Border of the sun (14 page)

  Karthik wished that he was dreaming. Everything that had happened to him from that stupid day when he had woken up late to the day when they decided to go to Egypt—was just a dream. Dr. Alex Bill was not missing. Piper was never kidnapped by a bunch of criminals—Mr. Ford was still alive and this weird old man standing in front of him and talking about the strain of alien viruses did not exist. Everything is just a big stupid dream. He pinched himself hoping that he will wake up in his bed: Back into to the safety of his room. But nothing like that happened. He was still sitting in the basement, which looks more like a private lab. Everything that had happened to him was true. A feeling of dread swept over him and engulfed him like an ugly dark tornado. You have to be strong, Karthik, he said to himself.

  "You mean to say that we have made our first ever contact with an alien life form?" Piper asked. There was a twinge of skepticism in her voice. Karthik himself didn't believe it. He would have preferred again sleeping on that concrete-bed than believing on cancer-causing alien viruses.

  "Yes," Dr. Sharif nodded enthusiastically. "Many scientists had already predicted that our first contact with an alien life will be... mostly at the micro level. They predicted that one day we will find some alien bacteria dwelling in the red soil of Mars or swimming in the oceans of Europa. But we found an alien life. Not in any another planet but here on earth. "

  "I know that," Piper said, "but how can you tell those bacteria—"

  "Viruses," Dr. Sharif said correcting her.

  "Whatever... are not from earth?" she said firmly.

   Dr. Sharif smiled at her. His smiling face reminded Karthik of a cartoon character. "We found them in a meteorite, and how many viruses on earth causes cancer to their hosts that to in a matter of seconds?"

  Piper didn't have any answer for that. But jack did, "Zero," he said. "That means the virus really has an extraterrestrial origin." His stomach felt queasy as he said those words.

  "But aren't viruses nonliving?" Piper said.

  "Not completely," Dr. Sharif said, "It's true that they cannot reproduce without the help of the host. And these viruses are different from earth's."

  "But how can a virus cause cancer? Aren't cancer is a genetic disease?" Lilly said.

  "Only genetic?" Dr. Sharif asked her, smiling. "Okay, tell me what does a virus do? I mean, how does it cause us harm?" He looked at everyone, but Lilly for an answer.

  "Uh... maybe they eat our cells?" Karthik suggested.

  Dr. Sharif chuckled. "You can talk?"

  Karthik grunted but also nodded.

  "Good. But you are wrong—the virus attaches itself to a host cell and infuses the cell with its nucleic acid (DNA). This DNA takes the host cell hostage and the virus begins to multiply with DNA and its protein coat thus developing into new viruses. The host cell is eventually overcome with the new viruses and just like a balloon does when it has too much air, it bursts. The newly formed viruses then carry on with their Lytic cycle by searching for new host cells to invade."

  "You mean that they use our cells to reproduce or replicate their DNA?" Karthik asked. “They use us to reproduce?”

  "Yes, That's right. The X-virus works in the same way," Dr. Sharif said,   "But there is something—not only they replicate inside our cells, but also change the structure of our DNA—and they multiply very quickly. They can easily kill a human in a matter of thirty seconds."

  "What was the project Outlander?" Lilly asked, “What were you people planning to do with that virus?”

  "We thought the X-virus can be a great vector—we decided to use it to create a new kind of drug."

  "You decided to use a cancer-causing virus to treat cancer?" Lilly asked, amused.

  "It's like," Piper muttered, "It's like using venom to create an anti-venom. It is like fighting fire with fire."

  "Exactly. We genetically modified X-virus to treat cancer-causing cells, and—"

  "Oh god!" Piper squealed.

  "What is it?" Karthik asked.

  She stood up, and started walking to and fro. She grabbed her fist full of hairs and tugged hard. "How could I have been so stupid?" she stopped walking and stared at everyone. "This was the vector Dr. Alex Bill was talking about!"

  "What?" Dr. Sharif asked, "What do you mean by that?"

  "For years, PharmaGen has tried to develop a new medicine. A stuff that can cure cancer even at its third stage.They never succeeded in doing so...not until last year. Dr. Alex Bill said that he had found a vector suitable for our project. I guess that's why they needed my file," Piper said. She stopped walking and jerked her head in the direction of Dr. Sharif. "Why did you shut down Project Outlander?"

  Dr. Sharif stared at her, considering something, and finally said, "We got afraid. The serum we created did more than protecting cells from cancer..."

  "What does that mean?" Jack asked. “You mean it killed people.?”

  Dr. Sharif glared at him, his eyes gaped. "It enhanced our test subjects. Gave them superpowers beyond our imagination. Those viruses give your body extreme regenerative power. We decided that humans are not ready for it... except Dr. Alex Bill. He was in favor of the drug."

  “Extreme regenerative power. You mean like Wolverine?”Jack asked.

  “Yes, something like that,” Dr. Sharif said nodding.

  The old man has definitely lost his marbles, Karthik decided.

  There was a bang and the door to his left flung open. More than dozen of armed men hustled into the room. Pointing their weapons at Karthik and others. He stared in horror as two men strangled him onto the floor.

  A man, who was holding Dr. Sharif's nephew with his gun pointed at the boy's head. "Time's up, Doctor," He growled, "Now you are going to work for us."

  Luke Tesla looked pleased. The news he had just received from Egypt had really cheered him up. He was happy. Not that happy to start running around the streets while throwing his hard earned money in the air... But he was pleased, very pleased...

  He was standing in his office, which was in the twenty-third floored, right behind his desk, facing the window. The scene outside was fascinating. The skyline was fading as the dawn was close. The enormous city of Sydney stretched in front of him. Soon, this all will be mine, he thought.

  His dream, which actually belonged to someone else, someone really close to him was about to come true. He had to wait ten years for this, and now it looked like he will have to wait for a few more days. His path was now cleared.

 
They have found him. At last...

  Soon, the first ray of light broke through the horizon, engulfing the stars close to the land. In a matter of seconds, the dark gray sky turned into shades of light pink. Luke turned away from the window and doubled back to his desk. He sat in the chair and stared at the desk. It was filled with documents and files and globe of earth rested in front of him, next to his encrypted cell phone.

  He stared at the cell phone. Soon they will call him. He knew it. But he hated waiting. He could feel the tension building inside him like a pouring coffee threatening to cross the rim of a cup and overflowing it.

  He stretched out his hand, reaching for the drawer under his desk.

  He grabbed the knob and gently pulled the drawer, revealing the content inside it. The corner of the drawer was huddled with little cobwebs. An old, dust-smeared, a black and white photograph was resting in the center of the drawer. He lifted the photograph, and ran his fingers over it—it was his most cherished possession—and was very close to his heart. The photograph showed an old guy in his early fifties, wearing a lab coat and thick framed glasses. Two teenage boys were standing beside him. The photograph felt cold against his fingers.

  And the morning of June 1972 came back to him. It had rained heavily last night in Surabaya, a famous hill station in Indonesia. His dad had rented a big farmhouse on the outskirt of a small town. Luke sat on the porch staring at the dense forest cloaked in fog and rain. 

  His dad, Danilo Tesla was a renowned Serbian scientist and Philosopher, was sitting in the reading room, rocking on his chair. His brother was playing upstairs. The rain dropped in cold sheet, hammering on the rooftop. Aroma of wet mud hung in the air.

  Luke kept gazing at the rain, brooding. He was actually not in good state. The news that he had read two days ago in the newspaper had disoriented his mind. The noise of rocking chair died. He heard footsteps. Then shuffling of books on the racks. Maybe his dad had decided to read some other book. He heard footsteps approaching him.

  His muscles tensed up. He knew what was coming.

  “Luke,” he heard his father calling.

  Luke turned, and saw his father walking toward him. Smiling at Luke.

  Luke smiled back. He loved the old man. His dad had married his mother at the age of forty-two. His mother was then only twenty-seven. She died of lung cancer when Luke was just one-year-old. 

  “What are you doing here?” His dad asked.

  “Just watching,” Luke replied.

  “You look so sad these days,” His father sat next to him and stroked his hair. “Is something bothering you?”

  Luke swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. He looked up at his dad and said, “I read something in the newspaper.”

  “You did?” His father smiled. “What was it, son?”

  “It was about Vietnam war. There was also a photograph that—Dad why do people have to fight? Why do they have to kill each other?”

  His dad stopped stroking his hair. “You know son. You are completely like me. Do you know why did if leave Serbia?”

  Luke shook his head.

  “Because of the second world war. They wanted me to create things that were cruel. Things that only an evil person can make.”

  “But you are not evil,” Luke said.

  “I'm not,” His father said solemnly, ‘Neither were those people who asked me to make those things. I realized it later, though.”

  “Dad, you didn't give the answer to my question.”

  “Answer to that question is that sometimes the bad things, which we think are bad for the society turns out to be good for the humanity. You know about the black death?”

  “No, I don't,” Luke said, “But it doesn't sound a good to me.” 

  “It was the plague that killed millions of life in Europe. What do think about it? Was it good or bad?”

  “I guess if it killed people then it was a bad thing.” Luke shrugged.

  His dad smiled. “It was bad. But it was also good.”

  “How?” 

  “Before the Black death. The cities in Europe were cramping up with people. The population was growing hastily. It lead to poor job opportunists, lots of  pollution, and many other bad things. Basically speaking, the quality of life was decreasing in Europe. The black death killed people. But it also cleared up space. It lowered the population of the cities. The Black death brought the things back to normal. So, remember son that the end is necessary for a new beginning.”

  Luke said nothing. He just kept staring at the old man.

  His father put his hand around Luke’s shoulder and said, “You know why I became a scientist?”

  Luke put his head on his dad’s chest and said, “Because you wanted to make the world a better place.”

  “That’s right. I’m growing old now...Luke promise me that after my death you will carry on my mission.”

  “I will,” Luke said.

  “Good, Let’s go up and see what your brother is doing.”

Luke ran his hand over the photograph of his dad.    

  He smiled and said, "Dawn is coming, and so is the change... the change that will shudder the world. It will send the world into the abyss... The End... because the end is necessary for a new beginning."

  Two men grabbed Karthik's arms and twisting them, they pushed him onto the ground, until he was lying flat on his stomach with his cheeks pressed against the cold floor. The floor was so cold that it stung. His body felt like a rock, unmoveable, all because the fear that had clouded his mind.

  Piper was shrieking in protest. Her voice echoed in the basement. He gingerly turned his head to his left and saw Lilly staring back at him. She was also on the floor. There was calmness in her eyes, which bewildered him.

  She was used to this kind of situations, and it clearly reflected through her expressions. Two years ago, her mission in Afghanistan had turned into a nightmare. She always considered it her worst mission... She was deployed in Afghanistan to spy on Taliban, one of the most feared terrorist organizations in the world. One week after arriving she was arrested, along with five others, on 27 June 2013, on suspicion of working for the Illegal Program spy ring under the American Federation secret agency. Luckily she was rescued by the remaining members of the United Knights.

  But this time, the situation was completely different. The United Knights had no idea where she was. She clearly knew that if they don't act quickly—they will surely face death—or even worse than that.

  A moment later Piper stopped protesting, maybe realizing that was useless.

  "Tie them up," the man who was holding Dr. Sharif's nephew barked. His name was Haen. The men obediently started tying them up. They first tied Karthik and dragged him toward the wall, where they dropped him with his back pressed against the cold wall.

  "Not him, you fools!" Haen barked, as two guards started tying Dr. Sharif's hands. "He is coming with me,"

  "I'm not going anywhere!" Dr. Sharif replied firmly—and for a moment, he looked younger. Karthik wondered what kind of person he must have been when he was of Karthik’s age. He must have been braver than me, Karthik thought.

  "Really?" Haen pressed the gun against the boy's forehead. The boy winced.

  "Javed!" Dr. Sharif cried, bolting forward, but the two men seized his arms and dragged him back.

  "Follow my orders, and I'll spare this boy's life," Haen replied, pressing the gun deeper into Javed’s skin.

  Dr. Sharif's face became devoid of color. He stared at his crying and wearily looking nephew. He pondered on the thought of giving up and finally nodded.

  Haen let go of Javed's shoulder. "Tie him up with the others." He motioned Dr. Sharif to follow him and started for the door. One of the guards poked his gun at Dr. Sharif's back, making him walk forward, toward the door.

  Dr. Sharif miserably glanced at Karthik and others. As Haen and doctor Sharif neared the door, one of the guards asked, "What are we going to do with them?"

  Haen gazed at the empty space for a few moment and said, "Keep an eye on them and just wait for the orders. I'm going to call him."

  Him? Who can be him? Karthik thought. Then it came to him. It must be Gun Katz, the leader of S.A.L.F. Yes, he must be the guy Haen is talking about.

  They tied Javed with others and was thrown crammed up in the corner of the room. The smell of phenol and chemicals from the lab floated in the air. Javed's sobs echoed in the room. "I'm sorry," he kept saying, "very, very sorry. This is all my fault."

  "Will you please keep quiet!" Jack snapped.

  Lilly glared at him and turned her gaze to the boy. "It's okay... What happened? How did they—"

  "I brought them here," Javed sobbed, "I'm very sorry. They were giving me money... I thought they were good... Guys..." and he started crying.

  "It's okay," Lilly said.

  She raised her eyes from the boy on the guards. There were two guards standing in front of them. The guards stared back at her. She held her gaze, but soon felt her stomach lurch. She turned her gaze back to her companions. They all looked miserable and terrified. How are we going to escape from here? She thought. There was no way out.

  Luke Tesla's cell phone rang while he was staring out the window. He spun around and bolted toward the phone. He grabbed and raised his encrypted cell phone to his ears. It was Haen.

  Luke waited, his heart pounded in his chest.

  "Sir," Haen said.

  "Yes, speak," Luke said.

  "We have caught him. "

  Luke's eyes widened with excitement. Soon, He thought.

  "But," Haen continued. "There were more people with him. We identified one of them: Piper Watson and there is also an Indian guy with them."

  Must be Karthik, Luke thought. What are they doing there?

  "What should we do?" Haen asked.

  And without even thinking Luke said, "Kill everyone. Destroy all the evidence."

  "Copy that... "