Blood List(80)

GMan: I remember.

SayItAintSo: Of course you do, baby.

GMan: Ok. How are we getting out?

SayItAintSo: Now I know you're alive, gotta talk to a friend. Wait for e-mail.

GMan: Ok.

SayItAintSo: Log off now. Don't just close the browser, log yourself out then shut down.

GMan: Ok.



Gene logged out, then looked up at Carl and Doug. All three of them were grinning like maniacs. It was nice to hear from a friend.

A long moment went by before anyone said anything. Finally, Carl spoke. "What now, boss?"

"We wait, Carl. We wait for our knight in shining armor to come rescue us."

"Giddyup, Sam," Doug said. They all agreed.

Twenty minutes later they received an encrypted e-mail from Sam. Gene typed the phrase, Why do I always get the cute ones? into the computer. In moments they learned everything they never wanted to know about the man trying to kill them.



* * *



February 7th, 12:21 AM EST; The Java Jungle; Fredericksburg, Virginia.



Sam beamed as she logged out of the chatroom. I love Internet kiosks. Can you get more anonymous? Now that she couldn't go to work, the café near her hideout in Fredericksburg, Virginia had become her new favorite place. It had four computers with broadband access that coffee shop customers could use free of charge. In Sam's case, "free of charge" meant at the cost of a dozen biscotti and three double-shot lattes. Best of all, it was open 24-7. The staff had already gotten used to the husky girl who never moved.

It was the middle of the night and the coffee shop was deserted, so she placed a call through the Internet to an old friend, using Federal encryption protocols. The phone rang twice before it picked up.

She was glad to hear a familiar voice. "Govind Agrawal."

She kept her voice low, conscious of the barista at the other end of the shop.

"Hey Govey, it's Sam."

"Hi, Sam! That puzzle you gave me is quite the 'doozy,' as you put it. We are getting nowhere very quickly, but I think somewhere rather slowly." Despite the hour his voice was alert and cheerful.

"Well, quicker is better than slower. Lives depend on it."

"I got that impression before, Sam." He paused. "What is it I can do for you today?"

Sam took a deep breath. He wasn't going to like this.

"I need to ask a favor. A huge favor." She didn't have to try to sound desperate.

"If it is in my power, it is yours, my friend."

She smiled. "Wait until you hear what it is. I need to preface this by saying that someone tried to kill me a couple of days ago. Some bad shit is going down, and it involves Emile Frank. He's responsible for the nuclear threat in San Francisco, too." Sort of.

For a moment she heard nothing at all on the other line.

"You are sure of this?"

"As sure as I can be, yeah."

"I have met Doctor Frank on several occasions. He seems to be quite a pleasant man, all in all. I find it difficult to believe that a man in our own government is consorting with terrorists."

"The manhunt is phony," Sam said. "They're not Aryans, and there's no bomb. Trubb is a guy who was working with us, and Palenti is my boss. They're not even named Trubb and Palenti. They found out that Emile Frank is into some serious shit, and next thing we know they're inside a DHS lockdown and the whole goddamn country is out for their blood. Frank also worked for Bailey Pharmaceuticals, the same company that developed the 'cure' you're working on. It's not a coincidence."

Another long pause. "Why do you not turn in Frank yourself? If he has killed a bunch of people with a fake nuclear emergency lockdown, the government will put him away for a million years."

"Remember I said someone tried to kill me? They were in my apartment, waiting for me when I got home. I was shot in the arm. Don't worry, it's not too bad. They've hacked the phone system and are intercepting calls going in to my boss. If I go to work, I'm dead. If I don't, I'm just an anonymous crackpot on the phone who nobody's going to believe."

Govind sighed. "All right. And what do you need me to do?"

Now it was Sam's turn to pause. If he said "no," she didn't have a plan B.

"I need you to help me smuggle three men in my team out of the lockdown area."

Govind didn't say anything for a long time.

"Will you tell me all about the adenovirus?"

Curiosity killed the cat, Govey. "Yes."

"Everything you know? Where it was developed? On whom it was tested? Everything?"

"Absolutely everything."

"Let me make some telephone calls. Call me back in two hours."

Relief flooded through her. Thank God. Worry replaced relief. "I will, but you have to be careful, Govind. These guys knew what I was doing on my FBI computer within minutes of my search."