Rose and Sage stopped short, just in time for another security guard to appear out of the crowd and grab them by their arms. I contemplated the possibility their wings would come out in public today. The first guard joined the man holding Rose and Sage. The four marched down a security corridor and out of sight.
Our line inched forward again and again until we were finally ushered through the baggage x-ray and metal detector.
A tense few hours consisted of our motley crew of fake travelers alternately sitting and pacing around the Cairo airport’s Gate 53 for our red-eye flight to Nairobi.
A question burned in my mind. How had Rose and Sage known we were at the airport? How they had traveled to Cairo was no mystery. They had built-in transportation to anywhere on the planet. How did they know where to find us? The puzzle only had one solution.
There seemed no alternative but someone at Tarak’s house had betrayed us. I searched my mind for any potential liability in having shared Compendium files. If they were working with Innoviro or Evonatura, it probably wouldn’t be new information anyway.
After mere glances at our passports, we boarded our 737 air bus and took up a row and a half. I stuffed my bag into the overhead bin. I stretched in an attempt to soothe the sore muscles of my back and legs. My dry eyes burned, aching to close. I curled up in my seat and shut out the world.
I woke to Jonah’s magnetically warm hand gently squeezing my shoulder. I’d slept through the layover in Addis Ababa and it was time to get off the plane.
I blinked awake and saw the faces of strangers around me. It took a moment for me to remember that Ilya had disguised us to match our passports.
Then a strange new sensation churned in my gut. I did not feel good at all. I felt odd, nauseated. A wave of sickness hit hard and I grabbed the paper bag tucked in the seat pocket in front of me. I emptied the contents of my stomach into the bag and took a breath. Another wave came and I opened the bag again.
My friends stared at me, along with our flight attendant. The plane had emptied and they were waiting on me to get moving.
“Sorry. It must have been something I ate.” I managed a weak smile.
“Let’s get some fresh food into you then.” Jonah’s furrowed brow and outstretched arm made me feel strong enough to move.
We stood in another security line, this time to be admitted to Kenya. Our passports passed muster again and we were all stamped quickly. Josh paid our entry fees with the last of our American cash.
Melissa made arrangements for an airporter to take us to Tarak’s friend’s hotel. I kept quiet about my suspicions regarding our allies in Cairo. We had few choices left. I took the remainder of my assorted cash to a kiosk and exchanged everything for Kenyan shillings while Cole herded everyone back together.
My stomach churned relentlessly as we all piled into the van. I began to worry as I buried my envelope of shillings at the bottom of my backpack. Was I seriously ill? Had I become a carrier for Terra Nova? If so, how long until I started to make people sick?
“If you were a carrier, all hell would have broken loose already,” said Ilya from the back seat of the airporter van.
“Irina, you couldn’t possibly be. You were right the first time, you’ve got some kind of bug.” Jonah laced his fingers into mine, transferring energy. The sensation felt right.
“I’ll heal you when we get to the hotel.” Gemma’s doe-eyed sincerity broke down the last of my resolve, despite the fact that she spoke from behind another girl’s eyes.
“Let’s hope that’s all it is.” I looked up at the van’s rearview mirror. The driver watched me with concerned black eyes. I rooted in my bag and then distributed shilling notes to each of my friends.
I leaned against the window next to me. I watched the buzzing hazy city of Nairobi rushing to meet us alongside the highway. A bubble of nausea rose up through my belly and I sucked in air to shove it back down. Before anything else, I need to get to that hotel and the toilet in my room.
Chapter 19
The Nairobi hotel owned by Tarak’s friend proved a delightful oasis in our dismal journey. Free from the motion of the airporter, my equilibrium returned. The little voice in my head that kept promising me Compendium-free travel experiences told me I could enjoy the bright East African décor.
Open French doors on either side of the lobby allowed an equator-warmed breeze to sail lazily through the space. A giant slow-moving ceiling fan helped circulate the air giving the whole building a fresh atmosphere. Ebony and padded linen armchairs beckoned our weary bodies as we stood at the front desk. Palms rustled in the wind on the patio outside the wall of windows on our right.
Melissa and Josh claimed our six rooms quickly with our passport and disguise combinations still intact. We agreed to drop our bags and meet in the hotel bar at the far end of the building.
“Are you feeling any better?” said Jonah as soon as we entered our room.
I paused to review the now familiar sandy-haired man that stood in my boyfriend’s place. The only signs of concern I read were arched bushy eyebrows. “I’m fine. Now that we’re here, I’ll be okay. I’m more concerned with how we track down Ivan and Tatiana. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’d like to start by finding the plaza from my vision. We can ask for it by name, so I think we should get in a cab and start there.”
I started toward our door and Jonah followed me. I paused again and took in my reflection in the body-length mirror. I had long wavy red hair, gray yoga pants, and a mint-green scoop neck T-shirt. I had to admit it wasn’t a terrible ensemble.
Jonah put his hands on my shoulders and made eye contact with my reflection. “We should all go together. We can’t be sure how much backup Ivan has here in Nairobi. If he’s got a lab with a stash of Terra Nova and whatever gene therapy supplies he’s using on himself, there could be a large variant presence here.”
“You think it’s another Evonatura or Innoviro office?”
“Could be. Or it could be nothing more than a couple fridges and cupboards. What else can you tell me about what they were doing there?”
“All I saw was Ivan getting an injection and checking on a shelf full of steel canisters. There were no other staff and not much there, not that I saw anyway.”
“I’d love to pinpoint how your brain accesses information remotely. Why do you see some events and not others? When your brain goes hunting for a piece of information, it usually makes a connection. Sometimes that connection is a better answer, sometimes it’s not so telling. If we understand why, we could improve your results.”
“Now you sound like Ivan.” I pulled my wallet out of my bag and slipped back into my shoes.
“Don’t think of it that way. One of the reasons Ivan was able to gain so many variant followers is he can make a logical argument for advancing variant science. And in terms of artificially generated variations, who wouldn’t want to be stronger, more adaptable to a post-climate change world? Accelerating climate change is obviously unacceptable, but there are some nuggets of value in Ivan’s work.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.” I rolled my eyes and left Jonah. He hastily caught up with me, locking our door behind us. I scanned the balcony walkway connecting our room to the stairwell back to the lobby. We were alone as far as I could see, but I felt uneasy.
“All I’m saying is that we should hang on to any and all research and development these corporations concocted. That way it wasn’t all for nothing. And maybe we can fulfill the promise they never intended to, Irina.”
“I’d like some wine. And you’re buying.”
We walked into the bar and I glanced around for our friends.
“Jambo! Karibu! Good Afternoon.” The bartender wiped the bar with a cloth.
“Two glasses of house red. The gentleman will pay.”
“Yes, Madame.” The
bartender nodded as he poured our wine. “You are looking for friends?”
“We are. Have they come and gone already?” Jonah placed a few Kenyan Shilling notes on the counter.
“There is a group on the patio now, sir. I believe they’re part of the group you came in with.”
It struck me that the hotel probably saw frequent groups of safari-goers and student travelers. If my friends on the patio hadn’t concocted a cover story already, I knew what we’d say.
Jonah smiled at the bartender and took our drinks. He followed me through the patio doors. Light rain pattered on the tarp overhead making the foliage surrounding the patio even more tropical.
Josh, Melissa, Cole, and Gemma sat around a wicker and glass bistro table with their own glasses of wine.
“One of these days, we’re going to have to take a trip that isn’t about saving the world,” said Jonah.
“Speaking of our trip, I thought we could say we’re here to go on safari. If anyone asks,” I said.
“Sure, sure, sounds good.” Josh waved off my topic of conversation.
“Now that we’re here, where to?” Cole eyed me squarely.
“I’ve thought of that. We should start at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. I’m sure all the cab drivers know where it is.”
“And if we find the supply of Terra Nova? What then?” Melissa asked.
Faith and Ilya joined us, both disheveled.
“I’ll burn it to ash, that’s what.” Faith decisively placed her glass on the table.
“Can we be sure the canisters here are the sum total of Ivan’s supply?” said Cole. He did not share Josh’s relaxed attitude.
“I’ll use one of the canisters to jog a vision. I’m getting better at pinpointing the information I need when I launch a vision.” I shot Jonah a wide-eyed stare meant to silence him.
“I’ve noticed you’re getting better. I’m sure we’ll get it all,” said Josh.
“What are we waiting for?” Melissa plunked a shilling coin on the table and rose to leave.
Jonah and I quickly finished our wine. The warm rush and my gurgling stomach gave me a moment of pause. I steadied myself and followed at the back of our pack.
“We can’t all fit.” Josh stood alongside a taxi sedan, the only one in the hotel’s parking lot.
“Who can stay behind?” said Cole.
“You don’t need me,” said Melissa.
“What if we need a quick exit? You could land us on the road outside this hotel in seconds,” I said.
“I’ll stay,” said Gemma.
“Me too. I’ll make sure she stays safe.” Jonah ignored Gemma’s offended huff and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Josh, we need your know-how. Cole, your strength, Ilya, your ears, Faith, your fire. We’ll have to squish and hope the driver doesn’t care.” I ushered everyone in and got in the front seat. Only I had seen the tower and could describe it if we got lost.
“The Kenyatta International Convention Centre please,” I said to our driver. He regarded me with a glass-eyed inquiry.
“It’s here in the city. Big plaza. Tall tower.” I pointed down for here, made a circle with my hand for plaza, and signed my best approximation of a long cylinder. Our driver held his blank stare for another moment, and then turned to face the road.
“Sawa sawa. Okay.” He put the car into gear and we pulled out of the hotel’s driveway.
The golden afternoon sun made Nairobi’s brick and plaster buildings warm and inviting. The barbed wire and razor wire topping every other fenced home suggested an alternate reality. Was it all necessary? Were criminals and militants around every corner? If they only knew the real danger lurking in this metropolis if we failed.
Our driver must not have been very confused. Only a few twists and turns through the hotel district produced the plaza from my vision. The tower was much taller in person. The courtyard was more expansive. We paid our driver and dismissed him.
“He’s close,” said Ilya shakily.
“Remember, that thing you hear is not actually our father,” I said firmly.
“I never really knew him, did I?”
I couldn’t think of an answer for my twin brother. We stood on the edge of the plaza looking around helplessly.
“So where is he? I mean, where is it?” said Josh.
“It’s coming from the tower. They must be there now.” Ilya observed the building with apprehension.
“Any chance they’ll recognize these faces? We don’t know where or how Evonatura got these passports,” said Cole.
“There’s no way to find out now.” Melissa glanced behind her uncertainly.
“Hang on! Nobody move!” I grabbed Josh’s sleeve as I saw the figures of Ivan and Tatiana exit the conference tower ahead.
Ivan carried a large black duffle bag. He and Tatiana cast furtive glances around before slipping into a silver sedan that had been waiting for them at the curb.
“Shit! That was it! They’ve got it!” said Cole.
“We need to follow them!” Melissa took a helpless step toward the car.
“And do what? Attack in broad daylight? We’ll spook them and they’ll release the virus.” Josh grabbed Melissa and pulled her back.
“We still don’t know how the virus is activated,” I said.
“Concentrate, Irina. Where are they going?” Ilya’s expectant face and panicked voice set me on edge.
I glanced around at my friends’ earnest expressions on strangers’ faces. I closed my eyes and willed my viewpoint to follow the silver sedan.
The black behind my eyes melted away and I saw Ivan and Tatiana parking on the edge of a giant slum. A patchwork of rusty tin and sun-bleached fiberglass rooftops stretched to the horizon.
They walked into a shack set apart from the rest. Ivan turned back, looked directly at me with red eyes full of malice and I felt a blast of wind push me backward. The scene went black.
I refused to let go. I kept my eyes closed, concentrating on getting back to the slum, to see what Ivan and Tatiana were trying desperately to hide.
The scene switched back on again, having taken a jump into the future. Somewhere on the outskirts of the slum, Tatiana walked along a ditch broadcasting seeds. Ivan followed behind pouring oil from a canister onto the seeds. He acted different somehow. I willed myself to get closer. It wasn’t Ivan helping Tatiana, it was Ilya! How could this be possible? The vision had to be wrong!
I concentrated hard to keep the scene moving in spite of my shock. I watched as my aunt and my brother exhausted their supplies and conferred for a moment. Tatiana gloated with pure satisfaction in her emerald eyes. She plunged her hands into the dirt and a long stream of plants sprouted up in the ditch. Tatiana concentrated as she moved her hands in the earth and the plants grew. Ilya beamed alongside her while he evaluated the blossoming ground. Tatiana retracted her hands and Ilya patted her on the shoulder as they walked away.
I watched as Tatiana’s sprouts shot up into shrubs. I looked up to see the sky flickering. Midday sun warmed and fell away until a deep blue turned to inky black overhead. Twilight broke and a long thick hedge stood where the ditch had been. Ilya shot a pulse of energy from each palm into the ground at the hedge’s roots.
Tiny buds throughout the wall of green suddenly bloomed into pearl flowers in unison, each releasing a single oil-slick rainbow bee. The bees flew up and over the hedge, down into the quilt of shacks where innocent people unknowingly waited to die.
Chapter 20
“I know how they’re going to release the virus! They’re at a slum somewhere outside the city. Tatiana will grow a giant hedge, pre-loaded with Terra Nova oil. Once the hedge is fully grown, they’ll use some kind of energy to force those little pearl flowers to bloom, and when
they open, infected bees will swarm the slum.” I took a deep breath. “And you’re going to help them, Ilya.”
“What!”
“It’s what I saw. Check out my head and see for yourself.” Ilya studied me and searched, exploring behind my eyes into my soul. “It’ll never happen. I’d never do it!”
“The future isn’t written in stone, right?” Faith slid her hand into Ilya’s and clamped it tightly.
“Something happens between Ivan and Tatiana getting to the slum and Ilya helping launch the virus. Ivan pushed me out somehow. When I reconnected, it was suddenly Tatiana and Ilya instead. In my vision, Ilya had a variation like Ivan’s. He shot energy from his hands.”
“I can’t do that! It’s not possible!” said Ilya.
“Not yet.” Josh eyed us speculatively. “But, torture can change anyone’s mind.”
“There’s no way to know how much time passed between Ivan and Tatiana getting to their shack outside that slum and Ilya being on their side.”
“Stop saying that! I’d never join them!”
“Whatever happens to Ilya hasn’t happened yet. So we guard him. Between all of us, we can make sure he’s not on his own, not until we’ve got every last canister from Ivan.” Cole pointed to the ground as though our future remained in our hands.
“Melissa and I should get out to the slum.” Nausea swirled inside me again and I swallowed.
“The rest of us will be a human shell around Ilya. I won’t leave his side. Our combined abilities will rain down hell on anyone who comes near him.” Faith’s ferocity matched her brother’s.
“We should focus on getting Terra Nova away from them. If we break an earlier link in the chain, Irina’s vision will be moot,” said Ilya. He put his arm around Faith’s shoulder reassuring her as best he could.
Terra Nova (The Variant Conspiracy Book 3) Page 14