Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
It could be a coincidence.
Except in his gut, Gary knew he didn’t believe that.
Something else was bugging him.
“This whole thing with the tote bag, the nebulizer, the computer fan… are you sure this is what he’s planning?”
Nathan’s face was drawn. “No, we’re not. We’re just going by what Sam saw. And yes, we could be adding two and two and coming up with ninety-eight.” He frowned. “What’s on your mind?”
“It reminds me of something my dad showed me when I was little, that’s all.
He used to love these cartoons by some British guy…
what was his name?” Gary searched his mind until finally he had it.
“Heath Robinson. That was it. This guy drew these funny illustrations of fantastical, wacky inventions made up of lots of components, and all to achieve one very simple purpose.” He smiled.
“Dad said once it was like him building a mousetrap comprising the contents of a kitchen cabinet, string, tape, and old lawnmower parts.”
“Where are you going with this?”
Lord, he was tired.
“It might be just me, but doesn’t it strike anyone else that this contraption of the professor’s is…
low-rent? I mean, if he was going to do this, why knock up something that sounds as if it really is held together with tape?
For a test?” He expelled a breath. “This makes me feel like we’ve got it wrong, that this is some wild-goose chase.
And it also makes me think that if he is doing this, he’s doing it alone.
Because no government or foreign power in their right mind is going to give the go-ahead to such a harebrained scheme.
For Christ’s sake, this isn’t like the infernal contraptions in those Rube Goldberg machine videos, all right? ”
Nathan rubbed his face. “Okay. What if you’re right?
What if he is some lone gunman on a quest to wipe out a chunk of humanity?
Does it matter how he does it? Of course not.
What matters is that a US citizen—a renowned citizen, I might add—seems to be heading down a road that only leads to chaos, and we have to stop him.
So what if this is just a test? Are we going to let him conduct it so he can move on to bigger and deadlier tests?
Genetically targeted tests? Because if Sam’s right, he’s already developed his bioweapon.
” Nathan stared at him. “And it doesn’t matter if he gets some government to strap it to the head of a missile and explode it over a city, or if he rigs up a delivery system that looks like a kid made it—the outcome will be the same.
And that’s what we’re here to prevent. We don’t want that outcome.
” Nathan closed his eyes for a second. “I think I’m going to stretch out on the couch and grab a few hours’ sleep.
I suggest you do the same. The seats recline, and they’re pretty comfortable.
” He glanced at Sam. “And you get the other couch.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted.
Even Gary knew that was a lie.
“When was the last time you slept?” Nathan asked. “And I don’t mean when you catnapped for an hour.”
She snorted. “It shows, huh?”
Nathan stood, his hand outstretched. “Come on, sis. Let your little brother take care of you. We’ve got eleven hours before we touch down in Lagos. I’ll give you a pill. And before you refuse, they’re herbal, nothing heavy.” He clasped her hand in his. “Please? For me?”
She said nothing for a moment, but at last her shoulders slumped. “Okay. A few hours wouldn’t hurt.” She stood and walked toward the front of the plane where the two couches sat, a couple of pillows thoughtfully placed at each end.
Nathan patted Dan on the shoulder. “Try to sleep, okay?” Then he followed Sam.
Gary pressed the button on the arm of his seat, pushing back until he was at an angle. “He’s right, this isn’t bad. It’s better than economy on a commercial plane, put it that way.” Inane chatter was better than sharing the tumult of thoughts cascading through his head right then.
Then he realized Dan was way too quiet.
Gary covered Dan’s hand with his. “Hey,” he said in a low voice.
Dan was staring at the diagram Sam had drawn. “One question keeps rolling around inside my head. Why?”
“You’re talking about Robert Martin, aren’t you?”
Dan nodded. “Why is he doing this? How do you go from developing a product to make gene sequencing faster than ever, thus saving millions of lives, to creating a pathogen that could wipe out millions of lives? What went wrong?”
“I guess we’re going to find out.” He studied Dan’s face. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“I suppose what scares me most is the fear that we’ll get there, and my abilities won’t be of any real use.” He turned toward Gary. “I feel so out of my depth.”
“You and me both,” Gary assured him. “And it’s natural you should feel nervous.”
“Really?”
“Of course. You’ve always insisted your ability isn’t one hundred percent reliable. But I believe in you. And your gift. And when the moment of truth arrives, that gift will come through for you.”
Dan gave him a tired smile. “You don’t think you’re the tiniest bit biased?”
Gary chuckled. “Maybe just a little.” He glanced briefly at the operatives sitting close by.
Fuck it.
Gary leaned in and pressed a kiss to Dan’s temple. “Sleep. Because we need you.”
He watched as Dan fought the fatigue that rolled over him, but finally he succumbed, his eyes closing and his breathing slipping into a more even rhythm.
Only then did Gary allow himself to sag into his seat.
This is so fucked up.
Dan wasn’t the only one with doubts. Gary wanted to be of use too, but Nathan’s team was far better trained to deal with whatever was coming right at them. The best he could hope for was not to get in their way.
And to come out of this alive—all of us.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
4:45 a.m.
Dan rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” He’d fallen asleep minutes after take-off from Lagos. Outside the sky was growing lighter, and he guessed dawn couldn’t be that far away.
“Almost five o’clock,” Gary told him. “I was about to nudge you. We’ve already begun our descent.” He held out a cup of coffee. “This might help.”
Dan took it gratefully. “Any sandwiches left?”
“None, I’m afraid.”
Although he needed to eat, he yearned even more for a shower. Dan peered out of the window. “Looks like there’s nothing down there but hills.” The undulating ridges below cast little shadow in the morning twilight.
“Wait till we get closer to Johannesburg,” a voice called from the back. Dan recognized the heavy accent instantly. “It’s a lot more densely populated.”
“When was the last time you were there, Johan?” Nathan called out as he got into one of the seats facing Gary and Dan.
“Two years ago. My grandmother’s eightieth. Couldn’t wait to get on a plane and go home.”
Dan kept his gaze fixed on the ground that rose to meet them, and sure enough he saw the first signs that spoke of civilization, small clusters of dwellings that blossomed and swelled into larger conurbations.
“Is that Johannesburg over there?” He craned his neck to get a better view.
“Nah, that’s Pretoria,” Johan informed him. “Not far now.”
“Seat belts, everyone.” Nathan’s voice cut through the chatter. He met Dan’s gaze. “We’re not going to land at O.R.Tambo—that’s the international airport—we’re heading for Rand airport, about thirty minutes’ drive from the center of Johannesburg.”
Dan got it. They were trying to avoid attracting too much attention.
The plane touched down, and Dan peered at the landscape beyond the window.
The airport appeared small, and in the distance were tall buildings enshrouded in morning mist. The door opened, and they descended the steps onto the tarmac.
Dan spotted a silver minivan waiting by what had to be the terminal, a single-story sand-colored building with a control tower rising from the middle of it.
The first thing he noticed was the temperature. Five in the morning, and it had to be in double digits already.
“How warm will it get?” he asked Nathan as they walked toward the minivan. A guy in slacks and an open-collar white shirt stood beside it, straightening as Nathan approached.
“The forecast for the next three days is twenty-nine to thirty-two Celsius.”
“And for those of us who can’t convert that in our heads into Fahrenheit? You know, the real temperature?” one of Nathan’s team called out, his voice laced with amusement.
“Speak for yourself, Warren,” Johan fired back at him. “Some of us think in Celsius.”
“High eighties,” Sam called out. She glanced at Nathan. “The final is Saturday. We won’t be staying long after that, will we?”
“I hope not.”
Gary cleared his throat. “Can I point something out here? Right now you’re guessing about them releasing the pathogen during the game, aren’t you? Because after tailing one of the knights to the stadium, that seems the most likely scenario?”
Nathan came to a halt in front of the bus and turned to face Gary.
“You’re right, of course. We’re playing in the dark here.
All we can do is watch the knights and try to think three or four steps ahead of them.
” Then he gave his attention to the man by the minivan, and smiled.
“Good set of wheels. This’ll take the whole team. Nice job, Greg.”
Greg’s eyes gleamed. “Only following orders. You said to find transportation for eighteen—this baby seats twenty.” He inclined his head toward the building. “There’s someone waiting for you inside, from the consulate.”
“Yeah, we’re expected.” Nathan twisted to look at his team. “Passports at the ready, guys. And for God’s sake, make sure your permits are inside your gun cases.”
“Holy crap, I forgot once, okay?” someone whined.
“But you won’t ever do that again, will you?” Nathan followed Greg into the building. “Wulf, Bianca, and Poppy still on our guys?”
“Yes, sir. They said one of them will check in with you after breakfast.”
“Breakfast,” Sam groaned. “That sounds way better than what we had during the flight.”