CHAPTER 101
Columbia, Maryland
No reason to rush. He could be in downtown Baltimore in about forty-five minutes. His experience taught him to wait for the right moment, when guards and nurses were less inclined to wander and certainly less interested in examining his bona fides too closely.
“Dr. Curtis Lee, attending physician” had graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine but never practiced. Still, he had credentials for almost every major hospital from Philly to Richmond.
Medicine was his niche in the Ministry of State Security. Virtually anyone in the medical system—diplomats, politicians, entertainers, and especially enemies of the state—was his to observe.
Or, as in this case, exterminate.
Dr. Lee had been recruited as a young student in Beijing. He then began his cycle of intimidation among the thousands of Chinese medical students in the mid-Atlantic region.
All he had to do was mention the words state security, or offer someone the choice between keeping their badge or having immeasurable pain inflicted on a loved one, and he was in business.
He had access to the world’s best forgers and counterfeiters, any one of whom could deliver a brand-new access badge with his legitimate photo overnight.
Dr. Lee gathered his props for the drive to Baltimore, making certain that the small glass vial was securely packaged in its crushproof box.
The toxic contents of the vial could stop the heart even through mere dermal contact.
Once he had injected Jane Doe with the venom from the Inland Taipan—the world’s deadliest snake—a cure would be impossible.
It would not take long for Dr. Lee to find his target.