Seated around the conference table at Leeds Castle, the members of The Order waited for the meeting to start. The subject of today’s meeting had caused dissention and angry words among those who once called each other friends.
Sir Richard sat deep in thought, remembering everyone he’d given up or lost. Now everything he had left was at stake. The price had become too high. No more! It’s not worth this! he thought. He was torn from his private reverie as the speaker rose and called the meeting to order; all eyes turned to the head of the table.
“Gentlemen, I think we know why we’re all here today. We are dealing with a very sensitive subject, and we must think long and hard before making a decision. I assume you have received copies of the report and have gone through it thoroughly.”
Chaudhuri, the representative of India, raised his hand and was acknowledged. “Are we to assume the rumours are true?”
“The information we have received casts enough doubt to warrant some kind of action; at least as a precaution. Whether or not the information is conclusive is not important. The question we must answer is what do we do if it becomes conclusive?”
Sir Richard listened to their arguments until the conversation became aggressive. “Gentlemen, friends, getting angry won’t accomplish anything, nor will it help us make a responsible decision. Aren’t we being a little hasty? The information was posted to a conspiracy site, which has not always proven to be entirely credible. As I see it, the things we must ask ourselves are:
1) If the rumours are indeed true; do we have the right to deny the World this discovery? Who among you would not take advantage of it?
2) Knowing the implication and the chaos this could, and I stress, could cause, do we allow it to continue?”
“If we deal with this by ‘sweeping it under the rug’ as we’ve done to so many things in the past, I fear it is a matter of time before someone else makes the same discovery.”
“You should talk!” Bongai, the representative for South Africa shouted in anger. “Your opinion is biased; your son is on the research team that has been named.”
“If my son had achieved this, do you honestly believe I would not know? Do I look as though I have benefited from it? I assure you, in this matter, my son’s alleged involvement is entirely irrelevant. No matter the cost; I have always fought, and will always fight for the greater good.”
“And what of the girl?” Veloski shouted in contempt. “If we take action; are you willing to abide by our decision?”
Sir Richard felt his blood pressure rising. He would never allow Richard or Donna to come to any harm. Enough blood had been shed. Too many of his loved ones had been put in the ground and no matter what the conclusion of this meeting or whatever decision they came to, if a choice had to be made between The Order and his family, The Order would lose, hands down. Sir Richard held his anger in check. He spoke calmly and with sincerity, reflecting the responsible person he was. “I will do whatever is best for the World, no matter what!”
------------
After they’d finished their doughnuts and coffee, Sam and Donna sat and talked for a while. Joyce and Ian came in, got a cup of tea and some black currant cheesecake and approached the table where Sam and Donna were sitting. “Do you mind if we sit with you?” Ian asked, giving Donna a warm smile.
Sam slid his chair closer to Donna and put his arm across her shoulders. Donna laced her fingers with his. Sam waved to the space. “Pull up some chairs.”
Joyce cut her eyes at Donna’s hand and sighed deeply. She took a sip of tea and set the cup on the table in front of her. “Sam,” she began, “Jasmine came by the infirmary earlier looking for you. She said she stopped by your apartment last night when she got back from Cornwall, but you weren’t there.”
Sam swallowed hard, annoyed with Joyce. He knew what she was trying to do. His response was wary. “Did she, now?”
Joyce cleared her throat, grinning slightly, enjoying Sam’s displeasure. “She said she tried ringing your cell, but she was told the number was no longer active. She wanted to know what time to meet you at your apartment tonight.”
Donna turned her head, studying Sam’s eyes. “You’re meeting someone at your apartment tonight? Was that the Jasmine who called you Friday night?”
Sam glared at Joyce. “Yes, sweetheart. It is,” he forced through his teeth. “But I’m not seeing her again.”
Donna swallowed hard and caressed his cheek. “It’s OK,” she smiled. “I said no strings, remember?”
“I remember, but I don’t want to see Jasmine, or any other woman, sweetheart. Not tonight, or any night,” he whispered and tenderly kissed her.
Joyce felt sick. Sam had lied to her face many times, but Sam lied to every woman he’d ever been involved with. Joyce knew that. There was a different look in Sam’s eyes when he looked at Donna. Either he’d become more skilled at lying, or he genuinely meant what he was saying to her. If he did, getting him away from Donna was not going to be easy.
Sam decided to do a bit of stirring to turn the tables. “So, are you and Richard becoming an issue now?”
“No, Sam,” she responded. “Richard and I are no more of an issue than you and me, or Jasmine or any of your other female pastimes.”
Donna moved Sam’s arm and slowly stood. She framed his face and kissed him. “I’m going upstairs and see what Gary’s accomplished.” She groaned, turned her attention to Joyce and shook her head. “For the record, if you’re trying to make me jealous, of you and Sam or anybody else, you’re wasting your time. Sam is free to walk away anytime he feels like it.” She kissed him again. “I’ll see you later.”
Sam smiled and kissed the back of her hand. “I’ll be there shortly. Ian, would you mind leaving us alone?”
Ian checked his watch. “I’ve got to go anyway,” he said and left, thankful not to be witness to another one of Sam and Joyce’s confrontations.
Sam laced his fingers in front of him and rested his hands on the table. “Joyce, why are you trying to cause problems between me and Donna?”
“Who said I was trying to cause problems? The way Donna talked, there’s nothing between you – other than physical attraction. Although she doesn’t seem that bothered about that either. If you ask me, I’d say the one you need to be worrying about is Richard.”
Sam cocked his head. “Why would I be worried about Richard?”
“Because when Donna realises who you really are, Richard is going to look a lot better to her. If she had half a brain she’d be with him now, instead of wallowing all over you. You won’t be faithful to her Sam. You can’t be faithful to anyone. You certainly weren’t to me.”
Sam scoffed. “Oh, I get it now. This is not about how faithful I can be to Donna. This is about me being with Donna. Joyce, I told you. I don’t want to be with you. You’re fun for a laugh or two, but you’re too – I don’t know – possessive. You want something I’m not willing to give up – my freedom.”
“She’s happy with what you have now, but what happens if Donna suddenly decides she wants more, Sam? This is not a common call girl you’re dealing with. This is a handpicked Triplet favourite. Why do you think she’s living with the Triplets, Sam?”
Sam grinned. “We’re living with the Triplets,” he boasted.
Joyce’s mouth gaped. “You’re living with Donna at the Hall? Are you crazy Sam? You’re going to lose your job over this. Do you think you’re there because Sir Richard wants you there? You’re there because of Donna. When she gets tired of you, let’s see how long it takes for Sir Richard to give you your walking papers.”
“You’d better watch your stuff!” he countered. “Keep trying to cause problems for me and I’ll show you how long it takes me to give you your walking papers. Stay out of my personal affairs Joyce!”
------------
Gary glanced up as Donna entered the room. “Why the long face, D?”
“Joyce and Sam. Jasmine and Sam. The girl at the fish and chip shop and Sam. I seem to be caught in the middle of the Sam Kaliea fan club, and nobody likes me. I’m not so sure being this close to the fire is a good idea.”
Gary turned in his chair. “What do you mean?”
Donna sighed deeply. “I got a strange phone call at the guest house yesterday. I didn’t take it seriously because I thought it was Richard. I mean, it was so vague, it might have been a wrong number - not intended for me.”
Gary’s eyes widened. “I would have thought you would have recognised Richard’s voice if it were him. What did the person say?”
“That’s just it. I didn’t recognise who it was. I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, or possibly a recording. The voice was raspy, metallic, like one of those cheap text-to-speech voices.”
Gary studied her eyes; his attention peaked. “What did it say, Donna?”
“Several things. ‘You are with the wrong person.’, ‘He has no future with you.’, ‘Walk away, or he will suffer.’, ‘You belong with another.’”
“And they called you on the guest house phone? When yesterday?”
“Right after I got out of the shower and started getting dressed. Not long before Sam came and took my cell phone.”
“I can see why you thought it was Richard, but without confronting him – assuming he doesn’t deny it – we’ll never know who it was.”
“I suppose I could always go back to the guest house. If it was a genuine threat, maybe they’ll call back. If they don’t, at least we’d know.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, D. When you’re involved with Triplet International, you tend to take threats seriously. If it was Richard who called that would be a different situation.”
“Gary, is Richard a dangerous person?”
Gary groaned. “That would depend on what you mean by dangerous. Let’s just say Richard is used to getting what he wants, and for the most part, he gets it.”
“But surely they’re just empty threats, Gary. Richard wouldn’t actually hurt somebody over this, would he?”
“He might, baby. I didn’t think you were that serious about Sam.”
Donna’s eyes widened. “What if he wasn’t talking about Sam?” Her heart started pounding. She twisted her hands in her lap. “What if he was talking about Jared?”
“What makes you think he could be talking about Jared?”
“Richard knows how I feel about Jared. He’s known all along.”
“Did Jared have any problems with Richard while he was there?”
Donna rolled her eyes. “Gary, Jared had a problem with any male that came around me,” she groaned. “Because he knew Richard had feelings for me, he was extremely jealous of Richard.”
“Well, I have a feeling, Richard is still extremely jealous of Sam.”
“I don’t love Richard, Gary. He knows that. I’ve told him how I feel.”
“Are you saying you love Sam?”
“No. Gary. I told you. I’m not capable of loving anyone. Not the way I loved Jared. That part of me is dead and gone, buried, locked away. That kind of love happens once in a lifetime, and I blew it.”
“I don’t know D. I think if you let go a little, you might find at least part of what you had with Jared.”
Donna locked her eyes on Gary’s and slowly shook her head. “No, I won’t, Gary. After Jared… nothing compares. For him, or Beth, I would endure anything. Could we change the subject now? I came up here to see what you’d found out – if anything.”
“OK, D,” Gary sighed and shook his head. Donna had done it again. Just shut it off. It was almost as if her emotions had an on-off switch. “Where is Sam?”
“Right here,” Sam said. “I got held up at the lift. What are we doing?”
“About ready to pull my hair out,” Gary groaned. “I ran this test three times and got the same readings each time. Sam, for the sake of argument and my sanity, run the test again on Richard’s terminal.”
Sam’s results were entirely different from Donna’s or Gary’s. They were the same as Richard’s had been. Gary and Donna looked on in amazement. Donna rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Oh I’m such an idiot. Sam reset your variables. This time, include a thirty percent evolutionary factor of 0.5 per annum, and set the simulation to run for a span of ten years.”
Sam entered the figures and started the calibration again. The numbers ticked along. They waited as the last number set.
“There are your true results,” Donna said, pointing to the screen. “Without including the effects of evolution the simulation gives a false read out.”
Sam looked up at Gary and then back to Donna. “Then that would mean….”
“…Richard and I were thirty percent from our target.” Gary finished Sam’s statement, his tone depressed.
“But, what about the drosophila?” Sam asked. “If your calculations were that far off, why did it work?”
“Simple, Sam,” Donna responded. “They did their tests using a short-term calibration. I used long-term calibration. If you do the same calibration on the drosophila, add in the evolution factors, for the same time period, you will get the same results. Now the work begins,” she said and walked back to her terminal.