Shit.
“Die?”
“All the animal trials we’ve conducted so far.” Vale continues. “Show the markers of something quite groundbreaking.”
“And dangerous. You haven’t alerted the CDC about it yet? Surely there are guidelines that would require you to.”
“Mr. Cade, our plan was to notify the CDC when it became more clear what we actually have and how it might be used. It was top secret. Someone privy to the details must have leaked the project. We’re trying to flush out our rat now.”
“And how does this kidnapper want to use it?”
“I’m speculating, of course, but I believe he has…clients who see the potential value of weaponizing the vaccine.”
“In biochemical warfare, you mean.”
“Yes, I would assume so.”
Air hisses through my teeth at the staggering effect this thing could potentially have.
There’s no way in hell CamTech will turn that vaccine over. They can’t.
I draw a calming breath to keep from hurling the phone through my office window. “So your plan is what?”
“We’ve opened negotiations with the kidnapper,” Vale says. “I’m sure you know how this works. The U.S. government doesn’t negotiate with terrorists and rarely engages in private foreign hostage situations. If they find out about the vaccine at this stage, they’ll confiscate it and any pertinent records. If my rat finds out we no longer have the vaccine and tips them off—”
“You’ll have no leverage with the kidnapper.”
“Make no mistake, Cade, we will never turn that vaccine over. Our only hope is to convince the kidnapper to settle for the money. Can you imagine this as a weapon at what would essentially be a black market auction? No way we’d let that be tracked to us. That would be a public relations nightmare.”
“Not to mention all the people who might die if it falls into the wrong hands,” I say. “Or did you forget about that?”
“Of course, that’s our primary concern.”
“Of course it is,” I say, my words heavy with sarcasm. “So again, what is your plan?”
“We have K&R on Dr. Murrow. Our insurance provides a negotiator to intervene and drive the ransom as low as possible.”
“Which typically takes weeks, sometimes months.” My hand clenches into a knot at my side. “That motherfucker will kill Lennix in forty-eight hours.”
“We’ll, uh…do our best to include Ms. Hunter’s safety in the terms we negotiate.”
“This is a madman, Vale. He may want your money to fund whatever his agenda is, but that’s not what’s fueling him. The money won’t be enough.”
“Well, we cannot turn over the vaccine. You know that. What would you suggest?”
“Like I said, I have my own security specialist, Brock Grimsby. Authorize your negotiator to fully apprise my guy of the situation. I’ll determine what we’ll do from there.”
“You’ll determine? Don’t think you can come in and take this over. This is still my operation to manage. We have a crisis plan.”
“He’s given Lennix forty-eight hours to live. From what I’m hearing, your crisis plan doesn’t include a way to stop him, so I’m damn well taking this over. Get in my way and get crushed, Vale. You and that glorified drugstore you’re running.”
“Glorified—”
“I don’t have time to pander to you. I don’t have time to stroke your ego. There is one thing I care about right now, and that’s getting her home.”
“And Dr. Murrow?”
“Yeah, him, too, but at least the kidnapper might negotiate for him. He considers Lennix disposable.” The awful image of Paco’s execution replays in my head. “And we’ve seen how he treats disposable hostages. They end up dead.”
CHAPTER 4
MAXIM
“CamTech can’t help us, King.”
Grim’s blunt assessment lands on me with crushing weight. I’ve tried all day to attack one thing at a time to sort out this shitstorm. I haven’t allowed myself to think about what’s happening to Lennix right now or to even consider that she won’t come home.
Grim’s words, though, spoken with such deliberate, honest force, send me to collapse, weak-kneed, in my seat. I rest my elbows on the desk in front of me and steeple my hands, pressing my forehead to the tips of my fingers.
“What’d they say?” My voice sounds calm, but there is a riot in my head, an angry mob throwing stones and setting fires in the streets.
“First of all, they have no idea where they’re being held,” Grim says, sitting on the other side of the desk, probably watching me for signs of detonation. He’s the one who has kept tabs on Lennix for a decade. He knows what she means to me. “They were last seen at the Bribri reserve where they were staying, but Talamanca is mountains and jungle so dense and wild, you could hide for years if you tried hard enough, and no one would find you. It’s about as off the grid as you can get.”
An image from Nix in the video passes through my mind. Pushing her hair back, the bracelet I gave her glinting in the light.
“The bracelet,” I say, some hope flaring in the so-far-bleak news. “Can we use it to find her?”
“You mean even though you didn’t activate the geotracker in the bracelet?” Grim asks, one brow cocked.
“What was I supposed to say? ‘Nix. I know this is our first date in, oh, ten years, but could you wear this tracking device so I can monitor your every move? Thanks.’”
“You could have explained that it’s standard practice for people in your position to issue tracking devices to significant others, yeah. This is why.”
“It just wasn’t that kind of night.”
“Well, I hope you had a nice romantic fuck, but now it’d come in really handy if you had activated that chip.”
“Solutions, Grim,” I say through a cage of teeth. “Can you activate it remotely? Is it too late?”
“Not sure. They could be underground. Underwater, for all we know. There’s no way to know the conditions where they’re being held. With them being in such a remote place with no Wi-Fi, satellite, or electricity—finding that signal could be like pulling a single thread from the rain forest.”
“But that’s exactly what I need you to do. If anyone can, it’s you.”
Grim gives a terse nod and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I’ve had an initial conversation with CamTech’s negotiator.”
“And?”
“Like I said, I don’t feel good about it.”
“I expected as much. What’s their position?”
“They don’t have one. The kidnapper wants ten million dollars and the vaccine. We both know they’ll never hand over that vaccine. Their only hope is getting them to settle for the money. They’re actually willing to pay the ten if they have to because K&R will reimburse that payout. And apparently Dr. Murrow is a pretty big deal. He’s the brains behind this vaccine they’ve developed, and they see its potential.”