Face of the Assassin Read online

“Then there’s Vince,” said Mei Ling.

  “He sure is nice to look at,” purred Fatima, “but he’s a huge unknown.”

  Taking charge, Fatima said, “Come on, I want you to meet someone else.”

  Crossing through the party, the pair turned the heads of those who admired feminine beauty. Fatima led them to a table where two women sat. Mei Ling and Fatima had met Gretchen and Sashi Panzer in the reception line. Fatima continued the role of woman in charge. “Gretchen and Sashi, tonight you met Mei Ling, together we,” Fatima circled her hand around them, “are the future of Crepusculous.” All four women clinked their drinks, and toasted the proclamation.

  Fatima stated, “The board only thinks of themselves, but the whole world is affected by all the decisions they make. We need to think of the future.”

  Leaning forward Gretchen said, “This party is not the place, but I agree one hundred percent. Let’s meet soon and do some planning.”

  Fatima shook hands with the handsome blonde woman. Gretchen Panzer was equally self -assured and just as assertive as Fatima, but she realized it was the striking Pakistani who had taken the initiative and she had to respect that.

  The evening transitioned into an elegant meal served on fine china. The menu featured braised medallions of veal smothered in apricot nectar glaze upon a rosemary and thyme risotto. The salad, festooned with fresh strawberries and candied pecans, included greens of spinach, arugula, oak leaf lettuce and radicchio. Sangiovese, from a Tuscan vintner, filled the stemware, served at cellar temperature. The meal concluded with a chocolate raspberry mousse molded into the shape of the Omnisphere global logo.

  The return of the lost son gave Panzer powerful incentive to spare no expense welcoming the young man he always wanted into the fold of his family, his business and his empire. Tonight was a special occasion for the man and having eaten an excellent meal he was now eager to get to the podium and tell everyone about his joy.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please continue to enjoy your dessert. I just want to thank you for coming to celebrate the arrival of my son. As is widely known I did not know of my son’s presence in the world for twenty-five years. His mother and I shared a common passion but not a lifetime together. She was a smart, loving woman with a fierce independent streak and a determination to live according to her own plan. She raised Vince well, and has given him the values and beliefs to which I aspire and hold as the light of the world. Her unfortunate passing led to the reunion of Vince and me. The tragic loss of Ayla Kronig led to the joyful re-connection between me and my son, which we celebrate tonight. I just want to tell you a couple of things about Ayla. She was an incredibly smart young lady. When I met her, she was a graduate student in biochemistry at the University of British Columbia. She was on scholarship from Iceland and had that stoic Icelandic spirit of perseverance. I can tell you that as a single mother, she completed medical school and throughout her career, she both treated patients and studied communicable diseases. It was an investigation into a rare tropical disease that caused her death. Like a sentenced prisoner turning against his captors, the virus she was seeking to control, infected her. Her dedication to science and the relentless pursuit of discovery is the trait for which she would have wanted to be remembered. Please raise your glass in honorable memory of Ayla Kronig.”

  The whole banquet hall, over two hundred people, raised their glasses to toast a lie. Panzer could see some of the guests sitting near the front tearing up as he told his fabricated story of Vince’s mother.

  “Now for my son, Vince,” said Panzer. “A man, who grew up without a father, now has the best father in the world!” Panzer paused for the laughter but the confused silence quickly grew awkward and he resumed his remarks. “Vince has Canadian citizenship, so he is of course very polite. His heritage however is from Europe which makes him combative.” Again no laughter. “In spite of not knowing him, I believe I had some influence since he studied economics at Victoria University. He and I will collaborate on the future of Omnisphere, seeing it grow and prosper. The other day we were discussing Digival and he asked, ‘How did you know the world was ready for a global currency?’ The question made me realize how important it is to have an heir to whom you can pass on your legacy. Vince is smart, determined and resourceful. He has skills and abilities that go beyond the obvious and I am so happy to have all of you here to share in the celebration of a father’s love.”

  Panzer stopped talking and waited for the applause. It started low at first with just a few brave claps, but it spread and rose into a thunderous roar leading to a standing ovation during which Panzer stood on the podium soaking up all the adoration, never calling up his son, the true man of the hour. When it became obvious, Panzer had overlooked inviting Vince to the stage. The applause slowly broke off and people began sitting down. Panzer resumed speaking, “Thank you all for coming. For your dancing pleasure the band will now begin.” With a faux conductor’s flourish, he waved his hand and the twelve-piece band got the message and began playing.

  Panzer descended the stairs and began speaking with people as he walked over to the dance floor. He did not greet or speak to Vince. Diegert was probably one of the least surprised in the room. He knew Panzer was a self-absorbed narcissist. His speech was a total lie. Diegert had never been to British Columbia. He sat at the table of honor but Gretchen had left with a disgusted look on her face and Sashi just couldn’t keep herself from the dance floor.

  Diegert looked out over the crowd and watched as people listened to the music and enjoyed their conversations. Games of chance were set up while everyone ate and the Monte Carlo night attracted hopeful gamblers. The chair next to him slid out and Diegert turned to see the wide, short body of Aaron Blevinsky fall into the seat next to him.

  In his Russian tinged accent Blevinsky said, “You know who I am and I know who you really are.”

  The sky blue eyes of Vince Kronig glared at the man who had turned David Diegert into an assassin. Diegert hated the man and didn’t understand why Panzer kept him around. He was suspicious of the dirty secrets Blevinsky must possess. Now the chubby information master was going to have even more incriminating stuff with which he would extract compliance. “Were you actually on the invite list?” Diegert asked sarcastically.

  “I created the list.”

  Diegert wanted to make something plain to this man. “I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity to become a new person.”

  Blevinsky, still eating sweet chocolate dessert squares out of foil wrappers, scoffed, “No one can become a new person. You have this new identity which is actually a perfect cover so we can keep you around, change your face as necessary and send you on missions that serve Crepusculous.”

  He licked chocolate from his fingers as he looked into the impossibly blue, but now sad eyes of Vince Kronig. “Don’t you go believing your father’s lies. You don’t have a degree in economics and your mother was not a doctor with Icelandic blood. I’m the one who made up your whole cover story. The bullshit that lets you be someone new, is what I’ve created to fool the curious.”

  The foil crinkled as the portly Blevinsky unwrapped another dessert. “Your skills are far more rare and ultimately more valuable. We can hire economists, but Panzer loves the fact that his top assassin is his son. He keeps calling you an NK cell, whatever that is? He will never rescind your operational status. Once a killer, always a killer,” Blevinsky said as thick syrupy cherry juice dripped from the corner of his mouth. To Diegert, it was blood on the mouth of a vampire.

  “What if I’m done killing? What if I refuse to kill? I’m a public figure now.”

  “I suggest you don’t challenge your father when he requests you to kill. Refusing will only lead to trouble for those you love or an order to execute you. You’ll die in a sports car, an airplane, or a snowmobile, something cool and fun. What a tragedy.”

  “What if I kill you, Blevinsky?” The threat came from deep within Diegert, but it crossed the lips of Vince Kronig i
n a way that made Blevinsky smile.

  “There you go buddy. You see there is a killer inside you. I’m only here five minutes, sharing a sobering perspective and your reaction is to threaten to kill me. That’s what I mean, you’re a killer at heart.”

  “I’d only kill you so I could stop killing.”

  Blevinsky frowned, shrugged his shoulders and said, “An interesting perspective but it still supports my point. Look I remember the guy who blew up Victor Del Fuentes in Miami and shot Gunther Mybuku in Paris. He then used a remote control rifle to kill Constantine Stravopolous in Greece. How about Farogue Arindi in Mogadishu, you used a knife to kill him. Need I go on?”

  Blevinsky drew closer as if he were consoling a dear friend. “You’ve got a lot of great kills, of very bad people, and I’m confident you’ve got many more to come. So get back in the game and get ready. Look how well the Chinese mission went. Imagine, tonight you stood in the Grand Hall receiving congratulations from the Wei family, when just three weeks ago you stabbed their son right in front of them in their very own living room. How cool is that?”

  “It’s not cool. I don’t want to keep doing it.”

  “Except for me of course,” Blevinsky raised his eyebrows. “Don’t worry it’s hard to be in full mission mode when you’re wearing a tux and every lady in the place wants to suck your dick. But trust me the need, the urge will rise within you and you’ll be more than happy to again be assigned a lethal mission.”

  Vince leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and looked up at the chandeliered ceiling.

  Blevinsky hit him on the knee. “Hey buddy, don’t look behind you but someone’s coming to talk to you. I gotta go, but I’ll always be around, I’ll always know what you’re doing.” The heavy man, with some effort, rose to his feet and waddled away.

  Vince looked behind him to see who was coming. He spun out of his seat as he rose to his feet. Denise Diegert was startled by his sudden move.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said.

  “No, no...That’s fine, I…I’m just very glad to see you.”

  “You are?” she said with surprise.

  “Well, I mean, I’ve met a lot of people tonight and now I’m happy to meet you.” He extended his hand to the tall exotic woman dressed in a conservative black dress. Her necklace, a single small pearl. She wore no makeup. Her natural beauty needed no adornment. She seemed nervous so Diegert did his best to help her succeed in this social situation.

  “My name is Vince,” he said as they shook hands. Her hands still felt rough, with thick calluses in her palms in spite of not doing a lot of work lately.

  “I’m Denise,” she offered as she withdrew her hand.

  “You know there’s a big elevated veranda just on the other side of those glass windows; it’s supposed to have a beautiful view of the campus.” Gesturing with his hand Diegert asked, “Would you like to go outside for a bit?”

  Denise smiled, “I like being outside, yes I’d like that.”

  The veranda was big and broad. Tables and chairs offered seating and a few couples and small groups were enjoying the warm night air. The edge of the structure had a low concrete wall wide enough to sit on. Embedded in the concrete was a metal railing, which rose to the height of an elbow.

  Diegert led her to the corner of the veranda where the view was best. Looking out from the 40-foot elevation, the entire campus of LPU stretched out in front of them. The campus lighting highlighted the walking paths and the building entrances. In spite of the hour and the fact that it was a weekend, many people were traversing the paths and entering or exiting the buildings.

  “A college campus is always an active place,” said Denise.

  “Yes, I like them,” said Vince. “They’re environments designed for people. They are places for people to become their best.”

  “How was Victoria University?”

  “It’s actually called University of Victoria, like LPU it goes by UVIC. It’s a beautiful place situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. One day I was kayaking in the Juan de Fuca and I found myself surrounded by a pod of Gray Whales. It was magical. I paddled with them for about half an hour until just as unexpectedly they disappeared.

  “That sounds beautiful.”

  “I bet you’d really like it.” Diegert was uncomfortable with how effectively he was lying to his mother. “You sure are looking well,” he said as he thought about how she did not display negative side effects of her treatment for cancer.

  The statement seemed to be perceived as awkward, since Denise did not reply and looked at Vince askance, under a raised eyebrow. “I mean you look very well dressed, that outfit is smashing.”

  “Thank you,” said Denise.

  “I don’t think I caught your last name, Denise.” He could see her squirming over having to reveal her association with the world’s worst criminal.

  “It’s Diegert, Denise Diegert.”

  Their eyes met and Denise held the gaze of the ice blue eyes.

  “Is that French?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Is your last name French in origin?”

  “Oh… I don’t know.”

  “If it were French it would be pronounced De gare, like the guy on TV, Steve Colbert.”

  “I guess you are Canadian, since you speak French,” said Denise

  “Well French in western Canada is very different from Quebec. Since you are not French then, what is your background?” asked Vince.

  Diegert could see she was uncomfortable with self-disclosure, but she told him, “I am Ojibwa. A tribe of Native people in North America.”

  “Oh yes, I know of the Ojibwa. They live in Ontario.”

  “Yes they do. My clan lives in Northern Minnesota. The Ojibwa lived in that region long before the U.S./Canadian border was created.”

  “It’s a matriarchal society isn’t it?”

  “Women take leadership roles,” said Denise nodding, “but it’s not just women in charge. It’s a cooperative society and the willingness to work with others for the good of all, rather than fighting, has often left us with the raw end of many deals.”

  “Victims of cheats and swindlers.”

  “We don’t consider ourselves victims, but others do. They try to take advantage of our generosity. If you’re going to commit to living by a principle, you have to stick with it even if it means things may be difficult.”

  Nodding his head and gazing upon her Vince said, “That’s beautiful.”

  “My son David was on a vision quest...” Denise suddenly stopped speaking. She looked at Vince, terrified for having revealed a secret.

  Vince smiled with genuine curiosity. “Go on you were going to tell me about your son.”

  CHAPTER 15

  “David was on a vision quest, a journey of self-discovery that guides one to a purpose in life. It turns out David was a troubled man. He got involved in something dark and dangerous and bigger than himself. I believe he was forced to act as everybody now knows he did.” Denise’s eyes welled up and she wiped the tears with her hands as she fought to hold back from bursting into sobs. Vince stepped close and put his arm around her shoulder. He handed her a paper napkin

  “It’s okay. Tell me about David when he was younger.”

  Snuffling, Denise began, “As a young boy David loved the outdoors. He would hike, swim, and paddle. He would collect interesting natural things, like plants, bugs, bones and driftwood. He learned all about the animals that lived near us and far away. African animals fascinated him. He always wanted to go on safari,” she said with a chuckle.

  “As he got older things changed, as they do for all of us. Being of mixed heritage was difficult for him, we had never discussed it, but the kids at school sure let him know that having a Native mother and white father was not cool. Right about the time that making friends is the most important thing in a kid’s life, he was picked on and rejected. He took it hard and became quiet and bitter. I did all I
could to help, but I saw that he just looked at me as the problem.”

  It was Diegert who now had to fight back the tears in Vince’s blue eyes.

  Denise went on. “I’m going to tell you something that I think is really important for you to know.”

  Grateful for the soft evening outdoor lighting, Diegert hoped his mom couldn’t see the sadness building in Vince’s eyes. “Go ahead.”

  “Your father, Klaus Panzer, was also the father of David Diegert.”

  “Wow, really?”

  Denise nodded her head.

  “God, that guy really got around,” said Vince.

  “He sure did. I hope your mother’s encounter with him was consensual and loving, because that was not the case with me.”

  Diegert swallowed hard as his right hand closed into a fist.

  “I probably shouldn’t be saying this,” said Denise, “but you should know the kind of man he can be.”

  “What did he do to you?”

  She looked around, seeing if others were in earshot. She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Now a days they call it sexual assault. Even though I didn’t want to and I told him no, he forced himself upon me.”

  Denise got a faraway look in her eyes as she recollected Panzer’s violence. Diegert grew angry and felt the familiar rage his father often evoked in him. He wanted to reach out and hug his mother, but he fought to stay in his role as Vince.

  “The gossip grapevine at the Deerfield Lodge let it be known that I had sex with this really rich guy. No one cared about my perspective, but the word was out, Denise Diegert was a whore for the ultra-rich. I never set foot on that property again. All the extra money I made catering events just evaporated and my husband was furious. He had to hear all the jokes and then come home and beat the snot out of me.”

  His mother’s eyes dried and her jaw took on a determined set.

  “When my pregnancy started to show, I thought he was going to kill me. He wanted me to get an abortion, but I refused. Several times, he punched me in the stomach so hard; hoping to kill the baby, but David was tough and hung in there. Tom kept me around because I brought in more money than he did. He would’ve had to get two or three jobs to make more than me, so there was no way he was letting me go. But he sure wasn’t going to love that child.”