No one applauded that comment. A scowling King of War said, “Kirov assured us that this would work. He was ready to take a team to Egypt to harvest the bacteria or virus or whatever it was from the tomb of the Pharaoh’s son. Our whole campaign was built around his recovering and reactivating that disease. Now you’re telling us that it was all a waste of time? We’ve invested considerable time and funds into this venture.”
“With respect, Brother War,” said Gault with a placating smile, “that is Kirov’s problem. He may have been overenthusiastic when crafting that plan, since much of what he promised was based on speculation, not on research.”
Toys found himself crossing his fingers under the table. If Gault had hit a dead end, then there was some chance that he was not going to destroy himself with another harebrained plan.
“Kirov’s theory was that the Death of the Firstborn was a communicable pathogen. That much he had already proven to be incorrect. His secondary approach was to then create a new pathogen or mutate an existing virus to target only firstborn children and use that against the children of the Inner Circle. It’s bold, it’s ballsy, but it’s equally flawed. There is nothing genetically unique about firstborn that would open a selective door to a designed pathogen. Granted, crafting such a disease would have been beautiful, and though it would have contributed to the desired goal of overlaying science with religious mystery, it simply cannot be done. To labor on it is an exercise in futility, and a costly one at that.”
“Then we are going to come up short on our campaign,” said the American, smiling faintly and cutting a look at the Goddess. “We’re screwed.”
“No, my brothers,” Gault said with a smile, “we are not. If science has taught us anything it’s that a way will open. When one form of treatment fails, we often learn enough from its failure in order to design a more effective protocol. Observation and compensation are key to scientific advancement.”
Eris smiled. “Tell them,” she purred.
Gault leaned his palms on the table. “The answer lies within the phenomenon of pain. Our desire is to hurt the Inner Circle. Hurt them so deeply, so profoundly, that they will be crippled. Unable and unwilling to make another move against us. That is the true task.”
The Kings and Consciences turned slowly to look at one another, and there were many thoughtful nods.
“Kirov had the right idea, but not the right plan. I have a better plan,” Gault continued. “One that allows us to use everything we’ve already done. The disinformation campaigns through social media and the Internet, the manipulation of extremist cells, and the whole culture of modern terrorism. But it adds an element of coercion that has only been touched upon before.”
Toys noticed that Santoro sat up straight at the word “coercion” and his lips wriggled into an unpleasant and hungry smile.
“My esteemed brother the King of Fear has the resources to bring this program to fruition. With his vast network of contacts, and with the tactical genius of Rafael Santoro, I believe we can get my program up and running in under a month, which would allow us to complete it according to the same timetable as Kirov’s plan.”
There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by questions from everyone at once.
Toys used the commotion to lock eyes with the King of Fear. The American looked briefly furious, but he covered it by slapping on another hearty smile. However, he must have felt Toys’ eyes upon him, because he turned and gave him a very brief but definite wink.
“And now, my brothers,” said Sebastian Gault, “here is how we will do it.”
Chapter Forty-one
In Flight
December 19, 9:03 A.M. EST
I called Church. “You’re gonna love this, Boss,” I said, and told him about the plagues, including the almost certain connection to the Locust bomber.
He said, “It’s a short list of people who knew about that project. I’ll talk to the President. Is there anything else?”
“Yes. I’d like you to make a video.”
“Is this going to be one of your attempts at humor?”
“No. This is serious, and it might help us head another Kings event off at the pass.”
“Tell me.”
I did. He listened and then disconnected without comment. It’s always a Hallmark moment with him. You always feel like your call is the centerpiece of his day.
As I tucked my phone away, Circe said, “You think there will be more Kings attacks?”
“Don’t you?”
“Sadly, yes. But it may not be in what could be called an ‘ordinary way.’”
“Meaning?”
“Apart from the calls to violence, a lot of the Goddess posts are hints that her cult is part of an ancient belief system that is only now revealing itself. By incorporating references to other goddesses, she’s essentially borrowing their history. Hijacking it and claiming it as part of her legacy. If the Goddess is part of the Seven Kings organization, and I think we both agree on that, then the Kings might not actually have to commit seven more acts of terrorism. They can find some that have already happened and retroactively claim that they were responsible. I mean, it wouldn’t take much to suggest that 9/11 was the rain of fire and ash plague.”
“Maybe. Time frame is off.”
“Maybe not. Take the Plague of Frogs. Unless the Kings already have a target in mind that has a frog connotation, like the Locust thing with the bomber, they could claim that the frog extinction is their doing.”
“Wait! What? When did frogs become extinct?”
“What planet are you living on?” she said with exasperation. “Toads and frogs are dying out in huge numbers. It’s well documented. There have been TV specials. Of course, the science tells us that it’s because of pressure from the expansion of agriculture, forestry, pollution, disease, and climate change.”
“How would that have major PR punch for the Kings? I mean, I don’t want to see Kermit take a dirt nap, but … these are just some frogs, right? How’s that work in a biblical way?”
She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “Neanderthal.” Aloud she said, “The die-off of amphibians could be a sign of possible future damage to other parts of the ecosystem, because frogs and toads are especially vulnerable and thus are the first to disappear. Also, a mass disappearance of amphibians would create broken links in the food chain, and that would definitely have an adverse impact on other organisms. If the Kings were to hijack this, it would elevate the public perception of them as unstoppable and possibly supernaturally powerful.”
“Okay,” I said, “I see it. From a propaganda point of view it only matters that the Kings take credit. Anyone who says they aren’t involved has the job of trying to prove a negative, which is self-defeating. I mean, what could the Al-Qaeda do to dispute it? Have a TV debate? Besides, the DMS has already taken out Seven Kings cells that had Al-Qaeda ties. Your 9/11 hypothesis might even be real.”
“God,” she whispered, and her dark eyes went wide.
“At the risk of sounding terribly macho, Doc, I want to find them and shoot them. A lot.”