The Toymaker

by Chuck Barrett

  “That doesn’t sound moral…or ethical.”

  “This had nothing to do with morals or ethics nor is it considered medical research. I’ve only experimented on mice.”

  “Well, now I feel better.” Jake said sarcastically. “Did it work?”

  “It did.” She pointed to a wall with several cages. “The first experiments had limited success, but three years of trial and error perfected the process and now we have a one hundred percent kill ratio.”

  “Kill ratio? Who are you people?”

  “I told you it was technical. Remember, forewarned is forearmed.”

  “What does that mean?” Jake was uncomfortable. What kind of lab was Wiley operating? Even more important, what did Bentley get him involved in and did he even know about this?

  He was having difficulty grasping the gravity of her work, but the look on Kyli’s face let him know she understood his confliction.

  “Jake, you of all people know these are dangerous times.” Kyli explained. “We’re not the only ones who know the implications of DNA string manipulation. We cannot protect against what we don’t understand. We must know how it works or else we’re vulnerable to attack by those entities out there—and there are plenty—that would not hesitate to use this as a weapon.”

  “So you aren’t DNA assassins, you’re what, DNA guardians?”

  “Don’t be so short-sighted, Jake. That’s how people die.”

  Her words struck a nerve. “Protecting yourself with guns and knives I understand, but this is scary.”

  “It’s very scary. Let me give you a plausible, albeit simplified, example and you can see just how scary it could be.” Kyli walked over to a large metal door that resembled a small version of a bank vault door. “Let’s say a country hostile to the United States, China for example, developed a contagious formula that would fatally attack anyone who did not have a specific Chinese marker in their DNA. All they’d have to do would be to introduce the contagion at strategic locations. Large international airports would be the most effective spots in which to release the contagion and move it worldwide the fastest. By the time anyone could figure out what was happening, the world’s population would decline. Within a matter of months China would be able to obtain world domination. Got your attention yet?”

  “I’d never thought about anything like that. Is it really possible…I mean with humans?”

  “If I can do it with mice, I can do it with humans.” Kyli pointed to a large metal door. ”Enough about that. Any idea what this is?”

  “Let me guess. The vault.”

  “Yes it is.” Kyli walked to the door. “Only Mr. Wiley’s card, password, voice authentication, and retina scan will unlock this door.”

  “What’s in there?”

  “You’ll have to ask Mr. Wiley. I’m not at liberty to discuss the contents of the vault.” Kyli grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him toward the bio lab exit. “We’ll talk about it at lunch. I’m hungry.”

  “But, you know, right?”

  Kyli gave an impish grin, her eyes sparkling as she led him away.

  † † †

  The Hotel Carpinus was in the neighboring village of Herent across the canal from MEtech. For the second time that day Jake was a victim of Kyli’s heavy foot, this time in her Mini Cooper. They arrived at the hotel in ten minutes.

  She pulled the car to the front door of the hotel and shut off the engine. “Grab your bag.” She unlocked the hatch.

  “I thought we were having lunch?”

  “We are.” She said. “Let’s get you checked in first. I made our lunch reservations here as well. You’ll like it and the food in the restaurant is splendid.”

  When they walked into the lobby, Kyli went to the registration desk and spoke to the man in Dutch. The wallpaper behind the man had gold and white vertical stripes, the colors complimented the rest of the lobby’s furnishings.

  Kyli signed the hotel registry and the man handed her a key. She signaled for Jake to follow her. “You’re in room seven. Lucky number seven.”

  “Superstitious? Not what I would have expected from a scientist.”

  “Why would you say I’m superstitious? Seven happens to be my lucky number. It might end up being yours too.” She laughed and motioned toward a hallway. “Let’s check it out.”

  There was that glisten in her eyes again. Jake didn’t know what to think. Was she flirting? Kyli was friendly and certainly attractive but he’d just met her. He hadn’t even thought about another woman since Beth’s death and wasn’t sure if he was ready for anything other than business.

  He followed her to his room. She opened the door with the key and entered, holding the door open for Jake. “Your room, Mr. Pendleton.” She imitated a bellboy.

  Kyli took the bag from his hand and tossed it on the bed. She turned and moved toward him. She stopped close, in his personal space. Jake felt uneasy. She arched her back pushing herself closer to him. Her amber eyes full of mischief. Her perfume invaded his nostrils, Chanel Chance. Beth’s favorite perfume. Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

  His body stirred, head spun, and he felt flush again. He tried to say something, anything, but nothing came out.

  She raised her chin and said in a sultry whisper. “Jake? Do you know what I really want? Right now?”

  He couldn’t speak. He just shook his head like a schoolboy trying to be cool but failing miserably.

  “I really want to get something to eat. I’m starving.” She turned and walked out of his room.

  He lowered his head and followed her out of the room.

  I’m such an idiot.

  CHAPTER 17

  THE FIRST NAME on the list was a waste of time. The man knew nothing, so Kaplan and Chase went in search of the next lead. The pair located the second source but he denied any knowledge of the terrorist cell in Hajjah or the abduction of Hunt. Kaplan's instinct told him the man was lying. The more Kaplan questioned him, the more the man contradicted himself until finally the man backed himself into a corner. Beads of sweat collected on the man’s forehead and then Kaplan turned up the heat.

  Kaplan threatened to kill the man’s family and expose him as a traitor. The man seemed reluctant at first until Kaplan threatened to turn him over to al Qaeda. Then the man talked. Not only did the Yemeni know about Hunt’s abduction, it also turned out his brother was a member of the terrorist cell. He was only trying to protect his brother by lying to Kaplan.

  Kaplan needed more information. He needed names and places. Needed facts. He pressured the man but at the first mention of Hashim Khan, the man shut down. Kaplan was close, but was running out of time. The terrorist cell wouldn’t keep Hunt alive for long. He needed to confirm that Khan was involved with the Yemen cell…and with Hunt. The interrogator went to work.

  Chase drove back to the safe house while Kaplan held the unconscious man in the back seat. The quick blow to the back of the man’s head had dropped him.

  The back room in the safe house was empty and dark—no windows—the coldest room in the house. With a temperature around fifty-five, it was ideal for what Kaplan had in mind. He needed the man to talk, to tell him everything. Anything short of that would prove very painful to his captive. He understood the man’s reluctance, once he gave Kaplan the information, there would be a warrant for his death, his brother’s death, and the deaths of his entire family. A warrant not from Kaplan, but from Khan.

  Kaplan found all the materials necessary for the makeshift interrogation room. He stripped the man then secured his feet to a metal hook anchored in the floor. He bound the man’s hands with flex cuffs, doused him with cold water, and forced the naked man to stand in the cold room.

  Every time the man would start to fall, Kaplan would slap him then douse him again in cold water. The shivering started in less than an hour when the man’s body temperature started to fall.

  He questioned the man repeatedly but the man’s fear of Khan outweighed Kaplan’s efforts.

  Several of t
he Delta brick’s team assisted Kaplan with his interrogation. But nothing seemed to weaken the man’s resolve.

  After six hours, Kaplan grew impatient. He knew eventually the man would succumb to this technique but some prisoners had lasted over forty hours before they talked. The luxury of time was not something he could afford. The clock was ticking and he knew the longer it took to find Hunt, the greater the odds she would not be alive.

  Kaplan cleared the room except for Chase and ordered Chase to guard the prisoner while he left the room.

  Ten minutes later Kaplan returned with an eight-foot board and a backpack. He and Chase tied the man to the board, feet first then hands. Chase wedged something under one end of the board elevating the man’s feet slightly above his head. When the prisoner was secure, Kaplan reached into his backpack and pulled out a roll of cellophane.

  “Sir. You can’t do—“ Chase started to object.

  “I can and I will Captain.” Kaplan interrupted. “There are too many lives at stake here. This man knows something. Without that information people will die. What this man knows can save those lives.”

  Chase said nothing.

  Kaplan wrapped the man’s head in cellophane and grabbed the water bucket. “Last chance asshole.”

  The man laid stoic. He began to chant.

  Kaplan started pouring water over the man. Water quickly worked its way under the cellophane and licked at the man’s head. The man’s gag reflex kicked in. He bucked against the board, bulging eyes revealed his fear of drowning.

  After thirty-three seconds the man begged for mercy. Kaplan was impressed; the average was fourteen, even though on rare occasions a few al Qaeda terrorists had been known to last nearly two and a half minutes.

  Kaplan cut the cellophane away from the man’s head. “Ready to talk now?”

  CHAPTER 18

  “MR. WILEY SAID you had a full day in store for me, what will we be doing?” Jake asked.

  “All work I see.” Kyli said. “We’ll get to everything in due time. Mr. Wiley wanted me to show you around the classified electronics lab first.”

  “I thought we already did a walk-through.”

  “Nope. That was the assembly area. There’s a secure room where high-priority items are housed.”

  Before they left for lunch, Kyli removed her lab coat and hung it on a hook by the lab door. She wore a black dress, cut slightly above the knee with black pumps, a classy yet professional look. A smile never left her face. Full of non-stop energy, she stirred something in Jake he hadn’t felt in a long time—feelings he thought were dead. It gave him a glimmer of hope that he could have a life after Beth. But still, there was the anger. Yet now the anger was mixed with feelings of betrayal of his love for Beth and a newfound excitement he felt when he was with Kyli.

  Kyli’s cell phone beeped announcing the arrival of an incoming text message. “It seems,” she said. “You’ve got a video conference to sit in on. Mr. Wiley will be here in a few minutes. Follow me.”

  “Where to now?”

  “The conference room, where else?”

  Less than five minutes later, Wiley entered the room. “Kyli, Jake and I need a few minutes.”

  Kyli walked to the door. “I’ll be in the bio lab if you need me.” She winked at Jake.

  Jake tried not to react. Stay focused. He followed Wiley’s lead and sat down.

  Without speaking, Wiley walked over to a podium and started typing on a computer. A fifty-inch monitor mounted on the wall lit up. Speakers on the wall crackled then three figures appeared on the split-screen monitor—Bentley and Fontaine on one side, Gregg Kaplan on the other.

  “What’s up, Scott?” Wiley sat next to Jake and spoke into the three-winged audio device in the middle of the oval conference table.

  Bentley was the first to speak. “Good and bad news to report. The good news is we’ve located Isabella Hunt. Jake, Mr. Wiley has agreed to assist me on this mission, which includes having you help rescue Isabella. Something you said you wanted to do.”

  “Yes, sir. Very much.” Jake said.

  “We’ve put together an extraction plan but due to terrain, some logistic issues, along with the political unrest in the region, this will have to be a night op with no chance for detection. Gentlemen, this is a hostile country so this mission is silent in, silent out. We can’t afford any blowback. The United States will disavow any involvement. This is totally unsanctioned, if anyone gets caught, they’re on their own.”

  “I hope that was the bad news too.” Jake said.

  “I’m afraid not, Jake.” Bentley glanced at Fontaine then back at his camera. “Gregg will brief you on the bad news. Go ahead, Gregg.”

  “We located and detained one of the locals who knew about Isabella and the al Qaeda cell here in Yemen.” Kaplan paused. “After some…enhanced interrogation, we’ve learned that the cell has already left Yemen and is enroute to Western Europe. We don’t know where but apparently Isabella does. That’s why it’s imperative we rescue her ASAP before al Qaeda attacks and a lot of people die.”

  “George.” Bentley said. “You take it from here.”

  “According to Gregg’s source, Isabella is being held in the Hajjah Palace.” Fontaine and Bentley disappeared from the screen and a satellite view of Hajjah appeared. “The palace is here.” A circle electronically drew around a building.

  “As you can see, the palace is surrounded by a rock wall and the front gate is well guarded twenty-four hours a day.”

  The screen rotated and a topographic view of the area popped up. “Our problem is that there is literally no level ground in Hajjah. It is built on a mountain.”

  The view expanded outward. “The highway passes at the base of mountain leaving only one road in and out of town.”

  “That confirms what our inside source told us.” Kaplan said. “She volunteered to assist us with our infiltration.”

  “As you can see here,” Fontaine continued. “With all the roadblocks and checkpoints along the highway, access or exit by vehicle is out of the question. With all the political turmoil in the region, we’ve determined that our only option is to drop you in from overhead. You’ll have to locate, extract Isabella, and escape on foot undetected.”

  Bentley and Fontaine reappeared on the screen.

  “What if she’s injured and unable to travel on foot?” Jake asked. “We can’t just leave her there.”

  “We can’t take that risk.” Kaplan said. “Figure something else out, I’m not leaving her there.”

  “George?” Wiley spoke for the first time since the conference call started. “There might be another way.”

  “If you have an idea, I’d like to hear it.” Bentley said.

  “Is there any place in town that’s remotely level, like a large parking area or a field? I only need four or five-hundred feet.” Wiley asked.

  “There is one area where kids play kick ball or soccer games. It’s about fifty feet wide and maybe, repeat, maybe four hundred feet long. It isn’t totally level, it has a gentle slope toward the edge of the mountain.” Fontaine brought up the satellite image again and electronically circled the area. “It’s a dark area at night, no lights at all.”

  “Can you zoom in, George?” Wiley asked.

  “Sure.” The image zoomed in closer. “How’s that?”

  “Good. Now tilt the topo so I can get an idea about the side of the hill.” Wiley said.

  The image rotated. The topographic view revealed the vertical terrain of the mountain.

  “It’ll do.” Wiley said. “A couple of buildings will add to the challenge but an approach and departure can be accomplished.”

  “E. W.?” Bentley interrupted. “What are you talking about?”

  “Scott, I have two prototype gliders that are rigged for this type of night time op. Infrared heads-up displays and a silent electric motor for self-launch capability. You can fly in, locate and rescue your asset, and fly out. No one will ever know you’re there…or even been ther
e for that matter.”

  “Kind of ballsy, don’t you think?” Jake asked. “And who exactly is going to fly the gliders?”

  “It’s been a long time, but I’ve flown a glider before.” Kaplan said. “I’m sure it’ll come back to me.”

  “Okay, for the record, I’m not flying with Gregg.” Jake said. “Who’s going to fly the other one?”

  Wiley ignored Jake. “Scott, I can have Jake and the two gliders in Aden by tomorrow evening. We’ll arrive shortly after dark. The gliders will be ready within a couple of hours after we arrive. I’ll need you to make arrangements for two tow planes at Aden. George and I can work out the details of mission planning.”

  “Alright E.W. I’ll take care of it.” Bentley said. “Gregg, we’ll be in touch soon so wait for instructions. Jake, control yourself, do I make myself clear?”

  Jake paused. He knew the number one priority was to rescue Isabella. “Yes sir, I promise.”

  Wiley interrupted. “Jake will be fine, Scott. You have my word.”

  The monitor blinked then went blank.

  Jake looked at Wiley. “How did you think of all that stuff so fast?”

  “Fifty years in the business. That’s where experience trumps youth.” Wiley pushed up his glasses, swiped his hair, and smiled. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

  CHAPTER 19

  WILEY PRESSED THE intercom button, “Have Kyli meet us in the RF lab.”

  “RF lab?” Jake asked.

  “Radio frequency. How soon we forget.”

  “That was fast thinking.” Jake said.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet, junior.” Wiley smiled. He opened the door. “I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve.”

  The RF lab was a side room with Plexiglas walls adjacent to the main electronics lab floor. One wall was a showcase of gadgets MEtech had created. On the top shelf was a device Wiley called the spook radio. A device that monitored as wide a frequency band as possible targeting only signals of interest, which allowed the operator to identify and track the signals while remaining anonymous.