The Templar Reprisals (The Best Thrillers Book 3) by James Best (free ebook reader for ipad .TXT) 📗

Baldwin smiled. “The public’s so easily confused. Especially about secret societies and conspiracies with shadowy alliances to other nations.” Baldwin paused a dramatic moment. “You’ll be a leper in this town.”

As Smith considered the implications, his anger dissipated, to be replaced with obvious nervousness. Reputation is paramount to a lobbyist. Being played for a sucker would be almost as bad as being an eager participant.

“What does O’Brian want from me?” Smith’s tone was cautious.

“He didn’t say … but he’s a mason and he hunts Ikhwan like you,” Evarts said.

“He also hunts Templars.”

“Only those in the Army. It’s a matter of command and control. That would be the control part. I’m sure you understand. You have similar issues within the Templars.”

Evarts waited for Smith to think it through.

“Where do we meet and what time?”

“You’re to come back with us to the Watergate. We can have a drink until he can break free. Perhaps an early supper.”

“Why can’t I just meet you at an appointed hour?”

“Because we don’t trust you. Hand me your cell phone and come with us now willingly … if not, we’ll reveal your role in this terrorist attack and inform the world that you’re a member of a rogue vigilante group that may be affiliated with other bad characters.”

Baldwin added, “We’ll make sure your name is prominent. Your fellow knights should appreciate that.”

“They would never believe I betrayed them.”

“Not wittingly,” Evarts said, “but gross carelessness … still a serious breach of your vows.”

Smith’s expression lost its hard edge. Evarts had witnessed this many times. He was beaten.

Chapter 70

“So, you’re just a tolerant order and your opponents are bigots,” Baldwin said. “Tell me, can a Catholic be elevated to the Templars?”

“That’s different,” Smith said. “The Pope called for our extinction in 1312. We suffered unspeakable torture and death at the hands of the acolytes of Pope Clement V.”

Baldwin leaned forward. “You claim you don’t hate the religious, yet you wage war with the two largest religions on Earth. Are you—”

“We are not at war with any religion. We’re at war with the Ikhwan. The Ikhwan is not a religion. They claim to fight for Islam, but no one ordained them as holy warriors. They anointed themselves.”

They were sitting in their hotel room sipping scotch and nibbling cocktail peanuts. Baldwin and Smith had been arguing for fifteen minutes. Evarts had kept out of it. Smith and Baldwin knew far more than he did about the Templars, Freemasonry, Catholics, Muslims, and Ikhwan. He had not planned this, but her engaging Smith in an emotional argument might cause him to reveal something. By listening carefully, Evarts hoped to pick up useful information from one of Smith’s outbursts.

Baldwin leaned back against the cushions of the couch. “So, it’s all just a misunderstanding. If we all get to know each other better, we can sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya?”

Smith’s face turned red. “It’s way beyond negotiation or compromise. They mean to kill us … and we mean to kill them first.”

“How do you intend to pull that off?” Evarts decided to ask. “They outnumber you by a wide margin and they have more money. You haven’t been soundly defeated yet because you’ve been fighting a hit and run guerrilla war. Face it, they haven’t come after you in earnest because you’re barely a prick in their side.”

“You’re wrong … and misinformed. We have far more money. Granted, they have more men and can easily recruit more, but they’re ill trained and generally equipped with cheap, poorly maintained weapons. No discipline in their ranks. We’ve been biding our time until we could accumulate good intelligence. We’re almost there … then we’ll strike.”

“Methow told me they have enormous financial resources. Not only are they financed by the Saudi royal family, but they’ve stockpiled cash from oil sales during the heyday of ISIS.”

“Nevertheless, their wealth pales in comparison to ours. When we fled King Philip IV, we took our portable wealth with us.” He smiled. “We now own a huge chunk of this planet.”

“Bullshit,” Evarts said.

“Not bullshit. You’d believe me if you understood compound interest.”

“I’m familiar with the concept,” Evarts said.

“Then imagine a quarter billion dollars compounded for seven hundred years.”

Smith wore a satisfied expression and waited for Evart to show proper awe. Instead, Evarts looked at him flatly. He didn’t speak because he wanted to know more.

“Don’t bother to search for our money, it’s dispersed in so many different places and disguised so thoroughly that you’ll never find a common thread. Templars have been international bankers from the beginning.”

“More bullshit,” Evarts said. “If the Templar fortune is that huge, we can find it. Maybe we’ll look at the world’s billionaires. Especially those who have wobbled on the edge of bankruptcy.”

Smith studied him, but Evarts maintained a neutral expression. Finally, he said, “Methow talked too much.”

“He did,” Evarts said flatly.

“How much money each side has is neither here nor there. We can beat the Ikhwan because we’re organized and technology driven. It’s not only their societal norms that are stuck in the Middle Ages; their fighting techniques are also antiquated. Don’t worry, when we’re ready, we’ll crush them. They won’t know what hit them.”

Baldwin laughed. “And I thought Arabs were full of braggadocio.”

Smith turned crimson. “That’s not braggadocio. We’ve been planning our assault since our reemergence.”

“Curious,” Evarts said. “Methow mentioned that the Templar rebirth coincided with the establishment of Israel. So, who managed the Templar money through all those centuries?”

“Our Scottish brethren,” Smith blurted. “They kept the flame burning until they saw a sign that we were needed again.”

“The Hundred Years War, the Napoleonic Wars, The Great War, World War II, you were needed in none of those?” Baldwin asked.

“We’re a monastic order. General warfare is not our purpose. We’re only concerned with protecting the Holy Land. That is our ordained duty. Throughout those intervening centuries, we work for peace.”

“Peace?” Baldwin said. “Since you went underground, there’s been nothing but war. If you were working for peace, you