Chapter 24
Tarek and Valerio did not like the way things were going. Ever since the birth of Aurora, they felt the team had started to break apart.
The relation with George was becoming more of a business one than the friendship it used to be. Just within the last year and a half their correspondence had faded to a few emails per month about updates on the Telomerax production and diffusion. They had not met in person since 2015.
Louis and Dora had isolated themselves in their villa on the secluded hillsides of Zurich, with Louis completely absorbed in his studies on the new variant of Telomerax.
Helena was the only one who kept the friendship alive. She regularly called Tarek and Valerio, using her secure internet connection.
Her video calls almost always ended with the latest mischiefs of Aurora. She had managed to recover fully from the cancer and it was clear that her focus was now on her child. She never said where she was calling from - all that Valerio and Tarek knew was that it was somewhere in Brazil, where she could count on the protection of the narcos clans.
Tarek and Valerio, however, regularly met in person at least once a year, thanks to the fact that Tarek took his family to London during the Christmas shopping season. In December of 2015, they were sitting in front of their beers in a deserted pub near Canary Wharf. It was a Saturday afternoon and all the surrounding office blocks were empty.
Tarek gave a generous tip to the waitress before lighting a cigarette. As he expected, nobody came to enforce the no-smoking rule.
“How are you doing, Valerio? I am already tired of our annual Christmas shopping week, even though the boys are old enough to take care of mom at Harrod’s and I can spend my time with friends..”
“Being tired of London means being tired of life, Tarek,” Valerio rebuffed. “You have many more trips in your future, and most people would give anything for the gift we have.”
“Ah, yes, our gift. Let’s call it that. Do you think we are on the right track? I honestly have a bad feeling.”
“It is more than a bad feeling, look at this.” Valerio put in front of Tarek some printouts for him to read.
“Hmmm...some Asian millionaire in Taiwan went a bit too far with his cocaine party and the end result was a shoot out with more than twenty dead, including the party host?”
“That is the official story on the Taiwanese news, translated by Google. But even the original, in Chinese, fails to mention the most important details that I got thanks to my connections in the newspaper industry. First, it was not a normal shootout, like the ones that happen all the time in New York City. It surprisingly was the host, that all the sudden lost control of himself and started killing his guests by all possible means: from guns, to knifes, and even his bare hands. The casualties include the first three cops who were called in to try to stop him.
Second, the party was only partially based on cocaine. The guy is one of the first customers of Telomerax in the region, at least according to the latest list of customers that Mr. Lee and George gave us six months ago. So I tried to contact George to find out more. After more than two weeks, he called me back as if he was doing me a favor and pretended that Telomerax has nothing to do with it. As if this guy had indeed moved to the Russian version - you can call it Telomeraski if you want. So, yes, it is definitely spinning out of control.”
“Now I understand why Rasim is growing uneasy...” said Tarek “He might have a part in this. You know, he has been giving huge amounts of pills to the Russians, but I thought he did this simply to build his fortune. But apparently Russians have added their own sauce..”
“..and the whole thing is morphing into something no one was expecting,” Valerio completed. “Jesus, the only thing I do not regret about this whole thing is that I told the Pope three years ago.”
“Not even the Pope can solve our problem, Valerio. I do envy you a bit though, for this special, last resort outlet you have to discharge your soul…when you remember you have one..” Tarek laughed. “Did you hear anything from the Vatican again? What are they doing with the information?”
“About one year after the new Pope took office, he called me on the phone. I was right in the middle of a client meeting, when I saw the number from Rome. I picked it up, and a voice told me they are going to put me in contact with His Holiness Pope Francis. I was surprised, but not too much, since it is known he often calls personally when he is touched by some special story. I knew I had told Benedict XVI special information.
I automatically wondered how to make sure the conversation was confidential, as I do with every important call, so you know what I said? ‘Please confirm that the following discussion will not be wiretapped or recorded in any way.’ I felt like an idiot, the moment I finished the sentence.”
Tarek was doing his utmost not to burst into laughter, and Valerio continued.
“I think he also laughed on the other end of the line, however he responded respectfully by saying he had discussed my case with his honorable predecessor, and he was praying for me.”
“That’s it?” asked Tarek, who was regaining control over his laughing fit and getting interested in the story. “I mean, it is not every day you get put on the Pope’s list of special intentions but did he give you any advice?”
“He mentioned he was trying to see what he could do with the information, he thanked me again because this would help him finalize his decisions, and he stated we had to rely on God’s grace to get answers on difficult matters. This, in practical terms, meant a lot of prayer and discussion with those he trusted within the Church.”
“So he is sharing the secret inside the Church,” Tarek pointed out. “If he shares this with more than a dozen trusted people, we have a very good chance that someone betrays him and uses it for their own interest.”
“That’s exactly what I thought, but I did not dare bring it up. I am sure he is also fully aware. But if you look at what he is doing and saying in public, it seems he is really trying to refocus the Church away from any specific moral or political positioning, and return to the basics.”
“Alright,” concluded Tarek. “So we have His Holiness, Pope Francis, on our side with all his Swiss guards, that everybody knows have about as much strength as an ant. What is next?”
“Don’t be an asshole,” said Valerio “at least he comforted me, even with a one-minute call. In the long run, it will help to be on good terms with the Pope. And unlike Galileo, we have time to see things unfold.”
“Well, we definitely could use some faith now,” said Tarek. “Back to other business, Rasim has been called by George to go to Taiwan in about one month from now. George said that Mr. Lee wanted to reassure the local head of the drug dealers that we, alone, sell quality products.
Rasim asked me to go with him, hinting that George would like to see both of us. But I did not get any call from George and I do not have that much interest to pick up the phone. Anyway, I was wondering what was behind this invitation to Taiwan, but now that you told me this shoot out story, things start to add up. But why would George not tell us anything?”
“It looks like he trusts Mr. Lee more than us, or he believes that we sided with Helena after they broke up,” Valerio said. “The problem is, what if he passes completely to the other side? Will we still be part of the team or be put on the enemy list?”
“Valerio, in our business you cannot afford to take risks. If you are not one-hundred percent sure that someone is a friend, it is much safer to put him on the enemy list.”
“George, an enemy?” pondered Valerio.
“Maybe not, or just not yet,” Tarek said, “but you know what? I moved to a new house, and changed a few habits that George knew all too well. He can still reach me, but he no longer knows if I put the house keys under the doormat or next to the garage door. I suggest you do the same. And also, prepare a quick relocation plan to a safe place in case something goes wrong with him or with his new best friends. Just as Helena did.”
Tarek p
ut out his cigarette in the remaining beer at the bottom of his glass, and asked for the bill.
“Now you have to excuse me. In half an hour, my wife will be waiting for me outside Harrod’s, and I am way too far from there. Merry Christmas, Valerio, and pass it on to the Pope if he calls you back for the season’s greetings.”
Tarek patted Valerio on the back and shook his hand, then stepped out of the door into the chilly winter air, and jumped in the first taxi that passed.