BioKill (21 page)

The coffee followed shortly after then both Evangeline and Lilburn settled into a light lunch from the menu.

Evangeline watched as Lilburn shuffled the last remainders of eggs Florentine round his plate. “You look concerned, Matt.”

Lilburn laid down his knife and fork. “Here I am sitting in a café, eating a meal with a beautiful lady while two guys I worked with are lying in the morgue. Just doesn’t seem right.”

Until now, Evangeline had only heard part of what Lilburn and his team had gone through. By the time they were ready to leave, she had heard it all. She realized it was almost therapeutic for the man sitting beside her to let it all out, down to the last gory detail.

“So that’s it, that’s what went down.” Lilburn glanced at his watch. “The virus is secure. Outside of the office, there are only a handful of people who know what really happened. The economy is no worse off than when we first found out about the threat. All good, except for the matter of one fugitive Takfir operative.”

“Do you think you’ll catch him?”

“Don’t know. Don’t even know if they will assign me to bringing him in, though I expect they will. I seem to be the only one left alive to have seen him. I’ll tell you what though — it will take more than luck to get the drop on that man. I’ve seen what he’s capable of, seen the way he reacts. He’s a tough bastard. If anyone can get themselves back in one piece, he can.” Lilburn looked down at his plate and stared at the last of his uneaten food.

Evangeline watched in silence, taking in his strong features, and the pain that was written on them for all the world to see.
He’s strong, but he has more than his share of demons
, she thought to herself.
And he’s used to fighting them.
It came as no surprise when the moment came, and Matt Lilburn bounced back to his professional self. Grabbing his knife and fork, he hungrily devoured the last of his food. “I’m good to go, how about you?”

Chapter Thirty-two

“He’s disappeared off
the face of the map. We’ve got ground support from police to the military scouring the immediate locality. Dogs, people on horseback, choppers. Only asset we don’t have any more is the drone, that’s been pulled.” Director Hall unfolded his arms and rose from behind his desk in his private office. The last five years as Director of Counter Terrorism at Albany had taken its toll. The photo of his wife and two daughters that eighteen months ago used to have pride of place on his desk was now hidden in one of the liquor cabinet drawers, face down. The replacement was of his two daughters. Moving to one of the two tall arched windows, he looked out over a green lawn and colorful gardens dissected by a meandering concrete path. Beyond the open space was the perimeter security fence. “This can be one shit of a career, Matt. You give your life to this organization, spill blood, sweat and tears, then one day you come to the realization that you and everyone else here… we’re just a number.” Hall turned away from the window. Walking to the nineteenth-century rosewood cabinet, he took two crystal glasses from a shelf. “You know, by rights this piece of furniture shouldn’t be here; well, half of it shouldn’t. Scotch?”

Lilburn stood up. “I’m on duty, sir.”

Hall reached for the bottle of single malt and poured two glasses. He picked up both glasses and held one out. “The funerals are in three days; take time until they’re over, if I hear of our fugitive in the meantime I’ll let you know.”

Accepting the whiskey and the leave, Lilburn raised his glass. “To the fallen.”

“To the fallen.”

Hall smacked his lips and gave a satisfied sound as the amber liquid flowed down to his belly. “Has anyone told you we know who the third man is?”

“We pulled prints from the hangar. Mossad informs us he is Akins Bomani, fifty-two, born in Egypt, linked to al-Qaeda but specifically to the Takfir. The scum’s been involved in a number of killings, bombing, mutilations, you name it. He got caught once, trying to cross the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan, but got lucky when a green on blue fuck-up occurred.”

“Can we confirm he’s the last one of the cell?”

“We believe so. The one you got was Bashir Zuabi, his friend was Yusuf al-Nasseri, both stuffed-up kids from New York. It was Bomani who took out Yusuf. Took out his own man; one of those Ripley’s moments, I guess.”

Lilburn swirled his glass. He watched as the liquid spun around and around before breathing in its aroma and swallowing the still-swirling whiskey before placing the empty glass down. “He’ll be difficult to track down, it won’t be easy.”

“He got into the country unannounced, I’m damn sure he can get out equally as well. After the funerals I’d like you to stick around — not long — just enough to get the paperwork in order. We won’t hold our breath about leads on Bomani.”

“Will do, sir. What’s happening with Dr. Crawston?”

“All taken care of, tickets booked for London the day after tomorrow.” Hall consumed the last of his whiskey following it up with a satisfied “Ahh”. “The good doctor did well, very well. I’ll admit she wasn’t my first choice. I had an expert from Plum Island who was going to be here instead, a Dr. Bradley, a top man. He didn’t have Dr. Crawston’s extensive knowledge of bioterrorism, but he was well respected in his field.”

“What made you choose Dr. Crawston?”

Hall laughed. “The poor bastard died of a heart attack just after I contacted him. I can do that to people, you know! As it turned out, appointing Dr. Crawston to the team was the best thing I’ve done in a long, long time. Let me brief you.” Hall poured himself another drink after first offering Lilburn another. Lilburn declined. “You know about Director Lopez, right?”

“Yes, Evangeline informed me.”

Hall indicated to Lilburn to resume his seat while he sat back down behind his desk. “If it hadn’t been for… Evangeline, we would have been none the wiser that one of us had been leaking information to the enemy. Christ, the implications of a traitor in our midst are unfathomable.”

“I was told she did it under duress, something about a kid.”

“I’ve known her for years, Matt, first I even heard mention of a child. Goddamn it, we just lost two of our own, some cops in New Jersey and who knows how many civilians.” Hall’s voice started to rise. “Hell, we nearly had one of the biggest terrorist strikes since the Twin Towers!” Hall slammed down his glass, spilling some of the whiskey. Hall stared at the spill; neither men spoke until the director looked over to Lilburn. “I’m getting too old for this, Matt.” Taking a tissue from one of the desk drawers, Hall wiped up the mess. “It’s a case of too much and too little, I’m afraid. Too much of that jet fuel,” pointing to the whiskey, “and too little of this.” He picked up the photo of his daughters. “You got kids, Matt? No, well, let me give you some advice. If you’re going to keep up this line of work — then don’t. Don’t have children. Better still, forget about a steady relationship; it all ends down the sewer.”

*

Lilburn unlocked his motel room and pushed open the door. The hour hand was coming up to five o’clock. Taking a soda out of the small refrigerator he unscrewed the top then flicked it in the direction of the kitchen sink, before sitting at the table. Removing the Sig Sauer from his belt holster, he laid it down on the Formica table top. He had to admit, he did like the P250. The old bloke from the arms room at Albany had done him a favor. Once the funerals were over he would repay Mac in kind. More than likely, a bourbon man. Maybe after the funeral services, Mac would appreciate someone sharing a drop or two — and it would take his mind off the fact that Evangeline would be on her way back to England. He looked across to the bathroom, and smiled. He had no complaints. Taking a long swig of the soda he put the bottle down and reached for the gun-cleaning kit. With the weapon ‘made safe’ he carried on with field stripping, cleaned the barrel, wiped the gun clean then applied a new coat of oil to the metal parts. The final act was pushing the full magazine home, which he did with the palm of his hand. The sound of a magazine settling into the housing was something unique and instantly recognizable to all those who bore arms. The sound the Sig made was no exception.

Before leaving for the meeting with Director Hall, Evangeline told him she was going to visit Director Lopez, who had been removed from duty pending an investigation. Lopez was confined to her apartment within walking distance of the Albany headquarters, and Evangeline thought she might need some company. Lilburn held the weapon in his upturned palm, carefully taking off any excess oil with a clean rag. His mind wandered back to Lopez. She could be a tough bitch, no doubt about that, and he was grateful he didn’t come under her direct command. It was mighty puzzling about her having a kid.
Kind of sad
, he thought,
not admitting to anyone you even had a child.
Obviously there was at least another person involved, a captor, someone holding the boy. It couldn’t have been any of the three known terrorists; they’d been constantly on the move and accounted for. That meant if the boy was still alive, there was at least one other Takfir in the operation. Hearing a noise outside his door, Lilburn swiveled on the seat, one finger lightly on the trigger, the other hand gripping the slide ready to cock the weapon. He waited.

“Yoo-hoo, Matt, are you there?”

Lilburn opened the door, which framed Evangeline in a form-hugging short black dress with a plunging neckline, accentuated by a string of glistening white pearls. “I thought you might like to take a lonely girl out on the town tonight.”

Before he had a chance to reply, Evangeline had pushed herself into his body, slowly grinding her hips, her lips passionately smothering his as her arms locked behind his neck.

This morning Lilburn had realized there were two sides to this woman: the professional who excelled in her field of expertise and the wild lover who morphed into an alpha sexual being. He was beginning to favor the latter. His hands moved down the small of her back, gently gliding over the dress following the contour of her body, then flowing outwards over her taut buttocks. Through the light fabric he could feel her cheeks move alternately, grinding herself into him. A surprised “Oh” broke his concentration.

Lilburn opened his eyes. Standing behind Evangeline was a woman holding a carton of milk in one hand. “Sorry, señor, señorita.” The embarrassed woman at the open door wasn’t sure what to do. “I forgot to give you milk this morning.”

Lilburn removed his hands from Evangeline’s rear and held one out to take the milk. As he did so, he could feel Evangeline bury her face in the side of his neck stifling a series of giggles. “Thank you.”

“Buenas noches, señor.”

The woman disappeared. Evangeline looked up at Lilburn with tears of laughter in her eyes. “Oh shite, busted.” She unlocked her hands from around his neck. Lilburn didn’t expect a hand to grab where it did next. “Want to shut the door, big fella?”

“I thought you wanted to go out?”

Evangeline smiled. “I thought I’d let you in first.”

*

Lilburn reached over and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. “Whoa, getting on for seven, you feeling peckish?”

“Hmmm. What’s for dessert?” Evangeline ran a finger down the middle of Lilburn’s chest and on past his navel. “Matthew! You’re all tuckered out.”

“You really are the living embellishment of a split personality.”

“I’m a Gemini, and I went to an all-girls school. We were quite frustrated little darlings. One must make hay while the sun shines — I really do believe that to be a most apposite expression.”

Lilburn ran a hand down her back. “I went to boarding school as well. With my brother Duncan.”

Evangeline shifted from her side and lay over Lilburn, propping herself up on her hands as she stared straight down at him. “Oh my poor boy, no girls. Were you also… frustrated?”

“You learn to live with it.”

“Keep your hand in, did you, Matthew?” Evangeline burst out in a fit of laughter then flopped back down on the bed. Lying on her back, she let out a deep sigh. “I went to see Suzanna Lopez this afternoon.”

“So how did it go?”

“She seems to control her anxiety very well I must say. I’d be utterly distraught in her situation. I can’t begin to understand the hopelessness she must feel. Now we have the virus secure at Plum Island, the terrorists have no reason to hold Robby or… to keep him alive. It’s just awful.”

“She’s one tough cookie is our Lopez. I feel sorry for the kid too. The leader of the cell, the one we know as Bomani — he’s hard-core and running loose. I hate to say it but I don’t hold much hope of her seeing her son again.”

“Is there nothing you can do?”

“The funerals for our guys are in three days. After that it looks as if I’ll be heading back east.” Lilburn skewed his head around to look at Evangeline. “So you fly back to London in two days time?”

“Yes, I dare say I’ll find it a bit chilly at Heathrow.”

The pair remained quiet for a while, deep in individual thought. It was Lilburn who breached the silence. “Director Hall told me this afternoon that one of the scientists at Plum Island died just before you got here.”

“Yes. Ian Bradley was my mentor while I was at Plum. He was a lovely man. I do wish I could have paid my respects to his family. It’s so sad — and so sudden.”

“Homeland was lucky to find you, there can’t be many people like you in the world.”

Evangeline sighed. ‘You’re right. There aren’t many with my particular skill set who are allies with the US…” Evangeline sat upright. “Actually, now that I come to think about it, Ian was a bit of a health freak, he was always very health conscious. I can’t believe he had a fatal heart attack, just like that. I mean, I know it does happen, even to fit and healthy people but… Oh I don’t know, maybe I’m overreacting…”

“But what?”

“It never occurred to me before, but just then, thinking about Ian… I have little bits and pieces buzzing around in my head. Little things I can’t explain. I have no basis on which to suspect anything or anyone but…”

“There you go again — using the
but
word.”

With some surprise, Lilburn realized Evangeline was debating with herself whether or not to express her thoughts out loud.

“You know, the other night on the phone, when I put Suzanna on and she spoke to you about what she had done and she talked about her son being kidnapped…”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she talked about her boy, her boy
Roddy
. I thought it a bit odd at the time and, and well I brushed it aside, however…”

“I’m listening.”

“When Suzanna was first talking to me about her son, she referred to him as Robby, not Roddy.”

“Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue.”

“Yes, perhaps. There’s something else. When I first overheard Suzanna, she was on the phone to Bomani. But her tone of voice was like someone talking to a colleague, rather than to the man who holds your child’s life in his hands. When she discovered I had stumbled in on the conversation, I would swear her tone switched… as if she was trying to sound like the one under control.”

“Have you told anyone? Director Hall?”

“No.”

Lilburn swung his legs off the bed and bent down to his clothes which lay crumpled on the floor. Inside his trouser pocket was his cellphone. He dialed Hall’s number; no reply. “I’ll keep trying. What security did they have on Lopez?”

“I didn’t notice anything. Now that you mention it, shouldn’t they at least have a guard with her?”

“Allan Hall wasn’t born yesterday. There’ll be something in place. Having her in home detention rather than locked up makes me believe he has covert surveillance in place. I need to speak to him first before I jump to conclusions. So… what say I order in a pizza?”

He started to rise from the bed but before he could hands grabbed him around his upper arm and pulled him so he ended up on his back. In an instant he was pinned down, her weight on top of him and a pair of silky smooth thighs brushing his ears.

“I’ve had the main course. Now I want my dessert!”