Patton stared across the desk at Varner. He looked younger than Patton would have thought. He was classically handsome, with piercing eyes and a strong chin and jaw line. To most people, Varner’s appearance and his status was intimidating. Patton wasn’t most people, though.
Patton wasn’t sure how to proceed. He suddenly felt uncomfortable and started to regret his visit.
“I’m sorry. I have something for you. Bao gave it to me to give you.”
Varner’s eyes went wide. He leaned forward in his seat.
“Bao talked to you? He’s not supposed to—”
“—I’ve known for months who he is and what he does. He contacted me. Something’s happened in Blue Creek. He said that all the spies have been discovered by Asher. Some of them have been abducted and interrogated, including Bao. He’s worried something is going to happen to them all.”
Varner stood and paced nervously behind his desk.
“How come he didn’t put this into a report?” Varner asked, running his hands through his hair.
“He can’t. He’s under surveillance including his computer. All of them are. That’s why you’re not getting any negative reports. Things are terrible and getting worse and they have no way of telling you.”
Varner sat in his chair and pushed it away from his desk. Patton was impressed with the genuineness of the reaction. He seemed to really care about his employees.
“He gave me this,” Patton said and handed the thumb drive to Varner.
“What’s on this?”
“Lists of spies, updated reports, what’s actually going on in town.”
Varner held the drive like it was a priceless object.
“What are you going to do?” Patton asked.
Varner looked up at Patton, surprised by the question.
“I don’t know. I need to see what’s on it first.”
Patton leaned forward in his chair.
“I’ve told you. Things are bad. It’s getting dangerous. Asher has put together some kind of secret police. It’s his own little Gestapo. A family tried to escape Blue Creek. They wanted out but didn’t have the money. The parents are up in the prison Asher is building. The kids are in the City’s custody.”
Varner blew out a loud breath.
“Asher had Charlie Henry and Anna Radinski killed,” Patton continued. “He’s doing things on his own now. That old bastard Charlie Henry was evil, but there’s something about this Asher guy. He’s evil, but he’s less predictable than Henry was.”
Varner grimaced.
“I’m not sure what I can do here, Mr. Larsen. My company is under contract. If I’m in breach I have to pay a huge penalty. Just like you have to pay to get out. There’s a lot of money at stake in this thing. Lots of PhDs with lots of data to collect. These people are some of the most vicious people I’ve ever met.”
Patton nodded. “I know the type.”
Varner fiddled with the thumb drive. Patton was glad to see that the man was concerned about the human element and not just the bottom line. He was obviously torn.
“It’s not just your people, Mr. Varner. It’s about the people in Blue Creek. I mean, didn’t you people consider this to be a possibility? Didn’t you think that someone would rise up and try to take control of this thing?”
Varner shook his head no. He looked ashamed.
“I don’t remember this even being mentioned. That doesn’t mean the researchers didn’t think it was possible. I wasn’t at every meeting.”
Patton sighed loudly and shifted in his seat. He leaned forward to drive home his next point. He looked directly into the Insight Resources CEO’s eyes.
“I know I have no way of convincing you or the researchers or whoever else is involved with this debacle, but people are going to die. They already have. Asher has control of Blue Creek. He’s built himself a little private army. He’s trying to close us off from the outside world. When, and I mean when, things start to get worse, what are you and the scientists willing to do to stop it? You have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Otherwise, someone else is going to have to take matter into their own hands.”
By “someone” Varner knew what Patton meant. Varner nodded. He knew Patton was right. He had no right to put a price on humans’ lives.
“I’ll talk to my people. We’ll come up with a plan. Then we’ll talk to the researchers. They hold the government grants. They have the politicians’ ears. I have to convince them. I need more evidence, though. If what you say is true—that I’ve been getting fake reports from my people—then I’ve got to open another channel of communication.”
Patton nodded. “That’s no problem. I just need proof that you know about this situation and that you want them to create real reports. You need to tell them to give their reports to me and I will get them to you.”
“How can I do that?”
Patton pulled his iPhone from his pocket and smiled. Varner smiled and nodded.
“Good idea.”
Ten minutes later they had a video that Patton would take back to Blue Creek to distribute to Bao and his colleagues. They shook hands on Varner’s porch. Before leaving, Patton said one last thing.
“Spread the word to whoever you talk to—if this thing gets further out of hand and more people get hurt, I’m going to hold someone responsible.”
Varner looked into Patton’s eyes and knew that he meant it. He swallowed hard and then nodded agreement.
That visit was two weeks earlier. Upon returning, Patton gave the video to Bao, but he hadn’t heard anything from any of the spies. Right now it was a waiting game. It was now out of his hands. If he didn’t hear anything soon, he would put his other plans into higher gear. In fact, that was part of the reason he was out on this long drive.
In his long career as a land developer and builder, this was easily the latest meeting he’d ever had with a potential client. The man looked at his watch again. He blew out a long breath, which he could see in the cool autumn air. Finally, after another ten minutes, the man could see headlights approaching. The driver parked beside his own truck and approached him, hands in pockets.
“Mr. Larsen?”
“Yes,” the figure replied quietly.
“Jerry Snow,” the man said, offering his hand.
Patton shook his hand. “Nice to finally meet you. And thanks for meeting me out here this late at night. It’s a long story.”
Jerry Snow nodded and smiled, but said nothing. He apparently wanted to hear the story. Patton explained the situation in town. The governor, the growing police presence, the arrests, the spies. By the time he was done, the old contractor’s mouth was wide open.
“So you see, I had to meet out here after dark. In fact, the reason I’m late is because someone was following me.”
“Are you sure?”
Patton nodded grimly.
The two men got down to business. Jerry Snow owned a large tract of land, over the mountains, to the west of Blue Creek. He and Patton negotiated the price for the land and for the cost of an initial development. The agreed on a figure—one that was in the millions—and Patton signed a contract. The work would begin immediately, Jerry assured Patton. They would put in sewer and water lines and would build the first few roads for the new town. Downtown buildings would begin before the first snows flew. They would also start building a few homes and then expand as more and more people decided to flee Blue Creek.
The men shook hands and parted company. Patton jumped into his truck and took a few moments to warm himself. Instead of turning on his lights and making his way back home, Patton donned a pair of night vision goggles. He scanned the road ahead, looking for Blue Creek security vehicles. There were none within his immediate view so he began to drive back towards the mountains.