“Sandra Lockerbie,” she said.
They looked at each other with sad resignation. It was not easy losing a colleague even one you barely knew. They both lost friends over the years soldiering is a dangerous business and losing people was never easy.
“I’ve cut your transport orders. You leave for Gatineau in two hours and at ten o’clock Quebec time you leave for Ipswich. It’s all in the printout. You’ll be sleeping in the airport, what else is new. You all right?” he said.
It was not actually a question it was simply something he felt he was supposed to ask as commanding officer. He knew she would never admit it if she was not okay that is not how the military works.
“What’s going to happen to Dr. Mann and the kid and his mom?”
“They’ll be okay. All they need to do is shut up and play dumb,” he said.
Western’s phone rang again and he grabbed it. He listened for a few minutes then said “Fuck” and hung up.
“That was contact at the RCMP they found something incriminating on the kid’s computer. He has maps showing population densities and dispersal rates for pandemics. It is the kind of information terrorist organizations use when planning a strike. The RCMP believes there were terrorists behind our exploding van and they were planning to use anthrax for some kind of domestic attack here in Victoria.”
“Anthrax?” she said.
“It was all on the kid’s computer how to genetically modify it to become a weapon and how to disseminate it. There are plans and layout maps on his computer for spraying it on travelers in the departure areas of Victoria International Airport,” he said.
She was shocked. What was the little shit planning to do?
“Do they know about his virus?” she said.
“No. They think he was working on anthrax,” he said, “which is bad enough.”
Hunter checked her watch and looked towards the door. “I have to get going how do we leave things?” she said.
“There is nothing to leave. You weren’t there it never happened and Nichol is another brain dead soldier, end of story. You need to cultivate some amnesia to go along with your hearing loss,” he said.
She looked at him and wondered how he knew about it but then realized it was his business to know. Her medical files would be a simple thing for a man like Western to access.
“I’m sorry sir what soldier was that?” she said.
She waited a beat for the tiny smile of acknowledgement then she saluted him and left his office.
When the door closed behind her he turned to his computer screen and called up an encrypted file. It contained the phone numbers of contacts he collected over the last twenty years for back-channel communications all over the world. He found the number he was looking for and it was ringing now somewhere in the Pentagon in Washington DC.
He was calling a man he met in South America a long time ago. Arne might know some way they could cash in on this virus and now more than ever he knew it could not wait. If the cops grabbed the kid first it would be game over. Arne answered on the third ring. After the niceties were over he began.
“The best way to describe this thing is a genetic weapon,” he said. He chose his words carefully.
“What does it do?” Arne said.
The man on the line was a few thousand kilometers away in Washington DC but Western could hear the interest in his voice.
“That part is hard to explain but here is the most important aspect of this weapon. Once it is deployed against a hostile force it incapacitates their ground troops,” he said.
“You mean it kills them?” he said.
“No, I mean it renders them incapable of engaging in armed combat,” he said.
There was a long moment of silence on the line and he could almost hear his old friend thinking.
“We should meet,” he said.
“Yes good idea come to Vancouver and I’ll take you to watch the Canucks lose a hockey game,” he said.
“This is a serious deal right?” he said.
“It could not be more so,” he said. “But we need to move fast because the whole thing is beginning to unravel.”
“I’ll call you when I get to Vancouver,” he said and hung up.
He went to the window of his office and gazed out at the distant mountains on the US coastline. He wondered what it would be like to be rich. Maybe he would buy a BMW convertible to celebrate. He was not worried about the Americans not paying for this because if they did not want it the Chinese certainly would. He was too old and jaded to worry about national loyalties.
One way or another he was going to cash in on this thing. All he needed to do was figure out how to deliver the product without getting caught or dead. Once he has the kid under his control he will start at fifty million and see who makes the highest bid.
Chapter 17
Concussion
Midnight
Mann saw Andi’s hands fly up defensively to protect her head from flying debris as three men in black uniforms flew in through the doorway screaming at them. They pointed machine guns at them yelling at them to get down on the floor. They wore body armor and breathing masks and he could see contorted angry faces through the fogged plastic. He stood frozen with shock and disbelief as one man was screaming at Andi pointing his gun at her face.
“Get down on the floor and put your hands behind your heads!” Another cop was holding a black automatic weapon up to his face was shouting at him. He and Andi were stunned to immobility by the suddenness of the attack and the first cop wasn’t willing to wait for them to comply.
He grabbed Andi by the hair from behind and slammed her forcefully to the floor. The violent assault smashed her head against the hardwood floor and he saw her eyes roll back into her head as he realized he knocked her unconsciousness. The same man bent down and jammed his knee into her back as he zip strapped her hands behind her back.
He made a desperate attempt to help her but the second cop anticipated his move and brutally bashed him from behind on the side of his head with the butt of his weapon sending him crashing to the floor beside her. Stunned and bleeding heavily from the gash in his scalp a cop he could not see stomped down on his neck with his boot pressing his face to the floor while the cop that hit him strapped his hands behind his back.
When Andi regained consciousness and saw his bloody face she screamed and the big cop on top of her jammed his knee down hard into the centre of her back and knocked the air from her lungs.
He could not see her but he could hear her gasping desperately struggling for air as the cop continued to press down hard on her spine. His face was covered with streaming blood and his left eye was swollen shut.
He shouted at the cop that Andi was losing her airway and somehow the message got through to him. He heard the cop ease up on her and roll her onto her side to facilitate breathing. His training had obviously kicked in and he did not want to be responsible for her death. He was relieved to hear her breathing improve. He heard someone shout “all clear” from behind him and the tension in the air eased somewhat. His left eye was swollen completely shut and he could not see well from his right eye because it was smeared with blood, but he made out the shapes of four people in green biohazard suits and respirators come in through the ruined door. They were carrying mobile test equipment and two minutes after the cops declared the house secure they began to tear it apart.
Through a swollen and bloody mouth he asked the cop nearest to him what they were after and another cop wearing a face mask told him to shut up and not move. When he protested he got a knee in the ribs in response. After a few minutes he and Andi were dragged from the house and thrown bodily into the back of an unmarked van. The lone guard inside the van held an automatic weapon on them and put his boot down hard on Andi’s back when she woke and began shrieking. The pain cut her off in mid-howl. The cop sat impassively watching them, as they lay tangled, sore, and suffering from shock on the bare metal floor.
He could not see anythi
ng by this time and felt like he was going to pass out from blood loss.
He heard vehicles arriving and the sound of lots of people running around. After about twenty minutes the van door opened. A man in swat gear looked in. He was in charge. A giant of a man he stood in the open doorway and ducked his head to look inside. He was wearing a mask and respirator.
“Where is Tyler Lee Worthy?” he said.
His voice rumbled out from behind his mask in a menacing threat.
“Who are you and what do you want?” he said, into the darkness mustering what bravado he could.
“Where is Tyler Lee Worthy?”
The big cop asked again ignoring his questions.
He did not reply.
The big cop reached out and roughly grabbed his leg and pulled him to the rear of the van. He was wearing a double layer of blue gloves when he searched all his pockets for his wallet. When he found it he opened it and drew out his province of Ontario driver’s license.
“This says you are Phillip Lee Mann. Is that correct?”
“This is an illegal search and seizure,” he said.
His voice quaked with fear and adrenaline. The policeman drew a piece of folded paper from a Velcro-sealed pocket on his vest and tossed it at him hitting him on the side of his blood-covered face. He recoiled from the surprise hit.
“That’s a search warrant asshole. I suggest you answer my questions or suffer the consequences,” he said.
“I want to call my lawyer now,” he said.
“Under section 31, paragraph ten of the amended anti-terrorism act of 2011, we have the right to detain you, without communication for up to sixty days; if you cooperate with me it will make things easier for you in the long run. Be smart Mr. Mann and cooperate.”
He could not see Andi’s face but he hoped she realized what he realized. It was not Western who was doing this and they did not find Tyler. He was at Zen’s or maybe they were able to sneak away.
“Well? Are you going to cooperate?” he said.
“Why are you here officer?” he asked.
The cop did not like to answer questions from suspects but he also knew it was sometimes a way to get information from them they didn’t know they were giving.
“We are looking for Tyler Lee Worthy. He is wanted for questioning. A computer was found at a crime scene which identifies him as the owner. There was information on the computer which directly relates to an ongoing terrorism investigation,” he said.
“What information?” he asked.
“Terrorist planning data which is illegal to possess for any purpose under the anti-terrorism law of 2001, save yourself some grief and tell me where he is and I will testify at your trial you cooperated.”
He grunted a reply the cop did not like and before he closed the door Andi said “What is your name and badge number, officer?” She spoke in a slurred voice at which point he slammed the door.
Bloody Face
Zen felt the rumble and heard the blast and she jumped up and ran to the window and peeked out through the small gap in the curtains. She heard yelling and saw two dark figures wearing gas masks and carrying machine guns running through the shadows of Tyler’s backyard.
He was watching a science program on television; he was completely involved and did not notice the commotion next door. They were lying on her bed eating the sandwiches Andi made for her when the noise startled her. She watched the people in the backyard for a moment and then she heard the sound of vehicle doors slamming and men shouting at the front of the house and she ran to the living room window to see what was happening.
There were six police cars and vans and two large trucks parked on the street and in the front yard and she saw people wearing gas masks running into the house. She went from window to window to watch what was happening but she was stopped dead by what she saw through the small window in the front door.
She gasped in disbelief as the police hauled Andi and Dr. Mann with their toes dragging through the front door of Andi’s house to a black police van.
She choked back a sob when she saw two cops pick Andi up and throw her limp body into the back. She did not want Tyler to hear her cry out because he would see what they were doing to his mom and he might try to stop them. She forced herself away from the window for fear one of them might look over and see her and decide to come over to talk to her. She locked the front door.
She was worried the police might want to question her about the people in the house next door because that is what they do on television when there is a crime scene. She was breathing hard and her mind was racing as she realized the most important thing she needed to do was not to let them take Tyler. They took Andi and Dr. Mann away and she assumed they were also after him.
She could not sneak him out of the house with that many police in the yard. She felt trapped and was close to panic but she calmed herself by controlling her breathing and clearing her thoughts. She knew if she could keep him away from the windows he would be safe inside her house.
She did not know much about the law but she knew the police needed to have a warrant from a Judge to come into her house and in this respect she might have an advantage. She hoped it would not come to this, but if they came to her door and demanded to come in, she would tell them who her grandfather was and that might keep them out and buy them some time but if her mom found out she would be dead meat because her mom and grandfather hate each other. She went back to her bedroom after first locking the back door.
“What’s going on Zen?” Tyler asked. He finished off the sandwiches and was sprawled on her bed watching something else on television.
“Nothing. What’s on now?” she said. He ignored her question and started to get up off the bed to see for himself.
“Wait. Okay I’ll tell you but you have to promise me you won’t look out the window. Promise me you will keep watching TV and I will tell you. Okay, promise?” she said.
“Okay. I promise,” he said.
“The police are at your house and they took your mom and Dr. Mann away,” she said.
“Why did they do that?” he said.
She looked over at him with wide eyes and hissed, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Her eyes opened wide in silent exclamation and he laughed but he went back to watching television because he promised. She turned away from him and went to the window and scanned his backyard then pulled the curtains tightly closed. Nothing else was happening that she could see. She sat down beside him on the bed, tucked her long legs up, rested her chin on her knees, hugging her legs.
She was afraid. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this and she was relying on instinct alone to get them through because she knew Tyler was unable to help. She tried to concentrate on the television program he was watching but it blurred in her racing mind.
She could not stop thinking about Andi’s drooping head. It looked unnatural, like her neck was broken. Her hair was dragging in the dirt as they took her to the police van. She heard herself speaking in a dreamy disconnected way.
“The police dragged them out of the house and put them in a van. They were dragging them. Dr. Mann’s face was bleeding.”
Tyler did not say anything because he finished off the last of the sandwiches and fallen asleep. It was after midnight and she was exhausted. She had a stress headache and knew she needed to sleep. She got up and checked all the doors and windows again to make sure they were locked then went into the bathroom and without turning on the light changed into her John Lennon nightgown, peed, brushed her teeth, and washed the tear tracks from her face.
When she came out she resisted the urge to look out the windows again and went back to her bedroom. She untied and pulled off his sneakers and undid the top button of his jeans. When she lay down beside him and pulled the covers up over both of them. She felt around under the sheet and found the television remote control in his hand. She took it and turned off the TV and then found his hand again and held it.
She
lay awake unable to sleep staring up at the dark ceiling for a long time tightly holding onto his hand and waiting for a knock at the door. The world outside grew quiet as she waited and soon all she heard was his slow rhythmic breathing. It made her think of the sound of surf rolling on a distant shore and eventually she drifted off to sleep.
September 25
7:00 AM
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains into the bedroom and the warmth on her face woke her. Tyler was asleep beside her and sometime during the night she let go of his hand and put her arm around his waist. It felt nice to have him beside her and she felt dreamy and safe until she remembered the blood dripping from Dr. Mann’s face. She tried to get the cozy warm feeling back she had when she woke but it was gone and now she could not stop seeing the shock and fear on Dr. Mann’s face as he was dragged bleeding from the house.
She shuddered at the violent impersonal nature of the act of defilement. It played on her mind until she could no longer resist the urge to get up and look out the window. She lifted her arm off him and slid out from under the covers laying them back down again gently, she did not want to wake him. She watched his face for a moment as he lay sleeping and her heart ached at the sweet innocence of his boy face.
The innocent face was contradicted by her growing awareness the little boy she grew up with was not the strange indecipherable person he had become. It was confusing because she wanted to believe he was that sweet little boy. Her mom drove the message into her since childhood that men, her father in particular, could not be trusted. They do things to make you fall in love with them and when you do they turn into ugly monsters and ruin your life. She did not believe Tyler was a monster she believed Dr. Mann when he told her he loves her and that’s why he did it.
She kinda knew all along he liked her maybe even loved her but so much had happened. She worried about the fact he was only sixteen and clueless about everything; he did not understand the consequences of the things he did or what could happen to both of them because of it. She glanced at the time as she padded over to the window to look outside.
The Zen Gene Page 17