Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Gary’s stomach clenched, and he leveled a hard stare at Winter. “Did you know anything about this?”
Winter’s eyes went wide. “No, I swear it.”
“When did you last check in with your bosses?” Nathan inquired.
“Early Saturday afternoon, when we knew we were being watched. I didn’t speak to anyone—it had to have been about six thirty in the morning EST—but I left a message.
I already had my instructions. We were to protect Michelle and contact them when we were away from the stadium. ” He huffed. “I never got the chance.”
Nathan drummed the table with his fingers. “Then your bosses did know about Gerber?”
Winter snorted. “Are you kidding me? They’re the CIA. Of course they did.”
Nathan stared at his phone. “Bosman is checking all flights out of Tambo. He’s getting back to me.” He peered at Winter. “When were you all planning on returning to Boston?”
“We had tickets for the next available flight, this evening.”
Nathan’s phone rang, and he grabbed it, stabbing at the screen. “What have you got?” He listened intently, and the longer he spent in silence, the more Gary’s skin tingled.
This is not good.
Nathan finished the call. “That was Taylor at the airport. No sign of Gerber or Michelle there. She’s also checked the manifests. Neither of them is booked on any flights in the next few days.”
Winter gazed at him thoughtfully. “You might want to check with Tambo and Rand for any incoming flights out of the US. Not necessarily today, maybe yesterday.”
Nathan tapped on the screen, then walked away from them, his phone to his ear.
“What are you thinking?” Gary asked.
Winter’s face was grim. “That maybe there was a contingency plan I knew nothing about.”
No one spoke for a few minutes. From the corner of the patio came the low rumble of Nathan’s voice.
At last he came back to them.
“You were right,” he said to Winter. “A private jet landed at Rand early this morning. Only two passengers. And it took off—” He glanced at his watch. “—ten minutes ago. Only this time, there were four passengers.”
Winter nodded. “And if you check into whoever footed the bill, I think you’ll find it was Uncle Sam.” He shook his head. “Why send two CIA agents when you can send four? So either they didn’t trust us to get the job done, or—”
“Or they sent two more agents to escort Gerber and Michelle back home,” Nathan interjected. “Which makes more sense.”
Sam frowned. “Can’t you have their flight met? Arrest her when she gets off the plane?”
Nathan pushed out a patient sigh. “Can I remind you of something? If Winter is right—and I see no reason to doubt his logic—representatives of the US intelligence community collected her. She’s not fleeing the country. She’s being escorted.”
“What about me?” Winter stared at Nathan, who stared back at him.
“What about you? You’re carrying CIA credentials, you’ve already given us the pathogen. If you want a ride back to Boston, we leave in the morning. You’re welcome to join us.” His eyes glinted. “You can have Michelle’s seat.”
“I have a question,” Sam piped up. “What happens now? Robert’s test didn’t materialize, and as soon as he discovers that, it’ll be back to the drawing board to plan another one.”
Winter leaned back, his hands laced on his stomach. “Ask yourself another question. Why were they so keen to get their hands on Michelle Martin?”
Judging by the way Dan nodded, his gaze locked on Winter, he’d been asking himself the same thing.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
“Dan. Dan.”
He roused himself from his musing. Gary peered at him, a slight frown creasing his brow.
“And where were you? Apart from on a plane home.”
“I was thinking about the professor.”
Truth be told, he’d done nothing but think about him since their conversation with Winter ended.
Winter, who now sat two seats in front of him, fast asleep.
“Any particular thoughts?”
Dan gazed hopefully at the empty cup on their small table. “Any more coffee?” He wasn’t about to fall asleep anytime soon. Too many thoughts colliding to allow for that.
Gary stood. “I think Johan has a fresh pot. I’ll be right back.”
Dan peered through the window at the world below and sent it a silent message.
You just got a lucky break.
Next time, it might not be so fortunate.
Dan didn’t doubt for one minute there would be a next time. Even if they stopped the professor from carrying out his plans, there was sure to be someone else waiting in the wings, ready to loose something just as deadly onto an unsuspecting planet.
Gary handed him a cup, and Dan took it gratefully.
“Okay, so what were you thinking about?”
“You remember when Professor Martin said he and Sam didn’t set out to make money from their work?” Gary nodded. “I think that was the truth. He doesn’t strike me as a capitalistic kind of man.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I was thinking about what he said to Powell and Winter. That bit about going back to the 1850s and cracking fusion, inventing the catalytic converter. Yes, he was planning something truly horrific, but he was also a very progressive thinker. He wanted the best for the majority.”
“But he chose the wrong way to achieve it.”
“May I join you?” Sam stood in the aisle.
Dan gestured to the empty seat facing him. “Please.” She sat. “Where’s Nathan?”
Sam chuckled. “Asleep on the couch. He’d never admit it, but he hates flying.” She gazed through the window.
Dan regarded her for a moment. “So what happens now? You appear in the media and say, ‘Surprise! I’m not dead’?”
Sam smiled. “Nathan assures me I can go with ‘mistaken identity,’ and hope no one asks awkward questions about the autopsy. Though how they got a pathologist to sign off that it was me, I’ll never know.”
“Actually, we know him,” Dan told her.
“He was relieved to know you weren’t dead,” Gary added. “And he didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. Some… friends wanted a favor.” He stretched his legs out into the aisle. “How does it feel to be back in the land of the living?”
She ran her fingers through her short hair.
“I’ll be happy when this grows back.” Her face tightened.
“And right now I just feel numb. I worked with Robert for ten years, and I had no idea what he was up to. And now that I do know? It makes me question everything. Because if all the strides I make can be repurposed with some malign intent….” She tilted her head to one side.
“Someone once said that every benefit to mankind has an equal or opposite risk.”
Dan reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Your machine will change mankind. Whoever follows in your footsteps will change it even more. You have to keep going.”
Sam frowned and pulled free of his grasp.
“Why? When every technological advancement we make brings us closer to the brink of extinction? The Chinese invented gunpowder to make pretty bangs. Then it got used in projectiles that got bigger and better. Rockets. First we designed them to take us to the stars, until some bright mind thought of attaching bombs to them.” Her frown deepened.
“I have no idea what evil purpose my successes will be turned to.” She gazed at him with an earnestness that made his heart ache.
“Can you take my hand and promise me that won’t happen? ”
Dan sighed. “My gift doesn’t work like that.”
She returned her gaze to the window. “I can’t help but think—and it’s constantly at the back of my mind now about every bit of research and development I do: ‘What could this be used for, apart from its original purpose?’”
Gary’s eyes held so much compassion. “You can’t think that way. If everyone did that, research would grind to a halt.”
Dan took her hand once more, and this time she didn’t free it.
He kept his voice soft. “The horrors you imagine—the ones we’ve been privy to these last few weeks—they’re going to happen anyway, but we need people like you to respond to them when it does.”
Sam stared at their joined hands. “Do you think we could stay in touch once we get back to Boston?”
He smiled. “I’d like that.”
“I suppose it will be back to detecting for you.”
Dan chuckled. “Well, it will for Gary. I’ll keep giving him what insights I can.”
Gary laughed. “This is where I point out that in the last few days, it felt like you were doing more detecting than I was.” He grinned. “You enjoy it. Don’t bother lying.”
Dan bit his lip. “Okay, you got me. Yes, I do. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure at first, but after a few cases, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable.” He covered Gary’s hand with his. “And that’s because of you. I know you’ll listen to my theories and not dismiss my intuition.”
“Are you kidding?” The warmth of Gary’s smile sent a wave of pleasure through him. “I rely on your intuition. Never, never be afraid to let me know what you think.” He chuckled. “Now drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dan drank, half listening as Gary and Sam chatted, their conversation running the gamut of topics from the Tiffany-produced stained-glass windows in Boston churches to recent breakthroughs in medicine.
Dan’s mind was focused on Brad.
I’ve learned so much these past few months.
Now he wanted to apply that knowledge to help Gary find his brother’s killer—with a little help from Barry Davis.
Boston, MA
10:45 p.m.
Nathan’s car sped through the dark streets, and despite the heater working at full blast, Dan shivered.
“Three days in Johannesburg has upset my body clock,” he grumbled.
Nathan chuckled. “It’ll soon get back into its normal rhythm.”
“But I don’t want it to,” he groused. “And summer seems so far away.”
“Sam didn’t look happy,” Gary commented.
“I don’t care,” Nathan retorted. “Mike is part of the furniture until I know for certain that she’s safe. So she can moan all she likes.”
Dan bit back a smile. “I don’t think she’s moaning all that much.” When both men glanced in his direction, he rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t see all the looks she was throwing in his direction.”
Nathan stiffened. “What? Oh hell no. She is not getting involved with one of my guys.”