but I am making a difference for the greater good. Can you say the same?"
Commotion in his periphery caught his attention.
Sterling approached him and angled to whisper in his ear, "We have intel that Hastings Institute is hosting a presidential fundraiser tonight in Los Angeles."
"Dammit…" Nate whispered, "Hardison."