Morvicti Blood (A Morvicti Novel Book 1) (22 page)

They came out on a busy street, packed with commuters heading home for the day.

She could hear police sirens howling from every direction.

At a breathtaking speed, Austin weaved in and out of traffic, turning left and right in the dim light of dusk.

Looking over her shoulder out the back glass, she spotted smoke billowing into the sky from the building they’d left. “Who are these men?”

“I don’t know. Just hang on.”

She spotted the cars of the masked men, which were gaining on them.

“Austin, they’re getting closer.” Her heart thumped hard in her chest as he made a daring pass around several cars, turning right against traffic.

He sped through a red light.

Horns blasted.

One of their pursuers’ cars hit a taxi, rolling over before coming to a stop. The other two drove through the light, continuing to chase them.

She grabbed the dashboard and planted her feet as Austin hit the gas, passing a bus. He turned off his lights and made a sharp left into an alley.

Looking back, she saw their attackers’ cars speed past. “Should we get out of this car, Austin? The gunmen will recognize it.”

“No.” Keeping the lights off, he sped down the narrow alley and came out onto another street.

Three police cars and two fire engines drove past them, heading in the direction of Coach and Horses.

As Austin slowed the car to the same speed as the rest of the traffic, he turned to her, “We need to get in touch with Michael.”

“I left my purse back there. My mobile phone was in it.”
I need Michael.

“Relax. We just have to find a pay phone.”

“Austin, they’re rare now, though I’ve seen them around the Tube. Everyone has mobile phones these days. Plus, even if we did locate one, neither of us has any money.”

He sighed. “You said Michael was going to Dr. Wilson’s home, right?”

“Yes.”

The light turned red at Oxford Circus and they came to a stop.

“We can meet up with him there. Do you know the address?”

“No, but I know someone who might.”

“Where to?”

“The British Museum to see Dr. Kelsi Vickers. We need to hurry because it closes ten minutes from now.”

CHAPTER 38

5:22 PM

Austin turned the car onto Great Russell Street. Iron gates surrounded the massive museum.

“Up ahead on the left,” Angelique directed. “Go through those gates.”

“There’s a guard.”

“Trust me. I’ll get us through, but you better stash that machine gun somewhere.”

He nodded, placing it between the door and his seat. Now the guard would only be able to see it if the man stuck his head through the window and looked down. “Hand me the pistol.”

She did. “Don’t shoot anybody, please.”

He tucked the gun into his coat. “I won’t unless I have to.”

When they came to the gates, the guard stepped over to the car. “You’ll need to turn around, sir.”

Angelique leaned over. “Hello, Kyle.”

The man peered in. “Dr. McCord, you’re arriving a little late.”

“I just need to talk with Dr. Vickers. It will only take a minute.”

The guard smiled and then turned his attention to Austin. “Do I know you?”

“I doubt it. I just got to town this morning.”

The man frowned. “You look so familiar.”

“He’s a researcher I’m working with,” Angelique said quickly. “Dr. Vickers wants to meet him.”

“Certainly. You may go through, but the gates will be locked at six. Be sure to be out by then.”

“We’ll hurry. Thanks, Kyle.”

“My pleasure, Dr. McCord.”

Austin drove into the forecourt and parked the car. He and Angelique got out, running for the main entrance. Inside, they came into the Great Court’s large enclosed space, with a spectacular glass roof above. In the center stood the cylindrical world-famous Reading Room.

He spotted a sign that caught his attention.

“Headless Mummies of Egypt.”

He followed Angelique to a set of stairs. They went up a couple of floors to the museum’s offices.

“She might have already left for the day,” he said.

“Don’t say that. I need to find Michael.” The panic in his sister’s voice troubled him.

Still, she was holding up better than most would. Just as tough as she always was.

They came to a door, but before they could knock it opened.

An attractive woman wearing a white top, green slacks, and black stilettos stood in the doorway. “Angelique, what are you doing here?”

“Two things. May I borrow your mobile phone? I need to call my husband.”

“Certainly.” The woman pulled it out of her purse. “And who is this?”

“My brother.” Angelique dialed Michael’s number.

“I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Long story, Kelsi. Michael, my God. It’s you. Are you okay?”

Austin extended his hand to Kelsi. “I’m Austin.”

The woman’s face flushed slightly. “And you already know my name.”

Angelique looked relieved. “Yes, I’m fine. So is Austin. There was an explosion, but Austin got us out.”

Kelsi seemed shocked. “An explosion?”

“Like my sister said. It’s a long story.”

“Honey, we are getting Dr. Wilson’s address from Kelsi and plan on meeting you at his home.”

“Dr. Wilson?” Kelsi tilted her head to the side slightly. “Dr. Thomas Wilson?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Why?”

Angelique stepped back, whispering softly into her phone. “I love you, too. I’m just a little shaken.”

“Dr. Wilson was here just past noon today,” Kelsi answered him.

“What for?”

“He wanted to get some tissue samples from my mummy exhibit.”

“The Headless Mummies of Egypt is your exhibit?”

She nodded. “I’m confused. That explosion had something to do with Dr. Wilson?”

“We just don’t know yet.”

Was there a correlation between what happened to Walt Turner on Murphy Street and Kelsi’s mummies? Turner had lost his head this morning. The mummies’ years earlier. It didn’t make any sense they would be connected but his gut told him they were.

Angelique turned to him. “Michael received word about the explosion before he arrived at Dr. Wilson’s place, so he turned around to try to find me. He wants to talk to you.”

She handed him the phone.

“It’s me, buddy.”

“We have a problem,” Remington said.

Angelique stepped into Kelsi’s office with her, asking for Dr. Wilson’s address, allowing him some privacy.

“What kind of problem?”

“The police have issued an all-ports warning on you. Just learned about it moments ago, although it has been active for a few hours already. You’re their lead suspect in these Ripper murders.”

That’s why the guard thought he recognized me.
“That’ll make moving around London more difficult. Plus, Angelique and I stole a car to escape from the garage attached to your facility on Coach and Horses.”

“Then it should not be a problem since it’s either one of the gunman’s cars or an agency car. If it is one of ours I’ll make sure it’s not reported stolen. If one of theirs, I’m sure they won’t be reaching out to the authorities.”

“Are you back at the safe house?”

“I am. Quite the mess you left me, Austin.”

“What was the body count you found?”

“Seven of my best men are dead.” The anger and regret in Michael’s voice came through loud and clear.

“What about the bad guys?”

“There were no bad guys found.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I made Swiss cheese out of at least six of them, maybe more.”

“Their buddies might have gotten them out.”

“I don’t think so. They were trained assassins, no doubt about it. Why take the time to remove bodies? They wouldn’t have had any identification on them.”

“A total cluster fuck. Austin, it’s not safe for either of you to come back here. We need to figure out a place to meet.”

Angelique stepped out of Kelsi’s office. “Wilson’s house is just one block from the museum.”

“Michael, head back to Dr. Wilson’s home.” Austin wanted his buddy by his side and he knew Angelique wanted her husband. “We’ll meet you there.”

“I just got a tip on The Ripper case. The informant’s house is on the way to Dr. Wilson’s, so I’ll check it out to see if Poole is there.”

“Be careful. We don’t know what he is capable of. Poole might be The Ripper.”

“Poole is leading the investigation, so we might get lucky that he will be onsite. Once I can get my hands on the commissioner I will make sure he answers our questions.”

“I would like to be part of that interrogation.”

“Might be difficult, since at the moment you are the prime suspect the Met is looking for, but I’ll see what I can work out. Keep your head down, Austin.”

“Don’t be too long, Remington. Your wife needs you.”

“If I get held up, I’ll send Harris and a couple other officers to Wilson’s house. They can bring you both to me.” With his words softening, Remington added, “Thanks for making sure Angelique got out safe.”

“I’m not about to lose my sister again. I will continue to keep her safe, Professor.”

“You better, McCord, because she’s the love of my life.”

1973

Guatemala

CHAPTER 39

Dr. Thomas Wilson stood in a tent ten kilometers from the Tecuamburro stratovolcano. He stared at the results of the second test. Same outcome. The cells from the dead infant’s tissue sample were alive, actually reproducing.

Elated, he vibrated from head to toe.

His friend and colleague, Dr. Simon Minkel, had returned to the site he’d unearthed a year earlier, inviting him to join the next expedition.

Minkel had organized the second archeological dig, which was quite a feat, given the current political conditions in Guatemala.

He and Minkel had been friends since their first year of university. But their bond was not the only reason he had accepted Minkel’s invitation. He had trekked to South America because of the two mummies who were over 1,400 years old.

The mother’s head had been sacrificially removed. The body of the infant discovered in another chamber was whole. Minkel surmised that based on what his team had found, the female had hid her child just prior to her assailants’ arrival. Had the woman believed someone would find the infant? Had she thought she would survive the attack to whisk her child to safety later? Questions that would likely never be answered.

But the answers to the questions that continued to keep him awake at night were on several slides by his microscope.

Having cut his finger on a pair of scissors, a drop of his blood had contaminated the tissue sample of the baby mummy he was examining. He had almost tossed it aside but decided to take a look at it through the microscope first. What he saw shocked him. He leaned back and rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he had truly witnessed.

One more look at the cells and his heart started racing. He took another tissue sample of the infant, pricked his finger so a drop of blood would fall on the slide. He then put the combination of the dead baby’s cells and his living cells under the microscope.

The 1,400-year-old cells began to reanimate.

He could not contain his excitement, realizing the magnitude of his discovery. He ran the same experiment with the mother’s tissue—but nothing happened. Her cells did not become active. He tried again. Same result. Nothing. He placed the original slide with the baby mummy’s tissue back under the microscope. Not only were the cells active, but they had also begun reproducing.

He had been stumbling in the dark for so long, hoping to find that spark that would illuminate what his life’s mission was to be. Now he knew.

What to call my hypothesis? Reanimation cycles? Resurrection systems? Hyper-hibernation?
There was plenty of time to find an appropriate name.

A sound of a gunshot rang out nearby, startling him.

A scream. More shots.

Oh God, what is happening?

He ran out the back of his tent.

Minkel was standing in the open area in the center with his hands raised. Three soldiers were pointing guns at him.

Remaining low and out of sight, he stared in disbelief.

“
Por favor, señor. Tengo
…uh…
la documentación
,” Minkel pleaded in broken Spanish.