“Where is everybody?” Donna mused as she and Sam entered an empty genetics lab.
Gary came from the back. “Richard had to take care of something. I just finished checking on the cultures.”
“Did we get the growth we were hoping for?” Donna asked.
Gary softly smiled. “I think there’s enough there to keep you busy for a while.”
“In that case, I guess I’d better roll my sleeves up and get busy, then. If things go to plan, we should be able to run the first set of tests in a couple of hours.”
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When Richard finished helping Jeff, he decided to check with Alice to make sure everything else was set up, for the grand opening of Donna’s entertainment hall.
“Master Richard,” Alice responded. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Your job will be to get Donna to the cafeteria. Alice, Alan and I will take care of the rest.”
“I’ll get her there – somehow. I’d better get back,” Richard responded. “Donna and Sam should be finished with Grandma’s surgery, by now. She’ll be wondering what happened to me.”
“What is your grandmother going to do, after she’s recovered? Is she going back to the castle, or staying here?”
Richard sighed and stood to leave. “Jack and Vera and the other house staff can take care of the castle. There’s no reason for her to go back, but knowing Grandma, she probably will. I’ll see you at lunch, unless Donna decides to make lunch for us.”
“Wait! I’ll be right back.” Alice said and disappeared into the kitchen. She came back and handed Richard something warm rolled up in a cloth napkin.
Richard sniffed and smiled. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Just took them out of the oven. I thought you might like to take Donna some.”
“Thanks, Alice,” Richard smiled, stepped out of earshot and unlocked his cell phone.
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“Sam, it’s Richard. Where’s Donna?”
Sam glanced over his shoulder. “She just went in the back to check on the animals.”
“That must mean she’s running the first set of tests. Then the cultures were successful?”
“Yes. There was enough for the first set of tests.”
“Meet me. I’m in the cafeteria.”
“I’m a little busy, right now, doing your job. What is this about?”
“Donna and it’s important. I need your help.”
“I’ll be there, when I finish with this culture dish.”
“Fine, but don’t tell Donna.” The call ended. Sam sighed in exasperation and put his cell phone away. He frowned. “What the fuck is he up to now?” he mused.
Gary looked up and pushed his glasses back in place. “Pardon?”
“That was Richard. He wants me to meet him in the cafeteria.”
One of Gary’s eyebrows slowly lifted. “Now?”
“He said he needed my help.”
“With what?”
Sam put the culture dish he was working with in the incubator and turned. “I don’t know, but he said it was important and that it had something to do with Donna. I’m going to see what he wants. Tell Donna I went to pick up lunch.”
Gary glanced at his watch. “It’s a little early for lunch.”
“I know, but it gives me an excuse. Richard doesn’t want Donna to know about this.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
Sam sighed. “Neither do I.” He headed for the door.
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Liu walked into Forrest’s hospital room and found him lying in bed, reclined at a forty-five degree angle. He looked frail and sickly, but had a bit of colour in his cheeks due to the fresh infusion of red blood cells the doctor had given him. Liu sat in a chair beside the bed.
Forrest glared at him. “Why the fuck didn’t you come when I sent for you?” He broke out in a coughing fit.
Liu handed him a glass of water. Forrest took a sip and shoved it back at him, splashing water on the front of Liu’s clean shirt. “Because I was there, at the door to Sir Richard’s lair. They were watching every move we made. They thought we were mine explorers.”
Forrest’s eyes widened. “Then you have it? You have the cure? How did Rigden die?”
“She hasn’t - yet. Once we have what we need, I figured you would want to witness her death.”
“You fucking fool! If you knew Sir Richard was watching you, what makes you think he didn’t know why you were there? You underestimate your enemy, Mr. Liu. You should have jumped at the opportunity. Sir Richard will never let you that close again!”
Liu smiled smugly. “But I did jump at the opportunity, Sir. Let me show you. And remember, if she and Triplet’s son are married, she’s no longer a Rigden.” He set a laptop on Forrest’s food tray, and pushed it so Forrest could see. Liu clicked on the webcam icon in the taskbar and waited. A few seconds later an image appeared.
Forrest studied Liu’s eyes. “Do you think I care what her surname is?”
“Probably not,” Liu sighed.
Forrest moved his finger around on the touchpad and turned up the volume. They began to hear pots clanking, machine sounds from what appeared to be a kitchen. He adjusted the directional microphone on the bug, and the voices became clearer.
Alice was busy preparing the fresh vegetable and fruit tray. A timer went off. “Rita put the tray of hors d’oeuvres on the rack to cool and put the last of the shortbread in the oven.”
“I thought Lady Triplet preferred her biscuits while they were hot.”
“I’ll bake another batch, right before the party.”
Forrest narrowed his eyes. “Where is this?”
“In the old Swinhope mine,” Liu smiled.
Forrest’s evil grin returned. “So, that’s where the old bitch has been hiding out?”
“It would seem so, Sir.”
Forrest frowned. “But this is a kitchen. Where’s the lab? That’s where Rigden will be.”
“I figured I would use the old ‘waterhole’ strategy and let her come to us, instead of risking them finding my bugs.”
“It looks as if they’re planning some kind of celebration.”
“Yes, Sir, it does.”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s about Rigden. You don’t even know if she’s there.”
“If she is, sooner or later, she will have to eat. When she does….”
Forrest groaned. “I don’t have a ‘later’ Liu. The doctor has given me a transfusion, and the last of the harvested stem cells. I have to either get the cure or find another donor. He warned the time was fast approaching when the transfusions would not be enough.”
“This food preparation has to be for a reason. I have a hunch that sometime tonight, Dr. Triplet will show. When she does, I’ll be ready. I have to get out closer to the mine for this to work. I’m going to leave this laptop, so you can monitor from here. There’s a voice link if you want to talk to me. I’ll be able to hear through my Bluetooth ear bud.”
“This had better work!”
Liu stood to leave. “Oh… trust me, Sir. It will work, but until I link our laptops together, the screen will go blank. Once I get set up on location, your picture will come back on. Soon, you’ll have your cure, and your revenge.” Liu grinned and left.
Forrest smiled smugly. “In more ways than one… Mr. Liu,” he mused.
------------
“Sir Richard, it’s Pam, at the Centre. I’m sorry to bother you, but since Mildred died, I didn’t know whether you wanted your calls put through to the Hall, or what.”
Sir Richard pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed. “Melissa Hart is taking Mildred’s place. All calls need to be put through to her.”
“I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t know. I have Jasmine White, from the pathology department at the Royal Victorian Infirmary, on hold. She’s trying to reach Dr. Kaliea. She says it’s important.”
“It’s OK, Pam. It’s my fault. I’ll take care of it. Put her through. I’ll talk to her.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Miss White, this is Sir Richard. I understand you’re trying to reach Sam. He’s unavailable, at the moment. Was there something I could help you with?”
“Sam wanted me to let him know if Mr. Forrest was brought back to the hospital.”
Sir Richard narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “And…?”
“He was re-admitted to intensive care a couple of hours ago. I’ve been trying to reach Sam since I found out. Mr. Forrest is being constantly monitored. They won’t let anyone in to see him. The press are going mad, but his associate refuses to comment on Mr. Forrest’s condition.”
“I’ll pass that information along. Thank you, Miss White,” he said and ended the call. He turned to John. “That was one of Sam’s associates, Jasmine White, at the RVI. She said Forrest had been admitted to intensive care. Do we know anything about this?”
John frowned. “No, Sir, but I’ll get someone to check on it.”
“I’m going to talk to Sam first, since this is a medical matter, and see if he knows anyone at RVI that might be able to find out more about Forrest’s condition. One thing for sure, this puts a damper on our plans.”
“If we’re lucky, he’ll die and do us all a favour.”
Sir Richard sighed. “It would certainly patch-up things between me and Donna, and between her and Ricky, as well. Hang on a second. Let me take care of something, before I forget it. VICi, connect me with Gary Browne.”
“What do you need, Sir Richard?”
“Gary, I need you to reroute incoming communication to Missy’s desk. From now on, she’ll be screening outside calls.”
“Give me just a second and I’ll take care of that for you.”
“Finish whatever you’re doing. There’s no rush, just as long as it gets done today. How’s the testing going?”
“Donna is analysing samples from the first set of tests now, Sir. She’s smiling, so that must mean good news.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I’ve visited with Mum. Is Sam handy?”
Gary glanced over his shoulder and stepped out of earshot. “No, Sir. He’s – ah – he’s meeting with Richard, in the cafeteria.”
“Really? Listen, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a link with RVI’s database?”
“No, Sir, I don’t and the only way to establish one would be from the inside. I can’t get past their firewall. It’s more sophisticated than the hospital in Wickenburg, and we don’t have Jared to help us.”
Sir Richard paused and scratched his head. “Hmm. I guess that wouldn’t work then.”
“Why? What’s up?”
“Miss White just called, trying to reach Sam. Forrest is in intensive care again. I was hoping we could find out the status of his condition. If he’s dying, we wouldn’t want anything to interfere with that.”
John chuckled. “Perhaps Gary could add a ‘do not resuscitate’ order to his medical records.”
“I could… if I could get in,” Gary interjected.
“We’ll keep that option open,” Sir Richard responded. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. VICi, end communication.” Sir Richard stood. “I’m going to see Mum. Want to …?”
The wallscreen flashed. “Sorry to bother you, Sir, but I have Vera on the phone. A Mr. Victor Van Holden, from Amsterdam is trying to reach your mother.”
Sir Richard grinned. “At least we know who one of Mum’s informants is,” he softly chuckled. “Check with Sheila, first. If Mum is up to it, then put the call through. VICi, end communication. I think I’ll go see Sam first, and give Mum a chance to chat with her… friend.”
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Sheila confirmed that Lady Triplet had recovered enough to talk. “Put the call on hold. I’ll check and see if Lady Triplet is awake.” Sheila lightly tapped on the door and eased it open. “Are you awake, Lady Triplet?”
Lady Triplet looked up from her book. “Obviously,” she responded tersely.
“There’s a call for you from Amsterdam. A Mr. Van Holden. Do you want to talk to him?”
Lady Triplet furrowed her brow, and narrowed her eyes; trying to place who he could be. “Van Holden…” she mused.
“He says he’s a friend of yours. Do you remember him?” Lady Triplet didn’t respond. “Perhaps you’re still a little confused. Shall I take a message and tell him you’ll ring back?”
Lady Triplet’s eyes widened; she put her book away and pulled the sheet up over her breasts. “No, it’s fine. I’ll speak with him.”
“VICi, take call off hold. I’ll leave you alone,” Sheila said and left. She stood just on the other side of the door, listening.
“Annabelle. It’s Victor. It was good to see you, again. Our visits seem to be few and far between, now. How are you?”
“I’m fine… Victor. It was… good to see you, again, too.” Who in the hell is he?
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I came across some information, since our last meeting.”
“Last meeting…?”
“Of The Order – where you told everyone off, for trying to black list Sir Richard.”
Blacklist Sir Richard? Who in the hell is he, and what is he on about? “Oh yes – that!” she feigned a growl. “How dare they try and blacklist my son! They needed to be put in their places.”
Victor chuckled. “That, they did.”
“You said you had some information for me….”
“Yes. You need to be on your guard. It seems Forrest has some nasty plans for your grandson and his bride to be.”
Lady Triplet sat up straight. “Tell me….”