Reaper packed his case and made sure all the traps he had set around the cottage were armed. Should anyone attempt to enter the cottage while he was away, they would meet their maker prematurely and in several thousand pieces. He was flying to London and then on to Beirut to meet his two Lieutenants and eight Team Leaders. They would be responsible for the camps and ensure that his orders were followed to the letter.
He caught the early morning flight from Glasgow to Heathrow and then boarded the 13.10 Middle East Airlines flight from London to Beirut International. One of his identities was that of a retired Lebanese army officer. He sailed through Customs and Immigration without so much as a second glance. He had a Hummer waiting for him outside and made the hour long journey into the mountains of Faraya, a beautiful and tranquil spot where he could conduct his business in peace. He checked into the Intercontinental Hotel and awaited the arrival of his team, drinking a beer on the terrace which, to his surprise, overlooked ski runs. It appeared to that Faraya was a luxury ski resort, the last thing he expected to see in Lebanon.
Over the next twelve hours, the Lieutenants and Team Leaders arrived and checked in for their supposed International Sales Conference which was scheduled to start the following morning. The conference started at precisely 9.00 a.m. and the men masqueraded as the International Sales Team for Deccan Ltd. They met in Conference Suite One which had been swept for bugs and declared clean by one of the more technical members of the team.
His two lieutenants were to be his right-hand men, Pieter and Leo. Pieter had been a Major in the South African Special Forces. He was known for his brutality and support for the apartheid regime. He was instantly relieved of his duties when Nelson Mandela was elected President. The only reason he avoided prison for his crimes against South African citizens was due to a tip-off which had given him an hour’s head-start. He escaped to Europe, changed identity and became a hired gun, commanding similar monies and status to Reaper. Although there was no doubt in either man’s mind as to whom was best, a scar across Pieter’s face was a permanent reminder. Reaper had recognised a kindred spirit on a previous mission and had spared Pieter’s life. From then on, Pieter had the utmost respect for Reaper and Reaper remained the only man whom he had ever feared.
The second lieutenant, Leo, was of significantly less physical stature than Reaper and Pieter but just as deadly and even more brutal. He had a passion for torture and slow, painful deaths. If a client wanted to exact everlasting revenge or extract information, they would call on him. It was said that a number of his victims were still alive and living in such pain that they would rather have died. Leo’s intelligence bordered on genius and it was for this that Reaper had called on his talents.
His Lieutenants had been picked because they were the best. The eight Team Leaders were chosen because they too were among the best but also because they had particular backgrounds. For example, Kevin and Erich were very white, very blond, had shaven heads and numerous tattoos, including swastikas and were both ex Special Forces. They were perfect for the Idaho camp housing predominately white supremacists and Nazis.
The next two Team Leaders were Muhammad and Fadi and would be responsible for the camp in Syria. Again they had been chosen for their backgrounds and characteristics and would command respect from the terrorists in Syria. Both were ex-Special Forces, one from Saudi Arabia, the other from Pakistan.
The Zimbabwe camp was to be looked after by the largest black man Reaper had ever seen, named Leroy. He was seven feet tall, made of solid muscle and commanded respect from his appearance alone. He was joined by Mark, a significantly smaller individual who had spent years fighting in the Middle East. Again, they were both ex- Special Forces and their backgrounds would command respect from their group of terrorists.
The camp, in Colombia, was the most difficult with the largest number of factions. For that camp, Reaper resorted to money and fear. They would be paid significantly more for their services and would be commanded by two of the scariest Team Leaders, in the same league as Leo and Pieter. Andrej was Serbian and had avoided war trials through luck alone. He had been a key member of the Arkan Tigers and was personally responsible for thousands of cold blooded murders during a period of ethnic cleansing. Reaper was not scared of him but he certainly sent a shiver down his spine. Marco was Italian and fearless. He was not the biggest man by any stretch but would happily fight somebody twice his size. He was also the dirtiest fighter which, added to his fiery temper, meant that he fought a lot and rarely lost.
Reaper started the conference with brief introductions and over the course of the day introduced each of the Team Leaders to their objectives and responsibilities. The training camps would be operational as of the next day and the mission would begin five weeks later.
Once all the Team Leaders had left, Reaper turned to Pieter and Leo.
“OK, now I’ll cut the bull. You guys need to know what is really going on.”
“Yeah, I thought something was missing. You don’t spend $20 million dollars on what we’ve just covered,” replied Leo.
Reaper explained the plan in detail but left out various key points. He trusted these two men more than anyone which was enough for most of the detail but not all of it.
“Bloody brilliant!” exclaimed Pieter.
“Genius,” said Leo.
Reaper had one more thing to do before he went to sleep. He took out his coded mobile and made a call.
“Well, how was it?” barked the client.
“Very good. Excellent, in fact. Everything’s coming together nicely.”
“Good,” responded the client.
Reaper sensed the phone was about to hang up.
“Don’t hang up. I need to discuss one point with you.”
“What?”
“I’m having difficulty in one area and it’s costing significantly more than I expected. The soldiers at the school are proving rather greedy and costing me much more than I’d originally planned.”
“How many do you have now?”
“I have twelve on side, four of course are down to you but I need at least twenty and would prefer twenty five.”
“How much?”
“$10 million.”
“Fine.” The phone went dead, discussion over, no pleasantries.
Chapter 25
One week later
Rachel burst into Tom’s room.
“What time is it?” came a drowsy and agitated voice.
“It’s 7.30,” answered Rachel.
“What? In the morning?”
“Of course! Now come on, we’ve got lots to do.”
“Please just let me sleep.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you start your new school today, now come on…UP!” demanded Rachel.
Tom knew his mother well and when her tone changed to the don’t mess with me tone, he stopped arguing and got up.
The last four weeks had been a blur, Tom having spent almost every waking hour in the simulator. Jacques had been delighted with his progress and had jokingly mentioned to Donald that he was better than some of his colleagues.
Rachel and Lela had spent the four weeks shopping, Rachel even taking time off work to help. Tom had thanked God for the simulator otherwise he would have been dragged along too. Saki, however, had not been so lucky. Tom never thought he had seen Saki look so depressed. When Tom had asked him what was wrong, he had expected him to say that he was upset at Lela and Tom going away but he hadn’t. He just said ‘bloody shops I can’t stand them’.
Donald had been working so hard they had hardly seen him as he worked through the detail of the IBC
