The Zen Gene (11 page)

“Zen, please come inside for a few minutes?” Andi said.

Though she let go of the girl’s arm it was clear from her voice she would not take no for an answer. Zen thought about it for a full minute and then reluctantly laid her bike back down on the lawn and followed them into the house. She was young enough to still feel the need to defer to the authority of an adult.

He got the impression the girl did not like Andi and it was something that existed before this particular situation.

“Zen, this is Dr. Mann,” Andi said.

The girl did not lift her eyes from the floor to look at him; she mumbled something he took to be a greeting.

“Dr. Mann is here to help me and Tyler, especially Tyler,” she said.

They waited for the girl to respond but she remained silent hovering close to the safety of the front door. It was obvious she did not know who to trust and he decided he better say something to break the ice.

“I know what Tyler has been doing, Zen, and you aren’t ratting him out by talking to us. He might be in serious trouble,” he said.

He let that sink in and the girl shifted her position uncomfortably but she said nothing.

“Tyler is in trouble,” Andi said, “and the only way we can help him is if we all tell what we know. Okay?”

“I promised. I gave him my word,” Zen said.

Her voice was tiny and uncertain her resolve was wavering under their gaze.

“Before I go downstairs and get him please tell me why you are upset and looking for him,” she said.

“There were police at his lab and they were taking his stuff,” she said

“What lab?” they said in unison.

You Should Run Now

6:21 PM

Hunter placed the call to Western and he answered on the second ring. She did not sugarcoat it.

“We followed the kid to an abandoned factory and we found a body inside,” she said.

“Who is it?” he said.

“I don’t know but it looks like it’s been there a while,” she said.

“Did you check it for ID?” he said.

“We never went in the room. I saw it on closed circuit video. It is in a room and the door is sealed with duct tape,” she said.

She outlined what she discovered and then waited patiently while Western thought this news over.

“Where is the kid now?”

“He left with his girlfriend an hour ago,” she said.

“Girlfriend, Jesus how many kids are in on this thing?” he said.

“I don’t know. The kid and the girl were the only ones we saw,” she said.

The line went quiet for a few more moments while he thought things over.

“This is what I want you to do. You and your partner… what’s his name?” he said.

“Nichol,” she answered.

“Okay, I want you and Nichol to go back in and remove the corpse and anything else that might implicate the boy. Clean his traces in and out of the building whatever and where ever and make sure you get all his lab equipment out.

I will arrange for a secure space in Building Six at Nadon, Nichol will know where that is. Don’t bring the dead guy there. Wait until dark and dump him in the woods somewhere. Head towards Sooke there are lots of likely places. When you’re done send Nichol with the lab stuff and you stay on top of the kid got all that?” he said.

“I don’t have biological warfare training and neither does Nichol. The lab with the corpse is sealed for a reason. We will need some kind of biohazard technician for this job,” she said.

“No, this thing needs to stay in house. I’ll arrange some protective gear for working with hazardous materials for you and Nichol. You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out,” he said.

“Okay. Got it,” she said.

She was not sure she did get it. There was obviously something more going on here and the self-preservation voice inside her head was saying “Whoa! Wait a minute!”

“One more thing,” he said. “Can Nichol keep his yap shut? Is he solid?”

“He’s your guy Colonel. I only met him a few hours ago but I guess he’s okay. I’ll talk to him,” she said.

“Good. I don’t know him. He was a name on a list. You can hint at some stripes if you need to. Call me as soon as it’s done and remember to leave the kid alone and do not let him catch you in his lab. I’m hoping he will show up find his stuff gone and behave himself until I can figure out what his role is in all this.

My guy has plugged all the kid’s details into the system give me the street address of this lab and we can monitor local police communications and give you a heads up if we get a hit. In the meantime if you get any indication the local police are looking for him I want you to grab him and get him out of town. This kid is potentially very important. How big is he? Can you handle him?” he asked.

“He is solidly built but Nichol is huge, it shouldn’t be a problem,” she said.

“Make sure he doesn’t hurt the kid. The lab stuff and the body are important but the kid is our priority. Does the kid have a computer?” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

“Make sure you grab it and bring it directly to me. The kid and computer are top priority,” he said.

“Got it,” she said.

She waited for Western to hang up before she turned off the digital recorder she was holding next to the ear piece of her cell phone. She stuffed her phone and the recorder it into her pocket and went back to the car. She worked for Western and liked him well enough but something was way out of whack on this thing. He was colouring way outside the lines. Kidnapping an underage civilian was not only beyond his authority but it could earn them all ten years in prison and he knew it. She would definitely enjoy the assignment more now there was some potential for action but she recorded their conversation because it was clear she and Nichol needed some extra insurance if the shit hit. She was grinning broadly when she got back in the car.

“New orders Dan boy,” she said. “It looks like this babysitting gig might be fun after all. Got any germ phobias I should know about?” She laughed at the look on his face and added “Relax. This is going to be fun. We’re going to need a van and some other stuff.”

Nichol started up the car and drove them to the motor pool at Naden where he parked his car and signed out a white unmarked panel van. He did not know how long they would need it. It ran on dual fuel and he topped up both the propane and gasoline tanks to be safe while Hunter picked up two biohazard suits with masks and re-breathers.

She tried a few on deciding on a small for her and simply asked for the largest one for Nichol. Their next stop was the Canadian Tire store in View Royal where she paid cash to buy three boxes of extreme duty garbage bags, two heavy-duty flashlights, a bunch of packs of pre-dampened disinfectant wipes, a dozen rolls of paper towels, three one gallon jugs of bleach, two gallons of household grade ammonia, and a roll of clear plastic and tape to wrap the corpse. She sent Nichol to the garden centre for two heavy-duty industrial wand sprayers, the type used for applying pesticides.

7:50 PM

Sergeant Nichol backed out through the fire door of the factory with Tyler’s old style IBM desktop computer in his arms. The air had cooled after the sun went down but it was still like a sauna inside his bio-suit. The plastic visor of the mask fogged every time he came outside and he needed to continually remove it to clear the condensation. By the time he turned the corner of the building heading for the van the visor was fogged again and he was almost at the van before he noticed someone standing behind it.

He knew Hunter was still inside the building. He stopped and removed the mask to see who it was. The kid they were following was standing behind the van watching him. He appeared to be waiting to talk to him because he was pointing a finger at the rear door of the van.

When he came closer the boy said “How long has the fridge been unplugged?” Nichol moved cautiously, first putting the computer down gently in the weeds at his feet then he smiled and slowly approached him.

As he walked towards him he was thinking it was unusual the kid did not try to run away which is what he was expecting. The kid did not seem to be afraid of him at all. By most standards he was a big man and most kids would have bolted at his approach. This fact made him pause and wonder if he was armed. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans but it’s not difficult to conceal a small knife. “What’s your name, son?” he said.

Tyler did not answer. He remained quiet standing perfectly at ease looking at the back of the van. He was slowly shifting his gaze back and forth between the van door and Nichol. Nichol’s police training took over and he was thinking about the possibility of incriminating testimony.

“Is it your refrigerator?” he said.

The boy ignored the question.

“How long has the fridge been unplugged?” Tyler said.

The kid’s voice was odd and way too calm, almost indifferent, and he did not act threatening towards him or seem worried he would grab him. He was finding his behaviour oddly unnerving and he wondered if the kid was high on something and that was why he was unafraid of him. He was trying to sort this out. He did not want to do the wrong thing and screw up the operation not that he had any inkling of what was going on here or why they were following this kid. He glanced at his wristwatch.

“I brought the fridge out about ten minutes ago. Why did you want to know that?” he said.

As he talked he edged a wee bit closer to the kid and he was now standing between him and the back of the van. He was standing close enough the kid needed to crane his neck to see past him.

“You need to take it out or your truck it will burn up,” he said. Tyler pointed his finger at the van.

“What?” Nichol said. He was confused by the kid’s warning and the deadpan lack of emotion he showed when he gave it. If he was trying to suggest the van would catch fire because of a bar fridge he would have to put a little more anxiety in his voice because he wasn’t buying it.

He saw Hunter emerge from the building with a cardboard box in her arms and she spotted him talking to the kid. She put down the box she was carrying, pulled down her mask, and moved to flank Tyler so she could tackle him if he tried to run. Nichol noticed the kid did not turn his head when she came out and he knew he must have heard her. His lack of normal reaction was spooky and he stopped advancing, he was thinking maybe he did not want to take on this weird unpredictable kid. He was beginning to wonder if the kid knew something he and Hunter did not. That thought did not raise his confidence level.

“Where is the gas tank?” Tyler said.

“Why are you asking? What has it got to do with anything?” he said. Nichol was getting nervous and frustrated because he did not get the point of this game the kid was playing. The kid was making him look like a fool in front of Hunter. He had to hand it to him if he didn’t have a knife he definitely had a gnarly set. He saw the kid tense up and take a quick step backwards looking at the closed rear door of the van. He turned to face Nichol and he said in the same flat unemotional voice.

“You should run now.”

With that the boy spun around and darted away from him and the van. It was Sergeant Nichol’s long experience and instincts as a Military Policeman which took over. He chased after Tyler instead of looking at the van and that decision saved his life.

Hunter noticed the teen was not surprised to see that she had crept up behind him. He never slowed or changed direction as he charged head down full tilt straight at her. He was bigger than her and looked solid and she tensed her muscles calling on her hand to hand combat training as she prepared to tackle him low and take out his legs.

He was moving very fast and he anticipated her move. Like a mind reader he waited for her to leap and while she was airborne he abruptly changed direction and sidestepped her. After neatly deking her out he kept moving without breaking stride as he quickly left them both behind.

Hunter was expecting to hit a running kid but instead found clear air and she landed hard on the packed dirt of the boulevard. Her head and face were down and her body flat on the ground when the time on the failsafe device ran out and that bit of luck saved her life.

The mechanism inside the fridge lit and released a chunk of magnesium and it burned through the plastic dish of virus and continued through the bottom of the fridge. Inside Tyler’s lab the bar fridge was carefully positioned on top of five layers of fire brick to dissipate the heat after it sterilized whatever was inside but in the van there was nothing to stop it.

The magnesium burned through the sheet metal floor beneath the fridge turning it to flaming molten steel which dripped onto the top of the full propane fuel tank suspended beneath the vehicle. The explosion which followed was powerful.

Aided by the gasoline in the other tank and the jugs of bleach and ammonia the detonation blew the van apart and leveled the fence and guard shack. The shockwave continued to expand and intensify as it broke windows in buildings for a full city block in each direction.

Sergeant Nichol was only ten meters away from the epicenter and his back was exposed to the full impact of the blast. He was upright when it blew and the shockwave picked him up and tossed him through the air. He did not feel it because the explosion rendered him unconscious. He was a limp projectile of traumatized flesh stuffed inside a bio-suit. When he came down his head contacted the blunt edge of the road’s concrete curb. He would have died instantly if he did not give chase and moved that much farther away from the van, but as it was, he was gravely injured.

Tyler felt the hard kick and intense heat of the blast on his back as he ran. He’d run far enough away from the van to significantly lessen the impact but he was thrown down hard to the ground and rolled a considerable distance.

Aside from road rash he was not seriously injured and he sprang up and ran to his bike and pedaled hard for home. He did not look back to see the devastation. He knew the magnesium inside the bar fridge had burned through the floor into the fuel tank.

He designed the failsafe to burn extra hot to destroy the viruses stored in the fridge if the power went off and it worked perfectly except he did not foresee someone moving the fridge. He could smell the residue of unburned gasoline in the wind howling past him as he drove his bike forward.

Hunter was pounded hard by the blast but remained conscious. It was lucky that most of the force flew over her while she was face down on the ground. She was badly shaken but she managed to regain her feet, survey the damage, and assess the situation. The van was in two sections.

The lower half with wheels attached was ablaze and the other section which included the roof and sides was upside down twenty five feet from where the van was parked. She located Nichol amidst the burning debris at the side of the road. She patted out the fire burning his hair and checked for vital signs. When she determined he was alive she grabbed his collar with both hands and dragged him away from the smoldering wreckage.