Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (23 page)

“Yes, sir,” she replied quietly. She watched Sebastian
surreptitiously as he and the guys walked to the elevator.

 “Are you working with any other authorities besides Interpol?” Troy asked when the doors closed.

“No, Interpol is the agency Nathan called last year when we had the break-in. They are the largest cross-border police. The scientists that were abducted worked in New Zealand, mainly Auckland, so we needed their assistance. We have laboratories in countries where no diplomatic relations exist. Interpol has the ability to facilitate cooperation between those countries. The three of us know that we don’t need the police to handle our problems. However, we’re trying
to do business through the normal human channels. This way we
don’t
expose ourselves, and there will be no questions or
misunderstandings,” Sebastian explained. “It’s like using a plane or driving a car to get to another destination when we know that we can get there faster on our own. Don’t you agree?” Nathan and Troy nodded in agreement.

Dylan’s office was located at on the fourth floor of the huge
Interpol
building. His secretary escorted them to his office. He seemed
pleased to see Sebastian and Nathan again.

“This is my new assistant,” Sebastian said introducing Troy to Dylan. Dylan shook his hand and asked them to come in and make themselves comfortable. His secretary offered them a drink, but they declined politely, and she walked out, shutting the door discreetly behind her.

Sebastian was the first to speak, choosing to get right down to
business. “What happened with the people you arrested and the
person you followed to St. Petersburg? You never called to let us know the outcome. Nathan and I assumed it was resolved.”

“We did eliminate that particular cell, but like I said on the
phone, no matter how hard we tried their agents preferred to take their lives rather than betray the identity of the boss. This particular group has
several cells spread across the world, and it’s hard to find every
member.
We are trying, but it isn’t an easy task.” Frustration was spread
across
his face. “They have been a thorn in my side, Sebastian. They are
after many companies and many individuals, but your company seems to be on the top of their list.”

Sebastian could read in Dylan’s mind that he was telling the
truth. He could also see that he knew about the threats to Arielle’s life.

“I do understand. Do you have anything new for us?” Sebastian asked to keep up the appearance of a normal, human conversation.

“The particular cell that’s pulling the strings from Brussels is trying to get to your company through the Internet. I guess you have done a great job in finding and eliminating all the moles within your company, so they have to find other ways to get to your designs and the new products.”

“How do you know that?” Sebastian asked.

“We intercepted some suspicious emails that were being sent to your company systems. It looked like they were trying to force your system administrators to change passwords and codes while they were monitoring your activities, hoping they would capture the new passwords and access your documents.” Dylan ran his tongue over his lips. He looked bothered by something.

“What is it, Dylan?” Sebastian asked. “I’m sure that you already
know that we have a foolproof system in place and another new
security system designed for immediate launch. Based on that, I
know this isn’t the reason you asked us to come down here. So what is it that you really want to talk about?” Sebastian pressed on.

Dylan took a deep breath, and he finally came out with it. “Do
you
remember when I called you a while back to tell you that I had set
up surveillance to gather information?”

“Yes, I remember,” Sebastian said in an unruffled voice.

“Well, I’ve enough evidence to believe that they are willing to
move on with something more intimidating than a system invasion against your company,” Dylan said.

“And that something is?”

“I’ve set up a surveillance post in Brussels right across the street
from the building the head agent is occupying. My agents have
several hours of recordings that indicate they’re planning something ugly to force you to surrender the documents they need. These people will go to extremes to get what they want. I want to make sure that you, your partners, and all of your families are safe.”

“We appreciate your concern, and we would like to be involved
in this endeavor just as we were last year. I’m sure you remember
that we did help to uncover those people and hand them over to you.”

“Yes, I do.” He smiled softly as he started to pace back and forth. “These people are deadly. They have no respect for human life, and they wouldn’t think twice about taking someone’s life.”

Sebastian felt a pang of anxiety. He knew that Dylan was talking about Arielle, but Sebastian wasn’t spilling the details, at least not yet. His mind was suddenly filled with Arielle’s beautiful face. He felt anxious. He wasn’t going to discuss the photos he received in his
office earlier today. He decided to handle that issue the immortal
way.

“We’re flying to Brussels tomorrow,” Sebastian said, “for
business
unrelated to this issue. We’ll be visiting our laboratories and
monitoring our computers along with our systems security engineers to make sure that our new system is in place and prevent any penetration
that would harm the company.” Sebastian was just making
conversation. He was going to do a lot more than monitor the systems.

“I’ll let my agents know that you’re in Brussels and that you
might
pay them a visit. If you need anything at all, please call. I’ll make
sure that they will be at your disposal,” Dylan said.

“Where have you set up surveillance?” Sebastian asked.

“We rented an office on Rue Bodenbroekestraat.”

“Do you have any of the documents they tried to send through the system at hand?” Sebastian asked.

Dylan walked behind his desk and pulled some papers out of the top drawer. He handed them to Sebastian, who thumbed
through them
carefully before handing them over to Nathan and Troy. They were emails sent using a virus called Trezlez that was designed to cause widespread damage. This virus would help the mafia collect and distribute personal data, business contacts, and other sensitive information that they
may have in their company systems. It was pretty scary stuff, but
nothing that Sebastian felt that he and his immortal friends couldn’t handle.

Sebastian handed the papers back to Dylan. He rose to his feet ready to leave. Nathan and Troy stood as well.

Dylan gazed at Sebastian thoughtfully. “Sebastian, there is
something more.”

Sebastian had already known this was coming, but he pretended to look surprised. “Oh, what is it?”

“My agents have intercepted their conversations and know they are preparing to threaten you with something more severe.”

“Like what?”

“They are setting surveillance on your home, your friends, and your loved ones. Their next step will be the kidnapping of a loved
one.
They will use a hostage to negotiate the surrender of the
documents.”

“Dylan, you know I would never allow that to happen.”

“You don’t know how powerful these people are and how
heartless they can be. I want everyone to be careful. I will have agents spread out to keep an eye on you and your home.”

“Thank you. That will not be necessary. I have private security to do all that for me. But I do thank you for your concern. You have my mobile if something comes up.”

Dylan nodded. With his agreement, the three immortals walked
out. When they reached the parking lot, Sebastian was all worked up. They climbed into the car and headed back to their office
building.

“Well…we have the surveillance location, and that’s the starting point. I’m sure we can find all the scum involved and get to them with no problem. Does either one of you have an issue with going to Brussels tomorrow?”

Nathan and Troy looked at each other as they shrugged their shoulders. “No, not at all,” they both answered almost in unison.

“Let’s go home. I’ll make the flight arrangements and call you, unless you don’t want to use a plane to get there.” He chuckled as both Nathan and Troy broke out into laughter.

“Nathan,” Sebastian said, “please let Alex know that he’ll be filling in for you while you are gone.”

“Okay, Sebastian.” Nathan asked to be let out at the front
entrance of the building. He needed to complete the work he’d started early in
the morning and also talk to Alex about leaving for Brussels. He
gave a friendly pat to Troy’s back.

“Let me know what time I need to be ready in the morning,” he said as he stepped out of the car.

“All right. I’ll call you as soon as I have the tickets in hand.”

The drive home was a quiet one until they arrived at Troy’s house. “Hey, Troy. I don’t know how to thank you. You have
become one of
my best friends, and your support has been enormous in many
ways. I truly feel indebted to you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m more than happy to do that. I need to thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity with your
business.
I enjoy going to the office with you and the change of the daily
routine. Eternity is a curse, as you very well know, so even though I’m tired of school, I’ll do it just to stay near Gabrielle. I have a huge business in Italy, but Gabrielle’s life is here. She loves living in Brighton close
to her family and friends. I love her more than life, and I would never ask her to choose between Brighton and Italy. So as you can
see, you have done a lot more for me than I’ve done for you.”

“Who’s running the business in Italy?”

“I’ve put in place one of my oldest friends, Raffaello. He has
been
running the business for as long as I can remember, and that’s a hell of a long time,” he said snorting. “We talk daily, and he keeps me informed.”

“You’ve never told me what type of business that is.”

“Oh, we evolved throughout the centuries. My father and one of
his best friends started the business. They handled tapestries and coins at first, and then later emerged into the art market. They
purchased and sold exquisite art pieces from some of the best artists of the sixteenth century. Those pieces were treated with special care. As the centuries rolled by, we expended the business throughout Europe, and we now have eighteen major companies that still deal with significant public and private collections.”

“I would love to visit your company,” Sebastian said. “It sounds fascinating.”

“Thanks, Sebastian. I would love to take the girls to see some of the pieces still held by my company. I just don’t want to sell them.” He shook his head and chuckled. They shook hands, and Sebastian headed home.

It was six o’clock when he pulled into the garage, and he could
hardly wait to hold his fiancée. He opened the door and called out
for her, but all he heard was silence. He ran from room to room, calling her name as anxiety started to take over and fear crept slowly up his spine. He walked out into the backyard, hoping that she was out
there or down at the beach, but she was nowhere to be found. He picked up his mobile and called her, but she didn’t pick up. Next, he called Eva. She said that she had not seen Arielle since they left
school.
He called Gabrielle, but she hadn’t seen her either. His palms were clammy. The muscles in his stomach were tight. Bile rose to his
throat.
Oh my God, please don’t let anything happen to her.
He called Loren and Paul next, but neither picked up. His last call was to her parents' house, but they hadn’t seen her since the last time they were all
together.

“Is everything all right?” her mother asked.

“Sure, everything is okay. I was just late coming home, and I’m
sure she went shopping without me.” He forced a chuckle as he
thanked her and hung up in clear terror.
Where could she be?
He called Christian even though he knew he hadn’t warned him about this until late in the afternoon.

“Hey, Christian.”

“Sebastian, what’s wrong? You sound upset.”

“Please ask Isabella if she saw Arielle late this afternoon? She
isn’t
home and none of the others have seen her. I’m going out of my
mind.”

“Hang on.” He was back on the phone in no time at all.

“Isabella said that she left with Loren. Paul was going to a
basketball game with Robert and Alex, so she asked Arielle if she wanted to go shopping with her.”

“I tried Loren, but she didn’t answer.”

“They are together. Maybe they left their mobiles in the car. Give them a little more time, and if you don’t hear from her, let me know.”

“Okay, thanks. I will.” He hung up, and a little hope crept in. At least she left with Loren, that alone was great relief, but it was short lived as his mind whirled to another scenario. What if something
happened to her while on her way home? He took a few deep
breaths and sat on the big chair to wait.

An hour later, he picked up his phone and speed-dialed Loren again. She picked up on the first ring.

“Loren!” he exclaimed.

“Hi, Sebastian. What’s wrong? You sound awful.”

“Loren, I’ve been worried about Arielle.”

“Arielle? Isn’t she home yet?”

“No, no…she isn’t home, and I’m really worried,” he said anxiously.

“Well, we went shopping, but she left over an hour ago. She said she wanted to be home before you got there.”