Emperor of a Dead World (21 page)

“No. The man was by himself and the guards retrieved him right after the attack.”

“I am on my way to interview these guards right now. Have you spoken to any of them?”

“I have not.”

“Please join me.”

Together they entered the examination room in which the first guard was sitting.

“Hello, I am Doctor Manette and this is Doctor Robert.”

“Yes, Doctor, I recognize you both.”

“May I please get directly to the point?

“Yes Sir.”

“Did you have any direct physical contact with the boy?”

“No Sir.”

“Please tell me what happened.”

“I heard the victim scream and called for backup over the radio. I was the first one on the scene but the others arrived immediately after I got there.”

“Then what happened?”

“When the boy saw me he charged at me so I shot him four times with tranquillizer.”

“You can fire that many darts that quickly?” Doctor Robert asked.

“We have special weapons doctor.”

“How close did he get to you?” Doctor Manette resumed.

“Six meters before he dropped.”

“How close was he when you first opened fire?”

“Approximately 55 meters,” the man said.

The doctors exchanged looks.

“How close was he the last time you fired?”

“Twelve meters,” he replied.

“You had absolutely no physical contact,” Dr. Manette repeated. “You never touched him and he never touched you?”

“That is correct, Sir.”

They thanked him and went to the next room.

“Hello, I am Doctor Manette and this is Doctor Robert.”

“Yes, Doctor, I recognize you both.”

“May I please get directly to the point?

“Yes Sir.”

“Did you have any direct physical contact with the boy?”

“No Sir.”

“What did you do when you arrived on the scene?”

“I shot the boy with the tranquillizer.”

The doctors exchanged glances.

“How many times,” Dr. Manette asked.

“Twice Sir,” he replied.

“From what distance did you shoot?”

“Twenty six and eighteen meters respectively Sir,” he replied.

“How close was the other man to you that fired on the boy?

“Which one sir?” he asked.

The doctors exchanged looks again.

“Both.”

“I was five meters to the left of one and three meters to the right of the other. We were in a straight line and I was in the middle.”

Doctor Manette scratched his ear. “How many times did the other men fire?”

“The one on my right shot four times and the one on my left shot three times,” he replied.

“Did you have any physical contact with the boy or the man?”

“No Sir.”

They thanked him and walked out.

“It apparently took several doses to bring the boy down.”

“That does not surprise me at all,” Dr. Manette said as he led the way into the next room. When they entered he said, “Hello, I am Doctor Manette and this is Doctor Robert.”

“Hello doctors.”

“May I please get directly to the point?

“Please do.”

“Did you have any direct physical contact with the boy?”

“No Sir.”

“What was your roll?”

“I shot him with tranquillizer.”

“How many times,” Doctor Manette asked.

“Three times Sir.”

“From what distance,” they both asked.

“Twenty three, nineteen and fifteen meters sir,” he replied.

“You touched neither the boy nor the man,” Dr. Manette pressed.

“No sir, Dr. Solator arrived and told us all to report back to the hospital immediately.”

Dr. Manette glanced at Dr. Robert with a puzzled look then turned back to the soldier. “Just one more question.”

“Yes sir?”

“Who brought them back here?”

“The four orderlies that came with Dr. Solator,” he replied.

The two doctors left without another word.

Once out in the hall, Dr. Manette turned to Dr. Robert. “Where the hell are these orderlies?”

A minute later, they entered Dr. Solator’s office.

“Why didn’t you tell us about the orderlies?” Dr. Manette demanded.

“They simply brought two unconscious patients back.”

“I should have been informed.”

“Why?”

“So I could examine them.”

“They were trained men in hazard attire,” he shrugged. “They knew what they were doing.”

“The man that let the boy escape was a trained orderly as well.”

“We need to see these men immediately,” Dr. Robert insisted.

Dr. Solator picked up the phone. “Lucy, please send for the men that brought the patients back to the hospital. I need to see them right away.” He turned to the two doctors. “They will be right here.”

A few minutes later, the first man arrived.

“The guards may go for now. I will interview each of the orderlies separately in the rooms the guards now occupy. Please send them to the empty rooms when they arrive.” After saying this, Dr. Manette led the orderly and Dr. Robert into the first room.

“You are free to go,” he said to the guard.”

“Thank you sir,” the guard replied as he walked out.

Dr. Manette sat and crossed his legs. “Please be seated.”

The orderly sat but Dr. Robert remained standing.

“Tell me everything that transpired from the time Dr. Solator asked you to retrieve the patients to the time you left their side.”

“I and two others were in the lounge when the doctor came in. His face looked intense and he informed us the boy had gotten free. He told us to don our hazard attire, get two stretchers and wait at the rear exit until the guards apprehended the boy. We immediately gathered everything and waited at the door as directed. Less than five minutes later, the doctor arrived with another orderly that was also dressed in hazard attire. The doctor motioned for us to follow him and when we arrived, the guards had already subdued the boy and both he and the victim were unconscious. I and another man put the victim on our stretcher and the other two carried the boy. We put the man in one room and secured him and the others put the boy in another room.”

“You were wearing hazard attire?”

“Yes.”

“Was it compromised in any way?”

“No.”

“Your skin never came in contact with the victim?”

“No, Sir.”

“We will send in the nurse to examine you.”

The doctors walked out. After instructing the nurse, they went into the next room. The guard was gone and an orderly was there. This man had assisted the one they had just spoken with and his story was identical. They now went to the third room. This man’s story was the same except he had carried the boy back to a different secure room. After he secured the boy, Dr. Solator asked him to leave the room. The doctor and the other orderly remained behind.

The doctors thanked him and went out into the hall.

“Why did Dr. Solator and the orderly remain in the room?” Dr. Manette asked the other doctor.

“Perhaps he wanted to examine the boy.”

They went to the fourth room but it was empty. They returned to the other rooms but did not find the missing orderly. They now headed to see Dr. Solator.

“Where is the fourth man?” Dr. Manette asked when he entered the room.

Dr. Solator shrugged.

“What were the two of you doing alone in the boy’s room after the other man left?”

“I simply wanted to make sure he was properly sedated. I did not want him getting loose again.”

“I need to see the other orderly right now.”

Dr. Solator picked up the phone on his desk. “Lucy, where is Mr. Jones?” He listened for a moment then hung up. “He went home. He was feeling ill.”

“Ill!” both exclaimed at once.

“Where does he live?” Dr. Manette demanded as he leaned forward on the desk.

“On the east side, Lucy can give you his address.”

They rushed out.

As soon as they left, Dr. Solator pulled a disposable cell phone out of his pocket and pushed redial. When the man answered he asked, “Where are you right now?”

“I am at the airport. There is an open seat and I should be in Honolulu within the hour. Shortly after that I will be on a flight to Washington.”

“Good, the others are looking for you. I sent them to your apartment on the other side of the island.”

“I shall be gone from these islands long before they know I have left. Besides, I am flying under another alias.”

“Do you have the blood samples with you?”

“Yes, they are in the organ donor case you gave me.”

“Be very careful with those samples.”

“Doctor, this is not my first assignment. Trust me, Homeland Security trained me well.”

“Yes, I am sorry. It is just that those samples are very important. They show the progression of the disease with the modifications I have made to the patient. They also hold the key to a vaccine.”

“Don’t worry. I will handle it from here. Please destroy your phone. We will send you another one via FedEx if we need to speak again.”

The connection went dead.

Dr. Solator looked at the phone.
I will incinerate it tonight
. He put it in his pocket and reflected.
This man tells me not to worry but yet he got an orderly killed and allowed the boy to escape. All he needed to do was get a sample of blood. Anyway, the way the boy escaped and found a victim so quickly proves my formula works. I have successfully morphed Rabies, Hansen’s disease and Ebola into a formula that will result in a killing machine. The rabies will make them vicious, the Hansen’s disease will make them easily identifiable to each other and the Ebola will spread the disease quickly. Now all we have to do is inject one or two of their people then set them free. After this, the terrorists will self-destruct in a matter of weeks
.

Gazing through the window of the turbo prop airplane, the agent looked out over the beautiful island as his he headed to Oahu.
Soon the world will be a much safer place
, he smiled as he rubbed the scratches on his forearm where the boy had clawed him just before he escaped out the door.

Chapter 18

Now that it appeared going to Sacramento would be a fruitless enterprise, Brad was anxious to go home. Of course, he first insisted Dr. Moreau show him the proof of the situation at the capital. Upon receiving this request, the doctor took him to meet Danny. When they walked into the lab a young man with long blonde hair was staring off into space.

Does Danny work here,” Lisa asked.

“That is Danny sitting right there,” Dr. Moreau replied pointing at the young man.

Lisa gave Brad a doubtful look.

“Hello Danny,” the doctor said as he approached.

Danny did not respond. He was much too focused on the air molecules in the room.

“Danny, I have brought some people to meet you.”

The doctor’s voice startled Danny and he looked over at the intruders with annoyance.

“They are interested in learning about the drones,” the doctor said.

This brought a smile to Danny’s face. “You are interested in UAVs?” he asked Brad as he looked at Lisa.

“In what?” she asked.

“Unmanned aerial vehicles,” he smiled. “That is what a drone really is. Not many people know that.”

“Okay,” she shrugged.

“It is an aircraft that is piloted remotely, an RPA.”

“RPA?” she asked.

“Remotely Piloted Aircraft,” he returned. “Do you want to see one?”

“Sure,” she quickly replied.

“Right over here.”

He led them to a strange little aircraft that was about six feet long with a wingspan of about eight feet. A ‘V’ shaped rear wing sat in front of the rear propeller. Mounted under the nose was a camera and four missile looking objects were under the wings, two on each side.