you conference in to a later meeting to field questions. I’ll let you know once we know how the field test has gone.” Stengrave broke the connection with a click.
Richter stabbed his intercom button. “Sharene, please ready the guest quarters. We’re going to have company soon.”
Fifty hours earlier
Dr. Richter stood at the main doors of the lab, watching as a man dressed in jungle fatigues rappelled from a helicopter to the small clearing in front of their concealed facility. The moment his feet hit the ground, he unclipped himself from the rope, which was swiftly drawn back up as the helicopter was already flying away from the area. It had hovered over the site for maybe a minute at the most.
“Dr. Richter,” the man said as he walked up to him. “I’m Reginald Firke. Interesting place you have here.”
Well, at least he didn’t try any sort of “I presume” crap, Richter thought with a disdainful glance at the man’s crisp new fatigues and polished combat boots. “Come inside.”
The two men headed across the small vehicle bay to the outer airlock, past the half-dozen mud-splattered Range Rovers, and stood in front of an industrial glass-and-stainless steel door as the large outer doors closed behind them, throwing the large room into semi-shadow. “I assume your cargo is intact?”
Firke shrugged off a small backpack and held it out. “In here are all the samples you will need. I’m sure our mutual boss has informed you that time is of the essence.”
“Of course he has.” Richter didn’t move to take the pack, nor did he spare the shorter man a glance as the outer airlock door opened. “The emphasis was unnecessary, however. You’ll have the tailored viruses and be on your way soon enough.”
If the slender man was insulted by Richter’s annoyed tone, he didn’t visibly react as they headed into the airlock. “No need to insult the messenger, Doctor. I’m simply passing on the message, that’s all.”
“Humph.” Richter stared straight ahead as compressed air jets containing a powerful disinfectant covered their clothes and exposed skin. He didn’t think much of Stengrave’s hired goon. He’d had the man researched and learned he was ex-SAS, the British special forces arm of the military. That information did not faze him in the least. In Richter’s opinion, a gun was only used to accomplish a goal when those involved neglected to use their brains to find a more elegant and much less obvious solution. “I assume that Mr. Stengrave has also let you know of my requirements for this experiment?”
The safe tone sounded and the inner airlock door opened, revealing the cool tile and sterile-white hallway. Richter stalked forward through the corridors, brushing past men and women who knew to get out of his way when they saw the tall man walking with such purpose.
“Yes, that is not a problem. You’ll have all the eyes on-site you requested.”
“Good.” Richter turned a corner and lengthened his stride, making the shorter man hasten to catch up. It was a faint jab at the other man, but the doctor took his pleasure where he could find it.
“You realize, of course, that observing is all you will be doing.”
Now Richter did turn to the other man and let a small, mirthless smile appear on his face. “Of course, Mr. Firke. Just as you would never presume to tell me how to do my job, I would not feign to know the slightest bit of knowledge about how to carry out yours.”
The ex-military man’s only physical response was a raised eyebrow. “So glad we understand each other.”
Richter didn’t reply until they reached the culture room. White biohazard-suited figures, their faces obscured by full hoods, worked on various trays and at various lab machines and microscopes. The doctor stopped by a drawer set into the wall and hit the switch on an intercom.
“Dr. Estvaan to the transfer drawer, please.” A lithe figure on the far side of the room approached. Richter pulled the drawer out of the wall, then turned to the other man and held out his hand. Firke unzipped the backpack, pulled out a small metal case that was cold to the touch and handed it to the scientist.
After placing the metal case in the drawer, Richter closed it, sending it into the room as he activated the intercom again. “This is the package you were briefed on. You have the entire lab at your disposal to create as many strains using the DNA in here as possible over the next sixteen hours. This assignment takes priority over all others.”
With a curt nod, Estvaan took the case and pulled the rest of the suited workers to her as she began assigning tasks.
“Why Armenia?” Richter asked as he watched the group begin its work.
“Stengrave told you about the final destination, then,” Firke replied.
“Of course.” Richter glanced sidelong at the ex-soldier. “That is the one thing I don’t understand about this experiment. There are plenty of isolated places with a limited population around here. I could find several villages that would suit his needs within a half-day’s travel.” He turned to the other man. “So, why Armenia?”
“You know, I asked him the very same question.” Firke’s mouth curved into a grim smile. “Apparently, about fifteen years ago, a shipment of medical equipment was hijacked and its contents sold on the black market. Don’t ask me who bought it. I didn’t even know there was a black market for plasmapheresis machines, but apparently there is. Anyway, the thieves stole from our boss, at a time when his company had invested everything in this new technology. That shipment was not only worth several millions dollars, it was supposed to open up an entire new world of sales opportunities for Stengrave Industries. When the shipment was lost, insurance didn’t cover nearly enough to make up for the loss. The company almost went under.”
Richter blinked. “And you’re telling me that Mr. Stengrave is now about to exact his revenge on the Armenian thugs who did this to him?”
“Well, over the past fifteen years, that small family of Armenians that took that shipment has grown into one of the largest crime families in the country. The file that my predecessor was required to keep on them is almost 20 gigabytes of data and pictures. Their leader has a vacation place in the mountains, inside a walled city.”
Richter held up a hand. “Just to be clear... Mr. Stengrave has been holding on to these DNA samples for all this time?”
“Well, you know the old saying ‘keep your friends close, and your enemies closer’? Mr. Stengrave has quite a collection of both.”
“But to collect all of these various samples... It seems, I don’t know...”
“Obsessive?” Firke shrugged. “Perhaps. Let’s just say you’re not the only one who’s spent time in a lab coat over the years.” He cleared his throat. “Regarding what you and your people are about to do, one could say that Mr. Stengrave just wants to run a test in a controlled area, where there is the least likely possibility of your little tailored friends in there getting loose. The fact that he’s selected that particular place to do so—also delivering a particularly gruesome revenge on an old enemy who by now has most likely forgotten the reason why this biological death is about to rain down on him—could be a staggering coincidence...or you could chalk all of this up to simple Stengrave efficiency, and take out two birds with one carefully
