2 AM
TONI sat in the control room, watching the monitors.
Steve and the guards had related everything that had happened, from when the "repair crew" entered the Great Hall up to the moment that two of them emerged from the BSL4 lab, passed through the little lobby, and vanished—one carrying a slim burgundy leather briefcase1. Don had told her, while Steve gave him first aid, how one of the men had tried to stop the violence. The words he had shouted were burned into Toni's brain: If you want to be empty-handed when we meet the client at ten, just carry on the way you are.
Clearly, they had come here to steal something from the laboratory, and they had taken it away in that briefcase. Toni had a dreadful feeling she knew what it was.
She was running the BSL4 footage from 12:55 to 1:15. Although the monitors had not shown these images at the time, the computer had stored them. Now she was watching two men inside the lab, wearing biohazard suits.
She gasped3 when she saw one of them open the door to the little room that contained the vault4. He tapped numbers into the keypad—he knew the code! He opened the fridge door, then the other man began to remove samples.
Toni froze the playback.
The camera was placed above the door, and looked over the man’s shoulder into the refrigerator. His hands were full of small white boxes. Toni's fingers played over the keyboard, and the black-and-white picture on the monitor was enlarged. She could see the international biohazard symbol on the boxes. He was stealing virus samples. She zoomed5 in further and ran the image-enhancement program. Slowly, the words on one of the boxes became clear: "Madoba-2."
It was what she had feared, but the confirmation6 hit her like the cold wind of death. She sat staring at the screen, frozen with dread2, her heart sounding in her chest like a funeral bell. Madoba-2 was the most deadly virus imaginable, an infectious agent so terrible that it had to be guarded by multiple layers of security and touched only by highly trained staff in isolation7 clothing. And it was now in the h?nds of a gang of thieves who were carrying it around in a damn briefcase.
Their car might crash; they could panic and throw the briefcase away; the virus might fall into the possession of people who did not know what it was—the risks were horrendous8. And even if they did not release it by accident, their "client" would do so deliberately9. Someone was planning to use the virus to murder people in hundreds and thousands, perhaps to cause a plague that might mow10 down entire populations.
And they had obtained the murder weapon from her.
In despair, she restarted the footage, and watched with horror while one of the intruders emptied the contents of the vials into a perfume spray marked "Diablerie." That was obviously the delivery mechanism11. The ordinary-looking perfume bottle was now a weapon of mass destruction. She watched him carefully double-bag it and place it in the briefcase, bedded in polystyrene packing chips.
She had seen enough. She knew what needed to be done. The police had to gear up for a massive operation—and fast. If they moved quickly, they could still catch the thieves before the virus was handed over to the buyer.
She returned the monitors to their default position and left the control room.
The security guards were in the Great Hall, sitting on the couches normally reserved for visitors, drinking tea, thinking the crisis was over. Toni decided12 to take a few seconds to regain13 control. "We have important work to do," she said briskly. "Stu, go to the control room and resume your duties, please. Steve, get behind the desk. Don, stay where you are." Don had a makeshift dressing14 over the cut on his forehead.
Susan Mackintosh, who had been blackjacked, was lying on a couch used by waiting visitors. The blood had been washed from her face but she was severely15 bruised16. Toni knelt beside her and kissed her forehead. "Poor you," she said. "How do you feel?"
"I'm so sorry this happened."
Susan smiled weakly. "It was worth it for the kiss."
Toni patted her shoulder. "You're recovering already."
Her mother was sitting next to Don. "That nice boy Steven made me a cup of tea," she said. The puppy sat on spread-out newspaper at her feet. She fed it a piece of biscuit.
"Thanks, Steve," Toni said.
Mother said, "He'd make a nice boyfriend for you."
"He's married," Toni replied.
"That doesn't seem to make much difference, nowadays."
"It does to me." Toni turned to Steve. "Where's Carl Osborne?"
"Men's room."
Toni nodded and took out her phone. It was time to call the police.
She recalled what Steve Tremlett had told her about the duty staff at Inverburn regional headquarters tonight: an inspector18, two sergeants19, and six constables20, plus a superintendent21 on call. It was nowhere near enough to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. She knew what she would do, if she were in charge. She would call in twenty or thirty officers. She would commandeer snowplows, set up roadblocks, and ready a squad22 of armed officers to make the arrest. And she would do it fast.
She felt invigorated. The horror of what had happened began to fade from her mind as she concentrated on what had to be done. Action always bucked23 her up, and police work was the best sort of action.
She got David Reid again. When she identified herself, he said, "We sent you a car, but they turned back. The weather—"
She was horrified24. She had thought a police car was on its way. "Are you serious?" she said, raising her voice.
"Have you looked at the roads? There are abandoned cars everywhere. No point in a patrol getting stuck in the snow."
"Christ! What kind of wimps25 are the police recruiting nowadays?"
"There's no need for that kind of talk, madam."
Toni got herself under control. "You're right, I'm sorry." She recalled, from her training, that when the police response to a crisis went badly amiss, it was often due to wrong identification of the hazard in the first few minutes, when someone inexperienced like P.C. Reid was dealing26 with the initial report. Her first task was to make sure he had the key information to pass to his superior. "Here's the situation. One: the thieves stole a significant quantity of a virus called Madoba-2 which is lethal27 to humans, so this is a biohazard emergency."
"Biohazard," he said, obviously writing it down.
"Two: the perpetrators are three men—two white and one black— and a white woman. They're driving a van marked 'Hibernian Telecom.'"
"Can you give me fuller descriptions?"
"I'll get the guard supervisor28 to call you with that information in a minute—he saw them, I didn't. Three: we have two injured people here, one who has been coshed and the other kicked in the head."
"How serious would you say the injuries are?"
She thought she had already told him that, but he seemed to be asking questions from a list. "The guard who has been coshed should see a doctor."
"Right."
"Four: the intruders were armed."
"What sort of weapons?"
Toni turned to Steve, who was a gun buff. "Did you get a look at their firearms?"
Steve nodded. "Nine-millimeter Browning automatic pistols, all three of them—the kind that take a thirteen-round magazine. They looked like ex-army stock to me." Toni repeated the description to Reid.
"Armed robbery, then," he said.
"Yes—but the important thing is that they can't be far away, and that van is easy to identify. If we move quickly, we can catch them."
"Nobody can move quickly tonight."
"Obviously you need snowplows."
"The police force doesn't have snowplows."
"There must be several in the area; we have to clear the roads most winters."
"Clearing snow from roads is not a police function; it's a local authority responsibility."
Toni was ready to scream with frustration29, but she bit her tongue. "Is Frank Hackett there?"
"Superintendent Hackett is not available."
She knew that Frank was on call—Steve had told her. "If you won't wake him up, I will," she said. She broke the connection and dialed his home number. He was a conscientious30 officer; he would be sleeping by the phone.
He picked it up. "Hackett."
"Toni. Oxenford Medical has been robbed of a quantity of Madoba-2, the virus that killed Michael Ross."
"How did you let that happen?"
It was the question she was asking herself, but it stung when it came from him. She retorted, "If you're so smart, figure out how to catch the thieves before they get away."
"Didn't we send a car out to you an hour ago?"
"It never got here. Your tough coppers31 saw the snow and got scared."
"Well, if we're stuck, so are our suspects."
"You're not stuck, Frank. You can get here with a snowplow."
"I don't have a snowplow."
"The local council has several—phone them up."
There was a long pause. "I don't think so," he said at last.
Toni could have killed him. Frank enjoyed using his authority negatively. It made him feel powerful. He especially liked defying her—she had always been too assertive32 for him. How had she lived with him for so long? She curbed33 the retort that was on the tip of her tongue and said, "What's your thinking, Frank?"
"I can't send unarmed men chasing after a gang with guns. We'll need to assemble our firearms-trained officers, take them to the armory35, and get them kitted out with Kevlar vests, guns, and ammunition36. That's going to take a couple of hours."
"Meanwhile the thieves are getting away with a virus that could kill thousands!"
"I'll put out an alert for the van."
"They might switch cars. They could have an off-road Jeep parked somewhere."
"They still won't get far."
"What if they have a helicopter?"
"Toni, curb34 your imagination. There are no thieves with helicopters in Scotland."
These were not local hooligans running off with jewelry37 or banknotes—but Frank had never really understood biohazards. "Frank, use your imagination. These people want to start a plague!"
"Don't tell me how to do the job. You're not a cop anymore."
"Frank—" She stopped. He had broken the connection. "Frank, you're a dumb bastard," she said into the dead phone, then she hung up.
Had he always been this bad? It seemed to her that when they were living together he was more reasonable. Perhaps she had been a good influence on him. He had certainly been willing to learn from her. She recalled the case of Dick Buchan, a multiple rapist who had refused to tell Frank where the bodies were despite hours of intimidation38, shouting, and threats of violence. Toni talked quietly to him about his mother and broke him in twenty minutes. After that, Frank had asked her advice about every major interrogation. But since they split up, he seemed to have regressed.
She frowned at her phone, racking her brains. How was she going to put a bomb under Frank? She had something over him—the Farmer Johnny Kirk story. If the worse came to the worst, she could use that to blackmail39 him. But first there was one more call she could try. She scrolled40 through the memory of her mobile and found the home number of Odette Cressy, her friend at Scotland Yard.
The phone was answered after a long wait. "This is Toni," she said. "I'm sorry to wake you."
Odette spoke41 to someone else. "Sorry, sweetheart, it's work."
Toni was surprised. "I didn't expect you to be with someone."
"It's just Santa Claus. What's new?"
Toni told her.
Odette said, "Jesus Christ, this is what we were afraid of."
"I can't believe I let it happen."
"Is there anything that might give us a hint about when and how they plan to use it?"
"Two things," Toni said. "One: they didn't just steal the stuff—they poured it into a perfume sprayer. It's ready to use. The virus can be released in any crowded place—at a cinema, on a plane, in Harrods. No one would know it was happening."
"A perfume spray?"
"Diablerie."
"Well done—at least we know what we're looking for. What else?"
"A guard heard them talk about meeting the client at ten."
"At ten. They're working fast."
"Exactly. If they deliver the stuff to their customer by ten o'clock this morning, it could be in London tonight. They could release it in the Albert Hall tomorrow."
"Good work, Toni. My God, I wish you'd never left the police."
Toni began to feel more cheerful. "Thanks."
"Anything else?"
"They turned north when they left here—I saw their van. But there's a blizzard42, and the roads are becoming impassable. So they probably aren't far from where I'm standing43."
"That means we have a chance of catching44 them before they deliver the goods."
"Yes—but I haven't been able to persuade the local police of the urgency."
"Leave that to me. Terrorism comes under the Cabinet Office. Your hometown boys are about to get a phone call from Number Ten Downing Street. What do you need—helicopters? HMS Gannet is an hour away from you."
"Put them on standby. I don't think helicopters can fly in this blizzard and, if they could, the crew wouldn't be able to see what's on the ground. What I need is a snowplow. They should clear the road from Inverburn to here, and the police should make this their base. Then they can start looking for the fugitives45."
"I'll make sure it happens. Keep calling me, okay?"
"Thanks, Odette." Toni hung up.
She turned around. Carl Osborne stood immediately behind her, making notes.
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briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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zoomed
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| v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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horrendous
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| adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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mow
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| v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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groggy
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| adj.体弱的；不稳的 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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constables
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| n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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bucked
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| adj.快v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的过去式和过去分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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wimps
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| n.懦弱的人，无用的人( wimp的名词复数 )v.懦弱的人，无用的人( wimp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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lethal
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| adj.致死的；毁灭性的 | |
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supervisor
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| n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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assertive
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| adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的 | |
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curbed
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| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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armory
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| n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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intimidation
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| n.恐吓，威胁 | |
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blackmail
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| n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓 | |
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scrolled
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| adj.具有涡卷装饰的v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的过去式和过去分词 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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blizzard
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| n.暴风雪 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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45
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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