Sinclair admired the dark wood grains enveloping the entire cabin, interrupted only by a few portholes. The blue water sloshed against the glass, allowing him to catch a few glimpses of sea life dancing beneath the surface. Taken aback by the wonder of nature, he almost forgot what he was doing there.
“What do you see out there?” Caron asked.
“Oh, pardon me,” Sinclair said, returning his gaze back to the men. “I sometimes get distracted by the ocean.”
“Fancying yourself as Captain Nemo?” Wagner asked with a chuckle.
Sinclair stroked his chin for a moment, considering Wagner’s tongue-in-cheek question. “I wouldn’t be opposed to such a characterization. After all, I don’t let anything stand in my way.”
“Well, we have plenty of obstacles blocking our path to fulfill stage four of your plan,” Caron said. “And it seems to me that we don’t have much time.”
Wagner nodded. “The Americans are onto us, at least, a handful of Americans. But everyone else—you know, the people who matter—is fully onboard.”
“It’s only a matter of time before the dissenters are silenced for good,” Sinclair said. “That much you can be sure of.”
Caron took another long pull on his drink before he got up to refill his glass. “We still have some problems though, some which need to be rectified more quickly than others if we’re to achieve our goal by the date we’ve set.”
“Anything less will make our investors upset,” Wagner added.
Sinclair laughed. “You use the term investors as if those people are actually central to the equation.”
“I know we don’t need them,” Wagner said. “But they are, for lack of a better term, the grease for our gears. The more they think they are part of what we are doing, the easier it will be for us to move.”
Caron cleared his throat. “And speaking of moving, how is our main project progressing?”
“Not as quickly as I’d hoped, but I do have a remedy for that,” Sinclair said.
“And what exactly do you intend to do?” Wagner asked.
“Parker!” Sinclair shouted.
Seconds later, the marketing guru emerged from his room and walked swiftly down the corridor toward the men. He wore his glasses off-center, the left side not quite connecting with his ear. Hugging his laptop and notepad, he stopped just inside the room.
“Did you call, sir?” Parker asked.
“Yes, I did. You asked me earlier what I had in mind to stir up the kind of publicity we need to gain interest in our product. Well, I have an answer, and I want you to get an announcement out to the press immediately.”
“Okay, sir,” Parker said, pulling a pen out of his pocket. “What is it?”
“Make an announcement that we will randomly select five thousand people to receive a Smart Home from everyone who downloads our app in the next two weeks,” Sinclair said. “We will build the houses free of charge for the lucky winners.”
Parker’s jaw dropped. “Did you say five thousand?”
“I did indeed, Parker. Now, chop, chop. We must get a move on. I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Parker nodded. “That should be sufficient to generate a worldwide buzz, sir.”
“Thank you for your approval, Parker. Now, begone.”
He finished scribbling down something on his paper before shuffling down the hallway.
“That’s your plan?” Caron asked. “I’m not sure that’s going to be very effective.”
Sinclair took a long sip of his drink before setting the glass down on the table. “Let me ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the South-east Queensland Black War?”
Caron shook his head. “Not that I recall.”
“Of course not. You’re French and you think French history is world history. But there was a time in Australia’s history where a war quietly raged between the native Aboriginal people and the colonialists.”
“And I suppose there’s a point to all of this?” Caron said.
Sinclair’s eyebrows shot upward. “But of course. You’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t waste my words. Now, when the English colonists arrived, they realized they were dealing with savages. But they didn’t attempt to civilize them all at once. They introduced some of them to the finer ways of life, essentially buying them to convince their own people to go along with the invaders. And after years of enduring guerrilla-type attacks from the Aboriginal people, the colonists gained enough support to squash the rebellion. And that wasn’t so pretty. Instead of money being handed out, ropes were—the type that swung from trees. The rebellion slowly folded after that.”
“What are you trying to say?” Caron asked.
“You buy your way in before you break their will,” Sinclair said. “But don’t you worry; our approach is multi-pronged, one that I doubt anyone will see coming.”
Wagner leaned forward, a smile leaking across his face. “So, is it time?”
Sinclair ran his finger around the rim of his drink and didn’t look up.
“Make it happen,” he said.
CHAPTER 9
Copenhagen, Denmark
MIA CLUTCHED HER PASSPORT as she waited in line to be beckoned forward by the customs agent. She tugged on her backpack straps as she glanced around at the travelers attempting to enter the Scandinavian country. As she did, she wondered how many of them were just like her, pretending to be someone else for other nefarious means.
Hacking into the CIA database wasn’t anything she ever imagined doing once she agreed to start working for the Phoenix Foundation. She was supposed to use her expert skills to defend the country, not attack it herself. But she didn’t mind. Over the years, she’d learned that the American government wasn’t as innocent as it made itself out to be. While every U.S. Secretary of State in her lifetime had bemoaned the corruption of foreign governments, in her short time in Washington, she’d learned such unscrupulousness was just as rampant there as anywhere else.
An agent stared vacuously ahead as she gestured with her hand for Mia to step up to the booth.
“Papers, please,” the woman said.
Mia slid her passport beneath the half-circle window
