Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gary came down the stairs, Dan following, to find someone had dragged the patio sofa indoors, and the whole team was seated, including two new faces he didn’t recognize. Sam sat with Mike, and Gary recognized Poppy from the previous day.
Nathan stood in front of the TV, deep in conversation with Johan and Amahle, but he turned as Gary and Dan approached.
“Gentlemen, please, take a seat.” He indicated two of the dining chairs that had been brought across, then resumed his discussion.
Gary sat, sneaking a glance at Dan beside him.
He looked better for a good night’s sleep.
Gary had slept well too, and he laid that miracle firmly at the door of the hour or so they’d spent making love.
An afternoon with nothing to do had exacerbated Gary’s fears, and by the time he’d turned out the light, sleep hadn’t even been on the horizon.
Seeking comfort and relief in each other’s arms had proved the perfect antidote to counteract those fears.
The moment he’d stepped into the shower, however, those fears resurfaced, more virulent than ever.
Soren handed them a folder. “Buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy briefing.” Then he continued with his task of distributing them.
Dan opened it, and Gary glanced at the photo lying on top. It was of a Black male in his late forties or possibly early fifties, bald, wearing a suit.
Dan put a hand to his chest. “Oh wow.”
Gary arched his eyebrows. “Do you know him?”
To his surprise, Dan flushed. “It wasn’t that kind of a wow.” He touched the photo. “What a beautiful man. He’s a bronze god with hazel eyes.” He smiled. “He’s also a bear.”
“How can you tell what he’s like under that suit?”
Dan grinned. “I’m only guessing, of course.”
Gary glanced at the photo once more. Granted, the guy was good-looking.
Way too good-looking, now he thought about it.
It was no use. He had to ask. The burning sensation in his chest and the ache in his clenched jaw proved impossible to ignore.
“Am I a bear?” He strove to keep his voice barely above a whisper.
Dan chuckled. “That would be a no.”
Gary hesitated for a moment before going in feet first. “Should I be worried here?”
“No, for one important reason.” Dan leaned in closer, and his breath tickled Gary’s ear. “I’m not into bears.”
“When you’ve quite finished?” Nathan fired them a glance before clearing his throat.
Silence fell. “One important item of interest before I start this briefing. Yesterday I gave orders for our consulate secretary, Wilhelm Gerber, to be picked up at his hotel for questioning. Unfortunately, he managed to give Wulf the slip. Furthermore, he checked out of his hotel and didn’t turn up for his flight back to Boston last night.
” When stifled gasps erupted from both sofas, Nathan raised a hand.
“Yes, you heard correctly. As of right now, we have no idea of his location.”
“We lost him?” Kyle glared at Wulf. “How the fu—how the hell did you do that?”
“It happens, okay? How was I to know he’d turned out to be a slippery little fucker?” Wulf flushed. “Sorry, Sam.”
Nathan snorted. “Don’t let this ‘genius professor who looks like butter wouldn’t melt’ act fool you. She’s heard worse, believe me. And truth be told, she’s said worse—usually about me—so don’t be apologizing.”
Sam gave him a mock glare.
“Maybe Gerber’s gone to the consulate,” someone suggested.
“Negative. I already checked. What worries me is why he didn’t return to the US.
We’ll keep an eye out for him at the airport.
” He scanned the faces before him. “And now that I have your attention…. No doubt you’ve watched enough South African TV to last you a lifetime since our arrival.
” That earned him a ripple of wry chuckles.
“Well, ditch that remote and put away those novels because you’ve got a job to do.
” He scanned the faces before him, his eyes glinting. “Tomorrow is a go.”
“That’s definite?” Stu asked.
Nathan nodded. “Has everyone got a folder? Yes? Okay. You now have photos of our two knights. Make sure you study them. If we’re going to prevent this disaster from occurring, every one of you will need to spot these guys in a heartbeat—which isn’t going to be easy, given the circumstances.”
“Now there’s a surprise.” Warren guffawed. “Since when do we get an easy job?”
Nathan coughed loudly, then held up the photo Dan had been so smitten by. “This is Knight One, John Winter. Our files say he worked for the CIA since 1997. Retired 2013.”
“Did he leave voluntarily, or was he pushed?” Mike asked.
“All indications are that it was his decision,” Nathan replied.
“What else do we know about him?” Gary asked. “You were already watching him, right? So there had to be a reason.”
Nathan smiled. “Very good, Detective. He came onto our radar in 2011, when he was linked to this man.” He held up a second photo. “Knight Two, Richard Powell, who also worked for the CIA. Also retired.”
Gary removed the second photo from their folder and studied it. This one was in black and white, and that first glance sent a shiver through him.
“Never doubt your instincts again,” Dan murmured.
When Gary gave him a speculative glance, Dan tapped the photo with his index finger.
“I don’t like the look of this guy either.
There’s something about his mouth that hints at…
I don’t know… cruelty, maybe? And those eyes.
I don’t need to see them in color to know they’re cold. ”
Powell looked younger than Winter, his hair reduced to sparseness and his beard threadbare.
Dan had nailed it about the mouth and eyes, though.
“What did Powell do to gain your attention?” Gary inquired.
“In 2011, Dr. Abram Rivers was an advisor to the US government. He spoke at an international meeting in Geneva, aimed at reviewing the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. He warned of the attempts of terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda to recruit scientists capable of making biological weapons.”
“Someone who knew what he was talking about, obviously,” Soren muttered.
Nathan gave a nod. “Dr. Rivers said it was a national security concern and urged countries to be more open about their efforts to clamp down on the threat of bioweapons.”
“He sounds like a sensible man,” Dan remarked.
“He also ended up a dead man,” Nathan announced.
Gary caught his breath. “What happened?”
“He disappeared in Washington D.C. in late December 2011 and was later found miles from his home in a park where he’d allegedly committed suicide.”
“‘Allegedly’? You don’t think it was suicide, do you?”
Nathan shook his head, his expression solemn.
“Too many things didn’t add up. The statements of the witnesses who found him conflicted with the reports of the paramedics and the police.
The autopsy got several key facts wrong.
And his family was adamant that he wasn’t the kind of person to commit suicide. They were ignored, of course.”
“So he was murdered, and it was covered up?” Dan’s eyes widened. “You think Powell killed him.”
“Yes, but we couldn’t prove it. Since 2011, he and Winter worked together a lot, and we’ve kept close tabs on both of them, hoping for a break.”
“But why kill Rivers for speaking out?” Dan asked.
Nathan stared at him. “It made no sense to us at the time—until we factored in what happened as a result of his death. Dr. Rivers’ replacement was Dr. Tobin Ducal.
He resisted calls for what Dr. Rivers had proposed—an international verification system, akin to that for nuclear weapons—saying it was too complicated to monitor every single lab’s activities. ”
“Surprise, surprise,” Gary muttered.
“That explains why you got interested when these two met with the professor.” Dan was nodding. “There was already a bioweapons angle—okay, a slim one—but enough to make you add two and two and not like the answer you arrived at.”
“Exactly. So when Sam discovered that lab and the professor’s notes—”
“You knew you’d pursue this,” Dan concluded. He paused. “I know you’ve got the knights under surveillance. I presume the professor is too?”
“Oh yes. Nothing moving on that front, though. He’s going about his routines.” Nathan frowned. “And reports indicate we’re not the only ones watching him.”
“So how do you know we’re on for tomorrow?” Greg asked.
“Because this morning, bright and early, Winter was at Ellis Stadium again, only this time, he was dressed as one of the cleaning staff.” Murmurs erupted around the room.
Amahle gave a low whistle. “That was smart, sending him in there instead of Powell.”
“Why?” Soren demanded.
“Because a white male cleaner would have been really obvious. Not that sending a Black man was without its risks—roughly about one in seven cleaners is male.”
Johan nodded in agreement.
“Was there any way he could have taken the device into the stadium without it being spotted?” Sam’s voice cut through the muttered conversations.
“Yes. He went in there with a wagon loaded with cleaning supplies. He was in and out in fifteen minutes.”
Gary stilled. “Then he’s hidden it in the stadium.”
“That was my take on it too,” Nathan commented.
“But why not take it in tomorrow?” Sam persisted.
“I think I know why.” Dan’s clear voice rose about the others. “Do bags get searched going in?”
“Yes, but they’re not likely to search someone unless they look suspicious. So I guess they’re playing it safe.”
“We know the nebulizer is small,” Sam observed, “and we’re assuming they’re going to modify it with the fan from a laptop.
Whoever is going to release the pathogen would probably put it together right before, as long as it’s all wired up and ready to go.
And because it’s that small, there are a couple of obvious places it could be hidden.
” She leaned forward, her eyes bright. “You said Winter went in as a cleaner. That points to either a restroom or a supply closet.”
“You can forget a supply closet,” Johan told her. “Whoever they’ve got to deploy this device, they won’t want to attract attention. Going into a supply closet? Too risky.”
“Okay, then let’s say it’s a restroom. The bag is small enough that he could have hidden it in a wall soap dispenser, or even the paper towel dispenser. All he has to do is slap an Out of Order sign on it.”
Dan frowned. “But what if someone tries to fix it?”
Johan snorted. “You obviously don’t know much about South Africa. Unless you specifically tell someone to do something, it doesn’t get done. Trust me, no one is going to see that sign and take it upon themselves to fix it.”
“So what do we do? Stake out all the restrooms?” Gary imagined that would be a mammoth task with the expected crowds.
“Yes,” Nathan responded. “They’re mostly on the ground level below the seating area, and there are more on the upper levels too.” He straightened. “Now you know what the knights look like, be on the lookout for them. Because wherever they are, their new pawn won’t be far away.”
“What time does the match begin?” Dan asked.
“Sixteen hundred hours, but the players will be on the pitch half an hour before that to warm up. We’ll be in there as soon as is possible.
Don’t forget your ID and gun permits. See Amahle for your gear.
” When a chorus of “What gear?” filled the air, Nathan arched his eyebrows.
“You want to blend in with the crowd, don’t you?
Some of you will be in Western Province shirts, and the rest will be in Sharks. ”
“I want a shirt for the team most likely to win,” Warren called out.
Nathan glared. “Can you all remember one thing? Don’t get distracted by the game.
We’re here to stop whoever has that device from deploying it.
Because two to three weeks from now, I don’t want to be watching a news report about the first outbreak of smallpox since 1977.
The WHO declared it to be eradicated back in 1980.
” He scanned the room, his face grave. “Let’s make sure it stays that way. ”
The silence that fell told Gary Nathan’s comment had hit its mark.
Nathan gazed at the team. “Any last questions?”
Stu coughed. “Sir… this device… the one you think they’re going to deploy… I’ve read the description in the folder, but”—he arched his eyebrows—“really?”
Gary glanced at Nathan as he spoke. “Yeah, I had the same thought.”
Nathan closed his folder. “Based on the intel we have so far, yes, that’s all we could come up with. And tomorrow we might discover we were totally wrong.” He wrapped up the meeting, and the operatives dispersed, some heading out onto the patio, others going to their rooms.
Only Sam, Nathan, Gary, and Dan remained.
“I know I’m wasting my breath saying this, but—” Nathan focused on them. “—try to turn your minds off as best you can, okay? Dwelling on it won’t achieve anything. And I need your minds fresh and intuitive for tomorrow. All three of you. Sleep if you can. Laze by the pool.”
Dan huffed. “You know that’s not going to happen, don’t you?”
Nathan gazed at him. “If you have any feelings about tomorrow—”
“I’ll share them, don’t worry.” Dan shuddered. “You hit the nail on the head. We can’t let them release it.”
“No, we can’t,” Gary agreed. He had three objectives for the coming mission: to find out if one or both of the knights was responsible for the deaths of Leo Deakins, Eddie Ray, and Jonathon Wilmer; to prevent whoever the new pawn was from dispersing the pathogen….
And to make sure Dan didn’t step into the path of oncoming harm.