Apollo's Lair

By Eddie Isley

Apollo’s Lair is the first in a four part series that mixes fact, supposition, and fiction to craft a wonderfully complex tale. Could there be a group operating behind a veil of secrecy controlling all governments and making the political class little more than puppets on a string? Apollo’s Lair takes a peek behind that veil when Brooks Logan stumbles onto the ultimate conspiracy with one goal; to rule the world. Can he and his associates bring the world back from the edge of the abyss before freedom and democracy are destroyed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Oct 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781489743589

Eddie Isley

Eddie Isley has been a PGA golf professional for the past 33 years and is beginning a new endeavor by introducing his first of four novels in the Brooks Logan series. An avid reader, Eddie takes his love for telling a great story and crafts a tale that is sure to take the reader on a wonderful journey that reads like the news headlines of today.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Sparrows Point, Maryland

F rom the outside, the rusted and dilapidated old warehouse seemed to be deserted. It was located about two hundred yards away from the waterfront and was surrounded by other rundown buildings in similar disrepair. There was one small patch of scrub brush and stunted pines that had overtaken the parking lot where there once had been some sort of structure now long gone. Over time, that building had been demolished and nothing had been built to take its place.

Only one street light worked in the rundown parking lot and did little to illuminate the ramshackle old building. At 3am, everything was very quiet, or so it seemed from the outside. The moon was in its new phase, and the cloud cover of late winter made everything damp and cold.

The windows on the second floor of the building in question had been painted black on the inside to mask the activity going on around the clock. There were never any cars in the parking lot, but there were seven men who rotated in and out of the warehouse regularly, and there were never less than two in the building at any given time. Even at this late hour, that schedule had not changed.

In the shadows, a man was now in his seventh straight night of watching the warehouse and he had decided that tonight was going to be his last. Looking through the old fence was starting to wear thin on his nerves. Wearing all black, he had blended into the shadows each night taking photographs of the occupants as they came and went. All the information he and his team had gathered, had been passed on to his employers, but no course of action had yet to be discussed.

The grease paint on his face was beginning to run with the dampness of the night. One of his company’s drones outfitted with infra-red capability had been on station for the last three nights flying lazy circles around the warehouse. Three human lifeforms could be seen in the building by the infra-red cameras and other than a few small rats, the rest of the building was un-occupied.

There was a small earpiece in his left ear, and he was wearing a throat mic. The man in the shadows didn’t possess the only eyes on tonight’s activities; there was a two-man team located farther back in a ditch alongside the road. Two blocks away a third team occupied a van to monitor the situation, and if needed, would provide support or extraction.

He had decided tonight was going to be the end of this operation. If the people he reported to didn’t want to make a decision, it was usually due to the fact they wanted him and his team to do so. That way if the shit hit the fan, they would have plausible deniability. Uncle Sam at its finest.

Blue Devil to all team members. Listen up. I’m going to flush the toilet in twenty minutes on my mark. Mark, and with that, the countdown was on. There were three assholes in the warehouse making bombs, and they would soon be on their way to meet their maker. The other four were staged at two different locations resting, and he had two teams assigned to remove them. None of these seven were in the U.S. legally and none would live longer than the next twenty minutes.

Blue Devil, all teams are a go. Vanderbilt and Gunslinger have been advised. Everything will go down in nineteen minutes. From our vantage point, everything is quiet.

Thanks Jay Hawk. I’m going under the fence now.

The man called Blue Devil quickly went under the fence from the wooded area at the edge of the parking lot. He moved quickly and more importantly, quietly, as he covered the seventy feet to the door of the warehouse in just a few seconds. He had barely reached the door, when two men waiting in the ditch, silently appeared at his side.

Once everyone made eye contact, he pulled out a pick and in a few seconds the lock was quietly defeated. From a week of surveillance, he knew there were no trip wires at the door. The seven stooges had been seen coming and going for the past week and it was determined that there didn’t seem to be alarms. Just the same, he knew anything could await them on the other side of the door. He slipped in quietly with the others on his heels and the last man in silently closed the door behind them.

A stairway to the second floor was ahead and to his right. It was constructed of metal stairs, giving him a better chance of slipping up them with less noise than if they were made of old wood. He moved as far to the left as possible on the stairs to keep the Sig with its suppressor in his right hand free and started up. It had been agreed upon that he would reach the second floor in the lead and provide cover for the other two. As he approached the top he could see a small amount of light escaping under a door to his left. Once he arrived on the landing he moved to his right and covered the door. In seconds, all three men were outside the door that stood between them and the three men inside..

Blue Devil tapped his throat mic three times and at once Jay Hawk spoke over their mics. Targets are spread out across the room. We think the room is approximately thirty feet wide and eighteen feet deep. None of the targets are ever detected in the middle of the room, so we think there is a large table or workbench located there. We will let you know when your targets are in between the table and door to give you a better shooting lane.

He tapped his mic twice to let Jay Hawk know he had understood. Now the team waited. It could be now, or it could be later, but it would happen either way in the next sixteen minutes. The radicals inside making bombs were from Yemen and they had set up shop in the U. S. two weeks ago. The Feds knew about their operation but closing it down would mean deportation and these assholes would just set up shop again somewhere else.

The political climate in the U.S. was finally changing after years of trying to play nice had yielded little in the way of tangible results. Thus, the three men on the landing and their company had been called in. After positive identification had been made on each of the seven, their presence in America was not going to be tolerated. Five of the seven had been with Isis in Iraq and were lucky to have escaped with their lives. The other two had been responsible for car bombings in both Turkey and Syria that the authorities could tie them to, but all of them were going to run out of luck shortly.

Blue Devil checked his watch. It had been nine minutes from when the countdown started. The adrenaline he was feeling was going to cause one hell of a headache if they didn’t get started soon. Plus, the longer they waited the more difficult it was to keep one’s edge and focus.

Now Blue Devil, now. All three are ten feet in front of the door, came the call from Jay Hawk and it was delivered with a sense of detachment. No alarm or panic, just business as usual.

Rumrunner was ready to kick in the door. It was an old office door made of paneling, and it was hoped there were no tripwires or bombs ready to go off. Because of that, the strike had to be precise and very quick.

With a nod, the door was kicked in on the first try. After kicking the door in and ducking, Rumrunner rolled to his right to cover the area behind the door. There was really no need as the three targets were shocked at the door exploding open. That shock caused a second’s hesitation, and as they reached for their weapons the first Tango was shot in the jaw taking most of his face away. The Tango in the middle took two rounds in the throat, and the third Tango was shot in the back of the head at almost the same time the second one died.

Clear! With weapons at the ready, the three men investigated the room before entering. There were no booby traps that could be seen. From the door, the team could not see a computer, so there was little reason to go very far inside the room. Blue Devil entered alone and did a quick search of the three dead Tangos finding four cell phones. He quickly took those with gloved hands and dropped them into a plastic bag along with their wallets. It was doubtful there would be any useful information here, but with these nut jobs, you could never be sure.

Reaching into his backpack, Blue Devil removed an incendiary device and set the timer for fifteen minutes. Looking at his watch, he knew his other teams would take out the missing four in the next seven minutes. This place was so deserted that there was little chance of someone entering the warehouse in that amount of time, so he decided it was time to go.

Jay Hawk, three tangos down. The package will be delivered in eight minutes. Pick us up at extraction point one please. Blue Devil kept his weapon out for the return trip just in case, as did the other shooters.

Roger, Blue Devil. Our ETA is two minutes. I repeat, two minutes.

With that, the three men closed the door and proceeded down the steps. They were still alert and making sure there were no surprises waiting for them on their way out.

At the bottom of the steps they made for the door, and still there had been no verbal communication between the three men. Blue Devil exited the building last, making sure the door was locked securely before making his way to the fence line to meet the others.

Blue Devil and his team waited beside the road in the bushes for just a few seconds before a black cargo van stopped. The side doors opened, and the three men entered and just as quickly it took off with the door closing while the van was back in motion. The three men involved in the take down started to relax.

Blue Devil gave every member of his team a nod for a job well done. He instructed the driver to return to their original vantage point to make sure the bomb exploded. Coupled with the explosives from the bomb making operation inside, he was sure it was going to be quite the fireworks show.

Jay Hawk was still busy at his console listening to the progress of the other teams. He communicated with them quietly and effectively. Blue Devil could hear Jay Hawk but not the other teams involved. In minutes it was all over. Seven Tangos were down, and the only thing left now was to get the drone out of the area and in advance of the fireworks.

Blue Devil looked at his watch and gave them the heads up at ten seconds. Every man in that van silently counted down the seconds in their head. They weren’t disappointed. Not only did the explosion fill the van with blinding light through the windshield, but the ground shook as well. Seconds later it was over, and the van quickly began to exit the area. In less than three minutes, they reached I-695 and were heading into Baltimore when they saw the initial wave of first responders headed towards the waterfront. Once on the highway, the man called Blue Devil finally spoke.

Vincent and Hutch; well done, he said to the two men who accompanied him into the building. And Jesse, your planning was perfect. You should be very proud of the performance of the teams tonight. Jay Hawk you were on the ball.

Thank you Brooks. Everything went perfectly, but let’s face it. These guys were not very good.

Actually, they suck. Or they sucked. They all picked the wrong line of work. It’s hard to imagine bomb makers have much in the way of a retirement plan.

Agreed. I let everyone know to head to their respective hotels for the night. Everyone is to meet at the airport at 7am. We should all be on the ground in Raleigh by nine o’clock. Hutch is driving the van back tomorrow at lunch with the gear we used tonight. Vincent is riding shotgun.

Blue Devil, or Brooks looked at his two accomplices in tonight’s action with a smile on his face. Hutch, known as Wolfpack and Vincent aka Rumrunner were his two best field operatives. Listen up you two. Get some sleep before starting out, and you know the drill. No getting stopped along the way back. When you get an ETA call me. Dinner and drinks on me tomorrow night at Gianni’s.

You got it boss. Make sure you bring your wallet this time.

That brought laughter from everyone including Brooks. Looking at Hutch he replied, I forget my damn wallet once and you guys never let me forget it.

Brooks was damn proud of the men and women that worked for him. He and Jesse, or Jayhawk, had hand selected every member employed in this wing of his company, and so far, he had been happy with the performance of each one of them. His phone hadn’t lit up yet, so he knew his employers were happy with tonight’s work. Each member of his team tonight had done their jobs perfectly. Now, all he had to do was make sure to bring his wallet for tomorrow night’s dinner.

1

STUART FLORIDA, MARCH

D r. Beth Williams was spooked and had been for the past few days. The Palm City Clinic, located in Stuart Florida, attracted cancer patients from all over the world. During her time with the clinic she had met interesting people from all walks of life, and she had voiced her concern to one those acquaintances ten days ago and now she was glad she had done so.

She had met a gentleman by the name of Sir Earl Ingold three months ago. The clinic was treating his wife for cancer, and they had gradually gotten to know each other. A few days ago, he had noticed a change start to come over her, so he stopped by her office had asked if something was troubling her. She had told him in confidence she felt as if she were being watched all the time and that she was starting to become paranoid.

Dr. Williams, you have given my wife a better quality of life through your treatments. Is there any way I can assist you?

Sir Earl, I’m not sure how or if anyone could help me. In fact, I’m not positive there is really anything going on. It could just be my imagination. Since the success of our treatments and the resulting attention from the pharmaceutical companies, I have felt like I am being watched at times. I can’t imagine the Pharmaceutical Industry is pleased with us trying to develop a low-cost alternative to curing certain cancers. My colleague, Dr. Stephen Graves, doesn’t seem concerned; but I have felt something isn’t quite right for the past few months. At times, I feel as if I need to vanish and go where no one can find me.

Sir Earl got up and walked over to the window. Please listen and don’t find me crazy but I have worked most of my career for British Intelligence. I am still employed as a, let’s just say, as a consultant. I can quietly look into this if you like?

She was shocked. She thought of him as a reserved English gentleman and would have never guessed at him being anything other than a wealthy grandfather. I don’t know what to say. I am frightened, but I don’t want you to go to any trouble.

Dr. Williams it’s no trouble at all. It would be my pleasure and maybe I can put your mind at ease, if nothing else.

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On the following Monday, he visited the clinic and his wife again. He met Dr. Williams in her office and informed her, that in his professional opinion, she should be very careful. I am going to need you to follow my instructions on this. I don’t think you are paranoid, but maybe you should be. You need to meet a friend of mine who is flying in a few days from now. I’m going to arrange for you two to meet and let him provide you with information we have uncovered. His name is Brooks, and he is like a son to Mildred and I and I might add, I would trust him with my life. I think it’s time you allow me to repay the kindness you have shown my wife and me. Also, I have arranged for one of my associates to meet us here during lunch tomorrow to provide some assistance. I only ask we don’t concern Mildred with this.

I understand completely. Your wife has enough on her plate at the moment.

One other thing. Do you have any holiday time you can use?

Yes, I do. I haven’t used any in the past two years.

Excellent, my dear, excellent, he smiled.

Tuesday had been a blur. After meeting with Sir Earl’s associate, they had used her office to take some photographs after changing her makeup a bit. They had also fit her for glasses, even though it wasn’t her eyesight causing her problems.

Now, here it was Thursday morning, and a package had arrived from Charlotte NC, via Fed Ex. In it were three passports and driver’s licenses, three credit cards for each identity and $50,000 in good old U.S. Currency. Who was this Sir Earl? Twenty minutes after signing for the package, Sir Earl had appeared at her door.

I see my package arrived. Now, I need you to do as I say. You are booked into Frenchman’s Reef Resort under one of your new identities, Bailey Wade. I think you may be in peril my dear, but I don’t have the ability to help you more than what I’m doing for you at present. So, I need you to be in Saint Thomas tomorrow tonight. Saturday, at 11am, in the Colony Bar of the hotel, a man wearing a Duke Golf tee shirt will meet you. Trust him! I’m sorry for the cloak and dagger, but it has to be this way.

You are asking me to leave tomorrow? I have patients, my research; I can’t just pack up and leave now, can I?

Doctor Williams, I will let the gentleman contacting you in St. Thomas explain. It is best if you simply disappear. After lunch tomorrow, tell everyone you are going to Naples and then drive to Jacksonville where you have an open-ended ticket to St. Thomas in your packet. You should leave immediately after lunch, and I would do so if I were in your shoes. But, and I can’t stress this enough; the man who will meet you will give you further instructions. Until then, don’t check your email and leave your phone in your desk. Leave everything but clothing and essentials. Contact no one unless it’s me. In my pocket is a new phone. Completely untraceable. Two numbers are programmed into it, Mine and that of Brooks, your contact. Can you do that?

The look on her face was of utter shock. Could this be really happening to her? Are you sure this is necessary? What if it’s a mistake?

Then you can return home in ten days or so with a wonderful tale for the ages. In St. Thomas, you can buy an iPad or a laptop and set up an email account. You have mine but please don’t use it under any circumstances until you get a new device or use the phone I provided. Understood?

Wow. Really? I need to do all of this? Can’t I just call the police?

Sir Earl paused for a moment before replying. Bailey, that is your name from now on. It’s the first of the three passports, he smiled, I, actually we, have stumbled upon information that is more than a bit troubling. I will finish this visit with my wife and hopefully leave with Mildred on Monday. I wish for you to leave after lunch tomorrow. It gives you time to pack tonight and Friday is as good a time as any. You must act normally for the rest of the day. Contact me in my wife’s room if anything pops up before you leave. He smiled again, Sort out your thoughts and go on with your day. Try to act normally. Answers and information are being gathered as we speak. As he turned to go, he gave her one last tidbit. Your intuition was spot on. Your research and treatments are the reasons for all of this. I’ve also offered my services to your partner Dr. Graves, but he thinks I’m a doddering old fool and I can assure you both that I am nothing of the sort.

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At her usual lunch spot she was checking her emails, maybe for the last time for a very long while; maybe forever. She was lost in thought, and then looking up she saw that the same greasy blond guy was sitting across the restaurant facing her table. He was checking out his phone or so it seemed; maybe replying to an email as she had been. Enough was enough. As the waitress approached, she turned her phone to video and hit record. Excuse me Cassie, but may I have an iced tea to go? She was casually holding her phone as she ordered and hoped to get some video of this guy. He really gave her the creeps.

Upon reaching her car, she started the engine and called Sir Earl from her new phone in her purse.

Bailey my dear, how nice to hear from you.

It’s great to hear your voice as well. I’m hoping I can run into you sometime soon.

Certainly, my dear. I’ll pop by your office in let’s say, twenty minutes?

After disconnecting her call, she saw the creeper leaving the restaurant as well, and decided to hurry back to the clinic.

Sir Earl was already in her office. She closed the door behind her and said, I have something on my phone, I hope.

She opened the gallery, and they watched the video together. This guy seems to be everywhere I have been for the past week or so. I took a chance to try and get his ugly face for you to see.

Excellent my dear! I have no doubt you got away with capturing the video without his knowing. If not, he might not have allowed you to return to the clinic. You took a very big chance, but he does looks familiar. I’m going to impound your phone for a few minutes and send the video to myself so I can have someone from my security team send it off to clean up the images. I’ll then get the pictures to your contact Brooks, as well. He will definitely want to see these.

You have a security team, she asked as she handed over her phone for the videos to be transferred?

I do as a matter of fact. One of my men was in the diner with you and he reported the blond guy following you out. Your ‘friend’ didn’t follow you back to the clinic, but he did get on my associate’s radar. The good thing is he doesn’t know we have this, he said holding up the phone. but, you have to leave now. Who knows when he will return? No packing! Leave now. We are changing plans. It is urgent we do so at once. I want you to drive up to Jacksonville now and leave your car at a hotel and catch an Uber to the airport. I will give you further instructions while you are in transit. One of my bodyguards will follow at a safe distance. Leave the keys in the floorboard and do not lock the car. He will take care of it for us.

Now? No Goodbyes? Can I at least pack a bag?

I think not. I will tell Dr. Graves you have had a friend who was in an accident in Naples and are on your way to be with her. You can pick up clothing and any essentials you will need later today. You have plenty of funds available to do so. As he returned her phone to her he added, I think you should stop on the way out and have your secretary put in for a few days of vacation on your behalf.

How can I ever thank you Sir Earl? Will I see you again?

As for thanking me, my wife is getting her health back and it is I who will always be in your debt. I’m sure in the next week to ten days we will meet again. That will give me time to keep digging into this in my official capacity.

I’m afraid I might not be able to do any of this.

My dear, he said as he took her hand, I am a very good judge of character. If I didn’t believe you could do this, I would not have proposed we go about it this way. He gently nudged her toward the door and said with a smile on his face, Now, be off with you. And if you stop for gas use your new bank cards. Leave all of your old things with me and remember; a white Suburban will be close by on your way to Jacksonville. He is one of my associates. His name is Stanley and he’s very capable. And with that, he escorted her of the office door.

As soon as she left, he used his secure phone and entered a number from memory. Brooks, we need to hurry. I think I underestimated the amount of time we have. He was looking away from the window when he added The flight should be for some time after 6pm today. I hope you can make that flight with her. She will be using her new name, Bailey Wade. And Brooks; I can’t imagine how frightened she is. She also has no idea of the firestorm that might follow her.

I’m about an hour out of JAX on the corporate jet. As soon as it drops me off, it’s returning to Raleigh.

Brooks, she has nothing in the way of personal items. I am now hoping you can help Bailey purchase the things she will need. After all, we are asking her to start over with a new identity.

I will do my best. Have her go directly to the airport Marriott, where I will have a room reserved for us both. Unless something changes, I have two of my people who are due a few days of vacation and one is female. I think you have met Erica before. She might help to put Bailey at ease. I’ll let you know when those two are leaving together for the flight south to JAX.

Thank you. I’ll await your call. Stanley of my team is following her. I’ll keep you informed, and with that he terminated the call.

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She heard from Sir Earl shortly after passing Daytona Beach. Her new phone rang and seeing the number that popped up she had answered it by saying, Go for Bailey. How may I help you?

Excellent my dear. It’s great to hear from you. Stanley says you are refueled and have less than two hours to the airport. Slight change of plans, there is a paid room in your name at the Airport Marriott but still leave the keys in the floorboard and my man will take care of your car.

Will I be safe there? I feel less threatened on the road. Unadulterated fear is replacing my paranoia.

You are doing a fantastic job my dear. You will be safe for the night. My friend Brooks will meet you there and you will be at your hotel in St. Thomas tomorrow by 2pm. I have moved our timetable forward quite a bit. I had an inkling on the identity of your photogenic friend and now I am certainly glad I made you leave when I did.

Did you tell Stephen; Dr Graves, that I was called away?

I did, and he seemed preoccupied with something and paid me little heed. The clinic has plenty of doctors to handle your absence.

This guy, Brooks, you say I can trust him, are you sure? That much I need to know. You are asking for a lot of blind faith on my part. You do know that right?

Absolutely dear. After all, you barely know me. I understand this is a giant leap of faith. But I do think your life is in danger. I thought so beforehand, but your photographic skills I think are the proof.

How so?

Brooks will contact you after you check in. Remember the shirt. That will identify him to you. And he knows Mildred, my wife, and she thinks he’s a dashing fellow, if that means anything. He will know her maiden name which is Bond. They always love teasing me as to why I didn’t use that for a last name he laughed. Now concentrate on driving. Stanley is four cars behind you and says you are an excellent motorist. I must go now. A few more pieces of the puzzle need to be solved.

She put the phone down and checked her mirror. Sure, enough the white Suburban was a few cars back and pacing her car. It helped calm her to some degree, but what kind of shit storm had she landed herself in. Sir Earl, I sure hope you are who you say you are, she muttered out loud, and the miles fell behind her as she tried to find hope in her future.

2

H e watched the entrance to the Marriott from behind his Maui Jim sunglasses. Sir Earl Ingold had been in contact with him four times in the past two hours since stepping off his corporate jet. The plane was already on the return flight to his corporate headquarters in Raleigh, NC to pick up a few more of his associates. It would be back in Jacksonville by morning and then he and the good doctor would be on their way to the US Virgin Islands.

With each update from Sir Earl, combined with those from his own people, a hot mess was starting to emerge. The picture being painted by his research team combined with the information from the Brits was appalling. Murders, and the cover-ups of those crimes, had to have assistance from the highest reaches of law enforcement. In the past few days of searching, more than sixty deaths of doctors and researchers, all connected to cancer treatment and research; had been linked together. A few of the deaths might possibly be explained, but most of them could only be ruled as homicides. In many instances, violent fatalities had almost instantly been ruled as suicides and multiple violent deaths on successive days in close proximity to each other didn’t add up in any way, unless the sum of the equation was to keep the victim’s research suppressed. The solution to these crimes would likely lead to money being the answer, and money nearly always led to greed and power. It always had and most likely always would.

He saw her car approaching the entrance and dialed the Doctors number. Bailey, this is Brooks. You made great time and I’m in the parking lot at the far left of the entrance. I’m getting out of the car now, so try and park beside me.

I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to hearing your voice and dreading it at the same time. I see you.

When you get out of the car I want you to greet me with a huge hug like we’ve known each other for years, and with that, the connection was broken.

As Bailey turned left inside the entrance she was delighted to see a handsome man wearing a Duke University Golf tee shirt and it was a great sight to see. The Royal Blue color made his eyes really stand out as she parked.

Brooks Logan watched her drive up and park on the other side of his car. As he rounded the back of his vehicle, he saw her get out of the driver’s seat. He walked to her and pulled her close, giving her a rousing embrace which she returned although it caused her to blush. She