by David Archer
Daphne smiled. “I am a physician, first,” she said. “I would never do anything to harm a patient, even one who is holding me hostage. However, there must be some way that I could lead you to him, if we allow him to come for me.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “Lead us to him? How? I’m certain he’ll take your phone, and you’ll be searched for bugs or tracking devices. There’s no doubt he’d spot a tail if we tried to follow you. I just can’t think of any way.” He furrowed his brow in thought, then turned to Joel. “Any suggestions?” he asked. “Any super sneaky ways to track someone that Chang wouldn’t be able to find?”
“That’s easy,” Joel said with a grin. “I can follow her.”
Sam’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Since I’m pretty sure Chang would know you on sight, I’m guessing you’re talking about something you can do with your chip, right?”
“Damn right,” Joel said. “We built a lot of toys for me to experiment with, and some of them were for testing military and espionage applications. One of those is a small camera drone that can fly for several hours and follow a person or vehicle. I can watch through a VR headset while I keep the drone high enough to be out of sight of whoever I’m following. It’s in the testing lab now, and I’m sure Dr. Rice would let us use it.” He closed his eyes for almost a minute, then popped them open again. “He says we can use anything we need. Want to try this?”
Sam looked at Daphne again. “Are you sure you want to take this risk? Nobody will blame you if you don’t.”
She smiled. “I cannot allow this man to get that chip, Mr. Prichard. That would be against the oath I took as a physician, but also against my own moral code. If I am the key that will lock this door, then let us use me.”
Sam nodded. “All right. Rob, don’t let her out of your sight. We’ll be back shortly.”
Sam and Joel headed into the building, over the protests of the police who were still working the bomb scare. Sam flashed his ID again and they were allowed inside, and then Joel led him to the testing labs on the top floor.
“Here’s the drone,” he said, pointing at a surprisingly small unit with six helicopter blades. “This baby can fly at up to fifteen thousand feet and keep track of a target on the ground as small as a kitten. It won’t have any trouble tracking a car, and it has multiple target technology, so I can set it to follow Dr. Hu, and it’ll stay on her even if she gets into a car or on a bus. The camera signal is encrypted so that only my headset can receive it, and my chip interfaces with the headset so I can control it over a long range.”
“How long? If it gets too far away, we’d lose her.”
“The headset has a range of forty miles, but the city will cut that down by about half. We won’t get that far away, though, because we’ll be in a car and following from a distance, so we won’t be seen.”
“Okay. Now, what is the chance Chang is going to anticipate this? That we’ll be using this drone to follow her?”
Joel smiled. “Probably pretty low. He was a design engineer in the BCI lab, but he never had the clearance for any of the DARPA contract information. He never would have heard of this drone, the internal security was pretty good about things like that.”
“He managed to get into the clean room and steal the chip,” Sam said sourly. “What makes you think he doesn’t know about this stuff?”
“Because he’d have stolen it,” Joel replied, “at least the design specs, but we know that these computers were never compromised. Now that we know he has the third chip, I can tell you there’s no way he could know about these toys without wanting them for himself. Hell, I get tempted to steal them, myself, sometimes.”
“You? Why?”
Joel led Sam into another room and pointed at what looked like a trash can with arms and a head made of a pair of cameras. “Meet Boogie Bot,” he said. “Okay, his real name is BCI-IF-13, but Boogie Bot is more fun. I can use the same headset to take him out for a stroll, or use him to do any chore. You know how nice it would be to make him clean my apartment while I sit on my ass?” He turned and pointed at another item that looked like an RC car. “See that? I can drive that around as if it was a full size car, and the thrills are just as real even though it’s a lot smaller. Down in the garage level, there’s a Tesla I can drive just as easily, without ever leaving my seat. Some of these toys are a lot of fun, Sam. Sure, I’d be tempted, but I’d also be the number one suspect.”
“And you think Chang would be unable to resist that temptation?”
“I’m sure of it,” Joel said, “but I’ve been through the logs on these computers and all the security logs for this floor, and he’s never been near any of it. He won’t see this coming, Sam, I’m sure.”
Sam nodded. “Then let’s do it. Where do we start?”
Joel put on a headset and pushed a button on its side, and the drone suddenly came to life. Its rotors began to spin, and a second later it lifted off the table it had been sitting on and hovered in front of Joel for a moment, then flew out a window that opened automatically. “I’m sending it out to get a lock on Dr. Hu,” Joel said. “I can’t take the headset off until I do that, so give me a sec.” He seemed to nod his head a couple of times, and then he reached up and removed the headset, putting it into a case and closing it up. He picked it up by its handle and smiled at Sam. “Ready?”
Sam started to speak, but his phone rang at that moment, and he looked to see that it was Indie calling.
“Hey, babe,” he said. “What have you got?”
“A headache,” she said. “I’ve had Herman going through that list of hospitals and clinics, and most of them have some sort of video security still working. They use about eight different companies, but Herman can get into all of them and check the video feeds, so I’ve had him bouncing around all morning. What’s interesting is that I had him check the recent archived video, and almost all of them have shown no activity of any kind for the past few weeks, but today I’m seeing activity in all of them. He hasn’t found your suspect yet, but there are people going in and out, equipment being hauled in, I see repair crews—it looks like all of these places are being readied for use by someone.”
“That’s odd,” Sam said. “I know Chang needs an OR, but I’d figure he’s got one all picked out. It could be him, though; he’s got access to almost unlimited funds from what we gather, so he could be getting alternates ready in case something goes wrong on the one he’s chosen.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too. Redundancies, just in case. I can’t tell from what I’m seeing which ones might be getting the most attention, but I’d bet one of these is where he’s trying to get the operation done.”
“No doubt about it. Okay, keep Herman on it and let me know if you find Chang at any of them. That’s the main goal, to find him and bring him in.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He put the phone into his pocket and turned to Joel. “Seems most of those clinics are seeing some activity today. Chang is definitely getting ready, and we’ve got to make sure we don’t lose Daphne. You sure you’re up to this?”
Joel grinned. “Sam, don’t worry. I can honestly say there is no one in the world more qualified for this than I am.”
“Yeah,” Sam said, “but that’s because you’re the only one who can do it. Doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t be better at it, right?”
“Not without a lot of practice. Come on, let’s get to work.”
They went down the elevator and out to where the rest were still waiting. Sam couldn’t resist the temptation to look into the sky, but he couldn’t see the drone. Joel caught him looking and grinned.
“See what I mean? No one is gonna notice, but the onboard computer is watching her like a hawk, literally. When she gets into a car, it’ll lock on that car, and when she gets out, it’ll lock on her again. It reads her heat signature, appearance, mass reflection, and other things I don’t even understand to be sure it keeps the right person target
ed at all times, and it’s constantly transmitting her GPS coordinates to me. I can tell you where she is within four feet at all times.”
“That’s great,” Sam said, “but how long can the batteries last on that thing? We don’t know when Chang is going to make his move.”
“She was fully charged, so she can stay in the air for up to sixteen hours. I can get her sister up and in place within minutes, if it goes too long.”
“And you can let us know where she is at any moment?”
“Absolutely,” Joel said. “I’ll know right where she is at all times. Even with the headset off and in its case, it’s telling me her GPS location every two minutes, but I can get it even more often than that by just asking for it.”
“All right,” Sam said. “I guess this is the best plan we’ve got, then.” He looked at Daphne. “I can’t tell you that everything will be all right, but I’ll do everything in my power to make it so.”
She smiled at him. “I only hope to survive this, Mr. Prichard. To be honest, I am looking forward to working with Dr. Prentiss. I have some ideas for new medical applications that he found quite fascinating.”
“We’ll do everything we can to ensure your safety,” Sam said. “And I can’t tell you how much I admire your courage.”
Daphne smiled at him. “Courage, Mr. Prichard, is merely doing what must be done, in spite of the fear or risk.”
35
Summer hobbled into the room where Denny was carefully pulling what was left of his shirt on. He had a number of bandages stuck to his back, and she had to help him get the shirt down where it belonged.
“So what did they say?” she asked.
“The docs said they pulled thirty-one splinters out,” he said with a wince. “There were a few they had to cut out because they were too deep to just pull. You?”
“Just the one, thank goodness. They put me on an IV antibiotic for an hour, and I’ve got a prescription for more anitbiotics, because it was so dirty.”
“Yeah, I’ve got some ’scripts, too,” Denny said. “I guess it could have been a lot worse. Let’s call the boss for a ride, eh?”
“I already did. Sam says they’re waiting for Chang to let Dr. Hu know when to ditch her guards, and the plan is to let Joel follow her with a drone. I said I wanted in, but he told me to get a taxi, take you back to the hotel and rest.”
“What, and miss all the bloody fun?”
She smiled. “Pretty much what I said, but he wasn’t laughing. We’re under orders to stay out of it, and I’ll admit I don’t feel like being on this leg a lot.”
Denny slid off the exam table and winced again. “Yeah, maybe we’ve done our bit for the cause. Did you call a cab, yet?”
“No, but there are a few of them outside. I saw them through the window on the way in here. You ready to go?”
“As ready as I’m likely to be. Come on, let’s follow orders. Your room or mine?”
“Very funny. I’m going to my room and catching up on some much needed sleep.”
They made a stop at the hospital’s pharmacy to fill their prescriptions, then went outside the ER. There were three taxis waiting at the curb, and they got into the first one.
“Omni Hotel,” Summer said, and the driver turned on the meter and put the car into gear.
Getting back to the hotel took almost forty-five minutes, and they were both glad to get into their rooms. Denny went straight to bed, but Summer wanted to get a bath and wash out her hair. Unfortunately, that would have involved letting her injured leg hang out of the tub, so she washed her hair in the sink and settled for a sponge bath, instead.
The dirt running down the drain made her think about how lucky they had really been. The blast had been more than a hundred yards away at the front of the building, but it had done a lot of damage, collapsing the floors over the lobby completely and sending dirt and debris throughout the rest of the building. She knew that if they had been any closer to the front, they probably would not be alive.
With that thought rumbling around in her head, she got into bed and let the exhaustion take her.
*
The police had left, and the C-Link security teams were keeping a diligent watch on every vehicle and person that approached the building. Sam and the rest of his team, including Rob and his men with Daphne, were all in the company’s cafeteria having lunch when Daphne’s phone chimed again.
Now. Go to the east end of the parking lot and look for a red sedan. The driver will bring you to me, so that we can begin.
Daphne read the message and passed the phone to Sam, who also read it. He turned to Joel. “Is the drone going to pick her up when she comes out of the building?”
Joel nodded. “It’s all set, Sam. It’ll follow her and relay her position to me constantly. We can be just a few minutes behind her.”
Sam looked at him. “You don’t want to control it yourself?”
Joel grinned at him. “The ‘follow-me’ software in that drone’s brain can outthink me a thousand times a second. As long as it’s telling me where she is, we’re better off letting it do the following.”
Sam took a deep breath. “Okay, then,” he said. He turned back to Daphne. “Go. We’ll be along shortly.”
She smiled and nodded, then got up and walked away without another word. She went to the ladies’ room first, then walked straight out the front door and into the parking lot. It took her only a coule of minutes to make it to the only red sedan in the lot, and the man behind the wheel turned to look at her as she got into the back seat.
“I need your cell phone and any other electronic devices you might have,” he said. She passed over her phone and a small digital recorder she used for making notes to herself, and then he reached back and ran a small, hand-held scanner over her. When it detected no other electronics, he grunted and turned forward again, then started the car and drove out of the lot.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Daphne asked, and then she chuckled. “I mean, can you tell me?”
“Some medical place,” the driver said. “I know where to go, but I don’t know the name of it. Won’t take too long, maybe twenty minutes.”
“I see. And my patient will be there?”
“I don’t know anything about that. All I was told was to pick you up and bring you there.”
Daphne smiled and sat back. She had made her choice and committed herself, and there was nothing more to do but hope Sam Prichard and his people would be there to save her life.
Back at CerebroLink, Sam and the rest waited fifteen minutes and then walked out to their cars. Sam and Joel took the lead in Sam’s, with Darren, Steve, Walter, and Jade behind them, and Rob and his mercenaries in the rear.
Pat wanted to go along, but Sam told him to stay behind and keep Becky safe. “She’s been through a lot,” he said, “and trying to help us has already put her in danger once. I want you to just stay here and keep her out of any more.”
Pat nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I can do that.”
Sam and the rest were in their cars and moving, ready to take the fight to their enemy at last.
“Okay, they’ve gone onto 280, headed toward the bay, but there’s some construction going on that will slow them down. Take a left up here and go up to Portola, then take that to Market and follow it up to Sixteenth. Hang a right on Sixteenth and we’ll come out about a mile ahead of them. I’ll watch to be sure they don’t get off, but I’m betting they’re going to take 80 across the bay.”
“Just keep track of her,” Sam said. “She’s putting her life on the line for us, and I’m not about to let anything happen to her.”
Sam made the turn onto Portola and pushed the car slightly over the speed limit. The traffic was lighter than he knew it would be come rush hour, and he planned to use every advantage he could get.
“They’re stuck in the construction zone, now,” Joel said. “Moving about five miles an hour, just crawling along. They’ll be in that for another fifteen minutes, so we�
��ve got plenty of time to cut out in front.”
Sam’s phone rang at that moment, and he yanked it out of his pocket to see that it was Indie. “Yeah, babe?” He put her on speaker.
“I got him,” Indie said. “Herman spotted your guy three minutes ago at East Bay Medical Center. According to the list Joel sent me, it’s one of the places that are up for sale, but there seems to be a fairly big staff there at the moment. I got a facial recognition hit on one other person there, a doctor named McConnell. He’s a cosmetic surgeon, so I don’t know what he’s doing in this.”
“He might be planning to use a plastic surgeon to help with scarring,” Joel said. “Putting the chip in means cutting through part of the scalp, and the incision is right across the top, about three or four inches long. In some cases, you end up with a raised, thick scar, but a plastic surgeon might be able to minimize the scar once it’s all put back together.”
“That makes sense, then,” Indie said. “And it looks like he brought along the entire surgical staff. I see nurses and several other people.”
“Yeah,” Joel said. “There should be a couple of nurses, an anesthesiologist, probably two or three orderlies, maybe a few more people. This isn’t a terribly dangerous procedure, but it’s kind of intense.”
“Assuming it went as he wanted it to,” Sam said, “how long would he be in recovery?”
“They’d wake him up an hour or so after surgery, and he’d probably be up and walking around the hospital within another hour. Intracranial surgery does carry some risks for infection, so he’ll be on an antibiotic for a couple of days, at least. Pain meds don’t have to be too extreme, but they will mean he isn’t thinking too clearly for at least the first couple hours.”