by Seeley James
“I took all your money. How were you planning to pay him? With money from the Kazakhs?”
“Yes.”
“How will you get in touch with them?”
“They will come here whenever it suits them.”
“You expect me to believe the Kazakhs will come back to Borneo?”
Miguel dragged another young buck to his feet and I put a dart in his groin.
Diego said, “He wishes to revise his answer. He has a phone number to call, but the nearest phone is two villages away.”
I tossed him the phone I’d brought for this special occasion. When his call connected, it would upload the Sabel tracking virus to the other end and we’d have the location of our Kazakh mercenaries.
The old man dialed.
Carmen took out a third man attempting to sneak in.
She reported on the comm link. “Headlights in the trees, half an hour out. Gotta be the Malaysians. Fifteen hostiles out front, ready to charge. I can’t get them all. Make a snappy exit.”
Diego listened in to the Pak Uban’s call and confirmed the old man’s sincere attempt at extorting more money from his Kazakh masters. They would send a courier to the Melanau village in two days. We darted the Pak Uban and the remaining Kayan and slipped out the back way.
With two of their own dead and one wounded on the front veranda, and what appeared to be a bloodbath inside, the men massing for a frontal assault were slow to chase us. Carmen gave us updates while we put half a kilometer between our pursuers and us. Diego was no athlete yet he rose to the occasion, staying ahead by ten yards.
Miguel was too big to run fast in the jungle, so he brought up the rear.
Mercury said, Save yourself first, brotha.
“Problem,” Carmen said in a whisper. “Three tangos in the trees. Rendezvous at Charlie.”
Three tangos, wartime slang for targets, would not be a problem for Carmen if I’d left her alone. We could hear her through the comm link, trying to move Emily out of the sniper nest and down the hill. Emily had succumbed to fear and wouldn’t move. Carmen coaxed her gently for a moment before raising her voice a notch. The comm link picked up bullets whizzing by.
Emily shrieked.
Making loud noises while enemies try to shoot you is counterproductive. From the sounds coming over the comm link, Carmen gave Emily a swift kick in the ass that landed our reporter five yards down the slope.
The worst feeling in the world is knowing your friends are in deep trouble. Miguel’s face rippled with fear and anger.
“We’re coming,” I said.
“Negative. Meet at Charlie,” Carmen said.
Mercury said, Did you hear me? I said, save yourself. Dead guys can’t save the team.
I said, Shut up, I can’t concentrate.
Mercury said, Listen to me! Remember that teamwork speech you gave the boss? Run now so you can save the team later!
Miguel and I already passed our Bravo rendezvous point and could either turn east for our last-resort meeting point Charlie, or north to help Carmen.
I stopped and sniffed the air. I smelled a wet dog.
Miguel tugged my shirt. “I’ll get the women. Meet you at Charlie.”
“No. We’re in this together.”
Mercury said, You fucking idiot. Run! Now!
Movement behind him caught my eye. Shadows passed through a sliver of moonlight. At the same time, Miguel’s eyes widened and focused a short distance behind me. On my left, Diego raised his hands in surrender.
Two Kazakhs stood behind Miguel, rifles aimed at his head.
CHAPTER 29
Dishes clattered and voices echoed in the tiny Greenhouse restaurant off the hotel’s lobby. Having memorized their order, the waiter bowed and left them. Violet’s phone vibrated. She checked the caller ID and looked around. She nodded to Cummings. “Guangzhou. I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”
In the lobby, she clicked to answer. “What is it?”
“The government has seized the plant, ma’am,” her secretary said. “Soldiers came and sent everyone home.”
“What for?”
“Improper working conditions, ma’am.”
“Who was it?” Violet asked.
“Public Security Bureau.”
“Where is Teresa? Didn’t she—”
“Teresa was arrested, ma’am.”
“On what charges? Where are they holding her?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. The attorneys told me not to ask.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Violet said. “Someone has to know. Who’s still in the office?”
“We were all sent home, ma’am. I’m calling you from my personal phone.”
Violet checked again: it was not a Windsor number. “Do you know if Teresa sent the last shipment to me? The one headed for Washington?”
“It went this morning, ma’am.”
Violet clicked off and slipped her phone in her purse. Pressure built in her head to the boiling point. Her stump throbbed and she crunched her fingers into her hair. She wanted to scream, but there was work to be done.
She called. Chen’s cell phone went straight to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message and returned to her table. Her croissant and coffee waited for her. Cummings forked his omelet and looked up.
“Have you seen a ghost?” Cummings asked.
“We have to accelerate the program.”
“I think it’s time to stop throwing money at a bad—”
“Let me think through the timeline. We have them start deployment today. Have you called that Velox animal yet?”
“To call them off?” Cummings asked. “I can do that now if—”
“It’ll take five to seven days for incubation. We can keep this thing quiet for a couple weeks. When can he start?”
“Who?”
“The Velox guy, Kasey.”
“Start deployment? Never. Call it off.”
“Accelerating the time line was your idea,” she said. “You were right, but we need it now—today.”
“What happened?”
“They seized the production facility.”
“That’s it, then. We’re done. We call off the hit on Sabel, we close the Philadelphia project, we turn in Mokin for murder and kidnapping, and we walk away clean.”
“Great plan—for you. What happens to me?”
Cummings shrugged and tossed his napkin on his plate. He looked left, then right. “We’ll work it out.”
“You’re on record for Borneo.”
“I never understood all that science gobbledy-gook. I trusted you and Verratti and Wu Fang.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed and her mouth drew taught. “You think you can sell me out?”
“Nothing like that, Violet. I would never let you take the heat. We’ll think of something.” Cummings waved his hands. “Get some good lawyers, stay out of Asia for a while, and let the legal eagles do their thing. It’ll work.”
“And in the meantime, you’re cozy with Alan Sabel.”
“The man has to invest his money somewhere. Why not at Cummings Capital?”
Violet tossed her napkin on her untouched pastry. “We’re going forward. Are you going to call that asshole at Velox?”
“If I call him, it’s to get your $2 million back and cancel the hit on Sabel.”
“I’ll call him then.” She leaned back, gripping the arms of her chair until her knuckles turned white. “And I’ll send a copy of your real financial statements to the SEC.”
“What are you talking about?” Cummings leaned back, his eyes wide, hands and fingers spread out on the table. “I file reports with the government every quarter, right on time.”
“China has the best hackers in the world. Chen sent me your real financials, Ed. You have two sets of books, one for yourself and a second for the Feds.”
Cummings reached for his coffee and held it in a shaking hand. “I have nothing to hide.”
Violet huffed and crossed her arms, watching him as he sipped then clattere
d his cup back into the saucer.
“You’re not as bad as Bernie Madoff,” she said, “but you’ll still get life without parole.”
“Fine,” Cummings said, “we’ll do it your way. Where is the package?”
“Your Velox man was supposed to have it by now.”
“I never saw the message from Kasey confirming it.”
“A second package will arrive tomorrow. Enough for Philly and New Jersey.”
Cummings nodded. “I’ll set it up.”
“Who do you know inside the Sabel camp?” she asked. “How would you contact Alan Sabel?”
“His family doctor was my college roommate.”
“That’s where you’ve been getting your inside information?”
“What’re you implying?” Cummings frowned.
“Mokin must have an insider. Are you providing his information on Pia’s whereabouts?” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait. You knew Tania Cooper was sick before anyone else. That had to come from your doctor friend. Are you feeding this information to Mokin too?”
“I’m shocked you’d even suggest—”
“Why’re they using the family quack anyway? I thought Bobby Jenkins was Alan Sabel’s best friend. Why didn’t they call the biggest asshole in pharmaceuticals?”
“He’s tied up in Brussels. His son is trying to fill the gap.”
“How interesting. Do they think the boy’s as smart as his father?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care.” Cummings tapped his fingers on the table. “This whole thing is getting out of control, Violet. We have to consider—”
She leaned forward and whispered. “If you walk out on me, I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”
“I told you, we’ll do it your way.” Ed Cummings folded his napkin, placed it carefully on the table. “I disagree, but I’ll do as you wish, Violet.”
“Don’t you dare call Alan Sabel or his pet doctor.”
Cummings rose and bowed vaguely in Violet’s direction.
She looked away.
He waited a moment, then crossed the lobby and went outside.
A text from Chen Zhipeng tugged Violet’s attention to her phone. “Chapman is talking to Pia Sabel right now. It’s all over the news.”
Tears welled up in her eyes; a lump formed in her throat. The world seemed to fade from her vision. She texted Chen. “Who seized my company? Why is Teresa in custody? Who is doing this to me?”
The waiter brought the bill and left it for her. She ignored it. For ten minutes she stared at her phone, waiting for Chen’s reply. The busboy came and took away the dishes. Still she waited. No reply.
She signed the check and limped out into the cold morning air. After some thought, she dialed Kasey Earl.
“Hey, sugar,” Kasey answered. “What’s up this morning?”
Her jaw clenched. “Ed Cummings is going to the authorities.”
“Why tell me this?”
“I need you to kill Ed Cummings.”
“Two hundred grand. All upfront. Where do you want the body?”
Violet Windsor felt sick at the thought. “I don’t know. However you dispose of it, make sure it’s not traced back to me.”
* * *
Kasey Earl called his boss. “Dunno if it’s scary or funny, but she done paid me fifty large to kill Ed Cummings.”
“Fifty? You could get more, she’s desperate.”
“That’s all she’d pony up, boss.”
His boss said nothing for thirty seconds. “Are you forwarding all the money to the Velox account?”
“Oh, absolutely sir.”
“You’re not skimming anything off this deal?”
“No sir. I’d never do that to you. I value working for—”
“Get it in cash. She doesn’t have any credit.”
“Should I do the job? I thought he was a friend of yours.”
“Hell no. He’s a Wall Street guy, they don’t have friends.” He paused. “Jobs are piling up. We have real customers waiting. I’ll call you back with a priority list.”
CHAPTER 30
Pia stroked Tania’s face and thought it felt cooler. She glanced at the machines. They blinked and whirred and displayed numbers that meant nothing to her. Mr. Ramos kept his gaze fixed on his daughter while his ex-wife dozed in a big chair. Pia reached across the bed to squeeze his hand. When Ramos’s eyes met hers, she whispered, “Tania survived Afghanistan and dating Jacob. I’m sure she’ll survive this.”
Tania opened one eye. “Jacob was worse.”
Mr. Ramos smiled. “Your fever’s gone down, mi pequeña.”
Tania breathed hard from the exertion of sitting up. “They found a cure?”
“No,” Pia sighed, “but I found Chapman. Actually, he found me.”
“Did you kill him?”
Pia thought Tania’s sclera were a lighter shade of blue and moved closer to be sure. “He’s in a room down the hall, dying.”
Tania swung her feet over the edge and pushed against Pia. “Show me, I’ll finish him off.”
Pia grabbed her agent by the shoulders, but Tania lost her balance and fell backward. Pia scooped up her legs and placed her gently back in bed. Tania closed her eyes.
“He’s going to help us,” Pia said.
“Yeah,” Tania said. Her voice slowed. “You think the lying son-of-a-bitch will tell us the truth this time?”
“I was just going to check on him. Rest now.” Pia slipped out.
Down the hall, she found Chapman asleep. She put her hand on his forehead. His fever was much higher than Tania’s.
Chapman twitched awake at her touch and turned his head in her direction, his eyes still closed.
“I had no idea,” he said in a voice so weak she had to lean in. “It was an experiment …an exercise. We had Levoxavir.”
“What’s that?”
“Antibiotic … cure.” He coughed.
Pia spelled it aloud as she typed it into her phone. He nodded and she texted the name to Doc Günter for more information.
“I swear I didn’t know,” he said. “The project was supposed to be an academic experiment. I found out by accident. I couldn’t believe … they’d turn it loose on people. That’s why I went … but they didn’t have Levoxavir.”
Chapman coughed and struggled to wipe his eyes. “Turn your camera on, selfie. I want to see…”
“Your eyes?” she asked.
He nodded and forced his crusty eyelids open.
She turned it on and aimed it for him. His eyes rolled around before finally finding a focal point. He let out a breath and pushed the phone away. “Too late.”
Pia leaned close. “Too late for what?”
He sipped water from a cup on the table then shook his head. “Record this. I’ll make a statement.”
Pia turned on the video recorder.
“I am a research doctor.” Chapman coughed. “Windsor Pharmaceuticals. I was responsible for clinical trials of Levoxavir, an experimental drug intended for use against bio-warfare agents. To test it, we developed ‘Elements’ by splicing genes from viruses like Ebola and Hepatitis C. We made sure it doesn’t transmit between humans. Then I found out about an unauthorized field trial on Borneo. I made a surprise inspection. I arrived twenty minutes before you. No Levoxavir. They gave a gray powdered compound to unsuspecting village elders. It killed them. When you saw the grave, they scrambled to chase you down. After that, they gave me a dose by holding a cloth to my face until I gasped for air. They started blaming each other and got in a big fight. I stole Teresa’s phone and drove the other way. I crossed into Indonesia.”
Chapman’s eyes rolled back in his head and closed. His breathing came wet and slow.
Pia asked, “Teresa was the lady with you?”
“Project manager.” He took a breath. “She ran the … field trial.”
Chapman stopped talking. The machines whirred and beeped. The air was still. After a long time, one of his eyes opened.
“The gray
stuff. Element 42. They plan to dust Philadelphia, then the eastern seaboard in the next few days. People will die. Levoxavir is the only cure. The sick will pay anything for it. You have to stop them.”
“Where is her phone?”
Chapman nodded at a small bag in the corner. She rifled through it, found the phone, dialed her techs, and had them download the contents.
“Levoxavir will save everyone?” Pia asked. “Where do I get it?”
“My lab at NIH.” He wheezed a couple breaths. “Two buildings over … from where I saw you.”
“Hang in there, we’ll get some for you.”
“I’m too far gone.” Chapman coughed and closed his eyes for a long time. “I was born with immune deficiencies.”
“Will it help Tania?”
“If she’s young and healthy, it will help. But Element 42 was designed for a short illness, like the twenty-four hour flu. Victims will improve or die in few days.”
Pia texted Doc Günter to track down the cure. As she thumbed out her message, Chapman’s machines beeped loud and long.
“What I … don’t understand,” Chapman said, “Is why Wu Fang…”
She waited a moment. “Wu Fang? Why Wu Fang … what?”
His eyes closed. His mouth slackened, his body relaxed.
A nurse rushed in. Then another.
“Can you revive him?” Pia asked.
The first nurse scowled and checked his pulse.
A doctor rushed in.
“He was about to tell me something important that could save hundreds of lives. You have to—”
“Are you family?” the first nurse asked.
When she shook her head, the second nurse pushed Pia out into the hall. She came back to the doorway and watched them work on Chapman for a long time.
“Is he going to make it?” Pia asked.
“Ma’am, let us do our jobs.”
“You don’t understand, lives are at—”
The nurse closed the door.
Pia leaned her ear to it and listened to them working. The doctor spoke and the nurse answered. And machines that should beep didn’t.
Finally, their efforts ceased. A doctor said, “Call it!”
Pia drifted down the hallway feeling no pity for Chapman, only anger at the lack of actionable information from his statement. Teresa was a weak lead. A “Wu Fang” search on her phone produced thousands of hits with nothing conclusive. The last clue was gone. She leaned against the wall.
