The enemy, p.7
The Enemy, page 7
“Like that lab in Wuhan,” Ronnie said.
“Yes.”
“Not this again,” Ronnie said.
“You think he is making virus?” Valentina asked.
“He’s making the protein. It makes sense he’d develop the carrier as well. He has the manufacturing facilities to make it happen. I don’t think he’ll use the virus the Iranians created, the one we saw in that video. It’s too lethal. But he might develop a variation.”
Harker picked up her pen, set it down.
“I’ve come to realize how much we rely upon Freddie for information. With him out of the picture, it’s much more difficult. We have to find out what Hauser is doing.”
“It always comes back to the same thing,” Nick said. “Boots on the ground. We have to see for ourselves what he’s up to.”
“You mean get into the lab?” Selena asked.
“That’s exactly what I mean. There will be records, reports, documents. Something to tell us what’s happening. If we can get into the building, we’ll find something.”
“Where’s it located?” Ronnie asked.
“In Bavaria, not far from Munich,” Elizabeth said.
“We need pictures. Plans of the building, if we can get them,” Nick said.
“A lot of that will be on the web,” Selena said. “Plans for commercial buildings are filed in public places. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get them.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you going in there,” Elizabeth said.
“Why not?”
“We don’t have protection anymore, remember? If something goes wrong, you’ll end up in a German prison.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Nick said.
“I’m serious, Nick. The White House didn’t want to get Doctor Kezri out of Iran. That makes me nervous. I ask myself, why? Why refuse to help this important scientist defect? Maybe it’s just that they don’t want to rock the boat with the mullahs, but it feels like there’s something more.”
“That’s what Selena said.”
“It’s possible they don’t want to help her because they don’t want anyone to know what she was doing.”
“You think they know what Kezri was doing and are deliberately turning a blind eye?”
Valentina looked confused. She started to say something but thought better of it.
“It’s possible. Hauser is a big contributor to the current administration. He gave millions to the president’s campaign and millions more to the president’s party. That kind of money buys a lot of influence. The administration won’t look kindly on us breaking into Hauser’s laboratory. I don’t know what they’ll do if they find out, but they won’t play nice.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Nick said. “We have to check out Hauser’s lab. The mullahs hate foreigners, especially Americans. Why would they cooperate with him? Kezri may have wanted to help people, but she’s created a weapon. Maybe they’re planning to use it against Israel, or against us.”
“You’re starting to sound like a conspiracy nut,” Lamont said.
“Sometimes conspiracies are real and not paranoid fantasy.”
“Nick is right,” Valentina said. “In Russia, conspiracy is way of life. I think we must know what is going on in laboratory.”
“Yep,” Lamont said.
“I’m in,” Ronnie said.
“We’re all in,” Selena said.
Elizabeth looked at them.
“You’re all agreed?”
“Kinda looks that way,” Ronnie said.
“We’re going to need help with this,” Elizabeth said.
She picked up her phone to call Hood.
Chapter 16
Strecker sat on the bed in his hotel, cleaning his pistol. Outside the balcony window, the Washington Monument rose in the distance.
It hadn’t been difficult to pick up Kezri’s trail. She’d left Iran in a boat, and there weren’t many places she could go by water. The logical choice was Kuwait. He’d learned Kezri had been there and had left in a private plane. He’d tracked the plane to Washington. It was leased to an American think tank called the Hood Foundation, run by a former director of the CIA. That piece of information gave him a key link in the chain leading to Kezri. It was also interesting in its own right. Was the foundation a front for the CIA? If it was, why use a well-known public figure for something as politically explosive as the extraction?
No, they wouldn’t do that. Someone else was behind it, someone with big cojones. It took balls of brass to pull off something like this. From a professional point of view, Strecker admired the way they’d set up the operation and spirited Kezri away. He figured that somehow they’d managed to get her into that conference at the hotel. It would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, to get her out of Tehran. But from a hotel on the beach? He had to admire the planning, even if the execution had been flawed to the tune of several dead Iranians. The Iranians had probably been tipped off. Well, there was almost always something that went wrong with a complicated operation like this.
There had been no mention of Kezri’s defection in the American news media. That told him a lot. The defection of an important scientist like her ought to be headline news. The White House would play it up as a success, if they were behind it. Strecker knew the president had ignored her request for help, because Hauser had told him.
The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced this was a private operation. He wasn’t clear why someone would go to all that trouble. Perhaps it was a competitor of Hauser’s, or someone who wanted to embarrass the American administration.
It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was getting closer to finding out where Kezri was hiding. It was a gut feeling, something instinctive that had never let him down in the past.
Making use of Hauser’s resources, Strecker discovered Hood’s private address in an exclusive suburb in Maryland. It was unlikely she’d be hiding there. Hood probably had her stashed in a safe house somewhere. Sooner or later he would go to her. When he did, Strecker would be right behind him.
He’d contacted Hauser and briefed him.
“She’s somewhere here in the Washington area, I’m sure of it. What do you want me to do when I find her?”
“Eliminate her.”
“What if she’s not alone?”
“That is your decision. Just make sure she’s dead. Be discrete.”
Strecker finished cleaning the pistol and reassembled it. Then he turned his attention to the scoped Remington 700 he preferred for long-distance work. Humming to himself, he began on the rifle. There was something soothing about maintaining the perfect function of the tools of his trade.
He hadn’t enjoyed driving from Texas, but it was the easiest way to bring the weapons. In addition to the guns he’d brought a kilo of C4, just in case.
Picturing the different ways he might kill Kezri and take care of Hauser’s problem, he felt a stir in his groin. After he’d taken care of her, he’d find an accommodating companion and enjoy himself.
This time he’d keep control. It wouldn’t do to have to clean up afterwards, the way things had turned out the last time.
Chapter 17
Freddie was still off-line, but pictures of Hauser’s laboratory in Germany were up on the monitor in Elizabeth’s office. A low, white building situated on an artificial lake stood out against the mountain splendor of the Bavarian countryside. Cows grazed in a nearby field. It looked like a pleasant place to work.
“Looking at that, you’d never guess the evil shit going on in there,” Lamont said.
“It’s not far from there to Dachau,” Selena said. “It’s a pretty little town, as long as you don’t visit the concentration camp the Nazis built there.”
“Somehow I don’t think it’s an accident Hauser picked this part of Germany for his laboratory,” Nick said. “Bavaria was the heart of Hitler’s Germany.”
“You think Hauser is a Nazi?” Ronnie asked.
“Not in the sense of swastikas and all that bullshit. But I get the feeling his way of thinking might be the same. Why else would he fund research that could be used to kill millions? You don’t need marching bands and flags to be a Nazi. It’s a state of mind.”
“Let’s talk about the mission,” Elizabeth said. “Our first priority is to find out what Hauser is doing with Kezri’s research. Is he manufacturing the protein she created? That’s what the Iranians want. What about a virus to carry it? He could create that in the BSL4 lab he has there.”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Nick said. “Let’s assume he’s doing both. Manufacturing the protein and creating a virus to spread it into the general populace.”
“All right,” Elizabeth said. “Assume that. Go on.”
“If that’s what he’s doing, we have a duty to stop him.”
“How?”
“Destroy the facility.”
“You want to destroy it?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Do you have any idea what a problem that would create? What if someone traced it back to us? They’d lock us all up in Super Max and throw away the key. It’s bad enough breaking in there to try and find out what he’s doing. But blowing everything up? Don’t you think that’s over the top?”
“No, I don’t. Have you looked at some of the public statements Hauser has made? The man’s a dangerous lunatic with too much money. He’s on record saying the world population ought to be reduced to less than a million people. He and his billionaire buddies don’t see anything wrong with getting rid of everybody else. He believes artificial intelligence is going to make everything just dandy for people like him. As far as he’s concerned, humans are an error that ought to be eliminated, and if they can’t be eliminated, they should shut up and be useful.”
“That’s a little strong, Nick.”
“No, it’s the truth. That’s how people like him think. Ever notice how they’re busy calling anyone who opposes them a fascist or a terrorist? If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.”
“I am confused by this,” Valentina said. “What pot?”
“It means Hauser and people like him are accusing others of what they are doing. It’s a way to deflect attention and give people someone else to blame.”
“Ah. We have saying like this in Russia.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
They all looked at Harker. She set her pen down.
“Let’s stay on purpose. Nick, you can’t go in there and blow up things.”
“What if we find proof he’s building a weapon?”
“Then we’ll take that information to people who can stop it legally.”
“Who would that be? We don’t have any official standing. Even if we could get some form of legal approval, by the time that happened it would be too late.”
“I’m serious Nick. You can’t destroy that complex, no matter what you find. Do not blow it up. Are we clear? Because if we’re not, there’s not going to be any mission.”
Nick let out a deep breath.
“We’re clear.”
“Good. Let’s talk about logistics. Clarence will provide his plane. He’ll also make sure you have what you need once you get there. You can pick it up at your hotel.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was still head of the CIA.”
“You’ll fly into Munich. Rent a car and get settled in. Make sure you keep me updated. I want to know everything you’re doing.”
“Copy that, Director.”
Later, Selena and Nick were driving back to the loft.
“She’s wrong about destroying that lab,” Nick said. “Harker never used to hold back on a mission like this.”
“You don’t know Hauser is building a weapon. Elizabeth is right. It would create a lot of trouble, the kind of thing that could come back to haunt us. ”
“Come on, Selena. You know as well as I do that if it turns out he’s producing a WMD, no one will stop him before it’s too late.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Who’s going to do anything about it? The White House? They seem to be in three monkeys mode for anything that might interfere with making money. They could even be part of this. The UN? Are you kidding?”
“You always have to be right, don’t you?”
“What do you mean? Where’s that coming from?”
“You’re always so damn certain you’re right. Well, maybe that’s not always the case.”
“Not always. But this time I am. Harker is wrong. Think about it.”
“Fine,” Selena said.
The rest of the ride home was spent in cold silence.
Chapter 18
Two days later they landed in Germany. They rented a Mercedes at the Munich airport and drove into town. Selena had booked a five star hotel located near the city center. It featured a Michelin rated restaurant, luxurious rooms with high ceilings, and service in the European tradition of grand hotels.
Taking weapons with them to Europe wasn’t in the cards. They no longer had diplomatic passports to ward off curious customs inspectors. Instead, a package waited for them at the hotel desk. Inside were pistols and ammunition. Hood had provided other useful items, including tranquilizer guns and darts that provided a silent, non lethal option for taking out any opposition. A man shot with one of those darts would be unconscious within seconds and stay that way for hours.
Half an hour after they’d checked in, the team met in Nick and Selena’s suite. Nick spread out plans of the laboratory on a low coffee table, along with satellite shots and photographs of the area.
The building was single-story. A chain-link fence with a wide, sliding gate surrounded the property. A guard house was located inside the gate. There were no other obvious signs of security. A paved drive went past an artificial lake to the gate, ending in a parking lot in front of the building.
“There’s a lot we don’t know,” Nick said. “Potential problems.”
“Like what kind of security Hauser has set up?” Ronnie said.
“That’s one of the unknowns. I assume it’s serious, even if we don’t see much evidence of it. Hauser isn’t going to hire a bunch of rent a cops. I’d guess ex-military, probably special forces. You can bet they’ll be armed with the latest gear. That guard house is going to be manned around the clock. There will be cameras covering everything, and someone inside to watch them. At least, that’s how I’d do it.”
He pointed at one of the pictures. Across from the lab on the other side of the highway was a large three-story building, all white wash and timber. In front was a patio with tables and umbrellas.
“There’s an inn across from the target. It’s an obvious tourist spot. I’m thinking we drive by the lab and do an initial recon, then come back to the inn and have a long lunch. We can watch the building from there. With a little luck, we’ll learn something.”
“Lunch sounds good,” Lamont said.
“Lunch always sounds good to you,” Ronnie said.
“Hey, a man’s got to eat.”
“All the junk you eat, I don’t know how you stay skinny like that.”
Lamont grinned and patted his muscular abdomen. “Good genes my man, good genes.”
“About the security,” Nick said. “One thing we’ve got going for us is that nothing ever happens here. Bavaria isn’t Afghanistan. Guarding that lab is boring duty. It’s hard to stay sharp in a civilian job where no one is shooting at you. It’s human nature. They’re not going to be expecting trouble. It gives us a little bit of an edge.”
“Only if they don’t see us coming,” Ronnie said.
“That’s right, but we have something that gives us an advantage. That care package we picked up at the desk had this in it.”
Nick held up a small metal box, painted black. A toggle switch and a small red lens were the only visible features on the outside.
“What does it do?”
“It puts out a field that shuts down all electrical power within a radius of a hundred yards,” Nick said. “Lamont, turn on that TV.”
Lamont went over to the television and turned it on. A newscaster was excitedly saying something in German.
“Watch.”
Nick flipped the switch on the box. A red light came on. The TV died and the lights went out in the room. He clicked the switch again. Power returned.
“Cool,” Lamont said.
“This will take care of the cameras and any alarms.”
“What else you got in there?”
“Pistols and ammo. Plus these.”
Nick gave him one of the tranquilizer guns.
“Latest model,” Lamont said. “Could come in handy.”
“Think of Hood as your fairy godfather.” He reached into the box again. “Last, but definitely not least...”
Nick held up a six pack of stun grenades.
“How does he get his hands on stuff like that black box? That’s gotta be a DARPA product.”
“I don’t know. But I’m glad he’s on our side.”
The next day they drove out into the Bavarian countryside. It was a beautiful day, the mountain air crisp and clean. Selena drove. The big Mercedes sedan they’d rented hummed along the highway. The five of them rode in spacious comfort.
“Sure is pretty country,” Ronnie said. “Kind of like driving through a fairytale.”
“German fairytales tend to be a little dark,” Nick said. “Hansel and Gretel, for example.”
“What is story, please?” Valentina asked.
“You don’t know it?”
“German stories are not popular in Russia.”
“It’s from a collection written by two German brothers named Grimm. Hansel and Gretel are two children, brother and sister. They’ve been abandoned in the forest. They come across a wicked witch who lives in a house made of gingerbread and candy. She invites them in and pretends to be nice, but she just wants to fatten them up and eat them. Gretel figures it out and pushes the witch into an oven and kills her.”
