“You stuck your noses where they didn’t belong. That created a problem. Again, you were warned.”
“What are you talking about?” Remi demanded.
“Apparently, you believe I’m here to answer your questions. You’ve got that backwards. So let’s start with why you were rooting around in the caves. What were you looking for?”
“We weren’t looking for anything,” Lazlo lied unconvincingly. “Just exploring.”
Vanya sighed. “My associates here are waiting to take you apart, limb by limb. I’d hoped to have a civilized discussion, but if you want to progress to the ugliness, so be it . . .”
Remi shook her head. “We were looking for artifacts. Some of the evidence we found in the sunken city pointed to the caves,” she said, offering a partial truth.
“Ah, yes. The infamous sunken city.” She regarded them curiously. “What artifacts?”
“Items of potential archaeological significance,” Remi fired back.
“Well, I hope it was worth it to you because it cost you your lives.”
Sam fixed her with a hard stare. “You’ll never get away with this. Too many people know we’re here.”
Vanya laughed. “In case you haven’t noticed, the island’s awash with rebels. Foreigners and politicians are falling like bowling pins. So a few misguided, pampered dilettantes disappear into the jungle in the midst of a civil war? I’m sure the memorial service will be touching. Perhaps I’ll deliver the eulogy—about troubled times, adventurous souls, generous spirits.”
“Why are you doing this?” Remi whispered.
“You’ve intruded into matters that are none of your concern. Unfortunately, once seen, your discoveries can never be unseen, so even if you swore to remain silent, there’s no way I could allow you to leave.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “You’re involved in the skeletons? The children?”
“Regrettably, some of the more aggressive medical treatments result in terminal side effects. When dealing with incurable illnesses like malaria, it’s often necessary to try experimental approaches in order to advance the human condition. It’s a necessary by-product of discovery, of developing new cures.”
“You’d kill some of your patients,” Lazlo said, almost in awe. “The disappearing village children . . .”
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work in an unofficial capacity with some visionary pharmaceutical companies. But, as with most industries, they’re hamstrung by arcane rules and regulations that prevent them from creating cures that could save millions. So they seek out medical professionals who understand that the greater good sometimes requires regrettable sacrifices.” Vanya offered another smile, but instead of warming her face, the effect was chilling. “Don’t look at me like that. I assure you it’s nothing new. For decades, Africa has been a testing ground for new vaccines and treatments. Nobody cares what happens over there—or even knows anything is happening at all. A few villages nobody’s heard of suffer casualties, but disastrous human plagues are averted. It’s the way of the world.”
“It’s monstrous. A violation of international law,” Remi stated flatly.
“Spare me your high moral tone. Your country refuses to abide by international law and flouts it constantly. Why should I be any more bound by it than you?”
“You’re insane,” Sam said, his voice quiet.
“Oh, right. Of course I am. That’s always the reaction of the uninformed when you confront reality. You don’t want to know the truth, preferring to live in a dreamworld.” Her face darkened. “In Guinea and Liberia, there are ‘defensive’ bioweapons laboratories that are funded by your country. Why? Because those nations never signed the bioweapons proliferation treaties your government did, so your military-industrial complex can develop nightmares there without technically violating the treaties. It’s a shell game designed for one purpose—to carry out research the civilized world has agreed shouldn’t be continued. But how much outrage does that cause in you? None. What I’m doing is far more benign.”
“It isn’t the same as murdering children,” Remi spat.
“Are you kidding me? I just told you that the same thing has been done in Africa for most of the twentieth century.”
“That’s a rationalization for taking money from the same drug companies you claim to despise and conducting research that would land you in prison for life. It’s got nothing to do with idealism, and everything with money,” Sam countered.
“You can’t be that blind. This is the way the world works. The appetite for medical miracles is insatiable, and there are large tracts of the planet that are off the radar, where shortcuts can be had, saving years, and sometimes decades, so developed nations can enjoy breakthroughs. Do you really believe that ethics and morality, which shift depending on which side of a border you’re on, guide behavior all over the world?”
She frowned. “Your government, your corporations, are guilty of so-called crimes as bad, or worse, than anything I’ve done here. For all your self-righteousness, you’re no better than I am. You want the benefits—you just don’t want to hear about how the sausage is made.”
“You swore an oath—the Hippocratic oath. Which you’re violating every day,” Lazlo said.
“I merely grasp that in order to progress, one needs to make accommodations. Compromises. I’m focused on results. We’re no different at all. I simply admit what I have to do in order to get things done. You want to remain ignorant.” She snapped her fingers and the gunmen stepped forward. “I’m tired of this. Good job capturing them. You have my permission to use whatever means necessary to obtain the information I’m after.” The chilling smile returned as she fixed Sam with a hard stare. “Artifacts indeed. Before you join the skeletons in the cave, you’ll tell my men the truth about what you were doing here.”
“We told you the truth.”
“You told me fairy tales. But we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“So now you’re going to have your rebel associates torture us? Is that also in the interests of medical expediency?” Lazlo demanded.
“Think of that as a fringe benefit of being the leader of the so-called rebels.”
Understanding settled over Remi’s face. “You’re behind all this? But Manchester was your friend . . .”
“Orwen was a drunk and a fool. For the only time in his life—in death—he served a productive purpose.”
“You sat with him, ate with him, joked with him . . .”
“And enjoyed myself. But he was standing in the way of progress. That’s always a dangerous stance to take and he paid the price.”
“You really are nuts,” Sam muttered disgustedly.
“Perhaps. But your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. Soon you’ll be part of the boneyard, dead and forgotten in a mass grave.”
“Then you’re nothing but a common murderer,” Remi said. “After all the lofty rhetoric, you’ll murder to protect yourself, to keep your evil from becoming known.”
“Don’t forget to make money,” Sam said. “Why do I suspect that this whole popular rebellion is nothing but a pretense for a swindle? Remember who’s talking—a woman who will experiment on her fellow islanders for a buck while coloring it as some noble way of getting cures to market.”
Vanya sneered at them. “Say what you like. This discussion is finished. It was nice knowing you. I would have enjoyed taking your money for the clinics, if that’s any consolation.”
“You won’t be able to keep your crimes secret,” Sam said. “We’ve made a find that will put Guadalcanal on the national news and have scientists swarming over the island. It’s just a matter of time until they come across your misdeeds and then you’ll be judged harshly by the same laws you believe don’t apply to you.”
“Right. Assuming the Solomon Islands government allows them access to the island. Which is doubtful at this point in light of the antiforeigner sentiment ruling the day.” She eyed Sam like an owl would a mouse. “And at some point soon I can see the caves being destroyed by demolition charges I’ve already had placed, erasing any evidence. And before long I’m going to be rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, so I won’t have to bother with chasing pennies from pharmaceutical companies for doing their dirty work. I’ll be a billionaire many times over, at which point all this becomes an unnecessary distraction.”