Final Challenge

by Al Cooper

  Hanson opened his eyes disproportionately and looked at him angrily. Then he made ​​a move to take back the stylet.

  - I see you don't plan to collaborate.

  Klein did a balance of his situation for a few seconds, then replied.

  - Listen, agent. Although you don't believe it, I am on your side. My only crime was to come here under a false identity that they provided me.

  - Why did you come?

  - I volunteered to be part of an ambitious project, paying me a huge amount of money.

  - Was Clerigan who proposed it?

  - Yes.

  - When?

  - About four years ago ... that is, almost two years after he had disappeared. He proposed it to me through third parties, then I had a chance to talk personally with him by phone. The only condition that they required me was to maintain total discretion.

  - But ... in theory you disappeared a few months ago.

  - Yes, yes, that is. After that first contact they told me that I should wait some time, probably years, because the disappearance of a third scientist in such a short time could arouse much suspicion. They would suggest me the right time to join.

  - And that time came some months ago.

  - That is, when I least expected. Anyway I was tired of the limitations and poverty of my work in Genfly. And I'm also sure they wouldn't have accepted that I would have gone back. - He paused and stared at Hanson, hesitated a few seconds, as if he hadn't clear if he should do him that confidence - Listen agent, I have something important to say.

  - I am sure it is. I've been waiting time for it.

  - They cheated me when they informed me on the essence of the project. While it is true that I was expecting something out of ... - one could see him visibly nervous, the look of Hanson decentered him, was forced to redirect it to a lost point - well ... don't get me wrong, I mean ... I knew ... that the investigation line would be more aggressive here, more permissive than in the U.S., but never, never, I assure you, never, I could imagine the atrocities being committed.

  - I think it's time for me you say.

  - Do you know what cloning is?

  - Basically, yes.

  - It's the main line of research that is being followed here for years.

  - With animals? I've seen some on entering.

  - No ... not only ... that is, also ... - bowed his head before answering - human embryos. Well, we are also investigating with stem cell, but only at the level of certain organs and tissues. In fact they told me about some investigation lines against Cancer and that was the real reason to come here.

  - Well, you let me calmer - Hanson joked. Then tried to keep the anger that threatened to overflow and come outside to continue – Human clones? Stem cells? Organs? It is more aberrant than I ever could have imagined.

  - Believe me, I feel the same revulsion that you may feel.

  - I do not know whether to believe it. At last, if you were attracted for coming here, it would be for something.

  - I was attracted by the challenge and curiosity of any man of science. But now I only feel disgust and loathing.

  - So why haven't you gone away?

  - Wish I could, but they let ​​it very clear. There's no possibility of turning back, the only option is death.

  The image of slain Owen came to Hanson's mind , so he took the opportunity to ask.

  - Did you know Owen? Do you know if he worked here?

  - I knew he was with Clerigan, because he told me. But I never had a chance to see him or talk to him. When I arrived, I was told he had died of a tropical disease.

  - Oh, yeah?

  - Right.

  - Tell me, what do you know about your colleague Olsen?

  - I met him here. Then he confirmed that they had proposed him the same than to me. He went out to Tefé a few days ago, we need laboratory equipment and energy supply, fuel for the generator. The charcoal that we produce is not enough.

  - Okay, we'll continue with the details at another time. Tell me, do you know if one or more white women are retained here?

  - All I can say is that they don't waste any living for their experiments. They don't want to kidnap more Indians than strictly necessary to avoid drawing attention.

  - At least you will know where they keep the weapons ...

  - Yeah, I think so. They have so many I don't think they miss a few ...

  Klein proposed that he awaited him in the bungalow as he approached the house to get the keys to a room downstairs where they kept numerous weapons and ammunition, raising all sorts of misgivings by Hanson. However, he thought he had no choice but to trust Klein or whoever the hell was that individual. His experience as an instinct told him that he wasn't lying.

  After about ten minutes, Klein appeared with a bag containing a rifle and five pistols, and plenty of ammunition. He apologized for not being able to grab a rope, which would have facilitated his accesses to the stockade. Instead, they agreed a time, just before sunset, to meet the next day. Klein should keep entertained to the sentry for a few minutes, time enough for that Hanson could get inside the stockade. Hanson thanked him and said goodbye with a hug but not before asking him to try to find out where the prisoners were being held.

  He tied the bag to his back with a liana that he pulled from a tree like a timbo and studied the best option to get out of the stockade. It soon appeared that it would be much easier to come out than to come in. There were many trees from which he could access the wall. He looked for one of them far enough from the sentry, climbed, cut a long liana, tied it to the trunk and his waist, climbed up the wall and then was climbing down the stockade helped by the liana.

  When he reached the ground, he loosened the makeshift rope, tied a small rock on the end and threw it back into the enclosure. He tried it for four times, until he got that it hooked enough around a branch. Thus, he killed two birds with one stone: he would have a relatively easy way to access the next day, as he neither could risk making the same trick with the sentry nor to depend strictly of Klein's expertise, pretty best scientific than public relations, to entertain him.

  It was difficult to Hanson orient himself in his return trip. The distance was irrelevant, but was unable to see the light of the bonfire in the village, he thought that it might be turned off at that hour. At night, without a reference, problems multiplied. Luckily he knew the general direction, but before finding the village he wandered lost for more than an hour. When he finally came, could observed that the fire had extinguished and the guard actually was half asleep, so it wasn't complicated at all to get to his hut, where Untai, who was lying and covered with a skin so that the guards had not identified him in the hypothetical case that they had decided to take a look to the hut, rejoiced to see him and came out quickly to his nearby hut.

  The plan had gone perfectly. Untai had returned to village shortly after Hanson had left him in the jungle with other drunk Indians of the tribe, without arousing any suspicion by the sentry, who hadn't missed Hanson for the simple reason that he had watched him going into his hut before the celebrations and then he hadn't seen him anymore during the night, so he imagined that he would be sleeping soundly and didn't even bother to look inside his hut.

  XXXIV

  Early in the morning Marvin and Souza wanted to ensure that Hanson had returned in good condition. They couldn't contain their curiosity and came into his hut. The sentry looked at them surprised. As soon as they could observe that he was sleeping peacefully, they breathed relieved. They decided not to wake Hanson, returned to their hut and letting him to rest for a few hours. It was Hanson who approached to their hut in the morning, to inform them of what happened during the tense last night. With the information that provided them, and their own observations, the three were interchanging their thoughts trying to put the puzzle in order.

  They conclude
d that only some questions had been clarified, many others remain intact, or even had to speculate on different possibilities, none of which fit with a minimum of coherence. They knew that Clerigan was leading a project outside of international laws and perhaps of the more widespread ethic, but they still didn't know the details and the background that lay behind his decision to depart to the ends of the world. Of course, you only needed a turn around the village to realize that could not be coincidence that all indigenous women of childbearing age were pregnant. Surely they would be "surrogate mothers" for free, which Clerigan needed to develop human embryos. And there came one of the unknowns: What prototype of living would they have in their wombs? What would be the ultimate aim that lay behind the mysterious project? ...

  They also knew why they had kidnapped some indigenous of relatively nearby tribes in recent years: they had to serve as guinea pigs for their experiments. That meant they didn't limited to practice with human embryos, but also made ​​on adult humans. As Kelly had been explained to Hanson during those days with regard to biotechnology and genetic research, he maintained the assumption that they should apply some experimental therapies on individuals, probably due to its advances in stem cell research, but he would have liked to know the point of view of Kelly about it. That led them to a new mystery: where was Kelly? Most likely it was that she was inside the fortress, perhaps the house. In any case they didn't understand the reason of the distinction between the treatment she had received from Clerigan, with respect to theirs.

  Perhaps he was looking forward to expand his team of researchers? He already had to Klein and Olsen working for him. But it was really Klein? Initially Marvin and Souza readily agreed that it was very difficult that there was a person who looked like the dead professor as two drops of water, even doubted about the good sight of Hanson. Marvin and Souza opined that perhaps his nervous state had played him a trick. But, at the insistence and security that showed his peer were forced to believe him. Then Marvin, perplexed and without much conviction and knowledge in science, said that since they were experimenting with human embryos, it could be a clone of the dead man. Such hypothesis was rejected immediately by Hanson, who couldn’t avoid to get out a laughing. The human genome was known only for some years ago, any clone that had created could be, at most, a few years old. Souza then pointed to other more realistic hypothesis: that the individual that theorically had committed suicide could be a double of the scientist, someone with some resemblance to the original, that then had been subjected to a series of aesthetic operations, someone whom they had proposed and convinced such dirty work to supplant Klein by much money. Once fulfilled their mission they had had been killed, making it appear a suicide. Souza said that cosmetic surgery was experiencing a real boom in Brazil and there were many incredible specialists in such art. Well, if so, reasoned Marvin, how fit the phenomenon of their aggressive tumors? Souza replied that they could have been subjected, by deception, to some treatment by Clerigan in order that they developed an aggressive tumor in a bit of time.

  Hanson liked Souza's hypothesis,that also explained the issues related with vaccines and chloroquine. Doubles had been treated in the jungle and, therefore, should have been vaccinated both for their own sake and for the sake of indigenous community from whose health largely depended the success of the project. Marvin, however, didn't agree with their view. It had no sense that theoric doubles had taken a submissive role to disclose their illness. Souza replied that would not necessarily be so strange, perhaps they had always lived deceived so their illness would be part of that deception. As they had known about their imminent death, surely they had not related it in any way with a manipulation by Clerigan and his people. But it was not so clear to Marvin. A person in such situation, is more concerned about his health than to continue playing a role. But the three agreed that there was the possibility they had never been aware about their real situation.

  The real Klein wouldn't necessarily had to be aware of the operation, having been limited to travel clandestinely to Manaus, where they were waiting for him. About Owen, he had reached to a point of confrontation with Clerigan because he didn't agree with the direction that the project had taken, something like what had happened to Klein after a few months working. Owen had managed to escape and return to the United States but they couldn't allow that he revealed the slightest secret, so they ended up finding out his new identity and locating him to end his life.

  They were in complete agreement that Clerigan didn't work individually. He should have logistical support from outside, the same who had killed Owen, prepared the double death of Klein and Olsen and kidnapped to Susan. And they also had the money, probably a lot of money to finance the project. There was even the rational possibility that Clerigan was not ultimately responsible, the visible head of the whole network.

  It was time to intervene, it could not be delayed one day more. It was not just to end Clerigan project, whatever its purpose, but for not prolonging the risk to which they were constantly subjected and to discover the whereabouts of Kelly and Susan. Hanson had camouflaged weapons in the hut of their two guides, the only place that sentries would never bother to check.

  They decided that this time could not wait a stroke of luck to repeat the previous day's plan. They didn't know whether another party would take place in the village and whether the same favorable circumstances could concur. They also possessed weapons now. They set out to devise a plan to allow Hanson returned to the fortress just before the sunset, but without altering the peaceful order of the village, in order to not attract the attention of its inhabitants.

  XXXV

  Kelly was convinced that she had chosen the right path to achieve both discover the mysterious details of Clerigan's project as the real reasons that were hidden behind the changes in personality and character of his professor, once idealized and almost idolized for years. She seemed not to be misguided, or at least it could be deduced from the attitude of Clerigan. During the meal, her strategy of approaching had emerged successfully, he had been extremely responsive and at times she thought that was talking to the same person she had known for years, as if everything surrounding them were a mere stage, a circumstance irrelevant of life that could not alter their friendship. The two put a lot on their part to avoid the issues that had led to confrontation the previous day, although the principal victim was Kelly, who was forced to use means which were repugnant to her, to renounce her principles and her nature to achieve her goal: to win back the confidence of Clerigan. Luckily it seemed that Clerigan was extremely receptive to the change in attitude of his former student, basically wanted, as Kelly had observed, to win her to his cause, to have her at his side. Kelly thought that his personal situation should have much to do with it, Clerigan was lonely, very lonely, and, last but not least, misunderstood by her, which caused him a great disappointment. He should have put many expectations on her and, as far as she knew him, get to convince her about his achievements had become his obsession. Even the woman who was so resembled to his dead wife didn't seem to have filled the void that she had left.

  Kelly barely managed to retain her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. If she was able to develop well her role, Clerigan would tell soon her how much she needed to know, but acting in a cold-blood way, knowing that behind that apparent normality was hiding something very murky, made her feel bad, as she was betraying herself.

  Kelly carefully chose the topics of conversation. She knew too well the tastes of Clerigan, his fondness for good food and good wine, for art, especially painting, for botany, for basketball.

  Only on rare occasions the conversation turned to labor issues and, when it did, took the opportunity to talk about her concerns in science, her latest experiments, her intention to publish again articles in science magazines, all in a display of intentions, trying to convince his interlocutor that her career had not been left behind, stagnant as she took over that position in the FBI, letti
ng him clear that Kelly Adams was still the same that listened attentively, almost absorbed, his classes, his restless student always ready to support scientific projects of interest.

  Kelly leaned out to the terrace of her room. She would like to see appear to Hanson, her Romeo, climbing to the terrace to rescue her, but she still didn't know anything about him and his companions, to the point she had to banish the idea that their lives were in danger.

  Instead, she remembered the meeting that she was going to have with Clerigan in the afternoon. The excuse was to show her all the delights of his cared tropical garden, but she knew that would be the time that she was eagerly awaiting. There were only a few hours for such event, but they would be an eternity. She decided to take one of the books that Clerigan had recommended her from his library, a complete manual of tropical trees and fell on the bed ready to read. It would be a good way to follow the conversation of her amphitryon until he decided to discover his secret.

  XXXVI

  Late in the afternoon it was held over from the two white guardians of the village, by a third party. They knew that the long night shift, in which the custody was in the hands of a single sentry, would be their chance. But they could not forget the indigenous warriors whom with a simple a sign of the sentry approached the huts or admonished them to enter them. Despite having weapons, their strategy would be to facilitate the departure of Hanson to the fortress, acting with the utmost caution, without arousing the suspicion by the Indians. Only when Hanson fired three times into the air, Souza and Marvin would take advantage of the confusion, breaking through them to make their way towards the fortress. About their guides, Souza convinced them that they were their ticket out of there, especially if something happened him. They could not put in risk their lives. He spoke with the guides so they remained alert when all the fuss was armed. Then they should flee and wait for them near a giant tree, which could be seen in the distance from the village.