The River (28 page)

Hidden amongst them…were
Thanatos
and
Hypnos
.

Thanatos was the Greek god of death. He was the son of Nyx, the goddess of night, and the twin of Hypnos, the god of sleep.

Lawrence's
Thanatos
offered a higher concentration of nanobots―particularly rogue bots. And he thought it was fitting that a syringe filled with instant death be named for a creature of darkness.

He smiled grimly and slipped the capped syringe in his right shirt pocket. Then he grabbed the two syringes labeled
Hypnos
and dropped them in the left pocket.

"Want some help, Gary?" he hollered, meandering back to the computer station.

"No, I'm fine. I'll keep working. You should have a rest too."

Lawrence gave a brief nod, then disappeared into his room―as per Jake's suggestion. He needed to stay out of sight, to give Gary enough time to create a video feed.

His eyes landed on his laptop―the laptop that held a secret.

The solution to Project Ankh.

He snickered, thinking of how many hotshots from the Centre had tried to find the file on it. Eventually they had given up, convincing themselves that he had kept it on Bio-Tec's mainframe.

Idiots!

Thank God for his old Armed Forces buddy, Rufus.

Rufus Digby was an encryption expert. Before Lawrence's trip to the Nahanni River, Rufus had safely hidden the file where no one would look, making it only accessible with the correct password.

Lawrence flipped the computer open, inserted a memory stick and downloaded an assortment of what looked like miscellaneous files―useless files. He dropped the stick into a waterproof case, then tucked it in the pocket with the syringes filled with
Hypnos
. Then he wiped the laptop's memory clean and popped out the hard drive.

His eyes drifted across the room.

He needed a hammer, but VanBuren hadn't allowed him anything that could be used as a weapon.

The heavy bed at the far end caught his attention.

Palming the hard drive, he strode over to the bed, knelt down and slipped the metal plate under the foot. Then heaving up the bed he dropped it. The leg crashed down with a muffled
thud
.

He did it again. And again.

Bits of metal scattered across the floor. He swept the fragments into a dustpan, pouring half into the kitchen garbage can and the rest into the small recycling bin.

Then he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make things right. Whatever it takes!"

He recalled the beautiful, perfect babies who had been sacrificed―all for an obsession with youth and eternal life. Babies who had been conceived and born within
six
months instead of nine―all because of a serum filled with industrious microscopic nanobots whose only objective was to create life, repair damaged cells and accelerate embryonic growth.

He remembered the hundreds of innocent people who had been slaughtered by a crazed lunatic's order―by a Director whom most people had never seen. A man whom some suspected could be the Prime Minister of Canada. Or the President of the United States.

Regardless, the Director had gone too far. The Centre for Enlightened Living was nothing more than a breeding ground for murderers. Murderers who thought they were God.

"They won't win. Not while I'm still breathing."

Hans smiled, raising his champagne in the air.

"To using the past as collateral."

A faint cheer trickled through the crowded room, a room filled with important, wealthy business executives. Some were already heavily invested in Project Ankh, while others were potential clients, waiting for a glimpse of eternal life.

He spotted Blackwell standing off to one side, listening to Boris Mironov, the Prime Minister of the Russian Elite Federation. Nearby, President Robertson and his family huddled close together…talking to Vance.

Hans scowled angrily.

His gaze drifted across the room, but in his mind he contemplated a hundred ways to kill off Vance―all of them very painful.

He examined the cool bubbly in the fluted crystal glass.

If someone were to add enough Necrovan…

He glanced up guiltily.

A young server walked by and he beckoned her over. He placed his empty glass on the tray, grabbed two full flutes and headed for Mironov and Blackwell.

"Justin," he smiled tightly. "Sorry I couldn't bring one for you too."

Hans offered a glass of champagne to the short, burly man standing beside the chief of security. "Boris. Good to see you again."

Mironov's dark eyes narrowed as he took the glass.

"I don't drink champagne," he said in a thick Russian accent. "Nor do I tolerate rudeness."

Hans gaped in disbelief as Mironov passed the glass to Blackwell.

His smile dropped. "Rudeness?"

The Russian gave him an icy look. "You have yet to introduce me to your Director. And I have been here one hour."

"I am so sorry, Prime Minister. The Director is not well and will not be attending tonight. I promise that at our next meeting, you'll finally meet. Until then, may I offer you a sample of the serum you'll be receiving next month?"

Mironov shrugged. "I'm in no hurry for serum. But next time, I meet Director. Let's enjoy party, my friend."

He gave Hans a vigorous pat on the back, then left in search of a tumbler of vodka.

"You've certainly brought in the orders," Blackwell said. "The Director must be pleased."

Hans flinched. "You could say that."

He recalled the Director's harsh words earlier and the restrictions that had been put on his serum usage. He needed to speed up production. If he did, then no one would care whether a few vials disappeared.

"How are our guests, Justin?"

"They're napping. I'll check on them shortly. That Ingram fellow is still trying to fix the cell sorter."

"When the hell are the new sorters getting here?"

Hans was ticked off.

The AQUA-1250 had broken down mid-production and they couldn't produce the serum without it.

"End of next week," Blackwell said. "The military is waiting for them to be shipped from the manufacturer. Then they'll send them here. By the way, the Specimen Lab had a few visitors today."

Hans jerked his head. "Who?"

"Our guests in the lab―everyone except Ingram."

"Did Hawthorne show them the specimens?"

"Yeah. And they saw your newest contribution too."

A man tapped Blackwell's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Something wrong, Justin?" Hans asked nervously.

"A phone call. But before I go, I have one question. Why'd you do it―why kill the Baroni woman?"

Hans shrugged. "She didn't believe in God."

Adrenaline pumped through Del's veins and her heart fluttered as Gary gathered them around.

They
had
to escape…undetected.

"Okay, here's the plan," Gary said. "I'm still working on breaking the code to unlock the doors―"

"I got that covered, dawg," TJ said in a low voice.

Del's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"

TJ slipped his hand into a pocket and pulled out an ankh key.

"How'd you get that?"

"I know how," Jake grinned. "The pregnant lab technician."

TJ nodded. "It was in her pocket. I swiped it when I helped her up. I knew she'd follow the two guys out."

Del hugged him tightly. "Smart move."

"We have to hurry," Gary warned. "I created a loop of lab footage. Basically everyone's sleeping and Dr. Hawthorne's in his room. I've already programmed it. That's what they're seeing now. I've also looped the feed for the hallway, from here to the tunnel."

"And the audio?" she asked.

"We can yell if we want to. They're listening to a recording of TJ snoring and me typing."

Del peered anxiously over her shoulder, watching the red light on the camera.

God, she hoped he was right.

"Trust me," Gary said, catching her eye. "They can't hear us or see us. But there is one problem."

A tremor of fear raced up her spine.

"In forty minutes, there'll be a guard change at the tunnel door. We have to get through it before then. That's when the video loop is set to go back to real footage. Otherwise, Blackwell will know something's up."

"Because he won't see the new guard arriving," she guessed.

"Exactly. And if we wait until
after
the guard change, the party might be over. And we could run into some trouble."

"Trouble as in VanBuren or Paughter," Hawk said.

Gary nodded. "Now, before the guard change, there's one man to deal with." He pointed to the red heat sensor. "The guard on duty."

"So we have to take out the guard," TJ said.

"There's a weapon room between here and the tunnel," Gary said. "No surveillance inside the room, no guards."

He paused, eyeing Del pointedly.

"What are you saying?" she asked.

"I think we should help ourselves to some guns."

Del was stunned.

"You mean kill the guard?"

Gary lifted his shoulders. "If it's the only way past him. We might need the weapons in the tunnel too. I can't tell if anyone's inside. Heat sources may not register through the cave walls. I don't know."

She sighed heavily. "Whatever it takes then."

"Yeah, dawg," TJ agreed. "If I gotta take a few down so we can get back, then that's what I'll do."

Gary traced a path on the Centre's map.

"We have to hit the weapon room first, then head straight for the tunnel entrance. Once we're inside, we have to move fast. It'll take forty-two minutes to get us all through the transporter. That's allowing for the five minutes of crystal recharging in between."

"Won't they just follow us through the portal?" Del asked.

"I have a feeling they're gonna be too busy on this side. I've programmed a virus to infect their system. Bit by bit, it'll infiltrate their entire network, obliterating everything―including Project Ankh. That should keep them busy for days."

Del was stunned.

If he could accomplish that, then Gary Ingram could bring the future to its knees.

"What about the rogue bots?" TJ asked, worried.

"That's the only problem I haven't solved," Gary admitted. "I'm into the program, but I can't figure out how to shut the rogue bots down."

Lawrence hastily shook his head. "They can't
be
shut down. If you try, you'll set them off. We'd better pray that we're all on the other side before someone activates them. If we're caught on this side, we'll be dead within five minutes of each other."

"Five?" Jake asked, swiveling his head sharply. "Schroeder lived longer than that."

Del flinched at the use of past tense.

"We updated the rogue bot program last month," her father said regretfully. "We had to, because of Arnold's escape. The only good news is that the Director can't activate all the rogue bots at once. The program will go through a random selection, killing us off, one by one. The only thing you could do is shut it off if they activate it."

Gary drew in a deep breath. "I'll stay behind then, until the last minute. I can make it to the tunnel just before the guard change. Most of you should be through the portal by then."

"No!" Del argued. "We all go together."

Gary raised his head, his soft eyes locking on hers. "If any of us are gonna escape, I need to stay here. When it's time, I'll run."

She swallowed hard, kissing Gary on the cheek.

"When we first met, you said you wanted an adventure."

He nodded. "I guess I got it, didn't I"

Tears pooled in her eyes.

"You'd better run, Gary. And run fast."

Twenty-three

T
J inserted the ankh key and the lab door hissed open.

"Walk fast," Jake said. "But don't draw attention."

Del flicked a look at the four men wearing white lab coats―her father's idea. The men walked out into the hallway first, but she hesitated in the doorway. Once she stepped outside the lab, there was no turning back. She'd be hunted down. Probably killed.

It's now or never.

She peered over her shoulder at Gary.

His round face lifted and he tossed his glasses aside. Then he raised a hand in a silent salute and smiled.

She swiped at her damp face, praying he'd be all right.

Jake nudged her gently. "We have to go, Del."

With a nod, she followed the four men down the hall. At the end, they turned right, moving quickly down a winding path of white walls and silver-flecked tiled floor. Nervous, she kept checking over her shoulder for VanBuren.

Del was just starting to relax when her father stopped.

"Someone's coming!"

She heard it too. The clacking of hard-soled shoes.

Juggling a messy pile of manila folders, a young girl in an aqua jacket rounded the corner. She seemed surprised to see them, but not overly concerned.

As the girl drew closer, Del flattened her perspiring palms against her thighs, wiping them on her jeans.

Please don't be Kate.

It wasn't.

Del had never felt so relieved.

However, her relief didn't last for long.

The next corner brought them face-to-face with two boisterous―and somewhat drunk―young men. They staggered unsteadily down the hall, supporting each other physically.

"They'll be perfectly sober in thirty minutes," her father whispered. "The nanobots don't like alcohol."

One of the men spotted her. "Hey, beautiful! Ya headin' for the party?"

Jake stepped protectively in front of her, but she sidestepped around him. Facing the young man, she smiled.

"We have some work to do first. See you later?"

The man winked boldly. "I sure hope so."

His friend nudged him and grinned. Then they waved and staggered off, singing at the top of their lungs.

"Nicely done," her father said.

Del peered over her shoulder. "Being out in the open is nerve-wracking, Dad. I feel like a sitting duck."