Villa Scorpio
Foggy-minded, Anna made her way to the kitchen for breakfast. Alys, the day's cook, pointed her towards the percolating coffee pot. She could hear various noises from the dining room as some of the staff set up tables, chairs and buffet tables.
"Morning, Anna," said Alys. "Still jetlagged?"
"Yeah. I'm taking a sleep aid to get my clock back to normal but my stomach is slow to catch up." Anna poured her coffee. "Do I smell a typical heart attack inducing English breakfast?"
Alys laughed softly. "You have to indulge some time." She had arrayed before her on the counter food trays of eggs, sausages, grilled tomatoes, haddock and bacon. "You do have a full day planned for nearly all of us. We all work better on a full stomach. Lunch will be very light and healthy with soup, salads and sandwiches."
"I wonder what our neighbors would say if they could see all the activity?"
"I've heard that they believe the owners are a bunch of law-abiding eccentrics."
"Do they?"
"People seem to have accepted the rather large estate staff. We're treated a bit like the local constables."
"How so?"
"They know that the former poice commissioner and chief live here so they go to the gatehouse for minor concerns," said Alys as she piled on stacks of toast. "Roadside emergencies, cats stuck in trees, lost childen, suspicious strangers loitering about. It's like having a neighborhood early detection system. They would call the department but we're closer to hand."
"Retirement. That's all I wanted," muttered Anna. "I'd better do something about that. I don't want-"
"Oh, no, please. We're happy to help. It makes us feel part of the community."
"You don't think it's too much? We don't want to step on the department's toes now that Mac's no longer in charge."
"We have Captain Wells on speed dial and the senior officers were deputized while you were gone. I think if you ask around you'll see that I'm speaking for everyone," said Alys. "Domestic mishaps are a positive counterbalance to the, um, unusual nature of some of our work, shall we say."
"I'll let it pass for now but do tell me when it gets to be too much."
"Understood," said Alys. "Do you still have relations in the old country, Anna?"
"None that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?"
"Your surname. My late older brother John went to school with a Knickers Devane and-"
Anna giggled, "Knickers?"
"From John's letters, it seems Philip Knickers Devane earned the nickname because of his habit of gifting young ladies with intimate apparel."
"Wouldn't that have been scandalous in those days?"
"Absolutely but I suppose that why he did it. I remember laughing myself silly reading John's letters from Oxford because of the scrapes those two would get themselves into," said Alys. "The last name stuck in my mind."
"I don't know if I have any relations there now. My aunt and my sister Lindsay would have known but I was too young to pay attention and they're both gone now," said Anna.
"You could try a geneological search," suggested Alys.
"I'm almost afraid to see what comes out of it," said Anna. "I do have a nephew Aidan. He's in Central America right now."
Sounds of a commotion and then much laughter came from the dining room.
Instantly wary, Anna asked, "What's going on out there?"
"I suggest you finish your coffee before you step into the loggia. One of Andrew's collections arrived last night and-"
"I should have taken Robert more seriously when he described Andrew's manias. I take it the loggia is packed floor to ceiling." Anna speared a sausage and took a bite.
"No but he did store his visitor there. It's a bit messy."
"Visitor? What now?"
"Nothing earth-shattering. Chat with me until you finish the coffee," chided Alys as she filled a bowl with beans. "Have another sausage."
"Yes, Alys." Anna drank dutifully and took another sausage. "You sound exactly like my nanny."
"With all your frantic going about you need to keep your stamina up before the pace kills you," said Alys. "In my day, things were slower and I think that contributed to many of us lasting much longer on the job than you young ones today."
Anna buttered some toast. "You're probably right." Dani and Nestor came in, greeted Anna before departing with trays of food to arrange for the buffet. "What do you think? Was the … the pressure the same?"
"Yes and no. That sense of critical importance is the same but it's the pace that strikes me as rather offputting. It can be relentless whereas I remember my old missions being more like a stroll in the park. The moments of calm and chaos were set further apart. Now, we run what three or four missions at any one time locally or all over the world. That can be overwhelming."
Anna smiled. "Are you admitting you're too old? You? Alys Norton indefatigable champion courier? Your missions were the stuff I used to read about."
A loud bang and more laughter came from beyond the kitchen.
"One is only as old as one feels or is treated. I've taught your crew a thing or two," said Alys. "But I do know my limits, Anna. I'm not as young or fast as I used to be and there's no shame in admitting that. I want to contribute however I do not want to be assigned to a mission where the point of failure could be affected by my personal limitations. That would not be fair to the team and I certainly don't want to make yours and Robert's job harder. Agreed?"
Anna nodded. "Agreed. I'll have Andrew give you full access to CnC, the Lair and SIMON."
"I thought that was restricted to senior officers only?" asked Alys.
"It is but I think it's judicious to have one non-officer with full access. It may come in handy some day. You're going to be doing quite a bit of analysis going forward. You'll need the access. Let me go see what came in the night." Anna finished her coffee and left heading for the loggia.
Gem HQ, Milton Keynes, UK
"I'll be frank, Sean. We need help from Robert Scorpio in order to take Project Minerva to the next step. And you're the only person who can see it done," said Chase.
"Supply problems aside, it looks to me like the project has a good foundation," said Sean. "It's operational. How much further can it go?"
"All the way to independence," said Chase.
"What do you mean independence?"
Chase and Arnold looked at each other very much like schoolboys about to share a secret with someone new. Chase said, "You predicted the emergence of enormous multinational companies, large private security armies and the increased influence of commercial interests on governments worldwide. That's why you created us to take advantage of the changes to come. We've become what you envisioned - a true covert arm of the WSB specializing in corporate influence, warfare and counterintelligence. But we can be so much more."
Sean's face was a mask of neutrality. "Go on."
"We believe that we have the potential to be autonomous of the WSB entirely," said Arnold. "All our analysis and projections lead us to that conclusion again and again."
"We've reached this far why not reach for more?" asked Chase.
"My question is why would you want to sever ties?" asked Sean. "The Bureau gives you a very convenient shield."
"It does for now. But we can and do believe that there will come a time when that shield will become a noose around our necks," said Chase. "It's about evolution and natural selection, Sean. The WSB and the DVX are dinosaurs looking blindly into the face of extinction."
"From what little I hear, they're working together and getting the job done. Why not change WITH them?" asked Sean.
"The idea of sleeping with the enemy leaves a bad taste," said Chase. "We want to run not toddle behind like obedient lambs. We're ready to be more than what you thought we could be."
"Is this justifiable pride or blind ambition talking?"
Chase rose to his feet incensed. "With everything we've shown and told you, why can't you see the obvious?"
Arnold cleared his throat. "Chase, we're throwing a lot at Sean. Let's step back. Give him time to think."
Sean's lips lifted in a wry smile. "It's all right, Arnold. I wanted to see how strongly you both felt about things. I have my answer."
"And?" asked Chase.
"Will you help?" asked Arnold.
Sean leaned back in his chair. "I won't help."
Arnold sagged in his seat. Chase walked away hands behind his back.
Sean waited until Chase had reached the other end of the long table then said, "I'll lead."
The younger men looked at Sean with surprise.
"You will?" asked Chase with renewed hope.
"You were testing us," said Arnold as if seeing Sean in a different light.
"Think of it as a pop quiz," said Sean. "I do have some conditions. First, you tell me everything. That means every project in the planning stages and every operation active in the field. Second, my involvement is kept under wraps even to the rest of you. I'm not telling anyone outside of this room in fact."
"But-" began Chase.
"I want to devote my energies to strategy and execution not management," said Sean. "Besides, my taking over could be taken as a … a demotion or a lack of confidence in the two of you. That wouldn't be the case but I'd rather avoid any misunderstandings. Ultimately, this is YOUR organization. It should stay that way. Once my tasks are done, I'll step down. It'll be as if I was never here."
"And you'll level with us in turn?" asked Arnold.
"Quid pro quo," Sean replied. "I do want to see the Gems succeed. However, I would like to avoid unpleasant consequences where possible."
"So do we," said Chase. "When do you want to start?"
"Right now. Give me your top three objectives first. Before I leave I want to know the full scope of the Minerva Project."
"What you saw is what we have," said Chase.
"Why do I get the feeling that I've only seen a fraction of the work you've done with it?" asked Sean. "You afraid of something? From me?"
The glance that Arnold and Chase exchanged told Sean that he had hit pay dirt. There was something they were hiding.
"We had a preliminary sub-project but we've stopped it," said Chase. "It hasn't had the results we'd hoped for."
"What was it?" asked Sean. He let the ensuing silence hang in the air. He could tell if not see both of the men squirming before him. He waited them out.
"We were looking for a way to make Project Minerva more … organic. The first drug Compound A was so potent that in theory a subject's genetics could have been affected over time."
"What? How?"
"It turns out that Sinclair's suspicions were correct. The compound affects chemicals in the brain. That's how it works. By altering levels of certain chemicals and introducing the new custom components of Compound A. The effects become permanent once the brain adapts to the changes."
"Over time so does the body," said Sean. He added in a gravelly voice. "You experimented on pregnant women and … children?"
Chase responded as quietly. "Yes, we did."
"We're not proud of it," said Arnold. "We stopped it quickly and we have no plans on continuing. We're not without a conscience."
"Why?" asked Sean.
"The effects of our process on the individual can … is destructive. The person is never fully the same after the assignment is over. There are gaps in their memory, slight personality changes and sometimes irreversible mental imbalances," said Arnold. "We wanted to be able to minimize the waste of an individual."
"We thought that we could produce children who came by high levels of adaptability naturally. When they got older, they could be trained and sent into the field with no damage to their real psyche," said Chase. "They wouldn't have been mistreated. Quite the opposite."
"Human chameleons," said Sean. "That's original thinking."
"We were not striving for the old goals, Sean, like a killing machine or a universal solder," said Chase. "We wanted to make the perfect spy just like you did when you started the project."
"And like you we failed," added Arnold.
Sean looked hard at both men. "This sub-project is off the books? Discontinued?"
"Absolutely. Forever," said Arnold. "It was the wrong approach."
"We think the answer lies with perfecting Compound A. That's why we asked Sinclair for a new batch," said Chase.
"And the reason there are dead bodies in the ward we visited?" asked Sean coldly. "Children or adults, it's all the same to you?"
"No! We have no stomach for that kind of experimentation again," cried out Arnold. "Like I told Chase the results we're getting now is atypical. There's something wrong with the batch we received. That's the only answer."
"Has the supplier, this Doctor Sinclair, been told about this?" asked Sean.
"He's always been reliable. This is the first snafu. We wanted-" began Chase.
"You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt at the expense of OUR people, our business?"
Chase stiffened. "That was the wrong decision."
"You bet it was."
"I don't think he knows there's something wrong," said Arnold.
"Then someone better tell him. In the meantime, the project is stopped."
"It can't be stopped. We have contracts to fulfill," said Chase.
"Can they be delayed?"
"We would look bad."
"Better bad than dead," said Sean. "I would never put contracts ahead of my people. Who's running the business - your clients or you? Don't let the size of the contracts and the money coming in make you change who you are."
"Message understood," said Chase. He took out a small notepad from his pocket and began writing. "I'll put the Hornsby project on hold. Ditto for Anderson Chemicals and Seikezu International."
"Hornsby?" asked Sean. "Paul Hornsby?"
"Yes. You know him?"
"I recommended him for a job as CEO of ELQ some years ago. He's a good man. One of us?"
"No. He's an outsider who has funneled some work our way. He's built quite a network of companies that he consults with on retainer," said Chase. "Companies in industries that we haven't worked in before."
"He's linked to the Quartermaine family on a personal level and so am I," said Sean.
"Let me assure you that we have no contracts involving or affecting one of their companies or subsidiaries," said Chase.
"Let's keep it that way," said Sean. "Let's move away from Minerva and on to your top three. Give me an idea of what I should be thinking about."
Chase counted on one hand as he recited, "Access to Guardian, creating Compound A on our own and getting out of the shadow of the WSB. That's our top three. What do you want to tackle first?"
Villa Scorpio
Walking into the loggia, the sight that greeted Anna made her laugh instantly. On the floor surrounded by yipping puppies was Andrew sitting Indian-style. He was stroking the fur of a creature bigger than Prospero but smaller than a pony. On a chair watching it all was Patrick with a wide awake Emma also watching. Her little hands waved in the air reaching for the puppies. The adult dogs Prospero and Hestia lay on the cold floor relaxed but alert.
"Is this a new addition to your menagerie?" asked Anna.
Andrew looked up. "Morning, Mum. Mum meet Figaro. He's tired out but you can play with him after he's rested."
"I don't think so but thank you," said Anna.
"From personal experience, Figaro is gentle and won't bite. Not even if you pull his tail," said Andrew.
"Your father told me about him." Anna took in Figaro's warm eyes and long ears. "He's cuter than I thought he'd be."
"He's the perfect pet. Did Father tell you how I learned to walk by holding on to his fur?"
"No, he didn't. You did? He was in the house with you?"
"Well, no. I'd see him in the window and I'd try to get on my feet but I'd keep falling. The house in Sicily had rough stone floors. Maeve thought I'd crack my head. She didn't want to chase after me herself. So she'd put me on a blanket outside in the yard surrounded by pillows. Fergus would chase Figaro my way. He was always good. He'd stop by me and I'd grab a handful of fur to pull myself up," said Andrew nuzzling one puppy. "Eventually I got my feet moving the right way. No chasing required."
Anna crouched down and ran a hand along the miniature donkey's fur. It was soft and deep. "I would have liked to have seen that."
"You may with Emma," said Patrick. "She can't keep her eyes off him. Horses, donkeys and puppies. What's a dad to do to compete?"
"Just be a dad," said Anna. "The hardest and easiest thing to be."
Several team members streamed by on their way to breakfast. They greeted the family as they went through.
"Going to work, Patrick? This early?" asked Anna.
"I'm still on surgery ban but I have some consults to do. After that, a few hours helping out in the ER," said Patrick. "Then home by three for my little lady unless I have a counseling session with Tom."
Anna looked at Patrick. "How are you doing? Emotionally?"
"It's day by day. I try to focus on what I have and not what I lost. What else can I do?"
"Why not take a sabbatical?"
"And do what? I'd be a depressed wreck if I didn't do something on a daily basis. No use to Emma," said Patrick. "I'm discussing some changes with Monica about my surgery rotation so I can have more set hours. I'd bring her here in the mornings. Her regular sitter will be here before nine. I'm going to schedule my surgeries for after nine and be home by five."
"If you need anything, you only have to ask," said Anna. "You don't have to do everything. It's not possible to."
"I'm finding that out. Knowing Emma is surrounded by people who love her and will keep her safe is a load off my mind," said Patrick.
"That's never going to change."
"What about when Robin is here? She's due anytime."
"You and Emma are as much a part of this family as she is or Andrew is. Robert and I see no difference, Patrick," said Anna. "Robin knows about you, Eve and Emma. Adjustments will be made. Don't move out of the cottage because of her, please."
"I don't want to make things more difficult. Anyway, I have a house to move to," said Patrick. "Nearly all our things are there. Robin can have the cottage."
"You're not changing your mind are you?"
"I don't think so. This is for the best," said Patrick. "Emma can stay in the nursery when she stays overnight and in the EMZ during the day. She loves that place."
"Belle and I did get carried away with it," said Andrew. "But nothing is too good for little Emma."
"If you spoil her this much now what is it going to be like in a year or two?" asked Anna.
"There are more than enough aunties to keep Emma grounded and one ferocious grandmother to keep everyone else in line," said Andrew. "Uncles, grandfathers and one father spoiling her rotten won't make a difference."
"I do not spoil her," protested Patrick.
"Oh, yes you do," said Anna. "But you can't help it."
Patrick gave Emma's head a kiss. "Yeah, she's got me all wrapped around her little finger for life. I kinda like it that way. Before I forget, I wanted to let you know about Emma's christening."
Anna smiled. "Oh, when and where?"
"It's going to be in a few weeks after Valentines Day. I'm seeing Father Coates tomorrow to settle on a date. The christening was one of the last things Eve and I talked about," said Patrick. He looked at Andrew. "Interested in being one of Emma's godfathers?"
Andrew was genuinely touched. "I would be honored. Thank you."
"I'm just looking out for Emma's welfare. I don't want her to miss out on all the presents you're going to be getting her in future," said Patrick. "Matt and Nikolas are going to be the other godfathers."
"Three?" asked Anna.
"Eve and I couldn't pare it down to just two. Her godmothers will be Epiphany, Kelly and Lainey. I haven't asked them yet so keep it to yourself until I do. Oh, Anna, Matt needs to speak to you when you're available."
"About?"
"He mumbled something about lab work and SIMON," said Patrick.
"Would that be in reference to a job he had SIMON run a few days ago?" asked Andrew.
"I have no idea. You going to give him a bill?"
Andrew shrugged. "No. It used a negligible amount of computing time."
Anna's IPhone began to ring. Edgar's image came on the phone display. "Anna, Detectives Spencer and Martinez are at the gate. They'd like to ask you some questions. They insist on questioning you here instead of at the station."
"I'm going in for breakfast," said Patrick. "Come on, Emma."
"About what? Never mind. The topics are too numerous to guess at. Let them through, Edgar," said Anna before disconnecting the call. "It's too late to clear out the dining room. Andrew, please bring them to the study." She walked aways muttering, "I have so much to do today. I don't need this. Pesky Spencers everywhere. Why can't I get rid of them?"
As she made her way through the dining room, she shouted, "Civilians on the way!"
This caused a mild flurry as holsters were removed and hidden away. They all tried to look anything but the covert agents they were. Tried being the operative word.