by David Khara
“What geniuses came up with the idea for this place?” Elena wondered aloud as she gently pulled on her cat’s ear.
“People in Tokyo are always working. They’re never home enough to have pets. So they need a place like this.”
He stopped talking when he realized a small black briefcase had been placed at his feet. Either the person sent from the embassy was extremely stealthy, or this eccentric restaurant had robbed him of his usual alertness.
“My elite secret-agent senses have been neutralized by a horde of harmless four-legged felines,” he said, with a grumble. “An embarrassing episode like this could ruin my reputation.”
He picked up the briefcase. “It breaks my heart to interrupt such an adorable scene, but we have to go.”
“Okay,” Elena replied without taking her gaze off the coiled ball of fur in her lap. She was rubbing its shoulder blades as it purred and looked ready to doze off.
Eytan rolled his eyes. “All right, let’s go!” he ordered.
She groaned but sneaked in several more seconds under the guise of finishing her drink. Eytan was about to tell her again when his phone rang. It was Avi Lafner, his doctor friend at the clinic.
“What does he want now?” the giant growled as he indicated to Elena that he’d be waiting outside. She nodded and turned back to the felines.
Once on the sidewalk, Eytan, answered the call. He opened the conversation with a dry and unwelcoming, “What do you want?”
“Wow, is that your standard greeting?” Lafner asked.
“Sorry, Avi, but I’m in a hurry.”
“You’re always on the go. I just need two minutes of your time. I have the exam results on your stubborn little prisoner.”
“I’m listening. Lay it on me.”
“With you, I thought I had seen everything. But boy, was I wrong.”
CHAPTER 29
No longer in any rush to see Elena emerge from the restaurant, Eytan paced the sidewalk as he listened to Avi Lafner’s analysis of the exams performed on the unconscious woman after the struggle at the clinic. The doctor concluded with his diagnosis.
“You’re sure about these results?” the agent asked.
The question was rhetorical. The physician enjoyed a good joke, but he took his job seriously.
“A hundred percent. So why didn’t you tell me about the woman’s condition? Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to make the connection between the two of you?”
“You know exactly why I didn’t say anything.”
“By now you should know I’m not some Frankenstein wannabe like that demented scientist. One day that fact will make it through your thick skull. In any event, her affliction is spreading quickly. I don’t think she has much time left.”
“What about my serum? Could it work on her?”
“I already thought about that. The answer is no. She wouldn’t survive. The gene mutation in your body makes your metabolism move faster at certain times. Basically, you heat up, and the serum cools you down. Her metabolism, on the other hand, is in a constant state of above-normal activity, like a pot of water on simmer. The serum wouldn’t do anything for her. And I don’t know of any cure. At least, none in my area of medicine.”
“So what should I expect now?”
“Ah, I take it you’re still with her?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
“You’re such a jerk. Well, it’s hard to predict the progression in a patient like Elena. But it could start with a loss of consciousness, followed by vision problems, headaches, and mood swings. Nothing fun about it.”
“So how much time does she have?”
“Most people with Elena’s condition die within two to five years of diagnosis. But like you, she is far from the average patient. And since I’m unable to observe her more closely, I’d need a crystal ball to give you any more insight.”
Eytan saw Elena coming out of the coffeehouse. She had a smile on her face.
“Thanks, Avi. I have to go. I’ll keep you updated.” The agent ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
“Any updates?” she asked cheerfully.
“No,” he replied in a tone that was much more distracted than he intended.
“Oh, come on. What’s with the dagger eyes? I was only a couple of minutes late.”
“I wasn’t making a face.”
“It looked to me like you were.”
There was a moment of awkward silence.
“Guess we’re not going to quibble like an old married couple, are we,” Elena said.
Eytan held up the small briefcase and changed the subject.
“This time we’ll be traveling light. We’ll have to be deft.”
Two hours later, they were cruising north, toward Utsunomiya, in a rented car. Their destination was the delivery address Elena had retrieved. According to the GPS, the trip would take about two hours. Eytan drove while his partner divvied up the modest weaponry provided by Ehud Amar. They had two Beretta pistols with silencers, the giant’s weapon of choice, along with a round of magazines for each gun, and a knife with a serrated blade.
“Yep, we’re definitely traveling light,” she quipped.
Eytan was too absorbed by his thoughts and too focused on the road to respond.
They arrived on the outskirts of Utsunomiya in the early afternoon. They veered off the main route and drove through a suburban-looking area where tall apartment buildings were interspersed among single-story homes.
Eytan spotted a large sign, parked on the side of the road, and hurried out to examine it. Below the undecipherable Japanese characters was a short passage in English: “The Shinje Foundation Children’s Summer Camp.”
“I’m only asking this as a formality, but are you sure of the address?”
“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Elena replied. “It’s a perfect hideout for a secret industrial complex, don’t you think?” She winked at Eytan.
Eytan conveyed his agreement as he massaged his shoulder, injured at the Consortium’s BCI research center in Belgium. That place had been well hidden under an abandoned racetrack.
In a heavily wooded park at the foot of a mountain, the campsite extended as far as the eye could see. A simple fence marked the perimeter. A gate and a small booth occupied by two guards appeared to be the facility’s only defense. Eytan and Elena did a quick tour of the surroundings. They detected no other security measures, not even a surveillance camera.
“This just gets better and better,” Eytan said. “A few days ago we were raiding a Czech army camp. Now we’re invading a children’s camp. This isn’t a mission. It’s a circus show.”
“Stop complaining. At least now we know that our terrorist hypothesis is correct. Using kids as a cover, perhaps even worse, as human shields—that says a lot about our man, don’t you think?”
Eytan nodded. “All right, I’ve had enough. No more procrastinating. Let’s go in.” He started toward the gate.
“And what’s your plan?” Elena asked, chasing after him.
Ignoring the question, Eytan approached the door of the little guardhouse. The two Japanese men stood up simultaneously. They came out and bowed in unison. Eytan returned the courtesy.
The more muscular of the two barely cleared the giant’s shoulders. The stranger’s unusual size seemed to fascinate him and make him uncomfortable at the same time. But he wasn’t able to take in the sight for more than a few seconds. His good-afternoon greeting, “konichiwa,” morphed into a high-pitched cry as the hulk grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Eytan then pummeled the puny guard in the head.
“Ouch,” Elena said. She launched a right hook at the second dumbstruck guard, who was sent flying into the window of the booth.
“What a shame,” she said, rubbing her fist. “They were so polite.”
“I bowed back, didn’t I?”
“Good point.”
Eytan dragged the two comatose men by their feet into their c
ubicle, while Elena meticulously searched it. No video surveillance monitors. No weapons. She did find a roll of duct tape, which she handed to Eytan so he could restrain the still unconscious victims. In a small wall cabinet, she also discovered a dozen keys labeled in Japanese. She grabbed them and stuck them in a pocket of her leather jacket.
With the guards secured, Eytan studied a wall map of the campground. It depicted the topography and features with the help of many simple icons. Apparently the camp offered a full range of activities from sunup to bedtime. The facilities included a swimming pool, tennis courts, a gymnasium, and even a riding stable.
The amenities were in the part of the camp that seemed to be farthest from the mountain overlooking the site. Eytan was puzzled by three icons of children’s faces affixed to buildings that looked like cabins.
“I’m not buying any of this,” he muttered. “If you had to build a laboratory filled to the brim with lethal substances, where would you put it?”
Elena thought for a second as she studied the map.
“In this spot,” she said, pointing to an “H” at the foot of the mountain. A heliport—perfect for a quick getaway. Plus, it’s not close to the kids.”
“I’ll go check it out,” Eytan declared in a tone meant to discourage any challenges.
“What do you mean I’ll go? What about me? What’s my job?”
“You’ll stay here and warn me if you see or hear anything strange. And don’t try any funny business.”
“No funny business,” she repeated. “So how am I supposed to warn you, boss?”
The giant squatted and turned over the tied-up guards. He unstrapped two walkie-talkies from their belts and handed one to Elena, who frowned as she took the device.
And with that, he left the booth.
“Morg, why are you leaving me behind?”
Elena’s voice revealed more than confusion. Eytan heard disappointment and even sadness. Lafner’s words had been spinning in his head ever since they had left Tokyo. He could not allow the woman to take any heedless risks. The Kidon operative respected her efforts, but she was off the mission. On top of that, he couldn’t figure out how to tell Elena about her illness and inevitable death.
He stopped but couldn’t bear turning around and seeing her face.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. This is just best for the mission and best for you.”
Eytan headed off at full speed. He knew there were many forms of combat, and it took just as much courage—perhaps even more—to fight a debilitating illness as it did to take on a human enemy. He repeated this in his head over and over.
CHAPTER 30
Eytan had set off with a plan to get to the heliport as quickly as possible, but he now found himself wandering along pathways that meandered through the wooded and picturesque grounds. The blocky seventies-style buildings stood out conspicuously in these natural surroundings.
Eytan was taking this route not because he was interested in the scenery, but because he wanted to confirm a hunch that was growing stronger with each step. At the moment, this camp was deserted. There were certainly no children, and it appeared that the grounds and buildings were being worked on. Many of the structures had scaffolding. It was the same for the sports facilities. Two tennis and basketball courts with freshly painted lines attested to some of the changes awaiting the camp’s residents.
Eytan was sure of one thing: the person in charge of this place was going all out for the sake of the children. The whole thing just didn’t add up.
Eytan continued to head north, toward the mountain. He walked past one last structure, probably a cafeteria, and came to a row of trees. Pushing aside the branches, he was confronted with a chain-link fence that was about twelve feet high. Eytan guessed that this was the heliport site. Through the fence, Eytan saw another seventies-looking building, but this one was much more run-down. He estimated that the structure, atop concrete pillars, was about three hundred by sixty feet. A set of metal stairs led to the front door, which was chained shut.
Eytan bent down and picked a few blades of grass. He chose the largest one and placed it against one of the wires and listened for crackling. He folded the blade in half to make it shorter and once again placed it against the wire. Still no shock. Confident, Eytan hoisted himself over the barrier. Once on the other side, he unhooked the walkie-talkie and called Elena.
“I’m at the heliport.”
“You took your sweet time.”
“I wanted to make sure the camp was empty. It is.”
“Fabulous.” Eytan could hear the sarcasm in Elena’s voice. “We knocked out those two guys just so I could play gatekeeper. I love it.”
“Look, I’m sorry I had to leave you behind. But I’ll explain later. Right now I’m going to check out a building I found near the landing zone. I’m sure it’s no coincidence it wasn’t on the map.”
“Wait for me. I’m bored to death back here.”
“No, I’d rather have you as backup in case something happens. The place looks deserted, and it probably is. But it also looks like there’s some work going on, and I don’t want us to be around if any construction crews come back. Better safe than sorry.”
“Got any other clichés up your sleeve?”
“That cliché has saved my life on more than one occasion. Gotta go. Keep me posted if anything suspicious happens.”
“If anything happens,” Elena said and snorted. Eytan could almost see the snarky face she was making at the walkie-talkie.
Eytan hooked the device back onto his belt and trotted across the heliport. At the foot of the stairs, he took a quick look around. He crouched and made his way up the steps. Once at the door, he lifted the chain and examined it. The metal links were secured with a padlock. It looked new. Interesting.
A well-targeted bullet jolted the lock off the chain, and a simple shoulder shove was all that it took to open the door.
Despite the boredom, Elena remained on the lookout. She was fixating on Eytan’s words: “best for the mission and best for you.” He wasn’t the kind of guy who just said things for the hell of it. So what did he mean by “best for you”? She could have thought about it more clearly, but the throbbing in her skull was becoming a killer headache. Staying still was making her antsy. And she was definitely sick of being Officer Baldy’s personal assistant. Two more days and he’d be asking her to schedule his appointments.
A distant noise in the sky caught her attention. It was a repetitive beating, and it was getting louder by the second.
“Shit,” she cursed as she grabbed the handheld transceiver. “Morg? Can you hear me?”
All she got in return was static. She checked the device. It appeared to be working.
“Eytan, if you can hear me, get out of there fast. A helicopter is coming.”
Again, the same crackling noise. Elena cursed the device and threw it on the floor. She picked up her gun and darted into the campground.
Eytan entered a bright rectangular room with large windows. Its modest furnishings consisted of white plastic tables and chairs. To his left, a long tiled hallway leading to a metal door was lined with rooms. Eytan explored them, one by one. He discovered an inactive cold-storage chamber, a library whose shelves were devoid of books, and a large space in which six black desks were stacked haphazardly on top of one another. Then came a video surveillance room equipped with five monitors, all turned off.
Another room was filled with glass and wire cages. From there, a door led to what looked like a dissecting room. Boxes filled with scalpels, pliers, and other surgical instruments were perched on stainless-steel tables. He saw electron microscopes on workstations pushed against the wall. How charming, he thought. A wretched odor of household products—a pungent mix of disinfectant and dust—permeated the space.
He no longer doubted Elena’s findings. He was willing to bet a lot of money that this place was hiding the answers they were looking for. But he still needed to know if the lab’s exploits b
elonged to the past, present, or future.
Eytan walked into a spacious room that felt less industrial than the others. The closed window blinds let only thin beams of light filter into the space. What must have been an office contained boxes marked with the letters S and W. The gray walls had lighter areas. Eytan figured pictures had hung in these spots. And, indeed, there was one still hanging on the wall. It was a yellowing photograph of a nice-looking woman in a white lab coat. Her blond hair was tied back in a bun, and her arms were crossed. In the background, Eytan could make out a sign with the American eagle and a partially covered inscription with the letters FO and CK.
He lingered on the image for a moment. He was convinced that the man or woman who owned this property was preparing to relocate. Therefore, the lab had served its purpose. All he needed to find now was the nerve center. Eytan left the office and headed toward the heavy metal door at the end of the hallway.
He peeked through the small window in the door. He was getting closer. He pulled on the handle and entered the rectangular space, which appeared to take up all the square footage on this side of the building. The door shut behind him. There was a phone on each wall and a camera in every corner. Taking up much of the area was a large rectangular unit planted in the middle of the floor. It was so big, the remainder of the space served as a corridor around all four sides.
Each side of the unit had a large observation window. The unit was divided into smaller rooms, most of which contained biosafety cabinets, incubators, motorized centrifuges, and other lab equipment. Eytan saw the yellow biohazard symbol. Now he knew for sure—this was a P4 laboratory. White protective suits hanging in a cloakroom underscored his conclusion.
