Book of JUDAS

Chapter Twenty-1

Chapter Twenty

New York City

The journey across the dateline from Bangkok was exhausting. Although they had flown comfortably in first class, their recent exertions combined with the length of time cooped up the aeroplane all added up to an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Their physical and mental states of mind were also not helped by the tedious hours of waiting in transit at Tokyo and then again in San Francisco Airport.

Now as the back wheels hit the tarmac and the plane’s nose dropped to the runway, they shared a feeling of elation that their nineteen-hour crossing was coming to an end. For Philip the feeling was magnified tenfold – he was about to see his beautiful fiancée Heather. She had promised to be there to greet him and he recalled her squeal of delight when he called during the transit stop at San Francisco to tell her the time of their connecting flight to New York.

Standing up and stretching as the seat belt sign went off, they gathered up their belongings and walked up the aisle of the plane to the gangway that took them into JFK airport.

“Not long now!” said Simon with a friendly grin as he patted his brother on the shoulder.

Anna was also looking forward to meeting Heather. She had received her full life history from Philip on the plane and he’d been at pains to tell her how well he thought they would both get on together. Regardless of Philip’s excited overtures, she sensed herself that Heather actually was the kind of person with whom she would get on well.

The baggage came through quickly and they joined the queues to proceed through Immigration. Security was strict as they watched armed officers escorting away fellow passengers for further random checks. Ten minutes later, they passed through the “Green Channel” in the Customs zone and onwards towards the exit. Philip went first, pushing the trolley in front of him while Simon and Anna followed a few steps behind. It was a busy time for the airport and the crowd behind the barriers to meet arriving passengers was five or more deep in parts.

Philip scanned the mass of faces all staring at him as he passed through the electronic sliding doors. He didn’t need to wait long; he saw her frantic wave before she stooped below the waist-high tape and sprinted forward to greet him.

Jumping into his arms, they embraced and kissed in the same movement.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, brushing away the tears welling up in her eyes. She looks as beautiful as ever, thought Philip. Her long, natural blonde hair gave away her Californian origins, where she had won her regional and hometown’s beauty pageants with unassailable majorities.

There were many things that had attracted Philip and a host of other potential suitors to Heather. Apart from her stunning looks she also possessed the rare combination of being a brilliant academic with a great sense of humour. In her late teen years she had the option to embark on a glamorous career in modelling or continue studying to secure a place at an Ivy League university. In the end, her head ruled her heart, although the decision was helped when the offer letter arrived from Yale inviting her to read law.

When Philip finally let her down she turned to face Simon and Anna with her intense blue eyes.

“It’s been a long time Simon − you haven’t changed a bit,” she said, trading kisses on the cheeks as she embraced him. Then, turning to Anna, she stretched out her hand.

“Welcome, Anna. Philip’s told me all about you,” she smiled as they quickly shook hands.

“Come on – we’re blocking the walkway,” said Philip, noticing fellow passengers struggling to get past their stationary trolley.

Heather led them off in the direction of her BMW saloon, which was parked across the road in the short-term Arrivals car park. At five feet nine inches tall, her slender physique was comparable to that of an Olympic swimmer and they followed, her arm interlinked with Philip’s, she walked with an assurance and poise that harked back to the days when she was tempted by the lure of the catwalk.

With Philip taking the wheel, they headed out from the airport towards downtown New York. Speeding along the freeway, they passed the home of the Yankees baseball team before reaching the opening to the tunnel that would take them up across to Manhattan Island. As usual the traffic congestion increased as they reached the other side – Every third car seems to be a bright yellow taxi! thought Anna – but finally after another bumper-to-bumper twenty-five minutes they reached Heather’s block with her luxury penthouse apartment on top.

Heather’s rise as a lawyer in the competitive world of corporate finance had been meteoric. Since graduating from Yale with top honours she had joined one of the leading Wall Street firms, developing her relationships to the extent that she was now considered one of America’s chief deal-making lawyers. To have achieved such success so quickly and at such an young age in a predominantly male environment was a testimony to the respect in which she was held by her partners and fellow professionals as well as the many hours of hard work and dedication she had put in.

From the car park in the basement, they caught the small lift up to her penthouse suite, which was on the tenth floor occupying the northwest corner of the building. Entering, Heather flicked the lights on and the spacious apartment, tastefully and lavishly decorated was revealed for all to see. For Philip it felt like being home again while Anna stood in awe at the elegance and lavishness of the plush décor. The room’s golden and burgundy theme lent it a sumptuous, opulent feel. She cast her eyes around the lounge and admired the marble-topped side tables and the golden-stemmed lamps that matched perfectly the luxurious high-backed Burgundy suite with its gold cord detailing and long golden tassels. The floor was finished with white-flecked marble and several silk Persian carpets covered the open spaces. Heather was especially proud of these because she had chosen them herself on an extended business trip to Dubai in the Middle East. Anna was impressed: Heather’s style and taste was evident everywhere you looked.

“This is fantastic!” said Anna, admiring the decoration on the walls. “If you ever wanted to go into interior design I think you’d be a natural!” she added with a broad smile.

Heather smiled back appreciatively as she watched Anna continue to scan the room.

On the emerald green walls hung large gilt-framed canvases, which showed her love for bright and bold colour arrangements. Most of the art in the room exhibited contemporary style but some were impressionist, more “Matisse-like” in their style.

Simon stepped past their luggage and a flamboyantly framed mirror resting above a Louis XIV side table as he wandered down the three marble steps that led you into the main body of the lounge. The gold, greens, burgundies and elaborate works of art combined magnificently to create a regal yet homely setting.

“I see everything seems to be going all right in the high-stakes, cutthroat world of corporate law,” said Simon, grinning at Heather.

“Not sure about your taste though,” he added with a cheeky smile as he stood in front of another oil canvas.

“That one was actually a present from your brother!” she said dryly, smiling back at him. Heather liked Simon. They had a similar sense of humour and she always found it easy to relax in his company.

“It seems such a long time since I was last here,” he mused as he wandered towards the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that opened onto the balcony and the panoramic view beyond. It was dark outside as he slid the glass door to one side and stepped into the evening air. The balcony was covered in an assortment of well-tended bushes and plants and spanned the entire corner of the apartment block. Anna left Philip and Heather talking inside and stepped out to join Simon who was staring out across the road below at Central Park and the dark silhouettes that wandered down below.

She reached out and put her arm across his shoulder as he leaned over the top of the barricade that protected them from the sheer drop to the sidewalk below. He turned to face her. A wisp of her black hair had broken free and fallen across her face. He raised his hand and tenderly pushed it from her face.

“You’re very beautiful you know,” he said, and she smiled up at him, squeezing his hand.

“Good, that’s exactly the sort of practice you need if you are going to be my stand-in husband at Theodore Grainger’s party,” she teased.

Simon laughed.

“And what sort of practice will you be putting in as my stand-in wife?” he quizzed.

Anna, with an excited glint in her eye, leant forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“That’s good, maybe a touch longer,” he joked coyly and she laughed.

Ever since their first meeting in Eleusis just outside Athens, she had felt the thrill of exhilaration that comes from being in the close proximity of someone you really like. He felt the same way, constantly wanting to impress her, wanting to show her how he truly felt towards her and, in return, to understand what she thought of him. Pulling her closer towards him around the waist, he looked into her eyes and saw all the signs he wanted to see.

At that moment, Philip stepped out onto the balcony and looked across at them embracing.

“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised but he wasn’t really. He had picked up all the vibes and the tell-tale signs ever since they had arrived back in Bangkok from the islands.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” he said apologetically with mock sincerity.

Simon and Anna released their embrace quickly as if they had been caught in the act before relaxing and grinning back at Philip. For a fleeting moment they were ruffled by the elder brother’s sudden appearance as if their display of affection would be considered in bad taste or in some way problematic for the completion of their quest. In truth, this was nonsense; Philip was happy for both of them and didn’t foresee any problems in their completing the arduous job ahead as long as they kept their wits about them. However he did feel one “related” pang of concern and that was the additional pressure that would come from Heather to join their mission when she understood the developing relationship between Anna and Simon. The younger brother put his arm around Anna’s shoulder as they turned to hear what Philip had to say.

“Look, I’m feeling really tired after the flight so I’m going to call it a night in an hour or so − if possible I’d really like to get this issue with Theodore Grainger out of the way before then. I think we need to know how the next few days will shape up.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Anna promptly. “I’ll call him right away,” she added and headed back into the apartment to find the numbers.

“She’s really lovely and definitely your type!” said Philip genuinely as she disappeared out of earshot.

“I know,” he replied with a knowing look and they both followed her in through the sliding glass doors.

Inside, Heather had disappeared to have an evening bath, leaving the wide, flat-screen TV on in the background with the CNN anchor-man relaying their network’s version of world events for the day.

“I’ve got it!” exclaimed Anna as she walked out of her bedroom towards the side table in the hall. Just below the ornate mirror was a telephone and she lifted the roaming receiver off its stand. What time is it? she wondered as she dialled the local number. Checking her watch, she saw that it was approaching nine-thirty. Not too late to make the call, she thought.

Listening to the ringing tone, she walked back down the three steps into the lounge where Simon and Philip sat waiting on the couches. The shutters, which operated automatically to cover the penthouse doors at the flick of a switch, remained open. As she paced back and forth in front of the brothers she could see the amazing silhouette of the New York City skyline every time she turned around to face the windows. Concentrating hard, she put her hand up to rub her forehead as she wondered what she was going to say. She heard a voice at the other end.