“There’s also the matter of China.”
“Which part?”
“A few days ago, either Langford or Miller called in a favor to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and borrowed one of their choppers.”
“Borrowed it for what?”
“We’re not clear on that yet.” Ambrose avoided bringing up the matter of having limited intelligence coverage there now, even in Japan. “But we believe it flew into Chinese airspace before returning to Japan.”
“A pickup.”
“Probably.”
“What was it?”
“We’re not sure on that either, yet.”
Hayes grew quiet, thinking. After a long pause, he raised another eyebrow. “The girl?”
“Wei’s daughter? We don’t think so. We’re pretty sure she’s dead. It was probably something else. Our best guess is more of the bacterium.”
“I thought the last of that was destroyed in the Pathfinder attack?”
“So did we. But Clay and Caesare may have found another sample.”
“Possible,” Hayes said with a nod. “So where did they go from there?”
Ambrose frowned. “That’s where it gets a little tricky. They were flown out of the Yokota Air Base, compliments of the 374th Airlift Wing. Part of the Pacific Air Forces, and the primary wing serving the Department of Defense.”
“Which would put it directly under the command of Secretary of Defense Miller.”
“Correct. Their C-21A then refueled at Midway Island then again at Oahu, Laughlin, Texas and finally San Juan, Puerto Rico. All U.S. military base locations except the last.”
“Then where to?”
“From there the Learjet turned around and flew back.”
“Anyone onboard?”
“On the way back? We don’t know yet,” the deputy replied, shaking his head. “But the most likely scenario is that Langford’s men departed in Puerto Rico. At a non-military airport.”
The office fell silent as both men stared at each other, thinking the same thing. Given that Puerto Rico was a U.S. territory and not a state, its security standards were lacking, to say the least. And considering the number of islands in the Caribbean with reputations for skirting U.S. laws and regulations, the region as a whole was unquestionably one of the least secure.
“So,” Hayes mused, “the question now is what did they bring back on that plane?”
“We’ll find out,” said Ambrose.
Director Hayes nodded. All of his problems could be laid at the feet of three specific men, all the investigations into him and the agency––Jim Langford and Merl Miller, whom Hayes had despised for years and was now on a mission to publicly destroy. The third was the man Langford had gone to such extreme lengths to keep alive, more than once.
3
John Clay remained motionless, blissfully unaware of the target slowly being drawn upon his back by the CIA. Instead, he stared silently through a thick pane of glass alongside Commanders Neely Lawton and Steve Caesare. On the opposite side of the large window was a hospital room with a single bed located in the middle, surrounded by several pieces of monitoring equipment.
They had needed to hide the teenage girl quickly. After landing in San Juan, they arranged to have a boat waiting for them. Just off the northeast coast and beyond the Cape San Juan Lighthouse, their friend and Venezuelan smuggler, Tomas Lopez, lingered patiently in the darkness. He and his three-man crew, all veritable experts at smuggling humans to safety.
To Clay and Caesare’s relief, the transfer, even with the girl being unconscious, could not have gone more smoothly.
Too many people were looking for Li Na now, no doubt including every Chinese intelligence agent on the planet. Their country’s own Ministry of State Security almost redefined the words brutal and unrelenting in their search for the girl. And if there was one thing all three of them knew, standing silently together, it was that the Chinese would not give up. Ever. Especially when it came to Li Na Wei, lying unconscious in the room before them and carrying the mother of all discoveries deep within the veins of her small body.
Steve Caesare exhaled, shaking his head. “She looks so…delicate. How in the world was she able to survive?”
“Sheer will, I think.”
In a rare moment of levity, Neely Lawton turned to Caesare. “I’m guessing I won’t be hearing any female jokes out of you today.”
Caesare grinned from under his dark mustache without looking over. “You got that right.”
Neely turned back to the window with a smile, returning her eyes to Dr. Amir Kanna, standing inside the room, not far from the girl’s bed. He was studying a large monitor.
“So, what’s the plan now?” Caesare asked.
Clay gave a tired nod, with his eyes still fixed ahead of him. “Yes. A plan would be good.”
The hall they were standing in was eerily quiet––part of a new unoccupied wing of a private hospital in Trinidad called St. Augustine. The hospital was privately owned and operated by a close group of shareholders, all in response to the dire need for a medical facility on the west side of the island. And as luck would have it, one of the shareholders was a longtime friend of one Andrea Sue Langford…wife of Admiral James Langford.
Neely glanced at both men’s reflections in the window. They each looked like they were about to fall over. “I think you two need some sleep.”
“Sleep,” Caesare murmured. “I’m trying to remember what that’s like.” He turned to Clay. “We have to make sure this place is secure.”
“Agreed. We stay until we get some reinforcement. You find a bed. I’ll take the first shift.”
“Done.”
Neely raised her eyebrows at Caesare. “Well, that was quick.”
Caesare grinned. “Hey, I’m all about chivalry when it matters. But Clay doesn’t really do it for me.”
“That’s not what you said in Honduras,” Clay quipped.
An exhausted Caesare stared back at Clay. “Okay, that’s funny. But I’m too tired to laugh right now.” With that, he turned and looked to his right down the hallway. It was freshly painted. Both sides were lined with new, unwrapped medical equipment and carts piled high with supplies. “Somebody wake me up in two hours.”
The two watched him march halfway down the hall before John looked at Neely. “You look tired too.”
“I’m okay. I got some sleep before you arrived. Besides, I was hoping to talk to you.”
“What about?” Clay noticed her eyes following Caesare. “Or should I say who?”
She glanced back after Caesare disappeared. “Uh, so how are you both doing?”
Clay was now grinning. “Both of us?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve been worse. But Steve will be all right if that’s what you’re asking.”
Neely’s expression grew defensive. “I, I wasn’t–”
Clay’s grin spread into a smile. “You know I talk to Alison, right?”
Neely opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself and folded her arms indignantly.
“What would you like to know about him?”
Neely didn’t answer.
“Let’s see. He grew up in Houston and went to Texas Tech where he majored in mathematics and computer science and played some football. But these are all things you can look up in his file. You have looked at his file,” Clay teased, still smiling. “And he’s single. Again,” he added as a joke.
Neely glared at him, half out of embarrassment. “Fine. I looked at his file. I was just…hoping to learn a little more, I guess.”
“He lost his father when he was young. A heart attack, I think. He was raised by his single mother. He’s the oldest of three, so the fatherly role fell on him. After joining the Navy, he helped put his younger sisters through college.”
Her expression softened. “Really?”
“Yes. And don’t let his jovial exterior fool you. He may joke like a chauvinist, but he’s far from it.”
Neely
glanced back down the hallway. “Maybe I shouldn’t have a made that crack about woman jokes.”
“Nah. It’s pretty hard to offend Steve. Just don’t piss him off.”
“Why?”
“Because he might kill you.”
“What?!”
Clay laughed. “You almost make this too easy.”
“Very funny!”
“Look, what I can tell you about Steve is this. He’s honest and ethical, almost to a fault. And he’s probably the most dependable person I’ve ever known. There is no one else I’d rather be in a bad situation with. Which is probably more than a little ironic.”
“I’m guessing that’s happened more than once,” she replied.
“Unfortunately.”
Neely’s expression softened. “Is he…close to his mother?”
“Very. And very protective. Both of her and his sisters. In fact, have him tell you about the time one of the girls found themselves trapped in an abusive relationship. You can imagine how that went over when he found out.”
“What happened?”
“The guy made the mistake of beating on his little sister. Just once. But wouldn’t you know it, the guy tripped a few days later and broke both of his arms.”
Neely suddenly smiled.
“In an odd coincidence, that guy up and decided to move across the country just a few days later. And his sister is now happily married to a man who Steve thinks the world of. And apparently, his new brother-in-law is acutely aware of what Steve’s career in the military entailed.”
“You mean being an ex-SEAL?”
“Among other things. But once a man becomes a SEAL, it’s with him forever.”
“Judging from the two of you, I believe it.” She paused, considering a question. “You said he was, um…”
“Single?”
“Right. But what about DeeAnn Draper?”
Clay shook his head. “There’s no romantic relationship between DeeAnn and Steve. They’re more like brother and sister.”
“Really?”
“They care a great deal about one another, all the while never letting the other get away with anything.”
Neely fought to control the increasing interest from showing on her face. “I didn’t know that.”
“What’s not in his file is that he loves women. But he’s also fiercely loyal.” Clay stopped and tilted his head. “Then again, maybe that is in his file.”
Neely Lawton laughed and relaxed. She unfolded her arms and took a deep breath. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”
Clay nodded. “So, what is your plan now that Li Na is safe?”
“Actually, I was hoping to get a look at you.”
“Excuse me?”
Neely nodded. “I’d like to get some DNA samples from you.”
“For what?”
“Alison told me all about your injuries and your recovery. Just like the young girl whose parents brought her to the research center. So, I’d like to get some cultures. To study. I already took some from Steve and the other divers aboard the oil rig, before the attack. I’d like to see if your samples are showing similar changes.”
“What have you found so far?”
“It’s too early to draw any permanent conclusions,” she explained. “But their cells are displaying an unusual level of resiliency. It will take time to prove it out, but clearly, there was something in the water at the research center too––and I’d like to see what other cellular peculiarities can be compared.”
Clay began to reply when he stopped, noticing the movement of Neely’s eyes. She was examining his face. “What are you doing?”
“The other men were showing changes in some of their physical characteristics. Hair color, skin texture.” Her eyes returned to his. “How’s your eyesight?”
Clay turned his head apprehensively. “Fine.”
“I don’t mean is it fine. I mean, has it changed at all?”
“You mean gotten worse?”
“No,” she said. “Has it gotten any better?”
“I don’t…” Clay stopped, reconsidering his answer. “Maybe.”
“Whatever is in that green liquid you found appears to be in the water here too. And in a much stronger concentration. I’d like to find out just how much it takes to begin affecting physiology.”
Clay shrugged. “Okay. What do you need to look at?”
With that, Neely studied him and put her hands on her hips. “Take off your shirt. Let’s have a look at you.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry,” she winked with amusement. “Alison gave me permission.”
***
Alison Shaw was standing onboard the U.S.S. Pathfinder, both hands gripping the gray railing, trying to steady herself. Battling both the rolling of the ship and the nausea she was feeling made it difficult just to stay on her feet.
The pain in her joints and the rashes on each arm were reminders of just how close she had come to the more serious, and sometimes terminal, effects of decompression sickness. And made just a little worse by the tongue-lashing she received from Neely Lawton after regaining consciousness.
But the worst was now behind her. The rest, including a stinging headache, was more than enough to keep her grateful that things had not been worse. She just needed to push through the discomfort for a bit longer.
Thankfully her attention was redirected to the faint sound of a helicopter, long before she could find the black dot in the distance against the bright blue sky.
She found it eventually, just as the pitch from the rotors changed slightly and the craft began its descent. Minutes later, she watched eagerly as the helicopter drew near and approached the painted yellow circle on the Pathfinder’s bow. For several seconds it hovered, before promptly dropping the last few feet down and onto the landing pad.
Alison watched as two crewmen trotted out, pausing under the spinning blades, and attached thick chains to both sides of the fuselage. Heavy red blocks followed, positioned securely around each of the helicopter’s thick black wheels. Less than thirty seconds later, with the blades still winding down, a short metal set of stairs were pushed into place below the chopper’s rear door. Only then did it open to reveal the person Alison had been waiting for.
Chris Ramirez’s head poked out from the helicopter’s dark interior and emerged into the sun, pausing a moment before her friend took his first step down onto the metal stairs. With one arm in a sling, he used the other to reach out for one of the crewman’s shoulders.
Alison instantly pushed the nausea from her mind and hurried down her own set of stairs. Vibrations echoed with each step before she reached the bottom and ran to meet Chris as he crossed the platform.
He wrapped his good arm around her and smiled broadly. “I told you…you couldn’t keep me away.”
Alison’s smile was even wider. “I am so glad you’re back!”
“Not as much as I am, believe me.”
Beneath the loud turbulence from above, she pulled a thick strand of hair back away from her face, then led Chris away with his arm still over her shoulder.
“I hear I missed a lot of excitement.”
Alison grit her teeth but outwardly managed to maintain her smile. “You could say that. Things got pretty rough, but we’re gradually getting back to normal.”
Chris did not press the issue. He’d been told enough about the Russian attack on the Pathfinder to know he didn’t want to know all the details. He glanced up and spotted several crewmen making repairs to the metal walls of the ship’s hull. Indentations from bullets were carefully being patched and painted over.
Alison helped Chris to the galley where she fetched him a sandwich and a hot cup of coffee, causing Chris to grin at the lack of her usual sarcastic comments. Instead, Alison sat down across the table from him and allowed him to savor the moment. He’d been through so much over the last year, much of which she felt at least partially responsible for. Maybe not directly at fault, but enough to worry wh
ether he somehow blamed her for it.
But there was no hint of condemnation on Chris’s face. Just his mouth, smiling as he sipped from his mug.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” she asked.
“How are Dirk and Sally?”
“Oh. Right,” Alison grinned. “They’re fine. They came through it with no scratches. In fact, they’re better than fine. Sally is pregnant!”
“Shut up!”
“I’m not kidding. She just told me a few days ago. And Chris!” Alison exclaimed. “You wouldn’t believe what they showed us!”
“Tell me.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. Remember what we were suspecting about their pilgrimage here?”
“We originally thought it was a birthing place.”
“It is!” she said excitedly. “It is! And it’s not just a birthing place, it’s bigger. It’s an enormous breeding ground. There’s a giant depression in the coral, surrounded and protected by hundreds of males.”
Chris’s eyes widened. “Whoa!”
“Chris, no one has seen a dolphin birth in the wild before. And we didn’t just see it. We were invited to probably the largest breeding environment on the planet. It’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen. Hundreds of males forming a wall around it, with hundreds of females and their midwives in the center birthing.” Alison shook her head. “I’m telling you, it’s…” she almost chuckled, “it’s almost indescribable!”
“My God, that’s incredible, Ali. How did you get them to include you?”
Alison beamed. “Because they trust us.”
“That’s a hell of an understatement. No kidding. But…why?”
Her expression faded at Chris’s question. She bit her bottom lip softly, thinking.
“Ali?”
“Well, at first I didn’t know. But then I realized it’s because they want something, Chris. They showed us their birthing ground as an exchange of trust.”
“That’s huge.”
She nodded but remained quiet. After several seconds, Chris’s eyebrows rose. “Wait? Who was us?”
Her expression quickly softened to sadness. “Me and Jim Lightfoot.”
“The guy who saved John Clay from the Bowditch.”
Mosaic (Breakthrough Book 5) Page 3
