pulled on a battered black leather jacket.
“Is anyone going to get that?” Kowalski asked as the phone rang again.
Gray stepped to the table and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
It was Franco, the hotel owner. “Ah, Signor Pierce, I just wanted to let you know your three visitors are headed up to your room.”
Gray struggled for a moment to understand. It was a common customin Europe to announce visitors, in case their guests might be indisposed. And Franco knew Rachel and Gray were ex-lovers. He wouldn’t want them caught with their pants down, so to speak.
But Gray wasn’t expecting anyone. He knew what that meant. He mumbled out a hurried “Grazie,” then faced the others. “We’ve got company on the way up.”
“Company?” Kowalski asked.
Seichan immediately understood. “Were you followed?”
Gray thought back. He’d been so concerned about Rachel’s absence he’d failed to pay strict attention to the surrounding traffic. He also remembered his earlier concern about the hunters, how they might be setting up surveillance on anyone and everyone connected to Rachel. Gray had placed several calls.
His concern must have reached the wrong ears.
Seichan read the growing certainty in his face and swung for the door. She pulled out her pistol from the small of her back.
“Time for an early checkout, boys.”
7
October 11, 8:04 A.M.
Oslo, Norway
Ivar Karlsen watched the storm building across the fjord. He loved hard weather and welcomed autumn’s rough descent into winter. Icy rain and snow flurries were already sweeping the colder nights. Frost greeted most mornings. Even now, he felt the chill on his cheeks as he leaned his knuckles on the ancient stones and stared out the arched window.
He kept guard at the top of Munk Tower. It was the highest point of Akershus Fortress, one of Oslo’s most prominent landmarks. The imposing stone structure was first built on the eastern harborside by King Haakon V during the thirteenth century to defend the city. Over time it had been reinforced with additional moats, ramparts, and battlements. Munk Tower, where he stood now, had been constructed in the middle of the sixteenth century, when cannons had been added to the defense of the fortress and castle.
Ivar straightened and rested a hand on one of the ancient cannons. The cold iron reminded him of his duty, of his responsibility to defend not only this country, but the world. It was why he had picked the ancient fortress to host this year’s UNESCO World Food Summit. It was a fitting bastion against the troubling times that were upon them all. One billion people were facing food shortages worldwide, and he knew that was only the beginning. The summit was critical for the world and for his company, Viatus International.
He would not let anything thwart his goals—not what had happenedin Africa, not even what was going on in Washington, D.C. His objectives were vital to world security, not to mention his own family legacy.
Back in 1802, when Oslo was still called Christiania, the brothers Knut and Artur Karlsen combined a logging company with a gunpowder mill to found an empire. Their wealth became legendary, elevating them to true barons of industry. But even back then, the pair tempered their good fortune with good deeds. They founded schools, built hospitals, improved the national infrastructure, and, most important, sponsored innovation in the rapidly growing country. It was why they had named their company Viatus, from the Latin via, which meant “path,” and vita, which meant “life.” To the Karlsen brothers, Viatus was the Path of Life. It epitomized their belief that the ultimate goal of industry was to improve the world, that wealth should be tempered by responsibility.
And Ivar intended to carry on that legacy, one that stretched to the founding of Norway itself. Stories circulated that the Karlsen family tree had its beginnings as far back as the first Viking settlers, that its roots
“Is anyone going to get that?” Kowalski asked as the phone rang again.
Gray stepped to the table and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
It was Franco, the hotel owner. “Ah, Signor Pierce, I just wanted to let you know your three visitors are headed up to your room.”
Gray struggled for a moment to understand. It was a common customin Europe to announce visitors, in case their guests might be indisposed. And Franco knew Rachel and Gray were ex-lovers. He wouldn’t want them caught with their pants down, so to speak.
But Gray wasn’t expecting anyone. He knew what that meant. He mumbled out a hurried “Grazie,” then faced the others. “We’ve got company on the way up.”
“Company?” Kowalski asked.
Seichan immediately understood. “Were you followed?”
Gray thought back. He’d been so concerned about Rachel’s absence he’d failed to pay strict attention to the surrounding traffic. He also remembered his earlier concern about the hunters, how they might be setting up surveillance on anyone and everyone connected to Rachel. Gray had placed several calls.
His concern must have reached the wrong ears.
Seichan read the growing certainty in his face and swung for the door. She pulled out her pistol from the small of her back.
“Time for an early checkout, boys.”
7
October 11, 8:04 A.M.
Oslo, Norway
Ivar Karlsen watched the storm building across the fjord. He loved hard weather and welcomed autumn’s rough descent into winter. Icy rain and snow flurries were already sweeping the colder nights. Frost greeted most mornings. Even now, he felt the chill on his cheeks as he leaned his knuckles on the ancient stones and stared out the arched window.
He kept guard at the top of Munk Tower. It was the highest point of Akershus Fortress, one of Oslo’s most prominent landmarks. The imposing stone structure was first built on the eastern harborside by King Haakon V during the thirteenth century to defend the city. Over time it had been reinforced with additional moats, ramparts, and battlements. Munk Tower, where he stood now, had been constructed in the middle of the sixteenth century, when cannons had been added to the defense of the fortress and castle.
Ivar straightened and rested a hand on one of the ancient cannons. The cold iron reminded him of his duty, of his responsibility to defend not only this country, but the world. It was why he had picked the ancient fortress to host this year’s UNESCO World Food Summit. It was a fitting bastion against the troubling times that were upon them all. One billion people were facing food shortages worldwide, and he knew that was only the beginning. The summit was critical for the world and for his company, Viatus International.
He would not let anything thwart his goals—not what had happenedin Africa, not even what was going on in Washington, D.C. His objectives were vital to world security, not to mention his own family legacy.
Back in 1802, when Oslo was still called Christiania, the brothers Knut and Artur Karlsen combined a logging company with a gunpowder mill to found an empire. Their wealth became legendary, elevating them to true barons of industry. But even back then, the pair tempered their good fortune with good deeds. They founded schools, built hospitals, improved the national infrastructure, and, most important, sponsored innovation in the rapidly growing country. It was why they had named their company Viatus, from the Latin via, which meant “path,” and vita, which meant “life.” To the Karlsen brothers, Viatus was the Path of Life. It epitomized their belief that the ultimate goal of industry was to improve the world, that wealth should be tempered by responsibility.
And Ivar intended to carry on that legacy, one that stretched to the founding of Norway itself. Stories circulated that the Karlsen family tree had its beginnings as far back as the first Viking settlers, that its roots
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