Hidden in Dreams (25 page)

Elena repeated the number Reed fed to her. “We can be there in twenty minutes.”

“Make it thirty. We may be joined by a couple of people.”

Elena confirmed, then waited for Jacob to hang up. “Was there something else?”

“Is someone there with you?”

“Reed drove me to Orlando.”

The handsome psychologist’s sigh rattled the phone. “I hate how I’ve been relegated to the role of interested third party.”

“Jacob, I want you to listen very carefully. Do you remember when we were together at CNN headquarters? What I said, the request I made?”

A pause, then, “I remember.”

“You made a choice. One of life-altering importance.”

“It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?” He sounded petulant.

“Now and forever. And it’s not too late to change your mind.” She gave that a moment, then nodded to the sunlight and his silence. “We will expect your call.”

•    •    •

“We’ve found our first concrete evidence.”

The Federal Reserve bank executive’s voice was almost metallic with tension. Elena and Reed sat on stools to either side of a speakerphone set on a lab bench. The empty room was in one of the older buildings that were slated for demolition. All of the
classes and professors had been transferred over to the new structures. The air was sweltering. The lights still worked, but the AC was shut down. Elena could not have cared less. “Tell us.”

“In the past three weeks, nine senior international financial executives have suffered seizures and heart failure,” Agatha Hune reported. “Five of these occurred on the same night. No one put it together until now, because the victims are spread around the globe.”

“They’re tying up loose ends,” Suarez said. “Doing away with people who might have opposed their plan.”

“It’s hardly the sort of evidence we can use to bring them down,” Reed said.

“But it’s a giant step in the right direction,” Elena countered. “It’s the first concrete evidence we have of a conspiracy.”

“There’s no way that many people disconnected by space and lifestyles could have naturally suffered the same effect in that short a time,” Jacob agreed.

“There’s something else.” Elena related her conversation with the retired police officer, then said to Reed, “Tell them what you said on the way in this morning.”

While Reed explained the concept of preprogramming dream-time instructions, Elena reviewed what they knew and what needed to come next. Which meant she was ready when Mario Suarez asked, “So what do we do now?”

“Trevor Tenning is the key,” Elena replied. “We need to trace his roots and his current actions.”

“And fast,” Agatha added. “The international consortium of banks is firming up. We’ve just received word that the White House is preparing a statement. The consortium has formally entered into talks with the Fed to acquire two other ailing US banks. I’ve been called to Washington for a meeting of the Fed’s board.”

“I’m on it,” Suarez said. “I’ll be back to you this afternoon.”

25

R
eed was locking the lab door when Elena’s cell phone rang. She checked the readout. “I don’t recognize the number.”

“We can’t risk missing something vital,” he decided. “Answer it.”

“This is Dr. Burroughs.”

“Elena, it’s Trevor Tenning.”

“Yes, Mr. Tenning. How are you?”

“In quite a rush, as you can imagine. But a hundred percent better than yesterday. Rachel tells me you’ve elected to draw away from our group.”

“That’s reading a bit too much into it, sir.” Elena moved in close enough for Reed to listen as well. “I simply needed to make some personal space. It looks as though this is going to drag on far longer than I anticipated. I don’t feel comfortable having guards around me day and night.”

“That is one point we can certainly agree on, though you may decide your safety requires them.”

“Perhaps, but I doubt it. In the meanwhile, I’m being helped out by friends from my Sunday school.”

“I see.” He sounded extremely doubtful. “Are they professional?”

“Very.” She could feel Reed’s warmth compressed by their closeness and the room’s confines. She took great comfort from him. “Was that why you called?”

“No, actually there was something else I wanted to discuss with you. It has to do with the vital role you have played in our group, and in this entire process. I wanted you to know that plans to form the consortium are moving forward. We are pressed by events to accelerate our actions on all fronts.”

“So you are going to be a part of this?”

“We both are, if you accept my proposal. The consortium’s board will be based on Wall Street. Which is where I’m headed as we speak. I’m actually phoning you from our jet. I have discussed this with the new board. We want you to join us.”

“Excuse me?”

“We want to give you a seat on the board of the new international banking consortium. We haven’t decided on a name yet, all such niggling details can wait. For the moment we’re just calling it the One World Bank. We recognize the vital role you have played in all this. My fellow board members have agreed that you should also be granted one percent of the consortium’s shares, which will grant legitimacy to your having a seat on the board.”

“Trevor, Mr. Tenning . . . I don’t know what to say.”

Reed stepped away from her, slipped a pad and pen from his jacket, and scribbled hastily. Tenning went on, “All of the board is well aware of the power your dream analysis has had upon the shaping of this group. And of your ability to communicate with the public. We want you to remain as the consortium’s official spokesperson. We can only assume your presence will continue to be invaluable.”

Reed showed her the note, which read,
Yes is the only safe response.

“Thank you,” Elena said weakly. “I accept.”

•    •    •

Four hours later, Suarez responded to Elena’s news: “One percent of an international financial consortium is a huge bonus.”

“The number of governments lining up to affirm this project is growing,” Agatha Hune agreed. “The One World Bank’s success is all but assured.”

“We can’t let that happen,” Reed Thompson declared.

“Right now I don’t see how we can stop it,” Suarez responded.

“Much as I hate to admit defeat, we don’t have enough to go public,” Agatha agreed.

“So Elena accepts their offer and works at finding evidence from within,” Suarez said. “And reaps a few million for her troubles.”

“More like tens of millions,” Agatha replied.

Elena and Reed and Jacob were gathered around the head of the psychology department’s desk. Jacob had flown down in the afternoon, arriving just in time for the meeting. A staccato drumbeat of showers hammered the window. Lightning flashed brief silhouettes of a rain-swept world. Reed Thompson said, “If we wait, there is a chance of this consortium becoming so entrenched that whatever we deliver won’t be enough to dislodge them.”

“Much as I hate admitting it, I don’t see that we have an alternative,” Agatha replied.

Elena said, “Let’s get back to the subject at hand. Tell us about Tenning.”

“My staff has done a superb job,” Suarez claimed. “Especially given the time pressure. The evidence is unmistakable. Trevor Tenning is the banks’ man.”

The three gathered around the cluttered desk exhaled a single breath. “Explain,” Reed said.

“The trail is intended to mislead. But the signs are there. Trevor Tenning rose up through the ranks of a company that was acquired by one of the world’s largest merger and acquisition firms. Following the corporate purchase, the new owners sent Tenning to head up another of their acquisitions. Then two things happened to disguise the trend. First, the buyout firm started operating through three overseas groups in which they had a controlling interest, thus masking their ownership. And second, they were themselves bought out by one of the world’s largest banks.”

Jacob asked, “This isn’t enough to take public?”

“What we lack,” Agatha replied, “is the smoking gun. Direct evidence of collusion. A clear indication that the banks manipulated both the economies and the minds of us dreamers.”

“And had a hand in the demise of those executives who stood in their way,” Reed added.

Elena asked, “How did Tenning become involved with SuenaMed?”

“According to the SEC records, three years ago a Paris bank acquired a nine percent stake in SuenaMed. This was a huge investment, and matched by a stake taken by a Japanese bank. Neither has any direct connection to Tenning, past or present. Two weeks after the filing, Tenning was named CEO.”

Elena asked, “When, exactly?”

“Wait, I have it somewhere. Here it is. Four years and eleven days ago,” Suarez replied.

“So only a few days after the product director for SuenaMind was murdered,” Elena said.

There was a long silence, then Suarez said, “The thought of them getting away with this makes my blood boil.”

26

A
s they were leaving the office, Jacob cleared his throat and said, “I was wondering if I could have a private word.”

Reed frowned, but said, “If Jacob can drive you back to your home, I’ll swing by and pick you up tomorrow.”

Jacob asked, “Where is your car?”

“Still in the SuenaMed lot.”

“I’ve booked a hotel room over on the island,” Jacob said. “I can drive you into Orlando for the morning press conference. It’s no trouble.”

She saw the silent appeal in Jacob’s gaze, and said, “All right.”

Reed locked up the building’s entrance, and together they ran through the pelting storm. He offered them a hasty farewell, then got into his car.

As Jacob turned out of the parking lot, he squinted against the downpour and asked, “How can you stand this weather?”

“I love it here,” Elena replied. “Even with everything that’s happened since I arrived, I feel like I have found a home.”

“Hurricanes and all?”

“Yes, Jacob. Is the Florida weather what you wanted to discuss?”

“No.” He turned onto the main road and headed toward the causeway bridge. “My father has an iron will. When I was growing up, his children were expected to be the smiling face of his own faith at work. There was no room for my questions or any personal direction that threatened this facade. I was glad to leave my faith behind. There, I’ve said it.” He stared at the rain streaking the night-clad windshield for a time, then added, “But I miss the comfort of those early days.”

“Does this mean you’re willing to consider the possibility that God is at work here?”

“This is why I needed to talk with you. It’s not just about the dreams. It’s about how my entire scientific perspective has been turned on its head.”

“I understand. Whether or not these dreams have been manipulated, you have found yourself realizing that your vision of the world, your personal construct, was not enough. Your own strength let you down when you needed it most. Even now, when it is becoming apparent that these dreams have been somehow implanted and all of us have been used as tools for their gain—”

“I cannot ignore the fact that I have needed answers beyond myself,” he softly confirmed. “It has kept me up at night. The vacuum inside me. Seeing you and Reed in these moments, with your calm and your trust. I have observed you both, and I know the unseen is at work in you. Even when I tried my hardest to tell myself that it was all myth, that I was fooling myself.”

“I am so grateful for your honesty, Jacob.” As they left the bridge, Elena directed him onto the road leading to her condo. The world was a quiet wash of rain and empty streets and flickering streetlights. Elena pointed him toward her development, and he parked the car.

Jacob’s face had grown cavernous from the effort of speaking. Her heart went out to him. But only so far. “I cannot tell you how beautiful it is to speak with you in this way. But whatever step you take now, it has to be for the right reason. Do you understand?”

His mouth opened, and he tasted a word. But no sound emerged.

“I have no idea what tomorrow holds. But if there is a chance, I want to build a life with Reed.” She heard the love in her own voice, the soft hope, a song for the future she never thought would be hers to claim. “If you are doing this for me, it won’t work. I’m sorry. But you need to understand this.”