The Leaves in Winter (52 page)

Downstairs, the body of Leah’s suffocated guard awaited removal. It would be incinerated and the ashes scattered at sea, probably near the Frioul Archipelago.

The plan was working. New Class Order was fighting back.

A serious blow had been landed against the New World Harmony.

Not since the windswept decks of the research ship PaxTerra years before had André felt such a surge of satisfaction. If he had his way, it wouldn’t be the last.

Chapter 49

Turnberry
Tower

Rosslyn
,
Virginia

Colin left the Metro Station five stops from
National
Airport
and set out on foot. The early evening air was brisk but it felt good to exercise his legs after the flight in from
Puerto Rico
. The neighborhood was new to him but he stepped confidently, guided by classified instructions given to him back at GARC.

He was on time, reporting to an address he was warned to keep to himself.

It didn’t take long before the lights of the porte-cochere came into view. The building’s front entrance was resplendent and bright. Passing gleaming pillars and a lit fountain, his steps slowed on cobbled stones. He’d expected something else.

It seemed unlikely that The Project would schedule an important meeting at a luxury residential high-rise. He glanced up and followed the span of twenty-six floors reaching for an overcast sky before pulling out his phone.

He dialed a private number. A quick call as a heads up that he’d arrived would give him a chance to verify the location.

“This is Colin. I’m at the address. It’s
Turnberry
Tower
.”

A woman’s voice answered. “Go on in. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

The call ended. Colin stepped through the entrance to find a woman approaching him from an opulent side seating area. She acted like she knew him but in fact he had never seen her before.

Dressed in silk floral lounge pants and matching top, her casual elegance and upscale beauty took him by surprise. She hooked his arm with hers and led him past the concierge and security desks. The suited attendants gave her a glance and the polite wave deserving of a well-known tenant.

“How was your flight?” She smiled without introduction.

“Smooth as silk,” mused Colin, falling into character.

She led him past the main elevators to a more private access area. Only after they had stepped into their unit-numbered elevator car and the doors had closed did she card-key the ride to begin.

With the car in motion, she turned to look Colin up and down.

“You seem surprised…” She traded her hostess smile for a cunning smirk.

Colin admitted, “It’s not what I expected.”

“Good. That’s the idea.”

Taken with her charm, Colin added. “It’s a long way from
Stark Road
.”

She had already turned away. She turned back, “Ah…
Stark Road
?”

“The dirt road leading to
Granite Peak
,” explained Colin.

“Oh…yes,” she turned away and waited for the elevator car to stop.

When the doors parted, they opened directly into a top floor luxury suite.

Stepping forward, the woman caught Colin’s eyes watching her walk.

She gave him a knowing glance that stung. “Don’t let the trappings fool you; we all have a part to play, no matter where we find ourselves. Even here…”

Colin accepted her rebuke as a polite business reminder. Any familiarity she was showing him was part of the illusion. He’d be wise not to read anything more into it. But as illusions went, this one was worth entertaining.

From the entrance hallway, Colin followed her through the living room. The suite’s luxurious furnishings were only surpassed by the view beyond the floor to ceiling windows. Subdued lighting allowed a clear panorama across the Potomac River with the
Lincoln
and
Washington
Monuments
and Capitol Dome lit up in the distance. Storm candles glowed on the balcony but sounds of a television came from another direction. In the family room they found a middle-aged man in jogging sweats stretched out on a couch with a cell phone to his ear.

“Pardon me…Mr. Insworth is here.” The woman halted and let Colin pass.

The man on the couch waved Colin forward but continued the phone conversation while keeping an eye on an interview program playing on the wall-mounted flatscreen TV. The woman turned back to Colin.

“This is Mr. Mann. He’s the one you want to talk to.”

As she pivoted and strutted her exit, Colin offered a “Thank you.”

Left to wait while the phone conversation continued, Colin took a seat and got comfortable. If he had to wait, he couldn’t have been delivered to a more perfect place to do it.

“Sorry about that…” The phone call ended and the phone got tossed aside.

Colin leaned over to accept the man’s handshake.

“Alexander Mann…and you’re Colin.”

“Yes,” confirmed Colin. “We spoke on the phone a few days ago…”

Alexander muted the TV and lounged back in place. “Yes, you had a proposal.”

“That’s right; you should have received a detailed whitepaper on it.”

“As a matter of fact I did. That’s why you’re here. I showed it to The Project Board. It ginned up quite a bit of interest but, unfortunately, just as much concern.”

“Over what?” asked Colin.

Alexander stretched out his legs on an ottoman. “C2. Command and control. They’re not convinced proper controls can be maintained.”

“By the facility or by me?”

“Both. They would rather keep critical things locked down, in one place. Taking something like this offshore and including so many others into the know-circle creates issues. There are many elements of your proposal that compound risk.”

Colin thought on his feet. “What if we did it at Dugway? It can’t get safer than being buried under
Granite Peak
.”

Alexander played with the TV remote. “No, under no circumstances can there be any chance this might be found on a government installation. That connection can never exist.”

Colin hunched forward. “Given the severity of what’s going on, some risks have to be taken.”

“Not unacceptable risk.”

“What’s more unacceptable than knowing we’ve run out of time on this?”

Alexander held a firm gaze. “You’re convinced of that?”

“Yes, we’re at that point.” Colin stared back. “Sterility fix trials have failed. All calculations say there won’t be time for another round. If a vaccine isn’t discovered or created right away, we’re out of options – except for the proposal I sent you.”

The grim news was reinforced by silence. Alexander drew a breath.

“The Project has mandates. One of them is to preserve and maintain life as we know it – not to usher in blanket modifications to the species, the consequences of which no one can be certain.”

“Agreed. A determination when to release the new
GenLET
would have to be made at a later date depending on how quickly world conditions deteriorate…”

“…or what kind of progress we have in the lab,” added Alexander.

Colin shook his head. “Again, I have to emphasize – there isn’t time.”

“But you claim there’s time to complete your proposal…”

“Janis only needs her files from NovoSenectus and a sample of 1st Generation
GenLET
. She doesn’t have to discover 2GenGEN, only put it together. The time involved is not open-ended like the other research.”

“But the other research is on the problem we need fixed…”

“But it won’t be completed in time!” Colin energized his pitch. “We wouldn’t even have this option if Janis hadn’t come forward. Single-dose
GenLET
packaged in a Ghyvir-C sputnik could give survivors all over the world the one thing they’re going to need most – time. Time to recover, time to discover the fixes we haven’t been able to find. With only one generation left, survivors of GGD3 will need time.”

Alexander hesitated. “What about C2? After that fiasco with the egg extractions, The Board is not so confident.”

Colin stood to make his point. “That didn’t happen on my watch! I was at
Granite Peak
. You have nothing to worry about. You’ll have your C2.”

Alexander sat and stared at Colin a long while. Then he stood and used the remote to shut off the TV.

“Want a drink?” asked Alexander.

Colin stood, puffed up with unused anger. He nodded. “Sure…”

Alexander fixed drinks at a wet bar and then led the way back into the suite.

“Come along, I’ll show you around…”

Colin was caught off-guard. He didn’t expect the sudden familiarity or a tour.

“This is quite a place…” noted Colin.

“It’s many things,” admitted Alexander. “…living quarters, project office, safe house, command center, or meeting place, like tonight.”

“You live here?”

“At times,” Alexander hedged. Stepping down a hallway, he guided the tour so one by one the three bedrooms were revealed.

The master bedroom was as Colin expected, lush and inviting. To his surprise, the other two rooms were not bedrooms at all. They were outfitted with high-tech intelligence gear and computers, RIDIS scanners and receivers, and devices even Colin didn’t recognize. The rooms were solid evidence that the luxury suite was in fact the D.C. office of The Project.

Colin stood in the doorway. “Why are you showing me this?”

Alexander nursed his drink. “We thought it was time. The Project has plans for an expanded role for you in the future. Getting acquainted with Turnberry is necessary; it will probably figure in on your future assignments.”

Surprised, Colin spoke his thoughts. “With all that’s happening, whatever could they be planning?” He knew better than to think it warranted an answer.

He was right. Alexander responded with a knowing grin then led the way back to the family room. Standing tall, he addressed Colin in summation.

“At the airport, there’s a squad of Project operatives waiting at your plane. On my word, they’ll accompany you back to GARC with a
GenLET
sample. I will give them a call provided you promise me two things – the work on 2GenGEN will complete as quickly as possible, and you’ll personally guarantee command and control over the work.”

Colin was taken aback but delighted by the abrupt agreement to go ahead.

“Done!”

Alexander refilled his drink. “Good. Now get out of here and make it happen.”

Colin nodded and stepped away.

“Oh, and Colin,” Alexander called out. “Remember, The Project is watching.”

Colin read the intensity on Alexander’s face and retreated back to the private elevator. He would let himself out. There was no time to lose.

Back in the family room, drink in hand, Alexander Mann turned to the window. His face reflected in the glass but beyond it, the lights of D.C. and cars crossing the
Teddy
Roosevelt
Bridge
drew his attention into a studied meditation. He lingered a few moment before stepping off to the kitchen.

Alexander strolled in knowing right where to look.

Pamela Mann sat at the granite island, a laptop to one side, a glass of Chenin Blanc nearby. She busied herself spreading Camembert on toast points.

“All done?”

“He’s on his way back to National.”

“Is he motivated?”

Alexander chuckled. “What do you think? He’s gotten a glimpse of his future.”

Pamela sipped her wine. “Good. We need him to see this through.”

“I hope you’re right about the risk…”

“Of course I’m right. The prize is too great to pass up. We know the problems with 1st Generation treatments. Single-dose is the only stable way to go. Anything else was premature. She’s going to give it to us on a fucking platter. The Project will be the only ones to have it. You can’t buy that kind of position.”

Alexander gave a nod. “Everything’s gotten so P.C.”

Pamela crossed her legs and bounced a toe up and down. “P.C.?”