Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty-Five

All the morning paper pages were filled with the same story.A drought in Germany has killed at least 100 people and destroyed $1 million worth of crops. Tanner calls Casey: "Send this article to Senator Van Leuven with the note: 'Another global warming update. Sincerely...'" The Wilton Ladies' Hotel is only thirty-five minutes away from the Orange Hotel, but they are very different.Wilton is a beautiful modern five-story hotel.An elegant dark green canopy hangs above the walkway leading to the entrance. In the lobby, Kelly and Diana were checking in under false names.

The woman behind the counter handed Kelly a key: "Suite 424. Do you have any luggage?" "No, we—" "Missing it," put in Diana, "will be here in the morning. By the way, our respective gentlemen will be picking us up in a moment. You can get them to our room—" The receptionist shook his head. "Unfortunately. Gentlemen are not allowed upstairs." "Oh?" Diana smiled smugly at Kelly. "If you want to meet them in this place downstairs—" "It's okay. They deserve to suffer without us." Suite 424 was very nicely decorated with a living room with a couch, chairs, table and a large wardrobe and a bedroom with two very comfortable double beds.

Diana looked around. "Not bad, isn't it?" Kelly said tartly: "What are we doing - trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records - changing hotels every half hour?" "Do you have a better way?" "That's not the way to go," Kelly said sarcastically. "It's a game of cat and mouse, and we're the mice." "That's right. Think about it, the head of the biggest think tank in the world came out to murder us," Diana said. "Then don't think about it." "It's easier said than done. KIG has some intellectual elites with bright minds, and they can easily spread out an omelet the size of Kansas City."

"Well, we have to try to get ahead of them." Kelly frowned. "We have to have weapons. Can you shoot?" "Won't." "Unlucky. Neither will I." "Never mind. We don't have guns anyway." "What about karate?" "No, but I was on the debate team in college," Diana said solemnly. "Maybe I can reason with them and talk them out of hunting us." "certainly." Diana went to the window and looked out at the traffic on Thirty-fourth Street.Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she gasped, "Oh!" Kelly rushed to her side. "What? What did you see?"

Diana's throat was dry. "A—a man just walked by. He looked like Richard. For a split second, I—" She turned away from the window. Kelly said contemptuously, "Do you want me to call a ghost exorcist?" Diana opened her mouth to retort, but held back.what's the point?I'll be ditching her soon. Kelly looked at Diana and thought: You might as well shut up and go paint your picture. Flint was talking to a furious Tanner on his cell phone: "I'm sorry, Mr. Kingsley. They're not in the Manhattan room. They're missing. They must have known I was coming."

Tanner nearly suffers a cerebral haemorrhage: "These two bitches want to play brain games with me? With me? I'll call you again." He snaps the phone off. Lying on the couch in his office, Andrew's thoughts drifted to the huge stage of the Stockholm Concert Hall. The guests cheered enthusiastically, shouting: "Andrew! Andrew!" His name echoed in the hall. As he crossed the stage to receive the award from King Carl XVI of Sweden's Gustavian dynasty, he could hear the applause of his guests.As he reached for the Nobel Prize, someone started cursing him. "Andrew, you bastard—wake up."

The Stockholm Concert Hall is disillusioned, and Andrew is in his office.Tanner was calling him. He needs me, Andrew thought happily.He stood up slowly and walked into his brother's office. "Here I am," Andrew said. "Yeah, I saw that," Tanner snapped. "sit down." Andrew sat down on a chair. "Let me teach you a few tricks, Big Brother. Sow discord and break each other." Tanner's voice had a smug tone. "I made Diana think the Mafia killed her husband and Kelly Harris was Worrying about an Olga that doesn't exist. Do you understand?"

Andrew said vaguely, "Understood, Tanner." Tanner patted his brother on the shoulder. "You're my best reaction board, Andrew. There are things I want to say, but I can't tell anyone. But I can tell you anything, because you're too stupid to understand." He Gazing into Andrew's two empty eyes. "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." Suddenly Tanner became serious. "We have a problem to solve. Two women are missing. They know we're looking for them, hunting them down, so they try to Get out of our sight. Where are they going to hide, Andrew?"

Andrew looked at his brother for a while. "I—I don't know." "There are two ways to find out. First, we will try Cartesian, logic, and build up our solution step by step. Let's reason." Andrew looked at him and said blankly: “Just listen to you…” Tanner began pacing back and forth: "They're not going back to Stevens' apartment because it's too dangerous—we're monitoring it all the time. We know Kelly Harris doesn't have close friends in the U.S. because she's been around for a long time. Lives in Paris, so she doesn't trust anyone here to protect her." He looked at his brother, "Do you understand?"

Andrew blinked: "I—understand, Tanner." "So will Diana Stevens go to a friend for help? I don't think so. It could cost their lives. Another option is that they can go to the police and report it but they know they will be ridiculed .So what might be their next move?" He closed his eyes for a few seconds before continuing, "Obviously they'll be thinking of airports, train stations, and bus stations, but they must know we'll be following. .So what are we left with?" "I - I - listen to you, Tanner." "The rest is the hotel, Andrew. They need a hotel to hide in. But what kind of hotel? Two terrified women running for their lives. You know, whichever hotel they choose, they will think that we and the people there may If there is a connection, their identities may be exposed. They do not feel safe because of it. Do you remember Sonia Verbrugge in Berlin? We did a little trick and stole that urgent email from her computer. She went to Ahmedabad Tomis Hotel because it only accepts women, so she thought she would not be in danger there. Well, I think Mrs. Stevens and Harris would feel the same way. So our conclusion is what?"

He turned and looked at his brother again.Andrew's eyes closed.He fell asleep. Tanner was so angry that he walked up to him and slapped him hard. Andrew woke up with a start: "What's the matter—?" "Listen when I'm talking to you, you idiot." "I'm—sorry, Tanner. I just—" Tanner turned to a computer. "Now, let's see the women's hotels in Manhattan." Tanner did a quick Internet search and printed out the results.He read aloud: "The Al Carmelo Hotel on West Fourteenth Street...the Central Maria Hotel on West Fifty-fourth Street...Parkside Evangeline and the Wilton Woman on South Gramercy Street Hotel." He smiled and looked up. "This is where Cartesian logic tells us they might be hiding, Andrew. Now let's see what science and technology will tell us." Tanner walked over to a landscape painting on the wall, reached behind it, and pressed a concealed button. A portion of the wall slides open to reveal a TV screen with a computer-controlled map of Manhattan. "Do you remember what this is, Andrew? You used to operate this device. You're so skilled, in fact, that I'm jealous of you. It's the GPS. With it, we can find out where anyone is in the world. remember?" Andrew nodded, struggling to stay awake. "When the two ladies left my office, I gave each of them my business card. It had a microcomputer chip embedded in it, about the size of a grain of sand. The signal was collected by satellites, and when the GPS was activated, the chip displayed Tell me exactly where they are." He turned to his brother, "Do you understand?" Andrew swallowed. "I—I—understand, Tanner." Tanner looked back at the screen.He pressed the second button.Tiny dots start blinking across the map and start moving down.Slowed down in a small area, then swam forward again.After passing through a street, it is very slow, so that the names of various companies are clearly visible. Tanner pointed. "This is West Fourteenth Street." The red light continued to move. "Tequila...a pharmacy...St. Vincent's Hospital...Banana Republic Clothing...Notre Dame de Guadalupe." The lights stopped.Tanner's voice struck triumphant notes: "Wilton Ladies' Hotel. That confirms my logic. I guessed right, you see." Andrew licked his lips: "Yes. You're right..." Tanner looked at Andrew: "You can go." He picked up his cell phone and dialed: "Mr. Flint, they're at the Wilton Hotel on West Thirty-fourth Street." He turns off the phone.Looking up, I saw Andrew standing at the door. "What's the matter?" Tanner asked impatiently. "Can I go to—you know—Sweden and collect the Nobel Prize they just gave me?" "No, Andrew. That was seven years ago." "Oh." Andrew turned around and slowly returned to his office. Tanner recalled his own emergency trip to Switzerland three years ago... He was stuck in a complex logical puzzle, when suddenly the secretary's voice came from the inliner: "Zurich is calling, Mr. Kingsley." "I'm busy and don't have time--well. I'll talk to them." He picked up the phone. "Hey?" Tanner listened to the other party's words, and his face became more and more ugly.He said impatiently, "I see... are you sure? She—no, it's okay. I'll take care of it myself." He pressed the inliner button. "Miss Ordoniz, tell the pilot to get the challenger ready. We're flying to Zurich. Two passengers." Madeleine Smith sat in a booth in one of Zurich's most elegant hotels, La Rotonde.She was in her early thirties and had a lovely oval face with a doll head and a ruddy complexion.It's clear she's pregnant. Tanner went to the table and Madeleine Smith stood up. Tanner Kingsley held out his hand. "Sit down, please." He took a seat opposite her. "I'm glad to meet you." She has a brisk Swiss accent. "At first, when I first got the call, I thought it was a joke." "why?" "Well, you are such a big shot, they say you came to Zurich to see me, I can't even imagine—" Tanner smiled. "I'll tell you why I'm here. Because I've heard you're a brilliant scientist, Madeleine. May I call you Madeleine?" "Oh, of course, Mr. Kingsley." "At KIG, we value talent. You are the kind of person who should work for us, Madeleine. How long have you been with Tokyo Daiichi?" "Seven years." "Well, seven is your lucky number, because I'm offering you a KIG position at twice your current salary, where you'll be head of your own department, and—" "Oh, Mr. Kingsley!" she was overjoyed. "Are you interested, Madeleine?" "Oh, so interested. Of course I can't start right away." Tanner's expression changed: "What does this mean?" "Well, I'm pregnant and getting married soon..." Tanner smiled. "That's not a problem. We'll take care of everything." "But there's another reason I can't leave right away. I'm working on a project in our lab and we're going to -- we're almost at the end of it," said Madeleine Smith. "Madeleine, I don't know what your project is, and I don't care. But the fact is that what I just offered you must be accepted immediately. I actually want to be with you and your fiancé"—he smiled—" Or should I call him your future husband - fly back to America together." "I'll be there as soon as the program is over. Six months, maybe a year." Tanner was silent for a moment: "Are you absolutely sure you can't come over right away?" "No. I'm in charge of the project. It's not fair for me to quit." She smiled brightly. "Next year—?" Tanner smiled: "Of course." "I'm sorry you made a wasted trip." Tanner said enthusiastically: "It's not for nothing, Madeleine. I saw you." She flushed all over her face: "You are so kind." "Oh, by the way, I have brought you a present. My assistant will deliver it to your flat at six tonight. His name is Harry Flint." The next morning, Madeleine Smith's body was found lying on the kitchen floor of her home.The stove was not turned off, and the whole room was full of gas. Tanner's mind returned to reality.Flint never let him down.In a little while, Diana Stevens and Kelly Harris will be cleaned up, and with them gone, work will continue.