He gave a stiff nod. ‘Nasira. It’s been a while.’
‘Eight years,’ she said. ‘So there’s one of two possibilities here. One—which would explain a hell of a lot—Intron is a front for the Fifth Column.’
Hélio snorted. ‘Are you trying to insult us?’
‘We just did,’ Jay said.
‘Two,’ Nasira said, ‘You’re stealing Fifth Column operatives. Gotta be honest, I’m not sure which is worse.’
Felix twitched. ‘We’re Intron employees now. We choose to be here.’
Aviary’s smartwatch pulsed, a luminous dot onscreen. Under the table, she rotated her bound wrists and tapped the display. The small screen lit up with data transfers. The watch was still running its data mining program from Ecuador; it must have found a new device to siphon.
‘What about your abilities? Did Intron steal those?’ Jay asked.
Hélio’s expression hardened. ‘We don’t steal abilities.’
‘But you take them,’ Nasira said.
‘We research their profiles,’ Hélio said.
Aviary kept her attention on Lívia, but from the corner of her vision she watched emails, messages and browser history stream across her watch face. It was siphoning Lívia’s phone. She looked down at her watch, concealed under the table, and pretended to think.
The first piece of captured information she noticed was a message Lívia had written only moments ago: Bringing you into a meeting now with GATE operatives; one missing genes. Victim of Intron corruption.
Adrenaline iced through Aviary.
‘Whatever you did, you switched his pseudogenes off,’ Nasira said. ‘And now he wants them back on.’
Lívia folded her arms and leaned into her chair. ‘Firstly, we didn’t switch anything off. Secondly, if we’re to come to any kind of arrangement, what exactly do you bring to the table?’ She glanced at their bound wrists. ‘So to speak.’
‘We’ll be saving that for the CEO,’ Nasira said. ‘Perhaps you can invite him to our little chat.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Lívia said.
‘How’s that?’ Nasira asked.
‘I am the CEO.’ Lívia gave her a thin smile. ‘Now’—she turned to Aviary—‘you mentioned something earlier about a faulty product. I presume this is your leverage.’
Lívia and Hélio watched Aviary from across the table. It was all on her.
‘The problem is with Project GATE operatives.’ Aviary glanced at Hélio’s ex-operative bodyguards. ‘Current and former.’
‘And what’s that, precisely?’ Hélio asked.
‘Well, we have reason to believe the Project GATE injections—the viral vectors—included more than you bargained for.’
‘More than all of us bargained for,’ Nasira said.
‘If you’re talking about genetic tracking devices, we’re aware of those,’ said Hélio. ‘And rest assured, we have systems in place to disable and remove them.’
‘No, I’m talking about a kill switch,’ Aviary said. ‘An endotoxin.’
The bioengineer fell silent.
Lívia turned slowly to him. ‘Is that even possible?’
‘Theoretically,’ Hélio said. ‘But we would’ve seen it.’
‘You’re stealing government tech,’ Aviary said.
‘Worse,’ Nasira said. ‘You’re stealing Fifth Column tech.’
Hélio shook his head. ‘Their tech is obsolete. Yes, we use their blueprints—that saves us decades of finding needles in haystacks—but they’re still using zinc finger modules.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘Slow, obsolete technology.’
‘So what makes yours so much better?’ Nasira asked.
‘We have our own patented system, the Argonaute, which works at any temperature,’ Hélio said. ‘It’s a DNA sequence. Think of it like a pair of scissors with a little microchip inside. I tell the Argonaute where to go and what to do. It cleaves your DNA in the precise place I tell it to. Your little DNA police come running to fix it. That’s the perfect opportunity for the Argonaute to alter your DNA to my exact specifications.’ He smiled. ‘That’s one pseudogene resurrected. Imagine thousands of Argonautes doing this all at once, in every cell in your body. Gene expression is systemic in less than an hour. Voila, your new ability is activated. This blows the Fifth Column’s process out of the water.’
‘You sure about that?’ Nasira said.
‘There’s no way anyone could sneak a kill switch in there. Not without me knowing about it.’
Aviary risked a glance at the emails downloading onto her watch. ‘I think someone did.’
Hélio’s face turned a slight shade of pink. ‘Thinking isn’t the same as knowing.’
‘We do not engage with the Fifth Column,’ Lívia said. ‘No matter what sneaked in.’
‘Yeah, well I’m betting they’ll engage with you,’ Jay said. ‘Not many countries these days the Fifth Column can’t strong-arm.’
‘Not Brazil,’ Lívia said.
‘Wanna make a bet?’ Nasira said. ‘Take it from us, no one’s safe.’
Aviary leaned forward, over the table. ‘Are you using a Fifth Column virus to deliver your activator?’
‘The virus is just a shell,’ he said. ‘An empty adeno-associated virus.’
‘Are you sure they’re empty?’
Hélio focused on the table, deep in thought. ‘Oh.’
Lívia shot him an impatient glare. ‘Do we have a problem, Hélio?’
‘Holy crap.’ He leaned back in his chair, eyes wide. ‘It’s possible the Fifth Column could have smuggled the endotoxin into the virus shell itself.’
‘And you didn’t notice this?’ Lívia asked. ‘You just said there was no way you’d miss it.’
‘That’s the wonderful thing about endotoxins,’ he said. ‘They can be masked as a perfectly normal protein. A protein that tells us’—he pointed to Nasira and Damien—‘their unique serial numbers. The same protein we use for our serial numbers.’
Lívia’s voice was low. ‘It never occurred to you that this protein had a more sinister purpose?’
‘There was no reason to. They fuse with the activated pseudogenes and don’t do anything.’ His gaze locked onto Aviary. ‘Unless you specifically destroy them.’
Aviary felt her mouth go dry. ‘And the endotoxin is released.’
‘Clever approach,’ he said. ‘Even I hadn’t thought of that.’
Chapter Sixteen
Prague, Czech Republic
The hotel’s executive suite had everything: the regal sitting area, king-sized bedroom and walk-through shower with adjustable tinted glass. All things considered, specialist Hal Claycomb was surprised to find General Wolfram Sievers cross-legged on a sleeping bag in the middle of the floor, scooping beans from a tin. Whatever Hal expected of the six-star General, former head of the Subversion department and present director of the Fifth Column, this certainly wasn’t it.
Sievers took his time uncrossing his legs and standing, his movements slow and considered. He wore an ink-black uniform, not the sort of full dress affair that gleamed with medals or brass. It was his service uniform, missing only the jacket and black wool greatcoat that hung by the door, and the high, polished boots standing by the bed. His uniform was so precisely designed that it outdid anything Hal had seen his superiors wear in full dress. Yet the uniform spoke of no rank or affiliation; in fact it might have passed for civilian winter clothing. The man was not one to grandstand.
This was the first time Hal had seen him in person, although he had seen a photograph of him once. Sievers looked a good ten years older now than he had in the picture. A picture taken seventy years ago.
Sievers nodded, inviting him closer. His mustache and beard were trimmed now, his hair combed and allowing for the tiniest of a cow lick on one side. He looked upon Hal with dark, decisive eyes.
‘Specialist,’ he said.
Hal had an inkling that Sievers had already evaluated him and the meeting was already over. ‘General, might I
say it is an honor to finally meet you.’
‘The six stars are for ceremonial purposes only,’ Sievers said, without a trace of his European accent. ‘I am still very much a Colonel and I expect to be regarded as such.’
‘Colonel.’ Hal clasped his hands across his lower back.
Sievers stepped forward and brushed lint from Hal’s collar. ‘As of today you are a Lieutenant General, two stars.’ He looked into Hal’s eyes. ‘Congratulations.’
Hal’s mouth went dry. Denton’s old rank. ‘Much obliged, Colonel.’
‘For ceremonial purposes only.’
‘Understood, sir,’ Hal said.
Sievers strode to the window. Before him, the rooftops of Prague were thorns rising to the sun.
‘You are still a Specialist,’ Sievers said, ‘yet now we can discuss terms without my having to suffer dull courtesy and procedure.’ He turned and eyed Hal for a moment. ‘Drop the rank. Tell me why you think you are here.’
Hal’s fingers tightened over one another. ‘US marines captured an insurgent in Las Vegas. I was inbound, looking forward to interrogating the little scamp, when she was up and stolen by—’
‘Sophia.’
‘No,’ Hal said. ‘Not this time. But, a friend of hers.’
‘Do you know where Sophia is?’ Sievers asked.
‘No, we don’t I’m afraid,’ Hal said. ‘But don’t worry—’
‘I’m not worried. Why would you assume otherwise?’
‘You asked to be notified immediately of anything that might be relating to Sophia and her rogue operatives,’ Hal said. ‘I thought this would be of some concern.’
‘The tramp and her vermin are of interest to me, but no concern. Do not confuse the two.’ Sievers returned to his view of Prague. ‘You’re here because of Denton.’
‘He’s been on his own for a year now,’ Hal said. ‘We haven’t heard a squeak.’
‘Until today,’ Sievers said. ‘Six months of ground work in Ukraine, unraveling. Denton is putting us behind schedule.’ He took a comb from his breast pocket. ‘You have a name for him, what do you call him again?’
‘Chrome-dome,’ Hal said.
Sievers smiled. ‘Chrome-dome got his hair growth back some time ago. He simply prefers a shaved head now.’
‘All the better to read minds, Colonel?’ Hal asked.
Sievers ran his comb through the curl in his fringe, then turned to face Hal. ‘You don’t think he can.’
‘To be frank, that’s above my pay grade,’ Hal said. ‘But there are a few stories floating about. Some are particularly wacky.’
Sievers’ gaze did not break this time. ‘Under no circumstance is Denton—or any of the operatives he stole from us—allowed to come within one hundred meters of me, is that clear?’
‘Without question, Colonel,’ Hal said.
‘There are things I know that he cannot,’ Sievers said.
‘So he can?’ Hal asked. ‘Read folks’ minds?’
‘The term is silent spatialized communication,’ Sievers said.
‘I don’t follow, Colonel.’
‘Back in 2003, we were able to discern imagined speech and intended direction from the electrical signals of our test subjects.’ Sievers slipped the comb back into his breast pocket and breathed slowly. One of his nostrils whistled. ‘These signals can be intercepted at a short distance and processed. It is unlikely—but not unfeasible—that someone can do this naturally.’
‘Synthetic telepathy,’ Hal said. ‘I thought that was a myth.’
Sievers eyed him.
‘Mistakenly,’ Hal added.
‘Only Denton’s would not be synthetic.’ Sievers cleared his throat. ‘Moving along, did you recover the Russian spy from Project GATE?’
Hal took a moment to recall the name. ‘Evgeny Sporyshev. Yes, I’m pleased to say we have him.’
Sievers’ dark eyes flickered. ‘Very good.’
‘Shall I be resuming my assignment in Eastern Europe?’
‘With renewed urgency,’ Sievers said. ‘You’re dismissed.’
Hal turned to leave, his hand on the door when he heard Sievers speak.
‘Specialist,’ he said, without raising his voice. ‘The Benefactors commend your work thus far.’
Chapter Seventeen
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Hélio chewed his lip. ‘Do you have any proof of this kill switch?’
Aviary stretched her arms out—careful to keep her watch hidden inside the cuff of her jacket—so Felix could snip her plasticuffs. She rubbed her wrists. ‘Do you have my laptop?’
Lívia nodded, then turned to one of her security officers. ‘Bring in their possessions.’
‘Can we just back up a second here?’ Jay asked. ‘So if you didn’t take my abilities, how come they’re gone?’
‘It has nothing to do with our process of identifying pseudogenes,’ Hélio said. ‘Even under that unauthorized program, Intron employees didn’t steal anything from you, they simply studied your DNA.’
‘So who else could’ve taken them?’
‘Biotechnologies to silence genes have been around for decades,’ Hélio said. ‘It’s possible you’ve been exposed to something like that. But it certainly wouldn’t be in an Intron facility.’
‘You said if there’s anything you can do for us … so?’ Jay asked. ‘What can you do?’
‘We can offer you generous compensation,’ Lívia said.
‘I don’t want your money,’ Jay said.
‘I was going to suggest switching on new abilities for you,’ she said. ‘Ones we have the blueprints for. How does crypsis sound?’
Jay folded his arms. ‘Like a made-up word.’
‘It’s called adaptive infraspecific color camouflage,’ Hélio said. ‘Like the octopus, you blend with your surroundings. And we have the “smart suit” to match.’
‘Why the hell would I want a smart suit?’ Jay asked.
Hélio lifted the cuff of his jeans to reveal a thin, black material covering his leg. ‘I was in a car accident when I was young. The Intron smart suit helps me walk.’
‘Good for you, but that doesn’t suit me,’ Jay said. ‘I’m here for what’s mine.’
‘But is it yours?’ Hélio asked. ‘Or did the Fifth Column give you a free pass?’
Jay stood suddenly, but held his temper. ‘The electrogenic one was mine. I was born with it. Why do you think the Fifth Column recruited me?’
Nasira tugged on Jay’s arm. He cleared his throat and sat down again.
‘I don’t know what to tell you,’ Hélio said. ‘We don’t yet have the blueprints for that one.’
The security officer returned with a large metal case. Another guard followed him in with a second case. They opened the cases, which Aviary realized were small Faraday cages, to reveal their gear. Each item from their rucks had been removed and stashed in these cases, no doubt inspected too.
Hélio retrieved the only laptop. ‘Yours?’
Aviary nodded.
He opened it and passed it over to her. ‘Show us what you have on this kill switch.’
She looked at Nasira, who gave her a nod. Aviary unlocked the laptop and logged into her concealed operating system—a Unix-based system she’d built herself—with just enough privileges to access the Fifth Column database.
‘So what are you doing with these pseudogene profiles, anyway?’ Damien asked Lívia. ‘Selling them?’
‘No. We only sell the complete solution,’ Lívia said. ‘We have our own trained people. Former special forces. We give them these abilities—if their genetics are complementary—and they sign a contract to work for us.’
‘Army for hire,’ Nasira said.
‘Specialists for hire,’ Lívia said.
‘I have the proposal on TERMORD,’ Aviary said quickly. ‘This is the summary page. And there’s more.’
She pushed the laptop across the table, then quickly withdrew her hands back under the table. Hélio read through the
proposal and then stood. He started to pace, slowly, thoughtfully.
‘When you’re ready,’ Lívia said to him.
‘Do the Fifth Column know about this?’ Hélio asked.
‘Just Hal Claycomb,’ Aviary said. ‘And going by his email correspondence, he’s playing his cards close to his chest. That’s good news, except for the part about him wanting to trigger the kill switch.’
Lívia raised an eyebrow.
‘The proposal recommends an entire fleet of the Fifth Column’s Low Earth Orbit satellites,’ Aviary said. ‘They’d transmit the trigger to base stations in the area you want to target. All operatives within range would be hit with that trigger, same way your phone communicates with a base or trunk tower. In this case, it’s low-frequency radio waves—about one-hundred-and-fifty kilohertz. And then bye-bye operative.’
‘Hal is definitely the only person who knows about this,’ Nasira said.
‘What makes you so sure?’ Lívia asked.
‘If the Fifth Column knew someone had spiked their punch—slipped this kill switch into all of us—they’d have killed us all by now,’ Nasira said.
‘You’re certain they’ve made and deployed the switch?’ Lívia asked.
Hélio pointed to Aviary’s laptop. ‘It’s in the sample your Hal guy had tested.’
Aviary nodded. ‘It seems he tested one of his operatives and found it, although he won’t go into any sort of technical detail. But if that operative has it, you all do.’
Hélio turned to her. ‘This Fifth Column database you now have in your possession, can we have a copy? To assist in our investigation.’
Aviary hesitated. ‘If we have a deal.’
‘Which we don’t yet,’ Nasira said.
Lívia pursed her lips. ‘It seems that verifying the existence of this kill switch is in everyone’s best interests. Perhaps we can arrange something.’
‘Look, we’re here for two reasons,’ Nasira said. ‘Three, if you count us being captured.’
‘And they are?’ Lívia asked.
‘One: you stop capturing operatives,’ Nasira said. ‘Unauthorized activity, whatever you want to call it. Two: you find out what happened to Jay’s dead pseudogenes.’
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