Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans Page A

his mind were gone, his thoughts turned to the man who had caused him such pain. Hatch had taken everything from him—his company, his love, his future. Now that he knew Hatch was still alive, he wanted revenge. He will pay , Schema thought. I will use every last dime, every means available to me, to make him pay for what he has done. I will destroy Hatch if it’s the last thing I do.
    The question Schema struggled to answer was: Just how desperate is Hatch? Schema could employ a mercenary army to overthrow Hatch and his Elgen guard, but that could take weeks or months to organize. In the meantime, Hatch had full access to all the Starxource plants. He could destroy every Starxource plant in a matter of hours. Or, worse yet, he could release the rats into the countries they inhabited, causing mass destruction. Schema had no doubt that the attacked countries would destroy everything Elgen, leaving nothing for Schema to recover.
    However he proceeded he had to be careful. Underestimating Hatch was a mistake he couldn’t afford to make again.

Bank of Geneva
    Geneva, Switzerland
    T he flight from Lima to Geneva took a little more than fourteen hours. Wyss had cars waiting for them at the airport and the board was taken to the Metropole Hotel, on the bank of Lake Geneva, while Schema, in a separate car, went directly to the offices of the Bank of Geneva.
    â€œIt’s good to be back in Switzerland,” Schema said to the driver as they left the hotel.
    â€œIt is always good to be in Switzerland,” the driver replied. “Would you like me to wait for you?”
    â€œYes,” Schema said. “I should only be an hour or so.”
    The car pulled up to the curb in front of the bank, and inside, Schema took the elevator to the seventh floor, to Wyss’s office. Wyss’s secretary, a mature Frenchwoman, greeted him as he entered.
    â€œ Bienvenue , Monsieur Schema. Mr. Wyss and his associates are expecting you. Please go on back.”
    â€œ Merci ,” Schema said as he walked past her desk. He suddenly turned back. “His associates?”
    â€œYes, Monsieur .”
    Schema walked past the reception area to Wyss’s office and opened the door. Florian Wyss was sitting at his desk. He looked up when Schema entered. His face was pale and his hand was wrapped in white gauze.
    â€œFlorian, what happened to your hand?”
    Wyss shook his head. “I am very sorry, Giacomo. I had no choice.”
    Schema walked farther into the room. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œHe gave me no choice.”
    â€œWho?” Schema said.
    â€œThat would be me,” Hatch said. He walked into the office flanked by Torstyn and Tara and four Elgen guards. The guards immediately surrounded Schema. “And I believe Mr. Wyss is referring to the sizable transfers we just made.”
    Schema turned white. “Call security,” he said to Wyss.
    â€œGiacomo, what kind of welcome is that?” Hatch said calmly. “After traveling halfway across the world I thought you would at least offer me a drink.”
    Schema glared at him, red with rage. He would have lunged at him were it not for the guards surrounding him.
    â€œNo?” Hatch said. “Then I’ll help myself.” He walked over to the credenza on the far side of the office and poured himself a drink from a crystal decanter. “Ah, the good stuff. No wonder you bank here.” He stepped back toward Schema. “Of course, I would have preferred that you had gone down with the Ampere , but, as it turns out, it is fortuitous that you didn’t. Otherwise I might have had some trouble locating a few of your accounts.”
    Schema looked back at Florian. “What have you done?”
    â€œI had no choice, Giacomo. All the money has been transferred.”
    Schema leaned in. “Surely not . . . everything .”
    Florian grimaced. “Everything.”
    â€œHow could they have even