Hilldiggers a novel of p.., p.4
Fractured Zero--All Devices, page 4
“And I promise that I value your input, and I really wish you wouldn’t be… weird.”
She chuckled a little, and he joined her. That was nice. It narrowed some of the distance between them. “Sounds good.”
“Anyway, it’s pretty obvious that we should talk to her. In fact, I think that’s the first thing we should do. She’s being treated at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève. We can operate undercover as inspectors working on behalf of the European Atomic Energy Community investigating the kidnapping.”
“Do we really need a cover?” Zero asked. “Two Americans are among the kidnapped scientists. It’s natural that the U.S. would be interested in helping to resolve this case.”
“True, but Todd told us earlier that foreign agencies weren’t interested in sharing with the CIA. I’d rather not be bogged down by their pride.”
“Good point.”
“Thank you,” Maya said, giving Zero a slightly dry smile. “Let me take the lead.”
Zero hesitated for a moment. “Yeah. Sure.”
“That was a test,” Maya said. “Congratulations, you passed.”
“Wonderful.”
Her smile softened, and she patted his shoulder. “You’ll be okay. It’ll be fun. You get to be a hammer instead of a scalpel.”
He nodded agreement while wondering why on Earth she’d gotten the idea that Agent Zero had ever been a hammer and not a scalpel.
The plane landed a few minutes later. Before disembarking, Zero and Maya changed into casual business suits and clipped laminate IDs to their coat pockets that identified them as official inspectors for Euratom. They carried hideaway guns in shoulder holsters, plastic weapons with ceramic bullets designed specifically to avoid detection by security systems, and the glasses Penny designed for them had enhanced vision capabilities that allowed them a wide range of visual detection abilities, including night vision, infrared, magnetic imaging, and even a limited radar detection capability. Zero doubted they would need all of that, but it was nice to have. It was impossible to know what surprises awaited them on duty, and Zero had been caught with his pants down enough times during his career that he was grateful for the advances the CIA had made in their technology that minimized that risk.
A rental sedan waited for them on the tarmac, a mid-size luxury model common among government employees in Europe. No cheap econoboxes for public servants here.
Zero settled appreciatively into the passenger seat and watched the landscape of Geneva pass by as Maya drove them to the hospital. Geneva was one of his favorite places to visit. It had all of the convenience and modernity of any large city but retained much of the late Renaissance charm that made Switzerland so beautiful. You could drive through the city and experience a mix of glass skyscrapers and asphalt roads that gave way to brick homes and cobblestone streets, interrupted occasionally by Gothic cathedrals and spectacular castles, then back to glass skyscrapers and concrete shopping malls. One day, Zero would travel the world as a tourist and not a CIA agent so he could actually spend time appreciating the beauty of the world's cultures.
Assuming he could ever let go. Sometimes he worried that would never happen.
A number of police vehicle were parked in the hospital lot. The authorities seemed to be worried that someone would come to finish the job with this lab assistant. Considering the extent of the attack the day before, Zero thought that was a reasonable worry.
Maya parked the sedan in the short-term parking garage and entered the hospital. Two Geneva police officers stood guard on either side of the reception desk. They glanced curiously at the visitors, noting the laminated IDs.
The receptionist looked at the two of them and frowned. Medical professionals valued the comfort and safety of their patients above all else. This woman wouldn’t care that Zero and Maya were investigating the kidnapping of nuclear physicists. Her priority would be to make sure that the surviving lab assistant could rest and recuperate free of stress and harassment.
“I hope you’re not planning on visiting anyone,” she said before the two agents could even introduce themselves. “We’re currently limiting visits to immediate family members.”
“I understand,” Maya said, replying in French, the same language this woman spoke. “However, it’s critical that we talk to Miss Alexandre. We’re investigating the kidnapping of the Clean Fusion Research Project sciences and the murder of their staff. Miss Alexandre may be the only living witness to the event. We need to speak with her.”
“Are you her immediate family member?” the receptionist asked impassively.
“No, but—”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to submit a request to visit with Miss Alexandre to the hospital administration and to the leader of her care team.”
Maya pursed her lips. “Ma’am, I understand your position, but I’m afraid I have to insist.”
“Denied.”
Maya took a deep breath, struggling to hide her frustration. She clearly didn’t expect this much resistance right out of the gate.
Zero stepped in. “Ma’am, you clearly care very much for your patients. I admire that. As a father, I’m grateful for your care, and I’m sure Miss Alexandre and her family appreciate it very much. I know that what I’m asking is upsetting for you. No doubt you’d rather let Miss Alexandre begin the process of recovering from her trauma immediately without any encounter that might delay the emotional aspect of that recovery. If we had any way of pursuing our investigation without talking to her, we would. But as my partner said, Miss Alexandre is the only living witness to a very serious crime. Considering the nature of the work done for the Clean Fusion project, we have reason to believe the perpetrators of this crime intend far more serious crimes in the future.”
The receptionist paled at Zero’s thinly veiled allusion to the possibility of nuclear attack. She glanced between Zero and Maya, wrestling with her instinct to shield her patient and a desire to let these investigators address a serious threat.
Finally, she sighed. “All right. I’ll issue you visitors’ passes. Understand that the moment Miss Alexandre feels uncomfortable, the interview is over. You’ll have to find a way to do your jobs without causing her unnecessary stress.”
Zero gave her his most charming smile. He was an attractive man, and though he might not be a young man anymore, his good looks had only strengthened with maturity. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
He might as well have looked like the ugly end of an overweight giraffe for all this receptionist cared. She returned no smile of her own and remained silent as she printed their visitors’ passes.
Armed with permission to navigate the hospital, the two agents headed for the elevator. Zero glanced at Maya and frowned when he saw her thinly pursed lips and taut shoulders. Was she mad at him? For stepping in to get them passes? Come on, there was no way she saw that as stepping on her toes.
They entered the elevator, and when the doors closed, Zero asked, “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” Maya said tersely as she pressed the button for the fourth floor.
“I wasn’t trying to overstep my bounds,” he said as the elevator started to rise. “I just wanted to make sure we got in to see our witness.”
“I had the situation handled,” Maya replied. “But it’s fine. We got inside. That’s what matters.”
The doors opened before Zero could reply. That was probably a good thing because telling Maya that she didn’t have the situation handled wouldn’t help. He wasn’t very happy with how irritated he felt by the whole thing either. Like Maya said, they got inside. If there were hurt feelings over how they got inside, then they should both ignore them and let them pass.
Heloise Alexandre was in room 424, the third room on the right when they entered the intensive care ward. The nurses in the ward all glared at the newcomers, showing the same instinctive distrust of anyone here to bother patients that the receptionist had shown. Zero tried his supermodel smile and got the same complete indifference to his charm as well.
Tough crowd.
Two more police officers waited outside of Heloise’s room. After a brief conversation, they allowed Zero and Maya to enter.
Heloise was sitting up in bed. She was in her early twenties, about Maya's age, with medium-length curly hair so blonde it was almost white and deep blue eyes that listlessly watched a sitcom on the room's small TV. A half-eaten meal sat on a tray to the left of the bed.
She glanced up at the two of them and frowned slightly. “Who are you?”
“Good morning, Heloise,” Maya said, offering a gentle smile. “How are you feeling?”
Heloise stared at her for a second before offering a slightly sarcastic, “I’m well. How are you?”
“We’re wonderful, thank you,” Maya said. “I’m so sorry for the tragedy you experienced yesterday.”
Heloise replaced sarcasm with bitterness in her response. “Yes. Me too.”
“I want to assure you that the authorities are doing everything they can to bring the perpetrators of that crime to justice,” Maya continued. “We’re going to make sure they never hurt anyone like that again.”
Get to the point, Maya, Zero thought. He had the good sense to keep that thought to himself this time. Maya clearly wanted him to check with her before providing his valued input. That was an immature thought, but knowing that didn’t stop it.
“My name is Inspector Louise LaVerne,” Maya said. “This is my partner, Inspector Hercule Francois. We work for the European Atomic Energy Community. We’d like to ask you some questions about what happened last night. Is that all right with you?”
Heloise nodded slowly.
Maya flashed her another sweet smile. “Thank you. Do you mind if we record this conversation?”
Heloise shook her head.
“Thank you.”
Maya set the small recorder on her lap and pressed the record button. “Why don’t you start by telling us in your own words what happened yesterday?”
Heloise’s lower lip trembled. “I was filing paperwork. That’s most of what I did there was file paperwork. I was one of the junior interns, so I got all of the jobs no one wanted. Anyway, I was filing paperwork when I heard a gunshot. I didn’t know what it was at first, but when I heard a shout and another gunshot, I realized we were under attack. After that, I hid behind some of the file cabinets and just… waited for it to be over.”
Maya and Zero shared a glance. If that was the only information they could get from Heloise, then this interview would be a waste of time.
“Did you see any of the attackers at any time?” Maya asked.
Thankfully—well, not for her, but for them—Heloise had. “They came into the file room looking for anyone who might be hiding. They didn’t see me, thank God, but I caught a glimpse of them. They wore body armor, black masks, and gloves. They had army rifles and goggles. They looked like special forces soldiers."
“Did they say anything?”
Heloise’s lip trembled again. She closed her eyes and squeezed tears out. “They… they said that they were pretty sure they had everyone they needed. They said they had killed the rest. One of them asked…” Her hands closed into fists, gathering up the bed sheets under her fingers. “He asked where I was. He… He knew my name.”
Maya and Zero shared another look. Now that was interesting. “Did you recognize his voice?” Maya asked. “Did he wear anything? A uniform or an insignia? Did he speak in different languages?”
“Any identifying marks of any kind?” Zero asked. “Tattoos?”
In his past escapade with Maya and Trent, they had tangled with terrorists who bore dragon tattoos. The leader of that group apparently had decided that Zero was his sworn enemy and promised vengeance on him. Zero had made many enemies over his career, but he couldn’t figure out who these new ones were for the life of him. Neither could the CIA. Todd had been looking into them ever since Zero told him about them, but they hadn’t found anything. Zero was getting kind of tired of the world’s premier intelligence organization being so bad at finding intelligence.
Heloise shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. They were really careful not to let us know who they were. And they all wore black suits with long sleeves, so I don’t know if they had any tattoos.”
“Did they say what they wanted?” Maya asked.
“Just that they needed to kill me. I’m still trying to figure out why they cared so much about me. I’m not important. I just filed paperwork and brought people coffee. I wasn’t allowed to do anything related to the project. I was barely allowed to go anywhere without a researcher standing next to me. I don’t understand why it was so important to kill me.”
“What did they ask about you?” Maya pressed gently. “They said they needed to kill you?”
“They… they wanted to make sure they had eliminated any witnesses. The other man said that I probably had the night off because I was a very junior employee. They left after that.”
She looked at Maya. “Did they really kill everyone else? Everyone but the researchers?”
Maya deflected the question. “We’re still investigating. Anything you can tell us is very helpful. Thank you.”
Heloise took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “That’s all I know, really. I stayed there all night, I think. I didn’t leave until the police came.”
“How did you get injured?” Zero asked. “If they never found you.”
Heloise smiled bitterly. “I hit my head when the police came. I thought the attackers had returned to finish me off. I went a little crazy. I tried to fight them and tried to run away. I tripped over one of their feet and hit my head on the corner of the room’s computer desk.” She chuckled without a hint of mirth. “I guess I was lucky.”
“You were,” Maya assured her, “and you’ve been very helpful. Thank you so much.”
"I just don't understand how they got in," Heloise said. "That building is so secure. You can't even enter the parking lot without a keycard. The Atomic Energy Research Wing requires a fingerprint ID, and to get to the Clean Fusion Project rooms, you have to have a separate ID card. I can't believe that one of the researchers is behind this."
Maya and Zero shared another look. They could very easily believe that one of the researchers was behind this or at least a part of it. In fact, after hearing that, Zero was all but certain there was an inside component to this job.
One thing was sure. These were terrorists they were dealing with, not corporate spies or activists. They had done their research. They were professionals. They had invaded a highly secure building, kidnapped an entire research team, killed nearly every witness, and left without a trace. According to Penny’s data, they had done this several times.
They weren’t just terrorists. They were good ones. Highly capable, highly organized, and with considerable resources.
Zero wondered if any of them had a tattoo of a dragon with its wings outstretched to take flight.
CHAPTER FIVE
Katerina Solnechno had learned much from her father. He was rarely home, or at least, rarely at her home, but despite his frequent absence, he cared deeply for her and made sure she learned everything she needed to be successful in life, whether she chose to follow in his criminal footsteps or his business ones.
She had learned on her own that those footsteps intersected far more often than not. Rules were designed for people too weak to win the contest of life. The strong found ways around those rules to benefit where others could not.
The short way of saying all of that was that to succeed at business, one needed to take advantage of opportunities, whether the rules allowed for it or not. This situation with the kidnapped nuclear scientists was an opportunity. Someone was planning something big, either a nuclear attack or, more likely, a move to monopolize the nuclear energy market.
It was brilliant, really. Katerina wished she’d thought of it herself. Kidnapping people was risky, but it was easy to make prisoners forget they were prisoners. Give them a shiny enough cell, a few toys, some money, maybe a servant or two, and they quickly adjusted to their new life. Someone had just corralled all of the world’s top nuclear minds, and they were going to get filthy rich because of it.
Katerina lifted a glass of vodka in one slender, soft hand and said, “A toast to my unknown friend. You have earned my admiration.”
She sipped the vodka and allowed the clear liquid to warm her soft, petite mouth. “Of course,” she mused aloud after she’d swallowed. “That’s not to say I can’t advantage from this circumstance.”
She stood from the calf leather couch she had installed in her eighty-ninth-floor office in the Lenin Building on Neva Bay in Saint Petersburg and walked to her desk. As she walked, she admired the smooth way her legs glided across the heated granite tile floor, the way her hips swayed just enough to hint at the perfect hourglass figure underneath her shimmering silk dress. She was a beautiful woman, superior in every way to all others, and it pleased her to know that everything she did demonstrated that fact.
She sat behind her desk, pulling her shoulders back so the swell of her breasts would be more visible against the low-cut bodice of her dress. No one was here to see this performance, but it pleased her anyway.
She picked up her office phone and pressed the button for her general business line. This line put her in direct contact with the CEO of the Solnechnyy Svet Group, the holding company that managed Katerina’s legal business ventures.
Arseni answered right away, of course. “Yes, Miss Solnechno?”
"Arseni, I want to take advantage of the nuclear crisis occurring right now. Someone is going to make moves in the energy market. Direct our OEM manufacturers in that industry to focus heavily on components for nuclear reactors, electricity generation, and storage. Ensure the items are higher-performing than our competitors, but plan an obsolescence of… We'll say five years. We'll discuss a pricing structure and marketing strategy once we know who's behind this movement."
