Surely, they had all felt the floor shake just then? Something was coming their way. He took a little leap of faith.
'Didn't Wheelan tell you about David, Marinov? He's the one who's been standing in the way of your money. He's been opposing the development of a quantum computer.'
There was something in Marinov's eyes now: a little light. He turned his head to Wheelan for a moment.
Wheelan didn't flinch. 'I don't know what or who he's talking about.'
'I'm talking about a friend of a friend who works for the NSA,' Virgo said. He was so out of his depth, he felt like laughing. But maybe it didn't matter; Marinov was looking uneasy. Maybe that was all he needed.
The trucks were just outside.
Wheelan inclined his head again and smiled. 'Can you hear that, Mr Virgo? Personnel carriers. I hear the sound of an evening drawing to a close.' He drew a gun, then shouted to the guards around the room. 'Remember your orders: no resistance. You so much as scratch my people, I will shut down your mercenary asses for good.' He turned to Marinov. 'Let's clear this up now.'
CHAPTER 93
KATIE HEARD WHEELAN'S SHOUT. She also heard truck engines cutting out. Where was Delaney?
She was on the central lintel, in the middle of the ceiling. It was a four-foot jump to the next lintel, and if she missed she would crash through the ceiling and break her back right in front of her dad. Right before those people killed him. That was not her plan.
She swung her arms back and forth for momentum. And then she jumped.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a landing. She scrambled up onto the cold steel, hoping her judgement was right. The guy with the gun should be straight down from here.
She hooked the toes of her right leg – her only toes – into the frame of the lintel. Hanging from one leg would send her slightly askew. But if she locked her ankle, the grip would hold. Time to let go.
Slowly, her abs let her torso downwards. For the first time in her life, Katie was glad of the rigorous sit-ups routine her coach put her through. Reaching back, she pulled the knife out of her belt, then stuck the point into the tile. It lifted, clean and silent. The view was perfect. There was a bald spot on the guy's crown, pulled clear by the tension of the band holding that ridiculous silver ponytail. She weighed the knife carefully in her hand, then gripped the handle between thumb and forefinger and let gravity point the blade towards the centre of the earth. She squinted down the shaft.
The lights reflected off the steel, its shimmer mixing into the silver of the hair. The aim was perfect. It would hit the bald spot. She hesitated, stopped breathing, wondered whether she should really do this. And then she saw the thumb pull back on the safety catch. Who said going to the movies didn't teach you anything? At least she knew when a gun was about to be fired. From somewhere outside the room, she could hear the sound of running steps.
'It's time, Marinov.'
She couldn't see where the voice was coming from. Not from the guy with the gun and the ponytail. She didn't know anything about him, the man she was about to kill. But she guessed his name was Marinov.
CHAPTER 94
WHEN PHYSICISTS TRY TO understand how the human body holds itself upright, they think of it like a pencil held point-down on the tip of someone's finger. It doesn't stay upright naturally; it needs constant re-adjustment, feedback from the brain's motor functions that compensate for any slight imbalance. Nathaniel Virgo knew this because he had once written an article about it, centred around a researcher who spent his days pushing people over in order to study how they stay upright. The article came back to him in the split second he spent watching Vasil Marinov's failing motor functions struggle to do their job.
Marinov remained upright, his face blank, for half a second before his body dropped. The knife was already buried deep in the skull before Virgo saw it. There certainly wasn't time for any reaction to register on Marinov's face.
Virgo had seen something fall from the ceiling; his next thought was that Wheelan was looking the other way, watching the door, as he delivered the command for Marinov to shoot. So Virgo dived for Marinov's gun, thought he could catch it before it clattered against the floor.
He couldn't.
Wheelan spun round at the noise. But Virgo had the gun. Now they were in stand-off, and the guards had raised their weapons. It was six against one. But he had Wheelan at the end of his barrel, and the guards didn't have a clue what to do.
Virgo prayed no one would think about the knife sticking out from Marinov's skull. Somebody up there, up above the ceiling, was on his side. God? Delaney? Delaney was the least unlikely.
'Give it up, Wheelan,' Virgo said. Bluff of the worst kind. Why would Wheelan give it up? This wasn't going to work.
A deep voice ripped across the hall.
'Everybody drop.'
Wheelan didn't look round, he just broadened his smile at the shout. He flapped a hand to the guards, motioning them downwards. The guards looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged and let their weapons fall. They had their orders. Wheelan's people were here. All six guards in the room lowered themselves to the floor.
But that was because they didn't know the voice. Even Wheelan didn't know the voice. Not like Virgo knew the voice.
Virgo set his expression hard, and stared into Wheelan's grinning face.
'Over here,' he shouted. 'What took you so long, Delaney?'
Wheelan dropped his grin. And his gun.
CHAPTER 95
DELANEY LOOKED AROUND AT the guards.
'You people need to run. The plan is aborted. Get out of here.'
They did just as Delaney said. Now, that was impressive.
'That goes for us, too, Virgo.' Delaney looked over his shoulder, then back at Wheelan. 'Whoever the new arrivals are, they're on their way. Do we shoot the Secretary for Homeland Security, leave him or take him?'
Did they have to go? What if this was Imogen's guy coming through for them? Surely, everything would be cleared up?
And what if it wasn't?
They had to go.
It made no sense to shoot Wheelan. Not if Virgo was trying to clear his name. But leave him here? Not an option.
'We have to take him.'
'OK,' Delaney said. 'But we have to find Katie first.'
Whoa.
'Katie?'
'She's here somewhere. She climbed up on the roof.'
He hadn't seen that coming. It was Katie. Katie had saved his life. His fifteen-year-old daughter had dropped a knife into Marinov's skull to save her father's life. After everything that had happened to her in the past twenty-four hours, she was still right here with him.
He looked up at the missing ceiling tile.
'Katie?'
'Dad.'
She swung down. He ran over to where she was hanging, and caught her as she dropped. He didn't say anything; neither did she. It was all in the lock of the arms, the joined physical presence. It was the hug of the century.
Delaney broke them up. 'Touching family moment, but really, we have to go. You,' he said, jerking the gun barrel into Wheelan's cheekbone. 'You are going to run like you're a college track star.' He turned to Katie. 'Like this young lady.'
'This way,' Virgo said. He glanced down at Katie's prosthetic.
'It's fine, Dad,' she said. 'Really.'
For once, he believed her. He turned and led them towards the back of the hall. He could already hear the dull clamour of striding boots coming their way. He charged into a fire door, and it flung wide. As he led them out, he heard machine-gun rounds clatter into the night air.
CHAPTER 96
VIRGO'S EYES TOOK A few seconds to get used to the night. Even with the light spilling out from the open door, and the white lamps mounted on the hangar roof, the dark seemed to envelop him. Fifty metres across the concrete, he could make out the red and white barrier at the gates. But that was fifty metres straight, and he knew they couldn't afford the exposure.
He moved through the s
hadows towards the perimeter fence, but Katie held him back.
'No, this way,' she whispered. 'Delaney cut the fence.'
He allowed her to take the lead; she sounded like she knew what she was doing. Delaney could handle Wheelan. Or not. If he shot him dead, it wouldn't be Virgo's problem.
Katie pulled at the wire. It came up, and he rolled under as she held it. Delaney and Wheelan came next, disappearing into the darkness. He helped Katie through last. Something in him said he should be protecting her, letting her go first. But she was beyond that now. She didn't need his protection. She had saved his life; she was his protection.
'This way,' she said.
The gunfire was louder now; outside the hangar, coming closer. They were surely out of time. He tried to look back, but Katie pulled at him as she ran.
'Delaney's truck is just here, through these trees.'
Maybe they could make it.
They drew level with Delaney and Wheelan. Delaney reached into a pocket and handed Katie some keys.
'Dad, come on. It's not far.'
She moved into overdrive. She had speed he'd never seen. How did she run so fast on a normal prosthetic? This was as fast as he had ever moved. His lungs burned, and his legs were starting to cramp. They were among the trees now, and the ground was soft and treacherous. The gunfire was almost deafening. He looked back: somewhere behind him, Delaney and Wheelan were wheezing through the darkness, punctuating the fire with heavy draws of breath. He looked ahead again: something glinted in the moonlight.
Delaney's truck.
'Start it up, Katie,' he called. 'I'll get them into the back.' He dropped back. Delaney and Wheelan were struggling towards the truck. They were taking too long, but there was nothing he could do. He looked back at the truck. Why hadn't Katie started the engine? He could see a silhouette, something moving in the front, but there was no sound. He accelerated towards the truck again, leaving Delaney and Wheelan behind him, and pulled open the back door.
A voice cut through the darkness.
'Well, you must be Nathaniel.'
A tall, blond man jumped down from the front passenger seat. He had a walkie-talkie in one hand. And a big cheesy grin plastered over his face.
Suddenly, Virgo heard it. Silence. The gunfire had stopped; an eerie quiet, like at the end of a fireworks display.
'It's over, Nathaniel,' the man said. 'Nearly 700 people have been killed for this phantasm, but it's over now.' He raised his eyebrows. 'I presume it's a phantasm – the quantum computer?'
He stepped forward and extended a hand. 'David Hoch. Imogen told me you needed some help. Thank you for alerting us to all this. That was a good call on the remote flight-control systems. I checked the access codes to the ground radar stations that talk to the planes. There was some neat sidestepping, but Homeland Security's fingerprints were all over it. At NSA we've always wondered if the back door into those systems was really such a good idea. Now, we have an answer.'
For a moment, Virgo just stared, unable to speak. Then, slowly, in a trance, he shook Hoch's hand. Behind him, he could hear Delaney and Wheelan arrive, fighting for breath.
Wheelan stepped slowly forward, Delaney's gun in his back. 'Who are you?' he asked Hoch. Hoch eyed Wheelan carefully. 'Mr Secretary. We've sparred through intermediaries, but we've never met. I'm David Hoch.'
Hoch looked up at Delaney. 'Do you have cuffs?'
Delaney nodded. 'Yessir.'
'Then cuff the man. And don't set them too loose.'
Style. That was the only thought in Virgo's mind. Here was a man with bags of it. He looked around. Soldiers in plain black uniform had surrounded the truck. The good guys.
Hoch called towards the truck. 'Miss Virgo, get out of the car, please.' He turned back. 'You're going to need one hell of a debriefing, Nathaniel,' he said.
CHAPTER 97
HOCH LED THEM BACK to the road, where two sleek black Lincolns were pulled up in convoy. He opened the rear door of the second one and ushered them in.
Katie sunk into him, under his arm. That was it. There was only the two of them now. The realisation hit him like a blow to the diaphragm, and he caught his breath. Rachel was gone. The love of his life, his college sweetheart, the one who knew all his secrets. Gone.
What he had left of her was here, under the tightening grip of his left arm. Katie: beautiful, precious, amazing. But. But . . .
He jabbed at the guilt brooding in his brain. He felt ungrateful, like the precious gift of his daughter should be enough. But it wasn't. He wanted Katie and Rachel. Both, not just one. A piece of the whole was missing.
He leaned his face down and kissed Katie's hair.
'What happens now?' she said.
He didn't know. Did it matter? 'I'm sure we'll find out.'
A tear ran down Virgo's cheek as the engine fired up.
They rode in silence, and Virgo eventually gave up the fight to stay awake. He drifted in and out of sleep, and then – suddenly, it seemed – the Lincoln's engine cut, and the doors opened.
'Katie, sweetheart.' She was asleep. He nudged her gently awake, and she stirred.
He got out; she followed. They were in the car park of some government building. He had no idea where he was; even when awake he'd been unable to read the road signs through the Lincoln's darkened windows. He took Katie's hand and followed the driver across the car park and through a bright red fire door. A narrow corridor stretched ahead. It was entirely bland: white walls, grey non-slip flooring, no markings. A few white-painted doors led off it, but the driver gently guided them straight towards the half-glazed door that faced them at the far end.
Virgo felt a vague unease. It couldn't possibly all be over now. He gripped Katie's hand tighter as he pushed at the door. She had said nothing since she woke up in the Lincoln. She'd probably been hoping it was all a dream.
He saw little through the reinforced glass before he opened the door. The corridor curved round to the left; ahead of him, a steel staircase stretched up out of sight. They followed the curve of the corridor until it opened out into a huge space. The air was hot and close, obviously cycled and recycled through the cooling fans of the dozens of computers that stretched in neat rows into the distance. Overhead, he could hear the air-conditioning strain.
Ahead of him, Virgo was mildly surprised to see Hoch was already in the building. He was chatting with someone. Hoch stepped forward as Virgo entered.
'Nathaniel, have you met Akshay?' He gestured towards the man beside him. 'This is Akshay Gupta. From Cambridge?'
It took Virgo a moment to realise what the name meant to him. Gupta is being dealt with.
'Akshay, this is Nathaniel Virgo.'
Gupta looked puzzled for a moment, then his face lit up.
'Nathaniel Virgo,' he said, striding across the room and offering a hand. 'Thank God you've made it here.'
Virgo's hand swallowed Gupta's. He couldn't bring himself to let go. And he couldn't think of anything to say. Gupta seemed to hail from a previous existence; even though he didn't know the man, he felt an affinity with him. Somehow, since they had been threatened together, there was a bond, a link. Waves of deep emotion, long held back by momentum, crashed inside him and ricocheted up his gullet. He glanced at Katie. The intensity abated for a moment, and he seized the chance to push the stress back down, to regain control.
'Katie, this is Akshay Gupta. He develops quantum cryptography.' It occurred to him that she probably had little conception of what that was. She'd find out soon enough. 'Akshay Gupta; my daughter, Katie.'
They shook hands.
'I understand you've had a terrible time, Miss Virgo,' Gupta said. 'I am very sorry for your loss.' He looked concerned for her; Katie managed a brief smile in acknowledgement, but said nothing.
'I thought you were dead, Akshay.' Virgo blurted it out, but he was past caring. Suddenly, he had to sort everything out in his whirling head. 'I thought Genovsky's people had . . .' He tried to make the statement sound nonchalant.
Gupta extended his grin. 'Kumar said you came looking for me. I got called away. My bosses –'
Hoch cut in. 'I'm sure you two are keen to catch up, but we still have some work to do.'
Suddenly, a thousand thoughts crowded into Virgo's mind. 'Where's Delaney? He saved my life. And Wheelan? What happened to him? Are you going to –'
Hoch held up a hand. 'Calm down, Nathaniel. Please, come with me. You too, Katie.' He beckoned for Gupta to follow.
What was Gupta doing here, at the centre of some NSA operation?
Hoch led them to a room off the main hall, and waited for them all to go in before he followed and shut the door.
It was some kind of lounge, informally laid out with easy chairs and low tables. To one side, a table was laden with fruit, pastries and an array of bottles and glasses.
'Please, sit down. Have a drink – you've earned it,' Hoch said.
They each moved to a chair. Virgo sat with an arm around Katie. Hoch went to the table and picked up a huge bottle of scotch and four glasses. He poured three scotches slowly, then a tumbler of water, and handed them round.
Katie gripped the water, took a sip, then broke the silence in the room.
'Will you get my mother's body?'
Virgo squeezed her tighter.
Hoch looked blank for a moment, then his face crumpled into a concerned frown.
'I'm sorry – God, what you've been through. Yes, we will. Can you tell us where it is?'
She nodded. 'There's a man in FBI custody – Vicente. He was on the plane. He –' She stopped herself.
'He what?' Hoch leaned towards her.
'He knows where she is.'
Virgo turned his head to look at Katie, but said nothing. He suddenly realised how little he knew about what she had been through.
Hoch leaned forward. 'I'll get right on it,' he said.
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