Sam Case.
“Hello?”Sam says.
“Was it everything you hoped it would be?” Doc Howard says.
“What are you talking about?”
They’re on the phone, Sam driving to the airport, Doc Howard, somewhere in Virginia.
“Do I really have to say it out loud?” Doc Howard says. “It’s vulgar.”
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about you and Kimberly Creed.”
“What about us?”
“You’re forcing me to say it? Fine. You fucked her. Was it all you hoped it would be?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s my job to know.”
“Did you have someone following me?”
“Following and listening.”
“ How? We were in a hotel room, for crissakes!”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s time to start paying the piper. Get off at exit 24-B, turn right, drive a half-mile to the bowling alley. Park there, and I’ll call you back.”
“How will you know when I park?”
“I’ve got a tracking device on your car.”
“I’m trying to catch a plane.”
“I know all about the flight. You’ll have plenty of time to catch it.”
Sam clicks his phone off and sighs. From where he is, the drive to exit 24-B will take ten minutes, a sufficient amount of time to reflect on how he and Doc Howard became allies in Sam’s war against Donovan Creed.
47.
Six Weeks Earlier.
Six weeks ago, Doc Howard treated Sam for a nasty snakebite. Toward the end of the treatment, the two men sat down and had an interesting talk, during which Doc Howard said, “Apart from providing the snake that bit you, why do you hate Donovan Creed so much?”
Sam said, “He destroyed my life.”
“How so?”
“Why should I tell you? You work for the bastard!”
Doc Howard smiled. “You might be surprised how my path and yours can intersect to your benefit. Tell me more.”
“Creed stole my wife, put me out of business, and cheated my investors out of billions of dollars.”
“What type of investors?”
“I was hiding money for the world’s most dangerous people. Creed kidnapped my wife, Rachel, threatened to kill her if I didn’t give him the access codes to the funds. He wound up stealing every last cent, then he and Rachel revealed they’d been having an affair for six months. She’s been with him ever since.”
“They walked away and left you with nothing?”
“He cut me a check for a percentage of the take. As if that would compensate me for stealing Rachel and putting my life in jeopardy.”
“He’s your arch enemy,” Doc Howard said.
“Like Superman and Lex Luthor.”
“And you see yourself as the good guy.”
“Aren’t I?”
“Well, I think so, but what do I know? I’m an old man.”
“What do you know?” Sam said.
“I know Rachel carries the gene that can cure the Spanish Flu. I also know she’s been taken to Area B, at Mount Weather.”
“Wait,” Sam said. “ You know where Rachel is, but Creed doesn’t? How’s that possible?”
“It’s my job to know things.”
“Your job as a doctor?”
“I’m many things, including a physician. But let’s talk about you.”
“What about me?”
“From what I understand, you’re a computer genius.”
“So?”
“If you could find a way to get into Mount Weather, and work there, we could form an alliance that would benefit both of us.”
Sam said, “If you know about Rachel, you probably already know I’ve been selected to live and work in Area B. With Rachel.”
Doc Howard smiled.
Sam said, “If you have access to this type of information, how could I possibly help you?”
“I don’t have physical access to the facility.”
“Why not?”
“The President trusts me to perform surgery on him, but not to be near the pretty things hidden away in Area B.”
“You want me to steal government secrets for you?”
“I’m not sure what I want just yet. But I won’t ask anything of you that you can’t deliver.”
“And what would I get out of it?”
“Two things: first, I can deliver the sweetest revenge against Creed you could possibly imagine. Second, I can allow you to stay alive.”
“Tell me about the revenge part,” Sam said.
“You might find this hard to believe, but I’ve been communicating with Donovan Creed’s 20-year-old daughter, Kimberly, for nearly a year. Ever since he stopped having her followed.”
“So?”
“You’re a computer expert, Sam. I’m a mind control expert.”
“Go on.”
“I “met” her on a social media site and quickly talked her into giving me her phone number. I began calling her, probing her, learning her secrets.”
“Why would she talk to you? You’re old enough to be her grandfather.”
“She doesn’t know how old I am, but believes I’m old enough to be her father. I used a voice altering device. You probably think something like that would scare the average young lady, but as you may get the opportunity to learn, Kimberly is not your average young lady.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s inherited the killing gene from her father.”
“That’s possible?”
“Entirely. And I’ve hired someone to pose as Kimberly at her college, taking her classes, so she could be trained by professional assassins. At first she didn’t know they were assassins. She thought they were kickboxing champions and exercise experts who were getting her in shape. But after getting her in shape, they taught her how to fight, how to shoot, and lately they’ve taught her about poisons.”
“To what end?”
“To turn her into a paid assassin.”
Sam listened to all this with his mouth hanging open. “Does Creed know?”
“Of course not.”
“This is insane.”
“Why?”
“How can someone who’s never met the girl get her to start killing people based on a telephone relationship?”
“She actually killed a boy before I contacted her. So she had the raw talent and innate ability to begin with. The rest is mind control. And, of course, I believe she inherited the most important quality a contract killer can have.”
“What’s that?”
“A taste for killing.”
“You mean she likes it?”
“She’s a natural. Of course, there’s a very thin line between being a contract killer and a serial killer. If she’s not guided properly, Kimberly could easily go off the deep end.”
Sam was speechless.
“So anyway,” Doc Howard said, “I found her deepest, darkest secret, and moved forward from there.”
“What’s her secret?”
“I’ll tell you, if we work a deal.”
“I’m in.”
“You haven’t heard the deal.”
“Okay, tell me.”
“What you get is Kimberly. You won’t have complete control over her mind and body, but you’ll be well-positioned to influence her.”
“Influence her to do what?
“Steal for you, kill for you, and possibly even sleep with you, if that’s your wish.”
“Turn Creed’s daughter into a killer and get her to fall in love with me? This is a joke, right? I bet Creed’s watching us right now on a monitor somewhere!”
Sam looked around the room.
“If you recall, the monitors in this room have been destroyed or removed. You’ll have your proof within minutes, if I get what I want. But let me address the idea of getting her to fall in love with you. I wouldn’t count on that happening. But you’re a hop, skip and a jump from being able to seduce her.”
“You said you can furnish proof?”
“I’ve made tapes of every conversation I’ve had with Kimberly. Hundreds of hours. I’ll turn those over to you, to study carefully over the next few weeks. I’ll sneak you onto some of our calls so you can get a real-time feel for the way I work her mind. When you’re ready, you can take over. In your real voice.”
“Won’t she know it’s not you?”
“No. You’ll have memorized our entire history of conversations. You’ll have me down cold.” He pauses. “But there is one issue you’ll have to get past.”