by Richard Edde
“That’s fine. Or you can call, using the scrambler software. How soon can you get underway?”
Doyle relaxed. The silence was over. And finally he had a mission. It had been a while since the Saudi deal. “Two days, sir. I’ll need to decide on who is going and brief them. Weapons?”
“Of course. A full arsenal. Always be prepared, Ben. You know that.”
“Most certainly. Isn’t Mongolia on the other side of the world?” Doyle asked.
“Yeah, and I don’t know much about the country myself. Sticks mostly to itself, I believe.”
Eastwood stood. Doyle followed suit, realizing the meeting was about over.
“Touch base with me before you take off. I want to know your flight plan. Probably through Beijing, I would imagine.”
Doyle shook Eastwood’s outstretched hand and left the office. He was glad for a new mission. He had never been to Mongolia before.
***
It was late night at the expedition site. The compound was quiet as the worker’s had long since gone to their tents. Professor Kesler was on the satellite phone with Harry. The connection wasn’t perfect and the static made the conversation erratic, but his voice sounded nervous, a little frightened to Harry. A kerosene lantern’s low light cast a warm glow about the command tent.
“You won’t believe what happened to me, Harry? Two thugs grabbed me, pushed me into an SUV, drove me somewhere, and asked me all kinds of questions about the expedition. You know, where you all were, what you were doing, that sort of thing.”
“Christ, Professor. Did you go to the police?” Harry raised his voice, on the verge of yelling into the phone’s receiver.
“No. What could they do? I didn’t even know what these assholes looked like. All the police would do is take a report. Why bother? I tried to keep from telling the thugs anything but--but I was afraid they were going to hurt me bad.”
“Why?” Harry was still screaming into the phone. His professor kidnapped? How could it have happened? Why did it happen?
Kesler’s voice dropped in pitch and his tone softened. “Well, it may have had something to do with the interview I gave that New York Times fella.”
Harry calmed his voice and swallowed the bile that had crept into his throat. “What New York Times fellow? Professor, what exactly did you do?”
“Oh, I called a reporter friend of mine and gave him some information on our human ancestors. I mentioned the expedition and the specimens you found and what they might mean and--”
“What?” Harry screamed into the phone again. “Professor, please. You know better than to do that. This field is competitive enough without you broadcasting our secrets to the world before we know anything and have them published. You know it’s way too premature for something like this.”
He could not believe the professor’s complete lack of judgement in this matter. He knows better than to do something like this. Harry tried to calm himself--this was his professor, his boss, after all.
“I know, I know. And I feel bad about it, too. Maybe I’m getting too old, Harry. Maybe I’ll just retire and you can have my position at the university.”
“Forget that, Professor. Exactly what did you tell them?” Irritation replaced the screaming as Harry probed for answers.
“I’m afraid I told them you had found some very interesting specimens of a hominid skeleton in the Altai Mountains. That you were continuing the search for more remains.”
“Anything else?”
“That these specimens could revolutionize our thinking about hominid development. Like the ones from the Denisova cave.”
“You didn’t? Really? We don’t know anything about this discovery as yet. This is not like you at all.” Harry bit his lip hard enough to bring blood. It tasted of metal.
Dixie and Li walked into the command tent. Dixie mouthed “What’s up?” to Harry as the two seated themselves on opposite sides of the table.
“Well, Professor, what’s done is done,” Harry continued. “We will increase our security here and keep our guard up. And, sir, please try and avoid doing something like this again, okay?”
“I promise, Harry.”
Harry signed off and turned to Dixie, who had made coffee and handed him a mug of the steaming brew. It stung the small cut on his lip.
“What was that all about?” she said.
Li had a frown on his face.
“The Professor blabbed all about what we’ve found and our location to a reporter he knows. No telling who has read the article in the paper. Not only that, but someone kidnapped him and got him to spill the beans about our research here. Who they were or why they wanted the information, he didn’t know, but we can surmise that it was for no good. After they got the information they were after, they let him go unharmed.”
“Kidnapped? Do the police know about it?” Dixie asked, her voice shaking. “He wasn’t hurt?”
“Roughed up some but, otherwise, he’s fine. And no, he didn’t call the police. He couldn’t describe any of them. I’ve already asked him why but he doesn’t know. Said he’s getting old. Maybe he’s right. He’s certainly repentant.”
Li stopped strumming his fingers on the table. “So,” he said, “what does it mean for us? I heard you mention more security.”
“We’ll need to beef up nighttime security.” Dixie’s voice was back to its normal tone.
“I think, during the day, there are enough people up and about that we should be fine,” Harry agreed. “Li, you arrange for a couple more night sentries, okay? Other than that there’s not much more we can do.”
“What did the Professor tell this reporter?” Dixie said.
“Basically, that we may have found a new hominid species. Or the first Neanderthal remains in Mongolia.”
“But that hasn’t been determined yet,” she said, standing and pacing the command tent. “Why would he have said that?”
“I dunno,” Harry said. “He’s getting older. He’s overly excited because he thinks modern humans and Neanderthals coexisted at the same time and even interbred.”
“What’s the evidence, Harry?” Li said. “I’m not that familiar with current thinking.”
“It’s complicated, Li, but I’ll try to explain without being overly simplistic. Since the discovery of the first Neanderthal relics in the mid-1800s, scientists have argued the relationship between Neanderthals and humans. The Neanderthals were not as tall as humans, had shorter limbs with thicker bones, a pronounced brow with a receding chin, and a different larynx. The big question is, were the Neanderthals a human variant or a distinct species?”
“Yes,” Li said. “I have heard this question discussed at the university.”
“Well, at one time in the past there was a common ancestor, which, over time, genetically diverged. This happened around 250,000 years ago. We know this from mitochondrial DNA analysis. They inhabited a vast area from Europe to Asia until around 25,000 years ago. In the middle 1800s, a discovery was made in Germany that finally sparked the recognition that these were, in fact, not just strange looking modern people. This was the discovery of a skull and a number of other bones from a limestone cave deposit in the small Neander River Valley. Thinking that they were from a bear, the quarrymen gave them to a local schoolteacher and amateur naturalist. He recognized them as being somewhat different from those of modern Europeans. When several leading paleontologists and medical pathologists in Germany became aware of the fossils, a disagreement arose as to who the newly discovered man was. There were many theories--that he had been an old Roman, a Dutchman, and even an Asian soldier in the service of the Russian czar during the Napoleonic wars. A completely different species was inconceivable back then.”
“But it’s the mitochondrial DNA that’s helping answer questions now?” Li said. He found a bottle of water and took a large gulp.
Harry smiled and continued. “In addition, now we know that Neanderthals and modern humans are genetically similar to chimpanzees, indicating a common ancestor. Neander
thals and modern humans have forty-six pairs of chromosomes, and chimps have forty-eight. Why the discrepancy? Well, chimpanzee chromosome 2 has been fused in humans, resulting in the lesser number. We know this by comparing the way the genes on the chimp’s 2A and 2B chromosomes line up on Neanderthal and human chromosome 2.”
“The Neanderthals were physically diverse but, in general, they were larger boned and more heavily muscled than most modern humans,” Dixie added.
“Yes, this was particularly true of the European Neanderthals,” Harry continued. “Some of the Southwest Asian Neanderthals were less robust in appearance and somewhat more like modern humans. They probably stood as erect as we do and were fully bipedal. They were not only strong but also apparently quite flexible. The thickness and high density of their leg bones suggest that they did a great deal of walking and running. Their lower arm and leg bones were short, compared to modern humans. These traits were likely adaptations to an aggressive hunting and gathering way of life, as well as to the cold climates in which most Neanderthals lived. The fact that adult Neanderthal skeletons frequently have multiple healed bone fractures suggests that these people lived rough lives.”
“And the DNA evidence suggests what?” Dixie said.
“It gets a little complicated here.” Harry took a sip of coffee, made a face, and then continued. “DNA exists either in a cell’s nucleus or in its mitochondria, the small intracellular organelle responsible for energy production. Evidence from studies of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA extracted from Neanderthal fossils and humans points to the types of interbreeding that occurred between the two species. When Schwartz and his colleagues first collected, then successfully analyzed, mitochondrial DNA from a Neanderthal fossil, it was groundbreaking. Mitochondrial DNA is more abundant than nuclear DNA and is only transmitted from the mother, which means that changes from generation to generation result from mutation alone and not a recombination of the mother and father’s DNA.”
Harry noticed a frown on Li’s face and smiled. “Like I said, it’s a little complicated. The researchers at Penn State have sequenced eighty percent of the Neanderthal genome. So when the professor gets our specimens, he might be able to say if they are Neanderthal or not. The big question is to what extent did Neanderthals and modern humans, meaning Homo sapiens, interact? By way of trade, cultural exchange, and interbreeding. What happened to the Neanderthal? Were they pushed aside by a smarter, larger-brained human population or were they absorbed by them? Or simply killed off in a mass genocide? We just don’t have the answers at present.”
Dixie shrugged. “The fact that certain Europeans have a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA in their genome certainly suggests interbreeding at least on a small scale.”
Harry nodded. “None of these Neanderthals are left. All we have is a small collection of bones, tools, and a few pieces of art. Ten thousand years after their meeting with Homo sapiens all the Neanderthal groups were extinct.”
“It does make one wonder what happened to them,” Dixie said. “Makes for fascinating theories.”
“Billions of people carry sizable chunks of DNA from Neanderthals and other archaic human relatives. There may be other, undiscovered humanlike beings lurking in our genomes. At the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the researchers had ground up a peppercorn-size chip of bone from a Neanderthal humerus. They doused it in chemicals that drew away all the molecules except any DNA it might hold. It did hold a lot of DNA, and most of that genetic material belonged to the bacteria that had inhabited its pores. After setting aside the microbial DNA, the Max Planck researchers were left with 379 base pairs of mitochondrial Neanderthal DNA. They compared the Neanderthal DNA to the same stretch of DNA from human mitochondria, as well as to equivalent chimpanzee DNA. The Neanderthal DNA was more similar to human than to the chimps.”
“The bottom line is, then,” Li said, “that there are humans carrying Neanderthal genes.”
Harry took a bottle of water from the small ice chest. “Correct. And maybe other more archaic genes. We just don’t know. What we have stumbled on to in this plane crash, may turn out to be extremely important. The age of the bones and teeth fit into the Neanderthal timeline. If so, it helps to confirm my hypothesis of early hominids in Mongolia. If not, I don’t know who or what the hell those fossils are.”
Chapter 8
From his small cubicle, office in the West Wing, Garrett Sawyers placed a call to his friend, Jacob Middleton, at the FBI. Around him, all the president’s men scurried about, running errands, making phone calls, working politicians. Sawyers waited until Middleton was off another call then proceeded to ask a favor.
“Jacob, how is everything at the Bureau? How’re Janet and the kids?”
“We’re fine, Garrett. The kids are at summer camp and Janet is doing her internship at MSNBC. What’s shaking at the White House?”
Sawyer placed the phone call on speaker and continued. “I need a favor, Jacob. And I need it fast.”
“Okay, buddy. I’ll see what I can do. What is it?”
“The president has appointed a guy named Rutherford Eastwood to his charitable compliance commission. I need some background on him. He runs a corporation called BioGen. I have heard some things about him that aren’t very flattering, that he borders on illegal trafficking of antique relics. Can you look into it for me?”
“A little late for that, isn’t it, Garrett? I mean if the president has already appointed him. I did see something in the paper about it. You all didn’t vet this guy first?” Middleton asked, clearly irritated.
“What the president gives, he can take away. Better we learn the mistake now than down the road. If the appointment was a mistake. I don’t know that it was, but the few feelers I put out weren’t promising.”
Sawyers heard a prolonged sigh on the other end. Middleton’s tone was clipped, short. “BioGen, you say? All right Garrett, but this squares us, okay? I’ll call you in a day or two with whatever I come up with. Have a nice day.”
Sawyers hung up the phone and gazed out his window. Christ, these Bureau guys, what prima donnas.
***
Doyle settled back into the plush seat of the Hawker 800 and dialed Eastwood’s private number on his cell phone. The two pilots were buckled into the cockpit, having done their walk-around, and the hanger tractor was pulling the sleek jet onto the tarmac of Teterboro Airport. The trip promised to be long and grueling, for the Hawker’s cruising range was only about three thousand miles which meant there would be numerous refueling stops along the way--San Francisco, Anchorage, Tokyo--until finally arriving in Beijing. Roughly fourteen hours flying time, plus time for refueling. Fortunately, the Hawker was a plane built for comfort and for the comfort of the wealthy. The three men he had chosen to go with him were adjusting their seats and all were experienced combat-hardened ex-military types.
Eastwood picked up the phone on the first ring.
“You about ready?” His husky voice boomed in Doyle’s ear.
“They’re pulling us out of the hanger as we speak, sir. Should be airborne shortly.”
“The necessary luggage aboard?”
Doyle knew the question referred to the firepower his team had assembled and stowed in the luggage compartment.
“Yes, sir. Safely aboard. The men are anxious to get started, sir. They do love these adventures.”
“Adventure or not, Ben, you’re there to do a job. Remember that. Now keep me informed along the way. And good hunting.”
With that, Eastwood hung up, and Doyle gazed out his window at the inky clear sky above. No wind. Should be a smooth flight to San Francisco. The sun had just set leaving a thin orange glow on the horizon, and only the brightest stars could be seen. He heard the aircraft’s twin jet turbines begin their whine and watched the pilots go through their final checklist. Settling deeper into the soft leather seat, he buckled his seatbelt and motioned to his men to do the same. Besides each man’s personal 9 millimeter automatic pistol,
the team had brought Persuader twelve-gauge shotguns, M-16 rifles with silencers, and two Browning Automatic Rifles that fired 30-06 ammunition from a twenty-round magazine, at a rate of five hundred rounds per minute. More than enough firepower for whatever they should encounter. The weapons were hidden in a false bottom of a crate of computer parts and should pass uneventfully through customs once they landed in China.
It didn’t take long for the Hawker to reach its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and speed of 450 miles per hour. Doyle calculated landing in San Francisco in six hours. Taking his iPod and headphones from his flight bag, he switched on a Metallica album, retrieved his copy of the Times, poured three fingers of bourbon into an old-fashioned glass, and started work on the daily crossword puzzle. An hour later, and halfway through the puzzle, he set the paper aside and tried to nap. His glass was empty and it was growing dark outside the plane.
***
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Kesler stood beside the thermal cycler and waited impatiently as the machine did its work in silence. The thermal cycler, a device which held the block of tubes containing DNA material, was raising and lowering the temperature of the block in pre-programmed steps. Doing so separated the DNA into smaller strands then amplified them, creating many copies of the strand. Even small or degraded samples could be analyzed using this method. However, then the DNA still needed to be sequenced. Sequencing read the exact order of letters--A, C, T and G--corresponding to the nucleotides along a segment of DNA. Large-scale sequencing involved two stages. The first was to set up the sequencing reaction and the second was to read the results. The process used by the thermal cycler was called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR for short. The material was then placed in a DNA sequencer and the instrument determined the precise order of the four bases--adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine--composing pieces of the sample. In sequencing, a single-stranded DNA fragment was copied with the use of an enzyme, making the fragment double stranded. Starting at one end of the DNA fragment, the enzyme sequentially added a single nucleotide that was the match of the nucleotide on the single strand. Nucleotides were paired one-by-one as the enzyme moved down the single stranded fragment to extend the double-helix ladder structure.