The Power of Twelve Read online

  “And even after last night you still believe that?” Harry asked.

  “I have had my doubts about Arnold, but until last night I had never seen him actually doing anything evil.” George was starting to understand that for the first time in his life he was going to have to stand up to Arnold and prevent acts that he knew were wrong. “What should I do? Should we tell the others?”

  “I think you need to be careful not to create any panic. Also, just confronting Arnold could lead to immediate disaster. He clearly has the resources to blow up the Chateau, and he is ruthless enough to use them. I’ll tell you what. Find an excuse and see if you can meet with Barbara, Horatio, and Inéz. That will allow Karl, Abigail, Lily, and me to confer and form a plan of action,” Harry suggested.

  DURING BREAKFAST, ARNOLD was at his most charming.

  “You know, I am so impressed with the selfless commitment of the entire Project Wake Up team that I would like to invite you all as my guests on my yacht, Always Good, this May when I make my annual trip to the Cannes Film Festival. Just before coming on this visit to Chateau Mcely I was given a tour of my new six-hundred-foot beauty. I have always loved my yachts, and I have to say this one is the most beautiful and best appointed of any I have owned. The staterooms are exquisite, and we have our own mini submarine for diving expeditions, a tennis court, squash court, bowling alley, and numerous unexpected amenities, including a full spa for the ladies.”

  “That is so kind of you, Arnold,” Eve exclaimed, barely able to hide her excitement over such a wonderful invitation.

  “Yes,” Inga and Jack and Gayle joined in. Gayle commented, “I owned a number of yachts myself when I lived in Kauai. Nothing as grand as what you describe, but I love to sleep out on the open sea. This sounds like a lot of fun. I hope Randall will be free to join us then as well.”

  “So, it is settled. I will see you all in May. I must get going now, as I have a commitment to have dinner in Dublin this evening with Mackenzie Hardy the Third. Like his grandfather, whom I cherished as my business mentor, Mackenzie is a man of great perspicacity. I am sure he will be most interested in assisting with Project Wake Up and perhaps will offer to match my billion-dollar donation.”

  Arnold rose from the breakfast table and nudged George to get him going. “Our pilot is expecting us at eleven-thirty this morning, so we should leave no later than ten-thirty. I will arrange for the G5 to fly you back to Texas, or you are welcome to join Mackenzie and me for dinner this evening in Dublin.”

  When he wanted to be, George was as smooth as anyone. “I think Laura has plans for us tomorrow night, so I’ll pass on the dinner invite, but I appreciate the invitation. I have always enjoyed Mackenzie’s hospitality. Give him a big hello from me.” George rose to his feet as well. “I just want to make one quick visit to the garden, which I never did get to see. Don’t worry, I’m already packed. I’ll meet you in the driveway in twenty minutes,” George responded as naturally as he could as he made his way toward the main door to the Chateau.

  “You know, I’d like a chance to see the garden myself,” chimed in Barbara and Horatio almost in unison. “Can we join you?”

  “Of course. Actually, perhaps Inéz can give us a quick tour since we have only a limited amount of time,” George suggested.

  “Nothing gives me more pleasure than showing off the garden,” Inéz affirmed as she grabbed her coat and led George, Barbara, and Horatio out the door.

  They walked a few hundred yards to a bench, and George sat down.

  “I would love to visit the garden, but we have very little time,” he told them. “I have to let you know that Arnold is deceiving us. He has no intention of helping with Project Wake Up and, in fact, has jerryrigged the Chateau so that he can blow it up at any time. I fear for all of your lives and those of the other members of Project Wake Up as well,” George blurted out to an incredulous Horatio, Barbara, and Inéz.

  Harry had telepathically communicated this information to Abigail, Lily, and Karl during breakfast, so they were already contemplating an appropriate response. Their dilemma was that they knew that they could not use the same type of violence and control that Arnold was using. They had to be sure that only positive, constructive thought patterns would be manifested even in the act of containing his ruthlessness. Their goal was to alter the thinking of Arnold and the Illuminati. Just eliminating him in and of itself might not ensure the positive evolution of planet Earth 769.

  “Remember that the destruction of Earth 769 is not our main concern,” Karl had communicated over breakfast. “We are here to ensure that the seeds of that destruction, if indeed inevitable, are seeds of love and compassion, and not greed and fear.”

  “I am so glad you reminded us that it is the nature of these thought seeds that are ultimately the goal of the mission. I am so angry with Arnold right now that I want to go and strangle him,” Abigail confessed.

  “I feel just as angry as you,” Harry agreed. “But we need to keep everything in perspective. These humans are really laughable, and in some ways Arnold is the most laughable of all. I have grown fond of George, who is really nothing more than a well-intentioned puppet for Arnold and the Illuminati. He never even realized this and is only barely realizing it now. Yet I think George can be used to bring the others together to form a plan of action that can neutralize Arnold without planting any seeds of destruction.”

  “As usual, I appreciate your optimism, Harry,” Lily communicated. “But I am feeling hopeless. We have very little time, and Arnold seems so much more focused and in control than anyone else. He clearly will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Remember, we are not just contemplating the destruction of Earth 769, but the destruction of our own universes as well. The situation could not be more dire.”

  “True enough, but all we can do is make our best effort,” Karl concluded. “Let me speak as Horatio to the other humans and see if we can help them formulate a plan of action.”

  And so Karl, as Horatio, began to speak. “George, if what you say is true, we need to take immediate action. I think the tide is changing and that many members of the Illuminati will agree that the status quo on this planet must change. We cannot have a few hundred families controlling the entire planet. I am not sure how many of the Illuminati have contacted me in the past, but I am confident that if we can reason with Mackenzie Hardy the Third and other key members of the Illuminati, we can neutralize Arnold and achieve the goals of Project Wake Up.”

  “I agree with you, Horatio,” Barbara said. “But we may be running out of time. If Arnold contacts the members first, they might not be open to listening to you. Besides, what are we going to do about the very real threat that Arnold may try to blow up Chateau Mcely?”

  “I must admit that I love this Chateau with all my heart, but I am less concerned about whether or not Arnold will blow up the Chateau than that he might kill all of us just to prevent us from carrying out the plans for Project Wake Up,” Inéz put in.

  “In the end, we must protect the project and also ensure that the seeds of what we are doing are seeds of a higher consciousness that is not obsessed with mere survival and retaliation against Arnold and the Illuminati. We must shape them to a higher way of thinking,” Barbara explained.

  “I do not think Arnold will ever change. He is too consumed with his own power and sense of importance. He truly believes he is saving the world from the chaos that would result in empowering all humans with equal knowledge and information,” Horatio interjected. “It is time to simply remove Arnold and those who think like him from the world.”

  “No, Horatio, I cannot agree,” Inéz said. “We must find another way. Neutralize Arnold as quickly as possible, but using violence against him is not only unlikely to succeed, but not the way to truly change the world.”

  “I agree with Inez,” Barbara seconded. “We must find another way.”

  “Well, whatever that other way might be, find it quickly,” George quipped. “Arnold is waiting for me.
I must meet him as scheduled or he will grow suspicious.”

  “The first step is clearly to protect the Chateau and ourselves. As soon as Arnold leaves, we must search the basement and see if we can disarm the explosives,” recommended Barbara.

  “That is an excellent first step,” confirmed Lily/Inéz “but we may not be able to disarm all of the devices quickly enough. We need to come up with a plan that will ensure that Arnold cannot detonate the devices before we have a chance to disable them.”

  “I am of course in agreement with Inéz,” Karl/Horatio said. Yet he explained a further danger that had not been considered. “We will immediately search the basement, but there is no guarantee that the nuclear device is in the basement. Those devices are quite small and the device could have been planted anywhere, even here in the garden. The only good news in that case is that even a madman like Arnold knows that he needs to be at least thirty miles away before detonating the device or he will blow himself up along with Mcely.”

  “At least we have thirty minutes, maybe more with these winding roads,” suggested Lily/Inéz.

  She gave Harold/George a hug as George departed to meet Arnold in the driveway. Eugene Green was already waiting with the luggage, ready to board the BMW sedan. George looked up at the castle wistfully, taking in all of its magnificence. He could only hope that this wasn’t the last time he would ever have a chance to visit.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  THE PEBBLE

  SOMETIMES A PEBBLE CAN CHANGE the course of history.

  Do you believe in destiny or free will?

  Can something as small as a pebble alter your fate?

  What experiences have you had in which a seemingly insignificant event altered your own destiny?

  When Nely kicked the ball in the play area next to the driveway leading up to the main entrance to Chateau Mcely, a small pebble no larger than a marble dislodged the ball from its intended course, and the ball bounced over the small railing and rolled right up to the feet of Eugene Green. As he was accustomed to doing, he had arrived ten minutes earlier than requested with George Bush’s luggage, ready to accompany George and Arnold in the BMW that would take them back to the airport.

  Instinctively, Eugene picked up the ball, and when he looked up, he saw the sweetest, happiest little girl he had ever seen running toward him with a huge smile on her face. As Eugene handed the ball to Nely, she smiled with a child’s open joy. “Thank you so much, sir.” Sticking out her hand toward his, she said in the polite way she had been taught, “My name is Nely. What’s your name?”

  Eugene Green smiled back, recognizing Nely as the little girl he had seen bounding up the stairs on his first visit to Mcely. He extended his arm, telling her, “My name is Gene, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Nely.” Nely was about to turn to run back to the play area when she stopped short. “If you are not too busy, Mr. Gene, perhaps you would like to play ball with me. It is much more fun to play with a friend than to kick the ball alone.”

  Eugene checked his watch and, seeing he still had a few minutes before he was scheduled to be at his post, smiled at Nely. “Certainly, young lady. I would love to kick the ball with you.”

  While Eugene was kicking the ball back and forth, he could not help but think of when his own daughter was Nely’s age and how close they had been. Because he worked as a Secret Service agent, he had not been able to spend as much time with her as he would have liked. And now he had recently learned that his daughter was pregnant with her first child and that he would soon be a grandfather. He had already resolved that he would let Arnold know that he was retiring at the end of the year, but had not yet broached the subject. Perhaps he would have a granddaughter of his own and soon be playing ball with her, he thought as he saw Arnold come out of the main door from Chateau Mcely.

  “It’s been a pleasure playing ball with you, Nely,” Eugene told her as he stooped over and handed her back her ball.

  “Oh, it’s been so much fun, Mr. Gene,” Nely replied, giving him a spontaneous hug. “I hope we get a chance to play again.” She smiled gleefully.

  “I hope we do too,” Eugene responded, moved by the innocence and joy in her face. As he walked toward the BMW, George Bush arrived from the side path that led to the garden.

  “All right, gentlemen, let’s get going. Today’s going to be a most eventful day, and the plane is waiting,” Arnold greeted both George and Eugene. Leaning toward Eugene, Arnold told him in a low voice George could not hear, “Bring me the case with the detonator and sit with me in the back. We will be implementing Plan C even before we board the plane this morning.” Arnold then turned to George and said, “George, I think it best you sit in the front seat with the driver.”

  “No, that’s all right. I’ll sit in the back with you and Eugene,” George responded. “I’m a bit spoiled, but unless I am driving myself, I’m not used to being in the front seat anymore. Besides, I want to discuss with you plans for what happens after Dublin.”

  Arnold smiled tightly. “As you wish,” he said, and all three took their seats in the larger-than-normal back seat of the BMW.

  They had been driving for about forty minutes when Arnold turned to Eugene and asked him for the black valise that contained the detonator.

  George looked at Arnold in disbelief and asked him, “What are you doing? I thought you were only going to implement Plan C if you were unable to convince Mackenzie Hardy the Third and the others not to assist Project Wake Up.”

  “That was the plan, but the plan has changed,” Arnold told him coldly. “In fact, you’re the reason the plan changed. I am not sure I can trust you not to warn the other members of Project Wake Up. If I don’t blow up the Chateau this morning, I may not get another chance, and Eugene and I went to so much trouble last night to be sure we would be able to take out the trash.”

  Arnold saw a passing road sign, giving mileage to Prague and several other towns. “By my calculations, once we are thirty miles or more from the Chateau we will be far enough away to avoid any direct impact from the blast. How far have we driven?” Arnold asked Eugene.

  “We have just passed the thirty-one-mile mark,” he responded, despondent, knowing what he would soon be asked to do.

  “Good, I’ll wait another five minutes just to be sure before detonating the device,” Arnold said dismissively. “We don’t want to contaminate ourselves, for crying out loud.”

  George was not sure what came over him, but he suddenly grabbed Arnold by the shoulders, knocking the valise and detonator out of his hands and onto the floor of the back seat, where Arnold could not reach it even with his feet.

  Arnold was shocked by George’s aggression and found himself pinned against the seat. “George, you are insane. I am doing this to protect you and your family. Don’t you realize that you are a member of the Illuminati? This is the only way to preserve our power, you fool,” Arnold shouted.

  George, though, was holding on for all he was worth. In a firm voice that showed a resolve that Arnold had never heard from George throughout their fifty-year friendship, he said, “I have never really understood why you have been so obsessed with power. I don’t really care about controlling the world the way you do. But I do care about Jim and Inéz, Jack and Inga, and the other nice people who you want to blow up. I can’t let you do this.”

  Struggling mightily to be let go, Arnold turned to his bodyguard and commanded, “Gene, pick up the case and press the detonator. We cannot let George interfere with Plan C.”

  Eugene picked up the case as he was directed, but instead of putting his finger on the detonator, he simply closed the case.

  “What are you doing?” screamed Arnold. “This mission is critical. You are a soldier and you must do as you are told. You know the penalty for insubordination. Press the detonator NOW.”

  Yet in that moment Eugene thought of Nely and how innocent and joyful she had been just an hour earlier when they were playing ball. He had a terrible vision of Nely being destroyed by
the flames from the explosion, and he knew that no matter what the mission was, he would not take part in any action that might harm that little girl.

  Arnold shouted again, “Press the button NOW. The fate of the world depends upon it. You must obey me.”

  Eugene remained with both forearms lying on top of the case. He knew that if he disobeyed, he would be murdered by any number of mercenaries that Arnold could contact. He could avoid that fate by pressing a button.

  “This is your last chance. We are approaching the airport. Press the button,” Arnold shouted for a third time.

  Eugene looked at Arnold, and now he saw not a man, but a reptile with saliva dripping from his mouth. The rage in the reptile’s eyes might have frightened a less well-trained agent.

  Eugene Green was not frightened. He slowly pulled his pistol from the holster underneath his arm, took one last, measuring look at the reptile—and shot Arnold in the middle of the forehead.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  THE DANCE OF LIFE

  WHEN THE SHOT RANG OUT, the driver of the BMW immediately pulled off to the side of the road and stopped the car. Eugene Green was in a state of high alert, not sure if he would have to kill the driver as well. George was in a state of shock, covered in the blood that had spurted from Arnold’s forehead.

  When the chauffeur opened the back door, both George and Eugene were surprised to see that Gayle Newhouse had been driving the car.

  Gayle looked at the body of Arnold, slumped in the seat, and could tell that he was dead.

  “Are you both OK?” Gayle asked. They both nodded, still stunned. “I think it best we not report this accident to the police. Jim Cusumano told me there is a lake not far from here where sometimes drivers who have drunk too much and are unfamiliar with the country roads accidently drive off the road to their death.”

  George numbly asked Gayle, “What are you doing here? How did you know that Chateau Mcely was in danger?”

  For the first time since the morning walk in the garden, Harry the Hilarious took over and answered George’s question. “Last night I communicated with Lily what I had seen in the alchemist’s lab. She told Inéz that there was a problem with the boiler and that she needed to instruct Jim to check on the boiler before breakfast.”