The Leaves in Winter (3 page)

Riya switched to the next slide. It showed a graph that plotted increasing life expectancy for humans throughout history.

“Clearly, with the rise of intelligence, we humans have increased our life spans. Up until now, we’ve done this without any systemic approach to do so. Does this mean it is in our nature to live better and longer lives? In ancient
Greece
and
Rome
, the average life span at birth was 28 years. In the early 20th century, the average varied between 30-45 years. Today, it approaches 70 years. Of course, measurements of life expectancy versus life span are different qualitatively. They are not the same thing. Rates of infant mortality, disease and war can skew the statistics, but given any measurement, one has to admit we humans are living longer. And the longer we live the more we wonder – how long of a life is possible?”

Riya turned with laser pointer in hand and froze, distracted by a sudden commotion. Shouts rang out from one of the stepped aisles leading to the stage. A young man and woman wearing bright green ski masks rushed down the steps. As they neared the stage they threw gold-wrapped chocolate coins at Riya and bounced beach-ball sized inflated Earths off the display screen – the land masses of each continent had been pasted over with human faces.

“Reject the new class order!” yelled the man.

“Life is not for sale!” shouted the woman.

As guards rushed to contain the pair, Riya cowered back behind her podium with Malcolm rushing to her side. The audience turned in surprise but stayed seated in shock. Behind a glass partition at the back of the hall, TV cameras zoomed in.

“Equal life for all people!”

“Stop the rise of the Master Class!”

Wrestled out a side door by guards that had converged from all directions, the man and woman cried out in nonstop protest. In their wake they left a stage and podium littered with chocolate coins and rolling Earths. With the initial disturbance over, the audience erupted in discussion.

The professor who had introduced Riya stepped back to the microphone. He called for calm and order and apologized for the disruption. In time, Riya returned to the podium. Her hands shook as she turned a page of lecture notes. She paused over prepared remarks before deciding to leave them and speak freely.

“I’d just like to say – of course I’m aware of the controversy surrounding my work. I believe a debate would exist whether or not a prize was involved. I want to make it clear that I fully support discussing the merits and dangers of anything we do. Constructive questioning is always good. There
should
be controversy about science. We are a species that has it within our power to remake the world around us. That sort of power needs to be enlightened by healthy debate and guided by reason and moral clarity. I truly believe there is much to learn and benefit from life extension therapies. But it should come as no surprise that I personally support a moratorium on its commercial use. We should wait until a reasonable consensus about its application can be agreed upon. I am not one of those who thinks consensus is impossible – not when it’s in everybody’s self-interest to secure it.”

Riya paused to read the reaction of the audience. Her silence was met with spontaneous applause. Riya picked up the laser pointer again and managed a smile.

“I guess I should get back to my lecture. It’s not like we have all the time in the world…”

The reference to limited time was answered with scattered laughter.

Riya turned just as the crack of a gunshot split the air. The bullet hit her in the upper chest. The impact tossed her back again the wall. The laser pointer spun out of her hand and crashed to the ground. Riya dropped to the tiles like a rag doll. In reflex, the audience gasped, winced, then ducked into their seats. Shouts of “Oh my God!” and “No!” were broadcast to the watching millions.

Janis pulled Alyssa to the floor and dropped down on top of her to shield her. Malcolm rushed to Riya’s side and cradled her in his arms. From floor level Janis could see Riya’s head turned towards Malcolm. Her unblinking eyes fixated upon his. Her lips moved. The expression on her face was of distress, astonishment, and finally release.

The auditorium erupted in pandemonium. Some people cowered while others bolted to get away. Police blocked the exits to ensure the shooter couldn’t escape. Guards rushed to an area where audience members had gotten into a scuffle. It was a false alarm – only a man reaching for his phone.

Janis was paralyzed by protective fear, unwilling to let go of Alyssa or leave the floor. Across the tiles towards them ran a rivulet of blood. Alyssa shook and panted beneath her. Paramedics rushed in and pushed Malcolm back from Riya’s lifeless body.

Malcolm staggered back, stunned that the woman that he loved was gone.

Guards helped Janis and Alyssa to their feet and hustled them towards the ante-room. Janis broke their grasp in detour to the podium. She grabbed Riya’s notebook and clutched the lecture notes to her chest. With an arm around Alyssa, she hurried to the exit. The lecture was over as quickly as it had begun.

No one had learned how to extend life – they’d only witnessed how to end it.

Chapter 2

Jubilee Hills,
Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh
,
India

The teakettle screamed. Dinner sat ready on the table as a TV droned in the background. Janis Insworth raced to the stove, haunted by sounds from a faraway lecture hall. Before her eyes, visions of what might have been dissipated in the steam.

“Alyssa!” The call went unanswered. Flustered, Janis headed down the hallway to her daughter’s bedroom. Through a crack opening in the doorway Alyssa could be seen wearing ear buds. Despite the private roar of music, she lay on her bed stone-still and staring at the ceiling.

Janis pushed in and gave a wave to attract attention. “It’s time to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“OK, don’t eat – come out and keep me company.”

Janis returned to the kitchen. She knew Alyssa would find an appetite once she sat at the table. In a minute or two she’d appear; she always did. Janis poured tea but the cup nearly overflowed as a news report shifted her attention.

“…police in
Stockholm
are testing the weapon they believe was used two days ago in the murder of Nobel Laureate Riya Basu. The .44 caliber handgun was discovered in the pocket of a coat left behind in the famed lecture hall. The shooter remains at large. So far witnesses have given conflicting accounts of the final moments before the renowned geneticist was gunned down before a live audience with millions watching by webcast…”

Alyssa shuffled into the kitchen space. “Have you seen my…”

“Shhh!” Janis held up a hand.

Adjusting pajamas, Alyssa stared into space. “You already have company.”

“…speculation mounts about the one responsible. One university guard admitted privately that evidence points to the environmental activist group, New Class Order, the same group that organized the violent demonstration outside the lecture hall. Attention is focusing on two NCO members, a man and a woman, who somehow breached security and disrupted the lecture immediately before the fatal shot was fired. Off the record, sources close to the police say they now believe that disruption provided the diversion that distracted security staff and allowed the shooter to take up position.”

Mumbling, Alyssa opened the fridge. “How can you listen to that?”

Janis sat at the table, her eyes diverted to the broadcast.

“…In a statement issued on its website, NCO adamantly disavows responsibility for the crime. Meanwhile, French authorities acknowledge they have begun questioning a former NCO member who claims he has proof the radical group is hiding the truth.”

Alyssa’s aimless foraging drew Janis’ attention.

“What are you looking for?” After no response, “Everything’s on the table.”

Janis muted the TV and switched from remote control to fork.

“I can fix something else if you want.”

Alyssa faced the open fridge, frozen with indecision, her back to her mother.

Janis endured the silence between them until it turned deafening.

“Alyssa, are you all right?”

Still distant, Alyssa closed the door and slunk to the sink for a glass of water.

“If something is bothering you, we should talk about it.”

“Yeah, what good is that?”

“What do you mean? Is it about the trip?”

After a sip, Alyssa emptied the glass into the sink and snapped, “I told you I didn’t want to go.”

Janis sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened. I know you’re worried.”

“Whatever.”

Janis stood. “We should talk. It’s not good to hold it all inside.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Yes there is.” Janis caught Alyssa by the shoulder on her way past. “We need to stick together. It’s just the two of us.”

A nerve was touched. Alyssa pulled away. “Sure, and what happens now? What if they come after you? It’s not like we’re hard to find.” Alyssa was angry even as her eyes filled with tears.

Janis reached out for her. It was hard to hear her fear and pain. But it was good not being shut out. Maybe Alyssa was opening up after days of being withdrawn.

Before Janis could speak, the doorbell rang. Exasperated, she glanced at the clock. That was all the time Alyssa needed to hurry to her room. With her went an opportunity for something both of them needed. Now it might not reappear for days.

Aggravated, Janis anguished over the timing of the unknown visitor and considered not answering the door. No one was expected. The last thing she needed was to face some overachieving investigative reporter who had hunted her down. Despite anxiety, a nagging curiosity and rising intuition drove her forward.

Through the peephole, she spied a fisheye view of Malcolm Stowe.

“Malcolm!” The door swung wide. “What are you doing here?”

“May I come in?”

“Of course.”

The bald-headed powerhouse of a man lurched forward with an energy that was fidgety, anxious, hurt, driven. His words were uncharacteristically hushed but the acerbic wit and British accent were intact.

“Sorry for bothering you at home. I didn’t find you at the lab.”

“I took the day off.”

“Just as well. The place is becoming unrecognizable.”

“What do you mean?”

Janis sat on the sofa as Malcolm paced. He was eager to share something but suddenly was thinking twice about stopping by. Janis stood up.

“Would you like some tea?”

“All right.” He followed her into the kitchen.

“I’m surprised you’ve returned to work so soon.”

Malcolm leaned back against the counter and watched Janis pour. “It couldn’t be helped. There were things I needed to do.”

“How are you holding up?”

“The only saving grace is that it still doesn’t seem real.”

“I still can’t believe it. So what did you mean –
the place is unrecognizable
?”

Malcolm raised his eyes and the two of them locked gazes. He spoke in a whisper. “They’ve locked me out of Riya’s office. I’m not allowed to collect her personal effects.” Pausing to read Janis’ reaction, he leaned in closer. “Security has been reshuffled and I’ve come out on the bottom of the deck –
me
of all people!” He recoiled. “You don’t seem surprised.”

A bit embarrassed, Janis guessed there was no better time to broach the topic. “Crime investigations are
usually
locked down – especially around those who were
involved
with the victim.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since that night.”

Malcolm nodded and looked away. “And the whole thing was televised. It’s not the way Riya and I wanted it, that’s for bloody sure – but what were we supposed to do? It was necessary. The insulation around
GenLET
forced us. You know how it is – working in that lab is like serving solitary confinement. Riya and I never would have gotten time together if we had gone public. There’s no mystery about it.”

“It’s unfortunate but hiding behind secrets looks suspicious. Maybe some people wonder – what else were you two keeping hush-hush.”

“What else? Whatever for?”

“You above all know how paranoid they are about corporate espionage.”

Malcolm shook his head. “It’s more than that.”

“Really. Then tell me. You came here so you must trust me.”

“Can I?” Malcolm’s gaze searched her face.

“What do you want from me?”

Janis was willing to settle up and call it an evening. If Malcolm wanted a shoulder to cry on, that was one thing. If he was after more, he’d better get specific.

After a long draft of tea, Malcolm could no longer hide his game face.

“A week before the
Stockholm
trip, I spent the night with Riya. She was agitated, preoccupied, not herself. I asked her what was wrong. She wouldn’t tell me. Then she got a phone call. She raced upstairs to take it. She shut the door but I followed her. I managed to hear her side of the conversation.”

Janis took a breath to calm her nerves. “You sure you want to tell me this?”

“Whoever she was talking to was someone at NovoSenectus. Everything was jargon, the kind only someone in a staff position or higher would understand.”

“All right. So what?”

“Halfway through the conversation, Riya couldn’t take it any more. She got upset – furious like I’d never heard her before. She accused them of bastardizing her work. She wanted to know why she was being kept in the dark. She lectured them in security procedures and rattled off a covert passcode like it was memorized.”

“How do you know that?”

If telling secrets was the way to keep Janis engaged, Malcolm was more than willing to impress her with his frankness. “You may think I’m a glorified security guard. Not so much. Only one thing could tempt me to leave the British Special Air Service – a lot more money but more importantly, an even greater challenge.”

“I didn’t think there was anything more demanding. So what are you saying?”

“All you need to know is this – for the last nine years I’ve been trusted to do whatever NovoSenectus needed done.”

“Anything? Why would they need someone like that?”

“Listen – two days ago Riya got shot and now I’m persona non grata.” Malcolm’s temper flared. “Don’t tell me all of this is because we were fucking.”

Janis felt uncomfortable. He was in her house and now she wasn’t sure who he was or what he might do. She needed to mollify the situation.

“OK. It doesn’t sound right. Maybe there
is
something odd going on.”

“She knew a type of passcode even I wasn’t aware of – how and why?”

“
GenLET
has the tightest security. She was top scientist. Maybe…”

“There’s more to it than that. On the phone, she also demanded to know why she wasn’t told about an
agent
being selected.”

“Agent?”

“Odd isn’t it. NovoSenectus selects an agent and I don’t know about it.”

“Is that really so odd? Do you expect to be privy to
all
corporate business?”

“You worked with Riya every day. You were friends. Ever take her for a spy?”

Janis couldn’t help but laugh. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“So what would?”

“Why not ask your boss.”

“My boss isn’t available.” Malcolm paused for effect. “I was hired by Eugene Mass. I’ve had no other boss.”

“I don’t know…that’s wild.”

“Is it really that hard to imagine? A man like Mass maintains his personal security separate from anything NovoSenectus does – but it’s all for the same cause. It’s all about maintaining interlocking rings of containment. Now do you understand? Me being on the outside – it’s not natural. Something’s up.”

“You should have confronted Riya – asked her about the phone call.”

“I did. She didn’t appreciate anyone tiptoeing to her door to listen. She told me she didn’t want to talk about it – she couldn’t. She said it was better if I didn’t know. Then she threw me out.”

Head spinning with possibilities, Janis walked around the kitchen table. “So what’s this about? Why are you telling me all this?”

Malcolm stepped forward in front of Janis to force her to stop. “I need to know one thing – how can I contact Colin.”

The name shot to the heart of Janis. She hadn’t seen her ex-husband for thirteen years. The mention of his name in this context shot a wave of vertigo through her. “Colin?” Her voice reduced to a whisper.

“I know – hear me out.”

Janis shook her head and fled into the living room. “You’ve got to go. I can’t do this.”