Out of the Shadows 037
A 5-star machine-augmented MIDNIGHT'S WAR novel
As Porter left, escorted out of the building by Natalie, Elliott slumped in his chair. The interview had been a disaster, but also, he decided after a moment’s though, just might represent an opportunity.
“He knows,” Chiara said quietly.
“He suspects,” Elliott corrected. “But he doesn’t understand what he suspects.”
They were discussing whether it was necessary to tell Lord Medici about the situation in person or not when Natalie returned, closing the door carefully. “We have a problem. Porter told me that his editor at the Journal filed a formal request for all of HemaTech’s personnel files related to the deceased researchers earlier this afternoon.”
“Dammit, they’re moving fast,” Elliott observed. “But we have no obligations to give them anything.”
“True, but if they take it to court, that will draw more attention than we can afford,” Chiara pointed out.
“Which they know, of course.” Elliott sighed.
“What do you want to do?” Natalie asked.
Elliott stood, moving to the window to stare out at the Bay Area lights. “I think I have to go to Rome tonight. Natalie, go and clear my schedule for the next three days, please.”
“And if Lord Medici doesn’t agree with you?” Chiara asked after Natalie left the room.
Elliott turned back to her, his expression grim. “Then I have six days to figure out how to prevent a massacre in Manhattan. Because I really don’t want Porter’s blood on my hands. Not after Sarah and Mark. I’m assuming that was us?”
Chiara nodded. “It was us. The security team took care of the situation. They’d both identified markers that could have exposed the anomalous gene-pairs if they’d been permitted to continue their research.”
Elliott felt sick. “Did Lorenzo give Marcus the order?”
“No, he didn’t have to. They were significant threats to operational security and Marcus eliminated them as such,” Chiara informed him. “Elliott, they were in the process of going rogue. In Dr. Patterson’s case, she was actively trying to reverse-engineer the mechanisms she’d observed.”
“Goddammit!” Elliott stood abruptly, pacing to the window. “I never authorized that. I was never even consulted!”
“It wasn’t your call,” Chiara said gently. “Marcus is in charge of security, not you.”
“Murdering my people is not security!” Elliott’s voice rose slightly before he caught himself. “Sarah and Mark were scientists! They could have been reasoned with. I could have talked them into giving up their research.”
“They were trying to uncover secrets that would have risked exposing the entire Medici family,” the young Italian woman countered. “Including you. And you have to know by now that will never be tolerated. Under any circumstances!”
“Porter is asking questions that could lead others to the similar conclusions. Are we going to kill him too?”
“If necessary,” Chiara said without hesitation. “This is how it is. This is how it has always been.”
“No!” Elliott found himself speaking out more forcefully than he’d intended. “No more murders. Not without my explicit approval.”
“Elliott,” Chiara said carefully, “you don’t understand the magnitude of what we have to protect. The vampire world has survived for millennia by maintaining absolute secrecy. If that secret is exposed—“
“It will be exposed,” Elliott interrupted. “One way or another. It’s obviously no longer possible to keep secrets of this magnitude any more.”
Chiara stared at him, her expression intense. “What are you saying?”
Elliott was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the city lights. When he spoke, his voice was thoughtful, calculating. “I’m saying we’ve reached the point where containment through elimination is no longer viable. Look at Porter. He’s too public, too well-connected, and too careful. And there are far too many others just like him. The bloggers, the streamers, they’re probably even more dangerous than the legacy media.”
“So what do we do?” Chiara asked.
“Controlled revelation,” Elliott said, turning back to face her. “It’s the only way. Porter wants the truth? We’ll give it to him.”
“You want to tell a Wall Street Journal reporter about vampires?” Her voice was incredulous. “That’s insane! Lord Medici will never approve.”
“Then we’d better present him with a compelling argument,” Elliott replied. “Because the current approach is unsustainable. How many more researchers, journalists, and investigators can we hope to kill before too many people figure it out?”
Chiara nodded slowly. “I don’t suppose we can kill them all before something damning goes onto the Internet. Not even World War III can put a lid on it then.”
“Exactly.” Elliott moved to his desk, already formulating plans. “We need to think bigger, more strategically. The secret is going to come out eventually and Porter is just the first wave of an incoming tsunami. We have to get out in front of this.”
“Elliott,” Chiara said carefully, “you realize what you’re proposing could change everything? Even a carefully managed revelation could disrupt the entire structure of our world?”
“The world is already changing,” Elliott replied. “The only question is whether we control the disruption or we’re the ones getting burned at the stake.”
He reached out to pick up the phone, but Chiara placed her hand over his.
“Once you cross this line, there’s no going back,” she warned him. “He might decide you’re part of the problem.”
“That line’s already been crossed,” Elliott told her. “Anyhow, he might be right.” She nodded and removed her hand.
He dialed Medici’s number, listening to it ring while Chiara watched him with an expression of fascination mixed with and terror.
“Elliott?” Medici’s voice carried across the connection with perfect clarity. “How delightful to hear from you. How are you adjusting to your return to the corporate world?”
“Not very well,” Elliott said. “We have a situation that requires immediate attention. A Wall Street Journal reporter has connected dots that we didn’t know were visible.”
The silence on the other end of the line stretched long enough that Elliott wondered if the connection had been lost. When Medici finally spoke, his voice carried an edge Elliott had never heard before.
“How immediate?”
“We have one week before he publishes.”
“I see.” Another pause. “And your assessment of the threat level?”
“Existential. He’s asking the right questions and getting much too close to the right answers. The story itself isn’t the problem, but it’s going to create them.”
“Very well. We’ll handle it in the traditional manner. Give Marcus the necessary details.”
“No,” Elliott replied. “That’s exactly what we need to discuss, my Lord, preferably in person. In my professional opinion, the traditional manner won’t work. It will only draw more attention to us. In fact, it’s already part of the problem we’re dealing with now.”
The silence that followed was profound. Elliott could hear Chiara’s heartbeat, the whisper of air through the building’s ventilation system, the distant hum of traffic on the freeway. When Medici spoke again, his voice was icy.
“What’s the alternative?”
“I’m suggesting we initiate the implementation of the controlled revelation strategy we discussed at the Council meeting. Beginning with this reporter.”
“We’re nowhere near ready. And obviously, the potential risk is extreme.”
“I’m afraid it’s necessary. He’s aware of the danger, he’s too public to disappear without notice, and he’s already shared his research with his editor as well as others we don’t know. Killing him would only expand the scope of the story and put it into in the hands of others who will be even more suspicious and persistent.”
“It would buy us time.”
“Another week, maybe two at most.”
Medici was quiet for another long moment. “Very well. Meet me in Geneva. The Council is already there. Send me your plans en route, and if you can convince me, I’ll let you bring your proposal to the Council.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
“Don’t thank me, Elliott. If this approach fails, the consequences will be severe. Not just for the reporter, but for everyone involved. Especially you.”
The line went dead, leaving Elliott staring at his phone. He looked up to see Chiara had buried her pretty face in her hands.
“So,” Chiara said finally, looking up at him with despair in her eyes. “Have you made out your last will and testament yet or do you want to do it on the plane?”
Out of the Shadows is available in Kindle, KU, audibook, and hardcover editions.