“I don’t know.”
William scowled at Liling.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you. Monday she just showed up at my apartment and set up the remote monitoring on my cell phone. She gave me the keys to the barn, and some money, and told me to watch the pods and help you finish your project.”
“Monday? That was three days ago. Have you heard from her since?”
Liling shook her head. “When my alarm went off tonight, I tried to call her, but the number has been disconnected. I only got here a few minutes before you did. I got lost.”
“Great.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How do we fix the regulators?”
Liling pulled down one of the blankets to let in some light. “They aren’t broken. They were never meant to be in this type of environment. I mean… it’s a barn. Even this technology has its limitations. Unless you want to wait until summer to resume this, we have to move them to a warmer location.”
“I can’t wait for summer.”
“Well, I can disassemble the pods tonight and you can move them tomorrow. I’d come and help, but my brother has physical therapy. Do you have a van? Or can you rent one?”
“Whoa, I have to figure out where to put the pods first.”
Liling bent down and started looking around the floor. Under the table she found a toolbox. “I saw a closet in your office when I was there.”
“My storage closet?” William laughed. “There’s too much traffic in and out of my office.”
“They come in your office, not in your closet, right? And from what I can tell, the security in that building is really good. How big is the closet?”
William looked around. “A little smaller than this stall.”
“I thought I saw a keypad on it.”
“Yes,” William said slowly.
Liling nodded. “Your office is closer to both of us. That way, we could at least get to the pods faster if another alarm goes off. Deep Creek is just too far.” She held out her hands and William handed her the control pad. She entered the codes to drain the pods. He tried to think of a better place to keep the pods, but he couldn’t.
William called Dr. Chang and explained his predicament.
“I think her idea has merit,” Dr. Chang said. “All three of us would have better access and the closet is much warmer.”
William ended the call, and he and Liling started disassembling the pods.
William changed the bit on a screwdriver. “How old is your brother?”
“Thirteen.”
“You said he has physical therapy tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Penelope told me he was in an accident.”
“Yes.” Liling worked for a while before she said, “A guy ran a stoplight. I was driving.”
“That’s a shame. Was he charged?”
She nodded. “I didn’t see him coming. I should have stopped.”
“If the guy ran the light, there was nothing you could do if you didn’t see him.”
Liling rubbed her forehead. She looked frustrated. “That’s what people keep saying.”
William handed her a set of tubes. “How is he?”
“In a wheelchair. We’re working on strengthening his legs so he can walk again. He has another surgery in the spring.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
She coiled the tubes and placed them in a box. “You’ve already helped. We can pay his bills, thanks to the money you gave to Dr. Patton.” She lifted an empty globe off its pedestal and started wrapping it in a blanket. “I owe this to her and you.”
Eve groaned the next morning when William’s alarm went off. “Why are you getting up so early?”
“I have a lot to do today.”
“But you worked so late last night. You should sleep in and get some rest.” She snuggled next to him.
“I want to.” He really did. “But I need to find a replacement freezer. Right now, I’m sharing one with another lab. I want to get that done before my meeting with the dean at eleven.” He kissed her. “I’ll see you this afternoon?”
She shook her head. “Marissa wants to take the boys to Charlotte for the day. They’ve never been to Discovery Place. She asked me to come along because she needs to talk to me.”
“About what?”
“She’s still obsessing over Lacy, the harlot neighbor.”
“Did anything actually happen with her and Warren?”
“Warren says no, but you know Marissa. High-maintenance and prone to exaggeration.”
William laughed. “It’ll be good for you to get out.”
After he showered and dressed, he said goodbye to Eve and went to the garage. He turned on the radio as he pulled onto the main road.
“…said that her clothes and belongings were gone,” the announcer was saying. “She was highly respected for her work at Jonestown Women’s Clinic and her contributions to prenatal research. Dr. Patton and her CFO, Martin Dalton, were charged in the Goode Planet Fund scandal. Both were released from prison last year. Patton’s sister said that her disappearance was both unexpected and unfortunate. Patton now faces the possibility of returning to prison for violating her probation.” The announcer paused. “Expect another cold night. Temperatures are going to plummet after…”
William turned down the volume. Penelope was gone. He wondered where she went, and if she’d return.
He pulled into the car rental parking lot, picked up a van and headed to Deep Creek. After loading the pod parts that he and Liling had disassembled, he drove to the university.
He parked farther back in the lot away from the other cars. As he was wheeling out a cart to the van, one of the security guards joined him.
“Good morning, Dr. Wiseman.”
“Hi, Kenny.”
“Driving a van today?”
“It’s just a rental. I have some equipment for the lab.”
“Oh.” Kenny rubbed his hands together in the cold. “Don’t our delivery people usually handle that kind of stuff?”
William shrugged. “Yeah, but they’re running behind schedule, so I figured I’d just do it myself.”
“I’ll give you a hand.”
William stopped at the van. “No, thank you. I’ve got it.”
“It’s no trouble.”
“It really isn’t that much. I think I can handle it.”
“Well, let me at least get the door for you.” Kenny reached for the handle and waited for William to unlock the door.
William stood there, holding the keys. “It’s okay.”
“It’s no problem. I don’t mind.”
“It’s fine.”
They both stood staring at each other until Kenny finally spoke. “Oh. Well, okay then. Um, give me a shout if you change your mind.”
William nodded. “Sure thing.”
Kenny eyed the van for a couple seconds. Then he gave a little, mock salute and walked back to the building. William let out the breath he’d been holding and hurriedly loaded the cart with some of the parts. He covered the cart with a blue tarp he’d brought from the barn. It took two trips and a little dodging of Kenny before he got all of the parts to his office. He parked the cart in his storage closet and made sure the door was secure before he rushed off to meet with the dean.
Dr. Chang called later in the day.
“I just got back in town. Are you still at your office?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I can meet you there. I’m about twenty minutes away.”
“Sounds good.”
Dr. Chang walked in a half-hour later. “Is everything here?”
“Yeah. I had to shake Kenny.”
Dr. Chang laughed. “He’s eager, isn’t he?”
William nodded. “Liling will be here tomorrow to help us set up.”
“Liling? What about Penelope? Isn’t she coming?”
“I guess you haven’t heard.”
“Heard what?”
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
William started packing his work tote. “Gone. Fled. She’s out of here. It’s all over the news. No one knows where she is and her stuff is gone.”
Dr. Chang leaned against the door. “Wow.”
“Yes. Wow.”
“So what if we run into another problem?”
“We have Liling and I know she can take care of the mechanics. You and I will have to take care of everything else and just pray for the best.”
“I wonder where Penelope went.”
“Yeah, me too.”
They both sat in silence for a while before Dr. Chang spoke. “Can I see the closet?”
“Sure.”
William punched the code into the keypad and Dr. Chang looked around. “There are a lot of parts in here.”
“Tell me about it.”
“How long did it take for you and Liling to take everything apart?”
“Three and a half hours.”
“So we’re probably going to be here all day putting them back together.”
“Probably.”
Dr. Chang nodded and walked out of the small space. “Okay.”
William sat on his desk. “You don’t seem the least bit anxious about this, Fai. You do know that what we’re doing is insane, don’t you?”
Dr. Chang looked at William squarely. “Anyone who has ever made any significant strides had to go off the grid. Where’s the fun without a little risk?”
“I’m not doing this for fun.”
“This could get you another Nobel. Can you imagine? Two? And this time, I could actually get one.”
“The only thing this can get me is a guaranteed stay in the joint. You too.”
“Come on, William.”
“You know we can’t tell anyone about this. I thought I’d made that clear.”
Dr. Chang chuckled. “Of course, not now. We’ll have to wait for the IVF restrictions to loosen up.”
William stood up. “I don’t care what the IVF regulations come to. We aren’t telling anyone about this. This is for Eve and that’s all. That’s what you agreed to.”
Dr. Chang held up his hands. “Okay, calm down. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”
“Ever,” William prompted.
“Ever. You know how it is. I was just thinking outside the box.”
“Well, don’t.”
William picked up his work bag and looked at Dr. Chang expectantly. Dr. Chang sighed and walked into the hallway. William followed him out, taking care not to slam the door behind them.
CHAPTER SIX
In the faint light of dawn, Iris Meesang’s heart pounded as she frantically crashed through the thick foliage of a forest in Laos. Her calves burned from maneuvering the mountainous terrain. The whipping branches slashed her face, arms, and legs as she rushed to find safety. She cast a hurried looked over her shoulder to see if the ominous figures were still chasing her.
She could hear men shouting, but the dense fog hid them. Iris struggled under the forest canopy to find a path. The dead twigs snapping underfoot sounded like firecrackers to her hypersensitive ears. She was on the brink of collapse.
The toe of her shoe wedged into the sprawling roots of a strangler fig tree and she fell. Her face hit one of the roots and something warm seeped into her mouth. She scrambled to her feet and spat out blood. Limping and checking over her shoulder, she scurried through puddles and undergrowth before spotting a tight bunch of vegetation. After pushing herself into the center of the thicket, she watched for any kind of movement.
She kept her lips pressed tightly together and listened.
A minute passed… two minutes...
Slowly, Iris turned her head. A wide, glossy leaf blocked her view. She took a step backward to peer between the branches and her breath caught.
She stepped on something that was not the forest floor, or a stone, or even an animal. She felt behind her with a trembling hand. As her fingertips brushed against what could have only been a leg, Iris heard a low, growling cackle.
A calloused hand clamped over her face, nearly suffocating her, and hot breath grazed the back of her neck. Her arms were pinned to her sides as she was ripped from the thicket.
Iris heard an exchange in a language she did not understand, then felt a pinch on the side of her neck. A ray of sunlight slipped through the treetops. She stared into the light as her mind went blank, and her limbs grew heavy. The beam of light blurred and slowly dimmed until there was only blackness.
Bump, bump, bump.
Iris was jostled awake. She lay on her side, sore now, probably from the relentless bumping under her. She tried to move her arm to rub the soreness in her neck, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. Her arm was asleep and she was crammed into an awkward position. Cautiously, she untangled herself, sat up, and opened her eyes. Blackness pressed against her pupils and she blinked several times.
Bump, bump, bump.
Her numb arm came back to life with the feeling of a thousand pinpricks. She stood up, flexing and bending her fingers. The thin material of her dress was stuck to her clammy skin, and she tugged at the hem. She heard an engine and the creaking release of brakes as the floor lurched and she was thrown sideways. Her chin made contact with a wall and she slid back down to the floor.
Think! Think of a way to get out of here.
She used the wall for balance as she stood back up. Tentatively, she felt her way, trying to choose where to walk. The wall was made of metal, and her fingertips tripped over several rows of rivets. The floor lurched again, and Iris was pitched headfirst. She landed clumsily on something soft. She flinched when a pair of hands clasped her face. They groped down her neck and onto her shoulders. The hands blindly found her arms and pushed her away.
The voice was a hurried whisper, a girl speaking her language. “Do not try to walk. There is no way out. Sit down and be quiet.”
Iris did as she was told. She crawled next to the girl and sat with her back against the hard wall. The air was hot, suffocating and thick with the odor of blood and stagnant urine. Iris sat silently for a long while before speaking.
“Who are you?” she asked. “Where are we?”
“My name is Khone. Please be quiet. He does not like it when we speak.”
“Who is he? Where are…?”
“Quiet!” the girl hissed.
Iris lowered her voice. “I am sorry, but I need to know. That man… the one who captured me. Is he going to kill us?” When Khone did not reply, she said, “Please tell me. Where are we?”
“In a truck,” Khone whispered. “I’ve been here for two days… I think. There are other people in here.” Khone paused. “Some dead.”
Iris’s spine stiffened. “Where are we going?”
“I do not know. Please be quiet before he comes.”
When Iris opened her eyes again, she was in a dim, musty room on a cot. Her bouts of unconsciousness annihilated her sense of time. She moved and felt something on her arm. A metal cuff enclosed her wrist. Iris tugged on the chain, and the links snapped taut, pulling against a steel plate attached to a brick wall. Small puncture marks lined the crook of her arm and a number had been etched into her forearm: FC17.
She looked up. Other girls lay around the perimeter of the room, also chained. Some were slumped on their cots, unmoving. The ones that were awake made no noise. Iris looked to her left. A girl stared at her.
“Khone?”
“No,” the girl said. “I’m Ratana.”
“I’m Khone,” a voice to her right said.
Iris turned.
The girl gave her a frail smile. “I’m the one you spoke to.”
“Where are we?” Iris asked.
“Somewhere underground,” Khone said.
Before Iris could ask another question, she heard footsteps. All of the girls turned toward a concrete staircase that descended from the unknown. A pair of loafers appeared, followed by legs in black slacks and finally, a black blaze
r over a maroon turtleneck. He was a tall, skinny Chinese man in glasses. Iris heard Ratana’s chain rattle, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the man.
The man observed the room. His eyes fixed on Iris, and he strode over to her, saying something. A man, much larger than the Chinese man, trotted down the stairs and stood next to Iris. The Chinese man extracted a key from his blazer pocket and unshackled her. The big man grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the stairs. As she stepped on the first stair, she looked back. Ratana shrank on her cot, trying to hide her face with her knees and elbows.
Iris tried to break away. “No!”
Some of the girls gasped. The man’s grasp tightened and Iris screamed and kicked.
The Chinese man yelled at her. His nostrils flared as he stood nose to nose with her, his breath smelling of old tobacco. The man holding her covered her mouth. She sank her teeth into the meaty flesh of his palm. She clenched down until a painful jab in her back caused her to cease the attack.
The threesome topped the staircase that led into a dark room. Iris tried to peer through the darkness as she was shoved to a door, but she couldn’t see anything. When the door opened, she was greeted by a sharp, frigid blast. She was pushed outside and the fine hairs on her arms stood on end. The cold gripped her like a vise. Her bare feet slipped on patches of ice and she hugged herself tightly against the wind that whipped through the thin gown she now wore.
Then, under the cover of night and a thick row of evergreens, she was unceremoniously thrown into the back of a van.
Dr. Chang got behind the wheel of the van and slammed the door. “Why do they have to be so damn difficult?”
He started the engine and drove too fast down the snow-encrusted streets. The girl said something.
“I can’t understand you. Shut up!” He glared in the rearview mirror. Her fingers were gripping the metal grill that separated the front cab from the back. “Make her shut up.”
The man in the back of the van gagged her with a dirty cloth.
“Thank you!”
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Chang entered the rear of a building with the man and girl.
“Put her in the room,” he instructed. “Strap her down, then get Lynn.”
Mark of the Wiseman (The Wiseman Series Book 1) Page 5
