Temple of the Gods - Andy McDermott [111]
Warden muted the sound. ‘Well?’
‘Well . . . wow,’ said Nina, not sure how to react. ‘I take it that was your doing.’
‘It was. We knew Dalton had a grudge against the Group – he blamed us for not keeping him in office after his little videotaped indiscretion, even though it was obvious his position was untenable. We didn’t realise he’d actively sided with Glas against us until it was too late, but we certainly weren’t going to let it stand.’ There was a disquieting matter-of-fact ruthlessness to his voice.
‘So what happens to us?’ Eddie asked. ‘First thing he’ll do will be try to drag us down with him. Seeing as we blackmailed him into getting us into Silent Peak.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about that,’ said Warden, with another grim un-smile. ‘He’ll have much larger concerns than personal vendettas. Some of the other skeletons in his closet will come to light.’ He retracted the screen, then glanced through a window. ‘Ah, we’re almost here. We can continue this discussion in my home.’
The limo slowed, turning through a set of automatic gates on to the lengthy drive of an especially large house. It pulled up outside, the driver quickly exiting to open the door for his passengers.
‘Nice pad,’ said Eddie as he got out. ‘So this is how the top one per cent live.’
‘More like the top one per cent of the top one per cent,’ Nina replied. Warden’s home was an elegant three-storey building that had been styled after a British Georgian mansion – or, for all she knew, genuinely was one that had been transported across the Atlantic brick by brick. Either way, its value would be well into the multi-million-dollar range . . . and she imagined it was not the investor’s only property.
Warden led them inside, taking them down a long hall displaying artworks traditional and modern to a door at the far end. He paused at it. ‘Before we go inside, I’ll first ask you both to remain calm. The Group sometimes has to make deals with people we would rather not work with. My other guest is one of those people. And I know that you’ve had bad experiences with him in the past.’
With that, he opened the door . . . to reveal Alexander Stikes in the large room beyond.
‘What the fuck is he doing here?’ Eddie yelled, taking up position to shield Nina. ‘Get that bastard out of here, or I’ll do it for you!’
Stikes was seated on a long couch, not in the least surprised to see the new arrivals. He moved his left arm to reveal a gun in a shoulder holster beneath his jacket. ‘Let’s not have any unpleasantness, shall we, Chase? We’re all guests here.’
‘Not for long,’ said Nina. She rounded on Warden. ‘If that murdering son of a bitch is working for you, I think any business we might have had is finished.’
‘If you’ll let me explain,’ he said, quietly but firmly. ‘As I said, sometimes needs must. Mr Stikes had obtained the statues—’
‘Stolen,’ she cut in, with a hate-filled glare at the former SAS officer.
‘Stolen, yes, but he had possession of them. That forced us to negotiate with him.’
‘And Sophia,’ Eddie growled. ‘Where does she fit in? Is she one of your fucking Group too?’
‘Absolutely not,’ snapped Warden, with genuine loathing and anger at the accusation. ‘Sophia Blackwood was Harald Glas’s responsibility. For God knows what reason, he took her in after your last encounter with her in Switzerland. When Mr Stikes contacted us through Ankit Jindal, Glas sent her to act as our representative – without consulting the rest of us.’
Eddie was becoming more furious by the moment. ‘Are you telling me,’ he said in a low, deeply threatening voice, ‘that Kit was working for you?’
Warden lowered his head. ‘Unfortunately, yes. And all I can do is apologise for what happened.’
‘Apologise?’ Eddie exploded. ‘He murdered my friend to protect