Rise of the Beast: A Novel (The Patmos Conspiracy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

sins. Now it’s time for you to get out of my hair and let me finish what you asked me to do. We will know something soon. Maybe a little. Maybe a lot. Time will tell.”
    “Time we might not have, Wally.”
    “Time is God’s way of keeping everything from happening at the same time, Manny. Just try to have a little patience.”
    “Wally, I hope you know how grateful I am for your work. That’s why I’m taking you to dinner tomorrow night at the Madison Club.”
    “Yeah, yeah, I know how grateful you are. And I know I should be honored that the legendary Emanuel Heller, the man even presidents of the United States fear, would stop by for a surprise breakfast and then invite me to dinner. But I also know you’ll make me pick up the bill.”
    “Walter, your expense account is better than mine. Much better. We’ll both enjoy a much better dinner if you pay.”
    “That’s what you’ve been telling me all these years.”
    “We’ll drink a toast to many more. The world needs us Wally, even if we are old men.”
    “I have no argument there, Emmanuel. The world still does need a few old washed up curmudgeons like us, whether or not it knows it. We will lift a glass to celebrate our grand achievement of still being alive. Tomorrow night. At the Madison Club.”
    The rotund Emanuel Heller pushed his chair back and began the incredible effort it took for him to lift his four hundred pounds from a chair with a grunt and a profanity.
    Walter Wannegrin reached over and put a hand on his forearm to stop him. Emanuel settled his bulk back in the cushion gratefully. He looked up at his friend.
    “Before you leave Manny, I am curious.”
    “Aren’t we all?”
    “Tomorrow night’s dinner has been scheduled for more than a month. Why the charade? It’s just the two of us. You left yourbodyguard in the car. And as security conscious and paranoid as you are to keep your whereabouts and meetings a secret, why did you stop by for breakfast?”
    “I was in New York and I was hungry. I knew you were my only sure bet to have a tin of Russian Osetra black caviar to go with bagels and cream cheese.”
    “I had no bagels and cream cheese. You had to settle for fresh-baked sourdough and Irish butter.”
    “A small concession when set next to spending time with my best friend and his delicious caviar.”
    “When aren’t you hungry Emanuel? I’m not sure I even tasted the caviar myself. Someone ate an entire twelve-hundred-dollar tin by himself.”
    “I forget myself when I eat.”
    “You do. And you change the subject when you don’t want to answer a question. Why did you really stop by?”
    “The answer is not so sinister, Walter. As I said, the powers that be are nervous and I have to feed them something. Even with a legend they want to know what you’ve done for them lately.”
    “Tell them we’re inside and poised to make a move.”
    “I already did. A couple months ago.”
    “So you lied.”
    “How can it be a lie when I was right? I was just expressing confidence in my lifelong friend.”
    “As you should. So remind them you are a legend.”
    “There is a new Pharaoh in town who knows not Joseph.”
    “Tell the president to be patient.”
    “I will. At lunch today. A little birdy tells me that the POTUS plans to turn up the heat on the grill when he questions me. That should dispel any mystery surrounding my visit this morning.” Heller looked at his watch. “That’s only an hour from now. And I believe I’ve worked up an appetite.”
    Wannegrin laughed. “Just tell him to be patient.”
    “Easier to tell the sun to sleep in for a day, my faithful friend.”
    “The sun did not rise for Joshua when he defeated the Amorites— perhaps it will not rise for Emmanuel Heller when he strides into his next battle.”
    “I will receive that as a blessing,” Heller said with a smile and nod as he laboriously stood and turned from the exquisite view of Manhattan Island from the 87 th floor of Wannegrin’s condo