While Stephen packed the tissue in dry ice and plastic, Shaylin was packing their suitcases in the staff residence building next to the laboratory. It was a hurried effort, but it was also very difficult because she knew so little about Ireland. Would it be warm or cold, dry or wet, formal or casual? Stephen had had no time to help her. She decided to plan for all possibilities and packed sweaters and T-shirts, winter coats and walking shorts. Stephen had told her that their Japan Airlines flight to London was departing in three hours. She looked at her hands and saw that they were trembling.
There was no time: no time to carefully consider what to pack; no time to call her mother and say goodbye; no time to settle her accounts; no time to cancel her hairdresser’s appointment. There was only time to grab clothes and pack them as tightly as she could. There was only time to leave. Her heart pounded as drops of perspiration crowned her forehead and then silently snaked their way down her cheek.
Shaylin carried the bulging suitcases to the car while Stephen sat for one last time at his desk and typed an email message. He glanced at the small packet of mammoth tissue that now rested on the desktop: a light brown bundle no larger than a book. He had decided to place it in his checked luggage and hope for the best. He knew that the airport screeners would surely detect the material if he put it in his carry-on bag and, because it was flesh, it would have to be examined, and then they would ask for an export license or, even worse, they might call in an agriculture inspector. In any case, they would never let him take it on board. He looked back to the computer screen and finished his typing. Then he took a moment to reread his message:
Dan,
There is much I need to speak with you about – in person. It is extremely important. My assistant, Shaylin, and I are coming to visit you. We will be arriving tomorrow on an Aer Lingus flight from London. I have so much to tell you…
Stephen
P.S. Please do not tell anyone we are coming. Also, we will need a place to stay – someplace away from people who might want to find us… I’ll explain.
Stephen clicked the send button on the keyboard and then deleted the sent message from his computer. He turned off the computer and looked around the office making one last check. He had forgotten nothing; the office was clean. With a sudden sense of urgency, he stood up, walked over to the window, and looked down at the front entrance. It was still clear – at least for now. Even so, he felt an ever-increasing sense of danger. He hurriedly went back to the desk, picked up the package of mammoth tissue and a moment later ran out the door, not even taking a moment to lock it.
A few minutes later he was at the car with Shaylin. He forced himself to slow down for a moment. This was important. He carefully placed the package of mammoth tissue amongst the soft clothing in his suitcase. It would be well protected and also hidden from view of all but the most determined of customs inspectors. He closed the suitcase and double-checked to make sure there was an identification tag on the handle. Then he took a large piece of red ribbon and tied it to the handle so he could immediately identify it at the baggage claim.
“OK, Shaylin,” he said quietly, “I think we’re ready.”
Shaylin took one last look at the building entrance. “I guess so,” she said, “I hope I packed everything.”
“Don’t worry, if we need something we’ll buy it. The important thing now is to just leave this place. The police could be coming any time!”
“OK,” she said as she got into Stephen’s dark blue Toyota sedan, “let’s go.”
Stephen started the engine and seconds later they drove out the main gate. He waved to the guard as they passed. Stephen tried to appear calm while he drove past, but as soon as they were out of the guard’s sight he floored the accelerator.
Seconds later Shaylin’s voice was rising in fear. “Stephen, please don’t go so fast! You’re going to kill us!”
“The police are coming, Shaylin! They’ll be here any minute. I can feel it. Trust me, we need to get away from here fast.” He didn’t slow down at all as they approached a sharp corner and moments later the rear tires screeched and skidded on the pavement. A white cloud of smoke hung in the air behind the car, but as soon as the road straightened he accelerated even more.
“Stephen!” Shaylin shouted again, but he ignored her. Then her mobile phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was their secretary calling.
“Answer it,” he said without taking his eyes off the road. A moment later she was talking to the secretary.
“Shaylin!” she said, “The police were just here! They are looking for Dr. Itagaki! Where are you? I told them I thought you were in the lab…Are you?” Shaylin’s mouth opened slightly, but she said nothing. A moment later she simply hung up the phone.
“The police are at the compound!”
Stephen nodded, unsurprised. He said nothing as he suddenly slowed and turned the car into a shopping center and skidded to a stop in a stall near the taxi stand.
“Come on,” he said. They got out and ran over to the first taxi in line.
“Hello,” Stephen said breathing heavily, “we’re having car problems. We need to get to Narita airport right away. Please…”
Twenty minutes later they were standing in line waiting to check in at the Japan Airlines counter. Stephen kept looking cautiously around the terminal lobby but he couldn’t see any sign of an increased police presence. Beads of sweat were beginning to dry on his brow.
“Don’t worry,” he said feeling a little more relaxed, “we’ve made it. By the time they think to check here we’ll be gone.”
Shaylin looked at him and bit her lip softly. She pushed back a strand of hair that was falling across her cheek and said, “Maybe, but I don’t know. I’m scared. I don’t know if we should be running away from the police. After all, what did I, I mean we, do wrong? It was all in the interests of science, wasn’t it?”
“Shaylin! You don’t understand! The authorities always need to blame someone when something goes wrong. They’ll try to blame us. I know it. Trust me.” He handed their passports to the agent at the counter and put their suitcases on the scales.
“I just have a bad feeling about all this, that’s all. I still think we should turn ourselves in,” she said, “maybe we can help more if we stay here in Japan!”
“No! Don’t even think like that. We have to get away. We have to make the vaccine someplace else. They would never let me work here. Not now. Maybe when the vaccine is completed we could come forward…but only then.”
“Mr. Kobayshi and Ms. Nakamura, here are your passports and boarding passes,” the agent said, “You are seated in seats 3 A and 3 B. Boarding is in twenty minutes at gate fifteen. Please go through security and proceed to the gate right away. Have a nice flight!” She handed the passports and boarding passes to Stephen. He bowed and thanked her then took the materials and walked away from the counter with Shaylin.
“Mr. Kobayashi?” Shaylin asked, “Why did she call you that?”
“Oh…I was, uh, able to get an extra passport from a friend of mine. It’s in a different name.”
“Why? I mean… what about me? I only have my own passport! Why didn’t you get one for me too?”
Stephen stopped and turned to her. Her hair was slightly tussled; she was still wearing the clothes she had worn to work. She looked tired and frightened. There was a trace of tears in her eyes. Stephen looked away for a second and then he sighed. His shoulders sagged a little when he looked back at her “I’m so sorry, Shaylin. I should have thought about you too. I’ve just been so absorbed. I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
She didn’t say anything but only continued to stand in the airport corridor looking at him. She looked helpless.
“Don’t worry, Shaylin,” he said then, trying to sound optimistic, “ why would anyone be looking for you? You are only my assistant. I’m the one they will be looking for.”
“But didn’t you say they would be looking for me too?”
“I know. Maybe
I exaggerated a bit. Maybe I was worried too much. Really, I just don’t think they’ll be looking for you.” He looked at her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “OK?”
She smiled slightly and wiped the tear from her eye. “OK. Maybe you’re right,” she said, “Let’s go.”
They soon arrived at the security checkpoint and took their places in line. Ahead of them the line split and they could see that individuals were being sent through separate screening devices. Stephen turned to her and said, “Don’t worry, OK? I’m the one they’re looking for, not you. It looks like we will be split up as part of the screening process, but you’ll be fine.”
“OK, but what if something does go wrong? What do we do?”
“ Look, we’re in this together aren’t we?”
“Of course.”
“Well, then. So we will help each other then right?”
“Yes, certainly,” she said.
“I’ll protect you and you’ll protect me right?”
“Oh yes, of course.”
“Exactly. Trust me,” he said, “We must trust each other, Shaylin.”
“Yes. Of course. But what if one of us is detained? What will they do to us?”
“They have no proof, Shaylin. None. The important thing is to say nothing. Nothing at all. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Whatever happens, we won’t say anything to the authorities about each other, right? That is most important.”
“Absolutely. You can depend on me, sir.”
“Good. I knew I could. Now stop worrying. We’ll be on the plane soon and no one will ever find us.” Stephen put his carryon luggage on the conveyor, gave his boarding pass to the inspector, and walked through the metal detector. Shaylin went over to the adjacent inspection station and did the same.
Within a minute Stephen had completed the inspection and as he was picking up his bag he turned around and looked toward Shaylin. She was waiting for the inspector to return her boarding pass and passport to her. Stephen watched the inspector talk on his handheld radio while looking at Shaylin. She looked toward Stephen, her eyes wide with fright. Then she motioned, more with her eyes than her head, for him to go. A second later she turned back to the inspector.
Stephen quickly turned away and began walking toward the boarding gate. Minutes later, two members of the Tokyo Airport police arrived and Shaylin was placed in handcuffs. Stephen took one look back towards her as he continued walking. She was far away now. To him she looked afraid and confused, but he could see that her jaw was set tight. She wasn’t saying a word.
Half an hour later Japan Airlines flight 003 took off for London and Stephen Itagaki finally settled back for the long flight in his first class seat. Now that the plane was airborne he felt sure he had escaped. He turned to his right and was acutely aware of the empty seat beside him. He thought for a long minute about how frightened Shaylin had been. He shook his head sadly, lost for a moment in memories of Shaylin. Then he took a deep breath and reached under the seat in front of him. He picked up his carryon bag and placed it on the empty seat beside him. It would be an ideal location for his reading materials and laptop computer.
Seventeen
Dan and Sheila plummeted over the Mardyke Weir, making a huge splash, but the boat was unscathed. They left the boat at the base of the nearby Mardyke Bridge and climbed up the small embankment to the walking path. Within seconds Dan was running along the path towards the University gate with Sheila close behind.
“Dan! Wait!” she called out to him. “Where are you going?”
Dan slowed momentarily and turned to her. “Those men from Omega. Tim warned me about them. I need to stay away from them.”
“I know. So why are you running towards the university?”
“They just went to the department looking for me and they didn’t find me. Right? They won’t be back. Now they’ve gone looking for me in the park. Come on. Maybe we can get some help on campus. That’s the last place they’ll look for me now.”
“No!”
“What?”
“No. They’ll be back. I know it. We can’t go there. We need to find a really safe place to hide for a day or two, and that is definitely not it.”
Dan stopped and looked at her for a long moment. Then he realized she was right. The university wasn’t safe, not now. Sheila thought of a better plan and instead of going to the university they turned at the Western Road and less than five minutes later they walked into the lobby of the new Jurys Hotel. The front desk clerk told them that, although the lobby appeared quiet, they were nearly sold out. However, there was a suite available on the fourth floor, if they were interested. Without a second thought Sheila took out her credit card and they checked in as Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill.
As soon as they closed the door to their room, Dan walked over to the large plate glass window that overlooked the street from their living room and looked anxiously down the road towards the university gate. Sheila came over and stood beside him. “Any sign of them?” she asked.
“No. I have no idea where they are, but I think you were right. They won’t be looking for us here.” He turned and looked at her and then noticed that she was shivering slightly.
“Are you cold?”
“No. It’s…I don’t know. I just have a really, really bad feeling about those men. I think you had a very close call, Dan.” She looked at him and he saw the fear on her face. “I wonder,” she whispered, “what is this Omega, anyway?”
Dan reached up for the drapery cord and pulled the drapes shut, and then he put his arm around her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be OK. In a couple of days they’ll give up and leave. I’ll be fine.”
Sheila’s eyes met his and he could see the seriousness in them, “No you won’t, Dan. These are very evil men; I can sense it. Can’t you?” She searched his eyes again and then nodded. “Yes, you sense it too, don’t you?”
Dan hesitated, then he said, “Yes, Sheila. I do. I need to come up with a plan.”
“We’ll come up with a plan, Dan. I’m not letting you deal with this by yourself.” He could see the fire in her eyes and he knew there was no point in trying to dissuade her.
“OK,” he said, “We’ll figure this out together,” he said with a warm smile, and then he noticed her dress. “But first, look at your clothes!” She looked down at her dress and for the first time she noticed the patches of river mud that had splattered onto it. Then she realized that her shoes were wet and cold from the river water too.”
“Look at yours too,” she replied with a grin. If anything, Dan’s clothes were worse than hers. “We had better get these clothes cleaned,” she said, “they’re all we’ve got for now!”
“Good idea. Look, there are robes in the bathroom. Why don’t you take a shower and wear one of those. I’ll call the front desk and have someone come up and get our clothes cleaned. We’ll just have to wear bathrobes for a while, I guess.” he smiled broadly when he said this and she returned his smile, except her expression was perhaps a little more difficult to read than his.
After they had each showered and their clothes had been sent out for cleaning they sat on the dark green and gold-trimmed sofa, and Sheila poured a cup of coffee for each of them. They sat facing one another in the semi-darkness of the drapery-enshrouded room, thankful for the safe haven of the hotel. After a sip of her coffee Sheila said, “OK. Let’s talk about these guys. What do you think they want from you?”
“I’m not sure. I think you’re right though. It must be about the letters; they were classified Top Secret, and those guys look pretty tough. I don’t think they’re here to talk about a research project.”
“You’re absolutely right,” she said. “We have to find a way to keep you out of sight until they’re gone. Maybe we should call the Garda.”
“The Garda? I don’t know, maybe not yet. We don’t really have any proof about these guys. What if it turned out that there really was a company called Omega Pharmaceuticals
? We’d look pretty foolish, wouldn’t we? Besides, what would we tell the Garda – that we have a hunch that these men are evil?”
Sheila thought for a minute and then finally said, “I guess you’re right, but we can’t stay here forever either!”
“I know,” he said. “We need a way to keep track of these guys.”
“Maybe Nancy, over in the department office, will be able to tell us something,” Sheila said. “She might know what their plans are.”
“Yes, but what if she doesn’t?”
Sheila shook her head, “I don’t know. I don’t have any other ideas right now.”
“Me either,” Dan said at last as he got up and walked over to the window and parted the drapes slightly. There was still no sign of them. “Let’s take a break and order a room service dinner.”
“Sounds great to me,” Sheila said, after realizing she hadn’t eaten since early that morning, “I’m nearly starved!”
Dan picked up the menu and saw it had the usual items but then he decided to surprise her. Item nine on the menu was different: the Romantic Dinner for Two – fresh garden salads, Irish filet steaks, with potatoes au gratin, sautéed carrots and summer squash with a bottle of French Cabernet Sauvignon. Dessert would be Irish strawberries dipped in chocolate followed by Baileys coffee. “They say it’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” Dan said as he hung up the phone, “I guess we’ll just have to occupy ourselves until then.”
Sheila smiled at his hint and said, “What did you have in mind?” However, before he could answer there was a hard knock on the door. She looked at Dan and her eyes showed instant concern. They weren’t expecting anyone so soon, and no one knew they were there. Seconds later there were three more knocks, this time much more insistent. Dan put a finger to his lips and motioned for her to move behind the door as he reached for the door handle. Sheila looked behind her and picked up a vase of flowers from the table. She dumped the flowers and water on the floor as Dan jerked the door open.
The Viral Epiphany Page 10