The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2) (33 page)

“I believe we should do this Tommy’s way,” a posh female voice piped up. The voice belonged to Lady Penelope, the British Royal and the agency’s only female founding member. Like Von Pein she, too, commanded respect, and not only because of her close relationship with the Queen.

Lady Penelope had a mind like a steel trap and was the intellectual equal of everyone in the room. Besides, her colleagues were very aware it was mostly monies from the British Royal Family that was keeping Omega afloat.

“Our orphans are the agency’s long term future. If Special Agent Kentbridge says this is not the time to risk them in the field, then we must accept that.”

Sterling and several other founders nodded at the wisdom of her words.

Kentbridge was grateful Lady Penelope supported his argument. Because of her connection to Royalty, he suspected her word would be final.

In fact, Lady Penelope was only distantly related to the Windsors, or British Royals, and that relationship was by marriage rather than blood. However, she was an influential figure as she represented many of Queen Elizabeth’s financial interests.

Despite the absence of Queen Elizabeth II’s name in annual Forbes Rich Lists, everyone in the room was aware the Queen was one of the wealthiest people in the world, if not
the
wealthiest. However, hers and the House of Windsor’s assets and income were mostly non-declared. Naylor himself claimed to have witnessed one offshore bank account of the Queen’s whose value was in the hundreds of billions.

Contrary to the myth that the British Royals were no longer all-powerful, it was common knowledge within Omega and other organizations in the know that they remained one of the most dominant forces on the planet. The Royals were totally comfortable with the mass populace believing they’d passed their heyday. That belief allowed them to control things behind the scenes with effortless ease. And control they did, in every way imaginable.

The reality was the Windsors had their fingers in many pies and had a huge say in global affairs. At home, they dictated to the British Parliament, and no elected Prime Minister could take up office without first pledging total allegiance to the Queen and future King. To Kentbridge’s way of thinking, that proved Britain was no more a democracy than was the United States.

The special agent had often told his orphans that in her capacity as the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth nations, the Queen had legitimate business interests in the pharmaceutical, banking and mineral industries in most or all of those countries. No small cheese considering those nations included mineral-rich Canada and Australia as well as India and numerous African states.

Kentbridge had also told the orphans it was a commonly held belief within Omega that the Queen
bankrolled and reaped the rewards from other far more secretive ventures worldwide. As for the exact nature of those other ventures, nobody in the agency knew.

Lady Penelope’s active involvement in Omega proved beyond doubt to Kentbridge and his superiors that the British Royals considered the agency a likely way to expand its semi-secret, global empire. The extremely intelligent and influential Omega founding members gave the Royals faith that the below-the-radar Omega Agency would eventually become the potent organization it strived to be.

As the Royals were the only financial lifeline Omega could count on for the moment, Kentbridge was feeling confident Lady Penelope’s word would indeed be final. He desperately needed more time, for deep down he knew his orphans were still too immature to be sent out into the field on life-and-death missions.

“Alright, Tommy,” Naylor said. “Once Number One turns eighteen he and all the orphans will graduate and be sent out on missions.”

It wasn’t quite per their original agreement, but Kentbridge figured he’d pushed his luck as much as he could for one day. Besides, he knew Numero Uno at sixteen was only marginally older than most of the other orphans. The bottom line was Naylor’s decision allowed for another two years and that was all Kentbridge figured he’d need to deliver twenty three brilliant orphan-operatives.

60

Nine joined the crowds braving the cold on the streets of the Loop, in downtown Chicago. It was winter again and he had to keep his gloved hands in his coat pockets to protect them from the unrelenting icy wind. 

The orphan had just spent several enjoyable hours with Sherrice, a high-class African-American prostitute. He could still smell her seductive scent and picture her sexy hourglass figure – especially her small waist, curvaceous hips and rounded ass.

Waiting to cross a busy street, he absentmindedly looked up at a massive digital clock atop a radio tower. It displayed the time and date:
2.33PM, January 27, 1998
.

Nine had recently celebrated his eighteenth birthday and was aware he would be graduating from the Pedemont Project any day. Kentbridge had told him there would be one more initiation to pass before graduation and then he’d be sent on his first overseas assignment. As usual, the special agent had only given him the information he deemed
necessary
. The two had very different definitions of what that word meant.

Nine now carried himself like a man. A little over six feet, he had packed further muscle on his frame in the last couple of years, but still retained his lean, athletic look. It was a look that invariably attracted admiring glances wherever he went. There was no denying, Omega’s regime, combined with his superior genes, had turned him into an impressive male specimen. And like some vestige of his earlier rebelliousness, he still wore his hair long – so long it almost reached down to his shoulders these days. However, that was the only thing that set him apart from his fellow Omegans; he had long since stopped trying to resist his destiny and had resigned himself to becoming an elite operative.

Appearances aside, the ninth orphan also felt more self-assured and worldly.
He attributed this to his experiences of the past few years. To round out the Pedemont Orphans’ education, their masters had regularly sent them interstate. They stayed at unoccupied Omega-owned orphanages, which Naylor had purchased in anticipation of Doctor Pedemont delivering on his promise of manufacturing over a hundred more orphan clones. With that plan now on hold, the orphanages doubled as summer holiday camps where the original twenty three orphans could stay and experience life outside Illinois. And with that came greater independence, or semi-independence at least, for the orphans.

There were trips abroad, too, to familiarize them with the demands of foreign missions. These included two separate trips with Kentbridge to the Central American countries of Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala where the orphans underwent intensive jungle training. Training Kentbridge assured them would come in handy one day.

The lights changed and Nine crossed the busy street. He stopped outside an electronics shop on South Michigan Avenue, not far from the Art Institute of Chicago. Something screening on a television set in the shop’s foyer had caught his eye. On closer inspection, he saw was it was a repeat of a televised news conference from the White House the previous day. Several other passersby had also stopped to view it.

President Bill Clinton’s face filled the screen. Clinton, who was already in his second term as President and facing possible impeachment, looked directly into camera and said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” He was referring to the recent scandal that had broken regarding illicit dalliances with his young intern, Monica Lewinsky.

Bored, Nine was about to walk off when he noticed a dark-haired, young woman emerging from a department store nearby. He lingered for a moment as something about the young lady struck him as familiar. Then he recognized her.

It’s Helen.

Nine saw at a glance the last six years had treated Helen Katsarakis kindly. The pretty thirteen-year-old Greek girl had blossomed into a stunning nineteen-year-old. She now had a short haircut, a bob, but still looked ultra-feminine. And she looked about five foot seven or eight, and carried herself regally, like a catwalk model.
No, make that a bikini model
. Nine’s eyes lingered on Helen’s curves which, he noted, she’d developed in all the right places.

Although he’d hardly thought of her in years, their earlier shared experiences came flooding back to him. “Helen?” he called out.

Helen stopped and stared blankly at the tall, handsome, long-haired young man standing before her.

The orphan watched her as she looked him up and down, obviously trying to work out who he was. For some reason, Nine found himself standing tall and
puffing his chest out in an attempt to look as manly as possible.

Helen took several seconds before finally twigging who she was looking at. “Oh my God!” 

Nine immediately picked up her formerly strong Greek accent had now vanished. She sounded like an all-American girl.

“Luke? Is that really you?”

“What are you doing back here in Chicago?” he asked, recovering from his initial surprise. It felt surreal to be in her presence again. Feelings he once had for her had dissipated long ago – soon after she had set him up to be extricated from California, in fact. That only made this moment all the stranger.

“I’m a freshman at the University of Illinois,” Helen said, pointing in the direction of the college’s Chicago campus. “I’m studying journalism there.”

Nine felt a little awkward and was unsure what to say to her given the amount of time that had elapsed since their time together in California.
Feels like a lifetime ago
.

“Is everything okay with you now?” Helen asked, suddenly serious.

Nine knew she was referring to the mental problems she believed he’d suffered all those years earlier. “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine now.”

“Oh, good.” She seemed genuinely pleased. “Are you still at that orphanage in Riverdale?”

“Yes, still there. But not for long.”

As they talked, Nine continued to take in everything about Helen. He studied her peach-like lips and her dark, mesmerizing eyes which gave off the same natural sparkle he remembered. Her smile revealed her still-uneven teeth, which only added to her unique character. Nine admired her for not having had them straightened. And her skin was something else. The orphan decided there could not be a living creature with more perfect skin in the whole world.

Although the women he’d been bedding these past few years had been some of the hottest in all of Chicago, Nine had to admit Helen had something they didn’t: she had real class and had blossomed into the beautiful woman he always knew she would. It dawned on him he was becoming interested in her again.

Don’t be an idiot, Sebastian!

However, Nine knew his attraction to her wasn’t like before when he’d been a lovesick, young fool. Now it was purely physical. Since Kentbridge had allowed him to pick up beautiful, high class call girls whenever he wanted – and at no cost as they were invariably contracted to Omega – chasing women for anything other than sex was no longer of interest to him. Besides, Kentbridge had long since drummed into him Omega’s golden rule for the male orphans:
Never get so attached to a woman you can't leave
.

Just as Nine started to wonder what it would take to bed Helen, a skinny, blonde-haired, twentysomething guy arrived at her side and kissed her cheek with all the familiarity of a lover.

Helen greeted the new arrival with a sparkling smile. “Hi honey.” She turned to Nine. “Luke, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Caleb.”

Annoyed at the interruption, Nine forced a smile and nodded to the young guy who, he noted, had a distinctly preppy look about him.

Caleb flashed a goofy grin Nine’s way. “Hey, man.” 

“Hey,” Nine said.

Caleb suddenly looked at his watch then turned to Helen. “We must go, sweetie. Or we’ll be late for our dinner engagement.”

“Oh, yes.” Helen quickly smiled at Nine. “I’ll see you around, Luke,” she said as her fiancé pulled her away by her hand.

The orphan stood watching the couple as they hurried off.

61

A dozen orphans were enjoying an impromptu six-aside game of football in the Pedemont Orphanage’s backyard. Nine, playing at quarterback, captained one team, and Numero Uno, at offensive tackle, captained the other. Nine’s teammates included Seventeen who played wide receiver. The only other females playing were the twins, Five and Six, who were on opposing sides.

Kentbridge, Doctor Andrews and Nurse Hilda, along with several other orphans, looked on as the two makeshift teams went at it as if they were playing for the Chicago Bears in a Super Bowl. While the doctor and nurse cringed every time one of the players took a hit, the special agent loved every minute of it. Football was his game and he enjoyed watching his young charges trying to emulate the pros – something they often did on a fine Saturday afternoon.

For Kentbridge, this particular occasion was tinged with sadness. Numero Uno’s official birthday was February 7, which was only one week away. Although One and many of his fellow orphans, including Nine, had celebrated their eighteenth birthday on New Year’s Day just gone, Kentbridge knew the Native American’s official birthday was coming up fast. As per Naylor’s orders, all the orphans would graduate from the Pedemont Project on the seventh and the orphanage would be demolished soon after that.

Observing his orphans with a critical eye, the special agent was pleased all had grown into fine physical specimens. They fair glowed with good health and, as expected, possessed superior strength and fitness. While their football skills may have left a little to be desired, their power and speed would have impressed the most judicious of NFL talent scouts.

At six foot five inches and two hundred and fifteen pounds, One had grown to be the biggest of the orphans. The hulking Native American knew how to use his size, too, and generally flattened whoever happened to be in his way on the playing field – as he was soon to demonstrate. He received the ball from his quarterback and set off for the goal-line. Covering the ground surprisingly quickly for a big boy, he scored a touchdown with three opponents hanging off him and the other three sprawled in his wake. Among those hanging off him was Nine.