“Nothing so fast,” Ocampo said. “The cut didn’t close itself instantly. But it does seem as if Typhoon speeds up the body’s natural healing process dramatically.”
“How is that possible?” Juan asked.
“That’s something I wish I knew. This kind of advanced healing isn’t unheard of in vertebrates. Dolphins can survive gaping wounds from shark attacks with little pain and no infection, and the missing flesh is completely replaced in a matter of weeks. We don’t know if the rapid healing process is stimulated by stem cells or proteins, but the Typhoon drug could be activating a similar mechanism in humans.”
“The problem is that the other side effects could be worse than the benefits,” Maria said. “I’ve noticed that the guards’ angry outbursts have become more frequent and violent during the last few weeks. There have even been fights between some of them. If they weren’t under orders by Locsin himself to leave us untouched, I have no doubt that we would have been attacked as well.”
“It may also be addictive,” Ocampo added. “Such profound effects may produce strong withdrawal symptoms if the user suddenly stops taking the drug.”
“If Locsin already had this drug,” Raven said, “why did he want you to figure out how to make more of it?”
“I got the impression that he only had a limited supply and was desperate to make more. When I told him that it would take at least three months to decipher the formula, he went crazy and demanded that we find it in two months.”
“Even the three-month time line was insane,” Maria said.
“Why?” Juan asked.
“Because we couldn’t figure out the key component without the formula itself. The main ingredient of the drug seems to be an organic compound, most likely from a plant. If we knew which plant the compound was from—which we don’t—it would likely take mere weeks to get production up and running.”
“So where did he get the drug in the first place?”
“We don’t know. We did a radiometric analysis on one of the samples to see if we could determine its age. There was no evidence of radioactive decay, which means they had to be created before the use of atomic weapons, which have left a radioactive signature on all organic compounds since they were first detonated.”
Raven leaned forward. For the first time in the short span that Juan had known her, she seemed genuinely surprised. “Are you saying these pills date from before 1945?”
“Yes. It means the pills were developed just before or during World War Two,” Ocampo said. “They had to be well preserved to survive intact for over seventy years, probably vacuum-sealed. And I know he’s looking for more of them. He threatened us by saying he had a backup plan if we failed.”
“I don’t suppose he told you exactly where he was looking,” Juan said.
“If you have a map with a nice big X on it,” Eddie said, “that would be even better.”
Ocampo smiled. “Why? Are you going after him?”
Juan nodded. “It seems like that would be in the interest of my biggest client.” As soon as he could, Juan planned to call Langston Overholt at the CIA and brief him on the situation. He had no doubt that Overholt would want him to go after Locsin.
“Your client? Who is that?”
“I’m afraid that the less you know about that, the better.”
Ocampo narrowed his eyes at Juan. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but just who are you people?”
Up to this point, Juan had only used their first names. Revealing who they really were would just raise a lot of inconvenient questions when Ocampo and his people talked to the Philippine authorities.
“Let’s just say we’re on the side that doesn’t want a supersoldier drug in the hands of a communist madman.”
Ocampo stared at Juan for a moment, then looked at each person in his group. They all returned his look with a silent nod.
“All right,” he said, turning back to Juan. “We owe you our trust after you put your lives on the line for us. I have some other information that might help you.”
“About where Locsin is looking for the drug?”
“Not really. All I know about that is he’s got a dig going on somewhere on a small island in the Philippines. Since there are well over a hundred languages spoken in our country, the guards thought I didn’t know what they were saying. But apparently my mother was from the same area they were from, so I could understand snippets of their conversation. They said they’re expecting a shipment to arrive tomorrow night from China.”
“A shipment of what?” Eddie asked.
“They didn’t say. But it’s coming in on a cargo ship called the Magellan Sun, the same ship they used to deliver equipment for the dig. The guards were expecting to rendezvous with it off the west coast of Negros Island. Maybe you can have the Philippine Coast Guard intercept it.”
“That’s one possibility,” Juan said. He wouldn’t reveal that he had the Oregon, a better solution than trying to convince a foreign nation’s coast guard to stop a ship at sea.