Primary Valor by Jack Mars (booksvooks TXT) 📗

beautiful as she ever was. They were great friends, associates,former lovers, allies in a cold, cold world. Her green eyes sparkled. Her thickeyelashes and her makeup gave her the effect of having cat’s eyes. She wore adark green dress, as though she had prepared herself for his arrival.

“Hello, darling,” she said.

“Hello, gorgeous.”

He leaned in and they shared along kiss. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. They had a history together. Theyunderstood each other. Love was one thing, and they probably did love eachother. But the hardest part was finding someone who could understand. They wereboth monsters in their own way. They both understood this, and they acceptedit. That was rare. That was gold.

“It’s good to see you,” she said.

As Darwin settled in, the littleconvoy rolled out. The three cars drove right down the middle of the runwaytoward a high chain-link fence at the far end—the exit. The fence was toppedwith razor wire.

The driver of the Rolls was a darkshadow on the far side of a smoked glass partition.

“How was your flight?”

“Fine,” Darwin said. “Nocomplaints. How is everything here?”

“Things are good. Do you mind if Ismoke?”

Darwin smiled. “Go right ahead. Ilike smoke.”

Elaine took a cigarette out of asmall black case, along with a gold cigarette holder. She lit up, folded herlegs, and exhaled, filling the compartment with smoke. For a moment, she lookedlike some sort of strange marionette.

“We brought in a new girl. Ihappened to be in the States, and I met her for the first time on the flighthome. You’ll like her. She’s perfect. I’m taking charge of her personally.”

Darwin nodded. “Excellent. Wheredid she come from?”

Elaine waved a hand. “Oh, youknow. There was a certain individual, a chronic problem with finances. Therepayment schedule didn’t work out. We’ve been patient, but it became clearthat the options were dwindling. A little research turned up a tasty littlemorsel very close to his orbit. So he agreed to this arrangement instead. Reluctantly,I suppose, but I don’t anticipate any trouble. I think he knows his place inthe pecking order.”

“Terrific,” Darwin said. “If heforgets his place, we’ll be sure to remind him.”

Elaine took another drag on thelong cigarette. “Yes, we will.”

“In the meantime, I’ll lookforward to meeting the young lady.”

Elaine nodded. “You will be verypleased.”

He reached for her cigarette andshe handed it to him. He took a deep drag. He let the smoke settle deep intohis lungs. Technically, he had quit smoking thirty years ago. But sometimes hejust couldn’t resist. Even now, after all these years, there was still nothinglike it. It filled some hunger that he had. All real smokers were that way—theyhad a hunger, a need, that ordinary life simply couldn’t meet.

He released the smoke back intothe car and handed her the cigarette.

“And the man?” he said.

She arched her eyebrows. “Yes. Theone who owed? You know exactly who it is.”

Darwin nodded. “Yes, I do. No onehas a memory like me. I know all my business. And the man still owes. Whateverhe thought the agreement was, that wasn’t the agreement. The girl bought himhalf off the principal, but no more. We’ve been waiting too long, and it’s notas if the transfer of ownership is free. It costs quite a lot of money, as youknow. So half off. That’s it. The rest is still payable, and the interest isthe same as before.”

Elaine barked laughter. “You’re sowicked. I love it.”

Darwin smiled. “Evil.”

“The devil,” she said.

He winked at her. “God had betterwatch out. I’m coming for Him next.”

The car motored along a narrow,winding concrete roadway lined with palm trees and dense undergrowth. On theright, across more undergrowth, steep green hillsides rose above them. On theleft, through the foliage, Darwin caught a glimpse of the turquoise water, andfurther out, the white foam of waves crashing.

They were the only cars on the road.Of course they were. St. Simon’s Saw was a private island, and Darwin Kingowned it. The only people here were Darwin, the people close to him, and thepeople who worked for him.

The car and its SUV escorts exitedthe main road and followed a narrow, well-paved lane uphill through the thickgreenery. The ascent was steep for a moment, and then very steep. Darwin satback in his seat, almost like an astronaut waiting for takeoff. He felt theheavy Rolls working to manage the hill.

The entrance to the estate was atthe top. The procession waited while the main gate slid open, then each carpassed through in line. The fence itself was a typical metal chain-link fence. Darwinglanced upward and spotted bands of circular razor wire at the top. Beat thatouter fence and you faced about twenty feet to an identical one, with identicalrazor wire on top. The gap between fences was a dog run.

Darwin spotted a couple ofDobermans roaming free in there. This place was paradise, but even paradise hadto be fortified against your enemies.

Up ahead, the main house came intoview. It was a palace. When the car pulled to the top of the circular driveway,Darwin did a quick calculation. Old quarried stone house, more than a centuryold, fully restored, probably thirty rooms. He wasn’t even quite sure himselfhow many rooms there were. But it was a beautiful home, he knew that. It was aperfect thing. There were more expensive homes in this world, but none werebetter.

Darwin exited the car andimmediately felt the breeze—the air wasn’t nearly as hot up here. Ahead of him,Elaine stepped up the stone front steps. Darwin carried his own bag andfollowed her.

At the top of the stairs, Darwinturned around for a moment. The front of the house faced inland—a sweepingpanorama downhill across the brown and green island, and in the far distance,the ocean. Here and there, wisps of cloud clung to the high treetops—theremight be a few drops of rain in those clouds, but not much. It was just hangingmoisture, feeding the plant life. This was where Heaven and Earth met.

“I own this,” he said in a lowvoice. “This is mine.”

It was amazing, the things heowned. He really did walk like a god among mortals. Everything came to him. Noone could resist him.

They crossed