Callsign: King

MANUEVER
10.

It wasn’t until they were settled in Moses’ tenement on the edge of the city, that King realized Felice wasn’t Ethiopian. She hadn’t spoken more than a few words, and he’d been a little too busy trying to keep her alive to pay attention to the fact that she didn’t speak with an accent. When their host had stepped out to purchase food and some clothes to replace her hospital garment, she had remained withdrawn, and King had been content to leave her alone a little while longer.

He felt as though he had been handed the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, minus the box with a picture of what it would look like when correctly assembled. He had a stack of clues, but no idea how they related to each other. But it was his uncertainty about Sara’s fate that consumed his thoughts.

They hit the CDC team first. That wasn’t an accident. But Sara wasn’t in Felice’s room. She missed them. And somehow I missed her. So where is she now? Are they still looking for her?

Moses returned after about an hour, carrying several loaves of injera, a local sourdough flatbread, and a container of wat, a spicy beef stew. He also presented Felice with a traditional garment. She examined it with obvious disdain.

“It is the habesha qemis,” he explained. “The dress worn for the coffee ceremony. Many women wear them.”

“We can go out later and get you whatever you want,” King said. “Unless you really prefer that hospital gown.”

She sighed. “Looks like I’m going native. Turn around boys; give a girl a little privacy.”

King complied. “West coast, right?”

“Kirkland, Washington.”

“So what brings you to Africa? What’s your story?”

There was a long silence, then: “You can turn around now.”

The coffee dress was not exactly flattering, but it was an improvement. Moses smiled approvingly then set about preparing a meal, while King repeated his question.

“You mean you don’t already know?”

King regarded her for a moment, and then folded his arms over his chest. “Okay. Cards on the table. I’ll show you mine, you show me yours. Here’s what I know.

“Yesterday, a CDC team was scrambled out of Atlanta to investigate a possible outbreak, here in Ethiopia. Patient zero-the person suspected of being the source of the outbreak-is you. He-” King gestured at Moses-“talked about an expedition and a cave, which answers a few questions, but raises a hell of a lot more.”

He noticed her squirm at the mention of the cave.

“But I’ll get to that in a minute. About fifteen minutes after the CDC team arrived, they were all dead. The guys who killed them then proceeded to your room where they almost took you out as well. So, that’s what I ‘already know.’ Now, it’s your turn. I’m going to ask this one more time, as diplomatically as I know how.” He paused for effect, and when he spoke again, he enunciated each word as if driving nails with a hammer. “What the fuck is going on?”

She winced at his tone, but then straightened, as if drawing on some previously untapped vein of courage. “I guess I owe you that much.

“I was part of an expedition to the Great Rift Valley, in northern Ethiopia. I’m a geneticist, but I specialize in paleobiology. One of the things my company does is investigate the historical record, including more esoteric sources-myths and folklore-in order to secure previously undiscovered sources of genetic material. Our information led to the discovery of a cave in the Afar Region.”

He sensed there was a lot more to that part of the story, but didn’t press her. “Then what?”

“Then…I don’t know. We found the cave, but I don’t remember anything after that. Nothing until the hospital.” She nodded to Moses. “Ask him.”

King turned his gaze to their host who was in the process of ladling portions of stew onto pieces of flatbread, using the latter like serving plates. He put the food in front of each of them, and then sat down. “I can only tell you what I saw. I was just a laborer, hired to help set up the camp outside the cave.”

“You’re very well spoken for a laborer.”

“Being able to speak your language certainly helped me get the job. But I assure you, I was nothing more than a common bearer.” He made a sweeping gesture. “Look around. I am a man of humble means. I take whatever work I can find.”

“Go on.”

“For many days, everything went well. But then, the researchers in the cave stopped coming out. Three days passed with no word. There was a great deal of unrest in the camp. Some of the men started a riot. In the confusion, I went into the cave and found you.” He nodded to Felice. “You were unconscious, so I carried you out. I found a truck and drove you back to the city.”

“And you’ve been hanging around the hospital ever since?” King asked.

Moses shrugged, still looking at Felice. “I was concerned about you, but I dared not come forward. You see, the expedition…the camp was completely destroyed. The police would not have believed my account of events, so after I dropped you off anonymously, I kept checking to see if you had regained consciousness. I had hoped you would be able to verify my account of what happened.”

King waved his hand emphatically. “Back up. We’re glossing over the important part here. What happened in that cave during those three days?”

Moses and Felice looked to each other, but neither had an answer.

King pointed to the woman first. “You were in there. You found something, right? Found whatever it is you were looking for? Those men that attacked us today took something from you. It looked like a skull. Do you remember that?”

Felice appeared troubled by the question, but shook her head. Moses however spoke up. “Yes, you had an ape skull in the cave. When I brought you out, you were clinging to it. You would not let me take it out of your hands.”

“Okay, let’s put a pin in that. Now, there were other researchers in that cave, right? What happened to them?” When he got no answer, King persisted. “Come on. The CDC was called in. Somebody thinks you found a virus or something. Did you? Did they all get sick and die in there? Is that why you were unconscious?”

“I am not ill,” Moses offered. “I entered the cave and spent two days in contact with her, yet I have not shown any signs of infection.”

“Okay, so not a virus. But something, right? Something to do with that skull?” Blank looks. King realized he wasn’t going to get anything more out of them, so he switched gears again. “Felice, who do you work for?”

“A company called Nexus Genetics. They’re based in Seattle.”

Nexus? That wasn’t the answer he had been expecting. “How long have you been with them?”

“From the beginning. A little over two years now. They were formed when my old company was broken up.”

“Let me guess. Manifold Genetics.”

“You’ve heard of us?”

With no little effort, King controlled his expression. “The team that hit the hospital was Gen-Y, Manifold’s private security army. They were tying up loose ends.”

Felice’s eyes widened in sincere alarm. King knew from experience that, even though Manifold’s founder, Richard Ridley, was quite literally a monster, many of the scientists he had employed were innocent pawns in his quest for power. Some of them, and even a few Gen-Y personnel, had been instrumental in bringing Manifold down. But Ridley had survived and gone underground, and it seemed that Manifold had as well. And though Ridley was now believed to be dead, it appeared his directives were still being carried out. There was another option, though. One that King hoped wasn’t at play. Before his death, Ridley uncovered an ancient language-the original language, or Mother Tongue, which was capable of affecting the physical world in profound ways best described as Biblical-light from darkness, life granted to the inanimate, physical healing. Before being subdued, he used the language to create several duplicates of himself. Many of the duplicates were destroyed, but there was no way to know how many he created or how many of them still operated around the world. That Nexus Genetics, which had, he surmised, been cobbled together from some of the pieces of Manifold, still carried out Ridley’s agenda was an ominous sign.

There will still pieces that didn’t quite fit, but King was starting to see the picture now. It was time to call Deep Blue. “You’re safe now,” he told her as he got out his Chess Team phone. “I’ll arrange transport back to the States.”

“No.” Felice’s voice was edged with panic.

King lowered the phone. “No?”

“I need to go back to the cave.” She turned to Moses. “You can take me there. You remember the way?”

Moses nodded uncertainly, but then looked to King, as if for reassurance.

“You said they were ‘tying up loose ends,’ right?” Felice continued. “They’ll be going after the cave next. You know I’m right. We have to get there first.”

“You don’t even remember what you found.”

“No, I don’t. But somehow I just know that I have to go back there.”

King frowned. This wasn’t what he needed right now. Sara was still out there somewhere, probably in grave danger. But Felice was right about the cave being a loose end. And if it was the source of whatever discovery had prompted the attack on the hospital, then getting there ahead of a Gen-Y clean-up crew was imperative. Where Ridley and Manifold were concerned, immediate action was required.

He turned to Moses. “Think you can put together an expedition? Get us outfitted with supplies? Discreetly?”

“It will be costly.”

King loosened his belt to reveal a concealed zipper pouch, and from it he took a stack of coins which he pressed into the Ethiopian’s hand. The weight of ten solid gold Krugerrands caught Moses off guard and his fist almost fell into what was left of his meal.

King gave a tight smile. “I think that should cover it.”