The Malthus Pandemic

by Terry Morgan

CHAPTER 48

  "The French guy who disappeared from Beirut. His name is Dominique Lunneau - known as Don by most people. He ran production at a company called Steri-Tech, located in Tripoli in the north of Lebanon, not Beirut as I was originally told."

  "That's just what I'd hoped you'd say, Colin. We have a match and I know where he is - good work. Got a photo?"

  "Not a good one but it's on its way. And as for our mutual friend Nagi in Cairo I've told him to expect a call from you. Don't forget he knows you as Ian McCann."

  I switched the phone off and then looked at Anna.

  While I sat thinking or on the phone or scribbling notes that I then tore into shreds, Anna mostly sat patiently reading, sitting cross-legged on the bed. We had now been in the same hotel room for three days. She seemed very content but for me, hotels are a home and an office. For Anna, I wasn't sure if she liked it. I felt a strange longing to take her somewhere, away from the hotel, away from Bangkok, away from what was becoming a routine of sleep, phone, breakfast, phone, lunch, phone, dinner, phone, sleep.

  I wanted to show her places I already knew, to relax with her and share more of my thoughts and my past. There were also huge gaps in my understanding of Anna's past life that I wanted to fill.

  I was lying on the bed beside her. "Anna, I think we need to go to London soon. Your visa should be ready tomorrow. I think we should leave soon after that."

  "But what about your business?"

  "The business will travel with us Anna."

  "And will we stay in your apartment in London?"

  "Yes, but I may need to leave you there for a few days."

  "And when will we come back to Thailand to see my family?"

  "I think we should visit them tomorrow, Anna. Tell them what is happening and that we will come back very soon."

  "And you will come with me?"

  "Yes, of course." I said, "I need to meet my new in-laws."

  Anna leapt onto me. "We will take the bus. We will start early, maybe at three o'clock."

  "In the afternoon?"

  "No, in the night time."

  Of course. Whatever Anna said eventually made sense.

  I had no intention of saying anything more to Charles Brady at Virex, at least for the time being. The investigation had now gone way beyond anything I could possibly have foreseen when I had met him in London. And with Jimmy doing his bit in his own style in Nairobi, I decided to go to Cairo instead. I could always nip down to Kenya from Cairo to join him if necessary So, the travel plan forming in my mind was beginning to look like two more days in Thailand, travel to London, a few days in England to acclimatise Anna and then fly to Cairo.

  I rolled over in the bed and put my arm around Anna, drawing her close to me. I was very conscious that I was planning it as if it was an ordinary business trip, but I knew this was no longer the case. I needed to be careful. And I needed to be careful for other reasons that, in the middle of the night, were not difficult to imagine. People like Greg O'Brian, GOB as Colin called him, were not to be messed with.

  Cairo was not a problem in itself as I knew the city well and could lean on Nagi El Abdeen with his old Egyptian Security Forces methods for some help. But even Nagi was not essential as there were other methods I had used before and could call upon again. No, the problem that was already starting to bother me was what I should do once I'd got the information. And I was no longer completely alone here. My discussion with Kevin Parker and Larry Brown had shown that they had also arrived at the same conclusion, albeit having started out from different points.

  With other cases I would report to the client and then leave it to them to pursue any action. It was entirely up to them whether they involved local law enforcement organisations or dealt with matters in their own way. At that stage, my job would be finished.

  But with Virex I saw no possible way for them to proceed. It was looking more certain that Shah Medicals, Al Zafar, Livingstone Pharmaceuticals, Mohamed Kader, GOB, Solomon and any others would just continue with their shady operations as untouchables. And if they were almost ready to launch a new virus through whatever manner or strategy they had planned, who could stop them? Someone, somewhere needed to act. But who? So I was already beginning to ponder on who could take this over once I'd done as much as I could.

  If it was all happening on Egyptian soil would the Egyptian authorities act and, if so, how quickly? If Livingstone was an offshore company who would act? If Al Zafar was just a disparate group of companies run by Mohamed Kader from wherever he chose to sit who could act? In the middle of the night, the only fixed and unmoveable object that I saw as an asset that none of the parties could move elsewhere quickly was the stock of virus. And where was that? The choice seemed to be between two - Cairo and Nairobi.

  By six thirty and a virtually sleepless night, my plans had come together. First, I needed to speak to Larry Brown again and then find out what Jimmy had been up to.