The Leaves in Winter (37 page)

“Some choice – work with you or go away for life.”

“You won’t have to work with me. I’m not a lab rat. You’ll hardly ever see me. But you’ll see Alyssa. You’ll get to work with Faye. More importantly, the two of you might come up with an answer.”

“I’m not so sure the people above you would ever let us do that.”

“Be realistic – they’re all about power. If everyone’s dead, where does that leave them?”

“I was told it’s only a matter of time, one way or another – there
will
be a Phased Population Reduction. The government may not start it but if it happens, they’ll damned well want to manage it for their own benefit. I can’t be a part of that.”

“Then don’t. Concentrate on reversing sterility. Faye’s convinced there are two keys to finding a fix – you and Alyssa.”

“I’m not sure what to believe anymore.”

“If it makes any difference to you, I read your email. Knockout Mouse sent you an answer earlier today. He wants to meet with you, says he has something for you.”

Janis kept quiet. She thought back to her last email to him from Bright Hope Farms and the GAMA information Faye and her were interested in reviewing.

“Why not stay long enough to see what he’s got? If you still want to walk out and take your chances afterwards, no one will stop you.”

Janis thought about it. She had options but no real choice.

She handed back the key. “I expect no interference, no games.”

“All right. Anything else?”

Janis started walking for the stairwell. “Yeah. You said I’d hardly ever see you. Keep your promise.”

Colin unlocked the door and they returned to the top floor without another word said between them. Peeling off down a side hallway, he took the elevator down.

Janis headed straight away back to Alyssa’s room. Faye and Rebecca were not around. That left Janis was alone with her thoughts, her feelings, and Alyssa.

She opened the drapes. Late afternoon sunlight filled the room.

Pulling up a chair, Janis sat down at Alyssa’s bedside and held her hand.

They were on borrowed time but she resolved to make the best of it.

After all, it was borrowed time for everyone.

Chapter 34

Off the Coast of
Madalena

Pico
Island
,
Azores

Angelina Pena ran up from sleeping quarters to the fantail to check the wind. It was definitely blowing strong enough and best of all it was a headwind.

Delighted, she scampered to the pilot house.

“Papa! The wind is perfect!”

Carlos Pena knew what was coming but let silence be his first line of resistance.

Angelina’s mother noted her daughter’s new bikini.

“You put it on already?”

“Why not?” Angelina shrugged and smiled. She liked it when they put into port for refueling. It was the perfect excuse to go exploring and shopping. This time the precocious fifteen-year-old persuaded them to add a new swimsuit to her collection.

She hung onto the back of the pilot chair and persisted into Carlos’ ear.

“We’re going back tomorrow. This might be my last chance.”

Knowing Carlos wouldn’t want to disappoint, mother spoke up as the voice of reason. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea; the boat’s been acting up.”

“No it hasn’t,” whined Angelina. “The man
said
it was OK.”

“He saw black smoke.”

Angelina appealed to her father. “What did he say, Papa?”

Carlos wouldn’t lie to his daughter. “He said it could be a minor air restriction.”

“But he checked it…”

“Yes, he did.”

“And he said it’s all right. There’s no black smoke now.”

Carlos glanced back at mother with the resignation of a father who could never say no to someone as sweet and determined as Angelina.

“All right…”

“Thank you, Papa!” She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

Carlos swung around in the pilot chair. “If mother will be so kind to be skipper and keep us in the wind…”

Mother grinned then nodded.

Angelina raced to get into harness as Carlos hooked up and positioned the apparatus on the swim platform at the fantail. The owners of the motor yacht had customized it with their very own parasailing gizmo. With enough speed and wind, an excitable fifteen-year-old could take flight off the stern and be towed along far up and behind the boat.

Carlos watched as his daughter donned a life vest. “Are you going to be warm enough up there? Remember last time; the breezes were quite chilly.”

Angelina wavered. Carlos handed her one of his sweatshirts.

“Here…just in case.”

Angelina put it on before the PFD. “You’re probably right....”

Once in harness and securely clipped to the gizmo, Angelina was ready to launch. She steadied herself in front of the parachute pack ready to deploy. Carlos signaled the pilot house and mother supplied more power to the engines.

Just like that, Angelina was swept backwards and up into the sky.

A squeal of delight could be heard as Carlos checked the tether lines feeding up and behind. With eyes upraised on his angel in flight, he watched cautiously over the controls and sea conditions. Above the furrowed wake, Angelina slipped higher and farther away. Carlos smiled. She was right; conditions were perfect.

Heart racing and grinning from ear-to-ear, Angelina took in the view and the rush of the parasailing glide. Before long, the motor yacht was small and distant, below and in front of her. All of the ocean and the
island
of
Pico
were hers to see. In the distance, the looming prominence of
Mount
Pico
pointed at the sky.

The wind was cool and invigorating and whipped through her legs and jostled her hair. She was thankful for the sweatshirt; the warmth of it would allow her to stay airborne so much longer in the chill.

In the worst way, she wanted this trip to last.

It had been so much fun but once it ended, she’d have to face a move to
India
. Would she like it there? It didn’t seem to matter. That’s where father was going to work. If she hated it, what would she do? Maybe they could put her in a boarding school back in
Madrid
. But would that be worse? There was so much to think about. She didn’t want to have to be bothered with any of it.

She just wanted their vacation to go on forever.

A terrific explosion convulsed the air.

The impossible had happened.

She looked down but didn’t believe it.

A fireball and smoke consumed the motor yacht below her.

Out of the burning cloud blasted shrapnel that once was her life.

She gasped wide-eyed and felt the tug of the boat no more.

Her tether was cut.

She was on her own.

Chapter 35

Sub-Basement of Building 3

GARC,
Puerto Rico

“It’s time.”

“I know.”

“You sure you want to go alone?”

“That’s the only way he’ll meet me.”

Janis took off her lab coat and hung it to one side of her research station.

Faye snapped off rubber gloves and followed her into the airlock. “Did Colin back off?”

“You tell me. I don’t talk to him.”

They waited for bio-scans to complete. Faye was terse. “I can’t see them passing up the opportunity for some surveillance.”

Green-lighted clean, Janis stepped through. “I don’t care if they watch from orbit; just as long as they stay out of sight.”

They walked side-by-side into the freight elevator.

“I still don’t like it. Why does he have to meet in person? You asked for information, not a back rub.”

Janis smirked as she glanced up at the RIDIS scan element in the ceiling. “I guess he doesn’t trust technology; can you blame him?”

“He’d rather risk coming out in the open?”

“Maybe as far as he’s concerned, anywhere is out in the open. There’s no way left to hide – other than being inconsequential or irrelevant.”

“Still, you can’t be sure of his connections. Colin is right about one thing; you made enemies with what you posted. You’re out there now; they know about you. They’re not afraid to come after people.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I watched Riya die.”

The elevator slowed to a stop. Faye wavered, having kept disturbing news to herself, fearful it might worry Janis. But the time had come. Faye could not hold it in any longer. This was her last chance to share it before Janis left. This was the last moment it might make a difference.

“Oliver Ross is dead. I heard it this morning. The news report says he hung himself in his cell while waiting for arraignment before the grand jury. Whatever he knew died with him.”

The doors opened but Janis paused. “Don’t worry; I have nothing more to post. Whatever I knew is already out there.”

“What about revenge?”

“They’re arrogant, not stupid.”

“You think you’re too high profile to be eliminated?”

“No. I think their plans are too far along for it to matter.”

“How?”

“They’re so close to the finish line, there’s no point in looking back.”

Faye held the doors from automatically closing. “Tell that to Oliver Ross.”

“Why should they want revenge on me? Look at the way it’s all been twisted. I thought posting everything would expose them; all it did was give them more conspiracy stories to hide behind. No one takes it seriously. The world is upside down. I should have known that exposing the villain would only make him a victim. Eugene Mass has gotten more sympathy than anything.”

“Then why get rid of Ross?
Somebody’s
taking it seriously.”

Janis’ lack of response was telling. She watched the concern on Faye’s face until necessity drove her to stride forward. There was no time to second-guess vital things already in motion. It was time to see Knockout Mouse.

Her drive north alone was uneventful but the last part of the trip was tricky.

Janis slowed the car. The street narrowed as it bisected an airport from a golf course. To her right was the end of the runway; to her left a fairway. As instructed, she turned left onto a road that drove through the golf course.

Strangely, the path literally cut across several fairways until it curved into a tree line. Beyond the trees it became a dirt trail. The car crawled along over rocks and ruts until it neared the beach and her destination – the Borinquen Lighthouse Ruins.

The old Borinquen lighthouse was built in the late 1800s by the Spanish. In 1918 it was virtually destroyed by an earthquake and then tidal wave. All that was left standing were a couple stone walls and crumbles of foundation pieces in the sand. There were no other cars around. She appeared to be alone. It was an ominous sign. Had he not come or had someone intercepted him along the way?

Janis sat behind the wheel with the doors locked for several minutes. She waited for someone else to drive up or someone to show. At the first sign of trouble, she could start the car and at least attempt an escape. All of Faye’s caution came back to her. Oliver Ross was dead. How many more would die? If someone was willing to kill six billion people for the good of the planet, it made no difference how many had to be killed to ensure the plan was successful.

With resolve waning, Janis reached for the key to start the car. Just then, motion caught her eye. Up from the beach, a man walked from behind the walls of the ruins. At a distance, she couldn’t be sure who he was. She had only seen Knockout Mouse once, but the scrappy odd man was not someone she was likely to forget. His most distinctive feature was a rugged but cartoonish face but at this distance, all was a blur under a baseball cap.

She couldn’t blink. She watched his every move. It wasn’t until the man had entered the ruins and faced the car directly that she knew. It was him. He looked out of place wearing faded black jeans and dark sneakers in the tropics. Onshore gusts rippled a T-shirt. Just looking at him, he could have been stowaway from a merchant ship thrown overboard and washed up with nowhere to go.

Janis got out of the car and walked over to him. Content that they had made contact, he turned and strolled back to the sea side of the ruins.

Janis was curious. “Where did you come from?”

As usual, he couldn’t repress his idiot savant. “I wasn’t created, that’s for sure. I think I emerged – from that airport over there.”

“No car?”

“No need. I walked over. I’m not here you know. I’m nowhere.”

“You had to fly in.”

“I was unlisted cargo. I have a friend in FedEx.” He stepped off into the sand. “Let’s go down on the beach. Ruins are depressing.”

“Then why did you want to meet here?”

He gave the old stones a long glance. “They remind me where we’re heading.”

Janis thought twice but followed.

Once on the beach, he stopped and looked out to sea. “Nice place for a vacation. But that’s not what you’re doing here, is it?”

Janis said nothing.

He added, “I didn’t think so. You’re not about to whip up a batch of plastic-eating microbes, are you?” He noted Janis’ continual silence then reached into a pocket. “Oh, yeah, here…” He handed her a flash drive, “…that’s everything I’ve got.”

“Thanks.” She took it but on impulse, sought clarity. “Why give to me in person? You could have sent it.”

“I wanted to talk to you. I needed to get away.”

“Really? I thought you were good at excuses. Why are you helping me?”

“Why? The one question we’ve never been able to answer. Why me? Why us? Why are we here? Why are you working for the
U.S.
government at GARC?”

Janis’ gaze raced to his.

He smiled. “Yes, I know. Why else would you be on this side of the island?”

The intensity of the situation surged up in a need to reveal. “They have my daughter.”

All humor dropped from his face. “And now they have you.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve seen what they’re working on.”

“You’ve seen what they’ve shown you.”

The thought of it crushed down on Janis’ heart. “All of you think you’re so clever. You crazy bastards have fucked it up for everybody!”

“Which bastards are you talking about? There are so many.”

“The Group, the government, 8-Ball, whatever you call it, Eugene Mass…”

“We’re not all doing the same thing…”

“Yes, you are! You all think you know better than everyone else.”

“Well, you’re right about that.”

Janis stepped close. “You told me The Group released 1st Protocol to delay fertility. That’s why they needed the GAMA, for the suicide gene.”

“Yes. Those same crazy bastards have 2nd Protocol about ready.”

“It won’t matter.”

“It won’t matter how?”

“All the children are sterile! It’s not delayed fertility that’s happening.”

“That can’t be…” He saw the tears in her eyes.

“Fifteen years ago, a government team sabotaged 1st Protocol by substituting in a payload they thought would do nothing. But something went wrong. I’ve seen the evidence. My ex-husband was on that team. Remember codename SENEX?”

Knockout Mouse looked back at the restless sea. He laughed.

“If that’s true, that makes 3rd Protocol redundant! Mass is about to collapse a population that’s coming to an end anyway.”

“Yeah, hilarious isn’t it?”

“Who knows, maybe it’s a good thing – puts humanity out of its misery. Imagine having life extension but knowing you can’t reproduce. That’s a fucking long time to wait for nothing but the bitter end.”

“How dare you say anything of this could be a good thing!”

His mind raced. “That would also explain why the government used GARC for their operation to steal
GenLET
. It seems all along the sly bastards were also using the
GenLET
operation as a cover for getting close to the 1st Protocol lab.”

“What lab?”

“The basement of Building Three.”

“That’s where I’m working now.”

“Final synthesis of 1st Protocol was done there. We knew the government was running RIDIS out of GARC. We also knew they were using RIDIS as an excuse to frame Riya. The government wanted
GenLET
. But they weren’t the only ones. We let them use GARC to get
GenLET
so we could steal it from them.”

“Who are you talking about? The Group?”

“Yes.”

“They have
GenLET
too? My god, who
doesn’
t have
GenLET
?”

“Just those without the money, power, or resources to take it – I’d say that’s about six billion people.”

“How did The Group have access to GARC?”

“Oh, that’s right. I never told you.”

“Told me what?”

“A member of The Group holds a controlling interest in GeLixCo; he owns it.”

Janis was rooted to the spot. “Who is it?”

Knockout Mouse considered his options.

“In over twenty years, I’ve never betrayed The Group, not really. I’ve kept their secrets and did what they asked. But it’s gone too far. I can’t do it any more.” He stepped closer to the waves. “That’s why I had to come here in person.”

Janis followed after him, persistent. “Who is it?”

“Who? Curtis Labon, of course.”

“The same Labon mentioned in Mass’ memo? The one behind Oliver Ross at the lab in
Kansas
?”

He nodded. “The same one behind delayed fertility studies in animals. Labon was supposed to produce one of three studies to explain what was happening.”

“But if Labon knows what’s going on at GARC, he must know about sterility.”

“He might or might not; it all depends on what kind of security the government has wrapped around it. He certainly knows you’re here. He may not know why.”

“But he must know my daughter is here.”

“People are harder to hide than project secrets. Especially if she’s been the focus of any attention, he has to know.”

Janis felt rage rise up in her again. “He must be the one who did it.”

“What?”

“Alyssa’s in a coma from accelerated egg extractions.”

For a moment, surprise replaced all swagger. “How is she?”

“They don’t know. They say she’s stable. There’s only so much they can do.”