‘To answer your question,’ continued Deiter, ‘I followed you to the airfield and checked your flight plan. You didn’t need to be a genius to work out why you were heading to MacArthur Airport. It’s not exactly a main tourist destination. So I simply commandeered the other jet, and here I am. I phoned Charles when I’d landed, who confirmed that you were on your way.’
Tom’s face was ashen. He turned to his old mentor. ‘I don’t understand, Charles. Why are you doing this? I explained what happened at CERN. You should be pointing that gun at him, not us.’
‘Deiter said that you’d try to blame him,’ replied Charles. ‘So I checked with the Swiss police, who confirmed you’re suspects in a murder enquiry, as well as being wanted for industrial sabotage. Did you really think you could just waltz in here and blow our collider up as well? If it wasn’t for Deiter and the fact that I knew you as a student, I’d have called the police and had you arrested at the gate. But he pleaded with me to give you a chance to explain yourselves. You owe him a debt of gratitude that you’re not in police custody right now, being deported back to Switzerland to face charges — which, if there isn’t a rational explanation for your actions, is exactly where you will be going.’
Tom’s mind was working overtime. He knew he would only have the one chance to convince Charles of their innocence, and it was obvious that Deiter had the upper hand with regards to the incidents at CERN. He scanned the room for inspiration.
‘You have five seconds, then I’m calling the police,’ Charles warned.
Tom’s eyes rested on a solid brass statuette of an Indian deity on the bookshelf and took a gamble. ‘Deiter’s telling the truth,’ he began. ‘I planted the explosives at CERN, but you have to believe me when I say it was a regrettable accident that those people got killed. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
‘Tom, what are you saying?’
He turned to Serena. Seeing the shocked expression on her face, he tried to sooth her by telling her that they could trust Charles with the truth, but it didn’t appease her agitation.
‘And why would you want to destroy the collider?’ Charles enquired, his mood softening.
‘Not destroy, just to stop it from discovering the God Particle.’
‘Why would you want to do that?’
‘For the same reasons you do… I also work for SHIVA.’
Charles lowered the gun, placing it on the desk in front of him. ‘How did you know?’
‘Two things, really,’ replied Tom. ‘Something Frederick Volker said to me when we first met. He said that you sent me your regards, so I presumed you were either discussing my suitability for the position at CERN or my role in SHIVA. The ornament confirmed the latter.’ He indicated to the bookshelf on which sat a statue of Shiva in mid-dance.
‘I always was a bit of a sentimentalist,’ said Charles. ‘I picked it up whilst on vacation in India. How is the old dog, by the way?’
‘I think Deiter was the last to see him. Why don’t you ask him?’
All eyes turned to Deiter, who stood impassively staring at the gun on Charles’s desk. With no answer forthcoming, Tom went on to explain how they had only recently discovered that the collider was responsible for instigating a shift in the Earth’s polarity, reiterating that the only way to alter such a paradigm shift was by creating an opposing force using the RHIC, hence the reason for their trip. At no point did Tom make any reference to Deiter’s involvement in the whole scenario.
Charles looked from Tom to Serena as if trying to make up his mind. ‘Well, you’ll have to make your peace with the Swiss authorities,’ he said. ‘But, as far as the other matter is concerned, it doesn’t look as though we’ve got a second to waste. I’ll call Professor Campbell to see if he’s ready for us.’ He picked up the phone and dialled Jed’s extension.
With the agility of a gazelle leaping from the jaws of a lion, Deiter sprang forward and snatched up the gun, pointing it at Charles. ‘Put the phone down,’ he ordered.
‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Charles remonstrated.
Without missing a beat, Deiter shot the Director through the forehead. His body toppled forward, his head hit the desk and a pool of blood formed that expanded across its surface. The fingers of his left hand twitched and then were still, while his other hand held the phone in a death grip.
Serena shrieked and instinctively recoiled from the gruesome sight.
Tom watched Deiter as he made his way around to Charles’s side of the desk, the gun levelled directly at his head. Deiter pried the phone out of the dead man’s hand and replaced it in the receiver. Then he picked it up again and dialled zero for the reception.
‘Sir, are you alright?’ The voice on the other end of the line sounded agitated. ‘We thought we heard a gunshot.’
‘This is Dr Weiss. Quickly, call the police!’ He disconnected the call and threw the phone down on the desk. ‘I would estimate we’ve got about five minutes before the boys in blue come to the rescue.’
‘Why did you have to shoot him?’ Tom found his voice.
‘He’d served his purpose. I just wanted him to keep you talking until I arrived. Besides, he’s more useful to me dead than alive.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Let me tell you how this is going to play out,’ replied Deiter, smiling. ‘You escape from the police in Switzerland and make your way here. I follow you, intending to alert the authorities of your final destination, but by the time I’ve landed you’ve already cleared customs. Realising that you’re probably going to Brookhaven, in an attempt to destroy the RHIC, as you did the collider at CERN, I phoned Charles to warn him. My call to him will be logged at the switchboard, for verification purposes. When I arrive, I find that you’ve managed to relieve Charles of his own weapon and are holding him hostage. Charles makes a lunge for the gun and you shoot him dead. I manage to make a call to alert the authorities before you have time to stop me. You then make your way over to the door to lock it.’
Deiter acted out the plot, making his way across the room to turn the key in the lock, the gun never wavering from its two targets. ‘Seeing an opportunity, I grab Serena and use her as a human shield. You take a shot, but miss.’ He raised his hand and discharged the weapon, the bullet embedding itself in the wall to the left of the window behind Charles’s desk. ‘You fire again but, unfortunately, this time you hit Serena, fatally wounding her. Distracted by your aberration, I charge towards you. You manage to shoot another round, missing me by a whisper.’ Deiter raised the gun again and put a shot through the window. Glass exploded into the room, showering Charles’s lifeless body with shards. ‘I throw myself on you and we struggle. The gun goes off again, but this time it is you that is killed. Then the police arrive.’ He nodded to himself. ‘Perfect.’ A self-satisfied grin broke across his face as he assimilated the details of his game plan. ‘Okay everybody, let’s get into position.’
Tom and Serena sat deathly still, transfixed by the depth of insanity to which this person had sunk.
‘I said move!’ Deiter bellowed.
Both flinched, but neither complied. It was like asking a condemned man to put his own noose around his neck. Deiter marched over to Serena and dragged her out of her seat, the gun pressed firmly to her temple. He stood her behind the slumped body of Charles and between the two bullet holes he’d just made. He checked the angle to the door. Satisfied, he went back for Tom.
‘I’m not going along with your absurd plan,’ Tom said obstinately, planting himself firmly in his seat. ‘You’re going to kill us anyway, so why should I help you?’