FSE

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Limousines formed a long arc on the circular drive of the British Embassy in Berlin. Ladies in ballgowns and men in tuxedos exited the long black cars and entered through high bronze doors into the foyer, where they were met by the British ambassador to German, Charles Lexington, and his wife, Martha, a tall, serene woman with white hair cut in a pageboy. The social event of the year was a celebration of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth.

The elite of Germany had been invited, and all attended. The President, the National Congress leaders, the mayor of the city, financiers and industrialists, and the nation's most admired celebrities. Those who entered the ballroom to the music of an orchestra in eighteenth-century costume were enthralled with the sumptuous buffet prepared by the finest chefs imported from England especially for the event.

When Karl Liebe and his usual entourage of sisters made their grand entrance into the vast room, they inevitably received the stares of everyone present. His personal bodyguard stayed close beside them at all times. In keeping with their family tradition, the gorgeous women were all wearing gowns of the same design but in different colors. After being greeted by the British ambassador, they swept into the ballroom, their radiance envied by almost all the women present.

Karl was accompanied by Geli, Maria, and Luci, who'd brought along their husbands, and Elsie, who had just returned from America. As his sisters and their spouses began dancing to a medley of Cole Porter tunes, Karl led Elsie to the buffet, stopping along the way to accept a glass of champagne from the uniformed waiters. They selected a sampling of exotic dishes and moved into the library, where they found an empty table with two chairs next to a floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

Elsie was about to lift a fork with a delicate cheese to her mouth when her hand froze in midair and her face took on a look of disbelief. Karl studied her dazed expression but did not turn around, instead waiting quietly for an explanation. It came with the presence of a tall, rugged-looking man with a lovely woman at his side, flaming red hair cascading to her shoulders. The man wore a tuxedo with a maroon brocade vest, and a gold watch chain hung across the front. The woman was dressed in a black silk velvet jacket over a slim-fitting, black silk ankle-length gown, slit on the sides. A crystal-beaded choker adorned her slender neck.

They approached the Liebes and stopped. "How nice to see you again, Elsie," said Slayer cordially. Before she could answer, he turned to Liebe. "You must be the infamous Karl Liebe I've heard so much about" He paused and turned to Sasha . "May I introduce Dr. Sasha Lovelace?"

Liebe gazed at Slayer as a cutter might study a diamond before lifting his mallet to strike his wedge and cleave a stone. Though he didn't seem to recognize Slayer, Sasha felt a chill ripple up her spine. The billionaire was extremely handsome, but he stared from eyes that were cold and threatening. A hardness about him suggested an underlying savagery. If he knew who she was, he showed no sign of recognition at hearing her name, nor did he display courteous grace by rising from his chair.

"Though we have never met," Slayer continued in a friendly fashion, "I feel as if I know you."

"I have no idea who you are," said Liebe in perfect English, with just a trace of a Teutonic inflection.

"My name is Jackson Slayer."

For a brief moment, there was incomprehension in Liebe's eyes, and then his face slowly took on a look of pure animosity. "So, you are the famous Jackson Slayer?" he asked coldly.

"None other." He smiled at Elsie. "You look surprised to see me. You left Washington quite suddenly before we had a chance to chat again."

"Where did you come from?" she snarled.

"From your little ship, Liebe," Slayer answered politely. "After taking a complete tour of the ship, Sasha and I found ourselves in Berlin and thought we'd drop by and say hello."

If her eyes were lasers, Slayer would have been fried and grilled. "You don’t know what you dealing with, you can end dead."

"You've tried, and it didn't work out," Slayer replied casually. "I don't advise you to try again, certainly not inside the British Embassy in front of all these people."

"They can’t protect you for long, in this place you are safe, but on the streets the lights can’t protect you. Any gun you have, even your sharpest blades will be useless, you will be helpless to protect yourselves."

"Not a good idea, Karl. You'd only upset the United States Marines who escorted us here tonight under the protection of the American ambassador, John Horn."

“They can’t help you, no one can.” Liebe spoke calmly.

One of Liebe's hefty bodyguards moved forward then as if to remove Slayer, but suddenly Lance Thruster, Slayers trustworthy companion, stepped from behind and stood toe-to-toe with the guard, blocking any movement. The guard, who outweighed Lance by a good fifty pounds and stood ten inches taller, looked down contemptuously and said, "What makes you think you're so tough, tiny chap?"

Lance grinned condescendingly. "Would you be impressed if I told you that I'd just destroyed half a dozen of those super soldiers on your boat?"

"He's not kidding," said Slayer.

The guard's reaction was amusing. He didn't know whether to be mad or wary. Liebe raised a hand and idly waved off his bodyguard. "I congratulate all of you on your escape from my ship. My security forces proved most inept."

"Not at all," Slayer replied amicably. "They were really quite good. We were very lucky."

"From the report I received, luck had very little to do with it."

It was as close to a compliment as Karl Liebe could ever give. He came slowly out of his chair and stood facing Slayer. He was two inches taller and relished looking down at this thorn in his side. His blue-gray eyes glinted, but their fixed stare was easily matched and returned by Slayer, who was more interested in studying his enemy than engaging in a childish game of stare-down.

"You are making a regrettable mistake in opposing me, Mr. Slayer. Surely you must be aware by now that I am dedicated to using every tool at my command to make the world a better place."

"You have a strange way of going about it."

"Why did you come here tonight?"

Slayer did not back off. "I have suffered a great deal of inconvenience because of your family, and I was determined to meet the man who's been scheming to play master of the universe."

“And you think that is me?” Liebe asked with a devious smile.

“I saw the terrible experiments in your ship! The things you are doing are inhumane.” Slayer spoke, cold fury permeating his words.

Liebe shook his head, distraught.

"And now that you've met me?" Disappointment filled his words.

"It seems you have been expecting some kind of cataclysm, something that will change the world, but I can assure you that whatever you are planning it will not come to fruition. As we speak there are special agents assaulting your houses and teams of hackers paralyzing all your assets, come morning you won’t even be able to play happy farm on your cell phone."

Liebe looked at Slayer speculatively and smiled maliciously. It was obvious that a man of his wealth and power was not used to people who did not fear him, who did not grovel in his divine presence.

"The coming cataclysm is an established conclusion. The world, as it is known by every living creature, will no longer exist. With the exception of my family, everyone in this room will surely perish." He leaned forward with a wicked grin. "But you will survive, you showed a great deal of skill and talents that would be invaluable to our operations. Come and find us, let me show you the true extension of my plan and then you will see the truth! The end of the world... will begin precisely four days and ten hours from now."

Slayer tried to hide his shock. Less than five days! How was it possible?

Sasha didn’t bother to hide her dismay. "How could you do this? Why have you gone to so much trouble to keep it a secret?" she demanded impassionedly. "Why haven't you warned every living soul on Earth so they can prepare for whatever happens? Have you and your precious sisters no conscience? Have you no compassion? You're just as bad as your ancestors who slaughtered millions--"

Elsie shot to her feet. "How dare you insult my brother!" she hissed.

Slayer slid his arm around Sasha’s waist. "Don't waste your breath on these purveyors of slime," he said, his face taut with anger. The confrontation was getting too tense, but he couldn't resist getting in one more remark. He looked at Elsie and said pleasantly, with a chilling grin, "You know, Liebe, I'll bet that making love to you and your sisters is like making love to ice sculptures."

“You will discover that very soon, Slayer.” Liebe spoke under his breath.

Slayer decided it was wiser to hang around and attempt to milk the Liebes for more information while he had their attention. He made a slight bow to Lance. "You first."

"My pleasure." Lance took Sasha’s hand and led her to the dance floor, where the orchestra was playing "Night and Day."

Slayer said to Karl Liebe, "Very clever of you, accelerating the schedule. How did you do it?"

"Ah, Mr. Slayer," Liebe said. "That was not my doing, you probably would knew that if you weren’t so obsessed with me."

Slayer tried a different tack. "I compliment you on your ships. They are magnificent vessels; it’s a shame that they will never set sea. I’ll make sure to bid on one of them after all this is over and they began selling all your assets."

"That is true." Liebe was intrigued, despite himself. "But if you want one of them so much I’ll be more than happy to gift one to you, have it as a prize for getting so close to the truth."

"Do you really think you will get away with your plan? Do you really think that you will be able to survive this cataclysm?"

"My engineers have assured me their calculations are precise."

"What happens if they're wrong?"

The expression on Liebe's face suggested that he never considered the thought. "The cataclysm will come to pass, exactly when I said it would, and our ships will be safe."

"I'm not sure I'd want to be around after the earth was devastated and most of the humans and animals became extinct."

"All that is flesh will perish, but then you have seen the creatures in my ship, they have been made to not only survive, but thrive in the new ecosystems that will rise after the cataclysm. Now, I must bid you good night. We have so much to do in the next five days, please keep going with your investigation, it’s a truly entertaining for my family." And he gathered up his sister and walked away.

Slayer desperately wanted to believe that Liebe was simply another lunatic, but this man's passion and that of his entire family went far beyond mere fanaticism. Slayer stood there, uneasy. No man this intelligent would build an empire worth many billions of dollars to throw it away on a crackpot scheme. There had to be an underlying rationality, one that was too horrifying to envision. But what? According to Liebe's own timetable, Slayer now had only four days and ten hours to find the answer. And why was Liebe so forthcoming about the deadline? It was almost as if he didn't care that Slayer knew. Did he simply think that it didn't matter anymore, that there was nothing anyone could do about it? Or was there some other reason in that devious mind?

Slayer turned and walked away. He needed to find out what was Liebe planning to do and he needed to do it fast! There was no more time to follow procedure; he and Lance would need to act tonight.