Black Rose

CHAPTER 14

The team gathered in Harker's office. It was Sunday. Days off were no longer on the schedule.

"What have you found, Steph?" Elizabeth said.

"Krivi has biohazard labs in Zurich and Mumbai. I can't say with certainty which one we should target."

"We could go after the guy who runs things," Ronnie said. "What's his name, Gutenberg. Grab him and make him tell us where those samples are."

"We can't, not yet," Elizabeth said. "Same with Krivi."

"The Koreans didn't have a vaccine or a cure, is that right?" Selena asked.

"That's right."

"Then Krivi must have a team of people working on it. Whatever AEON has in mind for that bug, they'll want to protect themselves. Who's Krivi's best medical researcher? Maybe we could find out where the samples are by watching him. See where he goes to work in the morning."

Elizabeth looked at her. "That's so simple, it's brilliant. I should have thought of that."

"It should be easy to find out who it is," Stephanie said.

She tapped on the keyboard of the laptop she always seemed to have with her.

"Krivi's company has a corporate website with all the typical blurbs. It's got photos of top personnel."

They waited. Stephanie entered a command and the monitor on the wall lit with a picture of a blond man in a white lab coat. He was smiling for the camera but the smile failed to reach his eyes.

"Guy looks like he needs a fancy black uniform and a few flags," Lamont said.

"He does have that look, doesn't he," Stephanie said. "This is Karl Schmidt, the chief research scientist for Krivi's company. He's got quite a list of credentials. The man's a genius. He'd be the one Krivi would use."

"Where does he live?" Nick asked.

"It doesn't say. It does say that the main research lab is in Zurich. I imagine he lives there."

"I like Selena's idea," Nick said. "We find out where he lives, go to Zurich, stake out his house and see where he goes. He has to be working on the samples."

"Then what?" Elizabeth asked.

"If we think we know where they've got the samples, we break in and steal them back."

"That's not a good idea," Selena said.

"Why not?"

"If this thing is as bad as it's made out to be, we can't handle it. What are we going to do, put on hazmat suits and raid the facility? Put the samples in a baggie?"

"I hadn't thought about it. We'll think of something."

"We don't have to steal the samples," Ronnie said. "We just have to destroy them, along with the research. It's probably in the same building."

"Typical Jarhead thinking," Lamont said. "When in doubt, blow it up."

"So?" Ronnie said. "Your point?"

"Seems like a good idea to me," Nick said.

"Hold on," Elizabeth said. "You can't just blow up a Swiss research lab."

"Why not?" Nick asked.

"Well, because you can't. It's Swiss. They're neutral."

"They may be, but Krivi isn't," Nick said. "We can't take the samples with us. We can't leave them behind. What else are we going to do?"

"He's right, Director," Selena said. "We have to destroy it."

Elizabeth looked at her pen and forced herself not to pick it up.

"I hope I don't regret this," she said. "Steph, find out where Schmidt lives. Nick, you'd better make damn sure you've picked the right building before you push the button. Take the Gulfstream and leave tomorrow."

"What about weapons? We need more than pistols for this in case we run into opposition. MP5s, C-4, detonators. Not so easy to take those through Swiss customs."

"Take them on the plane. You'll have diplomatic passports, they won't search you."

"While you're arranging things, how about a safe house? We could be there a while."

"I'll see what I can do."

"I always wanted to see Switzerland in the winter," Lamont said.

"Lots of snow," Ronnie said. "And mountains."

"Do you ski, Nick?" Selena asked.