“You could have closed the gates, ya know?”
“That place was long overdue.”
“The people in those houses. They didn’t deserve...”
“You don’t know anything about those people or how they earned their living.”
“Assuming they were all in on Tricon’s business is naive, even for a professional as yourself.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You act like some stuck up male model with charm and wit but actually you’re something else entirely. I don’t know what but you’re something more dangerous than what you lead on to be.” Taliah gazed into François’ eyes and studied his reaction.
“I will keep you safe. That is all that you need to know.”
“How can I trust you? What’s keeping you from selling me to Tricon for a new wardrobe?”
“Apparently you aren’t as sharp as you think you are.”
“Am I?” Taliah laughed and unzipped her bag. She removed a pistol from the large pocket and examined it closely. “I may not have fighting skills as lethal as yours but I have learned how to use one of these.”
“You are full of surprises as well. Put that thing away and lay back. We’ll be back to the house in a few hours. Get some rest.”
Taliah laid her seat back and closed her eyes. Her right hand still clutched the pistol as she placed it on her chest. François respected her unwavering spirit.
Chapter 22
Revealed for What They Are
Simon received a phone call waking him up from a much-needed rest.
“Simon Killbrook speaking.” His voice answered broken and gruff.
He was met with a beeping tone followed by variable pulses indicating that the call was encrypted. He pushed the red button activating the encryption filter.
“…found on the floor near the stairwell.” Timothy Yuen’s voice alarmed Simon.
“Wait! Repeat your last.” He asked. He sat up, slid back to the headboard, and leaned against it with his back.
“An explosion at the Chicago lab destroyed one of the computers on Dr. Jane Barnett’s floor. No casualties reported. Though, blood was found on the floor near the stairwell.”
“Who’s blood? Has it been cross referenced with the DNA roster?”
“The blood is not from anyone on the roster.” There was a long pause. “Sir, there is a problem that we should discuss.”
“What’s the problem Timothy?” Simon swung his legs over to the side of the bed and retrieved a notepad and pen from the nightstand drawer.
“The blood has traces of Azrael white blood cells. Yet, it doesn’t appear to have the necrosis event. The whole facility has been quarantined and all personnel directly exposed to the blood have been tested for the virus.”
“Anyone infected?”
“No one so far, sir. Could it have been someone from the Veil of the Five Daggers? Their special units department contains a level of Azrael infectivity like Giselle Johnson.” Timothy speculated.
“That’s what I was thinking. I’ll call my contact with the Veil and see if they have an associate sent to my lab without my consent.”
“Roger…about the quarantine, should we lift it?”
“Negative Timothy. Let’s maintain all safeguards we have at the moment. I’ll contact you when I feel it’s appropriate to remove them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes, the computer that was the source of the explosion belonged to an apprentice of Dr. Barnett’s.”
“The name?”
“That would be…Mark Sloan, sir.” Timothy read from Mark’s file.
“Mark Sloan…hmm.” Simon contemplated for a moment. “Wasn’t that the young man that worked in Azrael security before requesting a transfer to the lab?”
“That’s affirmative. His aptitude test and knowledge of Azrael behavior landed him a position working under Dr. Barnett.”
“Anything off about his file that might raise an eyebrow or do you think it’s merely a coincidence that it was his computer?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences, sir.”
“Neither do I.”
“There was one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Does knowledge of the NIOX software mean anything to you? It’s written in his file.”
Simon immediately pondered about Tricon.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I’ll have a few words with Dr. Barnett. Continue with protocol and I’ll get back with you in a few hours.”
“Yes, sir. Be careful out there. Sounds like something big is about to happen.”
“Thank you Timothy. I agree with you on that one. You be safe too. If anything else happens that I need to know just…”
“I’ll call you right away, sir.” Timothy interrupted.
“Great, talk to you later Timothy.”
“Bye, sir.”
Simon hung up the phone. He jotted down all-important information in his notebook and placed it back in the drawer. After a good stretch, shower and shave, Simon headed downstairs to make a cup of coffee. Jane was sitting at the table scanning through the Tricon data on the laptop and handed him a mug of coffee.
“Two creams, three sugars right?” She asked.
“That’s right.” He took the mug and smelled it. “Smells good. I was just about to look for you.” He continued.
“I know. I was listening. We should talk.” She closed the laptop.
Simon sat down next to her, positioned his right elbow on the table, and placed his chin in the palm of his right hand. His eyebrows rose.
“Eavesdropping? How did you enter the encrypted line without me hearing the tone?”
“I picked it up and joined the encrypted channel before you did. I heard the tone when you joined.”
“So you know what I know then?”
“Yup. So…about the blood, I don’t know who that was. Mark was definitely not infected with the Azrael blood.”
“Timothy already said that the blood didn’t match the DNA roster that embodies all residents in Chicago. That’s your ticket to live there.”
“About that.” Jane fidgeted and took a sip of her coffee.
“Explain.” Simon furrowed his brow.
“Somehow, during the process of logging the DNA, mark’s was misplaced or lost.”
“It what? How?” Simon appeared irritated. It showed in his voice.
“I don’t know. He’s been scheduled for a new blood draw on several occasions but every time it’s been scheduled, something happens. Each time he had a new excuse as to why he couldn’t make the appointment.”
“Why haven’t you contacted me about it? You know Taliah’s information had been compromised somehow. It had to have been in house.”
“I know…I know. I just didn’t want to believe that was true. He seemed like a good guy. Moreover, he had prior knowledge of the NIOX software so we worked together to filter through and download new information throughout the Root Network on Azrael blood mapping. He was pivotal in helping us acquire massive amounts of data in a short time through an almost dial-up connection.”
“You didn’t find it too convenient that some security guard had knowledge of the NIOX software?”
“At the time I believed we were lucky to have someone with that knowledge. In addition, I didn’t know that Tricon had that software at the time. Hell, I didn’t even know who Tricon was until the other day.”
“You didn’t put two and two together when I approached you with this mission.”
“Frankly, it didn’t even cross my mind. I hadn’t slept well over the past week and I had just stayed up all night studying that footage of the Azrael outbreak along with Chris’ footage. I missed it Simon. I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“I believe you, Jane. Hindsight is always 20/20. Is there any way that we can track him down?”
“I doubt it. Hell, there’s a chance that Mark Sloan isn’t even his real na
me. He was one sharp cookie too.”
“Do you think any of the other apprentices were in on it too?”
“Victoria was a huge fan of Taliah’s. There’s no way that she would do such a thing to her idol.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. If we were to accuse her of something like that, I think she’ll have a mental breakdown. She might move up to eating cake instead of candy.”
“Candy? How does she get that?”
“It’s her comfort food. I have my connections.” Jane batted her eyes.
“What about Christopher Baites?”
“Well.” She sighed.
“Well? Jesus Jane, now what?”
“He passed away about a month ago.”
“He what? I didn’t know about that. How did he die?”
“He was drinking and fell down a full flight of steps. Blunt force to the head, I believe, was the cause of death.”
“Jesus.” Simon stood up and paced around while shaking his head. He turned to her. “Any signs of foul play?”
“Not that I’m aware of. He was creepy though. He followed me around and always seemed too surprised when I talked to him or showed up at his desk.”
“Maybe you intimidated him.”
“I don’t know. Mark said that he caught him taking pictures of me when I wasn’t looking.”
“That’s weird. Aren’t camera’s prohibited at the lab?”
“Not my rule. All recording devices are scanned for sensitive information before they leave the lab.”
“So, I take it you weren’t disturbed when you heard about his death?”
“Yes and no. Yes, because he’s a human being that I knew and he died an awful and unnecessary death. And no, because…well, he was kind of a creep.”
“Maybe his death wasn’t unnecessary. You said that Mark caught him spying on you. Maybe he caught Christopher doing the same thing to him and staged his death.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense too.” Jane scratched her head and had a thousand mile stare. “Jesus, was I being played.”
“That’s if, in fact, he did stage Christopher’s death. He could have drank too much and coincidentally fallen down the stairs to his death.”
“But you don’t believe in coincidences.” Jane gave him a wry grin.
Simon smiled. “You’re damned right I don’t, Eavesdropper.” He gave Jane a devilish grin and sat down again.
Jane shrugged. “I’m not a fighter so I need to be more informed than everyone else is. Information is my warfare, Simon.” She patted the laptop in front of her.
“Don’t forget reckless endangerment of your staff and the entire city of Chicago.”
“I’ll never live that one down, will I?” Jane scowled.
“No, no you won’t. It should be the drive that pushes you to make better decisions in the future.”
“It is, Simon. I’d like to get the opportunity to fix Taliah.”
“With the virus?”
“Uh huh. It could cure her.”
“Or…”
“I know.”
“It’s her decision. You do know that, right?”
“Yes, I do. But wouldn’t you take that chance?”
“Me, yes. But she’s been through a lot more than we could ever imagine. I respect her decision and you should too.”
“I guess you’re right. So, do you have a timeline of when we’ll get Taliah back? The Veil has her right?”
“That’s what I said last night against my better judgment.”
“Why? You thought that the mole was one of us?”
“I just didn’t want to take any chances…and for good reason.”
“Do you think one of the Veil was at the lab? Was that their blood?”
“I’d bet my life on it. They probably were tracking down the spy.”
“Do you think Mark planted a bomb in his computer?”
“I don’t know. That part I don’t know.” Simon finally took a sip of the coffee. By this time, it was lukewarm.
“Should we wake up and brief the others?”
“No, let them sleep. We can work up the logistics of all of this and develop a plan.”
“Are we going back to Tricon?”
Simon nodded his head.
“After John and Savanna are provided with something to do to keep them busy, we’re headed back.” Simon arched his back, closed his eyes, and stretched out his arms as he yawned.
“Sounds good.” She studied Simon’s body intently and settled back on his eyes before he opened his. “Would you like to go out sometime?” Lack of sleep brought her courage to ask but was it too soon?
“After everything with Taliah and Tricon is over, sure. I would love that.” He smiled.
“That’s a long ways away.” Jane scoffed.
“I know. I don’t have the energy for anything personal right now.”
“I guess the sooner we get this plan moving then the sooner you’ll have a reason to taste my famous vegan lasagna.”
“Is it really famous?” Simon tilted his head.
“No, but it does make it sound better, doesn’t it?” She giggled.
“I guess it does.” Simon laughed and finished his coffee.
Over the next few hours, they continued to work on a plan for tracking down Mark Sloan. They also worked out a new strategy for breaching Tricon’s facility. Yesterday’s recon by Mario revealed that they amplified their security along with eliminating all traces of Azrael activity within and around the facility. Jane continued to scan through the hard drive. There was still several hundred gigabytes worth of data to sift through about Tricon and Jane knew that she needed to learn as much about the organization as possible before they returned. Unfortunately, time had become severely limited so she filtered her research to certain keywords concerning security and the facility layout. Simon worked on a presentation to deliver the information and current plans to everyone else. Releasing information and a proposed plan needed to be carefully prepared before the delivery. Public speaking is not all about what you say but how you deliver it. The wrong tone or one misplaced word could confuse or lead an instruction into a debate.
Chapter 23
Catch Up Part I
About ten miles from the cabin, the car that Giselle and Toko hotwired puttered to a stop seven minutes after the gas light graced the dashboard with its presence. They were several miles from the last vehicle sighting and its tank was empty. Giselle stepped out and stretched. She touched her toes and grasped her ankles for roughly ten seconds. She slowly pulled herself up and pulled back each foot to her butt stretching her thighs.
“Ready for a run?” She asked while continuing to stretch out her cramped muscles in her legs, back and shoulders. A few pops of her back drew sighs from Giselle.
“Should be there within the hour. I’ll take whatever I can scavenge from the car and will be ready soon.”
“Hey, can you grab my bag please?”
“Hai.” Toko removed her bag from the seat and tossed it to her. She caught it with a surprised look.
“Be careful! I’ve got grenades in there.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“You didn’t have any in there last time I checked.”
“Going through my shit Toko? Not cool.”
“You asked me to go through it for you?”
“Did I?”
“Hai.”
“In any case, I found them at the last house in a box on the porch.”
“The screened-in, cluttered, AstroTurf , mildew smelling, old as….?”
“Yes, that place.”
“Of all the places to find grenades, you find them there.”
“Let’s hope they’re not inert. I’ve made that mistake before.”
“Shouldn’t it be labeled if it is or not?”
“Couldn’t tell, the lettering was rubbed off.”
“Are you going to run with those things bouncing a
round in your bag?”
“Of course not. I’m going to clip them to my belt right here.” Giselle dug in her bag and removed one. She scanned it for any identification. “Nothing.” She placed it on her belt. Her hand searched for the other one and she found something she did not expect. She removed a smart phone from her bag.
“Is this yours?” She showed it to him.
“No. Does it work?”
She pushed a button and the screen came to life. It had 20% of a charge left on it.
“Yes, it does.” She attempted to enter the home screen but it was password locked.
“That’s weird.” He wondered.
“I can’t see whose it is. It’s locked.” She shook her head. She was about to toss it on the ground.
“Don’t do that.” He held his hands out as if he was going to dive for it if she tossed it.
“Why? I’m not carrying around a paper weight.”
“I might have software back at the Veil that can open that without losing the data.”
“Fine, I’m not carrying it though.” She tossed it to him, dug in her bag and retrieved the other grenade. She clipped it to her belt as well. Toko placed the phone in his own bag and continued to search the car for anything else of use. He found nothing and closed the trunk.
“We can go now.” He admitted.
“All right, let’s move then.” She jogged ahead. Toko caught up and they moved towards the cabin at a decent speed.
After an hour and a half of running, Giselle appeared confused. She turned her head from left to right studying the landscape. Something was wrong. Toko noticed her change of demeanor.
“Miss Giselle, are you okay?”
“All of this looks unfamiliar to me.” She waved her left hand towards the trees.
“I imagine that all of this would appear different. There hasn’t been any road maintenance here in years.”
“No, that’s not it. Nothing is familiar to me. I think we passed it.”
“Are you sure?” Toko slowed to a walk and Giselle did the same. She placed her hands behind her head.
“I think so. Shit, how did I miss it?”
They turned around and noticed a sign about a mile up the road towards where they came from. The wild vines that wrapped around the sign made it unreadable.
The Azrael (Book 4): Tricon Page 13
