You head same Dulce head.
With a slight grin, Sofia replied, “I think you have a tiny bit more hair.”
Dulce rubbed her own head, checking. She laughed with a loud whooping sound. You come play Dulce.
The young gorilla clasped Sofia’s hand and abruptly pulled her forward, almost tugging her out of her chair.
“Whoa, whoa!” exclaimed DeeAnn. “Dulce go easy, remember?”
She looked up at DeeAnn, puzzled. Dulce easy.
“Easier.”
Sofia spoke up. “What do you want to play, Dulce?”
Check.
“Check? What’s-” Sofia started to ask, but stopped when she spotted an oversized checkerboard sitting idly in the shade of a Rosewood tree, one of the many native African plants in the habitat.
“Oh. You mean checkers!”
Dulce nodded and pulled again, more gently.
“Okay, hold on,” DeeAnn said. “We’ll move her.” She helped Alison move the chair forward over the rough ground and leaned in to tell Sofia something as they moved across the short grass.
“Don’t let her cuteness fool you,” she said with a wink. “Sometimes she cheats.”
“Really?”
“Well, it’s not cheating to her. She’s playing. But it may not be the same game you think you’re playing.”
They reached a large, square wooden box with red and black squares painted neatly on top. Round circular chips were also painted and strewn around the board. Sofia watched in amazement as Dulce carefully retrieved the pieces and grouped them into separate piles.
Chris Ramirez stood off to the side, watching with the others. His specialty was marine and aquatic life, but he found himself constantly fascinated watching DeeAnn’s work with Dulce. The young gorilla was adorable but even more than that, she moved in ways that were just so...human. Of course, DeeAnn had explained how very similar primate and human DNA were, but he was sure there was something else. Apes moving similarly were one thing, but there was definitely something else. Something he hadn’t quite been able to put his finger on, until now.
Lee’s discovery of the extra frequencies prompted Chris to rethink his many conversations with Alison about a certain cultural element which seemed to be missing in these translations. Something that suggested another level of connection. But now, watching Dulce again, the idea suddenly crystallized. It wasn’t just the movements of gorillas in general. He’d observed other primates many times before. Their actions were similar to humans but not exactly the same. With Dulce, her motions were very similar to their own. So close, in fact, that some of her gestures looked almost identical to a human child. And naturally the specific difference with Dulce was a superior form of communication. Standing there in the habitat, it finally hit Chris. Maybe what made humans human, was not just DNA. Maybe some of that humanity was inside the communication itself.
He continued watching Dulce and Sofia with a smile on his face, quietly pondering whether IMIS would ever discover deeper secrets within the communication of humans themselves.
He blinked and returned his focus to Dulce, who was studying the board carefully and examining every chip. Finally, she reached out and placed her chip on a new red square two spaces up.
Sofia wrinkled her brow and looked at DeeAnn again. “Is that allowed?”
“I usually just go with it.”
Sofia shrugged and reached forward, moving her own piece.
For the next thirty minutes, the two played every game Dulce had in the habitat, some twice. Eventually, Lee and Juan excused themselves to head back to the lab. The rest continued watching in amusement, but it was DeeAnn who was truly surprised. Dulce could be rather reckless when she played, especially given her growing level of strength. But not once had her recklessness come out with Sofia. She was as gentle as DeeAnn had ever seen her. As if she was worried about the girl.
Dulce spontaneously looked up at DeeAnn from where the two were playing and said a single word.
Friend.
DeeAnn smiled at Alison and eased the office door closed behind her. Alison turned to sit on the edge of her desk and folded her arms. She was beaming.
“That…was amazing!”
“It certainly was.”
“Did you see Sofia’s face when they left? She couldn’t stop smiling!”
DeeAnn laughed. “Pure happiness. You really did something incredible there, Ali.”
“We,” Alison corrected.
“Okay, we did something incredible.”
She took a deep breath and turned to stare out the window. “God, it just felt so good to do that for her. To give her something really special. To make a difference…”
DeeAnn tilted her head when Alison trailed off. “You mean before it’s too late.”
“Yes,” she replied, deflating. “Before it’s too late.” Her excitement was quickly tempered with the painful realization that Sofia was close to the end of her life. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair at all.
“What if…what if we could do this for other kids?” Alison’s eyes glanced back up, searching DeeAnn’s for her reaction.
“Now that would be something.” DeeAnn couldn’t tell whether Alison was using the word “we” intentionally. Was Alison subtly trying to coax her to stay?
“It’s funny,” DeeAnn said. “When I first got here, I had no idea what IMIS would be able to do. It’s just a computer. But it's connecting us in ways I don’t think any of us could have imagined.”
Alison nodded. “Did I ever tell you that when IBM came to us with the idea of IMIS, I never thought it would work?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I had no idea how far the capabilities of these supercomputers had come. I thought they were just used for beating us at chess and stuff.”
DeeAnn laughed. “The irony is that in some ways I think it may just teach us how to be better humans. It sure did today.”
“Who would have thought, right?”
“Just don’t tell Lee I said that.”
As Alison began to speak, they were suddenly interrupted.
“Good afternoon, ladies.”
They both turned to see Steve Caesare’s tanned and handsome face peering in through the door.
“Steve?!” Alison’s eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled and pushed the door open, stepping inside. “Ah, I was in the neighborhood.” He noticed the slight flush in Alison’s face. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No, no. Just an emotional day. Come on in.”
She rose from her desk and covered the distance to give him a hug. Caesare then turned to DeeAnn. “How are you, Dee?”
DeeAnn gave him a friendly smirk. She hated that nickname, and he knew it. She hugged him and stepped back. “To what do we owe this surprise?”
Caesare grinned. He was glad their relationship hadn’t changed, even after what she’d been through. “I was just flying through,” he said with a shrug. “Thought I’d stop by to visit two of my favorite gals.”
Alison looked suspiciously at DeeAnn. Stopping by wasn’t something a person did easily from an airplane. “I see you’ve shaved off your mustache. Trying to impress anyone?”
Trying to blend in, actually. He chuckled and turned to DeeAnn. “How’s Dulce?”
“Good. Bouncing back faster than I expected.”
“And how about you?”
She frowned, nervously. “I’m a bit slower.”
Caesare simply nodded. “And how about the guys?”
“Pretty good. They’re all here if you want to stop by the lab.”
“I will.” He looked around the room, decorated with two large Wyland prints and a bookshelf beneath the window. When his focus came back to Alison and DeeAnn, both women were staring at him questioningly. “What?”
DeeAnn spoke to Alison without looking away. “I sense bad news coming.”
“Bad news? From me? Never.”
“You’ve never come here
alone before, Steve.”
Neither woman was buying it. “Fine,” he relented. “I came here to talk to you two. And…more specifically, to Dee.”
“About what?”
Caesare dropped the act but kept a trace of the grin. “Well, we have a wee bit of a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
He crossed his arms, trying to ignore a sudden spike of pain in his side. “It’s about our old friend, Mateus Alves.”
DeeAnn raised her brow curiously. “I thought he was dead.”
“He is. And so is his head of security, Miguel Blanco.”
“You found him?”
“I did.”
DeeAnn stared at him for a moment, puzzled, then shrugged. “So he’s dead. Why should I care?”
“Normally I’d say you shouldn’t. But he was murdered yesterday morning. By someone who we think knew Alves pretty well.”
“An eye for an eye, I guess.”
Caesare glanced at Alison, who was watching DeeAnn. Blanco had nearly killed DeeAnn, and Alves had been planning to. She didn’t care what happened to either of them. But she couldn’t hide her surprise either, no matter how hard she tried.
“Blanco died after being tortured. By someone who wanted to know everything that happened up on that mountain, including who was there.”
That got both of the women’s attention.
“What does that mean?”
“He knows what Mateus Alves was after. He knows how he died, and where. He probably also knows about you and Dulce, and that monkey, Dexter. We think he knows just about everything, and we think he’s going back to find what Alves couldn’t.”
The first signs of concern appeared on DeeAnn’s face. “Dulce and I aren’t in danger, are we?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good. So why do we even care?”
“Because if he finds that monkey, I think we all know what’s going to happen.”
DeeAnn stared at him, but said nothing. What happened to the damn monkey wasn’t her problem. She couldn’t save it –– she knew that now. But her brush with death had woken her up to the ludicrousness of what she thought she could do. It also left her with a very real appreciation of the value of life. Life was precious. And she only had one shot at it. She was no longer interested in sacrificing hers for some hopeful ideology.
“I don’t care what happens.”
Caesare glanced to Alison and back. “Well, that may be. But that’s not what I meant. Alves was a fanatic, obsessed with the idea of immortality. And now that we know DNA can be passed between species, what do you think is going to happen if this new guy gets a hold of that monkey’s DNA?” Caesare took a small step closer to her. “Alves came damn close, and believe me, DeeAnn. Alves was bad. But this guy is a whole lot worse. Blanco and his girlfriend were tortured and literally beaten to death. For answers. What do you think happens if someone like that figures out how to outlive all of us?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
“I’m not stupid, Steven. It’s not that easy to transfer DNA.”
“It can be done.”
Something on Caesare’s face made her halt her reply in mid-sentence. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to Alison. “You know something.”
She nodded.
“What?”
“Steve’s right. It can be done. We saw it, on the Bowditch.”
“The ship that sank?”
“Yes.”
DeeAnn was quiet for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. This guy will never find a single monkey on an entire mountain. Dexter’s probably already dead anyway. Even if he’s not, it would take months, maybe years, to find him.”
“Not with Dulce’s help.”
DeeAnn’s eye widened and she shook her head. “No! I can’t do that to her. I won’t. You don’t know what was happening to her up there. She may be better now, but if she melts down again…a manic gorilla who’s twice as strong as you would be the last thing you want on your hands. Believe me. We can’t risk that again.”
“Not even for an all-expense paid trip to the rainforest?”
DeeAnn was not amused.
“Then how about a fancy medal from the President?”
“The answer is no.”
Caesare’s smile faded. “Okay, look. The truth is we need your help. We need you and Dulce to help us find the monkey. To get in and out, quickly.”
“Who’s we?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at them both and then took a few steps back to the door. He opened it, leaned outside, and motioned his head. Steve stepped back, holding the door open.
A moment later, three men appeared in the doorway and one by one stepped into Alison’s office. All three were dressed in casual clothes but sported hardened, chiseled faces.
“I’d like you to meet my friends: Officers Corso, Anderson, and Tiewater.”
She looked them over with her arms still crossed in front of her. “Well, at least you’re not dumb enough to go alone this time.” DeeAnn immediately regretted her statement the moment she said it. If Caesare hadn’t gone alone last time, she wouldn’t still be alive. It was a stupid thing to say.
Caesare let it go. She’d gone through enough trauma. Taken advantage of by both Alves and Blanco on what was supposed to be a mission of goodwill, she was literally staring down the barrel of a gun by the time Caesare got to her. She had every right not to want to go back. But they needed her and Dulce, badly.
Neither Corso, Anderson, nor Tiewater replied or even moved. What DeeAnn Draper didn’t know was that these three men were handpicked from three of the best Navy SEAL Special Warfare teams on the East Coast. And they were now tasked with safely accompanying Caesare, DeeAnn, and Dulce back into the jungle –– four members, including Caesare, who could protect them and still maintain a small, nimble, and fast group. From the insertion to the extraction, the priority was to get in and back out before Otero and his men. And there wasn’t a lot of time.
Alison remained quiet and watched DeeAnn, standing strong in front of all four men. Their presence and stone like expressions exuded a feeling of strength throughout the room. She was sure it was supposed to be reassuring, not intimidating, but it was both.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Steven,” DeeAnn said. “And I applaud your courage. But I don’t share it. I came as close to death as I ever want to be, for a long time. I’m not a soldier. I’m a scientist. Fearlessness is not one of my strengths. Dulce may have gotten over it, but I haven’t. I don’t know if I ever will.” She glanced briefly at the other men. “I’m sorry.”
Caesare frowned. “This isn’t about fearlessness, DeeAnn. Or bravado. This is bigger than you and me. It’s bigger than all of us. This is about the world being a much more frightening place to live in tomorrow if we don’t do something today. And every generation after us will have to pay the price. The price of not stopping this while we could.”
DeeAnn stared at him, considering his words. To her, it didn’t matter what happened today. There was so much evil in the world. So much apathy. It was everywhere and the world was going to end up in a bad place regardless. Maybe this discovery would hasten it, or maybe it wouldn’t, but either way she was sure that in the end things would end up the same. She wasn’t ready to trade her life, or Dulce’s, for a bunch of egotistical men and governments who would keep fighting with each other long after she was gone. Those men didn’t care about a brighter future for everyone else. They only cared about a better today for themselves. For their secret, corrupt, elitist clubs that would do anything they could to survive. And to rule. Men like Caesare and his friends might be genuinely concerned about the future, but the men they served were not.
She slowly shook her head again. “Sorry, this is not my fight. I paid my dues, and then some. DNA or no DNA, I don’t believe anything is going to change. Not the people, the politics, and certainly not the system. If we were all in this to make
life better for everyone, that might be one thing. But this is just a game. Nothing will change. It will always be played by people who have never played by the rules and who now want to change the game itself. I don’t think they’ll be able to, but I’m not willing to die just to find out. ”
Caesare inhaled and finally nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was to force her to come. It wouldn’t be all that different from what happened to her the first time.
He moved slowly, and as he turned, he looked to Alison, who was still watching them both. She and Caesare knew something DeeAnn didn’t. Something much bigger than trying to find a monkey. Something only he, Alison, and two other people knew and had sworn themselves to secrecy.
Caesare turned to Corso, Anderson, and Tiewater and motioned back toward the door. “Give us a minute, fellas.”
One by one, the men turned for the door.
When it clicked shut, Caesare looked at Alison.
“Tell her.”
“Tell me what?”
Alison turned to her friend solemnly. “There’s more.”
“More what?”
“There’s more to the story. About what we found on top of that mountain.”
DeeAnn’s eyes moved back and forth between them. “You mean when you were outside.”
“Yes.”
She knew what Alison was referring to. She was on the helicopter too, with Dulce. But she hadn’t wanted to know what was outside or what it was they found. Dulce had already come frighteningly close to having a complete breakdown, as had DeeAnn. The truth was she didn’t want to go outside. She was done. Finished. They had survived and all she wanted to do from that moment was to go home. To get home and start over.
DeeAnn shook her head. “I don’t want to know.”
Alison glanced at Caesare before replying. “I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”
“Excuse me?”
Alison straightened from the edge of her desk. “There’s more to this than you realize, DeeAnn, and it’s the reason Steve’s going back. It’s not just about the monkey or its DNA.”
“No! Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know.” She looked at both of them in anger. “This isn’t my problem. Find someone else!”
Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3) Page 7
