“They make one of these for everything, huh?”
“That they do.” Robin stuck the chip into the reader. The chip she inserted was designed to mimic the blood–brain barrier environment protecting the wrinkly organ from toxins and pathogens flowing through the body’s circulation. “It’s much cheaper to use these devices to test the effects of drugs and other therapeutics compared to using animals.”
“And I’m sure the animals appreciate that, too.”
Again, Robin laughed as she pipetted a droplet of the delivery vector sample Ana had isolated. “Like you said before, we’re lucky Chris and Jordan cared enough to make their enhancements work well with people and used these types of validation procedures to assess their effectiveness.”
“Glad to have sided with the right criminals,” Ana said in a dry tone. The detective’s statement contained no hint of humor. It seemed as though the woman had begun to sink back into the dark reality of their situation. She’d bent her staunch ethical codes enough by relying on Chris and Jordan to assist in her case against the senator and Tallicor. Now she hid in an abandoned genetic enhancement manufacturing facility while waiting on those same former criminals to help her track another fugitive, all the while knowing the department she’d proudly worked for employed an unknown number of corrupt cops and detectives.
It was a lot for one person to handle. A surge of sympathy swelled in Robin as she started the chip reader.
Silence hung in the air between doctor and detective, broken by the intermittent buzzes and beeps as the holodisplay updated the progress of the experiment. The device quieted, and the display reported the final results.
A simulated infection had occurred. The subsequent readout confirmed the presence of a dangerous prion known to cause CJD, the same disease found in the Wrights and in Tanner’s patients.
The Blackbird Organics supplements were, as they had suspected, laced with delivery vectors filled with the prions. They had discovered one answer, but a barrage of questions clamored for her attention. Manmade delivery vectors didn’t become loaded with a deadly misfolded protein by accident.
A pit formed in Robin’s stomach. She imagined others around the nation taking these pills. Mothers, thinking they were aiding in the health of their children, were infecting themselves and their babies instead.
The slack-jawed expression across Ana’s face confirmed Robin’s own sentiment. They needed to find out who had tampered with these supplements and why.
Chapter 26
Unbridled fury coursed through Chris, and he struggled to remain in his seat. He dreamed of wrapping his hands around Vincent’s neck again. He’d been so close before Jordan had stopped him.
He exhaled slowly.
Jordan hadn’t been trying to protect Vincent. He’d prevented Chris from getting himself killed by those four cybernetic junkies serving as the crime lord’s bodyguards.
“I’m not leaving here without more information. If you aren’t lying, if you know who’s responsible for Sharp’s assassination and that journalist’s murder, I want you to tell us now.” Chris pressed his palms flat on the table as he leaned across it.
“Look, I don’t need to give you anything else.” Vincent snapped his fingers, and the four half-human lackeys marched back in. They surrounded Chris and Jordan. “I can have both your necks broken.” He looked down, drawing a comm card out of his pocket. The silence stretched on among the four diners and the bodyguards as Vincent read. He looked up, his brow wrinkled.
Chris stared back. “What?”
“Like I said, I have only a digital presence in the States now. Though I maintained a few contacts within the FBI, DC police, Baltimore PD, and a couple other cities, my network was nowhere near as large as that of my rivals. That’s become clearer to me as I’ve focused on infiltrating government Net connections.” He pointed at Chris. “I need men on the ground, and I don’t know who to trust.”
Jordan laughed. “So you want to use us?”
“I don’t want to, but I’m afraid I have to. I’m not exactly on friendly terms with anyone left in our industry on that side of the globe.”
“You call this friendly terms?” Chris gestured to the metal-armed individuals standing over him.
“I’m at least sure you aren’t working with any other organizations sharing my interests in advanced biotechnology.”
Chris glared. “You mean illegal biotechnology.”
“Call it whatever you like, but let’s dispense with the rebellious charade. I’m sending you back, and you’ll shut these people down with my help.”
“We came here because we thought our lives were at risk.” Jordan spoke with measured calm. Chris wished he could portray half the stolidity his friend seemed to possess. “We thought you were responsible for this mess. If that’s not the case, if your organization is as weak in Baltimore as you say it is, I don’t see what my friends and I have to gain out of all this.”
Vincent shook his comm card at them. “I’m afraid our mutual enemy confirmed Dr. Robin Haynes is involved in protecting Detective Ana Dellaporta. They’ve already attempted to take them both out, and my sources indicate they’re actively searching for these two ladies to make a second attempt.”
His heart sinking, Chris sat back. The anger subsided, replaced by fear. He wanted to ask Vincent where Robin was, how she was doing, how he knew she’d been attacked. But he couldn’t give Vincent the satisfaction.
“So you can see, this isn’t just about us.” Sun’s ruby lips curled. “These people didn’t call their dogs off us until we were scattered across the globe and well out of North America. If you think they’ll call off their pursuit of your friends...” She let her words linger in the air. She didn’t need to finish her thought.
“Fine,” Chris said. “We’ll fly back tonight.”
Jordan, wide eyed, stared at Chris.
But he had made up his mind. He regretted the decisions he’d made that had landed Veronica in trouble. He’d seen her mangled body, barely alive. He couldn’t let anyone else—especially Robin—suffer on behalf of him.
“You tell me what to do to shut these people down. I’ll do it.” He turned to Jordan. “You don’t have to help me, but I’m doing this.”
“That’s not fair, my man,” Jordan said. “You know I can’t let you run and do this thing alone. I’m with you all the way.”
“Cute,” Sun said, “but I’d recommend you both scuttle back to where you came from if you want to get this show on the road. You don’t have a lot of time, and jet lag can be a real bitch. We need you two in tip-top shape.”
Chris stood, already regretting leaving Vincent alive but understanding any move to kill the man would almost certainly mean his death along with Jordan’s, Robin’s, and Ana’s. Taking that man’s life wasn’t worth the loss of the others.
The cybernetic lackeys parted as he walked toward the exit. He paused as the wall slid back and Jordan joined him. “When you do tell us who these people are, how are we supposed to bring them down?”
That knowing grin spread across Vincent’s face again. “I’ll leave it up to you.”
“How the hell do you expect us to win this battle for you?”
“Truthfully, I don’t.” He raised his shoulders in a diffident gesture. “But even if you fail, I won’t be any worse off than I already am.” He gave a flick of his wrist, and the half machines pushed Jordan and Chris out into the corridor.
Jordan glanced at his comm card. “Next train leaves for Seoul in twenty minutes.” The door hissed shut. “Let’s not waste time.”
“You think we can trust Vincent?”
Instead of answering, Jordan led Chris back up to the anteroom and out into the alley. Chris sent a message to Robin, desperate to confirm whether Vincent’s predictions had come true. The downpour had given way to a light rain.
Jordan called a cab. He waited until the vehicle pulled up, and they slid in before speaking again. “Let’s wait until we’re safely out
of this country before we talk about trusting him.”
Their train took them through towns interspersed by tree-covered mountains and towering apartment buildings glowing with life. Vincent’s words haunted Chris. He slipped out his comm card but saw no response from Robin. Jordan placed a hand on his leg, and Chris realized he’d been tapping his foot out of nervousness. “Sorry.”
“No need to be. I’m sure the ladies are fine. Ana is more than capable of protecting them, and Robin is smart enough to hold her own.”
“But I still haven’t heard back.”
The boxy autoserver bot trundled down the aisle. Its robotic voice hawked candied seafood, Chocopies, and soft drinks. Jordan tapped on the bot, and it stopped. He pointed to a children’s coloring book with crayons on the selection display. Instead of paying via his comm card, he inserted paper bills to complete the purchase.
“Why—”
Jordan held a single finger over his lips as he completed the transaction with the bot, leaving Chris to his thoughts.
For a country obsessed with advanced technology, Chris found it curious that physical currency seemed preferred over comm card exchanges. Jordan had explained it had been that way since the time of credit and debit cards. This had become customary primarily because of the sheer number of small restaurants and shops unable to afford the convenience fees charged by credit card companies and now Net providers through comm cards.
The country’s addiction to technology, like the cybernetic implants, dominated the upper classes. Despite the many computer and medical companies based out of the country, most of Korea’s citizens couldn’t afford to keep up with the advancing tech field.
And foregoing the microeconomic need to use cash, Jordan had postulated the Koreans were vehement about their historic and cultural traditions. Throughout the small nation’s history, they’d been invaded or attacked by China, France, the United States, Japan, and the Soviet Union, among other warring entities.
When South Korea vehemently pursued reunification with the North, most countries had admonished them for their attachment to their poorer, morally aversive siblings ruling out of Pyongyang.
But the Korean people had argued their brothers and sisters still resided in the North, no matter what propaganda and poverty had done to them. South Korea refused to give in to the insistence of Western powers arguing it would be an economic disaster to take in the stray country. So besides the reluctance of small business owners to accept the exorbitant fees of comm card companies, the dogged stubbornness of Korean culture had also led to the sustained culture of cash-based exchanges.
Given the proud heritage of the Korean people and financial system, Chris wondered how Vincent had succeeded in finding refuge here. Surely, there must be countries and cultures more hospitable to a foreigner setting up shop.
He licked his lips. Maybe there was a way he and Jordan could use that to their advantage and get Vincent expelled from the country. Get him sent back to the United States, where he’d be without cybernetic junkies to protect him from Chris’s anger.
And while that explained why Jordan used cash on the bot, it failed to elucidate why Jordan bought a coloring book filled with cartoon characters.
Jordan tore open the plastic packaging and opened a page. He scribbled on it with a red crayon before showing Chris. Know how Vincent was good with tech?
Chris nodded.
Again, Jordan took up the crayon. I’m betting he bugged our comm cards. I used to do the same thing with associates I didn’t trust.
And again, Chris nodded. He wrote a message back. You think he can record audio, even when we aren’t calling someone?
Jordan’s head bobbed.
So can we remove whatever you think he put on the card?
I think so, Jordan wrote. But I’d prefer to wait until we’re back in the States and he’s given us our target. Don’t want him to think we’re double-crossing him. Yet.
Chris grinned. Now we know where he is, right? I hope this isn’t going to be my last trip to Korea.
It won’t be. I promise. Besides, we didn’t get to eat at Jung’s. He makes a delicious myeon. Those homemade noodles will show you why I tried so hard to spread our old business here.
Buzzing, Chris’s comm card lit up green. His heart rate quickened, and he fumbled to pick the card up. Relief washed through him when he saw the incoming message.
It was Robin.
Alive.
But dread subverted his relief as he read on.
Chapter 27
Robin tapped another message back to Chris, reassuring him she and Ana were safe. Sorry for not responding. We were tied up in lab work. She cursed herself for causing Chris to panic. He’d probably worried himself sick, thinking she’d been abducted again.
Or maybe worse...
Either way, before he had left, she and Ana had promised him they’d be fine without Chris and Jordan. She meant to keep that oath and didn’t want him to be concerned about their safety when he had rather dangerous responsibilities to take on. Any undue worry on his part might compromise his focus and put him in danger.
With her fingers typing away, she also relayed what they had found in the supplements and all the events leading up to the moment they discovered the prions hidden within delivery vectors inside the blue pill.
Sounds like things are only going to get worse. Stay safe, Chris replied. He offered no reason for the prions’ inclusion in the pills but promised they’d discuss it as soon as he and Jordan arrived. He said they’d found Vincent but needed to return empty handed. They’d made a deal with Vincent that could only be completed on their return—they’d find out who was behind the senator’s death and responsible for terrorizing them since.
“How’d they make out?” Ana asked.
Robin showed her the messages.
“That doesn’t sound like Chris and Jordan.” She leaned back on the lab bench. “Making deals with a guy they hate? Something’s going on here.”
“You want me to ask?”
Ana shook her head. “You don’t go from actively seeking out a suspect behind a crime to leaving without an arrest for no good reason. If they found Vincent and are taking off like that—” She snapped her fingers. “They found something else.”
“Or maybe they’re being forced to leave.”
“Either way, there’s not a lot we can do until we see them in person. If Chris doesn’t want to discuss these things over comm card, there’s got to be a good reason behind that, too.”
Robin recalled how the three intruders had tracked Ana. She stared at her own comm card, wondering if it would be better to cease electronic communications altogether. “It’s going to be several hours before they’re back. Should we camp here while we wait?”
“Maybe. I’m not about to spend the time twiddling my thumbs. The case is hot, and even if Chris is promising answers, I have a hard time trusting the word of fugitives and convicted criminals. I’d like to lay some groundwork down before their plane lands.”
Robin was unsure whether the detective meant only Vincent—or Chris, too. She’d claimed to trust Jordan and Chris, but her increasing reliance on them no doubt made her uncomfortable with the allegiances she’d made since her department had betrayed her. “What did you have in mind?”
“The least we can do is learn more about Blackbird Organics. My first thought would be to see if they have any industry rivals setting them up for failure.”
Nodding, Robin toyed with her comm card. Since the lab’s computers were disconnected from the Net to protect the hidden facility, her card served as the sole connection to the outside world.
She held it out to Ana for the detective to begin her investigations.
Then she stopped. The Wrights.
Ana cocked her head. “What’s up?”
“Remember my patients? The ones I found the CJD in?”
“Yeah. Now we know how they got it, huh?”
Robin stood and paced around the lab bench.
“Sure. But my hospital doesn’t know. They still think I’m late on reporting the family to Child Protection Services for the mother’s apparent use of illegal enhancements.”
“But I thought all evidence of their blood samples had been deleted from the hospital.”
“True,” Robin said. She picked up one of the lab chips they’d used. “But deleting computer data and throwing away biological samples doesn’t make people forget.”
“You told others about what you found?”
“Of course.” Robin held out her hands. “At least one of my attending nurses walked through the case every step of the way with me. The MRI techs had some idea of what happened. Another doctor saw similar symptoms in his patients, and we discussed what was going on.”
“So you’re afraid someone’s going to wonder why the Wrights haven’t been reported to CPS,” Ana said. “And if they find you’ve ignored the matter, you could be charged with a felony for failure to report.”
Robin didn’t fear the criminal charge alone. She stood to lose her medical license and the ability to practice.
Robin couldn’t imagine life outside the hospital. She’d spent a lifetime of training and education to land her role in pediatric oncology. She’d seen patients live and die in the struggle against cancer.
There were always more patients who needed to be treated, more who needed her. Spending almost eighty hours a week in the hospital didn’t seem like a burden when her sacrifices and devotion led to families walking out the front door together, hand in hand. She lived for those moments—and she couldn’t live without them.
“I don’t even want to risk suspension while they sort this mess out.” The unknown saboteur might still prowl the hospital’s corridors. “And even if I could prove I was in the right, it’d take a long time—if ever—before I could get my job back.”
Ana opened her mouth as if to argue. She appeared to relent just as quickly, as though she knew she couldn’t convince Robin otherwise. “So you want to file a report of our findings. Let your coworkers know this contamination—not your patient’s deliberate use of genetic enhancements—led to the prion disease and the delivery vectors found in her blood.”
The Black Market DNA Series: Books 1-3 Page 67