Greene's Calling: Seventeen Book Three (A Supernatural Action Adventure Thriller Series 3) (20 page)

‘It’s all right, Elsa.’ Obenhaus smiled. ‘I took the liberty of greeting them myself. Can you warn Ulrich that we’re on our way?’

The secretary nodded. ‘As you wish, sir.’

Obenhaus took them down a flight of stairs to the next floor. They strolled past a row of offices and conference rooms and came to an opening in the west wall of the gallery. The glass and steel skywalk lay beyond. They entered the tubular bridge and crossed the one-hundred-foot gap to the second building.

Obenhaus stopped in front of a curved, glass door and pressed his hand against another biometric display. ‘Welcome to the main R&D section of the Obenhaus Group,’ he said as the door slid open.

They followed him into a wide, brightly lit corridor. Airy labs appeared on either side of the passage. White-coated figures worked at counters crowded with complex instruments and machines inside them.

‘The building has four levels, each dedicated to a different aspect of macromolecular science, as well as the technological applications of our polymer materials,’ Obenhaus explained. ‘The production of our most valuable invention takes place in the basement of this facility.’

Conrad raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean it isn’t in one of the factories in the compound?’

Obenhaus shook his head. ‘The security measures in place inside this building are far superior to the ones we use for our other plants.’ His tone grew guarded. ‘We have data-sensitive contracts with a number of foreign governments. The nature of the work we’re carrying out for them requires added protection.’

He turned the corner and proceeded to a service elevator. They entered the cabin after him and walked out onto a metal mezzanine fifty feet below ground.

‘
This
is the heart of the Obenhaus Group.’ A note of pride crept into the voice of the company president. ‘My father had this facility built in the 1980s, just months before his death.’

Conrad walked to the edge of the steel walkway and looked down onto a vast space that extended a good five hundred feet ahead of them.

Towering rows of industrial-scale, automated machinery and workstations populated the factory below. A chain of airtight doors lined its western wall, the gaps between them interspersed with thick piping that fed into the machines. Roller doors hedged a staging area packed with pallets of boxes and crates at the other end of the plant. Cranes and forklifts dotted the floor, while extraction fans and airshafts populated the ceiling and walls.

Despite the dozens of people working below them, the plant was remarkably quiet but for the drone and clank of the machines. It also reeked of efficiency. The immortal was impressed.

‘I find excessive noise to be counterproductive,’ Obenhaus explained with a faint smile at Conrad’s expression. ‘Come, I’ll show you where the polymer exits the production chain.’ He guided them to a metal staircase at the end of the walkway.

A man in white overalls and a hard hat came striding across the concrete floor toward them when they reached the bottom of the steps.

‘Ah, Ulrich!’ Obenhaus exclaimed. He made the introductions. ‘This is Ulrich Voigt, the operations manager for this plant. Ulrich, the gentlemen and lady would like to see where product OG1140 is being made.’

Voigt lifted his hat and scratched his forehead, surprise evident in his eyes. ‘I didn’t know we were having the auditors today, Mr. Obenhaus,’ he mumbled. ‘I thought they weren’t due to visit until next month.’

‘They’re not from the audit office,’ Obenhaus said pleasantly.

Voigt waited for his employer to elaborate. When he realized no further information would be forthcoming, he cleared his throat and turned on his heels. ‘Follow me.’

They crossed the floor to the west wall of the plant and stopped in front of one of the sealed doors. A glazed window occupied the top half of the metal panel. Conrad peered curiously through the glass. Several enormous steel vats and man-sized tanks occupied a large room on the other side; a figure in a protective suit sat manning the computerized control panel in front of them.

Voigt gestured to the chamber. ‘This is one of five units where OG1140 is synthesized,’ he explained. ‘As you can see, the original constituents are undergoing high performance compounding using a process unique to the Obenhaus Group.’ He indicated the large, hermetic tubes above their heads. ‘OG1140 then makes its way to the next processing steps, where degassing, devolatilization, additives, coating, and coloring take place, depending on the end product required.’

They followed him as he strolled along one of the production chains. The operations manager pointed out more complex instruments and systems. Conrad shifted restlessly as he listened to the man.

‘In what forms is OG1140 available as a pure product?’ the immortal said finally, trying not to show his growing impatience.

‘The polymer comes as a pellet and a pure melt solution,’ Voigt replied. ‘We also do direct extrusion into plates, films, rolls, or tubes.’

He stopped next to one of the machines and smiled distractedly at the woman supervising the packing of boxfuls of pea-sized, round balls of clear plastic.

‘This is OG1140 in its pellet structure,’ said the operations manager.

Conrad picked up one of the transparent globules and raised it to eye level. He examined the material for a moment, his mind racing.

‘If you wanted to combine high-strength carbon fibers to this and mold it into a specific design, what form would you choose?’ he said.

The operations manager glanced at Obenhaus, unease dawning in his eyes.

‘The liquid solution would be easiest to work with,’ Voigt admitted reluctantly. ‘You wouldn’t need to remelt OG1140 and reprocess the copolymer.’

‘We’ve been informed that the Obenhaus Group has never suffered any security breaches or thefts at its production plants,’ said Laura matter-of-factly. ‘Does that hold true for this facility as well?’

Voigt opened his mouth to reply, hesitated, and looked at Obenhaus again.

The company president observed Laura shrewdly. ‘You did your research,’ he commented in an even tone.

She shrugged. ‘It’s part of the job description, I’m afraid.’

Obenhaus nodded and turned to the operations manager. ‘You can tell them, Ulrich.’

‘Eighteen months ago, the auditor discovered that a batch of OG1140 had gone missing from this plant,’ said Voigt. A guilty expression flashed across his face, as if he somehow blamed himself for the incident. ‘The polymer was just out of its experimental phase at the time.’

Alarms bells rang in Conrad’s head. He exchanged troubled glances with Anatole and the two Secret Service agents.

Schulze frowned at their expressions. ‘What is it?’

Conrad turned to Obenhaus. ‘Is he talking about the incident involving Luther Obenhaus?’

The company president went still. ‘You know about that?’

‘We also checked the Obenhaus Group finances and audit trails,’ Conrad stated grimly. ‘That was the only red flag your company has received since its inception.’

‘We assumed the infraction was a misappropriation of shares or embezzlement,’ said Laura as Obenhaus paled. ‘Obviously, we were wrong.’ An undercurrent of frustration tempered her voice.

Bauer’s face had gone red. He exhaled explosively and threw his arms in the air. ‘What the hell are you people talking about?’

Laura regarded the irate policeman coolly. She summarized their findings on the Obenhaus Group.

Understanding dawned on Schulze’s face. ‘That incident also came up during our intelligence gathering.’ His eyebrows rose as he indicated the box at the end of the production line. ‘Still, that auditor must have had hawk eyes to have picked up on a missing consignment this size.’

Voigt startled. He gaped at them for a moment, too shocked to speak. ‘I don’t think you understand,’ he said finally. ‘The batch I’m referring to was 150 gallons of liquid OG1140.’

‘What?’ Laura exclaimed.

Conrad turned to Obenhaus. ‘What did your brother need that much polymer for?’ he asked accusingly. ‘And how did you manage to settle this with the auditor?’

A flush of embarrassment darkened Obenhaus’s cheeks. ‘Luther took the material to experiment with a new laser cutting and welding technology he had devised,’ he said, a defensive note creeping into his voice as he met Conrad’s gaze. ‘He returned the product and was suspended as a director, with his shares and company assets frozen. Those were the conditions the board demanded. They satisfied the external auditor enough to close the case.’

A stilted silence fell on the group.

Anatole cocked an eyebrow. ‘Christ, he got expelled from the family business just for that?’

Obenhaus hesitated. ‘No, there was more to the decision. Luther had been a disruptive figure in the company for well over a decade. There have been prior incidents when he behaved in ways and engaged in activities that threatened the Obenhaus dynasty’s reputation, his ongoing gambling addiction being one example.’ The company president’s shoulders suddenly drooped. A sigh left his lips. ‘The theft was the last straw as far as the board was concerned.’

‘And he just gave you back the stuff he took?’ said Laura skeptically.

‘Yes,’ said Obenhaus. ‘He made a sculpture out of the polymer to demonstrate the practical application of the laser system he had been working on. It was his...“parting gift” to the company.’ His voice turned bitter with his last words.

Conrad’s pulse jumped. ‘What do you mean, he made a sculpture?’ he said uneasily.

‘You saw it when you came into the Obenhaus Group headquarters,’ the company president explained. ‘It’s the one in the atrium.’

Five minutes later, they were standing inside the lobby of the first building. The sculpture was eight feet tall and balanced on a steel base inset in the middle of the floor. Shaped like a teardrop, it had been dyed a brilliant white, the geometric twists and curves along its contours creating an eye-catching pattern of light and shadow. A sliver of a hunch blossomed at the back of Conrad’s mind as he studied the structure.

‘I’m kinda curious about something,’ said Anatole. ‘How come your brother can create this stuff?’

A blank expression washed across Obenhaus’s face. ‘Oh. Of course,’ he muttered. ‘Your investigation may not have revealed this.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Luther is a developmental engineer with PhDs in polymer processing and applied chemistry. He didn’t want the Obenhaus name to create any negative preconceptions when he attended university, so he graduated with our mother’s maiden name, Brandt.’

Conrad’s mouth went dry at the company president’s words. He stared at the teardrop-shaped sculpture. ‘Are you sure this is made from OG1140?’

Obenhaus frowned. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘How can you be certain?’ Conrad challenged.

Obenhaus’s gaze shifted to the sculpture. ‘I—I didn’t have any reason to believe Luther would lie to me,’ he stammered.

Conrad bit back a curse. ‘How fast can you get this thing analyzed?’ he demanded.

Obenhaus had gone pale once more. ‘It shouldn’t take long once we obtain a sample. I’ll get one of the technicians to come down and take a specimen.’ He turned and started hurriedly across the lobby.

‘You know, there’s a faster way to do this,’ said Anatole.

Obenhaus stopped and turned. ‘What do you mean?’

Conrad saw motion out of the corner of his eye. He opened his mouth to shout out a warning.

Anatole raised the gun and fired. The bullet chipped the sculpture and struck the marble floor with a soft ping. He retrieved the small, white fragment and handed it to the shocked Obenhaus Group president.

‘Will this do?’ he asked brightly.

‘And here I thought you’d mellowed,’ Conrad grumbled under his breath.

Stevens, Schulze, and Bauer stood paralyzed around him, their hands halfway to their guns. Laura was not as indecisive. She strode up to Anatole and smacked him on the side of the head.

‘
You ass!
How could you be so reckless?’ she hissed.

‘But I used the suppressor,’ the immortal protested. He indicated the barrel of his gun. ‘Besides, this will speed this up, won’t it, Pres?’

Maximilian Obenhaus observed the damage to the sculpture and his expensive marble floor. His staff went about their business some twenty feet away, oblivious to the muffled gunshot. ‘Let’s get this over with,’ he managed stoically.

They followed him back to the R&D building and up some stairs to a lab on the top floor. Half an hour later, the polymer chemist Obenhaus had tasked to analyze the chip from the sculpture looked up from her workstation and shook her head.

‘This is not OG1140,’ the woman said, chagrined.

Conrad’s stomach sank. His suspicions had been confirmed once more.

‘What?’ Obenhaus’s shocked gaze shifted from the sample on the counter to the scientist. ‘Are you certain?’

‘Yes, sir,’ the woman replied. ‘This is a plastic polymer that’s widely available on the market. It’s not even one of ours.’

‘Luther, what have you done?’ Obenhaus mumbled to himself after a stunned silence. The company president stared blindly at the floor.

Despite the sense of urgency flowing through him, Conrad felt a stab of sympathy for the man. ‘We need to talk to your brother.’

Obenhaus looked up and nodded slowly, a haunted expression in his eyes. ‘Let’s go to my office.’

They returned to his room and retrieved their phones from his safe. Obenhaus sat at his desk and called his brother on the office line. A frown puckered his brow after a couple of minutes. He pressed the hook switch and dialed another number.

‘He’s not answering his home phone or his mobile,’ Obenhaus murmured. A trace of anxiety laced his voice. ‘I’ll call his building.’ He disconnected again and punched in a third number. ‘Jürgen? This is Maximilian Obenhaus,’ he said after a few seconds. ‘Have you seen my brother today?’ His lips compressed in a thin line as he listened.

Conrad tensed.

Obenhaus studied the immortal with a perturbed expression. ‘Did he mention if he was going anywhere?’ he said into the phone. ‘No? Okay. Thank you, Jürgen.’

Conrad watched the company president place the phone carefully down in its cradle.

‘The concierge of Luther’s apartment building in Leipzig hasn’t seen my brother since Sunday morning,’ Maximilian Obenhaus announced.

Conrad shared anxious glances with the immortals and the assembled agents. This was not good news. ‘Can you think of anywhere he could have gone?’ he asked.

Obenhaus hesitated for a beat. ‘He has a cabin in the Thüringer Forest, about twenty-five miles from here. It’s...his sanctuary.’ He frowned. ‘But he usually lets the concierge know he’s going there.’

‘Can you give us directions?’ said Conrad.

‘Yes,’ Obenhaus said reluctantly.

They left the company headquarters minutes later with instructions on how to get to the lodge.

‘Mr. Greene?’ Maximilian Obenhaus called out from the steps of the building.

Conrad stopped and turned.

‘Though it appears Luther may be involved in something criminal, he’s still my brother,’ said the company president, his shoulders drooping.

Conrad considered the forlorn man for several seconds. ‘As long as he cooperates, I’ll see that no harm comes to him.’