Cliff Ryder - Out of Time

Rand gasped, pressing his hand to the wound in his chest and fighting for air. “Wasn’t destroying our lab in China enough for you? What is it with you, some sort of weird vendetta?”

“You’re playing a nasty game with dirty little germs, Rand. It’s the kind of thing that catches people’s attention. You were ready to kill people, betray your country, hell, maybe destroy the world. Did you really think that we’d just let that go?” Alex said.

“We?” Rand asked. “Who the hell is we? Maybe if you’d made nice with the boys in Beijing, they’d have cut you in.”

“The way you cut Brin in? When were you going to tell her it was a weapon? How far in did you plan on dragging her before you mentioned that you didn’t have any intention of ever curing anyone with your new toy? Cut me in? It’s not about money—it never was. Where will you spend it if you can’t live in your own home, or if you start an epidemic? It’s about all the lives you would have taken. Not just a few, but possibly millions. My problem isn’t personal—it’s a mission. I’m going to destroy the weapon and kill everyone associated with it.”

“So it’s my turn now, is it?” Rand sneered, grimacing at the pain in his chest. Blood leaked out between his fingers and most of his shirt had been stained red. “You’re just going to stand there and shoot me?”

“It’s what I do, you asshole,” Alex said. He pulled the trigger. Rand slumped over, blood pouring from the second wound in his chest, just over his heart.

Brin stared at the man on the floor, then turned her gaze back to her husband, who she was seeing, Alex realized, in a way she’d never previously imagined. There was so much to say, but now wasn’t the time. “I’m sorry Brin. This is what I do,”

he said. “Or at least I did.”

Brin nodded, then knelt down. Rand’s breath was winding down like an old clock with worn-out springs. “Rand,” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”

He panted and nodded, his face filled with the desperate hope of the dying.

“Rot in hell, you son of a bitch,” she said.

They stood quietly and watched as Rand took his last few breaths and died.

Alex turned to study her face, wondering what he would find there. Condemnation? Anger? Fear?

He knew that any and all of those emotions would be justified and that he was to blame for that.

“I’ve worked on the weapon, Alex.” Her eyes found his, hers glistening with tears. “Am I next?

Is part of your mission to kill me?”

Alex shook his head. “Does it work?” he asked.

“It would have, yes. Not like they thought it would—the research isn’t complete—it would have been much, much worse than they thought.”

He reached out one trembling hand and stroked her hair. He scooped up Rand’s gun and put it into his belt. He could get rid of it later, just little pieces of metal, scattered haphazardly into the ocean.

“Let’s go get that thing,” he said. “I need your help to destroy it without letting any of it escape.

Can you do that for me?”

“Of course,” she said, watching his face. “I’ve already started.”

They returned to the elevator and rode back to the level of Brin’s lab. She led the way, and when they reached the door to the lab, she tapped in her code and set her thumb on the scanner. She set the door on lockout once they were inside. She didn’t want that door to reopen until she was good and ready. If anything went wrong, it would never open again. And if everything went right, she didn’t want anyone disturbing them until it was complete.

It was hot in the lab, and they were both bathed in sweat within moments. Red sensors were lit on many of the panels, but no one was around to read them or heed their warning.

Alex looked at the containment unit sitting so benignly on the counter. “So, this is it, huh?”

“Was,” Brin replied. “I have all the data on the laptop. I was supposed to be backing it up and sending it back to them when I was done. But I didn’t do it.”

“So, you knew something was wrong?” Alex asked.

“Damned straight, I knew. I mean, at first, it just looked like their data was skewed. They didn’t carry the research through logically, just stopped each time it seemed to be going their way. Then, when I got a good look at this thing, saw what happened after the nanoagents did their intended job, I saw that I had a pretty unstable component. It didn’t always progress as they thought it would, and they didn’t care. Research like that was never meant to be presented to any medical board.

“I was going to drop the work and walk out, but they had video, Alex. They had video of you, and you were in trouble. I stuck with it when they threatened me, but only because I knew that if you didn’t make it back, it was up to me.”

“Can we get rid of it without putting anyone at risk?” Alex asked.

“Like I said, I’ve already started. It’s supposed to be kept at a fairly constant temperature. I turned up the heat as far as it will go, and I left the containment unit open. It’s a powerful weapon, but it isn’t invincible. The extreme heat alone would kill it in due time.”

“Okay, see if you can be sure it’s destroyed. I’ll take care of what’s on that laptop. We’re going to take the building out, too, but I don’t want anything surviving that they might dig out of the rubble. Is there any data anywhere else?”

“Rand had me sealed off in here, no access to the company network. They didn’t want anyone looking over my virtual shoulder except them. I thought they were worried about corporate spies, until I got further into it. What sucks the most is the basis for it all is good work. With time, with a proper study and controlled environment, amazing things could have come of this research. As it is, it’s too dangerous. I don’t even know if you could find a place that would be safe from someone who wanted to put it to the wrong use. It makes me sick inside.”

“That’s my girl!” He gave her shoulder a reas-suring squeeze and was only a little surprised when she recoiled from him. “So, if I smash this thing into a thousand pieces, it’ll all be gone?”

“Yeah.” She thought for a moment, one fingernail tapping lightly on the temperature control of the containment unit. “Except that I can’t really be sure that Hershel didn’t come in here when I wasn’t here. I mean, he might have made copies….”

“And he might have stored them anywhere.”

Alex sighed and leaned against the table. “We’re going to have to be very thorough. Whatever we do has to wipe out every bit of data in this building.

Take out the whole network.”

“We have no idea how much data Hershel had, or where he might have hidden it. He probably didn’t trust those Chinese bastards any more than I trusted him.”

“Then there’s really only one way to take care of this. Make sure that nothing survives, and that anyone who might remember is silenced.”

“Alex,” Brin said softly.

He turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m the only one who worked on it. I’m the only one, besides Rand, who knows.”

Alex crossed the lab and hugged her tight.

“Don’t worry. We just need to get through this—

it will be fine. I promise.”

“And what about you?” she asked. “Will you be fine? Will we? You know about the weapon, too, Alex.”

“One thing at a time, okay?” he said. “Let’s get this handled, then we’ll start figuring out the rest.

It will be okay.”

She studied him, as if trying to judge if he was telling the truth, then nodded and turned back to the canister on the table. There wasn’t much time.

“You’re sure that crap can’t survive if we blow it to bits?” Alex asked. “I’d hate to think I just ended one threat to create another that’s airborne.”