Page 74 of Lord of Debauchery

“Why?”

As he moved to the railing, I sensed the yacht finally moving. I flanked his side, trying my best not to feel slightly nauseous. It wasn’t about being seasick as much as a couple of ugly memories that refused to leave the forefront of my mind.

Including the night my father tossed a crewmember overboard, a sous chef who’d overcooked some chicken. It was something I’d had nightmares about for years.

“Because of the desire to create Utopia.”

“Utopia?”

“A world that they can build from the ashes of ours.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

He turned toward me, eyeing me intently. “The assassins are real, their numbers throughout the world impressive. As suspected, they’re highly trained and have nothing to lose in their lives, which makes them extremely dangerous and perfect for the jobs they were hired to do.”

“Which is?”

“If what I recently learned is true, the Death Squad members are likely to make major hits in the next weeks or months. They’re eliminating anyone they consider formidable adversaries.”

“You.” I wasn’t certain whether to laugh or run away in terror.

“Yes. I don’t know the reason for the games other than I believe my uncle was taunting me for the bad blood he shares with my father and how close we are.”

“Okay. You’re telling me that your uncle is behind this movement and threat to society? You really believe that?”

Nodding, he lifted his champagne glass. “He’s a certifiable nutcase but with thousands of followers, several well-trained types of armies behind him. He wants to completely destroy the world as we know it, gaining control of everything in our society. Money. Oil. Communications. You name it. Unfortunately, it would appear they have they’ve obtained the resources and enough men willing to die to do so.”

I stared at him incredulously.

“What? You’re not serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t.”

As he explained in more detail what he was talking about, I felt myself turn pale. But it wasn’t only because of the world he was describing. It was because I knew my father and brother had a hand in the activity. Oh, my God. I found myself backing away, pressing my hand over my mouth. This was a nightmare come to life. Tears formed in my eyes. “How many people are involved?”

“Well, at this point from a couple lists I received, it would seem twenty or thirty thousand, but I don’t think everyone has been listed. The cream of the crop of society and if I had to guess, I’d say the list will be whittled down once the final period of destruction begins.”

“And you have no idea when that is.”

“Only a guess.”

I sensed he was watching my reaction even more closely. I tried to concentrate on the water and the smooth sailing, but I was already having issues with processing the horrible news. How could anyone think they were going to destroy an entire world and make it their own? “That’s insane.”

“Very much so but with the right people in their pockets, their plan is absolutely doable since everything is online, supposedly secure. They’ve hired the best hackers like I have to all but eliminate those various systems put into play when they’re ready. It’s amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish over two decades.”

“So what are you going to do to stop them? Can you?”

“Let’s just say I’ve signed on with an alliance to bring them to their knees. And we will, as a team, do our best to destroy as many factions as possible.” The conviction in his voice was almost as scary as the information he’d provided, so much so I couldn’t stop shivering.

“How?”

“By hitting them all at once, playing by the same rules as they have. I can’t really tell you more at this point, but I assure you, a plan is in the making.”

“Because you don’t trust me.” I lifted my head, taking a few seconds to remove his sunglasses, which he allowed. I grasped them in my hand, placing them onto his polo.

“Can I?”

“I like to hope you can.”

---