Swordfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  The solution turned a deeper blue as the reaction continued. It was a good sign. The solution needed to be indigo before it was ready for the next stage. She had a test strip pinned over her workbench so she could ensure the perfect hue and thereby the correct strength of solution. They’d decided to continue working with the cold virus that she had already broken down, but this time they didn’t need it to recognize the unique protein markers on the surface of the Balor bacterium. They needed it to get into the victim’s brain. Cassie had spent years developing a treatment to help re-stimulate the neural pathways in the brain and central nervous system. She’d explained the basis of her theories to Finn as they began, and although Finn followed most of it, the brain hadn’t been her specialty.

  Cassie had spent years developing a stimulation protocol, and now she was trying to make a solution combine with the antitoxin that Finn was building into the DNA of the humble cold. Once the antitoxin was engineered, they planned to incorporate the turbo booster, as Cassie was calling it. But they only had thirty-six hours left, it was almost midnight, and they were all exhausted. She’d asked Oz to go to the apartment for her hours ago to pick up a change of clothes. Really, all she needed to do was to keep Oz busy. Every time Oz looked at her watch, Finn felt the lingering accusation that she wasn’t doing enough. She knew Oz would never say it. But it was true. She would never be able to do enough.

  “Stop.”

  Finn jerked her head up and was surprised to see Cassie with one hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. What?”

  “Stop beating yourself up. None of this was your fault and I can prove that to you, but we don’t have time right now. As soon as we get this done I’ll tell you what I mean, but right now I have to ask you for something I haven’t earned. Your trust. I need you to trust that I can and will explain everything and you’ll understand that this is not your mistake to take the blame for.”

  Finn stared at her mother. “How did you know?”

  “I’ve blamed myself more than once for things out of my control.” She smiled sadly. “I know the look.” She bumped her shoulder gently. “We’ve got to get this finished before we can talk.”

  “Okay.” Finn knew she sounded pathetic. She felt pathetic, but she needed something only a mother—her mother—could give her. “I’m scared.”

  Cassie’s arm was around her shoulder in an instant. “Of what, sweetheart?”

  “I don’t want you to hate me.” She’d never felt so childlike, but as Cassie held her, she acknowledged that it was okay to feel that childish and insecure sometimes.

  “Never.” Cassie kissed her head. “That isn’t even possible.”

  “I’m scared you left because you didn’t want me.”

  “I left to save you.”

  “I’m scared you won’t want to know me now.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because of all this.”

  Cassie wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Stop it, right now. All this shows me is that you’re an amazingly brilliant scientist who discovered something that was corrupted by someone you trusted. It also shows me how devoted you are in your efforts to correct that oversight, and how ethical you are by your tenacity and the way you put your life in danger to do the right thing.” Cassie swallowed. “I’m so proud of you, I don’t even know how to tell you, and I wish I could have spent every day by your side. Had I any other choice—any—I would never have been parted from you.”

  Finn looked into her mother’s eyes and felt everything slipping back into place. She began to let go of the anger and self-recrimination, the pain of her father’s betrayal, and the self disgust.

  “I love you, Danie—Finn. Now and then, and every day in between, and for the rest of my life, I love you. You’re my little girl and nothing will ever change that.”

  She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that those few words would make everything okay, but for the first time since Thanksgiving, Finn believed things might really be okay. And right now, that was more than she had hoped for.

  “Now, how are we doing with the solution, sweetheart?”

  “Ah, I see how this is going to be. You’re one of those pushy mothers who think their kid is going to be some kind of overachiever, right?”

  “Yup.”

  Finn laughed despite the tears still rolling down her cheeks. “It’s nearly done.” She nodded her head in the direction of the beaker. “Mum.”

  *

  Bailey dialed Sean’s number. She’d watched Roy leave just after midnight and waited another forty minutes before putting her plan into action.

  “Somebody better be on fire.”

  “Sean, I need you to do me a favor.”

  “Another one, you mean?”

  “Yeah, another one.”

  He sighed. “What do you need?”

  “Can you put an intercept on a number for me for five minutes? When the front desk calls, just okay me to go up to the apartment.”

  “Bailey, you can’t be serious. I can’t do an unofficial line intercept.”

  “I know you’ve got your gear at your house. You can do this in a heartbeat.”

  “I need a warrant—”

  “Not what you said when you wanted me to tap your ex’s phone line to see if she was cheating on you.”

  “The bitch was cheating on me.”

  “Not the point.” She waited a beat. “I did it because we’re friends, man. Because I got your back.”

  “Jesus, fine. What’s the damn number?” She smiled and rattled off the number. “I’ll text you when I’m ready. Who am I supposed to be on the end of the line?”

  “Mr. Zuckerman.”

  “Do I get a first name?”

  “Nah. There’s tons of ’em going in and out of the place according to the earlier doorman. Keep it generic.”

  “Fine.”

  “And, Sean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She could practically hear the blush in his gruff voice. He was always like that. She quickly clipped Jazz’s leash on again and set out toward the park. She had no idea how long she’d need to be up there, and a quick bathroom tour for the pup was only fair. She’d debated leaving Jazz in the car, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t like the idea of leaving her in the car alone for more than a few minutes. Truth be told, she didn’t like the idea of taking Jazz up there much either, but she didn’t feel like she had much choice, and Jazz had behaved exemplarily since the moment she’d come into Bailey’s life.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket. The message from Sean was just like the man, short and to the point; ready. She led Jazz across the street and pulled open the door. The guy on the night shift was a short guy, with a balding head, bulging middle, and a toothless smile as he offered her his help. She headed straight toward the elevators like she knew exactly where she was going.

  “Thanks, but I’m fine. I’m expected.”

  He came around the corner of the desk with surprising agility and managed to get hold of her arm before she punched the call button. “I’m sorry but I have to announce all guests.” His face took on a sour expression. “No exceptions.”

  She sighed heavily. “Fine.”

  He smirked, and the look of triumph on his ruddy face made her want to laugh. “What apartment?” He rounded his desk again and hiked his trousers up until they settled just below his large gut.

  “Ten.”

  “Right. Mr. Sterling’s old apartment. The one that’s been empty—”

  “Call the apartment.” She wracked her brain for a name. “Ask for Charlie Zuckerman. He’s expecting me.” She was pretty sure that was the name Mrs. Richmond had said.

  “Look, lady, that apartment’s been empty since the old man went to prison. If you think I’m gonna let you up there so you can claim squatter’s rights and move in all your little hobo friends—”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I’m here on business to see Mr. Zuckerman
.”

  He looked her up and down, distaste curling his lips. “Look, lady, I don’t know what game you’re playing waltzing in here in your dirty old clothes smelling like wet dog and stale coffee, but this is the Dakota Building, not the YMCA. This isn’t the kind of place—”

  “Just call the apartment.”

  “I’ll call the police in a minute.”

  She sighed. I can’t believe this is so fucked up. “Look, buddy. I’m not a hobo, I’m not looking for a place to squat in, or have a party. My associates in apartment ten are expecting me. Call the apartment. If no one answers or they say they’ve never heard of me, I’ll walk out the door. You won’t even have to call the cops.”

  He stared at her, stuck his hands on his hips, and tried his best to intimidate her. But she’d faced tougher opponents than Jed here, and she wasn’t going until she got access to the apartment. She couldn’t think of any other way to help Cassie, and she was damned if she wasn’t going to at least try.

  “Fine.” He picked up the phone and punched the button. “But as soon as I call the fourth floor and there’s no answer, you’re leaving without another damn—hello, sir. I’m sorry to call so late.” Bailey tried to keep the smug grin from her face, but she could tell by the scowl on his face she hadn’t succeeded. “I have someone in reception who claims you’re expecting them.” He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “What’s your name?”

  “Bailey.”

  “Bailey.” He repeated down the line. “I will, sir. Thank you very much.” He put the handset down. “Mr. Zuckerman said you can go right up.”

  “Thank you.” She crossed the lobby and called the elevator. Jazz trotted beside her and sat down when she punched the button for the fourth floor. She had the small toolkit in her pocket that she would need to open the door to the apartment and hoped it was a fairly simple mechanism. That was usually the case with buildings that had door staff to monitor the comings and goings of the building. She was a fair lock pick but not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

  The corridor was dark and deserted as she made her way to apartment ten and was pleased to see that it was simple enough for her to tackle. Thirty seconds later, she was closing the door to the apartment. A quick look around told her several things. One, there were several people staying there at the moment and they were well armed. Two, the people staying there were richer than Midas. And three, there was no sign of Cassie or anything belonging to Cassie in the apartment.

  She quickly gathered all the weapons she could find and shut them in the bedroom closet. At least then if someone came in she wouldn’t have to worry about the extra weapons being in easy reach. She picked one to use herself and chose a comfortable place for her and Jazz to wait. She glanced at her watch. I wonder if there’s some food in the fridge?

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Cassie rubbed at her itchy, tired eyes with the backs of her gloved hands, careful to avoid touching them with her fingers. She was tired of staring down a microscope and seeing the same negative results. She needed a breakthrough. They all did. For some reason, the stimulation compound seemed to increase the rate of Balor’s replication as well as the antitoxin and she couldn’t figure out a way to stop that. She glanced at Finn, who was spinning around on her chair, seemingly wasting time.

  “What if we leave out the stimulator and add a compound that will dissolve the bacterium and or their byproducts instead?” Finn said suddenly, her head tilted thoughtfully.

  It was a possibility. Once the antitoxins destroyed the botulinum toxin, it was the byproducts that caused the lasting problems. Without them, the victim should return to their normal state of health. “Such as?”

  “Haven’t figured that bit out yet.” Finn looked up “Sorry. Thinking out loud.”

  “It’s a good thought. Let’s run with it. What would dissolve the byproducts or eject them without further damaging the nerves?”

  Finn tapped a pen on the desk between them. “Take me back to school. Draw me a nerve cell.” She pointed to the white board.

  “What? You must be joking. We don’t have time for drawings.”

  “I’m serious. Sometimes I get so caught up in finding a clever solution to a problem that I overlook the easy one. I can’t afford to over look anything here.” She held out the pen. “Please?”

  “Fine.” Cassie started drawing. “But no laughing at my diagrams. You could already draw better than I could when you were three.”

  “I promise I won’t laugh.”

  Cassie frowned, puzzled by the request even though she could see the logic behind it. She carefully crafted the diagram of the neuron, the axon, the structure of the myelin sheath, the synapses, and a range of chemical symbols.

  “Potassium and sodium.”

  “Yes, it’s the sodium-potassium balance that allows the cells to conduct the electrical impulses.”

  “And what is the molecular makeup of the neurotransmitters?”

  “There are several different types. Amino acids, amines, and acetylcholine. The majority of them are exciters, but some are known to be inhibitors too.”

  “Acetylcholine?”

  “Yes. That can act in both capacities depending upon the location.”

  “Acetylcholine, the combination of acetic acid and choline?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s choline?”

  “An essential nutrient that we ingest as part of our diet. Most people know it as vitamin B complexes.”

  “Okay. So each neuron has its own method of destroying the byproducts.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We need to stimulate the neurons to split the acetylcholine molecules so that the acetic acid will dissolve the byproducts of the botulinum toxin.”

  Cassie stared at her. The simplicity of it was beautiful. The molecules would naturally reunite in the body, but in the process of reuniting they would change the conditions to an acidic state that would dissolve the unwanted remnants of Balor after the antitoxin killed the bacterium.

  “Can your stimulator drug be made to stimulate the neurotransmitter and make the molecules split?”

  Cassie pictured the molecular diagram in her head and reached for the pencil sticking out of her bun. “I have no earthly idea,” she said as she began scribbling the carbon chains onto the paper, “but I can give it a shot.”

  “Will it damage the victim?”

  “Possibly, but to a much lesser extent than the toxin and byproducts.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  Cassie thought quickly. “The best method of delivery is going to be something inhaled. The quicker it gets to the brain the better.” They quickly developed a list of what they needed and set about their tasks, more confident than they had been an hour ago. And Cassie so much more in awe of her daughter than she had ever thought possible.

  *

  “It looks like talc,” Finn said and Cassie had to agree. The combined antitoxin and stimulator was condensed and dried into a fine powder.

  “Or coke.” Oz peered into the beaker, a frown marring her face. “You sure it’s going to work?”

  “As sure as I can be.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “It won’t save everyone, but I think ninety-eight percent is a pretty effective result in the lab.”

  “It is?” Oz looked skeptical.

  “It is,” Finn assured her.

  Cassie heard the disappointment in Finn’s voice. “But you wish it was a hundred?”

  “Don’t you? Knowing that the two percent we’re talking about here are actually people dying.”

  “Of course I do. But death is a part of life, and we can’t hope to save everyone. We can simply do our best.” She pointed to the first batch of fine white powder. “This is our best, and I tell you something now. I challenge anyone to come up with anything better or faster than this.” She placed the lid on the specimen jar and watched the second batch running through the condenser. “You know the fastest way to get this into
use over there is to give them the formula and have them produce it.”

  Oz shook her head. “Never going to happen. We won’t get authorization to hand over the formula.”

  “Then how do you plan to get it distributed?” Cassie frowned.

  “I can’t say,” Oz said.

  “No way.” Finn grabbed Oz’s hand. “You can’t do that. We’ve slaved over this. We need to know how you plan to distribute it so those people are safe.”

  “I can’t say because I don’t know. Charlie and Junior aren’t saying anything to anyone.” She tapped her nose. “Top secret.”

  “Damn it, that’s not fair.” Finn rested her head in her hands heavily.

  “Man, you’re cute when you pout.” Oz wrapped her arms around Finn’s waist and nuzzled her neck. “Don’t you think, Cassie?”

  “I think she’s always cute.” They both laughed as Finn turned pink and bent her head forward.

  “How long before you guys are done here and we can leave? I don’t know about you, but I really, really need some sleep,” Oz asked.

  “I need half an hour to make sure this batch is strong enough,” Cassie said. “Then we can let the machines run until morning.”

  Finn checked the timer. “We’ll be at twenty-six hours then. Seriously, Oz, if we don’t know how you’re planning to distribute this we can’t calculate how much we need to make. Letting it run till morning is all well and good, but if we need twice what this equipment is set up to make, then we’ll need another six or seven hours to make more. If we know now, then we can set up more equipment now.”

  “I get it, but I really don’t know.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we got here before you all headed out for the night,” Charlie said as he walked into the room with Billy, Junior, and AJ on his heels. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ll have a definitive answer to that question in about ten minutes,” Cassie said.

  “Excellent. We’re limited with how we can deliver this stuff, and we have to be very careful or we’re going to set off an international incident.”