Ladyfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  “I was looking at a new treatment protocol using the E. coli bacteria as a vehicle to introduce material into the host that would either be eradicated or rendered ineffective if introduced in other ways.”

  Oz laughed. “In English, Finn.”

  “Sorry. E. coli is a bacterium we all have in our gut. It’s harmless and it’s part of the normal flora of the gut. What I was working on was incorporating other substances, medicines, into the bacteria that would then treat the person. I was trying to incorporate cancer drugs into the bacteria. If it had worked, then it would have made treatments like chemotherapy much simpler and far less harmful to the patient.”

  Oz stared at her. “Did it work?”

  “I managed to develop a way to get the substances into the bacteria’s genetic code, and it was stable. It worked and test subjects in the lab responded to the protocol and were eventually cured. The survival rate in the test subjects was incredible. Long-term, it became problematic because the bacterial replication was unstoppable, and the progeny also created the compound. In most cases, the progeny were actually more prolific in the generation of the substances.”

  “And why does that matter?”

  “Well, we don’t want to keep treating the patient after they’re cured, and the continued creation of medicine in the gut caused the test subjects to become ill. Eventually, they all died, not from the cancer, but from the cure.”

  “What medicine were you using?”

  “I started with Avastin. It’s a typical drug used to treat colon cancer.”

  “Is that the only chemical that would work?”

  “No. The protocol I created could be used to incorporate just about any foreign substance into the bacteria.”

  “Such as?”

  “The list is huge, Charlie. Almost anything you can think of. Anti-inflammatory drugs, medicines for leukemia.”

  “And can your work be replicated by someone else?”

  “Well, yes, of course. The protocol was patented by my father’s company. He can give the research and data to anyone he likes. But it’s really not worth anything. Like I said, it doesn’t make a good medical treatment because of the replication issues.”

  “But that makes it perfect for a biological weapon.”

  “What? No. I didn’t build a weapon. It’s a treatment—”

  “I know, Finn, but what you’ve described sounds like it could easily be adapted.” Oz wanted to wrap her arms around Finn again as the horror of what they were saying made sense.

  “It was supposed to be to help people.”

  Charlie grasped Finn’s hand and waited until she looked at him. “If I bring you some more information, can you look at it and tell me what you see?”

  “Of course. Is that what he’s done? Taken my work and used it as a weapon?”

  “I don’t know, Finn. I really don’t. Like I said before, most of what we know is coming from Pete, and a good portion of everything else is just rumors.”

  “Maybe I should just go and see him—”

  “No!” Oz knew the last place Finn should be was anywhere near her father. If even half of their suspicions were true, she knew Finn was in danger, especially if Pete was as compromised as she suspected. She tried to find the words to explain to Finn, but the wide-eyed look of terror on Finn’s face made it hard for her to think clearly.

  Billy cleared his throat. “Finn, I think we all agree that seeing your father right now is probably not the best idea for you.”

  “But he’s my father; he wouldn’t hurt me—”

  “We don’t know that, baby, and I can’t take that chance.” Oz hadn’t moved. She didn’t think she could. Her heart was racing, and sweat trickled down her back as the fear started to become panic. She turned her back on them and leaned against the kitchen counter, not wanting them to see her lose control.

  “Come on, Billy, let’s leave these two alone. We’ll go get a drink.”

  “Now I know why you got the higher rank. Full of good ideas, aren’t you, brother?”

  “Yup.” They drained their cups and headed for the front door.

  “Oz?”

  Oz didn’t move. She couldn’t, not until Finn gently turned her around to face her. The pain had gone from Finn’s expression, and there was no trace of the fear either.

  “Oz, I think I’ve taken all I can for tonight, but I need to know that you’re all right.”

  Oz couldn’t help but smile. In the midst of so much turmoil, Finn cared enough to check that she was okay.

  “I will be. Let me walk you home.” Oz wrapped her arms tightly about Finn, wishing they could stay that way, but knowing the rest of the world would intrude far too quickly, she led Finn home.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Oz draped her towel over her shoulders and reached for her cell phone. She stumbled slightly as the dive boat lurched beneath her feet. She cursed her inability to concentrate on anything but Finn all day. Finn had been adamant that she wanted to carry on as normal, and just as adamant that she didn’t want to talk about anything yet. But she’d been distracted enough that Oz had kept a careful eye on her every time they went in the water.

  Oz noted the UK phone number as she connected the call.

  “Is that you, Pete?”

  “Who is this?” The voice on the other end of the phone was harsh and gritty, as though the speaker was a heavy chain smoker.

  “I’m Oz. Who are you?”

  “Oz? What the bloody hell kind of name is that? I’m looking for Olivia Zuckerman.”

  “The only kind you’re going to get till you tell me who you are.”

  “Pritchard. My name is John Pritchard.”

  “Why are you calling me? Is Pete okay?”

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Olivia Zuckerman. I’m a friend of Pete’s, and Daniela is here with me.”

  “Daniela, as in Sterling’s daughter?”

  “Yes. Is Pete with you? When I last spoke to him he was on a pay phone and about to call you.”

  “He told you about his involvement with me?”

  “Yes, he did. I heard an echo on his home line and told him to call me from a pay phone. Surely he told you all of this. You must have spoken to my uncle to get this number, and you could have only spoken to him if Pete gave you the number.”

  “He didn’t call me. I need you and Daniela to come in and give me a statement.”

  “What do you mean he didn’t call? How did you get the number?”

  “It was written on the back of his hand. His body was found in the early hours of the morning. He’d been shot outside a telephone box.”

  Oz’s knees went weak and she sank into a crouch, resting her back against the side. “Fuck.”

  “Precisely. Do you have a pen handy? I’ll give you an address to come and give me a statement.”

  “Not possible.”

  “Okay, I’ll send a car to pick you up.”

  “Not possible. I’m in the Florida Keys, and Daniela is here with me.”

  “Ah. I expected she would return with Mr. Green.”

  “That was never her plan.”

  “I still need to speak to you both at length.”

  “I can organize a face-to-face sat link if you can give me an hour or so to get back to land.”

  “How exactly are you going to do that? Look, I’ll call you in thirty minutes with a flight for you and Ms. Sterling.”

  “With all due respect, sir, if Finn goes back to the UK, she’s in danger.”

  “I’ll protect her—”

  “I’ll protect her here. My uncle is the base commander here at Key West. I’ll have a satellite video link available within the hour and then we can talk face-to-face.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m a diving instructor. I’ll call you in an hour on this number with instructions.” She disconnected the phone call and ran to Jose. “Jose, we need to get back ashore. Now.”

  “The last team is just coming out of
the water.”

  “Good. As soon as they’re aboard, get us back to the dock. As fast as you can.”

  Jose picked up the radio. “Carlos. We’ve got an emergency. Get the divers seated and then help them get their gear off. As soon as it’s stowed, tell me and I’ll open up the engine. I’ll be at three-quarters before that.” Jose started calling in their plans to the shore patrol, and Oz left him to it. She made her way quickly across the upper deck of the boat and placed a call to her uncle.

  “Hey, pipsqueak, I was expecting you to call. I just had a call from a guy named Pritchard. Said he was MI6.”

  “Yeah, he got me. We have a problem. I need to set up a video sat link to MI6. Pete was killed last night. Shot in the call box before he could contact Pritchard.”

  “Damn it. I’ve just made a couple of calls regarding Agent Pritchard. He checks out so far. How long before you can be here?”

  “We’re out past Key Largo at the moment. I’ll be back on the dock in about thirty minutes.”

  “I’ll have a chopper waiting to get you and Finn.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Charlie.” She looked down the ladder and watched Finn helping remove tanks and BCDs from the divers and pass them to Carlos. They worked efficiently, and within two minutes, all the gear was stowed and the divers were making their way inside the cabin to warm up and change. The news she needed to give Finn broke her heart. She closed her eyes at the pain she was about to cause the woman she had come to care for more than anyone outside her family.

  “Oz, what’s the problem? Why are we heading to shore?” Finn looked up at Oz, shading her eyes against the sun.

  Oz descended to the lower deck, thinking fast. “Pritchard called me. We need to get to the base. There’ll be a chopper waiting for us when we get to the dock. We need to talk to him, and the best way to do that is face-to-face over a video satellite link.”

  “Why?”

  Oz caught people watching them out of the corner of her eye and knew this was neither the time nor the place to give Finn the news about Pete. She hated lying to Finn, even if it would only be until they got to shore, but she wanted Finn to have some privacy when she learned about Pete’s death. “I’m not sure. We’ll find out more when we get there. It won’t be long.” She grasped Finn’s hand, giving it a little squeeze before she went to the cockpit, knowing the only way she could keep her silence was to keep a little distance from Finn and the worried look in her eyes.

  Jose took them into the quayside stern to, and Carlos quickly jumped off the boat and guided it in, securing the stays as he went. He was still securing the lines when Oz led Finn to the stern and helped her off the boat. Rudy pointed to the parking lot, where they could hear the whirling blades of the awaiting helicopter.

  Oz turned to Finn and took her hands after making sure they had privacy. “Before we get on the chopper, I need to tell you something. I didn’t want to tell you on the boat with everyone around. The reason Pritchard needs to speak to us is because of Pete.”

  “I thought so. How else would he know to call us here?”

  Oz shook her head. “No, Pete didn’t call him.”

  “Then how?”

  “Pete had Charlie’s number written on the back of his hand.” She held Finn’s hands. “Pete couldn’t call him. They found him in the call box.”

  Finn froze, her eyes wide. She shook her head as realization began to sink in, tears welling in her eyes.

  “Finn, Pete was killed, and you’re in danger.”

  “No. No. No, no, no, no, no.” Finn sank to the ground, her face in her hands.

  “Finn, listen to me, honey.”

  “How?”

  “He was shot, baby.” Oz wrapped her arms around her and held her as the sobs racked her body. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  “It was my dad, wasn’t it?”

  “I don’t know, baby.”

  “Oz, you’ve never lied to me before. Don’t start now.”

  “I’m not lying to you, baby. I don’t know that it was your dad. I think so, but I could be wrong. I’m sorry, baby, but we need to get going.”

  “So we’re going in the helicopter. Then what?” She continued to sob, even as she stood.

  “We get to the base and we talk to Pritchard. Then we decide if we’re going to stay on the base or go home.”

  “I need to talk to Pete’s parents. Find out when the funeral will be so I can get a flight back. Oh my God.”

  “They won’t release the body for a little while. They have to get all the evidence first, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the funeral.”

  Finn pulled away. “The body? Evidence?” She wrapped her arms around herself as though trying to keep from flying apart. “It’s not a body, Oz. It’s Pete…” She started sobbing again, bent over her arms, her body taut with grief.

  “No, baby, stop please. Listen to me. I’m sorry. We have to assume that your dad knows about you and me.” She pulled Finn to her and felt her sag against her. “We also know that he is a very dangerous man.” She let go of one hand and cupped Finn’s chin in order to raise her head from her chest. “Pete loved you, and the last thing he said to me was to look after you. He wouldn’t want you to go, knowing that it was potentially dangerous for you. I need to keep you safe.”

  “You think he wants to kill me too?”

  “I don’t know.

  “He’s my dad. He wouldn’t want to kill me.” She ripped her hands from Oz’s and bent over, clearly trying to keep from vomiting.

  “Finn, baby, how well do you actually know your dad?”

  Finn stepped back and turned cold eyes on her. Eyes that had shown her tenderness and desire now held nothing but pain and fear. She felt her anger growing as she saw the light in those beautiful green eyes dim.

  “Do you really think he wants to kill me?”

  “I don’t know, baby, but I’m not going to take that chance. If we get to the base, he won’t know where you are. Please don’t be angry with me for wanting to protect you.”

  “He’s my father, Olivia.” The tears fell from her eyes again. “My own father. I can’t believe he would want to hurt me.”

  “Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I am. I really hope I am, baby. But please.” She kissed her cheek. “Please don’t ask me to take that risk.” She tightened her grip around Finn’s shoulders again. “I only just found you. I don’t want to lose you now.” Oz took her hand and led her to the helicopter. “Have you ever been in one of these things before?” Oz asked, pulling Finn into a crouch as they ran.

  Finn shook her head and they climbed up, the wind from the blades blasting their wet swimwear dry instantly. Oz passed her a helmet with ear protectors and a microphone attached to it. Finn fastened it under her chin as Oz secured straps around her waist and shoulders.

  “Everyone good to go back there?”

  “Yes, sir.” After a ten-minute flight, they landed on the enormous base, but Finn didn’t seem to notice anything around them. An officer greeted them and escorted them through a maze of corridors before leading them into a room with a huge video screen, computer screens with radar, satellite, and map images covering them. Charlie handed a clipboard to another officer before he walked over to them.

  “Oz, Finn, I hope I don’t have to tell you that everything in here is classified.”

  Oz held her hand up to stop him. “You’re right. You don’t have to tell us. Is everything set up?”

  “Yes, I just had the call placed to Pritchard, and they should be coming online any second.” He turned toward the large screen as it filled with the ruddy, stubble-covered visage of the man himself, his suit visibly wrinkled with the jacket and tie discarded. His thinning hair was sticking up at odd angles.

  “Agent Pritchard. I’m Rear Admiral Zuckerman. This is my niece, Olivia Zuckerman, and Daniela Finsbury-Sterling.”

  The man nodded. “Thank you for your help in this, Admiral.”

  “Not a problem. I’ll hand you over to Oz now.” />
  “Agent Pritchard.” Oz stepped forward.

  “Ms. Zuckerman.”

  “Please call me Oz. Now, where do you want to start?”

  “Very well, Oz. How are you involved in this matter?”

  “Daniela is here training to be a dive instructor at my dive school. While she has been here, we have become very good friends.”

  “You had no prior connection to the family or Peter Green?”

  “No, sir, I did not.”

  “Are you aware of Sterling Enterprises?”

  “Yes, sir. Since meeting Finn, I have made it my business to find out about Sterling Enterprises and William Sterling himself.”

  “And what have you learned?”

  “That the legitimate businesses are extensive and well run, but the wealth he has amassed far exceeds what you would expect. There are many unsubstantiated rumors as to connections with terrorists, ostensibly in relation to his bio labs. The feeling is he’s ready to start selling biological weapons on the black market.”

  “Oh God.” Finn’s voice was barely a whisper, her face paled and her hand shook as she covered her mouth.

  Charlie wrapped an arm about Finn’s shoulders and led her to a chair.

  “Ms. Zu—Oz. Is there anything else?”

  “I don’t know if you’ve seen the evidence regarding the disappearance, and the subsequent coroner’s report, in regards to Finn’s mother. There is compelling evidence that the coroner was paid off to find a verdict of suicide and therefore halt the investigation, and rendered a verdict within weeks of the disappearance rather than the seven-year legal requirement for cases when a body is not recovered. I believe that Sterling killed his wife.”

  “How did you come by all of this information?”

  “Some of it I got from Mr. Green, some of it from my uncle.”

  Pritchard nodded. “Ms. Finsbury-Sterling.”

  Finn had her head between her knees, clearly trying to catch her breath. She got up slowly when Pritchard said her name. “Finn.”

  “How did you become aware of all this information?”

  “Pete told me some things before he left, and Oz told me the rest of what I know.”

  “And what did Mr. Green tell you?”