“That remains to be seen.”
“Why did Rictor go to you anyways? Why didn’t he just offer to sell the Bell to the U.S. military?”
Chase shrugged. “Well, he didn’t invent it so it wasn’t his to give away. And if he tried to sell it to the military, they might’ve detained him and forced him to turn it over, free of charge. He couldn’t take that chance. You see, Rictor liked living the good life and spent himself into heavy debt. He needed cash and he needed it fast. I was his only option.”
I doubted he knew about the Sand Demons. And I wasn’t about to fill him in. “Looks like he found a third option. He took the Bell and ran, along with a million dollars of your money.”
Chase frowned. “I must admit I’m surprised to see you. I figured you’d flee the city. Why’d you come here anyway?”
“Answers.”
“Did you find them?”
“Some.”
A curious expression came over his visage. “How’d you beat my security? No one’s ever made it past them.”
“That’s because you never pissed off a guy who knew how to climb.”
Chase glanced toward the broken window. I followed his line of sight and stared at the puddle of water. It seemed to ooze toward the desk with an almost magnetic attraction.
“Impressive,” he remarked. “Perhaps after this is over, we can find some common ground. I could use someone with your skill set.”
“Sorry. I don’t work for assholes.”
He smiled thinly. “Well, let’s do business. You have something I want. If you give it to me now, I’ll let you go.”
“Do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“I have no reason to kill you. All I want is your cooperation.”
“As soon as you get what you want, I’m dead. You can’t afford to let me live.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” He laughed. “You’re nothing but a pesky fly. I’m wealthy, powerful, and connected. I employ thousands of people and have influence with hundreds of politicians and bureaucrats. When I’m accused of crimes, people jump to my defense, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. And you? You’re nobody. You have no money. No job. No influence. Your former peers consider you a disgrace and a crackpot. I have nothing to fear from you. It would be a waste of my time to kill you.”
“Have you ever considered becoming a psychotherapist?”
“Where’s Hartek’s journal?”
“Beverly has it.”
His features hardened. “I see.”
“If you let me go, I’ll get it for you.”
“I have a counteroffer. If you tell me where to find it, no one gets hurt. If not, I’ll take matters into my own hands. With a snap of my fingers, my people will scour every inch of this city.”
“You’ll never find her.”
“They won’t be looking for her. They’ll be looking for Diane Blair.”
A jolt of electricity shot through my body, lighting my joints on fire. “I don’t know her.”
“Of course you do. Ryan followed you both times you went to see her.”
“If you hurt her…”
“I won’t hurt her,” he replied. “As long as you give me the journal.”
My mind raced, clicking through strategies. I couldn’t let him hurt Diane. At the same time, I wasn’t about to give him the keys to the Bell. I needed a third option of my own. “Okay. I’ll get it for you.”
He shook his head. “You’re a good liar. Good, but not great.”
“Well, we can’t all be perfect.”
Chase walked forward, sloshing through the thin layer of water that surrounded the desk. He stared at me through cold, dark eyes. “Tell me where to find the journal. I won’t ask again.”
“Go to hell.”
I don’t know if it was from loss of blood or sheer exhaustion, but I never saw it coming. I felt a sharp jab as his fist slammed into my head.
The chair tipped over and the back of my skull crashed against the hardwood floor. My vision grew foggy and I almost passed out. But the sight of a steel-toed boot hurtling toward my head kept me awake.
I rolled. The heavy boot smashed into the floor, barely missing my ear. I hopped to my feet and limped around the desk, backing away from him. His strength and speed had caught me by surprise.
I didn’t intend to let it happen again.
Chase’s left fist flew through the air. But this time I was ready. I parried the blow and grabbed his wrist. With a quick yank, I sent him hurtling toward the wall.
He spun to the side in mid-air. His heels hit the wall, he compressed his body, and launched at me like a Hellfire missile.
His fist punched my face at the precise moment his body crashed into mine. The combined impact drove me backward and I fell to the ground.
As he rose to his feet, I felt warm blood pouring from my forehead. He was tearing me apart, turning my face into hamburger meat.
He stood up, smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothing and stared at me with contempt. “Where’s the journal?”
Slowly, I rose to my feet and wiped the blood from my face. “Half your life,” I said. “You’ve spent half your life searching for the Bell. Was it worth it?”
“Of course it was worth it. The Bell is the future of weapons technology. Its value is immeasurable.”
“The future? The thing’s over thirty years old.”
He laughed. “You don’t know what the Bell is, do you?”
I backed around the desk, keeping a corner between him and me. I needed time to think of an escape plan. The window and the door were the only exits. Unfortunately, I doubted my body could handle another climb. At the same time, Standish stood outside the door, guarding it. “It’s a particle accelerator,” I replied. “Hartek probably used it to create some useless material. What was his deal anyways? Just another scientist gone mad?”
“Hartek wasn’t a scientist. He was an alchemist, the last of his kind, yet decades ahead of the world. And yes, the Bell is a particle accelerator. But it’s not just any particle accelerator. Hartek used it to subject a mercury-based fuel to tremendous amounts of electricity and torsion. Eventually, he created Red Mercury.”
“What’s that?”
Chase considered me for a moment. “It’s a superheavy element on the Island of Stability. While similar substances decay in a matter of seconds, Red Mercury has a half life of one hundred and fifty-five days.”
I shrugged. “So what?”
He clucked his tongue, clearly annoyed at my ignorance. “So, Red Mercury is a super-dense form of exotic matter. It’s nearly indestructible. But when subjected to extreme pressure, it undergoes a chemical reaction that releases an enormous amount of heat energy.”
“Sounds like a blast at a barbecue.”
“The amount of energy released is sufficient to replace the fission-based primary in a fusion bomb.”
My heart beat faster. “Wait, are you saying…?”
“Indeed I am. Once I have the Bell, I’ll be able to produce an endless supply of Red Mercury, which will allow me to build hydrogen bombs without going through the costly and tedious process of gathering and enriching uranium.”
He smiled. “In other words, in a few short hours, I’ll be the world’s newest nuclear power.”
Chapter 34
The truth crashed into my mind, sending it spinning in a dozen different directions. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
I suddenly felt very tired. I’d lost a lot of blood during the last hour. I just hoped I had enough left in me to keep from passing out. “But how…?”
“The Bell originated from the Uranverein. It…”
“The Uranverein?”
“The Nazi nuclear energy project.” He took a step toward me. “When it became clear that Germany was doomed, the SS dismantled the Bell and murdered all of the scientists and technicians associated with it. But they spared Hartek, seeing him as a valuable asset for the inevitable rise of the Fourth Reich. Later, they entrusted him with Nazi spoils via ODESSA.”