Altar Of Eden

Lorna hesitated at the threshold. Connor shoved her from behind. She stumbled into the room, close to falling on her face.

Malik scowled. “Is that bloody necessary?” he scolded. His words had a British lilt to them, but the accent was plainly Middle Eastern. He waved to Lorna. “Join me over here, Dr. Polk.”

Duncan accompanied her to the workstation while Connor hung back.

Up close, Malik appeared older than she originally estimated. Though his dark skin was unlined and his thick hair salted with gray, he had to be in his late fifties. He still wore the same surgical scrubs from before, but he had donned a starched white lab coat that reached to mid-thigh.

He motioned her to a chair. “I must apologize for dragging you into all of this.”

She remained standing. Duncan grabbed her shoulder hard, guided her to the chair, and pushed her into it.

Malik’s frown deepened, but he kept silent.

“Ask your questions,” Duncan said. “Let’s get this over with.”

Malik sighed. “For the sake of the security of our intellectual property rights, I must ask what you and your colleagues in New Orleans learned from the specimens in your possession.”

Lorna could not look them in the eye. Her gaze dropped to the equipment around her. She took in the labels: PureLink Genomic digestion buffer, Novex zymogram gel kits, a Spotlight hybridizer. Behind Malik stood a stack of two incubators and an inverted microscope station with two micromanipulator controls for viewing and working with embryo dishes.

She recognized the setup as an in vitro fertilization lab.

Was this the origin of all the bloodshed and horror?

She lifted her face, only to have the back of a hand strike her hard across the mouth. Blood flew from her lips. The knot behind her ear rang with the impact, echoing the pain of the blow.

Tears welled in her eyes-less from pain than fury.

“That’s enough!” Malik said.

Duncan ignored him and loomed over her. “Answer his questions or there will be worse.”

Lorna saw the promise in his eyes.

Malik began again, but Lorna cut him off, wiping the blood from her split lip. She had already decided not to withhold any information. What was the use?

“We found additional chromosomes in all the animals,” she started. “And we discovered the structural changes in the brain. A network of magnetite crystals.”

“Impressive,” Malik said. “Considering how little time you had with the specimens.”

“What else?” Duncan asked, the threat plain in his voice.

She didn’t hold back. “And we learned that the animals were somehow able to link up neurologically. And we came to believe this networking enhanced their intellectual capacity.”

Malik nodded, confirming what was conjecture before.

“That’s as far as we got,” Lorna said.

“Who else knows about what you learned?” Duncan pressed.

Lorna guessed this was coming. It was the only reason she’d been dragged here, the only reason she was still alive. To discover if the information had leaked out of ACRES. Her only hope of staying alive was to shadow the truth.

“I can’t say for sure,” she said. “But we regularly back data up to an off-site server. It’s done automatically.”

Malik looked at Duncan.

A half scowl twisted the commando’s lips. “Shouldn’t matter. At least not immediately. With everyone dead, it will buy us a window of time to clean this up.”

“We’ll still need it purged as soon as possible,” Malik said. “Mr. Bennett will insist on it.”

“Where’s the backup stored?” Duncan asked her.

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. ACRES contracted with an outfit in Baton Rouge.

Duncan lifted his hand again, ready to test her veracity.

Needing to be convincing, she cowered back and protected her face. “All I know is the name. Southern Compu-Safe. But they have servers throughout Louisiana.”

She didn’t know if that last bit was true, but if this bastard believed the data was bottled up at one site, he’d just order the facility blown up. In that scenario, she would not be needed. To live, she had to remain useful.

Duncan lowered his hand, momentarily believing her. His gaze went long as he weighed his options.

She had to direct those options as best she could. She continued, talking rapidly, allowing the terror buried deep inside her to shine out. “The only way to access the stored data is through a series of security clearances. An employee ID password, followed by a series of challenge questions unique to each employee. But I have no idea how to gain access remotely.”

This last bit was true.

Duncan seemed not to hear her. His gaze remained fixed in that thousand-mile stare.

Malik spoke up. “How long would it take to get a secure satellite uplink to this Compu-Safe? One that can’t be traced back to us.”

Duncan spoke in a monotone. “At least four hours.” He glared at Lorna. “But it will only take a few calls to confirm if Dr. Polk is telling us the truth.”

Lorna wanted to shrink from that gaze, but she held firm.

“Then it seems we’ll have her company for a bit longer,” Malik said. “Which is just as well. I’d like to pick her brain concerning the trouble we’ve been experiencing in the field of late.”

“She doesn’t need to know about that,” Duncan said.

“It never hurts to have a fresh perspective on a problem. And what can it hurt?” Malik lifted an eyebrow toward the commando. “That is, unless you’re worried about the security here. If you’re afraid she might escape.”

Duncan’s face darkened.

Lorna found herself warming to the doctor.

Until his next words.

“Besides, Dr. Polk and I will have plenty of time to talk as I prepare her.”

Something about that statement sent a chill through her. Even Duncan looked momentarily disgusted.

“Prepare for what?” Lorna asked.

Malik crossed and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. “A minor procedure. While we have you here, it seemed a shame to waste an opportunity to freshen our genetic stock supply.”

“What do you mean?” Lorna’s stomach clenched around a knot of worry. She flashed to the body on the surgical table.

Malik patted her shoulder a final time and stepped from her side.

“Fear not. We’re just going to harvest a few of your eggs.”

Chapter 42

Lorna held back tears as the technician stepped away, carrying vials of her blood in color-coded tubes. Nervous sweat dampened her body. She rubbed a finger along the bandage taped to the tender crux of her elbow.