Carter entered the front doors of the Lady Luck Casino and Hotel. He clung to the handle of the briefcase so tightly that his knuckles had whitened. Walking with all the money tucked at his waistline was awkward. Each step moved the money stacks and he feared one bundle might fall at any moment. No doubt such a mistake could cause a mad rush from others to grab his cash and draw unwanted attention toward him. He kept his movements sure and steady as he crossed the floor. When he approached the registration desk, a young blonde with too much makeup smiled at him.
“Can I help you in any way?” she asked.
“I’m here with Tory Jones. She should already be in our room.”
“What’s your name, sir?”
“Rick Davenport.”
The young lady typed information into the computer, beamed a smile, and slid a keycard toward him. “Yes, she’s in the Penthouse suite. Here’s the key.”
Stunned, Carter placed his hand atop the keycard and palmed it.
“Is there anything else we can do to make your stay more pleasant?” she asked.
Carter shook his head. “No. No, thanks.”
He turned and looked around until he saw a sign with an arrow pointing toward the elevators. He smiled. He never expected Sylvia to use the chip’s entire value to get a room. Magnus’ assessment of her feelings toward Carter was right. How had he missed the obvious? Unexpected surprises like this made his fondness toward her so much stronger. But not all unexpected surprises were worth receiving, as he would soon discover.
73
When Carter stepped out of the elevator on the penthouse floor, he glanced both directions. The hall décor was phenomenal. He couldn’t wait to see what the suite looked like.
He read the room number and walked in the direction for the suite. As he came closer to the room, he noticed the door partway open. Something wasn’t right. He sensed it, stopped walking, and again he searched the hallway. Not hearing anyone from inside the room or along the far end of the hall that connected with another hallway to the right, he returned his attention to her door.
Carter eased closer to the suite and leaned his head through the threshold and listened. No music, television, or any other sounds were audible. He worried that something bad had happened to Sylvia. She was like him, a bit apprehensive of Grayson finding them. She wouldn’t have left her door open or even unlocked.
He pushed against the door, opening it wider before he finally had the courage to step all the way inside the suite. He tucked the keycard into his front pocket. Out of instinct, he closed the door. He felt safer with it closed.
After walking through the spacious living quarters with plush seats and small tables, a sidebar, and a sofa, he walked into the huge master bedroom. He set the briefcase on the bed and sat down beside it.
“Sylvia?” he called out.
No reply.
Other than his briefcase and the cash Magnus had given him, neither he nor Sylvia had personal belongings, so he didn’t have any idea if she had left voluntarily or by force. His guess was the latter. Somehow Grayson had located where they were. Of course, Vegas was the most likely place anyone would have chosen. But, it had also seemed the safest because they had a better chance of blending into the population.
Donavan was seated in the cushioned chair across from Grayson’s desk. His eyes were captivated by what he watched on the screen. He looked up and grinned at Grayson.
“What is it?” Grayson asked.
“Albert got the cameras set up in the penthouse.”
“Are they working?”
Donavan nodded. “Yep, and Carter is there now.”
Grayson stood. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Does he still have the briefcase?”
“Right beside him.”
“What’s the room number?” Grayson asked.
“You’re calling him?”
“Time to begin negotiations.”
Carter left the briefcase on the bed and went to the bathroom. Puddles of soapy water and drops of blood covered the floor. She had been forcefully taken. He backed away from the bathroom door.
The phone rang.
His heart hammered.
Carter let the phone ring and hurried back to the bed to grab the briefcase. If they had taken Sylvia, they would find him next. Once he reached the bed, the phone continued ringing. The sound grated his nerves.
Finally, he answered. “Yes?”
“Dr. Carter?”
Carter swallowed hard. Even though he assumed it was Grayson on the other end, he still asked. “Who is this?”
“Boyd Grayson. I’d have readily given you a welcome back to Earth, but since you broke our contract, I’m afraid I cannot offer any words of endearment.”
Carter took a deep breath. His hands shook.
“However,” Grayson said, “I believe we can reach a threshold of agreement.”
“About what?”
“I have something of yours.”
“Sylvia?”
“Yes.”
“Is she okay?” Carter asked.
“She’s fine, for now. But you have something I want.”
“What’s that?”
“The briefcase that you’ve been carrying.”
Carter placed his hand on the briefcase and rubbed it. Sweat beaded his brow.
“Carter, you give me the briefcase, and I will release Sylvia to you. I’ll even forget about the MarQuebes that you and Magnus stole.”
“I’m afraid I cannot do that, sir.”
“What?” Grayson paused for several moments. “Seems I’ve overestimated your affection for this young lady.
“No. I care about her a great deal, but I’m not stupid. If I hand you this briefcase, I’m dead. You’ll kill me.”
“Dr. Carter, I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a murderer.”
“Do you have any idea what’s in this briefcase?”
“I suspect whatever killed everyone else on Deimos.”
“You know?” Carter asked.
“Little occurs on my properties without my knowledge. Eventually, I find information that I need.”
“You obtained the video footage on Deimos?”
“Yes.”
Carter said, “It should have been destroyed.”
“Parts of it aren’t viewable, but I saw enough to know you propagated something. Possibly a virus?”
“It’s worse than anything this world has ever experienced.” Carter placed the briefcase on his lap.
“Did you find a cure?” Grayson asked.
“There isn’t a cure. At least nothing I tried ever worked.”
“And yet, you brought it back to Earth? Carter, you’re a brilliant doctor and as a scientist I’d have thought you had more intelligence than to do something so stupid.”
Carter’s jaw tightened. “You should be held accountable for the deaths of those who died on Deimos.”
“You’re blaming me?”
“Yes.”
“Dr. Carter, I had nothing to do with their deaths. Nothing. Explorations always have risks. Hell, that was even in the contract you signed. Settling Mars and Deimos posed great risks for everyone involved. Those risks you signed waivers for. Did you forget what you signed on for?”
“No, I—”
“You want me to suffer? Okay, let’s say that you infected me with this virus and I die. Then what? If it’s as contagious as you indicate, that means everyone else inside my building will catch it and die. Once it spreads outside my facilities, it has the potential to kill millions more, right?”
“Yes. I didn’t really think about that.”
“Damn right you didn’t think. But even though your anger and hostility have been directed in the wrong direction, I admire your passion. I wasn’t wrong in hiring you.”
Carter frowned, cradling the briefcase against his chest.
“Carter,” Grayson said, “you’re exactly the type of person I need. Ruthless and cold-hearted. I’m willing
to put this behind us and offer you twice the amount you made if you continue working for me.”
“What? You still want me to work for you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m afraid that I cannot do that,” Carter replied.
“This is an offer you need to take some time to consider. You’ve already admitted that your possession of the virus isn’t in the best interest of the human population. The world is much safer if I have it.”
“Safer how?” Carter asked, frowning. He held the phone between his ear and shoulder.
“My facilities have the securest storage units in the world. There’s never a chance that the virus will become pandemic. Are you able to make such a guarantee?”
Carter wiped sweat from his brow. “No. I can’t.”
“Neither can the CDC. And then there’s Sylvia. I’ll make a deal with you. Okay? You give me the virus and you can continue working for me. Or if you don’t want to, you and Sylvia are free to go. Now, do we make a trade?”
“Under one condition,” Carter replied.
“What is that, Dr. Carter?”
“You and only you bring Sylvia to me. The virus is yours if you agree to that.”
“By all means,” Grayson replied. “Set a time and place.”
“I’ll get back to you,” Carter said, slamming the phone into its cradle.
74
Grayson tapped his earphone and shook his head.
Donavan gave him a perplexed stare. “You’re really going to let him go?”
“Hell, no. Once I get that virus, I’ll turn him over to Homeland Security. He’ll wish that he had died with the others on Deimos.”
“Does it sound like he’s going to cooperate?”
“He said that he’d get back in touch with me. He’s not concerned about Sylvia like I had hoped. I need more leverage.”
Beatrice spoke over the intercom. “Grayson, Hodges from Team Two called and said that they have found Magnus.”
“Thanks,” Grayson replied. He glanced toward Donavan. “Looks like this day is getting better all the time.”
Magnus rode in the rear of the cab. Up ahead at an intersection were two black Jaguars with dark-tinted windows. They were parked catty-cornered, blocking a narrow side street. He recognized the pickup truck being blocked as the one Mick and Troy had given him a ride in. Two men had Mick pinned against the side of the truck. A third man held Troy’s arms tightly behind his back. Troy was in evident pain.
He tossed the driver a handful of twenties. “Stop here!”
The cabdriver slammed the brakes. The tires squealed.
Magnus hurried from the cab and slammed the door. Magnus ran in a slow jog and as he approached he could hear what the men were saying.
“Where’s the man who gave you this ferret?” the biggest man asked. He was dressed in black fatigues, had a crew cut and was possibly ex-military.
“I swear I don’t know,” Mick replied.
The large man pressed his arm tighter against Mick’s throat. “He just gave it to you?”
In a strained whisper, Mick replied, “For a ride . . . to Vegas.”
Digger chattered inside the truck.
“For some reason, I’m finding that difficult to believe.”
Mick’s eyes stared past the militant man and widened. The TAC leader turned and was greeted by Magnus’ huge right fist. The impact caused the man to loosen his grip on Mick. He spiraled, grabbed for the side of the truck, but instead, he hit the ground.
The second man holding Mick turned, and Magnus punched the man in the gut. The man dropped on his hands and knees, gasping and wheezing for air. The man holding Troy punched Magnus in the stomach. The man grabbed his hand and rubbed it in obvious pain. Magnus smiled.
Magnus struck the man in the stomach several times hard. The side of the truck prevented the man from falling. He leaned over, holding his stomach and Magnus struck the man’s jaw.
Mick grabbed Troy and moved to the rear of the pickup bed.
Magnus kicked the second man in the gut as he tried to get up. The leader with the crew cut scrambled to his feet and reached for his gun. Magnus charged toward him. The gun fired but the bullet struck the pavement. Magnus grabbed the man’s wrist and slammed his hand against the hood of the truck several times until he released the gun. Magnus grabbed the gun and pressed it against the man’s ribs.
“Why are you bothering them?” Magnus asked.
“We were trying to find you.”
“Well, you found me. Was it worth the search?” He pressed the gun harder into the man’s ribs and glanced toward Mick. “You two okay?”
“No thanks to you. Take your damn ferret and get the hell away from me and my son.”
Magnus frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“Ask that asshole,” Mick said, pointing at the man Magnus held the gun on. “The whole reason they stopped us was because they were tracking Digger. Now take the ferret and go, so we can get out of here.”
Magnus gripped the man’s shirt and shoved him back against the truck. He notices an I.D. patch on his shirt. “Hodges?”
Hodges nodded.
“Is what he said true? Digger has a chip?”
“Yeah.”
Magnus shook his head. “Dammit. I never even thought to check him. So why do you want me?”
“Why do you think?”
“Grayson?”
“Yep. He hired us to bring you in.”
“Not going to happen,” Magnus replied.
With the gun trained on Hodges, Magnus backed up and retrieved the two unconscious men’s guns. Partially kneeling, he removed the earpiece from one man and tucked it into his front pocket.
“Cuff your partners. One wrong move and I’ll drop you right here. I have nothing else to lose, now do I?” Magnus said.
Hodges kept his left hand raised and removed plastic zip-ties from his belt. He cuffed both of his partners. Magnus took a third plastic zip-tie and fastened it around Hodges hands.
“Which vehicle is yours?” Magnus asked.
Hodges nodded to the one closest. “That one.”
“Let’s go.”
Mick grabbed Digger from the truck to give to Magnus. Magnus shook his head. “No. He’s yours.”
“I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in,” Mick said, “but we want no part of it.”
“Sir, I assure you that it’s not what you think, but none of these men will bother you about Digger again. I can promise you that.”
“Whatever it is, you’ve put our lives into danger. I don’t appreciate it one damn bit. Now, here, take him.”
“Da-a-ad,” Troy said.
“Digger belongs to Troy,” Magnus said.
Mick looked at Magnus with suspicion. “You’re certain they won’t bother us again?”
“Trust me. They won’t. It’s me they were after.”
Troy hurried to his father and took Digger.
“Let’s go, Troy,” Mick said.
Magnus said, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Mick slammed his door. Neither of them looked back as they rode away.
Magnus opened the passenger door of the black Jaguar. “Well, Hodges, get in.”
Hodges sat down and Magnus took another zip-tie and tied Hodges’ cuffed hands to the handhold above the passenger door. Magnus shut the door and then opened the trunk. He dragged both of the unconscious men and tossed them inside the trunk, and then he slammed the trunk lid shut.
Magnus got in the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. “I suppose finding me wasn’t the best thing for you, was it?”
“You came up on my blindside or things would be a lot different.”
Magnus shrugged and laughed. “Doubtful. You talk big for someone roughhousing a thin old man back there.”
“You didn’t knock me out, did you?”
“No, you can take a punch, I’ll give you that.”
Hodges smiled. A bruise was swelling on hi
s face. “And you can deliver one, too.”
“To be honest, I was holding back.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You can’t talk if you’re unconscious, so I’m being honest. I could have hit you a lot harder.”
“I’m not all for chit-chat, so you would have done yourself a better service if you had knocked me out.”
“I don’t want to talk to you, but you’re going to do some talking. Or else.”
Hodges gave him a confused stare.
Magnus adjusted Hodges’ earpiece. He placed the other one in his ear but snapped off the mouthpiece. “You tell Grayson that you have me in custody. Nothing more or . . .”
Hodges eyed the gun and swallowed hard.
“You understand?” Magnus asked.
“Perfectly.”
“Good. Because I don’t need this gun to hurt you.”
“I said that I understand.”
Grayson tapped his earphone. “Yes?”
“Hodges calling in.”
“Okay. You have news for me?”
“We have Magnus in custody, sir. What do you want us to do with him?”
“Any sign of Carter?”
“That’s a negative, sir.”
“Then bring Magnus in.”
“Roger that.”
Carter slipped into a trancelike state for several hours. Methodically, he worked on the silver briefcase. Using a small toolkit and some hardware he had delivered to his room, he connected springs, buttons, and screws near the handle. After he fastened the final button into place, he grabbed the phone and punched numbers without any real thought. When the phone rang on the other end, he shook his head and awakened from the trance.
“Yes?” Grayson asked over the phone.
“I’m ready to meet,” Carter said.
“Great!” Grayson said. “Where?”
“2010 Valley View Road in the abandoned parking lot in an hour. Bring Sylvia. No one else. If I see any of your security team, the deal’s off.”
“Have you considered my job offer?”
“Let’s see how the exchange works out.”
“Fair enough.”
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