by E L Russell
Their cells vibrated simultaneously.
"This could be it, "Granger said in a horse whisper. Maybe, finally, we’ve got something. They exited through the door they’d entered a short time ago and speed-walked toward the debriefing room.
Granger echoed her thoughts aloud "Do you think that guy we saw run out caught something?"
Meret matched his steps and continued looking directly ahead, “No, their trained to keep their eyes and ears on the scene. They’ll never break contact for any reason, as long as their beetle is alive. Their first job is to resolve the event until relieved. That guy was probably called to the office for screwing up.”
As they hustled into the small debriefing room, six other members of their team of analysts arrived through a separate door and took one of the chairs flanked the two long sides of the conference table. Special Agent Director Davies, with Special Agent Fairchild at his side, greeted them.
"This just came in,” Director Davies said, addressing the team. With no other preliminaries, he punched the ‘go’ button.
All eyes shot to the wall monitor where the scene of an office appeared and Steve began a narration.
"After monitoring this office for eight days, one of our agents finally got lucky. He was able to work his drone into position to get this close-up. He confirmed his suspicions by the staff person managing his shift. Roll to 72.”
The back of the head of a slender man in a dapper dark suit came into frame. Table talk buzzed on who he was and why he was under suspicion.
“Watch closely during the next five minutes,” Steve said. Now, I’m going to show you everything. I won’t interrupt the playback.”
A man moved toward the desk and placed some papers and mail he’d brought with him on one corner of the large desktop blotter. He then stepped to a small table at the side of the room where a coffee pot was plugged in and two mugs sat ready for use.
Abruptly, he froze and turned his head as though he’d heard something near the door. A moment passed before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small foil envelope about the size of a pair of antacid tablets. Tearing it open, he shook a white power into the coffee pot and returned the now empty foil pouch to his pocket. As he backed away, his face filled the beetle bot's screen and the video froze.
“Surprised.” Fairchild said. "I’m stopping the playback at the point where the bot uploaded this image to our servers for photo recognition. The man, ID’d as Ernest Summerfield, is an aide to Congressman Whipple, the Republican from South Carolina.”
One of the agents asked, “What’s so special about this Congressman? Are we bringing the guy who spiked his coffee in?”
Meret stood. "Are you serious? We can’t interrupt this activity until we have the whole story. We have no idea of the scope of this thing. All we know is the people behind this have already killed more than several thousand women and children. They’re in this for far more than just one conservative member of congress.”
Director Davies stifled the grumblings and murmurs with a raised palm. "We have deployed more than 500 spy bots around the country," he counted on his fingers, "at the U.N., the Pentagon, and the top ten civilian targets, like the new tower in New York, the Sears Tower in Chicago, and so forth. We estimate we'll need at least another 1500 spy bots to address our list of suspected targets. I'm not about to hoist a flag of victory over a threat to one congressman."
One of the senior agents said, "What do you propose, Sir? We can’t witness the assassination of a congressman and sit by until more die. ”
Meret interrupted. "I'm confident what we witnessed just now is only a non-lethal chemical preparation for his future assassination. Congressman Whipple won't die or even get a headache from that power the aide put in his coffee."
Director Davies folded his arms. "What are you saying, Meret?”
"The attack on Socotra succeeded only because a haplogroup with a unique genetic marker was already in place for the SKV to find.”
That’s Smart Killing Virus,” She added at the director’s frown." When his frown remained, she added, "The Socotra victims were already genetically tagged. That raises the question, how do you use an SKV to assassinate a specific group of people if they do not share a unique genetic tag?" She raised her palms in question, giving the group a moment to think.
She raised her finger alerting them that she was about to make a point. "You intentionally tag them first. That’s what the Capitol waiter, Ernest Summerfield, is doing. He is giving Congressman Whipple a specific genetic tag on his DNA that will be remain an identifiable tag for whenever the assassin who made it makes and releases the SKV designed to find it and poison its host is released.”
“Let me be very clear on this,” Director Davies said. “You believe? Or do you know, we just witnessed someone setting the scene to chemically tag a future intended victim.”
She folded her arms. “Yes, Director, I know we watched the chemical tag being placed in the congressman’s coffee. That is a great step forward, but damn it, we need more INTEL. We still can’t ID the entire intended population. We need a list of intended victims so my lab can prepare and test an antidote and dose the intended victims before the terrorists release the SKV.
A very subtle and whispered groan ensued from everyone.
Davies looked at her. "Ideas?”
Meret frowned. "Once the foreign genetic material is ingested, the trillion cells within any individual is tagged within hours." She exhaled and shook her head. "I wish we had a baseline scan of the DNA every congress member for a comparison study. Since we don't, we should immediately begin collecting DNA from everyone who works in the capital. Then we can compare their before and after DNA scans to identify any new or differently structured genetic material. Those showing the tag would make up the list of intended victims."
The director pursed his lips and nodded. “Make it happen. ASAP. We are running out of Time.
Granger banged the table with the flat of his hand and made eye contact with his fellow agents. "So. We have a limited amount of INTEL about this pending attack. Why is it that none, not one, of our analysts ever mentioned the possibility of such an event?” All of them focused on places such as landmark buildings or Times Square.” She paused, biting her lower lip. "I suggest we take a few minutes to brainstorm how we can immediately and covertly build a DNA database of all Capitol personnel, starting with Whipple the good Congressman from South Carolina.”
56
Tag and Bag
November, a new Super Bot
After the session with Director Davies in the small debriefing room at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Steve huddled with Meret and Granger and six Agents. Not knowing when the pending attack would take place put added pressure for the team.
Meret tapped two icons on her smart phone's screen allowing Poppy and Zhen to virtually join the group.
“It's happened,” Meret spoke first. “We've got a plate full of unknowns and little time. That video confirms our fear that the terrorists are already chemically tagging their intended targets with a chemical marker. We're deploying the beetles throughout the Capitol to collect several hundred live DNA samples to bring to our labs. Zhen and Poppy have a team of lab techs who will completely sequence each DNA sample and database the results.”
Steve broke in. “Now that we have evidence of the attack, why don’t we simply shut down Congress and stop the terrorists from additional tagging?”
She shook her finger. “No. No, Steve. Our goals must be to first identify the protein tag, then immunize Congress, and finally discover who is behind the attempted Genecaust.”
Director Davies tugged on his chin before saying, “And do it all in covertly.” He raised his chin toward Meret. “Tell me more about your teams efforts with DNA analysis.”
He voice was steady, almost calm. “We will take a series of live DNA samples from each congressman. We believe the terrorists have only begun to tag and that a pattern will quickly emerge of the new pr
otein tag. We will not wait to see it in every member of Congress. We only need to witness an emerging pattern to know its location and design. From that we will be able to design and develop our own special protein molecule.”
Granger flashed a crocked smile and snorted a laugh. “I got it. Meret’s protein is just like a good sniper. Put it in position. If the bad protein is there, kill it. If the bad protein in not there, wait for it to come and then kill it.”
Steve added, “And all we have to do is create and deploy Meret’s sniper protein before they attack.”
Davies slapped the table. “Meret, start your team’s collection of live DNA.”
Zhen filled his part of the screen with a waving hand. “Because the current BeetleBots are too big for some missions, I designed an alternative.” He opened his hand to show the contents. “This I call SuperFly.”
“It looks like a large horse fly,” Granger said. “Is that the scale?”
Zhen touched the back of the SuperFly with his index finger to accentuate the scale. “It's about one-half inch long and has a soft proboscis to swipe trace. Our new associate, Ling Chang, is a specialist in materials with some excellent ideas on how to combine biochemistry and Nano technology. Thus, each SuperFly can use its nose to collect DNA from a live subject’s body. These SuperFly bots have been designed to use the same smart phone controls as the original BeetleBot. I have shipped 500 to Langley for starters.”
“Absolutely,” Steve exclaimed, his eyes lit like a Christmas morning. “The sooner the better.”
Meret added, “Zhen, when your team get access to at least thirty new DNA scans, start a search for common markers. We can’t address the coming Genecaust until we understand the physical nature and location of the markers the terrorists plan to use in conjunction with their SKV. We will continue resampling until we are 100% positive we can create an antidote. Then and only then we switch from sampling DNA to tagging the Capitol with protection.”
“Yes, ma’am. Were on it,” Poppy said.” Her somber face reflected the gravity of the situation.
* * *
The adoption and integration of SuperFlys into CIA's surveillance programs took minimal time. Within one hour of their arrival, pilots only had to select the BeetleBot or SuperFly icon and their screen automatically presented updated apps with relevant functional icons. With no change to user interface controls, the agents quickly made minor adjustments for size and flew them to their designated targets in their congressional offices and began the first round of live DNA collection. When the SuperFly reached its capacity, the SuperFly initiated a Return-To-Base command. The pilots only had to monitor the process as each SuperFly was programmed to returned to the closest CIA lab, usually within three miles, where the DNA trace could be sequenced and have its data uploaded safely to the cloud. Each SuperFly automatically to returns to its assigned target to resume live DNA sampling.
During the first eight hours of deployment, the SuperFlys delivered trace for eighty of the two hundred plus subjects. At the end of the first six hours, enough confirmed trace existed for them to begin a full computer analysis that yielded three possible genetic tags as candidates for the coming SKV attack. More sampling was needed to lower the three to one candidate. That is the only level of success Meret would condone.
Meret decided to request Director Davies permission to leave Langley to be with her lab team in Houston to complete their analysis of the results of the live DNA tagging process. With the teams at Langley efficiently working on their own, it was time for her to begin work on a countermeasure or antidote. It was no surprise the Director immediately provided her with a Company jet. However, she was surprised when Granger said he’d meet her at the company helipad saying he had arranged for a full security team at the Zalea and that he liked the excuse to be close to her.
* * *
Meret urged the security team's driver to go faster through Washington traffic. Her thoughts of meeting Granger kept intruding on her analytical mind and interfered with her brainstorming solutions to the best way to negate and render the SKV harmless to the target DNA.
The image of his face stayed with her as she ran across the helipad, to the only copter sitting with feathering props ready for takeoff. A man appeared from within the sleek, expensive looking craft and positioned the short retractable steps from the body of the plane to the tarmac.
“Granger?” She slowed making sure it was really him.
He closed the distance and gave her a quick hug and a kiss and half carried her to the waiting chopper. “Let’s go. Times a wasting”
When she realized that her feet no longer touched the ground, she laughed without breaking their kiss.
The chopper’s first class huge window interior gave them a view of Washington no other aircraft could.
“This must be the Director’s private copter,” Meret said.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Only that the Eurocopter EC155 is very expensive.”
“How would you know that?”
“Grandfather Elias has one.”
* * *
They slept on the flight to Houston and didn’t wake until the wheels announced touchdown. Stretching the kinks out, Meret said, “You'll like Poppy” She's a dynamo of clear thinking and anticipation of what's needed. Then she snorted. “It is a shame Poppy can't control Houston traffic. The Zalea should be twenty-five minutes from Hobby Airport, but instead it often takes an hour or more.”
“Traffic rules the world.”
“Fraid so.”
Granger pointed toward a trio of black SUVs. “Ah. There she is.”
Meret laughed, “And she’s armed with security.”
As promised, Poppy had the SUVs in position for their arrival. While her soft canvas hat fought a losing battle to keep her curly red hair tamed, her checkered lumberJack shirt was an endearing sight and in spite of the circumstances, it was good to be home. A capable-looking female agent, dressed in a black suit and dark glasses, informed them of the new security procedures. And although it was a practice Meret knew Poppy had often scoffed at, the agents were armed. She introduced herself as, “Special Agent Maxine Rosewood” and immediately took charge. “We need to return to the hotel, where we have a guest under the guard of two CIA agents.”
Granger snapped to strictly business. “Who are the agents?”
“Special Agents William Parker and Harry Richbane flew in from Washington about four hours ago. They were guarding some hacker. The boss said you would want him with you at the Zalea in Houston.”
“Who are they guarding?”
“ I believe some Italian guy, a Piero something or other.”
57
Dr. Piero della Francesca
November, Hotel Zalea - A meeting with the Agents
The presence of Piero della Francesca only stirred the boiling pot of urgency. Meret’s desire for quiet dinner with Granger, Poppy, and Zhen quickly became a pipe dream, one that would not happen tonight. She decided to arrange a working dinner with Granger and Piero, their new asset. She expected they would gather far more INTEL than in any formal interrogation by CIA agents in some local holding cell. She could meet Poppy and Zhen at the lab early in the morning.
* * *
Special Agent William Parker and Special Agent Harry Richbane stood guard outside of the Hemingway, her favorite small private dining room at the Hotel Zalea. The hotel’s wait staff, usually cool and professional women and men, seemed unable to take their eyes off Piero. Although she admitted he was exceptionally good looking with his long lean frame and dark looks, she found him wanting next to Granger. Different strokes—
Granger placed his a paper note pad on the table and held one of Dr. Zhen’s special recording pens in his hand. “Let’s recap your statement about who’s in charge of the pending attack on this country.”
Piero stopped stirring his espresso. “Henri mentioned a Russian woman. His conversation said she was the one in charge.’
&nb
sp; “Name?”
Henri continued stirring. “Katya Savelievna Kornilova.”
“An alias or real name?”
“Seems to be her real name.”
Taking notes, Granger continued his questions maintaining a mild, friendly tone. “What can you tell us about her?”
Piero turned sideways and crossed his legs. One arm hung casually over the back of his chair. He held his cup in the other, occasionally sipping his tea. “We never met, as you know, but from my conversations with Henri, she is a master at interrogation.” He paused and got a far away look in his eyes and Granger gave him the moment he seemed to need.
“Understand this is all inside her victim’s mind,” The Italian said, bring his focus back to the dinner table. From her target’s point of view, she can appear as plain and pale as a subdued lab rat one moment . . . and the next she transforms into the stereotypical dominatrix.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Seems like she knows how to play on her target’s fantasies.”
Leaning on his elbow, Piero wove his fingers together. “Using her classical conditioning, excellent interrogation skills, and an attitude from hell, she not only learns what she needs to know from the victim, but turns any subject under her thumb into a life-long asset. As I said, the perceived changes are all in the head of the person she has conditioned through this severe suggestion and hypnosis. And using that skill, she can make you think she is anyone. A friend, a bully, a lover, or a threat.”
Granger stopped writing. “Do you have any evidence, proof, of this ability?”
Piero raised an eyebrow and gave Meret and Granger both a lame smile. “Katya murdered Dirk Donahue over the phone.”