Night Watch--A Novel

by Iris Johansen

  “And that means you may have to go to Washington or some university think tank?”

  “That means I’ll have to go on the run,” he said quietly.

  “What?”

  “I know how it works, Kendra. It starts off with my being treated as if I walk on water and everyone kowtowing. Then there’s a subtle change as the program is infiltrated by the money and power brokers. I watched it with Night Watch.”

  “It doesn’t have to be like that. I know Griffin is honest and wouldn’t intentionally set you up with anyone who wouldn’t want the best result from Night Watch.”

  “Not intentionally,” he repeated. “But now the word is out about what I’m doing and how successful it’s proving to be. I tried to play it down, but the investigation is ongoing, and it’s attracting too much attention. It’s going to be a political football game, with me as the football.” He paused. “And one of the senators who was sitting at that table was Robert Lockart. I’d met him before he was elected to Congress. He’s an industrialist Dyle brought on board with your stem-cell procedure years ago. He was particularly interested in the commercial possibilities of it. He didn’t know anything about the work I’d done lately on Night Watch, but he was exceptionally interested today. To quote Mr. Shakespeare, he has a lean and hungry look.”

  “But the government could protect you.”

  “Could it? Look at the political system. The U.S. government and economy is just as bureaucratic and self-serving as Great Britain’s. Perhaps more. I can’t risk letting anyone else control my work. The project is nearly finished, and I won’t let it be hijacked, as Dyle was trying to do. The minute I sat down for that debriefing and watched the eagerness light up those faces, I knew what I was going to have to do.”

  “Run away,” she whispered. “But that would have to only be the start. What else?”

  “Set up a lab somewhere that’s safe from interference. Finish the final research myself. I have control of the patents, but I won’t file them until I have the version I need.”

  “It would be very expensive.”

  “I have the money. When I left London, I transferred all my funds to the Caymans. Once I leave here, I start looking for a place to set up a facility and get to work.”

  It sounded simple. It wouldn’t be simple. There would be all sorts of land mines around every corner. It would be terribly difficult. “You’re positive this is necessary?”

  “I’m not being paranoid. I sat there at that table, and it was déjà vu, Kendra. I could see it happening.”

  And so could Kendra. Waldridge’s research was too tempting not to attract the supremely ugly as well as the good. “So when do you have to leave?”

  “In the next few hours.” His voice was rueful. “I think that Griffin was ordered to put a guard at my hotel to ‘protect’ me. But I can probably slip away since they think I’m flattered by all the high-powered attention. I made that very clear.” He added ironically, “After all, I’m only a simple scientist. I just wanted to call and tell you what was happening. I won’t phone you again once I’m in the wind. There’s such a thing as plausible deniability.”

  “I know.” She was trying to think. This was all wrong. She had thought it was over. After all he’d been through, Charles shouldn’t have to run again. She could see why he felt he had to do it, but he would be vulnerable. She hated the thought of him alone, perhaps hunted. “That’s a lawyer’s term. I’ve always hated it. People should just do what they think is right and shout it out.”

  He chuckled. “Typical Kendra philosophy.” He paused. “I’ll miss it. If the situation weren’t this potentially hazardous, I might ask you to go on the run with me. It might make life interesting.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. As soon as you set up your lab, I’d fade into the test tubes.”

  “Incubators.”

  “See? I’m already not up to your standard.”

  “Wrong. You’re definitely up to any standard I could devise,” he said gently. “It’s been a singular experience, spending this time with you. In spite of everything, it’s been a grand adventure, hasn’t it, Kendra?”

  “A grand adventure,” she repeated. “But then, that’s the way it started out with us.”

  “True. And, when I’ve finished the project, I’ll be in touch and we can—”

  “Charles, that’s not the way this is going down,” she interrupted. “You’re almost as clumsy at good-byes as I am. Only this isn’t life or death yet. And it doesn’t have to be, if it’s handled right. But your disappearing into the sunset is not handling it right.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “If what you say about those committee members is true, the minute you disappear, Griffin will be pressured into trying to find you. The FBI is very good at what it does. You might not even know when they’ve found you.”

  “Surveillance? I’d be careful, Kendra.”

  “And since you’re superintelligent, it might be fine. It might not. In any case, I’d be worried, and I’d prefer not to be.”

  “I have to do this, Kendra.”

  “I’m not trying to talk you out of it. I’m just saying that if you’re going to do it, it has to be done right.” She tossed her blanket aside, got out of bed, and disconnected her fluid IV. “Here’s what you do. Slip out of your hotel, take a taxi to the airport, and rent a car. Pick me up outside the hospital in an hour.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it, Charles. Okay?” She hung up before he could argue with her.

  A moment later, she was in the bathroom, washing her face and running a brush through her hair. Then she moved to the closet and snatched the pants and shirt her mother had sent to the hospital. She put them on, flinching as she drew the shirt over her bandaged arm. There was no way she was going to face an argument from the nurses at the front desk, so she’d have to find a way to slip out without being noticed.

  She stopped and sat down before she faced putting on her shoes. She was short of breath, and her muscles were very sore.

  Ignore it. She could get through this. Use this time until she met Waldridge to think and plan. She had an idea which way to go, but it had to become more clear, every detail precise.

  Detach.

  Concentrate.

  * * *

  “IS YOUR FRIEND, GIANCARLO, who owns that jet still in the country?” Kendra asked Lynch as soon as he picked up her call.

  “I have no idea. What the hell are you doing calling me at this hour? You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

  “It didn’t work out that way. Would you find out if he is and will lend you his jet? I suppose it doesn’t matter. You’ll manage to fix it somehow. I’m heading for Montgomery Field right now. Will you meet me?”

  “Are you going to tell me why you’re not in the hospital?”

  “I will when you get there. I’d rather you spend the time on the phone with your friend, Giancarlo. Will you meet me?”

  Silence. “I’ll meet you.” He hung up.

  Charles tilted his head as he glanced at her from the driver’s seat. “You’re nothing if not a whirlwind, Kendra. You’re certain all this will come together?”

  “No,” she said bluntly. “But it has a chance. And if it does come together, it will be better than your wandering around blindly and letting Griffin find you.” She glanced at him. “That’s the first time you’ve questioned me since I got in the car. Doubts?”

  “Yes, and I wouldn’t be blindly wandering. I just don’t have a plan in mind yet. However, I’m perfectly willing to put myself in your hands.” He smiled. “Because even if it doesn’t work out, I’ll enjoy watching you one more time before I have to break out on my own again.”

  “I’m glad I have entertainment value.” She picked up her phone again. “Now I have another call to make, and I only hope that I can be persuasive instead of entertaining.” She was punching in the number. “Anyone will tell you that’s not usually my area of expertise.”

  Montgomer
y Field

  Lynch was standing in front of the hangar at the deserted airport when their car drew up before it. His hands were jammed into the pockets of his black leather jacket, and his expression was harder than Kendra had ever seen it. He gave a cool glance at Waldridge as they got out of the car. “I thought you might be mixed up in this.” He turned back to Kendra. “I’m here. That’s all I promised.”

  “Giancarlo?”

  “He’s ordered that his Cessna be fueled up and put at my disposal.” He paused. “I told him I’d let him know later if I’d actually be using it. I don’t like taking orders, Kendra.”

  “It wasn’t an order. It was a request. I just didn’t have time to make it a polite one.”

  “And any request should have come from me.” Waldridge stepped forward. “I can understand how you wouldn’t want to be involved, Lynch. You’ve done more than enough for me. Forget this. I’ll handle it on my own.”

  “You will not,” Kendra said impatiently. “It would be too easy to get screwed up. And I don’t intend to let that happen. I want to get back to my kids and not have to worry about you.”

  “Your kids?” Lynch’s expression changed the slightest bit. “What do they have to do with anything?”

  “They obviously don’t. Because I’ve had to put their therapy on hold since all this began. And now Charles is becoming all noble again, and it will probably end up having Jessie slicing me open and putting another disk in me.”

  “That won’t happen,” Lynch said grimly. “Never.”

  “Never,” Waldridge repeated. “It’s time you stepped away, Kendra.”

  “Not until I’m certain that this is going to work out.” She was seething with frustration as she turned to him. “Listen to me. Can’t you see? Lynch is perfect.”

  “At last I agree with something you’re saying,” Lynch said.

  “Be quiet. I can only deal with one thing at a time.” She locked eyes with Waldridge. “Look at him. You saw what Lynch did at that ridge. He’s a damn rock star. Neither of us have probably ever seen anyone as good as Lynch at what he does.”

  “Are you saying I need a bodyguard?”

  “Probably. But that’s not what he does. I don’t know exactly what he does myself. I know he fixes things. They send for him when everything goes to hell. When a government is crashing. When a cartel needs to be taken down. When someone needs to be found who people don’t want to be found. I don’t know what else. I don’t know if I want to know. But he fixes things.” She punched her index finger on his chest. “And you need to be fixed.”

  He blinked. “Indeed? Not only is that humiliating to me, but there appears to be a problem with the rock star accepting the gig.”

  Yes, there did, and she was probably doing this all wrong. But she was tired and worried, and her arm was beginning to throb. She whirled on Lynch. “Look, I know I’m asking a lot of you, but Charles is going to go off on his own and set up a lab to finish the Night Watch Project. He got scared off by some of the potential players whom Griffin’s boss brought into the debriefing yesterday. He thinks that he could be drawn into the same nightmare he went through with Dyle. He’s not going to allow it. He believes he has to go on the run.”

  Lynch’s face was totally without expression. “Do you think he could be right?”

  “Yes, Charles has been through it all before. He knows the signs.”

  “And what do you want me to do?”

  “He needs a place that’s totally safe, where he’s protected, where no one will ask questions.”

  He smiled crookedly. “What? In this world? You’re dreaming, Kendra.”

  “I don’t think so. You have so many enemies, Lynch. You built that gorgeous house here that has every security device known to man and could repel a small army. You did that because you wanted to be able to relax within those walls.” She paused. “But you’re not a man who takes anything for granted. You’d prepare for the day when you might have to leave that house and go on the run yourself. You’d have a place set up for yourself that’s everything I described.”

  “Would I?”

  “Yes. And I need you to lend it to Charles for a while, then set up everyone surrounding him as if you were the one in hiding.”

  “If there was such a scenario, you’d be asking for a lot.”

  “I know.” She moistened her lips. “He’s worth it, Lynch.”

  “Is he? I really only have your opinion on that. I always like to make judgments for myself.”

  “But you know what he’s—”

  He held up his hand to stop her. “I’m thinking about it. But I have to know everything connected to the problem. Am I going to have to arrange protection for you there, too?”

  She frowned. “No, of course not. Why would you have to do that?”

  “It was a possibility. How long will he need to be in hiding?”

  “He’s not sure. Possibly a year, maybe longer.”

  “Is Griffin going to be involved in a search for him?”

  “Charles thinks it likely that—”

  “I think that I should speak for myself,” Waldridge interrupted. “This is all judgment calls on my part, too, Lynch. I believe a certain amount of pressure will be applied on the pretext that I could be in danger. Griffin might feel he has to find me. I don’t know about the extent of that search.”

  “Griffin doesn’t drag his heels. Your cover would have to be perfect.” His gaze was fixed absently on the airport tech filling the Cessna. “There would be a hell of a lot of loose ends to tie up…”

  “Will you fix it?” Kendra asked. “Is there a place?”

  His gaze shifted back to her. “It’s a big favor. You’d owe me.”

  “Of course I would.” She asked slowly, spacing between each word. “Is there a place?”

  He turned on his heel and started toward the Cessna. “There’s a place.” He was striding quickly across the tarmac. “Get on the plane, Waldridge. From now on, you do everything I tell you to do without question. Understand? You may be a god in your particular universe, but from now on your universe is limited to your lab. But if you manage to make it through this mess and win the Nobel Prize, I might even bow down and worship at the altar like the rest of your fans.”

  “Not bloody likely,” Waldridge murmured as he fell into step with him as Kendra followed behind. “But I’m not a god, and I’m certainly not a fool. If Kendra says I need fixing, and you can do it, who am I not to cooperate?”

  “Kendra needs to do some fixing herself.” Lynch was looking over his shoulder at Kendra. “I take it you went AWOL from the hospital?” When she nodded, he said, “When you leave here, you go back to your condo. Leave Waldridge’s rental car at a metered spot downtown. It’ll be towed and the rental car company will get a call once it hits the impound lot.”

  Kendra nodded. “Okay…”

  “Then you call your mother and ask her to meet you at your condo. You tell her that she’s to tell anyone who questions her that she received a call from you in the middle of the night and you told her to pick you up outside the hospital. You told her you couldn’t sleep, and you saw no reason why you should have to stay there.” He smiled. “Considering your reputation with the FBI field office, they won’t find it unusual you wanted to run your own show. But Dianne will say she didn’t want to leave you alone. So like a good mother, she bunked down on the couch and was available in case you needed her.”

  “As an alibi?”

  “Yes, you won’t need one. No crime has been committed. But it might throw off anyone who thinks you have anything to do with Waldridge’s disappearance. I’ll lay a few more false trails for them to follow, but they’ll come to you first.” His lips twisted. “And Dianne will be completely convincing if it means she’s doing something that will protect her hero and still keeping you safely here in San Diego.”

  “Yes, she will,” Kendra said. “Though I don’t want to involve her.”

  “She was mad as hell that y
ou didn’t involve her the last time. She may forgive you if you let her do this.” He turned back to Waldridge. “And can you give me an idea where those incubators with the organs would be taken in London? Biers said he didn’t know.”

  “He knew. Probably the test lab on the south side. Why?”

  “Another loose end. After I leave you, I’ll have to go and grab all those incubators and ship them to your new lab. You don’t want anyone else to have access to them if they have a finished product.”

  “No, I wouldn’t.” He smiled. “I was worried about them. I’m glad you thought of it. That could have been a disaster.”

  Lynch waved his hand impatiently. “I’ll need all the details about transporting. I don’t know anything about keeping live organs healthy.”

  “My area,” Waldridge said. “I’ll make it easy for you to fix that problem.” They’d reached the steps, and he turned to Kendra. “It seems that this may be—”

  “Who’s that?” Lynch stiffened, his gaze on two headlights spearing the darkness as a car drove onto the airport grounds. “I don’t like this.”

  “I do,” Kendra said as she whirled and started hurrying toward the car that had just stopped. “I was afraid that she wouldn’t make it, and I’d have to send her after you.”

  “Her?” Lynch called.

  “Jessie,” Kendra said over her shoulder. “I couldn’t let Charles go without making certain he had proper security. And I couldn’t expect you to stay and protect him. Jessie probably won’t stay either, but she’ll be able to set up a security system she can trust.”

  “And that you can trust,” Lynch said dryly.

  She didn’t answer. She had reached the car, and Jessie was opening the driver’s door and getting out.

  * * *

  “I HEARD HER TALKING TO Ms. Mercado in the car, and she didn’t have an easy time persuading her,” Waldridge said as he watched Kendra and Jessie standing there talking. “But Kendra was very determined, and Jessie finally gave in.” He glanced at Lynch. “But since you’ve made it clear that you’re going to be in charge, I’m wondering if you’ll let Kendra have her way in this.”

  “I’m wondering, too,” Lynch said. “Jessie might be useful if she agrees to the same rules I give to you. She’s ex-military, and she might do it. She’s smart, she’s good, she doesn’t make mistakes. It would free me up to go after those incubators right away while Dyle’s pals are still running around in a panic after they hear he’s dead. I could drop her off with you, snatch the incubators, then come back and finish the rest of the setup.”