The Immortality Plot

The Immortality Plot - chapter 34

Chantelle was making good time. She was sure she would get Lucius Gynt to Lily Harbor Road in East Hampton just after breakfast. Time was now of the essence. Chantelle would have to accept that there would not be time to shave and bathe before arriving at her destination. From memory, Herman Letski had chosen the house because it was set apart from others and not integral to a gated community. He remembered the times he had spent with Herman Letski in the early days. He had visited him at a number of houses before Letski bought the mansion at East Hampton. It was there that Letski had truly taken him under his wing and raised his consciousness out of the gutter, where Gynt had been likely to spend his entire life, and opened his mind to his true potential. And now he was returning to bite the hand that fed him.

If he wasn’t too late already.

••••

The television flickered. Photographs and archive footage of Craig Martin flashed in sequence on the screen and the voice-over report reprised the career of one of U.S. business’s most controversial figures. His untimely death would be a blessing to some and a shock to others, the report said.

Earlier, a brief mention of someone called Claude Rattin had been included in the report. There was no footage, not one single photograph and no biography. The murders had shocked New York, in particular the ultra-conservative Harvard Club whose reputation had been tarnished.

Herman Letski stared at the screen. On the table in front of him sat Rachel Maclean’s legacy to the world – the cryogenic chamber containing her eggs.

Several million dollars had just vanished in front of Letski’s eyes. He was furious but already his cool, analytical mind was assessing, estimating, balancing and weighing up the odds.

Could there be anything in Martin’s affairs that could lead to Letski? Money had not changed hands so there would be no large sum unaccounted for in his private account. He had only met Martin once to set up the deal and had not given his name. Since then all communication had been through Rattin. What would an investigation into Lifeforce uncover? Nothing. At least, by the time the authorities connected the charity with fertility clinics and adventure companies, Letski would be long gone and, even then, how could those facts lead to him? Only this mythical Monk had intimated aspects of the truth.

But who was The Monk? Was it the website itself writing a form of disguised leader? Was it this man Delaney who had been making a nuisance of himself as Letski had thought all along? There had been no mention of his demise at the Harvard Club. His body would have been removed and dumped. Only Rattin knew what had happened to Delaney. He had arranged everything. And now with Rattin dead, Letski felt suddenly and surprisingly vulnerable.

No, he was safe. Perfectly safe. All he needed to do now was to cleanse two rooms of all traces of his existence and walk to his helicopter. His computer systems had already been stowed otherwise he might have glanced at that Confess-Confess website.

He was glad it was over. It had been a very lucrative adventure and one that had tested his scientific and organizational skills to the extreme. He smiled. He was already dreaming of his next project. But first, he was going to enjoy himself for a couple of years.

And, as for the frozen eggs before him? They were now next to useless. Except to Lucius Gynt, and Letski would be happy to donate them to his pet assassin at this stage free of charge. Either way, he would never see Gynt again.

••••

Delaney could see Grace Ryan was tiring. She was starting to run on adrenalin. He reached out and touched her hair as she drove. She glanced at him, surprised and pleased. She smiled. She felt an energy rush at the touch of Delaney’s hand. Maybe he was channelling chi into her bloodstream.