Thicker Than Blood (15 page)

"Say at the eights. Eight am or eight pm. Whatever is next." "Okay." Mark's eyes looked bloodshot. Kento picked up a box of Joe's syringes. He pulled a colorful stack of stamped, labeled envelopes from his pocket. Joe could see there were no return addresses.

Teressa reached though the door into Sergio's darkened living room. She put her arms around him. "I missed you so much this week." Teressa held on with all her might. She smelled Sergio's musky smell and realized it was only mixed with a little alcohol. He's not totally drunk. Teressa smiled. Teressa held Sergio's hand and led him to his couch. She sat him down and turned his face by his chin. Staring into his eyes she asked, "Sergio how are you doing? Are you okay?" He blinked. "I'm fine." "Are you sure." "Yes. I'm worried about Joe. He's always getting hurt." Sergio's accent is lite tonight, Teressa thought. It usually gets worse when he gets drunk. "Have you heard from him?" "No." His eyes widened. "We should wait for him." Teressa said. She paused to look into his eyes. How could this kind gentle man end up with such a raw deal, she wondered. His wife dead at young age. His son detached and sick. His career in ruins, trapped in a country with no more opportunity. Worst of all, I know he loves me. "I am involved in some very serious stuff at the hospital, and now Joe is too." "How?" Sergio looked worried. "I signed up for an opaque government program to do nanotech research. Once I was indoctrinated, I realized what a terrible mistake I had made." His eyes were wide. "Sergio, they have fully functional working nanites. They've had them several years. They claim they want to control the technology and keep it from terrorist hands. I'm not sure I believe that anymore. That's just the beginning." Her eyes where welling up. She started to bawl. "Oh god I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "They're coming after Joe. I just know it." "What have you done?" He grabbed her shoulders. His face changed. "Sergio, you don't understand. They kept telling me 'We'll announce to the public soon.' I knew the great things these robots can do." "Who cares!" He was getting more angry. She could barely talk she was crying so loud. He knows I love Joe too, he doesn't get it. "They can be programed, to cure Joe." Her makeup was running. His face went blank. "I thought if I was on the inside I could make the release happen faster. These things can cure or ease the pain of many diseases with only a little work." He stared at Teressa, he looked ashamed. "I don't think they were ever serious about releasing the nanites to the public. They keep complaining about not having fast enough CPUs in them to do serious encryption." "Meanwhile people die." His voice was flat. He was staring into space. "Exactly," she sni?ed. "I'm beginning to wonder if they will ever be fast enough. All they care about is their 'property'." "I'm sorry I got angry." He looked down. "How is Joe mixed up in this?" "I put nanites in him to save him after the accident." "Oh that's just crap! They can't touch him." "I think they can. A doctor on the project disappeared a few months ago. All investigation has been pushed up to at least the FBI, who has discovered nothing. There is a rumor coming out of Guantanamo that he's there. I don't know if he's there, but even if he is it may be legal anyway." "Why would they put a patient in jail?" "If he knows what happened to him, if he knows about the nanites, he's a terrorist." They both stared at each other. "He knows." Sergio sounded sure of himself. "He does," she said. "He told me so at the hospital, but I couldn't find out how or who else knows. Our meeting with MIR interfered. I'm so sorry." "Your decisions saved his life."

"They've risked it now too." "Do you think this has anything to do with the call about the protein." "I don't think so." She pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped away her running mascara. "I haven't been so confused since my sister died." "I miss Monica." He looked broken up. Seven years ago Sergio had always been there for her. I trust him, like I trust no one else, she thought. "I was destroyed and you always talked to me as long as it took, until I felt better." She smiled warmly. "I couldn't have gone on without your help. I would have died too." His eyes wrinkled as he smiled. She had to get through to him. Now was the time. He almost drank himself to death when Monica died. If anything happens to Joe, even for only a little while, I don't think he can handle it. I may lose him forever. I need him. I love everything about him. Teressa grabbed him by his shoulders and looked into his eyes again. "Do you really think she wanted you to be alone? I don't. I love you. I want you in my life. It kills me to see you hurting yourself for something that isn't your fault." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. She whispered in his ear. "We don't have to be alone. Joe is grown. It's okay now." He stared into space. He looks totally lost, she worried. I can't help it I need him now. I need to be closer to him. I can't stand the loneliness. Sergio broke his trance. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She started to cry. "Oh no, I'm sorry." Sergio looked worried. She grabbed his arms playfully. She smiled warmly. "No, no, it's okay. It's good," she looked him in the eye, "I forgot what hope felt like."

Joe's hand hurt. It feels like a zipper pushing against it, he thought. Joe opened his eyes and stared at the glare peeking in the crevices of the pillow. He awkwardly pulled his hand free from the zipper on his leather jacket. He lifted his head and knew where he was before his eyes could see. He could smell the hydraulic oil. I'm at the shop. I must have passed out. He heard typing. Only Mark types that fast. What is he working on? Suddenly he realized, I never finished last night. He sat up with a start, nearly falling off of the shop's cheap cot like bed. Mark looked up from a computer at the disheveled Joe. "Hi Joe. I went home last night and I couldn't sleep. So I came back here and found you passed out. So I finished filtering and grouping the nanites." "Wow, you're done?" Joe went straight for the coffee machine. "That's it. They are ready to go." Mark pointed at a pair of syringes on the table. On top of the syringes was Joe's arm PC, its indicator lights blinking like crazy. "What are you doing to them?" "Originally I started a routine for nanites to collect extra clotting proteins and disperse them as they get low. I couldn't figure out which were type eight or type nine clotting proteins with the nanites, so I had to give up on it." "Oh." He was hiding his disappointment. "But, I thought of something better. I programmed nanites to identify when they are caught in a zone of platelet build up, and to start building a modified ultrasound antenna. I set the nanites to chain together to form a two cell thick nearly impermeable surface. There are a hundred different ways the six Propensky gates can be opened into a male and female configuration to connect together. I even set it up so nanites can communicate upstream so they are ready connect when they come flooding by." Joe was in awe. "Mark you cured me in one day." "Not really, the real problem is your body doesn't make enough clotting protein, it still won't. Your genetics are still the same, but the nanites can block holes in your injured vessels for you. The key is to use the platelet scabbing mesh as a roadmap for where to chain. Actually you may even scab and heal faster than ordinary people. Well, assuming it doesn't make an accidental clot worse." He wondered if his cure would give him a stroke. I'm as good as dead if it doesn't work. He interrupted, "Mark." Mark kept talking. "Hey, I could still use my protein redistribution code to cure diabetes." "Mark." "You would just need to absorb glucose and store it as blood sugar went up." "Mark." "Oh wait, you could probably just modify the glucose fueling subroutine to just touch the glucose and..." Joe had heard enough. "Mark!" he yelled. He looked stunned and a little angry. "Mark, could this ever block an artery?" His anger washed away. He looked a little embarrassed, "I don't know." "Okay, turn clotting off. Until we test it." He was completely thrown, "Yeah, yeah, okay. I think you're right." Tiny hairs all over Joe's body were standing on end. He felt his stomach churn. He rummaged around in a small freezer under the table. He pulled out a frozen pizza unwrapped it and scanned its bar code into the microwave. Joe noticed the clock read eleven thirty. Damn I was out for eight hours, he thought. I wonder if my stomach is queasy because of hunger or fear. The door opened, and sunlight poured into the shop as Kento walked in. "Good news!" he exclaimed. "What is it?" Joe asked. He hoped to distract himself from his well of fear.

"We have someplace to go. When I wrote to one of the labs I sent the nanites to, they permanently invited us to stay." "Yeah in the basement." Mark grimaced. "For a week. Till they turn us in." Joe added. Kento shrugged. "I think it's for real. I received a voice file from the director of the lab. That file could easily put him on the hook as well." "Where is it?" Mark asked. "Rural Canada. The whole lab has been told en masse, so we could probably travel the building freely." Kento paused. "Assuming it's still open when we get there." "How will we get there?" Joe asked. "I don't know," Kento replied. "I'd say as quickly as possible. Those letters should start arriving in a couple of days." I have to say goodbye, Joe thought. Oh no. I forgot to call my aunt back last night. I have to go see her tonight and warn her. Joe thought about Lucy crying on his shoulder. Will I ever see Finny again? How about my father? "I need to sleep a couple of hours. Please wake me at two o'clock." Kento walked toward the cot. "You didn't sleep?" Mark asked. "No I was riding all night. I had envelopes to mail." "Huh?" "I wanted to be certain so I mailed two copies to each location. I mailed one copy from random mailboxes around here and rode to Jersey, Pennsylvania, upstate and Connecticut to mail the second copy." Both Joe and Mark's eyes were wide. Joe smelled Kento's body odor as he walked by. "They would have to stop all northeast mail delivery today to stop every letter. I even used different style envelopes. With luck that won't happen. I even overnighted a few to be safe." He sat down on the cot and took his boots off. "That must have been cold. You could have used the van." "It's okay. I have good gear, and gas is too expensive. We need every dollar." Man he is tough, Joe thought. "Kento, it's done. The nanites are ready for me." "Interesting choice of words." He raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. If I'm going to die in jail, I want to be cured for a day." "You won't go to prison. We will get out of the US. I have guaranteed the cat is out of the bag, so I'm responsible for your safety." Kento's voice was a little hoarse. "I thought you said you could trust your contacts," Mark reminded Kento. "I thought you said we could trust your cousin," Joe said to Mark. "No. I said I can trust him. He didn't threaten me last night." "Likewise, I said we can trust my contacts," Kento said. "I have no idea about their coworkers, or their families, mail departments or their I. T. people. I mailed hundreds of samples last night and sent encrypted messages to as many people. Somebody somewhere will go to the police." "That's better than airmailing nanites to 1-800 terrorist," Joe remarked. Mark's accent got thicker. "Amman hates those religious fanatics. If he did anything, he probably went to the cops." "He told you he hates religious nuts?" Joe asked. Mark sat silently. "If he went to the cops last night we'd already be in jail." Mark did not respond, obviously brewing. Joe knew Amman was up to no good. He knew that the only reason he had not yet spread mayhem was a lack of opportunity. Joe had seen that pride in men before. Last nights demonstration was bravado, and that never ended well. Mark broke the silence. "Your Dad called me last night looking for you." Joe sighed, "Thanks." They sat silently with their heads down, thinking. Kento started to snore.

"Okay Joe. Just like the last one." Mark's voice was tense. Joe's arm was propped up on the table. Mark inserted the syringe into Joe's arm and pushed the plunger down. What if this doesn't work? I've killed my friend and sent us to jail. My family will be questioned and endlessly shamed. I'll be mistaken for a Muslim fanatic in jail. What the hell am I doing? Mark felt as if he were a prisoner of his own body. All his logical faculties were overwhelmed by one loud persistent thought. I must know how these work. At least Kento is an accomplice. "I'm not sure exactly what is going to happen when I activate the oxygen routine. I suspect that you will actually feel short of breath for a while as they recharge. It seems that after they are some percentage full of oxygen atoms, they will start releasing oxygen to your cells as needed." "How long till I'm better and not worse?" "I'm not sure but I'd guess a couple of hours." Mark pulled the empty syringe from Joe's arm. He gave Joe a cotton ball to hold on the wound. "You said you had a shot recently right?" he asked. "Yeah a few days ago. I've still got at least two weeks." "Hold that tight." He pointed to the cotton ball. Mark grabbed Joe's arm computer. He strapped the computer onto Joe's arm, and handed him his clarks. "I've set up a shortcut for you. Just draw a circle with your finger on the computers LCD, and tap it once to turn the nanites on. Same thing toggles them off. It will take some time for all the nanites to go on or off line as they only get the signal as they pass by the ultra sound panel behind your computer as they are pumped through your blood stream." "Cool," Joe looked a little nervous. "So go ahead turn them on," Kento smiled. "He can't yet." Mark shook his head. "Here goes nothing," Joe boomed. He tapped the nanites on. "Joe wait!" Kento sounded panicked. "No it's okay. His PC can send the signal, it just won't be received. It takes a few hours to build the antennas on his vein walls." Kento looked relieved. "I forgot about that." "As soon as an antenna happens to built in range of the panel we'll be able to find out how far oxygenation has come along." "So they are on already?" Kento asked. "Of course." Mark smiled. Kento opened his mouth to speak, but instead just shook his head. Kento you worry too much. "Put your clarks on," Mark instructed Joe. Joe obeyed. "See that little zero in your upper right hand corner. That's the percentage of nanites that have received the command to collect and redistribute oxygen." "There are two zeros," Joe observed. "The number in the upper left hand side is the percentage responsive to the platelet redirection command." Joe and Kento stared at Mark eyebrows raised. "It's off, don't worry, but don't do the circle and a double tap. That toggles the protein simulation on and off." Joe's jaw dropped. "That is the dumbest interface ever." Joe shook his head. Mark was insulted. "What do you mean?" "I'm one wrong twitch from death?" "Oh yea." "I forgot to fix that." "I guess that's pretty bad." Great thinking genius, Mark insulted himself. "Okay I can fix it tonight. But I don't want to take any chances yet. It will have to wait until, until I'm sure can communicate with the nanites." They were still staring at Mark.