John shrugged, but relaxed his grip enough to grab the man’s pinky and started to bend backwards.
“No, no,” the man screamed before John could break the bone. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”
Eric nodded at him and John released the man’s finger, giving silent thanks that he wasn’t forced to follow through with Eric’s threat. He leaned close and whispered in the man’s ear. “Good choice. You wouldn’t like what he would’ve ordered me to do next.”
Smith stared at the monitor for several minutes before finally initiating the video conference.
There was a long pause before the call connected. The tired old man on the other end squinted into the camera. “Fulton?”
“Sorry for calling so late,” Smith said.
Hobert fumbled at his keyboard, then wiped the sleep from his bleary eyes. “What time is it?” he asked.
“It’s late.”
Hobert shook his head. “Has something happened?”
Smith wanted to tell him that of course something happened. He wanted to scream at the monitor, to yell at his old friend, to tell him that his mind was finally slipping away and was about to lose all memory, all sense of self. “I need to increase the medication. How much higher can I go?”
Hobert frowned. “You’re already above the highest recommended dosage. You’re well past unsafe levels.”
“Unsafe? I need more time.”
“There’s nothing more I can do,” Hobert said. “We are giving you massive doses of an experimental drug. Any higher and we could cause the exact problem we’re trying to prevent. We just don’t know enough about it.”
“I’m the one taking the risk, Hob. It’s my decision.”
Hobert rocked back in his chair. “I’m sorry, but you knew this was coming. That’s why we’ve worked so hard.”
Smith wanted to reach through the video monitor and grab his old friend by the neck, but the anger quickly faded. “I’m aware. How goes the research?”
“We are pushing the boundaries of technology. Elliot and Oshensker have made amazing leaps, but they haven’t been fully tested. Implementation will be hard. We can’t test on dying prisoners the way we did before.”
Smith sighed. Of course Hobert was right. The tech was already years ahead of what even the most hopeful scientists imagined. The experiment that turned John Frist into a formidable weapon was almost on the border of science fiction. For all that, it was still cumbersome. Clunky.
So many opportunities for improvement.
The next generation would be an order of magnitude beyond the existing platform. They just needed the right candidate. “And lots of luck,” he said softly.
“What’s that?” Hobert asked.
“Just talking to myself. I’m slipping. I’m not just repeating myself. There are other things. Smaller things.”
“Have you told Nancy?”
“No. The timing isn’t right. The current mission is too important, too dangerous.”
“There’s always some dangerous but important mission. You have to tell her.”
“Just a few more months,” Smith said.
Hobert paused, then his hands fumbled for something. When he raised the glass to his lips, Smith felt a stab of anger. He had promised Hobert’s wife that he would keep watch on his old friend.
Hobert took a long swig of Scotch, then glared at the monitor. “You know I’ve been drinking. I’m sure you even know how much and when.”
The stress of their lives had taken a toll on both men, but none so much as Hobert’s drinking. Years of sobriety, AA meetings, and even experimental medications hadn’t been enough to make him stop. “It’s less than you drank ten years ago,” he admitted. “You’ve kept a handle on it, but you’re dancing close to the edge.”
“Victoria’s been spying, hasn’t she?” Hobert asked, his face turning red.
“She worries about you. She wants you to retire. I want you to retire. Don’t end up like me.”
That stopped his friend, who put the glass down. “What about Eric? Have you told him?”
“There’s so much I haven’t told him. If I just had more time—”
“We can increase your dose by 40 milligrams,” Hobert said. “That’s as far as we go. Anymore and you risk suffering a synaptic storm. If that happens, not only would you lose your memories, but possibly higher functions. The best case scenario? You’d be a drooling idiot. The worst? Brain death.”
“Thank you.” He knew Hob wanted to protect him, but their work was too important. To the country. To Eric. To Nancy. To the office that had taken so much from him.
“What about Alexandra?”
“You know the risks. You know what’s at stake.”
Hobert shook his head. “If you’re really concerned about taking care of your affairs, you will do the right thing. You of all people have the means to reconnect them.”
“If my plans come to fruition, young Eric will take my place. He will ensure that Nancy is cared for.”
“You’ve got a lot riding on him.”
“Eric is capable of much more. He hasn’t realized his full potential.”
Hobert shook his head, deep lines in his face that stood out in the glare of the monitor. “I just hope he doesn’t walk away when he discovers the truth.”
“He won’t. He’s better than us. That’s why we picked him, remember?”
Eric resisted the urge to smile. The mere threat of violence had been enough to break Sadir. He was glad John had played along. Of course, he was prepared to order John to break all the man’s fingers if that’s what it took.
Deion frowned and leaned in close. “You want me to do this?”
Eric shook his head. “I got it.” He turned to the terrorist. “Tell me about your plan. Who’s in charge?”
“I am,” Sadir said, a hint of pride in his voice. “It is my plan.”
Nancy rolled her eyes. Eric wanted to agree. Sadir didn’t seem smart enough to devise the plan on his own, but they would come back to that later. “What was your target?”
“New York City. We were to bomb the infidels in New York City.”
He turned to Deion, who raised an eyebrow.
Why does every terrorist want to bomb New York City? He shrugged and turned back to the man. “Where’s the bomb now?”
“I don’t know,” Sadir said.
“How can you not know?” Eric asked. “I thought this was your plan. I thought you were in charge?”
“I am in charge, but I prepared for this. How could I give away the location if I didn’t know myself?”
Eric thought about that. Perhaps Sadir was smarter than he appeared. “Who knows the location? Does your man, Nazer, know?”
He watched Sadir’s face carefully. When he mentioned Nazer’s name, Sadir frowned.
“Nazer? No, he does not know. No one knows.”
“How can that be?” Nancy asked. She stepped forward and pointed her gun at Sadir’s head. “How can nobody know?”
Sadir offered a weak smile. “I am a smart man. I planned carefully.”
He saw the muscles in Nancy’s forearm twitch.
She’s more dangerous than John. I wonder if Fulton understands. “Nancy,” he said quietly. She turned to him with empty eyes, then slowly lowered her weapon. He turned his attention back to Sadir. “What about Al-Hakim?”
The man froze. “It was not his plan. It was my plan.”