Chapter 6
Avery Solomon, the head of Solstice Synergistic, Inc., its CEO and founder, ran a company with branch offices in sixteen countries, and with twin headquarters in Seattle and London—both of which Solomon called home. Dual-citizenship, two mansions in each location, and a devoted staff, kept purposely low, composed of only his most trusted personnel, personally chosen.
He was just a shade under fifty, but his fiery red hair coupled with his tanned complexion and satin look of one twenty years younger led to a certain aura of confidence and charm that made his face a natural magnet for the covers of at least four national magazines. Time and Forbes sought him out as much for his stance on global warming—radical even by Al Gore’s standards—as for his methods of combating it: namely through swift and penalizing legal injunctions slammed onto offending companies. The bigger the better. Solomon feared no one. He speared industry and politicians alike, hitting local governments and company executives, making his assaults fearsomely personal, attacking individual lifestyles and credibility, even prying into the lives of spouses and children. Solomon reserved a special mean streak for rogue scientists that dared speak out against the prevailing wisdom: that it was man and his actions alone that were harming the environment.
Four years ago he founded Solstice, solidifying a small private venture he had begun years earlier with unknown backers, rumored to be politicians, Hollywood players and others with very, very deep pockets.
Solomon was a man used to success. To a degree of control other men only dreamed about. And he was rarely denied.
“Mr. Solomon?” the driver called over the intercom.
“What is it?” Solomon groaned. He hated being interrupted during his meditations. He had much to think about, a multitude of plans tossed in the air and expertly kept in motion by a consummate juggler. But he had kept his head at all times. The little things were the ones that broke the performer’s concentration and could threaten the whole show. It was the minor details that needed the most focus.
Like the comatose girl in the trunk.
The driver’s voice filled the limo. “The airport, sir. They’re postponing all outgoing flights to Seattle for the rest of the night. Something to do with fog and poor visibility. We can reroute and land in Spokane, then drive—”
“No. We can’t afford the delay. Continue to the airport. We’ll leave as planned.” He smirked at Gabriel, sitting across from him, still wet from the encounter in Mason’s back lawn. Shelby’s appearance … her arrival, coming out to greet them like a possessed sleepwalker, was unexpected but not out of the realm of possibility. Solomon should have anticipated something like this, after all. And he had at least had the foresight to come along as well. Otherwise things might have gone very wrong very fast.
Despite the situation, his sister in the back trunk, Gabriel still smiled confidently. Ever eager to please. So malleable, this one. When Solomon had plucked Gabriel Grier from jail, the young man had pledged his life—not just for his gratitude at his release—but for the chance to strike back for the planet, to drive a stake into the hearts of those who were bleeding the earth dry.
The intercom buzzed. Their driver was relatively new, competent enough for what he did, but that was as far as he went. “But, Mr. Solomon, even though we have a private plane, we still have to—”
“Go to the airport,” Solomon snapped. “We’ll be cleared to take off by the time we arrive.” He pulled out a slim cell phone, then thought for a moment and tossed it to Gabriel. “You’re ready, you give the order. Call brothers Nexus and Remulus in Seattle. They’ll know what to do.”
Gabriel nodded and dialed the phone as Solomon closed his eyes and resumed his introspection. It was a short drive, and an even shorter flight, and he needed every minute to think, to create the living vision of the green future he would cause to grow and spread upon the earth.
The merest thought of it all gave him shivers of anticipation.
Soon.
But first, there were little details to attend to, minor cogs to the wheel, small but by no means unnecessary, without which the whole enterprise might just crash to an ignoble conclusion.
He needed Mason Grier.