Shaman Winter (33 page)

“Yeah,” Sonny grunted. They weren't leveling with him, he knew that. Paiz had saved his ass last night, and he was thankful, but could he trust the Bureau?

“Eric,” he said to Rita and Lorenza.

“What did he say?”

“For us to keep quiet about what happened last night.”

“Okay, so what's next?” Lorenza asked.

“Used to be a good detective would hit the streets, go listen to los de abajo. People on the streets, those who know who's scoring what in the city.”

“Used to be?” Rita asked. “Now?”

“Now we surf the Internet.”

“The Internet?”

“Raven can smuggle in the materials he needs, but he needs the help of the Avengers. They, maybe working with Eric and Doyle, got Chernenko the kind of security clearance he had, and Eric and Doyle are connected to e-systems.”

“E-systems?”

“The whole nuclear enchilada, the defense department, all the labs, the CIA, it's all connected. The truth is stranger than fiction, as they say. And how do they communicate? Computers.”

“You think you can find the names of these disgruntled, out-of-work bomb builders from Ukraine on the Internet?” Lorenza asked.

“I don't know. I don't know a damn thing about the system, except what I read. But Los Alamos and Sandia labs have databases. Information I need. I need to look for materials, names of people or companies who buy machined explosives. Who are the experts who can put bombs together? What kind of stuff does he need to make the ‘Gadget'? There must be very few specialized corporations, subcontractors that make those kind of things for Los Alamos.”

“Don't you think the FBI is looking into that?” Rita asked.

“They would if they were really interested.”

“What do you mean ‘interested'? They've got a madman on the loose threatening to build a nuclear bomb. You mean—”

“I mean—” Sonny said, looking from the window where he had been watching the sun glistening on the snow, quickly melting it so it would be gone by noon. “I mean, why did they wait so long to bust into Chernenko's lab?”

The phone rang again and Sonny picked it up.

“Sonny, Matt Paiz here. You okay?”

“Fine.”

There was a pause.

“Just thought you'd like to know we've been at Chernenko's lab all night. My men have gone over it with a fine-tooth comb. What we found ain't pretty.”

“What?”

“Seems like Raven isn't only into building a bomb, he's into other poisons.”

“What?” Sonny asked.

“We found a few vials filled with viruses—”

“What do you mean?” Sonny exclaimed.

“We've sent the vials to the CDC in Atlanta, but initial indications are it's the Ebola virus.”

“Hijo de su chingada!” Sonny cursed, a shiver racing down his spine. He felt his neck where Raven had stuck the needle. Yeah, that was Raven. He always had a backup plan. The Ebola virus in a vial in this country would scare a lot of people.

“It doesn't look good, Sonny. If he can't build a bomb, he's got the viruses. I just got through talking to the director at Atlanta. This stuff is extremely dangerous.”

“How much did you find?”

“Only a few vials. It's as if Raven wanted us to find them. He's alerting us to what he has.”

“Yeah,” Sonny whispered. “That's Raven's way. He wants us to know he holds the aces.”

“You think he has more?” Paiz asked, seeking confirmation.

“Yes,” Sonny replied.

“We've got a couple of epidemiologists working on this,” Paiz continued. “Apparently the syringe he used on you was Valium, a mild antidepressant. Lord knows why. Anyway, just to be on the safe side, our doctors suggested that you get yourself checked.”

Sonny felt something cold in his bloodstream. What if Raven had slipped a virus into the injection he gave him last night? He looked up at Rita. Had he underestimated Raven?

“We need to have you checked right away. We have a doctor working on this at Lovelace.” He read Sonny the doctor's name. “In the meantime he says try not to be in close contact with anyone.”

Sonny frowned as he clicked the phone off. He looked at Rita and Lorenza. His stomach churned with a wave of fear. “Damn!” he cursed. What if?

19

“I can drive,” Sonny said to Rita. He wanted to go alone, to shrink from the contact with her and Lorenza. He had told them Paiz's story and read the concern in their faces.

“You're not strong enough to drive,” Rita said.

“Oh, yeah, wacha.” He maneuvered his wheelchair up to the van's door, pulled himself to a standing position, and with some effort hoisted himself into the driver's seat. The van wasn't refitted with hand controls or foot pedals, so he could turn the ignition easily enough, but his right foot pressed clumsily on the gas. His legs trembled.

“Damn!” he cursed.

Rita rested her hand on his. “It takes time. Let Lorenza drive.”

Yes, he thought, he wasn't ready. Something in his brain still wasn't connecting with his legs, and the effort only tired him.

Lorenza should drive. He was grateful for all Rita and Lorenza were doing for him, but dammit! He was just too used to being independent. He wanted his legs to move the way they used to. And he didn't like having to go to the lab to be checked for the possibility that a virus planted by Raven was even now growing and multiplying in his bloodstream.

“What if I have something?” he said, looking at Rita.

“You don't,” she assured him.

“And I haven't gotten a ticket yet,” Lorenza said. “So unless you want to fire me, I'm ready.”

“Okay,” he said, and slid out of the van and into his chair. “Besides, you're the better driver.”

He scooted around the side of the van, opened the door, and lowered the lift. Books spilled out.

“Rough ride last night,” Rita explained, picking them up. “You want me to take some out?”

“No, I want to keep on reading. Maybe I just haven't found the right one.”

“Cuídense,” Rita said, and leaned forward to kiss him. Instinctively he drew back.

“The doctor said no contact—”

“You're okay,” she said, “you're just fine.” She kissed his cheek. “Call me.”

“I will.”

She stood back and waved as they pulled away.

“What a woman,” Sonny said.

“She is quite a woman,” Lorenza agreed.

After a pause Sonny asked. “What do you think?”

“I think you're okay.”

Good, he thought, and settled back for the drive to Lovelace. It took all morning, with the doctor in charge personally drawing the samples of blood she needed, but when it was over she gave a thumbs-up sign and smiled.

“Negative for now,” she said, “but it's a little early for the antibodies to build up. I need you to come back in a few days.”

“More tests?”

“Just to make sure. Okay?”

“Okay,” Sonny replied. “What about the stuff Matt Paiz brought in?”

“We're sure it's Ebola virus. Potent stuff, extremely dangerous. We sealed everything, sent it to Atlanta for confirmation. Do you know where it came from?”

The doctor was inquisitive, and obviously Paiz and his boys had given no information. Sonny shook his head.

“Well, we know Iraq used chemicals during the Persian Gulf War, and we know the superpowers have anthrax and nerve-destroying chemicals aimed at each other, but now someone has the Ebola virus in our own backyard. I mean, what kind of an insane person would do this? Why here? We're not a threat to anyone, are we?” She shrugged in exasperation.

“Maybe we are,” Sonny replied. He thanked the doctor and they went out. “South Broadway library,” he said to Lorenza as they boarded the van.

“More books?”

“No, I need a computer expert.”

He dialed Rita and told her the good news. He could hear her sigh of relief turn to a sob of thanks.

“Cuidao,” she said. “I love you.”

“Y yo te amo a tí,” Sonny replied.

Clicking off the phone, he looked at Lorenza watching him in the rearview mirror. He blushed and picked up the book on the counter.
Interpreting Your Dreams in Five Easy Steps
. He laughed. “What will they think of next?”

“What?” Lorenza asked.

“How simple some people want to make the world.”

“Some people just want to sell books, and those who don't want to go any deeper than a fast analysis buy them. Anyway, how come you don't trust Eric?” she asked as she turned from Lead onto Broadway.

“He knows I have the bowl. Claims Paiz told him. Bullshit. And I don't buy the story about the cop near Raton intercepting the plutonium shipment. What if the core was already inside the labs—”

“You mean they manufactured it there?”

“Or someone brought it in,” Sonny suggested.

“Eric?”

“Or one of his boys.”

“Not possible, is it?”

“Anything is possible,” he replied. “You think I'm paranoid?”

“No, but wouldn't it be very difficult for someone to sneak something like that into the labs?”

“Maybe. But what if there's a small group
inside
Los Alamos? What if they can buy the plutonium and bring it in? And they don't have to go to Ukraine, they get it from Pantex, where all the cores are being stored. Or they get it from Kirtland, where some are being dismantled.”

“Wait a minute. You're talking
big
conspiracy.”

“I smell it.”

“But as far as I know, nobody's ever bribed a U.S. scientist of that caliber before. I mean the guys who can actually put bombs together.”

“They bought the guy that was selling CIA secrets, what's his name?”

“So you believe Paiz's theory?”

“Given the course of events, it makes sense. The more I think of it, the more I believe the Avengers exist.”

“Can it happen here?”

“There are signs in the air,” Sonny said. “They've created a race war in this country. Whites are afraid of dark-skinned people, and the Blacks don't trust the whites. Now it's a population war, fed by fear of a mass migration from Latin America. In twenty years the majority population of this country is going to be colored, not white. But there's a check on the people promoting race war. The system they despise so much still works. They want to bring down the government, but democracy still works. People are smart enough to know they don't want white supremacists running the country. The Avengers tried using drugs to destroy this country, turning people into addicts. That fed into the class war they created. Now it's the bomb, viruses.”

“Sounds like the Apocalypse,” Lorenza said.

“If Raven can get into my dreams, he can get into other people's dreams. You bring the downfall by making people doubt themselves, doubt their dreams. Once we doubt ourselves, we turn on each other.”

“That's an old controlling tactic, the
us versus them
.”

“Yeah, but it's working too slowly for their purposes. They want control now. Howard has a theory like that. Speaking of Howard,” he said, and pushed Howard's number. Howard answered.

“Howie.”

“Hey, compadre, como 'stás? How are you feeling? Got word you're cruising around the country.”

“I'm getting there,” Sonny replied. “You heard about last night?”

“A couple of our boys were on the perimeter when the bust came down. What they heard is unbelievable. Does the man
actually
have the stuff to build a—you know?”

“That's what the big boys say.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Lorenza's driving me around.”

“Lucky dude,” Howard said. “Anyway, Paiz called Garcia. I figure he told Garcia only the skim off the top. Just what the hell
is
going on?”

“The end of the world, my friend,” Sonny said, and told him about the virus.

“Garcia didn't tell us that.”

“They don't want a leak to the media. Anyway, do you have files on militia groups?”

“I'm in forensics, not the library. But I hear you. Anything specific?”

“Have any of the big guns at Sandia or Los Alamos been linked to any of the militia groups in the state?”

“Hey, bro, you're not suggesting—” Howard caught himself. “Yes, you are. I know a chicanita in the computer room who can run a computer check.”

“Thanks.”

“De nada. Anything else?”

“Keep your gunpowder dry.”

Howard laughed. “Ten-four.”

Sonny called his mother. He couldn't remember when he talked to her last, and the irritation in her voice told him she couldn't either. “Hi, Mamacita—”

She stopped him short. “Don't ‘mamacita' me! Sinvergüenza, malcriado, vagabundo. I just talked to Rita. Why are you running around all over the place? Que no sabes que tienes que descansar? I was going to come over this afternoon, bring some ungüento to sobar your legs. And why are you not home? It's cold outside. Not good for your legs. Have you lost your mind?”

“I love you, Mom,” Sonny said with a smile.

“Ay, Sonny Francisco Elfego Baca, you always did know how to twist me around your little finger. I love you, too, but please stay warm. Where are you?”

“With Lorenza. South Broadway.”

“Ay, hijo, please be careful.”

“I will, jefa. How's Max?”

Max was the first man his mother had taken as a friend since Sonny's father died twelve years ago. Nice solid man. Sonny liked him, although he hadn't had a chance to really get to know him.

“He's fine, except for the flu. I made some chicken caldo for him, with plenty of cilantro. And lots of hot chile. I finally convinced him to stay over here—”

“Stay with you?” Sonny asked. Max was staying at his mother's house?