The Viral Epiphany (18 page)

“Perhaps you remember now,” he suggested with a smile.

“No, you don’t understand, I…” Stephen was unable to finish the sentence as both men pushed him below the water again and this time John counted to thirty.
 
The interrogation continued with John counting to higher and higher numbers each time Stephen was submerged but Stephen gave them nothing that they wanted.
 
It was only when John was convinced that Stephen would rather drown than reveal what he knew that he decided to change tactics and he took out a large, serrated, folding knife from his coat pocket…

Witnesses later told the
Gardai
investigators that they had seen two young American-looking men in black suits helping a drunken Japanese businessman walk towards the banks of the
River Lee
in the park.
 
However, no one had seen exactly what happened after the men had entered the woods near the river.
 
Two weeks later a gruesomely tortured body had washed over the Lee Fields Weir and become entangled in the water plants that grew mid-river.
 
However, the body could not be identified because of the extensive injuries the man had suffered including the loss of all his fingers…

Dan and Sheila left the Jurys Hotel suite at noon but they had lingered over a long lunch downstairs in the hotel restaurant as they continued discussing their plans.
 
Finally Sheila asked,
 
“What do you think we should do next?”

“I think we should go back to my office and get those Omega letters. Maybe then we could take them to the
Gardai.
 
Then they’ll have to take us seriously.”

 
“But we can’t go there. We’ve already been over that.
 
Those men might be there any time!”

 
“That’s right,” Dan replied. “What about Brendan? He can go see if the men are in my office. I hate to draw him into this, but we have no other choice.”

Sheila nodded but didn’t say anything.
 
She looked out from their table at the flowing waters of the
River Lee
beside the hotel and watched the dark waves and eddies.
 
A lone magpie alighted briefly on the railing in front of them and then, just as quickly, flew away.
 
She watched the bird as it flew until it became only a black and white speck in the distance. Then she looked at Dan.
 
“We’ll have to be very careful, Dan. Very careful.”

A few minutes later, they left the restaurant and walked towards the University while Dan called Brendan on his mobile phone. Brendan had been working in the lab but he walked down to Dan’s office and then called back and confirmed that there was no one there.
 
Five minutes later Dan and Sheila were in the office.
 
He retrieved his papers while Sheila stood guard at the office door and anxiously looked up and down the length of the hall, but no one came.

“OK, we’re all set,” Dan said, “Now we just need to figure out where to go!”

“What is going on?” Brendan, who had been quiet throughout, said to Dan at last. “Are you guys in trouble?”

 
“It’s a long story,” Dan said.
 
“We just need to disappear for a few days. That’s all.
 
I can’t tell you everything now, but it’s important. We really need your help.
 
Will you help us?”

Brendan smiled. “Sure!
 
Of course I will.
 
Hey, I know.
 
Why don’t you stay at my place? It’s not a palace but it’s OK for a couple of days and I’m sure no one would ever look for you there.
 
It’s a real student-type of place, if you know what I mean.”

Dan and Sheila looked at each other and laughed, each of them knowing exactly what it must be like.
 
They happily agreed and Brendan walked with them to the student parking lot where he had left his light blue 1993 Renault. Dan and Sheila sat in the back seat while Brendan drove to the student housing area located in a maze of streets on the hill above the university.
 
The student housing was a vast collection of aging houses that had once been houses of the English gentry, but were now the temporary homes to many of the 25,000 students who attended UCC.
 
Dan knew at once that no one would ever find them here.
 
“This is perfect,” he said as they got out of Brendan’s car.

While Dan and Sheila were settling in to their new accommodations, the Omega agents parked their Mercedes outside the lobby entrance of Jurys Hotel.
 
John walked over to the bellman and said, “I’d like to pick up some luggage for a very good friend of mine.
 
His name is Stephen Itagaki.
 
He told me that you have it in storage for him.
 
He has changed his mind and won’t be staying here after all.”

The bellman hesitated briefly but then thought better of it when John offered him a twenty-euro note. “Would you need any help with the bag, sir?” he said.
 
“I’m sorry to hear that Mr. Itagaki isn’t coming after all.
 
Perhaps he’ll come another time.”

“Perhaps.
 
But I’m afraid Mr. Itagaki is not feeling too well just now.
 
Something he ate perhaps.
 
We’ll take good care of him.
 
I really don’t believe he’ll be coming to the hotel any time soon, but who knows, perhaps some day he will drift by,” John said with a smile.
 

Minutes later, John and Tom walked out the main door of the hotel with Stephen’s luggage.
 
As Tom drove away from the hotel towards Cork airport, John made a call on his mobile phone to an untraceable phone number in Utah.

“This is Special Team One calling.”

“Go ahead.”

“Request permission to return to base.”

“Is your mission complete?”

“Negative. We have overriding information and materials.”

“What is the nature of the information and materials?”

“We have extremely potent and rare biological materials. There are also DNA codes. We have everything needed for the success of Black Wind. Repeat - everything.”

“Standby,” the voice said.
 
A minute passed, then a new voice came on the line. “Understand you have mission critical Black Wind materials.”

“Yes sir.”

“You are very confident?”

“Sir. This is the absolute key to the success of Black Wind.”

“Roger. Understand.
 
Return to Alaska base ASAP. Have you performed your primary mission?”

“Negative.
 
The primary mission was overtaken by events. I made a command decision in the field.” A long pause ensued.

“Roger.
 
You will be replaced by Special Team Two.
 
Be prepared to brief your replacements upon your arrival in Alaska.
 
Out.”

John turned off his phone and turned to Tom.
 
“OK,” he said, “they want us to come back right away.
 
They’ll send another team out to take care of Doctor Quinn.”

           
“Sounds good to me,” Tom said.
 
“Wait’ll they see this stuff,” he said pointing to the suitcase in the back seat, “You’ll get a promotion for sure!”

           
John smiled and leaned back in his seat.
 
“Not just me, Tom.
 
They’re good guys up there.
 
Don’t worry, they’ll take care of you too.”

Nineteen

Johnny Chan and his sister Marie had been playing in the woods behind their home in Westford, Massachusetts for hours, but it seemed as if only minutes had gone by.
 
It was a warm and sunny, early autumn day and the leaves on the maples and birches had been turning color for a few weeks now.
 
Some of them had already fallen to the ground and there were gaps overhead where the sunlight filtered through. Johnny looked straight up above him and saw the impossibly clear, blue sky above him and felt the dry, cool breeze on his cheeks that whispered about the coming of winter.

For what must have been the tenth time that afternoon he checked his watch to see what time it was.
 
He loved his new stainless steel, Seiko chronometer. His dad had brought it home with him three days ago when he had returned from a weeklong business trip to Hong Kong.
 
He had missed his father while he was gone on the trip, especially during his eighth birthday party two days ago, but his dad had made sure that he had brought home a “super” present to make up for his absence.

 
“Hey, Marie,” he called to his sister, “it’s ten past six.
 
We were supposed to be home at six!”

“OK,” Marie called from her perch in the young maple tree above him.
 
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
 
Marie was a year older than Johnny and had yet to outgrow her tomboyish tendencies.
 
One of her favorite things to do on days like this was to climb to a spot near the top of a young maple or birch sapling and then, while holding on tightly to the top of the trunk, leap out into space and ride the bending tree down to a gentle landing on the ground as the tree curved under her weight.
 
As soon as she was a foot or two above the ground she would let go and drop to the earth while the tree sprang back upright.

Marie stood up straight, wiping the dirt from her hands, and looked back up at the tree and laughed in delight.
 
The northwest breeze ruffled the yellow and orange leaves until two or three fell and she watched them flutter and twist their way to her feet.
 
She turned and smiled at Johnny, “This has really, really been fun today,” she said, “want to come back again tomorrow?

“Sure, but we have school tomorrow don’t we?
 
We’ll only be able to play for a couple of hours before it gets dark.”

“Yeh, I know,” she replied, “but it’ll be fun anyway.”

 
She looked down the tree-covered hillside towards their house but she could not see the house or the garage clearly because of all the trees and also because it was starting to get dark.
 
Even so, there was something that seemed a little odd to her.
 
She peered a little more intently towards the direction of their large, garrison colonial house and then turned back to Johnny.

“I don’t see any lights, do you?”

“No,” he said, hardly bothering to look, “So what?”

“What time is it now?”
 

He looked at his watch again. “Six thirteen.”

“I wonder why they haven’t put the lights on yet?”

“I don’t know.
 
Maybe they forgot.”

She looked at him with a trace of impatience on her face. “No, silly, you don’t forget to turn on lights… Maybe they went out to the store.”

“Yeh, I guess so,” Johnny said, “Let’s just go home anyway.
 
I’m getting hungry.
 
We should be eating pretty soon.”

They walked slowly along the zigzag path they had made by their frequent trips to the woods and they stopped twice on the way to turn over a couple of rather large moss-covered rocks.
 
Johnny had wanted to see what was underneath them.
 
Then as they came to the edge of the woods and stepped onto the neatly mown grass of their two-acre yard Johnny took one more look at his watch.
 
He had to press the button that lights up the face of the watch because it had become too dark to read it now.

“Six thirty,” he said looking at Marie and then back at the house.
 
It was still dark.

Marie looked at him and nodded, “Look,” she said pointing towards the house, “the car’s still in the driveway so they must be home!
 
I wonder if the power is out?”