Lethal Savage

by Dave Edlund

  “I’m sorry, Danya.”

  “For what? Like I said, it was my choice.” She paused, reflecting on her reasoning, what brought her to this point. “I realized that I was a pawn. Sometimes what I did was good. My work saved innocent lives. But that wasn’t always the case. And when I woke up to that understanding, I made a decision.” She smiled again. “I have no regrets, Peter Savage.”

  “Godspeed, Danya. Remember, you always have a friend in Bend. Two, I guess, counting Diesel.” That drew a polite laugh from Danya. “You better go now. I’ll wait outside for the FBI and stall them. Get as far away from here as you can.”

  Peter extended his hand and Danya accepted it. Her grip was firm and unyielding, like her spirit. In that brief moment they shared an unspoken understanding. Two individuals with a common code of honor, who had found themselves, through a quirk of fate, on similar pathways. Neither could stray from the course they had charted any more than they could willfully change their DNA. Two different individuals, from different cultures, but forged with the same moral fiber.

  s

  Outside the barn the air was reverberating with the approaching helicopter. The letters FBI were boldly displayed on the side. It landed on the lawn and three agents dressed in slacks and wearing FBI windbreakers exited. Detective Ruth Colson was the last out. With guns drawn, they spread out, searching for danger.

  Peter was standing next to the barn, Diesel by his feet as usual. The dog growled at the approaching agents. “Easy, boy.”

  “Drop your weapons!” Someone shouted.

  “I’m unarmed,” Peter announced as he raised his hands.

  “On your knees! Hands on your head!”

  “My God,” a second agent exclaimed. “It looks like a war zone here. I’m calling in backup.” He keyed his radio and stepped away as he began his preliminary report.

  Diesel was getting anxious, a throaty rumble escaping his clenched teeth. “It’s okay, boy,” Peter said as he complied with the orders.

  “Is that dog safe?” one of the FBI men said.

  “He’ll follow my commands, if that’s what you mean.”

  “It’s okay, agent,” Detective Colson said as she stepped forward. “This is Peter Savage. I’ll vouch for him. It’s his phone we tracked.”

  Peter nodded. “Never thought I would say it, but it’s nice to see you detective.”

  “You really do have a knack for getting into serious trouble.”

  “I’m not looking for it, believe me. I’d much prefer a boring, ordinary life.”

  “Yeah, sure. I guess shit happens, is that right?”

  “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  Colson made a show of looking left and right. “And where, pray tell, is your partner?”

  Peter squinted his eyes. “Who?”

  “Don’t get cute with me, Mr. Savage. You know exactly who I’m talking about. Danya. She called me, and we had a very interesting conversation. She also turned over Darnell Price.”

  “Sounds to me like she was a valuable asset that helped you and your friends,” Peter motioned with his head to the agents surrounding him, “thwart this terrorist attack.”

  “That’s beside the point. She is a potential witness, and we need to question her.”

  “What you really mean to say, is that she is wanted from the prior affair on Broken Top, right? I’m the person who had first contact with Darnell Price, and I’m the one who was kidnapped by Dr. Ming and involved in the ‘incident’ here. You’ve got me, that’s all you and the DA need.”

  “Just to be clear, this will most likely fall under federal jurisdiction.”

  “Good. Because if I’m not mistaken, that unmarked police car over there,” Peter pointed at Jackson’s car, “belongs to a crooked Eugene detective.”

  Colson rolled her eyes. “This just gets better and better.”

  “It’s exactly what I told you on the phone.”

  “Well, that and the fact that this is being reported as attempted bioterrorism—”

  “Which it is,” Peter interrupted. “Inside that drone wreckage just beyond the police car is evidence you’ll need. The virus they planned to seed over the Hayden Bridge water treatment facility.”

  “That’s why the FBI is likely to take charge of the investigation.”

  “Fine. I really don’t care who runs the investigation. Just make sure they’re professional and take this seriously. You’ve got a lot of dead bodies here, and some who are still alive. You’ll find more of the virus agent in refrigerators inside the building, and a massive computer and flight control center. The plan is vast, spanning the country, but the drone control was to have been from here.”

  “Was? Is there still a credible threat?”

  “Have the fed techs check it out, but I don’t think so. I shot up the electronic equipment pretty good.”

  “I see,” Colson frowned. “Is there anything left for forensic analysis?”

  “Plenty. When you go inside, you’ll understand. Now, if you and the feds don’t mind, I’m just going to lie down here on the grass and take a nap. It’s been a long day. When you’re done, I’d like a ride back to Bend.”

  “It might take some time to process the crime scene.”

  “I know. But I’m guessing that the FBI won’t just park that chopper here. As an asset it’s too valuable to leave sitting at a farm south of Eugene.”

  “You want the helicopter to transport you to Bend?”

  “Hey, my car is totaled at a drug lab somewhere out by Burns in eastern Oregon. It’s either the helicopter or Uber.”

  “Okay, okay,” she held up her hands in surrender. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Epilogue

  Bend, Oregon

  April 1

  Like a ghost, Danya had simply vanished. There was no further communication between her and Peter following her departure from Ming’s ranch south of Eugene. And judging by the questions from the FBI, Detective Colson, and the Eugene police department, no one knew where to find her. Colson, in particular, suspected that Peter was withholding information concerning her whereabouts, but he stuck firmly to his story.

  Under the direction of Dr. Julia Zhong, the CDC had a team on the ground in Eugene within twelve hours of the FBI’s arrival at the crime scene. Dr. Zhong was emphatic that work was already underway to develop a vaccine for the virus. However, given the unique biochemical and genetic structure of the engineered virus, she could offer no timetable as to when a viable vaccine would be available.

  When the flight-control computers were destroyed, the lone drone in the air followed its failsafe programming and set down in a parking lot only a quarter mile from the water treatment facility. It took many hours and the combined efforts of the Springfield police and the FBI to locate it. Fortunately, the payload was still secure when it was recovered, adding to the growing volume of evidence.

  With information from the pilot named Abresch, the FBI began a search for the other launch facilities across the country. Enough information was also recovered from the computer hard drives to provide additional leads where the information from Abresch was lacking. Although it would take time, the investigators were confident all the drones and stockpiled virus would be recovered.

  Darnell Price had been transferred into federal custody and was awaiting indictment on multiple charges, including conspiracy and terrorism, which was expected within a few days. Peter had sworn a statement implicating Price in poisoning the donated bottled water to the Warm Springs tribe, and Price was cooperating with investigators. He seemed to accept the error of his ways and he expressed remorse for his actions. To his credit, his arrest had raised awareness of overpopulation and catalyzed national debate. Whether or not it would lead to meaningful change was anyone’s guess.

  Following a brief refueling stop in Eugene, Peter and Diesel were granted helicopter transport back to Bend. By the time he arrived at his condo, he felt like the walking dead.

  “Oh my God! You look awful,�
�� Kate said when she answered the door to Peter’s condo. Diesel sauntered inside like he’d just returned from a short walk.

  “You should work on your greeting,” Peter answered. He gave Kate a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m exhausted.”

  “What happened? You haven’t called, and a strange woman stopped and wanted to take Diesel with her—”

  Peter held up his hands. “Please. I promise to answer all your questions. But first, I need to take a shower and put on clean clothes. Then I’ll sit down with you and tell you everything.”

  Kate forced a smile, but Peter knew it was an act. Twenty minutes later, feeling refreshed and invigorated, he sat down with Kate in the great room. The clean dressing on his arm was covered by his shirt sleeve. Peter turned the two leather chairs in front of the fireplace so they faced each other. Diesel collapsed on the rug near the hearth and was already snoring, fast asleep.

  Kate looked at Peter expectantly, waiting for him to start the conversation. He reached out for her hand, which she reluctantly shared. He smiled. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, and I feel that we share something much more than just friendship. When you’re with me, I feel something that I thought was lost.”

  He gazed into Kate’s eyes, but he only saw confusion and disappointment. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  She extracted her hand from his. “Oh, I don’t know. I mean, what could possibly be wrong? Other than you disappeared again for several days without any explanation. Do I mean anything to you?”

  “Of course you do, Kate.” He reached for her hand again. “I’ve been thinking, and there’s something I’d like to ask you. Something I should have done a long time ago.”

  “Oh no you don’t, mister.” Anger flashed in Kate’s eyes and she again released Peter’s hand. “You can’t do this to me. It’s not fair. I’m not hired help that just pops in to house-sit and take care of Diesel whenever you decide it’s time to go on a road trip.”

  Peter dropped his head until his chin touched his chest. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in…” he stumbled to find the words.

  “In what?” Kate asked, concern having replaced her anger.

  “You heard about the people getting sick in Warm Springs?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, I stumbled upon a conspiracy between two individuals in Eugene to engineer a virus that only infects males and causes sterility. Together, they hatched a scheme to contaminate bottled water, which they provided to the reservation. But the bigger plan was to infect municipal water supplies across the country.”

  Kate leaned back in the padded chair, the corners of her mouth turned down. She rolled her eyes, looking at the ceiling before returning her gaze to Peter. “Why is it always you?”

  “I… I don’t understand?”

  “Lord knows the world needs a lot of help. But why you? It always seems to be you.”

  Peter shrugged, surprised by her response. “I don’t know. Bad luck I suppose. I can’t turn my back when people are threatened and need help.”

  “I know, Peter. And that’s one of the things I really admire in you. You are a decent and honest man. I knew that from the day I met you.” She paused. “But…”

  “I know. You don’t have to say it.”

  “Always the gentleman, is that it?” Before he could answer, she continued. “But I am going to say it. You need to hear it from me. I… I can’t live this life, wondering each day if you will return or not after your latest misadventure.”

  The words cut deeper into Peter than any wound he’d every suffered. It felt like the air had left his lungs, and the room spun about him. “I… I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not asking you to say anything. Don’t you get it?” As Kate spoke, her eyes glistened, tears ready to spill down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to pretend to be someone you’re not.”

  Peter frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” She wiped her cheeks and snuffled her nose. “We can still be friends.”

  Peter closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, suddenly feeling very tired again. He knew Kate was right. He’d been shot, kidnapped, slashed, and involved in international incidents. His life seemed to be frequently in peril. It wasn’t fair to expect Kate to accept that. She deserved better.

  He nodded in agreement, but when he opened his eyes he avoided looking directly at Kate. “I understand. It’s just that I thought… well, maybe we could…”

  Kate leaning forward and placed a tender finger on Peter’s lips. “Shhh,” she said, her voice gentle and loving. Peter shifted his eyes and held her gaze. “You will always hold a special place in my heart,” she said.

  She rose and slowly walked to the door. Peter called after her, “I’d like to see you again, if that’s okay?”

  She looked back over her shoulder through tear-filled eyes. “Sure. And if I ever need to be rescued, I know you’ll be there.”

  The door closed, immersing the room in silence. Peter shut his eyes as tears welled. “I love you, Kate.”

  Author’s PostScript

  By now, you should have finished Lethal Savage. At least, I hope you have. But if you’ve jumped to this section without reading the preceding chapters, let me warn you that there are spoilers—or semi-spoilers—herein that will reduce the thrills and excitement of the plot. You’ve been warned.

  In the opening pages we learn that Darnell Price is obsessed with correcting what he believes to be out-of-control human population growth. And it’s true, as pointed out in the Author’s Notes, that the number of people inhabiting the Earth has grown at an alarming and exponential rate since about 1800. However, over the past decades, population growth has slowed in the nations with the highest GDP. Indeed, Japan and many European countries have a negative population growth rate. This trend is broadly attributed to more women choosing a professional career and deferring, or forgoing, child bearing. Whether the trend will continue, and whether the decline in some regions will be sufficient to offset gains in other regions (namely, Africa and South Asia), remains to be seen.

  Drones have made minor appearances is previous Peter Savage novels, but they are essential to the plot in this book. I have to admit, remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicles frighten me (but they do not hold first place, see below). They are small, agile, hard to detect, and damn near impossible to take down. Drones can carry explosives, biologicals (as in this plot), and cameras (visible and infrared) for real time video. We’ve heard news reports of drones flying near operating commercial runways where the small aircraft could intentionally or accidentally damage passenger aircraft on takeoff or landing. Although it is illegal to fly drones in the vicinity of manned aircraft, the practice still happens too often.

  Due to the drone’s small size, getting a good radar reflection is difficult. Shooting them down is also very tough for the same reason; not to mention that shooting at aircraft over population centers is virtually guaranteed to lead to collateral damage, perhaps extensive.

  The U.S. Department of Defense has experimented with methods to defend against drone attacks. Two promising methods are shooting a net at the drone in flight, and jamming the radio control signal. Obviously, specialized and/or sophisticated equipment is required to carry out either option—more work is needed.

  Finally, I was drawn back to viruses and genetic engineering in writing this novel. You may recall that genetic modification was a central theme of Relentless Savage, and the smallpox virus figured prominently in Deadly Savage. Recently, advances have been coming at a furious pace in the field of specific genetic modification using the CRISPR-Cas9 method, which has attracted widespread publicity. This technique has been reported in scientific journals as a tool for modifying human pathogenic viruses; the goal is to arrive at novel therapeutic treatments.

  The potential for the CRSIPR technique to yield robust and high-yield crops, reduce disease, cure cancer, cause pigs to grow human
organs, etc., is difficult to overstate. The field of gene editing, and through that, genetic modification, is still embryonic. A host of questions and guidelines concerning ethical practices must still be resolved.

  However, there is also a dark side to this technology. Major food crops could be genetically altered to make the plants more susceptible to disease, potentially causing widespread famine. Viruses could be altered to make them more contagious, or transmitted in new ways (as in this story). And yet with all this risk of CRISPR, the technology is not regulated. Anyone can buy the reagents and tools and carryout genetic modifications at will.

  Unlike terrorist attacks employing conventional weapons (firearms, explosives), or chemical or radioactive materials—which are localized and cause casualties at or near the time of the attack—once genetically modified organisms are released in the ecosystem, they will continue to reproduce and spread. Eradicating dangerous genetically modified plants or insects or viruses would be challenging to say the least.

  Natural viruses such as smallpox, Ebola, and HIV are frightening enough. The prospect of genetically modified viruses is truly terrifying, and this occupies the top position on my most-frightening scale.

  As humankind races forward, developing powerful technologies unlike anything we’ve known before, will we be equally successful as a society in restraining the harmful applications of these miracle discoveries? For the sake of all, I hope so.

  Cheers

  DE

  About the Author

  Dave Edlund is the USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning Peter Savage novels and a graduate of the University of Oregon with a doctoral degree in chemistry. He resides in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, son, and three dogs (Lucy Liu, Murphy, and Tenshi). Raised in the California Central Valley, he completed his undergraduate studies at California State University Sacramento. In addition to authoring several technical articles and books on alternative energy, he is an inventor on 97 U.S. patents. An avid outdoorsman and shooter, Edlund has hunted North America for big game ranging from wild boar to moose to bear. He has traveled extensively throughout China, Japan, Europe, and North America.