by John Rector
Instead, I grabbed my coat off the back of the couch and headed for the door.
Ellis followed me into the hallway. We rode the elevator to the lobby, then walked out the front door to the street. The black SUV was parked at the curb, blanketed in a thick evening fog.
Ellis pointed to the passenger door. “You’re in front.”
I reached for the door handle and looked inside. Victor was in back behind the driver’s seat. David was next to him. Neither said a word.
I got in and watched Ellis walk around to the driver’s side. He started the engine, put the car in gear, and pulled out onto the street. No one said anything until we stopped half a block from Mickey’s Pub.
“Keep it short,” Victor said. “Get the drive and get out. We’ll be waiting here to pick you up.”
I nodded.
Victor checked his watch, then pointed to the door. I started to get out, but then I felt his hand close on my shoulder, and I looked back.
“No surprises, Nick.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “There won’t be.”
The fog outside was wet and thick, and I closed my coat tight around my chest as I walked down the block toward Mickey’s. There was a silver Mercedes parked out front, and Patricia’s driver, Travis, was sitting behind the wheel, watching me.
I pretended I didn’t see him and went inside.
For a Monday, Mickey’s was busy. There were several people at the bar, and most of the tables were taken. Mickey was talking to customers and making drinks. He didn’t see me come in.
I stood in the doorway and scanned the room for Patricia. I didn’t see her right away, so I made my way up to the bar and waited for Mickey to see me. When he did, he gave me a half salute, then turned back to the line of glasses in front of him.
“Be with you in a sec, Nick.”
I sat on the closest stool and looked around at the crowd. Most of the people in the bar were younger—college students—gathered around the tables in loud groups. I listened to them talk while I waited for Mickey to work his way down the bar to me, but I got bored fast, and I stopped paying attention.
A minute later someone stepped up and set a half-empty martini glass on the bar beside me. I looked over and saw Patricia draping her coat over the stool next to mine.
She sat down and said, “Here we are again.”
Before I could say anything, Mickey came up and dropped two napkins on the bar in front of us. He had a rocks glass in his hand, and he set it in front of me, then reached for the Macallan bottle on the shelf.
I watched as he poured the drink. When I looked up at him, he raised his eyebrows and nodded toward Patricia.
I shook my head.
“If you two need anything, just yell.” He put the bottle back on the shelf. “I’ll be right over here.”
He turned away, leaving us alone.
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then Patricia lifted her glass and held it out in front of her, waiting.
“Are we drinking to something?” I asked.
“Of course,” Patricia said. “To this being the last time we ever see each other.”
I touched my glass to hers. “One can only hope.”
27
We might as well get on to business.” Patricia reached for her coat on the bar stool and took a silver flash drive from one of the pockets. She held it out to me and said, “I believe this is what you’re after.”
“Is this everything?”
She nodded. “And just so we’re clear, now that I’ve delivered on my end I expect you to deliver on yours. There’s still a job to be done.”
I pocketed the flash drive.
“That’s not going to happen.”
Patricia shook her head. “Why am I not surprised?” She lifted her glass, took a drink. “When I saw you two together, I knew she had her claws in you.”
I ignored the comment, said, “Can I ask you something?”
“If you’d like.”
“Why do you hate her?”
“Abigail?”
“Is it the money? Was that why you hired me?”
“What money is that?”
“Her inheritance.”
“Inheritance?” Patricia turned, her face bright. “Did she tell you Daniel was leaving her money?”
I opened my mouth to say something, then stopped.
Patricia laughed. “That girl, she’s unbelievable.”
“It’s not true?”
“Of course it’s not true,” she said. “I’m Daniel’s wife and his sole beneficiary. Everything comes to me.”
I couldn’t understand why Abby would lie to me about her inheritance. It didn’t make sense, but it did make me wonder what else she wasn’t telling the truth about.
“If it wasn’t money, then why hire me?”
“How can you ask me that?” Patricia’s voice turned cold. “You’ve seen my husband. You’ve seen what she did to him.”
“You blame her for his stroke?”
“Of course I do,” she said. “His illness is a direct result of her coming back.”
“That seems unfair.”
“Daniel isn’t a young man,” Patricia said. “He’d never admit it, especially after she showed up, but facing those memories was hard on him. The stress was too much to handle. So yes, I blame her completely.”
“What memories?” I asked. “He never knew her.”
“Project Aeon,” Patricia said. “Those memories never left him.”
I stared at her, silent.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” She frowned. “Do you know what I just gave you?”
I started to answer, but I didn’t know what to say.
“My Lord.” Patricia set her glass on the bar. “There are people all over the world who would kill to get their hands on the information in that flash drive, and it winds up in your pocket.” She smiled, looked away. “How fitting.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a lifetime of work,” she said. “Daniel’s mostly, but Lillian’s, too.”
“Abby’s mother?”
“Project Aeon was as much Lillian’s passion as it was Daniel’s. He was the lead of course, but Lillian worked with him every step of the way.” Patricia stopped talking, smiled. “It was their baby, so to speak.”
“Were you part of it?”
“God, no.” She shook her head. “My first husband was one of Daniel’s early backers before he passed, which was how we met. I didn’t learn about Project Aeon until much later, long after Daniel shut it down.”
I didn’t say anything else right away. I had too many questions, and I wasn’t sure where to start. Eventually, I decided to start at the beginning.
“What was this project?”
Patricia reached for her glass, sipped. “They were looking for a way to cheat death.”
I stared at her, silent.
She set her glass on the bar, then touched the edge of her mouth with her thumb and looked at it. “That’s a simplistic explanation, but it holds true.”
“I don’t understand.”
Patricia sighed. “Aeon was a black project. It was run by a subgroup outside the company and subsidized by a group of civilian and military leaders. Their goal was to develop ways to prolong the human lifespan.”
“A lot of companies are trying to do that.”
“Yes, but in this case there were no restrictions. They wanted results, and they weren’t concerned with the moral implications of their methods.”
“Their methods?”
“They didn’t want to wait for approval to test their findings on human test subjects.” Patricia shrugged. “So they didn’t.”
I thought about the flash drive in my pocket, then said, “Did it work? Did they succeed?”
“They did,” Patricia said. “In a way.”
“What does that mean?”
Patricia looked at me. “Are you sure you want to hear this? I was under the impression that you were nothing but a middleman. You can’t possibly be interested.”
“I’d like to know what I’m involved in.”
Patricia smiled. “That’s the smartest thing I’ve heard you say yet.” She finished her drink, then held up the empty glass for Mickey to see. “Yes, it worked. There were a few minor complications, but for all intents and purposes Project Aeon was a success.”
“You’re telling me Daniel and Lillian figured out a way to cheat death?”
“You can’t actually cheat death,” Patricia said. “But they did find a way to put it off for quite a while.”
“How?”
“If you’re asking how they did it, I’m not the person to ask,” she said. “Daniel was the expert, not me. He never told me any of this until after we were married, and by then the project had been shut down for years.”
“Then how do you—?”
“He tried to explain it to me once or twice, but only to keep it straight in his head. I’m afraid it was always a bit over mine.” She ran a finger along the rim of her empty glass. “If he were here, he’d be able to answer all your questions much better than I can, but that’s no longer a possibility.”
I started to say more, but then Mickey came up with Patricia’s drink, and I stopped talking.
“One vodka martini.” He set the drink in front of her, then looked at me. “You want another, Nick?”
I told him I didn’t.
Mickey nodded, walked away.
Patricia took the olive from her drink. “They seem to know you.”
“I’ve been here before.”
Patricia put the olive in her mouth, didn’t speak.
“They figured out a way to cheat death, but you—”
“Ah.” She held up one finger. “Postpone death.”
“Okay,” I said. “But you don’t know how they did it.”
“DNA modification in utero.” Patricia sipped her drink, winced. “But like I said, I’m not an expert.”
“What kind of modification?”
“They were able to filter out genetic disorders,” she said. “Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, the usual suspects. But then they took it further and found ways to strengthen internal organs, boost the immune system, and slow cellular decay. Basically, they learned how to slow, and in some cases even stop, the negative effects of aging on the human body before the subject was even born.”
“That’s incredible.”
“There were fifty-one healthy babies born into Project Aeon before Daniel closed it down.”
“And they were all—”
“Enhanced.” Patricia nodded. “That’s right.”
One of the girls at the next table screamed, then laughed loud. The sound pulled me back, reminding me where I was and what I was there to do.
Still, I had more questions.
“The children were normal?”
“Perfectly normal,” Patricia said. “Except that injuries healed quicker for them than other kids, and they rarely, if ever, got sick. Barring accidents or suicide, every one of them should live long, healthy lives well into their hundreds, if not longer.”
I stared at her, silent.
Patricia smiled. “Daniel was a brilliant man.”
“So what happened?”
“With the children?”
“With the project,” I said. “Why did he close it down? Was it because of Lillian and the fire?”
Patricia looked up at me. “You know about the fire?”
“I did my research.”
“Impressive,” she said. “Did you know that Lillian was furious when she found out Daniel was ending the program? I’ll always believe she started the fire to hurt him.”
“I don’t understand why he stopped. If it was such a success, why end it?”
“He never told me the reason behind his decision, and I never asked,” she said. “I believe he was under pressure from the military to find a solution to the complications or to turn his research over to them and—”
“What were the complications?”
Patricia turned to face me. “Is that important?”
“I’d like to know.”
She took a drink, said, “All the embryos were cultivated in the lab and then transferred back to the mother. A fairly simple procedure, but in nearly half the cases the mother would miscarry, always at around six to eight weeks.”
“Why?”
“No one knew,” she said. “Eventually they were able to tie it to the development of the Y chromosome, but they were never able to solve the problem.”
“The Y chromosome?” I thought about it. “Boys.”
Patricia nodded. “That seemed to be the catalyst, because out of all the children born into Project Aeon, not a single one was male.”
28
Patricia looked at her watch, then lifted her glass. “As fun as this has been, I think we’re done here.”
“Why did you tell me all of this?”
Patricia seemed to think about it for a moment. Then she shrugged and said, “The shadow of that project has been hanging over my family for a long time. Now I’m washing my hands of the entire thing.”
“That’s it?”
“And because you asked.” She finished the last of her martini and set the empty glass on the bar. “I also thought you should know what it was that you were delivering.”
“I still don’t have a clue.”
“Now, that’s a shame,” Patricia said. “Are you unable to connect the dots?”
I frowned. “You said it was Daniel’s work with Project Aeon, but I thought all of that was destroyed in the fire.”
“Nearly all of it, that’s true.”
“Then no, I still don’t understand.” I took the flash drive out of my pocket and held it up in the dim light. “If it’s not his research, then what is it?”
“It’s the project itself.”
I stared at her. “I don’t—”
“Project Aeon was more than the research. It was a team of scientists and volunteers who dedicated years to the project.” She pointed to the drive. “That is what you’re delivering.”
“A list of the people involved?”
“From the top down,” she said. “Everyone from Daniel and the financial backers down to the children born into the project and their families.”
I stared at the drive. “Names?”
“Names, titles, contact information.” She smiled. “I left the children off last time, thinking I could protect their privacy, but I was wrong. The people you work for obviously believe they’re important.”
“But why?”
“That’s a good question.” Patricia took her coat off the bar stool and folded it in her lap as she spoke. “Most of the people on that list have moved on. They’re scattered all around the world. So why would someone want to know their names and how to find them?”
I thought about it and was about to say something else when the door opened and Ellis came inside. He scanned the crowd until he saw me, then walked to one of the front tables and sat down.
“Something wrong?” Patricia asked.
“No,” I lied. “Just trying to make sense out of this.”
Patricia slid off the bar stool and stood up. “Whatever their reason for wanting that information, I’m washing my hands of it all. I suggest you do the same.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do.” I held up my glass and motioned to Mickey. “But I’m stuck.”
“Then I’ll give you a little advice.” Patricia slipped into her coat and began fastening the buttons over her chest, but he
r eyes never left mine. “Don’t tell the people you work for what we discussed tonight. Don’t let them know that you’re aware of what’s on that drive.”
“Why not?”
Patricia opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Mickey walked up and refilled my glass.
“Are you leaving us?” he asked. “It’s early.”
“No,” Patricia said. “It’s actually very late.” She took a fold of bills out of her pocket, peeled two off the top, and set them on the bar. “The drinks are on me tonight.”
Mickey turned to me. “Aren’t you the lucky man?”
I didn’t say anything, and Patricia held out her hand. “I wish you the best, Mr. White, and I’m truly sorry you became mixed up in all of this.”
I heard what she said, but it took a minute before I understood.
“You know my name?”
Patricia smiled. “You don’t think I’d let someone come into my house and threaten me and my family without finding out all I could about them, do you?”
I stared at her, silent.
“I understand now what happened, and I sympathize with the position you find yourself in. I realize that you’re not a threat, but I do believe the people you’re associated with are.” She let go of my hand and stepped away. “Please let them know that our dealings are at an end. Good-bye, Nick.”
Patricia turned, and I watched her walk toward the door. She didn’t look at Ellis as she left, but I saw his eyes follow her until she was gone.
I picked up my glass and drank.
“What was that all about?” Mickey asked.
I shook my head, then glanced over at Ellis. In a few minutes I was going to hand the flash drive off to Victor, and I wondered what would happen once I did.
With no further use for me, why keep me alive?
“Nick?”
I looked up at Mickey.
“You okay?” he asked. “You seem off.”
I glanced back at Ellis. One of the waitresses was standing next to him, talking.
“I need to ask a favor,” I said. “Can you help me?”
“Name it.”
“Got a pen?”
Mickey took a black Sharpie from his pocket and handed it to me. I reached for a clean napkin and wrote Kara’s phone number on the back.