Deep Down Under

Chapter 2

CERN Facility, Geneva, 2:45 pm

Lucia Del Piero slammed her Smartphone to the table. What the hell is it with people and their phones? Three consecutive missed calls and she decided to give up. Her father must have been scared after committing a cold-blooded murder, afraid of all the authorities. She just hoped that he was safe.

Without her notice the door swung open. "Lucia?"

No response.

"Lucia?" this time the voice was a little louder. Lucia's head shot up and she found herself confronted by a familiar, brown haired, 20 year old Jerome Courtois. Oh. It's you. "What is it?" she clearly wasn't in a mood to talk.

"There's someone on the phone for you" he announced and handed her a portable telephone.

"Hello?"

"Lucia!" the man at the other end was out of breath. However, she couldn't recognize it. "May I know who is speaking?" she asked.

"This is professor Sadowsky."

Lucia slapped her forehead. She was a little mad at herself for not recognizing a family friend's voice but through the phone the voice got distorted. "Oh! Professor, I'm sorry I couldn't recognize your voice!"

"Look, Lucia are you alone or is there someone else with you?" Sadowsky inquired from the end. Lucia spun around and turned towards her colleague, who was still at the door. "Not really but why?" she had no idea what was going on. "I need to speak with you in private. I'll meet you in an hour, is that okay with you?" She looked at her watch. Dammit. "Yes, I'll be available" she lied.

Without a reply, the line was cut. Lucia handed the phone over to Jerome. "Cancel my shift for today" she ordered.

"Why? Do you have a genuine reason?" Courtois was clueless. "Just do it" this time she was more firm, compelling Courtois to ask no questions.

* * *

Pearl Residences, Geneva, 3:00 pm

Where the hell is he?! Giggs was chewing his nails in anxiety; if this mission had failed it would jeopardize their very existence. The boss so going to be pissed. He picked up his phone and glanced at the screen. Four missed calls?! Bloody hell!

The phone in Giggs' hand began to vibrate. It was Lorssen. He picked up the phone and answered before Lorssen got a chance to say anything.

"Please tell me you haven't screwed this up," Giggs could hear Lorssen breathing out heavily in disappointment at the other end. "Unfortunately, against all your hopes, I screwed the hell up."

At that moment Mohammed walked into the room signaling a 'who is it?' gesture. Giggs handed the phone over to Mohammed "I believe that you hold a significantly higher position than me and you are most well-equipped to handle this situation" Giggs rapidly blurting out his words.

Mohammed raised his eyebrows, looking impressed

He won't be happy anymore when he hears the bad news.

Giggs closed his eyes, joined his hands and prayed that the short-tempered Arabian wouldn't shoot his phone or throw it out the window. He had a bad reputation for doing that.

"Please don't shoot my phone," was repeated several times by Giggs. He shut his eyes and clamped his ears, bracing for the worst.

As soon as Mohammed received the phone, Lorssen pleaded for mercy. "I can explain if you'll just give me the chance.