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“On the contrary, I do. Which is why I’m calling, to tell you what’s bringing me to London with an official invitation from New Scotland Yard, as a matter of fact. A principal in my case was kidnapped and we know she’s been taken to England.” And he told his father all of it, including the break-in. “As if this weren’t enough, Dad, have you ever heard of a group in England called the Highest Order? Or simply the Order?”
Absolute silence. “Dad? Are you still there?”
“Where, exactly, did you hear the name Highest Order?”
“So it does exist?”
“The Order is a very secret organization, Nicholas. It’s not something bandied about in polite conversation. Where’d you see the name, Jonathan Pearce’s files?”
“An old FBI dossier, actually.”
Harry Drummond cursed.
His father never cursed. “Dad, isn’t it time to tell me what’s going on over there? I’m coming. I’m going to be in the middle of it. Don’t make me come in blind. I’m on a line as secure as is humanly possible, and it’s scrambling from your end as well. We couldn’t be more private if we were sitting in the center of the labyrinth out back. So out with it. Please. Sir.”
Harry said, “I must caution you, Nicholas, what I’m going to tell you, you must keep it between us. Do you agree?” He paused. “Of course I don’t want you blind, Nicholas.”
“Yes, sir, of course I agree.”
“Very well. The Order has been around hundreds of years. They’ve gone global now, and honestly, all I truly know for certain is it’s an organization of powerful men dedicated to keeping the world as safe as possible, which isn’t saying much, is it, given the violence in every part of the globe?”
“Above the governments, above the people? How does that work?”
“The Order has always worked for the common good. At first, admittedly, its purpose was to keep the English throne Protestant to avoid bloody war. It changed, of course, but still, the common good continued to benefit England only. That’s really all I can say, Nicholas. You have to trust me here, this isn’t the kind of conversation we want to be having on the phone, regardless of how secure it is.”
“Dad, have you heard of a man named Manfred Havelock?”
Dead-cold silence, then, his voice heavy, his father said, “I knew his father, Wolfgang. He passed away recently.”
“I know that. I saw it when I was looking into Havelock the younger last night.”
Now Nicholas heard urgency in his father’s voice. “May I ask why you were looking into Manfred Havelock?”
“We believe he’s directly tied to the murder of Jonathan Pearce. We’ve also learned he’s been quietly gathering polonium from the black markets. The assassin he sent to kill Pearce had a brain implant which worked as a type of recording device. The man’s mad, it seems, a genius who’s toppled over the edge. We’re looking for him, beating all the bushes. His last known location was Berlin, but we believe he may be heading to Scotland. He’s looking for a submarine called Victoria, which went down in 1917.”
“Nicholas.”
Nicholas heard the alarm, the urgency in his father’s voice. “What is it?”
“How far out are you?”
“We should be on the ground in two hours. Dad, what’s going on?”
“When you arrive, you need to see Oliver Leyland. Go directly to his home in Mayfair. Do not stop anywhere else. Do you understand?”
“The head of the Bank of England? That Oliver Leyland?”
“Yes. I will tell him you’re coming.”
“Dad, what is going on?”
Harry said, “Wolfgang Havelock was a member of the Order, too. High-ranking.”
“Too?”
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“Alfie Stanford, Nicholas. He was the head of the Highest Order, their leader for many years. And now Manfred Havelock’s been inducted. This is bad, very bad. Get to Leyland, Nicholas. He’ll tell you what’s happened. I do know the Order is under attack. Nicholas? Be careful, be very, very careful.”
