The distinctive two-tone wail of a French police car sounded in the distance, coming her way. A second siren joined the first.
Someone heard the shot, she thought.
Valentina had the door open in seconds. She went down the stairs two steps at a time. She reached the ground floor, followed the hall to the back service entrance and disappeared into the Parisian night.
CHAPTER 45
The day after the fiasco with Valentina, Gutenberg was back in his château. He had Krivi on the secure line. They were talking about Brazil.
"The test has gone even better than we hoped," Krivi said. "Schmidt is quite pleased. The plague is spreading nicely. Brasilia has managed to confine the outbreak to the far North for the moment, but people will continue to die. The vaccine has proven effective. My laboratories are ready for production."
"When do you plan to announce the discovery?"
"Later today. There will be delays while the bureaucrats clamor for further testing and safety evaluations for human use. I anticipate that regulations will delay distribution in volume for at least six months."
"Excellent," Gutenberg said.
"How is our stockpile of the plague agent?"
"We have more than enough," Gutenberg said. "It will make the plagues of history pale in comparison."
"Have you heard from Kamarov?" Krivi asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. No, I haven't. I'm beginning to think something has happened to him."
"He has many enemies," Krivi said. "I'm surprised he's lasted this long."
"He has excellent security and government protection."
"Even the best security can fail against a determined opponent." Krivi paused. "You didn't call me just for an update."
"You know me too well, old friend. We have a problem. Valentina has betrayed me."
"Ah. For a younger man? I thought you were above that sort of thing."
"Another man in her bed would mean little," Gutenberg said, "though I do expect exclusivity from my mistresses. This is worse than that. She's been spying on me. Someone else is now aware of our plans."
"Thorvaldson told me your emails had been compromised," Krivi said. "That certainly is a problem. What have you done with her?"
"Somehow she knew I'd found her out. I sent men as soon as I discovered her treachery but she killed them. She's escaped."
"Killed them? The lovely Valentina? I never would have guessed she had such skills."
"She installed a program on my computer to monitor my correspondence. She's working for someone with sophisticated resources."
"One of your competitors?"
"No. Valentina was well-trained, she was armed and she was ready to kill in order to escape. She has to be working for a government. Whoever it is knows who we are. That means they are a serious threat."
"The others will be upset by this development," Krivi said. "Mitchell has expressed doubts to me about your leadership. He may try to use this to remove you."
"You didn't tell me Mitchell had approached you."
"I did not feel it was necessary. My sense was that he was exploring possibilities, sounding me out as a possible ally. I left him with the impression that I was open to persuasion. Personally, I think he's an ass."
Gutenberg laughed. "The fact that the Americans elect people like him to run their country never ceases to amaze me."
"He is very convincing in front of the cameras," Krivi said. "I could almost believe he was telling the truth if I didn't know better."
"An accomplished politician," Gutenberg said. "He may be an ass but he has been effective at furthering our goals. We don't have to like him."
"It is very easy for me not to like him."
"In any event, this spying cannot be tolerated."
"I have asked my man to find out who is listening in," Krivi said. "He said it will take a little time."
"But he can do it."
"Yes," Krivi said.
"Good."
"Perhaps we could draw them out."
"What do you mean?" Gutenberg asked.
"Because of your ex mistress they know we released the plague in Brazil. That makes us a threat to them. If I were them, I would want to remove that threat."
"You think they'll come after us."
"It's possible. They could target us individually but I have a better idea."
"Go on."
"Send me an email discussing our next face-to-face meeting as a group. They will be certain to intercept it."
"We have no such meeting scheduled," Gutenberg said.
"Whoever is monitoring you doesn't know that. If they think we are all going to be together and accessible it will make a tempting target. I thought your place in France might seem believable."
"You think they'll send in a team? Try to assassinate us?"
"Wouldn't you?" Krivi said.
"It's worth a try," Gutenberg said. His voice hissed with suppressed anger. "They are going to regret interfering."
"Have you chosen the target for the next phase?" Krivi asked.
"Let's wait until we find out who has been spying on us. Releasing the plague on their home ground would be fitting punishment for their arrogance."
CHAPTER 46
It was spring outside Elizabeth's office windows. The lawns at Project headquarters were turning green. The flowerbeds bloomed with new life and color. It was a beautiful day, the kind of day for leaving your desk and sitting somewhere in the sunshine. For Elizabeth, a day like that was right up there with one of Samuel Coleridge's opium dreams. The team was assembled in her office.
"We have a new mission," Elizabeth said. "Steph?"
Stephanie wore a light blue shirt that hung loose over black slacks. Elizabeth thought she might be putting on a little weight, but her clothes hid it well. As she often did, she'd chosen large gold earrings. A half dozen gold bracelets circled her left wrist. Her fingernails were painted a shade of blood red that matched her lipstick.
"Gutenberg sent a long email to Krivi Dass. He's called a face-to-face meeting of AEON's leaders."
"Where?" Nick asked.
"A villa in Normandy, near Caen. Gutenberg owns a boutique vineyard there. It produces only a few hundred bottles a year. Very high-end."
"What do you have in mind?" Nick said.
"It's time we ended this," Elizabeth said. "I want you to go to that villa and put AEON out of business, once and for all."
"You want us to kill them?" Selena said. "I thought we were the good guys."
"And they're the bad guys," Nick said. "They've started wars that caused the deaths of millions of people. They killed Adam. Those people we saw dying in Brazil, that's their doing. They gave up any rights to fair treatment a long time ago."
"I didn't say kill them." Elizabeth looked at Selena. "You can try and take them alive. We need to know where the rest of those plague samples are. We need to know what else they've planned, who they've corrupted."
"Director, you really think we can take them alive?" Ronnie asked.
Harker shrugged. "As I said, you can try. There are no rules of engagement if they resist."
Selena's expression showed her disapproval but she said nothing.
"These are important men, public figures," Nick said. "You know they'll resist. People are going to ask a lot of questions if they disappear. They'll have trained pros for bodyguards, probably ex special forces. We go after them at that villa, it's going to get noisy, fast. If we kill any of them, half the police forces in the world will be after us."
"Then you better hadn't get caught," Elizabeth said. "This one is completely off the books. No backup, no extraction. The president will not know about this mission. For this one you don't exist."