Swordfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  Finn shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. Something didn’t seem right to us. You and Whittaker would disappear, then show back up, and then we found listening devices in the lab…” She smiled apologetically. “We didn’t know who to trust, so we didn’t trust either of you.”

  “Smart plan.” He gasped and bit his lip in an obvious effort not to cry out when she picked up his other arm.

  Finn stared at the ragged hole through his elbow joint where the bone stuck out.

  “Damn. Hurts worse.”

  “I’ll be as careful as I can.”

  “It’s okay. Do what you have to do.” He gritted his teeth while she rewrapped the shattered joint.

  “We need to get you to a hospital.”

  “The mission comes first. There’s too much at stake.”

  “Stephen, I need to get you—”

  “Finn, this isn’t your fault. We need you to focus on the mission, not me. Not what happened on that boat. Nothing else. Do you understand me?”

  She dug in the box Oz brought over for another bandage, unable to answer him. He’d already been tortured because of her. “Finn, tell me you understand,” Knight said.

  “The mission comes first. But I won’t let you die.”

  He smiled and rested his head on the floor. “I won’t die.” He gasped as she wrapped his left hand. “So what are we looking at? Worst-case scenario. Global spread if we can’t shut those treatment plants down, right?”

  Finn glanced at Oz, then back to him. “No. We, well, we had another plan we put into action just before we flew to Israel.”

  Stephen smiled. “You did, huh?”

  She nodded, feeling increasingly guilty for leaving him out of the loop.

  “Care to share?”

  She quickly told him about the combined vaccine and antidote she had created and the airport distribution plan. He let out another sharp gasp of pain. “So we’re safe then. It doesn’t matter that it was released.”

  “It does. It will take another ten to twelve days before the cold virus has covered the globe and everyone has been fully immunized. If we can’t get the water treatment centers shut down, this will spread across half of the Middle East, into Northeast Africa, and Eastern Europe before the vaccine will stop it. Millions of people will be infected.” She let her head drop, her chin resting heavy on her chest. “I failed.”

  “No, baby, you didn’t.” Oz wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  “She’s right. If you hadn’t succeeded we’d be looking at the end of the world right now.”

  “Millions of people are going to be infected. Almost all of them will die, and those who don’t will probably wish they had,” Finn said, her anger boiling over. “I don’t call that a success.”

  “Maybe not, but the other seven billion people on the planet will,” Stephen said. “Besides, you still have time to find a treatment or a cure or whatever for this thing.”

  “Are you kidding?” Finn’s English accent became stronger as the volume of her voice escalated. “It takes months—years—to develop drugs like that. If we don’t stop the spread we have at most a few days before the damage is irreversible. Not to mention the fact that even if I can stop this thing from actually killing people, I can’t undo the damage it causes to the brains and the nerves of every single person infected. I don’t have the knowledge to do that, and we don’t have the time for me to learn it.”

  “You need a—” A wave crashed against the hull, and he cried out as his body rolled slightly on the deck. His eyes rolled back slightly and Finn expected him to pass out. It seemed that sheer force of will alone was keeping him conscious, and part of her wished that he’d let go and allow himself the painkiller of oblivion. “You need a brain expert?”

  Finn smiled. “In exceptionally simple terms, yes. I need someone who understands how the brain synapses work with the muscles. Maybe that person could think of a way to stop it.”

  Oz continued tying the bandages around his wounds, but it was clear he was getting weaker. He looked close to passing out. Finn held her hand to his forehead. His skin was clammy, his pulse thready and growing weaker. He was going into shock, and Finn knew he couldn’t remain conscious much longer.

  “Call this number, 881-555-3498. Speak to Timothy Lunn. Tell him what’s happened and tell him you need Sandra Burns. Tell him to get her wherever you need her.”

  Oz scribbled the number down on the back of her hand. “He’s your boss?”

  Stephen nodded. “She’ll be able to help you if you can’t contain it.” He closed his eyes.

  “Stephen, you need to rest. Save your strength,” Finn said quietly. “We’ll take care of it.”

  “Finn, you need to know something…” His voice faded away as he closed his eyes and groaned softly.

  “It doesn’t matter. You can tell me later.”

  “She’s—”

  “Goddamn it.” Charlie slammed the phone down onto the table, drawing their attention. “They won’t give us authorization to contact the authorities and shut down the plant.”

  “Why the hell not?” Oz shouted.

  “We aren’t supposed to be operating out of Israel. We’ll set off a political incident if we contact them.”

  “They’re going to let who knows how many people die to avoid a political scandal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ari, I thought this was your department?” Oz scowled at him. Another fuckup was something they didn’t need.

  “They didn’t perceive the threat to be reliable,” Ari said. “I did what I could to help you, despite my superiors.”

  “Fuckers,” AJ said.

  “Precisely, Son. Junior, find me another option.”

  Finn looked back down at Stephen. His eyes were closed and his breathing a little more even. Unconscious. She hoped he stayed that way until they could get him help.

  Billy and Charlie were speaking quietly and pointing to various parts of the computer screen over Junior’s shoulder.

  “Dad, it’d take a whole unit to take out each plant. And the way the systems run, with the average consumption at this point, we don’t even have time to get them here before it’s too late. Short of getting the guys over in Turkey to launch some missiles at them, we’re fucked.” Junior crossed his arms over his chest.

  “There has to be another way. We could plant explosives and blow them up. Start a rumor that it was terrorists,” Billy said.

  “We don’t have the manpower to carry out a coordinated attack like that, Uncle Billy. That’s what I was saying.”

  “Well, kiddo, I know I’m an old fart, but I’d take a stab at it.”

  Junior looked at him then back to the screen. “We’ve got four units covering six square miles of ground space. The buildings are three stories high, and there are two basement levels. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of pipes and the septic tanks. Four units just like this. Four. I’m not packing enough C4 in my underwear to take that shit down.”

  “Enough, Junior. You don’t talk to your uncle like that.”

  Junior scrubbed his hands over his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just…” He let out a huge sigh.

  “I know,” Billy said. “We all are. That’s why I’d be willing to handle C4 from your underwear.”

  Junior chuckled. “No need to worry about that.”

  “So we can’t stop this?” Finn didn’t want to believe what she was hearing.

  “No,” Charlie said. “There’s not enough time.”

  “How much time do we have before the contaminated water is being used?”

  “It’s not an exact science, Finn,” Junior said.

  “Estimate.”

  “Finn—” Oz wrapped her hand around her arm.

  “Just tell me.”

  “Four hours.”

  Her mind was racing. Four hours. Four hours and this thing she’d created would begin to spread from person to person until it met those who were resistant. Four hours plus the incubation period. Fo
ur-day incubation period. One hundred hours before symptoms would begin to show.

  “I need my lab.” She didn’t want to think about what would happen after that. She couldn’t. “We’ve got one hundred hours before the first victims begin to show symptoms. If we stand any chance of saving them, they have to be treated before then. Oz, call the number Stephen gave you, get this Sandra Burns to the New York lab, and let’s hope she’ll be able to help as much as he thinks she can.”

  One hundred hours, and I haven’t got a fucking clue where to start.

  Chapter Forty-four

  Cassie rested her head in her hand while she made notes for her next class. Well, she was supposed to be. What she was really doing was doodling, daydreaming, and wasting time. She looked at the badly drawn picture of Bailey’s face. She couldn’t get the eyes right. She couldn’t capture the way the light made them look honey-colored and the way they reflected the light. She sighed as a knock sounded at her door.

  “Come in.” She closed her notebook and looked up, expecting to see one of her students. Instead there were two men, official credentials extended for her review. “CIA. Gentlemen, to what do I owe the honor?”

  “We have a very delicate matter to discuss with you. Is there somewhere more private we could go, Professor Burns?” the taller man said.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your names?”

  “My apologies, Professor, we’re on a very tight schedule. I’m Agent Lunn, and this is my associate, Agent Hawkins.”

  “Agent Lunn, this office is about as private as it gets on campus. If you’re that short on time you’d better get on with it.”

  “Very well.” He handed over a file. Top Secret was stamped in red all over it. “A few hours ago I received a call to let me know that your expertise is required to help in the development of a cure for people infected with botulism.”

  Cassie laughed. “And just who is it that has requested my help for this project?”

  “Stephen Knight.”

  “Why? What does he have to do with botulism?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t give you all the details of the mission he was involved in.”

  “Then you’d better get Agent Knight to call me. I need more than he requested me and a file with a drawing that looks like it was created for Star Trek. What the hell is this?”

  “It is a biological agent called Balor. I’m told it is a combination of the E. coli bacteria and the botulinum toxin.”

  She stared at them, aghast. “Oh my God. This is loose, isn’t it? That’s why you’re here.”

  “Yes. Will you help?”

  “I need a sample of this toxin and a lab to work in. I’ll also need staff—”

  “Professor, we have a lab with everything ready and waiting.”

  Cassie nodded as she stared at the molecular diagram again. It was beautiful. Ribbons of the toxin’s structure twisted around the DNA of the bacterium. It was truly amazing. She could think of so many therapeutic applications for a development like this. Why did someone have to ruin it by making it into a deadly weapon?

  “Who created this?”

  “Does it matter, Professor?” Hawkins spoke for the first time.

  “It might, yes. If I know other examples of their work it may help me understand the way they think. If I can find a flaw in the thought process, I might be able to find a flaw in their creation faster.”

  “Understood, but could we discuss this en route? We really are on a very tight schedule,” Lunn said.

  “Fair enough.” She quickly packed her books away and selected a couple from the shelf and added them to the heavy load.

  “Professor,” Hawkins said, holding out his hand. “Allow me.” He took the heavy bag from her. “I’m sorry. It’s a pretty stressful situation right now.”

  She nodded and followed them out of the room.

  “It was created by a scientist called Ethan Lyell. He worked for Sterling BioTech and this little bastard was the main reason that William Sterling was imprisoned.”

  The name hit her hard, knocking the air from her lungs, and nearly doubling her over. She gasped, trying hard to catch her breath and wondered what could have driven dear, sweet Ethan to create this monster.

  “Ethan? Ethan wouldn’t do this.”

  “I can assure you he did.”

  “But Ethan only wanted to help people. Why would he do this?”

  “You knew him?” Lunn asked.

  “Yes. We were at university together. We worked together for many years.”

  “Things change, Professor. People change.” He held his hand out to help steady her, but she waved it away. “Are you okay to continue?”

  “Yes. Why doesn’t he create the treatment for it?”

  “He’s dead.”

  She’d known he was dead, but it didn’t stop the surge of emotion that swelled within her. Sorrow that her old friend was gone, anger that he had left something so destructive in his wake, and the fear that what he had created couldn’t be undone all vied for position in her heart. “William killed him.” It wasn’t a question but it didn’t stop both men answering with nods as they pushed open the doors. “Where are we going?”

  “New York. Sterling BioTech.”

  “Why there?”

  “We have another specialist working on this with you.”

  “Good. The more minds we have on this the better. Ethan and I worked with Siegfried Jensen and Rebecca Moore. They both worked at Sterling BioTech with me. Is that my team?

  “Dr. Jensen was killed a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Moore a week before that.”

  She couldn’t take it all in. Too many memories were bombarding her, and she felt dizzy. “That’s after he was in prison. He couldn’t have done that.” She couldn’t focus on that right now. She knew there was a bigger problem at hand and she’d have to mourn later. “So who is in New York?”

  “Daniela Finsbury-Sterling.”

  Cassie’s knees went out from under her. Hawkins grabbed her arm to keep her from falling to the snow-covered ground. “Hey, it’s okay.” His grip tightened as she struggled. “Are you okay?” She heard him, but she couldn’t respond. Her brain seemed to have stopped working.

  “Get her in the car. Must be shock from knowing her friends are dead.”

  Hawkins helped her into the car, even going so far as to buckle her seat belt for her. She couldn’t make her fingers work. Daniela. Finn. The world had become a surreal place and she couldn’t think. She was going to see her daughter.

  Chapter Forty-five

  Bailey stared at it; the slanting black ink on the white background mocked her. Thirty-six hours. She knew because she’d counted every single one of them. It had been thirty-six hours since she had watched Cassie walk into her apartment building and out of her life. She knew that inside the envelope was a check, for services rendered. Something about it didn’t sit right with her. She didn’t want to get paid for helping Cassie. She didn’t want to be paid for the time they had spent together. She’d enjoyed every second of it. And getting paid for that made her feel dirty, seedy. Cassie had already covered all their expenses on the trip, and she felt she had done very little in real terms to locate Daniela. I won’t take it.

  She folded the envelope in two, touching it as little as possible before she stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans. She had to return it, then forget about both the money, and Cassie Finsbury.

  “Come on, Jazz. Let’s go.” The dog followed her to the car and climbed into the passenger seat, waiting patiently for her seat belt to be fastened. “Weird dog.” Bailey pulled onto the street and made her way across town. “I blame you, you know.” Jazz flattened her ears against her head. “Yeah, you. If you hadn’t shown up and put some sort of weird spell on me this never would have happened.”

  The dog bowed her head and looked up at Bailey with soft, brown eyes. “Aw, damn it, don’t do that. That’s how you did it in the first place,” Bailey said but reached over to stroke the top of the
dog’s head. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just saying that if you hadn’t made me such a freaking softie, there’s no way I would have fallen for Miss Brainiac-Scientist-in-Hiding. None.” Bailey parked the car at MIT and turned off the engine. Jazz wriggled out of her seat belt and laid her head on Bailey’s lap.

  A big, black town car sat in the corner of the lot with its engine running. Tinted windows hid the driver, but a thin stream of smoke trailed out of the tiny crack at the top of the driver’s window. Across the snowbank, she saw Cassie walking between two men. Two big, burly men wearing long coats and sunglasses. “Who the hell wears sunglasses when it’s thirty degrees and there’s snow on the ground? This ain’t Aspen, buddy.”

  She watched one man grab Cassie’s arm and she struggled against his grip. The car blocked her view, but it looked like he was pushing her into the car. What the fuck? The car pulled away quickly and Bailey didn’t even think. She turned the engine back on, buckled Jazz in, and took off after the car, careful to keep enough distance to not arouse suspicion. They drove east along the Charles River and pulled into the parking lot at the Museum of Science.

  “What the hell?” She pointed to the foot well. “Stay down there, girl. I’ll just be a few minutes.” She signaled for Jazz to be quiet while she was gone. She didn’t know what was going on, but if Cassie was being pushed into the car, she was damn well going to find out what was going on.

  She saw them pull open the door to a service entrance and tried to catch it before it closed. She swore under her breath as the steel door slammed closed on her finger just in time to prevent the catch jamming closed. She shook out the pain in her hand and climbed the concrete stairs soundlessly until she reached a door to the roof.

  The door needed a number code to open it, so she got as close as she could. There was a small porthole style window in the top and she peered out in the hope of seeing what was going on. The whoop whoop sound of a rotor blade picking up speed assaulted her ears and the sight of Cassie in the back of the metal bird stunned her.

  “A helicopter?”

  What the fuck? Who would be taking Cassie away in a helicopter? There was too much about Cassie that she still didn’t know. Too many questions she couldn’t even take reasonable guesses at the answers because she knew so little about Cassie’s past. If Sterling was free, she would put money on those goons being his, but he wasn’t. Shit. Maybe he was. She dialed her cell and waited.