The Genesis Plague

28

‘Hey, Jason,’ Flaherty said loudly into the sat-com’s microphone. The dense storm clouds over Boston made the satellite signal sputter like crazy. ‘It’s Tommy. Can you hear me?’

‘Yeah. What’s up, Southie. You’re a bit choppy … but … hang on a sec …’

Flaherty heard crinkling static and squawking, as if Jason had stuck the phone in his pocket. In the slow lane, he continued cruising steadily along Huntington Avenue towards downtown. The snow had slowed to a sprinkle, but the roads were coated in briny slush, bringing traffic to a crawl.

A few seconds went by before Jason came back on the line.

‘Sorry, buddy. Have to be super careful with these calls. I’ve got a real ball buster commanding the marine platoon that came to back us up. Doesn’t want me talking to anyone. Gotta keep everything on the down low.’

‘Understood.’

‘What do you have for me?’

‘Found your scientist in Boston.’

‘She as cute as her picture?’ Jason asked.

Having overheard the comment, Brooke looked expectantly at Flaherty with raised eyebrows.

‘Eh,’ Flaherty said in a minimalist tone.

She hit him in the arm and he smiled to let her know he was teasing.

‘Actually, she’s in the car with me,’ he explained.

‘Oh,’ Jason said in a confused tone. ‘Okay …’

‘So let me put you on speaker. That work for you?’

‘Sure.’

Once the introductions were over with, Flaherty said, ‘Like I said in my text message, Brooke was there in 2003. Part of an excavation team that studied that cave you uncovered. She deciphered an ancient language … some writings found on a wall.’

‘There were also picture engravings,’ Brooke added.

‘I’ve seen the writing,’ Jason confirmed. ‘The pictures, too … carved into the left wall of the entry tunnel.’

‘That’s them,’ she said. ‘Beautiful, aren’t they?’

‘Um. What does it all mean?’

‘It’s a bit complicated. But it’s the earliest recorded specimen of ancient Mesopotamian mythology … a story about a woman who came from another land.’ At this point, having almost been murdered, she was comfortable with throwing her confidentiality agreement to the wind.

‘The woman who was decapitated?’ Jason asked.

‘That’s the one.’

‘Why did they kill her?’ Jason asked.

‘The story implies that many people died shortly after her arrival. Similar to a colonial witch hunt, I suppose,’ Brooke guessed. ‘She was different, came from a faraway place. They didn’t understand her.’

‘And they blamed her for the deaths,’ Jason said.

‘Absolutely.’

There was another pause, and Brooke knew that Jason was trying to understand the military’s interest in this archaeological discovery. He was incredibly intuitive in sifting for the devil in the details.

‘What was her name?’

‘Actually, it wasn’t specified in the writings I studied.’ Evil didn’t really need a name, she thought.

Flaherty jumped in, anxious to get to the juicy facts. ‘Hey, Jason, you’re not going to believe who brought Brooke and the other scientists over there, all expenses paid …’

Brooke gave him a thumbs-up.

Flaherty recapped Brooke’s story. He explained her role in the excavation sponsored by none other than the US military — the tight security protocols; the mysterious facilitator known only as ‘Frank’. Jason had plenty of probing questions, most of which Flaherty fielded, with Brooke occasionally chiming in for clarification. Jason focused mostly on Brooke’s recollection of the cave’s layout.

‘Brooke, you only saw the first leg of the tunnel?’ Jason clarified.

‘That’s right.’

Flaherty felt a tug on his sleeve. When he looked over, Brooke held up the BlackBerry and tapped on the USAMRIID logo. Then she pointed to the phone and mouthed, ‘Tell him.’

‘I’m afraid it gets even stranger,’ Flaherty warned. ‘It wasn’t just the military that watched over the excavation. Seems the guys at USAMRIID were involved too.’

‘What? You mean the biochem guys?’

‘Yeah.’

A pause.

‘Any idea what the connection might be?’ Jason finally asked.

‘No,’ Brooke said. ‘Sorry.’

‘Brooke didn’t see anyone suited up in Hazmat gear,’ Flaherty added. ‘So I don’t think there is any hazardous material in there.’

‘All right,’ Jason said. ‘We’re prepping a recon bot to send into the cave. I’ve got enough surprises to worry about.’

Flaherty wanted to ask Jason if the quarry was still trapped in the cave, but ruled against it. Jason sending a bot into the cave did, after all, provide indirect confirmation that the hunt was still under way. ‘I’m afraid there’s something else. Something you should definitely be concerned about.’

‘Great,’ he said. ‘Hit me.’

‘Right after I spoke to Brooke, some guy with a gun came after her. Tried to kill her.’

‘Christ,’ he groaned in frustration.

‘Yeah, we barely got out of there alive,’ Flaherty said. He painted a quick picture of the incident that took place outside the museum.

‘That’s too much of a coincidence for my taste,’ Jason said.

‘Not sure who the gunman was … or who might have sent him,’ Flaherty said. ‘But Brooke offered a good suggestion. Seems USAMRIID sent out some samples for processing. If our guys can dig through USAMRIID’s records, we might find out what they were studying … and who ordered the tests.’

‘Smart thinking. Look, Tommy, you two need to keep safe until we figure out what’s going on here.’

‘I know. I’m taking Brooke to the office now,’ Flaherty said. ‘You watch over your shoulder too.’

‘Will do,’ Jason said. ‘You’re in good hands, Brooke. Nice talking with you.’

‘Thanks,’ she said.

‘Gotta go,’ Jason said. ‘I’ll be in touch shortly.’

The line went dead.

Flaherty pocketed the phone.

‘Sounds like a clever fellow,’ Brooke said.

‘If only you knew,’ Flaherty said. In the rearview mirror, the angular headlights swooped in from behind — the vehicle a mere shadow through the rear window’s crackled glass. Checking the side mirror, he saw a Hyundai sedan was putt-putting along in the fast lane, about three car lengths back. Then the vehicle tailing him made another abrupt manoeuvre and eclipsed the Hyundai. The silver Ford Explorer had returned, and for the first time, Flaherty glimpsed the driver’s silhouette. When he finally discerned the driver’s narrow face and big ears, his heart jumped into his throat.