The Venetian Betrayal (46 page)

Good questions, but he had to rely on O'Conner.

"That woman she took from the lab the other day," Lyndsey said. "I'm sure she never made it back to the Federation. I saw it in her eyes. Zovastina was going to kill her. For amusement. She's ready to slaughter millions. What are we to her?"

"Her salvation."

Or at least he hoped.

STEPHANIE TURNED OFF THE HIGHWAY ONTO A PAVED LANE guarded by tall poplars lined like sentries. They'd made good time, driving the hundred and fifty kilometers in less than two hours. Ely had commented on how travel had changed over the past few years, road quality being a top priority for the Federation, along with tunneling. A new system had been blasted through the mountains, greatly shortening the distances from north to south.

"This place is different," Ely said from the rear seat. "It's been two years since I was here. This road was rock and gravel."

"This asphalt is recent," she said.

A fertile valley floor, checkered with pastures, spread beyond the trees, ending at stark rolling foothills that steadily rose into highlands, then mountains. She spotted shepherds tending flocks of sheep and goats. Horses roamed freely. The road stretched straight between the trees, taking them due east toward a distant gallery of silver flanks.

"We came here on an exploratory mission," Ely said. "Lots of chids. The local Pamiri house, built of stone and plaster with flat roofs. We stayed in one. There was a small village out there, in that valley. But it's gone."

She'd not heard any more from Malone, and she dare not try and reach him. She had no idea of his situation, other than that he'd apparently managed to free Cassiopeia and compromise Viktor. Edwin Davis and President Daniels would not be happy, but rarely did things go according to plan.

"Why is everything so green?" Henrik asked. "I always thought of the Pamirs as dry and barren."

"Most of the valleys are, but where there's water the valleys can be quite beautiful. Like a piece of Switzerland. We've been dry lately with warm temperatures. Way above normal for here."

Up ahead, through the thin line of trees, she spotted a massive stone structure perched on a grassy promontory, backdropped by mountain spurs devoid of snow. The house rose in sharp verticals, broken by steep gables topped with black slate, the exterior a mosaic of flat stone in varying shades of brown, silver, and gold. Mullioned windows symmetrically broke the elegant facade, each outlined with thick cornices, reflecting ribbons of light from the afternoon sun. Three storeys. Four stone chimneys. Scaffolding wrapped one side. The whole thing reminded her of one of the many mansions that dotted north Atlanta, or something from Architectural Digest.

"That's a house," she said.

"Which was not here two years ago," Ely noted.

Thorvaldsen stared out the windshield. "Apparently the new owner of all this is a person of means."

The dwelling loomed about a half mile away, across a green valley that steadily rose toward the promontory. Ahead, an iron gate blocked the drive. Two stone pillars, like compact minarets, support a wrought-iron arch that displayed the word "Attico."

"Italian for attic," Thorvaldsen said. "Seems the new owner is attuned to the local designation."

"Place names are sacred in this part of the world," Ely said. "That's one reason why the Asians hated the Soviets. They changed all of them. Of course, they were changed back when the Federation was created. Another reason Zovastina is so popular."

Stephanie searched for a way to contact the house from the gate, a call box or a switch, but saw nothing. Instead, two men appeared from behind the minarets. Young, thin, dressed in camouflage fatigues, bearing AK-74s. One pointed his weapon while the other opened the gate.

"Interesting welcome," Thorvaldsen said.

One of the men approached the car and motioned, yelling something in a language she did not understand.

But she didn't need to.

She knew exactly what he wanted.

ZOVASTINA ENTERED THE PASSAGEWAY. SHE'D RETRIEVED THE controller from O'Conner's dead grasp and used it to close the portal. A series of bulbs, linked by wire, hung inside iron brackets at periodic intervals. The narrow corridor ended ten meters ahead at a metal door.

She approached and listened.

No sound from the other side.

She tried the latch.

It opened.

The top of a stone staircase, chiseled from the bedrock, began on the other side and dropped steeply.

Impressive.

Her opponent had certainly thought ahead.

VINCENTI CHECKED HIS WATCH. HE SHOULD HAVE HEARD FROM O'Conner by now. The phone affixed to the wall provided a direct line upstairs. He'd resisted calling, not wanting to reveal himself. They'd been ensconced here now pushing three hours and he was starving, though his gut churned more from anxiety than hunger.

He'd occupied the time securing data on the lab's two computers. He'd also brought to a conclusion a couple of experiments that he and Lyndsey had been running to verify that the archaea could be safely stored at room temperature, at least for the few months needed between production and sale. Concentrating on the experiments had helped with Lyndsey's apprehension, but Walde remained agitated.

"Flush everything," he said to Lyndsey. "All the liquids. The keeping solutions. Samples. Leave nothing."

"What are you doing?" Karyn asked.

He didn't feel like arguing with her. "We don't need them."

She rose from the chair where she'd been seated. "What about my treatment? Did you give me enough? Am I cured?"

"We'll know tomorrow or the next day."

"And if I'm not? What then?"

He appraised her with a calculating look. "You're awful demanding for a woman who was dying."

"Answer me. Am I cured?"

He ignored her question and concentrated on the computer screen. A few flicks of the mouse and he copied all of its data onto a flash drive. He then enabled the hard drive's encryption.

Karyn grabbed his shirt. "You're the one who came to me. You wanted my help. You wanted Irina. You gave me hope. Don't let me hang."

This woman may prove more trouble than she was worth. But he decided to be conciliatory. "We can make more," he calmly said. "It's easy. And if we need to, we can take you where the bacteria live and let you drink them. They work that way, too."

But his assurance did not seem to satisfy her.

"You lying son of a bitch." She released her hold. "I can't believe I'm in this mess."

Neither could he. But it was too late now.

"Everything done?" he asked Lyndsey.

The man nodded.

Glass shattering caught Vincenti's attention. He turned to see Karyn holding the jagged remains of a flask and lunging toward him. She brought the improvised dagger close to his belly and stopped, her eyes alive with fire. "I need to know. Am I cured?"

"Answer her," a new voice said.

He turned toward the lab's exit.

Irina Zovastina stood in the doorway, with a gun. "Is she cured, Enrico?"

Chapter
EIGHTY-ONE

MALONE SPOTTED A HOUSE ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY. VIKTOR HAD flown them in from the north, after veering east and skirting the Chinese border. He assessed the structure and estimated forty or so thousand square feet spread over three levels. They faced its rear, the front overlooking a valley that scooped a cul-de-sac out of the mountains on three sides. The house seemed to have been situated intentionally on a flat, rocky hillock overlooking the broad plain. Scaffolding wrapped one side where, it appeared, masons had been working. He noticed a sand pile and a mortar mixer. Beyond the promontory, iron fencing was being erected, some already standing, more stacked nearby. No workers. No security. Nobody in sight.

A six-bay garage stood off to one side, the doors closed. A garden that showed evidence of careful tending sprouted between a terrace and the beginnings of a grove that ended at the base of one of the rising peaks. The trees sprouted brassy new spring leaves.

"Who owns that house?" Malone asked.

"I have no idea. The last time I was here, maybe two or three years ago, it wasn't there."

"Is this the place?" Cassiopeia asked, looking out over his shoulder.

"This is Arima."

"Damn quiet down there," Malone said.

"The mountains shielded our approach," Viktor pointed out. "Radar's clean. We're alone."

Malone noticed a defined trail that routed through a bushy grove, then worked a path up the rocky incline, disappearing into a shadowy cleft. He also saw what looked like a power conduit marching up the rock waste, parallel to the trail, fastened close to the ground. "Looks like somebody is interested in that mountain."

"I saw that, too," Cassiopeia said.

He said, "We need to find out who owns this place. But we also need to be prepared." He still carried the gun that he'd brought with him into the country. But he'd used a few rounds. "You have weapons on board?"

Viktor nodded. "The cabinet in back."

He looked at Cassiopeia. "Get us each one."

ZOVASTINA ENJOYED THE SHOCK ON BOTH LYNDSEY AND VINCENTI'S faces. "Did you think me that stupid?"

"Damn you, Irina," Karyn said.

"That's enough." Zovastina leveled her gun.

Karyn hesitated at the challenge, then retreated to the far side of one of the tables. Zovastina turned her attention back to Vincenti. "I warned you about the Americans. Told you they were watching. And this is how you show your gratitude?"

"You expect me to believe that? If it wasn't for the antiagents, you'd have killed me long ago."

"You and your League wanted a haven. I gave you one. You wanted financial freedom. You have it. You wanted land, markets, ways to clean your dirty money. I gave you all those. But that wasn't enough, was it?"

Vincenti stared back at her, seemingly keeping a tight grip on his own expression.

"You apparently have a different agenda. Something, I assume, not even your League knows about. Something that involves Karyn." She fully realized Vincenti would never admit any allegations. But Lyndsey. He was another matter. So she focused on him. "And you're a part of this, too."

The scientist watched her with undisguised terror.

"Get out of here, Irina," Karyn said. "Leave him be. Leave them both be. They're doing great things."

Bewilderment attacked her. "Great things?"

"He's cured me, Irina. Not you. Him. He cured me."

Her curiosity rose as she sensed that Karyn may provide the information she lacked. "HIV is not curable."

Karyn laughed. "That's your problem, Irina. You think nothing is possible without you. The great Achilles on a hero's journey to save his beloved. That's you. A fantasy world that exists only in your mind."

Her neck tensed and the hand that held the gun stiffened.

"I'm not some epic poem," Karyn said. "This is real. It's not about Homer or the Greeks or Alexander. It's about life and death. My life. My death. And this man," she clutched Vincenti by the arm, "this man has cured me."

"What nonsense have you told her?" she asked Vincenti.

"Nonsense?" Karyn shot back. "He found it. The cure. One dose and I haven't felt this good in years."

What had Vincenti discovered?

"Don't you see, Irina?" Karyn said. "You did nothing. He did it all. He has the cure."

She stared at Karyn. A bundle of raw energy. A tangle of emotions. "Do you have any idea what I did to try and save you? The chances I took. You came back to me in need, and I helped you."

"You did nothing for me. Only for yourself. You watched me suffer, you wanted me to die--"

"Modern medicine had nothing to offer. I was trying to find something that might help. You ungrateful whore." Her voice rose with indignation.

Sadness clouded Karyn's face. "You don't get it, do you? You never got it. A possession. That's all I was to you, Irina. Something you could control. That's why I cheated on you. Why I sought other women, and men. To show you that I couldn't be dominated. You never got it and still don't."

Her heart rebelled as her mind agreed with what Karyn said. She faced Vincenti. "You found the cure for AIDS?"

He glared at her, unresponsive.

"Tell me," she shouted. She had to know. "Did you find Alexander's draught. The place of the Scythians?"

"I have no idea what that is," he said. "I know nothing about Alexander, the Scythians, or any draught. But she's right. Long ago I found a cure in the mountain behind the house. A local healer told me about the place. He called it, in his language, Arima, the attic. It's a natural substance that can make us all rich."

"That's what this is about? A way to make more money?"

"Your ambition will be the ruin of us all."

"So you tried to have me killed? To stop me? Yet you warned me. Lost your nerve?"

He shook his head. "I decided on a better way."