"To Manhattan. I don't have a plan yet." "That's good news." Kelly sighed.

  "We need to find a place to sleep. When Kingsley finds out we've escaped, he's going to go crazy.

  We're not going to be safe anywhere."

  Kelly was thinking. "Yes, we are." Diane glanced at her. "What do you mean?" Kelly said proudly, "I have a plan."

  CHAPTER 44

  THEY DROVE into White Plains, twenty-five miles north of Manhattan, Diane said,

  "This looks like a nice town. What are we doing here?" "I have a friend here. She'll take care of us." "Tell me about her." Kelly said slowly, "My mother was married to a drunk who enjoyed beating her.

  When I was able to afford to take care of my mother, I persuaded her to leave him. One of the models who had run away from an abusive boyfriend told me about this place. It's a boardinghouse run by an angel of a woman named Grace Seidel.

  I took my mother there to stay until I could find an apartment for her. I used to visit her at Grace's every day. My mother loved it and became friends with some of the boarders. I finally found an apartment for Mother and went to pick her up." She stopped.

  Diane looked at her. "What happened?"

  "She had gone back to her husband." They had reached the boardinghouse. "We're here."

  * * *

  GRACE SEIDEL WAS in her fifties, a dynamic, motherly ball of energy. When she opened the door and saw Kelly, her face lit up.

  "Kelly!" She threw her arms around her. "I'm so glad to see you." Kelly said, "This is my friend Diane." They exchanged hellos.

  "Your room is all ready for you," Grace said. "As a matter of fact, it was your mother's room. I had an extra bed put in." As Grace Seidel walked them to their bedroom, they passed through a comfortable-looking living room where a dozen women were playing card games or doing various other activities.

  "How long will you be staying?" Grace asked.

  Kelly and Diane looked at each other. "We're not sure." Grace Seidel smiled. "No problem. The room is yours for as long as you want it." The room was lovely-neat and clean.

  When Grace Seidel had left, Kelly said to Diane, "We'll be safe here. And by the way, I think we made the Guinness Book of World Records. Do you know how many times they've tried to kill us?" "Yes." Diane was standing by the window. Kelly heard her say, "Thank you, Richard." Kelly started to speak, then thought, It's no use.

  * * *

  ANDREW, DOZING AT his desk, dreamed that he was asleep in a hospital bed. It was the voices in the room that had awakened him. "… And luckily, I discovered this when we were decontaminating Andrew's safety equipment. I thought I should show it to you right away." "The goddamn army told me it would be safe." A man was handing Tanner one of the gas masks from the army-experiment.

  "I found a tiny hole at the base of the mask. It looks like someone cut it. That would be enough to cause your brother's condition." Tanner looked at the mask and thundered, "Whoever is responsible for this is going to pay." He looked at the man and said, "I'll look into this immediately. Thanks for bringing it to me." From his bed, Andrew groggily watched the man leave. Tanner looked at the mask a moment and then walked over to a corner of the room where there was a large hospital cart filled with soiled linens.

  Tanner reached down into the bottom of the cart and buried the gas mask under the linens.

  Andrew tried to ask his brother what was happening, but he was too tired. He fell asleep.

  * * *

  TANNER, ANDREW, AND Pauline had returned to Tanner's office.

  Tanner had asked his secretary to bring in the morning newspapers. Tanner skimmed through the front pages. "Look at these: 'Scientists are baffled by freak storms in Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, and Italy. ' " He looked at Pauline exultantly. "And this is only the beginning.

  They're going to have a lot more to be baffled about." Vince Carballo came running into the room. "Mr. Kingsley-" "I'm busy. What is it?" "Flint is dead." Tanner's jaw dropped. "What? What are you talking about? What happened?" "Stevens and Harris killed him." "That's impossible!" "He's dead. They escaped and took off in the senator's car. We reported it stolen. The police found it in White Plains." Tanner's voice was grim. "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take a dozen men and go to White Plains. Check every hotel, boardinghouse, and flophouse-any place where they could be hiding. I'm giving a five-million-dollar reward to anyone who turns them in.

  Move it!"

  "Yes, sir."

  Vince Carballo hurried out the door.

  * * *

  In their ROOM at Grace Seidel's boardinghouse, Diane said, "I'm sorry about what happened when you got to Paris. Did they kill the concierge?" "I don't know. They just disappeared." "What about your dog, Angel?" Kelly said tightly, "I don't want to talk about it." "I'm sorry. Do you know what's frustrating? We were so close. Now that we know what happened, there's no one we can tell it to. It would be our word against KIG's. They would put us in an asylum." Kelly nodded. "You're right. There is no one left to go to." There was a momentary silence and Diane said slowly, "I think there is."

  * * *

  VlNCE CARBALLO's MEN were spread all over town, checking every hotel, boardinghouse, and flophouse. One of his men showed pictures of Diane and Kelly to the clerk at the Esplanade Hotel.

  "Have you seen either of these ladies? There's a five-million-dollar reward for them." The clerk shook his head. "I wish I knew where they were." At the Renaissance Westchester Hotel, another man was holding up pictures of Diane and Kelly.

  "Five million? I wish I could collect that." At the Crowne Plaza, the clerk was saying, "If I see them, I'll sure let you know, mister." Vince Carballo himself knocked at the door of Grace Seidel's boardinghouse.

  "Good morning." "Good morning. My name is Vince Carballo." He held up a picture of the two women. "Have you seen these women? There's a five-million-dollar reward for them." Grace Seidel's face lit up. "Kelly!"

  * * *

  IN TANNER'S OFFICE, Kathy Ordonez was overwhelmed. Faxes were coming in faster than she could handle them, and her e-mail in-box was inundated. She picked up a pile of the papers and walked into Tanner's office. Tanner and Pauline Van Luven were seated on a couch, talking.

  Tanner looked up as his secretary came in. "What is it?" She smiled. "Good news. You're going to have a very successful dinner party." He frowned. "What are you talking about?" She held up the papers. "These are all acceptances. Everyone's coming." Tanner got up. "Coming where? Let me see those." Kathy handed him the papers and went out to her desk.

  Tanner read the first e-mail aloud. " 'We would be delighted to come to dinner at KIG Headquarters on Friday to see the unveiling of Prima, your weather control machine.' From the editor of Time magazine." His face turned white. He looked at the next one. " 'Thank you for your invitation to see Prima, your weather control computer, at KIG Headquarters. We look forward to being there.' It's signed by the editor of Newsweek." He skimmed the rest of them. "CBS, NBC, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and the London Times, all eager to see the unveiling of Prima." Pauline sat there, speechless.

  Tanner was so furious, he could hardly speak. "What the hell is going on-?" He stopped.

  "Those bitches!"

  * * *

  AT IRMA'S INTERNET Cafe, Diane was busily operating a computer. She looked up at Kelly.

  "Have we left anyone out?" Kelly said, "Elle, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Mademoiselle, Readers Digest…" Diane laughed. "I think this does it. I hope Kingsley has a good caterer. He's going to have a big party."

  * * *

  Vince carballo was looking at Grace Seidel excitedly. "You know Kelly?" "Oh, yes," Grace said. "She's one of the most famous models in the world." Vince Carballo's face lit up. "Where is she?" Grace looked at him in surprise. "I don't know. I've never met her." His face reddened. "You said you knew her." "I mean-everybody knows her. She's very famous. Isn't she beautiful?" "You have no idea where she is?" Grace said thoughtfully, "I do have kind of an idea." "Where?" "I saw a woman who looked like her get on a bus this morning. She was traveling with someone-" "What bus was it?" "It was the bus to Vermont." "Thanks." Vince Carballo hurried away.

  * * *

  TANNER THREW THE pile of faxes and e-mails to the floor and turned to Pauline.

  "Do you know what those bitches have done? We can't let anyone see Prima." He was thoughtful for a long moment.

  "I think Prima will have an accident the day before the party and blow up." Pauline looked at him a moment and then smiled. "Prima II." Tanner nodded. "That's right. We can travel around the world, and anytime we're ready, we'll go to Tamoa and start operating Prima II." Kathy Ordonez's voice came over the intercom. She sounded frantic. She buzzed into Tanner's office. "Mr. Kingsley, the phones are going crazy. I have the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Larry King, all holding for you." "Tell them I'm in a meeting." Tanner turned to Pauline. "We have to get out of here." He patted Andrew on the shoulder. "Andrew, come with us." "Yes, Tanner." The three of them walked over to the redbrick building. "I have something very important for you to do, Andrew." "Anything you want," Andrew said.

  * * *

  TANNER LED THE way into the redbrick building and walked over to Prima. Tanner turned to Andrew. "Here's what I want you to do. Princess and I have to leave now, but at six o'clock, I want you to turn this computer off. It's very simple." He pointed. "You see this big red button?" Andrew nodded. "I see it." "All you have to do is press it three times, at six o'clock. Three times. Can you remember that?" Andrew said, "Yes, Tanner. Six o'clock. Three times." "Right. See you later." Tanner and Pauline started to walk out.

  Andrew looked after them. "You're not taking me with you?" "No. You stay here. Just remember: six o'clock, three times." "I'll remember." As they walked outside, Pauline said, "What if he doesn't remember?" Tanner laughed. "It doesn't matter. It's set to explode automatically at six o'clock. I just wanted to make sure he's there when it happens."

  CHAPTER 45

  AT WAS A perfect day for flying. KIG's 757 was speeding over the Pacific Ocean under an azure blue sky. Pauline and Tanner were snuggled together on a couch in the main cabin.

  Pauline said, "Darling, do you know it's a shame that people will never know how brilliant you are?" "If they ever found out, I'd be in big trouble." She looked at him and said, "No problem. We could buy a country and proclaim ourselves the rulers. Then they can't touch us." Tanner laughed.

  Pauline stroked his hand. "Did you know that I wanted you from the first time I saw you?" "No. As I remember, you were very impertinent." "And it worked, didn't it? You had to see me again, to teach me a lesson." There was a long, erotic kiss.

  Far away, lightning flashed.

  Tanner said, "You'll love Tamoa. We'll spend a week or two there and relax, and then we'll travel around the world. We're going to make up for all the lost years when we couldn't be together." She looked up and grinned impishly. "You bet we will." "And every month or so, we'll come back to Tamoa and put Prima II to work. You and I can pick our targets together." Pauline said, "Well, we could create a storm in England, but they wouldn't notice." Tanner laughed. "We have the whole world to choose from." A steward approached. "Is there anything I can get you?" he asked.

  Tanner said, "No. We have everything." And he knew that it was true.

  In the distant sky, there were more flashes of lightning.

  "I hope there isn't going to be a storm," Pauline said. "I-I hate flying in rough weather." Tanner said reassuringly, "Don't worry, darling. There's not a cloud in the sky." He thought of something and smiled. "We don't have to worry about the weather. We control it." He looked at his watch. "Prima's about to blow up." Sudden drops of rain began to pound against the plane.

  Tanner held Pauline closer. "It's all right. It's just a bit of rain." And as Tanner said it, the sky suddenly began to darken and tremble with loud peals of thunder. The huge plane started to bounce up and down. Tanner was looking out the window, puzzled by what was happening. The rain began to turn into large hailstones.

  Tanner said, "Look at-" The realization suddenly hit him. "Prima!" It was a cry of exultation, a look of glory in his eyes. "We can-" At that instant, a hurricane hit the plane, bouncing it around savagely.

  Pauline was screaming.

  * * *

  IN THE REDBRICK building at KIG, Andrew Kingsley was operating Prima, his fingers flashing over the keys in remembrance. Watching his target on the screen, he could see an image of his brother's plane being buffeted by three-hundred-mile-an-hour hurricane winds. He pressed another button.

  * * *

  AT A DOZEN branch offices of the National Weather Service, from Anchorage, Alaska, to Miami, Florida, meteorologists were staring at their computer screens in disbelief. What was happening seemed impossible, but it was happening.

  * * *

  WORKING IN THE redbrick building, Andrew was grateful that there was still one thing he could do to help make the world a better place. He carefully guided an F-6 tornado he had created-up— up-higher and higher…

  * * *

  TANNER WAS LOOKING out the window of the wildly tossing plane when he heard the telltale freight train sound of the approaching tornado over the roar of the storm, traveling 320 miles an hour. Tanner's face was flushed, and he was trembling with excitement, watching the tornado spinning up toward the plane. He was ecstatic. "Look! There's never been a tornado this high. Never! I created it!

  It's a miracle! Only God and I could-"

  * * *

  IN THE REDBRICK building, Andrew moved a switch and watched the screen as the plane exploded and pieces of wreckage and bodies were hurled into the sky.

  Then Andrew Kingsley pressed the red button three times.

  CHAPTER 46

  KELLY AND DIANE were finishing getting dressed when Grace Seidel knocked at their door.

  "Breakfast is ready whenever you are."

  "Coming," Kelly called out.

  Diane said, "I hope our little stunt worked. Let's see if Grace has a morning newspaper." They stepped out of their room. To the right was the recreation area. A few people were gathered around the television set. As Kelly and Diane started to pass it, to go to the dining room, a television anchorman was saying:

  "And according to reports, there were no survivors. Tanner Kingsley and former senator Pauline Van Luven were on the plane, along with a pilot, copilot, and a steward." The two women froze. They looked at each other, turned, and walked up to the television set. On the screen were pictures of the exterior of KIG.

  Kingsley International Group constitutes the largest think tank in the world, with offices in thirty countries. The weather bureau has reported an unexpected electrical storm in the South Pacific area where Tanner Kingsley's private plane was flying. Pauline Van Luven was the former head of the Senate Select Committee on the Environment.

  Diane and Kelly were listening, fascinated "… And in another piece of the puzzle, there's a mystery here that the police are trying to solve.

  The press was invited to a dinner party, to visit Prima, a new weather control computer that KIG developed, but yesterday there was an explosion at KIG and Prima was completely destroyed. The fire department found the body of Andrew Kingsley in the wreckage and believe he was the only victim.

  Diane said, "Tanner Kingsley is dead."

  "Say that again. Slowly."

  "Tanner Kingsley is dead." Kelly breathed a deep sigh of relief. She looked at Diane and smiled. "Life is sure going to be dull after this." "I hope so," Diane replied. "How would you like to sleep at the Waldorf-Astoria Towers tonight?" Kelly grinned. "I wouldn't mind." When they said their good-byes to Grace Seidel, she hugged Kelly and said,

  "Anytime." She never mentioned the money that she had been offered.

  * * *

  IN THE PRESIDENTIAL suite in the Waldorf Towers, a waiter was setting a table for dinner.

  He turned to Diane. "Did you say you wanted it set for four?" "That's right." Kelly looked at her and said nothing.

  Diane knew what she was thinking. As they were sitting down at the table, Diane said, "Kelly, I don't think we did this alone. I think we had a little help." She raised her glass of champagne and said to the empty chair next to her,

  "Thank you, Richard, darling. I love you." As she lifted the glass to her lips, Kelly said, "Wait a minute." Diane turned to her.

  Kelly picked up her glass of champagne and looked at the empty chair next to her. "Mark, I love you so much. Thank you." They drank their toasts.

  Kelly smiled and said, "That felt good. Well, what's next?" "I'm going to the FBI in Washington and tell them what I know." Kelly corrected her. "We're going to Washington and tell them what we know." Diane nodded. "Right." She said thoughtfully, "I think we did a good job. Our husbands would be proud of us." "Yeah," Kelly said. "We've solved this. And look at the odds against us. You know what we should do now?" "What?" "Start our own detective agency." Diane laughed. "You're kidding." Kelly gave her a long, slow smile. "Am I?"

  * * *

  AFTER DINNER, THEY watched television, and every channel was carrying the story of Tanner Kingsley's death. As Kelly watched, she said thoughtfully, "You know, when you cut off a snake's head, the rest of the snake dies." "What does that mean?" "Let's find out." Kelly walked over to the telephone. "I want to place a call to Paris." Five minutes later, she heard the voice of Nicole Paradis. "Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!