Jacob's Story by James Seeley

Author:James, Seeley [James, Seeley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 9780988699649
Goodreads: 18041750
Publisher: Seeley James
Published: 2013-06-03T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 29

Dishes clattered and voices echoed in the tiny Greenhouse restaurant off the hotel’s lobby. Having memorized their order, the waiter bowed and left them. Violet’s phone vibrated. She checked the caller ID and looked around. She nodded to Cummings. “Guangzhou. I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”

In the lobby, she clicked to answer. “What is it?”

“The government has seized the plant, ma’am,” her secretary said. “Soldiers came and sent everyone home.”

“What for?”

“Improper working conditions, ma’am.”

“Who was it?” Violet asked.

“Public Security Bureau.”

“Where is Teresa? Didn’t she—”

“Teresa was arrested, ma’am.”

“On what charges? Where are they holding her?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. The attorneys told me not to ask.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Violet said. “Someone has to know. Who’s still in the office?”

“We were all sent home, ma’am. I’m calling you from my personal phone.”

Violet checked again: it was not a Windsor number. “Do you know if Teresa sent the last shipment to me? The one headed for Washington?”

“It went this morning, ma’am.”

Violet clicked off and slipped her phone in her purse. Pressure built in her head to the boiling point. Her stump throbbed and she crunched her fingers into her hair. She wanted to scream, but there was work to be done.

She called. Chen’s cell phone went straight to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message and returned to her table. Her croissant and coffee waited for her. Cummings forked his omelet and looked up.

“Have you seen a ghost?” Cummings asked.

“We have to accelerate the program.”

“I think it’s time to stop throwing money at a bad—”

“Let me think through the timeline. We have them start deployment today. Have you called that Velox animal yet?”

“To call them off?” Cummings asked. “I can do that now if—”

“It’ll take five to seven days for incubation. We can keep this thing quiet for a couple weeks. When can he start?”

“Who?”

“The Velox guy, Kasey.”

“Start deployment? Never. Call it off.”

“Accelerating the time line was your idea,” she said. “You were right, but we need it now—today.”

“What happened?”

“They seized the production facility.”

“That’s it, then. We’re done. We call off the hit on Sabel, we close the Philadelphia project, we turn in Mokin for murder and kidnapping, and we walk away clean.”

“Great plan—for you. What happens to me?”

Cummings shrugged and tossed his napkin on his plate. He looked left, then right. “We’ll work it out.”

“You’re on record for Borneo.”

“I never understood all that science gobbledy-gook. I trusted you and Verratti and Wu Fang.”

Violet’s eyes narrowed and her mouth drew taught. “You think you can sell me out?”

“Nothing like that, Violet. I would never let you take the heat. We’ll think of something.” Cummings waved his hands. “Get some good lawyers, stay out of Asia for a while, and let the legal eagles do their thing. It’ll work.”

“And in the meantime, you’re cozy with Alan Sabel.”

“The man has to invest his money somewhere. Why not at Cummings Capital?”

Violet tossed her napkin on her untouched pastry. “We’re going forward. Are you going to call that asshole at Velox?”

“If I call him, it’s to get your $2 million back and cancel the hit on Sabel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.