Authorities? “I haven’t told them. Does that matter?”
“Would you do me a favor?” Sarah sighed, again pulling at a loose lock of hair. “If you have a freezer of some sort, would you keep the wolf in it until I return to New York? Once I’m back there I can have a qualified veterinary service retrieve the dead wolf and transport it to my lab. The Zurich authorities took my carcasses away. Yours is the only one left.”
There was a meat cooler attached to the building, another leftover from Kimble Safaris’ hunting excursions. It also doubled as the deep freeze for camp food and had plenty of room for the wolf. “I can do that.”
Sarah turned and spoke to someone away from the phone. “Yes, one second please.” She stood and looked back to Reed. “I have to go. There’s an issue with the servers, and we have a dinner tonight. Is it okay if I call you tomorrow with the details on the transport service?”
“No problem,” Reed said. “I’ll get the carcass on ice.”
The screen went blank. Reed scratched his scruffy chin while he stared at the dead wolf. New questions piled on top of old ones. This creature that shouldn’t be here had turned his life upside down, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the reason behind it was tied to the attack on his compound. How, and why, he had no idea. The only thing he knew for certain was that tonight he’d sleep with two pistols close by, not one.
Chapter 11
Zurich, Switzerland
May 22nd
“Do you have any idea what’s causing the problem?” Sarah asked sharply.
The systems analyst clutched the clipboard in his hands as though it held a treasure map. He didn’t look up as he spoke, and Sarah guessed he’d rather be anywhere but dealing with a tired, angry veterinarian grilling him with questions. Not that it would stop her.
“We are not certain.” The analyst tugged at his shirt collar. “My superiors only said that we should inform your team.”
“This means I can’t work.” She wasn’t talking to the analyst any longer. He was the low man sent to deliver the news while his superiors sat around not fixing the problem. “That’s an entire day missed because of these complications.”
If he was impressed by her brushing off the zoo attack, the analyst didn’t show it. He wasn’t showing much of anything.
“Do they know when it will be fixed?”
“No.” The guy cleared his throat. “I have been assured our team is working on it.”
“You’re a systems analyst?” The man confirmed he was. “Tell me what’s wrong and how long it will take to fix it. Your best guess is fine.”
“I have not seen the problem,” he said. “We are just waiting for it to be fixed.” A measure of composure returned, and the analyst shrugged. “I do not know any more than you, to be honest. None of my team does. We are all waiting, like you.”
Huh. A systems analyst with no idea of the system problem. Very unlike everything her Swiss hosts had done so far. “Please let me know as soon as it’s fixed,” she said. “Losing time now isn’t helping.”
He assured her she’d be the first to know and then made his escape, disappearing out the door. Not that she blamed him. He was the messenger, not the problem. If he didn’t have a solution, that left one option. Sarah needed to figure this out herself. She headed for the door.
First stop, her Scottish friend Bonnie. Maybe the older scientist had backups of her files. That was strictly prohibited, but it was worth a shot. Sarah, for her part, had obediently followed directions and not transferred any research data gathered in Zurich to her personal hardware, and look where that left her.
Heavy footsteps echoed farther ahead in the hallway. She rounded a corner and nearly ran headlong into two men in fatigues. Combat boots squeaked on polished floors as everyone stopped short. Sarah’s nose halted inches from the face of one overly muscled man whose uniformed shoulder sported an unknown flag of green and blue fields bisected by a black line fringed with yellow. The military man was not amused at her appearance. Neither was his partner, who stared at her, his eyes two white orbs surrounded by smooth ivory skin, marred by a ragged scar running across one cheek like an angry welt.
“Excuse me,” she said, stepping back.
“Step aside,” ordered a female voice abruptly. The soldiers parted at once to reveal an unsmiling woman, also clad in military fatigues. Hands clasped behind her back, the woman never blinked as she studied Sarah from head to toe and back again before she spoke. “Dr. Hall, isn’t it? Please excuse us.”
Sarah’s phone began vibrating, and she automatically reached for her pocket. Before she grabbed it, each soldier put a hand on his holstered pistol. Sarah took a second step back and replaced her hand at her side. Whoever was calling could wait.
“Keep moving, men,” the woman told them, and resumed walking, followed by the two male soldiers. The trio flowed around her like water around a stone, none of them looking back as they turned the corner, out of sight before Sarah realized what was wrong.
How did that woman know my name?
A laboratory technician stepped out of a side office, startling her.
“Excuse me,” Sarah said to the man. “Did you see those soldiers just walk by?”
“I did not.”
“Have you seen soldiers around here? Two men and a woman together?” She described the flag on their uniforms.
“Yes. They are in the African army. The woman is the government minister sponsoring your visit.”
A visit now marred by two deaths. Sarah rubbed her eyes, sucking in a great lungful of air. All the craziness had her on edge. No need to worry about a couple of soldiers suddenly showing up here. Better to focus on keeping the wolves away.
The laboratory employee kept walking.
“Wait – what do you know about the system outage?” Sarah asked before he could get far. “Will it be fixed soon?”
“System outage?”
“Yes, the computer problem. The reason we can’t get to any of our data now.”
A frown creased his face. “I do not know of any problems with our computers. I was using our system just a moment ago.”
Strange. “Aren’t all the systems down?”
“That is not possible,” he said. “We have multiple backup power sources. A total system failure is nearly impossible.” He smiled, but she didn’t respond. “I must be going,” he said.
He headed off, leaving Sarah with a frown on her face. No system failure? Perhaps her team’s data was stored at a different location. Still, it was strange, not to mention a pain in the ass. Hopefully Bonnie had disobeyed orders and backed up her data.
Sarah found the silver-haired scientist seated at a desk in her quarters. “Hello, Bonnie,” she said, putting her head around the door. “Do you have a moment?”
“Of course. Come in.” Bonnie stood and indicated an empty chair at a table, and then joined her. “How are you faring?”
They hadn’t spoken since leaving the zoo. In fact, Sarah hadn’t seen any other members of her research team since that night. “I guess I’m grateful it wasn’t worse,” she said. “The guides who lost their lives. So awful.”
“Yes,” Bonnie said. She reached out and found Sarah’s hand. “The world can be unpredictable.”
“True. Bonnie, there’s something I need to ask you.”
“Ask away,” Bonnie said. “As we discussed, time is not to be wasted.”
“Have you been told about system problems the lab is experiencing?”
“Yes. We cannot access our information.” Bonnie gave a heartfelt harrumph. “Lot of good these technology wizards turn out to be. One problem and everything stops.”
“Only for us, it seems.” Sarah dropped her voice. “I spoke with one of the lab employees, and he hasn’t heard of any system problems. Everything is up and moving, according to him.”
Bonnie frowned. “You are suspicious.”
“Yes. No. Well, I’m not sure.” Sarah bunched her fists, relaxed them, an
d then squeezed again. “This doesn’t seem right. It’s not only the system issue. There’s more.” But she sat in silence for several beats. When she ran through it all in her head, she wasn’t so sure.
“I may be reacting more to the wolf attacks,” she finally said. “Perhaps I’m seeing things were there is nothing.”
“Don’t doubt yourself,” Bonnie said. “Tell me what you think.” She squeezed Sarah’s hand encouragingly.
What the hell. “All right. I found strange data among my materials shortly after we arrived,” Sarah said. “Test data completely at odds with what I expected.” She detailed how the small primates used in testing had been mislabeled as much larger animals. “It said gorillas were used. Geoff told me it was a mistake, and he took the files and replaced them immediately.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Bonnie said. “Why did this alarm you?”
“The charts I saw were complete,” Sarah said. “I never said anything, but the materials said testing had been completed on the gorillas. Those charts didn’t have placeholder data or dummy figures entered as placeholders. It was real. I’ve seen enough lab results and study summaries to know. The only way those summaries were false is if a trained scientist created them, and that doesn’t make sense.”
Bonnie looked at her quizzically. “What did the data say?”
“That gorillas were being tested on their physical capabilities. The results were unbelievable. I know what those animals can do; I’ve studied them. The data was fantastic, utterly amazing. But that’s the problem.” She leaned closer. “It looked too real to be fake. That data exists because someone did the tests.”
“Why would anyone do that?” Bonnie asked. “Was it related to your genetic work?”
“Yes. It’s as though someone took my work and applied it to full-sized mammals.”
“But that’s impossible. You only revealed the results after you arrived here. No one moves that quickly. Certainly not academics.”
Sarah’s shoulders fell. “It’s crazy when I say it out loud. But then the zoo was attacked by those wolves, which are unlike any I’ve ever seen, and now our systems are down.”
“Perhaps you need to refocus,” Bonnie said. “Too much stress is not good for the mind.”
Sarah didn’t respond; her mind was racing. Was she being paranoid, seeing conspiracy in an honest mistake? Perhaps. Another thought bubbled up in her brain, clamoring for attention. “There’s one other thing. I know this is a long shot, but did you make any backup copies of your data? I never did.”
Bonnie stood and walked across the room to her desk. “This is my personal backup from Edinburgh.” She clasped an external hard drive in her hands. “When I arrived, the first thing I did was plug in to my workstation and copy the data files the lab provided.”
“You have all the data? We weren’t supposed to copy anything from our computers. I can’t believe you were able to do it.”
Bonnie shrugged. “Perhaps they believe we scientists are trustworthy, so there is no need for password protection.” Her eyes twinkled impishly. “That is their mistake.”
Sarah stood and hugged her quickly, and then stepped back. “Do you have a laptop we can use?”
“Of course.” Bonnie retrieved the machine, plugged in her external drive and began accessing the data. “Here it is.”
Sarah sat down at the table beside her and her eyes narrowed as she scanned the screen. “Did you see anything unusual?”
“I did. I stored it separately, with the intention of asking Geoff to explain the materials in greater detail. The attack sidetracked me. I will be speaking with them tomorrow.”
The door behind them thudded open. Sarah’s stomach leapt into her throat as she twisted around and knocked Bonnie’s laptop aside.
“Is anything wrong?” Geoff Milner hurried toward them.
“Not at all.” Bonnie closed the laptop and slid it aside. “I forgot how to access my messages. Thankfully, Sarah offered assistance.” The laptop disappeared under a pile of her materials. “May we help you?”
She stood, and Sarah stood with her.
Geoff nodded. “I wanted to be sure you will both attend our dinner this evening.” The man’s eyes flitted about the room as he spoke. “Transportation will leave at half past seven. Do either of you require anything prior?”
“I suppose regaining access to our data is out of the question?” Bonnie asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. Our technicians are working diligently to restore everything to working order. We anticipate everything will be back to normal by tomorrow.” Geoff tapped his watch before departing. “Please do not be late,” he said over his shoulder. “This evening should be a pleasant break from everything you have endured.”
“Nice work,” Sarah said after he left. A thought crossed her mind. “Are you worried about Geoff?” She hadn’t considered the idea before, but Bonnie’s maneuver with her computer had raised a red flag for her.
“I don’t know,” Bonnie said. “But I’ve learned to reserve my trust until those in question have earned it.”
Sarah headed for the door, a bounce in her step that hadn’t been there since the explosion. “I’ll see you at dinner.” Her voice took a mock serious tone, mimicking Geoff’s speech. “Mustn’t keep Geoff waiting.”
Two hours later Sarah walked out of the research facility and found a pair of limousines waiting outside at the front door as though they were heading to the Academy Awards. Streetlights cast intensely white light over two liveried drivers waiting with open doors in the twilight.
“After you,” Geoff Milner said, gesturing into the first vehicle’s spacious interior. Sarah ducked her head and stepped forward, thankful now for the sensible flats she wore. The last thing she needed was to tumble headfirst into the limo. She didn’t take Geoff’s hand as she stepped inside, instead steadying herself on the doorframe to get inside the luxurious Mercedes, where she found the windows offered a panoramic view of the snow-capped peaks behind the city.
After Bonnie and several other scientists joined her inside, Geoff hopped in and sat down as the driver shut the door, and then Geoff reached for a chilled bottle in a silver bucket.
“Anyone care for champagne?” he asked, wrestling with the cork.
What the hell. I’m not driving. Sarah accepted a glass, and the effervescent bubbles tickled her throat, the sharp sensation a brief and welcome shock that sent energy fizzing through her body. Damn, she’d needed a drink more than she realized.
Cobblestone streets rattled underneath them as the car wound through the city, first passing the financial district of steel and concrete buildings, all of them deserted after working hours. They drove into a quieter part of town where the city came back to life, cars gliding alongside their vehicle. Minutes later they passed a park where couples walked through the grassy square, the closest pair trailing a brindle terrier pup sniffing everything in sight.
Bonnie leaned toward Geoff, using Sarah’s leg for leverage. “What will we be enjoying tonight?” she asked, her cashmere tartan scarf tickling Sarah’s arm as she spoke.
“The owner closed this restaurant for the evening to prepare a special tasting menu for us,” Geoff said as the car eased to a stop curbside, with the other limo pulling up right behind it. The driver opened the door and the group exited, one by one, and stood on the sidewalk gazing around at the buildings. Bonne pulled a sensible woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders as a soft breeze kicked up. Two men on their team admired the cityscape, both looking slightly uncomfortable in their suits. Geoff strode to the door of the restaurant, called Amada and held it open. “Please enter and be seated. We have the entire restaurant to ourselves this evening.” Tucked between two larger industrial buildings with dark windows, the restaurant was industrial, the minimalist exterior offering little in the way of decoration other than large windows and the nondescript name hanging over a muted metal door. Sarah glanced back toward the city to a magnificent view of the harbor framed
by the mountains she had admired earlier. The entrance led into a room painted in muted tones where one long table had been set. Waiters bustled around them as they sat down, pouring wine and offering trays of appetizers Sarah couldn’t refuse.
After their group of eight scientists plus Geoff was settled, with appetizers in front of them and wine glasses at the ready, Geoff, who was seated to Sarah’s left tapped on his own glass with a knife.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a moment, please.” The chatter ceased. Geoff’s gaze fell to the table before he looked up again. “These are difficult circumstances. It is our desire to aid your team in any way possible, though everything we do is carried out under the cloud of those no longer with us. Thanks in large part to the team, definitive progress is occurring in expanding the CRISPR editing technique from theory to reality.” He raised his wine glass. “A toast to those efforts, to continued success, and to the memory of those gone too soon.”
Glasses clinked, and then the kitchen doors swung open and the waiters began to flit around the table once more, filling it with more plates than Sarah could keep track of.
“Food is one of life’s better distractions,” Bonnie said. “Might I ask you a question?”
“Certainly.” Sarah set her fork down and turned to the older woman seated on her right.
“Does anyone other than you have responsibility for the genetic research in your facility? I ask because you have made such significant progress, and employers are not always willing to give or share credit.”
Sarah’s lips pursed. “I’ve led our efforts, supported by a team of researchers. One other person played a key role in our work, but they left the university.”
Bonnie wasn’t looking at Sarah when she responded. “I think you were not an admirer of this man?”
Was it that obvious? “Why do you think it’s a man?”
“You do not need to be as old as I to realize when a spot of fire tinges one’s words. Fire which perhaps has since cooled.”
The Turn Series Box Set Page 21