The Network

by L. C. Shaw

  “That’s it.”

  Jack put his hand in the box and retrieved a key. They walked another hundred feet and came to a small cabin. Using the key, they entered, and Jack turned on the flashlight and looked around the small one-room building.

  “What’s that?” Taylor asked, pointing to an envelope taped to the wall.

  Jack snatched it down and tore it open. It was another set of directions and a compass. They went back outside.

  “We need to go east twelve hundred feet and we’ll be there. Are you okay? It’s a lot of walking.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “I may be pregnant, but I’m not out of shape.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry.”

  They reached the entrance to what looked like a cave, the opening large enough to accommodate one person. There was a wall blocking it made of a smooth plaster. Jack pulled the phone Carl had given him from his pocket.

  He dialed the number on the sheet of paper. A male voice answered.

  Jack spoke the words as instructed: “This is the day that the Lord has made.”

  A whirring filled the air, and the door slowly opened as it slid into the wall.

  “After you.” Jack moved aside for Taylor.

  As soon as they were both inside, the door closed behind them.

  Taylor looked around at the bright and cheerful surroundings. She didn’t know what she had expected, maybe something more ominous and akin to the underground hideouts she’d seen in James Bond movies. Instead, the narrow entranceway was painted a light yellow, and the shiny hardwood floors were covered with vibrant oriental rugs. There was no one waiting to greet them, so they began to walk in the only direction they could—straight ahead. When they reached the end of the hallway, they came to an elevator and pushed the button. Immediately, the door slid open.

  “What floor?”

  Taylor exhaled a deep breath, suddenly very nervous. “I don’t know. Pick one.”

  He depressed the top button, and they ascended.

  When the doors opened, a man was waiting. He was tall and trim, with light brown hair worn on the longish side, and looked to be only a few years older than Taylor. He gave them a wide smile that transformed his face from merely nice-looking to handsome.

  “I thank God that you made it! I’m Jeremy.”

  So this was the mysterious Jeremy. He looked at her like he already knew her, and Taylor didn’t know what she was feeling. When he got closer, she realized that he reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t put her finger on who.

  She held out her hand, and he grasped it in both of his.

  “I’m Taylor.”

  They followed him to a living room, where an assortment of snacks and drinks awaited them. “Would you like to freshen up?”

  She didn’t want to wait another minute to find out what he had to say. “We’re fine,” she answered for both of them.

  “Let’s sit down then,” Jeremy said.

  They had made it! She should have felt a tremendous sense of relief, but she still felt suspended in anticipation. Jeremy seemed so normal, though, and a warmth emanated from him that made her feel immediately comfortable with him. She took a seat in the plush chair closest to the fireplace so that she could see the fire and also enjoy the view of the outside from the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was nothing but tall evergreens and mountains in the distance. Looking out made her feel far away from danger, hidden away and safe from the faceless enemies they were running from.

  “Thanks for the help back at the motel,” Jack said. “But one question that’s been nagging at me—Paul said that the St. Christopher medal was how you were tracking us. How did the woman at Walgreens even know I’d be there so she could give it to me?”

  Jeremy nodded. “I knew Malcolm was going to you for help, so I’ve been having you followed ever since he was killed.”

  “Well, I guess that answers that,” Taylor said to Jack then turned to Jeremy. She was feeling impatient suddenly to understand what this whole quest was really about. “Who was my husband?” That’s what it all boiled down to after all—why they were here in the mountains of Vermont with a stranger.

  Jeremy took a seat across from her, his expression neutral.

  “That’s a complicated question. We’ll get to it, I promise, but I think it may make more sense if I tell you who I am.”

  “We know you’re Damon Crosse’s son,” Jack said.

  Jeremy nodded. “Yes, he is my father. He runs a research and training facility but it’s a front for much more. In private circles, it’s called the Institute, and its graduates are placed in positions of power in all spheres of influence.”

  Taylor leaned forward. “So Malcolm was one of the graduates of the Institute?”

  “He was. Groomed for his position and firmly in Damon’s pocket.”

  She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around it. “Was Malcolm even his real name?”

  Jeremy stood up and paced. “I don’t know what his real name was.” He stopped and put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “I don’t think he did either. He was an orphan, raised at the Institute.”

  “What? How old was he when he was orphaned?” She thought of the parents he’d told her he’d lost to an accident when he was fifteen, the way they’d shared their grief at experiencing a sudden and devastating loss. That was his way into her heart—and it was all one big lie. She thought of the picture they’d kept on the mantel of “his parents.” Another fabrication apparently.

  “According to his file, he was brought to the Institute by nuns when he was a small child.”

  “How was he able to keep that a secret with such a public life?” Taylor asked.

  “Because all his documents were legitimate. His birth certificate, school records, et cetera. My father has connections everywhere. It’s not hard to give someone a new identity. Think of all the spies that stay undetected for years.”

  “Liar,” she whispered as she clenched and unclenched her fists.

  She caught Jeremy and Jack exchanging a look.

  “For what it’s worth, Taylor, he did love you,” Jeremy said.

  “How could you possibly know that?” It was ludicrous to think that this stranger knew more about her own husband than she did.

  “It’s why he did what he did—to protect you and your child. Let me explain. The only thing my father ever cared about was my accomplishments. He pushed me to excel at everything at the expense of all else. In my desire to please him, I worked hard. After I graduated from high school, I entered Harvard, where I earned my undergraduate degree in biology. I continued through their doctoral program and attained my PhD.”

  He went on. “During my visits home, my father began my indoctrination into the dark world of magic. He taught me the spells and incantations that he knew, the secret books that he referenced. I had been raised with no religion and had always assumed he was an atheist. But he was suddenly showing me an unseen spiritual realm and teaching me of its power. He made me do things and say things that I will never be able to forget. He wanted me to believe that I could never turn back, that I was beyond redemption. I helped him blackmail people, made them commit crimes. When I finished my studies, I returned home to begin my work full-time. I’d fallen in love for the first time. I will never forget the look on his face when I told him about her. The combination of indignation and outrage took me completely by surprise. No was all he said. I asked him why, but he wouldn’t answer. He got up from the table and left. The very next day, when I went to the lab, she was gone. No one would give me any answers. I went to her apartment, and it was empty. There was no trace of her anywhere. I searched for her for months, and finally gave up.”

  She felt her earlier anger at him evaporate. “I’m so sorry, Jeremy. What did you do then?” Taylor asked.

  “I went to his study and demanded that he tell me what he had done. He looked at me with derision, asked if I was still so naive as to think I could lead a normal life. He told
me there would be no wife, no family, in the cards for me. I was to be the heir to something far greater. ‘You have a role to play in the shaping of humanity,’ he said. ‘You will be instrumental in undoing the unselfish sacrifice of the one who thinks he has won. You were chosen for a specific purpose.’

  “Then he showed me a video of my mother.” Jeremy grew quiet and looked off into the distance. “He explained how he had lured her to the Institute with the pretense of a medical fellowship, then impregnated her and locked her up. She begged him to let her live. He told her that I didn’t need a mother, that her role in my life would end the moment I was born. The look of despair in her eyes will haunt me forever. He thought I would see the weak, disposable tool that he did. Instead of binding me closer to him, the video turned me against him. The last thing he said was how she couldn’t even give birth without making a mess. Apparently, something happened during the delivery, and she bled to death.”

  Taylor gasped.

  Jeremy was whispering the story to himself as much as to them. “He did nothing to help her, nothing to ease her pain. I hated him then with every fiber of my being—for what he had done to her, and what he had made me into. I left then, driving aimlessly, and before I’d realized it, I was back at Harvard, outside the office of my ethics professor.”

  “Dr. Rittenhouse,” Jack said.

  Jeremy nodded. “Yes. He didn’t even look surprised to see me. It was like he had been waiting for me to come. I told him everything. I don’t know how long I was with him. He listened without judgment. When I was finished, he asked me why I had come. He was the only person I knew from the university who had no shame in publicly declaring his faith. I wanted to know if his god could forgive me.”

  Both Jack and Taylor were leaning forward in their seats.

  Jeremy smiled. “He told me that, yes, he could. That his god was a loving and graceful god who had sent his son to die for me. For me. What about everything I had done, I asked him. Could God overlook blackmail? Could he overlook my involvement in the occult? Carl told me that God would forgive all of it—all I had to do was ask from a sincere heart. Carl and I worked together to devise a plan to bring my father down. I had to go back, to pretend that I was still on board. Then, I slowly began to amass my information, to make lists, target those who didn’t want to be under his influence but were forced to and those he had tried to win over but didn’t. I had to know who I could and couldn’t trust.”

  “How could you go back there? Couldn’t he tell that you had changed?” Taylor asked.

  Jeremy tented his hands. “He sees what he wants. I went back and told him that I hated what he had done to my mother, but that I knew I had to live up to my purpose. I convinced him to let me spend most of my time in the lab, working on one of his pet projects. That way, I didn’t have to do any more of his dirty work. He was eager for the breakthrough I promised him, and I made sure, over that time, to come close but never complete it.”

  “What kind of project?” Jack asked.

  “Genetics. He had me testing delivery vehicles for germ-line therapy.”

  “Germ line?” Taylor asked, confused.

  “Sorry,” Jeremy said. “It’s a form of genetic modification that changes DNA down to future generations.”

  “I’ve read about gene therapy. It’s wonderful. Diseases are being cured, people helped. How can that be a bad thing?” Taylor asked.

  “Because he wants to use it for his own purposes.”

  “Like what?” Jack asked. “Is Crosse planning on doing the opposite? Causing diseases?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “I’m not sure. He’s too paranoid to trust anyone with the whole picture—not even me before he knew I’d changed my loyalty. All I know is whatever he has planned, it won’t be to help people. He wanted to test something in a vaccine.”

  Something suddenly dawned on Taylor. “Hold on.” She pulled her notebook from her purse and flipped through it. “Alpha Pharmaceuticals is a company I mentioned before to Jack. The one Brody Hamilton sponsored bills on. Is that your father’s company?”

  “Yes. Alpha Pharma is a blind trust, but he’s the owner. I was working alongside their vaccine researchers, trying to figure out a way to incorporate germ-line genetic material into a vaccine.”

  “So is Alpha Pharma the one developing a TB vaccine with the TB Vaccine Initiative?” she asked.

  Jeremy nodded.

  Jack jumped up. “Crosse is behind the bill to mandate the TB vaccine?”

  “Yes. I believe he wanted to test his research with the new vaccine.”

  “Why would the scientists at Alpha go along with adding something secret to a vaccine? Are they all unethical, too?” Jack asked.

  Jeremy shook his head. “Not at all. They think they’re doing vital work that has the potential to help thousands.”

  “Carl said you were a scientist. Did you have any hand in the research before you left?” Taylor asked.

  Jeremy put his back to them and stared into the fire. Taking a deep breath, he turned around to face them. “My research was focused on perfecting the delivery system for the germ-line changes. He has others working on the genetic material. I was close to getting to the truth when he found out I’d betrayed him.” Jeremy shook his head. “He’s brilliant and dangerous. His scientists think they’re working on gene therapy breakthroughs. But a handful of former Nazi scientists know what he’s really doing and that all takes place far from the main institute, in a secret facility.”

  “Sounds very vague and like a lot of supposition on your part,” Jack said.

  Jeremy shrugged. “You can’t possibly understand the depth of depravity that is Damon Crosse. I don’t have to know the details to know that whatever he’s doing in that lab is not for the common good. But that’s only a part of his work. The Institute has been working for over forty years to corrupt society. He has thousands of people working for him, and they’re everywhere. His assault on morality began before I was born, and he’s still using every means at his disposal to continue it.”

  “I don’t understand. How can one man launch an attack on all our morals?” Jack asked.

  “He’s got lobbyists, politicians, advertising people. Take a look around—at television, at the direction our laws are moving in. He’s like a maestro, orchestrating it all from his fortress in the woods.”

  “I don’t have a problem with our laws, Jeremy. You’re starting to sound a little paranoid to me.”

  “Jack.” Taylor gave him a look.

  “Well, seriously, come on. People aren’t sheep. One man cannot be manipulating an entire nation.”

  “You’d be surprised at how easily people are influenced, Jack,” Jeremy answered. “The decline in church attendance is something he’s gleeful about.”

  That raised Jack’s hackles. “If you’re trying to tell me that church is the answer to society’s problems, don’t waste your breath. In my opinion, organized religion is the cause of most of society’s ills.”

  Jeremy looked at him for a long moment before speaking. “I won’t argue with you, Jack. Church attendance is merely a symptom of a greater problem. I’m talking about the loss of faith, the elevation of self, and the move in society away from good.”

  “We can debate this later. Let’s get back to the issue at hand—stopping Crosse. He admitted to watching your mother die without lifting a finger to help her. You said he even recorded it. Do you know where he keeps the tape of your mother? Can you use that against him?” Jack asked.

  Jeremy nodded. “I’m sure it’s still at the Institute. I tried to find it before I left. I’m thinking it’s in his private chambers. He has too much pride to destroy it, and he likes his trophies.”

  “We need to get our hands on that tape,” Taylor said.

  Jeremy shook his head. “Impossible. We can’t go there. We’d never make it out alive. The only reason I have been able to stay in hiding all this time is because of the generosity of my benefactor. He helped me to fin
d and finance this place.”

  “Who is it?” Jack asked.

  “The man who has been the CEO of Damon’s pharma company for the past twenty years. When I told him—his name is Sinclair Devlin—the truth about Damon’s work at the Institute, he agreed to help me.”

  “Is he still heading up the company?” Jack asked.

  “Yes. Damon has no idea that Devlin is helping me. He’s keeping a close watch on the TB initiative and the work on genetic therapy.”

  “That makes me feel a little better,” Taylor said.

  Jeremy looked at them. “I have something to show you. The quality is very poor. I did my best to enhance it, but it was converted from tape that is over thirty years old.”

  The television screen came to life and the image of a young woman, visibly pregnant, filled the screen. She was sitting in a plush velvet chair with a stained-glass window behind her.

  “You’ll never get away with this.”

  A melodious voice answered her.

  “Don’t you see I already have? Your parents are gone. Your sister thinks you’ve abandoned her. We’ve sent her a letter from you saying that you never want to speak to her again, that you’ve made a new life in Europe.”

  She shot up from the chair. “She’ll never believe that!”

  He laughed. “She’ll forget about you.”

  “Never.”

  “Trust me, Maya. She’ll find a new family. Now that you and your parents are dead, she’ll move on.”

  The man rose and walked toward her, his back to the camera. He put his hands on her shoulders and spoke slowly and deliberately to her. “She thinks you’ve run off with someone you met from here. She’s very hurt that you missed her wedding.”

  She hung her head.

  “Eva got married?”

  The screen went blank, and Jeremy got up and turned off the television.

  Taylor looked at Jeremy. “Eva?”

  Jeremy hesitated. “Your mother.”

  Jack looked back and forth between the two of them, bewildered.

  “My mother and your mother were sisters,” he said.