evening talking about immortality. I didn’t take you seriously, not until much later when I discovered such a thing as yourself was theoretically possible. And here we are.”
Inwardly I was kicking myself. All this time wondering who had told this guy about me and all I had to do was look in the mirror.
“Have you read any of the speculative work of Doctor Viktor Kopalev?” Grindel asked. “It’s very enlightening.”
“I’m not much for scientific papers,” I said.
“Ah. Well, you’ll meet him soon enough. He’ll tell you all about it. Fascinating stuff.”
“Where’s Clara?” I asked by way of changing the subject.
“Safe.”
I stepped closer. He still didn’t appear particularly concerned. “Get her,” I demanded.
“Adam, look around you. Did you think I didn’t know you were capable of overpowering a two-man security detail?”
I chanced a few sidelong glances and realized that, yes, I’d misjudged the situation rather seriously. What had been a big empty clearing a minute earlier was now a perimeter of armed men. They must have been in the buildings when we drove up.
“They can’t stop me from killing you,” I insisted. “And I’m pretty sure they’re not going to kill me.”
“Why not?”
“The bounty hunters were told to take me alive, and so were the men you sent for me just now. Whatever you need me to do, I’m of no use dead.”
“That’s true,” he admitted. “But if I’m dead… that’s a different situation, isn’t it?” He smiled. “You can’t kill me without killing yourself. I’d call this a stalemate.”
“You’d make a decent hostage,” I said. “Now once again. Where is Clara?”
He sighed heavily. “You seem to be under a certain misapprehension. Ms. Wassermann isn’t here as a prisoner. She’s a volunteer.”
I blinked about six times. When you’re holding two guns and watching a closing circle of armed men in your peripheral vision, this is about the only way to record surprise. “You’re lying,” I insisted.
“I’m not. She contacted me shortly after you left. I guess the reward money was too much to pass up. She’s a few buildings behind me, having a nice meal and probably contemplating how to best spend it. She’s even asked if she can stay on. This is a very exciting project, you see. Once I explained it to her, she was quite interested.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, even though I sort of did.
“Why not?” he asked. “If she’s the only reason you came here in the first place, why would I tell you such a thing, if it wasn’t true?”
He had a point. “All right. Then you and I are leaving. Right now.”
“Adam,” he said patiently, as if I’d disappointed him terribly. “We have her here.”
“Who?” I asked. “Clara? You just told me—”
“Not Clara. Can I show you something?”
“Maybe later,” I said. “I’m a little pressed for time right now.” The perimeter had closed to about fifteen feet, which was really more of an intimidation thing than anything else, because if they all started firing, they’d probably shoot each other. They hadn’t cut off my access to the car yet, though.
Grindel said, “I’m going to reach into my jacket pocket for a small device. Looks like a miniature television set.”
“Slowly,” I said.
“Of course.” He slipped his left hand into his pocket and emerged with what looked to be a PDA. He held it out. “Take a look.”
I dropped the Uzi to free up my hand—I only needed one hostage at this point—took the device, and looked at the image captured on the screen.
“That’s a live local video feed,” he said. “I know it doesn’t seem like a video image, but that’s only because she rarely moves.”
It was the red-haired woman.
She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of a white room next to a cot, looking directly at the camera. There was no way it could have been anybody else.
Grindel said, “We have a few tests we need to run on you. That’s all. And when we’re done, I’ll let you meet her. I know that’s something you’ve been waiting a long time to do.”
“She’s here,” I said dully. “She’s
“Yes, on both counts, although I’m not about to tell you precisely where. I’m sure you understand why.”
I wavered. “Bring her here,” I muttered. “I’ll…”
“I’m not going to do that, Adam. I was never going to give you Clara, and I’m not going to let you have your red-haired friend either. Not until after we’re done.” He leaned in closer, which he could do as I’d apparently lowered my gun. “A minute ago you were willing to die before surrendering. Do you still think it’s worth it?”
I dropped the gun. “You win.”
Part Three
Freedom's Just Another Word
Chapter 25
I’ve been staring at a keyhole for two hours. Or maybe it only feels like two hours. I can’t tell for sure, because the passage of time is one of those things I need the sun or the moon for, and I can’t see either of them from where I’m sitting. A watch would do the trick but they took mine away a long time ago, which I’m convinced they did just because they knew it would annoy me. My own fault for becoming attached to the concept of time. Back in the African bush I didn’t care what day it was, and the concept of seasons was fairly dim in a region where the seasonal change was minimal. Right about now, with every day beginning and ending more or less the same way, I’m finding myself envious of that particular mindset.
Anyway, my point—two hours is probably a generous estimate. Let’s just say it’s been a while and move on.
The keyhole is attached to the only door to my padded cell. There is nothing extraordinary whatsoever about the room aside from the padding, the lack of a window, and the fact that I have been stuck inside of it for a fairly long time. I’ve certainly checked. The most interesting thing about the room is that on the other side of the padding is a layer of concrete, which came as something of a surprise when I first discovered it because from the outside the standalone building looks like a basic Quonset hut with old wood plank walls and a couple of windows
