“This massage is feeling so good,” I said to Crystal, “I think you are getting better all the time.” “How can I get better than perfect?” she asked, “remember the first time I gave you a massage?” “Yes, I remember,” I said, “and I told you it was perfect. My memory is working fine now.” “Are you still there Steve?” asked Annelie.

“Um, yeah, I just need to get my phone out to hear you better,” I said. “I will get it,” said Kat, “that way you do not need to move.” “Thanks, that is easier,” I said. “Hey, that does not sound like Sky,” said Annelie, “who is with you?” “Crystal is giving me a massage,” I said. “I hope you have strong hands Kat,” she said, “Steve might need more after hearing this news.”

“And here I was hoping for some good news,” I said. “Well, there is good news too,” she said, “Team 5 from Mandar will be meeting you in Auckland,” she said. “How did he know we would be there?” I asked, “there is no way he could get his team there in time to meet us once he was told where to go.”

“You forget that Mandar has a unique way of outguessing people,” she reminded me, “remember your first encounter with him?” “Yes,” I chuckled, “he was always a step ahead of us even though we had the clues in that case and he did not. How many is in Team 5 again?” “There are 15 still, he added 2 new members to make up for the 2 we took from him,” she said.

“Good, we may need them since we are down to just half a team right now,” I said sighing. “Just wait now for the other news,” she said. She then proceeded to tell us what she had found out. Kat and I could hardly believe what we heard. “Guess we need to call for a team meeting right away,” I said, “be ready with those pics Annelie.” “Ready on my end Steve,” she said.

I then went out and got everyone together for our meeting. Poor Aasta, it was obvious she had been crying, a lot. I remembered right then my promise to the Major to look after Aasta should anything happen to him. And I will keep that promise, to my death if necessary. “Okay everyone,” I said, “we will start with some photos.” The pics of 3 men came up on our big screen for all to see.

“Recognize these men Mac, or Frank?” I asked them. “Yeah,” said Mac, “those are 3 of Victor’s top 10 men after the Major.” He then quickly looked at me. “Now, what about these 7 men?” I asked. “That is the rest of those 10,” said Frank. “Right,” agreed Mac. “Okay, the first 3 are the ones that killed Major and his men,” I said, “and all 3 of them were killed by police and airport security in a gun fight.

So we do not need to worry about them now. The remaining 7 are for us to deal with. Now, here is a photo of the leader of the Spanish organization.” Up came a photo. “Whoa!” said Mac and Frank together, “are you sure this is him?” “Yep, we are positive,” I said, “Victor was playing both sides in this, which is why no good photos of the Spanish leader were available.

Victor did not want anyone knowing. Now the next part, these 10 men are also the big 10 we have been looking for these days, now only 7 of them left, though they may have more men with them at the safe house. Victor had infiltrated Baldwin Corporation and set up the fake Steve to inherit everything, then he planned on getting rid of the fake Steve with the help of the fake Sky, who was also Victor’s wife.

Victor has been patient in his work and if he had succeeded it would have caused some serious problems worldwide, especially since much of the friendly nations military might is provided through Baldwin Corporation. Imagine what would have happened if Victor controlled all of that. He had huge ambitions, which fortunately have failed.

Now, while Victor was doing this, the police did some infiltrating of their own, getting inside Victor’s organization. And, as we speak, they are busy taking down Victor and his entire organization. Mac and Frank, you have nothing to worry about since your new identities say that you have been with us for 2 years and prior to that you held ordinary jobs in small towns in the US.”

“But the police will have our pictures,” said Frank. “True, they did,” I admitted, “but for some reason those photos went missing, so, your new identities are safe. Besides, Mac was never a member, he was a freelancer.” “Yeah, that is true,” said Mac, “but for people like the Major, it is next to impossible to leave the organization, he was too high up, Victor would have killed him immediately.”

“Perhaps that is why Victor had him killed, maybe he had told Victor he wanted out,” I said. “Yes, daddy and I had talked about it before he left,” said Aasta…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.