No Time to Die

by Kira Peikoff

  “Of course. I was going to lead with that, but you kept cutting me off. Not that I blame you.”

  “What if I just called the cops right now?”

  “You could. But I’m not worried.”

  “Why not?”

  “I think you know why.”

  She held the phone, glancing again behind her to make sure Theo and Zoe were okay. They were watching her calmly. Of course they were. Teenagers always took the least amount of convincing to join rebellions.

  But that was what she prided herself most on at that age, too. She recalled her college protests against communism with other so-called activists, who were really just kids with a penchant for going against the grain. She’d always been attracted to other nonconformists, whether they were celebrated or misunderstood or maligned, as long as they were fighting for principles she could respect.

  Principles like Galileo’s.

  If he was sincere. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind—if only she could bring the thought to the surface.

  She closed her hand around the phone, noticing her knuckles were white.

  “Did you find her?” he asked, his eyes on the road. “She’s the only Helen.”

  She stared at the number listed for her closest friend, a number with an area code she’d never even heard of, hoping this wasn’t a trick born of a madman’s cruelty. On top of all else, she didn’t think she could bear to hear Helen sounding desperate or tortured—if she was even alive.

  “Well?” he said.

  “Found it.”

  She pressed the phone to her ear and waited.

  CHAPTER 15

  A familiar voice answered “Hello.” Natalie’s throat tightened. “Helen?”

  “Nat?”

  “Hel, oh my God. Is it really you?” Hot tears spilled over her lids, tumbling down her cheeks. It was the first time she had allowed herself to cry. “Are you really okay?”

  “I’m better than okay. I wanted to call you, but by the time I got here, you’d been arrested. Guess inmates can’t accept collect calls . . . Are you okay?”

  Natalie laughed through her tears. “I’ve been so worried about you. I’m . . .” She trailed off. How could she communicate, in Galileo’s presence, that she wasn’t sure if he was a clever rebel or a dangerous lunatic? And that two innocent kids—well, people—in the backseat, whether they knew it or not, were depending on her judgment for survival?

  “You’re . . . ?” Helen prompted. “You must be with Galileo?”

  “Right.” She snuck a peek at him to see how closely he was listening. But he was craning his neck to say something to Theo and Zoe. In the rearview mirror, she caught them smiling at him.

  “I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Helen said. “And you know what? You don’t have to worry one bit. Wait until you see what he’s created.”

  “So you really are fine?” It was difficult to shake the chilling image that had been haunting her, of Helen gagged and bound, or worse. “You’re safe?”

  “Safer than I’ve probably ever been. I have my own lab. Everyone here does. We’re all doing our own cutting-edge thing, hands free of IRBs and the FDA and all that. I actually fit in for once in my life, and so will you.”

  “I want to,” she admitted, feeling her internal wall of skepticism start to crumble. She hadn’t realized how badly she wanted to believe Galileo. Yet her scientist instincts were like iron girders, keeping the wall intact. She doubted the appearance of truth unless it could stand up against rigorous testing. Helen’s cheery voice alone wasn’t proof of her well-being. What if, right now, she was being force-fed her words by one of Galileo’s henchmen?

  Through the window, Natalie noticed a billboard off the highway advertising a botanical garden. An orchard of cherry blossoms was pictured.

  “Hey, remember the gardenia plant?” she said, thinking fast. “The one you got me for my birthday?”

  “Of course, why?”

  “Are there any gardenias where you are? Or would you say daffodils are more common?”

  There was a pause. “Um . . .”

  “Ballpark guess.” She cleared her throat. “More daffodils or gardenias? Lilies or roses? You know me with flowers.”

  Come on, she willed, remember the poisonous houseplants. Daffodils and lilies were toxic if consumed, while gardenias and roses were harmless. It was a cryptic attempt, but Helen had gotten her bachelor’s degree in botany before turning to molecular biology.

  Another pause. Then Helen burst out laughing. “God, I miss you. There’s nothing but fields of gardenias here. And roses.”

  “Whole fields?” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Galileo glancing at her quizzically.

  “As far as the eye can see.”

  “So where is this fairyland?”

  “Ask him. We’re not supposed to discuss it over the phone. But you’re in good hands, okay? He’ll get you here safely, you just have to trust him.”

  After they hung up, Natalie’s shoulders loosened and she sank back into the passenger seat. Their conversation was aloe, fading her sting of suspicion. It seemed that she and the kids really were safe. She handed the phone back to Galileo. Blue sky stretched for miles overhead, hardly a cloud in sight. Through the window, the sun’s rays were warming her shoulder like a caress, a tangible reminder of her freedom—thanks to this man.

  “Feeling better?” he asked. “I can still turn around, if you want. No one who comes to the compound is ever forced, and I plan to keep it that way.”

  A nagging feeling popped through Natalie’s consciousness—a body had been found. A scientist murdered in his own lab. Les Mahler had told them so.

  Her heart began to pound. Casually, so as not to spook the kids, she turned the dial on the car radio to the first music station she could find, one blasting classic rock. She inched the volume up and opened her window to the roar of the wind.

  Galileo grinned. “There we go.”

  His smile vanished when she looked at him. It was hard to reconcile how a man with such kind eyes could be evil. She could see how Helen could have gotten sucked in. She kept her voice low, so only he could hear.

  “Don’t scare the kids, but you’re going to get off on the next exit and drop us off at the first place we see. No screwing around. Is that clear?”

  “Whoa, what happened?”

  “You almost had me, too.” She shook her head. “It’s like you know just what I wanted to hear. And then you come off all righteous. You’re unbelievable.”

  He seemed confused. “What are you talking about?”

  She spoke through gritted teeth. “You killed that man in his own lab. You let his animals maul him to death! How could you?”

  A look of realization—and fury—crossed over his face. “I didn’t,” he said. “Someone framed me. I’d never even heard of the poor guy until word got back to me that I was the one responsible for his death.”

  “Come on.”

  He lifted his right hand from the wheel as if taking an oath. “I swear on my life. I was at the compound when I first heard about it. Hundreds of miles away from D.C.”

  “How can you expect me to believe that? What about the postcard you sent?”

  “I never sent it. Those are dollar-store postcards anyone can find. We have our reasons for using them. But the thing I don’t get is—how could anyone copy my exact message unless that person had seen an example before? And we only send them to the headquarters of the Bioethics Committee.”

  “So you’re saying someone there framed you? That’s crazy.”

  He shook his head. “I really don’t know. I wish I could explain it. All I know is the actual murderer wanted to get rid of that scientist for some reason and blame it on me so he’d never be suspected.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “That the best you can do?”

  “That’s the truth.”

  The way he said it, without adornment or apology, made her believe it.

  “So you
aren’t a killer, then.”

  “Never.” He briefly took his eyes off the road to look at her. His face was dead serious. “My mission is recruitment and productivity, not torture and death. If I’d known that guy was in trouble I would have gotten him out of there. Why do you think he was the only person whose body was left behind?”

  “True. It doesn’t fit the pattern.” She was surprised at how relieved she felt by his explanation. Her head rested against the cool glass of her window.

  “Everyone else has come into the Network of their own accord, thanks to my help. As I told you, it’s always their choice—there’s never any struggle. Sometimes they leave behind a suicide note so no one will come after them, but that’s their choice, too.”

  She exhaled. Either she could believe him, and Helen’s account of him—or Les Mahler’s. An exit on the highway was fast approaching.

  He motioned to it. “Do you want me to get off? It’s up to you.”

  “No,” she said. “No, I think we can go on.”

  She turned around to check again on Theo and Zoe. Oblivious to the anxiety that had gripped her moments before, they were playing a game on an iPad.

  “Where did that come from?”

  “I got it for them. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”

  She smiled. The fact that he had considered the happiness of the kids, even if it seemed like a minor detail, reassured her of her decision. She let herself relax against the seat.

  “So how did you find my son? And Zoe? Where are we going? And how long are we planning to stay there?”

  “One at a time,” he said with a smile.

  The radio was still blaring, and despite the obnoxious volume, she was thankful for the privacy it afforded them.

  “Theo’s supposed to start college in the fall,” she said. “I can’t just keep him cooped up in some secret research compound forever.”

  “Of course not,” he said, matching her lowered voice as a Bon Jovi song poured from the speakers. “I thought you’d want to have him near you at least at first. But let’s see how things go. Most of our researchers work and live there full-time, though you can leave at any time. If you choose to stay, we can always send him to live with a nearby member until he goes off to college. Once you’re part of the Network, you’re family.”

  The last word resounded in her mind. For years, it had meant one person only—her son. How she longed to give him the brothers and sisters who never materialized, the aunts and uncles who didn’t exist, the grandparents who had died of old age, the father who might as well have died. To be welcomed by strangers into a whole thriving community—it made a lump grow in her throat. She had always been conscious of the need to treat others well, but this was on another level entirely.

  “But wait,” she said, as another question occurred to her, “if my theory on aging is so popular, then why haven’t you sought me out sooner?”

  “Adler didn’t want to lose you.”

  “Adler? As in, my former boss, Professor Adler?”

  “The one and only.”

  “I don’t understand. How could you—? Oh my God, are you saying that Adler—?”

  “Is the mole?” He grinned. “I’m afraid so.”

  She shook her head, thinking back to when Les Mahler had announced to Adler that his department was harboring a mole connected to the Network. So his horrified expression had been feigned. He must have been hiding his amusement at the irony. She turned down the music to process this surprise.

  “I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this.”

  “Adler’s been one of us since the beginning. He tipped me off to Helen’s plight, and then yours. I wanted to come for you last year after I read your paper—I knew we needed you badly—but he said you were getting groomed for tenure and you could already do your research there. But then we found out about Zoe, and that changed everything. We knew she could be walking proof of your whole idea of developmental inertia, and that you two had to link up. So when Columbia didn’t go for it—nice try, by the way—and Adler was forced to fire you, he knew your work was far from over. That it’s only just beginning.”

  She was unaware that her mouth was hanging open. “Did you guys hear that?” she said, craning around to the backseat.

  “I already knew all that, Mom,” Theo said, without taking his eyes off the iPad. “Adler called me to explain everything when you were in jail.”

  “And Dr. Carlyle told me,” said Zoe. “That’s how I knew it was legit.”

  “We just didn’t count on you getting arrested,” Galileo said. “You couldn’t give up, could you?” Despite his tone of mock annoyance, his voice carried an overtone of admiration.

  “If only I’d known!”

  “I was already on my way the night you went to jail, so then I had to go back and wait until your bail posted. An unfortunate wrinkle, but we managed to straighten it out, didn’t we?”

  She couldn’t stop shaking her head in disbelief. “All this trouble you went to, all this money, for me?”

  “We need you, Natalie. Together with my team, you and Zoe might just set the world on fire.”

  Her heart was racing again. “Where is this place?”

  “Tonight we’re headed to Ohio. But that’s just our stop for the night. It’s one of our safe houses along the Underground.”

  “And then? The end goal?”

  “The last place on earth where you would expect to find a world-class research center.” He switched hands on the wheel and flashed her a grin. “Any guesses?”

  “No. Just tell me.”

  “Not even one guess?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. The lost city of Atlantis?”

  “Nope.”

  “Carved into Mount Rushmore?”

  “Nope, but you’re getting closer.”

  She frowned, more bewildered than ever. “I give up.”

  A high-pitched shriek from the backseat interrupted them. He slammed on the brakes and Natalie’s arms flew to block her face. A delicate hand closed around her shoulder and shook it.

  “No!” Zoe shouted. “Look!”

  CHAPTER 16

  Zoe clutched Theo’s hand when she saw the words in amber lights flashing ten feet above the highway:

  CHILD ABDUCTION

  BLACK HONDA CIVIC

  NY LIC: ADL 4671

  Theo, eighteen years old with a runner’s long-legged physique, was the kind of guy who exuded charisma—exactly the kind who never looked twice at her. But now his hand felt clammy in hers and his face was pale. Despite her own fear, the tingly sensation of their palms together surprised her. She had never held hands with a guy before.

  “How could you let this happen?” Natalie demanded, nearly screaming at Galileo. “Now we’re both going to jail!”

  He didn’t answer right away. Zoe watched his precision multitasking as he typed a rapid text message on his phone while navigating the four-lane highway. So far, he had the unflappable disposition of an army commander, without the sternness.

  “Not to worry,” he said. “Just a slight blip, that’s all.”

  “Someone is probably calling the cops right now!”

  He glanced over his shoulder as he switched to an emptier lane. They were doing eighty, the clear afternoon sky evoked calm, and the road was pretty deserted. How many people even paid attention to those signs?

  Zoe sought eye contact with Theo to gauge his level of concern, but as soon as she looked at him, he turned toward the window and released her hand. A little stab of hurt pricked her.

  “Are we going to get caught?” she asked, hating how childish her voice sounded. She wondered if that was why she didn’t feel as afraid as Theo and Natalie were—she was naive. Her father’s hurtful words flooded back to her. You’re just like a child. You don’t know any better. But Gramps had never said that. Oh, Gramps! One teeny tiny part of her felt that it would be fine if they did get caught. She could run home into his arms and tell him she tried. But no—th
at wouldn’t do either of them any good. He was looking older by the day.

  “Leave it to me,” Galileo said. “I’ve—”

  They all heard the distant wolflike howl that cut him off.

  Natalie pressed her face to the window. “What was that?”

  Zoe felt her stomach lurch. There was no mistaking the sound of a siren. The howl grew sharper, louder, soon becoming an all-out wail. She reached again for Theo, but he yanked off his seat belt and hurled himself onto the floor.

  “Get down!” he shrieked at her. “Hurry!”

  She obliged, nearly toppling onto him before falling behind Galileo’s seat into the fetal position.

  “Let me do the talking,” she heard him say to Natalie.

  Their car slowed and pulled over to the shoulder. Red and blue lights danced through the rear window, their glare reflecting off the vinyl floor mat near her face.

  “What can you possibly say?” Natalie hissed. “It’s over!”

  Zoe curled her limbs in tight like a fist. Her whole body was quivering as the car rolled to a stop. Her mind raced—handcuffs, jail, Gramps, death.

  She heard Galileo’s window slide open.

  “Hello, Officer.” He sounded as relaxed as if he were greeting a friend. “Did you find us all right?”

  Did he what?!

  “Sure did,” came a stranger’s Midwestern drawl. “I left as soon as I got your text. The calls are already coming in.”

  “What will you do with our car?”

  “Leave it down by the junkyard. I’ll destroy the plates.”

  “And you remembered the radio?”

  “Got it right here. The dispatcher won’t know the difference.”

  “Fine. When does your shift end?”

  “Midnight.”

  “So can you make it to Columbus and back before then to make the trade?”

  “No prob.”

  “Then I’ll text you the address. Please get us a rental sedan for one week. Nothing flashy, no red. Here’s the ID, and the card to bill.”

  “You got it.”

  “Sorry for the last-minute emergency.”

  “I’m happy to help. I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance.”