Out of Time

Denny glanced at his feet. He had some ideas on that, at least. He’d seen the expression on Alex’s face at the mention of MRIS. Denny was well aware of how close Alex was to Brin. If he believed that there was only one mission left in him, Alex would want to spend it protecting his family.

“He seemed fine,” he said at last. “When I talked to him, there was no hint of this—no mention of a problem.”

“We did receive those intelligence reports out of Mexico,” Kate reminded him. “He got the job done, but it wasn’t clean. Not by a long shot.

They’re still combing the streets for him over there, and it took some work to cover his tracks. It’s not like him to be sloppy but then again maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he did the best that he could—and unfortunately, his best just isn’t good enough anymore.”

They were both quiet for a moment after that.

“He’s already in Beijing,” Denny repeated, almost to himself, then directed his gaze to Kate.

“You’re right. There’s no good way to contact him without breaking his cover and our silence. I hate to leave him out there, but this is way too important for that.”

“Not to mention that it’s too sensitive to let go,”

Kate growled. “I hope to God he knows what the hell he’s getting into, because if he blows this, there won’t be another chance. This kind of crap gives me the creeps. I don’t mind an enemy I can see and kill, but this—”

“I know,” Denny replied.

“Get hold of his wife,” Kate said. “Quietly. Find out what you can about how sick he is. And have someone talk with that doctor, Britton, as well. We need to know as much as possible, as soon as possible.” She paused, considering, then added,

“And let’s see if we can get someone else in the field.

We have got to keep an eye on this—and that means we’re going to take some chances. I’ll make some calls and see if I can think of a way to back him up.”

“Are you sure?” Denny spoke quickly. “Really sure? It’s your decision, but that’s opening the floodgates to a lot of trouble.”

“What do I always tell you?” she asked. “Back up your backups.”

“Yeah,” Denny said, grinning. “And what do I tell you? We aren’t IBM and we don’t do backups.

Ever. You said it yourself, Kate. Alex is in the black zone as of yesterday. Anything we do now risks the mission, Alex and our local asset there. That kind of risk is not acceptable to us—it never is.”

“You sound like a damned brochure,” Kate growled. “Get on that doctor, and get Brin on the phone if you can. Find a way to get what she knows without being too obvious. We don’t want to spook her, but we need to know what we’re up against.”

“Yeah, right, no problem,” Denny grumbled sar-castically. “Excuse me, ma’am, I work with your husband down at the security company. We were just going through some confidential doctor-patient files, and we wondered if you could tell us the status of Alex’s health. We found some disturbing things, and we’re worried about him. He’s on a difficult assignment that we, of course, can’t tell you about—you understand?”

“Actually, yes,” Kate said. “His cover story has held up just fine with his family. Tell her that a required physical turned up some irregularities or whatever.” She stared hard at Denny for a moment longer, then said, “Just get it done.” She severed her connection to the room and vanished, leaving Denny to stare at the empty virtual space and shake his head.

“Alex,” he said to himself, “you are a class-A bastard.”

He returned to his virtual office and illuminated the keyboard, punching keys rapidly. He had a lot of information to gather in a very short amount of time, and he needed to call in some favors to get it done. He’d get in touch with Brin himself, and he’d find a way to keep things calm. If he was careful, and played his cards right, maybe he could even gather a little intel on what was going on at MRIS.

By the time Brin reached her office, she was in high temper. The delay at the pharmacy had led to a small tantrum when she’d dropped Savannah at her babysitter’s. From there she’d hit the freeway, and it had been much like hitting a brick wall. By the time she’d worked her way through the various security measures the company kept in place, her mood had gone from bad to worse, and being greeted by a curt note from Hershel Rand didn’t help things a bit. He wanted to see her immediately, and the word was in all caps, which came off like shouting.

MRIS had courted her for this position. She was the top of her field, and the research she managed was vital to the company’s future. She came in on Saturdays because her lab ran 24/7 and she wanted to stay on top of things. She wasn’t Rand’s personal assistant, and she ignored the urgency of his note, knowing that she needed to compose herself.

First, she pulled out the small brown pill bottle and placed it on her desk by the phone. Beside it she placed Dr. Britton’s phone number. Then, carefully and deliberately, she went through her routine. She plugged her cell phone into the docking station, logged on to the network and brought up her e-mail, then carefully returned the files she’d worked on the night before to their proper places and pulled a few new ones that required attention. She knew she would not be likely to get to them, but it was the act of keeping Rand waiting that mattered.

She was worried. She knew it was irrational, but Alex had never kept anything from her—not big secrets or small. The Klonopin wasn’t a simple painkiller, or even an antidepressant. She thought about dropping into her chair and bringing up the online Physician’s Desk Reference, but she didn’t want to push it. It was one thing to remind Rand that she wasn’t an office girl—quite another to actually disrupt company business. Besides, despite her bad mood, what Rand had told her the previous afternoon had intrigued her. She’d half hoped to hear from him later that afternoon, or even at home, but he hadn’t called, and despite all the concerns pulling her in different directions, she wanted to know what he had.

When her office was in order, she stepped out into the hallway and walked to the elevator. As she went, her steps speeded slightly, despite her efforts at control. By the time the elevator door closed, she was almost sorry she’d fooled around.

WHEN BRIN ENTERED Rand’s office, he was pacing like a caged beast. She caught him staring out the window at the parking lot below. When he heard her he spun, his hair wild, and she’d have sworn she saw sweat fly.

“Where the hell have you been?” he snapped.

“Calm down, Hershel,” she replied. “I know what you have here is big, but I have a job to do.

I have an entire department dependent on me, and I can’t just get up and run every time you call.

Besides, it is Saturday.”

He stared at her, as if deciding whether to scream at her or laugh, and then he turned to his desk and waved his arm.

“It’s here,” he said.

Brin stepped up to the desk and examined the object that sat in the center of it. It was a climate-controlled package. There were several layers of insulation. The package was cooled by a small, battery-operated refrigeration unit. It was impossible to see what might be contained within the unit, but there were only so many likely possibilities. Chemicals, cultures, viral specimens, antibodies. Brin received a dozen similar packages any given week, though arguably less well contained. The labels on the box were covered in Chinese script. She understood none of it.

“What is it?” she asked, reaching out to touch the box.

Rand flinched as he saw her draw close to it, and in that instant she saw how, as excited as he was, he didn’t let his hand slide too close.

“Not now,” he said, calming himself. “Not here.

We need to get this to one of your labs. Clear one—a small one, fully equipped—right away.

We’ll need it for the rest of the month, maybe longer, and I can’t risk anyone but you having access. I’ll have a locksmith in to upgrade the security.”

Brin turned away from the case to stare at Rand.

The man was clearly not himself.

“Have you lost your mind?” she asked. “What did you bring in here, some new form of plague?

What are you afraid of?”

Rand frowned and Brin pushed the case an inch closer to his hand. He yanked his hand back and cursed under his breath. Brin would have laughed if it hadn’t been such an unexpected reaction.