Chapter 81
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Her Grace told her wheelchair to move forward. The wheelchair asked, “Do you want me to move forward?”
She said, “Yes.” Then she told the chair to stop at the appropriate place. The chair obeyed the stop command instantly. She had her computer call the head of security.
“Yes, Your Grace?” Kurt asked and then waited.
Her Grace was not certain Kurt was a true believer. She knew he hated the enemy. She was simply not sure that he loved their savior. She had no doubts he would do whatever was necessary to stop the enemies of the Church. And, he was certainly very good at what he did. He was good at what he did because he loved it. His record as an officer in the parachute regiment of the French Foreign Legion was extraordinary.
“Have you spotted them yet?”
“Not yet, Your Grace. Soon. If our information is correct, we will meet them the day after tomorrow, or the day after at the latest. I am surprised they even considered the plan you described to me, much less chose to attempt it. Their dossiers show them both to be highly intelligent people. What we believe they are now attempting is foolhardy at best. I would even say insane. Are you sure we are not ourselves the subject of a disinformation campaign?”
She would not have accepted the question from anyone else. From Kurt she welcomed it. She had learned to trust his judgment. She considered the question. Again.
“I am sure we are the subject of a disinformation campaign. This information, as arrogant, insane, and misguided as it is, I believe to be true. We went to a great deal of trouble to get this information and this information was guarded passionately and carefully. This is why we believe it to be true.”
Kurt asked the question she would have asked if she were him: “Are you sure we need to meet with them? They have proved resourceful. The man is very dangerous. From a risk-assessment standpoint it would be better if we used a different solution.”
Even on their internal telephone system, in their own buildings, they made sure that they spoke of nothing that would be actionable. She had considered following exactly the same course of action. That Kurt recommended this confirmed her well-deserved and long-standing trust in him. She thought about the money these heathens had stolen from her. If it had not been for their damnable interference, the Church would have, conservatively, $42 million more for their savior’s work.
The real number was probably $75 million. Her Grace at first did not see that someone was countering her trades, the sabotage, and the disinformation campaign. She simply thought that the markets had gone against her, in their mindless mirror of the whims of investors. She held course, believing it was simply a matter of time before the markets came back. This is what had made the losses so painful.
“‘Need to meet with them’ is the correct phrase. Our savior’s work needs money-a lot of money. We will meet with them. After we meet and they understand, I am sure they will be eager to make a contribution.”
Kurt smiled. He was sure he could make them eager to do anything. He thought that if somehow his men misunderstood his instructions, fired on them and killed them, he would be in very bad trouble. And sometimes being in very bad trouble was acceptable to remove a serious threat. He would make the decision when it was necessary to make it.