Beijing.”
“The Modules are probably all over the country by now. The network knows how to add new ones, so the only limitation on its growth is the availability of the neural implants. And I bet Supreme Harmony has taken over the factory that makes the implants and done everything possible to ramp up the assembly line.” He shook his head. “That’s why we have to go to Yunnan. We have to get to the Operations Center before the network spreads so far and wide it’ll be impossible to shut it down.”
Kirsten held her tongue and just stared at him. He was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his mechanical fingers had crimped the metal. One of the things she’d always admired about Jim, going back to the days when he was her boss at the NSA, was his intensity, his single-minded determination. Now, though, she saw some of the drawbacks of this trait. He’d convinced himself that Layla was at Supreme Harmony’s headquarters in Yunnan Province and that he could defeat the network and save his daughter’s life by waving around a picture of an ancient Greek monster. He had no real evidence to support these conclusions, but he acted as if they were certainties.
Kirsten knew from her long career in the intelligence field that this was the worst kind of error an agent could make. If it was up to her, they’d head straight for the nearest border and try like hell to get back to the States. Unlike Jim, she recognized the limits of their abilities. She knew when it was time to call in the marines.
And yet she wasn’t going to say any of this. She wasn’t going to tell Jim that Layla might be somewhere else in China besides the Yunnan Operations Center. And she wasn’t going to mention the possibility that his daughter might be dead already, or worse, incorporated into Supreme Harmony. No, she wouldn’t do it. She was going to trust him and fight by his side. She owed him that much.
Leaning toward him, she rested her hand on his right shoulder, just above where the prosthesis was attached to his body. “I’m with you, Jim. Till the very end. You know that, right?”
She felt the tension in his muscles. He kept his eyes on the road and his expression didn’t change, but his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his throat. “I’m sorry, Kir,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His mouth stayed open, as if he was going to say something else, but no words came out.
She gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Come on. You don’t have to apologize. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to come with you.”
“No, I didn’t mean that.” He shook his head. “I’m not sorry that you’re here. I’m grateful. I couldn’t do this without you.” His Adam’s apple bobbed again. “I’m sorry about everything that happened before.”
Kirsten was confused. “What? You mean Nairobi? Jim, that wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, I know. Believe me, I know it.”
“Layla tried to make you feel responsible, but she was wrong. We were doing our jobs.”
Jim didn’t say anything at first. Kirsten thought that maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned Layla. It was a sore subject, his estrangement from his daughter. But after a few seconds he nodded. “You know, I realized something about Layla. She was angry at me, but not because of what happened in Nairobi. She was angry because of the way I acted
Kirsten felt an ache in her chest. She knew who he meant by “them.” His wife Julia and his son Robert. Kirsten hadn’t heard Jim say their names in fifteen years.
“I made a mistake, Kir. I thought the only way to move forward was to focus on the present. So I went to California and put all my energy into raising Layla and studying with Arvin. And I shut out everything else.” He turned to her, keeping one eye on the road. “Including you. That’s what I’m most sorry about.”
The ache in her chest sharpened. “No, that’s not true,” she said. “You didn’t shut me out.” She tapped the frames of her camera-glasses. “You built these for me. You gave me back my sight.”
“I should’ve done more. I wanted to do more for you.” He took his prosthesis off the steering wheel and grasped her hand. The touch of his mechanical fingers was surprisingly gentle. “And I still want to.”
Kirsten was shocked. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Jim was holding her hand while driving a three-wheeled truck through the farm country of central China. And along with her shock and amusement, she felt a swooping elation. This was one of the most absurd and wonderful things that had ever happened to her.
For half a minute they just sat there, neither saying a word, while the truck jounced and rumbled down the road. Then Jim said, “There,” and let go of her hand. “I hope that didn’t sound too crazy.”
She smiled. “No, it was nice. But it’s a little difficult to take you seriously when you’re wearing that Mao cap.”
“Hey, when in Rome.” He smiled back at her, then let out a long, tired breath.
Kirsten realized all at once that Jim hadn’t slept in more than twenty-four hours. “You should let me drive for a while. You need to rest.”
“You sure you feel up to it?”
In truth, Kirsten still felt a little woozy. Also, her throat was parched and her stomach was empty. “Maybe I should eat something first. You have anything on you? A candy bar, maybe?”
“Oh, I got something better.” He reached behind Kirsten’s seat and pulled out a cloth sack. “Before I settled the deal with the farmer, I asked him to throw in a few provisions. He gave me a jug of water, a dozen oranges, and a roast chicken. Not bad, huh?”
Jim handed her the sack. Kirsten opened it, unscrewed the cap from the water jug, and took a long drink. Then she ripped a drumstick off the chicken. “I take back everything I said, Pierce. I’ll never criticize your bargaining skills again.”
Happily, she bit into the drumstick and passed him the chicken breast. It was a messy, noisy breakfast, but because Kirsten was so hungry it tasted delicious. She looked out the window again while she ate, viewing the barns and farmhouses and terraced fields. After a few minutes she saw some signs of civilization—a billboard, a schoolhouse, a row of shops, a parking lot. The road became wider and better paved, and now there were more cars traveling in the opposite direction. They were obviously approaching a town or city. After another ten minutes she pointed to a road sign.
“Look at that,” she said, wiping her greasy fingers on her pants. “We’re just ten kilometers from Yichang.”
Jim thought for a moment, biting his lip. “I know that city. It’s on the Yangtze, right?”
She nodded. “It’s a pretty big place, too. I mean, by Chinese standards, it’s only medium size, but more than four million people live in the area.”
“Big might be good for us. Easier to blend in with the traffic while we’re crossing the river. I have to see if —”
Jim stopped in midsentence, staring straight ahead. Kirsten faced forward and saw a long line of cars and trucks clogging the road. And at the front of the line, about a hundred yards away, half a dozen officers from the Yichang Public Security Bureau were inspecting the vehicles and interrogating the drivers.
FIFTY-FOUR
Layla ran barefoot down one of the long corridors of the Yunnan Operations Center, following Wen Hao and the boys from Lijiang. She still held the gun she’d taken from the soldier Module’s holster, but she kept it pointed at the floor. Wen, who’d taken the pistols from the other two Modules, carried one in his right hand; the other gun was tucked in his pants. It was amazing how fast Wen moved. As he dashed down the corridor his head swiveled back and forth, constantly on the lookout. The schoolboys rushed to keep up with him, somehow sensing they’d be safe as long as they stayed near the man.
As they approached an intersection with another corridor, Wen raised his pistol and fired at a surveillance camera mounted on the ceiling. They had to assume Supreme Harmony was connected to every camera in the Operations Center. At first Layla was surprised that no alarm sounded after they escaped from the room that had been their prison, but now the reason seemed clear. The Modules didn’t need an alarm. The network had undoubtedly alerted them already, and now dozens of lobotomized soldiers and scientists were rushing toward them from every floor of the underground complex.
