The Genesis Code (21 page)

Triad Genomics Security Office
34th Floor, Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

Crowe paced back and forth across his office, absentmindedly rubbing his right shoulder as he barked instructions to his security officers.

“Not one of you can tell me where Dr. Madison and Dr. Nguyen might be?”

No response.

“Listen closely. You are going to find them for me. Now. I want surveillance teams on their residences. And their families.”

Crowe pointed to one of the security officers.

“You, make it happen.”

The officer sprinted from the room. Crowe fixed his gaze on a second officer.

“Interview every Triad Genomics employee that interacted with either Dr. Madison or Dr. Nguyen on a regular basis. Call them at home. Pull their personnel files and phone records. I want to know who Madison’s and Nguyen’s friends are, and where they might go when they need help.”

Crowe stopped pacing and closed his eyes, thinking.

“And I want security doubled in the building. Everyone pulls extra shifts.”

Crowe picked up his 9mm and popped out the clip. He unlocked the ammunition locker next to his desk and retrieved a small box.

“And deploy the mobile security cameras. I want every inch of this building secured.”

He refilled the clip with hollow-point bullets from the ammunition locker.

“They can’t hide forever.”

8:00
A.M
., June 13
Level Two, Underground Parking Garage
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

The white van arrived at precisely eight
A.M
., noticed by passersby but dismissed from their conscious minds without a second thought, as the driver carefully maneuvered the van through the entrance of the underground parking structure beneath the Millennium Tower.

The driver wore denim overalls, had a closely trimmed beard, and was of average height and physical appearance. He was not the type of man who would stand out in a crowd or in the minds of people who caught a glimpse of him that morning and would later be questioned by law enforcement.

He drove slowly around the parking garage to the second level, where he pushed the gearshift into neutral and waited for exactly three minutes and thirteen seconds. At exactly 8:05
A.M.
, a nondescript tan Cadillac backed out of a parking space located a few scant yards from one of the building’s main structural support columns.

With a quick but calculated glance, the driver of the Cadillac confirmed the presence of the van and then drove away without looking back.

The van turned into the parking space. With a slow and determined manner, the bearded driver climbed out, turned and locked the driver’s-side door, pocketed the keys, and walked to the stairwell. Exiting at street level, he quickly disappeared into the bustle of the morning crowd.

Two minutes before the white van arrived at the Millennium Tower, Omar Crowe answered the ringing telephone in his office.

“Crowe.”

“Sir, I have a call from the police commissioner.”

“Very well. Put him through.”

The phone clicked as the call was transferred to Crowe’s extension.

“Hello, Commissioner. This is Omar Crowe, head of security. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Mr. Crowe. Our 911 emergency center and the local NYPD precinct have received several bomb threats directed at the Millennium Tower. I felt that I should communicate these threats to you personally.”

Crowe smiled.

“Thank you for your concern, Commissioner. As I’m sure you know, the Millennium Tower is equipped with the best security technology money can buy. We have highly sensitive detectors and X-ray equipment deployed at every entrance to the building. It is quite impossible for anyone to smuggle an explosive device into the Millennium Tower. Our sensors detect hazardous chemical, biological, and radioactive materials in the air at concentrations as low as two parts per million. That’s as good as the Department of Defense technology deployed at the Pentagon.”

“Yes, Mr. Crowe. I’ve been to the demonstrations. It’s quite impressive. Your state-of-the-art security technology is the only reason that the NYPD hasn’t dispatched Haz Mat and Bomb Disposal teams to the Millennium Tower in response to these threats. Well, that and the phone call I received from the governor about how important it is that the International Biogenetics Conference take place as scheduled. Triad Genomics sure does have some serious political pull.”

“I’m afraid that part of the operation is well above my pay grade, Commissioner. But yes, it does seem that our board of directors has many friends in high places.”

The commissioner’s voice took on a conspiratorial tone.

“I’m certainly not interested in questioning the powers that be. They say leave you alone, that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Commissioner, I appreciate the call,” said Crowe.

“My pleasure. Please give Mr. Giovanni my regards.”

As Crowe hung up the phone, a program discreetly inserted into the Millennium Tower’s security system disabled the detectors arrayed at the east entrance to the Millennium Tower’s parking garage. The detectors remained off for three minutes as a white van entered the parking garage, and then silently switched back on.

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

“No, there’s a security camera up that way. Take the next left. We’ll circle around,” said Quiz.

So far, everything had gone according to plan. Madison, Grace, and Quiz had covertly entered the Millennium Tower’s subbasement through a maintenance access in the parking structure. But security cameras were plentiful, and avoiding the Triad security guards making their rounds through the facility tested their nerves and will.

Quiz, his face creased with nervous tension, guided Madison and Grace through the maze of tunnels. After several wrong turns, Quiz finally navigated a circuitous route that he hoped avoided the hidden security cameras placed throughout the subbasement.

It felt as though several hours had passed when the trio finally emerged in a hallway adjacent to the Triad Genomics server farm.

“We can use one of the terminals in the server farm to access the security server.”

Quiz led them to a recessed computer terminal hidden among the towering black servers. The machinery gave off considerable heat, and oscillating fans streamed cool air down the alleys between the rows of equipment. The odor of hot plastic and circuitry hung in the air.

Quiz took a seat at the workstation and began typing.

“I can pull up Dr. Ambergris’ data files from here. If that disk does contain an encryption key, I can run an algorithm on the intron sequences Ambergris was analyzing.”

“Meaning?” asked Grace.

“Meaning that with a little help from the Cray-2 supercomputers that drive Triad Genomics’ genetic sequencers, we should be able to translate the Genesis Code.”

Dante Giovanni stood in front of the large window in his corner office, staring silently at the Manhattan skyline. Morning mist lingered over the green expanse of Central Park. He looked at the Rolex on his left wrist.

A cup of Earl Grey tea sat half-empty on the conference table. Giovanni absently toyed with the silver cufflinks at his wrist. The cellular phone in the breast pocket of his Armani suit chirped.

“Yes.”

“Sir, the face-recognition protocol just acquired your targets. The hidden security cameras in the subbasement picked up Dr. Madison and Grace Nguyen headed through the subbasement toward the Triad Genomics server farm and the gene sequencers.”

Giovanni shifted the phone to his other ear.

“And Quiz was with them?”

“Yes, sir. As you suggested he would be.”

“Loop the recording of the video feed to my terminal.” Giovanni opened a new window on his desktop computer.

“Streaming video now,” said the voice on the phone. The grainy digital video clearly showed the faces of Quiz, Madison, and Nguyen.

Giovanni sighed. “Very well. And you’ve told no one else?”

“No, sir. Your instructions were quite clear. I’ve alerted only you. And I am the only security officer monitoring the face-recognition protocol at this time.”

“Let’s keep it that way.”

Giovanni started to press the end key on his cellular phone. Then he put the phone back to his ear.

“Mr. McLain?”

“Yes, sir?” asked the security officer.

“Purge the data from the face-recognition protocol and the cameras in the subbasement for the past thirty minutes. Then shut off the feed from the cameras below the second floor.”

“Yes, sir. Purging now.”

“And Mr. McLain? When you’ve finished, I want you to leave the building and walk six blocks west. Wait at the corner until you receive further instructions.”

Or until all hell breaks loose.

“I beg your pardon, sir?”

“Just follow my instructions.”

“Yes, sir.”

Giovanni ended the call and slipped the phone back into his jacket pocket. Then he walked to his oversized mahogany desk and unlocked the bottom drawer. He pulled open the drawer, retrieved a .38 revolver, and stuck the weapon in his belt in the small of his back, concealing it beneath his jacket.

It’s time.

Giovanni adjusted his jacket, drained the last of his lukewarm tea, and headed toward the elevators.

Crowe leaned back in the spartan wooden chair behind his desk. With his eyes closed, he sat pefectly still, feeling the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. He imagined the oxygen filling his lungs and flowing into his bloodstream, feeding each cell in his body as his heart pumped the oxygenated blood through his veins and arteries.

The phone on his desk rang.

Crowe sat motionless.

The phone rang agan. And then a third time.

Crowe opened his eyes, leaned forward, and grabbed the receiver.

“Yes.”

“Sir, we just got a hit on the tap on Mr. Giovanni’s cellular phone.”

Crowe rubbed the bridge of his nose between a thumb and forefinger.

“Play it back.”

Crowe listened intently to the playback of Giovanni’s last call.

“Got it,” he said. “Alert me immediately if he receives any other calls.”

“Very well, sir.”

“And don’t leave your station. For any reason. Clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Crowe checked the magazine of his 9mm, then replaced the gun in his shoulder holster. He adjusted his jacket, spit once on the floor, and headed toward the elevators.

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

“Okay, I’ve found the data files with the intron sequences,” said Quiz. He looked up toward a large flat-screen display on the adjacent wall.

“Let me put it up there on the screen.”

Quiz clicked several keys, and the plasma display sprang to life, showing line after line of genetic code, streaming endlessly across the screen.

“Let me have the disk.”

Madison removed the disk from his pocket and handed it to Quiz, who promptly inserted it into one of six DVD-ROM drives at the workstation.

“This will take a minute.”

“Okay,” said Madison. “It’s time to make the call.”

He dialed three digits into his cellular phone.

“Nine-one-one emergency,” said a voice after the second ring.

“Listen to me carefully,” he began. “There is a bomb in the Millennium Tower…”

63rd Floor, Petronas Towers
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tanaka absently drummed his fingers on the desk as he studied a report from the Order’s top geneticist. He was not pleased. He did not look up as his personal valet entered the room carrying a covered dinner tray. The aroma of lobster tails wafted through the air.

“Wine this evening, sir?” asked the valet, placing the tray on Tanaka’s desk. He folded a white linen napkin and placed it on the desktop.

“Red. Caymus Cabernet, Special Select.”

“Very good, sir,” said the valet, bowing deeply at the waist. He placed a sterling silver fork and knife on the crisp linen napkin.

Tanaka pressed a button beneath his desk. A significant section of the west wall of his office slid open to reveal a private wine cellar. Rows of fine wines were lined up side by side in floor-to-ceiling oak racks.

The valet selected the appropriate wine and gingerly lifted it from its cradle. He peeled the foil from the neck of the bottle, exposing the cork beneath.

“Late night tonight, sir?” asked the valet.

“Perhaps.”

The valet removed a corkscrew from a pocket of the small apron tied at his waist.

As he placed the tip of the corkscrew against the soft cork, his shirtsleeve slid up his forearm, revealing a small tattoo of two intertwined serpents.