Polar Quest

55

Evening had settled over the small city on the banks of the Seine and there were few people on the streets. Tao scouted the area around the building first by car, then on foot, searching for any sign that Martineau’s lab was being watched; she found none.

Martineau set her own hours, working an erratic schedule. This posed a problem for Tao in planning when to break into her lab. Udall Walker solved that problem for her when he learned that Martineau and Lafitte would be attending a dinner at the British Embassy that evening.

Prior to Kilkenny’s departure from the States, they’d agreed to meet outside Evry around seven o’clock. When he missed that rendezvous, Tao moved on to the fallback point closer to the lab. She checked her watch — Kilkenny was overdue and their window of opportunity was closing.

It’s either go, or no go, she thought, then decided to proceed alone.

Tao slipped on a pair of surgical gloves as she approached from the alley. At the back door, she punched in the access code she’d acquired by spying on Martineau. Inside, she carefully ascended the stair, the thin rubber soles of her boots silent on the treads. When she reached the landing, Tao saw a wide black metal door and frame set into the masonry wall. The locks were purely mechanical and she picked through them in less than thirty seconds.

Tao entered an empty room. On the opposite wall, she saw a flat metal door. Beside the door was a square glass plate set flush into the wall — the palm reader. Another of Udall Walker’s contributions was a schematic of the security for Martineau’s lab, which allowed her to prepare for the device.

Tao moved her face close to the reader and exhaled. The moisture in her breath fogged the glass, revealing the oily impression of a woman’s palm print. Tao slipped off her backpack and pulled out a black object about ten inches square and three inches thick. She pressed a button on the side of the device and four hydraulic legs rose out of the corners of the top face of the device. Centered among the legs was a dark glass plate. Tao carefully placed the device against the wall such that the legs straddled the palm reader.

She pressed a second button on the device and the legs slowly retracted, pulling the face of the device close to the reader. When the two glass plates were separated by less than the thickness of a human hair, a bright light flashed from her device as it scanned the image of the woman’s handprint from the reader plate.

Tao heard a muffled clink as the legs on her device retracted further and the two glass plates came into contact. Immediately, the palm reader flashed out its bright white light, searching for the features of a human hand. Using the information it gathered from the handprint on the glass, Tao’s device projected a holographic image of Martineau’s hand onto the palm reader’s sensors and unlocked the door.

The lights came on as Tao entered a changing room. Upon reaching the next door, Tao found no security devices of any kind. A black rectangular panel was placed about eye level next to the door. Close inspection revealed it to be an illuminated display of the word OCCUP?. She pulled open the door and saw a magnetic lock mounted in the door frame.

Tao stepped through the door into a room a bit larger than a phone booth — an air lock. On the opposite wall was another door. As soon as she shut the door, she heard the magnetic lock activate. The dark space was filled with bluish ultraviolet light. Tao closed her eyes and listened to the low electronic buzz of the chamber. After a few minutes, a white light came on and the magnetic lock on the next door released.

She opened the door and entered the gowning room. A rack of metal shelves held sealed bags of surgical scrubs, booties, hats, masks, and latex gloves. Adjacent to the room was a shower, toilet, and sink.

All the comforts of home, Tao thought.

Tao donned a mask and passed through the final door into Martineau’s lab. The modern, antiseptic research space was the polar opposite of the building that contained it. Except for a phone on the wall and what Tao assumed was a networked computer, Martineau’s lab was isolated from the world outside. Tao stood still for a moment; all she could hear was the faint sound of air whooshing through filters.

She walked over to the computer; the screen saver was painting fractal landscapes. She tapped the space bar and a spreadsheet appeared, showing an experiment Martineau was working on. Tao scrolled up on the screen and found a header of information for the experiment. On the donor source line, Tao saw KILKENNY, NOLAN. She studied the header closely, trying to find anything that would tell her what Martineau was doing with Kilkenny’s cells or how she had acquired them. Tao became so focused that she didn’t notice that the white noise of the air-handling system had disappeared.

A strobe light began flashing wildly, accompanied by a beeping alarm. Small nozzle heads popped out of the ceiling and the loud hiss of pressurized gas blasting through them filled the lab. Tao looked around the room, but found no sign of fire anywhere. In the corner, she saw a cluster of red pressure tanks chained to the wall. Each tank bore the characters CO₂.

Carbon dioxide!

The colorless, odorless gas rapidly displaced the oxygen in the room as it sought to smother the nonexistent fire. Tao held her breath and ran back the way she came. She pulled on the door, but it was locked. She ran to the tank farm and began turning valves, but the gas continued to flow.

The air inside Tao’s lungs was growing hot and stale, expanding. Finally, it burst from her mouth in a spasm. She reflexively inhaled, breathing in air that was almost 70 percent carbon dioxide. She coughed as if choking on a mouthful of water.

Her vision clouded and grew narrow, and she became increasingly dizzy. She dropped onto the floor, coughing and gasping, until she succumbed.

Beside the air lock door, the black rectangular panel displayed the illuminated word OCCUP?. A moment later, a man entered Martineau’s lab, his face obscured by an oxygen mask. He walked over to Tao and placed two fingers on her bluish neck. He pulled a two-way radio out of his pocket and checked his watch.

‘She’s out,’ he announced into the radio. ‘Switch off the gas.’

The high-pressure hissing ceased and was soon replaced by the white noise of the air filtration system. Almost immediately, the warm color returned to Tao’s face. The man bound her hands and feet with tape, then covered her mouth with another strip. The man looked at the air lock door just as Duroc stepped through. Duroc walked over and glanced down at Tao’s unconscious body.

‘Nicely done,’ Duroc said.

Udall Walker stripped off his oxygen mask. ‘When can I expect the rest of my money?’

‘As soon as you drop her off at the estate. A cashier’s check is waiting for you there.’

‘You’re not coming?’ Walker asked.

‘I’ll meet you there later. I have another appointment in Paris. Let’s get her down to the car.’