Lost

Chapter 25

This evening was going to give him an ulcer. Two years worth of work gone with nothing to show for it...and his competitor had suddenly gone to market with a nearly identical product. Industrial espionage at its finest but the end result was that this loss had cost him millions. And now this idiot Lenentine was telling him that he was pulling his company out...the cowardly bastard. Andre sighed again. He would meet with his directors in the morning and try to salvage what they could of this fiasco...but it was going to be painfully expensive. He vaguely listened to the polite conversation Sarah was keeping up with Lenentine while he considered where he could tighten expenses...

Lenentine picked up his glass and glanced again at the creature Lacasse called his wife but couldn’t quite hide the quick look of distaste. It really wasn’t any of his business, but he still wondered why someone who was so rich and obviously good looking was doing with someone like this. Oh, well, perhaps the obviously poor judgment had some connection to the problems they were having now.

It was only a flash, but Duncan saw it...the look of shock and disgust quickly masked behind a bland look of acceptance. Since he was ready for it, it didn’t come as a surprise, but neither did it raise the response in him that it once might have. Duncan had been ready for the flush of shame to color his cheeks when the outsider realized what his position in Andre’s household was, but realization came that this man didn’t matter. What he thought didn’t matter. Duncan had made his choice and he would live it, but he would no longer give Andre or anyone else the satisfaction of seeing that response. He would no longer have that kind of power over him. Acceptance certainly had a power of its own.

The completely stoic Scot, thought Andre as he watched for even the remotest sign of shame in Sarah’s face as she dealt with Lenentine and his obvious prejudice. He saw none and then felt surprise. Surprise not at Sarah’s control, but at himself – he felt a sense of pride that Sarah had such control. Why should he feel pride in Sarah?

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Richard Redstone of Redstone Industries walked into the boardroom of the company he’d recently acquired and looked around. The board members all looked up expectantly as he walked in. God he loved it when they all looked so shocked at his age. That was something he would probably never get tired of.

This company had been one very lucrative asset recently acquired from Lacasse Industries. It had cost quite a pretty penny, too, but seeing as how Lacasse had suffered some major setbacks recently the offer for this company couldn’t be refused. And with funds from a certain big-nosed Old Fucker, good old RR found himself the proud owner of a new company. Man, he had to figure that Methos had money stashed everywhere in a bunch of different names, but it never really occurred to him that he would own whole companies, too. So when Amanda stole the info from this company and gave it to Methos, who in turn gave it to one of his companies to market before Lacasse could, the resulting tailspin on top of all the other losses Methos had manufactured made Lacasse have to sell. So now, in steps the Old Fucker again with the necessary funds for Redstone Industries to pick up this little gem...and discount or no, it did cost quite a bit. Man, the Old Fucker was full of surprises and Richie wondered again just how much money the Old Fucker had stashed away...

So here he was pretending to be interested in the droning voices of all these old guys. He gave them the usual blah blah blah about what a great job they were doing and that he didn’t feel a current need to reorganize, but that it was always an option later on, so on and so on. Let them get a feel for him. It was a good thing the Old Fucker had told him exactly what he needed to do and what to expect...that made this whole thing a bit more fun. He let his mind continue to wander as he feigned interest as each of the board members described their sections and their duties. All for you, Mac...

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“Robert, it’s good to hear from you. Are you and Gina well?” Methos held the slightly bulky secure phone to his ear. He was glad to hear from Robert. “Have you identified your marks?”

“Adam, hello...yes, Gina and I are fine. I’m afraid she’s having altogether too much fun with this little task. We have identified our marks. I’ve a meeting with our friends tomorrow night to verify placement of our assets. Has Connor checked in, yet?”

“Yes, all of his marks are identified and he has our men in place. We’re still in a holding pattern, however, until some other pieces fall into place. But we will move soon, so be ready.”

“Beautiful...anything for both you and Duncan, you know that. I’ll talk with you at our next transmission.”

“Good. Thanks, Robert and give my love to Gina. Bye.”

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Andre strode into the library to find Sarah yet again trying to teach Louis how to play chess. He was amazed at Sarah’s patience. He probably would have strangled Louis long before now. They paused at his entrance, but he waved them on as he walked to the desk. Seating himself he let their quiet chatter flow over him, calming his nerves but it didn’t last long. He kept hearing the latest pronouncement over and over again...you must eliminate the stress...won’t you reconsider the treatment? ...shorten the time you have left. He dropped his head into his hands, fatigue and a vague ache in his stomach making him want to lie down. But he had to think...had to find out what was happening. Although random, every one of his businesses had suffered some form of major setback. He was losing hundreds of thousands of francs every day and he could find neither rhyme nor reason. Who could be waging such a war? For it was a war...no other businesses seemed to be having the problems he’d had lately...explosions at his petrochemical plant, the loss of major contracts, industrial espionage. But who was waging this war? Who?

He looked across the room. Oh, yes, he’d considered someone of Sarah’s circle, but the only ones who could possibly carry out something of this magnitude were de Valincourt or MacLeod and they were both quietly living their lives. He briefly considered Pierson, but the man simply didn’t have the funds for an attack of this magnitude. He was exactly what he appeared to be despite his immortality, a relatively poor researcher. Even the addition of Duncan MacLeod’s bequest hadn’t improved his assets to the point of being able to back this effort. He thought back to the one brief flash of certain death. No, he was sure he had imagined it. Adam Pierson couldn’t possibly pose any type of threat. It had to be one of his competitors...but who, damnit?!

He looked up at Sarah’s low chuckle and felt a pang of jealousy that Louis could elicit such a wonderful sound. Thinking of Sarah made him remember that his lawyer should be here any moment with the papers for their signature. He had to move on his latest plan although it pained him to do so. He never thought he’d be forced to give Sarah up in this way, but there was nothing for it. He was running out of time and he had to take care of her.