Page 107 of Silver Fire
“I know that’s going to be your excuse,” Beth replied. “But tell me Sophie, do you honestly not feel guilty?”
“Of course I feel guilty, but you shouldn’t!” Sophie said, her voice rising.
Derek cracked the door open. “You two keep it down, I could hear you outside.”
“OK!” Sophie snapped.
Derek smiled at her—which infuriated her more—before he closed the door.
“Listen to me, Beth Turner.” Sophie returned her attention to her friend. “This is on me, not you. I had the research, I created the trigger and the cores. Bishop used you as a pawn. You were convenient. He could have snatched Stephen or Derek and could have used them instead to make me bend to his will.”
“I don’t know, Sophie,” Beth said sadly. “Right now I can’t bear to look at myself in the mirror or at you.”
“Stop being unreasonable!” Sophie said in frustration. “How can you even consider this to be your fault? You were kidnapped, Bishop knifed you, and now you’re laid up in the hospital because of me. Because of me, Beth. Stop blaming yourself. All you’re doing right now is making me even more guilty. Was that your intent? To guilt trip me? To what end, Beth? I have enough guilt coursing through my veins to last me a fucking lifetime.”
“You said fucking,” Beth murmured as she returned her gaze to Sophie and gave a wry smile.
“You stupid goose,” Sophie replied with a light laugh. “All my yammering and that’s all you heard.”
“Ah, baby girl, what are we going to do?” Beth whispered.
“Derek told me contingency plans were set into motion when we got kidnapped,” Sophie told her. “I don’t have the details. But I would do everything I could to prevent the devices from going off.”
“Promise?” Beth’s eyes fluttered close.
“Yes,” Sophie whispered as she stood up and planted a kiss on her friend’s forehead. Beth’s breathing evened out as she succumbed to a heavy, drug-induced sleep.
She stood up and exited the room. Derek and Stephen were standing in the hallway chatting.
“All good?” Stephen asked.
Sophie sighed. “Yes. Just a slight disagreement.”
“Sounded like more than a disagreement to me,” Derek replied, studying her face intently.
“Regardless, it’s between Beth and me,” Sophie told them firmly.
“I’ll stay with her tonight, sweetie,” Stephen said. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest.”
Home. Sophie thought sadly. Where was her home right now?
* * *
Damian Stoltz stoodat an abandoned airfield hangar located on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. A Gulfstream 550 touched down smoothly on the runway, taxiing slowly toward the warehouse-like structure.
Stoltz’s jaw tightened as he recalled the events of the past 48 hours. Opperman reported a breach in his data network and so had his techs at SASTac. Whoever broke into their system was an expert hacker. All signs pointed to either the CIA or an affiliate agency known as Artemis Guardian Services who was keeping tabs on Blackstone International. Events came to a head when Bishop kidnapped Dr. Leroux. According to Opperman, Bishop was obsessed with the blonde scientist, but Justin assured Opperman that the woman was necessary to complete the bomb. Christopher Blackstone was not happy that Dr. Leroux was kidnapped and demanded that she be released as soon as the bomb was tested.
Apparently Justin Bishop had no intention of releasing Dr. Leroux. Stoltz’s lips curled in disgust. The perverted man had tried to rape the poor girl and had gotten himself killed in the process. This information was relayed to him by his inside man, Stan Morgan. It was fortunate he had sent Morgan to shadow Bishop and function as a backup. Bishop and Opperman had proven to be invaluable to his operations, but something about Bishop always made him uneasy.
His man Morgan was a transporter. He moved things from A to B, no questions asked. If Blackstone had not provided him with Yuri Demko, that would have been a big problem because Dr. Leroux would have been a means to an end, and Stoltz would have no problem taking the nuclear scientist by force. Stoltz wondered if Morgan transported people too. Somehow, he doubted it because the man had a twisted sense of morality.
Exhaling deeply, he focused his attention back on the plane as the steps were lowered. Some of his private military contractors stepped off, the fourth person out was Morgan carrying two metallic suitcases. The person behind him was Yuri Demko, on loan from Blackstone International, lugging a third suitcase and a small briefcase.
The two men stopped in front of him.
“Demko, Morgan, good to see you both,” Stoltz nodded briefly.
“All three devices delivered as promised, Mr. Stoltz,” Morgan said.