He grabbed the food container and dumped a little more food into the dish through the door. The ferret rubbed his back against the cage, and Nick stuck his finger through the wire to pet the animal. But just before he touched it, the ferret hissed loudly and bared its teeth.
Nick jumped back. “You little creep!” Startled, he smacked the cage with the food container. This sent the ferret retreating to the back of its cage and the other ferrets screeching in chaos.
Nick’s heart pounded. That’s when he saw it. He recognized it from his college chemistry days—a laboratory notebook wedged between the cages. He plucked it out as fast as he could to escape the hissing ferrets’ teeth.
Katelyn was already at the front door. “You done fighting with your friends?” she called.
“Uh, I think you need to see this.”
CHAPTER 65
* * *
The Spy’s Spy
The rumble of the hot water pipes in the building complemented the sounds of her husband’s snoring. He always snored when he had been drinking. At least she had been able to calm the girls. From the bedroll next to theirs, she heard an occasional whimper.
It took all her willpower not to touch her eye to check the swelling or rub her tender scalp, both consequences of his actions. Earlier, Pak had dragged his wife by her hair and slammed her against the wall. Right now, she lay perfectly still.
She smelled the alcohol on his breath, even with her back turned from him. She wasn’t concerned by the fragrance of another woman’s perfume; the more his needs were satisfied by another, the better for her. Just thinking of such physical contact with him repulsed her.
She wasn’t sure why he had come home so enraged, but she thought about what her mother had told her—those with a bad conscience have a difficult time fighting off demons. She could withstand the beatings, but she was concerned for her daughters’ feelings. They watched every time he beat her. It was impossible not to see in their small apartment.
She waited until she was sure that he would not awaken from his alcoholic stupor. When she was positive she would not disturb him, she rolled off the bedroll onto the floor. As she pushed herself up, she grimaced and realized her wrist must have been cracked when he attacked her. But she pushed through the pain and on toward her goal.
Apart from getting beaten, she looked forward to these nights when Pak came home drunk and passed out. They were the only times she dared to look through his belongings. It was her job; that and her daughters gave her reason to live. She had already withstood many years of beatings, when one day a woman approached her outside the market. It did not take her long to accept the woman’s offer to pay her to spy on her husband. The hope that one day these people would rescue her and her daughters and help them escape to the South sealed the deal.
She quickly and quietly rifled through his pants pockets and was disappointed to find nothing. She found a matchbook in one pocket of his suit jacket. She carefully opened it and found nothing except matches. It was probably from one of his nightclubs.
She jumped back when Pak snorted and turned over. She froze in place, wondering if she should continue her search or crawl back onto the bedroll.
His rhythmic breathing resumed, and she continued her search. In the front breast pocket of his jacket, she found a piece of paper, pulled it out, and unfolded it. She held it to the light coming through the hallway door and read: Aerosolization works perfectly. No new pregnancies. Work completed. Please advise.
She had no idea what it meant, but let the writing and the words burn into her memory so she could reproduce them exactly for her handler in the morning.
CHAPTER 66
* * *
On the Trail
Nick found it strange to sit at the same table at Capitan Tortuga restaurant where he, Buck, and Anna had sat a few days before when they’d toasted John’s life. He hung up his phone. He’d just checked with Maggie and watched Katelyn talk with her associates on her phone.
He held up his coffee cup and waved to the waiter for a refill. He was exhausted, and caffeine was the only thing that kept him on life support.
Anna’s fever was up slightly, but Maggie reassured him that her belly was neither distended nor tenderer than it had been and, therefore, unlikely to develop peritonitis.
Nick told Maggie that post-operative fevers often come from atelectasis in the lungs. Small areas of the lungs collapse after surgery and release high levels of fever-producing hormones. It was best to encourage Anna to take deep breaths and cough to fully re-expand her lungs.
Otherwise, Anna was in good spirits and told everyone about a near-death experience and “visit to heaven.” She couldn’t wait to tell Nick all about it in person.
Maggie promised to continue to encourage her to rest.
Katelyn had asked Nick not to tell Maggie anything about the laboratory notebook he found or what they discovered. There was no reason to incite panic, no matter how innocently it was phrased. The notebook was entirely in Korean, except for some mathematical equations and calculations. All that Katelyn told him thus far was the fear of a biological catastrophe.
Nick watched Katelyn talk; her Korean had a rhythmic exquisiteness to it. He had no idea what was being said, but she scribbled notes in Korean quickly on a pad of paper next to the laboratory notebook.
“Ye, Ye,” she said over and over.
She set her phone down and watched the waiter pour Nick’s coffee. She waved off a refill. She leaned back in her chair and waited for the waiter to leave. She looked over the lake; the evening was turning to night. Nick could tell her mind was racing, but decided against interrupting her thoughts. She would tell him eventually. He bided his time.
Finally, she spoke, “This place is about to be swarmed with different security agencies from around the world. I’m not sure you understand the hornet’s nest that you have uncovered, and my superiors have ordered me to tell you nothing.”
They sat in silence for a long time. He really liked Katelyn; she was smart, athletic, and one of the most striking women he knew, but he was hurt by her silence. John gave his life for this.
She seemed to know what he was thinking and interrupted his brooding. “In my culture, going against one’s superior is rarely done. I’ve never done it myself.” She slipped her notepad into the laboratory book. “What I am about to tell you, you have to promise to keep to yourself for now. I feel like I owe you…we owe your friend, John, for his ultimate sacrifice. I know I can trust you. After what I saw you do for Anna, I would trust you with my life.” She looked at him and smiled.
Even though there were only a few other occupied tables in the restaurant, she leaned toward Nick and lowered her voice.
“Our countries, along with the rest of the G8, are appointing a special task force. The seriousness of this cannot be overstated. Your government is negotiating with Russia to bring the Chinese on board. It is only because of the fight on terrorism that has allowed such cooperation. They are treating this as a highest-level threat. Our Agency is in FOCO’s Seoul office as we speak. They continue to be cooperative. It appears they never had direct contact with the men here, and it was a bit of a shell game. We have not had the chance to talk with all the offices because of the time differences, but the offices we have questioned thought that a different office was managing the project.”
“Crazy. So, they knew there was philanthropic work going on here, but no one was aware of who supervised the project?”
“Exactly. And since their funding, as far as we can see, wasn’t coming out of any of their budgets, no one ever asked.”
“So who was footing the bill?”
“That, right there, my dear Dr. Hart…Nick…is the million-dollar question. That is why it is so important that we get the Chinese involved. It appears that the money was coming from Beijing. But even they may not know the source.”
“And you think these men were working on a biologic weapon…a virus…that causes infertility?”
> She looked at him very seriously and scanned the restaurant to make sure no one was listening. “Yes. I am having a difficult time deciphering what much of this journal means,” she said, patting the notebook, “but we will translate it and get it into the hands of the world’s leading virologists to make heads or tails out of it. It has to be top priority. We have no certainty who is behind this, except to suspect the North Koreans. You have to remember, China would have much to gain in this scenario, or Iran, or one of the many other enemies of western culture.”
She lowered her voice another notch. “And at this point, we have no idea what they are planning to do with the virus.”
“Release it?”
“Possibly. Even the threat of release can change world politics.”
They sat in silence as Nick tried to absorb the magnitude of the situation.
“Geez, pretty scary stuff. What will we do next?”
Katelyn looked away for the first time. “My team arrives here tomorrow, along with Homeland Security. I,” she put the emphasis on the singular pronoun, “will be meeting with them and showing them what we found.” She looked Nick in the eyes. “And you.” It was more of a statement than a question.
It was Nick’s turn to look away, but she was right. He was stepping into water too deep for him. “I guess I’ll head back to the Hope Center.”
He leaned into her and lowered his voice. “But honestly, Katelyn, if the world as we know it is coming to an end, I’d rather stay here with you.” He smiled, still unable to fully comprehend the weight of the crisis.
“You are sweet, Nick,” she smiled back and squeezed his hand. It was a lovely gesture, but he knew he would be on his way to the Hope Center tomorrow and then home to Memphis. He wasn’t sure if he still had a job when he got there or if he really cared.
Chapter 67
* * *
Torment
Suk wore a path on the grungy hotel carpet, pacing obsessively. His hair was disheveled and greasy from a week without a shower, his eyes bloodshot and wild. He had ventured out of the hotel only three times. The first was to meet a man that was rumored to be able to help him with a fake passport and visa. He met him at the cantina next door. When the man continued to raise the price, Suk became irate and was tossed out by the bouncer. The other two trips from the hotel were simply to buy whiskey and cigarettes.
The demon of paranoia sat at Suk’s right hand and filled his mind with fear. The mixture of alcohol and the lack of sleep caused the neurons in his brain to misfire—unraveling his mind.
“What am I going to do? Professor, help me,” he murmured again and again.
A lit cigarette hung from his lips, and a large ember dropped on his shirt and then onto the floor, creating another burn mark on the carpet. He stumbled through the whiskey bottles that littered the floor, found one that still had liquid at the bottom. He lifted it to his mouth and drained it. A disfigured shadow stood staring at him across the room, and Suk threw the bottle at it. It hit a large mirror on the wall, shattering with an ear-splitting crash.
Suk sunk to his knees. “Professor, help me.”
He figured he would be discovered by the authorities and could see the police storming through the door at anytime. All I’ve ever wanted to do is be a good person. Just to please you, Professor. His mother had called him her tender child that day he’d brought home an injured bird from school and nursed it back to health.
“Mother, forgive me.”
The note he’d scribbled yesterday lay on the floor next to him. There was no way to undue the evil that he had unleashed. All he could do was to apologize and to ask that they forgive him for being weak.
Another dark figure laughed at him from the corner. Suk hurled a second whiskey bottle at the creature that tortured his mind. The bottle hit the wall and ricocheted off the night stand, sending the phone clanking to the floor. He crawled to the phone on all fours. He recalled the Professor’s number by heart. There were only a handful of numbers in North Korea that could accept international calls, and Kwon’s was not one of them.
It was improper, but he dialed the international operator service. If I can just speak to the Professor, he will know what to do.
A young man with an Indian accent answered the phone. Suk’s hand shook so badly he could hardly hold the receiver to his face. He asked the boy to connect him to a number in North Korea.
“Please hold.”
Suk’s heart pounded in his ears and he slumped over on his side. The phone made a series of hopeful clicks. What would he say to the man who was like a father to him? Would he be angry that he called?
“Hello?” Suk said into the phone. He heard only continued clicking. What is taking so long?
“Hello?” he asked again. The phone clicked again and then went dead.
Suk let the phone drop onto his chest. He slowed his breathing.
In a moment of clarity, he knew what he had to do. He had thought about it all week, but he had no gun, no pills. He reached down to the top of his pants and pulled his belt from its loops.
Chapter 68
* * *
Goodbyes
Nick figured one more week wouldn’t make much difference, considering the trouble he was already in with the MED. Anna’s father promised that his firm would help with any legal issues if the need arose.
The corporate jet roared to life and quickly lifted off from the Quetzaltenango runway with Anna and her parents. Nick and Maggie waved at the aircraft from outside the old hangar, well aware that the passengers probably couldn’t see them.
Nick shielded his eyes from the sun and watched as the jet climbed toward the mountains and took a sharp turn to the left. He was worried something was wrong when the plane continued to arc. But as the jet rumbled past them, it wagged its wings in farewell before turning and heading north.
“That Anna.” Maggie shook her head and smiled. “I can just hear her talking her dad into that one.”
Nick laughed. “I know a dad who would do anything for his baby girl.”
Nick and Maggie stood in silence, watching the plane disappear. The roar of the engines gave way to a pair of cooing doves perched on a nearby telephone pole.
Anna would be taken to Hope Memorial in Birmingham, but, in all reality, she could really go home. Anna’s father had insisted she be checked out, and Nick didn’t bother to argue. All her tubes were out, including her IV. They had switched her from IV to oral antibiotics three days ago when her abdominal wound quit draining. For days they had all been concerned about the incision. Thank God for antibiotics.
Nick hated all the goodbyes, but the most painful one was yet to happen. Buck had left five days ago, anxious to return to his family. All the California kids were gone as well.
Maggie would be taking him to Guatemala City first thing in the morning. It was hard to imagine leaving, standing there looking out over the green of the mountains with the sun reflecting off a small cloud captured by the top of the volcano.
I wonder about staying.
For lots of reasons, he knew he couldn’t. For one, it was too complicated with Maggie. He loved her, but she was committed to John. Rightfully so.
Maggie turned to him, looking serious. “A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks, Why the long face?”
Nick smirked, shook his head, and looked toward the mountains.
She poked him in the ribs, making him flinch.
“God, you’re annoying.” He pushed her hand away.
“I bet you’re looking forward to being back in Memphis.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking that…like a dang root canal.”
They stood waiting for the other to make a move to leave. Neither wanted to.
“You going to be okay…without…” he stopped himself. It sounded too narcissistic.
She smiled at him. “Nick, thank you so much for being here. For helping our kids. Yeah, I’m good. You know, people to see, places to go.”
“I don’t unde
rstand where your energy comes from, this crazy joy.” He realized that he really was annoyed. If he had lost the love of his life he would be stuck at the bottom of a whiskey bottle of self-pity. After watching her for the last few weeks, Nick knew she returned to her life without John for the children’s sake, he also saw more than that in her easy smile. “Where does your strength come from?”
She looped her arm through his and kissed him on the shoulder. “You really still wonder that, after being here all these weeks?”
“I know, I know. I’m just a thick-headed bone doctor.”
He thought about one of the banners that the children had made for Isabella before her surgery. The joy of the Lord is my strength.
“I don’t seem to be made out of the same faith fabric as you, or Anna, or even Buck, for that matter. That night we operated on Anna, I told God that I believe. I believe in Jesus. I gave everything to him.”
“And?” Maggie asked.
“Well, of course I still believe all that. I’m just not sure I feel any different,” he said, feeling flustered.
Maggie had learned to let Nick process and said nothing.
“I thought after I confessed to God, I would be, I don’t know, different.” Nick was not about to tell Maggie he had admired the derrière of the nurse that flew in with the jet.
“Ah. You mean like magic. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.” Maggie waved an imaginary wand over Nick. “Okay, you’re different.”
“Stop,” he scolded her.
Maggie squeezed his arm in hers. “Oh, Nick, you are different. But once we turn to God, we have to keep walking out our faith.” She thought for a moment. “Sometimes I have to choose to turn to Him day by day. Sometimes, hour by hour.” She paused. “Even sometimes, moment to moment. But the one thing I know, Nicklaus, is that He is always faithful.”
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