Chapter 2

“Hey Z, how is Maggie doing?” Tom asked.

“Uh, good. Why?” I looked at him neutrally.

“How is she recovering?”

We were sitting alone on loungers down on my private Antiguan beach. It was just past dawn the morning after we had flown in, and I had gotten about five hours’ sleep, which was enough. After a four-mile predawn run, I had come down along the water, waiting for the others to wake up and the chef to make breakfast.

The temperature was still in the low 70s with a refreshing, clean-smelling breeze. A single, small fishing boat had dropped anchor offshore sometime last night in the now crystal-clear, electric-blue water.

Tom, the business professor and Brother from Oregon, was the next to wake, and he had joined me. That was a good thing; I needed some time to talk with him. Tom was a pretty average looking early forties guy, but known to be a competent academic. Fit, brown hair and about five foot ten. He was a popular Brother, but was now almost alone in his Sibling adventures. Only two elderly Brothers and Tom remained in the Oregon-Eugene area.

“What do you know, Tom?”

“A biker gang attacked Maggie and Molly, and Maggie almost died.”

I sighed and pressed, “And...?”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Tom eventually offered, “So that is not the full story, is it?”

“No, not even close. Tell me what else you know ... or suspect.”

“It might have been only the motorcycle gang. Maggie and Molly might just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Tom persisted.

“Early on, a distinct possibility. But the investigation has progressed enough to eliminate that possibility.” I stated evenly.

“Someone, or some group, wanted to kill Maggie?”

“They did kill Maggie. She was dead. And not just for a few minutes. It was way longer than medically possible to recover from. She might have been dead for an hour. But Doris Alex brought her back.”

“Jesus!”

“No, it was Doris Alex refusing to give up, and that crazy twins’ DNA energy that she transferred back into Maggie.”

“Still could have just been a crazed motorcycle gang?”

“Let me give you two of the early investigation results, then you tell me it was just wrong place, wrong time.

“First, I contracted Dengue fever from a mosquito when I was with Maggie and Molly in Hawaii. Though it came not from a mosquito and probably was not while we were in Hawaii. Someone shot me with a long-range dart that injected me, felt like a bug bite and disintegrated, so I did not even know what had happened. At some point, they injected Molly and Maggie too.”

“How is that possible?”

“Easy enough. That technology has existed since the 1970s. The CIA developed a ‘heart attack gun’. This gun fired a thin, needle-like ice projectile that contained poison and could penetrate clothes. It only left a small mark, like a bug bite.”

“Damn, but who would want Maggie dead, and why not kill you all right there and then.”

“The why and who I’ll get to. But this approach ... they thought they were being cute and smart. Killing us with bullets would have been messy. The Brotherhood never would have ended the investigation until they discovered and killed them. Just using poison might not have worked either; enough poison to kill the twins, with their DNA? Good luck. So they were hoping to just get us sick and weakened. The Dengue fever injection did not work on the twins at all, with their hopped-up immunity. But they got me out of the way. You know the three of us can rain down psychic fire on attackers. Even two of us, if at full strength.

“They put me out of commission. And they knew we had been portaling to a remote Hawaiian beach. When the twins went without me, they hit the jackpot.”

“How did they know that?”

“Ahh, the second investigation result.” I took off my ring and held it in front of Tom. “My ring, and the rings of my crested Siblings are special. Nate’s pleas for tight security for the twins did not get through to me fully. I wanted them to have a normal life, and not have security present 24/7. The rings were not an intrusion, unlike close-in security.” I thought to myself about the fishing boat anchored right offshore. Not close-in, perhaps no one would notice. But they were another layer of security, and they’d be fishing electronically for any sign that I had a problem here this week.

“Smart move, invisible security.”

“Anyway, the rings use our bodies to amplify a signal and inform security where we are when worn and activated. However, investigators discovered hackers had compromised the rings. Poor Nate feels so guilty, and he was only trying to keep us safe. They fixed the rings, by the way.”

“So the bad guys could track you when you wore the rings? That only leaves motive. Why?”

“Originally, the biggest threats were from a certain overseas power, then from a subset of the Brotherhood ... both focused on the twins’ eugenic Bloodlines potential. The external group lost the scent. And both stick and carrot neutered the internal group.

“Money appears to be the focus of the current hot danger. Two possibilities. The first is that someone planned to kill Maggie because she had destroyed them financially. You don’t just go sell large quantities of Bitcoin by executing trades on the open market. Tom, you know how she had to do it, the transactions would become personal. And there were a lot of huge transactions. She sold all my crypto; and by her example, she sold the Brotherhood’s too. Many billions of dollars in a short period. And she was the big winner as bitcoin plummeted, so everyone else was a loser.”

“But how would they tie it to Maggie?”

I just stared at Tom, waiting for him to come around. He was nervously cracking his knuckles and fidgeting.

Tom looked at me incredulously. “You are saying someone inside the Brotherhood was involved?”

I nodded. “A distinct ... probability.”

“But how would anyone know it was Maggie?” Tom asked.

“Indeed, how would they know? Who knew a teenage girl was behind the sudden mastery of crypto?

“And then there is the second possibility. Thieves working inside the Brotherhood’s companies. Maggie might have torpedoed their plans to rob the Brotherhood and me. What if their plan was to steal the bitcoin internally? Maggie sold ALL of mine. Maggie’s lead prompted the Brotherhood to sell most of its bitcoin as well.”

“But no one can really steal crypto. It would be traced, and selling it in those quantities would be impossible.” Tom argued.

“Come on, Tom, you know better. It is possible. Three-quarters of a billion were stolen this past twelve months. And you know Maggie is determined not to re-buy any more crypto until the end of the year. She has shorted and leveraged to the maximum, convinced Bitcoin will come close to collapse. The thieves were on the clock. Soon enough, either Maggie or the Brotherhood would uncover their scheme. They would need Maggie dead, so her replacement would buy Bitcoin again.”

Now Tom’s forehead had a sweaty sheen; the full gravity had hit him.

“God damn it, Z. And I am a close advisor to our financial firms; hell, I practically run the West Coast operations and was intimately involved working with Maggie. If that scenario were correct, I’d be a prime suspect.”

“Tom, they cleared you.”

Well, that was overstating it. He was not a prime suspect, although one stupid phone call or text warning a conspirator could expose his disloyalty.

“Do I want to know how, Z?”

“No, simply be happy that they gave you the all-clear. But there is the probability that some who work for you or with you are conspirators in killing Maggie.”

“Thus, the investigators kept me out of the loop.”

“It is critical for you not to talk to anyone about this, no matter how much you trust them.”

“Goddamn Z. Anything I can do to help...”

“They may ask you to help close the noose when the time comes. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy our vacation. We can’t show anything is amiss.”

“I understand, Z.”

While I watched Tom’s emotions run the gamut, I wanted to ease into more pleasant territory. He needed a chance to reset before we joined the others. I glanced back and saw movement up on the veranda.

“Thank you for all you have done to get Molly and Maggie admitted to Oregon early, Tom. They are excited!”

“With the AP credits, and after Maggie and Molly take the credit by examination tests, they should be second-term sophomores.” Tom smiled.

“They wish to be regular college students, like pledging the sorority, yet they would find freshman-level classes incredibly dull.” I said.

“Maggie is a polymath. I’ll work with her to continue developing her abilities with the right classes. Look at her with Bitcoin. Most people latch onto a key indicator or two and try to predict what will happen. She integrates everything effortlessly to develop a model that encompasses all possibilities. It looks like she is a psychic, but she is more a sentient supercomputer sucking in knowledge and developing the answer.” Tom elaborated.

I smiled, “Brilliant observation. And you are a fan.”

“That I am, that I am. And Z...?”

“Yes?”

“What about you? You have not enrolled.”

“I’ve been busy, and I will travel the world, Tom.” I said and winked.

“But you have given up your US citizenship. Won’t you need a student visa to come and go now?”

“It saddens me to have given it up. But damn, I would have lost half my income from Maggie’s work. I don’t mind paying taxes, but half! It would have been billions.

“But hey, as far as needing a student visa ... I am getting something much better before we leave! A ten-year diplomatic passport from my adopted country. I will open an honorary consulate for Antigua and Barbuda in Los Angeles as soon as I can find a suitable property to purchase.”

“Oh my god! How much did that cost you?”

“Nothing. All my property purchases here may have helped a little. And they may know of my large charitable contributions here. But I am going to be the West Coast representative, providing some limited services and promoting tourism and investment in Antigua and Barbuda.”

“Geez, Z, I shouldn’t be surprised, but there you go again.”

Tom calmed down from the stress I had previously imposed ... almost. I needed one more distraction, so I asked him about the sorority Siblings from last night. He reveled in talking about the fun with one woman in particular. I let him run on and on. Almost everyone loves to talk about themselves.

When he was ready, I gave my big smile, raised my arms wide and said, “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

Almost everyone had already gathered for breakfast as we climbed the steps, passed the infinity pool, and reached the veranda. The staff had moved a couple of tables over from the bar area so we could all sit together and enjoy the early morning gentle sea breeze, lightly perfumed by the tropical flowers in the landscaping. Total privacy with the surrounding tropical bushes and trees, and a stunning view of the sun dappling the infinity pool, white sand beach, and brilliantly clear turquoise water.

The only ones missing were the flight crew, which was expected. They had a lot of work to do after a flight, especially with a brand-new plane.

Everyone gave bright ‘hello’s’ to Tom. They all ignored me. Which was good, I was debating who to greet first, and this gave me time to read the room.

Tom walked up and kissed keli. Heidi and Chloe were sitting next to the other two Brothers. Good, the new Siblings were getting some attention. Addy was talking to Molly. The other women all seemed engaged, or pretending to be.

I walked over to a huge breakfast buffet spread that looked surprisingly American today, and grabbed some fruit and two breakfast sandwiches, then a large orange juice. Sitting alone at a small two-person table, I wolfed down my food, emptied the orange juice, and began walking to my bedroom.

They were still pranking me. I should not have been over my conversation with Tom, but I was. Matter of fact discussion of the suspects involved in Maggie’s murder and brutal attack on Molly. It was almost as if I had received the same Cymry therapy the twins had taken. Memories stripped of emotion. Like I had only watched a movie of the last month and a half.

I turned off the bad thoughts like a switch. No one needed me in a bad mood. I could switch on happiness, or I could fake it, until it became real.

Turning around, I flashed a big smile and said, “Perky Tits, do you want to help me shower?”

Addy jumped up, did the two handed cross shirt removal, and skipped to me topless. “I win!” she said, “he said ‘hi’ to me first!”

After some laughter, Molly offered, “My money was on Maggie.”

“Nah, she’s recovered now, so back in the bowl she goes with all the other crested Siblings.” I replied with a wink.

“He likes me best!” Addy teased.

“No, you are the shiny new toy,” Maggie fired back and laughed.

“Hey, I do like shiny new toys! And I need to meet the other ‘new to me’ Siblings too.”

“Too late,” John smiled and said. “We’ve already claimed them.”

I’m glad they had; I needed to sex up my crested Siblings way before thinking of the other three sorority girls. And then there was Addy already. The life of leisure and sex was going to get busy.

“Carry on, y’all, I need a shower. I stink.”

“Indeed, you do, Brother, but I love the smell of your sweat.” Addy grinned and dragged me off to the shower.

Our Antigua property was downright palatial. Four bedrooms scattered over six thousand square feet under roof, with a distinct lack of walls. It was a hike to any of the other bedrooms, walking through luxurious patios and gardens. So much was open air, yet protectively covered against the occasional shower.

My bedroom was the largest and closest to the veranda. We had made no changes to the property since the purchase. Everything was creamy, cloudy white. The sheer voile panels around the California king wafted in the breeze. Driftwood-colored furniture and wood floors were everywhere, including my massive bedroom. There were occasional splashes of deep red burgundy, and so much tropical greenery which effectively highlighted what would otherwise be total white-out conditions of a warm indoor blizzard.

Perky Tits was totally naked before we reached my bedroom, to the hoots of the women on the veranda as they watched us disappear. I stripped off my running shorts and T-shirt, tossing them in a hamper as we walked through the enormous white marble bathroom and through to the fabulous walled outdoor shower every bedroom had.