reluctant as he was committed to his own children. However, his children were now grown up and were fending for themselves. They encouraged him to go for it and so there he was. Sam Mitcham had made it clear that they wanted a businessman and not an educator to run the school. He had been their number one choice and was told, after he’d accepted, that he was the only person who fully fitted their criteria. He was an exceptional businessman who was respected throughout the world, had no ties to any organisation nor any enemies. Tom remembered that his father had told him about just how brilliant Mr Sakamoto was in the boardroom and how much he respected his ability to see the big picture whilst being aware of every last detail.
Once Mr Sakamoto had explained how he had got his new job, he turned his attention to the day’s events.
“OK. So who’s going to tell me what really happened today?”
Chen spoke first.
“Well, this morning we had a run in with Yuri and his gang. They took our carts and hit Oleg. This afternoon they attacked Tom and me in the toilets but fortunately, a group of larger boys came in and scared them off. I think that’s about it, wouldn’t you agree Tom?”
“Yeah, something like that. Yeah, Lela?”
“Yeah, something along those lines.”
Mr Sakamoto thought for a second.
“Interesting…any idea who those other boys were?”
“No, we didn’t really get a chance to see them. Everything happened so quickly.”
“Yes, it all happened very quickly,” agreed Tom who was very impressed with Chen covering for Lela.
“Lela, did you see them?” Mr Sakamoto asked looking directly at her.
“No, sorry,” said Lela, relieved at the question. She would not blatantly lie to Mr Sakamoto and with his question, she didn’t have to.
“So what did they say when you spoke to them?” asked Tom.
“Similar to what Chen said but I have to say I’m a bit concerned about the mysterious group of boys that you mentioned Chen. Yuri and his brutes were big and scary and I can’t imagine who they would be scared of,” said Mr Sakamoto staring directly at Lela.
Tom and Chen watched his gaze. Chen looked away guiltily and as he did so, Mr Sakamoto winked and smiled at Tom and Lela. He knew fine well.
“Well unfortunately, I have more work to do. I only arrived today and it’s been rather busy. It was great to see you both and very nice to meet you Chen. Wait a minute, your family name is Xiao and you’re from Hong Kong. Your father isn’t Li Xiao, is he?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Don’t you remember me? I’ve known you since you were a baby. I used to do a lot of business with your father. The last time I saw you was when you were…let me think now…when you were about three!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember,” said Chen shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“So how is your father?”
“He’s very well thanks. I’ll let him know you were asking after him.”
“Excellent. Now, I really must be getting on.”
They said their goodbyes and headed back to their block, jubilant.
They arrived at the block to find a very worried group of friends. They filled them in on what happened and a relieved and excited group of friends made their way to dinner.
Chapter 31
Reaper surveyed the map in front of him. Nearly 300 highly trained operatives were now in place. He ate, breathed and slept his plan. He had covered every conceivable eventuality and had spent over $50million dollars in the process. His client had neither queried nor questioned the vast sums of money being swallowed up by the operation. Reaper had considered increasing his take for the mission but on reflection, his client’s capabilities had ensured that every cent was accounted for.
He then considered the report again from Ling which described in some detail the events of the day. He was interested to hear about Lela’s talents although it seemed that Ling had not witnessed the whole event and therefore it was a little sketchy as to what exactly had happened. He was also pleased to find out the identity of the Headmaster which had been a closely guarded secret. He had made a number of phone calls but soon found out that Sakamoto was irreproachable in all areas of his life. This was disappointing as Reaper had considered the possibility of enticing the Headmaster into the mission. Mr Sakamoto put paid to that plan.
Reaper re-read the part about Lela and the thugs. Although this concerned him a little, he rationalised that they were useless thugs and that against his elite forces, there was no contest. He decided against mentioning Ling’s report to his client. All other reports were exactly as had been expected, no surprises.
The phone rang.
“Reaper here.”
“How’s it going?” came the gruff response.
“Excellent, everything’s going exactly to plan.”
“So you have no concerns?”
“No. My operatives will begin moving into their final positions in the next couple of weeks.”
“And the girl, Lela?” said the client, irritated.
“What about her?” Reaper was unnerved and his voice began to falter.
“Your latest report, her fight with the thugs,” said the client.
“How do you know about that?” Reaper was dumfounded.
“I will say this once again and only once again, DO NOT underestimate me. I have over fifty million dollars invested in this operation and many times that amount riding on the outcome. I know and see everything, now tell me about the GIRL!” screeched the client.
Reaper was speechless. Yet again, his client had obtained secure information. Reaper had the most secure communication network available which he was assured was unbreakable.
“Well?” asked the impatient client.
“I don’t believe it’s of any concern to us. The thugs were untrained oafs and Ling didn’t see everything that happened. I think we’ll find that Lela will have had a few Jujitsu lessons and got lucky showing off in front of her friends. She’s only fourteen and our guys are the best trained soldiers in the world. So I really wouldn’t worry,” said Reaper.
“OK. Well you’d better be right. You mess up, you die.”
“Of course, everything is covered. Hello?…Hello?” Reaper spoke into a silent receiver, the line was already dead. As usual, when the client finished what he had to say, he hung up, no pleasantries.
Reaper was rattled. He called his lieutenants Pieter and Leo into the planning room. He explained that their communications were being monitored and that their client was watching every move. The three considered the revelation and agreed that there was nothing they could do about it. Their client was obviously an exceptionally resourceful man.
The twins had filed their report earlier in the day. They had debated whether to report the golf cart incident but decided that it did not directly affect their targets and so decided against. They therefore had very little to report regarding the targets for that day. However, they were concerned about some strange behaviour within the camp. They were on rotating watch duties for four hours on and four hours off. In their down time, they had to catch some sleep and carry out their normal day to day duties at the base. During their time on duty on the base, their commander seemed overly concerned with what they were doing. He was also giving them a particularly hard time, making it increasingly difficult for them to maintain their surveillance. They had not included any of these details in their initial report but decided to issue a follow-up report, just in case. They were also genuinely concerned that their surveillance capability was being affected. They typed up the follow-up report and filed it.
