The Leaves in Winter (47 page)

“What was odd about it?” asked Faye.

Colin’s eyebrows rose. “They never met together at any one time. For some reason it was important for all of them to be there but from the outside it looks like nothing got done. We know that can’t be the case.”

Faye stood and stepped around the desk to look over Colin’s shoulder.

“Where was this?”

“A place called Lugano. It’s a resort town near the border with
Italy
but it also does quite a bit conference and banking business.”

Janis joined Faye behind the desk so she could see the report onscreen.

Colin clicked on a graphic and a map of
Switzerland
zoomed into a street map of Lugano. Color-coded markers had been interspersed across the grid of the city.

Colin explained. “These are locations where individual Group members spent time. Four colors – four Group members.”

Faye singled out a particular point of interest. “This one place was visited by all four of them. I don’t see any other location getting equal attention.”

Janis asked, “What’s there?”

Colin drilled down to finer detail. “It says here it’s a clinic specializing in homeopathic treatments.”

“How odd?” commented Faye.

Janis pointed to color-coded dots across the border in
Italy
. “What are these?”

“It looks like two of them went on separate trips to
Milan
. I don’t see any explanation for it.”

“I don’t get it.” Faye straightened up. “On the phone you said The Project made a move against The Group.”

“That’s right,” Colin confirmed. “This map is hours old. The latest news just came in.” Colin toggled another window forward on the screen. Janis and Faye leaned in to take a look.

On the screen, a field report was clear and terse.

After reading a line or two, Janis reacted. “You took out their jet?”

Faye read an excerpt. “…subject jet destroyed over Aletsch Glacier in the eastern
Bernese Alps
.”

Colin added, “The flight plan had them headed for Basel-Stadt.”

Janis was incredulous. “You killed them?”

Colin set his jaw firm. “The Project arranged an accident.”

“My God,” gasped Faye. “Are you just assassinating people now?”

“The time for delicate surgery is over; only amputation is going to save us.”

“So what’s the plan?” asked Janis. “Find all eight members of The Group and just kill them?”

Colin avoided a direct answer. “We have no way of knowing what these madmen are up to next. We can’t let it get any worse. There’s no time to be delicate.”

Faye took control of the mouse and navigated the report to the jet’s manifest. “Besides Hasuru, who got targeted?”

Colin watched the report scroll by. “I haven’t gotten that far.”

Faye paused on an entry and stiffened. “Two pilots and a service attendant – I guess they’re acceptable collateral losses.”

No explanation was necessary but Colin felt impelled to make a case.

“If this was an accident, that’s exactly what would happen. Janis said there were eight members in The Group. This operation got half of them. The other half must believe this was an accident.”

“Why not wait until they’re all together?”

“We have no way of knowing how often that happens, if at all. For security reasons, they might avoid that and videoconference their combined meetings.”

Faye moved down the manifest. Onscreen, a thumbnail photo aligned beside a short bio of each passenger. The next entry caught her eye.

“…Heinrich Jaeger. I’ve heard of him. He’s big in European biotech.”

“According to the map he took a side trip to
Milan
,” added Colin. “He also owns a research lab in Basel-Stadt. It was no fluke they were headed there.”

Faye scrolled down the page. The next name caught her eye like none other. At first she didn’t believe it. Too stunned to speak, she pointed at it on the screen.

Colin leaned forward to make sure what he thought he saw was correct.

When he finally spoke, the room went cold.

“…Kevin Mass.”

Frozen in place, Janis repeated what all were thinking.

“…Mass?”

Faye rushed to click on the thumbnail photo.

Janis jerked across the desk to see it. The look on her face told Faye everything she needed to know. It was a photo of Knockout Mouse.

“…KM…” whispered Janis. Tears welled up in her eyes and behind it surged a rage and frustration that launched her into a fit across the room. “No! You bastards! What have you done?”

Faye slumped, stunned. She sat back on the edge of the desk. “It can’t be…”

Taken aback by their emotional reaction, Colin tried summing up their shock. “So Kevin Mass is Knockout Mouse…”

Across the room Janis stood shaking with eyes closed.

Faye glanced at her then stared at Colin before dropping her gaze to the floor. “You don’t understand…”

Colin waited but both Faye and Janis were too distraught to explain.

Taking control of the keyboard, he expanded the bio and scanned details. “Kevin Mass…son of Eugene Mass.”

Janis looked to Faye. She wanted to shout but could only whisper. “He told me he was just a kid in college when his father got him a job doing research for a new think tank.”

Colin read on. “…his mother was
Eugene
’s first wife. They split up when Kevin was in his early twenties…”

Janis added, “That would be right around the time when Mass left The Group.”

Faye considered all that Janis had told her since they first got back together. The line of evidence was falling into place but pieces of it were not yet evident.

“But all these years, Kevin stayed with The Group.”

“He must have taken sides with them against his father.”

“Or the divorce split the family three ways,” reasoned Colin.

Janis thought back to her last days in
India
.

“And Malcolm Stowe blackmailed him. Malcolm worked for
Eugene
.”

Faye drew the conclusion. “A father’s revenge – plus that would give Mass an inside way to keep track of what The Group was doing.”

The distress was too much for Janis. She began to pace.

The day had just started and yet the highs and lows coming at her were more than she could bear. Sadness vied with anger to overpower her. She felt crushed. The misery she had seen in Alyssa’s eyes only compounded with the news that Knockout Mouse was dead. The fact that such news originated with Colin only served to feed simmering resentments. She became indignant.

“When will you people stop screwing with things…?”

The non sequitur drew both Colin’s and Faye’s attention.

Janis stared Colin down. “You’ve probably killed all of us.”

The wretchedness and fury in Janis’ tone set the room on edge.

Considering the soaring emotion, Colin tried holding back but he couldn’t help reacting defensively. He knew Janis had become somewhat friendly with Kevin Mass but this level of despondency out of her seemed out of place.

“Hold on. I’m sorry he was on that flight – but let’s not overreact.”

Janis turned to confront him. “I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t believe what?”

“I think The Project had this manifest long before that jet ever took off. They knew
exactly
who’d be on that flight. They let it happen anyway.”

Colin grimaced. “Why do that?”

Faye interjected, “Why not? To you he’s more collateral damage; accidents are like that.”

“No!” Janis shouted. “It was because of the surveillance – you knew Kevin was about to go public with all he knew. He’d decided to turn against The Group. He told me he was going to expose it all and you couldn’t let that happen, could you? If the truth about 1st Protocol ever got out, the secret of your fuckup trying to sabotage it might see the light of day. Everyone would find out who really caused sterility. He wasn’t collateral damage – he was a bonus kill!”

“Come on…” started Colin. “I think we all need to take a step back from this.”

“All of you are so fucking pathetic. We were so close!”

Bursting into tears, Janis ran from the room.

Faye examined Colin’s suddenly perplexed reaction.

“…So close? What the fuck – was she in love with the guy?”

Faye scowled. In the moment it was more important to comfort Janis than stay and make sense of it with Colin. Faye jumped up and rushed out the door.

Janis had already caught an elevator going down. Faye noticed the lit-up down arrow and took the companion elevator to catch up. At the first floor security station she asked the guards about Janis. They motioned she had run outside.

Faye tore through the lobby and out the front door. Outside everything was wet and bright with shimmers of reflected sun. Looking both ways, Faye caught a glimpse of Janis heading up the service road along a perimeter fence. Faye’s first impulse was to take after her in a sprint but then she remembered the warning from her obstetrician. A long and thoughtful walk would be all she’d be able to manage.

It was better that way. It gave them both time for the intensity to settle down.

At the back of the property, at the highest point, Faye finally caught up with Janis. She stood alone in a small field looking out to sea. On approach, she ignored she had company. For a while, Faye stood silently by and shared the view.

The ocean was a sight to behold. The greenery of the hills around them was resplendent. Everywhere the majesty of planet Earth was on display. And yet for all its inspiration, the glories of the surrounding world seemed other worldly compared to the civilization that ran rampant across it so recklessly and self-absorbed.

The day’s events only highlighted the poignancy of how true that was.

Janis stood her ground, enclosed within herself, silent but obviously hurting.

For Faye there was no point mentioning anything more about what had happened. Some things were too raw and understood, too close to the surface to need comment. Purely reactive, she let impulse take flight.

“We should get out of here.”

The suggestion didn’t faze Janis. She said nothing.

“This would be a perfect day to go to the beach,” added Faye

Janis took the bait. “And what would you tell security?”

“At this point?” Faye took a moment to let the proposal peculate. “What does it matter? I’ll tell them I’m going. If they don’t like it they can shoot me.”

Janis was expressionless. “Some would call that a win-win proposition.”

The dark humor was depressing but at this point it relieved some of the stress.

Faye turned and tried to catch Janis’ eye. “I’m serious.”

“You usually are.”

“Wanna come?”

Janis paused. She glanced down on the cluster of buildings that was GARC. “I can’t stay here right now.”

Faye perked up. “So where should be go? Any ideas?”

Janis thought a long while. She scanned the distance from south to north.

“Yeah,” she said finally. “I know a place. A lighthouse used to be there.”

Faye reflected on the Borinquen Lighthouse Ruins, the island place where Janis had gotten together with Knockout Mouse.

Going there would be Janis’ way of paying last respects but it also might be a shared way to come to peace about all that was lost.

Faye turned to go. “All right, let’s go.”

Janis started after her but got an idea and paused.