by Steve Hadden
When she was recruited, she had no idea she’d become a multibillionaire by developing SZENSOR with Neville. And she was shocked by her joy at becoming a mother. Penelope and Darrin meant everything to her now. But her handler had given assurances that after she delivered the treatment, the data and Covington, she’d be allowed to return to her life as the innocent ex-wife of a fallen billionaire.
Neville would not recover from the trap she’d set. Her parents had taken the children to Banff for a skiing vacation. She hadn’t known about her parents’ involvement with the MSS until her recruitment. At the time, it was a shock. But now, she was fully aligned with their allegiance to Chinese superiority. They’d taught her to play the long game and how to use the Americans’ short-term focus against them. Years ago, they’d parlayed their investment in Seattle into an EB-5 visa and green cards, and Charlotte was born a US citizen. Even though her parents had wanted a boy, she took great pride in the respect and admiration they now showed her. While she was born in Seattle and loved her American life, she considered China her homeland, and that gave her parents great joy.
Yesterday morning, to conceal the ruse, her parents had taken her double provided by the Ministry of State Security to Banff. She was shocked when she saw her at her parents’ home in Vancouver. They could easily stand side by side and pass as twins. The cameras and witnesses would provide her with the perfect alibi of a family ski vacation with her parents and children.
She’d returned to the US yesterday afternoon using one of the many identities managed for her border crossings. The disguise was simple and took little effort. She’d had no problem at the border. As far as the FBI was concerned, she’d entered Canada with her children and hadn’t returned.
Neville himself had orchestrated the final fact set that would secure her innocence. Even though she’d never spoken the words, it was clear to Neville that she’d blow up their lives if he lied to her. And SZENSOR provided the perfect deterrent. He’d set up a firewall between them, keeping any knowledge of Wagner’s work in San Diego secret. She doubted Neville even knew what Wagner and his agent had done.
While the coded messages to the reporter were intended for the FBI, she was thrilled when she learned Covington had made the connection. And tonight she’d learned that the FBI had figured it out on their own. They’d all converged on Neville. But time was critical now. Covington was dying—she probably had only forty-eight hours or so—and the FBI was closing in. Covington had conducted the first human trial on herself, and the blood and tissue they’d pull from her before she died would be invaluable. After her death, it would be worthless. Charlotte would deliver the treatment, data and samples to her handler and be done.
Artemis had assured her of delivery. Through her research, Charlotte knew Artemis had risen to the top of what might be the toughest male-dominated profession in the world. She appreciated what it took and believed Artemis would deliver. Before she did, Charlotte had one final meeting.
Charlotte looked at the message again. It was one word. A word that meant nothing to any prying eyes. Xanadu. The word was meaningless other than the fact that it began with the twenty-fourth letter in the alphabet. That meant 2400. Midnight. The meeting place would be the same. A turnout just after the bridge over the Snoqualmie River on the logging road. She glanced across the dark granite kitchen island and spotted the blue numbers on the oven clock. It was 11:42 p.m.
She opened the small duffle bag and pulled out a gun. After checking the magazine, she walked to the door and pulled the heavy North Face coat from the hook. She slipped the gun into the pocket, shrugged the jacket on and opened the garage door. She got into her Suburban. It was the perfect soccer-mom car. There were probably a thousand like it in the area, and she’d refused Neville’s constant offers to upgrade to a Range Rover. It was part of her cover. And that cover was about to set her free.
She left the garage and drove through the majestic evergreens that were freshly flocked with snow. She loved the Northwest and its ever-changing natural beauty. When she reached the turnoff before the bridge, she noted the recent tire tracks in the new-fallen snow. Jack was already here.
She turned off her headlights and used only the fog lamps on the Suburban. Jack was Chinese and had been her handler since the beginning. She’d wondered what his real name was but for some reason never asked. Maybe she was worried that such prying questions would be frowned upon or that such friendliness might make her pristine cover as a happy American more difficult to maintain.
Half a minute in, she saw the turnaround and the black Cadillac idling in the darkness. She pulled in facing the car, stopped thirty yards away and flashed her fog lights three times. Jack returned the signal and she pulled parallel to his driver’s-side door. His window drifted down. His straight jet-black hair and plump cheeks reminded her of how her father had looked when she was in college.
“Any problems?” he asked.
“Everything went perfectly.”
“You did very well. The FBI and Dr. Covington both converged on your husband at the same time. Now we’ll rely on this Artemis to do the rest.” He turned away, reached into a bag on the passenger seat and turned back with a smartphone. “She will contact you on this phone, on WhatsApp. She will text you the time and place. We suspect they are close by. The phone has a second app on it. Just open it and have them enter the account and routing number for their bank. The transfer will happen instantly.” He handed her a fire-containment bag. “Put the phone in here within fifteen seconds of completing the transaction. It will self-destruct.”
Charlotte placed the phone and the bag in the duffle next to her.
“I’ve made arrangements for another operative to meet you at the safe house by 0400. He will have a delivery van. Unmarked and untraceable. Once you’re contacted, you both will go to the pickup location. He’ll provide security and help you load the van.”
“What then?”
“Take the treatments, the drives and Dr. Covington back to the safe house. The surgeon and I will be waiting. Once he extracts what he needs, you’ll leave.”
“The body?”
“We’ll take care of it. Go straight to the lodge in Banff. Wait for the RCMP to find you.”
“Anything else?”
“A grateful Party thanks you.” Jack rolled up his window and pulled away.
CHAPTER 67
Kayla drove the white Audi SUV under the covered pedestrian bridge that connected the parking lot to the path to the observation deck at Snoqualmie Falls. On the left, she could see the Salish Lodge. At midnight, the hotel was dormant. The entrance and lobby were lit, but there was no sign of activity. As she turned right and entered the parking lot from Highway 202, she noted that the thin skin of snow on the asphalt ahead was undisturbed. With the falls closed at dusk and the FBI’s warnings to the sheriff and the Washington State Patrol to stay clear, she was certain they were alone. Reed and his team waited at the roundabout half a mile away.
Kayla had used the time on the drive to fully brief Sienna on RGR, from the genetic code that triggered the immortality of Turritopsis to the rapid evolution of safeguards surrounding CRISPR they had developed. The technology was safe, and Kayla was living proof, but that proof would be gone soon, and Sienna had promised to get the full story out so that the public would see how RGR would transform human life for the better. She reminded Sienna that her science was always on the side of the angels and wanted her to tell that to her readers and followers. RGR wasn’t a weapon, and Kayla was committed to doing whatever it took to see that it never became one.
Kayla parked facing the entrance to the pedestrian bridge and turned off the SUV. “Promise me you’ll tell Emily that I did this all for her and her grandfather.”
Sienna nodded. “I will.”
“And get her away from here as quickly as you can.” Kayla pulled her Glock from her jacket pocket and handed it to Sienna. “Use this if you have to.”
Kayla looked through the windshie
ld at the bridge and the lodge beyond it. This had been a special place for her while growing up. Her father had brought her here for special Saturday lunches at the lodge. He’d answered her questions about the falls, and those would lead to discussions about science and life. She’d cross the bridge one last time tonight and never see her dad again. “Let’s go,” she said and reached for the door handle.
“Wait,” Sienna said. She gathered herself before she continued. “I want you to know that you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met. And if this is—” Kayla saw Sienna’s eyes fill with tears. “If this is it, I’ll never forget you and what you’ve done. And I’ll make sure the world never does either.”
Kayla had dedicated her life to improving the human condition, and because of Sienna’s commitment to tell her story, Kayla swelled with a knowing confidence that her life had made a difference to millions of people she’d never meet. She’d see her daughter soon, even if for a moment, then Sienna would tell her the truth about her sacrifices. She looked down at her hands on the wheel and saw her white knuckled death grip. For a second, she’d forgotten what she was about to do. She pulled them from the wheel, opening and closing her hands to relive the tension, and looked over at Sienna. Sienna had reminded her of Emily, but now she saw her as a unique human being. A young woman with drive but compassion. Kayla reminded herself she had to stay focused and quelled the tearful release building inside. She wouldn’t be able to safely hug Emily when they passed, so she leaned over and hugged Sienna hard. Then, without a word, she opened the door.
The air was cold and the night sky clear. A light breeze left over from the storm stung her cheeks. Sienna joined her at the front of the car, and they walked in silence, side by side up the snowy sidewalk. There were no other footprints, but Kayla knew whatever evil there was in the world waited on the other side of the bridge. She saw her breath, and her fingers began to sting in the cold. But she wasn’t shivering. She remembered her cold tolerance had been much better when she was in her thirties. She smiled at the irony. She felt the best she could ever remember while she walked to her death.
They climbed the stairs to the covered pedestrian bridge and stopped at its entrance. The bridge was all wood, probably redwood or cedar. Orange-yellow lights hung from the ceiling spaced about twenty feet apart and lit the entire bridge with a foreboding orange glow. All the times she’d been here, including her nights with Harrison at the lodge, she’d never seen the bridge at night. It was beautiful. It was about forty yards long and open on both sides. Black chain link protected the road below from any articles carelessly released from a preoccupied tourist. She could feel the wind swirling through the bridge and spotted the miniature drifts it created on the floor planks. Educational plaques telling the history of the falls were spaced evenly down the right side of the covered bridge. A set of footprints came from the other side in the drifted snow and stopped at the first plaque, then looped back across the bridge. Kayla’s face flushed into a sweat when she noted that the footprints of her killer were large and heavy.
Sienna eyed Kayla, who nodded toward the folded paper taped to the plaque, flapping gently in the breeze. Sienna moved and plucked the note from the plaque. She didn’t read it and handed it to Kayla. Kayla opened it so they could read it together. It was from a digital printer.
Walk across the bridge and down the stairs and stop at the last turn in the walk. The reporter stops there. When you see your daughter start to walk from the observation deck, walk at the same pace she does. Do not stop, hesitate or deviate from the sidewalk. We will kill you and Emily if you do. When Emily reaches the reporter, they must leave immediately upon your surrender. NOT EARLIER.
Kayla refolded the note and locked eyes with Sienna. “No matter what you hear after you have Emily, don’t stop.”
CHAPTER 68
Kayla stood under the walkway light and peered at the observation deck in the distance. Searching the darkness for Emily, she tried to ignore the voice inside screaming that these could be her final moments on Earth. Everything was coated with a thin glaze of ice, including the walkway and the railing. She tested her footing and glanced to the left. The falls roared as if insisting they not be ignored. The rumble seemed to warn the night of the power of its heavy January flow that crashed into the river two hundred feet below. A diffuse mist rose from the canyon and condensed on her cheeks. Sienna stepped next to Kayla and squeezed Kayla’s hand. Sienna’s hand was warm, and Kayla found comfort in the young woman’s compassion. Kayla held on to Sienna as she looked at her and silently acknowledged her support. Then Kayla turned her attention back to the darkness holding her daughter.
While the walkway lights were evenly spaced, those on the observation deck fifty yards away were dark, probably broken or disabled by Emily’s captors. As she searched the darkness for her daughter, her pulse pounded in her chest and head. Out of the inky nothingness, she detected movement and Emily was pushed into the umbra of the first walkway light. Despite the distance, Kayla could see Emily’s tears. She shivered in the cold. Kayla realized RGR had returned the twenty-twenty vision of her thirties.
Memories flooded Kayla’s mind: the day Emily was born, the innocent joy she spread throughout her childhood, and those enlightening teenage years when they came apart and then bonded as mother and adult child. The warmth was shattered by the memory of the acidic vitriol of their separation ten years ago.
The roar of the falls was deafening in the still night and Emily glanced into the darkness, as if receiving a command. Then Emily locked her attention on Kayla and started to walk.
“Reed will find you,” Sienna said as she squeezed Kayla’s hand and then let go.
Kayla nodded without belief and started toward Emily. Immediately, a ruby-red beam appeared from the darkness and targeted Kayla’s chest. A second beam appeared, aimed at the back of Emily’s head. As Kayla matched each step Emily took, she had to remind herself to breathe. With every step, the distance between them closed. She glanced at the laser on her chest and felt as if she were on a tightrope. One wiggle and she might not even hear the shot that would kill her. Worse yet, she might see her daughter killed in her last moment alive.
Now they were close enough to see each other’s face in every detail. Emily was crying but just as focused on her path as Kayla. Emily’s body went rigid, her strides short and mechanical. Her wild darting eyes, locked on Kayla’s chest, and said she could see the beam targeting her mother’s heart. Then Emily locked her piercing gaze on Kayla’s face, and her mouth dropped open as she took in her mother’s youthful appearance. Kayla estimated RGR had taken her to the equivalent of her mid-thirties, just a few years older than her daughter. With the distance between them now only half of what it had been, the power of her love for Emily radiated from her. She went with the sensation and poured into it every moment of joy, gratitude, and pride they’d shared throughout their lives together. Kayla desperately hoped Emily could feel it, and she closed her eyes and imagined broadcasting her love across the narrowing distance between them.
Suddenly Kayla’s right foot slipped on the ice and she struggled to keep her balance.
“Don’t shoot,” she yelled as her arms went up in an attempt to regain her balance. She braced for the pain of being shot, but it didn’t come. Emily stood still until Kayla regained her balance. When the red dot reappeared on her chest, Kayla drew in a deep cold breath and nodded for Emily to resume. They stepped toward each other again.
With only a few feet left between them, Emily stopped crying, and in her soft eyes, Kayla saw the forgiveness she’d longed for. Tears warmed Kayla’s cheeks, and as they passed each other, they both reached out their hands. Together, as if in response to some subliminal instruction coded deep in their shared chromosomes, they touched hands and both whispered, “I love you.”
Then she was gone—forever. Kayla had seen her daughter for the last time in her life. Her shoulders sagged as the bottom fell out of her soul and desolation consumed her. Whil
e the relief of surrender summoned, she reminded herself of two things: Emily’s safety was still in her hands and her plan had to work. Kayla kept walking and searched the darkness for the piece of human trash that had taken her family and her life’s work. She tested her footing with each step. It would be critical to gain the leverage she needed. While the footing was suboptimal, the ice on the railing would help and the slope on the other side would be like a ski run. She’d end her life on her terms. Artemis would die a terrifying death, and that might buy just enough time for Reed to arrive and maybe save her life’s work.
The beam was still squarely on her chest, but there were only ten yards or so to go. A hulking silhouette emerged from the dark observation deck and Kayla noted the woman’s face and hair. While the close resemblance to her was shocking, Artemis outweighed her by at least thirty pounds of muscle. But Kayla’s muscle mass and agility had rocketed over the last few days, and while she couldn’t slug it out with the woman, Kayla could knock her off balance. All she needed was the element of surprise. And that would come in the next few steps.
Kayla reached the darkness and turned back to see Sienna with her arms around Emily running toward the bridge. Kayla spun and at the same time dug in her footing. Artemis was closer than she’d thought, and a hand leapt from the darkness and throttled Kayla’s throat. Artemis smiled sickly. The massive power of her grip sent a tremor through Kayla’s body. Artemis cut off all of Kayla’s air and pain bolted down her spine. This is what it feels like to die. Kayla felt a sting on the side of her neck. Then everything went black.
