Ladyfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  “This is Delta One. I have access.”

  “Affirmative, Delta One.”

  He pulled on a pair of latex gloves before pushing open the door and crossing the room. He pulled a small transmitter from his left pocket and an external hard drive from the right. He plugged the transmitter into the back of the router and switched it on before crossing to the main server and sitting at the desk. He quickly brought up the login screen and fished in his breast pocket for the small pen drive full of access programs and codes to allow him to access the secure information hidden on the server. It seemed to take only seconds before the login screen disappeared and the desktop flashed up. He scanned the screen, dismissing each icon before he began scrolling through the computer’s files, transferring information to the USB port as he went. His eyes lit on a file labeled “Lyell.” He grabbed the whole folder and dragged it to the hard drive.

  “This is Delta One. I have found information and am transferring now. Transfer time, two minutes.”

  “Understood, Delta One.”

  “Any movement out there?”

  “Negative, Delta One. All quiet on the western front.”

  “Ha ha.”

  He scrolled through some of the other files as he waited for the transfer to complete.

  Ninety seconds.

  “Delta One. We have movement on the elevator.”

  “This floor?”

  “Not sure.”

  Sixty seconds.

  “Well, best let me know.”

  “We’re tapping into the elevator system now.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you do that before?”

  Thirty seconds.

  “They’re coming for a visit, Delta One.”

  “Fantastic.”

  Twenty seconds.

  “Delta One, you need to get a move on.”

  “Yeah, I know that. Tell me when they get to the corner. Preferably, before they turn into this corridor, please.”

  Ten seconds.

  “Delta One, we have a single male approaching the west corner. Approximately fifty feet from the corner.”

  Five seconds.

  “Twenty feet, Delta One.”

  Transfer complete.

  He pulled the cable from the computer, closing the windows on the screen as he stuffed the drive into his pocket. He logged out of the session and grabbed the pen drive, stuffing it into his breast pocket as he crossed the room and pulled open the door.

  “Rounding the corner now, Delta One.”

  He pulled the door closed behind him and pressed his security card against the reader.

  “Hey, what you doing there?”

  He turned to face the man coming toward him. “I’m trying to get in here to clean stuff, but this stupid pass don’t work.”

  “That’s the computer room. We don’t clean in there. It’s like top secret security or something.”

  He looked at the man, his own gray uniform threadbare at the knees, sweat stained under his arms and along his collar. His work boots were scuffed, the sole pulling away from the leather on one, making a slapping sound against the tiles as he walked. His face was round, his cheeks ruddy and smeared with dust and grime. His smile was broad as he approached, though.

  “Are you done with this floor? I was just going to take my lunch break and wondered if you wanted to join me. I can show you where the cafeteria is?”

  He stepped closer to the small man and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’d be great. I’m still trying to get my bearings.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. It took me a month to get to know everywhere in this place. It still feels weird sometimes, eating my lunch break at two in the morning. I’m all upside down now.”

  He turned his cart away from the door and headed away from the server room. “How long you worked here now?”

  “Three years.”

  He whistled. “That’s a long time. You must like it.” They made their way down the corridor, toward the elevators.

  “Nice work, Delta One. You actually gonna eat with this bozo?”

  He grinned as he pushed the button in the elevator, and they headed for the cafeteria. “So what do they have in this cafeteria of yours then, buddy?”

  Junior grinned as he followed his short friend into the cafeteria. Oz would be proud of him.

  *

  “Jack, why the hell are you calling me at three in the morning?” William Sterling growled down the phone.

  “Sir, there was an incident last night at the US biolab.”

  “What?”

  “Lyell believes that files about the bacteria have been downloaded. Along with correspondence between you and Lyell.”

  “Has there been any damage to the product?”

  “No. All samples and finished quantities have not been tampered with. The loss is purely electronic.”

  “How the fuck did this happen, Jack? How did you let this happen?”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “I want a full breakdown on what information was downloaded and I want to know how the hell they got into the system. I thought you told me that system was impenetrable?”

  “Sir, the guy who developed the network assured me that it was.”

  “Well, he was lying, then wasn’t he?”

  “I have already taken care of that particular issue.”

  “Good. Do we know who orchestrated this?”

  “Not yet, sir. But I’m working on it. It originated in the US. That much we’ve been able to ascertain.”

  “I want specifics. How close are we to the quantity that we require?”

  “The last barrel is in production now. It should be ready tomorrow.”

  “Good. It’s time to make this deal. Take care of Lyell.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Any news on my daughter’s whereabouts yet?”

  “She’s disappeared, sir. I searched her house and found some information on scuba diving. I’m tracking down that angle at the moment. I’ll let you know when I find anything.”

  “See that you do.” He ended the call and dialed another number.

  “The product is ready, Masood.”

  “Excellent, William. There is to be a change in delivery address.”

  “Where?”

  “Washington.”

  “That’s a significant change in our agreement.”

  “I am aware of that, my friend.”

  “And where in Washington will I be delivering?”

  “William, I will take care of my final destination. I want you to deliver to a warehouse inside the city. I have my people in place to ensure that the president has a holiday he will never forget.”

  Sterling shuddered at the unpleasant sound of Masood’s laughter ringing down the tinny phone line. “There will obviously be a much greater risk.”

  “I am aware of that too, William.”

  “The price must be changed accordingly.”

  “And what do you feel would be appropriate recompense for this increased risk?”

  “Make it an even hundred million and I think I can accept the risk.”

  “Done. When can I expect delivery?”

  “Five days. I’ll send you the coordinates and the details for the money transfer.”

  “A pleasure as always, my friend.”

  The line went dead.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Jack leaned back against the wall, masking himself in the shadows as he watched the dive boat pull alongside the dock and the passengers scurry to disembark. Backpacks slung over their shoulders, towels draped around their necks, and the breeze ruffling hair that needed the salt washed from it. He watched silently as most disembarked and left the dock, then counted how many people actually stayed back to help.

  He mussed his hair before he stepped out of the shadows and walked toward a young woman as she headed for the car park.

  “Hi, was the diving good?”

  She popped the boot of her car and tossed her bag in before closin
g the lid and looking at him.

  “Yeah, it was really great. We went to see this statue of Jesus at the bottom of the ocean. It was like a spiritual experience for me.”

  “Wow. That’s great. It looks like you were really crowded on the boat. How many people do the guides dive with?” He could see her curiosity piqued as he spoke and decided that he needed to satisfy it in the most realistic way possible. “I’m thinking of diving, but I really hate when the guides have huge groups.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate that. It’s just all about the money, and the poor dive guides are worked to death. These guys aren’t like that. We stopped at another marina and picked up another couple of people who were helping lead the dives. We had to drop them off before we came back here too.”

  “That must have been inconvenient.”

  “Nah. It wasn’t that far away, and Oz was a really good guide. She must know everything about the area. The other woman with her, Finn, was really helpful too. She was helping everyone set up their gear and do their buddy checks. Besides, it gave us a bit longer on the boat to sunbathe.” She grinned at him.

  “Still, I’m not sure I’d like to be setting off earlier just to pick people up who don’t want to make it to the dive center.”

  “Actually, it was really interesting. We picked them up at the naval base. Not many people get to see that, so it was worth the extra time on the boat. I was hoping I might meet a nice sailor while I was there, but it wasn’t meant to be.” She shrugged. “They were already waiting for the boat and just jumped straight on. I barely had a chance to smile at any sailors, never mind get asked for a date.” She smiled. He took the time to look her up and down, noting the dark brown eyes and blond, sun-streaked hair, her small waist and long legs, as well as the clear invitation on her pretty face.

  “Well, this must be my lucky day then. Would you like to come for a drink with me this evening?”

  “I don’t even know your name.”

  “I’m Jack.” He held out his hand and kept hold of hers as he stepped a little closer to her. “Now will you go for a drink with me?”

  “I’d love to. I’m Stephanie.”

  He grinned at her. “Well, Stephanie, let’s make this a night to remember, shall we?”

  “What do you have in mind?” She cocked her head to the side and looked up at him from under her long lashes.

  “What hotel are you staying in?”

  “I’m in the Mandarin Hotel.”

  “How about I meet you in the bar at seven and I’ll show you what I have in mind?” Jack smiled, amazed at how easy it was to get the information he wanted.

  “I can hardly wait.” She stepped back and slid into her car, backing slowly out of the car park and away down the road. She didn’t see him grinning as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped in a number.

  “Hi, I’d like to book a dive. Yes, that would be fine. No, I don’t have my own equipment. I’m on vacation. Whatever day you can fit me on the boat. I’ve dived with Oz in the past. Is she still leading groups? She is. Fantastic. I’ll drop by early that day to pay for my dive. My name is Steven Morris. Thank you.” He rang off and slid the phone back into his pocket.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Finn flipped through the pages of a magazine without seeing them, trying to keep her mind occupied. Oz was getting a beer from the fridge when the doorbell rang.

  “Hey, Pops, you okay?”

  “Yeah, is Charlie here yet?”

  “No, why?”

  “He’s got some stuff he wants to bring over.”

  “What stuff?”

  “I don’t know really. Neither does he. That’s the problem. He’s got a lot of information, but no one who can really interpret it for him. He’s almost sure Sterling is ready to move on a deal, but we don’t know what the deal is for. There are too many unanswered questions to figure anything out at this point. It’s all just conjecture.” Oz nodded, playing with a strand of Finn’s hair.

  “So you’re hoping Finn can interpret the data and give you a clue what you’re up against with the bio weapons.” It was a statement, not a question. “You okay with that, baby? Actually seeing what your dad is selling is different from knowing in the abstract.”

  “I know, darling. But I think I need to do this. I have too many unanswered questions. If I look at this stuff and it’s harmless, then I can put it all behind me. If I look at this and it isn’t, well, then at least I’ll know what I can do to stop it. To stop him. That means a lot to me. It might help me distance myself from him and the things he’s done. It might help me to feel better about myself.” She sighed and leaned against Oz. “Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah, I guess it does. I just wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

  “You can’t protect me from this. I need to know. I need to know what I’m dealing with, who he is. It might help me, it might not. But it can’t hurt me any more than the possibility he’s selling biological weapons I helped create.”

  Charlie knocked and came in carrying a laptop case and placed it on the table, booting it up right away.

  “When we spoke, you said you’d look at some information for us, Finn. Would you do that now?”

  “Of course. Billy said you have some information you can’t make heads nor tails of.” She sat at the table next to him and looked at the screen he turned toward her.

  “Does it make sense to you?”

  “You’ll have to give me a little while to take a look. I’m fairly quick with this stuff, but I do need to read it first.” She began scanning through the data, one file after another.

  Charlie chuckled. “Of course, I’m sorry.”

  “Beer, Charlie?” Billy held up the bottle as he spoke.

  “That sounds like a very good idea.” He took the bottle from him as Billy handed Oz another. They spoke quietly as Finn studied the files on the laptop, her expression more and more concerned. Oz watched her constantly, noting the set of her shoulders as they tensed, the twitching of her fingers as she hovered above the keyboard. Oz sipped from her bottle, not paying attention to the conversation around her.

  Finn scrubbed her hands over her face when she finally looked away from the screen and all eyes were riveted to her.

  “There’s a lot more I need to read to give you extensive details, but I can give you the outline.” She took another sip of her drink. “It’s quite simple really. They’ve been working with the botulinum toxin. It’s extremely deadly on its own so they don’t actually need to enhance it at all. Most scientists agree that it is the most toxic substance in the world. At least in the biological world, botox is an obvious frontrunner. That particular strain can be isolated from its natural habitat, which is the soil, and then grown in cultures. It is a bit tricky to grow, but not so difficult that it puts people off trying. It grows quickly, and the best ways to produce the most toxic results are well researched and readily available to those in the microbiological community. Purification of the botox protein isn’t difficult either. Quantities could be isolated in a day or less, or even on a continuous-flow basis.

  “It’s relatively stable and can be stored in crystalline form. The weapon-ready forms are classified, but this material suggests that they’re using the same form. It’s meant to be absorbed through the mucous membranes in the lungs and nasal passages, so aerosol dispersal is thought to be one of the best ways to deliver as a weapon, but adding it to municipal water or food supplies are also likely ways of introducing the toxin into a population.

  “It’s tasteless and odorless and, depending on the dosage, it can take from two to fourteen days before the symptoms appear. Symptoms run the spectrum from double vision, difficulty in swallowing and speaking, muscle weakness, vomiting, and eventually respiratory failure. The protein is a neurotoxin, and once the symptoms appear, the damage is irreversible. There are several unique strains, which means that the only effective treatment involves passive antibody shots against all strains; the assum
ption being that a mixture of strains would be applied. Immunization of a large population is not feasible.”

  “Why not?” Charlie took notes while Finn talked.

  “One of the advantages of the toxin is that since its symptoms are delayed, the damage is done before victims realize they’ve been infected, so by the time the victim exhibits any symptoms, it’s too late to save them. Add that to the fact that the amount of antiserum required to treat hundreds of thousands of exposed people simply isn’t available.”

  “Shit,” Charlie said under his breath.

  “Is there any good news at all in there, baby?” Oz asked.

  “Not really. The known disadvantages are that the toxin is unstable in the air if exposed to sunlight and dry conditions. It can also be destroyed by brief boiling, which means that effective exposure is limited by a small window of lighting and humidity conditions, the same conditions that destroy the E. coli bacteria. Even though it’s highly toxic, it would still take a large amount to reach a lethal concentration in a large city’s water supply. Contaminating a food supply would be even more difficult. Unless they target individual food processing plants.”

  “How much are we talking about?” Billy rolled a pencil over his knuckles constantly, obviously his way of concentrating.

  “For what? A city-wide attack or to kill a few people?”

  “Either.”

  “It depends on the method of delivery and strain, but a decent estimate is seventy micrograms if ingested, and point seven to point nine micrograms if inhaled.”

  “How lethal is this stuff?”

  “It’s fatal in at least fifty percent of cases.”

  “Fuck.”

  “It gets worse.”

  “How?”

  “Well, up until now there hasn’t been a reliable method of delivery for the toxin. That’s all changed now. They’re using my protocol with the E. coli bacteria. It means that the infected bacteria establish themselves in the intestines long enough to produce a quantity of toxin that would disable the victim before their immune system could respond.”

  “How could they get this into people?”