Read Online Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz - Free Book Online Page A

there were such a thing as a vampire,
it might look very much like Dr. Hugo Grief.
    "I have
decided to move the Gemini Project into its last phase," he said. He
spoke with a South African accent, biting into each word before it left his
mouth. "There can be no further delay."
    "I
understand, Dr. Grief."
    A woman sat
opposite Dr. Grief, dressed in tight-fitting spandex with a sweatband around
her head. This was Eva Stellenbosch. She had just finished her morning
workout--two hours of weight lifting and aerobics--and was still
breathing heavily, her huge muscles rising and falling. Mrs. Stellenbosch
had a facial structure that wasn't quite human, with lips curving out far
in front of her nose and wisps of bright ginger hair hanging over a high-domed
forehead. She was holding a glass filled with some milky green liquid. Her
fingers were thick and stubby. She had to be careful not to break the glass.
    She sipped
her drink, then frowned. "Are you sure we're ready?" she
asked.
    "We
have no choice in the matter. We have had two unsatisfactory results in the
last few months. First Ivanov. Then Roscoe in New York. Quite apart from the
expense of arranging the terminations, it's possible that someone may
have connected the two deaths."
    "Possible,
but unlikely," Mrs. Stellenbosch said.
    "The
intelligence services are idle and inefficient, it is true. The CIA in America.
MI6 in England. Even the KGB. They're all shadows of what they used to
be. But even so, there's always the chance that one of them might have
accidentally stumbled onto something. The sooner we end this phase of the
operation, the more chance we have of remaining unnoticed." Dr. Grief
brought his hands together and rested his chin on his fingers. "When is
the final boy arriving?" he asked.
    "Alex?"
Mrs. Stellenbosch sipped from her cup and set it down. She opened her
handbag and took out a handkerchief, which she used to wipe her lips. "I
am traveling to England tomorrow," she said.
    "Excellent.
You'll take the boy to Paris on the way here?"
    "Of
course, Doctor. If that's what you wish."
    "It is
very much what I wish. We can do all the preliminary work there. It will save
time. What about the Sprintz boy?"
    "I'm
afraid we still need another few days."
    "That
means that he and Alex will be here at the same time."
    "Yes."
    Dr. Grief
considered. He had to balance the risk of the two boys meeting against the
dangers of moving too fast. It was fortunate that he had a scientific mind. His
calculations were never wrong. "Very well," he said. "The
Sprintz boy can stay with us for another few days. I sense he is growing
restless, and a new friend might put his mind at ease."
    Mrs. Stellenbosch
nodded. She lifted her glass and emptied its contents, the veins in her neck throbbing
as she swallowed.
    "Alex
Friend is an excellent catch for us," Dr. Grief said.
    "Supermarkets?"
The woman sounded unconvinced.
    "His
father has the prime minister's ear. He is an impressive man. His son, I am
sure, will meet up to all our expectations." Dr. Grief smiled. His eyes
glowed red. "Very soon, we'll have Alex here, at the academy. And
then, at last, the Gemini Project will be complete."

    "You're
sitting all wrong," Fiona said. "Your back isn't straight.
Your hands should be lower. And your feet are pointing the wrong way."
    "What
does it matter, so long as you're enjoying yourself?" Alex asked,
speaking through gritted teeth.
    It was the
fourth day of his stay at Haverstock Hall, and Fiona had been persuaded to take
him out riding. Alex wasn't enjoying himself at all. First he'd had
to endure the inevitable lecture--although he had barely listened. The
horses were Iberian or Hungarian. They'd won a bucketful of gold medals.
Alex didn't care. All he knew was that his horse was big and black and
attracted flies. And that he was riding it with all the style of a sack of
potatoes on a trampoline.
    The two of
them had barely mentioned the business in the forest. When Alex had limped back
to the