Deadly Deception

by Tami Kidd

  Alex shook Michael’s hand eagerly. “Good to see you again. I don’t think I ever got the chance to thank you for taking care of Mara while you two were stuck inside the compound. After the briefing at the safe house we didn’t see you anymore.”

  “I had to get back to work, as you can see.” Michael Porter reached for their bags.

  “Oh, so you’re on duty?” Mara teased.

  “Yes, but I would have made this trip for free. It’s really good seeing the both of you. Life getting back to normal yet?”

  “Yes, I just said goodbye to my brother and nephew this morning. They’re heading back to Arkansas. So, what is this all about? Why does the president want to see me?”

  “I couldn’t tell you. He asked me to pick you up. I have a feeling that whatever it is, it must be important.”

  They reached the curb outside and Michael walked over to a black town car. The trunk popped open and he swung their bags inside. He opened the back-passenger door for Mara. Alex chose to sit up front with Michael.

  “I’ll drop you off at your hotel and let you freshen up first. I’ll pick you up at 5:30 and take you to the meeting. Are there any stops you need to make first?”

  “Nope. I think we have everything we need. Thanks.”

  The conversation waned, consisting of Michael pointing out places of historical significance or interest. Mara watched and listened, but felt apprehension stirring inside her. When she looked at Alex in the front, he turned to glance back at her. She saw the worried expression in his eyes as well. What is this all about?

  Fifty-Two

  At precisely 5:25 p.m., Mara and Alex strolled down the Grand Staircase at the Ritz-Carlton, spellbound by the amazing artwork displayed above the staircase. She had read in the suite brochure that the famed glass artist, Dale Chihuly, created the Persians.

  To equal the Ritz-Carlton’s ambiance and soon the White House, she wore a beige linen suite with a pale-yellow silk scarf draped loosely around her neck. A delicate gold clasp held her silken hair back in an elegant swirl. Earlier, she bought the outfit and clasp in one of the hotel boutiques, since nothing in her suitcase qualified as ritzy enough. Pleased with her appearance, feeling chic, she strolled through the lobby arm in arm with Alex.

  Outside, the doorman directed them to the parked black SUV. Settling back in the seat, Mara and Alex enjoyed the ride to the White House. The city noises were muted behind the tinted glass. This time a different driver had picked them up and drove them to the south portico of the White House where Michael Porter greeted them.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” he said when he opened their door.

  “We’re going to have to stop meeting like this. People are going to start talking.” Mara winked as she took Michael’s hand to let him help her out of the car.

  “Let them,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Uh, excuse me.” Alex laughed at their flirty banter. “I’m still here.”

  “You’re too funny.” Mara took Alex’s hand and kissed it.

  “Did you get some rest?” Michael asked as he escorted them inside.

  “Not much. I was too nervous about this meeting.”

  “Well, you two look great.”

  “Thanks,” they said in unison

  “The president is waiting to see you.”

  “Still no idea what this is about?” Mara asked.

  “Not a clue. But, I can tell you one thing, I haven’t seen him this upset in years.”

  Mara felt her throat constrict. Her intuition had kicked in and dread filled her. She squeezed Alex’s hand. His presence reassured her. With him by her side, she was not afraid.

  ****

  Mara and Alex entered the West Sitting Hall located on the second floor of the White House, where President Riley rested on a cream-colored couch. When he saw them, he rose and extended his hand to Alex. Mara held her hand forward. He covered her hand with his. Mara felt warmth and sincerity flowing from him. She liked this president, even after all the misgivings she had previously harbored. He had earned her respect as a decent and caring man with the best of intentions for everyone.

  “Mara, you look very elegant. Thank you both for coming on such short notice, but I felt you needed to hear this from me.”

  Mara’s heart skipped a beat in apprehension. “Hear what?”

  “Please sit.” He motioned to the soft green divan.

  Mara sat and crossed her legs as she watched the president lower himself to the couch closest to her. Alex sat next to Mara and took her hand in his.

  The president cleared his throat. “A short time ago one of our teams raided a facility in Boston. You may have already been aware of its existence, the Methuselah Technology Group. They are responsible for conducting research and testing on Dr. Foster’s groundbreaking drug.”

  “Yes, Alex told me about it. His—Joseph Strange informed him of their location.” Mara turned to Alex. “But I don’t understand what this has to do with me.”

  The president leaned forward and looked at her, a deep sense of regret emanating from his eyes.

  “What is it?” The feeling of standing on thin ice, about to crack and swallow her, flooded Mara with dread.

  “Agent Carter headed the operation and while no one was harmed during the takeover, I feel you should be aware of his discovery while there.”

  Mara remained still and did not speak. Instinctively she squeezed Alex’s hand. He returned the gesture, and instantly calm washed over her.

  “Thomas Byrne and Sophie Hildegard were taken into custody at the facility, along with the other staff.”

  Mara opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, the words failing to come to her. She shook her head. Finally she spoke. “I don’t understand. What was Thomas doing there? Was he being held captive again?” She blinked several times. “Wait a minute; Sophie didn’t die in the ambush?”

  “No. It seems that Thomas and Sophie are members of the Methuselah Group—and have been so from the beginning.”

  Mara pressed her fingers to her eyes to hold back the tears of anger. She stood and began to pace, her words flowing like a breached dam. “So, Thomas was in on it? When you say from the beginning, how long ago are you talking about? How long has he been deceiving everyone? Why?” She stopped and sat down next to Alex, only to stand up again. “I can’t believe he was involved. So, he was never a prisoner at the compound. Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with a trembling hand and turned away from the president so he would not see her tears. Her body shuddered as if chilled from fever. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she bent forward as sobs shook her body.

  Alex dashed to her side to steady her. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry. When will this ever end?”

  Grabbing Alex as if she were drowning, she buried her face in his shoulder. Get hold of yourself. Taking long, deep breaths, she attempted to regain her dignity and composure. She allowed Alex to lead her back to the couch.

  An eternity passed without any words spoken. The emotions draped the room like a suffocating blanket. The atmosphere reminded Mara of a funeral. Thomas’s funeral where the pain had choked her throat so tight, not a sound escaped her mouth. She recalled staring through unseeing eyes. The pain squeezed her heart beyond the breaking point. She thought she would die. Coming back to reality, Mara held her gaze on the president. “I want to talk to him.”

  “With Thomas?” The surprise was evident in his tone.

  “Yes. I think I deserve that much. He owes me an explanation. He may not answer my questions, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take. I want to look the son of a bitch in the eyes and ask him why.”

  Concern etched Alex’s face. “Do you think that’s wise? Maybe you should just let it go.”

  “No, not this time. He stole two years of my life. Maybe more. I want him to fess up.”

  “Like you said, he may not tell you anything.” Alex placed a palm against her cheek.

  Mara covered his hand with hers and said, “I have to do this.�
� She turned to the president and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response to her request.

  He nodded once. “They arrive in Quantico in a few hours. I’ll make the arrangements. Michael will pick you up tonight. Is that all right or would you prefer to wait until tomorrow.”

  “Hell no. I want to face him tonight.”

  Fifty-Three

  Fidgeting with her scarf to calm her nerves, Mara felt like she could jump out of her skin. She nudged Alex and asked, “I wonder what’s taking them so long?” They had been waiting in a small windowless room that Michael escorted them to after they received their visitor badges. When he left them, he assured the couple that he would return after the meeting and drive them to the airport.

  Alex took her hand and pulled it up to his lips for a reassuring kiss. “These things take time. They’ll come get us when they have everything set up. Try to keep calm.”

  Mara thought about the meeting with Thomas. Torn, a part of her wanted to get up and leave, never to allow the thought of him to cross her mind again, but she knew that would be impossible. Twenty years could not be wished away as if they had never existed. No matter how desperate, she wanted more than anything to begin her future with Alex. Confronting Thomas would give her a clean slate. If she didn’t, she would never find peace. Best to get this over with and put it to bed, forever.

  Mara spoke finally. “I just want to get this over with. I have so many questions. I hope he’s man enough to answer them.” She reached back, took the barrette out of her hair, and let the loose strands delicately frame her face. She ran her fingers through her hair. She felt Alex studying her; he could still make her blush.

  “As much as I would like to punch his face and force him to answer your questions, do you think it would be better if you spoke to him alone?

  “No, I don’t. You have as much right to the answers as I do. If he clams up, then you can punch his face. She formed a fist and jabbed the air. “Seriously though, I want you there.”

  “Understood.”

  A young man in a suit opened the door and looked at Mara. “Ms. Byrne, we’re ready.”

  Standing, Mara ran her hands down the front of her suit to smooth out the wrinkles and dry her sweaty palms. Glancing at Alex, she said, “Let’s go.”

  They strode through the door and the young man closed it behind them. The only sound made while walking down the long corridor came from their footfalls on the yellowed-tiled floor. After several turns, they finally came to a room glassed in on all sides. Thomas sat at a gray metal table in the center of the fish tank. A large ring bolted in the center of the table secured Thomas’s hands. He stared straight ahead as if in a trance. Mara wondered if they had drugged him. She hoped not, because she wanted him to remember every second of this conversation.

  Her breathing became ragged. Come on, you can do this. She reached for Alex’s arm to steady herself. She closed her eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and then nodded to one of the two guards. Taking the cue that she was ready, he opened the door.

  She walked in with Alex right behind her. Without taking her eyes off Thomas, disgust washed over her body and she shivered. She felt her face grow feverish. The light throbbing inside her head, the one that had lingered since the president told her about Thomas’s capture, grew to a jackhammer’s crescendo. Thankfully, it drowned out the damned ringing in her ears. Like a volcano, the anger erupted inside the pit of her belly. For one charged moment, she stood across the table from Thomas and stared down at him. Then with the speed of a hummingbird, she landed a slap across his cheek that violently jerked his head to one side. The pain in her hand felt justified. Glancing toward the guards outside the glass door, she was relieved to see they had not noticed. Refocusing on Thomas she said, “You son of a bitch.”

  In her peripheral vision, she observed Alex sitting in one of two chairs opposite Thomas. Taking the other, Mara kept her eyes on her estranged husband. His face glowed red where her palm print had branded him. Curling her lips, she said, “Do you know how much you disgust me?” Thomas’s gaze never faltered. Mara pounded the table so hard she saw him flinch. “Say something!”

  “What do you want me to say?” he said without emotion.

  “I want you to tell me why?”

  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Were you having an affair with her?”

  Mara saw his lips curl up slightly. “Yes.”

  “Have you ever heard of something called divorce? Why fake your death? You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

  “I didn’t want to hurt you. I cared about you very much.”

  “What?” Mara spit the word out an octave higher than normal. She felt her eyes widen in disbelief. “What did you think would happen when I saw your dead, lifeless body in the hospital? Don’t you think I was hurting then?”

  He turned to look at her. “Yes, but at least you could go on. Start over. I knew a divorce would make you feel like a failure.”

  “I’m not that fragile. You flatter yourself. Believe me. I would have survived a divorce.”

  “I had to die in order for you to get my death benefits. If I disappeared, it would take the courts years to declare me dead. This way we didn’t have to go through an ugly divorce and we could both happily go on with our lives.”

  “I had my own money, I didn’t need yours.” Mara seethed. She knew he wasn’t telling her everything. “There’s more to it than that.”

  “I wanted to work on the cure with Jessica.”

  “When did you get your medical degree?” Mara’s words dripped with sarcasm.

  “I helped in other ways.”

  “I bet you did.” Mara paused and then said, “Tell me how you faked your death?”

  Thomas licked his lips. “It’s a long story.”

  “I have all the time in the world and apparently you have nowhere else to go, so humor me.”

  “Sophie had a patient who suffered a stroke. He was brain dead. Machines kept him alive until the family decided it was time to pull the plug. Since the man was an organ donor, the family signed the paperwork releasing his body to the medical facility to harvest his organs. The rest was simple. The family had no idea what happened to his body after that.”

  “And he looked just like you. How did that happen?”

  “After the family signed his body over, Sophie kept him on the machines so his body wouldn’t die. Then a plastic surgeon reconstructed his face to look like mine. The surgeon is one of ours.”

  “So, he’s one of the doctor’s in the Methuselah Group?”

  “One of many. You have no idea how many people are involved in this. It’s not just doctors and researchers.”

  Open mouthed, Mara stared at the man before her as if he were a monster. “You are all lunatics. How many people died needlessly? When did all this start?”

  “Nathan sent Jessica and me to South America on a mission a few years back. We grew very close. She was hypnotic and so smart. She dreamed of changing the world. Then breast cancer diagnosis sent her reeling. She wanted to go back to South America one last time, where we fell in love. During the second visit, an underwater spider bit her while we were bathing in a deep natural pool.”

  “A spider bite cured her cancer?” Unbelievable. Mara let loose a sarcastic huff. “Did she don a Spiderwoman suit to fight crime?” She cared less if her sarcasm bothered him, especially his dear Jessica.

  Thomas’s eyes darkened. “Apparently when the spider bit her, it released an enzyme that reacts exactly like Telomerase does in the human body. It regenerated her cells and reversed the cancer. It’s much more technical; that’s the abbreviated version.”

  “What was the purpose of the letter?”

  “Jessica knew that if news about her research got out, certain people would stop at nothing to control it. We were both targets. The location of the source remained well hidden in case anythin
g happened to us.”

  “Are you telling me that the two of you are the only ones who know where this elusive underwater spider lives?”

  He nodded. Looking down at his lap, he continued. “We wrote the letter, placing clues in it. When you found the letter, you wouldn’t understand the true meaning. For all you knew, your worthless husband had an affair. Even if you destroyed the letter, subconsciously you would remember everything. The secret location was safely locked away in your brain. Then if necessary, Sophia would hypnotize you, pulling those secrets from you. We never dreamt you’d go looking for Jessica.”

  “You didn’t know me very well, even after all those years.” Mara swallowed, feeling the need to force the bile down. “So why bring the president in? Why pull me back in?”

  “The group needed more funding for research. Jessica thought that if she went to the president, he would provide more money. She didn’t know he would become Captain America and carry on the crusade to cure the entire world of all diseases. Our group hadn’t poured all their hard-earned money and time into this project for him to give it away for free.”

  “That’s why she disappeared.”

  “Yes. She felt she had lost control. After she disappeared, the president brought you in so he could discover the location through you. David Ruiz arranged for Sophie to hypnotize you.”

  “David Ruiz was part of your group too?”

  He nodded. “As I told you, you have no idea how far-reaching our people extend.”

  “So, the president was never going to find the specific location?”

  “Nope.”

  “So, what was the ambush all about?”

  “To get rid of you and Alex. We knew he’d come to your rescue. We were right.

  “Why did you stay behind at the compound?” Mara asked. “Why not just disappear with Jessica and Duncan?”

  Thomas fell silent and held his gaze on Mara.

  A realization washed over her as chills ran down her spine. “You stayed behind to kill us.”