Quantum

49

‘Working late, I see,’ Orlov said as he entered Avvakum’s office.

From behind, he saw her convulse as if suddenly struck by an electric shock. Startled, she quickly turned around to face the unexpected visitor. The sight of Victor Orlov standing in her doorway did little to ease her discomfort.

‘I didn’t expect you, sir,’ Avvakum said as she quickly stood.

She absently brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.

‘I don’t doubt that. Please, sit down.’

Avvakum complied automatically, still trying to compose herself. Orlov unbuttoned his blazer and sat down on one of her guest chairs.

‘What can I do for you?’ she asked, her voice aquiver.

‘You are already doing what I hired you to do, Lara. According to Oksanna Zoshchenko, you are making excellent progress. This pleases me.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Unfortunately, I’m not here to discuss your work. It seems that we have a security problem.’

‘Oh?’

Orlov’s eyes narrowed, and Avvakum felt his gaze boring into her; his manner changed perceptibly.

‘Da. I have many talented people, such as you, in my employ. A group of these people care for all the computers in use by my various businesses.’ Orlov pointed at the machine on her desk. ‘The network your computer is attached to is monitored by these people. They see everything that moves across that network, including the E-mail message you sent yesterday to a man named Nolan Kilkenny.’

Avvakum’s heart seemed to stop for a moment, pausing until a surge of adrenaline sent the muscle galloping in her chest.

‘Since you contacted him, I assume you know who Kilkenny is and what he represents.’

‘He works with Sandstrom, the man who made this discovery.’

‘You fucking whore! Is this the gratitude you show me for rescuing you from that rathole in Sverdlovsk? These men are my competition, my enemies! The message you sent might have compromised everything I’m trying to accomplish here. This is a race between them and me — winner take all! I intend to win. I will win.’

‘At any cost?’ Avvakum asked bravely. ‘Is murder and theft an acceptable part of this competition? You’ve killed one man and stolen the lifework of another. How can you justify that?’

Orlov stood and struck her across the face with the back of his hand; the blow nearly knocked her to the floor. Her cheek went numb, and she tasted blood in her mouth as her lip split and began to swell.

‘Dr Avvakum,’ Orlov replied icily as he wiped her saliva from his hand, ‘this is how the game is played.’

‘If this is how you run your business, then I want no part of it.’

‘I’ve already made that decision. You have violated my trust. Zoshchenko is already looking for your replacement — someone better suited to work in the private sector. I expect you to stay on until your replacement is found and brought up to speed on the project.’

‘No, I can’t continue working for you any longer.’

Orlov struck her again, splitting her lip further. Avvakum turned back to face him, her bloodied lip ballooning out grotesquely.

‘I’m not giving you a choice. You are going to remain right here,’ Orlov growled, pointing at her desk, ‘in this building, until your replacement is found. All your access to the outside world is gone. You will be under armed guard twenty-four hours a day.’

‘You’re insane. Do you actually think I am going to continue to work for you? You can imprison my body but not my mind.’

‘You will continue to have access to project materials on your computer, but that access has been reduced to read-only.’ Orlov leaned down so that his face was just inches from hers. ‘What you do while you are here is your concern, but any attempt to damage project materials will be dealt with harshly.’

‘Are you going to kill me, too?’ Avvakum said defiantly.

‘If that had been my intent, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’ Orlov stood up and buttoned his blazer. ‘The quality of your work during the remainder of your time here will greatly affect the nature of your eventual severance from my employ. Work or die, Dr Avvakum. The choice is yours.’

Orlov walked out of her office. As he turned and disappeared down the corridor, a large muscular man in an ill-fitting tan suit filled her doorway. His stony face lacked any sign of intelligence or even humanity.