Wired. Part 16

Kira tried to force a smile but couldn't quite manage it. "Moriarty has been hunting me ever since. He was probably already wealthy and powerful when he got into the game, not to mention ruthless. But it wouldn't take twenty-three hours of superhuman intelligence to create immense wealth and power. I started with very little and created a fortune in no time. Think about what he's been able to do in the last several years."

Desh did and it wasn't a pretty picture. "Any ideas who he might be?"

"None," she said, beginning to recover her emotional equilibrium. "Whoever it is will be very subtle about his wealth and power. You won't find him on the cover of business magazines. The truly powerful don't advertise, they just pull strings from off stage."

Desh thought about this and decided she was almost certainly correct.

"Whoever he is, he didn't waste any time framing me for the murders of Lusetti and my brother. But that wasn't enough to suit him. He decided to pin the Ebola plot on me as well so he could galvanize the entire US military against me. I don't know if he has any other plans with terrorists, but the evidence you've seen is due to his involvement, not mine."

"What does he gain by working with terrorists?" asked Desh.

"I don't know. But there has to be more to it than we're seeing. Because I'm convinced he won't be able to perfect a genetically engineered cold virus capable of delivering Ebola genes."

"Why not?"

"Too complex a project."

"Even with enhanced intelligence?"

"Yes. When my mind is transformed, I have thousands and thousands of hours of the study of molecular biology in my memory for my intellect to draw upon. He almost certainly doesn't. Without this, no matter how great his intelligence, he doesn't have the knowledge base to succeed."

Desh frowned. The more he learned, the more confused he became. He decided to move on. "So why does he want you now? He already knows he can't force the secret of longevity from you."

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "But he's taking great pains to capture me alive, even knowing I'm his biggest threat and won't rest until I've stopped him. It's obvious he hasn't given up on the fountain of youth."

They sat in silence for several seconds. Finally, Desh glanced at his watch and sighed. "We'd better go," he said. "We have a bus to catch."

Desh paid for the sundaes and they cautiously returned to the main mall. He scanned their surroundings for several minutes but didn't detect anything out of place.

Desh gave Kira a questioning look as they made their way across the mall. "So why me, Kira?" he asked simply.

She sighed. "I already told you. You're a good man. And when the chips are down, you'll do the right thing. You're an expert at finding people. You have Special Forces training. You're smart and well read. I've been trying to find Moriarty and stop him, but I've gotten nowhere."

Kira reached out and placed her hand in front of Desh, signaling him to stop walking. When he did she looked deeply into his eyes and he sensed she was deciding if she wanted to say more. Finally she lowered her eyes. "And I was lonely," she said softly. "I've been on the run for a very long time. Not trusting anyone. Suspicious of everything." She paused. "But I can't stop Moriarty alone. As I studied your history, I realized I needed the help of someone like you; someone I could trust."

So she had risked kidnapping him, even though he couldn't have been more biased against her, to convince him to become her ally. Just as she had told him at the motel. And she had taken an even greater risk by putting herself under his control at the clearing. He still had a few nagging suspicions but he would put them to resta"for now.

Kira gazed into his eyes hopefully. "Will you help me, David?" she asked.

Desh held her stare for several seconds and then nodded, almost imperceptibly. "Yes," he said finally. "I will."

Kira let out the breath she had been holding. "Thank you," she whispered earnestly. "And I really am sorry for bringing you into all of this. It was selfish of me."

"No it wasn't," said Desh firmly. The corners of his mouth turned up into a slight smile. "And you didn't bring me into anything. I was hired by Colonel Jim Connelly to find and stop a psychopathic killer who was off the grid, and that's still what I'm doing."

Kira's features hardened. "I'm going to stop this b.a.s.t.a.r.d if it's the last thing I do," she vowed through clenched teeth, her face now a mask of hatred. "I swear on my brother's soul that I'll get him. A tragic accident took my parents from me, but Moriarty murdered the only other person I really ever loved; my only remaining family."

A deadly gleam came to her eye. "And somedaya"soona"he's going to pay for that."

30.

They exited the bus in downtown Richmond and took a cab to a used car lot. There they paid cash for a aging pick-up truck.

Griffin had called while they were on the bus and he and Connelly were doing well, despite the fact, as Griffin had put it, that being forced to shave his beard had surely "scarred and traumatized him for life." They had arrived at the house of Connelly's retired doctor friend without incident and Connelly was getting treatment.

Desh took the driver's seat of the used pick-up when the transaction was completed. "Where to?" he asked.

"Get back on 95 north," replied Kira. "Let's go to my place."

"You have a place? After all this time on the run?"

Her eyes danced playfully. "It's a motor home. I live in a trailer park."

"You're kidding."

"Why do you say that?" she said impishly.

Desh shrugged. "I don't know. You're a brilliant scientist whose discoveries could change the world. You just don't picture someone like that in an RV." He smiled broadly. "Albert Einstein living in a trailer park just seems wrong to me."

She laughed. "That's why it's so perfect. A trailer park is the last place the old me would ever think of living and the last place anyone would think to look. And this way, I can change locations every month or so and still have a sense of home."

It was a sound strategy, Desh realized, once you stopped to think about it. "I'm embarra.s.sed to say that I've never been to a trailer park."

"You're in for a treat then," she said. "I have three RVs as a matter of fact. One on the East Coast, one on the West Coast, and one in the heartland. The last two are just safety valves. I paid for a year at the trailer park in advance so they'll be there for me if I need them."

"I can hardly wait to see it," said Desh, stopping at a red light. "So tell me about your search for Moriarty."

"I will. But not now. I've been doing all of the talking. It's your turn."

"In my defense, I was too busy doing the mistrusting and glaring for that."

"Given what you were told, I can't blame you," she said. "But tell me about you. It's been a long time since I've gotten to know anyone. How did you end up in the military?" She paused. "Or did you feel like you really didn't have a choice?"

For just a moment Desh had forgotten that she had made a study of him, but her question reminded him immediately. His father had been a general, a fact that she well knew as evidenced by her question. She certainly hadn't wasted any time on small talk, although with everything they had been through, he realized, small talk at this point would be a little ridiculous.

"I had a choice," he answered. "Definitely. Dad wasn't like that. He loved being in the military but he wanted me and my brother to do what made us happy. In the end, I joined up, not because he pressured me, but because he set such a good example. He was compa.s.sionate and friendly and had a great sense of humor." Desh paused. "Most people picture military lifers as rigid, inflexible, authoritarian bureaucratsa"and many of them area"but not my father."

"What did your mother think of it all?"

"She had a similar philosophy. She wanted us to be happy. She admired my dad, but she made sure we knew the sacrifices we would be making if we joined up. Funny," he added, "my brother joined up also. Went to Annapolis. I sometimes wonder if either of my folks had put pressure on us if we would have done something else, just to rebel."

Desh hadn't spoken of his father for a long time and his eyes reflected a deep loss.

"I'm sorry about your father," said Kira softly.

He nodded. "If anyone knows about loss, it's you," he said. "Did any of my records say how it happened?"

"No. Just that he died in action."

"Which is a misrepresentation," said Desh dourly. "He was in Pakistan at a weeklong meeting with regional military leaders. He died buying fruit at a market near his hotel. Just another terrorist bombing. Ironic: he had seen a lot of action in his career, but he died off-duty and out of uniform." His lip curled up in disgust. "They probably wouldn't have bombed the place if they knew he was a general. They actually prefer killing civilians," he said bitterly. "Generates more terror that way."

Kira sighed supportively. After a few seconds of silence she said, "How's your brother doing?"

"He's doing well. I didn't get to visit with him very often before I left the service. But since I became a civilian I've been seeing more of him."

"Do you regret leaving the military?"

"Honestly, no. I feel a little selfish and maybe a little cowardly; but no. I was ready to leave even before the disaster in Iran. When you're in the Delta Force you don't form strong attachments to anyone outside your teama"you can't. Not really. And I didn't want to go through life that way. I wanted to be a husband and father someday."

They drove on in silence for several minutes. "You mentioned Iran," began Kira hesitantly. "What happened there exactly?"

"You must have read the after action report."

"I skimmed through it," she acknowledged. "But it was lengthy and I didn't read it carefully. Besides," she continued, "If we're going to be allies, David, the more insight we have into each other, the better. I'd be interested in hearing these events in your own words."

Desh shrugged. "There's nothing to tell," he lied. He had planned to stop there when it occurred to him that Kira had bared her soul at the restaurant. Maybe it was his turn. He sighed heavily. "Okay, I'll give you an abbreviated version."

Desh paused and gathered himself. "Intel had finally located the leader of a terror group, Khalid Abdul-Malik. He was responsible for a series of bombings of churches and synagogues around the world, all timed during religious services to maximize casualties. He was headquartered just outside of Sanandaj, on Iran's western border. We were sent in to capture him if possible, kill him if not. Our insertion was flawless."

Desh tilted his head, remembering. "Satellites had picked up Abdul-Malik and some of his key lieutenants on the move, headed toward the nearby town of Mahabad, and we planned an ambush." He shook his head, a tormented expression on his face. "But we were ambushed instead," he said sullenly. He fell silent for several long seconds and then added, "They had been expecting us."

"You were set up?"

"No question about it. I have no idea how." Desh turned away from Kira and kept his gaze focused steadily on the road ahead, bracing himself to continue. "We were all taken prisoners, me and the three other members of my team. Since I was team commander, the terrorists decided to punish me by torturing my men to death in front of mea"men who I loved as brothers." He looked as if he might vomit. "My head was tied in position and my eyes were pried open. I couldn't turn my head and I couldn't look away." He shuddered. "There are tortures beyond the imaginings of the most gifted horror writer," he whispered.

There was a long silence as Kira waited for him to continue.

"I won't describe what happened next," he said finally. "I wouldn't do that to anybody. Suffice it to say they were tortured and then butchered." Hatred welled up in his eyes. "And these sick b.a.s.t.a.r.ds enjoyed every minute of it, too."

"How did you escape?" asked Kira softly.

"They had finished with my men," said Desh, his voice now dead and emotionless. "I was next. There were three guards with me at the time. While one of them was peeing out back, one of them slipped on a pool of blood and fell. A man has only six quarts of blood in his body. Six quarts doesn't seem like a lot until you're covered in it, and you see the rest spilled on the ground. Eighteen quarts is hard to imagine."

Kira shuddered from the mental picture he had painted.

"I was tied to a chair," continued Desh. "But after the guard fell I gave him a face-full of chair-leg. I dove on the other guard, chair and all, to prevent him from using his gun, but he managed to stab me several times with his knife before I was able to head-b.u.t.t him into unconsciousness. I escaped and eventually made it across the border to Iraq."

"I do remember this part," said Kira. "I read the soldiers who found you in Iraq couldn't believe you had made it so far in the condition you were in. They were astonished by your stamina and force of will."

Desh grimaced. "I should have died with my men," he whispered. "In the Special Forces, we take the code of leaving no man behind very seriously." His eyes moistened and he shook his head sadly. "The truth is that my men had been so badly butchered there wasn't enough left of their bodies to bring back, even if I could have."

31.

David Desh accelerated onto the Interstate 95 onramp and merged with highway traffic.

"I don't know what to say," said Kira helplessly.

"There's nothing to say. Seems that we've both had our share of bad luck and battle scars. When the stakes are high, the penalties can be high," he said.

They drove on for several minutes until Kira finally broke the silence, deciding a change in subject was in order. "Look, David," she said hesitantly, "at the risk of sounding like a drug pusher, I'd like you to take one of my gellcaps."

Desh eyed her with interest. "Why?" he said simply.

"I appreciate you agreeing to become my ally, but we both know you still don't trust me a hundred percent. How can you? There's been so much going on and so many complexities to this story that only a fool would fail to harbor at least a little doubt. And you're anything but a fool. In the recesses of your mind, you still can't help but wonder if I'm just a great actress and this is all some kind of diabolical plan of mine."

"You're right," he said. "I won't deny it. But the doubt has shrunk from a hundred percent to about five percent, if that makes you feel any better."

"It does. But taking a gellcap will eliminate any remaining reservations. Sure, you might believe intellectually that I've succeeded in radically transforming the human brain, but for you to really trust that all of this is real, you have to experience it for yourself. I could tell you more about what it's like, but until you've experienced it yourself no description I could offer could do it justice. Once you've been enhanced you'll know that everything I've told you is true. Down to the last detail."

Desh pursed his lips. "I don't know, Kira," he said reluctantly. "I'm not sure I like the idea of altering the architecture of my brain."

"After everything I told you, I don't blame you. But I promise the effect will only last about an hour. After that, you'll be the exact same David Desh as always."

"Yeah? How can you be so sure?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it again. "I guess I can't be. Not absolutely. I know that you won't feel any different. And the people I interacted with afterwards never noticed any changes in mea"at least none I'm aware of."

"What about the sociopathy?"

"As I mentioned, that effect builds. The first time you're enhanced it's like you're Alice in Wonderland, too awestruck to have many ruthless thoughts. Repeated exposure further numbs the emotions and increases your feelings of omnipotence."

"And thena"what?a"you graduate from Alice to Frodo to Darth?" he said wryly.

She frowned. "I use too many silly literary metaphors, don't I?"

Desh couldn't help but smile. "Not at all," he said rea.s.suringly. "And I'm the one who came up with Moriarty. So maybe we're two peas in a pod."

Kira caught his eye and sighed deeply. "It would really mean a lot to me, David. You have to experience it to truly understand it."

Desh returned her gaze briefly and then s.h.i.+fted his eyes back to the road as he considered her request. "Okay," he said finally, still with some reluctance. "I'll do it."

"Thanks David," she said in relief. "This will erase any lingering doubts. I promise. And it will also surpa.s.s your wildest expectations." Her right hand went to her neck and located a silver chain that had been hidden by her clothing. She lifted, pulling the chain up until a silver locket emerged from under her sweats.h.i.+rt. The locket was heart-shaped and about the circ.u.mference of a quarter. She repositioning the necklace so it and the locket were now on the outside of her jacket.

"I just happen to have a dose on hand," she announced.

"There's a gellcap inside that locket?" he said in disbelief.