Never Say Die / Whistleblower

by Tess Gerritsen

  “Come again?”

  “You’re a smart dude. She thinks I should listen to you.”

  Polowski turned and grinned at Mrs. Lum. “Your mother is a great judge of character.” He looked back at Milo. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her. Or you. You both have to get out of town.”

  Milo nodded. “On that particular point, we both agree.” He turned toward the house.

  “What about Holland?” called Polowski. “Will you help me find him?”

  Milo took his mother by the arm and guided her across the lawn. Without even a backward look he said, “I’m thinking about it.”

  “It was those two photos. I just couldn’t figure them out,” said Ollie.

  They were standing on the boathouse pier, overlooking the bed of Lake Lagunita. The lake was dry now, as it was every winter, drained to a reedy marsh until spring. They were alone, the three of them, sharing the lake with only an occasional duck. In the spring, this would be an idyllic spot, the water lapping the banks, lovers drifting in rowboats, here and there a poet lolling under the trees. But today, under black clouds, with a cold mist rising from the reeds, it was a place of utter desolation.

  “I knew they weren’t biological data,” said Ollie. “I kept thinking they looked like some sort of electrical grid. So this morning, right after I left Milo’s, I took ’em over to Bach’s, down in San José. Caught him at breakfast.”

  “Bach?” asked Cathy.

  “Another member of the Out of Tuners. Great bassoon player. Started an electronics firm a few years back and now he’s working with the big boys. Anyway, the first thing he says as I walk in the door is, ‘Hey, did the FBI get to you yet?’ And I said, ‘What?’ and he says, ‘They just called. For some reason they’re looking for Gershwin. They’ll probably get around to you next.’ And that’s when I knew I had to get you two out of Milo’s house, stat.”

  “So what did he say about those photos?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Ollie reached into his briefcase and pulled out the photos. “Okay. This one here, it’s a circuit diagram. An electronic alarm system. Very sophisticated, very secure. Designed to be breached by use of a keypad code, punched in at this point here. Probably at an entryway. You seen anything like it at Viratek?”

  Victor nodded. “Building C-2. Where Jerry worked. The keypad’s in the hall, right by the Special Projects door.”

  “Ever been inside that door?”

  “No. Only those with top clearance can get through. Like Jerry.”

  “Then we’ll have to visualize what comes next. Going by the diagram, there’s another security point here, probably another keypad. Right inside the first door, they’ve stationed a camera system.”

  “You mean like a bank camera?” asked Cathy.

  “Similar. Only I’d guess this one’s being monitored twenty-four hours a day.”

  “They went first class, didn’t they?” said Victor. “Two secured doors, plus inspection by a guard. Not to mention the guard at the outside gate.”

  “Don’t forget the laser lattice.”

  “What?”

  “This inner room here.” Ollie pointed to the diagram’s core. “Laser beams, directed at various angles. They’ll detect movement of just about anything bigger than a rat.”

  “How do the lasers get switched off?”

  “Has to be done by the security guard. The controls are on his panel.”

  “You can tell all this from the diagram?” asked Cathy. “I’m impressed.”

  “No problem.” Ollie grinned. “Bach’s firm designs security systems.”

  Victor shook his head. “This looks impossible. We can’t get through all that.”

  Cathy frowned at him. “Wait a minute. What are you talking about? You aren’t considering going into that building, are you?”

  “We discussed it last night,” said Victor. “It may be the only way—”

  “Are you crazy? Viratek’s out to kill us and you want to break in?”

  “It’s the proof we need,” said Ollie. “You try going to the newspapers or the Justice Department and they’ll demand evidence. You can bet Viratek’s going to deny everything. Even if someone does launch an investigation, all Viratek has to do is toss the virus and, poof! your evidence is gone. No one can prove a thing.”

  “You have photos—”

  “Sure. A few pages of animal data. The virus is never identified. And all that evidence could’ve been fabricated by, say, some disgruntled ex-employee.”

  “So what is proof? What do you need, another dead body? Victor’s, for instance?”

  “What we need is the virus—a virus that’s supposed to be extinct. Just a single vial and the case against them is nailed shut.”

  “Just a single vial. Right.” Cathy shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m worried about. No one can get through those doors. Not without the keypad codes.”

  “Ah, but those we have!” Ollie flipped to the second photo. “The mysterious numbers. See, they finally make sense. Two sets of seven digits. Not phone numbers at all! Jerry was pointing the way through Viratek’s top security.”

  “What about the lasers?” she pointed out, her agitation growing. They couldn’t be serious! Surely they could see the futility of this mission. She didn’t care if her fear showed; she had to be their voice of reason. “And then there’s the guards,” she said. “Two of them. Do you have a way past them? Or did Jerry also leave you the formula for invisibility?”

  Ollie glanced uneasily at Victor. “Uh, maybe I should let you two discuss this first. Before we make any other plans.”

  “I thought I was part of all this,” said Cathy. “Part of every decision. I guess I was wrong.”

  Neither man said a thing. Their silence only fueled Cathy’s anger. She thought: So you left me out of this. You didn’t respect my opinion enough to ask me what I think, what I want.

  Without a word she turned and walked away.

  Moments later, Victor caught up with her. She was standing on the dirt path, hugging herself against the cold. She heard his approach, sensed his uncertainty, his struggle to find the right words. For a moment he simply stood beside her, not speaking.

  “I think we should run,” she said. She gazed over the dry lake bed and shivered. The wind that swept across the reeds was raw and biting; it sliced right through her sweater. “I want to get away,” she said. “I want to go somewhere warm. Some place where the sun’s shining, where I can lie on a beach and not worry about who’s watching me from the bushes….” Suddenly reminded of the terrible possibilities, she turned and glanced at the oaks hulking behind them. She saw only the fluttering of dead leaves.

  “I agree with you,” said Victor quietly.

  “You do?” She turned to him, relieved. “Let’s go, Victor! Let’s leave now. Forget this crazy idea. We can catch the next bus south—”

  “This very afternoon. You’ll be on your way.”

  “I will?” She stared at him, at first not willing to accept what she’d heard. Then the meaning of his words sank in. “You’re not coming.”

  Slowly he shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “You mean you won’t.”

  “Don’t you see?” He took her by the shoulders, as though to shake some sense into her. “We’re backed into a corner. Unless we do something—I do something—we’ll always be running.”

  “Then let’s run!” She reached for him, her fingers clutching at his windbreaker. She wanted to scream at him, to tear away his cool mask of reason and get to the raw emotions beneath. They had to be there, buried deep in that logical brain of his. “We could go to Mexico,” she said. “I know a place on the coast—in Baja. A little hotel near the beach. We could stay there a few months, wait until things are safer—”

  “It’ll never be safer.”

  “Yes, it will! They’ll forget about us—”

  “You’re not thinking straight.”

  “I am. I’m thinking I want to stay alive.”
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  “And that’s exactly why I have to do this.” He took her face in his hands, trapping it so she could look nowhere but at him. No longer was he the lover, the friend—his voice now held the cold, steady note of authority and she hated the sound of it. “I’m trying to keep you alive,” he said. “With a future ahead of you. And the only way I can do that is to blow this thing wide open so the world knows about it. I owe it to you. And I owe it to Jerry.”

  She wanted to argue with him, to plead with him to go with her, but she knew it was useless. What he said was true. Running would only be a temporary solution, one that would give them a few sweet months of safety, but a temporary one just the same.

  “I’m sorry, Cathy,” he said softly. “I can’t think of any other way—”

  “—But to get rid of me,” she finished for him.

  He released her. She stepped back, and the sudden gulf between them left her aching. She couldn’t bear to look at him, knowing that the pain she felt wouldn’t be reflected in his eyes. “So how does it work?” she said dully. “Do I leave tonight? Will it be plane, train or automobile?”

  “Ollie will drive you to the airport. I’ve asked him to buy you the ticket under his name—Mrs. Wozniak. He’ll have to be the one to see you off. We thought it’d be safer if I didn’t come along to the airport.”

  “Of course.”

  “That’ll get you to Mexico. Ollie’ll give you enough cash to keep you going for a while. Enough to get you anywhere you want to go from there. Baja. Acapulco. Or just hang around with Jack if you think that’s best.”

  “Jack.” She turned away, unwilling to show her tears. “Right.”

  “Cathy.” She felt his hand on her shoulder, as though he wanted to turn her toward him, to pull her back one last time into his arms. She refused to move.

  Footsteps approached. They both glanced around to see Ollie, standing a few feet away. “Ready to go?” he asked.

  There was a long silence. Then Victor nodded. “She’s ready.”

  “Uh, look,” Ollie mumbled, suddenly aware that he’d stepped in at a bad time. “My car’s over by the boathouse. If you want, I can, uh, wait for you there….”

  Cathy furiously dashed away her tears. “No,” she said with sudden determination. “I’m coming.”

  Victor stood watching her, his gaze veiled by some cool, impenetrable mist.

  “Goodbye, Victor,” she said.

  He didn’t answer. He just kept looking at her through that terrible mist.

  “If I—if I don’t see you again…” She stopped, struggling to be just as brave, just as invulnerable. “Take care of yourself,” she finished. Then she turned and followed Ollie down the path.

  Through the car window, she glimpsed Victor, still standing on the lake path, his hands jammed in his pockets, his shoulders hunched against the wind. He didn’t wave goodbye; he merely watched them drive away.

  It was an image she’d carry with her forever, that last, fading view of the man she loved. The man who’d sent her away.

  As Ollie turned the car onto the road, she sat stiff and silent, her fists balled in her lap, the pain in her throat so terrible she could scarcely breathe. Now he was behind them. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was still standing there, as unmoving as the oaks that surrounded him. I love you, she thought. And I will never see you again.

  She turned to look out. He was a distant figure now, almost lost among the trees. In a gesture of farewell, she reached up and gently touched the window.

  The glass was cold.

  “I have to stop off at the lab,” said Ollie, turning into the hospital parking lot. “I just remembered I left the checkbook in my desk. Can’t get you a plane ticket without it.”

  Cathy nodded dully. She was still in a state of shock, still trying to accept the fact that she was now on her own. That Victor had sent her away.

  Ollie pulled into a stall marked Reserved, Wozniak. “This’ll only take a sec.”

  “Shall I come in with you?”

  “You’d better wait in the car. I work with a very nosy bunch. They see me with a woman and they want to know everything. Not that there’s ever anything to know.” He climbed out and shut the door. “Be right back.”

  Cathy watched him stride away and vanish into a side entrance. She had to smile at the thought of Ollie Wozniak squiring around a woman—any woman. Unless it was someone with a Ph.D. who could sit through his scientific monologues.

  A minute passed.

  Outside, a bird screeched. Cathy glanced out at the trees lining the hospital driveway and spotted the jay, perched among the lower branches. Nothing else moved, not even the leaves.

  She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  Too little sleep, too much running, had taken its toll. Exhaustion settled over her, so profound she thought she would never again be able to move her limbs. A beach, she thought. Warm sand. Waves washing at my feet…

  The jay’s cry cut off in mid-screech. Only vaguely did Cathy register the sudden silence. Then, even through her half sleep, she sensed the shadowing of the window, like a cloud passing before the sun.

  She opened her eyes. A face was staring at her through the glass.

  Panic sent her lunging for the lock button. Before she could jam it down, the door was wrenched open. A badge was thrust up to her face.

  “FBI!” the man barked. “Out of the car, please.”

  Slowly Cathy emerged, to stand weak-kneed against the door. Ollie, she thought, her gaze darting toward the hospital entrance. Where are you? If he appeared, she had to be ready to bolt, to flee across the parking lot and into the woods. She doubted the man with the badge would be able to keep up; his stubby legs and thick waist didn’t go along with a star athlete.

  But he must have a gun. If I bolt, would he shoot me in the back?

  “Don’t even think about it, Miss Weaver,” the man said. He took her arm and gave her a nudge toward the hospital entrance. “Go on. Inside.”

  “But—”

  “Dr. Wozniak’s waiting for us in the lab.”

  Waiting didn’t exactly describe Ollie’s predicament. Bound and trussed would have been a better description. She found Ollie bent over double in his office, handcuffed to the foot of his desk, while three of his lab colleagues stood by gaping in amazement.

  “Back to work, folks,” said the agent as he herded the onlookers out of the office. “Just a routine matter.” He shut the door and locked it. Then he turned to Cathy and Ollie. “I have to find Victor Holland,” he said. “And I have to find him fast.”

  “Man,” Ollie muttered into his chest. “This guy sounds like a broken record.”

  “Who are you?” demanded Cathy.

  “The name’s Sam Polowski. I work out of the San Francisco office.” He pulled out his badge and slapped it on the desk. “Take a closer look if you want. It’s official.”

  “Uh, excuse me?” called Ollie. “Could I maybe, possibly, get into a more comfortable position?”

  Polowski ignored him. His attention was focused on Cathy. “I don’t think I need to spell it out for you, Miss Weaver. Holland’s in trouble.”

  “And you’re one of his biggest problems,” she retorted.

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Polowski moved closer, his gaze unflinching, his voice absolutely steady. “I’m one of his hopes. Maybe his only hope.”

  “You’re trying to kill him.”

  “Not me. Someone else, someone who’s going to succeed. Unless I can stop it.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not stupid! I know about you. What you’ve been trying to—”

  “Not me. The other guy.” He reached for the telephone on the desk. “Here,” he said, holding the receiver out to her. “Call Milo Lum. Ask him what happened at his house this morning. Maybe he’ll convince you I’m on your side.”

  Cathy stared at the man, wondering what sort of game he was playing. Wondering why she was falling for it. Because I want so much to believe him.


  “He’s alone out there,” said Polowski. “One man trying to buck the U.S. government. He’s new to the game. Sooner or later he’s going to slip, do something stupid. And that’ll be it.” He dialed the phone for her and again held out the receiver. “Go on. Talk to Lum.”

  She heard the phone ring three times, followed by Milo’s answer “Hello? Hello?”

  Slowly she took the receiver. “Milo?”

  “Is that you? Cathy? God, I was hoping you’d call—”

  “Listen, Milo. I need to ask you something. It’s about a man named Polowski.”

  “I’ve met him.”

  “You have?” She looked up and saw Polowski nodding.

  “Lucky for me,” said Milo. “The guy’s got the charm of an old shoe but he saved my life. I don’t know what Gersh was talking about. Is Gersh around? I have to—”

  “Thanks, Milo,” she murmured. “Thanks a lot.” She hung up.

  Polowski was still looking at her.

  “Okay,” she said. “I want your side of it. From the beginning.”

  “You gonna help me out?”

  “I haven’t decided.” She crossed her arms. “Convince me.”

  Polowski nodded. “That’s just what I plan to do.”

  Chapter Ten

  For Victor it was a long and miserable afternoon. After leaving the lake, he wandered around the campus for a while, ending up at last in the main quad. There in the courtyard, standing among the buildings of sandstone and red tile, Victor struggled to keep his mind on the business at hand: exposing Viratek. But his thoughts kept shifting back to Cathy, to that look she’d given him, full of hurt abandonment.

  As if I’d betrayed her.

  If she could just see the good sense in his actions. He was a scientist, a man whose life and work was ruled by logic. Sending her away was the logical thing to do. The authorities were closing in, the noose was growing ever tighter. He could accept the danger to himself. After all, he’d chosen to take on Jerry’s battle, to see this through to the end.

  What he hadn’t chosen was to put Cathy in danger. Now she’s out of the mess and on her way to a safe place. One less thing to worry about. Time to put her out of my mind.