The Independent Worlds (The Sixteen Galaxies Book 2) Read online

  Kestil pointed at Krede. “You have control; complete control, over every crime syndicate on this planet.” He stood back up. “If anyone wants to know who owns the world’s drug trade, it’s this creature. Most terrorist organizations can only dream of ruining as many lives as this one man has. However, lately he has moved into the power business. Just a few months ago, for an unknown price, he destroyed an African city whose mayor had started an intense anti-drug campaign. Profits were being lost, so Damian moved in. He sent in a very cheap supply of Red Diamond, then refused to send any more. It massacred the population.”

  Kestil turned to the last person; a tall, distinguished negro man in his early forties. He smiled at Kestil, completely relaxed. “Last, but by no means least, is this man.” Kestil held out both hands. “None of you know him, do you? Which is strange, when you consider he has kept you all out of jail and in business for most of your illustrious careers. William H Nolan; the lawyer. Well, I say lawyer, but you haven’t been in a courtroom for over 15 years, have you?”

  Nolan shrugged. “About that, I guess.”

  Kestil turned to the room at large. “None of you know his name, or have ever laid eyes on him. Very few people ever have. But, you all know his nickname; The Locksmith.” Most faces registered shock. Kestil grinned with delight. “Yes, you all know that name.” He turned back to Nolan. “And a perfect one for you, my friend. The man every lawyer turns to when a courtroom looms large in their client’s immediate future. Just like Randall over there; full control with zero visibility. A hefty fee paid to you, and no crime is too severe, no amount of tax evasion too large. Your customer’s clients never set foot in a courtroom.”

  Kestil strode back to the center of the room. “Right. Now that we’re done with the introductions, let’s get down to the crux of the matter. As you are all doubtless aware, it is my intention to redirect this planet’s destiny. I wish to incorporate humanity into the Independent Worlds intergalactic society.” He gave a casual shrug. “The fact is; you people have the potential to get in my way. Oh, I’m sure many more people hold great sway over the puppets supposedly ‘In Power’ as well, but the reality is that you are the nine most powerful people in the world.” He looked at each of them carefully. “I see that none of you realized that. That’s not a surprise at all. If the population of this planet came to realize just how haphazard the control of their world really was, I have no doubt there would be anarchy across the globe.”

  Camila Molina looked pointedly at her watch. “As fascinated as I am by all this, I am a busy woman. Please get to the point.”

  Kestil gave the Colombian beauty a small bow. “Of course. How rude of me.” He held out a hand towards her. “Please, Ms. Molina, check your bank balance. Your main holding account, that is. The password is 827icD*A3E#92.” The woman paled and pulled out her cell-phone. She logged in and sat motionless for a full minute.

  “So,” Kestil said, as he swept a hand around the room, “share your discovery with us all.”

  She looked at Kestil and stammered, “It’s…it’s…empty.”

  Kestil feigned surprise. “Good grief, is it?” He turned to Mathias Gersbach. “Mathias, please check your bank’s cash holdings with ZK Handelsgruppe, if you would be so kind.”

  Gersbach called a number, and spoke quietly in German. Within minutes, the panic on the other end was palpable. His hand shook as he hung up.

  Kestil smiled at him. “Let me guess. All 328 million Euros from your bank’s overseas currency account with ZK Handelsgruppe transferred out to who knows where, and with no footprint?” The banker nodded, but stayed silent.

  Kestil ran his eyes over all of them. “You people must understand; I can do anything I want with your lives. I control everything. You cannot stop me, and you cannot fight me. Your world turns because I let it, and I could destroy it and you in a heartbeat whenever I choose. However, I have no wish to do that.” He let that sink in before he continued; “Unless you force my hand.”

  Camila Molina laughed. “You’ve destroyed me already.”

  Kestil stared at her, as if to make a decision. He smiled and waved a hand. “Alright, I’ve had my fun. Please, both of you look at your accounts again.” He waited while they did so. “Back to where they should be?” Both nodded at him.

  Kestil held out both hands to them. “Is this lesson lost on anyone, anyone at all?”

  Nobody moved an inch, or spoke a word. Kestil smiled. “Do you know the meaning of the word ‘fiat’? I’m sure you have all thrilled at the sensation of holding another’s life in your hands. Now, you can contemplate what it is to be subject to my arbitrary whim. I have no doubt you will find it instructive. Excellent! Now you understand the reality of the situation, I will return all of you to your disgusting little lives.” He looked hard at Damian Krede, “Even you. But I want you all to understand this. If any of you try to interfere with the restructure of the Earth’s governmental powers, I will not kill you, oh dear me no. I will leave you alive and unharmed. But I will make you penniless, and I will render you powerless. You will spend the rest of your lives in wretched poverty. Any attempt to rebuild would be crushed instantly. For creatures like you, that is a fate far worse than death.”

  He held up one finger. “Oh, and one more thing.” He ran a stern gaze over them. “From here on in, Project Exodus is finished.” Everyone in the room paled. Kestil smiled. “I have fleets of warships that could decimate this planet a thousand times over. Rest assured, one primitive spacecraft would be child’s play.”

  The room erupted in loud voices of protest, but Kestil waved a hand and all nine people vanished.

  *****

  Washington DC

  Daniel Colby was about to lock up the store for the night when the bell above the front door rang. He groaned and made his way out to the cash register. “Hi there, how can I help y-” He did a double take when he saw the two men in suits on the other side of the counter.

  “Mr. Daniel Colby?” One of them asked.

  Colby’s eyes flicked from one to the other. “Yeah?”

  The man pulled out an FBI badge. “We need you to come with us, sir.”

  “What the hell for?” Daniel’s blood pounded in his head. It had been years since he’d got so much as a parking ticket, but he knew what they were here for, nonetheless.

  “We need you to answer some questions,” the other man said, “in regard to certain terrorist associates of yours.”

  “WHAT?!” he cried. He waved at the shelves behind him. “I work in a freaking drug store, I’m not a terrorist, for God’s sake. What the hell are you guys on?!”

  One of the men pulled out a gun and held it steady on Daniel. Daniel threw his hands in the air. “Okay, okay, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

  The two men led him out towards a sedan parked out front. They were nearly at the car when two more men appeared out of nowhere right in front of them. The FBI agent with the gun went to aim at one of the newcomers, but the weapon was slapped out of his hand at a seemingly impossible speed. Daniel heard the crack of a bone breaking, and the agent cried out in agony. Daniel turned to see the other agent already comatose on the pavement. The two men grabbed him and suddenly all three of them were somewhere else.

  He looked around him, disoriented and scared out of his wits. “I…I know this place; the old sawmill. We used to play here as kids.” He turned to the two men. They stood there and returned his gaze impassively. He backed away; he could see they wore guns under their jackets. “Just who the hell are you two?”

  One of them stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m Jack, this is my partner Ron; we’re from the Sixteen Galaxies. Well, we’re not from there, but we work for them.”

  Daniel held up both hands. “Hey, I’m trying to help you guys, I’m on your side.”

  Jack nodded. “We’re aware of that, Daniel. That’s why we’re here. Unfortunately, that’s also why those two goons were at your store.”

  Daniel frowned. “What
does the FBI want with me?”

  Jack shook his head. “They weren’t the FBI, Daniel. They work for the government, but in a black department. The second you got in that car, you were dead. You’ve been involved with a small group of people who believe that the Sixteen Galaxies meant well when they came here, and that the Independent Worlds is the threat to Earth, not us. You’ve been involved in the spread of counter-intelligence. The leader of the Independent Worlds doesn’t like that very much.”

  Daniel shrugged. “Garth told us that his friend David is with you guys, and that we should spread the word that it’s the Independent Worlds that is the real danger to everyone. Then Garth disappeared two weeks ago; nobody’s been able to get hold of him. Then Wattsy went, no sign of him. Noddy’s gone, too. We figured the rest of us should just lay low, and that the feds got the others.” His face dropped. “Those two other guys killed them, didn’t they?”

  The guy called Ron smiled. “No. The others are already safe, Daniel. We got them out in the same manner as you.”

  Jack tapped Ron on the shoulder. “Gotta go, satellite found us. We wanted to get your permission to take you with us, Daniel. Sorry, but we’re out of time.” Ron pulled out a cell phone and hit a speed-dial button.

  They were now somewhere else again, and a smile came to Daniel’s face. “Am I on your spaceship?!”

  The two men exchanged a glance. “No,” Ron said, “not exactly, but you’re perfectly safe here.”

  Garth emerged from across the room. “Hey Daniel! The boys got you out, then.”

  Daniel gave the lanky young man a hug. “Good to see you, man. I thought I was toast back there.” He looked around the room. “Awesome place, this.”

  Garth took his arm. “Right this way, my man, let me show you the computer room. Me and the boys call it Toyworld. The stuff we have here is just nutso; you’re gonna love it.”

  Ron and Jack watched the pair walk away. Ron laughed quietly. “I always wanted kids.”

  *****

  Global News Update

  “…The FBI released pictures today of 4 men wanted for questioning in relation to cyber-crime. The four men, all in their early twenties, are believed to be major players in the terrorist organization known as ‘Herald of the Truth’. Richard Watts, Graeme Nodrup, Garth Taylor and Daniel Colby have all gone underground since the FBI issued warrants for their arrest two weeks ago. They are not thought to be armed, but may have protection from other terrorists who are. The FBI advise extreme caution and warn against approaching any of these men. Any information regarding their whereabouts should be sent to the number displayed at the bottom of your screen.

  “In a dramatic turn of events today, the head of the French General Directorate for Internal Security confirmed that they had received evidence from the ‘Letterbox Sniper’ in relation to the assassination of French Minister of Transport Christophe Giroux. He also confirmed the evidence as ‘both genuine and damning’, and that an arrest warrant had been issued for Sebastien Giroux, CEO of weapons industry giant Giroux Précision Tactique, yesterday. Giroux is currently in custody and faces a raft of criminal charges related to bribes paid to purchase his son’s political office.”

  13

  Kestil’s base

  Kestil’s fist crashed down on the table. “Again? They were there to intercept us again?!” He scowled at the table.

  John Crabtree stood with his arms folded. “I have no idea how they manage to do it, Kestil. Your AI has made contact with the Earth’s internet impossible for their AI. It still reports no contact from them?”

  Kestil shook his head. “Nothing at all.” He stood upright with a frown on his face. “They must have eyes on us somehow, but I can’t for the life of me see how. Go over this latest interception from the top; we must have missed something somewhere.”

  John stood back as Kestil’s AI played all the available footage from the drug store. They watched their two agents come in, get Daniel and lead him outside. The scene changed to an outside street camera. The two Sixteen Galaxies men appeared, took out the agents and vanished along with Daniel. John leapt forward. “Stop! Go back a few seconds; just before they disappear. Hold it there!” He tapped the monitor. “What’s that?”

  Kestil peered at the screen. “That’s the electrical shop next door; so what?”

  John tapped the screen. “Right there, that little red light. Zoom in closer.” The camera zoomed in. “Can you clean it up a bit?” The picture brightened and the contrast improved. John pointed to a spot on the screen. “There, one of those cameras is on.”

  John was right, Kestil saw. There was a shelf of video cameras in the window, behind the heavy steel grille that protected it. One camera’s recording light was on.

  John laughed. “That’s how they knew. They were watching the front of the drug store the whole time.”

  Kestil shook his head. “Impossible. My AI sees everything. If that camera was connected to the internet, we would know about it.”

  John scratched his chin. “What if it wasn’t connected to the ‘net?”

  “Then how would they see the footage in real time?” Kestil responded.

  “Can I speak to your AI?” John asked.

  Kestil shrugged. “Of course.” He fell silent for a minute, then a man’s voice come out of the nearest computer’s speakers. “What do you wish to know, John Crabtree?”

  “Check all cell-phone calls within a one block radius of that location, between when our two agents arrive at the drugstore and when they are intercepted.”

  “Done,” the voice immediately answered.

  John blinked in surprise. “Okay. Any calls made in that time?”

  “Twenty-seven calls in progress through that time period, and three initiated. Two got through, one received no answer.”

  “The one that got no answer, did they leave a message?”

  “No.”

  “Precise location of that caller, please.”

  “247 Westgate Avenue. Two doors up from the electrical shop.”

  “Give me control of the security camera inside the electrical store,” John said.

  In less than three seconds, a poor quality image of the inside of the store appeared on the screen. John used the computer’s mouse to pan the camera round to the shelf with the cameras on it. He carefully placed the camera, then stood back. “Zoom in on that, and clean the image up.”

  The image zoomed in, and within ten seconds, it was high resolution. John tapped the screen again. “There’s a cable hooked into that camera. Bet you anything you like that cable goes into a junction box and up the road to number 247. There would have been a person there who manned a computer, and put the call out as soon as our guys arrived. The phone used to make that call, did you trace the owner?”

  “It’s what you humans call a ‘Burner’ phone,” the AI answered. “Pre-paid and bought from upstate New York three days ago. Security camera footage from the store shows a young man in a hooded jacket walk in, buy the phone with currency notes and walk out. Street cameras lose him two blocks away. He must have changed attire somewhere after that.”

  John shook his head in admiration. “They’re going old-school on us, Kestil. Someone is in charge of these guys; someone human, and very, very good.”

  *****

  Western Queensland

  Jack Short took a bite from an apple and pointed to a spot on the road in the hologram display in front of him. “Right there is the best spot. Good cover from the trees, no houses nearby and elevated ground on both sides.” He wiped some juice off his chin with his sleeve.

  Ron Baxter nodded. “Two guns, one on either side?”

  Jack shook his head. “One gun, too much risk of collateral with two. Front left hub, with an armor piercing round. Wheel will lock up and put the car in this ditch, about here somewhere. Gun should be a .30-06 at least, although a .338 or even a .50 cal would be better.”

  Ron raised his eyebrows. “A .50 cal would damn near take the wheel o
ff, I would think.”

  Jack shrugged. “The car will end up in that ditch either way.”

  “So,” Ron said, “if you don’t want me on a second weapon, where do you want me?”

  Jack pointed to a spot by the roadside. “In behind that bush by the fencepost. Soon as the car stops, you go in and get the target out. He will be alone, but he may be armed; we can’t be sure. No military experience, no jail time, no gun license, so he shouldn’t give you any bother. I’ll come straight down anyway; it should be easy.”

  Ron tapped his teeth with a finger. It was an odd mannerism, but Jack noticed he did it a lot when he was uneasy.

  “Problem?” Jack asked.

  “Well,” Ron replied, “it seems mighty suspicious that Kestil doesn’t keep watch over this guy, to be honest.”

  Jack shrugged. “Ryan Sanderson is a small-time contractor. He works for Kestil sometimes, but not much. He’s had no contact with Kestil since Mandy and I were trapped.”

  Ron turned to Jack. “That you know about, that is. He came up clean last time, remember? And that was before Truly lost control down here. There’s no way we can be sure.”

  “All I know,” Jack said, “is that David wants Ryan Sanderson brought here. What for, I have no idea. But, the boss says Sanderson is wanted, so we get him.”

  *****

  Nuthros’ ship

  Mandy Somers and Brantok appeared on the viewport deck of Nuthros’ ship. Nuthros was there to greet them and embraced them both warmly. Brantok gave his apologies, but said he had to hurry back to Kareetha, as the council was still busy resettling all the evacuees from the exploration details who had established themselves in regions outside Sixteen Galaxies space. He bid them farewell and disappeared.