A Girl Like You - John Locke

“If that’s your plan, I’d rather you kill me first. But yes, it’s worth Jane’s suffering. Except that it’s pointless.”

“I’m listening,” I say.

“There’s nothing I can do to help you, even if I wanted to.”

“Which you don’t.”

“Of course not.”

Callie and I exchange a glance. She accesses Bernard’s live feed, then positions it where Roger can see.

“Your son, Bernard,” I say.

“What’s happened to his leg?” Roger yells.

“We cut it off. Shall we lop off one of his arms while you watch?”

Roger starts to cry.

“Callie, show him the Atlanta feed.”

She punches some keys on her cell phone. When the video comes up, she holds it in front of Roger’s face.

“That’s your daughter, Ellen’s house. Your son-in-law’s out of town on business. Ellen’s taking a bath right now, listening to music. Your granddaughter, Bug, is upstairs in her crib, sleeping soundly. A simple phone call changes all that.”

“Kill them all,” Roger says. “And kill me, too.”

“You’re not serious,” I say.

“I’ve devoted my entire life to finding a cure,” he says, through his tears. “You can torture, maim, and kill every person I hold dear. But I wouldn’t help you rescue Rachel Case even if I could. Because no matter what you do to me, or those I love, the greater good demands that a cure be made available to mankind. You have no idea what this disease will do when it resurfaces.”

“I like you, Roger, I really do. It’s dedicated people like you that help keep us safe. You make the world a better place. But make no mistake, I am going to kill you if I don’t get Rachel back. After I force you to watch your loved ones die. Because Rachel doesn’t deserve this. And neither do her unborn children.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Rachel’s husband is a genius. I told him about Rachel’s blood test, and about how your people killed her doctor, and within hours he came up with the answer.”

“Mr. Creed,” Roger said.

“Yes?”

“Sam Case works for us.”

38.

I can’t get my cell phone open fast enough.

“Lou! Where’s Sam?”

“Bluemont, Virginia.”

“What? Why?”

“You said to take him where he wanted to go.”

“Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hold on.”

I give Roger Asprin my most menacing look. “Where’s Rachel? Tell me and I’ll spare one of your family members. You have my word.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Callie, tell Jarvis to kill Ellen. Drown her in her tub.

“No!” Roger cries.

“And tell Jarvis I want a video feed. Have him hold her under with one hand and video her with the other. I want Roger to see what he’s forced us to do.”

Callie punches a button on her speed dial.

“After he kills Ellen, tell him to go upstairs and stand outside Bug’s room and wait for further instructions.”

To Roger I say, “This is your last chance. You don’t even have to name the place they’re holding Rachel, because I already know. All you have to do is verify it. She’s at Mount Weather, isn’t she?”

Callie says, “Jarvis? It’s showtime.”

Roger says, “Wait!”

I hold up my hand.

Callie says, “Just a minute. Mr. Creed might grant a stay of execution.”

Roger says, “She’s in the hospital at Mount Weather.”

“Callie,” I say, “Tell Jarvis to stand down.”

“Sorry, Jarvis,” she says. “You’re going to have to wait awhile.” She ends the call.

To Roger I say, “Does Sam have access?”

“Access?”

“Clearance. Whatever you call it.”

“I’m not sure I—”

I slap his face. “Is Sam able to gain entry into Mount Weather?”

“Yes, of course.”

To Lou I say, “What do you know about the facility at Mount Weather?”

“No more than you, I expect,” he says.

“Ever been inside?”

“No. You?”

“No.”

We’re silent awhile, realizing what we’re up against. Finally Lou says, “We’re screwed.”

“Not yet,” I say.

39.

Here’s what I know about the facility at Mount Weather: it’s more than a hundred years old. There’s an underground bunker the size of a small city, built to withstand repeated direct strikes from nuclear weapons. It’s where the top government officials were taken by helicopter after the 9/11 attacks, because their lives are so much more valuable than those of us who elected them. I also know this: there has never been a security breach at Mount Weather.

Lou calls me back after doing a quick computer search and adds the following details: “There’s an above-ground section of more than 400 acres, called Area A. The underground bunker, Area B, is more than 600,000 square feet in size, and contains a hospital, crematorium, dining and recreational facilities, self-contained power plants, and is equipped to broadcast TV and radio.”

I was suddenly worried that Sam might be able to determine how close Sensory Resources is to Mount Weather.

“What route did you take to get him there?” I ask. “You didn’t just drive him straight to Bluemont, did you?”

“Of course not. We blindfolded him, sedated him, flew him to Atlanta, stopped, woke him up, drove him to Macon, sedated him again, then flew him back to Sensory, and drove him to Bluemont, still blindfolded.”

“What about his cell phone?” I had removed the battery because I didn’t want him using his GPS system to determine where he was. But he could always get another battery.

“We destroyed the cell phone. But Sam’s a bright guy. He could figure out a way to contact people without it.”

“True. But he wouldn’t be able to tell where he’s been.”

“Well, at least our location appears to be safe.”

We’re both trying to keep from stating the obvious. That Sam is in the bunker with Rachel, and for now, there’s nothing we can do about it.

“Thanks, Lou. You did everything right. But we both know he’s in there with her.”

“Do you have a plan to get her out?”

“I do.”

“How can I help?”

“For now, sit tight.”

To Roger I say, “When did Sam start working with you?”

“Let my family go, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Because killing my family won’t help you get what you want. And when I tell you everything I know, you’ll see that I can’t help you, either.”

“I’ll spare Bug if you tell me what you know about Sam. Or I can kill Ellen while you think about it.”

“I have your word about sparing my granddaughter?”

“You do. Unless I catch you in a lie, in which case she’ll be the first to go.”

“I’ll tell the truth, as I know it.”

“Go ahead, then.”

“I don’t know when these events first occurred,” Roger says, “but Sam made his deal after the first kidnapping.”

“What kidnapping are you talking about? Dr. D’Angelo?”

“Is that Rachel’s doctor?”

“He was her doctor.”

“Well, you say he’s been killed, but I don’t know anything about that.” He takes a breath, fighting to make his voice clear. Then says, “All I’ve heard is that Rachel Case went to a doctor and gave blood for the first time in her life. When our computers generated a match, the Department of Health contacted whoever they contact for such matters of national security, and they went to Rachel’s home to extract her.”

“That’s ancient history. What’s all this about the first kidnapping?”

“When Rachel filled out the forms at the doctor’s office, she used her old address, from when she lived with Sam. That’s where the security team went to find her, but of course, she was living somewhere else. Sam agreed to cooperate, on the condition we put him in the loop. When he learned why we wanted her, and where we planned to keep her, he gave the team her new address, and even provided a key to her apartment.”

His comment about the key hits me hard. If Roger’s telling the truth, Rachel’s been in contact with Sam, and gave him a key. I think about that a moment. No. She wouldn’t give him a key. Like Lou said, Sam’s a clever guy. He found a way to get a copy of Rachel’s house key. I don’t know how, but I’m certain she didn’t give him a key.

“Did he go with the team to kidnap Rachel last Monday?”

“I don’t know. I do know that Sam’s only condition for helping us was that he be allowed to live in Area B as long as Rachel was there. We agreed, because he’s her husband, and because he’s brilliant. He plans to work full-time to help us develop a synthetic gene, based on Rachel’s blood cells. Of course, being her husband, it makes sense that he live there, because he and Rachel can raise their children together.”

“Rachel is an unwilling participant in this scheme.”

Roger Asprin smiles wearily. “Aren’t we all?”

“So Sam’s plan is to buddy up to her, and manipulate her into getting back with him. Meanwhile, he gets to work on the synthetic gene that can cure the Spanish Flu, at which point he’ll be a hero. You guys will release them both, and he will have saved her and their children.”

“You think he can do all that?” Roger says.

“I don’t give a shit. I want her back. And I’m willing to kill your family to get her.”

“How will killing my family bring Rachel back?”

“It won’t. But using them as a bargaining chip might. I’ll spare your family, and your life as well, if you tell the scientists you were wrong about Rachel’s blood.”

“But I wasn’t wrong.”

“I understand that. But if you tell them you made a mistake, they’ll have no reason to hold her there. Especially if it means keeping the heat off the government.”

“What heat?”

“Ever hear of WikiLeaks?”

“Of course.”

“They’re one of more than a hundred international sources I plan to use to announce what’s happening in Area B with Rachel, and how you plan to harvest her eggs and keep her children hostages forever.”

“Not forever. Just until we can develop a synthetic form of the gene.”

“How long will that take?”

“Ten years, give or take.”

“That’s unacceptable.”

“Is this your plan?” Roger says.

“It is.”

“It won’t work. “The government will discredit your announcement as so much nonsense. They’ll call it the latest conspiracy theory. In the absence of any hard evidence to back up your story, your information sources will quickly pull your comments, to avoid looking foolish. Not only that, but the idea of a human conduit to the Spanish Flu virus is so unimaginable, I doubt the respected news stations will even broadcast your story.”

“I don’t buy that, and when it comes down to watching us put a knife to your children’s throats, I think you’ll choose to let your family live. All you have to do to save them is tell your people that Rachel’s blood cells don’t match after all.”

“That’s the other part of your plan that won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too late,” Roger says.

“What do you mean?”

“I already gave them the go ahead, based on the preliminary tests. That’s why we allowed Sam to enter the facility yesterday. The project has been given a green light. As a bonus, Rachel has already given us an egg to test.”

Crestfallen, I look at Callie for support.

“I’m sorry, Donovan,” she says. “But that sounds like game, set and match. We can still kill his kids, though.”

“Wait here,” I say.

I leave the room, take the elevator to the parking garage, and get my duffel bag from the trunk of my rental car. When I get back to Roger’s room, I open the case and remove a metal cuff. After attaching it to Roger’s left ankle, I say, “You’re going to wear this until I personally remove it. In the meantime, you’re going to continue hosting the conference, and I’m going to be fifteen feet away from you, day and night, until it’s over. In addition, you’ll have no use of your cell phone, and I’ll be in your room, to monitor your calls.”

“You can’t just show up at this conference. It’s by invitation only. The world’s greatest scientists are there. Government officials. Ministers of Health from around the world—”

“And me.”

“How can I possibly explain your presence?”

“Tell them I’m your government-appointed body guard.”

He thinks about it. Then says, “What about my family?”

“I’ll hang onto them awhile longer.”

“You’ve cut off my son’s leg. How do I know he’s receiving proper treatment?”

“You’ll have to trust us on that.”

“What about the private meetings I have to attend? The one-on-ones? You can’t be privy to those exchanges.”

“I can and I will. You’ll have to think up a way to explain my presence.”

He sighs. “What’s the ankle band for?”

“It contains an explosive device. If you so much as hint that something’s amiss, I’ll detonate the cuff. When I do, it’ll take out everything in a twelve-foot radius.”

“What do you hope to achieve by doing this?”

“I intend to rescue Rachel.”

“But I’ve already explained. That’s impossible.”

“Plan A might be impossible. But I’ve got a Plan B.”

40.

“What’s Plan B?” Callie asks. We’re sitting in the parlor. Close enough to see Roger lying on the floor in the bedroom, far enough to keep from being heard.

“Plan B is a shot in the dark. A last-second buzzer beater.”

“Care to be more specific?”

“You remember the crack whore I put on the jet in Atlanta? The one I put in a padded cell?”

“Of course.”

“That’s Rachel’s mother.”

“What? I thought her mother was deceased.”

“Everyone thinks that. But I lived in Rachel’s attic for nearly two years, watching her every move. I went through all her papers. I listened as she talked in her sleep on the nights I drugged her. I came to realize Rachel’s mother was dead to her, but very much alive. If you can call it living. I spent months searching for her, and finally found her. I sat with her until she was coherent, spoke to her about her daughter, and put her in rehab, hoping to reunite them.”

“What happened?”

“She relapsed the same day. But I bought a house she could live in, until I decided to make another run at cleaning her up. I just haven’t gotten around to doing it till now.”

“If Rachel suspected her mother was alive, why didn’t you tell her you’d found her?”

“Rachel hates her mother for abandoning her. As far as she’s concerned, her mother’s dead. She’s listed both her parents as deceased on all paperwork she’s filled out as an adult. Not only that, but she’s told everyone who’s asked, that her mother killed herself with drugs. If I’d told Rachel I found her mother, but she’s back on smack, it wouldn’t have been much of a reunion.”