The Book of Levi Read Online Free PDF Page A

two, he was very worried about who had cut the heart out of such an important document as the green book and how on Earth they were able to do so without some complicity with others. If there was a conspiracy then . . . but no, he didn’t believe in conspiracy theories. 99.9% of the time they were populist nonsense and the other 0.1% they were simply nonsense. Everything would be alright. The police would catch the fanatic who had ripped the pages out of his book and they would be brought to justice. They would be punished.
    That was how the world worked.

    *

    Damien was in a much better frame of mind, than he had been the night before, when he walked into Elizabeth Dawson’s office. He was let in before she arrived and sauntered around the room looking into boxes of photographs and memorabilia that were soon to adorn the walls. He moved with the simple grace of a country boy, which must have come from some genetic throwback because there hadn’t been such a species for a long, long while. He was peering inquisitively at a pile of books on the consul’s desk when a voice came from behind him.
    ‘I shouldn’t worry,’ she said from the door, ‘there are no microphones in here.’
    He turned guiltily and released the small pile of papers in his hand. ‘I didn’t . . .’ he began.
    She lounged against the doorway with her dark hair cascading like a frozen waterfall about her smiling face. The crystal pools of her eyes shone brightly. ‘Don’t worry. You won’t uncover any state secrets.’ She sashayed lightly into the room. ‘Take a seat, Damien.’
    He complied and she sat opposite him. His body language was tense. He was uncertain of her; wary and guarded.
    ‘I see you received my message?’
    He nodded. ‘Yeah. How can I help you?’
    ‘I believe that your father knew mine, back in the seventies. It seems that Damien Enterprises and government officials have been consorting, at least covertly, for some time.’
    ‘I remember your apartment.’
    ‘Do you?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘Do you remember me?’ She opened her eyes flirtatiously.
    ‘I remember you when you were very little.’
    ‘Do you now? And what was your impression?’
    Damien knew how to handle women. He knew that he must not only be polite at this point but also intentionally flattering. ‘You were as beautiful then as you are now,’ he replied.
    Elizabeth laughed, ‘Well said,’ she said and her eyes were bright with mischief. ‘We must talk further of it - some time.’
    But that ‘some time’ was not now. This was the scripted end of the small talk. They both knew it. Damien was waiting for a question. He had no idea why she had invited him, possibly as her first official duty of this administration, to discuss . . . what?
    ‘I know, off the record, that you and your family have a great deal of power in this town and that you can get things done with a minimum of fuss,’ Elizabeth began. ‘The several factories you operate provide this city with a good deal of its creature comforts.’
    He sat quietly back into his chair. There was still no question. He listened with interest.
    In a subconscious move to counter his motion back into his chair, Elizabeth leaned forward across her brightly polished, wooden desk and said quietly, ‘Apart from my assigned staff, I can, in my second term, choose an adviser at my discretion. You come highly recommended, Damien. My father watched you grow. If he were alive today, I know that he would approve of you as my choice as chief adviser. What do you say?’
    Finally - a question. Damien looked at her intensely for a moment or two, raised his head and stared beyond her charismatic beauty and out through the window.
    She sat back into her chair, allowing him his space.
    ‘Look, thanks anyway, Miss Dawson,’ he eventually replied, ‘but I‘m not your man. I was never a team player and the thought of working with your consuls doesn’t interest me in the least. Thanks for your interest